Chapter 5

In a sophisticated hospital room, a beautiful woman was sleeping on the sole bed. She was dressed in a plain white gown and had a light cover pulled up to her stomach.

The walls were a light cream color and there were a few paintings put around to give it a different look from the sterile white of regular hospital rooms. There was a potted plant on the small table beside the bed. It looked like an ordinary bonsai but was a magical plant in reality.

It acted as a natural air purifier and absorbed most of the air pollutants common in major cities. As a result the room was more fresh than the outside despite the windows being closed.

The woman was of course Maya Yotsuba. She was among those who tried to stop the gashadokuro in the initial phrase of its rampage through the Institute. Most among those were dead and Maya was among the lucky few who didn't die when the divine beast caught them all off guard.

The hospital she was in currently in is under the Committee. She and all the injured members were brought there for treatment. Luckily for them Kyosuke had administered first aid after killing the gashadokuro, so all the surviving members would recover fully and without any lingering issues.

Maya stirred in her sleep. Her fingers twitched and her eyes snapped open abruptly. She sat up straight instantly, her magic power roiling and spells to survey her surroundings were cast fluidly and without hesitation.

She wasn't able to reach her current power and influence by being weak. She was one of the few Great Mages of the Institute after all. The moment she became aware she was on guard.

She relaxed when she found no signs of danger and took in the room. It took her a split second to connect the dots and realize where exactly she was. So she settled back on the bed and leaned against the pillow, waiting for someone to appear.

She did not have to wait long. Magical hospitals have various spells to monitor the patients and so the door was quickly knocked on within a few minutes of her waking up.

"Maya-sama, may we enter?"

Hayama's voice sounded out. The nervousness and hesitation that Maya expected was absent.

"Enter."

The door opened and Hayama walked in. He was accompanied by someone, which wasn't surprising.

What was surprising was his identity. Maya looked a bit confused when her cousin Mitsugu Kuroba entered.

He was dressed in formal shirt and pants and there were familial similarities between his and Maya's faces. His posture indicated relief along with his usual wariness towards the cousin he is most afraid of.

Though he had to admit he enjoyed the look of confusion Maya had. It is very rare this cousin of his is not in control of a situation. Although he admits that not even she could have predicted this utter mess they were in.

Or how the mess was already getting solved by virtue of a wildcard no one could have forseen.

Mitsugu did not show any of his thoughts on his face and gave a slight bow at Maya.

"Maya-sama, it is good to see you awake. I hope there are no lingering issues?"

Maya nodded. "Yes. It seems like a top quality healer treated me?"

The question was directed at Hayama who nodded.

"Yes, Maya-sama. All the survivors were looked over by Sachi-san before being moved here."

Maya picked up on the complex emotions he had when Kyosuke's mention came up. She also picked up Mitsugu's reaction of fear and surprise?

She silently conveyed for Hayama to explain everything.

Hayama told her about how she and many others were incapacitated swiftly. With no one who could hold it back, the gashadokuro destroyed the Institute unopposed. Many members died, both instructors and students alike.

While that was happening, Kyosuke and Kiyotaka returned from their trip to the Netherworld. Then the Committee reinforcements arrived in the form of the Himejima Clan Head and her entourage.

Then came the part where Kyosuke stepped forward, showed off magic power on the level of a peak class Grand Mage, showed his technique Domain Expansion which created an isolated space under his control, showed off touki which matched his magic reserves in quantity and finally combined his magic power and touki to kill the gashadokuro in one hit.

Maya was struck speechless by the end. If not for her being sure she wasn't dreaming and the lack of any mages there to detain her, she would have said this was all an elaborate prank in poor taste.

But Hayama and Mitsugu were dead serious and so she had to swallow any doubts. It took her a long time to digest everything.

"So the Committee is not sure about how to proceed?"

Mitsugu also looked at Hayama. He had just arrived a little bit before Maya had woken up, expecting to face a lot of trouble to meet up with her. Instead of any Committee mages detaining her, he found Hayama patiently waiting for her to wake up and was informed that things were being resolved and there wouldn't be any severe consequences at least.

"That is correct." Hayama resumed his tale. "It was easy for those present to conclude that Sachi-san deliberately showed off his power. After all, he had no reason to drag everyone present inside the barrier. Nor was there a need to flare up his magic power and touki liberally the way he did. It was a very inefficient way to cast any magic, not a mistake someone of his caliber would make. So the Himejima Head got the other Committee mages under control and did not treat everyone like a criminal."

He let slip some amusement on recalling how those mages, who act all high and mighty most of the time, were walking on egg shells with the presence of Kyosuke. Truly, personal power of a certain quality can supercede all authority.

"Then Sachi-san applied first aid on all the people who survived and the Committee moved everyone here. Those who weren't injured went to meet the Committee and provide all details from their prespective. The Committee also took over the remains of the facilities after Sachi-san did not object to their investigation. They should be going over the data in search of any information about just what the Director was doing since the gashadokuro's existence proved without doubt that some forbidden research was being conducted."

Maya could feel a headache building up.

Forbidden research. As the words explain, it refers to any magic which is banned by the authority governing an area. This means casting it and even researching it is not allowed and any attempts, if found, will bring down the ire of those strong and influential enough to create local laws.

Different places ban different magics depending on cultural differences and history. But some are banned all over the world by an agreement among the major human groups.

Due to the existence of the natural disasters known as Heretic Gods, humans in this world cooperate far more than in Kyosuke's previous life. They do their best to minimize open conflict since it attracts the most attention of the divine kind, the type that makes things needlessly more difficult for all sides involved except the divine.

A good example is the fact World War 2 never happened here. There was only one world war and it brought the world on the brink of destruction, far closer than those in the know were comfortable with.

Nuclear weapons were invented during those years in the 1930's. When one country made the breakthrough, many others followed suit either by cooperation or stealing the results.

So with an abundance of nuclear bombs, many trigger happy people, namely those who consider themselves more important and powerful than they actually are, made liberal use of them.

