I Just Want To Abuse My Power 38 (Patreon)

His journey towards the Ryuudou Temple had been surprisingly stress free.

Yato did get attacked by the occasional assassin of course, but killing them had sort of become a relaxing activity at this point. His blade didn't struggle with them, and since Aoko and Alice were strong, he didn't need to worry about them.

Though the assassins were completely ignoring the two anyways. More evidence for the fact that they were just really strong illusions more than anything else.

Now all they had to do was climb the stairs.

Yato sighed. "Man, I hope we don't wake up the monks." That would be pretty disrespectful...

Actually, now that he thought more about it, weren't monks his natural enemies? Well, at least they were worshipping his natural enemy, which was still pretty bad. They were like Caren, except they were bald, and therefore not cute!

His face shifted into a scowl. "You know what? I hope we wake up the monks." Cheeky little bastards.

Aoko snorted. "You sure changed your mind quickly!" She was keeping up with Yato just fine. While she was obviously much slower than him, it seemed she didn't lack stamina at all.

Alice was panting, it looked like she was dying. Clearly she wasn't a stamina monster. "Lord Shibata can be surprisingly wise. No doubt monks are the... the worst." She was this close to asking for a break.

Stars appeared on Yato's eyes. "I'm wise...?" How amazing.

He even stopped running out of shock. Which made everyone else stop running though. Alice was grateful for the small break, because her vision had several white spots in it, and that couldn't be good.

Aoko pat his back. "Yeah, yeah, turn off the Campione filter and let's go back to the mission." Honestly, Yato was quickly rising up to be the weirdest guy she had ever met.

If one knew anything about Aoko Aozaki, they would know that was indeed an impressive achievement.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Aoko, you..." And then she fell backwards, almost hitting her head against the ground.

Yato watched in shock. "Hey, are you okay!? Did the Sun dude get you too!?" At this point he had just sorta started associating being sick with being attacked by a god. Which probably wasn't a good thing.

Aoko tilted her head. "So your days as a NEET finally come back to haunt you, huh?" She knew exactly what was happening to her lazy friend.

Aoko was a very active woman, Alice wasn't. It was as simple as that.

The witch at first sent a smile to the Campione. "I-I'm fine Lord Shibata. I do not believe I am being attacked by the god." Night was still night for her. It was shameful to admit, but there was nothing supernatural occurring here.

Yato seemed relieved. "I see... Still, let me at least carry you. I don't know if you're tired or what, but being carried is better than running, right?"

Alice shook her head. "I can still walk, Lord Shibata." Maybe not run!

Alice... The direct descendants of Yumina, could only die due to an act of love. There was a chance that this NEET would kill herself by pushing her body too far for the sake of the man she loved.

The witch continued. "And more importantly... I don't want to hold you back, Lord Shibata." Carrying her would be way too much. It would hamper his combat ability.

Yato put his hands on his hips. "You're wrong! I wouldn't be held back by such a thing! I would only grow stronger!" As he had recently realized, he was the Campione of ass!

So, he ignored her complaints and picked her up. The thought of making Aoko carry her never even crossed his mind.

And to seemingly further rub salt in the wound, Yato picked her up in a bridal carry, forcing himself to sheathe his sword. He had completely restrained himself to carry the witch in the most comfortable way possible.

But he truly believed doing such a thing would only make him stronger.

Alice gushed. "Lord Shibata..." Wasn't this situation the best possible outcome?

Sure, she still wanted to complain about the fact that he was being held back by her, but he said this only made him stronger. There was no reason for Yato to lie, right? Surely she was actually making him stronger, right?

Aoko rolled her eyes. "Okay, now that Alice has skirmed her way out of exercise yet again, can we keep going?" The True Magician was kind of creeped out by this whole situation.

Why did her NEET friend know so much about this city? Alice didn't own land here. Was she planning on killing its spiritual owner and stealing it? That didn't sound like the Alice she knew.

