2 Chapter 2 - Flashbacks
Jin Skyward
"…"
As I woke up, I wasn't sure whether I had a good night's sleep or a terrible one. I wasn't sure how today would pan out, but that's what definitely woke me up. I turn my head to the side and glance at the clock.
6:30 a.m.
"Haah…"
I sigh to myself and get up from the bed. Using magic, I quickly made it out of the room.
[Nervous partner?]
{That's a bit obvious, Ddraig. We both feel what he feels.}
Albion Deadpans at his rival.
[I was just being polite!]
Huffed the Red Dragon.
I'm fine guys, really. I reassured both dragons, and they took it at face value and cut the link. Scanning my general surroundings, I noticed Shuri was still in her room.
She's definitely still asleep, especially after all of what happened yesterday. Even with this new power and being the strongest thing in this universe, I was still a normal Bona fide human until recently, could you blame me for acting like one?
I did a quick double-take and checked the neighborhood for any unwanted visitors, confirming that it was cleared. After changing into a comfortable workout set, I left the house. It feels weird.
I used to wake up, exercise, have breakfast, take a shower, and get ready for work in my old life.
Old habits die hard… I chuckle to myself as I take in the scenery and neighborhood around me. I noticed a few people already out and about, mostly workers getting ready for the day and a rare few who were also working out.
Not only that, but I make my way towards a riverbank and stop for a moment. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I'd end up in this situation. However, life is always full of surprises and expectations.
...
That reminds me, how did I die in my old life? I certainly couldn't remember… I've been preoccupied the last two weeks that I didn't have time to mull it over. But every time I try to remember…
I just get blanks, nothing comes to mind, no memories. But for some reason, I remember everything else. I sigh and just shake my head; I'll leave this for another time. With that said, I continued on my run.
Kuoh was a lot bigger than what was portrayed, both in the anime and novels. It was probably because it was more focused on other things than expanding this rather quaint town. My run takes me past the school I'll be attending soon. It's even bigger in person, Christ, devils, and their money…
{[Like you're one to talk.]}
When the hell were you two listening to my monologues? I replied, surprised when both dragons interjected with my thoughts.
{[…]}
Whatever, fine be that way. Not planning to give me an answer then? Ugh, weren't they supposed to help me? But they aren't wrong, my gold to yen ratio is just stupid. I could become a multi-trillionaire if I wanted. However, that would cause more problems than anything else.
So many things to think about, not including the things in motion now, like when will Raynare and her gang show up? Wait, will they even show up? Azazel already knows about me. My apologies, but I already changed a lot more than I should have, making it difficult to follow the plot.
I stop and ruffle my hair.
"Arghhh this is so stupid!"
I probably look like I'm insane right now, but whatever.
Well, whatever, I basically got acquainted with a bunch of supernatural groups while also balancing my time with Akeno last week. Honestly, I don't even know how I managed that.
...
Flashback 1 week
Vatican
Jin Skyward
Looks like I'm fine with long flights. I mutter to myself as I fly around the world in my Balance breaker. However, I didn't expect I'd end up in the Vatican. It'll be trouble if I come across the police, and even worse if it's the supernatural.
I land in a nearby alley and undo my Balance breaker, I walk out and look around and notice a lot of people around. How did they not even notice…? You know what? Whatever. I just shake away the thoughts, it's the world of anime, anything can occur.
I just start walking around checking out everything and also buying some snacks to keep my hunger at bay. What I wasn't expecting was to come across certain individuals…
...
Why? Why oh why did this have to happen now? Right in front of me were Xenovia and Irina in training. They were covered in those long white robes of theirs. There was immediate silence between the three of us, as well as a brief staredown.
Finally breaking the silence, I cough into my right hand.
"Excuse me, I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings."
I make a half assed excuse and try to run away.
"Stop right there."
An authoritative tone spoke.
I immediately freeze and turn back.
"Yes?"
I answered back, but when I turned around again, the one who spoke this time was neither Xenovia nor Irina, but... Griselda Quarta. She is Xenovia's legal guardian and one of the top five exorcists.
Holy fuck! She wasn't there a few seconds ago! Maybe I'm getting too cocky for my own good? I better dial it back and take things a bit more seriously.
"How can I help you?"
I finally asked the woman who had stopped me from leaving.
"I have not seen you around here before, are you perhaps a tourist?"
She asks while eyeing me up.
"Yes, that's right, I was just curious about the world-famous Vatican."
I pause, gauging their reaction.
"Did I perhaps get a bit too close? I can step further back if that's the case."
I pull the bag from my bag and pretend to flutter it around…
"I can also get my passport if you need it…"
Also, I quickly create one in my bag just in case.
The older woman smiles and shakes her head.
"No need, I was just making sure you weren't some suspicious individuals."
She nods at the other two.
"We'll be taking our leave now, have a nice day, and God Bless."
She finished and started walking away, the two younger girls just stared at me for a moment longer, Xenovia with a bit of a glare, and walked off.
What the hell did I do? Why did Xenovia look so pissed off at me? I mean, I admit she had an attitude before she became a devil, but still!
[Harem protag 0]
{Exorcist 1}
Fuck both of you. I quipped back, which made both dragons start cackling at me before cutting their connection. Well, back to sightseeing.
Having to walk around people before formally revealing myself is exhausting. I'm not some deranged egotistical psychopath hell-bent on an act of non-existent revenge I don't have. As I continued forward, I breathed another sigh of relief.
...
Later that Night
After thoroughly looking around the Vatican I concluded that there were a fuck ton of Exorcists around, I also felt a lot of eyes on me from time to time, that's what I get for being a tourist. I left the main city and ventured to more of the outskirts of the city when...
Booooom!!
!?
What the hell? I quickly turned around and saw one of the buildings explode into an inferno of fire. An attack? But why? This is the Vatican City, for fuck's sake. Who the hell is crazy enough to attack it?!
What do I do? Go in there and help? While this place is full of exorcists, there are still normal people here too! Screw it, I'm already curious enough as to what happened. Therefore, who cares what it looks like? Using magic, I change clothes and summon the same mask Rimuru had and place it over my face.
This mask served two functions, firstly, obviously covering my face and identity, and secondly, it hides and suppresses my power and mana even more from leaking. I pull my hood over my head and run towards the commotion.
There were two different beings in my vision. One was a devil, which I interpreted to be a stray devil, and the other was a fallen angel. I'll assume they're also rogue. They were in the middle of a scuffle. Why? Who the hell knows, it could be for the pettiest shit, or racial? Only they would know.
Moments later, they jump away from each other while staring at one another with glares that could kill an infant. But they suddenly jerked their heads towards me.
""WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?""
They both shout.
I was about to say something when a bright white light suddenly appeared behind me. I turned around and was shocked to see one of the Great Seraphs there, the individual in question was Michael himself.
He looked at the damaged buildings with a pained expression, before he looked at me with a curious look. But smiled all the same.
"What is the meaning of this?"
He finally addresses the two rogues, who were at a standstill.
"God fucking dammit! Shit! Not worth my life, fuck this!"
The rogue fallen angel screeches and proceeds to summon their wings and tries to fly away.
This was a terrific opportunity for first impressions before anything else could happen. I flash stepped just above the fallen angel, which caused him to momentarily stop.
"What the fuck?!"
I proceeded to smack him on the face, in turn making him crash back into the ground. I landed back down and to my surprise, he was out cold.
I gave him a literal love tap…how did he even get knocked out?
{Your love taps are like full-powered punches from Mid-Tier Gods…}
[He's got a point, you know.]
Noted. I turn my attention to the devil, who was mortified. I again flash stepped and knocked him out with a chop to the neck, he didn't get any time to react. I turned my head to Michael, who was standing there in shock and amusement.
"Before you ask, I'm not an exorcist, but I really wanted to talk to you. But I didn't really know how to go about it. So, your appearance just now was a blessing in disguise."
