3rd P.O.V
"I am so relieved." Aqua lost all the tension that had accumulated on her body since Yozora arrived in this world, but then a burning rage invaded her body as she glared at Antanas. "You jerk, why didn't you tell me that it was just the shaman world that fused with yours!"
Antanas, on another hand, made a strategic retreat behind Celes-chan. "Please don't punch me." The overseeing god of this world developed PTSD in just two months during their stay.
"Mah mah, Aqua-chan, I know that you are worried about your Kareshi-kun; however, you shouldn't blame him." Zelretch, for a turn of events, wanted to be the voice of reason.
"No, let her cook." Fuga, as always, intervened for the greater good, the entrainment.
Kazuma did not intervene as he was sure that he would win in either scenario if he stayed back; however, he was certain that he would lose and get kicked in the nuts, so he pleaded the fifth even if he was formerly Japanese.
Celes-chan, on her part, was just pinching Fuga, so he stopped enraging Aqua. "For once, I have to agree with Zelretch, while theoretically he could have seen every change that occurred in his world by normal circumstances, he was too busy fixing OUR mistake, so his world did not collapse."
Antanas violently nodded his head to save himself from another beatdown.
"If I may." Zelretch, for a rare occasion, was somewhat serious for the first time since he arrived in the realm. "While it is not my intention to underestimate your capabilities, your expertise when it comes to Space-Time phenomena, while certainly superior to what a simple mortal could achieve, it is not to the point to comprehend how much damage that intervention of yours caused in the continuity of this world."
"It was not as simple as changing some events inside the world. To begin with, this world is already very susceptible to interactions with other worlds, so I assume you selected this particular world instead of something more "balanced" for a newbie."
Celes-chan nodded her head at his words. "Yes, while personally, I would choose something like the "My Hero Academia" universe or the "Medaka Box" universe, I would have avoided anything related to souls like "Yu Yu Hakushu" or "Bleach" since I feared that he would blow himself up, once he had access to the power of his soul."
Everyone except for Aqua was waiting for her to say that this was a joke; however, she just continued. "However even with the uniqueness of his soul, omniversal travel is not that easy, especially in dire times, so the "DXD" universe having a natural compatibility with other worlds was the best option, especially this one as it even has compatibility with different multiverses so that the travels would make the creations of pathway easier."
Zelrecht nodded in affirmation. "Continuing with my explanation. When you interrupted Yozora's travel to this world, you damaged the "protective coat" of this universe, not enough to destroy it, but enough so the world susceptibility to other universes on different periods at the same time, constantly overlapping each other making it experience multiple timelines, similar to my own [Kaleidoscope], and while you "fixed" the major singularities, there were events that became a core part of the world."
Now it was Aqua's time to feel embarrassed, even if she did not regret her choice she now understood why Antanas almost backed down from their deal, if someone pulled something similar to her, she would have been pissed beyond belief as it would take all her time to fix the problems.
"Sorry." Aqua apologized since it truly was her fault.
Antanas took a deep breath at her words."It's fine, I guess." Antanas scratched the back of his head. "Now that I know that Yozora is your boyfriend, I can understand why you did that." Instead of throwing more wood into the fire, he let things go, making the situation less awkward. "But why are you so worried? He is like two times immortal by low-level beings' standards, by what I understood he made himself "unaging" using Death-Atribute Magic by just making himself artificially age from time to time, and having a soul like his, I doubt that there is much that can kill him permanently except for the Golden Douche or if he messing too much with his soul like Celes-chan said. Besides, he has the [Sephiroth Graal], and the incarnation of Death in Fuga's world is also infatuated with him. Hell, I know that you have multiple ways to revive people, so you could even revive him yourself."
Antanas said something that by any standards would be reasonable, even if such tricks by their standards wouldn't be worth much, for most of the "lesser beings" acquiring even one of such methods would be an achievement worth of legends and Yozora acquired them as he was just touching the grass, he could understand to some extent why they see him above normal "mortals", and reviving him seems as such trivial task that would take them no more effort that breathing is for them.
However, he soon realized that the weight of his words was heavier than he realized, as even the forthcoming Fuga, who is known for his loose mouth, was silent. Antanas was born in his position; he was never a mortal for even a single moment of his long life. While associated with the "Organization," he is unaware of the situation of mortals joining their side.
"Antanas, how much do you know about mortals that were given a second chance?" Fuga broke the silence as no one was saying anything.
"Not much really, I know that depending on the situation, they are given the choice of either joining the "Organization" or living a good life in a peaceful world, depending on the situation of how they died." At most, he had taken care of some "reincarnators" in some of the "loops" on his word, and once worked with one in his multiverse, but that was about it.
