The fourth chapter of 'The Fourth Beast' is here …
As usual for the 'Author's Note', it is at the end. And the reason I always give this reminder is because the author's note sometimes has the answers of the questions I get from the reviews.
Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or High school DxD; except for the story concepts.
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A New Faction
IV
"So, what do you think?"
Amaterasu couldn't help it. Her lips curved into a satisfied smile when she saw Naruto's reaction. She loved how Naruto's honest facial expressions and body gestures would sometime answer her questions rather than his words.
"Holy shit! I look exactly like the old man Hagoromo, I mean with the horns and silver hair and everything. This looks so unreal. Just look at the body measurements, they are so on point. But," Naruto turned toward her, his finger pointing at the lower part of the floating body, "What the fuck is that?"
Amaterasu's lips formed an amused smile as one of her eyebrows delicately rose up.
"No, no; this isn't funny Lady Amaterasu." Naruto fully turned to her, his eyes wide and his arms were flapping to his side, "I mean I saw how cautious and diligent you were in making the body. You gave everything you have and more, and everyone saw that. The end result is perfect, really … I mean you could have given me red hair like my mom or my old hair … anyways, the point is, I really appreciate what you did here. But," He turned back to look at the body.
She almost laughed out loud when she saw Naruto shivering, literally. He turned to face her once again, "What did you do with my 'Little Naruto'? I mean I can't even call it a 'Little Naruto' anymore."
"Well~ I did say that you will get a superior physique." Amaterasu giggled.
"When you said superior physique I thought I would be as buffed as Bushy brow sensei or Killer B. Look, I get it that you are looking out for me but I am quite satisfied with my previous tool, alright. Not bragging here but I was one of the most well-endowed guys back in my world." When she gave him an inquiry look, Naruto rolled his eyes, "It's a guy thing. We tend to see who has the bigger sword. Honestly speaking," He involuntarily turned to look at his body again, "Even Killer B would lose here. I mean if this goes full … What the … Holy Father of Six Sage!"
Naruto jumped back, screaming, as a certain part of his would-be new body came to life.
This was as far as she could go. Amaterasu started to laugh out loud. And she could see that her laughter made Naruto to finally understand what was happening.
"You pranked me!"
Indeed, it was a prank.
It had been two months since Amaterasu brought Naruto to their dimension. And she could say with full honesty that she had never seen the Shinto Faction brimming with so much joy and spirit. It was all because of their champion. He was a helpful man by heart, there was no denying that; but it was his devious pranks that kept everyone at an edge, in a positive way so to speak. His pranks weren't harmful, rather the sole purpose of his pranks was to bring smiles to everyone's faces; most of the time. After all, there were times when his pranks went out of control. Like last week when he thought that the statue of Susanoo lacked creativity, so he gave a helping hand. In her entire lifetime, she had never seen a statue so colorful that it looked intimidating. Needless to say, for the whole day Naruto was chased by Susanoo because of this.
Even she was targeted few times. Of course, the pranks Naruto planned for her were very different and special; because the aim of those pranks was to make her day all the more interesting.
And so she thought why not give Naruto a taste of his own medicine? It was just a passing thought, or maybe she was affected by Naruto's liveliness. But if she was being honest, it was an underhanded joke. After all, regardless of the dimension or factions or races, any man would be physically or psychologically scarred if a certain anatomy of their body was targeted.
"That was a low blow, Lady Amaterasu."
Naruto's statement made her laugh again. She waved her hand and immediately the floating body went through a radical transformation. It grew six to seven more inches and gained around twenty kilos more. The muscles, all around the body, became more defined. Even the anatomy Naruto was so worried about shrank few inches, which now was a perfect fit for the new body.
Although the body had no life, the figure was still giving off a powerful presence.
Amaterasu could clearly see how much Naruto appreciated his new body just by looking at his stunned face. But suddenly his face became blank and he turned toward her, "Even with this, I will not forgive you for that awful plan. You have no idea what you did. You just started a prank war, so prepare yourself. Cause you can bet your shiny godly crown that I will have the last laugh."
She just giggled at the declaration. To be honest, she was looking forward to it. Sometimes the life of a faction leader could get quite dull after all. With that in mind, she waved her hand once again and the body disappeared.
"Now that we have finalized your body," She let out another giggle seeing the grumpy look on Naruto's face, "Let's talk about the next topic of the day."
"That thing was the size of an arm!"
She laughed out loud, she couldn't help it. Seeing such a powerful man shivering like a frightened child was funny. She wondered for a moment if her prank was too unpleasant for Naruto. But there was nothing she could do right now, so she just ignored the comment, "If it is too much then I can erase your memory."
Naruto didn't answer, just grumbled.
"Look, I don't think it was that big of a deal." Seeing the flat look on Naruto's face, she gave a fake cough to hide her embarrassment, "Let's change the topic, shall we?" Naruto just sighed which she took as a cue to continue, "You already have a brief idea about other factions as well as who is the current leader and how do they run their factions. Now I will tell you about the 'Top Ten'."
