Strength without wisdom breeds nothing but savagery. Wisdom without strength promises nothing but extinction.
The mood in the kitchen was one of despair and tension as Issari wept freely into Irina's chest as I read the scroll again. My red eyes scanned the words on it again, and wrath once more filled me.
Hello there, my Rival. As you can see, I have something important of yours. If you want to see them alive again, you will get your friend in the 'Lord of Iron,' and you two will come alone to this location outside Kuoh in two days. If you don't, I will end them.
It was short, sweet, and very much to the point as one would expect from Vali. Yet the last sentence was as haunting as the first, as at the bottom of the scroll was an address along with a single picture. The picture showed the image of a badly beaten Gorou and a beyond terrified Miki tied up in chairs facing away from each other in a plain room. Seeing Miki's kind brown eyes filled with terror and Gorou's black eyes and split lip made Vali lose any sympathy forever with me now, as I'm beyond certain he had something to do with the fallen on Tuesday. As I looked at the pictures again,
Issari's weeping grew again from my silence, and I cursed myself for not having
Issari's parents brought in and moved to the underworld sooner. Yet the regret soon
faded as my fist clenched, ready to beat him into the dirt.
Irina hugged her best friend while Rias, Ingvild, and a drowsy but worried Ravel and Kuroka stood next to me. The two had been woken by the door landing on the ground and had made their way here, yet thankfully, everyone else slept on. I looked again at the picture of Issari's parents and turned my head to Kuroka.
"Roka, when you met him, was anyone else there with him, or was he alone?"
Kuroka blinked rapidly, trying to wake up before rubbing her eyes.
"There was someone else with him when he approached me in Turkey. A short girl with vermilion hair who scowled almost the entire time nya. She smelt like a Youkai, though I couldn't tell what kind. This was in January, though, so there may be more people on his team by now, nya."
That made me frown, as I definitely didn't remember anyone like that on Team Vali to begin with, and I was all but certain we were going to walk into an ambush. Issari wailed harder than ever, and seeing my best friend so hurt made me clench my fist harder.
"Issari-chan, we will get them back."
The weeping chestnut barely heard my promise, and seeing she was in no state to make a decision or a plan, I stepped up, turning to Kuroka.
"Roka, do you think you can track Issari-chan's parents' location through senjutsu?"
My question instantly made Issari stop crying somewhat, as her watery eyes and the others turned to Kuroka, who yawned with her tails curling. She blinked a few more times, then stretched and popped her back, letting out a sigh.
"I can, yeah. I need something rich in their life force to get a proper read nya. Let me get coffee first, though it's too early."
Issari sprang up ultra fast from Irina's side and ran to get a cup going while I looked up the address on the scroll on my phone. The place I pulled up was a massive field surrounded by a forest with no buildings around it, and I could easily see Vali's plan. He wanted a pure fight with nothing held back, and I was more than happy to give him one for being a shit like this. Rias got a determined look, too, as did Ravel, while Ingvild was disgusted and worried, looking over my shoulder at the scroll and pictures as her arms tightened on mine before I reassured her.
"I'll be fine, Ingvild. You really don't need to worry about me. Rias. You can't come to this."
Rias froze, hearing that, before righteous anger crossed her face, while Ingvild didn't look convinced by my statement. But before Rias could say anything, my hand slipped into hers.
"Rias, if he is willing to do this, then he will be just as willing to try going for you in a fight to distract me. The others will need to stay here, not to give him and his possible allies another opportunity."
My Lady of Iron didn't like that at all as her sea green eyes narrowed and she got ready to argue, only for Ravel to come in.
"He's right, Rias, even though I don't like that idea any more than you do. Yet given what I saw with him that day after the battle, the White Dragon Emperor's sin is clearly fed by a need for battle. If we are to get Issari-chan's parents out alive, then we need to have him focused completely on this fight and not us."
Rias really scowled there, and seeing that, I gave her a pleading look.
"Ria. Please. I will never ask for this again from you."
My face must have shown something on it, as the fight in Rias seemed to leak out of her slowly. Hurt appears on her face, and I squeeze her hand.
"Never again after today. I promise."
That made Rias lose the last of her fight, and she squeezed me back.
"Ok. But I'm helping save Issari-chan's parents. She's my friend too."
I didn't like that, but I wouldn't push my luck here with her and nod. Rias grew determined, and Ravel, especially Irina, echoed that. I grunt to the knucklehead.
"Go get the things my queen asked for."
Irina went ramrod straight and saluted as fire filled her eyes.
"Yes, Milord Omnissiah!"
She then sprinted off towards the open front doorway, leaving a dust cloud. I looked at the dust cloud, then at the still-broken door in the front hall, before throwing the scroll and pictures into a pocket spell and sighing, then moving to get something quick to eat.
Twenty minutes later, Irina was back panting up a storm as she lay on the island, multiple items, while a now geared up Issari, Rias, Ravel, Kuroka, and I looked down on them with Ingvild nearby. The items were a collection of common household things, including a hat, a spatula, and, to my dismay and Issari's embarrassment, a nurse's and doctor's outfit that were not PG. Kuroka held back a laugh, seeing them, while, strangely, Ravel and Ingvild looked interested in the costumes, and I got out, trying not to look at them.
"Any of these good enough, Roka?"
Kuroka grinned ultra-wide along with Rias before elbowing Ravel.
"The outfits are perfect, there's tons of life energy on them nya. Birdy, Mermaid, I know someone who can hook you up with stuff like this if you're interested~."
That made Ravel start sputtering while Ingvild blushed ultra red and looked away just in time for Irina to get back with her armor, and I sighed.
"Then move out in five. We will head out three minutes later, so they focus on us and give you time. When you have them, contact me and bring them here immediately."
Irina gave an ultra serious salute while Kuroka gave a lazier and more lethargic one as Ravel and Rias began making plans, and Ingvild again showed her dislike for this once more as her arm moved to me, then tightened. Issari was still sniffling but watched that closely before I knew this would piss her off, mouth my new harem member. The effect worked as the tick mark returned, and fire emerged in her eyes as I put my hand in Ingvild's.
"I'll be fine, Ing, I heal fast. Please don't worry much."
Ingvild still didn't like that before she squeezed back.
"I will always worry about my hero. You who are my sun that rose in the sunless realm I was long trapped in. Please stay safe, mon soleil."
Her plea made me squeeze her hand again before I let go.
"I will. Please tell Ray when you see her to get me if my new knight wakes up."
That made Ingvild get a weak smile and nod before she hesitated for a moment. Then, extremely quickly, she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, blushing bright red. That was cute and pissed off Issari even more before Ravel led Rias, Irina, and Kuroka, who had a blue fire in her right hand and the outfits in her left, heading off towards the front door. My eyes turned on Issari, and I gestured her over for a group huddle for our game plan while Ingvild backed away. The purplette gave me one last look before she went to the fridge, though her bird watched me for three minutes until I got ready to make a portal.
Issari and I stepped out of said portal and into the forest around the field as my armored boot crushed a stick before I stepped aside for Issari, who was now keenly focused. She was unhelmeted here despite my halfhearted attempt to have her wear it, and she was gripping her chainsword hard before her brown eyes looked forward to the field. Mine joined hers, and the half football field-sized clearing was empty of life, before I grunted to her.
"Be ready for him to play dirty while in Balance Break."
Issari steeled herself.
"As will I. Thank you. For being my best friend."
I was about to say something when Issari put out her free hand.
"For them."
Knowing what we likely faced, I nod and draw Mimic, shifting it to a power axe before putting my free hand on hers.
"For them."
We quickly gather and release our emotions before I ask the Machine God to spare a moment to grant us extra power. My patron dumped the power into us, then went back to work, and it felt like six hits of morphine while Issari jumped slightly before steadying as she bounced, then together the two of us moved forward. Mechadendrites extend with power swords for me and spell circles for my best friend as the two of us exited the trees
As soon as we took a few steps out into the open, I scanned the field, looking for traps and/or illusions. Nothing seemed to be out of place, but I didn't trust this for a moment. We were halfway across the field when, out of the trees at the other end, two figures emerged. One of the two was Vail in Albion's silver and blue scale mail and wings out grinning in glee, while the other was a serious Bikou in his crimson gold armor holding an eloquent quarterstaff. The sight of the youkai threw me off for a moment before I returned as Bikou saw me and got an equally bloodthirsty grin as Vali focused completely on Issari, though something strange entered his eyes for a moment. Issari narrowed her eyes at Vail and vice versa as the two approached before coming to a stop. Vali smirked widely, very much enjoying this as he eyed the two of us.
