I need to differentiate mental speak because I have too many different reasons for it.

"Main Persona Speak."

(Thoughts.) / (^Talking to Irene.^)

/Talking to a Familiar./Mental Presence./

"Whisper/Shadow/Mental Speak."

Aside from my OC's I own nothing.

{Martha's POV the same day}

Tapping Belserion against the earth, a barrier reminiscent to Rho Aias formed around me, enveloping me within its amber petals. A moment later a veritable storm of icicles impacted the outer petals in front of me, a small barrage of lightning impacted my left, a heavy gale hit my right, and dozens of crescent beams of physical force hit my flank. The combined assault tore through a few petals, but not all of them. (Still, the damage done IS impressive.)

When the onslaught of attacks ceased, I dropped the barrier. "Genesis - First Form: Legionary." Genesis Shifted in my grip, and I shot towards my right. Yukari was an excellent Marksman, but she had yet to be acclimated to my style of close range combat.

Due to my Augmentation and Buffing spells, I reached my target within moments. Surprisingly I had been predicted to have gone for Yukari, a fact I'd only had a few moments to recognize as a fist coated in lightning and covered by a bronze gauntlet soared towards my face. (They intentionally attacked opposite sides to lure me into Akihiko. Smart.) Bringing up Genesis, I deflected the first fist, dodged the second, and spun around the one that came next, using my spin to lash out with the side of my Bardiche. Akihiko blocked Genesis underneath his arm, and lashed out with another fist, but I avoided it by letting go of Genesis and performing a Nigawa Kick to reposition myself. Losing my weapon wasn't an issue, I was still a Martial Artist that could use magic.

However, it seemed that was somewhat expected when an arrow composed of wind shot towards me at speeds similar to Tara's lightning. Knowing I couldn't avoid it, I began reinforcing my back, twisting my body to improve my odds, but still took the arrow to my shoulder rather then along my spine, being blasted away mid air. The pain wasn't anything I hadn't dealt with before, so I wasn't distracted enough to keep myself from creating wings of air to readjust my course. (Let's see them fight from a disadvantageous point.)

Taking control of my impromptu flight, I took to the s...- ""MABUFULA/GARULA!"" I began evasive maneuvers as ice lances were propelled by a vengeful gust. Unfortunately I hadn't avoided all of them. My wings ended up taking a few hits, my arms were nicked and had some frost spreading across them. I hadn't taken any hits to my chest, so that was the good news.

The bad news was that I had to take control of more wind to recreate my wings, create a barrier to keep myself safe from retaliation, as well as plan another form of attack seeing as the sky had been cut off. (Well, if Heaven is not open to me, I may as well dominate the Earth.) With that thought, and ignoring the amused scoff that echoed through my mind, I used the wind to push me down towards the ground faster, an idea already forming in my mind.

""ZIONGA!"" The moment I heard the dual calls, I instinctively threw up my most powerful Anti Lightning Barrier, which was practically second nature due to living and sparring with a Lightning Dragon for over a decade.

The combined bolt of lightning splashed harmlessly against the barrier, allowing my dive towards the earth to go unimpeded. "FREEZING GROUND!" Mitsuru's voice rang out with a spell of her own, and I mentally clicked my tongue.

Ice raced towards my landing area, but I was already in range. Reaching out towards the earth, I used a spell from my AoE catalogue. (Teraform!) The earth heeded my call, raising a hollow tube that I dropped down into in what Tara would call a 'Superhero Landing.' The moment I landed, I let my Verdant Lightning flow, and took off in a sprint, the earth moving apart at my will, tunnels shaping themselves as I created a network similar to an Ant's Nest.

"Keep your wits about you and stay on the move! Akihiko, harass the earth with Swift Strike! Ken, prepare a Cruel Attack!" I grinned at Mitsuru's commands, amused at the tactic she was attempting. If I timed it right, I could turn this on her and the rest of S.E.E.S.

Waiting for a moment, I prepared another AoE spell, one that'd increase the gravity in a set area for a few moments, and prepared. The moment I felt the earth shake was when I moved.

Shooting out of the ground, I unleashed my magic. "LUNAR TIDE!" One of the fundamental forces of the universe bent under my will, causing S.E.E.S to collapse into the earth. Earth that I'd hollowed out with my earlier tunneling. The added weight caused the ground to collapse, dust attempting to rise, only to fail as I pushed it down, creating a hazard they were forced to inh...- "G-ack-GARU!" A weak wind blew the dust away, and my eyes zoned in on Yukari.

