Is it wrong to Speak in a Dungeon? Chapter 18 (Patreon)

I do not own Danmachi/Jujutsu Kaisen or any other referenced franchise, only my own OCs.

…

…

The woman was blasted out of the room by a powerful punch from Edias, her form flying out of the shrine and into the forestry as I quickly jumped out of the hole in the wall after her.

Hundreds of new signatures quickly began popping up around the city, the negative energy within them several times higher than the average citizen I saw in my brief tour around the Far East. And their power level was not of a normal citizen from what I could ascertain with my Haki.

It seems ‘Yomi’ may have started an invasion. Or at least one of the Far East’s enemies, though I doubt any of them are capable of operating in the dark like ‘Yomi’ seems to have done.

As I fly deeper into the forest after the flying figure of the woman, I notice a storm quickly beginning to brew overhead as several lightning bolts strike down near the Imperial Palace. The darkness of the night sky, which was only enhanced by the storm, was suddenly illuminated by a blinding light enveloping the land from above the palace, it was a blinding sun lighting up every inch of land within sight.

It seems Arashi and Hikari were able to react quite swiftly.

The woman that Edias punched into the stratosphere finally reached the ground, sliding against the earth and a crater was made by her form. I slowly float down towards her with my arms crossed, Edias absent at the moment since she reentered my body to ensure that no one else got a glimpse of her.

“That was quite a strong punch you just endured. You surely cannot be someone unknown with that type of durability. Who are you, I wonder?” I inquire amusedly as her body twitches and she slowly gets up from the crater she’s in, staring at me with an incomprehensible expression.

It was like she wanted to look angry but could only muster a frown and furrowed brows. Her eyes reflected the horror she felt earlier still, glancing around to search for Edias as she could be anywhere. She did not seem as panicked anymore.

“What monstrous entity have you allowed upon the lands of my lady? Do you not understand the depth of all the sins that creature held?” Her voice was grave, with a tone that held both fascination and terror.

“I understand more than you ever could.” She tilts her head with a slight grin of amusement, as if not believing my words thanks to some information I don’t know.

“It matters not. You will not be allowed to live any longer as per my lady’s wishes.” I roll my eyes and open my mouth to reply. Before I could though, my eyes widened as she disappeared completely and I slowly turned my head to my right to look at her apparating form. “Die.”

*CRACK*

I feel my Observation Haki activate too late as I’m blasted away, pain assaulting my senses as I fly through the air.

She moved faster than my Observation Haki! How!?

I quickly catch myself and set myself on the ground, my eyes glancing around with shock before I feel a breeze of wind behind me.

“S-she’s inside of you!?” The woman’s voice utters with shock as I look back and find Edias’s body protruding from my body, blocking an ominous knife from entering my heart.

… She almost stabbed me.

“UNACCEPTABLE!” I roar with anger as a wave of gravity explodes out of me while a familiar purple aura engulfs my entire body. My legs crush the ground under me as I rush at her retreating form, punching at her as she uses her blade to block my attack.

It holds for a moment before cracks begin spreading across the metal, the blackened fist of mine infused with a purple aura quickly shattering the blade. Her eyes widen at the sight of her broken weapon and she’s unable to bring out a replacement in time as I grab her face and slam her into the ground.

I have only a moment to growl before my body explodes in pain once again and I look down to find… some sort of black matter piercing through my gut and lungs. From how big the spikes of darkness seemed, everything in my torso and abdomen was most likely pierced.

Edias pushed energy into me in droves as I hastily stepped away, finding that the black matter receded as soon as I moved away from the woman. She slowly stood up while dusting off her robes, staring at my profusely bleeding form with a feral grin.

“I did not think I’d need to resort to this power to kill you, but it matters not. I’ve successfully carried out my goddess’s will before that annoyance appeared.” She slowly stepped towards me with mirth before pausing as a blinding light streaked through the sky before crashing directly where the woman was.

Hikari’s here…

“YOU!” Her voice thundered. “You have the audacity to attack Kamakura in the middle of the night like this!? You will not survive tonight, Jigoku Youko!” Hikari spoke with such rage and anger, even I was almost taken off guard. The now-named Youko grinned at the glowing woman, raising her fingers to lick it clean of the blood coloring it.

Wait, that’s my blood. Disgusting.

“You’re always too late to the party, Hikari. We’ve already achieved all of our objectives for today.” She smirks smugly and a pillar of black matter slowly lifts her into the air, putting her on equal ground to the glowing and levitating Hikari. The glowing woman, who I now realize has two horns as long as 30 centimeters on her head, turns to stare at me in shock. “I hope you don’t mind how I killed your little guest, my goddess did not seem very appreciative of his existence, you see.”

“Inumaki!” Hikari tried to move towards me but was intercepted by Youko as they clashed blades. A stray bolt of lightning struck the earth a few hundred meters away as I heard screams, Arashi presumably fighting someone else some distance away.

I blink through the pain as the blood loss slowly blurs my vision. The split second I took to blink was apparently enough for Kakusu to suddenly appear in front of me, a serious expression on his face as he looked at me with a stare of regret and pity.

“Oh, get that look off your face old man.” I snarl at the man with annoyance as he almost flinches at my tone. The last bit of black matter that was inside of me dissipates and no longer obstructs my insides, allowing me to call upon Edias’s energy to heal myself.

Kakusu’s eyes widened as the gaping holes in my torso that went all the way through swiftly closed up, the flesh and skin welding together and not leaving even a scar behind. He stares into my eyes with awe as I dust myself off and walk out of the pool of blood and flesh I was standing in.

“W-what…” He mutters speechlessly as I walk past him and towards the clashing Youko and Hikari, the latter looking murderous while the first looking amused.

“Don’t move.” They both suddenly freeze at my command, Hikari adopting an awkward stance mid-swing while Youko’s face was left astonished as I slowly floated up towards her with my weapon in hand.

“I do not appreciate being stabbed through the stomach,” I said calmly. “I will be returning the favor.”

She’s incapable of reacting as my weapon slowly pierces through her gut, the movement so clean my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“She’s substituting her body with her magic! You can’t hit her!” Kakusu yells at me just as my command starts to lose its effect. I watch with surprise as Youko grins and snaps my weapon in half, taking the tip out of her body as it slides out without any trouble. I notice the apparent lack of blood on the polearm as she throws the broken weapon away and laughs at my bewildered face.

“Inumaki Michael, you’re still alive? It seems my goddess was right, this will not be easy.” She grins maniacally and raises her blade at me again, her form blurring in my vision before the sound of metal hitting metal echoes right next to me.

