Marathon (1/3)

Disclaimer: Neither High School DXD nor Elder Scrolls belongs to me, all rights to their respective owners.

Chapter 69

— I have never fully understood mortals, Dovahkiin… I don't understand how they try to mend mistakes to rebuild their bonds… —

Nocturnal to Edzard in the Ebonmere.

Asia's nerves were on edge as she stood outside the room where her friends were. The sun was setting on the horizon, indicating that the day was coming to an end. A few hours had passed since she had reunited with her parents and now, she was standing in front of the door that would lead her to where her friends were, who had woken up an hour ago.

'Come on Asia… calm down… Breathe… One… two… one… two…' Asia thought as she brought a hand to her chest and began to breathe, trying to calm herself down in this way. Feeling her heart return to normal, Asia reached out and opened the door.

The door made a squeaky sound as it opened, allowing a view of the interior. Inside the room, all the girls could be seen, gathered there, all sitting in chairs. The room did not belong to the medical wing of the castle but was the common room where they all used to gather to rest each day after training.

The girls were gathered, chatting among themselves, smiling, forgetting for a moment what had happened. Seeing this atmosphere, Asia felt apprehension, as she didn't know how to enter and talk to them. The fear she had begun to feel caused her to feel the need to leave. Unfortunately, before she could even take a step back, Valerie looked at her.

"Asia…?" the Dhampir asked when she saw her friend.

Hearing her name, Asia froze, unable to look her friends in the eyes.

Asia's reaction caused the girls to look at each other, making the atmosphere heavy. This atmosphere lasted a good while, causing everyone present to feel very uncomfortable.

The atmosphere was such that no one could say anything. Asia felt bad about what had happened, and the rest of the girls didn't know how to approach this topic with Asia… or at least that was the case for a while, until someone couldn't stand the tense atmosphere any longer.

"To hell with it! I've had enough of this!" Mittelt shouted, abruptly standing up from her chair.

After that, the fallen angel didn't waste a single second and moving, approached Asia and took her by the hand.

"Mitte-"

Asia's attempt to speak was interrupted when Mittelt pulled her sharply, dragging her to where all the girls were gathered.

"Alright… let's start with this." Mittelt said.

The moment Asia was in the middle of all her friends, she stood still and continued to avoid looking at them, preferring to look at the ground. She did this for a couple of seconds, until finally, she herself got tired of this. Raising her gaze, she opened her mouth and began what should have started this, with an apology… however, she couldn't speak.

"Asia!" was the shout all the girls let out, throwing themselves against her, hugging her tightly.

The action of all the girls, except Mittelt, who was just watching the rest while sighing, caused Asia to stumble and they all ended up falling to the ground. Despite it being an abrupt fall, none of the girls felt pain, as their minds were more focused on other things.

"A-a-am glad you're okay…" Aika whispered with joy, as small tears formed in her eyes.

"Aika is right, it's good to see you well." These were the words that Valerie said, who was one of the closest to Asia.

The rest of the girls also said the same, each with their peculiarities, even Mittelt, who had just been watching them closely, also said a few words.

The words of her friends reached Asia's heart, causing her to start sobbing, while she apologized to them repeatedly.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" These were the only words coming out of Asia's mouth. Those words contained all the regret and guilt she felt for what had happened at the end of the mission. This attempt to apologize, because that's what it was in essence, was what her mother had told her she should do in the beginning. The topic she had wanted to discuss with her mother was how she could recover the relationship she had with her friends, and the answer she had given her was simple and straightforward…

«…Apologize and explain everything to them, they will understand that it was not your fault, that everything was due to that spell you were a victim of… after that, start building your friendship with them again…»

Asia's tears caused her friends to look at her and smile in a comforting way, trying to calm her down, while telling her that they didn't blame her for anything, as they realized that something had happened to her to behave that way.

Asia's sobbing lasted several minutes, until she finally managed to calm down, after which, they all sat down.

"So… What exactly happened, Asia?" Rossweisse asked, who had decided to be the voice that would guide the conversation.

"Yeah, what the hell happened there. You became a very out-of-control berserker." Mittelt commented, who was sitting next to Lint.

Hearing the Valkyrie's question, Asia let out a sigh and began to narrate what had happened, or rather, to narrate what she had lived. It doesn't take much imagination to know that every word Asia said caused the girls to shudder more and more, as they realized that it was not Asia's fault, although they didn't care about that at all, as they never blamed her for anything that happened.

When Asia finished telling what had happened, the atmosphere became tense, as the girls were in shock, realizing the mental resilience Asia had to be able to endure something like that. This was because they felt that perhaps they might not be able to get out of such a situation, which led them to think about how they could counteract something like that happening in the future. That thought made them immediately think that surely Edzard was already looking for a way to prevent that from happening again… It was at that moment that they remembered that Edzard had appeared at the end of their battle against Asia.

"Hey, Asia." Aika said, catching Asia's attention. "Was it an illusion, or did it seem to me that Edzard and the ORC had arrived when we were about to faint?"

Aika's question made all the girls look at Asia, asking her with their eyes if it was true or if it was an illusion caused by their fatigue.

Upon hearing her, Asia smiled and replied: "Yes, Ed showed up in the end."

After that brief response, she proceeded to tell them what Edzard had told her about what had happened, also narrating what had happened in his battle against Marcus. The revelation of the creation of artificial hybrids chilled the girls, especially when Asia mentioned superficially how they were created, causing several to turn pale. However, it was in the moment after she finished telling what had happened that Ingvild asked a question.

