Chapter III

Hello everybody, hopefully the wait for this chapter wasn't too arduous. It also seems a fair bit of you enjoyed the last chapter, which is always good. Regardless of why I'm posting something or who I'm posting it for, people enjoying my work is always appreciated. I don't think there's too much to say here, aside from thanking my coauthor Bakuto Masaki, as per usual. So, I suppose it's time to move on to the reviewer responses now, so here goes.

N.673: Yes, it will be a massive harem.

TheLastNanaya: I kinda like her, though I more like how she looks after the timeskip. She wasn't actually drunk though, she was just pretending to be. That she did. Only time will tell, though there's no guarantee that Koneko will see her just yet. But yes, it's doubtful he'd be able to hide Kuroka's scent from Koneko's keen nose. That's Serafall for you. I suppose it is, though I do have a few surprises in store for further down the line, so don't think I've given Sona the short end of the stick. Well, technically I have but that's not the point. Now I'm just confusing myself. Yep, he did. Though there's a little more to it than you might think. Sometimes there isn't much action, but don't worry, there'll be plenty soon enough.

Leo Honoo: I do what I can. But writing takes time and this isn't the only story I'm working on at the moment. Plus I've also got my life in the outside world so I can't spend every waking moment on writing either.

Jose19: Kazuma is the central character, Ichigo is an important character though as well, just not as much as Kazuma. Both will have their own harems.

Master Attlon: Glad you enjoyed it and I'm glad Kazuma fits as a good character, that's what I strive for. I'm pleased to hear you say that, readers invested that much in a story are quite the treat.

Drednaught: Guess there's a first time for everything, isn't there?

Bakuto Masaki: Most of them guessed who "Muffins" really is it seems.

Well, I suppose that's it for the reviewer responses, so on with the show! Er, story.

Kazuma sat at the dining table in his apartment with his arms folded and a frustrated, confused, and embarrassed expression all boiled into one on his face.

Across from him sat Kazehana looking rather guilty, next to her was the woman who had somehow transformed and disguised herself as a stray cat Kazuma had found on the side of the road and named "Muffins." She originally had appeared naked, though Kazuma was able to find a bath robe for her to wrap up in. Unfortunately, or fortunately he couldn't tell, the upper part of the robe was not quite big enough to contain the woman's bust, leaving much of it visible.

Kazuma sighed and asked, "So…your name is Kuroka, correct?"

The black-haired cat-girl nodded in response. "Yes, my name is Kuroka, nya."

"And you transformed yourself into a cat, a cat that I named?"

"Yes, nya."

Kazuma just sighed and moaned in frustration. "Geez, this is weirder than the time Presa turned into a fox. Anyway, one thing I'd like to know is why you did that."

"It's a secret, nya," Kuroka answered happily.

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. "I see. Well, I suppose your cover or whatever has been blown, so what will you do now?"

Kuroka wagged her tails around as she looked up in thought. She then turned to Kazuma with a smirk. "I think I'll stay here for a little while, nya. I like it here, nya."

"That so? Oh boy…this is getting…interesting. How about you Kazehana?"

Kazehana waved a hand with a weak laugh. "Don't worry, I have an apartment to go back to. Though I have to admit this is rather nice."

"Good, I'm already going to catch hell for this."

Kuroka giggled playfully, "You mean from that Soul Reaper? You're not actually scared of her, are you, Abra-?"

"Quiet," Kazuma suddenly snapped.

Kazehana and Kuroka sat up straight in surprise at his sudden mood change.

"Don't call me that. I am Kazuma Soryu, that other person is dead."

Kuroka again giggled in amusement. "This is going to be fun, nya."

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. "You're going to frustrate me…aren't you?"

"Ufufu, nya."

Kazuma just sighed before turning to Kazehana. "So, do you intend to stick around?"

"I can if you want," Kazehana responded.

"Nothing personal but I'm not interested in catching flak from either Erza or the landlord, he was already pissed enough when this place got remodeled. The last thing I need is you getting yourself in trouble 'cuz of this."

Kazehana looked at him curiously. "Don't you mean you getting in trouble?"

Kazuma shook his head. "The landlord hates my guts already, the only reason he doesn't say much is because I pay extra on the rent. Though you I'm certain he'd find a way to make trouble for, so it's probably in your best interest to get going."

Kazehana smiled lightly at Kazuma before bowing and leaving.

Kazuma then turned to Kuroka. "And then there were two. So, do you plan on staying in this form?"

Kuroka sauntered over to Kazuma and put a hand on his chest. "I'll stay in whatever form you want, nya."

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow as his face turned slightly red. "Ah, well…like I said to Kazehana, things would get annoying if you were discovered, so staying in your cat form is probably best."

Kuroka nodded then frowned playfully. "I was hoping we'd get to play more, nya." After a burst of smoke she vanished and then turned into her cat form, the robe Kazuma gave her falling to the floor.

Kazuma and bent down to get it, right as Kuroka suddenly transformed back to her human form, giving Kazuma an eyeful of something important.

"Gah!" he shouted before falling backward, yet again unconscious.

"Ufufufufu, nya."

Kazuma managed to get to school without collapsing again, having finally convinced Kuroka to keep herself hidden around anyone besides himself, despite him preferring she stayed hidden all the time for his own sake.

Upon arrival he was again accosted by his two friends Matsuda and Motohama.

"Dude, what happened?!" Matsuda demanded.

Kazuma chuckled weakly. "Sorry, I got hung up with something rather annoying."

Motohama adjusted his glasses curiously. "What could be so important that you'd skip porn?"

"Just stuff and things. Don't worry about it. If you just drop it, I promise I'll show up tonight and I'll have something special."

That caused Motohama and Matsuda to beam.

One thing they would always admit about Kazuma is he managed to find the best porn and seemed to know the best places to find it.

So with that in mind they left Kazuma alone as he made his way to the actual school building.

When Kazuma arrived in the classroom he sincerely hoped Erza had no sense of what had happened to him earlier that morning, with some of the women he used to know it wasn't a farfetched concern.

Fortunately she didn't seem to notice as she merely greeted him with a wave, before complaining about him being late.

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. "I had a rough morning…let's just leave it at that."

Erza raised a curious eyebrow and then shrugged. "So be it. In any event, I have something important I want your help with."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow curiously. "Oh? Like what?"

Erza turned to him with a serious expression and said sternly. "Meat buns."

Kazuma looked at her in disbelief and then sighed.

Kazuma and Erza left the classroom during the lunch break.

As they walked, Kazuma asked, "So why are you so interested in trying a meat bun?"

Nodding, Erza responded, "It's a food item that was not around while I was alive, so I wish to try it."

Kazuma blinked curiously and then chuckled. 'Geez, it's Milla all over again,' he though in amusement.

After a few more moments Kazuma turned and looked ahead, his blood running cold and his eyes widening.

Erza raised an eyebrow and looked ahead to see Rias and Akeno approaching. Erza was about ask what was bothering Kazuma when he suddenly grabbed her by the wrist and bolted into a hallway nearby.

Rias and Akeno passed by without seeming to notice them in the hallway, however Rias subtly frowned as they walked by.

After a few moments Kazuma leaned out and sighed in relief. 'Good…she's gone. She…she can't be Chiaki can she…?'

"Eh…" Erza squeaked in a flustered voice.

Kazuma turned to her puzzled and looked down, realizing his right hand had landed squarely on Erza's left breast.

Erza began to clench her fists and began to growl.

Kazuma sweat as he processed where his hand was. 'Wait…hang on…just…let me get one…'

He then squeezed.

"GGAAAHHH!" resounded through the school building.