“Ah, Kakusu. It’s been a long time, old friend. How has retirement treated you? I miss our frequent clashes before you passed the torch over to Lady Red Lantern.” Youko snarks with Kakusu as I watch the man physically struggle to hold her back, standing a mere inch away from me and blocking her from stabbing me again.

He was able to react and keep up with her speed? My Haki tells me she’s at least on Hikari’s level, Kakusu should not be anywhere near that level-wise.

He’s fast. Really fast.

“My retirement would probably be a lot sweeter if you just gave up and died, Gashadokuro. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem very likely, so I’ll have to keep being brought back just to deal with you…” Youko cackles at his reply before kicking him away at blitzing speed and diving for me again with her blade, this time intercepted by both my spear and Hikari’s sun sword.

“I’ll make sure to finish up quickly so you can go back to your retirement home then.~” She promises Kakusu with a ‘happy’ smile as she backs off from the clash and blitzes too fast for my eyes to track.

No. It won’t happen again.

I swiftly turn around and swipe my spear downward just in time to intercept her slash, meeting her surprised gaze with a cold, uninterested one of my own. She pivots her foot to try and escape, but I’m already on her as I disfigure the earth she was using and pierce forward while she’s unbalanced.

To my surprise, she doesn’t falter for even a second, her balance perfect as she blocks my pierce and flies away from the force of my attack.

“Hah! You have that annoying sense similar to Hyuuga. How intriguing… and annoying.” She catches herself as a pillar of darkness rises out of the ground and stops her flight, allowing her to rebound and fly back at me while cackling and grinning.

“Do you ever shut up?” I tiredly ask as I block and dodge my way through what felt like hundreds of attacks in the span of a few seconds, parrying away the more serious attacks while maneuvering my body away from the ones easier to dodge.

“Make me, Inumaki Michael.~” She responds with a sultry tone as my eyebrows twitch and I make a gagging noise, flipping in the air and kicking her in the face away from me.

“No thanks, Grandma. You seem to have a history with Kakusu, and I’m pretty sure he’s ancient.” Her face has the smallest twitch before she cackles again and dives in, her attacks a lot more aggressive and precise.

Hit a nerve? Or is she finally taking this seriously?

We bulldoze through the forestry as dozens of attacks fly out from both of our weapons, trampling over many unassuming soldiers from both Yomi and the Royal Court. I notice the familiar blinding light of Hikari following after us desperately, attempting to intercept Youko from attacking me despite my own efforts at moving away from Hikari to continue my fight with the maniacal woman.

Does she never give up? She should uninvolve herself in the battles of others.

I flare my nostrils in annoyance and close my eyes as I flow between several stabs of Youko, dodging them all with difficulty as I feel my Observation Haki work overtime to keep up with her speed.

I never thought I’d have to rely so much on my Observation Haki, but everyone in the Far East has proven to be too much for my normal reaction time thus far. Hikari, Kakusu, Youko, they’re all too fast. My body is only barely able to keep up with their speed, which seems to ultimately be the deciding factor here despite how outclassed they all are in every other aspect.

[... Or that’s just your… arrogance speaking...]

I ignore Edias as Hikari finally blasts between Youko and I, stabbing into the right shoulder of the older woman and flying higher away from the ground to drag her away. The shadows that held Youko up reached for her, but Hikari was too fast and the shadows were left to dissipate as I was left behind.

My ears began ringing as I slowly floated into the air, finding hundreds if not thousands of men and women fighting and killing each other beneath me. They all looked up to see a dark figure battling what seemed to be the sun and quickly began scurrying away while screaming.

“The Demon has already engaged with the Saint! Men, Retreat!”

“Run away! They’ve begun fighting!”

“Watch out! T-THEY’RE COMING THIS WAY!”

My ears continue ringing as the sounds of combat and screaming echo all around me, my body slowly floating through a mist of blood as my eyes grow wider and wider.

Demon? Saint?

Who?

Who are they running from?

Who do they think they should be fleeing from?

Why do the ants fear the mice when the lion stands right before them?

*SSSSSSSSZRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTT!*

“ALL EYES ON ME!”

…

[??? POV]

Youko’s face snarls as she’s forced to deflect yet another of Hikari’s explosive slashes, moving into her darkness and appearing behind the shining Hikari with her blade in hand.

She barely manages to get within an inch of Hikari with her blade before a blinding wave explodes out of her body and knocks Youko away. The heat from the attack burns at her body as she clicks her tongue and downs another fire resistance elixir.

She could not keep going like this. If things keep at it like this, it’ll soon end as a draw just like usual and she won’t be able to finish her objective and eliminate Inumaki Michael before he can escape.

That won’t do.

Kicking away the old coot Kakusu as he clashes against her again, she raises her hands into the air to raise her shadows for cover-

*SSSSSSSSZRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTT!*

A crushing presence descends on the battlefield as Youko’s eyes widen, her legs almost giving in for a moment as she remembers the terrifying creature she saw earlier. She quickly composes herself after wiping away her sweat and quickly turns to the sky, finding a figure hovering above the trees with a terrifying visage that glared down on the battlefield with its horrifying presence.

Inumaki Michael? He isn’t running away?

She watches in both awe and horror as his aura extends out across the region, her troops all falling unconscious within seconds just by being inside of his aura’s range. Oddly enough, the troops of the Royal Court all fell as well without exception.

“Who do you all fear? When you stand on this battlefield here and now, who do you believe you should be most terrified of?” His soft voice was quiet, barely carried by the wind. Yet it held such underlying emotion veiled beneath, it made Youko’s wariness increase severalfold.

“The Akenomyōsei? The Kyōfu no Yaksha? This ‘Gashadokuro’, perhaps?” His words are accompanied by a sudden quake in the earth, the terrain slowly disfiguring as trees and boulders began rising while the ground split and trembled dangerously.

“No.” He breathed out, his hands slowly slipping out of his cloak and rising into the air. “The one you should fear is not the adversary belonging to your enemy’s side, but the one who holds no allegiance to either side… and has been angered.”

“Shinra Tensei.”

Say what now-

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

…

…

The rays of early sunshine hit my face as I slowly walk through the ruined forest, an exasperated Hikari following along with an awed yet horrified Miyu right behind her.

Youko Jigoku was hit by my last attack, but her body was not found. I highly doubt a simple force attack like that could kill her, so everyone seems to be assuming that she’s escaped.

Once I allowed my presence to recede, the remaining Royal Court members quickly scurried to gather the unconscious Yomi fighters as well as their own ranks that had fallen to my presence. There was a huge uproar when it was known that I was the one who flipped the forest upside down, but everyone was quickly silenced after Hikari gave a few choice words filled with venom.

