To know thy enemy is crucial in any battle, yet to know too much leads to dark places.
Steam rose around me, yet the hot water did little to relax
me or drive away the fear in me. For Nod and especially the Scrin were not something to celebrate knowing about possibly existing; for if the Scrin did exist, we were so fucked. A simple mining crew had almost defeated the Brotherhood and GDI working together, and the later had a much better space program than Earth now. That thought made me shiver in despair despite the heat as the dread grew.
I sank deeper into the dread, and the world around me grew
numb as the sound of running water faded. Yet before I was totally lost, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and two points poke into my back, followed by two more sets of arms, one set each around mine, and more points. I looked over my shoulder to see a nude Ravel, Murayama, and Shirone watching me with concerned
eyes. Ravel was on my right, Murayama on my left, and Shirone in the center, and my cat princess and knight were so worried that they weren't even trying to feed their sins by feeling me up. Shirone made extremely cute, concerned kitty eyes at me, and that slowly made me smile before Ravel asked quietly.
"What's wrong, Greg? You have been in here for thirty minutes now."
It was clear Ravel was just as worried as the others, and when I didn't respond, Shirone began purring loudly, trying to help, and the feeling made the tension in me begin to fade away. I considered telling them
the truth, yet a dark thought crossed my mind despite the purrs.
"Not yet. We must control the narrative."
That made me turn away and sigh.
"Just something my dad told me tonight. I'll tell you
tomorrow."
Ravel and the others didn't like that answer, but they didn't
push it either. Instead, they just hugged me deeper, and that smoothed most of my worries. That silence continued for a few moments before Murayama brought up that her dad was enjoying his work in Ryza's almost finished hospital. That kicked off a conversation between Ravel and Murayama that continued through the shower and into bed, where the others cuddled up around me. I drifted off to sleep with Kuroka on my right and Shirone on my left, hoping beyond hope that I was wrong about what was in that cube Azazel had.
My eyes scanned the progress report from one of my more
competent subordinates, pleased we had passed the first milestone of the next phase. That glee, however, was only temporary; another report flashed on my data slate, and I let out a snarl as someone had fucked up and killed our first subject. I threw the slate across the room; it slammed into the wall, cracking in half as sparks flew from its dead husk, and I stomped toward the door to my office. I threw the door open and stepped into the brightly lit light.
A light that was a torrent of blue plasma balls that came hurtling down to Earth, slamming into the sidewalk, buildings, and street around me, the queens, and hundreds of screaming, fleeing civilians. Where
those balls landed, bodies flew into the air or disintegrated, and more came flying toward us. Kuroka, Ravel, and Rias summoned multiple barriers or threw bits of the sidewalk and street at the balls, yet that only stopped a few of the orbs. The rest killed even more people instantly, making the surviving civilians scream even louder. The whine of seventy storm riders flying through the ion storm above Kuoh City amplified the noise. I watched everything in pure
horror, and yet the situation only got worse as six planetary assault carriers and twelve devastator warships descended from low orbit and began raining even more destruction down on the city. Bodies and screams increased, and at that moment several F-15 jets screamed overhead and tried to fight the storm riders.
The swarm of missiles flew overhead toward one of the planetary assault carriers and slammed into it, only to explode against its
shield. The carrier went still for a moment before multiple pods detached from its sides and sped toward the jets as plasma balls began flying once more. The jets screamed off, but the fighters were faster, and soon every single jet fell to the streets and exploded into giant balls of fire before crystal pods launched from the underbelly of one carrier and flew into the city. Several pods slammed into the ground near us, and their walls seemed to melt away, revealing
multiple buzzard swarms and a horrible, grotesque mutated thing that turned its flashlight-like eye toward us. Then, all of a sudden, Raynare and Hana froze before Raynare turned, making a light spear and jabbing it toward me while Hana made several balls of fox fire.
I dodged the spear and the accompanying fox fire, and I saw in both Hana and Raynare's eyes a hazy, blank look, and my horror grew as they attacked us and the buzzards slaughtered the civilians who had stayed and stared. Dozens of bodies lay sliced and diced up the street, with blood, guts, and limbs everywhere, as another pod
slammed down behind us and more buzzards and another master mind appeared. Murayama and Shirone froze, then started attacking us too, as the other buzzards went down another street where more screams were happening. A street that we were being pushed to by the four, and just as we were about to hit the top of it, Shirone's fist slammed into my chest, cracking all my ribs and sending me flying
up into the air as I heard multiple screams. And as I fell in slow motion to the ground, I saw the screams were from the queens as they melted into green goop from a corruptor that had come around the corner. Their faces of agony as they melted were face to face with me as I hit the ground.
My eyes slammed open as the world spun, and I was dazed by the
fall and faintly heard the sound of a rib cracking and people waking up, or, in the case of Shirone, yowling out apologies. Finally, Rias was next to me and quickly put her hands on my face.
"Gregor-kun, are you ok!"
The world came back into focus, and I saw Barkspawn on my
chest panting and Rias looking down on me in concern, with the others looking over her shoulder. My rib healed back into place, and Shirone got ready to apologize again, but I grunted.
"I'm ok Rias, Shiro."
Rias and the others let out a sigh of relief as Rias scooped
up Barkspawn with one hand and then put her hand out to help me up. The moment I was on my feet, Shirone rushed to me and hugged me tightly, her tail wrapping around my waist as she whispered again that she was sorry. I returned the hug, saying softly.
"It really is ok Shiro. Accidents happen."
My cat princess relaxed a bit, then began purring happily, and
I took in that enjoyable sound before there was a knock at the door. We all turned, and a second later Neri's voice came.
"Milord…. You have a few guests downstairs. One of them is the knight."
Murayama scowled, while Kuroka, Hana, Ingvild, and Rias
looked confused, so I shrugged and called out.
"And the others?"
Neri replied.
"Two angels and two humans, milord. The angels are one fallen and one pure."
