Karmatic

A New Sun Chapter 89

Chapter 89

~ A New Sun ~

Schwertleite is starting to think that she may have made a terrible mistake.

And everything was going so well before, too!

First things first, actually finding this place didn't turn out to be so hard.

Turns out? That Hildr they mentioned? She was one of Odin's former bodyguards, just like Rossweisse.

Schwertleite thought that name sounded familiar, and it was because she had heard of it before. Hildr was one of the rare few non-Walkures to become a Valkyrie and even ascend further to be chosen by Lord Odin to become his bodyguard.

As a result, even long after she left Odin's service, the other squad members still somewhat look up to her and gossip about what she's up to now.

And that would turn out to be…working here.

The 'Romp Through the Shieldwall.' As a Hostess.

Schwertleite didn't get it. Is there supposed to be a joke here that she's missing?

Regardless, finding out where this place was didn't turn out to be too much of a bother; what did, though, was actually trying to reach the place.

She couldn't just suddenly leave, and neither could those three, it turns out.

Schwertleite swears, everyone gossips and talks so much shit all the time that they forget being a Valkyrie is a job.

So when those three tried to sneak out, and the Valkyrie Sqaud Captain Brynhildr caught them…

Terrifyingly powerful as Brynhildr is, the only other aspect of her that rivals her power is her professionalism. As such, well, she didn't take their attempts at excuses all that well.

Now, off the job or out of earshot would have been a different matter, but in this case, they weren't getting off the hook.

The Captain is practically forcing those three to work themselves to the bone, even now, doing menial labor tasks and such as she watches, which suits Schwertleite just fine.

It dissuaded her from even thinking about attempting the same thing. Of course, if three fully-grown and realized Valkyrie couldn't get around the Captain's magic, what chance did she have as a Valkyrie-in-training?

That sucks, but still, it give her time after she was relieved of her training and duties for the day, something that would usually be far tighter otherwise, as the times Valkyrie-in-Training and full blown Valkyrie squad members are let off the job aren't far apart.

She knows it's to prepare them for the real job, all that other blah blah blah, but it still couldn't be more annoying in this case!

Anyhow. She felt she had made it in good time, but next came the tricky part.

Finding her.

Getting in without tripping the detection barrier wasn't difficult at all. The magic was pretty old, showing clear neglect, so it was an easy job.

Without anyone showing up there, and presumably to tell her what exactly she was looking at…well, that's where the real tricky part came in.

Schwertleite just ended up sliding up each curtain, starting from those closest to her and going down the line.

She didn't swing them open!

Well, not all of them, anyhow. Just the first one.

She wasn't going to make that mistake again.

When she first came here, she didn't understand the fuss, beyond the fact that couples came here.

Then, when she flung open that first curtain, and all she saw was big hairy man ass pistoning down between the legs of some girl from Alfheim on a table, she figured it out pretty quick.

Thankfully, those two seemed too absorbed in their…date…to notice what she had done, so she was able to throw the curtain back in place and swiftly walk to the next.

Where at, she merely pulled it to the side a little and peeked in.

Now, as she stands under a golden gaze increasingly glowing with the fury of the sun, she'd honestly say she'd prefer the big hairy ass to this.

Seriously, who is this guy with Rossweisse, and why does it feel his glare alone will turn her to ash!?

"I asked you a question." He abruptly snapped, as she just continued to gaze, a cold shiver running up her back, "I'm expecting an answer, or I'll assume the worst."

Geez, this guy…!

Quickly now, Schwertleite gulped and stepped forward, closing the curtain behind her so nothing they said would leak out.

Or do. Like being turned into paste. Hopefully, though, it won't come to that.

After all, she is actually here for a very good reason!

His gaze snapped between her and the curtain as she does, and he raises an eyebrow in askance

Then, his eyes started to shift-

Danger screamed throughout her entire body, and almost on reflex, she held up her hands in surrender. "W-Wait! Don't! Do whatever that is! Okay!? I don't want any trouble!"

His eyes narrow but halt mid-shift, reverting to normal-looking eyes a moment later.

"Uh-huh." The guy huffs, clearly not buying it entirely, "You are a little young to be just any voyeur, I guess..."

Voyeur? She is not a voyeur!

His eyes trail up and down her form now that she's revealed, but notably, not in a perverted way, despite the way the Valkyrie uniform is designed; it's purely observational.

Realization glints in those eyes before he smirks, "You're a Valkyrie, huh?" He asks, already knowing the answer, obviously, yet she nods along, quickly confirming it regardless, "So then, a voyeur, plus a valkyrie…" he muses aloud, "what would that be, a Voyalkyrie?"

Now, hold on!

…Is what she would like to say, not just think.

But the further along she stands her, the more and more she feels something pricking at the edges of her senses, growing stronger.

A divine presence. Here.

Sure, Walkure are Half-Gods, but they only get the classification by a technicality. They don't truly possess any divine powers like say, an actual Norse God, like Lord Odin or Lord Thor.

She knows the 'scent' of divine power well. She's been in the presence of Lord Odin and was there when Lady Freyja came to visit Valhalla.

Now, not exactly the same 'scent,' but something almost adjacent to it, is growing right before her.

Coming straight from him.

This guy, he definitely looks Eastern; they weren't wrong about that, he doesn't look from here at all…

Yet this power, is he a…?

All of a sudden, he sighs and shrugs, "Man, it's no fun if you don't react, Voyalkyrie."

She felt her eyebrow twitch and watched as his gaze caught it, and his smirk grew a fraction larger.

"Alright then, Voyalkyrie," she's not- "go on. Explain yourself. This is the second time I'm reminding you to do so; if I have to do a third, well…" he points to his eyes, "I'll force an explanation out of you."

Schwertleite isn't sure how he intends to do that and would really rather not find out.

Gritting her teeth, with indignation at the insult and fear at the clear threat, she forces out a breath, "I came…to warn you. To warn her." She specified, gaze falling pointedly on Rossweise, or where she thinks she is anyways, as she couldn't see her anymore beyond her unmoving legs from under and passed the bench.

The guy's gaze shifted, his head turning back to look down at the girl who fell between his legs barely even a minute or so ago, before turning back to her.

"Did you now?" He asked, curiosity peaked, yet she could tell he still didn't fully buy it.

That's okay; this guy probably doesn't even know, but Rossweisse would.

Schwertleite nodded, resolute, "A few members from the Valkyrie Squad, they caught wind of her being here, they're going to come after work. Come crash…all of this." She waves toward them.

His gaze immediately sharpened.

Ah, now she's got his full attention.

Yet, the next words she hears aren't his.

"...Who? Who are they?"

Even the guy is caught off guard as he perks up and turns back toward the voice.

Rossweisse's legs finally move as she stands up, gently pulling the guy's other slightly glowing hand off her head as she does so.

Wait, glowing?

Rossweisse nods at him, flashing him a small grateful smile, seemingly thankful, before she looks over him and toward her.

Is it wrong that her heart skips a beat a little when her eyes fall on her, and recognition fills them?

"Wait a minute, you…?" Rossweisse starts, in slight disbelief, "We've met before, haven't we? I-It's been a little while, but you…" Her eyes glimmer, and she perks up. "Schwertleite, right?"

Schwertleite feels like she might faint.

"You couldn't use offensive magic," Rossweisse continued, "so you specialized in support magic, but to fight, you also learned Norse-style magic fencing, am I correct?"

Schwertleite nodded. Rapidly. Several times.

Meanwhile, the guy looked between the two of them, a deadpan look on his face as if he wanted to interrupt and say, 'Really? You two are doing this now?'

Rossweisse smiled, pleased. "How's that been going for you?"

"P-Pretty good!" Schwertleite swiftly confirmed, "But then again, of course it did. Y-You recommended it for me after all…" she went on, growing far more quiet with each word.

Rossweisse blinked at her, unable to hear her by the end.

The guy also blinked, and then he smiled.

He had heard her, somehow, she knew it!

Stupid god bullshit senses! That is a thing, isn't it?

Whatever!

"A-Anyway!" Schwertleite coughed, clearing her throat and getting away from…all that, before she started getting flustered, "The squad members that were on their way here…"

Rossweisse's gaze sharpened. "Right, yes. Do you know who they are?"

She nodded, eager to get a move on, "I got their names but pretty much nothing else." She answered, sounding a little ashamed or disappointed in herself now that she's saying that out loud.

After all, she did have some time, maybe she could have-

"That's fine!" The voice of her former senior Valkyrie cuts through her thoughts, "The names are more than enough." She gives a reassuring smile.

Schwertleite couldn't help but send her a small smile back herself, "Well, alright…Ortlinde, Grimgerde, and Helmwige, that's the three."

With each name, Rossweisse's expression fell and fell, until her smile was replaced a near dead and tired stare.

"I see." Rossweisse responded after a moment, her voice simmering with suppressed rage, so much so that Schwertleite flinched, and the guy looked up toward her former senior, concern clearly visible across his face.

"Rose…?" The guy asked quietly, and Rossweisse merely sighed.

"I don't think I ever really got into the details, and I won't, for now, but…" She began with a grimace. "Too put it plainly? Out of most of the Valkyrie Squad, those three were probably the worst when it came to, well…"

Schwertleite saw fit to finish her senior's words for her, "Everything. Like, literally everything. They're insufferable bitches, somehow each their in their own unique way."

Rose flashed her an uneasy smile. "That is one way to put it, yes."

"Huh." The guy blinked. "So, like Norse Mean Girls, then?" He…observed?

Honestly, Schwertleite wasn't sure what he was yapping about now, and judging by the eyebrow raise her senior flashed him, she didn't really know either.

"Sure?" Her senior eventually, tentatively, agreed with him, which the guy smiled to, and gave her a thumbs up.

"Alright then!" He began, wrapping his arms around Rossweisse's waist.

"E-Eh? Nori-EEEP!" Her senior squeaked, actually squeaked, as the guy, Nori, stood up, bringing her with him.

He got off the bench, carrying Rossweisse with him, before turning completely toward her and setting town the older silver-haired girl.

"A bunch of bullies then, ya?" He continued, stretching arms, right then left, in that order, "I can take care of em' easy. Just give me 10- no, 5 minutes. If that. I'll extract an apology from them for you, then we can be on our way to whatever we wanna do next." He eyed Rossweisse, giving her a happy-looking grin, yet underneath it all…

The room suddenly felt suffocatingly hot.

And not in a lewd way, either!

She means that literally.

Abruptly, that same 'scent' of divine power thickened to an all-time high, she could feel the neglected magic around them, in this little quartered off area, in the curtain, begin to buckle as if being bent.

If this kept up? In seconds, the entire array of spells around them would collapse, and then-

"Noriaki." Her senior's voice cut through it all once more, albeit this time, far more harsh and scoldingly.

Schwertleite then found herself gasping for breath, coughing and hacking on her knees.

When…when did she fall to her knees!?

She looked up and found her senior glaring up at Nori- or Noriaki now, she guessed.

In Rossweisse's hand was a magic circle of her own design and make, spinning and glowing its vibrant purple hue, but unfortunately, Schwertleite didn't have the luxury to stare and goggle at the craftsmanship. Not right now.

As around Noriaki? Now she could see it. A golden divine glow, like a mist of honey venting off his form and into the air, pure divine power released unbridled.

So he is a God, then!?

Of course, her senior would go and bag herself a God, wouldn't she?

Out of everyone back in that stupid squad, Schwertleite can say for certain that Rossweisse deserves such a guy in her corner.

Still, she wonders what exactly he's the God of?

Banishing the thought for now, Noriaki continues looking down at Rossweisse, his smile never even slipping.

"...Yes?" He answers her slowly, like he isn't doing anything in particular and is confused at her tone.

"Watch it," Rossweisse warns, her glare turning into one of concern, "if you keep this up, you'll bring the entire building down."

"Hmm, will I?" Noriaki hums, uncaring, "Gonna have to be honest with ya, Rose. I don't really care about the building."

What!? This guy…!

Rossweisse looked rightfully appalled, "E-Eh!? But the fines…the fees!"

Yeah! Wait.

Did she just say something about fines?

"Meh. I can pay for it." Noriaki waved her off.

Why is that the thing these two are focused on!?

"Besides," he continued, before her senior could bring up something more important, hopefully, "the way I see it? The only way those girls could have found we were here is if someone told them. And unless it was that random Dad playing with his son outside, it can only be one other person who we met, and who would even have the connection likely to pull something like this anyway."

"Hildr…" Rose slumped slightly as she murmured her name, disappointment clear in her voice.

"The Hostess." Noriaki nods, "Yeah, exactly. So. Fuck this place. If what the Voyalkyre over there said is true," for real, she's not- "then I don't wanna pay a dime. And I especially won't be leaving a tip for such a petty bitch."

Rossweisse let out a long, low sigh, "I understand, Nori…but there are other people that work here, other than her. Destroying the place is just going to inconvenience everyone…and barely at that." She waved her hand. "It's not like it'd take very much magic to restore the place anyway."

There we go! A reasonable concern!

Noriaki blinked at her, "...Wait, if wouldn't do much, then whats this talk about fines?"

Rossweisse gave a pained grimace. "For destroying property," she elaborates further, "I remember hearing about them all the time from Lord Thor, how they put even him in debt for a time."

…Okay maybe the fines were more reasonable a concern, sheesh.

Noriaki's blink once more was far longer and was followed up with his eyes widening slightly.

It took a few seconds, but his misty aura of divine power radiating from him slowly evaporated away as he crossed his arms, giving her a small pout, "...Alright, fine. I won't torch the place.

Her magic circle spun out soon afterward, and the older silver-haired girl flashed him a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"I'm still gonna beat the tar out of those bullies." He added shortly thereafter.

Rossweisse holds up a finger to him, "Actually, please…allow me to handle them?"

Noriaki perks up. "Wait, really?" He looks at her pointedly. "Are you sure?"

Reaching up, tenderly, Rossweisse puts her hand against his cheek, and gives him a resolute nod and smile, "I'm sure. I don't know how exactly I want go about handling them yet, but…" her smile turns a tad bit more machevious, "I have a few ideas, I think!"

Noriaki smiled back at her, yet for some reason, Schwertleite couldn't help but notice that it seemed more…strained? Wait, no, worried?

Why would he be worried about a smile?

"Well…ah, alright then!" Noriaki reached up, grasping her hand with his, "I'll be right here, by your side, if you need anything."

Rossweisse merely smiles back at him, her face flushing an adorable shade of pink.

Really, Schwertleite couldn't be gladder that after leaving, her former senior wound up in a place far better around here.

Truly, she deserves it.

Schwertleite didn't notice, but all of a sudden, she found herself smiling at the scene.

"Oh, ya." Noriaki suddenly looked over Rossweisse's shoulder at her and raised an eyebrow. "Almost forgot you were here, Voyalkyre. You doing alright over there?"

That is, of course, until she got pointed out by him!

With a huff, Schwertleite got back up on her feet. "Just…peachy."

Noriaki then proceeded to flash her a thumbs up. "Neat." His gaze flickered back down to Rossweisse, who was staring at him expectantly, prompting him to give an exaggerated sigh. "Oh yeah. Also, sorry for blasting you with my divine aura earlier. I got a little…excitied? Yeah, let's call it that."

Schwertleite grumbled to herself. Such nonchalance. A God, even if his words and the 'scent' of his aura didn't give it away. How troublesome.

Well, she can't truly fault him for it since it was for Rossweisse and all, but still, how troublesome.

"It's fine, I suppose." She waved him off.

"Good, now then," he pauses, clicking his tongue while looking at her, "You just gonna stand there, or…?"

Schwertleite blinked.

Oh yeah, what is she going to do now?

Logically? She should just leave. Her entrance was bad enough; give the two lovebirds their time to do whatever.

There's also the risk that if she stays and gets spotted by those three, work would suddenly become a living hell.

Literally.

Unless her senior plans to kill them.

But somehow, Schwertleite doesn't expect she'll go that far.

Though Schwertleite certainly wouldn't mind, and somehow, she didn't think her godly boyfriend would care either.

Yet, despite all the risk?

Schwertleite can't help but feel like not running away.

She looked back toward her senior's godly boyfriend, her mind made up and resolute.

"I'd like to stay, please."

Noriaki narrowed his eyes back at her, but ultimately, he merely sighed, looking toward Rossweisse, "Well, it's Rose's show for now. So, you think the Voyalkyre here would be able to help?"

Somehow, someway, she will find a way to get this god back for him tainting her with such a vulgar nickname!

It doesn't help that her senior isn't even trying to defend her either, as the older silver-haired girl doesn't even comment as she looks her way, humming in thought.

After a moment, Rossweisse's eyes sparkle, and she smiles.

"Actually…yes, yes she could."

Schwertleite shivers.

Okay. Now she's starting to understand why her boyfriend looked a little worried earlier!

Just what does her senior have in mind for her former squadmates?

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 89 End

It's heeerreeee~!

Also, man, poor Schwertleite. Girl isn't gonna be Gyakyrie her, lmao.

A New Sun Chapter 88

Chapter 88

~ A New Sun ~

Okay, how do I go about explaining this without sounding like a dick?

…Fuck it. If it comes off that way, it comes off that way.

Right. So, Norse food.

I don't know what I was expecting, to be entirely honest. Granted, considering clearly what this establishment's purpose is, I think it's safe to say I didn't have any expectations.

Even then, as I stared at the frankly absurdly large wooden bowl of steaming stew before us, I didn't really know what to think.

Well, beyond the fact that I could easily stuff my entire head into the bowl and probably drown myself in the stew, but that's more an observation than anything else.

This is the first thing Rose recommended we order, and to be honest, I can't say why.

Unless she's got some sort of scheme where she plans to make us full as fast as possible in order to save money.

Which I could totally see her trying.

It still wouldn't stop me from spending more money.

If there's one thing Kuroka taught me beyond Senjutsu, it's how to spend.

And I didn't even need to be there for any of it! I just had to look at my bank statements at the end of the month!

Anyhow! Back to the present moment!

When the stew magically appeared on the table, it also came with a big wooden spoon, which I'm tempted to say is actually a ladle considering its size, along with…is that bread?

It smells like freshly baked bread, but it looks closer to a tortilla with the thickness of a pancake.

In my lap, Rose clapped her hands together and let out a content little sigh, "Ah~, I didn't expect it to smell so good, but considering the price, it had better…"

That last bit sounded wholly like a threat, and for a second, I could have sworn I saw a vengeful glimmer in her eye.

She isn't wrong, though; it does smell pretty good!

I can't comment on the price, though. I can't read!

Heh. Blissful ignorance.

I point toward the stew. "So, you just called this 'the stew' earlier. Does it have a name, and what's even filling this up?"

My guess is something like 'The Mighty Stew' because of its size, and then fitting alongside that, a whole lot of meat.

Rose perked up, "Oh! Right, I suppose I did sort of brush over the why I recommended it, d-didn't I?" Rose cleared her throat, and waved toward the steaming broth, "The menu calls it the 'Hearty Stew,' its made from slow-cooked meat and root vegetables with a mix of earthly spices." Rose looked down and smiled slightly. "It's a pretty standard dinner dish around here, perfect for keeping you warm and full no matter how cold or empty you are."

Damn it! So close!

Still, I don't let that get me down, and I let out a low whistle before smiling alongside her, "Sounds pretty good to me, but what kinda meat are we talking about?"

"Ah, just beef," Rose answered, her smile turning a little uneasy as she looked up at me, "there were other options, like venison, and more…exotic meat options from the other realms, but I wasn't sure you'd like any of those, so, just to be safe, beef."

'Exotic?'

I don't think I've had venison before, but meat from other realms?

I'm not going to lie; that definitely piqued my curiosity! But at the same time, if Rose isn't sure…well, I'll accept her judgment on the matter.

"Still," I start slowly, "are you okay with beef? Don't you have any other preferences?"

Rose chuckled shyly at that, "W-Well, not really, no. I always preferred more simple options…" She considered what she said for a second before swiftly adding, "A-And not just because it's cheaper, either! Even when certain things suddenly got more popular for no reason at all, like that time when troll was…" Rose slowly trails off, pulled into a past memory, cringing all the while.

I cringed along with her, of course.

Troll? Actual troll!? Who the hell would eat that!

I don't want an actual answer to that question.

Without a second thought, I pull Rose out her trip down memory with a simple, "Well, alright then! Let's eat!"

Rose blinked out of it, and looked back at me, a big bright smile on her face as she nodded, "Mhmm!"

That said, I scooped up the totally not a ladle and dipped it in the stew, pulling out a spoonful…which I held up for Rose.

She blinked, first at the 'spoon' in my hand, then she tilted her head to blink at me.

My smile morphed into a smirk, and I wiggled the 'spoon' in my hand as I cooed, "Come on now, Rose, open up, say, ah~!"

"W-What!? But that's…" Rose flushed red, looking down at the 'spoon' in my hand with a shy, tense pout. After a moment, though, she gulped, nodded her head once, and her pout morphed into a semi-determined glare.

She opened her mouth without another word, and went, "A~Ah~...?"

A little unsure, but adorable nonetheless, heh!

I didn't shove the entire thing into her mouth; the 'spoon' was way too big for that, so instead, I carefully poured the contents in, chuckling happily once the 'spoon' was emptied out, and she shut her mouth to chew.

She refused to look at me, but I could see enough from what little of her face I could catch that although mighty embarrassed, she was very pleased.

It took her a few moments to chew. I guess the 'Hearty' in the name isn't for nothing, huh? But when she finished up, she gulped it down and let out a satisfied sigh.

"I didn't think I'd miss it so much…" Rose let out as low murmur that I barely caught.

Nothing quite like eating food from your homeland after a long stint away, is there?

That said, Rose slowly turned back to me, her blush still burning across her face. "N-Now," she begins, not entirely certain, "it is your turn!"

Oh?

Just like that, the silver-haired girl snatched the 'spoon' from my grasp, not quicker than I could react too, but why would I ruin her fun?

And just as I did, she dipped the 'spoon' in and turned back to me with a ladleful of stew, which she promptly held up, hands a little shaky.

"U-Um…Say, ah~? P-Please~?" Rose tried; she really did.

I let out a soft chuckle, my hand coming up to take the hand Rose is using to hold up the ladle, steadying it.

"Heh. Thank you for the food~..." I hum out, before opening wide, looking her straight in the eyes, "Ah~!"

Rose stared at me, eyes wide, and even with my hand helping keep her steady, she still almost poured the contents straight onto my chin.

In the end, though, we managed, and I held an embarrassed Rose happily as I chewed, even as she covered her face and blabbered incoherently about almost messing it up.

As for the stew?

Well, it was alright.

It tasted pretty much exactly as Rose said it was made of.

It's pretty simple, all things considered.

Now, that doesn't mean bad, per se. In this case, it truly just means simple. A little basic flavor-wise.

Not bad, or even bland, just…simple.

Yeah, thats probably how I'd describe it, even at the risk of it sounding dickish in a way.

To be honest, I actually get far more enjoyment feeding Rose and watching her reactions than eating this myself.

I do not want to be that guy, but I think Japanese food has spoiled my taste buds a bit too much.

In any event, after Rose calmed down enough so that we could continue eating, well, we did exactly that.

That thing I called a mix of a tortilla and a pancake earlier? Turns out that was just flatbread.

Who could have seen that coming?

I ended up making something like a meat taco out of the meat from the stew, folded between a slice of the flatbread.

"..." Rose stared at me, her eye twitching, as I held my impromptu Norse taco up like a creation hot off my forge, with all the pride that comes with it.

I couldn't tell if she wanted to strangle me or not for screwing with such a traditional meal.

Even if she admitted that said 'Norse taco' didn't taste bad at all.

Apparently, the proper way to do it is to tear off pieces of the bread and dip it in the stew. Soak up the juices and all that.

I think I prefer my Norse taco, though, purely because I get to call it a Norse taco, and that sounds funny to me.

Around halfway through the stew, I pretty much forced her to set it aside for the time being.

It turns out she was planing to try and fill us up on just the stew.

Sneaky girl.

Unfortunately for her, I was determined to spend money on her and for this!

And thus, incomes a bit of a food montage.

After a bit of cajoling, I managed to convince Rose to move on and pick up our next dish, something called gravlax.

It was basically a cured salmon, mixed with herbs and spices of course, on rye bread.

Definitely a different taste compared to something like say, sushi. Also it came with another bread type I hadn't seen or ever had before, neat.

Unfortunately, I couldn't make a Norse taco 2.0 with the fish and the bread, even though I was fairly tempted to try.

". . ." All those desires were dashed fairly quickly when a certain silver-haired girl glared me down, though.

Next up, as a result of me asking for something a little sweeter, she ordered the salted caramel apples.

Confused the hell out of me for a straight minute. I'm no food history buff, but I'm fairly certain caramel apples didn't come from the Vikings. Or just Northern Europe in general.

Then again, I guess not everything on the menu has to be from around here. I just sort of assumed…

I suppose that's on me. Woops!

Anyhow, can't go wrong with caramel apples. They even came in wedges, and the caramel was used as a dipping sauce instead of just being on the apples already, which was nice.

That done, Rose practically begged that we order this next thing, apparently it's one of the cheaper things on the menu, so I decided, why not?

Not like we aren't going to order more stuff after.

Especially since it just turned out to be honey-glazed root vegetables.

Again, not entirely sure if covering a bunch of carrots and turnips and the like in honey, salt, and spices and then cooking it is a northern dish, but eh, they weren't bad. I do like honey.

Speaking of honey, though, that led Rose to recommend something a little more unique for dessert.

Something called skyr; she pretty much likened it to yogurt.

You could get all sorts of toppings and such with it, too. I ended up getting berries and honey on mine.

"Oh muh~ me~...Mmm~..." I moaned as I shoved an actual proper spoonful of the stuff in my mouth.

Rose, still in my lap, giggled airily at my reaction, "It sounds like you like it?"

"Ohhh~ yeah…"

Oh, hell yeah, I did! It's rich, creamy, and smooth, and the honey and berries give its mild sort of tangy flavor a far sweeter and fruity pop.

Honestly, probably the best thing I've had here!

Rose cupped her small bowl of plain skyr in her hands, the properly sized spoon sitting in it, undisturbed for now.

Our table is mostly cleared up by now, save the menu and notepad near the table ends; every single time we're finished with something, it gets teleported away.

Seriously, I can't even begin to undersell how cool a magic restaurant is.

Rose, though, didn't seem so enthused; instead, all of a sudden, she was staring off toward the menu, cringing slightly.

I have a feeling I know what's on her mind, but just to be sure…

I remove my spoon from my mouth with a sigh and eye her up seriously, "Hey…you okay? Was there something wrong with the food I didn't notice?"

Rose flinched, and looked back toward me, looking almost ashamed or guilty, "Oh, n-no! Nothing like that, everything was made up to my standards, and even surpassing them in some cases! It's just…" Her eyes drifted toward the menu again, anguish clear in her pretty blue eyes this time.

"The prices, huh," I say slowly.

As slowly as I spoke, Rose nodded her head before catching herself and freezing, quickly following up with, "W-Well, yes! I just don't think-"

"I think it is worth it." I interrupted her with an easy shrug.

Rose stared at me, absolutely flabbergasted, her mouth shutting, then opening, and then shutting again.

Eventually, she let out a huff. "It's r-rude, interrupting a lady like that all the time."

I smirk, "It's required, when said lady starts freaking out about stuff she doesn't need to worry about."

"...T-The prices though…!" Rose starts wriggling in my lap, as though somehow the numbers on that piece of paper are going to commit a crime of some sort, and she has to stop it.

As if I care about the price tag. I can't even read it!

But more importantly.

I shook my head, taking away her skyr and setting it down with mine on the table before I took her hands in mine.

Before she could even say anything else, I looked her straight in the eyes.

"I told you this before, didn't I? Before we even started ordering." I recall with an easygoing smile, "I told you it's worth it. Do you know why?"

Rose shimmied back and forth in my lap, barely able to meet my gaze as she responded, "Your…promise?"

I considered that for a moment before shaking my head, causing Rose to widen her eyes my way, before I elaborated, "Technically, my promise is only part of it. You wanna know the full reason?"

For a split second, Rose's gaze sharpened, and she nodded.

I smirked.

"It's because you're worth it."

Rose promptly froze stock still as I uttered those words, straight to her face.

"I know we haven't known each other the longest," I continue, unabated, unabashed, "but I can say for certain…you're worth it. There's no price tag too high, no length too long, nothing. Every guy here? They're blind that they didn't see it before I did."

"T-That…" Rose stuttered, "That's not true, I'm not…I couldn't even…"

"Disregard what other people expect of you." I continue, blasting through her doubts, "Consider what you've done. Look at all you've done, think of that. Compare it to everyone else, and what do you find?"

"I-I…I don't know, Nori. I don't know," she uttered weakly, "all my life, starting from the very beginning, with my family…I failed them. I couldn't use my family's magic. During school, I couldn't even find a boyfriend. As a Valkyrie, I couldn't find souls to bring in as heroes, and as Odin's bodyguard…well…" she chuckles dryly, "that didn't last all that long, did it?"

"And yet…?" I eased her on with a raise of my eyebrow, "You didn't make it to your position as Odin's bodyguard just on a whim, did you?"

"No…I suppose I didn't," she gave. "I couldn't inherit my family's magic, so I went into the combat magic used by the Valkyrie instead. I ran through school, and even college skipped so many grades, graduated so early, became a Valkyrie…" she lets out a small sad smile, "sometimes I wonder if any of it was worth it, considering how it all ended up…"

I let out a considerate hum before smiling back at her, "Hmm…I'm gonna be selfish for a moment and say that, considering you ended up with me?" I settle my forehead against her and wrap an arm around her waist, holding her close. "Yeah. Yeah, I think it was."

Like that, Rose stares at me, completely and utterly flabbergasted.

Then, slowly, ever so slowly, she reaches up and wraps her arms around my shoulders, tears pricking the corners of her eyes as her face starts rapidly heating up.

"Y-Yeah…" She murmured back to me in bashful agreement, "Maybe, it was~..."

All of a sudden, she leans forward.

She didn't have to move much, only maybe a few inches at most, and she didn't even move that fast.

Regardless, for once, Rose still caught me completely off guard.

"Chu~..."

Rose leans in and kisses me on the lips.

Her eyes squeezed shut, she gave me probably the most chaste kiss I've ever had in any lifetime.

One delivered in the heat of the moment, without any planning or knowing how to kiss.

That's okay, though.

Because I know just how to respond.

I wrap my other arm around her, letting her hands go to hold her entirely within my arms. I kept her close, even as she tried to naturally pull away.

Poor girl has no idea what she's doing, and frankly, I'm no master class kisser, but I don't exactly need to be either.

As soon as she tried, my lips immediately caught back up to hers and claimed them back, properly.

Rose's little kiss was gentle, tentative, sweet, and not sloppy by any means, but it could barely be called a kiss.

As soon as my lips crash into hers, Rose lets out a squeak before tapering off into a muffled pleased moan.

And just like that, she sits there. I hold her, my fingers digging into the softness of her dress, while her hands trail up from my shoulders to my head, messing with my hair for reasons she probably doesn't know.

In my grasp, I can feel Rose as a shiver goes down her spine, our bodies locked in the kiss as we are; that's the only movement I feel.

I don't count the moments, the seconds, as it goes on, until eventually Rose tilts her head to the side and lets out a shuddering breath for air, clearly for air.

Yet still, I'm hungry now. Ross gave me a taste of something else, and I want more.

So I follow her lips like a bloodhound on the hunt and kiss her again, drawing a shocked but no less pleased groan from the silver-haired girl in my arms.

She gave me her first; I took her second.

Then her third, fourth, fifth…until eventually, I stopped caring to count.

For the next who knows how long, the only sounds that echoed in our area were satisfying sighs, low wet squishes, and airy, almost lewd moans.

My hands were halfway under her sundress when another new noise entered the room.

The sounds of fabric, moving.

"Oh."

And a…new voice!?

Almost at the same time, my and Rose's eyes flew open, for a split second taking in each other's slightly ragged appearance, before turning back toward where the curtain should be blocking anyone from seeing or even hearing us.

Only to find said curtain peeled back every so slightly, revealing the face of a slightly younger girl, maybe a few years younger, peering in on us.

The girl looked…fairly similar to Rose. With the same silvery hair and blue eyes. In fact, if I knew she didn't have any siblings, I'd hazard a guess and say this is her younger sister or something.

What really caught my eyes though? The fact our little voyeur here was eyeing Rose specifically.

Not in a perverted manner, and she didn't seem shocked; no, rather, she seemed in awe.

"...It's you…!" The younger silver-haired girl started, "It really is you…!"

"I-I! U-Um! Idon'tknowwhatyou'retalkingabout!" Rose cried, quickly tried to scramble out of my grasp, reaching wildly for the sunhat she brought with her, which was placed at the end of the bench beside us.

She didn't even manage to reach over to it halfway.

Instead, while trying to twist around, she fell out of my lap, between my legs, and slammed her head on the table on her way down.

"A-Agh…" Rose now laid out on the floor, groaning and gurgling in mild pain and embarrassment.

I slowly looked toward our voyeur here, who was now watching the scene with wide eyes, covering her mouth in dismay.

I let out a long, low breath from my nose, my divine powers positively boiling beneath my skin as I leveled a glare straight toward the girl.

Maybe it was the fact that my powers were starting to leak, or maybe my normal glare is just that scary.

Be that as it may, I watched as the smaller silvery-haired girl seized up, and started breaking out in a cold sweat, her gaze now focused solely on me.

Now that I have her attention?

Seven words, spoken with an impatient hiss.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

It better be important, or else this girl is going to have a very impromptu trip to Asgard's sun in her very near future!

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 88 End

I'm still alive! Hahaha!!

Ah, anyhow, now that I'm back, we can finish up Rose's date here now. It's a shame it had to end like this, but well, at least the good girl Valkyrie found them, and not the mean girl squad, eh?

Also, Rose got kisses, at least. Techncially, Nori didn't get completely cock blocked because they didn't get there yet, but...well, maybe?

Ah well.

Anyway. Chapter 89 is coming out early- sometime this weekend actually. I wanted to make it a double post today, but couldn't finish em both for the same day. My B. Still, this is my way of making up for being out nearly two weeks in a row, so look forward to alright?

Sans that, Chapter 90 next Friday, posting resumes as usual. See ya'll then, and let's get this show on the road!

No Chapter Today.

It came back.

I don't know how, I was sick the other week, started getting better, and was fine last week, then it came right back around and smashed me in the nose this week. Been done in the past few days as a result.

Ever since I woke up, I tried to force something out for today, but what little I've got down isn't any good.

I'm so so sorry guys, really. I really truly hate doing this, but I just...can't today.

We'll resume next week. This time, hopefully, this stupid fucking cold will stay down.

In the meantime. Have some swimsuit Rose i found on Pixiv.

A New Sun Chapter 87

Chapter 87

~ A New Sun ~

"Alright, let's see here…" I hum, looking down at our menu consideringly, and after an incredibly brief moment, I decide, "Yeah, there's no way I'm reading this."

It's all Norse Runes! To me, the entire thing looks like someone made a spreadsheet out of the days left of their prison sentence.

In quick order, I set the menu down and slid it over to Rose.

Who sat right next to me.

"Oh, right, I should've realized…allow me!"

And I mean really right next to me.

As in, so close next to me that an arm and a leg are squished up against each other, and I'm left wondering how we're supposed to use the latter to eat.

She's able to reach over and pick up the menu just fine, but still, working with food might be a fair bit more awkward.

Seriously, who designed this?

The table is up against the wall, meaning you can only sit on the outward-facing side. There are no chairs, instead, it's more like a small bench that you and your partner are meant to sit on together.

Now I haven't seen many people around Asgard yet, but the few I have seen are pretty big guys.

I'm talking about stereotypical Viking depiction levels of height and muscle, real big dudes, bigger than me, and I'm not exactly a small guy.

The girls are a little taller, at least compared to what I've seen in Japan, but with how big just the guys are around here it makes me wonder what the point of these tiny benches even is.

It's just weird, the only reason I can't stop thinking about it is because there's plenty of space between the bench and the table itself, and it's not like there isn't room for a longer bench!

Seriously, if they stretched it out, easily could seat two, or three, before four people.

I've got a few theories brewing up, but I'm also wondering if there's a specific way we're supposed to be sitting on this thing…

I'll leave all that aside for now, in the meantime?

I watch as Rose's eyes dart down the menu, straight to the bottom of the page.

I noticed before, that while most of the menu looks like, well, a restaurant menu in that what I assume is food is listed out for most of it, at the very bottom, there are three smaller sections of runes bundled together.

It's no wonder she's drawn to them, not only is it a completely out-of-place section, the runes are even a touch bigger than most of the others in font size.

The moment Rose's eyes hit them, they widened, almost comically.

She starts muttering, her accent thick, "Room Accommodations…?"

Rooms?

Haha! Okay, yeah, this place is one hundred percent a love hotel and inn mashup.

I lean over, practically looking over Rose's shoulder, now also looking down at the menu.

I still can't read it, of course, I just wanted to get closer to her ear!

"Ohoh? Accommodations you say? They got condoms?" I muse casually.

"Um…yes, they d-" Rose blinks, abruptly realizing what I just said. Almost robotically, she turns her head slightly to look at me, her face rapidly flushing as she does so.

I merely smile at her, before asking rather cheekily, "So. I wonder what lovers come to do here, hmm~?"

Rose gulps, "T-They…Oh. Oh."

Thunk.

It is now my turn to blink, as Rose promptly slams her head against the table, bringing the menu down with her face.

And not just that either.

"Those…perverted…no good…rotten…! Mmmmm!"

I caught a few muffled accented words here and there, as she cried in outrage into the table and menu.

Well, that took her a minute, didn't it?

"To be fair," I started, patting her on the back, "I didn't exactly expect a full love hotel with extra steps either. I was kinda leaning toward something like makeout point, if not a bit lewder."

Slowly, Rose lifts her head, tears pricking the corners of her eyes as she looks at me once more, "M-Makeout point?" She asks, a little confused.

I chuckle, "Little scenic area young couples go to and, well, makeout. Usually, they're on top of hills and such, thus the 'point' part."

I know that in nearly all usage of the trope, it is supposed to be more than just making out, but that's all that ever actually happens there.

Rose smiles just a tiny bit at that, "That sounds…pleasant. And sweet."

I smile back, "It does, doesn't it?"

I'd need a car to make it work, and a good spot off some hill or mountain somewhere, not a bad future date idea.

Unfortunately, that smile of hers goes away swiftly as she shakes her head, replaced by a sad frown.

"As for this, N-Nori, I'm so sorry-"

"Now hold on a second," I interrupt her gently, much to her bafflement, "that menu there, it's not just sex stuff, yeah?"

Rose picks up the menu once more after a moment's hesitation, and gives it a cursory glance, "There is, but I don't see why that…?"

"Because, you were about to go on about how much a waste of time this was, how we shouldn't have come here, all that kind of stuff, right?" I eyed her pointedly.

Rose swifty avoided my gaze, looking down instead, not saying anything.

I nod knowingly, and just as swiftly, wrapped my arm around her waist.

"Huh- AH!?" Rose gave out a shocked cry as I abruptly pulled her up into my lap.

"Ah~..." I breathed a sigh of relief out dramatically, whilst stretching my upper body just a bit, "There we go, now we both have space!"
"I g-guess?" Rose eked out shyly, moving her arms in much the same manner, far more freely.

"Anyhow, yeah, we don't have to just leave because the place might be a little more perverse." I shrug, looking down at her face with a smile, "It may not be a wholesome place, but that doesn't mean we have to be deviants. If you don't want to have sex on a table or an inn bed, or even at all, we won't. Simple as."

I certainly don't expect her to go for it, hell, I'd be shocked if she legitimately wants sex right away like the other girls. Rose doesn't strike me as horny as the others, after all.

Rose shimmies back and forth in my lap, which I'll admit, does things to me with her in that sun dress of hers, but I know it's not intentional, so I keep a tight leash on Nori Junior.

"It's just…" Rose bites her lip, and brings her hands together, rubbing her thumbs together nervously, "Isn't it e-expected?"

"When a couple goes to a love hotel?" She nods slowly, and I sigh, "Yeah, sure. Still doesn't mean we gotta. Besides, even if we don't, it's not like they'll make fun of us. Most likely just me." Rose perks up in my arms at that, "Something something, jokes about how I couldn't get it up, something like that." I wave off dismissively.

"That's just! So…so…!" Rose trailed off even as her voice rose as if looking for the proper emotion in her head for what she just heard, unable to settle between frustration and bewilderment.

So I fill in for her, "Stupid? Yeah, I know." I shrug it off with an unfazed smile, "But, I don't care what a bunch of nameless virgin losers say about me, so you don't have to worry, alright?"

Rose tilted her head toward me, clearly shocked at my words.

I held up a hand and let out a light ashamed chuckle, "Yeah yeah, I know. That insult was pretty blunt, also not that creative, but it's the truth, so I went with it."

Rose let out a sigh, and a small smile, "Doesn't mean you should go down to their level, you." She admonishes lightly.

I couldn't help the borderline evil cackle I let out upon hearing that, "Oh, on the contrary, my sweet little Rose…I'm actually a big bully, ya see? A bully of bullies especially." I lean in closer to her face, "Anyone wants to start talking trash, they better be ready for return fire if they try that to my face. And for the people closest to me?" I eye her pointedly, "Well…only I am allowed to bulli them, bordering some specific exceptions, like family."

Rose's face lit up like the color of her nickname, "...Truly?"

I simply give her a resolute nod.

Yeah, if her former Valkryie squadmates, or anyone really, that bullied her in the past show up and try anything.

Well.

Odin got off light because he has diplomatic immunity, essentially. Strangling the All-Maidenless would have gotten, bare minimum, several other gods all uppity, and likely would have jeopardized the alliance everyone was working toward at the time.

A flock of sad high school Karens though?

Not so much.

"Now then." I smile, and pull my head back, "Food? I've gotta admit, I'm curious to see what kinda stuff Asgard has to offer here."

"Oh, right, food! Yeah." Rose smiles, far bigger, far brighter, than she has so far as she scoops up the menu, "Very well, let's see…?" her eyes travel down the menu, "Oh! Wait, we have to pay for time here, first!"

I blink at that, recalling that Hildr did mention that in passing, 'times.'

"Time for the table and such?" I ask for clarification.

Rose nods curtly as she frowns, bristling at the paper, "Yes, and these prices…"

Her hands started shaking, slightly, and I get the distinct feeling the red on her face now isn't because she's embarrassed anymore.

Yeah, normally I'd be the same. First time I've ever heard of paying for time at the table myself. I know some fancy buffets give you a time limit, but there aren't any options beyond it.

Ah, well, whatever! Tonight is a special occasion.

"What's the longest time?" I ask next, my question snapping Rose out of her growing indignation at the prices, as she looks back at me.

"Three hours," she winces, before adding, "but it's a bit…much."

I wave her off, "Eh, don't worry about it. I'm paying, obviously, so we'll do that one."

Her eyes widen, "Really!? No, that's too much!"

I chuckle at her, even as her face turns pouty, "Doesn't matter to me~! Besides, when a guy takes a girl out, he pays. That's how it works. I'm taking care of you tonight, so it's worth it. Understand?"

"Y-You really-"

"Un-der-stand~?" I interrupt, and stare down at the silver-haired girl, watching as her conflicted expression wilts away under my gaze.

"I promised the dating experience," I elaborated further, "you're gonna get the dating experience, got it?"

After a moment more, Rose huffed, and averted her gaze bashfully, "Oh, alright!" she muttered back, almost as if whining.

She reached out once more, snatching the notepad off the table, which had a pretty standard-looking pen attached at the top, yanked said pen off, and quickly scribbled something at the top of the paper in runes.

When she was done, the runes glowed with a light mix of purple and blue, before shimmering and vanishing.

As soon as Rose's writing vanished, the menu itself lit up, a part of the bottom sections specifically, one most to the right, lit up in the same way, though even that dulled quickly.

When the light died, however, it revealed that part of the menu was colored the same as the light, and unlike the light, it didn't seem to be fading anytime soon.

…Magic!

Seriously though, pretty neat.

With a sigh, Rose sat down the pen, "There, all done."

I nod, pleased, "Food time then?"

"Mhmm!" Rose hummed and nodded back, "Do you have any preferences, or…?"

"None whatsoever." I wrapped my arms around Rose's waist, and leaned forward, placing my chin on her shoulder, "I think…I'll try what you like or are having first!"

"O-Oh? Well…" Slowly, Rose leaned back into me, smiling slightly, "Okay~."

