BXBX NOVEL Chapter 171 - The Purple Piper Plays His Tune.
"Here is the location of the stray who you\'ll be taking care of. As I said, today\'s purpose is to put the result of your training to test and hone your teamwork"
Sona Sitri\'s peerage has arrived at an abandoned factory, near the outskirts of Kuoh town.
Stopping right at the entrance, Sona continued after a pause.
"From this point onward, it\'s the enemy territory. You need to stay focused and don\'t lower your guard." Sona glanced at everyone, making them nervous.
"Keep in mind that the real battle is completely different from training. Unexpected situations might arise at any moment. This requires a quick reaction to adjust accordingly. However, I have faith in you. Your efforts weren\'t in vain and it\'s time to show the results"
Sona turned towards the entrance and said "As long as you work together, this shouldn\'t prove to be difficult. Go and show me your power"
"Yes, president!"
The peerage\'s members spoke simultaneously before they advanced, followed by Sona and Tsubaki.
{Why are you raising flags from the get-go?} Genshirou sighed secretly as an uneasy feeling filled his heart.
"Keep up, Saji-san. We are almost there!" Said a girl with reddish-brown hair while walking in front of the group.
"Tomoe-chan, don\'t rush alone. We don\'t know what might happen" From behind, Tomoe\'s friend and teammate, Momo Hanakai, called for her with worry.
"Easy, easy, Momo-chan. We are super strong and the president is with us, so nothing will happen"
"Underestimating your enemies and lowering your guard won\'t be overlooked by me or the enemy, Tomoe Meguri. I hope you\'re aware" Fixing her glasses, Sona glanced at her Knight, giving her chills before saying "And… Today, I won\'t interfere. This is a test for your training"
"Ehhhhhh?!"
{Can\'t you stop raising flags…} Genshirou thought as he stared at his Sacred Gear, trying to calm his nervousness, and prepare for the upcoming battle.
"Take it easy, Saji-kun. Just do as usual. Although it\'s a bit embarrassing to say, we are strong"
"Kusaka-senpai? Ah, yeah. No problem"
They just have to do their best and nothing will happen, or so Genshirou thought at that time.
"Heeeeh? I thought I\'d find something interesting here after seeing all those Japanese dogs (Youkai) around. But it was nothing more than a bunch of babies~"
"TOMOE!!"
The picture shifted as the red color filled Genshirou\'s vision. Blood spilled on the ground as Tomoe got thrown like a ragdoll across the room with a gaping wound on her chest.
Genshirou fell on the ground as bruises filled his body, staring at the stray with a large coat and the head of a wasp in shock. His Sacred Gear attached itself to the enemy body, but the absorption was too slow.
"Power absorption? It doesn\'t matter if I kill you all quickly!"
Everything happened too quickly. Genshirou couldn\'t move or react to the sound of his teammates falling one by one. The stray\'s red compound eyes locked on him as his legs lost all power.
His body couldn\'t budge as the only thing he could see was the stray advancing———
*BOOOM!!
"AHHHHHH!!"
With the noise of a strong clash, Genshirou woke up drenched in sweat.
He grabbed his chest while breathing heavily. However, it didn\'t take him long before he held his head as a piercing pain shook his brain.
*CLANG!!*
At least, this pain made him realize that everything was just a nightmare. Smiling bitterly, Genshirou laid down again, but the smell of grass and mud, made him frown.
"Wasn\'t I just… I got hit and…" Genshirou suddenly recalled where is before a deafening sound assaulted his ears.
"What the…" Genshirou covered his ears in haste. The sound was so terrible as if his eardrums were going to burst.
He followed the noise to see, but his eyes ended up like his ears.
A red blur bolted through the area, leaving waves of raging flames behind, followed by several blue gleams emerging from thin air.
Whatever they passed, everything was torn to pieces as sparks and flames flew everywhere. Their speed was so fast that Genshirou felt his eyes become teary just by staring, causing him to realize that he wasn\'t just sweating from stress.
Genshirou blinked once and lost track of them, but suddenly, the entire place was filled with blue flashes as if the green forest shifted colors for a moment.
*BOOOM!!!*
Flames erupted like a volcano from nowhere, clashing with the blue, and drowning the scenery in front of Genshirou before his head rang like a bell. It was so painful as if someone hit him with a hammer from behind.
He could barely see the red blur taking off to the sky, leaving a scarlet trail of flames behind. However, from another corner, an azure comet shot behind it instantly.
It was so bright and massive that the air itself was distorted by its movement.
Genshirou couldn\'t describe the pressure he felt at that moment before the azure and red colors clashed in the sky, sending several booms through the air.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!*
"UGH!!"
An ear-splitting noise was heard before the red side was overwhelmed and sent flying.
At that moment, Genshirou felt he lost his hearing and was sent rolling away, but that was the least of his concerns. His head was going to explode as a nauseating feeling made him want to puke everything he ate.
*BAAAM!!*
The red blur crashed to the ground, dragging a long trail of dirt before stopping. The azure mass followed behind before landing a few meters away.
Fighting the urge to puke, Genshirou rubbed his eyes as his blurred vision and the ringing in his head started to fade away slowly. He didn\'t know if it was because of the devil\'s power, but he recovered pretty quickly.
He opened his eyes and was the cause of all of this as his jaw dropped.
The girl named Nero was dressed in a red-white dress as her golden boots glimmered under the sun. The sword in her hand bloomed with flames, scorching the surroundings.
The power and energy emanating from her shocked Genshirou to the core. It\'s completely different from the previous stray, just Nero\'s presence alone was enough to crush him.
However, she was nothing compared to the other side. No, just comparing her is simply a joke!
He barely could stare at him as his eyes teared up. The violent azure-like flames covered his body and distorted the atmosphere around him. It was like you\'re looking straight at the sun.
This wasn\'t the demonic power Genshirou knew. He guessed it should be mana or something, but this was ridiculous!
The energy gave a feeling as if it had no limits! It kept growing and expanding as the temperature rose to an astonishing degree simply by manifesting.
Despite it not being a real flame, it made Nero\'s flames look like a torch facing a volcano. This could be seen as Nero\'s body and clothes had several burn marks.
The person supporting this crazy expenditure didn\'t show any discomfort. Instead, the bland look on his face gave the notion of he wasn\'t even trying.
Leo stood there as the raging waves of mana extended to the sword in his hand, making it vibrate. Unlike regular blades, its quivering was akin to a roar.
Suddenly, his eyebrow rose and his eyes landed on Genshirou.
Genshirou felt a massive pressure that made his mind go blank for a moment. He would have already collapsed if not Leo\'s stare was like saying \'You\'re still here?\'.
