Chapter 91: Struggle

Part 1

MC's POV

"We meet again." He (?) had a wry smile on his (?) face.

As usual, his expression looked similar to mine given that he was taking my appearance.

I felt a wave of nostalgia when I saw this guy after such a long time.

"Indeed, I did not expect to ever see you again." I smiled bitterly.

Given the condition that would make me suffer from constant nightmares whenever I tried to sleep, I have been avoiding closing my eyes for too long to catch some sleep.

It is possible for Yume-chan to help me, but I understand better than anyone how burdensome it is to carry this curse.

I heard from Lina that it was normal for people who received the baptism to suffer from it, but I seem to be suffering more since these powers fit me more and want to greedily corrupt my mind. At her apologetic face when she explained that to me, I jokingly said that she could wear a maid outfit as an apology. I was slightly surprised when she literally pulled a maid outfit from her pocket dimension and changed. She did it in front of me without using magic so I was able to see a lot. I wanted to leave the room since it was not a good idea to spy on a woman while she changed, but given that she smiled mischievously and asked me if the stimulation was too much, I pulled a chair and sat right in front of her. Seeing her eyes turn into dots from surprise was worth the effort. Although I underestimated her shamelessness, that temptress slowly took off the rest of her clothes, underwear and all, she proceeded to throw at the shocked me and then put on a maid dress that was surely one or two sizes too small for her given how the modified skirt failed to completely hide her plump and healthy thighs with a garter belt that tickled my desires or how her cleavage gave the illusion that her breast would pop out at any minute and escape the containment of her sexy bra.

I was quite surprised when she teasingly pushed her breast toward me using her hands as she leaned forward... I extended my hands and began playing with them to my heart's content. I stopped when I heard a moan, although, from her words, I seemed to have taken a while to hear them. I could only thank her for the threat and then proceeded to apologize.

Lina seemed ok with that so it ended as such without much issue, except, the temptress left after blowing me a kiss and cheekily gifting me her clothes so I would 'use' them and would think of her. I have never worn women's clothes and don't plan on doing it so there was only one way she expected me to use them while I remembered her. Of course, I kept them, they are still safe and sound in my storage along with several changes of clothes that would make people in the Underworld go crazy with jealousy. It is quite strange, given the ecchi elements of the world we live in, I have prepared myself with changes of clothes for my girls at home, in case they needed them, I could provide more than enough change of clothes, at this point, I could open a mall just from the number and variety of the clothes I carry with me. The girls have different styles so I had to stockpile quite a bit.

The problem though, my concern and the reason why people would be envious was... I carried a change of clothes from people other than my girls at home. For the record, when I say girls at home, I mean girls who are close enough with me. However, that is still related to younger ones. The problem itself is that I have a change of clothes for Grayfia-san and Serafall-san. If that is not strange enough, most of those clothes are... underwear. Once again, that is a reason for concern given that a 14-year-old has a lot of underwear for mature women with sexy bodies. Nonetheless, it is really troubling that I also carry a change of clothes from Venelana-san and not a brand new one, but a used one I ended up with. Things do turn strange when you have your friend's mother's lingerie. After I had them in my hands, I could honestly admit that Venelana-san was a top-notch milf. She also had the guts to hand over that to a young man who sometimes has a hard time controlling his libido. At this point, I should be called a freaking sage given how much self-control I have been exercising. There are way too many sensual women around me.

"...you seemed to be having fun down there without talking to your ol' pal' huh." He (?) grumbled.

I won't deny I have an active life with women of all types and ages. If start counting every time I have been put in risky situations with a woman the old me wouldn't have hesitated to eat them... I would lose count.

"It is torture since I am doing my ultra best to not cross the line." I sighed. "I guess I need to be old enough so I can eat Yasaka-san once and for all. Waiting for legal age for that sort of thing is such a pain."

"Aren't you a youkai? I have observed the world long enough to know, that even the Kunou from the novel was at an age that she could mate. Youkais can develop faster using different means so she could definitely get the child she wanted." He (?) shrugged his (?) shoulders.

"I am well aware of that. Kuroka-chan bothered me a lot before since she wanted to start making kitties. I can't just nod to that." I mumbled.

"Is it for moral reasons!? LOL." He (?) laughed.

"Nonsense, do I even have any of that left in me? I was a scumbag in my past life and that did not change in this one." I snorted. "...I think having sex for pleasure, making love, and baby-making sex are different things."

Pausing for a moment, I wondered what to say.

"...I don't think it is right for a young one who knows nothing about love, has no understanding what the risks in having baby-making sex or what it means to drown yourself in sex..." I sighed. "Letting them into that world is not nice."

"Oh? I thought it was because you did not like them small." He (?) smirked.

"Although age is usually tied to the physical size, that is not always the case. There are plenty of women with a rather petite build but they are proper women. In the past, I had sex with several women like that." I mumbled. "Kuroka-chan is not really aware of what having a child means. No, I guess I could call it 'responsibility', that idiot of a cat is more innocent than she lets on."

"So you don't plan to hold them anytime soon." He (?) asked.

I felt like his question resonated with several people, even breaking the 4th wall, but I decided not to think deeply about why I felt that way.

"I think that once they hit 16 as well, we can try doing it if that is what they want. However, having a child is another issue. That is something I will not allow as long as they take the topic lightly." I exclaimed.

"...what about the kind of plays where you tell them that you will put a lot of babies inside of them?" He (?) asked with a smirk.

"...I am a man once nicknamed, the one of hundreds of plays, I have several kinks that I will not doubt in introducing to them. That said, I will accommodate theirs as well. A relationship cannot be one-sided... And I would rather avoid making them addicted to sex." I smiled bitterly.

"...oh, poor lil' Nora." He (?) looked at me with pity. "Do you really think they will be able to hold themselves back when they have a taste of you?"

"Can you please stop talking like I am some kind of addictive meal?" I retorted.

"...how odd, no matter how much I try to get a read on you." He (?) looked puzzled. "You honestly believe that you are not capable of making women crazy. Interesting."

Rolling my eyes, I decided to ignore him if he continued this topic.

"Even though you are well aware that your used underwear always gets stolen..." He (?) looked at me with pity.

I ignored him (?) with all my heart.

"...the fact that you had hundreds of pairs stored because you always need a new one should not be something that escaped your perception." He (?) spoke.

Covering my ears, I tried to deny reality. I kind of wanted to have a magical gauntlet that let me change reality. I would need to gather the stones first.

"And it all started with some of the most innocent-looking ones." He (?) shook his (?) head. "Shirone and Alice."

"That's it. Thanos, I will find and beat your ass to get my hands on the infinity gauntlet." I denied reality.

"They are sold through the black market at unbelievable prices." He (?) muttered.

 "...there are also the dolls modeled after me." I sighed. "There are action figures too."

"...do you live a good life or not?" He (?) asked with some pity.

"...I am liked." I mumbled.

"That is not an answer." He (?) retorted.

"Hey, I try to ignore all the things women do with my underwear or dolls." I exclaimed.

I mean, it is not like I can stop them. The fact that there are even... toys is a cause of concern, but I have come to terms with it.

"...you will one day find yourself surrounded by hungry women ready to eat you up." He (?) seriously said.

"Please, don't joke about that." I smiled wryly. "I am but a humble cat. There is no way they are interested in me. I believe Alice is quite good in her marketing campaign and managed to sell things that would not normally sell."

Thinking of the little imp that usually carried a gentle and innocent smile, I smiled bitterly. That child liked to get in trouble behind everyone's back and would only stop when I scolded her. However, I am not sure how effective that is since she would just cling to me with a happy smile after I scold her. Perhaps I am not being a good guardian for her. Causing trouble for others is bad, but it is always harmless stuff so she usually gets away by using her puppy eyes. She does not have parents so I take care of her the best I can, but I wonder if I am that bad in the job.

"Are you serious? If there is a better guy capable of taking care of hundreds of young girls that is capable of making them listen to reason and helping them grow into young women with knowledge that is enough to put adults to shame, there surely would be records of someone that amazing." He (?) retorted. "Sometimes, you just like to deny reality. Surely, you are aware why she is mischievous."

Averting my eyes, I did not say anything back.

"Look, I know that you don't want to take advantage of her and her sacred gear. You promised her to protect her from people like that. However, you should be aware of how capable she is after the last mission. Just like everybody else, it is not taking advantage of her since she wants to lend you a hand. She wants to be your strength." He (?) muttered.

Pointing at me, he (?) spoke in a bitter tone.

"You cannot always become a shield that protects them." He (?) said. "...who will protect you when you get hurt if you try to take all problems?"

"At least they will not suffer." I spoke.

"It is not you who decides that." He (?) shook his head. "The world is not a play where you can go solo in all the problems presented to you."

