Chapter 88: Smacking a deity feels nice – By Nora

3rd Person POV

"This is endless, Reiko-nee!"

A figure bisected the figure in front of her while complaining. Her katana did not stop after she finished her attack, instead, she followed with a horizontal slash and took some distance from her enemy that vanished in thin air.

Nearby, another figure held her hand forward as a sphere of wind was sucking the air around it, including the enemy she was facing. Once the enemy had been completely sucked, it could not maintain its form and dispersed.

"We can only make them disappear for a brief moment. The miasma is the origin and unless we get rid of it, they will continuously reappear. Our task is to keep them at bay."

"We have been at it for a couple of hours, do you think we should head to the source...?"

As they spoke, the duo noticed new creatures .ade of miasma forming in front of their very eyes.

"No, from the information we were given, they have targets and until there is a proper countermeasure, we are to prevent them from reaching their goal."

Just as the figures prepared to face the newly formed enemies, they felt a figure running towards them.

"<Guide to the afterlife>"

In a clear voice, a figure dashed holding a spear, and used the fire it created to immediately vanquish the enemies.

"Oya, it seems I took longer than everyone else."

After a simple survey of her surroundings, the new figure just smiled and greeted the duo before her.

"Kasumi, maybe we should just go ahead and leave..." Reiko mumbled.

"Reiko-nee, I think that is just the opposite of what you spoke earlier." Kasumi muttered.

"What a cold reception~"

Without a change of expression, the new arrival only kept her smile as stuck her spear in the ground.

"If we perform a large-scale ritual, perhaps we could deal with the miasma, but for that..."

Mumbling to herself, the figure seemed troubled over what to do.

"Reiko-nee, I know that you are not pleased to work with humans, but she was hired by none other than our esteemed lord." Kasumi said.

"I know that, but..." Reiko seemed unwilling.

Rolling her eyes at her sister, Kasumi could understand that she did not like to be near humans given how the duo was almost killed by a human exorcist in the past, above all, people they used to trust, humans at that, were the ones who did that. Nonetheless, Reiko needed to deal with such a thing given the way Nora was. Not only did the youth have dealings with humans, but he had even taken in several humans exiled from exorcist clans. He did not seem particularly biased when dealing with humans except when people of the extra clans were involved.

"How about this..." Kasumi pondered briefly before coming up with a rather astute idea. "Getting along with humans is a must given the high possibility of our lord having human lovers."

Hearing that made Reiko widen her eyes in realization. Kasumi wondered if her idea was not too naive and considered pushing a little harder when-

"Hello there, I am Reiko, and this is my little sister Kasumi, I am something akin to an older sister to a certain cat." Reiko greeted.

Smacking her lips, Kasumi wondered if her little training with Nora had something to do with her ability to convince her stubborn sister so easily. However, she shook her head and reminded herself that despite her sister's crafty nature, she was easy to fool if Nora was involved.

"Oh, hello there! I am but a humble funerary director trying to establish a successful business in a foreign land. After a cat kidnapped me, he gave me a place in Urakyoto so I was trying to repay his grace when I heard he was in danger but... would you happen to know where he is? I got the feeling he must be in the most dangerous place, but I could be wrong."

Unsure of what to say to that, Reiko turned toward her sister for help, but Kasumi looked away.

---------------------------------

3rd Person POV

"Tamamocchi! What do you think will happen if I press this!?" Asuna giggled.

"Could you stay put for a second!?" Tamamo grumbled.

"Eh~ That is too boring though..." Asuna slumped her shoulders.

Wisely staying out the back and forth, Karin watched the duo as they looked at the panel before them. Made of stones, the were some stones that were clearly budging out compared to the others and that seemed to be the only way to get past the last door before them. The array of spells that were in place had already been taken care of by Tamamo, but there was still an old and plain stone door preventing them from reaching their goal.

Pressing the wrong stone would activate a trap and Asuna seemed to have taken a liking to the experience of running around with a spherical boulder chasing after her so she would press the first stone that she could reach. The problem itself was that Tamamo and she were also victims of the traps.

After finally getting Asuna to stay in place after giving her some candy, Tamamo sighed and pressed a stone, then another, continuing her actions until the stone door opened.

"Were you aware of the correct combination since the beginning?" Karin asked.

"I happened to ask the queen when I spoke with her before, I expected her to give me a fake combination but she was unexpectedly honest." Tamamo mumbled.

"Unexpectedly?" Karin inquired.

"I might've told her that I would make Nora to fondle her all over if she did not spill the beans." Tamamo innocently smiled.

Thinking that she just heard something that would get her in trouble, Karin did her best to bury that information deep in her consciousness so that Nora could not make her spill the beans using his unstoppable technique.

"Oh my." Tamamo looked visibly surprised. "I expected quite a bit after my hubby praised this place, but I guess he was not exaggerating when he said that Morgan Le Fay was an extraordinary witch."

Following Tamamo's lead Karin stepped in the chamber that the stone door had been protecting and was left with her mouth hanging open. She was not unfamiliar with magecraft, although her knowledge came partially being granted by her creator. It was old-fashioned but extensive. Nonetheless, what was before her was on another level, absurdly so, to the point she could not believe it.

"Why are there characters used in youjutsu spells here...?" Karin asked dumbfounded.

"Well, Morgan Le Fay is a distinguished witch among the wizard society, her knowledge runs deep and my hubby told me that her library has many forbidden grimoires that could use some relocation- Ahem, as I was saying, whether it is this generation or the previous one, they have at their disposition such a extensive library, don't you think they could have a book or two about youkai spellcraft?" Tamamo shrugged her shoulders.

Her mouth said one thing, but Tamamo knew she was spouting bullshit. It was not the first time they had seen something like this. In Urakyoto, places like the Trial grounds and even the pocket dimension where Saya's house is. They had a similar structure but this one seemed to have been modified slightly, Morgan's work, no doubt.

Sighing at the implied future theft, Karin wondered why are the cat and the fox so bent on causing her headaches.

"Hubby said it should be... Ah, there it is....?" Tamamo stepped forward with confident steps until she had to doubtfully tilt her head.

Even Karin had to squint her eyes doubtfully.

"I think I should gift my hubby a pair of glasses." Tamamo muttered. "That does not look like a legendary equipment."

Before Karin could chip in more comments, there was a loud click and at the same time, Tamamo and Karin turned around to see Asuna, who had finished eating her sweets. The young woman had pressed one of the stones.

"...from now on, I will consider working solo." Tamamo face palmed. "...Hubby said that she was easy to work with, but I guess his dictionary is as messed up as his ability to harmless apply to massages."

"...even from my perspective, the way Asuna obediently obeys Nora- Shiki-sama is anything but a miracle. Even our creator had identity issues when she heard about it."

"Hahahaha, Tamamocchi! Karin! Look at this! All the other stones were not reacting but this one did, oh!? The other stones are also sinking." Asuna brightly said.

"I wanna go home and be fluffed by my hubby until I fall asleep." Tamamo lamented.

"...me too." Karin sighed but soon covered her mouth.

Tamamo glared at Karin's slip (?) of tongue warily, but soon, everyone's attention turned towards a magic circle that appeared inside the chamber. Empty armor fit for a giant of at least four meters appeared in dozens and armed fully. Once the magic circle faded, the armors came to life.

"Yosh! Bring it on, pieces of junk! I will show you why the Castration Fist is to be feared." Tamamo took a stance as she shadow-boxed.

"Aren't you a Caster...?" Karin asked.

"Hmmm? A caster? What is that? Tamamo is nothing but a fluffy and caring waifu!" Tamamo spoke.

"...a wife huh, I am envious." Karin chuckled. "Asuna."

"Yes!" Asuna stepped towards Karin obediently.

"Our master will reward you if you give it your all and finish these enemies." Karin mumbled. "Sweets, massages, or even a date, just name it and our Master will grant it to you. Nora- Shiki-sama informed me of this just now(lie).

"Wait for just a momento! You just called my hubby your master. What is the meaning of this? Is this a rebellion!? I am paying you a high salary with ample vacations and several benefits that are greater than the ones you got before!" Tamamo demanded an explanation.

"Asuna, coming through!" Asuna jumped towards the armor with arcs of electricity covering her body.

"Tamamo-sama." Karin closed her eyes. "As husband and wife, don't you share your belongings? It is the same, what is his, it is yours and what is yours, it is his."

"You are speaking all high and mighty like you just said some universal truth, but the problem is that I can only read your hidden agenda like an open book." Tamamo stomped her feet on the ground.

Wisely avoiding answering face-to-face, Karin's body was covered in electric arcs as well.

"My dream is to become a bride." Karin smiled without a hint of shame as she followed behind Asuna.

"...I know that I had planned to use them to break my hubby's wall of having multiple lovers, but somehow, it feels frustrating that my hubby is doing my job." Tamamo grumbled. "...what did he do to them to make them like that? My hubby can be pretty scary sometimes."

Sighing, Tamamo lost interest in fighting. Just Asuna alone seemed like an overkill given how easily she defeated the first enemy and now Karin joined the fray. They were given to her by Amaterasu, or so she originally believed, to aid her in anything she needed, battle included. Given how Amaterasu tended to give more than necessary, they were powerful creatures that did not lack in the ability department. Putting aside Asuna's chaotic personality, Tamamo could not deny that she would always finish the job... even if she used a unique way to do it.

"...wait, I just realized a very scary thing." Tamamo held her forehead with one hand. "Due to being with Amaterasu, I have not shared my memories with my hubby. He changed the way these children thought of him after a couple of days... but he spent over two weeks trying to gain the support of some of the youkais of the east."

Feeling a chill running down her spine, Tamamo even began to sweat coldly.

"...the bunny like Youkais, similar to Kanna, there were a few under Yasaka, but... recently, the whole east bunny Youkais came under Yasaka..." Tamamo gulped. "Haha... there is no way... haha, even my hubby... wouldn't be so crazy...?"

Crutching in place, Tamamo did not even notice how Asuna and Karin approached her after finishing the fight.

"Tamamocchi looks troubled." Asuna commented.

"...I overheard her a while ago, so I think it is related to the trip we took with Nora last time." Karin muttered.

"Ah! I remember! Haha, it was an exciting trip." Asuna giggled.

"Exciting you say, We almost caused a war between the East and the West." Karin sighed.

"We all ended up as friends in the end." Asuna smiled.

"...those girls are as tainted as us." Karin lamented.

"Hahaha, our Master is peerless." Asuna chuckled.

From their expressions, Asuna and Karin seemed to have different views on how the events played out.

"...you have been reading those novels again." Karin facepalmed.

"Master told me we should do so to be able to deal with the creatures known as Young Masters for our next mission." Asuna said.

"I have a feeling that the 'young master' you mentioned is not a way to call Nora." Karin furrowed her eyebrows.

"I have learned how vile of a creature they are. They are particular about losing and gaining face. They have a hobby of slapping faces." Asuna explained. "I also read about... how you defeat one and then a brother or an uncle comes forwards for revenge, only to call for the father if they lose too, but the funny thing is how you have to beat every remaining generation to be called a victor in a fight."

Sweating slightly, Karin felt like she did not want to deal with such a troublesome entity.

"The worse is when those young masters are part of a sect, there is more cannon fodder to deal with. Of course, it only ends if you take care of the ancestor." Asuna muttered.

"That sounds like a nightmare." Karin retorted.

"Even so, you must not let your guard down, because the sect you just dealt with usually has ties with another sect that is bigger and stronger, and in fact, the ancestor you beat is an old student from some teacher in the sect." Asuna sighed.

"...let me guess, everything happens again until you wipe out everyone." Karin spoke in a dispirited tone.

"Haha." Asuna chuckled.

"Can't we just avoid them altogether?" Karin asked.

"They are bad people so they will always be causing trouble. They could covet your belongings despite being rich or someone else's woman despite having more than they could handle." Asuna said in a hapless tone. "There is also the problem where an unknown woman begins to show favor to Master out of nowhere for no reason and just triggers the young masters."

Feeling rather exhausted just from hearing what they will be against, Karin was about to ask the date of their mission to make mental preparations but-

"ARGH! Is that how is going to be!? Bring it on, thieving cats!" Tamamo stood up with renewed energy. "I know that I worked for this outcome so I could crumble the defenses my hubby has, but isn't this going too fast without me putting my hands in it!? Haha, but this will not stop me! You two!"

With a bloodthirsty (desperate) smile, Tamamo called out the maid duo.

"I have decided." Tamamo grinned evilly. "Whether I take action or not, my hubby is... a chick magnet. Not only people with good intentions (?) like us will cling to him, but rather people ready to take advantage of him will basically throw themselves at him. Yes, we must be prepared to face those women. I shall create an organization to manage and investigate women who could be potential lovers or treacherous wrenches who could harm him."

Holding her forehead, Karin did not mention to Tamamo how there were several shikigamis already around them, courtesy of Nora who was checking on them. It was not that she found the idea insane. In fact, the older cat and the younger cat were unsung heroes who kept many young girls and adult women from getting close to him, although the older cat could be said to be guilty of basically creating a legion of Nora Supremacists exclusively formed by nekomatas.

Clapping excitedly, Asuna found the idea interesting.

"How should we call us? Master's Protection Society?" Asuna asked excitedly.

"...as maids, I can only of one name fitting you." Tamamo spoke in a sagely tone. "Cleaning and Clearing, that is to say, C&C. It is perfect."

"Wow!" Asuna gleefully grinned.

"...that aside, didn't we come here for a reason?" Karin inquired.

"Oh..." Tamamo looked deeper inside the chamber until she found what Nora described to her. "...it looks like it will break after one use."

Picking up something that could barely qualify as a shield, Tamamo confirmed that it was what she was supposed to recover. However, her eyes were drawn to what was below the shield before she grabbed it.

"Oh my~" Tamamo chuckled. "It seems my hubby is not the only one with a bad habit. Miss Wicked Witch stole something that would make the ones using it before twist in their graves."

The very own table where Morgan's brother sat with his subjects. The round table.

"Let's just take it with us~" Tamamo muttered in a happy tone. "It should fetch a high price in an auction or we could give it to the Pendragon family as an apology after they notice we took THAT lance and sword."

---------------------------------

3rd Person POV

Dropping on his knees, Nora's shocked face remained frozen. Even though he departed first to take care of an enemy, Morgan and Baobhan Sith came to him. They looked at him with a hint of pity and disappointment. Before his eyes was the enormous figure of Cernunnos.

"Hmph, you acted cocky all the time, but even you can tell the difference in status when you see it. That is a god." Baobhan Sith mocked.

"How could this be...?" Nora muttered in a lifeless tone.

"Enough, I doubt that anyone other than you and me who have seen the mighty Cernunnos before could actually remain indifferent. He is an outsider and has provided enough aid already. Being overwhelmed... I cannot blame him." Morgan sighed.

"But..." Baobhan Sith retorted.