That made me blink before dread returned, drowning out Shirone's
purrs.
"I'll be down in ten minutes. Please get them food and drinks."
Neri hurried off, and I let go of Shirone, who reluctantly did the same, before I headed towards the shower, stopping outside the door.
"Ravel, please get the entire peerage together in the underworld for brunch in an hour, as I have an announcement for everyone. And
people are welcome in here with me."
That brightened people up, and Ravel nodded at me as everyone,
save for Hana and Ingvild, who both blushed a pretty red, moved toward the bathroom, with Xenovia looking extra keen. I gave Hana and Ingvild an amused smile and added,
"When you're comfortable."
My words made both relax as Ingvild scooped up Barkspawn and
Hana gave a tiny smile.
"Maybe in a few days."
Ingvild nodded before Barkspawn licked her, and I accepted
their choice before I was suddenly grabbed on the shoulder by Xenovia and dragged into the bathroom before the door shut quickly.
We ended up taking a bath, given everyone there, but at the eight-minute mark I got out of the tub, quickly got dressed, and headed out of the bedroom. As I walked down the hall, the dread returned as I wondered if the fallen here was Azazel. I reached the top of the stairs, and my dread both increased and decreased as it wasn't Azazel but rather Peneume.
The purple-haired fallen was examining my home curiously,
eating a bagel and glaring suspiciously at Castiel. The ninja angel watched her, amused, as he ate his own bagel, and smiled when he saw me.
"Morning, Heir Astaroth"
His words made Peneume look my way as the glare she was giving
Castiel shifted over to me. She narrowed her eyes, and I gave her a charming smile before returning to Castiel.
"Morning, Castiel. Am I right in guessing you're here to tell me about the next fitting? And where is exorcist Romanov?"
Castiel nods.
"Mirana is currently at the Legio Solar's main base training a new class of recruits with her friend Yuri. And you are correct. The Archangel is hoping to hold the next one tomorrow for the North American facilities. This time, however, we'll bring the exorcists to you, given the massive time difference. Will you be able to be ready by then, and where would be best?"
My smile melted away for a moment before it returned.
"The best place would be the Legio base. And I'll make as many bionics as possible for it today and tonight. I will also get started on having a forge in the underworld start making more of them so we can do more fittings."
Castiel beamed there while Peneume returned to her bagel, already bored. I smiled despite the dread and started down the stairs.
"And I will show you to the base today. We will try to find a space for you there, and I will make a cogitator linked to our inventory and record-keeping. Would you like to be our official treasurer and paymaster?"
Peneume blinked at the offer while Castiel finished his bagel and then headed down towards the basement stairs. Then the purple-haired woman narrowed her eyes.
"You're serious? You would trust me with your organization's
money? Why? I'm a fallen angel."
I gave her a bored look.
"And you're also Mittelt's aunt, and she speaks highly of you. I trust her judgment of you just as I trust her with many things. Do you
know where your Father is?"
Peneume was shocked for a moment before she scowled.
"Dad's busy digging in his vaults in Switzerland for something.
They are extremely deep and unorganized, so it will probably be a bit before you see him again."
I sweat-dropped; how could you, as a mega scientist, not organize your vaults! Peneume lost her glare as she saw my look and sighed in
agreement.
"He doesn't and just throws shit in there willy-nilly. I have
offered to organize them multiple times, but he insists he has a 'special' system. For some strange reason, he also asked me to buy him an ultra-high-end computer and multiple video game disks. That's beyond strange, as he's never been into that space. Did you inspire that in him?
Her eyes fixed on me hard, and I shrugged before shivering,
as Azazel would be a massively dangerous gamer here too.
"I did. He watched a DevilTube video of a game last night and was intrigued. You still haven't answered my question about the job."
Peneume then sighed.
"I'll take it. I was effectively the paymaster for Dad's cadre, along with his primary secretary, though given how many exorcists we lost last week to you, I might not have been doing it much longer, even if I had stayed. Which reminds me, Dad instructed me last night to bring two people to you. They are in the kitchen with that strange tricolor-haired girl. Who is she anyway?"
I glanced toward the kitchen, where I heard two low, nervous-sounding voices, and began making my way there, with Peneume following me.
"She is my second knight. I saved her life the night Kokabiel's
allies attacked me at a park here in the city. And who are these people you brought?"
Peneume looked guilty, but before she could say anything, we
reached the doorway, and I got my answer. There, sitting on the left side of the island, was Lint with an omelet, and on the right were a pair of identical sixteen-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. The girl wore a bright blue witch's robe and hat with white highlights on the brim and sides, while the guy wore a very fancy blue-and-grey striped suit. A small smile crossed my face at the sight, and Peneume's foot made the floor creak as the girl turned to look our way.
And the face revealed was Le Fay Pendragon. Her blond curls froze
like the rest of her before her eyes grew as wide as saucer plates before whispering out.
"The Lord of Iron."
No sooner had that been said than Lint and the guy turned my
way, and it turned out to be Arthur Pendragon. The dude widened his eyes, but before he could say anything, Le Fay practically bull-rushed me, activated a spell, and slid to a stop in front of me, barely an inch from my face, and screamed.
"May I have your autograph?!!!"
She then quickly shoved into my face a pen and a piece of
parchment while bouncing like a kangaroo on crack. I blinked at the sight before slowly taking the parchment and pen, bewildered, a tiny bit amused, and pleased.
"Sure. And who am I making this out to?"
The blonde in front of me bounced even more excitedly as she all but screamed.
"Your biggest fan, Le Fay Pendragon! Thank you, thank you!"
She kept bouncing as I signed my name for her, and just as
my pen lifted from the paper, Le Fay snatched it away from me, squealing with joy. She began dancing around the kitchen with it, holding it like it was a prized tome while Arthur and Lint watched on. Arthur was happy for his sister, and Lint was amused, before she got up from her seat and approached me. My eyes turned to her as she reached into her jeans pocket, pulled out three USB drives, and extended her hand.