"When a "mortal" associates with the Organization and is given a second life, they are detached from everything, Karma, Fate, Casualty, and even the reincarnation circle, so once they die, that is for them."
"What?!!!!" Antanas was incredulous at Fuga's statement; he looked at Kazuma, who was the prime example of this statement, but he did not say anything.
The term "mortal" was an ambiguous one. While Antanas and Fuga had "beings" that are considered immortal by most of the masses, for them, such people called immortal are not different from regular humans.
However, unless there was a complete obliteration of their corresponding universe, there was always a "reset" that technically made everyone inside of their universes immoral; the concept of being really gone was such a foreign thing for Antanas that it did not feel real.
"That's right," Celes-chan, I intervened. "The clause of not being under anyone but the "Organization" is as strict as that, no matter if he was supposed to live in yours or Fuga's world like he is currently is, once he dies it is over for him, that is why The Organization gives so many incentives in each mission not for the goodness of their hearts, but to keep him alive."
"That is madness!" Antanas yelled. " With so much power that we have, it should be a way to revive a mere mortal, but being forgotten into oblivion is not something that we should do to anyone!"
As easy-going as he seems to be with all his antics, Antanas was truly perturbed at the situation. Yozora claimed that he destroyed the souls of those whom he deemed trash; however, a "copy" of them was conserved in their Akashic Records, and will appear once again when the "reset" happens, but to be erased just like that it was… it was….
"It is like being a Nobody." Aqua intervened, looking with deep sadness at Yozora. "An existence we know just because we are looking at him, otherwise the world would not recognize him, so ephemeral that if he did not shine as bright as he is, he would be forgotten in mere decades. And will only continue to exist in our memories."
"I ask for an apology for casting my rage upon you while you have done nothing to deserve it."
"But getting worried about his well-being is the only thing that this useless goddess can do."
….
Third POV
"Kazuma-san, I would like a little inquiry from you." Zelretch casually asked Kazuma who was reading a book since nothing exciting was happening.
Kazuma gave Zelretch a strange look. "If it is about Yozora, you should ask Aqua. I bet that she would like to talk for hours about him."
"I don't doubt that Kanojo-san would give some ... interesting data about him. However, I would like a less biased opinion, so Fuga is also discarded from these. And since Celes-chan is busy, you are the best option."
Truthfully speaking, Aqua is currently an emotional mess, and even if his curiosity as a Wizard might not have cared about this in his home world. Zelretch is currently a guest in this world, and more importantly….Fuga will go nuts if he causes further emotional damage to Aqua…
Kazuma sighed at his words. "Fine." He closed the book, giving Zelretch a stinky eye. "But I hardly knew anything about him before he was sent to Fuga's world, so I can't help you with that."
Even if Aqua opened up with him about her time with Yozora, the things he knows are either too personal(More than he would like to know) or too vague. It seems that, like with Yozora, there is no in-between with Aqua.
"It is fine, I am far more interested in what he has done in Fuga's world and why he seems as if he were a Magus of my world." Zelretch has lived for far too long and has met a lot of different people since his days as Salomon's apprentice, and when he opened the gates of the omniverse, he met even more interesting people; however, he is still curious about the young magus. "His progress in Magecraft has been outstanding given that he learned from a book, even if that book was written by one of my other selves from the omniverse, lacking a proper teacher, it's something that cannot be easily overcome, and in just 5 years on top of that."
"I mean, I get what you are saying." Kazuma scratched the back of his neck. "From what I know, with some exceptions like Sajō Manaka…do you fear that he will become someone like her?"
Sajō Manaka is arguably the most talented Magus ever born after Salomon. Born with a direct connection to the root had a vast knowledge that no Magi would ever dream to acquire; however, no mortal should have that amount of knowledge from the beginning.
Zelretch snorted at the question. "If the lad was anything like her, he wouldn't have entertained the 'wizards' of Fuga's world to begin with. he accepted that he couldn't destroy the world as it was within your agreement, but there are nasty things that he could have done. As for the weakling that goes by the name Voldemort, a stupid name by the way, he could just make him half-dead and control young Potter so he technically wouldn't be killing him, but instead, he is playing the mama goose with the kids."
"Well, he technically is doing that." Kazuma shrugged his shoulders. "He got pissed by not being able to kill him by his own hands, so he decided to make his life a "living hell" and while he does not spend all his day doing so ... I saw that one of his clones once a week goes and chases him from his hiding place."
"So he is as petty as Fuga and me…noted." Even with Fuga being "punished" for the last couple of centuries, they had their travels, and on more than one occasion, they had been… mischievous.
