Life.23 Trials and Tribulations
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By rule, a cup of tea is accompanied by peace after a taxing work well done, or at least with allies and friends.
But the tension in the tearoom was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Only Danhauser, Indra, and Yasaka participated—the elephant had to stay outside because of its sheer size.
The deity sat on the opposite side of him, arms folded and unmoving—the tea table between them. While Danhauser sat leg crossed on the wooden floor, Indra opted for a seat fitting for the King of Gods.
Despite not mounting Airavata, his height was nothing to scoff at. Indra was slightly shorter than two-meter-tall Vasco Strada—but tall enough to surpass Sairaorg. Danhauser always imagined that these heights were the norm between divine beings.
He heard the footsteps of the High Priestess and she dropped to her knees on his side. He could feel Yasaka's vertically slit pupils trying to read his mind as she filled his teacup, but Danhauser refused to spare her a glance. He was too invested in his staring contest with the god.
"I'm also immersed in Danny-boy's sculptured chin line," they both flinched at the sardonic tone of Indra. The god devoured their nervousness with glee, "High Priestess, tea? My throat is killing me."
"O-of course milord," The Daiyoukai darted in his direction to pour the King of Heaven his drink.
Danhauser could see the subtle shiver traveling through her arms as Yasaka struggled to keep firm the tilted teapot.
And once Indra had his cup full enough, he raised his other hand, stopping her, "Leave," he ordered the Kitsune, startling her.
Yasaka briefly showed signs of hesitation but obeyed after offering a bow.
As the door slid close, Indra continued, "That also goes to your new pet."
Danhauser clicked his tongue, pulling Fafnir out of his pocket, "They got us there. See you in a bit."
[Ok.]
"Keep this between us, too," As Danhauser teleported away the Dragon King, he felt a powerful barrier expanding on the tearoom—preventing outsiders from eavesdropping.
It was silence after that, the Devil couldn't tell if Indra was expecting him to speak or was trying to analyze his character.
Until finally, the King of Heaven snapped his fingers to summon a sheet of paper. He cleared his throat, and read aloud, "When in the course of supernatural events, it becomes necessary for the Entente to act responsibly and swear under an oath, to promote its soaring ideals of freedom and equality, and restore liberty to other powers of earth yadda, yadda, yadda…" he skimmed half the content, "we, the Watchers of the Children of God, elected representatives who sworn to secure global peace for a generation and become a capable, dedicated force. Danhauser Belial. Ikuse Tobio. Lavinia Reni. Jeanne Strada…"
Danhauser briefly looked down at his reflection on the tea and took a sip, waiting his turn to speak.
"Bova Tannin. Siegfried. Valerie Tepes. As the world teeters on the brink of anarchy, they will arise as a new hope under the guidance of the Grigori Branch, to teach that they represent the best of their race. Signed, Aza-boy," Indra disappeared the document soon after, "this report reached all members of the Entente a few days ago. On behalf of the other gods, welcome! We believe you will be a great asset, and we look forward to collaborating with you~!"
Danhauser resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "The feeling is mutual, Śakra. Is that all?"
"HAHAHA!" Of course, it wasn't, but what else could he say? "'Is that all' he asks! We are just getting started."
"…"
"Hmm. It's been years since I heard an engaging story, and you strike me as a man that gets involved in many nail-biting situations," the god smirked, "How about you amuse me with your most recent one?"
Taking the hint, Danhauser took a deep breath, "It all began with a shitty joke of a certain Nekoshou," he began, "On paper, it was a good lead and the only one I had, so I stuck to it. I worked from there, searched everywhere I could in search of clues, and here we are. This whole time… he was keeping his name buried because of you. To prevent outsiders from discovering the connections between the Hero Faction and Svargaloka because he was up to something that could harm your image to other factions. To avoid your wrath."
"Pfft. Oh, please," Indra scoffed, "don't insult my intelligence with your half-baked explanation."
"Am I wrong then?"
"Don't misinterpret my words. You did decent playing detective. What irks me is how you act as if this information hasn't been given to you beforehand," Indra sneered, "You play innocent to hide it, but I know your secret. From the day you opened your eyes to this world, you had all this information at the back of your skull. You know everything about Cao Cao. The Trickster God. The Son of the Morningstar. The Evil Dragons. The Beast of Apocalypse… my agenda."
"…"
"You can't predict the future… but you somehow witnessed these events unfold before," Indra lifted his sunglasses to reveal his lavender orbs, "Some of them at least. How? I had that question floating around and yet nothing. It became a headache to try and find a fitting answer. It was starting to piss me off, Danny-boy."
Seeing how the withering stare of Indra never relented, Danhauser shrugged steadily, "I read it all in a novel."
Indra snorted, "I'm joyed you can drop third-rate jokes under circumstances like this," his shades dropped back to his nose, "You can die with your secret for all I care. I have learned to make peace with it because, in the end, all this information you have will be useless now. All these ripples are molding new futures you see. You can't help it, can you? It's in your system to stir the pot."
"…"
"But it can be stopped," the topic that Danhauser expected Indra to tackle, "You can keep all this knowledge as leverage only if you listen."
"Can we reschedule our meeting for another time, Śakra?" Danhauser tapped his teacup relentlessly, "You caught me in the middle of something important."
Danhauser knew Indra wasn't going to agree to his request, but hopefully, it'd make the god get straight to the point.
"Oh really? Does this "something important" has Cao Cao's name written on the front page?" Indra spat out. "Because of you, we're here doing our best to not choke on this subpar tea."
"Because of me?" Danhauser resisted the urge to growl, "Or because of Cao Cao?"
"The Sekiryuutei was supposed to humble Cao Cao, brat. Not you. In their final clash, my vanguard dominated the Welsh Dragon throughout the entire fight but eventually loses out of hubris. He tries to pull his trump card, but the Will of God picked Sekiryuutei's dream over Cao Cao's ambitions. After that, he fled with the remaining members of the Hero Faction. They reached out, dropped to their knees, and begged for shelter. I broke their egos. And everyone was happy thereafter," he scowled, "But times change."
If memory served him right, Indra narrated the volume where Great Red and Ophis teamed up to revive Issei, followed by the Red Dragon defeating Cao Cao with Samael Poison.
A future that never became a reality.
"And you didn't lift a single finger that day, letting him run his damn thing and get away with it." Danhauser felt his eye twitch a bit, "No consequences to his actions whatsoever. Weren't you even in the slightest worried about losing Cao Cao right there?"
"The current Sekiryuutei displays a strong moral compass and principles. His last resort will always be taking the life of someone. Kind, but foolish."
"Ah," Danhauser resisted breaking into a smile, "And with Hyoudou out of the frame, what do the cards say about the fate of the Hero Faction? Must not be nice if you're here."
But Indra wasn't here to amuse him by playing seer, "You already know the purpose behind my visit."
"I do. And you already know my answer."
Indra arched an amused eyebrow, "Is that so?" the Devil kept his lips sealed, and the god cackled, "I knew you were many things, Danny-boy. But a moron amongst them? Never."
Through the pressure, Danhauser pulled a shrug as a way to appear nonchalant, but could still feel his stomach turn, "I get that a lot."
"What you're about to do impacts negatively my long-term goals," Indra revealed with a displeased tone, "My war against Rudra will happen no matter what, but the scale will tilt against my favor."
"You had all the time in the world to put your foot down," Danhauser felt his hold on the teacup tighten, but not enough to shatter it, "Cao Cao won't get away from this. He took Lavinia from me. As we speak, he's breaking her mind—maybe already did."
"Only a small number of deities can track down the location of Dimension Lost and even infiltrate inside its artificial space from the outside," Danhauser took another sip to cool his head, noting that Indra hasn't touched his tea yet, "The mount of the Son of Shiva comes to mind."
"With all due respect, Śakra. I don't see how that matters to me."
"HAHAHA! Why whenever someone says, 'with all due respect', they mean 'kiss my ass'?!" despite his laughter, Danhauser could feel the glare behind his sunglasses, "It also sours the mood for both parties, don't you think?"
"That was never my intention," the last thing Danhauser needed was to get on the nerves of someone like Indra this early on in their conversation.
Not like it wouldn't happen, however. Danhauser just needed time to mentally prepare for what comes next, "I'm sorry if you misunderstood the meaning behind my words."
"… After Wukong stepped down from his position as my vanguard, Cao Cao became his successor. Do you have any slight idea what that rank conveys?" Indra stressed, not giving the Devil the chance to express his thoughts, "It means he's the champion of Svargaloka, both the first and last line of defense. Vanguards are not trained but are handpicked individuals by the deities because of their merits or unusual circumstances. The High Priestess Yasaka is the vanguard of Amaterasu. Nyx and Thanatos. Lugh and the First Apex of Humanity. Usually, a position used exclusively for people like you who can transcend from mortal to new flesh. Enlighted ones."
Danhauser frowned a bit, "Does Cao Cao already have his Enlightenment awakened? Big doubt. Indra would've revealed it."
"Do you realize now what will your actions cause? Do you even get how insignificant your existence is against Svargaloka? Do you understand how powerful the faction that Cao Cao serves is?!" Indra watched his company finishing his tea, "It will be considered as a declaration of war against Svargaloka! You are not ready for that."
"…"
"Do yourself a favor and look the other way," the Emperor of Heaven persuaded, "Struggling is so pedestrian when you don't need to. For once, make it easy for yourself."
"… He still wants to kidnap Yasaka to summon Great Red, doesn't he? Of course, he does. Why else would you be here?" Danhauser placed down his empty teacup, "And despite the shit he wants to pull… you'll let him off the hook, won't you?"
"It seems you forgot the purpose behind this meeting. I am not here to give you a shoulder to cry upon, Danny-boy."
"Oh, I know you aren't. All I need is to know one last thing before I answer," Danhauser clenched his fist, "Is your poster boy going to face any real consequences? Lasting ones?
Anything.
He wanted to see Cao Cao scarred.
Not a physical scar—but something that could traumatize him for the rest of his life.
If not.
Then...
"And why would he?" The god asked amusedly, "Has he captured the High Priestess or attacked Kyoto yet? Of course not. He's a clean slate."
"And what about Lavinia? What about her?"
"Cao Cao's newest pet?" Danhauser grounded his teeth to Indra's remark, "You'll get her back."
"And that's it? You want me to act like nothing happened to Lavinia while she was caged and experimented on?" Danhauser laughed incredulously, "Cao Cao and his circus are getting only a slap on the wrist from you… how the fuck is that fair?"
Just like canon.
"Time to choose, Danny-boy."
Naturally, Indra left no room for arguments, but at least gave him the power to pick.
How funny. This little episode carried the same weight as that event that transpired four years ago.
But now it was Lavinia caught on the spiderweb.
He never doubted Indra would let Lavinia go, but should Danhauser let Cao Cao go?
If there's something that his past taught him was to never mess with big sharks.
To never follow Lycaon's footsteps who tried to test Zeus' superiority. It ended badly for him.
Danhauser tried the same formula with the Great King and look where it led him.
Although Clan Bael also paid the price.
His rational mind told him to accept his offer and wait for him to bring Lavinia back. To not repeat the same mistakes of his past self.
But his instincts, his instincts were louder.
After everything Lavinia went through, after tasting a spoonful of Cao Cao's arrogance through their brief exchange in Grauzauberer, after how Indra went to the rescue of his property despite the stupidity his minions pulled.
It pissed him off.
…
Danhauser forced a smile, "Unlucky," he massaged his stiff neck, readying himself to ride the upcoming storm. "Four years ago, I almost lost my cousin in the blink of an eye. She'd be dead if I 'looked the other way', everything would be so different. Even if my intervention came up with a price, I don't regret any of it. Not anymore. If I could rewind time, I'd save her—time and again."
"... Are you dictating a fucking discourse to me, Danny-boy?"
"But do you know what's funny about all this?" Danhauser rambled on, "Until this day, I'm still paying for what I did back then with sweat and blood. I deserved that. But people like Cao Cao, people like you... won't ever face the consequences of your actions, it seems. No matter what you do, it won't bite you in the ass."
But now? He's ready. Danhauser did everything in his power to tilt the scales in his favor.
Will it work? Only a way to find out.
"I'll bring back Lavinia with me—even if you are on the way," Danhauser boasted, "I don't do easy, Śakra. Never have. The answer is still no. Cao Cao will pay with his life."
Any signs of amusement Indra displayed were gone at the drop of a hat, "What?"
"You said it before, along with my peerage and Lavinia Reni, we are the newest recruits of the anti-terrorist group formed by different factions to dismantle Khaos Brigade and oppose the Ouroboros Dragon. We work under the Grigori Branch led by Governor-General Azazel. I believe you are part of this group as one of its founding fathers."
"Color me impressed—someone has been doing his homework!" Indra still had the ammunition to snark, "I was starting to believe that you lacked any reading comprehension whatsoever."
"With the help of my peerage and witnesses, I compilated all the information I have about the Hero Faction and shared it with Azazel, who gave me the green lights to neutralize Cao Cao's group," Danhauser ignored his verbal jab, "Your vanguard, the Spear of Svargaloka who possess the Strongest Longinus, will be marked as a dangerous terrorist by others. Don't forget that Cao Cao holds Lavinia—a recent member of the Entente—hostage as well. This is an act of aggression to the organization you built from the ground up with other deities."
Realizing the course of this conversation, Indra snickered in disbelief taking off his shades to massage the bridge of his nose, "You're insane, you know that? What drives you to do this? Petty revenge? Fragile ego? Or just the pure thrill alone? Does it revive the same amount of adrenaline you had after the Old Satan Faction cornered you? But now with Heaven this time? I haven't met someone as borderline suicidal as you. Maybe it's all part of the Scientology of life. Or maybe you're ill on the head, Danhauser."
Danhauser just realized how dark it was getting outside, grey clouds crawled and shaped in a way that blocked the rays of the sun.
And so, a downpour spilled on the streets of Japan.
Naturally, they were warning shots aimed his way. To keep his lips shut. To make him submit. To force Danhauser to give Azazel a call and tell him to burn all the evidence and keep quiet.
But fuck it.
Being amongst the Top Ten or possessing the Strongest Longinus shouldn't give you the power to avoid responsibility.
No matter what happens next, Danhauser will make sure both Cao Cao and Indra wear his shoes.
"How will other pantheons react when they discover you are supporting a terrorist group from the shadows?" the heir could hear Indra's sunglasses breaking under the pressure of his grip. He pushed on, "You sit comfortably on the upper echelon of the Strongest Beings in the World, Śakra. They'll band up together to bring a threat like you down as fast as possible. Or worst-case scenario, join Shiva."
"You idiot…!" Indra growled, the powerful wind howling in the background, "Can't that thick skull of yours not realize the grave you're digging yourself?!"
"I don't care." Danhauser raised his voice back, "Kill me. Protect your terrorist... and face the consequences!"
Just as lightning struck the earth, Indra propelled himself out of his seat, "Very well! Is this the hill you want to die on?! Then so fucking be it!" he made a magic circle beside his ear and roared, "Kill them!"
Danhauser's eyes widened in horror.
.
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They've been engaged.
From the floor, Siegfried could only hear the buzzing sound screeching at his ears.
A powerful wind flung the doors open of Tobio's bar and blasted everyone to the back. Both the Belial Peerage and Vali Team were not strong enough to stay on their feet.
It happened in a matter of seconds, not leaving time to react even those with cat-like reflexes. The only one that seemed to detect the presence of a third party was Bova, but it was too late.