Also, why was her friend acting line a teenager with a crush towards the Campione? And the Campione who didn't try to hide the fact that he went around making women into his concubines at that.

In the end Aoko supposed it didn't matter... Well, it was more like Aoko didn't have enough context to do something about it. So she just decided to keep an eye on her friend as they continue to make their way up.

Once at the gate... Yato looked down to the ground. "There's something weird in this place. My instincts are warning me." And that was never a good sign.

Aoko's eye twitched. "Yeah? What clued you in? Maybe the red twitching veins on the ground?"

Yato nodded. "That helped too."

That's right, the ground was not normal. Shadows stretched farther than they should, and were as visible as if it were day. However, the more troublesome part were the red veins on the ground, they pulsated as if alive.

Alice interjected. "Um... It seemed we are getting closer and closer to combat. Would you like to drop me, Lord Shibata?" it was funny in a way.

Even as she asked him to let her go, she only held his body even tighter.

Yato pouted. "Didn't I already tell you? This is only making me stronger!" Yes, with the power of being a Campione, having Avalon inside of him, and carrying a woman, he was truly invincible!

They headed further in, and it was like with every step the shadows got thicker.

Yato didn't trust his own eyes, due to the Sun thing and all, but he was reasonably sure this was affecting everyone. Even Aoko was trembling, clearly scared and trying to hide that. There was something wrong with this place.

Eventually they found the origin of all this. A pillar of pure darkness rising up from the ground...

And a smiling goddess messing with it using her wand. There was a bright smile on her face, and she was humming a little song. To be honest, Yato found it to be a cute sight. In his defense, of course he found it to be cute, this was his concubine!

That's right, the humming goddess was Skadi.

Aoko began preparing herself for the fight of her life, turning her magic circuits on and rotating them. Mana was moving with such speed across her body that it actually began making a noticeable sound.

The Magic Gunner was ready to blow up a mountain.

Yato was smiled towards his concubine. "Yo, Caster!" He was not ready to destroy a mountain.

Aoko sent him a incredulous look. "Ya know her!?" She knew Skadi existed of course, in fact her whole reason for coming up the mountain was to find her.

She expected someone who looked like a Disney princess and would be singing to a couple of birds however. In the end what she got was a woman that did indeed look like a Disney princess, but was doing something clearly mega evil.

Aoko's comment went completely ignored, of course.

Skadi's eyes widened, as she basically jumped away from the dark pillar.

The goddess looked at her supposed husband. "Ice diamond amidst the summer!? What are you doing here!?" He was supposed to be resting, like a good little brute who didn't know anything besides how to swing a sword.

Heroes were known for resting in moments like these...! Definitely!

Yato raised an eyebrow. "I'm looking for you... I guess. You left without telling everyone what you were doing, so we all got worried." Well, only Yato got worried.

Also, he didn't truly get worried, as mean as that sounded. He knew Skadi could handle herself just fine, the truth is that he was the one who needed her help. And he didn't want to use a Command Seal for it.

Skadi pouted. "But I told Cleopatra to not let you leave!" She walked closer to him, and started analyzing his face. "Though I suppose you do look a little bit more healthy..."

Yato nodded. "That's Avalon for you." And maybe also light exercise.

Skadi smiled. "I will have to thank the fairies for it one day." She could have lost her husband if not for it. "Still, I insist that you go back home and get plenty of sleep! Don't worry, for I am almost done here."

Now it was Yato's turn to pout. "I don't wanna rest though, I'm not tired anymore." It was much better to find the god who was doing this, and then kill him to get rid of the source of trouble than rest.

Skadi crossed her arms and started tapping her feet. "You can be as stubborn as a mule, you know that? It's not always a good trait." One might say it's always a bad trait even, but Skadi wasn't about to insult her husband.

Yato smirked. "But it's a good trait right now. I am battling a god after all!" He certainly wouldn't have defeated his first god if he wasn't stubborn!