"But on the bright side he has impeccable work ethic, sure Fuga has given him some missions that are to his liking considering how he likes to do things for shit and giggles. But he was willingly to swallow his pride before realizing that Fuga doesn't care about the plot of the world and ironically as he is playing to be The Devil in the eyes of the Heaven's faction he is very strict to himself when it comes to deals, I bet that he would rather lose an arm….again before not accomplishing his part of the deal, even the higher-ups belief so, so they are not much concerned about him betraying us as long as he uphold our part of the deal."
Though the current Yozora could not realistically do something considerable to damage the organization, that could change in the future if he decided to ally with the outer gods. There are precedents of this happening in the early days of its foundation. Either because they didn't like the arrangement or because they were tempted by them, that is one of the reasons why the Organization became "softer" than before; if something is too rigid, it will eventually break.
"While at his level losing an arm wouldn't be that much, I get what you mean by that…but I was talking more about his personality."
"He is the biggest nerd in the universe," Kazuma said without hesitation. "I can practically hear Piccolo's scream from 3 multiverses away."
*Meanwhile*
"NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERDDDDDD!"
*
"It is rare to see you complimenting a 'bishonen' as you call him. Is it because he is your brother-in-law?"
Kazuma turned slightly green at Zelretch's words. "Don't say that! It is still fucking weird. But speaking of that, you better not talk lightly about Aqua or Aoi, which is the name he knows…thinking about it again, don't say her name at all. He may not be a threat to you at the moment, but I am sure that he will hold a grudge against you."
Then Kazuma made a projection giving an aerial view. "This is what happens when someone talks shit about her."
"A small island?" Zelretch got confused. It looked barren, but other than that, it didn't seem to be anything extraordinary.
"It used to be an archipelago…" While not exactly a great feat in their eyes, it gives him an idea of how bad it could potentially be in the future.
It would not be incorrect to classify Yozora as someone with a short temperament, but for the most time, he cares about not causing property damage, "not being a dick" he would say. But there are a few things that make him snap, to the degree of not caring about any possible repercussions on his side, and Aqua/Aoi is something that no one should dare to touch.
There used to be some creatures similar to Bogarts that lived in that Archipelago; however, they showed him some rather ugly sights, and well…that is the consequence.
"...Wasn't the Crokel house still alive at this time?"
"...Shit" Kazuma
Yozora's POV
In the Manga, Furyoku(Shamanic Power) in the English translation was incorrectly called Mana, or so I thought at the beginning. Mana and Od, by the Nasuverse definition, are pretty similar to the description of Furyoku as both are present on the planet, and each living thing has a determined amount from birth.
However, witnessing the fight in front of me, I am certain that they are not the same. While I need further investigations, the reason why I did not notice the second energy as a person without the "gift" would be a pitiful amount that even with the incomplete usage of [Sephiroth Graal] I did notice given my inexperience with it, and mistook it with the usual energy that emanates from the soul.
Devils are being created not by the world but by Lucifer's lack of this energy, a reason why I did not notice anything unusual from them as well as for the Fallen Angels, they have no presence of this kind of energy as they were directly created by the Biblical God, and well…
And ironically, even if the Five Principal Clans are "decent" (Ugh, I almost puke in my mouth) with their ways of using spiritual arts, none of them have that gift. Maybe it is a coincidence, maybe it is not; however, I can have some educated guesses on that remark, but my doubts will be solved once I "British" my way on their records, but I have my educated guesses.
Returning to the fight in question, as I suspected, Asakura Hao is not doing a one-sided massacre; however, it is not because they are near his level…no. He is toying with them, measuring their skills and will.
To be honest, they are not half bad by the human standards that I have seen so far around Tecuani level, who could punch above his weight, something to be expected as Hao was trying to recruit them for his little group.
But Asakura Hao has not even materialized the Spirit of Fire and just evaded every single of of their attacks, however it was more than just moving in actions of his "foes", he was moving even before they did something and flawlessly evaded each of their attacks even with their "decent" team coordination.
I think that it was called Shamanic Oracle, but to be honest, this was just straight up bullying, I've been there(As the victimizer).
"Goodness," Hao was finally bored of their pointless endeavor, effortlessly bisected two of the Seminoa Warriors while also taking the leg of a third one."You should have just kept quiet and come with me."
A fountain of blood erupted, but not even a single blood droplet fell on Hao's attire. "What fools you are, now the Seminoa's brilliant sorcery has all gone to waste."
Hao then concentrated a bit of his Furyoku and fire energy concentrated in his hand, creating a fire-like laser that pierced the legless Seminoa's heart, killing him instantly.
"It is still not too late."Even though he seems eager to take him under his wing, in the end for Hao is just a disposable piece. "Do you still refuse to cooperate?"
"Of course!" Even if he was acting tough, he already realized that he was incapable of doing anything. "The Seminoa Warriors will never.." But his words died on his throat as the pressure of the whole area increased.