Kazuma made his way down to the nurse's office to have his arm checked out, even with his superb regeneration the kind of damage Erza inflicted is quite painful, though it was mainly to get a few painkillers.

However, this seemed to be sidelined when he walked in and saw the nurse, Shizuka Marikawa, a very tall buxom woman with long blonde hair that extended down past her waist, several bangs going down into her face, with two long bangs extending as long as the rest of her hair and framing her face, hazel eyes, wearing a white shirt with long sleeves and a brown skirt, though her height was hidden due to the fact that she was at that moment slumped over a table using her own excessively large breasts, even larger than Akeno's, as pillows.

Kazuma couldn't help but smirk as he observed the scene. 'I can always expect Shizuka to help me feel happier. Those boobs don't hurt.'

'Ahem.'

'Right, right,' he remarked with a sigh and walked over to her. "Erm, nurse Marikawa?"

She was unresponsive.

Kazuma tried shaking her shoulder.

Nothing.

He then got an idea and smirked. 'Well, I highly doubt she'd do anything like Erza.' Using his non-shattered arm, he reached over, and poked one of her breasts.

Shizuka released a light moan with a small blush, before opening her eyes slowly and seeing Kazuma standing beside her. Sitting up slowly and looking at Kazuma sleepily, she asked groggily, "Oh…Kazuma, what do you need?"

Kazuma chuckled weakly and pointed to his arm. "I could use some uh, painkillers. My arm hurts a little bit."

Shizuka examined Kazuma's arm and gasped. "Oh my, I've never seen an arm fractured in so many places."

Kazuma chuckled uneasily, trying to ignore the pain her examination caused. "Yeah…I had a little…accident."

Shizuka nodded and then asked with a small smile. "You finally got caught peeping, didn't you?"

Kazuma smiled wryly. "I'd never peep, you should know that."

Shizuka nodded in playful agreement, though somewhat masked by her still sleepy state, and examined his arm one more time out curiosity and widened her eyes slightly. 'Strange, I can already feel some of the pieces fusing together. That's too fast for a human.'

Kazuma looked at her curiously and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Shizuka looked at him plainly for a second and then shook her head, regaining her drowsy expression, and answered, "No, it's nothing. I can give you some pain medicine, it should help for a little while."

Kazuma nodded as she gave him a few basic pills. He then frowned. 'Shit. These kind won't work. Well whatever.'

"So is that all?"

Kazuma nodded and left the room.

As Kazuma walked out Shizuka's expression changed from sleepy contentedness to assertive curiosity. "He couldn't be a…no, that's not possible. Either way, I should tell Lord Gremory."

Kazuma downed the pills and then thought, 'Yo, Ddraig, think you could try and make those work?'

'With your biology? I can try but I'm a dragon, not a miracle worker.'

'Hey, at least I don't have Masakados in me anymore.'

'…True.'

The remainder of the day passed with some tension, Kazuma still feeling an angry gaze from Erza, though by the end of the day it seemed to have passed.

As they approached the gate on the way out of the school, Kazuma asked weakly, "So…you still hate me?"

Erza folded her arms in a huff. "I can't say I do, though I was rather surprised."

Kazuma chuckled weakly, "Yeah, I'd say surprise is one way of putting it."

Erza then frowned with a slight blush. "Although…how is your arm?"

Kazuma flexed his arm, now fully healed, and grinned. "Doin' just fine."

Erza nodded in acceptance as they left the school building.

As they walked away, Shizuka stood in the window of the nurse's office with a red-haired man standing next to her.

He smirked as the two left. "So, those are the two, hmm?"

Shizuka nodded in agreement, a studious expression steeled on her face. "Yes. I don't believe the man is human, it helps that Sona Sitri has been trying to recruit him. So, will you tell her, Lord Gremory?"

The man, Lord Gremory, shook his head. "If I did she'd want to kill me."

Shizuka looked at him curiously and chuckled. "That does sound like your daughter."

As Kazuma and Erza walked away from the school they bumped into Ichigo on his way home as well.

Erza bowed to him. "Good to see you, Kurosaki."

Ichigo nodded in return, slightly perplexed. "Ah, yeah, hey, Erza. Just Ichigo's fine." He then turned to Kazuma. "Hey, did you see Chad at all today?"

Kazuma shook his head. "No, I haven't now that I think about it."

Ichigo folded his arms in thought. "Well, whatever, I'm sure I'll see him later. Anyway, Yuzu's making a special dinner tonight, and she has no sense of portions."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow curiously. "You asking us over for dinner?"

"Yeah, if you don't want to it's fine."

Kazuma looked over at Erza and thought, 'It'd give me time to come up with a way around this.' He then nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Erza nodded in agreement.

Kazuma, Erza, and Ichigo arrived at Ichigo's house shortly later and upon arrival Ichigo was knocked over by someone.

The person in question was a girl with short black hair straight and cropped around her shoulders, Ichigo's sister Karin Kurosaki.

On the other side was a girl with short, light brown hair with bangs hanging over the right side of her forehead, and grey eyes with a red hairclip on the other side of her hair, Yuzu Kurosaki.

Both were wearing pink nurse uniforms as they held up by the arm someone the entire group recognized, Yasutora Sado.

"Ch-Chad!?" Kazuma said in surprise.

Sado turned to Kazuma weakly. "Oh, Kazuma. Hey."

"What the hell happened to you?"

A new voice added, "There was a car accident nearby." Kazuma turned and saw a tall, muscular, man who appeared to be in his forties with spiky black hair, brown eyes, and a scruffy beard wearing a doctor's uniform.

Ichigo turned and regarded the man. "Yo, Dad. I'm surprised you didn't kick me this time."

Ichigo's father, Isshin Kurosaki, adjusted his tie and responded plainly, "Well this is serious business so…" he trailed off as he saw Erza. He blinked curiously before his eyes widened and he suddenly screamed before curling up in a corner.

Erza looked at him puzzled. "Uhm, do I know you?"

The man froze mid-scream for a moment before blinking curiously. He then stood up and regained almost all of his composure, his voice cracking for a moment as he responded, "Ah, er, n-no. Not at all…"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow before hearing a familiar voice in his head.

'Ugh…what's that noise?'

'Oh hey, look who's up. It was nothing major, just a grown man screaming like a little girl.'

'What? Why?'

Wordlessly Kazuma turned to Erza.

'Buh…GGGAAAHHH!'

Kazuma clutched his head in pain.

Erza turned to him in concern, "Kazuma?"

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow in pain. "It's…nothing. Just a headache."

Erza tilted her head but nodded in understanding.

After sighing Kazuma asked, 'What the hell was that?'

'What're you doing with her?!'

'Uhm…last time I checked…I thought you knew she was here?'

'I can only read your thoughts that are happening right now, I can't read your memories.'

'Oh…well that's odd.'

'Though why are you with her?'

'I don't really have time to explain right now. Why are you so scared anyway?'

'Because she's scary!'

'Whatever…'

Kazuma then turned to Sado in bewilderment. "So what happened to you anyway?"

As Karin and Yuzu set him down, Karin groaning about how heavy he is, Sado answered, "I was hit by a car."

Kazuma face-palmed lightly and shook his head. "The fact that you can say that so plainly makes me think you're made of the same stuff as Ivar."

"Who?"

Kazuma waved a hand dismissively. "Not important." He then raised an eyebrow. 'Wait…this couldn't have anything to do with that bird could it?'

"Can I help with anything?" Ichigo asked.

His father responded, "Not really, just curl up in the fetal position and stay out of the way."

Ichigo twitched an eyebrow and mumbled, "Should you really be saying that after you were doing the same thing just now…?"

Isshin then examined Sado's wounds and began treating them.

Sado turned to Isshin and remarked, "Thanks Doc, but I'm really fine now."

