Godo liked baseball.
When he was human, Godo dreamed of becoming a professional player and he did have very nice prospects, becoming a Japanese representative in the World Series, but an injury on his shoulder during training broke all those dreams. Later, when he became a Campione, all imperfections were erased and his old injury healed, but Godo knew that with his enhancements as a Campione, it would be unfair for the other players. Not to mention that the life of the Campiones are hectic to say the last. So; if he could not be a professional player, he would do the second-best and become the owner of a baseball team.
The rest of the world would have said to be a trainer or part of the supporting cast, but Campiones are Irrational with a capital letter and Godo simply decided to go all the nine yards and directly become the owner of a baseball team.
The little addendum that Godo was stranded in a different dimension, did not help at all.
The curse of a Heretic God that hated his guts more than anything else in the world, mixed with the unpredictability of the [Fairy´s Corridor] of Madame Aisha, send Godo spiraling into what this world called the Dimensional Gap, a place of chaotic energy and little sense, where the biggest ass lizard of all times floated around. The massive red dragon was called Great Red, and embodies the dream and illusions of the world, being essentially the strongest there is in this world.
And it can not be otherwise, Godo and Great Red fight, as soon as they meet. The Dragon saw an intruder in his domains, and Godo a massive beast that was trying to chew him. They clashed in the infinite chaos that was the Dimensional Gap, and Godo, must admit that he was beaten soundly, but he left a scar in the body of the bloody dragon. In the aftermath of the battle, Godo was sent flying into the Underworld and from then on, he made a living on the chaotic times of the Aftermath of the Great War and the Civil War that the Old Satan Faction and the Anti-Satan Faction had between each other.
To be completely honest with himself, Godo was completely lost in this world; nothing was like he knew, it was as the time where he transformed into a Campione, not knowing shit about the supernatural world and still being in the deepest of it, without little idea of what he was doing. It was a good thing that his Authority, the first one he usurped from Verethragna, was a powerful one, and allow him to face the next menaces in equal footing. Thanks to his divine power, Godo knew that he stood in the top tier of the food chain of this world; not at the level of Great Red, but high enough to be confident in having the strength to face whatever curveball, this world could throw at him.
It was a comforting sensation that did not last long; when he discovered that he was the only Campione in existence. That this world had nothing similar to what he was. There were Heroes, people with the souls of past heroes, there were Angels, Devils, Fallen Angels, Monsters, Youkai, Norse Gods, Egyptian Gods, Demigods, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons...it was a big list of species, trying to make a living in the aftermath of wars that had a high cost on all of them.
It was easy to "persuade" Low-Class Devils and similarly leveled entities, that he was just a magician that has been dragged into this mess, by his contracted Devil but said Devil has been already slain in this fratricidal war, and now Godo was a jobless magician, looking for an exit or a better contract. Godo hid under his human appearance, but revealing his magical skill; even if it took a while to accustom to the variety of Magics that this world had. It was mind-blowing, every species out there had their systems, methods, rituals; dominating it all; without the help of his Authority; would have been completely impossible.
Thanks to his [Sigil of Baphomet] it was an easy task for Godo to learn as much magic as he could, always discretely of course; and after impressing a Gremory Clan Devil recruiter, earn himself a comfortable position in Lilith; Capital of the Underworld; as support Magician for the Gremory Clan, one of the main supporters of the Anti-Satan Faction, that was at war with the Old Satan Faction, that simply desired to torch everyone apart and rebuild the world anew at their leisure.
It was not Godo´s war, it was not Godo´s bloody dimension, so he just tried to be as discrete as possible and look out for a way to get back home. Sadly, as deep as he researched, Godo soon discovered that he was practically doomed to be in this dimension. Cursing the name of Plutarch; and with his rage barely controlled by the woman that resides in his left arm; Godo understood why the accursed Heretic God has tossed him precisely at this corner of the Netherworld.
Great Red was not there to be pretty, the Dimensional Gap was exactly what its name implies, meaning that the next visitor from another dimension may not be as polite as Godo, and without the bloody lizard patrolling the site, the entire world was under constant peril of a dimensional invasion. The Dragon was the bouncer of this dimension, and if Godo wanted to trespass, he would have to defeat the Dragon; something that will either kill or cripple the Dragon; and left this entire world defenseless. Now, Godo was Irrational, but he has always considered himself a good person at heart, and even if it broke his heart, he just, couldn't leave an entire world to their luck just because of his desires.