"The information you wanted."
I glanced at the drives, then reached out and took them.
"Thank you. I'll have a look at this as soon as possible."
Lint gave me a small nod before I continued.
"When you're done with breakfast, pick out an unused room on the left side of the hallway for yourself. After that, please find me, and I
will explain the peerage and introduce you to the others. We will be having a meeting today on something important that recently came up."
That made Lint frown.
"I will pick my room later, as I have questions about a few things I have…. Noticed about me since… it happened."
My eyes fully turned on her, and I immediately saw she had bags under her eyes and looked paler than normal. Pity filled me as she probably wasn't feeding her sin, whatever it was.
"I'd be more than happy to answer them."
Lint's red eyes looked relieved, and it was then that a gentle cough came from in front of me. Glancing that way, I saw it was Arthur,
and he was nervous about something obvious before he could say it, but I cut him off.
"I don't believe that you or who is obviously your sister were involved in Vali's plan with the Red Dragon Empress's family. You strike me more as the kind of person who wants a good honorable fight to test your mettle than pure battle lust like him."
Arthur blinked at me there as a relieved look came for him before Le Fay finally stopped bouncing and came over, now scowling.
"We didn't even know he had that planned or the park incident!
If Art and I had known about either, we would have told Azazel immediately! Neither of us supports that crap, especially given our ancestors!"
I gave Le Fay an amused look; her scowl was cute.
"I believe that. I'm guessing that from the last name, you're
descendants of, or reincarnations of, the originals?"
Arthur and Le Fay got gleams in their eyes before Arthur said
primly.
"Your guess is correct; we are descendants. Though I am not as
good a swordsman as the original Arthur was."
Le Fay shot up in front of her brother, quickly.
"Nor am I to the original Le Fay, but I'm getting there! I was one of the best apprentices in the Gold Dawn before….."
Le Fay stopped there as her bright blue began to dim in memory. Lint looked at the twins with narrow eyes before Arthur put his hand on
his sister's shoulder. I held back a sweat drop; it was clear he was a siscon, and I looked over my shoulder. Peneume was finishing off another bagel and looked ready to get this started, so I glanced back at the blondes.
"I have something that might interest you, Ms. Pendragon. Let me get a Pop-Tart, and I will show it to you."
Le Fay's eyes brightened again, and I got a small grin at that.
Ten minutes later, Peneume, Arthur, Le Fay, Lint, and I stepped
off the teleporter pad after I finished the Pop-Tart at the army base, and I enjoyed the shocked looks the three hero descendants sent the machine. Peneume was just as impressed, though for a much different reason. In one hand, she held her brand-new cogitator, while the other worked the keyboard and mouse pad. Her eyes kept getting wider and wider as she read what was on the screen, and I smirked, starting to move.
"I told you that our system was good."
Lint, Arthur, and Le Fay followed, even as they stared at the pad and as Peneume huffed, then followed me
"This system is…. Adequate. For something devil made."
I took that victory, pushed open the door to the shed we hadthe pad in, and found Olympus Mons full of activity as a large horde of people ran in front of the shed, then off to the right. The group was made up of obvious recruits, many of whom were panting and exhausted, while behind them ran two more people, a man and a woman, who were veterans and barked.
"Faster, you maggots! We barely have done a lap yet!"
The crowd groaned as they ran around the corner of the fence
perimeter and out of sight. It was the first of many sights as we moved toward the command center of the base. As we moved, we passed by several large groups of exorcists doing jumping jacks, watching veteran Skitarii explain the lasgun to stunned faces, or a very large crowd watching people spar with wood swords under Mirana
and Yuri's gaze as they talked softly to one another. Seeing the bald man again made me narrow my eyes at him as my paranoia flared. Was he this reality's Yuri? They looked remarkably similar, and Tacitus was here.
Yet before I could spiral, Mirana gave me a wave before immediately returning her eyes to two of the duelists and giving one of them a tip. Arthur broke off from the group to watch that with a keen eye, with Le Fay a step behind him, before a large group of forty robots moved past us. All but three were brand-new robots, but they and the older ones leading them now had faces, and Lint watched them pass in shock before she gazed around the base once more and
said softly from my side.
"You're building an army."
It wasn't an accusation, and I gave her a look that said. And Cao Cao isn't? To Lint's credit, she didn't flinch and kept looking at me bravely. It struck me again there that she was very pretty if you didn't take into account how ill she looked. I gave her a look of pity, and seeing Peneume's full focus on the cogitator, I grunted.
"You said you had questions."
Lint kept watching me before her red eyes looked down.
"I do. Over the past few days, I have been more and more lethargic, and I don't know why."
My pity grew again for her as non-Orthodox ignorance reared its ugly head again.
"You feel like that because you're not feeding your sin, whatever it is. We devils need to do that every day as it's like breathing for us."
Lint really didn't seem to like that and deflated. And seeing the next question, she had pre-empted her.
"You will know what your sin is when you feel a high. Don't tell me, or any other devil, what it is until you are comfortable sharing. It's
considered extremely rude to ask directly."
That information made Lint blink before she frowned. Her eyes dimmed for a moment, then grew brighter as a massive smirk crossed her face, and she entered the high, and her face got some of its color back. I get a tiny smirk there before my eyes sharpen like a chainsword.
"What's on the third USB Drive?"
Lint broke from the high, blinked once, then twice.
"Minor groups in the Brigade. They are not as powerful, numerous, or organized as the OSF and Nilrem, but several of them have latched
onto them."
My eyes sharpened again there before I asked.
"Is one of these groups called the Brotherhood of Nod?"
Lint looked at me, clearly confused.
"No. I have never heard anyone speak of a group called that.
I know there is a group called Hexennact, which is a large coven of
necromancers in middle and lower Africa that works with Nilrem and the OSF often; a group called the Disciples of Set, which is a cult dedicated to Set that plagues most of the Middle East and upper Africa; and a group called the Church of Pavalor in the United States. However, they are a joke faction among everyone else."