Naruto sat straighter and leaned toward Amaterasu. With a nod, she started her explanation, "I told you about 'The Core Stone', right? The large stone at the core of the earth that we can only see after every hundred years."
"Why the time-gap?"
An expected question so it was easy for Amaterasu to answer, "Well that is one of the rules of the Biblical God, creator of 'The Core Stone'. I don't know how he does it but the stone only appears after every hundred years or so. And the reason he created 'The Core Stone' is to keep the peace between the factions. A lot of us are dissatisfied with the method but we can't argue about it since it's doing the job perfectly." Amaterasu chuckled at Naruto's silent inquiry look, "The stone has the names of 'The Top Ten', the strongest top ten beings in our dimension. As for how the strength of the 'Top Ten' is measured? Simple, by comparing their power to the Biblical God's. In a way it works like this, the first in the 'Top Ten' list is the closest to the Biblical God in terms of power and abilities, and the second one is the second closest, and it goes on like this." Amaterasu explained.
"So, he is the strongest one up there?" Naruto asked.
"He is the strongest and the oldest amongst us. He is the one who created heaven, hell, underworld and humans. It was even stated that he re-formed earth so that the first humans could live there." Suddenly she sighed, "But even with all his might and power, he is still weaker than 'The Three Beasts'."
Naruto hummed. Then he shot his next question, "But if he is weaker than those dragons, how come he defeated the strongest amongst them, Trihexa?"
"Good question," Amaterasu chuckled, "But there is no solid record of the fight. The only thing that we are certain of is that he sealed Trihexa with the help of 'The Four Horsemen'. How did the fight start or how it ended, we do not know. At first, we thought that Trihexa wasn't real. Some of the Gods from various factions were quite persistent about it. But then Ophis confirmed that it was real and stronger than her. That shut down most of those Gods."
"No one asked him directly? I mean this is some huge shit."
"The Biblical God is one of the most reclusive gods, or maybe he just doesn't want to associate with other Gods," Amaterasu chuckled. "Regardless, the fact remains that he is the strongest God alive; far overpowering and outranking any other Gods or Goddesses."
"And since the Biblical God has no intention to take over other factions, no one wants to mess with him directly and deliberately in fear of turning him against their factions." Naruto voiced out his thought.
"Yes, and then there's the fact that the most beings in 'The Top Ten' don't want any conflicts. But it doesn't stop the factions from having a small squabble here and there with one another, but all of us make sure not to escalate the squabbles into an all-out war." Amaterasu added.
"What about the Great War?" Naruto asked.
"That's what happens when the strongest and the largest faction have a civil war. Although the devils and the fallen consider themselves as separate factions, to the rest of the supernatural world, we consider 'The Three Faction' as one single faction. And the Great War also gave us a glimpse of what would happen if a full-scale 'Faction War' breaks out." Amaterasu explained.
"I see," Naruto paused for a moment before continuing, "Later, I will go through all the faction civil wars and take notes. It may come in handy."
Amaterasu nodded at Naruto's idea. A moment later, she spoke, "Do you have any more questions? Dinner is going to be served soon."
"Yeah, one last question," Naruto started to rub the back of his head, "How does a god or goddess become stronger? I get a feeling it is not just simple training, like us normal folks."
She knew why Naruto was feeling awkward about asking such a question. Just yesterday when they were discussing about factions and their standings, Amaterasu had to let out some harsh truths. One was about their faction being currently amongst the lower side of the mid-rank in overall faction ranking. She blamed it on the civil war of 'The Devil Faction' which weakened some of the most powerful youkai clans. She did give him the details but was glad that Naruto was very considerate throughout the whole time. He didn't ask anything and just listened.
Truly, he was a wonderful being. But,
"It seems I forgot to tell you one of the most important details." Amaterasu chuckled, "To become stronger is both simple and at the same time hard for us. We get our powers from two sources; 'Regalia' and 'Prayer'. 'Regalia' can be considered as divine constructs that some of us use, mostly the top ranks in each faction since it is very hard to create. The simplest way to make 'Regalia' is to defeat a strong entity and then use its soul or corpse to make one. But if the entity is not strong enough or the procedure of the creation fails, instead of 'Regalia', we will get an instrument for the mortals."
"How do you know which is which?" Naruto asked.
"Simple, 'Regalia' will possess 'Divinity' which only us, gods or goddesses, can use. If it doesn't then it is just a failure." Amaterasu answered. She took a breather before continuing, "As for 'Prayer', it varies from faction to faction. For some faction, it is just getting tributes in various forms from their believers. And for some factions, it is the form of praying to their gods or goddesses. This 'Prayer' from our believers strengthens our divinity. So, in a simpler term, 'Regalia' gives us different kinds of powers and abilities, and 'Prayer' strengthens the core of our being."
Naruto didn't say anything for some time. The silence stretched few minutes before one of Amaterasu's servants came and stated that the dinner was ready.
"Shall we continue this after dinner then?" Amaterasu asked when the servant left.