On a bitter note, Godo was sure that some of his adopted siblings; namely Voban, Alec, and perhaps Luo Hao; would have had little qualms in exterminating the Dragon to get back to their home dimension. Voban would have killed any gods in his way for power and Alec looted all things that he considered interesting before left. Annie would have become a Superhero, again, Doni would have battled the Dragon just for the laughs, and Madame Aisha would have been delighted to explore the entire world upside down, creating chaos wherever she went, even if she had the best intentions at heart.
Godo has to confess that he almost crumbled when he discovered how screwed he was; only Lyta´s constant support, save him from the reaching bottom. Cheered up by the constant presence of his Authority/ Servant/Lover….it was a complicated relationship; Godo tried to make a living in hell, a humble magician, a pencil pusher of the war efforts that helped in all he could, but soon realized that it was slowly poisoning himself.
As Campione, Godo was not to be caged, as the tiger that he had in his soul; according to practically all the Hime-Mikos he has known in his life; trying to tame him was a futile effort, even if he was doing it to himself. Lyta wholeheartedly agreed, Godo was trying to drown his sorrow, trying to be invisible as he swallows the bitter pill of being forever separated from his lovers.
That, would not be tolerated; Lyta was the most vocal of his Authorities, as she was an entity of her own, and voluntarily transformed into his servant and Authority; much like Ama-No-Murakumo did in the past before he passed his sword to Kushina Kusanagi, his and Ena Shissuin daughter; but that doesn't mean that the Authorities that he possessed now were mere pieces of power. Authorities are sacrosanct powers of the gods, and they always carried a bit of the essence of the myth they hail from. All his Authorities were practically screeching Godo to stop brooding and get his ass in gear. The new world, new wonderful chances. Magic, rivals, adventures, women, Godo name it, this world was entirely new for him, and he should start enjoying it.
From this internal debacle in his soul, King was born. Annie; aka Jon Pluto Smith; would have been proud of Godo´s alternate persona. King, a simple name, yet it sums up all that Godo was
A gold mask; mirror-like, that would hide his face and voice, hooded, so no one could see his hair; a black, sharp, and elegant suit of British cut; say anything about Alec, but Godo has to admit that the man had good taste in suits, and practically all his girls loved when he suited up for a formal occasion; an inner black jacket and a white shirt, with a golden tie to match the mask; Gold and black has always been his colors; then a pair of white gloves, nice and comfortable shoes and to finish the disguise, a long, black, military cape that would reach his calves.
Lyta admitted that he was impressive in the disguise, and it would indeed, project an aura of power and mystery, as long as Godo let go of his pacifism and walked around like the apex predator he was. Godo laughed awkwardly, when Lyta smiled with a dangerous glint in her eyes, it was obvious that she was going to use [Insane Rush] on his sorry ass when she felt King, was not being Kingly enough. Lyta, when she was Lancelot Du Lac, the Heretic Goddess that serve Guinevere, cursed Godo with the [Insane Rush], a curse that will essentially remove all inhibitions and would make the victims act in concordance with their desires. When Godo was whammed by the curse, all his pacifism and denial went out of the window, and become an embodiment of all the rumors that floated around his persona.
Savage, ruthless, cunning, lascivious, proud, an apex predator with the sacrosanct power of the gods backing him claims; although, Godo would take a more, Noblesse Oblige approach, meaning if he was King, then he would act like a King. It would be a little hard to act the role, but Godo was convinced that Lyta will [Insane Rush] his mind when the situation demand.
King was a hit, by the way, whenever he appeared, always supporting the Anti-Satan Faction. It was the one that convinced Godo the most, not to mention that Godo lived among the Gremory, and frankly, they were far from the stereotypical Devil image. Sure, they had their moments, they are Devils, after all, they had even more desires and impulses that the mortals, but they were surprisingly similar to humans. They love, anger, bleed, cry, and joy like any mortal, just on a bigger scale.
It was amazing that the world is still in one piece, if chumps like Sirzech, Lucifuge, and others of that sort, walked freely on it. It would be like having a race of Divine Beasts or even Heretic God in some cases, roaming the earth; that was not something good.
King was mysterious, a figure of tremendous power, Ultimate Satan, had called him, at the same level as the Four Great Satans that appear to rule the Underworld; in truth, the Bael Clan and oldest Devils of the surviving Clans from the War had a lot of power behind the scenes; but the fact that he was using divine power, an anathema for all Devils, was something that worried everyone, who can not make head or tails about why was King in the Underworld or what did he want.
On a more pragmatic note; from Falbium Asmodeus and Ajuka Beelzebub, two of the actual Four Great Satans; King was looting anything that was not bolted to the ground, and they were partially right. After all, King deserved a reward for his actions, and when something caught his interest; once the enemy has been defeated, of course; King usually takes it as payment and vanishes.