It's time for a little food marathon! And then, well, we'll see what happens from there.

~ A New Sun ~

Valhalla.

It is the largest, grandest, most golden hall that resides within Asgard.

Some would even say this majestic hall is the centerpiece of the entire realm, and due to its more central location within the realm, they might have even been correct.

At one time.

Personally, Schwertleite never really saw how the place could have been ever.

The young Valkyrie-in-Training flew through the samey golden halls at a leisurely pace, her face twisted with boredom and annoyance. The intricate golden columns, murals, and statues lining the halls depict long-forgotten myths of warriors and battle not doing anything for her anymore.

'They started again. Ugh.' She inwardly gagged, passing by a small group of actual Valkryie muttering bitterly amongst themselves.

Mostly because of them.

She didn't stay and listen, as usual, she already knew what they were going on about.

They didn't find any new Heroes to bring in, new Einherjar.

They are now jealous of so and so now because…reasons.

The same old same old.

Ever since she started training to become a Valkryie, this is all she's had to deal with.

She's heard tales of how this grand hall once hosted an unfathomably large army of elite warriors, fighting and feasting amongst themselves, training for Ragnarok, the end of all days.

It would have been grand a sight once. Now, all she gets to see these days are fully grown, lonely, bitter women lamenting their job choice, because those times are gone. There's no opportunity to get a heroic boyfriend, and the wages are trash.

Just thinking about it now makes Schwertleite ring her nose in disgust.

'Of course you're all sad and lonely, you sit here complaining about how bad things are instead of going out and looking!' She raved in the confines of her mind.

She'd love to say it out loud of course, but she'd rather not deal with more jabs about her style of clothing, or her inability to…well, fight.

Offensive magic, not really her thing.

Yeah, she's having a day as is, no need to add more to it.

At least Lord Odin's Personal Guard has an excuse, the horror stories she's heard of dealing with him, despite it being a 'great honor' or whatever…

At that, her frown turned sad, and Schwertleite landed on the ground.

She sighed. Unfortunately, she's still not used to Rossweisse being gone.

…Not that her former senior Valkyrie probably even remembers her. They met only once, and even before then, Schwertleite had admired her.

She was younger than everyone, yet her skill, her raw talent with magic…it was awe-inspiring!

Of course, not many others saw it that way. Petty, jealous, bitter, the whole nine yards, that's how most of the others got.

But that didn't stop her! She graduated early, soared straight into the 'most honorable' position a Valkyrie could get, and then kept it longer than anyone else!

…And now she's gone.

Schwertleite huffed to herself, the sound echoing lightly off the brightly lit, yet empty, golden halls.

Honestly? Schwertleite wished she could leave too. But it's not like she has anywhere else to go, so…she's stuck. For now at least.

"Whaaaat!?"

Schwertleite flinched, as an incensed screech echoed down and throughout the golden halls.

She looked around, back and forth, down either side of the hall, but saw no one.

Yet it went on.

"What do you mean she might be back!?"

…Now that's new.

Well, to be fair, the screeching isn't exactly new, but the content might be!

Someone coming back?

Well, not very many leave, so it's not guaranteed…but she can still hope!

Unfortunately for once, the screeching didn't come again, leaving Schwertleite without anything else to go on.

Acting quickly, a shimmer of magic appears beneath her feet, and the young girl is set floating into the air once again, before quickly dashing off through the air, following the echoes of the screeching.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for her to find the source.

In an adjacent hall, one of the full-member Valkyrie Squad's magical training halls, if she remembers correctly.

Unfortunately, as a Valkyrie-in-training, she's not allowed inside. Good thing she doesn't have to be, since they left the door open just enough to listen in if one was close enough.

It is also probably how the screeching from earlier got out, these rooms are supposed to be soundproofed after all.

In any event, Schwertleite isn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so she leans in to listen.

"...ouldn't want the Captain catching wind of this, would we!?" A new voice, different from screeching banshee's voice from before comes in, this one almost panicky and at nearly a whisper.

Some louder muffled sounds come soon after, it sounds like an attempt at a reply…which Schwertleite can only assume is the screamer from before.

Another voice, a third, far more mature and steady chips in, "I doubt the Captain would care."

"She'd care if dumbass here wouldn't stop screeching about it!" Panicky shot back.

Those muffled sounds got louder still before Schwertleite got the slipping sound of tousled movement and a gasp for breath.

"You…bitch! Stop that! I couldn't breathe!" Banshee hissed at Panicky, though at a significantly more normal speaking level.

"S-Sorry!" Panicky apologized, to which Mature just gave a tired sigh.

"Alright, that's enough." Mature went on, "Now, Ortlinde? Are you sure what you heard was correct? And who did you even hear this from."

"Ah? H-Hildr," Panicky, now properly named Ortlinde, spoke, her voice slightly less shaky, "you know? From her new…job. She said Rossweisse might have shown up there with a…guy." She spoke that last word with far more bitterness than anything else.

Schwertleite deadpanned at the door. Of course, that's the focus. Couldn't be anything else.

"...You're kidding me, right?" Banshee snorted, "Rossweisse. The kissless virgin. At Hildr's workplace? Really?"

Banshee there clearly wasn't buying it, and Mature spoke in the same manner, "That, and you kept saying…might?"

"H-Hildr…well…" Ortlinde continued, far more unsure now, "She never saw her face."

Banshee let out a snorting laugh, and Schwertleite could swear she felt Ortlinde flinch.

"Then what makes her think it's little Rossweisse?" Mature continued to the next logical question.

"W-Well!" Ortlinde seized the opportunity to explain, eagerly, probably a bit too eagerly, "Hildr also said the man she was with called her 'Rose' and said 'Rose' had long silver hair!"

…Schwertleite could admit that 'Rose' does sound like it could be an endearing nickname for Rossweisse. It's pretty cute, too.

But the hair thing…?

"Ortlinde." Mature stated her fellow Valkyrie's name with no small amount of contempt at this point, "Nearly all Walkure have silver hair. That means nothing."

Yeah, that. Walkure, the race of Half Gods that train to become Valkyire, they all tend to have silvery hair. It's as common for them as black or brown for humans.

"B-But the nickname Grimgerde!" Another tousle of movement sounded like something being grabbed, "Come on! It has to be! It's too close!"

Mature, now properly named Grimgerde, shoots her down hard, "I think you're grasping at straws, and need to stop taking so many missions into Midgard for a while. It's impairing your ability to think rationally."

Banshee snorts, once again, "Damn Grim, why do you have to be like that to pour little Ort here? You know she can't think anyway!"

"H-Helmwige!" Ortlinde cried out, another tousle of movement and cloth, another grab, "Come on! D-Don't be like that! Even if it isn't her…well, the guy this girl was with is from the East!"

With those words, it was like the entire atmosphere in the hall changed.

Schwertleite could feel it too. It her back bristle a bit, and force her to shiver.

Now, this is something that's only been going on recently, so Schwertleite doesn't entirely understand what the big deal is, but…

From what she understands? Ever since that alliance Lord Odin made with the East, the…Shinteo? Shindo? Pantheon, their people have been coming over to study the World Tree and their culture.

In turn, Asgard has been sending people over to the East for something similar.

During that time, well…new people meet new people, what did anyone expect really? For them not to start fucking each other?

Honestly, Schwertleite is pretty sure a bunch of the Valkyrie are only getting pissy over this because they aren't involved in any of this. At all.

Last she heard, it was the Einherjar that Lord Odin put in charge of heading East, while she's pretty sure the East sent over a bunch of priests. Or a type of priest, anyhow. Something called Meko? Something like that. All female priest-

Oh.

Oh.

Okay, now she's starting to see it. They probably feel like they were double screwed over in getting a chance at their lazy asses finding a boyfriend huh?

So then, a Walkure girl bringing over an Eastern man…

Heh…Schwertleite wishes she could see the looks on her three senior's faces right now!

"...Say, Grim?" Helmwige, although Schwertleite preferred Banshee, suddenly spoke again through the cold silence, her voice just as chilling as the silence she pierced through, "What do you say we visit ol' Hildr, anyway? Ya know. It's been a while."

"...Why not." Grimgerde spoke, just as eerily cold, "It has been a while like you said."

"Y-Yeah! Right! A really long while!" Ortlinde added on, far more peppy than the other two.

"Shut up, Ort." "Be quiet." The other two Valkyrie stated at once, shutting her down immediately.

"O-Oh. Okay…" Ortlinde's voice sounded like it practically withered away.

How petty. They would go that far, wouldn't they, even without knowing for sure? Just pure jealousy and spite, all around

Schwertleite couldn't help but roll her eyes, flying away quickly as she heard three sets of footsteps begin to approach the door.

So it may not even be Rossweisse, hmm? Even so…it'd be wrong of her to let her seniors just carry out whatever the hel their bitter petty minds cook up.

Nodding resolutely to herself, Schwertleite flew off down to halls. First, she needs to find out where this Hildr's workplace is. Her name sounds familiar, but that's pretty much it.

Ah well, she was sure she could get someone to spill Hildr's life story via gossip alone, all it'd take is a little time!

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 87 End

I'm baaaaaaccckkk!

Mostly, still feeling out of it, but I'm here enough to write anyhow. Anyway, this particular chapter? Absolutely kicked my ass.

Why?

All the Valkyrie names. Seriously. How the Hel is any human pair of hands supposed to type any of that several times in a row.

I actually ended up writing the second section a bit because of it. Originally, Schwertleite (god, it's like a tongue twister for fingers!), was supposed to know each Valkyrie by name, but I altered it so she didn't, and thus had to learn her names later to apply them to each girls voice.

Also, to those who don't know, Schwertleite here is a canon character! She's actually from Junior DxD, although clearly, here, due to Nori, she isn't where she's supposed to be.

But! That means she can get involved in something she usually wouldn't be able to!

Time will tell if that's good for her or not, though.

No Chappy Today

Your boy caught the changing of the seasons cold. Felt it coming up yesterday, hit me like a truck when I woke up.

This isn't exactly anything unusual for me, granted, it's a tad earlier than normal...but eh, I'd rather it now than at the start of April. Usually hits me around there, screws with my birthday, lol.

We'll be back at it next week guys, don't worry.

In the meantime, have some Rose dressed as a belly dancer that I found on Pixiv.

...why specifically that?

I dunno. Brain tired. Boobs good.

A New Sun Chapter 86

Chapter 86

~ A New Sun ~

As Rose started leading me around, I could only imagine the extremely stupid look on my face as I looked around, back and forth, to and fro.

Somewhere between 'a kid in a candy store', and 'blatantly awed tourist' is probably a good approximation.

It's just that as we went along, I simply couldn't stop comparing the place to Takamagahara.

I know it's kind of unfair, considering the circumstances I got to see each realm in are vastly different, and I know that's skewing my thoughts a bit.

But…I think I prefer Asgard to Takamagahara.

Oh, the Shinto Heavens are one hundred percent more 'heavenly' feeling, if that makes sense. You could feel it in the air there, every color popped, the place felt more, and it was far more interconnected with nature, or at least felt like it on some level.

Here though? As we walked along the twisting dirt path, more and more of the land and its places began showing itself…well. The differences, one major, became glaring.

Asgard felt alive.

An odd thing to say, isn't it?

The dirt path we walked on bent oddly at turns and random times, the building built alongside it and other branching paths never looked the same and were built on a need-by-need basis, rather than via careful city planning.

Occasionally, we walked past actual people outside their homes.

"No, no, boy! Like this!" A big man, almost stereotypical in his rough Viking appearance, held a massive battle axe over his shoulder.

He swung it down, cleaving the air in twine, before turning to a very young boy, barely able to walk, off to his side. Yet still, he wore tiny variations of the same Viking-inspired armor and carried a similarly tiny axe.

"R-Right Father! HAH!" The boy swung his tiny weapon much the same, and although we had walked past the two by this point, so I couldn't see his face any longer…

"Ohoho! That's it! That's my boy! Hah!"

The uproarious and proud laughter of the father told me all that I needed to know there.

That whole, tiny little interaction, brought a smile to my face. My eyes slowly slid over to the face of the young woman still dragging me along, and I found much the same plastered across hers as well.

A small knowing smile.

The silence was comfortable, but I decided to break it out of pure curiosity.

"You miss it here?" I abruptly ask.

Rose startles a bit, turning her head slightly to look back at me. For a moment, she doesn't say anything, and her smile turns wistful.

"It's my home- well, not here, in this part of Asgard specifically!" she quickly corrects, "But…well, it's my home. So many good memories, yet so many bad memories."

I nod in understanding, "Yeah, I feel that one. My old home right outside Kuoh Town is much the same…I just never really think about it too much."

Although to be fair, that's likely because before that day on the mountain…there weren't many bad memories to think of per se. Just could have been, what ifs, a whole lot of lost lonely times. That type of deal.

"But when I do think of that place…I tend to prefer remembering the good." I add on with a wistful smile.

A flash of memory burns through my mind, of when Uzume taught a far younger me to dance.

Simpler times man, simpler times.

Rose hummed at that, turning her head to fully look forward once again.

The silence once again settles, but it isn't long before it's broken again.

This time by Rose herself.

"That kid, and that father back there?" She begins, reminiscing, "Those two, they reminded me of the time my grandmother first showed me magic…" And just as quickly as she began, she trailed off, lost in thought and memory.

I didn't require any more elaboration than that, I merely smiled for her, and let us continue walking in silent peace.

And so we do.

For what feels like a…pretty good amount of time.

Not that I have any problem with that!

See, going out, or just a date…doesn't always have to be about restaurants, movies, sightseeing, all that stuff.

In my mind, that time spent together is what matters at the end of the day.

So something like this? Holding hands and just walking through the home of at least one faction of the Norse Gods? Completely fine with it, as long as Rose is too.

There is a slight issue though, in this case.

"C-C'mon…shouldn't it be around here…!?"

I started hearing increasingly anxious mutterings like that from her over time.

And soon enough, Rose was looking around in a panic, clearly unable to find whatever she was trying to guide us toward.

At first, I didn't want to embarrass her more by bringing it up, but as time went on, she looked increasingly more and more like she was going to have a panic attack if I just said and did nothing.

I start slowing down, the silver-haired girl leading me around so lost in her troubled thoughts that she doesn't even realize I do so until our pace is so out of sync she abruptly gets jerked from her hold on my hand, damn near causing her to fall.

"E-EEH!?" She cries out, completely startled, until I let go of her hand and wrap my arm around her waist, holding her upright and close, "...N-Nori!?" She squeaks out through a blink as the situation settles on her.

I raise an eyebrow down at her, and ask her plainly, "Having direction problems?"

"U-UM!" She refuses to meet my gaze, "No?"

I deadpanned at her.

She caught barely a glimpse of it, and quickly covered her face with her hands in response.

"...O-Okay," she reluctantly, and painfully slowly admitted, after a bit more staring, "Yes…I thought I knew where it was! I had heard, several times, I t-thought I…" Rose stopped herself, her lip quivering as she held back from backing down on the spot.

Well, shit. I can't have this now, can I?

First things first, just to confirm.

"No teleportation there I presume?" I ask naturally.

Rose gave a shuddering sigh, "N-No…I never went there, physically, before. And from what I know the place isn't popular enough to have teleportation circles to it at other places." Rose pauses, taking a short breath, "I only heard about it from…from the other Valkyries, talking about it all the time. It supposed to be this Mead Hall, out of the way, where…l-l-lovers go to, you know…"

…I'm going to assume she means date, but the way she seems so shy describing it also makes me want to assume something like a Norse love hotel.

But that doesn't sound right. Mead is a drink, learned that from video games!

Also doesn't make sense, because if they had those up here, ol' Virgin One-Eye wouldn't need to go down to Japan to visit worse knockoffs.

…Right?

I shake my head, expelling that rabbit hole of a train of thought out, to ask the next obvious question.

"Well then, you know it's around here somewhere…probably. Do you know what the place looks like?"

At that, Rose takes a moment to think, before nodding slowly, moving her fingers slightly to peek out at me with a lone eye.

"Y-Yes, I believe so. They were very…poetic, with how nice, romantic, and clean the place is. How it doesn't get burned down as often as the other halls, or how few fights are started there that spill out into the streets…" She began listing off, more than describing, and I could feel the longing in her voice as she did so.

Is it sad I looked forward to the place slightly less when she talked about how there were fewer fights there?

…Nah.

Brushing all of that aside, I give her an easy nod…and promptly wrap my other arm around her, picking her up.

"OOF!? Nori?!" In her panic, she removes her hands from her face, grabbing my shoulders to hang on, so I can once again see her confused flushed face.

"If you remember what the place is supposed to look like," I explain, "then it'd be easier to find if we had a higher vantage point, no?"

Rose blinked up at me.

I unleashed a small piece of my power, my halo igniting into existence behind me, and I shot straight up, carrying her along for the ride.

It was only then that recognition, and something else, flashed across her face.

"W-Wait, Nori, don't!" She abruptly cried out urgently.

"Huh?" I look down at her, still heading up, "Wh-"

I am forced to an abrupt and violent halt by my head slamming into something.

Whatever it was though, it was so hard that it didn't have any give to me slamming into it.

There was no blunt, I took all the force. So much so that immediately afterward, I found my vision swimming in a sea of blurry darkness.

For all but a second or two, as my regeneration kicked into gear and healed whatever I just did to myself.

I came too, still in the air, in the middle of beginning to fall back down, Rose grasping onto the collar of my robe and looking at me in worry as tears pricked the corner of her eyes.

Quickly, I halt our descent before it can truly begin, so we stay floating in place.

I blink, several times, and give the only response I could think appropriate to whatever the hell just happened.

"...The fuck!?" I heaved out in confusion and outrage.

Then I looked back up, a preemptive glare set across my face.

As soon as my eyes met the 'sky', only then did I see it truly.

"Yggdrasil…" Rose started explaining, "the World Tree, some of its branches, they make up the sky."

I blinked, slowly, as I processed her words.

Before us? Practically a translucent wall, letting the light of the sun through, though it isn't perfectly invisible. I could see it, the hazy shimmers as the sunlight passed through.

I looked to either side, left and right, and I couldn't see an end to the wall…no, the branch. A single branch.

Just how big is this tree then!?

"Hey…!"

I perked up, hearing Rose calling out to me, and quickly turned my head to look back down at her.

"Are you okay?" She asks, grabbing onto my face, her still tear-pricked eyes roaming over my head, "That wasn't exactly a soft blow, and the World Tree's branches aren't just really big solid objects, sometimes they can even…" she quickly shakes her head, "N-Nevermind! We'd know if the Tree released any magic!"

Well. That's ominous.

Disregarding that for now, I pat her on the back and shoot her a smile.

"Don't you worry about me, alright? Regeneration already took care of the brain damage and all that." I tell her, before my smile turns into a smirk, "What else could the Tree do though? Shock me?"

"Ah…" Rose gulps, "That, and…other stuff."

I couldn't help but chuckle, rubbing her across her back.

I would love to ask for more details, but clearly whatever it is makes her anxious just thinking about it, so I'll drop it for now.

"Guess I'm lucky then, yeah? Now…" I start slowly spinning around, "How's the view from up here, huh? It's not as high as I originally wanted, but hopefully, this is good enough!"

Rose looks out, narrowing her eyes, to soak up the view as best she can.

It took me turning all the way around to make Rose perk up and point.

"There!" She abruptly shouts, and I follow the direction her finger points with my eyes.

Off in the distance, in the opposite way we were going, I spotted a building a touch different from the others. Structure-wise, it looks longer than the houses near it, and the roof looks like it's entirely made from gold, but not the rest of the building, like the other palaces and halls.

"At least…I think that's the one." Rose slowly adds after, and then in a voice even smaller, further adds while almost whimpering, "I really hope that's the one…"

I shrug, giving her a small smile, "Even if it isn't, I hope you know our time together so far has been great regardless."

Rose flinches at that, a bright blush passing across her face.

Then I start floating toward the supposed hall's direction, and her face burns more.

"N-Now hold on!" Rose panickedly interjects, "We can walk the rest of the way there now that we know, c-can't we? After all, people might see us…" She trails off in worry.

I couldn't help my snort at that, "Who cares if they see us?"

"Eh!?" Rose cried out, flabbergasted.

"What?" I went on, "It's not like we're hurting or even inconveniencing anyone right now, so if anyone has a problem, they can go suck it. My girl wants to go to this hall, I'm gonna get us there. Simple as."

"I-It's still embarrassing- Wait." She stops, blinks, and looks up at me, her blush rapidly magnifying, "Y-Y-Your…"

I merely smirked back down at her.

Rose buried her head against my robe and said nothing more as we floated the rest of the way there.

She'd only raise her head back up once I started floating down, right before the building.

Upon closer inspection, well, my initial basic description was spot on.

Adding onto that though? The roof was made of straw. Golden straw specifically.

As in, the straw is just outright made of gold.

Beyond that, the wooden walls were painted a nice deep red, and there was a sign hanging above the door that had a pink heart emblazoned on it.

…A pink heart was further emblazoned on some kind of shield symbol that was further pierced by a sword coming in from the side.

Hmm. Once again, is this just a mead hall?

Man, I wish I could read Norse letters right now. There's a string of those at the bottom of the sign, right below the heart and hall, which I bet doesn't help any of this.

I tilt my head, eyeing Rose expectantly.

The poor girl doesn't disappoint, and she's staring at the sign, practically glowing the same shade of pink adorning the sign.

"This the place?" I speak up, casually.

Rose nods rapidly.

…Okay, I just have to know.

"What's the sign say?" I follow up with a little quieter.

"N-Nothing!"

I give her a particularly pointed stare.

"...I'd really rather not say."

My stare intensifies.

"M-Mmm…" She looks away from my gaze, "The R-Romp…Romp Through the Shieldwall."

Romp through the- Oh.

Ohhhh.

Heh, alright, that's an okay euphemism. Not exactly as spicy as I assumed, but fine nonetheless. They probably could have done better, but it is what it is.

They've had Odin as a leader for who knows how long, I'm not shocked even their sexual comedy has suffered.

I chuckle, uttering, "How perverse."

Rose nodded along, shy yet seriously, agreeing by replying with, "Very."

…Is there something I'm missing here? Like, culture-wise?

Am I going to open that door to find the most degenerate place known to human and divine kind?

Only one way to find out!

"Oh well," I hum, setting Rose down, only to take her by the hand once she's on her feet once more, "shall we then?" I turn and ask her.

Honestly, I expect her to stammer out something and try to back out of this, now that we're here. Or at least try too.

Rose looks back at me, her blush still glowing, yet despite that I can see…something in her eyes. A different kind of glow, a fire.

She gives a single, strong nod, "Yes…please."

Well, I'll be damned, alright then!

I walk us to the door, and easily push it open, stepping in.

Almost immediately, I was hit by various smells, all at once, all of them pretty pleasant.

Flowers, freshly cooked meat, spices, even honey. All of it nearly made me whistle out loud.

As for what I'm seeing, well, it isn't enough to put my jaw to the floor, because I sort of expected it, but it's still pretty impressive nonetheless.

It is a huge and long hall, as the building's shape indicated, but the inside looks far larger than the outside presented.

Magic, right?

That said, the hall itself looked sparsely lit, but not completely dark. Most of the light came from the center of the hall, where several separate fire pits stretched down the center in a line. A few had steaming pots hanging over them, or rods spit-roasting meats, the likely source of the smells that hit us upon entering.

On either side of the line of fire pits were rows of pillars, with walls behind said pillars, segregating off these small areas which had a wooden, but cozy looking, bench and table set.

However, a few of these areas were covered up by a long, brightly covered curtain or blanket, blocking the view inside entirely.

All in all, there looked to be about a few dozen or so of these sectioned-off seating areas.

Then, opposite to us, at the end of their hall, there seemed to be a couple of doors leading off to somewhere else, along with two sets of stairs leading up to the small second floor…whose only purpose is to give access to another set of doors leading elsewhere as well.

Probably places for storage, or kitchens for more complicated dishes, would be my bet as to where those lead.

Strange though, looking around, I don't see anyone else…there isn't even a front desk or anything.

Thankfully, that didn't seem to matter. Not too long after the door shut behind us, a magic circle swirled into existence right in front of our feet.

Rose, being the magic gal, quickly gave it an appraising stare.

Her eyes soon rapidly widened in…recognition. And she abruptly moved, panickedly pulling the brim of her sunhat over the front of her face!

Before I could even ask what was going on, a light shined from the circle, and a figure soon emerged from said light.

As the light dimmed, the figure revealed itself to be…a young girl? Not one that I knew though. She was petite, with shoulder-length pink hair that reminded me of cotton candy, and bright green eyes. She wore a modest, free-flowing barmaid dress, and as she settled her eyes upon us, she crossed her hands together, holding them right in front of her skirt.

A picture-perfect service smile settled on her face as she greeted us pleasantly, her accent thick, the sweetness in her tone just as fake as her smile, "Hallo there! Ah, you two…I do not recognize you…are you perhaps new here?"

I know Rose won't answer for some reason, so instead, I do the talking.

But before that, I let go of her hand, instead grabbing onto Rose's waist, holding her close as I gave our greeter a polite nod, and replied, "That we are…?"

She nods, "Hildr. Hostess Hildr." Her smile never left, even as her eyes darted between my face and the hand I had on Rose's waist.

Speaking of, as close as we are, I could feel the silver-haired girl in my arm flinch at our hostess' name.

"Now. What are the names of the lovely couple I have the pleasure of serving this evening?" Our Hostess asked, sickly sweet.

She's really trying to earn her tips, huh?

After thinking for a moment, I put my hand to my chest, and said, "Nori," a pat on Rose's waist, "Rose. Thank you for having us, Hostess."

Oddly enough, she gives me a slightly strange look upon my giving my name. Weird. But she doesn't make a fuss about anything, and the look is gone like it was never there to begin with, so I wave it off.

Hildr gives us a pleased nod, and turns on her heels, "Very well, you two! Come along, I shall show you to your space!"

I hum at that, and follow, leading Rose at my side as…I don't think she can see right now, her hat is pulled down far too much.

Our Hostess leads us over to one of the sets of benches and tables, as far away from the other ones where a curtain is covering the front of the space.

Upon reaching it, she merely stands off to the side next to it, right in front of one of the pillars marking the entrance to the space to speak, with a wave of her hand, she singles us to walk in.

I raise an eyebrow at her but lead us in regardless.

"Now," Hildr began, "you will find your menus and silverware on your table, along with a notepad. Merely write down what you wish for food and drink, and it shall be summoned to your table. You will also find prices for times, and should you wish to book a more…accommodating space, prices for that as well as part of your menu."

Hildr puts her hands together, and bows slightly, "Please enjoy your stay, and a word of warning…although this space is magically enchanted to keep the sound in, it's not completely soundproof." She gives an exaggerated wink our way, "So do try and keep it down at least a little, alright? Once again, enjoy!"

With that all said, she holds up a hand and snaps her fingers.

Another magical circle swirls into existence, this time filling the space between the pillars, before bursting into a flash of light.

Where the magic circle once stood, a curtain similar to the others I saw earlier was now hung in its place.

…I have several things I'd like to comment on about all that. But first.

I eye Rose, raising an eyebrow her way, before saying, "Alright, she's gone…now what was that whole hiding your face thing for?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, Rose pulls up her sunhat, and lets out a shuddering relieved sigh, "...I knew that girl. She was a Valkyrie, once…she wasn't the last, but she was one of Lo-...Odin's, former bodyguards, too."

…Well shit. Small world, huh?

"Crazy she got a job here then…" I mused, only for Rose to shake her head and sigh once more.

"She's got to make a living somehow, and I bet this place pays far more than working for him." Rose mused as well, but far more bitterly.

At this point, I would ask why she'd hide her face from her, but…honestly? I don't think I need to bring that up right this second.

I already have an idea from canon anyhow, and besides that, I don't want to ruin her mood before we even get to the food!

Although Hildr said there would be menus on our table, I don't recall seeing them when we walked in.

As I think that, I turn, and look toward our table…which is no longer so empty, as all the items she said would be there, are, as though our table just got freshly set at a sit-down restaurant.

Huh. I just realized this is technically my first time at a magic, or supernatural, restaurant.

…And it's part love hotel. I'm almost certain of that now.

I don't even know why I bother being surprised anymore!

~ A New Sun ~

As soon as the curtain appears, Hildr's face morphs.

Her smile? Gone. Instead, it's replaced by a bitter scowl.

"Another one of those…people," the former Valkyrie huffs in derision to herself, "from the East. Guess it was only a matter of time…"

As another magic circle appears beneath her feet, the pinkette can't help but wonder though…

That girl that was with him seemed familiar, even though she couldn't see her face…the poor shy thing.

Although, for some reason, that just makes that feeling of familiarity swell more.

What did that guy say her name was again?

Rose, right?

Hmm…it's only a hunch, and there's no way it's true, but…

Maybe she should make a call or two to a group of old friends?

Just to be safe.

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 86 End

And as with all things relating to the supernatural Nori...there's always a caveat. 

A New Sun Chapter 85

Chapter 85

~ A New Sun ~

Within a beam of golden light, I appear directly outside my residence in the Kyoto Palace, back home at long last, finally letting me breathe a sigh of relief.

Well, I say 'at long last', but it hasn't been that long. Ama couldn't hold me forever, she had actual work to do and all that, so I'm only really looking at being back a good few hours or so later than I expected.

I don't know how exactly she's supposed to deal with that horde of uncountable toddlers, but hey, she's dealt with them numerous times before, so I assume she has something worked out.

Threats with lightning seemed to work for a time, maybe threats with sunfire are far more permanent?

Somehow, I doubt it.

In any event, none of that is for me to worry about!

My gaze sharpens, and my hand abruptly halts midway as I reach for the front door.

Why?

I sense only one presence inside, and it's a familiar alright, the problem is she's the only one.

It's just Rose inside, and I can feel her quickly rushing down, presumably to see me right away as I come in.

Now, usually, I'd be all for this completely, hell, I'm kind of a little excited right now as is!

Slight issue with that though, and what's causing me to be just a tad more than a little tentative, is just who this girl was with previously.

Who knows what Kuroka and Suza told her to try and do before the latter ran off…somewhere?

I almost want to say Kuroka ran off to hide, that's my knee-jerk response to this, that she told Rose doing something lewd and or stupid when I got back would be romantic or what have you, then she ran off to delay the inevitable consequences.

Keyword there being delay.

Then again, Rose is a bit naive and inexperienced when it comes to this stuff, but she isn't outright stupid enough to fall far Kuroka's blatantly obvious traps and bullshit.

I click my tongue, ultimately deciding now isn't the time for further guesswork when I can just see for myself.

So, ejecting those thoughts with a shake of my head, I grab hold of the handle and allow Rose the time she needs to get ready for…whatever she's going to do.

As I thought, she headed straight to the main entrance area beyond the door and stood almost dead center within it so that when I opened this door she'd be the first thing I saw.

She doesn't move an inch more, so I push open the door and step inside.

My jaw damn near unhinges itself and slams into the floor.

"U-Um…" Rose stands there, a light blush across her face, her shy nervous gaze directed off to a corner of the room, and only occasionally flickering to my face to view my reaction, "W-Welcome home, d-darl…" Rose stutters and stops herself for a moment, her blush practically blazing now, "Nori! Welcome home, N-Nori!"

Okay.

That? That was adorable.

Next thing?

Holy me she's bloody gorgeous.

I was expecting something lewd, not something so…so…I don't have the words!

She's clad in a simple long white sleeveless sundress, with a sprinkling of light blue dots across the fabric. Additionally, she's wearing a flower crown around her neck, made up of what I think might be lilies, and a light brown sun hat with a few of the same flowers stuck on the side of the rim.

It sounds simple to describe, but really, Rose rocks it.

I'm not going to lie. The girl looks like straight-up wife material right now!

Now, granted, it's not like she wasn't already wife material, but the clothes bring it all out.

I think that's ultimately what was being gone for here, right? Considering what Rose tried to say first…that's probably something Kuroka told her to say. It gives off that feeling.

Now, how do I want to go about this?

Slowly, I feel a smile creep up onto my face, as I step inside and close the door behind me.

Internally, I curse Kuroka for being such a terrible influence.

"It's good to be back~!" I hum, happily, stepping right up to the silver-haired girl, "Especially now…"

"O-Oh? T-That's goOOD-!?" Rose flinches and interrupts herself, as I put a hand on her face, my thumb brushing against her cheek, and wrap my other arm around her waist, pulling her right up against me, "What are y-you…?" Rose began in a hushed and hurried breath, stopping once more as her eyes finally fully met my own.

My smile was beaming, as I began, "You know, it's at times like this when I'm reminded what an absolutely beautiful gem you are, and just how blind those fools across the world up north are~..." I murmur, sincerely, with only a slight bit of husk.

I couldn't eliminate it, Rose's considerably large and soft chest was pushing against me right now after all, but I did my best!

At my words, Rose's eyes widened, her breath hitching as actual tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

She tried to look away.

Fortunately, my hand on her face prevented such a move.

Instead, all she managed was a biting of her lip, and a breathless, "Y-You…don't say things like…!"

My smile turns into an easygoing smirk, "Too late. I've got more if you'd like?"

"Mmmm! Please, don't…!" She whined out in response, to which I gave an exaggerated huff and shake of my head.

"One of these days," I began, far more serious, "I'm going to compliment you so much you're going to forget every last insult they threw at you, got that?"

Rose blinked at my words, this time, it took a moment for what I said to finally sink in.

When it did, her face completely lit up, and yet despite that she only gave a small, almost sad smile, "...Right. Are you sure you'll be able to manage that?"

Hmm, someone doesn't sound so sure of me, huh?

In response I flashed her another far brighter smile, and quite literally swept her off her feet, into my arms, picking her up and holding her there like a princess.

"EH!?" She exclaims in shock, one of her arms quickly wrapping around my shoulders to stabilize herself.

Before she can even utter another word in surprise, I look down upon her and say, "Yeah, I'm very sure. After all," I let out a gentle chuckle, as my eyes very obviously scanned her entire form, "there's so much to compliment…" I let my words trail off from there, just like my eyes.

"I…I see~...?" Rose shivered at my gaze and words, but judging by the way her smile grew just a bit more from last time, I think it's safe to say that was a pleased shiver.

With that out of the way, I carried her over to the living area, where there was a nice and empty soft couch to sit on, just for a moment.

Of course, I didn't let her go upon reaching it.

Instead, I sat down, and then brought Rose with me, setting her down sideways on my lap.

The poor girl looked pretty confused about what to do now, but not uncomfortable or awkward in any manner.

In fact, when I sat her down, she was the one who steadily started scooting closer to me, completely of her own volition!

At the same time though, I couldn't just have her sitting her going 'Oh', 'Uh', 'Um', and so forth all the time, so I wrapped an arm around her waist once more, holding her as I took the lead of the conversation once more.

"First things first," I began again, "I should probably apologize for…well, leaving you like that earlier. Then showing back up a little later than expected."

Rose perked up, then pouted a bit, "It's…not much of a problem, I suppose. Kuroka was…well, she tried to get me to try on all this stuff, gave me all this 'advice', and such. Then tried to claim I should call her big sis, all of a sudden?"

I stared, deadpanning at the wall whilst listening to that.

"Not even slightly surprised to hear any of that," I huff, adding, "Is she the one that told you to call me 'darling'?"

Rose's blush magnified once more, "...Y-You caught that?"

My deadpanning turning to her only made her blush more.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I wouldn't mind, you are perfect wife material after al-" Her pale hand practically slammed into my mouth, stopping my words dead in their tracks.

Rose's blush had turned atomic at this point, and I think I could even see little swirlies in her eyes, as she gasped out a breath slowly trying to get her bearings.

Cute~!

Thankfully, it didn't take long for her to get said bearings back, calming down back to the point her face only had a light dusting of pink.

Unfortunately, she continued like I didn't just mention her being perfect material.

Sadge.

"Ahem. Right, anyhow!" Rose finally removed her hand from my mouth, "Suza, ah, big sis Suza was far more helpful, in my opinion." She smiled gratefully, "Much of her advice seemed far less…ah, debasing, much more helpful. She was also much more mindful of costs and such!"

I couldn't help but wince for Kuroka there, despite my growing mocking smirk, "Damn, you called Suza-chan big sis, but not Kuroka? Kinda wish I could have seen her reaction, I bet it was glorious."

Also, it makes sense. Suza always came off to me as the more mature and stable version of Akeno. Of course, her advice wouldn't be complete garbage, or just lewd.

Though, ain't it a bit odd how she still took at least a little bit of Kuroka's advice regardless? Like for the whole 'darling' thing?

Rose tilted her head consideringly at that, "I couldn't say, she sort of just skulked away after we were done. I don't know where she went."

"Probably went to bother her sister." I mused, not like she could go anywhere else.

With a nod of her head, Rose accepts that, before moving on, "All in all, I can confidently say I learned…much." Her flush deepened ever so slightly.

"Good!" I pat her gently on the back, "I'm glad that wasn't all just torture for you then. As for me…" I grimace, before going into what kept me for a little while longer.

Takamagahara, Ama's whole…thing, the works.

By the end of it all, Rose looked understanding, along with being a bit disappointed.

I thought, and completely assumed, she was disappointed in me and had already accepted that as fact.

Instead?

"I see…" Rose nodded grimly as I finished my explanation, "I probably should have seen something like this coming, Noriaki, I apologize for not notifi- EEP!?"

She squeaked and shrieked as I gripped her waist just a touch tighter, intentionally interrupting her.

"Hey now." I started before she could pipe back up, "Don't you start going there with me, blaming yourself for something like that. This is all on me, not you, not anyone else, got it."

Rose looked very unsure, "But, in our contract, my duty-EEP!? H-Hey!" She whined as I did it again.

"What about our contract?" I snorted, ignoring her whining entirely, "None of that matters. You were barely involved with that quickly thrown-together plan, hell, you didn't even know about it until it neared its end anyhow."

"Still!"

"Still nothing." I cut her off shortly, before smiling at her, "Listen, alright? None of that was on you. I want to make that abundantly clear for you, because if you start trying to blame yourself for being a 'bad employee' or whatever I will spank you. Understand?"

"S-Spank me!?" Rose cried out in shock, "That…that wasn't part of the contract!"

"It was not." I admit, easily, my smile growing, "It doesn't have to be though, that's just how bad girls get treated. Has nothing to do with employment."

Rose shudders at my emphasis, her blush magnifying for the umpteenth time this night.

I eye her pointedly, "Got it?"

She nods, quickly, several times, "Y-Yes, Lo- Nori!"

…Come on Rose, if you give me reactions like that, I'm going to start thinking you have a potential kink related to getting screwed by your handsome young boss.

Unfortunately, now is not the time to be thinking about, or trying to discover, Rose's kinks and fetishes.

"Good." I nod, satisfied, "Now that's all settled…why don't we get a move on?"

Rose stills entirely, her only motion being a single befuddled blink.

"...Eh?" She eventually squeaks out, confused.

Huh. Deja vu.

Regardless, I nod, "Yup. Wanna go out now?"

"B-But isn't it too late, now?" Rose started, concerned, with quickly growing panic, "And too cold! F-For me to wear this, I mean!?"

Okay, let's stop that now before she freaks out too much.

"I dunno," I shrug, "what's the weather looking like in Asgard around now?"

She freezes still once more.

Except this time, the panic doesn't get consumed by further confusion, instead, the exact opposite occurs, and her panic completely devours the confusion.

Whoops.

"Asgard?! W-Why!?" She exclaims, crying out in equal amounts fear and panic.

"Oooookay," I hum out, soothingly and low, as I pull her body closer against me, hugging her gently, "before you freak out anymore, listen first alright?"

Rose nods, rapidly, several times, against my shoulder, and so I go on.

"To put it simply? I want to try and give you what you missed out on over there." Rose flinched at that particular mention, I merely patted her on the back gently as I went on, "I may not know what your life was like entirely over there…but, well, surely you saw places you wanted to go with someone," she twitched, "things you wanted to do," another twitch, "just stuff you missed out on there, ya know?"

I took a breath, as it seemed Rose had significantly calmed, before finishing with a gentle smile, "I just figured…why not try and make up for lost time?"

For a beat, Rose didn't say or do anything to even acknowledge my words.

For a second longer, I started getting worried thinking the poor girl might have passed out in my lap or something!

But eventually, thankfully, she moved, slowly pulling away from me, so she could look at me.

She looked almost on the verge of tears. Her eyes were closed, and yet despite that, I could see tears forming and peaking out around the edges. At the same time, however?

I don't think I've ever seen the most pained yet beautiful and sweet smile on someone's face, all at once.

"I…" Rose uttered, sounding nearly breathless, barely managing her next words, "...Thank you. There should still be…some daylight time in Asgard, just-" her breath hitched slightly, I think suppressing a sob, "...Please excuse me, so I can freshen up first…?"

I don't say anything, I merely give her a polite nod.

She slides off my lap with ease, and practically power walks upstairs, I sense her position after she leaves my sight, going straight to the bathrooms.

I slowly lean back into the couch, as I hear the girl burst out in joyous tears and sobbing.

All the while? Absolutely cussing out that old fuck Odin.

Or at least, I assume that's what she's doing. Her accent kicked into high gear almost as soon as she let loose, and I couldn't make out the specifics of what she was saying.

…Oh well, as long as she's happy, yeah?

~ A New Sun ~

Thankfully, it didn't take long for Rose to finish 'freshening up'.

And you'd think, with how she looked when she did come back down, that she did freshen up!

Her cute little blush was gone, replaced instead by a much wider, far happier, glowing smile. There isn't a single tell of whatever exactly she was doing up there.

In addition, she was now also wearing sandals, but considering we're going out now that isn't much of a surprise.

As for myself, I took the time as she was doing…all that, to change out my robes for a fresh pair of robes that looked the same as before.

I would have put on my more formal robe and suit that I used way back when I first met Kunou and Yasaka, but I figured this was supposed to be a more fun thing, not a formal thing.

Onto the next thing of importance!

Actually getting to Asgard.

I stood up as Rose walked back in, her smile infecting me so much that I couldn't help but smile back at her, "So, we ready to head out now?"

Rose nodded, enthused, "I believe we are!"

"Nice! Then…how do we get there, exactly?" I ask, a bit perplexed, "Do we have to call out that one guy's name for him to create a bridge?"

Rose just stared at me like I'd grown a second, third, and fourth head.

"...No?" She answered after a moment, "Where…Where did you get any of that from?"

"...A movie?" I tried, slightly abashed.

Even though the Thor movie doesn't come out for another few years.

The completely unimpressed deadpan she sent me made me finally understand how I look when dealing with stupidity.

Luckily, my suffering was short-lived, as she shook her head and sighed, and held up a finger before elaborating, "No, Nori, we just teleport there via magic." One of her magic circles bloomed into existence right above her finger, but after a moment she added with a tilt of her head, "Well, okay, technically, newcomers to Asgard are supposed to cross the Bifrost Bridge first, from Earth to Asgard, and there's this whole official process…but as a Valkyrie, even formerly, I have special access to a 'backdoor' if you will, which is what we will be using."

I raise an eyebrow, "Just like that."

She nods, easily, "Just like that, yes."

Well damn.

"That…doesn't seem very secure." I mused aloud, to which Rose gave a very tired sigh as she walked over to my side.

"You tell me," she grumbles, her accent slipping in slightly, "I tried telling Odin about the potential of it, but he…didn't particularly care."

That tracks.

"Although," Rose continues, a tad more shy, "I'm sort of…glad, he didn't care to fix it. Now." The silver-haired girl admits, looking down with a slight blush.

I couldn't help but chuckle, reaching over, and taking her free hand in mine, causing her to perk up.

"As am I." I smile right back, only inflaming her blush more.

Without another word, Rose threw down the circle spinning above her finger right in front of us, it expanded as soon as it hit the ground, turning into something almost resembling a devil summoning circle.

Except, in this case, the circle was a deep lavender or violet color, and adorned completely with what I'm fairly certain are Norse runes and other such symbols.

"Before we step through," Rose raises her voice, right as I'm about to take a step, "I highly recommend concealing your aura and power, just so we aren't…bothered. Alright?"

I nod in understanding and take a moment to do just that, closing my eyes and pulling in everything I can, just like I did back in Takamagahara.

"...There we go."

When I open my eyes, to Rose, and everyone else, it'll likely feel like I don't even exist, even if they don't look at me.

Judging by how all those oafs ignored Rose for so long, I don't think they'll find me any suspicious at all.

If they even notice I'm there.

Rose nodded, satisfied.

And then, we both stepped into the circle.