"So my rival shows their cowardly face at last. And you brought my next rival for when you lose to me."
Issari dragon growls and gets ready to charge, only for me to grunt out.
"Rich coming from an asshole who supposedly wants to fight strong foes yet kidnaps two vastly weaker people who never did anything to you. That's a bitch move and only done by someone weak. You will finally get the fight you have been waiting for, but you will be found vastly wanting."
That wiped Vali's smirk from his face with Divine Dividing flaring behind him, making Issari smug before she taunted him.
"Neither of you will be walking away from this. I am well on the way to being the Strongest Red Dragon Empress ever, and I will make our score higher."
Vali was now beyond pissed, and Bikou gripped his staff hard, making blades extend from the ends before he spat out.
"It's you and your friend, the 'Lord of Iron,' who won't walk away from this. You pissed off the wrong family and God, and it's high time we collect for your shit."
My eyes narrowed on Bikou, confused for a moment before I,remembered Irkou. Three power swords activate in unison, making Vali clench his fists, and Issari kick on her chainsword. The roar barely made either Vali or Bikou flinch as the monkey Youkai let the illusion on his tail fade away, showing it holding another quarter staff that had blades extend too, as I snarled in wrath, taking over fully.
"If your bitch of a family supports spreading chaos by helping degenerates who loved gassing people as he did, then I can't wait to rip you all apart. Then kill your ancestor as I'm not afraid of gods and will stop at nothing to bring Order back to this world!"
Then, without warning, before either could do or say anything, I kicked my servos into high gear, dashing straight at Bikou, followed only a microsecond later by Issari falling into scale mail with it, merging with her power armor, along with her dragon wings, coming out as she screamed, with her jet pack roaring to life.
"Boost!!!!"
Bikou's eyes widened comically wide as did Vail, and he barely brought his staff up in time to block the swipe I made with Mimic for his head as the power axe clanged off the staff, pushing him back several feet, leaving grooves in the dirt as the fight began. Vail and Issari went off to the side while Bikou stood his ground and swung his tail around with the other staff, but I easily blocked it with a sword mechadendrite. Then I had the swords' arms descend on him from multiple angles, and the monkey man moved fast, having his tail come to his mouth. He plucked two hairs from his tail with it, then spat them to his left and right, making two copies of himself who
joined the fray, blocking blows. One of the clones went for my head with its
staff, and I embraced wrath even further, falling mostly into the black rage. I
brought an armored boot up then kicked it straight up into a clone's balls,
shattering them and breaking its spine with a loud crack.
The clone screamed blood murder, then poofed out in a haze of smoke that the real Bikou used to try to skew me with his staff as the other clone moved in from the left. A mechadendrite moved and sliced off that clone's head, making it disappear in a poof as I noticed Bikou flinched for a second on its death. A second, I used fully as I
switched Mimic to an Ommisian two-handed axe before I swung and got ready to
split Bikou in half with it from skull to groin. Bikou barely moved fast enough again to block the blow, but this time, my swipe cleaved his staff in half. Yet that didn't slow him down as his tail tossed the other staff to his hands and then pulled out another one in a moment from a bag on his hip, extending it and its blades. The monkey man charged forward as my axe hummed, and I blocked his blades, smirking. We began exchanging more and more blows as we sped up, and it was becoming apparent quickly that I was above Bikou in nearly every area of combat, and he was generally put off by how fast and vicious I was. My smirk grew even wider, and I went faster than before and chuckled out darkly.
"If this is the best the descendants of Sun Wukong have, then cleaning your diseased tree and him is going to be a cake walk. I'm barely breaking a sweat~."
That pissed off Bikou like no tomorrow as he bared his teeth and moved his tail, pulling fifteen hairs and tossing them out, spawning more clones before snarling.
"I'm going to become stronger than my ancestor ever was, and there are twenty thousand of us you dog! You will die as all of them have sworn the same oath I did to kill you!"
I felt a build-up of divine energy, and that slammed into Bikou and spread to his clones, who started moving faster, and I grinned bloodthirstily. This was going to be fun, and our speed increased again as the fight continued. Blow after blow was made only to be parried, dodged, and or more. Bikou was now barely three seconds slower than me, and I killed eight of his fifteen clones in increasingly brutal ways, and each death made Bikou realize I was wearing him down and putting him more and more on the defensive, even with his boost. The attacks slowed, and Bikou, along with five clones, fell back to breathe while two charged forward, staffs aimed for my face. I slashed the first clone in half, then punched another in the chest, aiming for its heart. My fist, enhanced by the servos, punched through its flesh before making a crushing motion for the remaining clones. The clone popped, and the move made Bikou flinch badly, and the other clones charged forward, extending
their staffs, and I got ready to charge, only for a blur to zoom in between us through the ground, leaving a wide trail of destruction. That stopped the fight for a moment as Bikou and I looked at the thing.
That thing was Vail, who was in an ultra-rough state with a deep split lip with blood rushing down his face from it, several deep cuts across his scalp, along with a still-healing, mostly swollen shut black eye, and several deep dents in his armor before he came to a stop. He groaned loudly, but to his very low credit, he got back up quickly. He wobbled for a second before grinning like a madman as he looked up past the two of us. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the reason why. Issari was in full juggernaut drive with two mechadendrites broken and hanging limply from her back, yet more had spell circles and or a ward stone in them. Her chainsword was roaring in glee as she spat out blood and a tooth that instantly grew back as she glared at Vail with brown-red dragon eyes.
"That was for terrorizing my mom and beating my dad, you bitch. That punch is me at five percent, and I can go higher."
Vail just grinned as his split lip closed up along with his scalpel wounds, and his eye returned to normal.
"If this is what I get from just that light beating, I might have to do another harder one on them next time~."
Issari dragon roared and flew towards Vail, gauntlet power up, screaming boost. Vali did the same as his wings extended, yet in her rage and his battle lust, they both misjudged their direction. Issari instead flew into the five Bikou clones, popping them all at once, and her right wing caught Bikou's pauldron, sending him flying with her, while Vali slammed into me and sent me flying. I flew through the air but thankfully landed on my feet, leaving a small gouge through the field before steadying. That had broken two ribs and somewhat dented my armor, and I had barely a second to recover before Vail was on me, punching straight for my chest as he snarled out.
"Divide!"
The punch landed on my chest, head-on, sending me flying once more, and broke the two ribs again, plus three more, as I realized Vail could not only divide attacks, but he could also divide the strength of armor. Blood welled up in my mouth as I bit my tongue hard, and I'm surprised I didn't bite it off as I landed. My ribs healed, but almost immediately, I had to block or dodge three more ultra-fast punches aimed at my head, chest, and legs. I dodged the head and chest blows, but the leg one was taken as Vail snarled, "Divide" three times and dented the leg, and the metal jabbed at my thigh, though it didn't pierce it. Vali smirked widely, but thankfully, he slowed a tiny bit, allowing me to recover mostly and then dodge three more punches before I made my Mimic into a power sword and swiped back at his head.
The swipe missed, and Vail took that opportunity to make a fast series of punches towards me in an even more aggressive Krav Maga style as he aimed for joints. I dodged each of those, and I was scared to find that I was only a second and a half faster than Vail, and he sensed that weakness like a shark does blood. His punches grew faster, reducing my speed advantage to only a second, and I realized I needed to end this fast as I made all my mechedendrite swords move and fall into a mixed World Eater and Imperial Fist style. Then I began using half the swords for offensive strikes and half for defense, and that stabilized our fight. Blows were blocked, dodged, and parried by this, and I actually started to gain a bit of ground on Vail as his assaults were slowed before he stopped pushing me back, and then I began my
counterattack when his katas finally ran out of steam.
Vali's smirk faded slightly, there, surprised by that, and his eyes narrowed, making his scar more pronounced, before he grunted.
"You're strong. No one has ever survived that flurry."
I grinned bloodthirstily, making mine do the same.
"Good to know. You're still a cowardly rat and picked the wrong fight."
Vali got a tick mark, and I used that fully by switching from the World Eaters to White Scars, which immediately helped, as Vail barely dodged three sudden blows I made at once. The swords came for his neck, heart, and groin, and only the heart one landed, but at the last second, Vail snarled out.
"Divide!"
The energy from my sword flowed up through him, making his hair stand up, before it flowed out of the wings. Instead of a kill, only a very deep scratch was left on Vail's scale mail, and he fell back. My move must have angered him, as he gritted his teeth
and then launched another series of punches from another martial arts style, which I began blocking or dodging. The fight continued, and I heard a yelp from somewhere else on the field from Bikou and grinned as Issari snarled boost a couple of times loudly. That really pissed off Vail, who snarled as he pulled back his fist quickly.
