Of Foxfire and Cultivation Ch.20 (Patreon)

All throughout Yu Wu’s battle with Xiao Li, Onari had been cycling Qi into NTR’s inner disciples with Senjutsu like a madman. He was doing everything he could to give these women a chance at life. Even as their life was literally sucked out of their body and fed into an egomaniac, Onari never stopped trying.

When energy began to flow back into the woman he was healing, Onari couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. A quick check of the other women around him showed the same phenomenon happening to them as well. He gave each of them another pulse of Senjutsu just to make sure then stood up to check on his fiancee.

He saw Yu Wu striding toward him. He was familiar enough with her mood to feel that she was drained, but satisfied. A glance behind her showed him Xiao Li’s corpse, lying on the stone of the plaza with a gaping hole through her torso.

“Did anyone die?” Yu Wu asked, hurrying the rest of the way to her beloved.

Onari shook his head, “Nope… At least not here. And these women were the ones most at risk.”

The tension in Yu Wu’s shoulders abruptly dropped at the good news, “Thank goodness… Heavens, that bitch was so far gone. Even when she was sucking her peers dry, she only thought she was protecting them.”

“Pride is often a cultivator’s downfall,” Onari said, allowing Yu Wu to bury her head in his shoulder.

“There’s pride and then there’s the level of arrogance that Xiao Li was showcasing…” Yu Wu sighed.

“Yes, love… There is,” Onari simply said.

They stayed like that until the drained women started to stir. A steady stream of NTR disciples had begun pouring into the plaza at some point. They stared, switching between Xiao Li’s corpse and the couple who had freed their sect. Some of the inner disciples recognized Yu Wu when they regained consciousness.

Taking the lead, Scarlet approached Onari and Yu Wu. She bowed deeply once she had their attention. A couple inner disciples followed her, which made the rest of the sect members present begin to follow her lead as well.

Onari and Yu Wu watched the crowd of almost two dozen sect members bow as Scarlet spoke their collective thanks, “Young master, young mistress, this one thanks you for your assistance in our time of need. Surely there must be something we can do to reward your benevolence?”

Yu Wu barely held back a groan, “Scarlet, we’ve already talked about this. I don’t need a reward. Everything I did here was for myself. If you absolutely must do something, look after my mother while she’s in her coma and take care of the sect so she doesn’t come back to an ash-filled legacy. Other than that, you don’t owe me anything. And I’d really like to move on with my life at this point.”

Onari took the opportunity to take out the seal containing Yu Long and unseal her in front of them all. There were gasps from various sect members as they saw their mistress in such a desperate situation for the first time. Tears were shed and multiple women had to hold themselves back from joining Yu Long’s side.

“Just so it’s clear,” Onari said. “We aren’t responsible for Yu Long’s current state. This coma is because of a Heart Demon that has been years in the making. Please do not threaten us with any misplaced anger you may have. We have done everything we can to ensure Yu Long’s survival and return her to her proper place.”

“Of course, young master. You have been more than noble in your efforts to return the mistress to her sect. Surely if you meant us any harm, you would not have gone to such lengths,” Scarlet’s support helped dissuade any of the more rash sect members from acting out of sudden anger.

“Great!” Yu Wu said, clapping her hands together. “Now that that’s settled, we really should be going. We’ve had a long trip and honestly, there’s nothing more we could do here.”

“Ano, young mistress?” one of the women spoke up nervously. “What about the issue of succession? Will you not stand in your mother’s place until she recovers?”

Yu Wu took a deep breath before speaking so she wasn’t glaring at the innocent woman, “Absolutely not. I have already told Scarlet that I am passing my responsibility onto her. I am an outsider after all. Even with my heritage, it would not be right for me to try and rule this sect.”

Scarlet quickly nodded to reassure her fellow sect members, “Young mistress Yu Wu has made her position on taking over the sect, even temporarily, very clear to me. We must support her decision and strive to help ourselves. Mistress Yu Long wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

“Thank fuck that’s settled,” Yu Wu mumbled to Onari before clearing her throat and speaking up, obviously eager to leave. “Well! We really should be going! I wish you all the best of luck. May the heavens shine down upon you.”

Not even waiting for a response, Yu Wu grabbed her beloved’s hand and pulled him away from the plaza. She was all but sprinting as they made their way out of the sect. It may have seemed rude, but Yu Wu was so done with NTR at this point. It was such a trash fetish…

Onari chuckled as Yu Wu pulled him bodily out of the sect. Stretching once they were clear of the barrier, Yu Wu let out a relieved sigh.

“Thank the heavens we didn’t get sucked into that responsibility…” Yu Wu muttered.

“I’m sure it wouldn’t have been as bad as you think, but I definitely agree. C’mon, let’s get out of here,” Onari said, wrapping his arm around Yu Wu’s shoulder.

