JACG Chapter 88 (Rest) (Patreon)

The battle went on longer than I expected. I was confident enough in our combat ability that I thought such weaklings would not be able to hold us back this long. That was an assumption that I should have never made. The multiverse is at our door and that meant we would be facing countless foes with strange and unique abilities.

This one little scrap taught be to never underestimate an enemy no matter how confident I was about my own abilities. If I never took that random glance I would have never found out the trick here and we might have been still fighting now. I was not really giving us that much credit. I am sure if the battle went on for a longer period of time we would have figured out something was wrong. 

Even if we never found out the trick I was sure we would be able to escape from them. We were able to basically tear them apart rather easily after all.

I looked around at our surroundings now that the weed like Goblins had been destroyed. The ground was filled with cracks and holes from when those creatures sprouted from the ground. There was also a ton of holes from Rias’ blasts. Other than that a large are around here was scorched and dying from the attacks we have unleashed.

The forest was not in the best condition already from the monster infestation but we had made it worst. At least on the surface that is. Now that this forest was no longer infected with parasitic creatures it would recover. The natural energy in the air was good enough that it would lead to the recovery of nature here.

Pyrrha had descended from her tree and was currently checking her rifle. She took it apart quickly with a frown on her face. She took out several cleaning tools and a large basin of water. She then dumped the dismantled parts into the basin. As soon as the parts touched the water it released a burst of steam. I suppose that made sense.

Dust was a fairly powerful tool in her world. While it allowed her to fight the creatures on her own terms it affected the stability of her weapon. I could see why she was so reluctant to use that particular ammunition earlier. Weapons in RWBY were a major thing to the people who used them.

The weapons were the only partners Hunters could really count on and any damage to the weapons would be dire. It was also a part of the person's identity. In her culture self expression was a major thing, whether that was from their attire or how they acted everyone had a theme that they religiously followed. 

It had something to do with creatures prowling their world that were capable of sensing any negative emotion. It meant that acts that lead to happiness was always going to be the norm and rejecting parts of yourself was seen as a danger not only to yourself but your neighbors as well. 

Which brought her outfit into question. If her agent was forcing her to wear that to fit an image they designed then they were spitting upon the culture of their own world. It was not exactly a surprising notion as money would always have people compromising their morals for profit. This would just be another example of the age old tradition.

I suppose I was being too harsh when I did not really have the whole picture. That outfit could be her expressing herself or it might have even been her own idea to sell that image. That was something I would have to learn later.

I would offer to help her fix her weapon but the intense and focused look on her face caused me to pause. She was not just repairing a weapon in her hands she was going through a ceremony. One that was not defined by any rules or regulations but one that was far more personal to her. I could not bring myself to intrude on whatever was happening before me. It felt like it would not really be all that helpful and it would ultimately be an insult to the serious girl before me.

So I looked away from her as she did her little repair job. Ashley was walking toward me with a bright smile on her face and her eyes gleaming in a way that I was familiar with. She was feeling a bit constrained lately and this act of violence was doing good for her. While the smile was something I was happy about the sight of her currently had me grimacing for a moment.

She was soaked in the blood of the creatures she had slain. The bright green blood coated her from head to toe. I knew that the blood was not something that would bug her all too much but the smell was getting to me. So I snapped my fingers and cleaned her quickly. Again House Elf magic might be limited in some ways but when used at what it was good at it was literally the best.

The green blood coating her vanished in a matter of seconds. Her clothes were straightened and put back in a more presentable fashion. The sickening scent of rotten grass was removed from the air and was replaced with the scent of caramel and apples.

Ashley took a look at the changes that were happening to her with a fond smile on her face. She then faced me and rolled her eyes. She was fine with her previous state and she knew what I just did was for more for me but she was fine with it. She then threw the silver spear into her inventory and stood by my side.

That spear was always meant to be a temporary weapon but I guess she liked it well enough to keep in her inventory. I made a note in my head to get her something better. She did not have the same bullshit luck that I had even if her luck was pretty good. So rolling the Gacha for her was probably the better route to take. I could also try my hand at developing a Noble Phantasm, I already had an idea how to go about that after all.

