Chapter 133: Who Dared Threaten My Girl?

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Ruby wasn’t gloomy anymore, but she could still be in a better mood. I took it upon my own shoulders to cheer her up until I could find a solution to this situation. For today, I decided to invite her to a spar. 

It was evening when we returned home, where idol trainee girls were already present. Ruby and I greeted them with a wave of our hands, and I dragged her to the gym in the back of our house.

“Where are you two going?” Yuzuru said as she hopped over. 

“Sparring.”

She blinked in surprise before grinning, “Hey, I wanna train too! Let me join.”

“Sure, after I'm done with Ruby,” I said as I ruffled her hair. That caught the attention of everyone else. They hadn't seen me and Ruby spar since I rather taught her spells than fought; but now that she was a martial artist, I needed to get her used to physical fights too.

Among the spectators, Tsubasa was the first to slip away from her responsibilities. She looked at the girls around her and excused herself, “Uh, I'll be back soon. You guys can continue if you want.”

Mem exchanged glances with the others before following Tsubasa, and that prompted Shoko to follow along too. Ai and Asia were there too, the former was here to supervise the training since Ruby wasn’t here, and naturally, she was curious about how her children were going to spar. So she too joined the crowd, and Asia came along.

Only Kana remained, staring at the backs of everyone who walked away. In the end, she dropped the remote control of the music box that she was holding and followed along with a dissatisfied look on her face.

….

As we entered the home gym, the atmosphere was thick with the intensity of a serious training session. Irina and Xenovia were locked in a fierce sword duel, their blades clashing in a shockwave of metal that echoed throughout the space. 

Their movements were fluid and precise, a testament to their skill and dedication, drawing me in along with the rest of our group. We stopped to watch, finding Blue nearby who was supervising the duel, who walked up to us and reported.

“They’re doing great, milord,” she said. “They aren’t using their Aura right now, but when they do, it’s a sight to behold. If you wish to see it, I can order them right away.”

“It’s alright,” As curious as I was, I didn’t want to keep the spectators busy for too long. I wanted to be done with Ruby’s sparring fast. So I raised my hand, signaling for a pause. "Let's take a break," I called out, ensuring our voices carried over the clatter of their combat. 

They ceased their duel, stepping aside with curious glances toward us, their breathing heavy from the exertion.

“Welcome, milord,” Xenovia bowed and Irina followed soon.

“Drink something and take a rest,” I told them with a wave of my hand. They nodded and walked away to the side, where rested magical protein shakes that I brewed.

The center of the gym was now ours, as Ruby and I stood face-to-face in wait for the next action. I felt the weight of nervousness and expectation as I looked at Ruby, a silent agreement passing between us. She hadn’t tested her new powers to their fullest yet, so she was curious and expectant about them.

Concentrating, I summoned an Instant Dungeon around us, a protective sphere of energy that isolated our upcoming battle from the world. This act of precaution was met with an approving nod from Ai, who would rather not have her house destroyed.

“Careful Aqua,” our mother said. “I trust you to not go overboard.”

“Of course,” I nodded and the battle kicked off with me seizing the initiative, my body channeling the fierce energy of Lightning Techniques. 

I surged forward, propelled by a bolt of lightning in my feet, and launched a strike toward Ruby. "Thunder Strike," I announced Pikachu’s move which got a laugh out of Ruby, which amused me. I had to teach her to take battles seriously. 

My fist was enveloped in a crackling aura that leaped ahead, targeting her with precision. Ruby collected a radiant energy of her own, countering my advance with a Jade Technique of her Path. That surprised me, she’s Jade already?

"Luminous Guard!" she shouted, and a shimmering light of defense formed in front of her. Our energies collided, the impact resonating throughout the Instant Dungeon, casting our surroundings in a brilliant display of light and sound.

The spectacle had everyone captivated, their eyes wide in amazement. Asia's face was alight with surprised excitement, while our mother observed with an analytical eye, perhaps assessing our strategies and execution.

Unfazed by Ruby's initial defense, I adapted my approach, infusing more Qi into my next maneuver. "Your second pool is already at Jade now? Impressive.” I hadn’t noticed since she had two pools and it was hard to notice her exact rank in both pools without focusing. Her new pool’s growth rate was fast thanks to her old pool being 5th rank already.

