A few hours after that peaceful morning, Damon had taken the time to finish the few matters he still had pending before leaving Kyoto. Starting with Azazel and Penemue, who had arrived in Kyoto just as they had promised, the meeting had been considerably peaceful. Both Fallen Angels had brought with them all the information related to Grigori's research on Sacred Gears, from ancient records to studies carried out over the last several centuries and any advances they considered relevant to fulfilling their side of the agreement.
Damon didn't bother personally reviewing every document. He had no intention of spending hours sitting around reading mountains of information when he could do that later. He simply made sure everything was there before storing it inside his personal space.
During the conversation, he also learned that Penemue would be taking on a large portion of the new responsibilities within Grigori. Damon saw no problem with that. It wasn't something that really concerned him, but he still wished her good luck; after all, the purple-haired woman would probably need it.
In any case, the conversation didn't last very long. Damon had other things to do, and he was fairly certain the Fallen Angels could say exactly the same, so none of them were in a position to sit around wasting time. As for the possibility that they had altered or hidden part of the information related to the Sacred Gears... there was no need to even mention it. Azazel and Penemue knew perfectly well what could happen if they decided to take such a stupid risk.
With that finished, Damon and Amaterasu left Kyoto shortly afterward and headed directly toward Takamagahara.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A golden flash appeared in the middle of one of Takamagahara's gardens before quickly disappearing. Damon barely had time to look around before finding exactly the three people he had been searching for. Izanami, Kaguya, and Rhea were sitting around a small table accompanied by several cups of tea and a few sweets. Izanami rested comfortably in her seat, Kaguya sat beside her, and across from both of them, Rhea looked considerably more relaxed than the last time Damon had seen her.
The Titaness was the first to notice his presence, and her eyes practically lit up the moment she saw him. "Damon!" she exclaimed as she stood so quickly that she almost knocked over her cup in the process. Rhea crossed the distance between them without wasting a second, and Damon barely had time to open his arms before his mother pressed herself against his chest. "Hello, Mother," he greeted with a small smile as he returned the hug.
Rhea simply held him a little tighter before pulling back enough to look him up and down, obviously searching for any sign that he might be injured. Damon simply let her do her thing; by this point, he was already quite used to it. "You're alright," Rhea finally murmured, letting out a small sigh of relief.
"Mother, I'm always alright. You don't have to worry," Damon replied, causing his mother to frown slightly. "I don't care how big you get, you'll always be my baby, which means I'm never going to stop worrying about you." Damon couldn't help smiling at her answer. He really did have the best mother in the world.
"I have to say, your mother is quite pleasant company," Izanami commented from the table with an amused smile. The Japanese goddess looked directly at Damon before adding, "By the way, very well done with those crows. Pff, I don't know what they were thinking attacking Yasaka-chan, I almost w—"
But before the goddess could finish, Damon interrupted her. "Let me guess, you almost went down to the mortal world to kick some asses." Izanami didn't even have to think about it. "Absolutely. How did you know?" Amaterasu let out a small laugh behind Damon while Rhea simply shook her head, clearly amused by the relationship between the two.
"I agree with Izanami-sama. Rhea-sama has been wonderful company," Kaguya added as she rose from her seat and approached the group with a much more open smile than Damon would have expected from her centuries ago. "Also, I believe I should thank you personally."
Rhea blinked, clearly confused. "Me?" she asked, lightly pointing at herself. "Of course," Kaguya replied as she inclined her head slightly. "After all, you were the one who brought Damon into this world. If it weren't for him, my story probably would have ended very differently. So thank you for having such a good son."
Damon blinked several times at the white-haired woman's words while Amaterasu raised a hand to her lips, trying to hold back a smile. A faint blush appeared on Rhea's cheeks, though her embarrassment was quickly replaced by a proud expression as she looked toward her son. "Well... I always knew my son was special."
Damon narrowed his eyes slightly. "Mother." Rhea looked at him innocently. "What?" Damon let out a small sigh. "Don't start." The three women ended up laughing while Damon simply shook his head.
Despite everything, Damon couldn't help feeling satisfied seeing his mother like this. Rhea seemed comfortable around them, something that made him quite happy. This was the first time he truly had a member of his Greek family with him in Takamagahara and, if he was being completely truthful, he couldn't be happier that person was his mother.
Izanami had gotten along surprisingly well with her from the very beginning. Even the goddess herself couldn't explain exactly why, but there was something about Rhea that felt familiar to her. The way she spoke about her children, the stories she had shared over the last few hours, and especially the way she reacted whenever Damon did something dangerous had led Izanami to conclude that the two of them probably had far more in common than what was immediately obvious.
Kaguya, for her part, was simply happy to meet the mother of the person who had changed her life. Her gratitude toward Damon only continued to grow with each passing day, so from her perspective, finally meeting Rhea was almost like being able to indirectly thank the person responsible for Damon existing in the first place.
Damon found the entire situation a little embarrassing, but as long as his mother was happy, he had no reason to interrupt them.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Several hours later, Damon walked calmly through one of Kuoh's shopping districts while his mother practically dragged him from one place to another by the hand. They had spent a good portion of the day visiting different parts of Japan before eventually ending up in what was now his new territory.
Grayfia followed only a few steps behind them. The Lucifuge had tried telling him that she could keep a little more distance to allow them to spend some time alone, but Damon had assured her that it wasn't necessary.
Rhea seemed fascinated by practically everything she came across, and Damon couldn't blame her. His mother had spent an enormous portion of her existence confined to Greek territory and, for an even longer period of time, practically imprisoned on an island.
