The first rays of sunlight shined through the leaves of the trees, causing Weiss to grunt in irritation and immediately raise her hood. The vampire growled in frustration as she watched the sun peek through the trees, and beside her, Ruby sighed. "I think we should stop and go camping for now."

"I am fine." The Schnee protested, but received a skeptical look from the Herald.

"We stopped to rest two days ago. I might not need common things like food, sleep and everything else, but you still do." Her cloak unfurled from her, and the young woman looked up at the familiar. "Look for a river or lake nearby, it's best to camp near a body of water."

The robe swayed slightly in understanding, flying away as the white-haired woman crossed her arms with an irritated glare at the silver-eyed girl. "I can take care of myself."

"And I've been ordered to accompany you and keep you safe, so I'm going to do that." Ruby countered firmly. She looked up at the sun, clasping her hands together in prayer. "Amaterasu, Utu, Lugh, I'm sure she means no offense to any of you."

"I don't." The Schnee assured, but smiled slightly. "But thank you for always putting me in a good light."

"You're welcome." The Herald replied, smiling. Soon her cloak returned, floating around her as one of its corners pointed to the west. "That way, huh? Okay." The young woman directed her gaze to Weiss. "Let's go."

The duo entered the forest, following the Herald's mantle. In a few minutes they reached a small clearing with a medium-sized lake. "Hmm… It's sunny, but I think I can create some shadows with ice structures." The vampire noticed, sighing in relief.

Ruby walked with the mantle to the side of the lake, and the mantle opened, its interior changing as if it were now an infinite void filled with stars. The girl reached her hand into the void, starting to pull various things from inside.

The Schnee went to her side, seeing her camping gear on the ground. The vampire took the hammer and tent pegs, while the Herald took the tent itself. The two began setting up their small camp.

In little more than five minutes the place was ready, with a fire with two small folding leather benches around it, a portable grill was atop the fire and a little far from there was a small white tent partially opened, revealing its interior with a rug placed in the floor and a blue sleeping bag above.

The duo already had firewood in advance for the occasion, properly stored in the pocket dimension of the cloak as well as other things. Among these, hunt meat that Weiss took from the portal, still in good condition thanks to the special properties of the pocket dimension.

The white-haired woman placed the piece of meat on the grill, taking her knife from her boot as she began to grill it. Her gaze fell on Ruby, sitting on the other bench. "Are you sure you don't want to eat?"

"Eh. I don't feel hunger anymore. Pretty much all my needs have gone with my death. I'm literally a walking corpse." The Herald said, until she staring at the vampire. "Although in a way your vampires' body is also dead. But the difference between yours and mine is that yours still works, while I'm like a puppeteer controlling my dead body."

"That's morbid…" The Schnee muttered in response, the Herald shrugging in dismissal.

"Don't you vampires suck people's blood and turn them into empty husks?"

"I never did it." Weiss revealed, slightly irritated by the idea. "I've always used blood potions to feed myself, I don't like sucking blood directly from others."

"That's new. A vampire who doesn't suck blood from victims out there?" Ruby laughed at the idea, much to the vampire's dismay. "You say I'm pretty cheerful for a Herald, but you're not your typical vampire either."

"I guess you can tell why." The white-haired vampire replied, turning the meat on the grill. "As you said yourself, I am 'nobility'. Although we vampires were already hunted by the time I was born, my mother spent a long time living in the ways of my grandfather, Nicholas. So despite the hardships and having to hide, she always made sure that me, my sister and my brother had blood potions to quench the thirst. Of course, focusing on us, she couldn't have the same, and despite her hiding it, I know she had to... Drink blood from some people."

"Your mother, sister and brother, hmm?" The Herald snapped her fingers, and the cloak closed as it turned back to the Herald. The familiar coiled itself around its bearer again, who leaned forward curiously. "It's not the first time you've mentioned them."