It’s amusing watching Hikari stare at me apologetically as her underlings glared at me. It didn’t help that Miyu began apologizing profusely as soon as she spotted me since she was the one supposed to be guarding me. She was ambushed by Youko and a small party of strong fighters that Youko left behind to hold off Miyu.

“... Was the forest’s destruction really necessary?” Miyu whispered from behind Hikari as she gazed sadly at the trees displaced all around. It was like a hurricane had come through and razed the nearby land before disappearing.

Hikari stopped and turned back to look at Miyu with a disapproving look, clearly displeased with her bringing up that topic again.

“Whether it was or not does not matter, Miyu. Do you not remember my destruction of Mount Haku a few years ago? All that carnage caused was a temporary draw, yet Inumaki’s attacks had not only repelled the enemy but also incapacitated dozens if not hundreds of Yomi men and women.” Hikari chided Miyu quietly despite knowing that I could hear, sending glances at all the nearby soldiers who were lifting several clusters of debris and placing them in a pile to terraform later. “This has been one of the most decisive victories since The Snake’s death years ago by Sir Kakusu’s hand.”

Oh? You know, Kakusu seems to be a lot more influential than I expected. No random mook would have a history with Youko, garner such respect from the top executives of the Royal Court, and land what Hikari says to be the most decisive victory in years.

Maybe he’s not just a gloomy old man like I thought.

“Do not forget the fact that some of your members died in the crossfire for my sake. None of my actions were ever to the benefit of the Far East, I was merely acting of my own accord after that woman dared to attack me.” I try to dispel any notions of sympathy they thought I might have as Miyu wilts down slightly while Hikari sends me an amused glance.

“Is that what you’re claiming now?” She hides her giggles behind her sleeves as Miyu looks up at her with confusion before turning to me with a tilted head.

… Adorable.

“I need not ‘claim’ anything. If I speak, then my words are truth. If there comes a time when they are not, then they become the truth until I decide otherwise.” Miyu almost recoils at my proud words as she sends Hikari a glance, the older woman returning it with a shrug and another giggle.

“As you say, Inumaki.” Hikari moves forward to walk by my side as Miyu blinks and quickly runs after her, stepping a little behind to not be on the same pace as us.

“I do not like your tone,” I inform Hikari blankly before turning to look at Miyu behind me, catching her eyes as she sends me a nervous smile. “As for your earlier question… if someone is so weak that they die to an attack not even meant for them specifically, I doubt they deserved to live. What could such a person be doing, placing themself in the heart of the battlefield?”

Miyu seemed like she wanted to protest, but a quick glance from Hikari kept her from saying anything else. Hikari seemed thoughtful at my words though, humming and staring at the ground while thinking.

“Does that mean you don’t value the lives of the weak? You did not seem the type to disregard life so easily,” Hikari asks curiously as we walk closer to Kamakura, approaching the city after the long walk through the forest.

“You misunderstand. Life is precious, but if someone so weak decided to place themself in the heart of a battle way past what they’re capable of, they’re already throwing away this ‘precious’ life of theirs. What value do I find in someone incapable of preserving their own precious life?” Hikari’s eyes light up in understanding as she hums and slowly nods her head.

“You do not detest the weak, you hate seeing the weak get over their head and throw away their lives needlessly.” I huff and roll my eyes, tilting my head to the side as a crack is emitted before staring at Hikari unamusedly.

“I do not ‘hate’. What use is it hating something so below me? When you watch a chicken recklessly jump into the lion’s cage, do you hate the chicken?” Hikari blinks at the comparison before chuckling.

“I see. That’s quite a fascinating view to have, Inumaki.” She notes with a hint of something in her tone. “I’d like to ask you a question though…”

I turn to her with slightly lidded eyes as she pauses for dramatic effect while smiling.

“If you view the weak as the chickens, does that place you as the lion?” I blink in surprise at the question before a smirk envelops my face.

As if.

“In that situation, I would not be the caged lion encircling the helpless chicken. No, I’d be the human looking down at the animals stuck in the cage with amusement.” As soon as I finished speaking, we finally arrived at the entrance to Kamakura. I see Amaterasu standing between Arashi and Kakusu as Reimei stands worriedly with Susanoo behind them. She begins approaching as soon as she spots Hikari and me, moving in a dignified manner despite the rocky path.

“Inumaki Michael. I believe I owe you both an apology and a thank you for your help today in repelling the Yomi invasion. It seems we’ve had to involve you in Far Eastern matters by accident.” Edias started blaring inside of me as soon as Amaterasu finished her last sentence, signifying a lie as my eyes sharpened.

Unfortunately, Amaterasu seemed to have noticed the sudden change in my demeanor as her eyes widened slightly before a small smirk reached her pristine face.

“You’re so full of surprises, Inumaki Michael…” She whispers under her breath, something we could all, except Susanoo, hear despite her low volume. The others don’t seem to want to attempt to ask her to elaborate though, only turning to stare at me curiously.

This, Hikari, is a person I’m capable of hating.

“I was attacked. I defended myself. You owe me neither an apology nor a thank you.” My eventual reply makes her smile a little and raise her hand, calling over the others as they quickly approach after bowing their heads in respect.

“I suppose so.” She muses with amusement before turning around and addressing the others behind her. “Now, I believe we must address the glaring issue that we discovered yesterday.” I blink in confusion as she begins speaking about something like this, completely ignoring how I was literally right there.

Hikari sends me an apologetic smile as she winces and walks behind Amaterasu.

Bruh.

“We’ve already worked to root out several spies from the inside, but it appears we were not as thorough as we would’ve liked. Information about Inumaki Michael’s location was somehow disclosed within hours despite only the higher echelons of the Royal Court knowing of it at the time.” Amaterasu continues despite my confusion and I narrow my eyes to focus on this part, finally understanding why she was speaking while I was still here.

“It’s not just that. Whoever released the information must have some way of quickly communicating with the outside as they were able to transmit the information fast enough for the Yomi troops to have time to assemble a plan of attack.” Kakusu quickly adds to Amaterasu’s words as they all tense, understanding what he was implying quickly.

There was a traitor. Not just in the Royal Court, but in the executives currently present. That was the most likely assumption to make, at least.

“Oh…” Miyu places a palm on her mouth in shock as realization dawns on her, looking around her at all the executives in devastation.

Amaterasu turns around and begins walking towards Miyu, her eyes catching mine as she brings a hand up to her mouth in a ‘shushing’ motion before walking past me and staring down at Miyu.

