Chapter 68: A Way Home

Hey guys,

Sorry for the long wait! As an apology, today's a double-chapter post.

So enjoy today's chapters and don't forget to leave comments.

Peace!

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"Hmm." Izumi moaned as he slowly opened his eyes.

He found himself looking at a familiar ceiling.

"You're awake, Izumi-kun." a soft voice said.

He turned his head and saw Kyouko sitting in a chair right by his side.

The boy let out a chuckle,

"What a familiar situation."

The girl giggled,

"Yeah, it's just like the time you had a fever," she said and handed him a glass of water.

The boy nodded before drinking the water and setting the glass aside.

"Yeah. You, Tooru, and Yoshikawa-san came to my place to care for me." the boy smiled, "Did you know that was the first time a friend has ever come to my house?"

Kyouko raised her eyebrow,

"Really?"

Izumi nodded,

"Yeah, I was never really good at the whole making friends thing. The mage thing also didn't help."

Kyouko looked at the boy in the eyes before rubbing his hair,

"Well, now you don't have to worry about that, do you?"

Izumi smiled,

"Yeah."

They relaxed in this position for a while as Izumi enjoyed Kyouko's administration.

"They're really white, you know."

"Hm?"

"Your hair."

Izumi widened his eyes,

"Oh right, the changes."

He got off the bed and projected a large mirror and could now see the changes in himself.

He had grown taller by a centimeter or two. His muscles had grown more defined. Izumi thought he would get bulkier, but instead, he felt his muscles had grown more compact as if they were compressed instead of growing. His hair had grown white probably due to the intense stress caused by the monster meat. He also saw faint glowing red veins running all over his body.

He felt he had grown stronger, much stronger, but he had no reference to base it on.

'Now for my magic.'

Izumi closed his eyes and activated his circuits

Red circuits appeared on his body as he activated them. Izumi was surprised by the sheer density of the mana he was producing. His mana had become so dense he could now affect the physical world by simply flexing his mana.

'So it's red now,' he thought as he emitted wisps of mana from his hand.

'I like it.'

"How do you feel?" asked Kyouko a little anxious.

Izumi smiled and turned around.

"I'm fine. Actually, I'm better than fine. Although, I'm gonna have to do something about the veins and hair."

"Hmm." the girl said absently.

Izumi raised an eyebrow and saw where she was looking at.

His body.

He grinned,

"Like what you see?"

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, but she didn't show any more reactions.

Although, she replied slyly,

"Yeah. At this point, I'm worried about the other girls who will chase after you."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Izumi replied confused,

"Why would others come after me?"

Kyouko looked at her boyfriend as if he was an idiot.

"Have you seen yourself? I don't know if you noticed, but you are really handsome." she deadpanned.

Izumi awkwardly chuckled. He never would've thought about girls going after him. All the scenarios in his head were about him going after girls. Even then, he was really lucky to end up with Kyouko even if it wasn't intentional.

"But what if I say I already have a girlfriend?"

Kyouko raised an eyebrow,

"You think that will stop them?"

"Yes?"

"..."

"..."

*Sigh*

Kyouko sighed,

"You don't understand a girl's mind, Izumi. I'm sure when we get back home, the girls in our school will be all over you. I will have to spend most of my school time chasing them away. I will not let them steal you!" the girl said with a fiery aura around her.

Izumi simply sweatdropped.

"T-Then should I make myself uglier?"

"What? No! You stay the way you are. I love the way you are!" the girl said as the blush intensified.

Izumi couldn't help but also blush a little.

"Aww, you're so cute!" he said and hugged the girl.

The girl hugged him back,

*Rummmble*

"Izumi and Kyouko looked at each other before bursting into laughter,

"Seems like you are hungry. Probably due to how you're body got modified," she said with a giggle.

"We still have the food from last time's groceries. I could probably make something."

However, Izumi shook his head,

"I actually want to check something. How long was I out?"

"Around three hours."