To no one's surprise, the first targets were the two Campione alive during those times, followed by the various Paladins and Great Mages. To everyone's surprise and horror, the British even managed to land a hit on a Heretic God too.

The god shrugged off the explosion easily. Gods in this world don't have a biological body. They are divinity given form, so things without a magical component cannot scratch them. The only exception are the various natural phenomenon like tsunami and volcanic eruptions.

So the god came out of the explosion unscathed. The radiation was not a big deal either. Again, with no cells to suffer, the radiation was far less effective than common poison would have been.

Then the Campione of course shrugged off the bombs that landed on them. They had to use an Authority since they are flesh and blood, but their divinity ensured they recovered fully from that.

Then it was the culprits' turn to suffer. And they certainly did not live through the attacks.

No Paladin died either. But the same was not true for their bases which had more people than themselves.

From the records the Institute had, courtesy of the Committee, Heretic Gods descended and divine beasts rampaged and the world itself cried out. Sages had a hard time using natural energy as it became more volatile and malicious.

From then on, even more than their mundane counterparts, the leaders of the human supernatural groups cooperate closely on a few things like banning the use of nuclear weapons and ensuring that any already existing were disposed of without error.

One of these topics of cooperation is banning certain magics worldwide. Top of the list is human sacrifice followed by messing with rituals which can bring strong divine beasts and spirits to the human from the Netherworld.

And what is a gashadokuro but solid proof that human sacrifice was being researched? Last the Committee checked, there were no wars or famine around in Japan which would result in a divine beast like that emerging.

Not to mention it came from inside the Institute and not from the outside. So no one even attempted to say that it came from the Netherworld. That excuse was so flimsy no one would believe it for a second.

This is another point why Maya thought everything happening was surreal. By all accounts she should be under lock and key, not being left to her own devices in a hospital bed.

The only reason for this discrepancy is Kyosuke's sudden power reveal.

Not even the Committee would want to start a conflict after a display like what Hayama had just explained. They will at least want the current inheritor of Ouryuu to be present considering he is the strongest member in the Committee.

"I don't know what Ayanokouji was thinking." Maya said, annoyed beyond belief. Her teeth was grinding together and her hand flexed. If the Director was present before her, she would not have hesitated in wringing his neck.

"Hayama, go and tell the Committee that I am willing to cooperate with them fully. I had no idea what the Director was doing and was out of the loop. There were signs of him working on a secret project, but the secrecy was way more than anything I have ever seen from him. Only his most trusted people might have any clues. Was any of them caught?"

She looked at him expectantly, but the answer was disappointing.

"From the remains found at the epicenter of the rampage, the probability of those knowing the full picture being dead is high. We can only hope there is enough trail to connect the pieces."

That was the best Maya could hope. Then her mind wandered to Kyosuke and how he was able to hide so much of his strength.

…On second thought, ever since he had started entering the Netherworld, he hadn't had any tests at the Institute which could push him. In hindsight it is obvious that far from his limits, the Institute might not even know what he can do if he is serious.

Her expression became serious when she thought of that.

"Also, where is Kyosuke-kun?"

"He is meeting with the clan heads present. They would not assured if they let him off their sight."

xxx

Hayama was indeed right. The Committee wouldn't be calm unless Kyosuke was under watchful gaze of someone who could actually do something effective if he tried anything.

So naturally the role fell on Suzaku along with all the available Great Knights.

Kyosuke was currently sitting in a luxurious room. It was decorated in a way that screamed wealth without looking gaudy.

There was a thick carpet which covered the whole floor. It automatically cleaned the shoes of those who stepped on it, so it was in pristine condition like it had been placed there just that moment.

There were several couches placed around the table in the center. Bookshelves lined the walls and were filled with topics like literature, history, poetry, geography and more. The table was a dark wooden color and was polished to an unbelievable degree. The couches were very comfortable and the whole color scheme looked very nice.

Kyosuke gave all these a single look and turned to more interesting things. Like the various wards woven into the room to suppress any threats. They were very subtle but still failed to evade his senses.

He has been levelling [Magic Sense] since he was born and [Intuition] since he was 5, so around 9 years by now. There isn't anything that can escape his notice when he is actively looking around for surprises and threats.

Though he was rather relaxed as he lounged back, eating the small cakes that were served. He was confident enough to overwhelm Suzaku along with the various agents placed throughout the building, so he didn't act too cautious.

Unlike him, the various members on standby were nervous. Even the maid who came to serve the tea and cake was a Great Knight, so they weren't taking any chances.

Suzaku outwardly projected a calm demeanor. Inwardly she was studying him intently. She was really surprised to find that for all intents, the one before her seemed to be a regular mage.

His magic power was large enough to only show he was a mage without showing any hint of his real power.

"If you have any questions, just ask." Kyosuke put another piece of cake in his mouth. The way he was eating rubbed the tea lover in her the wrong way. Good cake like that should be savoured with tea. "As long as its not my secrets or something, I will answer truthfully."

"Won't you try out the tea, Sachi-san? Hinata-san's tea is very sought after by any who get the chance to stop by. It goes wonderfully with the cake."

Of course she wouldn't be straightforward just because he said so. But Kyosuke had no desire to waste time talking in circles. A fool can tell the Institute is over at this point. He can already see his independence, so he is rather impatient to get this over with and be on his way.

"I don't drink tea." He said bluntly. "Such frivolities are not available to the Institute members." He paused for a moment and added thoughtfully. "At least I haven't seen anyone drinking it. Though maybe the higher ups drink it when they take breaks or something. But those like me don't have any breaks so."

He picked up another piece and ignored the air which was becoming awkward and weird. "Besides, this cake is really good as is. No need to ruin the taste."

Suzaku's eyes twitched at that. She also felt sympathetic, though she did not show it.