The Phoenix Ranger seemed to be on her last legs, struggling to maintain the dressing and mirror that she manifested. Looking at the others, I noticed their 'Battle Forms' were also flickering between reality and the aether. (Well, we HAVE been sparring for a good 25 minutes.) That alone was a pleasant surprise. S.E.E.S, despite being... Or perhaps BECAUSE they were older, seemed to return to being combat ready quite quickly.

Even Fuuka and Aigis showed phenomenal progress towards regaining their combat abilities, as well as materializing their Perso...- "CAESAR!" The sound of shattering glass followed Akihiko's bellow, and I knew this would be dangerous. Gravity reasserted itself in the face of a conqueror all the world knew, a pressure comparable to Tara weighed down on me, and then it appeared. A silver and black golem shimmered into existence before my eyes, more of a mirage then fully corporeal construct, sword raised to the sky as both golem and metaphysical controller stared down at me.

I met the Emperor's gaze, a hand outstretched as I mentally recalled Genesis to my hand. The moment my Bardiche returned to me, I spun her. "Genesis - Second Form: Belserion." She Shifted in my grasp, the red gem of my staff giving off an ethereal glow as my mana was channeled through her, readying a spell as the ethereal conqueror glowed.

""RHO AIAS!/GOD'S HAND!""

The seven amber petals formed around me as a massive golden fist formed in front of me, careening towards my form. The speed the fist flew towards me came as a surprise, but I put that out of my mind as I became fully focused on keeping my shield up.

The first layer was demolished without a chance, the second lasted for a few moments before succumbing to the fist, the third lasted a bit longer and helped slow it down. The fourth was where the fist met resistance, and I took the time to reinforce that petal, as well as the others behind it. (For a utter fraction of his capabilities, this conqueror is proving to be a problem.) The fourth petal shattered, leaving the fifth to take the mantle of my defenses. Thankfully, the fist seemed to be losing steam, and was beginning to deteriorate before my eyes.

"^This is still quite fascinating.^" Ignoring the commentary, I pushed more magic into the fifth petal, bolstering its defense, causing the fist to finally give out. With the fist gone, I looked down towards S.E.E.S, taking in their situation. My eyes locked onto Akihiko first, Caesar had already vanished, but his user was the one to bring him out in the first place.

The boxer was face first into the ground, utterly exhausted. That made sense given consistent manifestation of their Persona's was not something they were used too yet. Sure, thanks to going to the parallel dimension the Dark Hour took place in they were able to call their Persona's into reality, they hadn't become accustomed to the massive drain in their magic summoning them into reality would take. Pushing it as far as he did was obviously going to come with repercussions. (Looks like he's returning to the medical bay... Again.) I was beginning to believe Akihiko was some sort of Masochist with his frequent visits to said bay for overexertion. (If it's not Mother then its Sairaorg he fights, honestly that man.) I ignored the saying that all Martial Artists were Masochists, it would include me with that broad brush, and I was no M.

"^Are you sure? I seem to remember some of your more... Risque sessions with your husband including copious amounts of choking.^" That true but unnecessary comment aside, I'd address it later, "^Very Well.^" The foolish boxer would most likely be out of commission for a few days at minimum.

Looking at the rest of S.E.E.S, my gaze naturally landed on Mitsuru. She was their commander, the voice of reason and the pillar they gathered around. At the moment, her rapier was plunged into the ground, being used to help her stand after being exposed to three times natural gravity. Mitsuru looked up at me, meeting my gaze as she attempted to stand defiantly, and I smiled at her. (Truly a woman after my own heart. If I had swung that way, and weren't nearly a century older then her, I might've tried to court her.)

"^That matters little. Finding pleasure where it can be gained should be done irrespective of your views or age.^"

I paused at that. (^That... Why does that come off as pedophilia?^)

The Crimson Despair scoffed in my mind. "^Oh please, you said it yourself, you're a century older then the woman. No matter how you rationalize it, it comes off as pedophilia.^" I was beginning to get uncomfortable with this topic. "^Ugh, you silly creature with your morals and other annoying ideologies.^"

(^And that is where I stop responding.^) She huffed again, but returned to the portion of my mind she set up for herself.