Siegfried was sure that no forecast announced heavy rain accompanied by strong gusts and thunder. It was supposed to be sunny all weekend, but in matter of seconds, they were caught in the middle of a small storm.
This was not natural weather—it was being influenced by someone's presence. If he was in Europe, he would blame Dulio Gesualdo.
But the current culprit is worse than the Strongest Exorcist.
Siegfried shakily pulled himself off the ground until he was on his knees. Through the blur, he tried to glare at their new foe. "Who is this man…?!"
He felt nauseous. He couldn't stand up—an unknown force prohibited him from picking himself up. As if his body instinctively showed signs of submission to this man.
Siegfried wasn't the only one. Ingvild couldn't contain her nausea and started to hurl on the floor. Le Fay was curled up into a ball, her brother acting as a shield for her.
Arthur wasn't doing well either, he was on a knee and using Caliburn to keep himself steady, and bids of sweat could be seen on his forehead.
Not even an imposing figure such as Bova was able to stand his ground.
"T-Touki…!" he could barely hear the Black Cat gasp out, "H-he's using it to enhance his willpower…!"
Kuroka couldn't finish her sentence as she hung her head low. He knew the basics of Touki because of his master, but the variations? He was clueless.
Siegfried heard a sharp cough and looked forward—it was Heracles free of his bindings and squirming. His face was smeared on the ground, also trying to pick himself up.
Connla flanked his side, and by the pool of blood underneath him, it was the last chapter of his story.
"Turn around," their enemy commanded, "Face me. If I must steal your life, I wish to see one last time the spark in your eyes."
The Greek Hero sinned by whiplashing in the direction of his executioner in shock. His heart was pierced by an invisible projectile. He slowly touched the spot where he was pierced and looked at his palm smeared in crimson.
He coughed blood as the life in his grey eyes lost its light.
After confirming his kills, the tall man stopped releasing his Touki.
Siegfried's senses of hearing and sight gradually returned. He looked to his side to see Bova beside him, already on his feet and growling. There was not a single drop of blood on his scales.
Siegfried was also unscathed throughout the ordeal, and the regeneration ability bestowed by Valerie did wonders.
One by one, the whole group started to recover. Jeanne helped Ingvild to get on her feet just as Arthur carried his unconscious sister.
"How does the ground taste?" Bova didn't tear his eyes away from his foe as he used his tail to slide Gram back to its owner.
Siegfried didn't bother to reply, picking himself and his demonic sword off the floor.
Eventually, allies recovered and took stances, facing the unwarranted company.
The mysterious figure was a tall young man who appeared to be in his early twenties. He has a slim build and refreshing looks.
His attention trailed to his choice of weapon. It was a long bow that resembled a beautiful, crafted harp. Its string is so thin that it looked invisible to the naked eye. There were no signs of a quiver hanging on his body, however.
His immense divine energy that dwarfed everyone's demonic power confirmed one thing.
Siegfried's grip over Gram tightened, "… he's a god."
"… Dead," Jeanne whispered in shock, "Heracles and Connla… they...!"
Ingvild gasped and quickly looked away.
"T-That dude…!" Bikou tried to catch his breath, "What is he doing here of all places?!"
"Peace. I am not your enemy," the man assured the whole room with his voice gentle while gently placing Heracles on his shoulder, "my sole objective was to neutralize them."
"Neutralize them? They weren't even dangerous in the first place!" Tobio barked at him, scythe in his grasp, "We had it under control until you showed up! These two could have had the clues about our missing friend, and you silenced them!"
Holding an ominous blade between its teeth, Jin snarled fearlessly at their adversary.
But no fight occurred amongst them as the man secured both corpses and leaped backward from the bar, a flash of lightning and his silhouette disappeared somewhere deeper in the storm.
"… Is he gone?" Jeanne voiced everyone's concern, "Guys?"
Bova took the time to sniff the air, "Yeah. All clear."
Bikou sighed in relief, "Holy shit…" he dramatically brought a hand where his chest is, "This can't be happening often, man. At this pace, Imma go bald like gramps!"
"Now if we could do something about that nasty rain that'd be great…" Tobio steadily lowered his scythe, but never his guard, "Seriously, it's raining dogs and cats out there! It was a good call to leave Sae in Grigori…"
"Y-Yeah," Jeanne stared at the pool of blood left by the heroes descendants. She gulped, "Everything is going downhill pretty fast…"
[Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker!]
"N-Nya?!" Kuroka jumped back when a glow surrounded her leader, "Watch it!"
Eventually, the light dimmed to reveal the Scale Mail.
"Eh?" Slash Dog watched incredulously as the White Dragon walked past him, "And where the hell you think you're going? You'll get soaked out there!"
"After him," His answer came out fearlessly, but also oblivious.
As Vali took off, "DON'T!" his teammate blocked in his path by jumping in front of him, "Cool your jets, man!"
"… Bikou," Vali balled his fists, "Move."
The Youkai made an X with his arms, "Nu-huh! My ass is staying right here!" Bikou declined firmly, "And yours too! Listen, I get it! The only way you can cream your pants is by fighting stronger foes! But he's out of the question! That monster is a hundred times stronger than anyone in this room…!"
Arthur scowled, "A hundred…?"
"… times?" a pale Ingvild swallowed.
"Then that justifies the divine aura he released unconsciously," everyone turned to the frowning Dhampir, "we almost opposed a god. But who?"
"That who is a war veteran," Bikou shivered, "and fought on many battles than any of us combined! That beast is Arjuna, the Son of Indra!"
Valerie's lips fell into a line.
The red eyes of Siegfried grew wide in realization, "Indra?!" the last time they met it didn't go well. "He's the cause of this climate!"
For someone of his caliber to show up after ending up on bad terms…!
Siegfried hurriedly made a magic circle in his ear.
.
.
[Master!]
Danhauser reacquired the ability to breathe properly, "Siegfried! What's your status?! Over?!"
Since when Indra disabled the barriers? He wondered. Or maybe he didn't? Simply allowing the call to pass through.
Whatever. It doesn't matter right now. Just listening to the voice of any of his servants felt like the weight on his shoulders lessened.
[We've been engaged!] his first Knight reported he could hear his girlfriend sigh with relief in the background, [It was the famous hero of old times, Arjuna! Acknowledged?]
Danhauser felt something tight grow in his throat, "Come again? Did you say… Arjuna?"
[Affirmative. He blew past us!] All Danhauser needed as proof is the look of superiority Indra fired at the back of his head, [Permission to pursue?]
It was stupid what his Knight was suggesting. "No. Siegfried, stay inside the bar," a part of him wondered why he would even ask that—reconnaissance perhaps? "And wait for my next orders."
[What?] A different voice joined the conversation—it was Vali, [He killed the descendants of Heracles and Connla, our hostages. Our only passage toward Lavinia's whereabouts! And you tell us to not give chase…?!]
"Vali. You don't have to make this worse than it already is," Danhauser tried to reason with him, "I already gave my word that we'll get Lavinia back—no matter the hardships. Just help me over here, please."
[… At least make the Dhampir use her Longinus. She can bring the dead back.]
"No." Danhauser refused, "They were killed for a reason. Let's not make unnecessary obstacles between Lavinia and us."
[…Tch!] Vali clicked his tongue and stomped away from the exchange, begrudgingly obeying him much to his relief. In Danhauser could hear Tobio trying to comfort the Half-Devil.
It was only Siegfried on the call now. [Be careful, Master. If his son is here, if this rainstorm hasn't stopped yet, then Śakra should be somewhere in Japan.]
"That warning came out just a bit too late," the heir heard the deity comment sardonically.
But Siegfried didn't hear it, "Eyes peeled," Danhauser eventually vanished the magic circle before slowly facing the biggest threat in Japan.
"Ooh. You're glaring at me," despite his grin, Indra was seeing red, "I'm getting goosebumps! You truly didn't believe that I'd finish them off, did you? Oh, Danny-boy! I don't have the heart to harm a hair of your friends' heads!"
"Touch them, harm any of them, and you—!"
"And what exactly do you think you are going to do about it?" Indra slowly stood from his throne, the height difference absurd. He stared down the Devil, "Your threats are as hollow as your head."
Danhauser didn't back away from his glare, "I know exactly what I'll be doing about it."
"... Tch. Cocky brat. You have no idea what you've done," Indra's tone grew colder as he tossed aside his broken sunglasses, "Getting involved in this was a big mistake. You stupid piece of shit! Do you have death wish?! Have you not learned anything useful from these past four years?!"
"Yeah, I did. Not even kings and gods can't get free passes," Danhauser countered. "You can peek into the future, but you still acted at the last minute. There's no excuse for it unless you're not telling the whole story behind your powers."
"Tread lightly," Indra snarled, "You imbecile. Who in the right mind challenges Heaven itself?!"
"I'm a Devil, Śakra. It's in our nature to always oppose Heaven."
"HAHAHA!" A thunder boomed along with Indra's malicious laugh. "Who would have thought I'd share tea with the modern-day Icarus! Moron! Excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence is such a deadly poison, just ask the Original Lucifer! But on second thoughts, keep galloping on your high horse. It will only make your downfall such as sight to behold~"
Danhauser took a deep breath, trying to cool his head off, "I have nothing against you, this is between Cao Cao and me. He made it personal by taking someone precious from me, and he will get his comeuppance because of it. That's all."
"Oh, Danny, Danny, Danny-boy! I didn't know you were the romantic type!" Indra couldn't give less a fuck, "All this drama could've been avoided if you told me from the start! We'd be discussing the terms for my daughter to marry you—she melts like butter for people like you."
Danhauser rolled his eyes.
"I don't doubt you will give a stirring performance rescuing your girlfriend! Enough to make me feel moved. But aren't we forgetting one teensy-weensy, but ever so crucial, tiny detail?" Indra's fake smile fell off immediately, "I own him. My vanguard will kick the bucket in return. What makes you think I'll let this insult slide?"
"I wouldn't see this as an insult," Danhauser retorted, "this is more of a favor than anything else."
The god raised an eyebrow, "A favor."
"That's right. A favor."
Indra looked down his nose at Danhauser, unmoving. A long, quiet moment settled as the storm outside started to weaken, "Is that so," the Emperor of Heaven finally spoke, "I see. I understand how this mess could resemble such."
"Hiding evidence," Danhauser explained, "Cao Cao has too much dirt on you. The fact that three of your subordinates possess High-tier Longinuses and you kept them as a secret from other pantheons won't go overlooked either. Taking them out of the equation will prevent things getting leaked, and you won't run into risks of other factions finding any skeletons inside your closet."
"At the expense of losing True Longinus," Indra reminded him, his anger dimmed into annoyance, "The Strongest Longinus with perhaps its most competent user."
"Perhaps. But it's either losing True Longinus or Svargaloka. The few—"
"—for the many," the God of War finished with a grunt. "… all your foreknowledge will go to the drain from here on. New events you haven't witnessed before may turn out beneficial or disadvantageous to you in the long run. Are you willing to risk all these advantages for her?"
"A small price to pay."
"Hmm," Indra searched in the eyes of Danhauser. He eventually asked, "Which side are you on?"
"… Neither. It doesn't matter to me who comes out as the victor between you two. You and Rudra can destroy each other to your hearts' content," Danhauser bluntly said, "I have a bone to pick with Cao Cao, not you or Rudra. Your past and connections to the Hero Faction mean nothing to me, nor do I care about your goals. I am here because I'm fighting for a future with Lavinia on it."
If it was Shiva protecting the Hero Faction instead, Danhauser saw himself following the same script.
Whether he would survive to tell the story was an enigma.
"Oh? Fighting for an uncertain future? That's a bold claim, Danny-boy," the King of Devas couldn't help but smirk, "Indeed. Your choices will guide you to your 'destiny'. Even if, it's not exactly the future you're hoping for—not anymore."
"Spare me your prophecy talks." Danhauser squared his jaw, "The power to predict the future doesn't matter when everyone has equal power to change it."
"Hmph. I can somehow agree to that sentiment," Indra snapped his fingers, a new pair of shades hiding his eyes, "few people understand that destiny is not written for us, but by us."
"..."
"Let's just hope your walk is as cool as your talk," The Emperor of Heaven smoothed the wrinkles from his Hawaiian shirt, "Congratulations. You must feel proud to finally achieve something in your life. Don't pat yourself on the back yet, however!" he growled, "You are flying too close to the sun. I'm being lenient with you because I'm interested if you would immolate yourself. Listen well, this is my last warning to you. If your actions ever cause another impactful imbalance of sorts, you will rue the day you were born."
"Imbalance…"Danhauser repeated slowly.
"If you mess with the balance of my side, then you better make sure it balances out somehow. Otherwise, you're in a world of pain. So, think carefully of the weight of your actions the next time you're itching to cause another butterfly effect."
"…"
"Many have walked in the same path as you Enlighted One, causing havoc across the world, and they were severely punished by the gods because of it," Indra's glare pierced his very existence, "I am the Indra! The God of War! I have lost many battles Danny-boy, but never wars!"
A flash of lightning forced him to cover his eyes and once he searched the place, Indra disappeared and was gone.
Danhauser felt a wave of relief.
He was alone now. The clouds dispersed to reveal the sunlight passing through the window. Danhauser contemplated in silence, "There's no going back, now," his eyes locked to the untouched tea of Indra, "Not that there ever was."
Oddly enough, Indra didn't dig any further into his knowledge of the future events—either because it was useless information by now or has better things to do.
Throughout the exchange, Indra remained neutral, but mostly at the conclusion of their conversation, allowing Danhauser to bear the responsibility for his actions.
Was Indra amused by all of this? Mad? Curious? Truly, gods are programmed differently.
…
Balance.
Indra pretty much confirmed it. He could care less—or stopped caring—what Danhauser does if it doesn't affect his war in the long run. Taking Cao Cao out of the picture admittedly leaves a huge scar, but it also keeps his image pure in the preying eyes of others.
His family and peerage are safe.
And it will stay that way.
"I need a guru," Danhauser recalled his first conversation with the Emperor of Heaven, "someone to train me for the worst and help me to transcend. But who? And how?"
He heard the doors slide open, her awkward footsteps nearing, "Lord Airavata is gone. What just happened…?"
"Nothing happened, High Priestess," as Danhauser stood up, he dusted off his sleeves. He met her concerned, golden orbs. She had company with her, "We don't have much time. Japan is in danger; you are in danger. A terrorist organization wants to kidnap you to exploit the Leylines in Kyoto. I need your permission to bring the cavalry."
He brought her into a stupor—too much information for her to process in her current state. But as expected of a faction leader, she recovered fast, "How dangerous."
"Dimension Lost. Annihilation Maker. True Longinus. Pick your poison."
Yasaka faced her shrine maiden, "Tell the High Priests of the Moon and Storm to evacuate everyone immediately," the Kitsune ordered as her gaze mellowed, "Tell Lady Magari to keep my daughter safe."
The youkai blinked rapidly, "High Priestess! What about you?!"
"I will stay."
"But—!" the shrine maiden wisely bit her tongue after feeling her glare. She bowed deeply, "R-Right away!"
Yasaka returned to Danhauser with a nod, "You can bring anyone," she granted him her blessing, "And Prince Belial? I thank you for once again supporting the Youkai Faction."
"Thank us when you get back to your daughter," Danhauser materialized Fafnir, "Hello there."
[Huh. Still alive.] the dragon noted.
"Hold back your enthusiasm," Danhauser sarcastically said. "You seem relieved seeing me."
[I expected many things,] Fafnir admitted, [you being alive after a feud with the god that turned Vritra his jumping rope? Not one of them.]