King went back to Uruk, the city and Authority that belonged to Gilgamesh, and that Godo won in the battle against the legendary Babylonian king. In Uruk, Godo had stored practically anything he could need, from copies of all the Grimoires that he found to artifacts that were a bit too dangerous to have them roaming around, along with trophies and other mementos of his carrier as Campione. Uruk was his refugee, and even if he; or his girls; were the only living things in the city, it was far from being defenseless. In a more practical note, Uruk was the perfect warehouse for anything Godo could found.
From Uruk, as the city was in its pocket dimension, King could teleport himself to anyplace of the Underworld, and soon the Earth, but the travel between the two planes of existence was surprisingly more regulated and defended that Godo believed. Not that it was a problem, but right now, the Underworld had all his attention, the Civil war between the two Factions was quite the profitable event, and Godo was having a blast acting as King and fighting powerful enemies left and right.
For a battle between Devils, all the Underworld has joined the rumble; Dragons come for the battle and the treasure they could get, Fallen Angels to expand their Territory in the Underworld; even if Azazel, Governor of the Fallen Angels and smartass of the century, has already declared that he is interested in war; some Angels, unable to endure the loses of the Great War, came for vengeance and to exterminate anything that they saw, Youkai, Magicians, Monsters, Vampires, and Werewolves are more akin to mercenaries and contracted forces; Godo was supposedly a Magician from Gremory; meanwhile, all kind of mutated beasts, abominations, etc, created by alchemy or pure craziness, roared the Underworld.
Ah, and the undead of the Realm of the Dead; Hades domain; were not idle neither, they usually conduct raids to capture souls and exterminate entire populations, something they excused with: "Has come to close to their borders with invading intentions". An excuse that no one believed, and to demonstrate the bastard that, that kind of bullshits were not allowed, King appeared in one of the borders of the Realm of the Dead, and unleashed the [Swarm of Sheol], until a section of the Realm, the size of Australia, was completely devoured by the monstrous Locust. The cherry on top was that Godo managed to kill Orcus, one of the Ultimate-Class Grim Reapers that served Hades. The skull and scythe of that monster still hung in Uruk´s trophy room.
Through battle and conflict, King created bonds with powerful Devils, Dragons, even Angels, and Fallen Angels; all of them attracted by the mystery that was King, he even was offered Peerage or a Peerage, but King was not sure how would interact the Evil Piece with the Blessing of Pandora that turned him into a Campione, and honestly, he was not all that interested in any experimentation.
The Evil Pieces were something that Ajuka come with and Godo has to admit that he admires the wit and resourcefulness of the Great Satan, with that pieces of chess, the Devil Race will not only grow in numbers but will add more diversity to it, increasing the genetic pool and adding powerful traits to the species in general. It was surprisingly clever, and Godo could respect that.
He even helped the Four Great Satans to get some of their Evil Pieces, specially Sirzech, when the Lucifer fell in love with an enemy; Grayfia Lucifuge, and turn her into his Queen piece. Now, that was a romantic tale; King helped Sirzech, just because it was so similar to Godo's own tale with Lyta that King wanted to see a happy ending to that tale too.
They even invited him to the wedding; once the war ended; and it was one of those occasions that Godo will remember with joy, it was indeed a grand occasion, and even if Godo didn't like very much that kind of parties, it would have been rude of him, not to accept. The funny note was how Serafall passed all the time trying to peek under his gold mask, much to the amusement of the other Satan, except Falbium, who fall asleep as soon as the votes were pronounced. Godo liked Serafall, she was a cheerful lady; with enough power to level a country hid under that bubbly personality; and had a lot of similarities to Ena, enough to call Godo´s attention.
King saw his "end" when the current host of the Red Dragon Emperor entered into Juggernaut Drive, when a bunch of High-Class Devils, kidnapped and raped his wife, to force him to become the Peerage of one of them; Astaroth, if Godo remembered right, the former Clan of Ajuka; blinded by rage, the Red Dragon Emperor butchered the Devils and two strike forces; menacing with destroying half of Lilith, unless it was stopped; before King appeared and battle him. King has to admit that it was one of those battles to remember, the host left him almost crippled and if it wasn't for his Authorities King would be a smear on the ground, but at the end of the battle, King emerged triumphant, annihilating the poor sod.
It was an exceptional opportunity to "bury" King and Godo did exactly that, vanishing back to Uruk and living there, enjoying the massive treasure that he has collected during the years of war.