"You want to know about them, don't you?" Schnee questioned with a sweatdrop, seeing the girl quickly nod. She sighed, knowing there was no denying her curiosity. "The last time I saw my mother was two years ago, she had taken a nice job at a tavern in Kryagi with an owner who keeps the secret of her being a vampire. Prior to this journey, I had been speaking to her through letters, and luckily everything is fine over there."

"And your brother and sister?"

"My brother joined Alsius with the help of some contacts he got thanks to my sister. He's trying to enter into the business world as an inventor with the hope that he can change Remnant's views on vampires." The albino smiled slightly at the memory of that. "And my sister is also in Atlas. It took years, but with the help of some people she managed to enter the army after being personally tested by General Ironwood and he recommended her to King Polendina himself."

"Your brother studies on Alsius and your sister is a military woman favored by the King of Kryagi and the General of the Army of Kryagi?" The Herald looked at her in shock at the information. "It's impressive considering that vampires are hardly accepted there. The fact that a Dullahan is the general of the dwarven kingdom's army still causes debate even today."

"Of course, nobody knows they are vampires apart from a few trusted people. I may not have followed such a similar path, but I admire their choice." The white-haired woman stared at the girl's cloak, arching her eyebrows. "Yesterday you asked again what I intended to do in Vale."

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Can your cloak open the pocket dimension again? I need to get something." She immediately rose, beckoning the robe to do as requested. The vampire stuck her knife in the piece of meat ready on the grill, starting to eat as she went to the portal. "Where is it…"

Ruby watched the Schnee search for something with her free arm, taking a few seconds before arching her brows at the feel of whatever she was looking for. The albino pulled it out, bringing an ebony wooden scepter engraved with runes by its silver-ornamented handle. On the pommel was a ruby, set in a silver socket inside the staff, while at its top the scepter had a globe of black crystal, surrounded by a pair of silver bat's wings closed and attached to the top of the object.

The Herald whistled, briefly remembering the beginning of the journey when the albino had told her to keep this scepter safe without explanations. "I admit, I had forgotten about this. But now that you got it, what is it exactly?"

Weiss took another bite of the piece of meat on her knife, resting the scepter on her shoulder. "Well, it's kind of a long story."

"We got time." Ruby replied with a smile, leaving her companion with a deadpan expression. She finished eating the piece of meat, attaching the scepter to one of her belts. Her free hand flashed beside the knife, which was covered in a brief glow before reverting back to normal, clean.

The Schnee twirled the blade, putting it back in her boot. The vampire went to her tent, taking a bag inside and pulling out a large old book. "Where to start?" She sat back on the bench, lifting the book for emphasis. "I started traveling through Remnant about eighty years ago, I was tired of living in hiding. My mother understood that, and before she left, she gave me this book."

Ruby watched the Schnee touch said book with some care, a faint smile on her face. "Aaaannd…?"

"This is my grandfather's diary, Nicholas. He gave this to my mother before he died, and she gave it to me." Weiss revealed, showing the cover of the book. It was engraved with a stylized snowflake emblem, and below the snowflake were the initials "N.S.". "I initially didn't even open the diary, not until about twenty years ago."

"Why did it take you so long to read it?"

"I… didn't know what to expect." The vampire admitted. "My mother always spoke well of my grandfather, but obviously people said otherwise because of the fame of us vampires. I didn't want to risk something that was said to be real, so I refused to read it." Weiss lowered her head in disappointment with herself. "But… After a fight in a tavern, the people discovered that I was a vampire and I had to flee the village I had lived in for a few years. Some things I heard that night motivated me to open the diary, and I discovered that my fears were just that. Fears."

"So your grandfather was a good man?"

"He wasn't a good man. He had many faults. But he tried, and that's more than many could say." The Schnee stated firmly. "But what matters is that through the diary I discovered the location of the old castle where he and my mother lived, and I went there. I recovered many things that I gave to my mother and siblings, as well as some things that stayed with me. But especially…"

Ruby saw the albino take the scepter from her belt, which was surrounded by a black glow as its wielder rose. The scepter extended like a staff now, and the vampire's hand rested on the crystal globe at the top, the bat's wings having spread. "I know a special object when I see one."

