Chapter 106: Chapter 2 - Part 2 - Meeting and Knowledge
Abenaki Realm
…
Jin Skyward's Soliloquy
…
Once we arrived at what I perceived to be the town square, or the middle of the town. I opened another magic circle and contacted Mephisto Pheles.
"Hmm? Oh, Jin-kun, what can I do for you?" he asked through it.
"Good news, so here's how it is…"
I told him what really happened, and why Hirokazu is doing this vigilante work of his. I also added that he'd be temporarily working for me but I asked him to go back to Grauzauberer every now and again. When I said that, Hirokazu looked at me like I was crazy.
"I see… very well, for the time being… actually, he's there, right? Kazu!" Mephisto called out to the guy.
"Y-yes, chairman?" he asked a bit nervously.
"I will allow you to roam a bit more freely, you have Jin's backing after all, and if you succeed, I will allow you to leave and be his full subordinate, do I make myself clear? But before then, come back here and finish those research papers you were working on."
"Y-y-yes sir!!" He nearly screamed out of excitement.
"Good. Anyway, thank you for the update, Jin. I will deal with the rest from here and also your payment…"
"Actually—"
I stopped him and told him what Fusae said to me and he just sighed at me.
"I was already expecting this, so don't worry too much. I will assume that she is your official subordinate then? Very well, I will also make preparations for that. Anyway, I will get going then."
The magic circle then disappeared and Hirokazu was quite happy now.
"Thank you, Jin-dono! I always thought that if I went back, he would just lecture me for hours and maybe even kill me! I was terrified, although I never saw him as that type of man, but I still couldn't help but think like that!"
After that short interaction, he arrived at the entrance to the tower. There were two guards. They both wore masks and carried spears in their hands. They were about to say something but spotted Hirokazu and his group with us.
"Hmm, Hirokazu, you have brought more people. Are they new recruits of your team?" one of them asked.
"No… look closer, he's quite famous, you know?" he said a little bit giddy.
The guards then squinted their eyes at me, before they widened in surprise.
"M-m-m-m-m-middleman…!"
"I did not think you would come to this small mythology. It is an honor. Our Chief God Tabaldak is in the tower, please go ahead," said the other and they opened the door for us.
Once inside, it was much larger than the exterior. Some kind of spatial magic was probably used. Hirokazu then led us to some sort of platform. If I had to compare it to something, it's like the one from the Greek realm, the teleportation pad where it teleports you onto Olympus.
"This will teleport us to certain floors. All we need to do is press that one. It's like a faster elevator. It's quite convenient. The supernatural world is slowly trying to add more… advanced technology to their everyday life. It has been rumored that other factions and pantheons have something like this?" he explained, then asked.
"Yeah, something similar was in the Greek pantheon. You used this to teleport to Mount Olympus, but… you disappeared in a flash of lightning."
"…That sounds cool. This is just like a standard teleportation circle, so it's not very fancy. Anyway, my team will go first. Just press the final floor—floor 16." Hirokazu then stepped onto the large platform along with his team and they disappeared after a teleportation circle appeared beneath them.
"I never went to the Greek realm with you, did I?" Nia asked beside me.
"Nah... but that festival will be happening in there soon, so let's go together. Kuro will surely want as many of us there, though whether or not all of us can make it is a different story."
"That's true. Hehe, now I'm looking forward to it~ I wonder if they'll have some kind of fireworks show~?" she asked herself as we stepped onto the platform.
We were then teleported to the 16th floor, the final floor of this tower. Like the first floor, the entire floor was much more spacious than what it looked like outside. However, everything here—the furniture, the paintings, the plants and everything else were quite lavish. The first floor that we were on. It looked 'normal', just like any building you see in the human world.
A reception desk, tables, chairs, plants. They all looked cheap and normal. However, up here... where I guess Tabaldak lived, he may have made it a bit more to his liking. Or one of the other gods, but I won't know until I meet him.
"There are so many statues here…" Nia muttered beside me.
"Yes, Tabaldak-dono likes making them. Especially bears… and all of you will soon know why," he said with a chuckle.
After walking for a bit and looking around us as more and more statues as well as paintings are all over the wall's hallway, we came to another door. Hirokazu knocked on the door and we heard a very loud and enthusiastic 'Come in!' and it shook the walls around us.
He smiled wearily and pushed the doors open. We stepped into a large and spacious circular room. The place didn't have as many statues or paintings but there were still some. In the middle of the room was a circular stone table, and chairs all around it. At the head of it was—
"Ah, Hirokazu! It's you? …Hmm? Hmmmm?! Do my eyes deceive me or is that the Middleman? Haha! You have finally come to my realm! I welcome you!" A very large and muscular man said to us.
The man had long flowing blonde hair, glowing red eyes and the skin of a bear as some kind of hoodie/coat. He had golden bracelets on each of his arms, a brown leather belt with a red gem in the middle. He also had armor covering his legs. He radiated confidence and authority.
'So that's…'
"I'm Tabaldak, Chief God of this small pantheon! A pleasure to meet you," he said as he arrived in front of me.
He put his hand out for a handshake and I shook it. He had a firm grip and had larger hands than me so it felt strange.
"Jin Skyward, Middleman… though I don't think I need to do that, it's still a habit."
Tabaldak just laughed and gestured for all of us to sit down and we did so. He sat back in his chair and adopted a slightly more serious expression.
"May I know why you are here, Middleman?" he asked.
I glanced at Hirokazu and he nodded. So I told him why I was here, and in the end he just laughed at me.
"The thought that you came here to form an alliance is bizarre to me, though I am fine with that too," he said with a troubled smile.
"Well, I wouldn't be against making an alliance with you, Tabaldak. Would you like to see the documents? …It's extensive though… it would be better to have more than just you reading through them," I said to him and he seemed to brighten up to this.
"I accept any challenge, Middleman! Come, show me those documents!" he said quite loudly.
I nodded and snapped my fingers.
Boom!
"...…"
Tabaldak's mouth fell open as a large number of documents appeared in the middle of the large table. His mouth then twitched.
'Will he admit defeat or double down…?'
"Heh…" he muttered and started laughing. "Very well! I will read them all in a day or two…! Feel free to stay here, Middleman!"
'He doubled down…!' I thought and looked around… no I wasn't the only one thinking this, both my group and Gachii Stars were equally shocked or amused by it.
Tabaldak then started to read the documents, but he briefly stopped to look at me. "Oh yes… before you leave my realm, Middleman. I wish to have a word with you and perhaps add in a request?"
"Sure thing… hmm, how about I help you with this since it'll be impossible to do it yourself." I then snapped my fingers and summoned multiple android fairies.
The fairies were designed to assist him with sorting, and reading these documents, as well as allowing them to condense them into easier to understand sections. Basically, they read it all, and provide the user with a brief summary containing all of the pertinent pieces of information. I also told Tabaldak this. In total, I gave him 4 Android fairies. They each work on a different pile he sets aside.
"These small machines are very useful, much appreciated Middl—no, Jin. Thank you. It shouldn't take me long then," he said and started to sort through some documents and put some aside. "I will have one of my people fetch you once I am done or contact you through a magic circle."
"Sure thing," I said and started to leave the room along with everyone else.
"Let's explore that town then, Jin~" Lisa then grabbed my hand and ran away.
I was a bit confused but rolled with it. Lavinia complained behind us, and everyone else followed.
…
Grigori
Other Institute
…
Meruem's Soliloquy
…
I, as well as my 'caretaker' Mittelt, are currently in a different Grigori institution as she was sent here. Father said to be around her all the time, and since this place was still considered 'Grigori', Azazel, the Governor of the Fallen Angels allowed me to venture here.
"Mittelt." I called out to the fallen angel.
"Y-yes?" she said in a shaky voice and meekly looked back at me.
"I did not ask the governor about this, but why have we come here?" I asked her.
"B-because of the meeting that's happening soon, Azazel-sama asked me and a few others to go to the different institutes to get a few items. W-we will be adding more protection to the prisoners that piece of shi—erm… I mean, J-Jin-sama caught during the attacks of the Five Principal Clans."
"I see."
I did hear from Azazel that father told the devil Sirzechs Lucifer that he would be holding a meeting soon. Will he make me attend too? Will he reveal that he has Ignia as a double agent? Azazel is the only one that knows of his alliance with father.
Perhaps he will also inform the inhabitants of this world of the existence of both Evie Etoulde and that other world? It was mentioned by Lapis only once or twice, so I don't know the status of the matter anymore since I've been in Grigori since then.