With the end of the war between the two Factions and the passing of King; Godo found himself passing more and more time in Uruk, learning all kind of magic that he has found, from Devil Magic to Fallen Angel Magic, passing through the Dragon Magic that he has picked from the Dragons supporting the Old Satan Faction and all the Youjutsu and Senjutsu that he learned from the Youkai that fought in the Underworld. Lyta encouraged him to maintain and develop further the friendship that he had with a lot of powerhouses of all Factions; Sirzechs, Azazel, and Gabriel, for example, but Godo was not in the mood. King has been a nice respite, but once the battle adrenaline was over, the worry of getting back home sneaked back into his mind. Finally, Lyta grabbed him by the ear and dragged him out of Uruk, much to Godo muffled protest, tossing him into the train back to the Human world; perhaps a bit of normalcy would do good for his mood.
And then Godo bought himself a baseball team. Campione´s irrationality at its best.
Godo set up in the town of Kuoh, who was under church vigilance; Godo could slip pas their noses with easiness; and with the massive fortune that he had from Uruk, built a stadium and formed the Kuoh Devils. The name did raise some rashes among the guardians of the city, but the team was completely clean of any supernatural interference; something that Godo personally oversees. Godo even used his name to appear as the owner of the team and the building, saying that he has inherited a fortune from overseas and decided to invest in his favorite sport.
At the beginning they did have some bumps, especially when Godo saw that the rest of the teams in the Pacific League, did have some supernatural players on their ranks; no one of them was a powerhouse, but even a Low-Class Devil was stronger, faster and quicker than the average human; forcing Godo to include some of his own. Godo contracted some magicians and Youkai as a player, to keep the game fair, and used his magical acumen to protect the stadium and the team from any magical interference, like curses, phantoms attacks, "accidents" and things of the sort.
Much to his amazement, magic was everywhere, and the mortals didn't have a clue of the kind of shit that was happening in front of their eyes. Their technology was their god, and everything else didn't exist. It was so much like home, that Godo almost cried. For fucks sake, they have supernatural beings playing baseball in real-time, and they cheer them like bloody heroes. But that was so typical of humanity; Godo included, he was in denial for so many years when he became a Campione, that it was not even funny; that Godo went with the flow and just enjoyed his favorite sport.
Not to toot his own horn, but his team managed to dominate the Pacific League for three years straight. Then Godo allowed some players to be sold to the Central League and get some new blood, so his success will dim enough and made the Church not that suspicious. However, Godo had to curse, loudly, when the city changed owners, right into the Gremory hands.
Godo has parted with the Gremory in very good terms; the only dark spot was how King simply vanished from the Underworld without zero explanations, but no one connected King with Godo, that he was aware off; so when the Gremory come knocking at his door, he had no reasons not to be polite he liked the Devil Family, they were way more tolerant and with common sense, than half of the other Pure-Blood Clans. Godo invited them to his humble and cozy home; a two stories tall home, in a very nice neighborhood, with all the commodities that the modern world could offer, but with zero eccentricities, functionality and comfort was the norm.
Technically speaking, Sirzech was Lucifer now, not Gremory, but for Godo, he would always be the goofball that becomes the hero of the war, along with his best pal Ajuka; so Godo; much to Grayfia resignation; forbid all honorifics and treat the redhead like a friend, something that made Sirzech´s day, as it was not common for him to be treated like a friend unless he was with his Peerage or with the rest of the Satans.
Grayfia was a total sticker to the norms; even becoming a maid for the Gremory Clan, when she was the "Strongest Queen", pity she lost against Serafall for the Leviathan title, it suited her; and Godo´s lack of proper manners ticked her off. Unfortunately for her, Godo has already developed a resistance against those glares, Yuri, Shizuka, and Luo Hao glared like that whenever he did not act like the Campione he was...well, even Lyta, but her idea of a Campione was more on the lines of the King Persona that he has been using in the war of the Underworld.
The Gremory were taking control of the town, the little sister of Sirzech; who was a total siscon by the way; was a Japanophile and stated her desire to live and made her studies in Japan; Kuoh town, a city with ley-lines crossing it, would be the perfect place for it. Sirzech was even more convinced when he learned about the Kuoh Devils; he approved of the name by the way; and the fact that Godo was around, a magician that he respected. Sirzech even offered Peerage to Godo, unknowing that he did that before when Godo was under the mask of King; but Godo denied the offer. Godo was happy as he was, the Evil Piece was tempting, but becoming a Devil was not something that he was eager for, perhaps in a few decades, when his magic reached his peak, he would consider it, even become part of the Peerage of the sister of Sirzech as a way to help her, but that was in the future.
Sirzech didn't like it; he respected and valued the advice of Godo, as a friend and as a magician; Godo earned quite the reputation with the Gremory for his mastery over the most complicated magic and his common sense, something that lots of the Devil Clans lacked sorely. But Sirzech could understand Godo´s desire to a bit of normalcy, for a human; if only Sirzech knew; it was understandable that the war has left some scars and Godo has a good life going on in Kuoh with his baseball team.