"I am afraid my education in literature is only enough to read and write simple words. Hidden meanings and complex words will go over my head. So if you expect me to talk in the sophisticated way that those with influence do, then you will be disappointed." He said with a chuckle. "But I am sure you would already know what we are taught in there?"

Suzaku's jaw tightened at the jab. She was saved from responding by the door opening and attracting the attention of everyone in the room. A man dressed in formal robes and pants entered, having brown hair and eyes.

It was the normal reaction whenever the current Ouryuu entered a room. He was known as the strongest inheritor of the Yellow Dragon in history, and Kyosuke could see why.

If instead of Suzaku it was this guy who had arrived first, the gashadokuro would have been solved in one hit by him.

Still, Kyosuke did not grow serious or cautious. In fact, he was a bit disdainful of this guy? It was also mixed in with some pity, which was a first.

Ouryuu and Suzaku noticed it and filed it away to think on it later.

Suzaku and Ouryuu are not their real names. They are titles that the inheritors of the Vermillion Bird and Yellow Dragon use after they discard their original names given at birth.

This is why Kyosuke looks down on them. They throw away all individuality to become a copy of those who came before. Just take this guy for example.

He is stronger than the current Kyosuke, which is saying something. That boast of him being the strongest Ouryuu in history is not a boast at all. The current him could go a few moves with a Campione with no problem since the divinity given by the Yellow Dragon would ensure his attacks can break through the famed magic resistance.

So isn't it all the more pitiful that he is merely known as the strongest Ouryuu? His original name is not one people will know. He will always be known as just a tool of the Nakiri, just another the stick the clan wielded for these years.

"Not knowing difficult words and being deliberately rude is different." Ouryuu moved and took a seat beside Suzaku, opposite Kyosuke. "Your mannerisms give off the latter impression. Not a good look for someone of your strength."

"So everyone was waiting for you to come." Kyosuke ignored the words his reply did not relate to them in anyway. "Can we get to the point now?"

Ouryuu gave him a sharp look, his eyes on the verge of becoming slitted. The intimidation tactic did not work on Kyosuke.

"Very well. Please start with where you were when the gashadokuro emerged in the Institute. Also state everything you know regarding the actions of Atsuomi Ayanokouji and those working directly under him in recent years. Do not leave out any details and we will not make things difficult for you."

That was very rude.

Suzaku was not the only one who thought that. Everyone from the Committee was thinking the same. It was also very unlike Ouryuu who was always cautious.

But no one showed their thoughts openly since he must have a reason to do so.

Kyosuke kept lounging and eating cake. He recounted everything clearly and did not hide anything. He has no doubt that any falsehood would be found later after they collaborate his words with others.

He also had no reason to hide anything which was already known to people from the Institute. He also stated his suspicions on how he noticed the increased secrecy and security around a place which was cordoned off to those without the explicit permission of the Director.

"And you did not think to bring up any of these findings to anyone? When you knew there might be a chance of forbidden magics being researched?"

Ouryuu and Suzaku frowned when he mentioned that he knew human experiments were being carried out and did not do anything. He ignored the signs despite knowing better, which was completely irresponsible of him.

But Kyosuke waved off their accusation. "Meh. They might have been researching healing magic or rituals or some enhancements or something. How would I know they were doing something so troublesome that a gashadokuro might have been created? I thought the Director and his lackeys were smarter than that."

"They were still conducting human experiments." Suzaku said. Unlike Ouryuu who was listening with the same sharp expression, she was becoming agitated. "Those were still lives which were dying. Researching healing is not an excuse for the cruelty that so many humans would have suffered."

Kyosuke just gave her a bored look. "Look, they were only bringing in criminals and the likes. There were no innocent people, so I did not bother poking my nose where it did not belong. Besides, who cares as long as scum is off the street? With the crime rates plummeting across Japan, even the air feels better these days."

Callous. Suzaku was outraged and looking at him with anger. There was also pity and astonishment mixed in.

Even Ouryuu's eyes flickered when he heard such uncaring words from a teenager. Disdain and aloofness, they are familiar with such emotions from the stronger mages.

But the receiving side of these emotions are mostly other races like yokai, devils and fallen angels. Regarding humans, they might treat foreign mages and other clan members who do not live up to their expectations like this.

But none of them would treat the lives of regular humans, criminal or not, with such indifference.

Even if they don't care what happens to mundane criminals, they at least won't go and use them for human experiments. It was a very delicate subject after all. No one wanted to be the one to hand others ammunition to be used against them.

After all, what is the guarantee that the subjects used will continue to be criminals? Any such project will have to be tested on mages and no matter how much one tests it on regular humans, there will be many differences when it comes to applying it on mages.

No one can sleep at night knowing that there are people who might suddenly turn their sights on mages of little renoun to be used as experimental subjects. There will be chaos among the ranks in that case, especially among the lower levels who are the most 'expendables'.

The two clan heads had a sinking feeling the Institute had clearly gone out of Committee control. Laws exist in a society for a reason. They bring stability and safety to everyone and ensure that the strong cannot just prey on the weak without consequences.

If the Director of the Institute could delve in forbidden research so much so that a gashadokuro that powerful shows up, and Kyosuke, easilt the strongest mage to come out of the Institute can see nothing wrong with thousands or more humans dying for magical research so long as none of them are innocents, then clearly there is something far more sinister going on in the Institute.

"Please don't act so surprised." Kyosuke rolled his eyes. "I am sure what goes on in there is known to the Committee. Even if not the full picture, there should be enough clues to connect the dots and get a rough idea."

He finished off the last of the cake and put the plate down. "So are we done?"

Ouryuu sent him a scrutinizing look. His voice was graver than before when he spoke. "And what would you have done if the Director had set his sights on the people of the Institute?"

"I would have beaten him up and brought to the Committee of course." Was the simple reply.

There was a long silence. Anyone else would have felt it suffocating and might have tried to explain themselves, but Kyosuke just kept looking at the clan heads with a mildly impatient look. But he stayed silent since he had said what needed to be said.

