Disclaimer : I own nothing.
Chapter 20 : Angels, Devils and everything in between.
- Shin –
I could see my shadow clone facing Jibril.
Both observing each other without taking any steps. I seriously wish I had a Rinnegan or something to control my clone at times like these.
Note to self – Pluck a pair of Rinnegan/Rinnesharingan when we go to the Naruto world.
"I take it that you are the one that summoned me?" said the crazy Flügel breaking the silence.
"I did. You don't seem surprised by this?" answered my clone.
"The existence of summoning magic is not a new thing for us. It is however surprising that you could summon someone like me and keep me here without showing any drain on yourself. Even more surprising because I can hardly feel any magic power from you at all. Are you somehow hiding your real power." She questions with eyes filled with interest.
"This is a different world and I am indeed hiding a part of my magic. I was offered help by a deity of sorts to summon you." The clone keeps the conversation going between them.
I cast a quick Observe to check her power level. The Race benefits will no doubt help her but I can still get an average idea about her power.
Name : Jibril
Title : The Strongest of the Flügel
Level : 123
Rank : Champion
Race : Flügel
Affection : 20.
Obedience : 0.
Fuck. She is stronger than Serafall. Then again she is technically an angel created by a God and the strongest one at that so it is not much of a surprise that she is at least this strong.
"So, what is it that you wish from me? And why should I give you that. Even if you are hiding your power, I can tell that you are not as strong as me. Why should I not just kill you right now and take whatever you have to offer me?" she asks in a condescending tone of voice.
I felt Sakuya's magic fluctuate a little at her words.
Turning towards Merlin I speak, "You see what I was talking about?"
"She is indeed interesting." she replies while a smile of mirth sneaks its way on her lips.
Taking my attention back to the conversation inside the Perfect Cube, I focus on the words being said.
"There might be a few problems with that. First, this world is not your own world so there are no elementals in this world. The magic you are feeling inside your spirit circuits is provided by me. Second, this is an isolated temporary dimension which was created only to have this conversation. If you do try anything against my wishes, the first thing that will happen will be you losing your magic and second will be you getting tossed back to your own world without being able to do anything to me. Even if you do try self detonation or any such things, this dimension has nothing of worth to destroy. Last but not the least, I am just an energy clone. My real self is back there." He points to me outside the Perfect Cube and I wave a hand in reply.
She checks her magic and the presence of elementals. I am not sure if I can really stop her mana supply but the fact about the elementals is quite true.
Hey, don't look at me like that. I am a Gamer and Gamer's cheat.
"Yes. It is true that I cannot sense the presence of any elementals in this world. The fact that I can even use magic without the elementals powering it is fascinating. People without spirit circuits in my world couldn't exist. If they did, they would have been considered dead. Yet, still I am here and using magic without the help of the elementals. That alone is fascinating enough for me to hear you out." she answers while trying simple spells and looking at them in fascination. It's like a child getting a new toy to play with.
"I want your help. Your assistance in my plans. In return I will offer you the knowledge from this world. I also have the ability to summon people from other worlds and eventually go to those worlds myself so I can offer you the knowledge from those worlds as well. Last but not the least, fighting and killing in this world is not prohibited. You will get to fight to your heart's content with strong beings." My clone lay down my offer in front of her. She looks at me as if amused by my offer.
Her eyes brighten at the mention of the knowledge and then when I mentioned fighting, her eyes gained a shade that I am becoming familiar with.
"What exactly are your plans in this world that you would require my help?" she asked looking for more information.
"I have gotten involved in some things that have drawn the attention of beings that I should have avoided drawing the attention of. I am pretty certain that they will be making contact with me soon enough. These beings can range anywhere between as strong as you to as strong as The Old Deus of your world. I need a team strong enough to deter them from attacking me."
"The Old Deus! What exactly did you do to anger them." she asks in surprise.
"I started playing a Game." I give her the most appropriate answer I could think of.
"A Game?... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, you sir are a fool. Not the first one I have seen, more interesting definitely but a fool nonetheless." Here her tone changed from her previous condescending to purely mocking one. "And what makes you think that you stand a chance against beings like the Old Deus, let alone against someone like my creator. I have seen one such game already to know how things like these end. What would even be the point of following you in the hopeless game that you are playing."
If only you knew.
I couldn't tell her about the Game so I just smiled and decided to do what I do the best.
Bullshit.
I answered with a smile, "Where is the fun in only playing Games that we know we will win?"
Even if I discount the fact that Sakuya met my future self who is something uber-strong already, I was not taking it easy about my time right now.
Any bit of negligence can be fatal in such Games.
It was at this moment that the already dark sky of the ID got darker and time seemed to freeze around us.
"HAHAHAHAHA Oh yes. This is the best. Spoken like a True Gamer." came a voice from behind me as the perfect cube got dispelled as well as my clone.
The voice continued as I turned back. "I came here to see what took one of the beings of my world so I followed the magic. But to think it was a fellow lover of games. This is really fun. Tell me do you like Games." asked a young boy in pink clothes and a star mark on his cheeks.
