????

…It hurts… Why am I…?

"We're near the designated location, Cao Cao. Shall we proceed with the plan right away?"

"Hmm, no, bring her there but we must scout out the area for any pests of that new alliance the Middleman has created. According to Lapis, he should be in Kyoto, as well as some of the Gremory, Sitri devils, a Valkyrie, and the Governor General of the Fallen."

"…Do you think this will proceed smoothly? The Middleman is here after all…"

"Hmph, with my [True Longinus] as well as being the descendant of Cao Cao… I can win against him with my Balance Breaker, regardless of how he evolved his [Boosted Gear]. I own a higher tier Longinus after all."

"Not to mention we have your [Dimension Lost] and [Annihilation Maker], as well as the others with us. We aren't operating this mission alone. We will succeed."

"…Right."

…Middleman…? Red Dragon Emperor….? Humans… I hate them. Please save me, someone…

"If you're that confident, this should be easy."

"Right, Georg. Though, we did get lucky, didn't we?"

"Yes, that's right."

I lifted my head up as a human stood in front of me with a proud smile on his face.

"Isn't that right, Tamamo no Mae?"

"…"

…

Urakyoto

Jin Skyward

"We have found traces of youkai, monsters, and magicians around Kyoto, however, none of the 'key' individuals you have sent to us were there. They are still in the preparation phase. Shall we strike?"

"Hoho ~ you would call them 'mob' characters, young master?"

Silva and Zeno start. I see, so they aren't here yet? They must be cautious; I can only assume that Lapis or someone from those four informed them of me being here.

"Any signs of magic circles around Kyoto?"

"Yes there is ~ I found them, I remember speaking to Lianne about the magic circles that were planted around Kuoh academy during the peace conference and they were practically the same. They're scattered around the entirety of Kyoto, some by the Five Principal Clans ~"

…I need to inform Suzaku and have her tell the other four clans.

"I followed them and apparently ~ five of those circles will summon the 'Divine Beasts' made by Avezza, they're specifically made to counter and keep the Sacred Beasts in check. The sixth… They weren't too sure, but I can guess you have an idea in what they'll be used for, right, Jin-sama?~"

Six Divine Beasts… One for each clan and an unknown sixth… Cúntóir, what do you think?

Cúntóir: Answer: We came to the same conclusion, Jin. If they didn't capture Yasaka and force her into her giant fox form and have Saji fight her in his [Vritra Promotion], then they would most likely use the sixth Divine Beast to cause destruction around Kyoto.

Cúntóir: Answer: Tamamo no Mae has no form like Yasaka's, so they may have created the sixth for that very reason. If Lapis is there those Divine Beasts may be stronger than before.

…Man, I ain't no commander or super planner, the hell do I do? …Okay, hold up. Magic circles… I can assume we can destroy these ones, right? But if we do… They'll know that we're on to them. Let's do the same thing we did to the ones around Kuoh Academy, Cúntóir.

Cúntóir: That's fine, I would suggest that those three apply those 'effects' on them. I will create an item they can plant in them that will be untraceable to anyone.

Alright, do it. Meanwhile, I will inform Suzaku to have her clan and the others be on high alert, and try to find some magical circles near their lands. Like Canon, I'll have Serafall and anyone else in our alliance be the ones to stop the reinforcements of the Khaos Brigade.

Cúntóir: Answer: Processing items…. Creation complete, creating multiple copies… Distributing to Zeno, Silva and Elsa.

In front of me, a small light appeared and moved towards the three. I tell them what they are and what I expect them to do with them when they receive them. Zeno and Silva quickly leave while Elsa looks at me.

I sigh and walk over to her and kiss her on the cheek. She smiles satisfied with her reward, then leaves. Now then… Where is the most effective spot to control the leylines? I felt multiple different locations with high connections. I can assume some of those are near the Five Principal Clans.

But, the one with the highest concentration was in Nijou castle. That's also where Yasaka was being held at... I'll take a look at it, they may bring Tamamo there. I pull out my phone and sent a text to Suzaku, hopefully she's awake right now.

|Suzaku?|

She didn't answer straight away so I waited for five minutes until—

|Jin? I'm sorry, I was having a shower. How can I help you?|

|So, about what we spoke about… There may be some magic circles in some territories in each of the Five Principal Clans. Can you have a look around yours? And can I ask you to inform the other four?|

|Magic circles? As in ones that are not ours? I will have a look and order some of my members to search for some. Is it the Khaos Brigade?|

|Yeah, so this is what I found out—|

I sent multiple texts to Suzaku about what I had just discussed with Cúntóir and the other three.

|…That is concerning, very well. I will send out a notice to the other clans to be on high alert.|

|Yeah, I know you won't have any problems with dealing with the Divine Beasts since you're powerful, as well as having a shadow knight. But the others may need help, I'll send Zeno, Silva, Elsa, and Aurelia their way.|

|Yes, I will definitely do that then. I will text you back when I'm done, Jin.|

I nod and throw my phone back into my [Inventory] before sighing and turning around. I'll call for another meeting later on tonight. I'll let them enjoy their trip more. I'll handle this myself... If I'm not mistaken, they probably didn't meet Cao Cao today.

…

Breakfast

Kunou sat on my lap while she ate and sometimes fed me. Everyone else was here and we had another delicious meal. We made light chatter and the two girls complained that I wasn't in bed with them when they woke up.

"Sorry, I didn't sleep last night. I found out a few things earlier… I'll run it by you guys."

I then explained what I had already planned and what I had learned. They grew concerned.

"Rose, can you tell Azazel that when you go back?"

"Yes, of course."

"Great, thank you. Sharon, stay by these two, and don't let them out of your sight."

I pet Kunou and glance at Yasaka, they're strong, but who knows if one of those four will appear, maybe more? Who knows…

"Yes, Jin-sama."

Let's make this easier... I already have them in Kuoh, but it wouldn't hurt if we had more here in Kyoto. I turn to my right and open my right hand; everyone looks at me in confusion. I start creating millions of nanoflies and order them to spread themselves across the city.

They become a bit useless after [Dimension Lost] has been used, but it's still a start. They'll detect anyone that does anything within the human world and I'll be notified. Even the ones with the blood.

"Nano flies, they'll inform me of anyone entering or leaving all of Kyoto, even the ones with Azrael's blood. But they won't be able to travel into other dimensions like in [Dimension Lost], so I'll need to redesign them later on."

While I created them when I first came into the world, I didn't think much about them. Especially with regards to their ability to enter other realms and dimensions... However they'll serve their purpose for the time being.

"I'll go check up on Suzaku. I wanna see how the alerts are coming along."

Kunou put more weight on me and two hands stopped me from getting up as I started to get up. It was Kuroka and Rose…

"Um…"

"After nya."

"You worry too much; you have so many subordinates, and we are here as well. We can repel them quite easily, Jin. Finish breakfast first before you leave."

"…Alright."

"Do you want me to come with you, nya?"

I'll be fine on my own if they decide to target this place… Which is likely, but also unlikely. They would get past the new barrier I had over Urakyoto then… She should stay here. I looked at Kunou as she had taken some peaks at Kuroka. Looks like she also wants her to stay.

"I think Kunou-hime here wants you to stay…"

Kunou blushed as she was found out, she nodded while Kuroka giggled.

"Okay nya ~ I'll stay with Kunou-hime ~ nya ~ but it feels less like me traveling with you and me staying with Yasaka nya."

"Sorry, Kuroka. I'll make it up to you, if we get this done before the trip for the second years is over then we can explore more of Kyoto together."

She gave me a thumbs up and we continued to eat breakfast.

…

Xenovia Quarta

After having returned to our hotel last night, we were having breakfast. Jin had said that he wanted us to stay at Yasaka's home starting tonight. He told us to let Rossweisse-sensei talk to him about it.

I think he'll allow it, we just need some excuses now, or we can use some magic to trick the humans.

"As expected of Kyoto, the food is delicious!"

Irina exclaimed as she happily ate her fill. Asia sat beside her as she also happily ate her breakfast. Everyone else on the trip was enjoying theirs. We had another day full of tours around Kyoto and we plan on taking full advantage of it.

"Where shall we go today?"

"Tenryuu-ji, Asia-chan!"

Aika Kiryuu had walked over to us and sat beside Asia. She, along with Matsuda and Motohama were in our group. Irina, Asia, and I had no idea about the structure of Kyoto even with our extensive research in the coming days of the trip, so we decided to merge our group with Aika Kiryuu's

As we ate our breakfast, we discussed places we wished to visit today. Eventually, Rossweisse-sensei came back and spoke with Azazel about something. It looked serious but he eventually sighed and they parted ways.