Michael has a surprised look him
"Are you from one of the other factions?"
He asks, to which I shook my head.
"I'm here on my own accord. I want to talk about a peace treaty between the three of you, actually."
The Angel in question gained a thoughtful look before gesturing towards me. But before I did, I pointed at the two knocked out supernatural beings.
"What about them? Should we call the devils and fallen to get them?"
"Yes, we will, for now, follow me."
He created a sort of portal, and I followed him inside. When we arrived at the other side with the two knocked out, I was surprised to say the least.
"It's…. So white."
This caused the angel to let out a chuckle.
"It certainly is. Please follow me."
Michael proceeded to walk toward where we were headed, and I dragged the two behind us. There were quite a lot of angels around and much to their shock, I, a 'human' was following their leader with two knocked-out beings behind me, being dragged no less. He just gave them a nod, and they went back to whatever they were doing.
Eventually, however, we reached the destination, which was his office. To be more precise, it was the former Biblical God's office, now it was Michael's. He went towards the desk and sat on the chair, he then summoned a magic circle and spoke for a second before doing it again and finally dismissing it.
Michael finally turned towards me and smiles
"The Governor General himself will be here shortly, and as well as one of the Four Devil Kings will join us."
He informed me.
Wait what? I expected just a few representatives, not the actual faction leaders. This made the whole process a lot easier. If all works out well, I can do some odd jobs and stuff for them and gain some money, cookie points, and information that I wasn't aware of.
"Very well."
I quickly replied while looking around the room. There wasn't much to the room, just a few bookshelves here and there, but suddenly remembering the damage done earlier I had to ask.
"Actually, what about the destroyed buildings?"
"Those are in the process of being fixed as we speak, worry not."
He replied with a smile. This guy is way too good. This would be expected from a literal Seraph, as they cannot think or do malicious things.
Before any more thoughts could be formed in my mind, two magic circles appeared on the front of the desk. From the left was a blue-ish circle and to the right a muddy white one, from the left emerged a female, in…magical girl clothing? And the right was Azazel himself.
"Yo brother! Long time to talk, so you wanted me for something?"
Azazel immediately starts talking to Michael.
"You called the Magical Levi-tan about a stray devil?"
The female devil asks and ends it with a peace sign pose.
Michael just smiled and pointed toward me. Both of them turned and stared at me, then back at the two beside me still on the ground, and finally back at me.
"Then, how about some introductions now? Allow me to start, as you know, I am Michael, one of the Four Great Seraphs of Heaven."
Azazel shrugs and looks at me.
"Alright, I'm up next. My name is Azazel, current Governor and Leader of Grigori, the Fallen Angels…and playboy."
He finished with a smirk, which earned a disapproving shake of the head from the angel behind him.
The female devil losing her childish nature used magic to turn back to more appropriate clothing. She stared at me with a serious expression
"I'm Serafall Leviathan, one of the Four Satans of the Underworld."
They all were now looking at me with a curious gaze, I also noticed that the two who were previously knocked out were awake and were currently shitting themselves. Never in their short life did they expect to be in front of three powerful beings.
"Well, my name is Jin… And…"
I bring up my right arm in front of my chest, letting them see the back of my hand and summon the [Boosted Gear].
"This Generation's Red Dragon Emperor."
All their eyes widen in shock and surprise, the two just let out whimpers beside me.
"Anyway, I found these two fighting? I knocked them out, but they're awake now. I thought I might as well hand them back to you guys."
"Haha! The Red Dragon Emperor finally appears!"
Azazel exclaims happily.
"I appreciate you not killing them; however, it would have been fine either way. We can formally prosecute this runaway and get any necessary information from him."
Serafall replies.
I look at her strangely.
"Wait, actually, how are you even okay up here? Aren't Devils weak to anything holy?"
This question was brewing in the back of my mind when Michael mentioned someone from the devil's side was coming here. Upon asking my question, I dispelled the [Boosted Gear].
"This room is encased in a special type of magic that will allow her to step foot here. I, of course, have control over it, so I can turn it on and off of my own will. That is what allows her to be in this room."
Michael replies.
I nod at his explanation
"Actually, what's the Red Dragon Emperor doing in the Vatican in the first place?"
Azazel asks the elephant in the room, which caused Serafall to nod.
"I'm quite curious about that, too."
She adds.
"Er, I got carried away and wanted to see how long and far I could get with my Balance Breaker?"
"Bwahahahaha!"
Azazel lets out a cackle.
"That's your reason?".
"Yeah…"
I gave him a weird look and shook my head.
"I mean, I'm only 17, can you blame me? Anyway, this is a fantastic opportunity. I actually wanted to meet all the leaders of the three actions eventually."
This caught their attention again, and Azazel stopped cackling.
"Hoo? And why is that?"
He asks me with a smirk and a curious glint in his eyes.
"All three of you are aware of the Cold War that's been ongoing between your factions for years now. I'm also aware that the majority of you want peace, you don't want another war to break out."
This caused them to raise a brow at me, but they didn't stop me as I was speaking the truth.
"That's true, I want peace. Hell, all I want to do is research stuff. If war broke out, I wouldn't have time for that."
Azazel shrugs. He then looks at Serafall—
"I've also been in talks with a certain Crimson-haired devil about it, and he's more than happy for peace as well."
"I knew Sirzechs-chan was doing something behind our backs!"
Serafall falls back to her childlike personality while huffing and pouting.
"So, I wanted to put out a proposal."
I interrupted her little tantrum, which gained their attention again.
"A proposal?"
Both Michael and Azazel ask at the same time.
"Yeah, how about I do some requests from each of your factions as a sort of middleman? So, I'll be that third party to turn to whenever that peace conference you have for the future arrives."
"I'll be there to answer any questions and sate any desire for war, not including the fact that I'm the Red Dragon Emperor that should hold some weight in things said."
"Hmm"
"What's in it for you? You're definitely not doing this out of the kindness of your heart, after all."
Azazel, again, asking the right questions.
"Money and information."
Also meeting women, that's the real reason… But they don't need to know that. This way— It'll be less of a hassle. I mean, use your brain… I'm not some random warmongering psycho…
"Information? What kind?"
"Any and all, I just want info on things about the supernatural."
The room falls silent for a few minutes. The only constant is the low whimpers from the stray and rogue beside me.
"I certainly wouldn't mind, if that's all you're asking in return."
Finally, after almost an eternity, Azazel responds.
"I can't make a big decision like this myself; I need to talk about this to the other 3 Satans. But, I myself am in favor of this."
"As will Heaven and the Angels."
"Cool."
I walk over to them and hand over the beings to them and a piece of paper.
"Business number, if you can't get through to me with a communication circle."
I started to walk away but was stopped by Azazel.
"By the way, why the mask? If we want to have good relations and all, wouldn't the first thing be being honest and not hiding anything?"
I swear to all living, fuck this guy…
"It was just to hide myself if I did get involved without some sort of backing. But since I got confirmation from two out of the three of you, I don't see why not."
I turned around and pulled my hoodie down. I then take a hold of my mask and pull it off, revealing to them my face.
"Again, I reiterate. Jin Skyward, 17, and current Red Dragon Emperor."
I then hear a click of the tongue from the Fallen angel.
"You look… Pretty plain looking…"
Azazel comments, well, sorry for looking plain! I'm not exactly a looker!
"Hmmm."
Serafall skipped towards me and quickly started darting around looking at my face and my body, this almost seemed comical after what just happened.
"Approved!"
She declares and gives me a thumbs up.
"…???"
Utterly confused, I couldn't even give her a reply.
[Another Devil caught, well done partner.]
How the hell does that even— You know what? Whatever.
"Right… Well, I'll be going. Just contact me when all of you have made your decision, especially you, Serafall Leviathan."
With that, I teleported away.
Flashback end
...