Befitting one of Rose's magic spells, we were gone practically as soon as we stepped in.

I probably should have braced myself for it…I don't know why I was surprised, but with just one step, I was in a completely different world.

Literally.

My home had gone, the artificial lights and shadows peering down from the night sky and through the windows? Gone.

It was replaced by a fresh and new daytime sky, a bright blue, with the golden-yellow light of the sun peeking through the blue above.

There were no clouds, yet somehow, the light from the sun seemed dulled, blocked by…something.

But I didn't have time to ruminate on that, as my gaze was drawn outward, into the distance, into the horizon.

It was all a single tree, a giant, megalithic ash tree, that stretched up and up into the sky, so far up that not even my enhanced eyes could see where it ended.

It made the second biggest structure in the distance seem puny, like an ant in comparison, despite it also being considerable in size.

An old Norse hall that dwarfed both my homes in size combined, made entirely out of gleaming pure gold.

And to my surprise? There was more than just the one, although the one my eyes caught sight of first was most definitely the biggest, most grandiose of them all.

There were dozens of them though, large old Norse-styled long halls and palaces, made of pure gold.

Then, finally, my immediate surroundings came into view, and they were no less impressive.

Old Norse-styled longhouses not entirely made of gold, but instead out of wood, the freshest shiniest of woods, each wall and roof is perfectly and meticulously carved with intricate and unique designs and embroidered with gold along the way to give each home a little more shine.

But it doesn't end there, of course it doesn't stop there.

Amongst the homes, halls, and palaces, were groves upon groves of trees, all sitting upon the same evergreen plains as the houses. They looked remarkably similar to ash trees…except the leaves were this dazzling red-gold color as if they were in a perpetual state of autumn.

And finally, connecting it all? Were these simple well worn sandy-looking paths, waving between each home, connecting everything like a maze.

…So, for the second time today, I stopped and stared, my jaw almost fell out of my face and hit the floor.

I was only brought back to reality by the light and pleasant feminine giggling at my side, and the slight tug of my hand.

I finally turned, looking to see Rose, the scenery as her backdrop…perfection. Actual perfection.

"Come on," she nudges along, giving me another tug, "there's no time to waste!"

…That there is not.

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 85 End

I skimmed through all the times Asgard appeared or was mentioned in the LNs, and can you lot believe a detailed description of the place was never given?

Like, damn, even Heaven got that much.

So, here we are! I'm gonna have as much fun with this as I can, since I don't think we'll be coming back here or even have a chance too, for awhile!

A New Sun Chapter 84

Chapter 84

~ A New Sun ~

I'm not going to lie.

I've got no idea how the hell I'm supposed to start this conversation.

Or, if I even should start one at all.

Instead, I'm lying in a bean bag chair in her room, probably the same one I was lounging in the last time I was here, with my mother clinging to my chest and using me as a body pillow.

Her room hasn't changed at all since then, by the way. Not that I expected it to.

Unfortunately so anyhow, because that means I've got nothing new to stare at as I sort of awkwardly pat the small woman lying on me across the back.

We've been like this for some time now, ever since we got in here…just like this.

She stopped trembling pretty soon after I plopped down, and her breathing had long since stabilized before even then, so at least that's something, right?

…Yeah, we can't keep staying like this.

"How are you feeling?" I softly try asking.

The room being as silent as it is makes the question sound far louder than I intended.

Despite that though? She doesn't even flinch.

Or do anything.

But I don't get nothing.

"...Mmm."

A sound, sort of like a hum, comes from her.

That's it.

But at least it's something!

Tentatively, I tried again, "So…how much of that battle did you see?"

This is something I desperately need to know, because depending on how much or what she specifically saw could color her impression of what happened drastically.

Something as simple as tuning in a little late, and seeing only from the point after Dulio attacked me, would give her a very different idea of what happened compared to actually watching the full thing, start to finish, for instance.

At my second question though, her breathing abruptly stilled.

Internally, I immediately began panicking, and as her grip on my clothes began to tighten, I braced for…something not very good to happen, even if I didn't know what I was bracing for.

Until she responded.

"Enough."

A singular word, the sound muffled as her face was dug into my robe, and that was seemingly all that I was going to get.

At least she didn't start breathing fire and shooting light out of her eyes.

I resisted the urge to click my tongue, instead slowly frowning up at the ceiling.

I'm quickly concluding that this isn't going to work.

By this, I of course mean this back and forth.

I don't want her to freak out again, so taking it slow might be a bit better, but at the same time…

Seeing her like this hurts.

It's all my fault, too. I know that. I didn't even think to tell her what was going on, or what my plan was, and it's not like Uzume didn't make it very clear that Ama here tends to get fairly…emotional. Easily.

And then ruled by said emotions even easier.

See the Throne Room from earlier.

So, how best to deal with everything?

Well, how do I deal with most things nowadays?

Oh yeah.

Head on.

And with minimal regard for my safety!

"So," I start again, this time far more casually, "I've got the True Longinus stuffed under my bed next to a pink bat that I made that specifically knocked the horny emotions out of people."

Silence.

Pure, absolute, pin-drop silence.

I feel the poor woman on top of my chest stop breathing altogether all of a sudden.

Until slowly, ever so slowly, she moves her head and looks up.

Her mouth was slightly agape, and her eyes were slightly bloodshot, though I don't recall her crying, so I'm not sure what that's about.

"I…wha?" She uttered, completely and utterly baffled.

Hey, look at that! Two words! Progress!

I nodded, and hummed sagely, "Remember that mass of Sacred Gear wielders that hit up Kyoto and Kuoh a little bit ago? Yeah, well, one of em' had the Spear of Destiny."

"Wha…Wait, but that, why d-didn't I…?" She began sputtering out.

I shrugged, "Probably because I didn't tell anyone else about it besides the girls back at my home. Well, most." I rub my chin, "I don't think Uzume knows."

She had been gone a lot around the time the thing with the Hero Faction went down, and I know I told Kuroka and Shirone, Rose found it by accident while cleaning…

When Uzume did get back, she was mostly passed the hell out.

After a moment, I nod, and amend myself, "No, I know she doesn't."

Unless she's crawling under my bed for some reason when I'm not there.

Not sure why she would be, though.

"Okay, b-but then…" She tries to find the words, but I can see it in the way her eyes cloud up, just how overwhelmed she is.

"Why didn't I say anything to you?" I ask for her.

After a moment, she gulps and nods, "Y-Yes, Nori, that's not something…"

I held up a hand, stopping the lecture I knew she wanted to give but wouldn't be able to word properly anyway.

I move my hand down, patting her on the head as I sigh before answering, "I decided, due to how unprecedented this kind of situation was, to keep knowledge of it on the down low. Not even all my girls know, and you not originally knowing isn't due to my not trusting you or anything."

"In fact," I pause to snort, "I'd wager you're far more trustworthy than Uzume. She'd get drunk and half the Japanese Supernatural World would know by midnight."

Ama merely blinked at me for that, before breaking out into a small fit of weak chuckles.

"Y-Yeah, yeah." She smiles, slightly, "You're probably right about that." Unfortunately, that smile quickly fades away, "Still, Nori, that…"

She takes a moment, putting a hand to her mouth and closing her eyes, taking a deep, deep centering breath, before exhaling, and looking at me with a far more focused and sharper eye than I've seen of her thus far today.

"I have…many, many questions." She stated simply.

"And I probably have the answers." I responded in kind.

What followed is basically the same conversation I've had before, twice over, with the others.

Why didn't the Spear disappear back into the system? Why did I take it? Why did I put it under my bed specifically?

That kind of stuff.

By the end of it all, Ama was looking away from me in slight shame, while I just gave her this knowing look.

"Come ooonn~!" I prodded, "Where would you have put it if I did give it to you? Hmm~?"

She started pouting, adorably might I add, before finally giving in and practically whispering, "...under my bed too."

Heh! Called it~!

I hummed and nodded along at her words, "They always expect a sealed up and heavily guarded vault, they never suspect the good ol' under-the-bed trick."

Ama huffed, smacking me on the chest, playfully.

I then proceeded to cackle like a season one villain from your average cartoon show, which only prompted her to continue smacking me more.

Each one was just as effective as the last, which is to say not at all, but still, she's trying at least!

Unfortunately, though, the good vibes have to come to an end, as I slowly calm it down, going into a long drawn-out sigh.

"That's all backstory though." I abruptly say, causing Ama to perk up, though not all that much, "As I'm sure you've already caught on…" I trail off slowly, and Ama picks it up.

"Mhmm." She hums, nodding grimly, "He came for the spear, didn't he?"

…Somehow, I don't think Ama likes Dulio all that much.

I wonder why?

"They came for the spear." I corrected her, prompting her to narrow her eyes at me.

"There were more!?" Ama exclaimed through gritted teeth.

Seeing obvious indications that her anger was rising once again, I moved, patting her on the head soothingly.

"Yes, there were," I state, calmly and softly, "but before you start trying to fire light out of your eyes, let me explain, okay?"

Ama's eye twitched, but she slowly nodded nonetheless.

And so I took it.

I explained, right from the beginning, all the way up to my bout with Dulio.

From my scouting out the Tokyo Cathedral for the Holy Spirit Sword to first seeing Dulio, to the Church Girls, forging the fake spear, everything.

Throughout the entire thing, I watched her face shift here and there, but to my surprise, the most consistent emotion on her face was…shock herself.

By the end of it all, talking about it just made me tired again, as though I had gone through it all once more for real rather than just speaking about it.

As for Ama? She looked…incredibly conflicted. Her eyes refused to meet my gaze, her mouth was a line, halfway between smiling and frowning, like it couldn't tell which way to lean.

Eventually though, after a long pause, she closed her eyes, and nodded, "That's, I…may have overreacted a little bit." She admitted with a sigh, "It was all so sudden, you know?" She slowly looked up at me, her eyes opening to reveal them beginning to mist over, "I felt the storms forming over the country, felt your power blast through them, and when it cleared, I saw your battle in the ocean, I felt…t-thought…"

Her grip on my robes shook with how hard she held on now, feeling like at any moment, the cloth could be torn with her grip.

"Uzume t-tried to calm me down, I know she did!" Ama lowered her gaze, her head, back into my robe, "The o-others as well, I just…I c-c-couldn't…Hnnn~!"

Her entire body began shuddering, and I took that as my cue to wrap my arms around her, and just simply hold her.

"I know, and I'm sorry." I uttered down at her, "I should have said something to you before I went through with it all, I should have known how'd you react to…that. But I didn't even think about any of that, and that's on me."

Trauma is a bitch. Especially for gods, apparently. Therapy as a concept doesn't seem to exist for them.

I know she'd be fine if smaller stuff went down, worried, probably, but she'd be fine. Big stuff like this, though? One of the stronger beings in the world turning up and me fighting him?

Even if it was part of the plan, even if I knew I ultimately wasn't going to die or anything, well…not giving at least a heads-up to her was kind of cruel.

A chorus of sniffles erupted in my arms, as Ama tried to reply, "...I-It's, okay, it's not really okay okay, but I know I o-overreacted…" She shook her against my chest, "Mmm! I hurt Uzu, really badly, and…and I guess Tsuku too, and I probably stirred up the entirety of Takamagahara something fierce, didn't I?"

I snorted, "Something fierce is putting it lightly."

"E-Eh!?" Ama suddenly perked up, allowing me to finally see the small streams of tears falling down her face, "Wait! They haven't started killing each other again, have they!?"

…Again?

"Uh, no?" I tried, concerned, "Last I saw, they were throwing around attacks though."

Ama groaned, her face falling back into my robe as she flailed her feet around and gave a muffled scream of, "Why are they like this!?"

What followed was a quick flurry of uttered, muffled, babbling, of which I managed to only pick up only a couple of sentences.

Stuff about cleanup being a bitch, and calling them the '8 million babies'...or something to that effect.

After she lets it all out, she lets out a low, tired sigh, and just lays there on top of me, once again still.

"...Sorry about that." She says, plainly, "They just…really get on my nerves. They're all sheep, and I still wonder why the Ancestors thought they needed to exist."

I winced at that. Damn. Harsh.

But also fair, they didn't exactly seem vital to running the place.

"Eh, don't worry about it." I wave her off, "I can see why you'd say that…unfortunately."

She chuckles dryly at that before adding, "Imagine having to live with them…"

I cringe and shudder, causing her chuckle to turn genuine, albeit only briefly before it dies down entirely.

At that moment, the two of us just lay there on that bean bag chair, content with the silence, still holding one another.

Until Ama broke it all with a sigh.

"You know, I'd love to stay like this for a long time, but I really shouldn't…" she starts mumbling, sadly, "I really should go clean up the mess I started, before it gets worse."

I hum, before stating, "I'm hearing a lot of should, not a lot of need to ya know?"

"I…I know." She grumbles, "I don't want you to go. In fact, I really should ground you. Make you stay here with me for a while!" She threatens with this adorable little angry pout.

I couldn't help the coy little chuckle I let out in response, before following up and adding, "You know, I'm not a kid, you technically can't-"

Ama holds up a finger to cut me off, interjecting with, "Well, actually, the legal age in Japan is technically 20, Nori. So, technically…yes, yes I can." She finishes with a smirk.

I blink, several times at that.

The legal adult age in Japan is twenty!? Since fucking when?!

Oh well, I have a counter to this!

I look her back, dead in the eye, "The legal age of consent in Japan is also 13."

That promptly caused her to flinch so hard she nearly fell off me and the chair, "W-What!? Nori! What does that have to do with anything!?"

"I'm just saying," I continue, "we probably shouldn't take the legal age of such things so seriously, ya know?"

Ama clicked her tongue at that, before slowly relenting, "Mmmm-Okay! Fine! I won't ground you, then, but I-"

This time, it was my turn to interrupt her, by booping her on the nose so suddenly, she perked up and went cross-eyed for a second trying to catch sight of it.

"I know," I smile at her, "I'll come back to visit soon, and I'll stay for a little while. Might as well. Been a bit curious to finally meet my half-siblings, anyhow."

Although, speaking of them, shouldn't they be around right now? Or did they cut and run once Ama here started getting a little… fire-breathy.

"So, we'll take care of two birds with one stone. How's that sound?" I raise an eyebrow at her and finish by asking.

Ama just stares for a second, before abruptly reaching up and grabbing my cheeks with both her hands!

Her stare becomes intense, drilling into my eyes as she asks, "...you promise?"

I nod, resolutely, "Yeah, I promise."

Another second of more intense staring that borders on becoming awkward follow, before she just as abruptly as this started, lets go of my cheeks, and nods, pleased.

"Good!" She exclaims, and beams a smile right back, one that was much stronger compared to before.

Can't say whether or not I'm looking forward to seeing more of this place, but I suppose time will tell there.

Oh, right, another thing!

"You know, I wouldn't mind staying around now," I start up again, adding, "but I got something else I promised to do first. Which has to do with partly why I originally came up here."

Ama tilts her head at me, "Oh? Partly?"

I nod, "Yup. One, I wanted to make sure I wouldn't start an inter-pantheon incident or something going to Asgard."

At that, Ama gave me a long, long blink.

"...Why do you want to go to Asgard, Nori?"

Oi. Why does she sound like she's accusing me of something already?

In response, I answer as simply as I can.

"It's for a girl."

"...A girl."

"Mhmm!"

Slowly, her face morphs to give me the most blank of all stares.

My face remains unchanged, still smiling straight at her.

It doesn't take her long before she gives it up, and sighs, "Okay, yeah, you can go to Asgard without incident, just showing up should be fine, if a little weird, we haven't started doing the big stuff we wanted to do together yet, but, visiting? Should be fine."

Nice!

Then Ama started pouting again, puffing out her cheeks, and grumbling, "Can't believe it, my son forgets to tell me about something like…that, but has enough foresight for doing something like this? Hmph!"

…You know what? That's fair.

"Yeah, yeah," I chuckle out, "I know. What can I say? My brain works in mysterious ways."

"You mean your brain works more like Uzu's, and every day I regret letting her near you more and more." She 'corrects' with the flattest deaf tone I think I've ever heard from her.

Not going to lie, that felt like a sucker punch straight to the gut.

But you know what? It's fine, I'll let her have that one. She deserves that at least.

I click my tongue, and change the subject back, "Anyhow, the other part of why I originally came up here?" Ama gives me an unimpressed look, clearly expecting something stupid.

"I got the Kusanagi back from the Church."

Which is why I made sure to memorize every detail of her face as the whiplash of what I said hit her all at once.

"...Wait what?" She asked, slack-jawed, eyes wide, looking at me in pure disbelief.

I did leave that bit out of my explanation of events and plan earlier, wanting that to be its own separate thing.

I nodded a couple of times, "Yup. Though to be more precise, they gave it back. Left it in a box next to me while I was out."

"...Y-You're sure?" She asks, quickly, almost a touch apprehensive or afraid, "You're positive it was the right sword?"

I nod once more, my smile growing, "I recognized the Holy Spirit Power in the core almost immediately. It's one of the treasures, the real deal."

For a precious few seconds, Ama just stares at me, like she's trying to parse out that what I'm saying is true, that there is no joke, no punchline, no gag here.

When she doesn't see any, because I'm not joking of course, her face slowly breaks out in a grin. A very wide grin.

"Heeheehee…" It starts as a low chuckle, and her entire body begins shuddering as if she's trying to contain whatever's coming.

It doesn't take long at all for her to fail at doing that though.

"Heehaa, hahaha! HAH!" Her chuckle turns into a full-on wheezing belly laugh, straight into my chest, as she clings to my robe for dear life.

I can't say I saw this reaction coming exactly, but it's still pretty good, so I'll take it!

"They got scammed! SCAMMED! Haaah!" Ama starts ranting in between fits of giggling, "That's what they deserve too! Gosh, I almost wish they would find out just how bad they got it! Just so I can watch their seething faces! Heeheeee!"

Hmm, she's not stopping. That's probably not good, is it?

Ah, well, I let her have this…feels like this moment has been a long time coming from her, so I'll just let her be.

Better a cackling giggling mess over a crying breakdown, anyway.

Internally though, I let out a light sigh of relief.

It was a little awkward at first, but I think I ended up going well, ultimately. Not the worst kind of drama I've had to deal with.

However, I suspect meeting the full extended family is going to be a slightly…different affair.

I hope not, but somehow, I doubt I'm that lucky.

In any event, I'll stay with Ama here for a little while longer, then head on back.

Normally, I'd be planning for my time with Rose, but frankly, I have no way of doing that since I don't know anything about Asgard in the first place.

The idea remains the same though.

I want to try and give Rose what she missed out on in Asgard, so surely she's gotta know of some places couples do stuff around there.

…If not, if she was that isolated, then I suppose we'll have to wing it!

Either way though, I can't wait!

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 84 End

A little later then I would have liked, but we take these regardless! Also, the whole chapter's dedicated to Ama, ye. Originally, Nori was gonna leave and we were gonna start with Rose going to Asgard at the end, but the tone whip lash was a bit much like that, so I separated it.

Now, we start next chappy right away with Nori meeting up with Rose, and they can go about their thing unimpeded.

No Chapter Today!

It's Valentine's Day fellas, your boy is gonna be busy...hell, I already am, somehow.

There was a chance the weather would put a stopper on today, letting me post, but it looks like it'll be clear today, so no dice.

So, pushing the chapter back to next Friday! Sorry you lot, but duty calls.

Shame that. The next chapter would have been sorta perfect for today, lol.

A New Sun Chapter 83

Chapter 83

~ A New Sun ~

Admittedly, it took a moment for me to get moving, sort of just staring at the consequences of my actions as I was.

Funnily enough? What finally got me moving again mentally was the same random guy in the crowd who was screaming earlier.

It was him screaming though.

"UGH!"

…It was him getting sucker punched in the face by another random person and sent straight to the ground.

"Drop dead you warmongering dimwit!" The assaulter then proceeded to verbally tear into the floored guy, "You–"

He was cut off from his tirade by some other guy punching him in the face in turn.

And just like a chain reaction, it began to spread.

Starting from the second puncher getting punched in turn, loud yelling and ranting began to turn into a chorus of shoving and striking, spreading out like some sort of violent tidal wave.

…Me on a stick. I think I understand why Ama didn't want me growing up here, now.

No time to worry about that now though, in the end, I get the feeling none of these guys out here truly matters.

They're a literal crowd of nameless, samely nobodies. The textbook definition of filler, but for Kami.

No, the real gods making the decisions are up there.

My gaze focuses intently on the Palace sitting above them all.

That's where I needed to be, yesterday.

After all, if I had told Ama, or at least Uzume so she could tell her instead, what I was planning, then none of this would have even happened.

I clicked my tongue and let a sigh out under my breath.

This is my fault, time to face the music.

…If I can even get to the music in the first place.

My gaze swept across the increasingly growing violent crowd, and it didn't take long to realize going through there would be a terrible idea.

If I transform into one of them and try to walk and weave on through, I'll probably just get jumped.

If I reveal myself, my power, there's no saying what exactly could happen. They could let me through easily, sure, but at the same time…these guys don't strike me as thoughtful.

I'll likely be mobbed or some stupid shit by desperate barely even courtiers wanting my opinion on all this.

Time is of the essence, but the only thing hampering said time is the possibility of the horde below interfering.

So, I'm going to have to avoid them entirely.

I back up, going to the opposite end of the roof, and lower myself into a runner's starting stance.

I'm suppressing my powers, just so they don't sense me at all, so any speed I gain has to be all-natural.

Thus just to be sure, I want a running start.

The faster I go, the less chance they'll see me…which isn't likely considering they're all beating each other up currently, but stacking advantages just to be sure can't hurt.

Flares of extremely meager amounts of divine power sparking amongst the crowd around the building act as my signal flare.

No more time to waste then.

With a single breath, I charge.

Reaching the end of the roof at a breakneck pace, I leap off it and fly straight to the next, my stride never slowing.

I am nearly knocked off course by a stray blast of divine power though.

Make that several random stray blasts.

I was nearly at the Palace gates, just a few jumps more I'd say, when of course, something had to happen.

Said Palace gates abruptly exploded, with a great and deep thunderous bellow following swiftly after.

"WILL YOU FOOLS KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY!?"

A lone man walked through the blown-out gates, clad in a full set of samurai armor, minus a helmet, holding an ancient Japanese longsword, a Tsurugi, thrumming with lightning of all things.

For a second, as I came to a screeching halt, I thought this guy was Susan but…after a moment, I quickly realized this was a different guy.

For one, this new guy was far weaker than the slow-to-revive storm god, the pressure this guy was emitting, while substantial, wasn't anywhere near that of my uncle.

That, and his face is completely different. Susan had a very punchable face, this guy, despite his very samurai general-type look, actually doesn't look like an asshole.

At his appearance and bellowing announcement, I immediately got down, hitting the ground so I couldn't be seen.

The crowd though? They didn't follow suit entirely.

Oh, those nearest to the Palace did, of course. I saw them still, their divine powers shut down as soon as spiritually possible.

Not only that, their violent debating turned horror-filled utterances gave me the name of this new god.

"L-L-Lord T-Takemikazuchi!"

Oho? Now that's a name I recognize from myth!

The God of Thunder and Swords, one of the Kami specifically born from the blood splattered on Izanagi's sword after he killed Kagutsuchi.

Apparently, way back in the day when Japan was known as the 'Middle Country' and was in a state of chaos, this guy was sent down to pacify the land, then in the future, he sent down his sword to assist my ancestor in becoming the First Emperor of Japan.

A pretty important deity I'd say, although not that high up there in the grand scheme of things.

Anyhow, though those closest to the Palace had gotten his memo, the others further out clearly didn't.

I could hear them still, the distant sounds of struggles, shouting, and fighting.

So too could the newly arrived Thunder God here it seemed, as his frown grew into a scowl, and he raised his sword.

Without a word from him, said sword promptly crackled with power, before letting out a massive boom, the crack of boiling not-so-distant thunder.

Causing what felt like the entire mountain to shake.

I had to hold onto the rough tightly to not be thrown off the damn thing, and I could hear that those on the ground weren't fairing well at all.

As one, shouts and screams of fear and indignation rolled out across the mountain, followed by the collective noise of several thousands of bodies hitting the floor.

Then promptly shook around on said floor like they were all being rattled around in a boiling pan.

All of this lasted a few moments, if that, before everything stilled once again, and returned to peace and stillness.

Along with a sweet, blissful, quiet.

That unfortunately lasted for even less time.

"IF I MUST COME OUT HERE AGAIN…" Takemikazuchi continued, his voice resounding across the mountain like thunder, "THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES, FOR EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU! DO YOU HEAR!?"

The blissful silence returned for a moment.

It was broken again, but this time in a much softer manner, by the Thunder God once again.

"Harumph." He grunted, tiredly, at a normal octave, something only those near the palace gates where he stood would be able to hear.

And without any more prompt, he then turned and proceeded to walk back inside.

With everyone close to the gates staring on in abject terror.

…I give it five, no, ten more minutes before this short peace all falls apart again.

In the meanwhile, with everyone scared stiff and watching the higher-level deity in case he decides to cut a dumbass, I take this time to stand up, and make the final few leaps over, onto the grand palace roof itself.

My final quick scamper up the roof wasn't exactly dignified, I'll admit, I wanted this to be over with already, but I also didn't want to get caught.

It worked well enough, I think. I didn't hear anyone freak out below, so…I'll take it!

Now, how do I get inside the palace properly?

Well. If it's anything like the Yomi Palace, which it does look like, just more golden, I think I might know a way or two!

Right into the Throne Room, in fact…

~ A New Sun ~

Takamagahara, the Plane of High Heaven, was an absolute clusterfuck this time of year.

Correction, the Heaven that her favorite Sun Goddess ran was always like this…not that Uzume had been to any other Heaven.

Though right now, she wouldn't exactly mind it.

Currently, Uzume was holding back her said totally favorite Sun Goddess from quite literally, getting most of them killed!

"UZUME! YOU STUPID BITCH! LEMME GO! RIGHT NOW!"

Well, she's one hundred percent becoming ash after this, so there's that.

Oh yeah. By holding her back, she meant that literally as well, by the way.

Right now, Uzume was holding up her little short stuff of a Sun Goddess by the waist, as said Goddess flailed around wildly like a rabid poodle, trying to escape her grasp.

"I'll l-let you go if you promise not to grab your bow an-" Uzume wasn't allowed to finish, of course.

"I'M PICKING UP MY BOW!" Ama looked back, her eyes glowing and spinning wildly whilst she screamed back at her, "In FACT! HACHI! GET ME MY BOW! RIGHT NOW!"

Oh right…they're also not alone.

Currently, they are in the Throne Room, though this whole song and dance they're doing now had started in Ama's room.

She had managed to escape Uzume's grasp after all, a few times. She'd just had to chase her down and snatch her back up again.

Though by that time, they'd started gaining a crowd, as one tends to do when their chief god is screaming about nuking the center of the strongest religion on the planet.

Hachi, or Hachiman, their God of War whom Ama had just called out to, stood there silently, wearing a long formal and traditional gold and black, his ever-present spear held at his side.

His weathered old face simply looked at his chief god, and said nothing, as he did exactly nothing.

He wasn't the only one amongst them, however.

Inari stood off to the side, amused by seemingly everything going on around her.

Omoikane, their God of Wisdom and Knowledge, stood amongst the circle of deities around them, worried and fretting. He wore the long white traditional robe those ancient Japanese magicians used to wear, alongside a pair of glasses.

Personally, Uzume always thought he kind of looked like a nerd, even before the concept came to be. Then, when anime became a thing, she was always pretty sure every 'smart glasses guy' friend character was based on him.

He was supposed to be Ama's chief advisor, but he wasn't doing much advising right now.

Not like Ama would take any he'd give right now.

There were others amongst them, a couple of dragon and oni-looking guys, gods of the wind, water, and lightning, and even more beyond them, both Earthly and Heavenly alike, though Uzume didn't care to register them in her head, despite how incredibly rare and nearly unprecedented all things considered this event is.

She was a bit busy, remember.

"Ngghhh! Hachi! What did I say!? MY! BOW!" Ama tried again, still attempting to claw her way out of her grip.

"M-Mmm!" Uzume bucked, slightly, as the obsidian-haired little goddess in her arms nearly flew out of them again.

Honestly, it should say something that Ama is so mad she doesn't even consider that she could overpower her quite easily.

Beyond just physically, after all…

Across the room, inside a crater in one of the walls, is the smoking figure of another kami, a silver-haired god whose violet eyes were deadpanning at the scene before him.

Tsukuyomi, the God of the Moon, Ama's former husband…and brother.

He isn't even supposed to be allowed here, but he came down once he heard the commotion to try and stop her.

And, well, Uzume got a front-row seat watching as she blasted him across the room with a single wave of her hand into the place he decided it would be a good idea to remain.

If he wanted to stay alive, that'd be for the best.

The thing is, he, Susanoo, and Inari, are the only ones amongst them who come close to matching her.

If they were all together, they might be able to forcibly stop her rampage.

"Ugh! Damn you all! Uzu!" She turned and gave her full attention toward Uzume, "Let, me, go, NOW!"

"E-EEP!" Uzume cried out as she turned her full body, just in time for Ama to open her mouth and for the stream of solar flames to pour out from her mouth.

Thankfully though, due to her turning, she effectively moved out of the way.

Unfortunately, this made her essentially the wielder of a Sun Goddess flamethrower…which was waved toward all the other gods in the room.

A discordant chorus of roars and panicked shouts echoed out as the flames lashed out for them, causing them all to scatter.

In the edge of her vision, she sees the door to the Throne Room open, and for a second, hope enters her heart!

Takemikazuchi stood there at the door, looking into the room with a blank look on his face, his eyes tracing where the lashes of golden solar fire flew.

That hope promptly shatters as he promptly shuts the door without entering, muttering something to himself.

Uzume can't say she blames him.

Still, screw him!

Tsukuyomi twitched in his place in the wall, "...Siste-"

He barely got a single word out before he was engulfed by a lash of flames, and promptly shut up.

…Then as the lash continued into more of a beam, Uzume realized that it was one hundred percent targeted.

She looked over and found Ama intentionally looking and eyeing him now, or where he would be in the golden inferno.

It was over soon after, leaving a charred Tsukuyomi who didn't look the least bit pained despite being a whole other color, and within an actual smoking glowing crater.

He merely looked far more dead inside.

Ama gave a vindictive chuckle his way, "Now then," she uttered slowly, her pure golden aura slowly coming to life around her as she turned her head to face Uzume once again.

Uzume winced in pain, that aura was hot.

And not in a good way either!

"I'm done playing around." Ama ground out, "Put me down, so I can get my bow, and make the Vatican not exist anymore!"

The hissing that followed wasn't from Ama, but Uzume's hands and arms as they started to burn.

"A-Ama…" Uzume tried, but it was clear that she wasn't having it anymore.

"Don't Ama me! They deserve it! They've always deserved it! Especially now!" Ama fired back, somewhat manically, "Everyone knows it! Everyone else in the world would support us if we did! Because we'd have the balls to do what they won't despite Him existing!"

"Y-You can't be sure-"

"I'M SURE ENOUGH!" Her aura flared.

"A-Anghh!?" She cried out in sheer burning pain, yet refused to let go.

"You…You aren't even supposed to be here, right now," Ama continued, ranting, "I'll forgive you…if you let me go, right now."

…Uzume had come almost as soon as she felt the fight begin right outside Japan, the fight between Nori and the Church's Strongest Exorcist.

She had no clue how that even happened! Last she heard, he was going after the sword, that was the plan, wasn't it!?

In any event, she rushed to Ama's side, because she knew she'd be watching, and she didn't want Ama to do anything…rash.

Once it was all said and done, that's exactly what she had tried to do.

Never mind the fact he was alive and fine after! Never mind the fact something was off about all this in the first place!

No, all Ama saw was the Strongest Exorcist drown and crush her precious baby boy, and that's all that mattered to her.

So for hours now, she's had to deal with this.

If only one of her children were here, she'd listen to them, wouldn't she? If she could, she'd have gotten Nori by now, but…well, she's been busy!

"...N-No." Uzume grunted out, sternly yet simply, pushing through all the pain.

Ama's gaze sharpened before she gritted her teeth as rage took over her face once again.

Uzume promptly braced herself for the little girl goddess to start thrashing around in her arms once again, only instead, something pricked at the edge of her senses.

Maybe Tsukuyomi might have felt it as well, but Ama clearly couldn't, enraged as she was.

But she sure as hell noticed when something broke through the Throne Room's window, forcing her to perk up, and half twist to look in the sound's direction.

Uzume though, finally let herself sigh and sag down in relief.

Flopping onto the floor rather ungracefully, was the young man she was just thinking about earlier.

"Uggghh…" Noriaki groaned, less out of pain, and much more annoyance, as broken bits of the palace's windows fell around him.

Then he looked up from the ground, saw the room, and just stared.

Half of the room was burning and black, Tsukuyomi was in a smoking crater in the far wall, and there she was, holding his mother like she was rabid possum…hell, with the look in her eyes right now? She probably looked like one was as well.

Uzume could see the moment realization set in on his face, and he grimaced.

Good! He knows this is his fault! Little jerk!

Now to start plotting what she can get out of this!

It took everything that Uzume had to not split into a mischievous grin as she began to plot…

~ A New Sun ~

Oi. Uzume. Why do you look like you're planning something really dumb?

Hnn, never mind that's not the thing to focus on.

Better question!

I pointedly stared at Ama, "...why do you look like a rabid chihuahua?"

Seriously, her face is giving those kinds of angry vibes, and although I have a guess, I don't think she'd crash out this hard over…me, right?

Right?

Unfortunately, or maybe rather, fortunately, my small female lookalike doesn't exactly give me a response.

Instead, as she sees me, her manic and twistedly grit teeth…look slowly smothered down with a frown, then a somewhat gaping stare.

Then she's a blurred mass heading toward me.

I barely hear Uzume's shocked yelp as the purple-harried goddess is sent sprawling to the floor before it registers what exactly is coming my way.

In that moment, I release the hold I've had on my powers to keep them suppressed, and myself in stealth, allowing them to surge to the surface as I catch the speeding goddess.

Barely.

She slams into me so hard, so fast, I'm sent skidding back several feet and nearly through the windows once again at my back, barely able to stop myself before that happens.

Yet, I manage, and my reward is…a trembling little goddess, clinging onto my torso for dear life.

"Jeez…" I huff, gently pat her head, and look around the room once more.

With my senses back, I can feel what I pretty much confirmed with my eyes. A flaming tornado blasted through here, Ama's flaming tornado.

Next to the throne, near the center back of the room, Uzume was left laid out. She's got these nasty-looking burns across her hands and arms that made even me wince.

Additionally, in the opposite wall, almost perfectly across from Uzume, is another person…though he's too charred black to make out.

I feel his divine power though, and recognize him instantly from that.

Tsukuyomi, my other uncle.

He…doesn't look good, but his face isn't showing it, so I can't say for certain.

In the periphery of my senses, I can feel several other deities, all fairly strong, much stronger than the mob outside, sometimes several times over.

I recognize Inari amongst them, but not anyone else.

Slowly, they begin to poke their heads and peak in, clearly intrigued by my appearance.

I don't care about them though, not right now, so I ignore them and carry on with what matters.

Lifting her whilst holding Ama close to me, I make my way over to Uzume, having to sort of waddle slightly because Ama refuses to move all that much.

When I do finally make it though, holding out my hand and healing the purple-haired goddess is far easier.

Uzume lets out a shuddering sigh of relief as I do, and when I'm done, I softly ask of her, "When you get back, could you tell Rose and Kuroka that I might," my gaze shifts to Ama for a split second, "...take a little while longer then I thought getting back to them?"

Uzume looks up at me and nods easily enough.

I then turn toward my other probably cooler uncle, only for said god to hold out a hand, and stop me from approaching altogether.

"Not a good idea." he voices, waving toward my current chest plate.

Which…fair enough.

"But…" I go to ask what he's going to do about being charbroiled.

Only for him to interrupt me by sliding off the wall, and landing on his face, acting seemingly not worse for wear.

He shakes himself off, causing all the black char and sot to fall off him like he was in some sort of cartoon show, leaving his outfit, a blue and white traditional robe, spotless.

The only thing that marked him as hurt, kind of, was his skin being slightly tinted pink.

At my bewildered stare, he merely shrugs, giving me a small smug smile, "I figured out how to deal with her a while ago, so don't worry about me, alright?"

At his words, I nodded.

Then slowly reached out and lowered my chestplate's extending arm that was pointing toward him abruptly, steadily bringing it back against me.

With that all sorted, I looked down at the trembling goddess in arms, before speaking aloud to everyone else, in or just outside.

"I'll be taking her to her room, alright!? Don't any of you disturb us!"

My shout wasn't meant with any objections, and so I turned and waddled away with her.

Inside the confines of my mind, I allowed myself to sigh though.

Here I was, expecting an easy walk-in, telling everyone the good news, before asking if it'd be fine to hit up Asgard for something…

Instead, as I look down, and see the trembling form of my mother looking damn near ready to burst into tears and breakdown, the full totality of what I'm getting instead steps in.

Consequences of my actions indeed.

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 83 End

Alright, we'll be seeing Rose again next time, the mother just required a proper explanation...and snuggles, then she'll be fine. Mostly. Kinda. It's a little complicated, but ya, mostly.

All that most be gone through for Rose lewds eventually...

A New Sun Chapter 82

Chapter 82

~ A New Sun ~

"Nyahahaha~..."

Unfortunately, though, it seems someone else is going to get to her before I can.

Kuroka shuffled in from the side with a light airy giggle, I could tell she had just very recently woken up, as her smile was loopy, her entire posture was droopy and her clothes were barely hanging onto her body.

"There there, Rose-chan~! It's okay, big sis Kuroka will make sure you're all well and ready for darling, nyah~!"

She leans down next to the fallen form of the former Valkyrie and pats her on the head as she speaks, while I just cross my arms and raise an eyebrow her way.

Okay. Maybe not very recently then?

I should have known, this is the cat after all!

"You were listening in on us, huh." I accuse her of the obvious.

To which she doesn't even bat an eyebrow, sending me a side-eyed glance filled with mirth, her smile, though still a bit loopy, widening.

"Nothing like that~..." Kuroka cooed, almost whining, as she explained, "I just woke up, and followed you two ready to ask about what's for dinner, when you suddenly hit poor Rose-chan here with that, nyah~!"

Her smile slowly turned into a smirk, before she added.

"Gotta say, I'm surprised you acted so quickly with her, darling~..." She trailed off, clearly seeking an explanation of some sort out of curiosity.

I roll my eyes at her obvious probe but indulge her, I have nothing to hide after all.

"Now just seemed like the best time, right after another big event, probably gonna be some downtime in between them, like usual." I explain rather plainly, "Plus, she hasn't been here that long, and she's been great to have around. I thought it'd be a good idea to reward her," my neutral expression morphs into a deadpan, "...and you know she wouldn't try to ask me out herself."

Kuroka has the gall to chuckle, "Right. Poor Rose-chan here is what the internet would call, a 'turbovirgin'."

I walk over to them, snorting, "Hey now, don't talk like that as if you weren't one yourself."

Kuroka's smirk grew wider, "Was, darling, was." She looks at me, her eyes narrowing sultrily as her robe slips down her body ever so slightly more, "Hmm, and I wonder, who do I have to thank for that, nyaahh~?"

Always the temptress, huh?

Without even giving it a second thought, my hand raises and falls, slapping Kuroka across her ass.

Despite, or maybe due to, her incredibly loose-fitting robe, I could see the way her plump rear shook and jiggled from the force of my blow.

"N~Nyah~! Mmm~...Darling~..." Kuroka moaned out breathlessly, arching her back just a bit as her thighs started to rub together.

Meanwhile, I just sighed internally, holding back the admittedly very tempting idea of tearing off her robe and breeding her right up against the wall.

…But Rose was right there and still very unconscious, so no can do.

Later though. Most definitely later.

Instead, for now, I smirk right back at my shortstack catgirl, "Never stopped being turbo-horny despite that though, did you?"

Kuroka licked her lips, her tails swaying from side to side as she uttered back with a sexy undeterred smirk, "Mhmm~! Only for you, darling~..."

…Fucking hell cat, why do you have to make it so hard to resist at the worst possible times?

I reached over, hooking a finger under her chin, lifting her head so our eyes met.

"Not now you…" I uttered, dangerously, "Rose is right here."

Kuroka's rear shook slightly back and forth, her tails wiggling about back and forth in indignation, "...But she's unconscious, nyah~!" Kuroka nearly whined back.

My gaze swept down to said unconscious Rose.

Whose face looked eerily similar to the pedals of her nickname, a deep bright burning red.

Then I looked right back in Kuroka's eyes, and raised a singular eyebrow, once again.

"...Hmph~! Nyah~!" Kuroka pouted, crossing her arms under her bust, intentionally pushing her mounds up as much as possible.

Honestly, her robe is so far down her cleavage that I'm shocked her nipples aren't exposed by this point.

She practiced that, didn't she? There's no way you just pull that off without knowing the exact area to stop and hold the cloth up.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes again at her antics, "Don't think I forgot about you, or Shirone either, kitty…" I take her chin in my hand, prompting her to perk up.

"Nyah~? Mhmm~!"

She perks up even more when I lean down and take her lips with my own.

The kiss doesn't last longer than a moment, however, before I pull away, leaving her to let out a whining noise as I look back into her eyes.

"I've got…ideas," I murmured breathlessly, "for stuff to do with you and your sister. So, don't you worry! I fully intend to reward you both as well…"

After a moment of Kuroka looking at me, she gave me a shuddering breath before wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling herself up enough to kiss me back.

This cat though, couldn't be satisfied with just a chaste kiss, of course not.

She pushed her essentially half-naked body right up against mine, same as she pressed her lips against mine.

Yet at the same time, she rubbed herself against me, making damn well sure I felt the softness of her chest as it pressed against my torso, the curve of her leg and thigh as one of her feet popped up and her leg wrapped around one of my own.

Not only that, but she wasn't satisfied with a short either, oh no no no!

She drew it out, as much as she possibly could, before slowly, ever so slowly, she drew back and away, a very light smirk across her face.

"...I'll make sure you remember that then, darling~, nyah~!" She winks and pats my cheek.

…Okay so, look, I tried. I tried really hard, but not even I could stop the massive boner I popped after all that.

Kuroka though, the little fucking cat, pretended to not even notice it as she turned back toward the downed Rose.

"Nyah then~!" She kneels next to her, "Don't you worry, Rose-chan~! Just like I said earlier…big sis Kuroka has your back~!"

I blinked, as it finally settled in that she did say something like that right when she came up, didn't she?

Huh. Must have gone right over my head.

…Poor Rose.

"And, you know what?" She says to Rose's still very unconscious body, "I'll even phone a friend for double the help!"

Uh oh.

I feel slightly bad consigning Rose to this, but…only slightly.

Not going to lie, but if I am going to take her out, it would be kind of annoying if she freaked out at every moment of the date.

But if there is anyone who could help remedy that beforehand, give her the confidence boost, or just, you know, the patience to deal with it…it'd be Kuroka.

And her mystery friend here.

Well, she isn't a 'mystery' to be fair, she's one of the only friends Kuroka has I'm pretty sure.

Much to my surprise, yet also amusement, before Kuroka began to do any such phoning, she turned toward me…

And shooed me away!

"Go on, nyah nyah~!" She waved me off, "Give us a little time darling, then I'll have her all nice and ready for you!" She exclaimed with a mischievous smirk.

I can't say I much liked the way she said the latter part there.

"Until then though…" Kuroka continued, smirk growing cheshire, "You're not allowed to see her, so shoo, nyah~!"

Kuroka continued exaggeratingly waving me away with her hands for a few moments, where I just stared at her, amused yet exasperated.

Until finally, I shook my head and sighed, and finally took my leave, leaving Rose to her fate once again.

"Nyahahaha~!" Kuroka cackled in triumph, though it didn't take long for an additional sound to be added atop her voice.

The beeping of an old school phone's buttons being pressed, the ringing, and the click of it being answered.

"Oh~ Suza~chaaann~!" As I walk further away, that's the last trailing thing I hear from my catgirl.

Turns out I was right on the money, it was Suzaku, huh?

…It's been a little while since I've seen her, hasn't it?

Though that reminds me, there are a bunch of people I haven't seen in a minute that I probably should check in on.

Personally. Not with clones.

I stop in the middle of the hallway, as a thought occurs.

…I should also probably check in on them, not only because I haven't seen them in a while, but because of what just happened, huh?

That thought made me facepalm, hard.