…

"How do we get to Tenryuu-ji?"

I asked Kiryuu. She looked at the schedule and replied.

"Hmmm~ we take the streetcar from the Kyoto station towards Arashiyama, then get off at the closest stop to Arashiyama. Then walk in that direction."

"Got it. Then we're going to the station now. President mentioned it before, but there really are buses and streetcars everywhere."

"So, all the sightseeing spots are these kinds of places?"

Matsuda heard my comment and spoke. It was true. It was all like this. Our journey started at Kyoto station, where we boarded the streetcar towards Arashiyama.

"This is it."

After getting off, we had to walk to Tenryuu-ji. There were signs so it was impossible to get lost. And so we finally arrived at Tenryuu-ji. The elegant gates greeted us.

"This is Tenryuu-ji. So does the name have any special significance?"

We entered the massive gates after paying for the free and—

"Eh? Kuroka-san, Kunou-san?"

"Hmm? Nyhaha ~ Xenovia, Irina and Asia are here~"

In front of us were Kuroka and Kunou! We didn't expect to see them here of all places.

"Hmm? You guys know those two?"

Motohama asked as he eyed the pair. He had a dangerous aura around him as he looked at Kunou. Jin mentioned in passing that he was a massive lolicon, but I did not think it was this serious.

"I'm part of Jin's extensive harem outside his school~"

Kuroka says with a grin. We had strained smiles on us as—

Thud!

"Dammit!!!!! I knew it! Damn you, Jin-senpai!!!!!!!!!"

"Shit! Dammit! Why does he get all the luck…?! Shit! Does that mean all the girls in the occult research club are in his harem…?!"

"Shit!!!!!!! I didn't think of that!!! Then is Ingvild-senpai also…?!"

"She was with him the entire morning of the volleyball match!!!"

""Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!""

The two boys fall onto their knees and start crying, they start to compare their lives to Jin's and also fall into despair. Kuroka awkwardly laughed looking like she regretted telling these two about her being in his harem. Kunou looked a bit disturbed by it all.

"Heee, so Jin-senpai does have a harem, huh? For such an average-looking guy to get one… It must be something else that drew you all to him… Hmm ~ hey, did you know I can tell a man's 'package' down there with my eyes alone? I'm quite proud of this ability."

Everyone looks at Aika Kiryuu in confusion and shock. She smirks and nods.

"The last time I spoke with Jin-senpai, he did a good job of hiding his manhood from me. But he let his guard down once we showed me his lover's picture! I would calculate that he's around eight to nine inches."

Slam! Slam!

"Quit fucking with me!!!!!!!!!!"

"Whyyyyyyyy!!!!!????"

The two boys fall into further despair as they started to slam their fists into the ground. They were starting to draw attention to them. Many were looking at them in confusion. However, I was not aware of the size, I had only seen it once.

I looked at Irina as she had turned red and was measuring it with her arm…? Asia had a calm smile on her face… She had told the two of us that she had made love with him. Therefore, she's not too bothered by lewd acts or talks anymore.

Asia has transcended the two of us. We must play catch up to her… She looked even more mature since that day! The aura of a true woman!

"Kunou. You and Yasaka live in Kyoto, do you mind giving us a small tour?"

"Nyahaha ~ you're in luck. We're also heading out on our small tour so you guys can join in!"

Kunou nodded and Kuroka answered for us. The two guys got over what just happened really quickly and Aika joined, they gave their thanks to them and we continued our tour of Kyoto.

And so, under Kunou's lead, we toured Tenryuu-ji. Kunou confidently related stories she heard from others and tried very hard to present them to us. It made her extremely adorable. At the same time, it was comforting to see her trying her best to describe the various places in Kyoto.

Kuroka tried to add what little knowledge she also knew about the place, she helped Kunou at times, seeming like an older sister to her. She definitely has experience with Shirone, Kunou also spent five years with us after all.

The garden inside the large abbey was very beautiful. Autumn leaves decorated the Japanese-style garden, which brought out the utmost beauty of the fall season. The carp swimming in the pool was an excellent touch that completed this scene.

"This view is extremely picturesque. After all, it's a World Heritage Site."

Kunou explained. World Heritage! Amazing, so that's why it's so pretty. I took out my phone and snapped a picture, I wanted to remember this trip for the rest of my life.

It may seem small now, but if I am to spend the rest of my life with Jin, then small things like this will matter over time. That's right, I heard it from Asia.

She's become immortal. She hasn't told anyone else apart from Irina and I but she told us when the time comes, Jin will definitely ask us that question. I know my answer, I do not know if Irina holds the same feelings as I do for Jin.

After touring the garden, we were taken to the teaching hall. Entering, I lifted my head to look at the ceiling, and instantly a most spectacular dragon design came into view. An eastern dragon with a long slender body!

The dragon felt like it was glaring at me with a frightening gaze.

"This is the famous Unryuu-zu, or 'Image of the Cloud Dragon', no matter which direction, you will feel like the dragon is staring straight at you. It's the so-called 'Watching the Six Directions'."

It was exactly as Kunou described, no matter which way you look at it, the dragon was staring straight at us!

After touring Tenryuu-ji, we stepped outside.

"Kunou, where are we going next?"

I asked. Kunou pointed to a good many directions, and happily said:

"Nison-in! The Bamboo Path! Jojakko-ji! I will take you everywhere!"

Oh— How full of spirit. Now you're really acting your age. And so, under Kunou's and Kuroka's lead, we continued to tour around Arashiyama.

…

Jin Skyward

I had teleported a few blocks away from Suzaku's apartment and was walking towards her apartment. She said she would be heading to her clan's base of operations but since I contacted her, she was waiting for me.

When I arrived, she was standing there wearing her usual attire. She noticed me and walked over to me.

"I'm ready when you are."

"Follow me then."

"So, we're going to your clan's home turf?"

"…Change of plans, they wish to meet in a neutral zone, so we picked a place in Kyoto. A park, Arashiyama park."

I nod and we continue walking. We walked to a bus stop to catch a ride. Once the bus arrived, we got on it and settled into our seats. Suzaku took the window seat and I took the one beside her.

"Who'll be meeting with us?"

"The ones I've mentioned before. Ouryuu Nakiri, Seiryuu Kushihashi, Genbu Doumon, and Byakko Shinra. They have said they will come alone; I mentioned I will be bringing someone with me, but they do not know who."

"I see, so some well-known names, huh? Didn't think I'd meet representatives of the Five Principal Clans today."

I chuckle as I felt Suzaku's hand touch mine. I grab it and hold it; she said nothing but I could see her blushing since her reflection was in the window.

"Have you interacted with them much?"

"No, only a few times to discuss certain events of the past. If it means cooperating in protecting our territories then they will usually put aside their differences for the time being. Some have clashed in the past because of our elders and previous heads."

"The old and bitter, make the young and stupid fight their battles… Much like human wars and conflicts in the normal human world. It's dumb."

Suzaku had a sad expression on her face as she nodded along. Nothing in this world will change until the new generation steps up to change that. Unless we blindly follow it, then we're just creating more problems for ourselves.

"It won't take long…"

For the rest of the bus journey, we stayed in comfortable silence. Sometimes we look out at the scenery from the seats, sometimes we play with the thumbs that we hold together.

…

"We're not too far, just a minute or two of walking before we arrive by the park and our designated area for the meeting."

We walked side-by-side as Suzaku led me to the park. I hadn't been here before so I had zero idea of the structure of the place. Once we got there, it was quite picturesque. There was a small waterfall and some trees around us and a few cherry blossom trees scattered about.

There were even some boats on the river. Are those used for tours…? I kind of wanted to do some exploring but I was here for business and a couple of other things were still happening. We eventually reached the designated place as I could see four other individuals already there.

When we arrived, they all looked at us. I used [Observe] on them and from left to right were, Ouryuu Nakiri, Genbu Doumon, Seiryuu Kushihashi, and Byakko Shinra. Byakko had his fighting spirit on the back burner, but he had a wild look on him. He looked like he wanted to fight me.

"Took you long enough, Himejima, out on a date with your boyfriend?"

Byakko says while pointing out our hands, we were still holding hands. Noticing this, Suzaku let go and coughed into her fist while sporting a small blush.

Ouryuu is a young man who has hair in a slicked back and a long bang in front of his forehead that extends in front of his left eye. He is dressed in a special formal attire of the Nakiri Clan.