Japan, Kuoh
Jin Skyward
It didn't take them that long to make a decision though, around a day later she contacted me via magic circle and the requests started to come in. I expected high-end kill missions of stray or rogues, but it started off with mundane crap, well it's expected but God that was annoying. Like seriously?
Looking for missing devils, being looked at by Ash Crow for an entire day, and being asked questions by him. But it did change after a request by Vali was made, apparently, Azazel didn't inform him I was the Red Dragon Emperor yet, but instead said I was a powerful individual acting as a middleman, and like the typical Vali he requested we have a spar.
There's one definite thing about that day though, I enjoyed seeing his complete and utter look of disbelief, it almost felt euphoric.
...
Flashback
Grigori
"So, you're the middleman?"
I heard a voice behind me say. Recognizing the voice, I slowly turn to see said individual, Vali Lucifer, a half human half devil hybrid.
Also, a descendant from the original Lucifer household, finally, this generation's White Dragon Emperor and also the strongest wielder of said Sacred Gear to date.
"I am, and you are?"
"Vali, I'm part of Grigori. Cutting to the chase, I put a request in for a sparring match."
He says with a hint of pride and arrogance.
"Oh, you're the guy who sent that, uh sure, when do you want to start?"
Already knowing the answer he'll give me; I end my chat with a random fallen angel.
"Now. Follow me. I'll take you to one of the training rooms."
Without waiting for my response, he just starts walking away. I just sigh and follow him. I haven't looked at other people's stats in a while, so I use [Observe] on Vali.
...
Name: Vali Lucifer
Age: 17
Potential: Dragon God - SSS
Rank: Ultimate Class - S
Gender: Male
Race: Half Human/ Half Devil
Titles: White Dragon Emperor/True Lucifer
Sacred Gear: Divine Dividing
Level: 59 (86%)
Hp: 31,270 (Hp Regen: 351 per minute)
Mp: 49,877 (Mp Regen: 420 per second)
Str: 130
Vit: 129
Dex: 119
Int: 92
Wis: 89
Char: 76
Luk: 17
...
Everyone's luck is awful. It makes sense knowing their history and past, but still, it's shit. While I looked at his stats, we eventually reached a door, where someone was standing.
"That's…"
I mumbled, but Vali still apparently heard me.
"Penemue, a Fallen Angel, a Cadre in rank and also Chief Secretary of Grigori."
Vali briefly explains. At least his chuunibyou is gone. Otherwise, this would be a lot more cringe. I thought as a smirk made its way to my mouth.
"Ara?"
The individual called Penemue says as she tilts her head to the side and smiles.
"Vali, this is?" she asks the young man.
"The middleman Azazel was talking about."
He replied while opening the door and walking in.
"Ah! Him! You're the—"
She begins to talk, but I put a finger to my mouth, indicating to keep that part a secret for now. She looks surprised for a moment before giggling and giving me a wink, then walking off.
Does every female have to be borderline a horny flirt in this world? I sigh as my left eye twitches.
[You picked this world partner.]
I did not. The being that sent me here chose it, while I was a bit excited when I got here, but being here… It's a lot harder to live through it.
[Still, your harem will be large, you even said you wanted one. Why are you so against it and so slow at getting them?]
I'd rather take my time Ddraig, I won't be manipulating their emotions or feelings with a skill, that's really not my style of doing things…unless it's an enemy, then I don't care what's in between your legs.'
I snort at my last remark and join Vali in the sparring room. When I saw him, he was standing there menacingly, arms crossed and a bit impatient. I walk to the opposite side of the room and stand there.
"Any rules you want to put in place?"
I asked the guy.
"Since it's a sparring match, no killing obviously, the winner is decided when one of us is unconscious or surrenders."
"Fair enough, then we should—"
I was cut off by a voice entering the room.
"Oh? You two are really going to go at it, huh?"
The person in question is none other than Azazel followed by Baraqiel, Shemhazai, Penemue, and the entire Slash/dog team. Which was a surprise, to say the least.
Vali turned to them and raised a brow
"What are you doing here, Azazel? You know I put in the request myself, so I'm not just wanting to randomly fight someone."
"I know I know, but hey, we get to see a fight between Mr. Middleman and good ol' Vali."
The Governor says with a snort.
"I also invited everyone else to see this spectacle, oh and Penemue was the one who told me."
"Whatever."
Vali shrugged and turned back to me.
"Ready?"
"Yeah, anytime."
I briefly glance at everyone watching, especially the females. As they did with me. Lavinia and I made brief eye contact, but I was the first one to break it and turned to face Vali again.
"Ready? GO!"
Vali shouts and dashes toward me.
He's not using it yet, huh? I'm definitely being underestimated. I was a bit annoyed. I flash step in front of him, which caused his eyes to widen, but he couldn't react in time as I sent a kick towards his chest, which connected. This sent the young hybrid flying back and crashing onto the ground.
Vali stared at me for a brief second in shock, but quickly shook it off.
"I definitely underestimated you. Very well then."
[It's coming.]
Vali proceeded to bring out his Sacred Gear [Divine Dividing]. The wings appeared from his back and glowed for a moment before dying back down.
"Hmmph!"
With a grunt, he vanished from the spot and appeared behind me.
However, it's still too slow. I turned around before he could finish his attack and sent a punch toward his chest. This time he reacts on time and blocks it with his arms, but it still sends him backward with enough momentum as the last one.
"Heh."
Vali smirks and puts his right arm out and announces
"Divide!"
{Divide!}
But that smirk immediately vanishes, and a pure face of disbelief and shock appears to form on his face.
"What?! How did my [Divide] not work?!"
Vali shouts, which caused the crowd that was watching to let out noises of surprise as well.
"I guess, I'm just built differently."
I smile at him
"I do have an ability like that too, though. [Snatch]!"
I do the same arm motions as him and announce my ability, which in turn caused Vali to grab onto his head and fall to his knees.
"Ugh! What did you do?!"
He falls down while still clutching his head.
"Huh? I did the same thing as you did, well, except a bit more powerful. One of my abilities is called Snatch, and as it says, it literally snatches all of your power and stamina and transfers it to myself."
Explaining this to him will…have zero impact in me, I mean, the fuck you going to do about it? Shove a finger up my ass? You'll be the one smelling it.
"What bullshit is that…"
White Dragon Emperor as he finally succumbs to exhaustion.
I turn to the crowd, more specifically Azazel.
"Does this mean I win?"
I was not totally sure whether I fulfilled the request or not.
[You were holding back, Partner.]
After what you said last time, I tried dialing back my power a little bit more, so I wouldn't turn Vali into an instant bloody puddle the second I hit him. I explain to Ddraig which earned an amused grunt from him before he cut his link.
The Governor General finally bursts into an evil villain cackling, only for it to die down instantly
"Yeah, you win, haha, that was pretty funny to watch. That ability you have is basically Divide, but better. Tell me, do you still need to touch an opponent for it to work?"
He asks as he wipes a tear from his eye.
"No, I don't need to make contact."
I replied, making the man whistle in approval.
"Alright, let me introduce you to some people."
…Isn't he going to help Vali first before this? Dear god, this guy… I thought as my mouth twitched.
"You already met Penemue, so no need to re-introduce her."
This caused said Fallen Angel to pout.
"To my right is Shemhazai, he's the Vice Governor General of Grigori, next to him is Baraqiel a Cadre and finally those guys over there are a team of humans who have Sacred Gears. Their team is called Slash/Dog and the leader is the guy in the middle called Tobio Ikuse."
I turn to each of them and give a nod, after the introduction Lavinia lightly sprints to a knocked-out Vali. I thought she was going to help him, but a more amusing thing happened.
Lavinia had crouched down and started poking Vali.
"Vaa-kun~~ Vaa-kun~~"
She started saying in a sing-song-like way.
"What?"
I just stared at the woman, confused in her actions.
Team Slash/Dog walked toward me with amused smiles on their faces.