It was second nature for Onari to weave a teleportation circle at this point. He set the coordinates for Kyoto and prepared to activate it. Before he could finalize the spell however, a sudden ray of light pierced the clouds above them.

The god ray that shined directly on the couple made Onari pause briefly. Just this simple beam of light was packed full of higher concepts. Faith and Holy Light revitalized Onari and Yu Wu’s weary souls. Their cores even drank from the Holy Light slightly, sampling the phenomenon like they were tasting it.

The pious singing of a ghostly choir began to echo from somewhere above and all around them. A figure slowly descended from the clouds, silhouetted against the Holy Light. Twelve large, feathered wings stretched from the figure’s back and, despite the beam of light, a radiant halo revealed itself above the figure’s head.

The figure spoke in a melodious voice, “Be not afraid, my children.”

“An angel?” Onari wondered curiously.

The angel’s descent halted when they were about 10 feet above and in front of Onari and Yu Wu. The ray of Holy Light slowly faded, revealing a vision of absolute beauty. The only way Onari could describe the beauty of the angel was ‘blessed by the heavens’.

There were simply no other words that captured her radiance. She shined with an aura of innocence and purity that was completely at odds with her womanly charms. Rather than detract from her looks, this contrast only seemed to enhance everything else about her.

From her Venus-like body to her doll-like facial features. From her kissable lips to her pillowy thighs. From her grabbable hips to her ludicrously big mommy milkers. Onari was completely taken, smitten, by the angel’s beauty.

“You’ve been a naughty boy,” the angel stated.

Onari’s mind obviously went to… lewder places than the angel’s tone implied, “~Oh yeah? ~Am I going to be punished?”

The angel pouted, “Well, I don’t want to, but if you don’t give back the nuke you stole, I might just have to!”

“~Mmm, ye-... Wait, nuke?!” the angel’s words snapped Onari out of his simping trance.

Yu Wu snickered beside him, prodding his side with her elbow, “Yes, darling, the nuke. You wouldn’t happen to be thinking of anything else, would you? She’s an angel and your mind goes there… For shame, my beloved~”

Onari blushed, “Shut up… Like you were any better…”

“Hey!” the angel shouted, snapping her fingers to get their attention back. “Focus! This is serious!”

Onari tried to ignore the way she almost whined the last sentence, but the cuteness stabbed at his heart, “A-Ahem… Right, focus… Well, first, maybe it would be best if we introduce ourselves. I’m sure we can work out this misunderstanding without any conflict.”

“Oh! I’m sorry! Where are my manners?” the angel said, shaking her head and giving them a beaming smile. “My name is Gabriel. I am one of Heaven’s Ten Seraphs.”

Knowledge of Gabriel’s identity sobered Onari and Yu Wu up quite quickly. One of the Biblical God’s first children was now in front of them. And she had apparently come to see them about the nuke they stole. This seemed to be more serious than they first expected.

“Well met, Lady Gabriel,” Onari greeted. “I am Onari and my lovely fiancee here is Yu Wu.”

“Congratulations! It’s always wonderful to see two young people find love!”

Yu Wu coughed at the soul-melting innocence and genuineness in Gabriel’s compliment, “Y-Yes… We thank you for the kind words, Lady Gabriel. Perhaps we should get back to the purpose of this meeting though.”

“Ah! Of course!” Gabriel gasped before her adorable face turned back into a pout. “You two have been very naughty! What do you even need a nuclear weapon for?”

“Our intentions are pure, Lady Gabriel,” Onari reassured. “We do not intend to cause any harm or destruction with the warhead we stole.”

Gabriel hummed when Onari’s words didn’t trip the lie detector inherent to her being, “Hmm, you speak the truth… But why even steal it in the first place?”

Hearing that Gabriel’s tone had lost a lot of its hostility after verifying that they didn’t have any malicious plans for their stolen nuke, Onari elaborated, “We wanted to… eat it…”

Onari blushed when Gabriel blinked confusedly, “Eat it? Silly Onari, explosions aren’t food.”

Seeing Onari’s blush intensify further, Yu Wu giggled, “What my fiance means by that, Lady Gabriel, is that we intended to consume the energy within the bomb to further grow our strength.”

Gabriel blinked again, this time more surprised than confused, “Well, that is certainly a first. Did… Did it work?”

“It did, Lady Gabriel. Even after absorbing only a fraction of the energy, we have both seen great progress in our strength.”

“And that’s all you plan to do with it?

“Indeed. Like my fiance said, we bear no malicious intent.”

“... You promise?”

“Of course! This young mistress will swear on her name and her immortal soul that her words are true!”