“I believe it’s quite clear who the traitor is, is it not?” The sudden approach of Amaterasu as well as the glare Miyu receives sends her into a state of panic as her face pales and she looks up at Amaterasu in shock. “Who else could it be other than the former Familia Captain of Tsukuyomi, traitor of Yomi and the Royal Court?”

I notice visible shock on both Kakusu and Hikari’s faces as the former’s face almost looks panicked while the latter quickly moves to Amaterasu’s side with a desperate look on her face.

“My lady, please reconsider! Miyu would never-” Amaterasu raises a hand and sends a warning glare to Hikari as Hikari’s words die out in her throat and she moves her head down while gritting her teeth.

“Do you doubt your Goddess’s judgment, Hikari?” Amaterasu’s words cause Hikari to clam up, clearly unwilling to go against her goddess’s words despite her own feelings regarding Miyu.

I notice Kakusu staring at the ground with a sad look as Arashi steps forward with an angry look on his face, only being held back by a stoic Reimei who was staring intently at Miyu.

“Miyu! How dare you betray the Royal Court after all we did for you! Was everything just an act? Were you fooling us this entire time!?” Arashi angrily yelled as Reimei barely held him back, scaring Miyu half to death as she shook her head desperately with tears gathering in her eyes.

“N-no! I-I didn’t, I swear…” She tries to exclaim through sobs, staring at Amaterasu with despair and helplessness as Edias informs me that…

She’s telling the truth.

Interesting.

Amaterasu turns around and catches my eyes again, sending me a pointed look as I simply close my eyes and raise my collar a little higher. She moves forward and raises her hand to the side.

“Guards, place Miyu into special captivity until further notice. Her trial will be held as soon as I inform the Royal Court of today’s events.” Several armored men immediately shuffle in to grab Miyu as she looks at them with devastation before turning to everyone with a pleading look, clearly asking for their help.

I spotted Kakusu gripping his fists and turning away in the corner of my eyes while Hikari simply closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Arashi was still glaring hatefully at Miyu while being held back by Reimei who continued staring at Miyu with a complicated look.

I sigh and turn to look at Miyu, catching her eyes for a moment as her tear-stricken face pleads at me to do anything. I hesitate for a single moment as her resemblance to Bell and Lefiya makes me pause before I sigh and turn away to stare at the ground.

… I’ll have to question Amaterasu soon to see what she has planned. There’s no reason for her to ostracize an asset like Miyu when she knows that she’s innocent like this.

Someone with inter-continental travel as magic is not someone you throw away lightly.

I silently walk past the downtrodden Hikari towards Amaterasu as the goddess turns away from Susanoo and to me, a frown on her face from whatever she was talking to Susanoo about.

“Inumaki Michael. I believe we have much to discuss, don’t we?” I spot Hikari and Kakusu turning to me with narrowed eyes, the former quickly makes her way to her goddess’s side. “Hikari, please accompany me to my chancery.”

She bows her head and grabs her goddess by the waist while turning to look at me with a tilted head, a gesture I return with a nod as I slowly float in the air.

A quick flight later, we find ourselves in a lavish room resembling an office with a giant desk at its center and several tall bookshelves at each wall reaching up to the roof. Beautiful engravings and paintings were strewn all around, all following a similar theme that showcased Amaterasu’s taste in decoration.

She’s rich. That’s the theme.

“I see grand and luxurious furnishing is not to your taste?” Amaterasu notes as she walks to her desk, Hikari following closely behind while pursing her lips as I huff and roll my eyes.

“I have nothing against indulging every once in a while, but wasting resources and money for the sake of my greed while my people starve outside of my castle’s walls is not to my taste.” Hikari’s eyes quickly sharpen from where they were looking at the ground and turn to me warningly as the room’s temperature spikes before Amaterasu raises a hand in the air to stop her.

“Hikari, I require privacy to discuss certain matters with our guest. Exit the premises for now until I call upon you.” Hikari’s eyes widen as she turns to Amaterasu with surprise before turning to me warily.

“My lady… I’m not sure if leaving you here with him is very safe…” Amaterasu shakes her head and turns to me as I roll my eyes again and sigh.

“I have no interest in harming your goddess or interacting with her as a whole. If I wished to harm her, you wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.” Hikari’s aura flares for only a second before Amaterasu sends her a look and she stops again. She sighs and sends me a weary glance and slowly exits the room, leaving Amaterasu and I as the only two left in the room.

“Hikari, I can sense your presence. I will not ask again.” I could almost hear the embarrassment of Hikari as I felt her signature scurry on the other side of the castle.

Ah.

“She was using your blessing?” I ask my question despite already knowing the answer, staring at the giant window behind Amaterasu that allows the morning sunshine to enter the room.

“Indeed. That child must have forgotten whose blessing she was using to peek inside this room.” Amaterasu sighs exasperatedly and a bottle of wine with two glasses suddenly appears on her desk from nowhere, making my eyes widen and my senses extend outwards in alarm. “Care for a drink?”

What the fuck just happened?

I didn’t sense anything. What the hell just happened?

“... You did not use your Arcanum, did you? It would be quite an embarrassment for you to be sent back to heaven simply because you were too lazy to grab a bottle of wine yourself.” I noticed a bottle missing from the nearby wine cellar that was on the other side of the room from Amaterasu. The woman herself chuckles, opening the wine bottle with a simple flick and filling the two glasses.

“Even I know not to challenge the gods back in Tenkai by using my Arcanum so readily. I’m sure many of them would love to force me back to the heavens so that they could take my spot down here in Gekai.” I slowly walk towards her desk, gently grabbing the glass of wine and holding it in my hand. “Ah, that wine may not be to your taste. I’ve heard of a rumor circulating in Orario saying that you referred to Soma Wine as ‘disgusting’. I cannot claim to have a drink on par with successful Soma Wine.”

Oh, what the hell? That last line was a lie! She has something on par with successful Soma Wine but doesn’t offer it? Stingy.

“Horse piss would’ve been better than Soma Wine. I have no issue with the regular taste of wine, it’s only the wine that holds no innovation or thought and relies on mind-altering nonsense which disgusts me.” Her eyes widen a little and a little giggle escapes from her lips as she leans back into her chair.

“Oh? You’re capable of pushing through the effects of Soma Wine? How interesting.” She hums and twirls the glass of wine in her hands as I stare at her blankly.

“You never answered what it was you did to summon that bottle of wine. Also, you were lying when you said you had nothing on par with Soma Wine.” Amaterasu giggled while standing up from her throne, making her way around the desk and sitting in front of me on the wood’s surface with the glass to her side.