"Don't mind her, she's just like that to him, they have a brother-sister-type relationship."
The guy called Tobio explains, he then holds his hand out
"Tobio Ikuse, nice to meet you…?"
"Jin, call me Jin."
I also do the same and we shake hands. I turned back to both Vali and Lavinia, to which the woman was still poking Vali.
"Should I take him back to his room?"
I asked.
"Or we could just leave him there."
Azazel fires back, smirking.
"It surprises me that you lasted as an Angel for god knows how long before falling."
I deadpan, which caused the guy in question to smirk even more.
"I wonder about that too."
"Anyway, the show's over, let's get back to whatever we were doing."
He shrugs his shoulders. He begins to walk away with everyone else in tow, with the outliers being Lavinia Reni, Natsume Minagawa, and Shigune Nanaderu. While Lavinia was still poking Vali the other two Slash/Dog members made their way toward her.
"Reni time to get going."
Natsume puts her hand on the woman's shoulder and starts shaking her.
The woman finally comes out of a trance-like state after poking Vali a bunch of times. She looks up at Natsume before sighing and getting up.
Shigune points behind her, specifically at me.
"He said he'd offer to bring Vali back to his room."
She looks at me and I nod to the statement made by the girl. She smiles and claps her hand
"Okay ~ thank you ~"
I walked over to Vali, picked him up, and slung him behind my shoulder. This caused Natsume and Shigune to giggle.
"He's like a bag for you to just carry around."
Natsume says while still giggling, Shigune continued to giggle but nodded in approval of Natsume's statement.
"O-Okay...?"
I am not going to princess/bridal carry another dude, hell no!
The three women walk out of the room and I follow them in tow. We get a few weird and amused looks, most of which are directed at me and the knocked-out Vali. The other two girls continued on ahead, and Lavinia and I entered Vali's room.
I placed him on his bed and looked around the room. It was pretty plain and boring, not gonna lie. A few bits and pieces there, a bookshelf, some manga lying around, a TV, and a few clothes were thrown about. Typical teenager room. Until I looked at a basket with three books poking out of it.
"Hmm?"
My grunting caused Lavinia to look at the place I was staring at, resulting in a smile from her. She trots over and pulls the three books out.
"Do you know what these are? ~"
She asks playfully. I do, but I won't say that.
"No, what are they?"
I walk over to her and peer down at the three books she was holding onto.
A glint of mischievousness briefly appears in Lavinia's eyes
"They're Vaa-kun's special notebooks he wrote during his younger teenage years! ~"
She happily announces and opens one of them.
"This one is called [Book of Heart]"
She points to another.
"That's the [Book of Skill] and finally the one next to it is [Book of Technique]."
After telling me the weird Chuunibyou-like names of each notebook, she finally shows me the contents of [Book of Heart].
"…Isn't this all Chuunibyou words and phrasing? Heck, this book is just full of weird one-liners and phrases."
"That's right ~ there's even more here ~"
She places the book down and shows me the rest.
[Book of Skill] was just names of finishing moves Vali came up with, quite a few of them had strange names and even meanings beside them.
"Pfft what the hell does 'Punishment of the Morningstar: Equilibrium' even have to do with equilibrium? When he's just using Half dimension while drop-kicking someone?"
Which earned a giggle from Lavinia. At this point, we had sat down next to each other and were already leaning on each other as we looked through his books and chuckled at his old chuunibyou self.
The [Book of Technique] mostly contains insight into techniques related to magic and demonic power. But as previously mentioned, his chuunibyou took over and a lot of words outright didn't make sense and were just what young Vali thought was cool.
"He really was childish and really chuunibyou back then, huh? It hasn't been that long, I would assume."
Having closed the last book, Lavinia kept it on her lap, but stared at it with nostalgia in her eyes.
"He really was ~"
She looked up at me with a smile.
"But he's grown up to be a fine young man now ~ but ~, he still slips up from time to time and a bit of it comes back out ~."
Giggling to herself as she probably remembered Vali slipping up from time to time.
…...
…...
[Partner, you're staring at her too much.].
{Yeah, like how you called me creepy, you're being creepy now}
Albion finally retorted with a snort.
Upon hearing their comments, I look away, blushing. Can you blame me? She's cute, also is being this close isn't exactly helping. I snapped back at them, but they didn't reply.
She tilts her head cutely
"Is something wrong? ~"
A bit of worry was in her tone.
"N-No, no, I was just thinking that we should get going. Your team might be curious as to where you are."
Trying to hide my own embarrassment, I tried to move the conversation along. She softly claps her hands together after remembering that she had to go meet up with her teammates.
"You're right, I almost forgot ~?"
She says and gets up. She places the books back into the basket and places them back where they belonged. I also got up and followed her, before we left the room, she looked back at Vali one last time, and we left.
We fell into a brief silence until I decided to break it
"He's fine, just exhausted, and he'll wake up in a few hours. But I think his pride may take a hit, so he'll probably request a bunch of sparring matches with me in the future."
Sighing loudly at the future fights he'll ask for from me, probably even more after he finds out I'm the Red Dragon Emperor.
"Hmmm~ that's true, that's the kind of person Vaa-kun is~"
With that our conversation ends, but it didn't create an awkward atmosphere, we just walked in comfortable silence instead. Much like Shuri did, Lavinia started to hum to herself and I started to look around the place again, seeing a bunch of rooms with different and odd things in them was a sight to take in.
I was brought out of my sightseeing and thoughts when I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around my left arm. My eyes widened and robotically looked at the person who had just done that.
Lavinia didn't break her stride, smile, or humming as she was now hugging my arm and walking beside me.
"Hey, Jin-kun ~ how tall are you? ~"
She asks a question while still looking forward.
I… HOW TALL AM I ACTUALLY?! SYSTEM?!
Answer: 6'3
"I-I'm 6'3 Lavinia-san."
Quick and straight to the point. But only earned a 'Hmm' from said woman. She's definitely just teasing me, don't think too hard about it, Jin… Yeah don't think too hard about it.
We eventually reached our destination, a sort of lobby with her teammates there waiting. Upon seeing us, their eyes got wide as saucers and a few jaws dropped.
"L-Lavinia? What're you doing?"
The one who asked that question was the other guy of the group, Kouki Samjima.
"Hmm? ~ nothing? ~"
Lavinia said as naturally as she breathed, and then she detached herself from my arm and made her way towards the girls of the group.
The two guys who were staring at me questioningly, and I just shook my head, not really knowing why she did it. I would like to think they understood what I meant because they just nodded their heads.
"Well, I should get going, nice meeting you all."
I pulled out a few pieces of paper and handed it to them.
"My phone number if any of you want to send a request my way, there's the option of using a magic circle too."
I finished telling them this and got a few thanks thrown my way. As I was about to turn around Lavinia skipped back to me and grabbed a hold of both my hands. A bit surprised
"Uhh, is something wrong, Lavinia-san?"
"Thank you for earlier, it was fun ~"
She says and skips back to her group.
That definitely sounds wrong. I didn't say anything to her, but just gave her a strained smile.
I proceeded to teleport away.
...
Third Person Point of View
Grigori
Team Slash/Dog
"Lavinia what was that about?"
Tobio was the one who asked the question to which the group was interested in hearing the answer.
"Hmmm? ~ I wonder ~"
To which she deflected the question and just started humming to herself as looked at the number.
Knowing when she started to hum, Lavinia wasn't going to give them an easy answer.
"What happened earlier then? You said you had fun?"
Natsume chimed in, she looked at her friend and teammate in question.
"We ~ just ~ had ~ fun ~"
Lavinia replied cheerfully.
"Y-Y-Y-YOU DIDN'T DO IT, DID YOU?!"
Kouki blurts out, mortified, but proceeds to be elbowed by Natsume.
"How vulgar, don't say such lewd things out loud in public."
Natsume reprimanded the guy who was already keeling over, clutching his stomach.
