When I open my eyes again I find myself back at the artificial dimension created by Georg
"Issei-san! Are you alright!?" - I finally hear the voices of my friends as Asia relentlessly tugs in my arm
I look around, everyone seems to be fine, though they are looking concerned at me
"Y-yes, I'm alright, but... Tatseyo!"
I look in Tatseyo's direction, Cao Cao has True Longinus raised towards him, who's covering his face with his hands, looking to be in tremendous pain
"Everyone be careful! I think something terrible is about to take control of him!"
They all look at me confused
"Tatseyo? Something taking control of him?"
"Issei, what happened while you were there?!"
Kiba asks me, but before I can start to formulate a coherent answer a shattering laughter breaks out and sends a shiver down my spine
This voice
I recognize this voice
It's not Tatseyo's voice
I look away from my friends, following the direction of their terrified eyes
Tatseyo stands up surrounded by the Hero Faction, his body emanating a crimson aura, a red third eye sits on his forehead.
{HAHAHAHAHA! Once again free to walk this world! And in the body of a proper vessel no less! What a joyous occasion!}
Everyone looks nervous towards the possessed body of Tatseyo, now speaking in a terryfing voice.
The power he exudes is so enormous I can feel myself shaking, there's no way we can fight this thing.
"W-what's happening? Why is Tatseyo-san talking like that?" - Asia mutters
"That aura... when did Tatseyo get an aura like that?" - Xenovia asks and I shake my head
"That's what I'm trying to say, that's not Tatseyo!" - I exlamate
"Issei, I know the answer might be long, but tell us at least what the hell is that thing."
Rossweisse-san asks
I find myself lost in thought as to how I could even define that creature without making a speech.
Eventually, however, the words I find most appropriate come to mind and I blurt them out
"It's the god of espers... I think"
At my answer everyone's eyes go wide
"God of... espers?"
"What you mean? He created the espers?" - Rossweisse asks
"Issei, what is it that you saw?" - Kiba asks looking at me
They all look troubled for a moment and then Rossweisse shakes her head as if accepting this as a reality
"I know we're all curious, but I don't think we have time for Issei to answer all these questions, so I'll just accept it for now. But... a god? Compared to that bastard former boss of mine, what would you say our chances are?"
I shake my head, remembering it's fight against the Son of God and comparing the power I saw Odin display with Gungnir, even then it wasn't even clsoe
"None. I don't think we'd be able to even scratch him."
I say with the most certainty I'm capable of mustering, there's no way we can defeat this thing.
Everyone looks terrified, we slowly take a defensive formation, trying to make our movements as quietly as possible so as to not catch that thing's attention, Cao Cao and the Hero Faction members are still the ones closest to it, so it might buy us time.
Fortunately, the creature seems much more interested in the leader of the Hero Faction than in any of us, when it finally stops laughing it's three eyes dart towards Cao Cao's hands.
{Oh, oh, OH! Is this? Yes! It is! HAHAHAHAHA} - Another horrific laughter echoes through the artificial dimension
{The spear who slayed the Son of Man, what a spectacle! But to be with someone so weak, what a waste...}
He declares pointing at Cao Cao, who looks confused for a moment
"Son of... man? Who are you? What happened to Tatseyo?"
Cao Cao answers without missing a beat and the monster chuckles
{Tatseyo is still here, he's just unavailable at the moment, I'll be borrowing him for a moment so I can do a little... cleansing}
"Cleansing?"
Cao Cao asks and I feel a cold shiver run down my spine as the creature pierces a hole through his soulder faster than I can notice!
{Yes... a cleansing}
Cao Cao tries to defend himself, a burst of light coming from the tip of his spear, but to no avail, the monster deftly blocks his attempt and pushes him to the ground head first.
"Cao Cao!"
"Cao Cao-sama!"
Georg raises his sacred gear to try and entangle the monster with the mist but he just looks annoyed.
{You and your pitiful tricks!} - He swings his arm and the mist is immediately dispelled
{The one who wields the spear will be allowed to live, as for the rest of you...}
Another wave of his hand.
"Ugh!"