Observe.
Tet
One True God, Former God of Games.
Level : ?
Rank : Divine Champion.
Race : God(Old Deus).
Gamer's Mind worked full power in suppressing my panic and helping me avoid making a mess of the situation.
"Yes. I do. Tet, I presume." I asked politely.
"Why ask when you already know." He smiled at me.
So he can detect Observe.
More like he can detect your emotions. My power is still above his and beings of his level.
Then why the fuck is he in the ID created from your power.
Would you rather have him outside the ID?
I couldn't help but agree at this. It would have been a mess if he had appeared outside the ID. No, mess is not a strong enough word.
"I can't help but be curious at this, how did you get past Great Red in the Dimensional Gap?" I asked a bit intrigued.
"HAHA yes, that red one was annoying but I challenged him to a game of flying stunts. I barely won that one but he got one back. I am already happy with that game so this journey was already worth it. I think we could be great buddies."
Great Red and Tet?
The fuck is this world coming to.
Ophis, better plan to get earmuffs soon.
"Anyways, let's leave that for now. I heard what you were saying to the Flügel and couldn't help but be attracted to it. You are challenging beings far above your power. I remember Riku doing the same. He got pretty close. You however have a better chance at that. I sense the power of Greater Beings on you, one of whom is similar to my own. So tell me Shin Kageyami," he spreads his hands with a wide smile on his face, "Will you play a game with me?" he asked me with excitement.
Quest Received
[A Game with Gods]
You are challenged to a Game by the God of Games, Tet. You cannot give up your pride as a Gamer and reject this offer. Show everyone no matter man of God, the Gamer will keep playing the game.
The Game Must Go On.
Objective : Play and Game against the God of Games and impress him.
Rewards : ?,?,?,?,?.
Failure : ?,?,?.
Accept : Yes/I do.
Yes.
Oh please fuck off. Can't a guy have his rest for a while?
"I am already involved in a lot of bullshit here, but when I am done with this, I will give you a game worth remembering. If only you can wait for me." I gave him the most polite answer I could think of.
"HAHAHAHAHA, sure. I know you are in a big mess here. Show me how you play this game. I will be watching." he answered in an excited tone.
Great, now I have another voyeur that I have to think about.
"Very well then, Until we meet again and play a game worth remembering. ASHENTE." and with that he disappeared and the world around us returned to normal again.
I couldn't help but let out a breath that I didn't even know I was holding. This is getting messed up.
"T-that was Tet, The One True God." said a very stunned Jibril.
"He was Tet alright."
"Master, are you unhurt?" Sakuya came to my side to check up on my body.
"I am alright Sakuya. Tet is not the kind to resort to unnecessary violence. He is more likely to trap me in a game and see me play around….forever."
"How is that any different?" asked a confused Merlin after getting over her shock and awe.
"If it is a game, then it can be won. A game that cannot be won is nothing less than sacrilege to the God of Games." I explained my thoughts about Tet.
"Do you really think you can win against Tet?" asked Jibril in a much more subdued tone.
"I know that you have the example of Riku against me but I have one thing that he didn't have. Will you believe me if I told you that around two months ago I was only a little stronger than the average Imanity and right now I can fight the weakest of your kind on my own. In time I do believe that I can become strong enough to face the challenges that can and will come my way. But for that I need a team of strong and loyal followers who will walk this path with me. Tell me Jirbil, The Strongest of the Flügel, will you join me on my journey?"
+20 Affection with Jibril(40/100) for being foolish and yet brave enough to challenge the One True God.
+100 Obedience with Jibril(100/100) for being a master worthy enough to be followed.
"Oh, my dear departed Master, Artosh, the one who created us. At last I have achieved our long held dream of finding someone worthy to serve as our new Master. Someone who has the courage to challenge foes beyond his reach and the capability to back his claim up. My Master, My lord, I Jibril, member of the 18 wings of the Exceed, Rank 6, Flugel, offer everything I have to you. I will find no greater pleasure than carrying out your will." Her voice full of dedication. I didn't need the Obedience score to tell me how dedicated she is to me.
If I didn't want to keep up my cool appearance right now and was not mentally drained after talking to Jibril and then Tet, I would have been dancing like a madman right about now.
I have more important things to do right now, like for example add her into my peerage.
"I am currently part of a race called Devils. Although I can freely change my race depending on some conditions, they are the ones who are supporting me right now. There is also the fact that my fiancé is a Devil and the younger sister of one of the four Devil Kings. This world has many races and there are creations of other gods as well. One of them look very similar to you and are called Angels. They have similar wings as yours except without spirit circuits. Then there are Fallen Angels who have fallen due to sins and had their wings become black. These two races are normally the enemies of the Devil race right now. They have fought a war before where a major part of their race were destroyed, the Angels lost their God while the Devils lost their original Kings. To repopulate their race again, one of the new Devil Kings, Satan Beelzebub invented evil pieces to reincarnate other races as Devils. These evil pieces are given to High Ranking devils who make their own teams and compete in Rating Games to increase their standing in Devil society." I took a deep breath to collect myself again.