"Then do you still have the cooked monster meat?"

Kyouko's eyes trembled,

"Don't tell me you're going to eat it again! After what just happened!"

"Wait! Wait! Wait! I just want to check again. Because I have become a hybrid, I can probably safely consume monster meat without repercussion! The other thing is that it could further increase my strength."

"Are you sure you can eat it safely?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Are you really really sure?"

"Yes, Kyouko."

Izumi saw tears brim the girl's eyes,

"I was really scared you know. I saw you literally destroy yourself just to gain power. I was by your side as you were screaming your heart out, you know! I don't want you to go through something like that again! I was afraid I would lose you!"

Izumi quickly hugged the girl,

"Shhh. It's okay. I'm not hurting anymore, and I got stronger."

Kyouko wrapped her arms around him,

"Then make me stronger too."

"What?"

"I want to get stronger too. Do you think you should be the only one to get stronger?"

"Huh, no. But aren't you doing that already?"

"You said the invasion is going to be in less than a week. Do you remember those cockroaches in the Haltina Labyrinth, I think they were supposed to represent the Apostles of Ehit. That means that there will be a huge army of those angels ready to kill us if we attempt to kill their gods. That's why I need to get stronger."

Izumi frowned. She was right. Kyouko also needed to get stronger.

"Alright, I'm going to pass on the rest of the Ancient Magic to you."

Kyouko widened her eyes,

"Are you sure? We needed to pass the trials to get them."

The boy, however, shook his head,

"Maybe, but I don't really care, right now. But this is going to hurt, are you ready?"

Kyouko had a determined expression,

"Yeah."

"Then let's go."

Kyouko looked surprised,

"Now?"

Izumi nodded,

"No better time than the present," he replied, and the couple went to the training ground.

10 minutes later, Kyouko was standing nervously as Izumi was carving a magic circle on the floor.

"I'm going to repeat myself Kyouko, are you ready because this is going to hurt a lot? Much more than every other time since I'm essentially forcing a lot of information inside your brain."

"Yes!"

"Alright," Izumi replied as he added the finishing touch before getting up and walking away from the magic circle.

"Just like in the Labyrinths, step on the circle and infuse your mana."

The girl did as told and, as soon as she flashed her purple mana, the circle glowed red and Kyouko fell to the ground while clutching her head.

"UnnghhhaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" she screamed as information about Gravity Magic, Spirit Magic, Metamorphosis Magic as well as Concept Magic were forcefully downloaded into her mind.

It took almost everything in Izumi to restrain himself from launching himself to Kyouko and stopping the process, but this is what she wanted.

No pain, no gain.

Izumi had to listen to his girlfriend scream in pain without doing anything. Once the time was up, he saw the magic circle dim and he quickly lunged to the girl and held her close.

"*Pant* *Pant* *Pant* That... *Pant*... was... *Pant*... painful."

"You did good, Kyouko. Just relax. Here." He made a cup using (Dark Matter) and conjured some water using magic before giving it to the girl.

The latter gulped it down and released a sigh of relief.

"Damn. That was really painful." the girl said.

Izumi saw her cast a restoration spell on herself to heal any damage.

"How are you feeling?"

"The headache is quickly fading away. And I know have knowledge about all the Ancient Magic. I'm probably going to need some practice."

Izumi cast (Structural analysis) on her as a quick checkup for any anomaly, but she was fine.

He exhaled a breath of relief and asked,

"Since you are well, let's eat."

Kyouko nodded and got up from the ground,

"Alright. I'm kinda hungry myself," she replied with a grin.

***

As it turns out, Izumi can now eat monster meat without any repercussions. In fact, he could slightly increase his mana capacity and his physical "stats" by eating said monsters. He could also gain their skills if Izumi hadn't already learned them. Unfortunately, he couldn't become stronger by eating monsters weaker than him. He would only gain their skills.

After they ate their food, Izumi and Kyouko were back into the room where Izumi had transformed.