The other members of the Hero Faction are blow away by a storm of energy that falls from the artificial sky
{I don't need you.}
Cao Cao manages to stand up, the orbs from his Balance Breaker surrounding him as if he's defending himself
"Who are... no, what are you?" - He asks the possessed Tatseyo
{Hahahaha! I am the Crimson King! Sovereign of all those called espers! I have come back to lead my children into the dawn of a new age! Rejoice! For all ye who stand here shall serve as sacrifices for my glorious return!}
He says, his aura glowing and a wave of power making the very air tremble.
Every instinct in my body tells me to run away, but to where? There's nowhere for us to go here and even if there was would he even let us? Actually, would it even be wise to let this thing walk out of the artificial dimension and into the real world?
"What the hell? I didn't knew espers had a god..." - Cao Cao them freezes for a moment and his face changes as the same realization that dawned on me also hits him
"Kuriko... you bitch, did you used us for this?"
He says with bitternes in his voice
Yes, we were used, Kuriko planned all of this. She used me and the Hero Faction in order to wake this guy up and now we have no idea what will happen.
{Kuriko... a child of mine, I shall have her to thank then}
The monster sounds delighted at Cao Cao's words and just walks past him as if he was no threat
{But be joyful young one, as you wield the holy relic I shall let you live. You and the red devil boy shall live and warn the others of my glorious return...}
He then raises a hand towards us
{The rest of you does not interest me, so just die}
For a moment I feel a sense of dread spread throughout my entire body
What is this? This feeling...
Ah, I remember
It's the same sensation that I felt in my botched first date.
It's the feeling of creeping death.
The memories of that time flood into my mind and before I can even think my body reacts on it's own
"AS IF I'D LET YOU!"
I scream on instinct and the two cannons of my Bishop form appear on my back and shoot an immense block of demonic energy towards him
Right behind goes flying a huge swat of aura attacks and several spells hurled by Rossweisse-san
We're not going down without a fight! I don't care how strong you are!
The huge magical attacks fly towards him, but the monster just stares at them with a big toothy smile
{Tsk, you earthlings never change. Don't know when to give up}
He raises a finger and just like that the huge blast of demonic energy along with all attacks change direction, a complete 90 degrees turn that makes all attacks miss their mark entirely
The monster shakes his head as he stares at us with a big smile on his face.
{Ah, what a disappointment, I thought that you of all people would be better than this, red one. But if you are so intent on dying with them-}
"Don't turn your back to me!"
I hear the voice of Cao Cao as one of the orbs flies towards the monster's back
He easily dodges out of the way without even looking back at Cao Cao, the orb flies back once again trying to hit the creature but it's no use, it easily dodges out of the way
{This is just sad...}
It says, not even looking in his direction as it raises a single finger
"UGH!" - Cao Cao grunt in pain as his knees bend and I can hear a loud 'crack' sound coming from him
Almost immediately he uses the orb closest to him and teleports away, using the same trick to escape the creature's telekinesis, but as soon as he reappears
DOOOM
A huge blast explodes right beneath his feet and Cao Cao is tossed into the air before falling limp onto the ground
At no time did the creature even stopped to glance in the direction of the Hero Faction's leader, this whole one sided beatdown was done while he was glaring directly towards us, like swatting a fly without turning your face away from the television
{Teleportation? That's the oldest trick in the book kid, let me give you a tip: It doesn't help when the enemy knows where you'll land}
The monster taps close to the red eye in it's forehead
{Now where was-}
RING
As the monster is set towards us, the True Longinus in the hands of the fallen Cao Cao begins to shine with an overwhelming holy aura
This time, the creature looks away from us
Towards Cao Cao, who has been laying on the ground all this time, shakenly standing up
"...What is it Longinus? Do you still wish to fight?"
