Game of Monsters - 158

Down in the Forest-

Kunou squirmed in place to the side while both Yasaka and Joshua talked. He felt a little bad for her, truly he did, but this was a necessary conversation. If she’d done something to be nervous about, then that was her mistake and she’d have to own up to it and deal with the consequences. He spoiled her a fair bit and he had some real trouble scolding her or punishing her, but that didn’t mean he’d just roll over… at least not all the time.

He knew, very well at that, how badly children could develop if one wasn’t strict enough. Suddenly, he felt really bad for all the trouble he’d given his parents and he also felt his respect for them growing. Being responsible for the development of someone so… fragile, was very scary.

Yet, he didn’t regret becoming Kunou’s father, not at all.

“-apparently, she becomes distracted in his class,” Yasaka continued, speaking about what Kunou’s teachers had told her during a regular meeting. One was held every so often so that she could be informed on how things went and if there was anything she should know, be it good or bad.

A remnant from when she was a little more… detached from Kunou, but one that neither of them minded keeping. It wasn’t like the girl herself was a reliable source of intel in that regard and they couldn't be sitting in for the classes. At least, Yasaka couldn’t, still being busy as she was, and Joshua didn’t feel like getting in the way of a teacher’s job.

East Youkai Faction incident notwithstanding, their daughter’s education was going fairly well and all the girl could complain was being bored. Such was the nature of classes, however, so neither of them really paid much attention to her whining. Yasaka had likely put up with it, he had to put up with it and now so did Kunou.

That was just life.

“-all in all though,” Yasaka said, apparently reaching the end of the report. Maybe Joshua could sit in on those? He didn’t think Yasaka would have a problem, but he still felt awkward asking. For as much progress as he seemed to have made, Joshua still got very nervous at times when it came to dealing with people, even those he was close with. “It seems that she’s been doing well, despite the troubles,” the woman concluded, unaware of his drifting thoughts… Or maybe not so unaware.

She could likely read his energies and pick up that something was going on in his mind.

With all that the woman had said though, Joshua focused once more and turned towards Kunou. He didn’t say anything though, instead staring at her and, after a second, raising an eyebrow. This seemed to make the already uncomfortable and nervous girl even more so.

“What?” she mumbled, looking down and away with a slight pout. “Their classes are boring,” she grumbled.

“Even so,” he told her, making her hunch over, as if trying to make herself smaller. Joshua almost felt like just giving up and reassuring her. Alas, he needed to be strong. “Those classes are important for you. We’ve been over this already.”

“I know,” she muttered, still refusing to look up from her lap, where she was fidgeting with her hands. “I’m doing well though, isn’t that what’s important?”

“A good work ethic is also important,” he told her. God knew he’d failed miserably at having one for the longest time. Something that his system seemed to have helped correct with the power of validation through numbers going up. It was a good thing that he didn’t need such incentives anymore, because he saw less and less development as time went by when it came to the system.

“I know,” Kunou all but whined.

“If you know, then do better,” he told her softly, patting her head. “Ok? We’re not doing this to be mean. You know that, right?”

“I know,” she repeated. She was saying that a lot. It made Joshua wonder if she was just saying that because it was what they wanted to hear, but he didn’t pick up anything from his sensing. “Feels like it at times though,” she added under her breath.

“Just a little,” he told her, trying to lighten the mood. It seemed to sort of work, making the girl look up to glare at her and intensifying her pout. “If I had to suffer through classes, so do you,” he added with a grin.

“You’re a meanie,” she grumbled, huffing and looking away.

“I am,” he agreed, ruffling her hair. “Now, I do believe you have homework to do and we don’t want any more complaints from your teachers about that,” he told her, trying to get her to go away before he caved even more.

‘God, I’m a pushover,” he lamented to himself as Kunou got up and left the room, grumbling all the way.

“Well, that was handled better than I thought,” Yasaka said with an amused smile on her face. “Good job.”

