FBBH 59 (Patreon)

Here we are once again for another chapter and the end of Akeno's run in the Arena, one way or the other. After that there is some clean up for her to do as this chapters were all for her and her epiphany which will take her to the next stage of her life.Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

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59- Threading Her Own Path

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There were no more warnings from Gertrude, no shift of her weight or increase of her power. Words also were no longer needed as the bloodthirsty covered both warriors and neither wanted to delay the fun any longer. But the redhead moved first and suddenly she disappeared from Akeno’s line of sight.

Only to reappear shoulder tackling the ravenhead, the younger woman couldn't even react as her whole front hit the hard surface of the veteran’s body and she was sent flying towards the lake of lava.

Already many stood in a panic and Shirou was about to jump down and save the hybrid because nobody was sure she could survive that.

Fortunately that particular question would remain unanswered as the ravenhead flipped in the air and unleashed her wings, floating just above the lava surface. One of her eyes was closed and Akeno was in a great deal of pain as she felt the hit completely and it almost knocked her out.

‘Can’t take another of those… Keeping all mana in a chain is a terrible idea…’ Gulping some air she studied Gertrude who was grinning animalistically. That only made Akeno more determined to win. ‘Just to be safe…’ Lightning began to crack around her chain as her mana reformed around her.

With her concentration the aura was mostly muted and the chain retained most of its form but already she could feel how much frailer her weapon became. Just a shift of focus was enough to weaken her weapon a lot and part of her debated making something else just to shake her head in denial.

‘Balance. That is another thing I need to focus on, balance.’ Two versions of her shone in her mind; one a fallen angel, another a human as the bat-like wings were missing. ‘Need to get used to-’

Thanks to her aura this time she saw Gertrude coming but it was still way faster than Akeno expected. Bending a knee the redhead leaped faster than most of the people Akeno knew could fly and were it not for the distance between them the ravenhead knew the fight would end there.

However Akeno still had a second to react, enough to fly up and out of the way without thinking about the direction she took. Gertrude’s body collided with the wall which began to split apart thanks to her strength, the crack growing until it reached the stands. It stopped just before reaching the audience but none cared, they were loving the opening salvo too much.

And it wasn’t over as the hybrid followed up her dodge by whipping her chain towards her opponent’s back. It was a huge target so hitting was easy, however its size also worked to Gestrude’s advantage. The chain couldn’t encircle her to continue discharging Lightning in her body.

Worse yet the impact felt hollow as Akeno had to fight a sort of whiplash almost like the chain was pushed away in multiple directions at one. The seconds passed and the redhead turned to her with a confident grin. Something was wrong with that grin, the hybrid knew, but had no time to think.

The even bigger giant jumped in her direction, the walls almost falling at her sudden burst of speed. Her size was monstrous, her head leaving the pit the arena was in to greet the audience as her hand moved to swat Akeno down like a fly. She knew giant beings had tricks to move fast but the transformation was too odd and uncanny.

Something was wrong and Akeno had no time to figure out what happened when her body was hit by a hand as big as her torso and crashed in the arena.

Deafening cheering almost made the ground shake as Shirou felt his nerves jumping around his body demanding him to take action. He remembered Liz facing someone with a similar technique back in the invasion of the Rear Guard Headquarters. A man who could also make his muscles grow with the assistance of a magician, a woman who Rin had fought.

However there were clear differences; the man back then used his muscles and a type of Reinforcement to bring them to perfection while increasing his mass.

Gertrude’s skill reminded him of a curse for some reason that the Mage couldn’t comprehend but of one thing he was sure. ‘She is Akeno’s worst match up.’

That sort of technique, no matter how extreme, had weaknesses, weaknesses that a swordsman, for example, could explore by cutting the softer parts of her body and forcing her to bleed out.

Akeno couldn't do that, even her best swords had the goal of spreading Lightning and so lacked the cutting power necessary to break through the muscles. Add to the fact there were many layers of muscles in each and every millimeter of the giant woman’s body and that each of them was expelling enough mana to light a furnace.

It created another layer of protection with the woman’s aura, thin and invisible but enough to disrupt any mana which tried to break through the muscles, forcing it to clash against them. A perfect counter against Elemental magic and Wizard types in general, Lightning wouldn’t break through easily unless Akeno can hit with extreme precision.

Harder to do when there was a giant falling on her with her fist held high and ready to crush the ravenhead.

While Gertrude was faster and stronger, Akeno was skilled enough that her aura could compensate for how much weaker she was. True Hybrid or not there was no denying that the ravenhead was the weaker of the two combatants in almost every level. Still she was able to roll to the side and dodge the fist that sunk on the arena.

When the redhead removed her arm from the stone, lava began to burst from the hole and fill it slowly. Her arm had sunk enough that it reached the lava below and part of it was burned.

Burned, not charred or melted or even really damaged. It was a small burn as a lot of mana surrounded it and mostly neutralized the lava. Despite her power there were some 2nd degree burns on her limb but they were superficial. That indicated something frightling about the woman.

She was already strong enough that lava couldn't affect her and it meant that the whole arena was her playground. Akeno didn’t have the same luxury, the heat was already bothering her just by being close to what felt like an active volcano. Unlike Gertrude, her skin wouldn't survive contact.

“Wanna give up, sister?” Gertrude asked with her new growled voice and a feral grin that was easily reciprocated.

“Not in your life.” Later the Queen would wonder where she threw her common sense.

A laugh and a wordless battlecry left Gertrude’s mouth as she charged again, Akeno flying to the left just as a giant foot would have stomped her. The dodge was good but not enough as an arm hit her side and set her flying away only for her to recover her balance faster than before.

And leaving her chain tied to the older woman’s arm, much to Gertrude's surprise. Lightning ran through her body but she was barely phased. “You sneaky little thing.”

It sounded like an amused complement as her thumb and indicator took hold of the chain. To a devil, sticking a fork in a socket would do little even if dangerous for humans. And in that moment the Lightning Chain was less than an active socket and more like a warm rope that couldn't bother the giant.

Akeno’s eyes grew wide as she felt her power struggling to try and damage Gertrude’s fingers only to fail miserably. Then her shoulder was almost dislodged when the giant pulled and she released her chain’s existence in a panic. Her wings worked hard to change her direction but the flight path was already locked.

Mostly because Gertrude had taken two steps and arrived where Akeno managed to stop, her fist connecting this time and the ravenhead finishing her first trip to the wall.

Blood and puke left her throat as the Queen of Gremory felt her back and limbs break or come close to breaking. Something gave away and she was sure something definitely broke as her body was stuck on the wall of the arena and the people relished at the one sided beatdown.

There was no way of calling it anything else and Gertrude raised her arms in victory.

Raising her head slowly, Akeno closed her hand in anger at her own weakness. ‘The way she is using her demonic power… is unnatural… Almost like a Stray…’ Knowing what Gertrude was doing helped little and so her power flared with her refusal to accept defeat. ‘To use demonic power like that… she is tethering the line of Stray without an Evil Piece…’

Lightning exploded and the redhead looked down at her opponent with a pleased expression if a little distorted by the building muscles on her face. Indeed her forehead was bulging with her strong heartbeats as veins threatened to pop from her temples at any second if she wasn’t careful.

At least that was what Akeno deduced by building demonic power and her own knowledge. “You are using too much mana. More than your body can take.”

“Anything to win.” Fixing her footing the woman threw a punch, a punch that threatened to turn Akeno into a paste.

The ravenhead didn’t have her chain anymore so she focused her mana into speed. She freed herself from the wall and flew up just in time to dodge the punch.

Instead of going higher she landed on Gertrude’s arm and ran on it towards the woman’s face, much to her surprise. “Lightning Chain.” It was back with a crack, a little more unstable by the rushed creation but it would suit Akeno’s purposes.

Its shaky arrowhead flew straight to Gertrude’s eye and the giant had to close it to avoid a serious injury. Not that it mattered much because as Akeno ran the whole length of the redhead’s arm her chain’s form became more perfect. Lightning sparked as all her focus was on her weapon once again.

Then the links of the chain moved without missing a beat when the attack failed, waving around and tying themselves around the giant’s neck. “If you are going to fight like a Stray,” the ravenhead jumped over the other arm that tried to bash her away, her wings carrying her the remaining distance until she was above the giant’s head, “then I will treat you like one!”

Throwing her whole body down she pulled with all her strength as the chain grew tighter on Gertrude’s neck. Lightning also gave no reprieve and the giant woman could feel it trying to burn her alive. Her fingers were too big and she failed to get a hold of the chain as it was too thin.

Akeno poured even more mana on chains, feeling it break her opponent’s aura apart with some effort. “Not bad.” Only for her eyes grew wide again as Gertrude didn’t even sound bothered. “Not bad at all.”

Faster than Akeno could react with her focus on the chain, the arm came to hit her again. She didn’t bother to resist the strength that took her off her feet, her wings fighting hard so she didn’t hit anything in the improvised flight. More pain still had her shaking but didn’t take her mind from the bigger problem.

This time the links separated themselves to avoid Gertrude’s grasp as the woman was already going for a follow up. Her red eyes danced with mirth at the effort.

It showed that Akeno was learning if nothing else, much to the giant’s joy. “Show me some more!” She jumped and descended in a belly flop.

She was so massive that it took less than an instant for Akeno to realize how dangerous the maneuver actually was. The rookie quickly began to fly away as Gertrude hit the floor and kicked a cloud of dust up while demolishing most of the arena.

Lava was consumed more and more of the main arena as the protections that kept it at bay failed with the stone they were connected to. The crowd cheered as even if that wasn’t anything new in the high level fights, this was supposed to be a smaller tournament. That sort of destruction usually came with bigger names involved.

Akeno watched how small islands of stone were all the footing she had left, most of them barely bigger than a car. She landed on the one farthest from her opponent, using her wings for balance. Soon Gertrude stood again, her pants catching fire as her skin, bulging and covered with demonic energy, fought against the flames and lava.

Soon her aura dismissed the fire, mostly accidentally as Gertrude didn’t care about fighting naked, and she let out another feral grin. All her teeth were too sharp, her mouth covered in fangs.

“Gertrude! What you are doing is far too dangerous!”

“Told ya; today I’m going to the big leagues.” The giant replied with a bitter laugh. “You beat Frederick and everyone else too, can’t underestimate you!”

“Don’t you understand what you are doing? You are risking becoming a Stray Devil- to be consumed by your demonic energy!” It was a phenomenon usually reserved to those who killed their Kings and couldn’t control their powers.

Something that should be impossible for a pureblood. “Close but I won’t go Stray! This is their power with no drawbacks!” Gertrude shouted proudly as her team kept cheering loudly. “So what if my body can’t use all this mana for long? I’m strong!!” She flexed her arm and the cheering grew louder. “Strongest of the smaller leagues and after winning this one I’m moved for bigger and better!!!”

There was a joke there somewhere but Akeno didn’t have it in her to make it as the pain on her torso had her silent for the moment. ‘Okay, she can control a frenzied state that happens with the excess of demonic power… No problem… None at all…’ She winced, not able to lie to herself. ‘I just need to break through, if I do it once, I win.’

Fortunately for Akeno she had the tools to do it naturally, unfortunately she still refused to use them as her victory would be guaranteed if she only used her Light.

In her mindscape Akeno could see her fallen angel self looking at her with bewilderment. ‘No, this is a devil’s fight. Maybe my last one…’ The ravenhead admitted to herself with a bitter grin. ‘The last one before I accept I am a fallen angel for good.’

‘But you aren’t…’ A voice sounding too much like Shirou’s shot back. ‘You are a True Hybrid.’

‘Still a fallen angel, Shirou-kun… Maybe I lost too much blood today.’ She admitted to herself as Gertrude advanced through the lava. ‘But let me win, just this once, as a devil Reincarnated from a human. Even if I never was one.’

Snapping her head up with a smile, Akeno whipped her chain towards Gertrude again. When the woman caught it mid air, she failed to pull fast enough as the links broke apart and remade themselves around her arm. The ravenhead didn’t waste time to think or react and went fully on the offensive, flying towards her enemy.

Much to the giant delight. “That is right, sister! Come for a hug!” Gertrude even opened her arms for one despite how much bigger she was.

That confidence on her defense was what Akeno wanted so she moved her chain again with the arrowhead going for Gertrude’s neck this time. With her arm away from her sigh she didn’t see the attack coming as she barely felt the Lightning moving throughout her arm thanks to how big she was.

The arrowhead connected and Akeno focused a great deal of power at the last second to make sure her Lightning tore through the muscles around Gertrude’s neck.

But it was barely more than a mosquito bite, some blood was spilled sure but not enough and the chain couldn't get very far. Lightning still tried to push further but Gertrude’s mana fought back.

From her position Akeno continued to advance, her wings pushing her as fast as she could to get closer to her opponent. When the giant began to close her arms she also leaned forward, trapping the ravenhead with her whole mass and lava beneath to not give her a chance of escaping.

The Lightning Chain grew more flawed as Akeno directed most of her focus for speed and managed to avoid the arms and reach the chest. Her foot connected just for a moment before she used it to spring herself up. Passing to the right of Gertrude’s head she noticed the giant ears with a grin as a magic circle appeared in her hand.

Thunder usually came with Lightning but the ravenhead never played much with it as the noise could be a bit too loud. The stronger the lightning obviously the greater was the thunder and so she let it out just besides the giant’s head, removing all filters and instead just letting it go.

Many felt fear and their spines shivered by how loud the thunder was, almost to the point that the arena shook once again and threatened to fall on their heads. More than one was questioning the idea of an Underground Arena but to most that was just a sign of how great the match was.

It was perfect for such a situation and Gertrude couldn’t help but reflexively close her ears as Akeno flew behind her and started to rebuild her chain.

Once it was rebuilt, still imperfect as she used much of her energy to avoid the flailing giant, Akeno took the arrowhead in her hand and threw it at Gertrude’s neck. “Lightning Chain!”

Solid Lightning dodged the redhead’s arm and bent around her neck to tie it up. Previous experience showed Akeno she couldn’t really harm Gertrude directly.

However her weapon was Lightning and once the chain had done two loops around Gertrude’s neck Akeno dived towards the giant’s back while focusing all her power towards her Element.

The chain grew brighter and a new sensation caught Gertrude’s attention as her neck started to itch. It was just a small tingling at first, smaller than the ‘mosquito bite’ from before and while struggling with her torn eardrum she barely noticed. She was still trying to deal with the bleeding, something dangerous considering how different she was from her normal size.

That was until she managed to adjust the muscles on her ear and stop the bleeding but at that point the pain had moved from an ‘itch’ to something stronger than a ‘mosquito bite’ only far more constant and dangerous as the area of the chain was chipping through her mana.

Once she recovered her balance the giant warrior’s hands moved towards her neck with the intent of ripping the chain off. However Gertrude found the endeavor useless as the links moved every time she tried to close on them. It was like trying to catch water with her bare hands as Akeno focused completely on the chain.

Still the veteran wasn’t a fool and she knew there was an easy solution; take Akeno out.

Gertrude turned with eyes full of fury only for them to grow wide, there was no one behind her. She was still faster than Akeno, of that the veteran was sure. Looking around she tried to find the rest of the chain but there was no sign of it or the rookie. She could believe that the chain’s upkeep was connected to some sort of spell but the ravenhead’s disappearance was too suspicious.

No sign of Akeno at all was concerning in and of itself since the younger woman already showed she knew plenty of tricks. ‘Where is she?’ One of her eyes was twitching as the Lightning started to affect. Took a little extra mana for her to focus again. “Come out wherever you are!”

With a swipe of her arm the giant threw lava around to limit her hiding spots by covering whatever few ‘islands’ were left with magma. She didn’t know if camouflage or invisibility were possible for the younger woman but Gertrude wasn’t underestimating Akeno at all. But if they were, Gertrude didn’t know if she could find the ravenhead.

And the persistent itching on her neck was a painful time limit. “This is not how I will lose, sister!!” Jumping as high as her giant form allowed, Gertrude slammed down and made the arena shake for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Waves of lava consumed what was left of the stone, leaving only walls and lava. “How? Where is she?”