"This scepter, or staff as it is now, was in my grandfather's possession. He hid it deep in the castle, in a room full of traps. I thought it was pretty special to have so much protection, and from the diary, I found out that this is the case."

"And what's so special about it?"

"This staff was used by the General of the Blood Clans during the war against the werewolves, and was given to my grandfather after the end of the war." On the other hand, she looked at the book seriously. "According to the diary, the vampire who wields this staff will be the most powerful vampire alive. It was created with dark magic millennia ago, it is unknown by whom, but for years it has been passed from vampire to vampire in times of need. "

"Wow… isn't that kind of dangerous to fall into someone's hands?" The Herald pointed, receiving a nod from Weiss.

"Yes. But according to the diary, no one but a vampire can use it as the staff has some protection spell built in." The albino returned to her tent, putting the diary away, then took the staff back to scepter form, returning it to the pocket dimension.

The cloak finally closed the portal, returning to normal as it flew towards Ruby. "So you have a vampire mystical item? And what does that have to do with going to Vale?"

"Supposedly, the scepter is linked to a place in the King Arc castle. But my grandfather didn't seem to know what exactly it was linked to."

"Hmm. That's weird." Ruby commented curiously. "And you want to discover that connection then?"

"Pretty much." Weiss confirmed with a nod. "But don't tell anyone. I only told you now because you told me about yourself. And you've been helping me without batting an eye for two months now. I think it's fair."

"Relax, I'll take this secret to the grave." The Herald assured playfully with a smile, making the vampire smile back.

"Excellent." With that, the albino yawned, stretching. "Now, like you said before. I haven't slept in two days. Is it okay if you stand guard while I sleep?"

"Fine by me."

"Thanks." Weiss thanked her in a sincere tone, going to her tent and closing it.

The girl turned her gaze to the fire, reaching out her hand to hover above it. The flames reached her skin, but it had no effect. "Why is vampire thing connected to Keinrelkah?"

…

Ruby looked up, seeing the sun starting to set behind the trees. She was stripped of her chain mail and corset, leaving her torso free in just her gray blouse. Her cloak was spread over the camp tent as if it was resting, and she was at the edge of the lake with a stone in her hand.

However… Interestingly, she was different. The Herald had an opening in the back of her blouse in the lower back, from which a pair of black bat wings came out that were closed, an opening in the back of her skirt allowed a thin black tail with a edge similar to a heart to coming out, and a pair of small bat wings, also black, were on her head.

Notably, her ears had sharpened and her small smile revealed sharp fangs, as well as her fingernails had taken the shape of claws. The girl threw the small stone into the lake, watching it bounce once, twice, three, four, five times before sinking.

She closed her hand into a fist in celebration, until she noticed that the stones were gone as she looked to her side. The Herald sighed, getting up to stretch. The succubus placed her hands on her hips, her wings spreading as she prepared herself.

With a leap, she soared above the trees, watching the sunset. For a moment, a smile permeated his face, but it dissipated and was replaced by dismay as the light breeze passed without effect. She couldn't feel the chill of the wind, the heat of the sun, the taste of food… It was frustrating.

Ruby started to descend back to the ground, landing as her wings closed again. 'Little Rose… Missing your old life?'

Ruby arched her eyebrows, surprised to hear the deep, demonic female voice. The voice sounded slightly husky, but seductive and mature. A voice she had known for decades. 'Asmodeus. You've been quiet.'

'I prefer not to appear unnecessarily.' The demon explained in her mind. 'Regretting accepting the post of Herald?'

'Never. It was thanks to that that I was able to see my mother again.'' The Herald replied firmly, only to stare at the floor, head down. 'But I miss being able to feel. I still have my emotions, but everything physical, I've lost it.'

'Well, a sacrifice was made by becoming a Herald. You cannot have everything.'