"You don't deserve what you have! All you have should be mine!"
He punched for my heart, and I dodged the blow beyond pissed now.
"I earned everything I damn have, coward! You deserve nothing but a beat down, which is what you're going to get!"
I sliced for Vali's head again with three swords, and this time two hit, but he again divided them, leaving more scratches on the silver blue armor of his collar as he roared.
"No, you didn't! Divide! You're a pampered rich brat who was given everything I should have had! Divide! Why are you loved and accepted by our society when I, a descendant of the Morningstar, am not! Divide! You have servants that I should have had! Divide! Your harem should be throwing themselves at me, shouting their love to me nonstop because of my lineage! Divide! Your riches and properties should be mine! Divide! Everything you have is mine by birthright, so what makes you better than me, the Strongest White Dragon Emperor ever! DIVIDE!"
An ultra-fast punch followed each word, and his rage and fury made me fall back again, so great was it losing all my ground as I dodged like a madman. Yet, despite the pure fury of the assault and the force of being pushed back, I felt a moment of deep pity for Vali as I heard the desperate longing and pain in his voice. Yet the pity was soon gone as Vali went even faster in his punches and broke two power swords, three ribs repeatedly, and the leg he dented earlier. Then the last punch in his kata slammed into my chest, breaking the ribs once more and denting my chest piece so badly I felt clothes rip and tear underneath with some of the metal pricking into my skin. I held back a scream as Vali got ready to punch again for my heart, but I healed and then blocked the blow with Mimic before I snarled, falling into the black rage
fully now.
"I earned their love for what I did for each of them! I earned my money by proving that I wasn't weak to my grandfather through blood, sweat, and tears! They accept me because of my deeds then and now, which will endure far past yours who haven't proven anything to them except that you're a battle-hungry fucker who will do anything and everything for a fight! They will now only remember that, and not the person you are or could have been! Deeds endure long past men, no matter who or how strong they are!"
My ending statement made Vali freeze for a second, and gave me the opening to go full berserk on him, and he barely held me back. Like with Vali's assault on me, my fury sent him scrambling backwards as Mimic and multiple swords slam against his scale mail, leaving horrendous dents and scratches. Then I unexpectedly slammed my knee into his gut, making him stumble backwards, giving me another opening. My blows made in Space Wolf switched to White Scar mid swing, and I swiped down
towards Vali's neck servos at full power, but he dodged, and the blow instead sliced into Vali's left gauntlet. So great was my rage and fury that the blow got through, almost taking his hand completely off. Vali was in pure shock at that, and the hand was only held on by a small strip of meat as blood gushed from the wound onto the green grass. I get ready to kill Vali then and there, shifting Mimic into a thunder hammer to bring down on his head, ending his threat to Issari's folks and the world forever, only for a sudden massive tidal wave of water to slam into my side and throw me backwards.
I slammed into the ground, making a deep trench at the same time as Issari further down the way, and we both started coughing up water violently before the stream faded, and I got to see something. It was the girl with vermilion hair, Kuroka had described, who was glaring with hatred at me as she rode a wave of water towards the center of the field on her staff. Then she did a flip off the wave and slammed her moon-shaped staff on the ground hard, making another massive, thick, and deep tidal wave wall that split the field in half. The girl used that to help Vail and a badly limping Bikou escape through a magic portal that she made. The wave remained on the field for a moment longer before it splashed down and washed away Vali's blood, leaving only the gasping of Issari and me. I looked over at my best friend and saw she was wearing a quickly healing burn on her face, along with several small cuts, but otherwise looked fine. Her brown eyes still held rage, which I mirrored, when
suddenly there was a small hiss, and Ravel's voice entered my ear.
"Greg, we chased off a short girl with vermillion hair near Issari-chan's parents. We have them and are moving them back to the house. Are you both ok?"
The worry in her voice and the confirmation snapped me out of my rage, and I sighed with relief. Issari was still in her rage, ready to chase after Vali, when I put a hand over her armor.
"They have your parents. And I left something on him that he will remember. Come on, I am sure they would really like to see your face."
That stopped Issari in her tracks, as the fury left her and relief washed over her, along with a few tears. She gave a nod before I got to my feet and then helped her up.
Five minutes later, we were stepping out of a portal on the mansion's grounds, and Issari booked it to the house past a startled Alaric and his father, who were tending to some bushes. I gave the two a tired wave, which got an enthusiastic wave back from Alaric, who was ready to run over to me. He, however, was stopped by his dad, and I gave the man a silent thank-you before walking into the still-empty doorway of the house to hear a beyond-startled gasp.
"Isa!!!"
That was Miki Hoyodou's voice, and I turned to the front room to see Issari being hugged deeply by her mother, who was still shaking in fear. Near her on the couch was Gorou, whose face now contained no trace of the beating he had gotten as Asia finished healing him. The man, next to a relieved Irina, watched his wife and daughter as his adrenaline wore off. I walked over to the group before Rias and Kuroka saw me and came my way, worried about my armor. They immediately looped their arms around mine, and Kuroka's tails flew around my waist before I quietly told the two.
"I'm ok despite what I look like. Did she give you any trouble with them?"
Rias shook her head before checking on me anyway, her hands running over my face.
"She didn't. Once she saw there were four of us and my power of destruction, she fled, though she did try to drown the gas station they were in. Ravel and Kuroka stopped the wave while Irina and I went for them."
That made me sigh with relief before Asia looked towards us, making Gorou do the same, and the man blinked in surprise at seeing me. The move made Miki look from her daughter to me before she gasped.
"Gregor-kun…. Your face… Did they?"
Miki's brown eyes were squarely on my scar, and I gave her a gentle smile.
"They didn't, Mrs. Hoyodou. I got this from something else. Are you both ok?"
Miki looked at me, then at her daughter, and at everyone else in the room, so lost. Her eyes were springing back and forth between Kuroka's tails, my and Issari's armor, and finally Asia's green energy on me, desperate for answers. She decided to get answers as she suddenly turned on Issari hands on her hips.
"Isa, you have some explaining to do!"
Issari flinched and looked properly cowed, yet before she could start, I cut in.
"Mrs Hoyodou, please don't be angry with her, be angry with me."
Miki blinked a couple of times, only stopping as Asia pulled back from me, heading towards Issari, before Gorou rasped.
"Those tails and ears, real or just some props? One of the two guys had a tail too, and I figured he was doing that weird cosplay thing you kids do."
Kuroka let loose a belly laugh at the question, her tails curling in amusement, making Gorou jump slightly while Rias, Irina, and Issari giggled happily at the question. Seeing Kuroka that happy put a smile on my face before my Queen stopped laughing.
"They are real, though, from what I saw, you both know a thing or two about cosplay. Nurses are pretty hot as are doctors nya~."
That comment made both Gorou and Miki blush, and they had the decency to look a bit bashful before Ravel finally broke from her planning mode, heading my way before kissing my cheek, whispering she was off to do peerage stuff. I whispered a
soft thank you for helping here making Ravel get her cocky grin before she glided out of the room. Miki and Gorou watched that happen, and saw their eyes follow Ravel, then return to my scar. Miki looked at it for a moment before a hint of fear entered her brown eyes again.
"Who were they, and why did they do this to us? Gorou and I were at the bus station getting ready for our vacation to Tokyo when we were grabbed near a restroom. Can they..."
She stopped as the fear returned full force, and Gorou held his wife, seeing that. Issari quickly joined that, and I sighed.
"They can't get here, Mrs. Hoyodou, so you are safe. As for who they are and why they did this, that's a long story."
Thus, I slowly began to tell them the truth of the rivalry between the Heavenly Dragons. And then the rest of the supernatural world.
Three hours later, Miki and Gorou were sitting on the couch, still in somewhat shock, while Issari and Asia sat next to them as Irina went off to do the dishes from our makeshift late lunch. Miki's hand was holding Issari's hard, but the anger she had had for the other had disappeared, as had the fear upon learning they were safe in this house from Vali, thanks to the wards. Gorou was wearing a face that still had a hint of betrayal in it, as, apparently, like canon, he was a devout Buddhist, but here it was actually the Son Goku version of it. To know that the god he believed in had effectively supported and allowed his descendant to kidnap them had hurt the man deeply. Kuroka had left halfway through the tale to go back to sleep, while Rias had leaned on me, every so often adding in something, before I finally reached the end.
"….and that's who and why they did this. I'm sorry for not having Issari-chan move you both to a safer place sooner; I had made one just in case this did happen. Please forgive me."