"So I presume that you want me to become a member of your team using these evil pieces."
"Yes."
"Very well, if that is what it will take for me to serve you then so be it."
"I will give you the books on the history of this world and you can share the rest of my book collection with Merlin. The evil pieces are based on the game of Chess just like Disboard and each piece has a specific power. Merlin is my Bishop which gives her increased magic capabilities and Sakuya is my Knight which gives her increased speed. Similarly Rook gives an increased strength and defence and Queen gives an overall increase in all attributes. I want you to become my Rook piece because you have great defensive spells."
She after all stopped a nuke instantly with her defensive barriers and having a magic defensive rook will be good. I cannot see her as a Queen. Powerwise yes, personality wise and considering that the Queen has to take command of the Peerage in the absence of the the King, she is absolutely unsuited for the job.
I took out my mutated Rook piece and inserted it into her chest and after a moment twelve devil wings burst out of her back.
Her physical stats especially STR and END increased a bit too.
"My creator gave me a pair of wings to wield my powers and now my new master has also given me new wings to wield new powers. I will not let you down My Lord." She kneels in front of me.
It is a bit awkward to be on the receiving end of such awe from someone who was mocking you less than an hour ago. It is not bad but just something that I am not used to right now.
"Merlin, can you make something for Jibril to hide her wings and halo? It will cause some problems for us if they are revealed outside." Turning towards Jibril I explain, "This world has many dimensions and general Humanity, are not knowledgeable about this world's supernatural species. Not to mention that the Angels who have white wings like you are a hostile race in general to us. We are under ceasefire right now but that doesn't make them friendly, just someone we cannot attack without good reason."
"I will think of something to deal with them, in the meantime you can give her your disguise artifact to change her appearance and hide her wings and halo." Merlin replies to me.
"That's a good idea." I took out the Gaea Foundation and gave it to Jibril. "This is something that I have made which lets us change our appearance to anything, from a tiny insect to a giant dragon. You can use this to hide your wings and halo when outside our home until I can explain them to the Devil Kings."
"Sure Master. This is something you have made….for me." She silently mutters the last part then takes it and gets lost in her thoughts.
+20 Affection with Jibril(60/100) for giving her a gift.
Perk Gained
[Guardian Angel]
Angels of all sorts are inevitably attracted to you.
Increased Affection, Reputation and Obedience with Angels of all kinds.
That was fucking fast.
"Jibril, the people in my world generally don't know about the existence of other worlds let alone have the ability to summon others. I am an exception so keep this fact to yourself. Only a few people know this about me and I would like it to stay that way."
"I understand My Master."
"I am really tired right now. I think I will get some rest for now. ID escape."
We were back in our house the next moment.
"Sakuya please show Jibril her room. I will introduce her to everyone tomorrow." I said before going back towards my room.
Everyone got a break from ID grinding today, well except me.
Now I can breathe easily because I too have someone whom people will think twice before attacking. Now to think of how to explain this to the Satans.
I can only imagine the mess her halo and wings would cause in the church and Heaven faction. To be honest I wouldn't have summoned her if I had any other options. I have been piling up the Gacha tokens from all the grinding to use at once. Even though the drop rates for other people's kills get low, it can still amount to a decent bunch when I let them pile up.
I currently have 12 Gacha Tokens and am planning to wait till Rias and her entire peerage reach the level of 8 Winged Devils.
The materials and ingredients in the gacha makes the good drops become almost insignificant.
I have to find a source of ingredients as well. Depending entirely on ID drops is not going to cut it very soon. I have to find a constant source of supplies.
I wonder if any of the other Pillars trade in ingredients. Other factions maybe?
It is already past dinner time now. The grind and summoning took longer than I expected.
Another reason for spending more time inside the ID is to avoid Akeno. Keep avoiding her until she is desperate and then strike at the perfect instant.
With that thought in mind, I went to my room for the night.
Maybe there are still some snacks in my inventory.
- Next Day –
Rias was already up today because she needed to take care of some matters regarding the territory. That and she apparently got a call from Fleur.
I didn't even know that they were in contact after that meeting.
"Good Morning Shin. You were training last night?" asked Rias as she was getting ready.
I rubbed my eyes as I woke up to the sight of Rias in red lingerie. Upon seeing me she came up to me and brushed her lips against mine in a soft kiss.
"Yes, we were testing Merlin's abilities. Easy to say that I have an insanely skilled magician in my peerage right now. I will have to put Ingvild in the pawn slot because I just couldn't think of any other piece for Merlin other than a Bishop. Her inherent magic is complete cheating. Like Longinus Class cheating. I have heard of the longinus smasher, the strongest attack from the Juggernaut Drive of the Boosted Gear and she can throw attacks like those casually. Obviously some preparation is needed but it is negligible. I won the lottery this time."