Anyway, Mitsuru and I stared at the other for a few more moments, then shared a nod. "S.E.E.S, combat operations are done for today!" A pair of weak cheers rang out from Ken and Yukari at that announcement.

I chuckled to myself, allowing the wind platform I created to bring me back down to the ground near Akihiko. Levitating him with my own version of the Levitation Charm, I created a stretcher beneath him, and slowly set him onto it. With him laid down, I ran diagnostics on him, taking in all his injuries and ailments. (Well, Mana Exhaustion was expected, the degree of it though is slightly worrying, but he'll be fine. I can take care of his injuries with my Verdant Lightning... Which I'd may as well start now.) Doing so, I let my Goddess given ability coat my hands, and gently laid a hand over his chest, the other was used to heal myself, more then it already was, as I began working on his general health first.

While I did that, I idly used my magic to slowly begin raising the earth S.E.E.S were standing on. Akihiko had a veritable array of bruises and a few damaged bones from the session we'd just gone through, but he'd be fine now that I was tending to him. (Still, they've done quite well with the little time I've been teaching them.) And they really had been. My own wounds were numerous, the worst was a deep gash that Ken had cut across my back, a gash I'd healed over the course of the fight.

I looked over my shoulder at the sound of footsteps, and watched as Yukari, Ken, and Mitsuru began walking towards me. The latter's bodysuit had tears, dust, flecks of blood all over it, while her hair was a mess. Yukari and her own armored bodysuit were in a similar situation. I didn't even need to look at Ken to know his suit was torn considering I'd burned some, if not most, of it off.

Though, despite their states, none of them seemed dissatisfied. They knew they were making progress, the fact Akihiko could manifest Caesar, even if only for a few moments and with just a fraction of his power, was proof of that. (Granted, the strain will probably leave him unconscious for a number of days... Eh, not really my problem, males will be males.)

"Status?" Mitsuru's voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I hummed.

"From what my diagnostics are telling me he will be out of it for a few days, 2-3 at minimum, a week at most. Any physical ailments will be mended after a minute or two. The usual Mana and small dose of Health Potion will be enough to get him back in shape." I'd need to make a reminder to check my stores of Moon Petals, which had been steadily growing over the years, to make sure I had enough to keep supplying said Mana Potions, but it would most likely be fine.

Mitsuru nodded at that, taking a moment to start flicking her dust laden hair away. "When he wakes up I'll get into him about letting his eagerness get the better of him... Again." Her tone was practically identical to my own, and I couldn't help but smile a bit more because of it. She had Akihiko, and I had Tara, truly, we both understood the pains of caring for battle maniacs.

"Ugh," Yukari brought attention to herself as she removed the Featherman esque helmet, shaking her hair as if she were in an ad. "I'm going to have to dump this thing in a tub with all the crap on it." The stink eye she sent my way amused me. "Did you really need to try choking us out with dust?"

I grinned, but Mitsuru had taken the answer out of my hands. "It's a viable tactic to be sure. Without a wind user, dust inhalation could be detrimental in a fight." She was correct. "We're just fortunate it was dust instead of some kind of gas."

The opportunity was there, and I had no issues seizing it. "I know a few spells that can turn the air into some rather interesting substances. My favorite is a neurotoxin that slowly deadens the Immune System, taking away the resistance to diseases and infections, while working its way through the rest of the bodies natural defenses and Central Nervous System, ultimately resulting in the loss of all motor control. Amusingly enough, it leaves the victim alive, just incapable of doing anything while also becoming highly susceptible to just about anything." My sudden information dump was met with various responses.

"^I dabbled with gaseous substances at some point, and found a marvelous little poison that erodes the Mana Channels of a Mage. Seeing victims be torn apart by their own mana is an interesting experience.^" I mentally blinked at that...

Then thought about the use of a poison like that. (^Can I learn of that during one of our sessions?^) Say what you will of Irene Belserion, but she was a magnificent teacher, as well as an interesting conversationalist... Well, when she isn't trying to torment or break some poor victim.

I could feel Irene's approval at my question, and heard her hum in amusement. "^I'll make a note of it.^" That was nice.

Horrific experiments aside, Mitsuru took it in stride, though her eyes belayed the silent question of 'why would you say this?' Truly, she had marvelous self control.

