Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Luckily, Haruhime was only unconscious for a few minutes before waking up. Aisha had continued talking about the state of alert throughout Orario while I listened. Once Haruhime woke up, Aisha stopped and approached her.
"Are you okay?" Aisha asked gently. Haruhime blinked several times before nodding.
"Yes, I... I'm fine," Haruhime said timidly. "Should I... should I use the magic now?" she asked once more.
"If you're not too tired, of course." I said easily. Haruhime shook her head.
"No, I... I feel perfectly fine. But... don't I need Ishtar-sama to update my Falna? " Haruhime asked, bowing her head. I shook my head.
"Not really. The magic granted by a grimoire is instantaneous; it's engraved in your soul. You don't need the power of a goddess to use it; it's entirely yours," I said easily. Haruhime nodded.
"Even so, I'll need to know the Chant." Aisha said, frowning. I nodded as I took an item from my inventory. Aisha's eyes widened. "Status thief," she said, surprised. I nodded.
"Yes, this should be enough to see Haruhime's status and magic," I said with a smile as I tossed the item to Aisha. It was really good that Bella had bought it; unfortunately, I couldn't replicate it, since it was made with the blood of a god. I really needed to replicate the Mystery development ability.
"Yes... that should be enough," Aisha said, eyeing me suspiciously. Haruhime blushed deeply but still began to undress, enough to expose her back. Aisha sighed in defeat, but still used Status Thief on Haruhime's back. I watched as Haruhime's Falna slowly appeared on her back. "I hope you can read divine hieroglyphics, because I can't," Aisha mocked. I nodded.
" Yes, I know," I said honestly as I approached Haruhime's back. I could see her shudder as her ears turned even redder. I almost expected her to faint once again.
I began reading the hieroglyphs thanks to Riveria; she could read them easily, so it was easy to use her memory to decipher them. My eyes lit up with recognition as I read Haruhime's new magic, and just as I expected, Kokonoe was there.
Haruhime's new magic was called Kokonoe. This unique magic granted its user fox tails made of light, and then concentrated the effects of a second, separate magic spell, chanted immediately afterward, into those tails. Once this happened, Haruhime could activate the magic as many times as there were tails, all with a single act of will.
Basically, for the cost of two spells, Haruhime could bypass Uchide no Kozuchi 's restrictions of a single target and a cooldown period by first using Kokonoe and letting that magic replicate Uchide up to 9 times.
That meant Haruhime could level up nine different people. It was absolutely a complete cheat. Not only did the author give Haruhime a level-up ability, which is already completely broken, but he also gave her a way to use it on multiple people.
That's complete nonsense. Both spells were already outrageous on their own. Uchide alone would be a complete and utter trap.
Uchide did not have linear growth; that was the most exponential growth possible, and its effects were much stronger when the target was already strong.
It wasn't the same to use a level boost at level 1 to raise it to level 2, which uses a level Boost at level 8, so that it goes up to level 9. The amount of difference in strength, time and effort that the latter needed was ridiculous, but the increase in strength was much greater than in someone of a low level.
Even the target didn't need to have a Falna; Haruhime used it on several xenos, literally intelligent monsters created by the dungeon.
So yes, Uchide alone was already an absolute trap. And Kokone? Kokone, too, even without Uchide to use, just thinking about Kokone in the hands of someone like, say, Riveria, would be terrifying.
She could cast 9 Rea Laevateinn or 9 Wynn Fimbulvetr. She could basically reshape the terrain into a fiery hell or an icy hell, covering all of Orario in a single cast, for the cost of a single spell. It was terrifyingly frightening.
For me, it would only serve as a form of optimization or increased efficiency. Kokonoe was incredibly useful because the Chants in Danmachi were ridiculously long. But I didn't have that problem; the magic I replicate, even my normal magic, didn't require many words—one or two, four words for the longest spells.
Using my Reality Marble allowed me to replicate those spells as much as I wanted; the casting cost was marginal, and I could project the same spell dozens or hundreds of times for continuous or multiple casting.
Even without using my Reality Marble, I'm confident I can cast most of them silently and repeatedly. So, Kokonoe wasn't exactly something I needed.
But it would definitely reduce the cost of any multiple casts by 9. And maybe, if I find something in the future that could benefit me by using Kokonoe, that would be nice.
Putting those thoughts aside, I began to speak. I read the spell's description, and I saw both girls turn completely pale. At the same time, I took out a piece of paper and began to write down Kokonoe's chant. Once I finished, I handed it to Haruhime, and she took it tremulously.
"This is dangerous, very dangerous. Uchide no Kozuchi already made her a huge target, and this magic, Kokonoe, will make all the gods and adventurers covet her immensely if they find out." Aisha said solemnly, almost panicking. I nodded.