"That just means I have not done my best. It is proof I have to work even harder." I replied.

"Listen to yourself. Work harder? You? The guy tirelessly tries to improve himself in one way or another? Filling your head with all sorts of knowledge, pushing your body to transcend its limits by training until your muscles break down. Only to heal them and do it again. Whenever one of your people tries to learn a new move or technique, you push your body to learn it and look for ways to improve the technique or make it easier for the other party to learn it. You look for a way so they do not suffer from any side effects by creating the perfect and most balanced routine that combines enough practice and rest. This is why your skills have not gone beyond what they should be. You use your time not only for your sake but for others!" He (?) scolded me.

Honestly surprised, I did not expect to hear that from the being who sent me down there out of boredom.

"Listen you little- argh." He (?) pulled his (?) hair. "...Nora, you should start thinking more about yourself. Be a little selfish. The past you... I am not saying you should become like you were before when you lived only for your sake and enjoyed only each day like it was your last. However, I don't want you to throw it away. Both are you, find the equilibrium. The caring 'you' of the time you were with your parents and your neighbors. The 'you' after they all left the world. It is ok to be both. Be selfish, go and give Yasaka a sloppy kiss. That woman is onto you and you know it. Why are you being such a coward when you used to sleep with different women each day? Start by showing the guts you had before!"

That is insane.

"Oh, please. We both know about the secret collection Yasaka has about you, why do both of you act like grade schoolers with a crush?" He (?) snorted. "And Saya! Go and snuggle at her. Go and goddamn cry your hearts out about how glad you are. You didn't rescue her? Well, who cares? She is back safe. It is all that really matters, you said it yourself. Stop trying to bottle up all the emotions about it. Listen to Artoria! That child is a glutton who would make any other person other than you go bankrupt so don't be considerate because you are afraid of her leaving you. Her stomach is tamed. She is secured." He (?) muttered.

That is kind of rude to her.

"Excuse me, who was the one who gifted an underaged child like her a rather risky maid outfit...?" He (?) leaned forward as he put a hand on his (?) ear

"...I regret nothing." I said.

"...I curse you for that. Hope that every woman you make wear one of those... eats you." He (?) snorted.

Sweating coldly, I hoped he (?) was joking. I made way too many people to put on those.

Sighing, he (?) looked at me like he (?) could believe me.

"...hey, how long do you plan to do this?" I spoke.

"What do you mean?" He (?) played dumb.

"The only reason I am here is because Yume-chan is doing her best to let me sleep. However, I have the responsibility to protect that child from harm. By helping me, she is suffering. Nonetheless, I am unable to wake up." I said. "You have the means to stop me in track."

"Aren't you too smart for a cat?" He (?) smiled bitterly.

"Please, I have my ways of recovering." I muttered.

"...I wanted you to rest some more." He (?) averted his (?) eyes.

It was not difficult for him (?) to erase his (?) expressions and hide what was on his (?) mind. However, he (?) was clearly displayed them for me to see.

"I guess something is happening or will happen soon." I sighed.

"...you could say this will be a turning point." He (?) looks down sadly. "However, remember that I am... Nora Shiki's ally."

"...that is the case now, and will remain as such." I replied.

"However, I could not prevent tragedy." He (?) mumbled. "No, I guess I turned a blind eye given the circumstances."

"...it seems this will be serious." I narrowed my eyes.

Smiling weakly, he (?) nodded.

"I can only say that the stronger will is bound to win." He (?) muttered. "...however, even if your will is stronger, the difference is too great. You are also weakened to the point you cannot even stand on your feet."

I was not sure what this was about, but I could tell it was more than I could chew on. From the way he (?) talked, even though he (?) knew that Yasaka-san and Saya-san were highly powerful Youkais and Grayfia-san was there, along with Kasen-san and Ei-san, it seemed like things were going to turn ugly. Forest Wraith... should be hearing me out if things are that dangerous. There is a dangerous criminal locked in prison with incredible war potential, but I cannot control him. The spirit living in Kasen-san's pocket dimension is out of question as well, her powers equal Yasaka-san but she does not respond to anyone's command. No, I doubt we have the power to respond to a threat that big. Ophis is not staying at Urakyoto, the little punk left to fight Great Red again after learning some useless moves from a video game. Urgh, why did I make that video game?

"...I can't wish you luck, but I can tell you this. You might despair, but if you really want to protect something. Despair cannot stop you. Despair must not stop you. You have enough trump cards lying around." He (?) said. "He... is willing to bear the sacrifice, but can you do the same...?"

Feeling a pain in my head, my vision got blurry. It was not just him (?) who allowed me to leave. This was a system I installed to let me know when the defenses of Urakyoto were compromised. Even if I was out cold, it would wake me up. The level of pain decided the level of threat. It seemed like someone was breaking havoc around my turf.

Now then, what is a cat supposed to do at times like this?

Part 2

3rd Person

Thousands of shikigamis were immediately activated as soon as the alarm went off. An intruder had made its way to Urakyoto, and the location of the culprit was delivered to all the forces by one of the shikigamis. The danger level was not presented given that Nora was not directly controlling them and gauging the enemy. It was a fatal flaw that needed to be addressed, but it was taking a while to make a system that properly gauged such a thing given how many beings could hide their aura so well.

The shinigamis did not have a proper form, they formed a shadow in the sky and the habitants of Urakyoto immediately began to orderly proceed with evacuating the area. They moved to designated spots like they were trained for that. More than one visitor looked bewildered by such a thing, but the habitants kindly guided the visitors to leave with them. A passage leading underground was opened in many places and it led to a maze-like tunnel. In this manner, the habitants evacuated the area. These phenomena occurred in several places as the shinigamis went to greet the invader.  Gathering after assisting with the evacuation, the youkais in charge of protecting Urakyoto carried stern expressions. Those with sharp senses were able to detect from the distance the unusual aura of the invader.

Briefly looking around, without speaking a word, the man wearing chains over his black outfit did not seem to be in a hurry. No, he seemed to be lost in thought and only reacted when he noticed the shinigamis flying his way.

"...what are these?"

The man spoke in his raspy tone of voice.

"The response is way too fast as well. The number of forces gathering here is not normal either."

Only one of his eyes could be seen and he used it to glare at his incoming foes.

"...did she hear about me arriving at Kyoto? No, that is impossible. The level of the youkais is awfully high as well. There are no Low-Class beings, the weakest being Middle Mid Class. What happened here?"

His tone was the same, but a hint of bewilderment could be heard as well. The man did not wait for his enemies to attack first. From his outfit, he pulled a firearm. A Chicago typewriter Tommy gun, the name given to the Thompson Submachine Gun for the sound it made when shooting. This characteristic sound surprised the youkais rushing to the man. Not only the sound was surprising, but this was not an ordinary gun. Black smoke was leaking from all over the body of the weapon. Fully black, it seemed to suck the light that it came in contact with it. The weapon proved itself to not be a normal firearm. The weapon with an effective range of 150 meters soon proved to be way different when the bullets reached targets over 500 meters away. Several shikigamis were shot down and the pieces dropped to the ground. Nonetheless, the man could tell it was far from over. The pieces of paper falling to the ground soon regrouped and formed a group that moved from the ground.

It was not going to be easy to shoot them unless he began to destroy the buildings they were using as cover.

Snorting at the craftiness of the shikigamis, the man swapped weapons as the shikigamis in the sky were within a 50-meter radius. His new weapon looked like a shotgun, holding it with his left hand, he waited until the shikigamis were way closer. They passed the 20-meter mark and before they could reach the ten-meter mark, the man shot. Compared to the usual spread shot that most shotguns usually deal with, the man's weapon was far from what you would call normal. A dark shell was shot and a shockwave that extended for several meters in a wide radius left nothing of the shikigamis.

"...quantity can only take you that far."

Swapping weapons again, the man held a gas grenade and threw it toward the youkais. Then he pulled another one and threw it as well. The gas spread immediately and just like that, Youkais began to fall after accidentally inhaling the gas. The man pulled more gas grenades and threw them but the gas and the grenades were blown back at him.

"Kuku, don't you think you have been acting like you please for too long?" Kaguya chuckled as she held a feathered fan in her right hand.

"Scold. He wouldn't have been capable of doing such a if you had not taken so long to wake up." Yuzuru glared at her twin sister while carrying a similar feather fan on her left hand.

"...tengus."

The man easily identified his new foes by the wings on their back and their attire.

"Indeed, tengus. Eternal allies tied by an unbreakable bond signed by blood." Kaguya smiled. "Our sworn duty is to protect the innocent from vile-"

"Reproach. Are you planning to defeat him by speaking nonsense?" Yuzuru retorted. "Recall. There is only one person capable of making an enemy lose their will to fight by using words."

"...I was not trying to do that." Kaguya sulked a little.

