I, Liliana Caim, am currently traveling around another town to visit a very important friend of mine
We met a long time ago, after my debut in the youth rating games and it's become a regular thing for me to visit whenever an important event happens in my life or when something big is about to happen
However, this time I was the one who was invited
It surprised me, but apparently there has been something wrong going on for a while and they think I can help figure it out
I stop in front of the house's front gate, they have been living in this town since their teenage years and it's been a rather quiet one, very different from what I'm used to in Kuromaku, but it's a nice change
As I approach door of the residence, it swings open right away
I didn't rang the doorbell nor announced my presence in any way, this person doesn't need any warnings to know I'm here
"Lilly-chan!"
As expected, she already knew when I would arrive
This woman is an oracle, a person with the power to predict the future and find things or people even in far away places
I greet the blonde woman with tanned skin
"Hello, Aiura-san!"
She motions me to come inside
"Come in, come in~"
Aiura says as she leads me to the living room
The house she lives in is a simple two store house, it's furnished as normaly as any family home in Japan would be
By looking at it, you would never be able to tell that one of the most powerful oracles in the world lives here with her husband, one of the world's strongest espers
"Is Kusuo-san home?"
I ask, looking at a picture hanging in one of the walls
It's a family photo with 10 people on it
Aiura's parents, Kusuo-san's parents, his brother, his grandparents, Aiura-san, Kusuo-san and...
A girl with short pink hair very similar to Kusuo-san
Kuriko Saiki when she was still a child...
"No, he's currently at work, but I told him you would be coming today"
"Work, huh?"
Kageyama-san and Kusuo-san... why powerful male espers seem to always look for normal jobs? Will Tatseyo become like that eventually? I think it's such a waste...
"So, why did you called me here?"
Aiura pours a cup of tea for both of us and then sits down while giving a sigh, the look on her face went from happy to outright worried
"I'm really sorry to bother you about it, but we don't know anyone else we can ask for help anymore..."
I tilt my head in confusion
"Uh, is it that bad? What happened?"
I was honestly surprised when they called me to say they had a problem and needed my help, if it's something that even Kusuo-san can't solve, it must be truly huge
"Maybe it's better if I show you"
Aiura lifts herself from the chair and walks to a bunch of shelves where there is a round, transparent object lumped together with several books and strange artifacts
"A crystall ball..."
So she's going old-fashion
"Yes, this will help you understand"
Aiura places the ball in the table right in front of us
"As you know, my daughter usually doesn't stay at home ever since she went to college, frankly, that girl makes me worry so much..."
I don't know Kuriko Saiki very well in person, aside from being powerful and liking to mess with people, she doesn't talk with others a lot, so all I know is the information Aiura and Kusuo-san told me
She started communicating telepathicaly before she even spoke her first words and started demonstrating many psychic powers at a very early age, Aiura was overjoyed when she noticed that Kuriko had also inherited her prediction skills
However, unlike Kusuo-san, Kuriko doesn't care at all about receiving attention.
By the age of 8 she graduated from high school and got her first Phds at 15, she also won a fortune after solving a math problem that had troubled mathematicians for decades and worked for some time by the side of Kusuo-san's brother, Kusuke-san. She's very famous in the intelectual community of the human world, though she's not a common topic among regular people.
Kuriko also went around many parts of the world figthing spirits, demons, monsters, youkais and learning about the supernatural. That was around the time when I met her and the Saiki family, our relationship is still a secret from the esper community, of course.
But despite doing all that, no one outside the community knows she's paranormal, as she still follows the basic rules about not displaying her powers in front of normal people
'Strongest esper youth' - this was the title given to her, a very impressive girl indeed, but also a very troublesome one
"So sometimes I can't help but use my powers to keep track of her, I know it's wrong, but she's my daughter after all..."
Aiura seems to be a bit guilty saying that
"That's okay, being worried about their child is something that all parents do... or should do at least"
I try to comfort her but end up ranting a little the last part and Aiura gives me a sad smile
"So things in your house still are..."
