"Mom?! Dad?!"
I stand up stiff, looking at the couple who had just appeared from the back of the room, behind the members of the Hero Faction
"Keeping yourself busy, haven't you?"
My mother says, her arms crossed and a clearly not happy expression on her face.
"I honestly found it hard to believe, but it's really you, Tatseyo, with Ayumu nonetheless."
Father says, Ayumu trembles at the mention of her name
"K-Ka-Kageyama-san, Lady Tatsumaki, w-what are you..."
I look at Cao Cao, repeating Ayumu's question to him
"What are my parents doing here?!"
Could it be that they are the contact inside the Esper Community of the Khaos Brigade?
If so things have gotten a lot worse...
"Hey, young man! Watch your behaviour!"
Mom scolds me and I pull back
Cao Cao however, raises his hand and waves
"Now, now, I take no offense Lady Tatsumaki, after all, Tatseyo must be very surprised."
I look at him in disbelieve, Ayumu's still in shock, alternating between looking at the members of the Hero Faction and my parents.
"Our source in the Esper Community gave Kageyama-san and Lady Tatsumaki's contact to us to aid in our effort. It was them as well that told us you were doing a Black Ops mission along with Miss Yatsushiro in Kuoh town, so we thought that perhaps you'd like to join us."
So their contact is not mom and dad? Somehow that's good and bad at the same time...
Mom glared at us and answered
"A Black Ops mission, honestly, what were you thinking..."
Dad also has a troubled look on his face
"I didn't believe when he told us, what were you doing?"
It seems that they don't know that I'm actually for the devils, that's good, but now things are a whole lot complicated.
With mom and dad at their side, they have enourmously powerful allies and I'm not even counting with the possibility of their contact being a level 5... or worse...
"I... just wanted to do this mission on my own, to keep things low profile, that's all"
Mom still looks mad at me, but dad sighs
"Well, as long as your head is in the right place, I don't think that's a problem."
"Eh? What do you mean it's not a problem?!"
Mom turns to dad now, her cheeks red
"He's lying to us and acting undercover mission behind the Community's back when he is not even fully matured yet!"
Dad raises his hand, troubled
"W-well, both of us used to do missions before we could fully use our powers as well, I don't see what's the problem"
"The problem is him lying to us and going on a secret mission with a girl behind our back! Honestly, when we are back I'm gonna give those guys at the high council a scolding they'll never forget!"
Mom says, her aura starting to twist the air around her
She then turns to Ayumu, who jolts at my mom's gaze
"And you! Ayumu, right?"
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
Ayumu responds as one would answer to a general.
"Why did you decide to come to this mission with my son? Don't tell me..."
Mom points at me and says
"You are not using this mission as a pretext to sneak around with your girlfriend, are you?!"
Both mine and Ayumu's face goes red
"Of course not!"
"W-we didn't do anything like that!"
Father looks at mom and puts a hand over her shoulder
"Calm down dear, Tatseyo wouldn't do something like that..."
He says, trying to ease things up
Cao Cao joins my father
"Our contact in the Community told us Tatseyo has done a good job infiltrating Kuoh Academy, you truly raised a marvelous kid"
He says, so whoever his contact is, it knows about my infiltration.
Mom stops for a moment and looks at me
"Ok, but you're still not out of the hook yet, why didn't you told me and your dad at least?"
Cause you would enter the town and probably end anything that wasn't human...
What was supposed to be my introduction to the Hero Faction, suddenly turned into a round of questioning from my mother about mine and Ayumu's life in Kuoh town under the troubled expression of my father.
Thankfully we had a cover story ready from the beggining, so obviously we didn't told about how we are housing a youkai. Or that we are living in the same house...
After explaining and apologizing a lot, we were finally able to move on with the conversation
"As you already know, I am Cao Cao and these are Jeane, Georg, Heracles, Siegfried and Leonardo."
Out of all of them, the one that impresses me the most is the kid refered to as the reincarnation of Leonardo Da Vinci.