"She is that strong?" Rias asked, surprised.
"Strong is a relative word for her. In terms of simple power, she is a 10 Winged Devil but imagine her as a 10 Winged Devil with a Boosted Gear of her own. Enough to say she is currently the second strongest member of my peerage."
"Congratulations. I am really happy for you. But how strong are you then if you are even stronger than her?" she asked, taking a seat near me.
"I am not the strongest member of my peerage. If anything I am only stronger than Morgiana and Meredith. I could barely match Sakuya before she got her artifact. In a straight fight, I am afraid that I will be defeated by her."
"Sakuya is really strong. I wonder how long it will take for Gasper to control his power. Time stopping is absolutely unfair. It is no wonder that she is the strongest member of your peerage."
It is so true. Time Magic is absolutely BS.
"While Time Magic is actually BS to the level that people call out for nerfs, Sakuya is not the strongest member of my peerage either. She is almost tied with Merlin for second place. Merlin knows some time magic too and can barely escape from Sakuya's control. Not completely but enough for them to continue the stalemate for a long time. I was talking about my newly summoned Rook. I summoned her last night. She is by far the strongest member of my peerage so much so that the three of us will have to fight her together to have a good chance of winning. In terms of power she is stronger than Serafall but weaker than Ajuka and your brother by a bit."
"You summoned another servant yesterday?" Rias asked in an incredulous tone of voice. "One stronger than Lady Serafall? Just what kind of person is she?" she asks quickly.
"She is a God-Killing Angel made by the strongest War God of a different world whose strength would easily match that of Big G. She is his strongest creation so it is obvious that she is that strong. She is also a bit of a murderhobo, a pervert and absolutely fanatically loyal to the one she swears her loyalty to which in this case is me. She is well versed in many types of magic as well."
I quietly explained the menace of an existence that is Jibril.
"Murderhobo? Pervert? So she is a Fallen Angel?" she hesitated here a bit, probably thinking about Akeno. Yeah, gotta take care of that soon.
"Not exactly. She is not like Big G's creations. In her world she comes from a race called the Flügel. They have much lower numbers compared to angels but each of them is strong, minimum Ultimate Class strong. Jibril is the strongest among her entire race. They only have one pair of white wings and they don't have a system of falling. Artosh was not as much of a stickler for rules as Big G here and people wonder where Devils get their stubbornness and vindictiveness from. I mean who makes it a pseudo law in a world using a system that an entire race gets hurt by just saying his name. That is like the height of pettiness if I have ever seen any. Anyways, Artosh was more of a battle maniac being the God of War and such. He didn't have that problem. Jibril has fought in a world war of all the races in her world and is extremely skilled in various aspects of fighting, battles and wars."
I take a breath to collect myself again.
"Anyways, after the war was over, the world was forced into a state of peace by Tet, The God of Games of that World who became the One True God and basically changed the will of the entire world to stop any fighting. If anyone wants to solve any dispute, they have to play games against each other and follow the ten commandments that he had set. This caused Jibril to stop fighting and collect knowledge over the long period of time. She is extremely knowledgeable in many subjects and has developed a bit of a collector's fetish."
I gave her some time to understand everything that was said.
"She is….quite a character." Rias says a bit unsure.
The biggest understatement ever.
"That she sure is. Now the problem is that while her white wings….are still white. She has grown 12 devil wings apart from those and she has a halo over her head though Flügels have no holy power. She can use Light Magic probably from her experience and knowledge. I need to talk to Serafall before this causes any problems."
"Yes, you should. I will cancel my appointment and go with you." she says getting up as I rise myself to get ready for the day.
"You have an appointment?"
"Yes. I need to submit the report for this month's territory management and I have an appointment with Fleur later. She has decided to give me her answer.I will ask Sona to go over to the meeting for the territory alone this time as a favour to me."
They do have to work for the territory.
"No it is actually fine. I think you should take care of your work first. I will talk to Serafall myself. I need to get the books for Space Magic and discuss some other things with her as well. Do you want me to accompany you to Fleur today?" I asked her a bit concerned.
"Not really. I need to start doing my work more seriously. I know you are working so hard for us, I cannot skip my part now, can I?" she smiles at me.
Yup, she has come a long way.
"Just remember that if you have even a slight problem, call me. Don't let something like I would be disappointed or any such thoughts stop you. Remember what I told you before, we are in this together so when you need any help, call for me." I say seriously and get a nod and smile in return.
"We still have to get our breakfast Shin. I missed dinner with you last night, I am not going to miss this too." she said wordlessly asking me to get ready faster.
We went down as soon as we got ready but the scene I saw before my eyes made my heart sink.
The words that I heard made my heart sink even deeper.
"….and then she had the gall to pretend that she didn't know anything. How can she take the top place in the Underworld's sexiest devil ratings if she didn't even send her pictures?, I got second place in the polls and she isn't even a devil. Tell me Jibril-chan, do you think that me Miracle Levi-tan is not as cute as her? That is so unfair. I am telling you, she is always plotting against me."