The man seemed to stare at the duo while they had their banter.

"There is no such a thing as a sworn duty that the tengus had made. The only reason they protect Urakyoto is out of respect for the ruler's lineage."

"What would you know? Our family is-" Kaguya wanted to refute.

"Warning. Idiot Kaguya, don't let the enemy lead you by using nonsense. An outsider has no way of knowing anything about it." Yuzuru mumbled in a deadpan tone.

Giving her sister a glare for calling her an idiot, Kaguya decided that she would settle the score later.

The man spoke while swapping his gas grenade with a different weapon. As he dropped the grenade on the ground, it was swallowed by his shadow and the man gestured with his hand, a long-barreled revolver was now at his disposal.

The Tengu duo felt the difference once the revolver was out.

"Danger. That is a cursed weapon." Yuzuru muttered.

Nodding to her sister's claims, Kaguya got a chill running down her spine as soon she saw the revolver. The amount of victims a weapon, usually a sword needs to turn into that kind of cursed weapon is beyond the four digits. Yet, not only that. It was not a common weapon, a firearm that hardly had the power to kill supernatural beings was not a good choice to use. If a gun or the like was what the user wanted, they would not use regular ammo but rather be loaded with special ones.

"Children, you and the youkais willing to give your lives to protect these lands are not my targets. Begone."

His raspy and creepy voice made the man sound scary, rather than sounding like an advise, it looked like he was threatening or ordering them.

This did not sit well with the youkais surrounding the man, although no one made a move as they waited for Yuzuru and Kaguya.

The man could tell that the twins had a rather important standing among the youkais surrounding him and that baffled him.

"Doubt. You mentioned that we are not your target." Yuzuru inquired.

"Does that mean you have a target in mind?" Kaguya followed.

"Question. Who is it that you are after that you risked using this method?" Yuzuru asked.

"...depending on your answer, it will depend if you will get to live to be interrogated." Kaguya narrowed her eyes. "Our duty is to protect these lands and those who live here. However, we have people who we will protect no matter the cost and it goes beyond duty, a debt that cannot be repaid, the grace bestowed upon us is not light."

The man snorted and aimed his gun.

"Sounds to me like you were cheated. Let me guess, you were in a pinch and got saved all of a sudden? No, it could also be that a relative of yours who was at death's door got saved. This caused you to develop a very deep gratitude for your savior."

Looking at how the twins stayed silent, the man considered his guess correct. He pulled the trigger as he aimed at Kaguya's feathery wings. Nonetheless, his chat gave time for the shikigamis moving on the ground to arrive. Their bodies were made of paper, but they fused to form a multilayered wall. Their actions had proved to be capable of stopping anti-tank ammo if Nora was controlling it and the number was little, but they lacked the support of the cat and only worked by following sets of commands that were not too complicated. The multilayered wall bought enough time for Kaguya to move away. With a flap of her wings, Kaguya reacted purely out of instinct.

No words were exchanged, but Yuzuru swept her left hand in unison with Kaguya's right sweep. The gust of wind of their combined movement sent the shikigamis flying toward the man. The paper got stuck in the man and immediately tried to tighten around him. Nonetheless, the man simply took a step forward and the paper got ripped apart. Kaguya and Yuzuru had only one aim with their action and that was to make an opening. Block the man's eyesight for a brief second while the rest of the youkais prepared their attacks.

Some created fireballs that scorched the ground just by floating slightly above it while others compressed stones of their sizes until they were fist sized, and some others opted to physically harm with man with spears they were ready to throw. In synch, they all attacked when the man got his vision blocked.

Pouring like rain, the attacks aimed at the man were great in numbers. Kaguya and Yuzuru made sure by controlling the wind that the attacks did not collide one with another and they all connected. They indeed went through the man, who had turned into black smoke. Even the non-corporeal attacks were useless.

"Caution. That ability belongs to those evil god's worshippers, normal attacks will not work unless we use the catalysts Nora had prepared." Yuzuru loudly warned.

"Kuku, so it was our fated enemies the ones responsible for this attack. Yuzuru, do you think there will be others?" Kaguya maintained a fearless bravado.

"Doubt. The barrier is still working, they most likely sent one assailant now." Yuzuru shook her head. "They could also be trying to let us lower our guard and another assailant is already rushing toward their target."

"That's pretty scary though?" Kaguya looked at her sister who spoke in a deadpan tone about something undesirable.

Nodding at that, Yuzuru pointed at the man who had managed to evade the onslaught and turned into a physical form.

"Correction. Even if that is the case, we do not have  the time to worry about anyone else." Yuzuru waved her left hand.

This gave the signal and the youkais pulled small stones that they crushed and rubbed on their hands or mouths. They shapeshifted into different forms such as birdmen or large foxes as they attacked the man.

"...they shouldn't have gotten their hand on anything of this type of material."

Pulling a second revolver, the sound of the barrel turning was heard as it moved faster than any barrel should move.

"...nonetheless, they are using it wrongly."

Snorting, the man aimed the revolvers... To the sky and pressed the trigger once. A chill went down the spines of everyone present. Their instincts took over and everyone scattered. From a bystander's point of view, it certainly looked strange, a group surrounded a suspicious man, they failed to inflict damage and then transformed only to scatter when the man shot the sky. Yet, it ended up being the correct answer. A rain of bullets caused many injuries and the sound, delayed by a few seconds caused many to freeze in fear.

"...you two are together than you look."

Slightly surprised, the man noticed how the twins had avoided the rain of bullets and aimed directly at them. Ignoring their grudgeful looks, the man shot at the two.

"Ahhhh." Kaguya screamed in pain when a bullet, despite using her fan to create a spherical wall of spinning wind to protect herself failed to its job, and passed through one of her thighs.

Yuzuru was enraged seeing this, but a bullet equally pierced one of her thighs. Nonetheless, she kept the moan of pain inside and shared a look with her sister as they both pulled an ofuda. The ofudas were filled with numerous kanjis and they held it in front of them. The activation words were mumbled in a low tone and the area around them seemed to shake slightly.

The man shot again and this time the arms holding the ofudas were shot, yet, Kagura and Yuzuru did not let go of the ofudas. They gritted their teeth and held onto them even though the pain was far stronger than they expected and there seemed to be an enchantment added to the bullet to cause more bleeding. The twins held on long enough for a change to occur.

All over their surroundings, the buildings began to shake and slowly stood up.

For a moment, the man stopped and incredulously turned toward the twins.

"...who did something as stupid as turning the buildings and foundations of Urakyoto into golems?"

Grinning, Kaguya pointed at the man.

"The person who is going to beat you up for touching his turf." Kaguya spoke. "You can't mess with the youkais without getting into his bad side. You hurt Youkais and destroyed the property so you are going to suffer greatly.

"Correction. Nora is technically responsible for destroying the buildings." Yuzuru retorted.

Swapping weapons, the man held his shotgun and fired at the closest building. To his surprise, the bullet failed to cause any damage. A proof that it was not regular wood and the man took a moment as he fired continuously to figure out what he was dealing with.

"That insane son of a bitch."

The man cursed out loud.

"Who dares to use wood from the World Tree to make buildings where the regular population lives!?"

"Kuku, you are certainly stronger than us." Kaguya chuckled as she sweated from the pain. "From the way I see it, you are pretty good at dealing with living foes. Perhaps it is your specialty."

"Warning. You should be careful." Yuzuru added. "You might be powerful, but he is even more."

"...you are talking about THAT cat? Now that is a good joke. He is the weakest, in my eyes, you two have way more potential. Nonetheless, potential only means you can grow stronger in the future, it does not translate to immediate strength."

The man spoke.

"Indeed, this method is rather interesting. The World Tree has renowned toughness and magical properties. Anything made from even the smallest branch can become an artifact sought by countless magic users. Nonetheless, none of you know how to properly use it. He used the brutish method of chopping it like firewood and did not process it. Such a waste of resources. Is this what you call your trump card? I fail to see how this will be of any use to you."

"Advise. You should only brag if you have the upper hand." Yuzuru said.

"Indeed, these eyes of me that can glimpse into the future are able to see your demise." Kaguya added.

"Blind faith in the wrong people is dangerous. You trust in the cat too much. He is incompetent and talentless, there should be dozens of people capable of doing a better job. However, you cling to his back like leeches that know nothing better. Misplaced trust will be your doom. Look at yourself, I could easily kill you and he would be unable to help you."

"Anger. Silence." Yuzuru coldly spoke. "YOU have no right to speak about HIM like that."

Displaying raw animosity, the deadpan tone of Yuzuru was no more. Kaguya had an equal angry expression as her twin and they both glared at the man, nonetheless, they both knew that there was some truth in his words. The man held enough power to kill them, yet he continued to gauge them and only cause superficial damage.

