Chapter 45: I crawled out from a monster stomach and ended up in the hands of a scary person, she has good thighs though

Part 1

3rd Person POV

Stepping into the ruins of the Dunscaith Castle, Scathach looked slightly emotional at her old castle before shaking her head. It had been a long time since she had stepped out in the human world but it was not the time to be emotional. Even at this time, the Curruid that escaped must be breaking havoc somewhere. That creature could've been a young creature but its strength is more than what regular people could handle. She was about to draw several runes in the air in order to track it but she stopped in place for two reasons. One was she felt a reaction from a certain thing she had left in the human lands to be used as a bait for prey- apprentice to find and then find her, as a proof, from within the ruins of her old castle there was a faint light shining gently that seemed to resonate with that certain thing. The second one, the reason she left her place was heading her way but the creature looked strange.

The Curruid was a mighty sea creature that could create waves just by moving around, it had a humongous body, and the bone-like shell covering its body like armor was hard to pierce by regular weapons or absurd brute strength. Scathach had faced many of these creatures when she was a young girl who aimed to be a warrior and knew the difficulties of facing one, and while she could easily deal with it, it was only because of her countless experiences in combat and her honed skills. She was aware of the usual behavior of the creature slowly swimming in her direction, and even though they would usually get scared of her presence for some unknown reason to her, the Curruid quietly swam until it could no longer do so, dragging its body to the shore, it could barely crawl a little before it collapsed unmoving.

The situation stunned Scathach since she failed to find the presence of any strong person nearby so she was curious about who dealt with it. However, she soon frowned when she failed to find signs of any lethal wounds, the only visible damage received by the Curruid being a small crack on the armor around the head. Other than that it was... no, Scathach shook her head. She detected a certain scent the moment the Curruid had its last breath, a sweet smell that had a dangerous feeling. In fact, they could see how a purple mist was escaping its mouth. It did not take her one second for Scathach to widen her eyes in surprise, it was poison. Certainly, that was one way you could kill it, however, that method had troublesome aspects such as the quantity of the poison it would require to feed thee Curruid before it died, or actually feeding it with those large amounts of poison. Although there was an interesting method proposed by one of her acquaintances once, that was to jump into its mouth a while using storage magic, release the content directly into the stomach. However, the creature would not calmly wait to be poisoned and would surely resist, not to mention that you would receive the full brunt of the poison as well if you get swallowed, and that is without mentioning the gastric acids of the Curruid who are highly corrosive to the body.

Observing with interest and speculating the method used to poison it, she immediately noticed some movement from the Curruid. She was sure it was dead so that was not surprising. However, she focused her senses and detected two life signatures moving inside the creature, they seemed to be leaving its stomach and went through the mouth that was slightly opened.

What came out made Scathach eyes gleam with interest, however, she could not simply act upon her interests. A small figure, a child was the first to leave, his body was a mess, she was not sure whether it was because of the poison or the gastric acids, but several parts of his body had burning scars. He was dragging a strange bastard sword with his left hand and the other hand seemed to be dragging numerous vines, those vines were wrapping something big that by judging the life signatures was a person, although said person seemed unconscious.

Eyes unfocused and hurt, that was Scathach what could immediately see. He dragged what he had in his hands with some difficulty until he had taken some distance from the Curruid. The child seemed obvious to Scathach presence or he simply chose to ignore her, either way, he untangled the vines off the person and began checking her. Although it was not at the same level as him, the figure he was checking was also affected by the gastric acids, however, she looked less affected by it so it seemed that the vines were used to keep her safe from that and the poison. It did not take long for her wounds to be healed by the child, his hands glowed and the burns disappeared as they had never been there in the first place, no scars remained and the skin looked healthy.

Scathach was slightly impressed by that and wondered what else would he be able to do, she was certain that he was the person she was expecting, and the time that reacted to him was one of the pieces of evidence. However, she was told that he would immediately get interested in him. Honestly, she expected a bit more, but he did pick her interest.

"You seem to be half dead, boy." Scathach called out. "Was this your doing?"

She still had her doubts, it was also possible that he was a victim of the creature and someone else did the poisoning.

"...w...ho? E...nem...y?"

The boy, who had black hair and green eyes, looked like he would fall at any moment, yet he stood by the unconscious figure. His eyes could barely stay open and the sword was not lifted, but he still showed signs of vigilance. That made Scathach more curious about the answer.

"I am someone who can lend you a hand, however, I am curious about this." Scathach pointed at the Curruid. "How are still you alive?"

"I...hit...ever...yw...here, used..all..I...had...in...my...hands..."

Listening to his words, Scathach concluded that he went all out inside the Curruid. It was not only about the poison, the bastard sword in his hand probably inflicted a lot of damage as well. The bandage that tied it to his hand meant that he did not want to drop it by accident even if his strength reached his limit. Another look at it made Scathach furrow her eyebrows, the inscriptions it has been a combination of several arts, runes included, and she could not recall ever hearing of something like that being made.

"You don't look like you can stand any longer, should I lend you a hand?" Scathach offered.

Noticing that he did not seem to react, the purple-haired woman was about to knock him out for good but his eyes closed before she took the first step. He had reached the limit or so she concluded. Nevertheless, he remained standing so Scathach moved to pick up the boy and the person laying on the ground, but the boy reacted, she thought he was awake, however, he remained with his eyes closed and his breathing was steady and slow, just like the one of a sleeping person.

"An unconscious reaction? That is a bit interesting." Scathach smiled.

Without wasting any time, she took a step forward, and using a speed he could not react to, she moved behind him and knocked his neck lightly. Like a puppet that had his string cut, he fell forward so she caught him before he touched the ground.

"Now then, I guess I should wait for them to wake up. He told me that it would not take long so I should be patient." Scathach started to draw runes on the air. "Oh, I almost forgot, if I am going to put him through that, I should take his collar off. That magatama would make it too easy and the test will have no meaning."

Reaching for Nora's neck, Scathach carefully grabbed the collar, however, it began to shine before green flames busted from it causing her damage. Briefly recalling what he had told her before, she simply put it on the girl and it stopped reacting. Opening and closing her hand, she could see burn marks on her hands; however, she knew that this damage was not what was problematic. The collar, or rather, the jewel attached to it was the type to damage the soul when someone does not approve or someone the owner does not view as friendly.

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After arriving at her pocket dimension, she took the two unconscious people to her castle. She had moved crystal that she kept guarded in her castle to another pocket dimension she had prepared beforehand so there was no risk of the boy catching a glimpse of what was lying dormant there. She had been briefed about the boy's abilities by 'him' so she was aware that he had a special vision. The details were not that many, but she could infer that he should at least be able to see through his surroundings unimpeded. It was better to be safe than sorry. It was not time yet to reveal what was there to others.

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Looking for a random room, she planned to put the two in separate places but considering that they will most likely start wandering to search for one another, she laid down the girl on the bed and put the boy beside her. She could be curious about what he would show her, but she doubted that he would be able to do anything even if she forcefully awakened him.

Tracing several runes in the room that would warn her when they tried to leave it, Scathach went to her throne room. On her hand, she carried the bastard sword she took from the boy, however, it took a bit of effort to hold it as it kept rejecting her. It seemed that the sword had an amusing gimmick, although it was not as dangerous as the jewel. She planned to leave it beside her throne in case they woke up so they would need to look around so they would eventually find her.

3rd Person POV

"..it is believed that the sea creature is a Curruid, there is no record about such a creature living freely in the sea so it is assumed that it accidentally end up there or someone intentionally let it free. There are hardly any injured people, or rather; they were not harmed by the sea creature. Thanks to the quick response from Thor-sama and Midgardsormr-sama, there are only two missing people and their whereabouts and fates remain unknown, however, judging from the records of people fighting those things, it is assumed that their lives are no more."

A valkyrie reported to Odin who was sitting on his throne. Official and gods were standing while listening to the report as well. A regular valkyrie wouldn't be able to keep her cool under the situation of having several gods of high caliber staring at her, but this valkyrie was known as the strongest of her generation, Brynhildr.

"...Is it really like that?" Odin muttered.

everyone in the hall turned to look at Odin, and they tried to avoid retorting or reacting to his disheveled appearance caused by a certain goddess who locked herself on her while waiting for any news.

"Excuse me?" Brynhildr inquired.

Wondering if she made a mistake, she asked about it.

"...Ah, I was just speaking out loud. However, I was thinking that it is too soon to consider their case as a casualty. It is a simple gut feeling, but I can't picture that boy dying that easily. Not to mention, I dare to assume that he survived after saving that girl." Odin said.

Aside from Odin, no one actually believed such a thing, however, they could tell that he had taken some interest in the boy and they wouldn't be the ones to convince him that he was no more.