Before she can finish, I shake my head
"Sorry, I got off track for a moment, please continue what you were saying"
After I apologize, Aiura blinks her eyes and sighs
"Well... the problem is that whenever I try to find her now, this is what I see..."
Aiura puts her hands around the crystal ball and a white mist appears inside of it
From inside that mist, what comes forward is...
...
...
Nothing?
"What happened?"
I ask and Aiura sighs
"That's the problem, lately I've been unable to find her. No matter when or how I use my powers, I can't see where she is"
I wide my eyes in surprise
Aiura might not have any kind of offensive abilities like Tatseyo, Lady Tatsumaki or her own husband, but her prediction and tracking abilities are one of the best in the entire world, even better than Kusuo-san's. She can find things without having any previous clue about it as long as she knows what to look for.
She even told me how she managed to use her powers to stalk Kusuo-san when they were teenagers. So if even her powers aren't able to track Kuriko, then what the hell is going on?
"What about Kusuo-san?"
She rubs her forehead
"He also tried, he used his clairvoyance, telepathy, psychometry, everything he could, however we still can't find her"
I scratch my head, my eyes now must be nearly popping out of my skull from confusion, if they cannot find her, then where in the world could she be?
"She hasn't told anything to anyone?"
Aiura shakes her head
"She has no friends and the only people close to her don't know anything"
"I-I see..."
Not a surprise, Kuriko isn't exactly a people person, also, if anyone knew where she was, Kusuo-san and Aiura would have found her already
"Oh!"
Suddenly a thought crosses my mind and I feel stupid for not asking before
"What is it? Have you thought of something?"
Aiura asks enthusiastically with a hopeful look on her face
"Couldn't this be Kusuke-san playing a joke on Kusuo-san? Didn't he used to do that all the time when they were young?"
Kusuke-san is Kusuo-san's older brother. Even though he has no psychic abilities, he is a genius that has surpassed human level a long time ago, he was the one that created Kusuo-san's and Kuriko's limiters and also created several devices aimed at their abilities
"It wouldn't be a surprise if that guy came up with some sort of device that affects your readings and was trying to pull a prank on you two, would it?"
Hearing my answer, Aiura's face turns gloomy again as she leans back on her chair and sighs
"Y-yeah, we already asked him, actually, darling interrogated him pretty hard..."
"W-what?"
I gulp down, not only because my only option left has vanished, but also because I can only imagine how being interrogated by Kusuo-san must be like
"Kusuke-san's work in the esper community is consuming all of his time and ever since you gave him access to demon technology he's been working on his inventions nonstop, he didn't even noticed that Kuriko disappeared"
"I-I see, sorry about that..."
Kusuke-san works with the esper community creating devices that help espers control and maximize their powers, I gave him some tools and tech made in the underworld as a thanks for crafting the jewelry I'm currently wearing, but now I'm wondering if that was a good idea after all...
"Do you think she could be in trouble?"
If it's come to this, maybe Kuriko somehow got herself in a troublesome situation somewhere and that's how she became out of reach, though I can't think of what could have caused it. As I said, that girl is very powerful, I can't imagine even the Maous being able to take her that easily.
[No, I don't think that's the case]
Answering my question, a male voice comes from our side
"K-Kusuo-san?!"
"Darling! Shouldn't you be at work?"
Aiura asks, standing up to greet the pink haired man wearing a business suit
[I am at work, this is an astral projection]
He says as he phases a hand through Aiura's face
[My physical body is in the company bathroom]
"Ah, I understand..."
I answer with a troubled expression, you really are a weird guy, Kusuo-san...
"So you don't think something has happened to her?"
I ask and Kusuo-san nods his head
[Our daughter is smart and strong, very strong, if anything had happened to her I'm sure she would have found a way to contact us]
Kusuo-san says putting his transluscent hand over Aiura's shoulder, even though he said that to me, it seems that those words were more aimed at calming Aiura
"Even so, I can't help but worry..." - She says with a bitter expression
I guess it can't be helped, even if their child is incredibly powerful, a mother will still be worried about them
Saiki-san gives a smile with a hint of sadness and looks up from his wife to me
[What's concerning me is that there have been more interferences than just with my daughter]
"Huh, more than that?"