Miki and Gorou were silent for only a few seconds before Miki suddenly rushed over to me and pulled me into a deep hug, surprising me. That made me blink before Gorou came over to me and put his hand on my shoulder.
"There is nothing to forgive Gregor-kun."
Miki nodded her head before whispering in my ear.
"They did that, not you. We would never hate the young man who, it seems, has been so good to our daughter. Thank you for coming for us."
Miki pulled back from me, wearing a kind motherly smile, before she got a mini tick mark and whirled on Issari.
"Isa!"
Issari flinched and got ready to defend herself, but failed as her mother put her hand on her hips.
"When were you going to tell me you had more than one girlfriend and a boyfriend! I need to meet them properly, and you will introduce them to me!"
Issari sweat-dropped and got ready to defend herself, only for Miki to immediately jump on Asia, demanding details, as it was clear she had noticed their closeness and that Issari had been soft-purring. Asia was completely undaunted by that, and the blonde easily responded to the questions thrown her way before I leaned over to Gorou and whispered.
"I will still take responsibility for them doing this to you. Would you both like the place I have set up for you? Or would you like to have me get someone I know to do wards for your home?"
Gorou looked troubled for a moment before he settled on something.
"We will take the place. I heard them describe our house to a T, and I don't want my wife to have a heart attack. And I now don't want to miss anything in my daughter's life in…. This. Though that certainly means giving up my job on the city council."
He was clearly proud of that job, and knowing what kind of man he was, I made the offer.
"I have a place I rule directly in the underworld that could use a good administrator. The current people are good, but they are more used to running a village than a growing city. I plan to open it up to humans in the know eventually and would like it so that those who eventually live there are represented. If you want."
Gorou blinked at that before a small smile crossed his face.
"I would love that. It will probably be a few days before…"
I let out a chuckle there.
"An hour at most. We have this wonderful thing called magic, which your daughter is quite good at, while I'm just passable. Let me get out of this, and we can head out."
Gorou was confused for a moment before he remembered our talk. Then an extremely interested and childlike look of excitement entered Gorou's eyes, and the man practically bolted to Issari, interrupting his wife before demanding to see magic. That made Issari blink before Miki got the same look and joined her husband, making a tired chuckle come from me before I went to get out of this ruined suit of armor with Rias following me.
Fifteen minutes later, Rias, Asia, Irina, Issari, her parents, and I were in the Hoyodou house, shrinking down furniture, packing clothes, or, in the case of Gorou and Miki, cleaning up loose ends like their jobs and/or starting the process of selling the house. When they were done with that, the two went back to pestering Issari and Rias about magic, before, true to my word, we soon had all the furniture and clothes packed up. Then I opened a portal back to the manor as the group passed through one by one, before it closed. I led people towards the basement stairs and the teleporter.
Gorou and Miki looked at the pad strangely when they saw it, and Issari grabbed their hands and pulled them onto the pad, followed by Irina and Asia. The moment they disappeared, Rias turned to me, gripping my hand hard in excitement, and seeing her look, I got a tiny grin.
"Give me a moment to make the Teleporter and generators for your parents, and Sona's folks, take a shower, and then we can head out."
Rias got her supernova smile and kept squeezing my hand as I brought the anvil out and picked up the hammer.
An hour later, after heading to the underworld and moving to the front lawn of the underworld manor, Rias opened a portal before she excitedly pulled me through it, making me oof. When we landed on the other side, the underworld sun was at its high noon, and I blinked, seeing that we were in a courtyard, and that a massive, ornate, baroque castle of white marble rose on all sides. Scattered throughout the white were multiple rubies that sparkled in the sun, forming the Gremory crest and other beautiful images. It was ultra extravagant, and I barely had time to marvel at them before, from out of under one of the arches, a maid with short blue hair and green eyes arrived, confused.
The maid blinked in surprise for a moment, seeing Rias and me, before she immediately turned professional and bowed her head low.
"Lady Rias, Heir Astaroth, we were expecting you earlier today! Welcome to Gremory Castle! Please follow me, I'll show you to Lord and Lady Gremory!"
With a graceful turn, the maid moved into the castle as Rias pulled me along after her. We passed through the archway and then an elegant doorway before we stepped into a long hallway. A hallway that wouldn't have looked out of place in a medieval castle topside. It was covered in art pieces, marble busts, and elaborate tapestries that told the story of the various members of House Gremory, and the floor was decorated with rich, ornate rugs, and my awe of it made Rias look beyond proud of the place. The maid continued leading us through the halls until we reached a door, which she opened, then stepped inside to show an elegant sitting room.
"Lord and Lady Gremory, Lady Rias, and Heir Astaroth are here."
No sooner had that been said than Rias and I crossed over the threshold before there was the sound of running feet, and a little red missile shot out from a side door and slammed into Rias, shouting.
"Auntie Ria!"
Rias was only still for a moment before her arms wrapped around someone who could only be Millicas. Millicas was exactly like his canonical self in every way and appeared to be around ten years old. His eyes were closed, and he wore a massive smile, before they opened to reveal the same red as his mother's, and his eyes met mine, growing ultra big before filling with awe and hero worship.
"The Lord of Iron."
Millicas stared for a moment before a loud laugh came from the other side of the room.
"I told you he would be coming today, Millicas, and I am certain that he has an ultra surprise for you and for us."
That was Venelana, who swept into the room dressed in her canonical clothes, followed a second later by Zeoticus in his clothes, and then two inches behind them stood Grayfia in her maid uniform. Venelana and Zeoticus got excited smiles seeing me, while Grayfia was her normal maid self, other than a slight narrowing of the eyes my way. It seems Sirzches had told her about yesterday's events. I gave my star mother a small smile that said I understand, and she lessened the narrowed eyes a tiny bit before they returned as I turned to Millicas, Venelana, and Zeoticus.
"I do indeed have that surprise ready for you. The other end is in our manor up there, so you could visit whenever you wanted. Where would you like me to put this half for it?"
Venelana and Zeoticus looked eager, while Millicas looked confused, and Grayfia gently coughed.
"I can show you where the Lord and Lady want it, Heir Astaroth."
The strongest queen in the underworld turned on her heels and began moving back up the corridor, making me follow her with Rias, her folks, and Millicas following behind us. Grayfia led us down a hallway filled with portraits of past Gremorys, and Rias was soon swamped by questions from Venelana and Zeoticus that were innocuous yet built Millicas's excitement. That put a small smile on my face, and Grayfia saw that over her shoulder before she turned right and opened a door that led to a family room proper, where, in a corner of the room, a large empty space was. I moved over to the area, and Grayfia followed me before leaning in and saying softly.
"You will say nothing about him to my son. You have become his new hero, but I will not allow you to corrupt him with that thing. If you do say something, I will not hold back on you, even though you are my starson. Do I make myself clear?"
There was pure hostility in that voice, and that hurt deeply as I lowered my head.
"Yes, Lady Lucifuge."
Grayfia eyed me again, and I opened my pocket spell with the miniaturized stuff before my red eyes met hers for a moment. They told me she was hurt from this, too, under all the hostility, but then both our masks go up, and I get to work. As I started setting up the teleporter pad and the two generators that would power it, Millicas came over to me and gazed at the items with awe, watching me work before he asked in a respectful voice.
"Are you really hosting a party in your city this Sunday to celebrate the treaty signing, Heir Astaroth?"
That made me stop and blink in surprise. Party? What party?! Grayfia gave her son a blank look while Rias, who had been with her folks on some of the nearby furniture, gasped. Venelana laughed, fufufuing up a storm with Zeoticus chuckling.
"You didn't know? It's all Millicas has been talking about since we got the invitation at noon from one of your grandfather's butlers. He's been eager to see your manor and city ever since we came back from it last Saturday. We figured you were late because of early preparation for it."
My eyes blinked a few times, and seeing Millicas's eager face, his red eyes looking at me in anticipation, made me smile.
"I wasn't aware, actually. We were late today because of other reasons, not because we weren't preparing for a party. I'd be more than willing to show you around Millicas whenever you want."
Millicas fist-pumped in glee, getting an admonishing look from his mother.
"Manners, Ser Gremory. You are a son of House Gremory and will act like one. Heir Astaroth, if you require help with setting up for the party, I would be happy to help you."
The offer was an olive branch, and it made me feel a bit better.
"I will get back to you, Lady Lucifuge. I don't know what my Grandfather has planned yet."
Grayfia took the answer, and then Millicas immediately jumped on me, asking a million questions a second, which I answered as I set up the teleporter.
