A Week Later:

Devil's Bermuga, Underworld:

Isaiah's POV:

"Why are we out here~?" Kuroka whined for the third time in just under 30 seconds, making me sigh as Bardou chuckled.

We were in the desolate wasteland of the Devil's Bermuga, heading to the site of the battle as I wanted to see what happened after we left or if I can, retrieve Joker's remains.

"I told you already. I need to see find out what happened after I left the battle." I said as I walked through the wasteland, noticing how the beasts that would previously attack me on sight, were now far too afraid to even come close.

"Well? Why do I have to be here, then? I could be relaxing in a nice bath or something~" She pouted and I sighed once more. I really should stop doing that.

"Listen, last time Bardou and I barely managed to get away, so with you being here, I'm sure that we could at least not have to worry about anything attacking me."

"Oh yeah. I thought the beasts of the Devil's Bermuga were feral monsters that attacked every other living being on sight. Why do they look so afraid now?"

"I don't know." I muttered with a frown as even the Hydras and the Yetis, who used to attack me on an hourly basis when I was last here, were now just staring at me. They weren't afraid as the others, but more…cautious.

Wait a damn second, the Yetis are under Agrukk and the Hydras under Grithyx, so what are the two species doing together?

Not just that, but the Nagi, Lamia, Chimeras and Manticores were also here, which doesn't make sense since the Nagi and Lamia were supposed to be in Grithyx territory, the Chimeras in Anubue and I've never seen a Manticore since I got here, so that means they were probably in Comraicrer's territory.

So, why are they all here?

"Hey, you!" I shouted as I pointed at a Nagi, one of the few monsters in this place that I didn't attack and also one of the few monsters who can understand and speak English. His eyes widened as soon as I pointed at him and he tried to turn around and run only for me to appear in front of him once again.

"Listen. I'm not going to attack you. I swear on my honor. I just want to ask you some questions." I said with my hands raised up, glancing at the other Nagi around us who were gripping their spears tightly, though all of them looked severely nervous in my presence and that nervousness only grew as Kuroka and Bardou walked to stand besides me.

"O-O…Okay. This one will trust you." He nodded and I gave a peaceful smile as I nodded, lowering my hands slowly before I spoke.

"So, why is everyone so scared of us?" I asked and he shook his head, confusing us.

"Not them. You." He said as he pointed at me, making me frown as Kuroka gave me an amused glance.

"Why me? I mean, I understand why the Chimeras, the Hydras and the Yetis are afraid of me, but I've always left the Lamia and Nagi alone and I don't understand why the Chimeras would be afraid of me since I've never seen one."

"You are the master of the Great Destroyer, He who vanquished the Cardinal Kings and freed all beasts. The Hound of Damnation. The Supreme Conqueror." My eyes widened at those words as I stared at him.

Did…Did Joky actually…?

"Did…Did he survive?" Was all I could get out as I felt Bardou walk closer to comfort me and the Nagi glanced around before shaking his head.

"This one does not know. When this one and his clan went to search for the Great Serpent, they only found bubbling magma and nothing else."

"Where?" I asked instantly and he pointed to the right.

"98 000 slithers that way." He said and I smiled as I bowed my head to him.

"Thank you, Mr. Nagi." I said before I turned and picked up Kuroka in a bridal carry, making her yelp as she quickly wrapped her arms around my neck in panic before my Touki visibly wrapped around my form.

With a hard lunge, I was gone, ripping through the ground as I sprinted in the direction he pointed and I smiled as a bright violet blur ran alongside me.

In a matter of seconds, Bardou and I stopped in our tracks, all of our eyes widening as we stared in front of us.

"Your friend was capable of that?" Kuroka asked in shock and all I could do was nod slightly as I stared at the devastation in front of me.

Boiling neon-blue magma was bubbling everywhere, stretching towards the horizon like a sea. Bright blue flames clung to the cliffside we were on, trying and failing to climb up on it and I nearly flinched as one of the heat bubbles popped and a scorching heat wave smacked us in the face.

"Master, look to the far middle." I heard Bardou say and I looked before my eyes widened even more as I saw a raised platform on the middle of the magma sea and what was on it.