I let out a small sigh of relief there before the tension returned, as there were still seventeen other groups.
"Why is this Church group a joke?"
Lint grew angry.
"Their ultimate goal is to steal a pair of panties from every single female celebrity in the mundane and supernatural world!"
That made me let out a small laugh. Lint, however, was fuming as she growled.
"They are pathetic but still a danger! They have somehow
managed to get panties from someone called Lindsey Lohan! I don't know who that is, but they must be stopped like the rest of them!"
My laugh stopped there because I could agree with that.
"I'll make sure we end this, Church of Pavalor. In fact, I'll make it one of the first few raids we do on the Brigade this week."
Lint calmed down significantly, then gave a pleased look, completely missing the last part, though I was curious how she didn't know who Lindsey Lohan was. Yet before I pushed her there, Le Fay wandered back toward me, trying to drag Arthur with her. The swordsman was reluctant to leave, watching the spars, and seeing that, I sighed
and called out to Penemue.
"Let's see if the command center has a spare room for you to make an office. I need to check in with my Vanguard Marshal and my Ranger Marshal on a few things."
Peneume grunted there and pulled her face out of the cogitator before moving to join us again, just in time for Le Fay to get back to us with Arthur following behind her before the five of us resumed our walk across the center of the base. Le Fay gazed at me, and I could see she was dying to know what this surprise I promised her was. I just gave her a smirk as we got to the command center doors.
"The surprise, Miss Pendragon, is that the Legio Solar actually has a magician subsection to it that will one day eventually become a new magician's guild."
Le Fay blinked once at that info before her eyes went bug-eyed
wide while Lint narrowed her own eyes and Arthur finally caught up, just in time for Le Fay to shout out.
"A magician's guild?! Is it yours?! Can I join?! Please,
please!"
That got a snort of amusement from me.
"Yes, no, yes. You are welcome in the guild. And your
brother in the Legio Solar, as we could always use a good swordsman."
Le Fay fist-pumped, and Arthur looked at his twin in joy for
her joy before returning his gaze to me.
"I will consider my options."
That made me roll my eyes as La Fay practically glared at her brother, making him flinch, then sweat. Fucking siscons, and I turned from them before pushing open the doors and heading inside with the others behind me. As we walked down the halls, Le Fay whispered frantically to her brother. A few minutes later, we entered the command center's central room. There I found Issari, Paula, Jeanne, and Abe, with his servo skull mom floating over his shoulder, and two other humans clustered around a cogitator screen on a new wooden table.
The six didn't look up from the screen, and I caught Issari
saying, as she looked at the two strangers,
"Did they look like this?"
The two humans narrowed their eyes at the screen, and Paula caught sight of me before saluting.
"Sir!"
I waved her off before looking at the others.
"You're fine, Paula, and I won't take up much of your time. Can you tell me where the magicians have set up their lair, and do we have a spare room here in the base for our new person here?"
I gestured to Penemue.
"She's our new treasurer and paymaster."
Paula eyed Peneume, who was still working on her cogitator.
"We have a few open rooms left here for her. Window or no window?"
Almost immediately, Peneume grunted out.
"Window, I'm not a shut-in like my father."
Paula took that, then turned back to me.
"As for the magicians, they have claimed two barracks near
the front gates as theirs. Ms. Reni said she was getting tired of having to direct the new people they have been getting to their old place on base. I can show you the two rooms we have with windows."
Paula turned and made her way to the doors before Peneume grunted and followed. My eyes fell on the cogitator as I grew concerned, but before I could ask, Issari turned my way slightly.
"We have twenty new magicians besides the group that reached
out to Lavinia initially, with all but two of them being apprentices. They were all expelled or left the guilds for various reasons, and Lavinia and I cleared them with truth spells, as possible Nilrem infiltrators. We did, however, turn over five apprentices to the Guilds who lied about why they were kicked and were beginner necromancers. Did the attackers from last night look like this at all? Please, the answer is really important."
That plea made the man and woman tilt their heads, and the man
spoke in a Scottish accent.
"Their helmets were the same."
Then the woman chimed in.
"The wing gliders were also similar, but the gliders were black, not red."
Issari took that, and I quickly stepped closer, pushing past
Jeanne and Abe, who were silently watching the screen. It showed fan art and the official game image of Shadow Teams, before I pointed at Nod's symbol.
"Did you see anything like that on their gear?"
The two humans peered intently at the scorpion tail before the man shook his head and grunted.
"Nay."
The woman stared harder, then shook her head a moment later.
"What Gill means is that they had a completely black bodysuit
like ours under the armor, and they didn't have markings. And we couldn't examine them further as they turned into goo quickly after they died."
Their answers made me fear we might indeed be facing Nod grow
before, I thought bitterly.
"They seek the destruction of the world and order."
I turned to the two, ready to snarl, to look harder at the image, only for Issari to cut me off.
"I will tell Paula when she gets back to have night patrols be
done in squad sizes from now on and to check the woods around us every two days. Thank you, Elisabeth, Gill. If you remember anything else, please see me immediately."
Both humans saluted and quickly moved to the door before I could say anything. Jeanne finally chimed in there.
"One of those things?"
Abe and Lint, who had come over behind me, quickly looked confused before I grunted.
"Almost certainly. We might be in ultra big trouble if something
is confirmed, as it means enemies from beyond."
Jeanne frowned deeply as she stared at the shadow team images
again, then sighed.
"Is there anything my rangers can do to help? We don't have many spare hands right now as we are securing bases and outposts in Europe but…."
I cut her off.
"Send whoever you have available to Sarajevo in Bosnia and, if
possible, Egypt. If this is them, then they will have bases in those areas."
Jeanne frowned before pulling back.