Genbu is a young girl with long silver hair. She has a series of bangs in front of her forehead with a single hair strand sticking out from the top. Also, she has two green beads on two tied portions of her hair, along with purple hair.

She is dressed in a unique yellow outfit that has distinct turtle-like features, a white scarf around her neck, green turtle ear muffs, and a green turtle backpack.

Seiryuu is a bespectacled handsome young man with attractive features. He wears a blue blazer.

Byakko is a man dressed in a black tank top with grey jeans. He has a shaved head with grey eyes and has a 'wild' look to him.

"It's been some time everyone, I hope you're doing well."

"Stop with the pleasantries, Himejima-san. You said in your text that this was an emergency?"

Seiryuu interrupted her and spoke up. Suzaku nods and looks at me so I stepped up beside her.

"Before that, let me introduce you to the Middleman and current Red Dragon Emperor, Jin. He's the one who informed me of this emergency."

Ouryuu freezes on the spot making me look at him in confusion. The rest had varying reactions. Byakko and Seiryuu became interested and Genbu looked at me curiously.

"Jin, Middleman, anyway here's the deal—"

Then I told them about what I know and have found in Kyoto, and how it will affect their clans. The majority of them had a look of shock.

"I'll send off my subordinates to aid you if the need arises, if not then—"

"Even if you do, our clan can handle ourselves. We appreciate the concern but we can take care of ourselves."

Seiryuu adds as Byakko nods in agreement. It seems these two have their clan's pride in them. Honestly…Byakko didn't look the type but I guess looks can be deceiving.

"…..Very well, but if I deem that you cannot defend your territory by yourselves I will send them in for reinforcements, will that do?"

"…I see no problem with that. But I will need to speak to the elders about it. While I am the current head, many of the elders are still quite… You know what I mean, yes?"

Fucking boomers? Yeah, I do. I nod and I look at the rest.

"I have the same sentiment, the Shinra clan isn't that weak. So send them over if we can't fight back."

I nod, I guess I have two answers from them. I look at Ouryuu and Genbu. Genbu steps forward and answers first.

"I, I can't speak for my clan since I'm just a member even if I did inherit the black tortoise. However, I can try to convince them in allowing some help…"

Why are they all so fucking stubborn…? I mean, the old corpses, not these guys. Old traditions that aren't healthy should die. While I'm Irish and proud of it, I don't care for that vocal crap as of late! If pride can get you killed why keep it?

Ouryuu finally stepped up and spoke.

"I'm the next head of the Nakiri clan, Ouryuu Nakiri. My words carry heavy weight so if I make a suggestion, they will be considered and taken seriously. However, much like everyone else here, the current head and elders are stubborn."

"But as I said, my words will carry weight. Forgive me for saying this as it sounds arrogant but I'm the strongest Ouryuu in history so far, if push comes to shove, I am confident in defending my home."

Confidence, huh? I know about you, Ouryuu and if it were just normal enemies, I would trust you in that, but these aren't normal enemies.

"Are you confident in being able to beat— No, kill God-class beings?"

I asked Ouryuu and by default the rest of the group.

"What do you mean a God-class being?"

"You should be aware of what's been happening in the supernatural world, right? Even if your clans are strict about interfering in others' business. You know about Khaos Brigade and what they've been up to? One of their members is a genius. She can create creatures called 'Divine Beasts' and their powers are around Satan-class and up."

"However, my subordinates found out that the newest batch, the ones I mentioned earlier are genuine God-class beings in power, so, I ask you again. Can you, or your clansmen defend against an attacker with that kind of power?"

Ouryuu frowns and looks down, the others expressions also become serious. I know that Tiamat and Bova Tannin are in good relationships with Ouryuu, he calls Tiamat 'Tia' and while his relationship with Bova was rocky at the start they become good friends later on.

Genbu… I know she likes Vali so I don't want anything happening to her. The other two can go either way. I don't know how Vali feels about her. Seiryuu… At face value, he doesn't seem like a person I would get along with, but time will tell. Byakko…Tsubaki is related to him, right?

No matter what the case may be, the unnecessary destruction of these clans seems excessive. Even if some have done questionable things in the past… Such as the Himejima clan. Suzaku is very dear to me. Even if she hates the old traditions and systems, I don't think she'll like seeing the destruction of her clan.

"As I mentioned earlier, I will run it by the elders and base my decision on that. Afterwards, I will contact Suzaku Himejima with the answer. I will get going then. I have some business to attend to."

Seiryuu says while walking away.

"I'm also in agreement with him. I'm the head of the Shinra clan, but since I'm still young, I need to talk to my clansmen about this decision."

…Young…? Dude, you look like you're in your thirties! Byakko walks away but stops to turn back to me. He starts to release some aura towards me.

"Hey, Middleman, how about a sparring match in the future? You seem the type to like fights."

"…Maybe, also I don't. I'm quite lazy. Anyway, here."

I summoned a card with my contact info as he grinned and walked away. All that was left were Genbu, Ouryuu, and us.

"Hey, Vali's doing good you know? Even if he's become a terrorist. He's like a little brother that I'll need to kick his ass back to the good side, you know?"

Genbu blushes but doesn't say anything and starts to walk away. I guess she's still sticking with what she said. Hopefully, that will give her a bit more motivation…? Ouryuu sighs and nods.

"I will try my best, Jin-san, um..."

He takes out… A photo… Oh my god, it's me during the signing event. He was there? Or did he get someone to go for him…?

"P-Please sign this…!"

Ddraig's mark appears on my hand and he starts to speak.

[Look at that, we have a fan here. Also, an heir to the clan, huh? Ain't that special?]

"Ah... Yes! I've kept up with your achievements as the Middleman! I was already a fan since what you're doing is such a noble thing! Even if it mostly involves getting a harem, but once the Oppai Dragon show started I-I….!!"

"I-I get it, Ouryuu… I'll sign it."

I summoned a pen and signed the picture. The guy looked like he was on cloud nine.

"Um! I'll be watching the exhibition match between you and Sairaorg Bael, Jin-san! P-Please do your best! I'm excited to see where you'll take your Sacred Gear!"

...Yeah, my brand-new [Forms] are also known now. I believe Áine told other supernatural beings and it spread. I doubt Latia or Ajuka would do that, or Scathach. But I'll probably stick to the base Balance Breaker state for my [Boosted Gear], but would that be an insult to Sairaorg?

...I'll see by then; I need to hold back since many will be watching this so I have to entertain them…

"Thank you for your support, Ouryuu-kun."

"A-Ah, Yes! I'll get going then."

Suzaku and I watch him run away while looking at the signed picture he just got. I chuckle and shake my head. That's one way to end this meeting…

"We can only hope that they agree to your assistance."

"Yeah. At least the current head of the Himejima clan is willingly cooperating, gotta be my favorites, you know?"

I glanced at Suzaku as she had a smile on her face while shaking her head.

"So, shall we get going? Lunch should be—"

....Change of plans. I guess it was today.

"Jin?"

"Sorry, Suzaku. Looks like they have started. I'll get going. I'll teleport you back to your apartment…? Or do you plan on going to…"

"I'll be fine, Jin. I'll be going to my clan's…"

"Alright, take care."

…

Xenovia Quarta

"Wow, we really visited a lot of places."

Matsuda sighed in relief. We were having lunch at a tofu hotpot place recommended by Kunou.

After leaving Tenryuu-ji, Kunou took us on a tour around Arashiyama. Seeing Siddhartha Gautama and Amitābha's Buddha statues in Nison-in, riding rickshaws through the Bamboo Path. Hearing the sound of wind rushing through the bamboo leaves was very elegant.

It was the first time for me to ride a rickshaw, and it was very fun. The person who pulled the rickshaw was very talkative, and described the scenery as we traveled along. Watching Arashiyama's scenery from a rickshaw was one of the most memorable experiences. Ah, it is really great that autumn has come.

We also felt Jin's presence nearby but he was also with Suzaku so we didn't try to cross paths with him. He did say he was there for business.

"I say, the tofu hotpot here is quite a delicacy."

Kunou fished tofu out of the pot with her chopsticks and distributed them onto our plates. Kunou seemed very happy, Kuroka had been spoiling her the entire time, she was in a way, our little sister.

The tofu Kunou gave me had to be eaten straight away. Hmm, Kyoto's tofu was very fragrant. And it was even better than the hotel! I've heard that tofu is best eaten freshly made.

"Yes, it's different from the usual tofu. Its taste is very fresh and delicious."

"This tofu is delicious..."

Asia and Irina's faces were full of joy. We were enjoying our trip to the fullest!