"Missy, I don't need your permission to curse at him."

The man snorted.

Easily evading the hand of one of the buildings that took human shape, the man remained as black smoke as the attacks did not leave any harm on him.

"You also seem to be mistaking one thing."

The man turned into his human form on top of one of the buildings.

"I want to end this fast, but I would rather attract any possible obstacle to this place. No outside help will come, I made sure of that so I have to deal with the threats one by one to waste the least amount of energy. The spider and hair youkai... I believe they should arrive soon."

Pulling a new weapon, the man had something akin to a handgun with a caliber that could easily be used to kill elephants. The barrel was big and heavy and he had to manually load one bullet in the chamber.

"I know what I am dealing with. HE is good with plants, so I figured that this would come in handy."

The man aimed at his feet and shot. The recoil was powerful enough to make his hand tremble and a crunching sound to be heard. However, it was effective. The bullet pierced the building easily and there seemed to be a special effect on ammo. Anything it passed by began to wither.

"I think I can kill time by doing this."

The man's raspy voice sent a chill down the spine of the listeners.

"...should we even allow him to meet Nora?" Kaguya sweated coldly.

"Distress. Communications are down, I am unable to talk with any other group." Yuzuru informed.

The loud sound of a building being shot and then slowly beginning to wither was heard as the twins were at a loss about what to do.

In the distance, a black-haired woman wearing a kimono with spider webs adorning her sleeves walked over.

"The spider of calamity. It seems I will have to deal with you first."

Animosity could be heard in the man's tone of voice but there was also a hint of bitterness.

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

3rd Person POV

The girls were having a small discussion as the alarms had gone off around the house.

"I think we should send Nora to his mother's house. He cannot move." Artoria said while slowly massaging her forehead.

"What do we do about the attacker?" Charlotte asked with furrowed eyebrows.

Taking the lead in the conversation, Charlotte and Artoria, the most level-headed among the group along with Grayfia silently waited for their conclusion, although they all looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"Maid, I would usually think you have the reckless cat's disease and would be running off to fight the threat." Artoria glanced at Grayfia.

"My priority is to protect Nora-kun." Grayfia muttered as she felt somewhat restless. "If the situation requires it, Yasaka-sama will step out herself. With that, I would also do it myself. Nonetheless, there have been no casualties so far. Only buildings were destroyed."

Half work mode Grayfia answered at once. Her gaze turned briefly in the direction of Nora's bedroom, but despite her concern, she remained in place.

"Alongside Yasaka, there are two Youkais with power similar to ultimate class. However, I once heard Nora saying that they are unable to display their true might and entrusting them to go forward is not advisable." Artoria mumbled. "Thanks to receiving Spartan training close to torture, the overall strength of the youkais is a lot higher, but I would not put my trust in them. They mostly quit halfway once they thought they had grown enough."

"...why? I mean, it is one thing to think your efforts are never enough like Nora always believes, but-" Charlotte asked.

"It is about the mentality. Putting aside how a normal person would puke blood if they carelessly followed Nora's training, most supernatural beings with long lifespans are comfortable with growing stronger as they grow older. No effort and gaining strength, or great efforts and gaining strength." Grayfia replied.

"Nonsense-nya." Kuroka suddenly interrupted. 

Everyone turned to look at her, even her sister sitting on her lap raised her head and the cat girl was momentarily flustered but soon composed herself.

"...they are just scared-nya." Kuroka said.

"What do you mean?" Artoria looked interested in the topic and briefly stopped herself from trying to get back to the attack on Urakyoto.

"Of reaching their limits-nya." Kuroka sulkily spoke.

Raising an eyebrow, Artoria was not sure what the cat girl was trying to say.

"...that is certainly a possibility. Many supernatural beings prefer not to know if they have or not limits." Grayfia sighed.

"...I don't follow." Artoria shook her head.

Looking at the blonde one, with a seriously confused face, Grayfia understood that she was not playing around.

"Do you know what stops most people from reaching high levels of strength?" Grayfia inquired.

About to answer, Artoria stopped when the younger troupe raised their hands enthusiastically.

Smiling wryly, Grayfia pointed at the younger cat.

"They do not train." Shirone smugly said with arms crossed.

It was not wrong, but it was not correct either.

"...not everyone has the talent. The stronger you get, the more difficult it is to surpass those limits. In our case, devils usually cap at High-Class in the truest meaning. Different from the classification you can get as soon as you get born that is close to noble status, it should be considered the best you can do in a fight and how much that truly means. You could say it is our war potential." Charlotte answered like you would expect from the most studious child in a classroom. "It does not take talent to go beyond the wall and reach Ultimate Class, but you need to have certain knowledge about how to fight to be considered one."

Looking at her friend and how everyone seemed to understand more with her answer, Shirone hung her head... or not.

"Well done, it seems I did not waste my time when I secretly told you the answer so you could impress everyone here." Shirone shamelessly gave a thumbs-up to her friend.

Rolling her eyes, Charlotte chose not to answer.

"However, is that really how it is, I feel like if we just follow Nora's tips, we can easily reach Ultimate Class just from fitness alone." Artoria muttered in an uncertain tone.

"That is the issue." Grayfia said. "You believe that as long as you follow what he says, it will be enough to get stronger. It is not wrong, but do you think you received the same caliber of training as other people that Nora trained? No, let me be more specific, do any of you share the same training routine?"

Raising her hand with an eager expression, Ayanami wanted to answer thus the right was given to her.

"I once came to speak with Nora and found him writing several books at the same time using his tails and hands." Ayanami said. "Some of them had sketches of us and below that there were many notes. They all said different things and Nora would ponder sometimes before writing again, he would sometimes read a book he had nearby and correct what he was writing."

Holding her head with one hand, Grayfia sighed and glanced at Artoria who shared a similar look.

"...do you understand?" Grayfia asked.

"...it is still a bit difficult to accept, but I guess it is possible given that it is that cat I am talking about. This explains why he would sometimes feed us with some strange medicine and say it was a punishment for failing to realize it was maid day." Artoria bitterly said.

"...you heathen, you forgot about the maid day when you were with Nora-kun?" Grayfia sternly glared at Artoria.

"...wait, is it not something he came up on the spot?" Artoria raised an eyebrow.

"...no, there was a hero once in the Underworld that never asked for anything in return. The people wanted to make a commemorative day for him but he said it was plain embarrassing so he said. Give the maids a day and I shall be happy." Grayfia sighed.

"...they agreed to it just like that?" Artoria questioned in an amazed tone.

"...he said if they did not do that, he would change sides and turn into the last boss character, dedicating decades of his life just to turn the capital into a city where the residents could only wear maid outfits." Grayfia looked away.

"Was that guy really a hero?" Artoria asked the question everyone had in mind.

"...even today, people are unsure what that person had in his mind." Grayfia shrugged her shoulders.

Momentarily, she felt like something was off but the feeling disappeared as soon as it came. Grayfia then glanced in concern toward the room Nora was resting.

"...we got lost for a moment there." Artoria called out. "I believe it makes sense then. Nora has been carefully taking care of every aspect so we could grow moderately fast and not notice the changes."

Frowning slightly, Artoria felt a small headache as she tried to recall something else but could not put her fingers on it. She was not the only one, Kuroka and Shirone had gone silent and had their eyebrows furrowed.

"...do you think he also has done something to the sweets?" Artoria suddenly had a revelation.

This caught the attention of everyone as they wanted to chip in and deny such a thing.

"Nyahaha, bitter medicine, and sweets do not get along-nya. Don't be silly-nya." Kuroka laughed it off.

"...he wouldn't have." Grayfia looked like she had a flashback regarding a past event.

Many like to think that flashbacks happen and everyone will understand what happened while you were lost in thought, but the truth was that the only person capable of seeing the flashback is none other than you thus the group only saw Grayfia making a variety of expressions.

"He is a clever one." Grayfia smiled.

Looking at Grayfia like she was a weirdo, Artoria did not ask or press for details since they had an important... discussion. An important discussion, that sounded strange. There was an odd feeling since earlier. They were... too nonchalant. Given that they had been infected with Nora's colors, they were capable of thinking bizarre things at inappropriate times, but this was too much. No, why was this too much?

"...so the sweets make us stronger?" Shirone pulled a candy and ate it. "Nee-sama, I am not the same ol' Shirone, I am a new girl. Soon, I will catch up to you. One bite at a time."

Saying that, Shirone pulled out a bag full of sweets with a mini version of her embroidered and began munching a bunch of candies.

 The nonsense made everyone chuckle.

Despite that, Artoria felt like there was something unusual going on, and her vision blurred. Her eyes closed and opened, the scene before her completely changed and she found everyone imprisoned in chains and the house half destroyed, wraiths wearing black cloaks hovered around them, their creepy faces were filled with negative emotions such as hatred and fear as they spoke in an unknown language. Once she closed and opened her eyes again, the peaceful scene where Kuroka and Shirone were fighting to eat the sweets in the bag was before her. Her heartbeat went through the roof and her breathing turned rough.