"Ara that does seem suspicious, but then again I would expect my copycat to have some intelligence. It is a good tactic to establish fame amongst the enemy camp in a positive way. It can help one to sway their feelings and reduce their morale during war times. It can also help one in establishing spies in the enemy camp. This is a serious issue that needs to be taken care of. If only we could ignore this pesky ceasefire, I would have attacked this heaven place myself but now we have to take other measures to take care of this."
"Right Right. I also wanted to declare a war on heaven when I saw the results of the polls. You understand me so well Jibril-chan. Stupid Ajuka and Lazybumm Falbium don't understand it at all….Ne Ne, I have a plan, will you help me?"
"If it is within my capabilities and my Master allows me to, I will help."
"We have to win this war with cuteness. Magical girls won't be defeated by pesky copycat angels. I will make a team of Magical Girls for my next show. Will you join me to win the hearts of the people again and save them from being seduced by the angels. So-tan, you will help Onee-sama won't you, you will won't you?"
"No."
"Ahh, So-tan is so cruel."
And that was the scene we walked into. Jibril was sitting there with her wings (Flügel wings) out and looking at a pink clad, hyperactive Serafall clinging to a now dead-eyed zombie looking Sona. A very amused Merlin sitting beside them looking at the interaction with an amused look. Looking at me, she turned in my direction and walked up to me.
"Master, I wish to become this Magical Girl that I have heard about to fight off a copycat who is using my name alibet in a different language to lead people astray. I need to put a stop to this as soon as possible for me and if that is not possible, please give me orders to attack Heaven at the earliest possible time."
The only thing that I could think of at this moment was…. 'Oh my goodness, what have I done?'
The look Sona was giving me was as if daring me to agree to it and face the consequences.
Somehow, I was not brave enough.
"What exactly is going on here?" I asked while suppressing the urge to face palm.
"We are planning a counterattack tactic against someone who is using a name which means Jibril and trying to gain popularity in the devil camp. I have suspicions that this person is trying to affect the morale of our troops. This needs to be nipped in the bud." Jibril answers with a face as if expecting me to pat her head and praise her for the unbelievable threat assessment. Unbelievable threat assessment is quite right because I am seriously having trouble trying to believe the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.
I still control my aching head and dare to ask, "And you are planning to do this by either attacking Heaven and killing Archangel Gabriel, if the identity of the person that I am guessing is correct or by doing Magical Girl shows in the underworld with Serafall to bring the public back to our side."
Jibril's smile brightens up. "As expected of Master. I personally wanted to attack Heaven and Serafall wanted that to but her sister stopped her saying something about a ceasefire. Sakuya also said that it will not be a good idea and it will inconvenience you so we decided on the Magical Girl Plan."
Yup, this is my new life now.
Nope, I don't have enough mental strength for this right now. I have other things to do today.
"As long as you don't kill or injure anything or anyone, you can participate in the Magical Girl Shows."
"Thank you very much master. If possible I will require a Magical Wand to become a Magical Girl."
Oh, kill me already. Just how long did she talk to Serafall to be this far down the path already.
"Yeah, sure. You know what, hang on a moment, let me gift you something."
Create Blueprint
A bit of my MP was drained into creating something that I never thought I would be making today.
Taking out some elemental stones and some metals from my inventory, I use Create Artifact to make the item in the blueprint.
In the resulting flash of light, the materials combine and a Magical Girl Wand is left in my hand. An epic grade wand.
Now, people will be wondering why I even wasted my time on something like this, the answer is to prevent Serafall from giving her something even more ridiculous when I am not looking and cause problems later on.
+10 Affection with Jibril(70/100) for giving her a gift and supporting her.
Whatever keeps her from going murderhobo on the Vatican.
It is like choosing the lesser of two evils.
"Thank you very much Master."
"Yes. Well let me introduce you to everyone here. I can see that you already met Serafall and Sona. The one with me is Rias, my fiancé. The ones at the table are Meredith, Morgiana, Akeno, Koneko, Gasper, Hermione and Luna. Meredith and Morgiana are my Bishop and Pawn while the others are Rias' Queen, Rook, Bishop and Pawn. Luna is a close friend of mine." Turning towards Serafall and Sona, I continued, "I was going to call you today anyways. As you can see I have new additions to my peerage and one of them has a certain circumstance. I was hoping to discuss what should be done for this."
"I have already met Jibril-chan. She has already become my best friend. I had come to give you the books you wanted on Space Magic and tell you that we have to meet Azazel today. It was something about the payment of the deal that you two made. So-tan and Rias-chan will go submit the reports of the territory management and you are the only King in the territory apart from them who can represent the devil side along with me. We need to go to the meeting and discuss a few things. Your peerage members can come with us if you want."
So Azazel already got the Vritra type Sacred Gears ready. That was fast but considering that he may already have them, it is not as much of a surprise.
