《A Tale After Four Lives》


 1 Chapter 1: Four Lives

    In a place of eternal darkness stood a young man, he was in his early twenty''s but the aura he gave off did not match his youthful looks.


    Behind the man stood the phantoms of four beings, a human, a titan, an Elf, and a Dragon. They stood there behind the young man and waited with him. The young man did not know for how long he waited, it could have been a few second or could very well have been a thousand years, he did not know nor did he care very much he had learned to be patient a long time ago.


    After an unknown amount of time something finally happened, a gate of light appeared and from that gate, a voluptuous woman stepped out and the gate closed behind her. After exiting the gate the woman gave the young man a smile that would cause kingdoms to go to war, as she spoke with an ethereal voice that would make once bones turn to jello, "Alex".


    That one word was enough for her to express the shock Alex had brought her, for a high-God like herself to remember the name of a mortal was no small achievement.


    Alex looked at the goddess in front of him but there was no reverence or someone''s in his gaze like he had the first time he saw her. He looked at her and gave a smile of his own, "Goddess Yris" he replied with a slight bow.


    The goddess was a bit shocked by his attitude but she was not offended, he was after all not the same mortal he was back then when they first met. "You have finished the task I bestowed spun you without my or any other gods aid you have left four legends upon four different worlds and each legend one that will turn to myth and be passed on for millions of years never to be forgotten.


    She turned to the phantoms behind Alex and pointed towards the human, he looked to be around fifty years old, his muscular body riddled with scars but despite that, he gave off a comforting feeling to all that look towards him as if even if the world were to collapse everything would be fine as long as he was there. The goddess spoke, "Your most gallant life, Grand Paliden Lambert, Slayer Of The Seven Princes. In this life, you hounded after demons for two hundred and fifty years, build a knights order in fifty and slew the 7 princes when you only had 10 years left to live. "


    After that, she turned towards the titan her head looking straight into the air as to look him in the eyes. The Titan was truly a monstrous standing 50 km''s into the sky its muscular body giving off a heavy ancient feeling, it''s eye''s deep and solemn as it returned the goddesses gaze with its own.


    "The life you were the most powerful in, Ancient Titan Azfius, with one blow you desecrated an army of over a hundred thousand men. You stood still as a city was built under you, but when the city was under siege you struck only once and lay waste to all its enemies. Thus a legend about the guardian statue. After another hundred thousand years you destroyed yourself from inside since nothing else could harm you not even time itself. Do you know after your death a few minor gods wanted to claim your body but no matter what they did it would not budge I recon only the full force attack of a mid-god would be able to even budge it? Titans are truly scary beings especial this one, even I fear I might not be able to physically compete with it, much less kill it."


    The goddess looked towards the next being, an elf. He was like all elves tall and fair with beautiful white hair hanging down his shoulders and a handsome face. The feeling one got from him was that of wisdom and temperance. "Your most interesting life, Great Sage Mythanar, You lived the life of a scholar prying into the mysteries of the arcane. You were, in fact, the greatest mage of all time and had enough mana to reach godhood but unfortunately, a real god came to that world. The demon king laid waste to the world and in its final moments of desperation, the races summoned four heroes from another world. You not only helped train the heroes but also joined them in the battle saving them on multiple occasions and finally you faced the demon king together with them. Unfortunately, the demon king was too powerful for the heroes and you could only sacrifice all your mana and life force to deliver a devastating magic attack, but it seems that you knew this was going to happen thus you created that terrible spell didn''t you."


    The goddess looked at Alex only to give her a nod in conversation as he looked at the phantom of Mythanar as he spoke the spells name [Mortal Spear]. The goddess continued, "Ah yes that was its name it got it from the fact that it not only took all your mana but also your mortal life to cast it. In the end, the demon king was brought to near death and was given the final blow by the combined attack of the four heroes. You, on the other hand, turned to dust, but the people of that world will forever remember your name for the heroes told of your self sacrificing deed."


    The goddess turned to the last phantom, it was a magnificent dragon the size of a small mountain, but slowly it shrank down and turned into a human figure with horns and scales at around its face and at its joints. The Dragon unreservedly released it draconic aura which made the black space bend under its might. The dragon stared at the goddess waiting for her to speak its eyes filled with rage. "You''re most tragic life, Mournomon the destroyer, you were born as a dragon and was suppose to live a free and unfettered life but from the first moments, the world was your enemy. The moment of your birth you and your parents were attacked by humans looking to tear your body''s apart for the treasures they hold."


    The goddess looked at the dragon with sadness in her eyes, "For you to escape both your father and mother gave their lives, even thou dragons are mighty they are not invincible, well that is until you were born. In your rage, you used the powers of a titan as a dragon absorbing the energies of the earth and the sun to strengthen your body. You invoked your knowledge as a Sage to bring forth destruction upon the world, but I know you have never killed an innocent. The nobles of the world claimed you to a scourge upon the world and thus you were. In the hundred thousand years of your life, you burned millions upon millions of evil beings and died with the name of a demon."


    After the goddess spoke the phantom of Mournomon shed a single tear as it bowed towards the goddess in respect before standing up and giving her a wild smile, showing its sharp teeth, as it transformed back into a colossal dragon.


    The goddess gave each another look before returning her gaze to Alex. She spoke softly," You have done your part and now it is my turn to do mine."


    Alex did not respond but kept staring at the four phantoms, each smiled at him even the Azfius the titan. They smiled because, in the end, they were him and together they had succeeded.


    The goddess waited patiently as Alex looked at the four phantoms thinking back on all he had done to complete this task. After an undetermined amount of time, he finally looked up towards the goddess.


    The goddess smiled when he looked at her and spoke, this time, in a very soft, loving voice. "Tell me, my dear Alex, what is it that you want and where do you wish to go. I, Yris Goddess of Destiny, will do all in my power to give it to you".

 2 Chapter 2: Whishes

    Alex thought for a while before replying, he only had three so he wanted to get the most out of all of them.


    The goddess could easily figure out what he was thinking and smiled and said: "Alex, maybe we should first think about which world you want to go to, that will make your wishes easier don''t you think."


    Alex opened his eyes wide as he was too cut upon finally getting his wishes that he didn''t think about picking the world first. Luckily that was easy since he had figured out what world he wants to go to when he first met the goddess.


    "I would like to go to the world of Highschool DXD" Alex said with a confident voice. The goddess smiled strangely at his answer and couldn''t help but ask, "Are you planning on starting a harem or something to pick that world, I won''t judge it''s just that I never expected you to be that sort of person."


    "No, no you got it all wrong," Alex waved his hands, quickly denying her claim less he is branded a pervert by the goddess, "The world of DXD is more than just the girls although that is part of the plot in that world that is not the reason I want to go there," Alex said


    "Oh, then..." The goddess spoke clearly asking Alex to continue.


    "Well, the world is just like my old one except all the myths and religions have come to life, it''s like my old world but with a twist. I can have power while also living the life I never had, but most importantly I liked the anime it had a cool story if you looked past all the perversions."


    The goddess just rolled her eyes not fully believing Alex to which he could just let out a bitter smile and quickly change the subject, "Ok, world choosing complete now for the wishes, I think I have them."


    "Let''s hear them," said the goddess with a dubious smile, clearly seeing through his deception.


    *Caught* Alex coughed to get rid of his embarrassment for getting caught and quickly got back to the topic, "For my first wish, I want all the powers I had in my previous lives." Alex said with puffing up.


    "Can''t" the goddess quickly shut him down, deflating his chest and making him look down. "But why?", Alex couldn''t help but ask. The goddess gave him a smile as she pointed towards him and said: "Because they are already with you".


    "Huh?" Alex looked at himself but didn''t know what the goddess meant and if knowing he wouldn''t get it she quickly elaborated. "The power''s you had in your past have always been with you you just never thought of using them until you become a dragon in your last life, but to tell the truth even if I wanted to I would never be able to replicate the powers for you because your soul already reached godhood so there''s is nothing I can give you except a mortal shell to contain your soul. When you get the body this time it will automatically be strengthened by your soul, although not as strong as your previous lives body''s it will still be decent."


    "I see," Alex said after listening to the goddess and then sank into thought. He was trying to figure out how to strengthen his mortal shell when an idea suddenly came to him. He excitedly spoke to the goddess, "For my first wish I wish for you to bring me the body of Azfius!".


    His words shocked the goddess as she could quickly understand what he wanted to do, but then thinking about bringing that colossus of a body to the void she couldn''t help but lament her fate, searching for some hope she wanted to confirm if that was really his first wish. "Are you completely sure you want to use your first wish for that.", and with a nod, Alex shattered the goddesses hopes into a thousand pieces.


    The goddess braced herself for this momentous task, Azfius''s physics had reached the realm of the high god, if not for it not being able to resist the goddess would never have been able to move it, it was very much the same as her trying to force another high god. With a shout, she released her divine energy, more and more power poured out of her and after who knows how long a colossal white gate opened and from the gate fell Azfius''s body, still in the same pose as when Alex''s soul left it. The white gate closed after the body arrived and the goddess breathed out, as she fell down a beautiful chair appearing to catch her. Her face was pale and she was sweating.


    Alex not paying any attention to the goddess quickly went towards his old body and entered it with his soul. As the goddess had said he had killed himself from the inside at that time but what he actually just did was sever his soul from the body. Now that he was a soul and with the body being so powerful that not even time can corrode it all he had to do was reconnect to the body, that was exactly what he did.


    The goddess having taken some time to catch her breath found that she couldn''t see Alex anymore, she started standing up to look for him only to be pushed back into her seat by a mighty and heavy ancient aura, cracks started appearing around Azfius as the stone that had appeared around him because of time started loosening and breaking apart and with that Azfius''s aura broke free.


    The goddess Yris would normally not have been affected by this aura but now having spent more than eighty percent of her power at once to bring the body here she could not resist it and felt suffocated a feeling she had not felt in a long time. Luckily Alex realized this quickly and retracted his aura until nothing remained. He looked at the goddess with a guilty expression and spoke "Sorry about that", his voice boomed into the surrounding causing the black void to twist under its might.


    The goddess glared at Alex, as she shouted," Well you got what you wanted, now what!". "Hang on a minute," Alex replied as a white glow surrounded him and with a flash, the colossus disappeared and was replaced with his original appearance and size. The goddess looked at him flabbergasted and couldn''t help but ask "How, How did you do that", Alex smiled at her and replied, "The body might be strong but it had been dormant for ages, its defenses had gone down with the addition of me the owner taking control before rehabilitating the body a made some changes using my knowledge of draconic transformations. Although it was a pain and what I''m talking about probably sounds like bullshit that''s how it is. I also took the liberty of making this body be able to switch between the abilities and appearances of my previous lives just to fuck with reason." Alex''s answer left the goddess speechless.


    It took some time but the goddess finally calmed herself down and while reclining in her seat she asked in an annoyed voice "So, what''s the second wish".


    "I want a house in Kuoh town, nothing fancy but also nothing terrible just an ordinary house," Alex answered. The goddess thought for a second and then agreed, "Ok, and I''ll also throw in some cash, it should be enough for you to live lavishly for the next three thousand years"


    Alex was visibly moved by the bonus and smiled at the goddess as thanks, now he didn''t have to waste a wish on money. Now there was only one thing bothering him. "Say, at what part of the timeline will I be entering the world." The goddess thought for a while and said well if nothing changes it should be about a year before the protagonist''s birth."


    "That''s fine, then for my last wish, I want all my weapons and armor of my previous lives." Alex said as he opened up a rift in space wit his magic, "You can just dump it in here." said Alex.


    After granting the last wish the goddess approached Alex. "Well, this is it, I hope you have a wonderful time, bye"


    "Oh by the way where wi...." before Alex could finish asking where he will appear the goddess slapped and with a bang he flew into a light gate and disappeared.


    "That''s what you get for making me bring that titan''s corps here, humph" the goddess pouted as she saw Alex disappear into the light gate.

 3 Chapter 3: Falling Into The Ocean

    High above the earth a light gate open and a silhouette came flying out, shooting in the earth''s direction. This silhouette was of course Alex.


    Looking around Alex couldn''t help but curse, "This is the fucking stratosphere, what the fuck am I doing here?" Alex kept falling down to the earth quickly reaching terminal velocity. "Well at least I''m here, that''s all that matters now an... where the fuck are my clothes?"


    Falling down towards earth Alex saw his body, buck naked. " Ah, yeah let''s fix this" Alex said opening his pocket space and pulling out a pair of pants, quickly putting it on. " Now all there is to do is wait, looks like I''ll be taking a dip in the Atlantic ocean." thought Alex and that was exactly what he did.


    After a few minutes, he pulled his legs together and made a cannonball into the water. A few minutes later he burst out of the water. Alex turned his head left and right not knowing which direction he should take and just started going in a random direction.


    "Damn, I need to find a ship or something, I don''t want to keep swimming until I find land and using Mournomon will be a bad decision he doesn''t really blend in." Said Alex as he kept swimming at great speeds. Luckily it didn''t take him long to find a ship. "The chance of meeting a ship out at sea is very low, it must be my lucky day," thought Alex as he made his way to the ship, taking care not to get pulled in by its propellers. After getting close he heard a commotion on the ship.


    Sailers were running around yelling "Man overboard!!!", the ship came to a halt and a ladder was thrown down. Alex swam towards the ladder and climbed out of the water up unto the ship as the crew received him and covered him with a blanket.


    ...


    After being rescued, Alex was taken towards the bridge where he met the captain. "What in blazes were you doing out at sea lad?" asked the fifty something-year-old captain. Looking at him Alex soon recognizes the man as a Brit, luckily Alex knew English since he himself was born in Britain. "I was out at sea with my sailboat when a storm came up and swept me out to sea, I tried keeping it afloat for who knows how long but it finally caved in and I lost consciousness, when I recovered I was drifting out at sea on a piece of the deck." Alex quickly came up with a lie, "After a day of drifting I luckily saw this crew ship and well here I am."


    Hearing what Alex said the captain couldn''t help but exclaim, "My god lad you''re lucky." Then after thinking for a moment, he spoke again "No matter. I''ll have the crew show you to a room and bring something warm for you to eat Ok lad, unfortunately you will have to sleep in the crew''s courters but its better than a piece of wood."


    Hearing what the captain said Alex thanked the captain and then one of the sailors took him to a room with a small bed and a metal table, "This will be your room rest up and I''ll have someone bring you something to eat" said the sailor, to which Alex thanked him for his kindness, the sailor just smiled and left.


    ...


    Sitting down on the bed Alex reclined himself against the wall next to the bed and closed his eyes, "I''m finally home," thought Alex and just before he could nod off to sleep somebody entered his room.


    "Excuse me, I brought your food", Alex heard a woman voice and slowly opened his eyes in its direction, there he saw a woman in a sailors uniform holding a bowl of soup. Looking at her Alex thought she was rather pretty with her short brown hair and eyes. The woman smiled at him as she brought him the bowl to which he thanked her. She just shook her head and spoke, "Its only soup nothing to be thankful for, eat and rest up ok". Her voice was soft and soothing, Alex could only look at her and nod.


    Having finished what she came for the woman turned around to leave only to be stopped by Alex''s voice," Excuse me miss, can you tell me where we''re headed". She turned around giving Alex another smile before saying, "Please call me Anna, and were currently heading back to England".


    Nodding his head Alex said his thanks and Anna left the room leaving him alone to enjoy his soup. Alex used the spoon in the bowl to carefully bring some soup to his lips before putting it in his mouth, "Taste''s good", Alex thought as he slurping the rest of the soup and quickly finishing it.


    After finishing the soup Alex placed the bowl down on the metal cabinet and lied down in the bed, staring at the seeking he couldn''t help but chuckle as he again thought about how he finally got his reward. Thou the delivery to this world was a bit rude he didn''t think too much about it if he were to complain about something it would be the fact that the goddess slapped him so hard it actually left a red mark on his face, he could only imagine what would have happened to a normal person if he was slapped with enough force to leave a red mark on the body of a titan like Azfius and that thought sent shivers down his spine as he imagined an exploding watermelon.


    Shaking these thoughts from his head, Alex closed his eyes to get some sleep only to be bothered by something else, how was he supposed to get to Japan, he had no money on him and he doubts he could buy an airplane ticket on loan, thinking for some time he could only sigh, "Guess in the end I will have to use Mournomons body to fly,". "Wait", Alex eyes suddenly went wide brought his left hand up and slapped himself which caused a mini shockwave to spread. "Stupid, I could have just made myself invisible," thought Alex and with a bam, he slapped himself again, thou none of these attacks actually hurt it was more of a mental thing than anything else.


    Alex closed his eyes once more and this time he fell asleep, his last thoughts before he dosed of were, "I can be stupid sometimes".

 4 Chapter 4: Getting "Help"

    Alex looked out of the window of the cab as he stared at the passing buildings and people, "I can''t thank you enough for this Anna," said Alex as he turned to Anne sitting next to him in the cab.


    Anne just smiled at him and said, "Well, couldn''t have you wondering London penniless now could I. Besides this way you''ll ow me one", winking at him as she finished her sentence.


    ...


    After boarding the ship, Alex spend a few days on it before it finally reached port, during this he befriended Anne and they got along well, realizing that Alex didn''t have a penny to his name and his home being in Japan, she offered to give him a place to stay at her apartment. Alex was first quite against it since he was planning on flying over as a dragon but after a few rounds of persuasion coupled with a few threats and promises he eventually caved and agreed, which led to his current predicament.


    ...


    "Yeah, ow you one," Alex said with a bitter smile only to be rewarded with a fierce gaze from Anne as she asked, "Come again", "Nothing, nothing" Alex quickly answered. "That''s what I thought," said Anne with a snort.


    "What did I do to deserve this, I just wanted to quickly head to my home, how did I end up like this, and why is this woman so hung up on helping me," Alex thought as he sneakily peaked at Anne who was just sitting there with a smile while humming. "Oh god, why is she humming and what''s with that smile, she''s thinking something, I can''t fall into her trap, I''ve got to keep it together." Alex thought.


    ...


    Finally arriving at what seemed to be the building in which Anne rented her apartment, Alex shook his head to clear it of all the bullshit he was thinking and with a wry smile, he got out of the car. Looking at the building he couldn''t say it was lavish yet it wasn''t a dump either it was just... average.


    After looking for a while he heard Anna yelling at him, "Are you just gonna stand there or help me", turning around he saw Anna pulling some luggage from the trunk of the cab''s trunk. Alex quickly went to help only to find two ginormous bags left. Alex stared at it for a while before look at Anne carrying a little bag and then back at the two large bags, he could help but think "Why the fuck does she have so much stuff".


    Anne paid the cab driver then turned to Alex only to find him standing there doing nothing, quite irritated by now, she shouted at him, "Well, don''t just stand there take the bags out" and then sighed afterward, "Honestly".


    Alex reacted quickly to Anne''s voice and grabbed the two bags by there handles and easily lifted them from the trunk causing the back of the cab to lift from being relieved from the luggage''s weight. "Fuck they must weight at least a hundred kilo''s each, what did she put in here, Rocks?" thought Alex as he followed Anne into the apartment building.


    The cab driver, who had previously packet the luggage into the cab, couldn''t help but suck in cold air as he watches Alex easily carry the two bags as if they weighed nothing. "I must be getting old," he thought as he drove off.


    ...


    The duo quickly made their way to Anne''s apartment, standing outside Anne searched around in her purse looking for the keys while Alex just looked around out of curiosity. Out of nowhere Alex''s sensitive ears picked out a scream of pain from a few floors above the one he was, he quickly looked up as his pupils turned into slits and he activated his dragon eye''s to looked through the wall''s into the room where the scream came from.


    As the image became clear to him his eyes bulge and then he suddenly closed them, "Ahh, fuck I''m going blind" Alex screamed as he staggered backward. Anne quickly walked to him and asked in a worried voice "Alex is everything all right, are you ok?", "No, I''m not fucking ok, I will never be able to unsee what I just saw," is what he thought but said something completely different, "Yeah, something just went into my eye it''s out now". Anne looked at Alex suspiciously but when she saw the red lines in the white part of his eyes she could only believe him.


    Anne finally finding her keys unlocked her apartment door while ushering in a very broken looking Alex. Seeing him like that Anne couldn''t help but ask again as she took his hand, "Alex are you sure you''re fine". Alex hearing what she said couldn''t help but think back on what he saw and immediately regretting it, two male bodies are intertwined upon a bed and something sticking into a place it doesn''t belong, Alex''s eyes went red again and he used all his strength to keep his facial expression from contorting as he spoke in a low graveled voice, "I''m fine, let''s not talk about this again".


    Anne after a few inquiry''s gave up on asking again and just lead him to her room. Opening the door she spoke, "You can just drop those bags here, Ill unpack later.". Alex nodded as he walked into her bedroom, It was a small room around three by three meters in of space, there was a double bed in the middle room with a small table on each side. There were build in closets to the left of the bed and a window to it''s right looking out onto the road below. Alex put the two bags down next to the bottom of the bed and left the room.


    Anne opened the door across from her bedroom and spoke, "Well this is your room, don''t hesitate to say if you need anything", Alex gave her a nod in reply as he entered his room which was about the same as her''s except for not having a window and there being a single bed with one table at its side.


    Alex went towards his bed and lied down. Anne, seeing him make himself comfortable, left the room and closed the door behind. She entered her own room and started to unpack her things. Alex looked towards the ceiling as he thought about what to do next. He first planned on turning into Mournomon and flying to japan the moment he left the ship, but Anne''s kindness kinda got in his way. Although he didn''t want to accept, he also didn''t want to disappoint her so in the end friendship won over reason and he agreed to stay with her until he had an opportunity to go "home".


    Alex heard Anne cursing across the hall from her room and couldn''t help but peek with his draconic eyes only to start laughing his ass off at the sight of Anne trying to heave one of the big bags onto the bed.


    After a while, Alex no longer paid attention to Anne''s antics and closed his eye''s only to quickly dose of.

 5 Chapter 5: Going Clothes Shopping.

    Alex was sitting on a couch in the living room watching some television while finishing his breakfast of two eggs on toast and two pieces of bacon.


    "Are you ready Alex, come on let''s go", said Anne coming out of the bathroom. Alex turned to her chewing the last piece of bacon but immediately spit it out when he saw her tire, choking a little before squeezing out some words, "Are...are you really going dressed like that".


    Anne looked down at her clothes in confusion, she was wearing a very tight top that was sticking to her figure accentuating her already large "assets" and leaving her stomach bare for everybody to see coupled with her extremely short jean shorts and boots she didn''t really look appropriate.


    "Yeah", she answered finding nothing wrong with her outfit. Alex just stood up, took a deep breath to calm himself, Anne was already a very beautiful woman but with her outfit, well you could just say that she oozed sex appeal.


    "Alright let''s get going", said Alex as he followed Anne out of the apartment, she locked the door and they went down the stairs together. They were situated on the third floor so it didn''t take long for them to reach the ground. Anne walked out of the apartment building and with a bounce in her step, and another place, she called a cab, causing quite a few cab drivers to come screeching to a holt, a quicker thinking driver immediately parked next to her.


    The young cab driver almost fell out of his seat as he got up ran around the cab and opened the door for her. Alex that just walked out of the building couldn''t help but facepalm, he could see where the driver''s eyes were but chose not to comment but follow Anne into the cab through the door the driver so "graciously" opened for "them". Alex could see the sparkling eyes of the driver dim when he followed Anne into the cab.


    ...


    The driver got back into the cab and with a caught to clear his through he asked "Where to?", to which Anne gave him an address and off they went. Sitting in the cab, Alex thought of what they were going to do today. Their plans were simple, buy him some clothes.


    Since he got "rescued" by the ship all he had to wear were some old and tattered clothes that the captain gave him, so after getting settled in Anne decided that they had to go shopping for some clothes so that he wouldn''t look like a hobo.


    Alex had asked Anne about her job but apparently, she had gotten leave after a long voyage on the ship. She would usually spend her day lounging around at home and going to the gym now and then, so she was happy to have some company. Alex also asked about her relatives which turned out to be a rather sour topic seeing as she didn''t have any, having grown up in an orphanage getting into a good college only because of her school grades.


    ...


    Alex was broken out of thought by some humming, turning to its source he saw Anne looking out the window. Seeing her smiling face in the reflection of the window, Alex couldn''t help but think, "She is cute and all but this part of her is really creepy, but I guess it''s just who she is, a weird girl with a big heart."


    "What", Anne asked Alex having fought him staring at her, "Nothing, just trying to figure you out," Alex said with a smile. Anne turned towards him and asked, "What''s there to figure out? It should be me trying to figure you out seeing as I know nothing about you except your name and that you have a house in Japan", she finished with an accusing voice. "And knowing almost nothing about me and only knowing me for a few day''s you invited me to your home?". Alex said while giving her a faint smile while continuing, "I can only conclude that either you are a very dumb or have a big heart, my money is on the second half."


    Anne couldn''t help but blush a little hearing what Alex said, although she wanted to refute she couldn''t find anything to say so she just remained silent. Suddenly Alex''s face turned stern as he spoke, "I appreciate your kindness and wished the world had more people like you, even so, don''t go inviting anybody to your home before you truly get to know that person", Anne just smiled at his warning and said, "I know that, but I could tell from a glance your not the bad sort."


    Alex just looked at her for a while before sighing, "I''m not as good as you think" said Alex and stopped talking, Anne just gave him one last glance before turning her attention to outside the window.


    The cab finally stopped outside a clothes shop, getting out of the car Alex walked around it and opened the door for Anne, gaining him a beautiful smile from the girl and a jealous glare from the driver.


    ...


    The store wasn''t high-class and Alex preferred it that way since paying too much just for some clothes wasn''t his style and to make it worse he wasn''t even paying for it. Entering the stoor Anne quickly found a clerk to help them find some clothes for Alex, and to his dismay, she demanded that he try on every piece of clothing and show her how he looked in it. Then it was her turn to choose some clothes and he had the pleasure of having her model for him.


    After a few hours of pure torture, Alex finally left the store with bags of clothes. Seeing as it was already midday and s feeling a bit peckish Anne decided to eat out for lunch. Heading a famous fast food store that started with an "M" and had a clown as a mascot, they got themselves a table and started looking through the menu to see what to eat while waiting for a waiter to come and take their order.


    Not having to wait long a waiter arrived and they both ordered a burger and a soft drink. The food quickly arrived and they chowed down. Finishing his food Alex looked towards Anne and chuckled, "What?" Anne asked finishing her meal. Not saying anything Alex suddenly leaned forward across the table, much to Anne''s surprise, and with a napkin cleaned some ketchup that was on her cheek.


    "There," said Alex while getting up and ignoring the glare of a red-faced Anne. Anne followed after Alex after realizing that her glare couldn''t burn a hole through him. She paid for the meal at the cashier and they exited the store. Alex looked towards Anne and asked, "So, where to next", Anne thought for a moment before deciding it was probably time to go back home.


    Hailing a cab, they went back to Anne''s apartment.


    Entering his room, Alex threw out the bags of clothes and grabbed a boxer short and heading to the bathroom to take a shower while thinking, "Two can play at that game". Entering the bathroom he locked the door and took off his clothes revealing his perfectly built body. He wasn''t bulky but no one would underestimate his strength when looking at him.


    After taking the shower, Alex dried himself off and just put on the boxer before exiting the bathroom heading to the living room. Hearing somebody coming, Anne looked up from the television only for her face to turn red. Using all her willpower she pried her eye''s from his muscular body before asking in a bashful voice, "What are you doing, put on some clothes". Alex smirked and answered, "Nah, I''m good. It''s not like I''m naked or going out."


    "That''s not the point, I don''t want a half-naked man walking around in my apartment," Anne yelled while staring at the television to distract herself. "And I don''t want to keep seeing your boob''s threatening to jump out of your top every time you walk too fast or your left but check peeking out from your jean overly short jean but I guess we will both just have to live with it". Alex retorted with a smile while crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.


    Anne looked towards Alex in shock hearing what he just said but immediately regretted it as her eyes locked on to his six-pack. After recovering she finally looked him in the face and caught his bemused smile, shaming her even further. "Fine, I''ll wear less revealing clothing, happy.", Alex gave a triumphant smile and went to his room to put on a shirt.

 6 Chapter 6: A Gift From The Heart.

    A few months later.


    Alex woke up early in the morning, today was a special day. Sneaking out of his room he went to the kitchen and prepared some breakfast and coffee and with both in hand he made his way towards Anne''s room.


    With a kick, he opened the door and quickly stepped aside just in time as a pillow went flying by. Peeking inside to make sure it''s safe Alex walked into the room with the food and coffee while smiling at the droopy-eyed Anne. Putting down her breakfast and coffee at the bedside table Alex sat down at the edge of the bed and gave Anne to her surprise a strong hug, "Happy birthday Anne", Alex said in a jovial voice.


    Anne was confused for some time before her eye''s finally lit up realization and she hugged Alex back, "Hahaha, thanks, Alex." she said. Alex grabbed the plate and handed Anne her breakfast, "Here eat up, you have a big day", after saying his piece Alex got up walked out of the room.


    ...


    Having finished freshening up both Anne and Alex sat on the couch watching television and relaxing. Alex suddenly grabbed the remote and turned off the television and looked at Anne. Anne looked at Alex wondering what he''s doing and didn''t have to wait long before he gave her the answer. "Present time", those words immediately made Anne sit up straight and waited in anticipation.


    Seeing how excited she was Alex didn''t dare make her wait long before taking something from his pocket and dangling it in front of her from a chain. Anne''s eye''s immediately lit up when she saw it. It was a templar style cross pendant with very tiny words written on it. "It''s beautiful," said Anne as she saw the pendant. She moved her hair to the side and looked at Alex expectantly and not being a dense person Alex quickly picked up on what she wanted and went behind her to put the pendant around her neck.


    Taking a step back he saw Anne make a twirl and looking at him asking how it looked, Alex stared at the pendant that hung around her neck as a myriad of emotions ran through him before looking at Anne and smiled, "You look absolutely beautiful". Blushing slightly Anne looked quite satisfied with his answer but remembering the news she got the day before, she suddenly got depressed.


    Alex quickly noticed the change in her mood, "Hey wat''s the matter?" he asked as he put his hand on her shoulder as comfort. Anne looked at him and smiled bitterly and told him what she was depressed about to which Alex didn''t know whether to laugh or cry.


    Anne had to start work soon and she was depressed since she won''t be able to spend any more time with him. Thinking about it, Alex realized he had stayed with her far longer than intended. He similarly made a bitter smile as he looked at her. "I guess it''s for the best, I too should probably be heading home."


    Anne was shocked at what he said and then remember that he lived in Japan. "How will you get there, if you need money I can buy you the ticket and..." Alex stopped by covering her mouth with his hand," shhh," she shushed her and then gently spoke," Don''t worry about anything I''ve got everything under control. Now, let''s end this topic, it''s your birthday and we should be celebrating".


    Nodding Anne finally calmed down as they sat down on the couch and kept talking. They talked about all kinds of topics, from politics to hobby''s while making jokes along the way. Alex had figured out that Anne likes talking and getting attention long ago so for the day he gave her his full attention. Before they knew it the sun had set and night came and with it, Anne''s stomach grumbled which caused her to blush, but before she could get up to make some dinner Alex stopped her and got up himself while saying, " It''s your birthday so why not relax? I''ll make us something to eat so just chill", with that Alex entered the kitchen and started cooking.


    Alex searched around the cupboards and to his horror, it was almost empty. With all his willpower and knowledge of the culinary arts of four lifetimes, Alex started working on the diner. 25 minutes later Alex walked out of the kitchen with two plates.


    Anne waited in anticipation as Alex placed the food down in front of her while saying," Your Saucy Bean Baked Eggs madam, Bon Appetit" and overdramatically bowed before sitting next to her on the couch and started digging in.


    "Delicious," said Anne after taking a mouth full of beans, Alex just smiled and kept eating. They quickly finished their food and Alex took there plate''s going into the kitchen and quickly cleaning the dishes.


    Heading back into the living room he saw Anne walking over to him, "Well, I think I''ll be going to bed now, we might not have gone somewhere exiting or special but today was the best birthday I ever had, thank you", with that Anne gave him a big hug sneaking in a kiss to the cheek, which she had to jump to achieve, before running off to her room leafing a chuckling Alex behind.


    ...


    Alex laid in bed and thought about the day''s events, especially the pendant he gave her. He didn''t know why but felt like he wanted to give her something special so he chose something that he held very dear. The pendant was no mere trinket but something he had worn for over three-hundred years when he was still known as Sir Lambert. Although not having any enchantment embedded into it it was still a holy artifact and something that had absorbed his aura for three centuries, and its value could not be put into numbers.


    Made from the purest mithril and packed in the highest quality holy water for a decade it could help the wearer resist disease, poison, and any other ailments while also boosting the body''s natural healing. That is what the pendants usually did after being made but this one had been hanging on the neck of the most powerful paladin for centuries, not only where its base ability''s strengthened but the aura emitted from it repelled evil in all its forms making those with evil intentions hesitant to make a move against its wielder.


    "Maybe in giving it to her I can leave for Japan with an eased mind." thought Alex before dosing off.

 7 Chapter 7: Going Home

    Alex stood at the edge of the pier, looking out over the ocean he saw a ship moving further and further away but paid no attention to the ship but the figure at its rear.


    Anne was standing there waving and she kept doing it even when she couldn''t see him or the pier anymore. Although she couldn''t see him he saw her clearly as she kept waving, causing Alex to smile warmly at the sight. Alex kept standing there until Anne finally stopped waving and went to do her duties. Alex sighed, turned around and started walking.


    He wasn''t walking aimlessly but with a goal, his destination the airport. Although walking wasn''t the most time-conserving way to do it, Alex chose to anyway. "Since Anne is no longer with me I can finally start using my ability''s again," thought Alex as he walked.


    ...


    Alex finally arrived at the airport after a few hours of walking, entering the building he looked up to the electronic notice board to check which fights were going where and quickly found one to Japan that would be leaving in just over an hour. "Quite lucky," thought Alex as he started heading towards the indicated gate figuring he might as well go early.


    Reaching the security check he just kept walking, when the guard tried to stop him Alex just gave him a glance and the guard returned to his position in a trance only to come out of it a few minutes later with no recollection of what happened. Walking past the guards Alex whispered to himself, "These are not the droids you are looking for", then chuckling at his internal joke.


    Reaching the boarding aria, Alex closed his eyes and waited for the plain to arrive so that he can board it with the other passengers. The airplane arrived and he boards it without a hitch, he even finds an empty spot in the first-class cabin which he commandeers for himself, all the while the staff and security turn a blind eye.


    The plane took off, on its way to Tokyo.


    ...


    Alex comfortably sat in his chair while staring out the window, "Ahhh, charm magic truly is useful at some times", he thought. A knock came from outside the cabin and Alex answered giving the person permission to enter. Opening the door a flight attendant enters the cabin and gave him a smile before asking if there was anything that Alex need''s, thinking for a while then answered, "Would you please bring me some champagne, thank you".


    The attendant excused herself and went to fetch Alex''s order while he just reclined in his chair enjoying some luxury, something he had not experienced in quite a few years. With a knock, the waitress entered the cabin with a bottle of champaign in a bucket and a champaign glass. The attendant quickly pours the campaign and gives''s the glass to Alex, making sure he has everything he needs before excusing herself to attend to the other passengers.


    Alex takes a sip of the champaign, then looked out the window while savoring the flavor of the alcohol. Alex quickly finished the bottle, calling an attendant over he quickly "persuaded" her to bring him another bottle, like that he spends most of his time in the plain, drinking and enjoying the view from the window.


    Finishing his nt-teenth bottle the plane suddenly started shaking. Ignoring it at first thinking its nothing but some turbulence Alex comfortably declined in his chair to get some sleep, that is until the plane started shaking viciously. Alex quickly sat upright and looked out the window, he saw nothing but dark clouds and lightning striking all around the plain.


    The captain''s voice came from the intercom, "Ladies and gentleman we might experience some turbulence and slight electrical failure, please fasten your seatbelts. If you have any problems please ask the nearest attendant for help".


    Alex sighed and lied back in his chair not paying the captain''s warnings any heed. Even if the plain were to crash headfirst into a mountain he would be fine, the only thing that truly worried him was the other passengers and so just for safety''s sake, Alex invoked a little spell around the plane to act as a barrier in case anything bad happened.


    ...


    A few hours later the plane exited the storm and was greeted by clear sky''s, making Alex sigh in relief, he had worried unnecessarily. Lying down in his chair Alex decided to sleep the rest of the trip, closing his eye''s Alex quickly dozed off.


    ...


    Opening his eyes, Alex heard something about landing, and with a bit of shacking the plane landed at Tokyo airport.


    Standing up after a long flight Alex made his way out of the plain and airport all the while using the same technique he used getting onto the plain. Exiting the airport Alex quickly hailed a cab and got in. "Where to," asked the driver as Alex got in, "Kuoh town," said Alex and then further explain giving the address.


    ...


    The car quickly left Tokyo behind and entered the countryside. Alex looked out the window enjoying the view. Alex started thinking, "I can finally get home. I really feel bad brainwashing so many people, but it was an emergency and I didn''t fancy flying over as Mournomon, not only is his draconic aura nearly uncontrollable and one slip up could kill millions of people, I don''t want the church to get wind of me. I don''t know if they have way''s to pick up Mournomons immense magickal signature even if he is invisible, I should also start thinking about my next move, it had been millennia since I last watched the anime and read the novel so I''m kinda in the dark, I have a good memory but asking me to remember something I watched or read a few million years ago is a bit much. Ahh, fuck it I''ll just wing it as I go along, but if I remember correctly there is something important in Kyoto."


    "Maybe, I''m overthinking things. I should just get home first and move from there." Alex thought while watching the passing cars, then a light came to his eye''s as he screamed out loud, "I should go to hell!" drawing a strange gaze from the cab driver, Alex quickly apologized for his outbreak before thinking of ways to get himself to hell, "If I remember correctly, Kuoh town is still under the administration of that other devil woman that banged and exorcist or something like that. Since that''s the story I can just "ask" her "politely" to show me the way" thought Alex.


    ...


    After a few hours of driving, they finally reached Kuoh town, driving some more the car stopped and Alex got out of the car looking at his house, "Everything looks in order, at least Yris didn''t fuck this up." thought Alex as he walked toward his house not bothering with the cab driver, who for "some" reason didn''t mind a just drove off.


    The house looked almost identical to Issei''s home and so did all the houses down the street so Alex couldn''t really complain. Turning the nob he found the door was Locked, this didn''t de sway him as he tapped the lock with his index finger causing a click to come from the lock as it was unlocked. Opening the door Alex entered his home for the first time, it was a bit dusty since nobody has lived there for a while but Alex didn''t mind since he could easily clean the house, but that was for another time. His gaze was pulled to a table in the hallway with a wallet and a little booklet waiting there.


    Grabbing the booklet he found it was his Id papers then he turned his attention to the wallet and opened it, inside there was a single golden card with a pin taped to it. Remembering the pin, Alex removed the taped paper and with a flash from his hand, the paper turned to ash.


    Looking around Alex smiled, "Well, I''m home" he thought but was quickly distracted when he heard his doorbell rang.

 8 Chapter 8: Neighbors

    Alex heard knocking at his front door, "Who could that be, I just got here and I already have visitors", thought Alex as he went to get the door.


    Opening the door Alex saw a man and a woman in front of him. Looking at the two Alex couldn''t help but think they looked familiar but he just couldn''t place his finger on it. The man wore glasses and was kinda scrawny with brown hair and eyes. If Alex were to describe him he could only say that the man looked very average. The woman wore a white shirt and a blue dress, she had long brown hair tied into a ponytail that reached her waist and vibrant brown eye''s. Alex thought she was quite pretty and with her bulging stomach, there mas a maternal air around her which made her look like a very gentle person.


    Staring at the two stranger''s Alex just couldn''t help but think where he had seen these two people were, coming up with nothing Alex thought it would be best just to greet them. "Eh, hello. May I help you?" asked Alex.


    "Hahaha, well we couldn''t help but see somebody finally entering this house, so we were just curious to meet our neighbor." said the man, while smiling.


    Alex was confused for a second before he smiled and replied to the man, "Ahh, I see, well come on in, but I''m afraid I won''t be able to offer you much hospitality. My name is Alex by the way"


    "Oh, where are my manners I''m Gorou Hyoudou and this is my wife Miyumi," said Gorou with a smile. Alex suddenly froze, "Fuck no wonder I recognized these two, there Issei''s parents and the baby must be Issei if I''m not mistaking. Well either that or it''s one of the lost ones" Alex thought.


    Seeing Alex stop moving Gorou couldn''t help but ask worriedly, "Mr, Alex is something wrong?", "No, no and please just call me Alex", said Alex as he leads the two to his living room. "Then you can just call me Gorou," said Gorou, "And me Miyumi" Gorou''s wife chipped in giving a warm smile. "Very well," said Alex


    ...


    In the living room, Alex sat down with Gorou and Miyumi sitting opposite him sitting on sofas. "So, Alex what brings you back to Kuoh town, having been gone for so long you must have come back for a reason?" asked Gorou, Alex thought for a moment before replying, "I have been traveling the world, going to new places exploring untreated forests and mountains, It''s just along the way it started feeling empty, it was no longer as fun as it was before. That''s when I realized I missed home and decided to come back, unfortunately, a storm hit the ship I was on and we capsized somewhere in the Atlantic ocean."


    "That''s horrible," Said Miyumi coving her mouth in shock. "Indeed," said Gorou with a serious expression before smiling "how did you manage to come back?". "I was lucky when the ship capsized I blacked out and woke up on a drifting piece of the haul, I stayed on that piece of wood for a long time and just as I couldn''t take it anymore I saw a ship. At first, I thought I was hallucinating but even if I were I didn''t care because I would die anyway if I didn''t get help so I swam with all the strength that remained in me and to my luck the ship wasn''t a hallucination," said Alex as he lied through his teeth with a straight face.


    "Well, were just happy nothing happened to you or we would never be able to meet our neighbor," said Gorou while scratching the back of his head. "Mhmm" Miyumi agreed with a smile.


    "Now, why don''t you tell me a little about yourself, or more preferably this little miracle resting there?" asked Alex as he pointed with his eyes at Miyuki''s stomach. "Ha," Gorou'' gave a sad laugh and looked at Miyuki''s stomach with a hopefully gaze, " We have been trying to conceive for a long time, having had two miscarriages this will be our third and final attempt" continued Gorou. Miyuki''s eye''s turned red as tears threatened to come out.


    Alex face turned soft as he heard them, "Don''t worry, it will be fine this time all you should do is believe and pray honestly and everything else will be fine." he consoled them. "Your absolutely right," Gorou said with renewed vigor and Miyuki smiled as she looked at Garou then turned to Alex and said, "Thank you".


    Alex''s eyes suddenly glowed for a split second while the couple was rejoicing which caused both of them to calm down as their eyes glossed over and became dull. Alex stood up and walked towards Miyuki before kneeling in front of her then started talking to her stomach, "I guess I''ll help you this time you little shit, in return, make sure you grow big and strong as to protect those that you love. Don''t disappoint my little shit.", with that Alex place his hand on Miyuki''s stomach and mumbled a word, "praesidium", a light came from Alex''s hand and entered Miyuki''s womb.


    "That will protect you, though not very strong it will at least keep your life force from dissipating while also staying with you after birth. Unfortunately, it won''t protect you from your predetermined death, but if I were to stop that the future would be too unpredictable and I fear I would be doing more harm than good," said Alex as he returned to his seat. He sat down and everything returned to normal the couple rejoicing as if nothing happened.


    ...


    After talking for some more, the couple finally decided to head home. Alex leads them to the front door and waved them goodbye afterwords.


    Returning into the house Alex couldn''t help but frown as he looked at his dust-covered home, feeling ashamed that he had company while his house was in such a state. With a snap of his thingers, a tiny tornado started running through his house sucking in all the dust and spider webs while leaving everything else untouched. After that Alex went upstairs and entered his room.


    From his pocket space, Alex pulled out a transparent crystal that shined in white light. "Ahhh, an elemental crystal or more precisely with this one a light elemental crystal," thought Alex as he stared at the crystal, "They are known to be created by highly concentrated elemental energy and are usually used as catalysts to either very powerful magics or certain specific magics. They are also known as some of the hardest things in existence" thought Alex as he clenched his fist crushing the crystal to dust, "Well maybe that last part is a bit exaggerated".


    With the crystal dust, he started meticulously drawing a magic circle by poring the dust.

 9 Chapter 9: "My Master"

    After laying down the magic circle Alex infused a bit of his mana into the circle to make the dust melt into each other effectively solidifying the circle. He then placed eight other light elemental crystals on the edge of the magic circle equally spaced from one another. Having done that he stepped back.


    "Ok, the summoning circle is complete, with this I will be able to summon my elemental companion without any problem''s," thought Alex as a warm smile plastered his face thinking about seeing his old friend again.


    Standing in front of the magic circle Alex started undressing until he was completely naked, then he placed his hands together and invoked in his mind, "Mythanar". His body slowly started becoming thinner as his muscles became sleeker and his bones smaller. His black hair turned white and became longer until it reached his shoulders, his facial features turned sharper while his ears grew longer and pointed, his eyes became larger and became a forest green. After the transformation the appearance of Mythanar Shaharice was revealed, the Great sage in all his naked glory.


    With a snap of his fingers, a robe covered him, the sure robe was covered in ancient runes and strings attached to glowing crystals hung from it. Green leather boots and pants appeared on him which had very fine and intricate leave patterns on them.


    Having dressed himself Mythanar spoke, "Although I have all the power of my previous lives in my original body, it''s always better to be in a form I am most familiar with when casting my magic.", his voice was gentle like the wind and ethereal as time. "Now first thing first is to isolate my home so that other''s can''t sneak a peek at me," Mythanar said with a dubious smile on his face.


    Holding out his hand a large crystal appeared, It looked almost Identical to an Elemental crystal only that it wasn''t giving off any light and was covered in numerous ruins. "This should do it, It was created for this very purpose anyway so might as well use it." Holding the crystal into the air Mythanar spoke, "Safeguard from invaders, activate Bastion Of Light" The crystal burst into pieces and to his design formed a shield around his house while enforcing his home at the same time. "Thought I originally made it guard our empire should the heroes failed to kill the demon king and buy enough time to figure out a way to destroy him, guess it will work for this as well."


    ...


    Standing in front of the Summoning circle Mythanar cut his finger and dripped a drop of his blood in the middle, then he started chanting while supplying the circle with his own manna, "Hear me oh sacred angels, oh treaders of light and beings of salvation, I do call to thee. Heed me and come to my aid, follow me and help bring salvation to this world, I summon thee Prime-Elemental of Light."


    Finishing his chant mythanar slammed his palm onto the floor right in front of the circle and unleashed a horrifying amount of manna into it. "Come forth, Aura queen of light"


    A blinding flash appeared as the summoning circle lit up, and from that light stepped what could only be described as a heavenly figure, it was a woman which looked like she was clad within pure light her, expression was cold but an air of purity that could not be explained surrounded causing all to avert there eye''s less they tainted this her with there mortal thoughts.


    "Who summons m..." the woman started speaking, her voice as celestial as her appearance, but stopped halfway, her face contorted into shock as it lost all of it previous coldness and her eye''s tears up. In a flash of light, she appeared in front of Mythandar her heavenly voice screaming while she tackled him, "Master!".


    Mythandar lied on the ground with a wry expression as he stared with loving eyes at the woman as she hugged him while affectionately rubbing her face on his chest, tears of happiness streaming from her eyes. Putting his right hand on her head gently rubbing it while trying to soothe her, "There, their little one, there''s no need to be like this.", The woman suddenly stood up from him and crossed her arms, "Stinky master, leaving me alone for so may millennia", she spoke as she pouted and turned her head to look away from him.


    Mythandar slowly stood up chuckling as he looked at how the woman acted, "Aura, you know it wasn''t intentional. How could I bear to leave my beautiful companion all alone in the elemental plain?", said Mythandar. "Yeah and about that," Aura suddenly faced Mythandar with an angry look, "How could you just go and sacrifice yourself like that, was really that important to slay that demon king even at the cost of your own life.", Mythandar looked at Aura with a sad smile, "You know it was my time, I have already told you about my story."


    Aura''s expression softened as she stared as Mythandar, "So is this the final life?" she asked, Mythandar looked at her and shook his head, "No, this is my reward". His words shocked her for a while but slowly her expression changed to one of bliss and for the second time she tackled him to the ground, hugging him "That''s great", she screamed.


    ...


    "So this how you look now," asked Aura as she stared at Alex with a curious expression while circling him and looking up and down as if to imprint his image into her soul. Feeling a little awkward being so thoroughly investigated Alex could only nod his head and agree, "Yeah, this is my form in this life, it''s also my original form before I made a deal with Yris".


    " I see, so this is how master looked in the beginning, it''s much better than that broken and scared old man Lambert." Aura said jovial, causing Alex to nearly faint in frustration, "Who the fuck are you calling broken, and the scars were brought from fighting thousands of battles. It might not make him look as handsome as he was but it gives him character." Alex thought.


    Alex first met Aura as the Paladin Lambert, at the time he was already an aged veteran but she was just a newly born Elemental, a small wisp. He rescued her from a magician that wanted to study her. Taking her with him he spend 50-years to find a way to get her into the elemental plane. During this time he had fed her with his own divine energy, slowly but surely she gained sentience and before entering the elemental plain she could already communicate with him. At that time she had been quite sad to part with him since she thought that would be the last time she met this old knight, she could tell he was at the end of his life and this saddened her to no end.


    Many years later she had grown to become a prime elemental, the peak of her race. She looked down on everything in the elemental plain but no matter what she had a hole in her heart that could never be filled and every time she remembered that old and kind paladin she would feel a biting pain.


    One day while sulking in solitude she felt someone trying to summon a light elemental, usually, she would just ignore it but this time the summons called to her, she could feel a familiar soul calling out to her and to her joy it was the old paladin''s soul. Not thinking of how he could still be alive she answered the summons and was summoned to another world.


    That was the second time she met him, at the time she asked him why he was an elf and he told her everything. Aura spends the next few thousand years by his side, it was the greatest time she had ever had since parting with him, but all good things must come to an end. He died, sacrificing himself to destroy a powerful enemy and she was returned to the elemental plane, waiting for him to summon her again.


    Aura looked at Alex with affectionate eyes as she thought, "I have returned to your side, My Master".

 10 Chapter 10: Going To Church

    A few days later.


    Alex woke up early in the morning, he opened his bedroom door and saw Aura doing the same. When she spotted him her face turned cold. "Morning, Master," she said with a flat tone, "Morning Aura, sleep well", Alex said while walking past her not caring for her attitude. "Yes, I enjoyed sleeping alone", Aura said with a huff. "Right" replied Alex, as he entered the bathroom Aura, followed him but was unfortunately for her blocked when Alex closed the door in her face and locked it.


    Hearing the door locked, Aura''s face turned red from anger, how that was possible for a being made of we''ll never know but it happened. She sulked as she walked down the stair''s towards the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for Alex, "Stinky master, still not letting me wash him"


    ...


    After freshening up, Alex came downstairs dressed in a formal black suit and tie. "Hooo, master looks handsome!", said Aura as she put some food on the dining table for Alex. "Thank you," said Alex, sitting down at the table while starting with his breakfast. "You should get dressed as well, make it formal," he said after swallowing a mouth full of food"


    Aura looked down at her clothes, then back to Alex in confusion. "First of all we can''t have you walking around with clothes made of light, I luckily took the liberty of buying (Stealing) you something to wear for the occasion. You will find the dress in the closet in your room", said Alex.


    Aura was simply ecstatic and disappeared in a flash of light, the next thing Alex heard was a lot of shuffling coming from upstairs and then hurried footsteps with a door opening and slamming shut in between.


    Hearing her coming down the stairs Alex turned towards the direction and couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow when he saw her new appearance. Aura was already a light elemental which made her physical manifestation look pure and holy, but coupled with the simple white one-piece dress he got her it made her shine even brighter. "I might have overdone it a bit", Alex seriously contemplated while staring at Aura.


    Aura was in high heaven having Alex stair at her and gave him a twirl to so of her looks. "Well?" she asked with a bright face. "You look lovely", Alex said moving to Aura and rubbing her head. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the attention for a while and when Alex wanted to retrieve his hand her head unconsciously followed it but stopped before she embarrassed herself.


    ...


    Leaving the house Alex started walking in a certain direction with Aura who was holding his hand, enjoying her time with him. "Where are we going Master?", Aura asked with a bright smile. "To churches" came Alex''s curt reply. His answer caused Aura to suddenly stop, her face covered in worry, "Why? did they summon you? what do they ..." Alex stopped her by squeezing her hand and then spoke in a gentle tone, "Silly child, you misunderstand, that was another life, another world, and under different circumstances".


    ...


    The duo finally arrived at the church and entered with other people coming to attend. Finding a seat Alex and Aura sat down and patiently waited for the sermon to begin.


    The priest finally appeared on the podium and started speaking, Aura leaned against Alex''s shoulder and send him a telepathic message, "I can feel faint traces of light energy in him". Alex kept staring at the man before sending a message of his own to Aura, "Yes, he must be one of the exorcist''s living in the city, his name should be Masaomi Yaegaki.".


    "Masaomi Yaegaki, in a few years he will be killed by his own people for loving a devil. There is nothing I can do about your death, but since I will be needing Cleria''s help I will protect her for now." Thought Alex while listening to the sermon.


    When it was over they left with the rest of the people. Walking on the street Aura couldn''t contain her curiosity anymore and asked Alex a question, " Why did we go to church and don''t tell me is to listen to that man speaking". Alex stopped walking and turned his attention to Aura, "Well it''s not to listen to him, but to scout out a place we will be returning to in the future", Alex said with a mysterious smile. "What does that mean?" asked Aura clearly confused. "You will know when the time comes," said Alex not explaining any further. "Mooo" Aura could only grow in dissatisfaction while walking with Alex.


    ...


    After thinking for a bit Alex went to the shop to get himself a phone, he didn''t really need something expensive since the only thing he wanted to do is call with it. He bought himself a cheap disposable before returning home.


    "What''s that for" Aura finally asked after they entered the house, "It''s a device used to communicate with other people, they use similar devices like this one and we can talk to each other through it," Alex explained as he put his phone on charge.


    "I''ll prepare some lunch," said Aura as she excused herself from his company. Alex nodded and she turned around and went into the kitchen. Alex didn''t really need to eat and neither did Aura but he still felt like doing it, having a normal life is something he wants to do even if it sounds ridiculous given his power, Aura just followed his lead.


    ...


    After lunch, Alex thought about his next move and decided to start by making contact with Cleria Belial. "Now the only problem is how to approach her. I can''t very well just appear in front of her and say ''hey, please tell me how to go to hell'' that would just be stupid. After getting that knowledge I will postpone my trip until after I checked the situation in Kyoto. I should also let the Hyoudou''s know that I might be gone for a year or two just so as not to worry them, but my biggest concern is Aura, as a light elemental I can''t take her to hell with me, it would be like starting an on fire in the middle of a monster infected wood while yelling ''Fresh meet overhear''. I should just ask the Hyoudou''s to keep an eye on her while I''m gone because she''s sure as "hell" not going back to the elemental plane.


    "Well that''s settled then," said Alex out loud as he stood up from the table.

 11 Chapter 11: Playing With Devils

    Nighttime in a forested area of the park.


    Alex stood there in the middle of the woods with Aura next to him, "Ok, I think it''s time you go home little one." Alex said as he turned to Aura. " I won''t" Aura flatly refused him. "Go, I won''t be long" Alex ignored her refusal as he looked at the sky.


    "..." Aura wanted to refuse but looking at Alex now she knew that she had better listen or risk making him angry, It was still fine if he argued with her but when he ignored her protest it meant there was no need to even try any further the only thing it will bring her is is anger.


    ...


    After Aura left Alex slowly started undressing until he was completely nude and put his clothes in his storage space. Closing his eye''s he invoked in his mind "Mournomon".


    His body started to rapidly grow larger as armor-like scales covered his neck and joints and two horns grew from his head and curved downward to either side of his face. His facial features became wild looking and his eye''s turned purple with a slit in the place of a pupil.


    After the transformation, he stood 2.2 meters tall, with a very muscular physique. Pulling from his pocket space a robe that covered his lower half he quickly puts it on. "There," thought Mournomon, turning in a certain direction he walked deeper into the wooded area.


    Stopping after a few minutes of walking Mournomon started releasing a tiny bit of his aura to attract the surrounding supernatural. "This should get her attention thought Mournomon". His plan was very simple, go into the woods attract other supernatural and after crushing them he would finally be able to bring out the caretaker.


    ...


    Standing in the middle of the forest Mounomon released a tiny bit of magical aura, many supernatural all over Kuoh town immediately sensed this foreign aura and went to investigate. Mournomon just stood there in the woods with his eye''s closed, sensing five devils approaching he turned in there direction just before they appeared in front of him. "Ahhh, my bait is here", said Mournomon with a wild smile.


    Before the devils could even comprehend his words Mournomon disappeared from where he stood only to repeat in front of one of the devils, the devil immediately tried to back off but wasn''t fast enough thus paid for it with a massive slap hitting the right side of his face sending him spinning into the air as his teeth flew out of his mouth and falling on the ground, not moving an inch.


    Silence prevailed the wood as the devil''s four companions looked in shock at what just happened, it happened too quickly that they couldn''t even respond before one of them went down and with a slap among all things.


    Mournomon not being the kind of dragon to give others time to think was moving towards his next victim, jumping into the air and making the still shocked devil have an intimate moment with his foot, the devil couldn''t even make a sound before he passed out from the blow. By now the other three demons finally started responding to him, one of them attacked him with what looked like a knife while the other two released blasts of dark energy at him.


    Ignoring the feeble attempts of magick the two devils were casting at him Mournomon rushed towards the devil trying to attack him with a knife. Rushing forward Mournomon slammed into the devil without stopping, needless to say, the devil didn''t have a good experience. Leaving behind the knife-wielding devil which lied on the ground with limbs that didn''t look like they were supposed to bend that way and a not so inconspicuous foot size cavity in his chest, Mournomon rushed towards the last two devils of the group that were doing there best to escape.


    Unfortunately for them, they didn''t even have time to give the third step before his shadow was looming over them. Two screens echoed through the forest.


    Mournomon stood over the motionless bodies of the devils while dusting his hands against each other, "Well that was disappointing, couldn''t even give me a good warm-up" he said. Turning north Mournomon gave a terrifying smile, "Looks like I have more guests," afterward another three devils appeared, when they saw the unconscious devils on the ground they were visibly stricken by this sight.


    "Don''t worry, you be joining them soon", Mournomon said giving them a wild smile before charging into them. They couldn''t even muster any strength to resist before he crushed. "This is getting boring" thought Mournomon as knocked the last of the three devils to the ground.


    Just as Mournomon wanted to call it a night, he found a devil flying in his direction, "Flying? must be a high-devil, let''s hope it''s her." thought Mournomon as he looked at the devil''s direction. Soon he saw it or her, to be more precise.


    Floating just above the tree line a beautiful woman stared down at Mournomon, "So your the one who''s been making all this noise", she said with a frown. Mournomon looked at her for a while before asking with his guttural voice, "I presume you are Cleria Belial caretaker of Kuoh town". "I am...", said Cleria with a frown then continued "...but who are you?"


    "Where are my manners," Mournomon said causing Cleria to calm down a bit but when she saw him looking around she couldn''t help but ask, "What are you looking for", Mournomon looked up at her confusedly "My manners," he said scratching the back of his head. "You..." Cleria was mad and were about to attack when Mournomon held his hand up to stop her, "Ok, ok I might have overdone it a bit, no need to blow a fuse. My name is Mournomon, now could you please come down before I hurt a neck muscle."


    Cleria slowly descended about ten meters from Mournomon standing in a defensive stance she asks "Ok, what do you want".

 12 Chapter 12: Deal With A Devil

    Within a beautifully furnished of a Mansion in Kuoh town.


    A large man was casually lazing on a couch while looking at a woman that sat across from him. The man had scaled armor around his neck and at his joints while two horns grew from the side of his head curving downwards with pure silver hair in between hanging till his waist. The woman was very beautiful with gray hair and an hourglass figure.


    "So, would you mind telling me now why you caused such a ruckus just to meet with me?" asked the lady. The man could easily tell that the woman wasn''t happy with his actions and so he got straight to the point, "I need a way into hell?". The lady just looked at him for a while, "You could have asked a Lott of other devils why would you ask me?" the lady asked after some time.


    "Two reasons", said the man while holding up two fingers, "One, I thought you should have the easiest method, being as you are someone of rather high authority and two, I wanted to establish a friendly relationship with you".


    "I get the first part but the second has me confused, causing trouble as a first impression isn''t the best way to gain my favor." the lady said. "Well, that is subjective since I doubt we would be having such a nice conversation if I didn''t show off a little." said the man with a smirk.


    "I see, now I have a personal portal into hell, but what do I get in return for letting you use it." asked the lady.


    "I''ll be straight with you Cleria, I don''t just want to use your teleporter, I want to know how to create my own." the man said.


    Cleria thought for a moment before speaking, "Ok, but the price must be worth it, Mournomon"


    Mournomon held up three fingers. "I didn''t think you would foolish enough to try and buy it with money now," Cleria said with disdain, which merely caused Mournomon to smirk.


    "I think you are mistaken my dear, I would never dein to offer you money what I am offering is three lives".


    "Please elaborate", Ceria said.


    Mournomon put his hand on the tea table between them and with a flash, a single blood-red coin appeared. "This coin contains a special aura within it if you inject it with mana it will release said aura. I can sense this aura within a thousand kilometer''s, you can use it for three times and for three time''s I will answer it''s summons, but you can only use this within the area under Kuoh town''s influence and you can only use it to save your own life."


    "What make''s you think you can save me from something that not even I can defend against what gi..." Cleria was stopped mid-sentence when a horrifying draconic aura defended upon her, this aura held no arrogance or disdain one would usually find in a dragons aura, no what she felt was resentment to all creation and a feeling of deep heartbreaking sorrow that could not be explained. Before Cleria could understand what was happening the aura disappeared as if nothing happened, she looked towards her maid standing only ten meters away waiting to be given a task but said looked completely normal as if she had not felt anything. Cleria first thought she was hallucinating until she met a pair of purple eyes with her own and out of instinct she knew where the aura originated from.


    "Convinced my dear," asked Mournomon.


    Cleria closed her eyes and released a breath she didn''t know she was holding before opening her eyes again, "Yes, I apologize for doubting you." Cleria said with a bowed head, the feeling she felt caused her to break out in cold sweat. When she first met Mournomon she felt that he was no stronger than herself, together with him fighting those devils she was sure she could beat him if she gave it her all, but now she couldn''t help but smile ruefully at the thought, how the hell should she fight this monster that could suffocate her just by releasing its aura.


    Mournomon just started laughing when he saw how Cleria was acting, "There''s no need for this girl, I''m not offended or anything, you will find I am much more reasonable than most." Mournomon said with a smile.


    "Hmm? ah...yes. About the trade, I will get you a book that explains everything about magic portals and more specifically about how to create one that leads to hell." Said Cleria after clearing her mind a bit.


    ...


    After finishing his business with Cleria Mournomon quickly left and started heading home turning back to his base form along the way.


    Reaching his house Alex quickly entered, walking into his house Alex found Aura sitting on the couch sulking. "I''m back," Alex said but silence greeted him as Aura refused to even look at him. Giving her a final Alex ignored her and headed up to his room.


    He grabbed an empty suitcase filled it with clothes from his pocket space before heading downstairs again while drawing the suitcase behind him on its wheels. Reaching the bottom Alex found Aura still sitting on the couch sulking.


    Alex gave a mischievous smile before speaking in an overly dramatic voice, "Well time to head to Kyoto, by Aura take good care of the house while I''m gone".


    Alex didn''t even get to give one step before Aura grabbed his leg''s "Nooooo, no, no, no, MAAAASsteeeer donn''tttt leeeeaaaveee Meeeeeee!!!!!!" Aura practically screamed as she held onto Alex''s legs like a Koala, making it impossible for him to move them one inch. She stared up at him with her beautiful sky-blue eyes as tears streamed out of them. With a quivering lip Aura spoke with pleading tone "Please take me with you".


    "I don''t know, you didn''t even greet your master when he arrived, you even ignored him. How can I take such an undisciplined servant with me" Alex said giving a very punchable facial expression.


    "Aura will be good, she promises, Aura will listen to master please don''t leave me alone", Aura said her tears overflowing and without realizing it she started reversing to herself in the third perspective.


    Alex immediately knew he had to stop and threw the suitcase he had been drawing behind him in his dimensional pocket, putting his hand on her head he looked her in the eye, " Ok, fine but you will have to behave yourself".


    His words were like heaven to Aura who immediately nodded her, "Yes, yes, yes. Aura will be good she will be good yes she will", Standing up she hugged Alex before skipping towards the door while humming.


    "How the hell am I going to leave her here when I go to Hell," thought Alex as he followed her out the house.

 13 Chapter 13: Trip To Kyoto

    Stepping out of the train at Kyoto station Alex looked around, "Quite lively isn''t it" Alex asked as he watched the crowd moving about. Aura standing by his side looked around curiously, nodding her head.


    Exiting the station Alex stepped onto the streets of Kyoto, choosing a random direction he started walking. Aura quietly followed Alex, looking around with curious eyes. "Where are we going, Master?" Aura asked not able to contain her curiosity anymore.


    "To where my feet take me," Alex said as he kept walking


    ...


    Walking past numerous building Alex had a slight smile as he explored the city, he never stopped just kept walking while looking at the sights along the way. On multiple times Aura wanted to stop, but to her dismay, Alex just kept walking.


    Alex finally stopped after the two entered a giant bamboo forest. He had moved off the designated path and found a little clearing within the bamboo forest, there he quietly lied down on the ground using his hands as pillows.


    ...


    Aura had been watching Alex for the whole time since he exited the station, she had seen him walk randomly directions, she had seen him merely glance at the beautiful buildings and temple''s and now she saw him lie down in the middle of a bamboo forest not uttering a word. Aura was beyond confused, she didn''t understand what her master was doing, thou that was nothing new because most of the things he did had always escaped her sense, but this time was special because she was totally clueless, there was no hints or anything to explain what she could only call madness that had taken over her Master.


    Still, deep in thought, Alex''s voice drifted into her ears causing her to snap back in attention, "Figured it out yet?" he asked not even making the effort to look at her as he took a deep breath through his nose and released it out his mouth. Aura watched on as he kept repeating this action.


    Aura sat down by his side as she watched him closely, her Master was never one to make things easy on her, he would leave her to figure out most things by herself saying something like, "You can''t always depend on me" or "There will come time''s when I won''t be there to help you, at which point you can only depend on yourself", Aura understood this, of course, she had experienced such situations before but it didn''t mean she liked what he was doing.


    Calming her thought''s Aura watched Alex closely, trying to figure out what his goal was why she was just lying there breathing in and out. She kept watching him looking as closely as possible for anything, but to her agony, she didn''t find anything useful from his actions. This didn''t mean she would give up, but it was a foreboding event that will cause her ahead ache to try to figure everything out."