She tried to locate any disturbance in the area or in the lava pool she just made, there was nothing and even if she wasn’t skilled in magic Gertrude trusted her vision more than any spell.

Things would have been easier if her mana wasn’t being ticked down by the chains as concentrating to maintain her form was growing harder by the moment. The super influx of demonic energy wasn’t safe even for a devil, no matter how pure the blood, and she knew it.

Only a demon could truly wield that power but Gertrude took advantage of it to control her mutation and create her improved form. But it came with plenty of costs, one of them was the constant struggle to keep it going everytime she used it. Were it not for her team, she wouldn't even have enough energy to use it.

But the worst that came with excessive demonic energy wasn’t the pressure on her body or the risk of tearing her muscles apart. It was the damage to the mind as even before stepping into the arena Gertrude could feel her sanity slipping, the same thing that happened with almost every Stray who lost control of their power.

Looking around in a panic, all those factors made Gertrude extremely nervous and concerned, not to mention angry. She wanted to find Akeno, to rip the chains from her neck because the Lightning was starting to hurt and an animal-like instinct demanded her to destroy it.

Only for the chain to keep slipping through her fingers and reforming perfectly around her neck every time. Grabbing her neck itself, Gertrude was ready to start tearing her own flesh apart only for the shouts of her team to cut her off.

“SHE IS THERE!!!” “BEHIND YOU!!!!” USE YOUR HEAD GERTRUDE!!!!!”

“Behind?” Turning around quickly Gertrude found nothing again and grew more furious. Only the discipline cultivated in the Underground Arena stopped her from losing control. “Where?!!”

Most shouts were a mess that her demonic infused mind struggled to translate but some of the words made sense to her.

Some more than most. “IN YOUR BACK!!!!” Was said by her old trainer who had been with her for over a century at that point.

“My back?!” She asked incredulously only for her arms to try and reach out behind her. A grunt of frustration escaped as her muscles were too big for her to reach, the transformation of her arms making it hard for them to reach her also mutated torso but her finger touched something. “You’re here!!”

It grazed the link of a chain. “Fufufufu, finally figured out?” Holding on one of the giant muscles while using her wings for balance, Akeno used her left hand to stay on Gertrude’s back as her right worked with the chain. “Need someone to scratch your back?”

“You little-” Gertrude kept struggling to try to reach Akeno, bending her arm to the best of her capacity to reach her back.

Only for Akeno to shift and move around out of reach, the huge muscle bound back having enough space for her to stay away from danger. “Oh my. Trouble? Maybe you should reduce your muscles a little? Give yourself less room to look around?”

Taunting a giant was usually a bad idea but Akeno was confident of her winning position. From where she was Gertrude couldn’t get her without releasing the demonic energy and reducing her muscles. When that happened then the Lightning would effectively become insufferable for the redhead.

Or she could continue to try and grab her and the rookie would beat the veteran by using her energy more effectively. All she had to do was keep focusing on her chain and pay attention to the huge hands.

“You little bitch!” Gertrude kept trying to reach the ravenhead.

It was in vain. “Name calling now? Wasn’t I your sister? Fufufufu.” Pulling her chain with all her strength, Akeno watched as the older woman stopped trying to catch her to hold her neck. “Looks like you are starting to feel that.”

Roaring in fury and frustration, Gertrude began to focus her mana on her muscles to expand them more and shake Akeno off her back. From her perch the ravenhead felt the demonic energy moving as erratically as it should and easily moved just enough to get comfortable.

As skilled as Gertrude was and as innovative as her way to use demonic energy appeared to be, Akeno knew the woman wasn’t going to get her wish that easily and not from any action of her own.

Demonic energy needed to be channeled in magic circles for a reason, after all. “AAAAAARRRRRHHHHHH!!!!!!” Gertrude roared in pain as blood exploded from her back, just missing her opponent.

“You already pushed yourself too much.” Akeno said with legitimate worry. “Since you weren’t Reincarnated you aren’t going Stray but-”

“Shut your mouth! I won’t lose!” Gertrude began to trash around with vigor. Quickly Akeno held her chain with both hands, her practically bare feet locked on the giant’s back. “Let go!!”

Mana and vapor were blasted from the giant’s body and Akeno senses were in overdrive to warn her where the ‘attacks’ would come from. She felt a hit on her leg and some vapor hit her arm as the mana escaped erratically from wherever it wanted. There was no control, no focus, just a certain desperation.

Meanwhile the giant trashed the people cheered at the new sequence of events even as some mana made its way to the stands. Nobody bothered to leave, the fighters were too far down in the pit for it to reach most of them. Things were spiraling out of control but those were devils and didn’t care enough to fear an accident.

Shirou and Gertrude’s team did as they were closer to the action and blasts of demonic energy made both sides feel like they were in the middle of a shooting. More so for the veteran’s team that were big in number and needed to watch over for each other, since he was alone the Mage could easily dodge anything that came his way.

“It won’t last long now.” The Mage of Swords observed how Gertrude kept expelling demonic energy and her muscles began to shrink a little. “Her only option will be to surrender since I doubt she will be able to stay standing in lava without the extra power.”

Still a giant by any description, Gertrude had lost a couple of meters in the last few seconds. There was no denying she still towered over Akeno, and everyone else in the arena at present, but the change was noticeable. And it wasn’t only her height or muscles, those more sensitive could tell how she was growing weaker

Another sign was when her legs started to burn again.

A reality that snapped the veteran of the arena out of her despair as the lava started to have an effect and she immediately stopped taking hold of her energy to avoid further damage. “Fuck!” Once she controlled the demonic energy on her body, she noticed how the Lightning grew more painful. “Fuck! Fuck!”

“Give up. I don’t want to kill you!” Akeno said with some desperation of her own. “If you keep insisting on fighting while on lava you are going to be burned alive the moment you stop concentrating!” The rookie warned the redhead with a glare she couldn't see. All her focus was on the chain and her power but her wings remained prepared for any emergencies. “Maybe I can pull you out if I am fast enough but you are still going to lose your legs!”

With how close she was from advancing after decades, almost a full century in the Arena, Gertrude wasn’t willing to back down as of yet. She tried to control her muscles again to crush the woman on her back but it only resulted in more pain on her neck and more importantly on her legs.

Lava was too hot for anyone to play with, one of the most dangerous things in all nature and the sort of liquid that could kill a huge assortment of beings on contact alone or not even needing that as the heat alone could be enough to knock out a grown man if he was too close.

Had they not possessed considerable strength neither Akeno nor Gertrude would be able to stand on the main arena, much less fight. Low class devils surely weren’t able to and many on the Middle class would find it too difficult to stay around said arena for long periods of time.

The only reason Gertrude lasted so long with her feet in lava was because of the power her team gave her, easily placing her on the top of the High class without the skill or sustainability to stay there for long.

And soon enough that power was going to fail, Gertrude knew that, Akeno knew that, her team knew that, every eyeball on the arena knew for a fact that she wasn’t going to last for long with Lightning Chain around her neck and lava on her feet.

Most also realized that from her position Akeno was completely safe from the veteran grabbing either her or the chain so few could see an exit strategy for that sort of situation.

As the person stuck on it, Gertrude counted herself lucky she found a solution, turning her neck enough to show the rookie another unhinged smile. “Time to drop off, sister.”

Akeno was on guard and not a moment too soon as Gertrude unexpectedly jumped back with all her strength. Not entirely caught by surprise the ravenhead managed to dislodge herself and escape only for her back to still hit the wall just a moment after Gertrude’s. She had failed to get away fast enough and inertia did the rest.

None of the women was crippled by the impact, a little wounded in Akeno’s case but it was merely a scratch. What made the situation bad for the rookie was the hand that came after and slammed her in the wall.

Tolerance or not, everyone had a limit and Akeno reached hers if the scream was any indication. Her focus was still mostly on her chain but it flickered and grew weaker after the hit.

Violet eyes fought against the fog of tears as the hybrid used her free hand to try and peel the hand off but it was for naught. The giant hand was bigger than Akeno’s torso and Gertrude didn’t hesitate to close it around her opponent. Despite her left hand free, her right stuck in the grip so the ravenhead couldn’t keep the Lightning going and it vanished.

“It is my win, sister!” Gertrude loudly and the crowd cheered as Akeno raised her head in defiance. Didn’t take long for the younger to struggle against the hold. “Not gonna surrender?” Her other hand joined in as her grip on Akeno grew tighter. “Maybe after a few broken bones.”

Akeno tried to push back the scream but it was pointless as all her flesh and bones were crushed under the giant woman’s grip. Her shields were broken and remade a dozen or so times to keep her conscious but the hybrid could feel her body breaking apart and she was close to passing out without air.

Then, to Akeno’s apparent luck, Gertrude’s grip grew slack. “Hehehe. Never did something like this before. How fun.” Only to grow tight again once the younger woman had caught her breath.

Never one to enjoy her opponent's pain before, Gertrude was appreciating the screams more than victory and even the audience paused their cheering when the process was repeated two more times.

If they were growing nervous then Shirou was livid and ready to jump in to save Akeno at any cost. “I am the bone of my sword.” Mana was forced into his circuits as he pushed all his exhaustion to the back of his mind.

All he wanted was a sword, any sword, but unfortunately healing Akeno previously left him weaker than he should be and his body needed time. Shirou was trying to fight back the panic when the ravenhead began to scream for the fourth time by directing all his intent to save her.

But Akeno didn’t want to be saved, she wanted to win and mana was also gathering in her circuits, her hand slowly raising towards Gertrude’s face. “Hoho, still have some fight in you?”

“More than… you think…” The taste of iron ran on her tongue but Akeno didn’t let that distract her. When she began to feel the giant fingers grow tighter again she realized the need to buy some time. “Wanna hear something funny?” A proper warrior would ignore the question.

A veteran like Gertrude would recognize a stalling tactic by what it was except she wasn’t the proud warrior of the arena anymore. “Sure. Why not?” Replied the giant with amusement, her mind swimming under a ton of demonic energy.

Just as Akeno expected. “Funny thing about Lightning is that people of the past thought that thunder was the dangerous part of it. It is just noise.” She chuckled as violet eyes met red. “Scary noise. Loud. When I was little I broke a lot of windows learning how to isolate Thunder so there was just Lightning.”

Unfortunately the stalling tactic had an unintended effect. “That was what you used in my ear!” She was about to break all of Akeno’s bones but instead of screaming the hybrid smiled confidently, surprising the redhead who let her grip go a little. “Why is that funny?”

“Oh, because I never understood the value of Thunder until today. It truly is something worthy of worship, if used correctly.” Then Lightning sparked on her hand just as Shirou managed to Trace Muramasa. “Lightning Flail!”

The chain had returned but instead of an arrowhead it had a ball made of Lightning on its end. It flew from Akeno’s hand and hit directly on Gertrude’s forehead.

Thunder shook the arena again but most of the noise and impact was all focused on Gertrude’s forehead, the natural sound made by Lightning was all directed towards the point of collision.

But it wasn’t enough, the giant was surprised at the attack and the subsequent pain, however her hands still held Akeno firmly enough to not let her go even if not tight enough to hurt her for the time being.

With her body still full of demonic energy it didn’t take even a second for Gertrude to recover her balance. “You-” Only for the ball of Lightning to connect again on her forehead, a different point but just as painful.

Thunder resonated with Lightning, its power enhanced by the natural coexistence between the Elements.

Lightning filled the Thunder and Thunder announced the Lightning.

The second hit wasn’t just stronger but also more stable and Gertrude lost her balance again. Her feet were still on the lake of lava and molten rock wasn’t good for stability. Instinctively one of her hands came to rest on the wall and Akeno took the opportunity to unleash all her remaining power at once.

An explosion of mana broke the grip and Gertrude glared at Akeno with fury. “You can’t win-” This time the target had been the face, just below the left eye.

From the explosion Akeno rushed to reform her chain but it ended incomplete but not useless. The ball had been completely remade and she sent it towards Gertrude without any hesitation. After the impact it disappeared but the ravenhead realized it had hurt just as much as the previous attacks.

And it cost her less to use.

Akeno couldn’t help but grin maliciously as a nasty idea bloomed in her mind. “Thunder Sphere!” From her open palm another sphere of Lightning was unleashed only that one was less perfect and looked ready to explode. And explode they did, with Lightning and Thunder. “Thunder Spheres!”

Then there were dozens of balls of Thunder colliding all around Gertrude’s face, the giant growling with anger and confusion as explosive bowling balls kept hitting all over her head.

A lot of those also missed. Akeno didn’t make any new chains, just jumped straight to the Thunder by giving it a direction to go and letting them all just hit whatever was on their way.

More frail than the Lightning, carrying less energy in general but by combining Thunder with the form of a sphere and its nature to her advantage Akeno managed to create an attack that carried quite a punch.

‘Punch’ being the keyword as the spheres lacked much of the piercing power of Lightning or stayed long enough to use it constantly as Akeno was doing before. Instead the sound of Thunder, Thunder itself, was used to generate force and cause damage through impact.

A loud enough sound could destroy glass after all and the Queen of Gremory was using the loudest Thunder against flesh and bones.

Bruises were showing up all around Gertrude’s face and she couldn't focus. It was too loud, the shaking of the arena was nothing compared to how her head was being used as a drum for literal Thunder. One of her eyes was starting to swell up and at some point her ears stopped hearing anything but a ringing noise.

That was when she managed to attack, her free arm moving to bash Akeno away like the world’s most annoying fly. Then she missed and more Thunder Spheres hit her head.

It wasn’t completely her fault, while attacking the ravenhead had slowly begun to fly away from the giant the moment she got free. Akeno was too far from the limb on the first swipe and took advantage of her opponent’s disadvantageous position to move up and keep attacking.

Once again the public began to voice their excitement at the comeback happening right before their eyes, Shirou letting his sword go and crossing his arms with a smile as the tables flipped.

With demonic energy still filling her veins Gertrude let her fury consume her and moved her arms frenetically. Her power was still High class and her speed was on the same level so despite Akeno’s fast escape the next swipe came too close to comfort. The rookie managed to dodge it but Gertrude had her in sight and threw a proper punch in her direction.

The giant close fist descended like a hammer and while the audience panicked Akeno wasn’t phased. In fact she didn’t even move and kept focusing on her Thunder Spheres as the punch missed without even getting close, much to Gertrude’s confusion. The veteran tried another one and this time Akeno moved a little, resulting in another miss.

Because of the Thunder, Gertrude couldn’t hear anything but the ringing in her ears, her hearing was impaired and her sight was starting to get affected. She was seeing double, multiple Akenos above her peeling her power and skin with hundreds of spheres. Making matters worse her mind was even more lost thanks to the demonic power so her disciple went out of the window.

Gertrude raised her arms above her head for cover but Akeno wasn’t going to relent so close to the end. The Queen of Gremory dived closer to the lava and challenged a bigger Thunder Sphere before shooting at the giant’s chin. The redhead woman lost her balance at the improvised uppercut and her back hit the wall.

Already from previous events during the fight, even the boundary field sustaining it could do little against the weight of a giant. The cracks grew so much that it reached the stands and the audience had no choice but to fly up. Not that the event took their enjoyment, if anything they were more frenetic.

With her opponent down Akeno didn’t waste her chance and began to channel a growing quantity of mana, hoping that the next attack would be the last. "Lightning Bolt!!”

Old habits came back and the thunder didn’t shake the arena this time as the bolt was made for the sake of breaking her opponent’s defenses and electrocuting her into submission. The impact was still strong enough that the explosion from it achieved the same result when it made contact.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Gertrude jumped from her back into Akeno’s direction, throwing her whole body again without regard for her safety.

While her mind was confused because of Thunder and demonic energy, that woman was still a veteran warrior and much like Akeno’s old instinct filtered Thunder to waste less energy Gertrude’s had her realizing Lightning was something she could take.

