Chapter 89: Epilogue

Part 1

3rd Person POV

"Regardless of having this new addition or not, our situation has not exactly improved." Morgan muttered.

The woman who came in the nick of time and stopped Cernunnos' attack was nothing to scoff at.

It caused the youth who would do as he pleased to act meek so she had to be an amazing person. Nonetheless, Morgan still did not think they had what it took to defeat Cernunnos.

Nora and the woman named Jeanne exhibited a great combination as they engaged Cernunnos. If Nora attacked the area around the eyes, before Cernunnos could even retaliate, Jeanne used her polearm to aim at the feet and deliver a blow.

No matter how much the impact caused thunderous sounds, the attacks were not even close to the level of the youth's giant version. Although they did play a role in distracting the deity from shooting a ray from its mouth.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Morgan noticed several signals getting closer. There was one particularly fast that she was familiar with while multiple of the remaining ones she could recall the presence of.

"...things will get hectic." Morgan chuckled.

Turning her eyes to the front, Morgan studied briefly the figure of Cernunnos. She was not sure if it was a coincidence or not, but the giant Nora had delivered some nasty punches to the same spot that Morgan had been attacking previously. The youth had even ripped a handful (previous size handful) of fur. While Cernunnos's skin was still tough, removing the fur deprived him of a great natural defense.

"Do you need my blood?" Morgan suddenly asked.

Baobhan Sith along with Asuna and Karin had remained at her side, but Morgan's question was directed at only one person.

Gladly nodding her head, Baobhan Sith opened her mouth as Morgan revealed her neck. It did not take long for Baobhan Sith to sink her fangs and suck up blood, but just as fast, the pink-haired young woman furrowed her eyebrows. Pulling her head back, you could see her lips moving as she tasted the blood with an expression similar to a child taking bitter medicine. This reaction puzzled Morgan and Baobhan Sith herself.

"...it doesn't taste good." Baobhan Sith could not help but recall the intoxicating flavor from earlier.

Before Morgan could ask the meaning of those words, a wild Asuna jumped in between the two a produced a reddish vial from her cleavage.

"Cha Chan!" Asuna excitedly handed the vial to a confused Baobhan Sith. "Master prepared this in advance!"

Unable to follow the logic, the faeries stared at the vial with contrasting expression. Morgan had raised one eyebrow, clearly bewildered. However, Baobhan Sith gulped loudly.

"Before arriving here, Master made some preparations. This should boost your magic temporarily, but the side effects leave much to be desired." Karin chided in and offered a blue vial to Morgan. "It raises concentration and production of magic power, but after a day the user will suffer difficulties to use magic. The taste has been improved, but you need guts to drink it. The other vial contains blood that Master prepared. For being with blood-sucking abilities this should work even better as it usually improves stats two-fold, although in the case of Master's blood... it is hard to gauge the extension of the improvement."

Plainly stating, Karin looked at the vial with some misgivings.

Taking the vial from Karin, Morgan dubiously stared at it. Opening it, she sniffed and immediately pushed it away. Morgan had an odd expression on her face and she saw Karin looking at her with some empathy. This caused Morgan to think she was being looked down upon and she 'valiantly' drank the vial in one go. Without stopping for one second, she let the whole content go down her throat. Inwardly, she praised herself for her wise choice. She felt like she would puke if she let it in her mouth for too long, but Morgan persisted.

"...you are a hero." Karin mumbled.

"Wow, look at her go." Asuna clapped excitedly.

The first thought Morgan had was that she was being made fun of, but before she could complain as she drank the last drop... she turned her head to one side and her eyes widened.

An unladylike expression with her tongue out and head leaned back as she poured the vial of blood down her opened mouth, Baobhan Sith carried a dazed expression unfit for a noble young woman. Once the vial was empty, Baobhan Sith's aura grew immensely and Morgan almost confused her for someone else.

Licking her lips regretfully, Baobhan Sith had an enchanting expression as she sighed.

"I will go." Baobhan Sith handed the vial to Morgan carefully like she did not want to part with it and looked back a couple of times before joining the fight.

A small drop at the end of the vial was all it took to release an enchanting smell that caused Morgan's mouth to water. The unfair difference of treatment slightly irritated her and the aroma assaulting her nose contrasting with the horrendous taste in her mouth made her take an action that left her wide-eyed once she completed it. Imitating Baobhan Sith, Morgan tilted the vial until the last drop was about to drop and after raising her arm, the drop was directed to her tongue. Once the drop touched her tongue, it was like everything else did not matter. It blew her mind. Not only the taste was better than any drink she had ever tasted, but she could feel an incredible amount of vitality surging inside her body. She would not dare to test, but easily ripping off a tree bare-handed and without using magic seemed so easy.

"At this point, I am just curious about the taste as well. I heard that particular clan of devils were hunted down at some point due to the taste their bodies could offer. Different fluids could provide different flavors..." Karin mumbled. "That said... if I have to put a face like that..."

"It is lewd, isn't it?" Asuna grinned like it was none of her business.

Blushing at the thought of having a similar expression to that of Baobhan Sith, Morgan kept in mind what she just heard. The youth was a box of surprises many more mysteries could be hiding inside him. As a magician, Morgan could not deny the curiosity she felt at that prospect.

Her delay was enough for the presence she felt to begin arriving one after another. From the ground, young women came pouring with caution as they glared at Cernunnos, while on the air, the most notable group was of the Valkyries led by a woman named Rossweisse as Morgan could recall. They were all people with a notable aura, on their own, they could cause a stir whenever they went, however, they seemed to have a subordinate relationship with the youth.

No, Morgan was not stupid enough to ignore the subtle reactions that many of them had whenever his name was mentioned. Regardless of how he saw them, the group that came to his aid considered him important in their hearts.

Even though she found it rather rude, none of the group seemed to pay attention to her, the queen of the fairies, rather, their eyes went toward Nora. That did not last long, the Valkyries soon gave a battle cry when Rossweisse pulled her sword and pointed it toward Cernunnos. They all spread evenly without grouping and a bombardment of magic fell on the deity. Nora and Jeanne pulled back and the youth carried a wry smile as he watched his allies attack.

Chuckling at that, Morgan felt mixed emotions. It was a threatening situation, a god in the flesh was in their presence and it had enough might to kill them if they received a direct hit. However, it was reduced to a shooting target that could not properly defend itself. No, for a god of its abilities, it did not need to bother defending itself. The attacks of the Valkyries were numerous, but they lacked the power that Morgan had and even that was not enough to bring it down. Nora also was unable to kill it even in his titanic form and his might was the highest.

"Like a drop of water, slowly wearing down a rock."

These words reached Morgan's ears. Turning around, she noticed how Nora's allies had closed in. The one who spoke was a black-haired young woman carrying a katana.

"Just like water can slowly but surely pierce a rock, even if our attacks are like drops of water hitting a boulder, they are bound to be effective if we keep continuously attacking."

It does not seem like those words were for anyone else other than the young woman herself, but Morgan heard it and had to admit that it was true. Cernunnos was strong. Despite being just revived, the grudge and negative energy fueling it were more than enough to show the dignity of a god. This was also enhanced by the man she fought against before so there had to be a trick to it. Even so, Morgan did not feel discouraged. There was no fear or despair. Things could take a turn for worse at any moment, but somehow, she got the feeling that everything was going to be ok. It was a strange feeling. This did not happen when she met the Valkyries or fought side by side with anyone else. This feeling was born after seeing the youth standing up against adversity without hesitating.

 Raising her hand, she created a magic circle and was surprised by the power of the blast that the spear of darkness created when it clashed against Cernunnos. It was not only the drop of blood, Morgan recalled the feeling when Nora used magic on her.

"Link, was it? Compared to the spells with resembling names and similar effects, the quality and among of energy shared is beyond normal." Morgan shot another spear of darkness. "He was exhausted yet the connection is still there, how big does your pool have to be so you can waste energy without batting an eye?"

Her words sounded slightly harsh given that Nora's magic had been used to aid her, but Morgan carried a smile on her face.

"It seems I found myself a knight that is more worthy than his weight on gold!" Morgan said.

In the distance, a pair of extremely powerful energy signatures were closing in. The speed they moved could only hint that they were flying. Morgan failed to recognize the signatures but there were some following after the monstrous ones that she could identify. Almost like it was a race, one of the familiar presences accelerated and passed the stronger ones. Before long, a black and white flash passed beside Cernunnos. There was hardly any change in its fur, but some hairs were cut.

...

...

After the attack, Melusine hovered near the Valkyries as she took what was happening in no time. Who was the enemy and who was the ally was swiftly decided in her head. Nodding towards Morgan in acknowledgment, Melusine laid her eyes on Nora and she almost flew at him with a grin on her face, but she stopped midway, not because there was an ongoing fight, but rather, she cast her gaze on her different appearance that did not radiate the same vibe and felt ashamed. Shaking her head, Melusine glared at the foe that she believed would've suffered more damage from her attack. Adding the speed in which she moved plus her sacred sword's attack was not something that could be easily stopped, yet Melusine only was able to cut some of the fur of the giant fluff ball.

As she considered her options while Cernunnos received barrage after barrage of attacks, Melusine caught sight of Baobhan Sith. She had failed to notice her before because her aura was way different, but her appearance remained the same so she would not be fooled. Anger for the betrayal and turning her into a mindless monster briefly clouded her mind and before she noticed, Melusine was already flying toward Baobhan Sith intending to wound her gravely. In panic, she tried to stop. There was no doubt that she was angry with Baobhan Sith, but the time and place were important. Her emotional outburst could get in the way of the fight. Because she reacted, Melusine was able to reduce her speed considerably. However, she literally put the brakes and made a stop so as not to crash into a figure that stood in the way.

Softly catching her, Nora sighed as he held her in a hug.

"I am glad you are happy to see me, but you could wait until the fight is over." Nora chuckled.

In a gentle tone, he spoke to Melusine who was not sure how to react to what just happened. In one second he was about to deliver a punch to Cernunnos, and the next second he had gotten in the way of her attack.

The youth patted the back of the dragon girl and gave Baobhan Sith a subtle look that the other party understood. Baobhan Sith moved away to the other side far from Melusine.

"No, I..." Melusine tried to push Nora away as she felt ashamed to show him how she looked at the moment.

"I am glad you are back on your feet." Nora said. "You look as gallant and heroic as before. No, I guess that I should not praise Melusine the knight here. You are still the most beautiful knight."

Trembling at those words, Melusine raised her head from Nora's chest timidly only to feel glares all over. There was a lot of jealousy but somehow Melusine felt pride despite not understanding why.

"I know there is a lot that you want to say regarding what happened, and the things in your heart are heavy, but would you grant me a little wish to put all behind you until all of this is over?" Nora asked.

Looking at Nora's eyes, Melusine could only nod in reply. This caused the youth to smile wryly and pat her head before releasing her and jumping back.

"No, I am not being sly... Ok, I am being sly, so what? Sue me. I am a scoundrel so this behavior is nothing to be surprised about." Nora seemed to be speaking with someone but there did not seem to be anyone nearby.

At this point, Melusine noticed that Nora looked different somewhat, but it was not time to stare at him.

Pushing Melusine away left her shocked and somewhat hurt, but she understood why Nora did that when a projectile passed just where she was. Nora had pushed the distracted dragon girl away to protect her. The duo was not the only one affected by the attack. The units moving on the ground and flying were also assaulted, and more than one was hurt. There were no fatally wounded individuals, although on a closer look you could notice paper creatures with missing parts, thanks to the shikigamis, lethal wounds were avoided. Following that, Nora left to treat the injured. Spheres made of ki appeared around him and he shot them like bullets, once they landed on their targets, the injuries were healed. Nora checked once more that no one else was hurt before he summoned more shikigamis, enough for everyone to have at least two to cover and aid them during the fight.

At this point, Nora also reacted to the approaching strong presence and he chuckled.

"Took you long enough." Nora muttered.

Flying forward while ignoring everything else the two figures caused more than one to turn their heads in surprise. Most of the people present seemed to be unaware of the identity of the new arrival. However, Nora, Rossweisse, and Jeanne sighed in relief. At that, Nora furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed Jeanne's reaction but the Saintess smiled at him and did not elaborate.

The one with the biggest reaction was Cernunnos, it tried to shoot a ray in the direction of the approaching presence, but it just happened to aim to the place where Nora was.

"Oh my." Nora smiled. "I am in a pinch."

Sounding amused, he did not move away. This caused his allies to worry, but before the ray was shot, the presences both arrived beside him. The attack was unleashed despite the efforts of the Valkyries to stop it and Nora... remained unharmed. When the attack was over, a huge chunk of ice was in place of Nora, or rather, it soon broke down and Nora appeared from between. Not only the youth was there but two young women with extremely contrasting outfits stood at each of his sides.

The taller figure had silver hair in a long braid and wore a maid outfit. Said figure was pulling Nora's cheek and giving him a cold glare.

"You could've easily avoided that, why put yourself in the way?"

"Eh? Why should I worry about getting hurt when you two are here?" Nora did not seem bothered. "Being saved by two cuties is not bad. I also expected you to arrive in the nick of time. Grayfia-san said she would come to my side WHENEVER I needed it without asking for the reason after all."

Pulling away, Nora gave the maid a warm smile that left her somewhat stumped. She was still angry at him for putting himself in harm's way, but there was part of her that was happy because he relied on her. She could not deny she was a simpleton sometimes.

"Isn't it fine? Nora-chan summoned us here to help him out so he is currently our boss."