SHINE
The ring of light around the spear glows as if answering to his question
"I see... so you are finally ready... to use your true power"
The creature looks back at him surprised for a moment and then smiles
{Ha...hahahaha! No way... this aura... is that you?}
He asks, his eyes fixed on the spear who shines and gleams as Cao Cao slowly stands up
{Son of man! To think there would be something of you left after all this time!}
The Crimson King begins to cackle
{Oh happy day! I get to come back in such a fine vessel and settle an old score as well! Who could ask for a more triumphant return!}
Cao Cao also gives a satisfied smile looking at the glorious light coming from his Sacred Gear
"I suppose I should thank you as well, all this time I tried to release True Longinus's real power and it looks like your presence helped me"
He points the spear towards the possessed Tatseyo and begins to chant
"O Spear. The true Holy Spear which pierces through God. Suck the ambition of the King of Domination sleeping within me and pierce through the gap of blessing and destruction. You. Announce the will, and turn into a glow."
The glow of the spear tuns into an intense offensive aura that feels like needles are prickling my skin!
"Everyone! Jump back!" - Rossweisse says as she creates a barrier around us
"What is that?!"
I ask, that immense holy aura is something I never saw before
No, it's not true
I saw it once, in that memory...
"I... don't know" - Rossweisse-san states with a nervous expression
"That... I've only heard about it from Michael-sama. It's the True Longinus's real power, the sleeping will of the God of the bible, Truth Idea!" - Irina says
My eyes go wide and I see everyone else is surprised as well
"That's the power of the God of the bible?! He can do such a thing?"
Kiba nods this time
"So far no one has any idea of what it requires to be unleashed, but if that thing is used it can even create miracles, as devils we have to be very careful, a single hit could mean our complete destruction"
I gulp down, no surprise there, just looking at it makes me feel like I'm going to be vaporized by the holy aura.
But the Crimson King shows neither fear nor aprehension
{Hahahaha! Like the good old times! Except this time you have this pathetic host to wield your power while I have this glorious vessel! Let's see which of our chosen ones is strongest!}
He shouts and unleashes a wave of psychic energy that demolishes the scenery where Cao Cao stands
But it doesn't reach him!
True Longinus created a barrier of light that protected Cao Cao from the barrage!
The monster does not seem the least shocked despite that, a big smile still plastered on his face
{Yes! Come on Son of Man!}
The spear shines with overwhelming brightness and Cao Cao jumps in the air and aims it at him
With what I can only describe as blinding speed the tower of light spreads towards the Crimson Monster
"Tatseyo!" - I scream, even if it's the Crimson King possessing him that's still Tatseyo's body! It's going to destroy him!
"Issei!"
Kiba and Xenovia block my path
"I know how you are feeling but going outside of the barrier in your state is suicide, we can only hope that Tatseyo survives this... god I don't even know who I'm cheering for anymore"
Xenovia says
I gulp down, if the Crimson King wins then it will turn it's sights back on us, but if Cao Cao wins Tatseyo might die. What the hell should we do?
Fortunately or not, the Crimson King seems to have protected Tatseyo's body, deflecting the enormous light away with a sickening smile on his face
{Kakakakakaka! That's it?! Son of Man, you are so much weaker than before! Does this treasure only hold a portion of your might? Or is this vessel of yours that pathetic?}
Then a huge sphere of dark energy emerges on his hand
{On the other hand this vessel can hold a great deal of my power! So allow me to toy with you a little for what you did to me!}
The creature disappears and reappears again next to Cao Cao
{Didn't thought you were the only one who could that did you?} - The monster flicks a finger at Cao Cao, whose spear lifts another barrier to protect him but is still pushed back by the sheer force of the creature possessing Tatseyo.
"Ugh!" - Cao Cao groams and the monster closes in again
"Not another step!"
With a blade made of pure light Cao Cao aims his spear and strikes, a shower of holy energy pours from the tip of the weapon
{Not enough!} - The monster dodges, as if he saw the attack coming diving immediately at the floor and closing the distance in a flash!
His hand reaches for the barrier
Crack
It's breaking!
For a moment I see a crack in the barrier formed by the spear
{You were chosen by the spear but you are yet to master it's true power!}
CRASH
The creature says and the barrier protecting Cao Cao is shattered
"Not... yet!" - The spear teleports Cao Cao again! So he can use that power even on this form?!
