《Entering The World Of High School DxD》 Chapter 1 - Helping People Without Knowing and Getting Benefits for it It was dark and boring when I woke up, there was nothing be everlasting darkness where ever I looked... ???? - "Wait a minute!!! I don''t even have a body or eyes right now how am I doing all of this?!?! On another note where am I." The last thing I could remember was surfing the internet for new novels, or mangas to read cuz I was bored. My name is Yu I''m 18 years old. I''m above average in terms of wisdom, but I have a habit of losing my bearings whenever I''m under a lot of stress. Well not anymore I overcame that long ago but it was a problem when I was little. I remember when I was 12 my family was going through some problems; my mom and dad had cancer and we couldn''t afford the medical bills. Me being the 12 years old kid I was who just so happened to know how to work a computer went to the only place I thought I could make money, the stock market. When I got on the site I spent half of my families money on shares for varies companies. In all fairness thinking about now it was really dumb but, for some reason the people in the skies above blessed me with a miracle and 3 days later those shares I paid for started to be worth fortunes. Before I knew it of the 8 companies I bought shares for 7 of them went from costing nothing to being worth enough money to where I can make it rain hundred dollar bills. I was so relieved and when I told my parents they were happy for my successful gamble, however, they were pretty pissed that I almost wasted all our money. Hey if they didn''t want anything to happen they shouldn''t have let me see their credit card numbers. Before long we were able to pay for the hospital fees and my parents were starting to get treatment. However, our other family members the ones who ditched us when we had no one to rely on started asking me for money. I had just gotten into puberty and my emotions got the best of me, and I didn''t want to be near guys like that. So I told them to go **** themselves, kicked them out of my house (I took boxing lessons and they were all out of shape), and cut all the connections I had with them. Not wanting to let those guy find us anymore I sold my old house and moves me and my parents to another city where we could start a new life. And we did I got us a big house and made it so my parents could enjoy the finest things in life, but like in most cancer cases my parents eventually lost their fight and passed on. I was 16, and an orphaned but I didn''t blame we couldn''t fight nature, I was sad but I tried to move on. I still had a lot of money I earned from the stock market left and started purchasing more shares from places all around. Most cases worked while a couple didn''t. I still went to school but my home life didn''t amount to much I was never really a people person, but I did interact with people when I had to, like when I had to go to the supermarket, or school, or the gym. Eventually, I started getting into anime, manga, and web novels. I wasn''t a hardcore Otaku but I did appreciate the craft. Time went on and my life continued to run, but I started to get bored with my lonely life. When I turned 18 I started to wish my life was as exciting as the one in the books I read. The last thing I remember was surfing the web before I passed out, but I don''t know how that lead me to be stuck in this dark and gloomy place. Yu - Can someone please tell me what''s going on. If this was like a novel there should be a god here to give me an explanation. ???? - You really like you cliches, don''t you? Yu - !!!...Are you a god? God - Yes, and I''m pretty sure you''re wondering how you got here but just think of it as a cliche. Yu - I DIED?!?!? God - Yes, while you were living your life the family members you originally abandoned tracked you down. When the time was ripe they broke into your house stole all of your money and killed you before they left. Yu - @%$#@%#[email protected]%[email protected]!!!!!! What the hell! How could they not get caught? God - They did. You might not have noticed it because you don''t watch the news but you contributed a lot to the world by contributing to companies that originally would have gone out of business. Those companies went on to making marvelous breakthroughs in medicine, technology, and other fields. Without noticing it you changed the world. God - As for those people who killed and robbed you, the world especially the people who you helped were enraged. They did everything they could to find the killers. Even your national government was angered and let them do as they pleased. Within five days the killers were caught, and tortured under the hands of an angry mob, and silenced. Yu - Now that justice! Hip hip hooray! The heroes have avenged me! God - Actually the world even named a day after you for your contributions to society. Honestly, I''m shocked you didn''t notice. Yu - Ya, my bad... Anyway, why am I here? God - You''re here because you collected a tremendous amount of good karma, and because of that, I''m going to reincarnated you to a world of your choosing with 5 wishes! Yu - Not that I''m complaining but isn''t that too much? God - Not at all, that''s just how big the amount of karma you collected, in your world your name was memorialized in many technological achievements as the person who allowed them to be where they were today. Yu - Damn... that actually makes me feel good inside. God - Anyway hurry up and make your wishes. You wouldn''t want to stay here forever, do you? 1. A system that would help me grow as well as give me a couple extra benefits 2. A Heavenly World like the one in the novel Shadow Hack 3. A Knights Order that I can create on my own, similar to devil pieces but better 4. A primordial bloodline that can let me tap into the power of the ancients 5. I want to be reborn as an adopted brother of Issei Hyoudou but I don''t want our ages to be too far apart. God - Two questions. First, why don''t you want to be reborn as Issei? Yu - I want to keep my original name, as well as the story of High School DxD will be more interesting if Issei stayed while I an enigma entered into the mix. Plus I don''t want anyone to know I was reincarnated into that world and I think Ddraig will be able to figure me out immediately. God - Interesting, and for the second question can you specify the way you want your knights'' order. Yu - Okay the order will consist of 31 pieces. 2 Lords that are like Queens of the devil pieces. 4 Sabers similar to knights, 4 Casters similar to Bishops, 4 Berserker similar to Rooks, and 16 Vanguards similar to Pawns. I want them to be able to bring out the full potential of the person who will serve under me the King. Yu - Thanks and goodbye. Chapter 2 - Beginning My New Life As Yu Hyoudou When I opened my eyes I was staring at the sky from the looks of it, it was noon and the sun was burning my eyes. Unconsciously I started to complain but all that came was baby cries. ???? - Honey did you hear a baby crying ???? - Isn''t it just Issei Dear. ???? - No, I could swear I heard it over h- *Gasp* Honey get over here! Quick!! Moving my gaze from the sky to the man before me I continued to cry for some reason. Before long a women came behind the man and in her hands was a newborn baby. Both of them looked like average people, but for some reason, I instantly thought that they were Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou Issei''s parents. Mrs. Hyoudou - Ow god this is terrible. What should we do Dear? The husband didn''t answer his wife and simply picked me up and rose me to his eye level. When our eyes meet I stopped crying and looked back into his eyes. Surprisingly while he looked somewhat old on the outside his eyes were filled with life. After a few seconds, he smiled and opened his mouth. Mr. Hyoudou - Honey I think we should take this little guy with us. We''ve always wanted a child, and while we do have Issei now, that doesn''t mean that we can''t bring this guy who has nowhere to go with us right? The wife thought for a minute before her thoughts were interrupted by little Issei''s movements. For some reason, he was stretching his hand out to me and I did the same to him. Mrs. Hyoudou - I guess Issei made the decision for us. Mr. Hyoudou - That he did. He gave me one more look before he looked at the tag attached to my foot. Mr. Hyoudou - Yu? I guess that''s your name... From this day forth you will be Yu Hyoudou. From to looks of you, you''re slightly older than Issei so you''ll be his older brother. Welcome to the family. Just like that, they took me to their house on the walk home Issei started to cry and wanted to be fed so Mrs. Hyoudou or mom now if feeding him while I''m in the crib pretending to be sleeping. Yu - [Now would probably be the best time to look at my status. System show me my status] System - *Ding* [Welcome the Host currently has access to 6 functions of the system. All others will be unlocked when the Host has reached the requirements for them.] Yu - [So what functions can I use now?] System - *Ding* [Host has access to the Status Window - Skill Window - Quest Board - Shop - Inventory - Gacha] Yu - [Show me my status.] *Ding* Name: Yu Hyoudou Race: Pseudo Human (Fake) / Primordial (Sealed) Bloodline - Primordial Bloodline (0% Awakened) Level: 0 System Points (SP) - 0 Stats: Strength - 1 Endurance - 1 Agility - 1 Intelligence - 17 Luck - 20 Energy Reserves: Following that, I checked all the other options except the [Shop] and [Gacha]. The [Quest Board] and [Skill Window] were empty but my [Inventory] had an item label [Starter Pack]. Yu - [System what''s wrong with my race] *Ding* [Host''s race has changed because while Host has a Primordial bloodline the strength of the Host''s body cannot handle the power that comes with it so the system has decided to seal it and make Host a Pseudo Human until the Primordial Bloodline awakens itself. Also, Host has yet to open the [Stater Pack] in your inventory, would you like to open it?] Yu - [Yes] *Ding* [Congradulations Host has received 3x Skill Gacha Tickets and 1x Normal Gacha Ticket] Yu - [System use all Gacha Tickets now!] Regrettably in my past life when I meet things like this in a game I could never save up these kinds of items and, would use them the second I got them. Looks like old habits die hard. However, if I did have any I would forget the function existed until I either need it or get more chances. *Ding* [Congradulations Host has received 10 stat points] Yu - [-_- ... That''s good I guess. Now moving on to the skills!!] [Calm Mind] (Special Skill): Lvl: MAX Passive Effect - Allows the user to have a calm mind in most situations [Parallel Thoughts] (Special Skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl: 10] Passive Effect - A skill that improves the users thinking speed Active Affect - A skill that lets the user multicast spells (+1 Spell for every skill level) [Host can currently multi-cast 2 spells now] [Hawk-Eye] (Active Skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl: 10] Passive Effect - A skill that improves eyesight the higher the level the farther the user can see. Active Effect - When the user focuses his eyes on a specific location the user can zoom his vision on that location Now that I finished what I needed to do with my system I tried to meditate so I can try to feel the magical energy in the air in hopes that I can use magic sooner or later. --10 minutes later-- *Ding* [Congradulations Host has comprehended the skill [Meditation]] [Meditation] (Active Skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl: 100] Active Effect 1: Allows the user to refine mana into the user''s body Active Effect 2: When skill level is high enough the user can refine more energy sources in one session *Ding* [Host has received a quest] [Heavenly World Creation - Now that you have the feel for energy refinement it''s time to start forming the core of your Heavenly World! Task 2: Activate the core into your sea of consciousness to create your Heavenly World {0/1 Completed} Rewards: 1) Heavenly World will Immediately rank up to a Stage 1 Sun World 2) World Power will be Unlocked 3) [Heavenly World] Function of the System will be unlocked 4) 10,000 SP] Yu - [(0_0) ... Things just got a lot more interesting.] Chapter 3 - 7 Years Later Time after that seemed to pass by very quickly. Since I was a baby and couldn''t really do much I used every moment I could to try and form my Heavenly World. However, I made one wrong move when I first started on my path of cultivating source energy. I originally thought that by using the [meditation] skill I''d be able to fill up my source energy reserves like nothing but when I checked closely at the details of the skill the main energy I was cultivating was normal mana, not source energy. Some people might be wondering what''s the difference and well it a pretty big difference. Normal mana can be found in the air we breathe and by using techniques similar to my [meditation] skill magic users can take this energy into their bodies filling their own reserves. Source energy is the energy that makes up not just the air breath but also the earth we stand on. It''s the very essence of life, and it can only be taken when it is refined from other energies leaving only the purest and closest essence similar to the origin element. When I tried to see if I could find a cultivation method in the shop that could solve my problem I almost spat out a mouth full of blood just looking at the price. [Breath of Life] - A cultivation method that helps refine all energies into its source energy Price: 2,000,000,000 SP Knowing I had no other choice but to find another way to gain source energy I asked my lord and savior the system and it''s responds was a godsend. *Ding* [Host only needs the level up your [Meditation] skill to Lvl. 20, in order to refine a new type of energy along with mana. As long as Host specifically chooses Source Energy than Host can start to cultivate source energy although the process will be slow.] After that, I immediately started to Level up my [Meditation] skill, I knew it was going to take a long time but I was only a few months old at the time and had nothing but time. Within 1.5 years, I was finally able to cultivate source energy. Once again time went by and my eventually, 5.5 more years passed and I turned 7 years old. Though I did spend a lot of time training my stats didn''t seem said otherwise. ---- Name: Yu Hyoudou Race: Pseudo Human (Fake) / Primordial (Sealed) Bloodline: Primordial Bloodline (0% Awakened) Title: N/A System Points (SP) - 1,392 Strength - 10 Endurance - 15 Agility - 15 Intelligence - 20 Luck - 20 Energy Reserves: Mana: 2,072 Life Force: 1,002 Calm Mind, Parallel Thoughts, Hawk-Eye, Meditation, Pain Resistance, Reinforcement, Close Combat, Swordsmanship, 3 Dimensional Movement, Spirit Sense, Time Alter [Calm Mind] (Special Skill): Lvl: MAX Passive Effect - A skill that allows it''s user to be calm in most if not all situations [Parallel Thoughts] (Special Skill) Lvl: 2 [Max Lvl: 10] Passive Effect - A skill that improves the users thinking speed Active Affect - A skill that lets the user multicast spells (+1 Spell for every skill level) [Host can currently multi-cast 3 spells now] [Hawk-Eye] (Active Skill) Lvl: 3 [Max Lvl: 10] Passive Effect - A skill that improves eyesight the higher the level the farther the user can see. Active Effect - When the user focuses his eyes on a specific location the user can zoom his vision on that location Active Effect 1: Allows the user to refine mana into the user''s body Active Effect 2: When skill level is high enough the user can refine more energy sources in one session [Pain Resistance] (Passive Skill) Lvl: 21 [Max Lvl: 100] Passive Effect - A skill that reduces the amount of pain the user feels when damage is inflicted [Reinforcement] (Active Skill) Lvl: 13 [Max Lvl: 100] Active Effect - A Skill that uses magic power to strengthen a part of the body, the more magic power the strong the reinforcement. {Warning, if the body can''t handle the reinforcement permanent damage to the body, will happen!} [Close Combat] (Passive Skill) Lvl: 5 [Max Lvl: 100] Passive Effect - A Skill that lets the user comprehend the way of a martial artist [Swordsmenship] (Passive Skill) Lvl: 3 [Max Lvl: 100] [3 Dimensional Movement] (Passive Skill) Lvl: 7 [Max Lvl: 100] Passive Effect 1- A Skill that gives the user a better understanding of fighting in multiple terrains, heights, and conditions Passive Effect 2 - Improves users balance [Spirit Sense] (Active Skill) Lvl: 19 [Max Lvl: 100] Active Effect - A skill that uses magical energies to allow the user to sense their surroundings [Time Alteration] (Active) Lvl: 2 [Max Lvl: 10] Active Effect - A skill the allows the user to control the time in their body to either speed up or slow down. Skill level determines the amount of time that can be altered {Host can currently alter time by 2 times} ---- I had been so focused on getting source energy that I had forgotten on setting up a solid foundation early on in this new life of mine. Sure I have tons of mana and life force but I have so little combat abilities minus close combat, swordsmanship, and Reinforcement. If it wasn''t for some lucky breaks down the line I wouldn''t have been able to get most of the skills I have now anyway. They were all good skills but they have yet to show much promise like Reinforcement, and Spirit Sense. One lets me, scout, out my surrounding, and the other lets me strengthen myself or something I have at hand. The only skill I have that''s troublesome for me is Time Alteration, I remember this skill from the anime Fate/Zero and thought it was pretty cool but after trying it our I finally know the downsides of using it. In whatever way I use it, it seems to drain a lot of my mental and physical strength. It doesn''t seem to rely on mana of any kind that I know of. Plus it tends to leave me really sour afterward. Yu - *Sigh* [For a skill I got from the system [Gacha] it really makes me want my money back. Maybe I should do more physical training when I finish my first quest.] ???? - Hey what''s wrong Yu-nii Yu - Huh ow it''s nothing Issei I''m just a little tired. Issei - How can you be tired, we''re finally going to school for the first time!! Looking at my little brothers smiling face so full of innocence I couldn''t imagine that he''d soon be known as the Great Breast Dragon Emperor. Returning my consciousness to reality I looked out the window of our family car and watched as buildings and people alike base by. Today was the first day of both mine and Issei''s first-grade year. Both of us are in our school uniforms, which I honestly don''t like. While enjoying the ride I originally wanted to relax but a small notification kept tempting me: [Heavenly World Creation - Now that you have the feel for source energy it''s time to start forming the core of your Heavenly World! Task 1: Store up enough source energy to make you Heavenly World Core {99.99999% Completed} Task 2: Activate the core into your sea of consciousness to create your Heavenly World {0/1 Completed} Rewards: 1) Heavenly World will Immediately rank up to a Stage 1 Sun World 2) World Power will be Unlocked 3) [Heavenly World] Function of the System will be unlocked 4) 10,000 SP] Yu - [Only a little bit more and then I''m done with this quest.] Tonight would be the night that I finally made my own Heavenly World and I was even tempted to refine Source Energy during school but decided against it because all good things happen to those who wait. Chapter 4 - Meeting Irina Shidou Finally, when my parents stopped the car I looked out the window and saw many other kids walking through the school gate under the gazes of their loved ones, and Issei and I were the same just like any other kid. It wasn''t until we finally walked 10 meters away from Mom and Dad that Issei started to feel nervous, I, on the other hand, was fine thinking about other things rather than school. For example, there was getting money, getting stronger, and getting friends. It dawned on me that these past few years I''ve only ever ''played'' with Issei when he would not stop asking me. The be more precise I only played with Issei I had nobody my age that I could call my friend. Because of this, my parents believed I had developed a loner''s lifestyle early on in life. When I heard this I didn''t know whether too laugh or cry. It was true that I did sort of distance myself from most people, but that was because I was always meditating. I thought that was the reason why but later it was Issei who told it wasn''t my actions but my appearance. If we were to compare my looks to those of my other family members there''d obviously be some differences. Everyone in my family has dark brown hair with brown eyes, as well as facial muscles that couldn''t hide what they were thinking. I, on the other hand, have light brown hair with naturally formed grey hairs into the mix. Adding to that I had magenta colored eyes that seemed to grow brighter the closer the color was to my pupil. My skin tone was a fair white color, and to top it all off, was the default apathetic expression I had on my face. Where ever I was I always had a calm expression that made me look as I could care less for the world, but that may have been caused by the constant meditative sessions. My face probably received a muscle memory of my meditative expression thus leading to my apathetic expression. I did smile and use other expressions but it would always revert back to being apathetic in the end. I tried to explain this to my parents this morning but before I could my dad told me in a strict tone. Dad - Yu, listen to me being a loner isn''t a fun thing, that''s why I''m ordering you to go to school and make some friends. No son of mine will walk down a lonely path. Though he said that in a strict manner, I was able to see the love and care he had for me so I could only agree. ---- Yu - Hey Issei are you okay? Issei - I''m a little nervous Yu-nii. I mean we''re not in the same class so... Yu - It''s going to be okay Issei, we''ll see each other later so just be strong okay. Issei - En your right. On that note, I left Issei and went to my own class. Over the years I''ve gotten to know Issei more than I would have by just reading the book. He was shy in some moment, energetic in others, but overall he was a good kid. He looks up to me as not just an older brother but also a role model, whenever he had trouble he''d always come to me first which I was confused by, but in the end, accepted it. Issei was born on April 16, 2012, while I was born at (what was on the documents mom and dad found when they took me in) January 1, 2012. {A/N I just made up the year so don''t quote me on that} He knew I wasn''t his blood brother but still treated me the same, and I aswell so whenever he seemed to be in trouble I help lift him up whenever he can''t do it himself. Maybe that''s why he sees me as a role model. The school bell went off and the class was now in session. Since it was the first day of school the teacher chose seats through lottery picking. I got the middle row back seat, there were three rows with two people per table. At this moment I still had no partner. *Ding* [Host has received a chain quest] [Honor Student - You have just entered your first grade school year now it''s time to prove that all those points you have in intelligence aren''t for show~ Main Quest - End the year off as the top-ranked student in your grade Sub Quest 1 - Gain the trust of all the teachers and staff Sub Quest 2 - Become Class Monitor Main Quest Rewards: 1) Skill - Eidetic Memory 3) Skill - Thought Acceleration 4) 1,000 SP Sub Quest 1 Reward: 1) Skill - Charisma 2) Skill - Rally Cry 3) 1x Equipment Gacha Ticket Sub Quest 2 Reward: 1) Skill - Leadership 2) Knights Order Enrollment Chant] While I was crying imaginary tears of joy I notice that a girl was walking my way from the looks of it she would be my deskmate. She had light brown hair and violet colored eyes. She was surprised when I looked at her causing her to pause for a moment but soon she smiled and extended her hand to me. ???? - Hi there! My names Irina, Irina Shidou. What''s your name? Yu - Hello Irina my names Yu, Yu Hyoudou Finishing our introductions Irina sat down next to me but continued to stare at me with a gaze of curiosity. Irina - jjii~ Yu - ...Is something wrong? Irina - You have the same hair and eye color as me. Listening to her all I could do was give a small smile in my mind. We do have similar hair and eye colors but they''re not exactly the same there were some differences. However looking at her face full of curiosity I couldn''t help myself from messing with her a little. Yu - *Gasp* Could it be that you don''t like me because of my hair and eye color *sniffle* *fake sob* your so mean. Irina - No no no, that not it I just thought it was interesting that''s all. Seeing me fake sob Irina started to get anxious and panicky. Yu - [Hehe so easy] Yu - Ah I''m just messing with you I don''t mind Replying to her with a cheeky smile Irina realized she was tricked and started to pout. Irina - Mmm... you''re mean I''m not going to talk to you anymore! She said that but forgave me soon after and everyone got to their seats. Later when the teacher asked who wanted to be the class monitor I rose my hand and was able to get it unopposed because everyone else was too shy to do it. Easiest quest I''ve ever had. The day went on like any other day and in the end, I walked out with Irina to the front gate. There I saw Issei who had made his own group of friends and smiled lightly looking at him enjoying himself. {A/N I suddenly feel like this is something a father character should be thinking. Does it match the big brother role I''m confused?} When I meet my parent and introduced them to Irina they were surprised at first but glad I now had a friend my age. The same thing happened to me with Irina''s parents and before we left Irina told me to come over and play at her house at a later date. When I told her I''d wait for that day I waved good-bye I went home. However, dad gave me a cheeky smile and patted my shoulder. When I wanted to ask him what''s wrong he said: My mind paused for a minute, and when I came too I saw my dad laughing at me. I got embarrassed and gave him a quick but powerful jab to his family jewels. Ignoring him who went into the fetal position I grabbed mom''s hand and walked away. Mom - Hey Yu-kun you didn''t answer the question. Are you embarrassed? Yu - [Ha~ this is going to be a long day] ---- Night ---- After mom and dad put me and Issei to bed I waited for Issei to fall asleep before I snuck out of the house and started to refine my last bit of Source Energy. After midnight rolled up I opened my eyes and looked at my hands. In it was a stone that looked like it had its own galaxy in it. Yu - System scan it! [1%.....32%.......61%........99%] [100% Scanning complete] [Heavenly World Core - This is the core of an unborn world with the proper care it could create a world of its own. Very few can obtain something like this handle with care.] Breaking into a smile I couldn''t stop myself any longer. I put the core onto my forehead and felt it get su?k?d into my mind. When I searched my sea of conscious I found a myriad of colors but at the center was the core. *Ding* [A Heavenly World Core full of Source Energy has been found in your sea of conscious would you like to start the process of creating your Heavenly World by stimulating the core.] *Ding* [Yes/No] *Ding* [WARNING: The process will cause Host to lose consciousness for 3 hours and Host might feel some pain!!!] Yu - *Inhale**Exhale*... Do it Chapter 5 - A World Of My Own The moment I accepted the action I instantly lost Consciousness. Or so I thought true I could no longer feel my body but I could sense my surroundings. I was still on top of my house on the roof but once I started to ''feel'' my body it vanished. Slowly my mind started to shake and I tried to look into my sea of consciousness. Once the core came into sight I began to see what was going on. Every bit of mana and life force I had in my reserves were being su?k?d into the core which should have been full with source energy. And from the core, I could see a small patch of land forming before it eventually grew too large for the core to contain. 3 hours passed and a 10-foot by 10-foot patch of land was formed and on it was my body. Once things stabilized my consciousness returned to my body. With full control of my body now I felt I was on solid ground and looked to the sky their I saw stars with constellations I''ve never seen before. Yu - *Inhale**Exhale* This is my Heavenly World but I''m not done yet. System I want to submit my quest completion of the [Heavenly World Creation] quest. [Analyzing....] [Confirming....] *Ding* [Congradulations Host for completing the quest [Heavenly World Creation] would you like to take you rewards now?] Yu - Yes! *Ding* [The function (Heavenly World] of the system is now available.] *Ding* [Slivers of World Power have found a way into Host''s body and have made a small reserve. World Power is now available to Host] The ground started to shake and power from unknown sources began to merge with my Heavenly World. The ground started to expand when it stopped, through my connection with the world I sensed that the land mass had increased to 10km. Following that small-sized hills and canyons started to form. Patches of grass started to make a small meadow in the center where I was. A little south of where I was a small pond formed, throughout the land tree and plants began to grow. Finally, up in the sky, 1 sun was formed. Yu - ...Beautiful There may have been no life forms besides myself at the moment but I felt this place was really beautiful. Yu - System give me a status report of both myself and my Heavenly World [...Checking] [...Checking] [...Checking] [...Checking] *Ding* [Status Report: Host''s Heavenly World has finished a massive enlargement with the added features onto the surface. Host''s mana and nature energies were used to form a mana vein and nature vein into the core of Heavenly World] Yu - What''s the use of a nature vein and a mana vein *Ding* [Nature and mana veins are used to bring these respective energies onto the Heavenly World. Once formed they are here to stay. Everytime Host ranks up the Heavenly World any enhancements added to the previous reserve will go to growing the veins. If new energies are added, if the amount is sufficient then a new vein will be grown. World Energy is the only exception because the amount only grows with you Heavenly World''s quality and size.] Yu - What are the uses of World Energy I probably already know but give me a refresher *Ding* [World Power is the power contained within your Heaven World. When Host is outside the boundaries of the Heavenly World Host can use the reserves of World Power for two main purposes] Yuu - What are those purposes? *Ding* [Absorbing and Attacking. When Host is about to be hit with an attack Host can use World Power to absorb a portion of the damage within certain limits depending on the amount of World Power used. Host can also input World Power into Host''s fists and use it for a single hit skill. Depending on the amount of power used determines the offensive capabilities.] Yuu - What about inside the boundaries of the Heavenly World? *Ding* [If it is inside the boundaries then it includes the first 2 options but stronger as well as suppression. Host can use World Power inside the Heavenly World to suppress an individual as long as the target isn''t too powerful. For inanimate objects Host can even stop its flow of time] *Ding* [Supression is most effective against individuals weaker or equal to the host. If the individual is stronger than Host then that individual will be able to break off the bonds of the Heavenly World. Similar to the absorption ability if the damage is too high then the ability is useless.] Yu - So I can''t only rely on World Power huh ... System what other downsides are their two World Power? *Ding* [Other than the amount of World Power depends on the Heavenly World; World Power takes 10 times as long to replenish reserves, and it can only replenish through natural means. The [meditation] skill will not be able to help Host. This is what has been discovered so far.] Yu - Okay what are the maximum amount of suns I can form and what are the benefits of having more? *Ding*[When Host forms 6 suns the Heavenly World will turn into a planet and Host can release the Heavenly World out of Host''s sea of conscious but Host and the Heavenly World will still have a connection. When Host forms 7 suns natural life forms will begin to form on Host''s Heavenly World. Beyond that it is unknown, but 12 suns seem to be the maximum amount Host can form.] While I was digesting all the all the information I received multiple notices popped up. *Ding*[Congradulation Host has completed hidden quest Speedy Creator] [Speedy Creator - Creating a Heavenly World from scratch is not only a hard thing to do but it also takes up a lot of time. Can your hard work and dedication hold through? if you can how fast can you do it, if it is before a certain time period you''ll get rewarded big time~ Rewards: 1) Skill - Space Magic 2) Skill - Reality Marble 3) 1x Medium Spacial Essense Reserve 4) [Dungeon] Function of the System will be unlocked] *Boom* And like that, I fainted from the bliss of all the loot I just obtained. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ System Interface Functions - Skill Window - Quest Board - Inventory - Heavenly World - Dungeon - Shop - Gacha ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Yuu Hyoudou Bloodline: Primordial Bloodline Title: N/A Level: 16 System Points (SP) - 1,392 Strength - 10 Endurance - 15 Agility - 15 Intelligence - 20 Luck - 20 Energy Reserves: World Power: 1,000/1,000 Mana: 0/2,072 Nature Energy: 0/1,002 Spacial Essense: 5,000/5,000 Skills: Calm Mind, Parallel Thoughts, Hawk-Eye, Meditation, Pain Resistance, Reinforcement, Close Combat, Swordsmanship, 3 Dimensional Movement, Spirit Sense, Time Alter, Leadership, Space Magic, Reality Marble [Leadership] (Special Skill) Lvl: MAX Passive Effect - A skill that helps improve user''s subordinates in battle. Allows for easier reactions to commands. [Space Magic] (Active Skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl: 100] Active Effect - A skill the lets the user manipulate spacial essence to perform magic of the space category. [Reality Marble] (Special Skill) Lvl: 0 [Max Lvl: 10] Active Effect - Allows the user to pull an individual or individuals into a soul realm based on the user''s state mind. Chapter 6 - A Reality Marble: A Call of the Order: A Dungeon Adventure ~Ring~ ~Ring~ ~Ring~ ~Ring~ Yu - *Grunt* Shut up already!! Being woken up by constant ringing coming from my head I obviously wasn''t in the best mood. Yu - What is that ringing anyway? [Host it is recommended that you leave the Heavenly World now. Host has already been asleep for two hours and Host''s parents are about to wake up.] Following the suggestion of the system, I exited my Heavenly World and snuck back into my room before mom and dad could wake us up. The morning then went the same as it always did: wake up, brush our teeth, wash our faces, watch morning cartoons, eat breakfast, and then drive off to school. When we got to school I was greeted with a cheerful morning Irina and separated from Issei since we had different classes. Although I wanted to check out all my loot I got early this morning I still focused on what I previously had to do. And that was to complete the quest I got the previous day which was to gain the trust of teachers and staff. Let''s be honest it''s going to take a while to gain their trust because 1) I''m only 7 years old and 2) Some of the teachers here are pretty strict. So I passed my school day by being as ?ssertive as I could with trying to make friends and seem like a perfect student to those around me. Irina also made a lot of female friends her age but she would never be more than 2 meters away from me. Unless I went to the bathroom. People started to think that we were related but when we denied that we were meet with surprised expressions. By the end of the day, I departed school with a good-bye from Irina, and a stupid smile from not only Dad but Issei as well. Yesterday he asked Dad what he meant by daughter-in-law and for the rest of the day after that, he was with Dad. Lucky for me he knows not to poke fun at me because while I was a kind older brother most of the time, he would never be able to beat me in ''play'' wrestling. ---- When we got home and things settled down I sat in the living room with a book. From other people''s perspective, I was reading but only I knew that I was looking at my system interface. Yu - [System what''s with this skill [Reality Marble] why is it at 0, I can''t even understand how to use it?] *Ding* [The skill [Reality Marble] is like the description says it''s based on Host''s state of mind. Currently, the skill is at 0 because Host hasn''t used any [Words of Power] to help form the reality marble. Once the [Words of Power] of infused into the chanting incantation of the skill will the skill be usable.] Yu - [I see but why is this skill named the way it is. Wouldn''t it be different since the concept behind a reality marble would cause the name to be different?] *Ding* [Host is correct but the system has organized things in a way where Host will better understand the powers at use. This would be shown in many ways one of which is having Host''s skills named after other skills that are similar or the same to skills Host''s knows of previously.] Yu - [That''s helpful, but how do I create my chant? Don''t does have to have some deeper meaning behind them. I don''t really have something like that.] *Ding* [Simple Host can use some words of power based of others to help ?ssist Host in making Host''s Reality Marble. However, if the words are copied off another''s chant then it will influence Host''s Reality Marble. Be advised Host can only have one Reality Marble with the help of the system and it won''t differ from it''s set path after it''s made.] Yu - [Sweet! Set the Reality Marble incantation chant as Archer Emiya''s chant from Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works. I remember watching a youtube video in the past that clearly stated the meaning behind those words as well as the power of his Reality Marble.] *Ding* [Chant creation process beginning, repeat the chant and the meaning behind it to the system.] Voicing out the chant in my mind I remembered Archer Emiya''s words and feed them to the system. Following it I got a notification saying my skill [Reality Marble] has changed to [Unlimited Blade Works] and has leveled up to surprisingly Lvl: 10 {A/N: The max level if you forgot} Yu - [...Why did my skill max out? I don''t understand?] *Ding* [Host has understood the meaning and powers behind the concept of Host''s chant leading to mastery of the skill leaving no room for current improvements. The only way to change it is through the way Host processed now and in the future.] I also found out that once a person is my servant the only way out of servitude is death. Once the servant dies the servant pieces I gave them will return to me so I can get a new servant. Though I could somewhat understand the reason behind that it still bothered me that the system thinks I''ll abandon a servant if they just die. If I plan to make someone my servant I want them to be someone who will follow me throughout my life. I don''t plan to always have them be with me though, I''d give them free rein of their life and only call them when they are needed. Rather than a servant I also want them to be my friends and family. When I asked to see the chant the system''s reply was: *Ding* [Host has to create the chant, the quest prize was only the right to make the chant rather than the actually chant itself. The system will later rate the quality of the chant and determine whether it''s worthy of being used as the foundation of the Host''s Knight Order.] I don''t know if I was expecting this deep down but I wasn''t fazed by this. Following how I made the chant for [Unlimited Blade Works] I used a chant from the Fate series. I remember watching Fate/Zero and Stay Night a couple times and I do like some of their chants. Modifying my chosen chant a little I feed it to the system. It was accepted and as an added benefit. *Ding* [Congradulations Host has received a quest] [Call of the Order - The time has come and a King is on the verge of being crowned. A King must have the support of his Knight''s Order, build an altar that will be the meeting and summoning ground of the Knight Order. Task 2: Build a throne room on top of the altar as a sign of nobility Task 3: Strengthen your body so as to awaken your true race Task 4: Awaken your Primordial Bloodline that will then use Primordial energies to perform the Knights Enrollment Ritual Reward: 1) 1x Primordial Throne 2) 2x Lord statues 3) 4x Saber statues 4) 4x Caster statues 5) 4x Berserker statues 7) [Knights Order] Function of the system will be unlocked] I didn''t even want to ask about this quest right now so I temporarily promised myself I would check it out in the future. After enough time passed I focused on the [Dungeon] function of the system. Yu - [What''s the purpose of this function?] *Ding* [The [Dungeon] function allows Host to create a dungeon where Host can improve both in skill and body.] *Ding* [Would you like to enter a dungeon: Nature Dungeons: - Meadow (Low-level rabbit monsters) - Jungle (Low-level wildlife monsters) - Swamp (Low-level amphibian monsters) - Volcano (Mid-level fire-based monsters) Other Dungeons: - Graveyard (Low-level undead monsters) - Cave (Low-level humanoid monsters) - Labyrinth (Level will match host varies types of monsters) Be advised the stronger Host gets the more difficult the dungeons will be!] Yuu - [Hold off on going into a dungeon, for now, I''ll go in later today.] I got little to no sleep last night and while it didn''t affect me much I still liked the feeling of having a nice nights rest. Rather than immediately running off into the dungeon I wanted to have a nap to refresh my mind. ---- Later at Night ---- Once the count down was done I found myself in the middle of a meadow. Searching any nearby enemies I released my Spirit sense and made my way to my first target. [Dashing Rabbit] [Level: 3] [A rabbit that has both a hard head and strong legs. Headbutts might cause concussions.] *Ding* [Congradulations Host has gained the skill [Apprasial]] [Apprasial] (Special Skill) Lvl: Max Active Effect: Allows users to identify most if not all object in the world Relishing in the after taste of gaining a new skill I momentarily paused before gaining back focus. My target knew I was here and got into fighting position. This was the first time I was going to engage in a fight where one party will die but I didn''t seem scared at all. *Swoosh* *Swoosh* With each party dasing towards the other the battle began. That night a small mountain of furry corpses with an exhausted child were found in that dungeon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Yuu Hyoudou Race: Pseudo Human (Fake) / Primordial (Sealed) Bloodline: Primordial Bloodline Title: Rabbit Slayer Level: 12 -> 27 System Points (SP) - 3.152 Strength - 21 Endurance - 26 Agility - 26 Intelligence - 31 Luck - 31 Energy Reserves: World Power: 1,000 Mana: 3,129 Nature Energy: 1,002 Spacial Essense: 5,000 Skills: Calm Mind, Parallel Thoughts, Hawk-Eye, Meditation, Pain Resistance, Reinforcement, Close Combat, Swordsmanship, 3 Dimensional Movement, Spirit Sense, Time Alter, Leadership, Space Magic, Unlimited Blade Works, Appraisal Chapter 7 - Daily Life Six months have passed since I started using the [Dungeon] function and I''d say that I''ve made a great success out of it. I discovered that inside the dungeon if I use the right method of activation I can gain new skills. Through the first month of my dungeon expeditions, I got multiple skills such as: [Detection] (Passive/Active Skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl: 10] Passive Effect - Allows the user to feel the presence of others around the user Active Effect - Can specifically hone in on a specific presence if the user has memorized the presence''s signature [Bloodthirst Detection] (Passive Skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl: 5] Passive Effect - Allows the user to better sense malice (Derived from the [Detection] skill) [Magic Detection] (Passive Skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl: 5] Passive Effect - Allows the user to better sense magic and other energies the user knows of (Derived from the [Detection] skill) [Stealth] (Active Skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl:100] Active Effect - Allow the user to thin the user''s presence from others [If mastery is made the user can even hide from the senses of god) [Dash] (Active Skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl: 10] Active Effect - Allows the user to boost the user''s speed slightly [Ground Shrink] (Active Skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl: 10] Active Effect - Allows the user to move from one point of contact to another. (The higher the level the farther the distance traveled) [Void Slash] (Active Skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl: 10] Active Effect - User can now use spatial essence to create a sharp blade with the wave of his hand or with the use of a weapon (Derived from the [Space Magic] skill) Skills in the [Detection] category were made by me just focusing on my sense rather than my Spirit sense while [Stealth], [Dash], [Ground Shrink], and [Void Slash] needed lots of practice and training. My pre-existing skills were also able to make huge breakthroughs. I''ve currently been trying to build a solid foundation so along with my new skills my states have also been pilling up greatly. I''m confident now that if I fight against a low ranking devil I won''t lose or at least I''d be able to escape with my life. However, while my level rose a lot I suddenly hit a bump in the road that caused me to now focus more on my skills rather than my level. That was all in the first 2 months and afterward, more interesting things happened. When they first meet Irina one of kids ended up opening his mouth and tried to cause some trouble with me for being with a girl. I knew they were just kids but I grew very fond of Irina of these past 2 months. ---- Flashback ---- Irina had just meet Issei''s friends and- Kid 1 - Ha you''re friends with a girl! You should stay away from girls they have cuties! Hahaha Kids 2, 3, 4, and 5 - Hahahaha Issei - !!!! Guy''s st-- Yu - Oi! Issei tried to calm things down but I saw that Irina was hurt from their laughing and was a little-pissed off. While I couldn''t see it my face went emotionless before I gave those kids a fierce glare. With less than 0.0000000001 percent of my magic pressure emissions released everyone within 2 meters of me felt the temperature drop a couple degrees and felt a chill down their spines. Unconsciously my toned turned cold and strict. Everyone - !!!! As if it was rehearsed hundreds of times over those kids got on their knees and hit their heads against the floor. Everyone - WE''RE SORRY!!!! I was dumbfounded for 2 reasons 1) this was the first time I''ve seen the Legendary Seiza of Apologies and 2) I got 3 messages from the system. *Ding*[Congradulation Host for comprehending the skills [Coercion] and [Bloodlust]] [Coercion] (Active Skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl: 10] Active Effect - Through the use of energy emissions the user can use pressure to incapacitate a target [Bloodlust] (Active Skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl: 10] Active Effect - The user can now use bring out its inner d?s?r? to kill and force a target to submit to the user in fear. (Effect depends on the target) While I was focusing on the messages Issei couldn''t handle the pressure I was emitting and spoke up. Issei - Nee? Yu-nii can you let them go? They apologized already. Hearing Issei his friends looked at him like he was a saint that would save them from the big bad devil (me) Yu - Huh ... Sure you guys can go, but watch your mouths next time. Irina is my friend I won''t let you guys disrespect her. Everyone - YES YU-SAMA!!! With the end of those words, all of them left the hallway at top speed. Issei was conflicted whether to stay with me or follow his friends. Since I didn''t want him to lose the only friends he has so I simply gestured to him that he was okay to leave. Receiving my signal he smiles lightly before running in the direction of his friend. Once everyone was gone I was going to talk to Irina but before I could she hugged my arm and gave me honestly one of the happiest smiles I''ve seen on her face. Irina - Yu treats me so good!! Afterward, she snuggled up close to me which caused us to receive stares from the surrounding people. Without intending to Irina''s affection towards me rose greatly that day. She used to act like a tomboy when we hung out but now acted more girly in a way when I was around. ---- Flashback Ending ---- On weekends I would go to Irina''s house or she would come over to play with me and Issei. I''d always adventure out of the house with them so we never got bored. Unfortunately, Dad was able to notice the subtle change in Irina''s behavior towards me and ended up making a joke asking when we were going to get married. This caused Irina to start to blush while calling Mom and Dad, Okaa-san and Otou-san before I begged her to stop due to embarrassment. Of the 2 events that happened over these past 6 months, one was that my parents took me and Issei to an old Japanese town where we went and learned about the past and stuff. There I found an old workshop where I saw a blacksmith forging a katana. I wasn''t really interested in the katana but I said I was so I could slowly get him to let me try out forging with a single iron ingot. Once I was able to thin out the ingot he praised me for my good arm and said I could be a blacksmith in the future. I smiled back at him not because of what he said but because I got a new skill. [Blacksmithing] (Active skill) Lvl: 1 [Max Lvl: 100] Active Effect - User can now start down the path of forging {A/N: Hmm the way of the forge is strong with you young one} ---- The other event was that I was able to finish my second subquest of [Honor Student] quicker than I thought. The teachers and staff were impressed with my leadership I showed in class as well as my constant thirst for knowledge. Little did they know that during class whenever a kid miss behaved I told them to stop calmly from an outside perspective but from the class''s perspective I was using my [Coercion] skill to make the kid behave as well as a warning to everyone else. Naturally, I excluded the teachers and Irina so as not to leave a bad image on the former''s mind. Actions like that, however, lead me to have the rumored nickname [Smiling Tyrant], as well as scare everyone but Irina from being around me. I didn''t care though because I was too busy enjoying my rewards. [Charisma] (Passive Skill) Lvl: MAX Passive Effect - Allows the user to seem more appealing to others [Rally Cry] (Active Skill) Lvl: MAX Active Effect - Once a day the user can use this skill to summon one or more of the user''s servants or contracted subordinates. *Ding*[1x Equipment Gacha Ticket Used] [Spinning....] [Spinning....] [Spinning....] *Ding* [Dual Deadshot Revolvers - (Epic Grade) - Two raven black revolvers that have the capability to shot magic infused rounds. - 8 rounds per load - Heavy recoil on release (possibility of breaking wrists) Requirement: strong arms and wrists] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Item Grade Level (Will only apply to things taken from the system) - Common - Uncommon - Rare - Unique - Epic - Legendary - God Chapter 8 - 1.5 Years Later: First Blood Before I knew it another 1.5 years passed and I was 9 years old. Issei, Irina, and I had graduated and our 2nd year of elementary school had come to an end. And just like last year, I got to the top of the class but unlike last year I got no rewards. Many things happened over this long period of time. For one Issei, Irina, and I as well as some other kids in class started going to a dojo to learn martial arts. I went for two reasons 1) I wanted to rise my [close combat] and [swordsmanship] skill. Lucky for me this dojo had multiple martial arts classes and kendo classes. 2) I wanted to see how others fight, I remember taking boxing in my previous life but I have no knowledge of any other fighting styles. When I mentioned I wanted to train at a dojo Issei immediately asked the same thing. His reason was that he didn''t want to be weaker than Irina because he knew that she''d join me if I told her I went to a dojo. Irina and Issei have developed a close relationship close to one of brother and sister. However unlike me who treats Issei as an equal Irina treats him as a younger brother even though she''s younger than him. I never put much thought into correcting Issei because I thought he should be able to live how he wants. Although Irina chooses to side with my parents who want to correct some of Issei faults. One of which is that he''s picky about his food. {A/N: Don''t know if that''s true just making it up} When Irina stays over for dinner my parents leave controlling Issei to her cuz he knows that behind Irina is me who he both respects and fears. She''s never gone too far though and has only lectured him when he was bad or tease him when the time called for it. So all an all the status I''d rate their relationship is one of a playful older sister and younger brother. Besides the relationship with Irina, Issei, on the other hand, has suddenly grown interested in girls. Maybe it was due to his interaction with that creepy old man in the park {A/N: If you read the novels you''d know who I''m talking about.} or his interactions with me but Issei has developed to that stage in life now. Who is the target of his affection well it''s more than one? They''re two girls from the kendo department of our dojo Murayama and Katase from the original works. Originally these girls would beat up Issei whenever he tried to peep on them but in this timeline their decent friend. It was hilarious when Issei first asked me about this issue, he was blushing and everything but I didn''t want him to use me as reference material so I told him to be himself. Surprisingly they hit it off really well. It was that moment that I realized that I may have distanced Issei from the original path he should have taken. Not that I''m complaining. I did want him not to use me as reference materials when it came to making friend {A/N: FYI his only friends are Issei and Irina everyone else is afraid of him} but I did notice him somewhat copy my routine. Like me, he started to wake up early; he tried to start cooking like me (but doesn''t have the talent). He began to take studies seriously which even I don''t I may look like it on the outside but I already know this from my past life so I don''t need a refresher thanks to my [Eidetic Memory] skill. One change that surprised me the most was that he copied my meditation routine. In our house outside in our backyard, I have a flat stone bed where I meditate every day. When he first tried it he didn''t really get the point of it but later liked how it calmed his mind a little. Now he joins me for short meditation sessions when we get home. This was another factor that probably led to a spike in his mental development. Now unlike his previous immature mindset, he still is a little childish but now has a somewhat better understanding of things. All an all, I''m impressed that he was able to befriend both Murayama and Katase. Currently, both me and Irina were taking a break from practice and at the corner of my eye, I saw a scene I was too used to already. However, this time I had a mischievous light flash into my eyes. What I was looking at was Issei telling Murayama and Katase a joke from the looks of it. They laughed and Issei smiled at that. I did commend the guy for being with those 2 because, to be honest Irina, Murayama, and Katase were the top 3 cutest girls in this dojo. And while he was a couple steps further than most people here it was obvious that they didn''t see him as a man of interest. Being his older brother as I was and Irina his self-proclaimed older sister we obviously had to help him out before he gets friend zoned. Yu - Hey Irina Irina - Hmm~ Yu - Look to the other side of the room but don''t make it obvious. Following my orders, she also notices the triad on the other side of the room. Like me, a mischievous light flashed through her eyes as well, which caused me to smile. Seeing my smile she probably knew where I was getting at. Not leaving anytime to spare I snuck behind Issei and Irina behind Murayama and Katase. The 3 of them were talking about kendo stuff and it was very easy to sneak up behind them. Yu - Oh~ hey little brother what do we have here. Are you talking to two girls, let me see. Holding my chin with my left hand and Issei''s shoulder with my right I pretended to examine both Murayama and Katase and add a nod to my act. Yu - Yup yup yup ... Older brother approves of your choice little brother now which one will be my future sister-in-law or ... perhaps it''s both? All three - Wha? All of them started to blush not knowing what to do or what to say and could only gaze at the floor. Then as if on cue Irina appeared. Irina - Ow my gosh, you 2 are going to enter the Hyoudou household too? Hooray same here, I''m Issei''s older sister-in-law I hope we can be good friends. Originally I wore a friendly smile on my face but hearing Irina''s world caused it to twitch. That wasn''t what I wanted her to say but I can''t let my act crumble to pieces now. Yu - Now now Irina lets not bother these three any longer and give them some space. Right now Irina was holding Murayama and Katase''s hands and was twirling in a circle but when she heard me she stopped. Irina - Right we need to go bye~ bye~ Happy with our completed mission me and my partner in crime made our way to the locker room before Irina a opened her mouth. Irina - Nee? Yu are you still coming over to spend the night at my house next weekend? Yuu - Of course, why wouldn''t I be? Irina - Just asking~ ---- Later that Afternoon ---- Dad - So how''d today''s trip to the dojo Yu, Issei Yu - My day went okay as always but Issei here was flirting with some girls during our break time. Right now every one of the Hyoudou family was eating dinner with the T.V playing the news in the background. Dad like always asked us about our day but, probably didn''t expect me to give him some surprising information. Dad - Oh really ... witness Yu please clarify with us in detail: how many, are they cute, and who are they? Yu - *cough* we''ll you see Hyoudou-san it went a little like this... After that, I detailed what saw in detail with some exaggeration to my parents. They were surprised but one of the funniest expressions was Issei who looked like a fidgeting tomato. Suddenly while I was enjoying my family time a report on the news caused me to feel unease. [Report: Citizens are advised to stay indoors at night. There have been a string of murders these past few months with 30 already dead. The culprits are at large.] Yuu- [It''s gotten worse. I thought it was normal criminals but it could be the work of stray devils. I''ll have to take action this recent case is too close to the house.] News like that started to show up during the middle of my 2nd school year but I ignored it, now however it seems more serious than I thought. ---- Midnight ---- Currently, I was jumping from roof to roof scouting the surrounding area. So far there was no activity in the north, south, or western districts. I thought that the culprits moved to another area but when I was about to finish the eastern district 4 magic signals came into the range of my spirit sense. Not wanting to waste any time I used [reinforcement] as well as [dash] and was able to cross one mile in 20 seconds. Scum 1 - Hahaha guy that chick back there was so pitiful. ~Oh please stop all do anything~! Scum 3 - Ya I got to say this has been fun, I''d say running away from our master was the best thing we could''ve done. Now we have power and are unrivaled here. Scum 4 - Ba who was our master that kid was nothing but a brat in my eyes. Scum 2 - I know right! Hahahaha My urge to kill them grew more just by listening to them, but I needed to be careful I needed to check their strength with [Appraisal] [Name: Omitted {A/N: I couldn''t be bothered to making names for mob characters} [Level:101] [Discription: A reincarnated human who was brought back to life by ******, infused with the pawn piece.] [Rank Level: Low-Rank Devil] All of them were the same, their level was a little below mine but mine but our combat prowess was too different [Name: Yuu Hyoudou] [Level: 115] [Rank Level: Low-Rank Magic User] [Strength Level: Middle Level] Knowing there was no danger I appeared a little way in front of them on the street. These dumbasses didn''t even notice me. When they did rather than be alert they were evilly smiling. Scum 2: Hey kid what are you doing out here it''s not safe at night. The guy walked a little faster than his friends. He appeared friendly but I could feel the malice he was trying to hide. Once he got 3 meters away from me, though he instantly made a grab for me. Little did he know I saw this was coming and was prepared. Once he was about to grab me I swatted his left hand away with my right palm and gave him a big left hook. That punch had [reinforcement] placed on it so it was harder than usual, adding all my strength to the punch the result he was sent flying into a nearby. With a glance I knew his jaw and skull was broken his death was certain. his friends were like deer in front of car lights and were frozen in place. With a thought, I used [Ground Shrink] and appeared behind the furthest to the back location. Jumping the second I arrived, I grabbed the guys head and turned in 180 degrees. That was 2, but my action woke up his two friends. One chose to run but one chose to fight. This one seemed to know how to fight but I ignored his left jab and gave him a right palm to the gut. While he received the impact of my palm strike I waved my had and used [Void Slash]. Moving away before his blood could get on me I watch his head fall. That''s 3, turning around I saw that the escapee was pretty slow and didn''t make it far. Not wanting to chase after him I pulled out one of my Deadshot Revolvers and fired. That was 4, he didn''t even make it a quarter mile. The air was silent but my insides started to churn, in the past when I first killed a humanoid monster the impact caused my body to shake. But this was a person and I almost threw up my dinner. I didn''t though I didn''t want to leave any DNA evidence so I held it in. After 10 minutes passed I calmed down and used space magic to throw the corpses into the void and went home. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Yu Hyoudou Race: Pseudo Human (Fake) / Primordial (Sealed) Bloodline: Primordial Bloodline Title: Monster''s Poison Level:115 System Points (SP) - 1,392 Strength - 151 Endurance - 151 Agility - 151 Intelligence - 74 Luck - 48 Energy Reserves: World Power: 1,000 Mana: 2,872 -> 7,492 Life Force: 1,002 -> 2,722 Spacial Essense: 5,000 Special Skills: - Max Lvl: Calm Mind - Max Lvl: Leadership - Max Lvl: Unlimited Blade Works - Max Lvl: Appraisal - Max Lvl: Eidetic Memory - Max Lvl: Language Comprehension - Max Lvl: Rally Cry Active Skills: - Lvl 7/10: Hawk-Eye - Lvl 5/10: Parallel Thoughts - Lvl 41/100: Meditation - Lvl 29/100: Reinforcement - Lvl 53/100: Spirit Sense - Lvl 4/10: Time Alter - Lvl 25/100: Space Magic - Lvl 29/100: Stealth - Lvl 8/10: Dash - Lvl 3/10: Ground Shrink - Lvl 5/10: Void Slash - Max Lvl: Coercion - Lvl 1/10: Bloodlust - Lvl 50/100: Blacksmithing - Lvl 1/5: Thought Acceleration - Lvl 13/100: Senjutsu Passive Skills: - Lvl 62/100: Pain Resistance - Lvl 50/100: Close Combat - Lvl 49/100: Swordsmanship - Lvl 99/100: 3 Dimensional Movement - Lvl 6/10: Detection - Lvl 3/5: Bloodthirst Detection - Lvl 4/5: Magic Detection - Max Lvl: Charisma - Lvl 32/100: Cooking - Max lvl: Shadow Boxing [Senjutsu] (Active) Lvl: 13 [Max Lvl: 100] Active Effect - Allows the user to manipulate life force from the surrounding areas as well as the life energy from the body. [Shadow Boxing] (Passive) Lvl Max Passive Effect - Based on the user''s sense and comprehension ability the user can better understand fighting styles by watching them. (Skills mimicked through this skill will not always be a good as the original) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Strength Ranking Levels: - Low Rank - Middle Rank - High Rank - Ultimate Rank - Super Rank - God Rank {A/N: Just because a god is a god doesn''t mean their god ranked} Tier Levels: - Bottom Rank - Low Rank - Middle Rank - High Rank - Peak Rank - Half Step {Means their going about to move up a level they just need a little push} Chapter 9 - Separation: A New Adventure Turns out that fight last night affected me more than I thought, I know it''s perfectly normal to be tense in times like this but I''m still bothered. It never went as far as me having nightmares about those guys but I now had constant thoughts of how I would die. It''s true that I''ve already died once but I wasn''t conscious at that time so I don''t really know. For the next couple of days, I slowly started to piece back together thoughts and began to return back to my normal life. I mean who was the one who wanted to come to this dangerous universe me I can only blame myself. I choose this path and I''m not going to back done on something like death. ---- Right now I''m currently at Irina''s house and we''re just watching cartoons. While they weren''t bad I still preferred works from my past life. I mean they were good to pass the time but in a way they were plain. Then I remembered that Issei''s show was able to get really popular really quickly. Maybe it was because it was something new and people couldn''t find anything better to do? While I was thinking things like this Irina''s Dad, Touji Shidou called her to his study. So when she left I made my way towards the Holy Sword on the side of the room. It didn''t seem like a really powerful holy sword but it was still a nice looking sword. As a blacksmith, I had my eye on things like this and slowly started to examine the sheath and handle. In the background, I was able to hear some muffled voices but I set it aside as I was feeling the engravings of the sword. Lost in my own thoughts I heard the day slam open and noticed are teary-eyed Irina. I wanted to ask what''s wrong but she jumped into my ?h?st and started to ball her eyes out. Confused and dumbfounded I saw her dad standing there with an awkward expression. I got a basic understanding of what was going on when I remembered the storyline and slowly gestured to him to leave it to me. Giving me a thankful expression he closed the door and left us alone. A couple minutes passed before Irina calmed down, but she would release me from her grip. Knowing that I had to do something I spoke out. Yu - Can you tell me what''s wrong? Irina - I-it''s my family... Her voice was shaking almost like she was scared. Yu - Irina... come on Irina you know you can tell me anything right? Irina - Were moving my family is moving out of Japan b-but I don''t want to leave!!!! She started to cry again and held me tighter. Yu - Where are you moving? Irina - England Yu - That''s far. Irina - En Yu - Is there no changing it Irina - En Giving out a sigh as if I''m giving up I grab Irina''s shoulders, pull her away from me and look her in the eye. Yu - Listen, Irina... there''s nothing we can do here we''re just kids. We can''t change the decisions of ?du?ts. Irina - But what abo-- Yu - I''ll be fine it''s not like we''ll never see each other again... Here take this. Interrupting her I state my claim and start looking for something to have her remember me by. What I came up with was the black chained necklace I was wearing. It was one of the most difficult things I''ve made so far with my [Blacksmith] skill. The chain was only 1 centimeter thick and it had no real fancy design. The only decor I had on it was the set of black and white wings overlapping each other. {A/N: Think of the Scouting Regiment Symbol from Attack on Titan} Irina was surprised by my action because while it did look plain it also looked expensive up close. Not giving her a moment to respond I took the necklace off my neck and placed it on her''s. Yu - See this now we''ll have to meet each other again. This is my favorite necklace and I expect it to be brought back. You have no problems with that, do you? She kept staring at the emblem in her hand for a while before she eventually nodded at me with a smile. That night Irina snuck into my bed and slept with me the night. For the next eight days, the Shidou family packed up their belongings and I was there to help because Irina seemed to want to spend lots of time with me before she left. On the 9th day, their house was empty and they were making their way to the airport. Watching them get in the car I turned around to leave but then I heard Irina call my name. When I turned to look at her what I was meet with was a quick kiss on the lips and a blushing Irina. Irina - Good-bye I''ll miss you. ---- Some days later ---- Urgh, life has gotten boring... Ever since Irina left I''ve been in a slump and everyone in my house has noticed. Usually, Dad would try to cheer me up but he''s currently on a business trip down in the southern provinces so he''s not here. The people who were here though were Mom and Issei. Mom was cooking and Issei was trying to cheer me up by doing funny dances on the couch. I already told him to stop, and that he''d get hurt but he wouldn''t listen. Then when I wasn''t looking I heard a thump and found out Issei had fallen on the floor and seem to be injured. There was a gash on his forearm that hit the coffee table and he also seemed to have fractured his wrist. Calling mom I got her to take him to the hospital to make sure things are alright. I was fine and told her to leave things to me while she left with Issei. She knew I was responsible so she gave me some check orders before she grabbed her coat and left the house. Once I was alone I finished the tasks mom left for me then I sat down on the couch once more. What I didn''t expect however was that the system which had been quiet these past few weeks suddenly became active. *Ding* [Congradulations Host has received a quest] [Survival - Time Needed: Unknown (Time will be called when Host has reached the limit) Rewards: 1) skill - Teleportation 2) skill - Void Form 3) skill - Ice Magic 4) Primordial Bloodline will become close to partially awakening 5) A dramatic boost in strength will be added to the Host] Yu - Huh!?!? *Ding*[Transportation will beginning in..] [2....] Yu - Hey hold up! Stop!!! [0...!!!!] [Good luck on your adventure~~] Without even listening to me the void opened up behind me and su?k?d me in. My day which was originally going to be boring and plain suddenly became one that would be full of bloodshed and pain. Chapter 10 - Ranking Up in the Underworld If I were to describe the scenery of passing from the human world to the underworld it''d look like a cool color myriads light show. For a minute I doubted I was actually traveling between plains or, I eat something I should have. Either way, the trip was about 10 minutes give or take and when I arrived in the underworld I was in a forest and the sky was red. It was both what I was expecting while also not what I was hoping for. Expanding my senses I went into stealth and fled from my current location. The devils of this place aren''t stupid if it was this easy to get into the underworld then fallen angels and angels alike would use the same method. As if on cue when I left my previous location I sensed a terrifying presence. I felt immediate danger and took in all my senses, my Spirit sense, and used my [stealth] skill to the maximum output I could muster. Not feeling too confident I used a double-edged sword skill. Yu - [Time Alter - Triple Stagnant!] This skill let me slow my heartbeat by 3 times its usual pace. The downside is that I put a lot of pressure on my internal organs hence why I don''t use this skill much. Props to this skill had to go to Kiritsugu Emiya who showed my this skill through the Anime. Trying to be safe I used [Senjutsu] to let my body handle the pressure longer. The pain may have hurt but death would hurt even more. I stayed hidden for 10 minutes before I released both [Time Alter] and [Senjutsu]. Slowly spreading my sense I was relieved to find that the terrifying presence was gone. I continued to have my stealth active but I didn''t stay idle. The quest said I had to survive not that I had to fight. I can at most, fight against low-ranking devils evenly, and maybe mid-ranking devils if all my trump cards are used but not high-ranking devils that''s just suicide. I may be in the middle of construction but I can still hide in my Heavenly World until time runs out. Sending my consciousness into my Heavenly World but what I got was a notification. *Ding* [Host''s Heavenly World is currently unavailable until the end of the quest.] Yu - F***!!!! ---- So far 3 hours have passed and I continue to roam the forest knowing nothing about where I am. Right now I don''t dare use my spirit sense because I know that any devil stronger than me will be able to recognize that the energy emission isn''t of a devil but a human. The 3-way treaty hasn''t been made yet so devils are still hostile against humans. Being hidden is better than being found. I did come across some magical beasts in this forest and was able to beat them and they were able to get me some decent experience. Most of the beast levels don''t reach higher than low-ranking high tier strength so I could somehow survive but I still have to be cautious. It wasn''t until I reached a certain point in the forest where I started to feel my body arch did I begin to worry. Calling upon the systems analyzing abilities I got my answer. *Ding* [Status Report: Host has currently entered a land with high-density demonic energy, Host''s current body is being corroded by these energies.] Yu - Corroded how my body is as hard as iron how can I be affected by demonic energies. *Ding* [It is true that Host has a strong body but there is a limit. Host has currently refined mana and life force as Host''s main energies. These energies, however, don''t mix well with demonic energy. Mana is basic energy and uses other elements to change its composition. While life force is the energy that supports things while demonic energy is mostly meant to destroy.] Yu - So all I need to do is leave this area and I''ll be fine right? *Ding* [Correct but Host would be missing out on a big opportunity.] Yu - How so? *Ding* [Host can refine demonic energy and create a new energy reserve in Host''s body by cultivating the atmosphere''s energy! At this moment Host''s can cultivate 2 more energy reserves with the help of the [Meditation] skill. As an added benefit while also absorbing demonic energy Host can focus the life force of the forest into refining Host''s body along with demonic energy. This will lead to Host synchronizing both energies into balance while also strengthening Host.] Yu - From what I can deduce I''ll get more benefits if I stay here but I''m going to have to bear some pain? *Ding* [Correct] I knew I couldn''t argue so I started looking for a decent play to start meditating. Lucky for me I found a cave that looked pretty safe and started meditating. ---- It''s been a while since I started to cultivate a new source of energy. Frankly speaking, when I was on my search for source energy I somehow got started with cultivating life force. I did remember that life force related to nature and meditation lead me to embrace my surrounding (nature) but, after that, I didn''t look for new energies to collect. Then came my World Power the only way to increase my capacity was too grow my world and that was hard enough. At the bottom of my list was Spatial Essence the raise this I had to go into space pockets and I didn''t really have the skills to survive there so that was shelved too. Because of reasons like this, the thought of refining demonic energies never crossed my mind until now. 4 hours passed and demonic energy and little bits of life force stated to come my way and oppose each other in my body. The process was painful but I kept feeling that my body was getting stronger so I didn''t stop. Once 5 hours rolled up I was able to harmonize the energies in my body and could finally take a break, and let''s be honest the benefits made it worth it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Yu Hyoudou Race: Pseudo Human (Fake) / Primordial (Sealed) Bloodline: Primordial Bloodline Title: Monster''s Poison System Points (SP) - 2,971 -> 13,971 {A/N: Forgot to add these before} Strength - 251 Endurance - 300 Agility - 197 Intelligence - 170 Luck - 52 Energy Reserves: World Power: 1,000 Mana: 5,192 -> 17,125 Life Force: 2,722 -> 3,001 Demonic Energy: 0 -> 3,001 Spacial Essense: 5,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The rewards for these short 5 hours of pain we worth every second. My current battle power is mid-tier mid-ranking devils, and if I use everything at my disposable then no mid-ranking devil will be able to beat me. This was nice an all but my current situation couldn''t let me be satisfied with this. I needed more power to survive. With the abundance of life force and demonic energy, I need a cultivation method that can help me use both to strengthen my body. I''ve hardly ever touched the [store] since I became 5 years old and usually neglect it since I was never in any real danger. Things like SP have just been piling up and finally, it was time to use them. Cultivation methods weren''t like skills they couldn''t be leveled up or improved. They also took a lot of time to complete, but who was I, I once spent half my families fortune on the stock market and still came out a winner. Making my decision I spent 5 minutes searching for the perfect manual I could afford at the time: [Body Refining Manuel - Life and Death Spiritualization] - Price - 11,000] Once the purchase was made I received some much information that it hurt my head, but through this, I was able to understand the basis of this manual. It was split up into three parts and each part needed a catalyst. Each catalyst will have the possibility to give the user special traits to help him grow. One downside to this manual was that once it starts it can''t be stopped the user has to endure through to the end. The process scared me but I couldn''t do anything about it anymore. The only reason I was pushed this far was that I was weak and would die the instant I revealed myself. My skills were only supporting abilities I could call upon but it wasn''t like I could use them to jump multiple ranks at a time. I only had 2 abilities that could possibly do that however one was sealed through the system while the other I haven''t really used much my professions is below what I want it to be. All I could do was suck it up and be a man. As for the catalysts I already had three that could be useful. They were body parts of monsters I killed on my way here. They were the scales of a black lizard, the spinal cord of a wolf, and the bone marrow of a boar. The first two would feel strengthen my defense and enhance my sense, and as for the boars bone marrow it''s one of the hardest bones, I''ve ever felt so I hope it would help me with my own bones. Yu - I''ve already spent 8 hours in this place but I feel like not even half of the time limit has been used up. Ha~~. This manual will also take a long time to complete but... Showing a cheeky smile I start working on the manual but not before activating a few skills. [Calm Mind] [Reinforcement - Fortify] [Time Altar - Square XL] [Meditation] [Pain Resistance] [Language Comprehension] [Parallel Thoughs] [Thought Acceleration] [Calm Mind] helped me stabilize my state of mind; [Reinforcement - Fortify] helped harden my insides; [Time Altar - Square XL] speed up my bodies time by 4 times; [Meditation] brought mana, life force, and demonic energy to power my skills and begin the refining; [Pain Resistance] helped me deal with the pain; and [Language Comprehension], [Parallel Thoughs], and [Thought Acceleration] made the process go faster than expected. With all these skills a process that should have taken days was done in only 6 hours. When I was finished I was beyond tired but was glad my current power level now was comparable to a high ranking devil. To be honest, doing something like this is not good and even dangerous, but I want to live. If I damaged my foundation I''ll just fix it when I get back home. After resting for 2 hours I got up and left because I felt multiple presences closing in on me. Little did I know that my body refining session caused part of the forest to whither and a small vacuum of demonic energies was forming with my cave being at the center. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Time Spent on Quest: 16 hours Chapter 11 - Tailing!!: Infiltrating!! (Short Chapter) With the increase in my strength as well as my new found storage of demonic energy my confidence soared through the rood. When I left the cave I activated stealth but this time it felt stronger than before. From my hypothesis because of the addition of demonic energy in my body as well as my proficiency in controlling life force my stealth capabilities went up a couple notches. Finding myself a nice place to hide not far from the cave I observed my targets. After 5 minutes I save 17 shadows appear from the forest. 5 of them had power levels of high rankers, 7 of them were mid rankers, and the rest were low ranking devils. Luckily the didn''t sense me or I would have had to fight a losing battle. Slowly getting closer I would able to hear their conversation. Mid Devil - Boss are you sure it''s here? None of us could find any clue of where the source of the problem could have gone. Leader Devil - Yes it must be here, Naberius-sama and the Professor want whoever or whatever made the phenomenon to be brought to them as soon as possible. All of you fan out, and you 5 go and report the situation back at the manor. All Low Ranking Devils - YES SIR!!! Their conversation was short but was enough to cuz multiple thought to form in my head. Yu - [Naberius ... Professor ..... !! Shit! I know what''s going on I can''t let those guys report what happened. But I also need these guys to show me where their boss is so I can confirm if my hunch is right!] Leaving behind the bigger group of devils I follow the ones that were heading back to the manor. While still in stealth I followed them for 10 miles before I used Hawk-Eye to scout ahead. There I saw a big mansion a couple more miles ahead of us and decided that I don''t need these guys anymore. With the ?ssistance of [Ground Shrink], [Coercion], and multiple [Void Slashes] those devils based on without even knowing what happened. Sending their corpses into the void I continued my mission. It was invisible but my skills were able to pick it up (thank god). When I focused my appraisal on it I discovered that it was a surface detection barrier that would notify the barriers master whenever someone entered. This was a pain in the ?ss, considering the fact that my knowledge of barriers was close to none. This discovery made me lose some hope but not all, with what the system told me it was not a strong barrier and there were some flaws in it I just had to find them. After 30 minutes of circling around the premises, I discovered what I believed to be a way in. It was a draining tunnel that seemed to have not been used for a long time. Knowing this was my only discovery I looked up at the sky which had started to get dark and entered the tunnel. ---- It wasn''t really well light in there so I had to rely on my senses to get by, I had already lost track of how much time I''ve been here but I continued to march on. Finally, while I was feeling the low ceiling texture I noticed the ceiling made an abrupt rise in height. Releasing my spirit sense that I haven''t used since I got here I sent it towards that ceiling. After a quick observation, I found out that it wasn''t the whole ceiling but a small tunned that I can climb through. At the top of the tunnel was a secret door that leads to the inside of the mansion. This tunnel I was currently in was probably an escape tunnel in case anything ever happened to the master of this place. Happy with my discover I made my way up. When I first opened the secret door I peeked in through and found a dark and gloomy bedroom, but I saw that no one was their so I immediately opened the door and walked in. She had a small body, short white hair in the form of a bob cut but 2 long bangs on the side of her face that passed her shoulder. On top of her head were a pair of cat ear, and her eyes were a nice shade of gold. When I got closer she seemed to be shaking and her eyes had a look of fear in them. Her actions may not have been what I would have expected from a future hellcat but there was no doubt this was Koneko Toujou or Shirone Toujou right now but where was Kuroka? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Time Spent on Quest: 17.5 hours Chapter 12 - Suffering: Salvation {Pov: Kuroka} My name is Kuroka just Kuroka, I''m a Nekoshou who was reincarnated as a devil of the Naberius branch family with my little sister Shirone. Nekoshou have no concept of family names so us sister don''t have them neither did our mother. From what I can remember from my mother was that she was a sweet, caring, and thoughtful lady. She always treated both Shirone and I with love an affection, the only fault I could point out was that in the face of love she was a clueless and clumsy woman. Of the information, she gave me on my father it always seemed so aggregated and made up. When I asked why we couldn''t see him she always came up with a ''noble'' reason for not being with us and I knew that it was only a one-sided love. It wasn''t until I turn 9 and Shirone turned 5 did Mother start to look for father. After 2 months of searching, she finally brought us before him. He was a plain man, he wore a white lab coat, had square glasses, an unshaved beard, and eyes full of uninterest. {A/N: Just made this up don''t quote me on this.