In a lively tone, the other figure made more than one person rub their eyes believing that they were seeing something strange. With black hair in twin tail style, the other young woman was shorter than the silver-haired one, but in contrast, her petite body looked more stacked. That said, what caused even one of the Valkyries to think of buying glasses was that the figure was wearing a pink magical girl outfit with a wand included.

"I curse the stupid system of summoning devils." Grayfia grumbled.

Shrugging like it was none of his business, Nora turned to see Cernunnos trying to back away and whistled.

"Sera-tan scared the deity." Nora mumbled.

"No way~ The ally of justice is not scary." Serafall stuck out her tongue. "Grayfia-chan scared it."

"Oh? I am scary then? I see. I guess I will not meet with those annoying sponsors in your place, I might scare them to death." Grayfia snorted.

"Nooooo~" Serafall cried out.

"I think this might be difficult for you, but I have a small request." Nora interrupted the duo.

"Ask away! Sera-tan has not taken a devil request since a long time ago so she is raring to go~" Serafall winked at the youth.

"If Nora-kun needs something..." Grayfia left the rest unsaid but her meaning was clear.

"You two really need to be careful with what you say. Two stunningly attractive women like you two just said the words that would tickle any man's heart." Nora advised.

The battle had long restarted and the trio would get... the youth would get more than one obvious glare. The two devils got the worst of it since jealous gazes would linger on them, but they were all used to such a thing so they ignored it or not. Serafall would turn around and wave her hand excitedly to anyone who laid her eyes on her.

"I don't think we care about what ANY man thinks, but you are different. Doesn't it tickle your desires?" Grayfia chuckled.

With a vein about to pop out of his forehead, Nora stood before Grayfia and pushed his head forward until Grayfia had to lean her head back so their lips did not touch. She was unable to escape since Nora had grabbed her hands and pulled her.

"My desires are not an issue, but thanks to whom did I have to deal with a certain maid after this someone careless said a joke and did not explain it as such? I was chased all over the Underworld by your sister who kept shooting me bullets that had the power of anti-tank ammunition while you left for the human world and were unreachable for days." Nora smiled but his eyes did not seem to match. "I am durable. Extremely so. If there is one thing I have been praised by Shishou is because I have an endurance and willpower worthy of a disciple of the Mistress of the Land of Shadows..."

Chuckling, Nora changed expressions.

"Your sister is nuts. I was left in tatters and then recovered only for this process to repeat itself again all over. I had to flee outside the devils' territories toward the wilderness to prevent damage from spreading to the city." Nora said. "The saddest thing is that when people noticed I was being chased by a maid... I only got comments like 'It finally happened huh' or 'That should teach him a lesson for seducing my wife', goddammit! I didn't even know that guy's wife. Argh, the point is that no one tried to lend a hand to me."

"...sorry." Grayfia honestly apologized.

"It was hard to deal with it because I had to cover for your hobby of cosplaying while explaining why I was visiting your house so often and why we disappeared from the radar so often." Nora muttered.

"...I am very sorry." Grayfia could only reply as such.

"Above all... somehow someone thought it would be funny to mention that we go clothes shopping together often and we even venture into lingerie shops..." Nora mumbled.

"Shuri, that bitch..." Grayfia gritted her teeth.

Pulling away, Nora gave Grayfia a resentful glare.

"Don't be. I enjoy hanging out with you." Nora sighed. "I am just kind of bothered that you hid that from your sister."

"Sorry." Grayfia looked away.

"Look, I am just saying. I don't mind hiding your hobby from her, that is normal. Feeling shy or being afraid of your family learning of your hobbies is normal." Nora said. "I just think we are close enough for people to make fun of us hanging out and have you getting embarrassed."

"Urgh, I will have a heart-to-heart talk with my sister." Grayfia replied. "I don't get close to guys that much so she was bound to overreact."

"Aren't you close to Sirzechs?" Nora asked with a hint of bitterness in his tone that he did not seem to be aware of.

"Not at all." Grayfia answered back. "We-"

"Back then, he confessed to her but she turned him down." Serafall seemed tired of greeting people and joined the conversation. "It was awkward since they were both my friends."

Smiling Serafall explained.

With an innocent gaze, Serafall observed how Grayfia sent her a deathly glare for sharing that dark history while Nora seemed relieved somehow. In her mind, Serafall appeared as a miniature self sitting in a chair with a notepad in hand while wearing a reporter outfit with a pair of glasses as she wrote down what she saw under the title, gossip.

"...shouldn't you be helping everyone to fight?" Grayfia asked.

Using a thorny tone, Grayfia pointed at Cernunnos.

"...I don't think they need immediate help." Serafall mumbled. "They were awkward at first, but Rossweisse and that Fae young woman are doing a great job at leading their forces even without Nora-chan stepping in. The shikigamis are providing enough support and that thingy is not able to properly respond due to the numerous enemies and THAT child."

Looking at the point that Serafall used her wand to point at, Grayfia saw a dark spot on the ground that had swallowed one of the giants' feet. The low mobility it had was now even more compromised.

"...Nora-kun, isn't that child the one that caused mayhem at the maid guild that other time?" Grayfia 's eyebrow twitched. "She is a lot more powerful now."

"Her devotion is unmatched." Nora replied as such. "She seems to grow stronger just by sticking to my shadow somehow."

"Are we even needed?" Grayfia seemed discouraged somewhat.

"You protected the cities and that was one of the two reasons I called you for. There was no way to know if the enemies would try to pull something there." Nora mumbled.

"What is the second? If we join the fight, killing-" Grayfia was interrupted by Serafall.

"That is wrong, Nora-chan does not want to kill it, isn't that right?" Serafall spoke.

"...was it that obvious?" Nora bitterly said.

"Nora-chan is a good kid after all~" Serafall smiled.

"I am not good at all, and I am not a kid anymore." Nora smiled wryly.

Patting her not-so-subtle chest, Serafall reassured Nora.

"If I say you are, no one can say otherwise." Serafall stuck out her chest proudly. "I will beat up anyone who says anything bad about Nora-chan!"

"Isn't that just going to make it worse?" Grayfia sighed.

"Huh? Weren't you the one who marched straight into the territory of that noble and beat him up until he was crying?" Serafall asked.

"...wut?" Nora stared at Grayfia with a surprised face.

"Thanks the maou that he was already a suspect in the smuggling case of elves into devil territory so we could easily cover up this mishap by saying you could not stand the injustice anymore." Serafall sighed. "Even I, from the diplomatic department, had to get involved to smooth things over along with Sirzechs-chan."

"First time I heard of this..." Nora looked at Grayfia with newfound respect or not. "Even though when I did that you chided me a lot, you went and did it."

"That reminds me, I will send you over to the elven lands to deal with that case. Delivering the captive elves is not an issue by itself other than getting some hateful flares, but it would still be an issue if I just sent a nobody. Nora-chan is my direct subordinate, directly supported by Zekram-sama, head of the Murmur Household and future brother-in-law so your identity is not a problem. If I send you, women's weakness incarnate, making an alliance should be easy." Serafall muttered with an innocent smile.

"I think I just heard something unfit for a magical girl." Nora mumbled. "Wait, brother-in-law...?"

"Ahem. What do you want us to do then?" Serafall refused to reply.

"I have mulling over how to do this for a while. Killing Cernunnos is not a good idea. No matter what, this land was made thanks to it. The land could be destroyed once it dies." Nora mumbled. "I can provide them with shelter but I would rather not resort to that."

Face palming, Grayfia, and Serafall both glanced at each other and nodded, it had to be at least said.

"Excuse me, I think I just heard something utterly lacking common sense just now. You can provide a race of their caliber and numbers a place to stay? Surely you are not speaking about Urakyoto or your territory in the Underworld?"

"Ah, no. I have been getting really into creating pocket dimensions. I can keep them going for months." Nora nodded proudly. "I can handle a year just fine, but I am still rough around the edges so to provide a proper place for a whole race to leave while taking into account the seasons and the land necessary to cultivate their own food would reduce the time I can handle in more than half."

Adding it to the things she must confirm before nitpicking, Grayfia decided to avoid hearing more nonsense.

"I want you to stop me if things go south." Nora smiled.

"...what are you planning to do?" Grayfia asked.

"Something stupid." Nora flashed a dashing smile.

Raising his left arm, Nora looked somewhat nervous.

"It was not its fault. Killing it because it is simply dangerous is easy." Nora muttered. "But even if we do, there is no guarantee that it will be the end of it. They used that cursed book to bring it back to life so it will be difficult to get rid of the influence the book left. All that ominous aura is the resentment mixed with malice."

"You are not planning to..." Grayfia asked. It is too dangerous. What if you lose control again? You plan to deal with all that? The vessel might be getting tired, but the resentment is still going stronger."

"Grayfia-chan. Don't you think we should trust him?" Serafall spoke. "He called us here as a countermeasure. We accepted his summon, and as such, we will fulfill our part of the deal."

"Thanks, I-" Nora mumbled.

"However, don't forget. We devil take contracts very seriously. Appropriate pay for the job is always expected. Asking Grayfia-chan and I, who care a lot about you, to let you do something that will make you suffer is going to cost you a lot." Serafall smiled.

"Uh... oh." Nora nodded.

"I expect a wonderful reward ????" Serafall giggled.

"She is angry, right?" Nora whispered to the silver-haired maid.

"There are 5 things that Serafall treasures more than anything, some are individual while others use a broader term." Grayfia explained. "You are individually among those 5."

"Eh?" Nora looked flustered. "That is not possible, I am but a humble cat, for the likes of me to be-" 

"Alrighty~ I will stall its movements! Oh, is that the spider you always carry with you!? It grew so big! When did it join the fight!? Ah!!! There is even the cute snake!!! Haha!" Serafall headed toward Cernunnos looking giddy. "Let's go, number 3 ❤️"

"She heard us." Nora bitterly smiled.

"You should use that technique you learned to keep it within us." Grayfia said. "Why so bitter? Number 1 is Sona-oujou-sama, and number 2 is her family members. You are in 3rd place, higher than me who is in the friends category at number 4."

"I don't deserve to be on the list." Nora sighed.

"You should be more aware of how important you are to other people." Grayfia exclaimed. "In my case, I also have a list. Do you want to guess what number are you?"

Smiling mischievously, Grayfia prepared to leave Nora without answering.

"Number one, obviously.... or not, I am just joking... eh?" Nora was about to laugh it off when he said Grayfia's frozen expression and he began to shake his head. "No, no, no. Didn't you have a first love you told me about? What about the Gremory Household members such as Rias-chan and Venelana-san whom you have served for years..."

"H-Haha, yeah, I was just teasing you." Grayfia nervously chuckled before fleeing.

Understanding the implications of the obvious lie, Nora scratched his head.

"Shit, could it be that...? No, no, no. Grayfia-san is a super maid with a super hot body that many dream of, we might have hobbies that complement each other, have spent a lot of time together, gone on dates multiple times, seen each other naked several times, slept together in the same bed... holy fuck, am I being captured without even knowing!? I saw everything as normal, but she is not different from Rose or Kuroka-chan at this point. Yabai, hontoni yabai. No, calm down Nora. Use your head, the upper one. The time she received me in an apron had to be a coincidence, like, it happens that all of her clothes were drying... like hell!!! Argh, I know Tamamo, I know so please stop laughing! Ah! It has to be to tease me." Nora wiped the sweat running down his forehead. "She has turned down Zekram's offer to be my fiance or to bear a child of mine so it is like I thought, she does not like me. Yup, I will leave it at that. This will be a problem for future Nora. Heh, I feel pity for that mother fucker. Huh? No, that did not mean anything. There is nothing suspicious between Kaa-san and me, those pictures are a prank. Why am I keeping them? Eh... No comments. Now, let's do this Tamamo, let's ignore my mental turmoils and march straight into battle."

With a conundrum in his heart, Nora felt his left arm throbbing. The curse that was given to him that day seemed to know it was going to be used like never before and it was rejoicing. It did not care if Nora was having romantic issues or not, it did its best to escape Nora's strong self-control. Unable to run rampant, it should feel resentment, but it was unable to do so for some reason. However, that was not important because it was about to be released.

Taking one last deep breath, Nora observed Cernunnos. His eyes which could pierce through every fiber of his enemy observed all the damage that had pilled up.

The chest was his target. Morgan had already been attacking that place before he arrived. His large form also aimed at that place. The mobility was certainly low along with the speed, but Cernunnos had an outstanding defense. In his arsenal, no weapon could pierce the skin in one go. Gae Bolg had outstanding penetrative power, but Nora lacked the skills to use it correctly or the strength to wield it to the best of its ability. His other trump card would be Artoria who had also arrived along with Barghest and we're wildly using their sacred swords. The lance he stole- rightfully acquired certainly had the power to blast Cernunnos without putting skills into the bill, but the burden was great.

With a stigma shining on each of his hands, a pair of blood-red spears emerge from his hands. Nora grabs them and gives them a few spins with each hand. Feeling the weight of the weapons he threw them high before writing a rune in the air. A single rune with the meaning of union shone and the spears reacted just the same. Nora extended his right hand and caught a slightly larger red spear. He jumped forward and let himself fall instead of creating more footholds. Once on the ground, he sent a message to everyone fighting Cernunnos to make a path and not get in the way. His closest and older allies did not question his decision but Morgan felt suspicious. Nonetheless, Nora asked for her trust and she accepted.