"Heh, you guys do not believe me? How about a little bet with me? If you guys win, I will grant you a wish that is between my reach, however, if you lose, you will give me something I like in exchange." Odin smiled.

Instantly, the goddesses and Valkyries in the hall covered their behind and breasts. Odin's expression twitched at their guarded reactions but he swallowed any complaints since his reputation caused this.

"Alright, I will just make it clear. I have no lecherous thought this time so I will prove it by proclaiming this. I will not ask any perverted request." Odin exclaimed.

His words were met with immediate silence and the gasp of surprise could be heard all over the hall.

"Medic, WE NEED A MEDIC HERE! Odin has turned strange!"

"Did he go senile?"

"It must be Loki, who took Odin's shape to play a sick joke on us, but he screwed with the last sentence, Odin would never say something like that."

"I agree."

All over the hall, there were murmurs and yells, everyone found Odin's words absurd. Even the serious valkyrie, Brynhildr, had a shocked expression and used a hand to cover her open mouth.

For much that Odin would love to throw Gungnir at them for their ruckus, he did not want to make matters more difficult.

"Enough, are you guys in or not?" Odin asked with a dark face.

Noticing that his patience was reaching the limit, few people raised their hands.

"Well, Freya joining the fun? That sure is odd, but I welcome it." Odin snorted, still slightly upset with everyone's reactions. "To make it fair, I will divide my earnings slightly with the boy so don't look at me like that, my dear Frigg. I am not trying to take advantage of anyone."

Sweating slightly, Odin finally noticed the presence of his wife that had appeared behind him without any sound.

"*Cough* Anyway, please investigate the matter and send a search party after I finish the negotiations with the Celtic side." Odin concluded.

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Sending everyone away, he was left alone with his wife, Frigg.

"Why a bet all of sudden? Did Mimir tell you that you would win?" Frigg softly spoke.

"Everyone is restless so a little bet will make them look forward to the future for a bit. The tournament has been put on hold for the time being, those college students might be physically healthy but their minds are a little affected by the events, not to mention the disappearance of one of them plus the boy. You have no idea how many weeping girls I had to see when I went to check them personally. They all lamented and grieved what happened, in particular, that black-haired girl who wanted to rush after the trial of the Curruid." Odin smiled bitterly. "...regarding that, I can only infer their safety. I did ask Mimir, but he told me he had no idea. Even asking the Norn sister left me empty-handed. It is not often you hear that the sisters who govern fate failed to read the future of someone. That boy, he is to blame. The Norn sisters explained to me that the traces of that Valkyrie, Rossweisse, had been followed the determinate route until the date she met him, someone who they could not see through."

Widening her eyes, Frigg could not hide her surprise.

"Is that why that shut-in goddess took interest in him? Wait, Freya also expressed interest could it be...?" Frigg mumbled doubtfully.

Chuckling slightly, Odin strokes his bear.

"That is wrong. Skadi got obsessed with something, but not his persona, but rather his ice-cream-making abilities after a chance encounter. Freya's case... I bet it has to do with the fact he has cat ears and tails, she is extremely fond of cats so it is unlikely that she is seeking his abnormal fate." Odin reasoned.

Only a selected few had heard about the boy qualities, Skadi and Freya were not included.

"Ah! That is why Skadi angrily attacked you, I thought for certain that you tried to grope her butt again." Frigg nodded in realization.

"My dear wife, is that why you watched from the sidelines with cold eyes as she was breaking havoc?" Odin's lips twitched. "However, if you had not left halfway, you would know that my state was caused by another aggressor. Gondul honestly tried to kill me."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Frigg could not believe what she heard.

"Rossweisse is her granddaughter." Odin smiled wryly.

Nodding at that, Frigg could understand, however, she soon tilted her head.

"Wait, when did that happen? I heard she was badly injured and was taken for emergency treatment." Frigg inquired.

Sighing helplessly, Odin stroked his beard that was missing more than half of it,

"She stubbornly left intensive care and came looking for me even in her severe state. She was barely standing but she would not leave until I gave her the answer she wanted to hear." Odin said.

"Is that another of the reasons why you will still put more effort in searching them? Even to the point to talk to the Celtic gods? The tournament did not take much effort and was even handled by Baldur negotiations." Frigg commented.

Feeling a bit of pity, Frigg decided to pay a visit to Gondul later. She had served Asgard for many years and it was under their responsibility that her granddaughter went missing so she felt like offering some words to her and helping with her recovery.

"Lately, I have received some interesting letters from a group of people about a peace talk. Initially, it was only from that perverted fallen angel, but now there is that energic devil young girl. In fact, that girl had spoken about the youkais joining in already so I began considering that it is time to change our ways. I am not sure if the talks will work, but staying locked here all the time is no good." Odin spoke.

Part 2

Rossweisse's POV

Feeling uncomfortable with the cold temperature, Rossweisse tried to find a blanket to cover herself, but she failed no matter how much her hands reached around the bed. Nevertheless, she did find a source of heat so her hands took a hold of it in an instant. Wrapping her hands around it, she snuggled the source of heat and judging by the size and shape, it was probably a pillow. Holding it close to her chest and with her legs wrapped around it, she tried to keep herself warm. For some strange reason, she almost felt that her sleepwear had disappeared. Tightening her grip on the 'pillow', some questions surfaced in her mind even as she tried to enjoy the gentle and warm feeling that the 'pillow' made her feel. The first question was rather simple, it was that she could not remember getting into bed last night, not to mention... did she have a pillow as wonderful as this one?

In one second, the events that occurred before she lost consciousness and her heartbeat quickened. She could vividly that terrifying creature with its overwhelming presence as it swallowed her. She was powerless and could do nothing as it closed its mouth with her inside. Trembling, Rossweisse was afraid of opening her eyes and finding herself inside the creature's belly. However, staying with her eyes closed made her remember the last image she saw, and that was Nora trying to reach for her with all he could, but he failed to do so. She felt gloomy imagining that the boy must be sad and could be blaming himself for not being fast enough. She can't deny that part of her felt disappointed that he could not save her, but it was only a small part of her since the rest of herself chided that part for thinking like that. He was a target for her to protect, as her friend, and as the older one, she has to do so.

Thinking about Nora being sad because she did not meet him again gave her courage to fight back with all she had so she could reunite with him... Nur also would get sad and probably cry all day if she did not come back so Rossweisse opened her eyes intending to strike the creature with all her remaining strength.

Opening her eyes, her expectations were betrayed, she was not inside the creature's belly. It was an obvious matter since she was lying on a bed and the soft feeling below her body was a dead giveaway, but the valkyrie was lost on her thought and did not consider that. Another curious matter that did not allow her even rejoice for being alive was that she noticed the identity of her new pillow. A boy that was around 10 years old and was quite tall for his age was being 'held' in her embrace and his green eyes contained different emotions while he stared at her. Relief, guilty, and a small trace of embarrassment were contained in those green eyes, however, Rossweisse could not delve too long into that since the proximity between the boy, Nora, and her was not something she expected first thing when her eyelids opened.

Was it too late to act like she was still asleep? Rossweisse had the impulse to do so as soon as she noticed the boy's lips curling up slightly and the emotions in his eyes became playful.

"W-Will we do 'it' a-again? I need to rest after all that 'exercise'." Nora blushed, "Is this why you wanted me to sleep with you last time? No good, it is no good. You were supposed to take me at least to have dinner. You skipped way too many steps... y-you a-are n-not going to throw me away now that you had my body, are you?"

The good news is that she won't have to worry about acting like she was asleep because she is about to faint in... 3... 2... 1.

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"Nora-kun, that is no good. Even though the situation was easy to misunderstand, you shouldn't tease a girl like that!" Rossweisse scolded.

"Who has the one who had me glued to her? Who was the one who wrapped her legs around me and her breast pushed against me? I seem to recall that the culprit is in this room..." Nora lightheartedly spoke.

Closing her mouth, Rossweisse could not retort. Even though he teased her, she was the one holding him like that. However, she could not just admit that until he apologized for making her faint. She also needs to scold him properly for using that perverted topic, even suggesting that she... s-she... she did that with him.

Too much, he is too much! She wants to pursue a pure relationship until she graduates, and then when she has a stable job, she wants to have a boyfriend who is handsome, kind and spoils her a lot. She then will have many dates where she will act lovey-dovey... and maybe they after they hold hands and k-kiss, they act do pervy things. Yes, that is how she has planned her life to go. Nevertheless, now Nora was her fiance, and even though she was not sure if this would remain as such. She should at least aim for him to become a splendid young man,

so she needs to correct his bad habits of teasing girls when he has the chance or she will pity the girl he marries.