    ...


    30 Minutes Later


    Aura was scratching her head while looking at Alex mumbling, "Each breath is exactly the same as the last everything is exactly the same, but why?...."


    ...


    3 Hours Later


    Aura was scratching her head still looking at Alex who hasn''t budged an inch. "What is it? What is it Master''s doing? Come on Aura think."


    ...


    6 Hours Later


    Aura started pulling on her hair as she stared at the motionless Alex with bloodshot eyes, "There must be something, something."


    ...


    10 hours Later


    "Something..." Aura mumbled, her bloodshot eyes half-closed as she tried to stave off her terrible headache. Worst she still hadn''t found a clue.


    Just as she was about to rest a little, Alex finally moves to cause her to shoot to her feat waiting in bated breath for his next move. Alex stood up the stretched while giving a long outstretched yawn. Looking around he was stunned when he met the completely red eyes of Aura.


    "Aura, are you okay?", Alex asked concerned. His voice brought Aura from her daze as she quickly went to grab his shirt with tears once again threatening to come out, "Master, help me! I just can''t do it!"


    Looking at Aura, Alex could only sigh. He didn''t expect her to get anything it was just a probe. She was an elemental thus she should have been very sensitive to other energies, but she found nothing while he had been inhaling and exhaling spiritual energies in massive quantities.


    "Spiritual energy, Aura" Alex finally spoke. Aura stared at him blankly for a moment before realization struck her as her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.


    She staggered backward while mumbling to herself self "I''ve been staring at Master this whole time while he breathes in spiritual energy and then breath it out, but only now that I think about it how is that possible?", looking up at Alex she asked again, "Master how can you use spiritual energy."


    "Secret" Alex said with a smile as he started walking out of the forest. "Come on lets head home".


    Aura was following him while speaking in shock, "But Master, didn''t we come here for a reason", Alex without looking back spoke, "Already did what I came to do".


    ...


    While Aura was bussy staring at Alex like an idiot he had been connecting himself to the lay lines of Kyoto, as a Titan, he had been able to absorb any energy in the universe and use it to strengthen himself. Though Titans, can''t use this energy for anything else but strengthening themselves or for healing if there was ever in there life a chance to actually take damage. Alex no longer being a titan could still connect and absorb these energies as he had done in the past, the difference is he could now not only absorb these energies but manipulate them as he would with mana or his aura.


    Having connected to the spiritual leyline in Kyoto, Alex used it to find a very special fox, it was quite easy seeing as she was the very center of Kyoto''s spiritual leylines. With that done he merely took a look at how the fox was doing, though he was easily found out so he cut his connection that he took so long to make to the Leyline.


    ...


    "Master, why did you choose the bamboo forest of all places to lei down, there were many other places with just as much spiritual energy?" asked Aura as the two were taking the train back to Kuoh.


    "Well, the forest is more peaceful which makes it less likely to be disturbed." Alex gave her a quick reply.


    "Aura, I might have to leave you at Kuoh for a while" Alex spoke abruptly, his words causing a relaxing Aura to suddenly tense as his head spun his way.

 14 Chapter 14: Entering The Underworld

    Sitting quietly in his room Alex was staring at the teleportation circle in front of his, at least that was what he hoped it was. He had read the book he got from Cleria from the beginning to the end, he had studied the material to the finest detail even done some tests and only one thought came to his mind after he was done, "Well Fuck".


    The entire thing made his head hurt, it wasn''t that he didn''t understand the concept that the book was about it was that he couldn''t stop cursing at the person who wrote it. The whole thing was a mess, starting from the ingredients needed for the portal all the way to the rune''s used to make it. Not only was it ridiculously expensive, but each use also used at least 300% more energy as it should have.


    Alex himself was well versed in portals and teleportation, he just needed to know a location and he could easily teleport there at any second. In the end, the way the teleportation portal of the book was just too primitive to him, but as a pioneer of magic, he would give the portal in the book a chance.


    Thus began his week-long extortion of materials from random devils in Kuoh town. He would turn into Mournomon and start stripping down any devil he found for materials, it became so bad that Cleria had come to him while he was dangling a devil from its feet, meeting him she didn''t say anything and just gave him the remaining ingredients before swiftly leaving but he could see the irritation in her eye''s. Promising himself he would give her a present when he comes back.


    He didn''t want to use the portal stated in the book for two reasons. First, it felt unsafe and second the way it worked, it would link two portals with each other which means the one in front of him and an already constructed one in the underworld. The book gave a few different portals in the underworld that he could teleport to but he didn''t want to do it that way.


    Against his better judgment, he decided to tamper with the portal and the results were that it would transport him to a random spot in hell, he hoped"


    Having shifted into Mournomon he waved goodbye to Aura who was looking at him said he molested her, tears dropping from her eyes, and stepped into the portal. Before he was teleported away he heard her softly say "Stay safe Master". And then in a flash, he was gone.


    ...


    Unknown Location In The Underworld.


    With a flash, Mournomon fell from the sky slamming into the ground, "It''s official, I hat teleportation", said Mournomon before slowly standing up from the crater he made on the ground.


    Looking around Mournomon inspected where he was, "Well, all I see are trees so, might as well pick a direction and get moving,". Massive dragon wings appeared behind him as he flew in a random direction.


    After flying for an unknown amount of time he sensed the presence of several individuals in front of him and quickly headed towards it. "I wonder If I can reason with these devils to give me some directions," he thought.


    ...


    "Is everything prepared", a devil, presumably the leader, asked another as he looked at the rest of his team. "Yes, sir", answered the devil next to him. The group comprised of eight individuals, all of them were mid devils except for the leader, he was a high devil.


    "Okay, we will strike the Sitri household as soon as it becomes dark, I want you an..., who''s there!" the leader was still mid-sentence before he felt someone approach and immediately shouted.


    What responded to his call was a huge man falling from the sky and slamming into the ground not thirty meters from them. The man stood over two meter''s tall with white hair and horns growing from the side of his head, curving downwards. He wore nothing but a robe around his waist made of white material and golden symbols on it.


    ...


    Mournomon had heard the last few sentences of these devils and he couldn''t be happier with it. Not only could he get rid of potential danger to one of his objectives here he could also keep one of these devils alive to help him figure out where he is.


    Having landed not so far from the devils, Mournomon walked forward while giving the devil a happy smile. "I am but a traveler," said Mournomon as he stepped closer to them.


    The leader of the group was immediately put on edge when he saw Mournomon. Showed his men a signal to get ready, he stepped forward while the rest of the group flanked Mournomon, "How may we help you, traveler, do you kneed directions?", the leader asked, he couldn''t let this man escape or there could be big problems for them.


    "Yes, I would like to know where I am exactly, you see I got lost along the way and have been wondering for quite some time," said Mournomon as he stopped ten meters from the devil groups leader.


    "We are currently in the Sitri family''s domain if you..." the leader stopped talking after seeing that they had fully surrounded this stranger, giving a vicious smile he spoke, "Hah, fool, kill him" the leader gave the command before standing back watching as his men charged at the stranger.


    ...


    Seeing the seven devil''s charge towards him, Mournomon gave a little chuckle before stepping forward towards the closest devil. His foot made the ground crack as underneath it as he pushed forward, appearing almost instantly in front of the devil he thrust his right hand forward piercing it into the devil''s chest before gripping its heart and ripping it out.


    The other devils were stunned for a moment before reforming there attack, but this moment is all Mounomon needed as he threw the heart into one of the approaching devil''s faces and taking the opportunity of its destruction to deal with another devil that had approached his left.


    The devil trusted forward with its spear only for the weapon to be grabbed by Mounomon who pulled on it and lifted it with the devil still holding it, slamming the poor devil into the ground. The earth beneath the devil shattered as the devil died in an instant.


    Three devils appeared behind Mournomon, thrusting their spears against his back. With a bang, the spears connected, but before the devils could celebrate the sound of those spears tips shattering rang in their ears. Looking at where they struck Mournomon there was only a slight white mark not even enough to be called a scratch.


    The final nail in the coffin was when they heard what Mournomon said, "That tickles", they immediately started retreating but it was too late. Mournomon disappeared from there vision and reappeared next to the rightmost devil, impaling the devil with his left arm mournomon threw the impaled devil at the other two, not being able to dodge in time they were slammed by the body of there comrade and fell heavily on the ground only coming to a stop after a few rounds of rolling.


    Mournomon finally turned to the last three individuals, the leader the guy that had the heart threw against his face and another on who was shaking crazily from fear. Not wanting to waste more time than needed Mournomon charged at the devil who had the heart thrown against his face, the devil only looked at Mournomon for a second before turning around wanting to flee.


    Mournomon reached him in a second and pushed his right hand into the devil''s lower back and griped its spine. With a tug and a lot of screaming from the devil, he ripped out the entire spinal cord, cutting the devils scream short right before tearing its head from its body, but making sure it''s still attached to the spine.


    Mournomon turned towards the shaking devil which was now on its knee''s beginning for mercy. Just as Mournomon wanted to put the devil out of its begging misery he was hit with a huge amount of magic energy that did absolutely nothing other than to annoy him, turning towards it source he saw the devil leader preparing another spell. Mournomon griped the spinal cord with the head attached to it and swung it at towards the begging devil letting go of the cord and letting it fly forward with a massive amount of force. The head-on the spinal cord and the devil''s head hit each other with such force that both caved in ending another devil''s life.


    The devil leader finally shot out its magic which was in the form of a massive ball of energy, it flew towards Mournomon with great speed ready to unleash its might on anything it was set upon. Mournomon swiped his hand at the spell and slammed it with his palm like a volleyball towards the two unconscious devils on the ground causing them and the ground around them to be obliterated by the magic.


    ...


    The leader''s face was pale, his magic was depleted and his will was broken. "What a monster he thought as he saw Mournomon walking towards him. He wanted to flee but couldn''t and to make it worse his legs finally gave in under his fright, falling forward he caught himself with his arms but a shadow loomed over him. He looked up and there stood Mournomon with the same smile he had when he first appeared in front of them, no it should be that the smile had never left his face even as he slew all of the devil leaders comrades.


    Mournomon''s purple eye''s burned brightly as he spoke while still smiling, "Beg, to whatever gods you worship"

 15 Chapter 15: Sorkin

    Mournomon stood in front of the devil group leader, staring down at the devil, his "warm" smile sending chills down the devil''s spine.


    "So little devil," said Mournomon as he picked the devil up by his neck, lifting him until their eyes were level, "what do you think happens now". The devil had problems breathing from Mournomons grip, but manage to squeeze out a single word, "P-please."


    "I think were past apologies, so we will start by how you are useful or," Mournomon''s smile disappeared, "If, you''re useful". The devil nodded his head or at least tried as it was still clutched in Mournomon''s grip. "Good," said Mournomon as he released the devil. The devil fell to the ground coughing.


    "What''s your name," asked Mournomon not caring for the devil''s plight, the devil stared up at him with a confused expression. "What you thought I wouldn''t care for who you were, I am a civilized dragon." Mournomon looked down at the devil with disdain.


    "My name is Sorkin", the devil said, Mournomon stared at the devil or Sorkin for a while, "Okay then ... Sorkin, previously you said we were in the Sitri house''s domain or was that just you talking bullshit?",


    "No, no we are in the Sitri domain, I didn''t lie", Sorkin quickly said


    "Good, now which way to the Sitri residence?"


    "It''s that way if you fly that way for about three hours, you will come across their main house", Sorkin said


    "Good, let''s go", Mournomon said as he started heading in the direction Sorkin stated.


    "Sir?", Sorkin didn''t know what to do and just stared at Mournomon''s departing back. Mournomon stopped after a few steps before giving Sorkin an irritated look, "Well, come on. You didn''t think I''ll be letting you off that easily or...", Mournomons eye''s started glowing, "... are you telling me you are no longer useful?".


    "No, no sir, I''m useful, if you need anything don''t hesitate to ask", Sorkin immediately understood his situation, his life ends the moment his usefulness does.


    "Good", said Mournomon about to continue walking, but stop and looked at Sorkin again waving him over, "Come here". Sorkin nervously walked closer to Mournomon and stopped a meter from him looking up in amazement. Sorkin himself wasn''t short and stood 1.83 meters tall but in front of Mournomon, he was nothing more than a dwarf.


    Mournomon slowly stretched out his finger until it touched Sorkin''s temple, Sorkin almost took a step back, when he saw the finger coming his way but luckily he stopped himself just before it touched him. A flash of red came from that finger and it entered his head, Mournomon lowered his hand, turned around and started heading in the Sitri residence direction.


    Sorkin followed after Mournomon as he tried searching for the aura that entered him, but no matter where he looked he couldn''t find it. He knew one thing though, he couldn''t escape anymore. The aura was either a way to track him down or worse a way to kill him from anywhere. Mournomon might not have explained anything, but that made it only worse because Sorkin now had no idea what to do.


    Sorkin closely followed behind Mournomon as they walked, "Why are we walking, I saw him fly so what''s the point in walking?", although that''s what Sorkin thought, he would never be able to scrape together the courage to talk to Mournomon who Sorkin thought was worse than him a devil.


    ...


    After approximately three hours of walking Mournomon stopped in his tracks, turned around and stared at Sorkin who was now shaking in his boot''s because he just realized that it would take much longer to the Sitri residence on foot.


    "Explain", Mournomon said his eyes shone as a cruel purple light glowed inside, Sorkin immediately fell to his knee''s, "Forgive my mistake, my lord", Sorkin without even realizing it had already started calling Mournomon Lord, "I did not foresee that we would be traveling on foot thus my misjudgment," Sorkin said while bowing his head while kneeling.


    "So this is my fault?" Mournamon asked as the purple light in his eyes intensified. "Of course not my Lord how can this possibly be your fault", said Sorkin, he really wanted to slap himself right now. "Stop making his mad you stupid fuck", Sorkin thought to himself


    "How long do you think we will walk to the Sitri residence", Mournomon asked,


    Sorkin thought for a moment before he spoke, "It will be another seven hours my Lord, I would also like to inform my lord that the Sitri residence is heavily guarded and if we get too close we will run into patrols of Sitri house guards."


    "I am well aware that they would have guards do not worry I will handle them when the time comes," said Mournomon.


    ...


    4 hours later.


    Walking into a clearing of the forest Mournomon suddenly stopped, Sorkin stopping right behind him looked around with a bitter smile. In from of them was a Sitri guard patrol of ten devils which consisted of one woman and nine men. Nine of the devils were low-class while the leader and only female were mid-class.


    "Halt", said the leader. She had black hair, the purple eye''s with delicate facial features, wearing tight-fitting armor which did little to hide her figure. All in all, she was gorgeous but that mattered little to Mournomon.


    "Well I''m halting, so what do you want?" said Mournomon not even caring for the rest of the guards giving him death stares.


    "This land is the private property of house Sitri and you are tres..." Before the woman could finish speaking Mournomon interrupted her, " I''m am perfectly aware of who owns this land girl, I wouldn''t be here if this wasn''t the residence of the Sitri household. Now you if you could kindly lead the way it would be much appreciated."


    Sorkin looked at the expressions of the devils and knew what Mournomon was asking for was impossible. The guards were all fuming at him and the leader was no different, having been interrupted left her in a bad mood.


    "Men, apprehend him", the female devil ordered her men. Having been given the order the guards were more than willing as they charged towards Mournomon. Mournomon could only shake his head at there response as he stared at the approaching guards.


    "So be it", Mournomon''s eyes flashed in a bright purple as he unleashed his draconic aura.

 16 Chapter 16: Goodbye Sorkin

    "So be it"


    ...


    Sorkin got ready to fight alongside Mournomon but just as he was about to give his warcry he fell to his knees. A most dreadful aura fell onto him, it took all his power just to stop him from being face-planted into the earth. With a lot of effort, he moved his head to stare at the Sitri Guard only to find them smashed to the ground unmoving or unable to move.


    Sorkin looked over at Mournomon and found him standing there as if nothing was happening but Sorkin soon found a dark red flame covering Mournimon''s body, it was this flame that made him feel so overwhelmed. "Monster", was the only thought Sorking could think of to describe Mournomon, he could easily tell that Mournomon was equal to an Ultimate class devil and that was more than enough for him to thank god for his blessing, "Agrr!" which in turn gave him a splitting headache.


    Just as the guards were reaching there limits the aura vanished, but they made no effort to stand back up.


    Sorkin could only feel the pressure but since he wasn''t the recipient of the aura''s might he didn''t know the psychological attack it gave. The aura was imbued with endless sorrow and resentment, as the aura descended on its victims it would crush them with its pressure while feeding them sorrow. The aura will bring up all there memories and fill them all with sorrow, if not stopped the victim will forever be drowned in sorrow never to awaken again.


    Making use of the sorrow to weaken your defenses, resentment will seep into your heart and soul ravaging it from the inside until nothing was left. Under this aura, one''s last thought was of endless resentment and one''s only memories boundless sorrow.


    ...


    "My name is Mournomon, I have come to speak with the head of your house", Mournomon''s voice spread out entering the ears of the guards, his voice was like salvation as it brought light back to there dead eye''s and reason back to there madness.


    The first to move was the leader as she slowly lifted herself off the ground, her body was shaking all over and her face was pale. She stared at Mournomon, her previous anger, and arrogance nowhere to be seen, only a deep sense of fear.


    "Now, would you so kindly lead me?", Mournomon asked them, but the tone he used made it clear to the Guard leader that he would not take no for an answer.


    A cheerful voice suddenly entered everybody''s ears, "Oh, so you''re the one bullying my people of house Sitri". Mournomon looked towards the source of the voice, a girl looking to be in her late teens with black hair, tied into twin-tails. She stared at Mournomon with her beautiful pink eyes.


    Mournomon stared at the girl for a few seconds, "Serafall Leviathan", was the only person Mournomon could think of while looking at the devil in front of him if her physical characteristics didn''t make it obvious then the massive amount of power he felt in the girl quickly obliterated any doubts he had.


    ...


    "A pleasure lady Leviathan", Mournomon gave Serafall a nod in respect, she smiled at him as she landed in front of her guards, "And what''s your name big guy," she asked looking at Mournomon with a curious gaze, this was the first time seeing a dragon in human form. Though most may not be able to figure out that Mournomon was a dragon, she had seen far too much not to.


    "Mournomon", he said under her gaze not affected at all, "I have heard of a new hair to the family being born and has brought a gift.", Serafall''s pupils slightly contracted at the mention of her sister, which was the new heir born to the house of Sitri".


    She stared at Mournomon warily, "What gift", all her cheerfulness gone with the wind as she spoke seriously, only something to do with her little sister could make her so serious.


    Mournomon saw her change of mood and immediately knew why even after so long he could still remember the love this girl had for her sister. "Fear not, I mean you nor your family any harm, thought my reasons for wanting to meet the little one is, unfortunately, something I cannot make clear I can only pledge that I would never harm her."


    "And how did you know it was a she?", Serafall asked but it sounded more like order as she raised her guard against Mournomon.


    Mournomon could only sigh as he saw that the discussion was going nowhere, "Lady Leviathan, I can unfortunately not tell you how I know this, I can only hope you trust me." Mournomon said as he stared her in the eyes, he didn''t try any magic or anything and only wished deep within that she would believe him.


    Serafall stared at Mournomon, looking with deep caution into his eye''s, she would have attacked long ago but something held her back, this dragon could have easily killed the Sitri guards but didn''t, he could have easily lied instead of saying he can''t answer her which made him seem even more suspicious, but what really stopped her was an indescribable feeling she felt, it was like a sixth sense and it told her that she couldn''t win against this dragon if they were to fight or more precisely go all out.


    ...


    After a long silence, Serafall closed her eye''s and when she opened it again and her cheerful mood returned "Ok, Momo-chan", she said, turning around she skipped over to the other guards checking to see if they are ok.


    Mournomon''s left eye switched when he heard what she called him but decided against arguing with the overly cheerfully devil, turning to face Sorkin Mournomon smiled at hi and Sorkin felt that it was the most horrifying thing he ever saw, it was also the last thing he ever saw as he was embraced by darkness.


    Serafall immediately turned around ready to defend herself when she felt the sudden movement behind her only to see the headless body of the devil that followed Mournomon fall to the ground while his head soared high into the sky only to land after a long time.


    "Apologies lady Serafall", Mournomon quickly started to explain after he saw how she reacted lest he makes her raise her guard against him again." I would rather not have such a being into your residence, you may feel free to search his clothes for further information but let just say I found this one and his group planning something unsavory, I ended them and had this one lead me here. Since his use has reached its limit I find no reason to leave him alive to cause more harm."


    Serafall said nothing but had one of her guards search the body of the dead Sorkin, he returned with a lot of paper''s to her which were detailed report''s about guard shift''s of House Sitri as well as other classified as well as personal information about her residence her family and herself.


    "Where?", Serafall asked Mournomon once again completing dropping her cheerfulness. Mournomon could easily figure out what she was asking, "About a few hours flight that way", Mournomon said pointing in the direction of the place where he slaughtered the rest of Sorkin''s men.


    "I''ll have people check it out, please follow", she said, giving Mournomon one final glance before heading to the Sitri residence, Mournomon followed her as the Sitri guard warily watched him leave.


    "Alas your death was the least useful thing about you Sorkin", Mournomon said as he thought of Sorkin.

 17 Chapter 17: A Gift To Sona

    Following closely behind Serafall, Mournomon had a lot on his mind, he had noticed it before but wasn''t so sure but after he slaughtered those devils under the late Sorkin he found a rather strange flaw in his transformations.


    He had four lives, in each life he was a different person yet at the same time the same, each life had it''s own personality even though they all had the same memories. The flaw was when he transformed into for example Mournomon as he was now he would find that he was more aggressive towards his enemies when fighting he would rather tear them apart or make them suffer than ending it quickly and cleanly. It was as if he held a personal grudge against any person he deemed an enemy.


    "Lambert, Azfius, Mythanar, and Mournomon. Each life I was different, whether it be because of circumstance or race I do not know, the only fact is that it changes how I think but not what I think, It changes how I kill but not If I should kill. The change is minor yet glaring, should probably test it...Later", Mournomon thought.


    ...


    Mournomon suddenly stopped, Serafall turned around and looked at him with curiosity, then started flying around him as if inspecting him.


    "What?", Mournomon said unnerved but the little devil that was looking him up and down.


    "Nothing much", she answered, "just wondering how you dragons transform into your human forms". Serafall looked up at him expectantly, she wanted an answer.


    "It''s nothing mysterious, my dear Lady Leviathan, but a simple ability that we dragons have when we reached a certain mastery in our Aura and Mana use. It''s like compressing ourselves into another form but unfortunately, we lose about thirty to forty percent of our total strength while transformed." Mournomon said.


    Serafall looked at him with slight annoyance, "And how is reaching such a mastery over one''s strength anything simple, if one''s mastery where higher one can easily use less power to exert more strength than someone with lower mastery."


    "Quite right, but most would not focus on mastering their power but rather amassing more, even dragons are like that and would usually stop staying to increase there mastery after they reached the minimum requirements to transform. Why may I ask did you bring up this topic?" asked Mournomon.


    "No reason", said Serafall, as she flew, begins Mournomon before asking another question, "How are your wings attached?"


    Mournomon gave a wry smile, "My dear lady Leviathan, probably the same way your wings are. Though I doubt you had a reason to ask that other than changing the topic of conversation."


    Serafall ignored him and merely stuck out her tongue at him before flying off. Mournomon could only shake his head and sigh as he flew after her.


    ...


    A large mansion came into the duo''s view as they landed in front of the building.


    Serafall turned around smiling at Mournomon, "So, what do you think?"


    Mournomon turned his head left then right staring at the massive building that was the Sitri family''s home, "Magnificent " he said, but, "Why does anyone need so much space" was what he thought.


    Serafall puffed her chest in pride, which only gave Mournomon some eye candy as he watched certain assets juggle at her movement. "Come on then let''s go in", said Serafall as she started skipping towards the mansion, Mournomon following closely behind.


    Entering the building Mournomon saw a handsome looking devil with black hair wearing a fancy suit. The man was looking at Serafall, "Serafall, why did you leave so quickly and who... who is this?" the man asked as he turned his gaze from Serafall to Mournomon.


    "Daddy, nothing much just some big bully wanting to visit", Serafall said as she lightly elbowed Mournomon.


    The man turned to Mournomon for answers with a confused look to which Mournomon stepped forward to clarify, "I apologize if I have caused you any inconvenience Lord Sitri, it seems as my visit was misinterpreted by your guards and we had a slight scuffle, again I apologize" Mournomon said.


    The man or Lord Sitri''s eyes shone in understanding before speaking, "Ah, I trust no one was hurt?"


    "Of course not", answered Mournomon


    "Then there is no harm done, allow me to introduce myself I am the Lord of House Sitri, Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Lord Sitri said.


    "Mournomon, the pleasure is mine", Mournomon said.


    "Great, great, now you know each other, let''s go I wanna see my adorable Sona-chan come on," Serafall said with impatience as she stormed off.


    Lord Sitri looked towards Mournomon with helplessness written on his face, "I apologize, she can be... Serafall some times" he said with a wry smile.


    "Ha, not at all. I believe it quite refreshing." Mournomon said with a laugh.


    Lord Sitri stared at Mournomon not sure if he spoke out of politeness or was serious, but quickly let it go as he stretched out his hand, "Shall we go" he said but then froze as he just realized something, "Oh, forgive me but to what do we of house Sitri ow the pleasure of your visit", he asked curious to this strange dragons visit their estate.


    "I have come to meet with the new heir of house Sitri and present the newborn a gift", Mournomon said


    Lord Sitri paused for a second when he heard what Mournomon said, his first reaction was to be cautious of the stranger wanting to see his newborn daughter but after thinking of how Serafall, lead him there he chose to trust in her judgment.


    ...


    Following Lord Sitri threw the mansion they came upon a room and within Mournomon saw a mature looking woman with beautiful black hair wearing a blue dress held a baby, Serafall stood by the side teasing the child.


    Hearing them enter the woman smiled at her husband before looking at Mournomon in confinement to which Serafall just explained what he was doing there.


    The woman looked at Mournomon with clear caution as she introduced herself, "Hello", she said forgetting etiquette of a noble.


    Mournomon, not minding, walked towards the lady, "A pleasure Lady Sitri", he greeted while giving a slight nod. Moving till he was in front of Lady Sitri under the watchful eyes of Lord Sitri and Serafall Mournomon kneeled in front of Lady Sitri to get a better look at the baby.


    She was very small with just a bit of black hair growing on her head as she stared at Mournomon with her beautiful purple eyes. Mournomon held his hand over the baby and teased her a bit as she grabbed his finger, he smiled warmly for the first time in centuries as he watched the little Sona try and wrestle with his pinky finger.


    Retrieving his hand from little Sona he put his hand into a pocket in his robe and secretly took something from his pocket space. He pulled out his hand and in it was a bracelet with beautiful blue stones engraved in them.


    "The bracelet of Levithan, the irony," Mournomon thought as he showed Sona''s family his gift, "This bracelet is my gift to her, it has not only the ability to protect the user with a magic-infused water dome but also aid the user in finely controlling water magic", Mournomon said as he handed the bracelet to Lady Sitri, "Please accept it on her behalf," Mournomon asked her.


    Lady Sitri looked towards her husband, he nodded and she accepted the bracelet on Sona''s behalf. After making sure what Mournomon said was true she looked towards him with a different light. "Thank you for this precious gift", she said. If Mournomon had given it to her she would have refused but this bracelet had the power to protect her daughter and by what she felt from it only the fully charged attack of a high devil would be able to even make ripple''s on the barrier so how could she not accept it. Her daughter''s safety was of utmost importance to her more important than anything else.


    After handing over the gift the family was much more open to Mournomon since he didn''t seem like he had any bad intentions and in fact, he didn''t he truly just wanted to make sure the little Sona was safe that was all.


    Lord Sitri made a guest room available for Mournomon to stay in while he was with them saying, "Stay as long as you would like".


    ...


    Lying in his room given by Lord Sitri, Mournomon looked up at the ceiling his eye''s shined as he felt few unfamiliar presences enter the mansion. "Seems, there are more rats", he thought.

 18 Chapter 18: Dont Wake The Baby

    "I hate rats"


    Mournomon slowly stood up from the bed, It made a weird sound when relived from his weight making him somewhat annoyed, "I''m not that heavy".


    Stepping out of his room Mournomon started heading towards where he sensed the presences, there were about aight devils, six of whom boasted mid-class strength and two with high-class strength. They were split into two groups, each with one high-class devil and three mid-class devils.


    Mournomon made his way towards the closest group, stopping in front of a wall he could sense the devils on the other side. Going close to the wall eh sensed a devil on the other side, a smile appeared on his face as he knocked on the wall


    ...


    The other side of the wall.


    The leader of one of the infiltrating devil groups had just gotten his men''s attention ready to assign positions to each one when he heard a sound coming from the other side of the wall. He turned around his eyes filled with caution as he went closer to the wall but found nothing suspicious, just before he was about to turn his attention back to his subordinates he heard the sound again coming from the wall, it was extremely quiet but he heard it and from his subordinate''s reaction and them slowly approaching the wall they heard it too.


    The leader cautiously approached the wall and put his ear against it to more clearly hear what the sound was and that was the last thing he did.


    "Boooom"


    A fist appeared where the devil squads leader''s head once was, brain matter and blood splattered the leader''s subordinates as they fell back on there asses in shock. The wall before them crumbled and from the opening came a giant of a man with horns and purple eyes, "Heh, idiot," the man said.


    ...


    Looking at the pale faces of the three devils in front of him Mournomon couldn''t help but pity them for a brief moment, so brief that at the very next moment he kicked one of them through aight adjacent wall''s, his death, assured. The other two recovered from there shock and tried to run away, but try was the keyword as their heads were quickly grabbed by Mournomon, "Now I shall make two one" he said as he slammed the two devil''s head into each other creating one big mess.


    Shaking his hand''s Mounomon tried to get some of the blood off while thinking," Ugh, disgusting I got weakling on me".


    "Whaaaaaaaa!!!"


    Mournomoon heard the cry of a baby with his superior hearing which sends a chill down his spine and caused a fire to burn in his heart. "How dare they!" he roared as he started heading to Sona''s room through a "self-made shortcut", which caused the mansion to shudder.


    Boom!!!


    Mournomon entered Sona''s room through a self-created hole in the wall (Which was right next to the door) and stared at the scene of four men surrounding a crib and the leader of the four holding a baby.


    The four couldn''t even react before the leader had Sona, taken from him, Mournomon''s hand holding him by the neck and his body planted in the wall behind him. "Stay there!" Mournomon ordered as he turned his attention to the other three devils.


    "eeeeeeeeee?" Was the only reply he got from the walled leader.


    ...


    Mournomon quickly started taking care of the other three devils with Sona safely tucked in his left arm he faces turned so she wouldn''t see the "Mess" he was about to make.


    The first devil only had time to raise his sword before Mournomon griped his throat and ripped it out, throwing the ripped out piece of flesh away he pointed his palm towards the second devil that was approaching him within a split second a gush of purple-black flames spilled out engulfing the devil, not even having the chance to scream, he and his weapon were reduced to ashes.


    Mournomon was just about to deal with the third when he saw a blade coming towards him from his left and by default approaching Sona, he quickly turned as to protect her and the blade slammed into his back making the sound of glass hitting iron. The devil had used all his strength in his desperation which only caused his blade to shatter on Mournomon''s invincible back.


    Mournomon swift to reciprocate the attack gave a swift back had with his right hand sending the devil twirling in the air with a dislocated jaw and teeth flying like a free bonus. The devil cried as he tried to get up after falling to the ground but a foot slammed him back down, "Don''t worry about being toothless, it won''t matter since you''ll soon be lifeless", Mournomon said he lifted his foot and slammed it down on the devils back once again, making the devil scream, he repeated the process until the devil lied lifelessly on the ground.


    ...


    Mournomon felt a chilling cold in the air just as he finished the last devil. With a bang, the door to the room slammed open with Serafall charging in magic circle''s flashing as she was ready to unleash a frozen hell only for herself to be ironically frozen in her step as she saw the scene in front of her.


    Mournomon saying soothing words to a little son while his foot was planted into a devil, another devil lying on the ground with a torn out throat, a pile of ashes and a devil stuck in the wall while still making a high pitched sound. "eeeeeeeeee?"


    Serafall slowly calmed down as she yelled at the door, "It''s safe, you guy''s can come in", immediately afterwords two devils rushed into the room, Lord Sitri stopped in shock at the sight in front of him while Lady Sitri didn''t give a damn as she rushed towards Mournomon holding Sona.


    "My baby, is my baby ok?" she asked with clear concern as she grabbed onto Mournomon''s arm as support to heave herself up and get a better look at Sona, almost climbing on top of Mournomon. She did it only because of there clear hight difference that if she didn''t she wouldn''t be able to clearly see Sona.


    "Caught", Mournomon Caughed to get Lady Sitri''s attention, " Lady Sitri you may only need ask and I will hand her to you, there is no need for this".


    "Ah!", Lady Sitri finally realized what she was doing and backed away with a red face, "I''m so sorry Lord Mournomon, please forgive my manners" she said.


    "It''s no grave matter", Mournomon answered as he carefully handed over Sona to Lady Sitri, before speaking again, "If there are no further matters please excuse me I am a little tired", he said


    "No, no. Please get a good night''s rest and thank you for protecting my treasure", Lord Sitri said with clear gratitude and respect


    Nodding his head Mournomon bid good night before returning to his home not before having an awkward moment of Serafall hugging him from the back saying "Thank you" before running off.


    Laying down in bed once again Mournomon closed his eyes and welcomed sleep.

 19 Chapter 19: A Dragons Promise

    Within the Sitri Residence.


    Mournomon was sitting at the table in the dining room enjoying a hearty breakfast with the rest of the Sitri family.


    "Lord Mournomon, again I can''t thank you enough for what you did yesterday, if not I fear what would have happened to my daughter", Lord Sitri, who was sitting at one end of the table spoke.


    His wife sat to his right while his eldest daughter, Serafall, sat to his left with the little Sona in Lady Sitri''s arms. Mournomon sat next to Serafall at the dining table. Mournomon could only sigh when he heard Lord Sitri, the man has been thanking him since he woke up all the way till the dining table and won''t even give him a chance at a nice breakfast before drowning him in gratitude.


    "You can just call me Mournomon and as I said before, there is no need to thank me I was merely doing what was right, how could I allow some low-lives steal little Sona", Mournomon said, begging in his mind that Lord Sitri will finally just let him go.


    "Haha, of course, but again thank you please speak if you ever need anything", Lord Sitri said with a smile and stared at him expectantly, his words causing Mournomon''s left eyebrow to twitch.


    Mournomon looked over to Lady Sitri for help only to see her avoiding his gaze keeping her eyes on Sona, "Come on!", he then looked over at Serafall who also wanted to avoid his gaze but before she could lower her head Mournomon''s hand shot out and gripped her chin pulling her head in his direction and stared into her eyes intensely.


    Serafall was shocked and couldn''t help but blush at his actions, especially when she saw his purple eyes staring at her so intensely, though she knew it was for entirely a different reason at the end she could only give, giving Mournonon a wry smile she spoke, "Momo-chan father is merely hoping that you would ask something in return he hates debts and has been trying to pay it back."


    "..."


    Mournomon let go of Serafall''s chin, much to her relief and looked towards Lord Sitri who was smiling at him, waiting for his request. "Seriously that was what he''s been nagging me about all morning, he wants me to ask for something!!!", Mournomon thought.


    "If it isn''t too much trouble I would like to stay here for a bit longer", Mournomon said after thinking for a while.


    Lord Sitri immediately answered, "Of course there is no problem but is that truly all you need?"


    " Yes, thought the amount of time I would be here might be quite some time so..." Mournomon said but was interrupted by Lord Sitri.


    "Nonsense, you can stay as long as you want", Lord Sitri said, his eyes shining as a lot of ideas popped into his head on how to get Mournomon to join his family, he was already considered an ally but Lord Sitri wanted to further improve on that. Having such a powerful being as an ally would be great, but getting that such a being to join you would be the best.


    Mournomon could easily see thought Lord Sitri''s thoughts but didn''t mind it was only a natural to do so. He would be an Ally of house Sitri but joining the family is not something he thinks he could do. Although their time knowing each other was brief he had already figured out what kind of devils they were.


    ...


    After dinner, the Mournomon excused himself and went out of the Mansion, he had decided to explore the place a bit and get more familiar with it. When they offered to give him a tour he politely refused, much to the disappointment to Lord Sitri and Serafall.


    Walking around the mansion Mournomon passed many beautiful sculptures and other decorations, taking his time to admire everything, he slowly made his way to a large garden. The garden was filled this many different kinds of plants, ranging from flowers and ferns to hedges and trees, all kinds of flora carefully maintained to bring a vibrant feeling to the place.


    Mournomon immediately fell in love with the place, the peace the quiet and most of all the tranquil feeling being surrounded by nature. Mournomon sat down on a nearby lawn, feeling the grass under him and breathing in the fresh air he couldn''t help but feel content.


    Nature had always been with him and after so many years surrounded by it, Mournomon had grown a deep appreciation for it. Closing his eye''s Mournomon started listening to the sounds all around him, the flapping sounds of a butterfly''s wings the stomping sound of an ants feet walking across the earth. He smelled the earth and grass, the scent of the flowers and the green leaves of the trees, before he knew it he had fallen asleep in the garden.


    ...


    A few hours later.


    Mournomon slowly opened his eyes feeling someone poking his check, looking at the perpetrator he saw Serafall standing over him, she was looking at him curiously and when she saw him open his eyes she gave him a bright smile before saying "Had a nice nap, Momo-chan".


    Mournomon felt so relaxed he didn''t even react on the way she called his name as he gave her a smile of his own before standing up from the grass, "This is a wonderful place, full of beauty. I believe I have just found myself a place to spend my time in", Mournomon said as he looked around the garden.


    "Mom also likes gardens and would usually spend her time here too, taking care of the plants herself instead of having the gardeners do it," Serafall said


    "Realy?", Mournomon thought as he looked at the garden, "She is talented", he thought before asking Serafall something, "By the way, are you looking for me for some reason?".


    Serafall nodded before talking, "I just wanted to say goodbye, I still have a Lott of work waiting for me", her shoulders dropping when she said the last part, clearly she wasn''t looking forward to it.


    ...


    Mournomon and Serafall were walking back to the mansion when serafall suddenly stopped in front of him, she didn''t speak for a while as if contemplating something and Mournomon just stayed quiet waiting for her.


    "Mournomon, please watch over my family while I''m gone", Serafall said, she turned around and stared him in the eye waiting for his answer.


    Mournomon gave a smile as he placed his left hand on her shoulder, "I Promise"

 20 Chapter 20: Traveling To Visit An Old Friend

    Serafall left the Sitri residence to attend to her duties as one of the four satans, she was in charge of the underworld''s foreign affairs.


    Mournomon and the rest of her close family send her off, after which they just returned to there business. Lord and Lady Sitri weren''t sad to see her leave since she visits them all too frequently some times even skipping on work to do so. In fact, they were happy to see her finally going to do her job again and even encouraged her to work hard to which she could only complain about how boring the work is.


    ...


    Mournomon returned to the garden, looking around at the flora he smiled and went into the gardeners shed that was masterfully hidden under some vines as not to destroy the natural image its door the only thing to give signs of a building being there.


    Entering the shed he grabbed a watering can and filled it with water from the tap that was conveniently placed inside the shed with a sink as to not destroy the immersive image in the garden. After filling the can with water Mournomon started walking around the garden, watering the plants and trees while humming. If not for his overbearing appearance it would have looked very tranquil, but unfortunately, it now appeared very out of place, seeing a giant of a man with horns on his head carefully watering flowers.


    "It is nice to relax like this", Mournomon thought while watering the plants, a peaceful smile gradually appearing on his face. After watering all the plants in the garden it was already late in the evening so he decided to head back into the mansion, arriving just in time for dinner.


    After dinner, he went to the bathhouse of the residence, his eye''s immediately lit up when he saw the bath and only one word could describe it, "Huge!"


    Mournomon enjoyed a luxurious bath where a lot of female servants were practically falling over each other to wash him and then returned to his room to rest.


    ...


    Five months later.


    Mournomon was sitting next to Lady Sitri, who was holding an almost one-year-old Sona. They were currently on a train on their way to the Gremory territory.


    Lady Sitri had asked Mournomon the day before if he would mind accompanying her to visit an old friend of hers. She hadn''t seen her friend since before she gave birth since she didn''t want to travel while so close to her due date and then because Sona was very young.


    Lord Sitri was unfortunately busy with business and she didn''t ask for other guards since Mournomon could clearly protect her and Sona from any harm and if there was an enemy that even he couldn''t deal with it would be pointless to ask anybody else.


    They could have teleported with magic but Lady Sitri refused to do it saying something about Sona being too young and it might hurt her, so they took the train which would take two days seeing as it was almost on the other side of the underworld. Two days was quite fast if one were to check the distance that they had to travel.


    ...


    They had an entire room on the train but Mournomon was bored thus he decided to sit next to Lady Sitri and have a conversation with her while also taking the chance to tease Sona who was sitting on her lap while playing.


    Sitting next to Lady Sitri Mournomon stretched out his hand and rubbed Sona''s head causing her to giggle while trying to push away his hand from her head. Lady Sitri seeing this could only smile. She could still remember Sona''s first words which caused her heart to melt from warmth, "Mama" and her second word which caused her husband endless heartache, "Uncle".


    Sona''s second word was to call out to Mournomon as Uncle which made him smile and Lord Sitri fall on his knees in tears of the evaluation that Sona might like Mournomon more than her father. It took days of persuasion and a lot of tears to finally help the broken man recover to a point where he could muster a smile if even a fake one, luckily Sona finally called him "Da" which made him feel as if he was in the lowest part of hell (Which is a good thing for a devil apparently).


    "I have never asked you Mon, but what were you doing before you came to us", Lady Sitri asked gently, she called him Mon because his name was a mouthful and Mournomon didn''t mind, it was better than "Momo-Chan" that Serafall called him, which still caused him to cringe every time he heard it.


    "Ah, I was in the mortal world" Mournomon answered still playing with Sona who was saying "stop" the whole time but her giggles made it clear she loved fighting with his hand as she would try and stop him from gabbing her nose or ears or even rubbing her head.


    "Realy, what were you doing there and why have we never heard of you before you came to us", Lady Sitri asked but as if regretting it she looked worried and hurriedly spoke, "Please don''t take offense, Mon. I''m not trying to pry I''m just curious, I trust you fully even if you don''t answer".


    Mournomon had been living with them for some time now and they had found him to be a kind person, though he was brutal in battle his personality was gentle with those he called friends. The amount of time''s he had protected them and especially Sona didn''t hurt his reputation with them either, even if he would curse about how the Sitri guards were so useless to keep letting devils with evil intentions into the mansion to the point of screaming it into the frightened face of the Guard captain.


    On that day the guard captain kowtowed and begged for forgiveness, needless to say, that patrols doubled and slacking on duty were severely punished by him from that day on. Intruders also no longer made it to the mansion to which Mournomon cursed at the captain again because that proofed that he was incompetent the previous time''s and again the poor captain could only beg.


    "There is no need to apologize Lady Sitri, I will tell you what I can. I was living there for a while and before that... let''s just say I have had a strange event befall me before that, I do not wish to relive that time, it was not my favorite Life." Mournomon said.


    Lady Sitri smiled not minding him not elaborating thought she was interested in what kind of life he had she knew better than to pry into another''s life, It was enough that he was a friend.


    After some time contemplating Mournomon looked at Lady Sitri and spoke, "Lady Sitri, I think of you and your family as true friends, I might not be open to talking about all I have experience but even if I were to talk about my entire existence I do not believe either of us has time to listen to such a lengthy tale, but I promise you that I would never bring harm to any of you"


    "I understand", was all Lady Sitri said or needed to say, she trusted him.

 21 Chapter 21: Meeting The Gremorys

    The train finally made it to the Gremory territory where Mournomon and Lady Sitri, who was carrying Sona, got of. Some Gremory guards were waiting for them to escort them to the Gremory residence.


    ...


    "Why am I not surprised", thought Mournomon as he looked at the mansion in front of him, about the same size as the Sitri familiesMansion. They had been lead to the front of the mansion by the guards and left there, in front of the mansion a couple stood there waiting for there arrival.


    The man appeared middle-aged with long crimson-red hair that reached down to his shoulders and a stylish short beard adorned his handsome face, his light blue eyes shined with vibrant life.


    The woman had short flaxen colored hair and violet eyes that excitedly stared at Lady Sitri, she appeared very young, most likely in her early twenty''s but as a devil looks can be very deceiving, all in all, she was a beauty even among other female devils.


    Lady Sitri handed Sona over to Mournomon as she ran ahead to her friend and the flaxen-haired woman doing the same, the two of them met each other met way and embraced each other while laughing. Mournomon slowly walked forward with Sona comfortably nestled in his arms and smirked at the two woman''s behavior while the red-haired man gave a hearty laugh.


    " It''s good to see you Venelana", Lady Sitri said as she tightened her arms around her dear friend.


    "And you too, Sereixia," the flaxen-haired woman said, hugging Lady Sitri back.


    Mournomon stopped a few feet behind them waiting for them to finish there reunion, the red-haired man stepped around them and approached Mournomon, giving a slight bow he introduced himself, "Zeoticus Gremory, Duke of these lands".


    Mournomon gave a slight bow of his own, "Mournomon". Zeoticus was about to speak but was interrupted by his wife, "So, Sereixia that''s Sona", said the flaxen-haired woman called Venelana, as the two lady''s approached Mournomon.


    Mournomon handed Sona back to Lady Sitri who started showing off her daughter to her friend. "See this Venelana, this is the most beautiful girl in all the underworld", she said with a triumphant smirk.


    "I will have to disagree that spot can only be held by my little girl Rias" Lady Gremory argued.


    Mournomon silently stood at one side with Lord Gremory and listened to their ramblings and both signed at the same time, then looked at each other and both started laughing.


    "So Sir Mournomon, what is your relationship with Sereixia?", Lord Gremory asked as he saw how close they were to the extend of Lady Sitri not hesitate to have him hold her youngest daughter.


    "I befriended her and her husband some time ago, We quickly became acquainted and I have been living at there residence for some time now", said Mournomon


    "I see, but they must trust you for that old bastard Ixisius(Lord Sitri) to trust you with his wife and child," Lord Gremory said with a smile. He was quite interested in this dragon not only could he feel a horrifying amount of power in him but when he held Sona it was as if that power surrounded her letting not even a breeze to disturbed her sleep, which shows a very gentle nature in this otherwise imposing-looking man.


    Mournomon thought for a moment before replying," I suppose so".


    The two ladies finally stopped arguing, seeing this Lord Gremory spoke up, "Now let''s take our conversation inside, it won''t very much do for me to have my guests standing outside", after speaking he lead the way into the mansion to a large room with furniture for everybody to sit in and a table in the middle.


    ...


    Mournomon and Lady Sitri sat down on a couch and Lord and Lady Gremory sat on opposite them.


    "So how was your trip?" asked Lord Gremory as he watched a now awake Sona crawling sitting on the carpet at Mournomns feet playing.


    "Very uneventfully," said Lady Sitri.


    "My, my it almost sounds like you wanted something to happen," Lady Gremory said with a smile.


    "Of course not, but at least it would have been more entertaining," Lady Sitri said as she remembered Mournomon tearing apart at devils as if they were nothing.


    Lord and Lady Gremory had no idea what Lady Sitri meant but decided just to move on with there conversation. "So how is Ixisius?"


    "Very busy, I''m afraid, managing our territory, he rarely gets any time to spend with Sona and me. He tries but the work is just so much." Lady Sitri said sadly.


    "I know what you mean, the workload is ridiculous and I myself rarely get an opening in my schedule. Luckily I got myself a helper that can help carry the load maybe he should do the same." Lord Gremory said.


    "Yeah, there''s no reason for him to work to his death", echoed Lady Gremory


    "I talk to him about, maybe we can find someone trustworthy enough to help him", Lady Sitri said with a smile. Her eyes sneakily glancing at Mournomon


    Mournomon suddenly felt a chill run down his back when he felt her gaze, "Oh, hell no!" he thought.


    "Lady Sitri?", he asked "Ignorantly".


    Lady Sitri smile just widened a bit as she said, "Nothing, nothing just thought of something.


    "I know exactly what your thinking and the answer is no", Mournomon said to her as he stared at her with sharp eyes.


    "Please", Lady Sitri said with a begging expression and using a pleading tone, but her efforts were futile because Mournomon did not budge.


    "Meanie", Lady Sitri Harmphed when she saw she could not break him down even if she begged.


    Mournomon could only sigh, "It''s not only that I don''t want to, but I don''t think I am suitable for such a job. With my temper, I might kill those idiots under me." he said hoping to convince her.


    Lady Sitri face relaxed as she spoke, "Your probably right".


    During the whole conversation, the Gremory couple just watched their exchange and couldn''t help but marvel at how close the two of them were. Although there was no love between them like a husband and wife it felt more like a brother and sister arguing.


    ...


    A woman wearing a french maid outfit with ashen colored hair and silver eyes entered the room after some time with a little girl red-haired girl in her hands, she moved towards Lady Gremory and handed the baby girl over to her. "She woke up a few minutes ago my Lady," the maid said.


    "I see, thank you, Grayfia " Lady Gremory said and then smiled at her guests introducing the woman, "This is my daughter-in-Law Grayfia Lucifuge and this," she said lifting the baby girl into the air for all to see, "Is my darling daughter Rias".


    Lady Sitri greeted Grayfia while Mournomon nodded in her direction, while the woman was beautiful, shockingly so in fact. What made him interested in her thought was that her power was almost as much as Serafall''s and if they were to fight she would be able to put a good fight before losing. To be able to have the power to fight one of the four satans was no joke.


    After that Grayfia bowed in greetings before starting to serve tea to them.


    Lady Gremory but little Rias on the ground so that she could play with little Sona and the two quickly became friends.


    ...


    After having a delightful conversation and having the two girls play till they fell asleep the group had some dinner before retiring to there rooms. Mournomon and Lady Sitri, with Sona in her arms, followed Grayfia as she led them first stopping at Lady Sitri''s room before showing Mournomon his room a few rooms away from Lady Sitri and Sona''s room.


    "Thank you", Mournomon thanked Grayfia before entering his room. After checking that everything was alright he went straight to bed having had a tiring day interacting with the Gremory''s.

 22 Chapter 22: Raging King.

    In a world scarred by corruption and evil and were the light of hope no longer shines.


    In front of a city saturated by sin, where slaves are hanged for looking at the nobles and were no commoner dare to come. A city filled with nobles so corrupt and evil they would make demons look like saints. Capital of an empire with a cruel king and even crueler heir, they had conquered most of the world and wiped out most races that lived and after that, they turned to there own. In front of such a city appeared an old man.


    The old man was tall, breaching 2 meters but he was forced to lean on his cane, age prevalent on his withered frame were one could see his bones under his bark-like skin. Once beautiful white hair now turned dull gray hanging down to his waist and horns that came from the sides of his skull broken midway in their curve. Eyes that once shone purple in resentment and sorrow now dulled by tiredness. His withered body only covered by an antique battle robe around his waist.


    The old man closed in on the gate were one of the two guards protecting either side of the gate wanted to stop him, arrogance and disdain prevalent in his behavior as he overbearingly screamed at the old man. "Fuck off Half-breed before I gut you".


    The old man didn''t even look at the guard as he swung his arm at his direction causing such wind pressure that it, not only killing the guard outright but destroying the enchanted wall''s behind, the pressure not being blocked at all made a curve into the sky and parted the clouds.


    The other guard couldn''t even respond before the old man sends him a piercing gaze so sharp that it literally pierced his soul and blocking him from all possibilities of reincarnation.


    This did not go unnoticed by the rest of the capital, as bells rang and more soldiers and Guards were making their way towards the old man. The old man slowly walked through the gates his steppes slow but steady, his gaze ignored the charging guards as his purple eyes looked upon the very timelines of the world, looking at all the horrors that have happened in this city. He saw, murder, **** at best and at worst things that could never be put into words, he saw nothing other than evil in this city.


    As the soldiers stepped within ten meters of him, the old man said four words, his gruff voice cracked with age, "Damnation...Cracks The Sky", a terrifying aura burst from his person crushing every soldier to dust those stronger like the captains were lucky and were merely crippled as their bones were broken by the aura, but the old man paid them no mind as he kept walking forward never stopping. The sky above the city had black cracks as if it would burst any moment by the amount of power it had to bear.


    The old man made it to the gates of the scale were the king of this empire lived, in front of the gates stood the only being in this empire that could stand while under the old man''s pressure. The greatest warrior of the empire, Hubert Oakguard.


    Hubert trembled as he lied eye''s on the old man, he knew that this was no normal person but a legend, a myth in the story''s told by nobility to scare their children even he himself was told these stories when he was but a young boy and it caused him nightmares for years, but humans never learn nor they do not believe what they do not see. This old man had many titles, The Dragon Of Damnation, Cursed Demon or what the Nobles like to call him The Scourged.


    Hubert was petrified cursing his and everybody in the city''s sins for bringing this calamity to there door, how stupid they were, but there was nothing they could do because before him, stood that very frightful Myth, Dragon King Mournomon, last dragon of Altmaria(This world).


    Humans had hunted dragons for years and had finally blundered when they thought they had killed everyone, how could they have known that there was still one more dragon slumbering after causing mayhem to the world ten thousand years before. A dragon that breathed resentment and brought sorrow who other dragons had persuaded over thousands of years to sleep for he had nearly wiped the world of all that was alive.


    ...


    The old man kept walking until he passed Hubert, not even glancing at him as he made his way to the castle. Hubert felt humiliated and mustered all his courage to turn around a strike at the old man only for his vision to go black and for his life to end, never knowing how he died.


    The old man stood in the middle of the castle''s courtyard not wishing to walk any further, he had seen enough. He brought his cane up into the air and slammed it down causing the stone underneath to shatter the blow was so heavy that the cracks spread for kilometers and the ground sank. The old man lifted his head and spread his arms and screamed as purple-black flame engulfed him and spread out. The flames spared nothing as they turned to dust everything they touched after a few seconds the flames receded back into the old man and just like that the capital disappeared from the face of the earth.


    The old man turned in the direction of a mountain and walked towards it.


    ...


    Reaching the mountain he saw a giant cave that was once the home of two dragons that gave birth to a dragon that made the world tremble in fear. Transforming into his true form, an old man no longer but an ancient dragon, he walked into the cave and lied down, his head''s once majestic horse either chipped or broken, his black scales that shone purple in the light of the sun now a dull with gray patches here and there.


    The dragon laid his head on the ground as he was overtaken by weariness and a desire to sleep. His last thoughts, "Too bad I couldn''t burn this world in its entirety".


    ...


    In the Gremory residence, Mournomons room.


    Mournomon jerked awake and sat up his hands holding his face his breathing rough, slowly he came down, "Just a dream" he thought before lying back down to continue sleeping, "What a shitty dream" was his thoughts before drifting back to sleep.

 23 Chapter 23: A Good Morning And A Boring Week

    Waking up after a not so peaceful night Mournomon sat at the edge of the bed. He stared into his hands, his thoughts unknown to all but himself his eye''s blurry as he remembers things that were better left forgotten.


    A knock came from the door waking him up from his thoughts, "Come in", he called and the door was opened. Just outside the room stood a young girl dressed in a maids outfit, she looked shy which only caused her already pretty face to look even more beautiful.


    "I-I apologize for disturbing you, my Lord. I was told to come and wake you by Lady Gremory as well as help you freshen up.", the little maid said in a low voice,


    Mournomon smiled at the shy girl as he slowly rose from the bed, " So?", he asked her.


    For a moment she stared up at him blankly, not knowing what he meant before quickly looking to the ground, "Ye-Yes, please follow me to the bath." she said, quickly turning around and walking off as if fleeing from him.


    Mournomon easily followed her, "What a pleasant distraction?" he thought. The girl had brightened his mood considerably and had left an impression on him.


    ...


    Arriving at the baths the girl heaved out of breath before thinking about how she almost ran here and quickly turned around thinking she might have left Mournomon behind only to run straight into something. "Ow", she cutely yelled rubbing her head, staring at what she ran into she saw a perfect eight- pack in front of her, staring up she saw a pair of bright purple eye''s staring at her.


    For a moment she lost herself in those eyes, she had never seen such strange eyes before, yes the obvious strangeness was its reptilian features but what was even stranger was that when she looked into them she could see flames burning inside, which gave out light and made his eyes shine.


    She was brought out of her stupor by a sudden pain on her forehead, "Ah", she yelled again, rubbing her forehead and looking at whatever could have hit her and found Mournomon''s outstretched finger which he had used to flick her forehead.


    "Have you finished staring at me", Mournomon asked before the little maid could do anything. His words causing her already blushing face to become an even more prominent shade of red.


    "Th-This is the bathroom, please enter", she said not daring to look at him again.


    Entering the bathroom Mournomon saw a large bath in the middle of a large tiled room, he quickly threw his battle robe to the ground, much to the horror of the maid and climbed into the bath, the already prepared warm water washed over his body, giving him a pleasant feeling.


    Looking around Mournomon saw the little maid standing at the side with her face down. He smiled mischievously before calling to her, "Hey," hearing him call out the girl shivered before looking up to meet his smiling face, "mind washing my back?" he asked to which she could only nod before stiffly walking behind him.


    Sitting at the edge of the bath she faces Mournomon''s exposed back, took a deep breath before she slowly scrubbed it. "Aaaah!" Mournomon sighed causing the girl to freeze, "don''t stop" he said and she started scrubbing again.


    After she finished scrubbing him she quickly backed away and stood at the side of the room again, Mournomon not wanting to push the girl too far finished washing before getting out of the bath.


    His hand reached for a towel before it froze seeing as there were no towels, he looked over to the maid before asking, "Might I have a towel?", to which the made quickly ran to get one, returning shortly afterward, she walked towards him, her head still firmly looking down until she was in front of him. Just as she was about to start drying him with the towel he took it from her and said, "Would you mind getting me some clothes to wear, the maid nodded again and left.


    Mournomon dried himself and wrapped the towel around his waist before the maid returned with some clothes, "Th-The m-madam said she had th-these m-made for y-your l-lordship'', she said as she placed the clothes on a nearby table.


    "Thank you, you may go", Mournomon said having teased the poor girl enough. But unexpectedly the little maid just stood there. "Is something wrong?" he asked her.


    "I-I have to d-d-dres-s-s y-your l-l-ordship", the maid stuttered.


    "No, need. I can dress my self, you may go", Mournomon said, the maid stood there for a second before bowing then ran out of the room as if she was just liberated, Mournomon could see her blood-red ears as she ran out of the room and shook his head smiling, "That was fun" he thought before turning to the clothes on the table.


    ...


    Mournomon left the bathroom wearing the new clothes that were prepared for him, which consisted of a black shirt covered by a white blazer with golden lines at the edges, white pants, and black shoes.


    "This is the same clothes Zeoticus wears", Mournomon grumbled. Outside Gryfia was waiting for him. She bowed at him as she said "Good morning, Lord Mournomon. Please follow me". Mournomon nodded at her while replying " Good morning to you too Gryfia" and followed her to the dining room where he had breakfast with the Gremory''s while sitting next to Lady Sitri, who was holding Sona.


    ...


    After breakfast, Mournomon had a lot of time on his hands, as Lady Sitri and Lady Gremory went to the living room to gossip, Lord Gremory had work to do and Gryfia and the rest of the maids had there cleaning and maintenance to do.


    Of course, since he didn''t want to be too far away from Lady Sitri as it was his job to protect her, so he decided he was going to walk around the Gremory estate.


    Walking around he saw many magical defenses to keep any unwanted company out. The more he saw the more confused he got, "Why the hell isn''t there any defenses in the Sitri mansion", he thought.


    Like that a week past.

 24 Chapter 24: Breaking The Sound Barrier

    "Please don''t go yet", Lady Gremory held Lady Sitri''s hand as they stood right outside the Gremory residence, Lady Gremory had tears in her eyes as Lord Gremory tried and pull her away from Lady Sitri. Mournommon could only hold Lady Sitri by her shoulder to stop her from moving forward and hugging Lady Gremory, which she had done about twelve times before and they had to say goodbye all over again.


    "Why are women so emotional, it was fine in the beginning but get ahold of yourself!" thought Mournomon as he pulled Lady Sitri back. "You''ll see her again, no need to be that dramatically", Mournomon said, he had to pull her away from the Gremory residence.


    "I don''t want to leave!!!", Lady Sitri cried as Mournomon pulled her, Sona who was nestled in Lady Sitri''s arms looked at her mother strangely. "Let''s go", Mournomon said sympathetically.


    "Heartless", Lady Sitri screamed.


    Mournomon just ignored her and kept pulling her away, ignoring the screams he heard from the Gremory mansions direction, "Be strong Zeoticus", Mournomon thought.


    ...


    An hour later.


    The trio of baby, devil, and dragon got onto a train and was currently heading back to the Sitri residence, Lady Sitri hadn''t spoken a word since they had boarded the train, she sat down on the bench inside the room in the train and stared off into oblivion, Mournomon was standing off to the side peering out the window and watched the landscape as it passed by.


    After who knows how long Lady Sitri finally stirred with a sigh, she spoke. "I apologize that you had to see such an unsightly me, Mo. I hope you understand that Venelana and I have known each other for centuries and have been close sisters ever since we first met, it''s hard not seeing her for so long and having such a short reunion is not enough to make up for the time we missed."


    "It''s perfectly fine, it was just a bit... shocking, to say the least", Mournomon said with a wry smile as he thought of the crazed Lady Sitri.


    "I guess I will just have to wait until next time Zeoticus is of for Venelana to come and visit me", Lady Sitri said sadly.


    Mournomon couldn''t watch any further so he quickly thought of a way to cheer her up, the train was about to stop at a station when something came to mind, "Let''s get off at the next stop, I might have something you would like.", he said.


    "What?", she asked confusedly and Sona gave Mournomon a look that made it known that she didn''t know what he meant.


    "You will see", Mournomon said as he smiled mysteriously.


    ...


    A few kilometers from the station, the trio stood in an open space.


    "Ok, now what did you want to show us", Lady Sitri asked, she looked at Mournomon with a face that was interpreted that she better not be disappointed.


    Mournomon said nothing and walked forward, Lady Sitri wanted to say something but before words could escape her mouth it closed shut and her eyes opened as she saw a shocking sight, little Sona''s mouth was wide open as drool fell from it.


    Mournomon was slowly growing taller as he walked forward, the few scales on his body grew more, his head was adorned with two extra pairs of horns growing from it as they curved backward. Before long what stood before them was no longer the Mournomon they knew but a massive dragon, it''s black scales shine purple in the light.


    Mournomon looked at Lady Sitri and spoke, "We''ll get on", his gruff voice causing the ground to quiver slightly. Lady Sitri could only stare at him dumbly, she had no words to speak, what stood before her was one of the most majestic sights she had ever seen, Mournomon stood six hundred meters into the air and was about a thousand meters long, though not the largest dragon to ever exist he was larger than most, towering above all of creation.


    After a long time of silence Lady Sitri finally composed herself, " Mo, wow!" she said expressing her surprise, "Get on", Mournomon said to which Lady Sitri moved forward like an excited little girl, spreading her wings she flew onto his back and sat down, her face was full of excitement.


    Sona has been staring at Mournomon the whole time in wonder when Lady Sitri sat down on his back Sona wriggled from her arms and stood on Mournomon''s back, her hands caressed his scales as stars shined in her eyes, "Pretty", she said before Lady Sitri grabbed her and held her close, "You can go now", she said.


    With a laugh, Mournomon beat his wings sending them into the air while rupturing closeby trees from the sheer pressure, not long after they were gliding through the sky of the underworld. Mournomon had used some of his aura to surround Lady Sitri and Sona as to not allow them to get hurt or feel uncomfortable from the wind pressure or any other factor.


    "Wow, said Lady Sitri as she sat on his back, if she wanted to she could walk around on it since it was quite broad but decided to just sit and enjoy the ride, Mournomon''s speed far exceeded that of the train as he had long overtaken the train and shot past it his appearance, blurry to all that looked at him.


    "Woohoo" yelled Sona from Mournomons back as he flew forward breaking the sound barrier multiple times. Explosions ringing out. "Faster, faster" the little girl yelled and Mournomon complied letting out an earth-shattering roar as he beat his wings, his roar spreading out causing the sky to dim and the earth to shatter, luckily there was no one around or they would be dead or worst wishing for death.


    And with a few more bangs he exceeded the sound barrier a few more times. Lady Sitri was now standing on his back and looking a the world around her which became a blur. Not long after everything became clear again and she could see her home not far in the distance.


    As Mournomon landed in front of the Sitri mansion they could see all manner of guards lying pathetically on the ground, somewhere passed out and others were crying pathetically.


    "Oops", said Mournomon as he retracted his aura, Lady Sitri flew from his back and transformed back into his human form. "So, how was it", he asked.


    "Amazing", Lady Sitri said enthusiastically before talking in a somewhat downcasted expression, "Just a bit quick".


    "Of course, but we took a few detours as to not harm any innocents", Mournomon said as he pointed at the direction that came from.


    Lady Sitri not understanding what he meant took a look and her face went pale, there was a line of destruction as far as the eye could see, the tree''s uprooted and the earth broke apart.


    "It would be best not to go that fast anymore", Lady Sitri said

 25 Chapter 25: Leaving The Party and A Teleportation Bunker

    After returning from there trip, Mournomon started fixing the defenses of the mansion which were in place but never activated. He changed some of the runes that made up the defensive formations, it did little to improve the strength of the defenses but that was not what he was focussing on.


    The strength of the defenses was good enough since it was a formation set up to protect one of the largest clans in the underworld, but Mournomon had a problem with the amount of energy the defenses used and how they were repaired. He decided to change it a bit so that the formations not only used the mana in the air to keep it activated but also to have an automated preparation system inside. This way not only would it cost nothing to have the defenses activated but they would also repair themself if damaged, the only problem is that only he would be able to work on the formations from now on, but he didn''t think too much of it since it didn''t seem that they will ever want to change the formation seeing as they didn''t even use it before he worked on it.


    The whole job took him about seven months since he had to go through thousands of different runes and glyphs within the formation to find the right ones and there were more than a hundred formations interwoven to create the defensive formation that the Sitri house has. Not to mention all the fail safe''s that were put in if one of the formations were to be broken, to ensure that it wouldn''t interfere with the other formations.


    ...


    After finishing with the defenses of the Mansion and the surrounding territory Mournomon decided to spend his free time in the garden. Over two years have passed just like that, within this time Lady Gremory and Lady Sitri had visited each other a few more times, little Sona and little Rias have become close, the two would always play in the garden at the Sitri''s mansion when the Lady Gremory came to visit and brought Rias along.


    Mournomon would keep an eye on them while tending to the garden, making sure they don''t hurt themselves or the plants, there had been several times he had scolded them for destroying some turns.


    ...