Anyhow, Godo promised his door would always be open for the Gremory or any allies of theirs, it was the least he can do. Heck, he even discretely promised Sirzech for a sanctuary where to crash, if being the Lucifer 24/7 becomes a bit too much and need a drink or somewhere where to stash the things that Grayfia did not approve as worthy of a Satan. Sirzech loved Grayfia with all his heart, and so does Grayfia, but the strictness of Grayfia was a bit overbearing sometimes, she has taken her role as Head Maid of the Gremory to the heart and sometimes, she was a bit too much.
With the Gremory in charge of the city, Godo could sit back and relax, knowing that no lesser Faction would want to make a move on the city. In all, Godo was happy for the Gremory, the family was one of the main aces of the Anti-Satan Faction and their protectiveness over their servants and Peerage members was well known, something that lots of other families should take good note; so, when things went well for them, Godo was genuinely happy.
He even, discreetly, of course, observed the arrival of the little sister of Sirzech to the city. She was a cute little thing, with the same crimson shade hair of her brother, and for what Godo could see, she was a nice girl, a bit spoiled, but to be honest, Godo did the same with his children, so he will be a hypocrite if he said anything about it. What he didn't expect was to saw another child of the Satans in the city, but Godo could understand that being the children of the Satans would mean that they will play together quite usually.
Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri; the sisters of Sirzech Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan, will be attending the same Academy in Kuoh. Godo thought it was an error, but at the same time, they were children, being alone in a completely different environment would not be good for them, alas, they need the experience of attending a human school, just to keep up with the times and understand the current culture. Ah, and the fact that Rias was a total Japanophile did help too; it was cute as hell when she tried to disguise herself and slip into the Otaku District.
On the other side of the spectrum, there was even Fallen Angel's presence in Kuoh. One of the Grigori has married and lived with a Miko in a temple, they even had a cute child called Akeno; Godo presented himself to the Miko and her husband; Baraqiel a full-fledged and powerful Fallen Angel; as the local Magician, under Gremory contract, wanting to be polite with his neighborhoods.
Shuri, the Miko of the temple, said that Godo was more than a Magician, that she, who was attuned to the Shinto Faction could sense the divine power that Godo had. Thinking quickly Godo lied his way out, raising his left arm and saying that it was his Sacred Gear, a Low-tier one called White Lance. Godo could feel Lyta frowning, and knew that he was screw later, but it satisfied Shuri that knew about the Supernatural; between her family and her husband and daughter, it was hardly a surprise; and was protective of her daughter.
Akeno, a cute and adorable child with the same black hair of her parents, was a hybrid, so it was hard for her to made friends, especially considering how her own Family, the Himejima Clan considered her little more than an abomination. Godo grunted in disgust, it was not the first time he found such short sighed ideas; Akeno was an innocent child and those assholes called her an abomination and a mistake when she was not only a brilliant child but possibly the most powerful Miko that they would ever see. A Miko with the Light of the Angels backing her?, yeah, Godo would like to see an evil spirit trying to last more than a round against that.
Godo parted in good terms, the last thing he need was to look out for a fight with the Shinto or the Himejima Clan. Godo was acting as a mortal, not as King, so he preferred to keep his profile low.
For a couple of years, everything seems to be okay, he even opens a bar downtown, a place where Supernatural could go and have a drink without worrying about grudges, Factions, hunters, or whatever; Godo called the bar Wunjo, in the same manner of the Sacred Rune that represent pleasure and the good things of life.
The place was a hit, having to expand to attend all the clientele in less than three months; now it was a big bar, restaurant, and cafe, that could hold a hundred people easily. Magicians, Vampires, Monsters of all kinds, Devils, Fallen Angels, even Angels come and go from the bar, knowing that it was a safe place to relax. There were bumps of course, among all people there are black sheep and cretins whose ego was bigger than their mouths, but after the first dozen of crippled cretins and mangled corpses, people started to get the message. Having the heads of several, rude, clients on display on a showcase did help too to drive the point home.
It has been a good two years, Lyta was even capable of standing around, in physical form, almost for twelve hours straight, and with their constant sparring; she was the best sparring partner that Godo could ask for, as she was a former Goddess of Steel; the limit time of their Authority expanded to twenty minutes per day.
With that positive thought in mind, Godo should have known that shit was going to hit the fan; and it did happen, one of those days when Godo was coming back home from a nice game on his stadium; Kuoh Stadium by the way; walking, instead of teleporting as usual, as he wanted to buy some groceries from the Konbini of the neighborhood and made something special for dinner for him and Lyta.