Yukari stared at me, paling a little bit, and quickly shook her head. "Thanks for fueling my nightmares."

Ken and I snorted, an act that made me look at the young medical student. He didn't seem worried or disturbed at the prospect of the aforementioned toxin, rather, he seemed curious. "Where'd you find something like that?" Even the question was asked more out of curiosity rather then disbelief.

"Sona and Rias treat their allies/families quite well." He nodded at that, Rias had introduced herself to S.E.E.S, as well as the Investigation Team, which was sort of required since we were training on Gremory land. "Would you like me to lend you a Grimoire of some interesting curses and plagues?"

Ken took a moment to think about it, then nodded. "Yes. Finding out what's out there could be interesting, and also helpful if we run into it someday." He was such a practical boy. "Plus, I want to try using a spell like that on my spear." Also one that understood that just killing your foes was not the only way to make them suffer... A sentiment that got an approving hum from Irene.

Since I was looking at her, I did not miss the way Yukari leaned towards Mitsuru. "How did we get here?"

My fellow redhead just shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure, but I'm not going to question it." Ken and I just rolled our eyes.

Medical experimentation stopped for no man after all.

{An hour later}

Leaning back into my seat at the Raven's Nest, I idly watched the feeds as I let my thoughts wander. (S.E.E.S is advancing quite well, they can all use the upgraded variants of their elemental attacks, as well as a good bit of magic.) It had been interesting to learn that yes, the affinities displayed by their Persona's were also their own, though I had already believed that to be the case. Teaching them about spells for their own affinity was a work in progress, using mana depleted resources their Personas/armors/weapons used to manifest, making it a twofold venture to incorporate their own spells into combat. They also needed to work on their stamina as well as mana reserves, but they were already making good progress, so in a few more months, they'd most likely reach the pinnacle of Middle Class, stamina and mana wise.

S.E.E.S had the potential of Ultimate Class beings, their Personas were just that powerful, but the Users themselves still had a journey ahead of themselves to reach that potential as well. (Granted, they WILL reach it, I will not accept anything less.)

Then there was The Investigation Team. I mindlessly tapped a nail against the desk as I thought about them. The Investigation Team was a mixed bag. I'd meet the other members of the team, their Shadow companion was insufferable, but intriguing in a medical/mystical point of view. My diagnostic spells had such conflicting results that I ended up working on new ones just to properly scan him.

When I'd managed to do so, the results fascinated me. The 'human' body Teddy had was comparable to a true simulacrum. He had no blood, organs, semen, or even a Central Nervous System. His 'hair' were thin shadows that were semi alive, but would die a few moments after being separated from their 'creator.' The same held true for his 'blood', a false liquid that only looked like it, 'sweat' was the same, as was his 'semen.' It was fascinating to me, and was even more interesting when I figured out how it worked.

Teddy's body worked on his perception of it. He fully believed that he could become a Human, and so he became one. He knew Human's aged, so his body aged, slowly but still aged. He knew Humans had saliva, tears, blood, semen, so his body had imitations of those liquids. I theorized that if he truly believed that Humans could fly, his body would find some way for it to allow it. It was a theory because I couldn't exactly conduct tests on him... Without destroying the alliance I'd created, so that was out of the picture. "^I'm still unsure if I should be insulted or not that the creature WILLED HIMSELF to be 'Human' through some 'Power of Friendship' inanity.^"

While the cause was far more deeper then what she alluded too, I couldn't help but agree with her on some level. (^You have to admit, 'the Power of Friendship', as bullshit as it is, is quite powerful.^)

Irene was silent for a bit, then let out an annoyed scoff. "^While I understand that you are correct, that does not mean I have to like it, nor accept it as true.^"

I rolled my eyes at the bitter Queen, and returned to my previous train of thought. (I'll just need to conduct more tests on the Shadows I've been supplied.) The thought of my subjects lit a curious ember through both Irene and I. She had centuries of experience with creatures similar to what we had here, but not the same. There were also things she had not seen, and Shadows were one of them. So to suddenly find creatures that she had no experience with, that worked with factors and an environment she had never worked with before, she became curious.

Just as I was.

Though, the 'Human' Shadow and the others of his species aside, my thoughts returned to the rest of The Investigation Team. The aforementioned Persona Users required more work. It was no insult to them, it was just a simple fact.