Finally Ouryuu broke the silence after it became clear Kyosuke won't be speaking further.

"We are done with this. Your statements will be matched with the others, but since you didn't have a hand in what happened, the following investigation will not concern you in anyway."

From Kyosuke's body language and facial expressions, he could tell that Kyosuke was not lying. In fact, he would so far as to say that Kyosuke wasn't bothering with even trying to hide his emotions and thoughts.

The chances of him being some master of politics who can fool even Ouryuu's eyes is very negligible. From what Ouryuu could see, there were no tells from Kyosuke's heartbeat and touki to indicate he was lying, so he wasn't going to be stuck on this for now.

That left one last point to discuss.

"I am sure you can tell, but the Institute is finished. With the evidence that has come to light, the Committee will not be permitting its existence and it will be shut down instantly. So what are your plans from here on, if you have any that is?"

Oh Kyosuke had plans alright. It was rather ambitious and audacious according to the rest of the world's standard.

While out on missions, he had investigated Kuoh Town and found that Issei Hyoudou, the protagonist of DxD still has the Longinus Boosted Gear. Issei is also an year older than Kyosuke.

Kyosuke is currently 14, so Issei is 15 and in his last year of middle school. This means that in two years, the plot of DxD will start.

From what he remembers, the protagonist of Campione! was also a high school student. He doesn't remember the exact age when he became Campione, but it is very likely the unknown protagonist should be around Issei's age.

Meaning that in two or at most three years the world will start becoming turbulent as the main plot starts. Other Campione coming to Japan to seek out the newest addition to the club is a given.

But how can things stop there? Kyosuke wouldn't be surprised if Heretic Gods start appearing in or around Japan in enough numbers to make up the lack for the past few centuries.

Most likely even those gods who were either secluded or hibernating deep in the Netherworld will also start coming into the spotlight to face off against the protagonist Campione.

That is the power of the plot.

It is excluding the various beings who will jump out one after another with their brand of crazy. Those like the fallen angel Kokabiel who wants to restart the Great War of the Biblical Factions or the Utsusemi Agency who are still hiding and preparing for their revenge on the Guardian Clans - all of them will definitely target Japan.

Now, Kyosuke is not relying on just the 'plot' to say this. Some of his Skills also support this hypothesis. [Intuition, [Danger Sense] and the meager [Divination] he knows all combine and tell him that he needs to hurry up.

When the most dangerous individuals in the world crawl out of their hiding spots, Kyosuke will definitely suffer if he is not a Campione himself. The gashadokuro he fought was only strong enough to take a blow or two from a Campione, but it took Kyosuke an attack 5 times his full power to bring it down in one hit.

Yes, the fight was not as easy as he made it look. Don't forget he combined magic power and touki and used a weapon to seamlessly put it all in a single attack which landed when the divine beast had zero defenses up. And the number of weapons which can match Giant Slayer's quality can be counted easily.

This is after including the whole world. Major factions fight over such weapons which can affect gods and godslayers. Even now, despite Giant Slayer being so unwieldy, the Committee still took it and squirrelled it away under lock and key.

There are many divine beasts out there which can bring down the gashadokuro from before in one hit. Heck, some of them are so sturdy that they might even kill a Campione or Heretic God before dying.

That is why Kyosuke is getting antsy to leave and start his real training. According to initial estimations, he has to prepare and become a Campione within an year. The following year should then be spent trying to catch up with the strongest Campione currently alive.

Depending on the suitability of the Authority he receives, he might even try to surpass them.

But obviously he wouldn't say that to anyone now, would he?

So he just sent a smile of excitement at Ouryuu.

"Now that the Institute is no more, I will of course return back to the city I was born in. At my strength, it is a simple thing to obtain resources from the Netherworld steadily as long as I am careful. So I will do just that." He said like it was obvious. "I will earn money to live a comfortable life and continue my research on magic. But this time everything will be at my own pace. There will be no one who can order me around like an underling."

Then he reached into his pocket and brought out a sheet of paper. He slid it across the table at the clan heads and gestured for them to take it.

"Those are the resources I have come across during my travels through the Netherworld. If you are interested, I can sell them to you at a good price."

Going by their expressions, they did not expect the sudden sales pitch. Ouryuu looked from the list, which contained rare resources which could indeed only be found in the depths of the Netherworld, to Kyosuke repeatedly.

His expression grew thoughtful. Suzaku was the same since it looked like Kyosuke was well prepared and this was not a spur of the moment decision.

"It seems like you are well prepared."

"Naturally." He shrugged with a smile. "You con't expect someone like me to be a lackey for my whole life. I have repaid the Institute for all they have done for me several times by now with all the resources I have brought back and the missions I have completed. Asking for more would just make me angry and hurt. And believe me, I am a very unreasonable person when emotional."

With the way he was relaxing in his couch, he did not look very emotional. Nor did he look hurt by the thought that many people, including fellow students and instructors who would have taught him over the years, were dead.

The carefully prepared sheet of resources he was wishing to sell also indicated he planned things carefully instead of rushing into them headfirst without regard for any consequences.

But again, everything comes back to strength. Kyosuke is strong enough, so the resources required to subdue him would be large. In case of a direct conflict, the time and effort required would be more than the Committee is willing to pay.

So without left to ask or say, Kyosuke left. But not without giving a significant look at one of the walls.

After he left, the room descended into an uncomfortable silence. Suzaku was lost in thought about the atrocities that had gone on under the Committee's rule simply because they did not care enough.

Ouryuu could guess what was troubling her but now was not the time for that. He looked at the spot Kyosuke last looked at before leaving and asked. "So what do you think?"

He air shimmered like a mirage in a desert. Then two old men appeared out of thin air. Both of their hair were completely white but their skin did not have any wrinkles to go with that.

They were both dressed in the robes of the Committee and had gold trims on the collar.

One of them had sharp green eyes and had a dagger sheathed across his waist. The other had blue eyes and had a small charm wrapped around his wrist.