My life here has been peaceful. I do not know if I like it or not. However, it is much more different than the life I led while still affiliated with the Khaos Brigade. Frieza was maniacal. He only wanted to conquer everything, kill as many lives as possible and become the absolute ruler of everything. The opposite of what father would become, a tyrant.
Lapis… she is unstable. The small amount of information we know about our mother… she is the most similar to her. Her obsession with her father is similar to that of her mother, and I believe the longer she is away from him, or at least not seeing him in some way... she gets a bit more unstable.
The day she met father officially for the first time, she locked herself in her own room and pleasured herself for hours. Father is like a drug to her. If she doesn't get her fix, her usual 'bubbly' and 'child-like' personality disappears and she's just a cruel and unstable mess.
"Ara? Mittelt and Meruem, are you here for those?" a familiar voice asked us.
I looked back up as I had been staring at the ground thinking and saw the fallen angel Penemue. I am sure father and her are… involved in some way. Even more so than before, she looks quite cheerful today.
"Y-yes we are, Penemue-sama. Is everything here ready for transportation?" Mittelt asked the older woman.
Shing!
"…?"
"…"
The fallen angel Penemue looked at me quite threateningly for some reason. She had a dangerous glint in her eyes. Can fathers' lovers or potential lovers read minds? I do not think so, but I believe she knew that I called her… 'Old'. I can also feel that she's quite powerful now. Father must have made them stronger; she isn't far from my power anymore… I believe when father takes them there again, they will be above me and the rest of my 'siblings'.
"Meruem-chan, you shouldn't have thoughts like that, or call women like myself that, okay?" she said to me while smiling.
"…Understood."
Even though I answered in that way, I did not know why. But my instincts were telling me that it was the correct answer as she stopped having that threatening aura and smile. She finally addressed Mittelt and said that it was.
"Yes, I just need you to sign this before we transport it back to the main facility in the Underworld. We don't want an attack happening now, do we? Also, Jin will be deploying more of his shadows in those pantheons since their leaders will be missing," she said while looking at her clipboard.
"I see… he's quite… meticulous or just paranoid…" Mittelt muttered while signing a piece of paper that Penemue handed her.
"Hmm, I think he just wants to be prepared. If you knew him as long as I have then you'd understand, and thank you~!" she took back the document from Mittelt and nodded. "You're in the clear~ you can teleport back with these now. A teleportation magic circle is already prepared too, so you don't need to worry about making your own."
"I see, thank you. M-Meruem-sama, we'll be taking this now to go back," she said to me as she stepped beside the large boxes and other items.
"Mmm, ah! Meruem-chan, Jin said he'd be speaking to you soon. He wants an update on how you feel about living in Grigori. He said to just speak your mind and not to leave any details about how you felt," she responded and added a wink.
"…I see, I will do that. Th-thank you…?" I said those words, but… I didn't understand why I did. Both women looked at me with surprised expressions, but Penemue started to smile and patted me on the head twice.
"Huhu, I think he'll be happy with this~" she cheerfully replied. "I'll get going then~" Penemue walked away, and I joined Mittelt.
Even Mittelt was staring at me with shock and uncertainty. "We should get going," I said to her and this brought her out of her shock.
"Y-yes, of course…!"
…
Grigori
Main Institute
…
"And, you're the last… that should mark everything here. Good job, Mittelt," said a blue-haired fallen angel.
I believe her name was Kalawarna, and she's—
"Oh, yo, Meruem, how was the other institute?" Kouki Samejima asked me.
He calls father 'bro' in an affectionate manner as he looks up to him. Recently, he and the fallen angel Kalawarna have been quite close. I am led to believe that they're in a romantic relationship, however, I have not asked him to confirm this. It is not my place.
"It was fine. It was slightly different in design to this one, but was still functioning regularly, but they worked on different things there." I told him.
"Yeah, they mostly work on agriculture over there since Azazel wants to get as much funds as he can so he's just trying to expand in a lot of ways."
"…I can ask father about lending him funds. I do not think they hate each other," I replied.
"Hmm... I don't think Bro would mind, but I'd think he would ask or say in a way that would annoy Azazel. That's the type of relationship they have. But yeah, you're right, they do get along. Anyway, are you going to be in the meeting too?" he asked.
"I do not know. For the time being, I will wait for father to tell me. But I believe I will be in it… as you once said, 'Call it a hunch'."
Kouki grinned at me and patted my shoulder a few times before being smacked by Kalawarna on the head with her clipboard.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't go off into your own little world, Kouki," she said in a slightly irritated tone.
"M-my bad, a-anyway, we just need to move these, right? When they were transported, they were already put on—"
"Yes, you don't need to give us a play-by-play. I would appreciate it if you helped us move it." Shen then turned to me and asked, "Meruem-sama, if you have time would you mind helping us with this?"
I stared at her and then looked at Mittelt. "Are you also helping?" I asked.
"H-huh? Yeah. I-I mean, y-yes I am, Meruem-sama!"
I do not understand why she is still like this with me. I sighed and agreed. "Very well, I will lighten this burden upon you all."
"Thank you!" she then turned to Kouki and pointed at the largest box.
Kouki's mouth twitched, and he seemed hesitant. However, an action I found strange happened. Kalawarna kissed him on the cheek and it gave him a large burst of energy.
"Hell yeah! Let's get these boxes moved!" he shouted as he picked it up. "Hurry, Meruem! Otherwise, I'll leave you behind! Hahaha!" He said that to me and ran off with the box.
"…Being energized by the silliest of things… what an idiot," she muttered, but she held a pleasant smile on her face and was slightly red on her cheeks.
I don't understand why they're acting like that, but perhaps it's because of love. I turned my attention to Mittelt as she picked up a medium-sized box and I picked up two more of the heavier ones.
We left the room as Kalawarna stayed behind to wait for us to get more. As we walked toward where we were going to drop these boxes off, I asked Mittelt, "Mittelt, have you ever fallen in love? Or have you been in a romantic relationship?"
"...W-w-w-w-w-w-w-what?! H-h-h-h-h-h-huh?! I-I-I-I-I, n-n-no! I haven't!!" she screamed in response and ran away.
"…?"
I did not understand her reaction…
'I'll ask father about this, maybe Azazel if I meet him? Humans—creatures with their emotions. They're quite hard to understand… but they are intriguing. Was I meant to try to find my purpose by understanding emotions?'
I couldn't help but have thoughts like that. Living—having a purpose… will it take me all my life to find it? I will ask father about it again. However, I wish to stay here. In Kouki's words, 'It's fun here'. Perhaps…
…
Heaven
…
Altaria's Soliloquy
…
Seventh Heaven - Zebel
…
I, Altaria was checking the functions of the system and also the Sacred Gear system. However, Aaron-sama has made changes that he did not tell the angels, but they are also protected by his barriers. No one apart from him can ever change these—the only other ones were the outer gods, but I do not think they have any desire to do so… unless I am wrong.
A magic communication circle suddenly appeared beside me as I started walking back to the throne of the dead God of the Bible.
Suddenly, the voice of Michael spoke. "Altaria-sama?" he asked.
"Michael, how can I be of service?" I asked him.
I heard him sigh through it and he said, "I-It's a bit of a dilemma. Please come to sixth heaven as… a bit of a problem with Layla-sama has occurred."
Layla? A fellow Electa that was assigned Gabriel's previous position so she could spend more time with Aaron-sama. She has done her job very well since she came here, however… how do I say this? I believe she's a bit dependent on Aaron-sama.
When Aaron-sama and his group went into his [Pocket Dimension], Layla complained quite cutely that she wasn't brought along. We cannot get stronger so it would be pointless if we went there. He also didn't ask any of us to go in there to help train them. I believe Gabriel is enough to help train the younger angels, and Penemue was also there.
"Layla? Very well, I will head over," I replied.
"T-thank you."
…
Sixth Heaven
…
As I teleported into Michael's office, I saw the other three Great Seraphs had already gathered there. 'A dilemma? If all of them had gathered then it must be serious… what did Layla do?' I couldn't help but think that.
"Altaria…!" Michael called out to me and I walked over to them.
"What happened to Layla? Is she hurt?" I asked them.
However, their reaction was… peculiar. They all looked at each other and nodded.
"Altaria-dono, I do believe Layla-dono is 'sick' in a way," said Uriel.