Of course, I couldn't go do whatever quite yet, a battle just took place in the ocean next to Japan that probably could have destroyed the country if it spilled over!

Hell, I'm shocked I haven't gotten several calls yet, actually–

Wait. Where the hell even is my phone?

I start patting my robe pockets…but it's not there.

Ohhh. Fuck. Is it somewhere in the Atlantic right now?

Wait, don't tell me I left it on the bridge!?

Yeah, wait, I did! I sat it down on the railing after calling Dulio!

Surely though, if it was still there Rose would have picked it up when she grabbed me, right?

Ugh, damn it. That was my second phone too, I'm about to be on a third in less than a year.

The old me would have fucking killed the current me over this, heh.

With a disappointed sigh, I pick my pace back up, heading straight for the door.

I suppose I'm going to have to do this the hard way then.

…And that's going to be on top of the stuff I'm going to have to do already, like telling Ama and whoever else needs to know my getting back the broken Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and trying to figure out where exactly I'm going to take Rose.

Well, I already have an idea for the former anyway. Let's just say I'm going to try something…different, compared to the times I've taken the other girls out.

For now though!

Who should I head off to first, probably…those that would be immediately concerned, right?

Like Uzume, Inari, the fox girls…

A quick equivalent of a sixth sense side glance found me feeling that Uzume was not even in the building, so no need to go have that conversation with her.

I take a cursory glance downward, finding my raging hard-on still bulging out of my robe.

…Especially while I'm like this.

So, I'm thinking I hit up one of Inari's shrines, drop the equivalent of a divine email, then visit my fox girls to tell them the news and work off some steam…then Takamagahara for Ama to tell her about the sword.

Maybe visit Gramps after for the same, or, shit, maybe I can drag Ama down to see Grandma while I am at it?

Though I guess that depends on whether or not she's doing her job…or locked up in her room.

Again.

Well! One way to find out!

~ A New Sun ~

It's only now that I'm here do I realize something kind of important.

I've never actually been to Takamagahara properly.

Like, yes, I was here before technically, but I only ever saw Ama's room…that's it.

I don't think I ever could have imagined all of this.

The best way I can describe it is, essentially, a mountain made up of a sea of pure white clouds, within which an ancient Japanese city was built.

Except, unlike muted grays, browns, and so forth that usually made up such old places, this city was made entirely out of marble white, bright scarlet reds, deep popping oranges, and flushed blossoming pinks, all wrapped up in the glossy white mist that is the clouds, which seemed to sparkle and glitter gold all on their own.

Additionally, everywhere you looked, where there was architecture, there was at the bare minimum an attempt to pair it with nature.

Thus, as many houses and buildings as there were, there was at least one, though usually thrice, as many trees of all kinds.

From normal green trees to sakura trees to the maple and cherry trees, so many trees, so many colors…

Which was then all itself spaced with patty fields, of all things, filled with glittering golden crops, the purest water I think I've ever seen, and encircled by the greenest of grasses, all tiered within the clouds just like everything else.

Even the pathways weren't spares, little or large, alleyways or highways, I could see them even from this random part of the city I ended up in, each crafted like they were a part of a zen garden, made out of cobbled white marble or slate.

Then there's the sky, a pure ocean of molten golden light like that of the distant surface of the sun brought close.

Despite how close it feels, it doesn't hurt to stare up at it, and spreads not only directly above but out into the horizon, seemingly wrapping the entire area up in a nice cozy blanket.

This is all wrapped up by the feeling of overwhelming divine power, Holy Spirit Power, as it pushes down and across the cloud-swept 'land', infusing it to its very core.

It was in everything, and I recognized it, this specific power, before.

When in the Shinkai of the Human World, the golden sky feels the same, just less overwhelming.

Takamagahara is the sky within the Shinkai.

Fitting.

Also, just like the Shinkai, but to a far more ludicrous degree, the colors here are far more overwhelming.

It's to the point where staring at it all starts to make my eyes throb and forces me to look up at the sky instead.

Utterly insane, it wasn't like this at all when I was in Ama's room that one time, so what gives!?

Speaking of, that's actually where I should be right now.

That's where I was trying to go.

Not here! I don't even know where here is, besides that it's Takamagahara!

But when I tried to beam myself in, I sort of got…knocked away. If that makes any sense?

It's more like I hit something, got deflected off, and 'landed' here, somehow.

I wasn't even aware that was possible with that kind of teleportation. Did I hit a ward of some kind?

Hnn. Maybe. The only way to tell would be to walk up the 'mountain' here on foot and find Ama's Palace.

Well, I'm assuming it's up top at least, that'd make the most sense to me anyway.

Though once again, the only way to find out is to start walking.

I'd ask someone for directions otherwise, but, oddly enough…there isn't anyone on the streets.

Yeah, I know, really odd. The home of millions upon millions of gods, I'm in the middle of one of the bigger paths, and there's nobody around.

Now that I'm looking at it, and thinking about it…it's kind of eerie.

And I can't sense anything either, because there air here may as well be Holy Spirit Power itself.

I let out a sigh and started walking.

…Scratch that, there's nobody around, I started running. I booked it like I was Rose about to be late for a bargain sale.

All the while, I thought of the short series of events leading up to this.

Inari's Shrine.

I popped in, chucked my donation into the box, and sent off my prayer telling her in brief what had happened and that it was fine now.

I didn't get any response though. Not even an automatic response fox.

At the time, I didn't consider it odd. Inari is very busy normally, of course she wouldn't be able to get back to me right away.

Also, I was very horny, and kind of in a rush to head to my next destination.

Urakyoto.

That went exactly as expected. Yasaka wasn't even shocked at this point that I got into another big fight, though she hid her worry and relief well behind her teasing and horniness.

Kunou though? Not so much. The poor girl was kind of freaked out.

Apparently, they felt the fight going on from within the city, due to their connection to the leylines, they could feel the disturbances Dulio and I were causing…Yasaka more than Kunou, of course, but that only ended up making Kunou more freaked out because she couldn't get a full picture.

I made it up to them both by making them unable to walk for the rest of the day in a couple of hours.

…You know, now that I'm thinking about it more clearly, that doesn't sound like a gift does it?

Ah well. They both looked blissed out of their minds by the end of it, and I no longer had an embarrassingly large bulge poking out of my robe.

I'm going to call that a win.

Though right now, seeing as Takamagahara looks empty…I feel like I should have paid more attention to the fact that Inari didn't respond to my prayer.

And that Uzune is suddenly gone, again.

Or, hell, maybe this is normal for this realm, and I'm overreacting, who knows!

Man, what a way to be introduced to the realm at large.

I won't lie, my rush toward the top of this place…at first, I didn't think I was making any progress.

The longer I ran, the higher I 'climbed', everything kept looking the same.

It was almost aggravating. Sure, it was all gorgeous, spotless, pristine. But at a certain point it all sort of blurred together, a field of everything yet nothing at all.

Moments passed into seconds, passed into several minutes of me blasting upwards at my top speeds, and right when I was about to give up and try teleporting in once again.

I felt something.

Divine presences. Deities, the Kami. At last.

A lot of them.

I came to a screeching halt, as rather my visions of the distance became muddled by swathes of hundreds of thousands of people, every single one of them a deity, with their unique presence.

All filling the streets, all trying to seemingly gather around something in the distance.

A great Palace that, upon looking at it, felt very familiar, like I had seen it somewhere before…

It kind of looked like the Kyoto Palace, design-wise, but no, from somewhere else, maybe…the Yomi Palace?

Yeah, yeah! That's it! It's the Yomi Palace, just painted over in different, heavenly, colors.

Fucking. Finally!

Now then, time to sneak past a couple hundred thousand gods or so.

Well, actually, before that.

I should try and find out what the hell is going on, they all seem to be talking…no wait, bickering at each other about something.

I shut down my presence, my aura, and my powers, blending into the natural and ever-present divine power within the air, as I stalked toward the back of the crowd.

I have to get far closer than I'd like to get anything discernable, however, there are just so many of them that all their voices sort of string together into one mass of sound.

I make a quick hop from building to building, ending up on one submerged in the back of the mass crowd, and look down upon them from it.

Only then can I finally make out bits and pieces of what some of them are saying?

"...insolent buffoons…"

"...highest insult…"

"...trespassers…thieves…"

…They are very, very mad about something.

I'm trying to piece together about what, but not going to lie, being so close now…I can say they all sound and sort of look kind of the same.

And I don't mean that in a racist way! They all do! Hell, they're all wearing the same robes, stupid old traditional ones, as if that's supposed to help beat those allegations!

Thankfully, unlike my run, it doesn't take long for something to happen, and for me to get something more.

In this case, someone in the sea of divine mobs gets really angry, his voice gets louder, and more defined, and I can actually hear him.

"Who cares who they have! That God has trespassed against us! They attacked Great August's son, in our territory! Why should they pay anything less than their blood, you pathetic traitorous coward!?"

At that deity's enraged shriek, several dozen more raised to counter him, creating a ripple effect that seemed to spread…causing a vicious outcry of sorts to pour from the entire crowd as a whole.

Meanwhile, I had pretty much one thought.

Oh…fuck. This is probably really bad, isn't it?

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 82 End

More than is usual, less than you think Nori. Less than you think.

When you think you're about to bag a hot girl failure girlfriend, but then you forget your faction is, well, the Shinto.

A New Sun Chapter 81

Chapter 81

~ A New Sun ~

How does someone fly through the air, with a sunburn so bad that even just a stray breeze is enough to cause bouts of incredible pain?

Dulio can answer that.

Very carefully.

Additionally, wrapping himself up within a layer of chilling winds helped massively.

It took several minutes of painstakingly careful flight, balancing speed with caution to not agitate his condition while still making good time back to the barrier, back to the spear.

Accompanying him along the way is a far more normal looking, and unconscious, Noriaki, wrapped up and carried alongside him within the winds.

As Dulio and his former opponent finally made it back to the barrier, he let Noriaki down gently onto the ground, while he continued floating, hovering just above the ground.

…He had to remain in the air, after all, whatever that last attack was had somehow pierced through his clothing and hit his entire body with sunburn.

That includes his feet, so putting pressure on them right now?

Bad idea.

Dulio let out a sigh, before looking out and finding the wrapped-up spear stuck in the ground where he had left it, smack in the middle of the bridge.

He let out a small smile of relief, he didn't expect it to somehow go missing, but sometimes just one thing going right after a day like today is enough.

With that thought in mind, Dulio looked toward the still unconscious form of Noriaki, and his smile became far more sad.

Oddly enough, the young man himself also had a smile, but his was far less somber.

Odd, and Dulio can't say why he'd even have one in the first place.

Regardless, it goes to confirm that something was…not necessarily wrong with Noriaki when they fought, but different.

Very different.

Dulio figures he somehow managed to snap out of whatever that was and promptly threw in the towel once he did.

Something Dulio was very glad for, because if they had continued…

Dulio looked down at his hands, how his skin was practically glowing an angry reddish-pink, how the edges of his uniform were charred and ashen.

The rest of him probably doesn't look much better.

That last attack had caught him completely by surprise, and he couldn't say for certain he'd have been able to take another one, most definitely not two of them.

If that battle had continued, he might have been forced to go lethal, if only to preserve his life.

He shook his head abruptly, banishing those thoughts.

There's no point in worrying about what-ifs any longer, especially when what's done is done, and he's still got a job to finish.

Almost as if on cue, as soon as that thought runs through his head he feels four presences slip through his barrier and right inside.

He turns to look toward the direction of their entrance and finds the four all giving essentially the same curious looks all around as they appear, one by one.

…Until Lint, who seems far more alert, far more suspecting of something.

Ah, he did try to keep their battle contained to the ocean. It doesn't look like the other three caught wind of anything, but Lint with her Longinus might have caught something, hmm?

How sloppy of him then.

Discarding that for now though, Dulio promptly braced himself as the group's gazes fell upon himself.

He tried, truly, he is, to give a reassuring smile and wave.

But moving his arm caused his forearm to brush up against the inside of his sleeve, and the pained wince that twitched across his face as a result made his attempt fall apart.

That moment then, of him and the girls just staring at each other, felt like it lasted for several painful seconds.

He practically saw all their reactions in slow motion. Lint's eyes widened in alarm, Asia moving to cover her mouth in abject horror, and both Irina and Xenovia became stuck still in shock.

Then Asia screamed, "B-Brother Dulio!" and was the first to start running to him.

She was so fast, that she reacted before the other three even knew what she was doing, and although Lint tried to grab and stop her, she missed.

Resulting in the other three racing to catch up.

When he saw the said three reach for and begin drawing weapons, however, he gave them a very pointed glare and a shake of his head.

He was sure their vision was tunneled on him right now, so they hadn't registered Noriaki lying nearby, but they would soon, and he didn't want to deal with them trying anything right now.

…Even though they still probably couldn't hurt him, even though he was unconscious.

Still, they paused, clearly shocked by his non-verbal order, but they obeyed regardless.

Asia was still on the move though, entirely focused upon his injuries it seems, the two silver rings studded with a blue-green gem each that is her Sacred Gear appearing as she got near him.

This suited him just fine, however, though he'd have to dissipate the cloak of cold he's got wrapped around himself so she doesn't get frozen…

He quickly decided he could endure the pain for a little bit, at least.

So once Asia reached him properly, he made the cold winds around him vanish.

It took only a second until he severely regretted doing so.

Dulio did not know sunburn could hurt so much.

His body practically locked up stiff with brutal, stinging pains, shooting across his entire body, making his skin feel like it was humming or cracking.

It was terrible, quite possibly the worst pain he's ever experienced.

Yet, with Asia right in front of him now, he refused to let it show on his face, maintaining a smile, if a little pained, to keep her as calm as she could be in this situation.

Thankfully, Asia didn't hesitate, she didn't ask any questions, she simply came up and held her hands up to his chest, mere inches away as a soft radiant green light began emanating from her hands.

Almost as soon as he started, he let out a shudder of relief as the pain immediately began to ebb away, and his smile became much more genuine.

He looked down at her, and nodded in appreciation, "Thank you, Asia." He spoke sincerely.

Oddly enough, she didn't respond, her eyes narrowed and focus seemingly spent entirely on healing at the moment.

Jeez…was the damage that bad?

In short order, the rest of the girls come up, walking now, but still at the ready.

Lint is the first to speak up, asking the obvious pointedly, "What…happened?"

Dulio looked at her, and merely gave her an exhausted sigh, before slowly adding, "It's…something that'd best be explained on the way home."

Lint narrowed her eyes at him, clearly not satisfied with his answer.

But it's all they're getting for now, they can live with it.

Dulio then looked at the other two girls, Irina and Xenovia, the only two wearing the big white cloaks that covered their entire bodies.

He doesn't see it with Asia or Lint, so…

"Do one of you two have what I wanted you to bring?" He outright asked them.

The two girls exchanged worried glances, before Xenovia's morphed into an amused smile aimed at her partner, and Irina began appearing irritated at her look.

"Yeah…I do." Irina announced, weakly yet resigned.

Dulio was about to ask what that reaction was for…then Irina pulled back her cloak, revealing that she was carrying quite possibly everything the girls had brought, luggage-wise.

Even the painting of 'Jesus'.

Xenovia chuckled at her partner's torment, or more aptly her punishment, as she opened one of the bags with a grunt and pulled out a box.

It was a pretty small box, all things considered, it fit easily enough in a hand but wasn't comfortable while doing so.

He could feel the Holy Spirit Power contained within the box, after today, how could he not miss the feeling after all, before nodding, pleased.

He reached down, gently taking Asia's hands and pushing them away slowly.

The blonde girl immediately let out a huff of indignation as her green light flickered out, and she began pouting at him in outrage, but he felt much better now, good enough to at least do this one thing.

"You can continue in a moment, alright?" He began, "There's just one more thing I need to do, then we'll be leaving…"

Asia, of course, didn't like anything he just said, but didn't try to convince him otherwise.

Finally, Dulio landed on the ground, wincing slightly as the pain wasn't completely gone, but far more easily managed now.

He walked over and took the box from Irina's hand, before walking over to the prone Noriaki, kneeling to him…and gently placing it right down in front of him.

"I'm sorry things had to turn out this way." He uttered to the unconscious young man, praying he'd hear or know his words somehow.

The girls slowly came up from behind him, and although he couldn't see them right this second, he could assume their general thoughts…especially by the way Lint spoke up once more.

"...Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked, uncertainty clear in her tone.

Dulio took a moment before responding with a simple, "…It was originally theirs."

No one appeared to have a counterpoint to that, and so, Dulio stood back up, turning to face his group.

"Now then," past the group, his eyes land on the wrapped spear, and he claps his hands together, wincing at the small amount of pain that shoots through him…and the glare Asia sends at him for the action.

"...Let's head home." He finishes, far more tired, and far less grandiose than he originally imagined this moment would be when setting out.

~ A New Sun ~

My eyes slowly crack open as I groan awake.

The first thing I noticed?

I'm not in the ocean, or even on the ground, no, I'm in a bed.

My bed in Kyoto.

I sit up, and blearily look around from side to side, but don't see anything either in bed with me or in the room in general.

Well, I was knocked unconscious, tons of ice pressing into you tends to that, and then I'm assuming after I was left somewhere one of my girls picked me up and took me back here.

I could probably check by just sensing the house, but…

Not a need. Dulio and the Church Girls don't know I live here, so it has to be one of my girls.

I don't have anything to worry about.

I don't have anything to worry about, anymore.

Well, regarding them anyway, at least for a while bare minimum.

Slowly, I slide back deeper into my bed, pulling the blankets over me, and let out a pleased hum as my eyes slowly close back up.

It's over, it's finally over! All that stupid stress and anxiety, I can banish it all away for good!

And get some sweet sleep, sweet sweet sleep~...

…Even though I don't need it.

Still! I want to!

Or! Perhaps maybe a sex marathon?

I could go grab Suzaku, Kunou, Yasaka, and Kuroka right now probably, and try my damndest to breed half of them!

That doesn't sound so bad, hell, maybe Shirone's free, she can join too!

Might even include Uzume for shits and giggl- wait, no, that's too far, heel me!

…My eyes crack open slightly.

"...I need to chill the fuck out." I audibly tell myself.

Sure, that whole mess is over with now, and maybe I can get my sex marathon later, but right at this moment?

I have some stuff to go over, specifically dealing with what's in my mind.

Or rather, what's missing in there.

I sigh, incredibly annoyed, as I fling my blanket off and hop off sweet relaxation, landing upright on the floor, while rubbing my eyes clear with my fingers.

My march to the bathroom is swift, yet purposeful. There's something I need to confirm, need to see for myself.

I walk up to the bathroom mirror, grip either side of the sink and lean forward, eyeing my reflection intently.

Then, I activate my eyes.

I try not to blink as my eyes visibly swirl and shift with their activation, but unlike normal, they change into something a bit more than normal.

The tree tomoe of my eyes spin rapidly around the center pupil, before expanding like a sunburst, bursting out and taking the shape of a new image, reminiscent of flowing rays of sunlight.

It…kind of reminds me of ancient depictions of the sun. The general shape. Just instead of a face in the center, mine is hollowed out save for a lone dot that is my pupil.

I blink at myself in the mirror, several times, as the weight of what exactly I'm seeing begins to settle.

I had noticed when I 'woke up' at the end of my fight earlier, my eyes felt…different. The ich that Ama had put in the back of them was gone.

Well, now I know why!

Worst part?

I don't even remember how they evolved!

I clicked my tongue and crossed my arms, glaring at myself in the mirror.

"Dick." I state, purely to myself in this case.

Thankfully, I have a feel for how the new powers they grant work, and even what their names are, so I'm not shit out of luck there…but still!

How annoying. Very annoying.

Then again, it isn't like I should be completely blindsided by this development.

It only takes a quick parsing through my memory to find it, the conversation I had way back with Inari and Uzume months ago, where Inari explained that she thought that particular power of mine was.

Ara-Mitama. My wild, rough, or violent side.

I suppose at the apex of its power, it essentially becomes an entirely new persona, practically a different person.

…I think. It'd be far easier to figure this out if I could remember anything during that short time!

I let out a groan, before slowly walking out of the bathroom, a finger going up to my chin.

There's only one way to figure out anything related to that power, and that's to dive into training it specifically.

But! I've still got a bunch of other stuff to work on, like Sage Mode, the Seven Breathes, and now my eyes…

Hnn. I could through my clones on the breathing technique and eyes, I need Kuroka for Sage Training, and I get the feeling diving into this is going to require my personal touch. Clones won't do.

Decisions, decisions…

The door abruptly opens, prompting me to stop.

"Oh…N-Nori, you're awake!" Her voice nearly squeaks with how surprised, and slightly nervous she is.

Of course, I recognize her via her voice alone, but even just her tone tells me it's Rose without a shadow of a doubt.

I turn to face her, a small amused smile crossing my face as I do, finding the silver-haired former Valkyrie halfway through the door, leaning slightly inside with a hand on the doorknob, having stopped mid-step in surprise it seems.

She's also still wearing that tracksuit…wonder if she'll ever wear anything else Kuroka and she went out and bought?

Well, in any event.

My smile brightens considerably upon seeing her very teasible face, and she makes it even more teasible by noticing said smile and shying away a bit from my gaze with a flush.

I held back a chuckle, and finally replied, "That I am. If you've come to check on me, does that mean you're the one that brought me back here in the first place?"

Rose quickly nodded, before explaining, "Yes, I sensed a fairly strong barrier still set up out there, and well, you had yet to come back, and Kuroka was still asleep…so," she fidgets with her hands, "I went out and checked, just to be sure."

I gave her a grateful nod back, "Thank Rose, waking up on a bed always beats hard concrete."

"O-Oh…" She looks away, her face entirely flushed as she smiles, slightly, "It wasn't a big deal."

Ah…? Do Kunou and Rose share a praise kink, or is she just unused to receiving legitimate praise?

It could also just be both.

Eh, I guess I'll find out eventually.

"Big deal? Oh, Rose, it's the little things that matter most, you know?" I wave off her humble words.

Rose perks up a bit, as if reminded of something, causing all her shyness and embarrassment to vanish, replaced by a professional veil in a snap.

"That reminds me, when I found you they seemed to have left something with you as well. It's this little box…" Rose starts, and seeing how with each word I just looked more and more confused, she eventually trails off and waves for me to simply follow.

She takes a step away from the door and starts heading off toward the artifacts room, judging by her direction.

I swiftly came to a few steps behind her, prompting her to add, "I gave it a few checkovers with my magic, and it didn't seem harmless…so I brought it in, but I haven't determined what it is, don't think I can without opening it, but I…" she glances back at me, unsure.

I simply sent her an easygoing smile, "Don't worry about it so much, alright?" I tell her, "I have faith in your judgment and abilities, if you already determined it wasn't dangerous, it should be fine."

Her face lightened and flushed a bit in equal measure before her gaze abruptly shifted forward once more, and she uttered a tiny, "R-Right!"

She's really damn cute.

Also, it might be both after all.

It's a couple of minutes jog down in silence to the artifacts room after that, wherein right in the center of the room sitting by its lonesome on a table, said box sits.

It truly doesn't look like anything remarkable. It's just a plain smooth black box, almost like one of those that'd be used to hold a ring for proposing to someone.

Except this one is a good bit larger than those, so, probably not.

I hope not anyway.

Rose moves out of the way to let me enter and approach, while she stands back just in case.

As I do, I start feeling something emanate from the box.

A divine aura…Holy Spirit Power? It even feels similar to something, something I've felt before, a while ago, back when I first visited my grandfather, I think? Somewhere around there.

Weird, really weird, what the hell is this…?

I tentatively approach, and open the box, lifting off the top lid with relative ease.

Inside is a bunch of…chips? Broken black chips, surrounding a scaley marble white recreation of what looks like the end of a snake?

An eight-tailed snake, to be precise? Except it's got a ton of fractures going across the thing.

You know, it kind of looks like Durandal's core, the same marble white, just without the...cracks.

Wait.

I brush a finger across the odd and fractured eight tails carving.

Holy Spirit Power. The swirl of the winds as the heavenly clouds gather. A holy sword drawn from one of the most vile creatures in Shinto Mythology.

All those images flash through my mind, before I jerk my hand back abruptly, stopping the flood of images.

I know what this is…!

As I look back down at the core of what I now know is a sword, I find it glowing with a weak golden glow, the energy like a cloudy vapor emanating out from it.

"Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi." I utter the sword's name, as the glow fades away.

They…left this for me? They just gave it back!?

I'm assuming it's a gift for my 'help' then? Then this is what I vaguely heard Duilo tell the girls to grab!

I'm not going to lie, I got as close as possible as it is for me to forget about the sword.

I know, my original target and all, but more important stuff and all that!

I was going to go get it originally once this all blew over completely, though. Guess this saves me the trip.

Now, question for myself, should I feel bad about getting the sword this way?

…No. It was originally my faction anyway, and I was fully intent on stealing it regardless.

Still…

I let out a low hissing sigh as I closed the box back up.

No wonder they never managed to fix the sword, the core is damaged, and the blade is straight up in pieces.

I could fix it, with my magical bullshit hammer, anything is technically possible, it'd just take a lot of time.

Time I suddenly find myself not wanting to spend personally.

…I'm just going to make a clone do it then, or at least get started, no way they'll be able to finish it.

Besides, right now, I just want to do something relaxing.

After the past couple of days, I think I can afford that, no?

Training is nice and all, but, no, there's got to be something else I can do…

I turn, finding myself looking at Rose, almost instinctively.

I should do something for her…

Ah?

Rose tilts her head at me as I look toward her, "...Is something wrong?"

I don't consider my next words carefully at all.

"No, nothing at all…say, wanna go out sometime?"

Rose blinked at me.

I simply stared at her.

"...E-Eh?" Rose eventually squeaked out, "Wait, d-d-did you just…" She stumbles over herself, several times, before trailing off and mumbling incoherently.

I merely nodded, and stated, "Yes."

It took her a moment, but after her face turned completely red, she responded with a shy and barely audible, "...I…I-I see."

Then she fell over, her breath leaving her as she passed out.

Well, there was no other way to word it that wouldn't end in this result I don't think, best to just do it, and get it out there, yeah?

Yeah!

Now, where to take her, where to take her…

After I pick her up off the floor!

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 81 End

Sorry this one is out faaaarrr later then usual, something came out, but I figured if I pushed it I could still get this out in time without having to delay it...barely made it, but I made it!

The transitionary chapter into Rose time!

A New Sun Chapter 80

Chapter 80

~ A New Sun ~

That one attack should have been enough.

That's what Dulio was thinking as he blasted through the sky in the direction in which he flung their new friend turned unfortunate enemy.

He should have known, of course he should have known.

Noriaki Kusangi may be, from all indications he's gotten about the young man so far, a good guy, a good deity, even.

But in the land of over eight million gods, what does one mean in comparison to the whole?

Even now, as the winds ripple across his body, sending his clothes and hair lashing out all around him and atop his head respectively within the gale, such minor things aren't what's twisting his face into a forlorn frown of discomfort.

He wanted it to end in a single attack, not only to minimize the risk of damage to the country around them but also so he wouldn't have to fight a new friend over such…stupid things.

Call him selfish, or whatever, but he'd rather not hurt someone undeserving more than need be.

If at all.

He left the damn spear back in the barrier and strengthened said barrier for good measure before making a quick dash toward his intended…target.

The frown across his face strained at the thought.

Only for all his thoughts to come to a sudden stop, his face twisting into a grimace, as he feels the sea far beneath him begins to boil.

He halted midair, at his back, the storms and wind he gathered seized the same as him, and he looked out, and marveled at the sight that seemed to crest the watery horizon.

Within the water, a golden glow began to erupt, growing brighter and brighter, matching the intensity of the sun, nearly mirroring it in intensity and brightness.

Dulio had to hold an arm up, in front of his eye, to partially block out the light. That's how bright it is.

He didn't need to be a top-tier sensor to feel what was going on here either.

This was his true and unbridled power, wasn't it? If he had used this within the city, he'd have lit the entire metropolitan area on fire, but out here, so far from even the coast…

A wave of golden fire erupted from the 'distant' golden star wrapped around Noriaki, and although it does look distant, the wave of fire shows otherwise.

It passed underneath him in a mere moment, almost like a shockwave.

He felt it through the power of his gear, earlier than his eyes saw it pass, mostly because that single wave of fire instantly vaporized the water into steam, causing a heavy boiling mist to begin rising from the sea.

Then, that golden star began to rise, almost as though it was finally taking its rightful place in the sky.

Like a cocoon falling apart, the fire and light that wrapped around the young man he had just tried to knock out with a blast of several layers of condensed wind to the noggin fell off, until only the aura of his radiance outlined his figure, making him visible.

Noriaki, no, the Fire God, floated there, his normally obsidian black hair a deep velvety purple, his face was covered in golden marks that looked like flames, rising from his neck and up his face, and his eyes burned like two separate stars all their own, his strange triple comma like pupils spinning as he beheld the world, almost as though for the first time.

Despite the look, despite the raw divine power this young man is exuding…

Dulio is not afraid.

Even though every moment, every second, the heat rose, the golden flames and light became a touch brighter, and the pressure of his divine aura grew and grew.

Dulio instead gave him a sad, small smile.

And intoned with a grieving utterance.

"...Balance Break."

As soon as those baleful words were uttered, it began.

The air around Dulio abruptly became charged to the extreme, as a whirlwind that could tear apart city blocks with ease suddenly burst from his form, churning the sea far beneath him, with lightning bolts viciously forking off his form and down into the waters.

But, more importantly, as if to challenge his light, the sky answered by bringing further darkness.

Clouds came into sudden existence, they curled and swirled into each other, and as they did so the clouds grew darker, and darker still, so dark that the day had seemingly turned to night, and the only light left was that which wrapped around the Fire God.

Who looked around, seemingly unbothered by the dark, instead focused purely on him, and the massive storm that had formed above his head.

Unfortunately…said storm is not his balance breaker, merely a byproduct of the increased power entering his balance breaker state grants.

No…

The Fire God began reaching for his sword.

This is.

A bubble, a fairly large bubble, all things considered, looking like your standard soapy bubble, yet easily surpassing the size of a bus, came up seemingly from the sea…and ate the Fire God whole.

That, by itself, didn't do anything, and indeed he just sort of looked around from within the glassy-looking sphere, mildly confused.

Then, Dulio opened out his arms.

"Flagello di Colori del Arcobaleno, la Stella Splendente della Fine."

Scourge of Rainbow Colors, the Blazing Star of the End

The Fire God widened his eyes, but far too late, if he even saw it coming at all before the inside of his bubble mirrored the climate of a frozen wasteland.

Ice-cold winds blew, freezing all things, and the Fire God suddenly found his fires turning into popsicles, his body contained within his aura blasted by all manner of snow, slush, ice, and hail.

In an instant, a small iceberg had formed, wrapping around his body, trapping him in a rapidly increasingly dense shelf of ice.

At the same time, more and more of those bubbles rose from the sea, converging on top of the building trapping him, letting the bubble grow larger and larger, so he could pile more and more ice and snow on top of him.

Ultimately, the big threatening-looking storm up above them was merely a divergence from the true threat posed by his balance breaker.

Bubbles, within which, he has absolute control over the climate and weather within.

A simple, yet terrifyingly effective power.

After all, the bubble trapping him had now grown to the size of a small home, and the ice was packed in so thickly and densely that he could barely see the glow produced by his aura anymore.

Although…Dulio cringed internally as he found himself adding yet more words to the already ridiculously long name of his balance breaker, but, seeing Noriaki there, looking like a blazing star…inspired him a little.

Never mind that though.

Dulio looked up at the storm above them.

Zenith Tempest, his Sacred Gear, his Longinus Class Sacred Gear.

War in his home country took his original parents away, and it had almost taken his newly found family away too once it caught up to the Church-owned orphanage he was living in.

But God had been gracious that day and had given him a gift. A power said to be second only to that which pierced His side.

With it, he kept his family safe. He'd always keep his family safe.

But the Church? They had a much more…grandiose ideas.

The Church took him in, fully, and began training him to be a warrior. A soldier.

A weapon for a war, a war which although very much supernatural, still broke apart families and friends, separated parents from their children, and so much worse.

At the time, Dulio could say confidently he didn't want any of that.

And it's at times like this when he's reminded of that again.

Forced to fight a potential friend because their two sides must conflict over something stupid.

As is the way of most wars throughout history.

But throughout it all, if there's one thing he can count on, it's the power with which his Longinus brings, enabling him some measure of control over this situation.

This can all be ended in a short amount of time, with minimal injuries, and minimal damage, because he's one of the strongest people in the world.

At least, that's what the Archangel told him after seeing his balance breaker for the first time.

…Before he then promptly barred Dulio from using the state within certain places, like the Vatican, for fear of the destruction the state could deal out just naturally.

Normally, Dulio would be offended, but it's understandable considering what his Longinus base power is.

It's why he specifically trained so hard to control his powers, enabling him to even use them indoors if need be safely, eventually pushing himself to the point where he achieved a subspecies balance breaker that contains much of the destruction within sealed-off spaces, the bubbles.

Yet still…

Dulio focused ahead once more.

The bubble before him had grown to the size of a good-sized family home, and within contained an equally large chunk of ice.

By this point, with the amount of cold and compact ice contained within, he should have suppressed Noriaki's powers down to the point he could be safely knocked out.

So why is it then, that the light contained within the ice hasn't shrunk? It's been keeping pace as it grows…

In fact, now it's expanding…faster…

Dulio blinked, as the ice within began to hiss, something he usually couldn't hear, before beginning to violently crack.

He gritted his teeth as he held out his arms, and pushed back harder.

Dozens, no, hundreds of smaller bubbles began converging upon the bubble containing Noriaki, explosively growing its size and the frozen wasteland climate within.

At the same time, he amped up the storm from a pretty bad winter storm to an outright frigid city-destroying blizzard.

For a moment, that seemed to push back down his escape attempt, his light abated, and the cracks within his icy prison were repaired.

But almost like clockwork, another surge.

Of golden light, pure unbridled golden power.

The cracks came again and spread across his prison like a horde of spider webs, each one's appearance accompanied by a sound like fireworks.

Dulio bit back an unflattering curse directed toward himself and tried to focus.

Yet, as his power grew, and Dulio's stayed the same, it quickly became too much.

The block of ice split, straight down the center.

And then he drew his sword.

It was like an angelic halo, burning and blazing, had made manifest within the bubble, but Dulio knew exactly what that spiraling golden ring was.

A single slash of his sword, bursting with golden flames.

The ring slammed into the bubble, and soon enough, the bubble began cracking.

Dulio flinched as he saw his bubble give around the ring, the golden light pushing out and spreading fractures across the entire orb.

Never, not once, had anyone been able to break out of his bubbles before.

He was so momentarily stunned that he didn't even think to dial back and annul the climate contained within, yet it burst free and froze a chunk of the Pacific Ocean.

Luckily, Noriaki seemed to take care of that for him.

The bubble broke apart, and rather than releasing a climate comparable to Cocytus right onto the Pacific, all the ice, the snow, and the frigid winds were consumed by an outpour of heat and light.

In its place? A column of golden light, fire, and divine power, roars like an angry cannon as it streaks through the sky, and the storm clouds above.

Dulio tensed, his skin starting to prickle as though he was standing in front of an open and max strength oven, that little warning giving him just enough time to summon the frozen and arctic winds around himself now, shielding him from the heat right as a shockwave of it rolls past.

"I…" Dulio perked, as a voice, definitely not his, but yet not quite Noriaki radiated across the sea toward him, "Refuse to be…contained!"

Now that…that sounded like the gods the old men up top wouldn't stop harping on and on about.

Full of arrogance, full of rage, and indignation.

He didn't realize it until now, but he did notice something off about Noriaki earlier when he entered…whatever it is this state is.

He started calling him Fire God in his head, even!

Out of nowhere, said god looked up at the sky, and roared.

Fire, so much pure golden fire it looked almost like molten metal, bellowed off his form, and shot straight up into the sky.

Dulio held his arms up, picking up the arctic winds around him to keep him from being baked alive, not able to stop what his true objective was.

The storm above is under Dulio's absolute control. It contains the potential to encompass the entirety of Japan, the southwestern islands, and the coasts of the countries nearby and then some.

So he could feel it, as his pillar of fire and rage shot into the sky like a lance of divine wrath, and broke the storm in the sky.

Bit by bit, the clouds began to splinter and pull apart, vaporizing at points even, disappearing into nothingness, and letting in the clear blue sky, and beams of light from the true son.

Once parts began to break, much like the bubble, the entire storm fell apart shortly thereafter.

It was only when the storm clouds were dispelled, and the darkness they made completely vanquished that he simmered down…figuratively.

He pulled back his flames, settled his voice, and leveled his head, his gaze, upon Dulio.

Above him now, sat the sun…and something in Dulio told him it was at nearly its highest point.

"You…" Noriaki begins to utter, and he's almost sure it is him, as he sounds much calmer now, yet there's still this deep, haughty undertone, "Do not own the sky."

Dulio blinks, a moment passes, and then another…

Something seems to slot, or click, into place within his mind, and at right that moment, Noriaki's body twitches.

He lets out a sharp groan, his breath no longer even air, just motes of pure golden flame, before he stretches, standing at attention, and gazing straight ahead.

His velvety purple hair shifts, becoming bright, and more flame or plasma-like, lifting and wafting in the air. At his back, his halos seemed to melt into his aura, the entire thing bellowing like a cloak of fire, made out of molten burning bright honey.

On top of that, the markings across his face started to glow brightly, turning themselves into streaks of burning molten metal across his skin.

The sword in his hand, the blade glowed with a similar molten shine to its edge.

"There can only be…One."

Noriaki grounded out, gravely yet simply, as he stared directly at Dulio.

Dulio couldn't help the nervous smile that broke across his face, but he did stop himself from opening his mouth.

There were so many questions he wanted to ask, so much he wanted to say.

Yet there's probably only one that truly mattered to him at this moment.

Why do you have to make this more difficult than it needs to be?

~ A New Sun ~

I felt like I was on the top of the world.

Both literally and figuratively.

Everything was so bright, so colorful. Almost like I was in the Shinkai, but not.

I felt lightheaded, yet my mind had never been sharper.

I was outside my body, looking down at a radiance to match, no, surpass the sun so completely and utterly it's not even a joke, yet I could feel the coiling the power within, the sheer amount of divine power and fire I could throw around with but a wave of my hand.

I felt ethereal…yet I knew this state was ephemeral.

There was no time to float here and take in the sights, marvel at my majesty.

I am complete. But only for such a short fleeting time, I need to make the most of it.

My gaze narrows upon my opponent, I feel the growing itch within the back of my eyes, and push down the irritation it causes as my power boils beneath the surface of my skin.

Something is about to break there, I can feel it. It's been growing ever since the bubble trap, getting worse and worse, but now…

Whatever.

There is no time.

My opponent refuses to speak, and I've already said what needs to be stated.

So let us begin.

I no longer need breath, for I am the sun.

So I simply move.

My form is light when I do, I practically appear before him, my blade already held aloft.

I bring it down, a simple arc, down and to the right, like a brush stroke across a canvas.

The Exorcist, however, is not idle, he manages to perceive me and holds out his hands.

As my sword comes down, the space between him and I becomes ice, as several streams and folds of arctic winds and frost converge upon a single point, forming a length of wall.

Which my blade promptly cuts through like its water, which it is, the ice screaming as it crackles and boils around my blade, before slicing clear through and straight for its maker.

Unfortunately, the ice gave my sword some resistance, buying the exorcist time to avoid my slashing golden arc, the winds grabbing and pulling him down closer to the sea, and away from me.

For the moment, I come upon him in just a moment more.

This time, my sword jabs out with me, and I catch the wide-eyed grimace from the Exorcist as I'm upon him and so near to running him through.

The winds, however, have something else to say about that, course correcting at a moment's notice to drag him once more away from my blade point.

My blade misses flesh, hitting air, and then into the water below.

Said part of the sea then promptly explodes.

Erupting from the force of my jab and the heat of my blade alone, sending up a geyser of boiling water that by my quick estimations could cover a fleet of navy battleships with ease.

I huff in annoyance and almost casually swing my sword out in an arc around me.

The geyser is severed in half before promptly being blown apart into nothing.

I look up, my eyes locking onto the several incoming attacks all aimed at me.

Several massive spouts or tornados of water, whipped up by several whirlwinds and infused with frigid arctic winds judging by them partly slush and ice.

I promptly ignore them all, my eyes seeing through it all, and finding my opponent once more up in the sky. Despite that damn itch!

Coward!

I blast toward him like a burning comet just entering the atmosphere.

One twister attempts to blindside me immediately, yet with a twist, I drag and cleave my sword through its side, evaporating the water and ice into nothingness.

Another comes straight from above, but I simply move faster than it, and it soars over my head.

Three more come in, one from the top, and one for either side, attempting to box me in.

Again.

No.

I stop, my aura focusing on one of my arms, turning my forearm just as bright as my blade, before I lash out with it as though I was slashing my sword.

Where my fingers go, a line of my divine power draws across the world, painting a canvas of golden fiery power.

The three slush twisters impact that line, and promptly explode, as though they struck an immovable unbreakable wall that was also as hot as the sun.

Beneath me, audibly popping sounds are heard by the dozens.

No, hundreds, and my gaze quickly turns to find the source.

Bubbles. Hundreds of the annoying things, rising from the boiling sea below, ascending rapidly towards my location.

I do not have time to slash every single one of those things apart, and even if I do, more will come to just replace them!

I look around, rapidly, to find the bubbles appearing all around me, with more slush twisters incoming on top of it all!

My eyes ache, and I let out a growl, as everything began to converge upon me, still attempting to box me in.

I feel it. The moment that itching ache finally bursts.

For the briefest of moments, I feel liquid splatter onto my face, but not from any attack of my foe.

No…

It's mine. My blood, as it spurts out of my eye, briefly touching my cheek before evaporating.

The words for what follows come naturally, inserted into my mind as if they always were there.

"Amano-Iwato."

All around where my left eye sees, space seems to darken, break, and burst open.

But these warped fractals of near pitch black glass bending inward are merely an entrance.

An entrance that greedily devours the twisters of water, the bubbles, everything. It doesn't pull anything in itself, it doesn't have a pull, that I can tell, it's merely a gateway.

A place with no sun. No light. A pitch black nowhere.

Such a place is inconceivable, but that is where it leads, I know it. And that is where I send every single attack too.

My gaze sweeps down, and around, scooping up everything around me, into that black nowhere cave. When each entrance takes its target, or my focus and gaze leaves it, it snaps shut, the broken black glass fractals snapping back into place with a shaded blink, before clearing, revealing free empty air and no warped entrance.

After a couple of moments of that, however, my gaze falls on my opponent himself.

He looked fairly confused himself, in fact, but that quickly turned to raw panic as the black fractal gateway began opening around him.

Unfortunately, he's not a mindless attack himself, and without any pull on the portal, he's able to pull himself away from it before I can open and snap it shut on him.

Oh well, no matter.

I close my left eye and focus my right on him instead.

This one though, feels like it'll do the trick.

Its name comes just as easily as the left's did.

"Akaruihiruotoko."

It is my name after all.

Blood burst from my right eye, and what followed was the opposite of my left eye's power.

A burst of pure, unadulterated, white light abruptly filled the space of my opponent and my sight.

It was so utterly bright, so pure, that it forced me to close my right as soon as it activated.

It was like a flashbang, or maybe the birth of a star would be more apt.

Its birth was short-lived, however, lasting for barely a heartbeat, before it flickered out of existence.

When I opened my eyes, it was like it was never even there, gone, but what it left in its place was proof of its existence.

My opponent floated there, blinking rapidly and mid-gasp, his entire form smoking and twitching with his outfit seared and charred around its edges.

His skin was noticeable far more a pinkish red than the pale he was before.

A chance!

"No more running…!"

I continue my original flight path, blasting straight toward him.

The exorcist barely manages to look my way, gritting his teeth as I soar toward him.

With trembling hands, he stretches them out, and a lightning storm bursts out from around him and his fingers.

It almost reminds me of Uncle's attack that one time…but on a much, much bigger scale, it looked like he was commanding the sky to drop upon me.

Wait…Uncle? No, Susanoo. Susan. That guy.

I blink, wearily, my body shuddering as my power begins to slip down a tiny ineffectual amount.

No…No not now!

I will not…be denied!

And if I can't have it, he won't either!

I meet the lightning head-on, I feel my entire body, my very being, sting as the aura around me begins to shift and harden at my will!