Aiura nods
"Yes, lately there were a few times where my vision of the future has become blurry, the same thing has been happening to darling as well"
Kusuo-san agrees with his wife
[Most of the time I can see things clearly, however, certain interferences with my foresight and my clairvoyance have been happening here and there]
I tilt my head
"What do you mean, is it at random?"
Kusuo-san puts a hand on his chin
[It seems so, but we did noticed that regular events or things that usually concern normal people seem to be working fine at least ]
To Kusuo-san's words, Aiura gives a breath of relieve
"At least I can thank for this, otherwise my business would be in trouble"
Aiura works with giving out fortunes to people, most of her customers come to her asking for advice about love, work and mundane things, so this inteference must not have affected it
But this is still bad, if Kusuo-san and Aiura are having trouble with their predictions and foresight, something major might be happening
"I know it's a lot to ask of you, but could you please warn us if you know anything about our daughter or about this?"
I wave my hand
"It's not a lot at all, I'm actually glad you trusted me with this information, since it could probably involve us as well"
An interference of that kind must also be able to mess with our side, no, it's a surprise that heaven and the underworld haven't been affected by whatever it's causing it yet
[Very well, thank you Liliana. Now I'm sorry, but I must go back to work]
"Bye, darling"
"Goodbye, Kusuo-san"
We wave Kusuo-san goodbye as he disappears from the room
After he's gone, Aiura slushes herself on the table
"Just talking about it stresses me out..."
She seems to be really tired, worrying about her daughter and also having to deal with this sudden interference in both their powers must be rough
I think about saying farewell and ending my visit here, however, Aiura straights herself in the chair and stretches her arms
"Ah, but since we are here, how about doing a reading?"
I wide my eyes in surprise
"Are you sure?"
She waves her hand nonchantly
"Yes, don't worry, I always have energy to do my readings"
She says recomposing herself
"So let's see it..."
Aiura stares at the crystal ball for a while
Suddenly, a glow comes from inside the ball and a smile appears on Aiura's face
"T-Tatseyo?!"
I yell and she giggles
"Fufufufu, oh Lilly, I never expected you to be so much of a girl like that, fufufu"
"W-what are you saying?!"
I feel the blood rushing to my cheeks when she says it
"Tatseyo-kun, you really like him, don't you?"
My eyes feel like they'll pop out of my head. How did I not see this coming?!
"T-this was a bad idea!" - I say trying to take the crystal ball from her
But Aiura stands up too and grabs the crystal ball before I can take it from her
"Oh ho, why are you so embarassed now? You like to tease but can't take it when you are on the receiving end?"
She says with an impish expression
"Mou, Aiura-san! I thought you were going to tell me something more serious!"
"And is there anything more serious than the wishes of the heart? Fufufu"
"S-stop with that!"
I go after Aiura, but she leaps over the table and keeps looking at the crystal ball
"So, do you wanna know if he likes you too? This is a good opportunity for it"
"I-I don't need it!"
"Eh, why not?"
I step back after failing again to take the crystal ball from her hands
"I-it's just that there's a lot going on right now, Tatseyo is still adapting to all of this and I also have my responsabilities as a noble, if I tried anything right now... he might..."
I stop myself as I shake a fearful thought that crossed my mind
As I'm avoiding to think about unecessary things, Aiura's hand reach for my cheek and caresses me
"I can't even begin to think what must be going through your head right now, I'm not a telepath like darling, but I can at least tell you this"
She puts the crystal ball back in the table and looks at me
"If you keep waiting for the right opportunity, you might end up regretting not doing it sooner"
Aiura smiles and bumps my shoulder
"You are a strong girl, I know you got what it takes, you remind me a lot of myself when I was younger, have I told you about the volcano incident?"
I nod my head
"You confessed to Kusuo-san again just after he had avoided the destruction of the country"
"Yes, I did! Look, I'm not saying you should introduce yourself to his family, but if you really like him, you should tell him"
I smile a little at Aiura's advice
"Thanks, I'll try it"
She nods her head satisfied
"Geez, knowing that boy he would probably be all over you if he saw this defenseless side of yours"
"N-no way!"