The sudden anger made him stabilize himself a bit, although Genshirou wondered if he should be happy about it.
However, the heat and pressure got reduced as Genshirou collapsed and breathed the air greedily. A gentle breeze stroked his cheek before a small white kitten floated in the air near him. The cat glanced at him before ignoring him.
*Boom!*
A wave of mana rose from Nero as it pushed all the ashes and dirt away. It was far stronger than usual, but it still didn\'t amount to anything compared to the ocean of energy ahead.
Grabbing the Original Flame tightly, the pure mana changed its attributes. Flames extended from the sword and engulfed Nero\'s body without hurting her. It made her dress look like a purgatory rose as sparks rose like fireflies.
However, she didn\'t stop there.
*RUMBLE!*
Snakes of bluish-white lightning crept through the flames and cladded the Original Flame in a thunderous roar. If someone looks at Nero\'s Servant Parameters now, they\'ll see a new skill called [Mana Burst (Flame/Lightning) A] appearing out of nowhere.
Nero raised her sword and took a stance. Her usual cheerful expression vanished completely. A dreadful seriousness emitted from her as her unblinking eyes locked on Leo.
Leo looked at Nero\'s display and lifted his eyebrow. Lowering the sword, his mana burst took a step forward as its attribute began to alter.
A bit by bit, golden light particles rose before the entire mana waves turned into a blinding waterfall warping around Leo. The temperature rose again as blue sparks flashed at the edge of brightness.
Covered in light, Yamato ignited in white-blue tongues of flames before Leo took a step forward. The dirt and rocks under him began to melt into a very faint layer of lava.
*RUMBLE!!*
The flames peaked on Nero before her body vanished, leaving a sonic boom. As if she embodied the lightning, she turned into a bolt and reached Leo in the blink of an eye.
Her speed went beyond her limits as the Original Flamed stabbed forward, aiming at Leo\'s face, but it was blocked by the shining Yamato.
The energy contained in both swords exploded into a raging torrent of destruction, razing everything in a small radius and bursting in blinding brilliance.
"FUCK!"
Genshirou cursed before covering his eyes. The clash between these two was like staring closely at a stun grenade going off! Even with this cat (Wind Spirit) protection, this wasn\'t watchable for someone like him!
Nero turned the Original Flame before she used the momentum of Leo\'s strike to turn and attack again. Her sword, boosted by huge amounts of mana, left a scarlet trajectory in the air before colliding with Yamato as sparks flew.
Her swordplay felt more like a display of art as her attacks turned into a storm. Each time the two blades crossed, the Original Flame would slip and aim at the gaps in Leo\'s defense.
However, Nero frowned because she couldn\'t land a single strike despite being superior in swordsmanship.
What annoyed her was that Leo\'s sword lacked all elegance.
It was as if he was swinging a club instead of a sword, but no matter how great her swordplay is or how brilliantly Nero attacked, Yamato would always appear in the correct place before the torrent energy would slam into her.
Her arms gradually turned numb and scorched by the light, but Nero pushed forward. Her attack turned into a fury of strikes as she circled Leo, trying to find any gap.
Yet, Leo simply tightened his grip as the brilliance circled like snakes on the blade before he swung upward. Yamato turned into a flash before slamming into Nero\'s sword.
*CLANG!!*
Nero felt as if she got slammed by the claw of a dragon as The Original Flame almost flew from her hands! Leo\'s attack made a crescent arc of light as her feet dug into the ground.
But twisting the sword and side-stepping, Nero managed to deflect the strike before stabbing forward at Leo\'s exposed front.
However, her instinct screamed as Nero widened her eyes before jumping away. The previous crescent arc rose in the air before splitting into several smaller spears of light, all aiming at Nero.
*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*
The spears fell like missiles, leaving craters everywhere they landed. Nero dodged and dashed backward to avoid this carped bombing but her eyes got a glimpse of something through the explosions.
*SWOOSH!!*
*CLANG!!*
She raised the sword hurriedly before blocking the flying Yamato.
The two blades created massive sparks as mana charged Yamato grinded against the Original Flame.
"Hmph! HA!" Nero increased her strength and knocked Yamato away, but without stopping, she slashed forward again.
*BAAAM!!*
Without even bothering to hide, the brightly lit Leo broke through the dust and punched forward. His fist covered in a torrent of light clashed with Nero\'s sword.
Nero felt her sword slammed into a weapon instead of a fist before the second strike came rushing, rubbing sparks in the air.
Leo\'s fists turned into afterimages and rained on Nero as she couldn\'t counterattack at all, even if she tried, the crazy mana thrusters would simply knock her away.
She kept getting pushed back as every strike became stronger before Leo rested his fist on the sword. The light compressed between them before it started to emit a dangerous, yet spectacular gleam.
"HA!!" Nero tried to get away, but noticing it was too late, she put all her energy into the blade.
Looking at the violent lightning and flames, Leo did nothing except push his fist forward.
*BOOOOM!!!*
The brightness bloomed before a deafening roar spread. The light on Leo\'s fist turned into a blast, drowning all the fire and lightning before slamming into Nero.
Nero tightly clung to the sword as the impact sent her flying in the air. Twisting her body mid-flight, she barely regained balance before slamming into several trees.
The heat from the strike made a faint layer of lava as Leo lowered his fist and stared at Nero from a distance.
"*Pant*... *Pant*..."
Supporting her shaking body with the sword, Nero slowly stood up from the ground. Her body was in an embarrassing state as small and large burns were everywhere.
Despite trying to resist using Mana Burst, the heat and power contained in Leo\'s attacks were just too much to handle.
Nonetheless, this wasn\'t a big issue for a servant\'s body powered by a lot of mana. In the end, they are just lumps of ether.
"Despite the almost infinite mana support for me, I guess this is the limit of your Imperial Privilege. Hm, no, it\'s not exactly like that…"
Leo took a few steps and pulled Yamato from the ground before swinging it to the side. Meanwhile, Nero started recovering.
"Hypothetically, you know what you want, but if you have no clue how to achieve them, you can\'t even cheat properly. Hmmm, I suppose you should read more books"
Pointing Yamato horizontally with his right hand, the always spinning green orb on Leo\'s necklace sped up suddenly.
A weird form of energy spun all the mana along Leo\'s arm into the tip of the blade as the shadow of a humanoid pink figure merged with Yamato.
A sharp sound of fabric ripping echoed before Yamato got inserted into the \'air\'. Water-like ripples spread before Leo twisted the handle.
The space followed the blade and warped as if what got pierced was a piece of cotton. It turned into a vortex gathering towards the sword while making a hideous noise.
Nero dashed away immediately without waiting to know what\'ll happen. Her only thought was to get from the range of the next attack.