“Why did I agree to be her father?” he asked, deflating and grimacing. “I suck at this. All I wanted was to tell her it was fine so she’d be happy.”

“Such is the hard life of a parent,” Yasaka told him, bringing her cup of tea to her lips. “You’ll get used to it, though it’ll never be easy.”

“Being a parent sucks.”

“Them being adorable helps a lot though, doesn’t it?” Yasaka commented, leaving his statement alone. Apparently, she didn’t disagree with that.

“I guess you aren’t wrong about that,” he replied, running his fingers through his hair. “So…” he continued, pushing his annoyance and receding nerves away. “You free now?” he asked, being about as subtle as a sledgehammer. He didn’t really see the point in being subtle though.

“Did you have something in mind?” Yasaka asked, her placid smile widening a little.

“Well, I found a nice spot a little out of the way to spend an hour or two, if you want.”

“Sounds lovely.”

[}-o-{]

In the peaceful silence of Asia's garden, Joshua sat with a notebook on his lap. Not a rare sight at all, to be sure. He liked to use the time where everyone else was busy, some with class, some with work and so on, to just spend time by himself working on magic. Well, by himself with his familiars. It wasn’t often when he didn’t have things to do himself, after all.

Fortunately for him, he could set up his class schedule however he wanted. It was just a matter of having Ravel talk with Agnes and that’d be that. Did he feel bad about strong-arming House of Water like that? A little bit, but to hear his secretary talk about it, they owed him so much that they should be pleased to accommodate him.

The Director had never seemed to take offense or anything, so Joshua assumed the girl was right.

Either way, it wasn’t like he was setting ridiculous schedules or anything. He was just tweaking things a little to have the most time to himself… That he could afford without neglecting his family, his relationships and his friends. The balancing act was kind of difficult, but Ravel was once more a godsent in that regard. Maybe he could do something nice for her? He’d have to check with the girl. There had to be something he could do. Maybe loosen up the hold he had on the Phoenix Spell business a little?

He considered that might have been something they were aiming for, but if he was winning from the situation too, then he didn’t mind.

Margalo pecked his ear, making him grimace. She was the one in charge of his attention when he got distracted though, so he just sent her a pained but still grateful feeling. She nodded and chirped something cheerful at him, adorable thing that she was.

He needed to focus on what he was doing.

Joshua was working on important things, after all. Something that wasn’t new, but the recent attack had certainly relit a fire under him. He needed to make progress and he needed to deal some more hits to Khaos Brigade. Hexennacht had been a good start, but certainly not enough. The alliance of factions were slowly chipping away at them too, but the leaders… Those were not only the most troublesome, but also the most slippery. So long as one or two of them remained around, they’d continue to be thorn in his side… at the very least.

Attacking those leaders was something he didn’t want to risk though. He was a defender, not an attacker. The problem was that his defense had one giant weakness in the shape of Annihilation Maker. All this led to a simple conclusion that he’d reached forever ago.

He needed to find a way to deal with the Longinus Sacred Gear.

So, that was what he was working on.

Project Everchanging.

Project Intelligence.

Maybe even Project Soul.

Morag clung to his back, nudging his mind with ideas about how to weave effects together. Where to lay the trap, how to do so, the effects and order, she gave opinions on anything that crossed his mind as he tried to come up with ideas for the array. Nice and artistic animal that she was, his familiar was also still a spider.

All projects that he could blend together into something that would, hopefully, keep Annihilation Maker from tearing holes through his defenses. Not only because it was very dangerous for everything Joshua wanted to protect, but also because it was so thoroughly galling. He spent hours, days, weeks, months in his defenses and the guy could just imagine a creature into existence that could destroy it all?

No.

Fuck that.

So, Joshua worked, going through old and new projects alike. He went through the information he’d gathered through his time in the supernatural, from books to personal observations, passing through experiments. All of that would help him make an impenetrable defense, or at least one that could only be pierced through with actual effort and/or consequences. He refused to just have it all amount to nothing.