“The technique I used earlier was Iron-level, not Jade. I’ll be using stronger attacks now, good luck.” I released my Qi and blitzed beside her. “Lightning Tempest Kick!" I declared, unleashing a volley of lightning-charged kicks, each aimed to penetrate the shield shimmering before her.

Like the Path of the Hollow King, the Path of Celestial Radiance was strong against any technique that didn’t use Pure Qi, Pure Mana, or Pure Ether. Against any other Qi affinity, such as my lightning, it was a bane. Each of my kicks expended more Qi than I’d have liked, as her barrier absorbed lightning and fortified itself little by little.

“Neat,” I was proud. That wasn’t entirely a passive effect, she was doing that knowingly.

Then, I increased my output and shattered the barrier. My kick landed on her side, and she was sent flying to the distant wall. She groaned in pain but managed to avoid slamming against the wall. She spun in the air and slowed down her speed, as Qi of luminous colors shimmered around her.

That light reminded me of the Luminous Queen, S’hah Miara. The Queen of a world I had devoured as the Venerable One. I scavenged this Path from her used, dead body.

Floating toward me, Ruby raised her hands toward me. "Radiance Reprisal!" she said, finally using a move designed not just to defend but to retaliate, sending beams of light piercing toward any gap in my assault. "Take this, for being an asshole!" she challenged, her resolve as clear as the light she wielded.

I almost laughed at her last line but held back. It’s great that she was using this as a way of letting out some frustrations on me. Her path had a clear advantage over any other Path in the same rank; since I was keeping myself shackled by [Jade] limits, her victory wasn’t impossible. If she had my battle experience, that is.

Our duel was a dance of contrasting energies – my lightning against her radiant light, each strike helped me assess her level, while each strike helped her relax. My attacks were as unpredictable as a storm, while Ruby's countered with the unwavering force of a star’s multicolored light.

As the battle wore on, our friends and family became fully engrossed. Irina and Xenovia shared looks of admiration, acknowledging the high level of control and skill we both displayed.

Eventually, though, I got bored. “Let me end this,” I kept myself limited to Jade still, but I whirled behind her like lightning and struck her side one after the other. She spat out curses until I pinned her against the floor with two of my lightning-infused fingers poking at her throat.

“It’s my win.”

“Of course it is, you’re stronger than me.” she scowled and grunted, as she let her head rest on the floor. “But sure, you win.”

I laughed and helped her stand up. Our exchange had reached a natural conclusion, nobody expected her to win anyway. But she had still done far better than I’d have thought she would. 

The Instant Dungeon faded, and I dismissed the crowd to go take a shower.

* * *

This was my second shower of the day, and I felt refreshed when I walked out of the bathroom. I found someone waiting for me outside the door, sitting in my bed as she fidgeted with one of my old wristwatches. 

I wasn’t surprised to see her there. I sensed her presence when she entered the room. “Hey, Mem,” I greeted my devil girlfriend as I walked over to the mirror and faced my reflection. With a flick of my willpower, I called forth a surge of wind around me that dried up the droplets of water on my hair and skin.

“Sup,” Mem-Cho put down the watch and looked at me. She didn’t walk up to me, unlike what I expected, and just stared. “Nice fight, it was fun to watch.”

“Thanks,” I turned to her, tilting my head. “What are you waiting for? Come give me a hug.”

“Whoa, so you remember I’m your girlfriend,” she walked up to me and put her arms around my neck, looking into my eyes with a soft smile on her face. “Here I thought you forgot.”

“Because I didn’t give you enough attention lately?” I put my arms around her waist and asked, “I truly apologize for that, I’ve been busy.”

We’ve been meeting up every day thanks to her idol training regime, as well as her Time Magic lessons, but despite meeting every day, I’ve been giving her the same treatment as the other girls here. She must have been feeling left out recently.

For what it counted, I did drop her home every day through the sky, but even that had been skipped recently after we went to Okinawa island.

“Mhm, sure.”

“No, really.”

I pulled her closer and brushed my nose against hers. Her face gained a slight red hue at that and she giggled. “Fine, I trust you.”

“Thank you,” I pulled her lips for a small peck. “How’ve you been lately?”

“That’s what I’m here to talk about,” she said as her blush vanished, a dark look replaced it instead. That made me frown. I thought she came to my room for a casual visit, but it seemed there was something deeper going on.