Statues of three anthropomorphic beings and a dog-like beast were found on it.

A nagi statue was lying on the ground near the edge, its upper body having a gaping hole where its heart was supposed to be and its serpent lower body lying far away.

There was also a bird-man like statue, with its head & limbs lying scattered across the platform and a gaping hole in the middle of his chest. The one that shocked me the most was smack in the middle of the platform.

A lycan statue was lying on the floor, its arms ripped off and tossed away and its neck broken as it laid at a weird angle on the ground. Standing on top of its chest was a large wolf-like statue, missing its frontal left paw as it howled to the sky as if in victory.

"…He actually did it." I muttered with a smile, tears flowing freely as Bardou nodded. Kuroka was silent, but I assumed that was just because she wanted to let us have our moment.

"I think we should leave him here, Master. Let him rest in peace at the place where he fought his final battle." Bardou muttered and I was hesitant on doing so as I wanted to rush out across the magma and get his statue.

That hesitance disappeared completely as I stared at the statue and it seemed as if it was glancing at me before nodding.

Blinking a few times showed that it was just in my mind, but I sighed before I smiled and I nodded.

"Yeah, let's leave him here." I said and Bardou smiled as we nodded before we turned as Kuroka walked to stand beside me, with me staring curiously at her as she bowed towards the statue.

"You can rest in peace now, Joker. I promise to you that I look after these two along with your Mistress in your stead." She said, making Bardou and I smile before, to our shock, the heat around us disappeared as the magma cooled down and hardened.

"I think we have our answer." Kuroka said with a smile and I chuckled as I nodded before she created a teleportation crest under us.

"You were the best boy a guy could ask for, Joker. Now, rest in peace." I gave a final whisper and I smiled softly as I heard a soft howl in the air before we disappeared.

Kuroka's Hideout:

As we reappeared in the hideout, it felt as if a weight was lifted off my shoulders as I just stood there, staring at the roof with a smile before I shook my head.

"You okay now, Isaiah?" Kuroka asked and I nodded.

"Not much, but I feel much better than I did before." I said, to which she smiled as she nodded before I grinned as I stretched my arms out.

"Now, we're staying here for another few days to get everything we need and then we're going back to a familiar place."

"Are we finally going to the Gremory Castle to get my name cleared?" Kuroka asked with a smile and I smiled as I shook my head, making her pout.

"Not yet. My battle against the Kings made me realize that I was too weak to fight against the many mythological gods in the world, so it's time to train once again."

"Who says that he will train us again?" Bardou asked and I chuckled as I shrugged.

"That's the fun of it. We don't know." I said, making him groan as Kuroka just looked between us in confusion.

"Wait, who are we talking about?" She asked and I chuckled as Bardou sighed as I grinned.

"How would you feel if I got you a chance to train under Sun Wukong and Buddha?" I swear, the way her eyes widened and the very excited smile on her face was probably the happiest I've seen her since we met.

Three days later:

Buddha's Everest, Mt. Everest:

I quickly ducked as we appeared from my teleportation crest, Kuroka yelping as I swept her feet out from under her just in time for a familiar staff to sweep through the air where our heads was before I heard a familiar childish giggle as Bardou transformed and blasted a fireball at Wukong.

"Hey, Little Wolf! What are you doing here?" He asked, to which I sighed as Kuroka just stared in awe at him.

"I think Okita rubbed off on you if that's how you're greeting people these days." I said with a smile as I stood up, helping Kuroka up as Bardou deactivated his transformation. Wukong just chuckled before he glanced at Kuroka and smiled.

"A Nekoshou, huh? Well, little kitty, it's great to see that one of your species is is still alive." He said with a smile, making her nod before he turned to me.

"So, why are you back here? I thought that you would be heading back to the Gremory after you went to do whatever you do." I sighed at that before I shook my head.

"I fought the Cardinal Kings and realized how weak I truly am in this vast world of ours. Now, I need to train even more and I've come back to ask of you and Buddha if you could just train me just one last time. Not just me, but my peerage as well since I want to make sure that they survive this world as well." Wukong didn't say anything as he just stared at me for a long while, making me worry if he was actually going to agree before he chuckled and shook his head.