“I suppose I did not, but I cannot reveal all my secrets to you can I?” I roll my eyes at her attempt at acting mysterious as she giggles again. “As for the wine… Well, I have several treasures gathered from my time down here in Gekai. Some would leave even your tastes awed.”

“Quite the claim.” I don’t sound very convinced, something that seems to spark amusement in her eyes. Maybe she does something, but I doubt it’s anything I don’t already know of or can get. “Would I be correct to assume that this is your way of promising me countless riches if I joined you?”

“Perhaps.” She seems amused at my question. “You don’t seem to be very materialistic, so call it a token effort if you will. Wouldn’t you be more offended if I did not even attempt that particular avenue?”

…

“I suppose so.” She smiles knowingly as I roll my eyes and take a sip from my glass. “I don’t suppose you’d mind explaining how your sight is allowed despite being down in Gekai? It feels… quite powerful.” This has been on my mind for a while. It’s almost unfair how someone like Hestia barely gets any advantages, and Amaterasu gets to see anything under the sun anywhere and at any time.

“Hmph. Fairness? How foolish. Only mortals could speak of inane concepts such as fairness. Are all mortals born equal? Would you place Elves and Pallums at the same level despite both of them being mortal?” Amaterasu sighs and pauses for a second, thinking about her words before continuing. “Immortals are the same. Not all of us gods are equal. Some were meant to control oceans and hurricanes, while others were destined to lord over nonsensical things like music and art.”

“I see you don’t exactly have the best relationship with Apollo?” I question her wryly as she turns to me with surprise before chuckling silently.

“The fool believed himself ‘worthy’ of me simply because we shared the domain of the sun. I showed that fool just how unworthy he was by stripping him of that authority for centuries until Zeus had to beg me to return it on his behalf.” She pauses. “I’m surprised you’re so keenly aware of what domains some gods have. Though I shouldn’t be surprised considering just how many times you’ve caught me by surprise so far. How about you try to guess who else has a similar ability to myself?”

Hmm…

“Ouranos, though I’m not too sure of that. I don’t see a world where he does not have the ability to see everything under the sky, but he…” I paused, unwilling to explain to her how I doubt he has that ability since he would’ve known a lot more before he approached me if he did.

“Oh? You seem to have a relationship with him… Someone from such a small familia shouldn’t be so familiar with Ouranos.” She muses curiously as her eyes sparkle a little. “You would be correct… somewhat. Ouranos would have that ability if he was not using his Arcanum to actively suppress the dungeon. Sadly, he’s too busy holding off what could be a disaster to tap into his own blessing.”

Oh. Wait, Edias hasn’t been fighting against his Arcanum too much recently.

I’m gonna have to be careful…

“Zeus, perhaps?” I try next, my eyes widening as I realize what this could possibly mean.

“Yes, that annoying old man is capable of watching everything under the sky… But not with the same freedom I or… others have. The light of my sun penetrates through windows, buildings, and more, allowing me to view everything within them. That old git can only view everything under the sky directly. Same for the other witch.” Oh…

Was Zeus still watching over Bell even after leaving him? Did he never really abandon him completely?

I’m still kicking him in the balls if I ever see him, but I’ll be a little merciful if that’s the case. Maybe I’ll let him off with a ‘Shit yourself’.

“Oh? Your face looks quite complicated after my words. You wouldn’t happen to have a relationship with Zeus as well, would you?” I don’t answer her words and choose to look outside the window instead, leaving that thought process for later as I exhale.

“It’s none of your business,” I replied curtly and moved on, not allowing her to question me further. “As for other gods who have a similar ability, I’m sure Tsukuyomi is an obvious one, no?”

My mention of that particular goddess makes Amaterasu frown, her face looking a little irritated before she sighs and closes her eyes to dispel her emotions.

“Yes, that woman is capable of doing what I can, but only at night.” My eyes widen at her words, the connotations behind them making me panic for only a moment.

“You don’t mean to say that you’re capable of using your sight at night, right?” She smirks and glances at me from the corner of her eye while taking a sip of her wine.

“Even if I could, I would never use that woman’s moon as a catalyst for my vision. Not after what she did.” She sighs pensively and twirls the glass in her hands again, her vision glazing a little as she stares at my body.

She better not be looking at my soul like Freya! I already have one perverted goddess staring at my insides with lust, I don’t need another.

“My eyes are up here. That’s also possibly the most stupid reason not to take advantage of what’s basically omniscience or at least omnipresence, but I can’t understand your circumstances enough to judge you.” Her eyes unglaze and widen before she tilts her head with a small smile and giggles.

“You’re quite an interesting child, Michael. It’s a shame I was too late in finding you…” Before I could ask her what she meant, she suddenly put her glass down and got up. Placing a palm on my cheek, she moved her body closer to mine to the point where I could feel her unnaturally hot body heat against mine despite not actually physically touching her. “Did you know… I’ve scoured across the entire world searching for the land you claim to hail from, yet I’ve found nothing.”

[!!!]

My eyes widen the slightest bit as she muffles a chuckle and stares into my eyes with delight, catching my moment of surprise. I moved to push her away, but the surprisingly firm hand she placed on my wrist held me still.

Wait, that’s not normal strength. That’s level two at least. What the actual hell is going on anymore?

“You’ve spoken of your land being closer to Orario than the Far East, yet I’ve found no one holding any similarity to you anywhere.” She whispers with dazed eyes, clearly remembering something vividly.

“I’m the only one-” “-of your people remaining in this world, correct? Do you believe me as gullible as the other gods around, Michael? Your half-truths do not fool me.”

I bite my tongue and pause, narrowing my eyes at her as I feel my energy vibrate angrily inside of me. She seems to notice, but her face only gains a small smile.

“Grand Hubris… Such a wonderful ability. An ability worthy of I, the goddess meant to rule the entire world.”

*SSSSSSSSZRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTT!*

Amaterasu’s eyes widen as my Haki explodes out as a thin layer of powerful energy emanates from her body in response, the intense energy almost making me recoil before Amaterasu stops it from releasing and stares at me in matching shock.

… Did… Did my Conqueror’s Haki almost force her to activate her Arcanum?

No, wait. How the fuck does she know about my skill!?

*BANG*

“My lady! What happened? Inumaki Michael, you better not have-” Hikari kicks the door down and enters the room angrily, immediately freezing as Amaterasu and I turn to look at her. She finds Amaterasu with her hands on my cheeks, our bodies at a closer proximity than what would be expected.

Ah, I’m getting deja vu.

“L-Lady Amaterasu! I apologize for interrupting your time, please do not mind me.” Hikari covers up her furiously blushing face as she slowly closes the door and runs away with audibly loud steps.