A behemoth born from nature itself was in front of the Seminoa Warrior, carrying Asakura Hao in one of his hands. The Flames inside of me were raging like never before, wanting to challenge that being, and I must admit that I was delighted and surprised.
This world is more beautiful(amusing) than I initially thought, while I still think that, on average, the people in this world are too weak for my standards, the outliers are living up to their name.
The Spirit of Fire was here, and the media did not do justice to him. Similar to Michael, who was just portrayed as an androgynous passive dude, he really lived by his name being the right hand of god; his whole Aura was on a different level. Hao was portrayed as an unbeatable enemy, which was true until the very end, as he was only "defeated" by the stupid power of friendship, and not even that, as he was the one to not kill everyone.
To give him even more credit, this is "just" his second life and I can sense that he can easily beat Chazaqiel if he wanted, so he is easily in the "Satan Class", so in 500 years he maybe could give the Super-Class a good beating, and that is just talking in raw strength as for the Spirit of Fire…
Thanks to my experience with Oberon and Youkai Transformation, as well as my extremely good affinity with Life(Maybe a hidden gift from Aqua?), as well as my expertise with Spirits. I feel that, different from other Spirits that "wield" fire, the Spirit of Fire does justice to his name, being perfectly aligned with the world and the concept of Fire.
"The little heroics of a little tribe in the vast universe, I see." Touching his chin, Hao made a mocking smirk. "How small."
And before he could say anything the last of the Seminoa Warrior was burned by the Spirit of Fire in an instant not leaving even the bones, though he went easy on him as he didn't burned his soul, something cruel in this case as his sole reason for existence would be to become a mere messenger, I wonder how far his divination can go.
"Come out, I know that you have been watching." Hao calmly said while looking in my direction,
"Gome gome~ it is not every day that I meet someone as strong as you, so I wanted to see it up close~" I was wearing my Organization XIII coat for more than just hiding my face. "And glad I saw that I was not disappointed."
He smiled at my compliment, but there was more in his eyes than mere joy at such a compliment. "Huh? That language…. Since you have yet to give a self-righteous speech, you are not from Asakura."
"Nope~their affairs are none of my concerns." I have more interesting things to do than waste in a generational feud, even if they kill him this time, he has already achieved his objective. "So, shall I call you, Hydro or Asakura Hao? I go by Luxu these days." There is no point in faking it, well, there are also Asaha Douji and Mappa Douji…but I would rather not call him like that.
"Mmm, it has been quite a long time since someone other than Enma called me that…but Luxu? It seems that the Patch Tribe is not the only one with a humorous sense of naming."
"You would be surprised ... .oh, by the way, how does it feel to not be able to hear others' hearts and minds? I would be surprised if it were the same with me."
To his credit, Asakura Hao's expression didn't change at all; it was just that a hint of amusement and surprise could be seen in his eyes. "I must admit that it is surprising, even Enma couldn't hide his thoughts from me, but I guess that times like this are what make life interesting, the vastness of the universe cannot be discovered by just one or two mortal lives."
For many the Kingdom Hearts universe is kinda…goofy…hehe
But many fail to realize that it is pretty high in the power scale like bullshit level, and as ridiculous as it sounds, Mickey can defeat most if not all character from the DXD cannon. So the Black Coat with [Primordial Runes] the origin of all written Magecraft, makes it difficult to peer who is under the hood, except people with a high level [Clairvoyance].
"So why are you here? I doubt that someone from the Shinto or the other pantheons would care to come to this remote part of the planet if it is not to try to smite me." Hao said, almost to casually talking about his death…but since his primary objective in this life has been already fulfilled, I guess that he doesn't care to much about dying.
I smiled under the hood and let out a chuckle. "I admit that while I was not around the area looking for you, I got closer since I am interested in you(no homo), so I am indeed here for "small chatter", and if I am being honest, I am quite a fan of yours." He is one of the few antagonists that won in the end…sorta.
Hao raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean that you want to be under my banner?"
"Of course not, don't be ridiculous." I waved my right hand. "I respect and admire how you advanced the shamanic arts in Japan, but it is metaphysically impossible for me to submit to anyone and I am sure that the same case applies to you, isn't it?" I doubt that even if my part of the deal with The Organization did not include that I cannot be under someone else I would do it. When I just died I considered it, but that was before, well…I discovered more about myself.
"I see, I see." The smile on Hao never disappeared. "So what is stopping me from killing you?"
"You can try~" It is kinda weird that I am not vexed at someone just blatantly talking about killing me. "I wouldn't be against having a spar and I am sure my partners are the same."
Blue-Eyes, Red-Demon, and even Winged Kuriboh appeared menacingly behind me and ironically it was Winged Kuriboh who looked the most willingly for going out of blood…maybe I am a bad influence on him…whom am I kidding, of course, I am.