"Asia… Where has Edzard been all this time?"

The half-devil's question made everyone realize that they didn't know why Edzard hadn't been there, which made them curious about it.

"Yes, what was he doing that was more important than being available to help with Marie's rescue?" asked Mittelt in a tone of voice that implied annoyance.

Hearing this question, Asia felt cornered, as she didn't know how to tell them everything that was going on, even so, she decided to tell them everything quickly, so she spoke in a serious and direct manner.

"Ed was in the underworld, in Hades' territory."

"What?!" was the collective cry of all, who had their eyes wide open as they realized that Edzard had been in the territory of a God.

"A-a-are you sure?" asked Rossweisse with some panic, who was aware of the power of Hades, as she knew the names of the beings that were in the Top ten of the strongest beings in this world.

"Yes… he told me himself… but not only that. When he was there, he discovered two important things…" said Asia, causing anticipation in her friends.

"What things?" asked Valerie with some curiosity.

"The first… he found a secret laboratory where inside was the mother of the devils…"

After Asia's words, the whole place fell into a sepulchral silence, as the girls' minds were trying to understand what they had heard. After several seconds, the silence was broken when Lint spoke.

"D-d-did they find Lilith…?" asked the reincarnated angel, who was in such a state of shock that she couldn't even scream in surprise.

"Yes, but not only her… it turns out that he went to that place at the request of Zakir, who asked for his help in looking for something…"

"What thing?" asked Ingvild, who was the most surprised by what she had just heard, since, being a half-devil, she was aware of the news of Lilith's encounter.

Hearing her friend's question, Asia hesitated for a second to answer, as she didn't know how to explain that her parents were alive, but after thinking for a few seconds, she decided to say it. So, opening her mouth, Asia let out what would be the second big news of the day.

"Well… You see… This… Ed found my parents…"

After saying those words, Asia saw how her friends' eyes widened like saucers, but they didn't react, instead they stayed still like stones. This situation worried her, but before she could say anything to them, they burst into screams.

"What?!" was the first collective scream of all, followed by more individual screams from each one.

"How come your parents are alive?!" Aika asked, grabbing Asia's hands. "How are they?!"

"What were they doing in Hades' territory?!" asked Mittelt, who was still a little pale.

"How did Ed manage to get them out of there?!" asked Valerie with a lot of concern in her voice, as she hoped there hadn't been a very serious fight there.

"Will we be able to meet your parents soon?!" asked Ingvild, who was showing a smile, hoping to meet her friend's parents.

"How have they taken your marriage to Edzard?!" asked Rossweisse, who wanted to know how Asia's parents had taken the fact of polygamy, since if she wanted to be with Edzard, they could be an impediment.

After releasing their questions, the girls fell silent, expectant of the answer that Asia would give them. Asia, for her part, was completely surprised by the avalanche of questions, but in the end, she ended up smiling before answering.

"He, he…" Asia smiled in a somewhat discreet way, then sighed and looked at her friends. "I will answer you in the order I heard your questions, okay?"

The answer her friends gave her was a nod.

"Well, then, first… yes, they are alive and currently they are fine, they went through some problems, that's why Ed couldn't arrive earlier, but they are now in good health. Second, I still don't know well, Ed hasn't told me everything, when he was going to do it, they woke up and we went to see them, after that, I was talking with my mother and Ed took my father to see my mother-in-law. Third, Ed still doesn't tell me everything about how he got them out of there, but he says he will do it later, with everyone present. Fourth, yes, you will be able to meet them soon, in fact, my father wants to meet you. Finally, about my marriage, well, they took it well, but if you ask about concubinage… well, let's say that at first it seems they wanted to hit Edzard, but in the end, after explaining everything to them, they decided that they had neither voice nor vote in this, because as much as it hurt them, I was almost an adult, who had the ability to decide about my own destiny and family future."

Asia's last answer was accompanied by a direct look at Ingvild and Rossweisse, who felt their hearts coming out of their bodies, thanks to their heartbeats increasing in intensity enormously. This was because they felt that Asia was telling them that there would be no problems if they still wanted to be Edzard's concubines.

The minds of the two girls were filled with images of that possible event, as it was something they knew would happen soon. This was due to the near-death experience they had suffered, made them realize the same thing that Lint did a while ago, this world was changing, becoming more dangerous, and this war with the daedras could end with them dying at any moment. So, the reality check made them see that they had to live their life to the fullest they could, leaving aside their fears and insecurities.

"I can't waste time… I must tell Asia about what I feel and that I want to join them." Was the collective thought of Rossweisse and Ingvild, who began to think about what day they would meet with Asia to talk to her one by one, to tell her how they felt.

"So, your parents approve of all this… I can't believe it." said Lint, surprised Asia's parents thought.

"Neither can I, but it seems to be their way of not imposing on me now that we've seen each other for the first time since I was born."

"Your parents seem to be sensible." noted Ingvild, who couldn't help but compare her own adoptive parents with Asia's parents, realizing that perhaps they weren't so different.

"Yes, although they also seem to be somewhat reserved… They didn't tell me many things, especially what happened during my birth." commented Asia, lowering her gaze a bit, as she felt a little sad about it, as she wanted to know about what had happened that day.

Seeing her downcast, Aika moved her hand and placed it on Asia's shoulder, thus giving her a sign of comfort. That action by Aika caused Asia to smile, happy for her friend's support.

