Chapter 18
The day for Keiichi's test was a cloudy one. Iron gray coulds hung in the air over Tarikihongan Temple. Although there was no threat of rain in the forecast, the skies conspired to make fools of the weather forecasters.
Keiichi woke up in a pretty good mood. He was nervous about what would happen and what challenges Belldandy would have for him. He had been practicing Fire/Electricity and Water magic all week, and while his command of those elements wasn't of the same caliber as his ability to work Earth magic, he had made strong progress in those fields. He looked over to where Belldandy usually slept next to him and he noticed she wasn't there. "Hmm, wonder where she ran off to?" he said to himself. "Well, she couldn't have gone far." He didn't think about it anymore while he bathed and got dressed. He decided to forgo breakfast, not necessarily because he needed it, but he wanted to get this whole ordeal over with, and win or lose, he could have his morning meal with Belldandy.
He walked out into the courtyard where he found his goddess and Urd in conversation. He didn't need to know what they were talking about so he waited patiently until they were done and had turned to face him.
"Good Morning, Keiichi." Belldandy said with her usual cheeriness. "I trust you slept well?"
"Like a baby." Keiichi said. "I feel good, I'm confident, and I'm sure that I can handle whatever challenges you throw at me. Let's do this."
"That's the Keiichi I know and love." said Bell. "Okay, let's go over the rules. I will give you three challenges. If you pass the first one, I will unlock your provisional First Class powers for the next two. There's no time limit to complete these challenges. And as long as you comply with the stipulations I've laid out, you can use any spell or procedure that you know to complete the task. Are you ready?"
"Yes." said Keiichi.
Before Belldandy could put out the first challenge. "Do you three mind terribly if take over as proctor for this exam?" A voice from their recent past called out. Belldandy, Urd and Keiichi whirled around to see Hild standing behind them.
It was apparent that Hild had not completely recovered from the Lava Wind Barrage spell. Her face, while still quite alluring did still bear some damage from that all-powerful spell. Instead of a bearing of cocky arrogance, she acted like a panther that had been injured but still had plenty of strength and all of her teeth and claws. Hild was much more wary, which meant that she was that much more dangerous as well as unpredictable.
"Hild!" Bell, Urd and Kei shouted together as they took up defensive poses with spells armed for battle. "What are you doing here?" Urd hissed. "Didn't you get enough of a butt-kicking last time? Are you back for more?"
"Really, my daughter." Hild said icily. "Don't make me laugh. It would take all of you plus at least half the Valkyries to take me out. No, I'm not here to battle you. If anything, I should congratulate you, Keiichi. I had you all wrong. I have to admit that I seriously underestimated you. I had no idea that you could channel your anger in such a devastating and powerful way. I'm impressed, and that as Urd would tell you is very, very hard to do. You had me off guard, and you hurt me bad. But I respect power. And while you and I will never be friends, I've gained a new level of respect for you. Be forewarned, if and when I attack you again, I won't make the same mistake twice. But today, I'm carrying a white flag, so to speak. I noticed that you three were doing a First Class exam for Keiichi Boy, and I just came to lend my services."
"What can you do for us today, Hild? We have everything under control here, so please leave." Belldandy said with a sneer. Bell may have been sweet, loving, and forgiving, but her recent convalescence still burned bright in her heart and thoughts, and she was in no mood to be charitable.
"My, my, my. Someone has had her feathers ruffled today." Hild said "As I said earlier, and I hate to repeat myself, I want to play the part of proctor today and administer my own challenge to Keiichi. Rest assured, I won't hurt him. You have my word as the Daimaikaicho. And as you all know demons take their word very seriously.
Belldandy said "But if we allow you to pose the challenge, this won't be an official First Class Exam. There's no precedent of a demon acting as a proctor for a God or Goddess's examination, but it certainly has to be against the rules."
"Go ahead and check." said Hild.
Belldandy's face went blank again as she searched the rules of examination protocol. A few seconds later, she came to and said, "While only a God or Goddess First Class can act as proctor for a examination, any deity can pose a challenge with the proctor's approval."
"So, do I have the proctor's approval to pose the challenge?" Hild said.
"You've given your word that you won't harm Keiichi, and we will hold you to that." Belldandy said sternly. "Keiichi, do you give permission for Hild to pose the challenge?"
"Do I have a choice?" Keiichi said rhetorically.
"In that case," Belldandy declared. "I, Goddess First Class Belldandy, will act as proctor for this exam and will allow Hild, the Daimaikaicho to pose the challenge."
Hild confidently strode up to Keiichi and looking face to face asked him. "Keiichi Morisato, how much do you love Belldandy?"