Brushing off the surprise at her failure, Akeno shot herself up to escape Gertrude with confidence the redhead wouldn’t be able to pursue. Her flight barely reached outside the main arena’s pit before she looked down to see the giant trying to use her wings to catch up.

Only to fail and fall face first on the other wall as unlike the rest of her muscles, Gertrude’s wings remained the proper size a woman of her stature would have. “That is what happens when you try to abuse your nature.” Commented a confident Akeno, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Well, time to finish this.”

Holding her hands close to her chest in prayer, Akeno pushed her circuits and natural mana reserves further while isolating the mana filtered by the Queen Piece. One hand carried her pure mana while the other carried her demonic energy and while separating them both energies mixed between her fingers.

Meanwhile Akeno prepared for the last attack, Gertrude managed to recover enough of her sanity to shake her head and look up with anger. ‘I can’t fly.’ She realized with horror as the rookie’s energy grew to new levels. ‘Too big, can’t catch her. She is going to finish me, I’ll lose.’

The realization made everything else feel more bitter as her damaged body still struggled to hold onto the demonic energy while also fighting off the lava. The correct move at that point would be to surrender and seek medical attention quickly as she knew her technique damaged her body more than most could see.

Yet Gertrude gave everyone a feral smirk, jumping from the lava pit and quickly releasing much of the demonic energy her body had taken from her team. Her form grew smaller but still huge, at least twice her normal size with normal muscles. Aura flared around her like an uncontrollable flame as she opened her wings once again.

“Come, sister!!” Shouted the proud warrior. Despite acknowledging defeat, she wasn’t going to stop.

Realizing that Akeno revealed a new Thunder Sphere the size of a wrecking ball, raising it above her head and connecting it to a Lightning Chain on her left hand. “Thunder and Lightning as one! Raiden!!!” An attack born from her mastery of mana and Element.

A god’s name was fitting for it in Akeno’s opinion.

When it came Gertrude couldn’t dodge and took the hit head on. Thunder shook the whole arena and the prompt above began to fall as much of the structure gave out. Lakmia’s subordinates moved quickly to secure the area as dozens of barriers held the rocks while others worked on the boundary fields.

The audience didn’t care, eyes still fixed on the women as Gertrude was sent back to the wall at high speeds. More of the stands broke as that was without a doubt the most destructive fight the Runeas Underground Arena ever had since its inception.

Getting stuck in a wall didn’t save Gertrude from the rest of the attack as the wrecking ball pinned her body and Lightning broke through her defenses. What was left of the extra demonic energy disappeared and her muscles shrunk until the veteran was back on her normal size.

Akeno noticed that and let go of most of the energy, particularly the Thunder, that composed the wrecking ball. “Are we done?”

“Not… yet…” Gertrude managed to say while raising her head. “I won’t surrender. I will-”

“Nope. We aren’t doing that anymore.” But Lightning remained and Akeno pulled her chain without hesitation. Only then the redhead noticed the golden links wrapped around her torso. “Turnabout is fair play~”

Much to Shirou’s amusement and Gertrude’s team's horror, Akeno dragged the woman off the wall and began to spin around, accumulating speed. It would have been too easy to just threaten to drop the taller woman in the lava or keep using Lightning until she lost her consciousness.

However Akeno came to respect Gertrude and wanted to give the woman a proper send off, one that would prove without a shadow of a doubt who was the winner of their fight.

So she began to spin and spin, the chain’s size growing smaller until there were only 4 meters between Akeno and a stuck Gertrude who was trying to fight off the ravenhead’s strength and Lightning at the same time.

It was for naught as there was no escaping, not from this. Centrifugal force and the woman’s exhaustion meant that just moving was a nightmarish struggle. Now that her muscles lost the excess demonic energy she was paying for every little damage she took during the fight with dividends.

So Gertrude spended the last moments of the fight at Akeno’s mercy as the hybrid kept spinning around for a whole minute.

At some point it wasn’t to accumulate speed anymore, Akeno was having fun and a part of her didn’t want the fight to end. Pushed to her limits and having surpassed them, that part wanted to give her opponent time to recover and keep going. Then it was crushed because she refused to lose herself.

‘Here is the finale!’ Akeno savored the last few moments, a huge smile on her face. ‘Good bye, ‘me’ who was afraid of who I am. Hello, new ‘me’.’ Then it came to an end as the chain disappeared and her opponent was sent flying one last time. “Have a nice flight~”

By far it wasn’t a perfect throw or a calculated maneuver, Akeno just let the other woman go whenever she felt like in a direction nobody would get hurt.

That direction was of course directly to the stands where the devils had taken flight during their fight and without anyone to get in the way the stands were completely destroyed by the impact.

Dust clouds burst from the stands as Gertrude’s team rushed to their champion who was already being attended by some of the arena’s staff. A man kneeled before the towering woman, who now looked small from Akeno’s point of view due to weakness and lack of giant muscles, before giving a thumbs up.

It was the spectators' cue to celebrate as hundreds of people roared in applause, some even creating magic circles and letting blasts akin to fireworks fill the area.

Some rushed towards her, much to her surprise, but quickly they were pushed back by the staff who looked overworked.

One of them looked at the ravenhead with a tired smile. “You could have been more gentle!” The man said while his coworkers controlled the crowd.

A beautiful smile came to Akeno’s lips. “I wanted to win!”

The man laughed out loud, she barely heard it with the audience trying to get around. “Didn’t we all?” His smile turned nostalgic and he gently held her arm above their heads before his voice took over the whole area with magic. “The winner of the tournament; Himejima Akeno!!!!!!”

Immediately the man floated back to let Akeno bask on the crowd’s applause and adoration.

For the first time in her life she truly felt like a Queen.

…

Trekking through the woods wasn’t something easy unless the person was ready for some pain, depending on the forest. If going through a park or somewhere peaceful or controlled like a reserve the adventure could be an easy one with lots of stops with minimal preparation.

In the Underworld’s case, most forests were a death sentence to anyone incapable of at least running or flying several kilometers at the drop of a hat. It was recommended to any devil younger than two centuries to not wander around even if they were technically inside controlled territory.

“Giant beetle!!!” A man’s voice warned the group and the devils spread around as the giant insect, easily bigger than a school bus, rushed and demolished some trees in its wake.

The monstrous creature stopped for a moment to look at the people flying around but they didn’t react, remaining calm as they were ordered. Their group consisted of ten people and amongst them was an Ultimate class devil who could decimate the beatle in a second if necessary.

Yet its species wasn't known for being overly aggressive and so it left peacefully, still bringing down a tree on its exit.

Didn’t stop Luvia from letting out a sigh of relief as she landed and brushed some sweat from her forehead. Instead of her usual dress the blonde was dressed in cargo pants, boots, a blue undershirt with long sleeves and an armored vest in a deeper shade of blue. Her usual drill hair style was set in a more tamed fashion with a huge ponytail to keep it under control.

From her backpack, half her size, the blonde retrieved a canister to take a sip of water. “By the Root, you would think a place without a sun wouldn't be this hot.”

“Shouldn’t you already be used to it at this point?” Her instructor for the month and Ultimate class devil in charge of their group joked a little as he approached. Beowulf was dressed in similar clothes but with a mix of brown and black with Hrunting resting on his shoulder. “Are you remembering to channel your demonic energy to keep you cool?”

“Yes-”

“To regulate your breathing while walking?”

“Yes but-”

“Are your clothes not good enough? I mean, I know you enchanted them but perhaps we could have another person take a look?”

“Teacher.” Luvia threw Beowulf a look that stopped him before there was another question. “I understand your concerns but I am doing everything as you instructed. The problem, unfortunately, lies with me.” She could feel her pride take a hit from the admittance but the magus turned devil could see how concerned her fellow blond was. “I was never the sort of person who explored the woods or walked around forests unless they are made of concrete if you get my meaning.”

Beowulf looked confused for a moment before remembering how most cities on Earth were built. “Ah, a city girl, right. I completely forgot to consider that.” Sirzechs’ Pawn admitted bashfully before scratching his chin. “Then again you mostly don’t ask for help and just trekked along with us so…”

“Yes, Teacher. It wasn’t your fault. I should have told you if I was having any problems.” But that would hurt her pride so Luvia avoided bothering anyone as much as possible.

After all her instructor for the month was no other than Beowulf, descendant of the original hero and one of Sirzechs most trusted agents. Adding to matters was that they weren’t staying in a single place during their training but actually traveling from place to place as the Pawn did his job.

Besides working as an enforcer of Lucifer’s will, Beowulf also had the job of hunting criminals inside ‘civilized’ territory. ‘Civilized’ as in they were areas between the Pillars’ territories with cities spread around. Safer than the Wildlands but still wild in their own way in a manner that justified the existence of Goetia Road.

Since the areas to patrol were huge in scope there was no way for the main government to take care of everything by themselves and in the present the Clans had many peerages specialized in search and destruction of any unwelcome entity in their territory.

Same with the central government, like the group Luvia was part of for the moment. Almost all of them were part of Beowulf’s Peerage and one of them even was a bounty hunter in the past. However not all his peerage was good for tracking or combat so only six of them departed with their King and his newly acquired students to patrol the area around Lilith.

Of note was the fact that the area around the capital, belonging to the central government, was bigger than Japan and most of the time the peerages working as hunters needed to leave for days or weeks in each expedition else risk missing something.

Between forests with Stray Devils, giant creatures, vales full of toxins, areas with active volcanoes and all matters of obstacles there were no shortages of places where terrorists and criminals could make a hiding spot to lay low or store illegal goods.

In return there were also those who sought profit by either turning in criminals, like bounty hunters, or by finding and stealing the already stolen property to make a profit in the black market or return it for a reward.

Same as there was no shortage of dangers in the Underworld, there was also no shortage of opportunities. “Everyone! Listen up! We are settling here for the day!”

“Teacher, we don’t need to stop on my account.” Luvia said in a hushed whisper, trying to not sound offended.

She succeeded as Beowulf shook his head with a smile. “Of course not but it is already getting late if you didn’t notice.” The man raised showed her a wristwatch, reminding the magus to check her own.

“We have been walking through the whole day? I didn’t even notice.” Admitted the Rook as their group began to drop their bags and raise some tents. Using magic circles could alert some boundary fields if they were too close so all the equipment they had was on their bags. “How are we on supplies, Teacher? Do you need me to refill the water bottles?”

Part of her training in combining demonic energy with her magecraft had Luvia focusing in more Elements beyond her natural one. Back on Fuyuki she started doing it to surpass Rin who had the advantage of being able to use the main Five Elements naturally and her Reincarnation gave her a chance to try something similar.

Thanks to the distance from the capital and the inability to use magic circles for teleportation or even retrieving goods because of potential enemies in the area, some necessities were extremely hard to come by in the hostile environment.

Even in a forest finding a clean water source in the Underworld was practically impossible so someone like Luvia, who learned how to convert the mana on her gems in drinking water was a boon that couldn’t be underestimated.

In fact their expedition was one of the longest ones such a small group had ever taken thanks to Luvia alone and the water she provided everyone. A good thing too since they were around one of the less explored areas exactly because getting supplies was so hard resulting in a greater chance of potential hostile entities around.

Besides that Beowulf also helped the young woman improve her martial arts and taught her how to better channel her demonic energy in her body. “Has been some days since you refilled them and we have enough, don’t worry.” He chuckled and began to ruffle her hair, much to Luvia’s exasperation. “Besides, you are still learning the ropes, city girl.”

Only her respect by his lessons and power held Luvia’s hand from slapping his arm. “As an Edelfelt, I was never one to do menial jobs unless I knew exactly where to go and who to kill.” The mess on Fuyuki and Caliburn was one of the few times she actually tried to track someone.

And almost died which gave her even more reason to pay attention to whatever Beowulf had to say on the subject.

“Be as it may, just because we are hunters doesn’t mean we are… ‘engagers’ is the word I want to use but I don’t know if it is a real one.” The man rubbed his chin again, a pensive look on his eyes. “We hunt and depending on the situation we engage the enemy either by offering them surrender or… not. But only depending on the situation and if we are in condition to make contact in the first place.” Despite his ancestor who was called King of Savagery and having the physic to match, the man was extremely polite. Still he chuckled with humor. “You are not the only one tired, you know? Most of the others are ready to fold too. This has been a really long expedition.”

“Can’t disagree with that.” Luva commented while putting down her bag and starting to remove her tent. “Hard to believe we have been going around for two weeks.”

Two weeks of deserts, fights with bizarre creatures and training with one of the strongest devils in the Underworld. Despite having a sword Beowulf proved himself to be an excellent fighter on hand to hand and a decent instructor. Only problem was that he worried too much about his pupils.

“Well, if it is any consolation, this expedition has been going better than most.” Beowulf pointed out, making Luvia roll her eyes.

“Mostly thanks to your sword.” She pointed to the Noble Phantasm which was in a light tone of red. “Shero’s instructions really improved our efficiency after the first week. We wouldn’t have found the group on the marshes without them. You should go and thank him as fast as possible.”

It was a plot, an argument that opened the possibility of going back to civilization while also going directly to greet the boy she was so fond of.

The man was amused by the attempt but nodded nonetheless. “You bet I will after we take a look at the Lost Eye desert.” As good of a poker face Luvia had, Beowulf could see the slight drop of her shoulders. “Hey, don’t be like that. We got work to do and nobody managed to inspect the Lost Eye carefully because of the lack of supplies. Who knows how many bad fellows got away with murder because every big expedition there ended up running out or needed to summon supplies and alert everyone they were coming?”

Letting out a sigh as the man caught her lack of enthusiasm, Luvia recovered quickly and showed him her most confident smile. “No need to worry, Teacher. I am sure we are going to find those scoundrels whenever they are. If there are some.”

“Are you sure you are alright?” Beowulf couldn’t help but ask as while he was impressed with how fast Luvia could bounce back, he was confused by the speed.

Holding her hand to her chest, the aristocrat’s posture showed only confidence. “But of course. It is just a matter of time until I grow more used to our environment. The Edelfelt was always quick to adapt, after all. Hohohoho.”

“Well, if you say-”

“She is missing Shirou.” A voice commented above their heads and they looked up to find a white haired devil with her legs on a branch and look at them upside down. “I miss him too.” Mostly the food.

“Koneko, don’t say such things!” Caught red handed, the blushing Luvia didn’t bother to deny as her teammate and fellow disciple would shoot down any excuse she gave. “Also why are you up there? Did you finish setting up your tent?”

“I can sleep here.” She commented while spinning like an acrobat and sitting on the branch. Like the two beneath her Koneko also was wearing a vest, a black one, but in shorts with stockings instead of pants, also absent was her favorite clip and her bag was on the branch with her. “No room for a tent.”

Beowulf shook his head with a smile. “No can do, Toujou. If you are up there it may take a second for us to go help you. A second too many. Also the tents have protective spells to keep the most dangerous plants at bay.”

“I will be fine.” Thanks to Senjutsu, she could feel the life signs of everyone around her. From the beacon of power that was Beowulf to the smallest insect which was still bigger than any similar species found on Earth. “Here is comfy.” Added the little girl while laying on the branch with her belly.

Neither of the two on the ground could deny she looked like a cat. “Maybe, maybe not.” Upon opening one of her eyes Koneko noticed that Beowulf folded his arms with a stern face. “But we aren’t taking unnecessary risks. Especially not on an expedition where if something goes wrong we have to retreat.” In a lower tone he mumbled. “That and lady Rias will have my hide if something happens to you.”

Both girls heard him either way but neither was willing to call him on it. Regardless, Koneko grabbed her bag and began to descend from the tree, hopping from branch to branch.

Took her a few seconds and she could have just jumped straight down but thanks to her time with Yoruichi, Koneko grew more attuned to her nature as a nekomata. Finding high places and just laying there wasn’t the sort of thing she did in the past but obviously that changed, for the better in her opinion.

Also there was how comfortable she grew when surrounded by nature, even the most dangerous sort from the Underworld.