"I suppose they have their reasons and will tell you later." Rossweisse pointed out, putting on a smile to cheer up Asia a bit.

"Yes, surely that's it…"

After those words from Asia, the girls' conversation took a turn, now heading towards Marie, as the girls wanted to know how she was doing. Asia's response was simple, telling them that she was fine, as she was only unconscious due to exhaustion, something that would pass in a few days at most.

"So, three days at most… that's good." Said Lint, letting out a sigh of relief, as since they had all woken up they had been worried about Asia and Marie. Therefore, knowing that both were fine, they were much relieved.

"Yes, although I'm afraid this would have ended even worse if it weren't for the intervention of Kunou-chan, Rias-san, and the members of the ORC."

"Yes… about that, I want to know something." Aika spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. "Was it my idea or were Hyoudou's parents also there?"

Aika's question made them all remember that they had seen Issei's parents being carried by Kiba and Issei.

"Yes, they were also there." Asia replied, then began to recount everything she had learned about what had happened there. She recounted that apparently Issei's parents had been captured to make Edzard and Issei face each other, forcing the Sekiryuutei to fight against his friend to prevent his parents from dying, all this done to weaken Edzard, as it was more than obvious that he would not fight against his friend.

Hearing Asia's response, the girls clenched their fists, as they confirmed that their enemies had no morality and would not skimp on their actions to achieve their ends.

"I can't believe they involved humans who have nothing to do with the supernatural in this." commented Valerie, who felt annoyed to hear how they had tried to use "civilians" to attack them.

"We're talking about terrorists, Val… they're not moral people." Mittelt pointed out with a grunt when mentioning morality.

"It wasn't the members of the Khaos Brigade who planned this." Asia said, drawing everyone's attention.

"What?" asked Rossweisse, this being the question that everyone had in their minds.

"It seems that it was Marcus, or rather, his boss who did all this."

Asia's response caused the girls to wonder who this supposed boss was, with Valerie being the one who asked.

"It seems that those behind this are Rizevim Lucifer and Euclid Lucifuge…" Asia replied.

The mention of the name of the original Lucifer's son caused a chill to run through the bodies of those who knew about him, especially Valerie, who remembered that her brother had planned to hand her over to them for use in some plan.

"The son of Lucifer… so…"

"Yes, it's more than obvious that he's allied with some daedra, or at least that's what Ed thinks." Asia said, interrupting Mittelt.

"Damn it, it seems that all our enemies are allied with daedras." commented Ingvild, earning a look of astonishment from her friends, which made her feel overwhelmed by it. "W-w-why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's just that you've said a swear word and you don't usually do that…" Aika replied, whose words were followed by nods from the other girls, including Asia.

Upon hearing the reason why, they were looking at her, Ingvild's face turned red, as she was embarrassed to the point that when she tried to excuse herself, only stutters came out of her mouth. "T-t-this… I-I-I-I…"

"Calm down, we're not judging you, you just surprised us." Aika said, who decided to speak to save Ingvild from this embarrassing moment. "But we understand, we would also say swear words, this situation is only escalating more and more…"

"Yes, but fortunately, it seems that the attacks will cease for a period of six months." Asia said with a smile, causing the girls' eyes to open again.

"Asia… W-w-what did you just say?" Mittelt asked, still in shock, looking at her friend with wide eyes.

"It seems that there will be no daedric invasions for at least six months." Asia said with a grin from ear to ear, which disappeared a second later, as she remembered that she hadn't told the girls anything about this, as she had only said fragments of information. Upon realizing this, she looked at her friends and was surprised to see that they all had darkened looks, causing her to be a little scared. "G-g-g-girls…"

A second after she said that Asia had to cover her ears, as the girls screamed in unison.

"How could you forget to tell us something as important as this?!"

After that scream, Asia began to receive sermons from her friends, who asked her to tell them everything, so after the sermon, Asia began to tell them in more detail everything her husband had told her, from the encounter with her parents, the appearance of Meridia, the fight with Marcus, the encounter with Sanguine and Sheogorath. When the appearance of the daedric princes coming to this world was mentioned, all the girls turned pale and almost fainted from the shock of knowing that if the daedric princes had wanted to, they could have ended them all.

"So Molag Bal and Mehrunes Dagon have been fighting each other on earth, wearing down their forces to the point where they will have to delay their plans a few months to prepare the real invasions… Am I correct?" Valerie asked with a serious voice.

"Yes, it seems so." Asia replied.

"But… I don't understand, why would those two princes give information just like that? Aren't they all allies?" Ingvild asked with curiosity about what was happening.

"Well, the truth is that I don't know, but I'll tell you what Ed told me…" Asia said, then coughed falsely and raising a hand, she spoke, trying to imitate her husband's voice. "Don't try to understand the actions of the daedras, especially the princes, they only move according to their mood, they can help you, but they do it not because they like you, but because either they are bored or you are fighting against the prince they hate… not all are allies with each other, some hate each other to death, so they often stab each other, always trying to obscure the plans of their rivals."

Asia's response caused the girls to look at her with their eyes rolled, while they thought. 'Typical of Edzard/Ed/Ed-kun… not explaining well on these topics…'

After that thought, the girls returned to reality and began to talk about what happened here.

"So, they are not allies and are unpredictable with what they do… Great, that means that if two armies of two princes meet, they will attack each other, right?" Aika asked, who hoped that this would always happen, so as not to have to go on such crazy missions for a good time.