"Are we going to train, Izumi?"

Izumi shook his head,

"No, we are going to fulfill our part of the deal with Hajime and his party."

"We are going to create a way back home?"

Izumi nodded,

"Yup. Come here and sit in front of me and hold out your hands."

They both sat down seiza style on the ground and Kyouko held out her hands. Izumi then clasped his fingers around hers. He then summoned the piece of Divinity Stone as well as the many materials needed for the conceptual artifact.

"Now, I'm gonna say this now. This will be a delicate process. It's going to be mana intensive and our concentration must not waver. You know how Concept magic works right?"

Kyouko nodded,

"We have to use Evolution magic with Spirit Magic to raise a wish to its highest level which, in turn, will conceptualize it and bring it to life."

"That's right. What is one of our biggest wishes, Kyouko?"

"To go home."

"Then focus on that. Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Then let's start.

They both closed their eyes and concentrated.

Kyouko looked back at her memories of home.

She recalled the joyful laughs of her brother, the smile of her mother, and even the goofy attitude of her father.

She recalled her walks to school where she met up with her friends. She thought about Yuki and their times together.

She thought about how she would like to walk to school with Izumi. She also recalled all the times he had come over to her house and made her laugh and smile.

'I want to see them. I want to spend time with them. I want to go back. I want to go home.'

Suddenly, a bright light appeared between Kyouko and Izumi which surrounded the material and the Divinity Stone. They began to float and hover mid-air in between the two teenagers. The ores started to change shape as if they were liquid before merging. For almost ten minutes, the materials shifted and merged until, finally, a cyan blue skeleton key adorned with the piece of Divinity stone appeared. When the light touched its body, it reflected in a kaleidoscope of colors that seemed to shift every second. It slowly descended to the ground and rested there. The bright light surrounding it also disappeared and the couple released each other before collapsing to the ground panting hard as they gasped for air.

The spell had taken almost all of their mana even with Izumi's drastic increase in his reservoir. Izumi slowly sat back up and grabbed the key.

It had a silver body that seemed to shine even when there is no light as the Divinity Stone, attached at the end of it, pulsed softly.

"That's the way home?" asked Kyouko in awe after catching her breath.

Izumi picked up the key and cast (Structural Grasp) on it.

The key didn't have a name and it had been created just a few moments ago. The key was a concept artifact allowing one to travel anywhere similar to Izumi's portals. However, this key also allows one to travel to different universes. The downside is that it needs a lot of mana therefore it can't be used regularly. It will only allow one interdimensional portal per charge. Once the charge is finished, the key will use the ambient mana to recharge itself which would take a month to do so. The portal itself will only stay open for an hour unless closed prematurely. That doesn't change the fact that the user would have to wait for another month for it to recharge since the mana is used to open dimensional breaches.

"Yeah. That's our way home. I think I'll name it the Crystal Key." Izumi said proudly puffing his chest a little.

However, Kyouko deadpanned,

"Your naming sense is horrible."

"Urk!" an invisible arrow struck Izumi's feeling.

"K-Kyouko-chan?" he looked at her hurt.

"Don't look at me like that. That name was horrible. You literally named it what it was."

"Then what do you suggest?"

Kyouko had to think about it,

"Hmmm... I think we should name it the Key of the Beyond."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"pfft."

"Oi! It's still better than what you said as she pounded her fist on Izumi. Unfortunately, the creation of the key drained her so there was no real effect.

He looked at the time and saw that it was 1:00 PM.

"Let's take a rest for now. You've worked hard." the boy said.

He would test out his new body later.

Kyouko smiled,

"Alright."

They both went to the bedroom and immediately fell asleep. The construction of the key had taken a toll on them.

***

For the three days, the couple trained without rest. Kyouko went through all the Ancient Magic she had received. The girl had discovered that the magic she had the most affinity for were Gravity, Space, Restoration, and Spirit Magic. She also had a slight affinity for Evolution, and almost no affinity for Metamorphosis and Creation Magic. From morning to evening, she was either on the training grounds training and training and resting only when she needed to eat or sleep.