{Good trick, but I'm tired of games, if that's all you can do...}
The creature immediately looks in the direction Cao Cao appears
{Let's just end it before I get bored again}
It teleports again right after Cao Cao
It's fist shatters the barrier and pummels Cao Cao, sending him tumbling through the floor again
{Hahaha! A good fight, you humans are tricky!}
He says looking at the downed Cao Cao
{Or maybe it's just you? Perhaps that's why the Son of Man choose you}
The creature sighs
{That's too bad, I would have loved to make you into one of my children. Now what about...}
Before finishing the sentence, the creature turns silent
{Huh? What's this?}
And then smiles again as the body of Cao Cao suddenly disappears into the mist
"W-what?!" - I ask, but the monster does not seem fazzed by it
{So you annoying bugs are still squirming about...}
He declares with a scoff and suddenly a flurry of magical attacks and fire flies towards him
"G-Georg!?"
I yell in surprise as the Hero Faction members appear at our side, Heracles is carrying the downed Cao Cao on his shoulders and the other members have joined our defensive stance, but more shockingly is who is with them
"Mother!" - Kunou shouts as a beautiful woman with golden hair approaches us
"Yu-Long! Yasaka-dono!"
The huge dragon, the east youkais and the kyuubi, now in her gorgeous human form, have joined our side!
At my look of shock Georg gives me a side eye
"What are you so surprised for?! If we don't fight together we'll die in here"
"Well said!"- The voice of a large dragon booms as a group of youkais flies on his back
"I was only going to break the brainwashing spell as a last resort... and I guess we're way past that point right now" - Georg admits, so he broke the spell in order to have all of them aid us, huh?
I have mixed feelings about that, but I'm glad they're all free now, moreover, we can at least try and hold out for long enough untill reinforcement arrives
"Kunou missed you so much!" - The little fox girl hugs her mother with tears in her eyes
"There, there, your mother also missed you so much dear"
Yasaka hugs her daughter back, but her face is still apprehensive, of course, our situation is still far from safe.
"I hate to break this touching moment but... that is Tatseyo, right?" - A big cat youkai calls out to us
I nod
"Yeah... it's a complicated situation, but apparently espers have a creator deity and it seems he... well, I just woke him up..."
They all look dumbfounded for a moment, untill Yasaka-san clears her throat
"A-ah, I see, well I believe you know what to do?"
I meekly nod
"Sorta..." - I say, raising my gauntlet
"Survive untill someone can get us outta here"
All youkais look uneasy
"We could barely hold a fight against that kid, you want us to fight him while he's being possessed by a god?!" - The youkai who looks like a ferret replies
"Look, if you have a better idea, I'm all ears"
The ferret shuts it's mouth and looks confused all around him
Truly, if not even Georg who should be in control of this dimension can get us out of here, then no one in here can, but still we got do what we can to survive
I see everyone in Buchou's peerage look at me
"So Issei, what is the plan?" - Kiba asks
"Yeah, in buchou's absence we'll let you take the lead" - Rossweisse says
"True, you said you wanna be a king, right? I'm not good with strategies so I'll put myself in your hands" - Xenovia admits
E-ehh? Suddenly it's my mission to create a plan to fight this monster?
I look at Georg and the youkais
"W-what are you looking at? You know that kid better than anyone, don't suddenly push this onto me!" - Georg admonishes me
Yasaka-san nods
"I have been awake for merely a few minutes, but I believe your idea of surviving makes sense. Please, host of the sekiryuutei, what is your plan?"
N-no, they are right! Words like "I don't get it" or "I can't do it" are unfitting for a future King! If it was Buchou, how will she act? What would she do in a time like this? I'd better think carefully!
I look at Rossweisse
"We're going to need your defensive magic and your magic that enhances other's defenses, can you do it?"
She nods back at me with a determined expression
"Of course!"
I look at Georg
"I've seem what your sacred gear can do back when you captured Asia, can you make a barrier as strong as the seal that you made to imprison her?"
The young magician smirks at me
"Tsk, how dare you insinuate I haven't improved since then? I'll show you something even stronger!"
He says and the mist gathering around us sprouts a barrier that extends even high into the sky
"Yasaka-dono, youkais of the east faction, can you do anything to help us with the defenses?"