"Yes, as a person created by Jin-san, I think it would be easier if you were the one to speak to her. However, if you can bring Jin-san here, then…" Raphael trailed off and looked at Michael.
"She's been like this for a few days, however, today she locked herself in her room… I feel like it's a repeat of Gabriel," Michael said with an awkward chuckle.
"Like with Gabriel?"
I have heard of it from Aaron-sama, but I did not think it was that serious. However, Layla is very heavily relied on by many of the angels here, not just the Great Seraphs or the Seraphs, but by many of the lower-level angels—especially the reincarnated ones.
"Very well, I will go speak with her. I will try to come to a compromise. Ah yes, have you heard of the upcoming meeting that will be held by Jin-sama in the Underworld?" I asked them and they all nodded.
"Michael, I will bring you and Layla along. Raphael, Uriel, I will leave you in charge, but I think Jin-sama will send some reinforcements here just in case of any attack. We can discuss it more once I come back," I said to them and left.
…
I arrived in front of Layla's room. It took me around twenty minutes to get here as many angels stopped me to speak to them. I was not aware of my own popularity here. Perhaps it was due to my own actions or to Aaron-sama, or both, but it felt like a very long journey had finally ended, but a new one was about to start.
I knocked on it and got no answer, so I called out to her. "Layla, it's me—"
The door suddenly opened and I was pulled in. However, I wasn't pulled in by her, but by her magic. Layla herself was on her bed… cheeks puffed, slightly blushing—fresh tears threatening to fall from her eyes and h-hugging a body pillow of Aaron-sama…
'W-when did she make that…? No… more like why…?'
I stared at the body pillow with curiosity and horror. It was strange. I don't think Aaron-sama would have given her the okay to make one, but would have found a different solution to this… It was clear to me—it was very clear.
She missed him.
I understand, but reacting like this…
"Layla, please come out of your room," I said to her as I joined her on her bed and sat beside her. I tried to say it as gently as I could but she just hugged her body pillow tighter.
"…I… I want to see Aaron-sama…" she muttered, her voice sounding like she was about to burst into tears.
"Well it is possible, and Aaron-sama should be coming here soon. He did mention visiting in the future…"
Layla's body twitched upon hearing that. She then slowly sat up still hugging the body pillow. I finally got a clearer look at the image on it and it wasn't as controversial as I thought. It was just Aaron-sama… lying down, although a bit of his stomach was exposed.
"L-Layla, where did you get that… um, pillow?" I finally asked her.
"I made it…" she muttered and hugged it even tighter.
"I-I see… well, as I said, Aaron-sama will be coming here soon, and you will also see him during the meeting he'll be holding soon. So let's work hard until then and… I'll tell him about it, so he might spoil you…"
She received some encouragement from me. She seemed to become more animated as the conversation progressed. I don't think she even noticed that she brought out 16 of her wings and they started to flap immediately. I could see the girl turning in front of me even with her blindfold on.
"…Okay, I'll come out, I'm sorry. I'll work hard so Aaron-sama will praise me…!" she said in a determined tone and clenched her fist.
"Great, let's get a few things set up and check the defenses, but as I said—" I told her the same thing I told the other Seraphs and she agreed to do it.
We left her room and to my surprise we met both Irina Shidou and Griselda Quarta there.
"Oh, Griselda, Irina, how can I help you?" I asked.
"Hello, Layla-sama, Altaria-sama, we were wondering how the research on that document we found is going?" asked Griselda.
Ah, I see, it's about that…
"Unfortunately the researchers here have not made any breakthroughs yet. We have also asked some devils from Ajuka Beelzebub and from Azazel's Grigori. All of them are currently in Fifth Heaven trying to uncover the truth of it, but… if all else fails, we will contact Aaron-sama."
"I see… alright, I'll mention it to Aaron when we go back home," she said while frowning.
"W-where is Aaron-sama right now…?" Layla asked Griselda
Irina was the one who answered, "He's in the USA right now, and I think he's trying to form an alliance with Grauzauberer."
"Hmm… I see, I have a few middle-level and high-level angels over in the USA, and apparently there has been a small group calling themselves Aaron-sama's subordinates. Perhaps he's planning to confront them?" I said to myself.
"Knowing Aaron-senpai, trouble like that will usually find themselves drawn to him even if he chooses not to look for it or not," Irina said with a chuckle.
I see… from the way she speaks, she's already…
"Well, we'll see soon, Irina. Anyway, I do have a small mission for you two. It is in the Bahamas. Feel free to take other angels with you or even both Xenovia Quarta and Asia Argento. Aaron-sama during your stay 'there' told me that he sees them as honorary angels, so it should be fine."
"I see, we'll do that then. Thank you very much, Altaria-sama."
Griselda and Irina both bowed and I waved them off.
"Don't worry about it, now then… Layla, go ahead and do what we discussed. I will head back with these two to Michael's office and send them on their way."
"Yes, of course, until we see each other again, Irina, Griselda."
"You too, Layla-sama!"
"Yes, goodbye for now."
We finally made our way back to the office of the former God of the Bible.
…
"Ah, Irina-kun, Griselda-kun, welcome back," Michael greeted them and turned to me and asked, "h-how is she?"
"She's fine now, she's doing her duties and should be fine. I plan on consulting Jin-sama about her, so she won't fall into that state again. Anyway, about these two—"
…
Abenaki Realm
…
Jin Skyward's Soliloquy
…
It's been a few hours since we've been in this realm. Caeda disappeared earlier saying that she'd get her 'things' done now and won't be back for a couple of days. Hirokazu was a bit hesitant about letting her go, but eventually conceded and let her leave.
In this realm, the day was slowly winding down, and not too long ago, Tabaldak contacted me to say he was nearly done, and he said we should go back there around midnight or early in the morning. Currently, we were having dinner in the second-largest town here.
This town was certainly something. It had the largest marketplace as Hirokazu mentioned. Apart from that, it also had this white tower, which is this entire island's 'watch tower'. Guards are set up there to keep an eye out for possible intruders.
We visited it earlier and they indeed spotted us when we arrived in the realm. However, since Hirokazu was with us, they didn't think they needed to alert Tabaldak to it.
The restaurant we are currently in is apparently the most expensive one here. I also offered to pay for everyone's dinner, so they could order as much as they wanted. At the start they were reluctant, but now since most of them are drunk, not including the girls, then I guess they keep ordering more food and alcohol.
"Jiiiin-dooonooo…! I-I-I… I think I'm in love with Caeda…!" a drunk Hirokazu admitted to me.
My eyes widened in surprise as I stared at him. He didn't show any signs that he was interested in her romantically. However, he was also kind of crying while saying this to me…
"…I see, well… just do your best, you might have a chance with her…" I told him.
But to my surprise, he shook his head and said, "I'm the only single one here. All these guys are in a relationship, and even one is married…! Uuuuooooo…! Out of all the guys, two are in a relationship, one is married, and the rest are engaged...! But… I-I-I…! Ugh…!" He then ran away to puke.
"Ufufu~ he'll be lucky in the future then~" Lisa said beside me. She—like Nia, was resting her head on my shoulder as she was a bit tipsy. But in Nia's case, she was just tired and her usually spoiled self.
And across from me, was the silent Fusae, quietly eating her food and also reading a different book. During the entire time here, she was mostly following along, one hand on the back of my shirt and the other with a book. She didn't look too interested in most things, however, she did perk up a bit once something 'interesting' caught her attention, but that was very rare.
I only learned a few things about Fusae today, but she was certainly a genius in her own right. We did need to use magic for a few things, and when she did, and while it wasn't as Rose or Nia's yet, it was still something near Lisa's level of magic.
Her eyes suddenly looked up and she offered me a chip. The food here was mostly seafood, and this restaurant—while they sold many expensive dishes, Fusae decided to order herself a plain old dish of fish & chips. I was a bit surprised that they even had that here, but… I also ordered some earlier, but I already ate mine. So she was offering and I wasn't about to say no, so I leaned over and ate it.
"Ara, ara~? Already starting to flirt with your new subordinate, Jin-kun~?" asked a tipsy Lisa.
"Feed me toooo, Jiiiin~" whined a Nia beside me.
"…"
I decided not to say anything to Lisa, and fed Nia. However, Fusae offered me another and I graciously accepted it. This happened a couple more times until Hirokazu came back, seemingly still heartbroken and sick. After he came back, it was the same thing until we finished and went back to Tabaldak.