It was at this point that he crouched and prepared to do his best. His body would be beyond what he could stand, and will probably break down a little but it was nothing that he had not suffered before. The muscles will tear and his bones will be either crushed or shattered, yet he will be able to sprint at a speed beyond what he can normally use. The strength of his throw will be several levels higher.

Nora narrowed his eyes and erased everything else-

"You are trying to do something dangerous."

A gentle voice called out.

By reflex, he almost dashed forward but his control over his muscles was good enough to stop himself on time. Nora turned to see Jeanne staring at him with concern.

"...that is nothing new. A weakling like me has to do his ultra best if he hopes to match geniuses." Nora said.

"...that you can heal your body does not mean you should use it as an excuse to let it break down all the time." Jeanne refuted.

"I can't compete against a god. I have to resort to trickery or other means to make sure I can do it. This is such a way." Nora replied.

"You plan to use the ability in your left arm, right?" Jeanne sighed.

"I will end this on my terms." Nora sharply spoke. "I already have countermeasures in place."

"Would you be willing to listen to me?" Jeanne asked.

Getting ready to ignore any plea to stop, Nora was stunned to hear the next words.

"Let me be the one to stop you from going rampant." Jeanne muttered.

"Are you insane?" Nora's tone was no longer respectful. "You-"

"I only ask you to trust me once. I can help you." Jeanne pleaded.

"Urgh, whatever, if you fail, you will become an ice statue like me." Nora snorted.

Sighing in relief, Jeanne was not afraid that he would go back on his word. The rest will be partially up to luck.

The youth once again got into position and he focused on his charge. His muscles swelled and some blood vessels even exploded, but Nora still did not jump. One second, two seconds, the more he waited, the more his blood vessels seemed to be unable to withstand his actions. It was then that he vanished. Without any sound, he was gone. A red flash went straight toward Cernunnos. For the first time since the fight started, blood spilled from the deity. However, that was ignored when the sound of his movement caught and a terrible sound reached everyone's ears.

Most people were unable to catch the movements of the youth clearly, and it was believed he charged with a spear in hand, but this was not exactly correct. Those who could perfectly capture his movements saw how it was the spear that was thrown first and Nora dashed soon after.

Once he entered the hole made by the spear, Nora's figure disappeared. The time after the sound of his move reached everyone was short but it was followed by Cernunnos going on rampage. It did not matter if its arms were dislocated, it began to twist its body to swing them like whips. The damage to the land was great but the group attacking had taken their distance since Nora had warned them beforehand. 

Just then, ice shards began forming above Cernunnos. Ten meters wide and twenty meters long, the only thing you could associate with a shard was the shape. Weighting tons, the icicles crashed on the rampaging arms and the weight was enough to stop the dislocated arms from moving. They did not pierce the fur but rather they sank the arms. Not only the ice shards were used but spikes made of ice emerged from the ground in different positions to fix Cernunnos in place. They were attacks that seemed simple, but the sheer cold they were surrounded by made the nearby group feel cold despite some of them wearing clothes to prevent regular cold weather.

Even after all that, they felt Cernunnos trying to resist. Nonetheless, the binding in the form of ice spikes and ice shards only increased in number. Yet, suddenly, it stopped. It was sudden and surprised everyone. They saw it tremble once and just like he suddenly stopped, they all felt a chill run down their spines. Cernunnos' presence began to rapidly drop. All of it, the malevolent energy that felt like it would crush them was being sucked somewhere.

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

MC's POV

It was dark and my torn muscles were still throbbing, but just like I had observed, my aim was perfect. Gae Bolg was stuck somewhere alone in the body of Cernunnos, while I was in the spot I had aimed. My goal was completed with a swing of my hand and what was left was the most troublesome part. This humongous body had to be dealt with.

That was why I extended my left hand to reach for the flesh in front of me. It was a little strange but there was room of some sort holding my objective. It was enough to give me space to move but it also made me extend my weakened body to reach for the flesh. My youkai side got a chill when the negative energy invaded me without trying anything. It tried to engulf me and swallow me. It made me believe it perhaps was some sort of defense system that Cernunnos originally had. Nonetheless, it was a brief thought to me who hesitated once more.

Escaping was always an option, but one I would not take. Left unchecked, who knows what kind of crap it could do. That is why I will deal with it like this.

"Never thought I would be using this on a god." I sighed. "<Drain>"

Like a broken dam, I felt a rush of negative energy passing through my hand and then my arm. I felt my vision darken and my mouth began to salivate. I felt a never-ending hunger take control of me... and I just let it go rampant. I braced myself and did not let my consciousness disappear. Even though the negative energy and the resentment whispered and yelled what I should do. I did not let anything stop my actions. I absorbed, ate, and swallowed everything. Not only my left hand, before I noticed I was biting what was in front of me but my right hand had also begun absorbing what surrounded me.

I was truly glad no one else was seeing me.

I must be looking more like a monster than Cernunnos itself.

Rose is out there... and she might be disgusted.

(Hubby is not disgusting.)" Tamamo spoke. "(Like me, that child would be happy if you ate her up.)"

Thank you for spouting nonsense. I feel somewhat better.

Hearing the nonsense that I was afraid it became the truth, I pushed myself.

More, more... more. Everything will be swallowed by me.

...

...

...

An empty husk. That is how I would describe the area surrounding me. A large empty space. However, I could not rejoice.

One look at my left arm and I could only bitterly smile. The flesh had become hideous, looking at it, you could hardly call it an arm. A mass of flesh that kept changing shape after the resentment I was unable to keep in check tried to turn me into what Cernunnos was. My right arm was also blackened but it seemed that the resentment was concentrated on my left side. I could feel it slowly crawling on my skin making its way to my neck.

I could feel the violent urges to lay waste to everything around me slowly consume me and even after all I fed it with, my left arm still wanted more.

A truly bad day to let someone else carry that magatama.

Unable to even joke about it, Tamamo was surely doing her best to prevent that accursed energy from taking over my body.

However, it was no good.

Every face that crosses my mind just makes me angry. I cannot endure this for too long.

Grayfia-san and Serafall-san should be able to deal with the cleanup. After they seal me, we can find a way to deal with it.

"Have you forgotten about our promise?"

A familiar voice came clearly and in front of me, Jeanne D'Arc appeared. The beautiful maiden of Orleans, the Saintess. No matter what names I use, she is a figure I respect.

Nonetheless, right now after seeing someone. The hunger and anger I have been holding back so desperately have broken free.

Part 2

3rd Person POV

"I guess I cannot blame you." Jeanne looked at Nora with an emphatic gaze.

The youth looked nothing like before. Half of his body was covered by the resentment of the deity and it was slowly trying to swallow him. His eyes were shining red as he bared his fangs.

However, Nora did not attack. He bit his lips viciously and blood spilled but he did not attack.

"You are a mess." Jeanne directed her gaze to the mass of flesh that was initially the youth's arm.

It pained her greatly to see him like that.

"How can you blame others for sacrificing themselves when you are just the same." Jeanne smiled wryly as she whispered.

"Leave." Nora spoke.

"Are you going back on your promise?" Jeanne muttered in a disapproving tone.

"I don't want to hurt you." Nora gritted his teeth.

Taking a step forward, Jeanne ignored how Nora jolted and almost jumped forward.

"You should never break a promise." Jeanne muttered. "I am sure you know that better than me since you hate when promises are not kept."

Gritting his teeth even harder, Nora kept his position. He was almost triggered and jumped at Jeanne to attack her.

"Are you unable to hold it any longer?" Jeanne asked.

"If you dress in a maid outfit, I can win any battle." Nora jested.

Slightly speechless, Jeanne was not sure whether to cry or laugh after hearing that. It was certainly something the youth would say, even more when he was under pressure.

Not delaying any longer, she moved. Faster than Nora could see, she appeared in front of him. The surprise made him lose control briefly so he swung his left or at least it was intention. Nonetheless, the mass of flesh and resentment created an arm to attack her. In response, Jeanne shone. Literally, Jeanne released something not many were capable of doing.

"Holy power..." Nora said.

"Are you surprised? Is this the first time you see it?" Jeanne asked.

Observing him, Jeanne noticed how after she began to 'shine', Nora's expression was not as forced. However, Jeanne knew this was going to be momentary. Miasma began to leak from Nora's body and getting 

"No, I hate it. I went through a lot of trouble thanks to an idiot who believes I am the cat of some sort of crazy prophecy." Nora had a hard-to-describe expression. "I got carried like a lion cub in front of a crowd like in a certain movie in the middle of the Vatican and got called the chosen one. If that is not insane, not sure what it is? Gabby is an idiot."

Even though she tried to control her expression, her eyebrow still twitched.

"Gabby...?" Jeanne mumbled.

"Miss, why do you look scarier than me- Urgh." Nora tried to joke but he cut short his words.

A throbbing pain that made Nora who had an extremely high pain tolerance to grimace assaulted him. It made him feel pain worse than having his own arm ripped off or getting his arm chewed on while alive. He briefly recalled the experiences he faced and gave the current pain the number five spot. Reserving most of the rest to his training times.

Ignoring the outstretched hand that Nora used to keep her away, she kneeled before him and used her right hand to release holy power on the ominous flesh.

"Use the power of the horseman on me." Jeanne declared.

This caused Nora to widen his eyes in surprise but he shook his head. He gritted his teeth until a few of them shattered and refused to let the impulse of tearing apart the one in front of him.

"Quality and quantity. I am afraid that it does not come close to that of Gabriel, but if you draw this power, you should be able to create a vessel." Jeanne said.

"I... can't..." Nora glanced at his left side.

"You should be aware by now that you are not limited to just using the left hand." Jeanne raised her voice in frustration.

"I... won't." Nora even while gritting his teeth, grinned.

"This rebellious and idiotic cat!" Jeanne wanted to smack his head. "This is no time to play!"

"M..." Nora struggled to get the word out of his mouth.

Deciding to aid the youth this time was entirely out of her own volition and no one sent her. She knew he might be a handful sometimes but to think she of all people underestimated him.

"If you create a vessel, you can keep in check the overflowing malice." Jeanne exclaimed.

"Don't... want..." Nora refused.

If a genie granted her three wishes right now, Jeanne would make one big wish, one hell of a smack on the head of the cat to make him listen to others.

"You don't have to worry about me!" Jeanne said.

"I won't... harm... you." Nora spoke.

Grabbing him by the collar, Jeanne shook the cat.

"Can't you behave for once!? You plan to leave it to them!? Accept my help! Why can't you rely on me!?" Jeanne yelled.

"Won't... harm." Nora vehemently refused.

Feeling her blood pressure rising, Jeanne was on the verge of strangling the cat. However, she has not faced hardships in the past for nothing. Her iron mentality was what helped her to push forward during the darkest times.

"I didn't want to rely on this." Jeanne looked slightly down.

On the verge of being swallowed, Nora wanted to tell Grayfia or Serafall's name, however, the next words changed everything.

"While you were away, I heard some Youkais in Urakyoto armed themselves with valor and were flirting with Kuroka and Shirone." Jeanne said.

Sneakily pulling crystals filled with holy power she stored for years, Jeanne immediately noticed the change in Nora.

"Huh?" Nora's expression turned sharp.

"I even heard that the old man of the east had taken his chance now that you were away to try his luck into smacking Yasaka's buttocks." Jeanne muttered.

"That shitty old man!" Nora's angry face could be easily seen.

Apologizing for the old man in the east in her mind, Jeanne was glad that the youth was simple.

"Take what is stored here and then absorb my holy power. There is no need to hesitate, it will recover over time." Jeanne pleaded. "You can suppress the curse that way and-"

"Quit your yapping." Nora was no longer being respectful. "I will take the crystals only."

Grabbing the crystal, Nora took away the content with his right hand. The holy power circulated inside his body and there was numbness inside him for a brief moment, but it did not take long for Nora to make it follow along with causing trouble inside his body with only his sheer will.

Sweating coldly, Jeanne saw how Nora easily emptied the crystals in an instant. The more he drained, the more skilled he became in doing it. She could not be certain if he was letting that ability act on its own or if he was gaining experience this fast, but she understood that she had underestimated him. From barely using the power of the horseman, he became adept at it in no time.

Swallowing loudly once Nora put his right hand on her shoulders, she closed her eyes timidly and surrendered her body.

"Could you please do not look lewd of all sudden? Why does it seem like you are giving up your body to me...? Do not ask why I know that." Nora muttered.

Closing her mouth that was going to ask that very question, Jeanne wondered where to get the full story. Briefly, she seemed to recall who among Nora's acquaintances had written a full story of his adventures in detail.

"Do you have any more of those...?" Nora asked.

Shaking her head, Jeanne was about to open her mouth.

"I am not going to eat you up." Nora coughed awkwardly once he noticed what he said.

"I don't have any more of these, it was something I did as a hobby in my free time and did not dedicate too much time to it either. A couple of hundred was the most I could muster." Jeanne shook her head. "It is not enough. You need more to keep that in check. The resentment and malice held by a god for who knows how long..."

"It is an honor to have the Saintess worried about me, however, I got to beat the shit out of an old foggy. I can't waste my time here." Nora said.

Glaring at the flesh that was his left arm previously, Nora clicked his tongue.

"A pesky curse is nothing. It doesn't matter how much you cry, it doesn't matter how much you try to tempt me." Nora spoke. "Even this Saintess I esteem so much and thought she was dead came to aid me... but more importantly, to allow that geezer to touch Yasaka-san's buttock!? NO WAY! NO ONE TOUCHES MY YACCHAN! AND NO WAY IN HELL I WILL ALLOW SOME PUNK TO FLIRT WITH MY CATS! THEY ARE MINE! SO SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DON'T BOTHER ME. I CONTROL THIS FREAKING BODY!"