In earlier times, this question would have reduced Keiichi to a fit of stammer and blubbering, but this time, his confidence was unmistakeable. "I love Belldandy with all my heart, mind and soul. I would do anything and give all I have for her. You have first hand experience as to the depths of my dedication to her."
Hild appeared to consider this response. "You say you would give all you have for her?"
"Yes."
"I have no doubt that you would. But would you give up your Godhood for her?"
Keiichi hesitated just the slightest bit, but Hild caught it. "Hmm, I seem to have struck a nerve. You've tasted the joys of power that comes with divinity, and no doubt you've found that taste very appealing indeed. But with limitless power comes limitless responsibility. Are you ready for that part of the equation? Are you? Are you willing to give up immortality in order to stay with your goddess?" With that she waved her hands at Belldandy.
Suddenly a web of highly charged energy shot up from the ground and ensnared Belldandy on all sides like an animal in a cage. Her eyes opened wide in fear as she found herself trapped by Hild's magic. Urd screamed. "Hild! You let her go this instant..."
"Or you'll do what, Urdie?" Hild said nastily. "You keep your nose out of this. This is between the boy and me!" With that she waved her hand at Urd and froze her at her spot. Urd stood as still as a statue, mouth wide open, a scream of anger caught in her throat.
"KEIICHI!, KEIICHI! HELP ME!" Belldandy wailed helplessly. "I can't get out. Please help me!" Bell tried every spell she could but the energy cage would not give. She slumped her shoulders and fell to the ground crying. "I'm sorry Kei, I can't help you with this one."
Keiichi stood toe to toe with Hild and looked into the demons hellish eyes. "I don't know what your game is, Hild. But if you hurt one hair on Belldandy's head, The Lava Wind Barrage will be the least of your worries."
Hild said "You won't be able to throw that spell again. You don't want to risk the year's license suspension. Besides, you're not angry enough to make that spell work again. Fool me once, Keiichi, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. And you'll never fool me twice."
Keiichi cast every spell in his arsenal from all four elements, but the cage held firmly.
No matter what he threw, the cage didn't yield. And because he had not had First Class powers released, his Second Class powers were no match for Hild's magic.
"Keiichi, you might as well give it up." Nothing you can cast will free Belldandy from that cage. The only way you can get her out is by renouncing your Godhood."
It finally clicked together for Keiichi as to what Hild was planning. "I get it now, Hild. This is all a part of your constant scheme to rid Earth of the goddesses. Because if I give up my Godhood and become human again, the only way that Belldandy can stay here is if I have a contract with her. And Yggdrasil's wish servers were patched to no longer allow contracts like my original one with Belldandy to be created. So she'd have no choice but to leave and take Urd and Skuld with her. Good try, Hild. But I won't fall for that one."
"Hmph, you never cease to amaze me, Keiichi. You saw through my plan all along, but there's still the matter of getting Bell out of that cage. If you won't give up your Godhood, she'll stay in there forever. So what's your next move."
"I only have one move left to me, but it's not what you think. Belldandy, Invoke Sacred Coupling!"
Belldandy stood up in her cage invigorated with new confidence and shouted, "Keiichi, Invoke Sacred Coupling!"
Instantly the white glow that Keiichi had seen settle over his and Belldandy's hearts in the treatment center glowed brightly once again. Both God and Goddess could feel each others hearts beating in unison. Their powers shared and multiplied to beyond their individual strengths. She could feel his Rock magic surging through her as he could feel her Wind power roaring through him. The two were now one in power.
Keiichi said, "Belldandy, please forgive me for what I'm about to do."
"Do it, Keiichi!"
Keiichi immediately grabbed Hild before she could react and threw his arms around her and kissed her. Hild was completely thrown off track by Keiichi's move, and she realized that this kiss was not out of affection, but as a means to an end. Still she could not stop the enormous rush of power that flowed from her.
Keiichi felt all of the lust and power that Hild exuded. Unlike kissing Belldandy which brought about feelings of joy, laughter and unconditional love, kissing Hild was like embracing sex for the pure animalistic act of satisfying the pleasures of the flesh. There was no love, no kindness, no tenderness. It was raw, pure, unadulterated passion.
That kiss was the ultimate marriage of pleasure and pain. The pleasure of feeling Hild's sexuality head on, but instead of falling to her temptations and seductions, he took all that sexual energy and converted it into pure power. He took the pain of having to put Belldandy through the anguish of seeing her man kiss another and added it to that carnal power. He grabbed as much demonic energy as he could stand and collected it all into one supply. He then fed it to Belldandy who upon seeing Keiichi do what he did, allowed herself to feed on that received power and then applied it to her biggest weakness, now transformed into her biggest weapon. For as has been seen, nothing can stand against Belldandy's jealousy storms. Not even a cage of demon energy created by the Daimaikaicho herself.