'I know. I just…' The succubus sighed. 'I guess it could be worse.' She noticed. 'I think now I know how it feels to be without a body, just a soul that lives with me.'

'It's not all bad. But I understand your dismay.' Asmodeus said in understanding. 'The best thing to do is take advantage of it now. You can still do other things. And now that you're accompanying this vampire on her journey? You can explore Remnant like you couldn't explore in life.'

A small smile formed on the young woman's face upon hearing this, nodding slowly. 'Yeah… I'm going to enjoy this.' Rose lifted her head.

The demon chuckled lightly, amused by the Herald. 'I must say, none of my past incarnations had a spirit like you.'

'That is good?'

'Well, I certainly find it interesting.' She replied in good humor. 'An innocent, cheerful succubus who serves Death as one of it's Heralds? This is the most interesting life I've had in millennia.'

'I don't know if I should find that a good thing or not considering that you are one of the Seven Demon Kings who went to war against the gods...' Ruby recalled. 'But you insisted that it was in the past when I discovered your soul lived inside me, and so far you've given me no reason to think that's a lie.'

'Little Rose, I'm just a bystander here. Do not worry about me.' The Demon Queen assured. 'Anyway, why don't you take your free time to train your magic?'

The succubus placed a hand on her chin in thought, then flew to the other side of the lake where it was wide open. "Um…" The silver-eyed girl crossed her arms, tapping one foot on the floor. She held up a hand, which took on a green glow as she pointed a finger at the ground. A green beam shot out from the finger, creating a flame that took the form of an exact copy of herself.

The other Ruby smiled, placing one hand on her hips as she waved the to the original. "Hey."

"Hey, you." Rose replied with a mischievous smile, moving closer to her and resting her arm on the illusion's shoulder. "Remember when we were kids and we used to do this to confuse Yang when we played?"

The copy stifled a laugh, giving the original a light punch on the shoulder. "She was so irritated that fire came out of her ears, literally."

"It's a pity you can't use my spells or fight, that would help a lot with training." The Herald remembered, sighing.

"Blame the Djinns for refusing to teach creation magic to the rest of the world." The illusion said with a sweatdrop. "But don't you think it's better to train your flesh magic? You already know all about illusion magic."

"Uh…"

"Oh, come on. You don't even feel it."

"And you don't find it a little disturbing to use your own bones and flesh to shape weapons and stuff?" The original snapped, only for the illusion to shrug.

"I'm you, of course I do. But you can't deny it's magic with potential, disturbing as it is. And it's the one you use the least."

'I must agree.'

"Seriously?" The Herald had a deadpan expression as her doppelganger chuckled. She grunted, snapping her fingers to make the illusion go away. "I thank the gods that corpse magic is exclusive to the Heralds..."

'It's not like other disturbing spells that can't be used by others. Necromancy still exists.' Asmodeus commented.

"Necromancy is spiritual, corpse magic is physical." The succubus replied, snapping her knuckle bones. "Okay…" She took a deep breath, her eyes rolling back into her skull as she placed her hands on her head… Then she spun completely, her head disconnecting from her body with the disgusting sound of ripping flesh. The Herald's head came up, spine and all, moving normally.

Rose's head was up, extended by its bloody spine disconnected from her head that moved according to the girl's will, and the backbones were more prominent and sharp. She looked down at herself, arching her eyebrows. "I wonder if I could use other corpses to expand on what I can do with my own body..."

Her spine returned into her body, her head fitting back into her neck as flesh, muscle and more regenerated to put the body back together. The demon cracked her neck, checking that if it was positioned correctly, then took another deep breath.

She held her hands out in front of her, watching them begin to distort. Her left arm exploded from the inside out, from which a massive arm made of red flesh emerged, and the further it went into the hand, the more it took on a bone structure where it ended in a handful of long, sharp claws.

Her left arm stretched out, her bones fusing together as her flesh molded itself to house the bones, which became a serrated blade. Ruby looked at the two weapons in momentary surprise. 'I wonder how much you can modify your own body.'