"Well, sorry about that. I got kind of embarrassed despite my appearance so my normal reaction is to tease cute girls." Nora shrugged his shoulders.

C-Cute, he is trying to flatter her to get out of trouble. However, she won't fall for that-

"Rossweisse-san, I am truly glad you are ok." Nora smiled.

S-She could forgive this one considering the situation... right?

"That said, you should be careful if you want to snuggle at me again, right now you look... eh, dangerous and not family-oriented, if you know what I mean." Nora awkwardly averted his eyes.

Looking at the place he was staring at her before looking the other way, she found the reason why she felt cold before and what made her seek that 'pillow' before. Her uniform... no, in the state it was they should be called rags. Not even her underwear was spared, only barely hiding the most important places.

She was about to scream in embarrassment, but her vision was suddenly blocked. Rossweisse noticed that some sort of fabric had been thrown at her and upon closer inspection, it was a cute and trendy outfit that she did not want to imagine the price tag of.

"Use this, while I will not judge you if you like to show off your beautiful body... I think you need to consider the TPO, you know?" Nora gently chided her.

She needs to teach him a lesson after all!

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"So, where are we?" Rossweisse questioned.

After she reluctantly changed her clothes with Nora present, and even though he was not looking she still felt embarrassed, Rossweisse began asking her whereabouts. It was not a place she could recall and the conditions Nora and her were... lying in one bed together and both were half-naked, although Nora smugly changed his outfit with a simple hand gesture in one second, it was still seen by her. Under normal circumstances, it would not be possible for them to be left like that if they had been rescued by people from Asgard.

"That is a good question, however, I think I know where the person who can answer that is." Nora directed his eyes to the door of the room. "That said, I will advise you to prepared to face someone tricky. She is not affiliated with Asgard so I don't know how this will go."

"Was that person the one who saved us?" Rossweisse asked.

That mighty creature couldn't be easy to beat, and while she was sad that Nora had ended up in the same place as her, she was a little glad that she was not alone. His presence made her feel at ease for some reason.

"Indeed, she brought us here." Nora avoided looking at her. "Sorry, I almost got you killed."

Hearing his words made Rossweisse frown, he started to suddenly blame himself so she was confused why, but above all, she knew that there was nothing he did that caused her to end up here.

Before she opened her mouth to refute him, he walked to the door, however, he stopped in place and touched his neck, turning back slightly, he looked at her neck, no, at the area around her chest. Feeling shy, she covered her breast with her hands, but he was devoid of any lecherous thought when he looked at her, he only looked puzzled and his questioning look turned into a wry smile when he saw her actions.

"Keep that for now, if that thing truly is what I think, then it should keep you safe." Nora opened the door slowly.

Rossweisse was not sure what he meant until the hands-on her chest touched the pendant she noticed when she was dressing. She originally thought that Nora had put it on her when she was sleeping without much thought but that was unlikely since he was held by her tightly.

Once she noticed, Nora had left the room and in her rush to chase after him, she forgot to refute his claims.

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They were in some sort of antique castle, one that had been abandoned for a long time. Even though it looked clean overall, the aura it gave was lonely. Rossweisse found this place to be a bit sad and she wondered if the owner of the castle could be lonely. There were no traces of other people no matter how they walked so she concluded that the owner must live alone or this area was hardly frequented. On the walls, she noticed runes that seemed to be of ancient origin giving a gentle glow occasionally, she could not discern what they were supposed to do but at least they did not seem to emit any dangerous aura. However, she felt watched.

Nonetheless, Rossweisse followed after Nora who walked at a steady pace, and she would've mistaken him for someone who knew this place if she hadn't heard him mutter something about not recalling having about this place about some canon. She was curious about his ramblings but she decided to not speak about unnecessary things. Nora's back as he led her looked quite reliable as he strode forward, but she couldn't help but feel like she should be the one doing that instead of him given her age, however, she did not dislike the feeling of having someone to rely on. It was a conflicting thought.

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Before long, they were standing in front of a large door located at where she would like to believe to be the center of the castle. Without hesitating, Nora opened that big door that looked incredibly heavy.

Beyond a long carpet, inside a hall-like room, or rather, a throne-like room give the large seat located at the end of the room, a woman was waiting for them. It was a little dark, but it suddenly got brighter with a simple swing of hands of the woman. On the walls, several lighting devices that she could deduce were of magical origin lit up. Beside them, antique armors lined up neat and they held a different kinds of weapons. She was not an expert in weapons but they gave off a dense aura, proof that they were not some old pieces of metal put on display.

Not bothering with the lighting anymore, Rossweisse looked ahead, the woman from before was seated on the slightly simple but majestic looking throne with her eyes closed. On each side, weapons lay resting against the throne. On the left side, two reddish spears that gave her a chill just by looking at them were at arms reach, on the other hand, the right side had a strangely shaped bastardsword, it seemed to be... moving? However, the woman kept a tight grip on it, making it unable to move away. Upon gazing at that sword, Nora reacted by narrowing his eyes, no, after entering the throne room he looked more serious. He was wary and with all reason to do so, the woman had a beautiful appearance and calm aura but Rossweisse felt pressured somehow.

"You have guts to make me wait for you for so long, and even daring to flirt so nonchalantly as I waited for you to come here. No one has ever been so insolent in my presence, at least no one other than Medb." The woman commented. "That said, it is good that you are not cowering in fear and I did not have to drag you here by force."

The woman's lips curled into an amused smile and she seemed to enjoy herself despite complaining.

"No, I guess it can't be helped. A regular person wouldn't be able to even open that book so it is obvious that you are an oddball." The woman opened her eyes.

Her eyes looked slightly dull and uninterested in her surroundings, her gaze swept over Rossweisse but it was like the woman did not even notice her. It was not until her gaze landed on Nora that her eyes gained a new gleam. Although Rossweisse did not have superb abilities to read expressions, Nora had lectured her about it so she could socialize more easily so Rossweisse dare to guess what the eyes of the woman with purple hair and bodysuit reflected. Interest was easily readable, unlike with Rossweisse, the woman was staring at Nora, anticipation, and expectations could be noticed as well.

Her words puzzled Nora and her as she could see him tilting his head and for some reason, his tails had formed questions marks.

Perhaps she felt the need to explain or to show them what she meant since she raised her hand in an open palm. A rune manifested on the air and Rossweisse saw it flow when there was a reaction coming from Nora, or rather, his pouch.

Since it began glowing, Nora began pulling things from his pouch until a familiar book was pulled out. It was glowing and the same type as the one manifested in front of the woman's hand. However, that was not their issue. Rossweisse recognized that book. It was pretty famous since it was said to not be able to be opened no matter who tried, nonetheless, it looked ancient so no one could bear to throw it away. That said, it was still a book belonging to the library.

"Nora, when did you take this book from the library? Did you steal it? Are you going to become a delinquent!?" Rossweisse ignored everything else and asked.

"No, no, I just 'borrowed' without anyone else knowing." Nora replied.

"That is called stealing!" Rossweisse retorted.

"Me disculpó, pero yo no sé hablar inglés, no se de que está hablando." Nora answered back.

"Changing the language won't erase the crime!" Rossweisse shouted.

A chuckling sound came from the woman and she was looking at them with an amused expression, however, she quickly changed that for a poker face.

"You guys seem full of energy, so the talk should go well." The woman smiled. "Let me offer you a warm welcome, I, Scathach, am pleased to see such a fine challenger here today."

"Wait, challenger? What is this about? I thought you were the one who saved us. Why do we have to challenge something?" Rossweisse spoke.

It was strange but she felt kind of anxious, the reason being that the woman did not seem to be looking at her at all, focusing all the attention on Nora. By no means, she feels a need for attention, however, it felt off that the boy seemed to be the only target of the woman... One moment, her name... Scathach!?

"The Witch of Dunscaith!? The person who was the one to teach and raise several heroes!" Rossweisse covered her open mouth in shock.

It seemed that only Rossweisse found that revelation important as Scathach only glanced at her once before staring at Nora who did not have any reaction at all. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Rossweisse noticed that her outburst was exaggerated. It was difficult to stop those words leave her mouth since her feats had been recorded in detail and they served to inspire many. However, she might've gone a bit too far with words since this situation was unusual.

"Hmm? Save you? I did-" Scathach wanted to speak but she was interrupted.

"I don't recall willingly accepting to be a challenger." Nora muttered.

She was not sure why Nora had spoken in the middle of the woman's speech, but Rossweisse could agree with his words.

"Hoh." Scathach chuckled.

She looked amused and did not further comment on the topic.

"However... If you can please take this girl here to her home, I will accept without even one complaint." Nora said.

Nora!?

"Wait! What are you saying!? I will never leave you alone." Rossweisse spoke.