"Ah, Xenovia, Asia-chan, Irina."

Suddenly someone called me. This voice was—

"Oh, it's Kiba. Right, you guys were going to Arashiyama today as well."

Kiba's group happened to be having lunch at the neighboring table.

"Yes. Have you guys been to Tenryuu-ji already?"

"Yeah, there was a spectacular dragon on the ceiling."

"We planned to visit Tenryuu-ji after seeing the Togetsukyou. I'm looking forward to it."

"Ah Togetsukyou, we're going there after we finish eating."

As we spoke, another familiar voice resounded near us.

"Autumn in Arashiyama is really quite elegant."

That person turned to look at us and had a surprised look on him.

"Oh, so you all are enjoying Arashiyama?"

Azazel-sensei! Drinking sake in the middle of the day!

"Azazel-sensei you came too? But isn't it inappropriate for teachers to drink during the day?"

Just as I pointed it out, the woman opposite Sensei agreed. It's Rossweisse-sensei! And she wasn't drinking! Which was a surprise.

"…Haaa…"

Rossweisse-sensei makes a long and sad sigh as she holds a cup in her hands. All of us give her and Azazel-sensei a weird look. He just shrugs and sighs.

"She's like this when she's away from Jin. I didn't think she would be in that deep. I've seen Lavinia like that. She's basically attached to the guy. It's like a switch flipping between when she's with him and when she's working. It's weird. I guess love does weird things, huh?"

"Jin-senpai? What does Rossweisse-sensei have to do with him? Wait, he's in Kyoto?"

We freeze, I forgot that we were with normal humans. Motohama asks as he looks at Rossweisse-sensei and Azazel-sensei. The other two— Aika and Motohama looked confused too.

"It's nothing, anyway let's keep going with our own tour."

…

"Dammit! I swear if Jin-senpai has Rossweisse-chan in his grasp...I'll...I'll...!!!"

"You'll what, you damn lolicon?"

"The hell you say, eyeglasses!?"

"You also have glasses!"

Aika and Motohama started to argue as Matsuda didn't want to be in that crossfire so he backed away. The rest of us, along with Kiba's group walked along while looking around us. We were slowly coming up to the famous Togetsukyou bridge.

"Did you know? It's said that you shouldn't turn back in the middle of crossing Togetsukyou."

Kiryuu said after she stopped arguing with Motohama. Asia looked confused and asked her.

"Why is that?"

"Asia, it's like this. If you look back while crossing the bridge, the intelligence granted by the heavens will be taken back. Once the pervert duo looks behind them, it will be over for them. They will become utter fools."

""Shut up!""

Matsuda and Motohama retorted simultaneously. Kiryuu was unfazed, and even continued:

"Another legend says that if you look back, lovers will be separated. Hmm, but this one's a bit inauspicious—"

"I will never look back!"

Asia interrupted Kiryuu's explanation and clinched her fist seriously. She really loved Jin...

"I-It's okay, Asia, it's just a legend."

Aika tried to backtrack, but Asia was already convinced and didn't change. While crossing the bridge, Asia was determined not to look back.

"Another reminder that Jin-senpai is stealing more women for himself..."

"It makes me furious to think about that..."

Matsuda and Motohama were commenting ahead of us. Jin had given them advice before but it looks like they never took any of it seriously...

"I don't think you have to mind it. The legend about lovers is just superstition."

"Nyahaha ~ you two really need to reconsider some of your decisions in life. Being a pervert is fine and all but you need the timing!"

All of us stare at Kuroka in disbelief as she turned around and looked a bit annoyed while saying 'What?! Say something?!'.

Asia is very innocent in certain things. Even though she had sex with Jin already, as well as partaken in other lewd acts with him on a regular basis.

We finally finished, and peacefully crossed to the opposite shore. Asia exhaled deeply, as if she were relieved, as did Irina. I looked at her as she blushed, but we have to cross again when we go back. Asia's epic adventure has not ended yet!

Suddenly, a warm slippery feeling enveloped my entire body.

...What was that, just now...? I was surprised and looked around, other than me, Asia, Xenovia, Irina, Kunou, and Kiba over there, everyone else had disappeared.

Matsuda, Motohama, Kiryuu, and all the other normal tourists were missing! What? What's happening...?

The other servants were also shocked, so we prepared ourselves... We surveyed the surroundings, and there were no suspicious characters around.

After a while, a strange mist seemed to be floating up from under our feet.

"This mist is..."

All of us became alert when we saw the mist. We had been informed about this before...!

"Jin-san told us about this, after all, that happened… This is..."

"...[Dimension Lost]."

Kiba says this while summoning a demonic sword from his [Sword Birth].

"One of the original Longinus, Jin-senpai… He told us to be alert, everyone, be prepared for potential battle."

Kiba knelt down and tried to touch the mist with his hand.

[Dimension Lost] has the ability to create a special mist able to block any attack. It is also able to transport anything inside of it into an artificial space. The mist can also be used to reinforce dimensions, even those of others such as Yasaka's Urakyoto.

Though it doesn't possess direct offensive capabilities, according to Jin and Azazel, Dimension Lost is the most powerful among the Sacred Gears related to barriers and space. Therefore, it carries tremendous power over dimensions.

In fact, if the mist reaches the scale of countries, it can transport them along with their people into the Dimensional Gap to be destroyed. However, none of the previous users have reached that level.

That's what Jin told us back then, after the Diodora incident.

"Hey, are you all okay?"

A voice from the sky. Looking up, Azazel-sensei was flying in the sky, flapping his black feathered wings and Rossweisse-sensei was with him in her armor.

He landed where we were, and put away his wings as he spoke.

"Everything except us has disappeared completely. Most likely we were forcefully transferred to an alternate dimension and sealed within it... From the way things look, this is an alternate dimension that is an exact replica of Togetsukyou and its surroundings?"

Incredible, like Jin's ability to transfer us to the [Pocket Dimension] it felt seamless, [Dimension Lost] is truly amazing.

"So this is made of something like the devil's game field?"

I asked Sensei. I didn't sense any similarities between them.

"Ahhhh.... Yeah, probably. It appears that the technique for doing this leaked, after all we use it quite often among the three factions. But damn… [Dimension Lost] is quite scary, huh? It's amazing to be able to transfer and then replicate an entire territory like this."

"...To be able to transfer me and Rias' servants all together at once to this place without any warning signs... A Longinus truly is terrifying."

Azazel-sensei explained. I see, so this kind of dimension really was an application of the techniques used by them. Their reproduction was just as good as the Devil's.

Beside me, Kunou spoke in a serious voice. She clung to Kuroka's obi.

"...Not too long ago, mother mentioned something similar happening to them. They were enveloped in a mist before being attacked by youkai, monsters, and humans."

Something like that happened to Yasaka? Jin must be aware of it, then that means… The wielder has to be near us and whoever they were with, more enemies...!

My ominous premonition seemed to have come true. Over at Togetsukyou, the appearance of several unexpected presences could be felt. From the light mist, figures approached and revealed themselves to us.

"Pleased to meet you for the first time, Governor Azazel, Gremory devils… And Kuroka, huh, didn't think I would see you here."

The one who greeted us was a black-haired youth wearing a school uniform. Wrapped around the uniform was something resembling Han Chinese attire. I think that's what it's called. The history teacher was very knowledgeable about Chinese history and explained to us in detail about their clothing.

Carrying a spear in his hands... The spear gave off a most unpleasant feeling. It was definitely no ordinary spear.

The black-haired man was very young. Looks like he was about a year or two older than us? No, it was impossible to tell from appearances alone.

His companions were also wearing clothes similar to school uniforms. Male and female, also around high school age.... They gave off a strange kind of presence, different from devils or dragons.

Azazel-sensei stepped forward.

"Are you the rumored Hero faction?"

The youth in the middle with the spear smirked and answered his question.

"I am—"

Boom!!!!!!!!!

"Guha?!"

"Haa… I don't need dumb speeches, Cao Cao."

"Took you a while to reach us, Jin."

Azazel-sensei says with a smirk. Jin was in his Scale mail balance breaker of [Divine Dividing].

…

Jin Skyward

I had teleported into the dimension they were transported to and punched Cao Cao in the stomach. I was already in my [Balance Break] with [Divine Dividing]. I retract my helmet and look at the downed descendant.

"Sorry for being late, I was talking to the Five Principal Clans."