I turn back to Amaterasu with twitching eyebrows before she places her index finger on my lips and sighs.

“Hikari. Out. Now.” Amaterasu demands again while staring at empty space as I groan and stare at the window, unimpressed. I don’t need to sense Hikari to see how embarrassed she is at being caught again. “Good…” She breathes out, turning away from the space she was looking at to stare into my eyes again.

“How do you know about my skill?” I ask gravely.

“Do you understand what you’ve just done?” She asks at the same time, both of us blinking as we speak over each other.

“You’re the one at fault for making me-”

“That’s not the important part right-”

“-lose my composure. What do you mean that’s not the important-”

“-now. I’m at fault!? Your surprises are at fault! You almost made me activate my Arcanum-”

“Shut.” Her mouth immediately shut up and her eyes widened before she angrily looked at me in a way that questioned my audacity. Her hand shot out and obstructed my mouth with her palm, stopping me from speaking.

We both glare at each other blankly as neither of us let up first, a staring contest ensuing with both of our prides on the line. We continue glaring at each other until-

*BANG*

“Amaterasu! I felt your Arcanum almost activate, what the hell happened?-” Susanoo quickly entered the room in panic before freezing, watching as Amaterasu and I stop staring into each other’s eyes and turn to look at him with annoyance. “AMATERASU!?”

Are you serious right now?

“What. Is. It.” Amaterasu demands with venom as Susanoo’s eyes widen and he gulps, the tone quickly making him rethink whatever he was about to say next.

“N-nothing! Enjoy your time…” He quickly runs out of the room and I notice Hikari peeking in just before the doors slam shut, something Amaterasu also seems to have noticed as she clears her throat loudly.

“Are you done acting like an immature child?” She turns to me with a disbelieving expression, clearly affronted at the mere insinuation that she was an immature child.

“I should be the one asking you that! I was not the one ordering the other to shut up simply because I couldn’t engage in a normal conversation.” I scoff and roll my eyes, unwilling to admit that she kinda had a point.

“I wouldn’t have done that if you weren’t already acting idiotic!” Her mouth opens in outrage and she places a hand on her chest as if trying to calm herself down.

“The audacity! You should know better than to speak like that to your betters, boy!” I let out a laugh and narrowed my eyes at her, clearly amused at the idea of her being ‘my better’.

“I’ll make sure to treat my ‘betters’ with respect once I meet them.” She pauses and stares at me blankly for a few moments before a small, bright smile envelops her face, almost making my heart skip a beat from its sheer radiance.

[Ahem.]

{S’cuse me.}

“Only you… only a person like you could speak to me in that way without feeling shame or fear.” Her confusing words caused me to blink and stop, suddenly feeling confused about what she was talking about.

Weren’t we just fighting a second ago?

“Did you know, Michael, that I could’ve had this entire world in my palm long ago?” She suddenly informs me out of the blue, her hands moving up to my face again and pulling it closer. “A decade or two ago, I could’ve allowed Hikari to remain in Orario for several more years. She used to hold the record for the fastest level-up, taking two years to reach level two when she was just 10.”

My eyes widened a little at that information, understanding what she was hinting at.

“If I had left her for another decade, she could’ve possibly reached level 8 by now… Maybe even reaching the record and becoming a level 9…” She whispers wistfully, remembering something bittersweet as she rubbed her thumb on my cheek.

“... Why didn’t you?” I cautiously ask, suddenly seeing Hikari in a different light.

“It wouldn’t have mattered. It wouldn’t have achieved anything.” She speaks in a voice that was barely a whisper, her glazed eyes returning from whatever memories she was remembering and staring back into my eyes. “Tell me, Michael. What comes after I finally conquer the world?”

…

“Riches? Fame? Renown? Power? I already had and have all of that and more. I care not for when and why I conquer the world, only for who…” Who? What does she mean?

“For who? For your people, no?” I ask as a test, unsure where she was going with this as she chuckles and shakes her head.

“My people would be content with even the worst living conditions imaginable as long as I was happy and well. Conquering the world would serve no purpose for them except the honor of presenting me with the world.” The arrogance yet compassion filling her words make me speechless for a moment as I blink and stare at her incredulously.

A moment she used to take a deep breath before continuing.

“What am I waiting for? Simple. Someone who could stand by my side once I conquer the world. Someone who would never bow their head to any god or goddess at their command, only showing respect to those they actually respect.” Her smile glows increasingly radiant, the sun’s rays highlighting her golden hair to make an almost ethereal glow as she smiles at me. “Someone like you, Inumaki Michael. You hold the same talent and power as my Hikari, yet you also have the ambition and drive she could never have. You have the will required to rule over not just the Far East, but the world as a whole.”

Ah. I see…

“It’s a shame… I was too late. If I could’ve found you before Hestia, I would’ve already been living my dream…” The sadness and longing in her voice are so intense, I’m incapable of replying to her in any way. She breathes out a deep sigh, caressing my cheek gently. “A few weeks always seemed like such little time, yet they were the difference between heaven and earth when it came to finding you.”

We silently stood there in her chancery for several minutes, her bright ruby orbs staring into my amethyst ones with sadness. The silence in the room was almost deafening, but it was finally broken once I sighed and turned my head away.

“Why are you telling me all of this?” That’s the one question I can’t help but ask first.

She chuckles silently for a few seconds as her eyes move down from mine and stare at my chest thoughtfully, looking deep in thought.

“... I suppose it could be that I hoped you would change your mind if you heard of my ambition. Or it was simply my desire to inform the one person closest to the ideal of my feelings. Get it ‘off my chest’, as mortals put it.” She mumbles quietly, clearly confused about why she did it herself. “It took an anomaly such as yourself for me to find someone suitable for me. I’m not sure if I’ll ever find another like you even if I waited a thousand years…”

“You say that Hikari is not suitable. Why not? She’s possibly the strongest opponent I’ve ever faced, at least while she’s under the sun.” I swear if she says something like ‘because she’s a woman’-

“Do not misunderstand, Michael. Hikari is my child. I do not just mean that figuratively as one of my Familia’s children, no. Hikari is the reincarnation of a hero from centuries ago who was blessed with the power of one of my spirits, allowing them to gain the attributes of an oni in exchange for power. She’s been connected to me from birth, inheriting some attributes from her previous incarnation.”

Oh.

Wait, like Bell?

Fucking hell. Everyone important in Danmachi is a reincarnation of a person from the past. That’s what the Danmachi Wiki tells me at least. It’s no wonder that Hikari is one too, just a Far Eastern hero.