"He could also be tired, I can only assume that after all the stuns he had to pull until now." Morgan said. "Are you implying that we should let him solve all our troubles? Baobhan Sith, you seem to place a substantial level of trust in him."

"T-That's...!!!" Baobhan Sith fumbled her words. "He made a promise, but this lazy bastard is frozen in fear over there."

Smiling slightly, Morgan warmly watched over the flustered Baobhan Sith.

"I am glad you could finally make a friend." Morgan giggled.

"W-What!? THAT GUY AND I ARE NOT FRIENDS! WE WERE KILLING- URGH, HE AND I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER!" Baobhan Sith loudly denied.

Morgan was about to say something back, but Nora finally reacted.

"THE DEITY OF FLUFFINESS IS REAL! THEY SAID IT WAS JUST A LEGEND!" Nora shouted loudly. "Kuh, even at this distance I can tell that Cernunnos-sama has a unique fur... how the mighty have fallen, I can only admit defeat. No...! My pride, these ears and tails of mine is my only redeeming feature. If I give up on it, I am nothing."

"Mother, I think he needs a healing spell." Baobhan Sith mumbled.

"...is there even a spell that can cure that?" Morgan replied.

"I guess we got to put him down." Baobhan Sith looked at Nora with a pitiful gaze.

"...You know, the fact that you are actually showing concern is giving me a chill, but I guess the punch line took care of that." Nora retorted. "A cat who is trying to reach the peak of fluffiness does not usually find himself in this kind of situation so I lost my composure briefly. My bad. I had seen this guy from afar... but a closer view is something else."

"...what is the peak of fluffiness- argh, never mind that." Baobhan Sith grumbled. "I will just hear nonsense from you."

Snorting, Nora looked towards Baobhan Sith sulkily.

"Heathen, to ignore an opportunity to know about fluffiness, you are nothing more than an ignorant fool." Nora said.

"No, if we are talking about Cernunnos, I know way more than you." Baobhan Sith retorted.

"The depths of fluffiness can only be reached by those with fluff." Nora replied.

Bickering, Nora and Baobhan Sith continued their back and forth causing Morgan to look at the pink-haired young woman with warm eyes.

"We are not friends!" Baobhan Sith denied once she noticed the gaze on her.

"Indeed." Nora nodded.

Feeling slightly annoyed by the blatant denial, Baobhan Sith could not deny it, but neither accept it.

"What we have transcends friendship, this woman has bared my body with a wild desire, letting her inner lust take over. Constantly trying to rip my clothes off. Not to mention, she sneaked behind me and sloppily licked my neck, going as far as leaving a hickey." Nora sighed.

"...Baobhan Sith, Melusine has clearly stated her intent of marrying him already, yet you are making a move on him." Morgan used a strict tone. "I don't recall raising you to be like that."

"MOTHER!?" Baonhan Sith called out in distress.

"However, harems are unofficially allowed so I might as well make it possible for it to happen legally." Morgan nodded. "Nonetheless, I am not sure how to feel regarding this..."

"Well, jokes aside." Nora looked around. "The area has been completely corrupted, I recommend not touching the ground or you will receive debuffs."

The verdant trees had lost the color green and it had instead been replaced by a putrid purple. The ground looked like it had been scorched and not even weeds remained.

"That cat ran off somewhere huh." Nora looked around for the cat of flames but it could not be seen in the vicinity.

"You know a way to fix this?" Morgan asked.

"We should first deal with the source." Nora shrugged his shoulders. "That said, it will most likely be located inside Cernunnos-sama. Yet, it won't be easy to get close."

"It is not trying to destroy its surroundings yet. The damage it would cause would be worse." Morgan said.

"Figures." Nora sighed. "You might leave, I will stay here to gain some sort of inspiration in the fluff way. If you find the stupid cat, smack its head and order it to work for the meal."

Wanting to retort, Baonhan Sith was about to lash out but Morgan grabbed her shoulder and shook her head.

"We leave." Morgan said.

The two left Nora as he gazed at Cernunnos with sparkling eyes and found his expression rather strange. Nonetheless, Morgan gave a small prayer for his safety since she had noticed a presence lurking before they left. The longer they took to leave, the more Morgan understood that the spell used to hide that person had been since the beginning. Nonsense is what Nora said, but perhaps he did it to distract Baonhan Sith and her.

"He is a hard one to read." Morgan sighed.

...

...

...

"So, how long do you plan to stalk me? It is creepy and unpleasant." Nora spoke in a cold tone.

"If the topic is about stalking, you use hundreds of shikigamis to watch over your people so I would say I cannot hold a candle to you." 'Abe no Seimei' said.

The space in front of Nora twisted and the onmyouji appeared.

"Oh, my. Isn't it supposed to be Abe no Seimei the greatest user of shikigamis? Commanding legions of his familiars with ease and knowing hundreds of spells." Nora muttered.

Snorting at those words, Abe no Seimei waved his sleeve, and a shield of ofudas formed around him. The ground shook and roots from the nearby contaminated trees stabbed towards the spherical shield but they were lit in fire once they touched the ofudas.

Without a change in expression, Nora tapped the ground and more roots grew. The roots would continuously hit the shield and get burned down until ashes remained while black smog evaporated once they were destroyed.

"Defending all the time? It isn't like the most famous exorcist to do so." Nora scoffed. "You are the type to use tricks like this."

Skipping a few steps back, Nora avoided paper spikes that aimed to pierce him from below. He waved his hand and a fireball was shot toward the spikes. Even though they were burning, the attack was not over. Nora continued to evade using simple footwork to escape the paper spikes and burning them using a fireball.

"I expect more than this." Nora mumbled.

Adding more strength to his leg, Nora jumped higher and created footholds in the air as he stood far from the ground. Just as he pulled his bow, the sphere of paper was destroyed and Abe no Seimei could not be found there. Nora snorted and nocked an arrow on the bow that he aported from his storage. The black bow was dark enough that seemed to suck out even the light and the string resisted the pull with its own will but Nora's strength ignored that. Aiming forward, nothing seemed to be there but Nora nonetheless shot. Only the sound was heard and exactly at 200 meters, the arrow pierced a multi-layered shield of paper.

Observing this, Nora pushed himself in that direction. Jumping in the air, Nora arrived at the location in a jiffy.

"You are looking better." Nora smirked.

His hands were already releasing another arrow and while the shield changed forms to become studier, the arrow easily pierced again.

"Modern weaponry is useless against this shield, yet..." Abe no Seimei's voice was heard from behind the shield.

"Kaa-san taught me to shoot targets hiding behind tanks." Nora said. "Your half-assed shield is no different from a wet tissue for this bow."

Nocking three arrows, they were released without much thought. Nora changed his weapon once the arrows left the bow. He changed position by leaping high in the sky and pulling an oversized broadsword. His aim was obvious but a torrent of ofudas made him change his descension path. The shield lowered and hundreds of ofudas left the sleeves of Abe no Seimei to form two snakes made of paper. Compared to before, Abe no Seimei made different hand signs in each hand, the ofudas seemed to react to that and several kanjis forming strings of words appeared on the 'snakes' outer skin. Nora waved one of his hands and a fireball was shot forward but the snakes remained unharmed.

"Did you arrogantly assume I cannot do the same as some brat?" Abe no Seimei scoffed.

The only thing here getting stronger is your ego." Nora spat out.

Going down, Nora landed with both hands, dropping his broadsword while he did, and as soon as he did that, roots as thick as his body emerged from the ground and attacked the snakes. There was a sound of collision and they lost their shape as the pieces of paper forming them were sent frying, however, Abe no Seimei changed his hand signs and the ofudas gathered to form the snakes again.

Without being dispirited, Nora picked up the broadsword again and leaped toward 'Abe no Seimei'. His path was blocked by several ofudas suspended mid-air that would throw spells at him, but Nora did not even bother evading. He covered his body with Touki and the attacks landed on him, but were unable to cause him any harm.

Watching as his enemy approached, 'Abe no Seimei' let even more ofudas emerge from his sleeves to form another set of snakes, but due to fast approaching Nora, they were half as thick as the others, just about 2 meters, and 20 meters long. Without caring if Nora saw him, Abe no Seimei clasped his hands together and recited a chant before a small bag about the size of a finger appeared on his hands. He slowly opened his hands a proceeded to do another set of hand signs. The bag began to shine and a new barrage of attacks was sent in Nora's way.

Feeling something different, Nora began evading the attacks. His speed was reduced and his focus had to be placed on evading the dozens of attacks that came his way. Ofudas would float to get in his way as lighting and earth spikes came out of the magic circle they cast.

"Why don't you try to tank these attacks too?" Abe no Seimei asked.

Not bothering to answer, Nora swung his sword at one of the approaching snakes, bisecting one in half without much effort. This caused him to slightly furrow his eyebrows and it dawned upon him why that happened a second later. The snake had broken down and the ofudas were thrown all over. Nora noticed the new set of hand signs that Abe no Seimei made and wanted to escape the place, but the snakes behind him had caught up, he wanted to go what, yet one tried to come at him from below, although Nora skipped past it. A second snake was descending toward Nora, waiting for the moment he evaded the first one, however, Nora swung his sword once again and cut the snake in half. The ofudas lost their shape and now, Nora's surroundings were filled with paper that had kanjis of all kinds. The only path left to escape was above him since the ofudas had blocked the rest by forming walls. Nonetheless, even though Nora avoided cutting the snake to not let it get destroyed, the snake lost its shape but numerous pieces of paper blocked his only way out.

Swiftly, the ofudas formed a sphere with Nora inside. Abe no Seimei clasped his hands together and the sphere shrunk until it formed a human shape. The sound of bones being crushed and broken was clearly heard, and the sword Nora carried was nowhere to be found, perhaps it was sent back when he was caught.

Part 2

3rd Person POV

"Gal Brigade! Attack!"

A group of uniquely dressed girls, wearing high school girls' uniforms with several modifications acted as the armed guards protecting a certain city.

"Today we probe our worth to him! All for the sake of getting the best boyfriend material!"

Among the group, a particular girl shouted for the others to hear. Her words were enough to motivate the group greatly and they all fought valiantly against the attackers.

The gravediggers were numerous, far more than the... Gal Brigade, but the brigade did not seem to lose even in the face of numerical disadvantage. Some used their nails, which despite looking fragile were covered in Touki so they had incredible hardness. Others simply used kicks that left those being protected bewildered as to why the short skirts never showed what was below. However, the most showy one was the leader who had given the motivational words a second ago. With brown hair and fox ears on her head, she carries a typical sailor uniform. Her yellow eyes did not seem to show any sign of fear and she threw the katana in her hand. Her actions were followed by a pair of flying katanas around her and she attacked the gravedigger ready to take advantage of an opening that one of the girls had.

"Thank you!"

The girl noticed the assistance and offered words of gratitude.

Flashing a fearless but reassuring smile, the leading young woman turned her head back to see the state of the city.

"So this is the power of maids..."

Sighing in awe, she glanced at the large dome of ice that a maid created to protect the city. Only one point was left open for stray fairies to enter while the Gal Brigade protected said entrance.

"No, it is not time to be discouraged. I promised myself to show him my best side. JKs are the strongest and they become invincible for their boyfriend's sake."

Raising her hand, she caught one of her flying katanas.

"Let's clean up everything real quick."

Winking, the young woman inwardly chanted... and a second later. A rain of katanas fell on the gravediggers, eradicating them temporarily.

-----------------------------------

Blood spilled from the bundle of paper but Abe no Seimei did not seem happy, the paper did not budge anymore and a green fire began to seep from the places where blood was leaking. The fire grew in strength until the human-shaped paper began to expand only to ultimately explode. A wild and unrestrained green flame spread all around, turning the blackened trees due to the contamination into charcoal. Black smoke left them as they were destroyed but even that smoke seemed to be affected by the green fire.

"Normally, one would die if their bones were crushed to that extent." Abe no Seimei commented. "Especially if they were Youkais and the ofudas with anti-youkai countermeasures were used."

"Normally, that is." Nora muttered.

As the paper was burned, his figure was revealed. Blood was leaking from several places in his body where bones stuck out yet he stood in the air with fire leaking from his fits.

"As expected, that is a piece of that weapon huh." Nora smirked.

With his gaze directed at the small bag in Abe no Seimei's hands, Nora deemed more important the bag than Abe no Seimei himself.

"The Nenekirimaru is a weapon made to kill your kind, so I would certainly use it against a youkai such as you." Abe no Seimei said.

Waving one hand, he controlled the ofudas that remained intact to form two new snakes similar to the small ones before.

"I have mixed feelings about this, you brought out the big guns... but it turns out to be just a fragment of the whole sword. Should I be flattered or angry that you are not taking me seriously?" Nora scoffed.

"You are not at Ultimate Class yet so you are not dangerous enough to bring out the katana." Abe no Seimei spoke.

Slower than usual, Nora's wounds were healing over time, and he remained in place to get in top shape again.

"The ruler of the youkais, as well as your mother, they are targets worth using that katana-" Abe no Seime had to stop mid-sentence.

Moving the hand with the small bag forward, he used his other hand to draw a pentagram, parts of the snakes were removed to form a hasty shield in from of him. Nonetheless, the shield was shattered and his hand was bent. A fist covered in green flames had been the culprit. Despite suffering continuous damage from touching the bag, Nora's fist remained in place. Having broken through the shield and smacking the hand of Abe no Seimei with enough force to bend it, even Nora's own arm had taken severe damage, worsening his previous injuries. Yet, rather than showing pain, a fierce expression hung on his face as his eyes began to turn bright red.

"What did you just say?" Nora's tone sounded composed, but the anger hidden inside was conveyed without any problem through his expression.

"You might be harder to kill than a cockroach but you are not at the level of a disaster just yet." Abe no Seime said.

"You got that right." Nora smiled. "Too bad I am not a disaster, you can actually survive those."

From the corner of his eye, as he tried to form a handsign with his free hand, Abe no Seimei saw the method Nora used to escape before. It was a technique he had never used before. He caught how Nora would create a kasha bigger than his hand and then shrink it to fit the palm of his hand only to form a fist. Nonetheless, he left an opening below the knuckles. Nora must suffer a certain level of damage from the attack but his sturdy constitution would buffer the damage considerably and his palm would work as a walk that would redirect the damage through the openings.

The attack hit and a burst of green fire exploded from his fist, but Nora clicked his tongue as Abe no Seimei's figure crumbled into pieces of paper.

"That was dangerous." Abe no Seimei muttered.

Appearing a few meters behind Nora, he seemed to have used a technique to escape at the last minute.

"That is similar to the ninja art of escape." Nora commented.

"The art you speak of is just a cheap copy of my technique." Abe no Seimei snorted.

"Heh? Is that so? I would think it is the other way around since I managed to keep this." Nora smirked.

Even though he was receiving damage in real-time, Nora held the small bag that Abe no Seimei had a second ago and waved it in front of the man.