"Sure. Let's eat something and I can tell you about Jibril's situation."
"I have heard that you got a way to summon her from somewhere. It was a surprise. You should tell me things like these before doing it. The fact that someone like her exists is already a big slap to Heaven's face and even if they don't attack her or you directly, they will not take her presence in a good way either. I would advise that she hides her wings until they are absolutely needed. It is the simplest way to avoid any problems. Sirzechs and I have been talking with the leaders of the Grigori and Heaven regarding a Peace Treaty. They will not push for anything outrageous."
"It was a surprise for me too. I was actually a bit unnerved regarding the presence of Azazel here. If Kokabiel attacked later or someone else for that matter, I didn't want to get caught off guard so I chose to summon her sooner than I was initially planning. This is one of my rewards for uniting the three artifacts. Some summons which are completely random. Jibril was a lucky find. I have no idea who I might summon next, but I will take precautions. At Least with my new Bishop and Jibril with me now, I can fend off an attack until help arrives."
I smile at her.
"That was….a wise decision. I can understand your troubles. Can you summon more?" she asked, trying to get any information if possible.
"I have no idea how many more. It is completely random. It can be one more or 10 more. This was one of the reasons that I was not planning to use it any time soon. I guess I will have to up my training soon."
"Yes, you should. The underworld is still in a bit of a political turmoil. People are playing games in the background and we don't want you to get stuck between them so it is better that you stay here. No other devil will dare to come here without permission as this is an extremely high-profile area."
"I will see what I can do."
"On the other hand, Ajuka has confirmed the effects of the potions that you sent. We were wondering how fast you can make them and how many at a time?" she asked, changing the topic.
I guess having a pseudo angel was not too much of a deal for them if it means strengthening the devil side as a result of the deal.
"If you are thinking about Jibril being a devil now is an issue, forget it. Sirzechs has Surtr, the second in his peerage and also Qilin. If they join us by their own will, then the factions cannot do anything against it."
That explains a lot.
"It takes a heavy weight off my mind. I can make the potions quite quickly if I have some practice and enough materials."
"I know this is personal but do you think anyone else could make the potions? If what I saw of your method of making artifacts is an example, then I have doubts about it."
Competition. No Thank You.
"I don't think so either."
"We will later discuss the details of the ingredients that you will need to make the potions. For now, let's take care of the meeting with Azazel."
"Okay."
And with that said, we teleported to the location of the meeting.
- Scene Change –
Which was…. Kuoh Academy. Why am I not surprised?
This school is cursed.
I have no other explanation for why all the bullshit in this world is centered around this place.
I was followed by my entire peerage while Serafall led the way.
The Fallen Angels were represented by Azazel and Vali who came as his body guard along with another person that I didn't expect to be here.
She had blonde hair, green eyes and a shy demeanor which looked completely out of place.
"Oh. Serafall is already here." I heard Azazel as he acknowledged us.
"Hello Azazel. It seems that you did your work this time for a change thankfully. I dread to think what would have happened if this matter had gone through." Serafall says, taking her seat.
I take a seat beside her while my peerage stands behind me.
"Yes, this matter almost got out of hand. I knew Kokabiel was discontent with the end of the war but I hadn't expected him to run on this path. It is like the Satanael mess all over." for once Azazel was serious and ….tired.
I could understand that somehow. When someone has to take care of idiots for who knows how long, they are bound to be tired.
"What is being done to the people involved in this incident. Although due to Shin's intervention, the matter did not escalate much but it is still not a small matter where he can walk away scott free." Serafall questioned Azazel.
Letting out a sigh, he gave us an overview of the situation. "The ones involved in the incident were all apprehended but it wouldn't have mattered because three of them didn't know anything at all. While it is true that I sent them here, it was only because they were that weak. They couldn't have caused any problems with the strength of the devils in this territory. I didn't expect this situation at all. Donhaseek changing the orders combined with the current threat assessment of Shin led them to believe that I changed the orders I gave."
I could feel Morgiana and Sakuya straighten up a little when my threat assessment was mentioned. Meredith was surprised for a moment but she took her position too while Merlin and Jibril only had a simple smile on their faces. Not even a slight muscle twitch for the last two of them.
"I can imagine other factions assessing Shin as a threat which was the sole reason why I sent them here. My thoughts were that no one would dare to cause problems here in fear of starting a Great War…." Serafall's sentence was continued by Azazel.
"There are always some idiots who are not content with living peacefully. Unfortunately Kokabiel denied all involvement in this incident. We couldn't apprehend him based on the statement of Dohnaseek alone. I did run an investigation on those close to Koakabiel even against his resistance to flush out any other information. I found out the identity of some of the other traitors in my faction as well but still not enough to arrest Kokabiel based on that alone." Azazel completed with another sigh.
This was the truth of the matter that a cadre couldn't be arrested based on the statement of a two winged fallen. It was logical too and that was one of the reasons why we couldn't complain despite being frustrated about it.