For the first time in this battle, Leo grabbed Yamato\'s handle with two hands before dragging it forward.
It was as if he was pushing something very heavy, but that wasn\'t all. Trees, rocks, clouds, everything in the direction of the vortex gave the illusion of getting stretched bizarrely.
It was like taking an image and stretching it in an editor. Genshirou stared at his body enlarging and his hands broadening as his currently oversized eyes almost popped from their sockets.
However, a gust of wind blew before he and the Wind Spirit retreated far away.
Leo took a step forward before he increased his strength and swung the blade in Nero\'s direction.
*RUMMMBLE!!!*
The piece of space flung up as if someone flipped a carpet.
Trees, rocks, even a deep layer of the ground itself were yanked off violently by the spatial wave, throwing everything in that direction into the air.
An earthquake strikes and the rubble covers the sky. This was a natural disaster. Despite her enchanted speed, Nero was caught quickly in the storm and pulled up high.
She felt like her body was getting torn apart, but this wasn\'t enough to phase her. Quickly stepping on broken trees and rocks, she made her way through the rubble and jumped up high.
Leo extended his hand forwards before his necklace shone. Two masses of scarlet energy manifested at both his sides before they turned into two crimson gold mechanical dragon heads.
Yellowish electric arcs jumped on their bodies as the left cannon opened its mouth.
The energy gathered into a blue mass as a terrible chill radiated to the surroundings. The rising mist made it look like the dragon\'s head had liquid nitrogen inside.
*BOOOM!!*
The coldness shot like lightning, freezing everything in sight in a flash. All the trees and rocks that got thrown into the sky froze like sculptures made of ice.
"…"
Up in the air, Nero stared at the scenery under her as the previous green forest had entered the ice age in an instant.
However, a strong pulling force suddenly emerged.
*Crack!*
The previous wave of space reached its limit before it retracted quickly. Everything in the air was slammed down by the spatial distortion violently as the ice broke to pieces.
The ice was shattered into fine crystals, scattering with the wind as if it began snowing in the forest, even though Nero found herself covered in snow and ice while falling.
The falling ice that reflected the sunlight fascinated her. There were even small electric arcs flying here and there. It was breathtaking scenery, but her face quickly changed.
On the other side, the second dragon\'s head already opened its mouth as yellowish lightning thundered inside and the electricity cast a shadow on Leo\'s blank face.
Nero saw Leo staring at her with blank eyes as she blinked before the cannon shot.
The yellowish lightning turned into a beam before striking the hail zone. A chain reaction occurred as the electricity switched to white and speared through all the area.
It was like the sky and earth were connected for a moment by a white flash before the thunderclap drowned all sounds.
*RUMBLE!!*
The crackling noise of electricity faintly remained in the air as the devastated area calmed down. The green landscape was flipped upside down and replaced with scorched and burned terrain.
Ash and smoke filled the place as the falling snow and ice cooled down the flames.
Nero crashed on the scorched ground as she stared blankly at the sky. Electricity jumped on her body from time to time as she couldn\'t move an inch.
Her sword was shattered to pieces as she held the remaining hilt. Despite her mana and stamina hitting the bottom, a steady stream of energy kept healing her body.
However, she stared at the sky before closing her eyes with difficulty.
As her body regained feelings, the sounds of steps echoed before it stopped next to her. Nero opened her eyes to see Leo squatting near her with Yamato and its sheath on his knees.
"Oh, you didn\'t faint this time. Did I go too easy on you or were you more durable?"
He rested his head on his hand while staring at her from above.
"Hm? You aren\'t satisfied, huh? Too bad, I\'d simply obliterate you from afar. Although I can bring you back if you \'died\', this planet would lose the qualification to host life. But look at the bright, you can go see your artistic taste there"
The grin on his face and somewhat good mood made Nero\'s temper sour. Her eyebrow knitted the more she thought about it.
However, Leo rubbed his chin as he wondered if Nero didn\'t hear him. Did he hit her head too much?
"Don\'t take me as those ignorant who never experienced defeat. This was my loss and I\'m aware that any more engagement won\'t change it"
She lost completely without any doubt. It wasn\'t even funny. The other side didn\'t take her seriously once, no, she already knew this would happen.
It was doubtful if she could make a single scratch on him even if the Noble Phantasm was deployed. Realizing that truth, Nero admitted defeat calmly.
"Moreover, facing me with your real body is more than enough"
Nero\'s green eyes observed Leo and noticed something. This made him lift his eyebrow and fix his glasses.
"You noticed? Surely, these secondary vessels can be distinguished easily if someone actually tries" Leo nodded naturally before saying "But this isn\'t my real body, It\'s the main vessel. There\'s a big difference"
Nero tilted her head in doubt, but then she shook it gently and didn\'t think much about it.
Everyone can make excuses, but not accepting her weakness and loss is more humiliating than a defeat for Nero. However, her bad mood didn\'t get better because Leo\'s grin didn\'t fade.
Of course, defeating her is something worthy of praise, but why… Why does Leo seem to be happier about trashing her around more than winning?
"Whatever you\'re thinking, it\'s correct. Speaking of your Imperial Privilege, I know a thing or two about art too. Even if the artist is full of inspirations and ideas, without proper ways to express them, they\'ll be nothing more than a third-rate piece at best. In conclusion, you suck"
"...…"
Nero\'s eyes widened as she stared at Leo, having one of the brightest smiles ever before she looked at her broken sword.
Leo smiled kindly while fully knowing that Nero would have stabbed him and started fighting again if she could. Look how he helped to ignite her fighting spirit again, as expected from a kind person approved by the world itself.
{It feels good to be kind. I should do it more} Leo nodded to himself sagely like he\'s sure to make the World\'s Will regret saying those words while ignoring Nero\'s burning gazes.
"Ugh" Suddenly, a painful grunt escaped Nero\'s lips. She closed her eyes in discomfort as faint sweat appeared on her forehead.
The crushing headache came without warning and made her unable to think properly. Their rare occurrences these days made her forget about them, yet, abusing Imperial Privilege for battle was too much.
However, she suddenly felt a cold touch. Opening her eyes, Nero saw Leo putting his fingers on her forehead.
"It\'s a strange thing. These curses seem to be the only thing following us. Not like I\'m thankful for it, getting rid of them is a fleeting dream at this point"
It was cold and no trace of warmth could be felt, it was like touching a steel plate. Yet, the headache eased greatly. The curse that followed her even when becoming a heroic spirit diminished quickly before becoming dormant.
"Should we call them something else? I guess it\'s pointless to think about it. Well, then…"
*BOOST!*
A massive amount of energy gathered on Leo\'s necklace. Just sensing a bit of it made Nero\'s body shiver unconsciously as it made Leo\'s previous display of mana wasting akin to a joke.