"...when did you?" Abe no Seimei asked.

"If you had a wallet on you, I would've taken it as well." Nora replied.

"Openly revealing your secrets-" Abe no Seimei tried to buy time, yet it did not work.

Storing the bag using magic, Nora slightly bent his knees before leaping toward Abe no Seimei.

His right hand missed and he passed right beside the exorcist. However, he expected as such. Nora decided to keep going forward instead of turning back to attack the man. A second later, what remained of the snakes that had shrunk considerably had caught to his earlier position. Nora saw that but still decided to take more distance from Abe no Seimei. He waved his hands as he moved as he spread seeds he pulled out from his storage and his blood landed on them. They reacted and even as they fell, the seeds turned into several oddly shaped trees.

The snakes chased after Nora, but the trees reacted to them. Like they had a life of their own, the trees moved their branches to trap the snakes. It was not a simple movement, but rather, they strongly twisted their branches with enough power to stop the snakes in their tracks. Nonetheless, Abe no Seimei controlled the snakes and they lost their shape, escaping the grip and moving forward. Nora watched as they marched without obstruction so he planted more trees. These ones looked similar, but the shade and the shape of the leaves were slightly different.

The snakes had to follow Nora who was inside the small forest he created so they dived in. However, the trees repeated the previous actions and caught them, the grip was weaker, but the branches were sticky with sap. This caused the snakes to get sticky as well and be unable to use the previous method to escape the trap. Nora saw this, but he still spaced out for some more.

"Quite a pity that the father of that child does not see the potential he has. Even if his power of destruction is weak, that Bael child is a genius in the field of modifying plants genetically." Nora sighed.

Pulling his bow, Nora nocked an arrow and shot at once. Abe no Seimei did not stay idle while Nora put some distance between the two. He brought out more ofudas, enough to create a small sea of paper. He performed hand signs and some of the ofudas moved to form torii gates from where numerous creatures emerged.

Watching what was summoned made Nora angry and began to shoot like a madman.

Youkais of different races were summoned, nekomatas, tenkos, kashas, and even more, they all appeared on the battlefield, but they all had something in common, unfocused eyes and ofudas stuck on their foreheads. The arrows aimed at Abe no Seimei were all intercepted by the youkais... using their bodies. Their blank expressions changed slightly when the arrows passed through them, but the talisman on their foreheads would shine and they would be back to stare forwards blankly.

Stopping his actions, Nora glared coldly at the exorcist.

"Even though you are so ruthless toward your enemies... your allies are another matter altogether. It  was worthy to kidnap these before coming here." Abe no Seimei chuckled. "Do not underestimate exorcists, we exist to exterminate mysteries. Bewitching mysteries, or youkai, have been enemies of humanity no matter how many times rules have been set to coexist in peace."

Hearing clearly those words, Nora pulled a pair of katanas and turned back. He ran and accelerated with each step until his figure disappeared from Abe no Seimei's eyes. He prepared for the worse but Nora's figure reappeared as the talisman on top of two Youkais got cut in half. Nora pulled a pair of talismans of his own and created a pair of shikigamis. The small pieces of paper grew in size until they formed oversized birds big enough to carry the youkais on their backs. This process did not go smoothly since Abe no Seimei controlled the other Youkais to attack Nora. They threw themselves at him while covering the talismans so he could not destroy them.

Clicking his tongue, Nora roughly threw the youkais on board while mentally apologizing for his actions. He threw his katanas in the air and took a stance. His fist shone in a white light and he... punched the approaching youkais without showing a change of expression.

"I am baffled. You hesitated before using your arrows, but you show no remorse using your fists..." Abe no Seimei inquired. "I have a hard time understanding you..."

"Nora, smash." Nora smirked.

Narrowing his eyes, Abe no Seimei noticed what Nora did after seeing it a few times. Not only he was hitting the youkais without a care in the world. His fists were covered in ki and the damage from the punch was healed at the same time the attack connected, and not only that, the youth even managed to heal the damage from the arrows after hitting several times the injured Youkais.

"The pain is a problem since they almost break free of my control after getting hit, but the fact that they are healed at such a speed is concerning. His danger level is almost as high as that woman." Abe no Seimei muttered in an absent-minded tone. "The data needs to be revised after today. However, there is still a need to test his weaknesses. It has been confirmed that he is not weak to holy element despite his 'devil' heritage, is it because the body parts acquired immunity since Youkais are not weak to holy element? No, every reincarnated youkai would have a certain resistance to it, but you cannot rule out that is his unique situation that allowed the opportunity to happen. Yet, he still exhibits the weakness of a normal youkai. How intriguing."

Grabbing one of the youkais that came at him, Nora made the fox girl trip first and shove his hand at her neck. She felt face first and Nora jumped at her from behind while putting his knee above her neck, he used both hands to catch the legs and twist them until they were held tightly. He briefly used one hand to hold onto the legs while another one got rid of the talisman as he ignored the fluffy tail hitting his face.

"Ignore the smile on her face, this is all in your head." Nora sent her flying in another shikigami.

The torii gates summoned more Youkais and Nora glared at Abe no Seimei who evaluated him. For Nora, it would be easy to crush the gates, but that would mean that he would not be able to get the youkais anymore.

"What is it? Are you not going to attack me? I am right here. There is not even a shield protecting me anymore. I am an easy target for you. Supernatural creatures have stronger bodies than humans so you surely will deal with me if you land a hit... however, these gates will close." Abe no Seimei chuckled. "Struggle, as your own kind tries to kill you."

With a smile on his face, Abe no Seimei pulled another talisman. Different from the others, this one was black in color and the kanji was written in red. The talisman was activated as soon as it was pulled and it caused all the ofudas on the youkais to turn red, and in return, they all went berserker.

Attacks of different elements began raining on Nora and Youkais with animal forms turned into their feral forms to attack him.

"I will kill Abe no Seimei." Nora gritted his teeth.

Despite his comments, he did not bother to even look at the person observing him from afar.

-----------------------------

3rd Person POV

Rushing forward, Baobhan Sith arrived at her objective. A decrepit shrine enveloped in an eerie aura.

"To think I would be the one to destroy it with my own hands..." Baobhan Sith bitterly commented.

Her steps, fast until now came to a halt. Everything was too quiet. Her mother had asked her to destroy the shrines that seemed to be working as some sort of booster for Cernunnos as well as spreading the corrupted aura in the land, but even though the aura at such a close distance was harmful to those without preparation, the cultist would not be so careless to leave it unguarded. There were not even traces of them anywhere in sight.

Just then, when she thought of backing away, she felt a pair of cold objects on her body and a distant click. The pair of objects seemed to be some sort of stakes and one was put on her neck while the other one was ready to pierce her from her back just perfectly aligned to her heart.

"Who are you?"

The voice belonged to a woman but Baonhan Sith did not care, she was about to turn into a bat when another voice stopped her.

"A bullet soaked in holy water is bound to hurt, don't you think?"

This second voice clearly made its point, although the woman sounded way younger.

"Are you with the cultists?" Baobhan Sith asked.

For some reason, despite feeling a great level of danger from them, Baobhan Sith did not feel scared. They were indeed capable of sneaking behind her without notice, but they would never exceed the danger Nora exhibited.

"We interrogated them not long ago, you fit the description of the collaborator inside the fairyland."

The figure in the distance revealed herself to be a young girl in her teens holding what Baobhan Sith could only consider some sort of piped weapon.

The girl had her mouth covered by some sort of mask but her voice did not sound muddled, her black hair reached her hips and her blue eyes observed every movement Baobhan Sith tried to make. She wore what looked to be a pair of black pants and a crop top with no sleeves and a noticeable bust.

"Is this a target?"

The voice behind her asked.

"I have not contacted him since a while ago to confirm the course of action."

The blue-eyed girl shook her head.

Suddenly, Baobhan Sith felt the party holding her in place sniffing her and a heavy killing intent targeted her.

"You smell of blood, his blood."

"Stop!"

Just when Baobhan Sith felt that her heart would be pierced so she was about to change forms, the blue-eyed girl yelled. The attack was stopped just like that and the killing intent was cut short.

A small magic circle appeared above the ear of the blue-eyed girl and she held one hand in a stop sign.

"Understood."

Nodding at that, the blue-eyed girl signaled her partner, and Baobhan Sith was released. Narrowing her eyes, she saw the two figures standing before her. The blue-eyed girl exchanged several hand signs with the other party who nodded reluctantly. After a few seconds, she showed a remorseful expression and dashed towards Baobhan Sith. This caused the pink-haired young woman to raise her guard but the other party only bowed apologetically.

"I-I am s-sorry."

"Huh?" Baobhan Sith looked confused at the sudden change in front of her.

Compared to the blue-eyed girl, the figure had red eyes, although she had black hair. Her outfit was the same but she looked older than her partner, rather than a teen, she looked to be in her mid-twenties judging from her body figure. However, Baobhan Sith would think otherwise if she judged her current attitude.

"I just heard about your circumstances. *Sob* You are a vampire so it is not strange that you drink blood."

Wiping some tears from the corner of her eyes, the red-eyed young woman looked at Baobhan Sith with newfound goodwill. For some reason though, Baobhan Sith just felt a chill run down her spine. Her senses were telling her that a troublesome individual was in front of her and it had nothing to do with her fighting skills. The feeling worsened when she saw the blue-eyed girl sighing, or what it looked to be that.

"Held hostage by the cultist, you managed to escape after so many days of being starved. Only to find HIM, he offered his blood without questioning your identity, and moved by his selfless action, you offered your unconditional loyalty in body and mind to him. I also... heard that, you two... eh, were involved in a heated... eh, physical relationship when he tried to satiate your thirst. T-To even rip off his clothes b-because you could not have enough!"

Blushing like mad, the young woman's eyes were spinning.

Listening to the words from the young woman with a pair of vacant eyes, Baobhan Sith hoped that only this woman spoke this kind of nonsense.

"Worry not! All of his allies heard of this story! No one will do something as foolish as attack you like I did."

With a kind smile on her face, Baobhan Sith only thought of one thing, to kill the cat.

"...there are some rats that followed her, go and deal with them."

The blue-eyed girl muttered. Her partner looked curious about why she was sent alone yet she did as she was asked. This left Baobhan Sith with the blue-eyed teen.

"Regardless of what he said, I can tell what happened is far off from his explanation."

Narrowing her eyes, Baobhan Sith crossed her arms feeling amused inside.

"You will not be the first one or the last one who is working for him after being his foe."

"Oh? Does that mean that you...?" Baobhan Sith asked.

"I was just a naive brat who never knew better. I was raised as an assassin so you can figure out how he and I met."

The dots easily connected in her head so Baobhan Sith roughly guessed the circumstances of the girl in front of her.

"Another chance... he offered us a different path in life so if you bite his hand when he is trying to help you, not only me, but be prepared to face dozens of people coming after your life."

"Did he ask you to threaten me?" Baobhan Sith smirked.

"No, he asked us to take care of you and lend you hand."

Slightly stunned, Baobhan Sith could not believe what she just heard.

"Heh, he probably told you to say that to earn brownie points with me." Baobhan Sith snorted.

"Why would he trouble himself and do that? What does he have to gain? Can you even offer something valuable enough that he would take the bother? Do not delude yourself."

Scoffing, the blue-eyed teen shook her head.

"He seldom requests something from us so we aim to fulfill his expectations. I will collaborate with you, but do not think your actions will ever be forgotten."

Giving Baobhan Sith one last glance, the teen walked towards the shrine.

"This should be easy. This girl came to help us a while back."

At those words, a cat made of purple flames appeared from the shrine carrying a small wooden statue. The statue had the shape of Cernunnos but the eyes were deep red and a black smoke surrounded the statue.

"That is!" Baobhan Sith called out.

Easily recognizing the statue, she noticed that the idol used to worship Cernunnos had been corrupted and used to turn it into a malevolent god.

"If we destroy this, it should weaken the out-of-control god. Is that correct?"

Trying to get a confirmation from Baobhan Sith, the blue-eyed teen saw her struggle and bite her lips. This was enough for the teen to understand she was right and just when she raised her weapon to shoot at the statue, the cat burst into flames, or rather, it burned fiercely and when the fire was reduced, the statue was no longer affected by the black smoke. The cat dropped the statue and sat beside it as it looked at Baobhan Sith and the teen.

"...understood."

Lowering her weapon, the teen turned around to leave.

"Wait, wait, wait!? What do you mean with 'understood'?" Baobhan Sith questioned.

"If you knew what this cat is, you would understand that it has more than enough power to turn this whole area into charcoal. Instead, it brought out the statue and cleansed it."

"And we are supposed to leave it here?" Baobhan Sith asked.

"Look over there."

The teen pointed in one direction, and after directing her gaze there, Baobhan Sith saw several shikigamis, cats, and birds made of paper were calmly observing the duo.

"He is watching over the whole fairyland even as we speak. His assistance will come to prevent any irreversible damage but otherwise, he will just let the shikigamis stand by."

"...you have to be joking." Baobhan Sith could not believe it.

"I am afraid I am not very good when it comes to jokes. Think what you want. We will move towards another shrine."

Just as she said that, the red-eyed young woman appeared again but before she could say a word, the teen signaled her with her hand and she nodded. The duo left Baobhan Sith and the cat made of purple flames.

Finding the teen annoying, Baobhan Sith was about to head in a different direction when the cat picked up the statue and chased after her.

"What do you want?" Baobhan Sith asked.

The cat before her had already left Morgan and her before so Baobhan Sith did not think of it following her.

The cat just dropped the statue at Baobhan Sith's feet before using her body to jump and perch on her head. The young woman thought she would be burned by the fire, but it did not harm her in the slightest.

"The way you just do as you please without asking is certainly similar to him." Baobhan Sith clicked her tongue.

Picking the statue, she seemed to recall something she had read long ago. As the priestess, a lot of knowledge related to Cernunnos was taught to her.

"...no no, what is he trying to pull? If I destroy this, Cernunnos will grow weaker. It has just been revived... so it must depend on the continuous faith given by those people and the weird spell that man used. If we break these, its time on earth will be cut short." Baobhan Sith muttered. "...unless, it could be that."

Pondering hard, Baobhan Sith decided to keep the statue and stored it using magic.

With a purple cat on top of her head, she changed her course, deciding to chase after the strange duo she just met.

-------------------------------------

3rd Person POV

"Have you regained your sanity?" Artoria asked.

Despite maintaining a stoic look, Artoria was rather exhausted and full of injuries. Her fight with Melusine took all she had and despite feeling her strength soar several times during the fight, it had reached a limit and her body almost collapsed, nonetheless, she carried to the end what she set out to do.

"...you could say so." Melusine replied.

It was the first time she tried to do something like what she did so the process was far from smooth. The end result was also vastly different from what she imagined, but it was already a miracle that she could pull it off even under her condition. Her sacred gear had always been considered to attack and cause harm. Yet, this time it was used with another purpose.