He can't be more than 10 years old and is already working with the terrorists.
Well, as a member of the Esper Community I don't think I have the high moral ground here, since I've been doing tasks for them ever since I was a kid as well...
Actually, now that I think about, were me and Ayumu child soldiers?
"I-it's nice to finally meet all of you, so everyone is a hero descendant?"
I say, although Georg Faust and Leonardo Da Vinci can even be considered heroes in the strict sense of the word?
He nods
"We are proud to have our ranks filled with those who inherited the spirit from legendary heroes and yuusha"
As it was told to me, everyone in this group not only is extraordinary on their own due to having the souls of legends, they also have Sacred Gears, with even some Longinus amongst them.
"I must admit we were actually thinking about contacting you before Connla appeared to us, so I was surprised when you contacted us first, but now I'm even more surprised... what do you need our help for if you already have my parents with you?"
If they wanted the aid of espers, then mom and dad can do more than me and Ayumu ever could, why us?
Cao Cao shook his head
"Don't underestimate yourself Kageyama-kun, you and miss Yatsushiro have proven to be incredibly strong. Taking down the entire peerage of Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri by yourself or figthing toe to toe with the Hakuryuukou Lucifer is something that I must admit even I would have a hard time doing, this shows how strong you are even compared to us."
My eyes wide when he mentions Vali Lucifer
"Y-you know about my fight against that white armor devil?"
Ayumu asks, even more shocked than I am
The leader of the Hero Faction speaks with a smile
"I have issued orders to keep an eye on the Vali team, it just so happened that you fought while he was under surveillance, I didn't saw it myself, but my agents told me you were very impressive, miss Yatsushiro."
"T-thanks..." - Ayumu responds with a troubled expression
"Caham..."
Mom clears throat, calling our attention
"Also, when they told me about your involvement with those devils and that their contact in the Community warned them about your little operation, I insisted for them to bring you over!"
Of course...
"Hahaha, that is true, Lady Tatsumaki was adamant in calling you here as fast as possible"
Well, I guess it's only natural she would want to reprimand me after lying to her face, but this is a good opportunity to...
"Who is this contact of yours anyway?"
I try to use this opening to casually make this question, hopefully I'll get the name of whoever is working with them
"Tsk, give up, this guy won't even tell us who it is."
Mom says, dad only nods agreeing with her.
"I am sorry, but my source was very strict about not having their identity leaked to anyone. They are aware of all the rules and regulations that they are breaking by working with us... even if it's for a good cause."
Crap, of course it wouldn't be that easy...
Indeed, working with anyone outside of the Esper Community, human or not, without direct authorization is a serious violation of the Esper Code. This makes me think why mom and dad are even here, this guy must have made a pretty good argument if even dad that dislikes fighthing decided to join.
I was warned that the leader of the Hero Faction was a very charismatic guy due to how many people he managed to gather, but this was beyond my expectations.
"Y-you must have a pretty good cause if even mom and decided to join you..."
I say, nervously looking at dad, who looks back at me.
He calmly nods and replies
"I believe Cao Cao has a good plan to get rid of supernatural existences and create a safer world for your generation, that's why I decided to fight"
Mom closes one of her eyes and adds non chalantly
"If there are troublesome inhumans to be dealt with, then I'll deal with them, whether the Esper Community likes it or not"
Y-yeah, that's definitely my mom...
Both of my parents dislike supernatural existences, throughout my dad's entire life there's only one evil spirit he ever spared and I don't think even he will easily extend this courtesy to devils
Not to mention mom...
Cao Cao gives a joyful laugh at her response
"Good, good, since we are all here then, why not start our meeting? This is a great time to give our first step on the Kyoto mission"
First step?
"What Kyoto mission?"
Ayumu asks and Cao Cao signs for us to sit
"I'll explain everything"
We take our places at the round table, me, Ayumu and my parents at one end and the Hero Faction members at the other
The boy called Georg activates a magic circle and a projection appears at the center of the table
An image of a huge red dragon with sharp teeth and enormous claws, it's scally body glistening while it flies in a space that I cannot identify.