The first signal that something was wrong, was when his instincts as Campione flared, noticing a subtle, but present smell of the divine. Opening his nostrils and straighten his posture, Godo enhanced his senses, extending his reach deep into the city. It didn't take long for him to reach and discover the flashes of spells, all of them charged with the blessing of Takama-ga-hara and from the sensations that his [Sigil of Baphomet] was picking, they are human spells. Cursing under his breath, Godo transported the bag of groceries to his home with a simple magic circle and teleported himself to the place where he has felt the magic strongly.
As soon as he manifested over the space, he prepared a heavy glamour over himself, making it impossible to recognize, and floated over a magical circle, giving him an eagle view of what's going on. Godo´s curses became louder when he realized that what he was seeing, was nothing but a bunch of monks; vagrant monks, the kind that wanders the country exterminating anything supernatural that they put their hands on; trying to kill a little girl, who was running for her life. Godo´s blood boil when he recognized the orange ribbon and black hair, it was none other that little Akeno, the daughter of Shuri and Baraqiel. Growling, and being echoed by Lyta, Godo fall over the hunting party like the wrath of God.
Akeno was wounded, exhausted, and crying her heart out, as the spells of the monks surrounded her and tried to finish her; her body finally give up and she fell on her knees, tumbling around a little, and smashing against a wall of the streets. Her own family was hunting her, her Clan has done nothing but hate and prosecute her, trying to kill her because of her father, that accursed Fallen Angel, that was not even there when she needed him the most, in the verge of exhaustion, Akeno raised her puffed eyes, red and swollen of all the crying that she has done; looking at her Grand-Uncle, Suou Himejima, who raised a sword, ready to kill an innocent girl.
In the eyes of the old man, Akeno was nothing but a stain to the honor of the Himejima, an abomination that never should have happened; there was nothing but contempt and hate in the eyes of Suou, and for a child, like Akeno, that hurt more than anything else. She stared at the sword, the weapon that was going to kill her and thought, that she was going to see her mom soon.
Then the world exploded in golden light and Akeno knew no more.
Suou Himejima was not a stranger to pain; as former Clan Head of the Himejima clan, he has fulfilled the mandates of the Shinto with devotion; something that has put him and his fellow Clan members in more than one difficult battle. He even had the scars to demonstrate it. But when the golden light smashed him to the wall, Suou felt how his body almost broke completely. Only thanks to his mastery over Martial Arts, he endured the impact that would have turned any lesser man into fine paste against the wall.
The rest of the hunting party, all experienced fighters of the Himejima Clan, were as astonished as Suou, when a shade; they were unable to make heads or tails about its features; bitch slapped their leader into a wall. They recognized the strike as a Black Tiger Fist movement, but it was surrounded by a golden halo of divine energy and that scared the shit out of them.
The shade was humanoid, bipedal, and possess the most terrifying golden eyes that any one of them has ever seen; without paying any attention to them, the shade raised the unconscious girl; with tenderness and care that opposes to the rage and disgust that his golden eyes emit; and applied a healing spell over her body, healing the wounds that she had on her body, from the hunt and few spells that have actually reached her.
The unconscious girl snuggled into the dark chest of the shade, the color returning to her pale and exhausted body; she felt safe and protected in the golden aura of the shade. With the girl, firmly protected on his chest with one arm; the shade turned his golden eyes to them and every one of them gave a step back, unable to endure the pressure that, that glare put on them.
"Now". The Shade spoke and the Himejimas blanched; that voice was like the trumpets of the Apocalypse form them, and in a strange, familiar way, all of them could recognize the echos of divine power. "I found myself, observing adult men, professional warriors", the poison on the word warriors made them flinch, "hunting a little girl, no bigger than nine or ten years". The shade´s golden aura thickened around them, and the hunters now realize that they are pretty much trapped. "I would like an explanation of why such a thing could happen". That was not a petition, that was a command.
"That abomination must not live". Suou was the only one that had enough willpower to answer, even if the man was having a lot of difficulties, even speaking. "Her tainted blood is a stain in the honor of the Himejima, begone evil spirit, this does not concern you".
The shade raised an eyebrow, and Suou fell a chill down his spine; the pieces that are not cracked of course; even with his experience, the former Clan Head was unable to pierce the veil of shadows that covered the intruder. It must be some kind of illusion to protect his identity, as the voice sounds male without a doubt, but beyond that and the golden eyes, it was impossible to discern anything else.
"Let me get this straight". Replied the shade with the same cold tone, that reflects nothing but disgust at them. "A squad of the Himejima Clan fighters, guided by a powerful Sohei, were hunting down a nine years old girl, just because her father was a Fallen Angel".