"Unfortunately, I lack the fine control he has so this is the best could do." Artoria honestly said.

Trying to get rid of the influence of the cultists from Melusine was a lot harder to do than she expected given how deep-rooted it had been in Melusine.

"I cannot blame you for trying your best. The fact that you have managed to stop my rampage is already more than I could ever ask. Death would've been an option, but you still went through get lengths to keep me alive." Melusine stood up.

Different from before, Melusine had lost all her armor and she barely had any clothing left thanks to Artoria's decision to destroy the armor. Her previous white wings were now pitch black as well as her arms and legs, along with a part of her face.  As she looked at her body, Melusine looked discouraged. Seeing her wings came as a huge shock since Melusine stared blankly at the once-white wings.

"I don't need your thanks. I only did what I was ordered to. He seemed to have taken a liking to you so he entrusted me with stopping you." Artoria muttered.

"...he did? You mean, Nora...?" Melusine asked with some expectations.

"Who else? That lustful cat surely has a mistress or two already." Artoria clicked her tongue. "Yet he asks us to clean up his mess."

"...I see." Melusine sulkily turned her head away.

Her actions just caused her to see her wings again so her mood worsened.

Watching this, Artoria felt like clicking her tongue a few times at Nora, but she still sighed and spoke.

"You don't have to worry about how you look." Artoria mumbled. "That idiot, he would never judge you from the way you look. If I had to name a good point of that maid-loving cat, it would be that he will treat you the same way you treat him regardless of status."

"...really?" Melusine asked with a hopeful look.

"I can assure you that. He once spanked Amaterasu for trying to lock Tamamo at her temple." Artoria chuckled. "Recalling the faces of those arrogant gods at that time sure was rewarding."

"Amaterasu...?" Melusine looked visually confused.

"Ah, You don't know about her? She is sort of like the Chief Deity of the Japanese Mythology, more or less." Artoria said.

Widening her eyes in surprise, Melusine did not expect Nora to be so daring.

"Here." Artoria pulled out a vial from a magic circle.

Throwing at Melusine, she saw the petite girl almost drop it, perhaps because she was too exhausted to properly move or maybe it was because her body had grown weaker due to the forceful method Artoria used to get rid of the corrupted aura.

"I am not sure how effective it will be in a dragon given the immeasurable vitality they usually have, but it should restore your mobility somewhat." Artoria muttered.

Pulling one for herself and removing the lid, Artoria drank it with gusto, even going as far as licking her lips once she finished the vial.

Opening the lid of the vial, Melusine sniffed the liquid timidly. Yet, the smell was nothing like she expected, and immediately drank it.

"I am not sure how he made these to taste like strawberry yogurt but I am not complaining." Artoria sighed. "If only he produced those awful pills with flavors like this one, yet he stubbornly keeps the recipe intact."

With a grumbling Artoria as the background, Melusine felt a surge of warm energy course through her body and noticed how she was healing at an incredible speed. Her body, sluggish to the point that she was moving by sheer willpower was getting lighter, and the pain she felt all over her body was almost gone.

"This is amazing..." Melusine muttered.

"This also cures several diseases and improves your overall performance by 20% for 3 hours, not to mention, it comes in several flavors, it relieves stress and gets rid of the eyebags resulting from lack of sleep." Artoria said in a hapless tone. "...why do you have to advertise this every time someone asks?"

Shaking her head, Artoria left towards Barghest's place.

"If you can move, pick up your weapons. There are still enemies lurking. He called for a backup up and he is using shikigamis even as we speak to assist with evacuation and he is most likely capable of resolving everything on his own, but... Are you ok with that?" Artoria gave a back glance. "I heard you mutter a few things. About being a knight of these lands, about you and that cat. I heard enough."

"I..." Melusine mumbled. "I have failed..."

Shaking her head, Melusine did not feel like moving.

"Is that so? Then go lie down somewhere else." Artoria spoke with disappointment in her tone.

Without any tact, Artoria shoved the vial full of liquid into Barghest's mouth and watched it go down her throat.

"...are you not going to convince me otherwise?" Melusine asked.

"Nope, nopety. I am not good with words." Artoria sighed. "If it was up to him, he could convince you to do even the most insane things. The fact that he can pull those stuns all the time is as amazing as annoying. He is the guy who formed a small party to invade Hades' domain to steal medicine material and escape by getting help from Hades' own children."

"You seem to trust him a lot... And he must trust you too." Melusine enviously said.

Scoffing, Artoria glared at Melusine.

"Don't say that out loud, a chill went down my spine." Artoria grumbled. "I trust him? Yes, he will never go back on his word. Not even faced with the Pendragon Family who demanded me for my resemblance to the Arthur Pendragon and my affinity to the holy weapons he wielded. He gave the church the middle finger when they claimed ownership over me because I was created in their labs. My little sister is the same, he has not cared who stands in his way. It was not a matter of having the bigger hand. The head of the Pendragon Family himself fought him and almost killed him on several occasions that one time, yet Nora never backed down. And the church? Heh, they send that cheat of an old man after him, yet Nora kept a bloody smile as he was beaten down senselessly.  Yeah, trust is one way to say what I feel for him, gratitude also fits the bill, yet..."

Slightly intimidated by the way Artoria walked towards her with an intense glare, Melusine wondered what she was going to hear next. More exploits of the cat or-

"Don't say we trust each other. It is cringe." Artoria said. "What if he happens to overhear? I will have to tolerate his smug smile for weeks! He won't say anything but he will look at me with warm eyes and- GAAAAAH!"

Suddenly, Artoria glanced to one side and noticed a small bird made of paper sneakily hiding behind the leaves of a tree as it listened to what she just said.

Looking around, Artoria went towards the sword she had forgotten to pick up and chased after the bird with the sword in hand.

"So you were defeated as well."

A voice called out to Melusine and she noticed that it belonged to Barghest. The young woman looked terribly disheveled and her armor was no more, only the ragged body suit she wore below. Melusine smiled slightly when she noticed that her fellow knight was awake, but her eyes looked dispirited when Barghest's massive chest bounced with every step she took.

"This world is filled with unfairness..." Melusine sighed.

"I cannot call this defeat unfair. I don't have many memories, but I was defeated with a clear difference in strength. I still have a lot to learn and must train even more. I knew we were not at the level of the last generation's knights, but I did not think the difference was so wide." Barghest mumbled.

"Wideness? No, the softness is different too..." Melusine looked dispirited. 

"Perhaps you are not wrong. We have been too soft and decided to take our training too slow. Being complacent is never good, we trusted in the barriers Her Majesty set in place and never considered them to ever be breached." Barghest muttered.

An obvious disparity in the topics each party was referring to, but they somehow were able to talk.

"There is not much we can do right now but to fight. I am not sure what was that I just drank, but I feel full of energy already." Barghest tightened her fists. "My defense will go down severely since my armor is not anymore, but it should not be a reason why knights do not pick up their weapons."

"...Isn't your defense higher with those things on your chest?" Melusine grumbled in a low tone. "Barghest... how much can you remember about what happened?"

Closing her eyes, Barghest sighed.

"Everything. Baobhan Sith put us in this situation." Barghest replied.

"She betrayed the queendom, has there ever been a case where a knight of our rank has done so?" Melusine asked.

"You might be an outsider but it is not like this queendom as we know it is that old." Barghest opened her eyes and offered a wry smile. "The previous knights were trusted by the preceding queen but I am not certain how they came to be under her. After her conflict with Arthur Pendragon her brother, she changed the way the faeries lived. We used to be a queendom but we were dispersed all over the land and coexisted with humans closer than before we closed these lands with a barrier."

"Is that so?" Melusine mumbled. "I used to wander a lot so I am not too knowledgeable about the workings of the Fae before I was recruited."

"My clan had great influence over the fairies since ancient times, even before the previous queen existed. I am afraid I cannot offer the answer you seek since each clan has different methods to deal with traitors." Barghest answered. "However, Her Majesty is still our ruler so it will be up to her to decide it."

"...I cannot say I agree with that outcome. She is her adopted daughter." Melusine said.

"Melusine. It is not our place to question what Her Majesty decides." Barghest spoke. "Whether she punishes her for her actions or lets her get away without any repercussion, it will be a decision she has to take. Our loyalty is not for show. It is at times like this that we must not lose sight of it."

The sound of destruction could be heard in the background, but the two knights ignored it the best they could.

"Die!" Artoria shouted as she swung her sword.

Another tree was the victim of her attack, but there seemed to be something strange happening as the tree would not stay destroyed, but rather, a new one would grow from the split plant. Like that, the area that had been destroyed by Artoria's fight with Melusine was beginning to be covered in verdant green again.

"Barghest, loyalty should not be blind." Melusine rebuked.

"Loyalty should not be feeble." Barghest retorted.

"The worst outcome has not come to be only because he is here, otherwise, Baobhan Sith's actions would've been more detrimental." Melusine said.

"However..." Barghest could not find the words to answer.

"Is there a reason why you hesitate over this topic? No, it should be because we are talking about Baobhan Sith." Melusine mumbled. "You two have history?"

"I don't, but my clan..." Barghest sighed.

"Is that so? Then you should clear up any regrets when you see her again." Melusine replied.

"Hahaha! Die! Die!" Artoria began shooting her aura from her sword and managed to hit the shikigami.

Observing the appearance of the young woman, Barghest and Melusine tilted their heads.

"Now that I think about it..." Melusine mumbled.

"...this child looks like..." Barghest groaned.

Snorting in front of the destroyed shikigami, Artoria's expression changed when she noticed numerous shikigamis with the shape of bees staring at her with unfriendly eyes(?).

"Crap..." Artoria wisely decided to flee.

"No, it had to be my imagination." Melusine shook her head.

"Perhaps the drink I had... expired." Barghest muttered.

"I will go find Her Majesty." Melusine said.

"Are you trying to ask her to punish Baobhan Sith?" Barghest asked.

"No, I feel like Nora will head towards her at some point." Melusine replied.

"I will go with you." Barghest spoke.

"Suit yourself." Melusine sighed.

Unfolding her wings, Melusine took off without waiting for Barghest.

"...I guess I will have to run." Barghest sighed. "Huh?"

Looking to one side, Barghest noticed the destroyed pieces of paper that made up the shikigami floating and piecing together again somewhat.

"You were treated quite roughly." Barghest went to pick up shikigami who lacked a wing.

Unable to fly, Barghest put it on her shoulder as she prepared to leave but the shikigami used its beak to tap on Barghest's shoulder.

"Huh? What is it?" Barghest mumbled curiously.

The eyes of the bird began shining in red and soon enough, a great number of small shikigamis appeared around Barghest leaving her stunned.

"Is he controlling them all...?" Barghest smiled wryly. "He is really..."

While Barghest was busy thinking of Nora, the shikigamis seemed to come to an agreement and joined. Their small figures were used to create a new shikigami of greater size.

"This is...?" Barghest was deeply impressed.

You are reading story Highschool DxD: A new opportunity at novel35.com

It looked like a normal horse, but that would not make Barghest's eyes glitter with excitement. A pure white winged horse made of paper was before Barghest and it lowered its head towards her.

The young woman timidly extended her hand but ultimately stopped.

"I am big and heavy... Thank you, but I don't think you will be able to carry me." Barghest muttered in a melancholic tone. "I could... squash you."

"I can tell there is a story behind that, but you shouldn't let that get you. Whether it is dropping you or getting squashed, I will never allow it to happen."

A familiar voice came out from the beak of the wingless bird.

"...Nora?" Barghest asked in a baffled tone.

"Get on. I will take you for a ride." Nora's voice indicated.

Slightly confused, Barghest mechanically obeyed. She timidly closed her eyes once she managed to sit on the horse and expected to fall like it had happened before but it did not happen.

"You look very cute when you act all shy." Nora's amused voice came from the bird.

 Blushing at that, Barghest glared at the bird.

"I knew it, Bageko is the most girly." Nora's tone sounded a little strange, like he was doing something else. "I can't wait."

Although Barghest found Nora's tone odd, she felt more concerned about the things he said.

"...I am not Bageko." Barghest sighed but did not feel uncomfortable.

There was no way to change the mind of the cat and Barghest was honestly hoping she had not become a stranger to him. He was someone who could get on her nerves, but he never meant anything bad with how he acted.

"...what do you mean with you can't wait?" Barghest asked.

A bad feeling made the young woman think she was being paranoid and she inwardly reproached herself for thinking that way. Nora had been the ally of faeries since day one.

"Have you forgotten? You lost." Nora's tone sounded sinister. 

"...So?" Barghest looked away.

"My kinks have grown wider through the years." Nora's tone had an evil tinge. "Worry not, I will not step over the line, but do be prepared to wear from A to Z of known costumes. A maid Barghest, I can't wait ♫"

Feeling a chill run down her spine, Barghest wondered if it was actually a good idea to accept Nora's help in the first place.

--------------------------------------

3rd Person POV

"A monster who never gets tired." Abe no Seimei concluded.

Before him, Nora had managed to stop the rampaging Youkais. The ones who were left were four fox Youkais transformed into large foxes. With their fangs deeply sunk in Nora's flesh. They each held in place the youth who in return had sealed their movements with tree roots covering their bodies.

"And if I try to take advantage of this chance..." Abe no Seimei once again put to test the cat.

Turning ofudas into large but thin stakes, he aimed at the cat's heart, while also creating stakes to aim at the possible places he would shift his body to avoid a fatal injury. Nonetheless, as soon as he threw them, with an absurd reaction speed, Nora mercilessly used the very same Youkais holding him in place to rip off his hands and feet while pushing himself away using his tails.

Without even showing a change of expression, he glared at Abe no Seimei with a pair of cold eyes while his hands and feet grew again. Close by, several pairs of hands and feet belonging to the cat were lying on the ground.

"You are insane for always choosing to rip off your body parts." Abe no Seimei.

"I prefer that over the other possible choice." Nora scoffed. "You would attack the youkais in my place if I tried to defend myself."

Widely grinning, Abe no Seimei openly mocked the cat.

"For someone whom many people consider a miracle maker, you are a little shabby." Abe no Seimei said. "I feel bad for those girls who believe in you wholeheartedly. The disappointment they will feel..."

Sheer anger hung on Nora's expression, but the youth did not recklessly move. While he chatted with Abe no Seimei, he controlled his shikigamis to remove the ofudas stuck on the youkais while also keeping some. The youkais turned back into human form and we were safely retrieved by the shikigamis.

His outward expression did not give away anything, but he had been inwardly taking notice of how everyone was doing on the battlefield. It was tough to do follow-up for so many people but he never showed it to 'Abe no Seimei'. For the foe before him, he only had to appear having difficulties. His brain felt like reaching the limit, but everything he felt like that, he would use Senjutsu to heal the piercing headache that threatened to make his head blow. After so many trials, it no longer caused him to bleed from his eyes and ears, only he was aware of the dangers of such wide use of shikigamis causing side effects without the use of a spell to increase the brain's output. Just as he was relieved that no more Youkais came out and the missing ones were accounted for, Nora received a mental communication message from his two collaborators followed by his subordinates. The evacuation was ready, all the fairies had been secured and the black sheep had been properly dealt with.