We discussed the matters about the punishment for the involved Fallens and the measures that were being taken to keep incidents like this from happening again.
Then came the matter of the compensation. Serafall showed why she was incharge of the Devils office of Foreign Affairs.
If she had not been a Satan, I would have been tempted to hire her for her bargaining skills alone.
Finally it was the time for my rewards.
"I really have to thank you for this matter Shin. You prevented things from getting really messy here. Here are the rewards that I had promised. The three pieces of Vritra Type sacred gears. I assume that you will try to combine them into one sacred gear?" he asks slightly entering his mad scientist mode.
I could sense Merlin staring at the artifacts with concentration as well.
Serafall turned her head towards me as if wanting to know what was going on.
"Yes, that is the plan. I was hoping to see if this will result in something great because according to my estimates, the complete soul of a Dragon King, especially one of Vrita's level of strength and notoriety can result in a great artifact. If I am lucky then it might even reach lower levels of a Longinus."
"HAHAHAHA, I have the same idea which was why I have been collecting these pieces for a while now. The problem is that I can't find a solution for awakening the soul of Vritra. I am confident that the soul should be resilient enough to join together."
"I do have some plans for it though I cannot be sure if it will work until I test it out myself."
"Anyways, I have a favour to ask of you. I will make it worth your while." he asked, making me raise an eyebrow. "I want your help in taking care of Asia here. We found out that Kokabiel was planning to extract her sacred gear and kill her in the process. I did manage to rescue her because of the information that you extracted from Dohonaseek but I am afraid that many people in the Grigori will be after her life if I bring her there. I was hoping that you could take care of her." he finished not caring a single bit about the frosty aura of Serafall.
"What is the meaning of this Azazel? I was not informed of this." Serafall started to speak.
I could see Asia cower a little and observe showed that she is blaming herself for causing trouble…..again.
Just how much low self esteem does this girl have?
Here the leader of the faction she is a part of is basically giving her to me a member of an enemy faction and she is blaming herself that I am not accepting her. It is not that I don't want to accept her, in fact it is quite the opposite. I wanted her in my peerage.
"It is fine Serafall. I accept. She is not dangerous, trust me with this." I put a hand on Serafall's shoulder to reassure her. I turn to Azazel to continue, "I will agree but on the condition that she will not be used in any political move by the Fallen side again."
"Agreed." he agreed in an instant.
"Shin-kun, are you sure about this?" Serafall asked me.
"I am."
She released a breath.
"Okay."
I turned to the girl who was now looking at me with Legendary Rank puppy dog eyes and addressed her, "Welcome Asia. It is nice to have you among us."
+40 Affection with Asia Argento(50/100) for accepting her.
[Seeker of Forbidden Fruit]
Affection, Reputation and Obedience with nuns, priests and those of holy alignment increases easily.
I was not expecting this but she is really starved for affection.
A barely 17 or rather 16 year old girl who has been all but brainwashed to live for something and then thrown away. I expected her to have some trauma and need for acceptance but this is too high. I shudder to imagine what would have happened if Diodora had gotten his hands on her.
Ah, that reminds me of another problem that I need to think about.
Well, I will think about it when the time comes.
- Hades –
A figure covered in a dark cloak kneels down in front of the throne on which the God of the Dead was sitting, his mind wandering from one thought to another.
"My Lord, the investigators have returned with some news. I have the report with me, would you like to hear it?"
As if broken from his thoughts by a bat on his face, the figure snapped towards the keeling grim reaper in front of him and commanded, "Yes."
"The reports from England and other parts of Europe were negative. While Lady Death's presence was felt there, it was only momentarily and it was not enough to be tracked. The fact that we even felt the presence was a miracle in itself. We continued our investigation in other areas."
The figure on the throne shook his head at the foolishness of the grim reaper kneeling in front of him.
Miracle?
If someone of her caliber wanted to hide her presence, there was no way he or anyone in this world would have even felt her arrival the first time, let alone the second or third time after it.
She revealed her presence. She who doesn't get involved in the matters of the world, revealed her presence, there has to be a reason behind it.
"We later found out that her traces were discovered again in Asia where we directed our search. We have avoided India and China as instructed but we did send some agents to Japan and they discovered the source of the signal."
"What is it? What is the source of the signal and where is it?" he asked impatiently.
"It was Kuoh town. The place where the two Devil Heiresses and the little sisters of the Satans live with the new addition of Shin Kageyami, The Miracle Maker. We couldn't enter the town as it was being covered with many surveillance spells but we did manage to ascertain that the cause of the signal is present in that town."
"Those bats, always poking their noses where it doesn't belong." He couldn't help but shout.
Zeus would be a pain if he directly went against the bats or any of the three factions by himself and he couldn't afford to gather the attention of the other Death Gods right now.
"We heard something else that might interest you Lord Hades." said the grim reaper kneeling at his feet.
"Speak."