Isshin grumbled and lightly tapped Sado's back, getting a pained grunt from the tall teen. "No. You're not. You're pretty beat up, so I need to fix you up."

As Isshin treated Sado, Kazuma narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He then turned to Erza. "Do you feel it?"

Erza nodded in agreement. "Yes. I felt it before even walking in here. It reeks of Hollows."

Ichigo looked at them puzzled. "What're you guys talking about?"

Kazuma shook his head. "Just something that happened earlier. Hey, make sure your dad treats Sado properly, alright? Erza and I are gonna head home since it looks like you guys'll be busy tonight."

Ichigo nodded and scratched his head. "Yeah. Well that was a waste. See you guys later."

Kazuma nodded and Erza bowed before the two left.

As they walked home Erza asked bluntly, "You plan on telling me why there are traces of Nekomata energy on you?"

Kazuma froze in place. "Ahh crap." He then turned to Erza. "I can't hide a damn thing from you, can I?"

Erza turned to him with folded arms. "You couldn't hide that from anyone, I'm sure even Ichigo would've noticed it."

Kazuma looked at her puzzled. "Oh, then what specifically are you talking about?"

Erza reached out and poked the center of his chest. "You've got a mark right there, concentrated Nekomata energy. So, care to explain?"

Kazuma began sweat slightly. "Ah…well…remember that stray cat I found…?"

Erza raised an eyebrow and then sighed. "Unbelievable. I should've been able to recognize it. You got rid of it right?"

Kazuma flinched.

"It's still there!?" Erza then started running.

'Oh boy…she sure seems angry.'

'And now you are going to die,' Ddraig remarked plainly.

'I hope not. I died a few times before, it's not very fun.'

Erza immediately burst into the apartment and saw "Muffins" sitting on the table, who then meowed at her.

Kazuma walked in, out of breath, behind her and looked at her. "The gig is up, she found out."

After a moment the cat burst into smoke before Kuroka appeared from it, strangely enough fully-clothed.

Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. 'And she was naked before…because why…?'

Kuroka looked at Erza and giggled in amusement. "So, how did you find out?"

Erza narrowed her eyes angrily at the Nekomata. "That mark you placed on him was a dead giveaway."

Kuroka swished her tails behind confused. "Me? I didn't do it." She then looked at Kazuma and walked over to him, proceeding to sniff the mark on his chest, confusing both Kazuma and Erza, making the latter quite annoyed. Kuroka then raised an eyebrow and snickered with amusement. "My, my, it seems you've found her. My little Shirone."

Kazuma blinked in confusion. "Shirone?"

"Yes, the name of my little sister. I haven't seen her in quite a while. I'm surprised you met her."

Kazuma folded his arms in thought. "I can't think of anyone I know by that name."

Erza sighed and then garnered Kuroka's attention. "Alright, I'd appreciate an explanation. Who are you and why did you disguise yourself and sneak into Kazuma's house like this?"

Kazuma looked at her flatly. "Oh? This coming from you miss wall-breaker?"

Erza immediately knocked him in the head, although never took her focus off Kuroka.

Kuroka nodded and responded playfully, "Well, I can't tell you that, it's a secret. But I will tell you it was nothing mean."

Erza narrowed her eyes suspiciously. After a moment she folded her arms and nodded. "I can't say I believe you, but I certainly don't sense any malicious intent from you. As long you don't do anything suspicious it should be fine."

Kuroka nodded and then turned to Kazuma with an amused smile. "So, since she knows, how do you want me to look?"

Kazuma blinked curiously. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"Do you want me to stay in my cat form, or do you prefer me like this?" Accentuating her current form she lightly ran her hands down her sides.

"Like this," Kazuma answered instantly and plainly.

"Too fast!" Erza grumbled in surprise.

Kuroka giggled and nodded. "If you say so. Besides, it's more comfortable like this."

Erza twitched an eyebrow. 'This one…she's too much like her.'

Kazuma then sighed to himself. 'You know…I should be happy about this. I'm now living with two busty babes, and yet all I can think is that things are going to get annoying.'

'Even I could tell you that.'

'You are not helping.'

The next day Kazuma allowed himself to wake up late since there wasn't any school that day, however he noticed he felt rather heavy. Moaning as he awoke he couldn't understand why his body felt as heavy as it was. He then looked around and found the source on his right side, wrapped in his arm, Kuroka.

He twitched an eyebrow in thought. 'Hmm…' He then scrunched his arm up and closed his eyes. 'Well…not much I can really do in this situation. Guess I'll just wait until she wakes up.'

'What happened to feeling annoyed about this last night?'

'I didn't have a massive pair of boobs pressed against my side. Now I do. I'm good.'

Ddraig just sighed and allowed Kazuma to continue sleeping. Besides, if Kazuma did get up he'd see Erza.

However, Kazuma's plans to spend the morning with doughy goodness against his side was interrupted when the door to his room suddenly burst open.

Sitting up instantly, knocking the bewildered and sleepy Kuroka to the floor in confusion, Kazuma argued hurriedly, "I wasn't doing anything I swear!"

Erza looked at him confused. "What?"

"What?"

She then looked down and saw the dazed Kuroka sprawled out on the floor. She then looked at Kazuma incredulously. Erza shook her head and then asserted, "That's not important right now, apparently Sado's gone missing."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow as Kuroka sat up groggily. "Okay, so?"

"His wounds never fully healed. Mr. Kurosaki just called and asked if we had seen him. If it's true he lives alone then there's no one else to find him."

Kazuma stretched his shoulders as he listened. "I'm still waiting for where this has anything to do with us."

"Did you forget about all of the obvious Hollow activity around Sado?"

Kazuma stopped for a moment and then turned to Erza with a plain expression. He then sighed and nodded. "Right, right. Well, guess it's time to get to work?"

Erza nodded as she put on her glove with the skull and punched Kazuma's soul out.

Flexing his neck as Mavis took over his body Kazuma remarked. "Well, time to get going I suppose."

Erza nodded and then asked, "But how will we find him?"

Kazuma put a hand on his chin in thought and then asked, "What about his bird?"

Erza shook her head. "No, I doubt that would help. And we need to find him fast because I'm certain he's in danger of having his soul eaten."

Kazuma snarled in annoyance and then raised an eyebrow in thought. He then turned and ran past Erza.

"Wait!" Erza shouted trying to stop him. "What is he thinking?"

Kuroka then asked, "So, is he a Soul Reaper now, nya?"

Erza looked at her annoyed. "You can't honestly say you didn't know."

Kuroka shrugged. "I suppose, nya. So, where are we headed, nya?"

Erza twitched an eyebrow. "We?"

"You did say you wanted me sticking around, right, nya?"

Erza looked at her angrily and Mavis, inside Kazuma's body, nodded. "She does have a point."

Erza sighed and ran out the door with the others behind her.

As they ran through the halls to the outside Erza thought, 'This feeling…what is it…?'

Back at the construction area where Sado had originally received his pet bird, Sado sat with the bird, Yuichi in front of him, his injuries flaring up on his back.

Yuichi looked down sadly and then looked up at Sado. "I'm sorry. I lied to you. The truth is…everyone who has ever owned me has bad luck."

"I know," Sado responded plainly.

Yuichi looked at him and then apologized again.

"It's okay."

"Listen, mister, you should just leave me alone and get away. You're in danger."

Sado shook his head. "No. I can't do that."

Yuichi looked at him concerned.

As Kazuma, Erza, Mavis, in Kazuma's body, and Kuroka followed the trail of Sado's bird, Erza remarked, "I'm surprised you can sense the soul of a mere bird this far away."

Kazuma glanced at Erza and then asked, "So you haven't realized it yet?"