As the other person Beowulf was in charge of training, the big man had no idea of how to teach Senjutsu even if he knew Touki, at least enough to get by. However Koneko was such a natural with her Ki that any training in that direction was pointless, Yoruichi had already covered everything Sirzechs’ Pawn knew and more.

Still an expedition was exactly what Yoruichi recommended; that Koneko had to go around exploring more of the world away from cities and learn to commune with nature to better control the flow of her Ki.

And there was no one better to guide her in that journey than a professional explorer and hunter called Beowulf, Lucifer’s Pawn and Ultimate class devil. She also got to learn some of the man’s fighting style even if the nekomata couldn’t really use it since she was too small to use his techniques.

There were still some things for Koneko to learn, Beowulf had reaps of experience she could draw from even if their fighting styles didn’t match. Also Luvia was there and whenever they had free time the Pawn had the Rooks sparring with each other. Training was hard during an expedition but the man made sure they fought at least once per day.

Which was just fine for both girls as they still got to train independently and the Underworld lacked anyone who could really teach them more on their main skills. The greatest specialists in Jewelcraft were old families who guard their secrets zealously and the last expert the Underworld had on Ki became a Stray.

And also was one of the few people in all Reality that Koneko never wanted to see again.

Despite being unable to ever forget that person and their relationship, especially with the scars she had on her heart, Koneko’s thoughts when practicing Ki were now turned to a different black cat.

Unfortunately her new sister couldn’t move to the Underworld to help with training and with her responsibilities Yoruichi would have to neglect some of her duties if Koneko went to her as well.

At least for a while Yoruichi needed to act as the King of Kyoto and the younger nekomata would have to deal with help from long distance calls or instructions that could be explained but not really shown.

So Koneko got saddled with Luvia since neither really had anyone to teach them what they wanted to learn while Beowulf was chosen as the instructor because of what he could actually teach.

Control and development of her fighting style of Luvia and tracking mixed with how to deal with far stronger opponents for Koneko. The Pawn was excellent in both fronts, an experienced warrior who managed to impress Sirzechs with his strength alone and that was before Reincarnating.

When Koneko finally landed, Beowulf nodded his head in thanks before turning to the tree. “Toujou, call the others and bring them here.” With Hunting the man made a cut to the bark and checked for a reaction. There was none so he nodded. “Remember to always nick them to make sure they aren’t the sort of plants which know how to disguise themselves… the dangerous sort.”

“Of course, Teacher.” Luvia replied while Koneko nodded and swiftly moved towards the rest of the group. Her steps were fast and silent, the white haired girl motions immersed in her environment. “Like a fish in the water.”

“From what my King explained, it is only natural for a true Senjutsu user to be at home in places like this. The more life signs the better and a forest is always full of those.” Beowulf commented while going around the tree and making more small cuts, just to make sure. It wasn’t really necessary, were that a dangerous plant of any sort would have already reacted. “Still, how well she deals with the forests and the marches… It is insane. I know many explorers who would kill to have the same level of awareness. And that ability to detect and discern vital signs…” The Pawn was impressed but quickly hid it and turned to his other apprentice with a shaky smile. “Not that you aren’t doing well, Luvia. You are mastering demonic energy at an unbelievable rate.”

The aristocrat smiled and shrugged. “You don’t need to bother in buttering me up, Teacher. I know that compared to Koneko I am falling behind.” Looking up, Luvia focused on the sounds of the forest, some low, others high, always constant. “This is Koneko’s territory, the place where she can shine the most. Like a perfect sapphire that can be fitted on a golden ring.”

Caught by his attempt of cheering the young woman, Beowulf scratched his neck before saying, “You are right, this is Koneko’s turf. Bet if we were on a mine of diamonds or something you would be dominating too.”

Mirth colored Luvia’s face and she shook her head. “While diamonds can be excellent catalysis, that isn’t how Jewelcraft works.” She giggled at how the man deflated. “But the compliment is appreciated, Teacher.”

He smiled a little before his expression turned more serious. “Don’t expect her pace to remain consistent once we reach the desert. The sands hide many dangers and the heat is just unbearable for most.” The man took out his bag to work on his tent. “In that moment I think we are going to need your more versatile magic to keep us cool while we cross the Lost Eye.”

“Why is it called that, Teacher?” The bigger blond stopped to turn to his apprentice before frowning.

“Didn’t I tell this story?” After a shake of Luvia’s head he cursed under his breath. “I am not a good teacher.”

Such words made the magus frown and shake her head again. “Anyone makes mistakes.”

“Me more than most.” The rest of their group approached and he shook his head again. “I will tell during dinner but long story short; there was once a volcano, a huge one, in the center of the desert before the Civil War. It was the tallest volcano of the Central Territories.”

The past tense of the sentence made clear the mountain was no more. “What happened to it?”

“It was before my time but my King told me it was one of the few fights he really struggled during the Civil War.” A frown showed Beowulf’s uncertainty. “But the funny thing is that he told me the opponent wasn’t even part of the war…”

Luvia watched the changing expression on the man’s face as it bounced between doubt and plain confusion. “They weren’t a devil?”

“Oh no, he was a devil alright. Sorry, I never bothered to learn the whole story so it is hard to explain. Never met the guy either and my King never knew why he was there in the first place. Both armies were about to fight and the main combatants were moving forward and he just…” Beowulf shrugged, uncertain. “Was there, on the way. And he is considered strong enough that my King wasn’t willing to risk anyone else but himself in that fight.”

“So, who was he?”

“His name is Rizevim Lucifer, Son of the Original Lucifer.” Beowulf said with a groan. “Maybe I should have asked more about him since he is still on the loose.”

‘A Lucifer? Are there more of them left?’ Her mind immediately shifted to Vali and the events during the peace talks before she shook her head. “So Lord Sirzechs defeated him?”

“No, that is the odd part that confused my King the most; Rizevim was in the area for something and apparently got involved with the fighting purely on accident. Or that is what we suspect? I am not sure…” The man really wanted to tell the story right but the details were hazy for everyone. “It is just, my King never knew why he was there or even bothered to fight but after a collision of powers Rizevim just left. That was mostly why the Civil War was won, because Lucifer’s True Heir didn’t want the throne.”

The conversation stayed on Luvia’s mind for a while but eventually she shrugged it off and went to sleep with a final thought. ‘What could be so important to Rizevim Lucifer that he bothered to fight for it even if he didn’t fight to be the King of All Devils?’

Either way, after that thought, she decided to not think about it anymore, deeming it unimportant and trusting that Sirzechs would have investigated himself about the odd behavior of someone so powerful.

Of something Luvia was sure; she didn’t want to ever fight against someone who managed to force Sirzechs into any sort of stalemate but she would really like to know his plans.

…..

Next morning, when Akeno woke up, she had almost forgotten about all the events from the previous day. Took her a second to recall her date, the Arena, the fights and the pain. It was weird waking up without the last one considering how much suffering she endured but EM did wonders thanks to the devil whose place she took for the tournament.

They had a deal that she would receive half of the prize if Akeno ended up winning but the Queen didn’t hesitate to give up her share as thanks not only for the opportunity to participate in the tournament but for sparing her and Shirou’s remaining reserves by healing her with EM.

A few minutes after that the duo was returned to the Vault of Prosperity, Shirou giving Akeno a piggyback ride as the girl was almost passing out from exhaustion. Healing her wounds made things easier and the Queen had enough strength to put her normal clothes back on before they left the Arena.

After that almost everything was a blur for her, she could remember the ‘light’ of the day and the warmth of Shirou’s back but not much. ‘Must have been really out of it.’

Turning in her bed Akeno looked at her clock and noticed she woke up a little earlier than normal, much to her surprise. In fact the ravenhead sat up and noticed how her body wasn’t exhausted at all. On the contrary she felt better than ever despite how much energy she had to spend on the arena.

Looking at herself Akeno also noticed she was naked and so tried to recall if she had taken her clothes off. ‘Knowing Shirou-kun, he probably asked Liz for help.’ Giggling she looked to the book shelf to her right and found her ribbon, still covering in blood. “You need a wash.”

Standing up the woman walked around the room, barely decorated but there were some books and magazines lying around, to find the full body mirror inside her closet.

Hand in her own reflection, Akeno studied herself. “I don’t look any different.” She mused with a smile. “But I feel different.” Closing her eyes she focused on her reserves and noticed they were already full with just a nice ‘night’ of sleep. “Was I holding myself back this much?”

She almost wished that the Akeno in the mirror nodded or replied in some way even if she knew the answer was ‘yes’. While the only other True Hybrid she knew was Vali Lucifer, she remembered well the power and survivability the man had. As both their progenitors were fallen angels, no matter what Lucifer or devil propaganda said, they should have similar biologies.

Her hands moved around her hips to slide around her breasts until they settled on her cheeks. “My body feels so… energized right now.” Akeno mused a little more as she touched her arms, chest and midriff. “And my mana is more rich… or feels like it, at least.” Then her right hand landed on her chest where she felt her Queen Piece. “Except right here. My demonic energy… it is throwing everything off.”

Much like Shirou had told her, Akeno understood she wasn’t a true devil, not even a Reincarnated one. Her Queen Piece was still trying to execute its functions and in a way was masking her real existence, making her feel like a devil. However it was also consuming a part of her mana, forcing it into demonic energy in a way that no Reincarnated devil should have.

It was an unnatural state that broke all the rules and was in fact making her slightly weaker than she should be.

By expanding her will inside her body and soul Akeno grabbed a hold of her Queen Piece despite it being inside her. “Spark up.” Structural Analysis worked as intended and in a moment she knew taking it off was possible. Smiling, she let her grip go. “You stay here for now.” Was said while she touched her chest. “Rias needs me to keep her out of trouble so you better behave or else I am breaking you.” The image of the Piece ‘begging’ her to not play with it made her laugh. “Don’t worry, I have a couple of ideas on how we can be together for a long time…”

Looking at the watch again Akeno was caught by surprise on how much time she spent studying herself and the Evil Piece. As things stood she lost breakfast and was late for the beginning of her training.

Until she realized her routine had to change because she had changed. “Can’t do the same things anymore.” Lightning and Thunder sparked on her hand and the chain with an arrowhead returned to the world. "Because I refuse to lie to myself anymore.”

The Akeno in the mirror smiled and nodded together with the original, the best she could do to give Shirou’s metaphor about more than one of her life.

“If nothing else this explains why one of us is an M and the other an S.” Her shoulders were shaking at her own joke but soon the illusion was broken. Akeno knew very well there was only one of her, it was what solidified her resolve after all. “Time through the day. After a long bath, of course.”

And a long bath it was, the moment her body landed in hot water Akeno felt her muscles relax and release all exhaustion she didn’t know was holding. While her reserves recovered quickly she wasn’t used to the physical strain that were the fights in the arena, not the close and personal variety at least.

Intellectually she knew that was normal, not even Twilight Healing could restore stamina, but Akeno really expected to be back at 100% since her mana was completely restored. It showed how little she actually knew about herself as while Akeno did exercise regularly, she was never pushed to her limits.

Except on the previous day where she went beyond every limit she had.

While relaxing in the bathtub, Akeno studied herself even more. When there were plenty of bubbles in the tub she began to relax and just enjoy the moment as her muscles rested. Thanks to the exercise from the previous day the rest was far more fulfilling than the ravenhead could ever hope.

Peace had come to her at last and Akeno didn’t know she was missing it until she really began to relax, washing away all her problems and worries. It didn’t last long, she couldn't just waste the day away in the tub nor intended to. If anything Akeno was curious about her new capabilities.

Her new limits. “Pity the only person I could talk about being a hybrid is a known terrorist.” Remembering Vali, she couldn't help but chuckle. “Wouldn’t that be a funny conversation? ‘Hey cousin, I am a True Hybrid too’. Fufufu. ‘What? You are my cousin. Can’t see the family resemblance?’ Wonder how everyone else would react…” Mentioning family brought other thoughts and she was impressed how easy it was to accept them. “Family… I suppose I have a lot of uncles and cousins now?”

All angels were direct children of God and by accepting one Akeno knew that she accepted them all. In fact it surprised her how easy it was to accept them.

Turning around the tub she used her arms to support her head. “Hmm~ Questions for later. Not like I will talk with most of them.” Closing her eyes she could picture her father’s face perfectly before growing uneasy. “Should I just…”

A few minutes later Akeno departed the bathroom and began to separate her clothes. As she was planning to mostly rest she tried to pick something normal after having dressed in her undergarments. The hybrid wasn’t even sure her old training regime would work on her anymore.

Except that there was a part of her she still had to explore. “I am part fallen angel and this place is full with them.” She commented while fitting a black bra. “And I need to know more about that part… But I am more than that too.” Her chain returned, this time with a sphere at the tip. "Lightning, Thunder…” Focusing on the sphere she began to channel the power long since buried and forgotten. “Light.”

And so it was as the darkness in her room was banished by her Light, fully manifesting itself throughout her whole chain. It felt nothing like her other Elements; not as savage as Lightning nor as unfocused as Thunder. Gentle and easy to control, Light embraced her just as much as Akeno did the same.

Then she cut the mana off just as her Lightning and Light began to mingle and a new power threatened to burst out. “No, no, no. Not yet anyway. Don’t even know what Holy can do to me in these circumstances.” Akeno wasn’t going to risk it, no matter how a little voice in her head told her she would be fine. A sigh escaped her as she sat on the bed almost naked. “My father has it and for him it is safe but I am not him. I am not God’s Lightning.”

In her mind a voice, her own filled with curiosity, insisted that she at least tried. She was in her room, alone and the Holy Lightning was part of her nature and power, logically speaking it shouldn't be dangerous to her.

Another sigh held her back as everything she learned as a devil contradicted that. “If I didn’t have an Evil Piece maybe it would be safer… Actually even thinking about taking off my Evil Piece is too big of a risk.” The Queen suddenly realized with a giggle. “My, oh my. Did I get too excited or what?” Dropping on her bed, Akeno mused some more. “If God was still around I suppose I could ask… That is it! Medusa!. She can help.”

The idea had merit and Akeno almost jumped out and ran around the facilities naked to find the goddess and ask for her assistance. It also made sense to her in a more amusing way since Medusa was the one that started her on the path to discover herself. The Arena provided the obstacles but the initial question came from the former Gorgon.

Just as she was about to reach the door Akeno chastised herself again. “No, you aren’t giving everyone a show and you don’t know what to ask yet.” Then another idea bloomed in her mind and she laughed. “Then again, maybe just asking and not giving anything isn’t fair. And I know something dear Medusa is sorely needing.”

Looking at the clock again, Akeno suddenly grew extremely aware that she hadn’t eaten anything.

Throwing some clothes on, just some jeans and a conservative top since she was planning to change for a more fitting attire later for what she was planning, Akeno walked to the lunchroom to grab a quick meal.

Despite having not eaten the previous ‘night’, too exhausted after the fights, and using a lot of her energy, Akeno didn’t feel particularly famished. Her plate was still filled with some of her favorite foods as she treated herself for her victory, finishing with a strawberry cake for dessert.

Once she was done Akeno marched straight back to her room to change into suitable clothes for what she had in mind. Getting naked once again, she dug through her closet to collect the white and red uniform. The clothes that should belong to a miko but were instead used by a devil.

One of the few things she held because of her mother.

The ravenhead also knew they were actually not necessary for what she had planned but it had been a long time since she dressed in those clothes and if she was going to start a new chapter in her life she wanted them to be part of it.

Fully dressed once again Akeno directed herself to the mirror and imagined her mother by her side. A hand landed on her own image and the ravenhead saw her lost parent.

Himejima Shuri was a beauty in her own right, Akeno knew she inherited many of her mother’s features and it wasn't hard to see the reflex as her even if the daughter knew she was more blessed on the chest department, thanks to her fallen angel heritage, and her much longer hair.

All memories Akeno had of her mother were of a kind but normal person, her but with shorter hair and far less contact with the moonlit world’s side. ‘Our family was supposedly blessed by the gods but did you lose that when you fell in love with my father?’ Mused the young woman with a serious face even as ‘Shuri’ smiled. “Even if I can forgive him, I can’t forgive your family, sorry.”