Apologizing for the Nth time to the old man of the east who would likely die without knowing why, Jeanne wanted to Nora that he should summon the magatama. However, she was hesitating to tell him of a function he did not seem to know yet when-

"Nora, you need to- Never mind." Jeanne saw how his flesh turned back into his arm the curse was sucked back onto his body.

There was much to say, to retort to what she just saw, but Jeanne had enough experience under her belt to not be swayed. She knew the right course of action.

"I knew you could do it." Jeanne smiled like a blooming flower.

"...sure." Nora decided to not retort for both of their sake.

"This should take care of everything for now." Jeanne sighed in relief.

"I still have to beat that old fart, but I guess I need to track him first." Nora clicked his tongue.

"Haha, how about we postpone that?" Jeanne tried to change the subject.

"You are right." Nora nodded.

Unable to even be glad to have pushed the topic to another time, Jeanne prayed once more for the safety of the youkai of the east.

"I have to get all the nasty traps I commissioned the fallen angels first. 1000 ways to harass someone, to think I would get such a useful book from Forest Wraith after surpassing a threshold. Azazel almost fainted when I asked him to make me the tools to put into practice what the book had written." Nora smirked.

"Hehe." Jeanne could only grin.

"Tsk, you have one chance." Nora warned.

"I am sorry, I lied to make you get a grip." Jeanne confessed.

Sighing, Nora raised Jeanne's face who had lowered it to apologise.

"I have to apologize too." Nora said.

"N-No, I just said whatever came to my mind to make you angry. You are not to blame." Jeanne replied.

"I am not angry for your actions. I am honored that someone like the Saintess of Orleans cares enough about an idiotic cat like me." Nora muttered.

"I am not..." Jeanne mumbled in a sad tone. "I am not someone great."

Watching her reaction, it dawned on Nora that he made a mistake.

"No, you are. I hold you in high esteem. I respect you for what you did back then, your courage, no, your presence put an end to a conflict that lasted over a hundred years." Nora looked down. "However, because of that, I was rude to you."

Taking some distance from the holy maiden, Nora lifted his head and stared straight into her eyes.

"You are a Saintess, a Warrior, a Leader, and you certainly hold many titles that describe your amazing deeds as history illustrates you. However, there is a detail that everyone, and I included usually overlooks. You are also a young lady. Because I hold you in high esteem, I failed to consider that." Nora said.

Smiling gently at that, Jeanne had many things in mind to tell the youth, but she settled for something simple.

"I don't mind even if the rest of the world forgets about that. As long as that special someone keeps it in mind and treats me like the countryside girl I am, I will be happy." Jeanne grinned.

"...nope, that was certainly not a hint of any sort. Haha, not at all. I must've listened wrong because my brain is messed up from getting a lot by Shishou." Nora denied reality like any normal person.

Not insisting on the topic, Jeanne watched Nora with a warm expression while he crouched and covered his face with his palms.

"Are you sure you do not need my holy power?" Jeanne asked once more.

"I am in dire need of seeing a girl cosplaying as a maid." Nora smiled.

"...how about holy power?" Jeanne inquired.

"Maid power." Nora chuckled.

Wisely choosing to ignore that, Jeanne stopped talking.

"That said. Isn't it crazy that a devil (more or less) like me can do this?" Nora chuckled.

Opening the palm of his hand, a golden sphere formed on Nora's hand.

"Is that...?" Jeanne asked.

"I have always wondered about the relationship between holy power, devil power, magic power, ki, and other types of energies." Nora pondered.

"Holy power has an edge on devils because the system of heaven was designed as such. Not many are aware of the importance of that system and how destroying it would cause the holy power to be less deadly to devils." Jeanne muttered. "Devil powers and magic powers are similar, however, the devil race as a whole is capable of bending the laws of the world simply if they desire it. While magic is more like a way for others who usually rely on reason to fend for themselves."

Slightly in a trance, Nora did not react to Jeanne knowing about the system located in heaven.

"Opposing energies usually repel each other, but they are tamer when I try to control them. Inside my body, they eventually get along." Nora mumbled. "Positive and Negative... I wonder if one can become another one. The pollution of the natural ki... if it could be restored by changing it a little it could take less effort."

Making the previous spheres disappear, a new one was created, this time using ki filled with malice. Nora continuously gazed at the sphere with curious eyes.

"This is not necessarily wrong." Nora mumbled in an uncertain tone. "Corruption aside... if ki is usually positive energy, the power of life and representation of nature. Can it also represent the merciless aspect of nature? Destruction before new life is born..."

The sphere on Nora's hand was black with reddish parts, but the more he stared it at, the more minute changes took place on it. The reddish part disappeared and when the blackened part began to lessen, Nora clicked his tongue as it dispersed.

"This is a toughie." Nora sighed. "If I had a maid by my side, a cute maid with blonde hair and a short mini skirt."

"I think you can take care of everything else without my help so..." Jeanne tried to escape but-

"Ah, ah... this poor cat is so weak right now. If only I had a boost in strength, I could take care of the remaining problems." Nora sobbed (fake). "If you think about it... as the MAIDEN of Orleans, you have a MAID in there so you are inherently a maid."

"What happened to the respect and esteem you had...?" Jeanne smiled wryly.

"I told you that I would treat you like a young woman. I still respect you and you asked me if I could do A LOT of things you asked me without questioning it since you are my idol and I am nothing but your number one fan." Nora happily muttered dangerous lines without hesitation. "Besides, you seem to know what kind of person I am so you surely expected this. Ignore the shame! What if you get to be seen by all the people outside!?"

"I think that is pretty embarrassing!!!" Jeanne retorted.

Smirking, Nora pulled out a maid outfit with a mini skirt and stockings in one motion.

"Saintess, it is for a greater good..." Nora evilly smiled.

"Why do you have an outfit with my measures!?" Jeanne exclaimed.

"I am the man who strives to be ready no matter the situation!" Nora replied.

"That is just nonsense!!! Argh!!!" Jeanne tried to get away.

Nora's eyes were the same as feral animals as he leaped towards Jeanne and held her with one hand on each shoulder.

"I have a condition!" Jeanne suddenly said.

Her resistance was out of shame of being seen by so many people rather than being against dressing up as a maid. Jeanne considered that Nora would be willing to negotiate to get what he desired. It was a simple wish on her part and it was rather difficult to accomplish normally.

"Oh? I am curious to hear about it." Nora smiled.

The smile made Jeanne incredibly nervous but she armed herself with courage.

The words were spoken and Nora nodded without questioning the request deeply, or so Jeanne hoped it had happened, however, sacrifices were made and innocent people would suffer the consequences of Jeanne's small and selfish wish.

...

...

...

A strange mood had taken over despite the victory over a god without any casualties or heavily injured individuals. A giddy Nora who was inspecting the area despite being the subject of numerous heavy and harsh glares. He carried himself normally despite having Serafall and Grayfia giving him a piercing glare. The source of their displeasure was Jeanne who was wearing an extremely short skirt that made even those who were watching to blush in embarrassment. The stockings connected to a garter belt that left much to the imagination of observing the gallery. The maiden of Orleans felt like dying of shame, but she had gotten Nora to agree to her terms after a difficult negotiation.

Walking for a bit, Nora stopped as he tapped the bulge on one side of his new hakama.

"No one seems to be injured and there are no traces of enemies. I guess this is more or less a victory." Nora bitterly said. "The land is a mess."

Kneeling, Nora picked dirt from the ground and dropped it after he raised his hand. It had suffered burns from the burning field he summoned, but Nora could not see an early future where it would recover. The curse itself was mostly gone but the earth was damaged.

"This is a phenomenon that has spread over these lands." Morgan slowly walked towards the youth.

Her eyes were directed at the trio following Nora, but there was no need to ask for their identities when they followed after the youth. By no means was Morgan trying to escape the reality where she has to retort to the Saintess image change and the feeling that she will be in danger in the future. Her brain briefly flashed her images of a certain box, but before she could recall the details regarding it, it disappeared from her mind.

"There was not much we could do about it so don't beat yourself over this, Queenie." Nora sighed.

Piercing flares coming from Serafall and Grayfia to mind his manners seemed to be of no use to affect the youth, much less the deathly glares he got from Baobhan Sith who was following after Morgan while being glared sternly by Melusine and Barghest.

"Hmph, I don't think you get to decide that." Morgan snorted.

Shrugging his shoulders, Nora followed by tapping his chest.

"I am only presenting you with an advise, my wise and beautiful Queen." Nora said.

Raising her hand to stop Baobhan Sith from trying to chew Nora for his discourtesy, Morgan looked at the youth and wanted to say a few words, but she could form the correct sentence.

"No need for thanks or anything like that." Nora winked playfully. "Am I not one of your knights (temp)?"

Understanding what he was trying to do, Morgan smiled slightly but got irritated because the last part reminded her of her plans to get revenge on him.

"Indeed, a wise and understanding ruler is able to listen to the suggestions and advice that she is given while also selecting what is most beneficial for people, MY KNIGHT (Temp? You think you can escape so easily?)"

There might've been more to words she spoke compared to what was capable of expressing but Nora laughed it off.

"Now, my wise and understanding queen, I think I have an idea of how to help you, but the price is high." Nora smirked as he made the sign for a coin with his hand.

"Is it wealth you seek? I can grant you that." Morgan plainly said.

"Tsk, tsk, I don't mind getting money since the dozens of cats I also take care of eat a lot, but I am loaded, I am not asking for that." Nora stated. "Are you willing to pay the price with YOUR life?"

Giving Morgan a piercing glare, he had to move his hand to make everyone working for him point their weapons at the faes that reacted and were ready to attack Nora. Barghest and Baobhan Sith froze in place since the number of Valkyries plus Nora's personal team were not people they could face in their weakened state, not to mention the maid and magical girl at his side. They could only grit their teeth as they felt complicated emotions when they glared at Nora. Melusine, however, had not intended to move a muscle as she observed Nora since the beginning and seemed to be silently waiting for him to talk to her despite wanting to run away if that happened.

Noticing how things were getting dire for her knights, Morgan raised a hand to prevent them from doing something stupid.

Regardless of the numerous threats around her, she felt that Nora possessed the greatest threat level. She certainly felt him somewhat different after exiting the husk of Cernunnos with the blushing Jeanne, but Morgan considered the reason for the danger something else. Her answer could not be shallow or sound pleasing to his ears.

"MY life is a cheap price to pay for the happiness of my people, you are like me so you surely understand." Morgan replied.

Not reacting to those words, Nora continued to stare at Morgan who did not dare to look away.

"Urgh, cut it out, will ya?"

A slightly rude voice was heard as Artoria walked with a tired expression behind Nora and smacked his head.

"What are you doing? If you continue wasting time here, when will you make me food." Artoria muttered in a bad mood.

Everyone froze, not only her actions were rude, but it was passable since the ones who knew Nora were aware of what kind of person she was and how Nora interacted with her. Nonetheless, everyone's eyes, except Nora's, widened and they turned to look at Artoria and Morgan in turns. This caused Morgan and Artoria to finally see each other faces, and the two shared the same thought inside their heads and expressed it out loud.

" "Just looking at your face annoys me." " Artoria and Morgan both said at the same time. " "Hah! My thoughts exactly." "

Literally butting heads, the duo began to glare at each other in hate.

Just like the two had spoken the same words a second ago, for most bystanders they shared one retort.

"You both have the same face!!!" Everyone retorted.

"I know, right?" Nora grinned.

...

...

...

Since the meeting between Artoria and Morgan almost ended up in a brawl, Nora had placed the duo in what he considered the solution. Tied with chains, chest to chest, they were placed in a place where people on each side observed them and prevented any of them from biting their necks off.

On the other hand, Nora postponed talking with Morgan and had to treat Mordred after she was pulled out of the shadow Miyako had under her. That kept him busy for a while and Mordred seemed to have weird dreams for a while, Nora did not question anyone regarding Mordred's origins.

It was after they armed themselves with courage that the Valkyries went to Nora. Being led by Rossweisse who looked tenser than when she faced Morgan.

"Nora..." Rossweisse softly called out.

"Rossweisse." Nora said.

Looking visibly sad, Rossweisse lowered her head briefly but before she raised it to ask Nora to call her differently, she felt herself being pulled into a warm hug. Her head rested on Nora's shoulder and she felt ticklish when his breath reached her ear, but she could not stay that for too long as his next words almost made her faint.

"Rose, I missed you." Nora whispered.

"Me too." Rossweisse could only reply as such.

Their lovers-like hug was not interrupted by anyone despite the jealous gazes everyone had.

"I was worried when you sent the message." Rossweisse complained.

"I was not sure against what I was against." Nora said. "But your help and assistance was more than welcome."

"There were many more that wanted to come but it would anger Odin-sama if everyone left their post." Rossweisse explained.

"Hah, I would've loved to see him pulling his hair as he tried to figure out where you all went." Nora chuckled. "We should totally have all Valkyries leave at the same time."

"...ok." Rossweisse easily agreed to that.

Grinning as they imagined what would happen, the duo laughed it off.

Burying her head in Nora's chest once more, Rossweisse parted with him and pointed at the rest of the Valkyries.

"Go talk to everyone, they were also worried about you." Rossweisse said.