"A bit of faith doesn't hurt, you know?" the heir smiled. "I promised to put you to good use. I'm not scratching you out of the list that fast. He spun the Sacred Gear on his finger like a basketball, "Let's cut to the chase. Something huge is coming after us. Can I count on you?"
[Sure.]
"Great," He sported a bigger smile, "I know a certain someone that could benefit from your services…"
At least, the worst part is over.
Next and last, is the Hero Faction.
.
.
"Release me this instant, Roygun!"
"Never! How long has it been since I held you like this? The last time we spoke face to face? I'm breaking that streak today!"
"Grrrr…!"
Tannin found himself in an embarrassing position. The former Dragon King and Top 4 on the Rating Games in his small form and lifted to the air by Roygun as if he was a baby.
Of all the people amongst the Top Ten that always got on his nerves, Roygun always knew which buttons to press. Malacoda being close second. However, only Roygun was able to make him crack—her laziness equal to Miðgarðsormr.
It was partly his fault that he ended up this way. He walked into the lion's den knowing Roygun was going to be present as well as how affectionate she is to his small form. But he didn't have other options, the shrine everyone decided to meet up is way too small to shelter a dragon around fifteen meters.
If other Dragon Kings heard tales of this episode, for sure he would be the laughingstock of the dragonkin.
The good news? Tannin could easily break from her grasp. By nature, A Dragon has superior physical strength than a Devil. But for an odd reason, he didn't even try to escape from her grip.
Maybe deep inside, he missed the interactions he had with her—as annoying as they were.
Fuck no. "I'm not repeating myself," Tannin snarled.
"Tsk, tsk! Still, with that old stick way up your ass, it seems!"
Tannin bared his fangs and growled.
Roygun sighed, "Fine. Under one condition!" a mischievous smile split her face, "Call me big sis."
"No."
"Tickles it is, then."
"I feel like an ass for spoiling the moment, but…" a third voice intervened, much to her dismay. "We're about to start."
"Ugh. Way to ruin the mood," the pink-haired stuck her tongue to Danhauser before releasing the dragon. "You got lucky."
"Speak for yourself," Tannin grunted. "You were close to getting your face scorched."
Roygun laughed, "I missed you too."
"Tannin. How is Mephisto doing?"
"Fine," the Queen responded, "as we talk, he is still trying to contact Glinda."
Danhauser snorted, "Of course."
"You have quite the group, Prince Belial," Yasaka commented idly, her eyes darting from Tannin to the White Dragon Emperor beside the Canis Lykaon User. "I never expected you'd have people like them as allies."
"The benefits of having a good relationship with Grigori and Grauzauberer," Danhauser responded. "But we can talk about that later. We have important matters to settle."
"Right. This Hero Faction," Yasaka muttered.
"To keep everyone on the same page," Danhauser drawled, "the Hero Faction's main goal is to kidnap the High Priestess to use the Leylines."
"Reasons?" Tobio asked.
"Unknown," Danhauser lied.
"Fools," the Kyuubi hissed out, "do they not understand that they are playing with fire by trying to manipulate the Leylines? A hand slip and the spiritual power flowing through Kyoto will tarnish the lands with drought."
"And most expand to all Japan," Tobio rubbed his neck, "We can stop them, that's what I would say. But Dimension Lost, remember?"
"Exactly. Who worries me the most is Georg," Danhauser tapped the picture of the former Magician lying on the table, "He's too critical of the Hero Faction transportation and logistics. His Balance Breaker is a checkmate to us."
"What it does do?" Yasaka asked.
"He pretty much copies a decent chunk of this world and pastes it on his pseudo-space," Tobio explained, "but also traps his victims within that barrier, and Georg likely chooses who goes in and out."
"His house, his rules," Roygun pursed her lips, "We could have an army guarding the High Priestess, but the mist will simply sneak past them and take her."
"Or drop the army to the Dimensional Gap," Danhauser added.
"And how many domes he can make?"
"Only one," Danhauser ogled the book lent by Azazel, "From what I saw on Dimension Lost user's track records, no one has mastered it to the point of producing multiple dimensions. If he wants to transport more people inside an existing dimension, it's going to be hard."
"I can confirm," Tannin spoke up, "back then he didn't even unlock his Balance Breaker."
From what Danhauser understood, while Dimension Lost is in the process of creating a new world, the user has the authority to handpick who goes inside despite the prey's protest. Once his utopia is finished, Georg must fight hard to bring people from the outside world inside.
"Why not just finish it all in one strike? Use your Belial Form on them," Roygun suggested with a shrug, "It should be powerful enough to put the Hero Faction in their place. And most importantly, it saves us from all this hassle."
Vali perked up.
Danhauser shook his head with a chuckle, "You of all people should know that's not a good idea."
"And why it isn't?" Yasaka inquired, "Your True Form is the ultimate counter to anything related to magic, correct?"
The heir looked at the Daiyoukai incredulously, "You really want to know?"
"Scare me."
Danhauser had to smile at her challenging gaze fired in his direction. "Fine, I'll give you the spooks. Not to toot my own horn but yes, I can easily vanish the armies of Annihilation Maker and destroy the barrier of Dimension Lost if I ever get sucked inside Georg's barrier."
"Here comes a big nasty but," Tobio murmured.
"But once I'm done with Dimension Lost, I'll be back to the real world in an instant, back to Japan in my Belial Form," Danhauser found it cute how her fox ears turned back. "My Clan Trait, Worthlessness, is greedy as hell. Kyoto and most of Japan won't make it out unscathed..."
"It could be enough time to revert back to your normal form," Tannin retorted.
"Want to take the risks?" Danhauser challenged. "Remember what's on the line here."
"Don't," Yasaka massaged both sides of her head, "I understand. It was silly of me to ever consider it."
"How does Dimension Lost's Balance Breaker look like from the outside?" Vali asked.
"Weren't you paying any attention to Gov's babbling?" Tobio karate chopped his head softly, "From the outside looks like nothing. Nada. There's just no external appearance. It just seems as if people just vanished."
"To an outside observer, it's just as if everything is normal then," Tannin blew smoke from his nose, "doesn't make sense, but that's how Balance Breakers operate. They must live up to their names."
"Kinda does if you look deeper. Dimension Create does not have an appearance from the outside, as they are a layer imposition upon the world," Slash Dog shrugged, "that's what Gov theorized anyway."
Roygun curved an eyebrow, "As if, a different or new layer of reality from the one we're in?"
"Pretty much."
"Very well then," all eyes darted to the Daiyoukai, "after listening to everyone's thoughts on the subject, it appears that our only option is to let the Mist User trap me inside his artificial world."
"… You're willing to become the bait?" Danhauser asked carefully.
"It's our only window," Yasaka sighed, "once I'm inside, leave the rest to me."
He clashed stares with her, "I'll be honest with you, High Priestess. That's a really stupid plan."
"I agree," She never backed out from his gaze, "It's not a perfect plan, but it's a plan. If you have anything we can work with then I'm all ears."
"Not at all."
"I'm glad we came to an agreement then," the blonde gave a bow to everyone, "then if you excuse me, I'll start with the preparations."
"Hang on, High Priestess—we're not over yet," the heir halted her, "We need to find a way to counter your weakness."
The blonde woman scowled at him, "My weakness?"
"Your daughter."
Yasaka felt a tight knot across her throat, "… She is being guarded by the High Priest of the Moon and Lady Magari."
"They're strong, but that's not enough," Danhauser shook his head. "Let's make a scenario in our heads. We have the lead in our fight against the Hero Faction but suddenly they have your daughter at gunpoint. What will you do?"
He knew he struck her core when she became silent.
"In the end, a mother's love for her child transcends everything," Danhauser didn't need to hear her answer, "If they find your daughter, then it's all over."
"…"
"Well, it can't be helped," Roygun stepped up with a sigh, "I'll babysit the girl."
Tannin blinked at her, "You."
"Me," Roygun snorted amusedly as the Dragon King deadpanned at her, "Staring at me won't give you the powers to see through my clothes, Tannin~!"
Unfazed by her clever comment, Tanning spoke, "You are the last person to strike me as a caregiver."
"Excuse you?" Roygun thumbed herself with a grin, "I've been changing Dan and Cleria's diapers for years now. A well-behaved girl like her shouldn't pose any great effort."
Slash Dog elbowed Danhauser, "What do you think, boss?"
"I can vouch for her," the gray-haired gave his two cents, "She can barely take care of herself, but in the face of adversity she's generally calm and level-headed."
Roygun rolled her eyes with a chuckle, "My wingman…"
Yasaka pursed her lips as she mulled over it. Eventually, the single mom bowed deeply, "You have my gratitude."
Roygun winked at the shrine maiden, "Good choice, dear. I'll be on my way."
"I'll inform Lady Magari to come over so she can take you there," Yasaka told the pink-haired, "I believe they will appreciate all the support they can get."
"So will I," Roygun shrugged, "less chore for me."
"Think you can escort Ingvild away from here?" Danhauser suddenly requested, "She's not ready."
Plus, he wanted to keep her away from Cao Cao.
"What?" Vali narrowed his eyes, "The Descendant of Leviathan has a good amount of demonic power, but doesn't know how to wield it? Disappointing."
"Leviathan?" Yasaka repeated incredulously, eyes trailing to Danhauser in sudden realization, "that girl with purple hair… is she a descendant of a Satan?"
"We can talk about that later, High Priestess," Danhauser inwardly cursed Vali before settling on the snitch, "She's been in a coma for years. Barely any grasp of combat."
"Then let her fight here," Vali pressed, "let her accumulate knowledge through conflict and evolve."
"You got a good point, but this is too much for a newbie," the heir stood his ground, "I rather let her learn the ropes without putting her life on the line yet. Roygun?"
"My babysitting services come with additional price per person, you know?"
"Please?"
"Oh, dear. The things we do for love..." Roygun feigned a melancholic sigh, "You own me dinner."
"You better not lose," Tannin warned the pink-haired. "Prove me all your strength didn't come from that King Piece, Roygun."
The Belphegor laughed mirthfully, "Is this how dragons show concern for someone they care for? That's cute. Don't worry, I'll live."
She left the inner circle to reach for the exit.
"If things go south, I won't hold it against you if you use your Clan Trait," Danhauser watched her reach for the exit, "I guess it was a matter of time for the Worldbreaker to hit the stage once again, huh?"
"... I guess it is, hmm?"
"If there's nothing else to add, then I'd love to prepare for the imminent fight," Yasaka insisted, "I need to gather enough energy for my plan to come to fruition. Any aces on our sleeves?"
"Vali Team and Tannin," Danhauser felt the intense stare of the silver-haired, "I'll get into that later."
As both women retreated, the heir resumed the meeting, "Last but not least," his lips pursed, "Lavinia."
…
It just hit him. People that formed a bond with the Magician only remained. "We didn't make it in time," the heir lamented, "chances are that Lavinia is an enemy now."
"Georg must have used a spell to brainwash her," Tannin commented, "Your Clan Trait should be enough to fix her."
"It should," Danhauser agreed, "But naturally, they may have come up with a workaround."
"Lavinia won't be on the frontlines, but act as a toothache on the backlines," Tobio muttered.
"Lavinia is also a hostage," Vali reminded them, "they can hurt her."
"They won't lay a finger on her right off the bat," the heir reiterated, mostly to himself, "they played that trick on me while I was on Grauzauberer. She already achieved Balance Breaker on a Longinus. They just won't..."
Heracles and Connla are gone. Cao Cao can perfectly replace them with Lavinia.
He held tightly onto that thought.
Vali curved an eyebrow, "You truly think they won't? You're not this delusional."
"I'm not scratching that idea off the list," Danhauser retorted, "after how much they sacrificed, I just don't believe they'll straight up put a blade on her neck."
Only a small number of humans can make the very gods bleed—Lavinia's amongst them. Such a waste of talent if they extracted her Longinus and implanted it on an average Joe or Jane.
And Cao Cao should be aware of the consequences of taking her life.
"Only when their backs are on the wall," Tobio rubbed his chin, "My thoughts? Let's give them the illusion that they have the high ground until we pinpoint Lavinia's location and escort her safely to our side."
Danhauser nodded. "Good idea."
"It can work," Tannin spoke up, "for a while. They'll grow frustrated if they're not making any progress and take extreme and undesirable measures."
Danhauser pursed his lips, "We'll have to improvise throughout the fight."
"And her Balance Breaker? Any counters for it?" Tannin questioned, "My fire can melt her ice attacks, Bova should as well. But her Balance Breaker… it's something else. A world of ice it's too much for myself and my son."
"This is where you strike," Danhauser patted Vali's back, "no pulling punches. You understand what I'm trying to say, right?"
The White Dragon studied the grey orbs of Danhauser. He folded his arms, "I get it."
"Great. Anybody else?" Danhauser waited for anyone to raise their hand or speak up, "Then we can go out and get ready. Good luck everyone."
"Hold on!" Tobio suddenly brought his hand up, "What about the True Longinus User?"
Danhauser's jaw squared, "Forget about him," he ordered, "focus on Lavinia. I'll handle them."
"Boss, you're a Devil—remember? You on your own against someone wielding the strongest holy weapon won't end well!"
"… I told you that I'll handle them, Tobio. Right now, I gave you an order—obey it!" Danhauser lashed out, "The fucker who caused this damn ball of wax is mine alone, Tobio. Mine alone!"
.
.
"Go on pussy, say it! Take the L!"
"No."
"Hahaha! Man, I knew the stuck-up bitch I teamed up is hiding somewhere on that pile of shit!" Freed jabbed a finger into Siegfried's chest. "Shame all your badass factor went straight down to the drain, tho!"
The swordsman smacked his finger away, "Huh-uh."
"Then again, it was always me who got all the bitches whenever we finished our missions. No one cared about your virgin ass."
"Are we done?" Siegfried demanded, arms folded, "I'd like to get prepared for what's about to come."
"Sure, sure," Freed casually cleared his ear with his pinky, "All you gotta do is spit the facts and you're free to go."
"Annoying little shit…"
"There you guys are!" Both silver-haired turned to see Jeanne and Valerie approach, the former saint holding Chibi Bova close to her chest like a stuffed toy.
"Apologies for disturbing your lovely reunion," Valerie added.
"Lovely?" Siegfried scoffed, "Nothing 'lovely' seeing his face unbruised."
"Or seeing you without a bullet hole on your forehead!" Freed barked back.
"Maybe the opportunity will arise once we fight this Hero Faction? Hmm?" Valerie wondered.
"Anyway!" Jeanne quickly changed the topic, "What were you guys talking about?"
Freed felt his bulb light up and grinned, "Now that's an idea!" he darted beside Siegfried, slightly shorter than him. "Who's the hottest hunk in these clothes?!"
"Drop it already…!" Siegfried dragged a hand across his face.
Since Danhauser deepened their alliance with Grigori, they were gifted a set of clothes uniform for each peerage member without counting Bova, Tobio—who wore something advanced—and Danhauser. From Tobio's explanation, they were unique uniforms of the Nephilim Institution meant to act as battle attire.
Even the girls on the team got one! And honestly? She digs hers. It looked better than her battle costume back when she worked for the Vatican.
If her past self noticed the upside-down cross on the uniform, she'd throw a fuss.
But right now? She could care less about such details.
"Hmm," Jeanne observed both twins thoroughly. Both kept their old priest's coats. "It's a tie! You two are identical!"
Valerie shrugged, "I concur. It's torturous to spot any difference when you two are carved from the same stone."
"Equally shit," Bova chimed in.
"Fuck no!" Freed shoved Siegfried away, "We are nothing alike! Liegfried here lacks my impressive charisma… and impressive cock."