"In essence, yes, but it is almost impossible that they bump into each other randomly, the most feasible thing is that one of them has discovered the other and brings his allies to attack that place."

"I see… well, let's think about other things…" Valerie said, thus attracting the attention of her friends, who nodded.

"What do we talk about?" Mittelt asked, who fell on the couch, being somewhat bored.

"Ummm… How about what happened with Hyodou's parents?" Aika asked, who wanted to know what had happened to them.

"Yes, that would be good… Asia, what happened to them?" Rossweisse asked, worried about the parents of her student.

"They are fine, they woke up a long time ago. They have currently returned to their home with the ORC."

"I see… that's good."

"Yes, although I think they will return here in a few weeks or at least that's what Ed expects." Asia commented, attracting the attention of the girls.

"And that, why?" Ingvild asked.

"Ed wants to pay Issei and Rias for their help… That's why, he wants to offer them something. For Issei it is the opportunity to give his parents his blood, to give them immortality so that they can be with him for all eternity…"

Upon hearing Edzard's gift, the girls were surprised, as they did not expect Edzard to decide to give a gift of that magnitude to Issei's parents.

"Are you sure?" Aika asked, who was the most astonished, as she did not expect Edzard to really think about giving immortality to Issei's parents.

"Yes, he mentioned it to me a few moments ago… About the rest of the ORC members, he still doesn't know, and about Kunou, it is supposed that Kunou's birthday is the day after Marie's birthday, but we believe they could not have a big celebration, this due to the state of the Youkai currently. Therefore, Ed wants both birthdays to be celebrated together, starting on the eighth and ending on the ninth, but apart from that, he wants to give her a special gift and will talk to Yasaka about that," Asia replied with a smile, at the same time she mentioned the name of Yasaka with less discomfort than before, something that was noticed by her friends.

'Asia always got a bit tense when talking or mentioning Kunou's mother, but now, that seems to have changed…' was the collective thought of the girls, who just smiled in a friendly way.

After that thought, the girls began to ask Asia about what Marie and Kunou's party would be like, to which Asia replied that she first wanted to wait for them to wake up and tell them the news before talking about making plans.

Yasaka's golden eyes were focused on a bed located in the medical wing of the palace. The kitsune watched as her daughter rested in that bed, connected to an IV. Next to her daughter was Marie, who was also connected to an IV. Both girls were connected to the IVs only as a precaution, as they were out of any mortal danger. They were used only to prevent them from dehydrating until they woke up.

'According to the doctors at my service, Kunou only had a slight contusion in her throat, indicating that she had been strangled… damn it, I can't believe my daughter exposed herself so much… and even less can I believe that I couldn't do anything for her… if it weren't for Edzard, it's possible that… it's possible that…' thought Yasaka, beginning to feel anxious. Just thinking about what could have happened if Edzard hadn't arrived filled her with such fear that she felt her hands trembling. The kitsune's mind was filled with images of the death of her little daughter, which was about to make her start hyperventilating. However, before she reached that state, she felt someone put a hand on her shoulder.

"Yasaka…"

Edzard's voice resonated, causing the kitsune to open her eyes, returning to reality. Turning her body, she saw her "fiancé", who seemed to be in a better mood than she expected.

"Edzard…" Yasaka whispered softly, passing one of the sleeves of her kimono over her eyes to dry the small tears that had formed there. When she finished doing so, she looked at the father of her daughter's best friend, putting on a smile before speaking again. "What brings you here? I thought you were with Asia-san."

"Yes, I just spoke with her and my in-laws." Edzard replied, who looked at his daughters.

Upon hearing the mention of Asia's parents, the leader of the Youkai of Kyoto was surprised.

"Have they already woken up?"

"Yes, a few hours ago."

"I see. I suppose Asia-san will be very happy to have her parents back." commented Yasaka, feeling happy for the young girl.

"Yes, she is… and both are eager to meet their granddaughter." Edzard replied with a smile.

"Do they know what happened recently?"

"No, not now. We couldn't talk much, as the rest of the girls have also woken up. And what we must talk to them about is something that will take a good amount of time."

"I understand… I suppose you will wait to have the conversation with them until Marie-chan wakes up?"

"No, I will talk to them tomorrow. From what little I could see of them they seem to be capable people and we need all the help possible." Edzard replied, frowning slightly, as he began to think about what was happening in the world currently.

"Six months… Do you think we will really have that much time?" Yasaka asked with some hope that it is true and that they can have that time, time for relationships to flourish, for the young people to train and to prepare to defend themselves until the moment of the counterattack comes.

"I don't know… the daedras are unpredictable, they act depending on their mood. Although what Sheogorath and Sanguine said may be true, that doesn't mean we can't suffer attacks from other daedric princes during that time." Edzard replied sincerely, as there was no reason to lie.

"Other daedric princes?" Yasaka asked with palpable concern, bringing a hand to her chest, feeling her heart speed up from anxiety. This was because she had witnessed first-hand what the daedras could do, something that had marked her for life.

"Yes… I'm afraid that during this time they will validate the alliances they have with other princes, which will make us see attacks from other types of daedra…" Edzard replied, clenching his fists with some anger and impotence, as he knew that many villages, towns and even perhaps cities would be wiped off the map and they would not be able to get there in time to protect them.