The Kyuubi promptly raises her hand
"Most definitely [Sunshower Barrier]"
"We may not be as powerful as the Kyuubi, but we'll also help with what we can"
The remaning three youkais use their youjutsu to reinforce the Kyuubi's barrier
"I won't let you guys steal the show!"
The whiny jade dragon proclaims and from a pillar of light emerges a magical circle with the symbol of a dragon on it
"The seal of the Jade Dragon! Let's see you get past that!"
He boasts, just as the smoke from the earlier showering of attacks is fadding and we see the figure of the possessed Tatseyo completely unscathed.
"Oi, oi, oi! That guy just is not even scratched by our barrage of attacks, Kyuubi-hime!" - Yu-Long exclamates
"Of course he is! That's an existence that managed to defeat the power of the awakened True Longinus, don't take him lightly!" - Georg scolds him
"Wooooh! Why do I keep running into these ridiculous existences?! Old man, you promised you'd take me on a tour of Kyoto's cuisine but so far all I've done is fighting!"
He whines
"Issei, what are we going to do then?" - Kiba and the other members of buchou's peerage ask me
I frown
"I know the rest of us aren't as good with barriers as Rossweisse-san, buchou or Akeno-san, so what we should do is stand in defense and get ready to protect and Asia and Kunou with all we have in case it fails"
They all nod, we all take up our defensive stances, Rossweisse, Yasaka-san, Yu-Long, Georg and the other youkais focus on creating barries and defensive magic circles.
"Seikiryuutei-san and members of the Gremory peerage, I trust you to protect my daughter! I will not let this monster triumph!"
I nod, yes, even if it costs my life I'll definitely protect them!
The creature cracks it's neck and looks at us with interested eyes
{Now... are you ready? I hope you don't fall so easily after all this show}
The monster raises it's hand and an unreleting torrent of energy pours out and reaches the barrier almost instantly
"GUH!"
"Fuck!"
"Hold it!"
All the ones holding the barrier up shout as it hits them, they are having trouble keeping it up, but they are doing it! They are managing it!
That's what I think untill...
CRASH
Yu-Long's seal breaks!
"Uwoooh! He got past it! He really did! It was just a joke when I told you to break it you know?!" - The jade dragon screams surprised
{Hahahaha! Now we are talking! Show me how you struggle, lesser ones!}
He raises another hand and I hear the sound as if a bomb was just dropped on top of us
"Up there too?!"
The jade dragon shouts
"This monster is attacking from all directions! There's no room for comfort!" - Georg says
And that's when I hear a dreadful sound
Creck crek
The barrier started to break! All of this and it's still not enough!?
"Goddamnit!" - The dog youkai shouts
"U-ugh, so this is what fighting a god feels like, one breach and we're all dead!"
Yasaka-san states
"HOLD! I'll repair it!" - Rossweisse shouts and another magic circle appears in front of her
Her face is red and sweat is pouring, but little by little, the cracks start to repair
"Y-you're doing it!" - I shout, Rossweisse-san managed to repair the barrier midfight!
"I-it's not enough! Rossweisse-san screams and the repairs seem to stop as the crecks grow bigger
"C-crap!"
There's only one thing I can think of doing in situation
I'm not good at creating barriers or large scale defensive magic but!
"Ddraig!"
[Yes partner!]
I'll focus on transfering my energy to them so I can boost their powers!
[We are with you, champion of Oppai!] - Seirei-san adds
{Hahaha! That's interesting! Let's see what this vessel of mine can do against the chosen one of the Holy Mother Goddess!} - The creature laughs
A ring of light appears on my armor
No, it's a magic seal!
I recognize the pattern! It's the same that was used to summon buchou's breasts from before!
[Like last time, channel the power of the chichigami! You can do it, champion of oppai!]
I place my hand on Rossweisse's shoulders
[TRANSFER!]
The red energy spreads from my gauntlet towards Rossweisse
"W-woah! That's my first time using this!"
"Will it be enough to fix the barrier?"
Rossweisse frows with a determined look on her face
"Only one way to find out!"
Suddenly several more magical circles appear around the barrier, including a very large one that appears right in front of it
The seal of the Chichigami, again!