"Looks like Buddha knows you better than I do." He muttered, confusing us before we jumped as another voice came from behind us.

"Of course I do. He's my student after all." I smiled as I turned around, my smile growing as Buddha stood behind us with a grin with his usual bowl of candy in his grasp.

"I knew you were going after the Kings and I didn't stop you because I knew that stopping someone dead-set on revenge would only result in them getting angry at you. You can only prepare for the results." He said and I looked down at the ground as I nodded before I looked up as I felt a hand on my head.

"Not many 14 year old kids can take 4 Major God-Class beings and fight them to a draw, so be proud of that fact."

"Hey, don't forget about me!" Bardou said and Buddha chuckled as he nodded, not even looking shocked at the fact that Bardou can speak.

"Don't worry. I didn't forget about you, Bardou." He said with a nod and Bardou huffed as he nodded before Buddha turned to Kuroka.

"A Nekoshou, huh? I've trained more than my fair share of you, so I suppose I can make time for you and don't worry, Isaiah. Any peerage member you bring, I'll train once and only once. If they can't keep up with my training, I'll stop it right then and there and you'll have to find someone else to train them." I gave a serious nod at that and he smiled as he nodded.

"Take the day off. Tomorrow, you can send those pamphlets Devils use to recruit people and after tomorrow, we'll fully start with Buddha's Hell-Camp." "

Bring it on." I said and he just grinned at me before he walked towards his castle, with Wukong following after him as I stood watching them.

"…Did I just get a chance to train under THE Buddha and THE Sun Wukong?" Kuroka asked in shock and Bardou giggled as I chuckled and nodded.

"You sure did. Now come on, let's go and find you a room before Buddha puts you in the same room with me." I said as Bardou and I walked towards the palace, snapping her out of her shock as she quickly jogged after us.

"Hey, wait! You're not going to get me a chance to learn under Buddha and just walk away like that!" She exclaimed and Bardou was snickering as I chuckled.

Yeah, she and Akeno would get along very well.

The Next Day:

Shakya Training Ground, Buddha's Palace:

Isaiah's POV:

"Doesn't this bring back memories?" I muttered with a smirk as I looked around at the training ground, Buddha chuckling as he, along with Wukong, Kuroka and Bardou were waiting for me

. "So, it's been almost two months since we last saw each other and I'm certain you've come up with a few tactics to use against me." I chuckled as I turned around, Buddha walking off of the training ground and standing next to Bardou and Kuroka as Wukong walked to stand across from me.

"Come on, Little Wolf. Let's see how far you've come." He said and I chuckled as I stretched my arms from side to side, cracking my neck before Storm King's Aura roared to life around me as I tilted my head with a smirk.

The next second, the entire training ground was all but destroyed as Kuroka and Bardou were held afloat in the air by Buddha, hurricane force winds and devastating lightning bolts destroying everything on the ground as Wukong and I clashed over and over.

While I was going all-out with every one of my blows, he looked to be seriously fighting for the first time, now using one of his hands to block, parry and counter my attacks while the other was held behind his back.

A quick jab led to him parrying it only for me to turn that into an elbow blow, with him chuckling as he ducked under it just as I raised a knee strike towards his skull.

He just smirked as he leaned out of the way of the knee before I quickly raised a cross-guard in front of me, thankfully just in time as an overhead scorpion kick smacked into my arms and sent me flying back.

Flipping over, I spun out of an axe-kick smashing into the ground where I was before I swung out a leg just in time to kick away his staff.

"Nice! Nice! Keep it going, Little Wolf!" Wukong exclaimed as he spun his staff and I nodded with an excited smirk as twin silver falchions appeared in my grasp before we rocketed at each other.

One Hour Later:

"You've finally started to use tactics in your battles instead of trying to just overpower everything. Good on you." Wukong said with a smirk as he stood over my battered and defeated form with Ruyi in his grasp, still standing despite having dozens of 'Gravity Amplification' written on his body.

"You're…far too strong…for me…to fight on my own." I groaned out and he chuckled before he tapped Ruyi against my chest, with me sighing in relief as I felt the wounds heal.