“... Please look surprised when I tell you something so worldbreaking. Please don’t tell me that you know of other reincarnations.” Amaterasu’s eyes turn exhausted as I grimace and exhale.

“Well…” She groans and slams her head against my chest, the abrupt touchiness making my eyebrows twitch as she sighs.

“I’ll ask later. My point was, Hikari is not suited for standing next to me. She’s too loyal, too set on following my every word instead of thinking for herself. If she was capable of doing that, I would’ve loved nothing less but to nurture her talent until we could rule the world together.” Ah, so it’s not about gender.

“So you aren’t looking for a ‘partner’, you’re simply looking for a companion to stand by your side as you rule the world.” She blinks at how relieved I sounded before tilting her head with amusement, her eyes widening in realization.

“Oh dear me, no.” She pauses. “Actually, would you agree to become mine if I were to offer that?” She giggled as I groaned and facepalmed.

“No.” I deny her immediately. “Would you even accept someone who’d so easily agree to an offer like that?” She looked thoughtful for a moment before sadly shaking her head, conceding to my point.

“I suppose not… Though I’ll take what I can get if that offer does entice you.” I raise an unimpressed eyebrow at her as the smallest of blushes enter her cheeks and she does a shy act by hiding her face with her hand and turning away.

“You don’t have many friends, do you?” She drops her shy act and turns to look at me, aghast.

“How dare you! I have many friends… I… have Susanoo. We sometimes… speak about the weather! Like when he feels it’s going to storm soon and we need to pre… pare.” She stops and stares at the ground silently before moving her head up to look at me. “That’s work isn’t it?”

“Unfortunately.” She lets out a tired sigh as I pat her on the back. “There, there. I’m sure you can make friends if you try. Maybe stop declaring that everything under the sun belonged to you. That’ll probably help.” She looks up at me with a dirty glare as I smirk.

“How many friends do you have?” She asks accusingly as I scoff and pause.

“Uh. I have my Familia, but they’re more like family… Well, I have the Loki Familia…?” That’s more of a working relationship though, and I doubt whatever I have with Tiona is ‘normal’ with how intense she is sometimes. Wanting to beat the hell out of me is not healthy in a friendship, is it?

“You don’t sound too sure.” Amaterasu points out smugly as I narrow my eyes at her and scoff.

“At least I have a list to look through. Also, I do have friends! I went drinking with Dave and the others a few times after the Soma war game.” She rolls her eyes and pokes my chest with her finger.

“Name ‘the others’.” I glare into her eyes for a few moments as she smirks and returns my stare before I’m forced to look away and grit my teeth.

It’s not my fault Dave does all the talking! I totally forgot the names of the others.

“Whatever. At least I have Dave. Who do you have?” She huffs and looks down thoughtfully for a few moments.

“I used to force Kakusu to play cards with me back when he was still Familia Captain, but I haven’t done that in decades since Hikari took over.” I nodded my head thoughtfully at her words before freezing as I register what the fuck she just said.

“Him?” I ask incredulously as she blinks and chuckles, nodding her head with a reminiscing expression.

“Decades ago, Kakusu went by a completely different name. He was a bright young man, a completely different breed than his kin in the Gojou Family. Unfortunately, time was not kind.” She doesn’t elaborate further and I don’t ask, simply nodding my head in silence.

[... You forgot to ask… her about Grand Hubris…]

{Ah, Thanks.}

“We’ve forgotten something very important here. How did you know about my Grand Hubris? Even if you can view my soul, you should only be able to guess how powerful I am.” She blinks out of her reminiscing and turns to me with a tilted head, furrowing her brows.

“You’re awfully familiar with how my sight works. None of the other gods down in Gekai except Ouranos and Freya should have that ability, and the former couldn’t access it with how he’s stuck in the Room of Prayer.” I grimace at the mention of Freya as Amaterasu’s eyes widen and a disgusted sneer enters her face. “It’s her, isn’t it?”

“I asked a question first.” My nonreply makes her huff as she pokes my chest and stares at my body with glazed eyes, probably looking at my soul.

“Unlike that woman who simply obsessed with the color and purity of a soul, I’ve studied every soul I saw to better improve my understanding of the Falna. By comparing different souls together, I can understand if they have matching Developmental Abilities, and sometimes even skills if I have personally seen them before.” Her eyes look a little smug as my face twists in surprise.

“I see. That does not explain how you knew of my skill though. It’s impossible for anyone to have attained this skill before me, so you couldn’t have seen it somewhere before.” She nods her head in agreement and puffs her chest out slightly.

“I’ve had a thousand years to hone my understanding of the mortal soul. Skills are deeply ingrained in the child’s soul, yes. But they require time to root themselves in after they are just attained. It’s similar to a period of… acclimation for the soul. During this period, I’m capable of interpreting the new skills I see in the soul and reading them like a book.”

“Thanks to that, you’re capable of reading my newest skill… and only that one?” I think I understand now. She’s basically doing what every god can do, but simply by looking instead of touching my back like everyone else needs to do.

“Hm. Something something Will?” My face grows incredulous again and I look down at her in annoyance as she giggles.

“You’re an extremely new adventurer, Michael. With your absurd growth, your falna and soul are working overtime to acclimate to your rising stats and skills. I was surprisingly unable to see that skill’s full name, but it was still relatively new enough that I was able to understand a bit of it.” Haah… I guess that makes a little bit of sense.

“It’s Indomitable Will.” Her eyes widen a little at how casually I revealed it before she laughs joyfully at the name, clearly finding it to her liking.

“Ah, how wonderful... You truly are exactly how I imagined you would be.” She smiles wistfully and caresses my cheek before blinking a little. “Is that the skill that allowed you to almost force me to activate my Arcanum?”

“That was me releasing my Conqueror’s Haki, which is related to that skill, yes.” I don’t care about keeping such inane things secret anymore. Amaterasu has basically revealed everything to me, I have no doubts that my relationship with the Royal Court will change from now on.

“Ah, of course that’s what you’d call that ability. It has to do with willpower, no? I believe you were trying to impose your will onto me, and my divine essence reacted in alarm. That’s all I can infer for right now.” I hum at her words while putting a hand to my chin, nodding a little after a few moments of thinking.

“That’s how Conqueror’s works, yes. Should your ‘divine essence’ not react negatively to my Cursed Speech then? You did not react when I commanded you to shut up.” She laughs a little and shakes her head, her finger releasing the smallest amount of energy as she pokes my chin.

“You simply commanded this vessel, not my entire being. Your commands would have no effect if you were to bend my or any god’s will. In other words, you could command my body all you want, but you could never bend my mind or will.” I narrow my eyes a little at her as she smirks, unsure if that was an innuendo or if it was just a coincidence.