Skadi's tapping got faster. "You aren't battling a thing. Considering you came here to find me, I bet you have been running around like a headless chicken." Intelligence wasn't her husband's greatest strength.

"How would a chicken even run without a head? Wouldn't it die?" As one could clearly see. "I am still alive, so I was running around like a chicken with a head." Except he was like... he way more amazing than a chicken.

Skadi grit her teeth. "You are missing the poin-."

Aoko interjected, she couldn't take this anymore. "Both of you are missing the point! What's that dark pillar over there!?" She felt like she was going crazy.

Normally the True Magician was the one who went around being a irresponsible idiot, she was very much not used to being on the other side of the coin. Slowly she could feel herself devolving to her no fun allowed teenager self.

Skadi ignored her, she had nothing to say to a humam...

Actually, the more she thought about it, the more she changed her mind. "Watch your tone before a goddess, you banshee." How dare this harlot with no sense of style interrupt her while she was talking?

Aoko's jaw hit the floor. "Are you for real pulling the goddess card right now?" Skadi sounded exactly like a stuck-up magus noble. It was almost scary.

Skadi rolled her eyes. "I am a goddess. My whole existence consists of pulling the goddess card." She slowly smiled and raised a hand to her chest. "But don't worry, I understand that a human child simply cannot comprehend my wisdom."

A sigh then escaped her mouth. "But if you wish so badly to have your existence acknowledged... Very well, who am I to deny a little human baby? I, Scáthach=Skadi recognize your existence. You may now clap."

Aoko's gaze shifted to Yato. "I'm gonna punch your concubine in the fucking face."

The Campione couldn't really argue against her. "Please don't." His concubine surely could be troublesome...

Skadi scoffed. "Honestly, what do you even want from me, human? Can't you see I'm really busy!?" She motioned towards the... dark pillar. Which was now twitching even more than before.

That was probably not a good sign.

Aoko pointed at the dark pillar. "I can tell you're busy! I just want to know what you're busy with!" Why did Yato... romance this woman? It had to be because of her power.

Either that or her body. Aoko had to admit she had a pretty rocking body.

Skadi simply started tapping her feet. "I don't need to answer to you. Specially since you're just some newbie whore my husband picked along his way here..." She would not lower herself!

"C-concubine...?" She didn't look like a concubine, did she?

Skadi nodded. "Of course. You and that girl on my husband's arms are both clearly worthless concubines that he decided to have coitus with instead of resting like he should be doing!" Damn bitches, leading her very perverted husband astray!

Aoko grit her teeth. "First of all, I'm not a goddamn concubine." She wasn't that desperate for a lover. "Second of all, Alice ain't a concubine. Right Alice?"

Alice's only answer was to hug Yato tighter while glaring at Skadi. Yet again Aoko had to wonder what happened to her friend.

Skadi clicked her tongue. "Tsk, as expected you two are concubines." She... she really was ignoring Aoko... "And for some reason my husband is actually wasting energy by lifting one of these concubines."

Yato immediately shook his head. "I'm not wasting energy, I'm growing stronger by this. Though Alice really isn't a concubine." If the witch had her way, then she would be much more than a concubine.

Skadi scoffed. "Well, you could grow much stronger by holding me instead!"

Yato tilted his head. "Skadi... do you want me to pick you up in a bridal carry?" That would be very complicated, as he did not have four arms. He also didn't have psychic powers. Wow, he really was lacking in this area.

The goddess stopped to think for a moment.

And in the end, even if it was embarrassing, she had come to a conclusion. "Yes, I would very much like that, my perfect and beautiful husband." She was very tired. This would recharge her batteries with love.

Yato looked down, staring at Alice's face and squinting...

Alice wanted to cry. "There's no need to carry me if you wish to please your concubine, Lord Shibata..." She didn't want to start a fight, so she would gladly give up her spot. Okay, maybe not gladly...

