Chapter 35 – The Power of Three

A bit later

When the girls were finishing, everyone's transponders sounded with the voice of Alissa.

"Everyone, please come to the runway, there will be a little show. Ellie, you come too and have some fun. Oh, and Toshiro, you're one of the main actors, so don't be late."

"Do you know what this is all about, Toshiro?" Tatiana asked.

"I have a faint idea, but Alissa is just like that…" he sighed. "I'm going, be sure to finish quickly."

The two nodded in sync, and Toshiro went his way. When he walked outside, he saw that the two were waiting for him just by the door.

"So, how was training, Aya?"

"Good, thanks for asking."

"You seem not fazed by it. Do I sense some Kye grade machinations?"

"Oh, come on, a one-time power restore for the sake of the show," said person replied.

"Whatever you say, Kye…"

"I still don't know what we're going to do…" Aya pouted.

"We're going to have a mock duel," Alissa said. "Toshiro and I agreed that some entertainment is needed."

"So… How far can we go out with our duel?"

"This will be changed dynamically, right, Toshiro?" Alissa winked at him, and at the same time, she heard her in his mind.

"Toshiro, the main objective of this duel is not shits and giggles. We'll be sparring hard, with one thing in mind."

Toshiro stopped time around him and replied, "Making Aya stronger?"

"My, you're fast to learn! She still doesn't have one thing from the simulation that you learned during your training, and one thing she was never trained. The first thing she can re-learn already today, the second will need a bit of training on my side. Are you with me?"

"Yup. Aya needs every ounce of power if something like Xadea will appear."

"Exactly. So, follow my instructions, Toshiro. We will draw that power out of her."

"How far can I go in… teaching her?"

"Do restrain yourself. You don't have to show off the prowess of your Celestial Power, or actually, it would be ill advised to do so. The girls might get a wrong impression…"

"Ah, I understand… Would be really awkward if I suddenly started using Zen, huh?"

"Heh, I'm still a bit proud of you that you mastered the whole deck so to speak… Maybe you really should participate in the war actively, huh?"

"Nah… Livy told me that it would be ill advised… I already won a war so… But do you think I should tell Aya?"

"How strong you really are? That's your decision, Toshiro. You know your granddaughter better than her own parents, so… If you want, go for it."

"This could be interesting…" Aya pondered. "Oh, and this will be the first actual spar I'll have with you, Grandpa!"

"Yeah, the first real thing. When you were little, I sometimes, heh, dueled with you using sticks."

"And you'd always let me win, dying in such ways that I almost peed myself at one time, hahaha!"

"Good times, good times… Makes you want to be mortal again, huh, Kye?"

"You still have a lot of living in the flesh to catch up to me, Toshiro. But yes, having Aya as my relative would be nice…"

"No," Toshiro said adamantly.

"But Grandpa…" Aya mumbled.

"Don't dwell, Aya…" Alissa smirked. "Toshiro really won't allow modifying the world just like that. And besides, I have enough relatives."

"Ah… Yeah, I kinda understand…" Aya pondered.

"You two…" Toshiro sighed and turned around. "Gods, Kye, did you have to announce your shit while they were bathing?"

"Tough luck," she shrugged. "Let's get back; I don't want you wasting energy on heating you and Aya up."

"Good idea."

After they returned inside, they almost bumped into Kola and Ellie.

"Well hello," Toshiro said.

"We have to talk about some things," Ellie said and glared at Aya.

"W-What things, ma'am…?"

Kola bent down and whispered something to Aya's ear.

"Pipe down on the moans, or she'll personally kick you in the face the next time she wakes up because of it…"

"O…Okay…" she said with her face crimson from embarrassment. "W-Will do…"

"So, now we wait," Alissa said.

They had to wait a few minutes for Tatiana and Aina to join them.

"We cleaned after ourselves, Toshiro. I hope we didn't stall anything?"

"No, the girls are taking a dip, or drying themselves, or cooling down," Toshiro said. "So no worries, we'll be waiting for them now."

After fifteen minutes, the girls started appearing.

"Sorry for taking our time, but we had to cool down after the hot bath, and you caught us pants down anyway." Angela explained. "We'll just get our clothes, okay?"

"Sure," Alissa said.