"Heh… The Middleman with two Longinus, [Boosted Gear] and another [Divine Dividing]…"

Cao Cao says and gets up, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"You lot listen up; this weirdo has the strongest Longinus the [True Longinus]. It's been said that it was used by St. Longinus to stab Jesus Christ and can pierce God. His name is also Cao Cao, a descendant of the original Cao Cao of the Records of the Three Kingdoms."

"That is the holy spear that the Seraphim of Heaven fear...?"

Irina spoke, unable to contain her fear. Xenovia continued, whispering.

"I also heard about this when I was a child. The spear that pierced Jesus Christ. The spear carrying Jesus' blood, the absolute spear that pierced the body of God!"

"That is the holy spear..."

Behind me, Asia's gaze seemed to be drawn to the spear as if her consciousness was being sucked out, mesmerized—

Clap!

Azazel quickly covered her eyes with his hands.

"Asia, people of faith should not stare at that spear. They will lose their sanity. After all, it is one of the holy relics amongst the True Cross, the Holy Chalice, the Holy Nails, and the Shroud of Turin."

I could feel Kunou's emotions going wild and her hair slowly turning white— She was beginning to enter her [Fox Dragon Mode] but I quickly flash stepped beside her, put my hand on her head, and calmed her down.

"Arere? Why is the little princess so angry at me?"

"You! You attacked mother, didn't you?!

To that, Cao Cao laughed and answered her question.

"Yes, yes I did. Though she was a lot more powerful than I had initially thought, she, along with a maid slaughtered our forces. Even the Sakra messengers didn't need to move a muscle. Why are you upset? Our plan failed; we didn't capture her?"

Cao Cao explained and seemed confused in the end. Uh hello? You tried to kidnap her mother, and my future wife, you pile of hyena shit!

"Nevertheless, we have a backup plan. We will be taking the liberty of using Kyoto, if you don't mind… Though, we already did so. Our plans will commence in a few hours."

Azazel speaks up again.

"What are you planning on doing?"

"We wish to have our 'backup' and if we succeeded, your mother to cooperate in our experiment."

"Experiment?"

"To grant the wish of our benefactors, that is the main idea."

Azazel already knew of Tamamo no Mae but wanted to get as much as he could out of Cao Cao so he played dumb and played along to question him further.

"Benefactors... Is it that Lapis fellow? And why have you appeared before us?"

Azazel asked sternly.

"No, there is no need to hide anymore. We just decided to say hi before the experiment. Let's play for a bit. I also wish to clash with the Governor Azazel and the legendary Middleman and Dual Dragon Emperor."

Dual Dragon Emperor? That's new…

{[We got a new moniker!!! And it's not perverted!!!!!]}

Both dragons cheered inside me. They really seemed relieved by it… Well it doesn't matter. We'll—

Zwaop!

A portal opened up and a being stepped through it. He overall appears as a white, lizard-like, almost harmless-looking creature. His skin is pure, solid-white with purple sections on his head, shoulders, forearms, abdomen, and shins.

The purple-lined sections on the sides of his face vanish, though the lines on his cheeks remain intact, giving his face an almost mask-like appearance.

…Frieza?! What the… Don't tell me he's one of the 'children' that Nyarlathotep made? Fucking hell, you pick him of all people?!

"…Frieza-san. Why did you come?"

"I was simply bored, I heard from Lapis-san that my father was here. I wish to fight him for a bit and then leave. Hohoho ~ It's nice to finally meet you, Papa-san."

He was in his final form and smiled a cruel smile at me. He then unleashed his aura on everyone, Azazel looked mortified. The girls, Kiba and Kunou were on high alert…

"…The rest of you deal with the Hero Faction. I have this guy."

"I also feel the same way, Papa-san ~ I do not care for the weak, I can always snap their neck—"

Doom!

We disappeared from our spot and our fists clashed! Powerful shockwaves were made each time our fists made contact with one another.

Don! Don! Don!

Frieza made a painful face and backed away. He looks at his fists and smirked, they were bleeding, even while in my idle state, I was still using one percent of an Outer God's power, while I do hold back most of the time… I was ramping up my power output.

"It's as Ignia-san said, you truly are a monster. Quite fitting for an Outer God, no? Mama-san chose well."

He smirked again—

"Allow me to respond in kind."

An enormous golden light erupted from him and covered the entire dimension as he spread his arms out and slowly began to transform. The entire place was shaking and rumbling. This guy… If he keeps pushing, [Dimension Lost] will break and this will be brought into the human world… To the Dimensional Gap then…

"Let us— Agh?!"

Doooooooooooon!!!!!

"We're moving places, Frieza! I'll leave them to you guys! Aurelia, take point, get them home safe!"

Aurelia came out of my ring and joined Azazel, Rose, and the Gremory group. I punched Frieza in the gut and created a portal behind him as I force both of us through.

"Very well."

…

Dimensional Gap

Once through the dimensional gap, I launched him to the ground as he crashed there with enough force to destroy a large chunk of the land. This place was mostly barren and anyone can cut loose…

"Quite forceful aren't we, Papa-san?"

"It doesn't matter… I should end you here."

"Try it, Lapis-san already gave me a way out if things do turn south ~ your little helper inside you can't stop me ~"

Cúntóir: Answer: I feel some sort of item within him, perhaps Lapis turned herself into an item and is being used as a source to make his getaway?

Then I'll just kill him before that.... Garrett, Amaris, Albion, let's do it!

{Yes, let's go, Jin.}

'I've been waiting for this!!!'

'I will lend you my help, Jin.'

Garrett screamed and Amaris joined in…. I've been waiting for this since I had that conversation with these three… I look at Frieza as my helmet was still gone and grinned.

I started to chant…

…

Kyoto

Aurelia Le Guin

"Hmm, let's take care of this quickly, shall we?"

A short boy stood next to this person called Cao Cao. Cao Cao said to him.

"Leonardo, I'll let you handle the devils with your monsters."

Cao Cao gave him an order. The boy remained expressionless but nodded. Instantly, shadows appeared from under his feet and rapidly expanded.

Those shadows were not normal, Jin told us everything about this world, its powers, and the like. This boy...possessed a Sacred Gear, [Annihilation Maker].

As the shadows grew, they reached the level of covering the entire Togetsukyou. And then they expanded and gradually took form. Arms, legs, heads, eyeballs, wide gaping jaws, separating— Not only one, but ten, no, hundreds.

"Guuuu..."

"Chomp!"

"Gobble!"

With a deafening roar, these monsters appeared out of the shadows.... Shadows with monsters appearing out of them. Monsters with black skin and standing upright on two legs. Their bodies were solidly built with rough and thick hides. They also had very sharp claws and bared their teeth. These monsters formed a line and stood in the forefront.

Such a powerful tool belonged to such a young child, he has potential, but his imagination is still quite limited...

However, they meant nothing to me, I had to be careful not to destroy this dimension otherwise I will endanger the normal humans beyond it. The Governor spoke beside me.

"[Annihilation Maker]..."

Cao Cao laughed in response.

"Correct, this child carries one of the Longinus. A different threat compared to my True Longinus, but a deadly Sacred Gear nonetheless."

I summoned my weapon and made a stance, I then said this to everyone.

"It matters not, Azazel, Governor of the Fallen Angels. Save your speeches and technical know-how, we are more or less informed of this Sacred Gear. It's a time of action."

He nodded beside me and summoned his artificial Sacred Gear [Down Fall Dragon Spear].

"Hah, what can you do— Ugh?!"

I dashed in front of the leader and slammed my great sword into his stomach using the flatted part, sending the young man crashing into a building.

"The women of the Middleman are quite dangerous, aren't they? Very well, Aurelia, was it? I'll play with you for a while."

…

Xenovia Quarta

I summoned my Sacred Gear and held it with my hands. I don't believe using my [Balance Break] is necessary but we will see soon enough.

"Xenovia, Rossweisse-sensei with me! Irina and Kuroka-san provide support as rearguards, Asia-chan support us! Kunou-hime, I would normally say to stay back but seeing your progress 'there'… Please destroy as much of those monsters as you can but within reason!"

"Yes!"

Everyone answered Kiba Yuuto's orders and we went about our roles. I felt the enchantment magic from Asia as my strength, speed, and endurance were increased. I also felt a passive healing effect was on me. Asia then covered herself in touki and joined Kunou as she entered her [Fox Dragon Mode].

Bzzzzt! Boom!

A beam of light appeared from its mouth and shot at us! We quickly dodged it as the attack destroyed a nearby building.

"Jin said that [Annihilation Maker] targets their opponents' weaknesses, so those attacks will have light imbued within them! Don't get hit!"

I shout as the others acknowledge it with a nod. I dash in front of a monster and slash it apart!