Raising her hand, she tried to call for her sacred gear. However, there was no response. After using her ability so much, she could easily command it to appear at will, yet there was no sign of activation. She tried to speak but her voice did not come out. No, it was more accurate to say that she could not try to warn everyone of what she saw. Her vision began to turn dark and no one around her could see her as she struggled.

"Begone, spirits. In the name of Murmur, I order you to abandon this place."

Suddenly, a familiar and reassuring voice reached Artoria. The peaceful scene was shattered and she saw Nora, still with white hair, and now blue eyes that seemed to gleam with an unusual charm. With his hand extended forward, a magic circle representing the Murmur devil had formed. As it glowed in blue, a similar magic circle appeared below the wraiths who did not dare to get close to Nora, no, to be precise, the magatama on his chest. After he spoke, the wraiths did not take long to disappear with a creepy cry. Once they were gone, Nora 

"...this ability is difficult to use." Nora huffed heavily. "Should I be thankful that they were mindless ghosts...?"

Smiling bitterly, Nora wiped the sweat running down his forehead.

Once the enemies were gone, Artoria saw the state they were in once more and took in the state of their home. Destruction could be seen in many places, but the structure was mostly intact.

"You ok?" Nora asked.

Looking worse for wear, Nora seemed to be somewhat weak, but an injured Sirius and Alkaid tried to assist him.

Watching their state, Artoria's memory came back in a flash. The younger troupe looked intact, I'm fact, they were unable to resist and were taken down almost immediately.

"Illusion, no, a drug to put you to sleep." Nora picked a broken vial from the ground. There were more than one, and he licked it. "I don't recognize some of the ingredients... no, they resemble some of the herbs I know but they are not quite the same."

Trying to break free, Artoria was unable to make the chains budge.

"These are..." Nora paid attention to the chains and pulled them, just like that, the chains came undone.

Baffled about the result, Artoria and Nora shared a look.

"Never thought you were into BDSM." Nora said.

A rage that almost made her strangle the cat surged inside Artoria, but she held back when she saw him having difficulties when trying to heal her. As always, he liked to joke on tough situations.

"If you let me tie you up, I might consider it." Artoria snorted.

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Using a hand to rub her temple, Artoria let Nora do his thing. There was a hole in her guts, but Artoria did not complain, there was no bleeding for some reason, but it certainly made her unable to act. Slowly, the sensations of her body came back but the pain was taken care of immediately, it was easy to tell from Nora's furrowed eyebrows that he was having a hard time now that he had to reduce the pain as well.

"...sorry, I like to be on the side that ties others. Although, I do have a couple of fantasies that require a woman to tie me up. A busty cop uses handcuffs and then has her way with me is one, but I prefer to tie girls more." Nora jested.

"That is too much information." Artoria glared at Nora.

"...don't worry, your chest has been growing, but you are still not at the level of my fantasy." Nora snorted.

Somewhat that made her pissed off, yet Artoria did not say anything. She tried to make sense of her memories and organize them correctly. They were a mess, but the main points were easy to guess.

"He saw us like a joke." Artoria suddenly said.

Nora briefly paused, but he then continued like he heard nothing.

"The chains he used on us took down the younger ones and then he used that drug." Artoria explained.

"They are unharmed." Nora mumbled.

"The rest did not have the same luck." Artoria looked toward Grayfia, Sirius, and Alkaid, just like her, they were injured.

"Tamamo, Asuna, and Karin are gone as well." Nora added.

Biting her lips, Artoria nodded.

"They chased after him." Artoria said.

Finishing his job, Nora stood up. Grayfia looked the worse after Artoria, but they were minor injuries compared to having a hole in your guts. The youth walked over and began his first aid.

"He went to the storage where the healing potions are kept and destroyed it." Artoria muttered. "We fought him on the way, but his body transformed all the time so our attacks mostly missed."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Nora took in all the information.

"...the defenses on the house did not activate properly." Artoria added.

"...was it only one person?" Nora suddenly asked.

"Indeed, Grayfia called him Nanashi." Artoria replied.

"...that is impossible." Nora shook his head. "No, I guess this situation is kind of impossible already."

Once Nora finished, Grayfia's eyelids trembled.

"I will go." Nora stood up but he almost lost his balance.

"My honorable master!" Sirius held Nora.

Coughing suddenly, Nora put his hand on his mouth and Artoria was able to see the blood leaking from the opening of his fingers.

Alkaid immediately pulled a handkerchief and helped to wipe Nora's blood.

"...he attacked you in your sleep? Oi, you two! Weren't you protecting him!? Why is he-" "ARTORIA!" Artoria was cut short by Nora's shout.

Sirius and Alkaid had their heads lowered as well as their ears and tails. They looked at the ground guiltily.

"The only one to blame was me who had his guard down." Nora said. "They assisted to the best of their abilities."

"It was not enough!" Artoria exclaimed.

"...It was only thanks to Lina that the enemy fled the scene. No, I guess he had finished his purpose." Nora smiled bitterly.

Removing part of his upper garments, Nora showed Artoria the left side of his chest. Right where the heart was, there was a bullet embedded in his skin. The area around the wound throbbed and the veins surrounding it were blackened.

"...I can hardly use Ki without this messing up my concentration. A nasty curse was engraved into the bullet as well as deadly poison in a way." Nora muttered. "This bullet... anyone else would be dead by now. The effects will technically disappear, but it would take at least a day even if I focus my all on it. It weakens me enough to have trouble with sudden movements, although I should be able to fight despite my strength being reduced.

"...that woman is still alive?" Artoria asked.

"I would not let her die. She is unconscious beside Yume, and she is unable to fight." Nora said.

"...I see." Artoria sighed.

"Didn't take you to be friendly to her." Nora mumbled.

Observing Grayfia's state, he awaited her awakening. Nora seemed anxious, but he patiently waited. He did his best to fix his clothes and hide the wound.

"Thinking back, she is one of the people who has saved your life before. I should show my gratitude later." Artoria sighed.

Deciding not to inquire, Nora glanced at Grayfia only to see her finally open her eyes.

"It is impossible to community with people outside. I tried summoning Serafall and it did not work." Nora explained. "Your body was not only put to sleep, he gave you a heavy muscle relaxant but I dispelled the effects to the best of my abilities."

Nodding at that, Grayfia sat. She took a moment to feel her body and stood up.

"A wondrous job as usual." Grayfia praised and prepared to leave.

"...Grayfia, how dangerous was Nanashi?" Nora inquired.

"...it is not someone we can beat." Grayfia smiled bitterly. "However, I don't think this person is Nanashi. Still, we hunted him down in the Underworld, but we were unable to catch him. The full extent of his power is unknown. He faced the entire peerage of the strongest Maou and survived. He had been injured many times over so he must be weakened, but..."

"Understood." Nora nodded. "I need your help. The contract will be created using words, is that alright with you?"

"Nora-kun, there is no need for that, I will lend you my full-" Grayfia tried to speak.

"No, we will make a contract. Devils fulfill their contracts, so please, let's make one." Nora said.

Looking at his determined expression, Grayfia relented.

"The pay shall be decided at a later day depending on the extent of my job, is that ok with you?" Grayfia asked.

"You are the best." Nora smiled. "Listen, I only want you to..."

...

...

...

"Please fulfill the contract." Nora mumbled as he stood up.

Grayfia and Artoria were glaring at Nora sternly, but they could understand his stance.

"You can barely move, why are you going? I can do the job in your stead." Artoria said.

"I have my ways." Nora touched one of the house pillars. "Drain."

Drying like a twig, the pillar turned into dust.

"I am the best suited for the job." Nora left. Sirius and Alkaid followed faithfully.

Following suit, Grayfia stood up.

"I will be on my way as well." Grayfia spoke. "You should take care of your side soon."

"Wait, this is something you should know. It seems that man put some sort of restraint on our memories, but I can recall bits of it. How my sacred gear got sealed." Artoria spoke.

"...that should not be normally possible." Grayfia narrowed her eyes.

"...yet, it is possible. I can't use it even now." Artoria bit her lips. "That cat, he does not rely on his gear often, but given his state, he might have plans to use it. You must be aware of the way the man sealed mine."

Opening her mouth to explain, Artoria described what happened to the best of her ability. Grayfia did not witness when it happened, but she could tell it was not a lie. The young woman who usually rebuked Nora's behavior or butted heads with him had developed the habit to look out for Nora unconsciously. There were simple gestures that she was not aware of, but from an outside perspective was quite obvious that she got along with him on her own terms.