Then Akeno blinked and the illusion was over, she was looking at herself dressed as a miko and no one else.

“Wish me luck, Kaachan.” She still said just before departing the room.

Akeno made her way to the elevator and then to the main lab without hesitation, feeling stronger than before dressed as her mother and confident the woman would approve of her actions.

Shuri would be proud of the woman her daughter was becoming and Akeno refused to have it any other way even as she prepared to walk her own path. Still she also knew that her mother would be sad if she still hated her father and that was something the hybrid needed to deal with.

However she wasn’t rushing on her actions and when the elevator opened Akeno realized she was comfortable with what she was about to do.

‘I need to thank Medusa and talk with Azazel. Azazel first.’ Akeno decided firmly, knowing the man waited long enough too. ‘He is also family. Still a hard pill to swallow.’

And when the elevator opened she heard Azazel's voice exposing something out loud. “And that is why the moon is full of holes.”

Then Shirou's voice cut through the lab. “You are telling me there is still a war going on? On the moon?”

“Pretty much.” Azazel replied confidently.

Akeno walked into the lab to see the Cadre’s smug face, Shirou ready to rip his own hair, a confused Xenovia sitting on a platform surrounded by wires, Medusa flipping a page from her book, Liz who looked close to fall asleep in her chair and the assistants from both camps looking unsure of what to do.

And then Shirou hit his head on the table which made Akeno giggle. “For the love of- Why are people fighting over the moon?”

“Have you counted how many moon gods are out there? There is a ton!” Azazel reminded him with mirth.

Which only made the redhead groan. “And that led you all to fake the moon landing. Why again?”

At that Azazel looked even more smug. “We didn’t fake the moon landing, we replaced the images with a more safe and edited version. There is a difference.” He folded his arms and nodded confidently. “I mean, do you have any idea how much work it took to put a crew, rehearse the whole thing and hold a ceasefire long enough to stage a peaceful moon landing?”

“How bad was the original?” Xenovia asked with morbid curiosity.

"Let's just say it was a good thing it wasn’t live. It was supposed to be but someone in the American government remembered that there are at least 5 or so gods fighting over the moon all year round.”

“Are you trying to trick me? Again?” Shirou finally asked, hoping against hope he was.

Azazel gave him a serious look and shook his head. “Nope. The moon is actually one of the most disputed territories in all dimensions. You can ask Sirzechs if you want confirmation.” He chuckled at the deadpan stare Shirou was giving him. “Hey, one of the bright sides of not having a god, or not having a moon god at least, is that we aren’t involved in that mess. Just need to run interference once in a while when someone like Tsukuyomi or Artemis pick a fight with each other. Earth needs the moon, after all.”

The Mage knew he was telling the truth. "Goddamned." And hid his face on his hands, a headache incoming. “How many moon gods are there? And are they just fighting over our moon or are they also in the ones from Jupiter for example?” Horror filled his features and he looked at Azazel with true fear. “Please tell me nobody is fighting over the sun.”

“By Father’s beard hell no. That is too far for everyone. Takes me days to get there at top speed. That is why there is fighting over the moon, the others are too far.” A pensive look later, the Cadre clicked his tongue. “Honestly? Just one moon was a design mistake. Then again if we had two or more I bet the gods would be fighting over them either way. Moon Divinities are mostly volatile… and violent…”

“Dated one?” Because Shirou recognized the tone.

With an amused grin, Azazel replied. “You made me promised to not talk about my exes anymore but if you want to know~”

“No, forget I asked.”

While the discussion was going on, Akeno approached Medusa and greeted Liz before speaking with the goddess. “Do I want to know what this is all about?”

“The Noble Gears aren’t panning out as they expected and the two started hashing out ideas to try and facilitate Durandal’s ‘upgrade’, as they called it.” Medusa turned a page. “Then one of the assistants suggested the moon as an energy source since its light has transformative energies. Something about a TV show giving them the idea.”

Noting the goddess sounded a little bored, Akeno looked at the ongoing debate before her eyes returned to the purple haired girl. “And you find it boring?”

Lowing her book, Medusa gave the Queen a flat stare. “It was interesting 20 minutes ago before Azazel began to recite the Wars Over the Moon and how much of a mess that place is.” Then she looked at Akeno and tilted her head. “Any reason why you are dressed like this? I thought you had outgrew the outfit.”

“Fufu. When I was living at the temple I used it everyday, you know? A true miko.” She did a small spin and held her hands beneath her bosom, lowering her head to Medusa respectfully. “What do you think about it?”

“Very stylish and suits you well. Not my favorite colors though.” The goddess studied the outfit carefully, noticing how it really embraced Akeno’s curves. “Any particular reason why you are dressed like that?”

Akeno was even more amused than before but managed to hold most of it beneath a mask that Medusa failed to see through. “Lots of them. Lots of them indeed.” The touch of humor in her tone only made the goddess more suspicious. “Actually some of them are related to you.” Clear amethyst eyes looked more confused than curious. “Yep, with you. The goddess Medusa. Aren’t you technically a Japanese Deity now?”

"Since when?” The high pitch question got everyone’s attention dn the purple haired girl blushed before glaring at the ravenhead who was all smiles. “What are you playing at?”

“Nothing at all~” The hybrid noticed Shirou approaching and her smile grew a tad bigger. “Can we talk about this in a bit? I need to take care of some things first.” Still confused, Medusa waved her away before returning to her book, ignoring whatever teasing Akeno had planned. “Oh, one more thing; thank you for the advice.”

Flipping another page, Medusa relaxed as the subject sounded more serious. “My protector informed me you managed to improve your way of thinking. Congratulations.”

Respectfully Akeno bowed. “It wouldn’t have been possible without your guidance. Now with your permission…” When Medusa didn’t react, the Queen giggled and moved towards Shirou. “Hey.”

“Hey, how are you? Already feeling better?” The Mage didn't bother hiding his concern. “You passed out just as Liz was putting you in bed.”

“That reminds me.” Quickly she turned to Liz and bowed again, just a little this time. “Thank you for carrying me, Sensei. Did you also change my clothes?”

“And gave you a small bath.” Liz informed factually. “You’re really tired.”

“Once again, thank you. And thank you for letting me… do what I needed to do.” She turned to the redhead in the room again who just shrugged. “Yesterday was fun. We should go out again some other time. And no, not to the Arena.” Akeno giggled at his dumbfounded expression. “Like I said, that was a one time thing.”

His shoulders dropped and his face relaxed in relief. “Well, glad it helped.”

“That just isn’t fair. She got to fight and I didn’t.” Xenovia commented petulantly yet there was a good nature smile on her face. “Say, Akeno, did you really fight in a lake of lava? Master was being skittish with the details.”

“Oh yeah, the island we were on also fell apart so a single mistake and I would have melted.” Akeno turned to watch how some in the room squirmed, most of her attention on the highest authority in present. Azazel looked like he had swallowed a whole lemon. “It was still one of the most fun fights of my life. All of them were.”

Xenovia dropped from the platform and jumped on Shirou’s shoulder. “Can’t we really go back there, Master? I want to fight in lava too!” She began to swing Durandal around, the scenery already playing in her mind.

Shirou had to hold back or face palm even as he wanted to respect his newest lover’s desire. “I don’t know if you could since you don’t feel like a devil enough to be registered.” He said with a meaningful look towards Akeno.

Who promptly undermined him by saying. “We can find a lava lake and a few monsters if you want. No reason to get you in a tournament.” The bluehead’s interest and the redhead’s dread had her giggling. “Rating Game’s arenas are safer too so you won’t have to worry about slipping and falling to your demise.”

“But that is half the fun.” Some snickers could be heard after Xenovia’s statement.

“It is also an extremely dangerous hazard. There is a reason why Rating Games had lots of safety measures no matter the battlefield.” Azazel felt safe enough to point that out before revealing a smug smile. “Then again, the truly powerful don’t care about small things like lava and such. I am sure one day you will be able to take a bath in it.”

“Really? We can?” If anything the idea was appealing to Xenovia.

However she was too eager and the Cadre almost retracted the statement. “Well, in your case I have no doubt you can do it once we get the Noble Gear working. Especially with Durandal as its core.”

“Until then please no lava baths. For anyone.” By the banging on his soul Shirou was sure that Bellerophon was telling him they could do it. Not that the redhead was willing to try. ‘It is lava! I am not getting close to it unless I have to, thank you very much.’ The answer he received was quickly identified as an insult. ‘I am not whining. It is lava for the stars’ sake!!’

While the conversation was amusing Akeno needed to do a few things before fully setting herself in the path she had chosen and for a clean beginning the ravenhead knew some things needed to be said.

And as the new and improved version of herself, Akeno refused to stall. “Azazel, can I talk with you?” The question was innocent enough and the man was already nodding his consent. “In private.” The Cadre eyes almost jumped off his head.

Alarm bells rang over Shirou’s head almost immediately. “You want to talk with Azazel alone?” The question caught Medusa’s attention and earned Xenovia’s confusion for a moment.

A moment was enough for her warrior mind to remind the bluehead that Akeno never had stayed in a room with Azazel alone or even talked to the man unless someone else was in the conversation or at least around.

From all interactions between them that Xenovia observed, she was sure of something. ‘I thought she hated fallen angels.’

But none was more surprised than Azazel himself. “Sure.” It wouldn't last long for his mind was sharper than anyone else and had already processed everything in the span of a millisecond. “Do you want to talk now or…”

“Yes please.”

“Akeno, are you alright?” Shirou asked again, his concern evident.

“Why yes, Shirou-kun. Perfectly fine. Never better.” She gave him her usual smile and that just made him more suspicious.

“You are not going to challenge him to a fight, are you?”

Opening her eyes the hybrid blinked several times in surprise before giggling and replying. “Jumping the gun a bit, aren’t you?”

“Considering yesterday? Because I omitted a lot of what you went through in that arena.” Shirou’s expression and tone were completely flat. “I swear I lost years of my life watching that mess.”

“Now I really want to know what happened…” Medusa commented openly for everyone to hear.

Xenovia nodded her agreement wholeheartedly. “Master just gave us an abridged version and I didn’t think much of it besides the lava lake.”

That surprised Akeno. “Didn’t he mention that I faced a giant devil?”

“Bah, you faced a giant, you faced them all.” Said the former Exorcist dismissively. “Slow, too big for their own good, sometimes smart enough to use their size properly but those are rare.”

“Gertrude is a professional fighter and she figured out how to become giant by using a process similar to turning into a Stray but without turning.”

“That is a thing?!” One of the assistants asked in shock and Shirou couldn't help but nod in agreement with her words.

“Yeah but there was something wrong with that form…”

It was the ravenhead turn to nod in agreement. “Too much demonic energy isn’t good even for pureblood devils. She was too unstable and lost her mind.” Didn’t take long for every devil there to start taking notes. “Power, speed, it was like she was Promoted to a Queen even without Evil Pieces but was getting more sadistic by the minute.”

“Also I am pretty sure that wasn’t coming from her own body.” Shirou pointed out with a frown.

Which earned another nod from Akeno. “Her team was giving her raw demonic energy the same way someone can share mana.”

“Demons could easily mutate their bodies when they were still around.” Azazel observed with a pensive look. “Either by possessing someone or sharing a body, a demon could change their appearance at their leisure without negative consequences.” Memories began to take hold of the Cadre’s mind, dark memories. “Moving their heart or brains wasn’t odd for demons of a certain caliber. Damn, the strongest one was a mass of… You know what? We are getting off track.”

“Lord Azazel, I must insist that you continue.” One of the devils stepped forward with a nervous face. He thought he was being brave. “Demons… They are akin to gods for us. If we can know more about-”

“Knowing about a dead race isn’t going to bring Goetia back.” Azazel quickly hit the nail in the head, shutting the devil up. “Most of the information is known by your top scientists. Go ask them but I won’t say anything else…” At the fearful looks from some devils the fallen angel let out a sigh. “Goetia also was another thing entirely. Standard rules and knowledge never applied with them so anything that I say will be pointless.” His focus shifted to Akeno who only looked curious. An amused roguish grin grew in his face. “So, do you want to just talk or should I prepare to go a few rounds?”

“No, just talk.” The Queen turned to Shirou and held her hands up. “Can I borrow your ‘privacy swords’?

The Mage looked confused for a moment until realization settled down. “The Instantaneous Boundary Field Creation Blades?”

“Privacy Swords sounds better.” His lab partner couldn’t help but chime in.

“I know the name sucks, alright? Just didn’t think of anything better yet.” Four swords were Traced in Akeno’s hands. “You know you could just go to another room, right?”

“Are you saying it is fine if I leave your sight with Azazel? Aren’t you afraid he is going to try anything?” Akeno asked in her more playful smile.

Chuckling and close to the point of laughing, Shirou replied with, “Everybody knows that, if anything, you are the one who is going to rip him in half. The Grigori needs their Governor General, you know.”

“Humph, your concern is noted.” Azazel commented with a smile before moving to the side of the lab, Akeno following his lead.

Much like the rest there were dozens of wires and computers working on something or another together with an anvil and some equipment for a forge. Nothing much really as there were others around but that section of the place was used by the smiths to try and replicate Shirou’s metal through other means.

Not much success on that front and Azazel was growing more convinced that It was impossible but nobody wanted to give up just yet as they managed to create different kinds of metal.

When they were close enough to the wall, Azazel glared at his crew. “What are you waiting for, folks? An invite? Get back to work.” All fallen angels did but the devils and Mage just stared. “Can’t we have some privacy.”

“Some, not much.” Shirou replied easily and the Cadre was about to retort when Akeno stabbed the last sword on the floor.

"Couldn't let me have the last word?” Azazel asked with amusement while turning to Akeno who raised an eyebrow. “What? Something in my face?” Didn’t take too long for his demeanor to turn serious. “Look, I sorry if about-”

“You did nothing wrong. None of you.” Akeno cut him off with a harsh but honest look. “I have been… blaming you all for my mother’s death for too long… It wasn’t your fault. If anything, it was mine.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a second. Don’t you dare to say that again. If you do, your father is probably going to kill me.” Azazel flinched immediately at mentioning Baraqiel. “Right, sorry, I shouldn't-”

“The Himejima Clan, supposedly chosen by the gods, saw my birth as heresy.” Akeno’s smile was sad but still honest. “So it was my fault. I am a being… a person that shouldn't have been born.” Raising her hand she stopped him from talking. “Please, don’t interrupt me, let me finish. Please, Ojisan.” His eyes grew wide in surprise but Azazel nodded in silence. “Thank you.”

Taking a deep breath Akeno gathered her thoughts for a moment that seemed to extend into eternity. Just because she found her resolve that didn’t mean taking the appropriate steps was easy. There was fear, confusion, anger and bitterness inside her she carried most of her life.

With another deep breath she let it all go, the young woman feeling clarity and resolve. “I, Himejima Akeno, Daughter of Baraqiel, am a True Hybrid.” Saying the words made it all feel more real and while she saw that her uncle had dozens of questions she was grateful he held back. “My family, no, those people who should be family, hated me for it. Hated my mother for giving me birth. What they did… “ She bit her lip, drawing some blood. “What they did…” Tears threatened to leave her eyes.

Nobody in the lab could see her, only Azazel could as she used his body as a shield to hide her display of emotion. The little girl who was chased and hunted for her birth wanted to connect, to finally find a real family. The young woman she became was just grateful the man in front of her did nothing but place a hand on her shoulder.

He wanted to hug her, to tell her their family would accept her fully regardless of what she was but didn’t want to invade her space, to push more than he should as the woman in front of him worked hard to open her heart of her own accord.

A hand of support was too little for him but to her it was enough.

With the sleeves of her haori Akeno banished the tears. “They would have attacked us anyway. If it wasn’t that day then it would have been another. You calling my father just… gave them the opportunity to do it.” The look in his eyes told he wanted to say something but refrained at her request. Grateful, she giggled. “You can speak now.”