    This day was not like any other, it was the day Sona became five years old. Mournomon woke up early and freshened up before helping with the decorations for little Sona''s party. Serafall also came and one would swear it was her party by how happy she was.


    After finishing, everyone got ready and waited for Sona to wake up, they did not have to wait long before they heard footsteps as a maid lead Sona and Rias to the dining room where they had set everything up.


    The door''s opened and everybody yelled "Happy Birthday SONA!!!", Sona who was still half asleep was immediately shocked awake, her face bloomed with a beautiful smile as everybody went up to congratulate her.


    As everyone was going forward to congratulate her, Mournomon smiled as he placed a small wrapped box on the table with Sona''s name on it before leaving without anybody noticing. Although he wanted to leave later that night he decided it was best he left now thought Sona might hate him for it he had lived with the Sitri''s far longer than he planned and he might live here even longer if he didn''t leave now.


    ...


    Moving through the forest the Sitri Mansion was quickly growing smaller until it disappeared completely and even than he didn''t stop moving. The further he moved the more he wanted to turn back. "I''ve grown soft", Mournomon thought to himself, he had killed less and fewer devils the longer he lived with the Sitri to the point he would even capture some alive.


    After a few more minutes he stopped, his body slowly morphed back into his original form, Alex. Stretching somewhat Alex looked around for a bit until he found a hidden cave, walking inside he found the cave empty before placing a few extra concealment formations at the entrance just to be safe after he walked until he was in the deepest part of the cave. The cave wasn''t big but he could stand upright in it, looking around he tapped his foot on the ground and the cave started transforming, the deepest part of the cave expanded until it was around four meters in diameter, the rough ceiling walls and floor of the cave became smooth as if it was cut and carved by a sculptor. A perfect circular room was now at the deepest part of the cave.


    Satisfied Alex fixed a few defensive formations at the entrance to the room, he didn''t want anyone to be able to breach the room. Finishing with the formations Alex place his hand in the middle of the room, "PRAEMOENIO(Fortify)" he chanted as the earth elements started gathering on the rocks that made out the circular room and strengthening it. With that done he pulled two four seeds from his inventory and placed them at the edge of the room equally spaced from each other and dripping a drop of his blood on each. The seeds quickly sprouted and became small trees.


    The trees were known as treants, if grown using a spellcaster''s blood they will follow only that specific spellcaster''s orders. Treant''s strength comes from what energy they are given while growing, so although these treants he made are small their strength is nothing to ignore as they were created from the blood of an ancient titan, even if it was just a drop.


    Having finished the defenses, Alex started to make a teleportation circle in the middle of the room, the process was quite easy now that he knew how to make one and the circle was finished in no time.


    "Time to leave", he thought


    Alex stepped into the circle and with a blinding light, he disappeared.

 26 Chapter 26: New Mission

    Inside Alex''s House in his room.


    A blinding light shined as Alex appeared, "Aura, I''m back!" he called out but what he was met with was a frying pan heading for his head.


    Time stopped at that moment, Alex stared at the frying pan before walking around it and there he saw Aura, still in her throwing pose anger visible on her face. Walking around her and studying her for a while he could tell she was beyond mad at him, "Well, guess I fucked up", he spoke to himself before walking back to where he stood and time returned to normal.


    The frying pan hit him squirt in the face the force used to send out a shock wave and the poor frying pan was morphed as it slammed into his face taking on his features as the metal bend on impact.


    Alex stayed routed where he was standing, lifting his hand to try and peel the frying pan from his face, but Aura would give him no such chance as she ran towards him slamming her fist covered in a white glow into his chest, the impact nonexistent as the whole thing was absorbed by Alex''s body the attack not even being the equivalent to a light tap.


    Alex''s other hand shot out snaking around Aura and pulled her in for a hug as he ripped the frying pan from his face, with a creating sound as the metal was torn.


    "Hello Aura," Alex said, staring down at the Light Elemental. She in return gave him a fierce glare, her eyes would have spit fire at him if it was physically possible. Alex knew he screw up, he had been gone far longer than planned and this was the result, he could only be glad that Aura seemed to not have destroyed the house, or at least the part of the house he had seen, namely his room.


    "I''m sorry", Alex said, loosening his arm he held her with. Aura didn''t step back but kept glaring at him as if to magnify his guilt and it was working.


    Alex stared down at his feet no longer able to handle Aura glare, "I''ll make it up to you", he said. Aura glared at him for a few more seconds before she nodded her head before walking out of the room. Alex looked up at her departing figure and sighed in relief.


    Aura suddenly stopped causing Alex to want to slap himself for singing, "Dinner will be ready in a moment, master", Aura said causing Alex''s tension to ease again, before they tightened once more at her next words, "Master should think really hard about how he''s going to make it up to me, leaving poor Aura alone for so long.", she said with a sad tone before walking off.


    Alex saw that she finally left breathed out as he sat powerlessly on the bed. "What to do, what to do. Can''t just give her any stupid thing, maybe... no, she would like it but not to the extent of forgiving me. mhhhh", Alex thought


    "Dinner''s ready" Aura''s voice called out bringing Alex from his thoughts, he slowly made his way to the dining room where Aura was waiting for him, having decked the table and only waiting for him to sit down so she can serve him his food. She smiled at Alex sweetly her face cheerfully again.


    "Well, at least she''s back to normal", Alex said breathing out a mother sigh as he waited for Aura to serve him his food.


    Putting the plate before Alex, she spoke, "For dinner Lasagne", Aura said cheerfully, Alex could only stare at the food she gave him, the smell the look it was all perfect, Alex slowly took a fork full and placed it in his mouth, "Even the taste is perfect", he thought tears threatening to come out.


    "This is amazing, Aura. When did you learn to cook", Alex said smiling at Aura. She stared back at him and smiled cheerfully before replying.


    "When Master left Aura all alone, not even thinking of her, Aura thought only of Master. She learned to cook for master, clean for master, and do many other things so she can please Master.", she said as she stared at Alex with an expression that said, praise me.


    "Hehehe, Good job Aura", Alex laughed awkwardly as he extended his hand and rubbed her head while thinking, "Fuck, she''s playing the guilt card".


    Suddenly the warm atmosphere went cold as Aura looked at Alex with fridge eyes, ''Master better make it up to me", she spoke coldly before giving him a bright smile the atmosphere turned warm again and she skipped off.


    Alex stayed frozen his hand still outstretched as he was rubbing her head, his face an emotionless mask but in his mind was storming, "Not back to normal, not back to normal..." he chanted in his head.


    ...


    After finishing dinner Alex couldn''t help but wonder where Aura got the ingredients, so against his better judgment he went to ask her.


    "Huh?", Aura said as she heard his question before puffing out her sheet as if she was proud of something, "Aura learned to shop", she said.


    "Good job", Alex praised her again before making a strategic retreat before cheerful Aura turned into chilly Aura.


    ...


    After talking to Aura Alex decided to take a bath, he slowly sank himself into the warm water as he moaned out in pleasure, more out of habit than actually feeling something. His constitution didn''t exactly make it possible for him to physically have sore muscles or aching bones, being the body of a titan a body carved by the energies of the universe and being perfect in all physical aspects. That didn''t mean h Alex couldn''t have mental fatigue and that is what he was curing at this moment in the hot bath.


    "This is nice," he thought to stare at the steam rising from the bath. " Sometimes I think I should just leave those three factions to there devices, but then when I think of the tragedy that will happen to those poor children than...", Alex stopped mid-thought, "I must help!", Alex steeled himself, his eyes shined in resolve.


    Climbing out of the bathtub, Alex dried his body and dressed, "Aura!" Alex called out, his voice filled with commanding air. Aura quickly came towards him, her face filled with uncertainty as what would make her Master suddenly act like that.


    "We will leave immediately, take my hand", Alex said stretching out his hand.


    "Master?", Aura did not know what was going on, but it did not matter, her Master asked for her hand and she would give it.


    "I''m coming children", Alex thought, what popped in his mind a while ago was a certain Holy Sword project the church had made and what became of the children in it. This was something he could not allow be it as Alex or a Former Grand-Paladin, known also as Saint-Lambert.


    Alex held Aura''s hand tightly as space twisted around them, "Where are we going Master", Aura asked.


    " I don''t know, but I know who knows, We go to Rome. Either they tell me or I make them tell me" Alex said. Normally he wouldn''t teleport like this if he had other options but now he was in a hurry.


    Space warped and they disappeared.

 27 Chapter 27: Interrogating A Bishop

    Somewhere in Rome.


    Space strangely warped before two people appeared, they were Alex and Aura. Alex looked around for a while before setting off in a direction. He was heading towards the Vatican city situated inside of Rome.


    Crossing into the Vatican city Alex didn''t stop and headed for the closest church he could find, it was an exorbitantly large church, built in an Italian Renaissance style.


    Staring at the church Alex could only think of how beautiful it was, a true masterpiece of architecture. Standing in the massive court outside the church Alex spotted numerous priests going back and forth among the numerous tourists.


    Walking forward towards the church Alex saw more and more priests and deacons moving about there were even a few praying, after some time Alex finally found one he might be able to use dressed a little differently.


    "Robe, check. Hat, check. That''s a bishop alright.", Alex mused to himself before heading towards the bishop that was coincidently walking into a restricted area in the church. Alex closely followed the bishop, ignoring the guards which "conveniently" ignored him.


    Alex followed the bishop for a few more seconds until they were out of eyesight. With a snap of his fingers Alex secured a barrier around the area, it wasn''t large or powerful but would make people unconsciously avoid the area and keep noise inside out. With a few quick steps, Alex grabbed the bishop by his robe before pushing him against the nearby wall.


    The bishop was completely shocked not expecting such brought handling all of a sudden. Alex not giving the poor bishop a chance spoke, "The Holy Sword Project, where is it being held.", Alex asked the bishop.


    The bishop just stared at Alex for a while before speaking, "Please son you are in the house of...", Alex covered the bishop''s mouth before he could finish his sentence.


    "I will ask again for the last time where is the Holy sword project being held", Alex said releasing the bishop''s mouth, but grabbing him by the jaw. The bishop looked frightened but still answered. "I don''t know what you''re talking about, I have never heard of such a thing."


    "Ok, then where is Ach Bishop Valper Galilei?", Alex asked.


    "Who?, I''m sorry young friend but I don''t know who you are talking about", the bishop said.


    Alex''s eyes flashed as he saw something in the bishops, he was lying. "I will give you one more chance to answer willingly if you still refuse I will have to take more drastic actions", Alex said threateningly.


    The bishop looked shocked, "You would torture me?!" he said in disbelieve.


    Alex smiled at the bishop sending a shiver down his smile, "Oh, perish the thought, my dear holy man, I would never do something so pointless, your faith would never allow you to break, but..." Alex smiled even wider as it turned cruel, "no matter how much you struggle nothing can stop me from taking what I want from you very soul and believe me the pain of doing so is thousands of times more severe than what I could ever do to your flesh." Alex said his words were like sharp needles pricking the heart of the bishop.


    "I-I, sight," the bishop sighed before hardening his eyes, "I will never tell you", his eyes filled with righteousness. Seeing the bishops glare Alex could only sigh in regret, of all the bishops he could have grabbed it had to be a truly righteous one. With a slight motion of his hand, the bishop lost consciousness.


    Carefully putting the bishop on the floor in a sitting position making him lean against the wall, Alex gave the bishop a good look. The man before Alex was quite old, probably in his seventy''s, his hair grey and his face marred by time with many wrinkles.


    Alex placed his hand on the bishops head, "I will make this as painless as possible", he spoke softly at the bishop then chanted, "animam quaerere(Soul Search)". Alex closed his eyes as he looked through the bishop''s soul, from the day he was born everything he knows or has forgotten Alex saw everything, from greatest accomplishments to darkest secrets. In just a few seconds the bishops entire lifetime of memories have been seen by Alex, "Got it", Alex said opening his eyes.


    Alex turned to Aura who has been silent the entire time, "What are you thinking", he asked, approaching her.


    "What, are we doing here Master, you haven''t told me anything" Aura said, unsure of what to make of the situation.


    "Children are being experimented on and we are here to find out where that place is and stop it", Alex said.


    "Then he..." Aura said viciously looking at the old bishop, "He knows nothing", said Alex alleviating her anger, "but he knows where the person responsible is." turning back to the bishop Alex spoke again, "he is of low ranking, not qualified to know any details, even then I don''t believe the church is wholly in the know about what is going on, this bishop only knew that Valper was busy with an important project and where it was taking place".


    "Where?" Aura asked she seemed worried about the children, that was the kindness found in all light elementals, wanting only to heal and help.


    "As a bishop, he didn''t know the precise location but he knew of the general location somewhere in Switzerland", Alex said stretching out his hand towards Aura, "Shall we?" he asked.


    Aura didn''t accept it immediately but turned towards the unconscious bishop, she pointed towards him as she sends a bit of light towards the bishop, as the light touched him his wrinkles started receding and his skin became healthier, he looked as if he had become twenty years younger. With that, she turned towards Alex smiled before taking his hand.


    "Next stop, Switzerland", Alex said preparing to teleport towards the country.


    "Let''s go," aura said


    Space twisted and as it returned to normal the duo disappeared.


    ...


    Not long after the duo disappeared the barrier Alex sat up disappeared, and a lone deacon found the bishop. The deacon immediately ran towards the bishop, trying to wake him up.


    The bishop''s eyes slowly opened as he stared bleary-eyed at the deacon, his only thoughts, "I''ve got to stop drinking,"

 28 Chapter 28: The Price Of Evil, Ashes

    Two Months Later.


    Two figures could be seen treading through a snow-covered forest. The needles of the evergreen trees covered in a deep layer of snow, a testament to a long unforgiving winter. The two figures where Alex and Aura.


    "... and that is why light elemental servants are the best." Aura declared, looking quite happy at her argument.


    Alex wore a confused look as he treads through the deep snow, "I just wanted to know the extend of her healing capabilities, how did it end up her narrating the greatness of light elemental servants.", he thought.


    Aura weightlessly trod upon the snow, while also taking every chance she has to explore different parts of the forest like hidden burrows and small frozen streams. Her eye''s glittered with everything she saw.


    Alex smiled at her reactions to everything since Aura was summoned by him to this world she rarely had the chance to look around, or explore so seeing her so happy now brought comfort to Alex''s heart.


    Aura suddenly called spoke after approaching him as they continued on there journey, "Master, we have spent so much time looking for this, Base as you call it, where the experimentation is being done but...", she stopped unsure if she should continue.


    Alex sighed, "I know, we have searched so long and have yet to find even a trace, you doubt the Bishops info.", he said knowing what she was implying, "don''t worry, I think we are close, well we have already searched more than eighty percent of the country, I doubt that place will stay hidden much longer. Have faith Aura".


    "Say''s the faithless paladin", said Aura with a smirk.


    "I had faith when I was known as Lambert. I had faith in my arm, my steel, and the great warriors that fought alongside me in battle. Why do I need to beg a god for something, which I myself can deliver?"


    "..."


    Aura was quiet for a moment not knowing what to say, true although Lambert did not worship any of the gods he was no worse than any other Paliden who received their blessings, in fact he surpassed all previous paladins and even grand paladins.


    "Master", Aura spoke.


    "Mhhh?"


    Aura looked uncertain, but after some contemplation, she spoke, "When we separated, what did you do. I mean you were on your last legs when you send me into the light elemental realm, I doubt you would have lived long, so what I wanted to ask is..."


    "How I died." Alex finished her question.


    "Yes", she did not deny it.


    "Well, after we separated I ..." Alex stopped mid-sentence as they walked into a massive clearing in the snow-covered woods where a large facility could be seen in the middle, "...Oh, guess we found something."


    Aura also looked at the facility before frowning, "There is smoke coming from there and there are a lot of people running around?"


    "Shit!, Were late they have already started there purge. Aura stay here, I will send any survivors I find to you, heal them as best you can but before all else ensure there life!" Alex ordered as he started moving forward as fast as he can without destroying anything in the process.


    ...


    Alex quickly entered the facility, literally running a whole through the fence, searching for the entrance.


    "Found it"


    Running towards a heavily reinforced metal door an unfortunate exorcist just so happens to obstruct his route, Alex didn''t slow but kicked the poor man while running sending him into the door destroying both.


    Making his way through the, now, blood-soaked entrance coming through every room he could and disposing of any man in his way in a similarly brutal way.


    His path littered with half corpses plastered blood, and even some body''s sticking through the reinforced concrete walls. There was no mercy, no chance of retaliation, they didn''t even know who or how they died, one moment they were busy with something the next they where dead.


    Reaching a rather large door Alex slammed thought it as if it was nothing more than a soap bubble, the metal gave way to his titan body like tin foil, not even able to put up any resistance.


    Entering a large room, Alex''s emotionless face contorted into grief, in front of him was a scene that would even make the most ruthless weep.


    Hundreds of children lied on the ground, there body''s cold, tears marks running down there face painted a picture of the fear they felt before they died, the pain they felt before life was prematurely ripped from them, some bodies were huddled together as if they were trying to comfort each other in there final moments.


    Alex quickly composed himself as he walked past the children no older than ten, searching, hoping to find a tinge of life among the sea of death. Alex''s eye''s scanned the bodies, each dead one he passed left more grief in his heart than the last, but it would not keep him from his task, he has lived too long and seen too much for it to sway him, he had to be strong to safe that one that might have survived and as if predestined he found one.


    Alex moved as swiftly as the wind, appearing before a young boy with brown hair, though faint he still breathed. With a swift motion space rippled and the boy was sent to Aura, Alex could not waste time healing as there might be more alive. He was right he found six more, two boys and four girls, he quickly teleported them to Aura for healing, unfortunately he could find no more after, among hundreds, he could save but seven.


    Alex sighed in grief, he had done so many times since entering this room and will probably to do so for eternity every time he recalls this moment, just as Alex was about to leave himself, he picked up another life, so faint that he most would never have noticed, it was very weak, so weak that it was almost nonexistent, but even so there it was. walking towards it without hesitation, underneath a few bodies Alex found the source, inside a barrier of a sort was a little girl, she looked frozen in time, the tears that ran down her check forever in stasis.


    Alex was surprised, yes, but even more so he was glad, he could save another life. Grabbing the barrier Alex gave a final scan of the room, before leaving via teleportation. He appeared next to Aura, inside a massive globe of light energy that she had summoned, the energy from the globe seep into every child healing and protecting them.


    "Master, this...", Aura said looking at the few children, expecting more.


    "These are all I could get to in time, unfortunately..."Alex said as he walked out of the globe of light leaving the girl in the barrier within, he faces the facility, many exorcists were investigating the bloody entrance yelling in indignation and anger, "How dare you to be angry, vile beast unworthy of the air you breath" Alex thought in rage.


    A bow and arrow appeared in his hands, drawing the bow he pointed it towards the sky above the facility, "I will show you what awaits those that are wicked", he thought


    "Great wind of the world, carry my message. One filled with my grief and wrath, in return I shall show you the epitome of calamity", Alex chanted as he released the arrow.


    It flew into the air, flying over the facility, when it reached the center it stopped as if held in place, massive amounts of wind surrounded it forcing it to fall straight down, the arrow rocketed to the ground accompanied by the wind, its body burst in red fiery light.


    The exorcist noticed this, but instead of an arrow they saw a red light falling straight into the middle of the facility, just before the arrow landed Alex spoke, his voice could mysteriously be heard by every exorcist in the facility, his voice as if speaking directly to there souls, heralding their end.


    """""Titulus monumenti cinere (Pillar of ashes)"""""


    The world turned red, a massive pillar rose from the earth, made from fires so red it looked like it was formed of blood, the pillar engulfed the retired facility, the exorcists didn''t even have the chance to react before they were burned to ashes, but that was not the end, the pillar of fire rose into the air as if threatening to burn the sky.


    "Let''s leave," Alex said as space rippled around him, Aura and the children, and then they disappeared, but the pillar kept burning, and only after an hour did it finally die down, what was left was something that would spook any who saw it.


    The facility was gone the ground around it flat as a mirror, but hundreds of silhouettes, they were the exorcists that were burned by the pillar of fire, their ashes confined in a crust of coal perfectly capturing there body''s and facial expressions as they died, there was no horror or fear only confusion as if they did not even know what killed them.

 29 Chapter 29: Being Unkind

    Alex''s house.


    A ripple appeared in space as Alex, Aura, and the rescued children appeared in Alex''s living room.


    "Aura please settle the little ones in one of the vacant rooms", Alex said, his day has been ruined by what happened. Alex went up the stairs, planning on having a long nap.


    "Master!", Aura called after Alex making him stop halfway up the stairs.


    "I''m tired Aura, just settle the kids down, make sure they''re comfortable, and be there when they wake up", Alex said then started climbing the stairs again.


    "..."


    Aura was silent, after some time she raised her hand and a white light came from it, fluttering like a ribbon it surrounded and lifted the children into the air, carrying the children via the light ribbon she went upstairs and into the only empty bedroom left in the house. Luckily the kids were still small and all of them fitted on the queen-size bed in the room, all except the girl in the barrier, Aura carried the girl into her room and placed her on the bed.


    Throughout this whole time, she couldn''t stop thinking about the spell her Master had used. It might not have been the largest Area Of Effect spell she had ever seen and could be said to be quite small if one based it of Alex''s power, but even then it was exactly that spell that haunts her thoughts. The amount of energy that that spell unleashed was horrifying and to be able to make so much power engulf the entire area was even more so.


    It was common sense that the larger the affected area the less damage would be individually taken since the power had to be spread, but with this spell, even if she were to use her most powerful single-target spell, and attack an enemy weak to light with it the amount of damage she would do would only equal to one percent of what was done to each individual within her Master''s spell affected area.


    Just thinking of how his single target spells would look made her shiver, in fright or excitement she knew not but shiver she did.


    ...


    Alex laid down on his bed, lifting his hand he covered his eyes with it, "I shouldn''t have done that", he thought, "but I don''t regret it".


    The spell he used was called Pillar Of Ashes or [Titulus monumenti cinere], it was a rather high tier spell being at the seventh tier, but even then it should not have been able to release that much power, the only reason that was possible was that he supercharged it with a shit ton of manna.


    Alex himself categorized spell via his old world''s where he lived as Mythandar, though not all the spells he knows came from that world it was from his perspective the easiest system. Spells were categorized from the first-tier to the tenth-tier, then there were the Super-tier spells and lastly the God-tier spells.


    Of the last two tiers, Alex possessed five super-tier spells and two god-tier spells, these were his greatest powers in the arcane arts magic so powerful it could destroy all in its path.


    Super-tier: Hell-blaze (Darkness and Fire)- Single


    Super-tier: Avengers Edge (Light)-Single use Enchantment


    Super-tier: Devine might (Light)-Self


    Super-tier: Sky-Fall (Fire)- AOE


    Super-tier: White Death (Ice)- AOE


    God-Tier: The Mortal Spear (Blood) - Single


    God-Tier: Archons Decent (Light) - Self


    Alex slowly drifted asleep, mentally exhausted by all that had happened on that day.


    ...


    The next day, Alex slowly woke up and headed downstairs only to be met with several more pairs of eyes than he had expected. Sitting at the dining room were seven children enjoying a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs on toast when they saw Alex they all stared at him.


    "Morning", Alex said before sitting at the head of the table waiting for his breakfast.


    The children just stared at him, not even eating anymore, they were told by the Lady that made them food that her Master had saved them, though still mistrusting they knew they would not be alive at the moment, they knew they should not have woken up after closing there eye''s because of the poison they were given, but here they were, though not ready to fully trust these knew strangers at least they were not afraid of being killed, who kills someone after going through so much trouble to save their lives.


    "Mornin Master", came a cheerful voice as Aura delivered a plate in front of Alex, Bacon, and eggs on toast the same as everybody else.


    "Good morning to you to Aura and thank you for the breakfast", said Alex as he slowly ate the food Aura made for him. The children after realizing that he will not talk to them or give a speech continued eating their breakfast.


    After finishing their food they looked towards Alex again finding that he was waiting for them.


    Seeing that everyone has finished there breakfast Alex spoke, "Well now, I''m glad to see that everyone is... well for a lack of better words alive.", he said with a warm smile.


    "I hope you have not found our hospitality too abhorrent, I must apologize for having you share one bed as I did not expect to have so many guests over." Alex continued, he spoke in a calming voice while exuding a kind and gentle aura, it immediately had to affect on the worn children as there tense shoulders visibly relaxed and the tight nerves loosened most of them even had tears in their eyes.


    Looking at them Alex felt pity to them but he had some words he needed to say and there was nothing he could do about it. "Now, you are welcome to stay here until I can find you a better place.", he said.


    His voice caused the relaxing children to tense up again some of the girls even had tears running down their cheeks. "I know this is a lot to take in, but I simply cannot take care of all of you..." Alex said staring at his hands, "... it might even be better to not associate with us.", just thinking about the amount of killing he would have to do in the future he could not bear to raise these children. What sort of childhood would that be, they have suffered enough already he had no right to do that and even if they wanted to stay they had no right to ask him to raise them while having them potentially die one after the other in front of his eyes, and if they miraculously survived how long will it take before the time they die of old age as all mortals do.


    It might sound stupid but Alex would rather not spend give his heart to something that would die after he blinked his eyes.


    "I am truly a pathetic god", Alex thought as he stared at the crying children. Standing up from his chair he spoke "Aura, please look for any orphanages that would be willing to take in these children", then he looked towards the children, "I will not place you in any place I believe you would be abused, nor will this happen any time soon. You will stay with us for a month no matter what, it gives you time to calm your minds and steel your hearts."


    After his speeches Alex left the children with Aura as he exited the house, standing just outside he let out a deep sigh, "This is for the best, even if I am being unkind.", he told himself.

 30 Chapter 30: The Little Shi

    Hyoudou Residence.


    Alex sat on a sofa in the living room while Miki (Miss Hyoudou), served some tea. "It''s good to see that your back from your trip safe and sound Alex," she said to Alex, sitting opposite him on another sofa while enjoying her own cup of tea.


    After leaving his house Alex decided to pay Gorou and his wife Miki a visit since he hasn''t seen him since he went to hell or the underworld as it is truly called but Alex prefers calling it Hell.


    "Thank you", Alex thanked her for the tea, taking a sip, "delicious. It has been a while, Miki, hows Garou doing and congratulations on the boy, I know its a bit late".


    "Oh Garou is still at work while, Issei, our son he''s playing at friends," Miki said. "Your not late, the fact that you''re even here is a blessing, your words truly supported me and Garou, you have no idea how much you helped. It was hard, we went to a temple and you should have seen him, Garou prayed on his knees for day and night, finally, the date came and a healthy baby was born!" she spoke, he faces filled with gratitude as she remembered their struggles.


    Alex smiled, as he saw how happy Miki was, but then he went silent thinking about the children in his house, "I''m, such a hypocrite, I deny them for fear of losing them because of their mortality and here I am befriending Mortals. But I guess raising a Mortal and befriending one are different things, then again this could be me trying to justify my actions, then again should it even matter what I choose in another century none of this will matter, is it even worth spending so much time on. Then again..."


    "Alex", Miki called out to Alex, snapping his from his internal monologue.


    "Sorry, I was just in thought", Alex apologized, feeling a bit apologetic for ignoring Miki.


    "No, it''s fine. I was just asking who Aura is to you? you know the girl giving in your house", Miki asked.


    "Ah, Aura. Well its a bit complicated, we can be called close friends but I feel we''re more like siblings, I''ve known her for what feels like an eternity and we''ve been close for years. Why?", he said.


    "No reason, just curious, so no romantic relations", Miki said leaning forward in her seat while giving Alex a strange smile.


    "No, nothing like that, I couldn''t bear thinking about her in such a way," Alex said while thinking, "She''s like my own child, I raised her since she was nothing more than a newborn elemental, though I had to let her leave when she was strong enough, I guess that is also what every parent must do but still even if not in a father-daughter relationship, she''s still like family".


    "Oh," said Miki disappointment was written all over her face before she smiled again, "She''s a lovely girl, we''ve invited her over to eat several times and she always made for good company and..." Mikis''s face darkened a bit, "Issei also likes her a lot he especially likes it when she hugs him".


    "Oh, that''s great to hear", Alex said while smiling but internally his thoughts were different, "You little fucker, if you weren''t just a toddler I would have strung you up by you balls in the middle of kuoh academy''s girls changing room"


    "Yes, gre..." Miki was about to echo when the door of the house slammed open an a young boy''s voice was heard.


    "Mum, I''m home and brought Irina with me. where are yo..." the boy shouted but suddenly stopped when he saw Alex sitting opposite his mother drinking tea. "Mum, who''s that," he asked.


    Alex looked at the little boy and young girl that came in after him, the boy had spikey brown hair and eye''s and looked like your average snot-nose little pervert according to Alex, the girl, on the other hand, was also had brown hair but was of a lighter shade, with beautiful violet eyes and a cute little face, she looked at Alex curiously. Alex also saw a little cross necklace hanging down her neck.


    The boy went up to Miki and asked, "Mom, who''s this", But before Miki could answer Issei''s eyes went wide open and suddenly yelled while pointing his finger at Alex, "Is he your lover, are you cheating on dad with this perve..." whack* "...Ahhhh".


    Before the boy which Alex now knew was Issei as he called Miki mom could Finnish his sentence, he got hit behind his head by a furious Miki. "Who''s my lover, what are you saying, immediately apologize to Mr. Alex before I beat you so hard you won''t be able to sit for a month!".


    Issei looked at Miki as if he was wronged, but seeing her gaze he immediately averted his eyes in fear before staring at Alex as if this was all his fault and squeezed out an apology.


    "Take that you little shit", Alex thought, as he kindly smiled at Issei before talking to Miki, "Don''t be too hard on the boy, he merely has a big imagination.


    Miki just smiled bitterly, "I wished that''s all he had", she said while thinking of Issei''s "hobbies".


    Seeing Miki''s face Alex gave her a pitying glance, "Yip a pervert through and through," he thought before turning to Issei.


    "Well, it''s a pleasure to meet you little shi... Issei," Alex quickly rescued himself from the slip and continued as if nothing happened," My name is Alex and I''m your neighbor."


    "Did you just move in or something?", Issei couldn''t understand thus asking.


    "No sweaty, the house miss. Aura lives in belongs to mister Alex", Miki answered him.


    Her answer looked as if it kicker Issei in the nuts as he was wobbly tears threatening to guess out of his eyes. Worried Miki asked, "Issei is everything ok?"


    Issei suddenly fell to his knees, "NOOOOOOO, Miss. Aura has been taken!!!!!!"


    WHACK*

 31 Chapter 31: A Long Nigh

    Hyoudou residence.


    Looking at Issei rubbing his head Alex was laughing on the inside, Issei looked at his mother with a face as if he had been wronged.


    "Don''t look at me like that you know exactly what you did", Miki scolded but could only sigh afterward, "You two go and play", she said as she gave Alex an apologetic smile.


    "I''m sorry Alex, Issei can be quite... strange sometimes", Miki said.


    Alex gave a light chuckle, "Don''t worry, I''m sure hell grow out of it eventually", he tried to convince Miki, but whether or not he believed his own words was another matter.


    Alex and Miki kept talking for some time, after some time the front door opened and somebody came into the house again, he shouted, his voice traveling through the house, "Honey, I''m home and brought some company."


    "Gorou!", Miki stood up from the couch and went to the front door to welcome her husband home, meeting him halfway she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek, "Welcome home" she said sweetly while smiling.


    Alex saw the whole thing from where was sitting and smiled, not wanting to ruin the little moment he just remained silent, but it seemed that Gorou''s guests didn''t have the same idea.


    Caught*


    Miki came out of her trance as she immediately let go of Gorou, her face red as she took a few steps back, staring at the man that interrupted her moment in embarrassment. Gorou just laughed while scratching the back of his head, catching somebody in the living room out of the corner of his eye''s he stared in that direction and was dumbfounded to see Alex there smiling in their direction.


    Before Gorou could react Miki spoke, "Why didn''t you tell me that Touji and Inako came", Garou looked at Miki, "I did".


    Miki ignored him and went towards the man and woman that came in after him, the man was dressed casually with a pair of sneakers, jeans and a white shirt, he had light brown hair and eyes. The woman wore a red dress, she also had brown hair but were of a darker shade with green eyes.


    "Touji, Inako, its good to see you, come in, come in, we don''t want you standing in the hallway the whole time.", Miki spoke as she leads everybody towards the living room, where Garou finally remembered Alex, who was still just watching their interaction with an eternal smile plastered on his face.


    "Alex!" Garou walked forward and shook Alex''s hand, "How was your trip?", he hadn''t seen Alex in years and was happy to see his quiet neighbor again.


    "It was fun, though not what I expected.", Alex said, standing up he faced the two new guests, "Alex Wold, a pleasure to meet you", he said towards Touji and Anako.


    The two greeted back as Touji took his hand and shook it, "Touji Shidou," he said then gestured towards the woman, " and this is my wife, Inako". She smiled at Alex in greeting.


    Garou looked at them and then laughed again, "Now that we have this out of the way, lets..."


    "Daddy", a childish yell came as she ran towards Touji, Alex watched as Touji picked her up and twirled while she laughed, "So she''s his daughter, can''t understand why he would let his cute little daughter dress like a boy but, to each his own I guess."


    "How was your day my little angel", Touji said while tickling her causing her to laugh out loud while trying to fight off his hands.


    "That looks familiar", Alex thought as he thought back on his days with the Sitri''s he let out an inaudible sigh.


    Standing up Alex looked at the group, "Well I should be going", his declaration made everybody stop as they looked in his direction in confusion, and Issei that just came into the room, stared at him as if saying, "What are you still doing here anyway".


    "What do you mean Alex, I just got here and we haven''t even gotten a chance to catch up," Garou asked in confusion. He had not seen his about in a long time, thought the amount of time they spend getting to know each other was short, there was something about him that made comfortable in his presence.


    "I guess, I can stay for a little longer", Alex said as he sat back down on the sofa to everybody''s delight and Issei''s dismay.


    Touji sat next to Alex as he started making conversation with him and Garou soon joined them, Miki and Inako sat nearby and gossiped. Issei and Irina ran back to Issei''s room to play.


    After a long time, Garou finally brought out his most prized whiskey for them to drink, "Let''s see how you two hold your liquor", he said with a smile. Miki wanted to stop him but then thought about how it was Saturday the next day anyway, he didn''t need to go to work so she just let him do what he wanted to.


    Garou threw each of them a glance and then razed his glass, he spoke "To friendship", Touji and Alex both toasted with him and down their glasses. Garou stared at the two after he finished, "Hope you didn''t plan on being somewhere because you won''t be walking tomorrow, ha"


    A few hours and bottles of whiskey later.


    Alex sat relaxed on the sofa with Garou and Touji trying there best not to fall down, "Al..hic..ex, damn. That one...hic.. iron stomach, ya...hic...got there" Garou said while looking at Alex with droopy eyes only causing Miki to shake her head in embarrassment, "Boys" she thought. Touji sitting Alex''s other side was lying back in the sofa head staring at the ceiling as he groaned in agreement with Garou, turning his head too looked at Alex. Inako just covered her face with her hand not even wanting to look at him.


    Alex stared at his glass that was empty, looking around he locked onto a bottle with still a bit of whiskey in, he emptied it into his glass and under the dumbfounded gases of the two men and woman he downed it with one go. "Monster" was all that went through everybody''s mind except for Touji that passed out after seeing Alex pour himself another glass.


    ...


    After helping Miki carry Garou into there room, Alex grabbed Touji and threw him over his shoulder, deciding to walk Inako and Irina home while carrying Touji, Inako protested that he could just leave Touji on the couch and she would fetch him the next day but Alex just ignored her and walked out of the house with and dead drunk Touji over his shoulder and an embarrassed Inako and Irina following him.


    After walking the one and a half ladies home Alex walked back towards his own house. Walking past an ally a shadow jumped out, moving towards Alex as a sharp light past by his neck.


    Chaaaa*


    With the sound of metal slicing against metal the light moved past his neck. Jumping back Alex looked at the shadow or person it the dark with curiosity. After seeing what the person looked at Alex was dumbfounded.


    "Did a serial killer just try and out me?" he thought not believing what he was seeing.


    The guy in front of him was just your average mortal human with no superpower unless you factor in his "Super-stupidity" as on. He was holding a badly damaged knife, compliments of Alex''s neck, his hand quivering from the rebound force he got after trying to stab Alex.


    The guy looked at Alex in confusion as this was the first time something like this ever happened, his victims would usually either die on the spot or bleed to death, having his knife be damaged but hitting the neck has never happened before and he just couldn''t process this.


    Alex slowly walked towards his would-be killer and place his hand on the confused man''s shoulder, the man looked at Alex and the confusion finally wore off as the reality settled in and his eyes were filled with terror as he looked at the monster in front of him. He also saw something else that should not happen, the monster''s purple eyes glowed, instead of reflecting light they actually emitted light, purple light.


    "Don''t worry, it will be over soon", Alex said as he squeezed lightly with his hand holding the killer''s shoulder while pouring a bit of energy from his hand. The killer didn''t even have the chance to make a sound before his eyes dilated and he died, Alex released his body and as it slowly fell backward it slowly turned into dust."


    Alex didn''t look at the killer again as he made his way towards his house, he opened the front door and headed to his room to go to bed ignoring the various stares of the children that for a reason he didn''t care still hadn''t gone to bed.


    Lying down Alex closed his eyes and welcomed his dreams.

 32 Chapter 32: Preparing To Break The Barrier

    Alex slowly opened his eyes, looking at the clock next to his bed he was a little shock to see he overslept by a lot. "Guess I was tired", he thought as he slowly got out of bed.


    Exiting his room Alex made his way towards the bathroom, closing the door behind him he undressed and took a shower. After freshening up he went downstairs where he saw the children either playing or watching television.


    Aura came up behind him and said in a cheerful tone, "Morning, Master. Sleep well", she asked while hugging him from behind.


    Feeling her warmth Alex couldn''t help but have his mood raise, "Morning Aura", he said as he struggled a bit to get out of her hug but she held him like a vice. "Just a bit longer", she whispered from behind, and after a moment she gave him final squees before letting go, with a skip in her walk she went into the kitchen with a blissfully smile on her face.


    "Is that really all it takes to make the little element happy?" Alex thought to himself as he watched her skip off into the kitchen, probably to make him some breakfast. Alex moved towards his seat at the dining table and sat down while waiting for his breakfast, soon Aura came out with his coffee.


    "Breakfast will be out soon", said Aura as she placed the coffee down on the table before turning around and heading back into the kitchen.


    Alex took a sip of the coffee and savored it, then turned to look at the children as they played. Alex saw that Aura had taken the liberty to buy some toys for them to play with, they looked as if they were enjoying themselves. Alex held nothing but pity for these children so seeing them smiling again made him happy.


    Normally it would have taken longer for the children to recover, but when you have a being like Aura at your side it is truly hard to stay gloomy. Her very presence brings happiness to the surroundings as she engulfs all in a warm soothing invisible light.


    Aura came out of the kitchen and place Alex''s breakfast onto the table, Alex started eating right after thanking her. Finishing his breakfast Alex stood up from the chair, Aura was standing by his side waiting for him to tell her what to do. He turned to her "That was delicious, thank you Aura", Alex said causing Aura''s happy face to become even more so.


    "What could you find out about the girl in the barrier?" Alex asked her, Aura face turned serious when she heard his question.


    "It seems that the barrier was created by something within the child, I presume it''s a special ability she was born with but can''t be sure. The girl was poisoned like the rest but unlike the rest, she would have died a minute or two before you arrived if not for the barrier. The barrier in itself is very special as it can slow time down to a craw inside. This stopped the poison from killing her but also put her into a deep sleep and the only way to deactivate the barrier would either be to wait for it to naturally dissipate or forcefully destroy it", Aura answered.


    Alex thought over the information for a while, "The ability is definitely a sacred gear, a powerful barrier type one if I''m not mistaking,"


    "What would happen if we were to wait for the barrier to dissipate or destroy it forcefully?" Alex asked.


    "Well, from what I''ve seen, Master, if either happens the poison will act up again and kill the girl, I advise we clean it first and then save her, I would also advise we not break the barrier but wait for it to naturally dissipate." Aura said.


    "I understand the cleansing the poison before we save the las but why wait for it to dissipate naturally?"


    "There is a chance that she can be harmed by a backlash of some kind if we forcefully destroy the barrier unless we have a special way to negate that we know for a fact will not cause a backlash I do not advise it."


    Alex nodded, he was quite pleased with Aura''s deductions, it would have been a waste of all her year''s alive if she couldn''t think for herself. "Then we wait, I might have a way to help speed up the process of its dissipation but until examining the barrier for myself I will not take any chances."


    Aura nodded, "Shall I bring the child down for, Master to examine the barrier?", she asked.


    "No", Alex answered, "We will wait until the other children have found there own homes, they are all normal humans and will be able to naturally integrate within society... well as naturally as possible after experiencing what they went through, but the child inside the barrier is special. Man has always feared that which they don''t understand, and the things they fear they will grow to hate, it would be best not to abandon her to such a fate, we might as well take her in."


    Aura''s eyes shined when she heard they will accept the child inside the barrier into their little family. It has always been her and her Master, and she was fine with that but the prospect of a new member was very enticing to Aura, especially since this member will be younger than her so Aura can take care of this member, unlike Alex her Master who does not need her protection, not to mention she will have somebody she can boss around.


    Alex saw Aura''s smile and knew exactly what was on her mind, but he didn''t mind since he had his reasons for doing this, there will come a lot of times where he will have to leave Aura at the house and he didn''t want her to be alone, so having someone with her will help alleviate her sorrow for not being able to come with him, he was basically trying shave of some guild of leaving Aura at home.


    ...


    One Month Later.


    After a month Alex and Aura had found a good home for all the children and after having them calm down, he had them move into there new homes. How he did it without anybody asking questions nobody knew except for him and that was how he would have it stay.


    Standing in front of the girl in the barrier, Alex crouched down as he examined the barrier closely, then he turned his gaze towards the girl. She was very dainty, looking very fragile as if the lightest touch could break her, coupled with the tears running down her check frozen in time, it painted a very pitifully picture, it could make anyone want to do anything in their power to save her and even Alex felt pain in his heart seeing her like this.


    Alex placed his hand on the barrier and spoke in a soothing voice, his face showing a gentle countenance, "Don''t worry, little one. You shall be free soon, very soon".


    Aura sanding behind him stared at her Master with stars in her eyes, it''s not every day that she could see him show such a gentle expression. "Master what will we do?" she asked ready to help.


    "Be ready to help the child when she comes out", Alex said which stunned Aura and she couldn''t help but ask, "Wouldn''t be better if you comfort her after she came out of the barrier?" Aura asked. Alex shook his head, "Just do it" he said to which Aura could only nod in acknowledgment.


    "How can I get the two of you to get closer if I''m the one who comforts her in her first moments out of the barrier", Alex thought slyly, he wanted the two of them to become closer as to mitigate the guilt he feels when he leaves the house for a year or two.


    Preparing himself Alex shouted, "Ok, here we go!"

 33 Chapter 33: Tosca

    Placing his right palm on the Barrier, Alex concentrated as he sends small strands of light energy into the barrier, making use of special magic to breach it. Using both he could effortlessly breach the Barrier without a problem.


    Alex frowned, the light energy stopped moving when it entered the Barrier, looking closely he saw that it wasn''t stopped but just moving at a disastrously slow pace. "Of course there is a field within the Barrier that slows time, I can only use time magic as a counter", he thought as he wrapped the light energy in a time field he generated.


    After being surrounded in the time field the light energies were no longer affected by the time field within the Barrier which allowed it to move forward, though adding the time into the mix quadrupled the difficulty of the task Alex could still easily handle it.


    The light energies arrived next to the girl and enveloped her with the time field around it effectively making time move forward normally wherever it traveled. Normally this would cause an imbalance within the body of the girl since some of her cells would be older than the other but thanks to the light energies that covered her body were unaffected by this. The light energy engulfed the girl purifying the poison from her system as well as restoring her body from any damage she had because of the poison or gained before, even hidden ailments, and injuries were quickly healed as her body was brought to top shape.


    Alex breathed out a sigh of relief after he had finished healing the girl. With the light energy still surrounding her, Alex brought his finger up to the Barrier and gave it a "Light" flick.


    Crack*


    Were his finger landed cracks appeared and spread along the Barrier, causing it to shatter after some time, luckily the girl was snugly protected by the light energies causing any harm that might befall her to be negated.


    After the light barrier shattered the girl was left hovering in the air covered by the Light energies, she slowly descended until she softly landed on Aura''s bed. Aura had previously placed the girl on her bed and Alex decided it would be a hassle to move it, so he decided to just do the entire procedure in Aura''s room.


    Having gently placed the girl on the bed Alex leaned over her and gently wiped the tears from her face with his finger before standing straight and heading towards the door. "Your turn", he said as he left Aura''s room.


    Aura nodded in his direction before kneeling before the bed waiting for the girl to wake up. Alex paid them no more attention as he exited the house, deciding to go for a walk.


    ...


    "It should be around the time Cleria and her boyfriend "what''s his face" will be attacked by the church, well they and other devils will be waiting in the shadows to end them if they escape.", Alex thought as he could feel a lot of unfamiliar devils within the city and not just any devils but powerful high devils and even a devil he could only guess was ultimate class giving that its mana, that it so desperately tried to hide was many times more than the others.


    "When Cleria calls in the favor I will have to carry it out in the form of Mournomon, that might be a problem since that form is known pretty well by both the Sitri and Gremory houses, they might send people to search for me especially Sereixia, she will probably send out hoards of devils to look for me, well I did leave without saying anything, kinda a dick move but oh well, thou I dread the day I have to meet them face to face again", He shuddered at the thought of Lady Sitri and Sona''s cold glares.


    "Hopefully Serafall would be able to help me, or will she also give me the same treatment, I hope not she is a cheerful one but it doesn''t mean she can''t become mad, actually I believe she would be even carrier when she''s mad, mhhh... well whats done is done, if shits coming my way I take it like a man... Running away while screaming how sorry I am", he thought with a dignified face.


    ...


    After walking for some time Alex found himself in Kuoh''s park, near the swings, looking at the children playing around and their mothers who were watching over them while gossiping.


    Sitting on a patch of grass Alex lied back against a nearby tree, making sure no one was looking he took a book out of his storage space, the cover read OF Angels And Devils, he had found the book within the Sitri library and decided to stea... permanently borrow it for some casual reading.


    Reading a few pages, Alex heard someone approaching him and looked up from the book, he saw a young woman in her early twenties staring at him nervously, she had black hair and eyes with a pretty face and fit body, she glanced behind her before focussing her attention beckon him.


    Looking past her to were she glanced Alex could see two other young women of around the same age as her, probably her friends, "Uhm..." she started causing Alex to focus back on her making her even more nervous, after some time she took a deep breath and then continue, "H-hello, my name is... my name is Murabe Hateru, nice to meet you!!!" she yelled out the last part before turning around and running away, her friends quickly following her while throwing apologetic glances at Alex who was staring wide-eyed the entire time.


    "OK?" he said, he then slowly stood up his book under his arm and decided that he was going home, having had enough of the park for the day.


    "What a weird girl," he thought while thinking of what happened before, it was clear that she had something to ask him, Alex could guess what but he just found the whole thing funny especially her running away out of embarrassment after introducing herself not even waiting for him to give his name in return.


    ...


    Arriving home, Alex opened the door and closed it behind him, "Good evening, Master did you have a nice walk?", Aura voice called out from behind Alex as he closed the door, turning around he saw Aura standing at the base of the stairs with a young girl peeking her head from behind Aura and looking at him curiously.


    walking towards them Alex spoke, "It was nice, barring a strange encounter very peaceful", he said stopping in front of Aura, he looked down towards the little girl peeking out behind her, "Hello, my name is Alex", Alex said as he kneeled on one knee and stared at the girl expectantly with a gentle smile on his face.


    The girl looked hesitant at first before answering him in a very low voice," Tosca...I''m Tosca".

 34 Chapter 34: Dinner With The New Member Of The House

    "Tosca... I''m Tosca"


    Alex nodded his head, "Welcome to my home Tosca, I hope you enjoy your stay with us if there is anything you need don''t be afraid to ask Aura or me if she is not available.", Alex said gesturing at Aura when he spoke her name.


    Tosca nodded with a very quiet "Ok", before staring down at her feet. "What a shy child", Alex thought as he stood up from his kneeling position and went into the dining room, "I believe it is dinner time", he stated while entering the dining room.


    "Ah!" Aura realized it truly was around dinner time and she hadn''t even started, she stared down at Tosca unsure what to do with the girl while she prepared dinner but a voice from the dining room made the choice for her, "Tosca, why don''t you come and join me at the table while we wait for dinner."


    The girl hesitated for a moment before making her way to the dining room, she stood at the doorway unsure where to sit as she looked at the large table. Alex smiled at her as he gestured to his left and the chair moved back on its own allowing her to just sit in it. Tosa, of course, was amazed at what just happened, she stared at the chair with wide-open eyes.


    "Well come on now", Alex''s voice brought her back to reality, making the girl blush slightly as she walked towards the chair and sat in it. Yet again the chair moved, but this time towards the table stopping at just the right length for the girl to sit and eat comfortably.


    Tosca was staring at the feet of the chair as it moved all the way until it stopped before looking at Alex in amazement, she might not have known how it happened but it was obvious that it was his doing.


    "What?", Alex said as Tosca kept staring at him.


    "H-how did you do that", the girl asked slightly flustered, but curiosity burned within her beautiful blue eyes.


    Alex smiled as he waved his hand causing the candles that were decorating the room to lit up, "A simple trick, nothing special", he spoke casually as if there was nothing amazing about it and in truth, to him it was truly nothing other than a parlor trick but to Tosca, it was one of the most amazing things she ever saw.


    "H-how?", Tosca asked again, her eyes practically shining as she stared at him.


    "You want me to teach you", Alix asked with a smile as he saw the girl node energetically at his reply, seeming as if she had already forgotten all the horrible things that happened to her before. Alex, however, knew that the events still lingered deep within her psyche and it will take some time before she will truly be better again. The trust she had shown them was nothing more than a reaction of a child clinging to any earth it could find while being surrounded by the cold.


    She was hurting inside, and Alex planned to do anything he could to help her, he did what he could for the other children, but they needed other mortal humans to take care of them, people like them without any abilities. Tosca, on the other hand, had awakened to her sacred gear thus she gained its ability with the ability to use and control manna. If left with normal humans she would be shunned and estranged, and that was not what she needed now while her mind was on the verge of breaking.


    She needed people that looked after her and truly wanted to help her, she needed somebody to relate to and somebody as her shield and sport. Alex decided that he would allow Aura to play that role since they were both, female it would also make it easier for them to bond which was perfect in his opinion.


    Getting back to the girl that was eagerly awaiting Alex''s answer in whether or not he would be teaching her, Alex gave her a bright smile, "I will ask Aura to teach you, make sure you listen to her very carefully and never practice what she teaches you without her or my supervision"


    Tosca kept nodding, her face lit up in a precious little smile as she thought about being able to make things move without touching them. Alex just stared at her as she fell into her own fantasies with a dreamy smile on her face.


    Waiting for a few more minutes in silence, Aura came out of the kitchen while carrying a few dishes, she placed them all on the table while placing three plates down as well, one in front of Alex the other in front of Tosca and the last in front of the chair situated to Alex''s right.


    "Oh, will you be joining us", Alex asked her, Aura rarely ate so he was a bit surprised. Aura smiled as beautifully as always and nodded, "Yes, I believe its a special occasion, so I would like to eat with Master and Tosca if that''s ok with Master?", she spoke.


    "Of course, I would never mind having you eat with me at the table and you know that Aura,", Alex said, Aura nodded to his words her smile still on her face as she elegantly sat down.


    The three ate in silence, while Tosca still felt reservations with dining with Alex and Aura it soon faded into oblivion under the two''s encouragement, after that she ate like a starved person as she gobbled down the food.


    Finishing dinner, Alex got up from the table, but not before thanking Aura for the delicious cuisine, causing the girl to ascend to the seventh heaven because of the compliment form him, Alex left the dining room but stopped just as he walked out, he turned around and spoke to Aura, "Please prepare the empty room for Tosca, make sure she has everything she needs and wants, oh and please teach the girl some magic, just the basics for now until she gets accustomed to it." he said the last part while sending Tosca a smile causing the little girl''s eyes to lit up in the excitement but also her face to become red from embarrassment at the same time, all in all, it was an amusing sight for Alex.


    Alex was just about to leave the two but he suddenly paused and turned to a certain direction his purple eyes pierced through the wall of the house and other structures in its way coming onto a devil, she was in no way doing well, a wounded man laid by her side as she was trying to protect him from other people dressed in priestly robes and carrying sword hilts that created blades made of light. In the devil woman, the left hand was a Blood-Red coin-like token, in which she poured in a bit of her manna activating it.


    Aura, finding Alex''s reaction weird asked, "Is everything alright Master", Tosca also staired at Alex with a confused expression. Alex looked back at the duo and said, "It seems I will have leave for a moment, please don''t be alarmed I''ll be back in a short while".


    Finishing his words Alex disappeared under the worried eyes of Aura and astonished eyes of Tosca. Ripples formed in Alex''s room as Alex walked out of it, his figure quickly changing as he once again donned the form of Mournomon.


    "Time for fun", he said as he teleported to the devil''s location using a magic circle he had prepared in his room that was conveniently connected to the golden coin he gave Cleria"

 35 Chapter 35: A World Of Hur

    Cleria stood over her loved one, the priest/exorcist Masaomi Yaegaki, he was critically injured, lying down on the ground he watched with a bitter expression as the woman he loved did everything she could to protect him.


    "Run, Cleria, save your self!" he called out like many times before but she ignored him while facing the team of exorcists that came to kill them with a stern countenance. He could not see any way of them both surviving especially now that he was injured, he could only hope to reach this stubborn woman he fell in love with and try and get her to leave him behind and flee, but she just wouldn''t listen.


    Bang*


    Cleria was pushed back after blocking another attack, she was breathing heavily, and there were small wounds all over her body, blood slowly leaked out as she moved back in forth not giving her body any chance to heal, she couldn''t even remember how many times she had cursed the light weapons her enemies were using.


    "Guess I have no choice", she spoke softly that only she could hear her own voice, putting her hand into her pocket she pulled out a blood-red token and poured a bit of her mana into it, causing the little thing to glow brightly.


    "Careful" the exorcist leader shouted, Cleria had heard from Masaomi before that this man was his direct superior and also a holy sword wielder, which caused her to be extra wary against him, just imagining what a holy sword could do to her caused her to unconsciously shiver. The man named Touji Shidou was not to be underestimated.


    The light given off by the token started to become brighter and brighter and after a few seconds of activation it suddenly projected something, Cleria looked at it for a moment only to be dumbfounded the next as what the light from the token projected was a magic circle, the circle started moving and then a bright flash came from it causing her to unconsciously close her eyes, when she opened them again she saw the back of someone, it was large as if it could carry the weight of the world, she felt safe just looking at this back as it''s owner faced her enemies.


    The person turned around and she could see his face, flanked by the two horns that grew from his head and curved downwards, like bulls ending right beside his cheeks, his purple eyes that glowed like an undying ember, he opened his mouth his sharp fangs could slightly be seen from underneath his lips. He was the dragon that struck a deal with her some time ago, Mournomon.


    "It been some time Cleria, you look...", Mournomon spoke but paused a little after seeing her haggard appearance, "...Alive", he smoothly saved himself.


    Cleria just rolled her eyes at him, before speaking seriously, "Glad to see you again, Lord Mournomon, I seem to have run into a problem that I need your help with", she said, gesturing towards the group of exorcists as she finished her sentence.


    Mournomon gave the exorcists a brief glance, they were staring at him warily, his eyes did linger on Touji a bit longer but that was only by a millisecond more than the rest before he turned his gaze towards the wounded Masaomi.


    "His wounds are grave, you should probably tend to them before they worsen", Mournomon said, staring back at the exorcists he started advancing towards them


    "But what about you?", Cleria asked, but Mournomon merely chuckled at her question.


    "No need to fret, little one, take care of your lover and I''ll handle these little nuances", Mournomon said, his eyes stared down at the exorcists.


    "Leave now or suffer", Mournomon spoke, his voice exuded arrogance.


    The exorcist group was silent for a moment before Touji stepped forward to speak, "My name is Touji Shidou, captain of this group, may I enquire your name and your relationship with my target", his words rang out clearly for Mournomon to hear.


    "My name is Mournomon, as for my relationships with the little devil, well I owe her a favor, I will say this again, if you do not wish to be in agony, leave!" Mournomon said and even raised his voice at the last word causing the air to visibly vibrate from his shout.


    Touji was pushed back by a sound wave, his hand instinctively reached for his Holy sword but had better judgment than to draw it against this unknown variant. It''s not that he was a coward it was that since this being with horns appeared he had been feeling a deep sense of dread sprout up from his very soul, it was like a whisper warning him not to provoke this beings wrath. Touji might have been a good fighter and leader but he knew his greatest talent was his instincts, he would not be alive to this day if he had not listened to them now and right now they were telling him to turn around and get the fuck out of there.


    Saying a silent prayer asking God to forgive his cursing before letting go of the hilt of his sword with his trembling hand, yes he was trembling and the whispering from his soul was getting louder the longer he was standing in this... this... monster was all he could think of, get out of the presence of this monster. He was just about to give the order to retreat when he saw somebody run past him, getting a closer look it was one of his subordinates, "What the fuck are you doing!!!", Touji yelled in his mind but it was too late to stop the man as he was already in front of the Monster.


    Mournomon looked on in amusement as the exorcist passed his leader while spouting some crap about the church, Mournomon didn''t really care thou he was more interested in Touji''s hilarious facial expression when he finally realized what was happening.


    The exorcist swung his light sword with all his might as he shouted, "Diiiiieeeeeee!!!", the sword flashed across Mournomons chest and everything in the surroundings went silent, the seconds slowly trickled away but nothing happened. Nothing happened. NOTHING HAPPENED!!!, these were the only things that went through every single exorcist head except for the one that actually swung the sword.


    Mournomon looked down at him, staring him in the eye, "Let me guess, you are thinking something along the line of, I''m fucked", he said in a cruel smile.


    The exorcist stared at Mournomon in silence before slowly nodding his head, his entire body already drenched in sweat.


    "Well...", Mournomon started speaking as he cracked his knuckles in his palm, "...time to bleed".


    The poor exorcist couldn''t even react before he was seeing the world upside down, and with a Bang, he landed on the ground, the sound of a few bones braking could be heard and then a mournful groan before the exorcist passed outdo the pain.


    His teammates only stared on in horror, they couldn''t even see what happened everything was a blur and before they knew it he was in the air, then with a bang, he was on the ground.


    "Who''s next", Mournomon''s voice rang out like that of a demon, causing the Touji and his team''s faces to turn white as a sheet of paper, while they were slowly trying to back up.


    "Oh no you don''t", said Mournomon, as he took a step forward and appeared behind the exorcist group, giving the backmost member a kick somewhere the sun doesn''t shine, sending him and his team members, which he slammed into hurtling forward before coming to a stop lying on the ground, another painful yell came from out of the group as one of them was clutching hi own ass while crying in tears of grief, his ass was broken and he was never to sit on it again.


    The rest of the team was watching Mournomon standing there in sheer terror, his every step in their direction was like he was stepping on their hearts. Alee of them cursed Brian, the stupid exorcist that just had to attack this monster. They swore to themselves if they got out of this alive they will make sure that he will live the rest of his life pain, the same pain as they were about to experience.


    Mournomon still smiling cruelly arrived at the next victim ready to meet out judgment, in the eyes of every exorcist there he was worst than a devil.


    ...


    Cleria had been watching from the start and the longer she watched the wider her eyes went, in the end, she could only sigh in relive that Mournomon was an ally and not an enemy, Masaomi, on the other hand, was just staring at the whole thing from Mournomon beating every one of his previous comrades into a pulp, to the point where only the leader Touji was left, his mind was a black, he had no thoughts since he could muster the brainpower to form any as he watched this numbing scene.


    Touji stood in front of Mournomon, his entire body shaking in fear, while every thought in his mind was how to not think of whats going to happenin'' to no surprise it didn''t work.


    "Don''t worry..." Mournomon said gently as he placed his hand on Touji''s shoulder while mentally apologizing to his drinking body. With a quick jerk, his knee went up. Touji''s entire body suddenly tensed, his eyes dilated and then he slowly fell backward until he landed on the ground, frothing at the mouth as he slowly curled himself up like a shrimp.


    Mournomon having finished his task leaving each exorcist either unconscious or groaning in pain, turned his attention to Cleria and Masaomi, Cleria slightly shivered and took a step back when she saw him looking at her and poor Masaomi clenched his legs together as his face that was already pale due to his wounds became even paler.


    Mournomon smiled wryly as he looked at there reactions, "Might have slightly, ever so possibly overdone it just a bit" he thought.

 36 Chapter 36: Getting The Hell Out Of Dodge

    In an abandoned part of Kuoh town a massive man with a pair of horns growing from his head and slanting like that of bulls, curving until it stops by the side of his cheeks, stood in front of a man who was lying on the ground and a woman who was barely standing.


    "I think you should get out of here while you still have the chance", Mournomon said as his eyes scanned the surrounding area, looking at the various devils hiding, waiting to ambush Cleria and Masaomi if they were to escape, when his eyes passed thought the hidden devils they unconsciously shivered in fear, feeling as if he could see them, but that was clearly impossible, right?


    "What do you mean?", Cleria asked, she felt dead tired and just wanted to close her eyes and rest for a bit, but she couldn''t do that not while they were still in the open and not till Masoami''s condition was stabilized.


    "Don''t act dumb with me girl, you know as well as I that the exorcists are the least of your problem", Mournomon said.


    ''Of course'', Cleria thought as she became vigilant once more, "It seems my family wants me dead", she stated bitterly, Mosaomi also had a bitter expression on his face.


    "So now we''re facing devils, after barely surviving my old team, why must God hate our reunion so?", Masaomi asked out loud bitterly, as he stared at the sky as if asking why he was forsaken for merely loving a devil.


    "You ask a question no one will be able to answer you at this time, I have questioned the dude against the devils and angels for some time, there must have been a purpose a long time ago, but in this time and age, it is nothing but meaningless slaughter, with the already dwindling numbers of angels and devils its a wonder that each race still has some pittance of order.", Said Mournomon.


    Cleria could only sigh at there situation, hated by all sides, and there only hope was an unknown dragon with great power. How long could they rely on this dragon, how long would he even be willing to shelter or protect them, she had used one of her life-saving chances and only had two left not to mention she didn''t know how far he would help each time she used it. Her face was filled with worry just thinking of what would happen to her and Masaomi if this dragon, were to abandon them.


    Mournomon gently placed his hand on Cleria''s shoulder, pouring a bit of his mana into her. She stared up at him in surprise as she felt his mana travel into her, but she didn''t jump back in retreat instead she just let it run through her body, it brought her a calming feeling, as well as the illusion of infinite strength, just feeling the power that coursed into her body, made her once again realize what kind of existence a dragon was or more precisely this dragon in front of her. To her surprise, her wounds started closing up as the mana that was sent into her devoured the holy traces left by the light weapons, which were stopping her from healing herself.


    When all the vestiges of holy energy in her body was gone Mournomon withdrew his mana, "I see you have a lot of burdens on your shoulder, let this one at least try and lift some of it", he said in a calming voice different from what Cleria was used to him acting, he seemed gentler, kinder even...


    "Well now that you have calmed down, whats are you going to do now, my time is precious and I can''t be wasting it protecting some devil girl and her weakling of an exorcist lover", Mournomon said.


    ''Yip, he''s still an asshole'', Cleria thought as she shook off all positive delusions of the dragon in front of her, but just couldn''t seem to get rid of those kind draconic eyes, they''re like a brand burned into her very soul. SHe couldn''t help but feel that he really cared but was putting up a front as not to show it.


    "I think it would be best if we could get someplace less open first, I can''t help but feel as if there are enemies stalking us in the dark." Cleria said as she threw all other thoughts aside.


    "Probably because there are enemies stalking you in the dar, in fact, there are several devils hidden in the surroundings and they are all eyeing your perky ass, well your and that sorry-looking exorcist over there are asses.", Mournomon said, smiling nonchalantly.


    "So were surrounded just great", Masaomi said as he vigilantly looked around him while pathetically lying on the ground too weak to move even a muscle,


    "Would you stop badmouthing him, isn''t it enough he is in such a horrible condition?", Cleria finally spoke up about a point that had been urging her this whole time.


    "How did he become so messed up anyway?", Mournomon asked ignoring her.


    Masaomi answer with a sad expression, "I was ambushed, it''s a good thing that Cleria was close or I''d be a goner, we were going to meet up here, so I came a bit early and well you know..."


    "So you came here early thinking of how you are going to get lucky and in the end got your ass handed to you and almost died because of your old teammates, got to say, man, my heart bleeds for you", Mournomon said while giving the man a sad expression, well trying to as he was fighting of laughing his ass off at the exorcist''s bad luck.


    "Can we stop talking about this, were still in danger and were wasting time with nonsense", Cleria flared having had enough.


    "Chill woman, as long as I''m here there''s no chance of any of you dying, thought your right let''s get out of here, I''ve got somewhere to be so let''s get this over with", Mournomons said as he cracked his neck a bit. Pointing at Masaomi he spoke, "He''s in no condition to move on his own so you''ll have to carry him, stay close to me and you might live to see another day", with that Mournomon started running in a random direction, Cleria quickly reacted as she picked up Masoami, causing him to flinch in pain as she grabbed him, but unfortunately, there was no time for her to be gentle as she had to stay close to the dragon lest they lose him.


    ...


    Mournomon was quickly passing by the trees, Cleria close on his heels, every now and then he would contend a bit of purple manna into a pulley the size of a marble and flick it in a direction.


    Flick*


    Boom!


    The damage caused by the little marble-sized bullet was insane as it destroyed not only the hidden devils but a good part of the are where they stood, it was as if the area never existed and not even ashes remained. Not being able to cause widespread damage as he was close to human civilization Mournomon could only resort to this as a quick way to kill of any devils closeby.


    Cleria was surprised as she followed Mournomon and saw him flicking of the marble-sized manna bullets, and horrified when she felt the shockwave from the explosion caused by those small balls of death.


    Masami''s expression was the best as he just stared stupidly at Mournomon no believing the bullshit he was seeing of marble-sized manna balls destroying devils like shooting a rabbit with a bazooka.


    The three quickly left the forested area behind as they entered kuoh town''s residential area, causing Mournomon not to be able to fling his marbles of death anymore, that however didn''t mean he didn''t have other way''s of killing them off, in fact, one of his way''s was what he was doing now as he had just run into one of the devils who was trying to keep an eye on them, he didn''t expect them to come his way thus he was left with no choice to defend himself, but he was literally run into by Mournomon, like a human being hit by a bus he was send flying slamming into the ground and hopping a few time and as a coup de grace Mournomon stepped on him as he ran over the devil.