Furrowing her eyebrows the more she heard the explanation, Grayfia's suspicion of the man being a different person from the Underworld's hero got stronger. Once she heard enough, she departed. Her body was overflowing with demonic power to boost her speed as she pondered how to fulfill Nora's request. The youth certainly did not mince in asking for an extra hard commission. Nonetheless, she did not have the heart to turn it down. His determination was certainly greater than her or anyone she had met. It reminded her of... Nanashi. Chuckling at that, Grayfia had to admit that they had a lot in common, enough to make her wonder if the guy was secretly Nora's dad. That said, he wouldn't abandon his wife and son like what happened with Saya's man. Not to mention, the guy had a lot of women around him so even if he went down, they would all take care of Nora some way or another.

Part 3

3rd Person POV

Several spells went off at once. Yasaka and Saya both reacted quite similarly as they both tried to stand up and how they both tried to make the other fall back.

" "I will go." " The duo said in unison.

Their actions just caused them both to make the other sit down again and none stood up.

"You are sick, stay inside your cozy futon." Yasaka glared at her friend.

"I am NOT sick, I just woke up from a long dream, and I am brimming with energy." Saya narrowed her eyes.

"Do you want me to call Nightingale?" Yasaka raised an eyebrow with arms crossed.

"Hah, I am not the same old Saya you knew, Yacchan, I think it is time to stop the tyranny of the super nurse and rebel. She was able to punch through reinforced steel doors with brute strength as a normal human back then, so what? I could do the same." Saya snorted. "She once tore down a tank barehanded...  I could do the same."

With each word, Saya began to sound less spirited.

"...I wonder, what are nurses?" Saya looked at her friend with a conflicted expression.

"...you should be asking yourself what maids are." Yasaka sighed.

"...why maids?" Saya tilted her head in a clueless manner.

It was at this moment that all the crazy events related to maids and Nora coursed through Yasaka's head, she gazed at her friend with... dangerous eyes, ready to beat her up for letting Nora grow as such a nonsensical guy. It had to be her fault that Nora ended up with such a kink since so young.

"...how strong do you estimate the intruder to be?" Yasaka put down her animosity (?).

"I am not sure. To enter this place forcefully is practically impossible unless the one doing it surpasses us in strength by a large margin." Saya commented.

"...there were some hiccups on the way this one entered." Yasaka recalled that the youth of black hair had been messing up with the magic circle to enter this house for years so he must've been the one that delayed the process one way or another.

"Yet, I do not feel that the defenses are trying to resist him." Saya left unsaid how the intruder was almost welcomed.

"I cannot communicate with the outside nor I can try to leave through magic." Yasaka sighed.

"Shouldn't you be more worried...?" Saya asked.

"There are countermeasures to prevent casualties in place. One of them is to exchange shikigamis with the people once the injury has gone past a serious level. N- Shiroko was the one to implement that and over 10 other ideas to protect Youkais." Yasaka explained.

"...he seems like an amazing person." Saya was impressed. "...is he single?"

"...on the grim side, it all happened after the events that led to a full-scale war with the extra clans. They have been wiped out from Kyoto." Yasaka ignored her friend's starry eyes.

"...what about peace above all...?" Saya said.

"...enough of that." Yasaka smacked her friend on the head.

This preventive strike caused Saya to be off for a few seconds so Yasaka finally stood up.

"Stay here. We barely got you back, don't go rushing straight into danger again." Yasaka sighed.

Holding her forehead tearfully, Saya glared at Yasaka.

"Yacchan is such a bully." Saya complained.

Looking at her friend who acted childish, Yasaka smiled wryly. She knew that Saya would take the matter seriously when the situation called for it, but Yasaka did not want her to fight if possible. Nora finally got his mother back and would surely be torn if she was injured when he was not there for her again. The two need time to be together and hopefully make Saya have her memories back.

...

...

...

Standing below the gentle rain, Yasaka's skin and clothes were not touched by the water to the displeasure of viewers, no doubt, thanks to a spell. The beautiful youkai had not been entirely honest with Saya since she had tried multiple times to teleport beside her daughter, nonetheless, she trusted the methods Nora put in place in Urakyoto to protect his precious ones. They might get hurt, but they will never die. Nora never bragged about something serious and the youth happened to assure her that even if Yasaka herself tried, it would be impossible to kill anyone in Urakyoto. That said, he warned her that sometimes dying is actually better. Yasaka wished he put even 1/3 of the care he puts on protecting others on his safety. Nonetheless, he only smiles wryly in response.

"Only in Urakyoto huh." Yasaka mumbled.

Anyone will survive as long as they are in the youkai heaven.

Her ears twitched and Yasaka heard the distant sound of chains being dragged on the ground. Just then, a figure appeared from between the trees.

"...I figured that Ya- you, the ruler of the youkais would be here."

The raspy voice of the man contained bitterness to spare.

"...I am not a ruler. I am their leader." Yasaka rebuked.

"You should aim to become their ruler. In times of emergency such as this, you can at least use them as a shield while you escape."

The man chuckled.

Glaring at the man with animosity, Yasaka wondered by he was here.

"Scary, scary... Hehe..."

The man mockingly raised his arms in the air before lowering them.

"...I have no business with you. I have come here for the one inside that house."

Pointing toward the house, the man's red eye glared at the building protected by a golden barrier.

"I see. So what? Do you think I would happily say, sure, go right ahead?" Yasaka snorted.

"I guess not. I should be grateful that you have not attacked me yet, which I assume is because you want to question me about your child. I did not touch her, or the habitants of that house. Most of them though..."

Shrugging his shoulders, the man spoke without a care in the world.

"Most of them? Who did you touch...? You are after Saya... if you are also after her child..." Yasaka gritted her teeth hard enough so that blood began leaking from her mouth.

"The Shiki bloodline is not what I am after, I will just execute Saya Shiki. Leave, or I might reconsider raising the number of targets I will hunt down."

"...quite the threat." Yasaka glanced at the house and then at the man. "Why are you after her?"

"You don't want or need to know."

Considering it futile to continue speaking, the man pulled a long-barreled revolver.

"I don't think you are the one that decides that." Yasaka raised both of her hands and a golden flame appeared on both of her hands. "Foxfire."

The heat coming out of the flames was enough to distort anyone trying to see around them. However, Yasaka was unaffected. She waved her hands and threw them forward.

The man jumped backward as the sound of the cylinder of the revolver turning reached Yasaka's ears.

By the time they had escaped the wide range of damage the fox fire after colliding with the floor had caused, the man raised his revolver only to see how Yasaka had created a dozen of fox fires of the same strength as the last one effortlessly.

The fox lady snapped her fingers and the fox fired shots like bullets toward the man. The multiple attacks from the youkais before did not make the man nervous but this time he took it more seriously. He waited with a tree on his back to escape at the last minute using his smoke form and took his solid form back a dozen of meters away, but the impact he expected to reduce the fox fires' numbers, yet the attack did not act as he expected, instead, it had stopped before it collided and soon followed after the man.

"Certainly, manual aim can be burdensome when you have to make split-second decisions in a fight, this is why people use semi-auto attack patterns on their attacks. It reduces the difficulty for many during a fight and they can focus on their surroundings more. However, I happen to have a childhood friend who was obnoxiously good at taking down my attacks just to brag about it." Yasaka commented. "Thanks to that, I have gotten used to controlling these manually."

The man had oddly taken a few seconds to listen to the fox's words despite putting himself at risk. However, when the first attack almost closed on him, the man shot at the fire. The bullet passed through the fire and when they came in contact with one another, great amounts of steam came out and the fire went off. The bullet did not stop there however, it was not until it had passed through another 5 fox fires that the bullets evaporated as well. The steam made it difficult for Yasaka to see, but that did not stop her. While she spoke earlier and as the man evaded her attacks as well, she had restocked and raised the number of fox fires by 3 times. Without wasting a second, Yasaka sent a barrage of fox fires toward the steam that had appeared first.

Just like she expected, aiming when her visibility was imparted caused her to be unable to hit the man, but she did not mind. Like rain, the fox fire hit everything around the steam. Much more steam was generated and Yasaka raised a hand to write on the air. A simple Youjutsu spell was taken to another stage when someone of Yasaka's caliber was the one using it. Even while she created fox fires, a gust of wind strong enough to blow the steam away was generated from the symbol Yasaka wrote and the figure of the man, free of injuries came out.

Inwardly clicking her tongue, Yasaka expected somewhat the result of what she saw. There was something unsettling when she looked at the man's eye. It was not only the aura he was giving but the complex emotions in his gaze. It made her nerves itch like there was something odd with her actions. However, she had an enemy before her thus she will defeat him.

"...can't you step aside? I..."

The man's tone contained complex emotions as he said this but his speech was interrupted when lightning struck him.