Slice! Slash!

However, another few appeared after I killed one… We need to aim for the wielder. I could see everyone destroy one as more appeared, all of them coming to the same realization.

"We need to aim for the kid, but I don't want to kill him. Knock him out, do anything to render him unconscious but don't kill him."

Azazel lands in the middle of us as we jumped back and regrouped. He gives us an order and we agree with it. Kiba and I look at each other and dashed for the young boy named Leonardo but more monsters appeared in front of him!

Kiba and I slash through them but once they disappeared, he was gone. I look around to see he was at a different spot… He was fast, he didn't look like it but… He was on the other side of the… Wait… Don't tell me they…!

"…You came to the right conclusion, [Knight] of Gremory. We, the Hero Faction pride ourselves in being descendants of heroes and yuushas, however, might makes right and so we were forced to drink that vial or be killed."

Leonardo puts his hands on the ground and out came—

Groooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A giant dragon?! It roared as the other monsters he made from his Sacred Gear vanished. He looks at us and smirks before disappearing.

"On me! Our enemy is a dragon created from the Longinus [Annihilation Maker], focus everything you have on it, but don't destroy this dimension!"

Everyone nodded to Kiba's orders as Azazel-sensei whistled at him. Kiba wryly smiled, I doubt he thinks of himself as someone to give orders but he was doing his best.

"Alright kids, I'll be joining in this time, let's kill that thing. Balance Break!"

Azazel announces to us as he's consumed in a gold light and was covered in golden armor with purple-colored jewels. Azazel summoned a light spear in his hands and also let out his wings.

"What does Jin say again? 'Let's get jiggy'?"

He says with a snort and points his spear at the dragon.

"Let's—"

Doom! Crash!

"You fucking bitch!!!!!!"

"Hmph."

Cao Cao suddenly crashed into a building beside the dragon. He comes out of the rubble with a look of fury and was badly damaged, his arm was twisted and he was missing an eye.

"It seems like your eye was quite useless, as well as your [Balance Break]. Is the wielder of the [True Longinus] this weak?"

The leader of the Hero Faction, Cao Cao readies his spear again when— A portal suddenly opens beside me.

"Cao Cao come back now or else you'll be useless to us if you die now. You still need to get that mission done."

An all too familiar voice resounds from the portal… It was Lapis! One of Nyarlathotep's children, but her voice sounded a little different. Cao Cao looks at us and then to the portal.

"I will kill you the next time I see you."

Cao Cao announces towards Aurelia as he steps through the portal— As he was about to be fully gone— Aurelia-san appeared in front of him and—

Slice!

"Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"

He cut off his arm as he disappeared into the portal! Aurelia-san then looks at the dragon and— She swings her great sword in a downward motion, a large green slash comes forth and hits the dragon… Multiple slashes appear all over its body before it crumbled away.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have toyed with the Cao Cao descendant. I shall report my mistake to Jin. It seems the other two also escaped earlier along with that Leonardo child."

Aurelia announces as she dispels her great sword and crosses her arms...

"…Lady, you are way too powerful. But…who the hell was that alien-looking thing from earlier? Cao Cao called him… Frieza? Is he one of Jin's 'kids' or something?"

"We can assume so, Azazel-sensei."

Kiba answers as he dismisses his sword. Everyone else also powered down… The only person left to come back to us was Jin… He should be fine… I hope…

…

Dimensional Gap

Jin Skyward

I appeared in front of Frieze and kicked him away; he blocked it but was sent backwards. He grins at me and nods.

"You interrupted me earlier, Papa-san. I shall start my transformation again."

He skipped the fancy transformation and slowly started to turn golden, it was his Golden Frieza form… Is he looking down on me…? He won't use his Black Frieza form? Fine, whatever… He gestures with his hand.

"Your turn, Papa-san, unlike you, I have some common courtesy in letting his opponents transform."

…The original Frieza wasn't anything like that, what the fuck did Nyarlathotep do to you…? I didn't sense him lying at all… Whatever, I'll get to it then.

"I, who am about to awaken—"

I could feel the thoughts of two individuals I had spoken to a few days ago, they were flowing into me.

{Let's do this, Jin!}

<Time to show the world how this new White Dragon operates!> <Bring the current limits of this Sacred Gear to new heights.>

"Am the White Dragon Emperor who will dominate the law to seize the darkness—"

<The Red One abandoned domination!> <We shall take hold of it!>

"I walk the road of domination with infinite destruction and by piercing through the imaginary dream—"

<A road that's yet to be trodden upon by the White Dragon Emperor...> <But we shall pierce through it and conquer it!>

"I shall become a God Emperor of Pure White Dragon—"

A look of excitement and panic appears on Frieza's face. My body was starting to become brighter and brighter.

""""And I shall have you obey the silvery-white illusions and the perfect evil ways!""""

{Juggernaut Over Drive!!!!!!!!!!}

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!!!!!!!!

A large portion of the Dimensional Gap was covered in a silver-white pillar of light, Frieza kept on watching me feeling a lot more nervous than before.

[Juggernaut Drive] removes the seals that were placed on the Heavenly Dragons temporarily. Vali and I walk different paths, while he conquered the past hosts of [Divine Dividing] and got this new form… I upgraded mine a long time ago so I didn't need to deal with them.

But Garrett and Amaris are still with me, I shared with them the chant and they modified some words but were generally okay with it. Our [Juggernaut Over Drives] should look different from one another…

I had turned into a humanoid dragon with silver-grey armor, the jewels were replaced with blue glowing lines around my armor, a single red diamond shape in the center of my chest. I spread my wings and yellow energy wings appeared behind my back…. This certainly felt new…

"Sorry for the wait, Frieza."

"Ohohoho ~ worry not Papa-san, you certainly look fancy. Now then, shall we start this little dance of ours?"

"Yeah…"

"{Divide}"

"….Starting like that, are we?"

I put my hand out and used [Divide] on Frieza as his powers were cut in half and added to me. I expelled the extra power through my wings since I didn't need it—

Boom! Don! Don! Don! Gan!!!!!

The both of us disappeared from our spots as we clashed, our fists, and our kicks collided as enormous shockwaves were created in the Dimensional Gap, certain parts of the dimension were starting to crack and shatter.

Cúntóir, repair them as we fight. Doing as I say, the damage around us was being repaired as we fought. I didn't want this place to be destroyed… I also hope to spook the Wizards of Oz with this little scuffle of ours.

Don! Don!

"This is it! I haven't felt this alive since my creation, Father!!!"

I sent a fist to Frieza and he matched it, they collided as another shockwave was produced, however, Frieza's fists were starting to become damaged and bleed. He grimaced as we kept on exchanging blows.

Don! Don! Gan! Bang!

He flew backwards and fired several ki blasts at me. I slapped a few away while also using [Divide] on some rendering them useless.

"Hahahahaha!!!!!"

Frieza summoned millions of giant balls of ki behind him and launched them towards me…. 'That' won't do since it's limited to a single target—

Cúntóir: Answer: It is not, you have upgraded it, so it can target all of those, Jin.

Is that so? Then thanks!

"Compress!"

{Compression Divider!!!!}

The balls of Ki behind Frieza started to become smaller and smaller until they vanished out of existence. He had a look of disbelief but then grinned at me.

[Compression Divider]. In this state, I can use an enhanced version of [Half Dimension], which halves a specific target constantly until they vanish from existence. Since it was upgraded, I guess I can target more than just one thing, or being, huh? Lucky me!

Frieza starts to fire his 'Death beams' at me and I start dodging them! I kept getting closer to him as he started to fly away backwards while still firing at me. I put my hand out— His eyes widening at what he knew was coming…

"{Divide}!"

"Don't use cheat abilities, you monkey!!!!!!!!!!"

Frieza visibly cringes as he felt his power get halved again— He then powers up again to gain it back. He also stopped calling me 'father' after losing his cool… What a charming guy, I felt my eyes roll to the back of my head.

[Bye-bye, Daddy ~]

?!

"Compress!!!!!!!!"

{Compression Divider!!!!!!!!!}

I targeted Frieza as a portal appeared beside him. He started to disappear into it, seeing as how it wasn't going to reach him on time, I re-directed my ability to the portal!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!"

A woman's voice screamed instead! Frieza gained a surprised look as… He briefly glowed pink and out came Lapis! She looked pissed off but also crying! Her right arm had shrunk, it wasn't by a significant margin, but it was still something…

I guess my compression of the portal attacked that part of her? Whatever it was, she looked very annoyed at me.