"Big gun. Big sword. Big ego," Siegfried counted them off, "It seems to me that you are compensating for something you lack."
Freed cackled and aimed his rifle at Siegfried's groin, "You are a trigger away to turn into a eunuch, buddy."
"Try it. You're the only man to miss from this short distance."
"It's cool to see you two back together!" Jeanne beamed, either oblivious of their animosity or believing it was all a bluff. "Through my travels back when I was part of the church, most gossips were about the feats of your little group in the Orthodox Church!"
"Meh," Freed dismissed Star Blaster, "I guess. We rarely went on missions together, tho. Higher-ups always used Shitfried as an emissary for solo tasks involving high-tier creatures or other spooky stuff."
"Yup! I heard about that too! Dulio also did lone wolf missions on several occasions! I bet Vasco did so as well during his youth!" Jeanne pointed out. "Now only Lint needs to show up to form the Biblical Trio!"
Freed's face wrinkled, "Yikes! Fuck no. I can barely resist the urge to put holes in Cucklord over here and you wanna bring her into the mix? She's a weirdo."
Siegfried watched Freed, incredulously, "Careful who you're throwing stones when you live in a glass house, idiot."
"C'mon. We both know she's cringefest material."
"Better than being terminally ill in the head."
"Alright, ya done it. Imma—!"
"—shoot you in the nuts," Siegfried rolled his eyes, "you said that before. Tell me something I don't know already."
"When you die, your stomach will digest itself," Valerie answered casually.
Jeanne paled. "W-What?" she looked at the other blonde in fear and morbid curiosity, "for real?!"
"Yes."
"That's fucked up!" The Frenchwoman exclaimed, "W-Where do you get all this information from?!"
"We're back," they spotted the remaining group departing from the tearoom.
"Welcome back!" Valerie greeted them, moving toward them.
Jeanne watched the Dhampir retreat, "Hey! Don't ghost me!"
"Drop it," Siegfried advised her. "I think it's for the best if you don't know."
Jeanne shuddered.
Valerie stopped in front of her boyfriend, "Something went wrong?"
Danhauser curved an eyebrow, "Why?"
"Few people left earlier. Although I can understand why the High Priestess had to retreat promptly, Roygun and Ingvild?" Valerie tilted her head, "Where did they go?"
"She's taking Ingvild away from harm," Slash Dog replied for the heir, "She'll also bodyguard the High Priestess' daughter."
"I see…"
"If there's nothing else important to say, I'll take my leave," Vali began creating his Clan symbol under his feet, "I'll keep my team updated."
"Hold on your horses," Danhauser stopped the Half-Devil, "Arthur can freely travel to the Dimensional Gap with his holy sword, right?"
"How did you—!"
Tobio grinned, "You're not as secretive as you think you are."
Vali glared and folded his arms, "What about it?"
"I'd like it if they helped but not on the frontlines, but as supports," Danhauser said, "Georg could send any of us to Dimension Lost. We need a way to get back."
"I see. I'll share this with them. Farewell."
"Don't take too long," Tobio said as Vali teleported away. He moved his attention to Freed, "Right. Gov only sent you then. It will only be the two of us, huh…"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"I expected Nanadaru to lend us a hand," Tobio spoke mostly to himself, unfazed by Freed's sailor tongue, "If it's only you, then it means that your Sacred Gear is brimming with immense potential."
"We'll find out soon enough," Tannin said, "everyone should get into positions."
"Leave the fighting to me," Bova told his father, breaking away from Jeanne's hold, "go lie down. You are too old for real labor."
"And you're too dumb for anything else," Tannin snapped back.
The child flashed his teeth, "Heh! You're still too quick for me, old man."
"I enjoy picking up on children," the Dragon Meteor smiled for a split second there, "Be prepared. We cannot make so many mistakes."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
"But before all that," Danhauser drawled, "Got something for you, Jeanne."
Jeanne looked left and right before pointing to herself, "Moi?"
"Oui, oui," Danhauser flickered her forehead, "I still remember how much you keep gushing about Sairaorg's armor after the match," he summoned the golden dagger and lent it to her, "And I thought, 'why not get her something similar?'"
The Rook gasped, "No way…!" she carefully grabbed the Artificial Sacred Gear, watching her shocked face reflected on the purple jewel, "No fucking way…!"
The jewel then started to release a gentle glow. [You must be Jane,] the creature inside the Sacred Gear noted. [Hi. I'm Fafnir—your new partner.]
Jeanne's jaw slacked open.
"No… It can't be. Maybe my ears are fooling me," Tannin sniffed the air, "but my sense of smell never fails me. It is really you, Gigantis Dragon."
[Hmm?] Fafnir paused briefly, [Oh, hi Tannin.]
"… Hundreds, maybe a thousand years. And that's all you have to say to a fellow Dragon King? Hmph. Heh!" Tannin smirked, "You haven't changed a bit."
[I have.]
"Master…" Siegfried watched cautiously the tool in Jeanne's grasp, "How…? When?"
"Azazel."
"Ah," Siegfried nodded, not tearing his eyes away from the jewel, "Understandable."
Tobio snapped his fingers in realization, "So that's the project he's been heavily invested with!" he laughed a little, "Hah. Gov somehow finds free time to pick up strays from the streets."
"Thank you!" A yellow blur crashed on Danhauser's chest, drawing out the air inside his lungs. "Thank you so much! I still don't know what it will look like, but I bet it'll look sick!"
Danhauser chuckled, ruffling her hair. "Later share your experience with it, alright?"
Not separating from the hug, Jeanne looked up at him with a big smile, "You bet! Let's kick some ass, boss!"
.
.
Deep breaths.
In and out.
Eyes shut, Yasaka meditated outside her residence—as close as she could be to nature.
Despite knowing full well she's targeted by terrorists, she demanded for privacy. Any negative thoughts that invaded her mind were ushered away to accelerate her triumph card.
The last thing Yasaka needed was to lose concentration and her magnum opus to crumble in a matter of seconds.
She felt that time was against her. The first thing she'd done was to draw the energy from the Leylines.
From Kyoto.
Perhaps a scolding was imminent in the future for conjuring the energies of a city to assist her.
Or maybe they will let it slide because of the circumstances.
But it didn't matter to her which was the outcome. As the High Priestess, Yasaka will do anything in her power to prevent Kyoto from falling into evil hands.
The Daiyoukai missed a heartbeat once she felt the change in the atmosphere. The warmness of mother nature was replaced by a cheap copy.
She carefully opened one of her eyes to scan her surroundings.
A purple world. An imitation. Exactly how they described the Balance Breaker of Dimension Lost.
[High Priestess,] an unfamiliar voice greeted. Her fox ears twitched, [We finally meet. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.]
"Is this how we shall proceed with this dull conversation?" the Vanguard of Amaterasu asked pointedly, "Me talking to nothing but the wind? At least show some decency by facing me properly, terrorist."
[Forgive me, High Priestess, but we shall dialogue this way,] the Vanguard of Indra declined, [We lowered our guard once and paid severely the consequences. We learned from our mistake.]
Yasaka narrowed her eyes, "... Anyone who must boast, 'I have learned', has not learned anything. I have nothing else to say to you."
[It is true what they say about you, High Priestess,] Cao Cao chuckled, [Your hospitality leaves so much to be desired.]
"…"
[… But I admire your straightforwardness,] the human complimented, [Very well. I shall respect your decision. But remember, you have sealed your fate, High Priestess.]
"And you yours. 'Hero.'" Her twelve tails rose behind her as she chanted, "Kitsune no Yomeiri!"
The purple landscape around Yasaka was repainted into a new one—encroaching on the surrounding area and turning it into a projection of her inner world.
Georg's pseudo-space full of purple mist remained, but only half of it now.
The other half was repainted by Yasaka's spell. Purple was replaced by nighttime. A beautiful yet eerie event. A parade of paper lanterns from a wedding procession were floating through the deep quiet of the night.
Georg's barrier. Yasaka's barrier. They entered a state of two worlds in conflict.
[… Impressive,] Cao Cao breathed out, [You were able to deploy your barrier despite the high output of Dimension Lost… albeit it seems lacking. Your domain hasn't replaced the one made by Dimension Lost.]
[I can barely see it, but I can feel it,] Another voice joined, Georg muttered astonishingly, [can you as well, High Priestess? You and me… we are right now engaged in what would seem a domain struggle, fighting to expand to enemy lines, where the most refined artificial space will reign supreme. Hah… this is different to Lavinia's Balance Breaker… where she simply freezes everything over regardless of its will.]
The Mist User wasn't wrong—Yasaka could feel it. Her inner world is contesting against Dimension Lost for more territory.
But her barrier was in an incomplete state—inferior to Georg's purple mist.
She was fighting a losing battle.
[To be able to create an artificial space is extremely rare—not many gods can make one. Only Hindu Gods can master it.]
Yasaka grounded her teeth and made a hand signature. Dozens of glowing magic circles started to appear across her territory that summoned reinforcements.
"High Priestess," she heard a familiar voice greet her—Prince Belial. "Impressive stuff."
"Despite my age, I still know a few tricks to make your generation behave like a sitting duck," Yasaka felt a smug smile tug her lips that quickly vanished at the sight of constructs made of darkness rising from the ground within Georg's purple world. "Is that…"
"Annihilation Maker," she heard the man with the scent of an Inugami speak—Tobio if she remembered correctly. He had his scythe out already. "Boss. Orders?"
"Keep your ground."
Yasaka nodded in agreement, "You are safe in my territory, but if you wander to his domain… you will likely fall into his trap."
[We meet once again.] Danhauser could hear Cao Cao grinding his teeth, [This is no mere coincidence anymore, but fate intertwened our paths, Belial. Once again, you stand in my way.]
"Still hiding?" Danhauser barked back, "Can't even show your face even in your last moments? Live like a coward, die like a coward."
[I have nothing to say to a pile of dust,] Cao Cao growled, [… Attack!]
The army of Annihilation Maker roared to the heavens before charging ahead.
Danhauser looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Get tactical, everyone!"
Siegfried pulled his only sword—Gram.
Bova bent his legs and was ready to fly away.
Tobio swung his scythe to the ground to make a circle around him before dropping to his knees.
And chanted,
"Behowlest the slaying of one thousand mortals!"
"Bobo!" Jeanne cried out and leaped on his back right in time. She patted twice his back. "Rookies duo let's go! You ready?!"
"Besingest the slaying of ten thousand goblins!"
Bova looked behind him to meet her gaze, "Got a plan?"
"Listen up!" Jeanne adjusted herself on his long neck, summoning Joan of Arc's banner, "We fly up, beat up any inhuman son of a bitch that gets in our way, and-and chew some bubble gum! How's that sound?!"
Bova smirked at her, "Heh! Hold tight! I'm not rescuing your ass if you fall over!"
The dragon bent his huge legs before taking off to the skies.
"O ye, perishest by mine own black blade," Tobio drawled, a pair of canines growing on his mouth.
"Fools ye art, deformed Creator Gods..."
.
.
"It has begun."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. The main group teleported away," he explained, "Only the Dragon King stayed behind."
"Good. Then we move to the next phase," his father said through their mental link, "Lure the Elephant God to your direction. Do not let him intervene in their conflict. Use any means necessary to prevent Durga from abducting Cao Cao. Understood?"
"Father. Will it work?"
"I only spoke the truth during my meeting with the other gods, Arjuna," Indra said, "Rudra's family is nothing short of dysfunctional."
Arjuna readied his bow after hearing noises coming from the alleyway. A silhouette of a beast with a row of fangs reflected on the wall.
Arjuna took a stance, "They're here."
"Remember. Only stall him."
The shadow shrunk until the culprit stood in front of the god. It was a mouse as big as a raccoon with glowing eyes blocking his path.
If the gaze wasn't enough evidence of its true nature, the divine energy It exuded was the giveaway.
As the animal started to groom its fur. Arjuna took a deep breath. "Lord Mushika. A pleasure." he greeted the vehicle, "Although unfortunate we must meet under these circumstances. I apologize for this chain of events. This wouldn't happen if my father understood that the curse of vast knowledge is often indecision."
The rat ignored him.
But Arjuna has what he needed to capture his attention, "I am aware that your master lost something of great value to him."
The rodent paused his actions to glance at the thin god.
The Son of Indra materialized above his palm a large tusk, "If he so desires, he is welcome to try and take it back."
Mushika took a few whiffs in the air before its cheeks started to grow—like a squirrel's mouth stuffed with food.
Eventually, a massive peach-colored arm, dwarfing the likes of Arjuna, shoots out from the mouse's mouth like a frog's tongue.
Arjuna quickly dismissed the tusk to his pocket dimension but got grabbed by the pink hand—large enough to fit a whole body in their grip.
Arjuna didn't fight back, letting the arm retract back inside the body of the mouse, pulling him along the trip.
Mushika closed its mouth and licked its whiskers, its body structure back to normal.
Then like the Ouroboros symbol, Mushika started swallowing its tail, followed by his whole body before disappearing from the world.
.
.
They heeded their warnings and played defensively, not putting even a toe on Georg's territory. The monsters were mindless creatures rushing to enemy lines to get a drop of blood from their enemies.
Tobio in his werewolf form dashed and sliced foes left and right with his scythe and Jin stood by his side.
Siegfried kept the brunet company, hacking the monsters of Annihilation Maker that stood in his path. He easily dodged the huge fist of a minotaur and stabbed him before cutting it in half.
Valerie stayed put on the sidelines. Her shadows slithered like snakes under the feet of the enemies before impaling them with her dark powers—the Tepe's execution methods stuck to her.
Bova handled the skies, shooting fire from afar and charring dozens. To challenge a dragon in the air was a fool's errand.
The girl that sat on him also cooperated—anything that Bova somehow missed, Jeanne easily took care of it by either shooting a holy sword between their eyes or even throwing her banner at them.
Sometimes, stray monsters made it far from their territory, but they were turned to crisps by one of the High Priestess' paper lanterns roaming around her barrier.
Not like these creatures were smart, to begin with. Despite the obvious difference in terms of strength, they still dared to oppose the Belial Peerage. Their immense numbers weren't enough to tilt the battle in their favor either.
Oddly enough, Danhauser gave Valerie and Yasaka company.
"Body count?!" the swordsman heard the demonic voice of Tobio as he continued striking enemies with absurd speed.
"46!" Siegfried moved aside to avoid the blow of a minotaur and decapitated it. Siegfried couldn't help but smirk, "47."
"46? 47?!" Tobio laughed, "That's some good warmup! Come on Sieg! I wanna see some movement!"
Siegfried grunted as Tobio charged onwards and almost followed from behind until he saw how the grass of the High Priestess' dimension was getting devoured by the purple mist.
"Hey, that's a good idea!" From the skies, Siegfried could feel Jeanne's smirk aimed at Bova, "wanna play with me, Bobo?"
"Way ahead of you!" Bova roared back as he slammed a gargoyle back to the ground.
"What, gonna take the burn just like that?! Not even slicing his ear or a damn finger?!" Siegfried felt his eyebrow twitch, "Damn, you changed!"
He looked back in time to see a powerful beam disintegrating anything that stood in its path—leaving no traces whatsoever.
It all came from the smoking rifle of Freed—his absurd Sacred Gear.
"You actually became a lil bitch!" Freed clicked his tongue and summoned a sword. He threw it at Siegfried, "Catch!"
He caught the longsword by the handle and took minutes to study the weapon. He had to squint his eye at the light that it emitted, it's like it was holding a star with an aurora circling the blade.