Erza raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Realized what?"

"Let's just say a friend has told me that bird's not a bird."

"What?!"

"Somehow, the soul of a human was put inside the bird."

"How do you know this?" Erza asked incredulously.

"A friend."

Erza frowned in suspicion but nodded in agreement. "Fine."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes and then looked around. "Damn, where are all these ribbons coming from?"

Erza's eyes widened. 'Spirit Ribbons? Is he truly able to see them?'

As Sado sat with Yuichi, the bird suddenly began acting wild. "You must get out of here! You're in danger!"

Sado picked up the cage and replied, "I can handle it."

Suddenly there was a large crash beside Sado, causing him to immediately jump to the side.

Sado ran towards the nearby window and looked down at Yuichi. "Don't worry, it'll be okay." He then jumped out the window out of the building.

Fortunately he was on the first floor.

As the group ran towards where Sado and Yuichi were running Erza looked down at her hand and noticed she was running behind the others. She hissed in annoyance. 'My Gigai is getting horrible. This won't work much longer.'

Kazuma then stopped and looked around as they approached a fork in the road.

"Is something wrong?" Erza asked.

Kazuma snarled in frustration. "Dammit, there are so many of these damn ribbons I can't tell which to follow."

Erza nodded and then suggested, "Then let's split up. I'll take this path and you go down that one."

Kazuma frowned in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I am, I'm no weakling," Erza responded annoyed.

Kazuma nodded. "Yeah, but you've lost most of your powers. Just…don't do anything stupid."

Erza smirked in response. "I'll be fine." She then took off down her selected path.

Kazuma then turned to Kuroka. "Why don't you go with her?"

Kuroka shook her head as she put a hand under her chin. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "How about just this once you don't make things annoying?"

Kuroka looked at him curiously and then giggled in amusement. "I suppose I can't refuse such an earnest request." She then turned into a cat and chased after Erza.

Kazuma then sighed and looked around. "So, you found him yet?"

A voice only Kazuma could hear, but that wasn't Ddraig's, responded.

"Damn."

As Erza continued running she stopped and flinched. "Damn, it's really locking up."

"Mmm…you smell good. Soul Reaper."

Erza turned and looked up to see a large, humanoid Hollow with dark green skin and markings on his torso, a furry brown collar over his neck, a tall square skull-mask. He immediately jumped down and grabbed Erza by the leg.

"Damn!"

"You smell delicious."

Erza pulled a leg back and kicked the Hollow's arm and freed herself from its grasp.

The Hollow snickered in amusement. "Heh, heh. You're tougher than I thought. Though the fact that you can see me is rather curious."

Erza then jumped up to the Hollow and slammed a knee into his chin.

"Gagh!"

Erza then spun around to the Hollow's back and raised her hand in front of her. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado Thirty-One! Shakkaho!" A ball of red energy collected in front of her hand and hit the Hollow on the back of the neck. Erza then landed on the ground with a smirk. 'My powers, they're back!'

Kuroka in cat form sat above her nearby. 'My, my, seems she's coming back into her powers, nya.'

Sado, who was still nearby with Yuichi, when the bird spoke to him again, "That Soul Reaper, he's fighting her. It's going to hurt her."

Sado turned to see Erza and frowned. "Stay here. I'm going to help her."

"Wait! No! Don't go!"

Sado ignored him as he ran towards Erza and the Hollow.

Erza looked at the Hollow confused. It then chuckled. "Heh, heh. So, you're a Soul Reaper, if that spell is any indication. Although, your attack was so weak it had no bite."

Erza clenched her fists angrily. 'No, they're not fully regenerated.'

The Hollow's eyes then widened in realization. "Ah-hah! You've lost your powers, haven't you!? Then you'll be no problem at all to devour. In fact, you'll be the third Soul Reaper I've eaten. I've already devoured two other Soul Reapers who tried to help that boy. And they were mighty good eating."

Erza glared at the Hollow and demanded, "Why are you chasing that boy's soul?"

"Hmm…I might be more inclined to give you an answer if you gave me a little nibble."

"You piece of Hollow scum."

The Hollow bellowed in laughter.

Kazuma continued running in search of the bird. His eyes then widened. "What!? Why didn't you tell me before?!" He snarled and then jumped up and to the side.

"If you let me eat your soul, I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Erza sneered and jumped up, kneeing the Hollow in the face before jumping in the air and concentrating energy in front of her hand. Another blast of energy flying at its face, with little effect. 'No…have my powers truly not returned yet…?'

Kazuma jumped towards Erza's location, unconcerned since he was in Soul Reaper form, hoping to make it to where she was swiftly. 'Damn…she's fighting that thing? This is like Fort Gandala all over again.'

'Hopefully this ends differently than that time.'

Erza grunted as the Hollow slammed her against a wall, clenching his fist around her torso. "Come now, Soul Reaper. Make this more interesting, shed that human shell. Allow me to have some more-blergh!"

The Hollow grunted as something slammed into the side of his face hard, forcing him to release Erza and causing him to slide back several feet.

Sado stood next to Erza with an outstretched arm.

Erza looked at him in shock. 'Can he see the Hollow?'

Sado then turned and started punching the air nearby.

'I-I guess not…'

The Hollow rubbed his bruised cheek as he looked at Sado. "Merely a lucky punch? Good that means this'll-gack!"

Sado looked ahead as the Hollow fell over, though he couldn't see that. "Hey, I hit something."

Erza only looked at Sado puzzled. 'He can hear the Hollow, but he can't see it. How? And if he can, how can he so calmly and fearlessly fight something he can't even see?'

The Hollow snarled angrily at Sado's action. He then extended his arms out as large, bat-like wings extended from his forearms. After that he leapt high into the air. "Hahahah, try hitting me now human! The greatest weakness you humans and Soul Reapers have against me is that I can fly, you can never hit me!"

Erza's widened and she shouted, "Chad! Get out of here! You can't hit him!"

Sado blinked and then looked at Erza. "Hey, transfer student, can you see ghosts?"

Erza looked at him puzzled. "That is unimportant, right now we can't hit him when he's airborne."

Sado nodded and then wrapped his hands around a telephone pole. "You just tell me where he is, I'll handle the rest." He then grunted as he tore the telephone pole right out of the ground and hoisted it up as a battering ram.

"Heh, heh, I bet you simpletons are so embarrassed and ashamed you cannot strike me-…eh?" The Hollow merely gaped as Sado swung from above, hitting him atop the head with the telephone pole, knocking him to the ground according to Erza's directions.

With the Hollow pinned to the ground, Erza walked up to it and stared down at the pinned beast. "Just give it up right now. Someone with the ability to kill you is coming, and he won't fail."

The Hollow snickered and then laughed outright, pushing the pole off and standing up on all four limbs before looking down at the unphased Erza. "And now you should see it. The reason why you Soul Reapers always fail against me. You always underestimate me, and get yourselves killed."

The Hollow's collar began to shake when small blue-green, frog-like creatures with brown spots appeared and then lunged at Erza and Sado, somehow pinning them to the ground.

Erza attempted to lift herself up and fumed. 'Damn…if only I still had my magic…'

The Hollow then looked between Sado and Erza and nodded to himself. "Yes, I shall eat you first, Soul Reaper."

Sado then stood with effort and proceeded to flex his muscles, causing the creatures to go flying off his body.

"Oh what the hell are you!? Do you plan on letting your muscles do the tal-guhurk!"

He was interrupted yet again from a punch from Sado.

"Would you stop interrupting me!?"

Sado began punching the air aimlessly again.

The Hollow narrowed its beady yellow eyes and remarked, "As annoying as you are, I must say your intuition is astonishing."