I barely catch a glimpse of what looks like a golden ribcage before the purple and blues of the lightning storm roll upon me like sheets and sheets of rain, obscuring all else from view.

I feel the pushback, the resistance, as the winds join the lightning, and my ascent begins to stall.

The half-formed golden ribcage around my body begins to crack, forking with fractures like the rain of lightning that bombards it.

At the same time, another drip of my power leaves me.

Then another.

And another, and another, and another…

I gasp.

And everything snaps back into place as though I had just woken up from a long, long dream where I was falling, bracing, for so long…

The last I remember was being in the sea, about to go all in, before…nothing.

Now? Now I'm looking up at a lot of blue and purple. Is that lightning?

Am I still fighting Dulio right now!?

I try to keep up the pressure, the pushback, my power is still massive right now, I don't think I've ever been this strong before!

I could fight Tobio in his abyss side balance breaker, my grandmother, Ama, hell, even like ten Susans or something! Probably all at the same time too!

Yet, it's slowly going down, and I don't even know what's-

Golden cracks form across my vision.

"...Fuck you other me…Seriously." I utter to myself, completely gobsmacked as more and more cracks form within my sight, "You petty bitch…!"

My aura, at least I'm pretty sure it's my aura, shatters, and all I see is enveloped in white.

I feel myself being seized by a storm as if a storm had hands, the pure lightning striking me from almost every angle, as it carries me away.

For that moment, then I feel myself slam into something hard, and my vision swims with blurry out-of-sync shadows and colors.

I feel as something wraps around my body that isn't plasma, and realize immediately where I am.

The sea.

Again.

Only for that to quickly change once more, as the water around me becomes much harder, and far more cold.

I'm locked in place so stiffly, I can't even shiver.

I…I could continue this fight, I know I could.

But I think I've done all I need to do, now…and I still don't know what I even did!

So, for now, I think I'll let him have this one.

It's a shame I don't think there'll be a next time after this, and that almost makes me want to milk this as much as I can…

But for once, I temper down that instinct, that inner Chuuni Dragon Emperor.

As the ice around my form presses me in harder and harder, and my vision gradually grows narrower and narrower, I offer no more resistance, and consider my plan finally complete.

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 80 End

For those whom forgot, the itch Nori(?) was complaining about is a reference to something Ama did to his eyes a fair while ago, so I'm not gonna fault you a lot if you forgot. Yes, he's pretty much got Mangekyou now, and she's why. He just needed a big enough battle to trigger the evolution.

Next up...Rose time! After a brief little clean-up with the Church peeps leaving. 

A New Sun Chapter 79

Chapter 79

~ A New Sun ~

It's kind of hard to explain, but Dulio Gesualdo had always been one of those characters from the series that was sort of on the periphery for me.

Which, considering how strong he was in the source material, always felt weird, but it's true.

Beyond the Azazel Cup, the massive rating game tournament that included teams from all around the world, where he led his team against Issei's own, it never really felt like he had much focus specifically placed on him.

That, paired with the fact that my knowledge of said source material gets dimmer the closer to the end of novels it gets, and the fact that none of it even matters because I derailed it all some time ago, well…

It led to this odd feeling in the back of my head regarding the guy. Everything I knew about him basically boiled down to him being stupid kind and stupid strong in equal measure.

But…would it ultimately hold up? Was there something slightly different or off about him due to the changes in this world?

In the end, that odd feeling, those thoughts, was completely wiped away once I talked to the young man.

Instead, as I beamed us into my old home outside Kuoh, the golden light of my power fading to reveal us, to the shocked and flabbergasted expressions of the girls sitting around the living room.

Because of course they'd be up this early, while he wouldn't.

Thankfully, Irina and Xenovia were fully covered by their cloaks, and we didn't drop in during some classic stupid ecchi scene. Somehow.

Dulio's first act was to merely smile, one of those wide shit-eating grins that brothers usually get when they know their little siblings messed up somehow and are about to have a field day with them.

"Well now," Dulio began, crossing his arms as he looked down upon the four sitting around, "I heard you four have had quite the trip so far."

I smiled, as the four girls immediately bounced to their feet, all four shouting out some different variation of Dulio's name, from the more formal from Lint to the informal of Asia, that it turned into an incoherent word soup of sound.

Dulio smiled and took it all the same, unbothered even as they all got up and rushed right up to him.

Well, Asia specifically took it a step forward, slamming into and hugging the young man.

"Woah!" Dulio exclaimed, nearly falling over, before looking down at her fondly, and patting her on the head, "Well hello there to you too, Sister."

Asia looked up at him with this pouty look on her face.

Dulio blinked down at her.

"...What's that look for?" He asked, significantly more cautious than before.

Lint was the one to respond, crossing her arms with a smirk, "It means you're in big trouble, big brother."

"Yeah!" Irina shouted in agreement, with Xenovia nodding alongside her.

Dulio, suddenly, looked far less confident in general, as he gulped.

As the clamoring of the Church girls began around Dulio, I took this moment to bow out of the area with a smile of my own, partly to give the group a little privacy.

Partly to go find the clone I left here to continue the plan.

Luckily, that wasn't going to be too hard, as I could sense him fairly easily.

So I headed upstairs and found my clone staring blankly at…a bunch of laundry.

He turned to me as I approached, this dead look in his gaze.

"Please tell me you're back to relieve me of my suffering." He immediately asked, hope laced throughout his voice.

I snorted.

What is with my clones being drama queens half the time?

Regardless, I shook my head, and the clone slumped slightly in pure unfiltered agony.

Then, I began, "Nah, I need you to head back to Kyoto, get the wrapped-up fake from the girls, then head out and wait around where we found the original."

My clone stared back at me, his agonized gaze temporarily forgotten, replaced by an increasingly hardened one as realization dawned upon him.

He nodded, before stating, entirely seriously, "Basically the same as being freed from this place. I'll do it with haste!"

I let out a low, long sigh, as my clone bomb rushed toward the nearest window, and promptly flung himself out of it.

…I'm now both slightly curious, but also slightly terrified, about what those girls downstairs put him through to make him this much of a drama queen.

Not looking forward to going through those memories later.

Now then, with that getting set up, I head back downstairs.

"...out of my funds too, and I then ended up having to sleep under a bridge." Dulio had just finished explaining something with a weak smile on his face, though I clearly missed a good chunk of it.

…His funds too, huh? Guess he really couldn't afford a hotel last night.

Wait. 'too'? Did he also share a budget with them or something?

Shrugging off those thoughts, I walked past the group, not joining in, and into the kitchen.

I wanted something quick to drink, plus, the kitchen was close enough to the living room that I could listen in a bit and it wouldn't be weird.

So, I got my glass of water, and as I drank it…

"Deserved." Lint replied to Dulio, prompting me to nearly spit everything out at how plainly she stated it.

There was a chorus of agreement from the other girls, sans Asia, who I'm guessing probably felt bad.

Dulio let out a slightly guilty chuckle, before agreeing, "Yeah, yeah…that's fair. I may have gone slightly overboard on my research in Tokyo."

"Ah~...Tokyo cuisine…" Irina, at least it sounded like it was her, swooned.

Only for a snort to ring out, likely from Xenovia, prompting her partner to snap out a hurried, "E-Even still…!"

I say that, because Xenovia speaks out after, simply stating, "Don't start, Irina. You don't have any room to talk there."

Without even being physically present in the room, I could feel the shift, as the focus drew toward the chestnut-haired girl.

"Oh?" Dulio hummed, clearly interested, but in such a manner that it was clear he already knew, "I knew I couldn't have spent it all…Sister Irina, what kind of massive purchase did you happen to make?"

"W-Well…uh…"

"Why don't you show him?" Xenovia interrupted her teammates stammering with ease, and I imagine Irina probably turned to glare or pout in betrayal right back.

After a beat, Irina suddenly exclaimed, "F-Fine!" Her words were quickly followed by the rapid patter of footsteps across the floor and up the stairs, along with the chuckles of those remaining in the living room.

It didn't take long for said footsteps to return, this time slightly slower, heavier.

She doesn't even say a word as I presume she shows the group.

Dulio snickers, loudly.

Prompting a chorus of ashamed whimpering from the chestnut-haired girl.

Until Dulio adds, "We should put that up on a wall in the Vatican somewhere…see how long it takes for people to realize that isn't the Lord."

Personally? I think that's a wonderful idea.

Unfortunately, before it can even be debated, Xenovia of all people shuts it down in a far more reserved, almost haunted voice.

"...Mother might actually kill you if she finds out that was your idea."

That one statement seemed to have shut down all talk of having any fun for that moment.

Dulio, even his voice quivering somewhat, clears his throat to clear the chill in the air.

"Alright, Sister…I think we've delayed enough, haven't we?" He asks, and I get the feeling the pointed glares have returned.

"You mean dallied," retorted Lint, sounding unimpressed, "and that was mostly you."

"...Fair." I could feel the wince in that single word from Dulio, "And I apologize for that, truly. I promise, once we all get back, I'll find a way to make up to you all, alright? In the meantime…" Dulio quickly added, likely to prevent the girls from making demands right this second.

His voice turned far more grave, and far more serious, as he merely stated, "We have a mission to finish."

That certainly seemed to get everyone serious as well.

"You girls don't need to worry about it though," Dulio continued, significantly more laid back, "I and a new friend of ours will handle it. Well, if he'll mind joining me."

…New friend?

Wait, is he talking about me?

Just like that? But I thought I'd have to…

That increasingly familiar feeling of guilt and dread curled up within me, prompting me to let out a shivering breath.

Lint slowly began to speak up, "...Sir-"

But then she suddenly stopped, due to what I presume is Dulio gesturing to her too.

"It's fine," he goes on, and the smile that I imagine plastered across his face as he says those two words hurt, especially as he follows it up with, "he's earned that much of our trust, no?"

A beat passes before Dulio additionally tacts on, rather childishly, "Also, Sister, didn't I ask you to call me-"

"I'm not calling you Big Brother. Earn it by being reliable." Lint threw back bluntly.

Dang. Even I winced at that, and I'm not even in the room with them!

Dulio let out a pained gasp, before sighing and soldering on despite the grievous wound done to him.

"One of these days," Dulio lamented, before abruptly calling out, "Noriaki! I have something to ask of you!"

Oh fuck he was talking about me.

I still the guilt and shame festering within, school my expression forcibly, and walk out into the living room casually, idly twirling my cup of water in my hand.

"You called? What, you guys done already?" I asked, feigning having heard anything with a tilt of my hand and confusion in my stare.

"Unfortunately, yes." Dulio sighs out, resolved, but clearly not enjoying the fact he can't lay around any longer on my couch.

"We have a mission to get to…and I was wondering if you'd help us, or, well…me."

The girls all simultaneously eyed the older exorcist for his choice of words, prompting Dulio to turn to them and hold up his hands defensively as he swiftly explained, "I'm taking responsibility, alright? I'll take the mission from here, you girls head over to the church headquarters and settle down for a little while, while I finish everything up, alright?"

Irina and Xenovia seemed quick to accept after a moment with nods, Asia and Lint, not so much. Though they didn't voice anything either, with one simply pouting and the other giving a displeased stare.

As Dulio turned back to me, I spoke up.

"You know, I asked the girls what your group's mission was about, and I got the hint that it was…fairly important." I decided on those words, "Are you sure it's alright to just tell me? Not even just that, but get help from me even?"

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure why I'm asking…any of this.

I should have just let him ask, and accepted.

Simple as.

Yet…

Dulio smiled, and it hurt way more than when I simply imagined it, "I'm choosing to believe in the goodness I see in front of me, and not the scornful utterances of the old men back home. So what if you are who you are? Those guys might care, but I don't."

Dulio puts a hand to his chest, "You choose to help, go above and beyond that, even, for people you didn't know, despite your rocky first meeting. I believe that warrants at a bare minimum some trust, no?"

…Hah.

Hold it together Nori, hold it together.

I wasn't prepared for it, the sheer kindness this guy radiates, but this time I am.

So I don't let the guilt and shame that attempts to claw its way out onto my face show, not even a fraction.

Instead, I rub the back of my head and look away slightly, and easily feign an emotion due to it being adjacent to shame, embarrassment.

I let out a soft chuckle, "Well when you put it like that…how could I refuse?"

Dulio's smile grew momentarily brighter before he pulled a serious mask over it, "Okay, so…this is going to sound unbelievable, and we don't really have a good explanation as to why this happened, so…I'll just come out and say it plainly."

I raise an eyebrow, and Dulio promptly does just as he says.

"The True Longinus is in Kyoto, its former user died there, yet it never returned to the Sacred Gear System. We are here to find it, and bring it back to the Church." Dulio relays succinctly, the girls around him nodding at his words.

I didn't need to fake the shock that bloomed across my face.

Until now, at this very moment, I had no real confirmation that the True Longinus is what they were after. Simply informed guesswork and assumptions.

But to finally hear the confirmation directly…

My jaw dropped, and I immediately asked the next logical question, "...How can you be sure?"

Dulio, to my astonishment, shrugged, "An Angel came down and told us."

…That's it?

How would Heaven have even found out!? Michael was never shown to have such power!

Unless he did, and such an odd case like the True Longinus not returning prompted him to act on it, but that just doesn't feel right.

…No, it wasn't Michael, was it? What with what's happening with His name, and now this…

But if it was Him, then how come it didn't just return to Him?

It's got His Dying Will in it, shouldn't he be able to return it whenever?

Except, when Cao Cao tried to use it…there wasn't a response, was there?

So, maybe the Will returned, but the spear didn't, and that caused it to break? Somehow?

Hnn. I don't know how Sacred Gears work, no point in flipping out over it.

"So, Noriaki," Dulio continues, pulling me from my thoughts, "would you happen to have heard of anything happening in this country over, let's say over the past couple weeks?"

I'd give thanks to Cao Cao for him and his Hero Faction for being relatively unknown, which means I can bullshit as much as I want here, but he doesn't deserve it, so I won't.

"Now that you mention it," I start, making a show of thinking by rubbing my chin, "a little ways back, there were a bunch of attacks made throughout the country. Kuoh was one place hit, Kyoto the other."

That seemed to pique everyone's interest, though before everyone could start asking questions at once, Dulio spoke first.

"I see. Locals?" He asked the logical assumption.

I snorted, and shook my head, "No, a whole swath of people barely out of high school who called themselves the 'Hero' Faction." I didn't even have to fake the disgust that twisted across my face as I said their name.

Dulio blinked at the sheer absurdity that just came out of my mouth, and repeated, "...barely out of high school?"

The girls looked just as equally confused.

I nodded, "Yup. I helped the Youkai in the area of Kyoto take out the main threats, their leadership I'm fairly certain," I sigh, "two of them had Longinus, Annihilation Maker, and Dimension Lost. I'm pretty sure the user of Dimension Lost was their leader."

Now I'm just getting stares from everyone, especially the girls.

Xenovia, in particular, shivers, and mumbles something, with Irina giving the blue-haired girl a pointed look.

…Not sure what that was about. Maybe something about how lucky she is I didn't go all out against them?

Anyhow.

Cao Cao? I hope you're seeing this from whatever Hell you were thrust into, but you won't even be known for shit.

Get dunked on loser.

Eventually, after properly digesting such a bombshell, Dulio shook his head, and gave a sad sigh, "How…unfortunate. For such a large group of young people to be led so astray."

Asia moved, putting her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

I took this time to carry on, slightly somber myself now, "There wasn't a user of the True Longinus amongst them, however. And anyone who didn't die that night…well, they got taken by the Youkai, so…"

I'm going to leave it up to their imagination what happened to them.

Though judging by how much sadder Dulio and Asia became, and how much more angry the other church girls got, I think it's safe to assume they imagined just what I wanted them to.

Can't have them getting the idea that they could go interrogate those I left alive, after all.

That'd throw my entire story and plan here out the window.

Despite how much it pains me to do this.

Smashing the guilt down has become an activity I wish I wasn't getting so good at doing, but I was, and it was effective.

My face didn't even twitch as the others' expressions darkened.

Just a little more of this, Nori, come on.

"In any event," I proceed with a sigh, "that's all that's happened as of late, unless of course, something happened that even I'm unaware of. With that in mind, it'd probably be best to start looking around where the attacks happened…perhaps some random civilian got caught in the crossfire and just so happened to be the spear's holder?"

Dulio, finally, looked up and over at me, though his expression was still downcast, "...I suppose that's not impossible, but then again, if what you said is true, a gathering of so many Longinus…" he trails off, before shaking his head, and standing up.

"A better place to start than nowhere at all, Noriaki…although, don't take it the wrong way, but I hope what you're suggesting isn't the case."

I nod in complete understanding, "As do I."

I know no civilian or normal human got caught up in the bout, but it looks like I'm going to have to make him believe that's so as well.

I…don't think I can oversell just how much of a shit person I feel right now.

There's trolling, then there's…there's this. Manipulation, pretending, acting like someone or something I'm not.

It's disgusting.

I pull out my phone, and hold it up, shaking it, "Got a number I contact in case either one of us finds it?"

Dulio nods and pulls out his phone.

I'd make a joke about how his phone is an Apple but without the bite taken in the logo on the back, probably some sort of reference or joke to the Church, but I'm just…not feeling up to it.

I just can't wait to get to the easier, less shitty feeling part, where I can swing my sword mindlessly. Without a care, without a thought, given.

~ A New Sun ~

I got Dulio's number, and after he had a quick hushed chat with the girls about picking up…something, I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention, we all scattered to the wind.

I picked a random place in Kyoto away from the bridge where I fought the Hero Faction for Dulio to search.

He'll find nothing, of course, but that's the point.

I made a beeline toward the bridge and found my clone squatting under it with the wrapped-up fake spear.

The girls, as usual, did an impeccable job. The cloth was nice and smooth, yet thick, colored royal blue, and embroidered with seals, suppressing the divine energy it released to the point you'd have to be standing right in front of the thing to feel it.

As I stopped in front of my clone, he looked at me, his mouth opening, before he closed it, and grimaced.

I stared at him, "...what?"

He held out the prop, "It's starting to get to you, huh?"

Ah, once they were gone…my mask must have fallen off.

I grasped the prop with one hand, and freely admitted, "Yeah. Yeah, it kinda is."

My clone nodded sagely as if he understood, and I suppose to an extent he did. Kind of. He is me, just without the memories of the last twelve or so hours.

He reached over, and patted me on the shoulder, "We never were cut out to be super spies or something like…just don't overthink it, alright?"

And with that piece of advice, my clone poofed.

I didn't particularly feel like going over that clone's time babysitting, so instead, I floated over to one of the old wooden pillars, and leaned up against it with a deep sigh.

It was still early in the morning. Now, all I had to do was wait.

Prop in hand, I stared up at the bridge, mindlessly listening as more and more people, tourists and locals alike, crossed and chatted and laughed, as they crossed.

At some point, I found my eyes closing. Across the city, I could feel Dulio searching, yet he never came close enough to me where I felt the need to move and act my next tall tale.

But I didn't fall asleep, I felt the rising of the sun and the ease at which, at any moment, I could take its power into myself, yet held back by a mere bit of my will.

I knew exactly how long I was going to float under the bridge.

Fifteen minutes before noon struck, and my eyes opened.

It's time.

First things first though, I needed to make my incoming story look real.

So, I left the prop and my phone on one of the wooden beams connecting a couple of the pillars holding up the bridge…and jumped straight into the river below, right to the bottom.

I didn't need to do anything specific beyond get drenched, and with that easily accomplished, I swam back up and floated the rest of the way out.

With a light fire, I dried off my hands enough to pick up and use my phone, and promptly gave Dulio a call, casually blowing water out of my face as I did so.

It took only a few rings before he picked up.

"...Yes?"

"Hey." I looked down at the prop, my gut twisting, "I found it."

A moment passes, before he finally says, "...Send me your location, I'll be over soon."

"Right."

No more words need to be exchanged, so we hang up, and I text my location.

That done, I set down my phone, and flexed my holy spirit power, creating a simple barrier to make it so mundane people avoid the area…this is the one Kuroka taught me, I believe.

Of course, there's already a bunch of people walking around, so it takes a moment for them all to naturally walk out, and then for the barrier to keep any new people from coming in.

But once that was done, I was safely able to float onto the bridge properly and sit down with the prop.

With another flex of my power, the water clinging to my form and robes began to slowly evaporate.

…I'd set myself on fire, but while I am fireproof, my clothes? Not so much.

Also, trying to sell a story here, so…the slow method it is.

An aura of steam wafts off me as I stretch my body, preparing for what I know is about to come.

Dulio, of course, doesn't take long to show up, easily passing through the barrier I made as he is the exact opposite of its intended target. He's flying, likely utilizing his power over the winds granted by his gear to do so.

As he lands, that's confirmed, as a mild gust of wind hits me right as he touches down.

I deadpan at him as he approaches.

He smiles apologetically, "My bad." He looks over my steaming form, and I see the moment realization crosses his face, "Ah, here, allow me."

He waves his hand in my direction.

And all of a sudden, it felt like the winds reached out to hug me. Tight.

I blinked, as within the next moment, I was completely and utterly dry. Like I just got my entire body, clothes, and all, ironed.

I run a hand through my now dry and fluffy hair, brush my bangs out of my face, and snort.

"So jealous right now." I utter, in slight disbelief at how fast that was.

Is that what he did in his hole earlier?

Dulio sent me a cheeky smile as he caught my words, "Envy is a sin, Noriaki." He playfully chastised.

I snorted, "Talking sins to a pagan…cute."

For a moment, we both chuckle at each other.

Then, naturally, it all comes to an end, as his gaze falls to the wrapped-up prop.

His gaze hardens, and he tentatively steps toward it, asking, "Is that…?"

I nod, and pick the prop up, holding it horizontally in both my hands, "Yeah…I bought something to cover the thing up along the way in case I found it. Heard you Church types can go insane just looking at it, so…yeah."

Dulio nodded gratefully, "You heard right, then the seals?"

"To contain the holy power the thing was emitting." I huffed, annoyed, "The thing was far up the river from here, and stuck at the bottom. All the shrines around here masked it, which is why I think the Youkai haven't found it yet…at the same time," I allowed confusion to color my tone, "it was emitting a lot less power than I expected from the strongest Longinus."

Dulio blinked, also confused by my words, as he continued to approach tentatively.

He reached for the cloth, and I uttered a quiet, "Careful," in concern, to which Dulio simply smiled at me.

"I just need to see. I've never seen the True Longinus in person before, but there's been plenty of depictions of the spear," he grasped the loose piece of cloth covering the spearhead, "I'll be quick, alright?"

Tentative myself, I nodded.

And Dulio pulled the cloth back.

The effect was immediate, the holy power the bundle I held in my grasp spiked greatly, though not to an overwhelming degree.

At the moment the cloth was pulled open, Dulio's eyes scanned the head of the spear, darting from top to bottom.

Before, just as quickly as he pulled it open, and much to my relief, he covered it back up, and the holy power receded.

"Yes…I can't believe it, but…it looks exactly like the depictions…!" Dulio began, awestruck, with a twinge of sadness mixed in there.

My grip on the prop tightened as my chest began to physically hurt.

"We must store this somewhere safely so that I can bring it back to the Vatican," Dulio suddenly began, "before any other god around here takes notice…Oh! Right, Noriaki, my friend, I can't thank you for…all of this."

He places his hands on the prop, and smiles at me, sincerely.

…Why do you have to make this so damn difficult?

"Actually, I…" I begin, slowly, dread preemptively building within me with every word before I even speak it, "I have a better idea, if you'll hear me out."

"...Huh?" Dulio utters, bewildered, as I take a step back, pulling the prop softly from his grasp.

"...We could destroy it." I barely manage the words out through gritted teeth.

"I…what?" Dulio still looked completely bewildered, but I could see as the gears slowly began to twist in his head with my words.

"Now, I know how that may sound!" I start, "But let's be real here…do you trust the old guys back at the Vatican to not use this thing for…specific purposes."

I didn't need to state specifics, what else would the deity-killing spear be used for?

"I…" Dulio seemed at a loss for words, "Noriaki, I can assure you, the Vatican isn't looking to start a fight with anyone right now….!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure about that, Dulio? Really?"

At my questioning gaze, I think the most terrifying thing is he didn't look so sure himself.

"Even so…destroying a holy relic, if word of that got around, that they even could be destroyed…" Dulio shook his head, and hardened his expression, "I'm sorry, Noriaki, but no." He gently, yet firmly, grasped the shaft of the prop, "I…can't allow that."

I looked at him, well and truly looked at him, and finally let the pain and the guilt I've been holding in for so long in front of him show.

The worst part? I know he's going to see it and get the wrong idea, and thus my manipulation further proceeds…and thus only serves to make me feel worse.

"Then I'm sorry as well," I utter, pained, "but I can't just hand over the ultimate weapon against my kind, my mother's kind, just like that…despite how good of a person you are, the Vatican isn't made up of only you, is it?"

"No…No, unfortunately, it's not."

I take it back.

The worst part is that he doesn't even look particularly angry.

Just sad and remorseful.

Above us, the sky began to darken, a distant rumble growling out from the quickly growing turbulent heavens.

As the shadows they cast fall over us, my growing aura illuminates and halts the expanding darkness.

"We don't have to do this." Dulio tries, forlorn.

"...The gods are watching." I simply state, resolute.

Dulio merely sighs.

"Then just know, Noriaki, that it was an honor to meet you." He smiles, one last legitimate time, "And I thank you for everything, one last time. When you wake up after this…we will be gone."

I didn't even get a chance to retort.

"Goodbye."

As all of a sudden, my head rang as the world shook, and I found myself soaring through the air, the ground and sky seeming to spin and blur together until they meddled into one.

The next time I felt something was when I impacted the water like a cannonball, skipping across its surface several times like a hard-thrown rock.

As I finally gained my barring, my body settled down into the waves, and the world stopped spinning…all I saw was water.

Water, in all directions.

His first attack…sent me straight out into the sea.

From Kyoto.

The only reason I'm likely still conscious is because of my healing abilities, if not for them…no, even with them, even with him holding back, I don't know what hit me, but another one of those would…

I looked off in the direction of Kyoto, as I sensed him incoming, fast.

It's now or never.

I raised my head, looking up into the sun.

And let it all in.

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 79 End

Sorry about the cliff, but if I kept going, this chapter would have to have been pushed back again. To make it up to ya'll...you get to see Noriaki's version of the "The One" go up against Dulio.

A New Sun Chapter 79 Slight Delay

Nowhere near as long as a week or something like that guys, I'm just gonna have to push it back till tomorrow.

Family and personal shit came up in the middle of me writing, and I just...can't finish it tonight.

I'm so, so sorry guys, really...what a turbulent start to the year.

A New Sun Chapter 78

Chapter 78

~ A New Sun ~

As dawn just begins to break over the horizon, I let out a triumphant grin, holding my latest creation up into the light.

I really shouldn't feel so good about making a glorified prop, but come on now!

My gaze swivels to look at the true spear, where it sits atop a cushion and leans against the wall like a model, before walking up to it.

I place the prop right next to the real article, and my smile only grows as, by sight alone, the two are completely indistinguishable.

Wiping beads of sweat from my brow, I then turn back to my forge workshop at large.

"Well?" I begin, "What do you think boys? We do good work together, don't we?"

I received a chorus of whiny bitch groans in response that forced a deadpan to my face.

All around the forge, my shirtless duplicates were lying around like they'd been worked half to death…despite the heat in here not being able to affect them, and the fact that they didn't do any of the real work, just helped by moving and holding things.

"Uggghhh~..."

"You're a slave driver boss…"

"I demand restitution for my lost year of life…!"

"My leeeeggggg~!"

I quietly huff out a fake indignant sigh, smiling just a tad as the little shits groan and moan.

Maybe I should have made them do some actual work, yeah?

Not on the actual fake itself, of course, them being a fraction of my power would make the job take longer, as the magic hammer I'm using to forge of course responds better the stronger the wielder.

But, eh, no need to punish them for being little shits.

It's not like they're doing it for no reason after all.

With a single seal, I disperse all the around half a dozen clones in the forge and snort as their memories come in.

They thought being annoying little shits for a second would be a nice little reprieve from all the tension and anxiety I've been building up, that it would help release that for a minute.

Truthfully speaking, finishing the fake spear did far more for my mental health than seeing my clone's attempt to be funny, but it's the thought that counts.

I think.

Anyhow.

I turn back to the spears and have to take a moment sensing between the two before snatching back up the fake spear.

All that's left now is to get a big thick piece of cloth, wrap the spear up, and have Rose throw a bunch of seals on the thing.

Then I'm all set to make the handover!

Although, thinking about the handover…

I'm not sure I want to just walk up and be like, 'Hey, you're a church guy right? Look at this thing I found!' and just suddenly give the spear over to them.

No matter how good I make myself come off to Dulio and the others, and no matter how out there this entire plan is, the crazy old guys who have never met me and led the Church would still be extremely suspicious of such a scenario.

Why would a Pagan God hand over the True Longinus, a weapon that can kill his kind with extreme ease, without even an ounce of hesitation, to an organization that probably couldn't despise his kind less?

The logic there just doesn't add up.

Which is why…I think I need to mold a far more believable story here.

I have an idea of how to do that, fortunately.

Unfortunately, it involves me intentionally picking a fight with the Church's Strongest.

I'm starting to see a pattern here, that all my solutions tend to end with, 'hit it stupid hard.'

Well, in this case, I'll be the one getting hit stupid hard as well, but still.

I shake my head, banishing all those thoughts for the time being.

Soon, but later, I have to deal with the spectacular handoff.

For now, gift wrap this thing up, and since the clone I sent out to keep an eye on Dulio never popped, that means he's still in the city.

If I had to take a guess, he likely booked a hotel or something for the night and should be getting up and about by now.

I spin the prop spear around in my hand as I make my exit from the forge. Hopefully, maintaining the extra strong barrier I asked for didn't take too much of a toll on the girls.

Though considering how I wasn't bothered once by anyone or anything outside of it, the effectiveness may have come at a cost.

I wouldn't be surprised, and once more I'm reminded of the fact that I really should do something for them. Lately, Kuroka's been a real big help, and Rose was always going to be a helpful cinnamon roll.

…Once all this is over. Most definitely once the Church people get the fuck out of Japan, and I can breathe a sigh of relief.

Then I can focus on the girls.

Due to my thoughts, my walk becomes a power walk, and my face tightens ever so slightly.

That moment can't come soon enough.

~ A New Sun ~

I left the fake spear behind with a still very much awake and able Rose. She told me that she was so used to pulling all-nighters at this point that, even after Kuroka passed out, she could maintain the barrier by herself with ease.

Poor Rose man, poor Rose there.

I felt there was a story there, but I didn't have time to ask as I felt the need to head out, I'll be asking more later.

It's been a while since I've gotten to shit on Odin, my old man jokes feel a little rusty.

As for right now, though…

I stand next to my clone atop a building, overlooking the streets of Kyoto below as they slowly and progressively become more bustling.

I gave said clone a particularly incredulous look, "I'm sorry, repeat that, he did what?"

My clone deadpans back at me, before shrugging and sighing, "Look, if you don't believe me, just pop me and take a look for yourself."

I did so without a second though, the clone poofing away with a single quickly made seal.

I nearly flinched in shock at the fact the clone wasn't trying to bullshit me, before holding my stomach to stop the wheeze from leaving my body at the absurdity of it all.

Dulio didn't rent a hotel, or anything like that, last night.

Instead, he slept under a bridge.

I'm…not entirely sure why.

Just before, he was easily able to hit up several restaurants and seemingly had a good time.

Did he run out of money like the church girls or something?

Well, if they all are on this same mission, doesn't that mean they share the same budget or something?

But they ran out of cash yesterday, yet Dulio was here…

I pinched the bridge between my eyes and sighed, thankful that I couldn't get headaches anymore, or I probably would have one right now.

In any event, despite the strangeness of it all, Dulio hasn't left the little earthen fort he constructed under the bridge to hide himself from others, which means he's pretty easy to confront right now.

…On a side note, I now know he can control the earth. Zenith Tempest, I thought, was purely weather manipulation, or element manipulation derived from the weather.

I don't know how that would enable you to control the earth…unless earthquakes are considered weather phenomena?

A natural disaster, sure, but weather?

I mean if you squint?

Feels weak, but then again, maybe I'm the idiot for thinking the second-strongest Longinus Class Sacred Gear wouldn't let you control all the elements besides light and darkness.

I throw my hands up, effectively giving up that side tangent of thought before promptly jumping off the roof, vacating my watchpoint, and down to the street below.

I was so quick about it, that the normal humans walking around didn't even see my fall, just me merging into the ground crowds.

It's time to meet the man himself.

I'm not entirely sure the name of the place where he hid out, or even the name of the bridge, though it probably has one, I didn't care enough to check.

Still, the bridge is one of the much shorter ones, made of this smooth vermillion wood, and was placed just off the beaten path in a lonely little garden.

It's also one of the few bridges that didn't have water of some sort running underneath it. In this case, I don't think a river flows through here, might just be where rainwater runs off and through, but it also might be possible he dammed the place up to make his hiding spot dry, though I doubt that.

He doesn't seem the kind of guy who would risk ruining the natural beauty of a place just for his convenience.

No one was going through this garden, as early as it was, so it was easy jumping down and heading under the bridge.

At this point though, it was comically easy to tell something was amiss here.

On one side of the bridge, directly under where the bridge meets the land, a perfectly carved and smoothed out door-like earthen mold was wrapped in the natural rock and dirt of the land.

I suppose there isn't really a way to check, and besides, it's not like anyone would be wandering around here to check.

Still doesn't stop it from looking funny.

In any event, approaching didn't make anything happen, so he's either still asleep, doesn't sense me, or just doesn't care that I'm here.

I'm not trying to mask my presence here, so it's either the former or the latter.

Only one way to find out.

Normal people would have a hard time seeing it, but I can clearly. Scattered across the unnatural earthen area, are small little holes, which means…

He should be able to hear me if I do this!

~ A New Sun ~

"Hellloo~! Strongest Exorcist-san!"

"Mmm!?" Dulio was startled awake by the voice of someone calling to him from outside his little hidey-hole.

He tried to get up, really, he did. But it must be like, what, noon?

Who wakes someone up so early in this day and age?

So he may be a little more than groggy and barely managed to sit halfway up before slamming his head into the rock above him…which made him remember he couldn't do that.

He then proceeded to tumble out of his makeshift bed carved into the wall and flop uselessly onto the much colder, much harder, rocky ground.

He let out a low groan as he pushed himself back onto his feet, before holding out a hand, and slowly summoning a small wick of flame above his palm, illuminating the space.

Essentially, it's just a person-sized rectangular box, completely smoothed out and compacted to prevent things such as the cold and other small earthen critters from getting in.

The only exception is the bed he created, which was built into the wall, yet still encaged within the smooth and hard rock.

Well, if you could call it a bed, per se.

It's really a bunch of rock broken down into soil and sand, washed and aired out to be free of any contaminants, before being heated up to a nice temperature to help settle his body and let it fall asleep.

Of course, none of this changes the fact that dirt is still…dirt. No matter how much he cleans and dries it out.

So he's not looking his best right now.

Which wouldn't be very welcoming to his new mysterious guest now, would it?

With a wave of his hand, several things happen.

The fire in his hand goes out, and the dirt clinging to him across his body falls off like a small landslide.

He raises his other hand, a small whirlwind quickly taking shape within, he adds with it a touch of moisture, before bringing the hand up to his face.

The whirlwind promptly implodes, wrapping around his figure and clothes tightly, and within the next moment, he's completely soaked and dripping wet, like he just walked through a rainstorm.

He chuckles and huffs, blowing fresh and chilly water out of his face, now also completely awake and alert.

Now? Now he can sense the presence standing probably not even a scarce few steps behind this wall.

A divine presence. A God.

He did wonder whether or not he was going to meet any of Japan's famous '8 million' something gods, but at least in Tokyo, any such presence seemed to shy away from him when he was near.

He supposes though, that Kyoto is far more spiritual, so if there is any place he would, it would be here.

How embarrassing they have to catch him in such a state.

Oh! Right, he also forgot to dry off.

Similarly, he raises another hand, building another whirlwind, but this time, with a touch of fire, of heat.

When it contacts him, it proceeds to also wrap around him as the watery whirlwind did, except now, droves of steam radiate off him in waves.

As the wind and steam clear, Dulio lets out a sigh of relief, now dry and fresh, he straightens out his long white exorcist jacket, and rolls a hand through the bangs of his blond locks, moving them out of his face.

Upon getting both to a 'good enough' state, which didn't take long, he put on a charming morning smile, despite feeling the deep God-given need to sleep in, and waved his hand.

The wall leading to the outside promptly falls downward, like some fancy door, letting in a fresh wave of morning air from this beautiful country he was given the chance to see, along with the sight of the young man who called out to him.

Well, the young man in appearance, you can never really know with gods.

Obsidian black hair, golden eyes, sandals, and a blue…bathrobe? Well, it looks like one, just thinner, and he's got some big curved sword strapped to his back.

God of Bathrobes? Does Japan have such a thing?

…It's technically a heretical thought, but he couldn't help it. If Dulio could be a god, the God of Bathrobes sounds like the most comfy position in the universe.

Although, beyond that, if he's being honest, Dulio can't help but feel like he's…seen this guy before?

Hmm, but from where?

Well, anyhow, when the wall suddenly dropped, he took a slight step backward and looked just a touch tense.

Oh, right. His Sacred Gear…he probably felt him using it a bunch, didn't he?

Thus, Dulio raised a hand placatingly, and stepped out slightly from his hole, "Apologies, you caught me before I had the chance to freshen up, so I…" He waves his hand lazily around his face, "real quick, alright? I don't feel the need to start a fight…especially so early in the…"

Dulio looks off to the side, trying to see if he can catch the horizon from here.

Or the sun at all.

The trees hide the horizon, but he doesn't need a clear view to see bits of the sun barely peeking through.

Or the fact that the sky isn't a clear blue.

It's barely even the morning if you could call it that!

Dulio, almost robotically, turned his head back to this god, his smile just a tad more strained, "Morning."

The food here? Divine.

The gods? Well, verdicts are still out there. Truly, it should be made a sin to wake someone up so early.

The god's gaze followed his own for a second, and as he finished speaking, he relaxed, albeit not completely, and chuckled, seemingly catching onto his inner thoughts.

"I see, I see. Then I'm sorry for waking you up so early." He explains, waving a hand placating, "I just couldn't help myself, you know. Word of who you are travels far, so when I heard you were in my home, my city…well, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to come see you as soon as possible."

Ah, you know what? That's fair.

Alright, he supposed the gods here were fine. His showing up usually does herald something big going on…well, more often than not, it's when something strong needs to die, but same difference.

Then the god continued, "Well, that, and I heard from a small group of girls wandering Kuoh Town that you were supposed to be their chaperone?"

Dulio blinks, very slowly.

He hasn't heard from them recently, if at all since they arrived in Japan, has he? Despite them having his number and all…

For a second, the idea that this god has done something to them, and then in his hubris came for him next, flashes through his mind.

The very idea that those children were hurt-

It reigns himself back, immediately.

…Perhaps he has been spending too much time around the old coots up top, to even start to jump to such baseless conclusions immediately.

Shame on me. He chastises himself internally.

He was planning to head to them immediately upon waking up today, but this god found them first, and now him.

"Oh? That I am," he confirms with an easy smile, before stepping out fully into the light, the god stepping back to allow him to do so.

He asks the next natural question, "So, how are they? I was going to head to Kuoh myself soon…I just…" He trails off.

His research into the cuisine of Japan is a tale for another time, perhaps.

Though, at his question, the way the god grimaces immediately draws Dulio's attention.

"...Did something happen?" He quickly adds, a tension growing within him.

After a moment of reading his expression, the god sighs, and begins, "Well you see when I got there…"

Dulio stands there, listening with a bated breath that quickly turns to equal parts guilt, yet also no small amount of mirth.

Truth be told, as the god goes on, he's trying very hard not to laugh.

He wouldn't be if the girls were hurt! Most certainly not, it's just that…

…He kind of wishes he was there to see it all for himself. Especially little Lint getting clown makeup drawn on her.

He internally winced at everything that went on with Xenoiva, although he could tell the god was leaving something out regarding her, he also admitted that he didn't do his best to calm the situation when he arrived.

Then again, Dulio understands that from the god's initial perspective, some random Church warriors were running around, someone was throwing around Holy Fire, and then when one of them drew the legendary Holy Sword Durandal on him…well, he wouldn't be happy either.

It's a miracle little Xenovia didn't get more than her sword broken, he would have understood.

Ultimately, he was wincing more for himself than anything.

He had promised Xenovia's guardian he'd keep her safe, and stop her from doing anything too stupid.

Well.

He's not looking forward to when he gets back to the Vatican now.

In the end, he supposes it could have been worse.

He certainly didn't have to house and feed the girls himself after all that, in fact, he was completely floored by such generosity from a foreign god.

…Jeez, maybe he should take an extended vacation from the Vatican.

Their anti…everything not Christ, the Lord, and so on, has been getting worse and worse lately, hasn't it?

That aside, for now, it'd be rude of him to not express his sincere thanks for such an act.

Ah, how do they do that here again?

He's seen it a few times during his adventures here already, it was…something like a bow, right?

He's pretty sure he's going to do it wrong, but it's the thought that counts, no?

So, as the god finishes, Dulio bows, putting a hand to his chest as he does, "I see…then, as their chaperone, allow me to thank you, and apologize for them, for your taking care of them and all the trouble they caused you, respectively."

It wasn't a complete bow, so although he couldn't see the god's face, he could still see his lower body, and as such, saw the god kind of stumble back, shocked at his gesture.

After a moment, he cleared his throat, and nearly murmured, "Please, rise, it's…odd, seeing another member of the Church express gratitude in such a way to me."

Ah? Another?

Dulio smiled warmly, as he raised his head.

Looks like the girls beat him to the punch, huh?

He isn't really surprised, in the end, he knows those girls are good deep down.

They just need to have a hand sometimes.

…Some more than others.

Dulio chuckles, seeing the unreadable and almost conflicted expression on the gods…

Well, okay, before they go any further, he'd like to stop having to think 'the god' and such in his mind. Feels almost offensive after so long.

"In any event," Dulio continued, "you seem to know my name, the girls already gave you theirs, and you yours, yet I don't know you…beyond the fact that you're a god of this place."

He perked up at his words, a knowing smile sliding over his previous facial expression almost like a mask, before he replied, "Kusanagi Noriaki, or in the west, Noriaki Kusangi. Feel free to call me whatever you wish…and I'm technically not a Kami - Deity - of the Shinto…but it's close enough, so eh?" The god, Noriaki, shrugs uncaringly.

Hmm…that name also sounds familiar.

Then, it all of a sudden clicks.

Kuoh, Japan, Noriaki here, and his appearance.

There was a video that a bunch of higher-ups in the Church kept shoving in his face during this one meeting, something about the Red Dragon Emperor going on a rampage in a town in this country.

To be perfectly honest, nobody was hurt, or so the reporting said after the fact, so he didn't care.

In fact, he got a really good nap out of that meeting, now that he recalls.

This was the guy who stopped the Red Dragon. Noriaki Kusangi.

They kept going on about this guy, about how dangerous he likely is, or could be, a bunch of blah blah blah…

He doesn't seem anything like those old guys kept going on, and on, about.

How lucky it is the girls ran into him then, huh?

Well, it was probably the one lucky thing that happened to them, considering…everything.

"Alright then, Noriaki," Dulio nodded, satisfied, he considered bringing up the Red Dragon, but there's time for that later.

He looked around, briefly considering their surroundings, before deciding that since he was awake…he might as well head over to them now.

He eyed Noriaki then, and grinned, "I don't know about you, but I don't think this place isn't exactly a great conversational spot…do you mind if we perhaps go somewhere else more comfortable?"

Noriaki smiled back, "Not at all. I presume you also want to see the girls yourself?"

Dulio nodded, "That would be best, yes."

"I can take us there in no time, just hold still, alright?" Noriaki asked for permission to do something, and considering how Dulio detected no deceit from anything he's said so far, Dulio nodded once more.

As golden light, a divine power separate from the power instilled by the Almighty began to wrap around them, Dulio couldn't help the stupid smirk that brushed across his face.

So many new things to tease his little sisters about, so, so many!

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 78 End

I decided to just make a whole new post this time, make it easier to get to and all.

Hope ya'll had a great Christmas and New Years, I'm still dead tired, but I had time enough to write after it was all over.

Man, poor Nori...bro is gonna manipulate Dulio here soon, but it turns out Dulio is quite possibly one of the Church's best of good boys. Next up on the docket...a battle that will test Nori's strength, both mentally, and well, everything else, lol.