Unlike S.E.E.S, none of them had any form of training, and aside from Satonaka, Shirogane and Narukami, the rest of them didn't keep up with or try to learn anything new. Mitsuru and her team had kept themselves in top form, top form that was further improved when I healed their bodies to their prime.

Granted, I understood the reason for this. The Investigation Team had a far lighter Journey then S.E.E.S, even if there were strange murders they were trying to solve. The 3rd generation had not only lost a member, been betrayed by another, 'dealt' with another insane Persona User, but had lost their Fool. That wasn't even getting into any particulars of their initial Journey, nor the brief second one they went on to free their Fool. I hadn't known about that one, but the tale had made me pensive when I thought about what could be done for him. "^As am I if I'm being honest. The endeavor to create a seal that would stop a world wide extinction event will be an arduous one, but be a highly rewarding experience nonetheless.^"Again, she had a point.

I didn't have a single clue about how I'd go about breaching the realm Arisato was currently sealed in, nor how I could help free him without causing an Extinction Event, but with Irene and her expertise by my side, I believed we could come up with some kind of solution.

Anyway, the moral of the story was that The Investigation Team had a happy ending. Their journey came and went, they succeeded in their goal and everyone lived.

S.E.E.S did not. They won, but their victory was a Pyrrhic one.

Objectively, Death was stopped and Humanity was not suddenly extinct... Which I'd wondered about the actual chances of that happening given the supernatural world was here too, but I'd debate this with Serafall later.

But emotionally?

S.E.E.S failed. They had no happy ending where everyone lived happily ever after.

They had lost the one who had given their life a new purpose, a goal to strive towards, a pillar of strength to gather towards. He was lost to them, and even when they tried to rescue him, they still failed.

Their goal was out of reach, their Fool forever lost to them...

But they never stopped. They never let go of Arisato, even going so far to take his last name in the case of Aigis... The dear had it BAD... It was adorable to be honest. (When we find a method to release him, I'll need to remember to tease her about it... That's if Tara doesn't do it before I can... Actually, as twins, we can do it together.) I nodded at that thought, highly amused at it.

Due to S.E.E.S never abandoning their goal of freeing Arisato, as well as the fact they all kept in shape physically, they obviously took to our lessons like fish to water. Even Fuuka, the navigator that seemingly had no offensive options before gaining water abilities, grew like a weed under my sister's tutelage.

Meanwhile, The Investigation Team had no reason to stay in shape. They'd fully embraced a civilian lifestyle, and were all around satisfied with their lives. The 4th Fool had a wife and child, a quite adorable silver haired daughter in my opinion, two others were in a relationship with each other, another was managing a family business that took the majority of her time, and the others were also busy. They'd moved in with their lives, making the tasks of bringing out their Personas more difficult, as well as properly scheduling for their training. (Honestly, Tara has it easy with just three students.)

I huffed at the thought, and was about to dive into it further, when something caught my eye on one of the feeds. Focusing on it, I frowned as I recognized the figures being observed. (Stray Exorcists, seemingly carrying something, what look to be Magicians t...- Wait... Is that...) Narrowing my eyes at the rotund man one of my Raven's was staring at, I felt something click within me. "Well well well, if it isn't Kiba's target." The former priest was giving orders to a group of 40 or so Stray Exorcists, and 15 or so mages, looking rather cranky as a few of the older, as well as a few of the current generation, of intelligent owls took time out of their day to annoy them all.

I frowned though when one of the owls was shot, no doubt killed instantly. (Well then, I'll need to make that one's death quite painful.) Despite not having any need of them due to having Iris, I still liked having intelligent owls around, especially because I enjoyed the looks on people's faces when I gave them an owl.

An owl that could and would smack them upside the head for being called a 'stupid/weird bird.'

Surprisingly, that only happened 5 times... It was surprising that it only took Hanamura 5 whacks to understand he had to curb his tongue. "^I find it amusing that you gifted the man child a flying rat with a higher intellect then his own.^" I snorted.

That aside, I brought my phone out and took a few pictures at what my Ravens were seeing. This looked big, and would require the others be informed.

Pictures taken, I sent them into the Kuoh group chat.

- Devils & Dragons & Yokai oh my -

Scarlet Begonia - It seems we have some uninvited guests.[Image][Image][Image]

Jack's Knight - He's mine. I don't care about anyone else, Valper is mine.