"I'd rather not go that far, thank you." The succubus quickly denied, undoing the spell as her eyes rolled back. She sighed... Until she noticed the grass below full of blood, as well as in her clothes and the sleeves of her blouse completely destroyed. "...And that's another thing I don't like about flesh magic."

'You're the first succubus I've known who doesn't like to have her clothes ripped.' Asmodeus commented, laughing, much to the Herald's confusion. 'Although most don't wear much, but details.'

The Herald rolled her eyes, ignoring the comment. She stamped her left foot on the ground, summoning a white glyph beneath her. With another tap, the glyph began to rise through her, making the blood drain in the process as the glyph dissipated as it passed over her head.

She repeated the spell on a larger scale for the blood on the floor, smiling smugly. However, her blouse still had the sleeves destroyed. Rose watched this, shrugging, then tore off what was left, leaving only the torso of her blouse.

Picking up the destroyed remains from the ground, she gathered them in her palms, which glowed red, igniting in flames until they turned to ash. The demon looked to the side of the lake where the camp was, flying back there. She arrived just in time to see her robe 'stretching', making her smile. "Hey, Asmodeus. Do you have any ideas for a name for it? I haven't thought of one yet."

The cloak turned towards its caster, flying towards her. The silver-eyed girl giggled as the familiar surrounded her, and the Demon Queen in her body watched in thought. 'Hum… how about Gremory?'

The Rose tilted her head, smiling at the robe as she crossed her arms. "Gremory, hmm? What do you think?" The cloak quickly snagged on her, floating her upward. "Okay, I'll take that as a yes!"

"What's all this noise?" Immediately Gremory placed its spellcaster on the ground, covering her and lifting her hood to hide her wings and tail, then Weiss emerged from the tent.

The white-haired woman flinched a little when she felt a ray of sunlight hit her face, lifting her hood. But it was visible that it was about to get dark. Ruby smiled nervously, discreetly summoning a glyph at her feet that rose, making her Succubus features disappear except for her black sclera.

She sighed in relief as the vampire turned her attention away from the sun. "Hey, you're finally awake."

"At a favorable time it seems."

"It's the perfect time for us to continue on our way." The Herald nodded, going to one of the benches around the unlit fire and picking up her corset and chain mail. The Schnee arched her eyebrows at the sight of the pieces of cloth, but said nothing.

"I suppose it's now time to break camp and put the things in your cloak." Weiss declared, walking over to the other bench and folding it over.

"Oh, right." The Rose finished putting on her corset and chain mail, going over to Schnee while pointing at the familiar. "I just named it. Gremory."

"Gremory?"

"I think it fits. And it liked it." The succubus glanced at the robe, which swayed in affirmation.

'Gremory, a demon I met during the war against the gods. She served me well on the battlefield.' Asmodeus reminded herself with some respect. 'I'm sure this robe will serve you well too.'

"Not a bad name." Weiss admitted, catching the Herald's attention. "And what about a nearby village or town?"

The demon took the map from Gremory, opening it and checking the area. "Well, back on the road, heading north and we'll reach a village called Blackwater… Oh, wait."

"We're getting close to the swamp." The vampire finished, crossing her arms with a sigh. "I remember having another way to Vale, don't you?"

"There it is, right here." The silver eyed girl said, pointing at the map. "But the other way is through the mountains, and there are no villages on the way, just beyond." The young woman closed the map, putting it away again. "We got the supply for the path, but it has a good climb."

"I have bat wings, or I can just turn into a bat."

"So you'd rather go through the mountains?"

"I've had enough of swamps when I traveled to Hoken Ryochi ten years ago..."

"Mountains then. It's going to be a loooong trip."

…

He felt the light breeze hitting his face, showing a small smile as he took a deep breath. He was on top of a hill in a plain that stretched beyond the horizon, with a few mountains here and there visible in the distance.