Erza then ordered Sado, "Chad, kick directly above me."

Sado listened for a moment and then did so, sent a powerful side-kick that sent the small creatures on her back flying away.

The Hollow sneered and once again took to the skies.

Erza looked at the Hollow and then remembered an event from her past.

Erza stood in a ruined landscape alongside a young man with spiky blonde hair and a tall, muscular bald man. All three stood across from a woman with long white hair floating in the sky above.

The blonde man raised both hands and an invisible force enveloped the floating woman and held her still while the large man threw a long, spiraling sword at her, Erza hitting it from behind with a blast of energy to speed it up, impaling the woman floating above.

Sado listened to Erza's idea and nodded, picking up the large telephone pole he had been using to beat the Hollow with and readied to throw it, with Erza prepared to fire a blast of energy behind it.

Erza frowned and grumbled, "This would be easier if we could bind that Hollow first."

"You know, if you need some help, I'd be willing to offer, nya."

Sado and Erza turned to see Kuroka standing nearby, though Sado was certainly more confused than Erza.

"Uhm…why is there a woman with cat ears here?" Sado asked puzzled.

"Don't ask," Erza responded. She then turned to Kuroka and asked, "Are you able to use binding spells?"

Kuroka smiled playfully as her twin tails swayed behind her. "I may know a few, nya."

Erza nodded and then looked at the Hollow, then frowned.

"Don't worry, nya. I can see our friend just fine, nya."

Erza looked at her slightly surprised but then nodded as she raised her hand behind the pole Sado held.

Kuroka looked up at the Hollow with a smirk and made several different hand motions.

As the Hollow floated in the sky he suddenly froze and grunted angrily. "H-hey! What do you think you're doing to me!?" He continued growling and snarling as he tried fruitlessly to escape Kuroka's binding spell.

Sado then asked, "You sure this will work? This seems a little dumb."

"It will," Erza hushed, "Combining my abilities with your strength will work on this creature. Now, aim that in the tiger direction."

"What?" he asked puzzled.

"She means left, nya."

"Oh." Sado curled back and then launched the huge spike of wood into the air, Erza firing a blast of energy from behind it that sent it surging forward.

"Now surrender!" Erza demanded of the Hollow.

The Hollow's eyes widened as he answered fearfully, "I surrender!" He then snickered. "Not!" Another of the small creatures appeared on his shoulder and launched a stream of purple, leech-like creatures bathed in green fluid that hit the pole. "Let me show you why I'm called Shrieker." Shrieker stuck out his forked tongue and it began to vibrate, releasing a pulse of sound waves that caused the small purple leeches to then explode, spewing acid that melted the pole before it could reach the Hollow.

The group of three froze in shock.

Erza then snarled angrily. "This…isn't good."

Sado was the most surprised. "What just happened…?"

Kuroka answered, "It seems our friend has a few tricks up his sleeve, nya."

Sado frowned and walked up to Shrieker sternly. "I'm going to fight you one on one now."

Shrieker looked at him curiously. "Oh? You can't even see me. Besides, you wouldn't want your little birdy hurt, would you?"

Sado then noticed Yuichi nearby, though he couldn't see the creature on top of it.

Yuichi looked at Sado sadly. "I'm sorry mister, I got captured."

Shrieker then turned to Erza. "Now, if the human and cat woman want to stay out of the way, start running around, Ms. Soul Reaper. So I can have more fun hunting you alone."

Erza sneered and turned to Sado. "Chad, stand still or what happened to that pole will happen to the birdcage."

"Heh, heh. Good girl. That goes for you too, cat ears. Don't move or I'll kill this little birdy."

Kuroka frowned as Erza asserted, "It's alright. I promised not to slip up, so this will only be part of it."

Kuroka then chuckled. "And here I was told to give you a hand, nya."

Erza nodded with a thankful smile before turning and taking off away, Shrieker hopping into the air to pursue her.

Erza continued running as the frog creatures reached her and fired more leeches at her. She managed to jump in the air to avoid them but found herself covered in them from another direction.

Shrieker then vibrated his tongue, causing the leeches to detonate again as Erza hit the ground.

She winced before looking at her arms and legs and seeing that she was starting to bleed.

Shrieker then snickered happily. "I like the cute blood-stained look." He then sent out more of his minions which fired more leeches at her.

Erza dodged the onslaught of attacks as she sped from him.

Shrieker chuckled in amusement. "So just how long do you plan on running? You know, if you like, you can attack me."

Erza then stopped near a fence.

Shrieker chuckled as his creatures prepared to attack. "So, finally giving up?"

Erza smirked. "No, I merely have no more reason to run."

Suddenly a barrage of long needles made of electricity shot from above and impaled Shrieker's creatures, killing them all.

"What!?"

Kazuma walked over to Erza and asked, "You alright?"

Erza nodded. "Yes, but watch out, he's got more than a few tricks."

Kazuma glanced back at Shrieker. "I couldn't care less."

Shrieker howled angrily and charged at Kazuma.

Kazuma simply responded bluntly, "You're not worth the effort."

Shrieker himself was then encased in a pillar of ice, though still able to see and hear.

Kazuma then remarked, "Celsius, Volt, deal with him."

Two figures then appeared next to him.

On his left was a young-looking woman with pale-grey skin, red eyes, and ice blue hair that extended down to her shoulders in icicle shapes with a black, one-piece outfit that was sleeveless and lacked a right leg with a partial skirt that was white with hexagonal designs and blue lines on it, a long glove of a similar design on her left arm, ice-like pieces on the sides of her head and as an eyepatch over her left eye, and short boots with wide bronze tops.

On his right was a young-looking man with fair skin, wild, light-brown hair, and pink eyes who wore a single black one-piece with purple circuitry designs on it that exposed his right arm and right leg, a black tunic that extended to just above his knees, a black shoulder cape with yellow lightning bolt designs that extended down to the ground with large hands on the ends that he seemed to have control over, a lone black shoe on his right foot with the same design as his outfit, a black eyepatch with purple circuitry patterns on it and a large golden ring floating behind him with six circle with spiral patterns on them.

Kazuma looked at them and ordered, "Celsius, Volt, make this quick."

The woman, Celsius, nodded with an emotionless expression. "Yes, master."

Volt, the young man nodded silently, before responding, "Bzzt, bzzt."

Shrieker managed to use his vibrating tongue to break the ice before sending out more of his minions.

Volt raised a hand and fried all of Shrieker's minions before Shrieker himself flew into the air.

"Let's see you hit me now!" Shrieker taunted.

Both Volt and Celsius flew up into the air.

"…Eh…?"

Celsius raised her arm and fired a barrage of ice spikes that Shrieker dodged before Volt appeared in front of him.

"Ah damn."

Volt's large arms raised above his head and slammed Shrieker down to the ground with great force, kicking up dirt and debris as he crashed.

Erza was amazed as she watched Celsius and Volt return to his side. "Kazuma…who are they?"

Kazuma walked towards Shrieker with the two by his side. "Volt and Celsius, two of the Great Spirits."

Shrieker looked up at Kazuma and the Spirits beside him. "What…the hell are you…?"

Kazuma frowned in annoyance. "None of your concern." Kazuma then glanced to the side as he noticed Sado running up to the group holding Yuichi's cage.

Sado looked around and just noticed Erza standing by herself. "What's going on?"

Erza looked at Sado, surprised that he showed up, and then back to Kazuma and the others. "Kazuma's fighting."

"Fighting? Where?"

Erza shook her head and then instructed, "Just take the bird and get somewhere safe, I'm not sure how much longer this will go on."

Kazuma looked at the downed Hollow as he approached it. "So, ready to give in yet, Hollow?"