    Mournomon repeated the act a few more times before the devils finally became wiser and avoided t him like the plague, they were no longer following him but trying to run away from him. Cleria and Masoami just wore black expressions as they followed him, they didn''t know what to think nor did they want to damage their brains any further thinking about it, they just accepted that this dragon was unique in his own way but powerful none the less.


    Having "lost" their pursuers Mournomon lead the two towards the other side of town were an abandoned factory was, entering the factory he closed the door behind him. Using his manna he quickly made a concealing barrier around the factory.


    "All righty, this place should be safe for the moment", he said as he looked at the duo, Mosaomi was on the ground again, but this time he was sitting with his back against one of the pillars in the factory, Cleria was sitting next to him while gasping for breath.


    "Now what", Masoami said as he looked towards Mournomon.


    "That''s up to you two" was the reply

 37 Chapter 37: Making A Plan

    "So what''s your plan", Mournomon asked Ceria, she had been sitting next to Masaomi, who seemed to have gotten a bit better while thinking for a while now.


    "I think it would be best for us to lay low, and wait for everything to blow over, but that''s easier said than done, how long will we be able to hide from both the church and other devils, not to mention that I''m not really on good terms with the Grigory."


    Mournomon thought for a moment then spoke, " All right I''ll make you a deal?", he said with to Cleria, his face was showing an evil smile that was making not only her but Masaomi shudder.


    "W-what deal?", she stuttered barely able to muster the question, she just couldn''t figure this dragon out, it was almost as if he was doing everything at a whim, it was infuriating yet scary at the same time, who in their right mind would make an enemy out of one of the great houses of the underworld on a whim.


    Masaomi was the same, he may have only known this dragon for an hour at most but he was completely terrified of him, the power the overbearingness and the complete lack of reason to everything he does was making being in his presence very unpleasant.


    "In return of you using the remaining two chances of the token I gave you I will accompany you until you found a safe place, it would be best if you went somewhere where the three powers have no allegiance, like a place under the rule of another pantheon."


    "True, I will have to escape away from Kuoh town, and this token as you have stated will only be active within Kuoh''s territory, but is fleeing to another Pantheon advisable?", Cleria asked.


    "Well it won''t be any more dangerous than staying here, will it. I have said this before, I will ensure your safety before leaving you so if you don''t do anything stupid you will be able to live peacefully." Mournomon said.


    "Ok, deal"


    Mournomon nodded to Cleria''s answer before turning his attention to Masaomi, who had been silent the entire time.


    Masaomi seeing Mournomon looking at him with a questioning gaze answered without any hesitance, "I will follow Cleria''s lead"


    "Well at least we know who wears the pants in this relationship", Mournomon thought as he nodded to the pathetic Exorcist who sold his soul to the she-devil.


    "Well if that''s everything I will be leaving to start and make some preparations.", Mournomon said as he started leaving the factory.


    "Wait!" Cleria shouted after Mournomon, causing him to stop and turned to her with a confused look on his face. "Is there anything else you need?", he asked.


    "Are you just leaving us here, alone and wounded?" she asked with concern written all over her face.


    Mournomon stared deeply at her as he put on a face of contemplation, after a few minutes he finally answered, "Yes", with a natural tone, before resuming his departure.


    "You!!!", Cleria shouted at him, her face red with anger. Masaomi could only sight, he didn''t have many expectations it was a miracle that they have survived this long, so he didn''t think they should ask for too much but of course, he would never tell his thoughts to Cleria or risk having her skin him alive.


    "Relax, I will be back in a day or two. The factory is surrounded by a concealing barrier that will unwanted attention away, I also took the liberty to just put a defensive barrier up as well, it should be able to hold off an ultimate class devil''s full brunt attacks for about an hour so you should be fine since I don''t think any of the devils around here would be stupid enough to release all their power so near human civilization.", Mournomon said as he left the Factory making his way home.


    On his way, he had to make many detours as to run into devils, he could easily tell that these devils were none other than the ones pressing Cleria and Masaomi so he made some time to specially deal with them in the Mournomon way.


    ...


    After running over the most present devil, Mournomon was very close to home. Looking back at the barely alive devil he thought while smirking, "Guess there will be new legends spread about people reincarnating but instead of them thanking truck-kun it will be dragon-san"


    Entering the house Mournomon quickly changed back into Alex, making his way to where he could here voice. Entering Aura''s room he closed the door behind him, but to his surprise, a little scram came from in front of him.


    "KYA!!!"


    Getting a better look he saw Aura smiling at him with a loving smile while Tosca was trying her best to hide behind Aura. It would have made a very cute sight but unfortunately, Alex realized what the problem was, they were both half-naked.


    "Well, this was unexpected", Alex said out loud before making his way towards a chair in Aura''s room, "Quickly get dressed we have some things to talk about". Leaning in the chair Alex closed his eyes and waited for the two girls to Finnish dressing. It would seem he had caught them just as they were about to change into there pajamas.


    "But...but...", Tosca kept stuttering while Aura walked closer to Alex and leaned forward so that she could whisper into his ear. "Are you sure you want me to get dressed, Master", she spoke in a seductive voice.


    Tosca was a few feet away doing her best to quickly get dressed to ease her embarrassment but nearly tripped over when she heard Aura. "A-Aura, y-you shouldn''t...", Tosca stuttered but couldn''t finish her sentence out of embarrassment.


    Aura turned around and smiled at Tosca, "Naturally, I would have to ''serve'' my Master, but Tosca should quickly get dressed" she turned back to see Alex having opened his eyes. She was delighted at first but quickly found that his eyes where the same old eyes as always there was no excitement or lust in them, they were like a clear pool of undisturbed water.


    "Master?", Aura called out.


    "I thought I told you to quickly get dressed there are some matters that we must discuss", Alex spoke, he had a small smile on his face. Finishing his sentence he closed his eyes again and waited.


    Aura was visibly disappointed as she returned to Tosca''s side and continued dressing up in her onesie before helping Tosca into her own, Aura had a rabbit onesie and Tosca a Panda one.


    After the two finished Alex opened his eyes, ready to begin but Aura suddenly spoke, "Why do you even close your eyes master, you can still see everything and hear everything in your surroundings even if you were blind and deaf.


    "True, but it''s just common courtesy", Alex spoke with a straight face.


    "Now on to the topic of why I want to talk to the two of you.", Alex had a serious intonation in his voice.


    "What is it, Master?" Aura asked she turned into her serious mode as she waited for her Master to continue.


    "I''ll be leaving in a day or two", Alex


    "Eh", Tosca


    "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!", Aura, (back to normal mode)

 38 Chapter 38: Samsara

    "NOOOOOOOO!!!"


    Aura screamed dramatically as she fell to her knees, tears threatening to spill from her eyes while putting on a face as if she was a child being disowned. "Master, please don''t leave me", she pitifully said.


    Tosca who was standing behind Aura wore a confused expression not understanding how Alex leaving would bring out such a dramatic reaction from Aura. "Aura, what''s wrong?"


    Aura turned to Tosca, "You don''t understand when Master sais he''s leaving it could take anything from a year to a few decades for him to come back."


    Tosca''s eyes went wide when she heard she might not see Alex in a few decades, She might not have known him for long and he might not give off the same healing vibe Aura does, but she found that she would miss him quite a bit if he were to leave. Her eyes became teary as she joined Aura and pitifully stared at Alex.


    Being assaulted by these gazes Alex didn''t know what to do, there was the usual Aura pity me gaze that he had grown immune to then there was the knew to pity me a gaze of Tosca which he hadn''t adapted to and it ''shot him right in the feels.'' Not being able to put up with it he could only relent, but whether by luck or something else he was planning on taking them with him but like usual Aura jumped to conclusions.


    "Relax, this time I''m taking you with me. So make sure your ready we should be leaving around tomorrow"


    ''I still can''t understand why she is so immature while she is only a few centuries younger than me'', Alex sighed at his thoughts as he watched Aura''s face as she processed what he just said. He found it quite amusing since her face was first filled with confusion then contemplation finally as if a light bull was lit she started shining as a goofy smile appeared on her face.


    Tosca''s pitiful face was also replaced with happiness as she thought about where they might be going, ''Master is so nice, I wonder where he''s taking us'', she thought while unconsciously copying Aura in calling Alex, Master.


    "Master I knew you were the best", Aura jumped up after she fully understood she was going with Alex, and with quick movements, she hugged him, her arms going around his neck while sitting on his lap and squeezing his head into her chest.


    ''Fluff'' went through Alex''s mind as he balanced out for a moment not expecting Aura to overreact so much but he composed himself in less than a nanosecond. His muffled voice sounded out from between Aura''s twin peaks.


    "I appreciate your... feelings Aura, but could you please let up just a bit so that I can talk to the two of you about our next actions"


    Aura started giggling, "Master that tickles", as she eased up on her hold on him as not to have him ''tickle her'' by speaking any longer, but she did not get off his lap and by the looks of it she had decided to stay there come hell or high water.


    "Now then, I don''t suppose you''ll be getting off me will you?" Alex asked just to make sure and Aura cutely shook her face while leaning comfortably on Alex''s chest.


    Tosca watched as Aura laid blissfully on Alex and could help but think, ''That looks comfortable'', but quickly shook her head as a blush appeared on her face.


    "Ok, Tosca, you can come here too", Alex called out to the little girl having read her like a book. She hesitated for a bit but after taking another look at Aura''s blissful expression walked up to Alex.


    Alex shifted the daydreaming Aura onto his right lap and made room for Tosca on his left, the girly climbed onto his lap and buried her blushing face on his chest. Alex gently rocked his left lap while caressing Tosca''s beautiful white hair, causing the girl to get a warm feeling in her heart as she calmed down and slowly fell asleep on Alex.


    "What am I going to do with you...", Alex whispered under his breath as he stared at the smiling Aura that was lying don on his chest, his eyes flashed with deep love, then he turned towards Tosca who was sleeping in his left lap and it turned complicated, "..and you".


    "Aura...", Alex softly spoke, after a few minutes.


    "Mhhhh", Aura looked up at Alex, her beautiful face blushing in a deep crimson as she stared at Alex''s face, Which ones again only done a light smile with clear eyes that held not a single ripple of emotion.


    "It''s time to discuss my plan".


    "Ok", Aura said as she waited for him to continue, not planning on moving another inch.


    "Sigh*, I have been thinking of an excuse for when I move around in my different forms, though it might not be the best idea I think we should do it under the name of a group that we create ourselves."


    "Master, are you planning on founding your own Faction or cult?"


    "Nothing that fancy, but it would be better than going around as a nobody that''s from nowhere,"


    Aura put on a wry smile, "I doubt, Master would ever be considered a nobody no matter which forms he appears in, I have already seen three of them and none of them are weak, I doubt the fourth one would be any weaker, so Master what is the real reason you want to set up a faction?"


    "Hahaha", Alex laughed softly as not to wake Tosca, "you truly know me the best, well the truth is I just want an excuse to join in all the fun that is happening right now and will happen in the future," Alex said with a mischievous grin.


    "I knew it, all this effort just so you can mess with people and look just while doing it", Aura said disapprovingly but the excitement on her face said otherwise, she couldn''t wait to make people die out of anger.


    "So what will the group be?" Aura asked her smile just as mischievous as Alex''s.


    "I think it should be an Order, one who is created to gather knowledge and use that knowledge to help others, the second part is up to the whims of the members "


    "Of course it is but, an Order?" Aura thought before giving Alex a knowing look, "Are you missing your previous order of Paladins, Master?"


    "I can''t deny that", Alex spoke truthfully as he remembered the time he spends in his first life as a paladin.


    "So what will be our positions?"


    "I think I will be using all four forms as the leaders of the Order, while you will be Lamberts Second and Tosca can be your apprentice."


    Aura''s eyes went hazy as she thought of a certain Paliden, " I will be traveling with him again like before..."


    ''That''s still me you know, Alex thought wry, but he could somehow understand Aura''s affection to Lambert''s form since it was the form he was in when he first saved her thus Lambert''s image will always be burned into her heart.''


    " We will continue this tomorrow, for now, you can go and rest"


    "Mooo, do I have to?", Aura asked unwillingly to move from Alex''s lap.


    "Sight" Alex sighed as he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, "We can stay like this for tonight", he relented.


    "YAY!", Aura silently yelled as she snuggled up against Alex.


    "Just for tonight", Alex said, as he slowly drifted off to face his nightmares one more night.


    As he slowly drifted off to sleep he thought of a name for the order, it just appeared in his head and took ahold and he thought it fitting giving his past.


    ''Samsara''

 39 Chapter 39: Apathy Of Time

    The next morning.


    Alex slowly opened his eyes and scanned the room. Aura and Tosca were still sleeping on him, curled up on his lap and leaning against his chest.


    ''They look so peaceful, are they having beautiful dreams? It does not seem as if Tosca is experiencing any nightmares, she usually has a few during the night, that''s good. Aura also seems to be relaxing more as she sleeps. sigh.''


    Alex slowly starts transforming as his body bulks up with dragon-like veins moving under the skin, scars start to cover his now muscular frame while light silver line-like tattoos spread over it. His face becoming more rugged as a majestic beard appears and his hair grows till it reaches his shoulders, they slowly turn silver-white. Alex closes his purple eyes and when he opens them again they turned sky blue and shine as if they were stars. He also grew a bit taller becoming precisely two meters long.


    Alex or the now Lambert stared down at the two girls still sleeping in his lap while being none the wiser to his drastic transformation. With his increased size and the warm aura, he gave off made the two girls even more comfortable as they slept on him.


    "Aura", a gruff and deep voice quietly made it''s way to Aura''s ears one that made her even while fast asleep shiver, she slowly raised her head and opened her eyes which sprung wide open when she saw his appearance, her mouth hung agape as she just couldn''t form any words.


    The figure was so familiar to her yet felt so... different, it wasn''t just the many additions to his body''s scar collection but he also didn''t have those lines on his body before the two of them parted.


    ''Even if I said I like the Master''s new appearance more, I would never be able to not miss this one. He changed so much since we parted, is that still the kind old paladin I knew, most of those new wounds should have killed any human no matter how powerful and those silver tattoos, just what are they, I feel a dreadful power hidden inside of them, but how did they appear on his body?''


    "Is there something wrong?", Lambert asked


    "Oh, no nothing, it''s just this form of Master has changed much since I last saw it", Aura said as she forced a smile.


    "Sigh, some things happened and I became like this don''t threaten yourself over the past, look towards the future and live in the present. Now let''s wake the little one without scaring her to death"


    Lambert gently caressed the sleeping Tosca''s head in an attempt to wake her up. The girl groaned cutely then opened her eyes sleepily as she looked around in confusion, she saw Aura next to her then she looked in Lambert''s direction when she saw his face she froze.


    ''Wh-what happened? Where''s the Master? Who''s this?''


    Questions kept piling upon her head and she wanted nothing more than to jump off this strange man''s lap and make a run for it...but something stopped her. It was the eyes, thought the color was different the way this man looked at her was precisely how her Master did, it was a strange look one that had kindness yet apathy. A strange look that came from the strangest man she had ever met.


    "I-is that you... Master...Alex?", She questioned unsurely.


    Lambert smiled brightly at her showing her two rows of gleaming white teeth, "To think you would recognize me even in this form, what gave me away?"


    "...Master''s way of looking at me and the world... it''s strange like Master is interested yet feels nothing or that Master cares yet at the same time feels indifferent?" In the end, Tosca even questioned herself since she didn''t know how to explain it, Alex showed emotions even in his eyes yet there was always something that made one think he was unfeeling at the same time.


    Aura looked at Tosca in a bit of shock, "Tosca, you actually saw the Apathy of time!"


    Tosca looked at Aura in confusion, "The what of what?"


    "The apathy of time is something most beings will go through when they have lived long enough, their emotions become duller and it becomes harder for them to show them, even though Master still smiles and one can see him show emotions they are all disturbed by time, no matter how kinda person or how wrathful, time will wear at anything."


    "Then...then what about you? You are almost as old as Master why is it that you''re always so emotional?"


    "Oh, well that''s easy. Because I''m a Light elemental, we are a race born with a nearly unlimited lifespan so we are used to living long lives and do not get affected by this. Master on the other hand was... I think he was a Human in the very beginning..." Aura gave Lambert a suspicious gaze to which he could only smile wryly in return,"... and humans usually live no longer than a hundred years yet Master has lived much time more than that, in fact he is older than this very planet on which we stand..."


    "What?!", Tosca screamed as she stared at Lambert in disbelieve, "But this planet is millions of years old if you take in all the religions and their dates! How?"


    "I think that''s for another time little one", Lambert said soothingly as he caressed her hair with his massive hand causing her to calm down.


    "...Uhm, As I was saying, this will of coarse cause him to become apathetic to things. It''s not Masters fault really it''s just that the human soul was never meant to live that long and thus it will stop caring about many things in life, there are some cases where Humans that have lived so long that they even stopped caring about life itself or anything for that matter. That is when it gets dangerous since that is when they will start killing others just on a whim"


    Aura breathed out after finishing that lengthy explanation. She then looked towards Lambert then started with another sentence.


    "Well, that''s how its suppose to go, but for some reason Master can still show feelings even if you detect the Apathy that comes with it, you should just know that those feelings are real and not some made-up things"


    Tosca nodded with a serious expression than looked at Lambert, "Master... why do you look different?"


    "Well let''s start with the fact that I have lived four times before this so I have in fact three other forms that you haven''t seen before, don''t ask why I can change into these forms, just know that it can happen", Lambert said giving a quick summary that only left the poor girl even more confused.


    "Erm, Aske Aura to explain later on, ok?", Lambert added seeing how confused the girl looked.


    Tosca nodded.


    "Ok, now that that is taken care of let''s discuss what will be happening now, there are two people that I will be protected from a group of devils from the Beal family and maybe a few Exorcists from the churches, the plan is to use this endeavor to showcase our Order and to make others aware of our existence while not divulging too much information. We will be known as the Order Of Samsara, my four past life bodies will be used as the leaders of the Organisation while Aura will be this one assistant and you Tosca will be Aura''s pupil, that''s all. Now I will call you girls when its time to leave."


    Lambert finished and the girls unwillingly climbed of him as he took his leave from Aura''s room, just before leaving Lambert through two robes at the girls, the robes were pure white, one of them had Sky blue stripes at its edges and the other one had Purple stripes at the edges. "This will be your uniform, the blue one is for Tosca and the Purple one for Aura, don''t worry about the fit they are enchanted to match the wearer''s size.


    With that Lambert left walking down the stairs and heading towards the front door preparing to leave.


    "Everything will fall into place with the first move"

 40 Chapter 40: Arming The Loli and Setting Out.

    Lambert was just about to leave the house when he suddenly paused, staring down at his torso he just thought of something.


    ''My shirt is ripped''


    When he turned into Lambert not only did his length increase but also his width not to mention the muscles that sprout out of him making his arms as broad as a normal man''s waist. All in all his shirt was torn all over his chairs and his sleeves were none existent.


    Lambert went into the bathroom and locked the door behind him before ripping off his torn clothes, though the pants and shoes didn''t get totally destroyed it still got torn so he didn''t see any need to be careful and just tore everything from his body.


    What leid underneath was a very well trained body, the muscles rippled with unmatched power with silver lines crossing over it making almost understandable magic circles on his body and scars that told tales of countless bloody battles, one of the most desirable ones was a massive gash where on his abdomen and at the same location on his back, telling of a mortal wound inflicted on him long ago.


    Lambert took out some clothes from his pocket dimension which comprised a pair of white sneakers, a white shirt, and gray sweatpants, and hoody.


    Satisfied Lambert once again made his way downstairs and left the house, taking a walk around town.


    ''It''s almost time for the Orders debut, though it was hastily prepared it should wor, at the very least there is no chance of it being annihilated since I can handle myself very well while protecting Aura is unnecessary since she is powerful in her own right, Tosca thought is the one that worries me, she is still too weak to look after herself this is the one in danger when the Order reveals itself.''


    Lambert walked into a cafe and sat at an open table while waiting to be waited on, a waiter came in no time.


    "Here''s the menu, please let me know when you are ready to order", the waitress said with a sweet smile, she was a young girl probably in her early teens with bright sparkling eyes filled with youth.


    "Making some extra money as a waitress?", Lambert asked before the waitress could go.


    "Yes, girls got things to buy" the girl replied cheerfully before leaving.


    Lambert smiled as she left and turned his attention to the menu, ''I think I should just get a coffee. I will have to make sure I give Tosca something to protect her, maybe a protection talisman or I can enchant her robe with some very potent defenses, but that will cost a lot of resources just thinking of the number of resources I will have to stea... hum confiscate for a greater purpose, makes my head hurt. Maybe I should get a cappuccino. A defensive talisman is probably the best no need for unnecessary effort, as long as the talisman is strong enough it will be no problem.''


    Lambert called the cheerful waitress over, she came with a spring in her step as she asked, "What can I get you?"


    "A cappuccino please"


    She wrote down in a small notepad, "Will that be all?"


    "Yes"


    "Please wait just a moment and I will bring it right up"


    ''Let''s see from all the things I can give Tosca, I thing the Greater defensive talisman I have will work, I should also give her a staff of her own with a space ring and another ring with a three-time use attack charge within, yeah I''ll do that after I get back home. Should probably head back after finishing my cappuccino, walking is fun but can''t let me get distracted from my duties.''


    "Here you are", the waitress said as she gave me a small cup of cappuccino, "Is there anything else", she asked


    "No, that will be everything thank you"


    Staring down at my cappuccino after the waitress left I could only give a wry smile, ''So much money for such a small cup, It almost breaks my heart'', Lambert thought as he sipped the cappuccino with while crying silently in his heart.


    Finishing the cup, Lambert stood up and went to the counter to pay for the cappuccino, and left afterward, making his way back home.


    Lambert opened the door to his house, entering he found Tosca and Aura sitting on the couch with some snacks in between them and watching a movie on the television.


    ''So much for getting ready for the trip, though there probably isn''t much to prepare since I have most of the things in my pocket dimension.''


    "Tosca, can you come here for a moment", Lambert called the little girl. Tosca climbed of the couch and approached him.


    "Yes, Master," she said cutely as she smiled.


    "I have something for you"


    "...", Tosca''s eyes began shining as she waited in anticipation, Aura who heard what Lambert said also came closer to see what Lambert will be giving Tosca.


    Lambert took out the first item, it was a golden pendant with a red jewel in the middle, he hung it around her neck.


    "This is a greater defensive talisman, if you are ever attacked it will absorb damage, the amount of damage it can absorb at once is quite large but it will not be able to continuously do so and will need time to rest and recharge its manna to work at optimal percentage again"


    Tosca stared at the talisman with eyes shining and her mouth turned into a huge toothy grin, but before she could say anything Lambert took out two more items, both were rings. One had a black jewel in the center with little light specs within it and the other one had three purple jewels in it, the purple almost seemed to move said there was a fire trapped inside. Lambert put both rings on her right and left middle finger.


    "The black jewels ring on your right finger is a space ring and can hold up to five cubic meter''s space of things, the ring on your left hand is an enchanted item with three charges of attack magic embedded within when you finished the three charges I will have to either recharge it manually or you will have to wait until it recharges manually. I can do it in an instant but it will take about three hours per charge if it did so manually. The spell released is a [TENTH-TIER] [HELL FLAME SPARK], quite effective in doing major single target damage."


    Tosca''s brain started spinning at all the information she was given and the gift that this strange Master of hers was bestowing on her.


    Lambert was not finished yet as he pulled out the last item he had for her, it looked like a normal wooden staff except it was beautifully polished, he handed it to her and she instinctively took it while still in a daze.


    "This is a staff made from a fallen branch of one of the oldest trees in the grove of Elsadar, it has the ability to speed up the speed of once spell casting by one-hundred percent while reducing any spells cast by it up to [SEVENTH-TIER] by half."


    Having finished Lambert waited for Tosca to respond. After some time Tosca finally came from her daze.


    "M-M-Master, this... this is too much", she cried out as she looked at the things given to her.


    Lambert shook his head, "When I reveal our existence there might come times where it will become very dangerous, Aura and I can handle ourselves but you are still young and have not even properly started with your training, thus this is necessary for your protection."


    Tosca was speechless, all these things was given to her because her Master was worried she would get hurt in the events about to happen, she had never felt such kindness before even though this Master isn''t overly obvious with his affection, she can still feel it in these obscure things he does to help her and Aura.


    "T-thank you", Tosca said as tears started falling from her eyes.


    Lambert smiled at her, "What''s with the waterworks, you need to be tougher if you want to become a powerful magic caster like Aura, now let''s get going"


    "Yes", Tosca said as she wipes the tears from her eyes and followed her Master.


    Aura, who had been silent the whole time smiled and followed the two, she wasn''t surprised that her Master would give these things to Tosca, in fact, she would be shocked if he didn''t give Tosca something to protect herself, the reason she knew he would dod this is because he had always been this way. He had always looked after those under his wing, no matter what he would protect them to his dying breath.


    The trio converged in Lambert''s room where he had already readied the Magic circle which would teleport them to where Cleria was or more precise where the Red token he gave her was.


    Lambert had changed his clothes and was now wearing a suit, with his long silver-white hair tied in a ponytail with a string.


    "Are you guys ready", Lambert said as the trio stood in the circle.


    Aura and Tosca both nodded, having already dressed in there robes he had given them.


    "Ok then, let''s go"


    And with a flash from the circle they disappeared.


    \u003cEnd Of Volume 1: Receiving The Reward\u003e

 41 Chapter 41: Fear The Ligh

    Within an Abandoned factory at the edge of Kuoh town, a woman was crunching next to an injured man and tending to his wounds.


    Her beautiful face was full of worry as she carefully but meticulously tended to the injured man.


    "Cleria, I''m fine don''t worry", the man spoke helplessly to the woman.


    "Nonsense, look at you you can''t even stand let alone walk on your own. Now sit still and don''t move." The woman did not pause as she wrapped the man''s wounds with some torn fabric, she ripped from the man''s clothes.


    A magic circle suddenly appeared behind Cleria, its light attracting the two of them''s attention, Cleria stood completely alert as she waited, the circle looked the same as the one that transported Mournomon but she couldn''t help but be alert as they were in a dangerous situation at this moment.


    With a blinding flash, three figures appeared which made Cleria even more ill at ease, after the light faded she could finally clearly see them, there was one little girl in a white robe, one beautiful woman also in a white robe and finally one white-haired old man with a scarred face wearing a black suit.


    Cleria moved to take on a defensive position while the injured man, Masaomi had a serious expression on his face while try to stand up.


    Halfway through Cleria''s movement, she met the white-haired man''s eyes, they were a beautiful sky blue that stared at the world with a gentle benevolence, yet it was these gentle eyes that sent a shiver into Cleria''s very soul. She felt her soul quiver in fear under those eyes, her skin felt like it was burning and she found that she couldn''t even move.


    Fear, indescribable fear flooded her mind, it came from the deepest recesses of her soul, a primal fear of facing one''s natural enemy, no not enemy but preditor!


    Cleria couldn''t move she couldn''t even think any other thought other than" I''m dead".


    Masaomi quickly found Cleria acting strange and called out to her, "Cleria, what''s wrong Cleria!", but nothing worked. "What the hell is happening, why did these three appear and not Mournomon", he thought.


    The white-haired man suddenly spoke as he closed his eyes, "I apologize", as his eyes closed it felt to Cleria as if she had just dodged the reaper''s scythe. Her mind slowly cleared up but her heartbeat was still beating like a war drum, as she thought to the sensation she just felt.


    Luckily she could finally give the old man a mother look over, but this time even more caution was prevalent on her face. Sadly she couldn''t find anything although he had quite an impressive stature with broad shoulders and standing two meters tall, there was not a hint of aura or anything on him it was as if she was looking at any other normal human being.


    The same could not be said for the old man''s companions, the beautiful woman standing next to the old man gave Cleria a clear sensation of danger and even a bit of fear bu nowhere near what she felt before. The woman was staring at Cleria with disdain in her eyes as she stood behind the old man at his right. Lastly was a little girl hiding behind the old man and peaking from his left towards CLeria and Masaomi with curious eyes. Cleria could feel a small hint of manna inside the girl, although it was pitifully little it was still there.


    "Ahem", the old man cleared his throat then spoke, "Again I apologize for earlier I forgot that you devils are deathly afraid of light, even then I didn''t think just my eyes could almost make you die from fear, well let''s just leave it at that. Allow me to introduce myself, My name is Lambert of the Order Of Samsara", the old man spoke as he gave a gentleman bow towards Cleria after speaking his name.


    Standing back up he gestured his with his right arm towards the woman, "This is my second in command Aura and this..." gesturing with his left hand towards the little girl hiding behind him, "... is Tosca, Aura''s apprentice".


    Cleria mind was full of fog as she took in the old man calling himself Lambert in front of her, he kept his eye''s closed as he spoke which made it so that she could not find anything special about him. Gathering her courage she spoke, asking what she wanted to know the most at the moment, "Why are you here, what''s going on, and whats the Order of Samsara".


    Lambert gave Cleria a kind smile as he replied to her questions " I am here at the request of Mournomon, whom I believe you have already met", his words quickly put Cleria at ease even though she still had some doubts she could not deny that the three people in front of her did use a magic circle that looked quite similar to Mournomons, but the reason she mostly believed Lambert was because she felt that he did not need to lie to her and that he could turn her to ash with just a thought.


    Seeing that he had alleviated some of Cleria''s concern Lambert continued speaking, "As for what the Order of Samsara is, well to put it simply we are a group of knowledge seekers, we research and we gather knowledge, to benefit ourselves and those we want to benefit. Mournomon is one of our members."


    Cleria finally calmed down as she introduced herself, "I am Cleria Belial and this..." she pointed towards Masaomi who was still lying on the ground, having failed in every attempt he maid to stand up, "...is Masaomi Yaegaki, my beloved".


    Although Lambert''s eyes were closed he could "see" everything around him, it was thanks to his complete dominance over the light that made him able to perceive everything in a certain radius around him which contained light. "You seem to have had quite a brought time.", Lambert said as he approached Masaomi.


    "Let me help you," Lambert said as he pointed his finger towards Masaomi, "Sooth the soul, reform the bone, mend the flesh and restore the blood", with his short chant a ray of light flashed towards Masaomi and before even understanding what was happening the light disappeared.


    "They''re good as new", Lambert said.


    With those words and under Cleria''s astonished eyes Masaomi stood up from the ground as if the wounds he had just a moment before was nothing but an illusion.


    "I...I...", Masaomi was speechless, his pupils violently contracting and dilating as he stared at his own hands, only one thought could be found in his mind.


    "Miracle"

 42 Chapter 42: My Diploma

    Masaomi kept staring blankly at his own hands, the feeling he felt for that split second could not be explained and after that small amount of time he was completely healed, not even a scar remained, in fact, he felt better than ever. His old ailments all gone it was as if he was reborn!


    "This..."


    "Can''t have you slowing us down, can we?"


    Lambert quickly cut Masaomi of. Not wanting to explain anything he gave a reason and left it at that.


    "Now that he is on his feet we can start making our way out of this town. Luckily we are already at the edge and it shouldn''t be too difficult. Thou I fear that those little devils and exorcists have already locked this place down, its nothing that can''t be handled by a bit of "persuasion"."


    "What''s the plan", Cleria asked after making sure that Masaomi was completely fine, she couldn''t hide the shock from her face though. Masaomi''s injuries might not have been fatal but still would have required him to rest for at least a month maybe even more.


    "Simple we walk", Lambert said as he started walking towards the building''s door, Aura and the little girl, Tosca close behind him.


    Cleria could only helplessly follow helplessly, it''s not like she had a choice, it was either that or stay in the factory and wait to be caught by either devil or exorcist, neither a preferable outcome.


    Lambert quickly leads the group away from the abandoned factory. Cleria found that Lambert was a lot more experienced in this sort of thing than Mournomon, he would stop every so often and close his eyes as if trying to sense something before opening them again and then leading the group in another direction. Just like that the group quickly and silently left Kuoh town, not meeting a single devil or exorcist on the way.


    Leaving Kuoh town Cleria and Masaomi''s hearts calmed down somewhat and their confidence in Lambert increased as he leads them forward without them encountering any danger.


    The direction they left was towards a small forest that surrounded the town, it would make it harder to spot them as they escaped, but not long after entering the forest Lambert stopped dead in his tracks.


    "It seems they did put up some blockades to stop us from escaping."


    "Haha..."


    After Lambert spoke laughter sounded from the front as a large group of devils slowly made there way out from behind the trees.


    "Surprisingly, you could actually find us, quite the senses you have there human, unfortunately, they will not help you now"


    The one at the front spoke, he was also the one who laughed. The devil was tall but had a very skinny frame and looked almost like a beanpole as he stood with his back straight. His somewhat below average facial features were degraded even further by the arrogant facial expression he had on it as he looked towards LAmbert''s group with clear disdain in his eyes.


    ''Of course, I found you, dimwit, do you think you could have found us if I didn''t let you", Lambert thought as he smiled towards the beanpole devil.


    The beanpole devil although not that pleasant to look at still, was a high-class devil and as if afraid no one would recognize his as one he has been actively channeling his manna ever since he walked out behind one of the trees.


    "So I believe you would be the leader of this group?", Lambert asked as he eyed the beanpole devil.


    "That''s right, now surrender peacefully and you might still die quickly, resist and I will torture you for until you beg for death", The beanpole devil arrogantly spoke.


    "Of course, of course"


    Lambert said, causing Cleria and Masaomi''s facial expressions to violently fluctuate, they were really afraid that Lambert will surrender just like that but still had some hope that he still had some sort of way out, they were surrounded by about a hundred devils and all of them were mid-class except for the beanpole devil.


    "Now allow me to introduce my diplomat, she is excellent at handling situations like this. Aura, would you mind handling the "Diplomacy" and securing our safe passage"


    Lambert spoke calmly not betraying any emotions a gentle smile ever-present on his scarred but handsome face.


    Aura gave Lambert a mischievous grin before composing herself and speaking in a somewhat formal tone.


    "Of course"


    Aura walked towards the front of there group


    "Now let''s start our discussion"


    "What ar..."


    The beanpole devil was just about to shout at her but before he could even Finnish the second word, there was a flash of light and Aura suddenly appeared right in front of him. Her small and delicate hand reached out and slapped the devil in the face, the grace she had while executing that slap was unparalleled yet the force that was delivered by her hand that looked as weak and fragile as porcelain was harrowing.


    His hands connected with the devil''s face, if one looked closely one could see the devil''s skin slowly disintegrate, his facial muscles burn to dust, and his bone crushed.


    Boom!


    In a flash, the beanpole devil was flung backward, his subordinate could not even react before he slammed into the tree behind them. As the other devils looked towards the beanpole devil they couldn''t help but suck in the cold air as they saw him just sitting there hunched over. He would have seemed completely fine if not for the fact that half his head was missing, The place was it disappeared was replaced by a flat burned surface.


    The devils looked back at Aura in horror and after seeing her there faces turned pale as paper from fear. She was currently hovering a few inches of the ground with a white radiance of light shinning of her, her white robe and hair fluttering but no wind could be found, her sky blue eyes shining with a blinding light.


    At that moment Aura looked more beautiful and purer than ever but it was this look that frightened the devil so much, the light that came of her body was the same light they feared so much. Just standing there they felt as their skin was slowly burning away under the light.


    Cleria was also staring at Aura in shock but strangely she was not affected by the light, but after looking around she quickly understood, before her Lambert was standing with his hands behind his back, and looked like he was being quite casual but Cleria clearly saw that the light that was shinning from Aura could not pass by him, it was hard to explain but although she could see the light, thanks to Lambert she did not feel the effects a devil would usually have when facing it.


    "Aura, be quick. We still have to leave here"


    Hearing Lambert''s reminder Aura no longer remained idle and in a flash of light, she disappeared from where she was and reappeared next to a very unlucky Mid-class devil.


    Not even having the chance to scream he was slapped to death, but unfortunately, he didn''t have the beanpole devils power and as a result, his entire head was slapped to ash by Aura.


    The other Mid class devils no longer stayed and watched as they saw her kill the first one, gathering all the courage they screamed there most powerful warcry... with there first step the world shook as they broke past there normal power and moved at twice the speed they normally could.


    Lambert couldn''t help but whistle as he watched all the Mid-Class devils run away while screaming miserably.


    Lambert casually stood there as he watched Aura kill the Mid-Class devils, he was holding out one of his hands covering Tosca''s eyes.


    "I can''t see, what''s happening"


    "That''s the point"


    Tosca kept complaining but Lambert just ignored her as waited for Aura to finish.

 43 Chapter 43: Lamberts Car

    After Aura finished of all the devils via slap, Lambert had her turn all the bodies to ash as not to frighten Tosca as he still covered her eyes with his hand.


    When everybody was nothing more than ash Lambert removed his hand from in front of her eyes.


    She looked up at him and pouted, "Why didn''t you let me look?"


    "All things will happen in due time, having you see something like that too early will not be good for your mental development. That being said Aura, next time kill them less gruesomely, I don''t care if Tosca sees them die, I''m sure she has seen her fair share of death but dismemberment is still a bit severe"


    "Yes, Master", Aura nodded in understanding, somewhat regretting she didn''t think of it before but as it already happened she didn''t think too much and just went with what Lambert said.


    Cleria and Masaomi silently followed Lambert, not making a sound. They were overwhelmed by the strangeness of the group in front of them. Cleria could clearly felt the horrifying amount of light energy that was within each of Aura''s slaps and knew she had zero percent chance of surviving or even dodging such a slap, this also made her think, her eyes landed on Lambert that was smiling like a benevolent old man while conversing with Tosca, he would sometimes even help her love a few hard to travel places in the forest. Cleria couldn''t help but wonder if this old man was really that strong, which made her shiver again as she remembered when he stared at her with those blue eyes upon there first meeting.


    Luckily he had since then started wearing some strange contacts which made his stare appear like any ordinary mortal humans or else she would have died of fright with ho many times he had glanced back at her and Masaomi to make sure they were still well.


    "It looks like we will be leaving the forest shortly, Master"


    Aura spoke as she stared at where the trees started clearing up, and one could see the sky more clearly than before.


    "Yes, I suspect there might be another ambush so be prepared to dispose of them as soon as they appear, I have already grown weary of these weak fools if they are to send devils they could at least send ones that could at least resist a single strike from you."


    Lambert replied, he had hoped that he could stretch his legs a bit and use his sword skills again after many so many years but not to mention his sword just his gaze would kill all the devils that came after them which left him a bit depressed and resentful towards his enemy for only sending weaklings.


    Masaomi almost tripped when he heard Lambert complained about there pursuers being too weak, luckily Cleria was there to catch him. She looked at him worriedly.


    "Are you alright dear, are you hurt somewhere"


    "Ah...No, just lost my footing, thanks"


    Masaomi replied a bit embarrassed to her as he avoided her suspicious gaze.


    The group eventually exited the forest and appeared in front of a gravel road at the side of the country some miles away from Kuoh town.


    "Well it seems they didn''t wait in ambush for us here"


    Lambert spoke with a bit of disappointment lacing his voice.


    "Don''t worry Master, I''m sure we will find some on the road"


    Aura said trying to cheer Lambert up a bit, which caused him to smile at her.


    "Well let''s just get going then"


    Lambert said as he pulled something from his dimensional pocket, It was a scroll with a magic circle engraved into it.


    "What''s that?", Cleria asked with some interest on her face as she eyed the scroll in Lamberts hand


    "Well we can''t really travel via foot so I got us some transportation, I hope you like my car", Lambert said as he unfolded the Scroll.


    "Wouldn''t teleportation be the fastest and best way of doing it?" Cleria could help but doubt, but before Lambert could explain Aura beat him to the punch.


    "That is what the devils and church will also be thinking and they will never expect us to move via Mortal transportation means"


    Understanding dawned on Cleria as she nodded in agreement while Masaomi also spoke in agreement.


    "A brilliant idea, who would think a devil and exorcist will be driving away with a vehicle when we could so easily just teleport".


    "Where are we going?" Asked Toska as she stared up at Lambert with her high curious eyes.


    "We will be stopping at Kyoto for some time, it is outside of the jurisdiction of the devils while Cleria will be able to hide there as long as she doesn''t draw too much attention to herself, Ah....that reminds me"


    Lambert pulled a simple bones necklace out of his dimensional pocket and handed it to Cleria.


    "This will help cover your aura making it so that you will appear mortal in the eyes of others, though be careful because it will only work if you do not actively use your magic.


    "Thank you", Masaomi said for Claire as he took the necklace of her and helped her wear it.


    Lambert turned his attention to the scroll in his hands and channeled some manna into it, with a flash a car appeared in front of everyone, its appearance caused everyone except Lambert to gawk, it wasn''t because the car appearing but what it was.


    Lambert walked forward and got into the driver''s seat of his beautiful shocking pink Beatle.


    "Well come on, we still have a long way to go"


    Lambert started the engine and out of everyone''s expectations the engine roar alive like a monstrous beast awakening from its slumber, staring threw the back window you could see a massive six-cylinder engine compactly inserted at the back, rumbling as if just waiting to show its might.


    Masaomi and Cleria could only stare at the pink monstrosity, deprived of all words

 44 Chapter 44: Hotel In Kyoto

    One peaceful day in Kyoto a Pink Beatle came driving from the direction of Otsu which was situated in the east.


    It slowly drove through the streets of Kyoto stealing some attention from people because of its strange color and the rumblings of a powerful engine that could be heard from under its hood.


    The Beatle came to a halt in front of a massive building, the driver''s door opened up and a figure climbed out of the car, he was tall standing an impressive 2m tall with broad shoulders all dressed in a nice black suit. He had shoulder-length long gray-white hair and a majestic beard that grew all the way to his collar bone. He stared at the building with his sky blue eyes, taking in the sight in front of him. He was none other than Lambert.


    "Well, we''re here"


    Lambert spoke then turned to face the people that were climbing out of the car he, Aura, Tosca, Masaomi, and Cleria. They also gave the building a quick glance, it was definitely a high-grade Hotel, might not have been the best of Kyoto but its blend of traditional and modern buildings with the massive amounts of greenery gave it a special kind of feeling.


    As everybody came out of the car and attendant showed up, but was stupified when he saw his new guests, a massive broad-shouldered old man, a sacred white-haired and robed beauty, a seductive black-haired beauty, a noble-looking man in priest garbs and a bra... little beauty in a white robe.


    But being a professional porter with an impressive two years under his belt he quickly calmed himself and greeted his guests.


    "Good afternoon help how may I sir you today"


    He might have thought he calmed down but when Lambert and the others all stared at him he felt a great deal of pressure especially when the white-haired beauty smiled at him, he couldn''t help but mess up his own sentence and it caused his face to go red with embarrassment.


    Lambert chuckled a bit as he saw the poor Porter embarrassed.


    "Ah, well we don''t really have much luggage but we could use your help, I need someone to park my vehicle as I still have to book a room for myself and my travel-weary companions."


    Lambert''s voice was like a soothing medicine to the porter''s nerves as he calmed down, the young porter gave Lambert a grateful smile even if he didn''t know how just listening to the old bodybuilding geezers words would calm him.


    Thought if Lambert were to know how the young porter saw him he might just faint from indignation.


    The young porter took the keys that Lambert gave him and climbed into the pink Beatle with a weird expression on his face, but as he got into the car that expression changed into that of astonishment. The seats were covered in beautiful black leather and as he sat down in the chair he could help but breath out a sigh at how comfortable the seat was causing Aura, Masaomi, Cleria, and Tosca to give him a look of understanding as they felt the same as they sat on the seats. The porter which was now doubling as a valet started the Beatle and was shocked when he heard the growl of the beast-like voice it gave of, putting the car in gear with the gear lever which was made from some unknown material, probably a special kind of metal or plastic the porter thought, he released the clutch and the Beatle shot forward, eliciting a small cry from the young man as he did not expect the car to wield such power.


    Lamber, seeing that the porter taking off with the car after getting used to the power inside it and luckily not hitting anything while doing it walked leisurely into the hotel''s front door.


    He was confronted by a lobby of sorts with seats and for waiting and a desk at the opposite side of the wall was two attendants were waiting to help customers. The entire interior was white with a tiled floor, to the left and right were both staircases.


    Lambert walked straight towards the counter and spoke to the attendant standing at the right, she was wearing a uniform with the hotel''s logo on her left breast, which was quite extraordinary. Her pretty eyes were crowned by a pair of thin-rimmed glasses. Her face was not bad Lambert would say above average, but to others, she would be a stunning beauty that no one could keep their eyes of, the proof is taken from the attendant standing on the left, he would secretly toggle her every now and then. God knows what was going through his mind as he secretly stared at her chest, curving figure not really hidden behind her tight-fitting uniform and her beautiful face.


    "Good evening sir how may I help you"


    The girl asked with a soft voice, Lambert could help but feel that she had a very soft and lovable personality but the way she spoke and the look she gave him which was quite warm and inviting. Lambert could easily tell that it wasn''t some front she put up as an employee but her real personality.


    But what made him surprised was that he could feel subtle ki coursing through her body as well as the hazy form of cat ears that stood on top of her head. It was quite obvious to him that she was using an illusion to hide her traits but such skills could not hide from Lambert, his eye piercing from any sort of genjutsu she was employing to hide.


    She was a youkai, and from the looks of it, she was probably tasked with the job of overseeing any strange occurrences that would happen in the area of the hotel.


    Lambert thought he was quite lucky he had given Cleria the necklace that would help her hide her devilish aura and mana, otherwise, she would have been seen through immediately.


    "May I have two rooms for two please"


    "Just a moment"


    The girl quickly went to work on her computer before asking another question.


    "How long will you be staying"


    "About seven days"


    "Your Id, Please sir"


    Lambert handed it to her, and she gave it a quick check before handing it back and smiled at Lambert.


    "That would be 89186 yen please"


    Lambert handed over his card, the girl took it swiped it across a card machine and handed it and the card back to him, quickly punching in the pin lambert handed it back to her. She waited for the machine to connect before handing him two Cards which contained the numbers 45 and 46.


    "These are your room keycards, I will have someone read you to your rooms, Please enjoy your stay"


    The girl said and with a gentle wave of her hand, an attendant came from the side to lead them to there rooms.


    "This way please"


    The attendant bowed and lead the group towards there rooms.


    After arriving the attendant asked if they needed any help but Lambert said to know, to which the attendant gave another bow before leaving.


    "If you need anything we will be on the other side, oh and don''t go too far from here"


    Lambert said as he handed Cleria a keycard before using the other to open the door corresponding to the number on it and ushering Aura and Tosca inside before following them in.


    The room was spacious with a shower room right beside the door and two double beds further down. On its right side it had what Lambert could only refer to as a mini kitchen and in the middle of the room was a small table to sit at.


    "Not bad"


    Lambert said as he walked towards one of the beds and sat down at the corner.


    Aura came and sat next to her watching as Tosca searced the whole room with curus eyes.


    "What now, Master"

 45 Chapter 45: Night At The Hotel

    healed "What now, Master?"


    Lambert smiled at Aura and raised his hand and gently placed it on her head. Aura stiffened from Lambert''s unexpected affection, but she almost immediately leaned forward for him to pet her more, her eyes glowing in a fervent light.


    Lambert gave a good minutes worth of petting, rubbing her silky smooth white hair even teasing her ears with his fingers a bit and finished it with gentle caress to her cheek and giving her a teasing poke on her dainty little nose.


    Lambert withdrew his hand which was quickly caught by Aura.


    "Ma...Mas...ter..."


    Aura spoke in a faint and quivering tone, she stared up at Lambert with watery half-closed eyes.


    "T-thank you"


    Aura gave Lambert a faint smile, her current appearance would send countless men into a stupor, birthing quite a few lustfully desires.


    Lambert gave Auras hand that was gripping his a gentle squeeze before letting pulling it free, he slowly stood up from the bed and walked towards the other one in the room.


    An inaudible sigh of disappointment could be heard as Aura saw Lambert leave.


    "For now we will get some sleep, Tosca, you will be sharing the bed with Aura"


    Lambert arrived in front of his bed and took off all his clothes except the white boxers he was wearing, be it in any of his lives Alex could on sleep with a shirt on him and even long-sleeved pants would burden him and as a result, he never slept with anything on him except a pair of shorts.


    His actions did not go unnoticed though, Aura was already drooling as she stared at his exposed muscular back, with strange words tattooed over its upper portion that spelled out, "Judgment" in a language that died out millennia ago, His left shoulder also boasting a templars cross tattooed onto it.


    Tosca was also staring at his back, but her face was filled with curiosity as she stared at his tattoos, she could help but find them cool, though she did not know what the words on his back said she could still feel the divine might that it exuded and it left her breathless.


    Lambert turned around to look at the two girls staring at him, he first nodded towards Tosca who was staring at his tattoos in curiosity, feeling relieved she wasn''t like Aura, but that could probably be because she was too young to understand these sort of things. He could only hope that she won''t, get "Infected" by Aura''s strange obsession with him.


    Lambert then gave Aura a glance she was staring at him like an idiot, an absolutely gorgeous idiot but still an idiot, drool running down her chin from her mouth as her eyes wondered Lambert''s bare chest down to his abdominal muscles, his eight-pack was so defined it looked like they had mini eight-packs of there own.


    If a woman that had a muscle fetish were to stare at him she would immediately pas out do to blood loss.


    Lambert snapped his fingers a few times in front of Aura getting her out of her intense glare, she blushed a bit when she thought of what she did


    "Stared enough"


    Lambert asked, Aura face became even redder than it already was, but after a few moments she coughed then spoke out in a righteous tone, her words left Lambert speechless and helpless.


    "Hmph, Who asked Master to look so handsome"


    Lambert sighed after some time


    "Alright you two goodnight"


    Climbed underneath the covers of his bed and closed his eyes to sleep. Tosca and aura looked at him and then stared at each other with an indiscernible light flashing thought both their eyes.


    ...


    In the other room.


    "What do you think Masaomi?"


    Cleria asked Masaomi as they sat next to each other on one of the beds.


    "Don''t act dumb, about the situation and... you know"


    Masaomi sighed as he sank into deep thought, only after some time thinking did he speak.


    "Our situation was quite grim, if not for Mournomon coming to aid us, we would have been killed without a doubt. Lambert has also helped us this far, he has looked after us the whole journey and we have not come to harm this entire time. I believe that he is trustworthy, thought why either Lambert or Mournomon would help us... is a mystery"


    Cleria nodded as Masoami sighed in confusion.


    "Mhhh, I really wonder why they are helping us, I really can''t believe its because of this little trinket Mournomon gave me in return for knowledge on our devil transformation circles."


    "We can only muse"


    Masaomi smiled


    "At least we are fine, both of us"


    "About that, how did Lambert heal you, well I mean I know it was some sort of light magic..."


    Cleria shuddered when she thought of the light that came from Lambert''s hand, although it was meant for healing, just feeling the purity of the light energy left her frozen, her entire body covered in a cold sweat. Composing herself Cleria continued.


    "...It was just so effective, he healed you in almost an instance and there is no sign of any of the wounds existing."


    Cleria closely inspected Masaomi again, but still came up with nothing"


    Masaomi smiled helplessly, even he didn''t know what happened and it was his body that was healed, it was just too mysterious.


    "I don''t know, but that is not the only thing shocking about his healing ability"


    Masaomi said as he smiled at Cleria with a happy smile. Leaving Cleria confused.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Not only were all my injuries healed but even all the defects of all my past injuries are gone. I''m not only healed, I''m as healthy as I was the day I was born, no damage nothing even the impurity''s in my body was cleansed away, its like a rebirth!"


    In the end, Masaomi couldn''t keep his excitement in check as he exclaimed with a loud and boisterous voice. Being healed like this could be counted as one of the most wonderful moments of Masaomi''s life, second only to the day he met Cleria.


    Most would not truly understand what his rebirth meant, not only did it give him at least another ten to twenty years to add to his life expectancy it also allowed him to train even further even after surpassing his golden years of training, he has another chance to become even stronger at a very quick pace, this will allow him to protect himself better and most importantly protect his love.


    Cleria smiled as she saw the excitement and figure burning in him said he was young man just entering his twenties.


    "Come on, lets get to bed we have a busy day tomorrow"


    Cleria said, but Masaomi suddenly jumped onto her, shocking her but when she saw the glint in his eyes she couldn''t help but blush a bit.


    That night did not pass as peacefully as she had thought it would and she only got to sleep hours later with a content smile on both her and Masaomi''s faces.

 46 Chapter 46: Morning In The Hotel

    The sun slowly started rising over the Harrison bathing Kyoto in its splendor. Within a certain hotel room, a grayish white-haired man slowly opened his eyes after a night of peaceful sleep.


    His eyes shined with a subtle radiance matching his sky blue eyes. The man was Lambert and right at that moment, he had a strange expression on his face, a mixture of humor and helplessness as he swept his gaze from his left to his right arm.


    Tosca, the little girl, was clinging to his left arm like a hug pillow, eyes shut tight sleeping, she had a faint smile while enjoying what Lambert could only think of as a blissful dream.


    Aura was almost hallway on top of him, her head lying on the left side of his chest, she was muttering some words while wearing a lewd sile and Lambert was too afraid to try and listen to her words, he might just hear something that will give him goosebumps and a lot of sleepless nights.


    Although Lambert was somewhat helpless about his current situation, he still felt it was funny, especially how Tosca clung to his left arm, he couldn''t help but feel warm in his heart as he stared at the child clinging to him. His emotions might have faded over time and he might have become somewhat distant, they still existed clinging to the last vestiges of what was his broken humanity, screaming at him as to let him know that they were still there even after all these years, they were still with him and he had not yet lost the last pieces of what was Alex Wolf, what made him and what defined who he was. Memories bring experience but emotions make the man.


    After some time past, there was finally some movement to his right as Aura slowly woke up, her blurry eyes stared at him as she gave him a sweet smile and hugging him tightly.


    "Morning, Master"


    She spoke in a soft satiny voice as she laid her head back down on his chest listening to his heartbeat that thundered with might, sounding more like eardrums than a heartbeat yet the sound never left his body.


    Lambert wiggled his right arm free from under Aura and place it on her head, giving her a gentle petting.


    "Morning, child"


    His greeting somewhat soured her mood a bit but she quickly let it go, as she knew in Lambert''s heart she was nothing more than a child he had found and raised, no matter how she acted and tried to seduce him it would never change, but that didn''t mean she would ever give up.


    The two waited like that, Aura using Lambert''s chest as a pillow and him petting her head, for a while as they didn''t want to disturb Tosca''s sleep, it was rare for her to sleep so soundly.


    "It would seem that she doesn''t have any nightmares when she''s with you, Master. We should probably let her sleep in your bed more often"


    Aura said teasingly, as she turned her head to the other side to stare at Tosca, who was still in her dreamy wonderland.


    "It is fine for now, but as she grows older it will become inconvenient if she keeps climbing into my bed. I already made those mistake ones."


    Lambert said as he gave Aura a causing stare, which caused her to look away in embarrassment. Just as Lambert said, he had her sleep in his arms ever since she was a newborn Elemental and even as she grew older she would always climb onto his chest or in between his arms as she slept, that eventually stopped when they parted, but when she met him again as Mythander, she did it all over again much to his frustration.


    She was still a little light elemental when they first parted but when he saw her again as Mythander, she was already a full-grown elemental and had a human form. But on the first night since they met again she snuck into his bed and he woke up not much different then than right now.


    "At least, Master acknowledges his faults"


    Aura whispered causing Lambert to roll his eyes at her shamelessness. He could make her embarrassed but she would always return with absolute shamelessness.


    Tosca finally stirred after an hour, she gave a massive yawn exposing her pearly white teeth and then smiled sweetly at Lambert while rubbing her left eye.


    "Morning, Ma~ster"


    She said as she said the last word with another yawn.


    "Morning, Little one"


    Lambert said which caused Tosca to beam as he freed his left hand and Peter her.


    After that they got out of bed and went to freshen up in turns, Lambert having to kick Aura out of the Bathroom as she wanted to bath with him while could only stare with embarrassment as she saw AUra flying out of the bathroom half-naked while yelling.


    "Whyyyyyyyyy?"


    "Because I said so!"


    Came the reply from within the bathroom.


    After freshening up they were planning to go somewhere to eat some breakfast as to Tosca''s horror her stomach made a massive rumbling noise causing her to freeze and Lambert to smirk while Aura giggled.


    "I...I..."


    Tosca wanted to explain but Lambert just said that they will go get some breakfast.


    Knock...knock...knock


    Lambert knocked at the door next to there rooms, he heard the shuffling of feet also something that fell while someone yells from the other side of the door.


    "Comming, just...just hold on a moment"


    Then with a faint whispering voice, a male voice asked?


    "Honey, where''s my pants?"


    "Quiet, down. 8 rounds and now you won''t even let me sleep, don''t you feel you''re bullying me too much"


    Came a sultry voice in reply to his whispers.


    Lambert was speechless as he heard them, he turned to Aura and saw her give him a dubious smile.


    "I think they were releasing some stress las night, Master"


    Aura said as he smiles broadened


    Tosca stared at Aura in confusion not understanding what she meant while lambert pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in helplessness.


    "When you''re done, come down to Lobby we''ll meet you two there"


    Lambert yelled as he turned and left with Aura and Tosca following him closely.


    Inside the room, Masaomi''s face was blood red as he stared at the door with bloodshot eyes, and Cleria who had finally fully woken after hearing Lambert''s voice, covered her head under the bedsheets out of embarrassment as she remembered what she just said. After some time she pulled her head from underneath and glared at Masaomi.


    "This is all your fault!"

 47 Chapter 47: Hoko

    Within the Lobby of the Hotel, Lambert was quietly sitting in one of the chairs while reading a book.


    Aura was to is right sitting quietly and patiently like a proper lady we all know she isn''t. Tosca was swinging her legs from her own chair while humming a tune, her eyes were vibrant and she had a smile plastered on her face, much different from the girl she was before.


    "Light Scriptures", was the name of the book Lambert was reading, he had read the book dozens of times but never grew tired of it, it after the book that contained the experience of all the Saints to ever live, they would write down there own understanding of the light sharing it with all the members of the order


    Lambert himself had contributed to the book and wrote his experience and understanding the light within. After every new saint writing within it would be compounded and published by the order as the next volume of the book, only difference in the book is that the entry of the new saint.


    Saint was a title given to the most powerful grand paladin of each grand Order. The Light grand order''s saint was called The Holy Saint, the Fire grand Order''s saint was called the Infernal Saint and so forth.


    Reading the book was a form of relaxation to Lambert, he would also scribble down some comment on the pages or conjectures to some of the previous saints understanding. He would even sometime directly scrub away a certain sentence as to him what that saint wrote there was bullshit.


    Lambert has reached the pinnacle of understanding of the light to the point of being one with it, his light was even stronger than Aura''s alight elemental, which should be impossible but the proof was there. Lambert himself had no idea why this was so but he didn''t really care anyway his affinity with the light had saved him many times so rather than be skeptical he was grateful for the gift even if he had to sacrifice some...things...to obtain it.


    While reading Lambert would also glance every now and then at the Yokai girl standing at the counter in the hotel waiting for customers. He had felt her gaze more than a few doesn''t of times and not just that also her attempting Youjutsu to probe them. Going over Lambert nothing happened but when the Jutsu touched Aura it quivered and immediately retreated unfortunately Aura already set her gaze on the poor Youkai girl.


    The youkai girl was currently sweating bullets under Aura''s gaze v, she just casually probed the group since they seemed a bit strange, the little kid was somewhat special having a smidgen of manna in her, the old man was ordinary but when she probed the white-haired woman she was so terrified she almost fainted, the woman had an astronomical amount of manna in her body and the strange thing was there was no life force just the manna that shined in splendor.


    She immediately knew that she screwed up so she canceled her jujutsu but it was too late, she had garnered the attention of the woman and could only curse her bad luck, only a being of the ultimate class would have that kind of power and she just went and garnered such a beings ire.


    Aura was about to stand up but Lambert raised his hand stopping her. He then slowly rose from his seat and walked towards the Youkai girl. She was of course very relieved when she saw it was normal if the not buff old man and not the Ultimate class white-haired woman.


    She was a bit curious why the ultimate class woman would listen to a normal old man but didn''t think any further than that as Lambert has already appeared in front of her on the other side of the counter.


    "Can I help you, sir"


    The youkai girl asked, her smile somewhat weird.


    "Well, I believe I should be asking you that, it was you that was haphazardly probing myself and my two companions."


    Lambert''s voice immediately made the yokai girl freeze not expecting the old man to call her out in the open, it was actually a bit insulting to probe others as it was an infusion of there privacy, the fact that Lambert was speaking to her in such a friendly tone was already unexpectantly nice outcome, others might viciously scold her or worse just outright attack her something she thought the silver-haired woman was about to do.


    "I...I..."


    Her face was a bit red as she had a guilty look on her face, not only did she not get a scolding she was spoken to with such a kind tone, this immediately put Lambert in her good books.


    "Ah, I believe you were stationed here to watch out for strange occurrences and guests. As this is the youkai territory they should keep tabs on everything, no"


    Lambert spoke again his voice still calm and gentle but his words immediately made the girl freeze. She was stomped, how did this normal person know so much, but after seeing his kind but knowing smile she felt a chill run down her spine.


    "Not normal!!! Not normal!!!" she screamed in her mind as she felt a heavy pressure by staring into his eyes.


    After composing herself for a bit she looked at Lambert with newfound respect in her eyes, she had nothing to prove it with but she felt that this old mand that seemed to be nothing more than a mortal was even more terrifying than the silver-haired woman, she had no idea how right she was.


    "My name is Hoko, Pleasure to meet you and Sorry"


    Hoko said as her fox ears behind the illusion dropped a bit, something even Lambert found adorable.


    "Well Hoko, a pleasure to meet you too, please don''t mind me and my companions. Even if you have to report us to your superiors please let''s them know that I mean no harm to your people and am simply making a small stop before continuing my journey. I still have a charge to protect and lead somewhere safe and would like to avoid unnecessary trouble."


    Hoko nodded information before excusing herself and running off to report this information immediately, one or possibly two Ultimate class beings wasn''t a small thing and the information should be immediately handed over.


    The other employee just stared in confusion as Hoko ran of not understanding what happened to make her run off like that, he gave Lambert a suspicious look which Lambert ignored and returned to his seat waiting for Masaomi and Cleria to com down.


    Not long and two figures came downstairs.

 48 Chapter 48: Surrounded

    Masaomi walked down the stairs of the hotel and entered the Lobby, Cleria trailing closely behind with an upset look on her face.


    "Well, nice of you to join...us?"


    Lambert started speaking but as he was talking he got a good look at Masaomi''s face and his sentence couldn''t help but turn into a question as he gave a please explain look while staring at a certain spot on Masaomi''s face.


    Masaomi''s face turned blood red almost as if a bit to hide the palm imprint soundly planted on his cheek.


    "Uh... Cleria got a bit...angry"


    "Humph"


    Masaomi spoke embarrassedly but flinched when CLeria snorted, it was clear to see he was afraid of her ire.


    "This guy is an embarrassment to all men out there", Lambert thought as he rubbed the bridge of his nose while sighing.


    "That aside, we are going out to have some breakfast, would you two like to join us or do you have other plans," Lambert asked while giving Aura a glance who was trying her hardest not to laugh at Masaomi''s face.


    Aura stifled herself and looked down when Lambert glanced at her but her quivering shoulders told everyone that it didn''t help.


    Tosca walked up to Masaomi and pulled at his robe, Masaomi looked down at her as Toska asked him a question her pure and innocent eyes staring into his.


    "Mr.Masaomi, are you ok. Did someone hurt you?", she asked innocently, but it only provoked further embarrassment from Masaomi as he stifled a light "NO" from his mouth before looking away from Tosca, he felt as if he should just go and bury himself at the moment.


    Aura of course was finding it even more difficult to resist laughing thanks to Tosca''s question and a stifled chuckle came from her mouth which she quickly covered with her hand.


    Seeing that the current situation was getting them nowhere Lambert gave a resounding caught, gaining everyone''s attention.


    "Ok, enough of this are we eating or not?"


    Everyone nodded before making there way out of the hotel. Deciding to just take a light stroll while they were at it Lambert decided not to take the Beetle. Lambert casually chose a direction and started walking. The group passed many people, they did garner some attention but not enough to have people gawking at them well except for some teenagers which were staring at Aura and Cleria, but Lambert overlooked there offense since they were just testosterone-infused kids and were of no threat.


    Finding a little restaurant at the corner of a street, Lambert chose to eat there. It had a comfy atmosphere and was rather empty which Lambert preferred. The group found themselves some seats, luckily the table was big enough for all five of them to sit at.


    "Can I get you anything to drink dear"


    Said a middle-aged waitress as she handed the group a menu each, her eyes Irving over Lambert a few times, her eyes were especially intense when she asked her question.


    "I will have a coffee please," Lambert said while to Aura, Masaomi and Aura ordered the same.


    After the order, everyone stared at Tosca who haven''t ordered yet, she looked as if she was having a hard time deciding before, getting off her chair with her menu and walking until she was next to Lambert, pointing at a picture of a chocolate milkshake in the menu and looking at him with pleading eyes.


    Lambert laughed as he petted Tosca''s head before speaking to the waitress.


    "She''ll have a mega chocolate milkshake"


    His words caused Tosca''s eyes to shine as she returned to her seat with an extra hop in her step, clearly very happy.


    "Hahaha, you have a lovely granddaughter"


    The waitress said while staring at Lambert''s reaction, but Lambert only Laughed at what she said and didn''t refute anything. Going by how they looked, it wouldn''t be surprising if people thought that way.


    "Well, let me go and get every ready then"


    The waitress said and walked off. Lambert and the res all started reading through the menu.


    "Tosca, you can have anything you want, there is no need to ask me", Lambert said


    Tosca looked up from the menu and nodded lightly at him while whispering, "Thank you", and turned her attention back to the menu.


    Lambert could only shake his head, Tosca was still somewhat shy in public. Hopefully, it would wear out.


    Not long after the drinks arrived, the waitress placed evrything down, Lambert stared at his coffee and found a phone number written on his napkin when he looked up he found the waitress gave him a wink which caused him to laugh wryly.


    It''s not that the waitress was ugly, she was quite pretty actually, but Lambert just wasn''t interested in her. He could only course his appearance for attracting the waitress, he did look about sixty at the moment, though maybe a bit old for the waitress, his face was still what could be called handsome, the scars only bringing out the heroic traits of his face.


    After that the group ordered their food, Lambert ordered some sushi since it was a special and the others followed suit except for Tosca who ordered waffles with ice cream and chocolate syrup on top.


    The waitress left and all that was left for them was to wait for her to return.


    "Quite the sweet tooth aren''t you, little one"


    Lambert said which caused Tosca to lower her head in embarrassment, the rest of the group just laughed at her reaction.


    "I would never have thought you three would be so carefree with each other", CLeria commented.


    "Well, of course, I treat them like family, because that is what samsara is, an order, a family of brothers and sites sharing the same goal. Not to mention the order has few members."


    Lambert said as he smiled at Cleria, she went into deep thought hearing his words.


    "If only the church was more like that", Masaomi chimed in as he had a look of regret on his face.