The young man was sitting cross-legged on a cloth on the grass, and beside him was an elegant rustic black teapot engraved with roses. A handleless black ceramic mug was in his hands, which he enjoyed the aroma of its contents before taking a sip.

He had short red hair in spikes, mostly spiked back, except in the middle where it was mostly thrown forward, eyes hidden by a black headband, and fair skin with black horns curved back on his forehead and a bull's tail.

The redhead wore a black kimono with a withered rose on the left side and the omega symbol on his back and right chest in red, a black and red obi in a simple knot held the kimono together with a small box-shaped pouch filled with Japanese characters on a checkboard, an inro, was attached to the obi. Black hakamas were on his legs with a small opening for his tail, and red sandals on his feet.

The redhead watched the plains on the horizon, leaving the mug of tea beside him as he opened the pouch in his obi. He took out a brush and black ink, and on his other side, a small wooden board. Carefully, he dipped the brush into the ink, starting to write a haiku on the board.

In the sky, the clouds above distorted with a strong wave of wind coming from the east, and a rising sound was caught by the young man's ears. He smiled, looking up and seeing a small glow in the sky that flew at high speed. A golden cloud, and sitting above it was a figure grinning from ear to ear.

The figure was a young man with short but thick blond hair that resembled a monkey's mane, bright blue eyes and tanned skin with sharp fangs in his smile. He wore a silver headband with ornate lingzi on his forehead, his chest was bare except for a golden chainmail and a white sleeveless vest, in addition to red bands that were wrapped around his wrists with black fingerless gloves on his hands.

The lower part of his body had black baggy pants with a hole for a yellow monkey tail, and a black leather belt bearing the golden yin and yang symbol with a wide black sash hanging from hip to hip. Tall boots made of gold stood on his feet, with a dragon on each ankle. He had a bag slung over his left arm.

The blonde got to his feet, standing in the golden cloud as it approached the distant mound. Moments before the cloud passed right above where the redhead was, the blonde jumped out of it as the cloud dissipated, then spun in the air one, two, three…

Until it landed a few meters in front of the young man writing haiku, without even raising dust or wind on impact. The blonde smiled, walking and sitting in front of the 'stranger'. "Bull."

"Monkey." The 'Bull' greeted, taking the kettle as the newcomer handed him a white handleless ceramic mug. He filled the mug, handing the tea to his visitor. "A bit late."

"Sorry. Helping the crew of The Omen with some errands." The 'Monkey' explained, nodding in thanks for the tea as he smelled it.

"That pirate ship you entered on the crew, right?" The blonde nodded after a sip of tea, making the redhead chuckle. "Who would have thought that the legendary Monkey King would join a pirate crew."

"Well, you are the Bull Demon King and you are serving the Daimyo Belladonna in the Nekomata Province." The Monkey King replied, seeing the Bull King in front of him shrug.

"I suppose that's fair." He conceded, taking his own mug back. "So? How are things?"

"Eh. They're calm, nothing interesting happening." The blonde sighed in disappointment. "And you?"

"Kind of tense to be honest." The redhead admitted. "Ghira is mired in politics again, some of the other Daimyos are upset after an incident in the Oni Province, and there's the fact that dozens of local nobles are trying to propose an arranged marriage between their heirs and his daughter."

"Ah, politics." The Monkey King smiled as he sipped his tea. "That's why all my lifes I've been traveling."

"I like to stop in one place." The Bull King declared. "But I know you've always been so much more... Hyperactive than I am, no matter what your life is."

"Very funny."

"I would say it's funny, especially considering your name in this current life is Sun Wukong."

"And you, the Bull King, are Adam Taurus." The blonde set his empty mug down beside him, tapping his fingers on his knee. "I can't deny it, it's really funny."

"Just remember to let Sun himself free. Technically we and our current life are the same person, but we're not quite the same."

"Bull, do you think I'm Zeus to be such an idiot to do this?" The blonde questioned, slightly offended. "I have respect for the people who end up being my incarnations."

"I know that, but you're unpredictable." The Bull King argued. "The gods are still pissed that we both abandoned them too, so don't go talking about them like that."