“Well, Father always did preach about forgiveness… And both of your souls are way too pure to conceal something this important from my senses…” Gabriel muttered before raising her voice. “Alright, I guess I’ll let this slide just this once. Father knows that country doesn’t deserve to have nuclear weapons anyway… But! You still have to write an apology letter. One for both of the Koreas. You really worried a lot of people. The Church has had to send in exorcists to cover things up.”

Onari rubbed the back of his head, “Yeah, that’s fair. I’ll try and keep the sonic booms to a minimum in the future.”

In the moment of silence after Onari spoke, an idea suddenly struck Gabriel. She had been rather busy and lonely lately. Even though they were misguided, Onari and Yu Wu seemed rather nice. And they obviously needed a guiding hand to keep them out of trouble. She could take them under her metaphorical and literal wing and turn them away from their mischievous ways!

“Good,” Gabriel nodded. “And I’ll be keeping in touch and visiting you every week or so. I’ve decided you two need my guidance so you don’t go pulling more stunts like this! T-Totally not so I can skip out on work!”

Yu Wu giggled, “We’ll pretend we didn’t hear that last part.”

Gabriel blushed lightly, “... Thank you.”

“So… I guess-” Onari’s words were interrupted by a crack of thunder from the skies above. “Oh, what now!?”

In an instant, the day went from sunny and somewhat cloudy, to full-on overcast with gray clouds as far as the eye could see. There was another boom of thunder and an arrogant laugh echoed out of the clouds. A blinding flash of lightning brighter than the sun illuminated the underside of the cloud cover. As the lightning faded, the figure of a man was revealed, standing on air a couple of meters away from Gabriel, Onari, and Yu Wu.

The man looked to be in his mid twenties and had brownish-blond hair styled in a buzz cut. His height and muscular body type cut an intimidating figure. His mouth seemed to be perpetually set in a cocky smirk that almost invited people to punch him and try their luck.

He wore a pair of dark shades over his eyes. A red dot marked the man’s forehead. Loops of Buddha beads wrapped around his neck, wrist, and ankle. The clothes he wore were almost insultingly casual, topped off by an aloha shirt and bright yellow shorts.

Onari and Yu Wu saw Gabriel tense beside them and prepared themselves for trouble. Their senses cautiously probed the newcomer, trying to gauge the man’s power level. What they felt certainly didn’t make them feel at ease.

On a metaphysical level, the man was immense. He was deep and vast and utterly enormous. His presence felt like the endless skies of the heavens themselves in a humanoid form.

“Lord Indra,” Gabriel greeted politely. “This is certainly an auspicious occurrence. What brings you here today?”

Onari and Yu Wu winced when Gabriel said the stranger’s name. They were both familiar with the name. Indra, King of the Devas and leader of the Hindu pantheon. Had their actions really drawn the attention of such a powerful being?

“Sup, sugar-tits,” Indra dismissively said. Even if he knew it was a terrible idea to fight the god, Onari couldn’t help but get mad on Gabriel’s behalf. “It’s great to see you again. How are things in that false Heaven of yours? Whatever, I don’t actually care. Anyways, I’m not here for you so run along now. I’ve got business with the two cultivators behind you.”

Even as Indra’s insults rolled off Gabriel like water off a duck’s back, Onari could barely contain his anger. Sure, some of it was because he was still somewhat simping for the innocent Archangel, but most of it was because of Indra's unbearably cocky attitude. It may have been deserved because of Indra’s overwhelming power, but it still rubbed Onari the wrong way.

A part of him noted that Indra’s dismissal for Gabriel was a bit like Onari’s earlier disregard for the mortals he had pranked. But pranks and mischief were in his blood, another part of him reasoned. It was hollow consolation though. His prank at the DMZ had still been more punching down than he now felt comfortable with.

Onari recognized that ‘might makes right’ had been a cardinal rule for both of the worlds he had lived in. With his position in his previous life, it was impossible for him to not have internalized that rule. The power he now wielded in this life had only enforced it in an unhealthy manner. And only now, when he was faced with a being so far above him once more, did he truly remember how shitty it felt to be on the weaker end of that rule.

“Surely you can see that they have been reprimanded for their actions in North Korea. I believe I have the situation under control,” Gabriel said. Her tone, position, and posture all screamed protectiveness.

“Ha!” Indra scoffed. “I don’t give a shit that they buzzed the tower on a bunch of mortals or that they stole a nuke. Though, props for that last one, dude. Fucking hilarious. But nah, my business with them is a bit more… personal.”

Gabriel’s wings flared out behind her at that, obviously preparing herself for a fight. She might not be able to win, but she should be able to slow Indra down enough for Onari and Yu Wu to escape. For even if the youths behind her had made some mistakes, it was her duty to protect all of her Father’s creations.

Onari stepped around Gabriel’s wings and laid a hand on her shoulder. Yu Wu was quick to join him. He gave Gabriel what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

“Fine,” Onari said, addressing Indra. “We’re willing to talk. But Lady Gabriel stays.”