    "Not all are ass understanding, thought the church does some questionable things, they are still better than some others even if I will never be able to agree with them I would feel sorrow at there destruction"


    "Why?"


    Aura asked Lambert


    "Because with there destruction there will be chaos, they have rooted themselves deep within this world and if they were to abruptly disappear from the face of the earth there will be an emptiness within all that believed in them, which are quite a few I may add"


    Aura nodded at Lambert''s argument.


    "What about the underworld", Cleria asked


    "They themselves hold an important role in this world, especially in this time where many devils hold great political and financial strength in the human world, if they just one day disappeared the economy of many countries might crashes, it''s actually frightening how fragile this era''s world is compared tho the past, this world is held together by a single thread if it was snapped evrything will be undone."


    Lambert''s words mad Masaomi and Cleria think.


    "Remember this, all things be they big or small will always have a reaction, be they good or bad. Never forget that one''s actions have ...consequences"


    Lambert said the last part was tinged with deep regret that nobody understood but were wise enough not to ask"


    The food soon arrive afterward and everyone dug in, Tosca''s mouth was smeared with chocolate syrup and ice cream at the end of the day, her appearance made Lambert give another bout of laughter as he took a napkin and cleaned her mouth with it.


    After finishing there breakfast Lambert paid the bill and the group left, the waitress didn''t forget to yell out at Lambert as they left.


    "Come again and remember the napkin"


    Lambert just kept on walking in fact his pace quickened which caused AUra to snicker until Lambert gave her a death glare and she she went silent.


    The group made their way back to the hotel but as they reached the front evrything went quiet, there was nobody around. White robed figures suddenly came from all sides and surrounded Lambert''s group causing Masaomi and Cleria''s expressions to tighten Tosca to become frightened as she hid behind Lambert.


    The robe figures remained silent for a while then at the front they parted making way for two figures, Lambert immediately recognizes the one.


    "Mind explaining...Hoko?"

 49 Chapter 49: A Saints Glory 1

    Deep within the demonic lands at a strategic position allowing one to see anyone nearing, a large military camp was set up.


    Although it was called a military camp, the soldiers that were within were far from ordinary and if any citizen within the great Ash-realm world saw them they would gasp in amazement.


    Each and every one of the soldiers were aged old veterans of a thousand wars, muscle and scar riddled bodies, aura of flour, and a gaze as firm as the very planet they stood on. To call them as meer soldiers was an insult for they were nothing less than legends, the last warriors of the order of the purge, the strongest suborder within the great light order, and the order that was directly under the command of the divine saint.


    At one of the guard posts stood a tall stalwart man, he was wearing full plate armor all over his lower body, his upper body was barely exposing his "war achievements", an especially deadly one running down from his right eye, blinding it all the way to his navel. Right next to him rested a massive two bladed battle-ax, within grabbing range if there was a need for a quick beheading of any would-be intruder.


    The veteran, stood there like a stone statue as his left eye gazed over the surrounding area, his eyes focussed for any sign of movement, not a trace of laziness or tiredness on his square face.


    Suddenly his eyes detected movement, his battle-axe already in his hand within but a second, his body exuding fearless valor as he was ready to fight till the end or until his brothers and sisters came to help. Out of the bushes came a leather-wearing man with a big brown beard and long brown hair, his eyes were filled with determination even as he stumbled, blood leaking from a deep cut in his abdomen tale of a grievous injury.


    "Brother Amer!"


    The ax-wielding man yelled as he saw the leather-wearing man stumble. Quickly running towards him only to be distracted by five shadows closely on the one named Amer''s trail.


    "Be careful... Brother Khan!"


    Brother Amer yelled before collapsing due to blood loss, the five shadows finally became visible in front of Brother Khan as they stood a few meters away from Brother Amer.


    "DEMONS!"


    Brother Khan yelled, in outrage, and as a warning to his brothers and sisters within the camp, as he charged forward towards the demons in a bit to protect Brother Amer. He could clearly see that they were the elites of one of the demon princes, the prince of greed due to there armor but he cared not. To him a Paliden of the order of the purge they were but ants.


    The demons only had a moment to take in their opponent as he yelled before he was upon them, his movements were inhumanly quick as he covered twenty meters in an instant bringing his axe down upon the closes demon.


    The demon sneered as he brought his sword up to meet the axe only for it to be split in two along with his body. His companions were dumbfounded when they saw this, they had thought against many paladins before but this is the first time they had seen one of there own struck down by one swing from a paladin that seemed to be serving as a simple guard.


    Brother Khan didn''t stop after killing the first demon and quickly moved to the second, which caused the demons to come out of there daze and attack him together.


    Brother Khan continued with his axe swing unmoved by the other demons. His foe, having learned from his previous companion, did not choose to block the blow but dodge it, jumping backward and out of range of the axe. The other three demons took this opportunity to strike at him but he was too quick-moving his axe to block them as if it weighed nothing, he twirled it a bit to offset their attacks before slamming the head of the axe vertically into the ground.


    "Divine Wave!!!"


    He shouted, causing a shockwave made of light to burst from his body nocking back and burning the demons around him. Taking this opportunity while they were of balance he heaved his axe into the air and cleaved another demon in two.


    By now the remaining three demons had become terrified at this man, but they they had no room to escape or the man will cut them down from behind.


    Brother Khan was not so nice as to stop, after killing the second demon he took a step towards the nearest demon and cleaved him horizontally, the demon reacted too late to dodge thus could only try and block, and we all know how that turned out.


    The remaining two demons took a look at each other after another companion fell, they nodded with decisiveness and turned towards Brother Khan, As the nearest demon charged at him the second one moved his body forward but with a kick he backpaddled in retreat. The demon charging forward thought something was wrong and mid charge glanced back only to find his companion running away and leaving him to death, said companion even looked back at him and smiled as if encouraging him to continue fighting.


    "Fuck yo.."


    "Smite!"


    Before the charging demon could vinnish cursing his fleeing companion Brother Khan was already upon him, with a yell his axe glowed in divine light as it slammed down on the demon, from the sky a pillar of light descended with the axe and when they both struck the demon he was immediately eviscerated.


    The last remaining demon was shocked and frightened, the scene before him only allowed him to gain greater speed as he ran away. Unfortunately for him, he would never be able to escape. Before Khan could even start persuing a low piercing sound was heard, an arrow past over Brother Khan as he moved towards the demon at blinding speed, it piecing right through the demons head and disappearing into the forest. The demon kept moving forward do to inertia but soon just fell down on the forest floor.


    Brother Khan turned towards the new arrival with a beaming smile.


    "Nice of yah to finally show up..."


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 50 Chapter 50: A Saints Glory 2

    "Nice of yah to finally show up... Sister"


    Khan stared towards the edge of the camp, atop a tree where a tall woman was standing, she wore almost no clothing except for to cover some essential places, her long pointy ears betraying her leakage as an elf.


    "If I left it up to you, the demon would have gotten away."


    The elven woman smirked as she jumped off the tree and made her way towards Amer, chanting a spell she quickly set to heal him.


    "As if he could run from me"


    Khan spoke in dissatisfaction before joining her in healing Amer. After some time Amer''s eyes slowly opened as he woke up, in his daze he saw two people kneeling over him sending light energy into him to heal his most grievous wounds.


    "The demon aura got in quite deep, might have to ask the old man to take care of him"


    Amer heard Khan speak, the woman next to him replied with a sarcastic tone.


    "Don''t always go and hide behind the saint just because you''re lacking in certain areas"


    Amer immediately recognized her as one of his Sister in arms, the one usually by Khan''s side, they were powerful on there own, but together even a grand paladin had to handle them seriously. Sadly due to their particular style of dress, they were labeled as the Adamite duo.


    "Brother Khan, Sister Lyeecia?"


    "Still now, we''ll take care of the worst wounds and then take yah to the old man, he''ll fix yah up... always have."


    Khan said, he smiled at Amin, but due to his particular looks, he looked as if he was preparing to murder him.


    "Stop smiling your giving everybody the creeps."


    Lyeecia, quickly spoke up, causing Khans to face to turn dark making him look even more terrifying.


    "You, sure you aren''t a demon? You sure look the part."


    Lyeecia said as she "seriously inspected " Khan.


    "Who the hell are you calling a demon you tree humper"


    "How dare you!"


    Brother Amin stared at the duo as they argued, and even started throwing profundity at each other all the while healing him in the perfect sink, he didn''t know whether to laugh at there antics or to cry due to them both being renowned paladins of the grand order of light.


    After treating the worst of Brother Amer''s injuries, Khan picked him up like a bag of potatoes and started heading into the camp.


    "Be gentler you oath, he''s injured!"


    Lyeecia said, Amin was about to thank her but his face froze when he saw that she had a smile on her own while not even trying to make the effort to stop Khan.


    "Don''t matter what I do ta him, as long as he sees the old man he''ll be up and running in no time"


    Khan replied, causing Amin to want to key, but he suddenly remembered something, and his expression turned serious.


    "Take me quickly to the saint, I have urgent news"


    Seeing his expression, Khan didn''t say anything and quickened his pace, Lyeecia also stayed quiet and followed.


    ...


    Within the middle of the Military camp, a massive tent was erected, within it an old man sat in a chair behind a desk, slowly looking at some maps of the current region, he had silver-gray hair and a majestic beard, his eyes shone sky blue, and just by looking at him he should have been handsome in his youth, but right now he just looked tired and the slight aura of death hovering over him didn''t help anything.


    Standing next to the desk was a tall woman, with blond-graying hair, but not a single wrinkle could be seen on her beautiful face. What was strange about her was that she had a horn growing from her forehead, a long silver horn that shined within the light.


    "Just try it, Lambert!"


    She spoke loudly while staring at the old man. Her golden eyes pleading as she stared at him.


    Lambert let out a light sigh as he shifted his gaze from the maps and stared the woman in the eyes.


    "Enough Benicia."


    He spoke in long drawn out words, his words carried all his weariness. He was tired, tired of war, tired of battle, tired of bloodshed and... tired of life.


    "My time has come...there is no elixir that can stop it. You have tried to dozens of potions, miracle drugs, and miraculous treasures... All wasted on an old man at the end of his life."


    Tears threaten to come out of Benicia''s eye as she heard him.


    "How can I not try, how! Two- hundred and fifty-three years, we have had each other back for over two centuries, how do you expect me to just sit back and watch as you wither away into a barely recognizable heap of bones!!!


    Another long sigh, escaped Lambert''s mouth as he took in Benicia''s words.


    "I am merely human... I was foolish in my youth, and sought power... as quickly as possible, which led me to sacrifice much of my life span. Even so, I have lived longer than any grand paladin ever has... I was talented and might have reached this hight, given a few extra years of training. Impatience... a trait all youth''s share."


    Lambert sighed again


    "I did this to myself... and have excepted it, I do not ask you to do the same...but do not squander the resources meant for others on me...It only burdens me more."


    "Bu-"


    Just as Benicia was about to continue but a half-naked muscular man barged into the tent carrying a lightly armored man like a potato sack followed by a mostly naked elven woman.


    "Old man, Amin needs help, he got himself beaten up but those demon scum and came running like a scared rabbit towards the camp with them chasing him like wolves an... am I interrupting something?


    Benicia scored at Khan but just shook her head when she saw Amin''s state.


    "No"


    Benicia said as she moved to the side where a massive couch was and sat in it. Khan walked up to the table and threw Amin on it as if he was nothing but a sack of potatoes.


    "Ugh"


    With a grunt, Amin landed on the table throwing Khan a glare which Khan ignored.


    Lambert smile at there antics before placing his hand on Amin which was still lying on the table.


    "Heal"


    With those words, light radiated from his hand and surrounded Amin and then disappeared after that in a flash.


    "There... all better...what happened...why were you chased?"


    Amin quickly got off the table feeling as good as new, he turned to Lambert before speaking with a grave tone.


    "We have a problem Lord Saint, a massive demon army are marching on us as we speak, I was spotted while scouting ahead leading to them chasing me and almost ending me, good thing I''m an old fox"


    Amin said with a small smirk, which Khan quickly shot down.


    "Quite proud for someone who almost died."


    Lambert was quiet with a frown on his face.


    Khan noticed it could help but ask.


    "Old man, something wrong?"


    "How many...were there"


    Lambert asked Amin.


    "About a hundred thousand at a minimum"


    His answer only caused Lamberts to frown to deepen.


    "We must retreat!"


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 51 Chapter 51: A Saints Glory 3

    Everyone was silent, they understood the thought of retreating in the face of such a massive army, but with three small numbers they could easily outmaneuver such a large force, so was there a need for such urgency?


    "Uh...Old man, what''s wrong?" Kahn asked.


    Lambert assembled his thoughts for a moment before giving an explanation.


    "The princess has...taken action...the number is there combined armies."


    Realization dawned on the others, there faces became somewhat pale. Just who were these princes? well the answer was simple they were the worst possible opponents there was in this war. Each of them had strength greater than a grand paladin and even equal to saints. For all of them to have mobilized was a frightening prospect.


    "Even so, we can easily outrun such a massive army, what''s there to worry about?"


    Lyeecia asked as she looked at Lambert in confusion.


    "If I am correct...we are being flanked...while the main army is coming at us...they will most likely send a smaller unit to intercept us and keep us...keep us from escaping."


    Benicia became alarmed when she heard this.


    "Then we''ll depart immediately, Lyeecia, spread the word, were making an expedition retreat, leave anything not essential. What are you waiting for, move!"


    Lyeecia immediately left, followed by Khan, when he left they could clearly hear his boisterous voice echoing over the camp.


    "Pack up ya lazy bunch o'' fossils, were running away so only take the important stuff, like yah diapers!"


    Benicia could only sigh, while Amen smiled wryly, as they heard Kahn shout, thought crude it was effective, every veteran immediately got up and packed evrything needed, by the speed they will be ready in less than half an hour.


    Benicia and Amen snapped back to attention as Lamberts voice ranged from behind the table.


    "Greed... fastest demon prince...he is most likely to flank us...with his cavalry."


    "Then we will send a group to stall the approaching army and the flanking cavalry while the majority escape"


    Benicia said as pain flashed in her eyes at the thought of sacrificing some of there members. Amen could only close his eyes when he heard her, he could not deny that that was most likely there the only choice.


    "I will be among the intercepting members." Amen declared as he opened his eyes in resolution, he was no cowered, none of them were. He will fight for the lives of the rest of his brothers to the best of his capability and even sacrifice his life if needed.


    "That...will not be needed"


    Lambert spoke as he drew their attention, Benicia looked at him hoping he had a better alternative.


    "I... will face the approaching army...should be able to stall them for some time...Benicia..."


    "Absolutely not!!!"


    Benicia interrupted lambert as she yelled, a clear distraught in her eyes as she thought of lambert facing an army of over a hundred thousand by himself.


    "Lord Saint, there is no need for you to sacrifice yourself, we brothers and sisters are enough!" Amen spoke hurriedly as he could not hide his anxiety. Lambert was their pillar, they could not lose him no matter what.


    "An do what...look as they sacrifice there lives for an old...caught*...old man half a foot in the grave!"


    Caught*Caught*Caught*Caught*Caught*Caught*


    Lambert yelled in anger before breaking out in a coughing fit, shaking both Amin and Benicia not expecting him to become so angry.


    Benicia stepped forward to help the coughing Lambert but he raised his hand causing her to stop in her tracks, after some more time he finally composed himself as he looked at Benicia and Amen with a strick look.


    "I will intercept...the the main army...no discussion."


    Tears fell from Benicia''s eyes when she heard him, she knew nothing she did will be able to change his mind.


    "You stubborn old fool, go die than for all I care!!!"


    She yelled as she stormed off out of the tent, leaving only Lambert and Amen. The later looking at Lambert with sad eyes, his voice filled with an audible tremble.


    "My...my Lord S...s"


    Amen could not even continue, he lowered his head as his body trembling, he could face the threat of death and not blink, but this... this was worse than dying himself.


    "Do not be saddened...Amen...rejoice...for I will die a death...befitting a warrior...for that is what I am... I do not wish to rot behind some desk...slowly dying...if my death could save you all...I would gladly sacrifice myself"


    Lambert said as he smiled faintly at Amin, amen lifted his head and stared at Lambert, then he turned around and left the tent. Lambert sat behind his desk for a while longer before he slowly rose from his seat and walked towards one side of the tent.


    He looked at a large piece of white plated armor stored on a manikin, he placed his hand on the armor and slowly traced the marks on it, marks left by blades, arrows, claws and anything else that was thrown at him.


    "The last fight, huh?"


    Pulling the armor from the manikin, he slowly donned it himself. Standing in the mirror Lambert looked at himself from under his long disheveled gray-white hair.


    Sigh*


    He looked at the familiar appearance in the mirror, one that brought back memories of the past, a past where he too fought in battles and shed blood on the field.


    Making sure he is fully armored Lambert stepped out of the tent only to stop dead in his tracks, standing before him was a group of giving or take four hundred men and woman, each an old veteran, a hardened fighter.


    They all looked at Lambert with sad eyes, some of the woman and emotional men even had tears running down from there eyes.


    Lambert stared at the familiar faces in front of him, he smiled at them with the warmest smile he had given to anyone in several decades as he spoke with a more jubilant tone.


    "Brothers and sisters! A dark shadow hangs over us, I will take the lead and obstruct it, you all have but one job and that is to get to Ford Blight Bell, only then will you be safe, I want all of you to reach it or so help me I will strangle you when I see you in the realm of light!"


    The Paladins all straightened up after hearing him, he had not spoken like this in years, and hearing him gave them strength.


    "My Sword"


    Lambert said, the Paladins parted as they created a path, within the path came Benicia, her red eyes stared at Lambert in unwillingness, she carried a wooden box in her hands.


    "I will leave them to you," Lambert said as he reached out his hand, Benicia opened the box and revealed an ordinary-looking longsword sheathed in an ordinary sheath. It looked no different than any common weapon.


    Lambert took the sword witch vibrated slowly when it came into contact with him as if greeting him.


    With sword in hand, Lambert gave Benicia one last look before he walked towards the north, the direction in which the demon army was approaching. The paladins slowly opened up for him to let him pass in between them.


    As he left the camp he could hear them sending him off.


    "Glory to the PURGE!!!"


    "Glory To The SAINT!!!!!"


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 52 Chapter 52: Negotiation

    "Mind explaining...Hoko"


    Hoko was standing next to another Yokai, a middle-aged man with fox ears just like her, both were wearing robes of white and red colors like the other youkai only there hoods weren''t up. Hoko was looking down not daring to stare Lambert in the eyes, she had reported evrything she knew about Lambert and his group just like she was supposed to, she also mentioned that Lambert said that they were merely staying temporarily, how was she to know that her superior not only informed his higher-ups but immediately gathered a force of Kitsune (Fox Yokai) to confront them.


    "Allow me..."


    The middle-aged yokai stepped forward, he looked Lambert up and down as if sizing him up while also using some Youjutsu to probe him openly, but just like Hoko he could he found that Lambert was nothing more than an average human being. He was somewhat surprised but immediately recovered.


    "My name is Kioshi, Hoko''s superior. I have come here to invite you and your group"


    Lambert gave a light snort when he heard the man, then ignored him as he turned to check on the frightened Tosca, who was grabbing onto his clothes as she hid behind him, he gave her a light smile and petted her head to calm her down before turning to the Yokai man named Kioshi.


    "If you came to invite me, what is the meaning of surrounding us, is it to flaunt your none existent strength or to boost your courage?"


    Lambert spoke impolitely not caring if he offended the yokai.


    "WHAT!!! How dare you speak like that, you are in our territory, here we are the law, to even invite you instead of outright attacking is already giving you some respect!"


    Kioshi yelled, losing his temper.


    "I have been kind, so you will either come with us or...ugh"


    "Or what?"


    Lambert suddenly appeared in front of the enraged Youkai, his hand tightly clenching the man''s throat.


    The other youkai were stunned before they became inraged.


    "Let him go!"


    "Release him"


    They screamed as they readied their weapons and Jutsu''s. Poor Hoko stood there stunned next to the captured man, she couldn''t process what was happening. They were speaking and then yelling and now her superior had his throat in the silver-gray-haired old man''s grasp, what was even more surprising she didn''t see how he moved.


    "Aura, bind them"


    Receiving Lambert''s order, Aura waved her hand, and a massive amount of white chains sprung up under each of the youkai, restricting their movements and levitating them in the air, even poor Hoko wasn''t spared, worst she was even hung upside down.


    ''Got you little bitch'' Aura taught as she saw Hoko hang upside down with a shocked expression her robe falling over her ace revealing her pink underwear and tail and legs flailing around.


    "When one invites others, one does so with proper etiquette"


    Lambert spoke as he lifted Kioshi into the air, the youkai man struggled for breath while pulling with all his strength at Lambert''s arm trying to release himself.


    "I wonder what was going through your mind when you thought it was a good idea to come here and threaten us into compliance, I''m sure little Hoko told..."


    At this moment Lambert finally saw Hoko''s current situation, staring at her flailing around was a bit funny but improper for the current situation.


    "Aura, would you be so kind as to release the poor girl from her suffering"


    Aura snorted and the chains around Hoko disappeared, leaving her at the mercy of gravity as she fell to the ground. She quickly picked herself up and straightened her robe with a very bright and red face. She glared at Aura before remembering Aura''s power and lowered her head again.


    "Hum...as I was saying little Hoko must have told you that our strength was at least ultimate rank, so why in the name of all that is divine would you confront and threaten us with such a pitiful force, the most powerful one being you having the strength of around high rank, and by the looks of it the very bottom of low rank?"


    "..."


    Lambert waited for Kioshi to reply before he remembered that he was still holding the man by his throat, he released him letting him fall to the ground in a coughing fit.


    "Why didn''t you tell me you couldn''t talk."


    Lambert said shaking his head at Kioshi as if he was an idiot, leaving everybody there speechless.


    "The epitome of shamelessness", Aura lightly whispered under her breath as she stared at Lambert with stars in her eyes, "I still have much to learn".


    Cleria and Masaomi were just standing there not knowing what to do, so they chose to remain quiet and stand near Aura. Tosca walked up to Lambert and took the hem of his shirt in her hand as she stood behind him, it somehow made her feel more secure as she stared at the group of robed people dangling in the air, bonded by white chains made of light with a light curiosity.


    "Speak fool"


    Lambert said as he kept staring ant Kioshi, who at this moment regretted ever provoking the man in front of him, he still couldn''t understand it since Lambert looked like nothing more than an ordinary mortal, even with his jutsu he couldn''t reveal anything yet the speed and strength he just showed was insane.


    "I..I apologize for my rude behavior, please...allow me to invite you to...to... be our guests, I am sure my superiors would be delighted to speak to you."


    Kioshi said trying his best to seem as friendly as possible while trying to figure out how to take care of this man in front of him, he knew his higher-ups wouldn''t be happy with him threatening such a powerful being.


    "I don''t care about that, answer my question"


    Lambert said as he gazed down at Kioshi, given Lambert''s hight it was quite intimidating causing Kioshi to shrink back in fear.


    "I think I might be able to answer that"


    A sweet voice sounded out from behind the group causing everyone to look towards its origins.


    Lambert also looked back, as his eyes fell upon the figure that appeared some few meters away from them his eyes couldn''t help but lit up when he recognized the person.


    "Oh my"


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 53 Chapter 53: Shameless Sain

    "Oh my"


    Standing a few meters from Lambert''s group was a Youkai, a fox youkai like all the others yet not. She looked like a young woman with a voluptuous figure and long blond hair, tied in a loose ponytail that hung down to her legs and ended in a spiral kept in place by a taut bandage, she had had delicate facial features adorned with beautiful golden eyes and shortcut eyebrows. Standing there in her shrine maiden attire she stared at Lambert with a curious gaze.


    What immediately put her in Lambert''s good books is that she didn''t try to probe him or anyone in his group like Hoko or Kioshi but just stood there waiting for Lambert to speak first, her hands held together in front of her.


    "Please elaborate"


    Lambert asked of her. Since she was being so polite he would feel quite bad if he did not handle himself with proper decorum, he was a paladin, after all, manners are essential to exude to all except your enemies.


    The youkai woman gave Lambert a bow as she greeted him.


    "My name is Yasaka, I am currently the leader of the youkai in Kyoto. I do apologize for the rudeness my people have shown you as it was not our intension. I believe Kioshi-San was merely overprotective of his brethren as we have been having troubled time recently"


    Lambert looked towards the youkai woman named Yasaka for some time, he could tell that she believed what she was saying as he sensed no negative energy leaving her as she spoke, the kind of negative energy released when lying was easily seen by Lambert, who was someone who could be said to be one with the light.


    Seeing as there was no harm and having such a beautiful woman act so humbly and politely, Lambert chose to take a step back as to give more room for negotiation, hopefully without things getting violent this time as they tend to do when he is involved.


    "Well if that''s the case I am truly ashamed at my actions."


    Lambert spoke, his words were such that not even Tosca could believe him, but his sincere facial expression made it hard not to.


    ''Carisma has leveled up (+5)'' thought Lambert as he saw everybody actually believed him.


    To further consolidate himself as a man that was regretting his actions, Lambert motioned towards Aura as he spoke.


    "Aura, would you mind please releasing these good Yokai, gently if you would"


    He said while boasting a warm grandfatherly smile, almost making Aura puke at his shamelessness. Of all the people here she knew Lambert''s character, and as Alex has turned into Lambert he was effected by Lambert''s character.


    Lambert was an upright man, with an honorable sense of justice and a fury that would make him strike down any who did evil, consequences are damned. He was loyal to his friends and would not even hesitate, no he would not even think about it as his body would act on its own to sacrifice itself for them. His only flaws were his habit to cause mischieve sometimes and being very Very VERY shameless whenever he gets the chance to be or he''s in the mood to be.


    Aura nodded while mentally wondering if she might have inherited that shamelessness from him while he was raising her. Waving her eft hand the white chains slowly placed the youkai back on the ground while unraveling from there body''s and eventually disappearing.


    "There now that that unpleasantness is over with, let''s...ahh" Lambert lightly facepalmed himself on the forehead, "... I forgot to introduce myself, what a blunder. Forgive Lady Yasaka, Allow me to do just that..." Lambert said as he gave her a gentleman bow, "I am Lambert Rubius Vladis Imperius Liberius... no, I''m just Lambert." Lambert said as he gave Yasaka a somewhat teasing smile to which she couldn''t help but let out a giggle at his antics.


    "Well, it''s a pleasure to meet you Lambert-San," Yasaka said smiling at the somewhat strange old man.


    "Lambert-San, would you and your group find joining me for dinner" Yasaka suddenly asked as she looked at the rest of the Lambert group with a faint smile, everyone except Aura nodded back at, Aura just turned her head away ignoring Yasaka, which Yasaka didn''t mind in the slightest.


    "Well that would be a wonderful idea, please lead the way," Lambert said as he motioned to the rest of his group to follow. Turning he faced Tosca before crouching down and picking her up.


    "whaaa!"


    Tosca yelled in surprise not expecting Lambert to suddenly lift her up, she mas kept in the air for but a moment before she was firmly placed on his left shoulder and held secure by his left hand.


    She was shocked at first but that quickly disappeared as she started looking around with a big smile, enjoying her new vantage point of being able to look down on everybody.


    Cleria and Masaomi smiled at the sight while Aura puffed her cheeks as she stared at Tosca in jealousy. Yasaka let out another giggle as she saw the group''s antics.


    "please this way", Yasaka said as she slowly leads the group, leaving behind a confused Hoko and a mentally distraught Kioshi.


    ''That''s it I''m done for, this is the end for me, I the great Kioshi shall haver my life reaped by an old man in a tuxedo, not just any old man but an insanely buff old man"


    Kioshi though as none existing tears streamed down from his eyes. His only hope now is that Yasaka would truly be able to save his little life, but he didn''t even think of the idea that Lambert at that very moment has long since forgotten about him, his name his face and even whatever he did to offend him, Lambert forgot it all, and it wasn''t do to some miraculous spell or divine intervention, he just didn''t care enough to remember, to him Kioshi was nothing more than a background character at this moment.


    Yasaka leads the group for a while before stopping and casting a teleportation spell which made a magic circle appear on the ground.


    "Please" She gestured to the circle while elaborating, "Its quite some ways walk, it would be much quicker teleporting."


    Lambert and his group stepped into the circle and Yasaka followed them in, before they teleported she gave an order to the rest of the yokai that was staring at them like idiots.


    "Please return by yourself"


    With a flash of light Lambert, his group and Yasaka disappeared from everybody''s vision.


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 54 Chapter 54: Tea After Dinner

    Within a majestic Japenese themed palace, glowing in bluish light, like being planted with too many neon lights, Lambert and co was sitting at a low table while enjoying some freshly brewed tea.


    Sitting with them was Yasaka and another man, he had a short grayed beard with red skin and black wings sprouted from his back, he was dressed like a mountain hermit that has secluded himself for years.


    "This is the leader of the Karasu-Tengu, Riwuccu. He has helped me managed the youkai in Kyoto for many years and is a trusted aid of mine."


    Riwuccu lowered his head slightly towards Yasaka before he spoke.


    "You honor me with your praise Lady Yasaka, I do not deserve it..."


    He then turned to Lambert, staring at him with his yellow eyes bird-like eyes.


    "...A pleasure to make your acquaintance Lambert-dono, I hope you enjoy your stay with us."


    Lambert smiled at the man and returned his greeting with an equally polite one.


    "A pleasure Mr.Riwuccu."


    "Ah, now with that out of the way, Lambert-San, I have been wondering if you would mind telling me who you are. I apologize if I seem rude with this abrupt question"


    Yasaka spoke as she put on an apologetic expression that could make any man''s heart melt, her eyes glistering in the light as she stared at Lambert."


    "Not at all Lady Yasaka, as I have mentioned my name is Lambert, I was at a time a... soldier of sorts, but I have left that life behind me a long time ago and in my retirement I joint and organization that goal is the accumulation of knowledge, we are known as the Order Of Samsara and see ourselves as a Neutral party, we seek only knowledge and of course we do not mind teaching others what we know as well, because what is the meaning of knowledge if it does not benefit anyone."


    Yasaka''s eyes open wide for a bit, she has never heard of this organization before, though she did not bury the idea of Lambert lying, she highly doubted he did. If what he said was true, then this organization has hidden itself deeply from the rest of the world.


    "Then might I be as bold as to ask what is your goal in coming to Kyoto?"


    Yasaka asked, this was the thing she wanted to know the most, she could not understand what was a being of ultimate class doing in Kyoto, not to mention there was another one of Ultimate class following him. She could clearly see that the man named Masaomi and the woman named Cleria were not that powerful, their names did sound familiar though.


    ''Wait, Masaomi, and Cleria.'' Yasaka thought back to an intelligence report she read a few days before stating that an exorcist and Devil had fallen in love and were now on the run from both devils and the church, ''Could they be''.


    Yasaka had to make sure so she asked while trying to sound as polite as possible not to offend her guest. it wasn''t that she was afraid of offending him because of his power but because she has found him very cordial and well to her liking, someone she wouldn''t mind befriending. Not to mention he has been straightforward and truthfully with her... well for all she could tell he was.


    Yasaka turned to Masaomi and Cleria and spoke to them with a gentle tone that held a hint of inquiry in it.


    "Would you two happen to be the Masaomi and cleria currently evading capture?"


    She immediately regretted it after asking,'' that sounded so invasive, I hope I didn''t offend Lambert-san'', Yasaka thought as she threw sneaky glances at Lambert which he could immediately see through yet just played along while finding her current behavior to be un-naturally cute.


    Cleria and Masaomi on the other hand became rigid when they heard her question, the thought that they were caught couldn''t help but spread thought their minds. They both looked towards Lambert and only relaxed when that saw that he was still smiling and drinking tea.


    Thew*-Masaomi


    Thew*-Cleria


    Thew*-Yasaka


    Masaomi and Cleria looked towards Yasaka not understanding why she breathed out a sigh of reliving but ignored it when they saw her recover and smile at them waiting for an answer, not betraying her relief at not having offended her new acquaintance.


    "Uhm, well yes we are..." Said Masaomi after deliberating for some time, but ultimately chose to be truthful seeing as Lambert didn''t mind Yasaka asking the question he naturally wouldn''t mind Masaomi answer it... he hoped...prayed.


    Another sight of relief escaped Masaomi''s lips as he saw Lambert still smiling while drinking his tea, occasionally teasing Tosca that was sitting next to him or making idle conversation to Riwuccu.


    "Ah, you must have had a rough time"


    Yasaka said sympathetically, something Masaomi and Cleria didn''t expect. They expected her to either try to capture them, force them to leave Kyoto or something else along that line but it seemed that their worries were for naught.


    "I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable." Yasaka tried to comfort the couple but then turned serious afterward.


    "I would advise the two of you not to reveal it to others outside of this room, many are not as accepting of a devil so near them."


    Yasaka said, her face showed clearly that she was concerned about Cleria being discovered, which caused her to be again elevated in Lambert''s good books.


    "No need to worry about that Lady Yasaka, as long as I am with them they will come to no harm", Lambert said before asking a question of his own.


    "You mentioned trouble, if there is something I can help with, please feel free to ask?"


    "Well, I suppose..." Yasaka looked a bit uncertain, she didn''t want to have others carry her burdens but she was at her wit''s end at what to do, maybe if somebody from outside were to have aloo that might be able to have a solution, so she made the decision ask for Lambert''s help.


    "Then I thank you for offering aid, you see..."


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 55 Chapter 55: The Four Tokens

    "Then I thank you for offering aid, you see I have been having troubles unrest within my community. The Yokai of Kyoto has started to split into two groups, one supports me and the other supports the man responsible for all of this. He is a Nekomata called Katsuro."


    Yasaka lowered her head as she said this, she was clearly embarrassed about having this man take so much influence over the Yokai from her and to make it worse she is now resorting to asking for help from outside.


    "So it''s an internal problem," Lambert said as he frowned, he didn''t mind helping Yasaka, but he found it a bit out of place for him to meddle in their affairs...without good reason.


    "Yes, I know it''s asking much, please don''t mind and just pretend I didn''t mention anything"


    Yasaka said thinking that she was making it difficult for Lambert after seeing hi frown.


    "No, it''s not a problem to help you, it''s just I have to come up with a plausible excuse"


    Lambert said as he smiled at Yasaka, her face looked black for a moment before she returned his smile while giggling.


    "Fufufu, if that''s the case what do you have in mind Lambert-san," Yasaka asked as she leaned over the table and proper her head with her hand and resting her elbow on the table, staring at Lambert with her beautiful golden eyes.


    "Mhhh..." Lambert hummed as he rubbed his beard in a sagely way. "...I have no idea."


    Yasaka''s head nearly slipped from her hand and fell when she heard his reply. She was now staring at Lambert with wide eyes while he was still passing as a sage.


    Lambert eventually stopped with his antics and became serious. Taking something from his pocket he slid it over towards Yasaka.


    "This should suffice, if you run into any trouble you can use that and Samsara will send someone to help you."


    Yasaka stared at the token with interest, it was made out of a strange kind of stone, imprinted with the image of a mountain range on it, and aura of unspeakable ancientness drifted around it making the air feel so heavy and causing normal humans to feel it hard to breathe in its presence.


    "Someone, will this person know about me and..."


    "No need to worry, Lady Yasaka. This token will work and the one that will answer its summons will be knowledgable about you and your situation. I will be frank with you, this token is one of four, the blood-red scourge token, which I presume you are familiar with Cleria..." Lambert said


    Cleria had been keeping her eyes glued on the stone token since its appearance only snapping out of her daze when she heard Lambert ask her a question, to which she took out a blood-red token, it had a feeling of unconvinced resentment and mourning surrounding it. Yasaka was taken aback when she saw the token and imprinted on one side was the head of a dragon.


    "Yes, that would be the scourge token, the token of Mournomon, this is another token then there is this one..."


    Lambert took out another Token, it was pure white with a golden rim at the side while the insignia of a templars cross appeared in its center.


    "...this is my token, the last one I cannot show you as I do not have one on me. These tokens are what we of Samsara use as gifts to friends or as business transactions, it has the ability to call on the owner of the token by injecting a little bit of energy into it, the owner needs only answer it and he will be summoned to the holder''s side."


    Lambert patiently explained.


    "Mournomon said that I can only use this in Kuoh town and it had a limited range"


    Cleria suddenly said in confusion.


    "He lied, most probably as to not have to worry about appearing too far from where he was staying."


    Lambert said with a light smile but inside he was trying his hardest not to laugh his ass off at the expression Cleria was currently making.


    ''If somebody was scanning me with a bullshit meeter at this time it might have just gone over 9000, hahaha''. Lambert thought


    Yasaka stared at the token then turned her head to Cleria and asked,


    "What happened when you used your token?"


    "I poured some manna into it and it glowed brightly for a second next thing I knew Mournomon was standing in front of me."


    Cleria said while recalling what happened, then shuddered when she recalled Mournomon thrashing the exorcists and reincarnation the devils he ran over as ''Dragon-kun'', she then immediately expelled any thought of getting revenge with at Mournomon for lying to her and making her appear like a fool...for now.


    Yasaka thought for a moment before asking Lambert a question in a low voice,


    "Is this a gift or do I need to do something for you in return Lambert-san"


    Yasaka finished her sentence and then looked at Lambert with a suggestive expression on her face.


    "This is, of course, a gift, the owner of this token has been wanting to meet you for some time now, I do wonder if you will recognize him thought"


    Lambert said as he smiled secretively, which made Yasaka wonder who it is that she would be summoning.


    "Are you sure he will be willing to help me?" Yasaka asked, she didn''t want to summon someone that will ignore her when she most desperately needed the help.


    "Well, if she refuses just tell him you''ll give him a kiss, I''m sure he''ll agree right away"


    Lambert said teasingly, but some people didn''t find it funny as Aura''s head immediately swung in lamberts direction and gave him a look that held a lot of meaning, sadly Lambert didn''t speak face and thus ignored Aura''s illiterate way of speaking. She of course became even more furious seeing him ignore her.


    Masaomi has been silent the whole time but inside he was secretively trying to figure out how he could get his hands on Lambert''s token and use it to ask Lambert to train him.


    Tosca fell asleep some time ago and was now using Lambert''s lap as a pillow while holding him tightly, her face was full of bliss, her dreams full of peace.


    Riwuccu remained silent, he did not think there was a need to give his opinion thought he was certainly craving one of those tokens for himself, just thinking what knowledge he could gain from the person he summoned left him drooling with desire.


    Lambert was patting himself on the back inside his head, he not only gave an excuse to introduce another him to Yasaka but might even be able to set the two up. Even for him who has lived almost an eternity, Yasaka''s appearance and mannerism could only be summed up into two words, MUST HAVE.


    ''Strange never thought of myself as possessive'', Lambert thought.'' Now to give her his name''.


    "Ah, by the way, the persons name is..."


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 56 Chapter 56: Getting Rid Of Extra Baggage

    "Ah, by the way, the person''s name is Asfius"


    "Asfius?"


    Yasaka muttered under her breath as she committed the name to memory.


    "Yes, you will find him to be more than capable of helping you in a tight spot."


    Lambert said reassuringly


    "Then I thank you for this gift"


    Yasaka said as she bowed her head lightly.


    "There is no need to be thankful, I happen to have a request of my own if you don''t mind that is?"


    Yasaka stared at him for a moment before she nodded and motioned him to speak further.


    "I want you to take Masaomi and Cleria into your protection"


    "What?"


    "Huh?"


    Before Yasaka could say anything Cleria burst in outrage out and Masaomi followed in his own special way.


    "How can you just leave us after having taken the job in protecting us?"


    Cleria raged, Masaomi on the other hand started thinking. He might not be the most powerful exorcist but he still survived to this day all thanks to his smarts... or maybe just luck but he would like to think it was because of his intelligence.


    Lambert was very patient with Cleria and didn''t think much of her outburst, but AUra on the other hand wasn''t so kind not to mention she didn''t have any good feelings towards devils in the first place.


    "Watch your tongue while speaking to Master." Aura spoke in a threatening manner as a light aura appeared around her finger that she was pointing towards Cleria.


    Cleria was immediately placated, she was still fuming mad as was seen by her expression but she didn''t dare to offend Aura.


    It was at this moment that a finger struck Aura''s forehead causing her head to bounce back.


    "AUWWW!"


    Aura yelled as she held her forehead that had a red spot on it while glaring menacingly at Lambert.


    "Manners Aura is this how I raised you"


    Lambert said in a berating tone as he stared at her, he then turned his head towards Cleria.


    "I apologize for Aura''s outburst CLeria, she is very... protective of me and has the habit of taking things to the extreme when I am involved. I also wish to explain to you why I think it is best for you to come under Yasaka''s protection, I do not blame you for your outburst as the current few days have been brought on you and Masaomi"


    Lambert said to Cleria, making her calm down after contemplating his words, she gestured for him to continue while making an apologetic face.


    "Now... first things first, I am only one person and thus can''t fully protect you even with Aura with me it will be quite the feat and Tosca''s cuteness charms don''t work on everyone I''m afraid, some beings are just too corrupted to appreciate it"


    Lambert said smiling as he thought a bit of humor in the mix to lighten the mood.


    Cleria gave it some thought and then turned to Masaomi for his input, he nodded his head.


    "Ok, we accept and I apologize for my outburst"


    Lambert smiled at Cleria as she lowered her head in embarrassment while apologizing, he reached out his hand and patted her head eliminating a shock from her.


    "No, need for this dear girl, I am just glad that you understand my reasoning, I would never do anything to hurt you or Masaomi. Now..."


    Lambert turned to Yasaka, who still had to agree or this whole fiasco with Cleria would have been pointless.


    "...what do you think Lady Yasaka?"


    Yasaka frowned, she was thinking about the pro''s and cons of this agreement, she would be gaining a strong ally and further deepen her bond with this ally if she agreed, the problem is she would be making an enemy of the church and one of the family''s in the underworld. Then again if she didn''t agree she would lose the opportunity to deepen her relationship with this strong ally of hers and would just remain business partners with them, well that would be how it seemed as they have yet to do business making there alliance even more fragile.


    Yasaka brainstormed some more before sighing, she made a decision, "I agree", she said. It was the best choice of course from what she could tell, Samsara had at least four Ultimate class beings, by just looking at the tokens, and that is just her assumption. who knew how powerful they really were. The church and the Belial family, on the other hand, she had some measure of knowledge about there power and she knew that they would never start a war just for two people.


    "Hahaha, I knew you would agree Lady Yasaka!" Lambert led out a loud boisterous laugh that made him look ten years younger and spoke to Yasaka with a broad smile leaving Yasaka no other choice but to giggle and smile back at his reaction. It was as if that one decision had already made her become closer to this large ally of hers.


    "Oh, right Cleria, Masaomi," Lambert said gaining their attention.


    "Mournomon''s token will stay in your possession and you will be able to summon him again in case of emergency, remember just in case of emergency, don''t wasn''t to make him angry now do we"


    Cleria and Masaomi became very happy when they heard him, having this token now ensured them an extra life. Cleria was a bit curious though.


    "Why would Mournomon do something like that," Cleria asked, not understanding what was inside of Mournomon''s head.


    "It''s because he took a liking to you two, there is no other reason, he has always done things the way he liked them. He does what he wants when he wants and how he wants, no matter the situation, he has lived that way for a hundred thousand years and will continue living like that for the rest of eternity."


    After speaking Lambert felt the situation turn weird. Everybody was still as statues mouths agape and eyes wide as saucers.


    "H...Ho..How long"


    Cleria couldn''t help but stutter. Her question caused Lambert to be a bit confused thus he asked a question of his own.


    "How long what?"


    "I think she means how old did you say this Mournomon is?"


    Riwuccu was the one who spoke, he has been quite the whole time, but after hearing such shocking words he couldn''t help but chip in. The thought of such an old being was just ridiculous to him. Yasaka, Cleria, and Masaomi nodded their heads showing that they also wanted to know, Aura merely sneered at them in disdain.


    "Oh!" Lambert soon came to a realization he might have slipped up a bit and seeing as he didn''t really want to talk about it he quickly came up with an excuse.


    "Well, it''s not my place to talk about it. If you are really curious about his tale, then ask Mournomon yourself, when you meet him"


    The others clearly didn''t like his answer but gave up because they knew it would be better to ask the person instead of asking for information about him behind his back.


    They talked for a bit more before Lambert and the rest of the group decide that it was time to go to sleep as it was quite late already, Yasaka invited them to stay within the palace and they accepted.


    Thus everybody went to there own rooms, everyone except for Tosca and Aura much to Lambert''s hopelessness and helplessness, they were going to share a bed with him...again.


    Lambert laid his head down on his pillow as he grumbled at Aura that was hugging his right arm as she snored away and sighed at Tosca that was cuddling with his left arm while mumbling incoherent words and giggling.


    ''It was an interesting day, I like Yasaka, Asfius would too. Now that I no longer need to take care of those two I can put my second plan into action, gonna leave Aura again, hope she takes it well.'' Lambert thought as he closed his eyes and welcomed a bit of sleep.

 57 Chapter 57: Assassination Attemp

    Morning came quicker than expected leaving Lambert grumbling as he slowly got up of the bed, disentangling himself from Aura and Tosca, luckily it didn''t wake them and they quickly found each other under the blankets, continuing to sleep while hugging each other.


    Lambert walked towards a nearby table and started placing some books down on it, a stack of five massive thick books encased in old leather bindings, on top of it he placed an envelope which read "To Tosca". Lambert then placed another envelope next to the stack of books that read "To Aura", after finishing he gave the cuddling girls a final look before leaving the room.


    Lambert has been making preparations for some time, he was planning to do some traveling again but needed to first settle Masaomi and Cleria''s issue, with that settled he could finally continue with his plans, he just needed the right moment to leave in which he wouldn''t have to deal with a driveling Aura.


    ''Maybe I''m just being a bastard....meh'' Lambert thought as he continued on leaving the palace.


    Unexpectantly he ran into Yasaka on his way, she was currently holding a little baby in her arms while soothingly singing to her. Hearing somebody approach she looked up and saw Lambert, seeing him she gave him a smile.


    "Good morning."


    She greeted him as she approached.


    "Good morning to you to Lady Yasaka..." Lambert greeted back before turning his attention to the little child, "...and who might this little treasure be?" he asked while staring at the cute little baby in Yasaka''s hands.


    "This is Kunou, my daughter," Yasaka said as she stared at Kunou and stared affectionately at her. Kunou had little golden hair and fox ears on her head and while Lambert couldn''t really see it as she was covered in a blanket he knew she also had nine fox tails just like her mother.


    "She is beautiful," Lambert said with praise as he gave the girl a good look, she was currently sleeping giving her a peaceful look.


    Suddenly lamberts eyes squinted and turned cold, he placed his hand on Yasaka''s shoulder and before she could react to his sudden movement, he pushed her forward, causing her to look at him in confusion on for her face to become pale as a blade cleaved down just where she was standing a moment ago.


    Seeing that his attack missed the assassin made a move to retreat, but right in front of Yasaka a blinding flash of white light came for a nanosecond before it died down, the assassin still in its movements of making an escape fell to the ground as his legs and arms fell off.


    Yasaka stared in shock as the assassin finally interpreted the pain he was feeling and started screaming, standing right next to the assassin was Lambert, currently holding a pure white sword that had a light white flame dancing on the blade.


    Although Yasaka was shocked she still manage to rain in her emotions quit quickly, before calling out.


    "Guards, there is an assassin in the palace!"


    Not that she needed to since the screaming assassin was making enough noise to reach every guard stationed within a few hundred meters. They soon stormed into the hall surrounding Yasaka for protection with Lambert in one circle and the assassin in another.


    "Take him away for interrogation, I want to know who wants me dead!"


    Yasaka ordered the guards and they complied, next she turned to Lambert and her face melted into one of gratitude.


    "Thank you, Lambert- San, if it wasn''t for you then..."


    She couldn''t continue with her words as she thought of the consequences if she didn''t have Lambert there with her when the assassin struck.


    Lambert nodded and let go of the sword in his hand, making it finally show its true form as it faded into light elements. Yasaka was again shocked at the sight as she never would have thought that the sword that Lambert used that looked like some sort of powerful legendary sword was actually just condensed light elements.


    "I would advise you to keep your guard up from now on Lady Yasaka, it was luck that I was at your side today, had I known things were this dire I would have given you more than just that token," Lambert said with a solemn expression.


    He held out his hand and within was a normal looking bronze necklace.


    "Take this it will help protect you to some degree"


    Lambert said as he gave her a [Amulet Of Protection (+10)] which would erect a shield around her and protect her from a specific amount of damage.


    Yasaka, nodded her head as she took the necklace, she felt ashamed for letting her guard down while in the palace while playing with Kuoh, she had thought that she would be safe here and no one would attack her, how wrong she was and very nearly paid dearly for her hindsight.


    "Thank you Lambert-Sama, if you need anything don''t be afraid to ask"


    Yasaka said, she was really ashamed, taking the amulet just like that, but she had to do it not just for her sake but for the sake of her daughter.


    "No, need. I will be leaving today so please take care of Aura and Tosca, they will be quite surprised at my absence since I didn''t tell them. I left them a letter each and some materials I want Tosca to learn, but you will have to bear the burden of an overdramatic Aura so... Sorry"


    Lambert said as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.


    "You leaving so soon?" Yasaka said in surprise as disappointment flashed in her eyes.


    "No need to mope like that, I still have a lot to do so please excuse me."


    Lambert said as he left the palace then the yokai area returning to everyday Kyoto. Wandering the streets Lambert made his way towards a temple, a Shinto temple to be exactly where he has found out the Himejima clan to be.


    ''I hope I am not too late to prevent a tragedy, I may not like changing the course of this world''s history, but this... I can not look away from such tragedy done to innocence.''


    As Lambert took a shortcut through an ally way he slowly started transforming, his hight reducing to one 1.8 meters while his muscular frame became lieth, his old scared appearance disappeared replaced by an ethereal looking face, that was so beautiful it would haunt most women wet dreams for the rest of there lives was they to look at it. The scent of trees and freshly plowed dirt came from him as he kept walking forward his Forest green eyes shining with advanced intellect and sagely wisdom.


    With a snap of his fingers, his too-large attire immediately disappeared and transformed into a pair of sneakers a jean and hoody which he uses to cover his face and long pointy ears.


    Mythandar looked towards his destination, a complex of buildings some hundred meters away.


    "Worry not, I will keep your family from tearing apart," he thought he could vaguely make out scenes of the saddened Akino and distraught Baraqiel from the anime he watched some billion years ago.


    With a thought, he disappeared from the ally way, space twisting for a moment before becoming still.

 58 Chapter 58: The Guardian Sage

    Deep in the night, under the many constellations, Mythander was currently sitting comfortably high on a tree branch while leaning back against the tree.


    He was holding a black leather-encased book in his hand, lightly reading it. "...When the soul departs the body of the deceased, it does not immediately disappear but lingers, it is during this time that it is optimal to capture for use as an ingredient for rituals and other spells or to trap it within a body thus turning it into the living dead. The quality of the ingredient or undead raised is in direct correlation to the strength of the soul, the amount of time it has lingered within this world after its body has been slain and the competency of the one capturing the would or trapping it..."


    Mythandar smiled slightly as he read the text while calculating in what situations this information would be valuable as well as assessing and verifying it with what he already knew as to find fault and then correct it. What surprised Mythandar is that he didn''t find anything wrong with the text in fact there were some things he didn''t even know, which he safely stored inside his memory to fill gaps in his knowledge.


    ''Well he wasn''t an Ach Lich for nothing'', Mythandar thought as he recalled the owner of this book, one of the most powerful adversaries he has ever thought not only in pure power but in wits as well. The book he was currently reading was the Arch Lich''s research, evrything he has done since he walked the path of a necromancer.'' Should have asked for his name'', Mythandar smiled as he continued reading.


    Not far from the tree where Mythander was held up in his pleasure reading, stood a small building, although it was old and small, one could tell it was well maintained. From where Mythander was sitting one could see through most of the windows in the house, that wasn''t much when one thought of the fact that it only had three.


    THought one of those windows one could see a beautiful woman with black hair and brown eyes wearing a traditional Miko outfit sitting at a table and enjoying dinner with a cute little girl of around eight years old. The little girl took a lot to the woman and the only true difference would be beautiful purple eyes.


    ''Shuri...Akeno...how can anybody wish to do you harm'', Mythander thought, he pried his eyes from the text of the book and looked towards the mother and daughter duo.


    ''I do not understand, why hate these two... why harm them if the one you hate is the fallen angel Baraqiel, who have they ever harmed, who have they ever slighted''


    Mythander had been looking over the duo for a month now, he had seen them interact with each other and the rest of the Himejima clan, they were always polite and willing to help, kind to the core, but the rest of the clan would always give them the cold shoulder, only a hand full would still be friendly towards them.


    While Mythander was busy speculating the meanings behind evrything, Shur and little Akeno finished there lunch, after which Shuri told Akeno to start preparing for bed.


    After brushing her teeth Akeno climbed into a futon, Shuri was about to turn of the light and join her but Akeno complained she wanted to hear a story. Shuri could only comply and started reading one to her. After finishing the story she turned of the light and joined Akeno.


    Mythander waited for a moment longer until they were in deep sleep before getting up from the tree branch, with one step he jumped off the tree but instead of falling he slowly glided forward until he touched the ground right in front of the little house.


    He was about to enter when he saw a flower in a pot next to the door, it was unfortunately dying, Shuri has been trying to get it to grow for a week already without any luck. This night Mythander decided to help her just a little...


    He taped the flower with the tip of his finger and if magic because it was, the flower started revitalizing and bloomed into a beautiful red flower.


    ''I should visit the library and get a book on earths plants'' Mythander had a passing thought as he realized he didn''t know the little flower name or what family it was from, his knowledge of earth and its fauna and flora was somewhat lacking.


    Having taken care of the unknown flower, Mythander stepped into the little house facing thought the door like a ghost and even the crudely made talismans couldn''t stop his haunting figure from entering the home.


    After entering the little house, he chose an especially dark corner in the room Shuri and Akeno were sleeping in and sat down, the darkness embraced him, literally it was as if it was alive as it folded around him further obscuring him.


    Mythander had been doing this ever since he started protecting Shuri and Akeno, he thought it would be best if he was inside of the house so as to be able to react a lot quicker to any danger and to be close enough to protect the two, even if somebody jumped from out of a crack in the floor right next to Shuri he wouldn''t even be able to leave a quarter way before being beset upon by thunder, fire, frost, darkness, would attacks and even the very air he breathed and the earth he walked on.


    Mythander waited for the assailants, but they never came like the previous nights, the sun rose without any incident ones again.


    One Year Later...


    Mythander was leisurely lying on his favorite tree branch, a piece of grass in his mouth. He was watching as Shuri watered her garden and Akeno helps her every now and then.


    During this whole time, Baraqiel had only visited them ones, for a few days before leaving. This happened about seven months ago. Mythander sighed as he thought about Baraqiel, he could not understand why he would still risk these dangerous missions when he had a family he had to protect.'' What was the point of falling in love and having a child when you''re never with them? wish you could one day give me an answer, Baraqiel. That is why I will do something to make you realize there importance.''


    Mythander had started doubting his previous plan of stopping the incident, now he was still planning on stoping those ''things'' (People that will kill Shuri) from killing Shuri, but he will make Baraqiel believe they succeeded. The only downside about this was that he will have to make Akeno believe it too, thus he was hesitant.


    Watching Shuri slowly watering the plants humming, Akeno behind her holding another watering can full of water, Mythander gave another sigh. He felt like he was sighing a lot lately, Sigh*


    ''We will see when they attack, I just hope I choose as wisely as I am suppose to be''

 59 Chapter 59: Meeting The Mother And Daughter Duo

    Another day started with Mythander lazily reading a book on his favorite tree branch.


    Mythander suddenly looked down from the tree, little Akeno was busy making her way up the tree. Mythander watched her in curiosity, wanting to know what she was up to. After climbing up to one of the lowest branches Akeno sat there while looking very proud of herself.


    "Akeno!, What are you doing get down from there!"


    A feminine voice called as Shuri came out of the house looking worriedly at Akeno. Akeno was startled and quickly made her way down the tree only to slip midway. Before she knew it she was free-falling and the ground was nearing at an incredible speed. She closed her eyes and waited for the coming impact.


    Shuri was beside herself when she saw Akeno slip and fall.


    "Akeno!"


    She cried out as she rushed towards the tree in a bid to catch the girl, unfortunately, she was only a normal human and had no means to traverse the distance quick enough. She could only watch as her daughter near the ground.


    Shuri''s dread thought quickly disappeared as her eyes widened with surprise, Akeno, who was a mere meter away from hitting the ground, was currently levitating in place.


    Akeno who''s eyes were closed felt something was wrong since she did not feel any pain in hitting the ground, she opened her eyes and found herself levitating a meter from the ground. She looks around and found Shuri standing about fifteen meters away staring at her with wide eyes.


    "Mommy, watch happening?" Akeno asked Shuri, which brought her out of her shock and she quickly approached Akeno and took her into her arms. Just as she grabbed her Akeno fell into her grasp as whatever powers that were controlling holding her disappeared.


    "Never ever do that again, do you hear me?" Shuri said as she held Akeno, Akeno could only nod as she was still in shock of what happened and tears were streaming from her eyes.


    Hight in the tree, Mythander watched the two, he was the one that saved Akeno, as he didn''t see a reason to let the girl get hurt if he could stop her fall. She wouldn''t have been killed by the fall since she was a half-fallen angel but it definitely would have hurt her.


    After Shuri was sure Akeno was fine she looked around, she was sure somebody helped Akeno, the girl couldn''t have levitated by herself! even if she was part fallen angel she still needed her wings to fly or magic to levitate herself, his wings haven''t come out yet and her magical ability was too weak to do that.


    "Is anybody out there?" Shuri called out after solidifying her thoughts of somebody helping Akeno.


    ''Well this is unexpected, well might as well greet them now.'' Mythandar thought to himself as he lightly pushed himself from the tree branch and glided down the tree, disengaging his camouflage while he was at it.


    Mythander landed a respectable five meters from Shuri and Akeno, who was now also staring at him with wide eyes.


    ''I want to do that'' Akeno thought as she saw Mythander glide from the top of the tree.


    "Greetings, I do apologize for intruding, but it seemed that the little one needed a bit off help" Mythander spoke in a very ethereal sounding voice, that had a strange accent.


    Shuri stared at the man in the hoody for a long time, she didn''t know what to say, she asked him to come out but she didn''t expect that he would really come.


    "Who are you?"


    Luckily Akeno was there to come to the rescue, she stared curiously at Mythandar as she asked her question.


    " Mythandar at your service, pleasure"


    Mythandar gave a slight bow before removing his hoody, showcasing his face in all its glory. The sharp facial features combined with his large forest-green eyes and white shoulder-length hair made a striking and beautiful picture. He would almost look feminine if it weren''t for his jawline and nose taking on a more masculine form.


    Shuri kept staring at him, she looked as if her soul was taken as she stared at Mythander in a dreamy-eyed way. ''Sorry Baraqiel'' Mythander thought as she looked at Shuri''s current state.


    Akeno also had a very big reaction when she saw him, her eyes were blazing with light as she spoke in shock, "Wow you''re so beautiful", causing Mythander to give her a smile brightening his face and making it even more attractive. Poor Shuri who was just about to recover had her soul stolen once more.


    Mythander gave Shuri her time, he knew all too well the reaction his appearance had when people of other races saw him or any elf for that matter, they were not known as the children of nature for nothing. They were born with inherent beauty and etherealness, grace that would put even felines to shame and morals as pure as the forest they called there home.


    Elves would rarely kill, they were more concerned with protecting live than taking it, there were only a few times that an elf would drive himself to such horror. Unfortunately, Mythander never had a choice.


    Shuri finally recovered from her absentness, her face was flushed red as she recalled what she just did.


    "Ah...I''m sorry...and thank you," Shuri said as she bowed towards Mythander.


    "No matter, and thank you little one, but I believe you are even more beautiful," Mythander said to Shuri and Akeno, causing Akeno to smile as she puffed herself up in pride a Shuri to smile as she looked at Akeno''s reaction.


    ...


    "Would you like some tea?" Shuri asked as they sat in her house at the table.


    "Yes please", Mythander said as he held out his cup and Shuri filled it with freshly brewed tea.


    "Thank you," Mythander said as he siped.


    "Delicious"


    "I''m glad you like it", Shuri said as she siped her his own cup.


    "Hehe... Mommy makes the best tea" Akeno said while giggling.


    "I''m sure she does", Mythander said to her as he took another sip.


    His eye''s caught Shuri staring at his ears but she quickly looked away when she was caught.


    "You probably never saw an elf before huh," Mythander said Bemusedly, causing Shuri to go red again.


    "What''s an elf", Akeno asked


    "Well little one that what I am"


    After finishing his tea, Mythander stood up a bit the Mother and Daughter duo goodbye. After leaving their house, Mythander''s face went dark as he looked back at the little house with sorrow in his eyes.


    ''No wonder Baraqiel was gone for so long'', Mythander thought.

 60 Chapter 60: A Problem To Solve.

    Another month passed after Mythandar drank tea with Shuri and Akeno, he was sitting in his favorite spot brooding.


    Having watched over (Stalked) the mother-daughter duo for over a year now, he saw something that disturbed him, Shuri seemed quite fragile at most times, she hid it very well but she seemed weak compared to how a human should be. After having tee with them Mythander made sure to take a closer look at Shuri, and there he found it... Shuri was sick. It was no ordinary sickness since it was an injury to the very core of her body, such injury could only be derived from using too much energy at once, in fact, it was using more energy than your body could naturally supply. Mythander knew this well because it was what killed him ironically.


    When he cast his Divine tear spell, he used not only all his leftover manna but his life force as well, using once live force thought has dire consequences. It could lead from a light temporary weakness to a heavy crippling of one''s body and to a very heavy death.


    Unfortunately, t would seem Shuri was the latter, she must have gone through something that overtaxed her life force to an extreme, she luckily survived it and got herself back to health, but it was only temporary as such an injury does not fade and worst...is impossible to cure. Even Lambert who boasted the greatest of healing prowess this world has ever seen would not be able to heal her, her only saving grace would be to sustain her with a massive amount of life force, but it will not only be agony for her as she would have to endure a forced life and restricted movement but to find someone willing to sacrifice a hundred years of there life to give her on day of extra life would be hard, not to mention that she would probably never agree to such an unfavorable exchange.


    ''I am at an impasse, should I save her or should I let things unfold naturally without interfering.''


    Sight*


    Mythander chose to stop thinking about these troubling thoughts and turned his attention to the little girl running around in front of the little house trying to catch a butterfly.


    ''We must enjoy life to the fullest while we can...''


    ''If only Baraqiel knew this sad truth he would have spent more time with his wife...''


    ''Let continue the text of the Ach Lich''


    Mythander took the black covered book from his storage space, and started reading but just as he was about to get hooked in his reading a thought appeared in his mind.


    ''What if I caught her soul before it disappeared and created a new body for her?''


    Inspiration struck Mythander at that time like a thunderbolt and he followed his train of thoughts into creating a feasible hypothesis.


    ''It is easier to create a completely new body than it is to fix a broken one, not entirely but in this case, were the very core of life is harmed it is easier to make a new one.''


    Mythander felt a headache coming when he thought about the intrecasy''s of creating not only an origin of life to fit the description of a body but creating the body and a soul core to house the soul.


    ''The life and soul core aren''t tangible existence, it is only when soul and life force reach an extreme that they will form a physical core as to manifest there will in the physical realm. Creating intangible things in a tangible body that will match each other perfectly without error... fuck''


    Mythander rubbed the bridge of his nose as he thought about the amount of work that was waiting for him.


    So why would Mythander do all this for a somewhat complete stranger? (Excluding stalking time known). It was because that was his character, not only will he experience doing something new and put his vast knowledge to good use he will also be helping a family stay together even if they have to separate for a while.


    With those thoughts Mythander started taking one book after another out of his storage space, they hovered around him as he chose one an started reading.


    ''Mysteries of life'' was the first book''s name.


    Mythander started his vehement studying, he was completely engrossed in his research he even stopped going into the little house at night for better protection of the duo.


    ''Scriptures Of Soul Preservation''


    ''Arts Of Light Healing''


    ''Book Of Mortal Biology''


    ''How To Create A Second Body (For Dummy''s)''


    ''Burgelpop''s Teachings Of The Life Core''


    ''Jimmy''s Soul Keeper Art''


    ''Law''s Of Live''


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Mytahnder read threw all these and more, trying to update and enhance his knowledge about the life core the soul core, and the biology of most mortal creatures the creation of an organic body and the anatomy of humans.


    After accumulating enough Knowledge Mythander started testing evrything, to the horror of the poor animals that lived in the tree he was staying they became his test subjects. They never died but as he created other vessels to house their souls he tried to make it as close to the original as possible but since his experience in this sort of thing was lacking you would find a few strange creatures now living in that tree.


    A palm-sized bird with massive eyes and meter-long wingspan. A spider that was shocking pink with neon blue eyes and rainbow-colored venom( Thou for severance sake Mythander did this on purpose), A lizard with feet too big for its body and a head too small and lastly another spider that had its venom sack hanging outside its body that made it look quite peculiarly like a scrotum(This time unintended).


    Mythander sighed as he finally succeeded with his last vict... unwilling subject. It was a very unlucky bat that flew past him one night while he was just coincidentally missing anew subject.


    The Bat looked almost exactly like its old self except for being a bit bigger and more muscular, there were luckily no defects.


    ''Finally... Success, but... should try some more just in case''


    Mythander looked around with hawk-like eyes that made all critters tremble inf ear when his gaze past them.

 61 Chapter 61: Failure

    The night was still young, the moon full and bright as it shined its light upon the world, bathing under its light was a little house. It was a peaceful and serene sight, a pink spider skittered past the house as it ran being chased by another spider looking as if it was dragging its balls behind it.


    The peace would unfortunately not last this night, shadows were creeping upon the little house. Mythander was reading in his favorite spot, put down his book ''How Not To Treat Souls Carefully'' and frowned at the shadows. He could tell that these shadows did not come with friendly intentions, what''s more, he finally found out how they were able to enter the Himejima family''s compound, they were let in.


    ''Traitors!''


    Mythander clenched his fists at the thought, he already knew they sold out Shuri''s location to Baraqiels enemies but to actually let them prance around your own home, what madness was that. This was no longer borrowing a knife to kill but hiring one. Mythander could even see some of Shuri''s family hiding in the shadows waiting to see a show.


    Mythander felt at that moment...lost. What could drive a family to hat there own so much that they would invite murderers into there home to kill? After the feeling of lost faded Mythander felt only disgust for the Himijima clan, there was even a pinch of resentment, the Himejimas should thank there stars that it was an elf and not a dragon sitting in that tree or they might have just disappeared that night within purple purgatory.


    The shadows slowly encircled the house to make sure no one could escape, they then started slowly move closer tightening the circle.


    Mythander kept watching with a stoic face, his eyes flickered with light as many thoughts raced around in his head but one was prominent in his mind, ''Was what he was doing right'', he was about to scar a little girl for life, yes he will return to her her mother but... he could never undo the pain he has done.