What is he saying all of sudden? How could she abandon him? Rossweisse might feel intimidated by the woman, but she would never abandon her comrades.

"What makes you think you can even negotiate something with me?" Scathach inquired.

Instead of an amused smile, this time she had one that could be usually seen on a hunter who had her prey on sight. In fact, Scathach's hand was extending slowly to the spears beside her. She should be able to do so at an incredible speed but she did not resort to that since there was no need or she might be simply waiting to see how everything would unfold.

"I cannot. I am well aware of how powerless I am since long ago. However, you seem interested in me for some reason that I am unable to understand so I think that I can request something selfish like that." Nora said. "Since your business is with me, there is no need to keep her here."

What is this child saying? Did she hit his head too hard before when she tried to scold him?

"Nora-kun, stop joking around! It is not funny, I will never leave you alone here. The thought of me leaving this place while you stay here doing who knows what is not something I can accept. If we are going back, we are doing it together." Rossweisse spoke using a determined tone of voice.

A lot of time did Rossweisse spent reading about the goddess in front of her so she was well aware of the mighty she could wield, however, abandoning a friend would be something that she will never do. Such a thing will haunt her forever, and it is not something she is willing to do. It might've been for a short period, but Nora became a precious friend.

"What about your grandmother? How about your parents? Have you thought of Nur-san who was left behind? Don't be stubborn." Nora rebuked.

His words were enough to shut her mouth.

"Hmmm, you seem motivated to go through a lot." Scathach tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Alright, shall we do this?"

Swiftly and naturally, the woman known as the Witch of Dunscaith traced several runes in the air. It did not take a lot of time for her to complete the spell and before Rossweisse was aware of it, a barrier had separated her and Nora. No, to be precise, Scathach and Nora were free to move as they wished, but Rossweisse was trapped inside a barrier.

Without waiting for anything else to be said, Scathach lightly pointed at Nora, and the spears beside her rose in the air and flew at a speed that the eye could not follow. Thankfully, Nora dodged by stepping sideways. The place where he had been standing had the spears embedded on the ground. Rossweisse had the feeling that if that had been a regular floor, there would've been a hole thanks to the impact she was able to hear, however, it seemed that the castle had been built with sturdy materials or perhaps Scathach had enhanced the floor beforehand at some point.

"Alright, those are some good reflexes despite me lowering the speed that much." Scathach nodded in a satisfied manner. "Nonetheless, I hope that you don't think it is enough."

Chuckling, Scathach waved her hand and the spears started to move by themselves to attack Nora. She remained in place as spears combined actions such as spinning and stabbing at Nora. Scathach kept her hand holding the strangely shaped bastard sword that tried to escape her hand to aid Nora.

No matter how much Rossweisse banged the barrier, it did not budge. She had been trapped and unable to aid the boy.

Somehow, Nora was able to keep up with the two spears, and Rossweisse noticed how his movements were growing faster and faster. It seemed that spears' movements were becoming more complex and they were synchronizing their actions. She also was able to tell that he did not go all out when they trained. Nora must've been avoiding using too much force to not hurt them. He was clashing with the spears, using his fist to parry or deflect the blades of the spears.

"Hoh! I think I should also..." Scathach muttered before disappearing from her spot.

Rossweisse only blinked her for less than one second but Scathach had appeared behind Nora with her left leg on the ground and the right one raised high, ready to deliver a kick.

"Oh. *)/&$)!" Nora cursed.

The boy she was cheering for had detected the woman in bodysuit without turning around, but Rossweisse was not confident that he would be able to avoid the blow since just before Scathach made her appearance, the spears were doing a joint attack in front of Nora. They were both spinning like wheels, and they came in from Nora's front diagonally.

The result made Rossweisse chuckle despite the situation. Nora had transformed in his cat form and leaped at Scathach, or to be precise, he went to the place where her right leg would be if she were standing on two legs, you could describe it as an opening that he took advantage of. Rossweisse could not laugh for long as the sound of Scathach's kick was scary. It was an absurd blow to be used against Nora, Rossweisse could only bite her lips in frustration. Scathach was someone who knew no self-restraint, she had certainly read that somewhere.

"Jumping around is good and all, but you should know that you can't win a fight by running away!" Scathach said.

Instantly, she spun and sent Nora a round-kick that he failed to avoid. Rossweisse was not sure whether it was a good thing or not, but he had just changed back into his human form. Nora's figure flew and hit some shield hanging on the wall. The impact made Nora bounce off along with the shield that got dismounted from the wall and fell to the floor.

"Nora!" Rossweisse struck the barrier with her fists again.

She was very worried when Nora wobbly stood up only for Scathach to appear before him with her spears in each, however, as she swung them down at Nora, a shadow flew and got in the middle of Nora and Scathach.

"It seems the barrier I locked you was made in too much of a hurry." Scathach muttered.

Thanks to the intruder, Scathach momentum was slightly disrupted, or from the way Rossweisse saw it, the body-suit-wearing woman allowed it to be disrupted.

Nora did not waste any time talking and he grabbed the handle of the sword that presented itself to him. He positioned it slightly leaning to one side and when the impact arrived, he was sent flying once against but to one place different from what Rossweisse originally predicted it. He had used the impact to gain some distance from Scathach.

Watching powerlessly from the sidelines did not sit well with Rossweisse, she had to do something. However, the question was what. This was a barrier created by a goddess, one could not simply hope to smash apart with simple magic or physical strength. That said, she had not reached a physical state that went beyond a normal woman. Rossweisse had indeed gone through extensive training to keep her body fit and be able to respond to numerous situations, however, like most valkyries, she relied on magic to boost her physical abilities. Not to mention that she kept prioritizing study and learning new knowledge abode training her body.

Magic? Now that she thought about it, even if she used the most powerful magic she had learned, it would be useless, however, .she had been researching about that mythical creature, Trihexa, the one to be said to cause the apocalypse. It was what she would call a coincidence that she found a small reference about it in a book she was reading. Her curiosity picked made Rossweisse investigate further it. The mighty beast had been sealed along with the four knights that would accompany it during the world's end, they all had been located in different places and with incredibly complicated seals to lock them for all eternity. One small passage she read gave her some insight on barrier making. That said, it was beyond her skill to use even that small amount of knowledge. She was afraid of the consequences and... she never believed that she was capable of using it.

That will have to change, Nora needed her.

Part 3

MC's POV

Scary, scary, scary!

With all my respect and love for Kaa-san, I will say that I always thought she had a screw loose somewhere when she got immersed in training me. However, this lady swinging those dangerous spears around is on another level. First of all, Kaa-san did not use anything as dangerous as those red spears, although her fists and kicks were threatening enough. She would maintain at least a small level of self-control, like only moving one step higher than me so I could get used to it and I managed to react. However, this lady here is toying with me. That sounded so wrong. Back to the point, she knows more or less my limit yet she is pushing me way beyond that. Not one or two steps faster, I would say that she is moving at least ten steps more than what my body can do. I have been pushing my body beyond what it can handle by basically getting rid of the natural limiters it has. Inwardly, my body is screaming for mercy since my muscles have been torn apart and healed back continuously. If it not because I am using Senjutsu to fix the damage I am accumulating in my body after the extraneous movements and the blows that lady gives me, I would be a bloody mess on the floor. Nonetheless, I have to give credit to those who deserve it, this sword that was shoved in my pouch after a brief explanation is truly a lifesaver. Regular weapons would've been broken by now.

Swinging her left-handed spear down, Scathach speeded up her movements again disrupting my rhythm. She would usually keep a speed that I would need to strain my body to barely respond however, she would do things like these once in a while to catch me off guard. As I barely held my sword on each side horizontally, the weapons hit each other and I was forced to kneel after the weight of the attack was passed down to me. I had to ignore my screaming muscles and the ominous sounds coming from my bones to twist my body slightly since the woman in front of me did not seem to think that attack was enough. She used the spear on her left hand to thrust right at my guts.

It was unavoidable that I would get a heavy injury. She was playing with me and did not go all out, however, I couldn't trust that she would not try to kill me if she felt like it. I have not been able to understand her fixation with me, but I could at least tell that I had some sort of use for her. The question takes me back to whether she needs me alive or dead.

Bracing myself for the cold metal ready to pierce my guts, I saw her stop just as I felt the cold of that reddish pointy edge go past my clothes.

Couldn't she just stop before making a hole in clothes? Why, just why did she do that? Is this the curse of ecchi words!? Targeting clothing first!? No, anime, in general, is like that. Distracting myself with nonsense was to calm down my beating heart that almost burst from the fear that damned spear caused me. I got the feeling that if it was used at its full potential, it would become a terrifying weapon.