…
When we stepped into the room again, Tabaldak looked like he had been fighting a long battle. His eyes had dark circles under them as well as his eyes being bloodshot. He didn't even notice us when we entered, so we just sat around waiting for him to look up, and after around fifteen minutes, he sighed and looked up.
"Hmm? Ah… you're all back, actually… how long have you been waiting there?" he asked quite confused.
"Oh, we came here around fifteen minutes ago, but if you're still not done…" I said, but he shook his head.
"No, no, I just finished, so it's fine." He reassured me and started to fix the documents around him.
I gained his attention and threw a pill at him. Without waiting for me to tell him what it was, he just ate it… and he immediately gained back his energy.
"Much appreciated, Jin."
"Yeah… no problem…"
I finally summoned the final document and his eyes widened. I explained that it was the last one, the one we both signed and he sighed in relief. Before signing it, he read it and then used his pen to sign it. I also did the same thing and put it away along with the rest of the documents.
"With that! We're part of the alliance…!" he said both excitedly and tiredly.
"Yeah, I need to tell you that I will be hosting a meeting in the Underworld in a day or two, so you'll be required to attend, Tabaldak. You can bring a guard with you if you wish. But coming by yourself isn't a problem either. I will also have some of my shadows be guards of your realm when the meeting is taking place."
He seemed a bit surprised by this, but quickly agreed.
"A meeting? Very well, I shall go, and I will bring the two guards of this castle... with that said, Jin. May I speak with you privately? Can everyone else wait outside?" he asked quite seriously.
Team Giichi Stars didn't hesitate and left. Lisa and Fusae left without much of a fight, but Lavinia was very hesitant, and with enough coaxing she also joined the rest outside. Once they were up, Tabaldak got up from his seat and walked towards the back and stood by the open window. I had a feeling he wanted me to join him, so I did. Once I stood beside him, it took him another thirty seconds to say something.
"A little over three months ago, a certain god in my mythology disappeared. Malsumis, the Spirit God of Chaos. He has completely disappeared. Many years ago we fought. I gave him power—he was but a simple and weak spirit that I felt pity for… but he used that newly found power to destroy rather than create."
"I am led to believe that he has defected to the Khaos Brigade, as the God of War, Ares from the Greek mythology also did the same thing. Perhaps even more Evil Gods will turn and join their side in the coming days or months. Or perhaps they already did."
'The Alliance of Hell… or perhaps they already have? I'll see very soon. Ignia hasn't given me an update on that. I'll try to contact him later,' I thought and looked at the sky in front of us.
"…So, what do you want me to do? Try to convince him to come back to you?" I asked.
He shook his head. "No, he is beyond help. As I said, I fought him a long time ago, and I thought it was enough to have him change his ways. He did disappear for a very long time and not bother anyone, but perhaps I was too optimistic. I want you to kill him."
When he said that, he turned to me and looked quite serious. I could offer to 'change' him like what I planned with Avezza, but… I guess I'll go with his request then. I'll make sure to take his divinity and his powers first though.
"Alright, Tabaldak, I'll do it. I've been meaning to do something with a god, and I'll use him as an experiment if you don't mind."
He looked at me with a bit of surprise, but nodded in the end. "Very well, I will not try to stop you… with that, our discussion is over. What will you do now?"
"I'll go back. I've already dealt with Hirokazu and Mephisto. I'll need to prepare for the meeting after all. I'll contact you when to come. Anyway, we're heading home now. I'll see you then." I tapped him on the shoulder before leaving.
I only heard him grunt behind me. I couldn't really read his expression, but he was feeling both sadness and joy at the thought of this Spirit God of Chaos. But a job is a job. Let's hope he doesn't go back on his word when the time comes.
Once I arrived outside, I greeted them all and I was questioned by many of them, but I couldn't answer any of them. Well, I couldn't answer any of the questions asked by Hirokazu, but I would tell him in a few days. I will tell the girls when we go back.
"We'll get moving, Hirokazu. I still need to get ready for that meeting I'll have. Let's meet again in the future, and I'll test your group once more."
"Yes, of course! We will be even stronger when we see each other again, Jin-dono! Farewell!"
We shook hands on it, and Nia teleported us back to Grauzauberer.
…
Once there—
"I will contact Lisa-senpai once I am done with my arrangements. I will also inform the chairman," said Fusae and she scurried off.
Earlier, during our short tour around the second-largest town in Abenaki. Fusae wanted to move into my home so she'd be closer to whoever she made a pact with. I didn't have a problem with it, but we needed to inform Mephisto first.
He already knew about her becoming a pact magician to one of the devils that is close to me, but actually moving in with me? Yeah, I don't think he would like it if she just randomly disappeared without saying.
First Lavinia, then Lisa, then Hirokazu, and if she did it too, he'd just blame me… maybe. So for now, she would speak to him and also start packing. However, as me, Nia and Lisa began to leave, I felt some hostility being directed at me.
I know not everyone will be happy with me or the alliance, so I wasn't surprised to see some of the magicians of Grauzauberer being like that. But it could also be due to the fact that I'm close to these two beside me and potentially Fusae.
'Well, whatever the case may be, I'll deal with it when it comes.' As I thought about that, we finally left for home. They should be done with the renovations now…
…
A few days have passed, and today was going to be the meeting. The ones coming with me as bodyguards are Selene, Ines and Ennea. Both Lianne and Duvalie opted to stay in Kuoh just in case it was attacked. I also sent around 20 shadows to each faction and pantheon just in case the Khaos Brigade decides to launch an attack during their absence.
I also increased the security detail in the Underworld, specifically, Lilith. The meeting place will be held in the Four Great Satan's meeting hall, as such Azazel decided to send Team Slash/Dog as guards, and Dulio, the Joker of Heaven as well from the Angels side.
The other pantheons decided to trust my shadows to keep them safe, both in the Underworld and in their pantheons so they didn't bring their own 'security'. It was around two hours before the meeting would start, and I, along with my group were the first ones there, minus the Satans since they're from here.
Currently, Sirzechs Lucifer with Asteri and his peerage, Ajuka Beelzebub with Latia and a few assistants, Serafall Leviathan by herself, although she's sticking quite close to me (hugging me like a koala), and Falbium Asmodeus with Iryuka Glasya-Labolas and some guards.
I asked why Iryuka Glasya-Labolas was here, and apparently it was because I was going to be here, as well as Latia, so she asked Falbium if she could attend with the excuse of 'Being educational and helping me with the future decision-making of the Underworld', and to everyone's surprise, he agreed.
I, along with everyone else, was waiting in a different room, and the doors there suddenly opened… and in stepped Azazel, with Penemue, Shemhazai and… Meruem with Mittelt. I contacted him a few days in advance and told him to bring Meruem with him, and if he wanted Mittelt too.
Azazel was initially confused by the last part, but was equally surprised that Meruem (almost) insisted on bringing Mittelt with him. The young blonde midget was also surprised but also terrified, and she was pale and slightly shaking.
"Oh? You're all here already, sheesh talk about being early. Well… I'm here too, so it shouldn't matter too much," he said and rubbed the back of his head.
"Welcome, Azazel. Is Michael coming soon? And who is that… person behind you?" Sirzechs welcomed him and pointed at Meruem.
"Yeah, he's coming soon, and uhh…" he looked at me looking for an answer.
"I'll reveal who he is soon enough, but for now, let's not talk about it," I said to him.
Sirzechs accepts this and goes back to talking to Asteri as Azazel also joins him. I turned around to see Meruem looking at me, almost asking me to speak with him. So I slowly pried Serafall away from me and told her I needed to speak to him and would be right back.
She pouted but accepted my decision. I walked past Penemue and she gave me a wink and a kiss on the cheek. I didn't understand what she meant by that, but maybe it had to do with Meruem. Once I arrived in front of him, he looked at Mittelt and she bowed before scurrying away to Penemue.
We left the room, and we walked to a different spot in the building and I erected a barrier around us.
"So, what did you want to talk about? Also, how's your time in Grigori so far?" I asked him.
He nodded and said, "My time in Grigori… has been interesting. It is very different compared to how I was back in the Khaos Brigade. It is a very chaotic and 'fun' place to be in. The humans, Kouki, and Ajamu speak with me the most. The other Cadre of Grigori are also unique, but strange. However, they are not like the ones in the Khaos Brigade."
"…While I haven't found the purpose of my existence, I think… I think that can be delayed if I get to stay in that place for a brief while longer. Perhaps this is the emotion of 'joy' or 'happiness'?" he asked with a serious look on his face.