Hao was mildly amused/surprised, maybe because he is not sensing any Furyoku from me or because of the "type" of spirits that I have with me. Blue-Eyes and Red-Demon could be considered Kami-Class if we go by strength alone and Winged Kuriboh could be easily considered Seirei-Class, he can enact barriers that can withstand a weakened Michael and give him the middle finger.
"How interesting, you are no Shaman yet you have Spirit Guardians and not just slaved spirits like I've seen with some of the Wizards of the North Hemisphere…not to mention the other presence I am sensing…divine in nature." Magus…well technically calling me a Wizard is not inaccurate, but I see myself more of a Magus than a Wizard, so semantics. And colour me impressed, so far no one has noticed my partner, that is a first-class shaman for you, alas he is not trying too hard to remain concealed at this very instant.
"Those who slave others into servitude are not worth being called leaders." I have no qualm about using others as disposable tools is a valid tactic confronting the enemy, but threatening your people like that?….utterly disgusting."But I am being truthful, when I say that I just want to talk, there is no need for falsehood in my intentions, it is hard to come by with someone with a similar "ability" and yet have different views of the world, who knows maybe either of us will gain some insight."
Going by modern human morals there is no doubt that I would be considered among the worst kind of human, but for a magus I would say that I am on the "good" side, even with all the "unethical" human experimentation I used trash that just qualifies as humans by biological reasons , not that it helps of course.
Similar to Hao, I've seen the darkness looming inside of humanity's hearts. Granted, he lived in a time where famine and maladies happened all around Japan, while the nobles fattened themselves like pigs to the slaughter. But those things still happen in the so-called modern society for similar reasons in many parts of the world, even inside of the "first world countries". You don't even have to walk in those parts to see it, one would be surprised by the inner thoughts of the guy who is serving you coffee or your classmate.
However if I had to choose between liking and disliking humanity as a whole, even with how much I know and had seen in the last couple of years and how I truthfully believe that to generalize is to be idiotic, I would still choose the former; humanity is fun after all.
Hao was still smiling there was no killing intent whatsoever but a fundamental thing that will not change no matter what I say or do. He is a shaman while I am not, in Hao's mind, heart and soul there is no need for anything but that, he doesn't care for the fact that I could be whatever race other than humans, even if humans are something to be eradicated from his point of view, other races shouldn't be that different given that even if most of the gods don't directly care of humans wellbeing, they are still necessary.
An oversight on my part, given how open he was to talk in the manga but again for the most part they were only shamans. I think he talked once or twice with Manta, but that's beyond the point. Even if he scorns over other shamans and sees most of his "companions" as disposable tools or "emergency food", they are still far better than humans.
"So there is no easy talk with you then~" Oh well I can try to talk to him in 500 years it is not like I am going to miss the tournament it must be fun, maybe I will go give a visit to the Asakura's and borrow the Chō-Senjiryakketsu, but that's that and this is this.
A small smile was hidden behind my coat, well I'll be playing with his rules for now, otherwise it will not be fun at all, you have to give some advantages for the less privileged.
""OVERSOUL!""
….
Third-Person Point Of View
From behind the two standing men, a sea of flames materialized scorching the whole area around them.
From Hao's side a the huge appearance of a red humanoid creature, The Spirit Of Fire stood behind Hao, while a bipedal Dragon, Red Demon's roared behind Yozora as his Ether body got materialized. The world trembled as both mights actualized their existence upong the world.
Both techniques held obvious rather obvious similitudes but the process of how they were actualized was completely different. While both realied on a "foci" to gain a corporeal body with the Spirit of Fire being air and Red Demon's Dragon being [The Ressurection Stone] both bodies are completly different in essence.
Spirit of Fire body was still spiritual matter similar to a gas becoming liquid but in Red Demon's case he gained a solid body as it was made of Ether. But the end result still the same, both gained the capability to interact with the physical realm.
*Classsh*
Red Demon's and Spirit of Fire engaged in a fight of physical might creating wave shocks with each punch they thrown as well as burning everything they step on. The air started to become drier, which would scorch any normal human's lungs within seconds.
Spirit of Fire covered his fist in fire, it was not the same as fire of mundane origin, it was something more…primordial that would burn everything without leaving a shade. However, Red Demon held that punch without blinking.
"Impressive." Asakura Hao said, staring at the confrontation. "For a mere thing as you to gain control over such a spirit that withstands Spirit of Fire, a Kami-Class Spirit, a dragon on top of that."
"You should work on the way you compliment people…" Yozora snorted.
"It was not."
"I am pretty sure it was~you are not bad either."
"Curious, you admonish me for looking down at you, and it is clear to me that you are foolishly looking down on me."