“I should have insisted that my brother brought you to us.” Azazel said the second she gave him permission. “Japan was under devil influence as its Pantheon focused on fewer places. Lots of old families would do anything to try and please them, even things they wouldn’t approve of.” He gently touched her cheek before retreating his hand, fearful he went too far. “When he told me he had a kid I should have insisted on moving you to our territory. Both you and your mother.”

“Then they would have attacked us in transition and my father… my father would have to kill to protect us.” While the present Akeno wouldn't mind that, she didn’t want to think what her innocent child self would have to deal with if that happened. “One way or another there would be blood.”

“But not your mother’s blood.”  His fists began to shake. “If I was just more careful-”

“It wasn’t your fault-”

“It wasn’t yours either! True Hybrid or not.” Never before had man been more glad for the boundary field. Even Azazel knew he had been too loud. “Sorry but please don’t blame yourself. You were a child and I didn’t know how fanatic those people were… I wonder why Baraqiel didn’t kill them all yet.”

Akeno decided to go with the reason why she didn’t seek vengeance herself. “Because they are still my mother's family. Some of them didn’t know better.” Another deep breath later she was feeling way better. Didn’t change the fact the script in her head had already gone out of the window. “Wasn’t planning to talk about any of that.”

Massaging the back of his neck, Azazel couldn't blame her. “This isn’t where I wanted this discussion to go either. Damn, if I knew we would be talking about this I would be drunk.”

“Can we even get drunk?” Never a drinker but curiosity caught her.

“I can if I drink Divine wine and other similar drinks. You thought…” He paused to look at the ravenhead, really look at her. “A True Hybrid huh? Not a devil?”

Looking to the side and massaging her right arm timidly, Akeno felt embarrassed. “Promise to not tell anyone?”

“For your secrets I will die first.” Azazel wasn’t kidding or playing around either. It was in his eyes how serious the subject was.

So Akeno told him a summary of what she discovered in the Underground Arena and how the Evil Piece was affecting her. “If anything I am a fake devil. Or a Faker to be more precise.” She said, referring to how some people called Shirou once in a while.

“Sheesh. Yep, I could totally see that happening.” Not what he expected but his mind easily caught up with the facts.. “As a True Hybrid you are really superior to everyone, at least biologically. Perhaps you only quote ‘Reincarnated’ unquote, because you were a child at the time.” Azazel’s eyes suddenly had an edge. “Also it was a good idea not to mess with it. If I am right then the moment you extract the Piece, if you really can do it, then you won’t be able to put it back ever again.”

“Then I will stop being Rias’ Queen.” At his nod, Akeno smiled. “That isn’t going to happen, Ojisan.”

“Suit yourself, just try to be happy. It is the secret for a more fulfilling life.” Azazel said proudly. “So, about your dad…”

“Not so fast.” Akeno was still smiling but there was a sadness in her eyes that both knew well. “While I am willing to accept myself, accept him… can you give me some time before we meet again?” Contrary to before her voice was now full of confidence. “After all I went through I think, no, I need to really prepare myself for when we are going to meet again.” Then she relaxed a little. “But I wouldn't mind getting to know the rest of the family. The fallen angels back there, are they my uncles and aunts too or…”

“Those youngsters? They are your cousins. Distant cousins even.” The Cadre smiled at her sadly. "Unfortunately I think the only uncles and aunts you have left are all in the Bible or in Heaven so good news, we are all famous.”

“I see…” She did her best to hide any sadness behind a smile. What was left unsaid was how many of those weren’t around anymore but obviously Azazel didn’t want to talk about it. “By the way, I am going to change my training a little as well.” Neither did she.

"Oho, really? Is that why you are dressed as a miko?”

“Also because I thought these clothes were the best for what I have planned.”

“And what would that be?”

“It is a surprise~”

“Sure, sure.”

“Fufufufufu.” Shaking her head, Akeno remembered something else. “About the instructor you assigned me before-”

Azazel waved his hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry about her. She was glad to have helped but I can understand if you want another instructor or something. Heck, since you are a True Hybrid I can even give some points since I helped Vali.”

“Who is also my cousin, right? Distant or otherwise. Our family tree is a mess.” Both laughed a little at the notion.

While Akeno’s laugh was calm and refined, Azazel’s was booming and uncontrollable. “That is what we get for having God as a Father. Or in your case, Grandfather.” He saw the moment the information caught up with her and laughed harder. “Don’t be like that, Lucifer was also a Son of God. Which also makes him your uncle. If that is an honor or not for a devil, that is up to you to decide.” He concluded with a small wink.

Amused and with her spirits a little higher, Akeno shook her head and controlled herself. “That woman… I didn’t even ask her name. I was being a bit of a brat.” She acknowledged easily in highsight. “Can I talk with her personally?” The man winced. “Did something happen?”

If anything the question only made Azazel feel worse but the man was the Governor General of Grigori and wasn’t going to be cowed by his niece or by his own mistakes.

Taking a deep breath the Cadre prepared himself for the potentially worse confession he would ever have to deliver. A really deep breath that took far longer than it should considering a man of his size.

But he was a fallen angel powerful enough that breathing was unnecessary so in reality the man didn’t know when it was the appropriate time to speed sucking air or maybe was just stalling for his own benefit.

His niece had just called him family after all and Azazel didn’t have many of those around anymore, at least not those he had some sort of relationship with since most of the time he remained the distant leader.

All that crossed his mind until he let out all the air he had taken in slowly, still stalling.

“Thanks for giving me a moment.” Akeno’s brown arched at the words as she patiently waited. “If we are going to have a good relationship, I think starting it with a lie is a terrible idea so here we go.” Fiddling with his hands for a moment, Azazel slapped them together and lowered his head in apology. “Sorry, that was your father!”

He spoke too fast and was almost hard to understand. “What did you say?” However the disbelief in Akeno’s tone showed it was clear enough.

Still he owned her a story, however short. “My brother wanted to help you… To spend time with you.” Licking his lips, the man bit the bullet. “So to make sure he could at least have some contact I gave him a voice modulator and had him controlling your training room.” There, he had done it. “I mean, I even gave him a fake name to give you and had a fallen angel with a similar voice on standby just in case you wanted to meet her personally but it never came up but, well, all lessons before were from my brother.”

Azazel didn’t dare to call Baraqiel her father, not yet at least and especially not when he feared the fury the young woman before him could unleash. Fact was he had tricked her, manipulated the situation to make it more bearable for his brother and it wasn’t fair if he at least didn’t come clean.

Preparing himself for the worse, the Cadre finished his confession. “Don’t blame him for that, it was my idea. If you want to throw some Lightning at me then I can’t blame you.”

“Fufufufu.” He was expecting hell and feminine fury, not a barely restrained laughter. “Is that why people call you Scapegoat? Because you make a habit of taking everyone’s faults?”

“Thinking for a moment, maybe?” After thousands of years he can barely remember why the name stuck. Not what concerned him in the present. “Aren’t you upset?”

“Oh, more than you can imagine. Still debating on taking your offer or not.” Lightning sparking around her body for a moment. “But no, I am not going to throw a hissy fit or anything like that because, in highsight, it makes sense.” The Lightning retreated and her genuine smile returned. “You are the kind of person that cares about your brother, all your siblings. Maybe if I haven’t asked anything then this could have ended in nothing but you even offered the truth, free of charge.”

“I wouldn’t say free of charge. I just don’t want you to not be mad at Baraqiel.” Confessed Azazel.

Something that Akeno expected and even nodded in agreement. “Well, I don’t think I can grow madder with him than I was but still don’t like how you two tried to play me.” A finger rested on her cheek as she let out a dramatic sigh. “Perhaps ‘play’ is too strong of a word but ‘trick’ can still qualify.”

“Again, my idea.”

“That he agreed to.” Akeno wasn’t letting him get away with anything, much to his remorse. “Noble intentions aside, if my… father isn’t going to respect my space then he must be punished, don’t you agree?” Azazel failed in replying, too stunned over how easily she said the word ‘father’. “Let’s see~ Hum, I think not talking to him was punishment enough but remember, keep him away until I am ready.”

Nodding quickly, Azazel planned to do just that. “Right, sure. Don’t worry. Baraqiel will be working with a VIP for a while and will be going wherever he wants to go. Maybe he will drop by Japan, the VIP likes to visit places like that,” Akeno gave him a challenging look, ”but- but, odds are that you won’t ever see them even if they drop by Fuyuki.”

That statement made Akeno doubt him a little. “Why did you say that?”

“Because your father is going to do everything for you to forgive him.” Azazel replied confidently. “Niece, you have no idea how much guilt he feels over all that happened. No idea. If you wanted to see him or were a hostage for the devils in any way there would be no peace treaty that would stop him from leveling the Underworld to find you.” He meant every word too. If anything, the person stopping Baraqiel from finding his daughter was himself. “I will explain to him that you aren’t ready yet and everything is gonna be just fine. I promise”

“I think you are jinxing us with that promise.” Either way Akeno was ready to accept the promise.

“Murphy Law and all that. Yeah, I know.” Azazel wasn’t there when the guy had the idea but when he first heard it the Cadre facepalmed and acknowledged that Murphy Law made too much sense to not be a thing. “Still, for you, my brother will move the heavens and earth. Until you are ready you won’t see a hair if you don’t want to.”

“Great. Also you can’t tell anyone I am a True Hybrid.” That was what made the man hesitate. “I am serious, Azazel.”

“‘Azazel’? What happened to ‘uncle’?” He sounded a little depressed.

With a small smile, Akeno explained. “After the stunt you pulled you will have to earn the title again.” Then her face turned serious again. “Jokes aside, my true nature must remain a secret. There is no knowing how the Ancient Devils will react to it. Or at me staying as Rias’ Queen.”

Considering everything the man had to admit her caution was warranted. “Can’t I tell your father?” Azazel asked carefully, making her pause before shaking her head. “Right then, won’t tell anyone the truth but you have to be careful if any other True Hybrid pops up.” Akeno’s confusion was evident so he sighed. “If another shows up and isn't properly Reincarnated, or worse, suddenly stops being devils and reveals their true nature, it won’t take long for everybody to suspect you are hiding your own.”

She waved his concerns away. “Most will think I was just a fallen angel.”

“With Holy Lightning and as powerful as you are? No they won’t. You just need a paranoid old bastard to raise the alarm and people are going to ask questions. Uncomfortable questions.” Her lack of concern was starting to worry him until he remembered something. “You are using your Holy Lightning, right?”

Akeno’s playful smile made a grand return. “Not yet~”

At that point Azazel knew that no matter what he asked Akeno wasn’t going to give him a straight answer about her own nature and how comfortable she really was with it. Experience told him that wasn’t uncommon, she was just coming with terms with everything and her powers were part of the process.

“Fair enough.” He decided to let go quickly, making Akeno pout. Obviously she wanted him to put up a fight. “Still, what about ‘uncle’? I was looking forward to being the cool uncle for a change.”

“Fufu, sorry but you are going to have to work for it.” She turned around and quickly grabbed one of the swords.

The boundary field fell fast and Azazel barely noticed. “I never get to be the cool uncle. That just isn’t fair.” Then he noticed the echo around the lab and how everyone looked at him in silence. “You all heard that, didn’t you?”

“Yep.” Shirou elected to reply as Medusa turned a page loudly. “And you aren’t cool enough to be the cool uncle.”

“Right?” Akeno added playfully as the sword in her hand disappeared.

Matters were made harder for the Cadre when every devil in the room nodded in support. Were they trying to suck up to Shirou or just backing up Akeno he didn’t know but the fallen angel was sure he couldn’t win.

Surrender was Azazel’s only option. “Father must be laughing wherever He is.” He was pretty sure of it.

Akeno had already moved on from her uncle and returned to her friends. “Thanks for the privacy.”

“No problem.” Shirou nodded confidently. “Did you let everything out?”

“Not everything.” Admitted the ravenhead. “But what I needed.”

Then Xenovia came around and embraced Akeno’s shoulders. “Does that mean we need to make a schedule while we share? Or are we going to sleep with Master at the same time?” The Mage let out a groan as the Queen freely smiled and devils and fallen angels alike glared at the redhead. “Ah, we also have to talk with Rias about it, right? She was the first so she got dibs.”

While watching Shirou squirming was always fascinating for her, Akeno wasn’t going to mislead Xenovia. “Unfortunately my relationship with him isn’t at that level yet.”

“Thank the stars!” Azazel praised, earning him a glare from his niece.

“We are taking things slowly.” She concluded while looking at Xenovia.

“Gotcha. Just tell me when you want to spend the night with him.”

“Do I get any say in this?” Shirou managed to ask and both girls looked at him, amused. “Guess not.”

“Glad that is over but we have more things to discuss, more practical things.” Azazel started quickly before he was pushed out of the conversation entirely. “My niece just revealed to me she wanted to change her training and, as the cool uncle I am-”

"Trying to be.”

“-I want to know how I can help.” Azazel ignored Liz even if his face didn’t hide his surprise at her interruption.

The maid couldn’t help herself. While she didn’t know anyone who could be classified as ‘cool uncle’, Maya was always called the ‘cool aunt’.

“Well~ I don’t know if you can help with this. Actually I need to talk with my new instructor first to see what she thinks.” Reasonable enough that had everyone nodding in acceptance, the whole room was shocked when Akeno marched towards Medusa and said. “So, what does my goddess have for me?”

None other than said goddess herself. “Wait, what?”

Akeno couldn’t help but find the confusion on Medusa’s face absolutely endearing. “Oh, but my lady, your instructions were fundamental for me to reach victory.” She made sure her tone was as posh as possible. “Not only that but your wise words were my guide in my time of need-”

“You are teasing me.” Closing the book, Medusa turned to challenge Akeno only to watch as the Queen sat in a seiza, making sure she was smaller than the goddess. The shift was sudden and with the previous words everybody knew it wasn’t a joke. “Why?”

“You are a goddess, aren’t you not?” Akeno lowered her head with a smile, hands touching the ground. “I am just showing you the warranted respect.”

Medusa froze for a moment but just a moment. “You don’t need to do this. All I did was give a little advice. You reached the proper conclusion and found your own path.”

“Doesn’t mean that I shouldn't be grateful. Nor that you don’t deserve to be treated as the goddess you are.” A sad look took over Akeno’s features with a gentle but similar smile. “You aren’t used to this, are you? Being worshiped?"

A heartbeat later the goddess looked like an animal searching for an escape route. “Why would anyone worship me? I am a goddess of nothing.”

“I wouldn't say that. You are a goddess of Beauty-”

“One of hundreds.”

“Snakes-”

“More like a monster.”

“And better than most gods out there because you know us monsters.” Akeno's words shocked the whole room but her eyes were only on Medusa. “Being a monster doesn’t make someone bad, nor did you who became one to protect your family.” She waved at herself. “Do you like my clothes?”

“This again? I already answered that question.” Medusa was happy to just change the subject.

“But as a goddess to a faithful, do you like these clothes?” Medusa was stunned into silence. Akeno gave her a moment before shrugging her shoulders. “Well?”

“Those are- they are Japanese in origin.” Finally the goddess took a hold of herself. “And I am not a Japanese goddess.”

“Hum~ I disagree with that. You were brought from another culture to our land and spent a good time there helping more than harming.” Akeno sounded quite smug. “Isn’t that how gods move around?”

“Usually it is like that, yes.” Said the person who brought her and by Medusa’s glare she didn’t appreciate Shirou’s input. “Does she get extra points when a person of the land brings her home.”

He asked Azazel who, while confused, chuckled before replying. “Are points followers or something? Perhaps a couple of myths? ‘The Gorgon Queen and the Island Invasion’?” The goddess glare intensified but he didn’t care. If his niece wanted dMedusa flustered that's what she was going to get. “Traditionally it should be a merchant ship or someone who studied her proper means of worship who should bring her to a new land.”

“I studied her during the trip back to Japan, does that count?”

“You were just asking me questions, my protector!”

The redhead shrugged. “Isn’t questioning the basis of any study?”