"Hahaha! Anyway, I'm going to put this thing back, do you wanna stay for dinner?"
I shake my head
"I need to head back to the casino, I'm sorry"
"C'mon it's going to be quic-"
SHAKE SHAKE
"Huh? What's this?"
As Aiura is trying to convince me to stay, the crystall ball on her hand starts changing color
"It's... black?"
The ball who was crystal clear just a moment ago has began to darken
"Is this the interference you were talking about?"
My question is quickly rejected as Aiura shakes her head
"No, this isn't it..."
Aiura puts the ball back on the table and looks at it, I also approach and notice that the darkness inside the ball is actually dark clouds
"It's a storm" - Aiura says
The ball now has become completely shrouded in the dark clouds and is irradiating a fearsome energy, even though it should be only a channel for Aiura's powers, it seems to be giving off an aura of it's own.
Then emerging from the darkess, a disturbing face showed up
"T-this is a storm?"
The aura that comes from it is bad, an evil energy filled with malice, even though we are feeling it through the crystal ball
The face stands still completely expressionless as if staring at us untill all darkness disappears and the crystal ball returns to normal
Nervous sweat has appeared on her face and I feel my heart beating faster
"W-what was this?"
I ask as Aiura lifts the crystal ball right in front of her face in an attempt to search for something wrong with it
"An omem, a really bad one"
"A-an omen?"
Aiura nods
"It's powerful, but it's not the interference from before"
After saying that she sighs
"Great, another thing to watch out for..."
I gulp down
"Any idea of what it might be?"
Aiura regretfully answers as she puts the ball back on the shelf
"Don't know, but it was evil, definitely a very negative energy giving off an enormous aura. I'll let darling know about it, but please warn the others and be careful yourself"
I nod my head
"Thank you, I will"
Interrupting Aiura, a communication circle appears next to me
"Ah, I'm sorry, it's from work. Mind if I?"
Aiura waves her hand
"No problem, go ahead"
I answer the seal
"Hello?"
From the other side, a familiar voice calls my name
"Liliana-sama, I'm sorry to interrupt your visit, but we just received new information and I wanted to convey it to you as soon as possible"
Another important thing, seriously, it's just one after the other...
"It's alright, you can tell me now"
"Tatseyo's friend has warned that she'll arrive in about a week, she has just communicated with him"
"Oh..."
That's actually good news, I was worried for a sec
"Something wrong, Liliana-sama?"
Without noticing it, I just gave out a breath of relieve
"No, it's nothing Manaki, thanks for keeping me informed. I'm already going back so we can discuss things further"
"Understood, Liliana-sama"
We end the communication and I notice that Aiura is looking at me
"Good news?" - she asks
"Yes, Ayumu will be arriving soon"
I had already told Aiura about Ayumu's visit to Kuoh town, though she would probably hear about it even if I didn't told her
"You're planning to fill her in like you did with us?"
"Uhum, but of course we gotta keep it a secret"
My relation with the Saiki family is completely off the books since espers have a rivalry with almost everyone that's not human and it would cause a lot of problem if it was found out. There are many espers who wouldn't like to know that they are associated with devils, no matter how good our intentions are.
"Well, I would insist for you to stay a little longer, but I guess you have work to do, right?"
I nod
"Sorry, Aiura, next time I promisse to eat with you and Kusuo-san"
"Fufufu, I'm gonna hold you on that one, see you later, Lilly-chan"
We exchange farewells and I head back to the Dark Devil Casino
Part 2
Space - Unknown location
Millions of miles away from earth, a huge metal vehicle was drifting on space
It was a space ship, just like the ones you often see in Sci-fi movies, only this one was real, it was way more advanced than anything a human could create, however, the single habitant of that ship was exactly that, a human.
The place was a like a world of it's own, walls and floor covered in metal with modern equipment that couldn't be obtained by normal means laying all around the place.