Even after regaining some freedom, she had never really had many opportunities to simply walk through another country and experience a different culture without having the responsibilities and problems of her family hanging over her. That was why Damon didn't complain even once when Rhea dragged him through clothing stores, small food stalls, traditional shops, and a few places he was fairly certain she didn't even completely understand.
After quite some time, they eventually stopped in front of an ice cream shop. Rhea curiously studied the different options behind the glass for several seconds until Damon decided to choose one for her. "Try this one," he said as he handed her the ice cream. Rhea accepted it happily and looked at it for a moment before taking a taste, causing her eyes to light up almost immediately. Damon smiled at her reaction. "Good?" he asked, receiving a quick nod. "Very."
Damon then turned toward Grayfia, who stood to the side with her usual professional posture. "Want one?" he asked. The Lucifuge politely shook her head. "That won't be necessary, Lord Damon." Damon raised an eyebrow slightly. "Yes or no?"
Grayfia blinked at the response before regaining her composure. "I'm perfectly fine, Lord Damon." Damon nodded as though he had accepted her answer before turning back toward the counter. "One more."
Grayfia remained completely serious while Rhea watched the exchange with amusement. Internally, however, the Lucifuge couldn't help finding the situation slightly funny. A few seconds later, Damon returned and simply held out the ice cream without saying anything. Grayfia looked first at the dessert, then at the red-haired man, and finally decided to accept it without arguing any further. "Thank you, Lord Damon." Damon nodded in satisfaction. "You're welcome." Rhea let out a small laugh before continuing with her own ice cream as the three resumed walking.
As they continued through the city, Damon allowed his awareness to extend a little farther beyond the streets around them. He had noticed something since the moment they arrived in Kuoh, but the longer he stayed there, the more obvious it became. "This entire city and a good portion of the surrounding area are practically infested with supernatural beings," he commented calmly while watching several people walk past as if nothing was wrong. "A lot of them seem to be renegades... or at least individuals who don't officially belong to any faction. This place seems like some kind of safe haven for them."
Grayfia didn't take long to answer. "Yes, Lord Damon. A considerable number of Stray Devils from the Underworld eventually make their way to this area. I'm not completely sure why, but Kuoh seems to attract them much more frequently than other places." The Lucifuge took another small spoonful of her ice cream before looking toward Damon. "If you wish, I can take care of them immediately."
Damon shook his head without giving it much thought. "No, leave them." Grayfia raised an eyebrow slightly at the answer, but Damon continued before she could ask. "Actually, this is perfect. If I'm going to bring the demigods here to train, they'll need more than just beating each other up or practicing against targets all day. They can't truly improve without gaining experience fighting real enemies."
Grayfia remained silent for several seconds as she understood what Damon had in mind. From that perspective, the enormous number of rogue supernatural creatures wandering around Kuoh stopped being just a problem. As long as they stayed away from civilians, they could also become a constant source of experience for the young demigods Damon intended to bring to the city.
"More than enough enemies to keep them busy," Damon added with a small smile. "Although we'll have to make sure none of them are strong enough to kill them before they actually learn anything."
They hadn't gone much farther when Damon noticed a rather large building across the street. It appeared to be a school where classes had ended not long ago, as a considerable number of students were beginning to leave through the main entrance; some gathered into groups while others simply headed home on their own. Damon watched the place for several seconds. It looked like a fairly normal secondary school, but seeing so many students reminded him of something Venelana had mentioned to him before.
"Interesting... isn't that the school your husband's sister wanted to attend, Grayfia? Rias, I think her name was," Damon suddenly commented.
The question caught Grayfia off guard just as she was tasting her ice cream, causing the Lucifuge to freeze for a second before quickly recovering. "Uh... not exactly, Lord Damon. This is a public school in Kuoh. The academy Venelana-sama intends to send Rias-sama to is Kuoh Academy. It's a little farther away and is a private institution. As far as I understand, it currently only accepts female students."
"I see." Damon looked back toward the building for several seconds as he processed the information. "I suppose that'll change soon. After all, that was part of my agreement with Venelana." Grayfia calmly nodded while continuing to eat the ice cream she supposedly hadn't wanted. "That is correct, Lord Damon."
Rhea, who had been listening to the conversation with some curiosity, finally looked up at her son. "Who is Venelana?" she asked, causing Damon to turn toward her. "Hmm?"
Rhea tilted her head slightly. "You've mentioned that name more than once. Who is she?" Damon thought for a few seconds about how to explain it before answering. "She's the mother of the current Lucifer of the Biblical Underworld. I'll introduce you to her someday; she's a... rather pleasant woman."
Rhea slowly nodded, though she couldn't help looking at her son with a little more suspicion after hearing the last part. Damon wasn't exactly someone who spoke that highly of just any stranger, much less in that tone. The Titaness was about to ask exactly what kind of relationship he had with this Venelana when a male voice caught the attention of all three from nearby.
"Whoa, ma'am!"
Damon, Rhea, and Grayfia turned almost at the same time. A few meters away from them stood a rather skinny teenage boy with short brown hair, brown eyes, and an entirely ordinary school uniform. At first glance, there was absolutely nothing special about him, except perhaps for the expression on his face. His eyes had first passed over Grayfia before moving toward Rhea and practically locking onto the Titaness.
Damon silently watched the boy while Rhea simply blinked several times, unable to understand why a complete stranger was staring at her like that. The teenager seemed to realize that he now had the attention of all three and swallowed nervously, but instead of walking away, he gathered what courage he had and stepped a little closer to them.
"Ma'am..." he began while looking directly at Rhea. The Titaness tilted her head slightly, still confused.
The boy smiled. "Can I take a picture with you?"
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P@treon: Brotato up to chapter 187