After Ritsuka bathed in Fafnir's blood, the group headed to Kutha. With Romani and Da Vinci, they tried to figure out who Jaune was. They have no historical records of anyone who carried the blood of Fafnir with him in a tub. The two worked full time to figure it out, but they got nothing.
"Is he some sort of unknown servant?" Romani said. "I can't find a single historical fact about him. The closest I can get is the Arc name, and that's the Maid of Orléans".
"Hmm…could he be some sort of anomaly?" Da Vinci thought out loud. "But I don't think he is. His existence makes no sense".
"What's even weirder is that he's married to Scáthach," Romani said. "I've never heard of anyone being married to her. The closest person she had was her favourite student Cu Chulainn. And Jaune is certainly not Cú Chulainn. They look too different".
Back with Jaune and the others. They've arrived in Kutha. Looking around, the city was desolate. Buildings were destroyed, broken plates and other tools were scattered everywhere.
"Now," Merlin said. "Though this city is small, it's too big to find the tablet we're looking for. Fortunately, as Demonic Beast won't enter, let's split up to look for it".
"No, that's, um…." Mash said. "I'm senpai's servant, so I can't part from his side".
"It'll be alright, Mash," Ritsuka said. "We'll really be in trouble if we take too long, and night falls on us. Besides, Fou is here too. Oh, he may not look it, but he gets things done in a pinch".
Everyone separated to search for the tablet. Thankfully, Merlin showed everyone what the tablet looked like or else the search would have been for nothing since they would be searching blindly.
Jaune was walking blindly with no idea how to search for the tablet. He was looking through anything that may hide something in them. But there were no signs of the tablet. Walking around a bit more, Jaune was suddenly in a place that looked like he was in a cave. He doesn't remember walking in such a place.
Jaune's instincts told him that there was someone behind him. When he looked, he saw beings that looked like dehydrated humans or mummified humans.
"It's the living," the dead said. "What is the living doing in the Underworld?".
"Underworld? You mean the place where the souls go after they die?" Jaune asked. "This is quite interesting".
Jaune was ignoring the dead and was looking around the place he stumbled across. However, the dead were annoying and kept talking.
"We were murdered!" the dead said. "No dignity. No prayers. Simply abandoned. Have you come to laugh…To seize? Have you come to flee or to discard? Unforgivable…all are unforgivable!".
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jaune asked. "I didn't even choose to come here. I just stumbled across this place. If this is really the Underworld, then call me intrigued. I never thought I would be in the Underworld as a living person…or maybe I somehow die? Hey, Alice? Am I dead?".
[You're not dead, sort of. Something purposely pulled you into the Underworld. Kutha seemed to be connected to the Underworld and is the reason Demonic Beast is not entering]
The dead then started to come closer to Jaune. So, he kicked and punched them. At one point, Jaune even slapped the head off of one of the dead. It was then that Jaune heard a voice.
"Oh-ho! Interesting, you are human, yet have the strength to push the dead back," a man said. He then looked at all the dead. "Leave. Taking this soul will incur your master's wrath. Seal up the seven gates and resume your guard of the soul cages!".
The dead that was surrounding Jaune earlier were gone. They disappeared in a flash of light.
"Blame not the spirit," the man said. "Your intrusion was most brazen, young one as you are visiting the land of the dead while you still draw breath".
"I didn't intrude," Jaune said. "I was brought here. I didn't willing come here. Though, not that I'm here, I find it interesting. So, can I ask who the master of this place is?".
"I cannot tell you that," the man said. "However, there will be a time that you met with the master of the Underworld. It's time you returned to the world of the living".
Jaune was then covered in light that was making him float.
"Return, young one, to the living world and speak these words to the mage," the man said. "All is well in the Underworld".
"By the way, my name is Jaune Arc," Jaune said. "What about you?".
"My name is…" the man said. "Ziusu-dra".
Jaune woke up, and he was on the floor. Looking around, no one was there, but he was back in Kutha. Jaune looked for Merlin so that he could give the message of the old man… no of Ziusu-dra.
"That's weird," Jaune said. "How did I end up in the Underworld?".
[Like I said, you were pulled in]
"Huh? How come I looked normal when I was there," Jaune said. "Doesn't my soul form look different?".
[That's because it wasn't just your soul that arrived in the Underworld, it was your whole person]
"Then why was I asleep?" Jaune asked. "I woke up on the floor".
[The process of you returning to the living took time, and you…well, you got bored of waiting and went to sleep. Did you forget?"]
"Oh, right," Jaune said. "I forgot about that. Now, where is Merlin?".
Jaune continued looking for Merlin and the others. It took a while, but he found them. Jaune then explained what happened to him, and he gave the message of Ziusu-dra. He also handed over the Tablet of Destinies to Merlin. He has no use for it.
"Ziusu-dra, huh?" Merlin said. "Unless it was merely someone taking on a role similar to Ziusu-dra's. That's not a name you claim for show or on a whim, though. Still, 'All is well in the Underworld', huh? Which means the three goddesses I saw through clairvoyance are…".
"Oum damn it! Complete what you're saying," Jaune said. "Why do you have to stop halfway!".
While Jaune was pissed at Merlin for not completing what he was saying. The wristband of Ritsuka rang with Romani's voice.
"A large Magical Energy signal is fast approaching," Romani said. "Please be careful!".