The one with the dagger was the current head of the Sayanomiya Clan while the one beside him was the head of the Kuhoutsuka Clan.

The Guardian Clans had a rule that the moment an inheritor appears in the clan, they will automatically become the clan head. Since the other clans did not have such a rule, their heads were usually old. Like the current duo.

"He definitely knew we were here from the start." Sayanomiya said. He looked annoyed as he took the vacant seat across from the younger clan heads.

His clan is specialized in information gathering. He was the one who was cloaking him and Kuhoutsuka to observe Kyosuke discreetly. Naturally, being seen through like this was a blow to his pride.

Kuhoutsuka was going around the room slowly, muttering spells under his breath and checking the place for any surprises Kyosuke might have left. The Kuhotsuka Clan has the most extensive spell repository in Japan, so their heads are usually the most knowledgable. So he was ensuring that Kyosuke hadn't tampered with anything.

He hadn't, but they wouldn't trust some unknown, right? Some caution is better than being unpleasantly surprised. Moreso after Kyosuke's reveal of never before seen barrier magic.

After double checking everything, Kuhoutsuka was satisfied and took the seat beside Sayanomiya.

"I have checked everything and there is nothing amiss. Although I doubt he would try any tricks knowing it would create conflict, we should get some other people to go over the place. Just in case."

None of the others objected. In any large organizations, there exist many members who look down on others not of their organization. If any of such were present, they would have scoffed at the thought of some random kid, no matter how strong, being knowledgeable enough to tamper with their defenses which have been worked over by multiple generations.

Such people are found among the lower and middle echelons and rarely at the top management. Because if even the leadership starts having their heads in the clouds, then it does not take long for the organization they lead to decline.

The clan heads would not underestimate Kyosuke after that type of showing.

Kuhoutsuka turned to Sayanomiya, followed by Suzaku and Ouryuu. With the three looking at him, he reined in his annoyance at being seen through and moved to the main topic.

"In my opinion, he was truthful the entire time and did not see the need to hide any of his thoughts. Plus if he really was a part of whatever scheme was going on, then the gashadokuro would not have gone out of control."

The men looked at Suzaku, the only one who had witnessed the battle in person.

"Yes." She nodded in confirmation. "If he wanted to, he could have subdued the gashadokuro with enough time. He was not affected by its aura and even after expending an absurd amount of both magic power and touki, he did not look winded in the slighest."

Kuhoutsuka had a contemplative look. Some maids entered the room and served tea and cake. After they left, Sayanomiya asked Suzaku about the weapon Kyosuke had used.

"He used that weapon, the one called Giant Slayer, right? The one that the Institute had excavated from the Netherworld?"

Suzaku nodded and looked at Kuhoutsuka. "Ah yes." The older man snapped out of his thoughts. He was the one who had initally given it a cursory glance before hurrying over to this meeting room.

"From what I could see from the initial probes, it is definitely a legendary weapon, if rather unwieldy and requiring touki and high physical strength to wield."

A legendary weapon is a weapon capable of hurting gods and godslayers. They are on par with the Longinus class Sacred Gears and any faction will treat them as a trump card.

Although facing a god or godslayer and winning just by relying on an external tool is nigh impossible, in many cases it is enough to impress the godslayer which means the king is more likely to recruit you than kill you.

Against a god such weapons can be used to buy enough time for reinforcements to arrive. Very, very, veryfew of the Campione in history have also ascended because they had something which could hurt and god and they got lucky with the god getting extremely careless against them.

Although most factions do not dare have such high expectations. They will mostly use a legendary weapon as the basis for a spell or ward against divine beasts and equivalent spirits, which is also amazing.

But alas, in the current world, no one alive is capable of making such weapons or items. In history, the moment any craftsman has created one and news regarding them has spread, they start receiving offers and threats from factions all over the world.

Someone capable of creating strategic weapons is a high priority target anywhere, so such people do not live for long.

So legendary weapons are even rarer than Campione. It takes a lot of luck, skill and exceptional quality divine materials to create such a weapon. And since something like that won't be possible on the first try, it is a real blackhole in terms of resources.

Keep in mind the resources here cannot be bought with money. They have to be harvested from deep in the Netherworld which requires strong enough people. And if one of those strong enough to harvest such materials die then…

Sayanomiya shook his head at the news. "Those guys were so lucky." His eyes narrowed and voice became colder. "And daring too. It seems like Ayanokouji was set on estalishing his own mage association in Japan. He even hid news about such an artifact."

Kuhoutsuka's also let his displeasure show. The younger clan heads frowned at that.

Having multiple factions vying for control has both advantages and disadvantages.

Since there is competition, they are forced to keep on improving themselves lest they are left behind. This ensures that the organization stays sharp and does not grow complacent. Complacent people are lazy and lazy means weak.

And what is the fate of weak in any world need not be spelled out.

The disadvantage of having competition is that if the participants do not try to improve themselves but attempt getting an advantage by sabotaging their competitors.

Even the strongest of fortresses can be brought low by internal conflict. Suddenly trials which were mere nuisances earlier become trials to overcome. And challenges become that much harder to overcome too.

The History Compilation Committee has no true competition in Japan. They have an iron grip on the country and not even Kyoto, the headquarters of the Japanese Yokai Faction, is excempt to that.

It was rather audacious of Director Ayanokouji to attempt creating a powerbase like that.

"Well, what else can you expect? He wasn't that strong personally, barely a Great Knight if I recall." Ouryuu said lightly. "The lack of progress must have stinged a lot."

"True that." Kuhoutsuka agreed with that. Then he glanced at the sheet Kyosuke had left behind. His expression became strange, a mixture of shock and surprise and amazement. "I believe having someone so capable did not help matters either."

With that, the topic shifted to how to handle the Institute members. Just like Kyosuke, there should be many who will want freedom and refuse to join the Committee as full time members. Not to mention those from the various clans will be returning back to aid in their development rather directly from here on.