Three minutes later, they were all standing near the runway. Toshiro, Aya, and Alissa were standing in front of the rest, and Alissa started explaining, "Now, we have a small show prepared for all of you. You all will see a mock duel including us three. It will be a free-for-all, so expect everything."

"Heeeerrrr Gooooott…" Sieglinde opened her eyes wide. "This will be a duel of ages! I doubt something like that ever happened in history!"

"But Herr von Edelweiss…" Angela raised her hand.

"Toshiro. Since everyone is present, I'll say it already – just Toshiro is fine. I'm actually a bit ticked off when people use my titles, honorifics, and whatnot when addressing me, so let's keep at that.

The girls nodded, and Angela continued, "So, Toshiro… Are you sure you want to compete with the two? They're murderous…"

"Who do you think I am? A suicidal maniac? I'll show you what proper training can do to even an old geezer like me, heheheh…"

"Anyway…" Alissa said. "You're all not to move from the spot. This may be a mock duel, but the techniques we use will be as real as it gets. Toshiro, Aya – try not to throw anything in this direction, okay?" Alissa moved her hand in an arc before the girls and the base building.

"Sure," Toshiro said.

"Okay," Aya concurred with a straight face.

"Then let's go. And please, our dear spectators, keep your mouths closed, its cold," she winked.

They walked to the middle of the runway. Toshiro was walking behind the two, and he only had a split second to react when the two turned towards him with their swords summoned. He fired up the Sacred Flame and blocked the two blades with Oblivion Lost, raising it horizontally above his head.

"Good, Grandpa! But how about this?!" Aya shouted and disappeared.

With a timeframe needed for a normal person to blink, Toshiro turned his upper body to the left and summoned Aganaimaru, blocking a vicious blow from the side.

"What?!" Aya shouted surprised.

"I never said I retired Aganaimaru!" Toshiro cackled, and after pushing forward, he used the recoil force to jump back.

Both of them however didn't miss a beat and sent two vertical flying Reppuzans. He stood his ground and made a double backhand parry, sending the attacks in the air.

"You two shits!" Toshiro said joyfully. "Teaming up on an elderly person?!"

"All's fair in love and games, Toshiro!" Alissa replied.

"Oh really?!" Toshiro replied and the Flame of Kōjin appeared on him in its flaming glory.

He jumped forwards towards Alissa with only Oblivion Lost in his right hand, but before he managed to land a blow, a golden glow spilled over her whole body and she parried him off to the right side side. At the same time, Aya exploded in a blue coat of magic and she rushed to exploit Alissa's blind side. Alissa however felt her coming, and she slightly swayed with her upper body, making it possible to swat off Hikarimaru to the side with her bare hand.

"Don't forget about me!" Toshiro exclaimed and his sword glowed orange. "Großer Wärmestrahl!"

The enormous beam of pure heat energy shot across the runway just above the ground level. When it dissipated, Toshiro saw the runway glowing red, and just before him, Alissa lying flat on her back.

"Fuck!" Toshiro shouted. "Aya, nail her!"

"Already there!" Aya called from above as she was diving towards the ground with her sword overflowing from magic.

Alissa sprung to the side just in the last moment, as Aya's sword pierced the concrete with ease. Somehow, there was no explosion, no cracks, nor flying debris, but Aya had to dispel and re-summon her sword.

"I'm not finished yet!" she yelled and a pair of gauntlets, looking as if they're from obsidian appeared on her hands. "If not with a sword, I'll do it with my fists!"

Aya dispelled her sword and rushed forward. Alissa obviously wanted to play along, as her golden aura erupted with a silver glow and she faced Aya with chin held up high.

Toshiro now noticed that the snow started falling, and when Aya threw a right straight, the pressure wave pushed the snow away above and behind Alissa as the latter dodged. Right then, Alissa did a half-crescent counter-clockwise kick with her left leg, but Aya parried it with her left hand and threw Alissa off balance, making her spin around her own axis horizontally in the air. Just when Aya thought she had an opening, Alissa summoned Jouten, stuck it into the pavement vertically and spun around it, kicking Aya in the ribs. The poor Karlslander flew back several meters, but she managed to land on both legs and skid back another few meters.

"Now, now, Kyelein… Did you just hit my dear granddaughter? AIn't that a bit too far?"

"We're trying to look it as authentic as possible. And you know she needs some pain to get motivated more."