Ten minutes later, I got up from the now-connected and attuned machine, and Millicas looked at it with adorable confusion. When I finally turned it on, the machine hummed to life, and Zeoticus and Venelana got eager looks along with Rias before Venelana eyed me again.
"Rias, why don't you show Heir Astaroth around the castle, and when you're done, we can perhaps have an early dinner up top. I want to meet your new pawn properly."
Rias got ultra excited as I started attuning the pad to the other end while Grayfia watched closely, and Millicas continued to look confused.
"I'd love to introduce you to Kiya-kun, Mom, as well as my new bishop! Gregor-kun and I were planning on doing a run with her soon!"
Venelana blinked in surprise while Zeoticus laughed before he put his arm around her.
"Another new piece already? That's wonderful, Rias! What's she like?"
Rias leaned into her dad for a moment before stepping back, grabbed my hand, then started the tour while telling her folks about Ingvild as Grayfia, and Millicas followed behind, excited.
The tour of Gremory took under an hour, and the more I saw of the place, the more extravagant and slightly decadent it became. The two major highlights of the tour were Rias's room, which was like that of any princess from medieval times, and the stables, which were on a large piece of the grounds that looked and acted like a desert, where I finally got to meet Mister Humpy. The camel took one look at me while Rias was wrapped around its neck and then blew into my face, which made Rias extremely happy as she hugged the camel harder.
Apparently, that was Mister Humpy's way of saying he liked me, and I even got to ride him for a bit around the desert with Rias controlling Mister Humpy and Zeoticus riding his own camel with Venelana and Millicas while Grayfia watched. Seeing Rias's happy face as she maneuvers Mister Humpy through the dunes was the most memorable moment of the trip and was wonderful.
Until I remembered Bikou's words about his family and me, that soured my fun, though I didn't show it, even when Rias brought Mister Humpy to a stop at the stables, and we began cleaning up the sand. When our group returned to the family room, Rias, while holding my hand and Millicas's, dragged us over to the teleporter and then onto the pad, quickly followed by Zeoticus, Venelana, and Grayfia.
The sun was still high in the sky above the manor house, and I was doing warm-up stretches in a pair of jogging clothes while Millicas sat on the steps of the manor. The boy was staring up at the blue sky in awe, like he had been ever since we got here, and it was cute. My eyes went briefly off him over to where Rias was with her folks, and Ingvild were talking as Rias keyed them into the wards. Venelana was practically smothering Ingvild in a hug while Zeoticus had a hand on Ingvild's shoulder, studying the clockwork bird with interest.
I finished up my stretches just as Grayfia returned from repairing the front door, and Millicas said in awe.
"It's so blue…"
That got a chuckle from me, and Grayfia broke her mask for a moment before it returned in full force.
"The sky gets better during the evening, Ser Gremory."
Millicas got excited, and I grinned wider.
"The real best part of our sky is when you get to see the stars. Especially the various constellations that form images of things like the Big Dipper."
That made Millicas's eyes go ultra wide in awe and wonder as he looked again at the sky. Grayfia gave me a small look, saying thank you, when an extremely loud howl rang out, making everyone turn. Then, out of the house, sprinting like mad through the open door came Barkspawn, and she flew out from under Grayfia's skirt and jumped towards me. I easily caught the flying Cerberus, and Grayfia raised an eyebrow at the Cerberus while Millicas was staring like Barkspawn was a mythical thing. Barkspawn kept giving me licks, covering me in dog slobber, before she finally calmed down and started wagging her tail eagerly. I chuckled, petting Bark before saying to the Cerberus.
"You are welcome to run with us, too, Bark. Though if you get bored, you can play with Millicas here."
Barkspawn yips twice before I set her on the ground, and the puppy sat next to my feet, looking up at Grayfia and Millicas with a goofy doggy smile. Grayfia gave Bark a look over before she said, maid like.
"Ser Gremory is welcome to play with the Cerberus so long as he doesn't ruin his clothes. I will go help the maid here prepare dinner."
Grayfia turned on her heels while Millicas grinned as Barkspawn panted happily, and it was then that Rias and Ingvild came over to us. I saw the very edge of Zeoticus and Venelana's hair move behind the brick wall outside the grounds. Rias whispered that they were off to explore the neighborhood and would be back after our run, then Barkspawn yipped up a storm and took off running down the path. She waited at the gate for us, and seeing Ingvild wanting to run, I followed after Bark.
The run lasted an hour, and Ingvild kept up with us without much of an issue. She was feeding her sin throughout it, and only in the last ten minutes did the strain catch up with her. Ingvild nearly fell over, but I sped back and caught her before helping the other to the porch to sit while Rias continue running. She smiled her beautiful smile at me while Millicas watched as the boy petted Barkspawn. The Cerberus had left the run halfway through to sniff at the redhead boy before the two had started playing catch with a stick Alaric's father had forgotten, and Barkspawn's small legs had zipped across the lawn enough that she left a small track in it.
Barkspawn now held the stick up for me in pride, and I gently took it.
"You will be the terror of sticks everywhere soon, Bark."
The Cerberus stood even more proudly at that, making Ingvild giggle, and Millicas look at Bark still in awe.
"Where did you find a Cerberus Heir Astaroth? They are beyond rare."
Barkspawn preened, making her small tail thump on the grass rapidly, while I tossed the stick into a pocket spell.
"A small adventure in the underworld in my territory. And you can call me Greg when it's the two of us."
Millicas looked shocked that I would say that, then shook his head.
"Mother and Grandmother insist I be proper. Especially to someone like you who is so accomplished. Though….."
I turned to Millicas while Ingvild leaned on me, and Barkspawn ran over and jumped into my lap, panting. She began to snuggle up to me, and Ingvild put a hand on her head, petting Bark.
"Though?"
Millicas looked unsure for a moment before he powered on.
"Can…..Can I have one of the metal men.... Robots? Mother and Father won't take me to the Familiar Forest. They say it's too dangerous given Father's position, but all my friends have one, and when I heard Aunt Rias had one…"
My face went blank before I remembered Vali again.
"I'll ask my pawn to build you one after the next one in the cue."
Millicas blinked in surprise before a massive smile that was the same as his father's crossed his face as he jumped up.
"Really?!"
I gave Millicas a nod, grinning, and the sight made him fist pump the air as Barkspawn yips in celebration, running around in a circle. Ingvild was looking at this with a far-off look, and her eyes only returned when Millicas broke decorum and hugged me excitedly.
"Thank you, Greg!"
I returned the hug, patting his back before Millicas realized what he had done, and I chuckled.
"I won't say anything to your mom or grandmother, and soon I'll have you over at a place where you might be able to see the stars properly."
Millicas let go of me excitement in his eyes but before he could say anything there were two gasps and that made the three of us look at their direction. It was Zeoticus and Venelana who were next to an amused but tired Rias, both adults staring at Barkspawn. Barkspawn gave them both a doggy grin, her tail thumping even faster on the grass. Zeoticus got ready to ask only for the front door to open, showing Grayfia.
"Dinner is ready, Milords and Ladies."
That made Millicas charge into the house excitedly, getting a look of disapproval from Grayfia and Venelana, before my mother-in-law's eyes fell on me, telling me to explain. I gave her a small smile that promised a tale.
A tale I told at the dining room table as we ate, with Barkspawn next to my chair, though I did sanitize it for Millicas and Ingvild. Yet despite that, my audience held onto every word, especially Grayfia, who stood next to Zeoticus, looked ashamed, hearing the parts with the hellhounds. When I finally reached the end, Millicas had awe-filled eyes, echoed a bit in Ingvild and Rias, while Zeoticus looked troubled. He drew Grayfia close and began talking in low voices before Venelana began asking Rias a few questions, and Millicas got a far-off look in his red eyes.
It was beyond clear to me now that he was an extremely sheltered kid, but I understand why. Ingvild, it seems, also understood Millicas, and seeing them both made me think of something they would both love. It made me get a small smirk that made Rias narrow her eyes, but before she could press me, there was a small ping on Zeoticus's very expensive-looking watch. It made the redheaded man sigh and pull back from Grayfia.
"It seems duty calls, Ria—blasted paperwork. Maybe tomorrow, we can go out to eat in town with your peerage. I want to get to your three new pieces, especially you, Ingvild. You never did say what your last name was."
Rias gave her father a smile that was completely at odds with Ingvild's extremely nervous look, before I came to the rescue, remembering my contract with Agrat.
"It's Giraud.It's a common French last name."