Ashley took my thoughtful look as permission to climb on my back for a piggy back ride again. Actually she was probably not looking for permission in the first place and she just decided this was what she wanted in the moment.

When she settled on my back she leaned down to my ear and whispered.

“Did you have to tattle about the trick so soon? I was having fun tearing unlimited dumbassess apart.” She questioned with a pout on her face. She was joking for the most part but so I just rolled my eyes at her. Seeing that she just furthered her pout.

“I was not going to let those guys multiply endlessly just so you can go wild Ashley. Think about your teammates.” I softly chided her and she just rolled her eyes in return but her pout stopped. She got my point and she was not that serious about her complaint in the first place.

As if to emphasize my point Rias landed on the ground with sweat beading on her forehead. She was breathing heavily but she was recovering quickly. She might not be able to feel the difference in the air like I could but this environment was built for someone like her. So the world itself was letting her recover at a pace that she would have never approached otherwise.

When she recovered a fair bit she looked over at Ashley and I with a sour look flashing on her face. It faded quickly which was rather surprising. She did not have the best poker face before but now that other people were here she was hiding her feelings better.

“Fine ruin all my fun,” Ashley muttered in my ear. Again she was complaining just to complain but that was not something that needed to be thought about. She was just being a brat and that was not something that was new.

“We have a whole mission for you to go wild Ashley, you don’t want to tire yourself on such weaklings right?” I spoke out softly as Rias walked over to us. Ashley took in my words and she wore another pout on her face. I let out a small laugh at the sight as she clearly agreed with me but she did not want to say that she did.

“Hey Rias, were you able to get a better look all the way up there?” I questioned Rias as soon as she was close to us. She stopped walking as she did not expect that question. We needed to head to this Maze Castle and I imagine that she would have a better shot at seeing it from up there.

“ I was not really paying attention to the surroundings earlier.” She admitted sheepishly as she gave another look at the sky with a contemplative look on her face.

“Come on Magic Tits you had to have seen something, a castle should be pretty obvious.” Ashley ribbed Rias which caused Rias to twitch slightly but she let it pass. She was starting to get that Ashley was going to needle her endlessly if she allowed herself to show big reactions all the time.

“The fog is pretty thick so I could not really spot anything without actively looking, I’ll go back up and check again,” Rias spoke out as she released her wings to fly into the sky again.

“There is no need for that, I was just asking in case you spotted our destination already. I can just use a spell to point us in the right direction.” I spoke out quickly before she flew into the sky needlessly. I was a Wizard and my solutions to problems are varied and often better than what others could offer.

Even if Rias did spot a castle up there I would still cast my spell. There was no way of confirming if the castle she saw was the one we were looking for after all. So it was better if we just used my magic from the get go.

“Damn Magic Tits lost your job already,” Ashley announced from my back with a smug smile on her face. Rias let out a sigh at her ribbing but again she did not acknowledge Ashley’s comment.

“That’s good, I wanted to explore a new world at first but this place is not exactly tourist friendly. The mission also sounded pretty time sensitive” She spoke out sourly as she looked around at the gnarled trees around us. The dark and unfriendly air of this world was not really something that was all that inviting.

That made sense. We had a task that we had to do and we had to do it before those Four Saint Beasts infected humanity. I did not really think about that fact as I wanted to finish the task and get back to my own world. Rias came here because she wanted to see a new world so having to track down some monsters instead of exploring the culture of a new world was not what she wanted. Still, she was not going to delay the mission because she wanted to explore more she was too kind for that to be her choice.

“Hunter-san seems almost done with her repair so we can head out soon.” I spoke out as I took a glance at Pyrrha who was putting her weapon back together. Her face no longer plagued with a serious frown. Apparently, the damage was not as serious as she expected.

When she finished putting it back together she looked around and seemed startled that the three of us were looking at her. She blushed and gave us a hesitant smile. She was focused on the task in front of her with razor focus so she kind of ignored us for the most part. I did not blame her for that and I was sure that Ashely and Rias did not either. That did not mean Pyrrha did not blame herself she was clearly embarrassed about what she just did.

She jogged her way towards us. She was not using her full speed but she was still pretty fast so she arrived near us quickly. She was still wearing that embarrassed hesitant smile on her face.