"But that won't stop me from trying to demolish you… Frankly, I'm fucking pissed off at you right now…"

"Bring it on, boyo!"

"I just hope you ain't cheating!"

Flaming orbs started circling around Toshiro like elementary particles around an atomic core, and gloves like Aya's appeared on his hands, with the letters JOTUN HEIMR written in Elder Futhark glowing flaming red, one per each of his knuckles.

He rushed forward while diluting time ten thousand times.

"Hagane!" he yelled and drove his right knee forward.

Alissa managed to block it with difficulties, but then Toshiro spun around his horizontal axis and Alissa was sent flying.

"Chitan!"

Alissa managed to recover just like Aya.

"And I though you weren't supposed to use it against mortals! Cheater, cheater, booger eater!"

"You're as mortal as my ass is a bagpipe!"

"Then let's up the game…"

Alissa's aura started throwing rainbow colored sparks like a two short-circuited cables.

"Prepare yourself!"

"Not on my duty!" Aya appeared out of the thin air, clad in a violently flickering orange aura. "Trümmerschlag!"

The sheer amount of force at which the punch stroke Alissa's crossed hands was enough to disturb the falling snow in a fifty meter radius. Alissa was launched into the air once again, this time at an even greater distance. She stopped in place after landing, and said, "Good job, Aya!"

"Toshiro, time to pull out the heavy artillery."

"You mean? Heh… Heheheheh…"

"Let's go!"

"But that's not enough!" Alissa shouted and her aura started sparking even more intensely, and in a blinding explosion of magic, it solidified into a rainbow aura enveloping her whole body.

"But Alissaaaaaa! That's blatant cheating! I can't go so far!"

"Your enemies won't give a fuck! You have to use everything you're capable of. Just like your grandfather!"

Aya looked at Toshiro, who smirked, and calmly said, "Just like me…"

He put his right hand forward, clenched his fist, and waved it to the side. A dark explosion engulfed everyone in the radius of fifty meters, and anyone inside that brief dome of energy would swear that they saw the world in inverted colors for a brief moment. Toshiro was now surrounded with a black veil of energy, which paradoxically was emitting a white light, and additionally illuminated by small stars resembling a galaxy.

Aya was looking with a deadpan expression both at Alissa and then at Toshiro.

"Now, Toshiro. Be sure to keep a steady beat."

"Right-o!"

Alissa rushed at Aya with sword raised, but the black haired witch was pushed back by the sheer energy of the aura Alissa emitted. And then, Toshiro came in rushing forward.

"Kyoukujitsuken – Tayiō Rendan!"

Aya immediately set up the only defense that she could trust right now – her sword.

"Dou!" Toshiro's right open palm shot forward, bouncing off the sword and emitting a faint white halo.

"Tetsu!" he followed up with a straight right fist, with the halo being more intense, and Aya being pushed back a bit.

"Hagane!" Toshiro kicked with a high knee forward.

"Chitan!" he made a 360 degrees clockwise spin with a straight leg.

"Sekiei!" he followed up with a 270-degree front flip drop of his right heel, and just as he landed, he shot up both his arms up. "Ogyouku!"

Aya was launched in the air, and Toshiro zipped towards her, punching her sword with a deadly uppercut, sending her into the air a hundred meters up.

He propelled himself upwards off a small shield, and when he was about the deliver the final blow, the time stopped.

"And now, we interrupt the broadcast," Alissa said.

Toshiro stopped mid-punch and mid-air using his Celestial Power.

"Explain please, Kye."

"I told you that you wouldn't hurt her, and I keep my promise. One factor ensuring that was Hikarimaru being used by her as a defense, which I provoked her to draw. But the second thing was me preventing you from delivering the final blow."

"Hmmm…"

"Let's invite a guest to our conversation, shall we?"

"Is it her?"

"Yup."

"Kay… I think I owe her an apology…"

Amongst a gust of cherry blossoms, the perfect Fuso woman appeared, clad in a violet kimono in floral pattern. Her straight, black longhaired looked like the best lacquer, and her golden eyes looked at him with happiness.

"Hi, Toshiro."

"Long time no see, Ami."

"Indeed," Amaterasu smiled.

"So, what's this all about?" Toshiro asked.