Zeoticus took me at my word,Zeoticus took me at my word, making Ingvild shoot me a look of thanks as Zeoticus got up from the table,making Ingvild shoot me a look of thanks as Zeoticus got up from the table, followed by Venelana.
"I see. I am not very familiar with France. Our house has, for the most part, only ever taken contracts in theI see. I am not very familiar with France. Our house has, for the most part, only ever taken contracts in the East topside. I think the furthest west we ever went was a place called Bactria.East topside. I think the furthest west we ever went was a place called Bactria. Is that still around?"
I wanted to sweat drop there as Bactria was long gone.
"Not anymore. The place Bactria was in is now in the nations of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan."
I wanted to sweat drop even further, as neither Zeoticus nor Venelana recognized any of the countries' names, just looking dumbly. They really were out of touch, but at least Grayfia recognized the names as she tilted her head, helping Millicas out of his chair. Venelana eyed her husband before sighing.
"It seems we have much to catch up on. We will come pick you and your peerage up for lunch around noon, Rias. Now come along my dear husband your paperwork pile isn't going to get smaller and I am… in the mood for something new tonight."
The sound of secret promises in her voice made Zeoticus all but power walk towards the stairs to the basement, followed by Venelana, who held Millicas's hand. The boy sent a longing look back at me, wanting more tales of adventure, while Grayfia made a spell circle, and the dishes on the table began to float towards the kitchen, where Neri was working. As Grayfia passed us, Ingvild let out a sigh of relief, and her orange eyes gave me a silent thank you. I shrugged silently and was about to get up when Grayfia poked her head back into the dining room.
"Heir Astaroth, Lord Lucifer, and Lord Beelzebub are just about finished in their talks with the Archangel and the Governor-General. They all requested your presence."
The strongest queen's head returned to the kitchen, and Rias gave me a look that showed she had wanted cuddles tonight, and I gave her an apologetic look as I got up.
"I'll try to be fast, Ria."
Rias humphed cutely as she got up from her chair, then helped Ingvild up before picking up Bark.
"You'd better. I want my Lord of Iron tonight."
I give her an amused smile.
"I'll see you both soon."
Then I began making my way to the basement for this meeting.
The moment I stepped out of the teleporter in the basement, I heard voices coming from the kitchen, and they were Michael, Azazel, Sirzches, and Ajuka's. When I stepped into the kitchen, I found the four of them sitting at our massive kitchen table with Ajuka facing Azazel and Sirzches facing Michael. My dad and Azazel were talking like old friends, while Michael and Sirzches's conversation was more formal yet productive. A conversation that seemed to end, as Michael said.
"...that is the only Longinus in our possession. And you?"
Sirzches frowned.
"All we have is Heir Astaroth's STC and his Magician's Boosted Gear. So that means the ones we are totally unsure of are Regulus Nemea, Annihilation Maker, Sephiroth Graal, Innovate Clear, Telos Karma, and Incinerate Anthem. And we don't have to worry about Canis Lykaon and Absolute Demise?"
Sirzches's eyes had turned to Azazel, and the man shrugged as he stopped talking to Ajuka.
"You don't. Both of their users are very good people and have little interest in politics or grudges. Though I am unsure where Tobio is…"
I gently coughed there, making the four men look at me.
"I know where Tobio is Governor-General. He is currently with my cousin Suzaku, who is the new leader of the Himejima Clan of the Principle Clans, and is, as he said, Lord Lucifer."
Sirzches accepted that before he sighed.
"Then we have four Longinus users part of the Three Factions, one confirmed for this Hero Faction, along with a possible second one. And we will report to one another immediately when we discover any of the unknown users?"
Sirzches was eying Azazel and Michael before Michael nodded.
"Of course."
Azazel shrugged.
"Sure. However, I would like to interview their users before we decide to do anything with them. Speaking of which…. Do you happen to be free tonight for one kid?"
Azazel was clearly greedy for this, getting an amused look from Ajuka and Michael while Sirzches rolled his eyes at that. I just gave Azazel an amused look of my own.
"Perhaps tomorrow or Saturday, when I have free time. I believe I am already spoken for this Sunday."
Azazel let out a disappointed sigh and seemed to deflate at that, while Michael smiled at his brother before getting up from the table.
"My dear brother, you will love what the Omnissiah's Longinus can do. Now I must get going, as I need to talk to Metatron about certain things I asked him to do and get ready for a meeting tomorrow. When do you think you will be ready with the prosthetics, Omnissiah?"
Sirzches got a look of discomfort at my title while Azazel grew eager again.
"I can start making them in bulk tomorrow and have a large number ready by Saturday afternoon."
Michael smiled before he tucked his chair in.
"Then I will start bringing the wounded exorcists from their sanctuaries to you that day. You may want to make plenty of extras, though, as now that we have had a chance to catch up on prayers, we have realized we get many from the sanctuaries. I will have Castiel inform you when we are ready to start moving them to you. Have a blessed evening, everyone."
Michael then walked off towards the front door, leaving me with Sirzches, Ajuka, and Azazel. I could tell that Azazel was composing a list of questions for me in his head before he too got up from the table.
"I'd better get going, too. Shem probably wants to bore me to death with briefings and other such things. However, I will be back here tomorrow for that interview. Some time next week for our science debates, Ajuka?"
My dad got his trademark smirk.
"Probably next Tuesday, yes. I am eager to read some of the papers you mentioned to me today."
Azazel gave his cocky grin as he made his way towards the kitchen exit.
"And I'm yours on gear, though be ready for me to rip them apart."
Ajuka kept the smirk before Sirzches leaned over to him and whispered something. I took that moment to stop Azazel.
"You may want to see this."
The man frowned, but before he could say anything, I opened my pocket spell and brought out the scroll from Vali. I handed that to him, and Azazel opened it. His violet eyes quickly read through the scroll, and it made his frown grow deeper before I whispered to him.
"If he tries to deny he did this, check his left hand. I did something to it during our fight today. I believe he was also responsible for Tuesday's incident with Kokabiel's remnants, though I have no proof of that."
Azazel got a scowl there.
"I will find out."
Then, without another word, Azazel stalked off towards the teleporter. When I turned back to my dad and Sirzches, the two of them were done with their talk, and Sirzches looked troubled. The look, however, fell away, and he showed how exhausted he was, and Ajuka sighed.
"You did a great job today, Sirz."
Sirzches took that before the exhaustion had mostly disappeared, and the Great King returned. Then he got up with Ajuka following him, before my dad got a slight smile.
"Alex, I heard offhandedly today from several of your new maids that there is a church here for him. I would like to see it as would Sirzches."
I wanted to flinch as Sirzches turned his eyes on me in silent judgment.
"I can show you, Dad. And I didn't proselytize Lord Lucifer."
My dad smiled while Sirzches showed he only half believed me. I led the two of them to the door and opened it only to find a surprise. There on the porch, about to knock, was Trina's second, and the man's cybernetic flashed red in surprise before he recovered.
"Milord."
I blinked at him and was just about to ask him what was up when he said.
"Milord. Captain Trina would like to speak to you at the newly finished prison. Said it is ultra important."
That made me sigh, then give my dad and Sirzches an apologetic look before instructing the man to take the two Satans to the church. The man saluted and stepped aside before I went off to deal with this.
As I opened the door to the new city prison, I walked past the desk where two of my levies were talking to the city sheriff, who was sitting behind it, before taking a
right. I continued walking down to the far end of the first floor, past a cell where
Orthan tried to plead for clemency. That was ignored before. At the end of the hall, next to the brick wall that made up the outer part of the prison, Trina stood in front of the last cell. She was scowling at the person in it, and when I got there, I looked into the cell to see a familiar face. It was Janila, dressed in roughly made brown commoner clothes.
The retainer of Agrat was sitting on the cot attached to the wall, and my shadow made her look up at me as she and I watched each other. The looks continued, and I glanced at Trina.
"Where did you find her?"
Trina watched Janila with distrust.
"We found her trying to enter the city not even ten minutes ago, Milord, following a group of new arrivals. The man on watch duty was about to escort her to a home when he saw a symbol on an item that had slipped out of her pocket. Upon seeing it, he started shaking before letting out a scream, and it was so bad and loud that two others nearby ran to him and tackled him and her to the ground."
Janila shows the first emotion here, a remorseful face, before she schooled it again. I turned to Trina, now concerned.
"Is the man, ok?"
Trina looked downcast.
"He was hurt fighting them around Aphoni during the civil war and has been shaking non-stop. He likely can't serve much longer in the levy."
I glared at Janila now, in anger, and gave orders.
"Find Dr. Ichihara and see if he can help. Tell our man that there is still a place for him here that isn't the battlefield. Please leave us."
