Seven days had passed since that agreement.
The time had finally come for Takeyo and Grayfia to depart.
"All packed up," Takeyo murmured, hovering in the air as he gazed down at the residence where they'd spent the last two months. A pang of genuine reluctance struck him.
He exhaled softly, then activated an incarnation he'd rarely used until now.
[First Incarnation: Spirit Fish Matsya!]
A magnificent form materialized behind him, so vast and awe-inspiring that merely looking upon it felt like witnessing an entire world contained within a single being.
The Matsya Incarnation of the Spirit Fish, known as the Box Boat in the Little Garden cosmos, belonged to a full-authority God-King. Its body was large enough to carry entire worlds within itself.
Boom!
Following Takeyo's will, the entire surrounding area was absorbed into the Spirit Fish incarnation in a single, breathtaking moment.
"Let's go."
Takeyo spoke to Grayfia, naturally taking her hand as they prepared to leave this place together.
They hadn't told the younger Grayfia about their departure. If they had, both Takeyo and his companion knew it would create complications neither wanted to deal with right now.
Grayfia cast one final glance at the location before leaving with Takeyo, her silver hair trailing behind her.
"This is the area."
Takeyo studied the uninhabited zone below them. This was the exact time and place the future Grayfia had specified before he'd traveled back.
If he activated the Fairy Corridor at this precise moment and location, he should be able to return to his original timeline.
"By the way, Grayfia," Takeyo said as they waited, "shouldn't you be calling me Master?"
They had about half an hour to kill, and idle conversation seemed like a reasonable way to pass the time.
"Master... really?" Grayfia's tone carried a hint of dry amusement. "I haven't encountered such an irresponsible master before."
"However," she continued after a brief pause, "I must admit that in terms of process and results, we do share what could be considered a master-disciple relationship."
Her words acknowledged the truth, even if she wasn't about to say it directly.
"That's rather harsh." Takeyo shook his head. "Though honestly, I wouldn't want to be your master anyway. Having such a troublesome disciple would be exhausting."
The dynamic between them had always been complicated. If it were someone more lively like Irina, he might find the master-disciple arrangement entertaining. But Grayfia in her mature form simply wasn't as fun to tease as her younger self.
"Three minutes remaining."
After their "pleasant" exchange, it was finally time for the departure that the future Grayfia had calculated.
"However, something unexpected has occurred."
Takeyo's eyes narrowed as he focused on the distance.
"Indeed," Grayfia agreed with a slight nod.
She understood now why her future self had orchestrated this particular arrangement.
At the point where both their gazes converged, a silver-haired girl was fighting desperately while retreating.
No, calling it a "fight" was generous. She was fleeing for her life.
Layers of magic circles materialized from her hands, unleashing spell after spell. None of them made any difference.
Because pursuing her relentlessly was an Ultimate-Class Devil, a master at the Maou level!
"Grayfia Lucifuge of House Lucifuge, running is useless!"
Behind the younger Grayfia, the Maou-level Devil effortlessly blocked her attacks before retaliating with equally powerful magic of his own.
BOOM!
A small mushroom cloud erupted across the ground. That casual counterattack possessed Maou-level destructive force, which meant it carried power equivalent to at least a High-Class Devil's full strength!
The younger Grayfia stood no chance against such overwhelming opposition.
The situation was straightforward enough.
The Old Satan Faction had maintained a dedicated division for eliminating promising talents from the Anti-Satan Faction. Many potential leaders had already fallen to this systematic strategy.
Recently, the Anti-Satan Faction had implemented a similar countermeasure, allocating portions of their high-level combat strength to hunt down geniuses supporting the Old Satan Faction. Among their priority targets, Grayfia ranked near the very top.
Though Takeyo had noticed the younger Grayfia immediately, she remained completely unaware of his presence. The perceptual gap between them was simply too vast.
"So this was also part of your calculations?" Takeyo sighed as he turned toward the mature Grayfia.
He'd suspected something like this before, and now his theory was confirmed.
Why had the future Grayfia instructed him to detonate that specific time node all those weeks ago? Why had she insisted they build their temporary residence near that particular lake?
Now he finally had his answers.
It seemed the journey he'd thought was ending would actually continue for a while longer.
"Master Takeyo, is this also destiny?" Even the mature Grayfia sounded somewhat resigned.
She'd known about this event, but experiencing it from this different perspective felt strange.
"Well, well. I understand," Takeyo said, shaking his head. "Destiny exists to be defied, doesn't it?"
A small magic circle formed in his hand, power steadily accumulating within it.
Two options lay before him now.
The first: don't intervene. Let events play out as they would. Although the future Grayfia hadn't stated it explicitly, Takeyo judged that without his interference, the younger version might not survive this encounter.
The second: eliminate the Ultimate-Class Devil pursuing her.
But that created its own problem.
To kill an Ultimate-Class opponent without dragging out the battle, he'd need to unleash power at the peak of Maou-level or even approach the half-step Transcendent tier.
Using that magnitude of power would inevitably impact this specific time node.
There was a very real possibility that this carefully calibrated temporal coordinate, the one that could return them to their proper timeline, would jump to some completely different point in history instead.
Originally, Takeyo had been conflicted about this choice. But after seeing the future Grayfia's almost confirmed answer written in her expression, his hesitation evaporated.