“I see. I’ll have to be careful then, this was one of the few times I’ve released Conqueror’s since unlocking it. Good thing I learned this now before I suddenly released it… in Orario… and…” Both of our eyes widened as we realized the potential danger of Conqueror’s Haki, possibly forcing every god and goddess in Orario to release their Arcanum at the same time.

“Oh… is its range large enough for that?” I chuckle quietly at her question before sighing and nodding my head.

“If I push its range to the max, I could cover all of Orario. I didn’t use its range to the maximum just now, so I… wait, are there any gods in the Palace right now?” Amaterasu shakes her head with amusement and points to the giant window.

“The other gods have their own homes and only arrive at the Imperial Palace when summoned. Susanoo was out at the time to direct the soldiers and help move the captured, so I should be the only goddess in here.” I release a sigh of relief and nod my head, finally moving away from her as she sighs in disappointment and sits back down on the desk.

“I think we’ve ignored another very important matter for a while. What are you doing with Miyu? We both know she’s not the one who did it.” The edged tone I take as I speak about Miyu makes Amaterasu pause as she tilts her head at me.

“Awfully concerned, aren’t you? Did her innocence charm you already?” I return her question with an unimpressed look that makes her sigh and smile wryly. “I’m very aware of Miyu’s innocence, but the child is currently the only way for us to rat out the actual traitor.”

Ah, I see now.

[... No, you don’t…]

{No I don’t.} I agree.

“How so? Wouldn’t this allow the true traitor to run free since everyone believes the traitor has already been captured?” I stopped talking for a few seconds and thought about it. “No, some of us are aware that Miyu is not actually a traitor. The traitor is going to act with less secrecy now that they believe we’ve been fooled.”

“That is part of it, yes. But my decision to capture Miyu was not random, Miyu was the former Captain of the Tsukuyomi Familia before I… seized her. Now that she’s been unfairly captured, the Yomi traitor will undoubtedly move to try and coerce her back to their side.” She notices my confusion and sighs a little, pouring another glass of wine for herself as she stares at some papers on her desk silently.

“Tsukuyomi… She and I were inseparable many millennia ago. When we both descended down to Gekai, I had believed her to be the one who would rule the world by my side.” She smiles sadly and stares at the wine blankly. “Unfortunately, Tsukuyomi did not wish for the same. She left, stating that she would build her own empire better than I ever could. Recruiting Izanami and Izanagi, she built Yomi from the ground up.”

Oh. What happened then?

“How is she here now? She’s part of the Royal Court isn’t she?” She exhales sharply before shrugging.

“She was the one that chose to side with Izanami of all people. While she was busy trying to play ‘Empire’ with her people, Izanami began recruiting fanatics and razing lands that belonged to the Royal Court. After that, war commenced between the two sides and Tsukuyomi eventually couldn’t stomach the atrocities of her own Yomi.” Amaterasu gripped her glass tightly and glared at the papers on the desk. “She couldn’t handle her own failure. And where did that bring her? Back to me.”

… Really?

“I see now. Capturing Miyu means that the real traitor will act recklessly and try to recruit her, allowing you to confront them when they eventually act. With all of this in mind…” I pause for a moment and narrow my eyes at her as she smirks. “You have an idea of who the traitor is, don’t you?”

“What gives you that idea, Inumaki Michael? It would be a foolish move for me to not apprehend the traitor if I knew who they were.” Oh, this bitch did not just pull a me and technically not lie to escape lie detection.

“Whatever. I can easily deduce that they will act on the day of my trial, as that will be the day when all executives will be gathered in one place. This will allow the traitor to speak to Miyu without too much trouble.” Amaterasu’s eyes light up at my deduction and she nods happily, clearly overjoyed that I was able to keep up with her thinking.

“It’s also a chance for them to attack you again as they are going to know for sure where you are on that day.” I slowly nod my head, taking a seat on… nothing and resting my chin on my fist.

“The Kyūtei. I wouldn’t be wrong to assume that your troops are going to be busy recovering from this battle and won’t expect another attack at the capital so soon?” She rocks her head side to side in a way that said ‘kind of’.

“My men and women are always prepared for battle, but they will be surprised if another attack does happen so soon. Yomi does not have as many men as the Royal Court, they usually require weeks if not months to recover between every battle. After the recent decisive victory you’ve granted us, no one would expect Yomi to act for another few months at the least.”

“That makes sense. What are you even planning for my trial? We both know that nothing will come of it except senseless fighting and yelling. Hell, I’m not bowing for you. I’m sure the gods gathered are going to rage as soon as I enter that room and refuse to bow.” She laughs joyously as a small amused smile enters my face at the sound of her laughter.

“Mm… a diversion. The trial was never going to achieve anything, it was simply a ploy I made to corner Yomi and that damned Izanami.” I extend my arms out in exasperation as she giggles, casually revealing that everything I had done and the entire reason I was here was all for nothing.

“You brought me to the Far East to give me a half-assed love confession and use me to corner your lifelong enemy.” She looks at me with an indignant look as I describe her ambition as a ‘half-assed love confession’ and dismiss her, admittedly decent, planning.

“Half-assed love confession?? I spoke of my desire to conquer the world alongside someone worthy, and you see that as a half-assed love confession!?” She complains irritably as I shrug my shoulders and hide my smirk at her sudden tantrum.

“I recommend bringing some chocolate and flowers next time. It really helps set the mood. Oh, the wine was a good step I suppose. Maybe bring it in a little later after you talk the talk first.” She looks at me with a genuinely dumbfounded look as I critique her ‘love confession’.

“Enough of this nonsense! I didn’t say any love confession, quit your delusions.” She huffs and crosses her arms, a light dusting of red on her cheeks. “How about you speak about your relationship with Freya?”

“This seems like the perfect time to exit this conversation! I have many matters to attend to, please excuse me.” Amaterasu stares in shock as I suddenly turn around and begin walking to the door, completely avoiding the conversation about Freya. “I’m gonna be keeping an eye out on Miyu, let’s talk again before the trial!”

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going? I spoke to you about Tsukuyomi and I, you owe me-” She tries to get up and reach me, but I quickly leave the room and slam the door shut behind me before she can.

Only a few days left, I hope.

…

…

Surprise surprise losers! I've finally finished this chapter after getting home. I'm gonna do my fucking hardest to send the next chapter, which is Aberrant, by next week instead of in two weeks like usual.

We've introduced the Antagonists this chapter. We've also gotten a look into mommy Ama's character, so that's nice.

Kakusu's my favorite character by the way. Screw the waifus.