"Ahhhh… So, the outlook is still just as horrible even though we thought there would be months of peace…" Yasaka whispered, feeling more tired than usual.

"It seems so… but we must take advantage of this time to prepare…"

Upon hearing Edzard's words, a smile appeared on Yasaka's face, who only nodded at the young man's words.

After those words, both were left in a comfortable silence, which allowed them to hear the soft breaths of the two girls. Although, while that silence was pleasant for both, Yasaka wanted to know why Edzard had come, as it seemed that he had not only come to see his daughter. Fortunately, she did not need to ask, as Edzard anticipated her and asked her the question.

"Yasaka… can I ask you something?"

Upon hearing the question, Yasaka smiled and sighed mentally, as she did not know how to ask him the previous question without sounding, or seeming rude. Even so, upon hearing the question she decided to make a small joke.

"You already have." Yasaka replied, smiling amusingly.

The moment Edzard heard that answer he blinked for a few seconds, until he finally understood the joke. That made him let out a soft giggle, amused by the joke Yasaka had played on him.

"Heh, heh, heh… that was a good one…" said Edzard, stopping laughing, but still keeping a smile. "However, I will ask you other questions… okay?"

"Sure." Yasaka replied, also smiling.

"Well… I hope you don't get angry, but… What are you planning to do for Kunou's birthday?"

Edzard's question took Yasaka by surprise, who didn't know what to answer, as she hadn't expected him to ask about Kunou's birthday. Even so, the mention of her daughter's imminent birthday caused Yasaka's face to darken. This was because, although they had some money, it was intended to be used to build the new Youkai city in this world. Even though they were allies of the pact, those who made up this pact could not give them all the supplies they needed for free without economically affecting themselves. To at least maintain some income, they sold them the supplies for reconstruction at a low cost. But after the loss of their treasures when they lost Urakyoto at the hands of Molag Bal's son, the purchasing power of the faction had fallen quite a bit.

"The truth is I don't know… as much as I want to, we don't have the resources to celebrate as we did in the past." Yasaka replied, downcast after several seconds of silence.

"I see… I suppose something like that is to be expected right now…" said Edzard, then letting out a sigh and continuing to speak. "Tell me… What do you think if I organize a birthday party for her?"

"What?" was the only thing that came out of Yasaka's mouth when she heard what Edzard was asking her. The moment her mind was able to comprehend those words, she began to wonder why Edzard had offered to throw a birthday party for Kunou.

'Why is Edzard offering to do this?' Yasaka thought, trying to understand the reasons why he would offer to do this. However, to her bad luck, she couldn't come to any… no, that was a lie, she came to some conclusions. The first one was that he was doing this as a kind of payment for what Kunou did to help rescue Marie. The second one was that he really wanted Kunou to have a birthday party. These reasons provoked different reactions in her, which were confusing her, so she decided to go straight to the point, so without wasting a single second, she asked.

"Edzard, why are you doing this? Why do you want to throw a birthday party for Kunou?"

At Yasaka's gaze, Edzard put on a smile before approaching the bed that the two girls shared. His eyes rested on the small bodies resting there, then he began to speak. "Do I need a reason to give my two daughters a good birthday?"

Edzard's question-like answer hit Yasaka's heart like a ballista bolt, which moved her to the core. She knew that her "commitment" to Edzard was more political and for show, yet she had begun to grow very fond of him thanks to details like these. She knew that what she felt was the incipient birth of a stronger feeling, something she was not against, so she had decided to become more affectionate when talking to him since he returned from Marie's rescue mission. Even so, there was something she feared and that was that Asia would not accept her, so she had thought maybe to hide those feelings. However, the way he treated her daughter and how he treated her, made that more difficult every time.

'If you keep this up… I'll fall madly in love with you…' thought Yasaka as she felt her cheeks blush, something that didn't happen very easily. Even so, even though she knew her face was red, she approached Edzard and when she was by his side, she also looked at the two girls.

"I suppose not… although, I'm surprised that you consider Kunou your daughter, since you and I are not married, nor are we anything…" said Yasaka, who did not take her eyes off her daughter.

"True, but even if it's just for show, I think it's good for her to have some kind of father figure or at least the closest thing to it that I can be for her."

"Yes, it's true… you know, I'm surprised that you don't ask me about Kunou's father. I thought you would at least be curious about him, but it seems I was wrong."

"You're wrong, I do have a bit of curiosity about who he is, but it's not my place to dig into someone's past without that person's permission." Said Edzard, who was speaking the truth, because while it was true that he was curious about the identity of Kunou's father, he would not force Yasaka to tell him.

Upon hearing Edzard's words, Yasaka just smiled before letting out a sigh, as she didn't know how to explain what had happened. Even so, she decided that to take a step further into the future, she had to be somewhat honest with the person who could be the one she would share that future with. So, looking at Edzard, she spoke. "If you want to know about Kunou's father, I can tell you."

Those words caught Edzard's attention, who looked at his "fiancée". Seeing her, he realized that it was a very complicated topic for her, as unconsciously she had brought her right hand to her left arm, squeezing her arm. Noticing this, Edzard just shook his head.

"There's no need for you to tell me. I see that this topic is difficult for you. I don't want to stir up the mud about your past, so don't force yourself to tell me."

Upon hearing Edzard's words, Yasaka smiled and returning to her normal posture, just let out a sigh. After that, she decided to talk about another topic, Kunou's birthday.