Indra shrugged, “Whatever. No skin off my back.”

Gabriel floated behind the couple as they summoned their flying swords and rose to face off against Indra. Onari kept a tight leash on his anger and dislike of the Hindu god-king, but the punchable smirk on his face certainly didn’t help Onari keep calm.

Yu Wu asked something that had been bothering her since Indra first appeared, “How do you even know about us?”

“Skipping all the respect BS?” Indra smirked. “Nice… Anyway, I found out about you two through my Vanguard, Sun Wukong. He’s actually been watching our boy Onari here for years now. He says you two are the most promising cultivators he’s ever seen, not including himself of course, and he finally decided to tell me about you after you pulled that stunt with the nuke.”

Onari tensed at the idea that he had been being watched by a higher being. Sure, he had always known that it was likely. Higher beings had to entertain themselves somehow after all. But having confirmation just felt weird and kinda creepy.

“So… I’m guessing this is the part where you kill us because of our talent? Stop any potential challengers before they can grow strong enough to become threats and all that?” Onari asked rhetorically.

“There’s that cultivator mindset!” Indra laughed. “But nah, not today… I actually have a proposal for you two.”

“Oh? And what would that be?”

“Well, I’ve got this rivalry going on with someone from my pantheon. We’ve been going back and forth for centuries, but now he’s all like ‘I don’t want war’ and ‘I’ve got more interesting things to do’. It pisses me off. Like that brat thinks he’s too good to rumble with his friend like old times…”

“What does this have to do with us?”

“Chill, bro, I’m getting there. So, a couple of years ago, I started gathering an army. I’m gonna take the war to that brat whether he wants it or not. And that’s where you two come in. Wukong seems to think you would make some decent recruits.”

“Why would we even agree to join you?”

Indra looked at him queerly before spelling out his thought process, “You’re cultivators… Cultivators love to fight… I’m offering you training, resources, and worthy opponents… The way I see it, we both win here.”

Onari glanced at Yu Wu, feeling that they were on the same page through their bond. Indra’s offer was good… Like too good. Almost as if it had been drawn up with cultivators in mind. Which, to be fair, it probably had been. But working for a being like Indra didn’t sit right with either Onari or Yu Wu. His attitude was abhorrent. They didn’t trust him at all and the way he had treated Gabriel had certainly done him no favors.

“... And if we refuse?”

“You don’t want to fight a god and his army?” Indra asked incredulously.

Yu Wu shrugged, “Not as we are right now…”

“But that’s what I’m saying!” Indra said, trying to stress his offer. “With my proposal, you can get the training and time to get stronger!”

“If we don’t join you, we’ll have even more time to get stronger. And, when it comes to training, we’ve been doing well enough on our own so far. I think we’d prefer having agency over our own strength. Also, we have no reason to believe you won’t take advantage of the leverage you would have over us if we agreed. You didn’t exactly make the best first impression…” Onari said.

Indra scoffed, “Pfft, whatever, dude. I’m likable as fuck.”

“How about giving us some time to think about your offer?” Yu Wu said, extending a bit of an olive branch.

“Do what you need,” Indra replied, hiding how much he wanted to have the pair of cultivators in his service behind a nonchalant, stoic facade. “Wukong will probably be visiting you soon. Just tell him your answer. I don’t have any more patience for this diplomatic shit.”

Yu Wu nodded, “Understandable. Have a nice day.”

“Damned youths,” Indra chuckled, shaking his head. “Whatever, dude. I’ll catch y’all later.”

Indra disappeared in a flash of light, not even bothering to say goodbye to Gabriel. The hidden tension in Onari, Yu Wu, and Gabriel relaxed.

“Should we have just accepted his offer?” Onari asked, glancing at his fiancee.

Yu Wu pursed her lips, “I don’t know. Maybe… But I definitely think he was hiding something from us. Hundred bucks say he’s not going to just let it go like that if we refuse.”

“That is an astute assessment of Lord Indra,” Gabriel spoke up from behind them. “I believe he means well most of the time, but his methods are not always palatable.”

Onari sighed, “Well, that’s something for us to look out for in the future…”

“I-If you would like, I could grant you sanctuary in Heaven for some time. Lord Indra would not be able to easily reach you there. A-And it would be nice to have some company…” Gabriel hesitantly said.

Onari instantly agreed, “Absolutely! A-Ahem… I mean, thank you, Lady Gabriel. I believe that will be a favorable arrangement for all of us.”

Yu Wu smirked at him, but didn’t say anything. Onari ignored her. Many, many people would kill to spend time with the Archangel Gabriel. He was not going to be a fool and pass up the opportunity. Though when it came to his brand new dream of seducing the Most Beautiful Woman in Heaven… he didn’t know the first place to start.