"Why?! Why are you mean to me, daddy?! I was just playing a prank on you with Frieza-chan! So mean! I'm hurt now you know?!"

She started to stomp her foot while floating… She was treating this like it was nothing, she was having a tantrum… She looks at me tears streaming down her face, and then sticks her tongue out at me. She grabs Frieza and quickly jumps into the portal.

I was a bit taken aback that I sort of froze. What kind of reaction was that?!

[What was that about?]

'Do not be fooled, Jin. She may use any method to try to get you to let your guard down. It worked there.'

…You have a point, Rudra. I'll try to treat the rest of her 'tantrums' as a facade or like she's faking/acting it out. I look around the Dimensional Gap and a lot of the current surroundings were fine, thanks for doing that Cúntóir.

"Now then… I seriously look weird like this. I haven't even used [Juggernaut Drive] yet but just skipped to [Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive] with [Divine Dividing]…"

[Damn partner. I wanna see my [Queen] form now! When are we doing that?!]

…Soon, Ddraig, just have a little more patience. We'll use it soon…

[I'm holding you to that, Partner.]

Time to go back then… Good thing too, the others didn't come here otherwise they would have been caught in the crossfire, though I doubt they'd get hurt. I punch my side and create a portal, I step through to join the others back in Kyoto.

…

Kyoto

"You guys still haven't come out of [Dimension Lost] yet? Huh? Le Fay?"

When I came back I looked around and they were still in the replica of the place of Kyoto, what I didn't expect was…Le Fay Pendragon to be there. I hadn't left my new armor and landed in front of everyone.

"J-Jin…?"

"Huh? What's up?"

Rossweisse asks confused and everyone gave me strange looks. Azazel shakes his head and points at me.

"What the hell is that?"

"Oh this? It's my [Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive], an evolution or another form of [Juggernaut Overdrive] for [Divine Dividing]. I'm confident Vali can reach it if he suppresses the previous consciousness of the wielders of his Sacred Gear."

"His form should look a little different since I got this form a little bit different than the method I just said. Feel free to pass that to him if you want… Anyway this should be my—"

"Your Abyss side Balance Breaker, right? Haaa… More and more surprises from you, well whatever. We're not out of the woods yet. Cao Cao escaped, but Aurelia here banged him up real good. Apparently, Lapis helped him escape."

"Huh? Lapis was with Frieza though…"

Azazel looks at me in confusion as I dismissed my [Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive]… What's going on…? How can she be in two places at once? Did she create clones of herself or something…?

"…We'll deal with it another time; they said their assault on Kyoto will be tonight. Get everyone back to Yasaka's home and go by that plan on more time, Azazel."

He nods and I cancel the dimension we were in by snapping my fingers. We were brought back to Kyoto and…

"What the… Jin-senpai?!"

Motohama screamed as he was beside me. Matsuda points at Aurelia and then starts screaming.

"Hot lady! Hot lady!!!"

Le Fay approached me as everyone started to calm themselves after the adrenaline rush they just had.

"Will it really be fine telling Vali-sama this information?"

"Yeah, I started seeing him as a little brother as of late. So it's fine, Reni's like a surrogate older sister to him after all."

This prompted Le Fay to giggle and it confused me. She stops herself and explains.

"Vali-sama has started to refer to you as 'Aniki' or 'Jin-aniki' I believe you two understand each other in a weird sense, Jin-sama."

"Is that so? Well, you better get going. I'll see you around, Le Fay."

"Yes! …Um can you sign this…?"

She brought out a plushie of my [Boosted Gear] scale mail and asked me to sign a little card beside it. My mouth twitched but I did so, she was happy with it and walked away…. She couldn't exactly just vanish in front of these three humans…

"Jin-senpai, who was that?! And why did she ask you to sign something?!"

Motohama asks and points at me. I just sigh and shake my head… I don't have time for their stupidity right now…

"I'm just that great."

I deadpan at them as they started cursing at me. Aurelia clings to me and makes it worse as they started to curse me to death. Aika kept silent while taking notes of everything… I could see Rose's eye twitching as she held herself back from doing the same thing.

"You guys go enjoy the rest of your day. I'll get going."

I announce to them and they nod. I then started to walk away with Aurelia… I just need those guys to return to me. How many fucking magic circles are there? I could feel them appearing and disappearing at multiple points around Kyoto…

"Experiments….?! On us and on the innocent….?! Don't fuck with me, you bunch of kids…!!"

Azazel quietly says to himself and punches a pole near him. He looked pretty pissed off I could see some veins popping out of his forehead, I share the same sentiment, Azazel.

…

Urakyoto

On our way here, Kunou and Kuroka joined us. I picked up Kunou and was carrying her, we walked through the streets of Urakyoto while being greeted by many youkais, I even bought some food from them.

"Kunou, I'll have you and Yasaka stay here since I have a barrier here that will prevent them from reaching you. I'll have Sharon and Greed stand by you guys, alright?"

She nods, I'll also run this by Yasaka when we reach their home.

"…"

"Jin? Is something wrong?"

"Suzaku's here."

"Eh?"

I increased my pace and so did the other two, I quickly reach where Sharon, Yasaka, and Suzaku were at, it was the meeting room I met Yasaka for the first time. Once there they turn to look at me as I let Kunou down.

"Suzaku? Is something wrong? Why did you come here?"

She smiles and shakes her head. Kuroka and I go over to join them, once we were seated, they continued their conversation. Sharon pours the both of us some tea.

"I am here on personal business and not for my clan. Did you take care of the problem from earlier, Jin?"

I nod and tell them what had happened, including my end. Kuroka tells it from her perspective, and Aurelia also adds in her own bits. Kunou nodded along silently agree with what was being said, after I let her down, she waited until I sat down and joined me on my lap.

"I'm waiting for Elsa, Zeno, and Silva to come back. According to Cao Cao, tonight they commence their plan. I believe it will be at Nijou castle, Azazel will be bringing both peerages here along with Rossweisse."

"I'll personally deal with the sixth Divine Beasts, rescue Tamamo, and send the Electa over to the Five Principal Clans. I'll leave the rest to everybody else, beat whatever reinforcements they bring, and do whatever else is necessary."

"I am the one that will deal with Cao Cao, if he comes back. He has a grudge against me for besting him at his strongest. Even in his [Balance Break], none of it worked on me… Jin, did you make it so that Sacred Gears do not work on us?"

I tell everyone what my own plans were, they didn't give me answers but listened in, Aurelia adds her bit… I don't mind, you toyed with Cao Cao from what I could tell so I'll leave him to you then…

"Who knows? Maybe you're just that amazing, Aurelia?"

I smirk at her as she does it back to me. I feel Kunou pull on my arm and I start petting her.

"Jin? Can you leave?"

"….Huh?"

Suzaku asks me and I was stunned, she quickly explains herself.

"As I said earlier… I came here on personal business, so I wish to discuss it with just women."

Suzaku looks at Aurelia and she nods. They all start to shoo me away and I reluctantly leave along with Kunou.

"…Kicked out! It's finally here! I'm unloved!"

I dramatically fall to my knees as I felt Kunou comfortably pat me on the back. You're such a good kid, Kunou. Yasaka is lucky to have you…!

"Jin. Let's go explore Urakyoto! Can Phis and Rene come?"

Rene? Oh, Irene… When did she give her a nickname…? I mean… I don't see why not? Hey, Ophis…Irene…? Wanna hang out with Kunou?

[...…]

[I do not mind.]

Ophis didn't give me an answer but Irene did. Both dragon heads start to glow and both of them come out. Once Ophis was she quickly averted her eyes from me and looked at Kunou, she was sporting a small blush on her.

Irene had a smug look on her. She taps me on the shoulder and I look at her, she leans in close to my ear.

"I have been having many conversations with Ophis… To think the Dragon God of Infinity could be that cute ~ huhu, why not try interacting with her, Jin?"

...I guess it won't hurt. We also have a few more hours before everyone gets here. A bit of unwinding won't do any harm…

"Let's go!"

Kunou announces as she holds Ophis's hand and they start walking away. Irene and I follow them.

"Care to tell me about it? Unless I have to get it out of her myself."

"You already know the answer, Jin."

I sigh… Fine, sure.

"Then care to explain that other interaction you had with me?"

"Hmmm? ~"

...…Playing dumb now, are we?! Fine! I forcefully send her what she did to me during that dream.

"?!"

Bonk!

Irene became a little flustered and smacked me on the head… No! Don't be a tsundere! I don't like that trope! Well...I don't like how they handle it nowadays. Tsundere's were meant to act like that, and then slowly have their own character development and come out of it.