} Just looking at him I couldn''t find out why mother chose him, but he was my father though unwilling I had to treat him with respect. He seemed to work for the house of Naberius which surprised me. He was human and Naberius was a devil, by common sense they shouldn''t be together I couldn''t understand. Naberius-sama took interest in Shirone and me, he said we had potential, and wanted us to be part of his peerage. When father said a few words mother instantly agreed. We could do nothing about it, 3 months after we moved into the Naberius Manor mother died. She kept this hidden from us and said that was why she took us to meet our father. As for the man in question, he took part in the funeral but left soon after not even looking into the casket. I had had enough, I originally put up with him because of my mother but now I simply wanted to leave. But I didn''t have the strength to do so. Shirone was a timid little girl, and I was only slightly stronger than her. Even if we could escape we''d never survive as strays. While looking at my crying sister I promised myself to get stronger, I didn''t want her to lose herself into becoming strong and started to work hard for both of us. 1 year passed and I made some headway in my senjutsu but it wasn''t enough. Shirone also tried using senjutsu but I told her to take her time with it while I secretly pushed myself harder than ever. A month after I turned 10 I was called before father who told me I''d have to participate in some experiments to help strengthen myself for Naberius-sama as compensation for taking up two bishop pieces. I could only agree helplessly on the outside while determined to use this as an opportunity to get stronger and escape. Naberius-sama wasn''t that strong and if I could overpower him I could get away. All I needed was time. I started meeting Shirone less often because the experiments took a big toll on me and I didn''t want her to see me suffer. However, I couldn''t forget the look of delight she had when she saw me after going missing for a week. Kuroka - [Oh Shirone please just endure a little longer I''ll take us away from here as soon as I can.] I could see from a glance that they haven''t treated her badly as per our agreement, but her being separated from me caused her a lot of anxiety but there was nothing I could do. 2 years passed and I turned 12, and my will was slowly grinding down. With each session, I try to take in as much of the foreign energy as I can but it always seems to escape my body soon after. The action is extremely painful not for my body but for my soul. To make up for it I try to heal my soul with senjutsu it works and I slowly start to get stronger. Another year passed and my hatred for my father and Naberius grew. I discovered that they were using me as a genuine pig for their super devil creation project. This whole time they believed that they were the reason I was getting stronger but that was only half right. The reason I was getting stronger was that I was healing my soul after they damaged it. In the past few months, they did the same process on other test subjects only for them to all die. I could care less until the man who helped birth me said: Dead beat dad - Maybe there''s a special variable in nekoshou that is compatible with our experiment. Trash of a master - That could be it!! I''ll send a small army to their village to capture as many as we can get. If they don''t want to agree we''ll just kill them. Dead beat dad - Perfect for now I''ll start work on the white cat, someone prep black cat for her daily session. They wanted to harm not only my own people but even my sister!!!! The promised me they wouldn''t try anything on her!! Enraged and infuriated I went mad I kicked and thrashed but was later sedated with drugs. Dead beat dad - Could this be a side effect of the treatment? Hey, when you start the preparation make sure to bind her to the table okay make it''s strong too. And like that, I lost consciousness. When I woke up a few hours have passed and the lab was in a frenzy. I learned two bits of information in that short period of time. 1) A large dispatch force of the Naberius House''s forces was closing in on the Nekoshou Village and 2) A strange phenomenon occurred in the forest west of the manor. Naberius and the man we thinking that it could help with the experiment so they sent a small despatch force to retrieve it. While everything happened I noticed a small scalpel knife that was within reach on the table next to me. My hands were bound but my tall wasn''t, it may have become weak with the sedatives but if I could just get my hands on it I could escape and kill everyone here. I don''t know why but I felt I could do it if it''s me right now. My tail was able to grab the knife but kept dropping it when I tried to left it. But this didn''t stop me, with each fall my emotions turned colder and I was slowly letting my anger take over me. Kuroka - [Just a little more, just a little more and I can ki---] *BOOM* *BOOM* 2 loud explosions went off by the entrance of the lab destroying the door. The shock from the blast was able to bring my thoughts back to normal and I was shocked to realize what I was planning to do. If I did any of that not only would I put myself in immediate danger but I''d also endanger Shirone if I brought her with me. Turning my head to look at the door I saw something that caused my eyes to widen. At the door there was a youth, he looked to be around my age height wise but deep in my heart, I felt he was younger than me. He was dressed in blue pants, a grey shirt, and a loss black cloth jacket. His light brown hair was long, and his magenta eyes looked like they were glowing. His face looked somewhat handsome as he wasn''t finished growing yet but, I felt he would be really handsome in the future. He had an otherworldly aura around him that seemed to draw my intrigue towards him. In his hands were two black guns that had smoke coming out of their barrels. Suddenly a lump started to form from the back of his jacket and a small figure feel down from his back. ... It was Shirone She surveys the area before she saw me and ran up to me who was in a sorry state. Once she was right beside me she took out the needles in my body and started to work on my restrains with teary eyes. Moving my sight from Shirone I looked at the boy who brought her here I saw him killing the scientist in the lab without a second thought. When everyone but 5 of them have died the lab went quiet other than the low grunts of Shirone trying to free me. While holding everyone at gunpoint he made his way toward us and with the wave of his hand cut the restraints. I still couldn''t move but it felt nice to be free. Slowly putting down one gun he placed his palm on my exposed back. Suddenly I felt a wave of life force enter my body slowly giving me back control as well as closing up all the puncture wounds on me. ??? - Don''t worry it''s going to be alright. Showing my calming smile I didn''t know why but I felt relieved beyond relief and tears wouldn''t stop falling from my eyes. Kuroka - Thank you! Chapter 13 - Talking: Rescue Operation ---- Some Time Earlier ---- We both look at each other without saying a thing. I was stuck in a mid crouching position and not even 5 feet from me was Koneko who was hugging her knees while shaking. Unable to handle it anymore I spoke up. Yu - Hi, I mean yo-- Koneko - Kyaa~! Looks like being the first one to speak wasn''t the best choice cause when I spoke she got scared and threw a punch at me. She was quick, it seemed like she strengthened herself with senjutsu but it was still not enough to kill me. However, since I didn''t want to hurt her so all I could do was defend my face while enduring her punch. Little did I know that that too was a bad move. I forgot to take into count that she was a short little girl and the punch I thought was aimed for my face was aimed for my crotch. While the physical pain wasn''t too bad the physiological pain caused me to instinctively go into the fetal position while my brain processed the fake pain it was inflicted. Koneko probably thought I was playing dead so she grabbed a book from a nearby nightstand and started hitting me with it. It didn''t hurt, but I couldn''t really retaliate cause I could hurt her. All I was left with was waving my hand lightly hoping she would stop. I think she got my intentions and back away lightly and looked at me vigilantly book still in hand. Slowly ever so slowly I readjusted myself so I was sitting on my bu?? with my hand in front of me making an innocent gesture. Yu - I mean you no harm, I didn''t even know where that door led to. First off my name is Yu Hyoudou you can call me Yu. What''s your name? Koneko -> Shirone - Sh-Shirone. Yu - Okay Shirone I''m only here to hideout until I can find a way home. Can you please put down the book and we can talk? She nodded slowly and put down the book, I breathe a sigh of relief and dropped my shoulders. Giving her a long look I noticed that she was pretty cute, then as I looked at her ears I saw them twitch slightly and then felt a presence coming this way. I tried to hide in the secret passage but notice the door was closed so I made a dash towards the bed rolled under it and went into [stealth]. ??? - HEY QUIET IN THERE!!!! A shout came from the other side of the door and I just stayed under the bed. Soon are the voice died down I heard Shirone call out to me. Shirone - They''re gone now. Poping my head outside like a goffer on Earth Day I make my way outside. Shirone - You''re not from here are you? Yu - Huh... Ya, I was suddenly pulled here through a spatial rift, all I know is that I''m in the Underworld and that''s it. Shirone - You''re human is that why you''re hiding? Yu - Ya, if I''m found out I''m as good as dead. I am confident in my strength but I''d like to be as secretive as possible. Shirone - En Yu - So Shirone can you tell me where I am. She gave me a nod and slowly started to tell me stuff I already know, but when I heard about how she''s been feeling being locked in here for the past few years my heart turned cold. Shirone - It''s scary being left alone *Hic* I miss my sister but they will only let me see here once a week *Hic* an-n-and when I do see here she looks just like mama before she- Yu - Shh~ it''s okay, you don''t have to speak if you don''t want to. Before I knew it I was sitting in a lotus position and Shirone was in my arms receiving soft pats to the head to calm her mind. Yu - [I''m going to kill those f***ers when I see them!!] From what I could understand Kuroka and Shirone have been separated for 3ish years and can only see each other once a week for 1 hour. Lately, Kuroka has not been looking in the best of shape and this scares Shirone. She doesn''t want to lose the last bit of family she has left and being stuck in this cold dark room isn''t helping her. No longer caring about being noticed I released my senses and found out that besides to mid-rank devil the rest are just low rank. A cold flash passed through my eyes and I knew what I had to do. Yu - Shirone Shirone - ... Yu - Do you want to find your sister and get out of here? Shirone - !!!! She immediately looked at me with red eyes and tears forming on the side of her eyes. A look of disbelief can be seen in them but I just smiled. It took her a while to process my words, and she wanted to say something but only looked down with droopy ears. Shirone - But didn''t you say you didn''t want to be noticed? Yu - I did say that but what''s more important is what you want to do? I can''t stand bear so see this kind of thing being done. From the way, you told your story your sister is suffering. I''m no hero of justice or anything but if I see someone I want to help I will. This was my true self talking here, and I''m not doing this just so I can get a favorable impression from the two but because I think family is a sacred thing that should be cherished. In my past life and this new one family is one of the things on my must protect list. If it''s for my family even if I have to soak my hands in blood or fight against gods I''ll do it. That''s how important family is to me, I honestly admire Kuroka a bit. She was able to let herself suffer so they wouldn''t touch Shirone but she forgot one thing. One of the most important things in a family is to be there for each other. She forgot that and thus rather than protect her only family she was hurting it. That''s why I''ll help because it''s in my ideals. As for their father, I can care less neither Shirone or Kuroka care for him if I have the chance I''ll kill him, but without them looking so I don''t scar them (However I think Kuroka will be fine with it, glad even). I spoke my ideas to Shirone (minus the last part) and gave her another firm look while extending my hand too her. Yu - I''ll say this once more do you want my help? Tears came out of her eyes again and she simply nodded while taking my hand. Standing up and turned my back from her and crouched down. She gave no resistance and got on my back willingly. Taking out a loss black jacket from my inventory I covered the short Shirone as she clung to my body. Yu - Whatever happens, don''t leave my body and don''t look at what I''m about to do. Feeling her nod off in confirmation I broke the door handle with brute strength and pulled open the door. Entering stealth mode I first went to a room that was not too far from Shirone''s room. There I found the guard who previously banged on the door if he suddenly came to check on Shirone and find the door is broken I''m almost certain that they''d sound an alarm. Like a grim reaper, I gave the guys neck a twist before dumping him into the void. I had a bad opinion of the manor and it''s guards so I had no qualms killing them. After taking out the trash I then feel the presence signature of Shirone and tried to match it with another signature. Unfortunately, I couldn''t find it but I did hide a barrier that blocked all observation skills and magic. Within 5 minutes I traveled the manor, killing any guards I saw and dumping them in the void. When I found my self in front of a big dorm, I released stealth and felt the door for any magic resonance. The door did have mana in it, it was also very hard so breaking it down will be hard for normal people, but not for me. Backing away from the door until I was 4 meters away I summoned one of my longtime partners my Deadshot Revolvers. These things use mana as bullets and currently, the densest energy in the air happened to be one of the most destructive. Aiming at the door with both revolvers I activated [meditation] and sent any excess energy to my guns. Once I saw the magic build up, reach its limit I pulled the trigger. *BOOM!!!* I could feel Shirone''s fear from the blast and I spoke while walking into the room. Yu - Shirone when I stop walking get down and look for your sister I''ll make sure nothing happens to you. At the end of my words, I walked out of the dust cloud made from the blast and surveyed the room. There were 12 scientists, but most of them looked unimportant., all of them were scared still by my arrival. Then in the corner of my eye, I saw a human and a devil that was dressed in fine clothes, around them were three other scientists but they looked like they''d fall any minute. Shirone had already ran to the side of her sister and no one stopped her they were looking at me with caution. Done with my observation I used [Ground Shrink] and came up to the group of 6 scientists that were closest to me. With 2 void slashes, 6 heads rolled, as for the other 6 that were across the room, I release 3 bullets from each gun and 6 bodies fell to the ground. As for the remaining 5, I left them at gunpoint and made my way towards Shirone who was having trouble releasing Kuroka. She was not in the best shape her back was bear and multiple puncture wounds were found, her skin was pale almost as if she had now blood in her, and her body was frail looking. Placing down one of my guns I injected most of the life force I had in reserve while also taking the life force in the air and healed her. Probably because I didn''t want to see such a cute girl look so unhealthy I used not only healed her wounds but also fixed her complexion, and nourished her body. I noticed she was looking at me and smiled lightly. Yu - Don''t worry it''s going to be alright. Kuroka - Thank you! Within 7 minutes she was able to get up and walk like normal, now how are we going to deal with these guys in the back. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Time spent on Quest: 17 hours 59 minutes Chapter 14 - Judgement and Rest Giving my jacket to Kuroka, I slowly made my way to the 5 dead men in the corner. My steps were slow but loud, and to them, it seemed like I was death knocking on their door. By the time I could get to them the 3 lackeys in front had already fainted leaving only 2 conscious men. I just looked at them and said no word, the first to speak up was the devil. Naberius - Who do you thin-- Ahh~ I didn''t like his tone so I shot him in the tight. I was already planning to kill these f***ers in the beginning but went I saw their lab I was enraged. Mingled body parts and mutilated corpses were everywhere, I knew they were trying to create super devils but this made me sick. Lucky for me Shirone was too focused on finding Kuroka that she overlooked this or else she would have been scared. While I was watching the fallen devil with cold eyes I heard some soft footsteps. Before long both Shirone and Kuroka were at my side looking at this whole mess. Shirone was scared so she hides behind both me and Kuroka. At first, he was scared of what I''d do but, when he saw the girls he put a smile on his face (which was obviously fack) and spoke to them. The man - Ah girls it''s good to see your up and healthy, can you- Kuroka - Do you even know our names? He tried to get them to help him, but he was cut off by Kuroka who asked a question with an ice-cold tone. The man - That''s um... it''s- Kuroka - You don''t know them yet you still try to play off as our father. Do you even remember our mother? The man - Huh the Nekoshou wo- Kuroka - HER NAME WAS FUJIMAI!!! She seemed to be enraged by the man but I had to calm her down. Grabbing her shoulder I held it with a little pressure hoping to bring her back to her senses. After a couple short breaths, she spoke in a tone colder than before that even gave me chills. Kuroka - Are mother was a beautiful, caring, and sensible lady and the only fault she made in life was falling in love with you. This will be the last time we see you. Not even saying good-bye she turned around and started to lead Shirone out of the lab. Yu - What do you want me to do with these guys? I asked her a question while looking at her retreating figure. She stopped but didn''t turn around, Kuroka - I''ll leave it to you... The man - Hey wait you''re not- argh Yu - The only person you can blame is yourself, and don''t even think if asking for help. I''m a guy who holds family in the highest esteem, and guys like you who create a family but don''t take care of it disgust me. The man - Please n- *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* I had enough and wasted 8 bullets on him, 4 in the heart, and 4 in the brain. As for the devil, he was pale-faced and even peed himself. Devil - Name your price I can gi- *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* With my other gun I wasted another 4 bullets, 2 in the hear and the head. *Swoosh* As for the guys who passed out in fear I let them pass on quietly in their sleep with a void slash. Give the place one more look I exited the lab and saw kuroka beside the door holding Shirone in her arms Yu - Come on let''s go. She said nothing and simply took my hand followed me obediently. After that, I took them out of the manor through the secret passage and entered the forest. I choose to go into the forest opposite of the one I came out of for a number of reasons. What I didn''t expect was once we got inside the forest Kuroka collapsed, after further observation she seemed to have a lot of mental stress. Having no other choice I carried her in my arms like a princess and had Shirone jump on my back. With all of us ready to go I went into stealth and left the Manor as fast as I could. ---- After a full hour of travel, I found us a quiet cave in a mountain ecosystem and let us rest. I haven''t had some proper rest in more than 18 hours and my fatigue has been building up. Setting Kuroka down on a blanket I withdrew from my inventory I began to make us some food. My inventory stopped time flow so I always had lots of survival gear in case something ever happened. Right now I''ve already lit a fire and I''m currently roasting some hot dogs on that fire cause they were easy to make. Taking out some buns I brought my finished hot dogs over the Shirone and Kuroka who seemed to have woken up. Yu - Here eat up, you''re probably hungry, right? Both simply nodded and we all eat in silence. By the end of our meal, I asked what they wanted to do from here on. I was okay with taking them into my Heavenly World but the system had to unseal it first. While I did have that in mind I wasn''t going to force them if they wanted to leave. Yu - Your people what do you mean? There she told me about the dispatch force sent to her village and was surprised, it appears that me being brought to this world changed more things than I thought. Although I don''t want to take all the credit, I''m pretty sure some other factors needed to be taken into account first. When she finished she wanted to depart immediately I stopped her by asking her how far away her village is from here. Kuroka - 4 days walking 1 day running. Yu - Okay I understand that but do you think that you can make it there with the condition your in, not even I''m at 100% right now due to constantly being on the run. Right now it''s best to take a quick rest and leaving when we''re ready to go. She most likely knew she was being hasty and listen to my words, but was still a little sad deep down. Seeing her like this I couldn''t help myself from patting her on the head. Yu - Listen to me you two... We''re not gods we can''t help everyone the best thing to do is just try our best. I''ll help you two for as long as I''m still able to stay in the underworld. With those words, I set down a big futon and a warm blanket. It was pretty cold in the mountains so I left the fire on and laid down to get some rest. I laid down a futon and blanket for the girls too but they got in my futon instead. *Yawn~* Oh well I''m too tired to comment on this, I''m going to bed. Time Spent on Quest: 20 hours Chapter 15 - The Second Rescue Operation Gets out of Hand I was awoken 5 hours later by a sharp pain on both my shoulders. When I looked to see who the culprit was I saw two cats sinking their teeth into my skin. Yu - Ouch!! If you girls were hungry I had extra food, you don''t have to eat me!! Both of them let go of me and tried to play it off as nothing happened but Shirone''s stomach made an appearance which was pretty funny. Giving out a tired sigh I pulled out some bread, some eggs, and bacon as well as a pan. Reheating the fire that died out not long ago I started making some more food but I happened to notice something that caught my attention. *Ding* [Congradulation Host has completed the hidden quest [Prince Charming]] [Prince Charming - You have discovered two helpless cat girls who are in desperate need of a hero. Task 1: Save Kuroka and Shirone(Koneko) from falling into despair Rewards: 1) skill - Grand Lotus Protection 2) skill - Inscription] While I was happy I got a quest completion I couldn''t stop an imaginary tick mark from appearing on my head. First of all I ain''t no prince charming, second I never once planned to be a hero, and third, they were never going to enter despair. Maybe they''d get depressed but not despair it doesn''t say that in the book... (it think). [Grand Lotus Protection] (Active) Lvl:1 [Max Lvl: 10] [Inscription] (Active) Lvl:1 [Max Lvl: 10] Active effect - With the use of mana the user can inscribe defense based spells or skills into equipment (Derived from blacksmithing) Honestly, these skills were amazing, after 10 long years I finally have a pure defense skill, and the second skill lets me mimic the effect onto another piece of equipment. Quickly giving Kuroka and Shirone their food I searched through my inventory for some equipment to inscribe Grand Lotus Protection on too. However, the only thing I could muster that meet the requirement was some necklaces. They had the same design as the one I gave Irina but they were made after she left. 1 week after she left I didn''t know what to do so I started making stuff, lost on autopilot mode I saw that I made multiple version of the same necklace. Having nothing else to do I began to work and after half an hour I was able to make two necklaces. [Protection Lotus Pendant - A pendant inscribed with the protection of a lotus. Whenever the user is in danger the Protection Lotus Pendant will activate making a barrier shielding the user. (Once used the inscription will wear off and it will return to being a normal pendant)] The usage may have been limited but it was still better than nothing. I don''t know why I was being overprotective but my instincts kept telling me to be prepared and my instincts were usually on point. But I didn''t get why; Nekoshou were really strong, they were are even feared by devils I don''t think they''ll be beaten by a small group of devils... right. Another chill went down my spine, I felt like I needed to hurry, eating my food as fast as I could I cleaned up the campsite and we left. We were all running to the same location but quickly I meet with a problem, these girls were too slow. If it were before I came to the Underworld then we''d be even but now for me, they''re slow. I kept feeling this raging emotion telling me to go faster so I switched our individual running, to them being in my arms while I run. [Ground Shrink] took a lot of energy so I only used [dash] and the trip which should have taken a day was only 4 hours. ---- When the village came into view I noticed that the surroundings were oddly quiet. There were no devils or Nekoshou in sight. Keeping the girls in my arms I made my way into the village, and the sight I saw made my mind stop for a minute. Scattered on the floor were multiple Nekoshou woman statues, all of them had different appearances and were in different positions. Some were on the ground some were standing up. There was even a pair that was cradling each other in their arms. The girls weren''t any better, the broke free from me and ran to the nearest statue of their old clan members. Once they got up close they were shocked the same as I was but I had more surprise in expression rather than shocked. Yu - [The Nekoshou were said to be strong when I heard about them in the book there''s no way they could have fallen like this. There must be some clues I forgot to notice.] Releasing my spirit sense I scanned the whole village and noticed that there was a lot of water spread throughout the city. Thinking that it was the only clue I could find I appraised the water and found something I didn''t expect. [Medusa''s Curse - A poison made from the blood of gorgons and other dangerous herbs. This poison can immediate the stare of Medusa and turn the consumer to stone. When diluted in water the effect is delayed by 6 hours, the more contaminated water that comes into contact with the skin hastens the injection rate. Immune to the purifying effects of life force energy, and can''t be detected once consumed. Created by a scientist of the Naberius branch family] Damn! Turns out me being here affected more things than I thought, even people I didn''t come in contact with were affected. Returning to the girls'' side I appraised the Nekoshou woman and found out that they weren''t dead yet!! From what I could point out they were in a coma-like state considering the fact that [Medusa''s Curse] was meant to be a neutralizing agent rather than a killing one. In the story, Kuroka told me on our way here they were here to capture the Nekoshou rather than killing them. This means there''s probably a cure back at Naberius Manor. The reason the Naberius army wasn''t here was that they were at the source of the water poisoning it. They probably had a lot of people so they can have the manpower to transport the Nekoshou! Elated with my discovery I told the girls what I found and revealed my appraisal skill saying it was an ability I had and they were happy too knowing they could save their people. Shirone - But how are we going to bring all of them away, if we leave them here than those people will take them away. Yu - Leave it to me! If they''re not fully considered alive I might be able to find them in my storage space. True to my words I walked up to one of the statues and tried to put it into my inventory. It went in without resistance, with my eyes wide open I looked at the girls who also had their eyes opened. Taking in a quick breath of air I spread my spirit sense once more and began to collect all the statues in the village and by the river stream. Yu - F***!!! Using [Ground Shrink] I quickly grabbed the girls but as I was about to use it again I suddenly felt excruciating pain spread through my whole body. I don''t know why it''s happening, it was different from normal pain I get from wounds it''s mental pain. Normal pain can be reduced with [pain resistance] but mental pain is a whole different thing, I don''t have any skills to negate mental pain. And the worst part is whenever I try to use [Ground Shrink] or [Dash] my whole body gives me a big mental shock. From a quick analysis, it probably has something to do with my blood cause the pain is mostly coming from my heart and veins. They continued to shoot more fireballs and other spells destroying everything in sight, it took my 100% as well as all my movement and support skills to just leave the village. Once we were out I realized karma wanted to be a real b**** cause what we saw was about 100 armed soldiers blocking our way. Among their ranks most were mid-rank with some high-rankers among them, looking at these numbers my heart went cold. Making quick work of my options I ran towards the river bank, putting most of my strength into my legs I jumped the bank without getting wet and ran into the forest behind it. Running with all my might I focused half of my effort into healing my wounds but I realized that it would take more time than I had. Focusing back my conscious to my surroundings I notice I had reached a dead end. At first, I thought I could scale the wall but soon realized that the wall was too high for me to both climb or jump. The height was even higher than [Ground Shrink''s] current distance limit so even if I could use it''d be useless. While I was trying to formulate a plan I started to hear the marching sound of the arm. Turning around I saw that our only exit was blocked and more spells were being thrown our way. Yu - GRAND LOTUS PROTECTION!!!!!!! Putting down the girls I turned round to face the army, extended my left hand, and shouted the name of my only defense based skill. This skills used my energy reserves to create a barrier and currently both my mana and life force were lower than 20% due to everything I''ve been doing today. It was beautiful but I didn''t have the time to admire the sight, the lotus was also transparent and I could see the spells and soldiers coming. While the lotus did protect me from damage, but the impact from the spells caused my feet to sink into the ground. As the spells kept coming the soldiers continued their march and I had about 6 minutes before they''d get here. Pushing my brain to the limit once more blood started to come out of my eyes (it seemed like I popped some blood vessels), but due to this I was able to come up with a plan but it was stupid and the chance of me dying was high but I could buy these girls a chance to get out of here. Turning my head I saw the girls who looked frightened by the situation I returned my gaze back at the army so they wouldn''t see my face. With a resolute tone I spoke: Yu - Kuroka. Kuroka - Y-yes what it? She was startled and I could understand why. Yu - Listen to me, I''m about to do something and it''s going to be pretty big. When that happens but all your mana and life force that you can muster into the pendant I gave you, it''ll protect you but only once. When this is all over I want you to take Shirone and get out of here. Find someone that you can trust to help protect you, and help make you stronger. I couldn''t reply immediately, I could tell that my silence scared her so I needed to say something. Yu - ...If karma doesn''t want to kill me I''ll see you in a bit. Kuroka - What do you mean?!?! I didn''t reply to her and only started to channel all my spatial essence into the air creating a transparent dome one mile in each direction. *Ding* Using my right arm to support my left arm teal colored lines began to appear on my arm. The lotus was beginning to break but I wouldn''t let anything stop me. My eyes started to water, not by blood but tears and I had to close my eyes. Yu - [Mom, Dad, Issei ... Irina, Kuroka, Shirone ... please forgive me] Opening my eyes again, this time they were clear and a resolute look replaces my tears. The air within the dome started to spin out of control with me in the center of it. The image of the world outside the dome started to distort. Sending out a plus of energy from my body I spoke and my voice was heard by everyone in the dome. Yu - I am the bone of my sword. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Time spent on Quest: 29 hours 30 minutes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Ding* [Host''s bloodline has been stimulated. 9 percent has been awoken.] Chapter 16 - An Interesting Youth {Pov: Sirzechs} I am Sirzechs Lucifer formally Sirzechs Gremory but when I took the reins as one of the 4 devil kings of the underworld my last name was changed. Currently, I am at the Gremory Estate looking after my little sister Rias who had just gotten her first servant. She is at this moment being lectured by my bishop class servant MacGregor Mathers in the ways of being a high-class devil. I''d do it myself but I''m not very good at that sort of thing, luckily MacGregor likes doing these kinds of thing. Thus I let him as well as some other tutors handle her teaching while I watch from the background. It''s been about a month since Rias returned home with her first servant, a fallen angel/human hybrid named Akeno Himejima. At first, she was a little reserved when walking around the estate but she soon got accustomed to it. Rias has even told me that she is her best friend which brought me a lot of joy. Due to being the next heir to the Gremory Household, she hasn''t had many opportunities to find friends so this change of pace is welcomed. Right now we''re all in the courtyard of the estate, I''m enjoying some tea and Rias, Akeno, and MacGregor are continuing on with their lesson. To my side was my Queen-class servant and wife Grayfia, ha~ it''s times like these when you enjoy the finest things in like. !!!! As if to disrupt this moment of peace I felt a sudden spike in demonic energy, it was very far but it was still there. I didn''t seem to be the only one who felt it as MacGregor seemed to stop the lesson and gazed at the horizon and Grayfia also looked to the horizon too. Rias - Onii-sama what''s wrong. Sirzechs - There seems to be something going on out in the far eastern sector of the Underworld. It''s unusual... I''ll send someone to investigate it later. Rias - Hey can we go and see it? Sirzechs - What? Why would you want to do that it''s not like it''s significantly important to you or anything why would you want to see that? Unable to fathom why she''d want to go I asked her Rias - Because I''m going to be the heir to the Gremory house and being aware of the danger and responding to it is something a leader should know! She puffed out her ?h?st and showed me a confident stance and I honestly wanted to let her go but it wasn''t something that felt dangerous. At most, it was just a natural phenomenon that had no drastic repercussions. MacGregor - Master I think we should go an investigate as well, even if it ends up being nothing dangerous something of a natural phenomenon shouldn''t reach us all the way here. Also, I''m very curious about what''s going on over there. Right Lady Rias, miss Akeno. Letting out a sign I had Grayfia ready my Rook-class servant Bahumut for our journey east. I was also curious about what was going on but as a Devil King doing whatever I want just to satisfy my curiosity wasn''t something I could do. On our way out we crossed paths with my other Rook-class servant Surtr Second and Souji Okita my knight-class servant. Before I could even greet them Rias told them where we were going and they asked to join. The more the merrier I always saw but I think it''s a bit overkill to have so many powerhouses go and investigate something so small. ---- After a few hours of flying, we came to the scene of the disturbance and we were surprised by the sight. From birds, eye view all the trees in the area were whithered down and seemed no vitality in them what so ever. As for the amount of demonic energy it was close to zero, wasn''t a large amount of it supposed to have gathered here? ??? - Yoohoo~~ Sirzechs-chan over here!! Looking down from the top of Bahamut I noticed 5 figures on the ground, I was able to recognize two of them but the others were strangers to me. They were Serafall Leviathan another devil king who came from the Sitri family and her little sister Sona Sitri. As for the other ones two of them were clothed in long black robes so my guess was they were members of the Sitri family. And the last one was a girl similar to Sona''s age so I ?ssumed that she was her new servant considering the fact that she had left for the human world at the same time as Rias. Coming down from the top of Bahamut I greeted Serafall who was in her pink magic girl outfit as always. Ha, she never changes... Serafall - You came here to check out the disturbance too Sirzechs-chan? Serafall - Same for me and Sona here, but why do you have your whole peerage with you? Sirzechs - Some were invited by Rias and the others were curious. So what happened here? Serafall - Nothing much we did meet some fellow devils of the Naberius house but they couldn''t find anything so they spread further out to try and find something but~... Sirzechs - You were able to find something and kept it hidden. Serafall - Wrong!! It was all Gustav here! Crossing her hands making an X she denied my ?ssumption and patted the shoulder of one of the robed men. Looking at him closely I noticed that he was a dogman so he probably could find something normal devils won''t. Sirzechs - So what did you find Gustav. Gustav - Reporting while all of the devils were looking for physical evidence I happened to pick up the scent of a human child in the cave right behind us. The scent seemed a few hours old and when I followed the scent I discovered that it went straight to the Naberius Manor not too far from here. Sirzechs - A human child? He was able to find all that out with his nose I''m impressed, with no further delay all of us made our way towards the Naberius Manor but when we got to the gates no one arrived. I was certain we were detected by their barrier but no one came after 10 minutes passed no one came to greet us and we started to get suspicious. Giving Serafall a quick look I ordered Surtr Second the command to break the gate. Even then no one came thus we decided to search the manor with vigilance however, it wasn''t long before we realized that the manor was empty not a person in sight. I was puzzled but then came Gustav''s warning. Gustav - Lady Leviathan, Lord Lucifer I smell a lot of blood coming from around the corner, it''s faint but it''s still there! Serafall - Alright you two stay here and protect the children we''ll go and investigate. Making our way down the hallway we save a giant door that seemed to have been blasted open with magic. Through that door however came the scene of a bloody massacre, corpses were found lying on the floor left, right, and center. Serafall - I''m glad I had the kids stay back this would have traumatized them. Sirzechs - Agreed Serafall who seemed to have lost her playful tone went to examine the bodies but found none were alive, two of which were even gunned down having multiple holes in the heads and ?h?st. The Super-Devil research. The Nekoshou sisters Their suffering And the mysterious boy who appeared out of nowhere. This boy interested me the most, he was so young yet so powerful for his age. He had ideas that I could agree with, resolve to finish his tasks, and a proper head on his shoulders. He was ruthless but he didn''t kill without reason, the people here were terrible people and he put an end to the, what shocked most of us was that while he was only 10 years old he didn''t have any problem ending a life. A person like that could either have a strong and resolute will or a twisted personality but for some reason, I believed it was the first option. We learned a lot from these tapes but what I wanted to know was where the youth went with those two Nekoshou. From what we learned from the bedroom camera he was brought here through a spatial rift, not through normal means. Alas, I could only leave without knowing my answer. ---- Serafall - Hey Gustav the boy whose scent you found can you still track it? Gustav - The scent... Yes, it continues out on the other side of the manor into the forest but, it seemed that the boy had 2 more people with him. Serafall - En, follow that the trail I want to see who this boy is with my own eyes. Sirzechs - You were curious about that boy too? Serafall - Ya I fell that he will be a powerful force one day and I want to see if I can make him my servant. Sirzechs - You just want to hand your sister a strong servant don''t you? Serafall - ... I was able to see through her instantly but I can''t deny that I''d do any better. It''s just that I feel that the boy won''t serve anyone and will one day be the one who is served by many. While I was in thought I felt a tug of my sleeve and saw that Rias was looking at me with a confused gaze. Rias - Onii-sama what''s going on, who''s this boy? Chapter 17 - World of Blades, Field of Corpses {Pov: Rias} I am Rias Gremory heir to the house of Gremory and my day today has, lead me from one place to another. Originally I had come to the eastern sector of the underworld due to a strang spike in demonic energy but once we actually got here things started to get out of control. First, we meet Sona and her sister at the sight because like us they were also curious but later we made our way to the local devil noble''s manor only to find out it was empty. Onii-sama and Serafall-sama along with a couple other people went into the house but we were told to stay but. They tried their best to hide it under their breath but I heard them mention the word blood. When Onii-sama and the others came back the first to speak was Serafall-sama, she wanted to find a boy. A boy?? Thinking back the reason we were here was that we followed a trail left by a human boy, but I don''t get why we have to specifically look for him. When I asked who the boy was Onii-sama told me he was around my age but stronger, Sona also started to wonder who this boy was because both of us were around the same in strength. After getting some more details we learned that in this manner were bad devils who were working on illegal experiments. Then the people who were being experimented on were two Nekoshou sister who suffered for years. I felt sympathetic for the girls as did the others with me but I was surprised at what came next. The boy the one were looking for happened to cross paths with one of the sisters and she told him their story. The boy felt sorry for them and promised to help them, and with the use of all his skills he defeated everyone in the manor and took the girls away from here. Akeno - It''s like a story from a fairy tale. She''s right if some other person told me this I''d think it was a story too, but the people in front of me never lied to me so I could only believe it. After that, we followed the boy''s trail with the help of Gustav, and for some reason the more we travel to more I wanted to see this boy. I kept remembering what Onii-sama said over and over in my head and couldn''t stop my self from wondering what he was like in person. Akeno and Tsubaki (Sona''s Queen) also seemed to wander the same thoughts as me, even Sona too while she tried to keep straight face I saw that her eyes seemed to wander from place to place. We had already passed by their campsite and now we were closing in on the Nekoshou village. Then before we could even see to the village in sight we heard to sounds of battle, hastening our pace we exited the forest and looked at the destroyed village in front of us. To be honest it made pretty sad these were peoples homes and other people just had to destroy them. Akeno - Look over there by the river! Everyone looked to where she pointed and we save a male youth escaping the bombardment of spells by jumping over the river and running into the forest behind it. While I didn''t get a good look there were to girls in his arms just like Onii-sama said. Watching the army of devils enter the forest soon after I started to feel worried about the boy. I tried to get Onii-sama to help but before I could he made a motion to Uncle Mathers, I didn''t know what he was going to do but before I knew it a magic circle appeared before our feet and we teleported to a new location. I was confused, I wanted to know where we were but the sound of explosions attracted my attention. We seemed to be on top of a ridge by the entrance of a canyon, inside that canyon I saw the boy again but he didn''t look like he was doing so good. He was still having spells thrown at him but he now had a shield the shape of a lotus protecting him. Behind him were the Nekoshou sisters, in front of him were a lot of soldiers coming their way. Surtr Second - Master should we intervene Sirzechs - No, I want to see what he does. Look at his eyes they don''t seem to have lost their fighting spirit. Listening to Onii-sama I tried looking at the boy''s eyes but he was too far away for me to see. As if he read my mind Uncle Mathers used a spell to enhance everyone''s eyesight. Once I could see I confirmed Onii-sama''s words. While the boy was covered in wounds, while he was fighting a losing battle his eyes didn''t seem to lose hope. Right now while he wasn''t looking at the girls I saw that he was talking to them, when it seemed like he had finished talking teal colored lines appeared on his left arm. Sirzechs - MacGregor!! MacGregor - On it!! Rias - Onii-sama what''s wrong?! Sirzechs - Look at the sky Rias, I don''t know what happened but a spatial dome suddenly appeared out of nowhere! MacGregor is currently trying to lock our position in place so we don''t get trapped! I was surprised when I looked up at the sky it did look strange and I was having this thought the wind started to pick up really fast. While I was trying to adjust to the wind all of us heard a loud clear voice, it wasn''t from a shout more but like a low calm declaration. "I am the bone of my sword" "Steel is my body" "And fire is my blood" "I have created over a thousand blades" "Unknown to death" "Nor known to life" "Having withstood great pains to create many weapons" "Yet these hands will never hold anything" "Waiting for that one to arrive" "So I pray" "Unlimited Blade Works" ---- Rias - Ouch! It hurt so I was in reality, and the world before me was real too. Currently, all of us are on a magic circle floating in the air, and before us is a landscape I don''t know whether to call scary or magical. On the ground, there were hundreds, if not thousands or weapons stabbed. The land was that of a dying meadow, it looked like it was once a beautiful field in the past, but dead grass and multiple weapons littered the area. In the sky was a light fog, and within that fog was giant rusty gears. Pillars could be seen on the horizon, I counted five each a different color. In the center was a clean marble pillar, on its north side was an aqua blue pillar. To the east an emerald green pillar, the west a crimson red pillar, and to the south an ebony black pillar. Standing in front of those pillars was the boy, his shield was gone and he looked tired but be seemed to be calmer than before. Opposite to him was the devil army, they were confused by the sudden change but I could be some mages were trying to reorganize the troops. *Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Swoosh* However just as they were about to calm down 4 of the 25 we beheaded by flying swords, and with that, as it''s trigger the world started to change. *Tink* *Tink* *Tink* In the sky, the gears started to turn, and while they turned the rust on them started to disappear and the sky started to clear. The pillars started to glow and that, in turn, caused the weapons on the ground started to vibrate as if they had just come alive. ??? - Rrraaaawwwwrrr!!! Suddenly the boy screamed a loud warcry and charged towards the army by himself, in the air around him was 4 flying swords as well as two swords in his hand. The army heard his cry and some of the mages started to aim spells at him. But just like they some him, he saw them as well, with a powerful throw both the swords in his hand shot towards the army and following them were the 4 flying swords on the boys back. 4 of the mages were unprepared and died but the last two put up a barrier and luckily survived. The battle started with 125 soldiers, and 25 mages but in these few short minutes 8 mages were already dead and the troops were only just getting in battle formation once more. The boy on the other never stopped his charge and even replenished his lost weapons with the ones on the ground. I at first thought that the flying swords were just swords enchanted with a levitation spell and threw with wind magic but I was wrong. If one soldier were to dodge an incoming sword the sword would change its trajectory and kill a soldier who dropped its guard. As the boy progressed further the number of weapons that accompanied him grew and when the boy meets the army he had a sword in each hand and, 20 different weapons circled the air around him. Even with the interference of the army, the boy didn''t stop and he slowly created a path of blood and corpses. Souji - Nice slaughtering techniques. Rias - Slaughtering techniques? Souji - Just like who sword techniques and styles are used for battle or in duels, slaughtering techniques are meant for one thing to kill. I say their nice because while they do have some opening here and there those weapons circling around him covers to opening. Even his healing techniques are unique. Rias - Hu? But he hasn''t been using healing techniques all he''s been doing it fighting. MacGregor - Lady Rias look closely at his body see how he isn''t bleeding. While he does have decent, fighting abilities but his defense isn''t perfect he is getting injured but he''s not bleeding. Listening to Uncle Mathers I look closer at his body and saw that when he does get injured balls of liquified steel entered his body and start healing them. How was he doing it was it a spell or something more... When those thoughts were occu[ying my mind the boy broke through the siege of soldiers and tried to charge the mages but was meet with a large fireball. He didn''t even have time to dodge and the fireball exploded. I thought he had died and looked away, the cheers of soldiers could be heard in the background. Sirzechs - Keep looking Rias, he''s not dead yet. Rias - Huh? I believed his words and looked to the battlefield and saw that behind the mages that had dropped their guard stood the boy and with the wave of his hand many swords flew and killed all 13 mages. Before they had 5 mages set up a barrier in case the boy threw more swords at them while the other eat prepared attack spells but when they dropped their guard so did the barrier. Their deaths were clean and silent no normal person would be able to detect anything wrong but that army had some exceptions. When those people saw that he killed the mages some were scared, some we calm, but they all had one thing in common they all looked to the kid as if he was a monster. Only a monster would be able to survive an explosion that big after just suffering from a siege of soldiers. Even I was surprised, I kept thinking "is this boy really my age and not just some short master who''s had years of battle experience?" The army grew silent no one moved, in their last fight with the boy of the 125 of them that participated 83 of them came out alive 42 of them had painted the floor with their blood. The boy then started to walk toward the army he no longer ran, I believed he had gotten tired and only wanted to conserve stamina but then I hear the sound of wind being cut. *Swoosh* Suddenly 20 weapons the weapons that had originally follow the boy before he was ''hit'' by the fireball appeared from the ground and killed 20 unlucky soldiers died. When those blades had finished their job they stopped moving and 20 more weapons from the outside started to attack the soldiers as well. This caused the army to go into a panic and thus let the boy join in the fight picking off anyone who wasn''t taken care of by a flying weapon. MacGregor - Oh!! I see now! Rias - !?!? While I was watching the fight Uncle Mathers suddenly shouted in understanding. MacGregor - Before when the boy first used that technique I thought it was first a really complete enchantment but turns out it''s more of an ability that lets him manipulates the weapons found in this separate space. He previously only could hand 4 at a time but he slowly got the hang of it and brought the number up to 20. My guess that this ability has limits and depending on those limits determines it''s attack power. His limit now is 20 because if not he would have used every weapon in this place to rain down weapons on that army. Such a- I decided to ignore Uncle Mathers now once he gets into a subject he really likes he tends to cause people headaches. Finally, with the ?ssistance of his infinite arsenal of weapons, the boy was able to defeat everyone in the army. Once the battle was over the boy seemed to have lost most of his energy and fell down, with his fall the world we were in slowly dispelled and we soon found ourselves back on the top of the ridge. Below us was the boy but he was surrounded by a field of corpses and coming his way was a pair of crying Nekoshou sisters. Surtr Second - I got to say I didn''t think he had it in him. Souji - Yes a boy who fought in a world of blades and created a field of corpses... you could write a poem about that. Sirzechs - Let''s go I want to go see who this boy really is. Serafall - Okay I''ll race you to him! Coming down from the ridge we walked towards the boy, and as we were I heard Akeno tell me. Akeno - Today has been a weird day hasn''t it Rias? Rias - Yes it has. Chapter 18 - Returning Home: Adapting Two Little Kittens 30 minutes that was about the limited amount of time I could fight for without my body breaking down on me. Using [Unlimited Blade Works] was a risky gamble, I had never used it before and wasn''t really familiar with how to control it. In the end, I had to learn as I progressed but it caused me to take multiple risks. Due to the abilities healing function, I was able to not bleed out in the battle but now my adrenaline levels have gone down and my body is feeling the backlash. In this fight, I had not only over exerted 80 percent of my body, almost caused myself to go threw mana deficiency (think of it as mind zero from Danmachi), and a major portion of my body has been replaced with steel. I knew this was going to happen and boy is this painful. Due to the damage, I suffered on my body I was currently unable to move if I can''t find a way to fix it I might become crippled. As for the mana deficiency because of this, it''s pretty hard to stay conscious right now most of my senses are gone and the only ones I can use are my sense of sight and taste. In all honesty, I think I''m about to die. Giving into this feeling I started to lose consciousness, a little bit of me welcomed this feeling while the other part of me hated it. I may not have been aware of how I died in my past life, but at least I did know in this life. Yu - ... ---- {Shirone Pov:} I had no word for what I just witnessed, and it seemed like my older sister was the same. Both of us couldn''t help but be at awe, the world of blades was a sight to behold and its creator was even more awe-inspiring. Yu Hyoudou... that was his name thinking back to a few hours ago when I just meet him I never would have thought that I''d start to depend on him this much. I was grateful to him for saving my sister, and I was grateful that he took us away from that gloomy mansion. When we were camping for once I felt like I was free, and that I didn''t have to worry about bad people coming to get me. Was it because he was here that I finally felt save? I believe so and I didn''t want this feeling to leave but when I told this to my sister after he had gone to sleep all she did was smile lightly at me before falling asleep too. After that, I followed them and slept too, however when I woke up I realized that I was bitting Yu''s shoulder. I didn''t know what to do, bitting a man''s shoulder has a specific meaning at our village did he know it? If he didn''t that fine, great even but if he did I think I might die of embarrassment. Thankfully he didn''t but I had one question, Kurokaonee-san also bit his shoulder was it also in her sleep or did she do it on purpose. When we had arrived at our village we were horrified to see what happened to our people but were then relieved to know that they could be cured. But our relief didn''t last long because we were attacked, Yuu was injured and because we were too slow he had to carry us away from there. We tried to escape but were cornered and Yuu had to fight because we knew we would be of no help, and rather than help we''d bring him down. Seeing this I felt angry at myself for being so weak. I was so happy and I felt something warm up in my ?h?st but the feeling soon died out when I say Yu fall to the ground. In a panic I ran to him, and so did my sister tears were falling from our eyes and, we lost control of our emotions. When we got to his side we desperately tried to wake him up but he wouldn''t move. Kurokaonee-san tried to heal him with Senjutsu but it didn''t work. Despair started to take over our hearts and we were about to lose our minds but then something happened. A magic circle appeared from Yu''s forehead, it began to grow bigger until it eventually broke and with it so did space. Seeing this I remember he told me that he came here through a rift in space. Suddenly the rift started to suck Yu into it, we tried to keep him here but we were also pulled in as well. I don''t know where we were going but I knew I didn''t want to leave Yu''s side. Giving one last look at the underworld I saw a small group of people coming our way but ignored them as I held onto Yu arm tighter than ever. And like that Kurokaonee-san and I left the underworld with Yu. ---- {Yu Pov:} *Chirp* *Chirp* When I regained consciousness the first thing I heard when I woke up was the chirping of birds outside or at least that''s what I thought. As of right now, my eyes feel like I have been looking at the sun for hours, and my body felt so sore like I had just hit the jump for 10 days straight. When my vision clearly slightly I realized that I was back in my living room resting on the couch. Due to the soreness, I still couldn''t move but I was certain of one thing Yu - I''m alive... But where are the girls I tried forcing my body to lift itself up but I felt some weight on my ?h?st, there were the girls sleeping in my arms. I was relieved I''m pretty sure if I died then they would fall into despair having no one to trust. Slowly rocking my body from side to side I called their names hoping to wake them up because I didn''t know when mom and Issei would get home. Kuroka/Shirone - Muu... Yu - Girls wake up... no joke you need to wake up! After 5 minutes of me trying to wake them up the finally opened their eyes. At first, they were confused but when they saw me they started to tear up and they buried my head in their ?h?st. Kuroka was 13 and had some development they''re making her ?h?st soft but, she was only 8 and still had nothing down there causing me to feel nothing but rib. It''s not like I didn''t enjoy their embrace but I wondered how it would feel like in a couple more years *cough* were getting off track here. Yu - Girls! L-let go, y-your choking me!! Yu - *cough* *cough* it''s fine... Shirone - Um... Yuu where are we? Yu - Hmm? Oh, we''re at my house. When I said that both of them were surprised and then started to survey the whole living room with eyes full of curiosity. They seemed to really like the sunshine that passed through the wind, from what I saw the underworld only had a red sky but no sun. Kuroka - Are we going to live here now? She said this with a bit of hidden pleading but sadly I had to cut her off. Yu - No I share this place with my family and to them your just two random girls, even if I wanted to I would be able to keep you here. At most I can store you guys inside a separate space that no one will find you but we''ll only be able to see each other when I can have the chance to sneak away from my family. They were sad and dropped their ears when they heard my reply but soon Kuroka''s ears sprang up making it look like she had an idea. Kuroka - What if we got smaller? I was confused how can they make themselves smaller, and as if she read my mind Kuroka started to glow and her glowing figure started to shrink. When the glow faded what I saw was a small black kitten with golden eyes, Shirone seemed to have also gotten the same idea and followed in Kuroka''s footsteps. Before I knew it a black and a white kitten with golden eyes sat before me swinging their tails in unison. Yu - Wha-... How the hell is that possible!? I know you 2 are cat girls but I didn''t know that you could actually become cats. Kuroka - It''s actually very easy when nekoshou start to practice yokai arts one of the first things they teach us is how to become a cat. Shirone - If we''re like this can we stay with you? Although they were cats the puppy dog eyes they gave me did 10 times more damage it should have done if they were in their human forms. I wasn''t going to refuse them after I saw this but the puppy dog eyes caused my brain to stop for a minute. Yu - Y-ya I just got to tell my family about it first. Kuroka/Shirone - Yay!! While still in their cat forms they jumped in the air repeatedly and I could help my self from thinking how cute they were right now. After mom came home that day she was surprised by the sight of 2 kittens in my arms and after a bit of pleading and begging I was able to get Kuroka and Shirone to live in the Hyoudou household as our family pets. However, whenever they were alone with me they turned back into girls. Turns out Issei was fine and only got a caste on his arm to help with the healing, but the process to 31 hours due to the massive flood of patients that day so no one knew I was gone. ---- Then on the night after I returned from the Underworld, I went to go to bed with both the girls curled up beside my pillow when I suddenly got multiple messages from the system. *Ding*[Due to Host awakening 31 percent of Host''s bloodline Host has revealed his race of **** ****, with the awakening of 31 percent of the bloodline Host has unlocked some innate bloodline skills and abilities.] *Ding*[Due to certain choices the host has made Host''s bloodline has gone ramped, skills from Host''s bloodline will begin to devour some of Host''s current skills] *Ding*[Due to specific circumstances some of Host''s innate abilities have begun to change Host''s physic] *Ding*[Due to the rapid change in Host''s race, skills, bloodline, and physic Host has unlocked the [Job] function of the system. Host has received the job [Primordial Emperor]] *Ding*[Due to not having cleared enough requirements the job [Primordial Emperor] has downgraded to [Apostle] until Host has meet standard requirements.] *Ding*[Until host has unlocked all of Host''s bloodline Primordial Energy will still be locked until further notice.] *Ding*[Host is about to go into an evolutionary process, Host has 1 minute to find a safe place to rest until the process is over.] Yu - (0_0'') Chapter 19 - Massive Increase in Strength Yu - (0_0'') With the sudden blast of notifications, I hesitated for a moment wondering what was going to happen but a split second later, I grabbed the sleeping kittens next to me and entered my Heavenly World. Once we got there the girls woke with a start, but I had to calm them down fast cause I was short on time. Yu - Girls listen I''m about to go through an evolution and I won''t be awake for a certain period of time. I''ll be fine so whatever happens, don''t panic, just look after my body for a while. With that said I laid down on the grassy floor closed my eyes and went into a deep slumber. The last thing I saw before drifting off into the land dreams was *Ding*[The evolution process will now begin, at this moment the system will now recap any of the changes the Host has made over the past couple of hours. These choices will help the system understand why Host''s bloodline has gone ramped] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ {A/N: Right now Yu''s asleep, this is sort of like a point of view from the system''s notification board. It''ll post things that Yuu checked and didn''t check as well as input skills Yuu got when he was taking in animal traits into his body} *Ding*[Host has purchased [Body Refining Manuel - Life and Death Spiritualization]] [With the ?ssistance of [Life and Death Spiritualization - Stage 1] Host has refined the traits of a Black Forest Lizard and has increased Host''s defense by a certain amount] [Due to taking in the traits of a Black Forest Lizard, Host has gained the skills [Hard Scales], and [Heat Detection]] [With the ?ssistance of [Life and Death Spiritualization - Stage 2] Host has refined the traits of a Spirit Wolf and has increased Host''s speed and perception by a certain amount] [Due to taking in the traits of a Spirit Wolf, Host has gained the skills [Howl], and [Animalistic Senses]] [With the ?ssistance of [Life and Death Spiritualization - Finale Stage] Host has refined the traits of a Mad Boar and has increased Host''s strength, and defense by a certain amount] [Due to taking in the traits of a Mad Boar, Host has gained the skills [Bashing Charge], and [Berserker]] [...] {A/N: The empty boxes will mean a certain amount of time has passed since the last notification] [...] *Ding* [Host''s bloodline has been stimulated, through the use of the skill [Unlimited Blade Works] 9 percent has been awoken.] [The innate ability ****** has been stimulated through the use of the skill [Unlimited Blade Works] [Due to the influence of [Unlimited Blade Works] the skill [Sword Force] has been unlocked] [...] *Ding* [Congradulations for completing the quest [Survival] Host has gained the skills [Teleportation], [Void Form], and [Ice Magic]. Host bloodline has awakened an extra 22 percent of Host''s bloodline as well as gained a large amount of strength] [The use of Host''s Heavenly World has been unsealed, and Host will be returning back for through a spatial rift] [Due to Host''s life being at risk the skill ******** ******* has been f?r??b?? awakened and has begun healing all of Host''s wounds] [...] *Ding* [All of Host''s wounds have been fully healed] [Due to Host awakening 31 percent of Host''s bloodline Host has revealed his race of **** ****, with the awakening of 31 percent of the bloodline Host has unlocked some innate bloodline skills and abilities.] [Host''s bloodline has begun to activate due to foreign traits Host has added using [Life and Death Spiritualization], and has begun to devour those traits as well as cause host''s body to go into an evolutionary state] [Host''s bloodline has gone ramped, skills from Host''s bloodline will now also begin to devour some of Host''s current skills] [...] *Ding* [Host has unlocked the [Job] system function] [Host has received the job [Primordial Emperor] but has not met all requirement and Host''s job has been downgraded to [Apostle]] [Due to Host gaining the job [Apostle] Host has gained the skills, [Mind''s Eye], [Magic Resistance], [Paralysis Resistance], [Petrification Resistance], [High-Speed Regeneration], [Sword Mastery], [Polearm Mastery], and [Subordination]] [Host''s current skills of [Blacksmithing], [Inscription], and [Cooking] have transformed into the Sub-Jobs: Blacksmith, Rune Maker, and Beginner Cook] [...] *Ding* [Innate bloodline skills, [Genbu''s Defense], [Suzaku''s Rebirth], [Seiryu''s Wrath], and [Byakko''s Charge] have been unlocked through bloodline stimulation] [Innate skill [Genbu''s Defense] has devoured the skills [Grand Lotus Protection], [Reinforcement], [Magic Resistance], [Paralysis Resistance], and [Petrification Resistance]] [Innate skill [Suzaku''s Rebirth] has devoured the skill [High-Speed Regeneration]] [Innate skill [Seiryu''s Wrath] has devoured the skills [Bloodlust], [Berserker], and [Pain Resistance]] [Innate skill [Byakko''s Charge] has devoured the skills [Dash], and [Bashing Charge]] [...] *Ding* [Host''s Physic has ?ssimilated the skills [Eidetic Memory], [Thought Acceleration], [Hawk-Eye], [Bloodlust Detection], [Animalistic Senses], and [Charisma] to genetically enhance memory, brain functionality, senses, and natural charisma] [...] *Ding* [Innate bloodline abilities [Void Demon Form], [Spatial Movement], and [Domain] have been unlocked due to rapid genetic enhancements] [Innate ability [Void Demon Form] has merged with the skills [Void Slash], and [Void Form] [Innate ability [Domain] has merged with the skills [Spirit Sense], [Detection], [Stealth], [Coercion], [Mind''s Eye], [Magic Detection], and [Heat Detection]] [Skills [Leadership], [Rally Cry], [Subordination], and [Howl] have merged and created the special skill [Lord''s Decree] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ {Yu''s Pov} Yu - *Inhale* *Exhale*... [That surprisingly didn''t hurt.] When I woke up I was surprised, I thought that I''d be feeling a lot of pain because of the whole evolution thing but turns out I felt nothing. However, I was even more shocked when I read over all the notifications, quickly checking my stats and getting an evaluation from the system my body alone could fight against Low Tier, High-Ranking opponents. If my skills were involved then I may very well have the battle power of a Peak High-Ranking, but that''s only if I can control my new found strength. If I can''t then this much power can be considered useless. After playing 20 questions with the system I found out that my innate skills and abilities are different from my normal skills. For one rather than based on level their based on proficiency, so rather than grinding them until I reach a bottleneck I have to train and understand the functions behind those skills. Fun fact my innates are also divided by active and passive effects, for the passive I think I can get by, but the actives were going to be difficult. I was already able to get a rough understanding of the skill through the system but, knowing what to do and actually doing it were totally different things. He didn''t want to do that because I was sent to this world to live how I want and not be influenced by my bloodline so he decided to be creative with my race. Since he knew I was going to use the system to its fullest and I that would develop multiple skills so he wanted to make a race that could fit me well. This race had bloodline traits from Primdiol races like Black Turtle of the North, the Vermillion Pheonix of the South, the Azure Dragon of the East, the White Tiger of the West, and the three races at the core. The races at the core were the Ancestor''s who were the forefathers of humans, Demons who were the forefathers of Devils, and Pure Spirits who were the forefathers of angels. Obviously, the three races of the core had other descendants but that''ll be a story for another time. Now back to my race, with the addition of these 7 races God extracted all the racial impulses these races came with and put my original code into the mix combining them together. With that, I was able to get a race all to my own because I did get traits from those races but their impulses don''t affect me. All I''ll ever be affected by bloodline wise are my own impulses. When the explanation was over I thought of gene helixes and as a joke claimed myself to be a Primordial Helix. Since I was the genetic combination of many races I thought it would be a convenient name to go by since it literally defines what I was. And not even ten seconds after I thought that did I get the notification saying my race **** **** has changed to Primordial Helix. Finally, when I got all the info I needed I stood up spread my arms and stretched my limbs but as I was in the middle of strectching I felt a gust of wind pass by my family jewels. This surprised me and when I looked down I saw that most of the ground I was laying on was burnt to a crisp and all my clothes had become ashes. To my left, I saw 2 passed out kittens with red faces and also couldn''t help myself from blushing a little. After putting on clothes I woke up the now bashful girls and took them out of my Heavenly World. While my journey with these girls did have me go through a lot I''m still glad to see they''re here with me, and I start to wonder what next will happen in my life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Yu Hyoudou Bloodline: Primordial Bloodline (31% Awakened) Title: Devil Slayer Job: [Apostle] Sub Jobs: Blacksmith, Rune Maker, Beginner Cook Level: 286 System Points (SP) - 2,971 Strength - 372 Endurance - 350 Agility - 318 Intelligence - 290 Luck - 100 Energy Reserves: World Power: 1,000 Mana: 29,073 Life Force: 10,000 Demonic Energy: 10,000 Spacial Essence: 5,000 Frost Essence: 5,000 Innate Bloodline Skills: - Genbu''s Defense - Suzaku''s Rebirth - Seiryu''s Wrath - Byakko''s Charge Innate Bloodline Abilities: - Void Demon Form - Spatial Movement - Domain Special Skills: - Seren Mind - Unlimited Blade Works - Appraisal - Language Comprehension - Parallel Thoughts - Lord''s Decree Passive Skills: - Max Lvl: 3 Dimensional Movement - Max Lvl: Shadow Boxing - Lvl 82/100: Meditation - Lvl 61/100: Close Combat - Lvl 52/100: Sword Mastery - Lvl 1/100 Lvl: Polearms Mastery Active Skills: - Lvl 5/10: Time Alter - Lvl 32/100: Space Magic - Lvl 49/100: Senjutsu - Lvl 1/100: Ice Magic - Lvl 1/100: Sword Force ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ End of Volume One ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Genbu''s Defense [A skill that carries the traits of the Black Tortoise] (Active/Passive Skill) - Passive Effect 1: Causes the user skin has turned into microscopic sized scales - Passive Effect 2: Allows the user to breathe underwater - Active Effect: When activated a grand shield will appear before the user or someone the user wants to protect (massive energy consumption) Suzaku''s Rebirth [A skill that carries the traits of the Vermillion Phoenix] (Active/Passive Skill) - Passive Effect: Enhances users natural regenerative greatly - Active Effect 1: When it is activated the user can call upon the traits of a phoenix and regenerates all medium sized wounds instantly (will cost half of users stamina) - Active Effect 2: Can allow the user to be brought back from the brink of death while also healing all wounds, but the user will lose consciousness for one month soon after revival (needs a 1-year cooldown) - Active Effect 3: When used can recreate one''s body after it has been destroyed (needs 8 years cooldown and will cause major backlash to the user) Seiryu''s Wrath [A skill that carries the traits of the Azure Dragon] (Active Skill) - Active Effect 1: Allows the user to go in a berserk-like state where he doesn''t feel fear, pain, all states will double in this state. Duration 5 minutes (massive energy consumption) - Active Effect 2: Uses the might of a dragon to attack the conscious of an opponent (massive mental energy consumption) - Active Effect 3: Manifests the soul of the Azure Dragon into the palm of the user''s hand to have it fight with the user (massive energy consumption) Byakko''s Charge [A skill that carries the traits of the White Tiger] (Passive/Active) - Passive Effect: Improves users compatibility with beast type animals - Active Effect 1: Allows the user to call upon the ?ssistance of any nearby beasts within a 1-mile radius (can only be used once a day) - Active Effect 2: When in effect it covers the user in layers of destructive, and dense energy so that the user can charge through any obstacle in its way speed is tripled while this skill is active (massive energy consumption) Void Demon Form [Unlike the Void form which is mainly meant for stealth and has no real body, the Void Demon Form is compatible with both stealth and combat. It is also a combination of the Pure Spirits Etherial ability, the Demons destructive power, and the Ancestor''s physical form] (Transformation skill) - Passive Affect: Effectiveness of Demonic energy greatly increase - Active Affect: Allows the user to step in and out of the void with ease when in stealth Spatial Movement (Active Ability) - Active Effect: Can use the void as a medium to travel from one place to another (distance is determined by proficiency) Domain (Active Ability) - Active Effect: Within the user''s domain nothing is hidden from the user other than the opponent''s thoughts, even the tiniest movement will be seen. (proficiency determines range) Lord''s Decree (Active Skill) Active Effect 1: Allows for the subordination of either familiars or people Active Effect 2: Allows for the summoning of subordinates within a certain range Active Effect 3: When used against someone who is not the users subordinate and oppressive aura will be released from the user''s body (opponents strength will determine effectiveness) Sword Force (Active Skill) Active Effect 1: Allows for the manipulation of swords Active Effect 2: When the level is high enough it is possible to create a sword from pure sword energy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ {A/N: Remember just because he has these skills doesn''t mean he has full control of them} Chapter 20 - Days Gone By A month after I had both rescued the girls and evolved as a stronger person, life began to slow down for people of the Hyoudou household. While we were still on break, Issei and I were allowed to go out and play since Mom and Dad had work. It was then I had decided to tone down my life a bit, for one I took a temporary break from getting stronger. There were multiple reasons for this 1) Understanding the power I had right now was a problem on its own so I had to hold off on gaining more, 2) As a 10-year-old I had already reached to a level of monstrosity for people my age, and 3) I needed to change my mentality. Ever since I arrived in this world I''ve constantly been on the path to getting stronger. There were times though when I wasn''t training like when I hung out with Irina, played with Issei, or went to school but even then I kept wondering how I''d get stronger. This was not a good mindset, I want to live an easy life and at first, I needed to have the strength to protect that. However, I soon realized that constantly pushing towards the path of strength while ignoring those around me would cause me to live a lonely life. Then what would I do, I''d have wasted part of my life only to end up alone and friendless. Lucky for me I had people like Mom, Dad, Issei, Irina, Kuroka, and Shirone who were able to make me realize that my current mindset was unhealthy. I still remember Dad''s words to me on my first day of elementary school. Dad - No son of mine will live a lonely life! Now I started to slow down a little. Rather than running off during the day and coming back at night to train, I cut my training time to 30 minutes in the morning and, that time was mostly spent on sparing with Kuroka, and Shirone. Speaking about those girls when I checked their strength levels both were in the low-Ranking stage, but their tier levels were different. Kuroka was in the high-tier, while Shirone was in the low tier almost mid-tier. This was fairly reasonable considering that Kuroka trained far harder than Shirone did for 3 years. If this was done in the first week of them being in the human world they would have shocked the populace with their cat ears but during this month I prepared a lot of countermeasures. With the ?ssistance of my Sub Jobs [Black Smith] and [Rune Maker] I made the girls equipment to mask not just their ears and tail, but even their aura. ---- Currently, Kuroka''s attire consisted of a long black kimono with a red interior, a yellow obi, and a black choker on her neck. As for Shirone, she had a short white kimono with a baby blue interior, a light blue skirt, white stockings, a dark blue obi, and a white choker on her necks. Their outfits were similar to the ones they wore in the book the only difference was that they were still children rather than their more ?du?t forms seen in the book. Another change is the choker, those were shape-changing equipment I bought from the system and it looks like a collar when they were in cat mode. Changing the chokers design a bit I took the previous necklace I gave them and attached the emblem to the choker to give it some sort of design. I always see them handle those necklaces with care so I thought they''d like it... they did. But being fancy clothes wasn''t the only thing they had, inscribed into the cloth was an aura concealing formation. The formation was used to hide the fact they were Nekoshou, and hide their magical signatures. ---- Other than that I also worked on trying to cure the poison of the Nekoshou, but I''m not getting much progress. Originally I was going to purchase some magic medical books to help me but they were really expensive! However, since I had previously spent most of my points buying materials for the girl''s clothes, basic formation books, and formation materials my supply of points was less than 10 percent of what it used to be. It took me 3 months after that of constantly doing mini-quests to try and earn points and for the required books to help my research. [Basic How to Guide to Medicine Refining]: Shows the basic of how to refine medicine and prepare materials [Poison Formula Book]: Contains the formulas of 1000 years of poison knowledge for most non-natural poisons [Herb Index]: A glossary of all the worlds magical and normal herbs including their component uses (does not include divine herbs) This knowledge was good and really helped me understand medicine and such but then another issue came up. In order to actually make the cure, I had to experiment with multiple herbs which I didn''t have. I didn''t know whether to laugh or cry after that, I had spent 3 months saving up point for the books so I had none to buy herbs. Once again I went on a mini-quest expedition and spent 5 months saving up points and buying both herbs and herb seeds. I had specifically chosen herbs that contained components that had the possibility of being the cure and used those for my experiment. As for the seeds I planted them in my in the Eastern Sector of my Heavenly World and created an herb garden. With the ?ssistance of plant nurturing formation I was able to have the herbs grow way faster than they should, extracted the seeds, replanted the seeds, and used the herbs for more experiments. If this was done in the normal world then by now the ground would dry up and lose vitality but because the nature vein in my Heavenly World is so big due to my influence my herb garden didn''t affect the ecosystem. ---- Then finally after 6 months of research at night, I was finally able to concoct a cure for the Nekoshou. When I told the girls of this they were really happy and begged me to cure them at that moment. Because their previous village was destroyed by the devils of the Naberius house so I offered them the option of living in my Heavenly Wolrd which they accepted. Apparently, they liked the abundance of life force in the air and though this place was even better than the current Yokai factions territory. Yu - [I think that''s because they don''t have nature and mana veins but oh well] Things were going well, but then came a real problem while I could buy materials from the system the cost was a lot while the amount was not enough, they''re 82 people after all. Now what I needed was money to buy material for their new village. They told me they were fine living without houses since it didn''t rain here, and lots of fruits and vegetables grew all around but I did like it. Since they were living in my Heavenly World they were my people and I didn''t like the current living conditions they were living in. Thus in my last year of elementary school, I came up with a brilliant way to make money. It was to go into the novel business, I had previously abandoned this idea because I wasn''t in the need of cash but it was different now. During my whole life of living in this world, I noticed the tv shows in this world we to plain and had very little good content. However now it was about to change, I was going to bring work from my previous world here to both earn money as well as bring back my favorite books, manga, and anime to this world. I may have perfect memory now but it''s always nice to re-watch or read something you like from time to time even if you already know the plot. Thus I hardened my determination before starting I had first gone on the internet to see if there were already some works similar to what I was going to recreate when I saw there was none I instantly began to works. ---- A couple months later ---- ...Months have passed and I''d like to say I''m doing good. Due to my first 2 releases of Naruto, and Dragon Ball Z as well as the making of there anime I had become really popular as a mangaka artist. Naturally, no one knew my real name, my pen name was Sakamaki Izayoi {A/N: I took this from the comments section, and I really like the character} ---- When I first came to this company it was dying out and on the verge of bankruptcy but soon I came in and gave them both Naruto and Dragon Ball Z it caused their profits to soar. Now they treat me as their VIP client. Obviously, I kept this from my parents and used one of the ?du?t Nekoshou to be my acting guardian claiming her to be my aunt. So when I asked them to get me a scholarship to a nice middle school that focused on art they were confused. They knew I already had great drawing abilities so they couldn''t understand why I''d want to go to an art school but when I told them I wanted to see how other people drew they accepted it thinking it was just a kids curiosity at work. I had already told them that only my aunt and they knew I was [Sakamaki Izayoi] and after a bit of thought they knew what I meant and prepared the paperwork. A couple weeks later I got a form telling me I got a full ride scholarship for my middle school year in the mail from a fancy school in Kyoto. My family was surprised when I said I wanted to go and were kind of hesitant but after a lot of persuading, begging, and negotiating they finally accepted. Issei was sad but after promising to bring him back some souvenirs when I come back for the holiday he accepted although reluctantly. And thus the time came and I was at the train platform waving good-bye to everyone. With one last look, I boarded the train and my time in Kuoh had come to a temporary end. Chapter 21 - Train Ride and Arrival The bullet train had left the station and I had just left the station it would take around 3 hours to get to Kyoto {A/N: Don''t quote me on that} and I was sitting in first class. Apparently, the school I was going to got a big donation from my editing company Scripture Depo {A/N: my naming sense sucks don''t expect much from it} in order to have them enroll me in. And thus because they really wanted to have a good relationship with the rising star that is Scripture Depo they decided to bring me to Kyoto in first class. They even listened to my request when I asked them to prepare 2 more tickets. Right now I was working on the final volume of Naruto for the series, while the current release schedule doesn''t have this volume be released for another couple months, I want to get this as well as a couple other novels done with and out of my way. Drawing a manga for me didn''t take long since I had amazing, hand dexterity for drawing and I was ambidextrous so I could work with both my hands. And with my perfect memory and keen eyesight to fix minor mistakes, I could draw a volume in a day. While I was working to my right was Shirone snacking on a pile of sweets she bought at the confectionery stand, while Kuroka was diagonal to me was Kuroka who was gazing out the window enjoying the noon sun. Both of them still wore kimono''s but these were different from the ones I gave them a long time ago. These were hand sewn by the Nekoshou seamstresses and were made of a silk-like material, I mean it felt like silk but it didn''t have the reflective shine that silk did. The designs didn''t change much and in all honesty, while the clothes didn''t change by much the subtle change gave them a hint of noble aura. Compared to their clothes mine were lackluster all I wore was a pair of dark blue pants, a black t-shirt, and a dark grey collared jacket. My choice of clothes wasn''t bad but I felt like it was outshined by the girls a little. Besides the clothes through while they were young the girls were extremely beautiful. I mean they were cute before but when they reunited with their people they underwent training to extra the devil pieces in their bodies. The process to a month but in the end, both of them were able to use senjutsu to extract their devil pieces from their bodies and return to being normal Nekoshou again. Since the process also extracted their demonic energy they started to train their senjutsu now that their bodies were more ''balanced'' without the interference of demonic energy. Thus after a few months of training their complexions turned fair and natural beauty increased with their age. Now, wherever we go they always attract many eyes their way. Even the number of admirers have increased, but they never gave them as much as a look before denying them. Even if some tried to do anything fishy they would be beaten down before they could even more. I do like that other people appreciate their beauty but sometimes it can get annoying like now for instance. ??? - Hello the miss may I know your name, I''m Souta Ren. Kuroka - Hmm? What do you want? Right now some guy was trying to hit on Kuroka but what he got was a cold reply. Souta - Ah um I just wanted to talk to you I''ve noticed you since we got on the train and I''ve been wanting to talk to you for a while now... So I was- Kuroka - You''ve been stalking me?! Souta - Wha- no no no I just couldn''t get you out of my mind since I saw you. I wanted to ask you if you''d like to accompany me for dinner later. Kuroka - No I don''t now go away. Souta - Come on its just dinner, and it''s not like you''ll lose out on anything. I don''t mean to brag my families pretty rich. Kuroka - Hmph your family may be rich but you aren''t, and who told you I was alone. Kuroka we obviously offended by her words, the people she hated most were those who flaunted money where ever they went. There had been a number of pursuers who tried the same tactic but most ended up as shemales. Then as if to prove her words of not being alone true she stood up walked over to me sat on my ??p and gave me a deep kiss in front of him. I may have been 12 while she was 15 but she was 5,1 and I was 5,1.5 I was tall for my age and it didn''t seem wrong to be seen kissing her. Souta was surprised than embarrassed and to make him feel worse she gave him a Shu Shu gesture as she continues to enjoy kissing me. While I couldn''t see him I could feel that he left as quickly as possible with a tomato face. Yu - Haa you''re cruel you know that. Kuroka - What do you expect he was hitting on me and with such cheap means to, I''d rather be with you who treats me nice~ Yu - Haa I know but were in public so keep it in moderation. Kuroka - En~! She did agree with me in words but her body said otherwise and she snuggled up into my embrace and started to take a cat nap. Then as I felt a sharp gaze facing me I turned to Shirone who looked at me with pleading eyes. Giving a small chuckle I reached my hand to her head and petted her head lightly which caused her to close her eyes trying to enjoy the sensation of my touch while also snacking on her sweets. This is my life, as my age progressed so did my relationship with the girls. To the world, they''d be indifferent but with me, they''d be affectionate spoiled princesses. And while I did kiss them I didn''t cross the final line yet cause I was too young, inexperienced, and my body hasn''t hit puberty yet. While pampering these girls I knew I wasn''t going to get any work done so I went out of work mode and went into relaxation mode. ---- Yu - Are you the driver sent by Scripture Depo? I''m Yu Hyoudou they told me you''ll be taking me to my house in Kyoto. ??? - Yes Mr. Hyoudou and the misses I''m Sato Ito, and I will be your driver for the evening. Would you like me to take your bags in the car? Yu - Yes, please. I wasn''t surprised that he didn''t ask about Kuroka and Shirone it seems he was properly told what to do before coming here. Most of the managers in Scripture Depo know I have a relationship with more than one girl so they''ve gotten used to it and stopped asking. The drive lasted 40 minutes but he did inform us of many interesting sites to see while we were here. He even passed by the school I was going to attend and I found the school to be very interesting. Because it was a school that focused greatly on art their were pieces of art posted on the walls and even murals on most of the walls. Some people might call the murals vandalism from afar but when they got closer they would see the large number of details found in the artwork. While I knew I was going to pass middle school no problem it nice to know that school won''t be boring and dull. ---- After another 5 minute drive, we parked the car in the underground parking lot of a high-class ??nd?minium complex and got out of the car. Once we were out we grabbed the car took the house keys from Sato and left for my new home. Sato - OH! Yes, Mr. Hyoudou there is a staff meeting at the office tomorrow. Director Nakamura would like for you to come after the meeting is over. Sato - Yes. With that, we parted ways. The condo I asked Scripture Depo was more than I asked for there were 5 rooms, 3 bathrooms, a terrace, a large living room, and kitchen. It was even 2 stories and fully furnished, like goddamn. Well, I do give them popular content to this is reasonable. Quickly setting down our stuff I obviously took the master bedroom on the second floor, while the girls shared the room next door. Once everything was settled down I was sitting on the couch in our living room when Kuroka and Shirone asked to let them into Haven. Haven was the name Nekoshou called my Heavenly World and I liked it so I kept the name, a lot of changes have happened to it since I entered the underworld and I''m still surprised by it. After a bit of thought, I nodded since I needed to check something. Chapter 22 - Changes in the Heavenly World Once we entered Haven I separated myself from the girls and started spread my domain. Before when I first got Haven it was only a 1st Sun Rank Heavenly World it had a landmass of 10km with medium sized canyons, and hills. There was even plants and trees scattered around the place, and near the center, there was a pond. I had thought there''d be some changes but other than my own changes Haven only has increased in landmass slightly. Usually, these things would go unnoticed by me but while I was talking with Kuroka and Shirone earlier I got a notification that caused me to examine Haven carefully. *Ding*[Host''s Heavenly World now name "Haven" has already reached the 2nd rank for a period of 2 years but Host has yet to initiate the growth process. This is causing Haven slowly become unstable since Haven is trying to grow without Host''s authority. If that happens Host''s connection with Haven will be in danger of breaking.] I''ve always been able to feel Haven in my sea of conscious so I thought I''d be able to sense the changes too but looks like I was wrong. Yu - How do I initiate the rank up, process? Then lots of information was sent to my head and I was fazed for a minute before I started walking to the Nekoshou Village. ---- Once there I passed by man Nekoshou who greeted me until I found Kuroka and Shirone training with the Village Cheif of the VIllage. Village Cheif - Ah~ Yu-sama what do we our the honor of seeing Yuu-sama here today, from what Kuroka-dono and Shirone-dono said it seemed like you wouldn''t be coming today. Yu - About that, I had a change in plans and I need you to gather all the Nekoshou into one spot. Village Cheif - My I ask why? Yu - Haven is about to have so big changes and I''m pretty sure that it''ll probably cause some after effects so I want everyone to be in one place before it happens. Village Cheif - I see... where would you like us to gather? Yu - Well I''ll be initiating the growth from the castle so I think everyone should head towards the castle courtyard to be safe. Village Cheif - Very well it will be done. Kuroka-dono, Shirone-dono you should go with Yu-sama I''ll gather everyone at the castle. ---- The castle that was mention was the giant construction site I built at the center of Haven. It''s a work in progress but I plan to have a giant castle here, so far basic scaffolding and foundation have been made but I haven''t gotten around to finishing it yet. It looks like an unfinished castle but everyone calls this the castles. There is a pond north of the castle and the Nekoshou village is west of the castle. After waiting for 30 minutes of 82, Nekoshou made their way into my unfinished courtyard and looked at me. The Village Cheif must have explained the situation to them because the didn''t ask any question. I simply nodded and sat in a lotus position. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ {Village Cheif Pov} It was a normal day like always in Haven some villagers went out to gather fruit and vegetables from the surrounding wildlife, others would start tending to the fields we were planting, and the rest would continue the construction of the houses. Haven, this was the territory of our savior Hyoudou Yu-sama, from what I learned from the two kittens Kuroka-dono and Shirone-dono he was a kind boy who offered to let us stay here since we were shunned by others back at our own home. It was a rich and beautiful place and, the life energy in the air was refreshing while the fruits were delicious. In our first few months here we had no real homes but we didn''t mind and continued our lives, but Yu-sama didn''t want that and helped us build houses. This touched many but we always wondered why he was helping us when he hasn''t finished his own home. Everyone saw it, it was a castle in progress, while it wasn''t much now I could see from how the foundation was set up that it''ll be a fine castle. We tried to ask if he wanted us to help him but he was determined to finish all the village''s homes first before he finished his castle, saying things like how we were considered his people now and that he had to take care of his people. He was a sweet boy and seemed to get along well Kuroka-dono and Shirone-dono so I knew he wouldn''t cause harm to us Nekoshou. Months passed again and the village was almost done, but today was different Yu-sama came saying how Haven was going to grow and that he would like everyone to gather. After sending Yu-sama off I gathered everyone and told them what Yu-sama told me before long we stood before Yu-sama in the castle courtyard. I wanted to ask how Haven would grow but felt like the process was more complicated than I originally believed. After giving a small nod Yu-sama sat down and I began to feel some change in the world. Gazing up at the sky everyone saw the sky darken leaving only one sun in the sky, but before long all of us felt the ground shake and some even lost their balance falling to the ground. I was able to stay standing and looked to Yu-sama but his appearance baffled me, emitting from Yu-sama''s body were rays of golden aura and it was float to the sky. That aura soon started to attract the surrounding energies and continue its ascension towards the sky. After around an hour, the aura stopped coming out of Yu-sama''s body but the aura in the sky continued to act strangely. It was as if every bit of life force and mana in Haven was being absorbed into that aura. Then after 5 minutes, a small sun was formed in the sky right next to the first sun, after 10 more minutes it the second son grew to the same size as the first. I wanted to think it was over but then a third sun was formed soon after it was smaller than the other two and it didn''t grow to be like the two. After the formation of the suns, the ground continued to shake but this time mana, life force, and other energies started to permeate the air. Once the shaking stopped all of us could only look at Yuu-sama, I don''t think he knew but right now he emitted an oppressive aura, it dominating, and noble, like a Lord, a Ruler, or a King. However, none of use could specifically define this aura because we all began to kneel as if we were pleading our fidelity towards our King. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ {Yu''s Pov} *Ding*[Haven has ranked up to a 2nd Sun Heavenly World and Host''s influence has affected Haven greatly.] Yu - [Give me a simple status report] *Ding* [- The landscape has changed from 10km to 100km - Host''s Demonic Energy created a Chaos Vein - Spatial Essense made a Spatial Vein - Frost Essense made an Ice Vein - Life Force strengthened the Nature Vien - Mana strengthened the Mana Vein - And the blood of the 4 Beasts in Host''s bloodline has created four new ecosystems in Haven - An ocean in the North - A desert in the South - A big mountain range in the East - A big forest in the West - The Spatial Vein has caused some landmasses to float in the sky - The Ice Vein has caused an island of ice to form in the ocean] These changes were big and I wanted to see them for myself, but I knew it would take a while now so I released my Domain which was now connected to Haven and looked around. The system was able to give me a basic run down of what were the changes so I was prepared for everything but when I saw it through my Domain I was still fascinated by the sight. Floating islands only existed in stories and I had 5 of them floating around in Haven. Besides that, I saw that the meadow the Nekoshou Village was built in was now in a beautiful valley. When I looked to the pond in front of the castle I saw that it created a 4-meter wide and 5-meter deep moat around the perimeter of the castle. The moat had a 3-meter river connecting the moat to the ocean a few km away. The canyons in the area got deeper and longer, some hills got bigger, and herbs were found throughout Haven. In one of the floating islands I even found my herb garden still intact but the formations I built there were now gone I''ll have to fix that. All in all this change was one that I welcomed, so I decided to take in my Domain and tell the Nekoshou the changes that have happened to Haven. However, what I saw caused me to swallow the words I was about to say. Every Nekoshou was kneeling before me with the exception of Kuroka and Shirone who sat on the ground looking at me with eyes full of reverence and passion. Yu - What''s going on? *Ding*[With the growth of Haven Host unlocked another 7 percent of Host''s bloodline] *Ding*[The entire Nekoshou village has sworn fidelity to Host making Host their lord and King] *Ding*[Host has taken dominion of over 50km of land as well as gaining the loyalty of its citizens. Host current job had ranked up to [Ancestral King] and 12 percent of Host''s bloodline has been unlocked] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Yu Hyoudou Race: Primordial Helix Title: Devil Slayer -> Sakamaki Izayoi Job: [Apostle] -> [Ancestral King] Sub Jobs: Blacksmith (Expert), Rune Maker (Advanced), Cook (Novice), Medicine Refiner (Advanced) Level: 286 -> 298 System Points (SP) - 2,971 -> 8,722 Strength - 372 ->388 Endurance - 350 -> 360 Agility - 318 -> 335 Intelligence - 290 -> 307 Luck - 100 Energy Reserves: World Power: 1,000 -> 2,000 Mana: 29,073 -> 30,736 Life Force: 10,000 -> 11,000 Demonic Energy: 10,000 -> 11,000 Spatial Essence: 5,000 -> 8,000 Frost Essence: 5,000 -> 5,500 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Job Ranking System: 1) Novice 2) Intermediate 3) Advance 4) Expert 5) Master 6) Grandmaste Chapter 23 - Kingship and Chain Quests *Ding*[The entire Nekoshou village has sworn fidelity to Host making Host their lord and King] *Ding*[Host has taken dominion of over 50km of land as well as gaining the loyalty of its citizens. Host current job had ranked up to [Ancestral King] and gained new skills. Host has obtained the skills [Unit Managment], [Title Grant], [Charm Resistance], [Poison Resistance], and [Soul Strike]] *Ding*[[Genbu''s Defense] has devoured [Charm Resistance] and [Poison Resistance]; [Seiryu''s Wrath] has devoured [Soul Strike], and the skills [Unit Managment], [Title Grant], and [Lord''s Decree] have combined to make special skill [King''s Authority]] *Ding*[Due to [King''s Authority] Village Cheif Charollete has been granted the title of [Baroness]] *Ding*[Due to [King''s Authority] targets Irina Shidou, Kuroka Toujou, and Shirone Toujou have been granted the title of [Royal Consort]] *Ding*[Due to Host''s bloodline being further awakened Host''s innate skills and abilities have become easier to use.] *Ding*[Host has received the Chain Quest [Kingdom Building]] [Kingdom Building: 1st Quest) Population - Now that you are a King you needed people to serve under you - Task: Increase the population of your territory Gain 1,000 citizens (82/1,000) 2rd Quest) Wild Life - It isn''t just people you also need animals too - Task: Migrate animals into your territory (0/??) 3rd Quest) Expansion - Since you have the people build a city that''ll be the heart of your kingdom - Task 1: Finish construction of your castle (0/1) - Task 2: Build a castle city around your castle (0/1) - Task 3: Plant farm plots to feed your citizens (0/10) - Task 4: Build a ranch to breed animals (0/2) - Task 1: Set up a Militia of soldiers (0/1) - Task 2: Set up a city wall (0/1) - Task 3: Set up a counterintelligence force (0/1) 5th Quest) Conquest - A King must never stay idle and must strive for the top when the time is right to reveal your self to the world. - Task 1: Step into the Ultimate Realm - Task 2: Unlock full Primordial Bloodline - Task 3: Integrate more than a third of a faction into your territory Rewards: 1st Quest) - Haven will gain another sun - Human life form data will be inputted when Haven reaches 7th Sun Rank 2nd Quest) - 1x Earth Vein - Haven will gain another sun - Beastmen life form data will be inputted when Haven reaches 7th Sun Rank {A/N: This means that when Haven can produce its own life this species will be added to the mix} 3rd Quest) - Yin-Yang Core {A/N: Like a vein but it keeps the balance of negative and positive energies} - Haven will gain another sun - 1x Undead Legion of Shadow Soldiers - 1x Magma Vein - Haven will gain another sun - Demon life form data will be inputted when Haven reaches 7th Sun Rank - Angel life form data will be inputted when Haven reaches 7th Sun Rank 5th Quest) - 1x Thunder Vein - Haven will gain 1 sun - Asura life form data will be inputted when Haven reaches 7th Sun Rank Whole Quest Completion) - Host will go from being an [Ancestral King] to a [Primordial Emperor]] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In my head, I was getting multiple notifications but outside I was staring in a daze at the kneeling villagers before me. Once I read through them the first thing I thought was Yu - [... I''m a king now?... Awesome!] Though it might have been a little childish I currently had the body of a 12 so leave me be. *Ahem* Back to business right now I have to communicate with these guys to have them understand the situation. Yu - Raise your head. In a commanding tone I spoke and as I did they listened and did I as I commanded. While I already knew what was happening due to the system but I have to ask. Yu - Why are you all kneeling Village Chief -> Charollete - We are pleading our fidelity to Yuu-sama as our Lord as thanks for allowing us to live here. Yu - I don''t think I ever asked this of you did I?, I did this because I wanted to not so I can get your servitude. Charollete - That is true but still Milord the amount, of thanks we have for you is more than we can ever repay. Not only has Milord saved us from the clutches of death, but also given us who have nowhere to go a home the only thing we can give Milord our undying loyalty! Yu - I see... Then from now on your are all my citizens and Haven will be my Kingdom, but before we do anything else you must be informed of the changes in Haven. There I spent around an hour explaining the changes, their reactions almost caused me to laugh but I was able to keep it together. After that, it was time to organize things since it would make my progression in my chain quests faster. Yu - Okay starting tomorrow there''ll be some changes in how things will work. For now, I''ll divide all of you into special teams. My commands went a little like this - 25 Nekoshou will work under Charollote in completing the village - 25 Nekoshou will work under Kuroka and Shirone on finishing the castle under my exact blueprints - 15 Nekoshou will work on the fields (I''ll set up some nourishing formations later to speed up the process - 5 Nekoshou will go out into Kyoto to get supplies that need to be replenished - and 1 Nekoshou follow me and be my informant on how the whole process goes. Yu - That''s about all, for now, you''ll work 2 four hour shifts the rest of the day will be up to you. Be advised that I plan to make something of Haven and will have more added to it in the future. When that happens I hope you all will have open minds because like you, they will also be under my rule. Everyone - Yes! Yu - Good that will be all for the day, I''ll be leaving now. And with that, I teleported out of Haven with Kuroka and Shirone. ---- Yu - *Sigh* [That was a lot to process I never thought I''d be given this kind of responsibility so soon and without any preparations too. The system really had my pants down on this one.] Once we got back I wanted to get some rest but I still had some work I needed to do, the Nekoshou needed materials to build the village and since the stock over there was getting low we would need to refill them quickly. Going on the internet I went to my usual supplier and paid for some rushed shipping so it could get here tomorrow. Before this would have made me cry blood on the price but thanks to the manga, novels, and anime I gave to Scripture Depo my budget limit was pretty high. I mean when I gave them the stuff they started manufacturing posters, collectibles and other stuff otaku''s liked and don''t underestimate the heart of an otaku when it comes to this stuff they usually try to buy as much as they can. They even started making merchandise of work they haven''t even released yet, these guys know how to make money I can''t tell how they almost went bankrupt a couple months ago? Either way, after I was done with the supplier I set up a transportation formation in one of our empty rooms along with other defense and soundproofing formation around the house. In order to make it so that the Nekoshou can bring everything as quickly as possible, I made a couple medium sized storage rings. It looked like a simple smooth grey ring but the amount of space it has in it can fill a whole warehouse. I had boughten 2 warehouses full of supplies so I guess 2 rings will be enough for now. All that''s left is for the Nekoshou to pick them up tomorrow. Today may have been really busy but I''m getting more excited for the future, now that I have taken my first step on the road to kingship more and more responsibility has fallen into my hands. The only thing that concerns me it the chain quest, and my innates, the rewards for the quest were all good, but the tasks look like they''ll take a couple years to complete unless I find some lucky encounter. Then for my innates because [Gendu''s Defense] and [Seiryu''s Wrath] both devoured at least one skill their powers enhanced a bit. Now the defense I have against poisons and charms increased and I believe my shielding ability improved a bit but I also know that the energy consumption increased too. As for [Soul Strike] it was a skill that let me attack an opponent conscious it paired really well with the 2nd effect [Seiryu''s Wrath]. I feel like my proficiency got a little better and I don''t sense any increase in consumption so that''s a plus. The one skill that I''m most curious about is [King''s Authority] I didn''t get the chance to analysis it earlier so I guess nows a good time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [King''s Authority](Active Skill) Active Effect 1: Allows for the subordination of either familiars or people Active Effect 2: Allows for the summoning of a single subordinate within a certain range (small energy consumption) Active Effect 3: Allows for the summoning of one of the user''s armies (large energy consumption needed) Active Effect 4: When used against someone who is not the users subordinate and oppressive aura will be released from the user''s body (opponents strength will determine effectiveness) Active Effect 5: When certain conditions have been met along with the user''s recognition a title will be given to a subordinate. List of Titles: - General: A person who controls a part of the Kings army - Baron/Baroness: A person who has been given control over a small city or village - Viscount/Viscountess: A person who has been given control over a medium size city - Earl/Countess: A person who has been given control over a large city and some villages - Marquis/Marquess: A person in charge of a region - Prince/Princess: The King''s children - Concubine: A woman the King has taken as his own - Royal Consort: A woman who has given her heart to the king Direct Subordinate Titles {A/N: It Mean''s they will only listen to the king} - Commander-in-Chief: A person in charge of the generals of the King''s Army - Duke/Duchess: A person who controls the ins and outs of the kingdom stationed in the castle city - Knight of the Round Table: One of the 30 knights who has sat in one of the 30 thrones below the king ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 24 - Family Surprise When I woke up the next morning it was around 7 am, and the sun was already in the arm. Silently removing the girls'' hands from my body I went and did my daily routine, and started to make breakfast. While I was cooking the girls woke up, and sat at the table. Yu - You know you guys could learn to cook too you know. Shirone - But your cooking is better then ours so what''s the point of learning? Yu - Just because mine is better doesn''t mean you can''t improve. Kuroka - W-well try. Conversations like this were a daily occurrence with us since the girls don''t know much about housework I''m left to do everything myself. They can do some housework like dusting and dishwashing but for other things... they could use some improvements. One of the things they hate the most is vacuuming especially Shirone she''s scared of it and has broken a number of them too. Yu - I''m going to head out in a while I''ll leave the construction of the castle management to you guys here is the blueprints Kuroka/Shirone - En Yu - Magari you''re here already, do you want some breakfast? Magari - No thank you Yu-sama I have already eaten at the village this morning. This was Magari she was the second strongest fighter in the village only behind Charollete by a bit. She''s also one of the Nekoshou in charge of training the young ones, and since Charollete is busy working on the construction of the village she will be my informant of what''s going on in Haven while I''m out here. Yu - Okay then let''s head out, stay in the shadows and only come out if something came up in Haven or if you find something suspicious around me. Also, take this it''ll keep you contacted to the connection network in Haven. It''s really hard to make more of these so be careful with it. Magari - Yes. With that, I left the house and walked out through the front door of the complex. ---- It''s a little past 2 now and I''ve currently been scouting all around the east side of Kyoto, and haven''t seen anything supernatural which confused me I knew that yokai made Kyoto their home. Magari stayed in the shadows like she was told and from what I could tell there were no reports to be made. *Ring* Yu - Hm? Hello Sato - Hello Mr. Hyoudou the staff meeting has ended and Director Nakamura would like to see you now... is this the best time? Yu - Ya I''m free I''m at **** **** come pick me up I''ll wait for you here. Sato - Okay I will be there shortly ---- After about 10 minutes of waiting Sato pulled up in a company car came out and opened the door for me. When everything was settled and we were on our way to Scripture Depo I started to ask Sato some quests. Yu - Hey Sato how has the company dealt with the move to Kyoto? Sato - Ah it''s been going okay due to the bigger building we have now is highering new staff. Mostly there have been benefits a lot of the loyal employees that stayed with us in hard times were promoted higher on the corporate change and... He kept going on and on about the changes and I have to say that this made me feel good because it was me who requested Scripture Depo to move to Kyoto. They were previously stationed in Kuoh but the property was too small for all the projects they were doing and the location wasn''t the best. At first, they were hesitant but when I showed them a hard drive containing multiple new mangas, anime ideas, and web novels they started to calculate the money they would be earning in their minds. The content was even translated into multiple languages so we could sell them internationally, so I would''ve found it stupid for them to refuse. This, in turn, made Scripture Depo a semi-international company since it exported lots of separate content around the world. The main thing that content companies have to deal with is how to get their merchandise to more people and the biggest obstacle is the language barrier. Usually, to pass that obstacle they need to hire more people to do to it but that costs money, but since I''m here I made it go away in an instant. And it''s not like I took jobs away from people Scripture Depo, used to only work with anime, and a little bit of manga artist. They also didn''t deal with outside consumers so they had no real need for translators. Hence before they knew it Scripture Depo''s profit rose through the roof and I made myself a relatively large fortune. Then with that fortune, I went to see my longtime friend the Stock market, and boy does 100 luck not let you down. ---- At the end of the car ride, we both entered the new Scripture Depo HQ building but since they only moved in a couple days ago the play wasn''t completely furnished but something told me that, that soon. Riding the elevator to the top floor I entered the Higher up department of the company and was greeted by everyone since they know I''m the reason they could keep their jobs. Everyone - Good day Sakamaki-sensei Sakamaki-sensei that was the alias I used and also the name everyone called me by in this company. Though everyone knew my real name this was the way usual mangaka are greeted when they went to see their editors. After I greeted them I made my way to the director''s office which had walls made of glass (waste of material if I don''t say so myself). From here I could see that he was a middle age man, with black swept back, he had a decent build not too skinny or fat and he wore glasses. Right now he was looking through some paperwork and only noticed me when I was sitting before him. Director Nakamura - Ah Sakamaki-sensei glad you came I thought it''d take longer for you to come. Yu - Nah I just happened to be in the neighborhood Nakamura-san... so what do you need me for? Nakamura-san - It''s about your works we needed to discuss The talk went on about how I''d release the anime they had in storge as well as how I''d start releasing the novels and manga. Basically, it was business, as usual, I had already been planned what I was going to say a couple days in advance so the talk went smoothly as always. The only surprise I was truly able to get was that Scripture Depo had planned to schedule any of the already completed works into a single T.V. channel. While on the outside I had only truly submitted 2 shows to be released on T.V I had Scripture Depo hold onto others letting them chose when and were to show them. Turns out that when they got reviews from the people who already read the manga and novel versions they requested that it''d be an anime. The time seemed to be at the moment where they thought it was best to show them and I just left them to their own devices. I already got the copyright for those shows so however, they chose to show them was up to them as long as I got the profit it was all fine and dandy. I mean seriously with the amount of stuff I need to build in Haven in the future I''m going to need a lot of money just to pay for it. ---- The meeting with Nakamura-san should have originally been only an hour but it was extended to 4 hours when other higher-ups came to make their reports to Nakamura-san. I could have left after the hour passed but stayed because I wanted to learn how to manage an organization. So I just took small notes in my head while I watched everything pass. Yu - If I rush it I could make it home before it sets... but let''s eat out for today. Finding an afternoon market I bought some yakisoba from a nearby street vendor. It was tasty and had a nice after taste, slowly I walked throughout the market and tasted most of the foods that caught my eye. By the time I had, had my feel I sat in a park bench with a can of green tea in my hand. Savoring the feeling of having good food I gazed at the stars. *Ring* *Ring* Yu - Hm who''s calling me at this time?... Oh, it''s Issei what does he want? Pulling out my phone I saw a picture of Issei who had an embarrassed face, I took this picture when he went off to the New Year Festival with Murayama and Katase last year. Naturally, I went with Kuroka and Shirone but he didn''t need to know that, cause if he did heed tell dad to get even with me who poked fun at him. Now, what does he want? Yu - Issei what''s up? You don''t usually call me at this time, is something up? Issei - Yu-nii!! I just heard it!! I swear I heard it!! I expected a simple hello but what I got was a loud scream, and while he was screaming I could hear a hint of excitement in his voice. Issei - *Inhale* *Exhale* ... Mom''s pregnant! Yu - Wha?! Welp, I wasn''t expecting that Chapter 25 - Encounter Yu - Wha?! Wasn''t expecting that, but one thing confused me? Yu - How''d you find out? After that, he told me a long ?ss story starting from the time I left to right now. Apparently, today in the morning mom threw up and was worried but dad said she was fine. Later when he was hanging out with Murayama, and Katase and told them what happened they said she''s probably pregnant as a joke, and Issei believed it. However later he remembered that they were already pretty old now and probably couldn''t have another kid, but when he told them this at dinner mom and dad gave him confused stares. Mom/Dad - Did we not tell you? That was their reply, and come on if they told us I''d definitely remember. Damn, I still can''t believe they forgot to tell us! One lead to another and before I knew it this conversation happened. Yu - Well at least we''ll be getting a new sibling in the future. Issei - Ya Yu - Hey it''s getting late I''ll call again later Issei - Okay bye. Yu - *Sigh* [Looks like I did change somethings when I entered this world, but so far nothing bad has happened... !!!] Suddenly while I was in the middle of my thoughts my detection abilities went off and I could sense someone using magic not far from here. Curious about what it could be I transformed into my [Void Demon Form] and went in the direction of the magic emission. As for the [Void Demon Form], it''s no different from my normal form just that I now have black hair and red eyes. In addition to that, I also get a nice ability with this form, I can partially step into the void. Different from [Spatial Movement] which lets me use the void as a medium to move unhindered, this lets me go undetected while also letting me freely move from place to space. Basically when I in the void I''m sort of in an ethereal state where I can''t be touched unless I remove the effect. ---- Now back to my search, I was surprised since the target seemed to be moving and it wasn''t just one it was 5. Having my curiosity rise further I picked up my speed until I could faintly see what was going on. From the back view, I saw 4 robed men chasing a small girl ina priestess outfit. After I got a closer look I noticed that she was only around 6 years old, and had 9 tails on her rear. She seemed to be sweating a lot probably from the excess use of magic. It doesn''t look like she knows senjutsu or youjutsu hence why she''s running but why is she all alone? As these thoughts filled my mind the girl couldn''t get a proper foothold and fell. We were currently 4 stories in the air and if she hit the floor she''d die. Yu - S*** Giving out a small curse I used [Spatial Movement] and found my self just an arms reach away from her. Stretching out my hand I grabbed the collar of her kimono and took her in my arms be for I used my skill again to move to the roof of a nearby tower, and continued my run. Yu - Hey are you okay? Yu - I''m Yu can you tell me who you are? ??? - ... She passed out and didn''t even tell me her name but I think I have a good idea who she is. Ha~ after 5 minutes I found my self in an abandoned park and behind me were the 4 pursuers. Pursuer 1: Kid hand over the girl if you know what''s good for you! Yu - Now why would- Seeing that I was going to deny their demand they stopped talking and started throwing spells my way. Originally I would have taken these guys head on but I had a girl in my hand and had to consider her in the equation. So I simply dodged them and called out a name. Yu - Magari! *Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Swoosh* The sound of 4 objects cutting the air was heard but when I looked at the men there were at least a dozen needles in each of them stopping their movements. How was this possible well Magari has already reached the ultimate rank while all these guys are only in the primary high rank? However, for being at that level it''s kind of disappointing that they were outrun by a girl who''s at the bottom tier low rank. I don''t know if it''s because she''s a fox but she was pretty fast. Yu - Now then what do we do wit- Oh come on! I wanted to interrogate these guy but when I looked closely at them they had foam coming from their mouths and they stopped breathing. Magari - Yu-sama it looks like they killed themselves. Yu - I can see that... Ha~ anyway what do we do with this fox cub here? Magari - Yu-sama I suggest we leave her here. Yu - Why? Magari - Yu-sama just like me and those dead men she is a yokai and a fox yokai to be exact. They are one of the more influential clans in the yokai faction. Even if we leave her here it''s highly possible that someone from the fox clan will come to pick her up. Yu - You''re right about that. Magari - Huh? Yu - They''re already here. While she was talking I felt 8 presences enter my Domain and made a quick guess on who they were. The next moment we were surrounded, Magari seemed to want to fight them but I could sense that 3 of these guys had strength equal to her so I signaled her to stop. Next, I rose my hand in the air and spoke. Yu - Hello I''m Yu and this is my friend Magari we mean you no harm- *Swoosh* They ignored my words and simply chained me and Magari up. Fox Clansmen - Silence! You are under arrest for the kidnapping of Princess Kunou! Do you have any last words! Yu - [As I thought this is Kunou] ---- I can''t believe that worked!! Magari and I were still tied up but still alive good thing for me I watched a lot of pirate movies in the past, After our encounter with the Fox Clansmen in the park, we were moved somewhere on the north side of Kyoto and entered a barrier of some sorts. The life force here was rich but not as rich as the air in Haven. Yu - [Hehe looks like I beat them at one thing so far. ] As we moved through the now yokai filled streets I saw a lot of them were wounded, was there a battle recently? How could there be so many injured people here? I wanted to have my questions answered but I found that I had no right to speak right now I could only wait until I saw their leader and asked her directly. Before long we were in front of a Japanese style mansion and inside we saw mayhem. Everyone seemed to be rushing to get from one place to another. Magari - The yokai faction seems to be going through some problems Yu - Yup Since it was so loud here the guards could hear our voices well and continued to guide us towards their leader. I''m kind of excited. Chapter 26 - A Show of Power Magari - The yokai faction seems to be going through some problems Yu - Yup Since it was so loud here the guards could hear our voices well and continued to guide us towards their leader. I''m kind of excited, from an outside perspective I may have been bound by chains but my expression looked as if was having a nice stroll. Magari was confused by my attitude along with the fact that we "surrendered" so easily. Yu - *sigh* Since I didn''t want her to continue to stare at me I took a telepathy rune from my inventory and flicked my wrist to toss it to her. She was able to catch it and boy did she have a lot of questions. Magari - {Yu-sama why did you follow these people so easily!! Even if I had to put my life on the line you could have gotten away!! Why!?!? Do you know how dangerous it is to walk into an enemy encampment-} Yu - {Magari calm down, listen to me. First, we are not in danger so there''s no need to worry about it, second, while I do appreciate the thought of you risking your life for me, however, think about the others how would they feel if you were gone. Plus even if we did fight back there neither of us were going to die. At most we''d escape while leaving those guys heavily injured.} These were words that came straight from my heart if I wanted to get away from those guys I could just enter Haven and they''d never be the wiser. Same for myself I can also instantly bring in people and items into Haven. So if those guys were going trying to kill us I''d teleport away while leaving them a couple hundred explosive rune as a present. For the return trip home the reason I set up a transportation formation was so I can always have a fast way home. It''s meant to be a relay point that I can use to go home instantly if I''m ever too far away to use [spatial movement]. As for the problem with these chains well... I was still in my [Void Demon Form] and thus could have these chains just pass through me. Then I could send Magari''s chains into Haven and we''d both be free to fight. Even if this place does have space restriction formations both my access to Haven and my innate abilities surpass them. I told this to Magari and she was shocked at my deductive reasoning, she seemed to have forgotten what I was capable of when she so those fox clansmen. Magari - {But Yu-sama... why did you let them capture you?... I don''t understand why you would want to come here?} Yu - {Simple I wanted to see the situation of the Yokai faction.} With so many different yokai a lot of which have powerful fighting abilities like the Nekoshou, but from what I remember from the anime they were easily infiltrated and their leader was captured. From my deductions, Yasaka should be around the Ultimate Rank and what I want to know is how she got captured. Cao Cao''s group wasn''t very large and I highly doubt they were able to take out the whole Yokai Factions while the Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels were in Kyoto. So I came up with 2 possibilities, one there''s a mole in the Yokai faction or two the Yokai faction was weakened to an extent that their defenses were lacking in some places allowing the kidnapping to happen. Right now I''m here cause I want to confirm my suspicion i-it''s definitely not because I want to see Yasaka or anything...*cough* *cough* Okay back to business, we were currently before the main hall door and even from here I could hear footsteps from behind the door. Without asking for permission one of the fox clansmen opened the door and I saw a traditional Japanese hall with multiple sitting around a table. At the head of the table was a woman in a yellow kimono and as a man, my eyes were drawn to the abundant fruit in her embrace. However, while I was a man I was also a gentleman and looked for but a fraction of a second before looking at her face. Thankfully she didn''t see me, and I was able to avoid being seen as a pervert (I have no plans on being a replacement Issei). Guard - Lady Matriarch we''ve brought the criminals Yu - Ay wo! I already told you dumbass we aren''t criminals! I was not about to be framed for something I didn''t do so obviously I had to comment back but this guy seemed to be the unreasonable type. Guard - Silence yo- He wanted to slap me mid-sentence but I was already a pretty reserved person and this guy was already pressing my bu??ons. So while he was about to hit my face I used [Seiryu''s Wrath]. One of the bonus abilities of this skill was a mental attack so with only s thought I formed a needle-shaped spirit weapon and sent it flying to his brain before he could hit me. The result, he ended up stumbling a couple feet backward with blood coming out of his mouth, eyes, nose, and ears and this was the expected result. After all, this ability is that of a Primordial Azure Dragon, and this guy wasn''t even Super Rank and even if he was he''d still stumble back a couple feet. Why? Some people would ask it''s because yokai are, part spirit so it''s reasonable to say that they''d get damaged more from spirit based attacks like the one I used than a physical one. When my observation was done I saw that the entire hall was quiet and looked at me with vigilance, even Magari showed me a shocked expression. The clansmen who tried to attack me looked pale and couldn''t stand so he kneeled on the ground, I ignored him and made my way towards the table. But since I didn''t want to be chained anymore I turned part of my body etherial and had the chains pass through me. And as for Magari I just waved my hand and her chains disappeared. With her chains gone she also ignored the guards and followed 2 steps behind me. Finally, I stopped about 3 feet from the table, clasped my hands behind my back, and gave them a kind smile. Yu - Hello, you must all be part of the Yokai Factions upper echelon, my name is Yu Hyoudou but you may call me Yu. Some yokai looked at me with great vigilance with the only exception being Yasaka who stood up and greeted me with a small bow and a smile. Yasaka - It is a p???sur? to meet you Hyoudou-dono I am Yasaka leader of the yokai faction and Matriarch of the Fox clan. Pardon my rudeness but what business does Hyoudou-dono want with us today? Yu - Oh me? I was just in the neighborhood and was invited by the guys behind me to come over. Hearing my words the guards behind me and the men at the table couldn''t help themselves from sneering at me. Yu - But enough about me what about you guy. It seems like you could use some help? Stepping closer to the table I pulled out a chair and scanned all of the contents on the table. Chapter 27 - Talking with the Yokai Faction Yu - Civil War... Huh? Magari - Seems so... and it doesn''t seem like the Yokai Faction is gaining any breathing room. I looked up to the group of yokai and couldn''t help myself from asking Yu - You guys are fighting a losing war, and your people are suffering how can you let this go on? With the evidence shown on my way here along with the added insight on these document, I couldn''t help myself from wondering. While the Yokai faction isn''t as strong as the Angel, Grigori, or Devil factions they still had some power. Yasaka - Hyoudou-dono I''m very grateful for your help with saving my daughter but this matter is ours and ours alone we can''t bring any outside parties into this. Our pride won''t allow it. Raising an eyebrow I looked at Yasaka with an observant stare (and not in a perverted way). While she is skillfully hiding it I could see dark circles concealed under a thick layer of makeup. Obviously, this war has been affecting her badly, and with the condition of the others on the table it''s fair to say that they''re very anxious. Yu - Are you really happy with this? Yasaka - ...Pardon? Yu - Your people are out there suffering, your territory is being destroyed, and the faction that your ancestors built is crumbling down!! This isn''t a matter of pride what you need is someone who can help you because if you don''t there are only 2 ending that''ll come at the end of this war. One, you lose the war and all of you die and your daughter will either also die or worse, and then there''s two. You guys win the war but you''ll substance multiple casualties causing your faction to weaken tremendously. These''ll be what happens if you continue to focus on your pride instead of your safety! Random Clansmen - And what do you know! You don''t know what it''s like to protect a large group of people!?!? Unable to handle my lecture one of the clansmen spook out. Yu - You may be right I don''t know how to manage a group as large as your faction, but I do know what it''s like to protect people. Current;y I have a family waiting for me to come home, 3 lovers that pray for my safety, and 82 citizens under my protection waiting for me to lead them!! Because all these people are waiting for me I can''t die, I need to live not just for me but for them too. I know I am still inexperienced in a lot of things but I''ll never put something as meaningless as pride before what''s right!!! Silence dominated the room and everyone here fell silent after hearing my speech. They thought I was right they had been fighting this Civil War for a while now and the only thing that''s changed has been the number of casualties on the battlefield. Yasaka, while she is a good leader when it comes for calming the masses, she lacks in the art of war thus leading us to this. I can''t fault her for this because not everyone is perfect but I still think that things should be decided upon by more than just one person. From the way, I see this room everyone has left things to Yasaka alone and the pressure is slowly getting to her. Yasaka - Then what would you do in this situation if you were me? Yu - Hm? Earlier she talked about pride but now she''s asking for advice. I wanted to say this but then I saw her eyes, they weren''t the stoic ones I saw early these were eyes of someone who was grasping on the little bit of hope in front of them. Yu - [Oh~ I see now.] Yu - *sigh* I would ask for help. From the looks of it, you and the opposite party are at a standstill and no one is getting anywhere. I''m I right about this. Everyone nodded. From the information gathered on the table, the opposite party consists of Yamauba, Rokurokubi, and Yurei yokai. These Yokai have unfriendly relationships with humans. The Yokai faction then consists of Obake, Tengu, and Tsukumogami, who seem to have friendlier relationships with humans. Then sitting on the sidelines are the Kappa and Kintaro, who want to have no relation with either side. As of right now, they''ve been at war because the opposite party wants to rule over humans, while the faction party wants to co-exist with humans. Before long the leader of the Yurei has a fall out with Yasaka and before they knew it the faction was split in 2 and war began. 4 months have passed since then and the damages have been astronomical. From my guess, if this war were to end it would be in 2 or 3 years and the previous Yokai faction will be no more. Currently, of the 8 strongholds, they have throughout the city of Kyoto 3 were destroyed, 3 are now in the hand of the opposite party, and the last 2 were in the hands of the faction. Those two strongholds are currently the main headquarters and the main supply depot. The ones the opponents have are two smaller supply depots and an underground base under the Kyoto Tower. Yu - The reason you guys aren''t going anywhere is that while you have the numbers you lack the combat potential, while the opponents have the potential but not the numbers. In order to succeed you need to fill the gap that your missing. Yasaka - How do we do that the Kintaro and Kappa won''t participate in this war so we have no one to rely on for support. Yu - You could always hire a group of skilled people and give them proper compensation for the job they do. Yasaka - But we know no one like that our faction doesn''t dwell in that part of the world, and what would we give them as compensation we mostly deal with supply and demand of goods in and out of Kyoto. Everyone - ... Yu - What? Yasaka - I don''t mean to be rude since I know you are strong but against an army, I don''t believe you''ll win unscathed. Yu - Obviously but did you forget I have 82 people under me and most of them are highly skilled fighters. Do you remember the Nekoshou? Clansmen 1 - They were a group of strong Yokai who the previous generation faction leader exiled. If I remember correctly they went missing a few years ago. Clansmen 3 - But what does have to do with you. Yu - You all know that the Nekoshou went missing 3ish years ago, and it just so happens I was in the neighborhood a the time and was able to save everyone one and bring them to safety with me when I left. Clansmen 4 - The those 82- Yu - Correct! Exactly what your thinking. No what if I told you that I had a group of elite fighters waiting for my signal to fight. Yu - [It''s come to this] Even I''d be suspicious if someone made this offer to me so I can understand their doubts. However, right now I can make use of this opportunity to benefit myself greatly I can''t let it pass. Yu - Simple I only have 3 requests. 1) Since the Yokai handles the supply of goods in and out of Kyoto I want you to create a steady flow of materials for me. Obviously, I''ll pay for them I just need an easier way to get materials. Clansmen 2 - That is something we can do. Yu - 2) I want to learn some skills from you guys to boost my arsenal it doesn''t have to be much maybe one or two. It took them a while to answer because they all seemed to be contemplating whether to accept it or not. In the end, they agreed as long as there weren''t any forbidden or secret techniques. Yu - 3) I want some people, so it would be nice if you could migrate some people from your faction to my base. *Smack* Clansmen 1 - ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!! Our people cannot be traded as bargaining chips! Yu - Calm down will you, while yes you may be using them as bargaining chip it''s not like I''m demanding it, it''s a request so I would be glad if you accepted. However, if you refused then while it is disappointing it''s no big deal. I just wanted to help deal with your population problem. Clansmen 3 - What problem do we have with our population? Yu - Since the war is going on and many are dying that means the number of soldiers you can deploy to maintain the peace diminishes and public order becomes unstable. So if I were to take some I could help your problem as well as maybe heal some who are no longer able to heal themselves through normal methods. Either way, it''s a win-win situation. This is true I''ve studied medicine for a long time and can probably heal most ''permanent'' wounds with enough time. So if I were to get some crippled Yokai that would be fine because when I heal them they might become loyal to me in the end. Now all I got to do is convince them to agree with me. Chapter 28 - Preparations for War It took a couple of hours to convince them to migrate some people over to my side. Honestly, it would have been easier to just kidnap them but it would leave a bad taste in my mouth, and those that I took wouldn''t be loyal to me. In the end, this was the best choice, I would take in the crippled, and orphaned as well as thoughts that want to leave but have no prejudice against Nekoshou. This war had left many children abandoned and others who want to leave so I''m expecting a large harvest. Next was the plan of attack. In one week my ?ssault team will head to their main base under the Kyoto Tower while they take out their supply depots. They plan to finish this war soon so we could only come up with this. They''ll split their forces into 4 teams divided among their whole army. 20% will stay to defend their base, another 15% will ?ssist me at the tower, and 40% each will attack the supply depot. The last 5% will stay on call in case one of the teams needs reinforcements. ---- Yu - Well that''s all we can do for now I''ll see you in a week. I got up from the table and was about to teleport out when Yasaka called out to me. Yasaka - Hyoudou-dono wait I need to ask... what faction are you in? Everyone stretched their ears to listen to my reply and I can only smile lightly. Yu - I belong to no faction I represent myself and myself alone, I don''t plan to be under anyone. And like that, I left. ---- {Yasaka''s Pov:} Yasaka - No faction... This reply confused me, from what I could see he is strong but it isn''t normal strength that can be gained without a backer. And yet he says he has no one behind him ?ssisting it. I began to think that it was the Nekoshou that are supporting him but everything I saw him do doesn''t aline with the knowledge we have on Nekoshou. Mind attacks, dematerialization, instant teleportation. These things were not something a Nekoshou can do at least not without a magic circle. Plus skills like these need years of practice and he doesn''t look older than 15 but my instincts tell me he''s younger than that. He may seem cunning and manipulative but I can somehow sense that this is just a facade of his. If it wasn''t then he why would he help my daughter, why would he help us, and why would he be so passionate when talking about his family. I can tell that he is also a caring boy who may do things in an unorthodox way but will never harm those who are innocent. The meeting had already ended and right now I''m taking care of my daughter who seems to have exhausted herself while these thoughts take up my mind. I had originally wanted her to stay away from the violence; it was my fault for keeping her in the mansion. A young girl like her can''t be cooped up in a house, so I can understand her reasons for sneaking out. I just hope this experience doesn''t affect her. *Swoosh* ??? - Faction Leader Yaska. Yasaka - !!! A cold sweat came down my back, I turned around and saw Hyoudou-dono''s companion but what frightened me was her stealth abilities. I was only able to sense her when she was right behind me. Yasaka - How did you get here? Shouldn''t you have left with Hyoudou-dono already? Magari - Yu-sama told me to deliver this to you since it''s classified information, and as for how I got here it''s with the help of Yu-sama that I''m here. Now that my job is done I bid you good night. *Swoosh* Like that she left and I stood in the room with Kunou still sleeping behind me and a letter in my had. Gazing at the later I wondered what to do but in the end still opened it. The letter only had three pages and the first said. [Your faction has been infiltrated. Here is a new change in the plans keep it a secret from these people] The second page had a drawing of two of our council members and the third had the changes made. Apparently, he wants to attack in 3 days rather than a week from now. The plan had some minor changes but it didn''t stop what we already agreed on. He will keep an eye on our compound to make sure no one goes out to inform our enemy but we have to take care of the inside. When I finished reading the letters they caught fire and turned to ashes Yasaka - *sigh* Yu Hyoudou you are one interesting boy. {Yu''s Pow:} By now Yasaka already got my letter and I had just finished informing the Nekoshou. Some didn''t like the idea but still chose to agree with my idea. Others were worried that their skills have gotten rusty since they haven''t gotten real battle experience in a while but I solved that problem easily. A long time ago when I was using the [dungeon] function of the system I got the option of creating my own dungeon in Haven for future use. I agreed to put it in but left the dungeon inactive since neither I nor the Nekoshou needed it at the moment. There was also the issue of monsters overflowing Haven so I put it to the side until now. Currently, I''m a deep in the mountain range in Haven a couple Km away from the village and behind me are 40 of the strongest Nekoshou in the village. The rest are still in the village since I won''t have everyone fight. Of these 40 Nekoshou 12 of them are ultimate rank and the rest were peak high rank. I now know why everyone was scared of them but now these people are loyal to me so I have nothing to fear. Before use was a large ominous door with miasma covering the surroundings. This was the labyrinth dungeon I installed here. The monsters inside vary greatly from each other and the experience will sharpen the Nekoshou''s previously dull claws. With the help of [Time Alteration], I slowed the time inside 7 times so 3 days outside will be 21 days inside. When they get out they may even be stronger then when they came in I hope. Watching them enter I had a little bit of worry in my heart since I knew it was hard to survive in there but I had to let them go hoping none of them die. They''re in a group and back then I was alone when I first went into the labyrinth so it shouldn''t be too bad. I gave them teleportation runes that''ll bring them back to the dungeon entrance when the 21 days are up. All I need to do is wait. I''m back in front of the dungeon with everyone in the village and were waiting for the dungeon party to return. Over these few things, my people were able to catch 6 informants leaving the Yokai compound and eliminated them swiftly. I also didn''t stay idle while they were in the dungeon I made many pieces of equipment and runes for the operation to make sure nothing went wrong. Kuroka and Shirone however, made great strides in their training, yesterday they were able to gain their second tail and their control over life energy improved by a large margin. Kuroka chose to specialize more in Youjutsu (demon arts) and Shirone chose to specialize more in Touki (fighting spirit). They still chose to gain some knowledge from other field but mainly focused on their chosen path. Another skill their working on is Kasha but they''re having trouble scratching the surface of the technique. *Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Swoosh* Before long 40 Nekoshou began to appear before us, and all of them had a breathtaking aura around them. It was like the aura you''d get from a beautiful girl even though they''re all beautiful it was more like the aura a returning soldier will have when they return home. The thought gave me some expectation and worry. I''m only at the mid-tier high rank. While it may be easy for them I, on the other hand, will take longer to reach that point. Yu - *Sigh* Sighing at the unfairness of the world I distributed potions, and pills to the returning party and told them the rest until the time came. Right now it''s 7 in the morning and we plan to attack at midnight I need these guys to consolidate their foundation and recover any energy they lost in the dungeon. Chapter 29 - War!! Time had passed and the night was here. Currently, I''m alone on a bench in a park near the tower of Kyoto. Before this, I had come into contact with Yasaka who was leading a team to infiltrate the underground base. Now I just had to wait for them to act as decoys so the Nekoshou and I can sneak in through the back. Yu - A lot of people will die tonight... let''s hope none are from my side. Shirone - [Are you scared Yu?] While I was talking to myself I heard Shirone''s voice from a comlink I gave her and Kuroka. Yu - No, I''m not scared I''ve already been in many life and death battles before but this is different. Right now I''m leading my own group of people and I have to keep track of a lot of things now. Rather than scared, I''m nervous in a way. Kuroka - [It''ll be fine Yu~ just believe in us. Our people won''t go down easily~!] Yu - I guess your right. I don''t know why but talking to them always keeps me at ease, so I just took my time to look at the stars before I went into the dark caves of the underground. *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* Yu - Guess it''s time. ---- Infiltrating the base through an old sewer system I released all the Nekoshou from Haven. While the main faction dealt with the frontline troops we would sneak in through the back and hit them from both sides. Making our way through the system we came to a halt when we saw a giant hole, there was a staircase going down but we didn''t want to lose too much time. Yasaka had previously given me a map of this place so I knew there was an underground freshwater system here which gave the base its water. All I had to do was get down there and I''d be in the base. Yu - Welp maximum effort. Ignoring the stairs I jumped straight to the bottom and came into contact with the water, following behind me were the Nekoshou and we all regrouped at the bottom. Making use of some runes I dried all our clothes and we continued to move forward. The first place we stopped by was the small storage warehouse. We had to stop any of them from coming here to resupply their troops so I took all the supplies into my inventory for save keeping and collapsed the ceiling. We''re really far underground so it shouldn''t affect the surface at all even if I made use of a lot of explosives. After that, we came into contact with the enemies communications department and silently killed everyone here. From what we could tell they hadn''t been able to alert the other bases of our attack which was a good thing. As I thought this a message came from both bases. ??? - Mayday mayday this is supply depot 1 we are currently under attack the enemy has already infiltrated the base and were losing men please send help!! ??? - Mayday mayday this is supply depot 2 we are currently under attack the enemy has already infiltrated the base and we already lost most of our men please send help!! It seems the others are doing well for themselves, they''ve already infiltrated the enemy base and caused them to call for reinforcements. Thinking for a minute I came up with an idea. Yu - Ahem... This is command HQ were are currently under attack the leader has been killed and they''re taking over the base!! If any of you are listen send reinforcement this way the base is about to fall!!! Depot 1 - Oh god no Deport 2 - HQ!! HQ!! do you read me please rep-!! The first depot seemed to have lost hope while the second tried to get back into contact with us but they were interrupted by what seemed like an explosion. An evil grin appeared on my face and I looked at the others who were showing a similar grin. After clearing the communications room we went into stealth and started to pick off any stray soldiers running around here and there. After 30 minutes we all came into contact with the main battlefield and saw that they had come to a stop in their advancement. Each side had many fighters in the center of the field while mages were firing spells from the sidelines. Yasaka was in the center as a 9 tailed fox attacking enemies left right and center while also firing off spells from her tails. It was quite the sight and I stopped for a moment wanting to take a picture cuz it was pretty cool but stopped myself since we were on the battlefield. Thinking for a moment I took the Nekoshou back into Haven for a minute and used my Void Demon Form to sneak up behind the enemy mages. Like a phantom, I attacked them and let out the Nekoshou. They never stood a chance. Without the support of the mages, the soldiers on the battlefield started to fall like a puppet without their strings. Within 5 minutes I stood before Yasaka who had turned back into her human form. Yu - Hey long time no see. Did you find the boss yet? Yasaka - It has only been around an hour and sadly we haven''t yet. Yu - Hm~ I see give me a moment. Releasing my domain I scanned the whole base and slowly found the boss. He was in a room east of here trying to gather the rest of his troops to his direction. Sadly for him, it wasn''t much since we had killed off a good number of them on our way here. Yu- He''s east of here trying to gather his troops if we go now we can probably finish him off here and now. Yasaka - How do you know that? Yu - Trade secret! Only my family, friend, or woman will know it. Giving a cheeky grin I made my way east to confront the leader. It didn''t take long and when we did 30ish soldiers were blocking our way. They looked at us with eyes full of vigilance, anger, and sadness. They had mostly run out of hope for there victory in this war. Yu - Listen up!! If you surrender now I''ll let you all live!! You have 3 seconds!! Hoping to at least end this quickly I gave them an ultimatum Yu - 1! Yu - 3!!! Before I even reached 3 most of them had already dropped their weapons but some had still continued to put up a fight. Yu - Oh well. [Trace On] With the keywords spoken multiple swords appeared behind my back and shot towards the still standing soldiers. They tried to dodge but when they did new swords appeared and cut them to pieces. This shocked not only the kneeling soldiers but even the faction''s army and my army. They didn''t think I knew a skill like this. [Trace On] was a skill I learned over the 3 day time period. While I was forging a lot of new equipment my Blacksmith sub job ranked up from Expert to Master and let me have a good understanding of the skill. It combines the sword properties of [sword force], the knowledge of a master blacksmith, and the influence of [Unlimited Blade Works] to create blades out of thin air rather than using my reality marble. The only downside is that it takes a while making a blade rather than pulling it from the ground. Yu - ...Are you not going to capture them? Yasaka - Huh? Ah yes! I originally wanted to blast the door open with Deadshot but before I could Yasaka did some weird thing with her hands and before I knew it the seal was broken. Yu - ...Can you teach me that? I couldn''t help myself from asking and she only gave me a smile before pushing the door open. Inside was a creepy looking guy and if I was to describe him in detail he would look like Orochimaru from Naruto. Yu - [The resemblance is uncanny.] Yasaka - Amano it''s over surrender now. Rather than attack him Yasaka chose to talk with him but even I know this guy won''t surrender. He seems like the kind of guy who''d curse at you before he''d surrender Amano - You filthy B**** you''ve sided with the humans, and used them to help you win. Do you have no pride. Yu - ...Pride is nothing more compared to life. Now surrender or I''ll kill you. I already didn''t like this guy so I used [Spatial Movement] to get behind him and held him at gunpoint. Amano - Ha! What do you think you can do with that, you runt. I''d rather kil- *Bang* One bullet saved me from his boring speech, it was one of the best deals I made if I don''t say so myself. Holstering my pistol I looked at the crowd of yokai who looked at me with disbelief. Yu - What? ---- They were pretty mad with how I didn''t at least hear him out but they couldn''t change the past and just accepted it since, in the end, they knew he was going to die one way or another. After that, we got reports that most of their forces were killed off that night and only 10% of them lived because they surrendered. Most of these came from the first supply depot, while the others were stragglers found here and there. Once Yasaka was able to put everything back into order she started holding up her end of the deal and gave us a stable supply of materials that we''d need in the future. She even offered to teach me some skills which I accepted full heartedly. As for the migration process, turns out the Yokai Faction was having population problems since they had been holding up in their small pocket world without expanding so it had gotten pretty tight for some people. In the end, I was able to gain a lot of new people and I sent them into Haven. Lots of them were in really bad shape but I kept giving out lots of medicines and stuff to them and got them back to their peak. They had begun to help with the manual labor in the village to finish the houses and stuff. Then came the Widows they had become sad that their husbands were no longer here, but after a while, some of them decided to do work in order to keep their minds off it. Some worked on making new clothes for the orphans, other prepared food for everyone, and the stronger one helped in the village completion. As for the orphans they had taken Haven as their new home and wanted to work hard to protect it. I was impressed with their determination and strong will so I had one of the Nekoshou train them. It didn''t take long for them to accept me as their leader since I didn''t stay idle and helped them a lot when I could. They also knew that Haven was literally made by me which impressed them a lot. They didn''t know about world power though since I wanted their loyalty without having to be a tyrant. Lucky for me they had no prejudice against humans or Nekoshou so it was fine. What weirded me out though was that some of the older yokai didn''t mind living in the woods but I still had them move into the village to keep everyone in check. Before I knew it the village was expanding and my castle was almost done. I had even begun to work on my own army. All this took about 7 months but, I couldn''t see everything since I had to get to school as well as go see Yasaka for teaching but I''m pretty sure there''s more to see. What I did find out later though was that all of this was planned by the Khaos Brigade I didn''t expect to see them so soon but in life, anything can happen. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Completed Quests - [Kingdom Building: 1st Quest) Population - Now that you are a King you needed people to serve under you - Task: Increase the population of your territory Gain 1,000 citizens (1000+/1,000) {A/N: Most of these are orphans} Rewards - 1x Sky Vein - Haven will gain another sun - Human life form data will be inputted when Haven reaches 7th Sun Rank [Secret Quest - War: Task: Win a war Rewards - 4x ***** ***** ******* - 1x Legendary Equipment Gacha Ticket Chapter 30 - Childbirth and Surprise Reunion *Ding-Dong* *Ding-Dong* {Attention passengers we will be arriving at Kuoh Town in 5 minutes} It has been about 8 months since the war in Kyoto and today I decided to visit my family for the weekend. I had previously come by a couple times to check on mom and the others but I''d have to go back the next day to continue with school. I technically didn''t have to go to school I still wanted to because it was like a small place for me to relax. In school, I was temporarily free from the mental strain of being a leader and had time to myself. Usually, I would talk to some of my classmates in class, read a book, or stare at the sky. My grades were obviously top of the grade so I had nothing to worry about and could live my school life relatively calm. If I had to put it clearly I was pretty popular in school but I never went far in a relationship with my peers. I didn''t have a normal life outside of school and didn''t want to bring any harm to them since they were just normal people who''d probably die if they got involved with me. Now that I had a week-long break I decided to go home and visit my family Kuroka and Shirone decided to stay at Yasaka''s place to work on the Kasha ability. Then when it came to my relationship with Yasaka I''d say I''m doing pretty good she no longer calls my Hyoudou-dono and switched to a more informal Yu-san. Over these few months, I not only learned some skills from her but also helped her out greatly in managing the Yokai faction. It was tough at first and we spent many sleepless nights filing new regulations and stuff. As for Kunou, she accompanies me and Yasaka when we train and also tries to pick up on some skills we perform. One day when I was practicing by myself she came up to me and begged me with puppy dog eyes to help teach her since her mom told her she was still too young. Since she is technically a princess she can''t leave the compound without an escort so after getting permission from Yasaka I would take her out to play every Sunday afternoon. Adding up all the things of done for the mother-daughter duo brought our relationship really close. ---- Reminiscing about what had happened these last few months the bullet train came to a stop and I departed from my set. No one was there to greet me at the station since I didn''t tell them I was coming. I just calmly walked through the streets looking at the small changes in the city. *Ring* *Ring* Yu - Hm... Oh, it''s Issei... I just got here and now I''m getting a call from him... Hello Issei - Yu-nii where are you?!?! Yu - I''m at the town station I was going to surprise you guy with a visit what''s wrong you seem anxious? Issei - Mom is in labor! Meet us at the hospital! We are on our way there. Yu - Okay I''ll be there as soon as I can! Kuoh Town has multiple hospitals but I can tell that they''re heading to the one closer to the house. It will take 20 minutes by car and another 10 minutes hail a taxi, but if I run I can make it there in 5 minutes. Ignoring the signs of traffic in the road I broke into a sprint and took many back alleys to get to the hospital. If I tried I could get there instantly but I knew there were many supernatural being here and I couldn''t expose myself now. I mean it wouldn''t be a problem if I did but I didn''t want to inconvenience my family. ---- Coming out of a nearby alley I saw the entrance of the hospital and went in. Yu - Excuse me I''m looking for a patient by the surname of Hyoudou they should have just gotten here! I''m the family''s eldest son. Receptionist - A yes your younger brother informed us that you would arrive soon their on the second-floor room 203. Yu - Thanks ---- Reaching the top of the flight of stairs I was meet with a somewhat large waiting room. There I could see the rooms 201, 202, and 203. Inside the waiting room, I saw dad pacing back and forth while sweating and bitting his thumb. An off to the side I saw Issei fidgeting while a small group of 3 girls and 2 boys were trying to calm him down. Giving out a short shout I walked up to them. Dad - Yu? I didn''t know you were in town. Yu - I just got here when I got a call from Issei... How''s mom doing? Issei - Mom is doing okay they just took her into the room right now. Yu - Okay, right now we just need to calm down. Us worrying isn''t going to do mom any good we should just calm down. Dad/Issie - Ya I guess you''re right. I wasn''t really worried about the childbirth since before this I constantly sent mom medicines that helped with pregnancy. These medicines were magic medicines so they work better than normal ones, with all these added together I wasn''t worried about my little brother or sister. Mom and Dad never told us what the gender of the baby because they wanted to be surprised. Once I was able to calm the two down I sat down in one of the chairs and looked at the group of children nearby. From the way they looked I could guess who they were but I still had to ask. Yu - Hey Issei who are they? Issei - Oh the guys are Matsuda and Motohama they''re my best friends. You already know Murayama and Katase. The girl with the glasses is Aika Kiriyuu. We all go to the same middle school. Standing up I extended my hand to them. Yu - Nice to see you again Murayama, Katase I hope you''ve been taking care of Issei while I was away. And hello Matsuda, Motohama, and Kiriyuu, I''m Issei''s older brother Yu Hyoudou. All of them shook my hand and greeted me, apparently, all of them were at our house when Mom went into labor and they decided to come to support Issei. Besides that Murayama and Katase knew me from before so they were fine with me. The others though, they were kind of distant since this was their first time seeing me. The one who broke the ice was Kiriyuu, and just as mischievous as she was in the anime. She kept telling me about how Issei, Mastuda, and Motohama would try to sneak a peek at the girls changing only to be caught and beaten to a pulp by Murayama and Katase. This information gave me a shock before I looked at the three with a serious expression. Yu - We''ll have a take later about this Issei, and thank you Murayama and Katase for disciplining him... Reporter Kiriyuu I will expect a full report of the transactions of Mr. Hyoudou on my desk when I see you again. Kiriyuu - Hai! Will do captain. Yu - I also expect nothing short of the best from you two Officer Murayama and Officer Katase! Murayama/Katase - Huh? Looks like they could keep up with my act so I just told them to keep Issei from doing anything illegal. I knew Issei''s perverted stage would come sooner or later I just didn''t expect it to be this soon. I have no real problem with him being a perv with the exception of him doing something illegal I pretty much give him free rein. But from my analysis, Murayama and Katase seem to want to fix his perverted trait of his. Issei may be too dense to see this but I can tell that Murayama and Katase have already developed some feeling for Issei. I don''t know if they came to an agreement or something but I think Issei''s plan of being a ''Harem King'' is slightly more possible in this timeline than it was in the last one before turning into a devil. ---- Time went by and sun it was night and I started to doubt whether the medicines worked. The other kids had to leave a while ago cause their parents were worried so it was just me, Issei, and dad left in the room. When midnight rolled up the door of the room opened and the doctor came out. Doctor - *sigh* Congratulations Mr. Hyoudou- Not even listening to the doctor''s words we charged into the room and found mom holding a newborn baby with a tired expression. Mom - We did it, Dear, our family has grown again. We now have a new baby girl in the family. Dad only said that before he dropped to the floor next to mom and held her in his arms. Yu - What''s her name? Mom and Dad looked at each other before mom spoke. Mom - She was born under the gaze of the moon, and she will be the Hyoudou family''s first girl so I think Tsukihime. Dad nodded at the name and raised her close to his face. Dad - I like it from today you will be Tsukihime Hyoudou, my daughter. ---- It took 2 days for mom to recover and on the 3rd day, we took mom home. There we had a small get together of mom and dad''s friends. Issei''s friends also came and I was tempted to bring Shirone and Kuroka too but in the end, chose not to. *Ding-Dong* As I was looking at Issei and the other playing video games in our room I heard someone ring the doorbell. Yu - Shouldn''t everyone already be here? Making my way to the door I told my parent I''d get the door. However, I was surprised, on who I saw. It was a group of 3. At the back was a middle-aged husband and wife pair but that wasn''t what surprised me. What surprised me was who was in front of me. Yu - ...Irina? Chapter 31 - She Found Out! Yu - ...Irina? Irina - Yu~ I missed you!! Saying this she jumped into my arms and hugged me. I did the same but before I could get lost in this moment I awkwardly looked at her parents. Her Dad gave me a cheeky smile when I looked at him, and her mom just held her hand to her mouth and laughed lightly. Mr. Shidou - Finally remembered about us did you Yu-kun? Mrs. Shidou - *Giggle* Should we give you two some room? Yu - Ahem forgive me. Come inside my parents are in the living room. Since I had Irina clinging to me it was troublesome to move but in the end, I was able to make room for them to pass through. Mrs. Shidou - Don''t have too much fun you two~ We''ll go on ahead of you. Hearing her I couldn''t help myself from blushing a little. Yu - [I can fight against monsters and not break a sweat but when in front of a future in law why do my defenses crumble so quickly.] After thinking that I took Irina to where the rest of the kids were playing and introduced them to Irina. Murayama and Katase welcomed Irina since they were good friends before she left, while Matsuda and Motohama were staring at her with stupid expressions, causing me to jab both their eyes leaving them writhing in pain on the floor. In the years we had been away from each other Irina still hasn''t lost her twin tail hairstyle but other than that a lot has changed. Along with having a slight glow whenever she smiled she also began to develop in other places. He h?ps had already started to widen, and her previous flat ?h?st had already begun to show a lot of promise. So I can understand why they were staring but I still didn''t like it. The only one who didn''t stare like an idiot was Issei who greeted her with a stutter. Irina was one of the few people besides me who he couldn''t talk back to, and she was also one of the main people who would disciple him when he was bad. I bet he was thinking I was going to rat him out, but I didn''t plan to. Sadly after we began to talk Kiriyuu who saw Issei be cautious around Irina spilled the beans. After that, all of us watched Irina lecture the perverted trio for about 30 minutes before I took Irina away leaving behind 3 ''soulless'' young boys. When we left I took Irina to see Tsukihime who had just woken up from a nap. Tsukihime seemed to like Irina because she was staring at her while also stretching her hands out to her. I sat a little off to the side defeated since whenever she was in my arms she would cry and do her best to leave my embrace. ---- Once, Irina had enough of holding Tsukihime we both went out into the back yard to get some fresh air. Sitting on a newly placed bench in the corner of the yard we just sat there quietly. After a few minutes later Irina was the first to break the ice. Irina - Hey Yu do you remember this~ Reaching into her shirt she pulled out the old necklace I gave her all those years ago. It seemed to be well taken care of since the chain and emblem were in perfect condition. Yu - Isn''t that the necklace I gave you when you told me you were leaving for Europe? Irina - En~ I''ve been taken very good care of it since I have to give it back to you one day... Hey, Yu do you know where you got this? I''ve never seen an emblem like this before. Yu - Ah~ if I remember correctly I found it at a festival one day and bought it for 1,000 yen. Why? Irina - It''s nothing I just saw something similar to it on the news. Hearing this the smile on my face twitched a little. Yu - [Why would it be on the news? The only people who have an emblem like this are me, Irina, and-] Irina - Yu? While my mind was about to wander off Irina''s voice brought me back to reality. Yu - What''s up? Irina - I heard you are going to school in Kyoto now. Yu - Ya it''s an art school. Irina - Then ... are you like Issei and also try to sneak into the girl''s locker room? Her question was so straight forward and direct that I couldn''t respond immediately. Yu - I''m not like Issei I don''t go out and peek at girls! Why did you ask something like this? Irina - ... It''s because I can smell a bit of perfume on your clothes! Saying this she moved away from me and continued to stare at me with a questioning gaze. Dazed for a minute I grabbed the collar of my shirt and took a quick sniff... She was right there was a hint of perfume on it, it wasn''t like the perfume mom wore, it was like that of a young girl. The only people who I knew wear perfume were Kuroka, and Shirone whenever we go out at night to eat. Though I had already washed this shirt the scent of perfume still lingered, and as this was thought popped into my head and I realized I never really told Irina I would have more girlfriends. Yu - [S***!!] Irina - *Deep sigh* When I was trying to figure a way out of this mess I heard Irina sigh. Then she looked at me with a somewhat sad expression. Seeing this my heart ached a little and I wanted to speak but Irina beat me to the punch. Irina - Yu did you really miss me when I left? Irina - Then when stop being depressed, you seemed normal when you saw me earlier. Rather than happy you were surprised. That is true, I didn''t really think she''d come here. I never really thought of the idea of Irina coming back to Japan before the canon. But with me being in this world a lot of things changed. Irina - ...Yu? She seemed like she wasn''t going to stop without an explanation so I couldn''t be silent. Yu - After you left I was depressed, and one day Issei tired to cheer me up but ended up getting hurt badly. After that Mom took Issei to the hospital and left me at home alone since Dad was away for a business trip. Since I was alone and didn''t want to be in the house I went for a walk, there I found two girls who were being bullied. After I helped them we got to know each other and before I knew it we became good friend with me. Around the time we graduated from elementary school they had begun to give me the same feeling you gave me back then and before I knew it- I wanted to continue but I was cut off by Irina. Irina - So did you stop having feelings for me? Yu - No of course not you never left my mind, I still thought of you from time to time wondering if I should go to Europe or not but I had no way to contact you or now where you were. The girls also knew about you but they still didn''t want to give up. I-I-I *sigh* I tried to continue but my words got stuck in my mouth. Knowing I couldn''t couldn''t come up with anything anymore I could only sigh. We were silent for a moment and millions of thoughts went through my mind. In the end, I could only brace myself and speak out my true thoughts. Irina - ... She didn''t speak and just kept looking at me with a plain expression on her face. I couldn''t tell if she was mad, sad, disappointed or what but I already resolved myself for what I was about to do. Yu - Irina, I am ... a greedy guy I knew it was wrong to make more relationships with other girls when I was already with you but I lost myself in greed. In a way, I am like Issei and I do dream of having a lot of girls who are mine and mine alone. The old me wouldn''t have thought I''d be like this but before I knew it the chance was right in front of me and I took it. I made a relationship with them and I also don''t want to lose them. These were my true thoughts I didn''t lie once in this confession. Being a King may have given me status and power but it can''t seal away my emotions. Yu - Even now that I''m saying this I''m still very nervous, but... I still really like you, Irina. I still want to have fun with you, laugh with you, and just spend time with you. I know this is really shameless of me but I can''t deny who I am. ---- In the end after spilling out everything I saw that she was silent. I didn''t want to see her expression since I knew it was going to be bad so I just looked at the ground and waited for her to slip, hit, or talk to me. Seconds felt like hours, minutes felt like years, and I began to think she left. I don''t know when but my hands balled into fists and my nails dug into my skin. After who knows how much time has passed Irina finally made a noise. Irina - *Deep Sigh* I expected something like this. Chapter 32 - The Outcome Irina - *Deep Sigh* I expected something like this. Yu - Ha... I could understand and for some reason rose my head giving her a confused expression. What I saw was still the sad Irina but different from before there was no redness in her eyes. Soon the sad expression faded and I was meet with a serious one. Irina - Yu would you be able to break up with your other girls for me? Her question wasn''t one that I expected to hear from her. I mean, to be honest, I thought she might cut off ties with me here and there but she was trying to compromise with me. If it was another guy they might accept her offer but I wasn''t just another guy. I could only shack my head. Yu - I''m sorry I can''t... they chose to be with me and I can''t just abandon them. More words wanted to leave my mouth but in the end, that was all I said. Hearing my words Irina just nodded, stood up and went back into the house. I wanted to call out to her but a part of me prevented me from doing it. All I could do was watch her retreating figure. ---- I stayed in the backyard until nightfall after that, sadness, guilt, and regret filled my heart and I didn''t know what to do. When I came back inside all the guests were gone and I didn''t feel like talking with anyone for the day so I just went to bed. 3 days passed and I didn''t see Irina once I wanted to stay the rest of my break to see if she''d stop by but, got a call late at night causing me to have to leave early. It was already past midnight when the call came so I left a note on the kitchen table saying some stuff came up and I had to leave early. Just as I was about to leave I stopped by Tsukihime''s crib and left her a small teddy bear I made for her a couple days ago. And like that, I left the house went into a nearby alley and entered Haven. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- {Irina''s Pov:} I was happy when Yu remembered me and all the time we shared together, but I was sad when he told me he had more girlfriends. I mean I know that we were away from each other for a long time and there was the possibility of him forgetting me, but I still wanted to take a chance. When dad told me we were going to Yu''s house to congratulate his parents for their new child I was full of expectation as well as a lot of fear. What if he didn''t remember me, what if he no longer had feelings for me. As we were in front of the door these emotions got louder and I started to get anxious. But all was blown away when I saw him and he said my name. He remembered me, and before I knew it I jumped into his arms. It felt warm and I didn''t want to leave but sadly not all good things could come true. In his arms, I could smell a small trace of perfume. Since I''ve been training to be an exorcist in England I was able to pick up on things like this, and I began to worry. Irina - [Has Yu moved on?] The thought passed in my head but I immediately dismissed it, I couldn''t come to conclusions too early and seem like a nosey girl. So I followed Yu and tried not to let it bother me. I got to reunite with Murayama-chan and Katase-chan, I disciplined Issie and his friend for being pervs, and I held little Tsukihime in my arms. After all that was done, we found ourselves in the backyard sitting next to each other enjoying the evening breeze. I felt really relaxed but the smell of perfume kept bugging me a little. Suddenly I couldn''t hold it in anymore and asked Yu about it. I regretted it soon after and I was told about all that happened after I was gone. Yu''s loneliness, his meeting with the girls, and how he developed feeling for them. When I asked if he lost his feeling for me but he said he didn''t. I was a little happy since I could tell I still had a place in his heart, but I could tell he had more to say so I stayed quiet. In the end, he confessed everything. On how he was greedy, how he knew he was wrong, and how he still wanted to be with me. Once he finished he dropped his head and didn''t look at me anymore. I didn''t speak either and just thought of what he said, in the end, I could only sigh. Irina - *Deep Sigh* I expected something like this. I mostly expected this when I smelled the perfume but I was hoping that my senses were wrong. Yu seemed like he wasn''t expecting me to say this and only looked at me confused. A lot of thoughts went through my head before I asked him if he would break up with the other girls for me and the answer was the one I knew he would say but I at least had to try. I left the backyard after that, I didn''t look back I felt like I had to sort out my feelings before I could see him. ---- 3 days have passed since I left Yu''s house, dad had business to handle here in Kuoh Town so we were staying for a few days. I spent those days dazed and lost in thought, mom went would dad so they never saw me like this and by the time they came back, I would already be asleep. I was currently gazing out the window at the setting sun while I held on to the necklace I''ve been keeping this entire time. I don''t know why I kept it with me but whenever I was holding it I felt like a part of me was lost. It was my last connection with Yu and I always looked at it whenever I felt like I couldn''t go on in my exorcist training. It always encouraged me to keep going but now it feels me with sadness. ---- The next day mom told me that we would be leaving tonight and that I should go out and play outside since we didn''t know when we''d be back. I followed my mom''s words and did go outside but I didn''t play, I just walked around without a certain direction. Before I knew it I was in front of Yu''s house and I had already rung the doorbell when I came to my senses. While I was thinking to whether I should run away from here I or stay Issei opened the door and greeted me. Issei - Ah~ Irina-oneesan are you here for Yu-nii? Come inside I''ll go get him he should still be in bed. Leaving me at the door he went upstairs. Irina - [I''m already here... so I might as well say that I''m leaving tonight] Entering the living room I saw Mrs. Hyoudou holding little Tsukihime who was cradling a cute teddy bear in her small arms. Issei - Hey mom! Have you seen Yu-nii he''s not the room? Mrs. Hyoudou - That''s strange where could he be, he was with us last night before we went to bed. Irina - [Yu''s not here?] While we were starting to get worried about Yu, Mr. Hyoudou came into the living room with a cup of coffee and a piece of paper. Mr. Hyoudou - I think this will answer your questions. Irina - "Something came up and I had to go back to Kyoto early, I arranged an early morning ticket and took a taxi to the station. Don''t worry about me I''ll be home next time I get an extended break. Love Yu... P.S. I hope little Tsukihime likes the teddy bear I made for her it took a while to make." Reading this I felt disappointed inside. Even if it wasn''t intentional I still came over but, when I did he wasn''t here anymore. I was leaving tonight and I don''t know when I''d be back, but I didn''t want our last talk to end up like this what am I going to do? Yu has been the only boy I have ever really been close with and I thought we would be together. Now however we have been separated once again. I began to feel depressed but then a thought came to my mind. Irina - [I may not have the courage to speak to him now it''s not like I won''t in the future.] After spending a couple of minutes in the Hyoudou residence I made my way back to the hotel my family and I were staying at. And in my had was a slip of paper with a phone number on it. Chapter 33 - Problems With Romania Entering Haven was greeted by a lively blossoming city. All the citizens looked so full of life, in the background at the edge of the city was a 5 meters thick 15 meters tall wall. In the sky floating mountains drifted without colliding with each other. Carved into the wall''s gate was a symbol of two wings overlapping each other. The symbol looked like a more detailed version of the Scouting Regiment symbol from Attack on Titan. A little while ago while the yokai that migrated to Haven, were constructing the city they saw this symbol on the necklace I gave Kuroka and Shirone many years ago. After the girls told them it was something I personally made for them the yokai came to the conclusion that the symbol meant something to me. It didn''t I just liked the design. Since I wasn''t there to correct the misunderstanding the yokai somehow came to a conclusion with the help of the girls to make the symbol the emblem of Haven since we didn''t have one. When I found out about this I was exasperated since no one told me this, but in the end, I accepted it since I didn''t hate the symbol. Taking in this view for a moment I turned around and entered the newly finished castle behind me. Walking through the halls I passed a couple Nekoshou who have become the castle''s maids. After a short 5 minute walk, I entered a wide room on the second floor. Throughout the room, there were many workers working in desks or running around holding stacks of paper. At the center of the table were 24 black dressed Nekoshous, and sitting next to the big chair at the head of the table were Kuroka and Shirone. This was the base of operations for Haven''s counterintelligence department. Here we keep in contact with all of our operatives out there in the world. Currently, there are only 30 operatives in this department that have the all clear to come and go. There would be more but this department is only 3-4 months old so we haven''t had enough time to gather more fighters. These operatives have one task and that was to gather information on the other faction in the world. However, things weren''t as simple as that, no sane person would allow others to get information on them so easily. To cover for that I made use of connections in the supernatural world with the help of the Yokai Faction to have them take on mercenary work for other factions. Some believed us to be a band of terrorist, while others, though we were simple guns for hire. Eventually, some factions tried to track down the location of our base but would always have the trail run cold when the Nekoshou would use a consumable transportation formation I made to escape back to Haven. We didn''t have to be worried about the formations being stolen because they only allowed to, transport pre-registered users which were the operatives and no one else. Since they couldn''t track us we soon became known as an enigma of the world and caused many to wonder who we really were and what was our purpose. Unfortunately, just a couple of minutes ago I got a message saying that we lost contact with one of our scouts when they were on their way to complete a job in Romania. Something like this hadn''t happened before and what made things worse was that soon after we lost contact we got an S.O.S signal coming from their previous location before the signal was destroyed. Romania has been one of the hardest places to get information on and now this happened. I couldn''t be depressed at a moment like this so I temporarily put the matter with Irina aside and called for a meeting at the castle. Counterintelligence Operative - Milord! You came. Yu - Stop the formalities I got a report saying we lost contact with a team in Romania. Give me a full report I want to hear it all. Giving out an order that was heard by everyone I walked to the table at the center of the room and sat down in the big chair at the head of the table. After I sat down one of the operatives I gave the order to came up to me with a small stack of papers. Placing the stack on the table I motioned to her and she started to speak. Counterintelligence Operative - Reporting, as of 30 minutes ago we lost track of one of our teams in Romania. We continued to try and reestablish contact but we alarmed when 15 minutes later they released their emergency S.O.S signal. Approximately 30 seconds afterward the signal was lost and we have had no further contact with the team in Romania. Since this is the first time this has happened we had to inform Milord and await further orders before proceeding. Counterintelligence Operative - We received a job to take out a rogue band of vampires that were causing trouble for the Tepes Faction. The job didn''t seem to have too high a difficulty so only 6 members who were proficient in holy magic were deployed. Yu - Tepes Faction Huh?... Counterintelligence Operative - Yes! They were the one who made the request. Also, it is believed that with there strength dark arts it is most likely them who ambushed us. It is hypothesized that they may want to use the operatives to gain information on Haven. Yu - Hm... Processing all this information I put down the paper I had in my hand I started to tap my finger on the granite table. After thinking for a while I asked one more question. Yu - Which individual issued the order? Counterintelligence Operative - It was the second son of the 4th King of Tepes, Marius Tepes. Yu - Do we have any gates close to Romania? Gates they were a one-way transportation formation that leads out of Haven but not into it. The only way into Haven was through an operative''s consumable formation or my direct entry. Gates had a fail safe that if anyone tried to tamper with a gate then it would self destruct instantly. Digesting everything I looked over at everyone at this table. Yu - [Didn''t think I''d have to deal with the Tepes Faction so soon...but they chose to mess with me. I can''t take this lying down.] Yu - Gather the troops and tell Seiryu to prepare for battle!! Meet me in the castle courtyard in one hour!! We''re going to Romania!! Everyone - At your command!! Watching everyone leave I made my way to the Sweden Gate, we couldn''t wait an hour so I''ll go on ahead. Yu - [Tepes Faction I''ll make sure you regret messing with me and my Kingdom] Chapter 34 - Invading Romania Departing from Stockholm I soared over the Baltic Sea with my current speed I can make it to Romania in 40 minutes but my only concern now is if I can make it in time. Within these past few months not only have my stats increased but so has my bloodline. Then along with my bloodline, I also go a convenient innate ability. It''s [flight] just as the name goes I can fly in the air without external support, it''s just that it takes practice. After spending nine months in the labyrinth I was able to gain acceptable mastery of this ability. The more I awaken my bloodline the fast I can fly, that''s the conclusion I came up with since whenever I rose the percentage on my bloodline I seemed to gain some more speed in this ability. Sadly not only does my unawoken bloodline hinder my [flight] ability it also prevents me from forming my Knight''s Order since in order to ''create'' a new knight I need to use primordial energy. The reason for this is because the words of power used in the chant will not only activate the skill but also strengthen the bodies of my knights. As for my current knight candidates, I have Kuroka, Shirone, Yasaka, and my four guardians. I originally wanted to add Irina but because of what happened I don''t want to think of that right now. As for the list of candidates it could be bigger it''s just I haven''t met any of them yet so I can''t be certain that I can get them on my side. The system wouldn''t give me a clear answer on what happens to the individual once they become my knight but I can tell that they''ll gain a lot of power once they do. After around 30 minutes I felt I was getting closer to my target so I went over my stats once before picking up speed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Yu Hyoudou Race: Primordial Helix Bloodline: Primordial Bloodline (50%->71%) Title: King of Haven Job: [Ancestral King] Level: 298->335 System Points - 8,722 -> 13,552 Strength - 388 -> 428 Endurance - 360 -> 400 Agility - 335 -> 394 Intelligence - 307 -> 353 Luck - 100 Energy Reserves: World Power: 2,000 -> 5,000 Mana -> 30,736 Life Force - 11,000 Demonic Energy - 11,000 Spatial Essence - 8,000 Frost Essence - 5,500 (New) Wind Essence - 5,500 (New) Earth Essence - 5,500 (New) Flame Essence - 5,500 Innate Bloodline Skills: - Genbu''s Defense - Suzaku''s Rebirth - Seiryu''s Wrath - Byakko''s Charge - (New) Spirit Flames - (New) World''s Eye Innate Bloodline Abilities - Void Demon Form - Domain - Spatial Movement - (New) Telekinesis Special Skills: - Meditation - Calm Mind - King''s Authority - Unlimited Blade Works - Sword Projection (Trace On) - Language Comprehension - Parallel Thoughts Passive Skills - Shadow Boxing - Close Combat - Sword Mastery - Polearms Mastery - (New) Bow Mastery - (New) Dagger Mastery - (New) Gunslinger - (New) Gun-Kata Active Skills - Lvl 84/100: Sword Force - Lvl 7/10: Time Alter - Max Lvl: Space Magic - Lvl 53/100: Ice Magic - (New) Lvl 53/100: Fire Magic - (New) Lvl 47/100: Earth Magic - (New) Lvl 34/100: Wind Magic - (New) Lvl 26/100: Sealing Magic ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yu - Everything seems to be in order... System how close am I to the target? *Ding*[Host will arrive in 3 minutes 46 seconds] Yu - Accurate as always. ??? - [Milord this is Haven''s Communication Department all units are ready for deployment at your order.] Yu - Perfect have everyone on standby for now. ??? - [At your command] Receiving the report through my comlink I continued my flight until I was blocked by a strong barrier. Breaking it would take a while, and if I use my magic and other attack methods I could break it at the expense of a portion of my reserves but I have a better idea. Moving a couple of meters away from the barrier I used my least used skill. Yu - [King''s Authority] Once I thought of using this skill 5 silver gates opened behind me and 5 big dragons came through. 4 of them were smaller than the fifth but when compared to the fifth these dragons were carrying around a hundred soldier on their backs. Their colors varied from grey to brown and they had 2 wings and four limbs. The classic western dragon. As for the biggest dragon it was similar to the eastern dragons with a snake-like body with two front arms. It was a cyan blueish color, and no soldiers were on its back there was only a single throne, this dragon was one of my guardians the Azure Dragon of the East. When I had first helped the Yokai I completed a secret quest that gave me 4 Pure Beast Spirit Fetuses. With the systems help, I was able to understand what a Pure Beast Spirit Fetuses. It was a beast spirit that had no bloodline or influence and I could choose what animal it would become. After some careful thinking, I gave the fetuses my blood because I had some primordial beast blood in it. Within one night those 4 fetuses became a small white tiger cub, a newborn phoenix, as small black turtle, and a small azure colored dragon. These beasts took upon the characteristics of the 4 primordial beast and what''s more, Pure Beast Spirit Fetuses imprint on the first thing they see just like a real animal. Since they took their characteristic I named them after my skills Byakko, Suzaku, Genbu, and Seiryu. Within 4 months they had already become around 3 meters tall, then at 6 months, they began to speak to me through telepathy. At 8 months old they could transform into humans, and Genbu grew to 15 meters and Seiryu became larger than 30 meters. Their growth was tremendous and they had the strength reached that of a first tier Ultimate rank and would only get stronger the more they grew. An unexpected thing that happened though was when they were around 2 months old animals that would become their descendants began to appear in Haven and the system told me it was through their influence that this happened. Apparently, the energies produced from their bodies speed up the animal creation in Haven and thus while there are no human-like people being born in Haven there are now animals all throughout the area. These four treated me as a father as well as a master and would do any order I commanded of them. I had previously sent them out with some operatives on multiple missions as humans, but now I wanted to make a show of the Tepes Faction as well as any other faction watching from the shadows. Don''t F*** with Haven This wasn''t just a rescue mission it was a warning to any would-be enemies in the shadows Seiryu - [Master what is your command] Bowing his gigantic head I flew to the throne on it and then spoke while pointing at the barrier. Yu - All of you, fire at this barrier I want it destroyed immediately. Seiryu - [At your command] Seiryu - RRRRAAAAWWWRRRR!!!!!!!!!! Dragons - 4x RRRRAAAAWWWRRRR!!!!!!!!!! Letting out a thunder-like roar all of the dragons opened their mouths and beams of light shot from their mouths. Within seconds the barrier cracked and shattered to pieces. Looking upon the scenery beyond the barrier I saw an army of thousands trying to besiege a hillside encampment. The ones on the hill were my people who were making use of the many defense and attack runes provided for them, and the ones on the ground were trying to destroy to defense barrier. Any soldier that got close would be cut down by the two ultimate ranked operative on the ground, while the 4 high-ranked operatives were making use of attack runes to barrage the enemy army. Yu - Looks like we made it in time. Everyone on the battlefield was shocked by our appearance and some started to despair when they saw Seiryu. The operatives, however, were delighted when they saw the Haven flag held by the soldier riding on the other dragons. Yu - Assist our allies on the ground, leave no enemy alive!!! GO!!!! Soldier - AAARRRGGHHHH!!!!!! Dragons - 4x RRRRAAAAWWWRRRR!!!!!!!!!! At my command, all the dragons left for the battlefield but I had Seriyu stay behind. Yu - Seriyu head to the Tepes Faction''s main base if I''m not wrong it should be in the mountain range east the neighboring the Carmilla Faction. {A/N: Totally made that up I forgot if it was even mentioned so I just spitballed it} Seriyu - [Understood] Leaving the main battlefield I made my way to the Tepes Faction''s main base. Before long a medieval castle came into view. Sending a mental command I had Seriyu fire his dragon''s breath on the walls and towers. Then with another command, I had him land on the ground. Looking at all the vampires running around trying to control the situation I smirked at them. Seriyu who had turned back into a human stay expressionless behind me as if the chaos around us didn''t exist. Yu - [This is what you get for kicking the dragon''s tail] While walking towards the main building I saw a large group of vampires trying to block our way. They seemed to be ready to fight us to the death and Seriyu was about to engage them in my stead but I stopped him. Seriyu - Master? Yu - For guys like them you don''t even need to fight. The strongest in the group was just a first tier high rank and wasn''t a challenge to either of us but I had another idea in mind. Not stopping even when the vampires charged at me the shadow below my feet expanded and a full legion of black soldiers appeared from within. Yu - Go and capture them for me. While they weren''t strong they still had some uses for me so I might as well capture them. Yu - Let the conquest begin. Chapter 35 - Confrontation Between Kings Coming out of my shadow a total of 100 shadow infantry soldiers appeared in the world. They were covered in black armor and at the gaps in their armor was a light blue glow. Each of them had the strength of high ranking fighters and would get stronger the more they fight. What''s more, they couldn''t really die my mana reserves revived them. In a way, they were like the shadows from the novel ''Solo Leveling'', except for the fact I couldn''t turn fallen enemies into my servant sadly. Aside from this unit of infantry soldiers I also have a heavy infantry unit, a cavalry unit, an archery unit, a unit of mages, and a group of ?ssassins. If I were to list all of my shadows it would be ---- 500 - Infantry 400 - Heavy Infantry 300 - Cavalry 150 - Archers 150 - Mages 50 - Assassins Total Shadows - 1550 ---- Even though I had the ability to summon all of them, even I felt like it was a little overkill to have 1650 soldiers attack a building that doesn''t even look like it had 300 people in it. This also let me test the combat power of my shadows. When my words left my mouth all 100 of my soldiers charged at the vampires. Some were ''killed'' by magic attacks but were instantly revived and exited my shadow again before resuming their charge. Yu - [Hm they don''t seem to have much in the brains department.] They may have numbers but they are more like robots and don''t show any intelligence making their movements predictable Yu - [That could be seen as a big disadvantage in the future but... can they develop their own conscience?] *Ding*[Shadow soldiers will develop the more they fight, with time they may even become real living beings rather than just shadows. When this happens Host''s shadow soldiers will evolve into Shadow Clansmen a type of race that lives in the dark killing any who intrude on their territory.] Yu - [Isn''t that a bad thing?] *Ding*[Negative Host''s shadows are connected to Host so they can always be summoned when needed. However, when the soldiers evolve to clansmen they can die and won''t be able to be revived by Host''s mana.] Yu - [Well that''s a given.] Since they''ll become real living beings it''s normal that they''d die when killed. As this entire exchange of information went on Seriyu and I continued our walk to the main castle building. Escorting us were my shadows, and anyone who tried to attack us was either cut down or captured. Most vampires had a brain in their heads and chose to escape rather than fight me and my soldiers. Looking at their retreating figures I chose not to go after them since I was already so close to my destination. It must also be known that I had around 30-40 vampires being dragged by Seriyu behind me. *Stomp* *Stomp* *Stomp* Walking into the throne room with heavy steps I was greeted by a room full of old vampires. All of them were vigilant of me and on the back of the room staring down at me from the top of a throne was the leader of the Tepes Faction. I didn''t really know his name all I knew was that he was the fourth king of the Tepes Faction and father of Marius, Valerie Tepes as well as some other children. He had long blonde hair, a well-maintained beard and, he wore an extravagant mantle. To his side, I saw multiple magic projection showing many different scenes. There was the battle on the hillside, the outer walls of the castle, and the view of the corridor leading to the throne room. Even while seeing all this he still looked at me with a calm yet also serious face. King Tepes - And who are you, young man? His sentence seemed normal but his tone made it sound like he was demanding to know who I was. He even released an intimidating aura. Yu - Are you the father of Marius Tepes? Releasing a similar aura to his, I asked my own question ignoring his. He was surprised when I didn''t reply, he was probably so used to being a king that he didn''t think there would still be people to talk back to him. The other vampires in the room sneered at me for ''disrespecting'' their king. If not for them being uncertain of what I was capable of they might have already started attacking me. King Tepes - What does Marius have to do with you invading my territory? He seemed mad obviously he valued his citizens but I could care less right now. Yu - Based on your words he is your son so I''ll make this short. Your son made a request to my people to kill a band of rogue vampires. What happened after was not what the request stated, from our reports your people attacked mine breaking the contract set in place. Your son wanted to capture my people, and this isn''t something I can stand for. I''m here today to make an example of you to show everyone who plans to have any misgivings against Haven! King Tepes - Impossible!! My son would never make a request like that!! Yu - The evidence says otherwise. Pulling out an envelope from my inventory I threw it to the King of Tepes who caught the letter and read its content. The letter had both Marius''s signature and seal so the evidence was there in the open. The king''s expression changed slightly when reading the letter, and I could tell that right now he hasn''t been manipulated by Marius yet. Yu - [So Marius was working by himself huh.] Now, this was a problem, I didn''t mind spilling blood, but I only spilled the blood of my enemies not that of innocent people. I don''t plan to be a tyrant, but I don''t plan to be a weak hearted person either. Well, what''s done is done at most I''ll as for compensation for the damages my people endured. After a few moments of skimming through the letter, the king looked at me once more. Yu - This wouldn''t have happened if you had taken better care of your children. Also hasn''t the Tepes Faction recently gained a lot of strength these past few years? Where did this strength come from? The king was going to yell back at me when he heard my first sentence but when he heard the second and third he was confused before speaking with the utmost confidence. King Tepes - Our strength rose through our unity and natural talent as vampires it isn''t something a human like you would know. Not only does he not know how to raise his children but he also has some false ideology that vampires are supreme beings. Yu - I don''t care about your ''vampire talent'' bring Marius here now and I''ll make sure things don''t get too bloody. Everyone in this room went silent when I said this because I unleashed my killing intent, and with the ?ssistance of [Seriyu''s Wrath]. Everyone was quiet and sweat ran down their backs. Besides the king, no one else here had reached the ultimate rank so my killing intent was enough to intimidate them. The only one who seemed to not have been intimidated was the king. King Tepes - YOU DARE!!!!! Shouting this he rose from his throne and charged at me with a raised fist. Being who I was I recieved his punch with my own palm it didn''t do much damage but as expected of an ultimate rank fighter. I had only just taken my first step on the peak of high rank a couple of days ago, and our strengths weren''t that far apart but still, a rank difference is still a rank difference. His punch numbed my palm, but this action shocked him since he didn''t expect me to be able to take his punch head on. In a split second, I had a blueish white flame engulf both my hand and the king''s fist. This flame did nothing to me because I was its creator but, it caused the king''s hand to have both frostbite and severe burns. This sudden development caused him to retreat a few steps while looking at me with vigilance or more accurately the flame in my hand. This was one of my newest tricks it was made up of the skills [fire magic], [ice magic], [Spirit Flames], as well as the knowledge of synergy I got from being a medicine refiner that was a sub-job from the alchemist job branch. [Spirit Flames] Innate Bloodline Skill Details - A fire type ability derived by the Azure Dragon, and Vermillion Pheonix''s natural flames. Spirit Flames will always revert to their base form once their task is done. Passive Effect 1 - Flames have a light purification effect Active Effect 1 - Uses the caster''s will to manifest a pure flame empty of all elements Active Effect 2 - Can be used to better refine forging materials, and concoct medicines Yu - [He''s cautious of the purification effect.] Remembering the details of this skill I smirked. Going into my Void Demon Form I also pulled out a sword from my inventory while multiple weapons hovered around me. Yu - I''ll take this as your answer then, now I can fight without holding back. Chapter 36 - Death of a King *Swoosh* *Boom* Charging at King Tepes I activated the second effect [Byakko''s charge]. With my speed triple what it previously was and with the added destructive power in my charge, King Tepes wasn''t able to react to my speed. Slashing my blade across his ?h?st I sent him flying with a deep gash mark diagonally across his ?h?st staining his clothes. Smashing into his throne destroying it King Tepes was disoriented by my attack and his mind stopped working trying to process what just happened. Yu - You should always be focused on the battlefield, or else you can die. Not giving him some time to recover I sent the weapons hovering around me his way. Still in his dazed state may blade impaled him. I wanted to cut him to pieces but his defense was able to cancel out some of my weapons attack power and stopped them from doing anything else. King Tepes - *Deep Groans* Yu - Tch! He''s pretty tough Yu - [I need some better weapons these ones won''t cut it anymore.] Staring at the impaled vampire before me I tried to will my blades out of him with telekinesis but they were stuck. Yu - [No they''re not stuck, their-] *BOOM!!* *Snap* *Snap* *Snap* *Snap* *Snap* Releasing a lot of mana King Tepes was able to break the swords that impaled him while also enhancing his physical capabilities by 3 or 4 times. He seemed to have gone into a berserk-like state and charged at me but this time I felt threatened by his fists. Yu - This has gotten troublesome. Original I was able to contend against him with the ?ssistance of my skills and abilities which let me fight against those in higher ranks than me. A normal high-rank fighter can''t normally fight against an ultimate rank fighter unless they had ?ssistance like a skill or sacred gear. I don''t know what he did but this sudden change caused me to also get serious. Using my current weapons would be useless since I currently don''t have any to contend against an ultimate rank yet. Fighting head on would be stupid but I''m not one to back down in front of a challenge on the battlefield. [Time Alter: Hepta XL] Activate! [Seiryu''s Wrath: Berserker] Activate! [Genbu''s Defense: Shell Armor] Activate! [Suzaku''s Rebirth: Rapid Regen] Activate! [Byakko''s Charge: Blessing of the Wild] Activate! The sudden activation of my skills boosted my combat power and I charged at King Tepes. We faced each other fist to fist going at each other in high-speed mortal combat. If this was before I used my skills it would a difficult fight but now we''re more or less even. [Time Alter: Hepta XL] boosted my speed by 7 times, but the pressure it had on my body was too much even for me at the moment. To cancel that I used [Seiryu''s Wrath: Berserker] to turn off my pain receptors while also boosting my strength. [Genbu''s Defense: Shell Armor] caused my skin to turn into black scales as well as boost my defense. [Suzaku''s Rebirth: Rapid Regen] helped heal any damage I received from [Time Alter] and [Seiryu''s Wrath]. [Byakko''s Charge: Blessing of the Wild] enhanced my senses, while [Parallel Thoughts: Scattered Mind] let me process everything around me and my body like a supercomputer. With all this, I''m able to close the gap King Tepes created previously with his boost in mana. Before long in 2 minutes both of us were destroying everything around us, within five minutes we were outside fighting in the sky. Each of our attacks sent small shock waves breaking parts of the castle here and there. Eventually, I felt my stamina and energy reserve start to reach the halfway point causing me to think of a quick way to end this. At the risk of taking a fist to the heart, I grabbed King Tepes''s neck and activated my combined [Spirit Flame] Yu - Argh!! I who almost had my heart destroyed if not for the use of [Suzaku''s Rebirth] continued to hold onto King Tepes''s neck. My flames burned his neck with fire and froze the regenerating flesh with ice. The purification effect caused the damage he received to increase a couple levels and he stopped attacking my body and instead started to break my arm. Ignoring the numbing sensation in my arm I used sword force, and Sword Projection to create a sword. I don''t know why I did it but I felt like it would be useful at this moment. It looked like a normal long sword and didn''t have any flashy ornaments on it but it was sharp and that''s all I needed. What confused me was that it took a few seconds to make since normal sword projections were done in a single second but I ignored this fact. Enchanting the blade with holy magic I swung the blade towards King Tepes''s neck. I didn''t have the holy magic skill but just because I didn''t have the skill doesn''t mean I couldn''t use a little bit of it. Letting all thoughts leave my mind I swung the blade towards King Tepes damaged neck and decapitated him. Since I had already done a lot of damage to his neck cutting it with a sharp blade like the one in my hand was still a little difficult but still doable. King Tepes''s head looked at me would anger, confusion, and resentment before his body and head turned to mist. Yu - [He''s planning to run? huh] It was the mystification skill vampires can learn when they reach the ultimate rank in order to escape a near-death experience. WIth the damage, he sustained he''d probably take a few years to recover as mist before taking back his physical form but I didn''t want let a problem that could come back and bite me in the bu?? live. So I activated my domain to observe every part of the mist and used telekinesis to draw it to me. Once it was close enough I used ice magic to freeze it into a handful-sized ball. Holding the ball in my hand I engulfed it into my pure [spirit flame] melting the ice and thus ending the life of the former king of the Tepes faction. Once I knew everything was done I looked down and saw that Seriyu and my soldiers had also taken care of the vampires in the throne room. Releasing a short sigh I flew down to meet them and deactivated all of my skills. However, when I did this I noticed that the sword I created didn''t disappear, and stayed in my hand. I wanted to comment on this but before I could I got a message from the system. *Ding*[Congratulations has gone through a short state of enlightenment due to the near destruction of Host''s heart] *Ding*[Congratulations Host has awakened 4% of Host''s Bloodline. (Total 75%)] *Ding*[Congraduations Host has used Host''s understanding of swords and created a sword fetus with the ?ssistance of enlightenment, [Sword Force], [Sword Projection (Trace On)], and Host''s knowledge as a master blacksmith.] [Sword Fetus - A sword formed by nothing but the master''s knowledge of swords use and creation. The highest level of sword creation for blacksmiths that make swords. A sword fetus is a growth type weapon that grows with its master and has the capability of becoming a divine class weapon. Sword Fetuses can absorb materials to ?ssist in their growth. -Soul Bound to Yu Hyoudou] *Ding*[Host has ranked up from [Master Blacksmith] and become a [Grandmaster Blacksmith] due to Host''s accomplishment of creating a Sword Fetus which is considered a peak level creation that has not been seen for the last 2000 years.] Yu - (0_0'') God damn. Looking at the sword in my hand I thought it didn''t look like much. It was around 1.3 meters long, the blade was a meter long while a third of a meter was the handle. It had a simple hilt, a grey colored blade, and leather-wrapped around the handle. From another person''s perspective, it was a simple sword but the possibilities within this blade were unfathomable. It even causes me to have a cold sweat thinking about what would happen if this info was released into the world. For now, I could only store it in my inventory and examine it later. Chapter 37 - Fall of the Tepes Faction After the sword fetus was stored in my inventory I looked over at Seriyu and my shadow soldiers. On the ground below them were some vampire elders struggling to get free from the bindings there were in. I gave them a single glance before I looked back at Seriyu who was awaiting my next order. Yu - Seriyu return to the battlefield outside and tell the remaining enemy soldiers that their faction has fallen and to surrender. Those who surrender will have a chance to enter Haven those who resist.. well you know. Seriyu - It will be done. Transforming into his dragon form he soared back to the outside battlefield leaving me alone within the ruble. Looking at his shrinking figure I released more of my shadow soldiers and scattered them throughout the castle in teams of 5. With this, I''ll be able to capture any stragglers that got away earlier. When the shadows left I spread my domain and scanned the area for any abnormal presence signatures. After a minute I picked up one strong presence deep underground with a weaker presence next to it. The other signatures in the castle didn''t amount to the signature underground so I decided to use earth magic to burrow underground. ---- Making my way towards my destination I was stopped by a restriction barrier. It wasn''t as tough as the one I broke early it was only 2 grades below it. Releasing my spirit flame once more I infused all the elements I could use in it: Fire, Ice, Earth, Wind, and Space. The result was a multi-colored flame that wielded high destructive power. The only downside of using this was that it required a lot of focus to make. I may have a lot of control over combining elements but 2 was my limit for easy combinations. 5 elements would take a while but in the end, I did it. With my flame in hand, I waved my hand and the flame in it hit the barrier destroying it and the wall blocking me. This process didn''t make much noise but where there is a barrier there is a master overlooking the barriers condition. All of them were unconscious with their mouths sealed with breathing machines. On the other side of the room was an operating table with a girl lying on top of it, next to the table was a desk with a young man glancing over some vials with headphones in his ear. Scattered on the ground were papers, blood, and some dried body parts. Ever since I saw the laboratory in the Naberius Manor I''ve hated research like the one I saw that day. The youth who seemed to not have noticed his barrier was destroyed continued to hold the vials while writing something on a piece of paper. Returning my gaze to the girl I saw that she has nothing but a bra and und?rw??r on. Her arm was an ivy filling her system with drugs or something like that. I saw from her pale face and dilated eyes that she wasn''t fully conscious. Unintentionally I released my killing intent and alerted the youth. He turned around and looked at me with both shock and caution. Marius - Who are- *Swoosh* Marius - Argh!!! I didn''t want to hear him speak so I summoned my sword fetus threw it at his direction and cut off his arm. He didn''t have a strong body like his father so I didn''t need a strong sword to hurt him. Using my spirit flame to seal the wound while also making sure he can''t regenerate his arm I knocked him unconscious but not before hearing his cries of agony from losing his arm. Creating chains to bind him in place I went over to the girl who I knew was Valerie Tepes one of the 13 Longinus users. Taking the ivy out of her arm I sent some life force into her system to expel the drugs from her body. After 7 minutes her system was clear of any drugs but she still had empty eyes. I couldn''t find out what''s wrong with her before I remembered what happened to her in the novel. She overused her sacred gear see was broken in both her heart and soul. Yu - [Damn has her soul already been broken by that bastards experiments?!] *Ding*[Negative it is not a simple as Host thinks] Yu - [Huh? what do you mean??] *Ding*[While the female''s soul is damaged it is not broken yet. The female has currently experienced extreme mental pain and thus cannot function properly due to temporary immobilization of having her soul injured.] Yu - [She''s only immobilized at the moment is what you''re trying to tell me.] *Ding*[Correct this is most likely the first time her soul has been damaged since the more it happens to more the victim can withstand the pain. However, this isn''t advised because the end result will be a broken soul that will be near impossible to heal.] Yu - [So what should I do now?] *Ding*[Host can only wait for her to awaken by herself. After that, it is advised to feed her spirit fruits and other nutritious food that will repair the damage on her soul. This process must be done for a year at the latest or 3 at the most depending on the damage.] Yu - [Spirit fruit but I don''t have any spirit fruit on me or in my herb garden. How will I even-] *Ding* [How to guide on planting spirit fruits and herbs] - 5000 System points [Spirit herb and fruit seed set] - 8500 System points Looking at this my mouth twitched a little before I gritted my teeth and bought them bringing my stockpiled system points down to 52. This caused my heart to bleed a little before I looked at Valerie once again and the pain went away. I''d have to wait to plant these seed back in my herb garden, so I left them in my inventory for now. I wrapped Valerie in a blanket as I carried her in my arms out of the laboratory. Behind me, I summoned a shadow solder to drag the chained Marius against the hard uneven ground. As we walled I kept circulation life force throughout Valerie''s body until we reached the surface. Along the way, I found a mountain of blood diamonds in the castle basement. These weren''t normal blood diamonds though, they were made by vampires and could be used to make mana containers. They were pretty rare so seeing this mountain greed filled my eyes. Since I had basically destroyed the faction I took all the diamonds into my inventory before resuming my journey to the surface. ---- When I finally got out of the underground tunnel I was greeted by at least 1-2 hundred kneeling vampires. The men seemed to be in bad shape but the women seem to be fine. I had previously ordered the shadow soldiered not to hurt those who were cooperative. Yu - Listen, all of you! The Tepes faction is no more, the reason they showed hostility towards me and my people! I am not a cruel person that would kill innocent people, but I will always kill my enemies. The Tepes Faction became my enemy and now it is no more, you are all that''s left of the Tepes Faction. My words caused many to go pale, some women started to cry and men started to lose the light in their eyes. I planned to have these guys work for me so I couldn''t let them despair now. Yu - I will say this once throw away your previous affiliation with the Tepes Faction and join me, I treat my people fairly. As long as you swear fidelity to me you will have a second chance at life in a better environment. However, you must cooperate with the previous inhabitants because I value unity. As a test of your loyalty. I snapped my fingers and I had a shadow soldier throw Marius in front of the crowd. He had already regained consciousness and tried to speak but I had already sealed his mouth with sealing magic. After he hit the ground another soldier made him kneel on the ground, while stabbing a sword in the ground. Then many other soldiers began to place swords before them. Yu - This man here is the cause of today''s destruction, if it wasn''t for him I would not have come here and caused so much destruction and bloodshed. The swords before you are your test. You have 2 choices take the sword and stab this man, or discard it and fall with him. By doing so you will have decided your own fate. This choice caused many to have complex expressions, many didn''t move but in the end, one did. He was a thin man, he seemed to have been malnourished. Behind him were a woman and a baby boy. They were in the same condition. The man walked forward carrying all three swords. He stopped 2 feet before Marius and looked at me. Yu - You may. ??? - *Inhale* *Exhale* My name is Esau Damian, I have been imprisoned by the Tepes royal family along with my family. In exchange for my loyalty will you make sure my family is well fed and doesn''t starve. I ask of this as my only request. Widening my eyes I couldn''t help myself from admiring him a little. He could have just stabbed Marius and be done with it, but he pleaded before me for his families well being rather than his own. Something like this takes a lot of courage since I could tell he wasn''t even a mid-rank fighter. From what I could see they did seem to be prisoners by the looks of their ragged clothing and malnourished bodies. I wanted to accept his request but I first had to ask. Yu - Why were you imprisoned, before I let you into my faction I must know? Esau - My family went against the ideals of the royal family and were thus targeted and driven to poverty. In order to find a better life for my son, I tried to sneak out of the country with my wife and son but were captured at the border. I saw no signs of him lying the entire time he talked so it seemed he was telling to truth. Nodding my head I said. Yu - Prove your loyalty and I promise you not only your families safety but also a position of power to maintain their safety as well. When I said this he sighed in relief and stabbed Marius in the gut cutting them open. When he was going to use the other 2 swords I motioned him to stop and brought him over to Seriyu''s side with his family. He proved himself already, to go so far for his family he deserved my respect. Healing Marius''s wounds more vampires began to prove themselves as well. Some men tried to advertise themselves to try and get some benefits, and some women tried to seduce me into taking them into my household but I denied them without a thought. I saw the greed in their eyes of most of those vampires, some seemed to be scheming something while others had malice in them. I didn''t want those kinds of people in Haven so their chance was revoked. When this was over 83 vampires joined Haven, 29 had their chances revoked, and 58 refused my deal and chose to die with their faction. So I sent the 83 with Seriyu, and when they were gone I killed the remaining 87 as a precaution. I couldn''t let the seed of revenge bloom or it might cause trouble in the future. As for Marius, I burned him after I impaled his heart and the light left his eyes. Watching his ashes I felt that he got off easy but I soon forgot the idea because the deed was already done. Holding the still unconscious Valerie in my arms I took one more look over the ruins of the Tepes faction before I disappeared from earth and returned to Haven. Chapter 38 - Intermission: Shocking the Supernatural World {3rd Person Pov:} Chaos spread throughout the supernatural world, and the cause of the chaos started with the fall of the Tepes Faction stationed in Romania. While the faction wasn''t necessarily strong it wasn''t weak either. The reason many factions paid attention to it so closely was that they were one of the worlds major blood diamond manufactures. Many factions bought blood diamonds from them whether it was humans, demons, or other races. All of them benefited from them and with it gone many had to find a new source of blood diamonds because they were used to make strong magic tools. Besides the blood diamond incident, many also tried to find out who was the person responsible for the Tepes Faction''s destruction. Before long even the Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils looked for the culprit, and the answer surprised not only them but every faction involved in the investigation. [Haven Faction] It was a small group of ?ssassin''s that showed up out of nowhere one day and slowly became known throughout the world as a mysteries ?ssassin group. No one knew where it was located, where it''s member came from, or where they went when they were done with their mission. Many have tried to investigate the locations where Haven operatives appear but are never able to come up with any results. Before long the operatives Haven sent out to perform missions we codenamed as phantoms. They appeared and disappeared with a moments notice. However just a few nights ago members of the Tepes Faction tried to capture members of Haven even going as far as making multiple expensive preparations. Many sources depicting the night were either recordings or eyewitnesses who were there when it happened and could only sigh when they say a small group of fewer than 10 people defending against a whole army. It was only a matter of time before they were caught was what many though but then it showed up. In the middle of the battle, the isolation barrier surrounding the battle was shattered. Many scouts quickly tried to get a look at the intruder but what they saw caused all their faces to go pale in fright. Floating in the sky was 5 giant dragons, their colors varied but there was one that was bigger and more menacing than the rest. It had a long body with azure-colored scales and an aura of absolute dominance. Floating slightly below it was 4 slightly smaller dragons with 100 armor-clad soldiers on each dragon. Everyone in the surrounding area had chills run down their spines when they saw the flag emblem in the soldier''s hands. It was a pair of wings with one wing overlapping the other. No one could think straight at that moment. Wasn''t Haven just a small group? Wasn''t the Tepes Faction going to win? All these thoughts came into the soldiers and scouts head but one sentence cut off their train of thought. After that, the only thing that people could see could be described in only one word, massacre. On the battlefield, many vampires died left and right at the hands of Haven''s forces. The vampires tried to fight back but whatever defenses they tried to put up were destroyed by the dragons slowly causing the vampires to fall in despair. Over at the Tepes Faction HQ, the scene was even worse, flames engulfed the castle and shadowy soldiers ran around either killing or capturing vampires. Then walking leisurely throughout the grounds was one boy and one man. The boy was young but had a powerful aura surrounding him, he cared not for the chaos around him and acted like he was walking in a park. The man was similar to the boy but he walked slightly behind him like a servant accompanying his master. Before long they found themselves in the throne room, some scouts wanted to see what was going on inside but they couldn''t find a way to get in undetected. However, they didn''t have to wait long after a few short minutes sounds of fighting could be heard and then 2 figures burst out of the room and started fighting in the air. Some scouts couldn''t see clearly but others could, they saw the leader of the Tepes Faction fighting against the young boy on even grounds!!! The fight was neither long nor short but in the end, the winner was the boy and King Tepes was defeated and tried to escape by turning into mist. Sadly the boy didn''t let him he froze the king than melted him without mercy. Ruthless is what many thought of the boy, he was strong and didn''t let any of his enemies off easy. Following the death of King, the boy processed to capture vampires who surrendered and killing those who resisted. Within an hour many vampires were gathered and told to prove themselves in exchange for their lives by stabbing the former prince of the Tepes Faction. Many couldn''t help but pity the man but he had to go and provoke a power he couldn''t defend against. After the first person went up many more came to prove themselves while others refused. Once it was over the boy left behind the ruins of the Tepes Faction, multiple corpses, and a mystery that keeps on growing. Haven Faction in one night turned from a small group of ?ssassins to a full grown faction, one that shouldn''t be messed with. Many faction leaders were able to get one message from this event. - Don''t mess with Haven- If it was before then many wouldn''t care for their warning but now with their show of power everyone had to think before provoking them. Stationing 5 dragons and 400 soldiers within an hour wasn''t something most factions could do. Yet the Haven faction was able to and every one of their soldiers weren''t weak. This fact alone caused many weaker factions to fear Haven. An then there was the boy, he had long black hair, red eyes, and was proficient in not only hand-to-hand combat but also magic. With the ability to fight head to head with an ultimate class fighter as well as the ability to summon an army soldiers from his shadow made many people focus on him. He was codenamed [Enigma] by the devils for his mysterious background, and [The Reaper] by other factions who saw his merciless killing. After that night the Haven Faction went quiet for 3 weeks before the resurfaced but this time with more in number. The worlds factions had previously been able to record around 30 operatives from Haven but now many more started to appear baring Haven''s Emblem. What began a 30 became a 1000 and their fighting power grew stronger as well. Now 100 teams of 10 went from place to place either accepting mission or just traveling the world. There were those that tried to make deals with Haven but were rejected before they could make their proposal. Other chose to stay away from them, but some small groups started to conspire against Haven obviously not learning from the Tepes Faction only to be met face to face against [The Reaper''s] blade. As time passed the Haven Faction''s name spread far and wide, alongside it was [The Reaper] who many believed was the factions inquisitor. The person in charge of disposing of any enemies against his faction. What many didn''t know, however, was that in 3 years the identity of [The Reaper] would be revealed at the start of an era, but that would be in the future to come. Chapter 39 - Equipment Upgrades It''s been 4 hours since we returned from Romania and I''ve only just got a break from managing all that''s happened today. Through the report given to me by the operatives sent to Romania, I found a minor but crucial bug in the transportation runes. The runes do have the ability to transport any member back to Haven at a moments notice but that is only if there is nothing interfering with the space around the user. There are 2 barriers that can do this the first is an isolation barrier that will delay the teleportation. Until the user can find a more stable location within the barrier to return transmissions, on the other hand, can be sent from them. The next is a spatial isolation barrier, this one is way more difficult to put up. It isolates the space within the barrier inside the dimensional gap, while still having the outer image stay the same. This barrier stops any type of teleportation of transmission from leaving the barrier. The only reason the operative sent to Romania were able to send an S.O.S is because the Tepes Faction used both barriers but started first with the isolation barrier then they put up the spatial isolation barrier. In the end, it was mainly luck that let us receive the signal. ---- Yu - *Sigh* Going over the reports as well as the migration paperwork is really tiring.~ Right now I''m in my study inside the castle, a study is what I''d like to call it but it''s more like a room with a desk and view. To the side is a couch where Shirone or Kuroka sit when they visit my study and behind me is a sky-high view of the city outside. It''s already dark outside but I can still see glimpses of light throughout the city. While the city doesn''t have any modern technology it does have a modern style building structure. I smiled watching this because I knew that this city would be livelier in the years to come. Standing from my chair I walked outside and made my way to the inner parts of the castle. Passing through multiple rooms, greeting the passing maids, and crossing through multiple doors I found myself inside a room full of transportation formations. This was my personal relay station that takes me to any restricted location in Haven. Walking past 5 formations I stepped on the 6th one in the corner of the room. After a short flash, I found myself in a beautiful garden. The garden was wide but if you looked at the edges of the floor you''d see this was a floating island. This island was covered by stealth and isolation formations and the only normal way in and out of here for people was through the transportation relay. This garden is my personal herb garden that I''ve been cultivating for the past few years. While the herbs here can also be found all around Haven I like to keep a bundle of each herb species here in case I need them. At the center of the garden was a gazebo and inside were 3 girls. 2 of them were looking after the third who was lying on a bed in the center. They were Kuroka, Shirone, and Valerie. Yu - Hey how''s it going? Shirone - She''s still asleep no change there. Before going off the work in my study I left Valerie with the Nekoshou sister telling them to take her to my herb garden and to wait for me to come back later. They were skeptical at first seeing that I came home with a girl in my hands. They glared at me seeing she was wearing nothing but und?rw??r but I gave them a quick explanation before I left them to their devices I see that they changed her into a one-piece dress but I was hoping that she''d wake up by the time I got back. It seems that it''ll take longer for her to wake up. Since I had nothing to do I started setting up plant nurturing formations and then I planted the spirit fruit and herb seed around the gazebo. Once the seeds were sown I put up a time acceleration formation and speed the time up. With this I would be able to get more herbs and fruits to help Valerie recover faster, all I had to do was wait. Before I knew it 3 more hours passed and Kuroka and Shirone had fallen asleep beside the sleeping Valerie. Releasing a short sigh I picked up the 2 girls who curled themselves in my arms and took them to their rooms. Placing these items before me I looked through the descriptions of all of them. I first started with the sword fetus it seems to be a weapon that can absorb items to make it stronger. It''s a good ability but I don''t know what to use to make it stronger. It was then that I looked at the blood diamonds, they were a high-quality material used in most powerful magic tools. These diamonds had the ability to absorb both blood and mana, so I grabbed two diamonds and filled them with both. Though my mana isn''t as great as source energy it is very pure due to my years of mana refinement, and with my blood being a mix of 7 primordial races I believed these items would be suitable materials for the sword fetus. [Mana Blood Diamond] - A blood diamond infused with pure mana to the utmost limit. If any more mana is added the chances of a huge explosion is high. [??? Blood Diamond] - A blood diamond filled with peak quality blood from lost races. Sinister and sacred energies flow through its core in balance. After seeing their description although plain as they were I believed that they would improve the sword fetus greatly. With both diamonds in one hand and the sword in another, I brought the items together. As I was doing this the sword fetus started to shake and the diamonds seemed to be pulled towards it. Before they even meet physically the diamonds were gone and I was left holding a glowing sword. Right before my eyes, the sword started to change and within 30 minutes I was left holding a single edge, black sword. {A/N: The structure of the blade is like this but crimson color instead of purple i.pinimg.com/originals/5b/20/d7/5b20d707c99c2a2199a6bcb9f08e25ce.jpg} [[Unnamed Sword (Undefined Rank)] - A sword fetus that has absorbed high-quality blood and mana improving mana conductivity, strength, and sharpness. As well as being granted several abilities. 1st - Bloodthirst: A passive ability derived by the blood of the vampires used to make the blood diamond allows the sword to increase sharpness by ''drinking'' the blood of its victim. 2nd - Spirit Strike: A passive ability derived from the pure spirit blood found inside the blood diamond, allows the sword to cut spiritual entities. 3rd - Soul Eater - A passive ability used to eat the souls of its victims, derived by the combination of spirit and demon blood found in the blood diamond. 4th - Miasma Aura: An active ability derived from the demon blood found inside the blood diamond, allows the sword to produce miasma for either defense, attack, or intimidation. The more souls the sword eats the stronger the miasma. 5th - Mana charge: An active ability that allows the sword to charge up vast amounts of mana for a single strike 6th - Dimensional Strike: An active ability that allows the sword to cut into space opening a path towards the dimensional gap 7th - Integration: An ability that allows the sword to reside inside the user''s body for future use. Yu - Whoa... that''s amazing Commenting on the sword in my hand I tried to use the 7th ability and within a few second the sword shrunk until it merged into my palm. What was left was a sword-shaped tattoo before it vanished as well. Yu - Nice! It took a while to get used to but after trying it a couple times I got used to it. Storing the blade away I looked back at the only item left on display. It was the gacha ticket, I paused for a while wondering if I still needed it but eventually picked it up and activated the systems gacha. *Ding*[1x Legendary Equipment Gacha Ticket used] [Spinning....] [Spinning....] [Spinning....] *Ding* Chapter 40 - Treasure in the Mind, and Wine under the stars *Ding([Host has received Legendary Equipment Gate of Babylon] [Gate of Babylon - A treasure vault filled with the finest riches, wines, and weapons. With the use of mana the gate will open and release the owners d?s?r?d treasure.] The description may have been vague but I already knew the equipment''s abilities from watching the anime. Before I only had a blue and green sphere representing my Heavenly World (Haven), and an orange and red sphere representing my Reality Marble (Unlimited Blade Works) floating around in my sea of conscious but now something new popped up. It was a small golden sphere which I guessed was the treasure vault for the Gates of Babylon. Upon getting a closer look, I saw that the sphere had many fancy decorations on it as well as a giant formation all around it. Sending my conscious inside I couldn''t stop myself from squinting my eyes at the glittering lights. Everywhere I looked there was some type of glittering object ranging from gold coins, gems, vases, and weapons. They were all scattered as far as the eye could see, and upon spreading my domain I realized that the diameter of the vault is 20 miles. Compared to Haven which is still growing and Unlimited Blade Works that is literally infinite this vault was lacking in the space department. Once I had confirmed my surrounding I began to look at the vault''s contents with excitement in my eyes. Using telekinesis I separated the treasures into four groups of wealth, weapons, wines, and miscellaneous. If I were to rate these groups in terms of size: - 50% was made up of weapons - 20% was made up of wine - 5% was miscellaneous items After looking into the miscellaneous group I saw that it had a lot of rare herbs and metals. Other than that there were fine silks and animal furs there but I didn''t pay much attention to them. As for the wine, while I''m not a wine expert I can tell from the smell that they were aged for many years. Honestly, I wanted to try some than an there but I still had to look into the other groups. Turning my sights onto the wealth group I saw a lot of bronze, silver, gold, and platinum coins as well as other ?ssortments of gems and jewelry. As for the weapons, there were many decent ones with a few exceptions within the mix. The weapons ranged from polearms, swords, daggers, spears, axes, and other weapons. They all had very nice designs giving off an aura of elegance, nobility, grace, or intimidation, however, looks weren''t all I was looking for I wanted to find powerful weapons too. Of all these weapons here none of the fell below rare grade, with some reaching unique grade, and only a 13 reaching epic grade. There was however 4 golden containers that identify or open. After I was unsuccessful in my attempts to open it I looked back at the pile of weapons around me and sighed. Yu - While having this huge arsenal of weapons is nice it''s not like I can spam this ability on every opponent I meet. Gates of Babylon is a huge treasure trove but in battle, there will always be those who can either dodge or defend against the weapons I throw at them. With the exception of those higher quality ones, normal weapons won''t do much damage against ultimate rank fighters. Going over the pros and cons of Gates of Babylon I grabbed a jar of wine and left. Returning my sights on the garden I noticed that only an hour passed. Sitting at a bench inside the gazebo I opened the jar of wine and drank its contents. I may have been underaged but my constitution was pretty high and wouldn''t let me get drunk without only a small jar of alcohol. Yu - [I wonder how Irina''s doing right now?] It''s been around 2 days since I left home and invaded Romania and 5 days since I last saw Irina. On the outside, I seemed fine but during the whole Romania incident, a part of me wonder about my current relationship now. I knew she still had feelings for me because when I looked at my title interface the title [Royal Consort] was still beside Irina''s name. This gave me some hope that I could fix things with her. I won''t lie I am a greedy guy having a harem of my own has been a dream of mine that I couldn''t achieve in my past life. Hence when Kuroka and Shirone''s started want to become more intimate my defenses went down like dominos. However, I overlooked the fact that not everyone wants to share their lover with others. The girls were fine since they both already choose to be mine when I saved them that day and didn''t mind sharing but Irina was different. While she was part of the supernatural world she was still a girl and would obviously get jealous at the fact of me having other lovers. The fault was mine and mine alone. Yu - *sigh* [Greed is a very troublesome emotion.] My greed caused me to overlook the feelings of others for my own benefit but was I going to stop being greedy sadly no. Greed is an emotion that everyone has and even if I wanted to get rid of it I can''t since greed is one of the seven sins of human nature. I can''t get rid of greed just like I can''t go back in time and change any of the choices I made because that would be denying who I am. I can only try my best and hope Irina can forgive me. ---- Time passed and before I knew it morning came and I was still sitting on the bench with a jar of wine in my hands. The only difference was that there were 5 other empty jars laying at my feet. Yu - [I didn''t get drunk once but surprisingly I feel more refreshed now.] That night beside my love life I also reminisced about my life in general. Thinking back on all the things I''ve done in both of my lives. I laughed at the fun parts, blushed at the embarrassing parts, frowned at the bad parts, and cried a little at the sad parts. In a single night, all the stress I built up these past few days diminished greatly and I felt great. Standing up I stretched my limbs and cleaned up the area around me. Since it was the morning I planned to plant the herbs I found inside the Gates of Babylon as well as check on how the spirit herbs were doing. But just as I was about to take my first step outside I heard a soft groan behind me. Widening my eyes I turned around to see a sleepy Valerie rubbing her eyes as she rose from her bed. After her eyes adjusted to the morning light she surveyed the area and set her sights on me. We stayed silent for a while before she broke the silence. Valerie - Who are you? Yu - [Now how I am I going to explain this?] Chapter 41 - Memories of the Past {Valerie''s POV:} My name is Valerie Tepes and I''m the daughter of the Tepes Faction leader. I have 2 older half brothers but we don''t get along well since I''m the child of fathers mistress. While my living conditions in the faction weren''t bad they weren''t good either. I didn''t have friends but I also didn''t have people who would bully me. I was very lonely most of my life, having no one to talk to but eventually, I found someone who would talk to me. His name was Gasper just like me he was also isolated by everyone he knew. We got along really quickly and soon became good friends. Gasper was a timid and shy boy but from his physical appearance, you could mistake him for a girl if he wore girl clothes. One day I actually wanted to see him in girls clothes so I begged him for a full day until he eventually did it, but in the end, he told me he would never do something like that ever again. Against his wishes, I was able to get him to wear girls clothes more often and it got to the point where he no longer held any resistance to it. I was happy those days were super fun. However, all good things must come to an end, I can''t remember if it was 1 or 2 years ago but Gasper came to me pleading me to help him escape from Romania. Gasper never asked me for anything before so as his friend I accepted his request. As we were on our way out of the country I found out that Gasper''s family was planning to kill him for being a cursed child. This caused me to pity Gasper while also being angry at his family. My determination to help Gasper escape shined brighter and we hastened our pace until we were at the country''s border. Unfortunately, as we were walking through a clearing we were ambushed by many vampire inquisitors who planned to take us back him. Despair soon began to show inside Gasper''s eyes and I also began to lose hope. But then something inside me started to glow and caused the entire area to be blinded by its light. Unaffected by the light I ran past our pursues with Gasper and went into the forest. The light coming from my body wouldn''t go away so I hid Gasper inside a small hole under a fallen tree. With me being around him I knew he would get caught so I became a decoy. He cried not wanting me to go but I used light sleep magic to make him lose consciousness, and camouflage magic to make him blend in with the surroundings. After that, I run away from the inquisitors for 2 days in Romania before I was eventually caught and imprisoned back home. The glow coming from my body went away while I was on the run but whenever I wanted to see it my hands would glow with a calming light. The doctors later told me it was a sacred gear but they didn''t have any knowledge on it. After a month of solitary confinement, I was released from the factions holding cells and given back my "freedom" but there would always be 1 or 2 guards keeping an eye on me. I regretted nothing I just hope Gasper was able to get away. Months went by and I returned to my lonely life but one-day Mariusnii-sama came up to me and asked about my sacred gear. After a full night of talking, he came to the conclusion that I could use my sacred gear to support the faction and thus improve my image in everyone''s eyes. At first, I didn''t know whether to accept Nii-samas offer but eventually, he convinced and we soon began our experiments. Everything was going well at first we found out the benefits of my gears which were healing, Animancy, Soul Manipulation, and resurrection. With this, we were able to improve the combat strength of our faction but a couple of days ago my body started to hurt every time I used my sacred gear. The thoughts of stopping appeared in my head but I never did stop eventually, I started to see dead people. Ghosts weren''t uncommon in Romania but they had consciousness, but what I saw was mindless people floating around the castle. When I tried to talk to them they didn''t respond and when I asked around to see if anyone saw them as well they told me I was going crazy. It was at that point that I truly stopped working with Nii-sama. Nii-sama was mad at me but I just could continue with the research, knowing he couldn''t convince me he turned to father. I thought that father would take my side but, all he said was Father - Think about the future of our clan, one small sacrifice is enough for many generations of happiness! Helpless and afraid I was forced to continue Nii-sama''s research. The pain became more unbearable but Nii-sama didn''t care and simply watched as I suffered. If not for the magic restrictions put on me I would have run away as well but I couldn''t I was stuck. Days went on then weeks, and eventually months. I eventually got to the point where I didn''t care about the pain and just did as I was told. On the outside, I looked like an expressionless girl but no one knew what I was feeling inside. Emotions, I still had them but they rarely surface these days. Even if I wanted to show them I don''t think I would do it so easily. One day as I was going through the same routine but strange enough I felt different today. A part of me was telling me that I would soon meet freedom and that I''d soon leave Romania. I don''t know why I felt this but for some reason, a spark hope lit up in my soul. Was I going crazy had I finally fallen into true despair. I don''t know but as I looked at the ceiling of Nii-sama''s lab I began to lose consciousness and drift off into sleep. ---- Inside my dream I strangely felt warm, these past few weeks I''ve had nothing but cold nightmares but today I felt warm. Looking at my dream I saw nothing but darkness but wrapped thinly around me was a small glowing membrane. The glow had now color and some parts of the membrane were cracked but I only looked over it before I returned my senses to the warmth I was feeling. To pass the time I began to count the time that has passed by and after around 8 hours had passed small slivers of light started to appear in the distance. Intrigued by this I stopped counting and looked at the slivers of light. With a length of only 1 meter, and a thickness similar to string the light approached the cracks in the light membrane. The air smelled fresh and clean and to my side, I saw sunlight. Wanting to get a better look at my surroundings I began to sit up but my body was sore and getting up was difficult. All I could do was b?r? it and groan. Rubbing my eyes I looked around and noticed that I was in the middle of a garden, inside a gazebo, lying in a soft bed. Then as I looked at the enterance of the gazebo I saw a boy. He was a little taller than me and he had long light brown hair with small grey hairs. He wore a short sleeve green shirt, with a pair of blue pants. His body was lean but well built. Right now he had his back to me and looked like he was going to leave but he heard my groan and turned around. He had a handsome face with magenta colored eyes. He looked surprised and neither of use spook for a while and just watched each other silently. No longer able to handle the silence I spook the first question that came to mind. Valerie - Who are you? Chapter 42 - Explanations and a New Start Yu - [Now how I am I going to explain this?] Yu - Good morning, I didn''t think you''d recover so quickly with all your injuries after all. Valerie - Injuries? But my body feels fine? Yu - It''s more complicated than that, first off let me introduce myself my name is Yu. If I were to be more specific I''m the guy that took you away from Romania. Valerie - Then where I''m I, and what happened back in Romania. Yu - [Now this is where it gets hard to explain.] Yu - Currently you are in my factions central areas recuperating from a damaged soul, and as for the Tepes Faction... I destroyed it... Valerie - !? ---- {Valerie POV:} Valerie - !? Destroyed? The Tepes Faction was destroyed! The shock from this piece of news almost caused my mind to stop functioning, but strangely enough, I soon calmed down and excepted it. This also shocked me. Why was I calm, shouldn''t I feel sad? Valerie - !!! *Groan* Suddenly a wave of pain surged through my ?h?st before making its way to my brain. Though I tried to keep myself calm my blood felt like it was boiling and I spat out some blood. Losing myself to the pain I fell backward on the bed but was stopped midway. After I stopped falling I felt warm energy enter through my forehead and the pain went away. Opening my eyes I saw Yu holding me in his arms while having his pointer finger on my forehead. He had his eyes closed and a dim glow surrounded his body. Focusing my eyes on the glow it looked like fire but it didn''t burn, it was just warm. Eventually, the pain went away and Yu released me and took a seat right by the bed. Yu - I know you have a lot of questions and I will answer all of them just try not to strain yourself either physically or mentally. I''m not really well versed in soul related injuries. Valerie - ... I slow thought of some questions I wanted to ask before I eventually organized them in the order I wanted. Valerie - Why did you attack the Tepes Faction? Yu - Originally we went to Romania because it was your faction who requested us to handle some rouge vampire in the countryside. However, once my people got there we found out it was all a hocks so they could capture my people and use them to find out about me and my faction. Yu - When I found out I was angry because I''m a guy who values those who work under me. Every one of them is under my protection and as their leader, I don''t leave a man or woman behind who have chosen to follow me. Valerie - ...Where is my father? Yu - When I went to the Tepes Faction I wanted to have the main cause of all the bloodshed to be brought before me your father refused my request. He then began to spout things about vampire supremacy which I didn''t care for. Eventually, tension built up between us and he threw the first punch. In the end, your father lost and died at my hand. Valerie - Couldn''t you have spared him? Yu - Seeds of conflict already grew between us, and I knew that if I let him live he would only come and trouble me and my people in the future. Letting him live was not an option to me, once someone has become an enemy in my eyes I don''t plan to let them walk away alive. Yu - No, I didn''t those who surrendered and chose to follow me survived and those who didn''t were dealt with. Once again they could have become a problem in the future I couldn''t take the chance. There are about 83 vampires pledged themselves to me in case you wanted to know. Valerie - ... Who are you guys then? Their''s no faction around the Tepes Faction territory that could destroy the who faction in one night. Yu - We are the Haven Faction, and I am its leader. I closed my eyes and processed everything I just heard. After a while, I came to the conclusion that if everything he said was true then the Tepes Faction is really to blame. Part of me didn''t want to believe, but another part of me was fine with it. Temporarily discarding those thoughts I looked back at Yu. Valerie - How were you able to find me? I should have been far below the surface? Yu - My detection abilities picked up some presence signatures underground, while I was looking for stray vampires. After some tunneling, I found a laboratory where I found you. Along with you, the culprit behind everything was in the same lab examining a vial of your blood. I hate experiments to involve the suffering of others so in my rage I beat him to a pulp. Valerie - Where is my brother now? Yu - Dead. Once I saw that lab any shred of mercy I could''ve had for him went out the door. Someone who is important to me was a victim of experiments like that so seeing what I saw in that lab hit a sore spot in my heart. Yu - Due to the overuse of your sacred gear your soul has become damaged, and if you continued without rest your soul might have been shattered. A cold sweat ran down my back when I heard this. I knew my condition was bad but I didn''t think it was this bad. Valerie - ...S-so what''s going to happen to me? Yu - I want to cure you. Valerie - ...Huh? Yu - Listen I pride myself on being a good doctor/medicine maker. However, soul related injuries are out of my expertise. While I might be fine since I have ways to cure my own soul, I can''t say the same for those around me. With the small bits of knowledge, I have on healing a soul I''m can''t be too certain that the knowledge is right. That''s where you come in, I plan to cure your soul with everything I got. Valerie - What do you plan to do? Hearing his explanation, while I was grateful I had some fear in the depts of my heart. Due to past experience, I have developed a small fear or needles, and strange liquids. Yu - Don''t worry I don''t plan to do anything involving needles or anything like that, my way of healing is more in the direction of Chinese medicine rather than modern medicine. Valerie - Chinese medicine? Isn''t all medicine the same? What''s the difference? Hearing that there are different types of medical knowledge I couldn''t help myself from blurting out my suspicions. Yu - Chinese medicine rely more on herbs and other remedies, but most of the knowledge I have is based on herbs and pills. Seeing is believing so if you can stand come with me. After that, he stood up and walked outside. I don''t know why but I followed close behind him and eventually set my sights on a wide variety of plants. Stopping at the occasional flower bed to pick some herbs Yu eventually started to make what I believed was medicine. The process seemed simple, but I could feel subtle mana emissions coming from Yu''s hands and knew that this was more complicated than it looked. Soon after he finished turning the herbs into a paste-like substance a fire erupted from his hands and surrounded the paste. After that, the process became more complicated and I soon began to lose track of what was going on. In the end, once the fire went away 2 pills we found in his hand. Yu - Okay here is some basic medicine for soul treatment. Valerie - This is only the basic?!?! Yu - ...Medicine refining is a complicated thing something of this level can be done by beginners. In the future, I might take hours to make important pills and such. Unconsciously I picked up one of the pills and started to examine it. Sadly I knew nothing about medicine. Looking at it in my hand I thought of trying it but still hesitated not knowing if it was safe or not. Yu - See there''s nothing bad with the medicine if anything I feel really refreshed right now... Go on try it. Having a new pill placed in my palm I still hesitated but in the end, took the pill. Once it touched my tongue the pill melted and I felt my previous drowsy mind clear up. Valerie - Wow! This is amaz- *Growl~* Just as I was complimenting the medicine both of us heard a loud growl. Once the growl ended my face started to burn and I was able to catch the small twitch in Yu''s lips. Yu - Are you hungry? Valerie - ... *Growl~* I didn''t answer but my stomach did. All I did was look at the ground hoping Yu would forget what he heard, but sadly- *Growl~* Yu - Let''s go get some breakfast I just realized I''m pretty hungry. Valerie - ...