I—I was surprised, if I am being honest. It hasn't been that long since he was put there, but I didn't think it would be this drastic. It makes me wonder what experiences he had in Grigori while he was there. It certainly was positive enough for him to tell me he wanted to stay there for an indefinite number of times. I was strangely proud of the guy. Even though they're my 'kids' they really weren't but…
"I see. Maybe it is, so don't be afraid to explore that feeling, Meruem. Just a question—is there anyone in particular that comes to mind when you think of those emotions?" I asked him, expecting a certain answer, but if he didn't have one yet, I wouldn't be surprised.
He looked at me then looked down at the ground. He stayed like that for around five minutes, and during that time, I felt Michael, Layla and Altaria teleport into the building. Finally, he stared up at me.
"…I am not entirely sure, however, seeing the variety of emotions that Mittelt shows on a daily basis is interesting. She and I are always around each other after all, however, she is still quite scared of me. Even after I told her not to be," he said with a frown.
"Don't worry about it, she'll eventually warm up to you. But for now, let's head back. I'm quite proud of your progress in a short time." I patted him on the shoulder and cancelled the barrier.
I felt Meruem burning a hole into my back with his gaze, but I eventually heard him start walking.
…
As the clock ticked away, I was in a different room. I felt many familiar auras had converged on this one location. My shadows and a few of the girls informed me of how the citizens of Lilith were in a frenzy seeing so many gods and other prominent beings coming here.
I was in the room with Selene, Ines and Ennea. All of them were ready if anything happened, the same with my shadows outside. Their priority was to protect the civilians here.
"It's about time, Aaron-sama. Shall we get going? It feels like all of them are in the meeting room now," said Selene.
Ines and Ennea were already by the door, waiting for me to leave. I swear those two can be a bit too serious at times when it involves me, but they will relentlessly tease Duvalie. I sighed and stood up.
"Yeah, let's go."
As I said that, I also changed into my peace conference clothing and left through the door. I wasn't too far from the meeting hall, so it only took a few seconds to arrive in front of the door. I pushed it open and when I did, all eyes turned to me.
Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels, West Youkai, Irish Gods, Greek Gods, Slavic Gods, Egyptian Gods, Shinto Gods, Norse Gods, Suzaku who came to represent the Five Principal Clans, Mephisto Pheles with Lisa plus Fusae and finally, Tabaldak from the Abenaki mythology.
The Four Great Satans, Altaria, Layla, Michael, Azazel, Penemue, Shemhazai, Yasaka, Kunou, Sharon, Nuada, Danu, Titania, Zeus, Hera, Apollon, Perun, Mokosh, Veles, Ra, Aten, Isis, Amaterasu, Raijin, Fūjin, Odin, Thor, Vidar, Suzaku, Mephisto, Lisa, Fusae and Tabaldak with his guards.
There were a lot of people, not including my group, and the various others who were here to guard Lilith.
"You didn't call us here to just say you're getting married, are you?" asked Azazel who was then immediately smacked by Penemue.
"No, it's… quite serious," I said and looked at Ines and Ennea.
They nodded and stood beside both sides of the door. I then covered the room with a barrier. Once that was done, I along with Selene walked to the free chair at the top, beside Sirzechs. He seemed rather giddy; he must have planned for this to happen.
[Partner, are you sure about not bringing Rossweisse to this? She is your secretary.]
'It's fine, she needs to be there for the students who are graduating soon, and the ones that will become 3rd years next year. She can come to the rest of my meetings once I graduate, but for now I asked her to focus on that.'
[Well, if you say so.]
"Serious?" Sirzechs repeated.
"Yeah," I replied and summoned a hologram in the middle of the table. "Evie Etoulde and the Crepuscule Phantasma, two universes that plan on invading our own while collaborating with the current Khaos Brigade."
After I said that, the room fell silent. I showed them images and videos that Cúntóir managed to gather for me. I wanted to show them these to drive home the fact that I was serious and wasn't joking around. They trusted me, but I wanted more evidence to back myself up.
"The majority of their soldiers are at least Ultimate-class and up, if I compare it to the ranking system of the devils. So… if they invade, and they already sent scouts before—"
I showed the attack on The Land of Heaven Falls, and how we defended against it. "Those things were at least God-class in strength, albeit very low God-class. But still God-class nonetheless."
"I wanted to inform the gods and the higher-ups in every faction and pantheon about this. At the moment, I have... some double agents in the Khaos Brigade. But Meruem over there was a former member that defected. He's no spy, but he has told me a bunch of useful things. Anyway, the most prominent double agent right now is Ignia. Some of you may know him."
I showed an image of Ignia, and the few times he told me information. I was quite surprised that he didn't ask to fight me when he told me not too long ago, but he might sooner or later.
"Also, this…"
I changed the video playing to the one with Aífe and what happened to her.
"Impossible! T-they're alive?!" Azazel shouted, mortified.
"They are, and I am led to believe that they're as powerful as Sirzechs and Ajuka, the current 'Super Devils' or 'Transcendental'. Not only that, but… there also has been an increase in Evil Gods that are defecting to Khaos Brigade too... also, I think they may have revived even more—"
Booooooooooooooooooooooooooom!
"…I kind of expected this, but fucking hell."
"Jin-kun…" Michael said to me a bit disappointedly.
I smiled at him and tapped my head—
'Report.'
'My king, there appear to be multiple devils and other members of the Khaos Brigade currently attacking the capital of Lilith. We are currently defending against them, and apprehending them, however… there seemed to be the 'Satans' that you mentioned. Shall we use lethal force?' asked one of my shadows.
'Kill the rest, I will deal with the Satans,' I ordered them.
"…Well, I guess you guys will have a grand reunion then. The old deceased Satans have come to greet us," I said to them.
"Jin, what did you mean by others?" Ajuka asked calmly.
Not too long ago, Sirzechs told me about the devil's civil war, and I believe the 'true' descendants have also been revived. Also… they may possibly possess the [Malebranche]."
His eyes widened at what I had just said. I believe Ajuka may have an idea about the [Malebranche], so I decided to reveal that.
"Huh? I thought they were just rumors and legends from the old Satans," said a confused Asteri.
"No, they're real. They're the devil's equivalent to the Sacred Gears… anyway, I'm going to check it out. We'll continue our discussion after I deal with this."
"But—"
"I know, I know, you're all here. The best way is to have you help me, but… I asked you all to come here, so I'll deal with them myself. It won't take too long."
I cut Serafall off as she tried to protest. Selene and the Stahlritter members were left in charge of the room, and I strengthened the barrier here. Once I teleported outside, there was minimal damage done to the capital. I also saw many of the guards that they brought, as well as my shadows fighting alongside each other.
However, I saw most of them were frozen, Lavinia in the middle doing that… and the rest of Team Slash/Dog and the others killing or restraining them, however—
A menacing aura was pulsing just outside of the city. When I turned my attention to it, I saw two people, and when I used [Observe] on them, I was a bit confused. It simply said Lucifer [Body Double] and Beelzebub [Body Double].
'Is that what Ignia meant by their bodies not being 'real'? Cúntóir, what is it?'
Cúntóir: Answer: After my short analysis, I believe they are like 'projections' with a physical form. Even if you kill these, it won't affect the ones they are based on. However—
'I get it, I have an idea, so I'll try it.'
Not wasting any more time, I targeted all the other members of the Khaos Brigade that were attacking the place and sealed all their powers. Once that was done, and hearing them scream in surprise and terror, I flew towards where both Lucifer and Beelzebub were standing.
Much like Vali and Rizevim, the original Lucifer had silver hair, but he also had gray eyes, as opposed to Vali and Rizevim's hazel-colored eyes. He wore a black business suit with a fur coat.
Beelzebub looked like a tired office man who smoked a lot or someone who was part of the Yakuza. That's the simplest way I could describe him. He had short brown hair that had bangs that covered his left eye, and a beard. He wore a white shirt and a black necktie, black jeans and black Oxford shoes.
"Middleman, I've heard many positive things about you… are you prepa—"
Doooooon! Fwshhh!!
Ignoring whatever speech he had planned. I appeared in front of him and punched him. The dumb grin on his face was gone, as I had punched a hole through him. Lucifer tried to protect himself with a defensive magic circle, but it was useless. As quickly as I could, I tried to read the memories from the [Body Double], but got nothing.
'I was too hasty, let's try Beelzebub then…'
I turned my attention to Beelzebub as the [Body Double] of Lucifer started to crumble away. He—Beelzebub was alerted and started summoning flies.