"Talking about feeling bad for someone..." Nora suddenly grinned. "I feel sorry for you."

Feeling the change of mood from Nora, 'Abe no Seimei' narrowed his eyes.

"Poor guy can't even tell huh." Nora smirked. "I cannot blame you though. That bastard is an absolute piece of shit, but he is not someone who makes half-assed jobs."

"What nonsense are you muttering now? Are you that bored?" 'Abe no Seimei' spoke.

"No, no. Do not take me wrong, I am not trying to relieve my boredom here. This is just a humble and good-hearted try to make you see the light, although I am just a sadistic asshole that wants to make suffer anyone related to Abe no Seimei."

"Humble and good-hearted should not go in the same sentence as a sadistic asshole." 'Abe no Seimei' retorted.

"Perhaps." Nora chuckled.

Jumping high until he was face to face with his foe, Nora stood in the air using his characteristic technique. He grinned and raised his head to show his neck to his foe. Using one finger, he tapped a particular point below his chin.

"Look, over here you will find the proof. They do not do a perfect job so they can tell apart the original. However, they leave no other evidence. Exactly in this spot, you will find a small scar." Nora said.

Narrowing his eyes, 'Abe no Seimei' scoffed.

"Is this the best you can come up with? I am deeply disappointed." 'Abe no Seimei' replied.

"Heh, as expected of that man. He set up a perfectly reasonable system to prevent his toys from learning the truth." Nora smirked. "Are you that afraid to learn that you are a fake?"

"I am not a fake." 'Abe no Seimei' raised his tone.

"Is that something you can guarantee? Look at you, getting all worked up." Nora grinned. "I bet it is a touchy subject for you. Does that word put you in a foul mood all the time?"

"Silence." 'Abe no Seimei' growled.

"Why? I have always been one to talk and spout nonsense but you have not been annoyed by me so much until now. What has changed... Ah. Yes, I did mention it, didn't I? The method he uses-"

"I told you to close your MOUTH!" 'Abe no Seimei' almost yelled as he interrupted the cat.

Closing his mouth, Nora grinned. He let himself get hit by ofudas that stuck to his arms and legs. A pulling force was felt and Nora felt like he would fall to the ground, nonetheless, he just deviously smiled.

His expression ticked a nerve on 'Abe no Seimei' and he began throwing ofudas at Nora. Without bothering to evade, Nora felt a stronger pull, but he stood in place without much of a change of expression.

"No matter how much you deny it, my words must've hit the nail on the head." Nora spoke with glee. "It all starts with a small bud of doubt and soon it will flourish into a full garden of flowers."

Hastening his actions, 'Abe no Seimei' pulled waves of talismans and commanded them to lock Nora inside a giant sphere mid-air. He pulled out again more ofudas, five that were clearly different in the kanjis written on them, and sent them flying in five different directions. 'Abe no Seimei' began to form hand sign after hand sign, the five ofudas began to release arcs of electricity and connected to one another by forming a pentagon with Nora in the middle. The pulling force increased by several folds and even the area below was beginning to sink, yet the sphere of ofudas was not moving.

"What's wrong? Your techniques are getting sloppy... Ops, it is not that they are getting sloppy, but they were never the real deal." Nora's tone from inside the sphere was carefree. "The first time I met Abe no Seimei... he only used one talisman to seal me in place."

"I have never done that! Stop speaking like I am not the real deal!" 'Abe no Seimei' growled.

"Do not delude yourself. That bastard sealed my Tamamo no Mae, a being with far greater strength than me. The fact that you cannot deal with me is a fact that speaks for itself." Nora scowled. "You might be to fool your run-of-the-mill youkai or Baobhan Sith and Morgan, but I have studied Abe no Seimei like mad to learn about the enemy I will ruthlessly kill after making him suffer for what he did to Tamamo. You are not the real deal. If you don't believe me, you can prove me wrong. Check the scar, Abe no Seimei has nothing like that but a fake like you obviously have it."

Losing to Nora's persistence, 'Abe no Seimei' raised his hand and looked for a scar. He sighed in relief when his hand did not touch anything, only to caress a bump when he tried to take his hand away. His eyes widened and he brought his hand back to the spot from before.

It was there. The man noticed the bump and a headache assaulted him. His body warned him to take away his hand and it seemed like it had minds of its own as one of his hands disobeyed him and tried to pull away his other hand touching the bump.

"He even made his body disobey his puppet's own will to cover it up. His techniques are top-notch but questionable." Nora mocked. "See? You are just some random dude he used. He probably engraved all the techniques you know in your brain and modified your memory to make you believe you were him. I almost feel sorry for you, lol."

Green fire began to burn the ofudas sealing Nora despite the resistance to fire it supposedly had.  The gravity field it tried to create was stopped when the sphere of paper burst into flames and the five separated ofudas caught fire.

The green flames originated from Nora's fists and he turned them down once he was released.

"Lies... You and I fought when you invaded that hideout." 'Abe no Seimei' said.

"Huh? I invade people's properties without their permission often so it does not ring a bell." Nora seriously pondered. "Was it when I stole a bang last year? There were some cultists with the same plan so I pinned the blame on them after beating them up..."

Scratching his head, Nora did not seem to be acting, and that annoyed the man.

"The time you took that goddess with you! We fought there! It happened. Not only I, but there are many witnesses." 'Abe no Seimei' yelled.

"Oh, Nyx-tan huh. That battle crazy and sexy goddess." Nora sighed. "She lent me a hand on several occasions after that. She has expressed explicit interest in having sex with me and she is not troubled with my age so I feel like a trash every time she lends me a hand."

Tilting his head suddenly, Nora promptly lowered his right fist into his opened left palm.

"Ah! I remember. You were that guy. The Quasi-Cardinal." Nora nodded in realization. "That explains it all. Even Abe no Seimei cannot create an exorcist of your caliber using normal humans instantly unless he gives them a power source similar to a lich's heart."

"...lies." 'Abe no Seimei' held his pained head. "I am Abe no Seimei, THE ABE NO SEIMEI, I sealed the demonic Nine Tails, hunted hundreds of evil Youkais... I have no memories of a Quasi-Cardinal or whatever."

"I am not lying." Nora smiled. "Can you really remember how you accomplished those feats?"

"Of course, I-" 'Abe no Seimei' was interrupted.

"I don't want to hear the things you can easily learn in books. Even I know the details of how you sealed my Tamamo. I want more details that only the real deal could say. What did you eat that morning? What did you talk with the mother fucker who asked you to deal with my Tamamo? Can you remember? The exact spell you used, how much Tamamo begged you to forgive her, to let her GO! How much she cried, how much she suffered! Come on! A-B-E-N-O-S-E-I-M-E-I! Please enlight me, how did you feel when you sealed her there intending to let her die!"

While the man held his head in pain, unable to recall anything that was asked of him, Nora's gaze filled with hatred and disgust was directed at him. He walked towards the man easily grabbed his head and lined it with his.

"He erased the memories belonging to the cultist I faced so you would not trigger your other memories if you met familiar people or visited familiar places. The way you acted reminded me of someone sent to collect information, what did you want to achieve with this plan? You are listening to this, aren't you? Not the faker in front of me, but hidden in your cozy hideout." Nora spat out. "Well? Aren't you a little cold? You mother fucker piece of shit!"

"I-I Arghhhhh!" 'Abe no Seimei' could not take it anymore and fainted.

"Tsk, useless." Nora criticized.

With his eyes going up to the back of his head, the rest of the body lost strength and was held by the head on Nora's right hand.

"Changing the face, the voice, and the fighting style to the point that they took away the habits you usually develop in your fighting style... It would be annoying if they developed an army of fakes Abe no Seimeis. It sends a chill down my spine." Nora shuddered. "I should step up the training of my subordinates until they can deal with all of this without getting a single hair damaged and they can do it barehanded. I should also raise my level of training. Taking turns by taking lessons with Shishou and Skadi about runes and physical techniques while also bribing Sirzches-san to spar using his ultimate form. Yosh, my first goal will be to last more than 1 second without losing a body part."

Nonchalantly sending a chill down the spines of all his subordinates, Nora added an insane regimen of training to himself to the point that even his two legs were shaking slightly, but suddenly he gazed coldly at the unconscious man before him.

"You took him down at a slower rate than I expected. Instead of going forward, you seem to be lagging behind." Abe no Seimei spoke.

Compared to before, Nora did not hold back with his killing intent. The vegetation, as twisted as it was, seemed to react to his will and slowly grew crooked towards Abe no Seimei.

"You finally show up, disgusting bastard." Nora growled.

"Thankfully for you, this man is almost spent so I cannot even put up a decent fight." Abe no Seimei complained.

"As cocky as always huh." Nora spat out.

"That goes without question, I am the greatest ommyojy for a reason. Besides, I am far stronger than you." Abe no Seimei stated. "It is a fact so I don't understand why you see it as something negative."

With a vein about to pop out from his forehead, Nora glared at the man like he would kill him at any moment.

"Don't be so grumpy, Kouhai. You are but a talentless young youkai, there is no way you can simply surpass me." Abe no Seimei said. "Compared to me though, everyone lacks talent so you should not feel so down."

"Do not call me Kouhai!" Nora icily retorted.

"All who use exorcist arts after my birth are my kouhais in a way after I improved the existing techniques. Even more, someone like you who has taken the use of shikigamis to an insane level. Despite being one of the most basic techniques, I guess I have to praise you for turning it into something that anyone but you would be able to accomplish." Abe no Seimei praised.

"Enough of your bullshit." Nora said.

"You sure you want to cut short the conversation, I thought you wanted to buy time for Tamamo no Mae who was heading this way at full speed." Abe no Seimei smirked.

Clicking his tongue at that, Nora wanted nothing more than to rip the head on his hands off.

"Unfortunately for you, even if she arrives, the only thing she will be able to do is going to spout obscenities but even that is doubtful since she might want to maintain her image in front of you." Abe no Seimei smiled. "How funny. That murderer wants to act like a housewife after creating rivers of blood."

It took every fiber in his body that had self-control to avoid crushing the head in his hand.

"Well, you are slowly but surely pilling up deaths so it should not take long for you to catch up to her." Abe no Seimei chuckled.

"You are an unpleasant and loathsome living being." Nora said.

"I am flattered." Abe no Seimei spoke. "Now then, you have been holding back on your killing intent taking over for two reasons. The first one has to do with the Nine Tails. That will not change anything so we don't need to wait for her. However, I bet you are dying to hear the second reason. You want to hear from 'my' own mouth the truth."

Skipping a beat, Nora could not completely hide his trepidation over those words.

"First, I would like to say. Goodbye since I know what you will do next." Abe no Seimei grinned creepily. "Yes, it is indeed like that. I was there to capture your beloved mother. She was a tough woman very much like you who never gave up because she wanted to come back to you-"

Blood splattered everywhere as the lifeless body of 'Abe no Seimei' did not have anything to hold it from falling as his skull had been crushed and pieces of hair, skull bones, and brain matter clung to Nora's hand.

Shaking all over, an eerie aura almost took over his body but familiar steps stopped it. He just jumped down and landed on the ground, awaiting for his ally to greet him.

"Oh, hubby." Tamamo noticed his state right away as she arrived.

After hurrying when she heard the news of Abe no Seimei's possible appearance, Tamamo had a hunch that either Nora or she would suffer from it. She arrived too late to be the one who took the damage.

His face was a mess but Tamamo did not comment on it, she walked towards him and hugged him from the back while avoiding seeing directly his face. Her breasts were sandwiched on his hard back but Tamamo did not let out inappropriate comments or the like. She just transmitted her warmth and silently accompanied him.

He could've stayed in that state for as much as he desired, his people would certainly not blame him and neither would Tamamo, but Nora just took a minute before tapping Tamamo's hand and she released him.

"I am doing ok." Nora showed the fox a sunny smile.

Knowing fully well that he was hiding his feelings to reassure her, Tamamo did not say anything. She also inwardly added that she did not stay speechless from seeing his smile after parting ways for a while.

"It seems everything went well." Nora muttered.

Just as Tamamo was about to explain what happened, Nora's figure in front of her vanished. To be precise, he was tackled by a yellow flash.

They rolled on the ground a few times before hitting a tree. Nora made sure to be the one to receive the impact as he softened the hit for his 'attacker'.

"Master❤️!" Asuna's joyful tone was heard.

Happily rubbing her left cheek against Nora's right one, Asuna did not seem to know about personal space. However, the lack of any ill will and the honest affection made Nora unable to mutter a complaint so he simply patted her head.

Slightly jealous as she was, Tamamo let this happen when she saw Nora smiling wryly. She encouraged this behaviour for a reason so she could not let her desire to monopolize the cat throw a fit. While she had a mental struggle, Tamamo noticed how Karin slowly stood beside her and smiled.

"Ara? Are you not going to join?" Tamamo teased.

"I am just glad that Master is ok that is enough for me." Karin smiled.

Inwardly clicking her tongue over the pure-hearted reply, Tamamo found it sad that she could not tease the girl.

"Now now, there are enemies to defeat yet. We can get cozy at a later time." Nora said.

Stopping her affectionate display, Asuna looked at Nora with a pair of curious eyes. She has a wide smile on her face and even Nora found it hard to look directly into her pure eyes. The maid tilted her head as her intuition worked.

"Master." Asuna grinned. "You are not alone. As long as we are together, we can overcome any enemy."

Widening his eyes briefly, Nora chuckled at those words. They seemed to push the right buttons as his mood lightened.

"Chotto matte! Wait a minute! Espera un momento!" Tamamo exclaimed. "I was supposed to mutter those words. Me! Tamamo the wife!"

Suddenly objecting to the maid, Tamamo could not accept that her rightful place (self-proclaimed) as Nora's comforter had been stolen.

"Eh? Tamamocchi? What's wrong?" Asuna innocently leaned back her head.

Her actions caused her cleavage to be clearly displayed to Nora almost like it was offered to him.

"Oh dear. I must not lewd her. Begone horny thoughts. I need to deal with a god later, I cannot let this stop me." Nora gathered his willpower.

Chanting a sutra he was unwillingly forced to learn, Nora dispelled any 'evil' thoughts.

However, when his eyes landed on Tamamo and her new outfit that he had not focused on, his eyes widened and he was left with his mouth open.

"Holy shit." Nora muttered. "Is this forcing me to sin no matter where I look?"

Wearing a tight black bodysuit with a pair of opened zippers on her thighs, Tamamo looked like a sexy spy.

While Tamamo and Asuna who stood up bickered (Asuna was not paying attention to Tamamo's complaints), Karin walked towards Nora and pulled an old shield.