Naruto nodded. But as they got up from their chairs, Naruto turned toward Amaterasu, "May I ask a question?"
Amaterasu gestured for him to continue.
"Do you have a weak heart?"
She raised one of her eyebrows. The question was quite unexpected. Naruto just smiled, probably seeing her reaction, but something seemed off about that smile.
"No, I mean … let's say if you wake up one day and see that mutated ding-dong of mine hanging on the ceiling of your room, will you have a heart attack?"
Amaterasu wondered if she made a grave mistake or not.
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xxXxx
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Naruto was furious.
If he wanted to, he could have defeated both Sirzechs and Ajuka together at the stadium, right in front of every devil present there. It would have absolutely crushed their spirits and beliefs. But he didn't because, one, there would have been a lot of casualties. He avoided that not because he cared for the devils but to show that he wasn't like them. He wouldn't take the lives of the innocents just because he could. And two, he didn't want to show what he could do. His techniques and skills were very unique. Even his fighting style was considered abnormal in this dimension. And so, most of the time, he would fight away from everyone's prying eyes. And if he couldn't then he would go with 'Minimal Power but High Efficiency' method. This time wasn't any different.
Regardless, he knocked down their strongest devil and gave the whole faction one week time. His messages were simple. 'The Devil Faction' wasn't invincible. And all 'The Avalon Empire' wanted was justice, fitting and merciless. He even sent an official letter to 'The Devil Faction', stating the terms. But the steps the devils started taking were escalating this event to war.
First, the devils started spreading rumors about how their empire was using this incident as an excuse to conquer their lands. They had one legit point, and it was that after 'The Civil War', for two hundred years, the devils didn't cause any incident at this level. And yet within ten years of 'The Avalon Empire's' birth, this huge incident occurred. But, it was well within Jiraiya and August's expectation. And just as those two expected; to maintain their pride, the devil faction didn't play the main card. They didn't point out that he defeated Sirzechs, which could have diverted the supernatural world's attention to him. But the way the devils kept saying that the massacre was nothing but a part of a grand scheme, made him want to snap some necks.
This was still okay, somewhat, but their next action completely broke all of his restraints.
Naruto had sent a small force to barricade and watch over the Nekoshou compound. There was nothing left there but he didn't want the Nekoshou's land to be ravaged anymore. He couldn't send a large force since some might take it as an aggressive stance from their side. He also explicitly ordered the squad to stay inside the land no matter what. And then out of nowhere, 'The Devil Faction' attacked the compound, with full force. The unit took a heavy blow, with two deaths. The leader of the squad made a full retreat otherwise they would have been completely wiped out.
Then, the devils had the gall to play the victim when they attacked without any warnings. Their official statement about the attack was that until one week was over, they wouldn't allow any youkai near their land, even though the Nekoshou compound legally belonged to the youkai. Of course, they had put other excuses. But just after the first line, Naruto burnt the paper.
And now the devils decided to hide behind their greatest defense.
Naruto finally approached his destination, one of the most highly secured guest rooms. This room also worked as a small conference room, which was why he chose this place for their guests.
He wasn't surprised to see Jiraiya in front of the door. He just raised an eyebrow, silently telling Jiraiya to say his thoughts.
"We both know why," Jiraiya pointed at the door with his eyes, "They are here. I know you can handle yourself. But just a suggestion, if things get complicated, back down. We can't have them get tangled in this."
With that, Jiraiya opened the door and entered first to announce his arrival.
But Naruto didn't enter immediately. He looked up to see his reflection from the marble ceiling staring back at him. He lips slightly curved upward as he saw his normal silver-purple eyes changed into his special Rinnegan. After the transformation was done, he entered.
The first one to catch Naruto's attention was the archangel. And the reason for this wasn't his flashy dress or the unique holy power he sensed from him, but his expression. The moment Naruto entered, and the moment Michael saw him, the archangel's eyes went wide and just for a fraction of a second his power flickered. But Michael composed himself quite fast. The slip up came and went real fast but Naruto caught it. The reason why most didn't notice it was because all of their attention was purely toward Naruto. But he was sure, Jiraiya sensed the abnormality.
His eyes quickly scanned the other two guests, as he approached his seat, one male and one female. He read about their profiles before. Vasco Strada, one of the big shots in the Church as he was ranked the second highest official in the Church as Cardinal Priest. And then there was Griselda Quarta, strongest female exorcist alive.
His seat wasn't a grand throne in this room, everyone's seat here was the same. It was done to show equality. After he took his seat, everyone else did as well. Naruto had Yasaka sitting down to his right and August to his left. And on the opposite side of the table, Michael was in the middle while Vasco and Griselda sat left and right of him respectively. And Jiraiya was standing by the door.
"Welcome to 'The Avalon Empire'. I wish I could say our circumstance was different. But not everything goes how we want them to be, right?" Naruto started, with a rueful smile.
There was a pause. Finally, Michael coughed. It seemed for some reason he looked quite out of it. Composing himself once again, the Archangel said, "Please trust us when we say we also wished it to be different."