"Fumu, I think we should stop here. I would love to continue fighting, however, no matter how healthy you look on the outside, those injuries from before must still be affecting you," Scathach frowned. "I already understood enough about you through our clash."

My lips twitched at her words. If you were aware that I am not healthy yet, why did you still attack me?

"Thank you for your consideration..." I muttered half-heartedly.

"I can't feel a speck of gratitude from your words, shall we go for another round to see if you appreciate my actions a little more?" Scathath left eyebrow rose slightly.

Before I could show my most gratitude-filled expression, a sound similar to a glass breaking was heard. For some reason, I thought that turning around I would see some spike-haired guy running this way shouting about breaking an illusion, but a different sight was what I saw. In the direction of the barrier, I noticed briefly how some strange Glyph could be seen written on the pieces of the barrier that still stood, however, they did not last long as the rest of the barrier broke apart. A sweaty Rossweisse was revealed once the barrier broke down, she looked exhausted but she still walked to my side and confronted Scathach.

"I won't let you attack Nora-kun anymore, I will protect my precious comrade!" Rossweisse muttered.

Honestly, my heart skipped a beat at the sight of the precious valkyrie standing up to me, however, I shook my head bitterly. I did not have the right to let her protect me. This is a mess I got myself into, no, it would be more accurate to say that I got us into. My actions caused this gentle girl to almost die. If I had not tried to make her participate in the tournament, she would be happy studying with her new friends and Nur-san.

"Rossweisse-san, it is ok. The fight has ended." I took a step and stood in front of her.

Scathach for her part looked lost in thought before smiling slightly, but when I thought she would turn her attention to the valkyrie and perhaps ask for another round with her included, she simply looked at Rossweisse-san and-

"That was rather impressive for a technique made on the spot." Scathach praised.

Nodding to herself, Scathach simply left us there and went to her throne.

I felt kind of cheap, I was the one clashing with her until now and Rossweisse-san just appeared of out nowhere and got praised.

*Sigh*

As expected, I am no match for the main characters of this world. I need to work even harder.

Rossweisse's POV

After receiving praise out of nowhere, Nora closed his eyes and mumbled things about getting stronger, through different means. The weirdest thing he said was something about using that forbidden training that could make him bald.

Since he did not pay attention, he did not hear Scathach's words afterward.

"That was an interesting fight, as a swordsman you failed miserably and your skills are quite shabby, but the fact that you could react that much to my sudden change rhythm means that you have some pretty good instincts. I was could tell that you have received training before and that person did a good job in teaching you the basics." Scathach commented.

The woman seemed too distracted waving a spell to fix the damage generated during the fight to notice that Nora was lost in thought. Nonetheless, Rossweisse felt that Nora did not get enough credit and she judged him too harshly.

"Excuse me, Scathach. I think Nora-kun could've done better if he knew swordsmanship." Rossweisse inwardly cheered for her to not stutter. "He is a bowman, not a swordsman."

Her words made the body-suit-wearing woman stop her hands.

"Ah, now that you mentioned it. He did tell me something similar." Scathach continued with her spell. "It seems I got too excited in assessing his skills that I forgot about certain things. The easiest way to make him agree would be... right, he did tell me how to do so."

Finished with the spell, she nodded with a clearly satisfied expression and waved her hands, the spell immediately took effect. The hall was restored to its previous state in the blink of an eye. However, Scathach glances at her and Nora in turns before smiling and tracing another spell. It took effect swiftly, and Rossweisse's voice was cut off.

"Boy!" Scathach called out.

"Hmm?" Nora reacted by raising his head and looking at Rossweisse.

"If you want her to be free, you must beat the challenge and become my disciple. Only after you do so, I will permit you to leave." Scathach boldly declared. "Of course, I will lower the difficulty given I was a little rough just now, you can take the challenge together."

Rossweisse wanted to speak up but was unable to.

"I don't care if it is more difficult, but allow me to take this upon myself to complete. In exchange, let her stay here out of any possible danger. I beg of you." Nora pleaded.

"Hmmm, you are just making this almost impossible to complete. Since I found you two, I had prepared the challenge to be made by two people. However, now you want to do it alone." Scathach frowned. "I favor brave warriors, but I dislike foolish ones."

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Biting her lips, Rossweisse wanted to rebuke Nora for his nonsense.

"Foolish? Maybe, I am not very smart, I am well aware of it. However, I do know that bringing her together will make it easier." Nora muttered. "I can at least make that simple addition. Nonetheless, I still want to do this alone. It is not a matter of thinking that I am better than her, or thinking that she will drag me down. Call it stupid pride, but I want to take responsibility. My actions almost take her life away and this is a way to redeem myself."

What is this dumb cat saying?

"Certainly, you are what you would call a fool." Scathach said. "However, it is not something I dislike."

Smiling slightly, Scathach had a nostalgic expression for a brief moment. She looked to be remembering something from a distant past or so Rossweisse thought.

"However, are you sure? The contents of the challenge won't be changed because of your pride. I can accept your actions since they esteem from your will, but nothing else." Scathach inquired.

Rossweisse felt anxious so she walked in front of Nora and tried to get his attention through hand signs.

"Honestly, I thought the challenge had finished with the fight before." Nora smiled bitterly.

Checking his pouch, he took outa cookie and put it on her mouth, Rossweisse unconsciously focused on the cookie.

"Oh, that? I just felt like stretching my muscles for a bit." Scathach spoke in a nonchalant tone.

Not only Nora, but Rossweisse also felt that her words were absurd.

"I figured it wouldn't be that easy, however, I will still go. Tell me what I have to do, I will not back down." Nora exclaimed.

It was not until she finished the cookie that she remembered that she needed to stop him.

"Truly spoken like a Celtic warrior. A true warrior does not back down from a challenge. It is quite simple, initially, this task could've been completed by each one of you looking for one item I hid, but now you have to find both on your own. The time limit... is none, however, more than 3 days is more than what a child like you will be able to handle. If you are lucky, it can be completed in that amount of time." Scathach explained. "However, I advise you against the case you are an unlucky fellow and ended up spending more time there. That said... the original contents of the challenge were to land as much as you could."

Adding the last bit felt suspicious to Rossweisse, but ignored such a thing and grabbed Nora by his shoulders. Trying to plead for him to stop, she only received a wry smile in response.

Gently fixing the bangs of her hair that had become messy after the stressful breaking-out-of-the-barrier, Nora looked straight into her eyes. His green eyes contained many emotions, but guilt could be easily read. Rossweisse now understands his look from back then.

"You are a mess, but don't worry. I will take you home. I am sorry, you almost died because I selfishly made you join the competition you did not want to join. Coming to meet you was not a good idea." Nora lamented.

Patting her head gently, he turned to see Scathach.

"Where will you be taking me to?" Nora asked.

There were many things she wanted to say to the boy, but the woman wearing the bodysuit did not allow her to speak.

"There is only one place here that is worthy to use as a challenge to see whether or not you can be my disciple." Scathach rose from her throne. "The Land of Shadows."

...

...

...

Like she was afraid that he would change his mind for some reason, Scathach grabbed Nora and vanished. Rossweisse was certain that she did not use magic of any kind, or at least she couldn't feel even the faintest trace of it. That could only mean that she moved at such a speed. Coldly sweating, Rossweisse saw the purple-haired woman nonchalantly sitting on her throne without showing signs of breaking in sweat after coming back. The time it took her to do so was short. Was it for a short distance? Otherwise, it would be too scary to think she went to a faraway place and came back so easily.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Scathach threw a small pouch. "Catch."

Trembling like a small animal, Rossweisse had lost the courage she had when she tried to defend Nora. However, even if she was afraid, she recognized the pouch of the boy. He never let go of it and had it attached to him so she prepared to speak only to remember her muted state.

"It was only obvious that he wouldn't get to have such an advantage." Scathach shrugged her shoulders. "Nonetheless, I did not have to force- ask him nicely, he handed it to me like he expected that I would ask for that, although he said I should give it to you since he has rations so you won't have to starve."

Moved to the point of crying, or maybe she still her situation scary, Rossweisse held the pouch tightly and wished him good luck.

Part 4

MC's POV

Cold.

That was my first impression of this place. Freaking cold.

Being thrown into an unknown environment is always harsh, yet it is not as bad as when my dear Kaa-san did it to me. Our house was built in a place where there was spring all year round, however, given our last name... the pocket dimension had more to offer, in particular, there were three other main seasons (Not counting the special spaces that need unique weathers to grow some plants) that still reigned. Yes, after entering this place, I remembered when Kaa-san first took me to the Winter side. Crazily strong blizzards sometimes, snowy landscape when the storms calm down. A simple summary would describe that place as crazy. In comparison, the weather I arrived at is mild, yet I don't have any damn heating clothing. My pants were the only thing she spared me, that damned woman.