“Sorry about that, I had to make sure Milos was in working order.” She spoke out with a sheepish smile on her face. Whatever tension she was holding onto earlier seemed to have faded after we fought together. She still did not look completely comfortable but she seemed like she was feeling more confident after a good fight.

“It’s fine Hunter-san I needed a break after that fight as well. The only one in good condition is the lovebirds here.” Rias spoke out lightly while pointing at Ashley and I. I rolled my eyes but nodded along, I was not going to berate Pyrrha for taking her time to make sure her weapon continued to be an asset. That would be needlessly aggressive and a foolish action to take.

Pyrrha took in our reasons and muttered something under her breath while she gave us another sheepish look.

“That's good,” Pyrrha spoke out softly and looked around as if trying to find another topic. She was clearly not used to idle chatter but that was fine she would get used to it. She was going to stick around for a long time after all. With the Chat Group on her side she was not going to suffer the same fate she found herself in Cannon. 

I decided to throw the girl a bone as her eyes were darting all over the place. 

“I’m Severus Prince, we have been calling you Hunter-san so far but I doubt that is your real name Ms.” I left my words leadingly so she could take up the unasked question. Rias got where I was coming from as she shot Pyrrha a friendly smile, Ashley just huffed and snuggled into my back.

I was kind of forcing Pyrrha to tell us her name but I don’t think she cared all too much about hiding her name. Pyrrha took in my words and looked back at us with another embarrassed look on her face.

“Right, I’m Pyrrha Nikkos.” She spoke out awkwardly but there was a happy smile on her face. The simple act of getting to introduce herself brought a smile to her face. That girl really wanted to bond with people who would not put her on a pedestal. I could not really relate that well to such thoughts but I could understand her position at the very least.

So I shot her a friendly grin in return.

“Oh, my turn! I’m Rias Gremory, We red heads have to stick together in the face of these two!” Rias shouted out in excitement and a happy smile on her own face. I rolled my eyes at the comment but I got it was ribbing. Ashley clutched onto me tighter for a moment and I looked back at her with a questioning look. I was not sure why she would be upset about the two of them bonding.

Seeing my look Ashley looked away from my gaze and looked over at the two girls before her. She was examining the both of them as if she recognized something about them for the first time. Again I did not really get what she was seeing but she seemed slightly bothered by it. 

She did not see Rias’ feelings for me that was clear. Rias had all of her focus on Pyrrha so none of her affection for me was shown. Ashley was also not just looking over at Rias but Pyrrha as well so there had to be something else going on.

“What’s up?” I questioned lightly as the two girls before us started to talk to each other. Rias was leading the conversation but Pyrrha was pipping in every once and a while with a happy but hesitant smile on her face.

“It’s nothing,” Ashley spoke out sourly. That tone and the look on her face told me that it was not nothing but she did not seem willing to share so I dropped it for now. I was going to get to the bottom of that eventually but I was willing to wait for it.

“If you say so Ashley but I’m willing to hear you out no matter what it is. I’m fine with you killing countless people there is not much that would bother me about you Ashley.” I spoke out seriously, that affirmation caused Ashley to lighten her hold on me and a soft smile bloomed on her face. Even with that, she did not share what was bothering her she just nodded as if she got my point.

“You got to let me go to your world Pyrrha-chan. It sounds amazing. Imagine this the two of us facing off the forces of darkness to save humanity! That is so anime!” Rias spoke out excitedly with stars in her eyes. I guess Pyrrha was filling her in on the things happening in her world.

Pyrrha seemed like she did not really get where Rias was coming from but she was willing to indulge her. She was putting off big sister vibes now and I guess that was more in her natural style. It was a mix of that snu snu energy and girl next door attitude. I did not think the result of that would be big sister vibes but it made a certain amount of sense to me.

“We are kind of already on an anime like mission Rias-san,” I spoke out knocking Rias out of her excited chatter. She took in my words and she seemed to realize that I was absolutely right as her eyes widened and another happy squeal was released from her.

“You’re right! The sinister Saint Beasts are trying to destroy Humanity and it’s up to the four of us to stop them before it’s too late!” She spoke out as if she was narrating a scene inside of her head. I chuckled lightly at the sight and Pyrrha seemed even more confused but she wore a determined look at the face of our mission.