"And yet here you are." Naruto cut Michael off. He released a tired sigh, and gazed over the other exorcists, "Let's just cut the chitchat, shall we? What did the devils ask you to do?"
His blunt question surprised his guests. There was a small pause before Vasco implored, "King Ōtsutsuki, we know that you are angry, and you have every right to be. But all we ask of you is to listen to us for few minutes."
The silence that lingered afterward was anything but comfortable, but at the end Naruto gave them his consent.
Releasing a deep breath, Vasco started his explanation, "You want justice for the Nekoshou, we all understand that. Unfortunately, the devils are reacting to this situation very poorly. And if this goes on it can and will lead to war, we know that. And I am sure that neither side wants that outcome. But there is a reason as to why the devils are acting this way." Vasco paused to Naruto's reaction. He didn't say anything, just stared back. Coughing into his hand, Vasco continued, "The devils believe that it is the work of the Old Satans, especially Rizevim Lucifer. Ajuka did some tests on the devils for the possibility of being manipulated. And all the results came positive. They think that the old Satans are coming back to take control over 'The Devil Faction'. And this is why they are trying to weaken the faction by pitting them with other strong factions. This is also the reason why they didn't announce that you have defeated Sirzechs, except for a few individuals. Otherwise, the devils would have been targeted by other beings or organizations with devious motives."
"So what do you suggest we do?"
The question from Naruto brought down that eerie silence once again.
"We are not suggesting anything. We are only hoping that you will look into the bigger picture." This time it was Griselda who spoke up. Naruto thought Michael would be the one doing most of the talking but it seemed he was wrong. And for some reason, the look he was getting from the archangel felt quite unnatural. His gaze had a nostalgic look to it. Suddenly, Griselda's next words took his focus away, "If you retaliate badly, both of the factions will only be doing exactly what Rizevim wants. But don't get us wrong, we also want the Nekoshou clan to get their justice. We just don't want this incident to be the catalyst of the next war."
"You done?"
The dumbstruck looks on his guests were priceless.
"First of all, your concerns are noted but unwanted. Let me tell you something," Naruto relaxed on his chair, and closed his eyes, "I have mastered Senjutsu to the point I have awakened few unique abilities. And one of the abilities allows me to directly use the spirit energy from a location to look into the past of that place. It has its restriction but I will not divulge into that. What I want to say is that I saw what happened at that compound. I know that the devils were influenced to throw the first attack. But," Naruto opened his eyes and his guests filched. After all, the power he was releasing through his eyes may be subtle but it wasn't anything his guests were accustomed to, "The atrocities committed by the devils cannot be brushed off, by simply saying that they were influenced by a third party. They could have stopped but they didn't. They went on killing and raping till there were none left. There is no excuse, no justification, for what they have done." Naruto felt his powers rising, he could see the sweats on his guests' forehead. But he couldn't stop. Fortunately, a gentle touch from his wife calmed down his raging emotions. Her aura brought him back before he lost himself in those horrific memories.
Naruto grabbed her hand tightly and took few short breaths.
"We are sorry to hear that, but rest assured that the new Satans will properly deliver their punishment."
"So I am guessing, 'The Heaven Faction' is trying to be the mediator in this situation." Naruto's gaze went over all three of them, "If so, then I will ask again. What do you think is the best solution? The devils massacred the Nekoshou clan, influenced by an enemy that they couldn't kill or imprison within two hundred years. Pretty sure they also have the excuses ready for this. Then, they didn't honor our contract. They are refusing to give the justice that the Nekoshou clan deserves. I mean when I went to the stadium to save the younger sister, who was completely innocent and unrelated to the event by the way, I saw lots of devils who took part in the crime were just sitting there and going on with their lives. They didn't have an ounce of guilt in them for what they did. Or, now they are going to say that someone also brainwashed them to act like this. The funniest part though, it didn't end here, now did it? Just yesterday, they attacked the Nekoshou compound again. I had sent a squad of twenty people, who stayed only inside the compound to watch over the land, which in every way belongs to us. Then without any sorts of warnings or messages the devils attacked with full force, two of our men were killed in action and quite a few suffered heavy injuries. And the best part in all of these, the devils are playing the victim again." Naruto smiled, but he was sure it didn't come out as intended, "So tell me, what do you think is the best solution?"
"The devils are in the wrong and so are their actions, no one is denying this." Finally Michael spoke up, taking the center of everyone's attention, "But if you take actions similar to them, a war will break out. We are not here to defend what the devils did. We are here, hoping and trying, that this doesn't escalate to a war. And if everything fails, then the flames of war will spread to the human world and to other factions again."
"If that happens, a lot of people will die," Michael gave that unnatural look again, "Your people will die. Will you be okay with that?"
This … caught Naruto off-guard. And somehow, he could feel that there was something else hidden deep inside the archangel's words.