His work, his training and his studying, all of that would be worth something and his enemies would see it, they’d deal with it. Joshua would be damned if he allowed them to just step all over his efforts like that again, especially while they were on their way to hurting and scaring the people most important to him. ‘Domain Authority,’ he thought, remembering the title he now wore.

He’d make them all see why he had that.

If they wanted to enter his domain, then they better be welcome or they’d pay the price.

Nagini hissed, pleased and in agreement, twisting her neck to look at him from the side from where she’d been almost napping behind him. She couldn’t, but Joshua had no doubt that she was mentally grinning at the very idea. Besides that, she fed him the idea of letting her eat at least one of the bastards that dared threaten them and theirs.

She seemed to like that he didn’t tell her no.

Back to his defenses though, the only ones he knew could break through without consequences were Dimension Lost and Annihilation Maker. It was fortunate that the first had been dealt with rather quickly and easily. The latter was proving to be more troublesome, but Joshua had paths to follow for a solution. The easiest was the “creation Sacred Gear” aspect of it.

For a long time, he’d been able to tell there was a way to recognize Sacred Gear constructs, thanks to Jeanne. From there, he’d also noticed differences with Annihilation Maker’s creatures. This last attack had provided even more information, what with all the deity power that had been flowing through him, enhancing his sensing and also the spells that had survived the siege to help out too.

Cheshire shared with him what she herself had sensed with her rather unique ability, developed all the way from when she was barely more than a normal cat. Because his first familiar was feeling rather motivated too, which pushed her to find ways to share even more through their bond. They were all working together, after all.

He had old and new information to consider.

‘I can make this,’ he thought, working on a spell that would detect Annihilation Maker creations specifically. From there, it was a matter of making something that’d find a way to counter something made specifically to counter his spells. That was shaping up to be a much bigger challenge than what he was working on, but one step at a time.

Nothing was impossible.

And if it was, then Joshua didn’t care. He’d done things others considered impossible already. He could make himself the exception to one more thing. Because fuck Annihilation Maker and Khaos Brigade. He wouldn’t let them scare Kunou like that again. He wouldn’t let them put his loved ones in danger again.

No.

The next time they stepped into his domain, they’d all regret it.

That much Joshua swore.

All around him, his familiars sent their agreement through their bond.

[}-o-{]

“I can’t believe we are winning,” Issei commented from beside him with a can of soda in hand while Joshua held one of beer. At the end of the table, between the two of them, Aika seemed very immersed in the divination book she was reading. Apparently, she was really trying to learn the branch like her life depended on it.

Which was a good approach, considering it could.

“I’d say you are being dramatic,” he commented, taking a gulp from his bitter drink. “But we do have a tendency to lose, don’t we?” he added with a half smile.

“That’s because of your underdog love,” Aika muttered and Joshua could see her rolling her eyes without even having to turn. Still though… that was fair. “Maybe pick an actually good team next time?”

“What’s the point then?” he asked back. “I like being pleasantly surprised, like right now,” he explained simply, shrugging.

“Once a year,” the girl pointed out.

“Hasn’t been a year,” was his counterpoint. “But fair,” he conceded anyway. He imagined that prediction could be right, after all.

“So, what’s the occasion?” Aika asked, changing topics and making him blink and turn away from the football match. “You don’t do this unless something happens, and it’s never been good,” she explained herself, to which he looked up. Well, his little ritual wasn’t like that, but she wasn’t wrong that he tended to get more into it when he had something to get over.

Like when Kokabiel had almost killed his family, which he’d drained all his magic for.

And when Khaos Brigade had attacked Kyoto and his soul had almost burned.

Still though, he did do it at other times too. It was something nice to keep his mind off of things when the myriad of things he was trying to balance. It really helped distract him and… Well, thinking about it again...