Izumi was also the same. He would craft some artifacts made of Dark Matter that would block mental manipulation similar to the one he possesses which he still didn't know how it worked. During the day, he would train with his girlfriend in magic and spar with each other. He had also given her some basics in hand-to-hand combat. At night, when they were asleep, Izumi would train in the Dreams of the Fool, his Reality Marble. He had also developed more spells ready to be used against Ehit and his army. He had also changed his hair color back to black and made the glowing vein marks disappear using Metamorphosis magic. They were still there, but they were just hidden deeper into his skin.

During his training, he had finally tested out his new body. For one, his muscles had become denser as if they had expanded and compressed. His mana had also become denser. So much, so that with a mere flex, he could affect his surroundings. He was gonna have to be careful with his mana back in his world. Although, it added to his intimidation tactic. Conqueror's Haki and dense mana, which affect the environment, can be quite terrifying and effective. He had also become stronger. After creating some weights, he was able to lift as much as ten tons. He had also become faster and more agile. All those were simply his base stats without Reinforcement.

Izumi also continued to monitor the Demon county and its ruler. He could see they have almost finished their preparations. The moment the army would head out would be the moment, Alva would be the most vulnerable. At this point, he had already confirmed that the Demon King needed to be wiped out. It didn't matter if Yue was informed or not.

Right now, Izumi was sparring with Kyouko. The latter shot bullets after bullets of elementally charged magic bullets at him as the latter practiced his Observation Haki. He hadn't had the chance to practice the dodging aspect of it much lately. The Fallen Angel on the other hand had learned to infuse elements into her Holy Power, although it was not on par with the likes of Baraquiel who was born with Holy Lightning. His very element was Holy in nature, while Kyouko simply combined Holy Power and elements.

Izumi had his eyes closed and extended his willpower in a dome around him. He could feel the bullets speeding in the air and he narrowly dodged a flame-infused bullet.

*Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

The bullets impacted the ground behind him. Izumi then reciprocated the attack by launching his own attack.

'Gravity x2'

A crimson magic circle appeared beneath Kyouko. The latter had only a little amount of time to react before the spell took effect. She quickly jumped back before the effect took place. The symbols inside the magic circle morphed into a black void outlined by a crimson glow before the gravity in the area of effect doubled. Izumi smiled as he dismissed the spell before shooting another one. This time, his hands had a green glow before slashing them toward Kyouko.

Twin blades of wind carved their path toward the girl. The latter smirked and clasped her hands in a prayer form before extending her palms at the attack. A rectangular barrier filled with Holy Power appeared in front of the attack. The blades collided with the barrier.

*BOOM* *Crack* *Crack*

Kyouko gritted her teeth and successfully repelled the blades of wind although one could see the cracks on the barrier. Izumi whistled in appreciation at her successful block. The strength of the blades has been twice as strong as the attack the Apostle had used on him. Although the girl didn't have any affinity for Creation Magic, it improved her Holy Power constructs tremendously. Before Izumi could appreciate Kyouko's spell, the latter then pushed the air. The cracked barrier then flew towards the boy.

Izumi simply punched the barrier and the latter dissipated into purple motes. Another thing he had gained from eating monster meat was an increase in Magic resistance. He didn't have a reference to compare to, but he was pretty sure most low to mid-level spells would dissipate at the contact of his skin. Unfortunately, that resistance didn't extend to his clothes like that Servants in Nasuverse since it wasn't a conceptual effect, but an effect of his body.

'Perhaps, I could replicate it?'

He shook his head and focused on the training. He would file that thought for later. He grinned at Kyouko,

"Come on, Kyouko. Use more attacks!"

Kyouko matched his grin and replied,

"Fine!"

The girl spread her wings and flew to the sky. Raising an eyebrow, Izumi watched her rise into the air.