A New Sun Chapter 78 Delay

I didn't think I'd have to do this, but shit, here I am. I guess I probably should have seen it coming, but I figured last week that I'd have more breathing room between the holidays than I've gotten so far. I wasn't nearly so busy last year after all.

Damn shame, but yeah. I hope ya'll had a good Christmas (or whatever you may celebrate) and further still have a wonderful New Year.

And speaking of, I'll see ya'll again come 2025 next week. It's been a wild year, I'm hoping for something a little calmer, personally. Sorry again, guys.

A New Sun Chapter 77

Chapter 77

~ A New Sun ~

I have made a terrible mistake.

Now, granted, I probably should have expected this.

After all, everything up until this point has been going swimmingly!

Far too swimmingly.

It wouldn't be an anime world if something didn't come along and put a bump in the path so to speak.

In this case…

I sit now on my couch, in the living room of my home right outside Kuoh, leaning as far into the back cushions as much as I possibly can.

Before me, the living room has been turned into essentially a makeshift dining room, as the actual kitchen doesn't really have one…

Well, it does, technically. One of those bar-style dining areas.

The problem with that though, although it has enough seats for four people, is that it doesn't have anywhere near enough room for food for more than double that.

So, in the center of the living room is a cobbled-together dining table formed from a few different, but of similar height tables, which combined are large enough to hold the veritable feast stacked upon it.

Or the half-eaten feast, I should say now, with the four hungry hippos gathered around it.

"Delicious…Japanese cuisine is delicious~!" Xenovia practically moaned while scarfing down on her, I believe third, bowl of rice.

It had some sauce on it, I think. Not like I know what kind, I pulled everything out of the fridge and cabinets and just started…throwing stuff together.

"Mhmm~! Mhmm~!" Irina exuberantly agreed, while inhaling a second plate of- oh, shit, she ate it so fast I couldn't even catch what it was, "This is the taste of food from my homeland!"

Xenovia lowered her bowl slightly, and gave her a slightly narrowed side eye, "...homeland? Right."

She was trying to say that silently.

Unfortunately, she failed hilariously. The whole table heard it.

Irina perked up, and immediately slammed down her bowl, glaring back at her partner with fury in her eyes, "For the last time! I really am-"

I immediately zone out her and Xenovia's bickering before it can even start up again.

Had enough of that earlier today, thank you very much.

On the other side, Asia is munching with far more respect and care for the dining ware and food, as with every bite she makes exacerbated noises of wonder and awe instead of making me question whether or not I'm blasting porn on the TV.

Next to her is Lint, who I can best describe as 'power-eating' if that makes any sort of sense.

She isn't making noises, but she's going at it just as hard as Xenovia and Irina are.

All in all, so far, this experience has told me that there are indeed people with worse eating habits than even Kuroka.

Really, just how starved are these girls?

I'm pushed back into the couch as I am purely because I'm trying to avoid a potential splash zone!

It's slightly eerie how there hasn't been any splash so to speak, but at this point, I'm taking the precaution just in case.

I know I was going to leave a clone for this and head back to Kyoto, but see, I never even got the chance.

I put the offer of food out earlier, and all four pretty much immediately agreed.

I'm pretty sure I started hearing rumbling from at least half of them about 'taking patronage from a pagan' and justifying it with 'it's for the mission' and shit like that, but I wasn't paying attention to their words.

No, haha, no.

What I was far more concerned about was how clingy the four became on our way here.

I took them to my old home here to keep an eye on them. That was the main reason, the second being there wouldn't be a food place open at this hour that would take any order made by them seriously.

Well, without some judicious use of mind whammying, but I kind of figured that'd be a terrible idea to show them I could do off the cuff.

In any event, on the way here, these four practically clung to me…and I mean very close to literal clinging.

They practically hid behind me. Xenovia did it first, reasoning that it'd be a good idea to follow me very closely since I knew what I was doing, was from here, and so on.

You know, just in case.

Sound reasoning for Xenovia, I admit. The others evidently agreed, because by the time we made it to the outskirts of town, I had pretty much a backpack of girls stacked up behind me.

Then as soon as we got inside, and I got to cooking, the girls then proceeded to crowd around and watch with rapt attention.

I couldn't get away, at all. It was insane.

Luckily though, it looks like they should be settling down here soon.

With mostly full bellies, I know the exhaustion of today will catch up with them quickly, and I can leave a clone to watch over the place before heading back.

A pointed sigh of relief breaches through the bickering and munching going on in the background, enough to draw my attention away from my thoughts.

Probably because it came from Lint, the only one who's been silent up until now.

With the stated sound, she placed down an attempt plate and leaned back into her chair.

"I can see why Duli is taking so long trying to contact us…he's so busy running around eating food like this." She waves at the assorted empty dishes, clearly satisfied, but with not a small amount of annoyance.

I perk up at her words.

I'm not supposed to know who exactly their chaperone is yet, though I know they have one because Asia mentioned it.

Still, Dulio is a big name, so I kind of have to react to that.

I lean forward, raising an eyebrow slightly, "Duli? Is that your guy's chaperone? His name kind of sounds…familiar."

At that, Xenovia takes a short break from agitating Irina to chip in, "Ah, I suppose his name would be at least somewhat recognizable out here, huh?"

…Of course it was only to just jab at Irina again.

"HEY! Don't talk about my homeland like it's some backwater!" Irina snaps at her.

"...Isn't it though?" Xenovia tilts her head, looking legitimately confused by Irina's reaction.

"No! Japan is-"

I zone them out again.

…I'm starting to regret giving them food.

But it's for the plan, Nori, stay the course!

Lint rolls her eyes in the two's direction, while Asia looks on in concern, before the former looks back at me, and nods, "It is, though, yeah…there's probably a reason it sounds familiar. Does the name Dulio Gesualdo ring a bell to you?"

I make a show of widening my eyes, "..the strongest Exorcist, Dulio Gesualdo? The one with the second strongest Longinus? He's your chaperone?"

Lint sighs, and pinches the bridge of her nose, "Yeah, don't let his strength fool you though, he's a bit of an…hnn." She trails off with a hum, unable to find a proper descriptor.

Asia frowns and promptly defends the man who isn't here to do so himself. "Hey now, Brother Dulio isn't that bad, he cares, he just gets…lost, easily."

Lint snorts at that, "Yeah, in food, maybe-"

"For the children back at the Church!" Asia pipes up enough to interject.

"Besides," Lint powers on through regardless though, "how many times have you tried calling him now?"

"Not that many-" Asia pulls a smartphone-looking device from her habit as she speaks, and almost as soon as she powers it on, her words die in her throat, replaced by a weak and slow, "...46? Eheh…" followed by a very short, dim and embarrassed laugh.

Lint simply deadpans at the blonde, as she shrinks into her seat. "My point stands."

To be fair, he probably would have picked up a while ago had Kuroka not messed with all their communication devices.

…Then again, his acting this way doesn't sound shocking to them, so I guess the guy already has a reputation, huh?

I hum, and seeking to move this conversation along, as well as maybe get some more info out of them, I interject to ask, "Still, the Strongest Exorcist, here? In this country? The blonde here said you lot were looking for something…what could the Church possibly want that's out here?"

Rather predictably, Lint's face became stern and stoic, "...I'm not liable to disclose the exact details…Church business. Sorry."

A shame that, but I should have suspected.

She didn't sound genuinely apologetic though.

I put on an understanding, yet pointed, stare, which Lint expressly looked away from.

Meanwhile, Asia darted between looking at the two of us, sensing the tension, but clearly struggling to find something to break it with.

It takes a moment, but she finds it, perking up in her seat before speaking out, "Blonde…? Oh, right!" She stands, very abruptly, getting almost everyone's attention, "We never actually introduced ourselves, did we? Umm…" Asia looks at me and tries to do a formal bow.

I think.

Or maybe a nod?

I don't know, she almost kind of bent over at the same time.

"I am Asia…" she paused, her face turning red rapidly, "err, last name first here, right? Argento, Asia!" She raised back up, pointedly looking away from me, face blazing with an embarrassed red, "Thanks for having us, um, M-Mr. Kusanagi…"

…She's really, really cute.

Almost makes me want to keep her, not going to lie.

Lint chuckled, causing Asia's face to glow harder before the pale girl stood up herself.

She didn't bow, instead giving a relaxed wave my way, "Lint." She paused, briefly considering, before correcting herself, "Sellzen, Lint." She smiles slightly, before turning…and kicking under the table.

"OW!" Irina jolted, crying out in pain.

Once.

"Hnn!?" Xenovia grunted out at the same time, twitching in her seat.

Twice.

Those two were still arguing, of course.

Irina looks at the two standing up, and specifically, sees Lint's glare, and quickly manages to put two and two together.

"A-Ah!? Right, right!" She scrambles onto her feet, and does an actual proper respectful bow my way, "Shido, Irina! Thank you for the food, Kusanagi-san!"

Xenovia blinks, looking incredibly confused at everyone, before standing up slowly, "Introduction, huh…" she turns to me, and nods, "Xenovia Quarta."

That's it. That's all she says.

"X-Xenovia. That's not…hnnnn!" Irina facepalms while fuming.

I snort, watching Xenovia look back at Irina with not a small amount of cheek.

She knows full well what she's doing, in this case, she's just playing it up to mess with her partner.

You know what? I can respect the petty.

Regardless, I'd rather not have Irina try and strangle the girl right now, so!

I quickly waved them off, "Don't mention it you four…even if you did clean out my entire kitchen in a few hours." I dejectedly add on, almost as an afterthought.

At that, the girls at least looked a little ashamed.

"...We could pay you back with-" Xenovia started to say, but Irina quickly jumped on her back and slapped both her hands over her mouth.

"No, no, NO! Absolutely not!" Irina cried out, shutting down her partner completely.

Xenovia, for her part, looked legitimately confused.

Huh, I don't think she was about to offer up their bodies there.

In any event, I ignore all that, and quickly move on, "Anyhow. Your food situation is sorted…at least for now. I have enough room for your girls to stay the night if you want, and as for your two's clothing situation…" I shrug sort of helplessly as I look at the chestnut and blue-haired girls respectively.

Both of them are still wearing their cloaks, of course. Doing their best to cover up their indecency.

Well, one of them is. Xenovia couldn't care less I think.

If it got in the way of her eating earlier, it was getting out of the way. Meanwhile, Irina tried her best to maintain her cover even at the cost of dexterity.

This is probably the one thing I can't help with. I don't have any spare clothes in either of the two sizes, so shit out of luck there.

Even if any of my girls did share their sizes, I still wouldn't give them away. One because they aren't mine to give, and two because doing so would bring questions I don't think I could answer without coming off incredibly suspicious.

The point is to keep an eye on them, not make them leave in the middle of the night under suspicion I might kidnap them or some shit.

At the mention of totally not bondage suits being messed up, only Irina reacts, that being flushing, getting off Xenovia, and pulling her cloak tighter against her.

Xenovia, hilariously enough, just sort of shrugs along with me.

Though it's Lint who actually speaks up, providing a solution, "Eh, don't worry about it," she waves off, "there's a headquarters next town over, we'll stop by there in the morning to get those two's suits fixed."

Heh. How vague.

She continues, "As for spending the night…well, if you wanted to do something, you could have done so when Xen here offered, so…maybe for a pagan, you aren't that bad."

I deadpanned at the white-haired girl.

She sends a small cheeky smile and shrugs, before looking at the others, "So, I don't mind giving resting here a shot. What about the rest of you?"

Xenovia nods curtly, "I see no reason to refuse, personally." and agrees rather easily.

Asia gives a sweet smile and nods along, while Irina looks back and forth between everyone and sighs.

"Taking so much patronage from a pagan god…our poor souls…" she decries quietly, but still heard by literally everyone, clasping her hands together in silent prayer.

Oi. You just ate all this pagan gods' food. Don't act like you're the one facing any sort of ruin for this!

Lint shakes her head as Irina starts praying, and turns back to me, "Don't mind her, Iri can be a drama queen sometimes."

"H-Hey! This is the salvation of our souls I'm talking about here!" Irina breaks from her prayer to try and refute Lint.

But Lint ignores her as easily as one ignores a breeze, and continues, much to the chestnut-haired girl's pouting.

"Anyhow. Got a room big enough for us all to bunk together?" She then proceeds to ask.

"Easily." I reply, with Lint nodding back simply and happily.

"Actually-" Xenovia starts speaking up, only to once again be silenced by a much more serious looking Irina, who doesn't utter even a sound.

Xenovia, of course though, still looks incredibly confused.

If I had to guess, she was going to ask for her own room or something, which…jeez, Xenovia, think for at least a few seconds before speaking won't you?

I stood up, ignoring Xenovia with practiced ease by this point, "I'll make sure your room is good then."

And by that, I mean I'm going to go upstairs, and as soon as I'm out of sight, I'm going to make a clone do it while I get the hell out of here already.

"Ah?" Asia spoke up, "Well if you're going to do that…then the least we can do is put away the dishes!"

I blinked at the blonde, as she started picking stuff up the plates and such.

Lint chuckled and slowly began to do the same, "Not a bad idea there. It'd be wrong of us to continue taking advantage of his kindness while doing nothing in return, wouldn't it?"

For once, Xenovia and Irina didn't have contrasting things to say, instead, they both nodded and began to follow along with the others with a smile.

I couldn't help the small smile that spread across my face, and I also couldn't turn down the offer.

"Heh. Well, alright. I'll be right back then." I nodded whilst technically lying at the girls, before walking off.

"...You know, I was going to suggest something like this earlier." I heard Xenovia suddenly speak up behind me, as she started talking to the others, "But Irina stopped me. For some reason."

"...Eh?" I couldn't almost feel the disbelief in that noise Irina made back from here.

I chortled to myself as I made my way up the stairs, and out of their sight.

Not long after I make it to the second floor, I jump off it via a window, but not to visit my grandmother for the final time, instead, I take to the skies…as a very sassy clone of me checks the room those four are going to stay in tonight with a pout.

Seriously, little shit dared to try and ask for pay! Pay!

Sure, he's going to watch over a bunch of church girls, but really, he should be paying me for that privilege! That's like a good chunk of guys' fantasies right there!

Ah, well.

It's back to Kyoto I go!

Finally.

~ A New Sun ~

Before I took Lint back to her friends, I sent Kuroka and Shirone to Kyoto to hold down the fort, so to speak.

So I wasn't at all surprised to find myself accosted as soon as I touched down right outside my home by said black cat, who flung herself out a window and straight at me.

"Daarrrlliinnngg~!" Kuroka called out as she fell, and in my head, I imagined her instead making one of those really loud meows that normal cats make when they're looking for their owners.

It fits so well I almost stumble with laughter and don't catch her.

But I don't, so I snatch her up the black-haired shortstack midair, the cat girl almost immediately snuggling up against me after I do.

I chuckle and pet her hair while holding her, and as I do, I look back over her, back at the buildings behind her…and raise an eyebrow.

"No Shirone?" I ask, first thing, unable to sense her white-haired sister within.

Kuroka pouts, her tails and ears twitching, "...She went back to make sure the rest of Gremory's Peerage doesn't interfere with your work."

I wince at that.

I nearly forgot about them, and we were throwing a lot of divine energy around for a little bit there.

Well, whatever she did to keep them occupied, it worked, because I didn't sense anyone whatsoever.

I smile, "Well, she did a great job." I pull one of my hands back, to reach down into my robe, and pull out the shard I stashed away earlier, holding it between my fingers, "I already said it before, but you both did."

Kuroka's eyes sparkled with mischievous mirth as she beheld the shard, and smirked.

Then it fell off almost immediately, and she pouted again, "...Does this mean you're going to run off to your forge now instead of rewarding me and Shirone, nyah~?" She swayed from side to side as she 'asked', though I could tell she already knew the answer.

I rolled my eyes at her, but gave her a small smile before booping her on the nose, "Play after work, you horny cat."

Kuroka blinked, before holding up a finger and continuing to whine, "But that's not how the expression goes! It's work and play, at the same time, nyah!"

…I wasn't referring to an expression though.

Regardless!

I deadpanned down at her, "For the last time, I'm not fucking you in the forge."

She smiled, "It'd be really hot though, nyah~!"

"It would," I answer truthfully, "but also stupidly dangerous for you. So no."

"Hmph!"

Kuroka immediately pouted again, and I took the small victory for what it was and set her down.

Then she blinked, staring off as if trying to remember something, and not a moment later did her eyes widen in recognition.

"Oh, right! Darling!" She exclaims, "I almost forgot nyah!"

I hum and raise an eyebrow at her, she seems suspiciously not horny now, so this has to be somewhat serious.

"That Dulio guy is here in Kyoto now!" She adds, causally.

As though that isn't important at all!

At that, I nearly fall over, and I'm not even moving or anything.

I catch myself before then though, and level a glare right back at the cat girl, "...Why didn't you mention this earlier!?" I quickly, and far more panickedly, asked.

Kuroka blinked at me, nonplussed, "He isn't really…doing anything? Granted, he only got to the city recently. As in tonight. He's been hitting up all the restaurants ever since though, and not doing anything particularly noteworthy beyond tourist stuff."

Well, that explains her demeanor.

Still.

I sigh, partly in relief, partly with exacerbation, and pat the cat on the head.

"Well, shit." I start, "If he's here, then I need you to wake up Rose, and I need the both of you to power up the barrier around here as much as possible while I get to work, alright? I won't take a single risk that he'll sense me working, or, somehow, the real spear, alright?"

Kuroka nodded, all too happy to comply, and bounced as she stood up straight, the rather insane bounce and jiggle of her chest as she saluted was definitely intentional judging by the mischievous smirk plastered across her face as she did it.

I considered slapping her tit for that but decided against it, she'll always be a horny kitty, no need to make her more horny than need be.

Kuroka quickly bound away, and I turned toward the direction of my forge, the shard of Durandal held tightly in my hand.

Dulio has the second-strongest Longinus in the world. Thankfully, the thing isn't a holy relic, and there are plenty of shrines in the city to help mask the holy powers I'm about to work with.

That, alongside Kuroka and Rose's magic, should be enough to let me work in peace.

If I really go at it, I should be able to make what I need tonight. I'll even make more clones to help speed everything up.

Then, when morning comes, and if Dulio is still here…

Well, it wouldn't be odd if I went and made his acquaintance, would it?

For now though.

Time to get to work.

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 77 End

Holy hell, would you look at the time! And the sun is still (kinda) up!?

I'm gonna be gone pretty much all night tonight, so I had to get this out before then, and it looks like I managed.

Done with the Church girls for now, next up? Dulio.

A New Sun Chapter 76

Chapter 76

~ A New Sun ~

"Hey hey, wakey wakey!"

"H-Hnnggh…?" Lint groaned out a low rumble from the back of her throat, as an annoying voice broke through the haze of her deep and dark unconsciousness.

Granted, the voice wasn't annoying because it sounded annoying, it only became annoying because it was waking her up!

Then she felt something, likely a finger based on how smooth it was, poking her cheek.

"Oi. Clown girl. Wake the hell up." The male voice intoned, slightly more agitated.

…Wait, what does he mean by clown girl!?

Also, who even is this guy?

He sounds like he's speaking perfect Italian, but somehow she doubts that she'd just run into some random Italian guy like that out this far East.

Who'd also somehow know she is and speaks Italian, and thus would talk such to her right off the bat.

The likely true answer? 'Language,' a passive ability a chunk of supernatural beings possess that enables them to converse with all peoples without needing to heed language barriers.

Which means this guy is a supernatural being of some kind.

But which one?

Angels, both Pure and Fallen, possess the ability. As do Devils and Gods, and if she recalls correctly, most beings have a method of achieving similar abilities as well.

…None of that helps her right this second, does it?

Well! In any event, as holder of the Holy Cross, if he's any kind of dark creature, which is the most possible, she doesn't have anything to worry about.

"Hnn…Go away…"

So, she lazily throws her arm out in his voice's general direction, trying to shoo him away.

She doesn't know where exactly she is right now, but she's far too comfortable to get up now.

So peaceful. So quiet.

Even if feels like she's forgetting about something…well, if she forgot, then clearly it wasn't important, right?

The man sighs, "Not a small spell, huh? Guess I'll have to jolt you awake."

Hmm?

Light flickered throughout the blackness of her vision.

And in that moment, Lint stilled.

Where the light flickered over, splotched or holes in the darkness formed, allowing Lint to see through it.

And via that, she finally figured out just how unnatural it all was.

The darkness cracked, more wounds opening in the haze, letting her mind pour out.

Her body? Ached and racked with pain, especially in her stomach, which felt like a void. Dead empty by this point, she bets her stomach couldn't even manage a whimper, much less a growl.

Feelings returned at last, of the world around her.

Her small body lay upon a stiff leathery material, likely a couch, she could smell the oldness and dust from the material, and it made her want to choke and cough.

Everything came rushing back, like a dam finally broken, more and more and more kept coming, until eventually, it all fell apart.

The darkness gave way and she could finally see in totality.

But more importantly?

She could finally hear.

[...himhimhim…]

The Chief Mourner.

Its whispers were far more hurried than usual, they sounded alert, awake, no longer hushed and melancholic, but almost…scared? No, not that…

[...blasphemer…profaner…]

Is that…hatred?

[...scourge…Pagan…!]

She didn't get what the Chief Mourner meant by blasphemer or profaner, but Pagan?

Now that she understands.

And as her senses finally return to her, she doesn't need her eyes to feel the practical sun looming right next to her body.

Not just a Pagan, a Pagan God.

"...Huh." He hummed, sounding almost stumped, "Well damn, I thought for sure that would have-"

He doesn't realize I'm fully awake now.

Capitalizing on that realization, she moved.

It was only her arm, but that's all she needed…an outstretched hand. The purple holy flames came much easier, almost unbidden, and in fact, it was so easy, it was far too much.

The sheer force of the amount of flames she threw out blew her backward, the furniture she was on flipping over as she went careening straight into the wall behind it with a dull and mildly painful thud that flung her eyes open in shock.

She quickly took stock of her environment.

The hall she was in likely once looked fancy, and judging by its size, was likely a dining hall of some kind in the past.

The large and old tables and chairs pushed to the sides of the hall, out of the way, a thick layer of dust and dirt settling over them all only added to her theory, as did the large ornate, but nonfunctioning, chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

It's not like it matters though, she didn't exactly have trouble seeing, considering all the fire she flung out into the area.

At least a quarter of the hall, and rapidly spreading, was engulfed in her holy purple flames.

She didn't want to burn down the whole mansion, or at least, she assumed she was still in the mansion, she just wanted a powerful and concentrated enough attack to stun or injure the god long enough so she could escape back to the others.

And then they could promptly get the hell out of here.

Lint clambered back onto her feet, the hand that spewed the wave of fire still lit like a torch, setting the odd wooden table and chair alight with but a touch.

She clicked her tongue and looked down at the blaze around her forearm.

She wouldn't even get the chance to try and reel it back in.

"Yeesh…" a voice, the same voice, the voice of a Pagan God broke through even the holy haze made by the heat of her purple flames.

He didn't even seem annoyed, just more surprised.

He stepped forward, out of the blaze, completely and entirely unharmed, even as his…is that a bathrobe?

Okay. Even as his bathrobe wafted in the heat, parts of it burning and alight.

"I expected you to be a little jumpy after waking up," he starts, almost amusedly, "but I didn't expect a kill shot right off the bat."

The blaze around her forearm throbbed almost angrily, and she grasped that arm, feeling as though if she didn't, the flames would have tried to lurch at him.

Somehow.

She could hear it, in the back of her mind, the Chief Mourner's angered hissing sobs.

Lint grits her teeth, and feigns a confident smirk, while internally grinding her teeth together.

"Well, of course," she replied, trying to sound as confident as she portrayed, "heretics and pagans should all be burned, that is their rightful place, after all."

Chief Mourner gave a mirthful chuckle in the back of her head for her words, agreeing with her completely.

Meanwhile, though, Lint honestly had no idea what to do.

If this guy survived that overpowered blast of flames from her, flames that could easily annihilate an Ultimate Class Devil, and hurt even Pagan Deities without a Balance Breaker, then…

Well, the fact this guy's face tanked it without harm likely means she'd need her Balance Breaker to do anything to him.

This means she's shit out of luck because she hasn't figured out Balance Breaker yet! She's only had the Holy Cross for a few months now, it was far too soon for that!

And to top all this off?

He tilted his head at her, giving her a very pointed punchable smile as he uncaringly responded, "Is that so?"

Yeah, he wasn't buying her confident act for a second.

Fuck.

She really wished her brothers gave her more than just a dictionary full of swears and curses right about now!

~ A New Sun ~

…How the hell am I supposed to de-escalate this situation?

I don't need to be a genius at cold reading to tell that the poor girl in front of me is actively terrified. She's cornered, starved, in an unfamiliar place, and her powers aren't working, of course she is terrified, even if she tries to mask it with stoney confidence.

She's essentially, and I don't mean this literally, but she's pretty much a cornered animal right now.

I don't want her getting uppity and throwing another blast like her first one again.

It caught me completely off guard, and if I didn't raise my Holy Spirit Power to block it…well, for once, I could feel the heat from these flames.

They likely wouldn't do any actual damage to me, but the fact that I can feel them at all means they possess the potential too.

Don't need her getting so scared she unlocks her Balance Breaker on me or something.

Or hell, she might already have it, she just can't use it while her body is as drained as it likely is at the moment.

But she might try and force it regardless, especially if she suspects her friends are in danger because of me, and that they need her.

Her friends…yeah, I'll start there!

I think carefully for a moment, after all, I don't want to sound like I'm indirectly threatening her or them in any manner with my next words.

That moment passes, and I speak up once more, continuing from where I left off, "Is being burned for all pagans? Even ones that have decided to help you…and your friends?"

I watch her carefully, seeing her confident facade falter in shock as she raises an eyebrow, "...Elaborate, Pagan."

I chuckle, "Firstly…I have a name. Noriaki Kusanagi."

I'm just now realizing I never introduced myself to the Church Trio properly. How uncouth of me.

At my words, Lint narrowed her eyes in thought and nodded at me to continue.

So I did, "Secondly, I came looking for you because of them, those three girls…I had only come around when I sensed divine flames being thrown around and found them, but not you. Eventually, they told me what was going on, about you, and so here I am."

Abridged, heavily, but I figured leaving out the fight between us would be a good idea for now.

Any idea that I somehow hurt them could set her off. Best avoid that entirely.

After a similarly tense moment, Lint responded carefully, "...Did they know?"

I nodded, easily, "I have no reason to lie."

To leave stuff out though? Yup!

Though, just to be sure she knows just how differently this all could go…

My Holy Spirit Power begins to bubble up around me.

As soon as the golden sheen surrounds my form, the purple flames still clinging angrily to me are snuffed out. Immediately. As are the flames directly surrounding me.

Put out like one would a candle flame with a wet cloth.

I step forward, toward the short pale white white-haired girl, whose eyes are growing wide, and as I do, my power radiates out like the sun.

The waves crash down upon the flames, and with each blow, they grow weaker and dimmer.

I stop when I'm standing directly in front of her, the only glow left within the now torched and blackened old mansion is me, my golden form, bringing some radiance to the nearly burned-down hall.

I reach out, gently, and take her blazing forearm like one would pinch a candle wick.

A single touch, a push of aura, and even that blaze went out just like the rest. Just as easily.

I smile down at her, "That's better…I don't know if anyone owns this place, but it'd be a shame if someone came to check out their inheritance or something and found a burned wreck, wouldn't it?"

"I-I…" Lint gulped, "I suppose so…Paga-...Kusanagi." She corrected herself, looking between my face and her grasped arm rapidly.

Now, they'll come to a mostly intact, albeit old, mansion…with a burned-out dining area.

Should be simple enough to eventually fix up, right?

The chandelier behind me falls and smashes against the floor, half melted and bent out of shape, causing Lint to flinch slightly.

…Right.

I let go of her arm, the girl quickly pulling it away as soon as I did, which I chuckled at in response before turning toward the door.

"Well, you don't have to take my word for it alone, you can ask them once I bring you back to them." I start to take a step toward walking away, before stopping, and turning back to her, "Though…maybe we should get you cleaned up first?"

Lint merely blinked up at me, "...Huh?"

…She's still got the nearly finished clown makeup plastered on her face.

I can't believe I almost forgot about that.

The clueless look she has on her face, with the makeup…

Must…keep it…in.

In that vein, I take a deep breath in, grab her by the shoulders, and lead the girl to the nearest reflective surface.

In this case? The fallen chandelier.

My aura dies down, letting the natural moonlight from outside in, and the reflection on the chandelier's metallic surface to show…and also, hopefully, letting my uncle see this shit.

Lint looked at me oddly at first…until she looked down at the chandelier.

I saw the exact moment she realized what exactly I meant.

And in turn, she got to see the exact moment my sides hurt too much for me to contain it in.

"Snnnnrrrcckkk! HAHAHA!" I burst out laughing, nearly wheezing, as Lint just stared at her reflection.

The poor girl looked gobsmacked, but also dead inside, which I'm sorry to say just made it more funny.

"I…I-I was gonna say-" I started stuttering out between breaths, only for Lint to swiftly raise a hand, almost right to my face.

"Don't." She uttered, in a tone bordering Shirone, but far more wrathful.

You know what? That's fair.

So I didn't say anything more.

But I did keep laughing, I've been holding it in far too long not too.

~ A New Sun ~

Back out on the road again, this time with the mini female Sigurd clone walking a respectable distance behind me, and my sides finally safe.

It's clear she doesn't trust me, which is fair enough, so if she wants my back to be open just in case…well, I'll give her that.

Not like a light bullet or three, even coated in flames, is going to do much to me. Or stop me from regenerating from anything it could do.

On our short little walk since we left, I decided to tell her pretty much everything I told the Church Trio about the Youkai, the Nekomata, and such.

She didn't talk much, if at all, but when I told her who were their tormentors, who were likely her specific tormentors, she managed out a bitter yet embarrassed.

"I see…"

I wish I could have seen her face during it, it'd probably have been just as red as the makeup Kuroka put on her.

Ah! Speaking of, before we left, we did manage to get it off.

Or, rather, Lint managed to, as I was dying on the floor from laughter, she ran off to go find water and wash it off.

I didn't expect she would. The place looked so old I kind of figured that the plumbing and water fell apart, and even if it didn't, I doubted the water would have been…safe.

But, shockingly, one of the bathrooms did indeed work, and her eyes didn't turn pink and puff out after she was done, so either those cloned genetics are putting in work or the water wasn't that bad after all.

Either or.

Anyhow, so far, I haven't been able to fully gauge Lint as a person quite yet, and therefore, I haven't made a final decision on helping the group as of yet.

For sure though, I don't think she's an idiot. The way she's been acting so far, and the way the other girls act, makes me think Lint may be the straight man to their stupid.

Well, Irina and Xenovia's stupidity and Asia's kindness.

I suppose I'll see when the group reunites.

Thankfully, as I thought, the walk wasn't too long, and doubly so, the girls didn't stray far from where I left them.

They just got off the street, and found some shade.

Also, Irina and Xenovia were wearing their cloaks again, and the former was awake once more.

Seems Asia does really good work, as expected.

I stopped a respectable distance away, close enough I'd hear something, but far enough away to give them at least some semblance of privacy.

Then, I stepped aside, looked at Lint, and waved a hand toward the three.

The pale girl looked at the three, and smiled slightly, before giving me a curt nod and walking off to them, her walk becoming a touch more speedy as she did so.

The three girls were huddled together in the shade, with Asia seemingly saying something to the other two. I could see Irina looked rather downcast, and Xenovia's stoic glare was forced as hell, but I couldn't see or hear Asia.

I think she's trying to comfort them though, that'd fit with her.

Xenovia was the first to see Lint as she came up, perking up as the pale girl came into her line of sight, and melting away into a relieved smile.

She grabbed Irina's shoulder and shook her.

Irina turned toward her blue-haired partner, and though I couldn't hear it, I could see the way her lips moved, and her agitated look as she snapped out a, "What!?"

Xenovia simply pointed.

Irina followed it, clearly annoyed.

However, that quickly changed when she beheld who she was pointing at.

"LINT-CHAN!" Irina cried out jubilantly, all traces of negative emotion dashed.

I winced, everyone else did too.

Damn girl, calm it down, people are trying to sleep!

Regardless, Irina's call out got everyone up, and before long they quickly converged on their friend.

And by converged, I mean they practically tackled her to the ground, leaving the pale girl groaning on the floor under their bodies.

I gave another wince at that.

Ouch.

Eventually, Lint managed to escape, and all the girls were back on their feet.

Asia fawned over Lint for a second, likely checking for injuries, but I didn't see any green light, so I suppose that meant everything turned out fine.

Irina was about to start saying something, but Lint held up a hand, before waving back…to me.

"You don't gotta hang out in the back and creep around, Kusanagi. Come on up." She called out.

I snorted, but approached regardless, "Figured I'd just give you and your girlfriends some space is all."

"Eh." Lint shrugged, now far more relaxed, "I don't care, besides-"

She was cut off before she could finish, by Asia walked up to me, tears filling her eyes. She grabbed my hands, and looked up at me, eye to eye.

"T-Thank you!" She nearly sobbed out, sincerely.

I just stared back down at her, completely baffled.

Jeez, the way she's acting, almost makes it sound like she's thanking me for saving her friend's life.

Which…No? But I guess in a way it does kind of look like it.

Well, in the end, I still caused all this, and now Asia is crying. So I feel bad.

…Fuck man.

Asia, you are far too precious and wholesome for this world.

As for the other two, Xenovia gave me a nod of acknowledgment, while Irina…shuffled closer to Xenovia, almost like she was trying to hide behind her.

Her big happy smile faltered a bit as well.

I'm not shocked. The last she saw me, I was choking her into unconsciousness after all.

So completely fair.

Lint rolled her eyes at Asia, "Hey now, it's not like I was going to die or anything, you know?"

Asia sniffled, and wiped away the tears from one of her eyes, "M-Maybe…but still, you could have been hurt, or worse, out there…"

Lint's expression softened considerably at her blonde friend's words.

Adorable.

Also, now I feel even worse.

No regrets though, this has been going far too well as of late for that.

Lint merely patted the blonde's head, before turning back to the partners.

"Alright, so, Iri. You were saying?" She asks.

Irina twitched, looking at me for a second, before looking down, face going red as she clenches her cloak from the inside for a second.

"...X-Xenovia. Y-You say it!" The chestnut-haired girl demands, seething slightly.

Xenovia shrugs, and then, without a moment of hesitation or grace, slides open her cloak, and at the same time…reaches over to pull open Irina's as well!

Revealing both girls torn to hell battle suits.

"E-EH!? X-Xenovia!" Irina tries desperately to pull the cloak back together but to no avail.

Turns out, swinging big ass swords around means Xenovia has more arm strength. Who'd have thought?

Regardless, Xenovia completely ignores Irina's pleas and addresses Lint.

"Our battle suits suffered damage during our battle with…" she eyes me for a second, "Kusanagi, here."

Lint blinks. A couple of times.

Then I found something cold pressing against the bottom of my jaw.

A gun barrel. The gun barrel of a silver oversized glock.

With Lint's finger on the trigger.

She wasn't even looking in my direction, yet it was there nonetheless.

I simply stared ahead, blankly.

Fucking Xenovia.

"E-Eh!? Lint!" Asia cried out, only to be completely ignored.

"...Elaborate, Xen." Lint calmly demanded.

"Yeah, Xenovia! Elaborate…a-and let me cover myself back up!" Irina also, but much more panickedly, demanded.

She was also ignored.

Now, Xenovia looked somewhat ashamed, finally, as she looked down and spoke somewhat softer, "I…uh, started it. Drew Durandal on him when he came down demanding what was going on…he said he sensed your Holy Flames, so…well."

Xenovia reached back into her cloak and pulled out the white arrowhead I saw in the crater from before.

Huh, Durandal's core. I guess she picked up whatever she could while they waited, then?

She gave the core a little shake, as Lint's eyes widened.

"Yeah." Xenovia gave a small smile, "It was a devastating loss. On the bright side, he actively refused to partake of my body, even when I offered."

Lint froze.

Irina froze, but quickly unfroze to slowly look at her partner, "...Xenovia. What."

"Eh? This again?" Asia tilted her head in confusion.

I, meanwhile, felt a headache coming on. And I didn't think I could get those anymore.

Xenovia nodded, sagely, "Yes. This Pagan, Kusanagi, you called him? Right, well, he had every opportunity to use me for his sick twisted pleasures, but didn't. I even offered-"

"You don't need to keep saying it!" Irina interrupted her with a scream.

Xenovia frowned, "But…I did though?"

"T-That…That still…why…? Ugh! You!" Irina reached over before her brain crashed, and grabbed her by the shoulders, trying to shake her off, "Also, let go of my cloak already!"

Lint, though? She watched the two blankly.

Seeing their actions, hearing their words, she slowly took the gun from out under my chin.

And slowly brought it up the side of her hea-

Asia jumped on Lint's gun arm, pulling it down, "N-No! Lint! Don't do it! Or else you won't go to Heaven!" Asia cried in legitimate distress.

"...Any place would be better than here right now." Lint dejectedly replied.

"L-Lint, no!"

…Okay, so, serious question.

How did this group not get themselves killed already?

I'm not going to lie, I'm astonished right now.

If I don't take them in, they might get robbed blind in the countryside and stuck in Youkai den or extra dimension or some shit.

I slowly reached up and dragged a hand across my face.

Luckily, I have two places. And one currently isn't being used.

I'll stuff them in my house outside Kouh, and leave with a clone before booking it back to Kyoto.

Now. How am I-

Oh, yeah.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat, drawing all four girls attention slightly, "So. Who wants food?"

All four turn and look at me like hawks simultaneously.

…Why do I suddenly feel like I'm in danger?

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 76 End

You offered food to a pack of rapid girls, Nori.

What did you think was going to happen?

A New Sun Chapter 75

Chapter 75

~ A New Sun ~

"...I will release it!"

I let a smug smile cross my face, as the blue-haired exorcist before me drew forth one of the most powerful holy weapons in existence from a sheen of golden light.

I barely even have to play up the whole standard 'cocky arrogant pagan god' thing, she's just that quick on the draw.

Really, I am going to have to thank my cat girls for softening them up quite a bit for me.

The quick meet-up we had before this gave me a general idea of what they've been doing to the poor band of girls.

Their antics have been nothing short of diabolical, not even a joke, and I'm shocked it didn't take Lint longer to put her foot down on the whole thing.

Oh, right, Lint.

Out of this whole situation, her being here, with the Holy Cross no less, was something I didn't account for, nor see coming at all.

The cat girls came in clutch regarding her. Taking her away from the situation, and enabling me to reverse her likely intended purpose from deterrent to reason to show up and pick a fight is…just, chief's kiss, truly.

Fucking love those girls.

What I don't love…is what Lint's being here with the Holy Cross means.

Because Incinerate Anthem should be with the Wizards of Oz right now, within one of the witch's apprentices whose name I couldn't care to dig up right now.

Lint isn't supposed to have that Gear until next year, yet it looks like someone got an early Christmas present.

Internally, I click my tongue at the only conclusion this info brings me to.

The Church, and possibly Heaven, is hunting down the Holy Relics. Either are currently, or they already have them all.

This means the Graal and the Crown, two obscenely powerful weapons, are something I might have to contend with in the future.

Grand.

On the flip side though, that future isn't now.

Instead, I get to face-

"DURANDAL!"

Golden aura bubbled around my hand and rose, as the massive blue and golden kitchen knife of a holy sword was brought down straight for my center mass.

For a human, I'll admit, Xenovia was pretty fast…even while lumbering around such a cumbersome weapon.

Unfortunately for her, I'm more than just human, even in the dark.

My hand causally stops the massive cleaver in its tracks. To the causal observing eye, I'd bet it'd look comical how fast the blade suddenly stopped.

Xenovia herself nearly flung forward as the momentum of her swing didn't suddenly disappear, her feet briefly lifting off the ground before she managed to push herself back down, her face twisting into a shocked grimace.

I looked down at her, and chuckled, in a way that only an arrogant god could.

It took me but a moment to notice there was something…different, about her.

Oh, yeah.

My face turned blank, as I stared pointedly at her…attire, and spoke, "So, Church pig, what's up with the fetish wear?"

She had ditched her cloak as soon as she made her attack, which made sense, of course, a large billowing thing like that was pretty much only useful for covering the borderline fetish outfit underneath.

Xenovia's gaze sharpened with near outrage, "Of course, only a Pagan such as yourself would call the traditional battle suit of the Church as such…!"

"Yeah!" Irina finally spoke up in the back, throwing her cloak off as well to reveal herself wearing the same outfit, "It's not a fetish thing whatsoever! It's durable, very breathable, and allows for incredible ease of movement!"

I snorted, before retorting, "Right. It also looks like it came out of an amateur porn production."

The two girls gasped in something like indignation, while the third, their blonde-haired nun who thankfully was wearing her nun habit, just tilted her head, left sitting in the place Xenovia dropped her when she made her attack.

"Umu…" she began, looking cutely lost, "I…don't really get it?"

…Never stop being so pure, Asia. If there's one person in the world who deserves to be made an Angel, it's you.

"Doesn't matter…!" Xenovia barked out through gritted teeth, as she tried pulling her sword out of my grasp.

To absolutely zero effect.

That avenue blocked off, the unga bunga swordswomen could only think of one alternative.

Double, triple, and quadruple down!

Her grip on Durandal tightened, and the blue blade of the sword began to shine with Holy Power of His variety pouring from the blade like a broken dam, a golden aura pouring and bellowing off the blade in droves.

In the novels, I recall Durandal being described as something like a bull, or horse.

It loves to kick, to bite back, against anything and everything, including its wielder.

And with my own Holy Spirit Power coating my hand and brushing up against it, I can kind of feel it myself.

My aura explodes out from my palm as the sword's aura immediately tries to bite through violently, at the same time, I can see and feel Xenovia turn the pressure up, trying to make the sword go down, not only to cut me in twine but to even direct the sword's power in the first place.

Durandal's power is that its aura can be changed according to the user's preferences or needs. That, along with its extreme sharpness, is why the blade is one of the strongest in the world.

I can feel it, Xenovia's destructive impulses being pressed through the sword, she wants to blow me apart, shatter my existence, and so the aura of the sword responds in kind.

Such a power though, is a double-edged sword, by Durandal's nature.

Yes…a shard of this sword, with even just a fraction of its Holy Power, would be perfect for my plans. It could help construct a Holy Aura exactly the way I need it to make a convincing fake spear!

I don't even stagger, nor flinch, as a silver line flies in from the side, and wraps around my throat.

Holy Aura immediately radiates from it, and although it's not an insignificant amount…well, compared to Durandal, it may as well be.

I don't even need to use my aura to protect my neck, the whip-like blade just can't cut my flesh as is.

"Xenovia!" Irina calls out, holding the golden glowing silver whip-like blade out, "I'll back you up-E-EHHH!?"

Irina was quickly cut off, as I reached up with my free hand, grabbed the silver whip casually, and pulled, and like a fish caught on a hook, the chestnut-haired girl was reeled straight to me.

The sword Irina is wielding is called Excalibur Mimic, and it pretty much enables her to shift the sword's form into whatever she wants.

In this case, as I pulled her in, the whip-like sword wrapped further and further around my neck and throat, trying its damnest to cut through, or even just constrict it.

Zero plus zero doesn't stop being zero though, and as unfortunate as it is to say, Irina and her sword…are kind of just here. They don't matter, Xenovia and Durandal are simply far more powerful it's sad.

I lash out with my other hand as soon as she reaches me, grabbing the chestnut-haired girl's throat and immediately start wringing her out by her neck.

"A-ACK!" She cries out, or, well, she tires too.

The Holy Aura of her sword almost immediately falters as soon as I grab onto her throat, Mimic's blade growing increasingly slack as its owner suddenly finds herself with the increasing desire to breathe.

I'd make a joke or something about her liking it, because sheltered virgin Church girl in fetish wear and all that, but instead, her friends speak up before I can.

"I-Irina!" Asia called out from behind Xenovia, sounding increasingly panicked, "Please, Mr. Pagan, w-we didn't…we a-aren't…don't hurt her!" She settled on crying out desperately.

…Fuck. Now I feel bad.

Xenovia on the other hand, her eyes widened in indignation and horror, "Irina…Tch…Let her go…now…!" Before she grits her teeth harder and pushes forward even harder still.