Still, that leaves a substancial number of mages trained in the modern magic methods. The various clans will be vying to get them under their thumbs. But this will only benefit the more liberal of them since the conservatives will definitely not stand to tolerate them.

During the conversation, Suzaku brought up the topic of how the disappearances of mundane criminals in such large numbers can be hidden from the Committee.

The older clan heads cared about it very much but not for reasons Suzaku liked. They were more concerned with figuring out how it was done rather than the deaths of so many criminals, so they had to assign a group to investigate that as well.

It would be a big endeavour since all of Japan had to be investigated for it, so it wouldn't be accomplished in near future. As for how much effort would be put in for the long term, that remains to be seen.

xxx

While the Committee was buzzing with news, Kyosuke was making his way out of the building. It was actually the Tokyo headquarters, so the place was filled up with people coming and going. Important and influential people at that.

A woman was already waiting outside when Kyosuke stepped through. She led him away and word about his feats must have spread already because many of those they passed by stopped and stared at him.

But as was expected, from his looks to the magic power that could be sensed off him, he gave an ordinary feeling. No matter how one looked, he did not seem anything special.

The woman leading him was a bit embarrassed at those reactions. She had seen how the different clan heads treated him. If he wasn't special, they why would they have wasted their time?

So many Great Knights had also been placed throughout the building just in case.

As for the target of those looks? Kyosuke did not care either way. He just spammed [Observe] on everyone he came across. The data gathered should give a good estimation about the Committee's strength.

At least the part which is public. As the ones who have ruled Japan for centuries by now, he is sure they have many hidden trump cards. Who knows, they might even have a Heretic God backing them?

Kyosuke thinks it is very likely the case. Not only would it fit in with Japan being the focus of the plot, it also explains why the conflict between the various clans is so low.

Logically, the Committee should have been divided in two between the conservatives and progressives. The Guardian Clans and the Founding Clans would lead their respective sides and have various clans under them.

There should have been conflict, both open and covert. There should have been some backstabbing and more attempts at alliances and stuff.

There should especially have been more corruption than the current state of the association has. Kyosuke refuses to believe that after being unopposed for so long the Committee has still not grown so complacent that the yokai get a chance to increase their influence.

Instead they are still stuck in Kyoto and from what he has observed during his travels, there have been no major conflicts between humans and yokai. Heck, there has been no major tensions either.

If there are any hardliners and fanatics in any side, they are dealt with swiftly. Anything to prevent escalating conflict, though the yokai do come out on the losing side more often than not.

Not to mention the way the Committee moves like a single entity most of the time regarding major decisions.

The Committee is not a monolithic organization but one composed of sub groups. These sub groups are formed based on multiple factors and include familiar ties, views on magic and even views of non-Japanese people, mundane and supernatural alike.

Now, it can be said that if all the clan heads are in agreement, then the whole Committee should move as per their shared vision. But that is assuming the clan head of each clan has absolute control over their respective clan.

And no way that is true. It might be true for a few exceptional clan heads in history, but it being true all the time? For all the clans?

No way. Each clan has many clan elders, those who are old and powerful enough that people might choose them over the clan head in many cases.

And what are these clan elders but fellows who divide power away from their clan head? Their existence easily prevents the scene where a single individual can control a whole clan without opposition.

So the kind of unity the Committee displays can only come if there is a single person at the top. And since there has been no Campione in Japan for more than a thousand years, it can only be a Heretic God who has retired into the Netherworld.

'Things sure are convoluted.' Kyosuke gave a last glance at the building after exiting.

His hypothesis might be correct or it might be wrong. But in any case, so long someone with enough power appears, no one in Japan will be able to oppose them and the government will become their lackeys.

And all this will happen without the regular humans even suspecting anything. It is rather scary to think about. On his pessimistic days, it makes Kyosuke wonder if the same was not true in his previous life as well.

After leaving the Committee building and putting away useless thoughts of what if's, Kyosuke was stuck with a dilemma. Namely the fact he lacked any accomodation. Truthfully speaking he had a lot of wealth stored away in his Inventory. Granted a majority of it was obtained from the Dungeons and could not be used in the real world, he still had enough resources obtained from the Netherworld that would double or triple the wealth of some mid size clans they were to suddenly get them.

But Kyosuke still lacked any money that could be used in the normal world. He also lacked any paperwork that can allow him to not be stopped on the street by any police officer and question why he was not in school and where did he live.

But all that can be rectified easily enough. He could have asked the Committee directly, but he didn't feel like it.

It is better to ask someone from the Institute to get these things done for him. He goes to the Committee for every little thing, they will start assuming he can only rely on them.

He definitely doesn't want that, so he made his way to the person he is sure can handle this. It just so happens that he recently healed her. He also happens to be the sole reason she is not under as much suspicion as she rightfully should have been because of her position in the Institute, so Kyosuke won't even have to be in her debt.

xxx

It took him a few minutes to reach the hospital where the Institute higher ups were taken to. He could have been there in an instant by teleporting, but he ran there after putting a spell to make the mundane humans ignore him.

It was for the benefit of those who were tailing him. They were from the Committee and seeing as they had no hostile intent, Kyosuke decided to ignore them.

Looking at the hospital, Kyosuke was very impressed. The building was soaked in a multitude of spells, each contributing in some way to improve the healing process. There were monitoring spells which would detect any signs of deterioration among the patients, soothing spells which brought down panic levels because you don't want an injured mage panicking while trying to heal them and so on.

There were also spells designated to be used in case the hospital was attacked. These did not include any offensive spells and were purely defensive in nature. Their aim is to buy enough time for the people to evacuate or, if that is not feasible, then hold on until reinforcements arrive.

There were also alarm spells which would alert the Committee. After all this was the best medical facility in the whole country. The people treated here were the most important in terms of influence at least, even if not strength wise.

The guards were also very strong, just a step below what Kyosuke found at the Tokyo headquarters. So the moment he approached a kilometer radius, he was detected easily.