"Do you know why we named our faction 'The Avalon Empire'?" Everyone turned their gaze toward the speaker, who was none other than Yasaka. With a smile, toward the guests, she continued, "Our king here, has united all the youkai, be it a huge clan or a small group, within ten years; a feat that even the Gods and Goddesses from 'The Shinto Faction' dubbed as a miracle. Of course, fights had occurred and blood had been spilled. But it was still considered as the most peaceful unification recorded since the birth of youkai. Then he made the most remarkable achievement that none of us had ever thought was possible. He made an alliance between the Faerie Faction and the Youkai Faction, without spilling a single drop of blood. He named this new allied faction 'The Avalon Empire'. Avalon, in faerie's term, is similar to heaven. It is considered as the ever distant utopia for the faeries, untouched and uncontrolled by any being or laws. Our king liked the concept of that place so much that he named our empire after it, rather than giving it more of a youkai or eastern culture related name. And the way he presented the empire's name to us, his people, made faeries respect him and youkai to adore him."
Yasaka gave Naruto's hand a light squeeze, "Also, 'The Avalon Empire' of ours is not a faction. Because, to our king, faction indicates a society that consists of certain types of races, or beings who follow certain gods or faiths. 'The Avalon Empire' does not possess that prejudice. We take in and protect anyone, as long as you love the land you live in, respect everyone regardless of their races, and honor the rules that uphold the peace. And all this was made possible by our king, Naruto Ōtsutsuki."
Then the smile left her face as she frowned, "So if he asks us to go to war, we will gladly lay down our lives knowing that he is doing so to protect our future, our freedom, our beloved, and our rights. And we will do it as many times as he asks because everyone in 'The Avalon Empire' believes in him. So, I ask you, Lord Michael, do not judge our king's actions and values based on your beliefs on protecting a balance that doesn't exist."
This was totally not on purpose, but Naruto let out a low whistle when his wife was done.
And it was enough. Her speech cleared up his resolutions, mostly. Naruto turned toward his guests and didn't wait for their response, not that they had any. He then looked at August to his side, "August, will you show our guest the way out."
Now, this snapped them back to the reality. And it seemed they had things to say but Naruto knew how to shut them up. After all, he wasn't the Hokage for show. The way he sat, the way he looked at his guests was enough to tell them he had made his decision and would not hear a word. They were welcomed to try though.
Vasco and Griselda gave up quickly and got up. But Michael didn't get up immediately. The stare down between the archangel and the youkai king continued for few moments. Finally Michael averted his gaze, not on his own, it was because Vasco called him out.
Slowly they followed August but just before leaving the room Michael stopped, "I have no right to say this but please reconsider this."
He didn't wait for any answer after that and just left.
Jiraiya also followed the guests from behind, closing the door on his way out.
When everyone was gone, Yasaka got up from her chair and knelt in front of Naruto, tightly holding both his hands, "What are you afraid of, my love?"
Naruto chuckled. She still had the power to see through him, to understand his inner-conflicts. Even though he had the Rinnegan, her eyes were more special than him. After all, without any special power, she could still see through masks and facades of her beloved ones.
Letting out another chuckle, he bent down and kissed her hands, "I am worried about the future." Yasaka didn't say anything. Her silent support made him continue, "Every faction, big or small, will know about us; about our bloody and vicious entrance on the Supernatural world. This may create some doubts and complications, which will affect our future relationship between our empire and other factions. Not only that, there are a lot of youkai clans and faerie societies out there. They will be in danger from now on."
When he was done, Yasaka just smiled. But her expression said enough.
Then she let out a cute scream, as Naruto pulled her onto his lap and buried his face on her chest.
"This sucks."
Yasaka giggled and started brushing his hair, "You are not omnipotent, my love. You cannot control everything. But you can learn from this and make sure something like this won't happen to our people again."
"Michael is right about one thing though. People will die." Naruto whispered.
"But it is necessary, isn't it?" Yasaka answered, "You have seen how evil and ruthless this world can be. Even our previous world, which was full of fights and deaths, doesn't hold a candle to this one. Without power, words and beliefs alone aren't enough to move people. Without spilling blood, no one can create an empire. But you did."
Naruto blinked. Then he looked up to meet her warm gaze. She continued with an adorable smile, "Even actual gods and goddesses consider your achievements as miracles, things they thought were impossible. But that's who you are. You can create miracles, not just with your words but also with your power. Your power far surpasses all the gods and goddesses of Shinto Faction, combined. An unimaginable amount of power, but yet, you do not use it like the most. You use your powers, your beliefs, and your ideas to do the right thing, to create the correct path; no matter how hard it is. You always had. And I know that you will do the same this time as well."
She kissed his forehead and then slowly got up from his lap.
"Dirty politics isn't your specialty, my love. Leave that to us. You just sit down and create your miracles," Yasaka giggled again and gently pulled him up from his chair, "But you cannot create those miracles if you are not yourself. Do not fret over what anyone else said to you. They're not you. They have limited vision, faulty beliefs. So, just forget about those and," She poked her chest, "Listen to your heart. You will do the right thing."
The silence this time was comforting.