"About Kunou's birthday party, what do you have planned?" Yasaka asked, curious about what Edzard was planning.

"Ummm… A double birthday parties." Edzard responded quickly and directly, causing astonishment in Yasaka.

"What?" asked the leader of the youkai upon hearing her "fiancé".

"What you heard… you see, Marie's birthday is on the eighth and Kunou's is on the ninth, so I thought of having a celebration that lasts two days."

"Two days?" Yasaka asked, still unable to understand what Edzard was planning.

"Yes, have a celebration for both on the eighth, inviting several important people, with musicians and all that. While on the ninth, we will have a simpler party, you, me, Asia, and the girls, where we will go somewhere on earth to celebrate in some amusement park or wherever the girls decide. Or if they want it to be the other way around, I have nothing against it."

Upon hearing the idea that Edzard had, Yasaka brought a hand to her chin, pondering whether it was the best option or not. A part of her disagreed, as her daughter's birthday was on the ninth, not the eighth, but another part thought it might be okay, as it would be a new experience for her daughter. However, no matter how much she thought about it, she knew she couldn't make the decision. So, looking at Edzard, she spoke. "The idea sounds interesting… but I think it's best to let them decide. Don't you think?"

"Yes, I think you're right. Better let them decide. When they wake up, we'll tell them the options and let them decide." Edzard replied a few seconds after hearing Yasaka's question.

"Well, I suppose that's all you wanted to ask me, right?"

"The truth is no."

"What?"

"I want to know what Kunou likes, her hobbies, both in sports and in food. I need all the information you can give me. Do you think you can provide it?"

Edzard's question caused Yasaka to think about her daughter's hobbies and the reason why he was asking. After a few seconds, she realized it was to give her a gift or maybe several gifts. So, smiling, she decided to answer him. "Sure, I don't see any problem, but I'm warning you that Kunou likes many things."

"Don't worry, I have plenty of time for you to tell me everything."

"Alright… then, let's start…"

The sound of two pairs of footsteps echoed in one of the many corridors of the palace. The owners of those footsteps were Asia and Lint, who were heading to one place: Edzard's study.

Asia's gaze would occasionally drift towards Lint, glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. The walk they both took was silent and somewhat uncomfortable for Asia, as despite having received forgiveness from her friends, traces of guilt remained in her.

Unbeknownst to Asia, Lint also occasionally diverted her gaze to observe her, and she began to frown each time she saw her act that way. Yes, she knew that Asia was not going through a good mental moment, something she understood, as no one would come out unscathed from something like what she had suffered… no, she would be lying if she said she didn't know anyone who could come out unscathed from that, as she knew someone who would surely come out as if nothing had happened, and that was her boyfriend.

Despite all this, the minds of both were not so focused on what Asia felt but were focused on the reason why they were walking towards the study of both their romantic partners.

Everything had started when they finished chatting about the birthdays of Marie and Kunou, giving way to a conversation about what had happened in the battle, especially the details they had overlooked. This led them to remember better what had happened, analyzing each part of what had occurred in that battle. Thanks to this, they all noticed something, or rather, remembered something that had happened in the middle of Asia's battle against them, and that was the emergence of purple flames from Lint's body.

Upon remembering this, they all tensed up, as they remembered that those flames were the ones created by Walburga's Sacred Gear, so they didn't understand why Lint possessed them. However, although the best thing would be to notify Azazel, who was one of the most learned people when it came to Sacred Gears, Lint preferred to be sure first, so not knowing what to do, she threw the question into the air. It was Asia who told her that Edzard might know if she now had a Sacred Gear. Thanks to this, she and Asia were heading to the place where he would currently be.

"How do you feel, Lint?" Asia asked, looking at her friend with some concern.

"I don't know… the truth is that I'm between excited and scared… I never thought I could have a Sacred Gear, but now… I might have one, one that was used to almost kill us." Lint replied, putting on a tense and uncomfortable smile. "You know, this makes me think that the world has a very cruel sense of humor…"

Seeing her friend in that state, Asia stopped and without thinking twice, she lunged at her. Taking her by surprise, Asia gave her a strong hug. Edzard's wife hoped that this hug would comfort Lint. And apparently, it did, because the moment Asia gave her the hug, she felt that Lint's muscles were tense, but as the seconds passed, they gradually relaxed.

"Thank you… I needed that…" said Lint, leaning on Asia's shoulder, and returning a hug to her friend, who tensed up a bit. This had been the reason why she had done it, as she had realized that while they were chatting with all the girls, Asia had avoided talking to her. This made her realize that maybe she felt more guilty with her, as she had been the one, she had hurt the most. "You shouldn't blame yourself anymore for what happened, none of us will… even I, I know that none of that was your fault, so… I want everything to go back to how it was before…"

Hearing Lint's words, Asia was silent for a few seconds, until she finally nodded.

The girls hugged each other a little more and when they separated, they smiled. After that, they continued walking, until they finally reached the door that led to Edzard's study.

The eyes of the two girls looked at the door, then looked at each other and nodded. After that, Lint moved her hand and opened the door.

Edzard was sitting at his desk, surrounded by several sheets of paper containing sketches of the gifts he planned to give his daughters. He put the pen aside and looked at the last of the designs he had drawn. As he did so, he smiled, satisfied with what he saw. Letting out a sigh, Akatosh's son leaned back in his chair and, looking at the ceiling, began to reflect on his in-laws and recent events.