"You didn't need to hit me so hard… Ugh… Fucking bird…"
Kouki complained, the leader of the group just sighed and shook his head.
'But what happened between those two? Lavinia isn't that close or happy around regular folk… Well, he isn't normal if he beats Vali that easily…'
Shaking these thoughts away, Tobio proceeded to tell his team their newest mission.
Flashback end
...
Jin Skyward
Vali, after waking up, immediately started to spam send me requests to spar again but was told by Azazel to chill out a bit, but he didn't and finally was threatened by Lavinia if he didn't stop the harassment that she'd expose his chuunibyou secret to the whole supernatural world, to which the young devil slowed down significantly.
I was thankful to Lavinia and texted her some thanks, in turn, we started texting each other regularly. The next day I did accept a request from Baraqiel, and it was just capturing some rogue fallen and bringing them back alive, to which I finished quite quickly. After that I stayed a bit in Grigori chatting with the man, surprisingly enough after a few hours he revealed his past to me, his strained relationship with his daughter.
I mentioned that I lived in the same town as her, which shocked the man, he asked to tell me where she lived, but I told him that she didn't really have too many good things to say about him and that if I did tell him where she was.
She'd be suspicious of me before I told her the truth. As well as that if he just barged into her life suddenly demanding things, it would damage the already fragile relationship they had.
After the small run-down, the Fallen Cadre fell into deep thinking for a few minutes before apologizing for his pushiness and attitude on the mentioning of his daughter.
He told me that he regretted leaving that day and going back to Grigori, he already knew the disdain of the Himejima family about his family and their daughter Akeno being a hybrid. But when he came back only to find his wife dead and only daughter with a deep hatred towards him broke him.
I asked him why he didn't put some sort of protection in or around their home if he knew about their hatred towards them. But the man didn't have an answer, maybe it slipped his mind? Or just didn't get it done in time. Seeing him in a depressive mood, I didn't push it further and bid him farewell.
I told him before I left that I'd tell him how Akeno was whenever I came back for a request or visit. To which he was grateful for.
Who knew it only took a few hours of talks that would lead to that?
As for the devils? They got back to me 3 days later and also put in a request right after. The request was a bit of a surprise, but I welcomed it.
Flashback
...
Underworld
"So, you're finally giving me an answer?"
I asked the Leviathan beside me.
"Yep! That's right!"
She cheerfully exclaimed. Just a ball of energy… Demonic energy… Heh.
[Was that meant to be a joke?]
{You need to do better than that, Jin.}
Why am I being judged and questioned on my own dumb jokes? I like puns, bite me. Finally, after quite a long walk in a corridor, we reach a large door that I would assume will lead to where the other 3 Satans were waiting.
As if on cue, the door fully opens and a large table is in the center of the room, as well as the rest of the Devil Kings.
We walk in, and I stop at the end of the table, I look around and see a few maids in the vicinity, at the head of the table was the Crimson haired Satan himself, Sirzechs Lucifer, to the right was Ajuka Beelzebub, Serafall trotted up and sat beside Ajuka and finally to the left was Falbium Asmodeus.
Serafall who just sat down immediately bolted back up, which surprised the other three,
"Ahem, that man right there is Jin, the middleman we discussed earlier, as well as the Red Dragon Emperor of this generation."
She announces and sits back down with a smug 'Hmph' to which both Ajuka and Sirzechs just gave a strained smile to, Falbium as usual, just yawned.
"Welcome Jin to the Underworld, I'm Sirzechs Lucifer. We've discussed your proposal and have come to an agreement; we'd like to support your proposal."
"Alright, cool."
I took out 3 pieces of paper and used magic to send them to the rest of the Satans.
"A Phone number?"
Ajuka asks.
"Yeah, if you can't contact me with a magic— Er demonic circle, then calling or texting me should be the other way."
I explained my reasoning and he nodded to it.
"I already gave Serafall hers before."
Serafall nods her head again while doing some weird pose.
"Have you taken any requests so far, Jin?"
Sirzechs asks me.
"Yeah, I've finished two requests so far, both from the fallen angels. Fighting someone and just capturing and retrieving some rogue fallen."
"So, no high-level requests so far, huh?"
Serafall adds and I gave a curt nod to.
"Great! Well, we actually have a request to give you right now, it's quite challenging, actually."
Sirzechs pulls out a piece of paper and makes it float towards me with magic. I grab it and look through its contents.
My eyes widened. This is…a request to capture and retrieve Kuroka… This is definitely one way of meeting Koneko's sister.
"Alright, I'll accept this. I'll try and get it done by tonight, or by tomorrow."
I tell them and turn away, ready to use teleportation magic.
"Huh?!"
Serafall blurts out and falls off her chair but gets up almost immediately
"What do you mean by tonight or tomorrow? She's been labeled an SS class stray devil. Are you that confident with your power?"
She asks, not really believing my answer just now.
"Well, after reading the information given to me, not everything quite adds up."
I pause, looking at them, gauging their reaction.
"Meaning?"
Ajuka finally interjects.
"Did you try hearing her out or checking the place where she supposedly killed her master?"
I ask them with a slightly raised brow.
"We didn't get a chance to get an answer out of her since she immediately fled, however, we have not found time to fully explore the place of the crime."
The green haired Satan informs me. I nod.
"Alright, I'll go about it my way. I should have everything by tonight… More or less."
Without waiting for their reply, I teleport away.
...
Third Person Point of View
With the 4 Satans
"He's an interesting individual, Serafall."
Ajuka turns to the only female Satan.
"Mmmm, yeah, he is."
Said Satan wasn't really paying attention and was messing with her hair.
Yawning Falbium adds.
"He wasn't even intimidated by all of us, he's either stupid, or quite confident in his own skill and power."
Earning a nod of understanding from Sirzechs.
"Hmm, well yeah, the same thing happened back at the Vatican, Michael, myself and Azazel were there, didn't even bat an eye."
She replies while still messing with her hair.
"Haha"
Sirzechs chuckles loudly.
"Is something the matter?"
Ajuka asks his long-time friend.
"Oh, nothing serious, just that… I have a feeling that Jin-kun will turn the supernatural world upside down sooner or later."
Sirzechs smiles and creates a demonic circle.
"Grayfia?"
"Yes Sirzechs-sama?"
A female voice answers back.
"You know the human we were going to meet today? Jin Skyward, keep an eye on him for me. But, I will start tomorrow. If he keeps his word about completing this request by tonight or tomorrow, then I want more information about him."
He informs the person through the demonic circle.
"Of course, Sirzechs-sama."
The female devil answers and the Satan Lucifer cuts the call.
"Stalking is not a nice thing to do, Sirzechs-chan!"
Serafall lightly scolds her friend, only earning a chuckle out of the Crimson haired devil.
"Change, huh?"
Ajuka mumbles to himself and looks at the piece of paper in his hand.
...
Jin Skyward
Well, time to go to that place first. I teleport all over the underworld looking for certain crumbling remains. It didn't take me long, though, checking any and all semblance of destruction near homes.
One house stood out, and I started moving the debris aside until I found an old sealed off entrance. Using fire magic, I melt the steel doors and enter. What I saw was both sickening and unreal. Test tubes, small and large containers containing God knows what, only a few I could identify as devils and other supernatural beings.
System…
Answer: They are dead.
I thought as much. I sigh and just keep on searching the place. Any type of documentation or notebook I picked up and stored, anything will help.
I'm not that close with Koneko yet, and I doubt she would be willing to part with that hair clip she has… It did contain the info on how to create artificial Super Devils after all. I started opening drawings and finally came across something else that could help. A diary.
I opened the thing and started reading, it started out relatively normal, but far too long into it, the writings became that of an obsessed and crazed man, hellbent on finding a way to create artificial Super Devils, even if he had to use his own daughters.
The diary also says that she met Fujimai, both Koneko and Kuroka's mother, by complete chance and that resulted in the sisters being born.