"That's where you are wrong." Yozora grabbed the side of his coat. "You look down on others because they are not Shamans, while I look down on everyone; we are not the same."
"...die." Hao's smile fluctuated for the first time in the whole interaction.
"No, thank you," Yozora said, creating a protective shield around him. "It is Red Demon's turn to have fun(Blue-Eyes lost the game), I seriously only wanted to talk…" The awkwardness in Yozora's voice was palpable.
'I think this is karma for messing around so much…when was the last time that I tried to get involved in dialogue without previous conflict…I think that it was when I foolishly thought that the British wizards had a sliver of intelligence on their bones…'
Spirit of Fire was slammed on the ground as Red Demons did not stop their barrage of pouches towards it, with the former blocking them with the best of its capabilities. Wanting to gain some distance, the Spirit Of Fire kicked Red Demon's making him float a little bit in the air, but giving him a window of opportunity to escape.
A tsunami of fire engulfed both spirits, only to change into a condensed mist of water vapor. But not only that, but the previous fire giant was made of water.
"Mmm, so Red Demon's pushed you that hard~" Through and through, the amusement in Yozora's voice was genuine as even he recognizes his limitations when it comes to bringing his partners true strength with the exception of Winged Kuriboh.
'As expected of the Grand Onmyoji, it didn't take even a second to change Spirit of Fire's element…a true master of his craft.' Yozora complimented Hao internally. Respect must be given when earned.
"Well, Red Demon, we can't let them outshine us!" Behind the black coat, Yozora had a wide grin on his face as a red aura enveloped him and a pair of red wings shone bright on his right arm.
"Raaaaaaw!" At the same time, Red Demon Dragon was energized with the same energy.
With the sole exception of Death, Li Shuwen and the gods overseeing Yozora, nobody in this world or the Potterverse had seen the mark on Yozora's arm as he always conceals it with magecraft, but for the first time, is taking action for its true purpose.
It was not just a "decorative" mark engraved on his skin. Like his Command Seals, the wings on his right arm were the physical representation of his bond with Red-Demon, as it happened with Jack Atlas and the previous signers before him.
This was not overlooked by Hao at all. He could feel the increase of Red Demon's power with him doing the same for Spirit of Fire, increasing the output of Furyoku, actualizing the existence of said spirit.
The exchange of fists became stronger and stronger, with each passing second to the degree that the landscape was not withstanding the might of the two spirits.
And while having the metaphysical disadvantage of the exchange, Red Demon was constantly improving, adapting to the situation, having the advantage in raw power and endurance. On the other hand, Spirit of Fire in his water form had the advantage in speed and maneuverability.
"You know…" The locking tone was obvious in Yozora's tone. " As much as I am enjoying, and I am hell of a sure the Red Demon has the same thoughts, we did not set a proper "barrier" so…"
"The annoying gods and the pesky Angels will intervene at any moment." Hao completed Yozora's phrase.
While this land was not claimed by any "foreign" gods, the Angels and, by extension, the Biblical God (Hao is unaware of his demise) are too "close" to their location.
Not to mention that the changes on the land are not something that can be trivialized; if any normal person were to look at the current land, they would be surprised at the look of the land, thinking that the current display was impossible. With Magma flowing all around and big blocks of ice being all over the place, and inconsistency not possible by any common, conceivable means.
While Yozora had some simple Bounded Fields in this place, they were for recognition, as this place was still far away from his main "workshop". And Hao had set the commonly used "barrier" between shamans with his "chat" with the Seminoa tribe, but it did not withstand the might of the two spirits.
"Soooo, what da ya think? One big move before we part ways?"
The frown on Hao's face was pronounced with his words. "Why would you even conceive that I would allow you to walk alive?"
"Jezz man, you need to relax." Yozora shook his head, and even Red Demon, who was still engaging with Spirit Of Fire, let out a sound that was too close to a snort. "We don't have any real bad blood between us, sure, I might have mocked you a tad bit, but you should've seen what I did to the pesky Angels. Besides…." Yozora's voice lost the cheerful tone that he projected in their exchange.
"Don't get cocky thinking that you are allowing me to walk away. I am the one allowing the continuation of your existence out of curiosity, know your place."
Instead of the plethora of insults that Yozora was expecting from Hao, a mad and sardonic laughter came out of Hao's mouth.
"To think that hahaha a small man hiding himself in a small part of the world hahahah could be this delusional hahaha." The laughter stood for a couple of seconds before it stopped cold. "Fine, I will concede, I will finish everything with one last attack."
However, Yozora only smirked behind his hood. "Sure do, buddy.'
Both Red Demon and Spirit Of Fire took distance from each other, both concentrating every ounce of power in their right fist that their respective partners were giving them.