“That- I-”

“Medusa-sama.” Akeno sounded more respectful than anyone else ever heard her be. “I would like to pray for you, if you don’t mind.”

Immediately the goddess’ mind went to other matters. “I am not taking the Throne of Heaven.”

“That is fine.” Akeno replied swiftly. “Devil, remember? I am not praying to God or the Goddess you are going to be.” There was a faith there, a belief Medusa could do it. More so than the goddess had in herself. “But to the goddess you are today.” The Queen concluded gently, touching one of the girl’s small hands. “So, if you don’t mind, can I believe in you?”

Sobering up faster than she expected, Medusa’s amethyst eyes focused on Akeno’s violet. “Are you sure that is what you want? It would be just you, not enough to call it a religion.”

Akeno shrugged her shoulders again. “We have to start somewhere.” Then Medusa’s grip in her hand grew tighter and she tried to pull the ravenhead to her feet. “Huh?”

“Stand up, I don’t like people kneeling.” That was the Olympian way, not hers. Either way Akeno did as commanded with a small smile. “... I confess that I never had to do this. Sure I had followers but that was with my sisters and they… they were better at this guidance thing.”

“Oh, I don’t know~ You certainly know your stuff. Especially about fighting.” Giving Medusa something she couldn't deny clearly helped with her confidence but Akeno wasn’t done. “Anyway, as your priestess I will help you in any way I can. One step at a time.”

Blinking quickly, Medusa managed to react before anybody else got a word in. “You are my priestess now? Don’t remember giving you the job.”

“Since when do gods appoint their faithful? As far as I know, most of the process is amongst ourselves.” Akeno mused whimsically. “Same way when a woman decides to become the knight of a stubborn fool.”

“Preach on, sister.” Xenovia said loudly, making some of the room laugh even as others stared at the event nervously.

Medusa didn’t know what to do but deep down in her Core she felt something click. Like a piece of a puzzle that was missing, Akeno’s sincere words and real devotion became part of a picture she didn’t know was there. That the purple haired goddess couldn’t see but knew for a fact it was more complete.

Either way, her course was set. “The first ones... The first one, I shall name.” Medusa said loudly, power being carried in each syllable. “Henceforth you shall be Himejima Akeno, High Priestess of Medusa and my Representative in all matters.” There was a shock in the area, almost like a silent explosion had shook the world but only in that room. “When you speak and I say so, you speak for me. When I command, I expect it to be done. In return… In return I shall teach my ways. To hunt… to think… to feel in manners only we can comprehend.”

A warm feeling raced on Akeno’s arm and made its way to her chest, her senses told her it was a fraction of Medusa. Be either power or mana she was unsure but the hybrid let it in and connected with the deep of her being.

Her own soul sang and if her true wings opened for all to see they would have witnessed something majestic.

Akeno could feel the change, the completion of her being in a way that only pure angels would be able to describe.

And would still fail for it was beyond description.

“I hope you are ready.” Medusa continued with a confident smirk which would fit perfectly a predator or a warrior ready to march for war. “My protector informed me more than once that I can be really demanding when I want to.”

“Goody. Feel free to punish me if I am too bad.” Akeno just couldn’t help herself.

Medusa felt an eyebrow twitch and saw the Queen’s smile grow larger. “You do realize that is a thing gods do, right?”

With a flourish of her hand Akeno placed it below her bosom and lowered one knee slightly. “But you are a merciful and kind goddess. I am sure any punishment will be fair and perhaps enjoyable.”

A part of Medusa made her lick her lips, much to her surprise. “Perhaps.” Immediately it was gone, much to the goddess’ confusion. “Or I can just make a rule that you can’t tease me.” Akeno’s pout was all the answer she needed and Medusa quickly felt bad about it. “Just don’t do it too much.”

Her smile returned swiftly and Akeno repeated the previous gesture. “Yes, milady.”

“And no ‘lady’ either. For some reason I never felt comfortable with that title.” Admitted a pensive goddess. “It feels right but at the same time, not.”

Clapping his hands, Azazel took a confident step forward. “Well, congratulations either way, for the creation of a new religion. Or the return of a old one.” He chuckled at the thought of such a thing starting in the Underworld of all places. “You know you would have way more followers if-”

“Akeno, as my High Priestess, if Azazel finishes that sentence, send a storm in his direction.” Her tone was flat and devoid of mercy.

Contrary to Akeno who sounded all too eager to carry the order. “As my goddess commands.”

Stepping back a little, the Cadre raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. Got the message loud and clear. Still, congratulations are in order, niece.” His smile was as playful as it was mischievous. “Now everyone gets to call you the Pope of your own religion.”

“I hope you two are ready for the responsibilities of it.” Shirou decided to add his own input. “Creating dogmas, writing rules, holding masses to get new faithful.” By the looks of things Akeno hadn’t considered any of that yet. “I mean, it won’t be just you two, right?”

“What do you mean, my protector? You are part of it too.” It was Medusa’s turn to smile playfully.

“Wait, what?” Dread filled his being.

“But of course. You are my protector and part of my Legend. Surely you belong in it too.” Her beautiful smile looked more like a venus trap to the redhead. “Maybe not on the same level as my High Priestess but you are part of it, one way or another.”

Shirou blinked and let out a sigh. “I won't get a say in it, will I?”

“Nope.” Her redhead protector properly cowed Medusa’s attention turned to her newly appointed High Priestess. “We also need to change those garbs.”

Immediately Akeno was on guard. “What is wrong with my outfit?”

“Enough gods already use it in your- our land. I want something for myself. In different colors at least, perhaps with more freedom of movement.”

Perhaps it was pride that had Akeno defending the traditional vests of a miko. “The hakama is perfect for mobility and protection against the elements.”

“Protection yes but it needs more mobility. Or didn’t you want me to teach you how to fight.” She held her dress to how there was nothing binding it to her legs, giving her perfect movement. “Then you better get ready to fight like a snake.”

“What exactly does that mean?” One of the devils asked another in a whisper but the Goddess of Snakes heard him loud and clear.

“That flexibility and speed are essential. To chase, to hunt, to bite and devour as a proper serpent should. Consider that my first Commandment.” Her eyes bored into Akeno’s own and the ravenhead could already tell that the training would be painful.

She gulped hard but wasn’t going to retreat even as something told her, ‘Why suddenly I feel that I should have taken gymnastics when I was younger.’

“Can I read your Bible when you finish writing it?” Xenovia asked with obvious interest and a boundless enthusiasm that froze Medusa.

“Bible?” The purple haired goddess managed to ask as Azazel held his laugh back just barely.

“Of course. You need a way to spread your word and rules. I was always interested in reading the wisdom of other gods and now that I am not part of the Church anymore it is kinda interesting.” Then the former Exorcist blinked and turned to Azazel. “Is that still called a Bible when it is for other gods or it is just for God?”

“Meh, works well enough. Even if it is more a combination of thousands of texts from hundreds of people.” Azazel started with a shrug. “Father began the whole thing with… messages through dreams? Sorry, I had Fallen already at that point so I only have conjecture. If you want more, get Michael.”

While he kept an eye on the mess that was the development of the original Bible and its subsequent iterations, Azazel stopped paying attention when one thing became clear: Free Will meant even God’s Word could be distorted.

As someone once stated ‘the Bible wasn’t sent from the Heaven’s by fax’. Its texts were written by human hands, sometimes with God’s guidance sure, but for the most part by just human hands alone.

Those could lead to a plethora of things to ruin how the texts, excluding the letters and other parts of it which were more personal, should be written. And they did, some for interest, others for malice, others because they didn’t know better. People had their own opinions and since God couldn’t touch on Free Will those got priority over dreams.

It didn’t matter how harsh was the glare Medusa threw in his direction either, he saw it was cute more than anything anyway, there was little that he could do. “Glaring at me won’t help you. It was the sort of book that was written over hundreds of years and technically it is still being written.” He shrugged again to accentuate his point. “So yeah. Or you could go Father’s route with the Commandments and write everything yourself.”

Went unsaid that even those were objects of contention in some sects.

However the point still remained since they were the most consistent part of the Abrahamic religions. Altered or not, even if not word for word, all of them had the Commandments in a way or another.

Suddenly the prospect of leading a new religion for herself looked extremely dreadful. “Crude.”

“Ah~ Even your curses are adorable.” Azazel couldn't help himself.

"My Priestess.” The roar of Thunder was the reply.

When it came to Azazel, goddess and priestess were in sync.

…..

Of all the rooms in the Vault of Prosperity there was no doubt that Medusa’s was the largest one with two floors for her to use and adjusted to her preference once the goddess took her time to say what she wanted.

It wasn’t just books, of those there were many anyway with titles exotic in any dimension, but there were some bars and posts to simulate trees mixed at a high temperature that could be classified as uncomfortable.

For many beings that weren’t snakes at least. Those filled her room almost completely, serpents of every size starting from a simple garden snake to a giant python capable of swallowing a child whole.

All of them purple, all of them with amethyst eyes and all of them creations of the goddess who took her time giving life, power and intelligence to all of them. Over the last month Medusa even released some in the forests around the Gremory to see how her ‘little ones’ dealt with the Underworld's fauna.

Suffice to say many died while others were thriving since unlike Fuyuki were they measly camouflage abilities could assure their survival in a city, the predators in the Underworld didn’t take kindly to invaders.

While the deaths of her creations bothered Medusa, that was the law of the jungle and she wasn’t going to seek vengeance of any sort. The goddess just made the next snakes she created stronger before sending them out while using the weaker ones to either watch over the Vault or keep her company.

Most days she receives news, a sort of telepathic pulse, with the deaths or triumphs of her creations but those weren’t the kind of followers that Medusa needed to worry or even care about.

Despite no longer being a part of her power, those snakes were still Divine Beasts even if not the strongest ones. With a command she could have them jumping, attacking or destroying themselves even if she was dimensions away or ignored them for centuries while they reproduced.

As part of her Domain, even their offspring would obey the Goddess of Snakes above else as they weren’t neither strong nor smart enough to break free from her grasp even after thousands of generations.

Always loyal, always following their instincts and living their best life. That was the Fate of Medusa’s snakes unless she said otherwise or something else cut their lives short.

Obviously the same thing wouldn't apply to worshipers, those who had Free Will and chose to follow her for reasons Medusa herself failed to comprehend. Even if at the moment she only had one.

Cue to her current dilemma. “Naaaarh! What an annoyance!” The snakes watched as their ‘mother’, she didn’t like being called that, ripped a sheet of paper from a notebook before crumbling it and throwing it in an already full thrash bing. “Fuuuuuu, this is just impossible.” Medusa slammed her forehead on the table, frustrated.

The snakes turned to each other before turning to the oldest of them, their leader per their ‘mother’ orders and the one who receives reports from all the other snakes about the comings and goings on the Vault of Prosperity before informing the goddess about anything relevant.

So far there was nothing but the idea was new and one that Medusa planned to implement in Fuyuki once she got back anyway. If that particular snake would keep its job or be released before her departure was for the goddess to decide but it would accept any decision regardless.

All of them lived for the ‘mother’ and all cared about her well being so they all were obviously concerned and defaulted to their leader to do something.

And something it did, moving towards its creator until arriving at the desk where she was working before lifting its body enough to look Medusa in the eyes. Its forked tongue and hiss expressed concern not only for itself but for all of its brethren and to garner the goddess attention.

Medusa turned to the snake, fixed her posture and began to pat its head. “Sorry for worrying you, little one.” Another hiss was the reply. “For worrying you all. I apologize.” She scratched its chin, earning a pleasant hiss. “Ah, if only others were just like you. Then again, that is hardly fair. You were once part of me.”

Their birth began as training to test her limits, something Medusa realized she needed to understand ever since the Kokabiel’s stunt. Her home back in Fuyuki and all the neighborhood was full of snakes who kept to themselves and by extending her will Medusa could see all the area.

It wasn’t enough and not even close to what she needed. Being able to create an army was useless when the army was mostly weak unless she poured a lot of energy in them. Energy she wouldn't be able to use herself if an enemy went for her and the kind which would be hard to hide as the more she poured the bigger the snakes got.

Bigger and smarter. The one she created to fight weeks ago in the Gremory Castle was one of the smartest snakes she ever gave life to. It could plan, observe and anticipate her orders even when she was too busy to give a command. Pity it was dead but again that was the law of the jungle.

Throughout her weeks in the Vault, every night Medusa created more snakes, trying to make them smaller but wiser without putting too much power in them. She also tried to adjust other characteristics like eye and scale color without much success while venom seemed to be missing from her arsenal.

Still they were perfect followers, obeyed every order without hesitation or question and once she cut them loose, let them live their own lives, the goddess knew they would still follow her teachings regardless.

The same couldn't be said about her new worshiper and those that may come after. “If only things were simple.” A questioning hiss interrupted her musings. “Sorry little one, I was just thinking about Akeno and other possible followers that may join you… or be part of our cult?” A frown quickly marred her face. “No, I don’t like that word, ‘cult’. Religion is still better.” Still the first snake she created in the Vault remained concerned. “How do I put this? My beliefs are engraved in your being. She doesn’t share that because I didn’t create her, she chose to follow me.”

Suddenly all the snakes in the room hissed in irritation or pleasure at the news someone else recognized the ‘greatness of their mother’. While Medusa could capture all her creations’ senses with a little focus, they needed to communicate with each other so it was the first time they heard the news.

However that wouldn't do. “Silence.” She didn’t need to be vocal but it was easier and the snakes all stopped hissing to stare at her. “Yes, she is now… one of us. In a sense. She is also different.” And that was both a boon in a curse from what Medusa could feel.. “Perhaps others will join her in the future. But since they aren’t born from my power, they need other means to understand my intentions. To receive my guidance.” Tapping the papers in her desk, the goddess tried to focus on thema again. “So I must write laws for them and make sure they are the best to express my interests while looking for their well being.”

Once more the oldest snake hissed loud and all the others grew quiet while Medusa stared at her oldest creation in the Underworld. It expressed its concerns, as best as a snake could, all the while giving her the pros and cons of having ‘two legged’ join their ‘nest’ as the snakes turned to call it.

Despite understanding every word, Medusa needed a minute to process everything and nod her head. “Regardless, I have already accepted her and won’t change my mind.” With a hand on her chest, now entering the realm of A cup as the girl grew a little, the goddess closed her eyes in contemplation. “Besides, something changed again. It was not like last time I found a piece that was missing but… Like a new piece had fitted in place. A piece that didn’t exist before.”

There were other reasons as well, reasons that made Medusa both embarrassed and pleased at accepting Akeno and starting to spread her religion. The first effect presented itself right after they all went to dinner.

When Akeno started to thank for her food, Medusa found herself hearing the prayer more clearly than ever before. She did nothing different and yet there was more than just a simple costume or habit nor was something the goddess ever experienced when she shared followers with her sisters.

Like if her priestess had spoken the words with such an intent that they came out with some sort of melody that was only for her.

For the first time since she could remember Medusa had a prayer, however small, reach her Core.

A true representation of Faith that Akeno offered without expecting anything in return and just to show how thankful she was for Medusa for reasons the goddess still couldn’t understand.

But it was a nice feeling, a real nice feeling that strengthened her Core in new ways that had nothing to do with her Authorities. It was instead her existence as a goddess that grew and she now could understand why so many gods fought wars to keep their followers. It was a rush, a power source that she never had the chance to tap while sharing with her sisters but now it was all hers.

What she didn’t know was that Akeno’s existence as a True Hybrid combined to her ascension to priesthood also had an effect but Medusa would suspect something like that sooner or later.

‘And if I took the Throne of Heaven. All those prayers…’ Now that she knew the rush, the thought was an appealing one. However Medusa quickly mastered herself and dismissed the idea, the image of Athena popping in her mind. ‘Is she the original goddess or just her enemy.’

Pushing past the fog of insanity Medusa remembered that Athena needed her help with something. Be either to gain more power by their union or perhaps to turn Medusa into a weapon of some sort the purple haired goddess didn’t know. All she knew was that she wasn’t dragging anyone into her fight.