"Will do, though Egypt will be harder than Sarajevo. We have a new base in Bosnia that Abe actually secured for us yesterday in an old abandoned castle."
My eyes turned to my fellow perpetual, and the guy blushed,
then scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Mama and I went there for a holiday when I was younger. It
wasn't hard."
A second later, he winced as the skull bonked him on the
head with one of its feelers.
"A is being modest. He personally went in with the two other rangers and saved their lives from a newborn vampire using his gear and magic. I'm so proud of my baby boy."
I gave Abe an amused look as he blushed like mad before Jeanne
slapped him on the back, grinning.
"I taught him his sword skills! Soon he will be as good as
me!"
That made Issari, who had been staring at the screen, look our way with a lusty face before she frowned.
"And you are?"
I glanced to see she was looking at Lint, who was staring at Abe's servo skull in shock, before I grunted.
"That's my new knight, Miss Magician."
Issari narrowed her eyes in lust and suspicion.
"She looks like our former friendly neighborhood sociopath."
Lint froze and spun on Issari, pissed, and got ready to say
something, only to be nearly toppled over as Le Fay bulldozed her way over from where she and Arthur had been, as she shouted.
"Magician?! Which guild?! Are you the Guildmaster because of being the Lord of Iron's contract magician?! Want to trade for that?!"
Issari blinked like an owl at the barrage before she barked out laughing. That made Jeanne and Abe join her, and I shook my head at this knucklehead blonde.
Fifteen minutes later, almost all of our group were inside the barracks building Lavinia had made into their guild hall. It was what you would expect from a magician's den, with books floating back and forth from jury-rigged bookcases over the heads of people, with those people mostly nose-deep in books or practicing spells. Le Fay had star-filled eyes as she stood next to Issari, Lavinia, and a very happy Meredith, with the older blonde looking at the younger one with a massive smile even as she corrected an apprentice's poor magic use. Next to them were Arthur, Jeanne, and Abe, with the trio discussing sword styles while the servo skull floated over Abe's head.
A skull that Lint was watching intently from the doorway of the
barracks beside me. Her red eyes kept following it as it hovered before she said in awe.
"It's holy. We know you are a champion of a god, but we could never identify which one. Our best guess was that it was Hephaestus."
That got a snort of amusement before turning from the den and
walking back towards the shed to head home.
"It's not him, though; that is a decent guess."
A glance over my shoulder showed that Lint was back to
staring at the skull for a few moments before she reluctantly turned from the door and quickly began to catch up with me thanks to being a knight. When she reached my side, I was in the shed right in front of the teleporter pad, and she skidded to a halt, blinking as I smirked slightly. That made her scowl before she looked at me.
"Which god, and what is the meeting about?"
My smirk faded as I thought of Sairorg, then I sighed and stepped
onto the pad after changing the destination.
"Peerage stuff, which I'll bring you up to speed on what's expected. And my patron is called the Machine God, or as many of my people call him, the Lord Reborn."
Lint's feet joined mine on the pad before she stared at me in shock, even as the pad activated and whisked us away.
I stepped off the pad, followed by Lint, before she got out.
"Lord Reborn? You mean he was?"
A new desperation entered her voice, and I could guess why.
"Yes. He was dead. He was…"
I began explaining as we made our way to the dining room table, and the shock on her face grew.
That shock remained on my knight's face ten minutes later, even after I explained peerage duties, as she stared at the wall. Not even the
first person to arrive in Hetvia broke that thousand-yard stare, nor did Mr Cuddles, Sparkles, and Jingles, with the three robots, talk about Star Wars with their new faces. Specifically, droids, and my robot mistress took a seat; a second later, Katase and Thoron walked in holding hands.
They were followed by a grumpy Mittelt who glared at me, making me give her an apologetic look that didn't help her mood. After her came Kiryuu and Magdaran, and the pureblood dashed as far from Kiryuu as possible, making my bishop grin wide. She moved and quickly sat next to the poor guy. Still, before he could run again, Kuroka, Raynare, Hana, Murayama, and Ravel came in with Hana holding Barkspawn and they took positions near me at the head of the table, with Murayama trapping Magdaran next to Kiryuu.
I watched that amused before it turned into a silent reprimand
to Murayama, who had started glaring at Lint. That glare made Lint finally stop staring at the wall, but before a fight could start, everyone was already sitting at the table, and I gave everyone a tired look.
"Thank you for being here, everyone. I'll try not to take up too much of your time, so I'll cut to the chase. As you've all heard by now, the Great War is over thanks to the Treaty of Kuoh. Because of that, the Satans have decided to organize a ratings game tournament to celebrate. A tournament that we will be competing in."
That made everyone blink, especially Lint, who clearly
didn't know about the Treaty. Ravel got extremely excited, Magdaran paled, Hana looked nervous, Mittelt pissed, and the others got curious. Kuroka yawned loudly before her arm went around my shoulder.
"Can't you just not compete, Sexy? I want some quality time
with you considering everything, nya."
That made Ravel glare at Kuroka, but my queen just smiled confidently, and I sighed.
"Sadly, Bad Cat, I can't refuse. My Dad and especially Lord
Lucifer want us in the tournament, and I'm not pissing off the Strongest Super Devil. We are competing."
Kuroka drooped there while Ravel got smug before I continued.
"Please start training hard. We'll face many pillar heirs and others from the pillars who might be stronger and have done more rating games than us. Magdaran, you, along with our two new people, will be training with me personally so we can catch you up."
Magdaran looked stunned, while Hana looked hopeful, and Lint's
red eyes sharpened to razors before she gave a slight nod, making Murayama glare at her harder. Lint returned it, and Kiryuu got a wide smile before elbowing Thoron.
"Seems like Ms. Plasma doesn't like our new friend~ And who
is she exactly?"
Thoron shrugged, and Katase got a competitive look while looking at Lint, and I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, Katase-chan, she is a swordswoman, and as for who she
is—"
I glanced at Lint, who kept glaring at Murayama, so I continued.