"Master, as you requested, we have acquired the item in question." Karin said.

Compared to the two, Karin looked less tempting so Nora could not help but shed a tear.

"Children like you are what a cat needs to keep his sanity." Nora tried to stand up and hug the maid but he tripped.

Karin unconsciously avoided him and Nora fell face-first just in front of her. This caused Karin to embarrassedly look at Nora.

"I am sorry, Master. I should've tried to catch you." Karin apologized.

Trying to raise his head to calm down the maid, Nora stopped midway with a frozen expression. One look at her legs from below causes Nora to have a change of heart.

"...so you were lewd as well." Nora cried. "Why do you have such a tempting pair of legs? Why do you use white pantyhose!? No matter what underwear you use, I will be able to see it!"

"I am not sure why I am getting reprimanded for wearing my uniform though!?" Karin exclaimed.

As such, Nora regrouped with Tamamo and after a couple of shenanigans more than left a happy Tamamo, Asuna, and Karin, Nora and his party went to aid Morgan. They could easily locate her when they saw the giant Cernunnos and Terra facing each other.

Part 3

Morgan POV

Facing a god by herself was bound to make her nervous, but Morgan did not have the luxury to hesitate. Magicians like her have greater firepower and fought best in open spaces where they could display their spells.

Cernunnos was a deity with several traits that made her the choice to fight. The resistance Cernunnos had towards physical attacks was way higher than the one towards magical attacks. Her knights were a good match since they used magic for most of their attacks, but only Baobhan Sith remained. Rather than have her here, Morgan decided to send her on an errand. Her firepower was lesser so she would be able to make a difference.

"Although at this point I would like to take as much help as I could..." Morgan said in a helpless tone.

Lowering her staff, Morgan commanded dozens of spears made of darkness to fly toward Cernunnos.

Half of the spears were intercepted by a ray shot from its mouth while the rest landed on the large body of Cernunnos. Morgan was able to maintain her position due to the help she was getting.

"I won't let you touch her!" Terra's large hand protected Morgan.

With her other hand, she grabbed a chunk of earth and threw it at Cernunnos. Compared to the attack that Morgan launched, the chunk of the earth was not able to cause any damage.

"This land was made using his body and flesh, Cernunnos will hardly be damaged using the earth element." Morgan advised.

The fact that the earth itself did not turn against them was all because of Terra and Morgan was extremely thankful for her presence. It was hard to understand how one of the highest leveled spirits was under Nora, but given how 'unique' he is, Morgan decided to simply consider him a black box full of unexpected things.

"Yes~" Terra replied earnestly.

Punching the ground, Terra created a seismic wave that raised the earth and sent flying the grave diggers trying to harm Morgan.

Compared to the ones she found on the way here, Morgan had to consider these creatures a new kind of monster. They were far more violent and active, attacking anything in sight. Morgan was able to focus on Cernunnos due to the aid of Nora's fairies.

A couple of grave diggers persisted after Terra's attack but they did not reach that far. The small orb crashed against one of them and its movements were halted. Slowly, the grave digger began turning into a statue of ice. While another one was shocked with an orb that released lighting. In that manner, Morgan was able to chant freely and release as many spells as she could.

Cernunnos did not seem to like that as it opened its mouth and screamed. The scream caused Terra and the fairies to stop in place briefly and Morgan felt like her ears would begin bleeding at any moment. Thankfully, before she lost her hearing, Cernunnos stopped.

"Hmhp, don't bully Terra!" Terra pouted and grew from twenty meters to forty meters. She stood up and with large steps, she went towards Cernunnos and punched it.

Until now, Morgan's attacks did not cause such a great reaction from Cernunnos who stumbled a few steps back. His round body was thirty meters tall and thirty meters wide with small arms compared to his body and a pair of long horns that were sixty meters wide both combined. The weight Cernunnos probably had was one reason why Morgan never doubted that her attacks would not be able to move it unless it decided to move by itself, yet... Terra's cute punch with her eyes closed and bad posture was enough to send Cernunnos stumbling a few steps.

"Ouch!" Terra complained as she backed away.

Using her left hand to rub her right hand, she decreased in size as her watery eyes glared at Cernunnos. The spirit looked about to cry but she held back.

Perhaps, just as much as she was, Cernunnos was shocked, but Morgan could not celebrate this because the answer of their foe was to scream again, yet this time, a new change occurred on the battlefield.

The eerie aura covering the surrounding area around Cernunnos pushed against the protective field spread by the magatama in Morgan's chest. The necklace given by Nora had proven its worth more than once and it was still protecting the group from the influence of the aura surrounding Cernunnos, however, Cernunnos was now directly causing the aura to change.

Without much of a choice, the gravediggers were affected. The creatures that no matter how much they were destroyed would come back to life mutated as they turned against each other. Not only that, but they grew in numbers at an alarming rate. Cernunnos scream marked the beginning of a new change in the way this battle would have to be played.

Preying on each other, the gravediggers would grow the parts that they devoted, some would get another pair of arms while others two heads, there were even some whose appetite was endless and ate many of their companions that grew into long centipedes with so many arms and body parts they ate.

"More enemies." Morgan raised her staff indifferently.

Above her, dozens of magic circles were formed. The attribute of the spells was not concealed so the blue colour was in plain sight. Water poured nonstop, soaking her foes, but Morgan did not stop there. After tapping the staff gently on the ground, the magic circles changed and the water stopped pouring. Instead, a cold breeze turned the wet enemies into statues.

Her actions only were capable of affecting the smaller enemies, but Morgan was not discouraged. The discouraged ones were in camp though.

"Friendly fire is no good." Terra mumbled as she broke the eyes at her feet.

Coughing to hide her embarrassment, Morgan had momentarily forgotten that she was not alone. Even the orbs of different colors came to her to complain while gesturing with their hands. The fact a couple of them were very explicit about getting revenge for her acts made Morgan wonder why the peace-loving fairies known for being playful would even gesture her to watch out when she went to sleep. Immediately pinning the blame on a certain cat, Morgan readied her next spell.

While the enemies had gotten tougher and more numerous, they just made it easy for Terra to sweep them away. The problem came when the fairies tried to defeat them. They were a lot stronger so their endurance was on another level. Morgan considered aiding them but that would lower her fire rate at Cernunnos. The spots she had been continuously attacking were beginning to show signs of damage. However, the vitality of Cernunnos was extremely high. He could recover if she did not continue her attacks. Nonetheless, Morgan decided to aid the fairies. As long as they were in her land, as long as she was the queen, she would protect her people and that included the guests like Nora and his people. With that resolution in mind, Morgan formulated her next attack, four spears made of darkness formed around her and they stabbed her, or so appeared, but a grave digger with four pairs of arms received the damage instead. It was killed immediately.

"Next one." Morgan mumbled.

Noticing the support that they received, the fairies offered their thanks as they pushed themselves to support Morgan with more drive than before.

...

...

...

As the fight dragged on, the fairies began to show signs of being exhausted. Using their abilities continuously drained them greatly, but they did not stop aiding Morgan. They seemed to be capable of fighting some more despite looking drained. This appeared to be because of their contractor who provided them the necessary energy yet they were not prepared to continuously fight when their own reserves were spent.

Cernunnos would shoot rays from its mouth and his attacks would be stopped by Terra. It was starting to hurt her more than she could handle because she looked like she could cry at any time despite stubbornly shielding Morgan with her arms.

It was to the point that Terra was neglecting the grave diggers aiming at Morgan and the witch queen miscalculated the power of her spell, failing to kill it in one go. The centipede was enraged for losing one of its heads, but when Morgan braced to be sent flying after hastily putting on a shield, she heard a loud sound and the body of the centipede got a new hole that caused it to stop in place, finally defeated and turn into black smoke.

"MOTHER!!!" Baobhan Sith's voice was getting closer.

Morgan smiled slightly when she noticed that the pink-haired one had come back to assist her but she put on a stern expression to scold her since her initial aim was to keep her safe. However, Morgan's expression stiffened when she was Baobhan Sith.

Waving enthusiastically, Baobhan Sith carried a large sack on her back.

"I must be pretty exhausted myself." Morgan sighed.

Deciding that her mind must be playing tricks on her, Morgan changed her focus to Cernunnos who began acting strangely sluggish.

"Mother!" Baobhan Sith called out again.

Giving another glance, Morgan accepted the cruel reality. Her daughter had turned into a delinquent who used the chaos to become a thief.

"Mother!?" Baobhan Sith called out confused.

...

...

...

With the addition of Baobhan Sith and her new party members, the battle became much easier. Not only did the extra firepower lessen the burden on her shoulders, but Terra felt more hyped after seeing the two young women who were allies of Nora.

Baobhan Sith had collected several statues and through a special ritual that was simplified, they managed to make Cernunnos sluggish.

"How long will this state last?" Morgan asked.

While Cernunnos was barely attacking at the moment as it tried to fight against the influence of the ritual, the gravediggers were different. They attacked as fiercely as before, but the blue-eyed and red-eyed young women worked to keep them away while Morgan took a breather. Stopping her attack on Cernunnos was advised by the duo still fighting.

"Cernunnos was always a deity who acted based on the desire of its people. This ritual is just simply asking it to go bad as it used to be so Cernunnos is currently having an internal fight. Revenge and annihilation against my wish for it to go back. I have managed to collect many of the objects used for worship so it saved me the time to visit shrine after shrine." Baobhan Sith patted the sack. "However, it is impossible to estimate how long it will try to make my wish true. The statues are not in their shrine and I am only one person, the duration will be short based on that."

"And what is going to happen once the effects run out?" Morgan inquired.

"It will completely lose its sanity. It has been using lukewarm methods until now. The remaining traits are what has made it stay in place instead of destroying everything in its path as it stormed the lands..." Baobhan Sith explained. "However, I have one way to kill it. The purple cat that was entrusted to us by that annoying cat is capable of dealing special damage to anything evil... if it is that cat..."

Looking around carefully, Morgan tried to find the so-called purple cat. She recalled the time it was entrusted to them when they parted with Nora, but unfortunately...

"I don't see it." Morgan said.

"Fufu! I was expecting it to run away so I put the cat inside this rack. It is right in here....!? It escaped!? How!? I put a magic spell to prevent it from doing so!" Baobhan Sith's confident expression froze once she began searching in the bag.

Feeling a small amount of pity, Morgan prepared her staff to face Cernunnos. While one of the reasons to rest for a moment was to confirm the reliability of the sluggishness of her enemy, Morgan was fairly tired as well. The reserves of magic power she had were not unlimited and despite carrying jewelry that stored extra magic power, Morgan was running low on those as well. Her natural recovery had been slowed since the miasma covering the land intensified and she had been using spells since this mess started. The consumption had gone a few levels once she had to deal with Cernunnos who would not be damaged through normal means.

Nonetheless, she could not say it. She would not express it. Morgan would not turn away either. Even as she faced Cernunnos, Britomart, the only remaining knight beside Baobhan Sith, was tasked with gathering the Fae scattered through the land and preparing to flee to the mainland. It was her duty as the queen to protect her subjects even if she had to perish in the attempt... because she was Morgan Le Fay.

Yet, her fate seemed to be a harsh one. One of the statues, that fell off the the rack that Baobhan Sith had for some incomprehensible reason, broke. It started as a small crack on the surface, but it grew in size until the whole statue could not stay in one piece. Baobhan Sith was as pale as a sheet of paper, but given that it was her usual tone of skin, no one, in particular, noticed how scared she was.

Before Baobhan Sith could mutter an apology, the rest of the statues began cracking.

This was a sign and Morgan realized what this meant. Cernunnos changed. It was something that she considered, but in reality, she did not want it to happen. If the good side of Cernunnos was what made it hesitate, then it was the bad size that caused it to be destroyed. The stalemate would not be solved until the balance tilted to one side. The answer to that problem was in front of it. The miasma generated created an endless number of gravediggers that grew stronger by eating each other. Cernunnos had the means, the opportunity so what stopped the deity from taking action, nothing. It opened its big mouth as it rolled forward and began to suck in everything in front of it. The gravediggers could not offer any resistance. Morgan and the ones at her side hastily tried to prevent this but it was useless, the defense of a god was not something you could break through with a hasty attack. It did not take long for a change to occur. Terra reached and pulled it away too late.

Its white and fluffy fur turned pitch black, and the soft fur became spiky and hard. Its overall size increased to reach sixty meters tall and the horns became thorny all over. The hand holding Cernunnos by its horn was hastily retrieved and Terra backed away. However, Cernunnos was not the same as before. Opening its mouth a ray was shot at Terra.

The elemental gave a silent scream as she was sent rolling on the ground, almost crushing her allies.

Unable to hold back, Terra decreased in size until she was child-sized and began to cry.

"Uwaaaaaa!" Terra tearfully cried.

The ray did not only hurt but she was injured considerably with her fluffy clothing being turned into charcoal. Nonetheless, she did not look critically wounded. This, however, was not a reason to fully celebrate. Cernunnos had not stopped shooting after attacking Terra. While smaller in size, it began shooting at Morgan and Baobhan Sith. Things grew chaotic from there on.

Pushing their body to the limits, the red and blue-eyed young woman made their way towards Baobhan Sith and Morgan. The blue-eyed one was closer to the knight thus reaching her first. Baobhan Sith had created shields made of blood to protect herself from the rays as she gained time to escape, however, she miscalculated the power of the ray and the shield broke before she had time to turn into bats. Perhaps predicting this or simply because she prioritized the protection of the faes, thus acting at once, the blue-eyed young woman reached in time to tackle her and both escaped mostly unscathed. On the other hand, the red-eyed young woman had a headache. Her first impulse was to secure Morgan but after reaching a certain distance, she noticed that Terra was also targeted by the rain of rays. Her hesitation made her freeze and hit the brakes just in the middle of the two. Morgan or Terra, Terra should be the priority since she was the precious elemental from Nora, but the queen was to be aided. It was then that she heard a shout and a message was transmitted inside her head. Both were quite contradicting but there was no need to doubt what to do.

"SAVE HER!" Morgan yelled.

At the same time, she threw her staff and activated a spell that sent it flying faster than anyone seeing could register. Her staff landed in front of Terra who raised her head to see the ray sent her way. The staff impacted the ground and immediately created a translucent shield. 

Completely aware of what this would mean for her, Morgan still decided to act as such. Her body was the one of a magician. She did not skip a certain level of physical care such as exercising but that barely strengthened her physique, it was only a means to stay healthy. Her body could be a lot more resilient than other Fae thanks to her pedigree, but she was a witch after all. Her magic power must be working her best to work as an enhancement to her natural magic defenses. Yet, it was all for naught. She could not cast magic in the remaining time even if she had more time, the level of the spell needed to stop the attack was not one you could compare with a makeshift spell.

Closing her eyes briefly, Morgan then opened them up again to face the attack head-on. However, her eyes widened in surprise and horror when the red-eyed young woman tackled her to avoid a direct hit and not try to save Terra.