"...sending me to a group of strangely enthusiastic young women, Rose, did you perhaps get bored of me?" Nora muttered in a pitiful tone.

Rolling her eyes, Rossweisse pointed where a certain petite girl was waiting beside faces he was very familiar with.

"Permission to do this and that to her." Nora asked.

Pouting, Rossweisse nodded.

Once those words were said, Nora walked towards Nur with open arms in a swift motion. Nur considered avoiding him altogether but when she saw him put on a sad expression she gave up and obediently spread her arms. Nora hugged Nur.

"Have you been eating well? Aren't you lighter than before?" Nora asked.

"I have been eating well." Nur mumbled.

Unable to believe her, Nora began to pat her all over.

"Lies, you have been focusing on your studies so much that you are forgetting to eat. Do you want me to drag you to my house and keep you there for months to put you in your right weight again? When are you going to begin to take care of yourself?" Nora said. "What if you end up fainting for not eating again? Besides, you have not forgotten what I told you would happen if you did not take care of yourself, right?"

Blushing like mad, Nur tried to get away from Nora's hug, but the difference in strength was too much.

"I told you that I would spank that cute little butt of yours, you have not forgotten, have you?" Nora whispered.

"I will eat my three meals! I seriously will! I won't skip any of them!" Nur pleaded.

"I do not believe you~" Nora chuckled but his eyes did not seem to match it.

"Urgh, last time it was just a miscalculation of mine." Nur muttered.

"You are saying that you miscalculated spending the money you had for food that one month to buy astrology gadgets and you had to spend several days without eating to the point I found you picking herbs in the mountains?" Nora smiled but his tone was stern. "I will get angry."

"Urgh." Nur did not have a retort to that.

Slowly, Nora's hands went from her waist to her-

"Look at you, is this really a punishment? You became as tame as a fawn." Nora whispered.

This made Nur shake in shame.

"I can't escape anyways." Nur retorted.

"That is a lie." Nora smirked. "The young woman who is capable of short-range teleportation in an instant should be able to escape, but you are staying over here. I can tell that you are eager."

Feeling when Nora's hand was raised, Nur shut her eyes and waited for the impact with anticipation she did not want to admit. However, the impact never arrived. Timidly raising her head to see Nora's expression, she saw him putting on a sad face, that compared to the previous one, she could tell which one was real, although that would not stop her from falling for it.

"Do take care of yourself." Nora said. "There is always a room in my house for you."

Looking around, Nur saw how the Valkyries made a stir but she kept looking until she found Rossweisse and wanted to deny what she had said.

"We share a room so you don't have to feel like you are going behind my back." Rossweisse smiled.

Sighing in relief, Nur nodded.

It was when she relaxed her body that she felt and heard it, Nora had spanked her ass.

"Punishment should always be given." Nora chuckled.

Running away, Nora wanted to hide behind Rossweisse. Shaking from embarrassment and being glad she managed to keep the moan in her mouth, Nur raised her trembling hand as she shook from shame.

"<Slip>" Nur spoke.

Despite running away, Nora ended up in the range of the spell as he slipped and fell face-first into the ground.

Smiling wryly, Rossweisse thought that both of them never learned. However, she was glad they always got along.

...

...

...

"Glad to see you two as well, Hilda and Eira." Nora mumbled.

Facing his friends with Rossweisse dutifully at his side and Nur hissing at him while holding her buttock, Nora did not seem to react to the threat(?).

"You are as bold as always." Eira commented as she glanced at Nur. "You should be aware that no man dares to mess with her after that time she had used her slip spell on someone for a week. The harassment-like punishment was still better than you would've done but I guess the idea came from you."

"Hey now, I am such a gentle person. The word harassment can only go in the same sentence as me if I am being harassed." Nora smiled.

"Hehe, let's leave it at that and not mention how you beat those underclassmen last year by trying to mess up with us." Eira giggled.

"It was amazing to see them flying after you punched them." Hilda added. "It is a shame the upperclassmen you beat the previous year decided to join and let them know they will never be winning."

"It is becoming a custom for new students to get beaten by Nora after trying to do something bad." Rossweisse sighed.

"Despite that, he never gets hated at the end, that only happens after he beats them up the third time though." Eira said.

Smiling wryly, Nora shook his head.

"I do try to be kind by healing them as I beat them up." Nora said.

The listeners wanted to retort that there was no kindness in his actions, but they held back.

"Well, I once asked an upperclassman about why they got along so well with him, but he just mentioned that getting beat up by him is like... a type of medicine." Hilda mentioned.

Her words caused the listeners to put on a disgusted face. Eira in particular had a peculiar expression that was a smile but a dangerous aura radiated from her.

"Fufu, which upperclassman is that? I would like to have a chat with him." Eira giggled. "It seems they forgot our agreement to leave HIM to us."

With a smile that would put flowers to shame, Eira spoke, but if you stared at her, you could almost imagine the background behind her not being a field of flowers but-

"He said that no one has gotten sick and even have gotten stronger with each beating." Hilda spoke without minding her surroundings (Eira) or who was near her (Eira). "Well, I think they mean minor diseases are not an issue anymore, like flu and the like."

"Nora, did you do something?" Rossweisse asked.

Easily reaching at the common denominator in the equation, Rossweisse looked at Nora for answers.

"Well, I AM injecting ki in their bodies to heal them without any ill intentions so the ki will be beneficial to them." Nora pondered. "The quality is also top-notch so... I believe it is possible to happen. There is also a method I have been studying where the more someone gets hurt and then gets healed, the stronger they get. It is a dangerous method though. I took some ideas after reading about a guy who was capable of breaking bones and when they healed, they were even stronger."

"Is it really possible?" Rossweisse wondered aloud.

"It is. I have experience in doing it so I can confirm it. There was a child I once treated... she was a mess. The treatment went great, and she is happily enjoying her life." Nora smiled.

"Do you check on her often?" Rossweisse mumbled.

"What is it? Are you jealous?" Nora grinned and pulled the young woman for a hug. "You are such a cutie."

Trying to avoid being affected, Nur stepped back.

Chuckling Nora spun in his spot with Rossweisse in his arms.

"If you say it like that, it makes me sound like I get jealous of every woman you interact with when I am not with you." Rossweisse pouted. "I just wanted to know what kind of person she was, the method you told me is not the type you use in a hospital."

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"Jeez, I guess you can tell she is not your regular girl huh." Nora smiled wryly.

"I am... also curious." Hilda spoke.

Staying silent until now, Hilda and Eira began to participate in the conversation, while Nur only observed.

"I cannot go into details about her origins, but it was a job for the me on the other side instead of Doctor Shiki." Nora explained. "I am having a headache about how to introduce and reproduce this method using regular human technology or knowledge. There is a limit to how much I can show the world after all and the origins of my knowledge involves the occult and paranormal so it would cause quite the stir."

"It makes me wonder... even though there are many humans who know about the other side of the world, the number of people unaware of it is even greater." Eira mumbled. "There are hardly Valkyries that are completely human, even so, those are usually people born in magician households."

"We are called Valkyries but there are other supernatural beings that form part of the group." Hilda smiled wryly.

"Einherjers have a more diverse group." Eira muttered. "The qualifications for them are a lot more open since the beginning."

"Even a cat could graduate as one." Nora spoke.

Receiving the gazes of the group, Nora shrugged his shoulders. "To think you can graduate using brute force, I just had to beat people left and right."

Rolling their eyes, the group looked at Nora.

"It is not as simple, Einherjers also need to study runes and other types of magic. Even if they are not adept or are unable to use it, they need to learn how magic works to face magic users." Rossweisse said. "Your teacher is someone who has raised legendary warriors, just being taught by her in the way of spellcraft for a short period of time is enough to surpass months of study. It is not simply because of her reputation, but rather the fact that managing to survive her training is proof of how skilled you are. Scathach-sama and Skadi-sama directly teach you, while also receiving the favor of Freya-sama whose mastery of magic is difficult to surpass. You already had more than enough qualifications just from that."

"Hey now, don't go forgetting my best teacher." Nora chuckled.

"Huh? You were taught by someone else? I did not count Yasaka-sama since Youjutsu is different..." Rossweisse pondered.

"My best teacher was you." Nora cheekily smiled.

Blushing slightly once she realized what he meant, Rossweisse lightly punched him.

"Jeez." Rossweisse looked visibly happy.

Before they entered into their own world and ignored their surroundings, Hilda spoke.

"They usually teach you how to deal with several types of enemies, but how did you learn?" Hilda asked. "You already had experience fighting, didn't you?"

"I was beaten up a lot by Kaa-san." Nora chuckled. "The fights went on until I could not move and then I was back to my top condition with a snap of her fingers."

"...you are joking, right?" Eira mumbled.

"You are right." Nora smiled. "I just recovered enough for me to stand up. I had to use my strength to the best of my ability and last at least one second longer."

Looking at each other, the group found no words to retort.

"Those were fun times." Nora chuckled.

"Do you miss her?" Rossweisse asked.

"I do." Nora tightened his fists. "I want her to be home."

Extending her hand, Rossweisse took her hand and enveloped Nora's fist.

"We will help you find her." Rossweisse gently spoke.

Unusually for her, Hilda went and put her hand on Nora's other fist.

"Please believe in all the people trying to help you."   Hilda said. "You will reunite with your mother."

There was a strange conviction in her words and Nora briefly wondered why she had stepped out, however, her goodwill was clearly conveyed so he smiled at the group.

"Thank you." Nora muttered.

"Fufu." Eira giggled.

Looking at Nur, Eira could not help but laugh.

"What is it?" Nur asked while feeling like she was made fun of.

"You hesitated and Hilda went for the other hand." Eira smiled.

Clicking her tongue, Nur glared at Eira.

"It is not like that."  Nur said. "I was not after that. I have been thinking... so I am a little distracted."

"Are you worried about the time he nursed you back to health?" Eira asked.

"Urgh, don't remind me. It was a lifetime blunder." Nur sighed.

"It was by accident that he found you at that time." Eira muttered.

"Not accident... it was fate." Nur smiled slightly.

"Ara, fate? That is quite romantic." Eira giggled. "Although it was because of your studies in that area that you ended up in that state."

Recalling how she lost herself in her studies to the point she used all her money for food on books, Nur wanted to smack her past self. Nonetheless, it was thanks to such a thing that Nora personally nursed her until she was back in top health.

"I was trying my best." Nur glanced at the youth.

"Hmm?" Eira also looked at the youth.

It did not take a genius to see that it had something to do with Nora, but Eira did not speak and observed the others, Nora chatting with Rossweisse and Hilda while Nur and she observed.

"He... I wanted to do something for him." Nur confessed. "I studied and studied, I tried to raise my divination skills but I was unable to locate his mother."

"Does he know?" Eira asked.

"I was interrogated." Nur blushed.

"Ah..." Eira gave her friend a knowing smile.

"...so you were also a victim." Nur muttered.

"Actually, I wanted to learn interrogation techniques so I asked him if he could teach me." Eira smiled. "We both learned a lot that day."

With a mysterious smile on her face, the young woman with a voluptuous figure licked her lips.

Too afraid to ask, Nur decided that not knowing could be a blessing.

"I was yelled at." Nur muttered. "I never thought I would see him so angry outside battles."

"And why was he angry?" Eira asked knowing full well the answer.

"Because I did something stupid." Nur sighed.

"Is that really what he said?" Eira inquired.

"He was not happy that I ended up like that for his sake."  Nur smiled wryly.

"He is capable of many things, but he will not sacrifice his friend's safety. No one can hurt his friends and that includes his friends themselves." Eira said. "I believe he told you something that could be translated like that."

"You know him well." Nur spoke with some jealousy in her tone.

Giggling at that, Eira looked at the youth.

"I like to observe people." Eira muttered. "Since meeting him, I came to understand more about Youkais, something I wanted. However, he turned out to be someone interesting to look at. His interests are always bare. His desire for maids is an open secret and there is no Valkyrie or Einherjer that does not know this. His values and ideals. It is not only because he is a pretty face that he attracts so many people. He genuinely cares about others once he considers you a friend."

"I cannot be said to be an expert when it comes to knowing Nora when he is acting outside his home, but we lived together for a while... would you mind exchanging information with me? I want to know about him without using astrology." Nur said. "No, I guess that is not correct. I can no longer use it on him."

"...were you capable of it before?" Eira asked.

The duo watched as Nora, Rossweisse, and Hilda began to talk with some approaching Valkyries.

"It was nothing complicated what I could read, however, right now..." Nur looked down.

"Have you talked about this with anyone else?" Eira inquired.

"Skadi and Freya are aware of it. They even took this matter to the Norn Sisters..." Nur furrowed her eyebrows. "Their answer was put on hold for the time being."

"Judging from your face, you seem to have a theory." Eira questioned.

Chuckling awkwardly, Nur looked at Eira in a powerless manner.

"It is one of the basic teachings. Someone whose fate could still be observed... then it no longer seems possible gives you only one answer." Nur replied in a heavy tone. "That person is going to die."

The trembling gaze of Eira alternated between Nora and Nur.

3rd Person POV

"It is time." Nora suddenly said.

Appearing out of nowhere, Nora spoke words while glaring at Serafall. Gulping, the magical girl knew what was coming.

"Let us continue the topic from before, what is this brother-in-law stuff? I will cancel the magical girl project if you try to avoid the topic again." Nora narrowed his eyes.

"Nooooooo~" Serafall clung onto him. "I just thought you guys look cute! Don't take away my dream of having a magical girl's peerage!"