"This is Lint Sellzen. A former exorcist of the Catholic
Church and descendant of Siegfried. She is our second knight."
Everyone but Ravel and the still-glaring Murayama blinked at her, and Hetiva gave a nervous smile.
"It's nice to meet you, Lint-san."
That made Lint break from her glare off and then look at the others before she blinked, seeing Mr Sparkles, Jingles, and Cuddles, who all waved at her. Lint stared in surprise, and Kiryuu grinned.
"Yes, they are big and metal~ I'm Kiryuu, our noble king's first bishop."
Kiryuu's act got everyone else to start introducing themselves, except for a still-glaring Murayama. Lint was surprised by that before she was dragged into a conversation by Katase, with Thoron throwing in a word every so often. Ravel went into her strategy mode while Raynare, Kuroka, and Hana started talking, and Kiryuu poked Magdaran. That made me turn to the person besides Kuroka and I not liking this in Mittelt. The blonde was glum before she huffed.
"I'll get my gun, boss, and practice again. This is jbullshit."
That got a snort from me.
"It is. Thank you for coming up for this. You don't have to stay now, or for the brunch I have Maeva putting together for us."
Mittelt didn't need to be told twice and slinked off her chair and walked off before I looked at Hetvia.
"Is your next group of Castaliras ready? I need to talk to them about new manufactorums I'd like them to head. One of which is your new robot one."
Hetvia beamed.
"I can have the next ones ready tomorrow! Can I see the place?!"
Her enthusiasm banished my lingering worry.
"I'll take you there tomorrow after an important meeting I have. Magdaran, I'd like to talk to you after."
Hetvia fist-pumped and eagerly began talking to her metal brothers before Maeva appeared from the kitchen door with plates of food. The smell made my mouth water, and others did too, before the plates were set down and people claimed what they wanted.
Magdaran flinched as Hetvia fist-pumped and eagerly began talking to her metal brothers before Maéva appeared from the kitchen door with plates of food. The smell made my mouth water, along with the others, before the plates were set down and people claimed what they wanted. People started digging in, and just before I could take a bite of crepes, a fuzzy tail slid up my leg, and I glanced over to see its owner, Hana, with Barkspawn in her lap. The kitsune had slid over into the spot where Kuroka had been and gave me a nervous look, making my eyes softened before I leaned over and whispered.
"You don't have to join Hana-chan."
Hana looked away from me for a moment before she looked back at me, and her other tails curled around my leg and waist.
"I will join. I want it after food."
I smiled at her happy face, then quickly moved my right hand to the tails on my leg and squeezed one softly. Hana looked pleased and put her head on my shoulder. And Lint saw that while frowning deeply.
A frown she kept a half hour later even as she spoke to Katase near the entrance to the kitchen. Lint broke her gaze from me to watch the robots again, but most of my attention stayed on Ravel, who was eagerly talking.
"— I would like to talk to everyone individually so that I can start our classification for the games! And get a tournament list of who will likely be against whom! And—"
I gently put my hand on Ravel's shoulders, smiling at this cuteness.
"You are welcome to do anything you need to get us ready for
the tournament, Vel. I trust you with this, as you know the games best. I also have this for you to give to Conner.
I pulled out the USB drives and handed them to the blonde, but Ravel didn't seem to pay them much mind as she snatched them up. No, my betrothed's face was nothing but joy for the games before she grew even more determined.
"I will start right away then! After I give him these."
Her eyes fell on the other queens besides Hana, who was talking to Thoron, and she hurried over before dragging them off to talk. I watched them go, amused, something that grew when Magdaran all but bolted to my side from the corner of the room where Kiryuu was teasing him about something to do with an art brush. The guy behind me shook in embarrassment, making Kiryuu grin in delight before I shooed her away. My bishop practically skipped away from us out of the room, and I glanced at Magdaran.
"Paintbrush?"
Magdaran blushed beet red and mumbled
"It's nothing!"
It clearly wasn't nothing, but I didn't push him further before Hana holding glided to me, eager and nervous, and behind her Lint watched her nine tails in contemplation. The others began heading off, leaving the four of us alone before I looked at Magdaran and Lint.
"I'd like your measurements by sometime tomorrow so I can
make you both the equipment we use. Lint, do you favor one- or two-handed weapons?"
Lint kept her look on Hana before shrugging.
"I use both equally well, but two-handed is my preference. I would actually get my own—"
I cut her off, now serious.
"You would. I am trusting you with this despite how we met. Or
is my trust misplaced?"
My knight stared at me for a few moments before she looked
away.
"It's not. I respect my hero."
I kept my eyes on her for a bit while Hana and Magdaran watched before shrugging as my eyes softened.
"Good. You are welcome to relax for the rest of the day after you choose your new room. And make sure to feed your sin. You're looking a little pale again."
Lint got a dusting of pink on her cheeks at my comment
before she turned and walked off, saying over her shoulder.
"Noted."
Then she fled towards the door before I turned to Magdaran. The guy flinched and got ready to sputter something out before I put a hand on his shoulder.
"You and I will be starting training tomorrow. We need to whip you into shape for the tournament, as I intend to keep my promise. Meet me in the main hall around eleven tomorrow and be ready to exercise. I also have questions that you might be able to answer about your brother."
Magdaran blinked, then looked at me with shocked violet eyes. He kept staring at me for a few seconds before he looked away.
"Yes, my king."
I patted his shoulder.
"Greg. And don't worry, I'll go easy on you to start with. I will also bring something to the manor and give you something else that everyone else in the peerage already has. I think you will like it. See you tomorrow morning."
Magdaran tilted his head at me before a tiny smile crossed
his face.
"See you."
He walked off toward the basement, and I looked at Hana, checking one last time for doubt. Hana looked back at me and seeing none I pulled out my set and let the board float between us as my hand reached for hers.
"Rook or pawn, Hana-chan?"