"They will, so once again, I give you the offer, you can go to Loki and ask for refuge or join her, they will take care of you."
"Of course, they'll take care of their golden goose." Aisha spat out, and I shrugged.
"Or you can wait until I erase the Falna from your back, and forget about it forever. Go to another city far away where no one knows." I said easily. Haruhime just remained silent as she clutched the paper between her fingers. Slowly, she nodded. I didn't know which option to choose, but I didn't ask. Haruhime looked at the paper and took a deep breath.
She began to recite the Chant of Kokonoe. The Chant was long, majestic, and very dramatic, like most Chants in this world, but still, no less impressive.
Two tails of light appeared behind Haruhime, radiant with power, majestic like a maiden in the midst of a ritual, then she began the next chant: Uchide no Kozuchi. To my surprise, she applied it to Aisha and me. My eyes widened as I felt the effects of Uchide no Kozuchi.
It was… quite a remarkable growth, especially in my magic; even my Light grew enormously, almost exponentially. Much more than a Twice Critical doubling once. Unfortunately, Uchide isn't something that can be used on the wielder, so there was no point in dreaming about it. If I find a way around that restriction, then it would be a good thing, but not really necessary. I already had enough power boosts that I didn't urgently need Uchide.
But even so, it was still terribly useful to everyone else, especially since I now had confirmation that I didn't need a Falna for UnK.
And Kokonoe. That other magic was also easily registered. The fox tails were certainly beautiful when activated, but they would attract a lot of attention if I were to use them elsewhere.
I hope I don't offend the Yokai in DxD if I were to use Kokonoe in public and nine fox tails, specifically golden ones, appeared behind me. If they take it as an offense or insult to Yasaka, that wouldn't be good at all.
I smiled slightly as both spells registered perfectly. I watched Haruhime stagger, on the verge of fainting, and pulled out a small vial containing a Mana potion.
"Here, it will help you recover." I said gently as I handed her the potion. Haruhime nodded before beginning to drink it. Haruhime regained some color as she calmed down.
"Satisfied?" Aisha asked bitterly. She had tensed up once again; I could see she was preparing to attack me at any moment. I nodded.
"Completely satisfied, thank you, Haruhime," I said, smiling broadly at her. "That was especially revealing," she added with a happy hum. "Well, I guess it's part of keeping my promise," I said with a grin, grabbing Rule Breaker, which was still propped up on the windowsill. I walked over to Haruhime and struck the necklace. A small metallic clang rang out as the metal collided, and the necklace's magic shattered.
I clapped lightly and touched the necklace, which began to crumble around Haruhime's neck.
"You really did it." Haruhime murmured as she touched her neck. Even Aisha, who looked like she was about to attack me, froze in place as she stared at me in surprise. I nodded.
"Very well, do you want me to remove your Falnas, or will you wait for me to kill Ishtar? I'll even add Phryne and Tammuz and eliminate them both; none of the others will pose any problem for you," I said easily.
"We'll wait," Aisha said immediately. "If you fail, Haruhime and I will still be punished, hunted down, and questioned about how we managed to erase our Falna. I don't want to get into trouble with the guild and all the other gods, too afraid that I might somehow start erasing Falnas left and right."
"If you fail and we maintain our Falnas, only I will be punished for rebelling against Ishtar-sama," Aisha said solemnly. Haruhime looked at her worriedly, and I nodded. I projected Rule Breaker, conjured two really wide robes, and threw them at her.
"Use that to escape. You'll see the pillar of light in the sky when Ishtar is returned to heaven. Then run to Twilight Manor. Someone will be waiting for you at the door. She'll help you. Then, if you want to join Loki's familia, it's your decision. If not, I'll give you money or take you to another city, or whatever you want." I said easily as I broke the time bubble.
"You're really putting a lot of effort into this. Honestly, at this point, I was hoping I was dead, and Haruhime had been kidnapped." Aisha admitted, though she sounded terribly calm. I just shrugged.
"I already have what I want; I really have no reason to hurt you." I said, honestly, as I started walking toward the exit. "Prepare to run, I'd even recommend going to the edge of the district. The moment Ishtar dies, the entertainment district will be in complete chaos." I warned them. Aisha nodded as she quickly began to get dressed.
"Let's go, Haruhime," Aisha said softly once she had finished dressing completely, as she placed the robe over Haruhime's body.
"Alright, I'll be going." I said simply, and opened the door.
"Wait!" Haruhime exclaimed, making me stop. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her blush slightly. "Will we... see each other again?" Haruhime asked shyly. I grimaced.
"I'm not a hero, Haruhime. I did all this for selfish reasons," I assured Haruhime. She didn't even react; she just nodded shyly. I sighed wearily. "I have a very close connection to someone in the Loki Familia, so I'll be hanging around the area quite often," I said simply. Haruhime nodded, even more excitedly.