[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!]
BOOM!
A holy light cannon capable of annihilating heaven and earth itself, infused with all the celestial magic Takeyo had mastered during his time here, bombarded the pursuing Maou-level Devil directly!
Thanks to his automatic operation system, Takeyo could transform even ordinary attacks into devastating ultimate techniques.
Combined with his recent awakening on the path of holiness, his mastery of sacred power now rivaled even the God of the Bible himself.
For Devils, high-purity holy power was exceptionally dangerous. Potentially lethal.
BOOM!
The Maou-level Devil barely had time to register the searing heat before his entire body vanished from the world in an instant.
"Eh?"
The younger Grayfia felt the blazing holy radiance as well, power so pure it seemed capable of purifying all evil in existence.
"It disappeared?"
She looked back toward where her pursuer had been. The Ultimate-Class Devil who'd been hunting her was simply... gone.
Annihilated completely.
Following the trail carved through the earth by Takeyo's light cannon, the younger Grayfia traced the attack back to its source.
"Master Takeyo? And Miss Bina? What are they doing there?"
"Did Master Takeyo save me?"
That was the first conclusion that came to the younger Grayfia's mind.
Takeyo had always projected an aura of mystery and overwhelming power in her presence.
As for Miss Bina Lessthan? She was technically an enemy. But somehow, that fact felt almost secondary right now.
"Hm? Is he calling me over?"
In the younger Grayfia's eyes, Takeyo waved in her direction, clearly signaling for her to approach.
Without hesitation, she flew toward them.
She knew this area wasn't near the waterfall where they usually met. What was Master Takeyo doing here?
Did he sense I was in danger and come to rescue me?
The thought warmed something in the younger Grayfia's chest.
"Grayfia, I'm sorry," Takeyo said as she arrived, his expression genuinely apologetic. "We're leaving this place. I'll miss the time we spent together."
"Is... is that true?"
The happiness that had just bloomed in the younger Grayfia's heart plummeted instantly.
After several seconds of stunned silence, she managed to speak, her voice trembling slightly.
"I see."
She'd heard before that Master Takeyo and Miss Bina Lessthan had come here for a wedding trip. She'd known it all along.
According to human customs, they'd been here quite long enough. It made perfect sense that they would leave eventually.
But knowing something logically and accepting it emotionally are different things.
"Yes. We needed to speak with you before departing."
Takeyo sighed internally.
Originally, he'd planned to leave without saying goodbye to avoid exactly this kind of scene.
However, circumstances had changed. Now that this particular time node had been disrupted, remaining in this fragment of space-time served no purpose.
"Would you like to travel with us?"
Takeyo asked with a slight smile.
Based on the future Grayfia's earlier responses and his own deductions, he was now certain: he needed to bring the younger Grayfia along for a while.
One key piece of evidence confirmed this theory. Before using the Krishna avatar, the message he'd received indicated that Grayfia hadn't participated in the war at all, she'd returned to the Underworld directly after the conflict ended.
Now the reason was clear: he'd taken her away during this period.
Therefore, he extended the invitation to the younger Grayfia.
"Huh? Travel with Master Takeyo?"
The younger Grayfia looked momentarily lost.
What does Master Takeyo mean? Is he really saying this in front of Miss Bina? Isn't he married?
But... there's also a custom among humans where the strong can have multiple spouses, isn't there?
Grayfia's thoughts spiraled into confusion.
Two separate concerns plagued her mind.
First: the matter of Master Takeyo already being married. Second: the current state of the Underworld.
According to the situation back home, war would likely erupt within a very short timeframe.
As a member of House Lucifuge, a family that served the original Lucifer himself, she bore both the need and the responsibility to remain in the Underworld and fight.
However, her internal conflict didn't last long.
"Do you truly believe the Old Satan Faction is correct?" Takeyo asked directly.
"That's..." Grayfia fell silent.
In her heart, she knew the Anti-Satan Faction's philosophy and actions were objectively superior.
But the concept of absolute loyalty to the Satans had been deeply ingrained in her psyche from childhood.
"Your strength alone cannot change the outcome. How about simply observing the developments instead?" Takeyo shook his head gently.
Grayfia had been raised with loyalty as her core value. Her current struggle was entirely predictable.
After hearing Takeyo's words, something seemed to click in the younger Grayfia's mind. Her eyes widened slightly.
"Then... observe the changes..." she murmured.
"There was someone pursuing you just now, wasn't there? You could say that you fought desperately and barely managed to kill him, though you nearly died in the process."
"If the Old Satan Faction wins, you can use that excuse to return."
"If the Anti-Satan Faction wins, you can simply say you were never truly part of the Old Satan Faction to begin with." Takeyo spread his hands pragmatically.
He sighed internally. His education attempts during this period seemed to have failed somewhat.
Despite spending all this time trying to instill more progressive ideas in the younger Grayfia, she remained bound by her old conditioning.
"Since... since this is Master Takeyo's request..."
The younger Grayfia pondered for a long moment before finally nodding.
"Trust me, you won't regret today's decision."
Takeyo smiled. Taking both versions of Grayfia with him, he activated his Gift.
[Fairy Corridor!]
The power surged forth.
☆☆☆
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