Shrieker chuckled in response. "Even one such as yourself will fall, Soul Reaper."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow as more of Shrieker's creatures jumped down from above.

Celsius raised a hand and multiple blades of ice fired up and split the creatures into pieces. As that happened, more of the purple leeches fell to the ground around Kazuma and the two Spirits.

Shrieker chuckled mockingly. "You may have killed my ammunition, but those are still very live!" Shrieker stuck out his tongue and vibrated it, causing the leeches to explode viciously.

"Was that supposed to hurt?"

Shrieker froze momentarily as the smoke cleared with Kazuma bursting from within it. "Wha-?!"

His sentence was ended prematurely as Kazuma shoved his hand through Shrieker's teeth and into his mouth. "Why don't you use that fancy tongue of yours now?"

"Heh, you asked for it." Shrieker then cracked his mouth open and flicked his tongue, Kazuma immediately jumping back as a vicious, acidic explosion went off in Shrieker's mouth. "Gaaahhh! You bastard!"

Kazuma looked at the Hollow plainly. "How does it feel, you freak?"

Shrieker merely grunted angrily.

Kazuma turned to Celsius and nodded.

Celsius nodded in return and waved her arm, encasing everything but Shrieker's head in ice.

"Hey! What are you doing to me?!"

"Interrogation. There's something that's been bugging me, and I was hoping you could shed some light on the situation."

"And why would I tell you anything?"

"I'm just curious." Kazuma's eyes then shifted from normal to his Sharingan. "Now, I'd like you to answer my question."

"I've got nothing to tell to some Soul Reaper like you."

"Tell me, are you the one who killed Yuichi's parents?"

Shrieker stopped for a moment and blinked curiously. He then grinned darkly. "So…that's what you wanted to know. It's quite a tale actually, my life as a human."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Simple, when I was alive, I was famous, and prolific. A serial killer. I so loved tearing my victims apart. Unfortunately, that pipsqueak's mother was my last victim. But she was so much fun, running and fleeing from me, trying to protect that little brat with all she was worth. But then, I cornered her on a veranda, she had nowhere left to go, the chase was over. Which was probably good as she was running out of blood."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes in disgust as he listened to the vile creature.

"However, before I could make that final, satisfying cut, I died a stupid death. That little shit pulled on my shoelaces, sending me falling to my death. Ohh I was so mad. So, after gaining my new and improved form, I decided to punish the little brat. I ripped his soul out of his body and put it into that bird. Then I gave him a little challenge. If he could run from me like that for three months, I'd bwing his so important mother back to life." Shrieker then glanced over at Yuichi and laughed hysterically. "But that was almost four years ago, and that stupid punk has kept on running. Which was so fun, and the little idiot is hopeless as well, there's no way I or anyone else can revive the dead. Once you're gone you're gone. But, there's one part of the birdie's punishment that fills me with such joy. I get to kill all of the humans who try foolishly to protect that little fool. And, of course, he'd whine and moan about being tired or scared or any other assortment of crap. So I'd remind him of his 'reward' at the end of our little game, the revival of his mother. So he'd get all nice and happy again."

Kazuma clenched his fists after hearing Shrieker's answer, trembling angrily. "You…you are the truest description of a monster."

Shrieker merely smirked. "Why thank you."

"And now it's time for you to vanish for good."

"Huh?"

Kazuma reached out a hand and took his blade from his back and pointed it at the Hollow. He then raised his sword in the air, glowering at the beast. "Die." He then slashed straight down the middle of the Hollow's face. However, he raised an eyebrow since the Hollow didn't dissolve. Instead, Celsius' ice shattered off the creature as there was a sudden crack in the ground as a massive object began to rise up out of the earth. When Kazuma saw it his eyes widened in shock.

Two massive, azure doors featuring the upper torsos of two large, humanoid skeletons with bandaged skulls, each holding a hand over the inside edges of the doors, the entire structure covered in chains.

Kazuma watched in bewildered awe as the chains broke from the structure one by one.

Erza saw his expression and began to explain, "Those are the gates of Hell. A Zanpakuto can only do away with the crimes a person has committed as a Hollow. However, it cannot wash away the sins of a human. So when a soul that has committed sins dies they-"

"I already know!" Kazuma snapped, surprising and confusing Erza. He looked at her apologetically and continued with a sigh, "I already know about them…"

The two large doors immediately swung open and a powerful wind began sucking Shrieker inside the gates.

"N-nooo!" he protested angrily.

As the barren landscape inside became visible for a few short moments, Kazuma mumbled sadly, "…Niffleheim…"

Moments later the Hollow was sucked inside and the doors slammed shut.

"…Ah…" Kazuma blurted out, unconsciously raising a hand to the closing doors before it cracked and shattered into pieces. Kazuma lurched back some as it did before sighing.

Mavis, who was still controlling Kazuma's body, and Kuroka then approached the two.

Kazuma turned to Mavis and nodded, Mavis then jumped out of Kazuma's body as he took it back over.

"So, how was your first experience seeing the Gates of Hell?" Erza asked.

Kuroka looked at Kazuma, who shook his head, and then just smirked.

Kazuma said plainly, "Let's just say it was interesting."

Erza nodded and was about to ask another question when the group noticed Sado, still holding Yuichi's cage, standing nearby looking rather puzzled.

Erza then looked at Yuichi and frowned. "Well, I suppose we should help him, don't you think?"

Kazuma nodded in agreement as he and Erza walked over to Sado. "Chad, go ahead put the bird, er, Yuichi, down."

Sado paused for a moment before nodding and putting down Yuichi's cage.

Erza knelt down to Yuichi and waved a hand over him, a moment later his soul was pulled from his body to beside the cage.

Although Sado was unable to see it.

Erza noticed his confused expression and explained, "I just pulled Yuichi's soul from that bird."

Sado nodded in understanding.

Kazuma asked, "So what's the verdict?"

Erza looked at Yuichi quizzically and then sighed. "Unfortunately his Chain of Fate has been severed. It's impossible for him to return to his body."

Yuichi frowned sadly as he heard the words. He then looked at Erza and Kazuma. "So…what will happen now?"

Kazuma looked to Erza who then nodded. She then answered, "Well, you'll go to a place called the Soul Society."

Yuichi frowned again as tears welled up in his eyes.

Kazuma then remarked, "Hey, you shouldn't cry. You should be happy."

This time both Erza and Yuichi looked at him puzzled.

"From what I understand, the Soul Society is where people go when they die. So you know who else is there…?"

Yuichi thought for a moment before he beamed. "Mommy!"

Kazuma just smirked in response. "Yup. Not sure if you'll be able to find her, but I can guarantee you she's there. Oh, and if you can't, just find a big guy with a big bushy beard, he'll help you."

Erza raised an eyebrow in response but then smiled warmly before turning to Yuichi. "He's right, despite the…roughness of his words."

Yuichi nodded with happiness before turning to Sado. "Thanks mister, for helping me. You carried me around while you were running away, and so I didn't get hurt. Thank you."

Sado nodded in response. "It was nothing. And if I go to the Soul Society too some day, I'd like to carry you around again."

Yuichi nodded with a smile.

Kazuma reached out his hand to Mavis who snickered and took over his body while Kazuma performed the Soul Burial with his Zanpakuto, Yuichi passing on to the Soul Society.

After that, Kazuma used his Mangekyo Sharingan to alter Sado's memories, apologizing for needing to do so, before he and Erza returned home.

However, as they made their way to the apartment, Erza suddenly asked in the silence, "So, do you plan to explain?"

Kazuma looked at her curiously. "Explain what?"

"Those familiars you summoned earlier, what were they, Celsius and Volt?"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow in response. "Celsius and Volt aren't familiars, they're Summon Spirits. Two of the Great Spirits actually."