Scratching her oldest creation on her head, Medusa pondered what the Goddess of War could have planned. “I won’t return to Greece anyway but forgetting about Athena is folly.”

A good reason as any to be prepared and if getting more worshipers was going to help her Medusa was all in for it.

She wasn’t planning to have any of them fight, if there was even a fight for she didn’t know her fellow goddess intentions, but the Goddess of Snakes was going after every other advantage she could get.

And for that she needed to set some rules straight or let her followers do it for her. “At least I had a decent start…”

Two rules were all she managed to write after dinner, the whole process lasted five hours so far to culminate on just these two rules: don’t harm a snake unless it attacked first and don’t tease people about their size.

In Medusa’s opinion, it was a great start. “Maybe I should just copy whatever God used. If I do end up getting His job-” A knock on the door interrupted her musings, hers and every snake’s head turning towards it before her eyes moved to the clock in the wall. “Huh, a little late.” A hiss from the oldest snake warned of danger but she shook her head. “No, I think I can guess who it is.”

With a wave of the goddess hand the door opened and all the snakes watched the tall and muscular man take a step into the room as the oldest snake positioned itself for Medusa to sit in his center, both giving him a better position to extract her if needed while giving her a more intimidating position.

Sure enough, thanks to the oldest snake, Medusa was sitting one full head taller than the man who was standing at his full height and hit two meters of height. To every snake in the room he cut an intimidating figure but not to Medusa who, thanks to her little ones, already knew the man was going to show up sooner or later.

Immediately after entering the room, the man kneeled. “Lady Medusa.”

“Baraqiel. Earlier than I expected.” Her eyes shifted to the clock for a moment before returning to the Cadre. “Late hour aside. Good for you I wasn’t sleeping or else I would be very cross at this moment.”

“My apologies but this is the only hour I feel safe coming to this floor.” Baraqiel lowered his head further. “I do not know if you are aware but my daughter-”

“She doesn’t want to see you just yet, I know.” Medusa studied the fallen angel carefully. In her reduced state the man could still annihilate her before any alarm could be raised. Not that he would but she couldn’t help herself. “Are you here because of recent developments?”

“Yes.” Admitted Baraqiel, his head still low.

Not unexpected by Medusa. “Her goddess or not, I find that forcing people to do something which they don't desire is a fast way to make enemies. You must be aware of that.” The words were said with little sympathy. “So don’t ask me to force her to spend time with you nor to let go whatever anger holds her heart.”

“I would never, my lady. My daughter’s decision… I will respect it and wait for her, however long it takes.” His voice was sincere and carried all the love of a father who just wanted to embrace his little girl. It was also full of guilt for Baraqiel was also struggling with his own demons born of what he perceived was his failure. “Neither do I have any problems with her following you.”

“Or, is that so? I would have thought someone like you was still a little devoted to his Father as you Fell for your family.”

“True but perhaps one day you shall be our Mother, perhaps not.” The second part was said quicker to avoid Medusa’s irritation. “Yet when we Fell, we did so to follow our own hearts and desires. If you are the goddess that my daughter wants to follow, I shall accept it, Mother or not…” For the first time their eyes met and Medusa saw the similarities between father and daughter. “On the contrary, I am here to offer my services if you so desire.”

The wording felt odd to Medusa and her instincts quickly clarified what was the problem. “Services but no devotion?”

Baraqiel lowered his gaze again. “You are right. Deep down I am still one of my Father’s angels. I just… Unless you become Mother, I cannot, shall not, worship you as I once did Him.” Then his eyes met hers again. “However, that doesn’t mean I can’t be of use to you. All I ask is that you help me keep my daughter safe.”

For years his failure gripped his heart and Baraqiel wanted to do something, anything, to avoid tragedy repeating itself in any way he could. As Akeno didn’t want his presence in her life, there was little he could do until that moment, the moment his daughter found a goddess to follow.

Still, said goddess didn’t understand what he wanted. “She is to be my High Priestess once I have more worshipers. Hardly a position that will be sent to wars and such.”

“But it can happen. The World is a big place, full of dangers and I have no doubts you will have enemies and won’t be able to defeat them yourself.”

For she was a reduced goddess, both knew that. “And is it for those fights you are offering your services for?”

“That and more if you want but I have one request.” Joining his hands together, Baraqiel’s head slammed the floor, completely prostrating himself to Medusa. “Please, give my daughter power.”

“Power?” Obvious confusion filled Medusa’s tone. It wasn’t an unreasonable request and something she was already planning to do in a sense. “That isn’t a problem. I was already going to teach her better energy manipulation and how to channel her Elements like a god would.”

That wasn’t enough for Baraqiel knew the true extent of what a god could give if they so desired. “As her goddess, you can give her blessings beyond her lessons, comprehension of things above mortal comprehension, Divine Artifacts capable of Miracles-”

“Let me stop you right there!” Medusa’s fury was palpable and her oldest little one raised her higher while the other snakes glared at the intruder in their sanctum. “The last Artifact I had, the one thing made from my sisters’ and my power, is gone. Already used to make my Gift to my protector.” Relaxing on her seat, the goddess calmed down while the man remained silent. “I am sorry but I know no method to just empower someone that wouldn’t involve giving them my blood and that isn’t happening.” It wouldn't be safe either for her or Akeno.

But Baraqiel already expected that hesitation and Medusa’s lack of knowledge of what she could do. “Then give me a Quest.”

“A Quest?” Something inside her shivered, something pleasant. “What is this Quest you speak of?”

“A mission, a job, something nobody had done before or that can be done in your service.” Calmly explained the fallen angel. “Through a Quest I can either collect ingredients or accumulate favors so you can grant me a boon. It can be something simple like killing your enemies or finding a treasure you are missing.”

“My enemies are gods of which if you attack would result in your death at least, outright war at most.” An image of Olympus, Athena, Zeus and Poseidon crossed her mind. While it would be good to get rid of them, she doubted Baraqiel would be able to. “It would be cruel to send you in such a suicide mission.”

“Then ask something else, something hard that nobody ever did. The more difficult the better.” Baraqiel was desperate, the snakes in the room could feel it. “Anything to make sure Akeno is safe.”

Medusa searched deep in herself, in her Core, to try and understand what she needed to give a Quest in the first place. Her Divine instincts told her Baraqiel wasn’t lying and as such she could already send him to do virtually anything. Also, they told her, difficulty was paramount for a bigger reward.

“If I ask for something nobody has ever done before, it will create something greater, correct?”

Baraqiel nodded. “If it is something that benefits you as well then the boon will be better. Other gods confirmed that the more pleased they were with the Quest, the better was the reward they could craft or give.” Obviously the man did his research. “Please, ask for anything and I will see it done, whatever the cost.”

Stopping to think for a moment, Medusa spent a minute debating the pros and cons while Baraqiel remained sitting there, waiting for her judgment. The idea had merit and was something she heard many gods did for a reason or another and it would be lying to say she wasn’t interested.

Journeys of heroes doing great deeds in the name of the gods and earning a reward were a dime a dozen. Sometimes it wasn’t a journey even, just an action in the right place at the right time was enough to earn a more kind god’s boon. Nothing much, just survival or a favor or a healing but still a boon nonetheless.

That explained why Baraqiel wanted something difficult, he wanted something powerful enough to help his daughter who while powerful in her own right wasn’t stronger than the man before Medusa.

He wanted something to close that gap. “Difficult, you said?”

Happy with the question, Baraqiel allowed himself to smile. “Yes milady.”

“Difficulty is relative. To someone of your power, it will have to be a monumental if not annoying task. Do time limits affect Quests?” He nodded and Medusa hummed in thought. “Then the shorter the better?”

“That sounds correct…” Even though he was uncertain, that was fine.

It would add to the difficulty. “You will have until I depart from the Underworld.” She felt power in her words like when she was accepting Akeno. Not much, but enough to prove something was happening. “When I return to Fuyuki the Quest will have failed.”

The man accepted the rule without hesitation. “And the Quest?”

Now Medusa was stuck in a conundrum as she had no idea what to say or any kind of challenge that would be worthy of a fallen angel of Baraqiel’s caliber. Sending him to fight something would be the easiest option but the man was powerful enough that she doubted any opponent she could think of would be a worthy adversary.

She was already debating asking for more time to think on a Quest because no good idea came to mind. Worse yet her Core seemed to reject some of her suggestions.

While Baraqiel remained stoic and said nothing, the snakes in the room watched their goddess with concern as the silence was deafening. Not knowing what the fallen angel was and feeling his power made matters worse for them as they feared he had done something to their creator.

It was just that she didn’t know enough about Quests to give a proper one so Medusa kept going in circles, trying to find the one idea that her mind and soul would accept.

Fortunately Baraqiel suspected as much. “If I may?” Amethyst colored eyes snapped back to reality and she nodded to the fallen angel. “It must be related to your Domain, to your Authorities as a goddess.”

It made sense to Medusa and once he said it was obvious what she wanted to do. Her soul was singing at the new thoughts in her mind, an idea that could help herself and Akeno, her High Priestess even if the title didn’t mean much at the moment. That would change, Medusa would see to that.

“If you need some time-”

“No, you gave me an idea.” The goddess relaxed in her creation’s back and petted its head, pleasing the creature. “Fufufu, it is just a matter if you can accomplish that mission. You certainly have the power to do so but restraint is going to be more important.” Baraqiel remained silent, waiting for the Quest he would only have a little over two weeks to accomplish. “Go around the World and all its dimensions and collect as much venom, skins and scales from snakes as you can manage.”

“‘Skins and scales’?” Surprised, the fallen angel asked just to be sure.

“Yes.” Medusa played with her oldest creation a little before ordering it to place her down. Moving her hair, another snake was born from her locks, smaller than her hand. “Observe.”

Purple mana flowed from the goddess to her new creation and the other snakes sang a mournful song as the small creature began to change shapes until it didn’t resemble a snake anymore but a small purple vase with snake-like images carved in it.

Medusa approached Baraqiel and offered the vase. “Unfortunately it is dead. I dislike using this ability but would have no problems using it on parts discarded by serpents once they grow too much or are unnecessary.” Baraqiel took the vase in his hand, noticing how small it was. “I remember creating something for my protector using my treasure, the only Artifact I had. Over the last few months I felt inspired by his magecraft to Alter objects and worked to repeat my previous feat only to realize I am too weak or too limited to work with anything other than snakes.”

Baraqiel was starting to understand where the goddess was going with that logic. “If I collect enough skin and scales then you can build Akeno an armor similar to the Mage of Swords’.”

“No, I can not.” Medusa shot down that thought immediately. “I can only make pretty things, like my Gift which is the most beautiful jewel on the planet.” The vase was very similar, a masterpiece with no artist. A gift from a goddess. “However, if you do a good job, I am sure it will have special powers. Maybe then it will become armor or maybe it will just give Akeno power. Honestly, I can’t say. Still want to take the Quest?”

“For my daughter.” Replied immediately Baraqiel who looked as determined as before. “I will depart immediately.”

“Calm down, I still need to give you the rules for the Quest. After all, it needs to be difficult and you are a very powerful man.” The reminder was only half playful and Medusa moved to sit down again. Her oldest creation swiftly moved to give her a seat. “First things first, that vase will help you in your Quest. I am pretty sure that it will be able to hold anything that once belonged to a snake and it has unlimited space.” The fallen angel’s eyes grew wide and the goddess chuckled. “Don’t look so surprised. Some sacred gears can do the same, it was from there I got the idea. Only that it is unable to store anything living so don’t try it.”

“Of course milady.” If it was similar to sacred gears then Baraqiel already knew whatever he stored in the vase could theoretically last as long as the vase itself did. “Does this Divine Artifact only work with snakes and their belongings?”

Medusa nodded with a face of frustration. “Unfortunately I am still reduced. Ask again when I am greater.” Then her face recovered some humor. “Now, as a proper rule for the Quest, you can’t kill a snake. Not a single one.” The goddess stated, raising a finger to point at the ceiling. “If you do, and I will know you did, then the Quest failed. You must either retrieve the skins after the snake shed them naturally or find ones already discarded.”

That could be a problem and Baraqiel could see how the time limit suddenly became far more important. “Does any snake work?”

Searching in herself, Medusa immediately found the answer. “Yes but that also depends on how much power you want your daughter to have and how much you are going to give to me.” She motioned around the room to all her creations. “Technically speaking, despite their different sizes and even colors, all snakes here are the same species. If you were to offer me the skins of each and every one of them, it would be worth just one.”

It clicked in the fallen angel’s mind that the challenge was greater than anticipated. “So the more varied the skins I bring, the more power you will be able to use.” Medusa nodded and Baraqiel knew he would search how many species of snakes existed in the various dimensions of their World. The Internet would help with some, not all. “Do their power influence the Quest?”

“The more powerful, or poisonous, or rare, or anything that makes that particular snake special, the better.” Medusa said with certainty, touching her oldest creation again. “That is why my little ones won’t help much; I can make them on a whim so to me their skins aren’t special. If anything they are more of a hassle to clean up.”

At least in the Vault of Prosperity she had help dealing with that but once she was back in Fuyuki Medusa knew she would either have to figure out how to make snakes who didn’t shed their skins or ask her friends for help.

“And Legendary serpents? Do they also count?” Baraqiel’s question surprised Medusa who nodded slowly.

“Of course. Their power would greatly benefit me and Akeno in turn.” Then Medusa felt some clarification was necessary, for her conscience's sake. “I promise you that I will put most of it in the efforts to create something great for your daughter but I can feel in my Core that just taking a little of every snake will make me… more is the only word that comes to mind.”

“As my daughter’s goddess, you don’t need to explain anything to me. Not while she is safe.” There was a threat hidden in the words but the former Gorgon found it more amusing than anything.

While Baraqiel was powerful, Medusa knew any of the 12 Olympians was by far his superior and those were the enemies that perhaps she would have to face someday. Truly she hoped that day never arrived but much like with her thoughts about Athena; not preparing would be folly in the goddess mind.

So she shrugged the threat off. “You can come back whenever you have enough skins.”

“And how many are enough?”

Fixing her braid, Medusa giggled at the question. “That is to your discretion. You can collect only one, come back here and I will do my best. Maybe my soul will consider it enough to call the Quest complete.” She sounded uncertain but honest. “However, quantity has a quality of its own in this case.”

“But quality itself still matters…” Baraqiel finally understood the challenges of the Quest and what the goddess meant with restraint.

On one hand he could, under the rules of not killing any snake, hunt down and collect the skins of the most exotic creatures in all dimensions. With his power it was certainly possible if not easy and would be a simple endeavor if not for the no killing rule.

On the other hand he had a short time limit and he had little knowledge about snakes or even how to get their skins. If he wasted too much time going after that knowledge then he would fail in collecting enough to make a difference but if he rushed it he could end without anything of value.

That meant a bigger challenge which was exactly what Baraqiel wanted from a Quest. His smile grew and he stood up straight like the true soldier he was. “I accept the Quest.”

Medusa blinked, surprised, as she watched the man carefully as he just stood there, waiting for something. “Good luck?”

“Then I shall be going, milady. Thank you for attending to my selfish request.” His eyes gained an edge that the goddess knew belonged to any true warrior. “I shall see you in a couple of days.” He said with a conviction that surprised Medusa even more.

Because while he knew little about snakes, Baraqiel was there during the inception of the moonlit world and knew where to get parts from some of the most dangerous creatures that had ever existed.

And he could kill anything but snakes so the man already had an idea where to get the parts of at least one serpent of considerable power. ‘Just need to not get caught…’

All snakes watched the intrude leave before turning to the goddess who was still wondering where all that confidence came from. “Then again, he is one of the most powerful fallen angels.” Medusa shrugged, deciding that the man would do as he must. “Not my problem anymore.”

Turning back to her paper, Medusa stared at her rules with a frown before letting out a sigh and deciding to go to bed.

Most powerful gods didn’t need to sleep but she wasn’t one of them yet.

…..