However, in the diary it never once stated that the man loved the woman nor his daughters. He just saw them as little pet kittens and the mother…a hole he could stick his thing into if he felt he wasn't going anywhere with his research. How in the world did she stay with someone like this?
[You know what they say, Partner.]
{Love is blind.}
...
I just cut the link between me and the dragons and left the place. I stored the diary in my Inventory and teleported away back to the human world. But I then teleported myself to the highest place in the human world, which was Mount Everest. This should be good enough.
I stood there and spread my sense, looking for any trace of said Nekoshou. Until I found her, she definitely already joined the Vali Team, but right now she's on her own, which was perfect.
I teleported to her; she was just in a random forest, training. She immediately noticed me and was on guard.
"Who are you?"
She asked in a serious tone while starting to flare her magic up.
"Have you heard of the Middleman between the factions recently?"
I ask her.
"…Vali mentioned something about it earlier in the week, are you him?"
"Yes."
"Why are you here?"
Still having her guard up, I sent her the piece of paper I had with me towards her. She squinted her eyes but didn't try to destroy it, when it arrived near her, she grabbed it and quickly scanned through it.
She grits her teeth and looks back at me with pure malice. I didn't really want that kind of look being shot my way from her. She was about to start to go full power when I interrupted her with one word.
"Fujimai."
I stared at her directly.
Upon hearing those words, Kuroka was shocked briefly and her magic completely disappeared.
"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT NAME?!"
She screamed, this time no magic was used, she was running on emotion now, she was just reminded of her dead mother and messed up past from a complete stranger.
"Relax, when I got that piece of paper, not everything added up. I asked them some questions and they answered them. Tell me, Kuroka. Why did you immediately run away before you could try to defend yourself and get them to hear you out?"
Not breaking eye contact once, I kept talking.
"Wouldn't it have been easier that way? But instead, you're in this mess."
"EASY FOR YOU TO SAY! I WAS AN EMOTIONAL WRECK! HOW IN ALL OF HELL COULD I HAVE CALMLY TALKED TO THEM? BOTH MY PARENTS DIED IN AN EXPLOSION! GOOD RIDDANCE TO THAT PIECE OF FAILING FLESH WHO CALLED HIMSELF A FATHER!"
"MY MOTHER WASN'T ALL THAT BETTER, BUT SHE AT LEAST CARED FOR US! HE TREATED US LIKE LITERAL PETS! HE EVEN MOCKINGLY CALLED US LITTLE KITTENS AT ONE POINT!! AND AT THE END OF IT ALL NOW MY ONLY LIVING RELATIVE, MY PRECIOUS LITTLE SISTER, HATES MY GUTS!"
Kuroka at this point was just screaming her heart out as tears flowed down her cheeks. She was almost hyperventilating,
"I just had to run, keep running and survive… I couldn't even take my own life because that would make my little sister all alone in this shitty world…"
She looks back up at me with a glare, still crying.
"And now some asshole is probably going to kill me and bring me back."
She sounded so defeated saying that last sentence, almost like she was finished running away and was ready to finally die.
I sigh loudly, making her glare even worse. I take out the diary and just throw it at her, on its way to her I said
"Read it, that should be starting evidence. I personally know where even more is, but I can't get it yet."
She caught the diary and opened it. She started reading, and it made her mood worse, but at the end of it she had her own realization.
"Can this really work…?"
"More than likely, but we need the final piece, the information on how to create artificial Super Devils."
I look up at the sky
"And I know where that last piece is at."
I give her a grin.
"Where?"
Still a bit tired from all the emotions she had gone through, her answers were still weak.
I point at her, especially at her head.
"Hair clip, your sister Kon— Shirone's hair clip may be the last piece of evidence to set you free."
I let out a sigh,
"Apparently your mother rolled up that piece of paper and stuck it on her hair clip. If we can get that, and prove your innocence, then you'll have an easier time repairing that relationship with your little sister."
Finally, being able to tell her that piece of info made things easier… Hopefully.
"Why?"
"Huh?"
I was surprised when I received a single word question.
"Why are you helping me? We don't even know each other."
She looks at me now, less of malice, but still unsure of why I'm even doing this.
"You could have simply fought me, beat me and taken me. Why put yourself through all this trouble?"
"...You want the truth?"
She reluctantly nods.
"I like cat girls."
I deadpan. Which caused all the tension in the place to disappear, the cat girl in question just stood there looking at me, completely dumbfounded.
Kuroka immediately started shaking and eventually burst into laughter, tears started flowing down her cheeks again.
"This long?! It took this long for someone to show up and help me?! And for the dumbest reason?! God help me— OW!! NYA!!!"
Forgetting that she was still a devil and saying the big guy's name would cause her pain.
Though, her adding nya to her sentences should be an indication she's back to 'normal' now.
"Also, I know where your sister is, hell, I made friends with her recently, but we're not close enough for me to get that hair clip."
I scratch the side of my head
"I may need to… Do it another way."
She quickly turns back to, squinting her eyes at me.
"You're not thinking of hurting her, are you?"
"No, but, stopping time and getting the piece of paper should do the trick."
I tell her with a shit eating grin.
"THEN SAY THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE!"
She screams back at me and I put my hands up.
"Alright, alright, I'll head over and do that."
"H-Huh now?"
"Yeah, now. I did say I'd get this request done by tonight or tomorrow."
I like being efficient and not taking too long with shit I need done. I also didn't let Kuroka respond and teleported away, leaving the Nekoshou.
I teleported back to Kuoh, started searching for Koneko and found her just chilling in the Occult Research Clubroom, with, luckily, no one else.
I teleport outside the club and stop time. As I walk through the door, I quickly take off the piece of paper within the hair clip and put it back on. As I was about to leave, I gave her a quick head pat and teleported away, while also canceling the time-stopping spell. When time resumed, Koneko was none the wiser and kept on lazing around.
...
Azazel
"WHAT THE HELL? WHY DID TIME STOP?!"
He stood up in shock, but before he could do anything else, time started to move again.
"Wait what?!"
Jin suddenly teleported in front of me
"I stopped and restarted time, don't ask questions, It's for a request. Now shut up."
He quickly teleported in and left almost immediately.
"….Okay???"
Not really understanding the situation, I just left it at that. That brat just does whatever he wants and doesn't care about the consequences at all. I couldn't help but sigh in frustration.
"I'm too old for this shit…"
I kicked at the non-existent dust in the room.
...
Jin Skyward
Thankfully I just contained the spell in Kuoh and not worldwide, that would have been a problem. Too many questions would be thrown out, and I'm too lazy to answer. I'm efficient, not retarded.
"Yo, I'm back."
I greet the still standing Nekoshou.
"That… Was quick Nya. Did anything happen? How was Shirone? Nya!"
She quickly started asking questions.
"It went smoothly, she's fine, and she didn't even notice anything. Hell, maybe she did? I did give her a quick head pat."
I hold out my hand, she gives me a strange look and puts her hand on top of mine.
"Thanks, but that's not what I was looking for."
I deadpanned and looked at the diary she was still holding.
"Ah— Sorry nya."
She chuckles and hands the diary back to me. With this, the request should be complete.
"Alright, ready to go prove your innocence?"
This time I grab her hand, to which she excitedly holds back.
"Yes nya!"
She all but cheerfully says, hard to believe she was ready to lay down her life earlier with a battle to the death, including all that crying.
"One sec."
I open a magic circle and connect it to Serafall.
"Yo Sera you there?"
"Jin? Is something wrong?"
She asks, a bit worried.
"No, just asking if you guys are still together?"
"Still together? You mean the four Satans? If so, then yes, we haven't exactly left the meeting…"
"Alright, because I've done the request, and I am teleporting back in."
I told her bluntly and cut the call.
"Wait wha—"
...
Third Person Point of View
Underworld
With the 4 Satans
"….HE WHAT?!"