“Just trying to prepare for something,” he said, eyes fixed on the screen once more. His expression blank as he took another gulp from his can. Nephthys was really earning herself a spot at the top of his favorite Egyptian deities, what with the infinite and perpetually cold beer can. He didn’t know how the others could compare.

None of the gods seemed to appreciate that thought – other than the giggling goddess –, but tough luck.

Skill Issue.

“Do we want to know?” Issei asked, showing his concern much more openly than his girlfriend, even if they were both feeling it the same way. Joshua forced a slight smile to form on his face, even through the thoughts in his mind. It was going to be a long day and one that he wouldn’t enjoy.

Alas, his hand was being forced.

“No, you don’t,” he answered honestly. They grew even more concerned and even a little scared. Thus, they were treated to another part of the supernatural world. Few, so very few people were pure and good. Even the angels had things that would give one pause. After all, they had taken part in one of the most brutal wars the supernatural had seen.

Joshua was just one more case.

Considering some of the things he’d seen, Joshua knew very well how ugly the world they lived in could be. He’d experienced it firsthand and his metaknowledge provided even more proof, even if it wasn’t necessary. DxD might have had a very comedic and downright silly vibe, but if one looked further than canon Issei’s narrow minded, shallow perspective? Boy, was it dark.

Being part of that wasn't something that Joshua liked, but alas… it seemed to have infected him thoroughly before he even realized. There were many deaths in his hands, for one, which were certainly not something to push aside. However, the first thing that came to mind was his treatment of the fallen trio and some of his experiments.

He’d been downright awful in a way that kept him up at night many times ever since. His anger had gotten the better of him for a long time and then he’d gone even further, a perfect example of sunk cost fallacy. Joshua’s mind and emotions had turned him into something he hardly recognized.

It had taken him a long time to change and even longer to recognize how wrong that had been. Some might say he’d been justified and even be disappointed that he hadn’t gone through with the things he’d said and planned. However, that wasn’t him, not at all.

And now…

Now, he was about to voluntarily step back on that path, this time fully aware of what he was doing. It was much worse, he realized, which was why he was doing what he was. Maybe he was wrong to go through with it anyway, he supposed. It was a possibility and yet… he didn’t think he’d regret it as much this time as with the fallen.

The supernatural seemed to be doing its best to wear him down.

“This is about those Chaos guys, right?” Issei asked, uncharacteristically serious, which brought Joshua’s attention to the boy. “I almost want to ask to help if that’s the case,” he said, surprising him a fair bit. “You’d say no though, I’m sure.”

“I would,” Joshua replied, shaking his head with a weak smile. Truly, sometimes just always stayed the same. One such case was Issei, throwing himself at situations he had no idea abo-

“You’ll make them suffer,” Issei commented casually and he paused, eyes widening. “And they deserve it. They attacked your family,” the boy said, as if that made all the sense in the world.

It was at that moment that Joshua was reminded that the pervert was the Red Dragon Emperor.

The Dragon of Domination.

“Can’t say I approve,” Aika commented, resolutely staring at the book in front of her. “But I know you. You aren’t a monster,” she added, sounding very confident.

Joshua kind of wanted to be that confident himself.

“You two are something,” he replied, not even knowing what to say to the two. “I’ll keep it in mind though. Get yourselves something good, alright? On the house.”

“Nice,” Issei cheered, instantly losing most of the cool points he’d earned himself.

That was reassuring, in a way, but not much.

Maybe they weren’t as far gone as Joshua was, but he doubted that’d remain the case for long.

[}-o-{]

[Walburga]

It hadn’t been long, but she’d already gotten used to tuning out the screeches of one very annoying devil who was situated in the cell to her right… Which, by the way, why? Walburga knew Yasaka thoroughly hated her guts and all, being an enemy of her boy toy and all. Still though, why put the banshee next to her?

That was one cruel and unusual punishment.