"I have to clear up a few things about the Rising Sun Fist style, my dear savior of the world. I taught you the eight basic moves, which you named, and the Taiyou Rendan, the string of moves that you almost executed perfectly. Now, why it was forbidden for you to use it against a mortal I never told you, but since now you're older and… heh, a bit wiser, I'll show you. Kye, visualization please."

"Coming right up, Ami."

In the air, a three dimensional humanoid model appeared, alongside somebody that resembled Toshiro.

"Now, look, Toshiro," Amaterasu said and the animation started playing. "When each and every one of the moves connects to an unprotected body, this happens."

A layer was removed from the model, showing bones and internal organs. His lookalikes's fist flew towards the model, and once it connected, a white shockwave started resonating across the body interior of the model, and a small halo appeared outside.

"The waves are the concentrated energy of the move. The shred any soft tissue, and break bones just like that. Moves one to seven are blunt so to speak, but the last one, Kongouseki, has a piercing effect."

The animation reset itself, and his lookalike drove his left open palm straight through the model. On the cutaway, it was visible that the waves were still present, shattering the insides with one single wave.

"Damn. But Aya is blocking it all off, why bother then? And Hikarimaru won't break from pummeling it anyway."

"The thing is that the Taiyou Rendan is constructed in such a way, that each subsequent blow increases the intensity of the waves of the previous one in a geometric progression."

The visualization changed, and the model now had a sword. A cutaway of the bones was shown, and there was a scale beside it, from green to red. His lookalike started performing moves the Taiyou Rendan, and Amaterasu started explaining further.

"Now, what you see, are bones being stressed by the recoil force of the resulting blows. Most of the energy is being dispersed, but remember that it is a geometrical progression, so something is bound to happen.

The bone stress of the models hands, arms, and shoulder blades was going through green, yellow, and deep orange by the seventh blow.

"If you landed the final blow, Aya's bones would break in the parts where the stress levels would be red. She would need some time to recover, even with her regenerative powers. And even now, she has micro fractures."

"So… Oh shit… I'm actually hurting Aya…" Toshiro said with a pale face.

"She will heal that, Toshiro," Alissa said. "But we have to bring out her Celestial Aura before she starts fighting back."

"I understand. Thanks for the lesson, Ami."

"No problem, Toshiro. You can only blame Kye for hurting Aya,"

"Ami… You know…" Toshiro started, but she silenced him with a well-put finger on his mouth.

"I know, Toshiro… I don't blame you, but you said yourself that you don't blame me, and that there are no hard feelings between the two of us. You're living a happy life without the interference of the gods right now, and by all means, you should continue it, okay?"

"Sure…" Toshiro smiled. "You could visit sometime, I think Livy could arrange something…"

"When the time comes, maybe I'll invite myself to a reunion or something," Amaterasu giggled. "Have fun, my dear former Chosen."

"Bye…" Toshiro said and she disappeared. "So, what now?"

"Now, we piss her off," Kye grinned. "Yes, Toshiro, she's wired like you in that regard, heheh…"

"Somebody had to inherit that trait…" he mumbled. "So what now? Should I just kick her back or something?"

"Yeah, just bounce her back with a kick and we'll be good."

"Kay."

Toshiro prepared his attack, and just as the time flow resumed, he kicked the sword Aya held, making her fly away.

Both of them gracefully fell on the ground, but Aya had to use her sword to keep balance.

"What is it, Aya? Tired already?" Toshiro asked. "And you call yourself my daughter?"

"B-But… Grandpa…"

"I'm disappointed, Aya. You can keep going much longer…" Alissa said flippantly.

"But Grandpa just attacked me so hard…"

"Pish posh. You blocked all of my Strikes! Do you think the enemy will wait for you to recover? Or stop attacking if it sees a white flag? Nope! Now, get into gear!"

"But Grandpa…"

"Don't Grandpa me now! Do you want your comrades to die just because you're weak?! You're not a granddaughter of mine if you think that way!"

"And I wasted my time to train you," Alissa crossed her arms on her chest.

"Heh…" Aya laughed suddenly. "Heheheh… Oooooh… I'm weak?! I'm the second strongest witch in the damn world!" she shouted and she started shooting black sparks. "I'll prove the both of you what I'm capable of!" The veil of dark energy started getting dense around her. "I won't fail my loved ones! I won't fail my peers! I won't fail my friends!"