[Corruptor! I'll do everything in my power to stop you from bringing more harm to this world!]
The monster only laughs more at Seirei-san's provocation
{Hahahaha! Using the power of the Holy Mother against me, very well done!} - The creature says and the cracks created by his attacks start to mend!
We all collectively breathe a sigh of relieve, even the ones who weren't holding the barrier, we managed, just for a few seconds, but we are still alive
{It seems I underestimated you, this has proven to be a lot more fun than I thought}
I gulp down a bitter dose of my own spit as I hear him say this
This is just a game for him, he's toying with us
He's not in a hurry to leave, we are.
We can't let him get away, no matter what we have to do
{I could just keep attacking untill you all run out of gas but...}
A twisted smile appears on his face, combined with Tatseyo's already scary features this is a beyond terrifying sight
A dark force gathers around the creature's hands
{...Where's the fun in that?}
Rossweisse's face immediately twists in a grimace
"C-cursed energy?" - She shouts
"Everyone! Focus on the defense! If that thing touches any of us I don't know what might happen!"
Rossweisse-san creates an intricate layer of magical circles to strenghten sensei's barrier, the fog from Georg's [Dimension Lost] thickens to the point where we can just barely see the figure of Tatseyo's possessed body.
DOOOM!
The wave of dark energy hits the barrier with a loud crash, the magic circles created by the power of the Chichigami shine and I can feel the ground shifting, but it didn't break!
A large forces pushes, the barrier we created manages to hold out for a moment, but cracks started to form
"Repair it, don't let it break!" - Georg shouts, but the cracks don't come out
"W-what's going on?!" - Rossweisse asks
"I-it's not fixing?!" - Georg also sounds confused
"My sunshower is also not coming back!" - Yasaka-san shouts
Somehow that cursed energy is stopping the barrier from coming back!
"Asia! Kunou!" - I shout, the others might survive this, but I'm certain that these two will die if they get hit, I sprawl my wings and try to use my body as a shield, not thinking of the consequences.
"Kyah!" - I hear them scream, I probably wasn't the gentlest when doing this, sorry the two of you.
I hear a loud crash and feel my armor shatter as I'm pushed away, crashing on the ground as the remnants of my armor break off
But I'm alive!
More than that, I can still move!
I lift myself out of the ground... from a pool of my own blood.
Ah, yes, I'm alive but he definitely got me good.
"No!"
"Oh no..."
I hear my friends exclaim with horror on their eyes
What are you guys worried for? I'm fine
"Nooo!" - Asia screams and the glowing light of her Twillight Healing goes towards me and also towards someone behind me
"H-huh?"
I look behind and I see the figure of a little fox girl downed on the ground
"N-no..."
"Kunou!"
Yasaka-san and I run towards, my legs feel like they are made out of lead
"Oh, Kunou..."
Yasaka-san holds her into her arms, but she's still breathing, thank god!
"Kunou! My dear! Mother is here, you'll be alright."
Asia rushes towards us, completely bathing us in her healing light
"Uhhh, why is it not working?!" - Asia screams with tears in her eyes as the glow of Twilight Healing basks through my body, but my wounds are not closing, I'm still bleeding just as much as before
"She's still wounded! Why is she still wounded?!"
Yasaka-san yells with the desperation of a mother watching her daughter bleed in front of her eyes
"W-what is this?" - Asia also looks desperate and concentrates harder, the light glows stronger, but no healing comes!
[Partner! I also can't fix your armour! Something on his curse is stopping me!]
"W-what!" - I yell looking at the jewel in my now deformed and torn gauntlet
Rossweisse clicks her tongue
"His curse is the ability to permanently damage things?! What in the world is this monster?!"
When he says this I hear another voice coming from me, but not Ddraig's this time
[No... he shouldn't have been able to do that, he never did that before...] - Seirei-san speaks up
"Well, he's clearly doing it now!" - I shout back
A curse that can prevent healing and even the repairs on my armour?! How do you fight someone like that!?
{Hahahahaha! Surprised, messenger of the mother goddess? It seems that my chosen ones have far surpassed your expectations, huh? But don't blame yourself, you all tried}
"Yes, they did..."