"And done! Now, come on, kitty-cat! It's your turn!" He exclaimed as he turned to Kuroka and I stood up with a groan before stretching my sore body. T

urning to Kuroka, I stifled my chuckle at the unnatural nervousness on her face as she walked onto the training ground, with me smiling at her as Buddha healed the area just by tapping his staff on the ground.

"Hey, Wukong is going to test you out, so just go all-out and attack him as hard as you can." I said and she took a deep breath before she let it out slowly with a nod, making me smile as I gave her a pat on the back before walking to stand besides Buddha and Bardou on the sidelines.

"You have faith in her?" Buddha asked, eating a bag of popcorn, and I smiled as I nodded, with Bardou barking in affirmation besides me.

"Yeah, she might be a playful person, but when it comes to battle, I have faith in her to fight to her full extent." He just glanced at me before humming as he turned back to the training ground, where Kuroka and Wukong were staring at each other.

3rd Person POV:

Training Ground Field:

"Are you ready, Little Kitty?" Wukong asked Kuroka and she smiled as she nodded before he smirked.

"Then attack when you want." In the blink of an eye, the entire training ground was covered in clones of Kuroka, each of them tracing dark purple sigils in the air with their right index finger before thick clouds of purple mist flowed out of their hands and slowly covered the training ground.

"Poisonous mist, huh? I suppose that would work for most Yokai." Buddha muttered with a smirk and Isaiah glanced at him.

"I can sense a 'but' coming." He said, to which Buddha chuckled as he nodded.

"But against Wukong, it's completely useless." As if to agree, Wukong just smirked as he lifted Ruyi above his head before smashing the butt of it into the ground, a thick golden mist spewing out from under it and destroying all of the purple mist around him.

He smirked as the clones all frowned before they all held a hand up, the palm facing Wukong and he chuckled before blitzing around the field.

The clones fired off a barrage of purple glowing orbs at him and I raised an eyebrow as each one blew up the moment it came in contact with anything else, but Wukong did not even seem the slightest bit worried as he darted around the field, dancing around all of the orbs before he smirked.

In the blink of an eye, Kuroka gasped as Ruyi smashed into her abdomen, the other clones dismembered and/ or decapitated with looks of horror on their faces as Wukong smirked.

"You're using attacks that I've already used centuries ago. Come and give me something I didn't expect." He said as he jumped back, whistling as he waited for her to catch her breath.

She just kept taking gasping breaths as a light gray glow covered her hand before she placed it on her abdomen, healing her wounds before she glared up at him.

The air around her distorted before a barrage of large fireballs were fired at Wukong. He smirked as he smacked them and dispersed them right as a jet of water sliced through the air and cut him clean in half.

Or so it seems, as his form disappeared like that of a mirage while he swung Ruyi at her head.

With a twist of her feet, the ground under them pulsed and launched her into the air, with Kuroka tracing numerous sigils in the air before creating a dark crimson magic crest in front of her.

A small purple fireball was sent flying out of the magic crest, growing larger and larger as it passed through all of the sigils before it was nearly as large as the entirety of Buddha's Palace.

"Damn." Was all Isaiah could muttered as he, Buddha and Bardou bared witness to the raging blaze slowly falling towards me.

"Forget that I ever doubted her, gaki." Buddha muttered with a grin and Isaiah just nodded.

"Now, that's what I'm talking about!" Wukong exclaimed as he stared up at the falling sun with an excited smirk as he readied Ruyi before leaping into the air.

Thankfully, Kuroka teleported with haste back down to the ground just in time as Wukong swung Ruyi with a loud cheer and it grew to three times the size of the fireball in a split second.

The roaring blaze, along with all of the clouds behind it, were completely eviscerated as Ruyi pierced right through them, Wukong cackling gleefully as he fell to the ground before flipping and landing on his feet.

"Nice, Little Kitty! You're worthy of training with me! Hey, Buddha! I'll be taking over for her!"

"Sure thing! I'll take the gaki." Buddha said with a chuckle, ignoring Isaiah sighing as Kuroka just looked between them in shock before glancing at Isaiah. He just chuckled as he gave her a helpless shrug.

A/N: And now, we're back in the old house!

Next chapter, a new peerage member!

Anyway, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!