Clearly the ones following him had sent words, so he wasn't stopped when he neared the entrance. The doors opened automatically and he stepped inside, appearing in a lobby which looked more like a 5 star hotel than a hospital.

A few people turned to look at him, mainly the guards and receptionists. He moved towards the counter and he had to admit, the customer service was top notch.

There were a few people before him but their requests were processed quickly and someone led them further inside the hospital.

"Good evening and welcome to Tokyo Crescent Moon Hospital. How may I help you?"

Kyosuke was a bit taken aback by the greeting. It was just a fleeting thing, so he did not dwell on it much.

"Hello. I am here to visit a patient, Maya Yotsuba. I am Kyosuke she isn't awake yet, then please let me see any of the Institute higher ups who are awake and free."

"Please let me check." She looked at the computer which was hidden from Kyosuke's sight by the counter for a minute.

He had added the last part just in case. Anyways, he will definitely be getting someone's confirmation to start on his move to Chiba today. It doesn't really have to be Maya who does it. No matter who, they all owe him a lot from today's events and he willbe cashing in that favour. So any of those guys will do.

"Ms. Yotsuba is awake and free. You can visit her on the third floor, room 305."

"Thank you." Kyosuke thanked her politely and walked to the elevator.

It had just arrived to the ground floor and the entrance was opening. A middle aged woman was standing there since earlier and so entered before Kyosuke. Then two men entered after him and when no one else came, the doors closed.

"There was no need to follow be like that. I am not so unreasonable that I would throw an temper tantrum for the Committee keeping an eye on me after what happened."

The three adults stiffened at his words. None of them tried to deny or make any excuses. Since he said so, he definitely sensed them tailing him from the headquarters till here.

Saying on the contrary will only insult his competence.

"In fact, here." He put a hand in his pocket and took out three sheets of papers. When he held them out, one of the men took them wordlessly. "I am in need of Japanese yen, so I am selling out my stock I don't need for now. If you have any clans you are friendly with or any rich mages, pass these on please."

The atmosphere was a bit awkward and tense. Thankfully Kyosuke's destination was only the third floor, so the time passed quickly after he handed out the list.

The elevator opened and Kyosuke stepped out. None of the others followed him and after the door closed, they let out a sigh of relief.

Kyosuke ignored the little episode and made a beeline for the room he was told. He knocked and received a response to enter immediately.

Entering, he saw that Maya and Hayama were present along with a man he did not know. He hadn't seen this guy at the Institute so he was probably from Maya's clan.

"I hope you have recovered well." He directed the question at Maya and gave a mall nod for greeting to Hayama.

He wasn't completely tactless, so he wouldn't directly jump in and start demanding things.

"Thanks to you, Kyosuke-kun." Maya sent a coy smile his way. "I hear the divine beast was stronger than expected. No one was able to do anything but then you came to the rescue and amazed everyone with your strength. It seems like you have been holding out on us."

"Not really." He shrugged and took an empty chair. "I have been training harder since I started entering the Netherworld. That place is great for honing oneself if you are smart about it, so I was able to come up with new techniques and better my already existing ones."

Everyone else could feel their eyes twitching at that. Maya sent him an analytical look and realized with a start that there was nothing different about him. There was no arrogance or feeling of superiority like one would expect from a Grand Mage of his caliber.

Even the way he moved was not different from his usual self. If Maya hadn't heard everything from Hayama and the same had not been later confirmed by the Committee members who came to question her, she would not have found anything different about him.

"Kyosuke-kun." Her smile dimmed and her expression became serious. She sat up straighter and looked in his eyes intently, not willing to miss any clue. "Would you mind answering a question if its not too personal?"

"Go ahead."

"Killing that divine beast is not a big deal to you, is it? If Hayama and the Committee had not confirmed it, I wouldn't notice anything different about you. You are your usual self and it is very puzzeling. Anyone else would be boasting about creating the spell you showed off or the ability to mix magic power and touki. And especially killing a divine beast in one hit. Why is that?"

By the end she sounded confused and did not hide it. She had kept an eye on him since the moment he had first joined the Institute. She did not get why he was so hellbent on becoming stronger when he did not use that power in any capacity.

"Why not?" Kyosuke asked in return. He had a genial smile and instead of answering her started asking questions of his own. "Why do I need to brag and gloat about what I can do? Why do I need to declare my power from the rooftops for everyone to hear? Just because I am powerful, I have to plot and scheme and gather influence like everyone else does? That is all too much of a hassle."

It took a while for the listeners to comprehend his words. But Maya wasn't done yet.

"So what doyou want? You are easily the second strongest mage in Japan by a large margin, but even that is not concrete. The current Ouryuu should be stronger than you, but what if you have more trump cards up your sleeve? You sure act like nothing fazes you even now, so I refuse to believe that it took all your effort to kill the gashadokuro."

She gave him a piercing look. He had reached a level which only a handful of people reach from across the world in every decade or so. He just has to show slight interest and any of the clans in Japan will recruit him.

Money, influence and women - he will get all in spades. Maya is sure that after everything is settled, a ton of marriage contracts will be heading Kyosuke's way. And many of them will be satisfied if one of their girls become his second or even third wife.

But he acts like none of that is of any significance. Like the way supernatural Japan will be stirred up because of him has nothing to do with him.

"No need to overestimate me like that, Maya-san. The current Ouryuu is definitely stronger than me." He said with a wry smile.

It was true, though what he didn't say is if there is a fight to the death, then Kyosuke can definitely kill him. He did not deny that he has some more trump cards because even if he says that, people will believe what they want to believe.

It doesn't help that he really does have a few spells he has bought from the Shop and which no one knows about.

"As for what I want? I just want a sinple, peaceful and happy life." And just like that he said something which will make those who don't know him label him as a little kid.

Because seriously? A peaceful and happy life? That is something small kids who watch the morning cartoons will say.