Then suddenly, without a word, Naruto hugged his wife. She returned the hug, and they just stood there like this for a couple of minutes. Finally, Yasaka tugged his jacket. After a tight squeeze, he reluctantly broke the hug.
"I love you." That's the first thing he said, he gave her a gentle kiss after his statement.
"It seems I need to change some of our plans." Yasaka raised an eyebrow after hearing that, whose cheeks were lightly pink right now.
Naruto just laughed and gave her another kiss.
"You're right. I haven't been thinking this through. It is time I handle this situation Naruto Ōtsutsuki style."
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Roygun Belphegor, Head of the Belphegor Clan and the second ranker of the Rating Games, was monitoring the devil squads with an exhausted face. All of the top 'Rating Game Champions' were called and was asked to act as the Overseers of the devil army, which had made camps all around the empty Nekoshou compound. While most of the devils in the army were alert, none knew the depth of the situation they were in.
She was in the stadium. She saw with her own eyes the state their mighty Sirzechs Lucifer was put into; by the Youkai King.
And now the devils were poking the already angered dragon.
The first two days, after the massacre, the devils were busy trying to take control of the incident, which they failed badly. The top-dogs of the devil society really underestimated 'The Avalon Empire'. So they took different approaches, they were drastic measures if she was being honest. For the next two days, the devils were trying to find out everything they could about the empire, and at the same time, they were raising doubts about the empire's motives to other factions.
It was just a cover for their main objective. They were preparing for war.
On the fifth day, they attacked the Nekoshou compound and drove away the youkai units stationed there. And it wasn't a simple attack, the devils went all out knowing what they were truly doing. It was a bad move, a very bad move. But the reason behind this action was somewhat logical, still idiotic though. It was fear, fearing that other factions would side with the empire. After Hades acknowledged empire's side of the story of the massacre, the devils wanted to barricade the compound, making sure that other factions or individuals could not do the same. The best solution would have been to destroy the compound but it would have made, without a word, all other factions side with 'The Avalon Empire'.
Also at the same time, this was an act of provocation toward the youkai king; and it was done deliberately.
Lives would be lost because of these selfish acts, Roygun had no doubt about it. The easiest way to solve this was to give justice to the Nekoshou. The solution was simple but not the execution, since somehow, a lot of nobles got tangled into this. Now the higher ups were blaming the Old Satans, saying that they influenced the devils.
Roygun could see where this was going, and she was sure so could the reasonable devils. Bael clan wanted to protect the status quo and they think the only way to do so was to protect those nobles since some of them were quite high-up, and maintain the pride of the devils to satisfy the general populace. And this was their absurd solution, to force 'The Avalon Empire' to come to an agreement which would benefit the devils most. She also heard that in order to have more power on their side, they had a meeting with 'The Heaven Faction' and 'The Grigori'. In another word, the Bael clan was trying to pull the other two side of 'The Three Faction' into this mess.
Even they, the rating game champions, weren't excluded. Zekram knew the corruption inside the rating game from the start, but he didn't stop it. Why would he? After all, because of this, he had control over most of the champions. Unfortunately, all of them were too deep into the rating game corruption to go against his words, except for Diehauser Belial. But she was sure even though Diehauser was clean, the old fox had other ways to have control over the number one rating game champion.
But this wasn't the worst part.
They had to bring in their full team. Now, this was what made Roygun angry. She was ready to die for her foolishness, but she would refuse to let any harm come to any of her peerages. She would do anything to protect them. Unfortunately, she knew that the world didn't work that way. Not everyone had the luxury to hold their own fates in their hands.
"Lady Roygun, the unit is in position." Her queen, her surrogate younger sister, came to her side and started to read her the report, "All of your peerage members are not having any problems with their positions."
"What about Bedeze and Diehauser?"
"Lord Bedeze is making another patrol around the compound. And Lord Diehauser has returned to meet with Lord Ruval." Her queen didn't look at her report to answer those questions.
The jobs of the rating game champions were simple; oversee the army units situated around the compound, inform the main army which is far away from the compound, and to hold their position should there be an attack. Also, they have to follow some simple rules and make sure the other devil units follow them as well. First, show no disrespect toward the Nekoshou compound. There might be someone watching, and they have to keep up their act. Second, do not attack unless the youkai would come in with force.
"So much exaggeration," Roygun sighed as she rubbed her forehead. At least, she was able to take the position of the messenger, which was the last line of defense and furthest from the compound. She didn't want her team to be anywhere near the compound. She even explicitly told her peerages to withdraw should a fight break out, as she and her queen would protect their back.
"Return to your post." Hearing Roygun's command, her queen retreated.
She opened the map again.
There were four units, consisting of around few hundred troops, stationed on the four side of the compound. There was also an extra unit of a hundred devils, and their job was to circle around the compound. And the main army was around ten to fifteen kilometer away from them, not too close to be seen and not too far to send the troops.
Then she looked up from the map.
And she blinked.
Right on top of the compound, there was a flying ship, one fourth the size of the compound.
"It's an enemy …" The shout wasn't finished.