Erza raised an eyebrow in thought. "Great Spirits? You must be joking."

Kazuma frowned in annoyance. "You think I'd joke about something like that? I guarantee you, you could ask Maxwell herself and get the same answer."

Erza stopped suddenly with a very puzzled look.

Kazuma blinked curiously at her and asked, "Erm, Erza, you feelin' alright?"

"Herself? Maxwell's not a woman."

Kazuma looked at her and then raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever met Maxwell?"

"No, I have not. Though last time I checked Maxwell is most certainly a man. And besides…even if Maxwell was a woman, how would you know? And more to the point, how do you even know of Maxwell's existence? For a supposedly normal human, you seem to know quite a lot about the supernatural."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and then began mentally kicking himself in the head. "Ah…well…that's a long story…" Kazuma noticed Erza's stern expression and sighed. "Alright, alright, fine. Just wait until we get back to the apartment, I'll explain it all then, that good?"

Erza nodded and grabbed Kazuma's wrist.

Kazuma looked at her with a wry smile.

Erza frowned in response. "Don't get the wrong idea. I know that with the Mangekyo Sharingan you have access to Kamui. As long as we're in physical contact like this you can't get away."

Kazuma could only sigh in exasperation.

"She's got you read," Mavis remarked.

"Damn…"

Kazuma, Erza, Mavis, and Kuroka arrived back at the apartment shortly thereafter and Erza sat at the dining room table, looking at Kazuma sternly.

Kazuma sighed and put his coat on a hook and sat down with an annoyed huff.

"Don't worry about me prying, I'm only making sure you're not a threat to the Soul Society," Erza encouraged.

Kazuma rested a cheek on his hand and responded annoyed, "I feel so blessed. Something tells me you won't be so forgiving after I finish."

"There's only one way to find out."

Kazuma sighed heavily and began, "Well, I guess the first part is that 'Kazuma Soryu' isn't my real name."

"Then what is?" Erza asked.

Kuroka was about to answer happily but Kazuma sent her a stern scowl, causing her to curl up some, resting cat ears against her head.

Kazuma looked back at Erza and answered, "My real name is Abraxas Bael."

Erza raised an eyebrow in response. "Abraxas Bael? That name sounds…familiar…"

"I would imagine, after all, one doesn't beat Kenpachi Yachiru and not get a reputation."

Erza's eyes widened in response to that. "You…defeated Captain Unohana…?"

"Unohana?" Kazuma asked curiously. "Is that her new name?"

Erza nodded slowly. "Yes…Retsu Unohana. So…that would mean you-?"

Kazuma raised a hand and remarked, "I'll tell you everything, just let me start at the beginning, you'll have all your questions answered after I'm done."

Erza nodded in slight confusion but accepted.

"Abraxas Bael is the name I was given, I had a different name when I was little but I've since forgotten what it was. I was born in Eastern Europe roughly eleven hundred years ago, and live relatively normally for the time until I was six. Then one day humongous, humanoid monsters appeared almost all over Europe and started tearing the place apart, my hometown being amongst their targets. My older brother, the first wielder of Divine Dividing, managed to push them back so that I and a friend could escape. Unfortunately the time he gave us didn't last long when those things caught up to us."

Erza frowned in thought and asked, "Those things…they were the Nephilim…weren't they?"

Kazuma nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they were. And they had managed to catch us, and my friend, Chiaki, was almost eaten by one of them, but I managed to kill it."

"K-kill it? Weren't you just a child?"

"I was, but I wasn't a powerless child." Kazuma then stood up and crossed his arms over each other. "Boosted Gear!" His forearms then lit up with a bright red light before it faded and the lower portion of his forearms were covered with metallic, red gauntlets with small yellow spikes and a green jewel on the back of each hand, however the gauntlets didn't cover his hands.

Erza's eyes widened in surprise. "That's…Boosted Gear! One of the Longinus Gears…"

Kazuma nodded in response as he looked at his hands, "Yes. It is. I managed to fire a Dragon Shot, even as a child, and freed Chiaki from that thing. However, it wasn't enough as the beast regenerated. Right before we were both killed, however, we were rescued, heh, 'rescued', by Lilith Lucifuge."

"Lilith Lucifuge…that was the name of the original Lucifer's wife, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, she stopped those things from killing us and brought us to the Underworld, Niffleheim, where Forbesii Lucifer offered us a chance at revenge."

"Revenge?" Erza asked.

Kazuma sighed in annoyance. "You ask a lot of questions, don't you? Yes, he told both Chiaki and I that those things, those Titans, were created by Eustoma and His angels, and that He commanded them. So if we worked for Forbesii he would give us powers to go against Eustoma."

Erza frowned in confusion.

"What now?"

"Those names you're using…Forbesii…Eustoma, I don't know them."

"I'm not surprised. Forbesii Lucifer and Eustoma, those were the real names of the original Lucifer and the Biblical God, I'm not surprised that their true names have gone by the wayside."

"You seem to have actually known them."

Kazuma shook his head in response. "I only knew Forbesii, he raised and trained both Chiaki and I, made us into the very first half-devils. For nearly 100 years we were trained by him in how to use our powers and abilities, before he sent us on the final tests of our skills. I don't exactly know what Chiaki's test was, but my own was to conquer the Tower of Amala."

"Tower of Amala? I thought it was just a relic," Erza remarked.

"Well, now it is. Before it was home to the Nine Fiends, nine incredibly powerful beasts who guarded the entrance to Amala, where access to the Magutsushi was. My task was go in and defeat the Nine Fiends."

"Did you?" Erza asked.

"Yes. I did not only that but I killed them all, leaving Amala unattended."

"That's…unbelievable. Even I knew about the Nine Fiends, they were monsters created by Hades, correct?"

"Yeah, needless to say, bonehead wasn't too happy about me killing them. Chiaki also completed her task, and we both returned to Forbesii's castle. He decided we had both proved ourselves as his most powerful servants, so he gave us each our first real missions."

Erza nodded as she thought over what Kazuma told her. "So what was yours?"

"Forbesii had spent a few thousand years unable to sense a portion of a different realm, Vanaheim. So he sent me there to find the source of this disturbance that kept him unable to see into it. So I was sent into the distortion itself."

"Vanaheim?"

"You can't be telling me someone like you doesn't know of the Nine Realms."

Erza frowned in annoyance.

Kazuma sighed and explained, "Midgard, Asgard, Vanaheim, Niffleheim, Muspelheim, Jotunheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim, and Nidavellir. They along with the Realm Below, Hel, and Valhalla form the Realms of our world. Now, think you can focus?"

Erza narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're the one who wanted to know," Kazuma remarked plainly. "As I said, there was a section of Vanaheim that Forbesii had been unable to see, even with long-range, observation magic, so he sent me to investigate. I was sent into the distortion itself, unfortunately something had happened and my body was affected, I was physically reduced in age, to a six year old. I spent several years there, mainly waiting for my age to reset, and got involved with a number of events in that world. Eventually I discovered the source of the distortion. The Schism. A barrier that had been placed around a large chunk of Vanaheim which had been ripped from the main section of the planet two thousand years earlier. I worked with a group of people to bring it down, though the reasons I gave were slightly different from my true reasons. Although…I eventually discovered a new personal reason to get rid of that Schism."

Erza titled her head in confusion as he spoke, a small smile forming on his face.

"Milla. Although at first our goals and reasons were different, we both eventually came to the decision that it was for the good of all of Vanaheim for the Schism to go. It wasn't easy but eventually we took down the Schism, though as a result the Lord of Spirits Maxwell died, so Milla took that post instead."