It was not only one strike, but several lighting bolts struck him in place. The origin of the attack was not the sky or heavens because of some tribulation, but rather two figures that jumped out. They spun in the air, followed by another figure, the trio spun and spun until they landed in front of Yasaka, facing the man.

A pair landed first and they struck a pose where they spread their arms to the middle. It was then that the third figure landed and posed by putting her middle and ring finger together with her thumb while the index and pinky finger remained straight. Her actions made her hands look like fox heads and she playfully winked while striking her pose.

"Tamamo-chan is here." Tamamo announced. "No need to fear, the good wife and wise mother is here to aid you, Yacchan."

Facepalming, Yasaka felt even more embarrassed when her ENEMY looked at her with pity.

As she lowered her head, Yasaka received a mental transmission and was somewhat relieved and enraged, however, Tamamo had warned her beforehand so she did not show off any sign of communicating with the other fox.

"...so it is you."

The man seemed to recognize Tamamo along with Asuna and Karin.

"...it is hard to believe that the hunting dogs of the gods that forsake their land are mingling with others."

Bitterness and animosity could be felt as the man glared at the duo dressed as maids. Asuna and Karin did not reply and limited themselves to staying in their position. The fact that there was almost no damage to the man-made the duo cautious, even Asuna kept a calm and serious look while inwardly burning with rage at what this man did.

"...the one I cannot seem to accept is you. Why is the calamity fox living a normal life?"

The sound of reloading came from the man's weapon as the cylinder moved by itself.

Looking at the fox who absolutely hated being called that, Asuna and Karin were ready to stop her from recklessly attacking.

"Calamity? Oh my, did my hubby go around spreading my new nickname?" Tamamo blushed.

There was an awkward silence and Tamamo explained her reaction.

"I can be said to be a calamity... for all beds in the world." Tamamo lewdly smiled.

Wondering if she should burn the pink-haired fox as well, Yasaka glared at the fox who suggestively made a circle with her index finger while pushing her other's hand middle finger inside the circle.

"...that is quite the contrasting reaction compared to when I shot that man."

Those words not only caused Tamamo to stop playing around and glare at him with a bloodthirsty smile but everyone else as well.

"I believe you plan to buy time for him to recover... let me guess, if he comes over, he will surely heal the devil whom I left unconscious."

"I don't have much faith in that devil, she is really a good person and I can trust that she will aid us if we need it. However, my hubby is the only person I can put my faith in. He will come here and one way or another, he will kick your ass." Tamamo smiled.

"That is nothing but a stupid joke. From all the people here, given that the seal of those two is released... he is the weakest. The absolute weakest. His presence here will be nothing more than a burden for you all. He will only be able to helplessly watch as you get taken down one by one... and then he will witness how his mother is killed. Did you call him to suffer? I can't say I am surprised to hear that coming from the mouth of an infamous murderer like you."

"I really can't stand your existence." Tamamo's voice was filled with anger.

A soft chuckle was heard from the man's mouth before he pulled the trigger. No one moved because the man's aim was off and he had pointed his gun way higher than their position, nonetheless, the shot did not exactly miss because it collided with the barrier. Everyone expected the bullet to recoil from the impact without damaging the barrier, yet, it was very small, but everyone heard clearly how a small crack was made.

"This barrier, your numbers, and whatever plans you have in mind. None of that matters. I will crush everything in my path, all in order to kill Saya Shiki."

Releasing his aura, the man seemed to have decided to stop chatting. The overwhelming number of fox fires that grew exponentially as they spoke did not face him. The rapidly growing aura of Asuna and Karin did not impress him. The man pulled another revolver with a long barrel.

"EX Mode."

Muttering only that, the guns suffered a transformation. From the beginning of the barrel a blade was formed, black in color, it seemed to suck all light, it was no ordinary blade since the curses contained in it were almost visible. There was the sound of reloading and the man shot to the ground several times until he emptied his bullets, from the holes his bullets left, specters and wraiths emerged. Their hideous forms were enough to give nightmares to the bravest man, they were covered in chains and part of the chains seemed cut off until the man waved his arms and the rest of the chains became visible. The chains came from the necks and innards of the ghostly creatures to the arms of the man.

There was no need to say anything else, Yasaka dropped the fox fires. The man raised his weapons as the mechanical spin of the cylinder was heard. A blinding light followed by intense heat reached Asuna and Karin, the duo shared a look before charging forward. Wielding lighting in their arms, the maids flew toward where the man was last seen. There were no remains, but it was never that easy. He stood there calmly waiting for them and shot as soon as they found him. The duo was not allowed to be hit easily. Part of their body turned into lighting, an easy task for creatures sometimes called avatars of lighting. The bullets passed through them, and they remained unharmed is not what happened. They almost stopped in place and had to hold back a scream from escaping their mouths.

"It hurts, right?"

The man's voice reached their ears and they released large quantities of lighting toward him. It was not as blinding as before, but they still used that as a cover to escape. However, shots found their way and hit them. The duo was hurt again and again, until they finally escaped, or rather let them go. Once they regrouped with the foxes, the maids took back their physical and human form.

Providing first aid, Tamamo furrowed her eyebrows when the healing was being slowed down.

A large shadow covered them as Yasaka took her nine-tailed form and attacked by shooting fire from her mouth. The heat was even greater than the fox fires and it scorched everything in its path. The man did not allow himself to be hit like before, whether he used the ghosts as shields or he used other means, it was not clear, but he moved away and did not delay his offensive. He shot what seemed to be once with each gun but when Yasaka braced herself to get hit, the barrier behind her was what suffered the damage. Several cracks on the barrier were created, they began small in size but they were close to one another. Another round of shots and the cracks were not longer minimal and even though Yasaka was trying to restore it while also attacking the man, it was not enough to fully repair it.

The man evaded Yasaka's attacks despite the wide range of them, he seemed used to receiving that kind of attack since he became harder to target as he got used to Yasaka's pattern of attack. It was then that Yasaka stopped attacking and ofudas flew to the man. The strips of paper with spells ready to use surprised the man but he did not show much of a reaction, yet, the ofudas were not the only thing that caught up with him.

Asuna and Karin followed suit and each one stood at his sides, figuratively speaking given that they were flying.

"You two again?"

The man spoke in an annoyed tone, he seemed to look down on the duo.

"Even though you could lose your life if I wanted it, you would still hide your powers... I guessed correctly then, you are here as watchdogs."

"...if Master so desires, Asuna will become a dog, woof." Asuna seriously replied.

This took the man by surprise and he delayed his response when Asuna and Karin discharged large amounts of electricity from their hands. The man, fully covered in his suit, seemed to be unaffected by the lighting, however, he soon noticed that the nature of the attacks was different when the was smoke coming out of him.

"I did not expect you to use science here."

A rare praise from the man did not make the duo happy. Instead of trying to electrocute the man, the duo was creating an insulating field and the sheer force of the electricity was generating raw heat.

"That coat is special, Tamamocchi said so." Asuna muttered.

"I am not very good at studying, but I take to mind whatever our master teaches us. Sometimes, using electricity itself will not be effective, but even if lighting will not work, we can always find other ways to use our powers." Karin said. "That coat is probably made to withstand spells, but Tamamocchi- I mean, Tamamo-sama said that it is impossible to be unable to receive damage."

Chuckling, the man tried to raise his arms, but the ofudas that were flying around finally reacted. Restraints made of light came out of the ofudas as they floated around him, they did not receive any damage from the electricity trying to cook him alive and they indeed sealed his movements momentarily, however, the man turned into smoke and avoided being sealed. Nonetheless, he escaped the current bindings but new ofudas had been thrown by Tamamo. Jumping towards him, she formed a whip made of ofudas and attacked him as he took his physical form. Black smoke rose from the area where the whip hit. The man pointed his weapon at Tamamo but this time Asuna and Karin came knocking, quite literally. They both kicked his hands after taking the position with the strength capable of turning meter-deep walls of concrete into dusk, however, the man did not move an inch.

"Tsk, this is not because the man himself is strong, the suit absorbed the shock of the attack." Tamamo warned. "Get away, now!"

Unfortunately, the man was one step ahead of Tamamo. He had thrown his weapons to the sky as his gloved hands caught the ankles of both Asuna and Karin.

"Aren't you a smart cookie?"

Asuna and Karin, as well as Tamamo were mildly disturbed by those words since they recalled someone saying it in a joking manner. They caused all of them to react a beat late. By the time they regained their bearings, the man had pulled Asuna toward him and delivered a devastating blow using his knee. The maid had tried to avoid turning into by turning into lighting but she felt a weird sensation coming from the glove and was unable to change forms. The next thing she knew was that a pain worse than she could recall had thrown her away. She was unable to gasp for air as she crashed into the ground. The same thing happened to Karin who despite trying to protect herself was unable to avoid the same fate.