Shots were fired, seemingly from all the sides from the ship. And just moments later, she could see fires engulfing all the area where their armies were stationed. She quickly turned around to see the place where her peerages were also was on fire.
Without a second thought, she rushed there.
She looked back when she heard the huge explosion. The ship was down. But before she could rejoice, four more emerged out of nowhere and took the fallen one's place. And they also immediately started firing. She could hear the screams of outrage soon turning into cries for help. But she didn't care, she had her own peerages to save.
She almost made it to the camp without any problem. But at the very end, a single youkai stood there, blocking her path.
She didn't care about her opponent as she threw a large explosive energy blast. Her carelessness almost killed her if it wasn't for her years of honed instinct.
The energy blade narrowly missed her neck.
And that woke her up.
Even though she could see the camp where her peerages were, even though the said camp was on fire and she was hearing the sounds of fighting, she still put all her focus on the opponent in front of her. Her senses were telling her that one wrong move and the match would be over. After all, if the blade was aiming for her chest, she wouldn't have come out scot-free.
She started examining the woman in front of her. Her opponent was strong, no doubt about it seeing how the blue-colored lightning was smoothly dancing around her body. But it wasn't the powerful lightning or her beauty that took her focus. It was the ears and tail, they were cat-like.
Her stance told Roygun that it would be a fight to the death.
With a defeated sigh, she introduced herself, "Roygun Belphegor, Head of the Belphegor Clan."
"Yoruichi, Head of the Nekomata Clan."
Once again her instinct managed to save her from another fatal strike. This time the nekomata aimed at her eyes. And she didn't stop there. The attacks kept coming and even though she was fast, her opponent was faster and agiler. After getting two more shallow cuts, she released a burst of power to get some distance, and immediately readied her special magic.
Her clan specialized in earth magic. But due to the usage of her king piece, she had gained immense demonic power, which she used to unlock various powerful branches of earth magic.
She immediately created tens of strong golems, all of which surrounded her to create a wall around her. But she was once again surprised by how precise the attack of that Nekomata was. She hit all the vital points of a golem, all the while dodging the onslaught of the golems' attacks. They were slow but not this much as to how her opponent was showing. With an astonishing speed and precision, she took down her golem wall within mere ten seconds.
But those ten seconds were enough for her.
"Armor of the mountain Demon."
Her whole body was enveloped by red light, but just for a second. When the light disappeared, her clothing fully changed. The bone armor she was wearing now was just for show, it didn't cover much of her body. It was one of those useless sexy looking armor. She knew that, because, her armor wasn't meant to give her any defense. It was the enchantments. Her skins were now tougher than the strongest underworld steel, and at the same time she got a huge boost of strength.
So it was speed versus strength, precision versus power.
Roygun also created two medium sized Warhammers to give her the extra reach that she needed.
And the fight resumed once again.
Five minutes, it took solid five minutes to land her first strong blow on the nekomata. Her opponent wasn't using the lighting to just move around, she was also using the same lightning to create blades of different sizes to use against her. She was also cutting the same place so many times that even her legendary armor was wearing down. She had to keep reinforcing her armor to keep up her defense. But the most exhausting part for her was that the nekomata was using her lightning as armor as well. Roygun had put few blows on Yoruichi before but they weren't strong to faze her. It wasn't that she lacked the strength but it was about the angle and position.
But finally, she delivered a solid hit.
Yoruichi faltered for a moment which made her turn her back on Roygun. But it was enough for her to see it. Yoruichi was wearing a black sleeveless and backless shirt, so the tattoo was clear. It was the word 'Gobi' artistically written in Japanese, which was covering almost all of her naked back.
And out of nowhere, all of her senses started screaming at her.
The cloths Yoruichi had on her were torn apart by the intense lightning she started creating. The lightning she was using before was blue in color, now it was completely dark-purple. Her legs starting from her knees, her arms starting from her elbows, and the tip of her tail and ears were completely covered in lightning.
Roygun didn't even blink.
Her hammers were destroyed and parts of her armor shattered. She immediately tried to reinforce her armor but a solid kick on her throat broke her concentration. And it was the brutal attack on her head that told her that she was going to die, no questions about it. Her strongest armor could match her, but it didn't look like she would be given the time to switch.
She didn't like to use that armor because it was created fully relying on her king piece, a tainted part of her past that she wanted to forget. And it seemed her naivety would be the reason for her death.
But even with all the odds against her, she didn't give up. She couldn't. She kept reinforcing her armors using the full power of her king piece. But it was futile. Her armors were shattering faster than she could strengthen them; and the injuries now were becoming more fatal.
As her vision started to blur, she tried to concentrate her senses toward the camp. At least, she wanted to make sure that her peerages made it out alive.
And suddenly the attack stopped.
She blinked. Then she looked at Yoruichi, who also had a surprised look on her face. And the reason was, her lightning was gone.
Then she felt him beside her.
"Sorry, I'm late." Diehauser said.