"This is Great Red, also know as Apocalypse Dragon"
Cao Cao spoke
"It is one of the strongest supernatural beings in existence, alongside the Orobos Dragon, Ophis"
Next to the projection of the red dragon, an image of a cute dark haired girl wearing gothic lolita costume appeared
"What the-"
"I know, this is just the appearance it's assuming now, but I assure you this is the Dragon of Infinity-sama herself"
Both me and Ayumu are looking confused at the image show to us, but mom and dad do not seem surprised. Cao Cao must have already spoke to them about this, how long have them been together anyway?
"I heard about her, but they told me she was the one leading the Khaos Brigade, aren't you working with her?"
The members of the Hero Faction laugh a little and Cao Cao answers with a smile
"Indeed, she might think she's the one pulling our strings, but don't worry, we have a plan about how to deal with her should she get in our way"
I can feel the malice coming from his words, this guy, so he already has a plan to deal with the god of infinity herself?
"And what is your goal with this?"
Cao Cao taps his spear and looks at it with a glimmer in his eyes
"Our goal is very simple, just like you espers, we decided we want to see how far humans can go against the supernatural existences, simple as that. The ones to defeat inhuman existences were always heroes, so we shall do it all over again."
My eyes go wide at his words
Such simple objective, but the weight of what he said is overbearing.
Extermination.
This guy and those following him want nothing but to kill supernatural existences.
They are not longing for control or anything of the like, I cannot feel the least desire for domination coming from him. All this guy wants... is victory.
I swallow a gulp of saliva
"S-so you are planning an open out war against every supernatural existence? A little bold aren't you? With such minor organization."
By what I've been told, despite having a lot of members, the Khaos Brigade is split in several factions that don't exactly get along and both their resources and capabilities aren't even close to the Esper Community's.
Cao Cao nods, still with a smile on his face
"I know that our plan might seem a little too simple and too bold, however, I believe we can achieve it, specially if we have your help"
He says nodding over to the four of us.
"Ugh! Enough chit-chat, tell us already what the plan is about!"
Mom says impatiently, Cao Cao signals to Georg who snaps his fingers and suddenly, three new figures appear in front of us.
One is a beautiful woman with golden hair and fox ears, the nine golden tails sprouting out of her back make it clear to me and Ayumu who she is
"The Kyuubi, the nine tailed fox who rules of the the West youkais"
Cao Cao announces before pointing to another figure, an old man with a gourd-shaped head wearing a kimono, by his side was a large cat with seven tails, it's fur is white with black spots all over.
"The Nurarihyon, the leader of the East youkais and his bodyguard, Magari, the leader of all nekomata in the east faction."
And then he points with his spear to the last figure, a short and wrinkled old man with an ape-like appearance, riding on the back of what seems to be an eastern dragon.
"And lastly, the original Sun Wukong, the Victorious Fighting Budha of journey to the West."
I jump back at the last statement
"Hold up! Stop right there! Sun Wukong? The monkey king? Are you telling me that youkai is one of the protagonists of Journey to the West? The Great Sage Equal to Heaven? That Sun Wukong?"
I ask as to not let any doubts remain, Cao Cao nods.
"Yes, that's him, out of the whole bunch he's the one that's been giving us the most trouble. He and that dragon Yu-long have been messing up our plans all over the world..."
He answers with a serious expression.
"W-what do you want us to do with them?"
Ayumu asks, but I think we very well may know the answer.
Cao Cao taps the spear on his shoulder and says
"Kageyama-kun, as you are with the devils, can you tell us something?"
I look nervous, but nod anyway
"What would it be?"
He looks at me serious and asks
"The devils are planning an alliance with the youkais, aren't they?"
My eyes wide at his remark, Cao Cao smirks
"That's enough of an answer, so they are doing it..."
"How did you know that?"