"What... what is your name?" Haruhime asked with the same speed. I stopped.
"Serena Prince." I said honestly, I could hear Aisha choke slightly before she moaned loudly.
"Of course you're related to that crazy Miach's daughter." Aisha grumbled with a sigh. I almost snorted; really, in just three weeks, Bella had already earned quite a reputation— or rather, infamy—with all of Orario.
"She's my wife," I said playfully. Aisha choked again, and I could see Haruhime pout. "See you later, Haruhime Sanjouno, Aisha Belka. Maybe we'll meet again," I said finally as I left the room. Before she could follow me, with a pop, I appeared outside the building and high in the sky.
I hovered slightly in the air as I looked at the Ishtar building, the central building of the entertainment district; its three-pointed towers were really distinguishable and very easy to see.
I gently touched Aria, and she transformed into a cloak that enveloped my entire body and activated her invisibility. Once protected by the Cloak of Death, I reappeared, this time closer to the building. I didn't even land; still gliding smoothly, I approached one of the entrances and entered, dodging everyone.
The opulence of the Ishtar building was truly something to be grateful for; the high ceilings made it incredibly easy to fly undetected. First things first, Phryne, I flew from corridor to corridor trying to find the captain of the Ishtar familia.
Aisha was right; this building was indeed crowded, filled with Amazons belonging to the Ishtar familia. It seemed my explosion of Light had actually caused quite a bit of panic.
As I flew over the various hallways and rooms, I stopped in front of one. I could see the magic emanating from it. Intrigued, I entered the room, and my eyes sparkled slightly.
Ah, the Ishtar familia's storehouse, a real prize. I didn't even hesitate to approach and start touching everything while sending it to Pocket Space—weapons, potions, magic tools—I took absolutely everything.
Once I finished looting the warehouse, I left and continued searching for Phryne. After a few more minutes, I finally found her in the dungeons. I suppressed a gag reflex as I watched Phryne having sex with a chained man. I truly wished I hadn't had my Six Eyes with me at that moment.
I fired two stunners far harder than they should have been, hitting Phryne and her victim. My stunners were strong enough that a level 5 adventurer like Phryne couldn't even resist them. They both fell unconscious. I shuddered in disgust once more as I approached, placing the seal on Phryne's shoulder while still grimacing in disgust.
As soon as I finished sealing it, I made it disappear, conjured water, and washed my hands. I threw a time bubble grenade at it and immediately sold 'it.' Then I simply destroyed the grenade.
I'll have to erase that memory for good.
With a final shudder, I left the dungeons and began climbing the floors of the building to Ishtar's chamber. It was quite easy to spot, with all the opulent decorations on the door.
The moment I entered, I began moving at a speed high enough that they couldn't react, and I launched stun grenades at everyone present. Curiously, besides Tammuz, there were two other Amazons who fell easily. Ishtar seemed surprised for a few moments before also fainting.
Okay, let's see, I really didn't feel like listening to Ishtar babble. I just grabbed Tammuz, stamped him, threw a time bubble at him, and sold him immediately. I ignored the other two Amazons, whose identities I didn't know, wiped their memories of the last few minutes, and set them aside.
I approached Ishtar, hummed softly considering it, shrugged as I projected a small dagger, made a small cut on her wrist, and began to bleed Ishtar while placing the blood into small bottles.
I already had the blood of Dionysus, now Ishtar's, let's see if I can really do something with both.
Finally, I closed Ishtar's wound, placed the seal on her chest, threw a time bubble at her, and finally cut her throat.
I witnessed the moment her Arcanum activated to keep her alive. I saw everything that transpired when she was forced to return to Heaven under the laws imposed by Uranus, as if by an imperial decree. That… was truly astonishing.
I blinked several times as I pulled out my phone. Without hesitation, I sold Ishtar. The seal was placed over her soul; it didn't matter if she was in Tenkai or returned to Heaven, the seal was permanent. So there was no problem selling it.
Phryne Jamil(T6) from Danmachi --SOLD
Tammuz Belili(T6) from Danmachi --SOLD
Ishtar(T7) from Danmachi –SOLD [160]
Total: [495]
I smiled slightly before appearing outside Ishtar's room; my work was now finished.
Author's Notes: Okay! A small but important announcement! I'll be taking a short break the first week of March, both from my full-time job and from writing! That means that unfortunately I won't be posting anything on Friday, March 6th, and I'll be back to posting normally on March 13th.
A/N: If you liked the story, join my patreon, patreon.com/Camellya_Addams, there are up to 10 chapters in advance, thank you. Or you can also visit my Ko-Fi, ko-fi.com/camellya_addams.