The necklace absorbed the energy before it opened into a cross from its diamond shape.
A scarlet mist began to emit from the gaps, distorting the atmosphere and giving a weird, illusory feeling.
"I hate how much this ability relates to me, well, it doesn\'t matter" Leo held the necklace before it released a faint crimson gleam.
*DREAM!*
A wave of illusory glimmers spread from Leo\'s center before everything began to twist and change. The image of ash and flames vanished into the air before a brand-new forest emerged.
Nero widened her eyes as the green leaves and trees appeared in her view, and the sound of insects and the song of birds filled her ears.
Standing up, Nero noticed all the injuries on her body vanished, even the Original Flame returned to its perfect state.
It\'s like the previous battle and devastating results were just a figment from imagination. A fleeting dream vanishes as the morning comes.
"Well, that was refreshing" Leo stretched his body before he felt a faint ache.
Nero noticed Leo\'s breathing became rushed for a moment before it calmed down.
As always, this ability consumes a lot of him. It\'s simply impractical to twist reality using dreams, not to mention, he currently doesn\'t have telesma to back it up.
To be honest, even Great Red doesn\'t use it this way because it\'s too much for him. Instead, his body is the best medium to shift between reality and dreams.
"Anyhow…"
Leo casually raised his hand and went through a portal that suddenly appeared before he pulled someone.
Genshirou got pulled by the back of his collar by Leo as he was still staring at the place in shock. His eyes were peeled open and the astonishment on his face wasn\'t even funny.
"So, you saw it, right? What do you think?"
The wind spirit flew from the portal and landed on Leo\'s head as Genshirou was catching a breath.
Genshirou nodded his head subconsciously before he put his hand on Leo\'s shoulder and said "Leo, deforestation is a very serious issue and crime"
"..."
"We should all strive to protect the environment and green landscape that save the planet. Committing arson, forest fire, and endangering nature is by no means the correct thing to do, even if you can just fi--- UGH!! S-top, I-I can\'t brea-th"
Looking at how Leo locked Genshirou\'s neck tightly as the letter struggled like a headless chicken, Nero tilted her head in curiosity before nodding at the pleading poor devil.
"…"
Glancing at the Original Flame in her hand, Nero looked at Leo raising his fist again because Genshirou turned the topic into ocean pollution. Her expression made one wonder what she was thinking.
…
"And so, because I couldn\'t focus at all, I messed up all the contracts and the clients\' wishes, ruining all the jobs. Of course, the president didn\'t mind, but I kept doing it… several times and, well… I also failed almost every training session after it, so… Let\'s say the president wasn\'t very happy"
Genshirou sat on the green grass, holding his knees as a depressed atmosphere loomed above his head.
Should he start counting the unluckiness of today? He got teleported, headbutted, woke up in a warzone, and got smacked for talking about environmental protection. These people just don\'t understand his noble cause, which is achieved via annoying this asshole next to him.
"That\'s crazy, man, but by all means… who asked?" Leo covered his face before saying "When I asked you what you think about it, where did you get the idea that telling me your life story is important?"
It was like the headaches were returning to Leo after listening to Genshirou\'s life story. Well, this pain never left him, but it simply amplified.
"I understand, these devils make contracts with humans and fulfill their wishes, but the prices are… Umu, this doesn\'t make sense in the end" Nero nodded to herself, making it hard to know if she did understand or simply ignored it.
Genshirou scratched the back of his head before saying "Oh, it sounded like a good chance to talk about it and it\'s not like you have anything to do."
"Do I look that free to you? I have a few dragon veins and life courting needs to be done"
"Yeah, yeah, you\'ll be grinding for nothing in gacha games anyway" Genshirou glared at Leo before shooing him away with his hand, however, he felt the scenery darkened.
Raising his head, he saw Leo holding Yamato in its scabbard up high. Recalling the strength of that sword, Genshirou broke into a cold sweat and if he understood something from the previous disaster, he wouldn\'t want to get hit by it!
However, Leo gradually lowered Yamato and put it on his thighs again. He lowered his head and stared down in silence as his eyes seemed to be asking \'Why are we here, just to suffer\'. The wind spirit patted Leo\'s head lightly with its paw.
Genshirou shook his head and didn\'t sympathize with these gacha addicts.
"G-Ga-cha? What is that?" Nero looked at Leo fall into depression and immediately asked.
"Ah, you don\'t know? They are mostly games ab---…out things… Yeah, things… Um, uh, right! It\'s something you find by yourself and not guided by others" Genshirou\'s words shifted quickly because Leo raised his head to stare at him with very frightening eyes.
The cold glint from Yamato getting pulled a bit wasn\'t assuring at all!
Luckily, Nero accepted the answer, no, she rather enjoyed it. Does she think this is a challenge now? However, the true reason is that it causes Leo pain. This Emperor of Rome doesn\'t forget insults, especially if it\'s about art! If her blade can\'t reach him, then she\'ll use something else!
Genshirou stared at Nero nodding proudly and chuckling before he elbowed Leo lightly and asked "Seriously, where did you meet her?"
"..." Leo glanced at him before lowering his head and saying with a small voice "My… my gacha addiction got the best of me again"
"...…"
There weren\'t enough words to describe the bewilderment on Genshirou\'s face. In his mind, a simple equation was formed. Nero is apparently very rich plus Leo\'s addiction equals him borrowing money and getting into debts, but Nero took a liking to him or maybe his power, then to pay his debts---
"I know imagination is free, but I gotta stop you there" Leo put on a disgusted expression when he saw Genshirou\'s face. It was the face of someone who wrote five volumes of bloody drama in his head.
"Don\'t worry I totally get it and if you need an--- Okay, okay, I\'ll stop"
"Good" Leo lowered Yamato. The atmosphere suddenly shifted from casual to serious as he spoke "Tell me what do you think. Was the previous \'fight\' scary?"
"Yes." Pulled by the sudden change, Genshirou swallowed and nodded. He\'ll probably never forget this day and it\'ll haunt him in dreams. It was that terrifying for him.
"Then, is the harlot stray that you met scarier?"
"..." Genshirou became tongue-tied and couldn\'t speak for a while. The scenes of both events flashed in his mind. It all stopped at the moment when Leo looked at him and terrifying pressure crushed him like an ant.
His lips moved on their own before he even realized and said " N-no…"
"Your condition is completely natural and normal. It\'s so normal in fact that it makes me feel weird." Leo caressed Yamato\'s hilt and said "There\'s no way a few students who lived all their lives in peace will adapt to the battlefield easily. The mentality to be calm despite your life is on the line isn\'t easy to come by, well, maybe if they got tossed into several deadly situations"
"I don\'t doubt that the bob-cut girl has thought of this. With her personality, it\'s unlikely she didn\'t know the true strength of the opponent beforehand, but she still sent you there…"
Leo chuckled as Genshirou flinched before saying "The president… knew?"