I ask, he answers with a hand under his chin
"Like I said, we have been spying on the devils and other supernatural factions as best as we can. After one of my agents saw the Kyuubi leaving for a meeting with Sakra from Mount Meru and the Maou Leviathan and Azazel in Kyoto we thought this could be a possibility, but I didn't had a confirmation untill now..."
Georg speaks up
"This could be troublesome, more and more mythologies are joining the Alliance, if they continue to grow it will become even harder to fight them."
"Tsk, honestly, inhumans joining forces, what a nuisance" - Mom exclaims
"Indeed, it's a problem..." - Dad says
Cao Cao agrees and looks back at me
"It is true, but now we at least have a confirmation, thank you Tatseyo, Ayumu, this information is very useful."
I nod, trying to look happy, but deep down I anguish. Did I just they gave them important info they could use against us?
"Well, anyway, the plan still stands. What we wish to do is simple"
Cao Cao points at the figures
"We want to capture the Kyuubi in order to use Leylines of chi in Kyoto and capture all of them to stop the youkai factions from joining forces with the Alliance."
A shiver runs down my spine
"W-what?!" - I exclaim, more surprised than I wished I had seem
Everyone at the table looks at me
"What are you surprised for son? I thought it was kinda obvious what they would ask us to do..."
Father speaks up, I reply
"But still, you want us to attack them? And then do what?"
I say fearing for the worst
"Just capturing them will be enough since we'll be using their powers, so I ask that you knock them down and bring them over as unharmed as you can."
I feel somewhat relieved that he's not out to outright kill them, but still concerned at what he's planning to do with them after they are captured.
"What do you need them for?"
I inquiry
"You see, Kyoto is a power spot for all sorts of youkais, it's very foundation is based on ki and leylines, think of Kyoto as a huge magic circle. If we manage to control the Kyuubi, we can make use of it for our own benefit"
"What benefit?"
Georg is the one to explain to me
"We're going to use the Kyuubi's influence over the massive Kyoto's powerspots to summon Great Red and capture it"
My eyes wide
"W-what?" - Ayumu questions
"Y-you're going to summon Great Red in Kyoto?! Won't that cause enourmous destruction? Also, how the hell do you plan to capture a legendary being like him?!"
When I say this, Cao Cao laughs
"About Great Red, you don't have to worry because we already got a way to deal with it. And about the destruction problem, you won't have to worry about it. You see, Georg here has the Sacred Gear named [Dimension Lost]. It allows him to create entire artificial dimensions, such as the one we are gathered in now"
I look over at the boy wearing a magician's robe, he nods.
So the place we are now is an aritificial dimension... there are espers that can do things like that, but if his power works like this then that means...
I look over at Ayumu, she also has a worried look on her face
Should I do it? Would it be too suspicious?
After thinking for a while I decide to ask
"So all communications with the outside world is blocked here?"
"Are you trying to call someone?"
Cao Cao asks and I shake my head
"N-no, I was just asking, so this place is isolated from the outside world?"
He nods
"Yes, but if you wish to communicate with someone, Georg can use his magic to allow communication with an especific person."
I shake my head, there's no way I would be able to tell them who would I wish to call without risking my cover.
Now I regret not thinking about coming up with some sort of code to communicate with Liliana in case something like this happened
"No need, I just wanted to know, this dimension is really impressive"
When I look around I can see through the windows that it seems to cover a huge area. This would take a considerably strong esper to pull off, but this is a legendary Longinus, so I shouldn't be too surprised.
"It is a very useful ability after all, it's what allowed us to go undercover for so long. Anyway, once we have captured Great Red, we'll have taken a huge step in destabilizing the world of the supernatural creatures. Not to mention taking down the most powerful youkais in existence will be a huge burden in the Alliance's way."
I nod, so that's their plan, it's somehow worse than I ever thought... I'm gonna have a lot to report once I get back...
But luckily, once we are back I'll be able to warn them and hopefully stop their plans.
"So, are you all in?"