*Nod* As I stared at the back of the boy who was around my age I remembered everything that happened in this short time I''ve known him. While at first, I doubted everything he told me but deep inside me I felt that everything he said was true. In all honesty, I already accepted the deaths of my father and brother, I lost any familial feeling I had for them when they thought to use me as a tool. And as for the rest while I did have some pity for them that''s all I could feel. Eventually, people pass on the only difference is when they pass. Looking up at the bright morning sky I didn''t know what the future had in store for me but there was a feeling in my ?h?st telling me that I would be okay. Chapter 43 - Morning Breakfast Hearing the growling sounds coming from Valerie''s stomach even an idiot could she was hungry so I grabbed her hand and led her to the castle''s dining room. To my amusement though throughout the whole journey Valerie continued to look at the surroundings like a child. When we entered my personal relay station she had sparkles in her eyes as she looked at every glowing formation with obvious curiosity. If I hadn''t personally taken her away from that room she might have accidentally stepped on one. In the halls every time we passed a maid, they would always give me a courteous bow until we left before returning to work. This cause Valerie to blush and stick close to me, either she wasn''t used to this type of treatment or she wasn''t used to meeting new people. I was about to ask her this, but at that moment we passed by a window showing an overview of part of the capital city. Quickly removing her bashfulness and started to survey the city. While watching this I shook my head wondering where the previous shy girl went. ---- After a short 8 minute walk, we arrived at the castle''s dining room. The dining room was big and there were many wide windows on the walls allowing sunlight to enter the room. At the center of the table was a long mahogany table that looked like it could fit 50 plus people. As of right now, the only ones eating at the table right now were Suzaku and Genbu in their human form. Suzaku had fiery red hair with gold colored eyes, he had a thin build with androgynous facial features that made one wonder whether he was a boy or a girl. Then as for Genbu, he had a bald head with buff body structure, charcoal black skin tone, black eyes, and a masculine style facial feature. Out of all of my 4 guardians, these 2 always had their meals in the castle. Byakko rarely eat here because if he was hungry he would go out and hunt his own food rather than have it served to him, and Seriyu would come every now and than because the amount of food he ate was around the same amount as the size of a semi-truck. Because of his dragons sized appetite, he will eat in the dining room once or twice a week and hunt a snack or two the rest of the week to satisfy his hunger. Genbu and Suzaku, on the other hand, ate around the same amount as a normal person and preferred to eat in the castle rather than hunt for their food. As I got closer to them I saw that Genbu''s breakfast was eating fish with a small salad, while Suzaku had a bowl of oatmeal. Feeling my presence both looked my way and we''re going to stand to greet me but I stopped them before they could. Genbu/Suzaku - Good Morning Master. Yu - Morning Genbu, Suzaku how is the migration of the vampires doing. Genbu - Yesterday we were able to accommodate all of them into temporary housing facilities in the city, we should be done providing housing for all of them by the next few days. Suzaku - We also got information from Seriyu that Master has thought of giving the vampire Esau Damian a position of power in Haven. We wanted to confirm this information with Master but when we tried looking for Master in your study you were nowhere to be found. Currently, Esau is residing in the castle with his family. Yu - Yes I did promise him that but first, we need to know how well he can manage people. Before I give him any real power make his the representative of the vampires and have him help in their integration to Haven. Depending on his work, if it''s good I''ll make him an [Earl] but if it''s bad I''ll at least make him a [Baron]. Suzaku - As you wish. Genbu - Also Master, Lady Yasaka wanted me to inform you that the preparation to migrate the Yokai faction into Haven is almost complete but she would like your help to finalize the plans. Yu - Okay I''ll go meet her later today. As we were having our little talk I had already sat down at the head of the table while Valerie to a seat opposite of Genbu and Suzaku. The 2 gave her a single glance before the returned to their food. I''m sure they wanted to know who she was but knew I wouldn''t bring anyone dangerous into my castle. After that, I talked with them for a while about other simple stuff before they finished their food and returned to work. However, before they left I handed them both a bottle of wine from the Gates of Babylon. While it is true that they are young age-wise both of them have a nice appreciation for alcohol. Genbu prefers hard liquor while Suzaku prefers something similar to tequila, but that didn''t mean that was all they drank they always liked to sample new drinks and I thought they would appreciate the wine I gave them. Once they were gone, the maids in charge of the kitchen came and brought Valerie our breakfast. I left the choice to her and told her to get me what she got but because I was talking with Genbu and Suzaku I didn''t know what she wanted. However, when we got our food I smiled a little when I saw her become so happy looking at a stack of pancakes. Yu - Do you like pancakes Valerie? Valerie - I''ve never had them before, but I read about them in a book in my mom''s library. Who knew it smelled this sweet. Yu - That would be the syrup right next to it. Since this was her first time eating pancakes I gave her a simple 5 second tutorial on how to eat them. Seeing her like this made me pity her previous lifestyle it must not have been very good, but at least that behind her now. ---- ??? - Good morning Yu Yu - Morning... Did Kuroka not want to get out of bed again? Shirone - En After our short greeting both of them sat down, and I introduce them to Valerie. Valerie might not have remembered them since she was unconscious but the girls remembered her from last night. As we ate I had Valerie tell them her story, and besides the things, I already knew nothing new came up. Surprisingly when Valerie mention how she had to go through her brother''s experiments the previously drowsy Kuroka instantly started to pay close attention to the story. When Valerie talked about her pain and how much she suffered she was stopped by Kuroka who''s eyes began to water. This story might have hit close to home for her and as I wanted to calm her down Kuroka jumped across the table and hugged Valerie. Soon after she started to comfort her telling her she doesn''t have to speak anymore while patting her back. Before long Valerie started to cry a little as Kuroka told her how she understands her pain while also telling Valerie what she went through in the past. I don''t know how but once she stopped crying both Valerie and Kuroka started talking about their likes and dislikes and other stuff like that. Not long after they started to laugh and then left the dining room together leaving me confused at what just happened. Probably knowing what I was feeling Shirone stood from her seat and sat on my ??p. This caused me to subconsciously start petting her head while the subtle feeling of confusion goes away. Yu - [Thank you Shirone but can you stop eating my pancakes?] Chapter 44 - Plans for Expansion Once breakfast was over I tried to find Kuroka and Valerie but had some trouble since they weren''t in the castle. After a short pause, I decided to head to my herb garden, and low and behold both the girls were there talking to each other inside the gazebo. After interrupting their talk I gave Valerie to run down on her living conditions in Haven. First, she''ll have to sleep in the gazebo since it was surrounded by spirit herbs and I came to a hypothesis that this might help accelerate her recovery. Besides that, she could wander around the castle or the city during the day, but if she went out to the city she had to be with a guard. With some other small regulations, Valerie knew what she could and couldn''t do in Haven. Knowing that this I bid the 3 girls goodbye and returned to Kyoto through the relay station. With a quick change in scenery, I found myself not in my apartment but inside the Yokai Faction compound. These past few months the relationship between Haven and the Yokai have improved greatly to the point where I even have a big transportation formation that allows people to enter Haven through the capitals east gate. This, however, is done with tight security on both sides of the formations. Just because we are allies doesn''t mean we can be caught off guard. This issue caused me a lot of problems until Yasaka came up with a simple plan that I originally planned to do in the future. It was to annex the Yokai Faction into Haven while turning the Yokai compound into a Haven stronghold on earth. My initial plan was to start this 2 years late during my first year of high school but now that Yasaka mentioned this herself I would be a fool not to take it. Thus while I was working both as a student on earth, and a king in Haven I was also spending a fair amount of time with Yasaka trying to put our plans underway. Doing this not only did I improve in my managing skills but so did Yasaka. When we first meet Yasaka had only just been appointed the leader of the faction because her grandfather the previous leader died of old age. Soon after that, the war broke loss, and she was stuck trying to deal with everything with no leading experience. Before being the faction leader she was a fighter and her achievements rose her reputation within the faction thus when she took command of the faction hardly anyone was against it. Sadly for them, they didn''t know that this put a lot of pressure on her. If not for my ?ssistance the Yokai faction civil war would have gone on longer than expected as well as create many more casualties. Fortunately, Yasaka is a good learner and thus was able to act more like a leader than a confused woman these past few weeks. ---- Passing many Yokai I greeted some while others bowed to me in thanks since most people knew I helped play a role in the last war. With the simple hello and goodbye, I found myself in front of a Japanese style mansion. This place was previously packed to the brim with faction officers coming and going but now the place was neat and well organized. Nobody was running around in a panic and most people were just working on their own work quietly. Rather than a faction''s command center, this looked more like a company work station. Having this thought in my mind I passed by many working Yokai and found myself in front of the receptionist desk. Yu - I''m here to meet with Yasaka can you tell me where she is right now? Grabbing a log book from under her desk the receptionist flipped through many pages because eventually stopping a one. Receptionist - Lady Yasaka should be in the main conference room right about now. Would you like me to take you there? Yu - No thank you I''ll be fine. Saying this I disappeared into the void and teleported myself inside the main conference room. Inside was Yasaka and she was going over a large stack of papers. She still wore her yellow kimono while sporting a loose ponytail, and as always her two mountains were divine as ever. Yu - Yasaka you wanted my help with some paperwork. Yasaka - Ah~ Yu yes I need your help with these pieces here. With that, we both started a long conversation on how we were going to proceed with the annexation. Due to the sheer size of the factions populace, it would take around a year to migrate most of them in general. Actually, due to the populaces size, I can''t really fit all of them in the capital and had to resort to making a new city a little west of the capital. The city is going to be by the mountainside and will become one of the capital''s mining towns in the future. So far we have basic infrastructure almost done and by the end of the year will have a full-fledged city. This way we can work on obtaining our own materials rather than importing them from the outside. I planned to continue to have a foothold in Kyoto so in order to keep it I had to know what was going on inside the city. As for the supply channel, Haven still required materials from the outside so we had to have a secure base to transport material to Haven. ---- Yasaka - I heard you recalled all your field operatives back to Haven recently. Does this have to do with the recent incident in Romania? Yu - Hmm ah ya it does. Just like she said I canceled all field operations and had everyone return to Haven. The incident in Romania caused me to rethink the way I deployed my field operative while also giving me the chance to add more members into the mix. As of earlier this morning, all the new and old operatives are in the dungeon and will stay in there for 2 weeks. While also gaining 98 days worth of experience to hone their skills and sharpen their senses. Besides that I also plan to weed out the small factions that have ill intent towards Haven, this will cause many to see us as a terrorist group but I could care less. Actually, if I''m about to pull some strings behind the scenes I could make it seem like they provoked us. Yu - [*Shrug* I decide on what I''ll do when the time comes.] *Poke* Yu - Hmm Yu - Sorry I wasn''t listening. Yasaka - I was asking what''s wrong you weren''t responding when I called you. Yu - Oh I was just wondering about my next move since there is likely going to be a lot of work waiting for me in the next couple months. Yasaka - Really I kind of thought you were sad. Yu - Why do you think that? Yasaka - While it is faint I can smell a little bit of alcohol in your breath. Yu - [Alcohol?... Ah! That!] Yu - It''s not what you think I just had a lot of stuff on my mind last night and lost myself while drinking under the moon. It was pretty nice actually. Yasaka - Do you want to talk about it? Yasaka - Thinking about a problem might make one feel at ease but it will always linger in the person''s heart. However, if it is shared with someone else you''ll have someone to share your burden with you, and before you know it you can face your problem head on. Yu - That''s funny coming from the girl who kept the way she feels from her clansmen while enduring the pressure of leadership alone. Yasaka - ... She said nothing to my comment but instead pinched my cheek. It caused a little pain due to our difference in ranks and she didn''t let go until I apologized. Yasaka - Now dumb comments aside are you going to tell me. If you do I''ll let you rest your head on my ??p. Hearing this I subconsciously looked at her ??p before shrugging and resting my head on them. Yu - [I guess it wouldn''t hurt to talk about this with someone.] ---- Yasaka - *giggle* who knew the Great King of Haven would be having woman problems at such a young age. I don''t know whether to coddle or hit you. Yu - Haha says the lady who acts like a teenager when she''s alone with me, but acts like a lady in front of her peers. Should you really be judging me? After I had finished speaking to Yasaka about my problems with Irina what I got was her giggling at me. I acted like I was mad but in reality, I was slowly enjoying the feeling of her soft ??p. Once all the jokes were gone we tried to talk about my problem but because I was so comfortable I ended up slowly falling asleep. Chapter 45 - Havens Growth 3 months have passed since Yasaka and I began our annexation of the yokai faction and while there was some dissatisfaction within the yokai community once they entered Haven most began to take back all their previous dissatisfaction. It might have been due to the density of mana and other energies that caused them to agree with the migration. After all, Yokai are a type of spirit so it''s a given that they''d prefer a place full of dense mana. As for those who still couldn''t agree with the annexation I stationed them to be part of the supply depot on earth. I also planted some high-quality observation formations all around the outpost in order to keep an eye on them so they don''t do anything that could harm Haven. Other than that I spent a lot of my time in my office managing the migration, and on my break time I''d spend time with either the girls, the guardians, or I''d roam around Kyoto. Speaking of Kyoto my fame as a mangaka has exploded and now my new pen name which was just my real name already outshined my previous pan name [Sakamaki Izayoi]. How was this possible? Well, when I first came to Kyoto I gave Director Nakamura a flash drive full of multiple works that I wanted to release under my new name. Those works while also adding the ones I previously told them to put on hold. Now Scripture Depo has been releasing multiple works under my new name and thus my fame has grown out of proportions. When my family heard this all of them were shocked but happy for me. I even spent a bit of the money I earned to renovate the house, and now they live in luxury. Then besides family matters, school life was pretty bland, since I was so focused on Haven''s development I had paid one of the nekoshou who was proficient in illusion magic take my place. I get a report from her once a week. ---- Currently, I''m inside my herb garden sitting in a lotus position, while Shirone, Kuroka, Valerie, Yasaka, and Kunou are sitting in the gazebo drinking tea. In order to quell the stress that I''ve been accumulating while doing office work, I meditate to calm my mind. Every time I enter a calm state of mind I always feel a small strand of cool energy calm my mind and all the stress I felt suddenly went away and slowly lost my sense of time. By the time an hour would pass the internal timer in my body would kick in and I''d wake up, but today seemed different. *Ding*[Congradualations Host has accumulated enough source energy needed to form Host''s sixth sun.] Yu - Hm Sixth sun? Confusion was the first thing I felt for an instant before eventually, excitement took over. Quickly I stood up from where I was sitting and contacted everyone from Haven''s governing department. My message was simple. Yu - Haven is about to go through a growth spurt spread the world. The growth will start in one hour. Previously I would have instantly begun to form a new sun but now Haven has more than a thousand residents. Kuroka previously told me that last time I formed a sun I caused major changes towards Haven and this spooked most of the residents at that time. Now I have to consider the residents within Haven before I form a sun because it could case mase panic within the region. --1 Hour Later-- For the past hour, while waiting for the news of Haven''s growth to spread, I returned to my meditative state trying to get my mind prepared for its upcoming task. Finally, when I felt the time pass the 1-hour mark I began the process. In order to form a sun one must nourish the Heavenly World''s Core with Source energy and this, in turn, causes the world''s energy to flow towards the sky and eventually make a sun. When I first formed a sun when there was only the Nekshou village in Haven I formed an extra half sun in the process. This half sun wasn''t completely considered a sun and thus didn''t boost Haven''s rank but it did cut the amount of source energy I needed to complete it in half. Now I just need to finish the process and Haven would not only grow in size but the amount of energy the veins in the ground produce will also increase. ---- {3rd Person POV:} An hour had passed since the King of Haven had informed the people of Haven''s expected growth. Many were skeptical of this news and wanted to see it for themselves, so whether it was those in the city, the mountain, the forest, the ocean, or the desert every starred at the sky wondering what would happen. Then suddenly the sky began to fade into darkness and the only light in the sky came from the cluster of suns which gave off a dull gold light. This disappointed some since they thought that that was all that would happen but they would soon realize they were wrong. Soon after the sky turned black and the suns turned to gold, the ground began to shake and then it began to move. All around Haven the landscape began to change rapidly. Whether it was mountains, canyons, rivers, or forest they all began to form. And along with the growth small golden particles rose from the ground and soared towards the sky. Many thought that these particles would eventually fade away as they flew and they were right, but they were also wrong. As the particles faded aways the smallest of the six suns started to grow larger. To a normal person they wouldn''t be able to notice this but to those with an enhanced vision, they could see what was happening. Besides shocking this scene was also beautiful and it caused many to be lost in a daze as the lost themselves looking at the golden lights. Eventually, the scene had come to an end and the sky eventually turned back to its normal shade of blue. Unable to forget what they saw a large majority of people stayed where they were until a sudden pulse of energy came from the sky. ---- {Yu''s POV} *Ding*[Congradualtions Host''s Heavenly World by the name of [Haven] has reached sixth sun rank. Besides the increase in world power, and energy vein production, [Haven''s] surface area has increased to 1,000,000km2.] Yu - !! I knew that eventually, Haven would grow big but now that it has actually happened I couldn''t stop myself from being shooked, but I soon collected myself and tried to focus on the changes in Haven. Currently, there were now floating islands floating around the edges of Haven rather than the center. The mountain ranges now had snow at their peaks, and in the desert beside a massive canyon, 3 volcanos popped up as well. In the ocean in the north beside getting larger, small islands formed creating an archipelago. And as for the forest beside getting larger in height lushes valleys and meadows could be seen from an ariel view. Yu - !!!! Ah S***!! When I saw the condition of the capital I could help myself from cursing. The houses and other city building which were previously within the borders of the wall were now scattered throughout the place. Plantlife retook the area and rather than a city it now looked like the ruins of a city if not for the presence of people. Yu - I really f***ed up this time. Chapter 46 - Trying to Fix the Problem The changes to the city left everyone shocked and lots of citizens lost a part or even all of their homes. In total, I''d have to round about 10% of the populace either lost their homes or they were damaged. Naturally, this caused a lot of turmoil within Haven and I had to send out many field operatives to calm the masses. In order to try and fix this problem I would have to rebuild the capital city but while doing this there would be many citizens without homes and this will cause dissatisfaction within the populace. Thus in order to avoid this possible threat, I rounded up everybody whose home was either damaged or destroyed and placed them on some of the floating islands hovering above the capital. These islands were the main locations for Haven''s wheat fields and animal ranches. Along with these were storehouses and other warehouse building. With a little bit of remodeling, I was able to place everyone in these locations. Now, however, a day has passed and I only b?r?ly quelled the problem but I didn''t solve it at all. --Inside Yu''s study-- Besides the faint sound of breathing, and also the sound of rustling papers my study was completely silent in my study. I sat in my chair behind my desk, while Kuroka and Shirone napped on the couch with little Kunou in their embrace. I for one, however, was wide awake trying to come up with ways to rebuild the broken city. Building from scratch would take too long, but leaving this be was also out of the question. The main problem stopping me from starting from scratch was that while magic did make the building process easier it would still take a year or more to bring the capital back to its former glory. A part of me wanted to just let everyone build their own villages but that would disrupt the system I was trying to make. What I needed was fast builders who can finish the job, sadly nobody in Haven could meet my expectations. Dragons, Vampires, and Yokai while proficient in battle they were lacking in construction skills. I''m not saying they can''t do construction work it''s just that they''re slow. *Knock**Knock* Yu - It''s open. Taking my eyes away from the varies reports on my desk I looked at the door and say Yasaka holding a file. Yu - What did you find? Yasaka said nothing and simply handed me the papers. After giving her a questioning gaze I started to read the information inside the file. The file was a report from last year on a certain dying faction located in the Himalayan Mountian Range. The members of the faction consisted of mostly Dwarves a dying race that was rumored to have a high affinity with earth magic. From the report, I found out the some of my operatives tried to enter the faction''s compound but would be forced out by a variety of traps step up throughout the mountain''s surface. Yu - [Now that I think about it Magari did mention something about permission to investigate a site of interest a couple of months back.] Strange while the operatives in charge of monitoring this faction were able to get a decent amount of information through varies monitoring devices none were able to look inside the compound in person. Yu - Interesting... What do you think about this Yasaka? Yu - Four races... guardian spirits what are those. Yasaka - The guardian spirits were the four spirits comprised of the four major elements: earth, water, fire, and wind. Gnomes represented earth, Undines represented water, Salamanders represented fire, and Sylphs represented wind. The races that received a blessing from one of these spirits were the Dwarves, Mermaids, Flame Drakes, and Elves. Yu - Then shouldn''t those races be pretty strong why is the Dwarf faction on the verge of collapse. Yasaka - When those races received their blessing their strength aligned with that of the guardian spirit''s strength. If the guardian spirit was strong then so was the blessed race. However, because of the years of pollution humans have been creating these spirits have weakened. Yu - ...So the cause of their collapse is all the pollution in the world huh... Do we have any information on the other four races by any chance? Yasaka - No, we could only find information on the Dwarf Faction, as for the others it is possible that they have either gone into hiding or they have died out. Yu - Hm~ Contemplating what to do next I processed everything I just learned. In order to solve the problem with Haven, I could have the Dwarves rebuild the city but I''m not sure they''d agree. Forcing them was out of the question because they weren''t my enemy. I could talk with them but I don''t know if they wield hostility towards humans. Yu - *Sigh~* Well f*** it let''s just go and see what happens. Yasaka - You''re going to go meet them? Yu - Ya, they could be useful workforce Haven needs and I might have a way to bring them back to their former glory. Yasaka - Do you mind if I come along? Yu - You just want to get out of office work, don''t you? She didn''t answer me and simply looked away. --3 Hours Later-- The trip to the Himalayan Mountain Range itself wasn''t long but the trip towards the Dwarf Faction was. The area surrounding the entrance was covered in spatial interference, and illusion formations. Traps were even laid out as far as the eye could see. Yu - The Dwarves sure are cautious, aren''t they? Right now I was with a small group of people 20 people. Besides me, Kuroka, Shirone, Yasaka, Magari, and Genbu the rest were field operatives who were experienced in passing through these defenses. The further we ventured the colder the air got, towards normal people this would be cause them to return and come back with better equipment but for us, it was only annoying but not life-threatening. Besides Genbu everyone wore fur coats that Nekoshou Seamstresses enchanted with cold resistance enchantments. If not for these coats I think many of the people in this group would''ve already given up and returned home. Kuroka - How did they even find this place anyway. It''s so cold~. Genbu - I read the report only recently Lady Kuroka, but it seems that many field operatives that we proficient in illusion magic spent nearly 3 weeks inside this barrier. It took them 2 weeks to find the faction compound and around 1 week to safely leave the barrier. In fact, I''m surprised no one died in this operation. Kuroka - Oh~ Magari - Actually over the past few months I''ve had multiple groups come here to map out the area but sadly whenever a new group comes in to collect information on the faction we discovered that the information on our maps doesn''t match the location of the traps. Yu - That''s because the traps are always moving from one place towards another. Shirone - How is that possible? Yu - [Actually even I don''t know the specifics.] When we first entered this barrier I spread my domain to scout the area, and when I did this I was able to point out most of the traps, while also getting a relative size of the barrier. To my surprise, though the place I thought was the entrance was covered with a strong barrier that blocked my domain. If I was closer this wouldn''t be a problem but since I was too far away there was nothing I could do. As for the traps while we were walking towards the entrance I noticed through my barrier the all the traps would move every 10 minutes. This wasn''t a normal back and forth movement it was more like every 10 minutes all the traps would move in random directions without order. They were short maybe around 140cm and full of muscle. Some were hairier than the others but all of them had either a sword or a hammer strapped towards their backs. Leading this group was an older looking man he had grey hair in contrast to the other''s brown or black hair, and he carried an iron staff in his hand. When our 2 groups were about 10 meters from each other the leader of the dwarves and I stepped forward to greet each other. Once there was only around one and a half meters separating us the Dwarf leader was the first to speak. Dwarf Leader - I am Grant leader of the Dwarf Faction. Chapter 47 - The Dwarf Faction Dwarf Leader - I am Grant leader of the Dwarf Faction. Yu - I am Yu Leader of the Haven Faction, I''ve come today to request ?ssistance from the Dwarf Faction. Grant-? What kind of ?ssistance could my faction provide you? While we may be a recluse faction we do have suitable information network to know that you are a powerful man with a mysterious background. Yu - [So they know about us huh?] Yu - I read past reports that mentioning how Dwarves were fast and skilled builders. What I''m here to request is to hire some builders to help my faction with some reconstruction. Grant - I hear your request, but what I wish to know is why you need builders? Yu - ...Recently there have been some changes within our faction''s territory and due to certain complications, we need to rebuild most of our buildings. I didn''t want to tell them this information but I needed their help so I could only comply this time and speak honestly. Besides if spread this information to the public I don''t mind wiping the Dwarf faction off the face of the planet since they''d become my enemy then. I don''t want people knowing about Haven current status unless I want them to know, anyone who goes against this will be silenced. However, I don''t think that Grant would reveal anything that was mentioned in this meeting of ours. When we talked rather than probing intent I honestly felt curiosity in his voice, in addition to this I used one of my innate skill [World''s Eye]. This was sort of a cheat-like skill that let me look at the flow of magic energy while also showing me the emotional state of a target. Grant - ... It is getting cold out here why don''t we go inside and talk more in detail. Yu - Lead the way. ---- If I were to describe the interior of the Dwarf Faction compound it would be western style medieval theme with a mixture of modern-day architecture. The building in the area was designed like the buildings of the past, but different from those buildings I saw something different from a lantern lighting the area. It looked like a lightbulb but I could feel magic energy from the lights. If my guess was right it had to be a magic item but these lights were different from singular light producing magic items. These magic items were connected through a giant rune formation like an electrical grid and were powered by mana. In the past I tried to replicate something like this but because I was so busy with other things I''ve had to put that project on hold. Now that I''m seeing it up close my intuition of as a rune maker is telling me to study them in detail. In the past, this may not have caught my attention but with the sudden addition of my blacksmith, rune maker, and medicine refiner sub-jobs small details like this have caught my attention more often. Yu - [I''ll just ask if I can look at their formation techniques if the chance pops up.] Deactivation [World''s Eye] I continued to follow grant while also looking at the Dwarf Faction''s inhabitants. Besides the few dwarves we saw at the entrance once we entered the compound hundreds of dwarves entered our sights. Even though I knew that I now lived in a world where this was normal, what I saw in front of me still made me pause for a moment wondering if this was real. Dwarves were everywhere living their everyday life in peace, or what I thought was peace. On the surface, I could see many dwarves smiling while children play in a nearby park, but if I look in more detail I can see some older dwarves showing expressions full of dissatisfaction. This made me wonder why they had these expressions but, right now I couldn''t think about that too much because this isn''t my faction. No matter how much one wants to help people they must first help themselves and those around them before extending their reach towards others. Right now I have to think about the reconstruction of Haven and I don''t really have the time nor manpower to do anything to help the Dwarf Faction. ---- Grant lead our group from the front entrance towards the center of the compound, the walk took about 10 minutes and during our walk, I continued to view the surroundings with the ?ssistance of my domain. Towards the dwarves, I was just simply looking at the surroundings, but only I knew that I was secretly mapping out the compounds infrastructure. Or at least the parts my domain could reach, rather than being spread out in one simple plain like the Yokai Faction, the Dwarf Faction was structured in floors like a dungeon. Because of this, I could only map around 3 floors but I knew there was more I wasn''t seeing. Before long a castle-style building enters our view, the guards look at Grant leading us and don''t even question us or anything. After we pass the front gate I suddenly felt a burst of earth energy enters the atmosphere. This wasn''t due to the usage of magic or anything but rather the earth energy was in the air naturally. It was like the areas in Haven where the earth vein''s energy was abundant but only this source was vastly incomparable with that of the earth energy found in Haven. Turning my sights towards the gate I saw a barrier formation keeping the earth energy encased within the castle''s perimeter. If it wasn''t for the fact that I was looking for any abnormalities I might not have even noticed this. It was so well hidden that it made me have to concede victory towards its creator. Yu - [*sigh* looks like there is still many things in this world that I need to learn.] While I may be a king I was also someone who put a lot of hard work into my crafts so when I see someone whose skills surpass mine I can''t help myself from wondering how they did what they did. It was that moment when I realized that while the Dwarf Faction may have been in decline they had a lot of valuable knowledge that I both need and want. *Ding* [Host has received the Quest [Dwarf Annexation]] Rewards: 1) 1x Gnomes Blessing 2) Massive improvement in Haven''s Technological departments 3) 1x Gacha Ticket] Yu - [...-_-... *sigh* I call already tell there is going to be a lot of paperwork coming my way in the future.] The fact that I''m going to try and annex the Dwarf Faction has already been implanted in my list of things to do, but with this task also comes a lot of paperwork. Something I don''t want but will have to endure for now. While I was clenching my fists in my mind, Grant stopped before a giant wooden door and knocked three times. ??? - ...Enter Grant - Follow me. Grant opened the door and inside the giant room was a big tree with a golden pond surrounding its perimeter. Besides that there was nothing else inside the room, however, I found this strange shouldn''t there be someone else in here? Following Grant, we all approached the tree and the closer we got to thicker the earth energy was. Eventually, I stopped looking at the tree and looked at the gold pond. Before I thought it was just for decoration but now that I got a closer look I knew exactly what it was. Yu - [Earth Essense] The physical yet ethereal manifestation of earth energy. Mages who study in earth magic usually convert their mana into earth energy when they try to use magic but earth essence is a type of energy that is stored in ones astral body as a sort of back up energy source. Unlike earth energy which is found in the air and has no shape earth essence can be released into the world in a physical or liquified form, but when it is inside the astral body it is in an ethereal state. I happen to have stored multiple types of elemental essences in my astral body, but I know for certain that it isn''t an easy thing to do. Elemental essence can either be formed naturally or through continuous magic breakthroughs. The earth essence I''m seeing right now has to be naturally formed since on the way here I felt no strong earth mages in the area. *Crack**Crack**Crack* The sudden sound of wood being broken cut off my train of thought and I looked at the tree once more to see a part of it moving. Within seconds the tree split open like a flower blossoming and from within open area stood a thin figure. It was covered in bark, vines, and moss. Yu - ...Grant why have you brought us here? Grant - Any deals the Dwarf Faction has ever had have all been under the supervision of our guardian spirit the Gnome. Yu - ...So that''s the earth element spirit Gnome. Yu - [That''s not a Gnome!! That''s Groot!!!!] Chapter 48 - Deal with the Devil Yu - ...So that''s the earth element spirit Gnome. Grant simply nodded at my statement before he turned around and cupped his fist towards the Gnome. Grant - Please watch over our conference oh guardian spirit. Gnome - Very well young Dwarf, but remember your actions represent that of the whole faction. After giving a short nod Grant turned towards us and raised his hand. Following the movement of his hand the ground below him moved as well and in seconds a table and 2 chairs made of earth appeared, and both Grant and I sat down. The guards that came with Grant stood behind him, and my people stood before me. Yu - You guys seem oddly prepared for this aren''t you? Grant - Along time ago before the colonization of the American Colonies we would get constant contract offers from multiple factions. Unfortunately, with the start of the industrial era, factions stopped relying on our faction and used their own means to get construction done. To be honest you are the first faction leader to come into our compound in the past 200 years. Yu - It''s an honor. *whisper* I guess. Grant - Now what type of contract would you like to commission with us? Yu - [Why''d he suddenly start talking like a businessman?] Yu - Well... ---- After that, we had a roughly 3-hour discussion on the scale of what we wanted as well as the duration of how long we''d have them work. I even showed them a 3-Dimensional optical view map of Haven''s territory I prepared a while back. This baffled both Grant and the Dwarves behind him. Even Gro... I mean Gnome showed some slight interest in the layout of Haven''s territory. Grant - This doesn''t seem like any territory found on Earth, Heaven, or the Underworld could it be that your faction is in a pocket realm. Yu - Um... something like that. Different from pocket dimensions that has very limited space of around a few cubic meters, pocket realms were gigantic space pockets that could hold hundreds if not thousands of people. From the pocket realms that I knew of there were some independent factions that control a single pocket realm while bigger factions controlled maybe 2 or 3. Even the Yokai Faction also control a small pocket realm before I took it over. Grant - It may take us a day or 2 to finalize the blueprints for construction but, I''d also have to see the designated area first. If I were to hear someone tell me this 1 week ago I''d probably slap them until they bled, but one our way here I read a lot of past reports about the Dwarves. Besides the surface knowledge everyone knew they were involved in a lot of major construction jobs for multiple factions, and while they did work for a lot of faction they never once revealed any information on the specific details of what they did. All that was known was the feedback they got once they were done. I was already able to accept this request but I first needed to know one thing. Yu - Before that happens I want to know how much you''ll charge us for this job. Depending on the price will determine whether I decide to use your guy''s services or look for another alternative. Grant - Ah! That''s true... it''s been so long I forgot about that part of the deal. Yu - It''s fine, so what''ll it be. We can arrange things from money, supplies, or even protection. When I said this Grant pulled a small vial from his sleeve and placed it on the table. The vial was clear, but the contents inside were gold. It was the same earth essence that was found in the pond right behind him. Grant - What we ask as compensation is this. It is earth essence something produced through natural means or even artificial ones. Depending on the size of your territory I''m certain you have a couple of earth mages that can complete the job. I know that creating this kind of substance takes a lot of time and effort but around 36 vials would be the right price for the job. *gulp* I couldn''t tell who it was but I could hear some people behind me swallowing a mouthful of saliva. Yu - [Is it that expensive?] Yu - Is this enough? Saying this I pulled out a 5-gallon container full of compressed earth essence. It contained about 1 years worth of earth essence because I''d empty out my reserves once a month into this container. I wanted to know if it''d evaporate or something but it never did and I just continued to fill it for a year. I had similar containers for other elements to sitting in m inventory, so if this was valuable maybe I could make some extra revenue with those. Yu - [Hm? Why did everyone go quiet?] The moment the container entered this room the amount of earth energy in the air got denser, and everyone became quiet. Grant who sat in front of me had his mouth wide open, and the guardian spirit in the pond was looking at the container with great interest. Seriously what was wrong. *Ding* [The purity within Host''s earth essence and the earth essence produced by the planet a vastly different in grade level. The earth essence produced by the planet may be a valuable item but it is produced by the earth vein within the planet which has been polluted by the actions of the inhabitants. Compared with the earth vein within Haven which was produced through Host''s earth essence it is like comparing pure water to murky water.] Yu - [Okay but why the difference is so large?] *Ding* [The answer lies within Host''s body. Currently, Host''s race is that of a [Primordial Helix] but Host''s body is that of a human. Host has yet to awaken Host''s full bloodline awakening Host''s primordial energy, but this does not mean there is no primordial energy in Host''s body. When my creator rebuilt Host''s body he stored a small amount of primordial energy within Host''s astral body. This energy not only nourishes Host''s soul, and body but also upgrades and mana or elemental essence that enters Host''s astral body.] Yu - [Why have I never known about this?] *Ding* [Host, has never really thought about the purity of Host''s mana nor investigated Host''s astral body. Plus Host never asked.] Yu - [(-_- ).... Fair enough.] Yu - So is this enough? Grant - ...Huh I mean *cough**cough* Can I ask where you procure this Yu-dono? He was shocked by my reveal but when he heard my question he soon became serious and asked me a question. Honestly, I was okay with telling him I made it but, then I remembered the quest I received not too long ago. Yu - This was extracted from one area of my Faction''s territory. Yu - [Can Haven produce naturally formed elemental essence?] *Ding*[Up until yesterday yes.] While I was pumping my fist in my mind, I closely watched as Grant was contemplating my response. He seemed to be lost in though so I just waited for him to come back to reality, but before Grant could say anything Gnome spoke up first. Gnome - Young man previously you mentioned something about protection I''m I correct? Yu - Yes. Gnome - Can you clarify what you mean by protection. Yu - Well here''s what I meant, on my way here I noticed that your people were living peacefully down here but I also noticed that some of your people didn''t like the way things were going for your faction. Gnome - ...Regrettably, that is true. Yu - Yes so I began to wonder why, could it have been due to the factions decline, or something else. Before coming here I couldn''t understand why, however, that all changed when I entered this castle and also when I found out the compensation for the task I requested. If I''m not wrong you Sir Gnome blessed the Dwarves with your blessing as a guardian spirit I''m I correct. Gnome said nothing and simply nodded. Yu - Well then I started to remember everything I learned about the guardian spirits and then it came to me. The four guardian spirits Gnome, Slyph, Undine, and Salamander get their strength from the planet''s elemental veins, and their strength gets distributed to the races they blessed. You ask for earth essence as compensation as a way to make up for the decline in the planets earth vein which has ?ssisted in your faction''s downfall. Yu - I won''t lie I need your strength, because my faction will continue to grow and in order to support that growth I need builders which is where your faction comes into the mix. If things continue to go as they have been once my faction stops growing our deals are done and you will stop getting a steady source of high-quality earth essence, but I admire your guy''s craft and wish to learn a little from you give. As I talked Grant''s face started to pale a little. Yu - No Grant it''s not what you think I don''t plan to force you into anything but here''s my offer... Join me in my faction I don''t discriminate between races nor do I throw away those who have decided to follow me. Haven is a place where multiple races have come together to live in harmony, what I''m offering you isn''t just a business deal but also a better life for your people. The Dwarf Faction has declined because the strength of the Gnome has declined. You might be thinking that if you join me your faction will no longer exist but that''ll happen eventually if you stay like this. Haven not only has wide lands, but it also has the potential to strengthen the now weakened Dwarf race into something stronger. Gnome! This time I turned my gaze from Grant towards Gnome. Yu - I don''t want just the Dwarf Faction but I also want you to join as well. Honestly, I think you''d like Haven better than this place. Truth is I think you''d be a perfect candidate for one of Haven''s proctors. My selfish d?s?r? right now is to make both the Dwarf Faction and the Guardian Earth Spirit Gnome my subordinates, but I''m not a cruel man. If you don''t agree with my offer we can still be business partners. Standing up from my chair I walked up to Grant gave him a fearless grin and extended my hand. Yu - So what do you say? Some might call this a deal with the devil, but for Grant and Gnome who no more about their situation then I did this was a major focal point in their lives. Their prosperity or their downfall could be decided at this very moment, and nobody knew if this was the right choice. Nobody, but me. Chapter 49 - Massive Development and a New Treasure --1 month later-- A month has passed since my deal with Grant and Gnome, and the days that followed after that became really busy for both me and all of Haven''s upper echelon. When Grant announced that they''d be moving to another location one with abundant energy sources that''d give them a better life there was no opposition. In fact, the older generation even cheered when they heard this, as for the younger generation they didn''t know what was going on but went with the flow. However, before having everyone in the Dwarf Faction come to Haven Grant first sent around 2,000 workers to start construction. And to be honest their work baffled me. Within 1 day with the help of Gnome, the Dwarfs were able to clear all the unwanted vegetation from the area. After 6 days, 4 ten story towers were erected near the center of the capital bordering not far from the moat separating the rest of the city from the castle. The tower in the north was the command center for Haven''s army, navy, and airforce. In the future, unless I''m the one giving the orders Have''s military strength will be managed by this tower. As for which of my subordinates I left in charge of this tower it would be Genbu. Though his forte is navel and defensive combat he has been studying a lot on subjects he did know much about. The tower in the east was the home of Haven''s intelligence division. Similar to Haven''s counterintelligence department in the castle this division also had multiple operatives that collected information inside Haven, rather than its counterpart which focused on outer intelligence. The department head for this tower was Charollete who has loyally been following me for years. As for the counterintelligence head, it was Magari. The tower in the west was Haven''s R&D department for technological, medical, and magical research. From here the Dwarves, doctors, and magician will be able to future improve their crafts while also benefiting Haven. To help support this tower I donated most of my medical knowledge while also giving simple rune formations to the department library. Anything I didn''t know was given by the dwarves. When I read what they gave I honestly spend 2 days reading everything I could before Yasaka dragged me out of the forcing me back to work. As for the leader of this department, it would be Suzaku since out of all of my guardians rather than focusing on physical strength like Genbu, Byakko, and Seriyu he focused on magical, and intellectual strength. Then as for the southern tower this one was different from the other towers which were classified areas that only authorized people could get into this tower was a public location that almost anyone could enter. It was Haven''s government building, where future court cases would be decided, and it also managed any residential records. In the future when Haven starts to expand and build new cities if a resident wants to move cities they''d have to file for transfer here. Esau became the head of this tower because I noticed that this guy was not only loyal but had a talent for handling office work. Once these towers were done it took about 3 days to get them up and running. It was also around this time that the dwarves that stayed behind started to flow into Haven along with some of the residents living on the floating islands. At first, everyone thought they were going to be sleeping in tents but the Dwarves moved really fast and building homes left right and center. In 1 week 25% of the population returned to the capital and was living in a new home. I originally wanted to be there to help with managing the change but Gnome had come to me 2 days prior to the move with important information. He told me about another guardian that he still had some contact with before moving to Haven. It was the Undine the guardian spirit of water, apparently, this spirit along with a lot of last sea species were hiding out in the Bermuda Triangle. From what Gnome told me due to the amount of water pollution in the ocean most of the supernatural species that rely on the ocean have begun to decline in population. When this happened the Undine placed a barrier around its territory at the sea floor to purify the water and protect the remain sea species around it. When I heard this I got a quest similar to the one I got when I was at the Dwarf faction and made my way to the Bermuda triangle sun after. While leaving the construction to everyone else I took Genbu and Grome with me to meet the Undine. The talk went by very smoothly with the help of Gnome and within 6 days of convincing, and migration Haven received a new species of water dwellers. It must be stated though when I meet the Undine rather than a physical appearance like Gnome the Undine had a body of water. The only way I was able to tell it apart from normal water was the fact that it was more of a baby blue color compared to the rest of the water in the ocean. Thus after I returned from placing the new residents in Haven''s ocean I made my way to the capital. In the days I was gone not only had the dwarves made many new building, but they also made roads, courtyards, wells, parks, bathhouses, and even an underground sewage system that connects to a waste disposal formation that dematerializes the waste. How it was done I don''t even know my formation knowledge still isn''t at that level. Eventually, I began to wonder where they got all the materials since they were building faster than we were supplying, but I soon learned that they were using transmutation magic to turn older materials into new ones. One thing that I was pleased with was the fact that the Dwarves even made a working light source in houses, and streets. It was all connected to 4 generators that absorbed both mana and sunlight to power the city. Each of these 4 generators were placed in a garrison outpost within the city for safety. Surprisingly even with all these advances in the Capital, the scenery of the whole placed looked like something you''d see in an Isekai manga not that I mind in fact I kind of liked it. Time continued to move and at the 3rd week of the month, both the Undine and Gnome came up to me with more information. After I completely migrated the Undine''s faction into Haven I gave both of them a mission to find the remaining 2 guardian spirits for me. Making quick work of their time they returned to me a week after they were ?ssigned this mission with the Sylphs location but sadly told me that Salamander''s location was nowhere to be found no matter how hard they looked. Compared to the Dwarf and Sea-Dweller faction the Sylph didn''t have a faction nor did it have a large population. The race that the Sylph blessed many decades ago was the elves and while they weren''t large in number they were a race with high affinity with wind energy allowing them to fly in the skies with enough practice in wind magic. When Gnome and Undine found them they were in a floating island found above England. Before contacting me about this they first talked to Sylph and told it all about the benefits of coming to Haven. Sylph was intrigued by what it heard but still couldn''t fully bring itself to bow its head to me. From what I was told Sylph wanted freedom and didn''t like to be held down and contained. This was a problem since bringing it to Haven was technically binding it to a confined space. Actually, the world was in itself a confined space for the Sylph. Eventually, I decided to play the role of the devil and give Sylph a deal while also pointing out the faults in both the elf race and Sylph itself. Actually, it wasn''t very hard, compared to Undine which sealed itself away from polluted waters keeping it from weakening to the point of near death, Sylph couldn''t seal itself from air itself completely and was not in the best state compared to Undine. I just told it that eventually, it would die if it continued to live like this and I had a way to restore it to its former strength. With that, it didn''t take long for it to agree and with Sylph''s approval soon came the elves, but in order to obtain Sylph''s approval, I had to make a simple deal. Sylph wanted me to one way or another help earth and stop humans from destroying the environment. It was a tough request but I had already begun making plans this long before I meet Sylph. Now, however, rather than an idea in my head, it became a side objective for me. To ensure I kept my word I made an unbreakable vow before Gnome, Undine, and Sylph that within 30 years I''d make some progress in fixing the world''s pollution problem. And thus within a month out of the 4 guardian spirits, I obtained 3 of them as my subordinates, the capital went through a nice renovation, and Haven''s population grew to around 40,000 residence. Although the only change, I''d make if I could be the mountains I paperwork I had to go through. ---- After everything that happened that week, I decided to take a full week off of any work-related stuff and spent my days relaxing in my herb garden. As if copying my idea Kuroka, Shirone, Yasaka, Kunou, and Valerie also relaxed with me. Sometimes Kunou would request we play board games or we''d simply lounge around drinking tea or reading books. Valerie - Hey Yu. Yu - Hm? What''s up? While I was basking in the shade of one of the trees of the garden Valerie came up to me looking like she wanted to tell me something. Valerie - Um... When I went to the castle to get breakfast today I saw that the dwarves were dismantling the castle. I just wanted to know why? Yu - Ah that... don''t worry about it their just making space for a new castle. In fact, it''ll be even better than the previous one abid more expensive than the last Saying this I patted her head and glanced at the system interface which was showing me the name of a treasure I obtained a couple of days ago. [Primordial Class Defense Treasure: Blueprints - Hanging Gardens of Babylon] Chapter 50 - Castle Upgrades [Hanging Gardens of Babylon] that was the name of the treasure I obtained recently. I didn''t get it from a gacha draw or a quest reward, from what I discovered it was in the Gates of Babylon. It was inside one of the 4 golden containers I previously couldn''t open but when I received [Gnomes Blessing] the container suddenly opened by itself. From within the container rather than a weapon, potion, or material I found an old piece of paper. After having the system analyze it, I discovered that it was blueprints that used words of power to build a treasure that was classified as Primordial Class which was far above divine class. From what I could understand by using these blueprints, with the correct words of power, and a lot of materials I''d be able to create a defense type primordial class treasure. This made my blood boil but at the time I didn''t have the time to build this since I was so busy but now was different. I already knew from watching the Fate series that Hanging Gardens of Babylon was a floating fortress so I had the dwarves dismantle the castle since I have HGB take its place. As for the materials I would be using all the precious material in Gates of Babylon and all the leftover materials from the castle to do the job. If this was before Haven''s big expansion I don''t think I''d have the materials needed to form HGB but after Haven''s expansion with the addition of the new races, I''m now confident I have enough. Gates of Babylon has a nice feature which makes it manifest riches equal to the cost of all of its owner''s property. So every time I improve Haven or gain new subjects my wealth will grow even larger than it is now. Honestly, it''s already to the point where my money senses have become dull so I tend to not think about money these days. Also, HGB wasn''t the only treasure I got in the past month. When both Undine and Sylph joined me I got their respective blessing and with those, I opened to more treasure a speed related one and a sealing one but those can be talked about later. --Later that day-- Yu - It only took you 8 hours to dismantle a castle that took me months to build...*sigh* I''m not even going to doubt your construction prowess anymore. Grant - That would be good for your health. Anyway, what are you even going to do with this empty lot? Currently, I''m standing next to Grant looking over a small plateau that used to be the location of my castle but now was empty with just piles of materials taking its place. Behind us stood the girls, the castle maids, and the guardians. On the other side of the moat stood almost every resident of Haven. Apparently, word got out that I was going to do something big when they saw the dwarves dismantling my castle so most of them have been camping outside waiting for the show. While ignoring the watchful eyes of everyone around me I walked towards the center of the plateau and waved my hand. With the wave, multiple golden gates appeared above the plateau and bronze, silver, gold, and platinum coins along with many precious jewels came falling from within those gates. Once I was certain I dumped every bit of wealth I had on the floor I closed my eyes and began to chant the incantation needed to create HGB. Then while I couldn''t see it I could feel a giant magic circle appear at my feet. For 3 hours I continued to chant my incantation while feeling all the materials around me float into the sky. As this happened I felt my energy reserves deplete rapidly, and in order to keep myself from blacking out due to mana depletion, I fueled the spell with world power. When another hour passed I began to open my eyes and the light from the magic circle began to fade. Then I looked up to the sky I saw a floating fortress floating gloriously above my head. Yu - [It looks just like it did in the anime huh... I like it.] After I had my fill of this magnificent sight I turned my sights towards the crowd only to see everyone shocked with their mouths open. Even Yasaka who usually puts up a composed face in public was shooked. Giving out a small chuckle I took a picture of everyone and saved it in my phone for future laughs. ---- It took a while for the crowd to disperse but once it did I teleported all the maids into the castle to get a feel for the place along with the girls who seemed really interested in HGB. Besides them I teleported myself and everyone in the counterintelligence department to one of bigger more spacious rooms within HGB to act as their departments base. Since counterintelligence is one of my more classified departments I always had to keep it close and well hidden and there is no better place than in this floating fortress. After everything was taken care of I went towards the control room of HGB to try and understand what this thing was capable of. It didn''t take long to find the control room but I''d rather call it a throne room instead. The control system was located on an elevated platform installed in a throne when I found it. With a simple thought, I opened up the fortress''s interface and began scrolling through the options. As I was doing this I could confirm that this was a high-grade defense treasure. Not only did it have multiple magic shield and a strong hull, but it also had 4 drone fleets installed within the outer wall of the fortress, and multiple magic cannons were mounted throughout the hull. As for the interior, there were golems disguised as armored knights and golden statues. There was even a surveillance system that let me view every location in the fort. I had a little fun going through everything in HGB but eventually, I closed the forts interface and rested my body on the throne, thinking of what to do next. Yu - [...System use the 3 gacha tickets I have in my inventory.] *Ding*[Acknowledged....] [...] [...] [...] *Ding*[Congradulation Host has drawn one skill, one weapon, and one miscellaneous item.] Yu - [Show me the skill.] Active effect - Creates a small pocket dimension within the user''s astral body which draws energy from the void to constantly supply the user with magical energies and stamina. (Active timelimit 1 day) [Warning: Once used 1-month cooldown is necessary] Yu - [That could be a useful trump card. Now show me the weapon.] *Ding*[Weapon - Fractured Excaliber (Undefined Rank)] - A sword fetus that has devoured a part of the original Excaliber. Rather than absorb materials to get stronger this sword fetus has the recorded abilities of the original Excaliber. In order to obtain these abilities, the sword and the owner must both be strong only then will the power of the sword be unlocked. -Soul Bound to Yu Hyoudou] As soon as the system showed me the details a golden sword with a blue handle appeared in my hand. After examining it for a while I didn''t see any cracks or anything and was going to store it in my inventory but before I could it integrated itself into my left palm. Strangely enough, I now had a demon sword in my right hand and a holy sword in my left hand. Yu - [I have so many questions regarding this but I''ll put them aside for now. Show me the item.] *Ding*[It- Yu - Hm what is it? Right as I was about to look at the item the doors to the control room opened and a maid came in leading a counterintelligence operative. ??? - A report just came in from one of our operatives on the outside. Apparently one of their ?ssassination targets has entered a pocket realm controlled by the Angel faction. Up until now, we have never encountered members from one of the 3 biblical factions thus we wish for your opinion before we process any further. Saying this he stepped forward and extended the folder to me. Using telekinesis I took the folder from him and started to read the contents of the folder. Once I was done I thought for a moment before I returned the folder to the operative. Yu - Have our field operatives standby, for now, I wish to see this pocket realm myself. Tell them that I will meet them tomorrow in the morning. ??? - As you wish. With those words, the operative left and so did the maid. I, however, stayed sitting on the throne wondering how tomorrow will play out. Thinking it would be better to get some rest rather than of think thing I stood up and prepared to get some sleep. Unconsciously, however, while I was talking to the operative I forgot about the item I previously had in my hand. When I returned my sights towards the object I could help myself from giving it a questioning stare. Yu - ...A...brick? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 51 - Intermission: Change within the Supernatural World Month 1, Week 1, Day 5: [Enigma] the person everyone believes is the leader of the Haven Faction raided an Angel Faction pocket world killing one exorcist, injured multiple guards, and knocking out 5 ultimate class angels under the command of Pure Angel Gabriel. It was rumored that after the arrival of church reinforcements lead by Vasco Stranda was [Enigma] forced to escape from the pocket realm suffering major injuries. Month 1, Week 2, Day 2: The son of the leader of Chicago''s major mage faction was ?ssassinated. After some investigating, they claimed it was done by a member of the Haven Faction, and demanded an explanation from the accused faction. Haven replied saying that the leader''s son angered too many people and was killed by his own arrogance. This caused the faction leader to rage and vent his anger on the factions within the vicinity of Chicago forcing people to submit or die. Month 2, Week 1, Day 1: The leader of Chicago''s mage faction now 5 times the size it previously was, declared war on Haven swearing to use Haven''s death to avenge his dead son. Month 2, Week 1, Day 2: The now recovered [Enigma] marched 10,000 soldiers and 12 dragons towards Chicago. Accompanying [Enigma] was a squadron of highly skilled mages on par with Chicago''s upper echelon. Haven''s main forces meet with Chicago''s forces at the gates of their faction, but the fight only lasted 15 hours. The reason was that a group of Shadow Clansmen a race of shadow monsters previously thought to have been extinct snuck into the enemy faction''s compound and sabotaged many of the faction facilities. The Chicago faction now forced to fight on two front had no choice but to have their faction leader come out and try to stabilize the situation. Sadly this led to his immediate death at the hand of [Enigma]. Seeing their leader fall right before them, all the faction members lost their fighting spirit while some feel to the floor dejectedly and other cheered in joy. That day Chicago''s Mage Faction meet its end and was taken over by Haven. Month 4, week 3, Day 7: The Chicago''s Mage Faction that was previously defeated two months ago reopened as a subsidiary to Haven, while also doubling as an outpost for Haven forces. The faction may have shrunk in territory size but their combat power and base defenses were now way beyond what they previously were. It was even reported by the Grigori that the factions attack and defense formations resembled that of old dwarf formations only these were more advanced than the ones in the past. Month 5, Week 1, Day 3: Multiple new factions started to appear throughout the globe. Japan''s Kyoto, Egypt''s Cairo, Brazel''s Rio De Janeiro, India''s Mumbai, and Australia''s Sydney all of them suddenly gained one new faction within their ranks. However, all of these factions had one thing in common and that was their size and similar defense and attack formations. It wasn''t until later that day that all of them were declared as Haven Faction Outposts. Month 5, Week 3, Day 4: Haven''s outpost factions have started to gain a strong foothold in the cities they resided in and this caused a lot of dissatisfaction from other factions in the area. It was still within the manageable range during the first month but, it all changed when Haven started sheltering individual settlements full of supernatural beings. These beings were a decent source of income for some factions who made those settlements pay commissions and the fact that Haven had taken them under their care enraged many. Month 6, Week 1, Day 1: The Egyptian God of Chaos Set attacked Haven''s outpost in Cairo, but because Set didn''t try to hide his ?ssault on the outpost the forces in the outpost were able to fortify their defenses to handle the god''s attacks. The outpost was able to hold on at first but after 2 hours of constant defending eventually, the barriers collapsed and the base was defenseless. Many viewers believed the base was done for, but before Set could even step foot on the property [Enigma] and 4 cloaked individuals appeared before Set. Set being the god of Chaos he was, attacked [Enigma] and his group the moment he saw them and that lead to a 2-day long fight between Set and the forces of Haven. During this fight, it was revealed that the 4 cloaked individuals were in a fact humanoid dragon, a giant turtle, white tiger, and Phoenix. Each of them were close to the peak of ultimate rank and each of them ?ssisted [Enigma] in the fight. Month 6, Week 1, Day 2: On the second day of the fight seeing that things were getting out of hand due to all the damage the two sides caused [Enigma] cast a giant spell that encompassed the fighters and some viewers. All that was left was an empty space, and no one knew what to think of it but eventually, a ripple appeared in the sky, and out of that ripple came a badly injured Set. Month 6, Week 1, Day 3: 2 days have passed since the fight in Cairo with Set but, it was reported that Set not only suffered major injuries but also went into a state of suspended animation to prolong his life while having his subordinates slowly heal his wounds. Even with these conditions, it''s unlikely that he will wake up any time soon. Baffled by this news people started to wonder what happened during the fight, even going as far as to use mind magic to read the memories of those who say the whole fight. Unfortunately, when the results came out it was discovered that their memories were wiped and any knowledge on the fight was nowhere to be seen. Experts everywhere tried to regain these memories but in the end, couldn''t and many were forced to give up their hopes of finding out the truth. Month 7, Week 2, Day 1: A month had passed since Set''s attack on Haven, and once again smaller factions began to cease their opposition against Haven but there were still those who tried to hinder the growth of Haven. However, their resistance didn''t amount to much since people knew that unless a god level being ?ssisted them they could even dream of damaging Haven''s foundation. Some actually tried to receive ?ssistance from a good, but not all gods are as free as Set. Many of them had certain restrictions hindering them from interfering, so even if they wanted to help they could unless they were prepared to suffer the consequences afterward. Thus, in the end, no one was able to stop Haven, but this didn''t stop people from scheming against it. If they couldn''t get a god to help them than they''d just have to outnumber Haven and destroy any of their footholds on earth. While Haven did continue to run their businesses as normal, it became known to many that [Enigma] was nowhere to be found neither was the four cloaked beasts that ?ssisted him in the fight with Set. Month 7, Week 4, Day 3: Believing that a majority of Haven''s main fighting potential was unable to fight due to the injuries they sustained in the fight with Set, large bands of mages, rouge devils, and other supernatural beings started to make constant raids on Haven''s outposts. These teams consisted of peak high ranking fighters as well as a good number of ultimate ranks and they had one goal in mind which was to destroy Haven''s outposts. This plan seemed to be successful in the beginning, since they were able to breach the outpost''s defenses and kill or injure a lot of Haven''s personal, but before they could celebrate their success Haven reinforces came and it was anything but small. In each outpost location, there was a magic circle in the sky and each one released around 10 fully grown dragons, some of which carried around 500 soldiers. Alongside those soldiers were many beasts, elemental spirits, Shadow Clansmen, and even some ultimate class fighters with the ability to fly. All of them dropped from the sky and began their attacks on the enemy forces. The fight went on for hours but in the end, Haven was able to either capture or kill the intruders. Some of which were leaders of factions, and some were paid mercenaries, but in the end, they meet their match against Haven and were made prisoners. Month 7, Week 4, Day 6: It took 3 days for Haven personal to repair their outpost and manage the prisoners, but right as they were about to go and weed out the rest of the enemy factions, the Angel Faction one of the factions that previously didn''t interfere with worldly affairs made an announcement. The claimed to have given asylum towards the survivors of the enemy faction and stated that if Haven continued to pursue them that they would stop them. Apparently, some of the higher-ups in some of the factions requested asylum from the Angel faction stating Haven to be a power-hungry group of terrorist. With these claims along with Haven''s previous actions and their previous feud with Haven, the Angel faction did hesitate much with siding with the enemy faction over Haven. Many wondered what Haven''s next move was, but to their surprise, the first to make a move was not Haven but the Grigori. Azazel founder and acting Governor of the Grigori declared that if the Angel Faction were to fight against Haven than the Grigori would fight with them. After that factions from Egyptian Mythology, the Carmilla Faction, and many other small factions also stated their will to side with Haven. This left the Angel faction in a tough spot since if they fought there was a chance that they''d lose, but also that their fight might cause the peace in the world would be at risk. Some forces had even decided to side with the Angel faction in hopes of defeating Haven and the Grigori. At this point, things were about to reach the point of no return, and the Angel Faction didn''t know what to do. Should they go to war, or should they ruin their reputation and hand over the sheltered faction members, as they thought this Haven came out and declared something to the world? Month 8, Week 1, Day 2: Right, when people thought to prepare for the impending war Haven declared to the world that the Angel Faction can keep the sheltered factions, but in order to avoid a war, they must provide compensation for the damages they suffered in the attack 8 days ago. To many, this was Haven''s arrogance getting the better of them, but to a select few this was Haven giving the Angel faction a way out. Haven most likely didn''t want a war, but they also didn''t want their comrades'' deaths to be in vain. Thus they wanted compensation in order to compensate the families of the lost. Month 8, Week 1, Day 3: The Angel Faction agreed to the Haven''s deal but added the condition that Haven must stop their mercenary business, in hopes of causing any more unnecessary deaths. To the surprise of many Haven agreed after a moment of thought and both Haven and the Angel Faction signed a small treaty between the two factions. Ending their mercenary business was a mysterious move on Haven''s part is what many thought since other than mercenary work no one knew how they made their money. Some factions went into business, others controlled cities, and some even contributed towards the world economy. As far as many could tell Haven wasn''t part of any of these so now they wondered what their next move would be. be in vain. Thus they wanted compensation in order to compensate the families of the lost. Month 9, Week 1 - Week 4: In the month since Haven abolished their mercenary business Haven had gone silent only to now appear in the world again but this time it was not in the supernatural world but in the human world. Though they might have been under different names, there were many businesses that were traced back towards Haven. There were STEM research facilities that made major breakthroughs in science. Desert farming companies that provided food for not only major cities but also villages in Africa and other countries where people don''t get enough to eat. Ocean clean up groups that clean up trash from our shores and oceans to recycle and reduce ocean pollution. Bio companies that were finding new ways to reduce the worlds carbon footprint. Land restoration companies that are working to return land that was previously destroyed due to the influence of human activity. All those companies started off small but eventually blew up into major companies in the world. Even if there was some opposition in society they were still going on strong. There was a lot of support towards these companies, and they were constantly making changes to society so even if someone wanted to stop them it would be close to impossible for normal people to stop them. In fact when people in the supernatural world found out that the power behind them was Haven they were thoroughly shocked. Was this the same group of killers that caused many to cower in fear? How could they be the symbol of change in one world but the symbol of death in another? Many people couldn''t fathom what was happening, but by then Haven had not only become an influential force in both worlds. This change made everyone realize that Haven was no longer a small group and that it was now a strong faction that had not only power but also wealth. From this, it was decided that no one wanted to cause trouble for Haven since they knew that trouble would only befall them if they did. In the end, Haven had begun to leave its name in history as the faction that started an era of change one that would affect everyone. And to where that change will lead to nobody knows. Chapter 52 - Encounter in Kyoto Months have passed since Haven''s Capital got a major upgrade, and while that problem was out of the way, new problems soon popped up out of nowhere. The past few months were not only extremely busy but also very tiring at least mentally and while I did get a break every once and a while to visit family by the time I returned I would be stumped with even more work. No one told me being a King and a Faction Leader was such hard work. If it wasn''t for the new support staff I hired 3 weeks prior I might have collapsed from the excess amount of paperwork I was given. Thanks to them my workload has started to decrease tremendously and I even began having enough time to actually go to school. It must be known that the last time I actually attended a class was in my second year of middle school, and I''m currently in my first year of high school. Honestly, when I read the reports of how my doppelganger was doing in school I played it off like it was nothing but when I actually went to school it was totally different from what I was expecting. Same of for when I was in elementary school I was top of the grade in all subjects, and still, a loner but there was one thing I forgot to take into account. Though it might be narcissistic of me but I''m pretty handsome and stand out a lot because of my looks, but I never really saw it as something that would be so troublesome. Since I told my doppelganger not to make any unnecessary connections due to it not actually being me, my doppelganger thought that I wanted me to isolate myself from the rest of the school. These actions caused guys to hate me for both my looks and ''arrogance'' while girls even made a fan club for me giving me a title like [Prince] or something along those lines. These actions alone caused me sanity levels to drop by a lot and when I got home I had a major migraine bothering for the rest of the day. Naturally, though I was able to get used to this new environment and learn to accept it even if it was annoying before I knew it my first semester of high school was done and I was on break. Previously my plan before coming to Kyoto was to use the art school as a jump start for my mangas and other artworks to make some money which I did end up doing. However, in addition to my plan I was also meant to return to Kouh in the second semester of my first year of high school. This realization didn''t bother me much since I was a complete loner in school, but I was a little bumed since I had begun to actually like the city and even spent some of my afternoons in Kyoto''s downtown markets with the girls. Sadly however I been gone from home too long and I began to miss my family. While it''s true that I have been visiting them once every 2 weeks but the realization of visiting and actually living there were 2 totally different things for me. So for my last five days as a Kyoto resident, I have been spending my free time enjoying the Kyoto scenery with the girls, but since all of them had their own things to do I was usually only accompanied by one at a time. ---- ??? - Yu~ Yu~ Wake Up Yu~! Yu - *Low Groan* Good morning Kunou. Kunou - Yu let''s go already. Why was Kunou in such a hurry some might ask well it''s because I promised her I''d take her around Kyoto today even though it was my last day here before I leaving tomorrow morning? I''ve done this with her multiple time in the past but, usually, she''d tire herself out before we can even see a twentieth of the city. Thus while I have taken her to see most of the city she has yet to see Kyoto''s downtown shopping district. Unfortunately, I don''t know if she developed this due to being around me or if she already had it but she''s very impatient when she''s excited. This can be seen when I looked at my phone clock and it read 5:58 AM, when originally we were planning to leave at 7:00 AM. So rather than get up now I decided to get some extra hours of sleep. Yu - 10 more minutes... Yu - Ah! H-hey knock it off. Seeing that I was going back to sleep Kunou started hitting my cheeks. While it was hard and it didn''t really hurt at all it was annoying. Plus add the fact that she was loud caused my drowsiness to go away. Yu - Kunou quiet down you''re going to wake up Kuroka. Yesterday I explored the city with Kuroka and when we got back we took a bath and went to bed, but we didn''t cross any lines. Shirone and her had somehow made some kind of agreement while I wasn''t looking that completely left me blue balled. All I know is that there was a sparring match between the two and Shirone won. Kunou - She''s still sleeping look! Turning my sight from Kunou to Kuroka I saw that on Kuroka''s head was a set cat ear muffs that blocked sound. Yu - [How the-] Kunou - Come on let''s go~ Now she was trying to pull me out of bed. Since I didn''t want to wake up Kuroka I carefully extracted myself from her embrace, got out of bed, and decided to go and take a soak in the bath. Ignoring the subtle complains of Kunou I left my room and walked towards HGB''s built-in hot spring. When I got to the baths changing room I put my clothes in one of the baskets grabbed a towel and entered the bath. If I were to describe the hot spring it would be like any other hot spring you''d see on tv but occasionally you''d see golden statues scattered throughout the spring spewing water from their mouths. ---- ??? - Ara~ Yu did you also come to take a bath. Right as I was about to step into the hot spring I heard Yasaka''s voice when I turned to get a look I saw that both Yasaka and Shirone were already in the bath. If it was me a couple of months ago I''d probably try my best to keep a straight face but at this point in time, I''ve become used to this scene. Actually, for a while now both Yasaka and I have developed mutual feelings for one another after spending so much time together. Both of us know each other''s likes and dislike and it could be said that my relationship with Yasaka has reached the level of Shirone and Kuroka''s except for the fact that we don''t sleep in the same bed together. If we''re being honest however Yasaka and I might have even crossed a few lines if not for one major factor. Kunou - Mama! I''m here too! Yasaka - I see you Kunou there''s no reason to shout. Yup, it''s Kunou whenever one of us starts to set the mood for anything she somehow magically appears. This wouldn''t be a problem if I was shameless and didn''t care about her presence, but neither Yasaka nor I wanted her to be influenced by our actions. Yu - Is it just you two? Yu - It''s that time already...Huh. Ever since I began my work on curing Valerie''s damaged soul she''s always lived in the herb garden to help with her recuperation. Naturally, her injuries are already healed and everything but she grew to like the herb garden and made the gazebo her own special room. I didn''t have a problem with it but, soon after she started coming to me asking me to teach her how to refine medicine. When I agreed I gave her the basics of it first, to my surprise she had a lot of talent in this field. As for the herb garden, I couldn''t even consider it mine anymore since she took better care of it than I did. I was still allowed in but it just didn''t feel like my own garden anymore since she had made lots of changes to the plant layout. As I was thinking this I had already settled myself into the hot spring and was in a daze for a moment before I felt someone touch my shoulder. Yu - Hm...Shirone Shirone - You''re still using these things. Yu - Ya I kind of need to if I want to get stronger. The ''things'' Shirone was talking about were, in fact, golden chains used to restrict some of my skills. The reason for this was because during the fight with Set I reached the peak of high rank but couldn''t progress towards ultimate rank. The cause was that my body was special and as of this moment it was that of a human, but once I reach ultimate rank not only would I be able to use the primordial energy that was previously sealed but a lot of other benefits too. However, in order to gain these benefits not only did my control over mana and other energies need to be strong but my body needed to be faster, stronger, and more durable than other ultimate rank fighters. After a few tweaks in the sealing process I was able to seal all the skills recommended by the system and started to train myself once again. My stats themselves looked like this. ---- Name: Yu Hyoudou Race: Primordial Helix Bloodline: Primordial Bloodline (99%) Title: King of Haven Job: [Ancestral King] Sub Jobs: Blacksmith(Grandmaster), Rune Maker(Grandmaster), Cook(Advance), Medicine Refiner(Master) Level: 400 Strength - 500 Endurance - 500 Agility - 400 Intelligence - 500 Luck - 100 Energy Reserves: World Power: 6,000 Mana - 50,000 Life Force - 20,000 Spatial Essence - 10,000 Frost Essence - 10,000 Wind Essence - 10,000 Earth Essence - 10,000 Flame Essence - 10,000 Innate Bloodline Skills: - Genbu''s Defense (Sealed) - Suzaku''s Rebirth (Sealed) - Seiryu''s Wrath (Sealed) - Byakko''s Charge (Sealed) - Spirit Flames - World''s Eye - (New) Yin Yang Palm Innate Bloodline Abilities: - Void Demon Form (Sealed) - Domain (Sealed) - Spatial Movement (Sealed) - Telekinesis (Sealed) - Flight (Sealed) - (New) Dream World - (New) Battle Avatar Special Skills: - King''s Authority - Unlimited Blade Works - Sword Projection (Trace On) - Senjutsu [Max LvL] - Sword Force [Max LvL] - Time Alter [Max LvL] - Space Magic [Max LvL] - Sealing Magic [LvL 92/100] - Fire Magic [Max LvL] - (New) Energy Furnace - (New) Martial Comprehension - (New) Weapon Mastery - (New) Close Quarters Combat - (New) Earth Manipulation - (New) Water Manipulation - (New) Wind Manipulation Equipment: - Dual Deadshot Revolvers - Lost Blood - Fractured Excaliber - Gates of Babylon - Hanging Gardens of Babylon - 9-5 Brick - ?????? - ?????? ---- Shirone - ... Is getting stronger really that important? While I was looking at my stats Shirone asked me this question and my answer to it was Yu - Yes it is. If I''m not strong I can''t protect what''s important to me. The only reason I work so hard to gain strength is so I don''t lose what''s important to me whether it''s your guys my family or even Haven. From what I told everyone these chains were a form of training that restricted my strength but also help strengthen my body. Wearing them may cause some discomfort but it wasn''t enough that it affected daily life. In fact, if I wanted too I could release them any time I wanted to, but I would until the time was right. This choice wasn''t favored by many but after they saw that I wasn''t going to listen to their complaints they agreed abid reluctantly. *Buzz**Buzz* Yu - Time to get ready I suppose. While I did enjoy my times inside the hot spring, I could already hear my phone alarm going off in the changing room. This told me that it was 6:45 and that I should probably get ready to leave. Yu - Kunou come on let''s get ready to go. Kunou - Yay~ Yasaka - Ara maybe we should get out as well. Shirone - Nn... ---- After we all got out of the bath we changed clothes and Kunou and I separated from Yasaka and Shirone. They went to do their things somewhere in the castle and Kunou and I teleported into Kyoto. I teleported into my apartment in Kyoto while Kunou teleported in the apartment next door, and we both meet at the ground floor. From there, I noticed that Kunou was getting hungry since we both didn''t eat breakfast so I took her to a coffee shop not far from where we were. From what I could remember the shop was pretty popular so it was no surprise to me when I saw that it was pretty packed. After scanning the area a bit I noticed an open table by the window and made my way for it. However right when I had just put my hand on the chair another hand also touched the chair. When I raised my sights to match the other persons I saw that it was a girl with crimson red hair, and behind her was three other girls. One had a short bob cut and glasses, another had a high ponytail reaching all the way down to her legs, and the last girl in the back had glasses and heterochromic colored eyes. Yu - [Well I''ll be damned... Didn''t expect to run into these guys so quickly.] ---- Skills: [Yin Yang Palm]: - Obtained through bloodline awakening [Dream World]: - Obtained through bloodline awakening [Battle Avatar]: - Obtained through bloodline awakening [Martial Comprehension]: - combination of [Meditation], [Calm Mind], [Language Comprehension], [Parallel Thoughts], and [Shadow Boxing] [Weapon Mastery]: - combination of [Sword Mastery], [Polearms Mastery], [Bow Mastery], [Dagger Mastery], and [Gunslinger] [Close Quarters Combat]: - combination of [3 Dimensional Movement], [Close Combat], and [Gun-Kata] [Earth Manipulation]: - combination of [Gnome''s Blessing] and [Max Lvl: Earth Magic] [Water Manipulation] - combination of [Undine''s Blessing] and [Max Lvl: Ice Magic] [Wind Manipulation] - combination of [Sylph''s Blessing] and [Max Lvl: Wind Magic] Chapter 53 - Visiting Kyoto {POV Sona} My name is Sona Sitri I am a pureblood devil from the house of Sitri. Currently, I am attending high school in the human world with my childhood friend Rias Gremory as well as our 2 queens Tsubaki Shinra and Akeno Himejima. We both entered the human world for 2 main reasons, 1) to understand the world, and 2) to find promising servants. When a devil becomes a high-class devil they are allowed to have a peerage which can consist of 15 people or less depending on certain circumstances. As of right now, I have 5 servants while Rias has 3, but neither of us thought of it as a competition. These servants would be our support in the future so rather than choosing recklessly we are both looking for servants that can help us achieve our life goals. Usually, we wouldn''t have much access to the human world since we were heiresses of 2 powerful families but after a lot of persuasions, we eventually got the okay from our families. As of right now Rias and I are in our second year of high school and we would both inherit our families once we graduate college. For the next few years, we''d both try to accumulate enough knowledge to try and achieve our goals. Mine was to build a school where status didn''t matter and Rias''s was to step out of her families shadow. I had already begun my plans for my goal by joining the student council and also by learning about school management and such. As for Rias, however, her goal was a little more difficult than mine. In order to step out of the shadow of her family, she''d need both power and influence, 2 things she currently didn''t have access to. She obviously knew this but from what I could see she showed no emotions of being bothered by it she simply continued to try and live her life as a ''normal'' girl. An example of this is our current trip to Kyoto. Since we are in the second semester of our second year of high school our entire grade was allowed to visit Kyoto for a few days. When we learned the news many were excited, and many even began planning 2 weeks in advance for this trip. In our group of four, there was me, my queen Tsubaki, Rias, and her queen Akeno, and of the 4 of us, Rias was the most excited. Originally while I was excited to go to Kyoto I was also a little cautious of the city. When I first arrived in the human world, I researched any factions that were close to our school and the only faction I could find was the Haven faction found in Kyoto. Through my research, I learned of Haven''s existence as well as all their achievements. Even to this day I still have members from the Sitri house keep me well informed on the factions status. As of right now Haven was quiet and didn''t cause trouble with anyone but even so, I still had to be vigilant at the potential dangers. I thought Rias would take this into consideration when planning out our trip but the answer to that question was no. When we all looked at her map of the places she wanted to go to, I saw that besides the fact the whole thing was a mess was that some of the locations were even sites where the Haven faction had the most influence. When I told this to Rias she was confused at first since she never heard of the name Haven, but after I told her about it she also became vigilant. So while she was a little disappointed at the sudden change in schedule she accepted the fact that it was better to be cautious than negligent. After that was done I realized that we spent 5 hours talking and still haven''t done anything. Checking the time I saw that we had at most 4 hours before we were supposed to return to the hotel. Making sure not to waste any more time we ended our little meeting and tried to make the most of the time we had left. Sadly because we weren''t familiar with the city''s layout we got lost on our way from one sight to the other. In the end, we had to return to the hotel after seeing only 3 sights. ---- The next morning Rias, Akeno, Tsubaki, and I left the hotel when the teacher gave us the okay and we all decided to go to downtown Kyoto. The reason we decided to go towards downtown Kyoto was that not only was the influence of Haven was the weakest there, there were plenty of interesting sights there, and also there was a popular coffee shop there that caught my interest. Although I haven''t told anyone about it I do sometimes on my days off go and visit a local coffee shop in Kouh. At first I only went out of interest but eventually, I began to come more frequently since I liked the atmosphere. Because of this, I began to develop a soft spot for coffee and baked treats in my heart. So in the end, while we were planning for today I somehow got everyone to agree to go there. When we arrived at the coffee shop I wasn''t too surprised to see that it was packed since from online reviews I could tell this place was pretty popular. So we simply walked inside and tried to find a table but this proved to be better said than done. The place was very crowded and almost all the seats were taken. Rias - Ah! When I saw who it was I saw it was a boy. He had long light brown and grey hair, magenta colored eyes, and a handsome face. He was around 180cm tall and wore a brown jacket with a black shirt and blue jeans. From what I could tell he was lean but also well built. My personal opinion of this guy was that he was very handsome compared to all the other guys I''ve seen, but besides that had no real impression of him. Right now he showed a surprised expression towards us but, from my experience in events similar to this, I believed this was an act. There is no denying that everyone in my group was very beautiful however, this would always cause guys to try and get close to us because of looks. The same thing happened a couple of times yesterday and I really didn''t want to deal with this so early in the morning. Thinking that he was going to try something, I tried to tell Rias that we should come back later, but before I could someone else entered the conversation. ??? - Yu what''s wrong? The voice came from a young girl who looked no older than 10 years old and compared to the rest of us who were standing she was already sitting on a chair. Chapter 54 - Becoming a Tour Guide In all honesty, I didn''t want to come into contact with the existences that were Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri until I actually entered Kouh Highschool. Unfortunately, life had other plans for me, it wasn''t that I hated them or anything just that with them comes a whole lot of problems. Rias with her major goal of stepping out of her family''s shadow as well as her engagement with Riser Pheonix and Sona with her hopes of creating a school. Actually, with my current power, I could solve some of their problems right now but I just didn''t want to. Besides their own personal problems, one must also take into account their sis-con siblings. I have no clue on what they''re capable of but I know that Sirzechs if serious can intimidate a god with just his aura. That isn''t something I''m capable of doing yet so unless I can help it I''d hope to hold off on interacting with their little sisters. Sadly that ain''t going to happen since I decided to come to a very packed and popular coffee shop that just so happened to be the same shop that the 2 heiresses also decided to come to. Originally I planned to move to a different table but when I did I saw that the whole place was packed to the brim and the only seats were the six seats in front of me. So after a quick exchange of words, we decided to share the table considering there were no others available. Yu - [I gotta say though they are pretty hot.] From what I could see when I scanned their faces all of them were pretty attractive in their own ways. It almost made me want to solve their problems just so they can have a favorable impression on me, but that would expose me and take away their chances of growth. Only by living through their problems will they m?tur?. Yu - [Though... I''m not too sure about Rias.] With the whole fiance thing that''ll happen next year and the fact that her future power has dropped since I took Shirone as my own I feel like stuff is going to get tough for her. Yu - [Oh! and maybe Asia too, if she asks for my help that is.] Now that I actually think about it I might have f***ed things up for Rias and then considering the fact that if I let him my brother might join her side in the future..... I don''t even want to think about that now so I''ll only wait and see what happens and only intervene if I if see fit. While I was having that small conversation inside my mind, on the outside I was calmly having breakfast in the coffee shop with Kunou. Things were going fine but right as I was taking a sip of my coffee I heard Akeno say something that caused me to spit it back into the cup. Akeno - Hey Sona so what happened with that Hyoudou guy who was peeping at the girl''s locker room on the 3rd floor. Yu - *spitting* *Cough* *Cough* Sona was going to reply but since what I did cause a small scene Kunou and the other looked my way with weird gazes. Yu - *Cough* Excuse me *Cough* but did you just say some guy by the name Hyoudou was caught peeping inside a girls locker room. Ignoring their gazes I cleaned up the mess I made with some paper towels while also asking them a question. Sona - Yes but what does that have to do with you. Yu - Does he have brown hair and eye, friends with a bald dude and a nerd with glasses, and is his full name Issei Hyoudou? Sona - Ya..... Yu - [I knew he was going to end up a pervert the moment he became friends with Matsuda and Motohama but still. Hearing about the perverted deeds of your younger brother is very stressful.] Sona - Excuse me but who are you? and why do you know so much about the students of our school? Yu - Huh? Opening my eyes I turned my sights towards Sona who sat diagonally from me. She seemed to be asking me a simple question but I saw vigilance in her eyes. Letting out a small sigh I took out my phone opened my photo album and showed her a picture. Yu - My name is Yu Hyoudou and I''m the older brother of the idiot you just mentioned. The picture I showed them was a selfie of me, Issei, and little Tsukihime-chan when our family went camping 3 months ago. In the background, you could even see our parents by the campfire roasting marshmallows. Rias - Really your brothers but you look nothing alike? Yu - Well I''m adopted. After that, I asked Sona about what other kinds of trouble Issei''s been up to at school only to have a major migraine since the amount of trouble wasn''t little. To my surprise, however, my small inquiry about my brother''s school life lead to me and the girls having an hour-long talk. It wasn''t anything important just small talk. They told me they were on a school trip, and I told them I was a student in one of the schools in Kyoto. I even learned that Sona had just become Student Council President a few days ago. However, during our talk, I still kept my attention on Kunou since today was her day to tour the city but she seemed to be doing fine in the hands of Akeno who was feeding her small sweets. It wasn''t until an hour passed did I pay the bill and motion to Kunou that it was time to leave but, Kunou had different plans. Kunou - Hey me and Yu are going to tour downtown Kyoto do you guys want to come? Yu - !! Now Kunou they''re pretty busy and besides, we''ve already taken up enough of their time. Kunou - Please~~ It seems like Kunou has become attached to them since she was giving me those puppy dog eyes. She wasn''t really allowed to leave the castle without a guard or one of the girls but since many people in Haven understand the relationship between me and the girls or the fact that the guards can be pretty overbearing citizens tend to keep heir distance when she goes to town. Maybe interacting with Rias and the others was fun for her and I knew she would be a little depressed if I denied her request so, in the end, I could only give in since Kunou was better smiling than sulking. Yu -...Would you guys like to join us on our visit to Downtown Kyoto? Akeno - Ara~ are you asking 4 girls out on a date pretty shameless of you, isn''t it? Yu - I won''t deny that that is shameless but I have a girlfriend, and also I''ll only give you guys a tour if you hang out with Kunou here since she''s taken a liking to you guys. They thought about it for a while and eventually accepted my offer. It was probably due to the fact that I also told them that Kunou was the daughter of a friend of mine and didn''t usually get the chance to go out much. So for most of the day, I became a tour guide to a group of beautiful girls but when I thought of this I didn''t whether I should laugh or cry. Who would have thought that me a leader of a faction held in high prestige would become a tour guide, if my enemies saw this they would no doubt laugh at me till they pass out from running out of breath. However, in a way it wasn''t so bad Kunou seemed to be having fun, and since that was today''s objective I guess I could let it slide for today. Thus after visiting the coffee shop, I took them to see some local shrines and other popular tourist sights. Though watching the difference in all their reactions when they visited a new site was very amusing on my part. Rias acted like a kid in a candy store along with Kunou, Akeno calmly looked at the sights with a smile, Sona acted uninterested but her eyes would always wander off wherever we went, and as for Tsubaki she honestly was reading a book the entire time. Yu - You don''t really seem interested in visiting Kyoto do you? Tsubaki -...It''s not that I don''t care it just I used to live here when I was young so stuff like this doesn''t amuse me. Yu - Wait! If you already know the layout of Kyoto then why am I your guy''s tour guide couldn''t you guys do it yourself!? Tsubaki - I have....a bad sense of direction Though she tried to say it calmly I could hear the subtle bit of embarrassment in her tone causing me to laugh a little. ---- Remembering Akeno''s back story I came to the conclusion that this might have been her home as a child. At first, I wanted to ask her if she was okay since she was really lost in thought but before I could I felt a chill in the air. Using [World Eye] I scanned the area and found a dimly light figure floating around Akeno, it didn''t seem harmful to her so I didn''t attack it immediately. Allowing my thoughts to analyze the figure I came to the conclusion that it was a wandering spirit which was basically a person who died but left with deep resentment in the heart. These things were usually harmless and couldn''t leave the place where they died so most people just left them alone. However, if the spirit came into contact related to their resentment they would circle around it without being noticed. The only reason I could feel its presence as well as see the spirit was that my senses were higher than most allowing me to feel it and [World Eye] allowed me to view it. Yu - [Wait could that be...Nah can''t be....well it could be worth a shot I guess.] Quietly taking out a soul stone I ''borrowed'' from an enemy faction I used telekinesis to drag the spirit into the stone. If my hunch was correct that would be awesome if it wasn''t at least be able to practice one of my unused abilities. No one noticed what I did since it was done within seconds so taking this as a chance to leave I pointed the girls in the direction of their hotel and took Kunou home. All in all, she seemed to have fun since when I carried her my back she went to sleep with a smile on her face. I smiled at this as I walked back to my Kyoto apartment but, while I was walking one thought came to mind. Yu - [Wait! Wasn''t I trying to avoid contact with them?!] Chapter 55 - Love Under the Moon Bringing Kunou back my apartment complex I teleported into Haven and placed her in her bed before I left her to her dreams. Afterward, since I wasn''t tired I made my way to the highest tower in Hanging Garden''s of Babylon and gazed at the moon. I had made this a habit of mine over the years and for me gazing at the moon has become a time where I can leave myself to my thoughts. Usually, it would be about my work as Haven''s King, my life as a member of the Hyoudou house, or even my love life. The only difference between those times and this time, however, was that I thought of the changes I made and what would become of the future. Though it this isn''t the first these thoughts appeared in my head but seeing Rias and the others today made me wonder about the future. Would I stay on Earth and continue being a King or will I venture out and continue to grow. Through the system, I knew that once I reached a certain level of strength I could release myself from the constraints that bind me to this world and venture out into the universe but is that what I want. I just don''t know the answer on hand I wish to stay and create a family with the people I''ve come to love, but on another hand, I want to have the strength that can make it so no one would dare harm those close to me. ??? - Deep in thought. Yu - Hm~? While I was having my own little monologue I heard a voice behind me and when I turned around I saw Yasaka holding a silver tray with a teapot, 2 cups, and a blanket. Seeing that she got my attention she walked beside me she placed the tray on the railing and then placed the blanket over my shoulders. Yasaka - For some reason, I knew you''d be up here tonight. To this, she placed a cup before me and started pouring me some tea. Even if I''ve already seen it multiple times her elegant movement still captivates me to this day. Yu - What a surprise I was actually getting thirsty. Yasaka - So how was your day out with Kunou? When I stopped by to tuck her in she was already fast asleep with a smile on her face. Yu - Oh~ nothing much it''s just that your daughter became really good friends with the little sisters of the demon kings Lucifer and Leviathan as well as their two queens. Yasaka - What! Yu - Hahaha She must have taught I''d take about something normal that''s happened today since when I told her the truth she almost spat out her tea. Watching this could help myself from laughing which caused her to pout. Yu - Oh fine come here I''m sorry. Giving her a simple apology I brought her into my embrace and showing me no sense of resistance she snuggled up in my arms. Yu - You are really too good for me you know that. ---- Out of all of my women around me, it isn''t wrong to say that Yasaka has been the one that supported me the most these past few years. Whether it was helping me out with managing Haven or even just being there to talk to she was always there. In the past Kuroka and Shirone tried to help me as well but they just weren''t cut out for office work and rather than burdening them with talking about problems with Haven I''d much rather just hang out with them as a teenager rather than a ruler. Then there was Valerie while I could tell that she had already gotten over the fall of the Tepes faction she still looks for her childhood friend Gasper. It is true that I do know that Gasper''s safe, but that isn''t through any reliable source mainly through watching the anime so I can''t really reveal it without it causing suspicion. I know she has feelings for me but, because of her worry about her friend she hasn''t pursued those feelings and I wasn''t going to push her if she wasn''t ready. At most I teach her medicine refining as a way to ease her worries. An finally there was Irina. We haven''t talked since we separated and, this fact saddens me the most since she was the first girl I''ve come to care about since coming to this world. There have even been times where I tried to visit her in England but with my past stunt in their pocket realm, all exorcist in training now aren''t allowed to leave the realm unless they were on a mission. As for the pocket, realm security has gone up tremendously, so much so that even Super rank Angels guarding the entrance. ---- Yasaka - You know Yu... Snapping myself out of my thoughts I turned my focus towards Yasaka who turned around an was now facing me. Her voluptuous br??sts were pressed against me and her delicate hand placed above my heart. Her face was a little flushed and her eyes were half closed making her expression very seductive. Yasaka - Most men don''t know what they have until it''s gone. Don''t you think it''s time we... Though she quieted her tone near the end of her sentence I was able to hear perfectly and even understand what she meant. We were both alone in a tower that only my women and I were allowed access too and the usual ???k block (Kunou) was sleeping peacefully in her room. I would be a fool if I didn''t know what she meant so without saying another word I wrapped my hands around her and gave her a kiss. At first, it was tame but soon things started to escalate. She accepted everything and a fire started to burn in my lower abdomen. Yasaka - Be gentle with me okay... Yu - Don''t worry. Saying this I gave her a kiss as I lowered her to the ground, and thus under the cover of the moon Yasaka and I performed our own union in private. ---- [Under the influence of the ***** authority royal consort [Yasaka] has been bestowed the Divine Protection of the *****. However, due to host not having a full understanding of this authority the effects are diminished] Chapter 56 - Authority *Ding**Dong* ??? - Attention passengers the train will be leaving in 5 minutes-- In the background, I could hear the voice of the train workers through the speakers but soon ignored it. Instead, I rested my head against my chair while a small grin appeared my face. The reason for this was because I was remembering last nights union with Yasaka. Sadly besides my memories, the lingering feeling in my palms, and the scratch marks on my back all evidence of what we did was cleaned up by Yasaka. While I had no problem with people knowing I had s?x with Yasaka last night, Yasaka had to disagree saying things like our love life should be kept private and that other people didn''t need to know about it. I thought her words made sense but when I saw her flushed face I couldn''t help myself from teasing her say that I would make today a special holiday on Haven''s new calendar. To this Yasaka''s movements froze and her face became that of a tomato causing me to laugh. Hearing my laugh caused Yasaka''s embarrassment to reach its peak and she ended up punching my ?h?st before running out of the tower while shouting to the top of her lungs that I was an idiot. The punch hurt a bit but I laughed it off since I got to see the calm and m?tur? Yasaka act like an embarrassed child. After that, my morning was pretty normal, other than taking a bath in the hot spring, I meet up with the others and had breakfast, and went to my study to finish up a few things before I had to leave. Around the time noon came, I gave all my women a kiss before teleporting out of Haven and into Kyoto only to carry a small bag over my shoulder as I walked towards the train station. Yesterday could be said to have been my last day in Kyoto since a week ago I filed the paperwork necessary for me to transfer back to Kouh. When I told my family they were happy to hear that I was coming back home and told me they would come to pick me up at the train station. If not for this I might have just teleported to Kouh but going on a train wasn''t a problem since I had little to no sleep last night. When I opened my eyes instead of being inside the train I found myself floating inside a dark void, and while I could only see it faintly there was something in front of me. Yu - Hm what the?! Similar to when I first entered this world I could fully control my body. It wasn''t that I lost my body since I could still feel my connection to both my body and Haven. This calmed me down a bit before I started to make out what I was looking at. The object in front of me was a round tile and it had a faint image on it but from the looks of it, it was cracked. The more I focused on the tile the clearer the image on the tile became. After an unknown amount of time what I saw was a person sitting on a thrown. I couldn''t tell the gender since the person had a helmet on, but in his right hand was clad in mist, while his left hand rested upon an elegant sword stabbed into the ground. The person wore plated armor seeing this I could only comment that this guy was an imitation of proto saber from the fate series (A/N: Here''s a picture of proto saber - i.pinimg.com/originals/16/aa/91/16aa91790c5e8304dc95737b91892b9b.jpg) After getting a good look at the tile I tried to comprehend what it means but when I did felt a suction force pulling me away. The last thing I saw before I disappeared was the tile as well as 3 other broken tiles further back. ---- When my clarity returned I didn''t open my eyes since I could already tell from the noises that I was back on the train. Instead I continued to look asleep but in reality, I was talking with my system. Yu - [System what was that just now? Why was my conscious suddenly transported into the dark void?] *Ding* [That was not a void that was Host''s deep conscious. It is located at the bottom of Host''s sea of conscious usually normal people have nothing there but it seems Host has begun to manifest an authority.] Yu - [Hold up I''m going to need a refresher course on this authority you mentioned since I don''t know what it is.] *Ding* [Auhority is not something the system can grant Host, however, the system can grant skills that Host can turn into authorities. The meaning of the ability called authority is a power that the user has comprehended beyond normal means and turned it into something stronger. Usually, these powers are powered by godly divinity, law comprehension, or even primordial energy but since these type of energy aren''t common the amount of people capable of manifesting authorities is low.] Yu - [But I still haven''t unlocked my primordial energy how can I manifest an authority.] *Ding*[Take is as a sign that Host is close to breaking through into ultimate rank. Through the system''s analysis Host has already reached the required physical as well as magical limit need but for some reason Host has not unlocked that last 1 percent of Host''s bloodline.] Yu - [Well I can''t say anything there I don''t even know how to unlock my bloodline.] My body isn''t the only thing that I trained over these years I also tried to awaken my bloodline using methods I found either in the system or even in the world but all were useless to me. When I knew they wouldn''t work I could only reluctantly give up since the answer to awakening my bloodline was a mystery. Yu - [So do you know what type of authority I have?] *Ding*[From what the system was able to analyze as well as the knowledge of authorities God has bestowed the system Host''s authority is similar to a blessing type authority. It is one of the more simple authorities that one can manifest. An example can be the guardian spirits blessing to their respective races as well as God''s divine blessing.] Yu - [Kinda hoping for a combat-like authority but I guess this is okay too.] Thinking about it now [King''s Authority] does have something similar to a blessing. It was the ability it got from the [Title Grant] skill. Although I haven''t put much attention into this ability I do use it instinctively whenever I grant one of my subjects a position of power. When this happens the subject I granted a title to will have a boost in their strength if they are around me, inside my territory, or even if they are fighting in my name. Usually, whenever I used [King''s Authority] it was mostly for the unit management ability and because of this, I neglected the benefits of the title grant ability. But now that I actually focus on it I realized my mistake. Yu - [Looks like I''ll have to start studying all my skills again when I have the time...wait system when I was in my deep subconscious I saw 3 other tiles. Could those also be authorities?] *Ding*[As of right now they are only a fragment of an authority but it is no doubt that they could be a proper authority if Host can complete them.] Yu - [Fragments? So does that mean that you can''t tell me the type of authority or even its ability?] *Ding* [Correct but what the system was able to analyze 1 of the fragments is based off of a concept while the other two are still unknown.] Yu - [Concept huh...Why do I feel like the system is just giving me information on stuff I''m not ready for] Chapter 57 - Returning Home When I was first told that my family would come to welcome me at the train station I thought it was going to be a simple welcoming. You know my friends and family waiting by the entrance maybe even have a sign saying ''welcome back'' that sort of thing. Unfortunately, that wasn''t what I saw when exited the train station. While I did see my family and friends they were all doing anything but welcoming me home. I don''t know how it happened but Issei, Matsuda, and Motohama we being beaten up by a group of women. Kiriyuu was nearby recording the whole thing while laughing, and Murayama an Katase were shaking their head watching everyone. As for my parents, they were covering my little sister''s eyes while facing away from all the carnage. Yu - [What the hell is going on?!] I mean I could sort of make out what happened just by hearing the girls repeat the words pervert as they punched and kicked the guys. So this could give people the idea the pervert trio did something perverted to offend a large number of girls. After analyzing the situation a little I could only sigh while deciding, in the end, to help them out of their predicament. Yu - [Ok time to act like a raijuu. Let''s do this.] Planning out my next few moves I fixed my hair and clothes while walking up to the group of girls with a small yet charming smile. Yu - Excuse me, young ladies, I don''t know what these guys did but if this continues they could get seriously injured. Girls - WHAT DO YOU!...Hello, who are you? When I first spook out to them they looked at me with scorn and yelled at me but instantly changed their tone when they saw my face. Yu - Although you might not believe it this is my brother and his friends. However, if they have offended you I will apologize on their behalf. Finishing my sentence I put my right hand over my heart and lowered my head a few degrees. Though this couldn''t be considered a real apology with my looks and the way I acted I was able to cause all the girls to be dazed by my little act. Eventually, one of the girls snapped back into reality and took a step closer to me with a blush. Girl 1 - No no it''s fine you don''t have to apologize. Girl 2 - ...Ya it''s not your fault Yu - [Of course it''s not I just want to help out my brother.] Yu - Thank you for understanding. Well, it''s getting pretty late I should probably take these guess home before that cause any more trouble. All the Girls - Take care~ Shaking hands with one of the girls I walked past the crowd and helped the guys up while dragging them away from the crowd. Once we were out of the group''s sight I removed the fake smile on my face and faced the perverted trio in front of me. Issei - Aniki you really helped us out there. Matsuda - Ya you the man! Motohama - It would have been bad if things escalated any further you have my thanks. ---- At first, they didn''t want to talk but after letting out a bit of my aura they sang like a canary. It first started a couple of days ago when Kiriyuu officially became Issei''s girlfriend along with Murayama and Katase (what took him so long to get her I don''t know). Seeing this Matsuda and Motohama pressured Issei into helping them find a girlfriend because unlike Issei who wants to have a harem Matsuda and Motohama think it''s a nice fantasy but are okay with only one girlfriend. So for the past few days, all three of them have been out trying to find Matsuda and Motohama a girlfriend. However, what they didn''t account for was the fact that Issei only got Murayama and Katase as his girlfriends through Irina and my help. As for Kiriyuu, I don''t know how he got her, but either way, Issei had little to no experience picking up girls so all their efforts didn''t work and the hate them rather than date them. Then when they came here to pick me up they tried to see if they could make any success here, but to their surprise, one of the girls they tried to pick on was someone who already hated them. An to make matters worse it just so happened that a lot of girls they tried to pick up previously were at the train station today (talk about bad luck). One thing leads to another they started arguing and during the argument, Matsuda made fun of a teenage girl for having a flat ?h?st compared to her friend''s huge ?h?st (bad move dude). This caused the girls to be outraged and gang up on the perverted trio until I came along and defused the situation. ---- Matsuda - *Sigh*, In the end, we couldn''t even get a single girl''s number. Yu/Issei - That''s what you''re worried about?!?! Murayama - I swear your shamelessness never ceases to amaze me. Katase - But it does always disgust us. Seriously shouldn''t you know by now what not to say in front of women or did your recent beating mess with your brain? Matsuda - Why you! Instead of watching Matsuda argue with Murayama and Katase I focused my attention on my family who arrived along with the girls. Yu - I gotta say not much of a welcome party but at least it''s the thought that counts. Dad - You''ll have to blame your brother for that. Issei - Ya sorry about that Aniki. Yu - It''s fine at least I got a laugh out of it. Tsukihime-chan - Yu onii-chan Yu - Hm? What''s wrong Tsukihime-chan Crouching down so my eyes could meet with Tsukihime-chan''s I saw her pulling out a small box from the bag she was carrying. Placing the box in front of me I took it in my hands I opened the box to find a homemade chocolate cupcake. However, on top of the cupcake were the words ''Welcome Home Onii-chan'' written in purple frosting. ---- After that, we all went back to our house for a small welcome home party. It wasn''t grand or anything we all just sat together talking about what we''ve all been up to. Originally I wanted to use this time to question Issei and his friends about the information Sona gave me but seeing that they were already beaten up by a group of girls today I decided to hold my interrogation on a later date. By the time 8 o''clock rolled up, our friend had already left, and as Mom was going to take Tsukihime-chan to bed she passed by me and said. Mom - I don''t know who she is but, you should at least introduce us to your girlfriend rather than hid her from us. Yu - !?!?...Come again... Her words struck me like a thunderbolt since I technically was hiding women from my family but I never left any clues implying that I had a girlfriend to my family. I tried to see if I heard wrong by asking her to repeat her words, but she said nothing towards my question and simply walked Tuskihime to her room. Dad - I''m surprised you didn''t notice but at least I know you were enjoying your time in Kyoto. Yu - What do you mean. Like Mom he said nothing, but unlike Mom, he gave me a clue by pointing towards his neck. Yu - Dammit Yasaka! No wonder Shirone and the others were giving me awkward looks at breakfast! Saying this in a low tone that only I could hear, I swore that I would ''punish'' Yasaka when I saw her again. Chapter 58 - Kuoh Highschool and Possible Awakening 5 Days passed since I moved back in with my family in Kuoh and those days should have been peaceful and they were for the first day but after that, it was nothing but trouble. Originally the plan was to wait until school started back up so I can start a normal-ish school life, but because of a mistake on my part, I ruined all chances of that happening. The next morning during breakfast Mom and Dad both pestered me about my girlfriend, and wouldn''t stop until I finished my breakfast and left the kitchen. This went on for 5 days and only stopped after I showed them a picture of me and Shirone at the top of Kyoto Tower. Since they got what they wanted they stopped pestering me and only said to bring her home sometime. Seeing this I wondered why I didn''t do that earlier but later ignored it because what''s done is done. ---- Mom - Issei! Yu! Wake up you two you''re going to be late for school!! Yu/Issei - 5 more minutes... Mom - Get up!! Both of you!! Yu - *Groan~* fine I''m up... Issei - ...*Snore~* Mom - Issei! Seeing that Issei wasn''t getting up Mom pulled out a rag from her apron and started hitting Issei in the face with it causing him to wake up startled. To this, I couldn''t help myself from laughing. As Mom said both Issei and I had school today, but last night Issei came to my room asking me to help him with some homework he forgot to do only to crash out on my desk at midnight. As for me, my night didn''t stop at midnight, right when I was going to bed I got a call from one of my friends. Basically, he just bought a house in Kuoh and was calling cause he was having housewarming party with some of his other friends. He tried calling me earlier but since I was tutoring Issei I had my phone off. When I got this small bit of information I had 2 thoughts in mind, to either go to bed and prepare for school tomorrow, or have a nice night out with friends. Honestly, that thought entered my mind for a millisecond before I immediately used space magic to teleport out of the house. Ever since coming to this world I only really went to school to relax from my king duties, or to have a change of scenery. I never really thought of it as a place to learn since anything I tried to learn will be mastered after 2 or 3 hours of studying. Because of this, I needed almost no effort in maintaining my grades even if I didn''t listen in class. In short last night, I snuck out of the house to a party, had fun, drank a little, and then snuck back into my room at 5:30, 1.5 hours before Mom would usually come to wake Issei and me up. After mom came to wake us up, both of us got dressed and did the basic morning routine we went downstairs. Mom - Hurry up you''re going to be late, eat on your way there! Saying this Mom handed both of use a piece of toast and a lunchbox pushing us out the door. After that, we started running while eating our toast since school started in 11 minutes and the journey from home to school was around 8. ---- Issei - *Exhausted breathing* W-woohoo...we made it! Yu - Ya with 5 minutes to spare come on. Since we were in a rush both of use sprinted towards school and by the time we got there we were earlier than expected but, Issei was exhausted was trying to catch his breath. Since I didn''t know how long it would take for his to recover I simply dragged him into the school and left his with Motohama and Matsuda who also b?r?ly made it on time. Once I dropped off Issei I made my way towards the teacher''s lounge and handed in the necessary paperwork needed to complete my transfer. Yu - Excuse me. Walking into the teacher''s lounge I found that it was almost empty with only one 50-year-old teacher sitting at his desk. Teacher - Hello young man who might you be? Yu - My names Yu Hyoudou I''m the new transfer student from Kyoto. Teacher - I see give me a minute. Saying this he walked over to one of the shelves on the wall and started looking through some papers until he found the one he wanted. Teacher - Ah! I see Yu Hyoudou class 1-C you were transferred here over the break so not many teachers know about you yet. I hope you can understand. Yu - It''s fine. Teacher - Well then here''s your schedule and let me take you towards your homeroom class. Following him out of the teacher''s lounge he gave me a quick rundown on the layout of the school until we arrived at my classroom. He told me to wait a while, while he went inside to inform my new teacher. After a few short minutes, he came back outside and left after welcoming me to Kuoh high school. Following that I heard my teacher welcoming me into the classroom, there I saw a middle-aged man in a suit standing before a class of 25 students. Teacher - Care to introduce yourself. Yu - Oh um my name is Yu Hyoudou I just moved back home from Kyoto, I''ll be in your care for the year. After introducing myself I was pointed towards my seat which was in the back near the door, and on my way there I was looked upon by everyone. The girls showed expressions of intrigue and affection, while the boys looked at me like I was their enemy. Ignoring the gazes of the crowd I sat down in my seat, but as I sat down I saw an abnormality in the corner of my eye. Directly diagonal from me was a blond guy, he didn''t give me death stares like the other guys, rather he had a calm air around him. He was good looking and from what I could see was well built, but that wasn''t what caught my attention. Although it was faint there was a small amount of mana coming out of his body. Yu - [To think that the first devil I see in school would be Kiba.] That thought entered my mind before it immediately vanished from my mind as I returned focus towards the teacher who resumed his lecture. ---- After that other than getting swarmed by a group of girls which was honestly annoying the rest of the day was okay. I meet up with Issei and the others at lunch, beat them up when they tried to enter the girl''s locker room before gym class, participated in class, pick up Tsukihime from daycare, and then eat dinner with my family. A completely normal day is what I''d call today, however, later that night as I was talking to Shirone on my phone when I felt a small burst of energy coming from Issei''s room. Yu - Shirone... I''ll have to call you back something just happened. Hanging up my phone I used space magic to take a peek at what was going on. There I saw Issei sleeping in his bed while drooling, but if you looked at his hand it was glowing emerald green. Yu - [Could it be Ddraig is walking up earlier than expected.] Originally in the Canon Ddraig was supposed to communicate with Issei in his second year of high school, but right now he was only in his first year. There was still 5 months from then and now. Unsure of what to make of this development I continued to see what Issei''s reaction would be but sadly nothing happened and eventually the emerald glow faded away. A few minutes after the glow disappeared I teleported into Issei''s room and tried to find any changes in Issei''s body. After a quick diagnostic, I found a faint mana signature coming from Issei''s left arm. However, compared to human mana this mana signature was similar to dragon mana the dragons in Haven use to perform magic. The only difference was that this aura was faint yet you could sense the power it contained. Yu - [Ddraig really deserves to have his Heavenly Dragon title even though this is only a piece of his soul it still allows its user to use amazing power...but this power comes at a cost. Right now if I left this unattended Issei could be in danger. The most I can do now is hide this aura.] Forming a suppression rune out of magic I placed it on Issei''s head and the mana signature coming from Issei vanished. What I did was rather than sealing Issei''s sacred gear I instead put a high-level suppression rune on him which will hide his mana as well as Ddraig''s from being detected by anyone besides me. This way it allows Ddraig to continue communicating with Issei. I also hope that Ddraig will try to help Issei get stronger if he chooses to walk down the path similar to the one in the anime. If he does I might invite him into Haven or let him do his own thing after all it''ll be his choice in the end. Chapter 59 - Midnight Meditation 3 weeks have passed since the night Ddraig tried to contact Issei and this continued on till this day, but sadly Issei has yet to notice him. Though this fact disappointed me a little it wasn''t like I hoped that they would make contact immediately. Since I didn''t yet know the concept of Sacred Gears I couldn''t really blame him for not awakening his Sacred Gear so I just continued to watch over him. Then although the progress with Issei hasn''t yet progressed, my school life on the other hand has. Though it wasn''t at the level of being a true friend I didn''t, in fact, make my own group of friend that I talked to on a daily basis, and one fact that I didn''t expect at first was the fact that I even became friend with Kiba. It was pretty sudden to be honest, one day while I was wondering the school ground I found him practicing his swordsmanship in the kendo hall. Being a fellow Swordsmen like him one thing lead to another and we ended up sparing. I won in the end but I kept my skills within the human limit and so did Kiba. During our practice, I even pointed out some flaws in his stances the way he swung his sword and other things. I did this for two reasons actually one was because I thought I could get Kiba as an ally, and the other reason was because of my influence the combat power of Rias and her team isn''t as strong as it was in the anime. So training Kiba was a way of paying Rias even if she didn''t know. Sadly, however, my sparring sessions didn''t go unnoticed by Rias and even though she hasn''t come up and talked with me personally I know that she''s had Kiba try and probe where I learned my swordsmanship and other stuff. To this, I answered that most of my techniques were self-taught and that I mostly got the basics from when I was in a dojo back in primary school. What I didn''t expect though was that this caused Rias''s interest in me to raise. She probably thought I could be a good servant candidate for her but, even if she asked me I would refuse because I have no plans being under someone weaker than me. I''ll admit Rias is hot but, not so hot that I''d do anything for her since I have many beautiful women back in Haven. Though in the end, I don''t mind having contact with Rias since it gives me a way to calmly get in touch with Sirzechs. Actually a couple of months ago I got some intel from my friends in Egypt that someone I was looking for was probably hiding within one of the devil factions forbidden areas. Unfortunately, I already tried breaking into those areas a while back but, it was just like with my trip to England a couple of months ago to heavily guarded. So rather than busting my ?ss trying to get into a place that probably doesn''t even have the person I''m looking for I''d rather get legal entry to look into all their sites from the man in charge. I just got to make Rias owe me one or more favors and before you know it I''d already get my entry. Hell, I might even use Rias''s engagement party as leverage to get that pass. Am I evil? maybe a little but it''s not like I''m some hypocrite that believes he''s always right and that everything I do is in the name of justice. Besides I can wait a few years to find that person anyway, he''s important but not so important that I must bring him to my side. If things go wrong I might just seal him in the place I found him since from what I heard from the other he was known for having a short temper and anger problems. ---- (Present Day) Currently, it was around midnight and everyone was already asleep but I was wide awake. In truth, I didn''t really need to sleep every day but I still did since it helped me mentally. Yet today seemed different even if I wanted to sleep I couldn''t so rather than continue tossing and turning in my bed I decided to meditate on issues that I originally put on hold. Disappearing from my room I found myself not in Haven but on top of a baby blue colored pillar. Surrounding this pillar were four other pillars. In the north was a blackish blue pillar with a statue of a turtle on it. In the south was a vermillion collared pillar with a phoenix on top. The eastern pillar was an azure colored pillar with a Chinese dragon on top. Then the western pillar was white with a tiger on top. Swirling above my head were 4 orbs, their colors were, dark purple, yellow gold, black, and grey. The yellow gold orb had a sacred aura around it, while the dark purple had a sinister aura around it. As for the other 2 orbs, I could feel nothing from them. After seeing this I focused my vision further past the pillars with statues and saw more pillars. There was 5 in total but only 4 had colors, red, blue, green, and brown. The last one was clear like glass. Above the orbs floating in the sky, there were rusty metal gears, while on the ground was a floor littered with swords. This weird space was the current form of my reality marble [Unlimited Blade Works] and it was the first place I went to when I wanted to meditate or go into closed door training. How it got this way I don''t know, but I believe it has to do with the blood in my veins and the energies I use. Time in here goes 10 times slower than in the real world and I thought I''d need this time since just based on my intuition I felt like I would make some breakthrough if I went into seclusion right now. ---- 12 minutes passed in the real world while 2 hours passed for me and the main thing on my mind was currently my personal strength. Though the system has told me that I''m currently at the peak of high rank in truth my power far surpasses that. Low to mid-tier ultimate rank that would be the level, I''d estimate myself but for some reason, the system won''t acknowledge my strength to that level. In the past, this bothered me, but the current me see it as reasonable. Originally I thought the system wanted me to awaken my bloodline to reach ultimate rank but that was wrong. In truth my strength is already in the ultimate rank it but that is only with the help of my skills, [Genbu''s Defense], [Suzaku''s Rebirth], [Seiryu''s Wrath], [Byakko''s Charge], and all my other abilities and skills but without them I had no chance against those in higher tiers than me. It was then after that conclusion that I remembered the wish I made when I asked for the system. To put it in clearer words I wanted a system that would help me grow. The key word in that sentence was the word [Help], and after some thinking, I realized that one day when I no longer needed the ?ssistance of the system it would go away. Following the system would be the skills I possessed, but there was a way to keep the skills with me even if I no longer had the system and that was to train my skills without the system''s ?ssistance. That was the main reason I sealed my abilities. Originally this was just a hypothesis, but this idea soon became a fact when I saw my bloodline awaken faster every time I made a breakthrough in my mastery over a skill. So for the past few months, I trained my bloodline skills and abilities the most since I believed them to be the most important and mastered 4 skills. These skills were [Spirit Flames], [World''s Eye], [Yin Yang Palm], and [Dream World]. Of the three skills [Spirit Flames] was the easiest to master since I had used it every time I refined medicine which gave me a decent understanding of how to use it. [World''s Eye] was more of a perception ability that relied on my senses so after a few weeks I mastered it but, sadly the mana consumption of my version of [World''s Eye] was 10 times more than the system''s. And then [Yin Yang Palm] which rather than a skill it was more like a technique that balanced out the good and bad energies of the world and turned it into a spiritual attack. For that skill I cheated a little by focusing on the [yin yang core] in my ?h?st, this core stabilized the opposing energies in my astral body keeping from exploding. So after a few days of focusing on the cores basic functions, I mimicked them to a certain degree and, after a month of practice made basic mastery of this skill. As for the last skill [Dream World] if I were to give an example of this skill it would be the Sharingan''s Tsukuyomi. While not as good as the original I can cause anyone within 30 meters from me to fall into an illusion trapping anyone who wasn''t stronger than me for about 1 hour. Sadly besides those 4 skills, my other bloodline skills made little to no progress. [Void Demon Form] literally changed the constitution of my body which was something I could replicate easily. [Domain] allowed me to view my surrounding easily but it failed to catch minor details. [Spatial Movement] required me to use the void as a foothold to get from point A to B but, without the use of [Void Demon Form] stepping into the void was hard. My [Telekinesis] could pick up small things but that was only if it was lighter than a few grams and no bigger than a few inches. And lastly [flight] while it is possible to use mana or wind manipulation to create a foothold in the air I wanted to find a way to fly without using them as I did previously but, regrettably I have found no solution to this problem. As for the skill [Battle Avatar], it is said to be a limit breaking skill but even with the system''s ?ssistance, I can''t seem to be able to use it so I left it unsealed in hopes that I can find out its capabilities in a later date. Strangely enough though while I was able to measure the progress of those skills, I couldn''t measure the progress of [Genbu''s Defense], [Suzaku''s Rebirth], [Seiryu''s Wrath], and [Byakko''s Charge]. Since they were mostly passive abilities that could raise my body''s capabilities no matter how hard I tried to improve them I felt like I was going somewhere with them but at the same time going nowhere. In the beginning, I tried to improve them by improving my body physically but that was wrong I found that out after wasting a month on physical training before feeling that what I was doing lead me nowhere. Left with no other choice I consulted the system and came to the conclusion to refine my body once more as I did in the underworld all those years ago. Along with that idea, I created a new body refining cultivation method (with the systems help and a lot of system points) out of my old method [Life and Death Spiritualization]. The difference from this one and my version was that the refining didn''t require a specific type of energy sources like the previous one with life force, and demonic energy. Afterward, the only problem left was what materials would I use to refine my body. I couldn''t use materials from my guardians since they were created from drops of my blood thus having similar DNA to me making anything I used from them to refine would just be a waste of time. In the end, I both bought materials from the system shop, as well as gathered suitable materials from the outside world. Still, while it did take some time to gather in the end, I was able to gather up materials similar to the 4 divine beasts whose blood was mixed into mine. Descendants from the Vermillion Pheonix, White Tiger, Black Turtle, and Azure Dragon even if they passed on over a millennia ago their descendants still carry a part of their genes. Using those I tried to alter the genetic composition of my body so that I can use these traits. The only cost was that while my body looked like a normal human body it was anything but a human body. Furthermore for some reason when I finished ?ssimilating the genes into my body 4 opposing energies formed in my body or to be more exact my arms, legs, ?h?st, and back. Usually my yin yang core would be balancing these energies but, strangely enough, it couldn''t. I tried to balance them out personal a few time and was able to succeed but whenever I lost focus they would separate once more, but I didn''t give up. The more I tried to balance them out the easier it became the next time and I thought it wouldn''t be long before I would be rid of this issue. Even to this day, I try to balance these energies when I have some time to spare only to get the same result. However, today was different for some reason. My body was hot, and my mind wouldn''t stop wondering because of this I couldn''t sleep and eventually decided to once again try and perform the task that''s preoccu[ied me these past few months. The only thing didn''t expect was that while originally this task seemed harmless, it would actually cause not only the earth but even the Underworld and Heaven to fall into a state of panic. Chapter 60 - Divine Damnation and Failure 30 minutes was the shorts amount of time I needed in order to balance out the four energies in my body with 3 hours being the longest. However, for some reason this time I took a full day in order to complete. {A/N: He''s in UBW right now and time in there is 10 times longer than Earth''s so 24 hours is only 2 hour and 24 minutes outside} Rather than rush the process I instead slowly took strands of the four energies and mixed those together before circulating them within my body. Once one strand was finished I would create another one slowly withering down the energy sources. By the time I was finished 12 hours had passed and I created a total of 400 energy strands coursing through my body. After the strands were formed I started to fuse each strand into another while making sure they didn''t fall apart again. Soon 400 became 100, and 100 became 10 until the last 10 turned into 4. In the end, by the time 4 strand was formed each of them had become a mixture of the original 4 energies. I didn''t know why I did this since rather than actually thinking about it I instead followed my instincts and went with the flow. Following my instincts once more I sent these four strands into four different locations of my body. One went into my bones, another went into my flesh, the next one went into my organs, and the last one entered my veins. Following this, my mind entered a state of enlightenment only to be followed by a sudden burst of pain coming from my blood. It was sudden but it was strong enough to pull me out of my enlightenment. So I endured the pain and tried to focus on staying calm, so much so that I missed the notifications coming from my system. *Ding* [Host has started attacking the barrier between realms thus calling upon Divine Retribution. Divine Retribution is a test given by the Heaven''s to see if one is worthy to ascend further beyond the realm of humanity. If Host can endure the baptism of lightning then Host will step onto the Ultimate Rank and awaken Host''s bloodline. However, if Host can''t endure the baptism then Host will be greatly injured and have to try again once Host''s wounds are healed.] *Ding* [Because Host has the blood of seven primordial beings who have previously gone against the Heaven''s the Divine Retribution has become Divine Damnation! Any injuries caused by Divine Damnation will affect not only the body but also the soul. It is advised to proceed with caution!] ---- It happened out of nowhere most of the eastern hemisphere was covered in dark grey clouds. There was no warning nor any weather reports predicting this, it was as if the sky had a mind of its own. In 10 minutes these clouds formed surrounding the country Japan, 1 hour after that it started to hail viciously, and by the time 2 hours passed bolts of multicolored lightning were seen throughout the land. Even cities from the mainland could hear the thunder coming from Japan. To normal people, it was just thunder but to people of the supernatural world what they heard were beast roars. Everyone got chills when they heard this, and when they looked at the night sky they could see faint silhouettes of beast flying in the sky. But it wasn''t just the earth that was experiencing strange phenomenons so was the Underworld and Heaven. In Heaven, the usually bright skies darkened and golden lightning appeared, however, unlike the lightning on Earth this lightning made no sound and instead released a sacred aura. This aura was so sacred that even some pure angels prostrated before it like it was the original biblical God. Even the archangels who were created by the biblical God personally felt the sudden urge to bow down before it, and this urge became more apparent when they saw the faint silhouette of a humanoid figure floating in the air. Opposite to the situation in Heaven however, the Underworld was in a state of disarray. Just like on Earth and Heaven the Underworld''s sky was also covered in clouds but unlike the normal storm on earth, or the sacred storm in Heaven instead, the Underworld''s sky had a sinister aura coming from it. Instead of thunder the sounds coming from the storm were sounds of misery and despair. Black lightning raged everywhere, and a sinister silhouette could be seen in the sky controlling the storm from its core. It was as if a demon had descended and decided to wreak havoc in the Underworld. Even the 4 Moau''s the strongest Devils in the Underworld had their hands full trying to defend the cities from being destroyed by the storm, if things continued it was uncertain what would become of the Underworld. All 3 realms were disarray due to the sudden storms plaguing their skies, Dominance, Worship, Dispair each of the storms had at least one of these auras, and for another 2 hours the storms ragged until at the peak of the second our a blot of lightning the size of a babies arm shot down from each of the storms, The lightning in Heaven and the Underworld was shot into a rift in reality, while the lightning on Earth fell on top of the City of Kouh. Many thought that the city would be destroyed but right as the lightning was about 3 meters from hitting the ground it vanished. Soon after the skies started to settle down before eventually showing a once more peaceful sky. Many wondered what happened that night but no one could find any answers and reluctantly gave up, but the sense of caution they felt never went away. ---- While everyone was trying to recover from the aftershock of the storm there was 1 individual who was calmly watching the sky even after the storm went away. ??? - Was that a Dragon God? ...no there should only be Great Red and I that was something different. It wasn''t alone either...strange. Standing above one of the world tallest mountains stood a small girl. She had raven black hair that reached all the way down to her h?ps, with black eyes, and ears with pointy tips instead of round ones. Usually, she had an expressionless face but, at that moment she stared at the sky with a face full of curiosity. ---- {Yu''s POV:} Another day passed while I was meditating but right when I stepped out of my state of enlightenment I finally notice the notification of the system. Questions started to pop up in my head but before I could even question the system sounds of thunder could be heard above my head. Just from the sounds of the thunder alone, my instincts went wild telling me that if I was hit by the lightning I''d no dought die. Leaving nothing to chance I released the seals on my body and let all of my body strengthening skills. Following that, I opened Gates of Babylon and released Rho Aias. *BBOOOOOMMM!!!!* By the time this was done seven multicolored lightning fell down from the sky and instantly broke Rho Aias. Though Rho Aias weaken the lightning it didn''t stop it and the remaining lightning hit my body breaking through all of my defenses causing me to puke up blood as fell on my back. The result of allowing the lightning to hit me was, a lot of broken bones, multiple muscle tears, and most of my flesh was burned turning me into more of a skeleton than a person. *Ding* [Host be careful the Divine Damnation is over yet!!!] Yu - F**K!!!! *BBOOOOOMMM!!!!* Seeing the lightning coming I willed Gates of Babylon to release every weapon I had towards the lightning to act as a conductor attracting the lightning towards them scattering the lightning in multiple directions. Any lightning that got through my weapons continued to come my way, but before I was hit I threw a punch in the air and an Azure Dragon appeared from my fist facing the lightning head on. Yu - S**T!!! Unfortunately, while the Azure Dragon was able to stop the lightning it was for a moment before small strands of lightning made their way towards my already wounded body. However, instead of this lightning damaging my physical body it instead aimed for my sea of consciousness. If that was damaged I might have become mentally crippled, but fortunately, my mental resistance is strong so I only briefly dazed. *Ding* [HOST WATCH OUT!!!] *BBOOOOOMMM!!!!* Yu - F- After the black lightning cloud faded a golden lightning cloud formed and immediately golden lightning rain down from the sky. Leaving everything to chance I used [Void Demon Form] while a golden turtle shell shield surrounded my body. Sadly Divine Damnation wasn''t Divine Damnation for nothing. The lightning tore through the shield and hit my incorporeal body injuring my soul. After that, the lightning clouds faded away and didn''t come back. Alas while I was able to survive the Divine Damnation I felt that because I hid from the lightning by entering void state I didn''t get recognized by the Heaven''s and couldn''t ascend towards the Ultimate rank. *Ding* [Because of Host''s current state the system has decided to use the skills [Energy Furnace] and [Suzaku''s Rebirth] to help in Host''s recovery. Unfortunately, Host''s body has become polluted by Heavenly Lightning causing hindering Host''s body from truly recovering. It is estimated that it''ll take 2 weeks for the Heavenly Lightning to naturally fade away. Only then will Host be able to completely recover.] *Ding* [Because of certain circumstance the system will be going into a hibernation period. In this period the system will go through an update and the only options available to the host will be the status screen.] *Ding* [Revealing new Status] [Name: Yu Hyoudou Race: Primordial Helix Bloodline: Primordial Bloodline Title: King of Haven - Cultivation - Half-Step Ultimate Rank Strength - ??? Endurance - ??? Agility - ??? Intelligence - ??? Luck - ??? - Energy Reserves: World Power: ??? Mana - 100,000 - Physic: - ?????????????????? - Innate Bloodline Skills: - Spirit Flames - World''s Eye - Yin Yang Palm - Innate Bloodline Abilities: - Spatial Movement - Telekinesis - Dream World - Battle Avatar - Special Skills: - King''s Authority - Unlimited Blade Works - Sword Projection (Trace On) - Time Alter - Sealing Magic - Fire Magic - Energy Furnace - Martial Comprehension - Earth Manipulation - Water Manipulation - Wind Manipulation - Space Manipulation (New) - Lightning Manipulation (New)] Yu - *sigh* While I was glad that I survived the Divine Damnation I was still disappointed that I could fully step into the Ultimate Rank. So much so that I didn''t even look at my status. This was officially the first time I''ve failed since I came to this world. Chapter 61 - After Affects I didn''t remember much of what happened after the Divine Damnation. All I could remember was healing myself before eventually losing consciousness. After that rather than waking up normally, I once again found myself inside the black void. Yu - They seriously need to decorate this place it honestly feels depressing every time I come here... Oh! I actually have a body this time. Different from my last few visits here I actually had a body this time. However, while I had a body it wasn''t completely physical. This body was transparent but I could still see outlines of my body. Giving this some thought I came to the conclusion that this was my astral body since I could see multiple types of energy taking residence in it. In the center of my ?h?st was my yin yang core, surrounding the core was red, blue, brown, green, and purple colored auras. They represented my fire, water, earth, air, and what I ?ssume lightning since it was the smallest aura there. Besides that, I also saw four strands of crimson black energy slowly traveling around my body. Yu - ...Strange. This was the first time I actually saw my astral body, and while I didn''t feel uncomfortable or anything it did feel strange seeing that crimson black energy making its way around my body. *Gong~* Hearing a gong-like sound I stopped examining my body and turned my sights towards the thing in front of me. It was the same stone tablet I saw when I was on the train from Kyoto but this time rather than looking rusty and old it looked polished and new. Seeing it now I could start to point out many different details I couldn''t before and as I did this the tablet started to shrink as it made its way towards me. This action was neither fast nor slow but when the tablet touched my forehead I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Disoriented and confused I felt foreign knowledge enter my brain engraining itself into my memory. Yu - ...