The base this habitant currently occupied was very dim-illuminated, a normal person would have a hard time guiding around, the only lights that shone inside it were several monitors on a big wall at an end of the base.
And taring at the monitors, was a small figure sitting on a chair while humming a song
"Let me pass, let me pass
What is this narrow pathway here?
It's the narrow pathway of the Tenjin shrine
Please allow me to pass through"
Her presence was so shocking as the ship itself, in the middle of all the high tech equipment, she sat there wearing only a high school girl uniform and a pair of glasses.
In front of her, the several screens showed news from different parts of the world
Not just from the human world of the earth she had left, but also the news from the underworld, home of the devils and fallen angels who lived beneath the human world, and from heaven, the lair of the angels who lived above the skies
An impossible and fantastical sight that seemed to be out of a movie, the fantastical ship, the girl that silently sat there as if it was the most normal thing in the world and now the TV shows that were on the screens.
There couldn't be a way for the monitors to receive signal, much less signal from the underworld and heaven broadcasting companies.
But for this girl, Kuriko Saiki, something like that was easy to do
On the monitors, several different programs were being transmited, there were dozens of them, all talking about a variety of things
There were news channels, culinary programs, children's shows, fashion shows, etc...
A cacophony of different sounds and voices came from them, a normal person wouldn't possibly understand what each of them were talking about all at once, but to her, understanding this was also something easy to do
In one of the channels, a kids show was playing
Not a human kids show, but a devil kids show
On it, a teenager around her own age was wearing a red armour in a gleeful coloured scenario
Surrounded by kids, they started singing with the boy in armour
[ There is a breast-loving Dragon living in the edge of a certain country
The Dragon goes for a walk when the weather is good
DRAGON DRAGON OPPAI DRAGON
GROPE-GROPE SUCK-SUCK PAFU-PAFU
There are so many types of breasts
But he likes the big ones the best
The Oppai Dragon also flies today! ]
When Kuriko heard the song, she stopped humming and shifted her attention solely to that screen
Her eyes became sharp as a sword as she stared intensely at the monitor displaying the Oppai Dragon show, as if trying to dig a hole on the character's head with her eyes
"Sekiryuutei..."
She said in a very low voice
A killing intent had oozed out of her body and an annoyed expression emerged on her face
Kuriko then suddenly snapped her fingers and the monitors were all turned off
The room was enveloped by darkness, however, she didn't bothered turning the lights on, her vision was completely unaffected by the lack of light
Standing up from the chair, she stretched her arms and floated across the corridors of the big space ship. Kuriko looked like a ghost amidst the darkness, floating above the cold metal floor as she passed by several equipments and machines that gave off a faint light that barely illuminated the place
Eventually, she reached a big steel door that opened as if it had a mind of it's own, Kuriko walked through the bridge that led to outer space, the lack of air and gravity not affecting her in the slightest
She sat on the very end of the ship's outside, staring at the infinity of space and then closing one of her eyes, this was a condition required to use her clairvoyance.
In the eye she closed, the image of a familiar blue planet appeared
Earth.
A smile crept on her face as she announced
"It's time"
Those simple words carried an enormous weight and malice to them, almost as if announcing an execution
Kuriko reached for her head and removed one of the pink antennas on her scalp, the limiters that held back her full power
As soon as the first antenna was removed, the aura surrounding Kuriko became huge and overwhelming, any regular human or low class creature would have passed out simply from being close to her
She thought about removing the other antenna, but decided against it, just this one would be enough for what she was going to do
[Everything is on schedule, red is coming to town, pink and yellow are still blinded, black and gold are right where they should be and white and green have been bought.]
A telephatic message to her allies or, in her point of view, her pieces
[Do not interrupt. That's all for now]
Inter-planetary telepathy, the ones who were by her side had already become used to it, Kuriko would contact them whenever she wanted, speaking directly to their brains disregarding completely what they were doing or if they wanted it.
But to them, this was a cheap price to pay for having the backup of Kuriko, without her, none of this could have worked. The plan she was talking about wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for her.