Deliciously Sinful - I haven't played with some Magicians in a while, could be fun.~

Wonderland - Sona-sama is going to be busy for the next 30 minutes, so could retaliation be held off until then?

Deliciously Sinful - But I wanna play!~

Rose of Ruin - I'm with Tsubaki on this. Sona will need to be informed first, then we can plan what to do.

Rose of Ruin - Can you accept that, Kiba?

Jack's Knight - ...I've waited years, I can wait a day or so more.

Rose of Ruin - Thank you Kiba. I'll make sure you can have some '1 on 1' time with Valper.

Deliciously Sinful - Can I watch?

Candy Kitty - Pervert.

KuroNya - ^

Jack's Knight - In person or on video?

Deliciously Sinful - Yes.

Jack's Knight - ... Ok.

Deliciously Sinful - Wait, really?!

KungFuFighting - Wtf did I just come into?

Candy Kitty - Don't question it. Ignorance is bliss.

I snorted at that. Koneko was of course correct, it was just the way she went about it that was amusing.

The conversation went from there, but seeing as no one was asking anything of me, I put my phone down on the desk, and went back to observing these intruders. (Coming in through the forest is smart, it's not going to work, but still smart.) My eyes trailed to the containers, interested in what they were supposed to be. (I could use more Holy Light Cores, a few more should help me finish my replication of Angel Light... Though the questions are where are they staying, and why now?) Humming at that, I directed a few Ravens to fly ahead and search for where these Strays and Magicians were staying.

It took time, the fools were taking forever to get to their destination, but I kept watching.

It helped that my Ravens could pick up audio, so I wasn't bored. "*Don't you dare drop this on me!*"

"'*Go to Japan' they said, 'it'll be an interesting post' they said. Fuckin assholes.*"

"*That heretical woman better be right about this place.*"

I begun tapping my desk again as I took in the mutterings of the grunts, idly noticing they were speaking Italian. Their grumblings were mostly insignificant, but the mention of a Fallen was good to know.

For the next few minutes I kept my eyes and ears open, looking for more information that could be of use, and eventually, I got some from the man Kiba wanted dead. "*Hurry up you imbeciles, we need to be in place before those trollops the Church sent arrive!*"

Out of context, that would give nothing away. But as someone that had alot of information by ways of an inside source, I knew just who that man meant. Unlocking my phone, I went into the family group chat, searching for the message Irina had sent a few days prior.

- In Full Bloom -

Danger Daisy - Guess what!

Sakura Lily - Don't wanna.

Lightning Flower - You're suddenly a millionaire?

Sapphire Camellia - Big shot Angel came by?

Danger Daisy - Bzzt Bzzt!

Lightning Flower - ...

Sakura Lily - Did... Did you just...

Daisy - Yes I did, so what?

Sakura Lily - ... Wow. I'm so happy we're not actually related.

Danger Daisy - HEY!

Sapphire Camellia - Moving on. You were saying something honey?

Danger Daisy - Oh yeah!

Danger Daisy - So, Xenovia and I are coming to Kuoh!

Lightning Flower - Ayyy! I don't need to kidnap you then!

Danger Daisy - Wut?

Sapphire Camellia - Aw, I was looking forward to that though.

Danger Daisy - Et tu Auntie?

Sakura Lily - A dragon and a devil conspiring to kidnap a church girl. You really can't make this shit up.

Scarlet Begonia - It IS an amusing sentence.

Danger Daisy - Why is THAT what you reply too?

Scarlet Begonia - Because I chose to do so. Problem?

Sakura Lily - I can FEEL the raised brow. Freaky.

I rolled my eyes again at Futaba's immediate response, but nodded with the confirmation that yes, Irina and Xenovia were indeed slated to arrive soon, and this priest somehow knew. (Now, the problem is should I inform Irina?) My wayward niece was either still in Europe/the Church, or on a flight, and both of those facts had separate concerns attached to telling her.

If she was still at the Church, telling her that there were some form of mole could be dangerous. Irina was supposedly a good Exorcist, but without physical confirmation of her skills, there was no guarantee she could keep herself safe. Sure, she and Xenovia had an 'Excalibur', like Tara I refused to call those scraps of steel the blade of The Once and Future King, but they could still be defeated.

If she were on a plane, then she would have her phone off... And given she was actually a somewhat responsible girl, it was without a doubt, off.