[The Ruler] While I couldn''t yet filter out every last memory I just received I was able to say the name of what I just received. It was an authority by the name of [The Ruler] and while not something I can use for myself I could use it to strengthen my soldiers. Unfortunately, when I tried to probe further on this authority I felt a sharp headache and stopped. Yu - I''ll have to try that again later. After repeating this process 2 more times I decided to hold off on that and instead focus on the new tablets in front of me. Before I left this place besides [The Ruler] there was another tablet behind it but, now instead of 1 tablet, there were now 3. Of the 3 tablets, 2 were in the far back of the void so I could only b?r?ly make out their shape but the third one was closer and I could see what was on it. Similar to how [The Ruler] was previously it was cracked and looked old but rather than a man on a throne this tablet showed a man face his back towards me while he stares at a barren wasteland before him. *Rumble**Rumble* Yu - Guess it''s time to go. Since I already saw what I wanted I didn''t resist the mysterious force forcing me out of the void and left willingly. Ironically even though I was willing at that moment I immediately wished I could return after I regained control of my body. ---- A high fever, aching bones, a sore throat, and slightly blurry vision was what I woke up to when I returned from the void. I had been so long since I experienced something like a sickness so this feeling bothered me more than it used to. Even my stamina which was, in the beginning, was stupidly high dwindled down greatly in light of this sickness. Forcing myself to use my mana I examined my body and found that lightning was flowing through my body at a tremendous rate, messing with my normal bodily functions. When I tried to control it with my newly acquired lightning manipulation I found that instead of helping me it just made things worse. Facing this plight I gave up on controlling the lightning and rested my head against a pillow in hopes that this sickness will pass soon. Yu - [Wait a minute? Aren''t I in my room back home. Shouldn''t I still be in UBW, how did I get here?] *Click* ??? - You''re awake. Yu - Hm?... Shirone? When I turned my sights towards the voice that called out to me I saw Shirone, but rather than her anime counterpart my Shirone looked more grown up. She still had her silver-white hair and golden eyes. However, if I was to describe the difference I''d say that she''s 155cm instead of 143cm, and compared to the anime my Shirone has an hourglass figure. {A/N: In case people were wondering what she looked like. It''s basically Koneko''s Shirone Mode but permanent. s2.narvii.com/image/3yjyymlzskd5pbfggwuq2a3fzqz5kf4f_hq.jpg} Shirone - En. How are you feeling? Yu - I''m fine but...how did you get into my house? Shirone - We snuck in after your family left. Yu - What happened where did they go? Shirone - Last night there was a huge storm that damaged a part of town, cause multiple houses to lose power, and flood some nearby parks. You parent''s wanted to go and check on their friends around town, while Issei wanted to check on his girlfriends. Shirone - No, before they left they asked a neighbor if they could check on you every hour when they saw you were sick. Apparently, your parents went out of town and won''t be back till tomorrow. As for Issei, he left shortly after them. Yu - Then where are my caretakers? Shirone - Oneesan used mind magic to keep them away. Yu - Wh-!... you know what I''m not even going to ask. What I do want to know is how did I get back into my room. I thought I passed out in my reality marble? Shirone - Last night Seriyuu and the others felt something strange going on and rushed to your side only to be locked out or your reality marble. It was also around that time that the storm happened and only after the storm passed were they allowed in. From what they told us you were found unconscious on the floor surrounded by a pool of blood. They contacted us after making sure you were alright and we got here around the time your family left. Yu - Where are Seriyuu and the others? Shirone - Genbu, and Byakko went back to Haven to help out Yasaka. Apparently, Haven formed another sun last night but it was only a quarter of the size of the other suns. Along with that an ocean formed around Haven causing Genbu to survey the sea, while Byakko searched the land in case anythigng new popped up. As for Suzaku and Seriyuu, Suzaku is currently monitoring the sky since he felt large amounts of lightning energy there, and Seriyuu is currently resting on the roof monitoring the surrounding of the house. I also had the usual platoon of shadow clansmen monitor your family to make sure nothing happens so you don''t have to worry about them, they''ll be fine. Yu - Thanks... Receiving all that information I calmed down a little knowing the situation outside, but there was 1 more question I had. Yu - Hey besides you and Kuroka who else came over. Shirone - Valerie also came and Yasaka wanted to come but with what happened last night in Haven she''s pretty busy if not she would have already been here...you know we were all worried after we heard you were found unconscious. Yu - ...Ya sorry about that. Even though that was totally out of my control, I could only show a bitterly smile as I apologized to her while pulling her into my embrace. She showed no resistance and even gave me a hug as she lay down on the bed next to me. When she did this I could feel her body trembling and when I looked at her face I could see small tears in her eyes as she rubbed her face against my ?h?st. This caused my heart to feel a slight pain, as I held her closer to me and gave her a short kiss on her forehead. Yu - I must have worried you guys a lot, I''m sorry I''ll try to be more careful in the future. She said nothing but I could feel her head nod up and down before she held on to my body tighter than before. Feeling this all I could do was continue holding her while I waited for her to calm down. Chapter 62 - Resting Once Shirone was able to calm down we both made our way downstairs, to meet Kuroka and Valerie who were in the kitchen. I didn''t try to mask my presence so when I walked into the kitchen both of the girls saw me and before even letting me say one word tackled me to the ground with tears in their eyes. Similar to what I did with Shirone I held them close to me for a while calming them down and eventually making my way to the dining table. Once there I sat down while looking at the backs of the 3 girls cooking some food. This moment would have been so much better though if I didn''t feel like s***. In order to try and alleviate the symptoms, I was feeling I manifested a golden sword in my hand and let its aura wash over me. Just like I predicted I felt a little better but I wasn''t cure lightning still ran amuck in my body but the sword made sure it didn''t affect my body too much. As for the sword, it was actually the [Fractured Excaliber] I received from the system''s gacha. Just like Lost Blood, this was also a growth type weapon but, rather than devouring items in order to get stronger this sword developed abilities through my own growth. The more I progressed in life the more abilities I received from the sword. As of right now from what I could remember the skills of this sword were: ---- [[Fractured Excaliber] - A sword fetus that has been a bath in holy light, and will grow along with its master. 1st - Purification: A passive ability that coats the blade of the sword in holy light purifying and evil spirits weaker than the sword''s master that has been cut by it. 2nd - Avalon: A passive ability that heals the user of any external, internal, or soul related injuries over time. (Drains mana equal to the amount of damage caused by the injury). 3rd - Vorpal Slash: An active ability that takes the hope the subject''s of the user and uses it to fuel an attack beyond that of the owner''s capabilities (Can only be used once every 2 months). 4th - Peaceful Mind: A passive ability that clears the mind of the user allowing their thoughts to be clear and devoid of distraction. 5th - Safe Departure: An active ability that purifies the souls of the user''s fallen subordinates so that they may pass on safely towards the afterlife. 6th - Ruler''s Authority: A passive ability that only allows people of power equal to or greater to a king in order to wield this blade. 7th - Integration: An ability that allows the sword to reside inside the user''s body for future use. Remembering the [Avalon] ability I poured my mana into the blade and slowly felt the wounds my soul received heal themselves. Enjoying this filling I looked at my other hand and remembers my first sword fetus [Lost Blood]. Over the years I participated in my fights and in turn feed it many different types of material. However, even with all of the materials I gave it, it allows gained abilities opposite to the ones I got from [Fractured Excaliber]. ---- [[Lost Blood] - A sword fetus that has absorbed high-quality blood and mana improving mana conductivity, strength, and sharpness. As well as being granted several abilities. 1st - Devourer: A passive/active ability derived from multiple previous abilities that eat at the target it cuts, whether it be blood, flesh, or a soul. 2nd - Miasma Aura: An active ability derived from the demon blood found inside the blood diamond, allows the sword to produce miasma for either defense, attack, or intimidation. The more souls the sword eats the stronger the miasma. 3rd - Dimensional Strike: An active ability that allows the sword to cut into space opening a path towards the dimensional gap. (Can only be used twice a day) 4th - Soul Prison - An active ability that allows the sword to capture the souls of those who have fallen at its blade turning them into a puppet for the user. (Maximum capacity 100 souls) 5th - Madness - A passive ability that slowly eats away at the user''s mind turning it into a mindless killer. 6th - Integration: An ability that allows the sword to reside inside the user''s body for future use. 7th - Bloodline Owner: A special ability that allows the blade to be used only by those who have the mixed bloodline of the primordial azure dragon, white tiger, black turtle, vermillion phoenix, demon, pure spirit, and ancestor.] ---- Relaxing in my chair time passed I closed my eyes and when I opened them again I saw that the food was done and the table prepared. Turning my sights toward my left I saw Kuroka with a look of confidence on her face. While it was true that she couldn''t cook, or clean she was great at arranging the dinner table a skill that wasn''t much of a household skill, but a skill she liked to show off whenever she could. Her fastest record at the moment was 3 seconds for a table of 10 people. Giving her a small pat on the head I saw that there was a bowl of soup, 2 sandwiches, and a small salad. Each of them looking completely normal actually had lots of medical herbs mixed into the recipe, most likely the work of Valerie who studied in medicine under me. We all ate in silence and eventually made our way towards the living room where we watched T.V. Even though what we did was just casual living I enjoyed the time greatly since I got to spend time with the girls something that didn''t usually happen often with all the work we had on our hands. Hours passed and the sun started to set but, we still stayed in the living room. I was laying down on the couch resting my head on Valerie''s ??p, Kuroka had left it upon herself to lay on my ?h?st and Shirone sat on a cushion on the floor below me. I still felt terrible from the effects of the lightning but, because I was content with reality at the moment I didn''t pay much attention to it. *Poke* Valerie - So are you going to tell us what happened? Kuroka/Shirone/Valerie - Yes! In truth, I knew the girls wanted to know what happened by the way the acted today so I wasn''t too surprised when they all replied enthusiastically. Yu - Long story short, I did something reckless and almost got killed end of the story. *Smack* To my words, I received a light smack on my forehead by Valerie while also earning a frown from the other girls. Valerie/Kuroka/Shirone - Be serious! Yu - Hahaha okay, let''s see where do I start... ---- I told them everything, from the fact that I felt restless the night before to the time I was struck by the divine damnation. They all listen quietly from beginning to the end. Yu - So ya that''s what happened. Kuroka - So were you able to rank up? Yu - *sigh* no, but I did feel my body get a little strong after my physical wounds were healed. The Divine Damnation didn''t only cause drawbacks, it also gave some benefits even to those who failed. One such benefit was the purification and strengthening of my body. It wasn''t noticeable at first but after examining my body beyond the lightning I noticed that all the impurities in my body from using [Life and Death Spiritualization]. Alongside that, I felt my skin become a lot denser than it was previously. Yu - [Looks like all those wuxia novels knowledge on receiving a baptism of lightning weren''t all wrong.] Valerie - I''m a little confused how can somebody tell when they ranked up. There shouldn''t be much of a difference when compared to a normal person right? Yu - Well the process is different for certain races, for Angels it''s getting 6 wings rather than the usual 2, the same thing can be said for devils. For Yokai it''s getting wielding spirit energy in their body rather than borrowing it from the world, and for humans, it usually strengthens there body while increasing their lifespan and magical abilities. But there is 1 thing that all Ultimate Rank fighter and above have, it''s an aura. Valerie - Doesn''t everyone have an aura, what makes that one different? Yu - Its sort of gives an oppressive feeling to those of the lower ranks. It''s something that can either be bottled up or let out but everyone who has ranked up to ultimate has it. If it was any of those abilities I could also mimic them with my own skills but, it seems that the only way for me to advance is to go through another Divine Damnation. In the past, I''ve been pressured by others aura but in the end, I still came out on time. The aura while the concept of it sounds nice it''s really just an exaggerated ability used to scare away the weak, having no effect on those equal to or stronger than the user. Yu - From what I can tell it''ll take me about 2 weeks to completely heal myself, after that, I''ll have to find ways to bypass the lightning if I want to rank up. Shirone - You still want to challenge that storm? Yu - It''s not like I''m going to go in unprepared this time, besides it''s not like I won''t gain anything even if I fail...don''t worry I''ll be careful. When I mentioned fighting the Divine Damnation again everyone tried to talk me out of it but could only reluctantly agree when they saw I wasn''t going to budge from my decision. Seeing that I won our little argument I was planning on taking a nap but before I could the door to the living room opened. Issei - Hey Aniki I brought over the guys-- Standing at the doorway of the living room was a frozen Issei and behind him were Matsuda, Motohama, Kiryuu, Katse, and Murayama who were also shocked at what they saw. As for us we just looked at them with confused expressions. In the end, I just ignored them and started watching T.V again since I no longer felt like taking a nap. Chapter 63 - Reveal Yu - *sigh* are you going to keep standing there or are you coming in. Saying that with half opened eyes I looked at Issei wondering how much longer he would stay frozen in place. Issei - Ah Um sorry about that. Yu - This is your home too remember you don''t have to apologize. Anyway, where were you? It doesn''t take a full day to look for your friends, does it? Matsuda - Nah we heard you were sick so I went to my gramps'' house to get some of his fever medicine it works better than the counter stuff at stores. But forget that right now who are these chicks. Yu - They''re my girlfriends. Saying this I was going to say something else but was stopped when I saw Matsuda and Motohama get on their hands in knees before being surrounded by a gloomy aura. Motohama - So even Yu has luck with girls... Matsuda - This isn''t fair why, why doesn''t luck come our way this isn''t fair. Valerie - ...Are they okay....? Yu - Ya they''re always like that. They have honestly done this some many times in front of me that I stopped reacting to it. In the past, they''d always drag me with them after school to the mall, park, and other social places. Their reason for doing this was to attract girls with my looks while getting to know those that would give up on me. Unfortunately for them, they weren''t even able to talk to a girl since they were so focused on me. I''m not a narcissistic person or anything but if I had to rate my looks on a scale from 1 to 10, it would be 10. Even I''m not completely sure how this happened since I wasn''t really asking for that result. Anyway back to reality while I was watching them curse the world for being so cruel I could help myself from remembering those moments. As this was going on I has Kuroka get off me while I started to give the guys a comforting pat on the back since I couldn''t help myself from pitying them a bit. *Poke* Issei - Psst~ Aniki is this okay...what about big sister Irina. Making sure to speak in a low voice so the girls wouldn''t hear him, Issei started to ask me if what I was doing was okay. In truth, it wasn''t but the same could be said for Issei who also has multiple girlfriends so really it''s just the pot calling the kettle black here. Yu - She knows and they know about her. Issei - Eh! What really? Yu - Yes, by the way, I know you guys brought some medicine for me but what''s that thing behind you. I didn''t notice it at first but after I got up and looked behind Matsuda and Motohama I saw there was a medium size box lying on the ground. Issei - Katse told me that sweets always made someone feel better so I got some cake from a bakery across town. Yu - [I think she just wanted sweets Issei.] Yu - Sounds delicious ---- After that, the rest of the day was sort of peaceful. We all talked and everyone got to know the girls. Although it did get kind of annoying every time Matsuda and Motohama would seiza before me asking me to be their master everything else was pretty fine. And as for Kiriyuu, she was currently being held by Issei who wasn''t letting her be near Kuroka and the others. The reason was that while Kuroka wasn''t looking she tried to be mischievous and grope Kuroka''s b??bs while she had her guard down. The result of her action was my iron fist squeezing her head causing her to squirm in pain until she apologized. Probably because he knew her personality and would probably try again when I wasn''t around Issei decided to put himself on Kiriyuu duty while also reprimanding her to mind personal boundaries. Seeing this side of Issei my facial expressions didn''t change but in my heart, I was shocked. Yu - [Who the **** is this guy!?!?!?!? Isn''t Issei a pervert who would smile at these kinds of events with a thumbs up!?!?! Where did this guy come from!?!?!?!] Once the shock of this event passed I was going to praise Issei for growing up but before I could, Issei - *whisper* Kiriyuu you can''t do that if it''s another girl from our school that''s fine but not Aniki''s girlfriend if what you do makes Aniki angry even I''ll be punished. Try to retrain yourself of we are both goners... Yu - [Never mind your the same all pervert as every!!!] ---- After that everyone left with me and Issei being the only ones left in the house, or so Issei thought. In truth, though it seemed that Kuroka, Shirone, and Valerie left, in reality, they jumped in through my room window after Issei went to sleep. Turns out that they were going to look after me while I was recovery to make sure I don''t overwork myself is what they said. While I was able to understand their concern, I didn''t really think I would need to be supervised. I mean it''s not like I actively go out and look for trouble it just happens to come my way when you least expect it. Seeing this I tried to get the girls to return to Haven since I wasn''t really in any danger anymore but they wouldn''t budge and instead tackled me into the bed before going to bed while holding my body down. In the end, I just gave in to their demands since it didn''t really bother me. ---- The next day was similar to yesterday I woke up and ate breakfast made by Valerie with the only difference being Issei who also joined us even if he felt a little awkward. Then after dinner, we just lazed around in the living room again till Mom, Dad, and Tsukihime came home only to be surprised by the sight of Kuroka, Shirone, and Valerie. Dad asked me the same thing Issei did but after he got my reply all he did was pat my shoulder while also praising me for bringing new additions to the family. Beside Dad, Mom dragged the girls into the kitchen to prepare dinner for the rest of us. And as for Tsukihime, she sat in my ??p as we both watched T.V. surrounded by the peaceful family atmosphere. Chapter 64 - Awakening Time passed by quickly after that day. Kuroka and the girls would ''come over'' every day for the next 2 weeks. This pleased Mom and Dad since they always wanted a big family and I got to enjoy a very peaceful recovery through this. After I recovered the girls still continued to stop by every once and a while since Mom kept pestering me to bring them over but that was only on Sunday''s since after my recovery my schedule was really packed. During school days I would regulate my Primordial Energy inside my body in order to get a better grasp of it. I don''t know when it happened but when I awoke my Primordial Energy most of my energy reserves were devoured by my newly acquired Primordial Energy. Along with this, it became harder to control this energy because it was a lot stronger than normal energy and thus needed a stronger hold on it. For mana, I can use it unconsciously without putting much detail into the action I want to make, but now if I want to use Primordial Energy I have to give my full attention or else on miscalculation could cause many unwanted results. So in order to get my level of control to the level, where I can use it unconsciously, I practice during school hours. Besides that, after school, I''d probably go home or hang out with Kiba but, to my surprise, I found out not long after I came back to school that Kiba invited me to join the Occult Research Club. I had no clue why he did that, but it was probably orchestrated by his master Rias Gremory. As for why she wanted me in the club I could think of 2 reasons. 1 was that she wanted to recruit me into her peerage after hearing about my swordsmanship through Kiba, but obviously, I wasn''t going to accept even if they asked. The other option was that they probably suspect me of something since not long after a global wide storm occurred I was nowhere to be seen for 2 weeks. I wasn''t really too worried about my identity being revealed now that I had fully healed, even if I was worried a lot of mid-tier factions and above probably have a few clues on my true identity but are too scared of my faction and me. If I wasn''t scared of real members of the supernatural world come to get me why would I be scared of some teenagers who a way weaker than me. I''m not being arrogant or anything it was just confidence that made me think this. When the effects of the lightning in my body started to subside rather than fade away, the lightning began to merge itself with my body further increasing my physical capabilities. Anyway back to the event with the Occult Research Club sadly I overestimated them since rather than have suspicions on me they were instead trying to recruit me. It wasn''t anything direct like what she did in the anime with Issei but rather we had some small talk. As for what we talked about it wasn''t really important for me it went in one ear and went out the other. In the end, when I left to go home I left a very confused Rias Gremory as for why she was confused that''ll be left for another day... maybe. ---- After my weekdays were done and over with my weekends were the times I really got into training mode. I would leave the house in the morning telling my parents I was going out with the girls for the weekend much to the displeasure of Tuskihime-chan and left the house for the weekend. In that time I would teleport into Haven and from their go into UBW. The time ratio there was 10:1 so training there was better than in Haven. For 10 days in UBW or 1 day, in reality, I would enter closed-door training to perfect my basic combat capabilities. Whether it was martial arts, weapon techniques, meditation, energy control, or even magic practice. While I didn''t really put much effort into putting magic into my usually combat style it wasn''t like I ignored it or anything. I always had magic as one of my trump cards since ever since I acquired my Primordial Energy even the weakest magic spell could spell disaster if I didn''t minimize the damage to the extreme. In a way, while the system did say that my magic was maxed out level wise that only represented the amount of attack power my magic had it didn''t really calculate my control over magic. But that was why I was training to begin with so I could get better. Once my closed-door training was done for the week I would spend the remainder of my weekend with the girls take a walk around Haven''s landscape with Kunou, take naps together with Kuroka, bake sweets with Shirone, help out Valerie with her research, or even just quietly drink tea with Yasaka before we -*cough**cough*!! let''s move on shall we. After that, I''d come home early the next morning and appease the angered Tsukihime-chan with sweets I made with Shirone. Have I become a sis-con yes I won''t deny that don''t judge me okay. Days like that went on for a while and Issei and I eventually became second years, and it was also on the first day back too school that Issei would finally awaken his sacred gear. ---- Since the first day back to school was pretty exhausting after we finished eating dinner Issei made his way towards his room and I did the same with mine. If it was a normal day I would have just gone to sleep the moment my head touched my pillow but coincidentally as this was about to happen I got a message from one of my friends through a magic circle. He called asking me for some help in one of his new projects but I really didn''t want to go. Sadly he didn''t take no for an answer and kept pestering me for a long time. As I was listening to his constant pestering my mind started to wander before eventually, I felt a slight burst of mana come from Issei''s room. Feeling something odd going on I told my friend I had something to do before hanging up on him. Not wasting any more time I entered into my void form and entered Issei''s room. There I saw the usual Issei sleeping in his bed, the only difference was that his left arm was now covered in a gauntlet and the emerald gem at the center was glowing brightly. If this was the usual phenomenon then at most their would be a simple glow, but the gauntlet didn''t materialize before. After giving it some thought I came to the conclusion that Ddraig had finally made some sort of connection with Issei and they were currently talking to each other through Issei''s dreams. Yu - You know I always wanted to see what Ddraig looked like in real life, so seeing as we''ll be seeing each other more in the future I might as well introduce myself to him. Thinking this I used a simple soul technique to separate a part of my consciousness and send it into the Boosted Gear''s Gem. The process took mere moments and by the time it was done I had already entered my consciousness into the Boosted Gear. Chapter 65 - Human Meets Dragon Emperor {POV: Issei} The world in front of me was complete empty darkness. No matter where I looked I would always see the same scene over and over again without end. This wasn''t the first time I found myself in this situation, for the past few months I''ve been coming and going from this place in my dreams without knowing why. At first, I thought I was going crazy and thought of consulting Aniki about it but never really got the chance to. While I do love Aniki like I do everyone else in my family when it comes to Aniki I feel like there''s a wall separating him from me and this sort of made me feel inferior to him. However, this was all just random thoughts in my head since Aniki never really acted superior to me, sure he may have scolded me at times, but that was only when I was in the wrong. He may seem cruel to those who piss him off but, deep down I knew that Aniki was a nice guy, it was just that invisible barrier stopping me from getting too close to him. In the end, since I couldn''t consult Aniki with my problems I decided to talk about this wit Kiriyuu. Before we started dating we were just normal friends joking around with each other, and I won''t lie even before entering high school I knew she was way smarter than everyone in our grade. One of her specialties was analyzing things so I felt that she might be able to help me understand what was wrong. ---- For months we would have small therapy sessions since I didn''t feel comfortable talking about my problems with some stranger. In the beginning, we spent a full month trying to find out the cause of these strange dreams but came up with nothing. After some time I start to think of this empty space as something normal and no longer started to worry about it. Instead, I would try to calm my mind and do the same thing I did when I was young and meditate something I stopped doing in middle school. Even I wasn''t sure why I did this but when I did I would feel some heat spread throughout my body. This feeling would grow and grow before I eventually woke up with that feeling still lingering around my ?h?st. A normal person might be suspicious about this development but, for me, I didn''t think much about it. Instead, I began to wonder what that feeling was and if there was any benefit of having it. In the end, I decided to keep this a secret since I had a feeling that I couldn''t reveal this or it might cause more problems than I already had. Once that was over I still had my therapy sessions with Kiriyuu since it was nice to have someone to talk to about my feeling. It wasn''t that I couldn''t talk about this to Katse and Murayama it was just that they weren''t really used to counseling people so sometimes their, advise was wrong. Even they talked to Kiriyuu about their problems which was something I didn''t know until I meet them during one of my therapy sessions. Eventually, time passed and a lot of stuff happened. Kiriyuu became my girlfriend, Aniki started living with us again, and I got to meet Aniki''s girlfriends. While these events went on I continued to meditate in my dreams and while these happened besides the strange feeling in my body getting stronger I could feel someone trying to talk to me. Who that was I couldn''t tell but I wanted to know even if I could talk with them. ---- Just like any usual night, I found myself in this empty space and I was going to start meditating but before I could I fire started to engulf the space around me. Issei - !!!!What the hell! What''s going on!?!? ??? - Stop screaming like a child it''s pathetic. Issei - !!! When I asked my question I didn''t expect to get an answer, but when I did my body froze from fear. The voice was deep and calm but it carried a lot of pressure. All I could do was slowly turn my head to get a look at who was speaking. When I did, however, I felt my face go pale. Issei - ...Oh my god... ??? - So you''re this generation''s host ... you don''t seem like much. Issei - Host?... What do you mean host! I don''t understand! Who are you?! Are you the reason I''ve been having these dreams?! When I started asking a question I couldn''t stop. Even if I was scared I had to know what was going on. ??? - Hmm~ Commendable even while shaking in fear you still have the strength to question me very commendable for a human. Issei - [Is that supposed to be praise or an insult] Issei - Boosted Gear? When did I get something like that? Ddraig - It was something you were born with and it is a Sacred Gear crafted by the Biblical God using my soul. Issei - This is crazy dragons gods they are supposed to be fiction just story how can they be real. Ddraig - Oh they''re real and you will be seeing them soon. Issei - What do you mean? Ddraig - Sacred Gears are rare but they aren''t hard to find. They are found in normal humans and give them mysterious powers. This may be thought of as a blessing but it is anything but a blessing. You will found out soon that this world isn''t as safe as you once believed, devils, angels everything you once thought was nothing but fairy tails and myths are real. Some of them might even come to kill you to eliminate you as a threat or enslave you to make you a useful pawn. That is something I would say if you weren''t targeted already. Issei - WHAT!!! When I heard Ddraig''s last sentence I instantly fell to my knees. I mean what else could I do, I was targeted by some supernatural monster. Ddraig - Calm down *Sigh* To think that my partner would end up like this... Issei - How can I not panic I''m being targetted!?!?!?!? Ddraig - I said you were targeted but think clearly I said targeted but not apprehended. From what I can sense in your body there is a barrier surrounding it preventing any of my mana from escaping into the world. It seems like the person who found you doesn''t want you dead but wants you to live. For what I don''t know but you don''t have much time. Issei - Time? I don''t understand. Ddraig - The barrier surrounding you is running on a small power source from the looks of it it''s been here for around a year but the energy powering the barrier is weakening. I''d say you have about 4 months before the barrier disappears. Issei - What''ll happen when that happens? Ddraig - All the mana stuck in your body will be released and your identity as the wielder of the Boosted Gear will be revealed. Issei - You make it sound like it''s not your problem but shouldn''t you be panicking right now I mean you are inside my body. Ddraig - Kid I''ve had to go through this many times for many years. You aren''t the first host to experience these kinds of problems. I''ve seen worse and even then that host wasn''t a panicking baby like you. Issei - Okay so! That''s them not me! Not every human is the same all of us are different with different personalities, and dreams. You''re nothing but an oversized lizard who doesn''t know how hard human life it. Ddraig - You have some guts talking to me like that with your measly strength how hilarious. Issei - So what if I''m weak what are you going to do kill me if I die then you die. You''re part of my body right so that means were connected my death is the same as yours. Shouting I ended off my speech by pointing my finger at him. Ddraig - ... Issei -... After my speech, neither of us spoke Ddraig just looked at me and I continued to point my finger at him. To be fair though I was beyond scared now, I just insulted a very powerful dragon who could kill me, and now that I think about it what I said might have been stupid. He said he''s experienced many hosts in the past which means even if the host dies he''ll survive. So he can kill me and then move onto a new host, without even giving me a second thought. Realizing this I started to breakdown into a cold sweat. Ddraig - ...Ha...Ha...Hahahahahaha Issei - Huh Issei - [Why''s he laughing? Has he decided he''s going to kill me?!?!] Ddraig - You''re a brave kid I''ll give you that it''s been centuries since someone has called me a lizard. But you''ve piqued my interest. Issei - [T-that''s a good thing right?] Ddraig - As of right now you b?r?ly meet the requirements needed to hold the title of Red Dragon Emperor so there''s that to talk into account so how about a test. Issei - A test? Ddraig - Ya, a test to see if you can survive in the world of Devils, Angels, and Gods. If you pass then you live, but if you fail I recommend preparing for an early funeral. Issei - *Gulp* W-what''s that test Ddraig - 4 months that how much time the barrier masking my mana will continue to stay up. In that time you will train to get stronger enough to not lose to low-level grunts of the supernatural world. But don''t worry since you are my partner I''ll help you out the best I can it''s your job, however, to see if you''re worthy of my powers Issei - How will I know if I''m worthy? Ddraig - You will know soon enough, get stronger for the days to come. I will grant you some of my power any time you want. However, keep it in your mind that it will come with a sacrifice of something great but, I will give you something that is worth the sacrifice. {A/N: This phrase isn''t mine I got it from the actual novel. I don''t want to be hit with a plagiarism notice so keep in mind this phrase isn''t mine.} Issei - *Gulp* Ddraig - Tell me Issei Hyoudou what is your dream your one goal in life. Since childhood, my dream has always been the same, even if it was something people frowned upon I didn''t care. Even if I''m already so blessed with what I have, mankind has always been a greedy race, and I''m not the only one. He might not be striving for the same goal as me but, he''s already achieved more than me. However, I''ll never stop trying to pursue this dream of mine even if it kills me. When asked what my dream was all I could do was shout. Issei - OBVIOUSLY, I WANT TO BE A HAREM KING!!!! Chapter 66 - Deal Between Emperors {Yu''s POV} Issei - OBVIOUSLY, I WANT TO BE A HAREM KING!!!! The moment I heard Issei shout out his dream while I was mentally prepared for it the moment I saw him shamelessly shout that I couldn''t help myself from cringing. Even if he was my brother that didn''t mean I didn''t get embarrassed by his shamelessness. Yu - *Sigh* [Issei what am I going to do with you.] Releasing a short sigh I gave Ddraig a look only to find him showing eyes full exasperation before eventually speaking. Ddraig - I was hoping you would have some change in mentality after realizing your power ... but it seems I was wrong. Issei - A man who gives up on their dreams is no man! I''ll continue to follow this dream until I die!! Yu - [Issei that is a very commendable speech of yours but the contacts behind it just makes me want to smack you. You''re living off borrowed time right now please be serious!] Ddraig - *Sigh* Why are all my host womanizers... Yu - [Is that really something you should be revealing that right now?!] Issei - Well at least my senpais are men of culture! Watching Issei show a face of pride I all I could think of right now beating that smug smile off of his face. Yu - [Having a lot of lovers isn''t an easy thing!] After mentally shouting that I saw Ddraig and Issei continue their talk before eventually Issei held his head and showed an expression of anguish. Issei - *Groan* What''s going on? Ddraig - It seems like your mana receives are running out, we''ll talk again later, for now, get some rest we''ll begin your training tomorrow. Issei - W- Not even giving him time to reply Ddraig forcefully ejected Issei from this dreamscape. Following this, I revealed myself before Ddraig. Yu - So what''s your take on this? Ddraig - He''s weak but has courage, has ambition but no arrogance, he''s stupid but wise at times ... Like you said he''s unique as for what his future holds I''m not too sure. Are you certain about giving him a 4-month time limit he might need more? Yu - Issei will need to be pressure if he wants to get stronger. The four-month time limit should be enough for him to understand part of his potential, all I need you to do is guide him. Ddraig - If he fails don''t forget about our deal. Yu - I won''t, but I''m pretty confident that as long as you guide him properly I won''t be disappointed. Some might wonder why I was talking so casually with Ddraig right now but the truth of the matter was that before Issei met with Ddraig I interrupted their connection a bit and instead put myself in between so I could talk to Ddraig. --{Sometime before Issei meets Ddraig}-- Finding myself inside yet another Void I made a small comment in my mind before spreading out my consciousness in search of Ddraig. Lucky for me I didn''t have to look for him because he came to me. Ddraig - Yu Hyoudou the adopted brother of my host what are you doing here. Yu - Ddraig it''s nice to finally meet you, considering the fact that you''re currently bound to my little brother I thought it''d be nice to have a small chat. Turning around while showing a harmless smile I came face to face with a giant red dragon with emerald green eyes. Ddraig - Chat huh. Considering the fact that you''ve been trying to keep your powers hidden from your family I didn''t expect you to come before me. Yu - Oh! So you knew about that, did you? Since when? Ddraig - Since you sealed my mana within your brother. After that, I started to search through your brothers memorizes to see if there were any other time you revealed your powers. Sadly besides the fact that you started mana gathering at a young age, there were no other moments where you revealed your powers. Yu - Hmm~ Didn''t think that meditating revealed so much thanks for the info. Ddraig - What I want to know though is what are you. Without a teacher or guide, you were able to not only train in mana but also excel in martial arts and other fields. That''s not something a normal 5 years old could do. Your entire existence is a mystery if we''re going to ''chat'' I would at least like to know that. Ddraig - Instinct? Yu - Look since you''re also from the supernatural world you know that some families or races have special bloodlines. And within those bloodlines is instinctive knowledge, hidden potential, or even lost legacies from a lost ancestor. You could say I that since everything that I have now is through what I got from my blood. That is a total lie, I got everything from the system and knowledge from a previous life but it''s a good alibi in case anyone asks. Blacksmithing, Fighting Techniques, Magic Skills, World Building I could just say I got all of it from my bloodline since it isn''t wrong to say that I did receive some good things from it. And besides, I was found as an orphan so even if people tried to find out my origin they''d reach a dead end. The only downside to this is the fact that people might try to steal my blood but it has it''s own failsafe for those kinds of events. If exposed to air for longer than a few seconds it evaporates into nothing. If a vampire tries to drink if they can''t gain anything from it other than a small temporary burst of power along with a huge burst of ecstasy. I found that out over the summer when I let Valerie drink my blood after getting the okay from the system long ago, after that day Valerie would show me a predatory like stare whenever we were alone together. Lucky for me she was able to have enough self-discipline not to get addicted to my blood and only drink some when we got a little intimate since she was pretty ?r?t?? when she drank my blood. As for the problem with doctor visits whenever they took my blood I would switch it out with blood from my previous body that I bought from the system shop. Honestly, this freaked me out a lot since I thought I might buy my old body but turns out blood was all I could buy. Ignoring that uncomfortable memory I returned my focus to Ddraig who was pondering my response. Ddraig - Your bloodline must be of a very high grade if it brought you this far. Yu - Yup it''s stupidly high grade you might not find any other like it in this world. Ddraig - Enough of that now what do you want. While you said you want to chat you''re not one to show their hand unless it benefited you. Or at least that''s the impression I have of you. Yu - That impression of yours is totally wrong I only take up that persona when I have to besides that I''m a pretty chill guy. Besides that you''re right I did come here to ask you for something. Ddraig - And what if I refuse? Yu - I''m certain you won''t in fact rather than a request this is more like a deal. Ddraig - Continue. Yu - 4 months I want you to train Issei for 4 months. In that time I will continue to be masking your mana from the world. My goal in doing this is to see if Issei is able to survive in our world, he''ll have to make a lot of decision in that time and it''ll also give him some time to grow and m?tur? as a person (I Hope). Ddraig - Now what do I get out of this. Yu - In exchange for your help if Issei proves to not be ready to enter our world I will extract your soul from the Boosted Gear and create you a new body. Ddraig - IMPOSSIBLE! What you say is impossible! Yu - What if I said it is. So when I said this there was not a glimpse of doubt or unease in my expression and Ddraig who saw this could only squint his eyes wondering whether my words were true or not. Ddraig - ... What if he succeeds and proves to be ready to enter our world? Yu - [He took the bait.] Yu - By then both of us will know his potential and be able to build up his foundation further from there. After that, once Issei''s m?tur? enough I will make you a new body. Only this time there will be 2 Red Dragon Emperors of Domination with neither one falling behind the other. Ddraig - Aren''t you afraid that I''ll kill your brother when that happens. Yu - I know you Ddraig, you are 1 of the 2 Heavenly Dragons that cause fear in the hearts of Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils. I also know that you are a battle maniac, fightings in your blood just knowing that there is someone that can compete with you gets your blood boiling. But your also very reasonable, you love to fight but the idea of losing your fighting partner is something you don''t want. If that wasn''t the case than you and the White Dragon Emperor wouldn''t have fought over and over again for centuries. You love to fight, and you love to watch your opponent improve along with you. The only reason you 2 started to kill each other once you entered your scared gears was that it was your host''s ideas, not your own. Is there anything I''m missing here. Ddraig - ...No, you''re not... Yu - Then do we have a deal Welsh Dragon Emperor of Domination. Extending my hand towards Ddraig he looked at it for a moment before eventually extending one of his claws to it as we both shared a ''handshake'' Chapter 67 - I Will Return After finishing my talk with Ddraig I left a few formations in the dreamscape of the boosted gear before leaving. These formations were fail-safes in case the worst happened to Issei while I wasn''t around. Along with that I also planted some martial arts techniques I took from some enemy factions into Issei''s mind so that he can build a better foundation for himself. One of the cons I had about the anime Issei was that he was pretty weak without his balance breaker. Without it, he basically couldn''t do anything and this was something I didn''t want I wanted him to be strong enough to the point where he might not even need the Boosted Gear but even I knew that was a long shot. ---- {2 Months Later} 2 months since my deal with Ddraig and other than having our regular meeting documenting and recording Issei''s progress nothing much happened in my daily life. In the mornings I''d go to school with Issei, and in the afternoon I''d hang. Actually, over summer I forged some school documents for Shirone so she can transfer to Kouh High, and when Issei and I entered our sophomore year of high school she became a freshman. In addition to that Shirone also became a hot topic in school for the guys who were interested in her looks but sadly any hopes they had were instantly crushed by her. From what I heard it seemed that some of her classmates tried to confess to her during their break between class, but the result they got was an instant rejection. Added to the fact that Shirone''s expression to people other than family was expressionless and the fact that her tone was ice cold only caused the damage those freshmen received to multiple. This also seemed to be the way she talked to others who tried to get close to her with ulterior motives. Because of this by lunchtime, she received the title of Ice Queen from her peers. Sadly some of them didn''t learn and even tried to find her at lunch only to find me consoling the annoyed Shirone in my arms. They probably couldn''t understand how the expressionless girl in their class could show such emotions with me. In the end, all of them were forced to leave after I glared at them with a sliver of killing intent since they were ruining my time with my girlfriend. After that while, there were still some pursuers hoping to get Shirones attention most of them were gone and Shirone was finally able to make some real friends in school. As for me I finally understood what it felt like to be Kiba, originally I had no interest in the girl in my school and this let the guys in my grade feel relieved since honestly with my looks I could seduce most of the girls in my grade hands down. Since I didn''t I was never made public enemy #1, however, after announcing the fact that Shirone was mine some of the guys around me (minus Kiba) started to see me as a public enemy. They probably thought I was finally going to chase after girls leaving their chances of getting a girlfriend slimmer than they already are. As for my answer to this: Unfortunately, teenagers are teenagers and some of them are impulsive and immature. 1 day while I was leaving the school with Shirone to meet up with Kuroka and the others we were stopped by a big group of people. In front of that group was a freshman who I beat up when he demanded I stay away from Shirone. Apparently, he had a brother who was pretty influential in the cities underworld and that day he decided to bring some of his friends over to scare me away. Unfortunately, I was in no mood to deal with them and simply told them to go away, but they saw my words as arrogance and decided to attack me. If this was the supernatural world my first response would be to kill them, lucky for them since we were in public surrounded by students I decided to simply beat them black an blue before they eventually begged me for mercy. I did that for 2 reasons: 1 was to give those guys a lesson for attacking me, and 2 was to give a warning to my peers showing them what happens to those that try to take what is mine. After that, I give the crowd a small smile and waved goodbye as Shrone took my arm and we left the campus. Seeing this some of the students who knew me from primary school remembered my previous title of [Smiling Tyrant] coupled with my recent show of brutality the fear that they once had of me in their hearts resurfaced and I got a new title [Demon King]. When I heard this the first thought I had was of a certain red-haired sis-con before eventually shaking my head in denial, rejecting any claims I had to the title and simply continued to live life without giving it a second thought. ---- {1 month later} It was currently Friday night and because there were some tasks that needed my approval I decided to spend the night in Haven. Apparently, besides some major city reconstructions, Grant and the Western Tower wanted to use the desert in the north to practice some of their more destructive weaponry and magic. In total most of this office work took about 4 hours and by the time I finished, it was already past midnight. Fortunately, I wasn''t too mentally exhausted since standing to my side was a s?xy big br??sted fox maiden. Ever since our union under the moon, Yasaka has taken it upon herself to be my personal maid whenever I spent the night at Haven. This change was something I liked since her presence had a calming effect on my mind, this could also be said for Irina, Valerie, Kuroka, and Shirone in fact just having anyone of my women around me made me very calm. Yu - *Yawn~* Yu - A little but not so much that it''ll affect me. Yasaka - If you''re tired you should get some sleep. Saying this she walked behind me and started to massage my shoulders relieving them of the tension the built up. Yu - *Sigh~* Releasing a relaxed sigh I enjoyed the sensation for a moment before eventually pulling out a file from Gates of Babylon. Opening it I spread the content on my desk examining each one. Yasaka - Is that your recent report on your brother''s improvements. Yu - No this is something related to my own improvement. Yasaka - Hm~ let me see. Taking her hands off my shoulders she started looking through the pile of paperwork skimming through each page. The files she was looking at was actually the research I conducted on some of my abilities, [Magic Furnace], [Life and Death Spiritualization], [Lost Blood]''s Devour ability and my original [meditation] skill. As for why I was researching them it was to alter and fuse their functions together to create a cultivation method. I did the same thing when I tried altering the previous [Life and Death Spiritualization] Body Refining Technique but that was with the systems help and it made the whole process so much easier than it actually was. However, because the system is not available right now I had to do this all by my self and it was pretty hard. My main goal in doing this was to find a way to endure and absorb the divine damnation by using [Lost Blood]''s to eat up some of the lightning lessening my burden while using the absorption ability of [Magic Furnace] to bring any leftover energy into my body. Following that, I''d use the energy refinement ability of [Meditation] and body refinement of [Life and Death Spiritualization] to increase my strength using Divine Damnation as it''s core. The only problem was that I had to alter these techniques in order for them to be compatible enough to give me the result I want. While I wasn''t deeply afraid of the Divine Damnation I didn''t want today by fighting against it unprepared. Explaining all of this to Yasaka allowed her to see why I was doing this but just like any other time I mention the Divine Damnation Yasaka and the girls try to talk me out of it. While I could feel the love, and concern for me I wasn''t going to stop now if I did I wouldn''t be me. Consoling the dejected fox I placed her on my ??p while I pulled out a brush and started brushing her nine tails something I found out recently that she was very fond of. An just like that Yasaka and I enter our own little world together and this went on for a while until it was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a communication magic circle. Resisting the urge to destroy it I connected the call and replied coldly: Yu - What do you want? ??? - Whoa! From your tone, it seems like I just interrupted something. Yu - Ya you did now what do you want. ??? - What was it were you about to- Yu - Azazel! I''m going to hang up if you don''t get serious. Probably knowing it wasn''t time to mess around Azazel''s tone turned serious. Azazel - I heard you''ve been looking for Sun Wukong? Yu - Ya you got any leads? Azazel - I heard from some of my friends that he was camping out over Mount Sanqing. Yu - Okay thanks I''ll check it out, what do you want for the info. Azazel - Give me some of those wines you have. Baraqiel''s been acting very out of it lately and I think he just needs to have a drink in order to get his mind off of it. Yu - [It probably has something to do with Akeno.] Yu - Sure meet at the same place next week. Azazel - Sure! Azazel - Later. Hanging up the call with Azazel I stood up from my seat and was going to get a coat but before I could Yasaka had already gotten one for me and even helped me put it on. This an all would have been very sweet if not for the fact that she looked sad after hearing my talk with Azazel. She was a smart woman so she probably knew I was searching for Son Wukong in order to get his help with my cultivation method. Yasaka - Do you really have to go. Yu - ...Yasaka I know that you and the girls don''t want me following this path of mine, but for me, it''s the only path I find myself taking. Yes, it is dangerous and I know that all I''m doing is worrying you guys but what can I do. I can''t just run when things get dangerous what if it gets to the point where I can''t run away, if that happens I won''t have the strength to protect all that we have built... Seeing Yasaka get even more depressed after hearing my words I continued. Yu - I plan to live a long life, and I also plan to build a family with everyone but, in order for this to happen in order to keep myself from worrying I have to get stronger so that I can protect all of you. As I said this I pulled Yasaka into my embrace and lifted her chin up so that she looked into my eyes. Yu - I won''t lie the feeling you all had when you heard I was injured is the same feeling I have when all of you go off and fight. I honestly don''t want you guys to go out and fight because I don''t like the thought of you guys getting hurt. But I still let you go because I believe in you, I believe you will be safe and that you''ll come back to me. Stopping for a moment I gave Yasaka a short kiss before speaking once more. Yu - You see, one of the main reason''s I can fight without worry is because I have all of you supporting me. As long as I know that all of you believe in me and have faith that I''d return there is nothing that''d stop me from returning him. Do you understand what I mean? Yasaka - ...Yes... Yu - Good girl. Smiling at her response I gave her another kiss before I brought something out of GOB. Yu - You know I originally planned to give everyone this in the future but if it''ll make everyone feel better I might as well give it now. Placing one hand over Yasaks left hand I slipped the object on her finger and watched as Yasaka showed me a shocked expression as she entered a daze like state. Yu - Keep this a secret from everyone until I get back. But let this represent my will to you all that no matter what I will return. Giving the dazed Yasaka one last kiss I instantly teleported out of Haven. Chapter 68 - Eating by the Campfire *Crackle* *Crackle* ??? - *Bite* So you wanted to talk to me? *Gulp* *Bite* Yu - Ya *Gulp* I needed your help with something that I''m having trouble with *Bite* This is really good! ??? 2 - I know right *Bite* Currently, I was sitting by a giant campfire with skirt steak in my hands, as a short man with a visor and a stick sat beside me eating the same type of steak. Across from us was a giant Chinese Dragon eating a much larger skirt steak. Because it was covered in bit marks I couldn''t really tell what kind of animal it was but from the look of the dragon''s expression, it was pleased with its food. - Many might wonder how this event came to be but it''s actually very simple. Not long after leaving Haven I made my way to Mount Sanqing and was expecting to spend a couple of hours searching for Sun Wukong but to my surprise, he found me or his friend did. The moment I entered Mount Sanqing I was welcomed by Yu-Long one of the Five Great Dragon Kings. Thinking that I might have to fight Yu-Long I was about to attack he asked me a question I never would have expected him to say. Yu-Long - Are you hungry? Yu - ...Come again...? Yu-Long - The old man told me to come and get you. Yu - You mean Sun Wukong Yu-Long - Yes, we''re having barbecue do you want some? Yu - [He came to Mount Sanqing to have barbecue?!... Do Buddha even eat barbecue?? Must be some really good barbecue.] Yu - Lead the way. Yu-Long - Hop on. Not wasting any more time I leaped into the air and landed on Yu-Long''s head, then without saying another word Yu-Long made his way up to the peak of the mountain where I instantly noticed the tantalizing smell of grilled meat. As we got closer to the peak I say a large fire that could possibly set fire to the whole mountain range if not for the small formations keeping the fire from spreading further than where it is meant to be. Then standing next to the fire was Sun Wukong, although from what I could see from his body language he wasn''t paying much attention to me and was putting all his focus on grilling the large piece of meat in front of him. To this, I could only look at Yu-Long and ask: Yu - Is he okay? Yu-Long - Ya we''ve just been preparing this dish for the past couple days if he suddenly messes up right now all our work will go to waste. Yu - [Your fixation of food and the way you said that made me wonder if I traveled into the world of Shokugeki no Soma instead of Highschool DxD.] Moving my gaze back towards Sun Wukong''s direction and looked at the dish he was cooking only to see it look like a normal skirt steak. Many questions ran through my head but seeing as Sun Wukong was busy cooking and Yu-Long had started taking a nap I decided to sit down and wait for Sun Wukong to finish. From reports my subordinates gave me Sun Wukong stopped getting involved in any unnecessary conflict since becoming a Buddha and mostly wondered the three realms as for what he did during his free time, I don''t know. Not knowing how long he will take cooking his food, a part of me wanted to just ask him for help right then and there but, in the end, I just sat down on the ground and waited for him to finish. Ever since I started indulging in the delicacies in Gates of Babylon whenever I caught wind of new rare delicacies I start to become a little gluttonous until I''ve tried the dish. So seeing as how even one of the five Dragon Kings was eager to try Sun Wukong''s dish obviously I couldn''t let myself be left out. {2 hours later} 2 hours passed and besides his short comments on how well the grilling was going Sun Wukong was silent. As for myself, I was leaning against Yu-Long''s mane playing with a small handheld game console I bought a long time ago while a bottle of Persian wine lay beside my feet. Sun Wukong - FINISHED!!!! Yu/Yu-Long - !!!! Alarmed by Sun Wukong''s sudden shout Yu-Long and me were a little startled before we turned our attention to Sun Wukong who was carrying 2 normal sized plates in his hands while behind him was a much larger plate behind him. Yu - [Where did he get such a large plate.] That was the first thought in my head before I suddenly fell on my back since Yu-Long whose body I was leaning against suddenly charged towards the giant plate faster than my eyes could register. Whether that was his natural speed or just the influence of his hunger I didn''t know. Sun Wukong - Sorry for the wait. Yu - Nah it''s okay. Sun Wukong - Come and eat I left you a portion. Yu - Okay but how did you know I was coming to find you? Sun Wukong - Back when I was a Youkai I ran away from a lot of people *Bite* along the way I became really good at masking my trail *Gulp* Obviously if someone tried to find me *Bite* with my years of experience I can make it so they''ll *Gulp* never find me unless I want them to find me. *Bite* You know the meat will go cold if you leave it alone *Gulp* Yu - [Oh right he was known for being a very mischievous and reckless going as far as going against the heavens while also angering a Buddha before getting imprisoned under a mountain. It actually would be surprising if he didn''t pick up a few skills.] Remembering the previous tales of Sun Wukong I started to wonder what other skills and abilities he has. Thinking about it now I was very tempted to ask him about his skills to see if I can "borrow" some for the future. While my mind preoccupied with my current thoughts, my hand had already picked up the skirt steak and taking a bite. Yu - ... Words could not describe how good this tasted, all I could say was that my mind stopped functioning leaving me stunned as I tried to savor the flavor of the meat. Sun Wukong - Hahahaha look at your face. Yu - !!!! Startled by Sun Wukong''s laugh I brought myself back to reality only to find myself still bite into the steak while drool started falling from my mouth. Embarrassed by the fact that I was drooling I started wiping my mouth with my jacket sleeve. Yu - [Damn, I don''t even drool when I see a s?xy woman how can I drool because of food?!?!?!] Sun Wukong - Hahaha *cough**cough* Ahem sorry. It''s just that the first time anyone takes a bite out of Leviathan steak is always priceless. Yu - Leviathan! The endangered sea dragon in the Atlantic?! Sun Wukong - Ya, Yu-Long found a Leviathan corpse when raiding an enemy base 4 months ago, and well. It was already preserved and it would be a waste to just let the meat rot away. Yu - [So you just decided to cook up and eat an endangered species!?!? But it is pretty good meat......Wait a minute that''s not the point here!!!!!] Feeling a headache build up inside my head I stopped thinking about the Leviathan and simply started seeing it a normal food and continued eating in silence. Sun Wukong - *Bite* So you wanted to talk to me? *Gulp* *Bite* Yu - Ya *Gulp* I needed your help with something that I''m having trouble with *Bite* This is really good (for an endangered species). Yu-Long - I know right *Bite* Yu - [If the Leviathan race goes extinct I''m blaming you Yu-Long.] Sun Wukong - ...So you going to tell me what you needed me for or what? Yu - I needed some help creating a cultivation method out of some techniques I already have. Unfortunately, I don''t have much knowledge when it comes to creating a cultivation method. Sun Wukong - Cultivation methods usually have a special function or benefit applied to them when created out of multiple skills. What''s the purpose for you wanted a cultivation method. Yu - I need a way to refine and absorb energy without my body exploding from taking in too much energy...actually while I say energy I really mean lightning. Sun Wukong - Hm~...You''re the one that caused the Divine Damnation a few months ago? Yu - Um ya Sun Wukong - Okay I''ll help you. Yu - [The hell!!! That was easy!!!] Chapter 69 - Working with a Buddha and Playing with Lightning Sun Wukong - So what skills do you want to use as the foundation for the cultivation method. Let me tell you first Divine Damnation is much stronger than the Divine Punishment I received in the past. If we''re going to do this I recommend we create something along the lines of a devouring technique and those usually need to be specifically created for one individual if they want to be master quickly. Yu - Devouring Technique. Sun Wukong - It''s one of the more extreme cultivation methods that let the user eat everything within the margins of the method''s parameters. In the past, I used one to try and devour Heavenly Energy straight from the Jade Emperor''s treasure fault except because I was reckless in its use I almost died hahaha good times. Yu - You are one crazy Buddha ...... you should join me and my drinking friend I''m sure you''ll fit right in. Sun Wukong - Sounds interesting- Yu-Long - Ahem aren''t you guys in the middle of something. Yu/Sun Wukong - *Cough**Cough* he''s right to let''s get back to work. Yu-Long - *Snort* Showing each other an awkward smile we returned our focus on the task at hand. Sun Wukong waved his hand and multiple parchments, and I pulled out four separate files. Each file had the physical copies of how to use my previous skill [Mediation] which was used to refine mana and other energies from the air into my body, the skill [Energy Furnace] which refilled my energy reserves almost instantly, [Life and Death Spiritualization] which uses external items and energy to refine and strengthen my body, and the [Devourer] ability from Lost Blood which states allows my sword to eat physical matter. Sun Wukong - *Whistle~* Haven''t seen methods like these in a long time. Yu - They were the only ones I felt could help me when going against a Divine Damnation. With these four skills, I''d use the ability from [Meditation] to refine the lightning adding to my own reserves, [Energy Furnace] speed up the absorption process, [Life and Death Spiritualization] will refine my body while I absorbed and refined the lightning into my own energy, and [Devourer] would eat away the lightning I couldn''t absorb. That was the original plan when choosing these skills but since I still had no clue of the final result I couldn''t be certain yet. *Clap!* Sun Wukong - Okay! If everything goes well we might be done with this in a years time but at most, it might take 2 years. Now let''s get started! Sun Wukong - At the most year 2 years Yu - Sorry to say this but at most I planned to stick around for a month or 2 but 1 to 2 years will cause my family will get worried [especially my lovers] Sun Wukong - Obviously I have a meeting with one of my descendants in a few days so I don''t have the time to spend 2 years here. I''m not as free as I was in the past after all. Yu - Then why did you agree to help me if you didn''t have enough time? Sun Wukong - That''s because I have this!! Pulling a large alter from what I expected to be a personal storage dimension. The alter was around 8 meters by 8 meters with a formation inscribed on the surface. What surprised me was that even with my advanced knowledge of formations I could tell what this function actually did, Yu - What is this? Sun Wukong - Something I ... found in a certain individual''s vault in the past. I don''t know the name but I do know that 1 year in the altar is around 1 week outside. Yu - (0o0)......Your kidding right. Yu - [Maybe I should work on my time magic when I have the time, and maybe my formation techniques too while I''m at it.] Sun Wukong - Hey you getting on or what? Yu - Oh wait up. Losing my train of thought while I was studying the formation on the alter I didn''t even notice Sun Wukong already preparing a workstation on the altar. From what I was able to understand along with Sun Wukong''s hint I saw that it did have the basic foundation for a time formation but that was all I could get from what little time I got to see it. Only after getting called out by Sun Wukong did I jump onto the altar as he started up the formation. ---- [9 months worth of time later] Sun Wukong - Um this looks good enough, why don''t you try it out. Yu - How will I do that? Originally I wanted to use the altar to get a few hours of sleep but, turns out Sun Wukong had other plans. The moment we finished he jumped out of the altar with a smile full of expectation on his face. Working on my cultivation method wasn''t the only thing we did in the altar we also drink a few bottles of wine together and talked about our lives. Along the way, we went from simple guys looking to pursue one goal to close friends similar to how I was with Azazel and the other guys. So when I saw the expectation in his smile I knew that whatever he was going to do it was going to be A) Funny, B) Stupid, C) Reckless, or D) All of the above. Deciding to go with the flow I didn''t even ask him what he was doing and simply watched as he set up Illusion, Defense, and Soundproofing formations around the mountain. Sun Wukong - Okay it''s ready. Yu - You seem pretty satisfied old man, is there something about formations that makes you feel that way. Sun Wukong - Ha~ Yu right now I''m about to show you one of my favorite games I like to play when I get bored. People might think it''s crazy but I think it''s fun, I call it lightning tag. Yu - You have my attention. Could''ve come up with a better name but you have my attention. Sun Wukong - Okay wait here for a minute. Saying that Sun Wukong flew up into the air with his flying nimbus until he was roughly 12 meters above the ground. From the way he spoke, I knew that this was going to be stupid and reckless but seeing as how this was my friend''s favorite pass times I didn''t want to spoil the fun and tell him to stop. Sun Wukong - Yu are you ready?! Sun Wukong - Okay! *Inhale* @@*^$%!*&%#[email protected]&%^[email protected]*&%$^!!!! @^@^%$*$%&@!!! After giving his confirmation to me Sun Wukong took a breath looked to the sky and spouted multiple curses that even I who wasn''t at the receiving end of the curses shuttered just hearing them. *Boom!!* Following Sun Wukong''s curses came a loud boom as a purple storm cloud started forming on top of us. Even though to normal people this may have seemed dangerous to me all I felt was a small chill down my spine before returning to normal. Sun Wukong - ...It''s smaller than what I expected it to be... Yu - Divine Punishment right? Sun Wukong - Of course, it''s not like I can pull out a Divine Damnation without proper preparations. Haven''t been able to either since I became a Buddha after all. Yu - So~ should we get moving. Sun Wukong - Originally I wanted to mess around have the Divine Punishment chase us around but if I had to rate this on a scale from 1 to 10 I''d say it''s a 5.8 at best. It''s no fun if it isn''t at least a 7 or higher, but I guess this is decent if you want to try out the new cultivation method. You''ve survived a Divine Damnation so Divine Punishment will be no problem for you. Yu - You know you''re playing with my life right? Sun Wukong - Don''t worry it''ll be fine~. *Swoosh* The moment Sun Wukong''s last words left his mouth the first bolt of lightning crashed down on us. Following the methods Sun Wukong and I created I let the lightning hit me while also chanting the cultivation method starting up the formula within. The moment my body came into contact with the lightning it was divided into 3 sources. One went to refining my body while the other went to add to my energy reserves, and the last one was forced out of my body thrashing the area around me. Besides the fact that I couldn''t take in everything yet what made it worse was that I didn''t feel much change in my body even after taking in 2/3 of a Divine Punishment. Yu - [Maybe I''ll need to absorb a Divine Damnation if I want to see any clear results.] Sun Wukong - Hmm~ Looks like we still need to work out a few kinks but it''s all good- ...Hahahahahaha look at your face hahaha Yu - Hm?...... Oh, come on. Wondering what Sun Wukong was laughing at me for I pulled out a mirror and what I saw caused me to want to laugh and cry at the same time. My hair was standing up like I went full Super Sayan and my body was covered in soot. Yu - [I look like a cartoon character that had a bomb go off in their hands] Yu - Old Man let''s get back to work perfecting this. If we''re lucky we can get a stronger one next time. Sun Wukong - Pfft! *Cough**Cough* Ahem sure let''s get back to work. Forcing myself not to lash out on my laughing monkey friend I cleaned the soot off of my body and tied my now stiff long hair down so I no longer looked like I was zapped by lightning. ---- After that, for the next 7 months in the altar, Sun Wukong and I would continuously be causing Divine Punishment to rain down on Mount Sanqing. While the amount of force behind each Divine Damnation wasn''t always the same something I heard from Sun Wukong we were able to eventually perfect my new Devouring Cultivation method to the best of our current abilities. Unfortunately, something both of us didn''t realize at the moment was that Divine Punishment can''t be completely hidden by simple illusion formations. So the result of this oversight resulted in us frightening most of the nearby inhabits around Mount Sanqing within a 30 miles radius. That was something I found out only after returning home. Chapter 70 - To Defying The Heavens After spending around 16 months inside Sun Wukong''s time altar it was finally time for both of us to say good-bye to the place. While for us it felt like months only 7.5 days passed, at first I thought of heading back home once I was done but felt that would be rude so before leaving Sun Wukong, Yu-Long, and I created another bonfire to barbecue some leftover leviathan meat Yu-Long was hoarding. Sun Wukong - So when are you going to face off against your Divine Damnation? Yu - I want to start as soon as possible but I don''t know how long it''ll take. Plus there are a lot of things that are going to happen pretty soon so I doubt I''ll face my Divine Damnation anytime soon. Sun Wukong - Hm true from what I heard from some of my friend in charge of fate and stuff like that. Yu - What they say? Sun Wukong - All they said was that this year was going to be one full of conflict. Many might die. Yu - Doesn''t seem all that different from the present. Sun Wukong - From your perspective, you might not see a difference because you''ve been waging war left to right and center these past few years but from what my friends say if things are left as they are right now the planet is screwed. Yu - I see... Sun Wukong - You don''t seem to care do you? Yu - Neither do you. Sun Wukong - Hehehe tooshay. But it wasn''t like that was an outcome I d?s?r?d, peace was fine and I''d wish for it to stay but eventually, little things called fate and karma will decide to be a b**** and mess with people. If I had the means to help the planet I would help out since I wasn''t a huge fan of worldwide genocide. As for Sun Wukong, if he was like his counterpart in the light novel then he would be on the side that fights to protect the planet no matter the cost. However, looking at Sun Wukong''s previous exploits recorded in history and comparing them to the Sun Wukong I got to know these past few months. Continuing my train of though questions started to pop up in my head before I eventually turned towards Sun Wukong Yu - Old Man, how did you become a buddha what people know from the storybook can''t really be true right? He pondered my question for a moment before eventually responding. Sun Wukong - When I was still young and reckless I continued to anger the Heavens many times like we''ve been doing previously. When I tried to rebel against the Heavens I was struck down by the Heavens Divine Punishment and what was left of me was imprisoned by the Buddha under a mountain. It was then that I discovered cultivation and began using it to get stronger before I eventually used my new found strength to escape the mountain. Yu - [So that''s how he discovered cultivation, I thought he found it when he became a buddha turns out I was wrong.] Sun Wukong - After that, I laid low for a few years and during that time I continued to cultivate before eventually getting a lead on the Buddha Sutra a cultivation method that could help me ascend the Heavens or so I thought. Yu - And after that, you and your friends "Pigsy" and "Sandy" went on a journey to get them and once you did you achieved Buddhahood. Sun Wukong - Wrong! I did get help from "Pigsy" and "Sandy" but after we got the Sutra we went our separate ways. I went to cultivate and they went to find ways to atone for their previous sins. During my cultivation I progressed through the 81 parts of the Buddha Sutra and with each part I progressed in I was meet with Divine Punishment. Eventually, after the 81st Divine Punishment, I was dealt with a strike stronger much stronger than Divine Punishment it was Divine Damnation something I would find out until many years later. Sun Wukong - Well I was at death''s door and right when I was going to take my last breath a mysterious glow spread out from my body and healed my wounds. Then without me even realizing it I saw the same Budda who imprisoned me many years ago standing before my damaged body. He told me that for trying to defy the Heavens multiple times I have been given Buddhahood not as a reward for my effort but as punishment. I was to be a servant to the Heavens and would no longer have the will to defy them. Yu - Sounds like a lot of bull. Sun Wukong - I thought so too and left without saying a word to the Buddha. After that, I continued to cause trouble in the three realms and I even tried to ascend beyond the Heavens again only to be met with failure every time. Even as time went on my d?s?r? to cause mischief went away and I went on a journey of reflection and met Indra who I ?ssisted in defending against the evils of the world. Years passed and while my resentment for the Heavens hadn''t gone away I have learned to accept my situation. I still like to curse the Heavens and play with Divine Punishment every once and a while but they gave me no boost in power so rather than using it as a way to fight against boredom I rarely tried to anger the heavens. Yu - ... Sun Wukong - The reason I decided to help you was that I wanted you to do what I could not. You''ve already survived a real Divine Damnation one stronger than the one I had and you didn''t receive any negative side effects. I see hope in you and believe you can do what I couldn''t plus you''re a really good kid so I don''t have any worries about helping you. Yu - Hahahaha well hearing that I really can''t let myself fail again can''t I? Sun Wukong - No you can''t. Yu - Well then let''s seal the deal with a drink. Sun Wukong - Here here. Yu - To defying the Heavens Sun Wukong - To defying the Heavens. Linking our arms together we each took a drink at the same time. To most people, our actions might have seemed like nothing special but in ancient time our actions would be taken as a form of brotherhood. Since we each thought of each other as good friends and Sun Wukong had a lot of expectation in me and I had no problem fulfilling them we each decided to instinctively use those expectations to become sworn brothers. Others might think that we were doing something ridiculous but to us who knew each other pretty well after being around a lot, we didn''t think so. After that what was originally was supposed to be a small farewell party turned into a 2-day long celebration where Sun Wukong and I eat and drink together to commemorate our newly established brotherhood. ---- Once the party was over Sun Wukong and Yu-Long left on the morning of the 3rd day having a lot of work to do. I, on the other hand, decided to head back to Haven but before I could I felt a small fluctuation within GOB. Looking inside and taking out the source of the fluctuation. It was a white necklace with a cross on it except the cross was glowing emerald green. Not even saying a single word I made my way to the nearest teleportation formation and teleported not to Haven but to Rome Italy. Once there I went into [Void Form] and flew through the sky before finding myself in a park. It was already night time when I got here and the place looked empty but with my night vision, I could see someone sitting on one of the park benches with there head down. Getting out of [Void Form] I made my way in front of that person without making a sound. It was a with blonde hair and green eyes, she wore a nuns outfit, a white veil on her head, and a silver cross necklace could be seen in her hands. Before saying anything I saw that there was a suitcase right beside her feet as well as the fact that she was shivering from the cold night air. Releasing a short sigh I took off the coat I was wearing and put it over her shoulders. This startled her causing her to look my way only to shooked further once she saw me. Chapter 71 - The Saintress Meets The Primordial My name is Asia Argento, and for years I have lived my life as an orphan under the protection of the church. Although life in the orphanage was lonely at times I found myself reading from the Bible and taking its teachings to heart. After some time had passed I decided to become a servant of God and work to bring joy to those who have lost there way. Even if I was really young when I decided my goal in life I spent most of my free time working to improve myself. Whether it was helping the den mother with her chores around the orphanage, or ?ssisting the church priest during Sunday school. I did everything I could and while I didn''t know if what I was doing was serving God I could see that I was helping people even if it was only a little. Then when I was 10 years old I saw an old man stumble into the orphanage church with a deep cut on his arm. For a moment I stood standing where I was not moving, not because I was scared of blood but because I didn''t know what to do. As this was happening I somehow made my way towards the old man who was being ?ssisted by the Church Priest. Confused by my own action I tried to reach out and ?ssist the best I could but before I could an emerald green light surrounded my hands. When the light touched the old man''s wounds before eventually going away along with the old man''s wound. Looking at my hand in disbelieve I saw that 2 dark green rings had appeared on my middle fingers, unable to understand what was going on I failed to realize the miracle that just happened. After that day I was sent to the Vatican where I learned that I was born with a sacred gear a special item crafted by God himself that is only found in a select few individuals. Along with that, I learned of the existence of angels, and devils with that my views of the world started to wreak havoc in my mind. However, it wasn''t too long that I began to accept this new found knowledge after remembering the strange new healing powers I had received. In fact, I was delighted when I realized that I carried with me an item crafted by the Lord himself. With that my conviction to serve the Lord grew, and after leaving the Vatican I became a Nun in the Church near the orphanage I lived in and helped out injured people that came looking for help. Days passed than months, before eventually years passed. My life was simple I would walk up in the morning do my morning clean up around the church, walk up the little kids, attend classes at school, perform healing for people in need in the afternoon, go out shopping for dinner in the evening, and eventually go to bed nightfall. It was a calm quiet life and I was okay with that, although one thing I found differently compared to before awakening my sacred gear was that the Priests now bowed to me every time I walked into the room. This was somewhat troublesome since I was never one to care about formalities when pointed my way so I never knew how to respond to them. If the was one problem I would have about this life it would be that I had no friends. Because everyone respected me (much to my pleading to ask them to stop) no one was very willing to act informally around me. Even the little kids I took care of in the morning kept a certain distance from me which cause me a little grief but I never hated any of them because of that. So for years, I lived my life surrounded by people but sadly none of them were close enough to me that I could confidently call them my friend. Until however, one night where I made my first friend in one of the weirdest yet unforgettable moments of my life. ---- {Asia 14 years old} *Step!**Step!**Step!* Asia - *Exhausted Exhale**Gasp* I better hurry *Gasp* or I''ll miss dinner time. At the time I expected it to be a quick job but to my surprise I found the store to be full of people and a job that should have taken 10 minutes ended up being 1.5 hours. By the time I stepped out of the store the sun had already set and I had to run back home before curfew. Unfortunately, I forgot to take into account my severe lack of stamina resulting in me taking frequent breaks on my journey home. *Crash!!!**Break!!!**Crash!!!