This was their clan's trait, [King of Flies]. It gives the user the ability to summon and control flies. The flies can be used to create magic circles to attack a target from their position or can be combined into bigger creatures under the control of the summoner.
If the user is powerful enough, they can even transform into a giant Fly Chimera, which has immense strength and the ability to release deadly poison. Just like what happened to that Beelzebub descendant in Sirzechs' story…
Hundreds of flies appeared and surrounded us, and magic circles started to appear, but I swiped my hand to the side—destroying them all. I imbued my fist with some 'energy' and did the same thing to Beelzebub.
I punched a hole through him, but the grin on his face quickly disappeared as he coughed up blood. A look of shock, confusion and rage appeared on his face.
"W-what did you… do….!?" He asked as his body crumbled away.
It was a test, but it worked. I looked at him and said, "Why would I tell you? Go eat shit, cause next time… you won't survive, along with your memories."
I assumed that those things were 'linked' to their original bodies somehow—my own personal assumption was their soul… so I decided to attack that directly, and it seemingly worked. I was originally going to try this with Grendel and Euclid when they show up soon, but I guess these idiot progenitors decided to appear today.
'At least I have an understanding that I can attack them that way. However, they might try to change it and have multiple [Body Doubles] that can take on the attack and minimize the damage I do... but I'll just increase my output and kill them that way. But I did add a little something to Beelzebub that should de-power him considerably.'
[Aaaaaroooon~ everything is settled now~] said Lavinia through the [Communication Function] of her ring.
[I see, good work, all of you. I'll repair the damage that was done, and if anyone got injured tell them to go to the middle of the city and I'll heal them.]
[Okay~]
…
I arrived at the center of Lilith and repaired all of the damage earlier. I had donned my [Boosted Gears] Scale Mail since there might be a lot of kids here, and decided to reassure them as the Oppai Dragon, and my hunch was correct.
There were a lot of families and devils here who looked worried. I gained their attention while doing a single [Boost] and told them the attack had passed and I, along with everyone else here helped stop it.
I'm unsure if this attack was coordinated or was just a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing by those idiots, but seeing as how messy it was, I'm led to believe it was the latter. Maybe they just got way too excited about being able to potentially 'kill' the current Satans and other mythological gods?
I left the crowd to be quelled by the other devils that appeared. Even the Bael peerage was here, and Sairaorg said he'd handle it along with Seekvaira Agares and the army she arrived with.
…
I teleported back into the meeting hall and… they were all chatting away as if nothing had happened. I felt my lips twitch as I was just a bit flabbergasted by the situation.
[I mean, you did say to leave it to you, Partner.]
'I know, but I was expecting some kind of tension in here, not this relaxed atmosphere…'
"Ahem… I'm back…" I said and gained their attention.
"Oh? The man of the hour is back, so what happened?" Nuada asked.
"So—"
I told them a brief summary of what had happened, and who had attacked. The leaders of the three powers were the most concerned about this as they had started to look at the table in front of them with worried expressions.
"But I did injure Beelzebub to an extent, so he should be weaker right now, and should be targeting me personally if his personality had stayed the same after all these years. Anyway, I wanted to say this earlier, but I was interrupted. I may have a potential spy for the Crepuscule Phantasma."
I looked at Mephisto and Tabaldak then said, "I have someone who has defected from the Crepuscule Phantasma. If she comes back to me in a couple of days, then we'll have another double agent. She's quite powerful and is comparable to the Dragon God of Infinity in power."
"And if she refuses?" asked Zeus.
"She will die, plain and simple," I replied.
There is one thing I didn't add, that her soul will be transported to my [Inventory] and I will just make a completely different body. This will change her as a person and have her fight for our side, but... yeah, that's fine for now.
"Who is she?" Amaterasu asked.
"She's a member of a newly formed group called 'Eiichi Stars'. Her name is Caeda."
Upon hearing that, Tabaldak's eyes widened, and so did Mephisto's. The leaders around them noticed this, and Odin spoke up.
"Tabaldak, it appears that you are aware of whom this person is. Care to share any knowledge you have? The same with Mephisto-kun, you seem aware of this~"
Mephisto and Tabaldak glanced at each other before nodding.
"Giichi Stars, that's a group a magician from my organization recently created. However, not too long ago, I thought he perished on an assignment I sent him on. However, he randomly showed up again pretending to be Jin's subordinates and was doing vigilante work and attracting attention from the human world. In any case, Jin a few days ago came to me to form a personal alliance, and in turn…"
Mephisto looked at Tabaldak and he nodded.
"He visited my realm because I was the one who saved and healed young Hirokazu, the man who had been pretending to be his subordinate. One thing led to another, and his team has made some arrangements with Jin. At the same time while in my realm I joined the alliance. Not much was known about Caeda."
"She said she hailed from Canada. According to Hirokazu, she appeared to him one day, and asked to be part of his team. After that, they functioned as one from that day onwards. Not even Hirokazu knows her real origin… well, we all know now, don't we?" Tabaldak said while laughing to himself.
"What about the… Evie Etoulde, Jin?" asked Ra.
"Hmm, well, I do know quite a bit about them. One, the Evie, are the Mechanical Gods, the ones who conquer universes and worlds. However, the Etoulde are High Spirit Gods that are at war with them, and they're at a stalemate. Lapis made contact with them as the leader of the Khaos Brigade and all three of them are now working together. But I don't know if they plan on starting a war with us, or if they plan on conquering other worlds and universes first."
"Wait, wait, wait, so that means that the multiverse theory is real?!" Azazel jumped up in excitement.
"Yes, it is."
"And you knew about this?" he asked while squinting his eyes at me.
"For a long time now, I mean… I always suspected that if any strong beings found out about our universe or world, they would try to conquer it. If I'm being honest, we're not that strong overall. If we compare it with my own ranking system… then the beings here range from normal humans to the two Dragon Gods in strength."
"The beings of Evie Etoulde and Crepuscule Phantasma are usually born at High to Ultimate-class in strength and can only get stronger from there. Caeda only mentioned it to me vaguely but even in their universe, I believe there are also special cases like Ajuka and Sirzechs, abnormal births you could say."
"I don't know much about them, but… their leader is called Phumera, she has a right-hand-woman called Yve, and finally under them is the 'Eradicators', I don't know how many there are in total, but Caeda is ranked number 8 among them, and she said that everyone above her, especially rank 1 to 3 have powers beyond your imagination."
After my explanation, the room fell silent once more as all of them looked quite serious. The ones in the know—the ones that accompanied me to the [Pocket Dimension], they weren't as uneasy about it all. But that's because they have a high chance of beating them in raw power alone. Techniques, abilities... and combat experience... that's a whole other thing, but I'll be bringing them back there one more time just to bring them up in power again. Probably another 100 years…
"So… what do you suggest we do, Jin?" Perun asked.
"I would normally say leave it to me! But knowing the gods and the pride that all of you hold… I'll send some of my Electa to deliver something to all of you. It's designed to function as a separate dimension. This means you can fight each other and train to your hearts' content and your energy and injuries will heal and replenish instantly."
It's like a very nerfed [Training Facility] without all the other functions it has. However, with a threat like this looming, then their warriors there will be eager to get stronger. I already made some fail-safes for this with Cúntóir, like not being able to replicate it, or it malfunctioning or being able to be moved without my express permission.
"Hoho, and how will this work, Jin-boy?" asked Odin.
"So—"
I told them in a bit more detail, around 100 people can enter it at a time, all their injuries (not including fatal ones) will be healed instantly, their energy/magic/demonic energy/touki and other sources will instantly regenerate once it depletes. So it's an ideal training ground for them.
"When can we expect this to arrive in our realms, Jin?" Michael asked.
"Mmm… I mean, as soon as possible, I guess? Maybe even today, all you need to do is tell my subordinates where you want it to be placed at. Oh, and it's quite large too, so keep that in mind, so you better find a large space for it."
I snapped my fingers and showed them what it was like. Basically... it was the hyperbolic time chamber without the 'time' part. But with other effects. I could see a few gods being rather interested and excited about it.
"How much can it take?" Vidar asked.
"Don't worry, you won't be able to break it unless you become as powerful as Ophis—as powerful as the Dragon God of Infinity." I told them, but I lied… you would need to be as powerful as me to break it, even the Electa can't break it.
After showing them that, we started talking about where they might want to place it in their respective realms. But I could tell that a few of them really wanted to speak to me.