On the Spirit of Fire side, a frozen hell was behind him, freezing everything in its proximity, reaching colder temperatures than the coldest place on the planet. With Red Demons being the opposite, a raging inferno making the air hot and dry to the point that a normal human would burn their lungs in less than a second.
Stretching back their arms, one more outburst of energy permeated the whole zone before they released their punches.
"Ice Age"
"Absolute PowerForce!"
As both attacks collided with each other, the Mana and Furyoku held in each side collided, creating an explosive force that flattened the ground.
Cracking sounds could be heard by both Yozora and Hao, making them realize that both of their partners were pretty much even in strength, and before they could further strengthen their partners, a deafening noise permeated the whole zone, and a blinding light appeared between them.
*BOOOOOOOM!!!!*
An explosion that covered many kilometers could be from the sky, which was caused by the cold air suddenly heating up and expanding. The magnitude is several times bigger than a certain bomb used in one of humanity's biggest wars.
The fog was still surrounding the affected area, not allowing anything to be seen by what the common eye can perceive, but any sane person would assume that everything in the explosion radius would have evaporated without leaving room to doubt.
"Dayum, of course it would cause a thermal explosion, even with magic being involved, the released heat is within the realm of physics, so much for the scholar that I claim to be." A complaining voice could be heard within the affected area, only chastising himself.
Behind a barrier made out of hexagonal structures, the sight of Yozora without a hint of dust on his coat. Red-Demon looked somewhat battered; however, no major injury was present on his other body.
On Hao's side, he was protected by a ring of fire, which kept all the damage from reaching him, and the Spirit of Fire did not seem to have any injury; however, his previous transformation was over, and once again, his body was made of spiritual fire.
"Interesting to think that someone could go toe to toe with Spirit Of Fire to not being overwhelmed to this point. Such a shame that you are just a filthy human."
"Part human," Yozora corrected. "And I could say the same…you are far more powerful than I initially expected…well, the world would be boring if there were no people to compete with."
"Is it all a joke to you?"
"Mmm, while I have nothing against absurdism, I would not claim to be a follower of that particular philosophy. But I do prefer a world that is entraining, otherwise life has no meaning."
"That is why you humans disgust me."
"Careful, your house of glass is crumbling."Yozora rolled his eyes at his statement behind his coat. "I will not go all philosophical with you or try to evangelize you, that is what a good guy would try to do, and oh boy, I am not a good guy. I am just a curious fella that found you entertaining enough."
Black tendrils extended over Yozora's body. "Well, it seems that time is up; I will take my leave." But before he completely disappeared, he whispered something just barely loud enough for Hao to hear him.
"See you in 500 years, best bud."
…
Yozora's P.O.V
Jezz, to think that I would find a racist father fucker who actually has the abilities to back it up. Surely he is currently weaker than Michael, but if his power system works as it was in the manga…he will undoubtedly be part of the heavy hitters in 500 years, not to mention that he could go higher.
"Did you have fun?" Gramps asked, taking a sip of his tea while chatting with the other me.
"Yup, even though I will never get along with the Hao, it is always a good thing to find such talent and more importantly, Red Demon's had his chance to blow up some steam."
"Raaaw!" Red Demon grunted as he wanted to keep fighting.
"I don't doubt it, buddy, but wouldn't it be more interesting to fight him at his prime instead of a boring fight? Besides, we are giving them a 500-year advantage; you need to be kind to the weak after all." That caught up Red Demon's attention, he knows that for us, at most it will be just 5 years waiting, for a Spirit and a Dragon, that is not much time. "Also, we are still involved in three playgrounds in this world and probably a fourth in 2 months or so, so everyone will have their chances to shine."
This calmed one of my partners, who seems quite impatient with his lack of… involvement since I came to this world. Of course, these were no empty words, as much confidence that I have in myself, only a fool would think that with my current strength I can take all sides by myself, he is my secret card… hehe.
"While it is not proper to bash someone I probably will never meet…that girl Valerie is an utmost incompetent person…well, not only her but also the Vampires, a whole faction plagued by idiots." The other me commented, holding a fire wisp.
I could not help but smile at what was in his/my hands. "Do not forget the Lucifer progeny and his pitiful allies…idiots of the utmost kind."
"It was implied." The other me rolled his eyes. "But again, what can you expect of uncultured muts?"
"Kuaaaah!"
"Kuri kuri!"
Even my partners agree with me. Well Red Demon is still pissed at those idiots that tried to control him even if their efforts were for naught and Winged Kuriboh always cheers for me…life is better with my fluffy partner around.
Using the Sephirot Graal in such…asinine manner, all that potential wasted in making mediocre mass-produced scale mail and dragons…I am almost having a seizure from how stupid they are. They are like Patrick trying to clean Mr. Crab's dollar, smacking it with a computer….yeah, that's stupid.