"I will have my revenge!" I yelled.

Somehow I felt some affinity raising with someone somewhere, but I ignored that since it was probably some nonsensical thought.

Calming myself, I took a look around and noticed that far away, figures could be seen wandering around the snow. They looked blurred and despite using my ability to enhance my eyesight, they still looked half-transparent.

I denied it with all my heart, but their gruesome forms made it hard to do so. The fact that my demonic energy decided to act up and direct itself to my eyes did not help since they got a lot clearer. I tried once again to deny it, but the lack of footprints as they walked did not allow it.

They can only be one thing.

"I thought it was impossible, but to think I would see Stands walking around like that." I mumbled.

I know, you guys thought they were ghosts, but that is so unscientific. The only logical explanation is that they are Stands.

While I evaded reality for a bit, my eyes keep taking in my environment. Rocky cliff could be spotted at one side, and beyond that mountains seemed endless. Straining my eyesight with clairvoyance to the maximum limit, I could barely discern a giant fortress that gave you the feeling that no one could invade. My gamer soul wanted me to go challenge that but my common sense (?) steered me away from such a thing. In another direction, I could see warren plains as far as the eye could see along with many Stands roaming or battling each other. I could spot living (?) creatures as well, but nothing like I had seen before, which is impressive considering how much knowledge about different creatures is to be able to treat many life forms. My inquisitive medical soul almost made me wander over there to study those, but I restrained myself once again.

There is so much ground to cover that I wonder what is the best route to go. My luck is sure to kick in at some point and that worries me.

Looking at another location, a creepy forest that gave me a terrible feeling spread in my view.

Yikes. Are there no places that do not look like I could find many Stands?

Regardless of my thoughts, I have to get moving. I noticed quite the troublesome setting this place has. It is draining my energy little by little. It is not only ki but demonic power and my life energy as well. It is being drained gradually so being here for a couple of days should not be that dangerous given my reserves of those three, but one must never lower their guard. Not to mention, my demonic power is getting restless to the point that the bracelet I was granted before is having trouble keeping it controlled.

Rossweisse's POV

It was not until the next day that Rossweisse was finally free from her muted state. She got her courage back after eating some of Nora's sweet and asked Scathach for a way to see Nora in his challenge or to accompany him in his challenge. She only got permission to watch over him after a while of pestering the purple-haired woman. She would like to think that her honest appeal was what let her get what she wanted and not the tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks.

By the time she started to observe the boy, he had somehow made a small camp in a forest. His appearance could only be described as wild. He was wearing some kind of pelt over him forming a rough coat. He was lighting a campfire using some strange-looking branch. It was a crude method, but the other person who was observed along with her nodded satisfied.

"It did not take him long to figure out the trick." Scathach commented.

"Trick? Excuse me, but what kind of place is the place you sent him to?" Rossweisse asked.

Turning her sight to her, Scathach tapped her chin and when Rossweisse thought that she will not answer, she spoke.

"The Land of Shadows, the true one. It is a place that does not exist for the living. You could say that only the soul of those who died a terrible death or had a wicked heart is sent there. It is where they will spend an eternity to atone for their sins, you could call it hell if it is easier for you to understand." Scathach explained. "No regular soul can survive there for more than a day, and only a brave warrior can withstand for more than three days. Seven days is the sign of a hero and... nine days was the longest record that a living person could withstand, and his grade was that of one of the highest grade heroes I trained. That said, he was a special case, given his divine descent."

Contrary to what Rossweisse expected, Scathach words gave her a lot of information. It seemed that despite her cold-looking exterior, she was someone who was used to teaching thus gave good explanations.

Filled with worry, Rossweisse continued the conversation.

"Why is that someone finds it hard to survive there?" Rossweisse inquired.

With a face that screamed, 'I am glad you asked', Scathach pointed at the spell that formed a circle and allowed them to peer Nora's challenge.

"It is for two main reasons for noncombat people, and two for a warrior. The miasma in the Land of Shadows erodes the mind, which can cause a variety of effects that can go from violent streaks to losing their mind completely. Although that mostly applies to those with a weak mentality and those who spend too much time inside. Second, the location itself tries to swallow all life. You could say that it robs living creatures of that what makes them alive along with their energy." Scathach muttered. "The effect is a bit tricky since it cannot be felt easily, but given my authority over the land, I can bypass that effect. That means that others can do so as well if they have authorities that can overpower mine, that said, that is not the case for him."

That is worrisome.

"Will he be alright?" Rossweisse asked.

"He does not look like he would drop dead easily so as his woman, I recommend that you have faith in your man." Scathach replied.

His woman!? She!?

"No way, no, no. We are not like that!" Rossweisse denied.

Even though they were engaged, she never considered him like a romantic partner.

"Hmmm? Is that so? Then, are you his family member? No, that does not look like." Scathach scanned her body. "I see no resemblance to each other so maybe one of you is adopted? I can't see how someone unrelated by the ties of blood would dare to face the Curruid. It is not blood ties, or love... hmmm, this is..."

Narrowing her eyes, Scathach seemed lost in thought. Her eyes seemed to be looking at something else other than her.

"Wait... facing the Curruid? Is that the monster's name? What do you mean when you say he faced it? Wasn't it you who...?" Rossweisse inquired.

"You are not aware of it, and I went along with his charade when he said before, but I don't like taking credit for something I did not do. The one who saved you from that creature was him, not me. When I found you, he was dragging you from inside that creature. He was covered in wounds and looked like he could fall at moment's notice, but he did not fall. Even when he lost consciousness, he remained standing beside you, protecting you." Scathach explained.

Scathach's words shocked her greatly. Is she joking?

"That has to be a lie... He has no reason to go that far..." Rossweisse denied.

When they woke up, he looked the same... No, the bandages he carried covered a large part of his body.

"He did not mention it and tried to keep you from knowing. That boy even made things ambiguous so you wouldn't learn the truth for some reason." Scathach snorted. "I am not doing him a favor and neither I am trying to help him out, he is still too green if he thinks he can make Scathach do as he wants."

Why...? She is just a clumsy girl who is no good.

"The only other possible reason is guilty, I think he did say something like that." Scathach continued to talk. "Really, men's pride is the same whether they are Celtic or not."

Watching over Nora, Rossweisse was unsure what to say or think. He blamed himself for what happened and he was trying to make up for her. He is truly a dumb cat.

...

...

...

Two days went by and Nora had not even found one of the required items. Several reasons slowed down his search. It was to the point that Scathach was impressed... by his bad luck.

"A storm acting up every day until night came up, I do not know if I should call him gifted or not. The way he is suffering from misfortune is above anyone else I had seen before. Not only did the storms restrict his movement during the day, even at night he got attacked by vengeful spirits." Scathach commented.

It was like she said, he did not have a moment to rest. However, while fighting those ghosts, or how Nora called them, Stands. They exhibited strange behavior. Although they attacked him, at some point when Nora's emotions were disturbed, they reacted to his yells. There was one who even obeyed Nora when yelled at him to stay in place and stop running around. Rossweisse wondered what was that, but she was more worried about the possible effects that that place might have on him.

"His movements could still use some improvement. The way he moves his feet is swift but there are many areas where he could've stepped into a more advantageous position. However, that is to be expected from someone who is self-taught and has yet to see people who excel in footwork." Scathach pondered aloud. "Hmm, the way he is willing to use his surrounding to his advantage is not bad, although he could learn to change that environment to suit him better instead of only using what was originally there."

The way she was critiquing Nora's actions put Rossweisse in bad mood.

"It is not bad to stick to simple fist strikes to polish the technique, but only when there are no flaws." Scathach shook her head. "There is a lot to work do, but I guess that means he will improve a lot."

Already irked by the way Scathach spoke about her friend, Rossweisse wanted to refute her but she noticed something strange.

"...why do you speak as he succeeded already?" Rossweisse asked.

Lost in thought, Scathach continued to tap her chin. When Rossweisse thought that she had not been heard, Scathach replied.

"You are curious? Well, let me tell you my thoughts. In my experience, those who are surrounded by misfortune are bound to either be crushed by it after giving up fighting against it or accepting it. However, some do not give up, they are people who will not be tied down by it. In the rarest cases, they might even use that misfortune in their favor." Scathach points at the spell showing Nora. "Look at that boy, judging him from his current actions and what he did to that creature. No, you have known him longer than me. Can you imagine that he would be beaten by misfortune?"

"Nora-kun... wouldn't lose." Rossweisse stared at him through the spell.

"Heh." Scathach chuckled.

Instantly, Rossweisse blushed. The knowing smiled the woman gave her was not something she expected.

"He and I are not like that, he is too young!" Rossweisse exclaimed.

"I did not say anything about that." Scathach smirked.