One of the reasons why she was travelling through space was to become unreachable, after interfering with her parents foresight, she had to make sure no one would be able to find her.
With a longing look in her eyes, she stared at earth and put her hand forward, as if she could grasp all of the planet in the palm of her hand
"Fate is inevitable and now I am the only one ruling fate, therefore... I am inevitable"
A glimpse of happiness crept across her face as she said this
Kuriko stood up and opened her eyes, the image of earth faded away from her sight.
Then extending her arms as if preparing to embrace the stars in front of her, she declared
"All there is in this world, as well as the other world, everything will be at my reach"
And right afterwards returned to her normal, unfazed state, looking around to see if anyone had listened to her
"...And now I'm monologuing"
Realizing how weird she looked making a speech in front of no one, she put her antenna back and sat on the steel plataform again
"Isolation really messes with someone's head..."
Kuriko was not the talker, everything she wanted to say she communicated through telepathy, however, ever since she had started travelling around the cosmos, she started talking with her own voice more, perhaps it was to fill the silence there was around her? Was that it? All she knew was that it wasn't out of loneliness
"Maybe it's time to move out"
She thought about it for a while before standing up and walking back into the ship
Kuriko went all the way into one of the furthest parts of the ship: The vault
A place that stored several things she had acquired during her many travels across the vast universe
Dust, gas and soil samples from all kinds of planets, huge caspules that contained particles from stars and even radioactive material, it was all stored in here. Some of these things had been acquired from galaxies where humans have never even reached yet, however, what Kuriko was loooking for wasn't any of those things.
She went to the far back of the storage room where she kept her most ambitious project
At first glance it seemed to be only a scanner in one of the walls, however, as Kuriko put her hand on it, the enviroment around her changed drastically
From the ship's storage room, grass, trees and blue skies emerged, changing everything around her.
Clouds filled the sky, the sound of water nearby could be heard and fresh air blew through Kuriko's face as she felt the smell of the nature around her
She took a deep breath and started strolling through the green scenario, removing her shoes so she could feel the grass beneath her feet.
Kuriko sat beneath the shade of a tall tree and took a deep breath
However, as she relaxed in the lush scenario, a sight far from comforting emerged in her mind
"W-what?"
Dark clouds obscured her sight and engulfed everything around her
Kuriko felt the atmosphere become extremely heavier and her hair stood on attention
She remained silent as in the middle of the clouds a dark figure covered in shadows stood there staring at her.
It gave off a terrible aura, it's abstract form only made it creepier to look as if it was the shadow of death itself
She and the figure stared at each other in silence, not a single sound was heard during those few moments that seemed to last an eternity
Kuriko didn't broke eye contact with the creature for even a split second before the vision ended as abruptly as it had began
The blue skies, tall trees and green grass all came back and the frightening atmosphere vanished immediately as if nothing had happened at all
After coming back to her senses, Kuriko placed a hand on her chest
Her heart was leaping
However, unlike Liliana and Aiura, the expression on her face was one of pure joy
To make the heart of a person like her leap, what a tremendous power the figure she had seem emmited. So powerful she couldn't clearly see it, even with her own powers, however, she knew to who it belonged to, she already had a glimpse of it once and she was longing to see it free.
The smile on Kuriko's face turned to pure ecstasy that no one had ever seen on her face before
"Ah! It's not fair to tease a girl like this! I want it now! I want it so badly!"
Kuriko led a finger to her mouth and bit it with such a strength that blood started flowing out
"But I can't, I have to control myself... at least for now"
After calming down and taking the finger out her mouth she smiled to herself as blood dripped on the ground and water began to fall down from the sky
"Finally all this waiting will pay off, the storm is coming..."
The smile on her face got broader as she lifted her hand and smashed on the floor, causing a lightning to strike right next to her
"And we're all going to be drenched on it!"
Afterword: So, have you seem that Issei and Koneko's voice actors got married? I think it was seriously cute, there were even some fanarts of it. Well, sorry for taking so long to post this one, I'm going to move out soon so I'm kinda busy, but I think I'll go back to my usual rhytm in a while