They're not meant to be like that indefinitely, but I guess some of the media today just see them as tropes, huh? I shake my head as Irene glared at me.

"Where's my chu chu, Irene ~"

"Silence…"

Irene turned away from me in embarrassment. I just chuckle at her expense. As we bantered back and force, we eventually reached the city of Urakyoto. It's the same as ever and Kunou leads us to more… Interesting parts of it.

"Oh? Kunou-hime, it's been only a day since you came here you know?"

A wolf youkai says with a hearty laugh. There were other youkais there that also greeted and welcomed her warmly. I look up at the sign in front of the shop, 'Har Har clothing', interesting name there…

"Har-Har-oji-san sells clothes here; they're sold at affordable prices and are handmade! If you order something he'll have it made in a few days. The quality is excellent! Oh, Har-Har-oji-san, this is—"

"The Middleman-kun, right? I've heard a lot about him. Welcome to my shop, kid. Take a look around and see for yourself!"

"Sure thing."

I scan the place using [Observe] on its items, many of them were made using common material, but they were quite high quality as Kunou mentioned, the guy made it himself. He must be a master of his craft then.

Kunou and Ophis walk over to one of the clothing racks and Ophis takes one of its hangers to look at it. She seems to be fixated on it. It was a pink black and purple kimono, Kunou looks over it with her. She takes it from Ophis and puts it against her and then hands it back to her.

"It looks good on you, Phis!"

"…We'll take then, Har-Har-san."

He smiles as Kunou and Ophis go up to the counter to pay for it. I join them and pay, also adding a little tip shocking the guy.

"T-Thank you!"

"Don't worry about it."

Ophis puts the dress into her ring as we left the place. I look around and in front of us was a little river, Kunou goes down towards it and stops by the edge.

"This river is usually higher during the summer but lower in the autumn and winter. I don't know why, mother never explained it to me."

We go around Urakyoto more as Kunou explains little facts and tidbits about her home. Time slowly passes by like this and the day was coming to a close.

"Nii-san!!"

I turn around to hear a familiar voice. It was that little youkai I met from before, he also brought his friends. They came up to me and I gave them high-fives… They also became a little stronger since their stats went up.

"Look at you guys getting stronger, how are things?"

He grins and closes his eyes… Suddenly he covered himself… In touki! Oh wow, this little dude is a monster himself. He opens his eyes back up and puffs his chest.

"You can use touki? Now that's impressive. You've done a lot of training, huh? How about you guys?"

"No…"

"I'm close!"

"I did it for a second…"

I got back varying answers from them but they seemed hopeful and determined to keep on improving.

"We'll catch up with the Oppai Dragon in the future, Jin-san!"

He announces, I ruffle his hair as he laughed.

"I see… I look forward to seeing that then… We'll get going. I'll come back here again in the future; I hope to see more improvements from you guys!"

They laughed and cheered before running away. At least the future generation is motivated… I turn back to see everyone looking at me. Irene had a smirk while the rest were just smiling at me. I pick Kunou up.

"Everyone should be coming to your home again soon, let's go back and wait, shall we?"

"Mmm!"

I turn to the two dragons—

"What do you two plan on doing?"

""I will watch/observe from the necklace.""

They both answer at the same time and then go back into the necklace. I didn't get to speak with Ophis much, maybe I can do it before we start the mission tonight. Kunou and I quickly go back to the castle while I had her on my shoulders.

…

|We're on our way now, Jin. We still need to get a few things… Saji-kun ate something and his stomach is upset…|

Rossweisse texted me, when I looked at it… Saji… My man… What the hell did you eat…? Most food I've eaten in Kyoto and Urakyoto has been fine.

[You are immune to literally everything. If you ate poison, you would say something like 'Tastes like chicken, yum!', Partner.]

{He has a point, Jin.}

…Alright, fine… Whatever, I have time so I'll just go visit Ophis.

|I see, I'll go visit Ophis. If I'm not back by then tell them that, and send me a text, Rose.|

|Okay!|

I put my phone into my pocket and go into the necklace.

…

Dragon necklace – Ophis

Once I got in there… I heard a loud thud. I look over to see Ophis on the ground hugging a pillow. She was weird noises as she was rolling around on the ground.

"…Ophis?"

"?!"

I called out her name and she shot up while still hugging the pillow. She quickly composes herself and she forces her usual stoic look on herself.

"Jin."

She says my voice in her usual monotone voice. She tilts her head acting like I didn't just see what she was doing. I chuckle and walk over to her; I grab her and lead her back to the couch and we sit there.

"How have you been?"

"Good."

"Read anything lately?"

"No…"

"So, I heard from Irene."

Ophis freezes beside me and doesn't answer me. Haaa… She really is embarrassed; I could feel from her emotions, geez. From being nearly emotionless to this…

"Alright, let's help you with that."

I grab Ophis and put her on my lap, she started to squirm and become restless.

"Ophis. Are you embarrassed?

She nods.

"Do you know why?"

She nods again.

"…Because… I love Jin. When, I think about it, my chest burns but it feels good… When I think about you, my face becomes hot, and my thoughts become disorganized…. I, can't face you anymore…"

Ophis buries her face into my chest after saying that… My god that was adorable, I felt a smile creep onto my face. Please don't look up otherwise you'll see me like this.  I hug her back and pat her back.

"Well, we just need to get you used to it."

She looks up at me confused and I kissed her. Her eyes widen as she sat there for a few seconds before she started to kiss me back. As we kissed, I felt her slowly transform into her adult form. Did she do that on purpose or…?

I pull away as she looks at me with a bit of disappointment.

"Did you like it that much that you turned into your adult form?"

Ophis looks at herself before she looks back at me and answered.

"…I, like being carried by you in both forms. Lewd activities with my adult form? Everything else my small form?"

Is that what she wants to do? I guess she's also thinking about Kunou. She's made friends with her while she's in her loli form and Kunou now knows who Ophis is. It was revealed to her after the five years, she was quite surprised by it but it didn't change her perspective on Ophis and the Dragon God felt a sense of relief at the time.

Kunou also know about Irene, she likes them a lot… Though she likes every one of my lovers or most people that are around me. She's a good kid.

"Well… If that's what you want to do then I won't stop you from doing so."

Ophis gets off me and hops down to the ground. She touches her ring and—

Pomf!

Her body was covered in a brief bright light and she was wearing the kimono… I summon a mirror beside her as she looks at herself, she twirls around and had a small smile on her. She turns to me and tilts her head.

…Is that her way of asking 'How is it?' if so…

"You look great, Ophis. Do you want me to enchant it?"

She nods and I touch the kimono and enchant it. She lets out a satisfied sigh before putting it away and wearing her usual black gothic Lolita attire. I felt my phone vibrating so I take it out.

|We're in Urakyoto, we'll arrive in a few minutes.|

"It seems like the meeting will start soon. Will you stay and observe in the necklace or…"

"I, will protect Kunou and Yasaka like before. So you can concentrate in your assignment."

"I see, thank you Ophis. Let's go then."

She nods and we leave the necklace.

…

Urakyoto

Once I leave the necklace with Ophis— Zeno, Silva, and Elsa appear in front of me.

"Done?"

"Yes, young master, all those circles around Kyoto should be rigged. Miss Cúntóir is as efficient as ever, she made them able to transport into another dimension hohoho ~"

"There were a few members of Khaos brigade I saw on my rounds, I killed and brought their brains for you to extract their memories from, young master."

…Jesus Christ Silva, a bit extreme there… He brings them out and I look through the memories… Nothing of significance except for that the Monkai association, Nilrem, and Hero faction will be doing the assault tonight. I'll tell them that during the meeting.

"Good job, that gave me something more."

Zeno and Silva nod before disappearing into my ring. I look at Elsa as she stood up.

"I also tampered with those magic circles; however, I also saw that the Five clans have been busy preparing for whatever may come their way. Frankly, I do not believe they will be able to repel those Divine Beasts… The Ouryuu boy may be able to push it back and hold his own for a little while but…"

"Won't really be a match, huh? Alright, I'll have you guys stand ready for when it all begins."

"Yes ~"

She walks over to me and pecks me on the cheek before disappearing. As she did, the Gremory group, Sitri group, Azazel, and Rossweisse show up. I turn around and walk to the door in front of us, we were just in front of the meeting room.

Everyone arrives and sits down at the table. I look around to see the Sitri group with uneasy expressions, Saji was also quite nervous as he was visibly sweating. Suzaku also hadn't left yet.

"Let's get started then, we don't have much time."

...