"Don\'t think too much about it. Suffering today is better than regretting it later. But for her to do it like this… I guess she either truly has faith in you or she\'s in a hurry. Well, the situation wasn\'t exactly great lately"
Shaking his head, Leo waited until Genshirou finished his thought.
"... Yeah, I heard about it from the president, but she didn\'t reveal much. It was about some magic or whatever"
"Heeeh, I wonder…"
Leo\'s light chuckle and small smile made Genshirou shiver for a moment before he decided to not think too much about it.
"As I said, there\'s nothing I can teach you. Maybe I should thank you for sparing me from \'Can I do that if I get stronger?\' question because you can never do what I can, well, it\'s unlikely anyone will be able to. But… there\'s something you could learn for yourself"
"Wh--- AHH! Eh?" Genshirou screamed from fear as he saw Leo pull Yamato and swing at his neck. He tried to raise his hands to defend, but the blade was already at his neck. The cold sensation turned his face pale as he didn\'t dare to move.
"I raised my sword at you several times during this period, but instead of dodging and moving away, you raised your hands. You saw me using Yamato, so do you think your fists can block it, or did you bet on the Sacred Gear\'s durability? It\'ll only take a normal sword to chop off your hands, you know?"
Leo sheathed Yamato as Genshirou rubbed his neck like the touch of the blade still lingered in his mind.
"I am a firm believer of rather than studying basics and techniques, it\'s better to learn how to act and react first. This starts by being able to calm down and actually choose your next movement, rather than swinging your arms around. This is what you\'ll be figuring out"
"For this, I even took the trouble to play along with her to show you that whatever was scaring you is nothing. She did a great job pretending to \'fight\' me for your sake, you should thank her"
"Umu?!" Nero raised her head in bewilderment. What did she hear just now?
"Ah, I see, that was a play all along. You had me worried there, man. Thank you, Claudius-san" Genshirou thanked Nero earnestly, making the latter nod subconsciously.
{But… but… I fought genuinely…} Nero looked at Leo giving her a thumb up as she didn\'t know what to say. Is she supposed to feel praised? But she also felt insulted… What is this inexplicable feeling?
Ignoring Nero\'s existential crisis, Leo clapped his hands before saying "This will be all for today, let\'s go back"
"Wait, that\'s all?"
"Hm? Don\'t take me wrong, I wouldn\'t mind tossing you into the abyss, but you aren\'t one of those retarded masochists who get up no matter what. Your sanity would collapse before we achieve anything, especially because you\'ll be facing one of the scariest things in this world"
"Wh-what?"
"Me"
"Oh" Genshirou nodded as Leo\'s words didn\'t sound so bad now, wait… That\'s the worst! He is getting used to it!
"Good, anyhow…" Leo tapped the air as a pink glow radiated before a swirling portal appeared.
"I\'ll be going to China for a while, so from now on, you all shall be referring to me as Young Master, adios" Leo and the wind spirit on his head waved before they stepped inside the portal.
"Huh?"
After Genshirou\'s confused whisper, Leo took a step away from the spatial distortion because Venom\'s voice sounded in his head {Please, wait a moment, my lord. We can\'t plant the nodes yet}
"Hm? Didn\'t you say that the prototype version of the formula could be used?"
{I wouldn\'t dare to lie. However, I\'m sure my lord will swiftly plant the nodes and leave for the next location without delay, but this won\'t stop the other parties from discovering the artificial nodes and neutralizing them. Especially if those low-lives discovered my lord\'s action and actively pursue them}
"That makes sense. What do you suggest?" Leo nodded as his actions of talking to the air made Genshirou think if he had finally lost it all.
{I advise delaying the plan until we install more security measures inside the magic tool. Moreover, won\'t causing another accident affect the event my lord is waiting for?}
"Well, you got me" Leo closed the portal before taking off his glasses and saying "What am I supposed to do now?"
He wiped his glasses with a light pulse of mana while looking around until eyes landed on Nero, who was fiddling with her skirt. Her dress was filled with burns previously but recovered under Leo\'s power.
She kept frowning as if she was thinking about something troubling. However, her eyes soon met Leo\'s before she looked him up and down, more precisely, his casual clothes.
Leo could swear he saw her eyes shine and lock on him before Nero said "My Praetor, let\'s go to the market and choose new clothes"
{Choose, and not buy…} Leo noted that part before ignoring Nero\'s burning gazes.
"... Anyway, what were you suggesting, Venom?" Doing 180 degrees away from Nero, Leo asked his trusted assistant for advice.
His sleeve turned into a jet-black tentacle that slipped into a small space portal before taking a very thick book and putting it in Leo\'s arms.
\'-The Philosophy of Nordic Magic and Runic Theories Volume 1
-Written by Odin
-Edited by Loki
-Edited by Freya\'
"....."
{ :D }
"..." Leo looked down at the thick and old book as a dark shadow was cast on his face.
"Hey, man. Can you open one of those portals and send me back? It\'s getting late unless you want to go cook and clean the dishes instead of me" Genshirou waved in front of Leo, but didn\'t get any response.
"..."
Putting his glasses back, Leo lifted them up as they reflected the light before he looked up. His expression was very hard to read at the moment as the wind spirit patted his head gently.
…
Time passed rather slowly as a week flew by. Seven days usually means nothing as people engross themselves in everyday life, but for some, a week might have meant a change to their whole lives.
A young man could be seen sitting on a bench, fiddling with his phone as people passed by. Of course, such a scene would be completely normal if not for the creepy laughter.
His burning gaze kept scanning the crowds without reservation, especially females who wore glasses passing by. Despite his actions, no one bothered him because, for some reason, he looked more nervous. It seems he\'s waiting for someone because he kept checking the clock.
After waiting for a few hours, a girl with long black hair emerged from the crowd. They talked for a bit before taking off on what seemed to be a date.
As they walked holding hands, the young man felt so moved that he was about to burst into tears.
For Hyoudou Issei, this week was life-changing. Something \'blissful\' happened to him. He got a confession from a girl!
He thought it was a prank or something, but it was true! She didn\'t lose a dare and her friend is peeking from the corner to see his embarrassing state!
It was like a dream coming true for a perverted guy whose age is equal to the number of years without a girlfriend! She was so cute for him as if he fell in love at first sight.
He agreed without a second thought! Who would say no when a beautiful girl confesses to you?
Ever since that day, he felt the world around him had changed. His confidence was so big that he started feeling sorry for his two buddies who didn\'t have girlfriends.