Erza raised an eyebrow. "This woman became the new Maxwell? That seems…unlikely, and very bizarre."

"Well, that's how I felt at first as well when she told me she was Maxwell. Turns out Maxwell had simply infused her with his power and had four of the Great Spirits, Efreet, Sylph, Undine, and Gnome, serve her and help her complete her "goal" of destroying technology called Spyrix. Unfortunately it turned out that her real purpose was to draw out an organization called Exodus, to act as bait so Maxwell could destroy them. It eventually resulted in her death. She was able to come back with a new body soon however, and we eventually stopped Exodus, destroyed the Schism, and Milla took over the role as Maxwell."

Erza pinched the bridge of her nose in confusion. "So…you're saying you personally met the current Maxwell?"

Kazuma chuckled and smiled weakly. "Yeah…you could say that."

Erza twitched an eyebrow. "You didn't…"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Erza just sighed and asked, "So what happened after that?"

Kazuma nodded and continued. "After returning from Vanaheim, things didn't exactly go well. I found out Chiaki had died while I was in Vanaheim and Forbesii had deigned not to tell me. I was angry at him, but he explained in a way that I was foolish enough to accept. After that he sent me to deal with someone who was giving him trouble, Ahriman."

Erza put a hand to her chin in thought. "Ahriman…? That name sounds oddly familiar as well."

"He was an Old God, he was also one that was giving Forbesii quite a high amount of annoyance. So Forbesii sent me to deal with him."

"You must be joking. Old Gods have insane levels of power. The only ones I know of are Indra and Odin, and they're both on levels of power beyond even Captain Yamamoto."

"Well, Ahriman wasn't quite on the same level as those two, but he was certainly an Old God. And I did defeat him, and was prepared to kill him. However he made me an offer, in return for his life, he'd serve me as a familiar."

Erza and Kuroka's jaws almost hit the floor.

"You had an Old God as a familiar, nya?" Kuroka asked.

Kazuma nodded. "For a time. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find him. But, as I was saying, after dealing with Ahriman, I was sent to Olympus. Turns out Forbesii was hoping to get some help against Eustoma from the Greek Gods. That didn't go well and I yet again got myself involved with an insane plot. One of the other gods, Prometheus, was trying to resurrect Titan Typhon so he could take down Zeus. Fortunately, with the help of a small group of people, I was able to put a stop to Prometheus' plans. Of course, the resulting conflicts from trying to stop him did quite a bit of damage to Greece's landscape. But, it was also after that last mission, that I discovered the truth behind all of Forbesii's lies."

Kuroka blinked and asked curiously, "Lies like what, nya?"

"For starters, I found out that the Titans weren't created by Eustoma, and that the attack on my village wasn't orchestrated by Him either. I found out that the Titans were freaks of nature created by unions between humans and fallen angels. How they ended up becoming monsters like that I never truly understood. But I did discover that Forbesii was involved, and that he also lured and directed those Titans that attacked my village that day. And Lilith's seemingly perfect timing was perfect because she had been there the whole time, waiting for the most opportune moment. I discovered the truth behind the rest of it as well, the reason Forbesii had taken me in was so he could turn me into a weapon, direct my growth and power so I could be his ultimate trump card against Eustoma. Chiaki was merely an additive so he'd have more leverage against me. Getting rid of the Nine Fiends wasn't a test either, it was so he could gain access to the infinite pools of Magutsushi and be able to obtain and maintain immortality by living off of it. The mission to Vanaheim he had also discovered the truth about, he simply wanted to be able to gain access to all the people there who could use magic since there were very few humans on Midgard and almost none on the mainland of Vanaheim who could. And even the mission to Olympus was set up. Prometheus' plans were actually started and set up by Forbesii himself, but when Prometheus announced his plans to use Typhon against Forbesii he sent me to stop Prometheus."

Kuroka and Erza frowned as they listened.

"That must have been crappy, nya."

Kazuma looked at Kuroka flatly. "You don't say…"

Kuroka frowned pathetically and flattened her cat ears against her head.

"How did you find all of this out anyway?" Erza asked.

"Lilith. She explained this all to me herself."

Erza and Kuroka's eyes widened.

"Why would she do something like that?" Erza asked in shock.

"Because, she just ended up growing tired of Forbesii's lies. There were…other reasons of course, but if you don't mind I'd rather keep those to myself."

Kuroka put a hand to her mouth and giggled in amusement. "Ufufufu, dirty boy, nya."

Kazuma frowned with a light blush. He then continued. "I ended up just spending the rest of my time in Europe, soon making my way to Britain, where I met someone rather influential, and personally important. Arturia Pendragon."

Kuroka blinked curiously. "Don't you mean Arthur Pendragon, nya?"

"No. I've seen some of the books about King Arthur, and they've altered history. Just like Maxwell, King Arthur was actually Queen Arturia. She was honestly an amazing woman, who went against everything that was set at the time and took over most of Britain. Of course, she had some help."

"You, I suppose?" Erza asked blandly.

Kazuma shook his head. "No, Caliburn, one of the Holy Swords. She had found it sealed in a stone and pulled it out, using its power to take hold of Britain. Unfortunately, it seemed that the universe had conspired against her, Forbesii had tricked the two of us into fighting each other." Kazuma clenched his fists as he recounted the events.

Erza frowned as she listened. "You…loved her didn't you?"

Kazuma smiled nostalgically. "Yeah, and she reciprocated it, to the point of allowing me to run her through with my sword, Gram. She couldn't bring herself to kill me, and instead let me kill her…at that point I had simply decided to give up. I ended up going back to Europe and found my way to the Walled Cities, a city set up with a series of walls to keep out the Nephilim. My powers and abilities ended up earning me prestige and a high-ranking position in their military. I was given the title General and gifted my own squad who were independent of the normal rules and regulations, given special permission and rights to deal with the Nephilim, the Death Dealers. Eventually I discovered a girl named Mikasa Ackerman, she turned out to be my brother's successor, gaining Divine Dividing after him, and so I added her and several others to the Death Dealers, dealing with the Nephilim in our own way. Over time the truth about the Nephilim was fully revealed when we encountered a specific one. Again, I dropped my guard and fell for Mikasa, but she too was killed by that monster. So…having grown tired of it all, I ended up blaming pretty much everyone for my living hell. Blaming Forbesii for getting me in that situation to begin with. Blaming Eustoma for taking Arturia away from me. Blaming the angels and fallen angels for the existence of the Nephilim and Mikasa's death. I surged my powers and committed genocide, in less than a day I completely wiped out the Nephilim, not leaving a single one alive. Then, I moved on to the Midgard base of the angels, Atlantis, and destroyed it, submerging it after taking Ahriman and a few others I had gathered on my journeys to bring it down. Then, I made my way to the realm where Izanagi lived, and demanded access to the world where the souls of the dead go when they die, the same place he had gone when Izanami had died. He refused. So I killed him. After that, Forbesii had decided I'd become too large a threat so lured me, in my enraged and unthinking state, back to the Island of Amala and sealed me, Ahriman and several others inside the Tower of Amala, placing a seal that was supposed to last forever. However, the seal ended up breaking after a thousand years, and I awoke from the seal just under three years ago."

Erza listened as did Kuroka.

Kuroka then snickered. "You know, I had already known some of your story, nya. But I didn't know it was quite that extensive, nya."

Kazuma nodded and looked at Erza.

"It's quite an unbelievable story honestly. Though, I've seen enough that doubting you entirely would be foolish. So, Abraxas is your name then?"

Kazuma narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "No, Abraxas is who I was. Kazuma is who I am."

Alright then, that finishes this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed it and I'd like to hear your opinions in reviews, especially if you liked the story.