He asks, looking at us
Not wanting to raise suspicion, both me and Ayumu nod
"Of course"
"Seems like a good plan"
Mom and dad only nod, despite all the shocking revelations Cao Cao said they have been almost reactionless, either Cao Cao has already revealed all of this to them before or they are even cooler with the whole mass extermination than I thought they could be.
"Good, all I want you to do now is to choose your target, Georg will teleport you to their area, I'll have a team of our members scorting you so you won't be totally unfamiliar with the area. Don't worry for they will do their best not to get on your way"
"W-wait! You want us to go now?!"
I exclaim, standing up from my chair
"Y-yeah, that's too soon!"
Ayumu backs me up
This is bad, if we go now things will happen before I have chance to communicate with anyone!
The members of the Hero Faction look confused at me
"I'm sorry to be in such a short notice, but we have to act as quickly as possible because the opportunity to catch all of three of them at once has only appeared now that Sun Wukong just attacked one of my teams. Also, we are afraid that information about our plans could leak if we were to wait much longer"
I freeze, so this guys were even counting with moles already! Crap, we underestimated them too much!
"Is there a problem for you to go now, son?"
Dad asks, mom also looks at me puzzled
Crap, crap, I can't tell them! Even though I know that the Hero Faction does awful things to humans that mom and dad would disapprove, if I were to suddenly start going against them they might realize I'm siding with devils
If that happens, there's no telling what mom and dad might do
I look at Ayumu, who looks just as nervous and surprised as I am.
"N-no, there's no problem, we just have to return to the trip before sunrise or the others will notice that we disappeared, specially the devils..."
I say, trying to look as if I'm against them. I will have to think of a way to communicate our situation during the battle them...
Cao Cao nods understandibly
"I see, I don't think this will take long anyway, your powers should be more than enough to take them down, except..."
He looks at us
"If it's not a problem, I would like Kageyama-kun and miss Ayumu to go after Magari and the Nurarihyon."
My eyes wide
"Why is that? I was kinda looking forward to meeting the Kyuubi..."
I say, trying to sound nonchalant, but completely nervous inside. The nine tailed fox seems to be most important for their plans currently, if I managed to screw that up on purpose, it could be a major strike to their plans.
"Sun Wukong is a very dangerous youkai, he's considered the Sage Equal to Heaven after all, besides, his company is the legendary dragon king Yu-Long, I would prefer if either Kageyama-san or Lady Tatsumaki were to take care of them, if that's not a problem."
I nod, indeed, it's the Victorious Fighting Budha, the man who defeated the Four Heavenly Kings and the Nezha Prince. There's no way me and Ayumu could defeat him, but it's not like we would fight him anyway...
"No complains here... but what about the Kyuubi?"
I insist, the one I truly wish to intervene with is her after all, but Cao Cao sighs
"We had to delay our plans in order to accomodate you and your parents. Although it's worth it, it also means that the Kyuubi has most likely already met with the members of Sakra's vanguard."
He pauses for a moment before saying
"Sakra is the God of war of the hindu mythology, if members of his group have already met with the Kyuubi then that means there must be heavy security around her already. Probably a god class individual to scort her to meet him..."
He looks at us once again and apologizes
"I do not doubt of your skills for even a moment, I do believe that you could defeat the Kyuubi, but we do not know which kind of security she might have, such a delicate operation must be dealt with the utmost security, that is why I wish to have Kageyama-san and Lady Tatsumaki deal with Sun Wukong and the Kyuubi's security."
I frown, he has good reasons... but if there's a time to act pushy, that time is now.
"If you don't doubt our powers, then let us take them on."
An expression of surprise appears on the faces of the members of the Hero Faction
"I-I'm sorry?"
"Tachan?"
Cao Cao asks, I look over at Ayumu
"Me and Ayumu have enough strength to fight against the Kyuubi, you said so yourself, and what security could she have that me and Ayumu could not defeat?"
I say in a tone of defiance, Cao Cao looks at me surprised.