Nodding gratifyingly, he thanks his mother and father for giving birth to him. His heart was at peace and he wanted to scream at every guy passing by \'It\'s my win!\'
However, he and his \'girlfriend\' stopped because of a sudden ruckus in front. It was coming from the clothes shop they were going to check. The clerk and the manager kept apologizing to some customers and assuring them as if they couldn\'t do anything about the mess inside.
But for some reason, their expression was like they hit the jackpot, which was very strange for Issei.
The commotion suddenly died down before a young man brushed past the manager and left the shop. He was sharply dressed in a fancy black suit and held his head with one hand like he was in pain.
"Good grief, I almost lost it… That heathen"
Issei heard the young man complaining before seeing him remove his hand as his eyes met those blue striking eyes. It was at that moment, Issei went completely pale as if he was thrown into icy waters.
{OH NO!! THE FINAL BOSS CHARACTER APPEARED!!!}
Issei\'s mind went blank as if his soul left his body. Why and how is this guy here?! Why now of all times!?
"Hm? Boobs Ki? What are you doing here?"
{Boobs Ki?! Don\'t go around giving nicknames to people, you bastard! I wanted to ask you the same thing!} Issei screamed in his mind, but in reality, his frozen face cracked a smile and said "Ha-aha-aha, I don\'t know, ah right, I\'m on a d-date, yeah"
Of course, he\'ll not say it out loud! He doesn\'t want to die on his first date! This day has reached a dangerous situation before it even started!
Leo Arisaltek, the walking menace and the unrecognized prince of Kuoh Academy! He\'s someone who picked a fight with all the boys at school after shunning the school beauty!
Yet, no one dared to actively fight him after it. Who dares anyways?!
Rumors say he sent a couple of guys to the hospital after he smashed several chairs on them, some say he was in a gang for some time, and there\'s even a weird talk about a certain accident where the principal of his past school was put in jail.
Obviously, someone shouldn\'t believe rumors casually, but seeing those unlucky guys, who decided to try their luck, get carried unconscious by their friends, or run away in fear made it hard to decide.
But for some reason, he also has a great reputation for being a \'bully\'!
When someone was getting bullied in his class, this guy for some reason went and put his arm around the bully\'s shoulders and said \'Are you enjoying this? Too bad you can\'t even do it properly, well, sounds good. I\'ll be the bully from today\'.
Ever since that, he roamed the academy with the attitude of \'This school isn\'t big enough for the two of us\' looking for any bully, and for what happened to them, they refused to speak about it.
As for this \'bully\', he either sleeps in a class all-time or disappears somewhere else, but one thing is for certain, bullying became very low in the academy.
So low it even made the Student\'s Council feel useless. Issei didn\'t believe his ears when he heard it from his buddies.
Despite his rotten personality that shuns everyone, his classmates actually respect him to some extent?! After one semester, they have a saying that states \'as long as you get Arisaltek-san to participate or help in anything, don\'t try to question the process because it\'ll all work perfectly in the end\'.
This is said by the same guys who got cursed in the face on the first day of school by him!
Good look and great grades too! Although Kiba Yuuto is the most popular with girls, this guy is the proper final boss in Issei\'s eyes! There\'s even a small secret fan club about him, which is staying secret because they know it\'ll get disbanded if Leo knew about it.
How did it come to be? No one knows and it\'s simply nonsense in Issei\'s eyes. But it\'s still a fan club in a school filled with girls! Issei never felt more jealous! His envy reflected in his current expression as it distorted.
"Stop weaving drama in your head and wake up, Boobs Ki"
"Ah!" Issei woke up from his thoughts as he saw them walking menace looking at him before his eyes landed on the person next to him "Oh, come to think of it, it\'ll happen in four to five hours at least. Delightful"
Leo gave the fallen angel a \'who are you kidding\' look, but maybe because she\'s too into the role, \'Yuuma\' didn\'t dare to look into Leo\'s eyes and hide behind Issei.
Witnessing this, Issei instinctually stepped in front of her before saying "Oi, what are you doing to Yuuma-chan?!"
Issei was going to collapse in a cold sweat, but luckily, the other guy didn\'t mind it. His eyes landed on him again and said something that made Issei very confused "Boy, have you ever heard of the hole-in-stomach syndrome?"
{The… what?} Issei felt his mind stopping for a moment before he understood. He swapped stomach with chest, then chest with heart, making the words translate into \'you\'re going to get your heart broken\'
"You… you… are you looking for a fight!??"
Issei raised his sleeves in anger. Even if he\'s a perverted virgin, no one can deny his right to happiness and insult his girlfriend! {No! Is this guy after Yuuma-chan? No wonder, Yuuma-chan is very cute! Unforgivable!}
"Where did you go, my Praetor? We still have a lot of outfits to try!"
Suddenly, Issei heard a voice coming from the store of a blonde girl in a red dress rushing with another suit in hand. Issei\'s jaw dropped and \'Yuuma\' was stunned because she felt something dangerous.
"Hands off, you heathen! I didn\'t agree to this!"
Nero tried to grab Leo, but he dodged as they got caught in a small brawl, making the store owner wipe the sweat on her forehead. She didn\'t dare to interfere in the fear of angering this big customer.
"Listen, boy. Didn\'t you learn to not accept things from strangers when you were a kid? What are the chances for a perverted idiot like you to receive a confession from a beautiful girl you never saw in your life? Think, Boobs Ki, think! Don\'t you feel something off?"
"I… I… Even if the chance is low, I\'ll take it! I trust Yuuma-chan!" Issei stumbled back like Leo\'s words caused emotional damage before he stood firmly.
"Issei-kun, can we leave. I am feeling uncomfortable"
"Ah, sure, one moment"
Seeing his girlfriend pulling his sleeve, Issei nodded quickly.
"Tsk, tsk… Another one bite the du--- Oi… Put me down, you heathen! WRRRRRYYYY!!" Leo shook his head before he was lifted by Nero and went back to the clothes store as his scream faded away.
Issei stared at this scene in silence before he walked away with \'Yuuma\'. No wonder that guy is confirmed to be a weirdo at school.
{God, please don\'t wake me up!} Looking at his girlfriend holding his arm, Issei smiled before they continued their date.
This feeling of having a girlfriend made him drunk on happiness. He soon threw the previous meeting behind his back.
Today has to be the best day in his life and nothing will ruin it!
*Pfff*
As the withering sun of the afternoon shone on the park, the fountain spouted water in the air before Issei collapsed on the ground with a spear of light piercing his stomach.
The light spear soon dematerialized, turning into glittering particles, and leaving a gaping hole in Issei\'s stomach.