    While he was sorting out his thoughts the Shadowy figures already struck, the door of the little house was kicked open and Mythander could hear the shouting of Shuri and Akeno''s shrieks as three shadows went into the house, the rest stayed outside as security.


    Mythander kept himself at bay as he heard the screaming of Akeno the yells of Shuri and the crazed laughter of a dead man...


    His fists were balled his muscles tens, he was using a lot of will power not to rush forward right now and end these fiends.


    ''Or maybe the true fiend is me?''


    An elf, a being known for its pureness and kindness was actually standing there and watching as an innocent woman was murdered.


    ''What have I become?''


    ''No! I will save them'' Mythander finally decided that having Shuri killed wasn''t worth it be it for his or their sake, but alas he came to that conclusion too late.


    "Mommy!"


    ''No...''


    He did think to see the fleeing shadows and he would not allow that. His voice rang out in the dead of night and it heralded death.


    "Be swallowed by the earth"


    Mythander waved his hand at the fleeing Shadows and the earth beneath them opened up into a deathly maw, as the sides of the earth rose as if trying to bite them, the ''maw'' moved upwards and snapped shut over them before retreating into the earth with them inside, there screamed of pain and fear only stopped as the ''maw'' disappeared.


    The fallen angel was a bit shocked when he saw this stranger helping him and his means but did not dwell on it as he had more important things on his mind, he flapped his wings barreled into the little house making a hole in the roof as he landed on one of the shadows three shadows that entered before.


    The black-winged angel took in the sight in front of it and it made his pupils constrict, his daughter covered in blood while holding her mother, of which he could see a long slash on her back. Each of Akeno''s tears was a spear stabbing his heart and each drop of blood flowing from Shuri felt like the flames of hell searing his soul.


    His appearance didn''t go unnoticed, as if anybody would not be able to notice a fallen angel descending from the sky and crashing through the roof of the house you''re in, the shadows trembled when they saw who it was and one of them decided the smartest thing to do was to run for his life.


    He made his way to the front door but heard a shrill scream coming from there and then he saw a strange thing, a red looking flower that was in a pot near the door started moving and then it jumped from the pot. It was standing on two roots that looked like its legs, two vine-like arms were spread wide as its flower head stared at the shadowy figure. The flower''s pistil suddenly slit horizontally revealing sharp teeth and a tongue as the little plant, let out another shrill screech, and charged at the shadowy figure.


    The figure was startled at first but ignored the pint-sized flower that charged at him and even gave it a kick as he ran. As his leg touched the plant its vine-like arms wrapped around it and started spreading up his leg. The shadowy figure wanted to shake it off but before he could he felt an agonizing pain in his legs, he looked down and to his horror, the little flower man''s roosts were planted into his flesh and its arms were also digging in as both started growing both inside and outside his body.


    "WHAaaaaaaaaa!!!"


    The man screamed in pain and fear as he tried to pull the plant off of him, his reaction did not go unnoticed as the other shadowy figure that was holding a katana and Baraqiel looked over at him in shock and fear, shock for Baraqiel and fear for the shadowy figure as he saw one of his comrades being used as fertilizer for a plant.


    He wanted to help but was terrified of the fallen angel using this opportunity to strike at him while he was preoccupied, not that Baraqiel needed an opening he was just thinking that to feel more secure.


    He then saw his friend fall to the ground as he tried over his own feet, he finally made out a figure that seemed to be standing in the doorway of the house, he couldn''t see this figure before because of his comrade being in the way. The Figure stared at him from within the hood of his hoody, how did the shadowy man know this, well it was hard to miss those massive green eyes that glowed eerily in the darkness.


    The shadowy figure ''battling'' flower man closed his eyes when he hit the floor due to the impact when he opened his eyes he saw the flower head of the plant man in front of him, its pistil opened again and let out another shill scream.


    "Shiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaa"


    "WHaaaaaaaa...ugh...."


    As the plant man screamed the shadowy figure yelled in fear seeing its mouth so close to his face, the plant man took this opportunity and used its flower head to dive down his throat silencing him as more vines grew from it penetrating his throat, his lungs hs stomach his liver and finally his heart. The shadowy figure died a painful and violent death.


    The last Shadowy figure, the one holding the katana, shuddered in fear as his eyes met those green ones of the hooded man, and after seeing what happened to his friend dread spread thought his body like a virus.


    His knees buckled and he fell to the ground groveling as he whispered in fright.


    "Please...please spare me...please please..."


    Mythander looked at the groveling man with his forest green eyes. Holding out his hand the little flower detached itself from the other shadowy figure that was now nothing but a shriveled corpse all its nutrients and mineral stolen by it.


    The flower slowly climbed around Mythander''s arm as it made an endearing sound as if trying to please him. He then stretched his hand towards the groveling shadowy figure and spoke.


    "Sic!"


    The plant hopped to the ground and drilled into the floorboard as its fines pushed towards the shadowy figure while jumping over the floorboards or drilling underneath them.


    At that moment the shadowy screamed in fright as he tried crawling away, but it wasn''t fast enough as he felt a searing pain in his calf, one of the vines had drilled into him, not long and more and more came drilling into him essentially picking him up of the ground as it turned the shadowy figure in the door of the direction of the little house, he did not see the hooded man or Baraqiel or even the weeping Akeno, no... what he saw was a bright red flower right in front of his face whose Pistil opened revealing sharp teeth and a tongue.


    "Shhhiiiiaaaaaaaa!!!"


    "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

 62 Chapter 62: Securing The Soul.

    The last of the shadowy figures died, peace was restored to the surrounding area and the only thing that could be heard was the weeping of a little girl.


    Within the little house, Baraqiel sized up the hooded stranger that helped him take care of the intruders. The hooded man just stood there staring at Akeno with his forest green eyes,


    Baraqiel too stops focusing on him, it was obvious that the hooded man was an ally seeing as he helped him protect his family...tried at least. Baraqiel approached Akeno kneeled before her, he was doing his best to not look at Shuri''s body, afraid that the grief would overwhelm him, he would have time to grieve after calming his daughter.


    "Akeno..."


    "Stay away! It''s your fault, they told it was your fault all this happened... because you are a fallen angel...because... I am the daughter of a fallen angel."


    Akeno unleashed al her emotions onto Baraqiel he was stupefied into submission as he couldn''t reply and self-guilt started to fester within him as he heard his daughter''s accusations.


    "Leave me alone and don''t ever show your face in front of me again!"


    Mythander took this chance while they were both occupied, he stretched out his hand towards Shuri''s direction and then made a grasping motion, as his hand formed a claw-like a form a wispy being could be seen caught in it that had a remarkable resemblance to Shuri, only that she was currently sleeping in his palm.


    Mythander methodically and carefully weaved a sphere of manna around her as to make sure nothing could harm her and then he created a connection to her soul from his own and used it to share some of his soul energy with her so that she doesn''t dissipate.


    He then stored her within his own soul. Like this, she would be safe and it would be more convenient as they were sharing a soul connection, keeping up with her energy use as a soul was also very easy as she didn''t even use a fraction of the energy Mythander''s soul naturally created.


    Having finished securing Shuri''s soul Mythander lowered his hand just in time as he saw Baraqiel turn around to leave, grief could be seen deep inside of his eyes, bore a stoic face to hide the pain from showing to the outside as he left, passing Mythander in the process.


    "Thank you"


    Baraqiel said as he passed Mythander before quickly leaving. Now there was only Mythander and a grieving Akeno.


    Seeing that Baraqiel has left she turned her face towards Mythander, he joyfully and smiling face was nowhere to be seen, her eyes now red and tears streamed unending from them.


    "..."


    "..."


    They just kept staring at each other neither making a sound. Mythander walked forward until he was in front of Shuri and the Akeno who was still hugging her mother.


    "I am sorry"


    Mythander said, finally breaking the silence. His words had many meanings behind them. Regret could be seen marring his face. If only he wasn''t so indecisive he could have done something but no he toyed with this girl and her mother''s lives and only realized it when it was too late.


    ''What was going through my mind, what possessed me to think like that to act like that...why?''


    Akeno stared at Mythander not replying to his apology, Mythander didn''t mind and placed a token right in front of her, it was green like his eyes and an imprint of a massive tree was on one side while a hexagram was on the other.


    "Your life was saved by your mother by her sacrificing herself, never forget that young one. Always protect this final gift from her, take this it will help you on your journey and when you think that all doors are closed and your backs against the wall inject this with your manna, it will force a door open to you."


    After speaking Mythander flipped the coin in Akeno''s direction not even looking if she caught it, he stood up and left but before he exited the door he heard her call.


    "What''s your name" Her voice broke a little time with her grief but he heard what she asked.


    "Mythander", not turning around he answered and then left teleporting away as soon as he was out of eyesight.


    Akeno watched as Mythander left, then turned her sight on the green token in front of her, she slowly stretched out her hand and took it. Her eyes firm as she thought of Mythander''s words, her life was saved by her mother in exchange of her own, it was a gift not to be squandered and she had no intention of doing so.


    Her small hand closed tightly around the token as she stood up preparing to bury her mother and then leave this place of pain forever. She might return one day but not any time soon.


    ...


    Stepping out of the twisting space Mythander appeared in a bedroom, his body slowly morphed, short black hair and purple eyes replaced his current white hair and green eyes, his body became a bit taller and more muscular.


    Alex stared around at the room, his room. CLosed his eyes and took a big breathe and released it after some time as he shuffled through all the memories he had recently experienced and all the foreign yet familiar emotions he experienced.


    He opened his bedroom door and went down the stairs, hearing a humming coming from the kitchen while a movie was playing in the living room on the television.


    He took a deep breath and then called out.


    "Aura, Tosca I''m back!"

 63 Chapter 63: Reunion.

    "Aura, Tosca I''m back!"


    Silence spread upon the house, it felt like an eternity but was in reality but a split second before sound returned in a cacophony.


    "Mmmmmaaaaaasssssssteeeeeerrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!..."


    A white beam of light blasted into Alex, which resulted in Aura looking like a mortal human that just ran at full speed into a tree, only difference her not letting go after the collision her arms locked around Alex in a vice-like grip as if afraid he would disappear as if but a figment of her imagination.


    From the living room came another figure, Tosca stumbled out with a look of excitement on her face and it became even more so when she saw Alex, her face had a huge smile on it as she ran towards Alex hugging him alongside Aura.


    "I missed you," Tosca said quietly while hugging him, but Alex heard her.


    Smiling at the two girls hugging him, Alex, to there shock returned there hug, wrapping one arm around each of the girls and squeezing them a bit closer to him.


    "It''s good to see you two again, though there is no need to be so excited it has merely been a year or two, though I guess it was hard on you, Tosca?"


    Alex looked at Tosca with an apologetic gaze, he would sometime forget that she was but a young girl, and time passed much slower to her than to him.


    "N-no, I was alright, Au..."


    "Hey, wait a minute, Master. Why are you sorry to her and not me, you left me alone here too."


    Alex turned his attention to Aura that just pulled her head away from his chest, interrupting Tosca with an indignant expression on her face.


    Alex gave her a deadpan face and a blunt reply.


    "Uh-huh... I''m not apologizing to you"


    "What!?" Aura''s mouth opened wide in shock at Alex''s answer


    "You heard me," Alex said smirking as he pried the unwilling Aura from his person, and petting Tosca lightly on the head while speaking softly.


    "Time to let go"


    To which she nodded and let go of him but still staying near him while trying not to look the furious Aura in the eyes.


    "This...this is clear favoritism!"


    Aura yelled as she looked at Alex with a hurt look.


    Alex sighed before making a quick movement, giving Aura a quick peck on her forehead before walking past her into the living room to go long on a couch.


    Aura''s whole body went rigid like stone, as her eyes glazed over. Her body trembling now and then.


    Tosca was worried seeing Aura like this but mostly just curious at her antics, she went closer to her and then poked her on the stomach with her finger.


    "Hey, Aura are you o...AURA!!!"


    When Tosca''s finger touched Aura the light elemental went limp like a sack of potatoes as she crashed into the ground, surprising Tosca as she tried to catch Aura, failing miserably not even able to react it time.


    Tosca wanted to help her worried about Aura''s mentality, but Alex''s voice stopped her.


    "Tosca, don''t bother with her she''s high at the moment so you just need to let her get through this on her own, it will probably take about ten minutes."


    Tosca gave Aura one more glance before stepping into the living room leaving AUra alone out in the hall.


    Stepping into the living room she saw Alex leisurely lying down on one of the couches watching some anime while chewing some popcorn that only he knew where he got from.


    Tosca hesitated what to do for a moment only to be pulled by some form of telekinesis to another couch and place down on it with another bowl of popcorn conspicuously floating next to her.


    "Relax, I haven''t been home in a while and feel like chilling a bit" Alex lazily said as lied on the couch enjoying his popcorn and anime.


    Tosca got her self comfortable in her seat, took the popcorn bowl from the air, which felt weird to do, and watched anime with Alex. For a long time, it was silent in the room, the only sound being of the television and eating of popcorn after a few minutes Aura walked into the room, having composed herself and sat on an open sofa a bowl of popcorn floating over to her having materialized not far from Alex.


    Tosca looked curiously at the phenomenon as if thinking about how she could make infinite bowls of popcorn from nothing. Alex caught her curious gaze and thought of something.


    "So, how''re your magical studies going"


    Tosca froze and Aura chocked a bit the popcorn she just ate. They looked at each other and then at Alex with black expressions.


    Alex frowned a bit when he saw their reaction.


    "Don''t tell me you didn''t make any advancements, I left some tasks, knowledge to be memorized as well as some basic spells. Even if you couldn''t make way with the takes or the spells you could have at least memories something."


    Aura looked around the room as if to escape then as if suddenly remembering something she quickly got up.


    "I have some food on the stove"


    She said and quickly made her escape ignore Tosca''s accusing gaze.


    Now there were only the two of them in the room and Tosca didn''t even dare to look at Alex, who was patiently waiting for her answer. one minute, ten minutes and hour... after so long Aura had come back thinking evrything was over only to find them in complete silence, so she did the wise thing and turned around seeing if there was anything else she could do.


    After another hour past Tosca couldn''t take it anymore, and she caved looking up at Alex who hasn''t moved a single inch since the beginning of the game of patience, one would almost mistake him as a statue, not even his chest moved, because at the time he wasn''t even breathing. It was almost as if he was frozen in time as he waited for her to answer him.


    His gaze did not contain any anger which relieved her, he didn''t even look angry, just curious so she decided it was best just to spill the beans and tell him evrything.


    ''What''s the worst he could do?'' She thought...foolishly.


    "Uhm..." She began but paused looking for a way to put it as diplomatically as possible.


    "So, did your studies go?"


    Alex asked again, already knowing something was wrong.


    ''She'' probably just ashamed to admit she''s struggling or something'', he thought hopefully.


    Tosca looked at Alex for a long moment before saying it in the most diplomatic way she could think of.


    "I forgot"


    "..."

 64 Chapter 64: Magic Tutor Alex 1

    "I forgot"


    "..."


    Tosca stared at Alex''s reaction, or lack thereof. His face was still expressionless as he stared at Tosca.


    "Master?"


    Tosca asked uncertainly as Alex kept staring at her for a while before snapping out of it and smiling a bit at her.


    "Sorry, just the first time seeing someone that actually forgot to study magic when given all the materials for it and not to mention notes of what to do or not to do when casting spells."


    Alex shook his head and stared at Tosca who currently lowered her head in embarrassment.


    Tosca didn''t know what to do, she thought he would be mad and scold her, but he just thought it was funny. She was lost on how to react.


    "Don''t overthink it Tosca, you asked me to teach you and I gave you the materials, its all up to you how much progress you will make, I never forced you to do it and never will, it is all your choice and yours alone. You can live an ordinary life for all I care. Aura and I will always support you so don''t fret over something so minor and if you want to learn again you need only ask Aura and I would be delighted to teach you, not like we got anything better to do."


    Tosca looked up in teary eyes as she stared at Alex, he had a gentle smile on his face as his purple eyes stared softly at her.


    Tosca stood up and ran to Alex giving him a hug, which he reciprocated.


    "Thank you"


    The young girl said quietly as she kept hugging him, listening to his powerful heartbeat that sounded like ancient bell''s ringing with a slow but constant rhythm.


    Some time passed as the duo hugged each other in silence, which was finally broken when Aura came into the living room.


    "Dinner is ready le..., hey you little fiend taking advantage of Master while I''m away"


    Aura stared at Tosca with eyes that almost looked like they would spit fire at any moment now. Tosca turned her head towards Aura and stuck out her young while hugging Alex even tighter causing Aura to almost pouncing at her.


    Alex stood up at this time gently placing Tosca down as he walked into the dining room and sat at the table, where a big plate filled with cooked vegetables in a cheese source, sweet potato, and a grilled steak, waited for him.


    Sitting down at the table he was soon joined by Aura and Tosca and they enjoyed a fine dinner together after being separated for almost two years.


    After dinner, Alex went up to his room and closed the door behind him as he bid Aura and Tosca goodnight.


    Dragging a chair towards the window of his room, opening it, he sat down while enjoying the sight of the night sky, while a gentle breeze blowing through it.


    Giving a light sight Alex held out his hand with his pam facing the sky, from it a wispy gas like substance came and slowly molded into a human figure.


    Returning Shuri''s soul to his own he stood up from the chair and sat in a meditative position on his bed as he started using his own soul to probe Shuri''s while also strengthening her soul as to lower the chance of her soul falling apart due to the strain of entering a new body.


    He couldn''t just pump it full of juice and then put it in a new body, he had to gradually strengthen it and that is why he started doing so even before constructing a new body.


    The night quickly past, Alex opened his eyes at the same time as the first rays of light pierced the horizon. Looking at the rising sun through his window Alex felt a wave of peace ones more pas over him.


    The only thing that would have made this better is if there weren'' two girls currently hugging his waist while sleeping around him like curled up koala bears.


    Even though Alex felt helpless ones more he just thought that he should get used to this, as hard as that sounded.


    Space rippled and Alex disappeared from where he was, causing Tosca and Aura to hug each other.


    Appearing outside his room Alex went downstairs and glazed on the couch as a cup of hot and freshly made coffee hovered over to him from the kitchen.


    ''Am I getting lazier as time goes on?''


    Alex thought as he stared at the cup of coffee leisurely floating towards him a spoon still stirring the contents to make sure evrything has dissolved properly.


    After finishing its task the spoon floated towards the kitchen sink leaving every drop of coffee behind in the might, cleaned itself, dried itself against a drying cloth, making it look a lot like Aura when she snuggled against him before placing itself back in its place in the utensils drawer.


    ''Nah...''


    Taking a sip of the freshly made coffee, Alex closed his eyes as he savored the taste of his awakening juice.


    After a long time and seven more cups of magical floating coffee''s and self-cleaning spoons, Aura finally came downstairs and started making breakfast after greeting Alex with a sleepy smile.


    Another few minutes past and a sleepy-looking Tosca came into the living room in her nightgown and went to sit next to Alex while leaning her head against his shoulder.


    "Maaawwwwwwningggggg....."


    She said while yawning, causing another magical cup of coffee to float towards her.


    "Morning little one, here this will help"


    Alex said as the cup of coffee stopped in front of a stunned Tosca as she looked at the cup.


    She took the cup and started slowly sipping at it. Finishing half of it she looked up from her cup at Alex, with a red face.


    "Teach me the magic...please"

 65 Chapter 65: Magic Tutor Alex 2

    Alex was standing in his room with a book in his hand, ''How to teach magic to hillbillies ''.


    He was speaking about the concepts of magic and what magic is while in front of him sitting on a big pillow, Tosca was paying attention like a good student, her eyes shining every time Alex explained a new concept or answered one of her questions.


    With a wave of his hand images appeared in the air, giving visualization to his words, making it easier to understand and to learn.


    At the moment there was a third-dimensional image of a tree standing tall next to Alex. Half of the tree was dead with rotten wood and bare branches while the other side had lush leaves and healthy bark. Strangely both sides bore fruit, but this fruit had all looked different from the other.


    "This is called the ''Ancestral Tree'', it is what was used to teach magic to aspiring elven mages as well as a way to manifest one''s manna in the physical world. Each fruit depicts a different element or concept while the two half of the tree represents life and death, the eternal cycle, reincarnation, and some other stuff philosophers and sages thought of, which you do not need to know. Just know that this means life and death while each fruit bears the power of a concept or element."


    Alex calmly explained while hovering the image of the ''Ancestral Tree'' closer to Tosca so that she could get a better look. She stared at the tree in curiosity but then she was confused by something Alex said, so she raised her hand and waited.


    Alex stopped speaking and nodded to her in acknowledgment so that she can ask her questions.


    "Master, you said that we can use this tree to manifest our manna in the physical world, what does that mean."


    Alexx thought for a moment before answering.


    "Bringing forth our manna in a much more concentrated form while helping us affect the physicle world by controlling the manna around us. The manifestation of our manna will be in the form of an ''Ancestral tree'', each person''s tree will look differently and might not be a tree in fact. The reason it is called an ancestral tree is because the person that invented this way of using magic manifested his manna in such a way. First it would be better if we go somewhere els or I might destroy my room."


    Alex said as he grabbed the surprised Tosca by the shoulder and they both disappeared from the room. The last thing they hear is Aura screaming from somewhere in the room.


    "Wait for meeeee!"


    ...


    Tosca looked around her in surprise, a moment ago she was sitting on the big pillow listening to Alex''s lectures but now she was standing in the middle of a desert, she stood up and felt the sand as she dug her toes into it.


    "Ahem"


    Tosca snapped out of her daze as she looked to her left were alex was standing looking at her in amusement.


    "Where are we?"


    Tosca asked as she felt that her surrounings were too weird.


    "Mars"


    Alex said with a smile as he saw Tosca''s eyes widen even further.


    "Haaaah!"


    She made a weird sound as she quickly started looking around curiosly at the barren planet. But a thought suddenly occurred to her.


    "How can we breath right now?"


    "I have surrounded the area of one kilometer diameter in a field, it has oxygen and prevents you from freezing at this moment since the planets average temperature is well below freezing point."


    Tosca nodded and then started looking around again which made Alex have to fake coughe to get her attention again.


    "We are here for a reason"


    Alex said when she looked back at him.


    "Now I am going to show you what the manifestation of manna is, so pay close attention."


    Tosca nodded and looked at him curiously as he walked away from her untill he was about a hundred metres away.


    "Here I go!"


    Alex shouted before evrything became so silent you could hear a needle drop on the ground.


    BOOM!


    An explosion suddenly happened behind Alex as a massive tree sprung up from the ground reaching hundreds of metres into the air in a few seconds, Tosca''s eyes nearly fell out in shock as she quickly retreated, massive roots metres wide surrounding her and trapping her in a circle as half of the tree started growing leaves while the other half started withering into scary looking branches and its roots started decaying leaving a heavy aura of death surrounding them.


    Tosca stared at Alex as the roots of the tree spread out from behind him as if protecting his flanks. Her attention was then brought to the the fruits hanging from the tree each one giving her a scary feeling as she looked at them, causing her to quickly look away wich made her just realise how much the world around her had changed. She no longer stood on a barren desert but in a forest the ground under her feet covered in all manor of flora, massive trees were covering the sky all around her, but what caused her to have goosebumps was that half the forest was bare of any leaves with many of them rotting from the inside and all kinds of nasty looking infections covering them, the other side looked much better, with massive healthy trees with vibrant leaves and strong roots.


    All the trees be they dying and decaying or growing and flourishing, they all had fruits on them which had striking resemblance to the ones and the massive tree in the middle which Tosca presumed was the ancestral tree.


    "This is the manifestation of my manna, my ''Ancestral tree'', manifesting itself in this world in its most natural state.


    "Is it all real?"


    Tosca asked as she looked around at the trees, which literally terraformed the landscape. Were it not for Alex''s barrier keeping them hidden some orginisations on earth would have gone crazy as they saw a forest instantly appearing on mars. Another thing Tosca did not realise due to her low magical ability at the moment was that the air around her became satiated with manna boosting her body and increasing her manna bit by bit.


    "It is as real as anything els, but it can also disappear as if an illusion by a mere thought from me while it may transform to my will to aid in my spell casting, by defending me while I cast, manifest in the element of the spell I am casting or absorbing more manna from the surroundings to lower my own manna consumption."


    Tosca was lost in her own world as she started walking around while touching the trees as if to make sure its real.


    After giving her time to take in her surroundings Alex grabbed her on the shoulder again and they disappeared once more, with there dissapearanc the worlds returned back to the way it was before there arrival and the protection dome dissapated.

 66 Chapter 66: Magic Tutor Alex 3

    "And that is evrything on the basics of magic"


    Alex announced after many months of teaching causing the now not so enthusiastic Tosca to again gain a glimmer of excitement in her eyes as she had before.


    "Can I learn how to cast spells now"


    She asked excitedly as hope glimmered like shining stars in her eyes as she waited in anticipation of Alex''s answer.


    "No"


    It was as if the world had ended and poor Tosca slumped down as she sat one her oversized pillow. She looked at Alex with eyes that begged him to explain his cruel answer.


    "The magic I am teaching you is much harder to learn than this world''s magic, but given enough effort, will become much more powerful, because it''s so powerful and has limitless potential, it also has significant dangers to it and if one is not prepared to face those dangers one might find himself swallowed by his own magic."


    "Then what are you going to teach me next"


    Asked Tosca, she now understood the reason but that didn''t mean she liked it. SHe wanted to learn magic but all Alex has had her doing since he started teaching her was memorize the quality of each element and concept and how they interacted with each other. He then had her learn to read and write a strange language, he called the Ancient tongue, she can now proudly say that she had mastered six words. She was told that she will have to continue studying the language until she knew it all by herself, luckily Alex gave her a lot of reverence material.


    After so much work having her almost lose hope in finally being able to cast spells, he went and told her she had finished the basics. The basics... after so long.


    "We will now move on to the absorption and increase of manna capacity. In other words, we will no learn how to increase the amount of manna you have within your body."


    Tosca''s attention was immediately heightened when she heard this. Manna was the source of all magic and having more means she will be able to cast more magic.


    "Not only is it essential to cast spells, but good manna control decreases the chance of your spells backfiring. Not to mention with the pitiful amount of magic within your body you will be lucky not to past out when you cast the most simple of cantrips."


    Tosca looked down in shame when she heard this.


    ''That is why Master, didn''t teach her how to cast spells yet, it''s not that he wouldn''t but that I can''t even cast the simplest spell without passing out. So embarrassing.''


    She thought as she quickly wiped away her fantasy of being able to continuously spam fireballs and lightning bolts as she fought valiantly alongside Aura and her Master.


    Alex smiled wryly as he thought how Tosca completely forgot about everything he left her and did not even bother reading through it even once.


    "... well now with this manifestation art you will be able to cast some simple cantrips after you have achieved minor success with it, this will allow you not only to strengthen your soul but also use the outside manna and elements in tandem with your own manna to cast spells, effectively reducing the amount of manna needed normally by about forty percent."


    After his final speech, he handed Tosca a book with a somewhat faded brown cover and an imprint of the ''Ancestral Tree'' on it.


    "I am looking forward to what your manifestation looks like"


    Alex said to Tosca with a warm smile fully expecting her to succeed in practicing this art.


    Knock*


    Knock*


    After knocking Aura slowly opened the door and walked into the room carrying a tray, she took a plate of the tray and handed it to Tosca. Tosca''s eye sparkled as she looked at the plate filled with homemade chocolate chip cookies.


    Aura then walked to a nearby table and set down the tray and slowly removed the teapot and cup from the tray and placed it on the table before retrieving the tray and turned to Alex with expectation in her eyes.


    "Good job Aura, it smells delicious"


    Alex praised as he smelled the aroma drifting from the teapot and petted Aura''s head which she she happily accepted with an "uhn", before leaving with a skip in her step having received.


    Alex moved towards his seat before sitting down and reclining backward. Tosca watched him curiously before asking.


    "Master, I never knew you drank tea, I thought you loved..."


    "Coffee?"


    Alex asked as he poured the delicious brown gold from the teapot, the stupefied Tosca watching, she then decided just to stay quiet and much on her cookies.


    With a sip Alex let out sight in enjoyment remembering the hundreds of millions of years of torture he spent without his coffee, forced to drink tea as a replacement.


    ''Mine lips shall never touch tea again as long as there is coffee available''


    He thought contently as he took another sip, but soon his face scrunched up in a frown as he felt the summons of one of his tokens.


    "Tosca I will leave you to train in the "Ancient Tree Manifestation Art", if Aura asks to tell her I will be back soon, I have to take care of some urgent business"


    Alex said as he soon started growing taller and taller and taller, an ungodly pressure ensuing the surroundings as an air of ancientness started pervading from him, but before his transformation was complete he had already teleported away.


    Somebody ruined his coffee time and they were going to pay, dearly.

 67 Chapter 67: Bed Time Story

    In a space between to places of reality a figure appeared, he drifted there for but a tenth of a nanosecond, and yet it felt to him like an eternity.


    Already fleeting emotions dying away, all happiness falling off through the rivers of time, what was left was a deep and unending desolation. The ancientness clung to his body like a curse.


    The figure stood a massive fifty kilometers, pure physical might radiated of its body and the infinite live force that would and could never run dry. Undying and never-ending that was his life, it had been for billions of years and would be for billions. Stars would be born and die out but he would not, gods died but he did not a galaxy was born and one was destroyed and yet he still stands.


    The figure looked upwards as it stared at the space around it, his body shrank until it reached two meters. The desolation was retracted as well as the ancient aura, yet some things just could not be hidden, for he still had an ancient air upon him as his very flesh and blood as existed much longer than even the planet he was currently residing on.


    He was wearing a pair of black sneakers and sweatpants with a black tank top all fitting his pitch-black hair that was flowing down his back almost reaching his shoulders and his eyes that looked like two pitch-black orbs that looked like they were a portal to the eternal and endless empty void.


    With his transformation complete he faded back into reality, appearing in what seemed to be somebody''s room, it was filled with all kinds of stuffed animals and the bedding looked like it was meant for a little girl.


    Because it was...


    After having looked around for a while Azfius stared down at the one who was holding his summoning token, the little girl was also staring back at him with her eyes wide open and her jaw almost hitting the ground.


    After staring at each other for about five minutes the little girl composed herself before speaking in a formal tone.


    "A pleasure to meet you, I am Kunou daughter of Yasaka leader of the yokai in Kyoto"


    She said as she proudly puffed out her nonexistent chest. From what Azfius could tell the Half-pint was probably around five or six years old, she had cute little fox ears that came out of her long and beautiful golden hair and nine fox tails that appeared behind her back.


    After waiting for a while and gaining no reaction from Azfius, to be honest, he didn''t even move half an inch more look like he was breathing, Kunou became a bit restless as Azfius was still staring at her.


    She of course had tried to stare back but she did not been last half a second when she stared into those dark eyes. It made her afraid when she looked at them so she quickly looked away.


    Shifting her feet restlessly she looked around for anything that could save her from this awkward moment.


    "HELP!"


    ''What kind of voice is that!''


    She screamed in her mind as she started at Azfius who to her annoyance was staring back at her with the same deadpan expression he had since he was summoned.


    "Uhm...I..."


    Bang*


    The room the duo was in suddenly burst open as a figure ran inside.


    "Kuoh what happened...."


    A beautiful and busty kitsune woman ran inside and asked Kunou a question but soon spotted Azfius causing her voice to die down.


    With keen eyes the woman soon spotted the token in Kunou''s hand and quickly put two and two together, she couldn''t help but frown as she thought of the only possibility to explain this.


    "Ar...Are you maybe the one Mr. Lambert spoke of uhm, Azfius was it?"


    Yasaka the blond kitsune spoke carefully as she asked the unknown man a question. Having taken the time to study him she had to admit that he was probably the most handsome person she had ever seen, from head to toe his body looked like it was carved to perfection but the greatest of divine artisans.


    She couldn''t help but have a slight blush appear on her face at the thoughts she was having.


    Azfias looked to Yasaka, then nodded slowly to confirm his identity before looking back at Kunou with much to the little girls delight a hint of facial expression appearing in the form of a single raised eyebrow.


    "Kunou why did you use the token"


    Yasaka said as she walked toward Kunou with a mad look on her face, her hand outstretched waiting for Kunou to hand the token to her, which the little girl did with a lowered head as she spoke with a low voice.


    "Mom said that if I ever needed help I should put a bit of my mana into this token and somebody will be there to help me."


    Yasaka''s face soon changed mad to a worried one.


    "what do you need help with, and why didn''t you asked mom."


    Kunou looked down at her toes with a red face as she spoke in an even lower voice.


    "I-I-I wanted somebody to read me a bedtime story!"


    After speaking Kunou ran to her bed and ducked under the bedsheets to hide out of embarrassment. Yasaka turned to Azfius with a helpless expression as she bowed to him.


    "I am sorry for the trouble my daughter has caused you, would you let me make it up to you by letting me invite you to dinner?"


    Yasaka asked as she stared at this stranger which Lambert praised as being strong enough to help her with any problems she had in the future especially if she needed a bit of extra fighting force.


    Seeing as there was no negative outcome to getting closer to this person she decided it would be best to invite him to dinner and her daughter having summoned him without a valid reason left Yasaka somewhat nervous that she might have made a bad first impression.


    Unfortunately, Yasaka was bund to be disappointed as Azfius slowly shook his head and took a step back disappearing into a rupture in space.


    ...


    Back in Alex''s room, Tosca had just started wandering what Alex was doing when he heard a weird sound, and looking at the source she found Alex sitting in his chair gently drinking his coffee while chuckling lightly at something he must have seen.

 68 Chapter 68: Bed Time Story 2

    Tosca watched in surprise as Alex was enjoying his cup of coffee, his smiling face making him even more handsome than he already was.


    "Are you done already, Master?"


    "Yes, it was a minor fluke, though I''m not regretting going it was quite amusing."


    Alex said as his smile widened, barely exposing his perfect pearl white teeth, causing Tosca to blush a bit, after all, she was no longer a child and was already within her teen years causing her to have all kind of strange emotions because of her hormones and although Alex was acting like a father figure he was rarely there when she grew up and was technically not her father.


    Alex of course had noticed the change happening to Tosca and decided not to mention it and only pray that a second Aura would not appear or else he might just completely give up on fostering any more daughters.


    Choose sons? He didn''t want to. He had no other reason other than just not wanting a son. A daughter to protect and pamper was more than enough, but the thing he wanted to be the most was the most dreadful being in existence to his daughter''s husband one that would make him wake up at night with nightmares of there encounters and each time they saw each other he would shiver in fear. This was Alex''s greatest wish and each time he thought of it he would smile cruelly making all men in the universe shiver be they mortal or god.


    After conversing some more with Tosca, Alex left her to her meditation, leaving the room he headed downstairs to the living room but having just reached the base of the stairs he felt the summoning token flair up again causing him to frown as he once again teleported away while transforming.


    ...


    Azfius once again in a room of pink and teddies. This time he didn''t look around but focussed his attention on the young kitsune standing in front of him holding the summoning token.


    "Hello, we meet again."


    She said as she gave a courteous bow.


    "I ''gained'' this token from mother again and summoned Mr... ummm oh yeah mum called you Azfius...ahem, Mr. Azfius for a task of great importance"


    She walked towards her bed and got under the covers, then stared at Azfius with teary eyes and a somewhat red face.


    "Would you read me a bedtime story? Please!"


    Sight*


    A long and drawn out sigh came from Azfius causing a mini tornado to wreak havoc in this land of fluff and teddies as they were pulled up from everywhere and scattered around, Kunou clutched her planked and pillow while holding tightly to her bed frame or else she would have met the same fate of her teddies.


    The mini-tornado soon calmed down causing Kunou to stare at Azfius with shock and fascination.


    "That was awesome!"


    She yelled out but as if remembering something she coughed a few times before returning to her proper ladylike manner.


    "Would you be so kind?"


    Azfius wanted to give another sigh but decided against it seeing how he had already ruined her neat little pink room. In the end, he only nodded his head and walked towards Kunou''s bed and sat on the corner causing the poor bed to grow and the topmost opposite corner to be pulled up a bit.


    Kunou''s eyes shined as Azfius agreed and she waited with bated breath when he sat down not even raising that her poor bed almost broke under the titan''s weight. He had shrunk his form and lessened his weight but due to his dense muscular structure, he easily weighed a few tons, considering this Kunou''s bed was quite impressive as was Azfius''s ability to spread his weight upon the things he sat on or walked on.


    "ONC...."


    "Wait!"


    Just as Azfius was about to begin causing the room to start trembling and the walls to crack Kunou quickly shouted causing him to stop. He turned his head and looked helplessly at the little girl.


    "Ca...can you maybe talk with a lower voice?"


    Kunou asked worriedly as her eyes darted towards the door of her room, only heating a sigh in relief when no one burst into the room again.


    Azfius in the meantime rolled his eyes, what did she think he was her personal storyteller, just letting him agree to tell her a story was already a great honor now the little tyrant wanted him to lower his voice, not thinking of the possibility that he was already whispering.


    Thinking for a bit Azfius suppressed all the life force in his body, well all the life force he could possibly suppress was and then spoke again with his quietest and most gentle voice.


    "Once upon a time..."


    Listening to his voice, Kunou almost immediately became sleepy, she could finally make out how his voice sounded, it was as if pressing once ear to the earth it was solid it was strong but most important it was one of the most peaceful voices she had ever heard, like somebody that had no worries nor would ever worry, a mountain strong majestic and peaceful that was what his voice represented.


    Azfius spoke slowly and clearly, each word pronounced perfectly as it resonated with the world, Kunou closed her eyes and it only took about five minutes before she couldn''t endure any longer and fell asleep.


    Azfius finished his story about the life of a fox that once lived within his shadow, form the day of its birth to its death, skipping irrelevant things and making it child friendly, he then stood up from the bed saw Kunou was sleeping, he tucked her in a bit to make sure she would get called in the night before he faded from the room, his voice reverberating in the room as he left.


    "Sleep tight little fox, may your dreams be as sweet as the waters that fall from the heavens"

 69 Chapter 69: The Mortal Spear 1

    Ruins, a city that once bustled with life was turned to ruins within a blink of an eye. The cause of this dreadful catastrophe was standing in the middle of said city laughing maniacally.


    He had red skin a pair of long goat horns and bat wings, his tail ended with an arrow-like point. In his hand, he wielded a broad bastard sword that was wreathed in black flames. He was the king of demons.


    Facing off against this demon king was a group of four, with one male and four females each having a different role. The male acting like a warrior with heavy armor and a sword while the females were each dressed like an individual role such as archer, cleric, and finally sorceress.


    Unfortunately, the group was lying on the ground defeated, their attire badly damaged and their weapons are broken. Feared gripped their hearts as they faced against there foe.


    The only saving grace was another group of people standing in front of them to protect them.


    "Ah... I knew we should have faced this situation ourselves instead of condemning these innocent kids"


    Said a tall broad-shouldered man, he wore full plate armor with a massive claymore in his hands. He was the champion of all humans, the great Gregory, also known as the most powerful man in the world.


    "All monarchs are fools when death grips their throat, its only natural he would use the forbidden hero summoning circle"


    A graceful voice replied to the giant of a man, she was a gorgeous woman with an ethereally moving body that was only covered by "Essentially" placing armor pieces, her pair of pure white dove wings folded behind her back as she held tightly to her massive wall shield and fear intimidating mace which head had the same diameter as a city golfs wheel. Talia, the queen celestial, one of the most long-lived people in this world and one of the most innately gifted.


    "Aye, an here we are, cleaning up tha mess"


    A petite demi-human spoke standing next to the celestial, standing at a horrifying 1.3 meters she was the very image of terror as she lugged around a hammer which had a head as big as her and a handle reaching two meters long. Sascha, chief of all tribes in the beast planes. Her features made it clear that she was a lion person, the royal blood of all beast people.


    "There is no point in discussing this, we must first secure these young one''s safety before engaging the enemy."


    A tall slender man spoke, he wore a beautiful robe that had many crystals hanging from it, a tall wooden staff adorned with a massive crystal at the top was in his hand he used his free hand to brush away a pair of loose strands of his shoulder-length white hair that had found its way to his face and tucked it behind his long slender ears. Staring deeply at the great enemy they were about to face with his forest-like green eyes, Mythander, The Grand Sage, couldn''t help but worry about the safety of his companions.


    The rest of the group agreed with him as they moved to retreat with the wounded "Heroes".


    "YOU THINK I WILL LET YOU LEAVE, HA NAIVE!"


    The demon king shouted as he swung his sword int there direction, a red arc of fire was created from this attack and traveled towards them at a quick pace.


    The the group of old warriors were about to lay done the ''heroes'' to defend but was stopped by Mythander who threw the poor sorcerers girl from his hands into the arms of Talia the celestial.


    "Go, I''ll hold him off"


    He shouted, facing the approaching fire beam. Slamming his staff into the ground a massive tree sprung up from behind him, as its roots dug deep into the earth, it was the ancestral tree. He held out his hand, palm facing the oncoming flame beam.


    BOOOM!


    The beam of flames suddenly slammed into what appeared to be an invisible wall as they exploded around the surface area of this ''wall'' unable to go any further.


    "Fuck that''s cool"


    Shouted Gregory as he turned his head after hearing the loud explosion, but he didn''t stop his speed as he kept escaping.


    "LET''S SEE HOW LONG YOU LAST"


    Shouted the enraged demon king as he swung his sword again and with another explosion, the beam slammed against the ''wall'' but this time leaving cracks upon it.


    Blow after blow more cracks appeared upon the ''wall'' as the demon king kept attacking it with an unending barrage of attacks.


    After a few seconds, the ''wall'' was at the end of its tether as Mythander''s hand quivered while holding it up.


    "DIE ELF"


    The demon king raised his sword towards the sky ready to release the last strike needed to break this invisible ''wall'' and destroy this annoying elf, he even decided to charge this attack up to be more powerful to ensure the elf''s death.


    "Mythander get yer ass outa there"


    Sascha shouted seeing the charged attack of the demon king that send shivers down her spine.


    The sword was just about to be dropped when Mythander suddenly retracted his hand and pointed his staffs point towards the demon king with his other hand.


    The tip of the roots of the ancestral tree that was protecting his flanks suddenly pointed towards the crystal of his staff and send out a leg thick bolt of lightning towards it at the same time from each tip, the thunder was all absorbed by the crystal.


    \u003cArch Point\u003e


    BOOOM!


    A massive thunderbolt shot out of the crystal at the tip of his staff slamming into the demon king before he could even react sending him flying and his charged strike missing the Mythander and his allies by miles.


    This was not the end though, with the disappearance of the massive thunderbolt the demon king tried to stand up while his muscles were spasming like crazy thanks to the hight voltage attack, but soon the sky darkened and more bolts of lightning started raining down on him as if he had offended somebody up high and was being punished.


    "Fucking ELF!"


    HE shouted as his body spasm out of control, this attack might not be able to harm him much but it did a great job in holding him back.


    Using both hands Mythander raised his staff up high and slammed the bottom of the staff into the ground.


    \u003cGravity Pit\u003e


    The area around the demon king suddenly slumped down as a massive amount of gravitational force started affecting the area bringing the spasming demon king to his knees.


    Releasing his hands from the staff as it was now acting as the fulcrum of the gravity magic brought his hands together in front of him and intertwined his fingers as if praying.


    \u003cAncestral Cage\u003e


    Eight massive roots from the ancestral tree surrounded the demon king with a radius of ten meters from him, just outside the high gravity area, many restrictive type runes flashed upon the roots as it further stopped the demon king from moving, cycling his manna, befuddling his mind and destroying his last shred off self respect.


    "I will end you!"


    Mythander shouted.

 70 Chapter 70: The Mortal Spear 2

    With those words, Mythander raised both his hands into the air as if praising the sun. The Ancestral Tree behind him ignited in a blaze as it started burning.


    \u003cAspect Of Fire\u003e


    Mythanders forest green eyes turned fiery red and nine balls of fire circled behind him. The sky started burning which caused all even the demon king to pay attention at the sight. There was an oppressive feeling as if something waiting to be released.


    \u003cSky-Fall\u003e


    The turning sky split apart allowing all below to see the horrific sight of a one-kilometer diameter sized fireball falling from the sky, heading straight for the entrapped Demon king.


    The demon king of course would not stay still and let this monstrosity hit him, his struggles tripled within Mythandars bindings and he released all his demonic aura. This caused Mythander to have to divert some of his attention away from this super-tier spell he just cast and place his left hand on his magic staff to help stabilize the restrictions he placed on the demon king while his right hand made a pulling motion as if pulling the fireball from the sky.


    Using only one hand severely impacted the speed at which the fireball would decent but it meant nothing if the demon king got free from the bindings and escaped the impact perimeter of the spell.


    The demon king screamed as he struggled against his bindings but no matter what he did they would not break, the lightning numbed his body and the gravity pushed him down aided by the restrictive ruins of the \u003cAncestral Cage\u003e, which not only held him in place but also restricted his thinking process and his sensory organs, he was in all manner of ways stuck like that waiting for the massive fireball falling towards him to burn him into cinders.


    The fireball finally arrived above the demon king and slammed into him, the restrictions of the \u003cAncestral Cage\u003e condensed the fireball to the range of the inside of the cage.


    BOOM!


    A horrific explosion engulfed the Demon King, who by now was screaming like a little bitch as the fires burned his flesh. He was unfortunately for Mythander much more resilient than he appeared and survived the initial blast and the fire burning him, unfortunately for him when the fire pushed out towards the \u003cAncestral Cage" it was deflected back to the demon lord making all the fire once more converge on him, giving him a second round of roasting to make sure he was well done.


    When evrything had finally taken effect all that was left to do was wait until the dust settled. The restrictive spells had all been obliterated by the fireball and the \u003cAncestral Cage\u003e Returned to the earth after reflecting the fire that was spreading out once.


    ''This is cheating!''


    Mythander screamed in his head, but his body was already on the move, he could not give the Demon King the chance to recover. The Ancestral Tree behind him had a hundred roots come from the earth and all point towards the Demon King. The Demon King had only started rising from the ground when an unceasing barrage of tier 5 and lower spells was spammed at him. Each tip of the roots of the Ancestral tree was spamming a different kind of attack spell w at the Demon King, although they were Tier 5 and lower, having hundreds of spells frown at you over a long period could cause anyone to reconsider his life choices.


    While the tree was busy with its jolly spamming Mythander was focussing on casting tier 8 to 10 spells to attack the demon king with.


    ''If quality didn''t work let''s try quantity, lets how long you can hold out before you die from indignation!''


    Mythander thought as he kept spamming spells, thought his worries were great as well as his mana pool was dwindling at a heart aching speed as if he had gone shopping with his girlfriend after getting his pay only to walk out of the store in debt. If the demon king didn''t spit blood and die of anger soon, Mythander might just have to incur debt and use his life force to power his spells.


    Gregory and the rest of Mythander''s friends were about four kilometers away, on the top of a small mountain observing the infestation caused by Mythanders fight with the demon king.


    They wanted to help but had long realized they would only get in the way and cause Mythander to have to protect them if they joined in, it was hard to accept it but they did, they could not let their pride get in the way when it came to there friends life. They could only take deep breathes and watch as there friend fought for their nd everybody els'' lives.


    The young hero''s that were saved hung there heads low in shame, they might have been summoned from there homes but they had put in ten years after that in training becoming some of the greatest figures in this world in such a short time, they thought they could slay the demon king by themselves, this was the result of failing to defeat the Demon King and having him hunt them down into human territory and even raise the city they took refuge in.


    Gregory was standing at the forefront of the group, his claymore planted deep into the ground as his large hands gripped it tightly. He was watching the entire fight with clenched teeth, he felt the only agony as he used all his might not to run down and aid his friend he had known for forty years.


    They first met on the battlefield went he elves and humans were at war against each other, this was the typical tale of enemies becoming friends after the two country''s made peace. Forty years back he was already granted the title of strongest human, but even then when he had to face Mythander in battle he was beaten black and blue only escaping with his life by a hair length.


    A white flash appeared next to Gregory bringing him out of his thoughts as he saw a beautiful woman with a white dress and hair appear next to him. Hse stared at the group before looking out at the battle with worry.


    "He told us to retreat, this isn''t a battle we can get into, but you right be able to help, Aura"


    The woman didn''t apply but jumped off the mountain and started flying at great speed towards the battle happening between Mythander and the Demon King.

 71 Chapter 71: The Mortal Spear 3

    "Master, I''ll help!"


    Mythander had just jumped back dodging another overhead swing from the demon king while reciprocating it with ten fireballs slamming into it at once, it had almost no effect other than pushing the Demon King back a step or two, giving Aura enough time to reach Mythander.


    With a swing of her arms a dozen light spears sho towards he Demon King who blocked them with its sword. Aura kept at it while using her other hand to help increase Mythanders mana recovery rate which was already pretty high compare to other mages in this world, having only to rest for six hours before restoring his astronomical amount of mana, making him able to cast a few super-tier spells and still not be fully drained.


    The Demon King did not want Mythander to spam him to death with more spells so decided to stop defending and rush them while tanking Aura''s attacks with his body. The light elemental spears pierced his body and burned his impure blood as it tried to purge him.


    Agony, this was the dealing the Demon King felt as light coursed through his veins purging his very existence, although he was recovering as fast as he was being destroyed the pain the light was giving him was unimaginable.


    The Demon King screamed in pain as it rushed the duo using its massive sword it cleaved towards Mythander, taking him as a much greater threat.


    With a quick move, Mythander pushed Aura to the side while took a quick step to his right just as the sword reached his position, missing him by a hair breath, its aura burning the sleeve of his robe a causing some minor blisters to appear down his left arm. Mythander ignored these superficial injuries as he slammed his staff against the Demon King''s head in a counter-attack.


    His attack was quick and right at the moment, the Demon King had exerted all his strength, making it impossible to dodge, his form gracefully fully displaying the Elven War Art to all who were watching the battle.


    As the crystal on top of the staff made contact with the Demon King''s skull, it glowed in a resplendent light as Mythander unleashed another spell out of it.


    \u003cMind Blast\u003e


    A wave of mental power surged from the crystal slamming into the Demon Kings pure fragile and some would say peanut-sized brain, causing him to recoil backward, dropping his sword as he clutched his head screaming in an ear-piercing voice. It felt as if somebody just through his brain to a blender, his thoughts were in disarray and he was attacked by unbearable pain.


    Having thought of this he could only conclude that what they were doing is meaningless, the only way to stop this demon king was to unleash an attack so devastating it could kill a god.


    These thoughts flashed in Mythander''s mind in mere seconds, making so that the Demon King had yet to recover from his previous attack, and Aura kept impaling him with dozens of light spears at a time making him even more miserable.


    Mythander made his move at this time while yelling at Aura, " Keep him distracted!", he made his way to the demon king with a few quick steps, with his left hand he gripped the crystal at the tip of his staff.


    Shatter!


    The crystal shattered under his grip, causing an unimaginable amount of rogue mana to run rampant through his left arm, it almost immediately started breaking apart as many blueish glowing cracks appeared on his once flawless skin.


    \u003cMaxamise\u003e


    Ruins appeared around his left arm, forcing the mana to move in a certain way, unfortunately, it only enhanced the arms destruction and not decreased. Mythander moved with great haste as he pressed the palm of his left hand against the Demon King''s chest.


    For a moment evrything became calm, even the Demon King had a moment of clarity as he and Mythander stared at each other, the difference was while Mythander''s eye''s held an Unwavering resolve the Demon King''s eyes were filled with fear.


    \u003cHell Blaze\u003e


    A blue flame erupted from Mythanders left palm, immediately setting the Demon King aflame, while forcefully throwing him hundreds of meters away. The world lit up as the flames kept spuing from Mythander''s left palm looking like a tsunami of blue flames, it read out and moved forwards. Luckily the city that they were fighting in was a border city and the way the fire was moving was in the direction of the Demon King territories.


    From this day on legends, would tell of the terrifying blue flame that the elven sage unleashed in his battle against the Demon King, destroying not only a hundred demon city''s but burning the land and mountains of all life for a thousand years.


    The blue flames of hell, unextinguishable for all eternity, a flame that would even keep burning for a thousand years long after the caster''s death it was known by few, but feared by all creation.


    Mythander felt no joy after unleashing that spell because he saw the Demon King slowly standing up even amidst the pyre. His body blazed with blue hellfire, his body''s restoration powers working on full throttle barely keeping pace with the fires incinerating. Even though he survived he was in pure agony, his only thought was to destroy whoever did this to him consequences be dammed, and with that one thought, he charged at Mythander.


    Mythander sighed lightly as he watched the last remnants of what was his left arm turned to ash, the power it had contained was too much thus his arm was destroyed. He was not sad by this loss, it was a necessary sacrifice, he was about to make an even more dire one, or the direst one can make.


    "Master!"


    Aura yelled in fright as she also saw his left arm disappear into ash and was blown away by the wind, she quickly shortened the distance between them intending to heal him and hopefully restore his lost appendage, her eyes were wet with tears, streaming out like an unending river as she looked at his no empty left side.


    Mythnder raised his right hand in her direction and drew a line, causing Aura to scream in shock as she disappeared from this world back to her own. He had banished her.


    "Forgive me," Myhander said slowly as he stared at the Demon King whos was now but a hundred meters away from him, " WHat I am about to do, you should never see."


    Mythander pulled a knife from out of his cloak and pointed it towards the Approaching Demon King. He spoke in an Ancient and terrifying Language.


    "AS THEY SEARCH FOR BLOOD"


    The Demon King suddenly slammed his feet into the ground forcefully stopping himself, through all this pain and madness clarity came to him int the form of fear. Fear not for your life but your immortal soul, all his instincts called to him to retreat and like a wise demon, he heeded them and ran like there was no tomorrow, because to him there will not be.


    The dagger was turned in a reverse grip aiming for Mythander''s heart.


    "All EYES DESCEND ON ONE"


    "A CHOSEN SACRIFICE, A WILLING HEART"


    The knife was pulled back as he plunged it into his own heart.


    "No!"


    The heroes and Mythanders friends watching evrything from the mountain nearby yelled in horror as they saw there friend kill himself, but this was all ignored by Mythander, he was in a world of his own, one only filled with the retreating back of the Demon King in it.


    "HEAR ME OH CRUEL LAWS OH IMMORAL GODS"


    "HEAR AND TREMBLE"


    "MY FLESH SHALL FORM THE SPEAR AND MY SOUL SHALL WIELD IT"


    "NOW SUMMON THE MORTAL SPEAR!!!!"


    Mythander yelled at the top of his lungs causing all to shiver at how natural his voice sounded at that moment as if he was no longer a mortal elf but something else, something darker.


    The Demon King at this moment felt his fear instantly magnify, he turned his head to watched Mythander as he spoke the final words of his incantation, his face twisted as he saw the result.


    Mythander, his entire body exploded into piles of flesh and blood...

 72 Chapter 72: The Mortal Spear 4

    ''WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED''


    His mind was in disorder but he decided just to enjoy the moment, unfortunately, he could not since the blue flames were still burning him and he was still in agony.


    "Noooooo!"


    He heard an annoying voice shouting and turned his head in the direction, he found the origin it was the group of people he had faced before and the ones that came to save those people.


    Smiling sinisterly he took a step in there direction, he will help these lost souls rejoin with there comrade. Taking his second step his body suddenly froze, the feeling was back. Fear, he shivered as he felt it once more only this time he didn''t have his instincts screaming at him to run no, they were waving at him, saying '' goodbye, nice knowing yah''.


    "Where are you going?" an ephemeral voice called out, causing goosebumps to appear on the Demon King''s body. Looking forward the Demon King could see those would-be heroes and saviors stare wide-eyed behind him, their faces were a ghastly white and the angel woman was crying as she looked horrified.


    Turning his head back to look behind him, something hit him right in the soul as he saw the hazy figure standing behind him, at the same position his hated enemy had just been obliterated. His knees buckled almost making him fall.


    ''ITS HIM!!!'' The demon king thought as he looked at the figure in front of him take shape, Mythander was standing there again, yet he was somewhat see-through and even creepier one could see his skeleton behind his ethereal skin, his eyes blazed in a haunting blue light, the same color as the flames that were currently torturing him.


    The Demon King did his best to steady himself, but he was shaking all over, he could not tell from what he was shaking nor could he sense death coming, he only knew that it was there. His fear almost maddened him while his body still burned in the bluish hellfire. Then a thought came to him as if a whisper, a tantalizing prospect.


    ''JUST GIVE UP''


    He thought of just giving up, lying down and dying in peace, making all this torture stop, making the fear go away, making him stop shitting him...


    "Oh fuck"


    The Demon King just figured out that he shat himself out of fear at this moment.


    "It is time"


    The voice was heard again, bringing the Demon King back from his reflection of the point that he had no more face. The Demon King did the braves thing he thought he could do at that moment and ran.


    Mythander stared at the retreating Demon King, he stretched out his hand to his side, which caused all the blood, flesh, and bones of his previous mortal body to be pulled towards it.


    Boom!


    The Retreating Demon King fell to the ground, confusing as he felt his very divint=ity shake in fear, trying to break away from him, the fool was targeted by this god-smiting spear.


    All over the universe eyes descended upon this insignificant planet, then they quickly looked away minding there own business less they be targetted by this terrifying weapon.


    Mythander slowly walked towards the convulsing Demon King, arriving next to him he raised the spear and looked the Demon King in the eyes. There gazes met, the eyes of a ghost met the eyes of a begging demon king.


    The spear then descended, and pierced the demon king in the heart, making his eyes go wide. The spear slowly melted as it flowed into the demon king''s body, causing many ancient writings to appear all over his body, the writing s was the chant of a curse, a curse of mortality.


    The power that the Demon King was once proud of all disappeared as he slumped down on the ground. His only saving grace was that this cruel spear miraculously even wiped out the blue flames that were torturing him, before cursing him. He felt so weak, his power at this moment was even weaker than a normal mortal man one can find in any village.


    Mythander stared at the Demon King for a moment before turning his attention to the people on top of the mountain. "Its all up to you now, I have done all I can", With those words, spoken so softy but was still strangely heard by them who were hundreds of meters away, Mythander disappeared from the face of this world.


    ...


    The small soul ascended up into the universe where it teleported into another dimension known as the divine realms, there this small soul reached its destination, before it was a massive, no saying massive was an understatement as the size of this soul was beyond description, it morphed into this soul, appearing now only as a blinking light among billions of stars. It found its place close to three other souls and joined two of them as they hovered around a single one.


    Close to this soul was a palace, which could hold a thousand Azfiuses and only have one percent of its space taken, but even so, it was minuscule almost not worth mentioning next to this ''big'' soul.


    Sitting on a chair on top of one of many millions of balcony''s in the palace, sat a beautiful woman who wore a blue dress that strangely became ethereal at the corners, another woman in a maid uniform came to her and poured some tea into a cup that was situated next to the sitting blue dressed beauty.


    "Your tea, Lady Yris", The maid said respectfully, before turning away and leaving the Goddess to her musings.


    This whole time the goddess hadn''t broken her sight from the small star that represented Mythander, she smiled gently as she saw it take its place with the other two, Lambert and Azfius, hovering the soul of Alex.


    "And another legend was made" she spoke, the smile never leaving her face. She then pulled out a strange badge, on it was a strange symbol in its middle was an infinity sign while all around it was moving images of people getting born, living their lives and dying then repeating the cycle only each time they looked and acted differently.


    Yris raised the badge into the air towards the ''big'' soul and poured a minuscule amount of divine energy into it causing the badge to lite up. The area around her suddenly morphed and she was transported into a different realm, everything around her was eternally dark.


    A small portal appeared in front of her and the small light of Alex was puled out of the ''big'' soul along with its three wondering companions and moved through the small portal before starting to take shape as all four souls fused together.


    Before it was fully formed Yris went to her knees and prayed towards the owner of the Badge in her hands.


    "Forgive me for what I am about to do to you, my lord" while adding in her mind,''It was your idea anyway''


    She then stood back up and put on a cold facade just in time for Alex to appear in front of her in soul form.


    "Alex"

 73 Chapter 73: Asked To A Dance

    Alex was lying on a sofa in the living room watching some cartoons on the television. He felt extremely bored, as he switched between different cartoons, Anime, and movies.


    He enjoyed the shows, he really did, it was something different after an eternity without electricity, but even it has that moment where he just wants to get up and go somewhere.


    He didn''t really want to read a book at the moment and there was nothing interesting on the tv, while he was too lazy to search for something on the internet. He wanted something to chew on, but again he was too lazy to get up and he didn''t want to bother Aura who was busy teaching Tosca some things about light magic.


    ''They had gotten close over the years, Tosca''s aptitude for magic is average at best but luckily Aura is a patient teacher''


    Alex watched as Aura tutored the now fourteen-year-old Tosca while reminiscing about his own education into magic.


    Ding-Dong!


    The doorbell rang, causing Alex to groan as he slowly stood up from the sofa and walked towards the front door.


    "I''ll get the door!", he yelled at Aura and Tosca as not to make them stop their lessons for the annoyance Alex was about to shoo away.


    Opening the door, Alex saw a brown-haired brown-eyed boy in front of him. He seemed to be around fourteen himself the same age as Tosca.


    "Morning Issei, what brings you here"


    "Morning Mr. Alex" Issei said while feeling a bit nervous.


    "Is Tosca home", He asked, while looking hopeful.


    While Alex was away for many years it seemed that Aura and Tosca had visited the Hyoudou''s quite often and what did you know Issei became Issei''s first friend she had since she was rescued from the Holy Sword project and like expected thought perverted, Issei had a way with people that made them trust him and even Aura had fallen for it. Alex didn''t know what to do, he couldn''t really keep them from interacting with the boy.


    "She is, though she''s busy at the moment. Do you want me to give her a message."


    "Ah, Ummm, yes..please, you see there''s this dance and..."


    "You want to invite her as your date." Alex finished his sentence.


    "Y-yes," Issei said somewhat embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head.


    "Is it ok for you to take Tosca, she''s not even from your school," Alex said as Tosca was homeschooled by himself. His eternity of life wasn''t just for show and he could possibly give even the most brilliant minds of this world a run fro their money even if he didn''t act like that most of the time.


    "It''s fine", Issei replied.


    "Well, sigh, come in boy," Alex said stepping aside allowing Issei to walk into the house.


    "Tosca Issei''s here to visit," Alex yelled out, not only to tell Tosca about Issei''s presence but to warn them to stop practicing magic for now.


    Alex close followed Issei, "Tosca Issei has something to ask", Alex said causing Issei to freeze in his tracks.


    ''Come on man, how can you just drop it like that, I need time to prepare''


    This was exactly why Issei was always nervous when talking to Alex, although Alex seems to have a good relationship with his parents and had been kind to him as well helping him on multiple locations when he came over the years, he also felt that Alex was kinda scary.


    Issei knew he was older or about just as old as his own parents yet the guy looked in his twenty''s, then there was the fact that he was so handsome, though that might just be Issei''s jealousy, most importantly Alex had the habit for putting Issei in thought spots, like right now, calling him out in front of everyone.


    Issei could see Tosca looking at him in curiosity, while Aura smiled at him while waiting for him to speak. Alex was already sitting on one of the couches while eating popcorn.


    "I...I...well you see..." Issei tried but with everyone looking at him and Tosca looking cuter than normal while Aura standing behind her was even more beautiful with her smile. Poor Issei with his hormonal teen body was having a mental breakdown at the moment, all kinds of thoughts flew through his head.


    "Would you please go to a dance with me!" Issei yelled before running out of the living room, out of the house all the way to his own.


    Alex just looked at the leaving Issei, while trying not to laugh at the poor boy.


    ''Maybe he''s not so....NO, do not be corrupted by him!'' Alex warned himself as he reinforced his mental defenses against Issei, he would not give in so easily.


    Although Alex liked the boy, he would not let Issei take his daughters, this date was allowed because Alex knew Tosca thought of Issei as a friend.


    "So..."


    Alex said lying down on the couch while throwing a popcorn piece into and catching it in his mouth when he was fully lying down.


    "Can I?"


    Tosca asked excitedly, never having gone to anything like this before.


    "Yeah, why not. Aura why don''t you help her with a dress, your fashion sense has always exceeded my own"


    "Of course master" Aura said then turned to Tosca, "Let''s go, we will have to get evrything ready and oh... Master when is this dance?"


    "Don''t know, I''ll go and tell Issei you excepted then ask about the date"


    Alex slowly got up from the couch again with a grunt and went out of the house leaving Aura and Tosca alone together.


    The duo stared at each other hoping that Alex will be back in a few minutes as he was supposed to be and this won''t expand to another few years.


    Tosca had long realized Alex has a skew perspective of time and would call year moments and decade longer moments.


    He won''t even miss somebody if he hadn''t seen that person in the last hundred years, unfortunately, she didn''t know if she could even live that long, so each time he left her sight she would start to worry.


    A hand touched her shoulder bringing her from her thoughts, Tosca turned around to see Aura giving her a smile.


    "Come, let''s get started."

 74 Chapter 74: Accepting The Invitation

    He went to the Hyoudous front door and knocked at the door.


    ''How should I go about this'' Alex thought as he heard movement on the other side of the door, it opened and who greeted him was a beautiful brown-haired woman, Miyumi.


    "Oh, Alex, what brings you in... never mind come, come in"


    ''She''s grown older'' Alex thought sadly as he once again was reminded that unknowingly to him time has passed.


    "Thank you", Alex said, not letting his thoughts affect his demeanor or show to the outside world. He walked into the house and waited for Miyumi in the hall to lead him to the living room, though he knew where it was it was only polite to wait for the host.


    "So what brings you to my little home", Miyumi asked as she sat down a cup of coffee for Alex while pouring her self some tea.


    "Can''t I just come for a visit"


    Miyumi laughed a bit when she heard his reply, "We''ll just take it then as me being surprised, neither I or Garro have seen you in a long time."


    "Sorry about that, time just passes too quickly, I can hardly keep up"


    Miyumi put her cup down, "I know what you mean, it feels like just yesterday Issei was but a baby but look at him now, he''s, well he''s Issei but older."


    "Hahaha, yeah, the boy still has his tendencies"


    "It''s not funny, how will he ever get a girlfriend if he acts like that, how will he ever get children how will I ever have adorable grandchildren to spoil!" Miyumi said, upset at how her son acted.


    "The only female friend he has is your daughter, aah if only he could get together with her but it will never happen, she already knows about him. I suppose I could call it a blessing she still remains friends with him."


    When Alex heard the first part of Miyumi''s sentence he almost broke the cup in his hands and the floor beneath his feet in rage, but calmed down with the second half and even agreed with what she said. He wasn''t against Tosca finding someone, but it will definitely never be somebody like Issei, he didn''t hate the boy but he would never allow his girl to be part of a haram, he didn''t know what the parents of all Issei''s future brides were thinking but to for him, Tosca and Issei will never happen, never ever, never like in never ever ever, NEVER!!!!


    "Don''t worry too much, Issei is a good lad if we look past his weirdness, he will get somebody that cares for him for who he is perversion and all."


    Miyumi smiled at Alex hearing what he said," Yeah" she agreed but her eyes said that she didn''t even believe herself.