BLAM
A blur appears next to the creature and Tatseyo's possessed body is sent hurling across the battlefield
I stare in disbelieve at the figures that just appeared in front of us
"Liliana!" - I exclamate as the group of espers led by Liliana Caim appear right in front of us without any warning to their presence
They all turn stare at the Crimson King as he slowly stands up and Liliana furrows her browns
"Oi oi, why is Tatseyo attacking everyone? And when the hell did he become this strong?" - Diz asks
"That is not Tatseyo..." - Liliana replies and turns to face us
"What happened?"
She says in a quick but commanding sentence
I sigh
"Long story short, Tatseyo is currently being possessed by the god of espers, he's insanely strong for even all of us combined and seems to have a curse that permanently damages things and people, so we can't heal anyone in our group" - I blurt out despite my exhaustion
Liliana and Mayumi widen their eyes for a moment, the dark skinned devil opens her mouth for a brief moment, likely wanting to ask for more, but immediately closes it, probably realizing there's no time for inquiring
"Liliana-sama, that... thing is powerful... do you think we should?"
Manaki says and their silver haired leader nods
"I don't think I'll have a choice... Mayumi, get the little princess out"
"On it" - Mayumi immediately rushes towards Kunou and gasps when she sees the state she's in
"Dear god... I'm sorry Yasaka-dono, but this is urgent" - She says, placing her hand over her and Kunou eventually disappears
"Kunou!" - Yasaka-san yells in surprise
"Where did you sent her to?!" - I exclamate, Kunou is wounded, you can't just sent her anywere like this.
Mayumi waves her hand
"I've sent her to where Sun Wukong-san is supposed to be at, if this is truly a curse I don't believe we have anyone better at dealing with it"
"A-ah, I see." - True, in a situation like this I couldn't think of anyone to deal with it at all, but if she's with First Wukong-san then she'll at least be safe
I see Yasaka-san struggle with the decision for a moment, but in the end she seems to relent, after all it's still better than being trapped here with this thing.
In the midst of this I finally realize that Liliana and the creature possessing Tatseyo haven't said a word to each other so far
I turn my eyes to where they are standing, several feet apart from each other, the creature staring at her with what I can only assume it's curiosity before it finally speaks up
{Her.}
The possessed Tatseyo says, pointing towards Mayumi and the other members of Liliana's peerage
{These are children of mine. I can feel them, I'm so happy to see they have grown powerful... but a devil? I don't remember having made any of my children into devils.}
Liliana smirks
"It's a thing called Evil Piece, allows to turn a human into a devil, I guess you haven't been able to catch on with the times... God of Espers?"
She addresses him and the creature smirks
{Gahahaha! Devils and their trickery, always coming up with new methods to mess with humans, huh? I guess that's why I managed to get along with your kind. But...}
The third eye on the creature's forehead shifts a little, like it's giving Liliana a stare-down
{You are not a normal devil are you?}
"Huh?"
I blurt out confused when he says this
What does he mean by that?
{I mean that this girl is not a normal devil, I can sense something from her.} - He says, looking at me
I kick myself mentally again, right, this guy can read minds, why did I even bother whispering?
{Who are you, child? Have the devils created a new species while I was gone?}
Liliana smirks for a moment
"Really? So not even you knows about it?"
She says, reaching for the rings on her right hand
"Ah, it's really a shame..."
And then removes the bracelet on her right wrist
"But I guess it's for the best, after all, watching you smile in such a disgusting way while using Tatseyo's body..."
SLAM
In a swift movement that I can barely follow Liliana punched with her right fist straight at the possessed Tatseyo's face!
"Really pisses me the fuck off!" - She shouts
BOOOM
A loud explosion echoes through the artificial dimension as her golden and his crimson red auras clash into each other and dust kicks up in the air! But the creature doesn't even flinch this time
"No!" - I shout, Liliana hasn't realized yet? That thing is way too powerful for her!
{Hahahahaha! How interesting...}
When the dust settles, what appears before us is a scene that sends a shock down my body
The color red
Just a small stream
But the color of red liquid splashes on the ground
Right beneath the creature
Blood!