"If you want to hold a grudge, then hate the God who put the Sacred Gear inside you."
Leaving those words, the fallen angel took off leaving the place as fast as she could in fear of someone coming to interfere like those two from the morning.
However, she didn\'t notice there were two figures watching everything from two different places.
One of them covered his face as if he was having a headache as for the other, he sipped the boba tea from a straw while watching the show.
\'Shot through the heart and you\'re to blame\' The song sounded from Leo\'s headphones as he watched Issei lying in a pool of blood.
{It begins.} Ddraig\'s voice was heard from the necklace as his eyes were locked on Issei\'s dying body.
"A life for a life" Leo muttered as he felt the dragonish aura rising.
In their eyes, Issei\'s life faded as the light in the night burned away. But from that fire, something is sprouting out. No, even if life was taken, it won\'t be enough to feed it.
Life is not equal, especially not a human to a dragonkin.
{This whole process was impossible from the start and it ended like this} Ddraig shook his head.
Every Boosted Gear host has one similar characteristic, which is their bodies getting tainted by Ddraig\'s power and adapting to the Longinus more.
These remnants allow Ddraig to transform part of their bodies at request much easier without having almost a 98% chance of death. After all, not all of them are cheaters like Leo, who guided Ddraig\'s violent power into a new container using his own Longinus.
Taking away the Boosted Gear from a host doesn\'t take away these modifications, however, losing Ddraig\'s stream of power, the remnants will slowly fade away and merge into the person. At best, they\'ll give them a healthy body and a bit more than usual life span.
But with Issei Hyoudou, something happened that almost made Ddraig\'s eyes pop out.
The remnants didn\'t dissolve into his vitality and body, they actually recoiled back into the empty spot where the Boosted Gear resides, trying to fill the gap with something similar. Yes, a new Boosted Gear.
Of course, the power left inside is nowhere near enough, so they instinctively choose the second-best approach. Turn one of Issei\'s organs into dragon body parts. But without Ddraig to guide the process, they soon let loose and tried to form a new \'dragon\' using Issei as fertilizer.
This \'dragon\' has no life or soul, it\'s just an amalgamation of rageful power left by Ddraig. No matter how lucky Issei got during the process and passed all the other phases without suddenly dying because the \'dragon\' sucked all his vitality at random, he\'ll in no way escape the final step.
This is why Leo saw this as a cruel process because even if Issei survived, he\'ll lose himself and turn into a mad monster, well, only for a few minutes at best before dying in horrible pain.
However, there\'s still a glimmer of hope.
Leo looks up as he senses some spatial fluctuations from above Issei. To be precise, it\'s from a weird leaflet in his pocket.
"If one life isn\'t enough, then two will do the trick, especially if it\'s a Devil\'s life. Well played World\'s Will, well played" Sitting on the building edge, Leo looked up at the sky. The sunset dyed the blue horizon with a burning orange-red hue as the clouds passed by.
Devil\'s Reincarnation———
It\'s the process of High-class Devils using Evil Pieces to reincarnate other species into Devils. During this transformation, not only the said species can be revived from death, but even acquire the body and vitality of a Devil. This is literally a new life.
After Hyoudou Issei \'dies\', the \'dragon\' won\'t have any more vitality to absorb, so they\'ll go dormant in the previous place of the Boosted Gear. The Devil Issei now, filled with vitality, can start a much slower growth. Although he won\'t have a Longinus, he\'ll have full-fledged dragon characteristics that will grow with time. Features that imitated a dragon at the level of Ddraig!
Of course, the \'dragon\' problem stays. He\'ll have to face that will in the future and control it, and maybe, just maybe, he\'ll inherit some of Ddraig\'s powers.
However, that\'s all in the future because…
"Now then… How should I deal with this?" Leo sipped his tea while watching the space fluctuation get stronger as the breath of life leaves Issei.
{What are you planning? Do you want to eliminate that thing? Do it fast}
"Hmmm, you sound rather supportive. You know, this will make Boobs Ki your sibling or descendent if this succeeded. Don\'t think I don\'t know you just want to purge all the possibilities of being labeled the Breast Dragon Emperor again"
{...}
"But It\'s hard to say… I\'m a bit conflicted here. The World\'s Will clearly racket \'her\' brain here and I\'m curious about how far can \'she\' stretch this mess. This is a prime material to study the behavior of fate and possibilities, but on the other hand…"
Leo looked at the other side of the town as he spotted a figure waiting while looking in the direction where the fallen angel went.
"This is a tiny project agreed by me and my senpai, elder, teacher, manager, and role model (Toaru World\'s Will). If you think about it, there\'s a good chance \'he\'ll\' murder me, DXD World\'s Will, and \'himself\' if I don\'t do it" Rubbing his chin, Leo weighed his choices.
{You… considered that as a possibility?} Ddraig was speechless.
"Well, do you know what? From the safety of the world and all that is cursed and horrible…" Leo raised his hand as a vastly stronger dragonish aura rose. It gathered on his index finger before forming a red nail-like armor from a gauntlet.
"Let\'s just roll the dice and see how it goes… Also, because I\'m a kind person. This is very important" Pointing forward, Leo\'s finger phased through space.
As the scarlet magic-circle started manifesting near Issei, from a tiny point in space, the crimson nail went through Issei\'s dying body and touched the core of the \'dragon\'.
Like throwing fuel at flames, the \'dragon\' core reacted strongly. The dragonish aura similar to Ddraig was released from Issei\'s body as if a dragon roared to the sky, but it didn\'t last for a moment as Leo took back his finger.
However, it didn\'t go unnoticed as a golden glow weaved into a magic-circle appeared right after. Its speed of activation was dozens of times faster than the scarlet one.
A man stepped out of the teleportation circle before his gaze landed on the scarlet magic-circle, almost taking off. But with one wave of his hand, the demonic magic froze before dissipating into ownerless energy in the wind.
The fallen angels\' governor didn\'t seem to care about trivial things like canceling magic and instead, he kept looking around, trying to locate something before muttering "Was that my imagination or…"
Looking down at the dying young man, Azazel leaned down as his hands flashed with a couple of magic formulas, scanning Issei\'s body up and down.
"This is… What?! Is this possible?! Oh, I get it, this is the previous owner of the Boosted Gear!"
It didn\'t take long before Azazel\'s eyes shone like a mad scientist and looked at Issei like a perfect specimen. However, he barely restrained himself because he isn\'t in a good position at the moment.
Snapping his fingers, he canceled the Gremory magic-circle again while rubbing his chin. He has too little time and not enough choices. Azazel sighed a bit before a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
"As I thought, this town isn\'t simple, but this discovery isn\'t enough"
After Asgard\'s disaster, his subordinates called him crazy for believing that Kuoh town had something to do with it! Well, they didn\'t really call him crazy, but they disagree strongly, which isn\'t different from calling him a madman, even if he\'s one!