    "Any way where is the little sh.... hum, boy"


    "Oh he came back not too long ago and ran straight to his room, he wouldn''t even reply when I called after him," Miyumi said while looking a bit worried.


    "Of course, you don''t even need to ask"


    They got up and made their way to Isei''s room.


    Knock


    Knock


    "Issei dear, are you ok?"


    Miyumi asked after knocking on his door on the second story of the house.


    "Yeah mum, I just want to be alone for a while."


    "Mr. Alex is here to see you, would you open the door and let him in"


    "Mr. Alex?", some movement was heard on the other side of the door and soon it opened revealing a red-eyed issei.


    "Issei, what''s wrong, were you crying", Miyumi said as she stepped forward and inspected her son.


    "I''m fine mom, just got something in my... eyes," Issei said a bit unsteadily.


    "Both eyes? Quite an unlucky lad you are," Alex said while stepping forward with a punchable smile on his face.


    Issei clenched his fists and stared at Alex as he was seeing his most hated foe, "Why are you here Mr, Alex?", he asked


    "Ah that reminds me", Alex said as he turned to Miyumi, "Issei came over earlier and asked my dear Tosca to dance with him, but bolted before he could hear her answer."


    With each word, Alex''s smile became brighter and Issei''s face became redder, thought be it from rage or embarrassment or both, we''dd never know.


    "What! really?" Miyumi yelled not believing her ears as she stared at Issei with dazzling and proud eyes. "And..." she looked back at Alex, "..what did she say."


    "Well since she had never gone to something like this, and became quite excited by the prospect, she said yes," Alex said while adding in his mind,'' Unfortunately''.


    "That''s great!" Miyumi shouted and became all bubbly out of happiness of her son finally going to dance with a woman that isn''t his mother while at the same time is one of the most beautiful girls she had ever seen.


    "She... she said yes?" Issei said hardly believing it himself.


    "Yeah, so when is it, you ran out like a coward before even letting us know." Alex sad while staring annoyedly at the lucky bastard that would get to dance with his little girl.


    "uh... oh yeah it''s in a month''s time, the seventh", Issei said coming out of his own world.


    "Great, I''ll have a friend drive you in his car, it will look better if you arrived while looking awesome", Alex though while thinking of his monstrosity of a car.


    Having finished his mission, Alex bid the two goodbyes while telling them to give Garro his best regards since he was still at work.


    Hands in his pockets, Alex walked back to his house. Closing the door behind him he went up the stairs to the balcony of the house, sitting on a chair with a matching table next to it he slowly reclined his body, took out a book, and started reading, not in the mood for anything else at the moment.

 75 Chapter 75: A Godly Hairclip

    ''Let''s make something for Tosca, to commemorate her first dance''


    Sitting crossed-legged on the carpet floor he then pulled out a large square stone tile from his storage space and placed it in front of him. On the surface of the tile, a beautiful and intricate magic circle was drawn. It was a Runic Tile, used by enchanters to create enchanted gear, tiles like these were ranked from good to bad by how detailed and complex the magic circle in the middle was and of course, the one Alex was using was the best of the best, there was no way he would be using common shit, only the best was considered acceptable to him.


    ''Luckily Aura and Tosca left, probably going shopping for a dress for Tosca.''


    Alex took out a large piece of Mithril from his storage space, he then used his magic to forcefully compress it into the size of a thumb. After that, he started forming the Mithril like an artist would form clay into a sculpture.


    The metal morphed and took shape under the strength of his hand''s which could bring forth enough force to crush mountains to the size of a single dust particle.


    With a few movements to perfect the shape, he finished the items form, holding it in his left palm it was a single hair clip, perfectly formed by his hands. He placed said hairclip in the middle of the Runic tile. Using his mana he activates the magic circle, making it lite up. The hairclip started rising from the tile and float in the middle of the magic circle as holographic images of runic circles and diagrams appeared around it.


    Forming a pen with his manna he started carving runes on the hairclip, each rune was the size of a blood cell. Thousands upon thousands of runic words were formed as he drew them, from an outside perspective though it looked as if he was merely drawing lines and patterns on the hairclip.


    Two hours passed in a flash, as Alex slowly and carefully drew artistic patterns on the hairclip with thousands upon thousands of runes. After finishing he made sure evrything was done perfectly, then placed both his hands on the Runic Tile causing its light to brighten and then slowly dim. The Tile''s only true function was to make sure the artifact was in an easier position to enchant and to activate all the enchantments in the end, though only higher tier Runic Tiles can activate more advanced runes.


    The Runic Tile''s light slowly died, causing the hairclip to slowly decent until it laid motionless on the now inactive Runic Tile.


    Alex reached out and picked up the hairclip and inspected it, suddenly from out of the hairclip came a silver ghostly figure of a little girl. She bowed deeply to Alex and spoke.


    "This lowly treasure bows to her creator"


    Alex smirked at her words.


    "Of course Lord Creator"


    The spirit said with devotion.


    The only being a treasured spirit like this would serve more than her Master was her creator, this ensured that a creator would never die to his own creation and also ensured that others would be rather hesitant to attack enchanters or face the wrath of the thousands of artifacts they had created in there lives and the masters of these artifacts since the artifacts would stop listening to them if they did not exact this revenge.


    "I will be giving you to someone very close to me, I entrust to you her safety and security, you have been imbued with a shield that is strong enough to protect her against anything this world could possibly dish out and even beyond thought it can only be activated once and will only last for an hour, it is usable after recharging for two hours, you are also able to notify me immediately if someone wishes to harm her by an I will be able to use you as reverence to pinpoint her exact location. You might not have any attack ability''s but you are able to increase your master''s attack power be it magical or physical by tenfold as long as she wears you, the same applies for defense. Any questions"


    "This one has remembered creators words and has checked to see if all functions are working atone hundred percent, evaluation, this lowly one is ready for her mission"


    "Great, just one last thing, from now on you shall be The Silver Moonlight Hairclip"


    The divine spirit took another bow to show her acceptance of the name.


    Knock knock


    Hearing somebody knocking at the door Alex placed the Hairpin in his pocket before answering.


    "Come in"


    He said, the door opened and Tosca came into his room with a red face. She was currently wearing a white one-piece dress that had frills at the bottom, she also wore a pair of white sneakers and socks. Her hair beautifully braided into twin tails.


    "What do you think Master"


    Aura asked as she followed Tosca into the room.


    Alex gave Tosca a look over and smiled at her dotingly.


    "You look beautiful", he said as he approached Tosca, causing her to smile happily at his complement, kneeled down before her before giving her a scrutinizing look.


    "What?" she asked shyly as Alex looked at her.


    "There''s just one thing missing," he said, fishing the hairclip from his pocket and fitted it in her hair before she could react. "There, now evrything is perfect"


    Alex stood up and backed away a bit from Tosca, who immediately started looking around for a mirror.


    Alex waved his hand and a mirror image of Tosca suddenly appeared in front of her. She stared at her own image for a moment before she saw the beautiful silver-colored hairclip. The moment her eyes focused on the hairclip Alex could have sworn they started sparkling.


    "Thank you, Master!"


    She said happily and gave Alex a hug to which he responded by petting her head.


    "No problem, we want you to look at your best at the dance no"


    "Yes!"


    Evrything seemed harmonies at that moment until a dissatisfied voice suddenly came from one side of the room.


    "And where''s my gift, Master!"

 76 Chapter 76: Taking A Walk

    Alex said helplessly as he thought of the thousands of jewelry and gifts he had bought and created for Aura just because she wanted something new. He couldn''t help but admit he had spoiled the girl rotten when she was with his incarnations, Lambert and Mythander.


    Although he still cared for her all the same he couldn''t possibly keep up with the demands, she has become a grown woman long ago and he still kept pampering her.


    Aura was about to retort with a heartbroken expression when Alex held out his and on his palm, a beautiful golden ring appeared if many diamonds on it. Aura immediately took it and smiled as she placed it on her ring finger."Thank you, Master!" she said jubilantly and left the room with a pep in her step, Tosca quickly said goodbye and ran after Aura just as happily leaving Alex who was boasting a fake smile.


    ''You weakling!'' Alex berated himself in his mind. He had once again spoiled Aura.


    Calming his mind Alex decided to go for a walk. Since it was Saturday there were a lot more people walking around than usual at the weekend, he could see some couples going on dates be they young or old, he saw the family''s going on outings, and here and there the poor loner keeping to himself as Alex.


    Alex was searching for a purpose in his life, he did not wish for anything and only truly cared for the two girls under his wing. Life had long lost its colors and all he saw was black and white. He did as he pleased, luckily for the world, Alex could be considered as someone that was not evil. He did as he saw fit, and he would not actively harm others since he was someone who valued peace....most of the time.


    Bang


    Alex felt a force hit him from behind, he slowly turned around to see a teenage boy with light blond hair, sitting on the ground while rubbing his head, it was easy to realize that the boy accidentally ran into him.


    "Hey kid you okay"


    Alex asked as he faces the boy and offered a hand to help him get up. The boy took it and was pulled up by Alex.


    "Sorry about that, I didn''t see you there," he said when he was up he finally got to get a good look at Alex''s face and it caused him to freeze at the moment. When he looked into Alex''s eyes he felt a faint sense of reverence building up inside him.


    "Saji, come on man!"


    Somebody yelled from not so far away bringing him from his daze. "Yeah, yeah I''m'' coming just hold up" he yelled back before looking at Alex again.


    "Sorry about that again"


    "No problem, you shouldn''t keep your friends waiting"


    "Oh right"


    With that Saji ran off to his friends. Alex watched him with a faint smile on his face as he stared at the faint energy hidden deep in the boy''s cells, as if feeling his gaze it quivered in fear.


    Thinking about it it was about a year away from the start of the whole thing, starting with Issei becoming a devil. Followed by a lot of other stuff that Alex couldn''t really care to think about right now.


    Looking to his left he could sense the presence of a devil, it was currently following the boy that ran into him. Alex could feel the presence of the Sitri family clearly on that devil. Having verified the Devil''s identity Alex chose to ignore it.


    ''It would seem that little Sona already has this guy under surveillance, she must be thinking of taking the boy in. Whelp none of my business.''


    Alex thought turning his attention on more important matters like if he was going to walk left or right since he was currently on a crossroad.


    ''Well, let''s go left then''


    Turning left Alex wandered aimlessly around the town, he soon found himself in front of the old church. He had only come here once before and from looking at it now, it has truly turned into a mess.


    Not feeling any life inside it would seem that the rogue fallen angels have not set up base here yet, meaning Alex didn''t have anyone to play with, which caused him to dejectedly turn around and head in a different direction.


    ''So this is Kuoh Academy'' Alex thought as he looked at the school in front of him, walking around he just happened to pass the school so he thought he might as well take a look.


    Without much care walked through the wall surrounding the school, phasing through as if he was a ghost he stepped onto the school grounds. It was already starting to become late, the sun was setting on the horizon causing the empty school grounds to look somewhat desolate or haunting even.


    Alex explored the grounds a bit before arriving in front of a somewhat older building compared to the rest of the school, he could clearly feel life signs within it, there were a few grouped together in one room while another was in another room alone.


    ''Should be the Occult -whatever- club. There seems to be one missing.''


    Alex thought as he only counted three people gathered together in one room with another on in a different room which he could only presume was that servant that was locked away, what''s his face the half-vampire.


    Bang


    ''Can people stop running into me?''


    Alex felt exasperated as another force struck him from behind. Looking back he saw a petite little girl with platinum hair and a cat brooch standing in a combat form after she had most likely attacked him from behind.


    ''Oh she probably kicked me''


    Alex thought as he remembered the force that struck him from behind was concentrated in a very tiny place and looking at her small feet it was probably that.


    The girl stared warily at Alex, she had just delivered a kick at this stranger that was looking in the direction of where the rest of her club members were. She first thought it was a human thus she didn''t use too much force just enough to knock your average human out and a bit extra as punishment, but to her surprise, it didn''t even faze the man, he stood as mighty as a mountain while she was forced to back away do to the rebound of her own attack. She had just fixed her stance when she saw the stranger look in her direction.


    When she met his gaze she felt fear build up inside of her as if she was not facing a man but a monster, but that feeling passed as soon as it came and what was left was nothing. If it wasn''t for her eyes showing her there was someone in front of her she would have not even realized his presence.


    "Who are you"


    She asked loudly hoping that the rest of her squad could hear and come help her because her certainty of defeating her opponent was dwindling by the moment as he stood there and looked at her.


    Alex watched curiously at the girl when she asked him a question.


    ''Who was this again?''


    Alex thought as he tried remembering, he remembered her face and evrything but her name eluded him, he only remembered that she seemed to be some kind of cat person or something like that and was one of Rias''s members.


    He soon felt movement from behind him, it seemed that the rest of the gang heard her and was coming to her aid.


    ''Well, this might be interesting, let''s test them a bit''

 77 Chapter 77: Slaughter

    A red-headed beauty with major assets said in a domineering tone as she stood opposite Alex. She and the rest of her peerage were waiting for the last member of the team to arrive before starting there meeting but suddenly heard said member shout at somebody, they immediately rushed out of there clubhouse to see a tall man and a small girl facing each other.


    The girl was there missing member while the man was unknown to them. Rias couldn''t feel any power emanating from him but knew that he was definitely of the supernatural due to the extreme sense of extreme danger she felt when she stared at him. She couldn''t quite measure his threat but knew she was no match for him so she could only try and act brave and hope her family name could deter him.


    The man turned to face her after she spoke, seeing his face she could further confirm that he was definitely not a normal human, ''No normal human can be that handsome!''.


    "You do not yet need to know my name", Alex said, looking at the red-haired beauty he couldn''t help but exclaim in his mind at how she had grown, last time he saw her she was about knee-high.


    "What do you mean?", Rias asked cautiously as she kept her guard up.


    "Like I said you do not yet need to know, now shall we start out battle", Alex said as he tapped his foot on the ground causing an imperceptible energy wave scanned across the entire school grounds.


    [False Reality]


    "What are you talking about, we have never seen you before nor offended you, why do you want to attack us?" Rias asked as she started to get mad, she couldn''t understand this man named Alex''s thoughts.


    Alex placed his hands in his pockets as he smiled slightly at Rias and her group, Tosca having already circled him to join the rest. "I think you are mistaken dear princess, this won''t be a fight," his smile suddenly turned cruel as his purple eyes started to glow, "It will be a slaughter".


    Rias''s senses suddenly went into overdrive as she sensed the danger she and her group was in. "Get ready!", she shouted.


    A blond-haired boy standing at her left created a demonic sword in his hand before charging at Alex with great speed, using all his might to stab at him. The girl to her right who had black hair started rising into the sky as clouds started gathering in the sky. The petite white-haired girl also charged forward but her speed was obviously slower than the blond-haired boy''s. RIas started gathering energy her powers to cast her destruction powers at full force.


    Before the boy could react there was already a palm heading towards his head, it looked so slow as Alex pulled his hand from his pocket before attacking, but the boy was frozen in place as the blow struck his head, the shockwave spread through his body destroying his flesh, mashing his organs and grinding his bones to powder, before being carried away by the force. What was left of the boy was a splash of blood spread across the ground.


    " What a foolish knight" Alex shook his head as he passively stared at the boy''s remains.


    Silence rained as Rias and the two others stared at what just happened, their minds unable to process it. Dead! just like that?


    "Kiba!", Reality finally set in as Rias yelled out in anguish bringing the other two out of there daze.


    The petite girl immediately charged forward with tears in her eyes as she yelled, her small fist blasted forward with inhuman strength and slammed into Alex.


    Crunch


    The sound of breaking bones could be heard, but unfortunately, before the rest could become happy the cry of the petite girl could be heard as she shot slamming into the ground causing it to crack, she curled as she held her arm that she used to attack Alex with, it hung limply as the bones broke in the entire arm due to the rebound of hitting him.


    "Koneko!"


    The girl in the sky cried out, she was now wearing a shrine maiden robe, bringing her hands down a magic circle appeared and from it, lightning came down from the clouds towards Alex, but before it could strike him he held out his hand as the lightning slammed into his palm he made a gripping motion and all the lightning was concentrated into his palm.


    "Not bad, but it lacks depth," Alex said and threw the energy back the girl in the sky could barely dodge the attack leaving her right arm burned.


    "DIE!" Rias screamed having finally gathered enough energy she shot out a massive ball of destruction energy towards Alex and with a slap Alex redirected the ball o energy towards the girl in the sky who was caught unprepared, she had yet to recover from the blow she just received and wasn''t expecting Alex to be able so casually slapping aside a literal ball of destruction. It''s not worth mentioning she died with many regrets.


    Rias''s eyes went wide, "No!" she said as she slumped down to her knees tears streaming from her eyes as she watches her best friend die from her attack.


    Alex slowly walked towards Rias as he passed the petite girl he gave her a glance causing a small spark of purple flame to come from his pupil, the girl didn''t even feel a thing before she turned into ash.


    "I told you this will be a slaughter, let this be a lesson to you," Alex said as he stood in front of the Rias. She looked up at him her eyes held only despair, they lost and it will cost them there lives.


    With another purple spark, the redhead too turned to ash. Leaving Alex standing alone on the school grounds.


    "Well I think this is enough," he said tapping the ground with his foot again causing an imperceptible energy to once again spread from there, everywhere it went any damage done to the place was restored and as it went over the aria were Rias and her peerage stood before the battle there unconscious body''s appeared there.


    The red head''s eyes quivered as they slowly opened, then she suddenly sat up and looked around, her eyes started tearing up when she saw the rest of her peerage lying next to her alive.


    "Akeno, Koneko, Kiba!"

 78 Chapter 78: Wake Up Call

    The other three quickly woke up one after the other and also hugged each other, within there bliss and celebration of being alive a cold voice came from the side making the fine hair all over there body stand on end.


    "Quite a relaxed group arent you, celebrating while your enemy is still standing nearby"


    The group quickly got up while simultaneously retreating, their faces contorted into an unprecedented fear towards man... no monster standing opposite them.


    "P-p-please don''t....", Rias said beggingly while also standing in front of her peerage as if to protect them.


    Alex saw the clear fear and dread on there faces, there was no longer a reason to continue with this charade, he sighed then took a deep breath.


    "Relax kids, I won''t hurt you"


    "..."


    It was clear that the group didn''t believe him, their bodies were tens and they shivered in his presence. Alex couldn''t blame them, what he showed them was just too real, not only could they make use of all their abilities he could as well, it was as if it all really happened and their deaths definitely didn''t feel fake.


    They could still feel what they felt before there deaths, that feeling of dread complete helplessness of a child facing a god, and then that cold abyss when they died, eternally dark and eternally tormenting their souls.


    Scratching the back of his head Alex was in an awkward position, ''I might have overdone it'', he thought as he watched the shivering teenagers.


    "If I had wanted to kill you do you think you would still be standing there shivering like that, you experienced it yourself what it is like fighting me. Now I merely made you fight me in an illusion, a dream escapes if you would call it."


    Silence roamed as Rias and her peerage took in what was said, mustering her courage Rias finally spoke.


    "Why would you do that, what was the point?" she asked by the tone of her voice Alex could clearly tell although she was still afraid of him she resented him even more now that she knew he wouldn''t harm her.


    "To show you how weak you are, wats the point of your pathetic status of the little sister of one of the four great satans when you are this weak, do you really think there are no beings in this world that don''t give a shit about your brother."


    Rias was stumped, it was true that she was weak, but she still thought that her rank as a high-class devil and being the sister of the current great satan king Lucifer, who would be mad enough to put her to death.


    "You say that but aren''t you just the same, do you dare kill me?" Rias asked mockingly as she finally regained her confidence. Alex didn''t kill her and she could see no reason for this other than hi being wary of her brother.


    "Rias"


    Her peerage yelled and quickly approached wanting to help her. But they were suddenly frozen in place they could only watch and listen but not move as their bodies refused to listen to them.


    "Do you really think I won''t kill you, you are nothing but a spoiled little brat, having been raised with a golden spoon in your life you waste away all the opportunity''s you have been given." Alex said without emotion.


    The entire group was now again scared to death and just as they were wondering what was going to happen now evrything returned to normal. Rias felt the pressure wear off from her and she slowly stood up, her hair was messy and her school uniform was rumpled.


    Rias didn''t dare speak all her courage was gone with the wind, she didn''t even dare hate Alex anymore.


    Alex stared at her for a good moment before his expression softened and he spoke gently, "I want you and your entire group to learn from this experience, train and become stronger, I am not saying do not enjoy your youth just don''t waste it..." then he said sorrowfully"... Dark times lay ahead for this world", after leaving those world Alex disappeared from in front of the group, leaving them at a loss for what just happened. Rias quickly chose to contact her brother and Sona from house Sitri who could in turn contact her sister"


    Meanwhile, Alex chose to go back home, there was no longer any reason for him to stay out, he had thought of doing the same thing to Sona''s group but then after a while though it was unnecessary, no matter what happened she was a smart girl after all.


    Stepping into the house Alex could hear the giggling of the girls, ''Oh Miki is also here?'' Alex stepped into the living room to see Tosca, Aura, and Miki (Issei''s mom) gossiping while enjoying freshly brewed tea and some cakes.


    "Hi", Alex said as he gave half a wave at the group.


    "Alex! I was wondering when you''d show up, I was just discussing the dance with Tosca and Aura, I still can''t believe that good for nothing son of mine got himself a date for the dance." Miki said sipping her tea contently afterward.


    "Well miracles do happen, well if you ladies would excuse me I will be turning in for the night, goodnight," Alex said before walking out as the girls bid him goodnight.


    ''The days are coming closer, it seems that I will have to hurry with my plan at making the world know about the Order Of Samsara, but what would be the best way to do this, the amulets worked but that way is not really achieving anything, there should be something...''


    With those thoughts, Alex closed his eyes hoping he would be able to have a night without visitors for once.

 79 Chapter 79: Clue To Finding A Dragon

    Opening the tap, he let the boiling hot water, fall upon his shoulders. It used to be one of his favorite things in the world feeling the hot water pour down on his shoulders and flow down his body as if taking all his worries and fatigue with it.


    After finishing his thirty-minute shower, he went downstairs to get himself a cup of coffee. Arriving in the kitchen he saw Aura still in her nightdress busy making breakfast while a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee stood at the corner of the kitchen table waiting for him.


    "Mourning", Alex said picking up the cup and taking a sip, sighing afterward in contentment.


    "Morning Master, sleep well?", Aura asked happily as she scrambled some eggs.


    "Not bad, where''s Tosca?"


    "Still sleeping, we stayed up late yesterday night"


    "Ok", Alex left the kitchen and went to sit at the dining table, waiting for his breakfast to be served.


    Waiting for his breakfast Alex enjoyed his coffee while thinking about what he could do throughout the day to keep himself busy. He thought about the previous night when he confronted Rias and her peerage.


    ''I might have been a bit hard on them, they are only kids after all. I just hope this will scare the laziness out of that redhead so that she could more easily tackle the obstacles ahead. I don''t want to involve myself in every little squabble of there''s, but I also don''t want to watch from the sidelines like those good for nothing devil kings and other heads of the three factions. Who the hell sends children to fight their fights.''


    "Here you are Master"


    Alex watched the plate of scrambled eggs sausage and bacon that Aura placed in front of him, he was no gourmet of the culinary arts but even he knew that the food would taste delicious just by looking at it and smelling the aroma it gave of.


    "Thankyou Aura, it looks delicious", after saying his thanks Alex dug in, enjoying his food while Aura watched from the side her smiling growing larger as she saw how much Alex enjoyed her Cooking.


    Alex just finished his breakfast when Tosca stumbled into the dining room and took her seat next to Alex, Aura left for the kitchen and soon returned with another plate with the same contents as Alex''s as well as another cup of coffee. She placed it in front of Tosca, who thanked her before starting with her breakfast.


    After Breakfast Alex decided to enjoy some reading on the balcony.


    ...


    Sitting at a desk with loads of documents piled all over it, a crimson-haired man sat going through reports. With each report read his frown became deeper and deeper. With a hopeless sigh, he asked,


    "Just who are you?"


    Being the current Lucifer and head of the underworld he did not think anyone would be so bold as to attack his little sister, events proofed him wrong, at first, he thought of bringing her back from the human world but she protested and even threatened him so, in the end, he could only comply with her wishes.


    Still, this event bothered him greatly so he sends a few devils to scour the whole of Kuoh town, in the end he found nothing other than a few stray devils. Just where had this person come from? What were his intentions? It felt so frustrating not being able to just blow away his troubles with a bit of magic, not only didi he not know where this hidden foe was, he didn''t even know how strong he was.


    He thought about having Rias and her peerage give details of how he looked, but when they tried to recall they all came up with a different appearance, Akeno even said it was a woman and not a man, this left Sirzechs, currently the most powerful devil alive, helpless.


    "Grayfia", he said listlessly


    "Yes", spoke the silver-haired beauty in maids dress.


    "What are your thoughts about this mysterious perpetrator"


    Thinking for a while Grayfia replied, "He is a powerful individual, but it seems that he might have some sort of relationship with Rias or someone close to her or else there would be no reason for him to say the words he did."


    "Mhhh", Sirzechs hummed in agreement, he had similar thoughts but having someone thinking the same thing helped solidify his conjectures.


    "Have everyone return, there is no need for further investigation"


    "As you Command", Grayfia bowed a little before contacting the scouts sent out to scour Kuoh and having them return.


    Taking a new set of documents from the neverending pile, Sirzechs gave another hopeless sigh, but for a different reason this time, staring at the never-ending piles of paperwork he felt his heart constrict, he even took a peek at Grayfia who was standing nearby.


    Everyone thought that she was staying by his side to help him as his Queen and wife but the truth was she was watching over him to make sure he did his job properly, even trying to cheat just a little would be responded with severe force. Sirzechs had luckily gotten used to getting beaten by her, whether it was a good thing or not he didn''t know but at least he was hardier than most men.


    Reading what stood on the cover of the new document he just got, it was a rather thick intelligence report its title, "Intelligence concerning an organization known as Samsara.", Sefrzechs eyes shined in curiosity. Turning the page he started reading it but soon lost interest as the whole first page was the agent explaining that most of the report was made up of multiple conjectures based on Information he had gained and could thus not be confirmed.


    "Why would you even submit it then!", he burst out in rage, but soon calmed down and continued reading. Sirzechts was literally about to explode when he read some of the conjectures the agent came up with but froze when he read the last page, "Members confirmed to be part of Samsara", but that was not what really shocked Sirezechs it was the first name written on the page.


    "Mournomon..."

 Chapter 80 - 80: I Fucked Up

    Tosca had long since prepared what she was going to were but Aura was different since she never expected to go, she only heard about this particular change today and it drove her to the brink of insanity.


    "Which one...which one" Aura spoke frantically as she went through all the dresses she had bought in Kuoh time and the massive mountain of dresses Alex dumped in her room which he had kept during his past lives. Normally Aura would be very touched by this but right now she had ore important matters to attend to, Lambert was going to the dance and she would most likely be, no she would be his dance partner, she had to look perfect.


    Meanwhile sitting relaxed in his room Alex casually went through all the different kinds of formal wear he had accumulated. Even though these things were a bit outdated compared to modern-day suits each one of them was a masterpiece created by the greatest of artisans to ever exist at that time in that world. Who would ever let an Elven Prince wear rags or give a Grand Paladin peasant clothes, even if they enjoyed wearing those?


    "Ah. found you", Alex said as he stood up, his body slowly started taking on a larger size his muscles expanding and many intricate scars started appearing all over his body. Lambert stood there in all his majesty in the torn clothes that couldn''t take the sudden increase in volume.


    With a slight tug from his hand, he tore off what was left of his clothes leaving him naked. Reaching into his dimensional storage he pulled out an intricately created suit, It looked a lot like the late Baroque costume of noblemen during the seventeen hundreds. Not only was this suit beautifully made but the materials used in it ensured that even a missile wouldn''t be able to damage it.


    Lambert got dressed and then looked at himself in the mirror, ''Not bad'', he thought.


    Stepping out of his room Lambert caught sight of Tosca just coming out of her room dressed in her white one-piece dress, her hair braided into twin tails with the hairclip he gave her keeping the hair out of her face.


    Tosca also saw Lambert and she was dazzled by what he was wearing, together with his shoulder-length hair and beard he looked quite dashing.


    "Granpa looks so dashing", Tosca giggled while keeping with the front of calling Lambert her grandpa.


    "You look magnificent"


    Tosca blushed at his words, feeling the warm feeling in her heart as she looked at Lambert.


    "Beautiful", Lambert said contently, while cursing himself inside, ''You really have to start working on your compliments you uncivilized barbarian''.


    Aura was of course delighted by his compliment, no matter how crude his words were each word he spoke was spoken from the heart and that was all that mattered to her.


    ''Well let''s get going it''s already pretty late and we still have to pick up that boy." Lambert said as he left the house followed closely by Aura and Tosca. Making sure no one was looking Lambert swung out his hand which held a scroll and a shocking Pink beetle was summoned.


    Tosca looked at the beetle in curiosity, "Grandpa, did you make some changes to it?" She asked as she looked at the exhaust pipes that crept up on both sides of the beetle, there were three on each side.


    "Yes, I added those beauties you are looking at at the moment, I also totally refitted the engine so that it no longer runs on fuel but concentrated fire essence that is ignited when it comes into contact with concentrated wind elements, that is the driving force behind the engine that moves the pistons. As lubricant I used a slime instead of oil, the slime''s core is inside the engine thus it will keep producing more slime as long as there is the element''s in the air, I also readjusted the cooling turbine by enchanting it with a wind and ice enchantment to make sure no matter what this engine will never overheat.


    "Ok", Tosca said pretending to understand what he just said.


    Lambert not having a reason to explain his masterwork any further walked towards the Hyoudo residence with Aura and Tosca following.


    *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*


    Lambert knocked on the door, he didn''t even have to wait long when he heard the sound of hurried footsteps and Issei running towards the door.


    "Coming!"


    Lambert could hear the excitement in the boy''s voice, ''You better be exited, it''s not every day you get to take my little girl to a dance'', he thought.


    The door was swung open by Issei, his exited eyes were met with the stomach of someone. Isei was confused for a moment as he started looking up. His neck kept making him look up as his lower jaw started falling lower, until he finally reached Lambert''s face, coming into contact with those blue eyes that were currently staring down at him.


    Issei at this moment felt very small, he wanted to just slam the door shut but that would be rude and might anger the monstrosity in front of him.


    Just as he was searching for a solution a familiar face popped out from behind the giant of a man, it was Tosca. ''I''m saved!'', Issei thought as he saw her, but soon his eyes glazed over when he saw what she was wearing, her smile and those cute two dimples on her cheeks.


    "Hi, Issei!", Tosca said smilingly.


    "Uh-huh," Issei absentmindedly said as he kept staring at her.


    "Issei!", Seeing Issei state Tosca couldn''t help but call ou to him which brought him back to reality and also made him see that the giant was now glaring at him.


    "Um...Hi, Tosca who''s this", Issei asked.


    "Oh this is my grandpa", Tosca said brightly, but unbeknownst to her words were like purgatory to Issei as he slowly turned his head towards Lambert, who was still staring at him as if a wolf staring at its prey.


    He knew then that he Fucked up.

 Chapter 81 - 81: Revamped Beetle

    Lambert stared at Issei for a good while before stretching out his hand, closed his eyes waiting for death. After a while, he opened his eyes as he didn''t feel the expected pain he thought he would.


    "Lambert", Lambert said as his hand was outstretched in greeting.


    Issei was at a loss for what to do for a moment before he quickly grabbed Lambert''s hand with his own, "Issei Hyoudou, NIce to meet you", he said with courageously.


    ''Oh my god his hand is at least three times the size of mine and why does it feel like I''m being gripped by steel instead of flesh and blood.'' Issei thought frantically while trying to hide the pain he was currently feeling in his hand.


    Lambert let go of Issei''s hand after they greeted each other with a handshake, causing Issei to heave a sigh of relief. Hiding the hand behind his back he opened and closed it to relieve some of the pain.


    "Your mum and dad home, I would like to greet them before we go"


    "They''re not home, dad thought it would be a good opportunity for the two of them to go out for dinner"


    "Alright then, let''s go, oh, and don''t forget to lock the door," Lambert said as he headed towards his car. It was at this moment that Issei saw Aura in her dress, he was stunned by her beauty, but his thoughts immediately dissipated when he felt a cold pair of eyes lock on to him, he didn''t even need to check to know who those eyes belonged to.


    After giving Alex a good death stare, Lambert opened the beetle''s door and pushed forward the seat so that Aura and Tosca could get into the back. Tosca climbed in immediately while Aura followed suit.


    Issei was looking at this scene with a weird expression on his face, while Lambert got into the car. '' What in the world is this little thing supposed to be, if you going to take us somewhere at least drive something... bigger'', Issei couldn''t say better since beetles were good cars but for someone to go to a dance with it just seemed weird to him and he would have rather walked instead of driving in...that.


    ''Let''s just hope it doesn''t break down before we get to the dance'', Issei thought as he got into the car. Even though the exhausts at the side of the beetle looked cool he didn''t hold much hope for the car. Suprise immediately hit him when he sat inside, not only were the seats beyond comfortable, the dash didn''t look anything like an old car like a beetle should have as almost evrything inside was digitized.


    Taking out his key''s Lambert inserted one of them into the ignition and switched on the car, causing evrything on the dash to suddenly light up, the once empty speedometer in front of him was now showing him all the information one would want in the car, there was also some texted currently on the screen.


    <Booting>


    <Scanning for Porblems: 17%...65%...100%>


    <No problems detected>


    <Boot successful, vehicle running at 100%>


    Twisting his key''s one more time Lambert started it, and with a weird exploding sound the engine started, roaring like an enraged demon god. Issei almost jumped through the roof when the car started, not expecting such a powerful sound coming from this little dinky-toy.


    "Please buckle your seatbelts", Lambert said as he switched the car into first gear, his passengers quickly putting on their seatbelts, and with only the release of the clutch, the pink monstrosity pulled away with such force that it pushed everyone into there seats.


    Without even needing to put his foot on the gas pedal, the beetle had already reached forty sixty kilometers per hour. Lambert only needed to steer the car and use a bit of clutch control to drive in town.


    Through the Journey Issei relaxed as he looked around from inside the car, luckily the windows were tinted so nobody could see him inside this car, although its performance was much better than he thought it would be, it still didn''t look like something wanted to be caught riding in. When his thoughts reached this point he immediately felt his stomach turn over at the thought of getting out of this car in front of everybody. This was the end, he would lose that last bit of coolness he NEVER had tonight.


    "Uncle Lambert",


    "Mhhh"


    "Can you, maybe drop us off a block away from the school, then we can wall..."


    "No"


    "But-"


    "No, buts, everybody is going to see us get out of this car, you aren''t going to lose your image don''t worry"


    ''Of curse, two beautiful goddesses are getting ut of this car plus a buff bodybuilding old-man, I''m not going to lose anything in fact I might even become popular.'' Issei though.


    "Your right let''s just get off in front of the school, I won''t lose anything," Issei said happily as he was now anticipating everybody''s faces especially his two best friends, Matsuda and Motohama''s reaction when they see the two hot girls he was driving in the same car as.


    "Your right you won''t lose anything, one can not lose one''s image if they never had one, to begin with", Lambert said, causing Issei to clutch his heart in pain from those cruel words.


    The two girls in the back were enjoying the conversation between Lambert and Issei and Aura burst out with laughter when she heard Lambert''s jab and Issei. Which caused Issei to hide his face in embarrassment.


    Tosca also giggled for a bit, but when she saw Issei feeling ashamed she couldn''t help but chide Lambert.


    "That wasn''t very nice Grandpa", she said with a mad look or an as mad look as she could possibly show when she faced him, which looked more like a cute pout than anything else.


    "Ahh fine, Issei, don''t worry too much, at the very least none of us in this car think too badly of you", Lambert smiled at the boy with a kind face as he spouted bullshit as if it was an art.


    The drive wasn''t too long and they quickly reached Kuoh academy, there were lights all along with the entrance gate with a security guard checking people that came in. The entire school was alight and one could hear laughter and music inside.


    In front of these gates a Shocking pink beetle, that roared with power stopped causing everyone within earshot to look at it with shocked expressions.


    As everyone wonder who would come out, Lambert suddenly pushed the gas down to the bottom while the car was in neutral. Small vents at the back of the car opened su?k?n? in a huge amount of air into the turbo as it compressed the air so much that it turned into pure air elements, and shot it into the sleeves of each piston where fire elements waited for it to cause a massive explosion to drive the pistons.


    The engine roared in fury as fire spit out from the back of the exhaust causing people to gasp in shock, Lambert released the peddle and pressed it down again, making the car sound like it was a beast roaring into the sky.


    With a smile, Lambert spoke to his passengers, "Now we can get out"

 Chapter 82 - 82: The Dance (1)

    "Granpa! You''re causing a scene", Tosca said in a panic as she saw more people gather to have a look at what was going on.


    " Oh, my bad" Lambert said cheerfully, Tosca didn''t know whether to laugh or to cry at Lambert''s apology as he didn''t even try to mean it, be it the words he spoke or the tone he used.


    "Well enough waiting", Lambert spoke as he opened the door, stepping out of the pink beetle, his appearance caused many people to make weird expressions as they watched this massive man get out of that tiny car. Issei was quick to follow as he too got out of the car, but he didn''t gain any attention as everybody was looking at Lambert.


    Following the two men, Tosca and Aura got out of the Beetle, their appearance stunned the crowd, two peerless beauties got out of that little car, the way they carried themselves was different be it the haughty but strangely gentle Aura, or the kind and innocent Tosca they stole on that night the hearts of many men and even some women.


    Lambert smiled as he saw everyone''s attention being diverted to the girls, it was only natural, although Lambert was a large and muscular man with many scars covering his body, he had almost no presence. He gave the feeling of being no different than any other normal man.


    Having given the two girls some time in the spotlight Lambert approached Aura and held his hand out to her, a gentle smile covered his face as he looked at her. Aura felt her heart pounding incredibly quickly at the time, with a light blush creeping up her neck.


    Aura slowly stretched out her hand and interlocked her arm with Lamberts so that he could lead her as they walked towards the school entrance. Isei was quick on the uptake and made the same gesture towards Tosca but with a bit more awkward smile on his face. Tosca laughed as she interlocked her arm with his while having him lead her, walking behind Lambert and Aura.


    They walked up to the school gate where they were given a form to check in to before being let in. Lambert held himself with dignity and grace as he stepped forward, each of his steps were even, his breathing steady and his gaze calm. Aura by his side leaned against him as they walked, keeping with his pace, each step having her waste sway into it giving some young men high blood pressure as they watched her.


    A certain someone that was walking behind Aura had a front road seat of her hip swaying action, causing his face to be blood red with a great threat of nasal leading happening, Tosca walking beside him could only shake her head as she watched him get bedevilled by Aura. Luckily she had a secret weapon and a single pinch to Issei''s mid-second brought him out of his daze like the a greater dispel magic spell.


    "Behave...", she whispered into his ear causing his blood pressure to go up again as he felt her breath on his ear, "...or grandpa will kill you".


    Cold, that is what Issei was currently feeling, his hot feelings of looking at Aura''s swaying ?ss while having Tosca whisper into his ears was gone like your money near the end of the month, the last part of Tosca''s sentence held no intent to them but just the image of Lambert punching him was enough for him to destroy all perverted thoughts he had.


    Just the thought, that massive palm of Lambert swinging into his face, killing him like swatting a fly, the scene of his gravestone erected over a grassy plane, written on it, '' Here lies Issei Hyoudo, killed by double D''s, death now takes him forever just like his V-card''.


    With those thought''s Issei''s mind cooled down immediately if only for this night, he will be an absolute gentleman...No, he shall be like a saint, too pure to have any filthy thoughts.


    Unfortunately, after having declared his sainthood he saw a girl with blood-red hair and a pink dress that suited her perfectly. Then his eye''s wandered to a specific place and he couldn''t help but swallow, ''Huge!.... so beutifu... ah fu?k Issei you did it again you ?sshole''.


    Lambert was sitting at a table with Aura while enjoying some punch, looking at the kids and they''re parents enjoying there time dancing, talking eating and just having a great time.


    "It''s nice", He said, Aura gave evrything a look over before nodding her head. "It is, it''s been a long time since we went to a celebration of any kind."


    "Yeah, ha, look at Tosca", Lambert said as he pointed to were Issei was dancing with Tosca, It would seem that she had two left feet and didn''t know how to dance while Issei, well he was no expert but at least he faired better than Tosca.


    "It would seem that she is having a bit of trouble," Aura said as she smiled, "Oh, it would seem there is a certain redheaded girl that keeps looking at Issei, cold she has a crush on him or something", Aura pondered as she kept seeing the redheaded girl taking secretive glances at Issei.


    "No, she might just have discovered his potential, thus trying to induct him", Lambert said with a knowing smile.


    "Induct?", Aura asked in confusion.


    "Yes, High-Ranked devils like that redheaded girl have a group under her called the peerage, which works almost like ?h?st pieces with her being the king, see that other girl next to her with the overly large br??sts and long black hair, that should be her queen, the blond gay looking guy should be her knight with the petite emotionless girl being a rook."


    "I see, wait! Master my br??sts are around the same size as hers...does that mean you think that...that...", Aura felt a bit morbid at the moment.


    Lambert saw things quickly going downhill so he thought of something to get her mind off things. "Hey, Aura care for a dance?"

 Chapter 83 - 83: The Dance (2)

    With an outstretched hand Lambert asked for a dance, he put on a dashing smile as he looked into Aura''s eyes. Even with the thousands of scars marring his face and body it could not hide the charisma Lambert had that was so deeply ingrained into his bones.


    Aura was stunned, she would normally be very excited or be red-faced out of embarrassment, but this time she was stunned. Memories of how Lambert use to take her to balls so many years in the past came to her, he would ask her to dance with him even before she formed her physical body.


    Aura took Lambert''s hand, and he guided her to the dance floor where they started moving to the rhythm of the music. The song was peaceful, Lambert had no idea what was playing but he enjoyed it as he led Aura across the floor with grace.


    Not far from where Lambert and Aura were dancing a certain redhead was also enjoying the ball, talking to her friends rejecting dance invites from all most every male student in highschool and sneakily taking peeks at Issei who was still dancing with Tosca.


    "My, my who has caught our residence eyes?", a certain black haired girl asked as she leaned against the red-haired girl.


    "Don''t tell me you don''t sense it Akeno, that boy has something special in him?", the redhead replied.


    "You mean that little bit of aura in his body", Akeno said as she put her index finger to her lips, giving the redhead a questioning gaze.


    "I believe it is a sacred gear, I have been keeping an eye on him for a long time, his name is Issei Hyoudou, if you were to term him by human standards he is very average except for his tendency to be a bit, peculiar around girls"


    "Oh, so will you be trying to take him in", Akeno asked as she looked at Issei seriously, but the person next to Issei caused her to gasp. "Look at the girl dancing with him"


    The redhead sighed, "I know, the problem is we won''t be able to get her."


    "Oh, has she already been claimed, I don''t think she''s a devil. What is stopping our great president Rias Gremory?" Akeno asked in a taunting voice.


    Rias frowned, "You see that those two over there", Rias gestured towards a buff old man dancing with a beautiful woman.


    Akeno looked at the two for a moment, she quickly past her gaze over the old man since he felt like just any other ordinary man if but a bit buff, but she froze when she looked at the woman, there was a deep sense of crises when she looked at Aura, and she could even feel the massive amounts of light energy int the woman.


    "It can''t be, is that woman and angel, but they wouldn''t break the treaty and come to devil territory", Akeno mused, she was no longer playful.


    Rias sighed as she looked at the dancing duo, "Yes the woman is strong but what is actually stopping me is the old man".


    "What?", Akeno asked in shock.


    "Mhhh, he feels strange, but I don''t know how", A petite girl that was standing next to Akeno spoke in a monotone voice.


    Rias nodded, "Yes, he is the reason I don''t dare try and approach that girl as well, it seems she is a part of his family, and by all accounts from what I have heard he is strong, though to tell the truth I don''t know how strong or what strength he has."


    "So how do you know this president?", Asked a blond-haired boy, he has been staring at Tosca for a while now, she felt oddly familiar to him, he just couldn''t put his finger on it.


    "My brother, he told me about the appearance of this old man, and said to not provoke him if I ever see him, it was in one of those lessons he gave me about the powerful figures of this world. Apparently, he is one of the four leaders of some powerful, yet strangely obscure group known as samsara."


    "What do you mean obscure?", Kiba asked.


    Rias thought for a moment before answering, "Well, there is little known about the group, we don''t know their numbers, we don''t know the true strength of there leaders, we don''t know how the fourth leader looks and we don''t know where they are based."


    "We know nothing", the petite girl summarised Rias''s sentence.


    "Do we at least know what kind of person he is", Kiba asked, still staring at Tosca, he had a knawing feeling that he knew her he just couldn''t remember.


    "Well from what my brother said, his name is Lambert and he uses light energy..." the group frowned when they heard her speak about using light energy, it was only natural since they as devils had an innate weakness to light.


    "..., my brother also said that from what reports could tell he doesn''t hate devils nor is he affiliated with the church and he had even opposed the church to protect a devil and a human."


    "Ah!..."


    "What?!"


    "Cool"


    Everybody had different reactions and the petite girl even praised Lambert, they couldn''t believe that this man that was used light energy would protect a devil from the church.


    "Yes, do you remember the incident with the previous caretaker of Kuoh town?" Rias asked. The group nodded.


    "Well since Cleria Belial fell in love with a human and even shared some secrets with him while the human also did the same, both factions turned against them and they would have been killed if it wasn''t for Samsara. I don''t know the details exactly but from what my brother said and other reports, there were a total of two of samsara''s leaders there during there rescue."


    "I wonder how those two could have gained their help", Kiba said, his eye''s finally drawn to Lambert.


    Rias sighed, "I do too", she said as she, ''If I knew that I might be able to see him again'', she thought as she vaguely remembered a giant of a figure with a pair of large majestic horns, but had a soft heart and would always play with her and Sona when they were children.


    Rias stared into the distance, wondering if she would ever be able to see him again.

 Chapter 84 - 84: The Dance (End)

    "Here you go", Lambert handed Aura a glass of punch after they finished their dance.


    Aura thanked him and took a sip of the punch. Looking out at the group of kids dancing she enjoyed the music and the drinks. Lambert was reclining back in his seat looking like a tired old man he smiled as he watched Tosca and Issei talk with other kids, almost throwing a table at Issei when he saw the boy introduce him to his two best friends, who were all too happy to trie and get to know her.


    In the end, he let it go while chanting a calming mantra to himself, ''You will get him later...You will get him later...You will get him later...You will get him later...''


    "Good evening", a voice drew the focused Lamberts attention somewhere else, standing next to him was a well dressed young man with long crimson red hair, he had a polite smile on his face as he gave Lambert a small bow.


    "Forgive me for interrupting your evening, my name is...", the red-haired man was suddenly interrupted by Lambert, "Sirzects Lucifer, current Devil king, right?".


    Sirzects closed his mouth and smiled at Lambert even though he was frowning on the inside, "As expected of one of the four Lords of Samsara, Lambert"


    "That is Sir Lambert to you Devil!", Aura snapped, having her mood fouled by the interruption and by a creature of darkness no less, which irritated her without halt, the only reason she didn''t duke it out right here, right now was because of Lambert....and probably the people in the surroundings.


    "Aura, behave! I apologize Mr, Sirzects, she can be quite temperamental sometimes", Lambert said. Sirzects was taken aback when Aura verbally ?ssaulted him, but he quickly recovered. "No, It is I that should apologize, I have ruined the fair lady''s mood and for that, I am deeply sorry", Sizects bowed towards Aura to which she simply turned her head with a ''Humph!''.


    ''What the heck, at least show some courtesy!'', Sirzects yelled in his mind but in reality, he just smiled and turned his attention back to Lambert.


    "Well, I''m sure you didn''t just come here to greet me now did you?", Lambert said crossing his arms as he stared at the Devil King.


    "Ah, no. I was wondering what you were doing here Sir, Lambert, this is devil territory after all."


    "Oh, well currently I am enjoying a rather fun event, but if you mean in the long run...I live here"


    "I see, then I have no further questions for you, if you would, I would like to invite Sir, Lambert to tea some times."


    "It would be an honor", Lambert said.


    "You can smile again he''s gone", Lambert joked.


    Aura of course didn''t find it funny, "I don''t understand how you can tolerate them, Master, everytime I see a Devil I want nothing more than to exterminate it, even Cleria, I had to do my best not to outright attack her, every moment I was in her presence I felt uncomfortable like an ant that ket crawling over my body, do not misunderstand Master, I do not dislike Cleria, in fact, I think she is a wonderful person but even so I just couldn''t help feeling so", Aura said sadly.


    Lambert sighed, "It''s to be expected, as a light elemental you are naturally averse to anything that contains darkness, this is even stronger than the aversion angels have of Devils since the two were born with fleshly bodies and the energies are only within them. You on the other hand are made out of pure light energy, be it your power, your body, or even your soul. Light''s natural opposite is of course darkness, although devils do not use dark energy in its purest form even that small amount of darkness that they have is enough to make you have a prejudice against them."


    Aura just nodded with her head bowed low, "I think I will be heading home now, Master", Aura said as she stood up. Having Sirzects come so close to them had really put her in a bad mood, she could still handle Cleria and the other little devils around them, but Sirzects was different, he was powerful even to her standards and she had to put a lot more effort in controlling herself against instinctually attacking him.


    "Ok, I will go and tell Tosca.", Lambert said as he moved to stand up but Aura shook her head.


    "No, don''t ruin her night because of me, I will head back by myself"


    "But the night wouldn''t be the same if you didn''t join us", Lambert interjected, causing Aura to smile at him.


    "So Master thinks it''s important that I am here", Aura said her mood brightened a bit.


    "Of course and that is why if you want to go, we can all go together", Lambert said then raised his hand towards Tosca, "Tosca!", he called lightly but she heard him even from across the noisy hall, excusing herself she skipped towards Lambert with a happy smile on her face.


    "Grandpa!", she yelled as she grabbed onto Lambert''s neck and hugged him.


    "Now, now. Enjoying the night are we?", Lambert said, as he gently pulled Tosca off of himself.


    "Yes", she said nodding her head. "I danced with Issei, and he introduced me to his friends and oh, there were a lot of other people that came talking to me too, but...", after reaching the last point Tosca''s excitement died down a bit.


    "What is wrong?", Lambert asked a bit concerned.


    "Well some of the people that talked to me said some bad things about Issei and that I should stay away from him and his two friends", Tosca said.


    Lambert almost jumped into the air and started dancing when he heard that, ''Thank you who ever you are thank you!'', he yelled in his mind.


    "Well, everyone has there own opinion, I''m sure they are only saying what they think is best for you, whether they are RIGHT or wrong", Lambert said while choosing his words carefully.


    "Yes I understand", Tosca nodded.


    "Good, now the reason I called you over is that we''re going home, go and grab Issei and let''s go."


    Tosca sighed a bit disappointed but nodded her head and went to get Issei, ''what a good girl'', Lambert thought, the group made their way back to Lambert''s car and got in.


    "Well, I hope you guy''s enjoyed the evening although it wasn''t short it was shorter than we planned, sorry about that."


    With that Lambert started the car and left Kuoh academy behind, the beetle''s nose picking up as he stepped on the gas.

 Chapter 85 - 85: Wrath Of The Ancient One (1)

    Alex was sitting on his balcony enjoying his morning coffee as he stared at the passing pedestrians. It had been a week since the dance, Tosca and Aura were out today on a shopping trip and Alex could already feel the pain of his money running out of his unlimited budget.


    Even if he had an almost infinite amount of money, enough to destroy the economy of the entire planet, he wasn''t'' a big spender as he liked living normally, a big house was too lonely for only three people, random and expensive decorations in his home was nothing more than useless props to him, he liked having a few things but too much was, well just too much.


    "Ahhh", he breathed out after taking another sip of his gold in a mug, three teaspoons coffee, three sugar, water, and a little bit of milk, just how he liked it, strong sweet and bitter all together.


    "By mom!", Issei came out of his house while saying goodbye to his mother, wearing his school uniform and his bag he made his way towards Kuoh academy. As he was passing by Alex''s house he felt the usual shiver go down his spine and looked up to see Alex in his usual spot drinking coffee.


    "Morning Mr.Alex", Issei said timidly.


    "Morning", Alex replied while giving Issei a friendly smile that made Issei walk even faster than normal.


    Watching Issei walk away Alex took an egg out of his dimensional storage, he found the egg in the tree he was living in when he was stalki... watching over Akeno and her mother, he had it since then and it was rotten to the core as he deactivated his storage space''s time stopping capabilities around the egg. With a flick of his finger, he shot the egg into the sky...


    A few hundred meters away from Alex''s house, Issei finally mellowed his fast pace walking, ''Damn creepy guy, why does he always scare the living shit out of me?'', Issei said as he walked underneath a tree.


    Crack*


    Plop*


    He felt something hit his head from up above and with a cracking sound he felt something wet on his head, he was about to reach out his hand to feel what it was when the stench reached him causing him to scream out loud.


    Taking another sip Alex was enjoying his coffee when he heard someone scream, "What the FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKK!", causing him to smile.


    "Ahhh, music to my ears"


    Alex reclined back in his seat while savoring this moment, ''Sweeet Revenge'', he thought as he remembered back as the little shit introduced his sweet and our Tosca to those vile creeps he calls friends.


    "But this isn''t enough, but no matter I have all the time in the world", Alex said to himself as he smiled widely like Lady Clemintine before she murders someone.


    Finishing his coffee, Alex decided today was the day he was going to go for a walk, he would''ve liked to but unfortunately, he felt that familiar yet irritating calling of one of his summoning talismans.


    "Let''s just think for a while, which one did this talisman belong to, oh! Asfius? The girl wants something annoying again doesn''t she?", Alex sighed before taking not the ancient form of Asfius after he had entered his room.


    ...


    Bang*


    Crack*


    "AHHHHHHHHH!"


    Asfius looked down at a kitsune who was currently holding his fist that was bleeding as he cried out in pain.


    Confused Asfius looked around to see he was in some type of warehouse or large factory building, it was empty inside with nothing but the crying Nekomata and a group of what seemed like ten others.


    "Have I been betrayed?", Asfius wondered, thinking about that sweet little fox girl, he couldn''t bring himself to believe she would ever do anything to harm him her'' uncle Asfius''.


    "Uncle..."


    Asfius heard a squeak behind him, it was so soft almost none existent but he heard it. He recognized that voice and because of that, it sends something he has not felt in eternity going through his brain. ''Panic''


    She was staring at him with tears in her already puffy eyes. ''Pitiful'', that was how she looked, ''Abused'' that is how she looked.


    "Where the fu?k did you come from, no matter we w...."


    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    And that was the last that was ever heard of the broken fist Nekomata, a punch had come his way and connected to his ?h?st causing the world around him to implode out of the blows sheer might and leaving not even a drop of blood left of the kitsune. The ground where he stood was swallowed up with him and the shockwave that was sent out killed half the people behind him in an instant while the other half was halfway to death''s door.


    "SILENCE ANT!!!", A voice boomed out causing the world to shake the building they were into almost get destroyed and killing the rest of the Nekomata that was half a step into their graves due to severe shock.


    Asfius heard fighting happening outside the building and could presume that it was probably Yasaka and her people coming to save the little fox.


    "Kunou", Asfius spoke, his voice at its softest. He kneeled in front of the little Kyuubi, and gently picked her up, cradling her with one of his massive arms against his ?h?st as he gave her a hug.


    "I am here, None shall harm you, Little One", Asfius said as Kunou cried in his arms.


    "What are you imbeciles doing, run already if the process gets rescued our plans will all... who the fu?k are you!?", A Nekomata with a large build ran into the warehouse, and yelled, but was soon stunned by all the blood and bodies, "What the fu?k is going on here".


    He frowned...

 Chapter 86 - 86: Wrath Of The Ancient One (2)

    ''I have to get the little one to safety before anything else'', Asfisu thought as he watched the large built Nekomate. Although he was powerful Asfius greatest weakness was his inability to control any sort of energy, he was a pure physical powerhouse without peers.


    That being said he could annihilate his enemies easily but it would be hard to protect Kunou against the aftershocks, the only reason she was safe from the previous attack was that she was directly behind him so the shockwave was nullified by his body.


    "How dare you!", The Nekomata guy finally realized what was happening and raged as he tried to avenge his fallen comrades by throwing a chakra infused punch at Asfius.


    Asfius was staring at the Nekomata his thoughts revolving around questioning the sanity or intelligence of his enemies since they would just attack without even checking the opponent''s strength, Asfius might be hiding his aura but his very bones radiated with an oppressive ancient air, yet the imbecile in front of him ignored it and attacked like an enraged beast.


    Turning to his side to hide Kunou behind him as he stretched out the hand of the opposite side towards his incoming adversary, his middle finger held back tightly by his thumb.


    "Bang"


    The punch connected with Asfius''s ribs doing absolutely nothing other than destroying that part of his shirt, while the Nekomata man reeled back in pain as he held his broken fist having felt like he struck an immovable object with his not so unstoppable force.


    Yelling in pain he did not raise that Asfius''s hand had so casually made it in front of his head. ''Be quiet'', he heard a voice within his head and then evrything went dark afterward.


    Flick


    The Nekomata''s head exploded the rest of his body picked up and thrown back by the repelling force slamming into the reinforced doors behind him, knocking them cleanly of there hinges while his body slammed into an unlucky brother in arms who at this moment would share his fate in death and probably start beating him up when they meat in the afterlife if there was one. The entire battlefield had stopped due to the commotion they looked towards the warehouse''s entrance with shock.


    Asfius paid no mind to the destruction he caused by his [Less Than A Billionth Power, Lousy Finger Flick Attack] that he just invented and looked at Kunou, seeing her sleeping peacefully he sighed in his mind, ''I didn''t harm her, good''.


    Boom


    Boom


    Boom


    Not minding his strength Afisu started walking out of the warehouse each step making the concrete floor crack and cave. Standing at the entrance to the warehouse, everyone stared at him be they friend or foe.


    "Kunou! Asfius-San!", An aggrieved voice rang out, finding the source Asfius saw a ragged looking Yasaka. Her beautiful face was filled with worry as dark circles hung under her eyes, her hair was a mess, and her robe dirty.


    Having had her daughter kidnapped Yaska had spent the past three days hellbent on finding her, forgoing sleep, or other daily necessities such as eating or bathing. She looked pitifully as she cried tearfully seeing Asfius holding her daughter safe and sound.


    Taking the advantage while his enemies were still in shock Asfius made his way towards Yaska with Kunou firmly held by his left arm. Unfortunately there shock didn''t last long and hallway through they came to.


    "Stop him, or all this would have been for nothing!", a voice yelled out which Asfius presumed was the leader of this mob, but he didn''t have the time to deal with him right now, as a few Nekomata goons had already moved to intercept him.


    "Attack!", Yasaka yelled raising her hands towards her foes and letting them have a taste of her foxfire as she burned them to a crisp within seconds, her subordinates followed closely as they fought the rebel Yokai.


    Asfius ignored all the attacks coming his way as he wrapped both his hands around the sleeping Kunou and inched his back while continuing to walk forward towards Yasaka.


    The attacks landed on his back, head, and the rest of his body one after the other, closely followed by a cry of pain as the Yokai goons never expected to hit something so hard that not even the kinetic energy could go into it and was f?r??b?? rebounded into there hands. Asfius continued trodding on as the goons desperately hounded him with attacks some smarter ones launched ranged attacks on him but they also seemed equally ineffective.


    Some unlucky goons that stood too close as they attacked or were distracted by the pain their hands paid for it by having Asfius ''accidentally'' stomping on their feet, leaving nothing other than a bloody mess.


    Asfius was getting closer and closer to Yasaka and her subordinates, but the closer he got the more desperate the goons and their leader became and the more fanatical they attacked, it wasn''t just them even Yasaka and her subordinates became more and more aggressive as they tried to clear away for Asfius.


    Especially Yasaka, who had tears in her eyes as she watched Asfius being hounded by so many blows, even though they didn''t seem to do any damage, sometimes looks could be deceiving she didn''t know and even though the attackers got injured when they physically attacked him she was unsure if he felt any pain due to the attacks and not to mention the large amount of Youjutsu the Nekomatta were throwing at him designed to deal internal damage.


    She was fighting more desperately than ever, burning these Yokai terrorists like there was no tomorrow, the flames consumed her as she bathed in them while causing massive explosions all over the battlefield frontline.


    She couldn''t believe how many Yokai had turned against her there were thousands of them, she was pretty sure this yokai were not only from Kyoto but from other sanctuary''s as well. Katsuro the rebel leader had gained more subordinates than she could have ever imagined.


    Finally, Asfius made his way towards the front lines leaving the goons at his back, Yasaka was standing in front of him as he stood up, with the small Kunou cradled within his arms.


    "Take her", He said as he pushed Kunou out towards Yasaka who launched forward and hugged her daughter. Asfius turned around blocking the attacks of the Nekomata, ''Leave now'', Yasaka heard Asfius''s voice within her mind and looked up at him with shock.


    "But what about you?"


    Asfius didn''t turn around but pushed his hand out towards an enemy in front of him slamming his palm into the goon''s ?h?st.


    BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM


    A massive explosion erupted as the goon''s body exploded and those behind him within fifty meters died due to the shockwave. Yasaka looked in shock as Asfius just killed give or take and hundred yokai with one attack.


    ''I''ll be fine''

 Chapter 87 - 87: Wrath Of The Ancient One (End)

    ''This has gone on long enough''


    Asfius tore the tattered shirt off of his body, it was already covered in countless holes thanks to all the attacks he received, exposing his perfectly sculptured physique.


    "Who are you, why are you helping them?!", The leader Katsuro asked, walking out from the group of Nekomata he approached Asfius stopping not five meters from the Titan.


    "Just walk away, there is no reason for you to get involved in this.", Katsuro had been observing Asfius, and what he saw caused his poor little heart to cramp up into a seizure. No matter how many times they struck no matter what they did there was not a single mark on the body of this being, not only that but any casual swipe from him would cause droves of his underlings to die.


    Not seeing them winning against this being without incurring massive casualties and thus weakening them to the point of not even being able to put up an ounce of resistance if Yasaka decides to retaliate, Katsuro thought it would be best to go towards the more subtle art of diplomacy.


    "NO", Asfius spoke causing tremors and making the Nekomata goons take a few steps back.


    "Then die!", Katsuro moving through the tremors caused by Asfius''s voice pulled out a ceremonial blade, it''s edge shone with a dangerous gleam. Katsuro was finally showing the full might of an Ultimate class being as his goons couldn''t even see him move before he arrived in front of Asfius the blade heading straight for where Asfius''s heart ought to be.


    Katsuro''s heart was beating wildly, as he could already see his victory coming, he had completely taken this being by surprise and with a single step, it would be its end. He had originally not been so certain in being able to battle Yasaka as even though he too was an ultimate class Yokai or Daiyokai as they called themselves he still fell far from rivaling her in a straight-on confrontation, that was not even considering when she tapped into he almost infinite amount of spiritual power that laid dormant within Kyoto''s leylines.


    The only reason he had finally decided to confront her is that he had happened upon this ceremonial knife, it was uncannily sharp able to cut anything even spiritual energy itself, while also being able to suppress the flow of energy within anything it managed to cut. This was what he was going to use as his trump card to defeat Yasaka, but is seems that he would have to reveal it now much to his regret, but there was no helping his current foe... he had a feeling this being was even more frightening than a Yasaka going all out.


    The knife approached Asfius''s ?h?st and with a thundering sound, it struck his ?h?st.


    The sound of metal hitting metal resounded causing a shockwave to explode from the contact point as its center. The Nekomata all took cover as the shockwave approached them those unlucky enough to get swept by the force either died immediately or were injured to the brink of death.


    Standing up after the force swept by the Nekomata all looked towards the center as the dust slowly settled showing a horrifying scene. Katsuro''s entire body was shivering as he stared wide-eyed at the contact point of his knife and Asfius''s ?h?st. His bloodied hand was holding the knife with all the strength left that he could muster, the tip poking against Asfius''s ?h?st merely made an indent as if he was poking the guy with his finger, there was no blood there was not even the subtle wite mark of a scratch.


    Katsuro''s mind was going into a panic, ''Impossable...Impossable...Impossable...Impossable...Impossable...Impossable...'', the knife he had put so much stock in was useless he couldn''t accept it and as his thoughts were going more erratic a shadow pulled him back to reality.


    Looking up at what was covering the rays of the sun he saw Asfius looming over him, the sun behind his back throwing dark shadows over his face as his right hand was lifted into the sky and was about to decent into like the wrath of the gods.


    "..."


    Katsuro had no time to speak as the hand descended down, the air pressure caused by it''s decent destroyed him before the palm even reached him. The strike landed and the earth trembled.


    BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM


    Yasaka, who was currently waiting three kilometers away from the battle felt the earth under her move followed by a force that pushed her back ten steps, luckily she protected Kunou or the little fox girl might have been seriously hurt.


    "What was that?", One of Yasaka''s subordinates asked as he lifted himself up from the ground spitting out some dirt that he had swallowed when he faceplanted.


    "It was horrible indeed", Riwuccu, the leader of the Karasu-Tengu said as he dusted off his hermit''s cloak while stretching his wings. "Yasaka-Dono, please take the young princess and head towards the palace, we of the Karasu-Tengu will go and scout what happened.", The old hermit yokai said as he spread his wings about to take flight.


    "Wait...", Yasaka said as she was about to stop them but Riwuccu interjected.


    "Forgive me Yasaka-Dono, but we can''t allow you or the princess to further endanger yourself, please leave the area immediately. I do not believe Asfius-Dono to have fallen so easily he might even be the cause of that explosion."


    "Alright, I''ll leave it to you", Yasaka said before teleporting away.


    "It is my honor", Riwuccu said before taking flight with a hundred of his clan''s finest hermit monks.


    ''Please be safe Asfius-Dono'', Riwuccus prayed in his mind, he had met Asfius on many occasions where Kunou ''secretly'' summoned Asfius to read to her or play with her. He could tell that although the titan looked cold and acted without the care he had a heart of the purest gold, in fact, he couldn''t believe his eyes when he saw Asfius strike out and kill those Nekomata, he had never thought that Asfius could actually kill anything with how soft he acted around Kunou.


    The very force that came from Asfius caused shivers to run down Riwuccu''s spine and it reminded him of the time he heard Lambert speak of him, ''Yes, you will find him to be more than capable of helping you in a tight spot.'', were the words Lambert spoke at that time, Riwuccu didn''t hold much stock in this before but now..


    Riwuccu came to a stop, hovering in mid-air he was beholden to a sight that caused his breath to leave his body. A crate of five-hundred meter radius, the surrounding buildings completely destroyed, Asfius was currently waling out of the cater his face as calm as ever.