Nothing!
Chapter 19
"He passed out again!"
"I'm assuming this happens often?"
"Every time."
"What a wimp."
"Tell me about it."
"Well, who should do the honors? You, daughter dear?"
"By all means, you should."
"I've got a better idea. Why don't we both do it?"
"Works for me!"
K-R-R-R-A-A-A-C-K!
" KEIICHI!"
Eyes jarred open, the pain of a double shock rocketing through his brain. The first sight after being shook from his reverie, two goddesses and a demon looking down on him. "Hi, Keiichi!" all three say sweetly.
"ARRRRRRGH!"
"All right, have you guys had your fun yet?"
"Keiichi, you have no idea of the depths that Urd and I will go to have some fun."
Hild bent over to gaze on Keiichi's face. "Keiichi, I have to hand it to you. You're full of surprises. I would have never thought of using Belldandy's jealousy storms as a weapon, much less fueling it with demonic energy. Once again you've found a way out of no way. I'm betting that had to be the best kiss you've ever had. Let me know when you get tired of Belldandy and want to take a walk on the wild side. I'll be waiting." She blew him a kiss and with vicious rush of wind and lightning, disappeared.
Keiichi got up still a little disheveled. He thought to himself, "Damn, I have got to get a grip on this passing out after spells. Not only is it painful with Urd always zapping me, but it's also so embarrassing." He has just gotten his bearings when he was tackled by a very excited Belldandy who nearly knocked him back to the ground.
As she smothered him with kisses, she said "Oh Keiichi! That was wonderful! What an excellent strategy! How did you know that would work?"
Keiichi said "I've seen what you can do when you're jealous, and I remembered what Frigga said about the Sacred Coupling, and I didn't want to give up my Godhood and I sure as hell wasn't giving you up, so I figured this was my last best chance." I'm sorry that I had to use you like I did. Are you all right?"
Belldandy continued to hold onto Keiichi and said. "I'm fine. I drained some energy trying to fight the cage, but I am okay otherwise. And don't worry about the kiss, you did what you had to do to free me and it worked. Although you'll have to make it up to me later today." She winked at him.
Keiichi asked, "So what about the exam. Did I pass?"
Belldandy said, "That's a good question, As far as the challenge posed by Hild, you passed that. However, you never had First Class powers unlocked, and part of the exam is to find out how well you can control First Class powers, so your results have gone to the Department of Examinations for review. They may either pass you outright which is the most unlikely option, consider the exam invalid which is also unlikely, retest you at a later date, or give you credit for passing one challenge and then administer the final two under First Class powers. My guess is the final option."
Keiichi let go of his goddess and said "That makes the most sense. After all, you did say there's no time limit to complete the challenges. I'm no longer in a hurry to get this done."
Belldandy said "Well, okay. We'll pick up the last two challenges tomorrow. That way you'll have time to get some rest."
The rest of the day proceeded without incident. Lunch and dinner were the usual culinary delights as Belldandy laid on a nice spread to celebrate Keiichi's success in passing the first challenge. The Department of Examinations contacted Belldandy and as she predicted, they gave Keiichi credit for passing the one challenge. Later on, after dinner, Keiichi and Belldandy spent the rest of the day just talking and getting in some quality alone time. They were just about to kiss each other goodnight and turn off the lights when the door slid open and Skuld walked in.
"Keiichi, can I borrow a 16mm spanner? I'm fixing Banpei and...WHAT. IS. THIS!
WHY IS MY BIG SISTER IN YOUR BED? WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN GETTING UP TO? HAVE YOU BEEN PUTTING YOUR GRUBBY PAWS ON MY BIG SISTER? YOU'D BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR THIS, KEIICHI MORISATO, OR, OR, OR...I'LL GET YOU KEIICHI! Skuld's face turned as red as a stoplight as she ranted and screeched about this latest assault on her big sister's pristine virtue. Keiichi shook his head, threw his hands up in frustration and said to Belldandy, "I figured this would happen sooner or later. I think we may have to put the rest of the exam off for a couple days. It'll take that long to settle Skuld down and during that time, no one will be getting any rest. Belldandy agreed, kissed Keiichi and headed back to the Tea Room to sleep there. Skuld tailing her and crying and screaming all the way "DID KEIICHI HAVE HIS WAY WITH YOU? IS HE MAKING YOU DO THINGS YOU DON'T WANT TO DO? I BET HE'S MAKING YOU SLEEP WITH HIM. OOOOO I HATE THAT KEIICHI!" Her high-pitched voice ripping through the walls of the temple like a tornado.