Trina bowed and left as soon as she was gone. I broke my blank face into a sneer.
"Why are you here?"
Janila looked up from the floor.
"To find you. I have been instructed to recruit you to the Brigade by the Infinity Dragon themselves."
My sneer grew deeper, and I put a hand on the bars.
"I'm not interested. Nothing will interest me in joining that which is anathema to me."
The cell was silent before Janila raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing? You wouldn't join even for these?"
A pocket spell opened, and I quickly got ready to snarl something when
I froze, seeing what was before me. There, floating in front of me, is an orb
that Janila made come towards me. Once it was near me, it opened slightly, and
inside the orb were six black snakes. I stared at the snakes in shock, and the
pure power radiating from them made me gasp softly. As I continued to stare at
the six undulating snakes, my head moved forward, closer to them, as they
seemed to be singing a song of some kind. When I was close enough so that my
head was up against the bars of the cell, their presence fully hit me like a
truck-kun at full speed and velocity. The agent watched me with a curious and
slightly smug face.
"The Infinity Dragon offers you these six snakes here and now if you join. They promise more if you help them achieve their goal. They would like a real answer now."
The raw power from the snakes now was singing a siren song so tempting
and beautiful that I wanted to bathe in the noise forever. Their song continued
to call to me, growing louder the longer I looked at the snakes. I tried to get
closer to them, and as I did this, the world seemed to disappear. Then I heard
the cheering crowds from Er-Kyoto again. This time, louder, it was echoing in
the cell and the hallway behind me, and their voices as they chanted one thing
over and over again.
"Emperor Beloved by All! Emperor Beloved by All! Emperor Beloved by All!"
Their voices were soon joined by the Queens, then by more and more people, all chanting in ever-increasing volume. I closed my eyes and basked in that noise and the overwhelming feeling of genuine love and adoration that seemed to surround me like the warmest of blankets. As the noise continued growing, my heartbeat grew faster and faster in my chest, and I wanted to smile widely and greet my people. My subjects.
They, along with the world, I would save from the Brigade. From the nutcases that were Rizevim, Euclid, Cao Cao, and especially now Vali, Bikou, and Sun Wukong. A world of peace that I would win for them with the Brigade's destruction before we turned our attention from this rock to the wider galaxy. To our potential galaxy of Chaos and Disorder.
With the Reader once it was ready and working, everything was possible
as I reshaped the galaxy of Chaos into one of Order. Plan MD seemed even more
enticing than ever before as the chanting grew louder. This was…. All I ever
wanted. The chanting seemed to grow even louder again as I imagined something
that I could use to bring this New Order. Something that, once modified to fix
the only defective part, would be perfect for us and could be the solution to
so many problems, including my new godly enemy. Put him to better use than killing
him. That thought made a smile appear on my face, and it was then that I opened
my eyes, expecting to see my subjects.
As I opened them, I didn't see them or hear the chanting. Instead, I see
the snakes still withering around in the orb, singing their siren song, yet
that was not what caught my attention now. It was Janilla, now up off the cot, pale-faced and shaking slightly. That ruined my smile, because I didn't understand why she was doing that. Her fear stopped me from saying yes and reaching for the snakes, bringing me to my senses before I turned away from the orb.
"The answer is still no. Get them out of my sight."
My words lingered in the air at the end before the sound of the orb floating and the power of the snakes faded from behind me. I look back at Janila to see the blue eyes continue looking at me now with a tiny bit less fear, though it was still there. Yet something else was in her eyes, too, and it grew.
"No? How can you resist six when the first Longinus wielder accepted three in the offer to join?"
My hand on the bars became a fist, and I was tempted to end her now despite the contract. Janila saw that and took a step back.
"I will take your answer to the Infinity Dragon."
With that, she spun around and launched a spell into the concrete wall behind her. Several large bits of shrapnel came flying my way, making me throw myself to the ground in front of the cell next door. When the noise of bricks flying stopped, I cautiously looked around the corner back into Janila's cell.
Janila was on top of the rubble of bricks made from her spell. She glanced at me one last time, fear still in her eyes, before she stepped through a quickly made portal as it closed in the alleyway behind the cell. The hiss of the portal closing was brief, followed by pure silence, then the sound of armored boots rushing my way as Trina and two of my levies looked at me, then at the cell, in shock and worry. I sighed,
getting off the floor, and began explaining.
Ten minutes later, four somewhat annoyed Astaroth builders were working to repair the hole in the prison. The bald foreman had asked if this was going to be a common occurrence. I honestly told him it might. That got a sigh from him, but he was, it seems, a glass-half-full guy as he left to get his people working. That being said, the slowly rebuilt wall, however, was not the main problem I was facing. That problem was Orthan trying to use the confusion to escape. He had tried to blast open the bars to his cell. Only to fail, as he was extremely bad at magic, it seems. Now I faced him as he was restrained by two of my levies, and seeing the problem and trying to get the noise out of my head, I gave orders to the two.
"Bring him out back. I'll pass his sentence now."
That drew confused looks from the two and Trina, who tilted her head.
"Milord, we can get your father's headsman and…"
I stopped that.
"As someone once said, those who pass the sentence should swing the blade. I will do it for Ryza, or I will forget that fact."
That made the three levies look at each other before they started moving Orthan to the courtyard.
There, a headsman's block had been placed, made of solid concrete. Orthan begged me as he was placed there for his life.
"Please, Milord, I'll do whatever you want! I have money! I have contacts who can help you here! I'll do anything, just please let me live!"
My face was unamused with him as I got my power axe ready.
"You betrayed my grandfather, who placed trust in you to serve without
fault. You betrayed my trust in you by stealing my property to sell to another
pillar who stole my queen and her sister's family from them. Betrayal has a
price, and you're lucky I don't turn you into something worse for eternity. Thus,
I pass my sentence of death on you."
Orthan begged louder and louder as I aimed for the neck and then swung. Orthan's head came off as the axe hummed. The body slumps while the head hits the pavement before I throw a bubble and fire spell to cook the body. Both hit the body and start to do their grim work as I let loose a massive sigh of relief, happy to have tied up that loose end and brought order to the world, even in that minor way. Trina and the two levies relaxed before I got out.
"I will be heading up top again. Please let me or my bishop know if anything comes up."
That got salutes from the trio before I head off back towards the manor.
As I stepped through the door and into the grand hall, I found the hall empty and silent. That silence continued as I walked to the teleporter and stepped on the pad.
Upon exiting on the other side, some of the stress of today seemed to
leak out as I climbed up the stairs. Yet despite the slight creak of each stair
under my feet, all I could hear was the sounds of the chanting crowds of that title.
I kept hearing it as I entered the bedroom. Kept hearing it as I relaxed for cuddles with Rias and the others on the bed. Kept hearing it as Xenovia told me about her day with her mother in the Underworld as they explored Ryza. Kept hearing it as Ray told me that my new knight had slept on again throughout the day without waking up, and when I put Barkspawn in her bed in the bathroom. The chanting kept on continuing until I put my head on the pillow and drifted off to sleep.
Beloved by All.
In the abandoned bar in Kuoh that Vali and his team were using as a
base, the White Dragon Emperor was looking at his hand, now back in place, and
winced, feeling a slight jab of pain. He was beyond lucky that Le Fay was a
master in multiple fields of magic, including the extremely difficult field of
healing; otherwise, he would have lost his hand. Instead, he just had this
slight, minor jab every so often. He had gotten off lighter than Bikou from the
fight, as the Red Dragon Empress had done great damage to the prince of the
Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, and that darkened and brightened his mood. Vail's eye went to one of the booths where Le Fay was still healing Bikou, with Arthur helping her while Sha was slouching nearby.
Bikou winced again as Le Fay healed a bad bruise on his face, and Vali finally conceded the point he had been thinking all day. His rival was strong. Extremely strong and her claim that she would be the strongest Red Dragon Empress ever wasn't a braggart boast as her swipes with that sword of hers were nasty and she, like the Astaroth, healed extremely fast, giving as good as she got. Her juggernaut
drive was almost as good as his, and that made a tiny moment of admiration stir
in him before it disappeared as the other two major thoughts that had troubled
him came again. The Astaroth was also extremely strong and not the spoiled
noble son he had started to believe he was. Yet it was what the Astaroth had
said that had bothered him the most.
"They accept me because of my deeds then and now, which will endure far past yours who haven't proven anything to them except that you're a battle-hungry fucker who will do anything and everything for a fight! They will now only remember that, and not the person you are or could have been!"