Serafall screamed.
The rest of the Satans were also shocked at how fast the Human had completed the request.
"He's efficient…"
Falbium yawns out.
"I concur."
The request has only been open for a few hours at most, but he has already completed it. To say Ajuka was impressed by humans was an understatement.
Sirzechs just had a glint of hope in his eyes.
'Perhaps this human can help me with that problem too…'
The red hair Satan thought of his sister and the damn engagement his father forced her into. He really had no say in things, as he officially left the Gremory household when he was appointed as a Satan.
If he pushed for more, then he'd be seen as favoring his family, and that would not sit over well with the Old Satan Faction. His hands were tied, but with the new Red Dragon Emperor, he might get a key player out of this. Of course, he'd reimburse the human for future help.
Everyone was staring at him and puzzled by his quickly changing demeanor.
"Sirzechs-chan what in all of hell is wrong with you?"
Serafall asks toward her friend and fellow Satan.
"My apologies, I just hatched a plan for something."
He brushed them off and waited for said Human to come back. Two of the Satans had a hunch on what that was about and just shook their heads disapprovingly at this giant sis-con for a Satan, but one of them was definitely a hypocrite as she was one herself, and she was proud of it.
...
Jin Skyward
I teleported into the same meeting room as earlier in the day with Kuroka behind me. She was nervous, that's a normal reaction because she's basically a wanted criminal of the devils, with an SS rating no less.
"Sup.'"
I greet them. I put my hand up before they could say anything, they all just raised a brow. I took out the diary and piece of paper containing the super devil research, using magic I created copies and sent them towards all four of them.
They each grabbed a diary and piece of paper.
"Read them before you do anything else to her."
That's all I said, and they did just that. Oddly enough, they all started by reading the diary, and their faces morphed from calm to shock and finally anger. Sirzechs and Serafall were the most affected since they had a sister of their own, the red-haired Satan a bit more since he had a son.
Ajuka was the first to finish the diary and moved onto the piece of paper. His eyes immediately widen
"This information can't be obtained by anyone, and I mean anyone. It's too dangerous."
He announces, which caused the other three to look at the piece of paper and they all shared the same look of disapproving horror.
"So, do you guys need more time to iron out the kinks?"
"Yes, we need to send our own to search the area in which this happened."
Ajuka adds.
"Alright."
Summoning another piece of paper, I wrote the coordinates of said location.
"This is where it's located."
I sent the paper to Ajuka, and he accepted it immediately.
As he summons a communication magic circle, he informs his peerage of the location and asks them to thoroughly investigate it, as well as bring back any information they believe to be relevant to the case. Sirzechs does the same and tells his peerage to join up with Ajuka's peerage.
"So, uh, I'll get going then? She'll be staying with me in Kuoh for now. So just holla at yo boy when yo done."
I decided to say it this way because why not? But they just gave me a weird look, not understanding what I meant. I sigh.
"It means, just call me when you're done with all of that, and I'll teleport here again or wherever you want me to."
All the Satans said 'Ahhh' at once, and I just shook my head again.
When we teleported back to my house, Shuri wasn't there. The note on the kitchen table said she had gone shopping in order to make something delicious for dinner tonight. I just chuckled at her antics and left it at that.
Flashback end
...
Japan, Kuoh
Jin Skyward
Anyway, just around a day and a half later, we received a call from Serafall to teleport back to the same meeting place. To make a long story short, Kuroka was pardoned for her 'crimes' and was a free woman once again. As a result of this small request, I gained favorable standing among them all, especially with the red-headed Satan himself.
I more or less knew what he had in mind when he looked at me with those eyes of his. He was planning on getting me to help Rias with her engagement to Riser. It doesn't bother me, as I am not planning to join her peerage.
I'm basically too strong for that, no piece would work on me, not even mutation pieces. Also, the fact that I'm half a dragon god makes it literally impossible. Which I completely forgot about.
Anyway, after that we left the Underworld and Kuroka was ecstatic, she basically pronounced her love for me and tried out right ra— You know what I mean.
I told her that she should take her time, as what she could be feeling right now was probably not love, but gratitude. However, the Nekoshou wouldn't let it be, and I just let her stay with me from time to time. But she ultimately had to report back to Team Vali from time to time to avoid raising suspicion.
Koneko had been informed of what had happened, but she wasn't sure how to feel. The sisters had an impromptu meeting later that night, and they had a lot of things to talk about. Koneko was a bit hesitant at first, but she was given the evidence and read through it herself, so she relented.
By the end of it, the two sisters were hugging each other and crying. I told Kuroka not to tell them, Rias Peerage specifically, who helped them. I don't want them to find out just yet. All will be revealed at the peace conference after all.
Not too long after all that had happened, I was finally contacted by Michael and asked to teleport to heaven again. The request I received from him seemed odd to say the least. However, I welcomed it since it provided a chance to get along with a woman from heaven after all.
Flashback
...
Japan, Kuoh
Jin Skyward
"…What?"
Was all I could say after hearing what Michael had asked me.
The Seraph and Leader of Heaven couldn't help but sigh, as he was well aware how absurd the request was.
"I know it sounds strange, Jin-kun, but please just humor me and come to Heaven…"
"Alright, I'll teleport now…"
Still not believing the request, I teleported to the same room I had been in not too long ago.
"Greetings Jin."
Michael waved to me with a very, VERY strained smile. The guy was clearly stressed by the whole thing.
"Thank you for…coming and accepting the request…"
"Right, so, the request was for me to bring Gabriel to the human world?"
I closed my eyes and thought about it. Isn't this essentially a date?
[And down goes an Angel.]
{One of the original Seraphs, might I add.}
You two are merely annoying background noise. I didn't let them reply properly and cut the link.
{[HEY WE—]}
Answer: They—
No.
.....
I just rub the bridge between my eyes out of annoyance, those two are just become a comedic duo at this point, the system is starting to be fucking weird too. God help me… Wait, he's dead.
Michael looked at me curiously before telling Gabriel I was here for her request.
"Please, for myself, my fellow brothers and sisters, and the entirety of Heaven… Don't let her fall from grace."
I just gave the dude a wry smile
"I'll try my best."
I better pick a more relaxed place to bring her, unless she has a place in mind, then that's going to be more challenging.
Several moments later, the fellow Great Seraph teleported in herself.
"I'm ready!"
She announces with a happy smile.
"…You're going to the human world looking like that?"
I asked what sounded like an innocent question. But had an unprecedented reaction.
The female Great Seraph puffed up her cheeks and crossed her arms
"Do I look that unattractive?"
She huffed while turning away.
I sighed; how many times have I done that this week so far?
"That isn't what I mean, Gabriel-san, I just meant that it would look a bit weird to the modern world. You're basically in robes among humans. Hold on a minute, let me get you something that'll make you fit right in."
I teleported away and immediately teleported back; all I did was create a dress for her using creation magic. This dress is made from magenta and white fabrics. It has a medium-length flared skirt with a loose waist and round sleeves.
I hand the newly created dress to her, and she readily accepts it. She teleports away, to put it on, I would assume. As she did, Michael and I stand there awkwardly, it feels like I'm standing with a dad about to let her daughter go on her first date. Which in a way is nearly literal, but as a brother, not a father.
"That dress isn't anything controversial, right?"
Michael asks hesitantly. From the looks of it, the guy's anxiety towards his sister was made even more apparent when I gave her the new dress.
"It isn't anything lecherous if that's what you're worried about, Michael. I'm well aware that if one of the Great Seraphs fell, it would spell disaster for Heaven. I have enough tact to not let that happen."
I explain to the angel, and he visibly relaxes after hearing this. A few moments later, Gabriel reappears in front of us with a happy and satisfied smile.
"I love it!"
She basically starts jumping on the spot.
Feels like I'm about to go on a babysitting tour rather than a date… If either Angel could hear my thoughts right now, they'd probably fall over and have an aneurysm.