She’d spent days thinking over what she could say or do to get some favor and get that woman away from herself. It was almost worse than being interrogated by the Nine-Tailed Fox. Almost, but not quite. Because that was a day she’d never forget for the rest of her life, Walburga knew.

How Katerea – she’d been forced to learn her name, with how much she screamed it for all to hear – continued to make a nuisance of herself after that, she didn’t know. It’d have been impressive if it weren’t so incredibly grating. Walburga wished she had Incinerate Anthem again just so she could burn her and finally have some peace.

Alas, she’d have to suffer, she supposed.

That is, until a click was heard through the cells and Katerea fell deathly silent. Everyone else had already been, but to Walburga, it seemed almost like there was more quiet than normal as everyone held their breath. Another click followed and then there were steps coming their way.

It wasn’t Yasaka, that was the first thing she noticed.

It also wasn’t the servants that made sure they didn’t die in that hole.

That meant it had to be an unknown and Walburga wasn’t looking forward to an unknown. Because, as far as she knew, there was a pretty good chance that whoever it was, it’d be someone that’d interrogate them even harder than Yasaka had. And that was saying a whole fucking lot.

At the same time, chances of them being good for them was almost zero, if not completely so.

“Long time no see,” she heard and her face twitched at the same time as Katerea channeled her best – most powerful as of that moment – inner Karen. It made sense, but damn if Walburga didn’t wish she’d be silent.

Alas, this was Joshua Davis that had come for a visit.

Apparently, from all the rambling and screeching, she’d gathered that the man had killed the devil woman’s lover or something along those lines. Well, that and thoroughly kicked her ass too. On top of that, if some snippets she’d gotten here and there were accurate, he hadn’t even deigned to face her himself, instead leaving her for his apprentice to take.

That had been an amusing thing to learn.

To her relief, once the man came within sight, he sent one look towards Katerea before snapping his fingers and making her go silent. ‘Thank the gods,’ Walburga thought to herself, sighing. She almost felt like thanking the man. Almost.

“So, I hear you’ve talked a fair bit and about more useful stuff than whatever that was,” Davis commented idly, looking at all of their cells, not just the Leviathan. “I think I’ll see if there’s any more I can get out of you,” he added, almost as if he were telling them about a new hobby he’d be trying out.

Even with the casual tone, Walburga felt a chill run down her spine.

“As if we’d tell you anything,” Beelzebub growled, like the idiot he was. Walburga almost pitied the Satan descendants. They were so deluded about their self-importance and their power that it wasn’t even funny. Even thoroughly defeated as they had been, they still held onto the belief that they were hot stuff.

“Well, you can choose not to. That’s fine,” Davis told the man with a shrug before a slight smile formed on his face. “You’ll be telling me a lot anyway, one way or another.”

“Oh, yeah? How?”

“Simple, really. I found this on your dead friend,” Davis commented, pulling out a vial full of something… black and twisting. Like someone had trapped a half-liquid half-gaseous shadow inside the glass. Occasionally, there was a glint of yellow in between the dark substance too. “And I know this is what you took to make yourself stronger. So… I’m very curious. As such… I’ll be running some tests on you, guys, until I find the answers I’m looking for. Feel free to talk though, that might get you out of it… maybe.”

Well…

Sucked to be them, Walburga thought, watching Beelzebub’s face pale in the cell across from hers.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

Well, that escalated quickly.

Or did it? Now that I’ve gotten her, I feel like this moment has been a long time coming, somewhat. Joshua always had Khaos Brigade in his sights for several reasons that only piled up as time went by. He also showed that he’s far from just the saint he seems to be most of the time.

And now, recent events have brought his worst side out once more… more focused than ever. That sounds kinda scary to me, not gonna lie. Can’t wait to see how this develops.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter and see things as I do.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Do you see things as I do? Do you have a different read on things? I’ve made it no secret that I don’t even know what my characters will do even in the same scene I’m writing, nevermind future ones, so… yeah.

See you.