"You're giving me your weapon," Siegfried swung the blade, seeing how the wind distorted. "Star Crusher…"
"Yeah, no shit! You're the better at butchering between us aren't ya?!" Freed saw something sneaking behind Siegfried, "Now teach that damn bag of fleas a thing or two!"
Siegfried narrowed his eyes suspiciously just as Freed shot the monster that almost decapitated him, "Why are you giving me your sword?"
"Isn't it obvious?! No one talks shit to you under my watch!" Freed cried out as he sniped enemies from afar, "No one! I'm the only one that can take his pants off and shit on your existence! Got it!?"
.
.
Cao Cao watched the fight unfold from a safer area.
A lieutenant leading a platoon would drop to their knees in defeat after witnessing his division getting mauled by enemy weaponry.
But Cao Cao refused to fall into despair, for he understands the responsibilities he bears. Descendant of a famous bloodline. Holder of the Strongest Longinus. The will of humankind clung to his shoulders since his birth. His victories are victories for humanity. A loss is a loss to humankind.
Cao Cao accepted these burdens after discarding his birth name for his ancestor.
"Aside from Freed, they are all demonic creatures." Cao Cao analyzed, "Even the High Priestess falls inside that category. Leonardo?"
The boy nodded.
"Good," Cao Cao tapped his Longinus on his shoulder, "you can stop holding back now. Release the Anti-Monsters."
"What about Lavinia?"
The Spearman glanced at his newest recruit waiting in the background, her witch hat lowered enough to shadow her eyes. "She will offer support with her Longinus. Georg, you will work with her."
"We can stop this if we use her right this moment," Georg persuaded, "Belial cares for her—just look at the lengths he took to rescue her! If we threaten to hurt her, he will surrender!"
"You tried to pull his heartstrings and failed to get favorable results. Do you believe he will oblige this time?"
"This was supposed to be a search and capture mission! Not a full-blown war!"
"Was. Fate had something else in mind for us," Cao Cao countered, "Even Śakra who rides the currents of time, cannot cut the strings of fate."
"Time is against us…!"
"So is against them," the Spearman said back, "our opponents revealed most of their cards at the start of the fight. Your Longinus is dispatching the High Priestess barrier. Once you retain full control of your dimension, this fight will be over."
"…"
"And besides…" Cao Cao drawled, "They are our stepping stones. The main goal of the Hero Faction is to silence the Dragon of Dreams. If we cannot mitigate a minuscule problem such as them, then are we prepared to challenge the Great Red?"
"And Belial?"
"If he intervenes, then I shall respond in kind."
.
.
Danhauser worried about the current condition of the Daiyoukai. She had beads of sweat shaping her forehead, and her face was all scrunched up.
"W-we must hurry," Yasaka breathed out, "I'm not sure how long I can keep my barrier active. No matter how much I can last I-I can't reclaim the territory I lost, only stall him."
She wasn't lying. Slowly but surely, her dimension submitted as the mist continued to expand.
It's only a matter of time before Georg regained full control of the artificial world and sends them away to the real world or worse, the Dimensional Gap.
Valerie furrowed her brows, "Time is slowly going against us."
Danhauser watched his chess pieces and Freed fighting on the battlefield. Each of their strikes dealt a killing blow whether to the monsters, but Tobio was able to not only slice off Leonardo's creations but the mists as well. Sometimes, the brunet even caught multiple portals simultaneously with the blade of his scythe. And whenever a monster tried to intervene, Slash Dog easily took care of it with his Longinus.
Tobio's work brought results. Despite being hailed as a Longinus whose forte was transportation and great defense, Dimension Lost didn't hold a candle against the ominous blade of Canis Lykaon.
But it wasn't enough.
Portals and monsters kept popping off from different spots as replacements, regardless of his peerage's efforts.
"If Georg isn't taken care of, then it's useless. Same for Leonardo," Danhauser clicked his tongue.
"Boss!" He heard Tobio shouting from far away, "Look!"
Clouds of mist bloomed behind the mobs of Annihilation Maker and started firing sharp, ice pillars in their direction. Both Knights blocked them, but it slowly became harder to keep up with the numerous icicles. They blocked the damage, but the shockwaves caused by the blocked projectiles broke their stances sometimes.
Danhauser felt a tight knot in his stomach. "Lavinia."
"Shit!" Tobio cursed as he blocked and dodged everything Lavinia threw at them. Jin opted on submerging in the shadow of his master, "They got a machine gun there!"
[It's not good here either!] Danhauser heard Jeanne cry out through the comms.
Both Rooks were getting intercepted from the surface by the same frozen spears. As if they were enemy aircraft and were getting nullified by anti-aircraft weaponry. They tried to counter with Jeanne swinging her banner. Bova helped, releasing his meteor-like breath to melt anything that grew closer.
They were even reaching their way. Danhauser had to summon a wall of Pitch Resin reinforced with Touki to stop Lavinia's strikes from impaling them.
[Don't worry. I can handle it,] a familiar voice echoed in his head, [It shouldn't be hard.]
Danhauser looked up to Bova and Jeanne, "Fafnir?"
[Watch.] With his enhanced vision, Danhauser could see the two Rooks struggling. [Ready, Jean?]
"Hmm?" He watched as the blonde pulled this gift and brought it to eye level, "You sure?"
[Yeah.]
"…Okay!" Jeanne patted Bova's back. "Don't do anything stupid without me, 'kay?"
The blonde ignored Bova's grumble, took a deep breath, and took a leap of faith.
While falling, Jeanne maneuvered around the projectiles and Bova supported her by melting those that were further away.
She summoned her wings to slow her descent. "Let's go! Balance Breaker!"
The blonde was consumed by a golden glow that eventually dispersed into particles to reveal a golden dragon armor with purple gems.
An artificial Scale Mail.
Given the universe he reincarnated, Danhauser expected to see Jeanne wearing the exact golden armor Asia wore when she triggered her Balance Breaker.
To his surprise, her new outfit wasn't as exposed as he thought it'd be—all her skin suited in gold to absurd as much damage as it could.
Hell, it looked just like the one Azazel wore before fighting Katerea Leviathan, but by a shorter person.
Jeanne landed by smashing both fists into the ground and projected a golden broad, forward-facing energy shield. Once the ice projectiles crashed onto her shield, they broke away instantly, and only some of them remained impaled.
Tobio stopped to admire her Balance Breaker, "As always, good stuff from you Gov!"
"Now we're talking!" Jeanne glanced down at her gauntlets with glee, "This armor is so cool!"
[Heads up.] Fafnir warned her, [We got more trouble.]
Her excitement was cut short as she spotted new monsters surfacing from the ground—their appearance vastly different from what Leonardo crafted before. They were humanoid looking with a pair of white wings and a powerful, holy aura exuding from their bodies.
"They resemble the… the Seraph from before," Valerie studied them, "Angels."
Danhauser clenched his fist, "No… Anti-Monsters."
The Heir saw as the squad of Angels crafted twin blades of pure light and jumped into the fray.
One of them dashed to the dumbfounded Jeanne.
"Watch out!"
"Shit!"Tobio's warning snapped Jeanne out of her trance as she avoided the strike and stabbed the Angel with her war flag.
Unfortunately, another Angel was behind her with a halfway-done strike.
Jeanne dodged the killing blow, but not fast enough to avoid the damage.
"Motherfucker!" Jeanne cried as the blade left a fresh wound on her back. "They got me!"
But despite being cut by a blade of light, despite being exposed to the holy aura glowing from the monster… it didn't poison the reincarnated devil.
The wound Jeanne carried a few seconds ago instantly vanished.
Support showed up as Tobio hacked in half Jeanne's assailant with his scythe.
"Right," Tobio recalled, watching as her armor also getting fixed by Fafnir's aura, "That's the Holy Grail for you."
"I own her," Jeanne rolled her healed shoulder. "Two number 9s."
She shook her head and on her empty hand, summoned the golden dagger she used to activate her Balance Breaker—but as the size of a lance.
She rushed forward to meet the remaining 'angels' in close quarters. Using the advantage of her large weapon, she thrust it before they could even reach her. She took aim with her battle standard and threw it like a javelin to her next foe—the weapon easily piercing its neck before killing it.
Peerage members who got wounded someway as well were healed by the powers of Valerie, minus Bova who simply avoided a clash against them by melting them with his meteor-like breath or took the hit like a champ.
"What is even a number 9?"
Danhauser raised an eyebrow at Valerie, "You never saw what Jeanne shoves into her mouth during her break at the bar?"
"... that thing?" Valerie's face wrinkled, "Ugh. I'll pass. How her stomach can withstand all that poisoning is beyond me. If she really insists to repay my assistance... she can donate a bit of blood."
Danhauser hummed, "I heard that vampires find the blood of virgins tastier."
Valerie grinned sardonically, "Which is why I love drinking your blood."
Danhauser glared at her, but had a smile, "I walked into that one, didn't I?"
"You made it too easy for me."
Danhauser chuckled, "Good stuff by the way," he observed as the Anti-Monsters getting destroyed by the efforts of his Peerage and Freed. He winked at his girlfriend, "Your Holy Grail came out handy after all."
"The offer is still on the table."
"We both know the answer to that," Danhauser brought a finger to his ear, "Ready for your grand entrance?"
[Do it.]
"Is it wise to summon him this soon?" Valerie questioned, "We are still capable of holding our ground without his assistance for a bit more."
"I want him to instill fear and despair," Danhauser looked over the meditating Daiyoukai, "At your call, High Priestess."
From the gate darted a huge figure with enough speed to pierce the barrier of sound.
Both dark worlds were suddenly engulfed by a sudden, new source of light. Everyone could hear the roaring of flames coming from the distance and approaching at a ridiculous speed.
Valerie squinted her eyes and brought an arm to shield her eyes. "What is that?!"
Danhauser felt a smirk work on his face, "A meteor."
The meteorite crashed on the enemy lines in a glorious explosion, eradicating anything in its radius. The surface shook by the impact, leaving noticeable cracks across Georg's dimension.
The annihilation monsters were annihilated. The blast seared the air and earth in a way that left it devoid of life.
Inside the thick curtain of dust, everyone could spot the gigantic silhouette moving around, his eyes glowing menacingly. The heat radiating from his scales was intense, even at a distance. The air between him shimmered like the waves rising from the desert in the heat of deep summer.
The beast growled and flapped his wings once to instantly disperse the cloud of smoke, revealing the intimidating appearance of the Queen Piece.
"I am the Blaze Meteor Dragon Tannin!" the Dragon King boasted, "Georg Faust! This place shall be your grave!"
"We have the lead," the heir watched Dimension Lost focusing on fixing the cracks around its barrier. "Freed."
The silver-haired looked over his shoulder to glare at the Devil, "the fuck you want?"
"Tannin did huge collateral damage to Georg's Balance Breaker," Danhauser nodded to the fissures on the ceiling, "think you can top that?"
"Top it? Bitch, you just watch!" Freed faced his foes with churning excitement "Hey, hey, hey! Dick suckers! Knock fucking knock!" Freed began to use the full potential of his Sacred Gear, shooting bursts of gunfire at the cracks that Dimension Lost desperately tried to fix.
Somehow, Freed succeeded in putting a hole through the dimension, revealing the clouds of the outside world. But it was quickly sealed shut.
"The sky. We're still on earth, Japan. Maybe," Danhauser nodded at the Daiyoukai, "Ready up another summon, High Priestess."
Finally, with room to breathe, Yasaka took a deep breath, eyes shut.
.
.
Cao Cao's composure started to show cracks.
It was obvious that the Devils were going to put some challenge at the beginning of the fight, especially with Cao Cao willingly keeping most of his devices under his sleeve.
He also expected the opposing force to keep their tricks hidden as well.
Tannin was amongst them. He pictured the Dragon King eventually joining the fight. He had to admit that he didn't expect a grand entrance coming from the Queen Piece, however.
His crash was powerful enough to leave several scars across Georg's territory.
And Freed... the traitor simply worsened these wounds.
Don't get him started with the Golden Monarch Dragon.
However, what shocked the Longinus User the most was still seeing his enemy shrugging off their natural weakness.
"…In what world do Devils possess light immunity?!" his grip over True Longinus tightened as his gaze remained glued on the raging fight, "... If Devils get exposed to the element of light, then their chances of surviving should be low! And you're telling me they can still stand on their feet?! And that regeneration…!"
How? How did the Belial Peerage manage to spit on the laws of mother nature and exploit them in their favor? That's what Cao Cao wanted to know.
"T-Tannin…!" He heard the Mist User stutter and unconsciously backpaddle a bit. His whole body was covered in cold sweat, "H-He's here!"
"Not for so long," Cao Cao glared at Lavinia, "the ridiculous lengths Belial is taking for you. He thinks I will send you to the battlefield. That's what he wants, doesn't it?"
"…"
"He thinks he can fool me; he has another thing coming," Cao Cao focused back to the battlefield, "Use your Balance Breaker."
"But Cao Cao! The High Priestess is still there!"
"I'm aware," Cao Cao clicked his tongue, "Her alone is the whole reason I'm not chanting Truth Idea. We will unfreeze her and use the same spell Lavinia Reni has on her."
Georg calmed down a bit, "…. U-Understood. I will summon mists then!"
"Do so," Cao Cao tapped his spear on his shoulder, "And Georg? Start scouting Kyoto. Find me the daughter of the High Priestess. Maybe she will be more cooperative, unlike her mother."
Georg adjusted one last time his glasses before vanishing.
Cao Cao nodded at his newest recruit, "Proceed."
The sapphire eyes of Lavinia glowed into a shade of ice blue—her breath released coldness.
And then she chanted, "Balance Breaker."
.
.
The temperature drop was heralded by his breath becoming visible.
"Brrrr!" Freed hugged himself, seeking warmth. "Who the fuck is playing with the thermostat?! My ballsack is freezing over here!"
Danhauser looked toward the purple world in time to see a snowstorm rushing at them.
The winter it approached them, froze everything in its way—even the Leonardo's monsters weren't spared by the sheer cold.
"Lavinia's Balance Breaker!" Tobio exclaimed.
Danhauser never tore his eyes away from the approaching winter, "Ready when you are High Priestess!" he shouted, before whispering, "Your turn, Vali."
Like the portal Tannin used to enter Yasaka's territory, a gigantic White Dragon joined from their side with a roar.
Jeanne looked up as the Heavenly Dragon passed above her, "He isn't holding back, isn't he?!" she exclaimed in awe, "Vasco told me about this form, but I never thought I'd see this form in person. Is that…"
"Yeah," Tobio leaned his scythe on his shoulder, "Juggernaut Drive."
His landing wasn't as destructive as the Dragon King, but enough to make the ground quake. He gave another roar to the approaching avalanche and outstretched his wings.
[Half-Dimension!]
The "feathers" made of energy released waves toward the direction of Lavinia's Balance Breaker, powerful enough to weaken her ice-based ultimate each second.
Not only was the ice affected, but Georg's whole purple world submitted as ice and mist slowly began getting compressed by the powers of Divine Dividing until nothing remained.
Only Yasaka's dimension survived the ordeal.
Jeanne slowly lowered her weapons, followed by dismantling her armor. "Did we win?"
"We won the fight," Valerie replied seeing how Jeanne was about to cheer, she quickly added, "Not the war."
Danhauser nodded in agreement, "High Priestess?"
Yasaka clapped once and her barrier disappeared as well, her inner world slowly breaking apart. They had to squint their eyes as the light shined upon them.
They blinked rapidly and saw they were back on earth—Japan.