“Recently, I noticed some Devils lurking around my neighborhood.” She said and I raised an eyebrow, “You know, my youtube revenue increased recently, so I got a bigger apartment for my mom and brothers.” 

I did know that. She’s on a vacation, living with her family for the past couple of days, so she wasn’t with Quetzalcoatl. Mem will return to her apartment later, but the point was, in her new place, Quetzalcoatl wasn’t there to keep her safe.

She continued, “This is a new neighborhood so I ignored the lurking devils at first. I thought it was normal around these parts and it had nothing to do with me, and that was true. But… one of my brothers shouted during the night and I ran to see what was going on. He said there was some weird guy outside the window.”

“There was nobody.”

“There wasn’t, yes, but I did sense the lingering mana in the air,” she said. “I told my family to sit still and went outside to look for the creepy bastard. I found them in a group of four and had a little fight with them. I broke three of their arms but the fourth guy managed to cast a teleportation spell and fled with his friends.”

I frowned, “And why didn’t you call for me? You should have at least left me a text before you left the house.”

She smiled, “I sensed their mana, they weren’t stronger than me. Why must I bother my boyfriend with every little mob monster?”

“....” I had nothing to say against that. I was rather proud of her instead, from being a girl who didn’t know anything about the supernatural world, to this. How lovely. “But that’s not all there is to the story, is there?” I asked, I had a feeling there was more.

She nodded, her face once again growing dark, “There is more,” she licked her lips. “You told me that I am from the Agares family of Devils, right?” I nodded. I had told her about it not long after we met and I realized her Bloodline Power of Time. “A man came to our apartment this morning. No, not a man. A devil. Apparently my ‘father’ sent him to fetch me to the underworld. This incident appears to have reached the ears of the Agareas Clan since I used the Power of Time against those four, and now he suddenly wants to meet this exceptional child of his who can use the Power of Time so greatly.”

“What’s the issue? Wouldn’t you like to meet your father?” I asked. Since she was here with me and not in the underworld, she had clearly rejected the offer.

“No,” Mem said with a frown. “Why would I want to meet the man who used my mom and threw her away? He never bothered to find us but now he is suddenly here for me after learning I am strong,” she said, and I understood her hate. 

Her two brothers were from another father, so she had no burden on her shoulders such as—‘I should at least meet him for their sake’. She had zero reason to go meet this man when she didn’t like him, and I could respect that.

“You did well. You have no obligation to do whatever anyone says, I’m glad you didn’t give in to pressure.” I kissed her forehead and said. 

“But they’re not giving up.” She said, “The man who came today told me that I had a few days to think this over. If I still don’t agree after that, he said he’ll use force to take me there. My family is terrified, I don’t know what to do.”

I felt my jaws clench at that. Did someone dare threaten my girl?

“What does he look like?”

“That’s not the point, Aqua. They’re an entire clan, not a single person. I know you are extremely strong, but they are rich in number. We should deal with this without a fight. I want to ask Quetzalcoatl for help, but I don’t know if her influence as the Goddess of a foreign Pantheon can affect the devils. Plus, I heard she’s leaving Japan for a while, so I don’t want to bother her.”

She added, “So I was thinking… Aren’t you friends with the Devil Princess? Can’t you ask her for help? Or that Ranefer woman, too.”

“Mem,” I looked into her eyes as my aura threatened to break free. How insulting. How can she be scared of a mere devil clan when she’s my woman? I didn’t blame her too much since it’s true that she didn’t know the heights of my powers. Then should I  show her instead of using empty words? “The timing is great. Tomorrow’s Tuesday, right? I have a meeting with Sirzechs Lucifer. I’ll talk to him about this.”

“Oh.”

“But I want you to come along with me to the meeting. That will make things easier,” I told her and she hesitated before nodding. She had been to the underworld before so she wasn’t too scared of revisiting it if I went with her.

“Sure, I’ll go,” she agreed.

Alright then. I haven’t met the parents of any of my three girlfriends yet, tomorrow is going to be the first. Unfortunately, whoever the man is, it wouldn’t end well for him.

Mem trusted me a lot, that’s why she was here. But due to her lack of knowledge of my powers, she didn’t know how far she should put her trust. I shall give her an idea about that tomorrow, as well as deal with the Rias’ situation with Sirzechs.

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