Suou felt his blood freeze, whoever this shade is, he knew that Shuri, that foolish woman, had a daughter with that abomination of the Grigori. That can not be tolerated, no matter how, both, he and the girl, has to die today. If they fail, the Himejima would become the laughingstock of the Five Great Families, perhaps even losing the favors of Takama-ga-hara for not being able to protect the purity of their clan, mixing their blood with the dirty mud of the foreign abominations like the Grigori.
"Attack!". Barked Suou, ignoring the pain and chaining several hand seals to create a magical circle, urging his fellow Clan members to attack the shade and the girl, eliminating them both at once.
In similar fashion to Suou, the Himejima Clan fighters set toss their spells or called for their Shikigamis; magical constructs; to attack the shade that was in front of them. The shade sighed and with a glow of his golden eyes, a spherical barrier appeared around him, repelling all the attack and making it impossible for the Shikigami to reach him.
Raising his free hand, the shade pointed to the Shikigami and four magical circles appeared, provoking a rain of golden magical beams that torn the Shikigami to shreds before they could even move. Snapping his fingers, the Himejima Clan members found themselves trapped in magical circles; all with golden light and with a symbol that they do not recognize; all paralyzed and unable to move or speak.
"Fools". Said the shade, and walked in the middle of them, ignoring their struggles, they were powerful, for mortals, but against his magic, it was a futile effort.
Standing in front of Suou, the shade looks him in the eyes and Suou did all he could to do not tremble in pure terror.
"This girl is no longer your concern". Stated the shade, with absolute certainty in his voice. "From now on, she is under my protection, if I ever saw, ear or even had the sensation that any of you are trying to harm her, I will exterminate your entire Clan and pluck the feathers of the Vermilion Bird, one by one".
In any other circumstances, Suou would have thought that it was an empty menace, the boasts of a barking dog trying to appear more intimidating and strong than he really was; however, Suou and all the Clan were trapped under a magical circle that reek of divine power, of a creature that has repelled their spells and Shikigami like they were child toys and who knows about the Vermilion Bird, something that very few outsides of the Five Families knew.
"You made an enemy today". Suou rejected the mere idea of compelling to the threats that this intruder was making, even if Suou was capable to sense how truly powerful the shade was, and feel that those were no threats, but promises. "The Himejima Clan would not stop until that abomination and offense to their honor is cleansed".
"Your funeral". Said the shade, vanishing from the spot.
Suou blinked and then the magical circles that contained them exploded under their feet.
For a bunch of Sohei, the explosion would not be lethal; alas Godo has miscalculated the necessary strength and has crippled half of them, with severe wounds for the others; probably only Suou and another would be able to walk; without crutches; again. It was a brutal goodbye and Suou understood that the shade was not one to be trifled with, however, that only exacerbated his determination to find and kill the bastard child of that sow of Shuri.
Godo would have vaporized them, but need them to send a message before he appeared and hammered the last nail of the coffin in the stubborn heads of any among the leaders of the Himejima Clan that could consider the idea of harming Akeno a good idea.
Godo left Akeno in his home after cleaning her and put her to sleep in a comfortable bed. The girl has been latching to his clothes all this time; it was heartwarming how she was so similar to several of his daughters; he was a dotting father, sue him. Lyta would stay at her side, comforting the sleeping girl with a nearby presence, a female one, in case she awakes and feel fear of being in an unknown place. Meanwhile, Godo would teleport himself to the Temple where she lived, and see what the heck has happened.
The Temple was empty, sure, Godo has been a couple of months without coming, fearing that Shuri will finally glimpse his real essence, but as soon as he entered the temple, he realized that it has been defiled. There was no divine presence on it, the Shinto has retreated their protection and any spiritual ward was broken too. Godo was a supreme necromancer, so it was easy labor to find the dried stains of blood on the wooden floor and summon the ghost of Shuri, using her blood and the spot where she died as the focus for the summoning. Thanks to his magic empowering the spell, Godo called Shuri quite easily, the traumatic effect of his death and the uncertainty of her daughters well being, made her passing into Takama-ga-hara a bit more difficult than usual, it would be a miracle if she didn't turn into a specter.
Shuri told him all the tale, how the enemies of Baraqiel tracked him to the temple and when the Fallen Angel was out on a mission, killed her in front of Akeno; Baraqiel made it just in time to save Akeno, but the girl blamed her father for the death of her mother, and rejected him, running out of the temple. Shuri didn't know more, but Godo assured him that Akeno was safe, that he had her in his house, safe from those that tried to hurt her. Ghosts are very volatile beings, so Godo would not tell her about the betrayal of the Himejima, and how her own family was trying to kill her daughter.