"...sometimes, I feel like the scariest existence in the Underworld is actually Nora-kun instead of the Four Maous or the old fart Zekram." Grayfia sighed.

"Hmhp, you and your parents are just the same..." Nora shook his head. "That said, they were happy as long I took either the older or younger child."

"...eh?" Serafall suddenly widened her eyes.

"I guess I expect nothing less of HER parents." Grayfia chuckled.

"They want grandchildren." Nora shrugged his shoulders.

"Eh...?" Serafall was frozen in place.

"She IS a Maou, but before that, she is still the child of those idiots parents." Grayfia nodded.

"Indeed, they begged me on their knees as the only guy who is so close to her to get the job done." Nora muttered.

"Hehe, is that so?" Grayfia smiled but her eyes looked scary. "Do they think you are some kind of breeding horse? It seems I should pay them a visit."

"Please don't. I think they just want Sera-tan to try to get into a relationship so she does not end alone." Nora said. "There are some twisted women out there... like that noble lady who established a harem of shotas because she could not stand older men after being completely rejected so often."

Looking slightly sad, Nora sighed.

"Oh, I remember that woman. It seemed like her family had strong libido and a normal partner would not suffice since her mother end up sucking dry the father and he died pretty soon." Grayfia commented.

"Yeah, I was once her doctor and fixed her problem, but after that, she no longer kept her harem. The boy were happy because it seemed like they were reaching their limits but on the other hand..." Nora looked down.

"She is now onto you." Grayfia took the words out of Nora's mouth.

"I am just an innocent cat." Nora stomped his foot. "I have been the target of noblewomen who want a long-standing relationship or a nightstand lately."

"It cannot be helped, you are directly supported by Zekram, the old fart, many see you as the next King of the Underworld so they want to form a special relationship with you." Grayfia spat out. "They are interested in the power you will wield politically, but your identity as a devil and youkai is enticing."

"...putting aside how Murmur is a rather unique devil, I am pretty sure not many are aware of my other two devils' abilities. The third one is specially being kept a secret and only the Maou's and you know about it." Nora said.

"It is because Youkais are known for their high fertility rate." Grayfia added.

"That is mostly for bunnies, horses, and those types of youkais." Nora refuted. "I am a cat!"

Sighing, Grayfia put both hands on Nora's shoulders and looked at him in the eyes. It made her notice how much he had grown since she no longer had to look down on him or lower herself to match his eyes.

"Nekomatas are known for their high fertility rate as well. Not to mention that your vitality is exceptional even among Youkais. At your age you already possess stamina beyond even Ultimate Class beings, you are only 14 years old. Imagine how monstrous you will become once you become older." Grayfia muttered. "Besides, due to the higher rate of females in the world, you are bound to get many requests for marriage just to form a tie with you. They just need a child and they are getting all the benefits that come with you. Because you are good-natured and would never abandon your offspring."

"...I am not a breeding horse." Nora looked fed up.

"Well, it is bound to happen until you find yourself a spouse. You don't have a formal fiance after all. There are rumors about you and me thanks to a maid I will punish later... and probably thanks to Zekram who seems interested in Murmur having offspring with my bloodline, there is also Rias-oujou-sama and Sona-oujou-sama whom you are close to. Not to mention how your presence alone prevents any house from trying to put forward a proposal to tie their families with them. I am thankful for that, but rumors spread." Grayfia spoke with concern.

"They only see them as walking wombs so I will never allow them to even think about it." Nora said sharply. "My reputation was never a concern of mine, but I need to watch out for theirs."

"I would rather that you watch out for yours more than anything." Grayfia helplessly said.

"I don't care what those guys think of me that much. There might be good apples, but there are as many bad apples." Nora grumbled. "The time when I crashed the school showed me that I will not get along with 50% of devil society."

"That was something that the other party made reality, the population in general has to be blamed, but you should not ignore that they were manipulated into believing you are a bad guy." Grayfia exclaimed.

Snorting, Nora had a condescending smile on his face.

"I will not forget to repay that." Nora said.

Sighing at that, Grayfia could not blame Nora.

"Now then, I would like to flirt with you guys for a bit longer, but someone came for me." Nora muttered.

At a distance in front of them, Melusine stood awkwardly.

Waving his hand as a goodbye, Nora walked towards the petite girl.

"What to do!?" Serafall suddenly spoke.

Feeling a heavy headache on the way, Grayfia glanced at Serafall who had a peculiar expression.

"Just imagine! If Nora-kun marries So-tan and me both... we would ALL live in the same house." Serafall spoke with stars in her eyes.

"Here we go..." Grayfia sighed.

"Hehe, a breakfast with So-tan and Nora-kun. Then we all go to the same building to work, a joint office... hehe." Serafall had a wide smile on her face. "We would take turns serving coffee and snacks to each other..."

"...I will be hearing about this for days." Grayfia helplessly laughed.

"And then! AND THEN! KYAAAAAA!" Serafall's embarrassed and high-pitched scream attracted the attention of their surroundings.

Signaling to everyone that nothing wrong was happening and there were no enemies, those who recognized Serafall easily accepted what happened.

"And then you and Sona-oujou-sama will both have his children." Grayfia muttered.

"Eh? Me too?" Serafall asked with a surprised expression.

Looking at her friend like she was an idiot, Grayfia wondered what was she thinking when she considered only Sona having Nora's children.

"...of course. Your parent would certainly expect to see a grandchild from you and your sister. There is also the issue that you are a Maou who married Nora-kun, a person who is already being eyed by many young and old noblewomen. For many... uncouth devils who have expectations in the offsprings of Nora-kun, you will find it hard to have a happy life." Grayfia said. "They will judge you and Nora-kun silently since they would be afraid of... Nora-kun's retaliation."

"Isn't it strange that they would be more afraid of him?" Serafall tilted her head.

"...remember when Sirzechs accidentally destroyed the maid outfit that Nora-kun was working in that time?" Grayfia exclaimed.

"...never mind." Serafall dropped the subject.

"Putting aside how Nora-kun almost made Sirzechs bald... Serafall, I think you should consider the topic seriously." Grayfia explained. "It is not something absolute, but you will most likely end up having a child as well if you marry Nora-kun."

Sighing at her friend's clueless expression, Grayfia spoke.

"I will have to explain this more in detail next time." Grayfia muttered. "Serafall. Regardless of our friendship that spans over decades, I will give you a piece of advice. If you want to marry Nora-kun for some half-hearted desire to be the same as your sister whom you have not confirmed who she wants to be with... I will get angry."

"You don't need to be like that... it is not like I dislike him." Serafall pouted.

"Like and love are not the same." Grayfia said. "Do you know how many devils come to him because they like 'him'? Those women are after his connections, his money. I have one wish and it is that he marries someone that loves him."

Looking at her friend, Grayfia sighed.

"Sorry, I just tend to overreact when he is involved." Grayfia shook her head. "I think he has gone through a lot already so I want him to have a lover whom he can spend meaningful time with."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Serafall reacted to Grayfia's words.

"Like going on dates?" Serafall suddenly asked.

"If that is what both enjoy." Grayfia responded.

"You mean like going to the park and spending time there." Serafall exclaimed.

"...yes, they could go there to hang out or to do any outdoor activity, like the lake we went to the other time where they rented boats for couples." Grayfia uttered.

"How about going to see a movie?" Serafall inquired.

"If it's a movie, I guess it depends on the mood. We were in the mood for some comedy so we watched a couple of movies together and had a great time." Grayfia muttered.

Nodding at that, Serafall had a subtle smile already.

"Oh, he told me that you two went to see another magical girl movie together." Grayfia suddenly spoke.

"I had a great time, I was taking him to see the classics so he could make magical girl cosplay for So-tan." Serafall smiled.

"Indeed, he learned in order to teach the kids at home who have begun to make their own customized clothing and because of our hobbies in cosplay." Grayfia said.

"Thanks to that, we had to make a new room in your house so he could work on the cosplays." Serafall muttered.

"I feel a little guilty when he stays overnight working so I put him in bed against his will to work." Grayfia grumbled. "I can finally sleep when that happens."

With a subtle smile, Serafall gave Grayfia a strange look.

"...you know. Your house used to have several beds." Serafall chuckled. "How come you know only have one?"

Looking away, Grayfia avoided Serafall whose stare was difficult to bear.

"There is only one bed, and you surely joined him in bed." Serafall smiled. "It was acceptable when he was way younger, but he is way older now..."

"...he is only 14." Grayfia coughed.

"Grayfia." Serafall called out.

"Look at the time. I should go and aid Sirzechs already since Nora-kun is ok." Grayfia turned around.

As she tried to flee, Grayfia found a hand holding her shoulder.

"The one who has to be angry is ME! What have you been doing to him!?" Serafall raised her voice.

"Wait, stop! I really have to aid Sirzechs!" Grayfia tried to escape.

"Who cares about that idiotic siscon guy!" Serafall yelled.

"You are a siscon too! And both are fellow Maou, shouldn't you treat him better!?" Grayfia retorted.

"I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM THE WOMAN WHO DOES NOT HESITATE TO IGNORE HIS ORDERS AND GIVE PRIORITY TO WHAT NORA-KUN ASKS YOU!!!" Serafall grumbled.

Sound of destruction where heard for a while until Nora came to deal with the issue.

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

3rd Person POV

"Haha, to think it would still escape." Sirzechs saw the vanishing magic circle.

"The fact that even with all of us here, he was able to escape..." Okita muttered.

"My left arm is a mess..." Sirzechs turned to see his arm that filled riddled with bullet holes. "Even in THAT form, it was still able to escape."

While Okita sent a message to his colleagues who tried to chase after the man they were after, Sirzechs looked down at the arm they had managed to cut from the man. It was highly contaminated as it exuded foul energy. The man who was able to take on most of his peerage and had been pursued for a long time was dangerous. It seemed extremely familiar with the way they all fought and was able to effectively neutralize most of their attacks before they landed on him.

"He had many opportunities to clearly put one of those strange bullets in my head, but he always decided not to." Sirzechs mumbled. "He did not attack anyone who did not attack him... however, he appeared in the middle of the Gremory Castle."

Sighing, Sirzechs could do nothing but ponder why was that man able to do such a thing. His method of appearing did not look like any normal teleportation circle.

"I do not want to fight you." Sirzechs muttered the words he heard when they first met. "As the Maou, I am fairly familiar with people who do not dare to face me, but that only means that it is normal for others to cower in fear. However, it also means that not many are familiar with my fighting style since most of them died in the war."

Scratching his head with his healthy hand, Sirzechs could make guesses.

"The time we pressured him the most was when Grayfia joined the team." Sirzechs mumbled. "What to do...?"

"My lord, we are making arrangements to track this person's whereabouts, but he most likely left the Underworld." Okita muttered.

"Yes, it is as you think. He left already, I tried my best to prevent him from escaping by strengthening the barrier, however, he opened a hole and escaped." Sirzechs said. "Locate him, but do not engage on your own."

About to receive a phoenix tears vial from Okita, Sirzechs shook his head.

"It is useless. There is a curse that prevents them from working." Sirzechs smiled wryly. "I already tried using them a couple of times."

"Is there anything we could do to fix it..?" Okita furrowed his eyebrows.

Suddenly recalling something, Sirzechs pulled a vial from his magic storage. It was one of the remaining vials made by Nora with a suspicious label that said concerning remarks about not blaming the manufacturer given that they were free samples and in the experimental stage.

He had used them before and they worked perfectly fine so Sirzechs believed it was Nora's way to mess up with the users.

Drinking the vial without a second thought, the content went down his throat and he could feel the energy course through his body. Vitality incomparable to any vitality-enhancing medicine and-

"As expected, this one worked." Sirzechs looked at how his arm healed before his eyes.

About to ask Okita to run a few errands, Sirzechs noticed something strange. Okita seemed to be growing bigger and bigger.

"What?" Sirzechs widened his eyes when he listened to his voice, one he had not heard in many years.

"My lord....?" Okita's trembling tone was odd.

Picking up the vial he had dropped when he noticed the changes, Sirzechs read what it said in the side effects column.

"Excessive grow of hair, turning into a shota..." Sirzechs facepalmed.

"My lord, could it be..." Okita looked at his boss in an unfriendly manner. "I won't hand over my daughter to you! So what the child said to me was true, someday, a man would use medicine to turn younger to target my daughters!"

"I don't think that is the issue here though...!?" Sirzechs retorted.

The bickering lasted for a couple of hours before Sirzechs was able to make the other party understand that he had no hidden agenda.

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

3rd Person POV

"I ask you once again, would you put your life on the line?" Nora asked.

The only people beside him at this point were the Saintess who had still not overcome her shame and kept blushing and Akiko who was glaring daggers at the Saintess. Nora was facing Morgan and Melusine who was working as her escort along with Baobhan Sith.

"It is my land, it is only befitting I do something of that level." Morgan replied.

Smiling, Nora walked toward Morgan who looked slightly stiff, and raised his hand-

"Good, let's do this then. I knew you were like me, but I wanted to make sure." Nora grinned and patted her shoulder. "However, I am still your temporary knight so I believe there is one way to ask that is more befitting of a queen such as yourself."

Understanding that this was all just a test, and how he wanted to proceed, Morgan raised her head proudly and declared as she put a hand on Nora's chest to his surprise.

"My knight, this land has become tainted with a wicked curse. It is time to prove your loyalty and skills, get rid of the curse, and turn this land to the previous state." Morgan ordered.