Without breaking a sweat, the man caught the guns that had fallen right into his hands again.

"...that power, it was the power of their own kicks, was it not?" Tamamo inquired.

Dozens of ofudas were deployed around the man as bindings made of light reached out to him.

"Watching the same trick more than once makes it boring."

The man opened his coat and from inside it, the ghost and specters from before emerged. They took the man's place and he went after Tamamo, the fox- the good wife material, Tamamo-chan, stuck out her tongue as the man prepared to shoot her.

The man stopped but he had already pulled the trigger.

Clicking his tongue, the man saw the bullets go through Tamamo who had a cheeky smile on her face as the skin lost all color and turned into white paper. At some point, Tamamo used a ninja technique she happened to learn in a certain hidden village along with Nora and changed position with a shikigami.

No, once the bullet passed though, the man saw how rather than one, there were several shikigamis forming one figure, they first dispersed around him and then stuck in different places, sealing him in place. The man praised her technique but it was not enough. By the time the man thought so, he looked in the distance at a smirking Tamamo before he was engulfed in fire.

Spewing fire from her mouth, Yasaka's firepower had to be used in the sky to avoid destroying the area around them. Just the nearby vegetation was dried up and burned from the heat her attack was giving off. Soon, the attack ended and for the relief of Tamamo and Yasaka, the man took heavy damage.

His outfit had been obligated in many places and the severe burns on the skinny body were plain in sight. A nauseating smell of burned meat assaulted the youkais' sensitive noises, but they did not part their eyes from the figure. They had finally managed to damage significantly the man, although they could not see his face since he had his arms raised in front of his face to protect it so only the side that covered his eye was damaged and allowed to see below the mask. Yet, it did not sit well with their stomachs when a deep hole devoid of any light was all they could see. There was nothing-

"That's... not an eye." Tamamo said.

As the fox had mentioned, the 'eye socket' reacted and just like a mouth, it closed.

"...I underestimated the advantages of the Ley Lines."

Cursing, the man pointed at Tamamo, Asuna, Karin, and Yasaka, at that, the chains that had remained in perfect shape all this time, and would occasionally bump into one another during the fight to make an unnerving sound, reacted almost seemed like they leaped at the group. None of them were able to avoid being caught despite using all the means they had to escape. The chains chased after them relentlessly and the attacks were unable to stop them.

"...Gleipnir." Yasaka muttered.

The weight on her body and the effectiveness of the chains made Yasaka speak of the chains used to capture Fenrir, the God-Devouring Wolf. However, there were differences, one being the uncanny aura it gave off since black smoke would be released from the chains constantly. She recalled the previous user and could not understand how this man had them. It seemed to carry curses, but her form was not easily influenced.

"You are not human and have beast attributes, not only that, I modified these using the best anti-youkai weapon so you had no chance."

With a bitter smile, the man glanced at Yasaka who glared at him viciously. As this happened, his outfit began to slowly repair itself.

"...accept your fate."

When the man tried to shoot at the barrier, a change occurred from within, it began cracking little by little, and a vile aura was released. A young-looking woman covered in said aura could be seen struggling to get out of the house as the barrier began crumbling from between.

"Kuh, was it too late? No, I can still...!!!"

With murderous intent, the man pointed his gun at Saya who tried to go toward Yasaka in order to help her, however, she seemed obvious to the threat the man.

A gunshot rang, and there was silence momentarily, then blood bloomed like a flower.

"Saya!!!" Yasaka yelled.

With her eyes wide open, Saya looked at the blood dripping down and despite being used to the sight of it, she almost went mad when she saw it. The person who had introduced himself as Shiroko, a total stranger was standing before her, shielding her, with an arm totally torn and wrecked.

Sweating coldly and barely being able to stand, Nora had his right hand over his chest as he had trouble breathing. His left arm had been torn from the bullet as he knew that just standing there would not protect Saya and his presence would not even make a good meat shield so he made a split of a second decision as he arrived. With his left arm extended forward, he used the length of his arm to mess up with the trajectory of the bullet and redirect it elsewhere.

Glaring with rage and animosity at the youth who had saved Saya, the man gritted his teeth when he still had the guts to feel a pang of relief over failing. Nonetheless, he was surprised that Nora made it. He had seen it. Just before the man shot, a figure was pushing himself to his very limit as he left a trail of blood with each step.

"...I am surprised you can still move."

The man mocked, yet Nora only glared at the man as veins all over his body seemed ready to explode and even his skin was turning red.

"You have cursed us all, you are really useless-"

"Shut up." Nora spoke.

Ignoring completely the man, Nora turned towards Saya who was in shock but kept releasing an unnerving aura. The youth took off the magatama from himself and put it over Saya. Immediately, it began to shine and the aura was suppressed, but Saya only kept looking at Nora's bloodied figure.

"It is ok." Nora said. "It is MY turn to protect you."

Giving the woman an awkward smile as he tried to caress her face gently but stopped himself bitterly, Nora turned toward the man again.

"...you. You are something that should not exist." Nora's angry voice could be heard. "No matter what, no matter why."

"Scared?"

Everyone seemed at a loss over the meaning of those words and why they were mentioned now. However, the man and Nora glared at each other.

"Hah! Of you? You are just a loser." Nora smirked.

It was easy to see how hard Nora was trying to contain his anger from his expressions.

"That is an interesting way to call ME."

The man mocked.

"You piece of shit. There is no hole in hell deep enough for you." Nora gritted his teeth.

"I agree. However, I was prepared for that."

Snorting, Nora planned to insult the man, but a wave of dizziness made him almost fall down.

"You have reached your limits."

Throwing up, chunks of flesh along with blood left Nora's mouth. His injuries seemed to be trying to repair at his order, but his body did not seem to respond. Yet, Nora smiled. He raised his face with a crazed smile. No one was able to even let out a sound, much less to move.

The man was about to question that smile but he had to take a few steps back because a pair of broadswords struck the ground when he was standing just a second before. Sirius and Alkaid had caught it with Nora and they immediately attacked the man.

"Limits, hehe, limits huh..." Nora had a bloody smile on his face. "Dude, I reached my limits long ago."

At those words, no rebuke was heard.

"This body is breaking down, I can't think straight, can't distinguish from left to right or up to down. I followed my instincts when I came here." Nora grinned. "So what? I reached my limits, so what? I have been doing the same goddamn thing all these years. When I escaped from that operation table and felt every inch of my body in pain, I really did my best to protect Kuroka and Shirone."

"This is on another level, look at you, you have used even your life force. The bullet I put in your heart must be putting a strain on you, not to mention, it should be making you feel your most painful times all over every second."

"Yeah, thank you for that, piece of shit. I take off my hat to your method of harassment, this curse would put people down in seconds." Nora praised (?) the man.

"...indeed, yet you are here."

"Hah, why do you sound so dumbfounded? Isn't it obvious that this meager amount of pain is not enough to stop me?" Nora mocked.

"I used a good chunk of the Nenekirimaru in that bullet, your body must be breaking down even as we speak."

"That was a cute touch. I would've been easily kicking your ass if you had not done that." Nora said.

"Your body must not be responding to you, the pain must be eating your mind, you are exhausted... I don't understand. Why do you appear before ME? Surely, you must understand after seeing K- Saya just now. She is-"

"Oh, shut it. I don't give a damn about that." Nora spat some blood. "You should know, that nothing I am suffering right now is enough."

Coughing, Nora smiled.

"Do you know what real pain is? What true despair is?" Nora asked but replied immediately before an answer was given. "Nothing of the pain I am feeling can compare to losing someone. There is no way you can compare the two. That is why... you see..."

Kneeling, Nora put his left hand on the ground.

"Drain." Nora spoke.

The area around him was drained of vitality as Nora began to recover from the damage he received.

"I am not letting you touch a hair of this woman, you see, this woman is mine." Nora said.

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Author's Notes

Hi there, writing the usually ignore text of this novel.

As always, busy with work. It is pretty interesting how I get so tired that I can only go to sleep. It is funny since there is a new guy and my load should decrease, but somehow I am more tired than usual. Funny.

Well, finally a chapter I wanted to write, or rather, that includes the whole volume. A number of things happened in the chapter so you are free to guess the obvious hints.

There ain't rest for Nora, which thinking about it, reminds me to me at work... now I only need a harem of cute chicks and lots of money, yeah, no.

The next chapter will most likely take the same time, even if I have enough time, I am working on another chapter ahead of time that will be very long. I won't say too much about it, other than the fact that even if I begin writing it from now ahead of time, I might still take 3 weeks or so to deliver.

Anyways, feel free to ask any questions you might have.

Leave any impressions about the chapter or opinions written down below, they are always appreciated as long as they are not senseless insults.

Good day to you.

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