'We were lucky that the girls' injuries weren't as serious as they seemed… thanks to that, they were able to recover quickly. I suppose the use of several high-quality potions helped a lot.' Edzard thought, bringing a hand to his face as he remembered what his father-in-law had told him. 'Sharing my burden… sounds good, but… Do I really want to do it? No… I don't want them to bear my guilt, they have enough… I think for now I won't tell them anything… maybe later I will, yes, that's the best…'

After these thoughts, Edzard got up from his chair and prepared to go see how Vali's team was doing. But before he could take a step, the door to his study opened. Looking there, he saw that the ones who had entered were Lint and Asia. He was surprised to see them, as he didn't expect to see them until dinner that night, but apparently that wouldn't be the case.

"Girls-"

"Ed, we need to talk." were the words the girls used to interrupt him.

Upon hearing this, Edzard felt a chill, as those words, coming from a woman, rarely boded well. Even so, he nodded, curious about what they would have to say. So, walking, he went to his chair, followed by them.

When he sat down, they also took their seats in the chairs that were always in front of his desk. Fixing his gaze on them, he spoke. "Well, what has happened for both of you to tell me the same thing?"

Upon hearing Edzard's question, both Lint and Asia fell silent for a few seconds, which worried Edzard. Fortunately, the two girls nodded and after that, Lint spoke. "Ed, something happened during the final part of Marie's rescue mission."

"Yes, I know… I know that Asia was controlled by-"

"No, it's not that, Ed." Asia said, interrupting her husband.

Asia's action took Edzard by surprise, who just looked at his wife and his lover for a few seconds, until he finally spoke. "Okay… you're worrying me… What happened?"

"You see… it all started when Asia attacked us with Akanechim…" Lint replied, beginning to narrate what had happened in that part of the mission. Lint's words, complemented by Asia's point of view on what happened, allowed Edzard to understand what was going on.

"I see… so, you believe that Walburga's Sacred Gear is in your body… right?" Edzard asked Lint, who simply nodded, as that was her belief.

"Ummm…" Edzard said, bringing a hand to his chin as he thought about how this could be possible.

"Ed, can't you see if she has the Sacred Gear in the same way you saw my Sacred Gear in Winterhold?"

Edzard blinked at hearing his wife's question and when his mind managed to understand what she was saying, he brought his hand to his forehead and gave himself a strong blow, which startled the girls.

"Yes, that's true… Ahhh… This is the bad thing about knowing so many spells, I tend to forget some…" Edzard said with a somewhat depressed voice, as that had always been his problem. Even so, he let out a sigh and, looking at the two women who occupied important parts in his life, he conjured a large amount of Magicka, casting the spell of «Vision of the Tenth Eye».

Most of Edzard's vision turned gray, thus allowing him to see those magics that normally could not be seen. Therefore, moving his head, he looked at the two girls and what he saw made his eyes widen. This was because, to his total astonishment, not only had Lint surprised him, but his own wife had also surprised him.

Edzard's eyes saw that Lint possessed a purple flame, which was born from her heart, running through her body as if it were a source of energy. 'This form, yes, it reminds me of the form of Ingvild's Sacred Gear, which indicates that this Sacred Gear does not have a pre-designed physical form like Asia's or Issei's Sacred Gear… no, this one is more metaphysical… however, it is not the only surprising thing… now I realize that I am a fool… when Asia mentioned to me what happened, I should have used this spell, but no, I did not…'

Those thoughts of Edzard were directed at the fact that Asia's Sacred Gear presented changes, not physical in its base form, but presented them in its metaphysical form, as the green aura that the rings emanated had changed, now it was a mixture of green with some golden specks, which indicated that those golden flames that she had used, were still present.

These revelations caused him to start thinking about how this could have happened, but he could not think much, as Asia interrupted him.

"Ed… What did you see?"

Hearing that question, Edzard blinked and looked at his wife and Lint. When his eyes fell on them, he realized that they were anxious to receive answers, so without thinking twice, he answered them.

"It seems that you are right, Lint has a Sacred Gear, which manifests itself in the form of a purple flame inside her…"

Edzard's answer caused the eyes of the two girls to open in surprise, but also in shock.

"So… I have Walburga's Sacred Gear…" whispered Lint, who was in complete shock, as she did not know how to react. This was because her mind was divided, as part of her was happy, but another worried. However, to her good fortune, Asia saw her in that state and without thinking twice, put a hand on her shoulder in a sign of support. This action made Lint come to her senses, ending up looking at her partner and Asia.

"This may be a shock, but it's not bad, Lint." said Edzard, who realized that Lint seemed to be worried about the Sacred Gear she had obtained. "That Sacred Gear may have been used to harm you, but remember that Sacred Gears are like swords, they are tools, and these are not to blame for what their owner does."

Edzard's words caused Lint to sigh, trying in that way to eliminate the doubts from her being. Fortunately, it seemed to work, as she smiled when she realized that Edzard was right.

"Yes, you're right… this… this Sacred Gear can be used to help the innocent…" said Lint, who put a smile on her face, showing that she was adapting to the fact that she now had a Sacred Gear.

"Good, that's the attitude… now, there's something I want to confirm… I was told that when you were fighting, Asia used the golden flames against you, but these were stopped by the purple flames of that Sacred Gear, right?"

Edzard's question made the two girls return their thoughts to the moment they fought each other, something they didn't want to do, but it seemed necessary. After several seconds, they somewhat remembered what had happened.