Recovering the body of Shuri would be impossible; the cretins of her family didn't even reclaim her and the police classified her as Hotake; the Japanese version of Jane Roe; and incinerated her body, losing the ashes somewhere. Godo sighed and sealed the ghost of Shuri into a funerary urn in Uruk; letting the ghost rest in peace. With time and a bit of the blood of Akeno and Baraqiel, Godo could grow a homunculus body that would serve as host for Shuri, and give her approximately the same life span of the average human.
Returning home with Lyta, she found his lover attending some unexpected guests; the bishop of Zeoticus Gremory; Agrippa and the little sister of Sirzech, Rias Gremory. It was the first time he actually met the little redhead, and Godo has to admit that she liked the little spitfire, she had the friendly smile of Sirzechs, but could see the hand of Grayfia in her manners and conversation. They have come to visit the favorite human magician of the Gremory; and Aggripa confessed that he was eager to visit the Wunjo too; as Rias wanted to meet him; she was going to be living around, it was only polite to meet the neighborhoods.
Godo agreed wholeheartedly with Rias, it was clear that Grayfia has her hands in her education, and Godo played as the good host he was, however, an idea occurred to him, and soon Godo was chatting with Aggripa, as Lyta took care of Rias, about the little hybrid that he has in one his guest rooms. Godo picked up the girl from the bed; she was sleeping deeply with the help of a magic spell that would let her heal and refresh, physically and spiritually; and picking a bit of her blood for the homunculus of her mother, Godo presented her to Aggripa and Rias.
Once, Godo explained her situation, Aggripa and Rias promised to took care of the sleeping girl and cut a deal with the Himejima Clan to protect Akeno. Godo has his plans about that but understood that the Gremory carried a big name in the Supernatural, so he left that in his hands and took part in the retribution that was going to befall on the fools that consider the assassination of a little, innocent, girl, something acceptable.
Rias was happy to have a new friend and took everything in stride, she didn't care about the Fallen Angel heritage of Akeno, that was something irrelevant for her. Call her spoiled if you want, but Rias was a Gremory to the core, and once she has something in her pretty head, it was very hard to dissuade her from it.
Agrippa and Rias promised to take care of Akeno, and Godo knew that they would honor their word, with the little girl with them, the pair had to cut short the visit, but Rias asked if she could come again and Godo accepted, as he told her brother, Godo would always have his door open for the Gremory and their allies. As soon as they left the house, Godo sat in the couch and using magic to pick up a drink from the refrigerator, he sipped his drink, under the curious glare of Lyta, that vanished and returned to his left arm.
Godo knew that Lyta will support him no matter what, but Godo always considered her opinions. Lyta´s advice was really valuable; and she has been the emotional support for Godo for years since he fell in this bizarro world and saw that everything he knew was useless or lost unless he dammed the entire world. That wasn't fair, but Godo have to deal with the cards that have been dropped in his lap; and if he was honest, it was not a bad life, he even had his baseball team now.
As much as he would have liked otherwise, it was clear that his peaceful days were over; the attack on Akeno, how her mother has been killed under his bloody nose, the arrogance of the Himejima, the visit of the Gremory, and other minor events should have been enough to make Godo understand that he was no longer able to hide in the shadows and that King, should make an appearance once more. Much to his inner chagrin, Godo knew that King was his best, purer, persona, free of the chains that he imposed on himself. Not a surprise that Lyta loved how Godo acted when he was under the mask of King, he was almost like a God of Steel.
Summoning the mask on his hand, he could feel Lyta´s elation, King was going to make a comeback; it will start slow, so much was for sure, but the ripples that King could cause, would not pass undetected by all Factions. Speaking of which, perhaps it was time to make a world tour and see what this world has to offer. So far, Godo only knew the Underworld and Japan; and none of them as well as he would have liked; barely the tip of the iceberg of the Supernatural world. During the war, he has met dozens of species, from dozens of different origins, perhaps it was time to make some exploration trips as Godo and as King; Campiones are cursed to live interesting times after all.
But first comes something else. King has to hammer the last nail of the coffin of any possible hunters of Akeno, and for that, he was going to visit the Himejima Clan compound and have a little chat with the elders.
With a though, the gear of King manifested over him, and Godo could feel Lyta´s approval and eagerness to see King back in action; raising from the couch, King adjusted his gloves, it has been a while since he wore them and set the tie right, appearances were important under the role of King; a magical circle appeared under his feet, the [Sigil of Baphomet] icon, and in a flash of golden light, he vanished from his living room.