Aya's looked as if a black hole covered her, but then it exploded and revealed her shrouded with the same type of aura Toshiro had. He in turn started clapping, with Alissa joining him.

"W-What are you doing?! We're sparring!"

"Look at your hands," Alissa smiled.

Aya looked at her hands with distrust, and she almost fell on the ground after seeing them.

"Woah! Woaaaaaah! I did it! Grandpa! Alissa! I did it! The Celestial Aura!"

"Indeed, you did it," Alissa said warmly. "But now, let's end this!"

"No, first I have to see who is the stronger of us two – Grandpa or me!"

"Oh?" Toshiro asked. "Come then!"

Aya spun her sword around and her aura flare up considerably.

"Atto Suto!" she shouted and swung her sword.

A gigantic wave of slightly curved energy flew with supersonic speed toward Toshiro, who however didn't bat an eyelid.

"I haven't been dwindling thumbs in training, Aya!" he yelled and Oblivion Lost fired up with frightening intensity. "Dai Tenkai Reppuzan!"

He flung the sword vertically and an attack of even greater magnitude flew towards Aya's. The two of them connected midair, and when they thought an explosion would occur, Kye yelled, "You forgot about me!"

A rainbow colored attack crashed into their attacks and lifted them up into the air. At an altitude of two kilometers, the three of them exploded in a rainbow-monochromatic explosion.

"Okay guys, it's enough for today. Good work, both of you."

Aya sat on the runway from exhaustion, and when Toshiro noticed that, he ran up to her and said, "Need a ride?"

"Heh… Yes, please."

Toshiro took her on his back, and said, "You performed miraculously, Aya. I can only be more proud if you singlehandedly win the war."

"Heehee… Thanks Grandpa… You sure riled me up back then… And was this duel a sham just to bring out my Celestial Aura?"

"Yup."

"You busybodies…" she sighed.

Once they approached the spectators, they could only see mouths agape, eyes opened wide, and sweaty foreheads.

"Nice show, huh?" Alissa asked. "Now, let us bathe in peace."

"That was so fucking intense!" Ellie shouted. "How in God's name is this even possible?!"

"Oh, and I thought you were against swearing?" Toshiro asked.

"Too many emotions! Pardon!"

"Heh… Well, you see, we were trained with methods… a bit unorthodox, right, Alissa?"

"Most certainly," she replied with a smile. "But really, please, let us rest in the bath, and you can try to get some info from us afterward, okay?"

"Okay, you won't be interrupted," Ellie said. "Or it's latrine cleaning for the whole unit."

"Yeah…" the girls mumbled.

/-/

The three went inside first, and Alissa just popped the bath supplies on her hands.

"I'll look the other way…" Toshiro mumbled.

"Heehee…" both Aya and Alissa giggled.

They entered the bath, and Alissa shoed off Toshiro.

"But I've seen her naked from her birth anyway!"

"Getting dressed and undressed is different…" Aya mumbled.

"I think I heard that somewhere, ad nauseam I might add… Okay then."

Toshiro waited for his turn, but the two were waiting naked for him.

"I guess I'm two-to-one on this one, huh?"

"Yup," the two said in sync.

He undressed and took a shower, under the careful gaze of Alissa and Aya.

Afterwards, three submersed themselves in the bath.

"So, Grandpa, how strong exactly are you."

"Well then…"

"I'm stronger than you, let's stop at that."

"Oh come on, Grandpa… Tell me…"

"My base level is even stronger than my powered up level when Kye souped up everyone in the sim."

"No way…" Aya gasped.

"That's true, Aya," Alissa said. "I adjusted myself to his growing power as a custom, but since you were making such astounding progress, you never noticed that the gap between us was widening."

"And when did you start you training, Grandpa? After the Neuroi appeared?"

"Indeed. You see, what I didn't tell you, is that once the Neuroi appeared, I used my connections with Livy to undergo training. Using up some odd days, I underwent training equivalent to fifteen years of normal training with her. My magic never diminished due to the Celestial Power residing in my body, but I did need a refresher course."

"You went dull, Toshiro," Alissa smirked. "But Livy is the best whetstone you can get, heh…"

"Yeah, and I trained hard. Ooooh, I trained hard, that's damn sure… Mind you, in 1946 I still wasn't as strong as you in terms of raw power during that simulation we pulled off. But thanks to those ten years, I went up on the ladder. Hell, I can even lay down Livy as my personal railgun, I can do that with my own two hands now! And if Kye would put me back in time in her world, I wouldn't have to be ashamed," he smirked.