 Chapter 88 - 88: Yasakas confusion and Yriss Explanation

    "I thank you from the deepest parts of my heart Asfius-san", Yasaka bowed deeply towards Asfius. Had it not been for his intervention things might have gotten a lot more complicated, but now her daughter was safe and there were no casualty''s on her side except for a few injured yokai, but they would be up in walking in no time.


    Asfius nodded his head towards Yasaka, his face expressionless his aura calm, as if he had no cares at all.


    The atmosphere quickly turned awkward as Asfius was, as usual, the silent type while Yasaka didn''t know how to start a conversation with him, even if she wanted to invite him to the palace, while Kunou, the person that got along the best with him was still sleeping in her embrace.


    "cough... well uh, would Asfius-dono wish to join us at the palace, I believe the little princess would like to thank you herself once she awakens." Riwuccu as a more than helpful subordinate quickly saw through what Yasaka wanted and quickly came up with a good excuse, though if it would work he wasn''t so sure, trying to read Asfius was like trying to read another language while only knowing how to speak one and being illiterate.


    Asfius stood still for a long time while keeping everybody around him in suspense, he was like a statue it didn''t even seem like he was breathing, ''wait he''s isn''t breathing'', Yasaka thought as she didn''t see his ?h?st move or any other part of his body for that fact and just as she was about to move closer to check Asfius once again nodded his head towards Riwuccu startling Yasaka into a fluster who was about to put her hand in front of his face to feel for any air coming from his nose.


    "Great let''s go", Riwuccu as trustful as ever redirected everyone''s attention from Yasaka''s blunder. "My Lady", Riwuccu said as he motioned for Yasaka to take the lead while hinting something at her with his eyes.


    "Ah, yes. Please this way Asfius-san", Yasaka said while motioning Asfius to walk next to her while praising RIwuccu in her mind and thinking ''How does a hermit know so much about this sort of stuff?''


    Asfius walked next to Yasaka in silence as they left the abandoned warehouse district while having Yasaka''s subordinates take care of the mess Asfius caused in his last attack.


    ''How convenient'', the titan thought as he saw the yokai quickly get to work removing the debris, filling the crater, and recreating abandoned warehouses.


    Walking for a while, Riwuccu couldn''t help but speak, "My Lady, I think it would be most prudent if we teleported", causing Yasaka to almost trip over her own feet. ''What''s wrong with me?'' she thought, she had never been so absent-minded before, why now?


    "P-please stand closer", Yasaka said as Asfius and Riwuccu stood closer. As asfius stood right next to her it caused the fox to shiver. This was the first time she was so close to this being, she had seen him many times and had spoken to him on many occasions, he was something of a silent listener to which she could complain to, but having him stand this close send her heart in disarray and before she could get ahold of her emotions another kind of shock hit her like Truck-kun nearly sending her to another world.


    She felt an almost untraceable amount of life force radiating out of Asfius, healing, and strengthening any living being around him. Although the strengthening part wasn''t that great the healing part, was astronomical.


    It wasn''t much in the increase in power, but the healing effect was astronomical, if Asfius stood next to a dying man, there was a 100% chance he would survive, even if he had his entire ?h?st cut open, as long as there was a little bit of life in him he would survive.


    ''Is this why Kunou says she feels so save and comfortable when she''s near him?'', Yasaka asked herself, although this life force now is calm and gentle, if he was to ever fight anybody, it would change and turn into a raging inferno with the sole goal of snuffing out any other life force, it would no longer be a source of life but the end of all life, coming to these thoughts caused Yasaka to shiver at the thought, but then again, she finally calmed down.


    Looking at his face, that calm and changeless face, that stable aura and that feeling of warmth standing around him, ''There will never come a day get would harm us'', she stated with all certainty, causing her face to go red for a bit.


    "Uhm.. My Lady?", Riwuccu spoke scratching the back of his head while wearing an awkward smile,"...I..." he wanted to say something but couldn''t.


    "Shall we go or would you like to stare at my face for some more time", A gentle calming yet rumbling voice resounded like sounds of the earth. Yasaka and Riwuccu stared at Asfius in shock, this might be the most words they had ever heard him speak at one time.


    As the shock of him speaking so many words faded the meaning of said words sank in causing Yasaka to blush furiously as she quickly activated her teleportation magic and with a flash, they were gone.


    ...


    "Lady Yris, there seem to be many of the old god''s fleeings from Sector 3 of the Tribunal Immortal Gods Universe, be they low, mid, high or ancient gods, they seem to be terrified of something" a beautiful woman in a maids uniform said as she spoke to another woman who was sitting on the balcony of a massive and majestic castle.


    "Oh", the goddess of destiny said, her eyes were fixed upon the ''big soul'' in the sky above her, or maybe it was the sky? Within this soul, she could see an image like a massive tv screen displaying Asfius in a third-person view destroying a few Nekomata''s.


    "What a waste of his power", she commented causing the maid to look at the image. The instant her eyes made contact with Asidus''s frame her knees went weak as she felt all the strength leave her body.


    Her entire being was overcome with a sense of helplessness as she looked towards Asfius. There was no defeating him there was no running from him there was only begging for mercy or better yet a quick death.


    Yris sensed this happening and with a tap on the badge she was holding in her hand and the image of Asfius disappeared. "That will teach you to not casually stare at greatness", Yris spoke seriously.


    "My Lady what was that?", the maid coming to her senses asked in shock.


    "That is what''s causing the gods to flee, they must have felt a bit of his aura, it is normal for the old gods that still remember the terror of Asfius to flee at the mere signs of his existence even if he was reported dead."


    "The terror of Asfius?", the maid asked confused, she had only presently become a god and she was born only a few hundred thousand years ago so she never experienced what her Lady said.


    "Have you ever heard of the Gods Fall incident"


    "Yes! It is said that a thousand mid and low-gods teamed up to face an Ancient Titan and... my Lady you don''t mean..."


    "Asfius was not nearly as powerful then as he was at his final moments, right now although I told him he had the physical might to rival that of a high-god, no high-god or even an ancient god which is above that would ever think of facing him, do you know why."


    "..."


    "Because while they are powerful, they will eventually grow tired and sustain injuries, while Asfius is not only unkillable he is also never tiring, he could fight for all eternity and never stop that is what makes him so frightening, that and his each of his blows not only do physical damage but also eats away at his opponent''s life force, in other words fighting him is chipping your life away one million years at a time."


    "..."

 Chapter 89 - 89: Going Back

    In front of a massive purplish palace that looks like it had been filled with too many neon lights, an almost imperceptible flash appeared in front of the palace doors.


    Appearing from the flash of light was a flustered Yasaka holding her sleeping daughter Kunou, Riwuccu who was trying to decide whether he should just call it quits and leave the hopeless Yasaka to fend for herself in the Titans presence or to try one last time to help her and finally Asfius who was just standing there with no expression on his face and no incline to what he was thinking.


    "Shall we head in?", Yasaka asked after recovering her demeanor. Both Asfius and Riwuccu gave her a nod and followed her into the palace.


    While walking Riwuccu would sneak glances at both Yasaka and Asfius every now and then, he could tell that Yasaka was troubled by something and she was currently thinking of a solution by how there was a tiny crinkle at the center of her brow, but when looking at Asfius and looking for quite a while he couldn''t find anything.


    ''Come on, give me something!'', Riwuccu raved in his mind as he kept trying to deliver any abnormality''s on Asfius''s face but since the beginning, when they had first met to this very moment he had never seen him have a different expression on his face except for when he was rescuing Kunou.


    Even when Asfius was reading to Kunou her stories he never had a single change in his facial expression. ''Wait'', Riwuccu suddenly came to thought, ''He might give incline to his emotions when speaking, now all I have to do is get him to talk''


    "So, Asfius-dono, what are you planning on doing after this", Riwuccu asked.


    "Go home", Asfius replied.


    "I see, where might I ask is that"


    "Headquarters"


    "I see so the headquarters of the organization you''re from, Samsara was it?"


    "Yes"


    Riwuccu kept talking and Asfius kept answering, this continued all the way until they reached Kunou''s room, where Yasaka gently placed the little fox girl into her bed. Tucking her the trio sat down at a table in the room waiting for Kunou to wake up while a Kitsune wearing a maid''s attire poured the group some tea.


    Riwuccu was silent at this moment, he had been keeping the conversation going for as long as he could but in the end, he could only talk for so long until he ran out of topics. ''I''m not used to this kind of thing'', Riwuccu sighed as he gave up trying to get any incline as to what Asfius was thinking.


    ''Might as well go and try and read what a rock is thinking", Riwuccu sighed.


    "Asfius-san, thank you", Yasaka said out of the blue. "You can ask anything of me and I will if it is within my power do it.", she said, looking seriously at Asfius, the man who saved her beloved daughter.


    Asfius shook his head slowly, "no...", "Don''t decline my offer!", Yasaka interrupted Asfius''s refusal with a strick voice. "You saved what is most precious to me in this world, I am not able to give anything of equal worth to you, so please do not refuse and ask for something, anything."


    Asfius was silent, he looked at Yasaka for a long time, her golden eyes that looked so seriously at him, her beautiful face that held a stoic expression with that little crinkle in between her dotted eyebrows.


    "I accept", after who knows how much time went by, Asfius spoke. Hearing that he accepted her offer, Yasaka let out a sweet smile.


    Asfius who was on the receiving end of this smile unfortunately had no reaction. ''She''s smiling at me, I wonder why'', he thought. ''Is she happy that I will make a request from her, why? Why is she so determined to give me something, I want to note and yet she stubbornly refused to accept it, what a strange woman''


    That is how Yasaka who was smiling so beautifully at Asfius became a ''strange woman'' in his mind.


    "Ummm, where am I?", a voice came from the side causing everybody at the table to look in the direction of the source.


    Kunou was sitting up from her bed rubbing her eyes but before she could adjust to her senses she felt embraced by a warm soft feeling.


    "Kunou! your awake, I was so worried.", Yasaka said as she hugged Kunou tightly.


    "Mom?", Kunou asked still confused about what was going on. She remembered being in that dark place those people hurting her and then she somehow was able to send a bit of her chakra into the token she had of Asfius.


    Her eye''s suddenly opened wide, "Mom where is Asfius-San!", Kunou asked frantically, she remembered him showing up, holding her in his arms, and then evrything went dark.


    "Don''t worry dear, he''s sitting right there", Yasaka showed Kunou was Asfius was sitting calmly sipping some tea.


    Kunou burst into tears when she saw him, struggling from Yasaka''s grasp she ran towards Asfius and hugged his arm. He lowered his gaze to the little fox girl that was hugging him.


    He lowered his cup and used that hand to pet the girl''s head with his large hand. "Do not cry", he said, causing Kunou to look up at him, that never-changing face those pitch-black eyes, "Safe now".


    Backing away Kunou wiped her eyes and smiled as she nodded agreeing with his statement.


    Yasaka and Riwuccu watched their interaction with a smile plastered on their lips. They weren''t surprised by how easily Asfius could calm Kunou down, not only did he have that reaction on people but Kunou was also very close to him ever since she was a little girl.


    Asfius stood up from his chair, he looked at Yasaka Riwuccu and then Kunou before speaking, "I will go now", his words instantly destroyed the happy mood.


    "But...but, can''t you stay a little more", Kunou asked pleadingly.


    "Asfius-San, won''t you at least stay for dinner", Yasaka tried to keep him there too, but unfortunately Asfius just shook his head.


    "Goodbye", he said before disappearing in a flash of light.

 Chapter 90 - 90: A Talk Among Myths

    With a flash Alex appeared in his room, he stood there for a few seconds staring blankly at the wall, before facepalming.


    "Asfius you fu?k?n? idiot, no wait I''m the fu?k?n? idiot", Alex said out loud as Asfius was technically him yet just an alternative personality or ego, they shared memories they shared experience yet Asfius had never experienced anything like this on his own so it was pointless.


    Alex was raving inside his own mind when suddenly a ghostly apparition appeared in front of him, it was unclear at first but within a few seconds, it became as refined and Alex could clearly see Asfius standing in front of him. The way he appeared was no different from the way he appeared when Alex was standing in front of Yris for the last time.


    "Asfius?", Alex asked a bit of shock could be heard in his voice, he never expected something like this to happen, yes he had separated his past lives from his soul and held them together with a link to him, they would be the same yet not. He didn''t do it because he rejected him quite the contrary he didn''t want to lose them. They were each unique individuals that he held more dear than anything in his entire life.


    Thus they had their own thoughts and emotions the same as they had when he was them, yet they are still him and he is still them. ''Ah fu?k my head hurts'', Alex thought when he thought about the thing he had set up. In all honesty, he had no idea how he did it, he just felt a hand guiding him he didn''t know how to explain it just like you can''t explain the great language of bullshit.


    ''Maybe that is what I did, I created something that should be considered bullshit and it ended up working!'', Alex had wondered about it for many years and he came up with only one answer, ''I have no fu?k?n? clue''.


    The ghostly Titan nodded as confirming that it was really him then spoke, ''I do not understand them''.


    "I could figure that out myself, and feel it too, remember were linked, and when you took control I could feel my personality dropped to a level below a stone.", Alex said.


    "Not wise to mock yourself you know", an ethereal voice was heard and within Alex''s view, an elf appeared with glowing forest green eyes.


    "Not you too", Alex ?r??n?d.


    "It''s almost like you do not want to see us old friend", the gravel-like voice was heard and an old man littered with scars appeared in front of Alex, his majestic beard waving under the non-existent air. "But we are more than happy to finally have found a way to communicate with you, it gets kind of stuffy you know."


    "I''m going batshit crazy, I''m going batshit crazy, I''m going batshit crazy, I''m going batshit crazy...", a deep abyssal voice was heard by Alex being whispered into his ear.


    "Mournomon you bastard", Alex yelled as he jumped away from the separation of the scourge, standing there as he laughed happily.


    "I, know were bastards, Hahahahaha", Mournomon laughed with a deep voice.


    "I have ruined myself", Alex said with a deep sigh.


    "Don''t worry it isn''t mania or dementia", Mythander said, as he rubbed his chin, "You''r perfectly sain".


    "I doubt it", Alex said.


    "Do not worry, we are still one and the same old friend, we can communicate with you via our souls, but it has grown a bit dull in the emptiness so we wished only to see the world with you for once and not through you, you won''t reject a request from yourself now would you.", Lambert said gently, his eyes overflowing with incredible power yet infinite kindness.


    "Even though I hate the way you act Lambert, I also crave it. If only there were more good souls like yours and our brothers in arms during my time", Mournomon said grimly before laughing, "Ahhh, Alex once you have time return to our old world and finally burn it to the ground, you know as well as I that the day we died was the day the corruption reached its the peak, we wasted out life trying to save a dying world and now all we can do is put it out of its misery."


    Asfius nodded his head, "The planet grieved at our passing", he said slowly, as he recalled through the link he had with Mournomon his final moments and the feeling he got from the planet was it a cry of agony as it''s final hope died away.


    There was a reason Mournomon could live so long even if he had enhanced himself with the power of a titan, it should have only lasted him to fifty thousand years, a dragons maximum would be around thirty thousand, the real reason he could live beyond a hundred thousand was that the planet itself sacrificed it''s own power to keep him alive in hopes that he would rid it of the vermin that infested it, that killed it''s children and ravaged its lands.


    "It can still be saved", Lambert said while Mythander nodded, out of all their lives, only Mournomon truly had regrets, he regretted not burning the world entirely and cleansing it in order to prepare it for a new beginning.


    Mournomon thought for a moment before he nodded, "If we return, I would like to be the one in control", he said to which everyone nodded at his decision. It was only right that he ended what he started.


    "How will we find it?", Mythander asked, "Although I can scry the universe with my magic, it would take very long.


    "Ask Yris", Asfius said, "She will tell us", he said again, and everyone thought for a moment he sounded a bit forced, but soon played it off as it was Asfius they were talking about.


    In a certain palace next to the ''Big Soul'', a certain goddess of destiny suddenly had shivers going down her spine and sweat break out at her brows as she watched and heard what Asfius said from the projection in the soul, the maid standing next to her was as bleak as paper while shivering the whole time.


    ''He''s coming here?!'', she thought and nearly passed out because of it.


    "That would be plausible", Lambert agreed with Asfius.


    "Then let''s get to it, I''m ready for some killing!", Mournomon yelled as he slammed his fist into his palm, blasting flames spread out form his entire ghost body like a blazing inferno, thousands of crying and hat filled faces could be seen screaming out within the flames, his smile spread out showcasing his two jaws filled razor-sharp fangs.


    "Mournomon, contain yourself or you''ll harm little Tosca!", Lambert quickly said which caused all the fire to disappear like a blown-out candle. Mournomon had instantly suppressed all his resentment and sorrow, he was no longer being controlled by it like he was in his youth which gained him the title scourge, he had full control of it as he did during his last years where he could summon and banish it easily.


    "Master are you...", the door suddenly opened with AUra coming inside followed by Tosca when they saw Alex inside the room surrounded by the apparitions of familiar figures they froze in, please.


    """""Aura!,Tosca!""""", the five said at the same time.


    Aura gave every one of them a look over with quivering eyes, before speaking.


    "What''s going on?!"

 Chapter 91 - 91: Pushing Down Destiny (1)

    "What''s going on?!"


    Asfius gave no response, there were others to speak for him.


    "We are legion for we are many!", Mournomon shouted out.


    "Mythander?", Lambert looked towards Mythander who in returned looked towards Alex.


    "This is weird", Alex said, then he turned his attention to Aura, "Aura, whether you believe me or not I just want to say that that question has been on my mind since they first appeared. I found no answer so the best way to deal with this is just to accept it and move on. I know this is bullshit, it doesn''t make sense and yes it might just be me going crazy after reincarnating too many times, again just accept it and move on."


    Aura stood there in a daze for a moment before nodding her head. Tosca that stood behind her stepped forward and looked at each of the myths, she already knew about Lambert, so she waved at him to which he gave a little wave of his own with a gentle smile.


    She turned towards the person standing next to him, her eyes sparkled when she saw his ethereal beauty and long pointy ears, ''An elf!!!!'', she screamed in her mind, as a lover of fantasy stories, be they books, novels, anime or movies, and like any fantasy lover she would be lying if she said she never wanted to see and elf, just like boy''s wanted their elven beauties, girls wanted to see their elven men who were known to be the most handsome of all the fantasy races.


    ''The stories didn''t lie'', she thought as she looked at Mythander, he could truly be considered the most handsome man she had ever seen, though the other myths were just as handsome, being an elf gave Mythander a kind of graceful air that could never be replicated.


    Mythander gave Tosca a small smile as he saw her blatantly staring at his face,that little action made him even more captivating, so much that it took a lot of effort for the girl to move her eyes over to the next myth.


    When she saw him she was taken aback, she had never seen such a boring face on anybody before, his eyes were droopy his face slack and the only redeeming thing was that he wasn''t slouching but stood straight. When their eyes met, Tosca felt like she was teleported into an infinite universe covered in many stars, Asfius closed his eyes before she was affected bringing her out of her trance.


    "S-sorry!", Tosca said, she didn''t know why but she felt sad about the fact that she couldn''t look him in the eye. Aura placed her hand on Tosca''s shoulder. "Don''t worry not even I would be able to keep myself from getting lost within Master Asfius''s gaze, it is not because you are weak or do not care about him enough or any such nonsense it is only because you have not seen what he has. Although I should technically be older than Master Asfius, it would seem that the world he was from''s time ran differently, while I am only a few thousand years old, Master Asfius had seen billions of years."


    "Mhh", Tosca nodded smiling at Asfius who to everybody''s surprise had the side of his lip quiver as if he was trying to smile back, but it ultimately failed.


    Moving to the last person, Tosca gasp when she saw Mournomon, His majestic horns his wild aura, his savage grin. If not for his clear and caring eyes she would have mistaken him for a very bad person or worst a pervert.


    "H-hello...", SHe nervously said to Mournomon, whose smile only widened giving her a clear view of his sharp jagged teeth, "Hello t you too little one", he said his deep voice boomed with power.


    Alex watched as Tosca looked and greeted everyone, "Well from your left to right is Lambert, Mythander, Asfius, and finally Mournomon"


    Tosca mumbled their names as she matched them to the myth''s faces storing them in her mind, "My name is...", There is no need to introduce yourself, child, we have been watching over you since you became a part of this family", Mythander interrupted her.


    Tosca nodded with tears threatening to come out at the Mythander calling her family, his ethereal voice calming her nerves and giving her peace.


    "Well I hate to stop this conversation but don''t we have a place to go", Alex suddenly said which caused the Myths to suddenly become silent and nod.


    "What do you mean Master", Aura asked.


    "Lambert you tell her", Alex quickly said before stepping aside leaving Lambert staring agape at him.


    "Uhm", Lambert cleared his throat, "Well, we...we will be going on a short trip", Lambert said while avoiding Aura''s gaze.


    "So where are we going", Aura asked nonchalantly.


    "Uhm... you''re not going", Lambert spoke again this time he looked beggingly at Alex.


    "..."


    Aura was silent while Tosca covered her mouth with her hand, tears about to stream out like an unending river.


    "Master is leaving us!", Tosca blurted out.


    "Hell no!", Mournomon came to the rescue as he shouted, "Don''t worry little one, we''re merely going to go and burn some things and will be back in a few day''s maybe a month at most"


    "Is that true?", Tosca looked at Mournomon with tearful eyes.


    "As true as the horns on my head and the blue in Alex''s ba..."


    "She doesn''t need to hear that", Lambert clamped his hand on Mournomons mouth. His face was a bit dark.


    "Oh yeah my bad", Mournomon laughed it off while scathing the back of his head.


    Alex rubbed the bridge of his nose as he contemplated the possibility of suicide, and how he would actually be able to pull off something that impossible.


    "Well, we will be back in a bit so don''t worry", Alex said.


    "Ok, Master, I will be waiting as always", Aura said


    "Please come back soon", Tosca said.


    Alex nodded his head then looked into the sky.


    "Yris!, I know you can hear me open the bifro... I mean open the gate to your divine realm!"

 Chapter 92 - 92: Pushing Down Destiny (2)

    Silence permeated the room. Alex calmly waited for a portal to appear while Aura and Tosca stood at the side waiting too.


    Ten minutes...


    Half-an-hour...


    An hour...


    Alex was still waiting but his face had gradually turned darker while the myths also didn''t look too happy to be kept waiting well all except Asfius, he was patient.


    "I can''t take it anymore! If that girl doesn''t open the damn portal this instant I''m going to go berserk!" Mournomon said between clenched teeth, fire burning in his eyes.


    "Calm down Mournomon", Mythander said then he turned to Alex," But I agree, we were respectful and asked her to open the gate of her own accord yet she ignored us, such disregard for us cannot be allowed, she might be a god but are we any weaker? The great elven sage spoke, he was a very mild-tempered person but this concerned one of his own, the myth''s were closer to each other than brothers were, they could feel each other''s d?s?r?s and pain and thought they bickered they would in fact walk throught the fires of hell for each other.


    "Calm your minds, we must not let our feelings cloud our judgment. Yris, from what I can tell is not such a petty person, there must be a reason for this, thus do not be upset with her", Lambert spoke as the voice of reason, but he wasn''t finished and spoke his next words while clenching his fists and steeling his gaze, "Having said that even if we have to force our way in we will meet her today!"


    Everyone then turned to Asfius, the mountainous titan, who hadn''t made a single move since he was there, he wasn''t even breathing, something he had to live without for every one of his breaths would wreak havoc upon the world. This time the never-moving giant finally reacted as he put his fist gently within his hand something that might have caused a massive shockwave if not for the fact that he was an illusion or ghost. "Break", His voice thundered out leaving both Aura and Tosca in awe at how magnificent the scene look and slightly regretfully that they couldn''t see the "real" he perform such an act.


    Alex nodded at the four myths, "Very well", and prepared to break into Yris''s real when Aura''s voice suddenly sounded out.


    "Master is it wise to possibly anger the goddess that reincarnated you", the light elemental, Aura couldn''t help but voice her concerns. She was worried that LAex might face danger should he anger the very Goddess that made him reincarnate. Hearing this Tosca also became worried and looked at Alex with scared eyes.


    "..."


    Although she wanted to tell Alex he shouldn''t do it, she knew that it meant a lot to him and just couldn''t bring herself to do it. He had given her evrything she had and although he was rarely there, she could still feel his protecting hand hovering over her while he was away.


    Alex smiled at the two girls, he felt blessed by there concern, he truly appreciated it, for even with all his power they worried about him, this did not indicate a lack of faith, but concern for his well being.


    "Don''t worry so much ok, let me tell you something.", Alex said as he moved closer to the two girls, "I have always felt that Yris doesn''t have any power over reincarnation, I don''t know why but it''s just a feeling, I have also never felt and reverence towards her even when I was still a weak little mortal man, although I was respectful I have never worshipped. I don''t know why that is but I think there are a lot of secrets I am not privy to. Though I am curious what those secrets are I am not overly concerned, in all my years I have learned that evrything will reveal itself in time, the only question is if one is ready for it."


    Aura lowered her head, "If you say so Master, just be careful"


    "Alway''s", Alex said as he pats her and Tosca''s heads.


    "I will be back in time, ok. Now leave this room and activate the formation, I will need quite a bit of power to forcefully break into the divine realms, and more specifically Yri''s realm since she will definitely try and block me and fortify her realm once I begin."


    Aura and Tosca nodded and each hugged him goodbye, this made Alex realize that this was the first time he had properly bid them goodbye and they didn''t even react as outlandishly as they did before.


    Aura and Tosca left the room, closing the door behind them before activating the empire''s formation, and making it focuses all its power on that one room.


    Alex breathed out as he turned around and faced the center of his room, " Let''s begin", He said while the mythical illusions disappeared.


    .......................................................................................................


    Yris was sitting relaxed in her chair while sipping her favorite tea, watching as Alex was about to force himself into her realm.


    "Master, aren''t you going to try and stop him", The maid said anxiously. She had started to get anxious ever since Alex revealed his plan on coming to their realm. She almost fainted when she heard that he wanted Yris to open a gate for him, but luckily she didn''t the little maid was very afraid of Alex.


    Yris took another sip of her tea, then spoke lazily, "Don'' fret over it, this really is protected by over a thousand of my wards and formations, as well as those of my masters, not even an Ancient God would be able to make a triple on its defensive barrier. Not to mention Alex, it''s just like a mortal trying to punch a safe door, I can''t wait to see the painful look on hi...."


    Shatter, a hand burst out of an area of shattered space right in front of Yris, moving forward, turning her tea and cup to nothing while it passed by, and grabbed her ?h?st.


    "..."


    The world was silent.


    "Haaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!", before it was destroyed by the indignant cry of a woman.

 Chapter 93 - 93: Tug Of War

    In the peaceful silence of a certain divine realm protected by a soul so large it defies sense, a piercing shriek erupted and with it the power of a high-god.


    With a mighty stomp of her feet, Yris pushed herself back away from the ''Fiendish Claws'' that appeared out of nowhere, not even minding the chair behind her as she tripped over it, falling backward before giving a ''graceful'' backward roll, before jumping up and planting her back firmly against the wall of the palace, while staring with fury at the hand. To her shame, the hand was just hovering there, rhythmically opening and closing its fingers as if savoring the feeling it just felt.


    On the other side of the shattered space, Alex wore a confused expression as he savored the feeling he just felt.


    ''What was that wonderful soft feeling, is this the feeling you get when you pierce throught a divine realm?''


    He quickly focussed his mind as he smashed forward with his other hand further opening the space in front of him, he then started moving his arms in opposite directions, slowly making the hole bigger and bigger.


    Yris who was still feeling indignant saw another ''claw'' appear and her face paled a bit but luckily it appeared next to the first one and not close to her.


    "Master, Alex is breaking throught", the frantic voice of Yris''s maid suddenly called out, the little maid was right now trembling all over while looking over the from the tea table that she was hiding behind with a pale face and trembling eyes. Her eyes never leaving those ''abominable'' hands that would even there blaspheme a goddess.


    The maid''s cry awoken Yris to there dire situation at hand, Yris didn''t even think twice before she started using all her divine power to seal and mend the space that Alex was trying to break open. Causing the shattered areas to slowly close again. She also didn''t forget to reinforce the space so as to make it even harder for Alex to rip it.


    "Go, Master!!!!", The maid shouted excitingly as she saw the shattered areas start to reform again, but her excitement was short-lived.


    "Humph"


    With the sound, the shattered space suddenly doubled and half of Yris''s defensive formations were broken in an instant. Yris ?r??n?d as she was pushed back a few steps. She breathes were unsteady but her eyes shone with fighting spirit.


    "You want to play with this goddess, I will play you to death!!!"


    The stars surrounding her rushed forward like a river and formed a circle around the area where space was breaking apart.


    "Seal!", She yelled with an authoritative tone, causing all the stars that were revolving around the shattering space to suddenly come to a halt.


    "Revert Destiny!"


    Her voice called out again and space started mending again, the hands that were still visible just a moment ago pulled back, and with a final ripple, space was fully mended again without any signs of instability.


    "Sight", Yris let out a breath of relief, then stared hatefully at the chair that tripped her, but her hateful stares could not hold as it converted into a sad melancholy, if it was an ordinary chair her power would have blown it to oblivion but this ordinary-looking chair was actually able to trip her, the reason for this was because the chair was handcrafted by her master. He had given her the entire set with a table, as a gift since she always liked to just sit somewhere peaceful with a cup of tea and her own musings.


    She delicately picked up the chair that fell down and gently dusted it, but her actions suddenly froze when she found her maid was looking at her with horror. She first felt a wave of pride wash over her believing the maid couldn''t believe she was able to repel Alex, but that was soon dispelled since she found to her confusion that the little maid was actually looking behind her not at her.


    This train of thought sent a shiver down her spine as she had a terrifying thought, that thought was even further enhanced when she felt a finger gently tapping her shoulder and an equally gentle voice sound out.


    "Long time no see, my dear goddess of Destiny"


    With a jerk, Yris turned around with wide eyes as she saw Alex in front of her wearing a bright smile on his face.


    "H...How?", This was the only thing Yris could say when she saw Alex standing behind her, she clearly saw it when she pushed Alex out of the divine realm, so how in the name of all existence could he have entered the realm.


    Hearing her question and seeing her Dumfounded expression, Alex''s smile broadened so much that Yris had to use all her reasoning not to slap him...again.


    "Well, my dear Goddess, while you were so busy with selling the space in front of you even going so far as to focussing evrything you have at that area, I broke throught space behind you", Alex said in a matter of fact tone.


    Realization struck Yris like the pebble that hit Goliath, she fu?k?d up. She was so focussed on closing the place where Alex started breaking throught that she totally ignored the possibility that Alex might just use this opportunity to get in throught another piece of space. Well, that wasn''t totally true, she had thought of the possibility but had wrongly ?ssumed that Alex would fight her head because of his confidence in his power.


    Iris''s knees went weak in defeat and she fell into her chair while looking at Alex with a gloomy look.


    "Ok, you are here now, What do you want?", she asked in an annoyed tone.

 Chapter 94 - 94: Fin Diin Golt Do Keizaal

    "Ok, you are here now, What do you want?"


    "You already know what I want, so stop stalling and let''s get down to business", Alex''s smile disappeared as he put on a serious expression.


    "Cronlar, the home planet of Mournomon, why would he ever want to go back to a place that gave him such torment", Yris said with a confused expression, "He might regret not burning it in its entirety, but going back now will have no purpose"


    "What do you mean?", Alex asked confused by her words, ''No purpose, why would there be no purpose in burning away all the corruption once in for all.''


    "Well since you left, thousands of years have already passed on that planet as it is in a different time frame than the DXD earth, to put it more accurately exactly 18347 years have passed since Mournomons passing, the world has changed a lot and it might surprise you to know that even though you died, you left a deep shadow in the hearts of men. After the last kingdom you wiped from the face of the planet, it was like the final straw that broke that camel''s back, men started suppressing their dark d?s?r?s, and with a few generations mankind returned to the way they were before the world war."


    Alex became silent, as he took in the goddess''s words. Cronlar changed? He could hardly believe it, no he could not believe it. Thousands of years of burning and intimidating without results but only after his last breath were there any results. He did not know what to feel, happy for the restoration of his home planet or bitter in the fact that he could not enjoy the peace he had given evrything to achieve.


    ''What now?'', Alex asked himself or more specifically Mournomon that was currently sitting in his mindscape with a lifeless look on him. The dragon gave a bitter smile as he spoke in a self-deprecating tone, "What do you mean what now, the planet is no longer a place that I can just burn with a clear conscience."


    "She might be lying", Mythander said, he was currently sitting on the ground of the mindscape meditating.


    Mournomon shook his head at Mythanders words, "Yris is many things, but a lier, she is not.", the dragon was silent for a long time before he finally spoke, "I want to see it.No, I must see it!", he said, his voice filled with longing, a burning d?s?r? to finally see what kind of paradise Cronlar could be, not only to free his pained heart but to know that he did right by all those who died during his fight. He needed to bury this dark past and look once again towards the light, something he has lost when he was just a little drake, taking his first breaths of air and exhaling his first dragon''s fire.


    "Yris, let me go to Cronlar, I want to see what has become of it", Alex asked, he did not demand nor did he force, he was asking her, as any other action would be against who he is, while also sweeping the part about forcefully bursting into her divine realm under the rug, he would admit he might have been a tad bit too forcefully, but wats done is done, as an ancient monster he would not let trivial matters plague him.


    Yris''s facial muscles twitched when she heard his soft tone while asking her to do him a favor, ''Realy now you ask!'', she shouted in her mind while also forgetting that she would have never let him enter this divine realm had he not forcefully came.


    Still being a goddess she was reasonable and not one to bear a grudge... for too long. "I will send you to Cronlar, but you must first complete a trial."


    "What trial, what must I do, and why won''t you just let me go, it''s not as if it will cost you much at most it will cost you a swing of your hand and a minuscule amount of power, which you will regain in an instant."


    "It''s not that I don''t want to immediately send you off and be done with it, it may be hard to believe but this isn''t my divine real, hell, I''m more of a prisoner here if anything. The one who made it did give me a certain degree of power over it but I can only do so by following his rules and one of them is I have to give you a trial."


    Alex looked at Yris with an odd expression before nodding, " Alright then give me a quick and easy one so that t we can part ways"


    Yris wore a bitter expression in his words, "The system developed by the owner will randomly generate your trial and send you there, neither I nor you will be able to know what the trial is or where it is before you start it.


    "So your pretty much useless, nothing more than an attendant"


    Yris''s became depressed when she heard Ale''s sentence, it really pierced her heart like a knife when she thought of how true his words were.


    "Ok, enough about that, will you do it or not", She snapped at Alex in an attempt to gain some sort of foothold in this discussion while hiding away her embarrassing position.


    "Ok, fine let''s do this"


    WIth his conformations, Yris took out a medallion that hung around her neck , and inserted a certain amount of divine energy into it, which caused a portal to open in front of her.


    "There you trial awaits, now Fuck Off!!!!", Yris said irritatedly


    Alex smirked as he stepped into the circle, but his expression soon changed as he felt dizzy and his vision suddenly went black.


    Somewhere surrounded by snow-covered evergreen trees a carriage, among a lot of others was slowly making its way on cobblestone, the driver was clad in a type of leather armor that looked to be made by the Roman empire, while on the back of the carriage four people were sitting hands bind by some leather straps.


    A man with blond hair, a skinny man, a man that had his mouth stuffed, and lastly a large man with a majestic beard.


    The man with the majestic beard slowly opened his eyes, his piercing blue eyes shined in the wintery weather.


    "Ahh, your awake..." Said the blond man


    "You were crossing the border on your way from cyrodiil, walk right into that Imperial ambush...", he continued.

 Chapter 95 - 95: I Used To Be An Adventurer Once...

    Lambert held his head in his hands as he tried to make sense out of what he just heard, ''Cyrodiil? Border crossing? Imperial Ambush? Thief? Mac and cheese?... Wait no, how the hell did this thought suddenly pop up?'', Lambert rubbed his hair.


    Suddenly the skinny man spoke to the blond man, "Damn, you Stormcloaks, the empire was fine before you came along, nice and lazy. Could have stolen that horse and be halfway to Hammerfall by now," he then looked at Lambert, "You there, we shouldn''t be here, it''s these Stormcloacks the empire wants."


    "Were all brothers in bonds now, thief", The blond man retorted.


    "Shut up back there", the coach driver suddenly yelled, clearly irritated by the rambling of the prisoners or maybe because he had to drive a carriage in the snow. Lambert could see that the man was shivering, clearly not used to the cold air, and it would have helped if he wore something warmer. Sleeveless armor? No pants just a tunic covering the crotch with a few leather strips over them, ''his balls must be at an all-time small right now'', thought Lambert as he looked at the freezing Imperial with pity in his eyes.


    Lambert had long filtered out the blond man and skinny man''s voices, and of course the occasional grunting of the gagged man.


    ''Looking at the current situation, I am either in Skyrim...I think, or my memories of the game are bad and I am just in some random magical world with a few similarities.''


    Lambert still had some doubts, that is until he heard the blond man speak to the skinny man in a stern voice, "Watch your tone, you are speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm."


    ''Skyrim'', Lambert finally nodded in confirmation, he could no longer doubt it the similarities of his current situation and the one he remembered from the game were too great.


    After confirming his current predicament Lamber relaxed a bit, he had noticed previously that he only had the strength of himself at his prime, which means he only had the strength of Lambert when he was at his strongest, this would have made more difficult worlds challenging, but in Skyrim, even if he could not compare the power levels to the game, he felt confident.


    ''First to get out of here'', he thought as he looked around, he was a bit confounded since not only was the only thing binding him a leather strap around his wrists, he was also on a carriage surrounded by woods, the only close guard being the carriage driver. There were a few soldiers on horses, but galloping with horses throught a forest was a bit dangerous, not only could they easily break their legs if they misstepped in a hole or other difficult terrain, but the thick underbrush and trees made gaining speed very difficult.


    "...Hey thief, where are you from.?", ''Lambert had his plan and finally focused on the rest of his surroundings, just in time to hear the Blond man''s question which he remembered was named Rudolf or something like that.''


    "Well it''s been a p???sur?", Lambert suddenly said, surprising the trio that had been riding with him since it was the first time they heard him speak, but even so what happened next was even more surprising and something they would never forget for the rest of there lives.


    With a backward flip Lambert jumped off the carriage, his movement caught the eyes of the soldiers riding behind the carriage. Yelling at the carriage driver as they made their way to Lambert that ran straight into the forest, expertly moving through the underbrush, sometimes even doing a few aerodynamic tricks that would make the most renowned of acrobats blush with the shame of their own lack of skill.


    Some imperial soldiers immediately took chase, with some of the braver...or more stupid riding their horses'' full gallop after him. They were either stopped by the bushes and plants or had their horses trip as their hooves got caught in some tree roots or slip on loose rocks. One unlucky imperial got unsaddled by a low hanging branch.


    While making his dashing escape lambert flexed his muscles a bit and tore off the leather strap as if it was paper, he was about to change his direction when he saw two wolves closing in on him from the front, not thinking much of it he charged at them giving the front one a kick to the jaw as he backflipped, leveraged against a tree before, jumping towards the second with a roundhouse kick, suffice to say both wolves died in an instant from severe trauma to the head from being exposed to too much awesomeness.


    ''Maybe I should have just run past them'', Lambert thought as he looked at the two bloodied and very dead wolves, ''Force of habit I guess, he shrugged and continued running.


    It wasn''t long before the Imperials stopped chasing and Lambert escaped, he eventually found himself back on a road again, which seemed to be heading to a town called Falkreath.


    Following the road with a slow-paced walk, Lambert made his way towards the city, while enjoying the beautiful sights all around him. He couldn''t help it Skyrim was like something from a painting, it was just beautiful no matter where he looked.


    Suddenly Lambert took a step back.


    Swoosh*


    An arrow shot past him, if he had not dodged it would have hit his knee, Lambert focused his gaze on the foolish skeleton archer that shot at him, with a weird look on his face.


    "Damn! Almost became a city guard"

 Chapter 96 - 96: A thief on the road

    With a few quick steps, Lambert approached the archer as it was preparing another arrow to force him to retire.


    Lambert came into arms reach of the skeleton archer just as it was about to loos its second arrow but with a swift movement of his hand, he pushed the bow to the side, resulting in the arrow flying off in the distance to go and ruin somebody else''s day.


    Grabbing the bow Lambert easily disarmed the skeleton, with a literal sense included as the poor undead arm was still clutching the bow with its deathly grip while unfortunately no longer being attached to the skeleton.


    "Oh, damn Sorry about that", Lambert said as he shook the bow trying to get the boneless arm to let go of it.


    The skeleton didn''t take this sitting down thought as used its other arm to slap at lambert.


    PA!


    With a resounding sound, the hand made contact with Lamberts left arm, doing absolutely no harm to the old paladin.


    "Now I know you''re mad, I would be too if somebody took my arm, but there is no need to be so violent, it''s just an arm and I''m sure it will be reattached as soon as I put it in the right place, but That is not going to happen as long as it is holding this weapon of mass destruction."


    PA!...


    PA!...


    PA!...


    Pa!...


    PA!... Crack!


    With a final blow, the brittle bones of the skeleton archer could no longer sustain the impact of the blows and its hand shattered into pieces.


    "Now look what you went and did. See Violence never solves a problem it only makes things worst. I could still fix the arm but the hand, there is no hope."


    Lambert gently placed his hand on the skeleton''s shoulder as it was still watching its broken hand with some sort of confusion.


    "Don''t worry my fleshless friend at least you still have Mr. Righty", Lambert said cheerfully as showed the skeleton its right hand that was still gripping the bow.


    The skeleton threw back its head and opened its mouth as if to scream but sadly, vocal its cords must have corroded centuries ago since the only sound it made was that of bone moving against each other. Finishing its war cry the skeleton Archer rushed at Lambert and slammed its head against Lambert''s ?h?st resulting in its untimely death.


    "Well that''s a shame he was such a cheerful fella," Lambert said out loud as he watched at the pile of bones lying at his feet. "Well guess I should probably get going, no knowing when the Roman wannabes are going to show up.


    Turning around Lambert continued following the road. ''Wonder what Falkreath looks like, I hope it isn''t the same shitty little town with the small graveyard. I remember it b?r?ly being bigger than Riverwood, which is basically just a mill, or at least I think, can''t remember that good what it looked like.''


    Suddenly from out of the bushes, a woman wearing brown leather armor wielding two steel daggers ran out in front of Lambert, she stood straight in front of him almost as if trying to look intimidating, Lambert found it quite amusing as she could b?r?ly be said to be 1.6 m while he stood a towering 2m.


    "I don''t want to shed any blood, so give me all the gold ya got and we both walk away happy."


    Lambert gave the small woman one more once over before asking amusedly," Do you honestly think that you would be able to beat me."


    "Size isn''t evrything, and you are unarmed so if you don''t want me to cut that pretty fa... never mind give up or bleed!"


    The little thief was clearly losing patience with Lambert.


    Holding out his hand Lambert summoned his sword of light, or at least he tried but nothing happened. "Well this is unexpected", Lambert said as he stared at his hand.


    "What, never seen a stubborn Nord woman!"


    "No, when I came here I knew something was different about me, just never expected my connection to the light to be blocked, whoever did this would have to be powerful beyond compare and at the same time have a bad sense of humor, taking away the Grand Paladins power over light and healing.", Lambert spoke seriously.


    "What are you talking about!", The Little thief asked.


    "Oh it''s just that you are so short for a Nord, not only that but your ?h?st is flat and your ?ss is none existent.", Lambert said while keeping his serious tone while this time sporting a teasing expression on his face.


    "Your dead!", the Little thief girl shouted as she lunged at Lambert with her twin daggers.


    She was surprisingly skillful with the two weapons as she swiped or stabbed at Lambert with fluent and never-ending attacks that perfectly flowed from one to the other while also having both her daggers working together to corner him, instead of facing one little thief girl with duel daggers Lambert was facing two little thief girls with a single dagger each with perfect cooperation between them.


    Yet...


    Even with all this skill and speed she could even touch the edges of Lamberts roughly made prison clothes that were tightly sitting against his body looking a bit stretched.


    "Stand still!", The girl shouted as she kept attacking.


    "Why?", Lambert asked calmly while dodging another barrage of attacks, sometimes he would step back sometimes he would sidestep, or sometimes he would do an aerial somersault over the girl''s head.


    "So that I can stab you!"


    "Don''t wanna."


    The thief girl was on the verge of tears, not only was this big oath stronger than her, which she could except looking at his body which seemed to have part snow troll in it but what she couldn''t accept was that he was even faster than her and worst more agile, doing maneuvers that she wouldn''t even be able to dream of doing yet, he made it look so easy.


    With another step, the girl took a few steps back while breathing heavily.


    "Haaa...haaa, Ok...Haaa...have it your way...haaa... I give up"


    Saying that she turned around and slowly started walking away.


    "Wait a moment", Lambert called out.


    "What...now?", The girl asked irritatedly


    "Oh just wanted you to know that even if you were successful, I don''t have a single coin on me."


    "What?!", The girl yelled as she turned to face Lambert.


    "Well look at me do I look like I have money"


    The girl looked closely at Lambert and for the first time, she spotted the ragged clothing he was carrying, with the bonus of not having a coin purse insight.


    "This was all for nothing", The girl said in defeat as she fell to her knees.


    "Well, weren''t you suppose to figure that out before coming ut to rob me. Don''t tell me this is your first time or something"


    The girl shrank her head in at his words.


    "This is?", Lambert asked raising an eyebrow, receiving a small nod in return Lambert could only sigh.


    "There is just one thing bothering me, you have such skill with the blade, what on earth are you doing robbing people"


    The girl was quiet for a moment looking around as if to make sure no one was around before talking"


    "Well..."

 Chapter 97 - 97: Dulled Senses

    "Well, I used to be part of the companions", The thief girl said hesitantly.


    "Oh the companions, that makes sense. So who are the companions?"


    The girl looked shocked, or that is what Lambert thought seeing as only her eyes were visible.


    "You do not know who the companions are, you must not be from Skyrim then, the companions are a band of honorable warriors that make their home within the mead-hall Jorvaskr, in Whiterun", Said the little thief girl with a tone of longing.


    "If it''s so great why did you leave and become a thief which I might add is not very honorable?", Lambert asked


    "Well, that''s complicated the thief said, as she looked somewhat downcasted.


    Lambert found himself a comfortable-looking rock and sat on it, before turning his attention back to the girl who was looking at him confused, "Well go on, I have nothing better to do."


    With a sigh, the girl started talking, " I joined the companions not long ago, just having been accepted by the inner circle, they are the oldest of the companions and hold a special place in the hall, anyway, I was just accepted when I had to go on a mission given by some rich Redguard prick called Nazeem, apparently, somebody stole a very important ornament of his and I was tasked to go to this thief and get the thing back. Evrything seemed in order, it also didn''t help that the thief has held up in some cave-like a bandit, though how Nazeem knew of his whereabouts does seem sketchy now that I think about it."


    "I went into the cave killed a few people and got Nazeem the ornament, nothing complicated, well that is until I found out that those ''bandits'' were in fact private militia, hired by some bitch, Maven Blackbryer, and she hired those goons to get her that ornament all the way from the Blackmarshes, I having been the one to kill and steal the ornament I was, of course, her target to vent her rage."


    Lambert suddenly intervened," What about this unsavory chap, Nazeem?"


    "The prick''s got connections"


    "So what happened"


    "Well Maven hired the Black Brotherhood to come after me of course, she''s in their god books apparently, and after the first ?ssassination happened, which I b?r?ly escaped, by the way, I fled from the companions, and to survive I took up punching and Banditry, though you are my first victim."


    "How long ago did you leave the companions?"


    "It should be about a week now."


    "Makes sense I guess", Lambert said as he suddenly stood up and approached the little thief.


    "What are y..", SHe didn''t have time to react or even finish the sentence when Lambert shoved her to the side. Being unprepared for the sudden push, she tried and fell to the ground.


    "Why did you..." She started but her voice died down when she saw Lambert a pitch-black arrow embedded into his abdomen.


    "Are you ok!", She yell quickly standing up, this time she heard the twang of a bow and the whistling of an arrow, turning to the source she saw another pitch-black arrow right in front of her face.


    "ah!", She squeaked out as she took a few steps back, the had stopped just an inch from her head. It was held tightly by Lambert''s vice-like grip.


    "Get your head out of the clouds!", Lambert yelled loudly causing the girl''s eardrums to ring, but she finally snapped out of her stupor. Drawing her twin daggers she held her guard again any more arrows.


    Lambert seeing that she was ready faced the archer that shot him, his gentle features gone replaced by a stony cold expression with chilling pale blue eyes, he started walking forward, but he had not taken a second step and an arrow came flying out from behind the nearby tree embedding itself into his left shoulder.


    "Be careful!", The thief shouted worriedly, but Lambert ignored her as he kept approaching the Archer.


    Swish*


    Swish*


    Swish*


    ''Why won''t he go down, why won''t he stop", The archer kept thinking


    When Lambert was finally too close for the Archer''s comfort, she jumped away from her hiding place. Yes, it was a woman, one clad in the iconic red and black uniform of the brotherhood except it was the shrouded version of the uniform.


    Just as she showed herself preparing to retreat, Lambert burst into action as he started running towards her at great speed. The ?ssassin had not taken her fifth step when Lambert was in front of her.


    Not having the time to think about how Lambert could move so fast she quickly pulled out her dagger and stabbed at Lambert, the blade struck his abdomen, but no thoughts of accomplishment came to her, the blade had only pieced a few centimeters before getting stuck.


    "What!" The ?ssassin yelled as she tried to retread even going so far as to let go of her knife, but it was too late, A massive hand suddenly grabbed her head and slammed it against a nearby tree, evrything blacked out after that.


    "Watch out", the thief girl suddenly shouted ?ss a massive spider jumped upon Lamberts back piercing its fangs into his right shoulder.


    "Vile Beast! Get Off!" Lambert shouted as he raised his right hand and grabbed the Frostbite spider.


    "Shaaaaaaa", The spider shrieked as Lambert''s fingers pieced its carapace and with a pull, he lifted the spider over his shoulder and threw it to the ground in front of him. The sider struggled to get up of its back but it didn''t have long before a massive foot slammed down upon the creature.


    Splat*


    "Damn, I really lost my touch, reliance upon the light element has dulled my other senses", Lambert quietly contradicted himself as he turned his head towards the Assassin lying underneath the tree she had been viciously slammed against.


    "Are...are you ok", a quiet voice came from behind Lambert, turning around Lambert found the little thief girl looking worriedly at the arrow and knife still stuck in his body.


    "No problem," Lambert said as he casually pulled the arrows and knife from his body and threw it to the side causing the thief''s eyes to pop.


    Looking down at the two steel daggers she had tried to threaten him with, she couldn''t help but smile wryly, "Not even ebony could pierce him, what am I suppose to do with these, poke him to death?"


    Looking back at the Ebony dagger that Lambert threw away as if it was trash, she smiled sneakily, "Oh look an Ebony dagger without an owner, my lucky day"

 Chapter 98 - 98: Vadne

    "So what your name girl", Lambert asked throwing a glance at the thief girl, who was admiring her new ebony knife, as he picked up the female ?ssassin, throwing her over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes.


    "Ah, yeah I never told you?", The girl exclaimed before straightening her posture and holding out her hand, "My name is Vadne, and you"


    "Lambert", the old paladin said as he took her hand, giving it a firm shake.


    "So, mind if I follow you?", Vadne suddenly asked after shaking Lambert''s hand.


    "Trying to use me as your own bodyguard are you?"


    "What? No!", Vadne retorted with shock, but it soon crumbled under Lambert''s gaze.


    "What''s the big idea, not like they can hurt you, and you will have a beauty like myself accompanying you, so you should be grateful."


    "First, they can hurt me...maybe, second, how would I know you are a beauty when I can''t even see your face, all I see is a flat ?h?st and ?ss, if it weren''t for your voice I might have taken you for a man"


    "Screw you grandpa!", Vadne yelled as she the ebony dagger into Lambert''s stomach.


    The dagger b?r?ly pierced the skin before getting stuck in his steel fiber-like muscle strands.


    "Holy-shit", Vadne yelled when she finally felt what it was like stabbing Lambert. ''It''s like stabbing a tree with an iron fork, pointless''.


    "Are you done?"


    An annoyed voice brought Vadne from her thoughts, looking up she saw Lambert looking at her with a somewhat angry look on his face. Vadne first just turned her face sideways in confusion, she didn''t know what she did to anger the goliath of a man like this, but it soon came to her and she quickly pulled the ebony dagger out of Lambert with a frantic look.


    "I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I was just, No!, I mean it just..." Vadne furiously tried to explain but was muted when a giant clamped onto her face.


    "Mhhh!!!....Mhhhh!!!", Vadne yelled and struggled, the sight of what happened to the ?ssassin when her head was grasped like this was still vivid in her mind and she did not want to experience the same fate.


    "Quite now", While struggling she suddenly heard Lambert''s voice whisper into her ear. She immediately obeyed and set down. Not long after the hand loosened its grip and pulled away from her.


    "What was that about, I could have suffocated!", as soon as she got the chance Vadne immediately complained.


    "You stabbed me"


    "Well, it''s not like it hurt you or anything!"


    "You stabbed me"


    "Well it was your own fault, you called me flat"


    "You stabbed me"


    "Uhm, maybe I went a bit overboard"


    "You stabbed me"


    "Ok, I''m sorry! They''re happy now?"


    "It will do... for now", Lambert said, turning around and followed the road with the ?ssassin still hanging like dead weight on his shoulder.


    "So what are you going to do with her", Vadne asked as she followed closely behind Lambert.


    "She might have important information about the brotherhood, so I thought might take a crack at having her share them"


    "She is a trained ?ssassin, I doubt we will be able to get anything out of her"


    "No worries, I quite skilled at having people talk, she will either sing to my tune or sing to the tune of some of my more uncivilized methods", Lambert said, his expression having turned back to the normal gentle version, but at this moment that gentle smile was no different than the smile of Molag Bal to Vadne.


    ''Scary'', she thought as a shiver went down her spine.


    The duo plus prisoner followed the road until they came upon an old abandoned watchtower, well abandoned but not deserted as four bandits quickly ran out when they came close to the tower.


    "Get them boys", The leader shouted, a tall orc clad in heavy steel armor.


    "Charge!", Shouted their vanguard, a woman wearing leather armor and wielding a greatsword,


    The woman quickly closed the distance between herself and her closest ''Victim'', which just so happened to be Lambert.


    "Yaaaaah!", With a verticle strike she slammed her greatsword down towards where Lambert was standing. Lambert casually stepped to the side just in time for the woman greatsword to slam into the ground where he used to be, having used so much force in her blow her body arched forward as she tried to dissolve the force behind her own blow.


    ''Amateur, Lambert thought as he brought his knee up slamming it into the face of the woman, that was still being forced forward by her own momentum.


    The woman''s head immediately snapped back, her feat gave way underneath and she fell to the ground face up, showing her bandit buddies her newly destroyed face, her breath getting weaker by the second.


    Grabbing the ?ssassin Lambert threw her at Vadne, "Catch" he called, causing Vadne to frantically try and catch the ?ssassin but it only caused both of them to end up on the ground. Lying underneath the ?ssassin she glared up At Lambert, ''Muscle headed Brute'', she thought.


    Bang*


    With a swift movement of his hand, Lambert grabbed the greatsword that was sent flying off the ground by his foot slamming the earth right next to it. He then twirled the greatsword into a reverse grip and pierced down ending the woman''s life.


    "Mercy", Lambert said as the blade pierced the woman''s heart.


    "Marsh!", Yeled one of the bandits before charging at Lambert, he wore leather armor and was armed with a leather shield and iron sword, the one following behind him wore fur armor and wielded a steel Warhammer and finally the bandit chief followed lastly with his heavy steel armor and banded iron shield and steel mace.


    Lambert didn''t back down and trudged forward at a steady rhythm, when the first bandit was close enough, Lambert did a quick 360-degree clockward turn while swinging the greatsword with his right hand as if it was an ordinary blade.


    The bandit raised his shield to block the blow but greatly overestimated his shield''s durability and his own strength, the shield broke on contact but it did save the bandit''s life as he was merely thrown against a nearby rock formation getting knocked out.


    Having finished the first bandit, Lambert raised his left hand just in time to catch the head of the Warhammer that was being swung towards his hip. He then raised his right hand slashing the sword towards the bandit chief that was coming to his goons aid, forcing the chief to block the blow with his shield, the force of the hit staggered the chief back a few steps giving Lambert just enough time to deal with the last bandit.


    He pulled at the Warhammer, pulling the bandit off his feet before slamming the back of the Warhammer against the bandit''s head ending him indefinitely.


    "My... My Crew! I''ll kill you!", The crazed Bandit chief yelled as he charged towards Lambert.


    Straightening his back Lambert faced the Bandit chief. He slowly raised the greatsword above his head, while holding it with both arms until it reached the zenith above him.


    When the bandit chief came into range of the attack, Lambert''s muscles suddenly bulged, ripping the roughspun tunic of his muscular body, his face twisted into a ferocious expression and his eyes became icy cold.


    The sword was bought down with unmeasurable force as it headed towards the Bandit chief who raised his shield in hopes of blocking the blow. When the blade and shield were about to connect Lambert opened his mouth and shouted.


    "SMITE!!!"

 Chapter 99 - 99: Whats Inside The Chest?

    ''What is this'', Vadne asked herself as she saw Lambert raise the greatsword above his head with both arms. ''What is this frightening feeling, as if something terrible is about to happen, Lambert brought the blade down, his thundering voice roared out as iron met iron.


    "Smite!!!"


    Shock spread throught her body as she saw the gruesome scene, the orc had lifted his shield overhead to try and block Lamberts colossal blow, the orc a full set of heavy armor so even though dodging would have been far wiser he was unable to he could only rely on his banded iron shield.


    "It is done", Lambert said after executing his attack.


    Looking up into the sky his eyes were searching for something, but he soon lowered his head in disappointment. ''It would seem that I can not access even a single sliver of my vast light energy reserves, at this moment I am no stronger than a mere mortal man and can only rely on my fleshly body to overcome whatever trial I am about to face.''


    Looking down at the bandit chief, Lambert couldn''t help but sigh, "Allow me to give you mercy", Lambert said as he raised the great sword once more.


    SHATTER*


    As he raised the sword the blade could no longer hold on and finally fell apart. ''That last blow was too much for this sword'', Lambert before turning his attention back to the bandit chief.


    The chief laid on the ground, his breathing was weak and his body broken, but his eyes held no pain or fear, he only stared at Lambert with respect. He was an Orc, a member of a race of warriors, he''s the greatest goal, other than making heaps of money, was to die in combat.


    He still remembered when his opponent''s blow slammed into his shield, it was as if he was slammed by a giant, first, his arm broke in more than fourteen places, then the shield came crashing into his ?h?st followed by the blade who''s momentum was unaffected by his attempts at blocking it. The shield crushed into his ?h?st and broke his sternum and a few ribs, which in turned puncture his lungs and other organs yet, to his dismay he was still alive, though b?r?ly even after all that, his heart was still beating yet he would now die slowly. The Orc had only gratitude when he saw Lambert was going to finish him. ''My friend''s, my comrades, I am coming'', these were his last thoughts as the mace crushed his cranium and splattered destroyed his brain.


    "You fought well, but now it''s time you rest, go be with your god", Lambert said as he picked up the Bandit chiefs mace, and with a quick and decide swing he crushed the orc''s skull, ''My friend''s, my comrades, I am coming'', these were his last thoughts as the mace crushed his cranium and splattered destroyed his brain, the bandit chief died with a smile on his face.


    Lambert stood up and felt the weight of the mace, ''it will do for now, he thought before making his way to the last surviving bandit, the guy with the leather shield.


    Vadne also came forward while drawing the ?ssassin by one of her feet.


    "So what are you going to do with this poor bastard", Vadne asked as she looked at the unconscious bandit. Even now she is glad she didn''t harbor any thoughts of actually killing Lambert when she tried mugging him, not that she had such a thought in the first place, she didn''t mind killing monsters or Bandits, since they would threaten other travelers, but killing an innocent traveler on the road was never her style, no to mention Lambert wasn''t even armed.


    ''Not that he particularly needs a weapon to be dangerous, she thought as she cast a peak at Lamberts monstrous physique. ''Forget what I said about a troll, there''s is definitely a giant living in him''


    "I should put him out of his misery, he has ruptured organs and a concussion, he will either wake up in extraordinary pain before dying or he will die in his sleep before waking up. I don''t really want to take that chance and let him suffer."


    "What do you care, he tried to kill us, he is just another bandit that kills people for money, why pity him," Vadne asked confused.


    "I don''t need any information from him, so why make him suffer, what''s the point. Will it make you feel better knowing you made another suffer a slow and painful death just because he was not a good person. What do you think that will do to your soul, it will destroy you until only darkness remains, in the end, you will end up no different from the evil you hated, killing without remorse to achieve your own goal." Lambert said as he stared deeply into the distance before raising his new mace and bringing it down on the bandits head.


    ''Mercy'', lambert thought.


    SPLAT*


    The bandit was killed with one swift blow to the head.


    "Seems like you are more soft-hearted than I thought", vadne said before dragging the ?ssassin into the abandoned tower.


    ''I wasn''t always'', Lambert thought before walking away leaving the corpses to the animals.


    As Lambert entered the tower he saw Vadne tying the ?ssassin to a wooden chair, the tower was circular with two floors the ground floor and the top one, the might have been more in the past but the top half of the tower was missing. The ground floor had a few bookcases with very old-looking books a few barrels and sacks probably filled with food. Walking up the curved staircase, Lambert came to the top floor, in the middle was a campfire with four small tents surrounding it, each tent had a single bedroll. There was also a ?h?st that was probably filled with the bandit''s ill-gotten gains.


    "Why would they set their tents up here and not on the ground floor, the fire is still acceptable since they wouldn''t want to get suffocated by the smoke, but why the tents?"


    Lambert went towards the ?h?st and opened it, looking at the contents he couldn''t help but grin.


    "Well, hello"

 Chapter 100 - 100: The Interrogation Starts

    "Well Hello"


    Lambert was beside himself with joy when he saw the contents of the treasure ?h?st, he slowly lowered his hand into the ?h?st and then pulled out a sword, it had a broad double-edged blade with a small hilt in the shape of wings with stripes on either side.


    Giving the blade a few swings to get a feel for it Lambert let out a satisfying sight, ''Although it''s a bit on the light side, it seems to be more durable than the previous sword I used. This weapon relies on the user having more speed rather than strength. All in all, it''s a good sword to have... when nothing better is available.''


    ''Let''s see what else is in the ?h?st''


    With another peek, Lambert looked inside the ?h?st and pulled out a large white gem. Lambert was about to inspect it when it suddenly started glowing.


    "A new hand has touched the beacon. Listen and...."


    Without a second thought, Lambert threw the gem of the tower into the woods.


    ''Damn that thing is creepy, it counts the times it''s been touched. Good Riddens''


    Lambert thought as he kept looking throught the ?h?st''s contents.


    ''So here we have some animal hides, some leather, some straps, some fur armor, about four hundred gold, two rubies, one diamond, and finally a magic scroll which seems to be for casting [Circle Of Protection]. These bandits were filthy rich, makes me wonder why they didn''t have better equipment or why nobody used this sword''


    Little did Lambert know that the reason was that the bandit chief was a cheapskate.


    ''Well anyway let''s see if this armor fits me.''


    Lambert quickly wore the fur armor, unfortunately, this particular piece of armor only protected the most important part, leaving Lambert''s upper body still exposed.


    ''Well at least it fits, and I can finally get rid of these pants that are so thin they almost see throught. Now I can fight without worrying about my pants suddenly ripping and mooning my enemies to death


    Having wrapped evrything into one of the furs Lambert tied it with one of the leather straps, before picking the whole thing up and going back down the tower.


    Walking down the stairs Lambert saw Vadne looking throught the crates that stood next to the stairs.


    When she heard him she looked up and took an apple out of the crate.


    "We struck a jackpot, this barrel is about half full of apples while that one has some meat in it as for the last one it''s got some cabbage. The sacks are filled with either wheat or bread"


    Taking a bite out of the apple Vadne looked at the sword now on Lambert''s waist and his knew armor.


    "Where did you find that"


    She couldn''t help but ask while eying the fur package Lambert was carrying.


    "I found it upstairs in a ?h?st it must be all the loot the bandits had gathered since they began their little operation"


    Vadne''s face fell hearing his words.


    "So while I was looking throught crates finding vegetables, you found a ?h?st filled with gold and spoils!"


    "That about sums it up"


    Lambert agreed before putting the fur package on the ground.


    "But don''t worry since we''re traveling together we will share our spoils equally, deal"


    Lambert said causing Vadne''s eyes to shine as she walked up to lambert and looked up at him with puppy dog eyes.


    "Really"


    She asked in the most adorable way she could muster. Lambert looked down at her with a gentle smile, raised his hand, and gently touched her cheek. Causing Vadne''s face to go red as she shyly looked into Lamberts eyes


    "No, I''m keeping evrything even the food"


    "Fuck You!!!"


    Vadne immediately started berating Lambert with curses, some were even very creative like she called him a troll-giant bastard of a wh*re, which Lambert couldn''t help give a chuckle to, but that immediately reignited Vadne''s temper and she cursed him with renewed vitality.


    ''What a crude mouthed young lady, Mournomon would have loved her''


    Lambert thought as he blocked out Vadne''s curses. After a few more lines of profanity, Vadne calmed down.


    "So are you going to interrogate the bitch or can I just kill her already, dragging her along with us is really starting to get on my nerves, especially if I''m the one dragging her."


    "Well why, not like I got anything better to do than torture an ?ssassin"


    Lambert said sarcastically as he approached the ?ssassin and took down the veil she used to cover her face.


    "I knew she was a dark elf"


    "Vadne"


    Lambert said solemnly getting her attention.


    "Know that what I am about to do is something I dislike, know that I will take no p???sur? in the things that are about to happen and know that you will see a darker side of me, one I hate"


    "Ok"


    Vadne nodded and took a step back to see what Lambert was about to do.


    Lambert gently patted the ?ssassin''s face while quietly speaking.


    "Wake up now my little prisoner"


    The ?ssassin''s eyes quivered slightly as she was regaining consciousness, but it seemed that Lambert was unimpressed as his face turned cold and his sky blue eyes turned icy.


    SLAP*


    "I said wake up Hellspawn!!!"


    Lambert shouted in a cold voice, his calm berry tone voice nowhere to be found instead replaced with the cold voice of an inquisitor looking for heretics.


    The blow rattled the ?ssassin''s brain as she immediately woke up, spitting out a mouth full of blood and broken teeth shards.


    Before she could even gain her bearing she felt a tug on her hair.


    "AAAhhhh"


    She screamed as something picked her up from her long beautiful black hair. She was lifted off the ground while still bound to the chair, hanging on nothing but her hair.


    After being lifted she could finally see the face of her ?ssailant as she was lifted until their eyes were level with each other. He had a long full beard and shoulder length silver hair, his face was cold and his eyes icy.


    "Welcome to hell girly, where the best times are the times I ask questions."