That left me with the only choice which was to wait until she was here, slap a Sakura family locket onto her, then tell her that she and her partner were lured here. After that we could fill her in on whatever plan we came up with... If we didn't already deal with the threat that is.

That was when I heard it, a mutter that would've gone unheard had my Enchantments been a lesser quality then they were. "^Mediocre as they are, they are still effective.^" I tried not to get annoyed at that, knowing that the Crimson Despair was THE expert when it came to Enchantments, but I still felt insulted.

Unintentional but most likely fully intentional insult aside, I still caught those words. "Lord Vadriel better get me those blades. Demonic swords could be the key towards my research." I snapped towards the source of that mutter, seeing it came from the priest Kiba wanted to torture.

That bit alone had given me more information, information that clicked with prior situations. (The Familiars back in Hell... The Berith are touted as the best Demonic swordsmiths around, and Tara killed their 2nd son. But where does The Fallen fit in this picture? Is it a joint venture between the two? Some rogue Fallen taking advantage of the animosity between Tara and the Berith? Or is it something related to this new terrorist organization?) I didn't have all the information, only bits and pieces at the moment, but what I had wasn't looking good.

Frowning, I kept observing. I needed more information, and with the help of my Raven's, I was going to get it.

{A few hours later}

Coming out of the meeting we'd had, I teleported back to my workshop, deciding I needed to keep my body busy as I turned my mind over to what we knew.

The leader of the Strays and Magicians was the man responsible for the Holy Sword Project, the thing responsible for the death of Kiba and his friends. The man had been excommunicated for that, and he'd gone off the grid as soon as he could. For years, there were no signs of him, nor any trail to hunt down. (But now he's here? In Yokai loaned land, land being overseen by the Heiresses of the Sitri and Gremory families? A few Stray Exorcists, Magicians, and possibly Fallen with him, with the possibility of aid in the form of Berith goods? Yes, that's far too suspicious.)

The compound out in the forest was another thing. At first, I was unsure at just where these fools were going. There had been no signs of any such compound in our forests, so I was rightfully concerned about where they were going. That concern only grew when the first group of container carrying grunt passed through an invisible barrier. I'd nearly had a conniption when people that I hadn't observed earlier came out.

It was made worse when I had directed a pair of Ravens towards the mysterious compound, only for them to burst into feathers as they 'died.' From an outside perspective, they crossed what I assumed was a Ward line, then promptly died, nothing in between 'life' then 'death.' Luckily, the imbeciles didn't find it strange, so the failed intrusion wasn't noticed. (Still, it's aggravating to know there's a Warded enemy compound in our territory, and we didn't know about it... And if there's one property like that, how many others are there?) That was a worrying thought, but one that needed to be addressed as soon as possible.

Then there was what we learned... Or what we were allowed to learn. I had the sneaking suspicion that those Strays and Magicians were meant to be found. It seemed like a farfetched idea, but looking at the facts, it made sense.

There was a hidden property in the woods, one we might not have ever found without these newcomers arriving in our territory. There were people I hadn't seen before coming OUT of the property, meaning they'd have to have entered sometime prior, but I hadn't seen it, nor had any of the others. It also meant they had a way to enter our territory unnoticed. (And yet we catch the man one of our own has a vendetta against with other Strays and Magicians? If that isn't bait I'll eat my hat!) I huffed at that thought, idly noticing my hands were making notations in my personal Grimoire.

Sighing, I put down the pen I'd been using, and pinched the bridge of my nose. (Someone is spinning a web, a web that has us in the center...) I didn't like it, hated it in fact. Something was happening here and I did not have the information necessary to get the full picture. (However, just because I don't have the full picture does not mean I can't prepare.) Closing my Grimoire, I got up and made my way deeper into my workshop.

Reaching an unassuming corner, I brought out Genesis and shifted her into Belserion. "^I'm still somewhat flattered that you have named your weapon after me.^" I hummed at that, accepting the comment but not really minding it.

My staff and focus lit up in an amber light, revealing my crest on the wall in front of me. Supplying some of my mana to the crest, I watched it glow for a moment, then felt the familiar sensation of teleporting elsewhere.

Idly taking in my surroundings, I noticed that the 'cavern' we'd dug out was in pristine condition. There was never any doubt though considering the entire cavern was Enchanted to stay in perfect condition.