This time, I actively have to brace myself, as the ground around us promptly shatters and craters inward, with us in its center.

Durandal's Holy Aura lashes out violently, focused predominately on pressing down on me, but it takes any it can get, including the surroundings now.

One, twice, a third. The ground shudders and buckles under the force of destruction Xenovia commands be brought down upon me.

Yet, even with her renewed determination, I remain standing regardless.

My aura pours from every pore in my body, cloaking me entirely, and I click my tongue with distaste at the wanton destruction around us, my arm never even buckling the slightest bit.

"...How obscene." I utter, the chestnut-haired girl in my hand finally going completely slack, Mimic falling off me and out of her hand, onto the ground with a strangled gasp.

She was not dead of course, just unconscious. She'll be fine once I toss her at Asia.

But I still have a part to play.

So I continue, "The way you small, insignificant, pigs struggle…"

Now, I start putting some strength into my grip, turning it from an iron hold to a crushing grasp.

Xenovia had just barely registered the fact that her partner fell unconscious, or in her eyes, possibly worse, judging by the way said organs widened before she faced a new problem.

My fingers all of a sudden digging into her sword.

She perked up as, amongst the roar of holy auras wildly bellowing, the sound of creaking and bending metal could be heard, followed by the increasingly growing echos of cracks and fissures forming.

"W-What…? Wait…!" Her eyes finally found the cause, and it took everything in me too not to start laughing at how panicked she quickly became as she watched Durandal begin to break apart.

From where my hand held the oversized meat cleaver, the metal bent around my digits, and from there, spider web-like cracks and fissures traveled up and down the length of the blade.

As more appeared, the worse they became, and the worse they made the pre-existing ones. None of this was helped by Xenovia still trying to force the blade down, just putting even more pressure on the sword even more.

That didn't keep up for much longer once she realized that she was only making it worse, but by that point, it didn't matter anymore.

To complete the act, I leaned forward, just a bit, and smirked right in her face.

I didn't even say anything, I didn't need to.

Xenovia tried to pull back, better senses finally coming over her as fear overwhelmed her righteous fury and indignation, and it showed on her face.

She barely managed one step before the golden aura from Durandal, along with the blade itself, ruptured within my grasp.

The crater we stood in immediately doubled, no, tripled in length as the destructive aura rippled out like a shockwave, tearing the hole in the ground asunder even further, with Xenovia flying off with it, as did Irina who I let go.

A flashbang of golden light went off and within it, I took my closed fist and dumped the shards contained within into a pocket inside my robe. My Holy Spirit Power quickly acted by my will to contain the boiling Holy Power within.

When the smoke and light cleared, I didn't stand entirely alone within the smoking crater of a holy sword detonation.

At my feet were several more shards of Durandal, along with the blade's massive hilt, which was entirely intact. The shards were mostly spread out, and of similar size, save for those closest to the hilt or tip of the blade, which were the largest and least damaged.

Within the rubble, I saw what looked like some sort of white and gold…arrowhead. That is the best I could describe it. I assume that's the sword's core, and it didn't look damaged.

Good. I figured it'd be closer to the hilt, and intentionally aimed to destroy the sword closer to the center to avoid it. Judging by where it ended up, right next to the hilt, it looks like I was right.

No then.

Where did those girls fly off to?

My halo flashes behind me, as I slowly lift off the ground and into the air, and despite my sluggish pace, I find myself out of the ground in no time at all.

It doesn't take too long to find them.

It also doesn't take too long for me to be reminded what exactly kind of world I reside in.

"...durable, huh." I deadpan down at the girls.

Specifically, the blue and chestnut-haired pair, albeit only the former is conscious at all to hear my snark.

Both girls 'battle suits' were torn to shit, and in all the wrong…or right, if you're a pervert…places.

Not even a joke, everything besides their tits, thighs, and judging by the lack of spandex around the latter, their asses as well, was covered. Only those three general areas weren't covered now.

Beyond that, the two were riddled with scrapes and bleeding cuts.

If I had to guess, fragmentation from Durandal's explosion likely nicked the two.

Yet miraculously, heh, that looks like all they got.

Xenovia glared wrathful daggers my way but bit back a retort as Asia of all people looked at her and spoke, soft green light erupting from her hands and surrounding Irina as she did so.

"She's alive…even though he didn't have to let her be…" Asia pointed out, tellingly.

Xenovia looked back at the blonde, meeting her almost chastising glare with a huff, but she seemed to get what Asia was saying and kept her mouth shut.

Now then, I got what I wanted, and there's no better time to de-escalate than now I think.

I slowly floated back down, my halo snuffing out behind me as my feet touched the ground.

Xenovia, despite being more than down for the count at this point, still moves to preemptively protect Asia and Irina, sliding across the ground to block me with her own body.

I open my mouth, but, unfortunately, I can't get any words out, as Xenovia deigns to speak first.

"I won't let you hurt them, Pagan," Xenovia spews out, "spare them your wrath and take me instead…" She pauses, as if building courage for someth- Oh fuck, please, don't!

For the love of me, please don't fucking tell me what I think she's about to say!

Stifling a sigh, she looks at me, stoic and resolute, "I may be inexperienced, and a virgin, but I'm sure I'll be enough to calm you down." She states without even a hint of disgust.

…Fuck me, she said it.

Asia blinked, "E-Eh?"

Irina's unconscious body twitched as if trying to say the same thing.

The blue-haired exorcist sat there on her knees, staring up at me expectantly.

I stared right back down at her, deadpanning.

"...No." I stated back, plainly.

Xenovia tilted her head, "...Why not?"

"Because I don't rape people?" I snapped back as if it was obvious.

Xenovia shook her head, "It's not rape if I offer up myself." She denied it cleanly.

I'm not even next to a Shinigami, yet I feel the urge to kill myself.

"E-Eeh!?" Asia shrieked out in increasing alarm as she finally started getting what was going on here.

"By a definition technicality," I stress back to Xenovia whilst refuting her, "but the act would still be rape adjacent! Besides!" I continue quickly before Xenovia can butt in with something stupid, again, "I wasn't planning on killing you lot. Just messing you up a bit."

Asia let out a sigh of relief.

Xenovia crossed her arms, and huffed, "Ah…why didn't you say so sooner?"

Because you're a fucking moron.

"Because you opened your mouth first and started spewing…that." My filter processed out my lips in response instead.

"...I figured that's what you Pagans like, considering how you talked about our outfits earlier." Xenovia, weakly, tried to defend herself.

I won't be saying this out loud, but while their suits are hot, I actually find nun clothes unironically more sexy.

I can't say exactly why, maybe it's because of the association with the nun's vows, or maybe it's because certain girls fill them out perfectly…

Or maybe, I'm just a degenerate at heart, and there's a reason the big man upstairs doesn't like me so much beyond me spamming his name like a cheat code.

I stare down at Xenovia, who refuses to meet my gaze for obvious reasons, before looking back at Asia and the still unconscious Irina.

"So then, you there, blondie." I spoke up, causing Asia to perk up and nearly start sputtering at being singled out, "I asked what you folks were doing out here, I expect an answer. Now."

"U-Um…well." Asia, also, avoided direct eye contact, "We…were just passing through, on the way to K-Kyoto, to look for something. But, well, it's been-"

"Annoying." Xenovia huffed, finishing for Asia.

The blonde nodded, and gulped, "Ever since we got here, nothing has been going our way, and our chaperone isn't around. Before you showed up, a…" her voice drifted off, likely realizing how stupid and nonsensical she was about to say sounded.

Xenovia didn't see it though.

"A cat stole our friend's gun, she ran off to chase it, and even used her Sacred Gear to try and stop it." Xenovia finished for the blonde one more, succinctly.

Asia shot the blue-haired girl a panicked look, but when she saw the expression on my face wasn't one of pure disbelief, but rather, understanding, she turned confused.

"A cat, huh…" I murmured in faux thought, "Sounds like a Youkai, then. Specifically, a Nekomata."

Xenovia blinked, "...Youkai?"

I waved the blue-haired girl off, "A group of supernatural beings around these parts, considered monsters or maybe even demons. Not all of them are actively malicious, most are usually just tricksters… especially Nekomata. You know, cats."

With my words, a look of understanding dawned over the two girls.

Meanwhile, in my head, a thought occurred.

Plans were being updated on the spot.

I rubbed my chin, and this time, I didn't have to fake being lost in thought.

Maybe…I should take these girls back with me?

It'd definitely win brownie points with Dulio whenever he shows up, and it'd also make keeping an eye on all these Church people easier if they were right in my backyard.

What was that saying again? Keep your friends closer, and your enemies closer still?

I sort of originally planned to vanish after making sure they were okay, be all mysterious and all that while hiding the fake spear and setting them up to find it, but this could work better.

Of course, there's always a risk they'd catch me…but, well.

I looked over the three and nearly snorted.

Fat chance of that happening.

Lint might. Maybe. I'd have to meet her first to see.

Hmm, yeah, actually, I'll decide after meeting her first. If she's too smart, I'll take my mysterious leave, otherwise, I'll host them for a little while at my place.

Asia suddenly spoke up again, a slight frown slowly marring her cute face, "...speaking of, Lint hasn't returned, even after all the power being thrown around over here."

Xenovia frowned much harder and tried to stand up, before wincing and falling back to the ground, "Tch…Damn it…"

She then shot me a glare, which easily transmitted 'This is your fault!' clear as day.

Heh. I had to stop myself from chuckling.

I waved her off, stepping around the Church girls with a sigh, "I doubt your friend is in any true danger…but I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a look anyway. Usually, it's the job of the Kami to make sure the Youkai aren't getting too…uppity, anyway."

Xenovia turned up her nose, clearly thinking something that I would spank her bare ass for saying out loud.

Luckily for her ass though, she didn't.

A rare moment of self-restraint.

Ganbatte, Xenovia-chan!

"I trust blondie can take care of the healing…so I'll be right back with your friend." I wave back at them as I leisurely walk off.

Asia turns and calls out, "A-Ah? T-Thank you!"

Xenovia, once again, huffs, and crosses her arms, pouting.

~ A New Sun ~

It didn't take long at all to find the abandoned mansion the two told me they were going to lead Holy Cross user too.

When I walked in, I didn't at all expect what I found inside, though.

Through the front door, then forward through another set of doors into what looked like a big dining area, I saw Kuroka cackling in front of a strapped up, pinned to the far wall unconscious Lint, as she brushed…makeup? On her face. Or is that paint?

I don't know, both look the same to me if I'm telling the truth.

A second more inspection though, damn near made me keel over laughing.

As it was though, I barely managed to hold it in my gut.

They did Lint's white hair up and dyed it all sorts of colors, like a rainbow. Her nose and lips were now painted red, and Kuroka was busy currently making the rest of her face even paler looking than it was before.

They're turning her into a clown.

Fucking hell…!

Shirone watched this from the side, arms crossed, an eyebrow slightly raised. She didn't seem that into it but was still smiling slightly all the same.

It was Shirone's lack of paying complete attention to her sister that enabled her to hear me when I came in, as the sound of my attempts to hold my laughter in made her perk up, and swivel on her feet my way.

She came right up to me, "You better not have messed anything up, pervert-senpa-MMM!?"

I immediately snatched her up as soon as she was within arms reach of me and pulled her in for a big hug, and searing kiss.

"Mmaahh~...Senpai~...You~..." Shirone pretty much moaned into my mouth, as I also didn't waste a second coping a feel of her nice and big luscious ass.

Shirone's very lewd noises finally managed to grab Kuroka's attention, who turned our way very fast after they started.

"Hmm? Eh?! Darling~! No fair, nyah~!" She immediately started bounding over.

And in much the same way?

"I want some to-NYAH!?"

I snatched her up too, removing one of my arms from Shirone to do it, pressing her against me all the same, while finally releasing Shirone's lips.

Only to swiftly give Kuroka's lips, and body, the exact same treatment. Claiming her lips with a passionate kiss and burying my fingers in my black-haired shortstack's bodacious backside.

"Mmm~! Darling~..."

They even have the same reaction too!

After a moment of this, I released her lips as well and grinned down at them both.

"You two are doing absolutely amazing~..." I breathed out easily because they had, everything was going so smoothly, "I've got what I need, and now?"

I look past them, at Lint, and smile.

"It's onto, possibly, the final act."

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 75 End

I'm back!

Hope ya'll had a nice Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it, or similar), mine was pretty okay!

Nah, the last sentence isn't a hint to the fic nearly ending, don't overthink it now. Gotta gaslight the Church girls waaayyy more before then.

Seriously, I might be having far to much fun with this, lol.

A New Sun Chapter 74

Chapter 74

~ A New Sun ~

"P-Please give blessings to the lost lamb-"

"Please give charity to us on behalf of the father in heaven!"

Lint watched on as Irina and Xenovia respectively stood in the center of the walkway on what looks like one of Kuoh's highest traffic areas.

All around them, the Japanese people walked past, giving the two white-cloaked girls looks ranging from the odd raising of the eyebrow to full-on apathetic, if not outright annoyed, glares.

No one said anything to them though, or even spared the two a second glance.

At Lint's side, Asia, their blonde little nun, clasped her hands together and held them close to her chest, looking at the two doing their best to garner charity from the people with hope in her eyes.

They've been at this for at least a couple of hours by now, but still, nothing.

Still, good on the blonde for never losing hope, she supposed internally.

Lint leaned back with a sigh, her back pressing against the cold hard stone of some building that looks like a shop, but can't tell for sure since she can't read the damn writing there.

…Well, at least it's been far more fun than the Institute, that's for sure.

It was funny at first, and that in its way made the group's shenanigans kind of endearing, but at this point, she's starting to get rather annoyed.

Lint practically tackled Xenovia earlier to stop her from really summoning her sword in the middle of a fairly crowded airport, and after holding her down for several minutes to get her to calm down, she had suggested they take the march over to the Church Headquarters located in the next town over to explain the…situation.

It'd be much quicker in the long run, rather than try and run from here to Kyoto…since without money, they can't pay for a train ticket, much less food.

Oh yeah. Xenovia had said it was over half the budget.

When they checked, it was instead most of the budget.

Turns out, they got less money than the blue and chestnut-haired partners usually do for this mission in particular.

Or rather, had. For some reason, a bunch of it was already spent.

Lint hasn't gone on many missions before so she couldn't say, but Irina then helpfully suggested that it was likely due to their chaperone.

Apparently, that guy has a habit of running around with the budget, buying up sweets and dishes from whatever country he's sent to.

This means Dulio ate up a chunk of their budget pretty much before they even got here, and Irina proceeded to throw away the rest.

Joy.

Well, for Irina, since she couldn't be blamed for his spending habits, and thus was spared possibly being crucified.

So, rather than summon her sword and try to bisect her in two, Xenovia instead headbutted her.

It was quick, so unexpected, that Lint couldn't stop her in time…which is why if one looked very closely at the chestnut-haired girl, they saw the slightest streak of red peeking out from the top of her head.

Where already, unlike her partner, her cloak was pulled further down over her forehead, as if to cover something.

That, and if you pay close attention to her speech, it's slightly labored.

Asia had, of course, offered to heal it almost immediately, but Xenovia denied her the chance, and Irina graciously didn't object.

Lint nearly scowled as that part of this early morning played in her head but didn't so she wouldn't worry the blonde next to her.

In any event, after all that, and her suggestion, she was promptly shot down.

Apparently, the two girls didn't want to embarrass themselves by admitting to their seniors the situation.

Lint couldn't care less of course. She's hungry, they all are, and it's slowly starting to get to them.

Sure, they could try and bolt it straight to Kyoto, but Asia wouldn't be able to physically keep up with them, and the lack of food would weaken them to the point that travel would become dangerous.

This time, Lint scowls, the video of the Red Dragon Emperor's attack on this town replaying through her head.

If something like that can happen here, who knows what else is out there?

And then, to top it all off, they have no idea when, or even if, Dulio is going to come and check on them. The original plan was for them to meet him in Kyoto and start searching, but they haven't heard anything from him since they got to the country.

This has culminated in their current situation, a suggestion that Irina came up with and that Xenovia somehow agreed with.

Begging the Japanese people for money.

And it's going just splendidly.

All of a sudden Xenovia stopped, and clicked her tongue, "How can this be?" She started, switching from English back to their usual Italian, "Is this really the reality in a developed country like Japan…?" She huffed, "This is why I don't like countries that don't have the smell of our beliefs."

"Xenovia…" Asia piped up for once, chidingly, "That's not nice! I-I'm sure they have their reasons!"

Xenovia quickly looked away from the blonde, unable to meet her faith-filled gaze.

Lint almost snorted. Asia truly is a bastion of purity and heart, huh?

Irina though, nodded along with Asia's words, stopping herself and switching languages just the same, "Hmm hmm! That's right Asia-chan! Just because they're heretics doesn't make them bad people! They're just lost is all"

Xenovia snorted, "You would say that considering you came from said heretics, wouldn't you?"

Lint, if she had a drink, would have spat it out right there.

Instead, she simply wheezed, as Irina turned and gawked with outrage at her partner.

"You old-timey brute! You didn't just insinuate that I'm a heretic!" Irina immediately fired back.

"Old timey!?" Xenovia whirled around, walking right up to Irina with a strained glare, "What's that supposed to mean!?"

…Lint wanted to point out how she just completely glossed over the brute part there, but alright.

"What else am I supposed to call a Catholic who still follows the old ways!" Irina returned fire, unwilling to back down.

They were practically head to head at this point, foreheads about ready to slam against each other.

"Oh yeah? What else am I supposed to call a Protestant who doesn't even know what the Lord and Savior looks like besides a filthy heretic!?"

"Filthy!?"

O-kay! Maybe it is about time she stepped in here-

Except, before she could, the blonde at her side stepped forward, nearly right in between the two.

"Irina! Xenovia!"

"What!?" The two girls both whirled on the blonde at the same time as they shouted in unison at her.

Asia flinched, and at that moment, the brief mask of bravery she donned to approach them appeared to crack.

At that though, the two girls seemed to realize who they just snapped on, and their faces softened considerably.

"Sorry, Asia…" Xenovia apologized, looking away.

Irina bowed her head in shame, "Y-Yeah…sorry."

Emboldened by this enough, Asia barely managed to get out, "You two…we're making a scene in front of all these p-people…please don't fight, we've got other things to worry about right now…"

That managed to make the two look even more downcast.

Lint approached now, patting the blonde's head as she stepped up.

"Asia's right, you know. This, nor your guy's spats, are helping here. It's just making people avoid us more." Lint waved a hand to their surroundings.

Which were devoid of people waking past entirely at this point. Looks like they explicitly started avoiding and going around the group entirely.

Irina's expression somehow fell further, while Xenovia steeled her gaze and watched as everyone took the long way around them.

"...Would God forgive us if we threaten the heretics for money?" She abruptly asked, completely serious.

…During her time in the Institute, she had a brother.

He was very foul-mouthed. No one knows where he learned half the shit he spout.

Lint can say for sure she never expected she'd pull from that vocabulary…until now.

On reflex she didn't know she had, Lint looked right at Xenovia and plainly asked, "...Are you retarded?"

Asia didn't even get a chance to shut down Xenovia, she just turned and gawked at her instead, "L-Lint! Language!"

Xenovia just stared back at her, completely gobsmacked.

Irina wheezed, loudly, tears prickling the corners of her eyes as she forced herself to stop from breaking out in uproarous laughter.

"O-Okay! I…I wouldn't put it like that, Lint-chan, but, no…no attacking the shrines and stealing their offerings, okay? That is a stupid thing to do." Irina wiped away her tears, and put a hand on her chest, her breathing steadying, "Okay. I've got a better idea! Let's use our swords and put on a show!" She exclaimed, enthused, "That's the type of entertainment that works in every country!"

Xenovia's face immediately brightened, her insult immediately forgotten as her tone spiked with enthusiasm as well, "That's an excellent idea! If we cut fruits with our Excaliburs, we can get…what's it called again here, yen?"

Irina nodded along, her excitement building.

Lint watched on with the blankest possible expression.

She amends her previous question into a statement.

They are, in fact, both retarded.

Silently, Lint gives a prayer of thanks to her long-departed elder brother for warning her about such people.

Unfortunately, it's far too late now, she's stuck with them.

Thankfully though, there's no way Asia thinks this is also a good id-

She turns, looking at the blonde.

Her face drops even harder as she sees her eyes practically sparkling along with the other two.

…Ah well, it was a nice short life while it lasted!

"Oh." Xenovia suddenly blinked, the wind in her sails slightly abated, "Wait, we don't have any fruits."

No duh!

"Well, I suppose it can't be helped." Her gaze swivels towards and locks onto the portrait, which was leaning against the building much like Lint was earlier, still covered by a cloth, "Let's cut up that false idol."

"E-Eh!?" Irina exclaimed in shock, "Wait! No! You can't destroy it!"

"Why not?!" Xenovia immediately questioned, hackles raising.

"It'd be a waste of money!'

"It already was a waste of money!"

Lint stepped forward this time, as Asia was starting to look increasingly distraught, "O-kay!" She sounded out, sternly, "That's enough you two. We're not swinging around our swords in public. That's…"

She looks back at Asia, to see her glaring at her very cutely.

With a sigh, she turned back to them.

"Stupid. Very stupid. We all know Devils live in this town, along with some Pagan God. You all remember the video of the Red Dragon attack here, don't you?"

"...Ah." Irina made a noise, and just sort of started staring off into the distance.

Lint stared back at her.

She forgot, didn't she?

Xenovia rubbed the back of her head, "It…probably wouldn't be a good idea to agitate the local devils and pagans…"

Finally! A sensible statement!

Lint nodded, before focusing her gaze on Irina, "Iri."

"Eh?" Irina perked up, "Y-Yeah, Lint-chan?"

Lint crossed her arms, "You mentioned something about having a childhood friend here on the plane, right? Why don't we go ask them for help."

For a moment, Irina just stared back at her, before realization dawned in her eyes.

"O-Oh! Yeah, yeah! Alright! They should still live in this town…I think…but it wouldn't hurt to at least go see!" Irina pumped her fist into the air.

"...I'm still skeptical you even lived here before." Xenovia voiced her discontent, "But, alright. Let's go see what this childhood friend stuff is all about."

Irina nodded, arrogant smile clear, "Hmm hmm! Just you wait! I'll prove that I really did live here!"

At this point, Lint doesn't even have the heart to tell them that's not what they're going there for, but maybe they'll figure it out on the way there…?

Ah, who's she kidding?

~ A New Sun ~

…Of course they won't.

Firstly, it somehow took them hours to reach their supposed destination.

It was absolute insanity. They walked through residential blocks for hours. Some Lint was fairly sure, they went through several times in a row.

By the time they made it to their destination, or at least where Irina claimed their destination was, guess what they found?

"E-Eh…?"

They, although it was Irina first, had stopped in front of a small two-story Japanese home. A little cramped, at least in Lint's personal opinion, but otherwise it doesn't look too bad.

There was a sign out front of it though, that none of them besides Irina could read.

The chestnut-haired girl herself approached the sign gingerly, her hand brushing against the foreign symbols with a slight tremble.

"For Sale…and Sold." She muttered, nearly dispassionately, "That's…" she let out a sigh, before turning to the rest of them with a weak chuckle, "Well, uh, eheh, it seems they don't exactly…live here anymore?"

All three girls stared at the chestnut-haired girl back.

Then, as one, all their stomachs growled. Loudly.

Asia nearly keeled over whilst holding her gut. Xenovia simply grimaces, and Irina's chuckles grew even weaker and more nervous.

Lint, meanwhile, was internally fuming.

"Well…I suppose it's time to add 'Self Proclaimed Japanese Girl' to the list." Xenovia responded after a beat of cold dead silence.

Irina almost immediately gawked at her partner, "T-That's…! Xenova! I was born in this country! I swear!"

Xenovia snorted, crossing her arms with a knowing smirk, "Seems to have taken you a while just to find this one house. And I'm not seeing anyone here to back you up…"

"T-T-That!" Irina sputtered out, "That's just not fair! I haven't been here since I was 6! Of course it took me a little while to get my bearings! That's just natural!"

Xenovia rolled her eyes, "And I haven't set foot in an Orthodox Church before, but I could certainly find the altar in under 5 minutes."

"That is not a similar comparison!" Irina shrieked back in response.

"Hmm? Are you su-"

"Enough."

The two arguing Church girls instantly stilled, and shut their mouths.

The third, the blonde nun, looked up from her pains, at the fourth who spoke.
'

Lint spoke, and with each word, the cold in the increasingly late evening grew warmer and warmer. Around her, a thin purple heat haze was building. Her ruby red eyes, though she couldn't see them right now, she knew they were glowing with Holy Flames.

"Alright. Yeah, no more of this." She spoke now with less force, but her tone was still clipped, "I'm pulling rank. It was fun at first, but If you two don't shut up this instant, I'll stuff you both in the nearest Churches basement and let you rot there while me and Asia do our jobs."

Irina almost opened her mouth.

Lint looked at her.

"No. Don't speak. From here on out, I'm in charge. We're starving. We didn't eat on the plane. We missed breakfast and lunch, and our circadian rhythm is likely also all out of whack." Each of her words now was like nails being hammered in, nailing her mouth shut, "We have no money, and may as well all be in a foreign country that we have no way to properly navigate, and we can't contact our superior because he, like you two, require handholding."

Their faces both scrunched up at that, yet they didn't test her.

Good, they can learn.

"So." She began, her leaking aura settling, "Here's what we're going to do. We will head to the next town over where the Headquarters here in Japan is. You two are gonna carry Asia here." They nearly opened their mouths again, but she powered through, "When we get there, we're going to explain the whole situation. Get some damn food, some proper rest, and only then are we going to head out and do the mission we were assigned to do."

Her scathing gaze swept over the most dysfunctional partner pair the Church has likely ever produced, "Do you understand?"

Something about the way she said that seemed to make Xenovia freeze up in a small amount of dread, as she quickly bowed her head, "Y-Yes, Mo-...I mean! Lint…"

"U-Umu…Uh…Lint-ch, I mean! Lint-san…" She gulped.

Lint's gaze narrowed. "What?"

Irina points, down by her feet, "There's a…cat right there."

Xenovia raised her head quickly at her words, absolutely appalled by her partner's random statement.

Asia, who was watching all this looking damn near ready to cry, shifted to immense confusion and whiplash.

Lint though? She blinked, and completely blindsided as she was, immediately looked down to her side and checked.

Turns out? There…was?

It was a rather plump black cat, just sitting there, staring up at her.

It didn't have a collar or anything, so she assumed it was just a stray.

Still, it is kind of weird how it's just sitting there…and that she didn't even sense it.

Even if it is just a small mundane animal, she should have felt or heard something, right?

Then, all of a sudden, the cat jumps.

Not for her though exactly, but rather, something on her.

Her jacket blew out behind her as the cat passed by and landed on the other side of her.

In its mouth?

Her Light Gun.

Her special Light Gun, which was modified specifically to work with her Gear.

However, she could admit…the way the small cat had the not so small glock-like pistol in its mouth was both the most adorable, yet at the same time the stupidest thing she'd ever seen.

"Ah…uh, here kitty kitty…" Lint started walking over to it slowly, holding her hands up before her chest, palms facing out, to not startle it, "...you can't have that, ya know? It kind of a dangerous weapon, so why don't you just…hand that back to me, an-"

The cat promptly turned and bolted.

"Uh!? Hey! HEY!" With a rapidly fuming Lint quickly gave chase.

"Eh!? Lint!" Asia called out behind her, before yelping, as further calls of shock and surprise mixed with the rapid sounds of footsteps began following behind her.

Two pairs, specifically. One of them is carrying Asia.

Good. She's stronger than them both by a wide margin, but they should be able to keep up.

It shouldn't take long to chase down a cat of all things, right?

Wrong. For some reason, the cat is faster than her.

Easily keeping pace ahead of her, no matter how hard she pushes her tired body.

For a split second, she considers outright torching the feline, but then turns against the idea seeing as how they are still in the residential area… and she doesn't want to kill such a cute, if annoying, cat.

On the other hand, maybe she can scare it into dropping her gun.

If they do leave the residential district, then maybe…

Very quickly, she's given a chance, as the cat chase leads them out of the housing area.

"Holy Cross…" Lint utters under her breath, her footsteps burning the concrete beneath her feet, as she summons just a portion of the might of her Gear.

The Sacred Gear that holds the Holy Cross, the Longinus Incinerate Anthem.

Purple flames, Holy Fire, burst from the ground beneath her feet, and roared across the ground, arcing as they traveled, and erecting a burning purple wall before and around the cat.

Who, with no fear whatsoever, jumps over the flames with ease.

[...demon…]

Lint clicks her tongue, as the spirit within Incinerate Anthem, the Chief Mourner, mutters solemnly in the back of her head.

Calling anything not mundane a demon is a bit much though, isn't it? Especially because if it was a demon, just being near the flames would have sapped the demon's power, and could have been harmful by itself.

Still, she can admit…this cat is very weird. Definitely not normal.

So she keeps following, and vaguely, she can tell the others are getting further and further away from her, their voices becoming distant and duller.

The cat starts tucking through tight spaces and taking sharp turns, making the usage of her gear actively more difficult if she doesn't want to just burn a whole part of the town down.

Which she doesn't, but it's increasingly becoming an increasingly tempting idea as time goes on.

Then, the cat runs into a building, an abandoned and very hunted-looking…mansion. Only then does she realize how far out they've gone.

They ran all the way out to the outskirts of the town practically.

Lint burst in, and came sliding to a screeching halt as dust and darkness greeted her within, the cat simply gone.

Though her gun? Just laying there on the floor.

"What the hell…" She muttered, a chill sweeping up her back as she looked around, finding…nothing. Nothing at all.

She walked forward and scooped up her Light Gun with a single hand.

Yet nothing happened, even as she continued looking around.

The windows let in the light of twilight easily, illuminating the dust in the air that was hidden by the darkness.

Lint breathed and found it just as easy to do as walking in.

…Why is she thinking that?

There's nothing here, anyway, right?

Nothing in the air, nothing in this place, nothing on the floor…

Well, besides her of course, as she fell face forward, right onto the ground.

Like this, the strangely purple dust in the air looks rather…nice.

And the two pairs of golden eyes that stare at her from the darkness are just tricks in her head.

Right?

Right.

Lint closed her eyes, glad to finally be able to rest away from…everything today.

~ A New Sun ~

"...I think we lost her." Xenovia oh so helpfully stated, as they stood in the middle of the charred road where they last saw their fourth.

Irina gave her the side eye, and was about to say something rather scathing - and right might she add! - but was stopped by a…feeling.

She'd know this feeling, and she knows the other girls know it well too.

This presence is similar to Him, their God, but of course, nothing can truly compare, just feel similar.

The presence of other gods, Pagan Gods, tended to feel that way…or so she's heard! Irina has never actually encountered another deity before.

"Well now…what do we have here?"

But, well, there's a first time for everything!

A male's voice, smooth, with a good deepness, but uncaring tone, broke through their senses.

Xenovia was the first to well and truly react, whirling toward and facing the source, Asia, who was slung under her partner's arm, flailed around at the sudden movement.

"W-Wahh!?"

…She also made that noise.

Irina was quick to follow, her hands reaching for the silver ribbon wrapped around her left forearm.

Excalibur Mimic in its disguised state.

Standing before them now, was a young man, he looked shocking around their age, if only a year or two older, with obsidian black hair, golden eyes that glowed like two small suns in the encroaching night, and a scar on his cheek.

He was wearing a lackadaisical smile, along with a…simple black bathrobe.

She knows she's been away from Japan for a while, and that she's not really all that aware of her native homeland's folklore…

But is there a God of Bathrobes? Is that a thing?

Well, the more you know, she supposes!

"That is none of your concern." Xenovia responded with a stern voice, showing no emotion as usual.

…And a lack of awareness as usual.

Before Irina could even say anything else, the Pagan God smiled.

A smile that made all the girls shiver with a small amount of impending…something.

"...On the contrary, when someone comes in and starts throwing around divine flames…"

Flames began to flicker around his form, a rich and deep crimson-colored fire, growing off an increasingly growing golden aura.

He shrugged, "It might be just a little bit of concern to me, you know?"

Oh.

Oh he's not some God of Bathrobes, is he?

He's some kind of Fire God.

And, in fact, he looks kind of familiar, doesn't he?

Irina feels like she's seen him before, those flames…but that can't be right, could it?

While Irina was trying to parse this nagging feeling in her mind, Xenovia turned defensively, holding Asia so Xenovia's body was in front of the blondes.

"...The matters of the Church, aren't for some Pagan God to intervene on." She held her free arm and hand out to the side, "If you understand that, leave us to our good work. Now." Xenovia bit out through gritted teeth, as the cold evening air slowly began to turn hot.

His smile only widened, making his face look very punchable.

"Make me then, dumb Church pig."

That was pretty much all Xenovia needed to hear.

"Saint Peter. Saint Basil the Great. Saint Denis. Holy-mother Mary. Please hear my voice! In the names of the saints who reside within this blade…"

Oh, Lord…what did she do to deserve Xenovia as a partner!?

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 74 End

Swift apologies for the incessantly late update today everyone. My old laptop finally went out, and I only just got my new laptop today.

Also, heads up! No chapter next week, due to Thanksgiving I'll be busy doing stuff with family this year around.

Though I might have time for a Thanksgiving "special" of some sort, it probably won't be very long, likely something like omake length, just to celebrate.

We shall see!

A New Sun Chapter 73

Chapter 73

~ A New Sun ~

Shirone stared at her phone, her face twisted in poorly hidden repugnance.

"Whatever I did to deserve this? I'm not sorry. Die senpai." She uttered down into the device, her free hand clenching into a shaking fist.

She received merely a light-hearted chuckle, which while usually would make her feel light-headed, she could tell he wasn't taking her seriously.

Unfortunately for him, she means every word, and she'll make sure he understands that one day!

Fortunately for him, at the same time, that day is not today, as a strange-looking purple magical circle whirls into existence right next to her!

Shirone lets out a small hiss, as her head snaps in its direction.

"Ah, well," her stupid idiot senpai who is now not allowed to give her scratches for at least a week starts, "that sounds like my cue to leave you girls to it. Kuroka can probably explain the rest."

Shirone nearly snorts.

Probably, right.

"Go die." She huffs back.

He snorts, and fires back, "Love you too."

The call hangs up, just before she can fire back something witty to destroy his ego.

At the same time, the magic circle practically blooms, and in comes-

"Shirrrronnneee-nychan~!"

…Kuroka, her big sister, who practically leaps out from the teleportation light and falls right on top of her.

She hisses as soon as she sees her, only for her hiss to be muffled and thereafter quenched like a fire as she collides with her.

Of course, her fat fucking cow tits land right on her face, and of course, they wrangle the breath right out of her.

Stupid idiot big sister. Maybe she should use her Senjutsu and exchange some tit fat for some height!

"Ohhh! You look so cute!" Kuroka pulls her free, and nearly holds her up like she's some child, "Let me guess~! You…just woke up!"

Shirone stared at her, face blank.

"Jee, what gave that away," she huffed out, irritated, "was it maybe the pajamas, my hair, or the lack of the sun being up yet?"

She'd have loved to stress that last bit further, but unfortunately, she's a tad too tired to entirely care at the moment.

Luckily for her big sister anyway, she'd have strangled the bimbo otherwise.

Despite her curt and clipped words and tone though, her big sister decided, for once, not to act all hurt and start whining, instead, she pulled her in and gave her a big hug.

…Big only because of her tits, otherwise, her sister is stupid small everywhere else.

Heh.

"I knew it only because my Shirone could pull off being so cute in the morning!" Kuroka shook her back and forth as she embraced her, "Ohhhh! It's been so long! I missed you!"

Shirone rolled her eyes, " Didn't you literally just see me a few days ag-"

"It's been too long!" Her sister interrupted her, much to Shirone's annoyance.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance, and managed to lift her free hand just enough…

"E-EH!?" Kuroka yelped in shock and pain, as she pinched her, right on the thigh, causing her to scramble back on reflex while dropping her.

Shirone flopped back onto the bed, free and content, and for a second? All was well.

"Shirrroooonnnee!" Kuroka whined.

Then it was not.

With an exacerbated huff, Shirone threw her phone to the side simply to get rid of it…not like it'll break so easily, being devil and magically made and all.

Before looking at her sister, now kneeling over in front of her, fake tears in her eyes.

"So." Shirone began, sounding completely uncaring, "What did dickbag senpai want that was so important to send you over here."

Kuroka gawked at her, "Shirone! Language!"

She snorted, "Suck it. I'm mad. You both interrupted my beauty sleep."

Kuroka crawled over to her side, a smile growing on her face, "Oh come on~! I'm sure darling will be able to make it up to you just fine!"

Shirone stared back at her, blinking.

Then a blush slowly spread across her face, and she quickly found herself looking away.

Her sister quickly started cackling, as if she'd won or something.

Shirone frowned and turned back to look at her, despite her face actively burning, "No amount of dick will give back the sleep I could have had…so, no. He can't. Go die."

A little samey on the clapback, sure, but Shirone has never been good at dealing with…s-sex stuff.

Despite her clap back though, Kuroka's grins never wavered, "What if he gave you cookies too?"

Shirone perked up at that.

"...Depends on the kind of cookie." She grumbled out in response, much to Kuroka's further cackling.

Her sister wiped away fake tears as her cackling came to a swift end, however, and her face suddenly gained an almost…serious expression.

Such a thing was so rare, and looked almost uncanny on her, that Shirone couldn't help but pause entirely.

Well, better serious than fake bloodlust.

Shirone almost started scowling.

Now she just wanted to hit her more.

But before she could come to a decision, Kuroka spoke, and in much the same way even her tone had a serious bent to it, "Cookie can be arranged later, Shirone. For now, I have something to do."

She took a breath, before looking straight down into her eyes, "Likely sometime soon, a bunch of exorcists wielding powerful holy swords are going to pass through this town, and I need to tell darling when so he can fight them, break one of their swords, and steal a part to make a fake spear!"

Shirone deadpan stared at her.

"...Big sis." She said, plainly.

"...Yes, Shirone-nychan?" Her big dumb idiot bimbo of a sister had the nerve to reply to her.

She scowled, "Firstly, don't call me that. Secondly, get off my bed!" She then proceeds to practically kick the black neko straight off the bed, her sister giving a mewling cry as she falls.

Shirone quickly follows her, jumping off the bed, and landing right next to her.

Inwardly, she's also thankful she chose to get her own little place in the human world all for herself. If she didn't, she's sure Kuroka's tits hitting the floor would have woken everyone in the building up thinking an earthquake was starting.

Or, even worse than waking up a bunch of humans, if she'd have stayed with her President, and woken her up…

Well, let's just say she still hasn't told Rias anything about her sister, and isn't entirely too sure how yet, and leave it at that.

Forever, hopefully.

"Thirdly," Shirone began, brushing herself off, before grabbing Kuroka and hoisting the over twenty-year-old midget to her feet, "start from the beginning, and don't try to summarize everything because you're lazy!"

"Nyah~!" Her sister writhed and whined in her grasp, "My little Shirone is so mean~...!"

Shirone, meanwhile, merely sighed in pain.

Those future cookies better be the best!

~ A New Sun ~

It doesn't take too long, the sun still hasn't fully risen, yet her sister managed to explain everything… succinctly enough, she feels.

…That is after she kicked her out of her bedroom entirely to get dressed in something more comfortable for walking around in.

Shirone nodded to herself whilst looking in the mirror.

Short and cute white dress with a blue skirt and a black long-sleeved jacket for the cold.

She's fucking adorable, of course she is.

She didn't need Kuroka to scream and fawn over her the moment she opened the door and saw it though, so the punch straight to her jaw was completely warranted, no matter how much she whined afterward.

She's a big girl, she can take an island falling on her, she can take a good smack to the jaw just as well.

Getting past all that though, and after hearing everything, or mostly everything, Shirone was now lying on the bean bag chair in her small and simple living room, her arms crossed.

Kuroka was on the floor in front of her, where she belonged, no matter how much she whined.

"Durandal, huh? And possibly Excalibur Fragments too? But mainly what he wants is a piece of Durandal…" She snorts, "Of course the thing with the spear would come back to bite him in the ass, who could have guessed?"

Kuroka gave a lame shrug to that, "Nyaheh…Regardless! They are coming, so I'm here to play my part…and a little extra."

Shirone raised an eyebrow.

Uh oh. Her big sister is thinking for herself again.

That's certainly not going to cause problems whatsoever.

"Darling wants to bait these exorcists into a fight, so I thought I'd soften them up for him a little bit," Kuroka's face coiled into a smirk, "by making them extra irritable and annoyed beforehand, ya nyah?"

"...And how do you plan on doing that?" Shirone slightly dreaded to ask, but did so regardless.

Kuroka's smirk twisted mischievously like she was holding back an evil cackle, "Darling is pretty sure they're young and sheltered, which means they aren't exactly used to dealing with the world…so! I was thinking, I pull out some of the old tricks I used to use back when I was on the run, just altered, for catering to churchgoers…"

Shirone stared at her, and before she knew it, she couldn't help but smile slightly along with her, finishing and summarizing her plans bluntly, "You're going to swindle them out of all their money so they're left starved, irritable, and tired by the time he shows up…"

Kuroka jumps up, excitedly, and calls out, "Exactly! Nyahahahah~!"

Shirone follows, albeit much more modestly, "Count me in then."

"Nyah~?" Kuroka, somehow, trips herself up midair and falls smack down onto her side, crying out in faux pain and indignation.

She quickly scrambles back onto her feet, "You can't, nyah!" She denied, panickedly.

Shirone glared at her, the silent, 'Why not you dumb bimbo' translating easily through her eyes alone.

Well, the first three words anyway, the last two would probably bounce right off her fat cow tits.

Regardless, Kuroka quickly scooped her back up into her arms, and held her, "I came here first specifically to warn you and make sure you're okay, not so you'd rush headfirst into danger!"

Shirone huffed with distaste before grounding out, "You care too much. I can take care of myself perfectly fine."

Kuroka held her out, suddenly, at arm's length, and for once glared at her back, "I don't care how hard you can punch Shirone, you're still my baby sister! And the Holy Sword Durandal is said to be able to cut anything. It doesn't matter how good you can punch then! You're still a Reincarnated Devil, and beneath that, still a Youkai! You'd die!"

As each word poured out from her, Shirone's eyes widened and widened.

…Truth be told, she never really considered her sister cared…this much.

Sure, she knew she cared, after the picnic months ago, and the two started talking again.

She still thinks her sister is one of the stupidest fucking cats on the planet, but she knows it came from her caring.

She never exactly considered the fact that it may have come from her caring too much.

But it makes sense.

Shirone steeled her expression, and replied plainly, "I'm going."

Kuroka looked borderline outraged, but she kept going regardless.

"You don't get to announce that you're putting yourself in danger right in front of me, then expect me to sit down and just do nothing." Shirone continued her rebuke, "That's not how any of this works! Besides, I have to come regardless, for…other reasons."

Kuroka raised an eyebrow, her expression still stern and bordering on wrothful, yet now with a curious bent.

Shirone looked away, still glaring, and entirely unwilling to fulfill said curiosity.

She doesn't like to go on and on about politics, after all. Most of the bullshit flies over her head, to begin with anyway, but it can boil down to simply her having to be there, or else Rias would get mad once she finds out after the fact.

Well, she'll probably get made regardless, but she's adorable, and Rias lets her get away with pretty much anything because of that.

Additionally…Yuuto senpai.

She wouldn't tell the rest of Peerage what's going on right now purely because of him.

He took his loss to that Blade Blacksmith user rather…bad, to put it lightly.

Then, with the inordinate amount of priests passing through the area after the situation with the Hero Faction, Rias has been forced to essentially keep him on a tight leash, or else he might go mental.

Shirone couldn't help but internally sigh at that.

They essentially traded a much better Akeno Senpai for this…

She honestly couldn't say which one was worse.

In the end, it's only lucky that those priests were effectively mobs. Useless grunts without an ounce of power, and not a single holy sword amongst them.

If just one of them had even one…

Shirone shook her head and looked back at Kuroka.

"So yeah, I'm going. Either with, or without you." She stated resolutely as she crossed her arms.

One of Kuroka's eyes twitched.

"Hmph…if you really want…" Shirone slowly added, "We could make it like, a sister's thing or something." She suggested, growing softer and quieter with each word.

No, she was getting shy or anything like that!