Deciding that if she continued to speak, the conversation will lead her to be teased again, Rossweisse shut her mouth.

In a distant future, she got teased by Nora who bribed- no, he called it 'convincing' Scathach to tell him what kind of face she had at that time, and the purple-haired woman said that she was pouting.

...

...

...

Four days went by and Nora had barely found one item. It was more than he initially had but things were still grim.

An interesting event was when the boy found a group of ghosts that could be talked to. He managed to communicate with them despite their differences. Rossweisse could feel at ease for some reason. Those ghosts AKA Stands had a great resemblance to humans, other than the fact that they were dead. After asking Scathach, it seemed to be a new kind of race born out of the resentment that took form. Somehow, they had gained intelligence and they formed a society.

It was a little unnerving knowing that such a thing was happening and Rossweisse wondered if such a thing occurred in other places, but her mind couldn't help but focus on Nora's interactions. He managed to get along well with a great number of Stands... female ones. He managed to befriend a lot of them, in particular, there was a pink-haired one who showed great interest in him.

"Should I call it a fortunate event or a misfortunate one?" Scathach pondered. "Those were one of the most vicious vengeful spirits in the Land of Shadows, they prey upon other creatures and they devour them until there is nothing left. To befriend them... no, maybe they want to eat him? How amusing."

That is not amusing!

"Shouldn't we save him!?" Rossweisse exclaimed in panic.

Contrary to the nervous Rossweisse, Scathach was calm. The smile hanging on her face expressed a joyful mood.

"There is no need. I doubt they would do something. He is too weak to catch their whole population's interest like some of the idiots who infiltrated that place the other day. As I explained to you before, they have intellect, and amount to the things they devour, knowledge is included. It is one of the reasons why they can be communicated with and why I have not wiped them out. Unless they go too far or try to escape, I let them enjoy their 'freedom'. The boy should be ok for the time being, probably. Even that glutton ghost princess would not attack a helpless cat... probably." Scathach spoke in an uncertain tone.

Rossweisse wondered if this goddess tried to reassure her or make her more nervous.

Nonetheless, Nora was able to spend a pleasant night without being chased around by the myriads of creatures wandering at night.

MC's POV

It has been.. around seven days already, however, I have not found the item yet. I had one in my hands, but the last one was proving to be a challenge. The weather seems to be against me since it always acts up during the day. The nights are a pain since some random Stand can stumble upon me if I am unlucky, which occurs often. The only night when I had a good sleep was when that kind Stand Onee-san lent me her lap to rest. For some reason I did not get to learn, they did not have names so I had some trouble conversing with them at the beginning.

After that, I managed to get some clues about possible locations to find the other item I am lacking so I had been looking into them, but the weather and the constant need to avoid fights became a factor in my delay.

Grabbing the branch I had been using a weapon. I continued to stride forward. The plains were awfully large and I had been wandering here for a while, but this was one of the most promising locations. I had not focused on it when I used my ability at the beginning, but after giving it another try, I discovered underground passages.

Honestly, I don't want to go to a place that will most likely be crawling with Stands. However, I have to move forward. Rossweisse-san needs to be delivered home. I have the feeling that she is just being used as an incentive to make enter here, or rather, take the challenge. When this is over, she will be allowed to go. Nonetheless, I can't speculate about myself. I do not understand why that goddess has any interest in me. Her strength would put many to shame. While I am not able to gauge the limit of her strength... a goddess who lives in reclusion and seems to be a battle junkie can't be on the lower side of the spectrum.

All this talk is giving me a headache.

"Yasaka-san... I want a lap pillow!" I mumbled.

Without noticing how I spoke something I would usually not let out, I found what seemed to be the stairs to the passages. For some reason, there were stairs made of stones so I wondered if there were other intelligent creatures besides those kind Stands from before. However, not only the stairs were well maintained, but there were stone walls that lacked the rough texture that usually accompanied the rocks. That gave me a bad feeling so I maintained my ability activated. The darkness that seemed to swallow all light inside the tunnel was no longer there, my regular eyesight was not troubled with the lack of light but I had trouble looking further than 3 meters ahead of me. More tests were needed but I guess there is something wrong with this underground passage.

...

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...

Lighting a torch after going further inside caused some interesting phenomena. To understand it correctly, I deactivated my ability. As I walked further, the light around me seemed to be swallowed and the torch's fire diminished little by little. Despite being a make-shift one that I made using what I found on the grim forest, I was confident that it will not die out on its own so easily.

...

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...

"I am hungry, I want to be spoiled by Yasaka-san. My hands are itching, I want to headpat the younger ones at home... ah, why do I keep saying all that!?" I exclaimed.

I do not know what is more worrisome, the way these passages link to one another to form a maze the deeper you walk or the fact that my mouth is running on its own. Both are equally worrisome.

Finally, after zooming with my ability, I caught sight of something I would love not to call the thing I was searching for, that said, my luck is shining today. Not only did I find the item, but it did not come alone, it was accompanied by some weird creature. A worm, a huge one. Grey in color, it had at least ten meters in length and sharp teeth that grew out of its mouth.

Great, I am royally screwed.

That damn Scathach, does she want to kill me? Isn't a bit of overkill to face that in my condition?

Rossweisse's POV

"Isn't it too much to put that there? The environment is already bad for him and you added that creature as well." Rossweisse said.

Forgetting the fear she had for the woman, Rossweisse raised her voice.

Lazily sitting on her throne, Scathach was using her right arm to rest her head.

"I am not that cruel." Scathach replied. "It is a creature that lives underground and found itself in the passage after digging through the walls. That maze was originally what I designed for the boy, after facing the harsh weather and ghost outside, he would find himself in the labyrinth that would rob him of his eyesight but by relying on his other senses, he would find the item. The environment, the lack of the sense that people rely on more. That by itself is enough to drive those with a weak mentality insane, not to mention, the fear of finding something unexpected that would cause you to hesitate every step you take. I have seen countless people who claim that such a thing is not that scary, but those would only act like nothing was wrong for a few hours. The longer they spent closed in that maze, the faster they started to lose their cool. I built that space to recreate one of the training methods used on the warrior my queendom once had. After improving some aspects, it proved to be a good way to test my apprentices."

The way her expression darkened about her queendom made Rossweisse abstain from asking anything about it.

"But now there is a worm there..." Rossweisse raised the issue once again.

Right now, Nora was more important.

"When will you find a situation in life that is not unpredictable? Sometimes things like this happen so I don't think it warrants any consideration of stopping the challenge." Scathach spoke in a languid tone. "Will he take the path of a foolish warrior and face an impossible to win the battle due to a hot-blooded head or will he try to find a way to accomplish what he was set to do? It is up to him. I will take a light nap so don't wake me up."

After saying that, Scathach closed her eyes and did not speak anymore.

Shocked, Rossweisse did not expect her to show so little interest in the situation.

...

...

...

Time went by, and nine days had passed after Nora went into that place. Rossweisse almost had a heart attack after Nora got attacked by another worm that had found its way into the maze. The only damage he received was the destruction of the bracelet he always carried. The worm used its (?) tail to hit Nora would he manage to deflect the attack using the bracelet as a shield. Something changed in Nora and he started to throw fireballs at the worm, those blue-tinged flames were rather strange since the worm showed clear signs of aversion to them. The creature had taken other attacks from Nora, but besides the green flaming wheel, it did not seem to care about what was thrown at it.

Thankfully, Nora was able to escape after gravely injuring the worm, but he was not in a good condition either.

It was to the point that Scathach hesitated whether to end the challenge or not. For Rossweisse, it was a welcomed conclusion, but it seemed out of character from the aloof and cold goddess she had read about. There seemed to be something that she expected from Nora, and it did not require him to die.

In the end, Scathach did not stop the challenge. She did offer a few words of prey for surviving that long in there, but she still gave him hard critics for the way the fight went and for procrastinating in finding the last item.

...

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...

It was the tenth day and Nora seemed to finally lose his head. He had been rambling before but now he was not even being discreet about it.

"When I get home... I am going to pet the heck out those tails, or else, my name is not Nora!" Nora exclaimed aloud.

Watching him through the spell that was modified to even hear what was happening might've been a bad idea.

"...shouldn't you pull him out?" Rossweisse suggested.

"It is ok, I heard he initially had a screw loose so he should be ok. Right now he is showing one of the possible side-effects and that is... being honest with his desires. He is letting out things he kept in his heart and would not normally say aloud." Scathach muttered in a doubtful tone.

It seemed that even the Witch of Dunscaith found Nora a little too strange.

...

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...