"Indeed, you wouldn't have to. Well, excluding one teensy little detail…"

"Oh?" Aya tilted her head.

"My Celestial Order mastery, Aya," Toshiro smiled. "Finally I can use that word at its full semantic capacity, heheh…"

To underline that, he raised his right hand, and a slew of orbs, varying in colors, began spinning counterclockwise above it.

"So you mean… Grandpa, congratulations!" Aya cheered. "Oh my… That means that the only one that could match you would be…"

"Yoshika from the other world, given she'd master her True Zen."

"She actually did," Alissa nodded.

"Grandpa, then why aren't you fighting?!" Aya shouted. "You could probably singlehandedly win the war!"

"My dear Aya… You don't understand this, do you? I have a godly power, that's true. Yes, I could probably rid the world of the Neuroi. But the days of my glory have ended, and I have to make way for the new generation. Would you be the same Aya if I ended the war earlier, rushing my training?"

"Um… Probably not… But Grandpa, this is still unfair!"

"Toshiro trained just to see how powerful he could be," Alissa explained. "He fulfilled his power fantasy, but now that you're reunited, he will help you directly, but only locally. Right, Toshiro?"

"Indeed, so be it. But I'll still let you young'uns handle most of the dirty work. You need means to evolve, and what good would I do by just clobbering the Neuroi out of existence?"

"I suppose you're right…"

"But I am ready to give my life for my world," Toshiro said suddenly with a gloom voice.

"W-What?" Aya asked surprised.

"If something stronger than Xadea grade appeared, I would go battle it, even if it cost my life. I almost lost my home twice, and if it means that the five billion or so people on Earth would live a peaceful life, I would gladly sacrifice my life…"

"But Grandpa…"

"Toshiro is a blockhead, don't try to change his resolve. I had an impulse to tell him what would happen after he defeated Xadea, but… He would end badly…"

"Do tell?" Toshiro livened up a bit.

"If I told you, that in thirty five years the Neuroi would return, you would go ballistic, taking the role of the lone martyr. You would use your friendship with Livy to such an extent, that one HOUR here would equal a YEAR in the personal dimension she would create for you."

"A year?!" both Aya and Toshiro shouted.

"Yes. Moreover, you would use every free hour you could possibly muster up. You would be consumed by the desire to get stronger and stronger, all for the sake of humanity. You would train relentlessly for hundreds of years in succession, and you would grow in power, yes siree… And of course, thanks to the added benefits, you wouldn't age."

Alissa snapped her fingers and a display appeared in the air, with various bars labeled according to Toshiro's power levels at various times and states. One of the bars was significantly bigger than the others.

"W-What? Is this some kind of trick?" Toshiro asked stupefied.

"No, Toshiro. You, a mortal, would obtain a power hundreds of times of what you wield in your hands now. Xadea? Pfff! You could crush her by just waving your unarmed hand at her! The mortals of Yoshika's world? I wouldn't even let you spar with them. The Sacred Flame, its purified form, – all would be unimportant and discarded by you. You would even discard Yuki, as your magic would be hardwired into your body by then."

"But… I would never do that to that stupid oaf!"

"Under normal circumstances, no, you wouldn't. But Yuki would be a hindrance, since she couldn't be able to cope with your might. Don't worry, she would have her place by Ami's side however. Continuing, wielding Oblivion Lost in its awakened form would be a cinch for you. You would have an almost direct connection to the Allgods power… But…"

"But?"

"You would go insane."

Toshiro and Aya looked terrified at her.

"I'm not shitting you guys. Toshiro would lose his mind somewhere around, oh irony, the appearance of the Neuroi. But you wouldn't see them. On December 12, 1981, you would simply collapse mentally. Nobody, not even all the gods of this world, would be able to heal you, so Livy would simply euthanize you."

"Like a stray dog…" Toshiro whispered. "N-Not even Yoshika?"

"Not even…" Alissa shook her head. "Ah yes, Yoshika! You wouldn't bother visiting her. She would live her life, raising your kids, but it would be an empty life for her."

"My Yoshika… How… How could I even do this…?"

"And you wouldn't lift a finger?" Aya asked.