The shrine where Danhauser had the honor to share tea with the God of War.
Tannin sniffed the air and his expression darkened, "You...!" he growled under his breath and faced everybody, "Proceed without me! I will join you as soon as I finish!"
"Wait, what's wrong?!" Danhauser tried to stop him, but the Dragon King took off with a woosh, knocking almost everyone with a gust of wind. "Shit! Bova!"
"Right!" Immediately the Rook chased after his father.
"Now what?" Freed asked, leaning his rifle on his shoulder.
"... My daughter..." Yasaka's ears twitched, "everyone, get close! We'll teleport there!"
.
.
"It's everywhere!"
Georg heard Magari cry out, as she used the special technique of the Nekomata—Kasha—to incinerate all the mists blooming inside the building.
Unfortunately for her, Dimension Lost was a Longinus known for its sheer defense.
While he didn't pay too much attention to the Sage Arts, he knew the basics to work around it. Senjutsu wasn't meant to cause immense destruction to inanimate objects but harm the souls and spirits of living beings.
Naturally, she was at a huge disadvantage here. She could only slow down the approaching fog by launching her purification fireballs.
Her only hope was to take a leap of faith by rushing into one of his and hope that any of them could lead her to his destination.
But Georg of course wouldn't allow that. While most of his mists have different routes, only one of them led to his location.
That one was saved to retrieve the daughter of the High Priestess.
Even if the Nekomata guessed the right fog, he could quickly change the coordinates to make her end up in another prefecture of Japan instead. Or to another country.
Or to the Dimensional Gap.
After firing her last fireball, Magari summoned another "wheel" that rotated around her waist and continued her salvo on his Longinus.
"Give up," Georg ordered, watching Magari darting her glare to the mist—trying to guess where his voice comes from, "Your efforts are futile. If the powers of gods are useless against my Sacred Gear... then Daiyoukais are nothing."
Magari growled, her seven tails wagging summoned her nth wheel of white fireballs, and resumed her attacks.
Georg could only scoff. "So, be it," he produced a swirling mist above her, "My intention wasn't to hurt you get alone kill you... it'd get the Hero Faction in deeper trouble... but we already dived into the rabbit hole a while ago."
"That's enough," Georg and the Nekomata blinked simultaneously and looked over the third voice.
"... High Priest?" Magari watched as Nurarihyon stood beside her. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of Kunou sleeping in his arms, "What are you...?"
"Terrorist," Nurarihyon offered the unconscious Kunou, "you are here for the daughter of the High Priestess, isn't it? Take her and leave."
...
Georg narrowed his eyes, "... You think I'm a fool?" he asked.
"... Heh," The Daiyoukai failed to contain his smirk, his eyes glowed purple, "I thought all humans were dumb," He threw Kunou into the air and she multiplied.
"Youjutsu!" The multiple clones of Kunou ran aimlessly around the shrine. Georg tried to see any imperfection within them, a hint that he could exploit in his favor.
But There was not a single flaw in Nurarihyon's illusions. All looked and behaved the same.
The small group changed their routes and rushed straight into the mists, teleporting to who knows where.
"Shit!" Georg gritted his teeth. He didn't know what to do. One of them could be the real thing and maybe tried to use his mists to escape under his nose.
Georg acted quickly before it was too late, he replaced the coordinates of all his portals to his—a secluded area far away from civilization.
The doubles began to drop one by one and Georg quickly locked them inside a barrier with his Longinus.
Once the last one landed, the small army of Kunous started to look everywhere and, eventually, exploded with a puff of smoke.
They were all counterfeits.
Behind the curtain of clouds, Georg spotted a silhouette standing up. There was a faint sound coming from that direction as well.
The Mist User squinted his eyes as he tried to see through the cloud, "Is that…" he cleaned his ear to enhance his hearing, "… snoring?"
The clouds finally dispersed to reveal a drop-dead gorgeous woman with pink hair and a pair of horns. She wore a red sequined strapless dress that revealed a lot of cleavage with a low back. Her eyes were covered by a sleep mask.
On her feet, the Pure Devil remained asleep, and her poor pose just ruined her beauty.
Georg gawked, jaw dropped, "T-This is surely a joke... just another illusion!"
"Ahh…" his foe shifted her sleep mask over her forehead. She rubbed one of her groggy eyes, "Hmm?"
"... It isn't," Georg narrowed his eyes. "… Roygun Belphegor."
"Oh. You're those kids playing superheroes that Danhauser keeps complaining about. Good morning~" Roygun brought a thumb to the corner of her lips to wipe out the drool. "That means you are friends with Alcides, yes?"
"Alcides?"
"Or was it Heracles?" Roygun scratched her cheek, concentrating. "there was also someone there too. Sétanta? Err… I forgot. Oh, well…"
Georg continued staring incredulously at the woman stretching casually. His face finally crumbled by snickering dangerously. "Since we recruited Lavinia, everything started going downhill! Somehow, just somehow…!" he dragged a distressed hand across his face, "Our foes are five steps ahead of us! Reading our very moves and successfully counterattacking everything we use against them!"
"Starting to regret your career choices? I've been there." Roygun watched the mist slowly slithering in her way, creating a spherical space around her. "Oh, my, my! Maybe I lowered my guard a bit too much…"
Georg glared at his caged prey, "You seem to forget the situation you—" He watched as Roygun sat leg-crossed on the floor, "W-What are you doing?!"
"Ah forgive me," Roygun gave a sheepish smile as she reached for her shoe wear, "I'm tired of standing so long, these heels have been killing me!"
"Then why you were sleeping on your feet?!"
Roygun ignored his question as she took off the last one. She sighed in relief, "Better," she looked up at Georg and smirked mischievously. "Hey... is it true that there are people that enjoy seeing feet a bit too much? Are you perhaps one of them~?"
She raised her leg up and pointed her feet in his direction, teasingly curling her toes.
He ignored her display, "You think this is a joke, don't you? You are a step away from your impending doom, Roygun."
"Oh my! Where did that boost of confidence come from?" Roygun lowered her feet, "you think you can keep me here, sweetheart?"
"… I know about your past," Georg revealed, "the King Piece and your Clan Trait "Crack" made you into an intimidating figure—but that's all in the past now."
Roygun released a yawn as she got on her feet, "Is that so?" she drawled as her hands were circled by a strange pink orb, "Okay then."
The Devil then punched in Georg's direction, creating cracks in the air itself in the process. The pink bubble around her fist exploded and caused a shockwave that passed through and damaged her prison, tearing it apart.
A horrified Georg quickly made layers of defensive magic circles and mist to create the ultimate shield. Half of his protection shattered like glass, and the shockwave caused by her attack shoved him backward.
The Magician managed to prevent falling on his rear- He looked up to see Roygun diving at him with her fist cocked back and quickly used his mist to teleport out of the way and reappeared at a safe distance.
Her fist smashed into his former spot and again the pink bubble detonated, resulting in a devastating earthquake. And this time, he lost his balance, followed by the shockwave further creating more distance between them.
Given his defenseless position, Georg went all in with his Longinus and magic—trying his damn best to teleport the pink-haired to a different area.
But Roygun wasn't having any of that. Both hands were surrounded by pink orbs as she cocked her right fist and smashed her left one on the floor, once again producing another tremor in the area and continuing to hit the ground back and forth.
Georg tried trapping her inside his mist, but the tears caused by the Belphegor shattered his purple fog-like glass.
He always thought the King Piece was what made her Clan Trait an unstoppable force.
Today, he realized how wrong he was.
In truth, that's the destructive power of the Belphegor family.
"No! Wrong again!" A horrified Georg summoned layers of mist in front of him shielding him from her shockwaves, whenever his barriers were broken, he quickly replaced them with fresh ones. He watched as her strikes caused damage and alterations to the surrounding landscape, "This is not the power of the Belphegor Clan! It's something much worse! Something that none of her Clan has!"
Magic circles surrounded the pink-haired, but they were instantly destroyed by her Clan Trait. Mists circled her like a serpent but submitted to the strength of the Pure Devil.
"This is the absurd power of a Mutated Clan Trait! Her own power!"
Seconds ago, she was nothing but lazy and nonchalant even though she walked into a lion's den.
But now? She shredded her lax nature for a more ruthless and aggressive personality, repeatedly targeting him.
Is that why Heracles kept his guard low around her? By underestimating her?
Georg still had to guess whether it was a façade or genuine laziness.
"I am Roygun fucking Belphegor!" the Devil boasted, pounding her fists to the ground, and causing more tremors, "The Devil who Shakes the World!"
He stuck to his plan, doing his best to get a lucky shot or at best, drain her out.
Georg noted that as she continued, her hair started to glow and the power behind her swings grew. Roygun began creating large crevices in the ground and pushing up fragments of the earth into new rock formations. The earth threatened to split.
"The more she uses her Clan Trait, the stronger she grows!" He saw the glow of her hair intensify, adopting a fire-like effect. "The earthquakes are also growing in terms of strength, the more she uses her Clan Trait, the stronger it gets!"
If she continued fighting, the powers of her earthquake could reach levels that even countries will move.
Roygun put more force on her latest strike into the ground and opened it. Georg naturally teleported out of the way before the earth could swallow him, but that alone made the Devil launch herself at him and directly punch all the obstacles of mist and magic circles blocking her way, causing severe damage as the shockwaves directly passed through his defenses, damaging him.
As Georg was catapulted away, he felt the vibrations travel across his body, his glasses shattering in the process. His mist caught his broken body before it crashed into the floor.
He coughed blood as his hand made a small summing circle to invoke a Phoenix Tear. He could barely move three of his four limbs, the pain made itself known all over his body.
But thanks to that exchange, he discovered something.
He's still alive, struggling to breathe but enough to send oxygen to the brain. His Longinus most likely absorbed most of the impact. However, it could also be because of another factor.
Her strike wasn't as strong as the previous ones. It was weaker.
Was she holding back? Georg wondered. A quick look at her status gave him the piece that he needed to complete the puzzle.
Her arms—they were heavily bruised.
Blood dripped from her knuckles.
She was breathing heavily.
She was covered in sweat.
He drank the healing potion, and all his wounds began to patch up. "Despite her Clan Trait growing over time, her demonic energy consumption increases as well," Georg shakily stood up, the shock still lingering on his body, "S-so it was true what they say… Mutated Clan Traits are double-edged swords."
Roygun made the first move and Georg answered by absorbing most of her Clan Trait with his Longinus, noticing how this time she barely managed to destroy less than half of his barriers.
"I stand correct," Georg sneaked tendrils of mist behind the already exhausted Pure Devil, "All that mass of destruction comes with an equal price."
As the mist behind Roygun opened a gate to the Dimensional Gap, Georg teleported to safety. Dimension Lost began to violently suck everything in its way—including Roygun.
Her demonic reserves were low for a teleportation circle and stuck to unfold her wings to escape instead.
But despite furiously flapping her bat wings, the Longinus slowly dragged her to the endless void.
She avoided everything that could crash into her midair except for the log that collided with her and shoved her to the Dimension Gap for good this time.
Floating on the Dimension Gap she could hopelessly watch as her only passage out disappeared right before her eyes.
Being exposed to nothingness started to take a toll on her, the lack of oxygen began to blur her eyesight. The remaining demonic power she had slowly faded.
"Over here!" she heard someone shouting in the distance, "Found one!"
"Hurry! Before the nothingness of the Gap kills her!"
"On it!"
Something approached her at a ridiculous speed and stopped a hair away from hitting her face.
It was a staff. "What are you waiting for?! Grab it!"
Roygun held on tightly as it pulled her inside the golden barrier. Somehow, her senses were brought back. She could breathe normally.
"Phew!" the Youkai wiped the drops of sweat across his forehead with his arm, "That was close!"
"Lady Roygun!" a blonde girl dropped to her knees beside her. She wore a witch costume—Le Fay was her name if Roygun remembered correctly, "Are you okay?"
She flashed a tired smile, "Now I am thanks to you, dear."
Le Fay returned the smile and quickly started searching for any wounds on the Devil, "Your arms... what happened?"
Roygun didn't dare to look at her bruises as she let out a frustrated sigh, "I ran out of gas. Is there a way to fix my wounds?"
Le Fay nodded with confidence, "Leave it to us!" she looked over her shoulder, "With your Senjutsu, the healing process should be faster!"
Roygun saw as a black-haired woman hesitated to move a muscle before dropping to her knees beside her. She seemed hesitant but eventually started to coat her hands with Senjutsu.
While Le Fay worked on the right arm, Roygun kept her attention on the infamous Nekoshou.
Of course, Kuroka could feel her green eyes, "You can take a picture if you want—it lasts longer nya."
"Doesn't beat the real thing," Roygun winked, studying the raven-haired beauty from head to toe. "He likes to live dangerously, doesn't he?"
Roygun didn't expect Kuroka to reply, so she looked the other way, reminiscing about her brief fight against the Magician and her smile fell. She released a long sigh. If she could, she would facepalm hard, "That's not how a Champion fights, Roygun."
"Idiot."
"Idiot."
"Idiot."
"Man, why are we support?" Bikou folded his arms, watching as the girls worked on the pink-haired woman, "We should be there with Vali showing off and kicking some ass."
"We have orders, Bikou," the bespectacled man chastised him, "We must patrol the Dimensional Gap in case the same instance repeats itself."
Bikou rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah…"
.
.
Bova did his best to keep up with his father but lacked the speed of the Meteor Dragon. He's a Rook, Tannin a Queen.
The flaws within the Queen Piece were none.
Before Tannin disappeared from afar, Bova saw him finally lowering his speed and landing on the ground.
Bova cut the distance, settling just behind the towering figure of his father.
His father shot him a sideway glance before settling back to the unknown figure floating a few meters away from them.
A beautiful woman in her late twenties or early thirties stood before them, wearing white magician clothes that looked like what Lavinia wears.
Bova never met humans before, only he started seeing them after joining Danhauser's peerage and venturing outside the Underworld.
But somehow... she seemed oddly familiar.
It weirded him out, this is the first time he caught her scent or seen her face.
"Witch," His father shattered the silence with a growl, "You finally decide to show up?"
"Witch?" The woman repeated with a hint of amusement, "Harsh. I have a name, you know? And you know it perfectly, Tannin."
The Dragon Meteor glared, "Where were you? For years Mephisto did all he could do in his power to track down your footsteps. Your ward never gave up on you, clinging hard to nostalgia. Seeing how the clues led us to nowhere I left you for dead, Glinda."
"Then you were the smartest of the three," Glinda shook her head, "as much as I'd love to sit and talk, I'm running out of time, Tannin. I'm here to..." she trailed off once her gaze drifted over the younger dragon. Her eyes widened with recognition, "Bova?"
Bova narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Yeah."
"It's really you! You've grown so much!" the blonde gushed out, glancing between Tannin and him multiple times. She smirked, "Hmph! The apple didn't fall far from the tree it seems."
"I don't know you."
"Of course, you don't," Glinda gave a sad smile, "You hadn't hatched yet when we met. I had the opportunity to hold you while you were only an egg. You were this big!"
"..." Bova watched Glinda outstretch her arms wide.
"At least your father could have shared bits about me," Glinda lowered her arms with a sigh, "I could've been your godmother you know? You can also blame your father for that. He isn't open to religious practices."
Nothing else to add, the witch snapped her fingers and a crystal ball appeared on her palm, "Tannin... Lavinia made any friends?"
"Yeah, she has," Tannin replied.
"Are they trustworthy?"
"They are."
"And what are your thoughts, Bova?" Glinda could sense his confusion and elaborated, "I can sense demonic energy flowing from you. You are part of his peerage, aren't you?"