Suddenly, a light appeared in the sky, and Mash brought out her shield to protect Ritsuka. Though, the amount of power wouldn't harm Ritsuka due to the Armour of Fafnir. Nonetheless, Mash protected him either way.
"I found you!" Ishtar said. "Apparently, you grilled the ranchers all about me! Snooping around about what a goddess does on a day off? That's so insensitive!".
"Oh, it seems like you have something you'd like to be kept hidden," Merlin said. "Are you embarrassed because we found you were a gem thief?".
"That's not it!" Ishtar rebuked. "Besides, I've never assaulted humans for money or anything!".
"But you took their gems?" Ritsuka said. "Isn't that considered theft?".
"I only asked for compensation after saving them from the Demonic Beasts!" Ishtar said. "Saving you guys for free would just corrupt you all over again!".
Ritsuka and Ishtar continued arguing about compensation and doing things for free. Then suddenly, Ishtar decided to attack.
"I'll have no mercy, and you'll have nothing left!" Ishtar shouted. Before she kicked Ritsuka. Though she saw that he wasn't injured in the least, he just went flying. "Not bad!".
Ishtar then continued kicking Ritsuka, though no matter how strong her kicks were, Ritsuka wasn't hurt. Not even a scratch was on him. Eventually, Mash intercepted Ishtar's attack to ensure that Ritsuka wouldn't get hurt.
Jaune decided to join the fight, and so did Scáthach. That didn't go well with Ishtar since Scáthach's God-Slayer ability increased the amount of damage she was receiving. Being double-teamed was terrible enough, but Jaune was seriously slamming Ishtar's face on the ground and dragging it across the ground before tossing her. Then it was Scáthach's turn to bash her around. Jaune and Scáthach ensured that Ishtar didn't have time to retaliate and use her weapon.
Eventually, the sun went down, and Ishtar didn't fight as she passed out. Ritsuka and the others found a place to stay for the night, and they tied Ishtar to a pillar. They waited for her to wake up.
Jaune and Scáthach, on the other hand, is in another location. That's because the duo was going to bathe in the blood of Fafnir. Jaune took out the card and activated it. But then he realised that Scáthach would not be able to gain the benefit of Avalon.
[Not to worry. Instead of using the Embodiment of the World of Faeries, use the Manifestation of the World of Faeries. That way, rather than Anti Unit (Self), it would be an Anti-Country. I suggest that Jaune restrict the size of the summoned bounded field]
"Alright, let's do this," Jaune said. He then concentrated on Avalon and his control over it since this was the first time he was Manifesting the bounded field. "Manifestation of the World of Faeries!".
A bounded field then appeared, and Jaune's area was no longer the same as earlier. Now, he and Scáthach are in a beautiful field of green. Looking around, Jaune saw a lot of flowers and trees.
Not far from Jaune and Scáthach, Merlin felt the existence of Avalon. He hurried to the location, but he was tossed out the moment he entered the bounded field. That's because Jaune didn't want anyone other than him and Scáthach inside.
Inside Avalon, Jaune and Scáthach were bathing in the blood of Fafnir. After a minute of bathing in the blood, Jaune and Scáthach drank the blood to ensure that they got all its effects. Momentarily, Jaune and Scáthach's skin turned tanned, and they had a green glow in their chest, but it soon disappeared.
The External Spirit Bone that was within Jaune suddenly came out. That's because it was no longer a necessary item. Jaune's back then sprouted his own wings. Too bad Scáthach didn't receive the same thing since the External Spirit Bone was the cause of Jaune gaining his own wing as it resonated with Fafnir's blood.
[Congratulations on gaining the body of a dragon without its demerits. Thanks to Avalon, the Armour of Fafnir is stronger than it was meant to be. Unlike Ritsuka, who can tank B rank and lower, you can tank A rank and lower physical and magical attacks as your Armour of Fafnir is ranked A+. Unfortunately, it seems like your Aura is becoming obsolete]
"I feel like testing out my new body's resistance to magic and physical attacks," Jaune said. "Too bad we would make too much noise since it's night-time".
[Actually, that's where you're wrong. Now that it's night-time, it is the perfect time to test it out since the dead would be rising right about now]
"Hmm…" Jaune was thinking. He then looked at Scáthach. "Our usual bet to find out who can kill the most?".
"If I win," Scáthach said. "I get to be on top on our next night".
"Sure," Jaune said. "If I win, then I get to pick a position".
The two then left the building they were on, and outside they saw the dead rising. Merlin and the others started to fight back, but there were too many. Jaune and Scáthach joined, and they destroyed as many as they could.
Once all the skeletons were gone, Scáthach was sulking a bit since she didn't get to be on top since Jaune destroyed one more than her.
Looking at Ritsuka and the others, Jaune noticed that Merlin was dishevelled, which shouldn't have been the case since the man barely fought.
Jaune and Scáthach then went back to the building where Ishtar was tied up. They continued the interrogation, but then, more skeletons appeared. Eventually, the decision of Merlin and Ritsuka was to leave Kutha.
Jaune thanked Ishtar for the information she could give and released her before he followed the others out of Kutha.
Ishtar watched the retreating feature of Jaune in the air, but then she saw Jaune look back. She tried to hide because she wasn't Ishtar. Her hair was an indicator as it was blond and not black.