"Pffft!" The Monkey King burst out laughing, placing his hands on his belly. "And? Literally none of them could beat us. Zeus then? That idiot is only good at pulling his junk out of his pants. I think it's a miracle he hasn't done that to any Remnant woman so far, especially with Hera having long since passed away in the divine war."

Involuntarily, a laugh escaped the redhead's mouth upon hearing that, forcing him to compose himself. "That's true. But still. Until today they let us live among the people of Remnant, let's not stir up the possibility of them starting to bother us."

"Eh. It's easier for them to start another civil war than to go after us, especially the Greeks." The blonde held back a laugh. "Last I heard, Artemis, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Athena, Hermes and Persephone all turned away from Zeus. Except Aphrodite, but she doesn't surprise me."

"That's to be expected considering the events of the divine war." The blonde nodded, and they both started talking. From various topics ranging from things that have happened since their last meeting, to situations throughout Remnant. This went on for a considerable time, until the redhead sighed.

The Bull King looked at his companion, getting up and picking up the kettle as he finished his own tea. "I hate to end our meetings like this, brother, but I have my duties back in the Nekomata Province."

"I understand." The Monkey King also stood up, handing the brush and bottle of ink to the redhead. He smiled in thanks, tucking it into his inro as he picked up the wood board. He held the object out to his companion, who raised his eyebrows. "Hmm?"

"I made this haiku just before you arrived. Here, you can keep it." The redhead declared, looking pleased to see the blonde accept. He moved away a little, allowing the Bull King to pick up the cloth on the ground and roll it up, leaving it inside his arm. "The tea is on you next time."

"Of course. I hope we can have a spar session next time."

"I will beat you." The redhead replied, making him laugh.

"In the next life, who knows." The Monkey King watched his sworn brother turn away, starting to make his way down the hill. He arched his brows, looking at the wooden board and reading its contents. "Two brothers, one an honorable red bull. The other a powerful, but irresponsible god. How stupid is the monkey king?"

His eyes widened, his mouth momentarily falling open. His gaze immediately went to the direction the Bull King followed, snarling as he made a deadpan expression. "Oh, I'll punch him in the face next time we fight."

Yo, readers! This one came a little sooner than I expected, hmm? Well, I'll be honest. Forget rotation. Now I'm just going to follow my will.

But on the chapter! A lot of stuff is also thrown around here. We discover a bit of the story of this Weiss (who doesn't have a Jacques), with a lot of tragedy in her life. But what will this mission of hers to take the scepter result in? And yes, we'll see the other Schnee here sooner or later.

We also learn that the dwarven kingdom, Kryagi, is led by Pietro. After all, who else could King Polendina be, right? But Ironwood is still a general, and he's a Dullahan... For the record, canonical kingdoms don't exist, but capital cities and academies (albeit with other functions) still exist. We also had Keinrelkah, which yes, it's the realm of dragons. And the King Arc is Jaune's father, not Jaune himself. But let's see him too.

By the way, Ruby is a succubus! I'll tell you the truth, this idea has existed since the beginning of the AU. Controversial, certainly, but it's here to stay. And in that... Asmodeus? Yes, readers! Ruby is the avatar of the Sin of Lust herself, Asmodeus! And here is a woman Asmodeus. Undeniably, Helltaker's influence here. But as said, the other Sins are out there too. Who are your avatars? And have more been gender-swapped? That one I will answer, two more of them, yes. Oh, yes. Ruby's cloak is named after one of the 72 Demons of the Ars Goetia.

And of course, last but not least. Adam and Sun! That here are the avatars of the Bull Demon King and the legendary Monkey King respectively! But we don't see Adam and the Sun itself here, but the two gods. Don't worry, we'll see them in the next chapter! Now which side I haven't decided. With Adam we'll see the Belladonnas and other familiar people, and with Sun we'll meet the crew of The Omen. The next chapter will be interesting...

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time and sayonara!