"So what?"
"That means you have a better perspective of your new master," Glinda elaborated, "Will she be in danger if she sticks with Belial?"
"Yeah," Bova replied, "but that's good for her. Being at the brink of death once in a while will make her stronger."
"Her sleeping with an eye open for the rest of her life isn't the future I want her to be," the witch expressed her thoughts, "she may be targeted constantly by others—figures worse than the likes of the Hero Faction."
"Being born with a Longinus doesn't turn her into a target anyway?"
Glinda chuckled, "You got me there. I appreciate your input on this, Bova," Glinda returned her gaze to the crystal ball, staring back at her reflection, "What are the chances to fix Lavinia Reni?"
Both dragons watched as the interior of the ball started to fill up with smoke before reflecting a number.
[100%]
A look of fondness emerged on her face, "That's my girl," then the subtle change in her facial expression to that of a grim determination, "Now... what are the chances to finish off Georg Faust?"
The ball repeated the same process.
[100%]
"Hah... You should have known better Georg, what goes around, comes around," the Witch of the South muttered, "I could end you here... but this isn't my revenge, but someone else's. I'll trust her judgment."
"Very well, freeing my daughter shall suffice!" She launched the sphere into the sky, which left a streak of blue fire. "Telos Karma!"
She clapped once as the Longinus exploded like fireworks.
.
.
"You're back," Cao Cao and Leonardo noted the Mist User joining them. His jaw squared at what he saw, "Empty-handed. Explain."
"Another of their schemes," Georg noted halfway how damaged his glasses were as he adjusted them on his nose, and instead tossed them away, "It is true what they say; Youkais are cunning tricksters."
The leader massaged the bridge of his nose. Even with the strongest Longinuses by his side, the Hero Faction was unable to kill or at least fatally wound the opposition.
But even if they landed a perfect hit, it won't matter. Their enemies somehow managed to become immune to all their weaknesses and to top it off, be able to heal their wounds like they were biologically part of the Phenex family.
How did they end up like this? Was his urge to replace the empty spots of Siegfried and Jeanne by recruiting Absolute Demise his worst judgment call? Did that move cause the domino effect?
If they didn't touch Lavinia, capturing the High Priestess and opening the Dragon Gate would work as intended.
"... No," Cao Cao glared at nothing, "... Belial, he knows more than he lets on."
"Cao Cao, we can still retreat," Georg tried to encourage the fellow Longinus User to swallow his pride, "there's not much we can do in the state we are in right now. If we keep fighting, they will eventually have us cornered to a wall!"
A sharp cough caught their attention.
They saw Lavinia fall on all four as she coughed and gasped for air.
Realization struck them once they saw her clenching her hands.
Cao Cao's eyes widened in horror. "Georg!"
"My spell! It broke—!"
But it was too late to react, Cao Cao heard flesh getting pierced as drops of blood stained his face.
Luckily, the blood wasn't his.
A shocked Georg was stabbed from behind by a large blade of ice, the tip poking a bit from his stomach.
Cao Cao saw the owner of the weapon and noted that it wasn't a sword, but a thin leg.
Property of his previous opponent.
The low temperature heralded its return.
The Ice Doll was back.
And although the Longinus was unable to express emotions with their face—Cao Cao could tell it was pissed.
"C-Cao..." Georg breathed out, blood dripping from his chin, "Help...!"
The princess did a pirouette with Gerog still stuck in its leg before hurling him in Cao Cao's direction.
Recovering from his stupor, Cao Cao caught Georg and barely tripped over. He quickly shoved his wounded ally aside to block the axe kick of the Longinus with the center of his holy spear.
"Déjà vu!" Cao Cao gritted his teeth as he tried to push the doll away but to no avail. "Leonardo!" He called for assistance but once he saw no reaction from his ally, he looked over his shoulder to search for him.
He easily spotted Leonardo frozen as a statue. He was the first victim of the Absolute Demise.
"Damn it!" Cao Cao cursed before chanting, "Balance Breaker!"
Despite the spear glowing golden light, the doll didn't back off and instead added pressure on its foe.
Seven orbs circled Cao Cao, "Hatthiratana!"
The Hatthiratana orb poked the doll and lifted it with ease, shoving it away from its master.
Once they were at a safe distance from each other, Cao Cao watched the doll land on its feet gracefully and offer a curtsy at him.
Cao Cao scoffed, "I don't know who is more insufferable," he used his thumb to wipe Georg's bloodstains from his cheek, "It's a tie between you and Belial."
He took a stance, his spear glowing threateningly, "One last dance!"
.
.
"... It's done," Glinda sighed.
"What did you do?" Tannin asked.
"I did what I could tilt slightly the scales in your favor," she answered, "now I must take my leave."
"Hold it," Tannin took a step forward, "Glinda. Are you still our ally?"
Glinda shrugged, "I may be your ally. Or perhaps your foe. Or I might even be your lover, Tannin."
"Glinda..."
"My alignment does not play any role behind my visit," Glinda assured them, "I returned to save her. I swear on it."
"I don't doubt that," Tannin said. "But leaving Earth for many years and coming back so suddenly... you can't be the same person we met at the beginning."
"Will you believe me if I say I was simply planning a surprise visit?"
"No."
"Then I have no obligation to answer," Glinda shook her head, "All you need to know is that I've never changed, never had."
"... Are you being targeted by figures worse than the Hero Faction?"
The witch simply smiled at them, "Everything will be fine." She summoned a portal and walked closer to it, but stopped, "One last thing," she looked at them from her shoulder, "tell Lavinia to stop looking for me. When the time comes, I'll find her myself."
"When?"
"Sooner than you imagine," The blonde offered one last smile, "Farewell, friend. Bova... it was a pleasure to meet you. Even though I never had the chance to see you hatch and grow... I can tell you became stronger."
"... I haven't reached my ceiling yet," Bova replied. "I can't call myself strong until I reached the Heavenly Dragons, but I can't call myself weak either after the many fights I've triumphed."
Glinda chuckled, "With room for improvement of course," she added, "Take care and listen to your father, okay?"
She finally stepped inside the portal and disappeared along with her spell.
"... this is the start of something else," Tannin tore his glare from Glinda's spot. "Let's leave. I must speak with Mephisto Pheles."
Bova said nothing, taking off with the Dragon King.
.
.
With the Gahapatiratana orb, Cao Cao kept summoning his terracotta-like soldiers as meat shields and teleported safe distances by using Assaratana.
His destination is beside the frozen Leonardo. He used the same orb to send the Longinus User away from the area.
"Now Georg," Cao Cao looked over his shoulder to see the unconscious magician lying under a pool of his blood.
Cao Cao quickly teleported to his side, "Recover from your wounds," he ordered not tearing his gaze away from the approaching ice princess whilst he pulled his Phoenix Tear, "and come back with Leonardo."
Unfortunately, before Cao Cao could open the vial, it broke into pieces.
He watched wide-eyed the small puddle of his potion absorbed by the ground.
"... No, you won't," Cao Cao heard the familiar voice of Lavinia. He saw her on the backline with a magic circle in front of her finger gun. There was also another magic circle under her feet.
She just recovered from her coughing fit but still struggled to breathe properly.
"You!" Cao Cao felt a chill and realized the Ice Princess had already cut the distance between them. He dodged the first kick and deflected the second one with his spear. Once he heard a shot, he tilted his head slightly to dodge a hole in his head. Too fast to avoid death, too slow to avoid a wound on his cheek.
He jumped back and landed on one of his orbs, Hatthiratana, before floating away. He watched as his foe touched Georg with its finger, freezing his body completely.
"At least it will stop the bleeding," He didn't make it far as the orb suddenly dropped like an anchor.
"What?!" He ogled the orb that refused to obey his commands, lying on the floor as if it ran out of battery.
"One down, six to go," he glared at her. Seeing how she lowered her arms and the magic circles around her palms disappeared.
Georg was right about her.
"A pity you chose the wrong side of history!" Cao Cao used Assaratana to appear behind Lavinia. He surrounded her with clay soldiers, they followed his movements and lunged at her with their spears.
But the magic circle under Lavinia released a shockwave that not only printed a magic circle on their bodies but swapped her spot for Absolute Demise, freezing anything that invaded its personal space.
His soldiers became ice statues. The frost started from the tip of his holy spear and expanded to his wrist. He immediately pulled back but unfortunately; his frozen hand shattered once Absolute Demise nailed a perfect kick.
From his perspective, time seemed to slow down. He watched in horror as pieces of his hand spread across the area like broken glass.
Cao Cao was filled with mixed emotions. Anger. Pain. Confusion.
Not even a Phoenix Tear could fix this injury.
Cao Cao let out a cry of fury and suffering, the last remains of his composure all thrown into the window now. He summoned his Longinus on his remaining hand, pointing it directly at the magician, "After her!"
One of the orbs dashed straight at the blonde.
Lavinia tried to malfunction the ball, but the orb was unaffected by her magic. "That's the one that stops abilities!"
As Lavinia readied a teleportation circle to dodge, her Longinus acted quicker. It blocked the orb's path by catching the small orb between its fingers and froze it completely.
The perplexed magician watched her Sacred Gear drop the frozen ball, "But how...?" she shook her head and focused, "For another time! Thank you, Angel!"
She scanned her surroundings but couldn't track Cao Cao.
She couldn't detect his presence anymore. The two orbs that Absolute Demise and Lavinia disabled were gone as well.
He escaped.
"For now!" Lavinia shut her eyes to concentrate. She decoded his coordinates before transferring them to him. "I'll leave the rest to you!"
As much as Lavinia wanted to help on the hunt, she couldn't do so.
Lavinia's eyes opened, turning her glare to the frozen man, "... I must put an end to this chapter first."
.
.
The first thing Cao Cao did after retreating was making sure the area was safe and quickly disabled his Balance Breaker, making sure the orbs he left behind disappeared as well.
"Lavinia Reni could locate my coordinates through my Longinus," he spared a look at the spot where his hand is supposed to be, "... Damn them. This is salvageable with a prosthetic. I teleported Leonardo here, I must find him, and then..."
Cao Cao stopped speaking once he finally spotted the small magic circle on his chest. He snarled, "That witch!"
Something glowed behind him.
But before he could turn around, he heard a snap of fingers.
A grey pulse passed through him like a breeze. A second passed and he coughed once, twice, then numerous times. He dropped his spear to clench tightly his chest, feeling his lungs malfunctioning.
He fell on his knees as he tried to breathe but to no avail. He wasn't the only one suffering as birds who were passing by also fell and twitched on the ground, affected by the area of effect attack.
As he tried to fight off the breakdown of his lungs, Cao Cao heard footsteps. The immense demonic energy nearing his way gave him goosebumps.
He looked up in time to see him.
It was the Devil. Danhauser Belial towering over him. One of his hands was surrounded by Worthlessness and Senjutsu.
Cao Cao could see hell in the eyes of the Devil as he growled. "What did you do to my magician?!"
As the effect of the Clan Trait wore off, he took a sharp gasp of relief as oxygen circulated in his blood again. He could only take a few, steady breaths before Danhauser snapped his fingers—casting again Worthlessness.
The pain he escaped from came back quickly. He clutched his throat as his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.
"What's wrong?" Danhauser sneered, "Weren't you the real deal? I bet you thought that your holy spear could carry your miserable life, huh?" he continued watching the human fight for air. "That because you were born with the Strongest Longinus, you'd be invincible?"
Cao Cao once again breathed, but Danhauser snapped his fingers just as quickly and released the shockwave of Worthlessness.
"But look at you," he seethed, "You are under my feet. Writhing like a worm on a hook—my hook. Thanks to my Clan Trait, you can't even grab your Sacred Gear—let alone trigger Balance Breaker. Your instincts are too busy trying to put oxygen in your brain—to keep you alive."
Danhauser began to move closer to his kneeling prey, "In the Supernatural World, power is only as good as the person who is wielding it."
Through his tears, Cao Cao could see his end approaching, "If you... if you kill me...!" he warned between ragged breaths and wheezes, "he... he will find out...!"
The Devil stopped. Cao Cao thought he had him, until Danhauser spoke, "... That's alright," he gave a casual shrug, "he already knows."
Cao Cao's heart missed a beat, "Wait, what—!"
He never finished his sentence as Danhauser grabbed Cao Cao by the neck and slammed him hard on the tree behind him, he almost blacked out from the sharp pain growing on the back of his head.
"Oh, no, you can't. You can't die on me yet," Danhauser gave him a rough slap on the chin, forcing him to meet his grey eyes, "Focus right here. Right here. Everything you've done to her—I want you to feel it tenfold."
Cao Cao didn't move an inch, nor averted his eyes away. He strained a chuckle, "... This is what fate has chosen. And... and now that I see the odds, I know I cannot oppose you," he spat blood to the grass, "but now this, you... you and Lavinia Reni are nothing but living disappointments. I will die on my feet but you? You will forever live on your knees, serving that "great" king of yours."
"For now," Danhauser vowed.
"The clattering of your chains is louder than your voice..." Cao Cao breathed out, "To everything, there is a season! You can finish me Belial, but you will never have my humanity! A season for everything! A time to weep, and a time to laugh! A time to heal, and a time... TO KILL!"
A hand was planted over Cao Cao's face, just about ready to crush his skull. As the blurriness cleared from his gaze, Cao Cao found the grey ones of the Devil through the gap of his fingers.
The same hand that pinned him was suddenly coated by blue flames—Senjutsu.
The flames did nothing to his skin, but he could feel the intrusion on his very soul.
As Cao Cao could feel something being drained away from his body, he heard the Devil speak one last time.
"Send Shalba my regards, you son of a bitch!"
.
.
Georg woke up with a gasp, followed by coughing blood. He tried to study his surroundings, but his blurred sight made it hard to see things clearly.
Eventually, his vision began to work properly—as much as it could without his glasses. The first thing he saw was a pair of slender legs.
He swallowed and slowly looked up.
Above him stood his former schoolmate, Lavinia Reni.
And behind her—shadowing both humans—was the Absolute Demise.
Their bodies leaked out a tremendous cold aura.
Lavinia's face was obscured but Georg could see through the darkness, her gaze manifesting a light-blue glow.
Despite her exhausted state, she managed to stay on her feet with nothing but bitterness and regret at her own failings.
"Please, no," Georg whimpered, "Oh please, no..."
Surprisingly, Lavinia healed the wound caused by the Ice Doll by sealing it shut with ice.
But despite that, he already lost so much blood. Georg doubted he could remain conscious for a couple of minutes.
"I've been waiting for this moment," Lavinia spoke up slowly, "to finally have you for myself."
Georg spotted a trail of tears falling from both blue eyes. They were not out of sadness, but frustration and anger.
This was it.
"N-No, please Lavinia! Don't!" He pleaded, if he could get on his knees and beg, Georg would gladly do so, "Lavinia! Please, don't kill me! I-It wasn't personal! Cao Cao was desperate! He needed the firepower after Siegfried and Jeanne sold their humanity! Y-You were the best choice!"
It was silence after that. Georg could feel the sheer pressure being emitted by both the blonde and the Ice Doll. It was so suffocating.
He didn't know what would make him faint first, their stares or the lack of blood.
But at last, the blonde spoke, "Kill you...?" she repeated coldly, "No... nothing that simple."
And then,
Lavinia started to chant:
"This body, this soul, even if it peers to the bridge of the frozen lake!"
Darkness eventually overtook him, the last ember of willpower he had snuffed out. The last he saw was the Ice Princess throwing its mask—its regalia aspect—to that of an eldritch one, four gigantic frozen wings blooming from its back.