"Is there a specific place you wanted to visit, Gabriel?"
I ask the Seraph.
"Hmmm."
She puts her right hand on her right cheek and proceeds to think out loud.
"I don't have a destination in mind, I just wanted to be taken out of Heaven and shown the human world for a little bit."
She answers candidly, leaving behind her childish aloof personality.
A bit flabbergasted by the sudden change, I could only stare at her in shock.
"Uh, well, alright then. Just stand beside me, and I'll teleport us somewhere."
THINK MAN WHERE?
Answer: Hawaii
???????? You know what? Screw it, why not? I took the system's answer and teleported both of us to Hawaii. I literally have never been here before, dear god can I get a Google map in my head or something? System, where are we?
Answer: Honolulu, random alleyway.
Fair enough.
"Alright, Gabriel, follow me."
I wait for the Angel to get her bearings and start following me, unfortunately for us, today of all damn days the streets of Honolulu were crowded.
"Oof, ow, sorry!"
I could hear Gabriel say as she was rudely and accidentally pushed and bumped around.
If people only knew who they were rudely pushing and bumping against, they'd probably have a heart attack.
Sighing to myself, I turn back and grab Gabriel's hand and pull her closer to me.
"Holding your hand will be easier for the both of us."
I wait for her to settle beside me.
"Also stops you from being accidentally left behind me and becoming lost."
I gave her a squeeze.
"Alright?"
"Okay!"
She cheerfully replies.
At least, only one of us is bothered by this predicament. I walked hand in hand with Gabriel around the State of Hawaii, we decided to take a look at the Kukui Plaza Mall, quite a spacious place with quite a few shops. After spending a bit of time there, we made our way to a little restaurant called Hunan Cuisine.
"Hey there, what can I get you?"
The waitress asks us.
"Do you have any recommendations?"
I ask her back. She proceeded to tell us the recommended dish of the day, and we both agreed to it and ordered that. It didn't take long for the food to arrive, as there weren't any other customers in the place other than us.
We proceeded to dig into the food served and to my surprise it tasted a lot better than I had anticipated. I stop eating and look at Gabriel as she happily ate up the filling as she let out small noises of happy approval.
I guess it's to her liking, then. I couldn't help but chuckle while looking at her. Is this considered a sin? A bit nervous, I decided to use [Observe] on her to be sure she didn't fall.
...
Name: Gabriel
Age: 2000+
Potential: God - SSS
Rank: Archangel - SSS
Gender: Female
Race: Pure Angel
Titles: Gabriel the Seraph/The Strongest Woman in Heaven
Sacred Gear: None
Level: 89 (95%)
Hp: 573,000(Hp Regen: 51,777 per minute)
Mp: 529,227 (Mp Regen: 50,125 per second)
Str: 2500
Vit: 1988
Dex: 2191
Int: 987
Wis: 944
Char: 6500
Luk: 9999
…
...…
{[…]}
Answer: …
What the hell is that Luk stat? It literally leagues above her other stats. Yo Big G what did you do to this woman?! I wasn't sure what to think looking at her stats, they're high but the Luk stat is just beyond reasonable. I
I highly doubt I'll see anyone else break that. At least she hasn't fallen, whatever the hell the criteria are, she didn't qualify for it. I'm still paranoid though, so I'll help her with that, but I'll wait till we're done eating.
A few minutes later, we finished eating, and I left the waiter $1k in tip money. I'm not sure if this is practiced in Hawaii, as it is prevalent on mainland America.
"Gabriel."
I call out to her as we continue to walk down a random path, still holding hands. She smiles happily at me.
I pulled out a necklace from my pocket and showed it to her, this caused her eyes to sparkle and look at the item excitedly.
"A gift… It will also, how do I say this… Help you stop from falling."
...
[Item]:
Gabriel's Necklace:
Effects:
1. Prevents the races 'Pure Angel/Reincarnated Angel' from falling.
2. [Locked]
3. [Locked]
...
The necklace I gave her is a simple design, it's colored silver and has a delicate angel design, nothing outlandish.
"Stop me from falling?"
"Yeah, like falling from grace, Michael was worried, so I decided to give you this."
I hand her the necklace, but she just stares at it.
"Um, is something wrong?"
"Can you help put it on?"
She asks me, smiling.
Ahh… That's what she wanted…
"Sure sure."
I take the necklace back and stand behind Gabriel. She brushes her hair to the side. I snake the necklace around her neck and click the lock in place. I let go, and it falls right in place, she in turn lets go of her hair letting it fall back in place as well.
She smiles even brighter than before and instead of just holding my hand, she decides to hug my left arm instead as well as hold my left hand. I'll take that as she approves of the gift.
We continue on our little outing/date we pass by quite a few places; the most notable ones were: Ohana Leis & Flowers, Foster Garden Gift Shop, Kuan Yin Temple, Beretania Community Park and finally The Cathedral of St. Andrew as Gabriel wanted to end the day by returning to a holy ground.
"Today was so fun, Jin! Thank you."
Gabriel spins around, giggling to herself.
I can see why Serafall was threatened by Gabriel; her personality and looks are a killer combo. "I had fun too Gabriel, it's getting late though, and I have a feeling Michael is getting a bit worried."
"He's always worried about me, even more so hundreds of years ago!"
She says pouting.
"Hehe, well, shall we get going?"
I offer her my hand again, and she happily accepts as we teleport away.
...
Heaven
Sixth Heaven
Once we teleport back into the room, we see Michael there looking stressed out sitting on his table and desk.
After seeing the teleporting circle materialize, Michael immediately perks up.
"Jin! Gabriel!"
He almost screamed but stopped himself.
"Hey there."
I greet the Angel, but he instantaneously freezes on the spot as he sees Gabriel basically hugging me like a koala.
"Uh, Gabriel, you can let go now."
I tell her, to which she ignores and hugs me harder.
"…"
She eventually lets go.
"Thank you again for today."
She tells me and finally turns to Michael
"You worry too much, brother! I'm fine, see!"
She spreads her arms and wings out to let him see that nothing happened to her.
"I-I see, that's wonderful to know."
I could see him visibility deflate once he was 100% sure she was okay and had not fallen from grace.
"Well, I'll leave you guys to it, just give me a call again if you need a request done."
I wave to them and teleport away from the place.
...
Third Person Point of View
Heaven
Sixth Heaven
After Jin left Heaven, Michael noticed the necklace around
"Gabriel? What's that on your neck?"
"It's a present from Jin, he gave it to me, it also helps me from falling from grace! Really neat, huh?"
She cheerfully tells the Leader of Heaven.
In turn, Michael's brow and mouth twitch.
'Help her stop falling from grace? If that's true, then I was worrying about her all day for nothing! Ahhh, father, is this how you felt when you watched over Gabriel all those years ago?'
Michael couldn't help but let fake tears fall from his eyes and he started to pray.
"M-Michael what's wrong?!"
Alarmed at her brother crying, Gabriel was worried.
"It's fine, it's nothing, everything is alright."
Michael didn't want to burden her with his worries so he decided to deflect her questions of worries.
'Jin, I have so many questions about you, but that can all be answered eventually. For now, please keep yourself safe.'
Flashback end
...
Jin Skyward
After that I just received typical capture and return requests from the three factions and of course they gave me the info I needed at the end of the deal, the devils and fallen gave me money and info, while the angels mainly gave info which I was fine with.
Sighing one last time, I take one last look at the view in front of me, and I jog back to my home. Once I was there, I had to get ready and face the challenges I had waiting for me today. Which was the reunion of the Himejima family.
I went into the bathroom to get refreshed, once I got out, I looked at the time. 7:30 a.m. I still had a lot of time, so I decided to make breakfast. Once I finished making breakfast, I just sat there waiting for Shuri to come down.
This will definitely take a while. I grumble to myself.
…