Chuckling, Nora pulled out the necklace she had and winked. The bulge around his chest began acting up and from his hakama, a round and white ball emerged.

"Your orders are my command, my queen." Nora grinned and noticed that which had fallen.

Slightly stunned by his actions and words, Morgan coughed when Baobhan Sith glared at her, but soon enough, her eyes went down to the white fur ball. Rolling on the ground, the fur ball came to a stop and jumped while raising a hand.

"Is that...?" Baobhan Sith raised a trembling finger and pointed at the fur ball.

Shrugging his shoulder now that the cat, or rather, Cernunnos was out of the bag. Nora waved at it and it waved back before rolling towards him.

"Cernunnos was never guilty, just a victim so I did not think it deserved to die." Nora said.

Picking it up, the fur ball happily raised its arms in joy as Nora held it.

"Priestess, are you willing to take care of it?" Nora muttered.

Looking at Morgan for permission, she saw the other party nod.

"Yes!" Baobhan Sith held Cernunnos with tears running down her eyes.

Watching the spectacle, Nora noticed someone else acting differently.

Melusine extended her hand like she wanted to say something but she bit her lips and lowered it, however, Nora noticed it and walked towards her.

"What's up?" Nora asked.

"Ah, hmm, no, please continue..." Melusine lowered her head in shame.

"My queen, would you allow me to delay your command for a few seconds?" Nora asked.

Feeling somewhat bothered, Morgan nonetheless agreed.

"Is it bothering you?" Nora tried to reach for the places covered in darkness, but Melusine stepped back.

"I am... filthy." Melusine made a sad face. "I can no longer show my-"

Before she could degrade herself verbally anymore, Nora grabbed her chin and seriously spoke.

"I won't allow anyone, not even you, to call yourself like that." Nora said. "I understand the problem. I just want you to answer a question for me. Will you entrust yourself to me?"

Blushing, Melusine nodded. Nora ignored the glares that were born out of a misunderstanding and released the grip on Melusine's chin. He gently put it on her cheek.

"Bear it." Nora said. "<Drain>"

Feeling a chill run down her spine, Melusine felt her instincts flaring up and telling her to escape. The threat of death could be felt from Nora's hand but she ignored them and remained in place. Looking at how Nora smiled at her, she felt like she made the right choice even as something left her body.

"You are the most noble and beautiful knight, that is how you were known, and how you will be known. Nothing is going to change that." Nora put his hand away.

Not only Melusine could notice the changes, but those observing (glaring at) them from one side were shocked to see how the dragon girl's wing turned into a radiant white again. Like the feathers of an angel, Melusine was no longer cursed.

"Put on a smile. You look cuter that way." Nora winked and was about to leave when Melusine jumped at him.

Before he could say anything, he noticed her silently sobbing so he let her hand on his neck for a while.

...

...

...

"Sorry, I was a little emotional." Melusine apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Nora said.

"...although, even if I am back to how I used to be, I am not attractive to you." Melusine recalled that most of Nora's companions had greater figures than her. "I guess that is why you don't want to marry me."

"Huh? I never said you are not attractive to me. You are a cutie." Nora muttered.

"Cute... but not enough to marry you. They are all much bigger than me so I must look childish compared to them." Melusine mumbled in a sad tone.

"Hmmm, I think you are misunderstanding something here." Nora spoke. "It is not like I do not consider you attractive. I just think you have just rushed when you said you considered me a fiance. You don't even know me well enough. Heck, you don't even know my name. The most a guy or a girl can accomplish with a partner like that is a nightstand. That is usually the case when you rush stuff like that."

"Would you even consider a nightstand with me? I don't think I am attractive to you that way. Mating with me would be out of obligation." Melusine retorted.

"I know I am going to cause a mess but..." Nora sighed. "It is not like I am not attracted sexually to you. You just have a petite figure, but you are a woman. You are old enough to bear a child, however, you just happen to have a petite build. I like busty women, but that does not mean I don't feel attracted to petite ones."

Once he said this, Nora knew he had screwed. It was easy to guess when he saw the shocked faces of the surrounding gallery that had grown before he could even notice.

"Does that mean I have a chance!?" Melusine asked.

"I am sure you can find another guy instead of a bastard like me, but to answer your question... you are legally old enough, so I don't see an issue with you dating or having a child." Nora said.

Looking at the carnivorous glares he was receiving from the surrounding petite young women, Nora coughed. A certain fox whom he was currently fused with was chiding him, but he felt like he could not leave Melusine like that.

"Yup, a smile fits you more." Nora grinned when he saw Melusine's wide smile.

...

...

...

"So, why are you guys following me?" Nora asked.

"Milord's safety is always my priority." Akiko muttered.

"I know that you will do something crazy, so I will be tagging along, any problem with that?" Artoria looked to be in a bad mood as she continuously glared at Morgan.

"I have to see things through, it is my responsibility as your queen." Morgan spoke.

"I am her escort." Melusine said.

"...I can't handle the looks anymore." Jeanne sighed.

Briefly apologizing to the last one for pushing it too far, Nora did not feel that much of a regret when he saw her maid dress.

"It should be good enough to be here." Nora looked around and nodded. "I am still not good enough using this spell so I can only use it one time."

No one else said a word, and Nora grabbed the magatama.

"I will need your help." Nora said and the magatama glowed in response. "Not yours."

The purple cat made of flames that had followed from a distance was about to take a step forward but stopped when Nora spoke.

"Sorry, but this child is more than enough." Nora smiled wryly when he saw the cat sadly lay down.

The cat stayed obediently in place but it still seemed displeased.

Nodding at everyone, they understood what he asked and they gave him space. He stood in place and held the magatama with both hands like he was praying.

"These lands have been polluted by the wicked so grant me your strength." Nora spoke and closed his eyes.

Little by little, the glow of the magatama grew. An absurd amount of ki began to pour out of Nora and it rises like a pillar. It was so tall that none present could see the end of it.

"O' Earth. Please accept my offering" Nora spoke and the land around him began to change. "<The power of life, the power to change>"

Each word caused the surrounding area to vibrate and more ki was concentrated around Nora as it began to pour on the magatama. A gust of wind began to blow with Nora in the center and those around were amazed by the spectacle. Morgan in particular had her heart beating loudly with expectations but it dropped when she took at Nora.

"You!" Morgan spoke.

Slowly, Nora's hair began to turn white. At the same time, the gentle sound of a wind chime could be heard close by yet no one could find the origin.

"<Unleash the power to heal the land>" Nora chanted. "<For as far as I seek, cover these lands in green hues. Turn these lands into a verdant sea, let nature take root once again and chase away the wicked>"

Slowly opening his eyes, Nora opened his hands and the magatama floated while radiating a gentle glow.

"<Nature Reclamation>" Nora said.

Once his words were said, the enormous amount of ki surrounding him poured into the land along with the one stored in the Magatama. Not only the land was being purified but the trees, grass, and flowers grew back again. Morgan could tell how the land not only went back to how it was before but it was filled with more vitality.

The grunt of Nora brought her back to reality and before she could extend a hand when she saw him fall back, Morgan saw how Akiko and Artoria had already stood at each of his sides to prevent him from falling. The boisterous youth who had created a storm since he arrived had done a great service and now looked so tired that he could barely stand. Morgan was aware of what price he had to pay to end up like that. It also made her realize what his question from before meant.

"Hey there." Nora greeted the duo holding him.

"Enough with the chatter, grab onto me." Artoria grumbled.

"Milord, do you need me to bring you anything?" Akiko asked in concern.

"Hehe, thanks. I can walk just fine." Nora tried to stand on his own but the duo did not let him go.

"You cannot fall." Artoria said.

"Milord, allow me to be of use to you." Akiko pleaded.

Smiling wryly, Nora still tried to stand on his own.

"Sometimes you need to stop being stubborn." Jeanne stood behind him and gently pushed him. "What do you say?"

Sighing, Nora allowed himself to be helped.

"Alright." Nora mumbled and then smiled mischievously. "Onee-chan~"

Akiko and Artoria froze. The duo slowly like rust machines turned their heads toward Jeanne who looked embarrassed.

"I knew it." Artoria said.

"What did you do to Milord!?" Akiko inquired in a jealous tone.

"I got this strange feeling when I first saw you, but to think you were this much of a monster." Artoria looked at Jeanne. "To get this guy to call you like that only at the cost of dressing as a maid..."

"You two are exaggerating." Jeanne replied.

"Exaggerate!?" Artoria and Akiko exclaimed at the same time.

"He is the man who, when he was on trial for a supposed crime he committed in the Underworld, managed to leave the court as a free man with the pretty female judge and the lawyer that was trying to put him in jail, all to go on date with both!" Artoria muttered.

"Milord is the man who bested Amagi-sama, Amagi-sama along with a few other nine-railed foxes with the greatest minds in a game of logic and words. Their punishment was to make them wear a small-sized bunny suit, and he pulled it up." Akiko explained.

Shaking her head, Artoria glanced at Jeanne with some shock.

"Listen, I won't ask, but to only wear a maid outfit for the right that many women had fought and failed to get, you need to be a big shot." Artoria said.

With the corner of her lips twitching, Jeanne was not sure what to say.

In that manner, the group headed back. Morgan heard the news of her land being purified and becoming even more fertile than before.

Part 3

3rd Person POV

Inside the throne room, Morgan stood in front of her throne. At each side, her knights stood in order. Tamamo, Artoria, and Nora were in front of Morgan in a kneeled position.

Watching from the sidelines, many of Nora's people stood proudly while watching Nora. Some even pulled cameras as they recorded the moment.

It was an improvised version of an awarding ceremony. Given Nora's state, there was a ruckus once he appeared in front of his people, but he calmed them down and told Morgan who wanted to arrange a grand ceremony to start with everyone else while he took care of an issue. The most difficult group he dealt with was the Valkyries who almost went berserk seeing his state yet he dealt with it with words. 

Morgan knew there were things she was not meant to see so she accepted. It was a little suspicious when the voluptuous shinobis appeared and led him away. He had a darker look and reeked of blood once he came back, but she did not ask. Morgan decided it was not the time to ask and he would not answer. The youth arrived just in time to be part of the last batch.

"For all the service you have provided, you deserve a proper reward." Morgan spoke in a loud tone. "Currently, a monetary reward is being prepared and it will be handed over to you in a separate room."

Morgan walked toward the trio and spoke.

"The three of you, along with a few others have earned the right to receive something that not many got the chance to." Morgan stood before Tamamo. "A Fae blessing, it is something as valuable as a god's favor for many."

Leaning forward, Morgan lightly kissed the forehead of the fox woman. The duo made uncomfortable expressions briefly, but they acted like nothing happened. Once that was done, Artoria was next. This time, Morgan and Artoria scoffed, however, the ceremony was carried.

Once she stood up, Morgan pulled a spray and used it on her mouth before she wiped it with a handkerchief. On the other side, Artoria pulled sandpaper but Nora smacked her head and Tamamo smacked away the sandpaper. Artoria grumbled, but she still remained in place.

Morgan glared at the exaggerated reaction before pulling her blue lipstick and applying it to her lips. Her actions made more than one raise an eyebrow, but Morgan and Artoria's exchange was already strange to begin with so no one said anything.

"My knight, you have done a great service, your merits go beyond those of anyone so your reward must be just as extraordinary." Morgan smiled.

As she leaned forward, she bent a tad more and whispered in Nora's ears.

"This could be considered a great prize, but also a punishment." Morgan whispered. "Thank you for everything."

The first part made Nora sweat coldly but he relaxed on the second half. He tried to reply but his lips were stolen. Morgan had pulled his collar and their lips were joined just like that. Everyone except Morgan widened their eyes and they almost bulged out. However, Morgan did not care. Not only her lips, but her tongue went on the offensive. Aggressively, Morgan explored Nora's mouth and entangled with his tongue. Even as surprised as he was, he responded in kind. He did not remain passive for long, he began to push her tongue and they both seemed to compete as they kissed. It was a competition to see who would be getting the upper hand at the end.

"Excuse me!? Could you please not kiss someone else's husband all of a sudden?" Tamamo was no longer respectful.

Reacting first, she pulled off the queen who had an enchanted expression. Their lips separated and a bridge made of saliva extended before Morgan was far enough to fall down. The queen licked her lips with a satisfied expression.

"Tasty." Morgan muttered.

Her words set everyone on fire.

"Mother!?" Baobhan Sith called out.

"Your Highness!?" Melusine looked visibly shocked.

Many muttered words of surprise, curses or plainly tried to take advantage of the situation to attack the cat, but were unable to since there was someone to restrict them.

"Could you please not do that when you have the same face as me!?" Artoria yelled.

"Kuh, I let my guard down. Who would've thought the Queenie would use the chance when he was weak to try to eat him!? The handkerchief, where is it!?" Tamamo pulled out a handkerchief and began wiping the lipstick on Nora's lips.

"I am not sure what you are trying to imply. He is MY knight, and he performed better than everyone else. It is important to make a distinction at times like these." Morgan smiled. "I am a benevolent ruler so I gave him, the best blessing I could give."

"That's a lie! You do not need to kiss him on the lips to grant him the best blessing." Tamamo retorted. "You tried to snack on my cat!"

Growling Tamamo glared at Morgan who kept a composed smile. The young woman licked her lips once more, before turning around like nothing had happened and walked up to her throne before sitting. Looking down haughtily at Tamamo, Morgan crossed her legs very slowly when she noticed Nora glancing at her in shock.