"No. But remember, everything I do is with a purpose," Alissa winked.

"Yeah… Purpose… You know what? That was so fucking depressing… And I'm fucking alcohol immune, bahahaha!"

Toshiro started laughing like a madman, and Alissa caught Aya's gaze. She nodded towards him, and Aya embraced him tightly. Instead of laughing, Toshiro started crying.

"Alissa, you shouldn't have…"

"But I did. Toshiro has to know that even the most just objective has to be achieved properly. If Toshiro was destined to be the lone hero, I would give him my full support. I personally would train him, as well as Doran and company, my kids, their kids, whoever would be necessary, so that he could even train a millennium, and he would be mentally sane. But in that time line, he wanted to be the one to shoulder the weight of the universe on his mortal shoulders… That couldn't have gone well…"

"So… If I understand correctly… Will I be the one to save the world?" Aya asked.

"Maybe you will, maybe you won't," Alissa winked, but she also sighed and added, "If I could tell the poor Toshiro what's hidden from him…"

"But you won't why exactly?"

"Everything has it's time, Aya. You are born at a set date; you die at a set date."

Suddenly time froze around Aya, and even Toshiro went colorless.

"Toshiro has to wait for the latter, and then all will be clear for him."

"But why?"

"But why, but why… Ehhh… Because he wished it to be so. He wanted to severe his ties with everything godly and supernatural. Do you know how steaming mad, how utterly furious he was when I came to him to explain to him that I will be residing in his world for a few years? If he had the possibility, he would break my neck! But of course he couldn't heehee… Your grandfather, Aya, has a secret. Only the Elder Gods know about it, and Toshiro himself, once he learned about it, he chose not to know about it. Because it would impact his life too much…"

"I see… I didn't even suspect that Grandpa is such a tragic character…"

"Don't worry, he'll die happily in a few decades. His life will be fulfilled, and he will leave you, your mother, and your children and grandchildren with the certitude that he did what he could to make the lives of all around him better. And it will be true," Alissa smiled. "Now, return to hugging him. When he's strong, he's strong. However, when he crumbles, only a strong woman can help him."

"Heh… Okay, Alissa. I'll be that strong woman this time," Aya grinned and embraced her grandfather once again.

After Toshiro regained his composure, he said, "Thanks, Aya… You're a granddaughter one can only dream of."

"Heehee… Thanks, Grandpa…"

"For that, I'll let you in on a secret!"

"Oh?"

Toshiro wrapped his arm around Aya, and they started levitating.

"Woah! Grandpa, you learned how to fly?!"

"Yup. I could fly by the end of December 1945 already. Livy told me that it's a backup measure, because if I had to use the Celestial Aura in combat, my Striker would fail miserably."

"And why wouldn't the ion Striker fail?" Aya asked curiously.

"It's a cold engine, so it won't overheat, and it also has excess magic vents. It's also simple, despite what you may believe, so there's not much to fail. However, if you would use your Awakened Hikarimaru AND the Celestial Aura, it would probably blow up anyway, vents or not."

"That's why, we have to teach you how to fly, and stabilize your Celestial Aura and the same time," Alissa added.

"So… There will be an enemy that will need such measures of power?"

"Kye probably knows it anyway, but I think that Xadea might had some kind of… spouse… Or direct offspring. And if that's the case, even the Celestial Aura won't be enough for that sucker without awakening your weapon, as I had to do with Xadea."

"I understand. Hmmm… Graaandpa, gimmie a backrub, I'm stiff like a board after that spar…"

"At least not so flat," he snickered, earning a kick in the shin from Alissa. "Hey! What, you want one too?"

"You? Proposing a backrub to me? From you own will?! Now, how can I refuse, ha!"

Amaterasu, the head Shinto deity, chose Toshiro to save the world, which he did, killing the Neuroi Matriarch Xadea, but at the end he severed his ties with all the gods because he wanted to have a normal, peaceful life as a mortal.

The Celestial Aura is an aura shared by Toshiro and Aya, coming from the Allgod Adam's power himself, buffing their power by 300% and enabling the most devastating attacks.

The Atto Suto is Aya's own Reppuzan, enabled by the Celestial Aura, and the Dai Tenkai Reppuzan is Toshiro's ultimate technique from the Reppuzan line, courtest of his Celestial Aura full mastery.