"Yes… well, it didn't exactly happen that way." Asia replied, bringing a hand to her forehead, while frowning. "I can't explain it, but…"

"Our weapons never touched." Lint added, clearly remembering how her sword and Asia's never touched when they were covered with their respective flames.

Upon hearing the words of his lovers, Edzard opened his eyes in surprise, then brought his hands to his temples. His mind began to try to understand why this was happening, but he could only come to two conclusions. The first was that both flames responded to the feelings of their bearers, who surely did not want to harm each other. The second was that both flames rejected each other, refusing to touch simply because they were composed of different energies, or perhaps for another reason…

'Ahhh… great, another mystery to solve… I guess I'll leave it on the waiting list for now, I don't want to fill up with projects…' Edzard thought, then looked at them, realizing he had to talk to them about something else…

"Well… it seems we have a mystery on our hands, but we'll leave it for later, as we now have things to do… Lint, has Asia told you what Sheogorath and Sanguine told me?"

"Yes, she did mention it… We were all quite surprised, but do you think…" Lint replied, which she couldn't finish answering, as Edzard cut her off.

"No, I don't think so… at least not entirely." Edzard said, looking into Lint and Asia's eyes. "The daedras are very volatile in their actions… we may have six months, maybe more or maybe less… or other princes may cause problems…"

"Yes, Asia mentioned that… she said they were not allies."

"That's right. They are not allies… at least not all of them."

"What?" Lint asked in surprise, feeling confused by Edzard's words.

"The princes have alliances among them, not all of them hate each other, but that doesn't mean they will help each other willingly… no, even if they are allies, each one looks out for their own interests." Edzard replied, preparing to tell them about some of the alliances that existed among the daedric princes. "For example, Hircine is allied with Mehrunes Dagon… another alliance is Sanguine with Vaermina… among others…"

The mention of those alliances scared Lint, who felt a chill run down her body, but she was not the only one, as Asia also felt the same.

The atmosphere in the room became heavy, as worry hung over the three presents, causing each one to have their own thoughts. However, the atmosphere did not last much longer, as Edzard got up and took the sketches he had drawn.

"The atmosphere is tense… I think for now the best thing is to forget about the daedras for a while… so, I want your opinions on this." Edzard asked, handing the sketches to his lovers.

"What is this?" Asia and Lint asked as they took the two sketches.

The eyes of the two girls focused on the drawings and what they saw surprised them a lot. The lines that made up the sketches were clear, allowing them to see the dimensions of the two objects, along with a description of the materials that would be used for their construction.

"Ed… Is this…?" Asia asked when she stopped looking at the sheet, somewhat understanding what it was.

"Yes, they are the gifts for Kunou and Marie." Edzard quickly replied.

Upon hearing that response, Asia, and Lint were startled, because what was drawn on those sketches were not exactly toys.

"You can't be serious, Ed!" Asia exclaimed, with a voice full of surprise and some fear.

"Asia is right, Ed! This is crazy!" was Lint's exclamation, who agreed with Asia.

"I know, but… what has happened recently has made me think that-"

"That it's okay to rob those girls of their innocence so soon? Ed, please… think about it, Marie is just about to turn three years old, Kunou is about to turn thirteen, but they are still not old enough for that."

"Lint is right, Ed… please… just, please, don't do what I fear you will do…" Asia asked, almost bursting into tears.

Seeing that both were against it, Edzard realized what they had insinuated, so just to be sure, he decided to ask them what they had thought.

The answer they gave him made him realize that they had misunderstood his actions, so without wasting time, he told them his real plan. When they heard it, they blushed, realizing they had been exaggerating.

"I see… I'm glad it's not what we thought." Lint said, letting out a sigh while holding a hand to her chest, where her heart was.

"Yes… I'm sorry, Ed. But we are somewhat sensitive because of what happened." Asia said, feeling bad for having misunderstood her husband's actions.

"Calm down, there's no problem. It's my fault for not explaining myself well… now, I need help to finish designing them, do you think you could help me?" Edzard asked, showing a smile.

Upon hearing their lover's question, the two girls smiled and nodded.

"Alright, let's get started. We have a couple of hours until dinner." Edzard said, remembering that at dinner he would reveal everything that was about to happen here and that would be the time when he would tell Asia and the rest of the girls who would be their tenants for a while.

Author's Note:

To those who have made it this far, thank you for reading. To be honest, my English writing skills are not strong, and I'm relying on Google Translate and the dictionaries that come with Office 2019.

And finally, I managed to release chapter 69 XD

Well, first things first, about my health status in case anyone is interested, I'm better now, not fully recovered, but I've overcome several things and I'm better. My panic attacks have reduced to almost disappearing, something that makes me very happy.

Returning to the story, as you can see, I've done a marathon, so you have an approximate of 30k words to read in total XD.

The story is starting from where it was left off, first, Asia reuniting with her friends, something that was difficult for me to write, but I hope I have well captured the feelings involved.

I am also starting to advance the relationship of Dovahkiin with Yasaka, and about the gifts, let's say they are objects of great power. They will be seen in later chapters.

About the issue of the flames of the sacred gear that Lint has, the reaction they have with the flames that Asia now also possesses will be explored later, in what I call the interlude before the real storm.

I apologize for any spelling errors. Please don't forget to leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter, or if there's something that needs improvement, or if you have any questions about the story. Any constructive advice is welcome. With nothing more to say, see you in the next chapter.