Those words had echoed in his head throughout today, and they made Vali consider whether he could have had everything the Astaroth had if he had taken a different path. Yet he dismissed the notion almost as fast as he had it. No. This was the only path that would get him strong enough to kill his grandfather for all the shit the lazy bastard had his father do to him. Yet the lazy bastard was his mid-term goal as he needed to find and fight more and more ultra-strong enemies so that one day he could be strong enough to kill a God. A God Vali wanted vengeance on badly. The God that his mother had been sacrificed to by his grandfather to teach him a lesson after she tried to heal him after an ultra bad beating. That God being the Original Morningstar. The thought made him clench his right hand into a fist.
Bikou winced again as Fay finally healed the bruise on his face before she moved to another wound on his neck. The descendant of Sun Wukong was not having a good time, and he almost regretted having sworn that oath with the rest of the family. The Lord of Iron was vastly superior in strength to him, and not the lazy noble he expected, as that was all earned strength. The taunting claim he had made about cleansing his family had been funny at the beginning, but throughout the fight, it became less so as he showed how brutal and vicious he could be. The heart-crushing finisher in particular stayed with him, and he shivered at the thought. Yet what the hell was he talking about? Irkou had been here in Japan doing a noble quest to prove he was worthy of returning to the mountain of flowers and fruit. Not supporting Kokabiel's people. Hadn't he? The doubt gnaws at him just as he feels it does for Sun Wukong, as his ancestor had gotten the story out of Irkou's soul in his afterlife. Yet the absolute certainty in his foe's voice was damning in its own way. Was that story a lie?
That question lingered for the prince, but before he could poke Sun Wukong, the doors to the building opened. And in came Azazel, along with Bariqiel and twenty fallen angels with eight wings, all of whom, except the two cadre leaders, were in armor and almost immediately made light weapons. That shocked Le Fay out of healing Bikou as she and Arthur's blue eyes stared at the group while Sha got her staff out.
Vali locked eyes with Azazel, who was looking at him with disappointment and sadness. True sadness as his violet eyes studied Vali keenly before he saw something and sighed.
"So it was you."
That voice made Vali micro flinch before he put on his cocksure grin.
"Was me? What are you talking about, Pops? I have been…"
Bariqiel summoned a light spear that crackled with holy lightning as his nine wings unfolded.
"Don't play dumb, Vali. You know exactly what you did."
The fallen behind them formed a shield wall as their wings unfurled as well. Le Fay and Arthur completely froze, eyes wide as Arthur moved his hand to Caliburn. Vali got ready to try something again when Azazel sighed again, looking even older than he had before.
"I thought, given your mom's past, you would never…"
Vali narrowed his eyes and got ready to snap back, but was interrupted by Arthur, who came up to Vali's side.
"What is going on, Governor-General?"
Azazel looked at Arthur, then the rest of Team Vali, before he straightened up, and the kind of him they all knew disappeared as the Governor-General appeared.
"What is going on is that Vali kidnapped two regular humans to draw Heir
Astaroth and his contract magician in the Red Dragon Emperor into a fight. And possibly led several remnants of Kokabiel's cadre here to cause another incident with the Astaroth that almost stopped the peace conference from happening yesterday."
The accusation landed before a second of dead silence happened. Then
Le Fay gasped in horror as she looked at Vali, then Bikou's battered form, as
events from the last week she had dismissed clicked together. Her green healing
spell ended as her blue eyes widened with fear, betrayal, and disgust, and she slowly
backed away from Bikou and Sha. Arthur was doing the same to Vali, his blue
eyes glaring at Vali behind his spectacles, demanding that he deny or confirm
it. Vali said nothing, betting that he was the strongest gear user in Grigori
and that he was Azazel's prized pet project. He wouldn't really do anything
about this, just like every other time Vali had overstepped the line. However,
his bet and the silence this time seemed to work against him, and the pain in
his hand returned. The twitch it made him do made Azazel narrow his eyes, and
his twelve void black wings extended as he made a black light spear and drew a
golden dagger.
"Vali, everyone else. Surrender. If you didn't do that second one, I will only make you..."
Azazel was cut off by the sound of scale mail popping into existence as Vali extended his dragon wings and Sha flicked her staff, summoning two water
spirits. They both grew into the size of a half ogre, and that made the fallen
behind Azazel get ready to charge before Vali snarled.
"I needed that fight, and you know why."
The confession made Le Fay and especially Arthur gasp. Arthur had joined Team Vali to find the perfect foe for him to test Caliburn against. Not this. He and Le Fay backed further away from Vali, Bikou, and Sha. Azazel's violet eyes narrowed.
"I know, but there are other vastly better ways to get the same result. I thought I raised you better than this, Vali."
Vali sneered at Azazel, hiding the hurt that those words brought him. The other man had been extremely good to him, but he needed the fight and all the rematches he had planned with the two of them.
"You are making a mistake. I am the strongest White Dragon Emperor ever."
It was Azazel's turn to look hurt.
"You are. And that's why I must do this. I'm sorry, Vali."
Azazel's feathers sharpened to knives ready to fly, and it was then that Sha jabbed her staff at Azazel, and his allies snarled.
"Attack!"
Her word sent the two ogre water spirits forward in a fury towards
Azazel, making Le Fay and Arthur get the hell out of dodge by ducking into
cover as the fallen went after the water spirits, jabbing spears and throwing
feathers into them. Vali, however, seeing the odds were against them, and with
two against twenty-four, Vali made a choice.
He sprang back towards Sha and Bikou, then scooped both up, extended
his dragon and six devil wings, and sprang up into the air. Slamming up through
the bar roof and climbing into the evening sky before he, with Albion's aid,
speeds off from Kuoh. Wood rained down on the front of the bar, and Azazel
cursed himself for not just throwing a gear suppression binder on Vali. He had
in his heart of hearts hoped he could convince his adopted son to surrender
peacefully. However, that was the past, just like the two water spirits were,
as both went down under the jabs of spears and knives of feathers, becoming
small puddles of water.
There was silence in the bar for a few moments. Before Le Fay poked
her head up from behind a booth, her witch hat's point flopped over her right
eye. That was followed a second later by Arthur, who looked out at the
destruction. Seeing them both in a state of shock, Azazel sighed and got ready
for a long night.
The sound of heels clicking on metal echoed as Janila walked down the
halls of the base of the Infinity Dragon. She had many feelings about her
recent mission. The retainer of Agrat Leviathan couldn't believe what she had
seen. His resisting six snakes from the Infinity Dragon was something she never
thought possible. Yet that amazement at that fact faded as Janila remembered
the overwhelming pressure and darkness in that cell as he stared at the snakes.
What she had felt from him was something she never wanted to experience again,
as the aura there had been the worst thing she had ever felt in her three
hundred years of life.
Remembering that presence made her shiver again, and Janila prayed to
the Morningstar, hoping beyond hope that they had not just awakened a very
well-hidden monster. Her thoughts of the encounter were broken when she arrived
at the door to the dragon's lair, knocked, and then opened the door.
Inside was Ophis on her throne, and her Mistress standing to the right
holding a report, though she looked exhausted. Agrat had been explaining
something to Ophis, and the two looked up from the scroll to the door. Ophis
remained blank-faced but had stood up straighter, seeing Janila. The Infinity
Dragon made a gesture to come forward. Ophis, in her normal emotionless voice,
finally asked.
"He has finally joined us?"
Janila withdrew the orb and then dropped it on the floor before it clunked
and broke. Agrat and Ophis looked at the broken orb with different looks. Agrat
had a now smug face that hid her worry, while Ophis was in complete and utter
shock. She broke her emotionless face as she looked at the six snakes crawling
back into her form. As they reintegrate into Ophis Agrat eyes the glass.
"I told you he didn't want easy power or power in general. He wants something else."
Ophis kept her shocked face as Agrat started back on where she had
left off, as Janila stood at her Mistress's side.
After the briefing was done, ten minutes later, Agrat and Janila were whispering, leaving the still silent Ophis alone. Ophis finally broke from the shock, looking at the broken glass that had held her snakes. Now her curiosity was truly piqued in a way nothing had ever been for her before. What did he want that wasn't power? In all her time of existing, she had seen that unshakeable truth play out over and over and over again. All mortals wanted more and more of that as they grew stronger, so why didn't he? That pondering of this paradox this time did block out all the noise in the base for her before she shook her head. She must offer more.
Inside her cave, the traveler's eyes opened slightly. Then they relaxed slightly, though it wasn't much. He had passed the first test and resisted it. Yet that wasn't enough as the line was still split in half. She would move closer and then wait for the next test.