A strange phenomenon had started to happen and Rossweisse only noticed it after Scathach pointed it out. Evil spirits, ghosts, vengeful spirits, wraiths, and other things she was not sure how to classify began gathering in large numbers and heed to the underground maze. Some of them moved in a daze while others had amused expressions like the pink-haired ghost that helped Nora before.

"That boy, he is the cause." Scathach nonchalantly commented.

"...what do you mean?" Rossweisse instantly asked.

"His demonic power to be precise, it's the cause. Long ago, there was a woman who invaded my lands and took with her several Stands- ghosts, damna it, what he mumbled often is contagious. Ahem." Scathach continued. "That strange woman had blue eyes of the same color that the boy currently has. I had a queendom to worry about at that time so I noticed her actions when she had escaped already. Of course, I chased after her the ghost she had taken with her had become an army that followed her orders."

Alternating between listening to the purple-haired woman and Nora's actions, Rossweisse would turn to see one or the other.

"I was excited at that time, it would be a wonderful fight but she easily gave up without putting a fight. She did not want her army to get wiped out before she dealt with some business. I was annoyed and thought of simply taking care of the ghost but mindlessly killing unresisting enemies was boring. When she was stuck in that conundrum, the woman offered a solution. Her descendant would surely full fill my desire. The woman had a special talent to see the future and she promised me that one day I would meet her descendant." Scathach said. "I only considered it her useless ramblings so I was about to dispose of her but I lost my interest when she started to beg me. Honestly, it left a bad taste in my mouth so I left after warning her to never use those to harm innocent people. She accepted, even going as far as getting herself bound by the geas."

Geas? The forbidden magic that forces the one is used on to follow obediently the users orders? She had heard about such dangerous magic.

Wait, going by how the story went, Nora is that descendant? He is controlling those Stands? Perhaps he stands a chance if he orders them to-

"I can't exactly tell what you are thinking but it is wrong. That woman died a few weeks after that so the boy can't be her descendant since I checked before and the woman had no children. That boy is not controlling those ghosts, but rather they are being drawn to him. If he had that ability he would've had used it before. Look at his face, he is not looking good. I think that bracelet was there to keep the demonic energy under control and completely hidden from regular peering." Scathach said.

Smashing all her ideas, the woman seemed to be able to guess her thoughts from her expression.

"Pay attention, it will be almost turned into eleven days and he is finally reaching his limits. He will act soon." Scathach muttered.

As she said, Nora looked tired and had trouble breathing. Many factors probably put him in that position, but that would not change that it was almost time for him to lose consciousness.

At some point, Nora left the underground maze and stared straight at the location where the ghost was gathering at. The smile he had at that time was something that Rossweisse had a hard time forgetting for days, it was what someone would call an evil smile but she liked it a lot.

MC's POV

Good luck, bad luck. Who knows what caused it, but that horde of scary Stands was coming after me. It was hard to explain, I had no proof but it looked like that. As soon as they laid their eyes on me, they got into a frenzy and speed up. I waved at the figure of buxom ghost that helped me before since she waved at me from afar. She seemed to be honestly amused by all this and was joining for the fun.

Sighing, I got a nice idea and my lips curled up slightly. I must be making a weird face right now, but it did not matter. I had an idea after looking at the spectacle in from of me.

Bursts of demonic energy left my body without my permission and their actions got even more frenzied. Understanding the implications, I did not try to control my aura. I let it flow wildly as I ran inside the underground maze. I was tired and moving was becoming painful, but I could not stop.

...

...

...

The ruckus attracted that other worm from before but the poor creature seemed to react on instinct rather than thoughts, it got attracted and tried to attack me, however, I simply ran past it.

The crazed Stands took care of the rest. They greedily devoted the worm despite its look. I kept my ability on so I watched the whole spectacle. Even when my eyes started to bleed, I could not stop. I had the feeling that once I did, I wouldn't be able to activate it again. I had been using it for long periods while I was down here and that exhausted me.

...

...

...

The complicity of the maze gave me a headache since I had to guide them to the place I wanted but I did not stop for long for fear that they might catch me.

...

...

...

It was a large room, one big enough to put an Olympic pool inside. It had only one entry and that concerned me, but I already knew that.

...

...

...

Dashing into the room, I threw myself on the floor to avoid the worm that lunged at my previous location.

Learning from my previous experience, I threw a fireball at it. Yet, I let my demonic power affect it and it turned blue before it was hurled at it.

Perhaps it sensed it getting close so avoid the fireball by twisting its body. It was creepy and unnerving the way it moved its body, but I had better things to worry about. Laying quietly on an altar, a wooden token that had a rune inscribed in it was waiting for me.

The ground started to shake before I even took a step forward and the room immediately got filled with angry growling and howlings. One step, two steps, I pushed my body to go forward yet my vision was blurring. My eyes were reaching the limit and I still had to get out of here. However, I ignored the pain.

"GAAAAAHHHH."

"HYAAAAAAA."

"DIE! DIE! DIE!"

The screams and curses from the ghosts were causing my ears to hurt and some kind of weight was added to my body. It seemed a type of curse so I hastened my steps.

Extending my hand, I grabbed the token.

Once I turned my head, I froze.

I did not get surprised at the image of the worm being torn down and eaten alive as it struggled. It was gruesome but my eyes laid on the absurd number of Stands.

Biting my lips, I considered my options and they mostly lead me to a gory death. My Ki was almost empty, the same as my stamina. The only thing remaining was my demonic power. It kept trying to act while so I had to restrain it at this point. The memories from back then when I read about the devils used on me continued to course through my head. Murmur, that devil's ability is one to command ghost, Stands. If I use her powers correctly, I could become the strongest Stand user. A voice in my head muttered that nonsense, but the contents were still useful.

How to make it work? They are slowly coming this way. Spells usually require incantations to make it work, and when you reach a certain level of mastery you can ignore it. Given my inexperience, I will have to embarrass myself with an incantation.

"In the name of Murmur! Get out of the way!" I yelled.

As soon as I spoke, I let the rampaging demonic power go off, but it became docile and acted to help me. My tell resounded in the whole space, and below me, the magic circle had formed. I did not pay attention to the form or design it had. I just pushed the demonic power who began listening to me for some reason. I could peer inside me for a moment at that instant, I was able to distinguish that between my demonic power, you could tell that three different sources formed the whole pool. However, that miraculous situation did not last long since my view changed back to the Stands. They stiffened like statues and made a way for me. Only a pink-haired woman seemed to resist my command and she had a relaxed smile. I could not feel a hint of ill will but the fact that she stood there in the middle of the way was still confusing.

Nonetheless, she seemed to read my unease and took a step... No, she floated slightly to one side. While that happened, the magic circle I created vanished, but I failed to see a new one taking place. It originated from both tokens in my possession but I only learned about that later.

One step forward was all it took, my limit had been reached. I was about to fall and I could see that pink-haired woman trying to catch me as she got closer. My body reacted and my other leg managed to get to the front and my fall was stopped. However, that was it. I could not move anymore.

"What a shame, I crawled out from a monster stomach and ended up in the hands of a scary person, she had good thighs though. I am sure that a lap pillow from here would be great." I mumbled.

The ghosts began regaining their bearings and they tried to get closer again. However, two things prevented them. The pink-haired woman created butterflies from her hands and those beautiful creatures flew slowly but whenever they touched a creature, they ceased to exist, that was the only way I could describe a ghost dying. The ones with corporal bodies stiffened and fell to the grown while the others just vanished. Nevertheless, the showiest thing was the rain of red that I caught coming from being me. Spears, numerous spears that I could not count rained on the creatures annihilating them.

"You cannot touch him. He, Nora Shiki, is my disciple." Scathach muttered.

I wondered how she knew my name, I did not recall introducing myself to her, but maybe I had done it. My body could not endure it more and my eyes closed.

"Why did you help him?" Scathach's sharp voice seemed to be directed at someone.

My dear cat ears could still catch a conversation ongoing.

"Me? I just thought it would be amusing and it would be a waste if something happened to him. Of course, I did not interfere with your challenge by helping him."

A light-hearted voice replied.

"Firstly, he found us first and I only let him stay in our place. Secondly, the challenge finished as soon as he got the token. However, he is more interesting than I thought. To control my kin that way is a new feeling. I wonder if he would be able to do the same with me if he grew up more. Oops! Don't put on that scary face, I am not going to eat him. I better leave~"

After a while of hearing that voice, nothing else was heard. I had noticed that I did not fall but someone was holding me.

"Fuh, what a troublesome disciple. As soon as you become my disciple, you caught the attention of a troublesome woman. You resemble Cú Chulainn more than I expected." Scathach spoke in a gentle tone. "Hmph, when you wake up I will have you explain that thing about me being scary and about my thighs, however, for now, rest. You did a good job. My new disciple."

If I play the fool when I wake up, will I get to live?

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