"We have heard rumors of Kokabiel planning to cause some damage to the town. A few days ago, a few Fallen Angels were tricked into attacking the people of the town. He wanted to cause a fight between them and use it as an issue to attack himself. It was caught and prevented earlier."
"Incompetent crows. They are no better than the bats. What became of the crows involved?"
"Only the four involved were captured and sent to Azazel. They resolved the situation peacefully. Though I have heard that Kokabiel managed to escape any blame for the incident and has since been collecting power to make some moves of his own. Stealing holy swords to involve the heavens too."
The gears in his head turned at this instant.
"If the three vermin are so eager to kill each other off, then who am I to deny them their wish? I might even lend a hand being a God of Death. Send help to Kokabiel for the attack. Keep our name out of this. If the heavens send angels to stop him, I will personally send a gift to him to face his enemies."
Either way, he will find out why Death is in this realm.
- Omake (The Games we play) –
"HAHAHAHA, I won this one." a deep and heavy voice echoed in the beautiful but equally deadly rainbow coloured space that was called the Dimensional Gap.
"Hehehehe, but I am still in the lead. You need to train your team more Red. I am not even using my best team yet." answered a childish sounding voice.
"WHAT, YOU WERE HOLDING BACK ON ME?" the deeper voice growled as gigantic red wings flapped through the nothingness of the void.
"Of course I was. Why would you think I would use my best pokemon against you when you just started playing? You think just beating the league is enough? Pokemon is not such a shallow game. As your team is right now, even a single one of my main team's members can wipe it out." answered the younger sounding voice of the two who revealed himself to be a kid with a pink cap and a star on his cheek. The One True God of Disboard and The Former God of Games, Tet was seen pouting.
"As if. My Dragonite will own the ass of any of your pokemon. Bring it."
Sighing again the smaller of the two started another game which ended in the way he had predicted.
….
….
….
….
"N-no way. My Dragonite. How? How did you win?"
"I have spent too much time on my Snorlax to get him his current stats. If you want to fight me, then you have to do what gamers do… grind."
"Wait for a while. I will get some other Dragons. Your team has pokemon that I haven't seen yet. Why is that?"
"Oh, that is because they are from different versions. Did you really think that you can make an amazing team like I have using only one version of the series?"
"ROAAAAAAR, Just wait for me Tet. I am going to make a team of my own. Grind them and beat you up. This is not over."
"HAHAHAHA I will be waiting for it." laughed the smaller God with excitement.
"Next week, we are playing flying stunts. Then I will show you how it's done." growled out the giant dragon.
"You always choose that." pouted the smaller God in mock anger.
A little distance from them, a third figure was watching this interaction with emotionless grey eyes.
"Now there are two of them. It is even noisier than before. Baka Red and Baka Tet. What is this game they are talking about? Do I have to ask someone?"
Looking at the empty bottle of chocolate milkshake in her hands, she decided to visit the smart devil that had helped her last time.
_x_x_
Beta Reader : LuluViBritania(FF.N, SB and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord)
Author's Note : Well the new chapter is here.
I plan to do one more chapter with a mini time skip and then dive into the Kokabiel arc. I have already mentioned it behind scenes a little.
So please be patient for a while.
Anyways, how did you like the new chapter? Did anyone guess the new arrival in the world?
Tet, is here. What troubles will he cause or rather what games will he play?
Somehow I couldn't resist the idea of Great Red having someone as a buddy. I mean everyone has Ophis as an adorable mascot loli but no one gives a damn about the cool dragon that chills out in the Dimensional Gap. I tried doing something new, hope that you guys will like it.
Serafall and Jibril as friends or rivals?
I had thought about this question for a long time but couldn't decide until I wrote the chapter down.
I thought it was better to have them become friends than casually wipe off a country or two in their rivalry. Serafall might even hold back but Jibril, I have no such delusions about her. She will probably say it was their own fault that they were there during the fight and fly away.
Another part that many people have asked me was why I changed Ingvild's position as the bishop and took Merlin instead.
Shin is not a Rating Game focused guy. He will have Rating Games in the future. One or two more at the very least but still the fact that pawns can be promoted anywhere that the King decides as the enemy territory is utterly broken outside the Rating Game stadium.
It basically makes the pawn piece a substitute Queen piece and I will be treating them as such.
If anyone becomes a pawn it will be with the motivation to promote them in fights outside the Rating Games and not just a Rating Game focused build up.
Again, I got some messages that said that I was focusing too much on Rias and that it is becoming annoying.
I will say this once more, I have my reasons for doing so.
As I have been saying from the very start that I want her to be something great in this fic who can stand beside Shin without slowing him down.
I have plans for her and this much build up was necessary because I feel that just hyping up her affection to high level without progressing their relationship will make her a two dimensional character and that the original arc that I have planned out won't be good enough if I skip this part.
This is as much of developing Shin's side of relationship as it is with Rias' side of the relationship.
There will be events which will be determined a lot by this fact.
I think that this is enough teasers for now.
Enjoy the new chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.