* Asia - !!! As I made my way home on one of my breaks I heard a loud crash coming from the alley right next to me followed by the sound of something breaking. My first instinct was to run but before I could I heard the sound of someone in pain. Unable to turn down someone in need a trait I developed over my years as a nun I slowly made my way into the alley. ??? - *Painful Groan* Damn this hurts *Deep Groan* The closer I got the clearer I could hear the persons voice it was the voice of a boy, and once I got close enough I could see the person''s foot sticking out from behind a pile of wooden boxes. Knowing this person was hurt I quickly tried to come and help him but when I saw the state to the boy I froze. The boy had long brown and grey hair, magenta colored eyes that looked like gems, beautiful white skin, and chiseled facial features. Honestly, he was very handsome but that was not why my body froze up. It was because the boy''s body was covered in cuts all over his body and because the boy''s entire left arm below his elbow was missing. If not for my repeated experience healing multiple patience I might have fainted. Unconsciously I took a step back unintentionally kicking over a glass bottle making a loud noise. ??? - Who''s there?!?! Asia - [Is that magic? Oh wait I shouldn''t be thinking about that right now!] Clearing my mind of any random thoughts I looked at the boy''s face. He glared at me for a moment which frightened me a little bit, when he saw me the glare on his face disappeared as he slumped his shoulders. ??? - It''s just a girl. You should run along it isn''t safe being out here at night. No longer saying another word the boy sat down on the ground again with a loud "thump" as he closed his eyes. At first, I wanted to help him but seeing him ignore me cause me to feel a little awkward since I didn''t know what to do. For a while, I was stuck between calling out to him and not calling out to him but as I was wondering what to do the boy''s wounds began to catch fire. Asia - Kyaaa!! Frightened by the sigh of fire I rustled through my grocery back pulling out a water bottle and dumping half the contents on the boy without thinking. ??? - What are you doing?!?! Asia - Fire!! Your body caught on fire right now! I...um...I wanted to...um...help... ??? - ... Asia - I''m sorry l-let me help you dry your clothes. Raising my hand I activated my sacred gear and used it to not only help heal the boy''s wounds but also dry his clothes a convenient function I found out when seeing my patients blood dry up very quickly under my healing magic. Seeing my healing magic at work the boy''s looked at it for a moment before once again closing his eyes while fire covered his body once more. Asia - *Flinch* ??? - Don''t splash water on me. Reaching out for the water bottle again I heard the boy''s words and saw him looking at me. It was then that I realized that the fire boosted my healing abilities speeding up the boy''s natural regeneration. Or maybe that was the boy''s regeneration, to begin with, thinking this my face started to heat up wondering if I did some unnecessary. A few minutes passed an eventually the fire around the boy''s body went away revealing perfectly normal skin. The only place that still had some fire on it was his left arm which to my surprise had already started regrowing. It was then, did the boy open his eye and look at me. ??? - What''s your name? Asia - A-asia...and yours? Yu - Yu. What are you doing here? You don''t look like the type of girl to wonder alleyways at night. Yu - I see. Just letting you know but even if you didn''t help me I would have been fine. Asia - Um yes I see that. Looking at the Yu''s natural regeneration combined with my healing magic even without my help he would have been fine or at least his life wouldn''t be in danger. Yu - It''s fine I''m actually running on fumes mana wise so your magic is actually very helpful right now. If not I might be here for a few hours more. Thanks... Asia - Your welcome. Can I ask how did you get these injuries? Yu - No comment. Asia - Did you get in a fight. Fighting is bad you know. Yu - Tell that to the other guy. That sword-wielding geezer. Asia - We should respect our elders, calling them names is rude. Asia - ... Yu - Pfft hahaha Asia - hahaha I didn''t know why he was laughing but when I heard him laugh I also started to laugh. We laughed for a while before eventually looked up at the now fully risen moon while waiting for Yu''s arm to regenerate. Even though I knew he would be fine without me I surprisingly didn''t want to leave the alley was quiet and cold but for some reason, I didn''t feel any of that instead I felt a strange sense of warmth in my ?h?st. Compared to the time spent with the Priests in the Church who were always respectful and distant to me, Yu the boy I just meet this moment felt closer to me than anyone I''ve ever known in my life. Little did I know that in the years to pass I would look back on that night as not only the day I meet my first and closest friend but also the man I would hold dear to my heart. Under the light of the moon, two lives once so far apart had come together because of a fateful encounter. Chapter 72 - Reunion Under The Moon 10 minutes past since I started helping Yu-san recover and while the wounds on his body had disappeared while his arm had only regenerated up to his wrist. It was going so well at first but after reaching this point did the healing begin to slow down. The bleeding stopped a long time ago and the only thing left was a stump but even so, I still felt worried. Asia - ...Why has it stopped working? Yu - Probably has something to do with the high-level hexes cast on me. Not expecting Yu-san to reply to my question I flinched until I realized what he said. Asia - What do you mean by hexes. Yu - Currently my body has been cursed with high-level hexes cast by really strong mages. Because of that my high-speed regeneration is being halted due to its interference normally this wouldn''t be a problem but with the amount I have right now it is causing me some form of difficulty. Concentrate your mana onto your eyes and look at my wounds after that you''ll get a better glimpse of what I''m talking about. Following his instructions, I did what he told me and looked at his wound more closely. Once I did I saw countless cells trying to multiply and create more cells but as this happened a thick black mist surrounded the new cells killing this preventing any other cells from being formed. This was happening at an inhuman level of speed since from what I learned in school it shouldn''t be possible to see cells divide as fast as I was currently witnessing. Seeing this I wanted to comment about the black mist but as I continued watching I saw a different light blue mist make contact with the black mist as if they were fighting. As they fought the light blue mist was pushing the black mist away from the new cells slowly allowing the new cells to create more cells. Then for the next few minutes, both sides were pushing each other until eventually, I saw the black mist get overtaken by the light blue mist expelling it out of Yu-san''s body in the form of white vapor. Yu - *satisfied sigh* that''s better. Asia - ...Um...What just happened? Yu - I was expelling the hexes from my body with my mana. Now I shouldn''t have much difficulty now. Then as if to justify his words Yu-san''s wrist caught on fire before taking the form of a hand and once the fire dispersed a normal human had was left behind. Shocked by Yu-san''s miraculous healing I was unable to move just sat there awestruck about this sudden development. It was only until after I saw Yu-san stand up did I come back to my sense and also stand up in a hurry. Asia - I um... seeing as you could heal that fast without my help I can see I did something unreasonable and I''m sorry! At the end of my words, I was going to bow but before I could I felt something hit my forehead. When I saw what had happened I saw that Yu-san had flicked my forehead with his finger. Hearing that I only cut his recovery time in half rather than feeling glad that I helped him I instead felt depressed knowing that my work wasn''t necessary. *Flick* Asia - Ow~! Holding my forehead that just received a surprise finger flick my eyes began to water as I looked at Yu-san who still had his hand in a finger flick ready position. Yu - I''m just joking, no matter, if your ?ssistance was useful or not, doesn''t deny the fact that you tried to help me. So thank you I appreciate it...... also don''t know if you noticed it but I don''t think groceries should be scattered on the floor. Asia - Huh? Lost in a trance from the warm feeling I got from the first part of Yu-san''s words I immediately focused on my surroundings once I heard the second part. When I did I saw that the groceries I just bought were scattered on the floor. It had even started to rain earlier and some rainwater still remains on the floor creating a puddle where my groceries just happened to be resting. Asia - Ah! No~! Yu - Hm while you look like the girl that does everything diligently it seems that you have a clumsy forgetful side huh? Yu - Well since you helped me I might as well return the favor come on. Taking my hand Yu-san jumped into the air with me following right behind him, and before I could even understand what happened I found that we had arrived in a 24-hour food market. Going through the aisles he quickly picked out the same items I got previously, and within moment bought everything and handed the products to me. When he wanted to give me the bag I wanted to reject but he said it was his way of repaying me for my help and I could only accept it reluctantly when I saw that he wasn''t going to accept my refusal. After that, he said he would take me home and asked where I lived and once he knew just like how we arrived at the market he jumped from roof to roof with me in tow until we were standing in front of the orphanage gate. Yu - Is this the place? Asia - Yes thank you for bringing me home. Yu - It''s fine but let me tell you something, Asia. Be careful of who you choose to help, from what I can tell you are someone who can''t help themselves when they see someone get hurt. I honestly think this is a nice trait to have but it can also lead to you being taken advantage of. I''m not telling you to change yourself but to at least be cautious but, hey I''m just someone you meet a few hours ago it''s fine if you don''t listen to me...Goodbye. Finishing what he had to say Yu-san was about to turn around but when I heard him say goodbye I felt a sense of willingness in my heart and without thinking reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his jacket. Asia - Will this be the last time we see each other? To my question, Yu-san stopped for a moment as if pondering what to say before turning around and writing strange runes made of mana out of thin air. Once he was done writing he pushed the runes towards me and they entered my silver cross necklace. Leaving those words behind Yu-san left disappearing into the night''s sky. I felt a little sad seeing him leave but I knew I couldn''t stop him so all I could do was look at cross hanging on my neck while remembering the words he said. ---- Time went on after that and eventually, a year passed. During that year nothing changed in my life on the surface but deep down I was beginning to feel a little depressed. Seeing everyone around me act formally while also keeping their distance from me the lonely feeling in my heart grew. The way everyone never treated me normally began to cause discomfort in my daily life and there were times where I was tempted to call Yu-san just to get someone to talk to, but in the end, I chose not to. Even though I didn''t have any proof I felt that Yu-san was not normal he was probably someone with a position in power and me calling him would distract him from his duties something I didn''t want. So in order to keep myself busy, I lost myself in my work still remembering the words Yu-san left for me, but I couldn''t understand what he meant. Eventually, as time passed I started to think that Yu-san and I would never meet again until that one day that changed my life. ---- It was a normal Saturday morning that day, I had just gone out to water the plants the priest had been planting these past few months when I smelled the faint scent of iron. Following the scent, I arrived near the front gate of the orphanage and saw a badly injured devil. For a moment I thought it was Yu-san but after getting a good look I saw that this devil looked nothing like Yu-san but even so I still took immediate action and began to heal the injured devil. Unlike others, I never had any prejudice towards devils and such they were all living beings and felt it was wrong to discriminate them. So as I was healing the devil I wanted to communicate with him but before I could I heard a loud scream behind me. It was a group of church nuns and they were looking at me with pale faces muttering things like a demon, devil, witch, and such. At that moment the devil I had just finished healing ran away without a word leaving me alone. Drawn by the loud scream more and more, people started to gather and the nuns began telling everyone that I was a witch for healing a devil. Baffled by the sudden development I stood there unable to defend myself. After that I was imprisoned and sent to the Vatican, there I was given a trail about what would happen to me. Originally the ruling was death but adding all the contributions I had over the years lightened the sentence to being excommunicated from the church. Feeling some numbness in my feet I sat on one of the parks benches, I was tired and hungry but had no plans of moving from where I was. Instead, I held onto the cross hanging around my neck and prayed to God in the hopes that he would bestow upon me an answer but all that I received was silence. Asia - ......Yu-san Whether it was done unconsciously or consciously I called out Yu-san''s name. Even though we only knew each other for around an hour I felt drawn to him. As for why I felt that way even I couldn''t understand and I tried to make sense of why I felt that way. Lost in thought I didn''t know how much time passed and it was when I felt something cover my body did I return to reality. Looking up to see what happened I saw the boy who I meet one year ago. Asia - Yu-san?! *Flick* Chapter 73 - A Nun in Need *Flick* Asia - Ow~! Yu - You can feel pain but not to coldness in the air? Come on it''s below 60 degrees out here! What were you thinking? Asia - ...I''m sorry. Yu - What''s wrong? When I heard Asia reply in a low depressed tone I crouched down beside her and asked. At first, she looked like she didn''t want to answer but after thinking for a moment she began to open up. Asia - I- *Growl* Asia - *Blush* I-I um um um Yu - ...Let''s get you some food first. Come on my treat. Pulling the hand of the now blushing Asia I grabbed her suitcase and made my way to a nearby fast food shop I saw on my way here. The place wasn''t crowded so I sat Asia down and then went to buy some food. When I came back I place the food down and waited for her to finish eating before having her tell me what happened. Once she did I realized that events related to the plot had already begun to set themselves in motion. Following that when I remembered the date I noticed that the due date for Issei''s four-month training was in 2 days. On a side note, my d?s?r? to kill Diodora had grown significantly sadly the little snake doesn''t leave his family territory much. Yu - [Maybe I can send a group of Shadow Clansmen to kill him in secret. It might take a lot of resources to not only get the job done but also make it so no one can track it back to me but, I think my elites can get it done. Hmm~] Asia - Um Yu-san? As I was planning out who and when to send one of my secret task forces Asia called out to me. Compared to earlier when she was too depressed to look at me after talking out her experience with me she seemed to have calmed down a lot. Asia - Does Yu-san believe in the Lord? Yu - You mean god? Asia - *Nod* Yu - Well I do know that Gods exist I''ve seen and even talked to some (fought with some too) but I''ve never seen the God of the Bible. So yes I believe that Gods exist even the God of the Bible but if you ask me whether I have faith in any religion I''d have to say no. I do believe that there is someone or something that created all of existed but I don''t think that being would take up the title of God. If it wanted a title like God it would''ve made itself known but since it doesn''t I don''t think it cares much about what people think of it. Naturally, I can''t say that I''ve met a being like that so all I could do was be vague when stating my opinion on believe. Even in my past life, I didn''t have much faith in something like religion I thought it was a weird thing have faith in but never thought badly of those that did. However, after actually coming into contact with someone of a higher plane of existence and comparing it with the Gods I meet previously I noticed that the huge difference between the 2. So ya after witnessing a being stronger than anything I''ve ever experience in my second life I''d rather believe in the being that brought me to this world rather than the gods of this world. Asia - ...I see... Yu - Hey Asia what do you plan to do with your life now? Yu - Then do you want to work for me? Asia - What do you mean? Yu - I lead an organization, and for the past few years we''ve been building something akin to a Kingdom or Empire if you will. During those few years, we''ve fought a lot of battle with those that would want to prevent us from expanding and developing. However, not every battle is casualty free and as a result, many children have lost their parents and now live as orphans. Asia - I''m sorry to hear that. Yu - Thanks for your concern... Now here''s the job I''m proposing to you actually relates to your life up until now. Asia - A nun? Yu - Now you just told me that along with being an orphan you also took part in ?ssisting the orphanage den mother taking care of the orphans and doing normal chores, and from what I could tell from your tone you actually liked it. Also, it just so happened that our current orphanages are short on den mothers and ?ssistance. Asia - Do you want me to be a den mother? Yu - Do you not want to? Yu - Do you still want to go to school? If you do that''s not a problem it''s not like I can instantly make you a den mother without training so you''ll first start as an ?ssistant. Asia - Thank you and sorry for the inconvenience. *Flick* Asia - Ow~ Yu - Stop apologizing for everything. If it was an inconvenience I wouldn''t have given you that option. Asia - I''m- Yu - *Readying finger flick* Asia - Nevermind... ---- When putting it that way it made me feel like I was taking advantage of her situation to bring her over to my side. Although when I remembered that if I didn''t then she''d fall into the hands of Raynare I pushed aside the unease in my ?h?st. Giving a second chance at life was better than dying at the hands of fallen angels. For the next 30 minutes, I continued to Asia before eventually stopping once I saw that she was beginning to show signs of drowsiness. So after cleaning up the food wrapper but of us left the shop, and were about to head back to Haven if not for the fact that I sensed mana fluctuations in the air. Yu - Asia there is something I need to take care of so I''ll send you ahead. I''ll be right behind you but if anyone asks tell the Yu sent you. Asia - Huh ah! Okay. Teleporting her into Haven I followed the mana fluctuations until I found myself staring down on a group of four male fallen angels. Fallen Angel 1 - Hey are you sure the girl is still here? Fallen Angel 2 - Ya from what my informant in the church said after leaving the orphanage she seemed lost and depressed. I don''t think she''ll get very far in that state. Fallen Angel 3 - For a simple pick-up mission, it''s proving to be quiet the hassle. Fallen Angel 4 - Shut it, all we have to do is trick her into coming with us and we''ll get paid over 10 million euros. Yu - Drew Saying that name out loud the shadow behind me began to take the form. Once it was done a 2-meter tall man with deathly pale skin his face was covered by a mask and hood but I could see his glowing ice blue eye. He was kneeling behind me, midnight black clothes covered his body, and he carried no weapons besides the twin daggers hanging behind his waist. This was Drew the strongest ?ssassin type soldier exceeding even Magari and Charollete in terms of stealth, infiltration, and espionage. In the beginning, he was a simple shadow soldier but after my shadow soldiers started gaining consciousness he proved himself to be at the top of everyone else. Eventually, the achievements and loyal he showed to me ?ssigned him the role of being my shadow being beside me at all times unless I tell him otherwise. Drew - What is your command Master. Yu - Those Fallen Angels down there might have some information useful to me capture time and get every bit of information out of them for me. Drew - As you wish, and what about after they''ve given us everything they have? Yu - Kill them. Knowing you that might be doing justice. Drew - ......As you wish. Another thing about Drew was that while his loyalty was second only to Seriyuu he was a shadow clansman and those guys tend to have very sadistic personalities. Drew was no exception to that and even found interrogation to be one of his favorite ?ssignments I give him. Leaving that thought in my mind I looked towards the four fallen angels and saw that Drew had already begun his work. Using shadow magic to create shadow thread like Shikamaru from Naruto he stabbed them into one of the fallen angels legs before dragging him into the shadows. The actions alerted the others and one was smart enough to run away, unfortunately, he found Drew appearing before him daggers drawn as he cut off the fallen angels wings, severed all his tendons, and wrapped him in a thin wire. It didn''t stop there after wrapping him in wire he used the fallen angel like a weapon and hurled him at the other enemies hoping to knock them out. If not for the fact that the enemy had strengthened themselves with magic it might have worked but it didn''t and they summoned light-based weapons and were about to charge at Drew. Sadly, Drew was faster than them and used one knife to chop off one of the enemies arms while the other was shoved up against the other''s rear end before he eventually pulled the knife upwards causing the victim to pass out in shock. As for the last enemy Drew cut off one of his legs before using low-grade elixirs heal any fatal wounds, later he sent them to his separate sub-space shadow realm, and disappeared. Yu - *Sigh~* What the **** did I just see. Drew''s techniques may very well be the very definition of cruel. Taking a moment to forget everything I just saw, I closed my eyes before finally leaving Rome and entering Haven. However, before I could even open my eyes I was tackled and when I opened my eyes I saw that it was Shirone, Kuroka, and Valerie. All them had looks of expectation on their face but I didn''t know why. Yu - What''s wrong- Shirone/Kuroka/Valerie - Where''s our rings!?!?!?!? Yu - [Oh~ that''s why.] Chapter 74 - An Emperors Woes Kuroka/Shirone/Valerie - YU~~!!!! When they saw that I wasn''t replying they called out my name. In all honesty at first, I wanted to reply but currently, I was enjoying the feeling of 3 different sets of br??sts pressed up against my face. Yu - [Just give me a minute.] Taking in a deep breath I could smell their natural aroma coming off of their bodies and an evil fire started to form in my lower abdomen but, before I could let loose I couldn''t forget why I came here in the beginning. Reluctantly moving my gaze away from the extremely comfortable pillows I took a peek towards the rest of the room. At the moment I was in the middle of Hanging Gardens of Babylons common room, there were 2 maids waiting by each entrance and not far from me was Yasaka who was talking to Asia. Knowing that now wasn''t the best time to lose control I hugged the 3 spoiled girls and forced myself to my feet. After that, I pulled out 3 black rings with small golden runes inscribed on them. See the rings the girls stopped making noise but could stop their bodies from trembling in excitement. Once I finished putting the rings on each of their ring fingers all of them looked at their hands dazed just like Yasaka did a week ago. Taking this moment to fix up my attire in the corner of my eye I saw the all of the palace maids were looking at the girls with envy in their eyes, Asia became as red as a tomato, and Yasaka was ??r?ssing her own ring. Kuroka - YU~~~ Hearing my name called by Kuroka I turned to look at her and was surprised. Apparently, she had come out of her dazed stat quicker than the rest, but that wasn''t what surprised me was the fact that she was only half-dressed now and was about to pounce on me. Judging from her behavior, and the intense heat coming from her body I could instantly tell that she had gone into heat. Yu - [It''s a man''s job to eat what''s place in front of him, this is unavoidable.] Saying that excuse to lose control I spread my arms wide to receive Kuroka, but as if Karma finally wanted to be a ***** I was meet with nothing. *Swoosh* Kuroka - NO~ Shirone~!!! Let go~!!! Yup before Kuroka could even get close to me Shirone had pinned her down preventing her from getting close. Shirone - Nee-sama you promised Kuroka - NO~~!!! *Whack* *Ding*[Congradulations you''ve been ???kblocked.] Yasaka - ...Are you okay? After spending a few minutes to recollect myself I realized that the only ones left in the common room were me and Yasaka. Yu - Ya I''m fine but where is Asia? Yasaka - I had Valerie lead her to one of the empty rooms in the inner court. Yu - Why did you do that? Hearing this I couldn''t help myself from frowning a little. The inner court, after all, was the place where only my lovers and palace maids lived. As far as I could tell Asia was neither of those so I didn''t know why Yasaka would have her move into the inner court. Yasaka - Isn''t she your newest lover? Yu - Huh?! No were not like that! Yu - What does that mean!? Yasaka - I was able to learn a little about her while we were talking. I know that you helped her, and knowing you, the girls that you help out personally eventually end up becoming your lover or they devote themselves to you. Yu - Now that is not true. Yasaka - Kuroka, Shirone, Valerie, and the previous Nekoshou villagers. Yu - Come on really that was...never mind. Thinking about it now she''s is right. Kuroka, Shirone, and Valerie became my lovers that fact is undeniable. As for the women from Nekoshou Village, there were originally the core members of my counterintelligence department but after Haven grew so big minus the village chief Charlotte and Magari all of them became maids in the palace. Adding the fact that they are part of the maid faction that would try to seduce me every chance they get didn''t help my case. Still the fact that she said that made it seem like I was a womanizing pervert, I mean I kind of am but that''s not the point!! Yu - *Sigh* By the way Yasaka. Yasaka - Hmm~ Yes Yu - How did Valerie and the others know about the rings I thought I told you to keep it a secret until I got back. Yasaka - Huh? Um, you see... um... Not expecting my question Yasaka who was usually calm and composed started to falter on how to answer my questions. Yu - You talked didn''t you? Yasaka - *turns away* Yu - [I guess I need to punish this little fox.] *Swoosh* Yasaka - Kyaaa!!!! Appearing behind her I stripped her of her clothes and carried her in a princess hold towards my bedroom. I didn''t really care that she told the girls, I was just using it as an excuse to release the pent up urge I accumulated during that one year within Sun Wukong''s time alter. After spending a few hours doing the deed, I left the now tired and jelly legged Yasaka to rest in my room as I took a quick shower and made teleported into my throne room. Once there I was multiple figures sitting down before. There was my four guardians Seriyuu, Genbu, Suzaku, and Byakko, my shadow Drew, and my new acting advisor Esau. While there I was away minus Drew I had these guys monitor Issei and see how he was progressing. Since this time I was gone for a week, I wanted to get updated with how my brother was doing. Yu - What are your thoughts of Issei''s current level of progression? Genbu - From I''ve been able to observe he has excellent com[atability with his Sacred Gear and has already achieved Balance Break while Master was away. Yu - How long can he maintain his Balance Breaker Genbu - 3 minutes Yu - [For 4 months of training he''s done pretty good.] Yu - Anything else? Suzaku - 6 days ago he began learning to use magic, from what I could gather he had an affinity with fire and wind magic with a small affinity with lightning magic. Currently, he can produce a flame the size of an apple as well as clad his body in flames if he sees fit. Yu - Drew, Esau what do you think of his combat prowess? Drew - ...He has the ability to be a counter for our shadow soldiers magic wise, but he hasn''t had much training in magic so I can''t tell if how he''d fare against some of our strongest Shadow Soldiers. Esau - With the number of skills he has now he''d make a perfect tank with how sturdy his body is when downing his Balance Breaker but he lacks mental fortification. Ddraig might be able to help him with low-level mind magic but mid-level mind magic might be enough to take him down. Yu - That is true mind magic attacks are a pain to defend against, it would be wise to set up some defense towards those kinds of attacks. And Drew the Shadow soldiers are now at least peak of High-Rank even our weakest is in the peak of Mid-Rank. Issei has no combat experience yet so pinning him against them would be cruel on our part. Seriyuu - Then why not give him some combat experience? Turning my sights towards Seriyuu I showed a somewhat surprised expression. Seriyuu never really cared much for those weaker than him and usually stayed quiet during meetings like this. So hearing him speak his mind today was a little strange but not something I opposed. Seriyuu - Master for these past 4 months your little brother had made progress in using his sacred gear, strengthening his body, and learning a little magic but he lacks combat experience. All we''ve been doing is watching him improve as well as to measure his strength through his practice sessions. This isn''t giving us a good read on his true power level under pressure, forgive me for being direct but even if he''s had time to train it might amount to nothing in the end. Without experiencing true combat he''ll never be able to m?tur?. So what if he has power if, in the end, he is a coward all that training will result in wasted effort. Digesting all of what Seriyuu just said I paused for a moment before eventually opening my eyes again. From the reports given to me, every opponent Issei''s fought against was a normal delinquent or thug causing trouble. None of them could give Issei the experience needed in order to understand how the Supernatural world functions. Yu - For now Issei has 1 day left but let''s give him a real fight...Esau, I got a job for you, are you up for it? Esau - It would be my p???sur?. Yu - Tomorrow morning on Issei''s way to school I want you to test him, as for how you''ll test him I''ll leave that for you to decide. Try to drag out any hidden potential he has in him will you, just don''t kill him. Esau - I will do my best to complete the mission. After finishing what I wanted to say I reclined in my throne and looked out the nearby window. Yu - [Issei you might hate me for what you''re about to experience tomorrow but I want you to survive. Be better than your counterpart and show me a good show.] Chapter 75 - Isseis Test {Yu''s PoV} After having that meeting with the others last night I woke up early the next day and rather than going to school I stood atop one of Kuoh Town''s taller buildings. Resting her head on my ??p was Shirone who decided to skip school with me, and behind us was Esau who was wearing a butlers outfit. At the moment I was briefing Esau on how far he could go when testing Issei as well as the time limit I placed on this operation. Yu - You got everything memorized? Esau - Yes I have committed everything to memory. Yu - Then get into position Issei should be on his way to school by now. Esau - As you wish Master. *Swoosh* Leaving off with those words Esau turned into a grey mist and descended upon Kouh Town. For a while, we just sat there enjoying the morning air, and the first to speak was Shirone. Shirone - Are you sure it''s right to be testing Issei like this? It seems a little excessive, don''t you think? Wouldn''t it be better to have him spar with some of our soldier instead of fighting against Esau? Yu - I''ll admit that there are other ways to test Issei but I felt that it is the best test if I want to see Issei''s potential. Besides if I pinned him again one of my soldiers they might go easy on him since he''s my little brother, or they might completely annihilate him with their normal strength. After all the minimum requirement to be a full-fledged soldier is to reach High Rank after all. Shirone - I don''t know why you put such a requirement on soldier recruitment. Yu - It''s so they can survive, the soldiers of Haven are not alone they also have families. The requirement is so they can have the strength to not die so easily on the battlefield. We already have enough war orphans as is, I don''t want them to continue to increase if I can help it. Besides compared to the others, Esau is the best candidate for this ?ssignment. Shirone - Why? Yu - While his training regiment is a little cynical he''s able to bring out good results. While it might be a little annoying he does point out the flaws in a person''s actions. Not only does it allow the soldier to learn from his or her mistake it also gives them the chance to reflect on their training after it''s done. Besides he knows how to hold back which is more than I can say for the others. Shirone - Oh~ *Pulse~* As we were talking both of us felt a strong pulse of mana coming from the direction of my house. Following that, we could see a small bit of smoke rising in that direction. Yu - ...That fire is probably from Issei, Esau specializes in dark, wind, and mind magic. ---- {Issei''s POV} Issei - Shit I''m going to be late. Ddraig - [It''s your fault for staying up late Partner. I just don''t get why you find those videos so entertaining.] Issei - [...] Since I wasn''t able to come up with a proper counter to Ddraig''s comment I looked around to see if I can change the subject. However, there was nobody in the streets today, and it was really quiet which made the atmosphere feel off. Issei - [This kind of reminds me of a scene in an anime.] Ddraig - [Partner watch out!!!] *Swoosh* Reacting to Ddraig''s voice I stopped running but before I could ask what was wrong an arrow had impaled my left shoulder. Overcome with the pain I unconsciously fell to my knees while holding onto my now injured shoulder. Ddraig - Partner get up! Issei - *Painful Groan* What''s going on!?!? ??? - Minus 30 points, even if you couldn''t dodge that your reaction to pain is a little exaggerated... or is that you are not used to pain? Whatever it won''t change anything. Looking up at the man who shot me, all I saw a middle-aged man wearing butlers clothes. He didn''t look like he was carrying a weapon but something told me that he was the guy firing the arrow. Issei - Who are you?! Gritting my teeth I shouted a question at the man, currently, he was writing something down on a notepad, and it was only after I shouted that he looked at me. Issei - [Vampire!! Ddraig didn''t you say that as long as I still had the seal on me monsters wouldn''t be able to find me!?] Ddraig - [Yes, but as time passes the seal weakens, so it isn''t impossible for your aura to leak out, but I''m certain that hasn''t happened yet. Whoever this guy is, he isn''t someone you should let your guard down around.] Issei - [Shit! Why now of all times?!] Esau - Are you and the Welsh Dragon done talking already? I''m kind of on a deadline here. Issei - Deadline? Esau - Well until noon today I''m going to hunt you down and see what the current host of the Boosted Gear is capable of. That''s all really, though if you die that''s fine too. Issei - Why!? I don''t remember having a connection in the supernatural world, so why I''m I being targeted!?!? Esau - It''s not me who wants to test you, but someone I know what''s to see how much you have improved in these 4-months. Issei - 4-months... Was it you that put that seal on me?! Snapping his fingers I felt a large surge of mana entering the air. As I tried to understand what was going on the sky had turned red before eventually returning to its usual light blue color. Ddraig - Vampire what is the meaning of this? Esau - It''s just some precautions so you don''t run away. Currently, the entirety of Kouh Town in encased in a barrier, as of right now nothing can come inside and nothing can go out either. Now let''s begin your test shall we. Sprouting wings from his back Esau took to the sky, and as he did that many arrows started to appear out of thin air. Then without saying anything else, those arrows start flying my way at breakneck speeds. Barrel rolling to the side I endured the sharp pain in my shoulder, summoned the boosted gear and punch the incoming arrows. Issei - [Ddraig!] Ddraig - [Calm down and think rationally, panicking will only mess with your sense of judgment. He can instantly form a magic barrier around the town but takes a few seconds to form magic arrows. Judging from actions he isn''t fighting you at full strength, probably his earlier words about killing you were only just to scare you into not being careless.] Issei - [That arrow earlier seemed pretty lethal I can still feel pain in my shoulder! How can you explain that!?] Ddraig - [Even if he doesn''t plan to kill you, he does have the power to kill you easily. Don''t let your guard down.] Issei - [Tell me something I don''t-] As my train of thought was interrupted by the guy''s words what came after was a heavy blow to my gut. The impact sent me flying a few meters but when I looked down I saw another arrow stabbed into my stomach. Forcefully pulling the arrow out, I dodged the next volley of arrows coming my way. Issei - [Ddraig any ideas?] Ddraig - [Escape, right now we can''t beat this guy and the time limit for balance breaker won''t give us enough time to fight evenly. All we can do now is regroup.] Issei - [Okay.] Learning from my past mistake I quickly conversed with Ddraig before focusing solely on the battle. In doing this I was able to sense and even dodge the series of ground spikes that started popping out of the ground. Esau - Hmm~ learning while fighting, interesting plus 10 points. Ignoring his comment I tried looking for a way to escape but couldn''t find any. If I tried to leave through the sky I would be shoot down by his arrows, and if I tried to run away his ground spikes would try to impale me. Looking towards Esau I saw that he was now reading a book in one hand while using the other to constantly fire off magic spells During our exchange, I tried sending some fireballs towards Esau but they were cut down by a series wind blade, but when that happened I noticed that his attacks momentarily stopped when the wind blades were released. I didn''t know if this was a type of ploy he was setting up for me but it was all I got a the moment. So all I could do was act on it, with my right hand I sent a volley of fireballs towards Esau, and with my left hand, I formed a compressed fireball the size of a marble. Issei - [I hope this doesn''t kill me.] Borrowing the power of the boosted gear I powered up the firepower of the compressed fireball before throwing it towards Esau, and just like the others, he fired a wind blade cutting the compressed fireball in half releasing all the pent up energy inside causing a giant explosion. Esau - Hmm? Probably sensing the sudden burst of fire energy in the air Esau looked towards the fireball but it was already too late. *BOOM!!!!* The explosion went off and everything in the surrounding area was engulfed in a sea of flames. Chapter 76 - Isseis Test: Part 2 {Esau''s POV:} Looking at the fireball the Young Master just released I didn''t think much of it and cut it with a wind blade. The moment the fireball was cut in two I expected it to disappear but instead, it seemed to grow in mass while the fire energy in the surroundings started to run ramped. All it took was an instant for the fireball to explode but at that moment I used magic to seal the flames within a small barrier. *BOOM!!!!* "Arrgh!," I grunted as the impact from the blast was more than I expected to cause me to miscalculate in creating my barrier leaving me with light internal injuries, "I didn''t expect that, to think your fire magic had progressed to such a degree. While I will commend your quick thinking, I must say that using that in a public area is a bit rash." After fixing up my attire I began looking at the surrounding. Because my barrier was weakened a little when my magic became unstable some of the contained fire escaped and had landed on the surrounding building. Even I was hit by some of the Young Master''s flames but, due to years of training my fire resistance, my clothes were the only thing on my body that received damage. The same, however, couldn''t be said for the surrounding buildings. Since the fire exploded without inside a residential area most of the buildings caught on fire. Taking a moment to subdue the flames with wind magic I returned my focus towards the barrier but, no matter how long I waited nothing happened. When I tried sensing any lifeforms in the surrounding area I found none. "He couldn''t have killed himself right?" I thought while forcefully dispelling the fire energy within the barrier and looking inside only to find that instead of a charred up corpse there was instead a medium-sized crater where the Young Master. "Cheeky bastard," I said as my lips twitched realizing I had been tricked, "Using the flames as a diversion to escape. I didn''t expect him to come up with a strategy like that very impressive, but it''ll take more than that to run away from me." Chanting another incantation I implanted a few orders into their subconscious. Once that was over I sent them away and they all jumped into the crater in chase of the Young Master. I was also going to follow and give chase but before I could I felt the presence of multiple devils. Judging from the aura signatures two of them were pure-blooded devils while the others were lower class devils. Most likely they came over to investigate the sudden spike in fire energy in the area. "Now how will I deal with this?" I wondered before receiving a message from His Highness "Esau it''s me, don''t worry about them I''ll take care of it. You just need to focus on the task at hand." "I understand," I replied before jumping into the crater without looking back. ---- {Ddraig''s POV:} Using the impact from the explosion spell as a diversion Issei powered up the attack power in his fist before striking the ground. What awaited him there was a large sewage system which he used to escape. Honestly, I''m impressed I didn''t expect there to be a sewage system in such a small road. "Not bad partner," I said, "but how did you know there was a sewage system below us?" "Hahaha. It was all luck," Issei said while scratching his cheek, "To be honest I can''t believe that worked. I saw it in a manga a while back and decided well might as well give it a try. To think it worked hahaha." "...Ddraig?" "Ha~," I sighed, "I don''t know if you''re a genius for escaping or an idiot for copying a manga. For now, you should get out of here immediately, use that skill I though you." "Ah¡­okay," Issei said with a hesitant tone Since entering this sewage system Issei had been sprinting to get away, but in my opinion, he''s going too slow. So rather than having him run I had him use a special skill I had him learn. This skill used the powers of the boosted gear to make a partial balance breaker having wings appear on his back. Unlike fully conjuring up the boosted gears balance breaker this partial manifestation is easier to use and doesn''t use up too much mana. It was the perfect skill my past host''s used when the couldn''t use their balance breaker. Unfortunately, Issei is a special case in the fact that he can only manifest wings and to top it off he can''t yet fully handle the ten times added speed. "Hey Ddraig," Issei said after getting used to eight-times his usual speed, "you got any ideas on what to do now?" "First let''s see what we know about that vampire," I said analyzing our previous interaction with the vampire name Esau, "He seems to be proficient in dark magic as well as wind magic. Then there are his vampire natural traits which are in there own way very troublesome." "How so?" "Well judging from his strength it wouldn''t be wrong to ?ssume he has a [Bloody Household]." "A [Bloody Household] is when I high-level noble vampire reaches a power level where their blood can be used to create their servants. If that vampire Esau can use that technique that means he''s at or beyond Ultimate rank." "Can all vampires use that?" "No they can only be used by vampires that meet certain conditions," I said remembering fighting against strong vampires with a [Bloody Household] "And those conditions are?" "No idea." "Shit!" He cursed, "So basically I''m screwed?" "Under normal condition yes," I replied immediately, "Currently, even with your balance breaker on at most, you can fight high-level opponents, but ultimate rank is beyond you. Begins at that level beings have shed their mortal shell and become something much more than what they previously were. You, however, are not at that level yet" Hearing my reply Issei''s face sunk as the thought of dying had finally hit him. Even from the sacred gear, I could feel his anxiety, fear, and depression. If this keeps up his spirit might break and he''ll lose himself in depression. "Calm down partner," I said trying to bring him back to reality, "Remember what I said he''s here to test you, not kill you. While dying isn''t a major concern now it is best to keep that thought in the back of your head. Right now escape is your only bet in surviving until noon, choose your battles wisely. If you can beat them try it could be good practice, but if you can''t run. Dying would be the worst for both of us." "Your right," He said picking up speed, "It''s not like I will have a peaceful life since I own the Boosted Gear. I''ll have to experience things like this in the future, if I can survive this I''ll use it as a stepping stone to go further in life. Getting scared now isn''t going to help anyone." ---- {Esau''s POV:} It didn''t take long for me to catch up to the Young Master and my [Bloody Household] was about to engage him but I stopped them before they could. The reason was that he seemed to be deep in conversation with the Red Dragon Emperor. For moment anxiety, fear, and depression could be seen painted on his face. At that moment I thought he was going to give up, but then Ddraig spoke a few words and the Young Master''s gaze changed. From what I saw the naive boy who knew nothing of the world, had found his resolve. The resolve to live in this world he''s found himself in, a world full of dangers at every corner. "Well then Young Master," I said with a smile on my face, "Let''s test your resolve." Chapter 77 - Talking With Devils (Short Chapter) {Yu''s POV} Once the giant explosion was released rather than going to the source of the explosion instead I observed the actions of the other factions in Kouh. While the Devils have "claimed" Kouh as their territory, in fact, it''s only Kouh Highschool that they have as part of their territory. Everything else had a specific area where different factions had set up shop. If there were any factions that wanted to interfere with Issei''s test I would intercept them. If they were friendly I would ask them to leave, but if they were hostile I wouldn''t mind wiping them out. I basically had the power to do that already, Kouh didn''t have any Ultimate or Super rank beings which I honestly thought was disappointing. The only reason I didn''t outright claim Kouh as my territory was because a couple of days ago when I was on a date with Yasaka. She mentioned how I tend to resort to violence very easily whenever I''m negotiating with someone I either 1) didn''t see as a possible ally, or 2) not a member of Haven. It was a habit I developed unconsciously over the years but after realizing I developed that habit did I know it was something I needed to change. I didn''t want to be seen as a tyrant after all. So after scanning the area, I was surprised to see that the devils were the only ones to make their way towards the explosion. Turning my attention to Esau who also noticed the group of devils I told him to leave it to me. "Well I''m heading out," I said standing from my seat, "Do you want to come." "Sure." Wrapping my hand around Shirone''s waist we both disappeared using spatial movement. ---- "What''s up," I said surprising everyone due to my sudden entrance, "Shouldn''t you guys be in school?" "The same could be said for you Yu-Kun and Shirone," Sona said after realizing it was me. To that, all I did was shrug my shoulders. I wasn''t even in school eighty percent of the time anyway so what did it matter if I missed another day of school. "So are you guys here to investigate the explosion," I asked with a smile, "If so I would kindly ask you guys to leave. My people are working on something and I don''t want people interfering." "Hey this is devil territory you can''t just do whatever you want," said I male who I''ve never met before while he pointed his finger at me "Who''s he," asked Shirone before I could "This is my newest [Pawn]," Sona said while Tsubasa pulled the male to the back of the crowd, "His name is Genshirou Saji." "He seems to have a sacred gear on him," Shirone said "Hey man, I''m straight!" He declared while backing away hugging himself. "..." *BANG!!!* It didn''t take a rocket scientist to understand what he means and when I heard it I was deeply insulted. Pulling out my favorite revolver I mercilessly shot him straight in the ?h?st. The bullets weren''t dangerous just rubber bullets enchanted with enough electricity to stun an elephant. The bullet itself wouldn''t kill him and instead sent him flying four meters back. Thinking I punished Saji enough I used telekinesis to bring him back while Shirone used her senjutsu arts to mend any fractured bones he might have received. "From I can tell he has potential if brought up correctly," I said ignoring Saji who was still m??ning in pain, "Other than the fact that he needs a little more training in some areas I''d say you got yourself a jackpot Sona." "Ara ara," Akeno said, "I never knew you were such a sadist Yu-Kun." "It''s his fault for thinking I swing that way." "You''re the one that was looking at me weirdly," Saji complained as he adapted to the pain "..." To my first sentence, everyone couldn''t help themselves from blushing a little, but when I continued talking after that Shirone started pinching my waist, Saji looked at me with an envious stare, and the rest of the girls'' faces turned into tomatoes. The only one who was not that much affected was Kiba. "TMI man," He said while scratching his cheek, "You could have just stayed quiet." "Maybe but I needed to make a point," I said shrugging my shoulders, "So you guys going to leave or what? Sure you say that the town is in your territory but in fact, it''s only the high school that''s your territory. If you want to claim it for yourself you''ll have to first kick out any other factions that have taken root here, but I''ll say this first if you do I''ll be your enemy and none of us want that, do we?" At the end of my last sentence, I released a bit of killing intent which intimidated Sona''s pawns and bishop but other than that the rest seemed okay. A little pale-faced but okay, after all in a meeting between leaders it wouldn''t be uncommon for one party to try and intimidate the other. In the end, we just stood there waiting for the other side to move until both Rias and Sona sighed in defeat. "Fine, we''ll go." "But can you at least tell us what''s going on?" "It''s just a simple field test to gain some combat experience nothing major," I said preparing to leave *BOOM!!!!!!!* "Issei your killing me here," I complained in my mind before looking back at the group, "It''s fine" "Yu," Shirone tugged at my sleeve to get my attention, "It isn''t good to lie to yourself." Deciding to see what the problem was this time I expanded my domain and slowly began to understand the situation. Currently, in the location, I was looking at there was a red armored person flying in the sky. Dragon wings could be seen sprouting from his back while a peculiar aura could be felt around him. It was the aura of pure rage. Scattered on the ground below him were many vampire fledglings, some had complete bodies while the others were beyond repair. "Woosh~* Receiving a message from Esau telling me what was the cause of this sudden development, while I didn''t agree with his method of motivating him completely I had to admit it, it''s effective. "Looks like things just became interesting." Chapter 78 - Isseis Test: Part 3 {Issei''s POV:} "Partner watch out!" "Woah!!" *Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Swoosh* It was so sudden, they came out of nowhere. They were the size of middle schooler''s but their strength was through the roof. If not for the fact that Ddraig had warned me I might have been impaled by a pair of blood-red claws. It wasn''t just one either there were dozens of them, but none of them continued to attack and instead, they surrounded me. "Ddraig," I called out in my mind, "What are these guys?!" "Vampire Fledglings looks like my guess was right," He replied with a little bit of dread in his voice, "Get out of here, where ever these guys are their master will follow." Making quick work of the time I got I conjured up a few compressed fireballs and throw them at the crowd in front of me. *Swoosh!* "Shit!" Probably reading my movements one fledgling appeared before me and punched my ribcage. The force behind it was similar to the force semi-truck and it caused my internal organs to shake as I spat out a mouthful of blood. Lucky for me that punch also pushed a few meters out of the encirclement. Not even caring about the consequences I shot another fireball at the ceiling letting the ruble crash onto of the fledglings before running away as fast as I could. "Partner don''t let your guard down!" "I kno-" "No, you don''t." "PARTNER!!" Not even hearing the sound of anything coming my way I was suddenly pierced in the gut by a black spike coming out of the ground. It was quicker than my sense could react and because of that I suddenly found myself impaled unable to move my body at all. *Tap* *Tap* *Tap* "It''s easy really." "Esau!" "Correct," Esau said walking towards my direction with heavy steps, "Now back to your question. You let your guard down that''s the answer...well there''s also the fact that I outclass you in many ways but let''s not worry about the details shall we." *Snap* As if that was a signal the spike in my gut started to recede as black treads started to tie up my limbs. As for Esau, he stood right in front of me while examining my condition. "Um while not the best reaction for getting impaled for the first time you''re reacting better than other people I know." He said while stroking his chin, "Not bad, but unfortunately, I guess this test is over. It was a good run but this is the end." Opening my mouth I channeled my mana into my stomach converted it into dragon fire and released it out my mouth. The side effect of this ability cause my insides to feel like lava but the destructive power was exceptional at best. *Bam!!* "I told you while," Esau said after giving me an uppercut stopping my attack before it could start, "You are strong but like I said I outclass you." Even if I wanted to refute him I couldn''t even talk due to burning the insides of my mouth, all I could do was look at him as he stood before me. "You know Issei I''ve trained a lot of people over the years but," He said taking a few steps away from me, "Unlike you they didn''t have such weak resolve." "!!!My resolve was not weak!!!" I scream in my head since I couldn''t form words in my mouth "You may want to deny my worlds but current actions these past few moments have spoken otherwise," He said looking down on me, "Earlier you fleed from my [Bloody Household] which wasn''t bad in itself but even after escaping from once you were caught by me minus that last-ditch maneuver you''ve done nothing to try and escape." "It''s not like I could," I complained in my mind while glaring at him "What about your balance breaker?" He asked as if reading my mind, "You''ve been using your boosted gear repeatedly this past hour after all. Even if you have been trying to conserve mana it doesn''t explain why you haven''t used it now. Does it?" "Now tell me was your resolve nothing but false bravado or are just prepared to die," He asked, "But well now it''s not time to test your resolve anymore, I want to test your spirit and see how long it lasts." Confused by his words my glares turned into looks of confusion. I didn''t know what he was going to do but chills started to run down my spine as I saw him snap his fingers. After that, I could hear sounds of something being dragged towards my general location. At first, I couldn''t see what was happening but after a while, I saw that two of Esau''s vampire fledglings had dragged a body before me. Even though it was dark and I couldn''t see well when the body was tossed before me my body started to tremble when I saw who it was. A tall muscular lean frame, with long hair reaching his shoulders, and even in the darkness I could still see the brightness in his magenta eyes. "Aniki" That was the only thing I could think of "Scary isn''t it," Esau said getting my attention, "I picked him up on his way to school, it wasn''t hard. After observing you these past few months, while your relationship with your brother seems normal you tend to rely on him a lot, don''t you? In a way, he''s like one of your mental support pillars, isn''t he?" *Groan~* After Esau finished talking Aniki began to wake up and when he did the first thing he saw was me and my battered up appearance. "...Issei? What''s wr-" Ignoring my struggle Esau shot four more beams energy towards Aniki before he fell to the ground with a loud thump. He could even process what happened before falling. Doing my best to call out his name, I tried to get his attention but nothing happened. Instead, the puddle of blood beneath him grew larger and larger. "Partner! Don''t look it''s not re-" Ddraig tried talking to me but I couldn''t listen since tears had already begun to fall down my cheeks. This was something I didn''t want to happen. "Why are you getting depressed? Did you think this wouldn''t happen one day? Well, you''re wrong even if I didn''t someone would. That''s the fate of those who enter the supernatural world, in this world, the only law is the law the jungle. The fact that you didn''t think this would happen shows that you were naive when choosing the path you find yourself walking." I couldn''t even respond to his words as I was crying, but just because I couldn''t respond doesn''t mean I couldn''t understand. True I was naive, I didn''t see things as how they were and instead underestimated the supernatural world. Even my former resolve, I made that thinking only I would be affected but I was wrong." "News flash Issei family, friends, lovers anything that people can use to get an advantage over you will be in danger. Without the power to protect those things, you''ll have to prepare to lose them just. like. today." He was right, I knew he was right and it caused the despair in my ?h?st to grow larger and larger. All I could do was hope I could fade away from reality as I felt the world around me crumble away. The scene of Esau killing Aniki continued to replay in my head in an infinite loop bring me closer to madness with every rewind. Eventually, all I could think of was shutting myself off from reality and running away. [Is running away all you can do Issei?] The moment my will was about to shatter, I remembered a certain phrase Aniki told me in the past and with it came a flood of memories. It was during my last year of primary school and it was also a large turning point in my life. Earlier that year I befriended a wise old man in the park but for some reason, people around me started avoiding me. Minus my family and Katase and Murayama, not many people took the time to talk to me. I felt alone in school and it made me sad, but I didn''t want my family to know so I didn''t show it at home. Sadly I couldn''t hide anything from Aniki and during lunch one day Aniki appeared before me. Aniki interrogated me until I confessed but I soon found out that he already knew and just wanted me to talk to him and rely on him. Aniki told me I was just hiding from the problem without doing anything to change it. "Is running away all you can do Issei," Aniki said poking my forehead, "Nothing will change as long as you stay like this." ---- After that, Aniki would continue to tell me that whenever I "ran away" from a problem. At first, I didn''t understand why Aniki kept using the same words every time but now I slowly began to piece bits and pieces what he was implying. Aniki wanted me to face reality and accept it for what it was. Reality was harsh and cruel things like a happy ending weren''t obtained they were earned. Nothing is free in the world there will always be some kind of set back along the road. My ignorance killed Aniki and for the rest of my life, I''ll have live with that. *Crack!* *Crack!* *Shatter!!* "Huh?!" Hearing the ear-piercing sound of glass being broken I snapped my eyes open and looked around my surroundings in confusion. I was still in the sewage system but something felt off, not long after I noticed that my body was no longer bound and I could freely move my body. "What happened?" I asked in confusion "Well done you''ve done pretty good, five hours worth of time in a dream full of torment would be tough even for me." Esau said while clapping "Not bad, even if time, in reality, didn''t change much you''ve definitely met the time quota if we add your time inside the dream. Congratulation Issei Hyoudou you''ve passed the test." /////////////////////////////////////////// ---- Author''s Note: ---- Hey, guys, I''m still alive (barely) here''s today''s chapter, next chapter will be an explanation of what happened in this chapter. ---- Also, question do you need to pay to make a pat.reon cause I just paid my tuition for my freshman year of college and my bank account now has moths in it and I''m looking for a way to get cash since I''m poor now and scholarships take too long to process. I know getting a job would be easier but my work-study doesn''t start for another week and a half so ya. - The Lost Write Chapter 79 - Explanation (This is actually a not an update) {Issei''s POV} "Congratulations Issei Hyoudou you''ve passed the test!" "...What?" Lost and confused I tried to make sense of what was going on around me but couldn''t. Right now I should have fallen to despair but now I find myself lying on the floor covered in my own sweat. No matter how long I looked I couldn''t find Aniki''s body nor did Esau seem hostile towards me. Instead, he was calmly sitting in a chair with a book while an expensive-looking tea set was placed on the table next to him. It was like everything I just experienced was nothing but a dream. "It wasn''t a dream, but it wasn''t real either partner," Ddraig commented, "What you saw was an illusion. I tried to snap you out of it but you weren''t responding." "An illusion¡­" I repeated "It''s more like mid-level mind magic," Esau said walking towards my direction, "You see my main focus in this test was to see how high your mental fortitude towards mind magic as well as make you understand the dangers you''ll have to face in the future." "Why would you want to do that?" I asked a little cautious towards his intentions "It''s because he was asked to by your brother," Ddraig said revealing some shocking news "What!? Aniki?!" I said in disbelief "Yes, I will admit it was Yu-sama who asked me to test you," Esau said admitting to Ddraig''s claims, "After all it is a subordinate''s job to help out their superiors." "If you wish to ask questions ask the Welsh Dragon Emperor not me. He should know more, after all, he was the one that made a deal with Yu-sama." He said walking back to his chair, "For now I''ll wait over here until you''re done." Understanding the meaning behind his words, I turned my attention towards the Boosted Gear. There I questioned Ddraig who immediately told me everything. About his first encounter with Aniki, about the deal they made, about how Aniki was protecting everyone in the family, as well as how Aniki was a part of some powerful faction in the supernatural world. Knowing that Aniki had a life neither I nor my family knew of made me feel a little betrayed since I feel I never truly knew who Aniki was, but I wasn''t an idiot to not catch the hidden meaning behind Aniki''s actions. Aniki kept these things hidden because he didn''t want us to get involved or worry. Aniki did what he did because he wanted to protect our family even if it meant being away most of the time. As for this test, during my four months of training after every harsh painful training session, Ddraig would ask me whether I wanted to continue or give up. At the time I didn''t think much of his words and only wanted to get strong because I thought it was cool, I never really tried looking at things from a wider perspective. This test was meant to make me face the reality of the world, on the surface it was seen as a simple combat test but in truth, it was meant more as a lesson rather than a test. "Now do you understand," Ddraig called out to me "Ya I do," I replied with a sigh "Now what are you going to do?" Towards Ddraig''s question, I thought for a moment before standing up while looking towards the ceiling. "I need to talk to Aniki." {Yu''s POV} "Well¡­ that was unexpected," I said sitting under the shade of an oak tree with Shirone close by my side. "Never do that again please," Shirone said resting her tired head on my shoulder "To be fair I didn''t expect things to escalate that much," I said trying to defend myself "..." She didn''t reply to me and instead looked into my eyes for a moment before point off towards a nearby meadow. In the meadow, there was a large pile of injured unconscious dragons with a frustrated Seriyu standing atop them with a displeased expression looking as if someone just took away his favorite toy. "So how are you going to deal with that?" she asked Now it was my turn to respond with silence since I was currently recalling what happened just a few short hours ago. ---- At first, I thought Esau had done something to make Issei fly into a fit of rage due to the killing intent he was giving off, but after I looked at him I saw that his eyes were empty even though his body kept releasing waves of menacing dragon aura. Seeing this it didn''t take a genius to know that something was wrong, so to better understand what had happened down in the sewers, I had Esau tell me what he did. Long story short Esau did what Itachi did to Sasuke in Naruto and it has caused Issei''s mentality to be on the verge of collapse due to despair. Hearing this and then comparing it to what happened in the anime when Issei went into despair all I could think of was the [Juggernaut Drive]. Issei''s despair turned to rage and his rage stimulated the Boosted Gear into releasing its most dangerous ability. No longer wasting any more time thinking of other possibilities I sent Shirone back to Haven as I appeared in front of Issei as the Boosted Gear started to chant. After that, I brought Issei with me into Haven inside the depths of the mountains east of the capital. Once there I threw him on one of the mountain peaks and waited for his transformation to finish. I did this for two reasons, one was because I didn''t know the consequences for forcefully suppressing the [Juggernaut Drive] since it wasn''t talked about much in the source material so I was too sure on what happens when it is activated. I did know that it consumed the user''s life force and sanity, but previously I set down a few mental failsafes in Issei''s mind in case this happened so his sanity can be kept intact after the process and as for the life force I can just replenish it with some senjutsu and medicine. As for the second reason Esau had previously put Issei in a trance that would test out his mental strength and willpower as well as check a few other things I didn''t care to mention. But anyway if I snapped Issei out of his trance too early before he can overcome the trail it might cause his mind to shut down and collapse even with the mental reinforcement I placed on him. Knowing that there was not much I could do but wait I sat down on a mountain peak next to Issei and watched as the transformation continued. A few chanting incantations later Issei had completed his transformation and ended it off with a loud dragon cry. I don''t know why but when I heard that dragon cry my blood started to boil with the intent of putting the enemy dragon (Issei) in his place through force, but luckily my mental fortitude was strong enough to suppress this feeling. Unfortunately, the same couldn''t be said for others who heard the dragon cry. Off in the distance a few miles away from me, I could hear the sounds of the sound barrier being broken as many dragons charged towards Issei with the intent to prove dominance, Seriyuu being at the front of the charge. Feeling that things had suddenly become more of a hassle than originally intended I used world power to increase the gravity around [Juggernaut Drive] Issei while using six of [Enkidu]''s chains to bind his mouth and body so he doesn''t suddenly go unleashing Longinus Smash. As for Seriyu and the other dragons I used another six chains of [Enkidu] to bind Seiryu and used world power to suppress the rest of the dragons. Once that was done I literally knocked some sense into Seriyu to bring him back to his senses and had him go and disperse the gathered dragons. Returning back to his usual self Seriyu went to deal with the dragons, the only way dragons knew how to solve an argument, a fight. Thus began Haven''s first every hundred plus dragon all-out brawl lead by Seriyu and a few other strong dragons who would occasionally send competitive glances towards the loud and thrashing Issei. Fortunately, they didn''t try anything since I was currently sitting atop his head replenishing his life force with senjutsu waiting for Issei to come out of his trance. ---- "By the way?" Shirone called out "What''s up?" I asked cutting off my train of thought "Drew told me that some of his subordinates found a group of Fallen Angels that have built a base inside the church by the high school," She said before releasing *nyaa~* like yawn "Okay what about it," I asked "Apparently they have some ill intentions towards Asia," She said closing her eyes preparing to take a cat nap, "From what Drew told me they even sent some of their men to go and "convince" her to join them back in Italy. Sadly they lost contact with their team and now they hit a roadblock in their experiments." "Oh~," I said, "Anything else." "Drew wants to know if you want them "taken care off" or brought back for information," She said as she drifted off into dreamland "Seems some things can''t be changed," I thought wondering if I should pay those Fallen Angels in the church a visit tomorrow. Sensing a change in the space around me I felt two mana signatures appear behind me but didn''t turn around and instead waited for the other party to say the first words. Chapter 80 - Revealing the Truth (Sort of): Part 1 {Issei''s POV:} At the start of my training I couldn''t see mana clearly, but as my skills improved so did my perception towards mana. When I was confident in my mana perception I wanted to try out sensing if any of my family members had any mana in their bodies. The results of my actions came out that none of my family members had any mana in their bodies. At the time I wasn''t surprised since Ddraig told me that not everyone could house mana in their bodies. However, after hearing the truth from Ddraig I learned the meaning to the phrase looks can be deceiving and was even more apparent after I had Esau take me to where Aniki was. When I first saw Aniki after the teleportation I intended to begin questioning him but, I stopped myself when I saw the mana around him. Normally whenever I perceive the mana signature of someone their mana usually creates a cocoon around them in what Ddraig called a mana field. From what I know a mana field is the manifestation of a person''s mana outside their bodies while their elemental affinities are mixed in. As for the size most people tend to suppress their field so as not to draw too much attention but from what Ddraig told me some mana field can range from as little as a few millimeters to if possible as large as the planet. As for why I''m saying this? It is because after teleporting my body felt like it was being pressured by a mountain. I even had to use my mana field to protect myself from the pressure I felt. As for the mana around me, it had a rainbow hue with it changing colors rapidly everywhere I looked. My eyes started to hurt watching this, so much so that I wanted to return my eyes to normal but before I did I looked at the source of the mana and was shocked. Returning my eyes to normal I looked at the source again to make sure I wasn''t wrong, and I wasn''t. Sitting down under the shade of a tree in front of me was Aniki, I couldn''t see his face since he wasn''t facing my direction so I tried to call out to him. Unfortunately, the pressure from before still weighed on me so it took me a while, and when I finally spoke all I said was one word. "Aniki." "What''s up little brother," He said turning my direction waiting for me to answer, but when he saw I wasn''t speaking he thought for a moment before coming to a realization, "Oh! Sorry about that." Immediately after the mountain like the pressure I felt went away and I was finally able to regain my bearings. Then immediately after I heard a new voice. "I guess we''ll leave you two alone now.: "Huh," It was Shirone I didn''t notice her at first since I was only looking at Aniki but she was also here. Watching her leave I wasn''t planning to say anything but that was before I saw her ears and tail. "Nekomata?!" I whispered under my breath in bewilderment "It''s Nekoshou actually," Aniki said correcting me, "Come on, I''m sure there is a lot you want to talk about." Simply nodding to his words I followed Aniki. Along the way, I occasionally sent a few glances towards Aniki and was comparing this Aniki to the one I''m used to. Before I saw Aniki as someone who I could talk to normal while also being someone I look up to, but now I Aniki''s atmosphere seems different. He feels older and more m?tur?, he still acts carefree but I feel like compared to the brotherly bond we once had now it''s like an elder and his grandchild. Now that I was up close to him I felt hesitant ¡­ and a little scared. "What are you waiting for?" Ddraig called out to me in my mind through the Boosted Gear, "Hesitating will get you nowhere. Remember why you came here." Using Ddraig''s words to boost my confidence I took in a breath of air and spoke. "Aniki I want to know the truth!" I called out without thinking my words through "..." "..." "...Okay," Aniki said expecting me to say more, "What do you want to know?" "...Why have you been living a secret life from me and the rest of the family?" I asked this time thinking before talking "Oh ok well," He said looking to the sky before answering, "You''ve seen first hand haven''t you the wonders and horrors of this world right? How people in the supernatural world can do things unimaginable to normal humans, as well as how without proper backing you''re basically a fish waiting to be slaughtered." "Ya I understand that," I said comparing my recent experiences to what Aniki was saying "Then that''s your answer," He said, "While I could show our family the wonders of this world I just couldn''t because of the dangers. Mom, Dad, and Tsukihime-chan are just normal humans if I brought them into this world I don''t know how they''ll act. Tsukihime-chan aside if I tried to train Mom and Dad who have already passed the age suitable for magic training their power would at most be near the bottom of the barrel, well that''s if they are human but how can you expect a son to tell this to their parents." "Then why were you okay with letting me come to this world?" I asked accepting Aniki''s answer, he was right in the fact that even if our parents knew they might not be able to handle the dangers that come with this world. "That''s because you have a Sacred Gear Issei," He said pointing to my arm, "Sacred Gears are mysterious things that boost their user''s power level a lot. They also get stronger the more the user understanding and masters their Scared Gear. This is called Balance Breaker and I already know that you can use it as well as understand the power it carries." "Yes, I do." "Also," He continued, "Your Sacred Gear especially the Boosted Gear it is one of the thirteen strongest Sacred Gears created. Its title isn''t unfounded in the fact that you''ve grown so much in just these four short months. You do know it takes normal people without a sacred gear at least a year to learn magic right and you cut that down to four months." "Eh¡­." I didn''t notice that "But anyway continuing on to your question, I didn''t let you enter this world. I let you have that four-month training period as a way for Ddraig to inform you of what you''ll have to experience in the future. It was my miscalculation in the fact that you didn''t listen but I''ll just classify that as your fault, not ours right Ddraig?" "Agreed" Ddraig called out from the Boosted Gear "Hey!!" I complained "But anyway from what Esau and Ddraig told me you seem to have found your resolve." He said with a smile before his expression became serious, "Still though I''ll ask you this, not as a member of the supernatural world but as your brother. Do you want to live in this world you can still turn back cause after this there are no regrets If you want to live in this world I will support you to the best of my abilities until I feel you can handle things yourself, but if you don''t I''ll return you to the quiet peaceful life you once had before meeting Ddraig." "..." "..." No words were spoken all we did was look at each other in silence before I eventually broke that silence "Did you give yourself a way out too Aniki?" Chapter 81 - Revealing the Truth (Sort of): Part 2 {Yu''s POV} "Did you give yourself a way out too Aniki?" "I''ll take that as a yes for my question," I said ignoring my little brother''s question as I continued to walk forward "Aniki" Not too pleased that I ignored his question Issei grabbed my shoulder causing me to stop. When I looked back Issei looked straight into my eyes as if demanding an answer. "Why does it even matter if I had an escape plan or not," I sigh, "I was so young then I didn''t even know the consequences of entering the supernatural world." "What do you mean?" Issei said confused by my words "Think of it like this Issei," I said, "You know how sometimes certain species do certain activities out of instinct." "Ya doesn''t it have something to do with genetics or something like that," He replied wondering where I was going with this "Well from what I could understand ever since I was a child my body acted out of instinct, and my body by itself cultivated mana and other special abilities without my complete knowledge," I said revealing one of my "secrets" to Issei, "So even if you ask me if I prepared a way out for myself, by the time I knew my left from right I had already reached the point where turning back wasn''t an option. Plus at the time I didn''t even know of the dangers of the supernatural world. All I did was act out of instinct and slowly grow my strength until reality hit me like a truck." "Wha¡­" Looking at the once again shocked Issei I knew he was having trouble digesting this new knowledge as well as the rest of the knowledge he received today. "It would honestly be great if he just believed me with just my words themself." I thought in my head. I told Issei these things because, to be honest, it gave me a good excuse for how I got all the knowledge of skills and other abilities I have. Rather than revealing the existence of the system saying that all the knowledge I have was granted by my bloodline made things a little easier on my part. Sure it might cause people to hunt me down for my blood but even if they got it my blood evaporates once the distance from my body is more than a meter or if ten minutes have passed. "Hey Aniki!" Issei called out bringing me back to reality, "Does that mean you have some strong bloodline like in those web novels online?!" "Uh ya," I said "But don''t things like bloodlines take years to form as well carry a lot of strong abilities," He asked as if forgetting the entire conversation we had just a few minutes ago "I guess," I said shrugging my shoulders, "I am strong and my abilities are useful but I had to work hard to get them to be what they are today. Now let''s drop this subject okay." Sadly he did stop and instead started asking me questions about the things I could do. Can I use really strong magic, do I have a transformation ability like in dragon ball, can I flatten mountains with one punch, etc. Although his questions came out faster than machine gun bullets I did my best to answer most of them within reason. Along with answering Issei''s questions, I used one of my separate thought processes to communicate with Ddraig since Issei was fanboying so much he didn''t even remember the purpose of our talk. "What''s your take on this Ddraig," I called out through thought transmission, "You can read his thoughts and have spent more time with him than me recently so I''m sure you got a better understanding of him than I do." "He should be fine," Ddraig''s answered, "He might be simple-minded at times but he isn''t the idiot people make him out to be. He may be a huge pervert but he''s considerate when it counts. It''s shocking how different his actions and thoughts differ." "I know what you mean," I replied thinking of the past when Issei wasn''t so perverted "But anyway," Ddraig continued, "I''m sure if you''re backing him up he''ll be fine, I mean I have yet to see you like the cold-hearted type of person that''d abandon your brother just because they''re weak." "Oh? Why do you say that?" I questioned "Because no cold-hearted man would plan such an elaborate plan just to prepare their siblings for the unknown." "I can think of two worse examples," I said thinking of two really powerful sis-con Devil Kings "They must be crazy then," Ddraig said before his tone dialed down, "but it looks like I won''t be getting a new body anytime soon. It seems I going to be seeing you a lot more in the future." "Cheer up," I said remembering the deal we had a few months ago, "Now that Issei knows about me (or at least what I want him to know) I''ll do my best to raise his strength to the point where you don''t need to be in the Boosted Gear anymore." "Let''s hope that day comes soon," He replied After that, I stopped using my second thought process and turned towards Issei who was still asking questions only this time I didn''t continue answering them. Instead, gave him a light finger flick that was faster than he could perceive causing him to stumble backward three steps. "That''s enough about abilities for now," I said before he could complain, "Instead to make up for it let me show you something." "Is it a flying nimbus," He asked without thinking "No (I don''t need that). But in my opinion, it''s nicer than a flying nimbus," I said grabbing onto his shoulder, "For now keep your mouth closed and try not to scream." "What do you meAAAAAAHH!!" He asked before I started moving at an inhuman level of speed while still holding onto Issei "You okay?" I asked while using some healing magic to ease his nausea "*Groan* I''m fine," He said wiping his mouth, "but damn you''re fast Aniki¡­ Where did you take me anyway?" "Look down there," I said pointing my finger The place I pointed at was a giant golden floating fortress stationed atop a large wall with people coming in and out of the gates. Engraved on the wall and sewn on the flags hanging on the fortress''s outer walls was the Wings of Freedom Insignia. Inside the walls was a lively city with a mixture of modern and ancient architecture giving the city a unique sense of beauty. Adding to that all the smiling and lively faces of the citizens inside only added to the City''s beauty. "What is this place?" Issei asked after some time had passed "This Issei is Haven, you can call it my second home outside of Kouh," I said smiling as I saw my Kingdom flourish, "It''s also the capital of the faction I am part of while also being the home of millions of people supernatural and human alike." "When did you join this faction?" He asked not looking away from the city "Haven was formed while I was away in Kyoto," I said, "At the time Haven was only a small faction comprised of lower than a hundred members. It wasn''t until some fortunate encounters was Haven able to grow to what it is now." "So you''re someone near the top of the hierarchy here Aniki," He said "Hahaha ya you could say that," I said keeping my Faction Leader status hidden "...But why did you join this faction?" He asked taking his eyes off of the city "Not everyone can survive by themselves," I said, "There will be times when help is needed in order to survive in the supernatural world. I didn''t become part of Haven for protection but more for having the ability to protect our family. After gaining a reputation and subordinates I had some strong members protect the family from the shadows in case anything ever happened while I was away." "Must''ve been tough having to worry about everyone back home?" "A little bit that''s the past now all we have to do is set our sights on the future," I said while cringing a little in my mind for saying such a cheesy line, "The future huh?" "For now Issei if you need help or even a place to train think of Haven as your second home," I said handing him a talisman which merged with his hand, "Whenever you want to come over just pour your mana into this talisman and you find yourself here." "So does this mean I''m part of Haven now?" He asked "Do you not want to?" I said "Hell ya I want to join," He said keeping his hand out of my sight before asking me a question, "Do you think I''ll be able to bring everyone else over?" "Are you going to be the one to explain the whole supernatural world concept to them?" I asked since I felt like push that job off to him "Err¡­.Can you do it?" He asked "I don''t want to." ================================================================= Hey, guys sorry for missing last week''s chapter I was a little preoccupied with midterms studying but now I''m back. So for now here''s this week''s chapter. On another note, I wanted to ask you guys on some possible plot I could create for this fanfic. Not going to lie I''m going through a little bit of a writer''s block on what to do further along in the story. I have some stuff that connects with the canon but I want to add something besides canon. If you got something shot me a comment and maybe it''ll get me out of my writer''s block, but if you can''t that''s fine too. - The Lost Writer P.S: I''m writing this on my phone since my computers dead and my schools going through a power outage at the moment so there probably isn''t going to be another chapter this week????