Hana gazed at my three remaining pieces in contemplation before
a hand came up and touched one of the mutation pawns.
"Pawn. I'm not strong enough to be worth a rook, and I can promote to a bishop since magic is something I'm ok at."
My eyes soften again.
"You are strong, Hana. And I'll help you with other skills like melee. You are more than welcome to join Magdaran and me tomorrow for exercise."
Hana looked at me with a happy smile before her free hand gripped
mine.
"I'd like that, Gregor-kun. Though I'm probably never going to be good with a sword."
A slight smirk crossed my lips as my free hand moved to one of the pawns.
"You will be. All of us in the peerage use Space Marine sword styles, and since they were super soldiers, you will have an advantage others don't. It's fast to learn them too, and then it's just practice after that."
I lifted the pawn before turning to Hana, who looked intrigued and slightly uneasy, and squeezed her hand. She returned it before I began the Oath with her. Hana got a dreamy smile halfway through it before her eyes sharpened to steel.
"I do."
That made me smile before gently setting the pawn above her
chest, and I tried to push it in. And failed. Hana blinked in surprise at that while my smile became a smirk as I reached for the other pawn.
"Weak my ass, Hana-chan. The other person who got a mutation
pawn is a six-winged fallen angel. I told you that you are strong."
Hana stared at the pawn in shock, then awe, and that look
made her even more beautiful as her illusion fell away, showing her glasses, before I tried the oath again with both pawns. This time, they slid into the kitsune, and like all the others before, Hana froze, and silver bat wings extended. Then her face lit up as she fed her sin, and I could already tell it was pride, but I said nothing about that before I put away the board, glancing at the rook one last time before Hana let loose a sigh of pleasure.
"That's why."
I snort.
"That's why. It's wonderful, but don't overindulge it. I'm free for the rest of the day, Hana-chan, if you want that second date I promised you. Though we should stay indoors so the sun doesn't drain you."
Hana broke from her sin-feeding and wore a massive, delighted grin.
"I'd love that, Gregor-kun."
She squeezed my hand again hard before the two of us went
off to enjoy said date.
Issari sat in her office with Paula and the Alphas of the new Kill Teams, who had armor and weapons, as they looked at the large map Conner had laid out of all the verified OSF bases in Central Asia. The Alphas looked at them, and the Red Dragon Empress, in a rare moment of not being cheerful, glanced at them.
"Try to have as many of your people ready to fight by Wednesday. The OSF's big goal is something that will cause the end of the world."
Determination crossed everyone's faces there before Albert, who was now head of a new Kill Team Cerberus as his former people were promoted up, grew grim.
"My team vill be ready, Crimson Dragon of Righteousness."
That made other Alphas join in, which would have been good, but
Issari's attention was split. Her Senpai was not talking to her or the others and instead was spending more and more time in the church in the Underworld. It made Issari and the others worried, but the Machine God, who occasionally talked with her, said not to worry about that. In the same tone Gregor-kun would have used, and Issari mostly believed him. She looked at the map again, then randomly selected the base they would hit first—a base in the country of Kyrgyzstan.
At the base Agrat ran in Turkmenistan, the younger Leviathan
sister watched her cousin Alleria, amused, as the other purplette sat on her couch in this former Soviet base reading a sci-fi book about robots. Alleria was growing more and more pale before she turned from that to Janilla, who had just returned from a errand.
"Well?"
Janilla eyed her mistress with a stone-cold look.
"It went well, Mistress. Lords Vahgan and Kelnick took your warning about the Astaroth seriously. They are fortifying the bases under their command in Africa, Europe, North and South America for him. Just in case."
Agrat let out a sigh of relief as she thanked the Morningstar for her fellow reformist allies. Vahgan Asmodeus and Kelnick Beelzebub weren't morons, but this victory wasn't a big one. The two Lords were from third-branch houses and commanded only five bases each, but it was better than nothing, especially with what the rest of the OSF was doing.
They were acting as if this was a completely isolated incident, as Katerea had downplayed the loss, with the only proactive thing being that the bounty for the Astaroth's head had been increased to a million Lilith, and a new middle nobility house for levies and eight million, and a new pillar for the higher ranks. Agrat wasn't sure that would do much more than get the idiots in the OSF to launch more attacks on the Astaroth, making their situation worse. Agrat cursed her bad luck that Shalba Beelzebub ran the OSF's spy network before Janilla coughed gently. Agrat turned to her, miffed, and, seeing that, Janilla sighed.
"Ophis has asked that you provide twenty of our forces for an operation she is preparing to undertake."
Agrat frowned.
"What operation?"
Janilla shrugged.
"She wouldn't say. She wants them by Thursday."
That made the frown deeper before she grunted.
"Pick twenty of my personal levies for this. And give them orders that if this is something to do with the Astaroth, then they are not to engage him or his people."
Janilla gave her Mistress a short bow before she glided off
towards the door. The moment the door closed, Alleria got out softly in a very afraid voice.
"How long has this book been out?"
Agrat looked at her cousin, then at the cover of the Terminator adaptation, amused.
"Since the 1980s with that one, but the idea of robots has been around since the 1950s. I have more books if you want to read them."
Alleria didn't like this book at all. And didn't want to say yes to more books if they were all like this.
On Mount Olympus's counterpart in the Warp, the Olympians
were relaxing in the outer layers of the massive palace they called home. At the same time, in the inner sanctum, Zeus sat on his throne with Athena beside him and frowned at the being before him. Yatagarasu looked up at the Sky Father of the Greeks, amused, before he repeated what he said again.
"My mistress would like to invite you and Hera to a conclave. To work out any remaining problems between the pantheons. After it all, it would be a waste to use the little faith each of us gets now on needless wars."
Zeus frowned deeper as he sneered at the crow.
"Why should Hera or I talk with your Mistress and her Ilk? Didn't she, in the middle of the Μεγάλος Πόλεμος, ignore our plea for aid?"