…
After a few hours, the meeting came to an end. Only a few remained in the Underworld and most of them wished to speak to me, so I created a queue and waited in another room for them to speak to me.
"Huh, I didn't think you'd be the one to rush in here, Azazel," I said to the fallen angel.
"Yeah, well I had some questions… anyway, what the hell are you?" he asked as Penemue giggled beside him. "Because she clearly knows! I don't believe you're some kind of hybrid anymore!"
"Then, I will give you a half truth, will that suffice?" I asked and he nodded. "I'm the one who created the Omniverse, which houses the multiverse."
I was obviously lying, but that should make him—
"What the fuck?! Liar! –Is what I'd like to say. However, I feel like there's some partial truth in that... argh, whatever, just... just help us when the time is right," he said in an almost huff.
"That's what I've been doing so far, Azazel. That won't change…"
Satisfied with my answer (kind of) he left with his group. Next was… Shinto gods and Suzaku. As they entered the room, both Suzaku and Azazel greeted one another, before she half-jogged towards me and we embraced each other. Seeing this, Amaterasu smiled at us, the same with Fūjin, but Raijin looked indifferent at me.
'Why do I feel hostility from her…? I really don't know what I did. Nevertheless, I am aware that not everyone will like me. Is she one of them? It'd be a bit awkward though.'
"It's been a while, Amaterasu, Fūjin and Raijin." I greeted them while still hugging Suzaku.
"Yes, it has, Jin. Have you been well?" Amaterasu asked.
"Yeah, I am, just a few things here and there… more things to deal with, nothing new," I chuckled at the end and she smiled at me. "So, did you need something from me?" I asked them.
She nodded her head and said, "Yes, actually, I am here for a reason. Ryūjin wishes for both Haru and Yoru to be trained by you—the famed Dual Dragon Emperor. Since he has his job as a god, he cannot spend too much time with them in training, so since this meeting was coming up, he wished for me to tell his request to you…"
'Yoru and Haru, huh? Right, those young dragons… Yoru the [Dusk Dragon] and Haru the [Dawn Dragon]… and he wants me to train them?'
"Is… is it possible?" she asked, now feeling a bit unsure.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah it is. I'll have the Electa give them teleporting necklaces. I upgraded my home's defenses so you'll need more permission from me to enter it. But yeah, one of them will give them both a necklace so they can come to my home for training." I told her.
"I will also train her; we do have a few more dragons living with Jin-sama after all~" Selene said as she stood beside me.
"…The Dragon of Dreams, Great Red, and The Dragon of Infinity, Ophis, correct? But… you're a dragon?" Amaterasu asked a bit confused.
I told them about those two dragons living with me too, so… they kind of said that I was trying to make the strongest faction in the world. But I'm still quite insistent that I wasn't, even if it did look like it.
[Keep telling yourself that, Partner… it'll come true eventually.]
"Yes, I'm the Moon Dragon God, Selene~" she said and winked at Amaterasu.
"I-I see… you certainly have your own dragon harem, Jin, on top of a growing goddess harem and your regular harem…"
"I guess? But I just think of them as one unit—"
"Dual Dragon Emperor." Raijin called my name and I looked at her.
Fūjin looked uneasy and tried to stop her but she shrugged off any attempts from her fellow goddess.
"Raijin, how can I—"
"Have a duel with me. I will not accept no for an answer. Once you come for Yoru and Haru, we will have that duel. If you win, I will acknowledge you as a worthy man for my sister, Amaterasu," she firmly declared.
The room fell silent as everyone just stared at her.
"…Excuse me?"
"I did not stutter."
"You certainly did not," I replied and we both stared at each other.
On the other hand, the Chief God of their realm had turned red and was stunned speechless by what Raijin said. We haven't really interacted much—Amaterasu and me, but… well, whatever. I'll just let her vent her frustrations on me when we duel. I would rather have her 'acknowledge' me than have her keep glaring at me.
"I don't mind. Very well then, let's have a duel, Raijin." I extended my hand for a handshake and she accepted. Following that, she relaxed and turned to leave.
"A-ah, w-wait, Ra-Raijin?! I-I'm sorry, Jin, we'll get going…!" the Sun Goddess said hurriedly and left with Fūjin who gave me a troubled yet thankful smile.
"I guess… I'm fighting a god again," I said to everyone and Suzaku sighed at me.
"A casual conversation turned into that, Aaron. You have a skill for this, I swear…" said Suzaku as she gave me a tired look.
I smiled wearily and said, "Well, I guess dragons attract many types of people and trouble…"
Slam! Bam! Gyu~
I didn't even have time to greet them as a flutter of wings just tackled me to the ground. Suzaku had reflexively moved to my other side, so she wasn't hit by it. When I looked at what had hit me, it was Layla. I looked behind her and saw both Michael and Altaria with troubled smiles.
"Layla? What's wrong?" I asked her as I got up.
However, she kept on hugging me and she was sniffing me…
'What is up with these girls sniffing me…?'
[Hey, Cúntóir, does Partner have some kind of unique smell or something?]
Cúntóir: Answer: Why don't you go and smell him?
[Don't tempt me into turning into a woman—gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!]
Cúntóir: Answer: Try again.
I'm not even going to ask what happened, also, what's up with the comments about turning into a woman…? It's becoming more and more frequent…
"She's just homesick, Jin-sama," Altaria said as both of them arrived in front of me.
"Jin-kun, we're researching some type of document that Griselda and Irina found. Our researchers are working together with the devils and fallen angels, but if we don't uncover it soon, I would like to request you to help with it," Michael said while looking at Layla.
"I'm also curious about it, so yeah I'll stop by there sooner or later."
Michael was fine with that, and so they started to leave, but Layla refused to leave my side. Both of them didn't know what to do. Altaria was looking at me, as if asking me to deal with it. I didn't mind and silently agreed.
"I'll keep Layla for a few hours. I'll send some Android fairies up there to help."
"Thank you, Jin-sama. Michael, let's go back."
"Ah, yes, of course…"
After those two left, two pantheons came in together, the Greek and Norse. Zeus and Odin seemed to be chatting up a storm and were getting along quite well… wait no, I was wrong, it was three! The Greeks, Norse and Slavic gods. Perun was just behind them laughing too.
Once they arrived in front of me, the smiles vanished and Perun looked quite serious.
"Jin, I would like to start by saying your hunch about Chernobog was correct. He vanished not too long after you left. I thought it was the case of him just leaving for a few days, but he… completely vanished. I believe he joined the Khaos Brigade."
"That's quite unfortunate, Perun. Losing a god is troubling for a pantheon… which leads me to my own request, Jin," said Zeus.
"Since my son, Ares is no longer with us… and if possible, we would like a new God of War. You took his powers from him, did you not? So it's possible for you to bestow it on someone else, correct?" Zeus asked.
"Yes, and I already have a candidate in mind. I've been speaking to her about it, actually," as I said that, they (the Greek gods) looked a bit surprised.
"R-really? If you don't mind—"
"Vera. It's Vera. You'll have two Rabbit Goddesses soon. I asked her to be one and Kuro encouraged her, so… she'll be both connected to the Greeks and Egyptian pantheons. I've asked those two to talk to Ra, and—"
"I approve!!!" A familiar voice boomed, and the door slammed open again.
Smack!
"Don't go around breaking other factions' furniture!" another voice scolded him.
Everyone turned around to see Ra, Isis and Aten. Isis was fuming, Ra was clutching his side and Aten had a troubled smile on him.
"Oh, you three are here too?" Perun asked, and the Egyptian gods joined us.
"Yes, we are, and I approve of this, Jin, Zeus," said Ra after rubbing his head. "It would benefit both our pantheons, wouldn't it? Having a new god, or in this case, another goddess!"
"Vera, huh? She has certainly won a fair number of tournaments in our realm. She's also close with my mother and she praises her a lot… hmm, very well. When will this happen, Jin?" asked Zeus.
"When I go to that festival, it's happening in a few days, right?"
"Yes, yes, it will be. I see, so during the festival, a new goddess will also be born. Yes, it's great timing indeed," he sagely nodded his head as if he had reached enlightenment or something.
"Very well, that's all I came here for, thank you." Zeus then patted my shoulder before turning to leave.
I turned my attention to Ra and asked, "Did you need me for something, Ra?"