"Fool! That child will die! Do you think because she is an elemental that she will be unscathed? Her current form is too weak to withstand the attack!" Morgan angrily said. "Is he that heartless that he would sacrifice her!?"

A great deal of grief and pity swelled up in Morgan's heart when she saw the ray getting closer to Terra and indignation could be felt in her body from how she tried to reach for Terra.

"No. Your actions have spoken about what lies in your heart."

A familiar voice could be heard and Morgan saw a flash fly by her side just as the ray broke the shield she created.

For some reason, even as she unsightly rolled on the ground after being tackled and was blinded the the rays hitting the ground around her, Morgan felt that there was no need to worry about Terra anymore. Perhaps she imagined it, but her eyes caught a brief scene of a pair of crystal-like wings.

The rain of rays finally stopped and the dust settled down following that. The space they were just standing in was roughly filled with holes where the rays landed. Morgan was the first to stand since the red-eyed young woman had landed face-first and got stuck on the ground. Her first reaction was to check for Cernunnos in case it attacked again but her eyes paused when she saw a pair of crystal wings acting as a shield. The position was the same as Terra was last seen and Morgan tried to guess why one of the wings seemed to be broken, however, the wings folded back and were hidden once the figure they belonged to had stood up.

Pinching the back of her hand, Morgan regained her bearing and had to shamefully admit that she was briefly dazzled when she saw Nora just now. She could tell it was him despite looking completely different. There were many reasons for that, one of them being the orbs of light, AKA, the fairies that were floating around Nora. Morgan had to admit that perhaps those fairies had greater skills than her in what survival concerned. Nora had a pair of fox ears and tails, he held Terra who giddily clapped with a smile on her face at Nora's presence.

"You put her safety above yours... You have my gratitude." Nora turned around and faced Morgan.

His serious gaze gave Morgan a strange feeling and she pinched the back of her hand again but it did not seem to work. She felt her heart skip a beat and it was only when she felt her face heating up that the magatama hanging on her neck shone and those swelling feelings were dispelled.

"Sorry, the fox version is turning strange thanks to the meddling of Amaterasu-sama." Nora smiled bitterly. "No, I know it is not your fault, but thanks to using Spiritualization while you have an actual body created by Amaterasu is giving the transformation the unnecessary but highly in demand, charm."

Speaking to himself, Nora walked toward Morgan or so she thought, he first went towards the stuck red-eyed young woman and used his free hand to pull her leg. Her position did not change much and she seemed to be out of action in a slightly compromising pose of her ass stuck out, but Nora did not seem to feel any shame as he made her get back on her feet by... slapping her ass.

Even Morgan far away from her used one hand to cover her ass when she saw the figure jolt awake. She did catch sight of a whitish light being transferred from his hand to the young woman but Morgan was too shocked to consider the reason of it.

"Next is..." Nora whistled. "Saori-chan, if you cannot stand up..."

"I am ready to follow your next orders." The blue-eyed girl, Saori, stood up before Nora could say anything else.

The red-eyed young woman also stood up and despite her shame, she

Noticing how she fearfully stared at him, Nora formed a ball about the size of a fist using his right hand and shot it at her. Saori received it and the wounds she sustained were healed. Morgan saw him repeat the same steps with Baobhan Sith who had trouble standing up.

"How much longer will those hold...?" Nora glanced at Cernunnos.

Curious as to why they had not been attacked yet, Morgan was left without words when she noticed a pair of maids holding the ends of a black chain that was sealing Cernunnos in place.

"If you had something like this, since the beginning..." Morgan was about to complain but she noticed cracks appearing on the chains.

"Gleipnir, if these were the real deal, I would've used them. Unfortunately, the geezer of Odin anticipated me stealing them and changed them for a fake one." Nora bitterly said.

The fairies around him tried to cheer him up while Terra seemed like she would fall asleep for being too comfortable.

"Morgan Le Fay, I owe you one. This is regardless of our current or future relationship. Whether we remain allies or we become enemies, I will not forget how you put this child above you." Nora muttered.

"I am just doing my duty." Morgan said.

"Urgh! Were you waiting nearby to jump in when we needed you?" Baobhan Sith asked.

Glaring at Nora, Baobhan Sith seemed to be blaming him somewhat.

"I had some other business to take care of on the way here." Nora spoke. "Can you all still fight?"

"Don't look down on me. Who do you think am I? I am the Queen of these lands." Morgan muttered.

"If Mother can still fight, there is no way I cannot do it for her sake." Baobhan Sith chimed in.

At her words, the miasma that was dispersed when the rays hit the ground settled in again. Gravediggers were created from the eerie fog.

"...you wouldn't happen to have more of those helpers of yours?" Baobhan Sith gestured towards the red and blue-eyed duo.

Jumping from his haori, a purple cat looked toward Cernunnos.

"Ah! You had escaped!" Baobhan Sith glared at the cat.

"More people? There is no need, I got this child." Nora said.

Extending his free hand toward the cat, his gesture was replied and the cat jumped, but midway, it began burning in a purple flame and by the time it landed on Nora's hand, a purple flame was all that remained.

"It is time for you to show what you are made of." Nora spoke. "You want me to call for your help, to wield you in battle. Prove me then, why should I rely on you, why I need to garner your power."

Raising his hand, Nora closed it and the flame exploded. Compared to its size, the explosion it caused was much larger. Reflexively, Baobhan Sith and Morgan jolted, afraid of getting burned, however, the fire expanded and began covering the land. Nora's allies were unharmed, yet, the gravediggers suffered and the weaker ones were turned into charcoal easily. The fire covered the ground and did not die off, the distance was at least two hundred meters around Nora and it slowly crept farther. Even Cernunnos was caught in

"This will take care of the small fries." Nora said.

"That still leaves Cernunnos." Morgan spoke. "Although you seem calm enough."

"Of course, I have experience getting beaten up by a goddess on an almost daily basis." Nora shamelessly gave Morgan a thumbs up. "She is way hotter and way stronger than this one so I don't feel even a milligram of fear."

Face-palming, Morgan wondered if she could change the reinforcements.

"Queenie, what do you want to do? I can take things from here. I cannot guarantee the defeat of this creature 100% but I am certain I can buy enough time for all of you to escape." Nora asked.

"Are you that determined to look down on me? I will not retreat. This is a threat and enemy to the fairies. I will not back down and I will bury it here even if it costs me my life." Morgan muttered.

Raising her hand, it took a few seconds for her wand to come flying at her. Morgan glared coldly at Nora and found it a bit disappointing the words he just said.

"Why did you not use this chance to save me yourself?" Morgan asked. "Saving the princess is a knight's dream, isn't it? Earning my favor and snaring me would've been easier for you if I survived this. As a diplomat... you could get your hands on valuable material to use."

"If that would make you happy, I would certainly save you in a pinch." Nora chuckled. "But... you don't want to be saved as a princess, right now, you are not a princess that needs to be saved from a big bad monster."

Raising an eyebrow, Morgan let Nora speak since he seemed to have more to say.

"You are a Queen. You seek equal treatment instead of one where you are on the lower side of the scale whether you owe someone for saving you or steps on your pride." Nora spoke. "You wish to be treated with respect befitting of your role, your responsibilities... and above all, your resolution. Escaping does not suit you because a Queen never runs away, a Queen will protect her land at all costs. That is what you think, right?"

Nodding in response, Morgan questioned his ability to estate the obvious.

"However, you are mistaken. No place states you need to head out personally." Nora said. "That is why, my queen, I am but a humble Ronin now, a masterless knight if you wish to know what it means. I roam the land looking for a lord to serve so I have a proposal to you."

Lowering Terra with a kind smile, Nora patted her head and faced Morgan. From a closer look, he looked taller and his outfit could hardly hide his more muscular body. If someone told Morgan that this was a late teen version of the youth, she would believe it, although she only heard from Tamamo once that he was way younger.

Kneeling in from of Morgan, Nora looked up to her from below. The fairy queen was surprised by his actions because she thought he was speaking in a joking manner.

"Morgan Le Fay, I am Nora Shiki, I am but a humble cat. I am here to offer my services temporarily to the queen of the fairies." Nora solemnly said. "I will serve you as a knight if you allow me to."

Inwardly snorting, Morgan found it sneaky how he added the 'temporary' part about his service. However, she understood what he was trying to do. Lending a hand as an outsider was harder than lending a hand as her subject. Yet, Morgan found it cheeky of him to be that considerate.

"No, no, Mother! You cannot accept him! Who knows what kind of mess he will cause under you." Baobhan Sith advised.

It could not be denied, but Morgan found it slightly annoying to be interrupted.

An interesting idea appeared on her mind and she would surely put it into practice.

"Becoming a knight usually requires a long-winded process, but I believe I can make an exception given the service you have provided to me, the queen." Morgan muttered. "I will accept your pledge (engagement) towards me, and I will surely consider it positively."

Without paying attention to what was said, Nora extended his hands while Morgan put one of her hands forward. Nora respectfully kissed her hand as a simple ritual while also replenishing her stamina, but soon knitted his eyebrows.

Giving Nora the very definition of a crafty smile, Morgan saw him sweating coldly and with a forced smile on his face when he recalled what he heard. Inwardly, she marveled at the complete recovery of her stamina almost like she had slept for days.

"Wait, I never-" Nora did not have time to rebuke the statement before someone else spoke.

"I knew you had Mother in your sights, you stinky and perverted cat!" Baobhan Sith exclaimed.

"No, wait a minute, I never-" Nora tried to speak up.

"I expect great things from you, my knight." Morgan smiled victoriously.

Clicking his tongue after seeing Morgan's victorious but smug smile, Nora understood he had been played. The way Baobhan Sith looked at Cernunnos was a lot kinder than what she looked at him, but the youth simply let it go... or not, he glared at Morgan defiantly and in a way that definitely meant he would get back at her.

"My queen, I will certainly exceed your expectations." Nora stood up. "If I might be so bold, I wish to ask for a reward after I valiantly fight."

Narrowing her eyes, Morgan haughtily raised her chin expecting to look down on him coldly, but his taller height made her want to kick him in his kneecap to make him look up to her. Nonetheless, Morgan kept those thoughts in her mind, far from the reaches of anyone or so she thought but the youth looked at her suspiciously then at his kneecaps. It seemed he had great instincts.

"I have heard tales of how the blessing of fairies brings good luck among other things, one of the most famous ones is about how King Arthur himself was blessed by the Lady of the Lake and received a blessing that allowed him to walk on water." Nora spoke. "If it is not too much to ask, I would like to be blessed."

"Is that so? You ask for something of incredible value, that is an honor that not many have received since it requires the whole hearty desire of the fairy to grant that blessing." Morgan said but did not fully explain.

Looking at Morgan who seemed to be holding back some information, Nora was unable to ask anymore because the chains broke and Cernunnos was released.

"Yikes." Nora sighed.

Undoing his transformation, he returned to his nekomata form while Tamamo appeared beside him.

"Hubby?" Tamamo asked.

The fox looked confused about why he would change back when their fused form was stronger.

The youth looked at Terra who was obediently waiting for him.

"Do you want to go back?" Nora inquired. "If you don't want to fight anymore, I won't force you."

Looking down shyly, Terra gave Nora puppy eyes full of tears.

"It hurt me..." Terra said. "But I want to help you..."

"I see." Nora nodded.

Charging an attack again, Cernunnos planned to shoot rays all over the place but he was adding more power.

"Entrust yourself to me." Nora said. "You won't suffer more pain and you will help me."

"Really...?" Terra mumbled.

Her injuries were no more thanks to Nora, but she kept touching the places she was wounded at.

"I will not lie about that." Nora smiled.

Putting a dissatisfied expression, Tamamo pouted but still spoke.

"You there, I don't care if you want to act like a queen, a princess, or a mysterious heroine that comes from space." Tamamo spoke. "MY HUBBY will do his best, just like he always does. You better do not slack off."

Before Baobhan Sith opened her mouth to bicker with the fox, Morgan raised a hand to stop her. A little irritated by the way she was spoken to, Morgan coldly smiled.

"MY KNIGHT will receive the support of HIS QUEEN, I do not know what role you usually take, but I am a queen who steps forward on the battlefield to lead her people." Morgan smiled.

A palpable pressure could be felt between the two and sparks almost materialized when their gazes were locked, but Nora wisely chose to not get involved.

"It will be ok, rest assured." Nora patted Terra's head gently.

"Hmh." Terra cutely nodded and formed a pair of fists with her hands. "Terra, the counterattack begins."

Chuckling, Nora released a large amount of ki. Every person nearby reacted to his actions due to the sheer amount.

"<Spiritualization: Terra>" Nora spoke.

Watching in confusion, Morgan wondered why Nora and Terra were swallowed by the ground. However, her thoughts were directed toward a tremor that made her almost lose her balance. The only one who remained calm through this was Tamamo who looked at Morgan with a small victorious smirk.

"I hope you are ready." Tamamo said.

Raising an eyebrow at those cryptic words, Morgan was about to ask what she meant when Tamamo replied.

"You will have to think very carefully how you will repay THAT!" Tamamo pointed her finger to the place where the youth had disappeared with the elemental.

From the ground, cracks formed and a large hand emerged. An arm followed and soon the rest of the body. A male figure covered in moss and earth as tall as Cernunnos had emerged from the ground. Contrary to Terra, the hands did not look soft but were sharpened while a pair of pointy horns on the forehead added to the overall height of the figure. The soft sound of a chime being carried by the wind could be heard and Morgan wondered if she was hallucinating, but Tamamo's concerned expression told her otherwise.

"Oh, dear~ That is all that took to leave you with your mouths open?" Tamamo teased but no one could refute her.

Asuna and Karin had retreated towards Tamamo and almost tripped when the figure appeared.

Nora, now turned into a giant made of earth, took a step forward.

"It seems you took care of my precious Terra before." Nora's loud voice was heard. "It will be my turn to deal with you now. Consider this, a payback."

Startled with the appearance of Nora, Cernunnos shot his attack all focused on the giant. However, Nora punched the ground and a huge wall of earth emerged. With a thickness of 50 meters, the rays had a hard time breaking through.

"Don't think I will be gentle like Terra was." Nora said.

Once the attacks were stopped, the wall broke down and Nora dashed towards Cernunnos. The deity did not wait for the youth to attack him but instead intercepted him using his arms. The thick arms looked big enough to reach the ground and when they were extended towards Nora, they grew longer. Nonetheless, Nora snorted and deflected one of the arms while smacking away. The left arm of Cernunnos crashed on the ground with a loud thud and Nora continued to push forward by lowering his body slightly and letting the right arm pass by his left shoulder. Both of the attacks missed and Cernunnos opened its mouth to take a bite of the giant youth, however, Nora moved faster, even before the mouth was fully opened, Nora stepped forward and used the momentum to twist his body, turning his back to Cernunnos and immediately grabbing a hold of the extended arm. With the arm over his shoulder, Nora performed a perfect shoulder throw. Easily lifting Cernunnos, the impact when it landed created a huge crater and the shockwave reached Morgan in the distance.