Yatagarasu kept his face neutral, though some sympathy entered
his eyes.
"She did, yet we weren't the only ones who ignored the
plea, Sky Father. All Pantheons ignored each other during the conflict, including the Egyptians to yours. My Mistress, however, has regretted that move for many centuries, and this is her way to make amends to you."
Zeus frowned heavily, still glaring at the crow, but before he could do anything rash, Athena leaned over to her father and whispered.
"Father. He isn't the one who ignored us. Attacking him would do nothing but make you weaker."
Zeus glared at his daughter, but she was the wisest in the pantheon and the one with the strongest stream of faith coming to her thanks to her prominence in Academia. She could have been awful to him and the others, demanding anything from them as tribute, yet Athena had only been generous to them with the faith—even Ares. Zeus glared at his daughter, but Athena merely gave him a look before sighing. Yet his pride wouldn't let him say yes, so Yatagarasu smiled slightly.
"The Titan Gaia has already told me she will be attending the conclave, Sky Father. And she hopes that you will come."
Zeus paled before he started shaking. Gaia. His great-grandmother
and his favorite person in existence when they weren't feuding. Gaia hadn't been on Mount Olympus in over five hundred years, busy tending her sphere and ignoring all attempts at contact. Zeus stared at the crow in pure shock, and Athena jabbed her Father hard and spoke for him.
"Father and Hera would be happy to attend this conclave,
Yatagarasu-san. Just send a message a few days before it starts and where in the Στημόνι."
Yatagarasu beamed before he gave a deep bow.
"Of course! Thank you for your time, Sky Father!"
Then the three-legged crow hopped toward the entrance to the
sanctum, and just as he was out of sight, Zeus rounded on his kid, laying into her. In doing so, neither god noticed the figure in the shadows of the pillars, who scurried off, happy to inform her boss of this development, especially about Gaia.
In her new room in the manor, Lint stared at the computer screen she had brought with her in a pocket spell Connla had given her. She had been staring at it for over half an hour, trying to put into words for Connla, and especially for Cao Cao, what she had learned today. For one of those revelations could become a death blow to the Hero Faction; it could never recover from. The Hero Faction wasn't a religious organization, but nearly all its members shared an unspoken belief that the Biblical God was their unofficial divine patron. After all, he gave them all gear, made it to defend humanity from the supernatural, and was believed to be responsible for reincarnating extremely famous and effective heroes of the past. Yet he had apparently been dead for over six hundred years and was now reborn into this Machine God, with Gregor Astaroth his divine Champion.
If others in the Hero Faction learned this, it would cause chaos.
The fact that the Biblical God Reborn had a physical Champion would make many in the rank and file immediately defect to serve under the Champion of the deity they called the God of Heroes. Hell even Lint would have hard considered it as the Institute was staffed by some of the most fervent believers in him and passed that along to their children. Thus, Lint kept staring at the screen, trying to figure out how to put this into words. Connla told her to report everything she learned immediately, and Lint believed in Cao Cao.
Finally, Lint took a deep breath and began typing her report,
withholding the information about the Biblical God until she could fully confirm it.
Cardinal Adamo sat in his office in the Nod base in the Alps that hosted Project Rebirth, disappointed and uneasy. Disappointed because, of the first fifty subjects outfitted with the bionics, only fifteen had survived the implantation. They held back the other fifty from the operation so that Raibert could rework an issue in the bionics. Those who did survive were now undergoing psycho conditioning that would make them into Nod's most loyal soldiers and the vanguard for their eventual takeover of the world once the holy crystal arrived and Ascension could begin. Yet the project needed more subjects to make that vanguard.
The unease returned, stronger, as Adamo looked over at the
couch in his office, where Killian sat, eyes flashing blue as she quickly tried to find candidates from the sanctuaries. Beside her on the couch sat one of the strangest folks in Nod, and that was saying something, given that Nod had many strange people. However, Adamo hesitated to call her a person. That 'person' was a crude, roughly humanoid, roughly female-looking robot, though she bore no coverings and wires stuck out at odd angles. However, her blue eyes and humanoid face, covered in the first synthetically grown skin, made her look like Kane. The robot gave a twisted smile, amused by his glance, before she said to Killian.
"How is your search going, Killian?"
Killian's eyes stopped flashing, and she eyed the robot.
"Four places, Legion, but they are a seventy percent chance of us securing them before the angels intervene. And yours?"
Legion smiled that twisted smile of hers.
"Ten for me and all in the nineties. Thanks to the Cardinal giving me the passwords to the Catholic Servers for their sanctuaries, I can see the South American ones have serious blind spots. Is it possible, Cardinal, for you to get me the passwords for the Protestant servers?"
Adamo didn't like the robot nor her twisted smile as he
glared at Legion.
"I will see what I can do, soulless thing. Each Protestant denomination keeps separate servers for their wounded. Our highest-ranking member in their cell is only a pastor in Mississippi from the Southern Baptist Convention."
Legion just smiled that twisted smile of hers and shrugged.
"According to He Who Lives in Death, I have one Cardinal—but
noted. Thank you. Please put me in contact with him."
Adamo glared at the soulless thing again. He was absolutely
loyal to Kane, as were all those in Nod's cells in the Churches, because he was the Biblical God's true prophet. Why else would he be granted immortality if not to be his speaker? A Speaker who had survived his deity's death and was the last and only authority on what the Biblical God had wanted. Yet despite all that, he distrusted this soulless thing.
Legion only smiled wider at him before she got up and made
her way to the door of the office.
"I'll send the locations to you, Killian. And Aj has sent a report to you regarding his progress. He is asking if you can get him a few squads of Confessors for the Tactius."
Killian's good mood melted away upon hearing that, and Legion glanced over her shoulder, only looking slightly sorry for ruining the Bosnian's day. Still, there would be no truly good days in Nod until the crystal was recovered and spread so Ascension could begin.