Immediately, the nekomata jumped back. Not because of Diehauser, but because flames consumed the area she was standing on.
"Ruval," She shouted, her voice was hoarse.
The next heir of the Phenex Clan didn't turn to look at her as he pressed on the attack.
Another loud explosion took away her focus. She looked up, and her jaw dropped slightly.
The fabled flying warship was here. She never saw it this up-close. It was easily three to four to five times the size of the youkai bombarding ships. Another huge sound came from the warship, and she looked ahead to see another of the youkai ship was destroyed. The remaining two youkai ships started focusing their fires at their warship, but it seemed it had an energy barrier that was properly shielding the ship.
"Another of those ships is on their way." Roygun raised her eyebrows at the statement. Diehauser just nodded at her and then looked in front, "Her lightning ability is powerful but the concept is simple."
She understood what he meant. As a member of the House of Belial, Diehauser was able to nullify the abilities of people or objects. However, he first had to understand the concepts of the ability in order to render it 'worthless'. The more complicated the concept behind the ability was, the more time it would take for him to use his ability. But if the concept was simple, it would take mere seconds. Just like how it literally took him two seconds to cut down her golem wall in one of the rating games.
She turned to look at the nekomata who was having a hard time defending against Ruval without her lightning powers. It seemed, her lightning element wasn't hard for Diehauser to decipher. Still …
"Meidō Zangetsuha."
She felt a unique energy. It came out of nowhere. She looked up, at the source of the energy.
The warship that changed the tides of the early battles in the civil war, the warship that took the hits of the old Satans and still survived … was collapsing. There was a black orb at the middle of the warship and it was slowly increasing in size, while destroying the ship and pulling everything inside of it.
It looked like a small black-hole.
Suddenly her scenery changed. She blinked. There was nothing in the sky now. She looked down to see the familiar muscular hand tightly holding her. She blushed, but just for a second before her gaze stopped at the place they were standing.
Green energy flame was covering that place.
She finally understood what happened. Someone attacked where they were standing, and she didn't even notice. And if it wasn't for Diehauser moving her away … she shuddered at the thought. A strong energy blast from Diehauser, who was still holding her, removed most of the green fire.
Then she saw him.
He was a handsome and tall young man, with fair skin, pointed ear and knee-length silver hair. He was wearing an elegant looking kimono with samurai-type armor on top of it; and there was a huge fur on top of his right shoulder. And one look at the sword he was wielding told her that it was a very dangerous weapon. Yet it was the wielder that scared her.
Then her eyes landed on the kneeling Ruval who was just a few feet away from the dangerous man. It seemed to her that he got caught in the fire attack at point blank range. She wanted to shout but she couldn't. The man just walked passed him without a care. And suddenly Ruval fell down on the ground. Then she understood. Although Diehauser dodged the green fire attack along with her, it wasn't aimed at them. The attack was meant for Ruval. And she could sense it.
Ruval Phenex, heir of the Phenex Clan, was dead.
"Roygun," Diehauser grabbed her attention, she looked at him, still unable to comprehend what was happening.
"Retreat,"
It was this word that made all her senses to come back. But before she could retort, he continued, his eyes not moving away from the man, "Retreat and regroup at the second warship. Take command of it and wait for Lord Ajuka's arrival. If he doesn't arrive within the time limit, and if you don't receive any messages from me by that time … make a full retreat."
Roygun wanted to object. She wanted to stay. She knew Diehauser was a Satan class devil and was a monster even by their terms, and it was all his power unlike her. But the man in front of them was dangerous, she could feel it. The fights between these two individuals would only end with one of them dying.
"Go,"
She didn't want to. She didn't want to lose any more of her precious people. But she had no choice. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek before leaving the place.
And the moment, she was out of their sights, she heard the explosion.
She choked on a sob.
"Someone, stop this nightmare."
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Done
Hope you liked the chapter.
Here is the 'Author's Note'
First is that I know there will be questions regarding few things but all I will like to say is that everything will be answered throughout the story, so be patient. And yeah, this was a huge cliffhanger but it is already 8k+ words, so you have to wait for the next chapter. Sorry about this.
Now the main thing that I want to talk about,
The Characters,
Yes, I know I am adding quite a few characters but i can't do anything about it. I am writing a brand new faction (Avalon Empire) from a King's/leader's point of view. Of course, there will be lots of characters, both major and minor if I want to properly build up the faction. I will try to have proper balance between them.
Also, I WILL NOT add main characters from other universes. For example, there will be no Inuyasha. I am sorry about this but I think adding too many main characters from other universes will be a disaster.
And I will stop comparing the power levels. Because if I focus too much on it, I will not be able to write an enjoyable and exciting fights. Of course, I will make sure not to make any blatant mistakes that may ruin the mood of the story.
Also about the 'Biju',
Anyone with animal traits, youkai from all folklore (Japan, China, Korea ...), spirits, basically anyone non-human can make it to the list, for now six spots are filled, four more to go. So, go ahead, shoot some ideas and I will see if I can put them into the list or no.
So that's it for now.