He didn't know what would happen to him.
But deep inside...
Georg Faust knew that the Hero Faction has been exterminated.
.
.
"Are you really leaving?" the nine-year-old girl asked as the family waited outside the doors of the office.
"Yes. It was a long stay, but now I must take my leave."
"Will you come back?"
"Yes."
"When will you come back?"
"…"
The girl looked at her feet to gather courage and then looked up to meet the green eyes of her teacher. "Can I go with you?"
The woman sighed, "We already had this conversation."
"I want to be with you..."
"You can't," the woman said, "you must be with people around your age. The staff are kind, they will make you feel welcome. I know them. I trust them. They will take good care of you."
The girl tried to argue, but the stern look of her guardian made her lower her head. It all started with a quiet sob, followed by the tears. "I-I don't want you to go...!" she cried, "I want you to stay!"
Seeing the girl she raised heartbroken made the mother feel the harsh tugs on her heartstrings.
Luckily, an idea popped into her head.
"How about this..." The girl felt an additional weight on her head, followed by a loving ruffle.
Her small hands quickly reached up to taste the texture—it was way too big for someone of her age.
"I'll leave this hat in your hands," her mother figure said, "It's dear to me."
"... It goes great with your eyes," the woman then flashed her a grin, "It's for you to keep me in your thoughts just as I will keep you in my heart. Once you become a great magician, I want you to return it. As of now, take good care of it!"
Seeing her daughter grow a big smile made her hear her heart flutter, "Yes! I will take good care of it!" the girl used her arm to wipe her tears, "I swear to you!"
The magician's smile fell slightly, "Listen," she kneeled in front of her student, "... when you become older, you will make your first Faustian bargain with your future master. This is the purpose of most magicians, to offer their services to the supernatural."
"But I want you to remember," the woman tucked the girl's hair behind her ear, "As your mother, my word comes first. Your master a close second. Always."
They both turned as they heard a soft click on the twin doors.
"Let's go," The woman stood up and offered her hand afterward, "It's time to introduce you to a good friend of mine."
The apprentice watched the outstretched hand and took it.
And together, they stepped inside the office.
Once they stepped inside, the girl studied her surroundings with awe—a reaction expected of someone around her age. Bookshelves that reached the ceiling, all full of the knowledge of different generations. Books fly like butterflies. The stained glass illuminated the room.
It was perfect.
The only thing she didn't like was the huge purple dragon watching her intently.
She moved closer to her teacher, "... Scary."
"Mephisto, she's the one I've been bragging to you!" The girl was gently shoved in front of her mother.
That's when she saw him.
She saw the Devil.
Her sapphire blue met his blue and red.
And she felt at ease.
"Meet the girl that will shake the world of magicians—Lavinia Reni!"
.
.
Upon waking up her brain replayed the last few scenes of her dreams. Her eyes greet the light, and her heart and lungs expand.
What she did first was to make sure her witch hat was still with her.
Sighing in relief, she shifted her body to a sitting position, holding her head as her blurred vision made her a bit dizzy. Once her gaze slowly adjusted to her surroundings, she scanned the whole room.
Being in this room was like walking into an expensive restaurant. The hospital room was more like a garden. The roof was clear, giving an impression of being outside and occasionally a butterfly would alight on a nearby leaf.
"Where am I?" she spoke up.
"Well, look who decided to wake up," her head spun to the familiar voice—it was Tobio, "You napped so hard that you woke up a season later," he joked, "You are in Grigori medical bay, Lavi."
"Tobi!" Lavinia exclaimed happily, "You are here!"
"Of course, I am!" he thumbed himself, "why wouldn't I pay you a visit?"
She found herself smiling at his answer but also relieved that the chaos of the hero Faction was over. "For how long I was out?"
"Few hours. Mephisto came first to check on you," Tobio revealed, "but yeah, you were still sleeping. He didn't want to pull you away from your dreams."
"Pops..." Lavinia sighed, "he must have been worried."
"We all were worried."
Lavinia winced, "I'm... I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused."
Tobio smiled gently, "Hey, hey. The past is the past."
The blonde returned the smile with a weak one and asked, "How did you find me?"
"Your Sacred Gear brought you to us," Tobio responded. "You were in bad shape. So much blood. What happened?"
Lavinia looked over her palms—her mind rehashed the events after she called forth the full power of the Ice Princess over her former schoolmate.
Finally, the blonde answered, "I... I don't remember anything," she stuttered.
Tobio sighed, "Well, that's fine," he said, "what matters is that you are safe and well now. All the wounds you had should be patched up by now thanks to Valerie and her grail."
Lavinia bit her lips, "I see..."
It didn't go unnoticed by the Mutated Knight, "Something in your mind?"
...
Lavinia looked elsewhere as she fidgeted with her sheets, "do you promise not to tell Da?"
"I can't hide important info from my boss. I must keep him informed about everything," Tobio said with a straight face, but chuckled at the end, "Kidding. My lips are sealed."
"I-I don't think she likes me..."
"Shocking!" Slash Dog laughed, "Don't think too much of it—Valerie doesn't like half the world. So don't think this is only against you. She will eventually warm up to you."
Lavinia pursed her lips, unconvinced.
"Changing the subject... guess who else decided to visit?" Tobio looked at the entrance, and whistled, "C'mon, brat. You're gonna be waiting outside the whole day? Get over here! You had enough time to practice your speech in front of the mirror!"
It was silence for a few seconds. Both heard someone take a deep breath and enter the room.
Lavinia gasped a little, "Va," she smiled softly at the half-devil, "You are here."
The White Dragon refused to meet her eyes. He scratched his cheek. "... Hey, Lavinia."
Slash Dog rolled his eyes, but smiled, "Get closer," he shoved Vali forward, "she doesn't bite."
Vali glared at Tobio, "You—!" he bit his tongue once he felt someone gently grab his hand.
Of course, it was Lavinia. With one hand, she kept him in place while she used the other to trace circles around the back of his hand.
He could easily yank his hand away—he's stronger. He just didn't have the heart to do so.
All Vali could do was avoid her eyes as he fought against the blood trying to make its way to his cheeks.
She giggled, "How are you feeling?"
"I should be the one asking you that..."
"I'm fine," she answered, "What about you? Are you eating properly? Are you meeting new people? Did you find a girlfriend?"
The way she behaved. The way her eyes released that kind of nature...
It reminded Vali so much of her.
She was the only person Vali wouldn't dare to fight.
They heard a knock, "Hope I'm not interrupting anything," the three turned to see a familiar, smiling face, "but mom said it's my turn to play with Lavi."
"Da! You're here too!"
Seeing Lavinia distracted, Vali took advantage of the moment to retrieve his hand and take a step back.
"About time too!" Tobio teased, tapping at his imaginary watch, "Tsk, tsk! You better have a good reason for making Lavi wait for too long!"
"Don't listen to Tobi!" Lavinia beamed at the gray-haired, "I'm happy to see you here as well!"
"My bad for being late," Danhauser apologized, "I just made a quick stop to buy something."
Danhauser then made a magic circle and summoned a bouquet, "Ta-da!"
Lavinia's eyes began to sparkle, "For me?!"
"Of course, they're for you! No way I'm buying these two clowns any flowers," Danhauser walked past them before reaching Lavinia. "Or anything at all."
Tobio scoffed.
Lavinia took them and sniffed them, "They're beautiful, thank you so much."
"Of course," Danhauser leaned down to bring Lavinia into a hug, which Lavinia gladly returned while still sitting on the bed. "If you need anything else just say the word."
"Help me find Va a cute girlfriend!"
The White Dragon groaned.
"Damn, it's easier to solo Sirzechs or Ajuka. But I always loved a good challenge," Danhauser shot the Lucifer a playful smirk, "Just by looking at you, I can tell you're someone that likes the kind of woman that can kick your ass."
"Not the only thing he's looking on a woman," Tobio elbowed the silver-haired, "Right Butt Dragon?"
Danhauser raised an amused eyebrow, "Context?"
"Don't you dare...!" Vali growled at Tobio.
"Sorry, I can't," Tobio shrugged. "Got my hands tied up here."
"King's orders."
"Okay. The short version of it," Tobio harrumphed, "We were with Gov walking down the hallway, Penemue ahead of us, carrying paperwork. Some of it fell off from her hands and Penemue bent down to pick it up. Vali realized two things there: he likes badonkadonks and the black color."
"Hey man, back off," Danhauser warned Vali, "she's mine."
Vali felt his eyebrow twitch, "S-Shut up...!"
"Or else what, Shota Dragon? Going to fight us?" Danhauser challenged.
The embarrassment Vali had minutes ago was replaced by a fearless smirk, "It's been a long time, hasn't it? I'd like to see your strongest forms..."
"It's two against one, brat," Tobio grinned, "the good news is that we are already at the hospital bay. We'll let you pick which bed you want first before humbling you."
She giggled as she watched her three favorite boys talking to each other. On rare occasions, Lavinia would catch the three of them chattering like this. If she had her painting tools, she would start drawing right this instant.
...
It was good to be back.
"Do you believe he will care for you in the next sixty years?"
She felt a tight knot once Cao Cao's words echoed at the back of her head.
A Reincarnated Devil.
A Half-Devil.
A Pure Devil.
And a Human.
They will outlive her.
It was only a matter of time.
"I... I can fix this," Her hands balled around her sheets. "My answer lies somewhere in Pops' library. I just..."
"You guys wouldn't mind giving us some time alone?" she shook her head at the voice of Danhauser, shelving those thoughts at the back of her head.
"Fine by me," Tobio patted Vali's back, "let's give them some space."
Vali simply nodded.
"Happy recovery, hope to see you back on your feet real soon!" Tobio said before leaving, followed by the White Dragon.
But the silver-haired stopped in front of the door.
"Lavinia?" Vali called out, grabbing the attention of the blonde, "It's... It's good to see you well."
He walked to the exit afterward.
Danhauser grabbed a nearby chair and sat beside Lavinia. "You've been hearing this a thousand times already," he drawled, "but I'm glad you're back with us."
"I'm glad to be back too," Lavinia carefully placed the bouquet atop the drawer, "I can't wait to leave this place to be with everyone."
"So do I, you got some unfinished work waiting for you tomorrow," seeing her confused expression, Danhauser summoned the painting, "Ring any bells?"
"A-Ah!" she tilted her witch hat to hide her crimson face, "T-that was supposed to be a surprise gift."
"Well, not a surprise anymore, but still a gift nonetheless!" Danhauser exclaimed, "Seriously, you have some serious skills. If it looks amazing whilst incomplete, just imagine when it's done! I owe you a big one."
"Well..." Smiling, Lavinia brushed her beautiful blonde hair, "I'd like to read something coming from you."
The Devil frowned, "Read something?"
Lavinia nodded, "Yes! Remember when you told me you were a writer?"
"Oh, shit," Danhauser cringed once he understood. It was his turn to feel embarrassed, "You still remember that conversation, huh?"
"Of course, I do!" Lavinia exclaimed, seemingly offended by his words, "I was mad I didn't get the chance to see your writing style. I always wondered which genre you love to write the most."
"I see..."
"..."
"..."
"So?"
"So...?"
"Will you write something?"
"Uh..."
"Please?"
"I'll put some thought into it," the heir finally said.
"Yay!" the blonde clapped, "I look forward to it!"
"... Hey," Danhauser brought the painting down, "Lavinia? I wanted to speak to you about something."
She could taste the change of tone around them, it wasn't cold to put her nervous, but enough to grab her attention, "Yes?"
"Back then... remember when we talked privately in Tobio's wine cellar?"
Lavinia furrowed her brow, deep in thought before nodding, "I do! About our Magician Pact, right...? What's wrong?"
Danhauser pursed his lips.
"Da?"
"I... I have a different offer for you," Danhauser showed his palm as something materialized atop of it.
A Queen Piece.
"I want you to be part of my peerage," her eyes grew wide in shock, but Danhauser continued, "Once you become a Reincarnated Devil, you will have the natural strength of a Devil with room for growth, plus it'd boost your magical pool thanks to the Bishop trait. You'll be safe that way."
So fast.
So fast she found a solution to her newfound dilemma.
By joining his peerage, all these issues would be fixed.
All she had to do was to accept.
All she had to do was sacrifice her humanity.
Her humanity.
...
"Da..." Lavinia spoke up, reaching for him. He closed his hand until his fingers wrapped around the chess piece. She grabbed his hand, "Thank you... but I can't. The responsibility that comes with being reincarnated by a Queen Piece is enormous... I don't see myself capable of carrying that duty on my shoulders as Tannin does."
"And..." She looked away from his disappointed stare, "I... I'd love to keep my humanity, too."
"What am I doing?" Lavinia was struggling not to pull her hair, "A chance shows up and you throw it like that...? Didn't I want to achieve immortality?!"
Keeping her humanity whilst searching for immortality? This was going to be harder than she thought.
It would take years to make progress and time against her.
But she refused to give up so quickly.
He hung his head low but still managed to slip a chuckle, "Worth a shot," he looked up once again, smiling weakly, "I'll respect your choice, but I want you to keep in mind that, if I don't use my piece on someone else yet, the offer still stands."
"I'm sorry..."
"Don't be," Danhauser shook his head, "... I'd also like to see how far my ceiling could go without getting stained by outside forces."
"I still want to make a pact with you," Lavinia never retrieved her hands from his. "I'd love to."
"That's still on the to-do list," Danhauser nodded, "Lavi, although you won't be part of my peerage, I'd like it if you could at least come to live with us. No more living in the woods by yourself."
Lavinia grimaced, but still nodded, "... I understand," she flashed him a smile, enough to make his heart flutter, "then I will be under your care, Da."
"Then I will be under your care..." Danhauser mauled those words in his head. A tall order. A big responsibility that Lavinia placed upon his shoulders, but he wasn't going to back off from it.
But to keep his promise alive, Danhauser needed to push further.
Break his ceiling.
Reach a new tier.
Enlightenment.
"... No one will ever, EVER take what is mine," Danhauser returned the smile to the blonde, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze, "Never again."
.
.
He had no idea where he was sent to.
The snowstorm blew with might—the density of the heavy snow made it impossible to see in the distance.
Georg tried to move, but unfortunately for him, his body was numb.
He was buried neck-high in the ice—he could barely move his head around.
Every time he tried to summon his Longinus—it instantly froze after being exposed to the low temperature.
Georg wasn't the first to come here, nor will he be the last. He could spot frozen figures with chains keeping them in place, and others buried neck-deep on the ice like him. Everyone had a look of despair on their faces. Wailing.
If Georg could look down, he wouldn't be surprised some of them are submerged deeper than him.
Curiously, all of them had tears streaming down from their eyes.
Georg felt his eyes getting wet.
His gaze stopped on a peculiar figure. A weeping male on his knees cursing the heavens, his five pairs of angelic wings out for the world to see.
Like many others, he also became a statue.
Georg could easily recognize the iconic character. A war veteran. A survivor of the Great War that once served Grigori as one of its leaders.
But now, because of his treachery, he is a prisoner of this domain.
Akin to all the residents, Georg cried as hard as his lungs could let him—even if it risked a sore throat.
But his cries fell on empty ears, as the wind howled louder.
Georg no longer had the blessing to live on earth.
His body, his soul, sentenced to a world molded for him.
For the rest of his life, he's bound to the cruelest depth of hell.
A fitting end for the treacherous.
.
.
Man Nitocris alter has to be the hottest servant Type-Moon came up with
.
.
Next Life: Time for War, Time for Peace.