Well, they were more believable in what they wanted to accomplish and had one billionth of my brain(Being generous on this one). On the other hand, I am a researcher(mad scientist) through and through. Simply copying the characteristics from another race or item will not satiate my thirst for knowledge.
"So that was your goal, Little Yozora? Take a part of a Nature Spirit to create your own in the future?"
"Nah, this is an extra reward. I was really interested in meeting Ha,o as he was one of my favorite antagonists when it was just an anime from my perspective. But having acquired a fragment of a Primordial Spirit of Nature is pretty good, not gonna lie, it almost makes me want to go to the Patch Tribe to get the other ones…But I am Canadian, not British."
"Half." Gramps corrected. "And the other half is Japanese, so…"
"Racist a bit, aren't you?" I jokingly said. "But this is more than sufficient to make something "similar" with some research and that way is more interesting~" But those are for the future as I am focusing on integrating the [Sephirot Graal] in [Innovate Clear]...perhaps by the time I return to the Potterverse I will investigate a little bit, besides my partners are the strongest.
"By the way, third…you are extremely quiet, did something happen?"
"I am just feeling a little bit sick….you will know later."
I do not like how that sounds….
"Fuck yeah!!" Another voice…my voice came screaming as a portal opened with the fourth having the time of his life… for some reason. He/Me stared at all of us, confused, as I was supposed to be in Edo for a little bit longer. "Did I miss something?"
"Not much…just Asakura Hao." It is curious how I find mocking myself so entertaining…
"Goodamit," Fourth said, throwing the metaphorical hat on the ground. "I thought that I was lucky but I missed the fun…why does the third look like shit?"
"Reasons…"
"Whatever." Fourth lost interest rather easily. "But guys…I found the best Sacred Gear! For the first time in my life, I think that the Biblical God of this world is not an idiot!"
At this point, I think that I am collecting them as Pokémon cards…who am I kidding, this has been way easier than collecting Pokemon Cards. "Did you find [Telos Karma]? Or it was [Annihilation Maker]?" There was no signal of the later….perhaps someone was born with it today?
"Fuck no, I don't think that a user has been chosen for the later and we still looking for [Telos Karma]"
"So?" Now that piqued my interest, besides those Longinus, the others do not deserve such praise…Subpar, I would say.
"Here, it is better if you see it yourself!"
It was an armor…a plain looking one on top of that, however He/I wouldn't be surprised by such a thing, but when [Armiger] gave me the information regarding it….
"The Biblical God is a man of culture…."I was baffled by this….it really is the best Sacred Gear ever.
"And here I thought he was just a pervert with how the female Exorcist uniform is."
"Just with this, I am willing to ignore the Chruch….one time."
"You know that not everyone can conceptually get information about a weapon just by looking at it," Gramps said, deadpanning at all of us/me.
"Sorry, I got excited." It is not every day that I get something like this. "You remember the Sacred Gears that I previously mentioned that makes you an EMIYA wannabe, but all the users are so retarded that sullies my very essence?"
"Yeah…I remember that you called one of them and I quote "A cheap ass discount Jeanne that not a dollar store would take."...I perfectly remember it."
"Well this is the Armor equivalent of it, [Knight of the Lord] allows the user to create any type of Armor embedded with Holy-Attribute that the user can think of, but the limitation of what the user can actually create." Apparently this is the "cousin" of [Blade Blacksmith] and [Sword Birth]...however this is miles better.
"But I fail to realize why it's such a big deal for you? I know that [Armiger] cannot copy armors, but it should not be much of a problem for you as your Enchantments are pretty good."
"*Tsk* *Tsk* *Tsk* Grandpa, you cannot see the big picture ... .while I can indeed make better things than most users of this [Sacred Gear] will make in their entire life…it is a convenient thing for someone with my preferences…"
Confusion addornerd Gramp's face for a bit until realization dawned on him. "You have to be jookin."
I took a mouthful of air.
"Don't you dare."
"Unlimited Cosplay Works!"
Damn, life is good.
….
Hello Nice and Nephew it is Uncle Author with a new chapter!
It has been so long since we see/read each other and for that I must apologize.
As I previously said, life has not been easy for the last…years hahaha but that is how life as an adult is.
Many of you left kind words of support and for that I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Perhaps I did not answer your comments but I read them all hahaha.
I'll be honest with you all, I while I would love to say that I will release chapters every weak or so, I cannot promise that. I will not drop the this fanfiction, I am too invested for that, if releasing a chapter after more than half a year says something hahaha.
But at the very least I will not have to wait half a year for another chapter. As in a couple of days I will release a short omake. And I am already working on the next chapter draft, so fear not.
See you again on the next chapter!
*Uncle author drops the mic to cry in the corner as it is probable that most of his readers are gone*