Blood trickles down the creature's mouth!
She managed to hurt it!
Liliana looks at the creature with a straight up enraged expression on her face
"What the fuuuuuck! How did that girl managed to do that?!"
Yu-Long screams outloud looking at Liliana's direction with it's jaw wide open
As that is happening, Liliana's peerage jumps away from her
Huh? Shouldn't they be jumping in to help her?
It's as if they are giving her space trying to not get in her way
Liliana Caim... what the hell is she?
As I'm wondering that, a portal opens up and a small hunched over figure walks out
"Old geezer, you-!" - Yu-Long exclamates but stops short as he sees more figures emerge with the first Sun Wukong
"Azazel-sensei! Ayumu!" - I shout, if they are here and looking fine then that means they...
!
I freeze for a moment as the figures of a small woman with emeral green hair and a man with black hair and dark eyes also emerge from the portal
Yes! They did it!
Tatseyo's parents! They are on our side now!
Or so I have time to think, but more figures also step from the portal
Two men I don't recognize followed by dozens upon dozens of men and women holding weapons
"E-ehh? What is this?" - I ask in a daze
"Napoleon?! Alexander? What are you doing here?"
Georg shouts, so these guys are from the Hero Faction too?
The two give a look towards him and the other members of the Hero Faction, including the downed Cao Cao being carried by Heracles, the blonde guy wearing armor sneers
"I could say the same thing to you all, but I think we have bigger problems..."
The blonde boy says glancing in the direction of the monster, of course, he'd be the first thing in anyone's mind right now
Azazel-sensei looks at the deeply wounded me and frowns
"Sorry we took so long kid, but don't worry, the cavalry is here. If you wanna back down now we can get you of here too"
I shake my head
"I can't let them fight without me! As long as I can stand, I'm staying"
Sensei gives a defiant smile
"As I thought, but try not to get yourself killed, I don't want the redhead princess getting mad at me"
In the midst of this chaos a girl's voice stands out
"Tachan!" - Ayumu pushes her way through all those in front of her and stands just barely behind Liliana, gazing at him
"What... is this? What happened to Tatseyo?! What did you do to him?!"
The redhead shouts and tugs on Liliana's arm, who cautiously looks back at Ayumu with a somber expression
"That's... not Tatseyo" - She replies and Ayumu looks back at the Crimson King
When her eyes meet with the monster, a mortified expression comes across her face
The monster taps the side of the face Liliana just punched and grims
{This... how could I possibly ask for a better reception party?}
The air grows cold as he says this, I feel the death that has been surrounding us all this time almost grasp me.
"Who are you?!"
Ayumu shouts at it and the monster smiles, as if it has been waiting for this question
He reaches his arms outstreched towards us
{I AM THE CRIMSON KING! Creator of Espers, benevolent deity who granted your species it's greatest gift! Rejoice, oh espers! For your true leader is finally here. You may not understand who I am, but by the end of this, you'll see that what I bring is good news, for you all shall inherit this earth!}
Ayumu steps back with a shocked expression, I can see by her posture that she's in no condition to fight now, it's obvious she doesn't want to strike someone using Tatseyo's body, regardless of who or what they are.
"I don't know who you think you are, but I'll warn you just once: Get out of my child's body, right. fucking. now"
The green haired lady warns with a powerful aura swirling around her body
"I second that."
The man with dark hair also steps by her side, his multicolored aura growing several times larger
However the Crimson King does not seem intimidated in the slightest, if I had to guess I'd say he's happy with all of this, being surrounded by the espers he calls his kids.
{It's beautiful to see my children have grow so strong, but I do have one correction: Right now I am not Tatseyo, and you are not the parents of me...}
The creature raises it's hand and their pose is torn as they are both forced on their knees
{I am the daddy here}
Afterword: I want to thank so much for the kind words of those who commented on the last chapter, the other world reveal was something I had been thinking for a looong time and will definitely be a big part of the story so I'm glad a lot of the readers enjoyed it, I hope you all liked this chapter as well and be ready for the next one, where I'm preparing two other big reveals, so look forward to it!