"I like magic. I like the feeling of becoming more powerful and being capable of feats most of the world will never be able to do. But I dislike going out and stirring up trouble for no reason. I also dislike being ordered around by scum with an inflated sense of ego and self importance. Believe me, I am very happy the Director and his cronies are dead."

The venom in his voice was real. He was truly glad those shits were dead because if they weren't, he would have killed them himself in the future to be rid of them, all consequences of doing so be dammed.

"I want to research magic on my own pace and not bother anyone else. I also don't want anyone else to bother me, so I won't hesitate in using my power when necessary. I can earn enough money to last me decades of frivolous spending easily, so I don't really care much about earning the respect and adoration of people I don't know and don't want to know. I just don't care about such things."

He finished with a shrug.

"Don't care? You just want to be left alone?" Maya said in disbelief. "You- what-" For the first time in a long while, she was at a loss for words. "So you want to become a modern day hermit? Like those mages who researched magic circles when they were first created? You want to become like that?"

Kyosuke thought about it for a second and found that was a rather good comparison. "Huh. Not a bad comparison." He sent her a grin. "That does explain my wants in a way. Yes, I just want to be left to my own devices and research."

That did not lessen the incredulous looks he was receiving. The awe they had initially was being replaced by a look like seeing a naive fool.

Hayama coughed to get his attention. "Forgive me Sachi-san, it might sound impudent but that is… a very simple way of looking at things. Don't you want more?"

His words were rather diplomatic. Someone else would have said that Kyosuke just wants to become a shut in.

"Simple is fine for me. As I am now, I will live for a long time. I know that things will change in the future and I cannot stay out of things because of my strength, but for now I would like to be left alone."

What else could any of them say to that? So Maya did not ask him if he was interested in cooperation and instead moved on to why he came to see her.

"I want to get a place of my own in Chiba city and move there. For that I want to sell some of the things I have gathered in Japanese yen. I also want arrangements to be made so I can attend a regular school and stay on my own without mundane authorities finding my situation peculiar. Can you do that?"

Maya, or rather the Yotsuba Clan behind her, could definitely do that. In fact, they actually did it all very quickly and were very willing to buy Kyosuke's rare materials at a price satisfactory for both sides.

While this was happening, the Committee's investigations into the Institute continued. It brought out the full picture which made many people uncomfortable.

Many were also outraged that Director Ayanokouji was trying to create Artificial Sacred Gears and the gashadokuro was going to be the first magic beast he would have attempted to seal inside a human.

To Kyosuke it sounded more like the Jinchuriki from the Naruto franchise than a Sacred Gear. But it was understandable since the Institute had no leads on creating containers which could be attached onto a human soul the way Sacred Gears were.

Directly sealing a divine beast or magic beast inside a human is the only viable alternative if those attempting do not have a lifespan which lets them go about this slowly. It was easy to conclude they would have eventually done this on themselves to improve their strengths since none of them was anything special in terms of personal power.

The Committee directly destroyed all the research. The decision was unanimous among the Guardian and Founding Clans. The former did want any further research in non-Shinto magic and artifacts like this while the latter wanted to ensure no one would get ideas about creating a strong fighting force in a short time and try to overthrow them.

Kyosuke also heard rumours that links to another organization were found in the evidence. But he did not pay them any mind since nothing came out of it after the Guardian Clans suppressed the news.

Though it did confirm the presence of a third party in the entire affair. Kyosuke vowed to keep a closer eye on things from here on out.

And as it happens, life went on despite the surprises. The Institute members went their separate ways, either joining the Committee or even a few clans. Things calmed down and news about the incident did not spread too much.

The higher ups had a collective interest in not making Kyosuke more popular than he is, so they did their best to suppress news about him.

On a side note, Kiyotaka also got away without much touble. Kyosuke backed him up for the price of a billion yen and Kiyotaka had a rare smile when he threw his father's money to make his problems go away. That smile remained when he sold all of the supernatural assets he had inherited and used the money to compensate a lot of people.

By the end he was still left with more than 10 billion yen in cash, properties and stocks on the mundane side of things, so he also left the public eye. It helped that his butler Matsuo was a loyal helper and sympathetic to his sufferings, so he wasn't alone out in the world.

Kyosuke also forced him to accept a few strategic materials regarding shikigami creation and catalysts for spells which would be helpful in a pinch. One billion yen is a lot of money after all, so Kyosuke would feel like he had cheated Kiyotaka if he doesn't even do that much.

So when spring started in the beginning of March, Kyosuke arrived back in Chiba. This time he had a place of his own. A place he could finally call home.

Like he had mused about so long ago, back when he had first entered the Dungeon [Ruined City, he bought a simple and cozy house.

The ground floor had a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom with a bathtub. Kyosuke was curious about experiencing the last since the orphanage and then the Institute only had showers and he didn't have the leisure to waste time in a public bath while out on a mission.

The first floor had two bedrooms and a study room. The bedrooms had their own bathrooms which did not have any bathtubs but had showers installed.

Kyosuke bought all the needed furniture and made his home as comfortable as possible. He then cast the needed spells for defense and maintainence before he was satisfied.

When night fell, he ordered takeout from a nearby restaurant and celebrated his freedom by eating hotpot and drinking cola.

"Finally." He was sitting on the couch with his third can of cola open in his hand. The current him has nothing to worry about from junk food, so he can indulge in them without worry.

He leaned back in the couch and put his legs on the table. The TV was on and showing some romantic movie. He wasn't paying it much attention and only glanced occasionally to see the beautiful actresses.

His main focus was on the open Shop before him. Since this is his home, he will of course make it completely secure against all threats.

Although he lacks the required knowledge, he won't be buying that for now. The Shop has something much better tailor made for him - [The Gamer's Home].

"Heh, time to buy."

He smirked and went on a shopping spree, finally doing what he had been itching to do for years.

Customizing a hidden base is a lot of fun if you have the needed funds and there are an infinite number of options.