"Mmm. Kurousagi and Vera also asked to send a request in for you. Well, even if Alnaham is their actual 'leader/mayor' he doesn't really do much. I guess he's like a puppet leader? Anyway, they requested for you to increase the defenses of the town."
Increase the defenses of the town? Hmm… well, I might as well do a complete redesign/reconstruction and increase the defenses while I'm at it. It would be better that way, right? I'll tell her later.
"Sure, I don't mind. I'll go there… a day or a few hours before the festival starts." I told him.
"Hmm, very well then, we shall depart!" he announced quite loudly before being smacked again and leaving the room.
We watched them leave, and the only ones left were the Norse Gods and Slavic Gods.
"Jin Skyward, this is long overdue. I request a duel with you," said Vidar as he walked up to me.
"Brother…" Thor called out to him, but Vidar looked quite determined about this.
"…I guess I did promise something like that when I first visited Asgard… so, sure thing, Vidar." I agreed, I didn't really mind.
My answer was satisfactory to him, and we shook hands afterwards. Odin, however, looked at me with more seriousness than he had shown earlier during the meeting. He was stroking his beard and then he finally spoke up.
"Alfheim and Freyr, they request your help… well, we, the gods of Asgard wish you to check on that realm and increase its defenses. We're led to believe that we might have a traitor over there, and they may have been trying to create a path for the Khaos Brigade to go through."
"We have done our own investigation, and have this 'traitor' imprisoned, so we would like you to 'interrogate' them and survey the realm, essentially."
I nodded. "Alright, I'll put that on my list too. I've been meaning to visit Asgard again after all."
"Hmm, until we meet again then, say hello to the White Dragon Emperor for me if you see him, hoho!" Odin said as he walked away and out of the door.
"Jin, I would like you to capture and not kill Chernobog, if you can. I wish to question him… but if you can't, at least try to find out why he decided to abandon our pantheon," said Perun.
"So a request from you, huh? Alright, I'll do it."
"Thank you… oh, and Zorya wishes to see you again. I did invite her instead of Veles first, but she was too shy, haha!"
Both Veles and Mokosh just stared at him tiredly, before Mokosh pinched his ear and started to leave.
"We will get going then, Jin. Come to our realm again," said Mokosh as they finally left the room.
"Yeah…"
Finally, the last group came in, the Devils, Youkai and the Irish Gods. Kunou, Serafall and Danu rushed over to me. With both Kunou and Serafall attaching themselves to me and Danu... well, she just stood behind me for some reason... meanwhile Latia remained beside Ajuka, seemingly jealous. I mean, she can always do this, but I guess she has an image to maintain, and Iryuka stood there silently with her.
"Jin, I would like to start by saying… why is Áine complaining even more? …No, she's complaining to herself even more about her lost power…"
"…Don't worry about it, she'll get used to it again," I replied. "Are you planning to ask for a request?" I asked.
"Hmm? Oh no, I just wanted to ask you that, unless something comes up, then I—we will contact you," he said, but then looked at Titania, "unless you want to request something from him?"
She shook her head. "No… well, at least not for now. There is a situation that is unfolding, but I wish to try to resolve it ourselves first, but if it gets more complicated, then I will contact Jin."
A situation? I wonder what that is, but… if she's sure that they can resolve it themselves, then I'll just wait it out.
"Jin, earlier you said that you suspected more than the original Satans were revived. Do you mean…?" Ajuka asked.
"Yeah, Tsufaame Tereaku Leviathan, Bidleid Bashalun Beelzebub, and Damaidosu Zereikel Asmodeus. I think they may also be alive too. However, it's just a theory… as well… I guess Lilith, the mother to all devils. Although that's just my assumption since other dead devils are coming back."
But I know she's 'alive' since Hades will use her in the future, however, it may have changed since Lapis and the rest are here. She may be fully 'alive' and moving around in this version of the Khaos Brigade that has fully healed her. Even more so if they made her stronger… she may only be making 'Super Devil' class devils and not just Satan-class devils.
So, in a way, we may be facing an army of Super devils in the future, rather than just Ultimate-class to Satan-class with a few Super devils…
"If we assume that the original Satans are the same strength as you two, or even stronger, then Lilith should be on par with them… then we can expect an army of Satan-class to Super devils being birthed by her as we speak."
"That's… concerning," said Ajuka as he scrunched up his face.
Even Serafall had stopped hugging me and was looking at her fellow Satans with worry. She herself was fine since she's quite powerful now, but to the average devil… just hearing that, the potential army of 'Sirzechs and Ajuka-class devils' would be utterly horrifying, even more so when they're on Khaos Brigade's side.
"Jin-kun, we'd like you to put this training dimension in the capital of Lilith. So we can oversee who's using it and no 'bad' person uses it for nefarious reasons," Sirzechs said to me.
"I don't mind, do you want me to do that today?" I asked.
"If you can, that would be appreciated," he said.
"Alright, I'll do it later." I turned to Yasaka and asked, "How about you, Yasaka?"
"Me? I just wanted to see my husband, is that wrong?" she innocently asked.
"…Well, no…"
However, to those not in the know, they gave us both a strange look.
"Husband?" Asteri asked and Yasaka smirked.
"Oh, Jin proposed to me not too long ago~" she smiled happily and put her hand out to show them the ring I gave her months ago…
"Jin-kun, what about Ria-tan?!" Sirzechs asked quite loudly.
I stared at him a bit dumbfounded.
"…Latia would also—"
Smack!
"Uncle!"
Even Latia smacked Ajuka… I didn't think that would happen. However, Ajuka smirked at her and resumed thinking about something. Falbium… looked at Iryuka, and she just gave him a glare and he didn't comment.
"How about you, Danu?! Go on, declare your love to him!" Nuada added and laughed.
'What in the world is happening…?'
This carried on for a little while. Even Sharon joined in on the teasing, and the somewhat serious atmosphere was dispelled.
…
"Haaaa… finally." I sighed and stretched my body.
It had been around an hour after all my talks with them ended. Suzaku, Layla, Ines, Ennea, Selene and I were the only ones left. Kunou didn't want to, so she teleported to my home with Ophis to play a bit. The same for Latia and Iryuka. Iryuka was quite curious about my new home so she decided to see it with her.
Mephisto and Tabaldak did stop by too, but we just spoke about things that they would like to see happen between the alliance. Mephisto especially with devils and pacts. He spoke to the current Satans about this and said they're working on it.
Tabaldak said he would speak to the other gods of his small realm soon and increase their own defenses and also get ready for some cultural exchanges.
Layla also hadn't left my side, and neither had Suzaku, so my house would be quite crowded today.
"Alright, let's go home," I said to them, and we teleported back.
…
Japan, Kuoh
Skyward Household
…
"Hmm? That was fast…" I muttered.
In front of me was Fusae and…
"Wait, Le Fay?" I asked.
"H-hello, Jin-sama. I was asked by Vali-sama and Onii-sama to come here. E-excuse me for my intrusion," she said with a bow at the end.
She then gave me a letter and I read through it. A basic summary was… they were planning to try to travel to the 'otherworld –Crepuscule Phantasma and try to fight strong opponents over there. I felt my blood turn cold.
"Antares, Lianne, Zeno, Silva!" I shouted and they appeared in front of me. "Go and stop team Vali!" I ordered and they left. "That dumb moron… when I get my hands on him, I'll beat him up…!"
There's fighting strong opponents to get stronger, and there's outright suicide. What they're trying to do is suicide. They are nowhere near their level of power…
The other part of this was… basically telling me to visit Germany and the Chinese pantheon. I was already planning to do that, but it seemed like Vali did some things there and he'd already spread the word that I would go to those places.
What a somewhat annoying little brother…
"Aaron? Is something wrong? I heard you mention Vaa-kun…" Nia asked as she appeared in the living room.
I handed her the letter and she began to shake. Whether that was out of rage or worry, I don't know.
"Vaa….kun….!"
"Hii?!"
Le Fay hid behind me as ice started to come out of Lavinia's body.
'She's pissed…'
Shing! Thud! Thud! Thud!
"W-what the hell?!" a silver-haired youth shouted in surprise.
He, along with others were in front of me now. Lavinia snapped her attention to him and Vali flinched. The others also backed away from their leader, feeling uneasy looking at the furious magician and pseudo-older sister of Vali.
"Vaa-kun…!" she said as her voice trembled in anger.
"W-wait, I have an explana—aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!"
That day, Vali Lucifer died, and that day was the day I first experienced Lavinia Reni's wrath in all of its glory. It was horrifying.
…
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