It doesn\'t matter what others say, his hunch and instinct have pointed here several times, and across all those years, they didn\'t fail him. Although they also caused him to fall from grace, we don\'t talk about that and he doesn\'t regret it a bit!
He\'ll never forget getting those readings about Annihilation Maker and Boosted Gear losing signal near this town. So, he\'s determined to uncover the reason behind it.
To be frank, he is still thinking about what he should do if he ever met that \'person\' because they don\'t seem to be… peace advocates. Well, he\'ll figure it out then.
Determined, Azazel put his hand on the hole in Issei\'s stomach before the color of regret flashed on his face. This is the only clear lead he found that relates to that mysterious \'person\', but he doesn\'t have a choice at the moment…
"Hey, kid. Do you want to live? Blink twice if yes…" However, Issei was already unconscious because of the blood loss, making Azazel scratch his cheek and say "Well, I\'ll take it as a yes. I\'ll be extracting whatever this thing inside your body first…"
Putting the mentality of a surgeon and casting several healing magics on Issei, Azazel\'s hand flashed with several magic-circles and tools before he began the operation.
"… Ddraig, my eyes aren\'t seeing illusions again, right?"
{No, this is really happening}
Leo sipped on his tea slowly as his glasses almost fell while Ddraig stared with eagerness. As long as his power stays away from the Boobs Ki, everything is okay!
As the \'dragon\' is considered to be an entity separated from Issei and it\'s dormant because of the close death, Azazel didn\'t have much trouble extracting its core and preserving it in a special container.
This is a very valuable specimen and he can\'t waste it. There might be only one of them in the world!
What was left was patching up the poor young man who got dragged into this mess. This was done quickly by stacking several advanced healing magics as it shouldn\'t take long before he\'ll return to full health.
"Oh, as I expected from the siscon sister, she\'s persistent" Finishing his work, Azazel wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead before he looked at the scarlet magic-circle that kept appearing every few seconds.
"But doesn\'t she have more important things to worry about? All those Youkai surrounding this city don\'t look promising. Should I give them a hint?... Nah, it\'ll end badly"
Azazel shook his head and stood up as Issei\'s wounds disappeared, leaving a pool of blood on the ground. In his quest to discover the truth, he found some interesting things lying around this city.
The Youkai gathering outside doesn\'t seem to be normal as Azazel smelled a ploy coming from afar. However, there\'s nothing he can do about it.
As for telling the two siscons (Sirzechs and Serafall) what he discovered in their little sisters\' territory? He can\'t let them ruin the fun. Also, his curiosity got the best of him and made him jump here without telling anyone about it.
If Sirzechs or Serfall knew that the governor of the fallen angels personally went to the territory of their dear sisters without informing them, Azazel could only imagine the trouble that\'ll follow.
{I\'ll get that peace treaty signed, then I\'ll mess with them.} Azazel nodded to himself before sighing when recalling the two siscon Satans.
How sad, he saved Sirzechs\' sister from picking a time bomb. Even if he didn\'t study it yet, his experience told him that the \'dragon\' is dangerous and isn\'t stable at all. There\'s a good chance for the siscon\'s sister to fall into fatal danger.
So, they should leave this unstable stuff for him. Azazel nodded proudly as he\'s more than willing to help and contain it in his lab.
"Consider this as an apology for my subordinates\' actions. Those idiots… *Sigh* Stop involving yourself in these problems and live a peaceful life, boy" Azazel shook his head before his wings spread and vanished into thin air.
Azazel left in a good mood for acquiring a valuable specimen and finding a clue about the mysterious \'person\', but without his interface, the scarlet magic circle finally worked as several devils stepped out in a battle stance.
However, they didn\'t find anything except the unconscious Issei lying in his own blood, making the scene a bit awkward after finding nothing they could do.
However, unlike the happy Fallen Angels and confused Devils, a certain Angel completely lost it
"*WHEEEZE*! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!" On top of the building, Leo watched the Devils returning as he laughed without reservation. He would be rolling on the ground if it weren\'t for the tea in his hand.
"This actually happened, I can\'t… HAHAHAHA!!"
{The governor of fallen angels really lives up to his reputation} Ddraig felt that fate is really strange. One of the main culprits of the Breast Dragon Emperor curse in the so-called original trajectory is the one who helped him out from that fate now.
{Is this a laughing matter?}
"You don\'t get it, Ddraig? I didn\'t do anything! He did it all by himself" Leo wiped the nonexistent tears from the corner of his eye.
{Wasn\'t it you who threw the \'dice\' for him?}
"No, no, no, listen, listen. Even if I interfered slightly, I didn\'t force him to do it. There were many possibilities for the boss crow to leave or even let those Devils take Boobs Ki, but no! It didn\'t happen! He messed up the World\'s Will ploy himself without involving me! HAHAHAHAHA!!"
Laughing for a bit, Leo leaned back before saying " With this, the World\'s Will can\'t blame me for \'her\' shitty plot going down the drain, nor will senpai, elder, teacher, manager, and role model (Toaru World\'s Will) suicide bomb us. This is the way!"
"What is this feeling? It\'s strange… For him to bear the wrath of the World\'s Will instead of me… Is this companionship?" Leo put on a troubled face before it turned into the usual grin.
{...}
"Azazel was it. As I expected from one of my identities and the person who shares its name, you\'re indeed a good person" Leo saluted Azazel\'s honorable sacrifice before he stood up.
{...}
"Well, that was refreshing. Now, considering what happened, what should I do… Hmmmm" Leo looked up at the sky. The burning red-orange hue faded a bit into the horizon as the clouds became darker.
Clapping his hand tighter, Leo looked at the sky seriously before saying "O! Mighty World\'s Will, please, tell me, are my thoughts unclouded and everything I do is for justice?"
{...}
Leo waited for a while as the cold wind blew, but nothing happened. However, he noticed something weird in the sky. Three clouds moved naturally until they interlaced, forming a rather detailed shape of a middle finger.
"..."
{...}
Putting his hands down, Leo nodded slowly to himself before saying "I see, I understand now"
{No, you don\'t!}
"Yeah, I don\'t… Unless that sign is telling me that everything is shit and I should blow it up. Meh, let\'s go back" Leo shrugged as Ddraig shook his head helplessly.
Leo left the area in light steps, which showed how good his mood is. He didn\'t even teleport and enjoyed the light breeze.
Today, all the parties left the area somehow satisfied and it opened several possibilities for a certain pure angel, although the middle finger cloud above wasn\'t a good omen.