"Get Ready, Izumi-kun!" Kyouko shouted down to him.

Izumi shifted his position ready to receive whatever the girl was about to throw at him. At that moment, more than twenty glowing purple circles appeared behind the girl.

Izumi's eyebrow's shot up in surprise. He could feel the sheer amount of power behind the spell his girlfriend was about to deploy.

"Oh shit."

"Heaven's Fall!" the girl shouted.

Suddenly, it was as if Heaven rained down its judgment as Kyouko cast a literal Danmaku. Mana bullets with different attributes and the size of cannon balls rained down from the sky and Izumi activated (Thought Acceleration). Time seemed to slow down as his mind's speed and reflexes increased. The bullets seemed to slow down.

Izumi quickly looked around and began to weave through the attacks using his Haki. Some attacks reached him since he was not used to dodging with Haki, but he could sense them. He felt the power behind each attack.

Explosions and clouds of dust rose from the ground where the bullets landed as they exploded on impact creating a large smokescreen covering the training ground.

After almost three minutes of non-stop attack, Kyouko finally stopped as her mana reserves had dropped leaving her with only a quarter left.

*Phew*

She let out a breath of fatigue as she observed the scene below her from the sky. The ground was covered in dust blocking her sight of Izumi.

Suddenly, the cloud parted as she saw her grinning boyfriend jump into the sky with his Dark Matter wings. He was using the (Airwalk) skill he had copied from a monster rabbit. It would allow him to create platforms in the sky using magic.

He then stopped in front of her as they stood approximately 20 meters above the ground. The girl saw that the boy was relatively unharmed except for some bruises and scratches. And that was only because he didn't want to use his esper powers in this spar.

"That was a good spell! How many times can you do it?"

Kyouko smiled,

"If my tank is full, I can probably do it four times if I used all my mana," she replied.

Her expression then changed into one of concern.

"Are you okay though?" she asked referring to his wounds.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Izumi replied as a white aura enveloped him.

It was as if time had rewound as his injuries disappeared and his clothes were repaired. The girl did the same for herself.

At that moment, Izumi glanced at his watch,

"I guess we should stop for today," he said.

"Hm, why?" Kyouko asked.

"Did you forget? We are supposed to call Hajime's group and meet up with them."

"Oh. Right."

Izumi held out his hand and a Dark Matter screen up. He then connected to an orb he had given to Hajime.

Five seconds later, the screen lit up and Hajime's face appeared on the other side of the screen.

"Miyamura." the latter greeted.

"Yo! Hajime!" Izumi greeted back.

"Hooo! So that's what it does!" Shea could be seen in the background.

The camera zoomed out and Izumi and Kyouko saw the whole group on screen. They seemed to be inside of hotel room at the moment.

"Hello, everyone," Kyouko said.

"This is like a magical version of video call!" Kaori said.

"Master tried to figure out the material, but his skill didn't work," Tio said with a giggle.

"Tio!" Hajime growled.

"Heh."

"Yue!?"

"Oh? Did he now?" Izumi said with a grin.

Hajime scowled at the younger teen and asked wanting to change the subject,

"Did you find a way home?"

Izumi's grin widened,

"Yeah!"

Hajime's eyebrow's widened in surprise,

"Really?"

"Yes. What about you?"

The mood on the other side of the screen suddenly turned morose,

"I have information, but we're gonna have to meet."

"Sure, where?"

"Do you remember the inn we stayed at after completing Miledi's Labyrinth?"

Izumi nodded,

"Yeah, you want to meet there?"

"Yes, we're currently staying there."

"Alright. We'll meet you in an hour."

"Good. See you then."

The screen then turns black which Izumi dematerialized into thin air before turning to Kyouko,

"So, there's that. Let's clean ourselves before meeting them."

"Hn, although it seems like there's some bad news seeing their atmosphere."

"Perhaps, but we'll only find out after meeting them.

Kyouko nodded and they both went into the mansion to clean themselves and get changed.