"What of it?" Morgan raised her chin. "I am Morgan Le Fay, the descendant of the evil witch. It should be obvious that I do things differently than others."

"Kuh, I am going to get you for this." Tamamo threw some small fry lines.

"Haha, well, I will be waiting." Morgan defiantly said.

There was a cough and Nora was finally rebooted.

"First of all, thank you very much. I think you were tasty too, although your tongue play could use some improvement." Nora muttered.

Smiling, Morgan almost got down and smacked the cat for his remarks, although she held back when she saw him smirk slightly. He seemed to be getting back at her.

"It is an honor to receive your best blessing." Nora said. "What is this blessing for though? Do I get to shoot lasers from my eyes? I always wanted to do that."

"...no." Morgan sighed. "Your steps will be unhindered on water, you shall be able to walk on any body of water without sinking. That is what you desired the most so that was my blessing for all of you."

Freezing, Nora opened his mouth in surprise. The youth began shaking.

"Holy shit. I can turn water into wine." Nora muttered. "Now I can walk on top of water, I am just like C-"

"Nope, don't say it!" Artoria tried to cover the youth's mouth.

"But it is obvious who I resemble with these new skills." Nora had starry eyes. "Holy cow, I am Crist Angel. The magician."

Opening her mouth to retort but hearing something completely different from what she expected made Artoria look defeated.

"Puh, puh! You thought he was going to say something different." Tamamo laughed at the young woman's face.

Her laugh was shared with a certain pink-haired fox in the gallery but Tamaño was too busy laughing at Artoria to notice her bitter enemy.

"Morgan, can I ask you to grant me an audience with you at a later time regarding what I mentioned before." Nora ignored Artoria who attacked Tamamo by pulling her cheeks.

"Is there any need to make matters more complicated? The woman you want me to speak is in the peanut gallery already so you might as well introduce me to her." Morgan said.

Smiling wryly, Nora called out the figure who stood out. Wearing a magical girl outfit, Serafall carried herself with grace compared to her easygoing self.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Serafall Leviathan, a devil and one of the four Maous in the Underworld." Serafall bowed.

Looking slightly bored compared to when she spoke to Nora, Morgan only nodded to respond.

Having already a speech to give, Serafall was about to open her mouth before a ruckus broke out.

"Hey! Who are you? Why are you covered in blood!?"

"Who let you in!?"

"You cannot proceed any further than this."

Having difficulties walking, a figure covered in blood had entered the throne room. The guards lying unconscious behind her were the answer to how she had made her way to the meeting.

"Ara? I just heard that there was some interesting event going on and came to take a look."

The nonchalant voice caught the attention of everyone in the room and their reactions varied greatly. However, the Fae knights nearby pulled out their weapons.

"Ara, even though you all look cute, you are pointing at me with a weapon. I am sad..."

Even when she was surrounded, the figure did not seem scared in the slightest.

"Who dares to barge in the room?" Morgan stood up.

"A pleasure to meet you, I am Lina." Lina said.

Amidst the ruckus, a figure silently made his way through the people.

"Restrain her and lock her in a cell for the time being, I don't have the mood to deal with her today." Morgan ordered.

The knights were about to restrain Lina when a figure stood between the two, not to help the knights, but with his back facing Lina. Nora had his hands spread as he shielded Lina.

Smiling wryly, Lina watched how Nora took her side at once.

"Could you please leave her alone?" Nora asked.

"Ara? It flatters me that you are taking my side, but I am evil, you know?" Lina smiled mischievously. "Look at that, the maid over there is glaring daggers at me."

Walking slowly, Lina leaned her body on Nora. Her head rested on his right shoulder and her left hand embraced him as it rested on his chest while her right hand pointed at Grayfia amidst the peanut gallery.

"Nora-kun, get away from her. She is with them!" Grayfia warned.

Moving at high speed, Grayfia had made a dagger of ice and planned to bring it down at Lina who just had a confident and almost mocking smile.

"Grayfia, please." Nora pleaded.

The youth only said that much, but Grayfia stopped like it was an order. Her position ended up with her dagger stopped right before the place where Lina's face had been, and it was now Nora's face in that place. Nonetheless, it was not only out of her own free will that she stopped, but Lina had used her right hand to stop Grayfia's.

"Nora-kun, she is a criminal who has committed countless crimes." Grayfia said.

"And so I have, I have committed many crimes too." Nora responded. "Please, she is my life savior."

Pulling back, Grayfia's dagger broke down. However, the maid still glared at Lina who stuck out her tongue at her.

Once this was over, Lina's body completely rested on Nora's. She seemed exhausted so Nora gently laid her down.

"It seems that things are progressing in a direction no one can follow." Morgan muttered. "Lower your weapons. We are not ungrateful enough to threaten the life savior of our benefactor. Baobhan Sith, find a suitable room and guide the womanizer- I mean, our benefactor there."

Nodding without saying something else, Baobhan Sith noticed that Morgan had a foul mood so she departed immediately.

...

...

...

"This is nothing." Lina smiled wryly.

"You have several broken bones and one of your kidneys is not working anymore, how can it be nothing." Nora worked hard to heal Lina but he seemed to have trouble.

"There is a trick to it so do not worry if you cannot do it." Lina said.

In the room he was guided to, Nora, Artoria, Grayfia, and Akiko were around Lina. Baobhan Sith stood in one corner in silence. The whimsical fox had gone it rest on Nora's magatama as it hung on his neck.

"A trick?" Nora grumbled. "F*ck."

It had been a while since Nora had been trying to fix Lina but he had been unable to no matter how hard he tried.

"I came here to tell you one thing. You don't have any time to waste with the likes of me." Lina grabbed the youth's hands.

"Don't speak about yourself like that." Nora glared at the young-looking woman.

"Fufu, when I tell you what I came to say, you will not have any time to worry about me." Lina smiled.

"I will not abandon you. I owe you too much for that. I am not the type to forget a favor." Nora said.

"Listen. Your mother has already been rescued. She is in Urakyoto." Lina spoke.

Biting his lips hard enough and forcing his body to stay in place, Nora almost dashed away without caring for Lina any longer.

His reaction not only surprised Lina who was wide-eyed but Grayfia, Artoria, and Akiko as well. They could hardly believe what they heard but they also wondered why he had decided to stay.

"Are you doubting me?" Lina smiled wryly. "I speak nothing but the truth. I was working with your sweetheart, Musashi to accomplish that goal. She killed the last enemy standing in our way to take Saya away. Thanks to a joint operation between THAT organization and ours, we could accomplish the goal of taking your mother back to Urakyoto."

"Why is it you who came to tell us that? Surely Musashi would've been a better choice." Grayfia asked in a doubtful tone.

"She fainted a while ago. While I was covering her escape, she managed to take your mother to Urakyoto, but she fainted as soon as she put a foot in there. I only came here to deliver the news." Lina explained.

"It is hard to believe, what do you gain from that?" Grayfia glared at the other party with clear distrust.

"Heh, I could ask you the same thing to you. Why is the strongest queen here following the orders of Nora? You are stronger than him and have access to more money than him if you want to. What is it in there for you?" Lina retorted. "What are you expecting of him?"

"You bi-" Grayfia was about to attack Lina.

"Both of you! Shut up!" Nora growled.

Looking extremely pissed, Nora glared at Grayfia and Lina. The two immediately shut their mouths and straightened their backs.

"I don't give a damn if you want to hurl insults at one another when I am not present." Nora said. "Grayfia. I want you to take me to Urakyoto right now. Can you do it?"

"I can warp there at any time." Grayfia replied at once.

"I am taking Lina with me." Nora narrowed his eyes. "I believe there will not be any issues, right?"

Her face twisted like she ate a bitter bug but Grayfia still nodded.

"I am dragging you with me." Nora glared at Lina.

"Heh, a prisoner of war. This is the second time I-" Lina was about to give a sarcastic reply.

"You are my patient. Not a prisoner. I won't allow ANYONE to lay a hand on you, but you will obediently allow yourself to receive treatment." Nora narrowed his eyes. "I won't be having you escape at any time. If you do, I promise I will drag you back even if you go to hell to hide. Understood?"

Nodding meekly, Lina did not dare to give any smart-ass answer.

Pulling a needle and other medical supplies, Nora glared at Akiko and Artoria.

"You will help me transport the patient after I treat her. I assume you have no issues either." Nora asked.

"Tell me what to do." Artoria replied looking clearly uncomfortable.

"Your wish is my command, Milord." Akiko responded.

Using a bandage among other medical supplies, Nora patched up Lina's injuries starting from the grave ones.

He continued to bite his lips during the whole process and when he finished, Lina looked much better compared to when she arrived.

"I can usually do a better job at a most faster rate if I use ki, but I can still treat you using other means." Nora said.

"Hey." Lina called out.

"Why did you not run home already? I believe, by now you should've been contacted using magic by Yasaka. You know she is there. I could afford to wait, I was mostly exhausted. I will not succumb to my wounds." Lina asked.

While she did not like the young woman, Grayfia was also curious so she listened quietly. Artoria snorted at those listening quietly and sighed when she saw how Nora kept struggling to stay in place.

"Do not abandon your friends. Always pay back any favor two-fold. Wash your teeth before going to sleep. Never abandon a patient. Be kind to girls." Nora spoke as he stored the remaining medical supplies. "Those were things that Kaa-san always said to me. She told me to never forget them so I could grow into an outstanding adult. I have never forgotten any of that. I always follow those rules. Even after she left. I have kept those words in my heart. Because when she finally comes back, I can proudly stand in front of her and say I am not a complete degenerate. I can proudly say I am the son of Saya Shiki."

"I see." Lina smiled.

"Grayfia. Use this. It should open the gates to that place. From there, please take me where Kaa-san is after you locate them." Nora gestured for Artoria and Akiko.

The duo went to him as he pulled a stretcher and they gently moved Lina.

Taking a small token from Nora's hands, Grayfia activated it and a Torii gate emerged. The group easily passed through and just when everyone had left, before the gate closed, Baobhan Sith followed after the group.

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

3rd Person POV

There were many questions for Nora's group once arrived at Urakyoto and many who managed to recognize Lina almost attacked her on sight, however, Nora easily commanded everyone who dared to raise their weapons without even once having to repeat his commands. The group hastily left Nora's house and he immediately accommodated Lina in one room. It seemed like everyone had left except the maids Sirius and Alkaid. There was another tenant and that was an unconscious Musashi. Nora checked her status and easily recognized Nightingale's handicraft. He used the remaining ki he had gathered to Musashi and gently caressed her hair.

Sirius stayed to guard Musashi while Alkaid stayed with Lina. Just after Nora left, Musashi opened her eyes.

"I have to warn him..." Musashi grimaced.

Standing up with some difficulty, she caused Sirius to hear her and enter the room.

"You have to tell Nora, he needs to hear it before he meets his mother. She-" Musashi bit her lips.

...

...

... 

Grayfia and the rest had already been waiting for Nora and they all teleported to Saya's house. Nora looked clearly anxious as he had confirmed that Saya was in the room.

Standing outside the room, he could hear Saya's laughter as she chatted with Yasaka, and Nora's heart pounded loudly. Several people were waiting outside the room, clearly waiting for him to enter first before they could see Saya.

Nora sweated and had to wipe his hands to get rid of the sweat. Taking a deep breath, Nora put on his best smile and opened the door.

"Nora-kun." Yasaka called out and planned to say a lot more but Nora simply entered the room and sat beside Saya who was lying down.

"The doctor arrived." Nora jested.

Doing a cursory check-up, Nora sighed in relief when he noticed that Saya was the very picture of health.

He noticed Saya looking curiously at him, and before he could say anything. She opened her mouth. The words that left her mouth caused great impact and they were said as Kuroka, Shirone and everyone else entered the room.

"Yacchan, when did I get a doctor?" Saya looked puzzled. "Excuse me, but who are you?"

Having trained for a long time with the old man he met in jail, Nora became able to differentiate people telling obvious lies. Thanks to that, he could tell. She was not acting. The sad expression Yasaka had also confirmed the thought that had appeared on his mind.

Everyone felt like they could hear the sound of something shattering.

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Author's Notes

I want to make sure of one thing, it might seen like Grayfia and Serafall relationship progress with Nora was pulled of you know where, but I have to clarify, I will post extra stories about it and focus a bit on the devil side. Right now I will not since the flow of the story would be strange, but please do no BASH me for what I am writing.

Here is the chapter again after delays. Health got way worse suddenly. After having a new guy and having him suddenly decide to not show up again, makes job harder. Such a pain. Doctors just ask me to have exams for this and that, yet nothing shows up. Same old medicine.

Anyways, I try to deliver longer chapters because of my delay.

A lot of things happened in the chapter. Morgan smooched Nora to get back at him. You guys can figure out what usually happens to a guy who has many of his love interest watching when gets kissed by a new girl. Although this is Nora we are talking about, he will just shrug it off. Morgan also had another motivation to do this. First, she is quite possessive. There is no way she is letting her temporary knight escape her grasp. Having tasted the cat, she is kind of into his taste. So she got hooked. Can't say there are no maiden feelings involved, but it surely cannot be called love.

The last part is the begining of the climax for the next part. Quite a long way until now. Please keep reading since the next arc is one I had envisioned since I started writing the first chapters.

Hope you like the chapters and feel free to leave any questions you have.

Oh, there was a part where he was reeking of blood. He did not kill his allies, but if you recall the previous chapters, you should know where the blood came from.

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