"The gods of Mount Meru who follow Sakra are gods of battle, Kageyama-kun they..."
I raise my hand, interrupting him
"You said yourself that you are not sure, maybe the guards are weaker than you think, why shouldn't we?"
Cao Cao looks confused for a moment, yes, maybe I still can turn this around
That's what I thought untill...
"No, he's right, you should go for the Nurarihyon, let me and your mother take care of the stronger ones"
Father says, looking at me.
Oh crap...
"Dad, I'm strong, I can-"
"You've already proven enough with your covert operation thing, I think we don't need you fighting you a god on your own. I won't let you put yourself on the line like that"
Mom says harshly
"Mom, we can do it, with me and Ayumu we can-"
"I already decided it! I won't let you get hurt fighting threats you don't even know about!"
I try to come up with something to say, but it's fruitless, specially with how protective mom is, there's no way she'll allow me to go after the Kyuubi after what Cao Cao just said.
I take a deep sigh
"I understand..."
Ayumu looks at me concerned, I look back at her and shake my head.
"W-well, now that this is solved, which one do you wish to fight, Lady Tatsumaki?"
I sulk over my failed attempt while mom looks over to the image of the monkey king, a sly smile appearing on her face
"I see, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven or the Kyuubi with the guards sent by a god of war, huh? While fighting a god does seem tempting, I would like to fight Sun Wukong to see if he's all that..."
Dad looks over at the Kyuubi's picture
"That would leave the nine tails to me, huh?"
His gaze lingers a little on her and he says
"She's at least prettier than all those devils, monsters and evil spirits we've fought..."
When he says this, I immediately raise my head
Oh no...
Mom starts glaring daggers at dad
"What do you mean by that, darling~?"
She says, an enourmous threatning aura surrounding her
"Ouch, ouch! I'm just saying it, sweetie! I didn't meant nothing by that!"
Mom starts pulling his ear and dad continuously apologizes, the members of the Hero Faction looking at them with wide eyes
"Lady Tatsumaki can sure be scary..."
Ayumu says
"You don't know how half of it..."
At the end, dad is rubbing his red ear while mom crosses her arms and says "Humpf!"
"It's decided then, I'll be fighting the Kyuubi and whatever gods may be guarding her, you go fight Sun Wukong"
She says to dad, still angry
"Y-yes dear..."
As expected, no one has a chance against mom...
Cao Cao and the other members look like they are holding back their laughter.
"So it's decided then, Georg will teleport you to the place, there will be an unit of our soldiers already there to help you, they are instructed to guide you and follow your instructions in order to capture the targets. So..."
He looks troubled at us
"I'm sorry to say this, but we very much need the targets alive, if they die we could loose precious information and months of planning. I won't tell you to risk your lifes in order to do it, but please do your best to bring them to us alive."
Despite he saying this to all of us, it's kinda clear to which one he actually meant to say it...
"Don't worry, I've dealt with worse things, bringing back a overgrow fox is child's play. I don't take responsability if I end up killing everyone else though..."
She says, Cao Cao scratches his cheek
"I don't really care about the rest, but please bring the Kyuubi alive"
You could feel the shiver in his voice, indeed mom can be very scary.
I just wonder what will happen when I finally get the chance to talk to them about what's going on...
Georg summons three magic circles, one for mom, one for dad and one for me and Ayumu.
As the light of the spell starts enveloping us, Cao Cao gives his final message
"We'll continue the preparations for when you all arrive. Good luck to all of you"
Those are the last words we hear before being teleported to the battlefield.
Afterword: Thanks for reading! For the next chapters I thought I'd do something different and let the readers decide which fight you wanna see first, second and third. I'll make a chapter for Tatseyo and Ayumu's capture of the Nurarihyon, one for Tatsumaki's fight against the Kyuubi and her guards and one for Mob's fight against Sun Wukong and Yu-Long, the order of the chapters really won't affect the story, so if you guys have a preference to which fight you wanna see first please let me know.