The area I was currently in was part of the mountain. With help from Akeno, Rias, Tara, and Sona, we'd dug out a massive portion of the mountain, turning it into a base we could use for our own purposes.

It also doubled as Tara's lair, but she wasn't big enough to fully claim it yet. "^Not enough gold in it to classify as a proper lair either.^"

I paused. (There's... Millions of dollars/yen of gold in here. How is that not enough?)

The Dragon Queen hummed, a 'whatever you say dear' kind of hum. "^Anything under 100,000,000 in currency is not a proper hoard.^" Taking a moment to take in the sheer audacity of that statement, I shook it off a moment later. I could think of absurd amounts of wealth later.

Walking towards my section of the base, I entered my lab. The lab and workshop were two different areas for a simple reason.

I could screw up as many spells as I had too here without causing my home to become some cursed burial ground with mummies and other undead abominations roaming the halls. Any failures here were easily confined and dealt with without any sort of fuss being kicked up. (Well, as long as no one walks in during an experiment. I don't believe Momo looks at badgers the same as she used too... Not like it's my fault or anything that she walked in on that particular session.)

Shaking that off, I walked towards my Golem Command Station, one similar but different from the Raven's Nests in my families/allies compounds. This station had a holographic map of Kuoh, a map with multiple amber clusters all over the area. Those clusters numbered in the hundreds, while having 8-10 dots per cluster. I'd wanted to have 15-20 at the start, but there'd then be the issue that those golems would end up destroying too much of Kuoh if they all went online. (It wouldn't do to have our defenders destroy the land they were created to protect, now would it.)

Looking towards the map, I zoomed in on the area the enemy compound was, noticing that my Golems were still in standby. (So they weren't affected by the Wards. Is it because they're inactive?) I hummed at that, then shook the thought away.

The reason was less important then the fact I still had enough golems to surround the compound should I require it. (Good. Let them try to harm my loved ones, I'll put them down like the mad dogs they are.) With the confirmation I could bring a small army of Golems down onto our intruders whenever I wanted too, I nodded to myself and made my way back home.

I had my War Golems on standby, and was perfectly ready to show those fools why the Terracotta Soldiers were legendary.

[Omake - Being a Grandma is fun. Illiya's POV]

"But why should Cynthia eat apples when Cynthia has carrots?" Looking at the innocent and completely serious look on my granddaughter's face, along with the floppy ears, I needed all of my willpower to not squeal at the adorable sight and crush her in a hug.

It was something we hadn't really noticed before, the dear ate healthy thanks to Martha, but she never really ate other vegetables. Even when she was offered a big ol basket of the healthy stuff, she just took the carrots and munched on them till she was done. It wasn't really a big thing, so my daughter didn't really do anything about it, but I was kinda curious about this little quirk my granddaughter had, so of course I decided to ask her about it.

Which led me here. (To be fair, she's sorta right. Carrots ARE good for her, and she's not really missing out on much without em.) I mentally hummed at that, but shook it off. "Well honey, you never know if you might like something if you don't try it."

My granddaughter's face scrunched up at that, and it was just adorable. "But carrots are better."

"How would you know if you don't branch out?" Using logic against a child was always fun.

Especially when said child doesn't have a good answer against said logic. ESPECIALLY especially when said child is a small rabbit Yokai that happened to be my adopted granddaughter.

Then, like a bolt outta the blue, she had an answer. "Mama will tell Cynthia!" She said that so confidently that I was tempted to just pinch her cheeks. It would've been so worth it. I didn't pinch her cheeks, but I did laugh a little. My laugh earned a pout from the little one, making it turn into giggles. I had no shame giggling, I was still a young woman after all! "Cynthia doesn't like it when Grandmama laughs at Cynthia for no reason! Grandmama is being mean!" That just made it worse, and I stopped resisting the urge to squeeze the lovely bundle of sunshine. "Gwah! Air! Cynthia needs air Grandmama!"

I ignored that.

"Grandmamaaa!" Hah, she was great!

Fun fact, I wrote this chapter BEFORE the last 4... It was originally a 2 week time skip, so I had to figure out what to put before it.I also had to add Irene commentary since she was a thing now.

I think I did good though.

And yeah, the Kokabiel Arc is going to come soon, but it's going to be... Bigger, so to say.