Trying to stand up, Cernunnos found it impossible because Nora had followed his shoulder throw with an arm lock. The creature screamed in pain and the sound was causing even the people far away watching the fight to feel the pain. Cernunnos slammed its free arm onto to ground and giant spikes emerged below Nora, piercing his chest. The youth did not relent in his grip and pulled as hard as he could until the joint of Cernunnos' arm gave a cracking sound. This resulted in an ear-shattering pained scream.

It was at this point that Nora released Cernunnos and rolled on the ground to gain some distance.

With her eyes on the fight this whole time, Morgan could not help but voice out the question that most of those watching had in mind.

"Is there even a need to intervene?" Morgan wondered.

"...I am sure it looks like a one-sided fight but it is uncertain how long he can keep up that transformation, not to mention the summoning of Terra in that size. The consumption is so high that even an Ultimate-Class being would struggle to summon Terra for a few seconds. MY HUBBY is not only keeping Terra summoned using his own ki, but he is also controlling shikigamis that are spread all over the land to watch out for his people and aid them if needed. There is also the spell, Spiritualization, it has a high consumption level so you can expect it to be taxing." Tamamo bit her lips. "Cernunno's extreme toughness is insane, last time, he was able to rip off the arm of..."

Mumbling in a low tone, Tamamo complained about a certain matter.

"Even if you say that, what can we hope to accomplish if they move so much? I would rather not attack my allies if I can help it." Morgan said.

Observing the fight, Morgan concluded that Nora was under a lot of stress. Even at the expense of ignoring the damage he is receiving, Morgan could tell that the fight was not as smooth as she initially thought. Keeping that huge body working must require a lot of effort.

When the two were far enough, Cernunnos opened its mouth to shoot a ray but Nora stomped on the ground and caused a tremor, a boulder about the size of his head popped out in front of him and Nora hit it with his palm and shot it at Cernunnos opened mouth, interrupting the spell.

"I got my hands on the thing I told you I would steal." Tamamo suddenly said.

"So you DID steal it..." Morgan looked at the fox unkindly.

"How do we make it work? The way it is now it is not different from a scrap of metal." Tamamo muttered.

Pulling a worn-out shield filled with cracks, Tamamo waved it in front of Morgan. The queen had to admit that the fox had huge guts for showing off the stolen goods of the person she stole them from without an ounce of shame.

"It is because the shield received way too much damage during these years. The shield already had cracks but it was not as bad as this. I am afraid that the attacks we received were more vicious than what I believed." Morgan said.

"Then is it useless?" Tamamo asked in an anxious tone.

"The location you found it at was specially created to make use of the shield and amplify its power, without it, I believe the performance will be bleak. This is also an owner-less shield. There has never been anyone who could make it work like the first user." Morgan muttered. "There is also the burden for the user to consider since this shield relies on the ability to withstand the damage the wearer has. If the user is weak, you can expect it to display the same strength."

"Kuh, useless then. Tsk, can you power it?" Tamamo inquired.

"Briefly, although I would need to make some adjustments to it." Morgan replied.

"Then, begin now. MY hubby is close to his limit." Tamamo urged.

Turning her gaze toward Nora, Morgan saw his figure getting filled with cracks. He was hitting Cernunnos hard and using every move the deity tried to use against it, but Nora was not escaping unscathed. His movements were getting slower and his presence was growing fainter.

"Asuna, Karin. You will work as our rides." Tamamo ordered.

Standing by, Asuna and Karin nodded.

"Understood." Karin nodded.

"Woof!" Asuna cutely said.

After agreeing, the two changed shape as arcs of electricity enveloped them. Asuna and Karin changed into a pair of white and black wolves about the size of Tamamo. Asuna playfully jumped toward Tamamo and lowered herself for the fox to get on top. Karin was more reserved as she slowly moved toward Morgan and gestured her with her head to ride her.

"What is it? You are not going to tell me that you cannot finish the adjustments in the time we need to arrive next to him, are you?" Tamamo spoke in a taunting tone.

Grinding her teeth, Morgan was not about to tell the fox otherwise.

"Baobhan Sith, with me." Morgan easily got on top of Karin.

Happy to be called, Baobhan Sith complied.

"You two have long-range methods of attack, right? Stay away and provide support if you can. This is not something you can get involved with." Tamamo ordered the blue and red-eyed young women.

Nodding, the duo left a little crestfallen.

The group left after seeing the duo part. Morgan sweated the whole ride as she prepared a spell to make use of the shield. She could understand why Nora had asked Tamamo to get it. The seven-layered barrier covering the land had been the perfect defense for years and it was possible because this shield had been able to withstand the attacks of a weapon of the highest caliber when the previous user had it. The youth probably considered to use it against the deity at some point. Morgan could not create a shield strong enough to protect herself against the rays of Cernunnos but this might help her somehow.

It was when they were closer that Nora's left arm shattered into pieces of rocks. The youth bit his lips and put all his strength into his right hand while punching Cernunnos. This caused the deity to lose balance, but it also signaled the end of Nora's transformation. The head fell off and the legs gave out. Nora remained on the chest as the horse fell. There were no signs of Terra, most likely unsummoned when Nora could not maintain his transformation.

"Hurry." Tamamo yelled.

Just like the group saw him weakened, Cernunnos also saw an opportunity to get rid of the hateful enemy that had been tormenting it until now. All of its rage surged and was channeled towards its mouth, now missing a lot of its sharp teeth. The energy forming a new ray charged faster than before and it was perfectly aimed at Nora. The youth smiled at that and was barely able to move one hand to point the middle finger at Cernunnos. This ignited the deity despite not fully understanding what that meant.

"Stop trying to make it angrier..." Tamamo complained.

Without needing to say anything, Asuna accelerated as much as she could and the duo caught Nora.

"It's in my blood, I either flirt or raise someone's blood pressure by making them lose their patience." Nora joked.

"Geez, this is no time for jokes." Tamamo held onto Nora.

"Hmmm, I know." Nora grimaced. "I pushed myself a little too much. I am feeling a bit tired..."

"Wanna rub my breast so you can recover energy?" Tamamo jested.

Despite nonchalantly speaking, sweat was running down her forehead as she saw the energy about to be shot at them. The range was going to be wise as well so escaping was almost impossible.

"I sure would love to rub them... not sure if that will power me up. I am not that desperate to get laid..." Nora smirked. "Hmm, they have grown a bit since I last did this."

While the two engaged in unhealthy acts to relieve stress, they turned toward one directing as they felt a presence approaching at an insane speed.

Morgan and Baobhan Sith who were observing them since the beginning, as well as Karin, also turned in that direction while their blush slowly dissipated.

Two groups became one as they noticed the approaching presence but their attention was forcefully shifted to Cernunnos.

"Is it no not ready yet!?" Tamamo urged.

"The finishing touches are not done yet!" Morgan replied.

"Get closer, the range will have to be severely reduced if you want to use it for that!" Baobhan Sith added.

Gritting her teeth, Tamamo gestured to Asuna and Karin to get closer to each other. Cernunnos was about to shoot. Tamamo pulled talismans and built a barrier in front of them, while Nora pitched in when he moved with some difficulty after biting his lips until they bled. Large trees grew to add to the defense and Baobhan Sith left Morgan to do the rest as she added a shield made using her own blood.

The ray was shot and the mediums of defense everyone set were useless. They only bought them a few seconds, however, a few seconds in battle always count. Morgan moved in front of everyone and yelled.

"RHO AIAS!!!" Morgan let the shield float in front of her.

The shield changed and it turned into a magic shield in the shape of an iridescent flower with four petals. The impact of the ray made Morgan flinch and she felt like her arm might be ripped apart, but she stubbornly held on.

"Queenie, I told you that you should rely on your subjects more. Even though I am but a temporary one, I said I would fight for your sake. What is the point of a ruler standing on the front lines? Who will rule your subjects when you are gone? Baobhan Sith? She is dumb." Nora spoke and ignored the deathly glare from a pink-haired young woman. "You are a fool just like me. Abandoning us should've been easier yet you stubbornly held on."

"Shut up." Morgan gritted her teeth. "WHY CAN'T I GO TO THE FRONT LINES? IF I CAN DECREASE THE DEATHS OF MY SUBJECTS, I WILL GLADLY DO IT. I WANT TO BUILD A LAND FREE OF CONFLICT WHERE EVERYONE CAN BE HAPPY! IS IT SO HARD TO ACCEPT!?"

"No, I think you and I are pretty similar, Morgan. There is a hopeless naivety on both of us." Nora spoke. "The conversion of demonic energy is not as smooth as I want to, but I bet you will find it easier to use magic power."

Feeling a hand holding her back just when Morgan felt like she would be pushed back made her turn around to see Nora's face.

"<Link>" Nora muttered.

A flower bloomed, that is how you could describe what happened. Morgan felt a rush of energy filling every part of her body that quickly replenished her almost empty reserves. The amount was higher than the one she was using and there was an immediate change in the magic shield. Instead of four petals, seven petals were blooming and stopping the ray.

Morgan's effort had come to fruition, no, it was not only Morgan, Nora, Tamamo, Asuna, Karin, and Baobhan Sith who had created this moment. She was not alone, and perhaps there was hope. That was Morgan naively though.

The sound of breaking glass was heard and the shield began breaking. Morgan's mood dropped and she hastily tried to repair it.

"It is no use, it is not lacking fuel." Tamamo bitterly said. "The shield was on its last."

Biting her lips, Morgan saw the magic shield break and she was pulled backward while Nora stepped forward. His expression showed no fear as Tamamo jumped after him.

"<Spiritualization: Tamamo no Mae>" Nora spoke.

His intentions were clear, and Morgan could do nothing as she had been thrown backward by the cat and she noticed Baobhan Sith in the same position. While Asuna and Karin are ready to catch them and run away. Her mood dropped and she felt a pitch in her stomach. Just like with her mother, just like what happened back then. People sacrificed themselves to protect her.

"Do not worry."

A clear voice that despite not being near her, Morgan could hear like it was being whispered in her ear. It was a soothing and reassuring voice with a strange charisma that made you believe in what she said.

"After despair..."

A flash passed by and Morgan caught the blonde hair tied into a long braided ponytail.

"There is always hope."

The figure dashed past Morgan and even stood before Nora. Waving a large polearm, she placed it on the ground. The shield broke, but the young woman showed no fear.

"<Luminosite Eternelle>"

A new magic shield took the place of the older one and the young woman held long enough for Cernunno's attack to end.

Sighing in relief, Morgan landed.

"Y-You..." Nora stuttered.

"I am glad that I arrived on time. I am happy to see you doing okay."

With a kind and saintly smile, the young woman greeted Nora. This made Morgan dazed since she did not expect Nora of all people to act like that.

"Y-You are..." Nora looked at the young woman in disbelief.

Watching his reaction, the young woman placed a finger on her chin and smiled playfully.

"It is exactly what you are thinking. I am Jeanne D'Arc, pleased to meet you." The young woman, Jeanne, said. "Are you going to ask for my autograph?"

Giggling, Jeanne stared at Nora with a pair of gentle eyes that held different emotions. On the other hand, Nora blushed when that was said.

Watching all this, Morgan felt the need to retort but above all.

"It is kind of annoying." "It makes me want to punch his face." Morgan and Baobhan Sith muttered at the same time.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Author's Notes

Finally a chapter.

Wish I did not take this long. The lack of sleep these days, migraines that left me in bed a couple of times... Well, there were many other issues holding me back. Hopefully I can deliver at a normal pace the next chapter.

I mentioned characters I had used before but also added new ones. Try guessing who is new here.

So, Abe no Seimei turned to be a fake. Nora could guess it since he is somewhat familiar with the guy after studying him and having faced him once but he still kept the act. There was always the risk of the fake having some sort of trump card installed by the real deal. I also wanted to show that not only Tamamo was able to teach Nora things easily using magic but others can do it. It becomes dangerous when the evil guys can do it.

Next is the fight between Artoria and Melusine. I did not focus as much on it so I apologize if you were looking forward towards it. The two were mostly equally matched for most part, but Melusine was bound to be stronger given her direct linage of Albion compared to Artoria being an homunculus who was created using Arthur Pendragon as a base while mixing parts they somehow acquired of DDraig. This caused a synergy similar to Issei and Vali in the cannon so now they can both grow faster given the unique rivalry boost Albion and Ddraig get.

Yeah, blame me. Melusine looks very weak right? Well, she and many other supernatural beings just use their natural talents and powers to usually handle everything. They never seek to grow. Melusine is the same, dragons are already strong so she never saw the need to train like mad to get stronger.

This same detail was added to the rest of the fairy knights. Except Melusine, the rest are pretty young. It is not like they are by no means weak, but the enemies and Nora are at a higher level.

Nora is an insane person who is unable to sleep (This will be more explained in the next chapter) and uses that time to better himself one way or another. Even when he stays at home with the girls 'sleeping' and acting as their body pillow, he is controlling shikigamis to do all sort of works while also training his control of the paper dolls.

The amount he can control is by no means normal. It is not like it cannot be reproduced, but the brain would not be able to handle the control of so many of them in the way he does it. He could not immediately do it though. It took him years and even now he needs to sometimes use Senjutsu to lessen the pain in his head. 

His amount of ki is insane due to exceptional affinity, being one of Nora's abilities he exploits because he believes that is his only good redeeming feature. Even more when he exploits o e of his other abilities together with this. Thanks to that, he can be said to have a ki pool that leaves even an ultimate being connected to the ley lines like Yasaka dazed. That said, many of his abilities demand a lot of ki. Regeneration, his shikigamis, summoning Terra... they all have high requirements that would take someone a lot of time to even be able to use one for long periods of time.

Nora himself does not believe he has the talent equal to the monster around him, instead, he just tries his best. Sacrificing his safety and health to archive results that many consider impossible to him.

Anyways, this takes me to the last fight. I hope you liked it. I had the idea for a long time and I hoped to write it beforehand but I failed to make time for it.

Writing using only my phone is a nightmare. Even more editing...

Good day to you all and I am thankful that you still read this work. It is worth staying sometimes until 3am to edit or write...

Oh, I would like to point out that Morgan is not in love with Nora as for now. Her MY knight is a means to annoy Tamamo, although you cannot deny that she sees him in a favorable light and might have a small crush after this finish. This will cause her to do-

Oh my, I can't just say what will happen the next chapter.

You can find story with these keywords: Highschool DxD: A new opportunity, Read Highschool DxD: A new opportunity, Highschool DxD: A new opportunity novel, Highschool DxD: A new opportunity book, Highschool DxD: A new opportunity story, Highschool DxD: A new opportunity full, Highschool DxD: A new opportunity Latest Chapter