Yato tilted his head. "Actually, I'm thinking about how to carry two women at once with only two arms." It had to be possible, and if it wasn't, Yato would make it possible.

Aoko poked his shoulder. "Here's a far easier challenge for you. Worry about the dark thing that is distorting reality around us."

Yato blushed bright red. "Right, sorry!" Even he could tell that the pillar was bad news.

He looked back at his concubine. "Before I do anything... Skadi, what is that dark pillar? Why are shadows coming alive?" To be honest, it was starting to look way more worrying than the Sun god.

Skadi looked displeased, but differently from last time, she actually answered. "I'm reviving a dark god who died in these lands." Yato was not a lowly human. She couldn't ignore his questions.

Yato hummed. "I see... Is this treason?" Why was she trying to revive a dark god?

Well, trying was a poor choice of words. She was clearly succeeding at reviving a dark god. Even Yato had limits, and he was fairly sure he could not fight a Sun god and a dark god at the same time while protecting his city.

Maybe if hugged Alice tighter he could gain the necessary power? Or perhaps if he swapped Alice with someone he actually knew, like Rin...

Skadi giggled. "How silly of you! If I wanted to stab you in the back, you wouldn't see it coming!" That made sense. It was also very scary!

"Don't worry, I'm just making reviving this god to fight that god!" She clasped her hands together. "It will be like those movies we watch about giant monsters!" She was very proud of her plan.

Having to take care of her Lostbelt for so many years had turned Skadi into a very resourceful person. She was not the type to waste any advantages she could have, so she would certainly not waste this one.

It was perfect really, she could see two gods kill each other while her husband didn't have to lift a finger. Worst case scenario one of the gods survived, but then Yato could just easily finish it off.

If Yato wasn't carrying Alice, he would have sent Skadi a thumbs up. "Sounds good. Sorry for interrupting."

Skadi giggled. "Oh dear, you didn't interrupt anything. Having seen your face looking healthier will make me work thousands of times faster after all!" Yato didn't really get how that worked, but awesome.

Aoko raised a hand. "Okay, but I will be interrupting things." She pointed at the pillar. "I'm seriously going to blow that goddamn thing up." Even she wasn't crazy enough to let a dark god be revived!

Skadi jumped in front of her. "D-don't do that, girl! Do you have any idea how much time I have spent working on this!?" It was a lot!

Aoko didn't bother arguing with her. "Yato, back me up on this and scold your dumbass wife!"

"She's actually a concubine wife." Which is just a concubine roleplaying as a wife. "Also, why would I back you up here? This plan sounds super great." As one would expect from a genius of magic.

Alice sighed. "Lord Shibata... I don't want to influence you in any way, shape or form, but I must say... Isn't this thing a disaster in the making? This whole thing sounds like the plot of a book where the monster gets loose and kills its creator."

Yato grit his teeth. "Ugh... such hard decision! I just don't know what to do!"

This was a insane ask. Should he let the dark god which was clearly mega evil be revived or not? He just didn't know...

Aoko pinched her nose. "Can we just... just use those damn shards you have or whatever? Surely using them for something is way safer than reviving a dark god." She now knew why Zelretch avoided Campiones.

Yato's eyes widened. "Oh right, I forgot about those."

He unceremoniously dropped the witch to the ground. "Ack!" Alice truly had been used and then discarded... History really did repeat itself.

He picked the bag from his back. "Hey Skadi, do you think we can do anything with a bunch of shards from a Sun god? Amaterasu to be more specific?"

Skadi looked away. "No..."

"Are you just saying that because you really want to go with the dark god plan...?" Even Yato could tell that was the case.

"I... Just give me the shards." Awesome. It was time to kill a god.

And probably kill a half-revived god too.



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AN: The arc is getting closer and closer to its ending! Then we go back to slice-of-life for a while. Probably.