“We will stop those fiends,” Pyrrha announced solemnly Rias just released another squeal and went to hug Pyrrha in excitement. Pyrrha was wearing a confused look on her face as she handled Rias’ sudden hug. I was sure Pyrrha thought her comment was serious and the right thing to say but it just fed into Rias’ inner narration.

Pyrrha was trying her best but she was clearly not used to people suddenly hugging her. She shot a look that screamed help at the two of us and I just laughed at it. I expected Ashley to throw a jab or two at the girls but she remained silent and was just watching them with a complex look on her face. There really was something going on there…

“Right since the mission is rather urgent we should probably get going,” I spoke out seriously which got Rias to stop hugging Pyrrha in excitement. She was still excited about what was to come but she was holding herself back. Pyrrha shot me a thankful look that morphed into a serious game face.

Seeing that the two of them were ready I took out my wand and used the point me spell. We now had a clear direction to travel to Maze Castle so I started leading the group towards the castle.

“So randomly walking around is no longer your solution to finding things?” Ashley questioned with a teasing smile on her face. She was in a better mood but she was still shooting Rias and Pyrrha odd looks every once and a while.

“The outcome would be the same but I prefer actually knowing where I am going,” I spoke out as I rolled my eyes at the sass. Rias and Pyrrha were looking at our conversation with interest.

“So you are really lucky enough to find things just by wanting to find them?” Pyrrha questioned with a hesitant look on her face. They knew that to be the case from my interactions with the Chat Group but there is a difference between knowing and seeing. 

“I’m really really jealous, I wish I had that kind of luck,” Rias muttered as she looked sourly at me. I gave her a bland look in return. That girl may not be a lucky as I was but she still had bullshit luck. If I was not here I was sure she would have luck dominating everything to fall onto her side.

“You don’t really have any ground to stand on Rias-san,” I spoke out blandly. She blushed and looked away as she got my point. 

Pyrrha was looking at Rias with a questioning look but Rias was trying her best to not meet her gaze.

“She still does not have the same amount of bullshit luck you have Prince. If she did she would not keep getting usernames talking about her tits.” Ashley announced from my back with a smug look on her face. She was getting back into a regular mood if she felt like she could throw jabs at Rias.

Rias took in Ashley’s words and deflated with a dejected look on her face. She then threw a glare my way. I raised an eyebrow in return it was not exactly my fault her Usernames were that bad. She only had her dumb world to blame, even with my luck she would have found a name bad for her. It might be better than the ones she had got so far but even mine was mocking.

“Blame the RNG,” I spoke out condescendingly with a smug smile on my face. My comment further deflated Rias who was muttering things under her breath while walking.

“Magic is…really unusual,” Pyrrha stated with an odd look on her face. She was getting used to Magic being something real to her and the examples she had been facing so far had not been the best.

“Magic is bullshit you get used to it,” Ashley spoke out blandly as if talking about the news instead of magical phenomenon. I rolled my eyes at her comment even if I could see her perspective and even agree with parts of it.

“Magic by its nature is whimsical and free of any burdens. That means it is not bound by any laws or restrictions but the outcome is often outlandish and strange.” I spoke out as I explained some of my thoughts. 

“Magic is really different in other worlds,” Rias spoke out with an interested look on her face. I looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Magians in my world have to use complex calculations to even get a small flame to be produced. Magic is more of a science instead of an art.” Rias explained as she could see the question in my eyes.

“That is not a restriction on Magic that is a restriction on humanity. The magical races and various phenomena can show you that magic is free and unbothered by something like logic.”  I spoke out again as if I was lecturing. Rias seemed to get my point as she gained a contemplative look on her face. Ashley tapped out of the conversation when I started lecturing and Pyrrha was interested but she did not seem to really get my point. So Rias was the only one that was following my points so far.

It made sense to me as she had her own experience with Magic. Her world had infinity conceptualized as a loli dragon god and had objects that could rewrite reality to fit the desire of the user. Humanity might be sidelined in her world but that did not mean Magic was not something beyond any mortal perspective.

Whatever the case the conversation died off as we were able to see a castle in the distance now. It appeared we had found our destination faster than I thought.