Shirone finished by huffing, "I don't know, something like that…"

Slowly, ever so slowly, Kuroka let out a long-winded sigh, "A sister's thing, nyah?" She gave a small cheeky shy, "That sounds nice…but! You're staying with me the whole time, you'll do what I say when I say it, and if we get caught and they start drawing swords? Shirone." She shakes her for emphasis. "You run."

Shirone sent back a challenging glare, "I'm not leaving you. Never."

She wouldn't say it out loud of course, the 'like you did', part.

Hell, in this case, she didn't even mean to imply it. She wasn't even thinking of that.

But Kuroka flinched regardless, as a sad smile broke across her face.

"...yeah, okay. Of course."

Great, now she sounds on the verge of tears.

Like, actual tears, not the fake ones.

Who's the big idiot now…

Shirone clicked her tongue, and grabbed her sister by her kimono, pulling her easily right up against her for as big of a hug as her small frame could muster.

Kuroka was frozen stiff at the gesture, as Shirone admonished her quietly and sternly.

"I wasn't trying to bring that up, you cow. Think with your brain instead of whatever's in your tits for once."

"E-Eh!?" Kuroka gasped out before sniffling, slowly wrapping her arms around her in return, "S-Shirone…That's not very nice…"

Shirone simply patted her on the back. "It's the truth though. You should listen to me more often."

"Ehhh!?"

Shirone let herself smile, just this once, while Kuroka couldn't see it.

For the moment, the two sisters just held each other.

All was…not well, but content.

Then Kuroka opened her mouth.

"So, uh…I know this is going to sound a bit…weird." she began, causing Shirone to slowly frown, "But would you happen to know of any shops in town that sell western movie portraits?"

Shirone let out a slow, deep, long-winded sigh.

"Yes." She replied simply.

"R-Really-NYAH!?"

Before promptly decking her straight in the liver.

Dumb bimbo cat, ruining the moment like that!

~ A New Sun ~

They had just landed, and Xenovia had…a few questions.

For one, why does a supposedly small town in Japan have an airport? Do all towns in Japan have an airport?

Second, which she's noting as she looks out the windows of said airport…

This place looks far too big to be a mere town, do the Japanese not understand how big a town is supposed to be?

She'd ask Irina, but well…

"Umu…" Asia, their blonde nun companion, was close enough to her that she may as well be hugging her, she twitched her fingers, and was looking around every which way, rapidly, "...when is Shido-, ah, I mean, Irina supposed to get back."

Xenovia looked at her and then proceeded to shrug.

That just caused the poor girl to shiver shyly even more, and Xenovia did her best to comfort the girl by…patting her on the head.

Really, she's pretty sure Irina went off in some direction, somewhere, probably in the direction where there's a bunch of hieroglyphics that Irina had called 'Japanese Kanji', whatever those are.

Of which, every direction had them, so it's hard to say.

Before they landed, Irina said she'd be guiding them, because as Kuoh is a town and not one of the big tourist-attracting cities, the signs and guides here don't have anything like, say, English on them, something they could all understand.

So they kind of need Irina here.

Granted, they also needed their stuff, like their swords, sans Durandal, which were with the luggage, and only Irina knew where to go to get the rest of their stuff as well.

Next to them, standing close, although not smushed up against them, was their fourth member. Unlike Asia, she seemed much more relaxed, still alert, but rather than nervous her ruby red eyes scanned the area with a sort of intrigued curiosity.

Ah, right…if she's Sigurd, then she probably hasn't gotten the chance to go out much, as she?

"Oookay~!"

Xenovia let out a sigh of relief, and Asia immediately perked up, as the voice of their fourth called out to them.

She looked toward the source of the voice and found Irina, of course, with their luggage swung over her shoulder, easily carried.

Except in her other hand…

"What…is that?" Their fourth pointed and asked, their small pale white hand coming out from their cloak to do so before Xenovia could ask something similar.

It was something covered up by a white sheet, but they couldn't see what was under it.

"Oh! This?" Irina held it up, a far too giddy of a smile on her face, "I didn't think it was possible, it has been a while since the Church in town closed, but it looks like the faith is still going strong here!"

…That doesn't come close to answering anything.

Also, why is there a pit of dread forming in Xenovia's gut right now?

"A-Ah? That's good, right?" Asia quirked her head as she asked, to which Irina's smile grew giddier.

"It's better than good, Asia-chan!" Irina promptly, but gently, set down their luggage and cases, before setting the covered object on top, using their stuff almost like a stand.

With one fell swoop, she pulled the sheet off, revealing a…portrait.

"The faith is going so strong here, they were selling portraits of Jesus in the airport!" Irina happily exclaimed.

"Whooaa…" Asia marveled at the portrait, her eyes practically sparkling as she put her hands together in silent prayer.

Xenovia, though?

She stared at the picture, blankly.

It…kind of looks like Him. But at the same time, there's something just…off about it.

Their fourth though, immediately and openly started laughing.

"E-Eh!? What? What's so funny!? Lint-chan!?" Irina rapidly asked, confused.

Lint slowly brought it down to a chuckle, before waving at the portrait, "That…that's not Him, Iri, that's…that's Obi-Wan Kenobi." She snorts, before sputtering into a short bout of laughter again, "Y-You know? From Star Wars? Snnnnrrrkkk!"

That was pretty much all she managed to say, before breaking back down into laughter.

"...Eh?" Asia blinked, "Really?"

Irina slowly looked back down at it, then back at Lint, and then the group as a whole.

"W-Whaaaa? No, no way…Heh, right, Lint-chan? Right!?"

Xenovia frowned at Irina's nervous asking.

"Irina." Xenovia began the tone just a touch harsh.

Irina immediately perked up, but refused to look her way, "...Y-Yes?"

"How much did you pay for that." She proceeded to ask, ever more harshly.

At that, Lint stopped laughing, realization dawning across her face, before she gave a barely audible, "Uh oh."

"Eh…Eheh…" Irina chuckled, "Something like…200,000 yen…" She shrunk in on herself with every word.

Xenovia's face tightened, "...in words, we can all understand."

Irina gulped, "...1,500 euros?"

Xenovia damn near leaped for her.

Irina yelped, staggering back, but she didn't need to, as Asia grabbed onto Xenovia and held her back.

Now, Xenovia could have barreled through the blonde, but she didn't want to hurt her…or Irina either technically, mostly.

Mostly.

"Xenovia! No! Don't!" Asia pleaded with her, but she wasn't exactly listening to her.

"That…That is over half the budget…! Why do you always do this!" Xenovia ground out through gritted teeth.

"I-I'm sorry, okay!" Irina cried out, hiding behind the fake portrait, "I just didn't want to pass up the opportunity if it was Him!"

"How would you know what He looks like anyways!?" Xenovia fired back, still heated, "When was the last time you Protestants have seen a true image of Him anyway!"

At that, Irina frowned, coming up slightly from behind the picture, "Hey now! Don't say that! We haven't gone hard on idols for a long time!"

Asia looked quickly between the two, panic rapidly growing across her face.

Luckily, before she could break down, Lint stepped forward between the two, holding her hands out before them both.

"Alright, alright…let's settle down, yeah? Iri." She turned toward Irina, "You got swindled…even though you supposedly lived here before."

Irina sagged her entire body at that, "I swear I did…really…" she weakly tried to deny the silent accusation.

But Lint ignores her, and presses forth, "It happens. So, let's go back to this guy, and ask for a…refund."

The way Lint said 'refund' had Xenovia smiling far too wide.

"It was some short women, actually…" Irina interjected.

Lint shrugged, "Then let's go ask her for a refund, same deal."

Xenovia nodded, pointedly, "Yes. Let's."

Asia flinched at the harshness in her words, and finally spoke up, "No threatening an innocent civilian with a sword!"

"I mean, they aren't exactly…innocent." Lint replied, only to be met by an Asia with her arms crossed, pouting her way.

It only took a moment, and she caved.

"Fine."

Asia nodded, pleased.

"Only my fire."

Asia stilled, "Wait! That's n-not!"

"Lead the way, Iri!" Lint spoke over Asia easily, which just prompted the blonde to pout harder.

"R-Right…" Irina met her gaze for a moment, and flinched under the harshness of it, "O-Okay! This way!"

Irina swiftly turned, picking up the fake portrait, and power walked away.

As they started moving, Lint chuckled and pat the blonde on the head, and Xenovia picked up the luggage with ease, carrying it in Irina's stead as they followed her.

They haven't even been in this country, what, thirty minutes? And this is how it starts!?

Xenovia prays, internally, that it can't get any worse than this.

~ A New Sun ~

"...Irina."

"I-I-I swear! She had a stand right here! It was kinda like a booth even! She had-"

"Irina."

"X-Xenovia, Xenovia please!"

"Eh!? X-Xenovia, what are you-!?"

"Uh. Xen, you really shouldn't be doing that here-"

"Saint Peter. Saint Basil the Great. Saint Denis. Holy-mother Mary. Please hear my voice! In the names of the saints who reside within this blade, I WILL RELEASE IT!"

"IEEEEE!"

In the background, as the foreign girls started making a scene in the middle of the airport, two other native girls watched, unseen and unknown by the foreigners, cackling like cats.

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 73 End

I...may or may not have had too much fun with this chapter.

Xenovia be like: "With this treasure, I summon..."

Nori showing up next chapter for his chunk of sword.

A New Sun Chapter 72

Chapter 72

~ A New Sun ~

"Cold: the air and water flowing~..."

My hummed singing is accompanied by the clang of cold metal on red hot glowing ore.

"Hard: the land we call our home~..."

I take a quick cursory glance across the forge, where the True Longinus is set up like one would a nude model for a painting.

"Push to keep the dark from coming,"

My hammer comes back down, intent and effort coming down with it as one, as with each stroke the red hot nigh liquid mystical metal I work with yields, twisting and bending for my purpose.

"Feel the weight of what we owe."

I'm so immersed in my work, and in the old song I sing, I'm barely even thinking about why I'm doing this, the plan…wasn't there something else I was supposed to do before I started this?

"This: the song of sons and daughters,"

Unfortunately, the game this song comes from won't ever be made here. Maybe some faux facsimile of it, but it won't be able to match the real thing.

"Hide the heart of who we are."

Huh. Maybe after I deal with all I have to deal with, I could throw some of my money around and help get some of the not-shit versions of media I knew made.

"Making peace to build our future,"

Unlikely, but hey, it's something to think about in the future.

"Strong, united, working till we fall."

Plus, I'm sure Kuroka would appreciate her game not turning into complete shit…as if that'd stop her from playing it and spending all my money on stupid mounts.

Still, it's the thought that counts.

"And we all lift~, and we're all adrift together, togeth–"

"Whatcha doing nyah~?"

I snap back to reality, my hammer abruptly stopping mere inches from the red-hot metal.

With a sigh, I slowly turn toward the source of the very quizzical feminine voice, setting my new magic hammer down on a nearby table as I do.

She was standing nearly right next to me, close, but not so close as to get covered in sparks or chips of hot metal.

At the same time though…

I deadpanned at her, "Kuroka, if you're going to come in here, you could at least cover up a little bit…and stand up straighter, too."

Kuroka merely tilted her head at me, blinking innocently, "I have not the slightest idea what you're implying darling, nyah~!" She crosses her arms and pushes her chest out more.

My eyebrow twitches.

No, I know exactly what she's trying to do here, but there's a slight problem.

A few actually.

One, I may, or may not, be on a tight time crunch right about now.

I have not the slightest idea when, or even where truly, the Church's girls are supposed to show.

I can guess the latter, because it's sort of obvious, but not the former.

Two…there isn't a good space to fuck in this forge.

It was set up this way by design so I didn't get distracted!

It's outside, everything, from the anvil to the forge, with only wood roofing built on small wooden pillars being the only thing that can come close to 'surrounding' the workshop.

Sure, I specifically had it built away from everything else in the palace, but that wasn't for sexy times, that was to reduce the risk of something catching on fire.

Or exploding and taking everything else with it. Mostly that.

With all that being said.

I step right up to her, prompting my shortstack of a black cat girl to perk up and smirk, likely seeing the look in my eyes and taking it in a…different way than intended.

Unfortunately for her, as she'll soon find out, she won't be taking anything anywhere.

For now. Most definitely later. Damn cat.

Without saying anything, I take my hand, and quite suddenly jam it straight into her cleavage, right between her breasts.

I would love to comment on just how smooth and soft they are, and how incredibly easy it was for my hand and part of my forearm to slip right through, but as I said, later.

Kuroka had the expected reaction though.

"N~Nyahh~!? Darling!?" She almost jumped at the sudden intrusion, before instead figuring the best path to remove my oddly placed hand would be to grab my arm and pull it out.

She gave it a few tugs before immediately starting to beg as her inability and failure became apparent.

"Hnnnghh~...Darling, dear, could you please…you know? Nyah?" She gave a stilted chuckle.

Meanwhile, I gave her a harsher glare, causing her chuckle to turn nervous.

"You cover up," I began to explain, "and don't show too much skin here, because my hand and arm right now?" I give the stated appendage a shake, wiggling my fingers around in her bosom, drawing a slight shiver and shaky gasp from her, "Could easily be a piece of near-molten metal instead, you know?"

With that said, I slowly withdrew my arm and crossed my arms as I looked down at her with a snort.

"Besides, you're already short enough. No need to make yourself go even smaller." My glare turns into a smirk as I speak.

Seriously, I don't think I state enough just how short Kuroka is. She's 161cm, or five foot three inches in Freedom Units.

She is short.

I'm something around six feet, so if Kuroka bent over, she'd be at perfect dick-sucking height while standing.

…I internally blinked at that.

No idea where that thought came from, so I'll just ignore it for now.

Kuroka, after fixing her sagging kimono with a little tug, quickly glared back at me with all the fire of a cat.

Or maybe a hamster. Or bunny?

She certainly is about as horny as one.

"Hmph," she pouted, "I'll be fine…my darling can heal me easily, can't he~? Besides, you say that about clothes…but look at you!"

I huff, "Yeah, I can heal, but this metal isn't normal hot steel, Kuroka. It's got divine power in it, so it's better to be safe than sorry."

Kuroka's pout softens slightly, before I then add, "As for my lack of clothes…"

Yeah, I'm in my forge, shirtless. I ditched my robe on the way here, and have been working pretty much the whole…what time is it again?

I look out, beyond my little workshop's perimeter, into the twilight sky…

Huh, a bit before sunrise.

Damn, I've been working all night?

So, I've been working the forge all night in my underwear.

Nice.

I shrug, giving her a knowing grin, "I'm immune to fire, heat, all that good stuff," before reaching over, and booping her on the nose, causing her to squeak in surprise, "you aren't!" I finish while adding.

Kuroka huffs, but doesn't try to fight my words.

Even the comments about her height.

She knows they are true after all.

That said, sufficiently cowed, but not willing to admit it because she's a cat, she looks around for anything else to talk about.

And quickly finds it, as her eyes land upon the True Longinus doing its best impression of a modeling French girl.

"...Darling." Kuroka starts, her tone completely devoid of emotion and unsure how to proceed, while just…staring at it.

That's a pretty fair reaction, all things considered.

It's as I look at her now, that I realize she'd probably be even more out of the loop than say, Uzume, even, because she wasn't around when we made the original plan relating to the sword.

And she especially wasn't there after, when I learned about the Church itself being up to something.

…Oh yeah, that's what I was forgetting earlier. Well, less forgetting, more it got put out of my mind for other things.

I needed Kuroka for part of my plan, I just sort of got caught up in beating my metal that I lost track of time.

Oops?

Well, lucky she's here now.

"Ah, yeah…so." I start, pondering how exactly I should go about explaining everything that happened over last night.

It's slightly concerning that so much shit can hit all at once in a small frame of time, but that's beside the point.

After a moment or two of pondering, I just decided to be blunt about it all.

"Basically…" Kuroka turned to me as I started to explain.

And when I mean all, I mean all.

No point in hiding anything from her, not like I want to in the first place, especially since I want her help with this.

I started with the sword, my and Uzume's talk to steal it, and ultimately my plan to do just that.

She didn't say anything, she didn't have to, the mischievous grin she got as I talked about stealing was enough for me to know she was all for it.

However, I could tell she was still a touch confused, as everything I was talking about so far didn't relate whatsoever to the True Longinus.

She quickly began to understand though, as I talked about my clone's experience in Tokyo, her eyes widening as I mentioned the exorcist, Dulio, his trope of girls, and their mission.

It didn't take her long to put two and two together after that.

"So, then…" Kuroka looks back over at the spear, then to the lump of half-shapen red hot metal still sitting upon my anvil, "You're making a fake True Longinus then, aren't you darling?"

I snap my fingers and smile, "Bingo kitty. Though it might be more accurate to say that I've just started making it a little early." I take a glance down at the metal, "It is, after all, missing something to feel like the real deal, and won't be complete until then."

At that, Kuroka tilts her head, eyeing me curiously and expectantly.

So I continue explaining, by first asking a question.

"Have you ever heard what went into the creation of the Holy Sword, Durandal?" I ask, getting an even further confused look, to which I chuckled, and answered for her, "Within its golden hilt, there is said to be a tooth of Saint Peter, the blood of Saint Basil of Caesarea, a lock of hair of Saint Denis, and a piece of the raiment of the Blessed Virgin Mary." I list the components like one would a recipe or grocery list.

I can remember all that clearly, as Xenovia herself states each item as part of her chant when summoning the sword.

I let out a chuckle before continuing, "Though rarely spoken or talked about, there's also the idea that a piece of the Lance of Longinus went into the hilt as well."

Now that bit, I heard it as part of the sword's mythology back in my original home.

The only reason it stuck with me is because of how odd and tacked-on it felt, truth be told.

Kuroka stared up at me in wonder, "A piece of the original lance, in that Holy Sword…?" Kuroka parroted as if trying the idea on her tongue, "That might explain why that sword in particular seems so much…stronger, then the others I've heard about, nyah!"

But hey, it ended up serving a purpose, ultimately!

I shrug, "Possibly. Truth be told, that doesn't matter if it's true or not…although it'd certainly be a help if it was."

Kuroka blinked at that, "Then…why bring all that up?"

As a bit of…inspiration.

I smile and look back down at the lump of half-shapen red hot metal.

"It felt fitting. After all, to make a convincing fake, it needs to feel right. For it to feel right…it needs to have at least an aura of Holy Power, not Holy Spirit Power." I elaborate, a grin on my face, "And what would be the fastest way to grant something that kind of holy aura?"

"...With…something that already has it." Kuroka's eyes widen, "Darling, are you going to…break Durandal?"

"And yoink a piece?" I add on for her, before easily confirming, "Yeah, kind of have to. The only reason I can think that they'd send so many power exorcists is for it, and I'm certainly not giving them the real thing."

They've been far too suspicious for that since the very beginning.

Kuroka adopts an anxious frown as she walks up to my side, and presses herself against me, "...I don't know if this is the best idea…if they find out it's a fake, then…"

"Yeah, I know," I breathe out a sigh, wrapping an arm around her waist almost instinctively as she approaches me, holding her against me as I speak my thoughts aloud, "it's a big risk, but one I have to take. Luckily, I have reason to believe it might work.

"As a Holy Relic, if a true believer looks upon the spear, it'll drive them insane. When I make the trade-off, I fully intend to give them the prop wrapped up."

Kuroka giggled, "Masking trickery as generosity, darling, are you sure you aren't a Devil or Youkai?"

I chuckle, "Nah, I don't have wings, or a cute little tail…or multiple tails, for that matter." I casually, and totally by accident, brush a hand across her tails, drawing a light gasp from her…only for her to give me a sultry gaze back, and stick out her rear in response, her kimono hiking up to reveal small thin pair of white panties barely concealing her ass.

…Wait a minute, it didn't hike up, her kimono is just that small right now.

Fucking cat really did come prepared huh?

I boop her nose with my free hand, and shake my head, continuing unabated even as she gives an indignant mewl.

"Moving on, after that point…well, that relies on a bit of guessing, hoping, and praying. See, due to the aforementioned insanity thing, I doubt they're going to try and get someone to wield the spear, I'm guessing they'll want to lock it up in a nice and secure place.

"If they try to study it, well, I have to hope they never had possession of the spear during any time they could have studied it previously, and therefore when they get basically nothing…well, they just assume it because of the spear's odd predicament.

"I can't imagine trying to study something that would drive you insane just by looking at it would be easy, but the Church is already insane, so I could see them trying regardless.

"In that case, more hope that they either don't discover the fact that the prop doesn't drive believers insane, or that when they do they just assume it's because the spear is obviously broken in some way, and that's just part of it."

I pause, briefly considering.

"…Or they start turning on each other because they're not 'true believers' which, considering how the Church is, isn't impossible-"

"Okay, nyah!" Kuroka suddenly reaches up, putting a hand on my face, "Darling, you're rambling…a lot."

I blinked, several times.

"Huh." Before slowly reaching up and taking her hand in mine, slowly giving her a small smile, "Yeah…yeah I guess I was."

Kuroka smiles back, before abruptly suggesting, "You know…if the spear is the overarching problem here…why not just destroy it, nyah?"

I gave a mirthless chuckle at that, before I simply shrugged, "Before I started all this, that thought also crossed my mind as well. So on the way here…I gave it a shot.

"I tried breaking it over my knee, slashing it, melting it…you name it. None of it worked. Now, granted," I add with an annoyed sigh, "I wasn't at my full power, as I did all that during the middle of the night, but somehow…I get the feeling it'd be the same result, noon or not."

Kuroka let out an annoyed hiss, "...Figures. I suppose it isn't the first Longinus for nothing, nyah!"

It figures too. If I had managed to at least chip it, I could have used that small piece instead and made a much more convincing feeling prop that'd put much more of my thoughts at ease.

Hell, even just another Holy Relic would be better, because then I might be able to bake in the insanity inducement thing and make an even more convincing prop.

I technically do know where I could find another Holy Relic, the Grail…it's not like anyone would miss the vampire over in Europe, but it'd draw a ton of tension if I went zooming overseas to murder a bunch of vampires and kidnap a Dhampir Princess.

So, not exactly an option right now.

I also know who has the Crown, but not where they are, so that's out entirely, same for the Cross.

The Shroud isn't even a Sacred Gear right now, so even bigger nope there.

I'll just have to work with what I have.

This leads me to…

"Right," I speak up again, looking intently down at my cat girl, "which is why we're going to need a chunk of Durandal, and that's where I'm going to need your help."

Kuroka blinked at me, before adopting a semi-serious expression and nodding.

"What do you need me to do, darling?"

I nod back at her, pleased that she isn't trying to draw this out…or be horny again, "The current user of Durandal has a partner that once lived in Kuoh. I suspect, though can't wholly confirm, that they'll stop there first before either heading here or to Tokyo."

Kuroka's eyes narrow, and her pupils seem to sharpen, "...that's dangerously close to Shirone." She points out, slightly on edge, and I sort of agree.

However I doubt that, unlike during the Kokopuffs Arc, the Church girls will start a fight with the Devils, as they merely need to pass through like a bunch of tourists rather than do any hunting for Fallen.

Still, there's always a possibility.

Though ultimately, I doubt Shirone herself will be harmed even if they fight. She'd tear those poor girls apart by now.

"Well, lucky for you, your job is going to be keeping an eye out, and on, the Church people when they get there." I continue, before leaning down to kiss her forehead, "So at the same time, you can keep an eye on Shirone too."

Kuroka grins at that but doesn't start jumping for joy that she gets to spend a bunch of time with her little sister quite yet.

"I need you to tell me when they arrive…and then, I'm going to come in, and be myself." I stated simply.

"You're going to be your pagan, foreign god self and bait the very impressionable young Church girls into a fight, then claim 'self-defense' afterword?" Kuroka, still with her cheshire grin, explains more thoroughly.

"...You know, when you call them 'impressionable young Church girls' it almost makes me sound like the bad guy here." I sigh, as Kuroka practically cackles.

Granted, it's not like she's wrong about them…it's precisely why this plan might even work at all.

Xenovia specifically, at this point, is a bit of a hard ass. She hasn't yet had her beliefs challenged or been excommunicated, or anything like that, so she's still that same girl she was back when she first appeared.

Luckily, her shortcomings as a person can be used to my advantage.

Bait her into a fight, and smash her sword in 'self-defense', just as Kuroka said.

And it'd be fine too, because as long as I don't go too hard or too far, and break the sword's core, they can easily fix Durandal right back up, good as new.

Dulio won't do anything, as long as I don't provoke a response from him, which is why the self-defense angle is pretty damn important.

But, just in case…I'll make sure this fight happens in broad daylight.

I roll my eyes as my cat now full-on cackles, reaching down with the hand still around her waist to swat her rear.

"N~NYAH~!?"

I ignore her mewling squeak, her incredulous glare, and all that, before simply stating, "Shouldn't you be going? Don't worry, I'll call up Shirone…let her know you're coming over ahead of time."

Of course the mention of her sister made her perk up and forget everything else that just happened, and she quickly hopped from my side and practically started skipping away, singing a little song.

"Nayayayah, Shirone~! Nayayayah, Shirone~! Nayayayah, Shirone~!"

…That's a first.

Also, adorable.

Though it'd be even more cute if she-

"Don't forget to put a regular damn kimono on!" I called after her, my eyes following the sway of her exposed rear as she hopped and skipped away.

"Nyah! Allrrighhtt~!" She called back, shaking her ass one more time my way before skipping completely out of sight.

…Fucking cat.

Now then.

I turned back to my hammer, and metal, incredibly thankful said metal is very good at retaining heat, so I wouldn't have to reheat it much to start shaping it again.

I want to try and get this done as soon as possible…

With that thought in mind, fire burst from my hands, and I got back to work.

~ A New Sun ~

"Ah~! See, Asia-chan, look down there!" The twin-tailed chestnut-haired girl called to their new blonde-haired nun friend, as she pointed out the airplane window.

"Uwahhh~...So much snow…So many mountains…" The poor nun looked equally mesmerized, stunned, fascinated, and terrified, all at once as she leaned forward to take a look.

Which is something Xenovia finds impressive, somewhat, even if she's not particularly interested.

She's content to sit here, in her airplane seat, with their other new partner, some small white-haired red eyed girl she's never seen before.

Probably. Though judging by her appearance and complexion…Xenovia can guess where she comes from, at least.

Sigurd Institute.

Similar to her, she's also simply sitting there, though she's much more relaxed and easygoing than herself.

"A-Ah, um…Warrior Shidou-" The blonde nun begins stuttering, only to be cut off as her chestnut-haired friend grabs the poor nun by her shoulders.

"Asia! I thought I told you! We're around the same age, and we're friends now! There's no need to be so formal!"

"A-Ah!? But…B-But…I'm not a warrior, like you all, I'm just-"

It feels like they've been over this a thousand times already, likely because they have.

So now, it was Xenovia's turn to butt in.

"You're the healer." She starts, plainly and simply, and before Irina can turn around and get all annoyed at her, she stoically adds, "But that doesn't make you any less than us. God gave you an amazing gift, one he rarely gives to others…and out of all of them, you're probably the most deserving."

Irina perked up, smiling, and nodding along with Xenovia's words.

"Ah? Well…" Asia began, twiddling with her fingers and looking away from them, "I…Still-"

"No, no, no!" Irina stopped her right there, "Xenovia doesn't usually say anything insightful, but that was pretty good! Take it to heart, Asia-chan!"

While the poor blonde nun was turned into a shy, blustering mess, Xenovia frowned.

Insight? She can totally be insightful.

Like how she knows Irina is totally just proclaiming the fact that she had a childhood friend at one point in this very specific town they're stopping at first in Japan.

Doesn't take much insight to figure that out.

On the other hand, Xenovia hopes it doesn't take much insight to find what they're looking for…

There, she hopes she can, to put it simply, get whatever they need by hitting whatever gets in their way with her sword.

It's been a while since she's been able to properly use Durandal, after all.

~ A New Sun ~

Chapter 72 End

Oh Xenovia...

Poor, sweet, power idiot Xenovia...

Also, proper thanks to Skip_864 for throwing me the images used in this chapter, along with many others...said images are exactly what inspired me to write the scenes with Kuroka in the first place, lol.

A New Sun Chapter 71

Chapter 71

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

And an interesting evening I will indeed end up having.

Emphasis on I, because I’m just a clone sent out to do some early scouting while Prime and Uzume talk more details.

I’ll be honest…I think this is probably the one time we clones get the good end of the deal for once!

Seriously, dealing with Uzume is a chore most of the time, and just talking and talking is so damn boring.

A little action to spice things up now and then is pretty much required, and what with my being a clone, if I somehow get caught, I won't leave anything behind when I go poof.

I specifically didn’t take anything extra with me when I left, not even my sword, or a cloned copy of it, for that matter.

My job is to simply check things out, and see what's going on at the cathedral.

Maybe visit Grandpa after too. It’s been a while after all.

But the main mission here is to scope out the cathedral, a place I’ve never even really checked out before…and why would I have? 

Being a ‘pagan’ and all that, I imagine trying to visit a Church is sort of like intruding upon a deity's shrine, just supersized.

Something you don’t do unless you want to piss off another god.

And this is probably the last god you want to piss off.

Assuming he’s not, you know, already dead and…whatever is going on with him.

I let out an audible sigh as I flew through the cool evening sky.

The point is! It’s just a good idea not to try messing with him, which is why I never went to a Church before.

No, the Kuoh Church doesn’t count, because that one was totaled completely. I’d compare it to a broken, empty shrine.

The only reason I or I guess it’s more accurate to say Prime there, is entertaining the idea of stealing from this cathedral in the first place is due to the fact it’s under renovations.

If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be going anywhere near it.

But, logically, and with any amount of luck, these renovations have temporarily ‘broken’ it as a ‘shrine’, meaning the big guy upstairs is effectively blind when it comes to the place and its surroundings right now.

Though there’s only one real to check that.

I didn’t go as fast as I could to get here, partly so I could keep a careful eye on my surroundings with my senses, and partly so because the evening sun is gorgeous up here, so by the time I arrived in Tokyo, it was well into the evening.

Despite the encroaching dark, the city remained as bustling and lit as the morning and afternoon, sat in a perpetual state of living and light.

I’d float above it all and marvel at it, but unfortunately, I had a job to do.

I make sure to get a good look at the sight though, so the image goes back to Prime.

Let's get this over with.

St. Mary’s Cathedral. From what Uzume told me, or Prime before I was made, it should be somewhere near the center of the city.

Very close to the Imperial Palace.

I couldn’t help but bristle at the insult.

Granted, it’s not like the cathedral is right next to the Palace or anything so blatant, but it's also not a long drive away.

I’d say maybe a ten-minute drive in a car, something along those lines. Close, but oh man are they toeing the line between trolling and blatant disrespect.

As I entered the city, I could pick up the feeling of the other shrines, even those residing in and around the Imperial Palace, but I breathed a quiet sigh of relief as I couldn’t feel the holy power of Mr. Doesn’t-Like-His-Name anywhere within the city. 

This means the sanctity of the cathedral has been at least impaired by its renovations, as it is entirely possible the power imbued within it hasn’t vanished, but instead simply weakened, and I just can’t sense it because all the other shrines around are overpowering it.

However, to find that out, I’m going to have to get really up close and personal. 

Thankfully, I was planning to do that anyway.

I suppress my power as low as I can make it, then mask my aura and power on top of that, making me essentially all but physically invisible…and also making me drop out of the sky and land on top of a building.

That’s the thing with this method of masking your presence, you need to essentially hold most if not all of your power in.

Easy for a normal human, since they don’t have many natural powers beyond perhaps unique inherited powers, blessings, or maybe gears.

Not so easy when you’re more than human and rely on said powers to fight.

Luckily, I can ignore that, since I’m not here to fight, and I won’t ‘die’ if I get caught. There isn’t a need to defend myself.

In this case, I’m only mildly inconvenienced, since I’m holding in everything to try not to get caught in the first place.

This means unlike my time sneaking into the Urakyoto Palace, I can’t fly.

They couldn't have possessed a divine aura covering the entire area, so I was a bit more free there.

Here though? I’m going full mask, right from the start.

If I have to run and jump the rest of the way there to keep as hidden as I can, then so be it.

Besides, it’s not like my physical abilities are or can be suppressed at all.

With that in mind, I bolt across the roof of whatever random building I’m on, and leap off, easily clearing the distance and landing on the next one over.

I repeat this process on autopilot, scrambling across the rooftops of Tokyo, as I search for my destination.

I make my way close to the city center, and from there, watch out for signs of construction, more specifically, a sign mentioning such an area being quarantined off for it. 

It only took a moment of searching and going just a touch further out from the city's center, to find what I was looking for.

Simple signs talking about road closures, leading to an entire blocked-off circular area of the city, wherein…

I stop, staring at the cathedral from my perch atop some random building.

“...Is that a fucking Playstation 5?” I mutter, absolutely befuddled.

And, I mean, it does!

The front of the cathedral looks awfully similar to a possible future gaming console!

Not only does the front of the place look like that, but the entire building itself is also completely different from what I was expecting.

I expected a traditional Church building, maybe with some Japanese influence, sure, but a traditional Church building nonetheless.

Instead, I’m being greeted by a rather imposing mass of concrete, steel, tile, and glass shaped like a cross of all things.

Due to how late it is, I don’t see any workers anywhere, but I do see their equipment surrounding the structure, congregating up on the roof.

It looks like the renovations are specifically focused up there, probably something to do with what looks like skylights running through the center.

Regardless, if it's all focused up there, then that means there should be less I have to weave through inside.

In fact, the openings up top present a pretty good opportunity to get a look inside…

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in taking a look inside just to do so at this point, besides the mission.

I’ve never been inside a cathedral before, much less a Japanese cathedral, so inherently I kind of want to see how they made it.

So, still not sensing the telltale power of the sensitive guy above the clouds, I take probably my biggest leap yet on this run throughout the city, right over and on top of the cathedral.

Just because I still can’t sense any holy power coming from the place doesn’t mean now is not the time to start slacking. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

I walk now along the roof of the cathedral, all the way down the center of the roof are skylights, stretching down and throughout the whole center of the structure, forming a smaller cross of skylights within the greater cross structure.

Or, well, it will, when the skylights are finished being built.

Right now, most of it is covered by tarps, but there are some with the skylights installed and other various parts along the roof where…something needs to be done.

I don’t know for sure, I’m not an architect, but generally, when chunks of a roof are missing I can assume something probably is meant to fill in the gaps.

In any event, I carefully walk the length of the roof, searching for a place to slip on in without disturbing or causing damage, partly out of respect for the workers, and partly to not leave any possible evidence of my having snuck in.

And eventually? I find it.

At the center of the roof, there’s a patch of actual solid roof, no glass, or plans for a skylight seemingly, though it connects to the skylight sections on each side.

There though is where I find my ticket in, as at the meeting point between the skylights and solid roof, the tarp covering where future skylights are destined to be is much looser, forming an opening that flaps around as the wind blows by.

I can slip in through that opening with ease.

And so, with zero hesitation, I do just that.

Though I don’t fall straight into the cathedral just yet, I hang there, holding onto the solid portion of the roof, mostly inside, but just in case, I don’t drop in right away.

And my unerring dedication to carefulness was rewarded…by me not immediately being caught.

“...All I’m s-saying is!” I freeze, as a squeaky stuttering older male's voice echoes throughout the building, “Shouldn’t you be there? With your charges? I mean no disrespect, it’s j-j-just-”

“You’re worried,” A much calmer, lackadaisical, and younger male voice cut through the older man's nervous-sounding chatter, “I understand, really…but you don’t have to worry about them, okay? They’re young, sure, but I don’t think they’re so immature as to start anything unwarranted.”

There are people here.

And I couldn’t sense them due to my holding all my power within.

Fuck.

Quickly, I look down, the only place where the sources of the voices could be, and find them readily.

Two men, one younger, only a few years older than myself, even sharing around the same build as myself as well, I’d estimate, and one much older and rounder. Both are almost…right beneath me.

Haha…that was stupidly close.

Okay. The young man dressed in modest priestly garments, featuring mostly gray and black clothing with the scarce gold outline here or there, and dusty blonde hair which he didn’t seem to care to take care of, spiking up every which way on the top of his head the way it did.

He seemed vaguely… familiar. In a slightly dreadful way. He looked like an exorcist, that's for sure, and I suppose it wouldn’t be all that odd for an exorcist to be here.

The older man mentioned the younger guy here to have charges, which if they are in Japan, I guess also isn’t odd. I vaguely recall Freed’s mentor taking him to Japan for his missions.

Speaking of, the older man had much more splendid attire, wearing mostly white, with red and gold trimmings and outlining, along with a fancy hat that covered up most of his head, save for the flecks of dull white and grayed hair poking out from the sides.

This older guy…I’m not entirely sure who he is.

Maybe the guy in charge of the cathedral here? This place is the seat of something right? An… archdiocese, I think Uzume had mentioned before I was sent off?

So this guy might be the archdeacon, then. Pretty sure that’s how clerical ranks, anyway.

“R-Respectfully…” The old guy slowly began, walking slightly toward the younger presumed exorcist, who merely crossed his arms back, looking down at the portly older man with a gentle smile, “I…don’t think that assessment is correct.”

“Oh?” The exorcist raised an intrigued eyebrow, not sounding nor looking at all offended, “What makes you think that, Archdeacon?”

Ahah! So that guy is, at the very least, an Archdeacon!

The Archdeacon twitched, growing increasingly more nervous despite the exorcist's lack of any hostilities whatsoever, “It’s…well, the Slash Princess,” the Archdeacon nearly hissed in distress, “she isn’t exactly known to be level-headed! And w-without you there, I worry she may start things with…well, Lord knows who!” He confessed with audible fear.

I slowly blinked as I processed those words.

Slash Princess?

Who in the Church has that title again?

Unlike myself, the exorcist doesn’t seem phased at all and merely gives the old man an easygoing grin before stating back, “Ah, but she has her longtime partner with her, and that one incredibly kindly sister with her on top of that, and-”

This time, the old man cuts him off with a hushed yet anxious shout, “I know that! But no amount of teenage girls can control her! Only her teacher can, and she’s-”

The younger man raised a hand, abruptly, yet non-threateningly, silencing the older man by sheer surprise at the act, stopping his voice which was just beginning to reach an angry crescendo.

He then places the hand on the older man’s shoulder, and well and truly looks at him.

“Listen, Archdeacon. I understand- I understood the first time you brought it up, and the many times after. You’ve been bringing this up practically all day, haven’t you?” 

At that, the older man nods, slowly.

He pats his shoulder, and continues, “If you can’t believe in them, then believe in me, for I believe in my fellow sisters, truly. Once our job is done in this country, we’ll be on our way, and no more stress shall come to you.”

The Archdeacon proceeded to mutter something so quietly I couldn’t hear it, but the exorcist seemed to catch it and chuckle good-naturedly, despite the older man's rumbling.

“Now then…” the exorcist continued, “I heard Tokyo has a Sumo Club that also serves excellent food…?” and immediately began to prod for some…interesting answers.

The Archdeacon sighs, tired and exacerbated, “...All day, ever since you showed up here, you’d come to me, asking for places to eat, leave, and then come back, is that why you came here before your charges?”

The younger man’s smile never wavered a single bit as he replied with a simple, “No comment.”

The Archdeacon’s follow-up sigh was even more painful than the last, “...Yes, indeed, there is a place like that. I shall come with you this time if you don’t mind?”

“Ah? I don’t mind at all! In fact, why didn’t you join earlier?” The exorcist exclaims in part excitement, part quizzical.

“...I had a job to do here.” The Archdeacon deadpanned as he stated right back to his face.

That, at least, made the exorcist adopt a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Right, well! There’s nothing like a relaxing dinner after a job well done, yes?”

“Because you’d certainly know all about that, yes?” Was the Archdeacon’s rather sarcastic reply.

I didn’t personally get the joke, but the exorcist certainly did, as he chuckled much louder than before, and wrapped his arm around the older man’s shoulders as he started walking away, leading the archdeacon off.

Once those two leave through the double front doors, I finally breathe a sigh of relief…and let go of the little ledge I’ve been holding onto, falling onto the solid and now unoccupied ground below.

I land like a proper ninja should, in style, bent down with one hand on the ground…before immediately standing and cringing, thankful no one saw my moment lapse in intelligence.

Shaking my head off…that, I take a moment to get my first good look around the cathedral before I start processing everything I just heard.

And I’ll admit, I had to stop myself from whistling. Despite the obvious construction that’s still clearly ongoing here, this place looks almost… ethereal.

All in all, the vast majority of the space here is open, I imagine the seating and such were moved out for the renovations, as were most of the decorations, leaving a dark and debris-covered tiled floor, surrounded by these smooth curved gray stone walls.

The place is utterly massive, befitting of a cathedral in that manner, yet at the same time its lack of traditional architecture still shocks me. 

If you had only seen the inside of this place I’d bet you’d think you were in a modern and oddly shaped pyramid, in fact.

That thought got a small chuckle out of me due to the irony of it all.

A cursory glance around showed me that the center of the cathedral is lined with a brilliant red carpet, leading up the stairs to the back, where the altar, choir, and all the fun church stuff is supposed to be.

Curiously, only the altar remains, and much like the rest of the architecture, even that was made differently. An altar of twisting and spiraling smooth stone.

…What are the chances they couldn’t move it precisely because whatever super secret hidden stuff going on here is under it, just like the altar at the Kuoh Church?

That, I can confirm later, for now though.

First things first…if I had a nickel for every time I snuck into a Church and hid on the ceiling to catch wind of conversations, I’d have two nickels.

Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

Technically. The specifics of my first church ‘stealth’ mission are pretty different compared to this one, but still, broad strokes and all that.

Secondly, and going back to what they were talking about…

The Slash Princess, huh?

And her partner…?

…Isn’t that Xenovia and Irina?

They’re here? Somewhere in Japan? Now?

Wait, no, the old Archdeacon said he came here before his charges, right?

For the…food?

That also feels oddly familiar, but I can’t quite place why that is. 

You know, I was just kidding when I was talking about the Kokopuffs Arc, please, Murphy, you got to believe me!

I shook my head at that rather nasty thought and got to focus on the why.

What the hell could Xenovia, Irina, and a couple of unnamed sisters along with this one guy who’s supposed to be in charge of them be doing here?

Well, he’s in Tokyo, I’m not sure what their mission even is, or where it is.

It could be here because he specifically came here, but then again I can’t be too sure…

There’s so much context and shit I’m missing right now that it isn’t even funny.

Ultimately, I’m not particularly worried about those girls. Xenovia, Irina…those two specifically couldn’t even beat Kokopuffs together. 

Even with help, they certainly wouldn’t be able to beat me.

As in, like, me. Against Prime, they’d be fucked.

And not in the fun way Xenovia might want.

Unless that guy was some super strong exorcist, there’s nothing to worry about…besides their mission.

I consider following the two, to see if I can maybe get a read on that guy’s power, or overhear anything important.

After a moment’s consideration, though, I swiftly decided against it.

For one, though he seemed easygoing enough, that guy didn’t seem the type to let slip mission details at some restaurant randomly, especially if the mission was important, and especially not to someone he didn’t know.

And if he catches wind of my true nature, and he’s strong, well…I can’t guarantee he won’t just blast me, and then from then on it’d make everything else regarding my mission here more difficult.

No, better to let him go for now.

I kneel, putting my hand against the ground, trying to feel out for any holy spirit power with my innate sensitivity alone.

I click my tongue as I come up with a cold and dry nothing, rising back onto my feet.

I’d move the altar and check deeper right about now, but…that guy, that exorcist, this mission, and the girls from the Kokopuff Arc showing up…

That’s got me nervous, and I can’t quite place my finger on why.

So, I put my hands together.

I’ll disperse, and send everything back to Prime me now, and let him decide from here what to do.

…Man, I don’t get paid enough for this shit.

With a single sign, I cease existing.

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

I was sitting on the couch, drinking a nice cup of tea when it all hit me.

Promptly, I spat out my tea in shock.

“Paid? Paid!?” I grumbled aloud, setting down my teacup with an aggravated sigh.

Then I sat there, on the couch, head in my hands, and groaned.

Clones are lazy little shits, and me? Without proper motivation, I know I can already become a lazy little shit.

But seriously, come on now…this is taking it a step too far.

The clone me didn’t put much, if any, thought into that guy.

But as soon as I got the image of him jammed into my head, it didn’t take but a moment of thought to connect that image to a name.

Dulio Gesualdo. The Strongest Exorcist the Church currently has at its disposal.

Here, in Japan, with the Kokopuff Arc girls and even more besides.

Well, they aren’t here yet, but they will be.

What a fucking mess.

At this point, Uzume had already gone back to bed…she got tired again during our discussion, and Rose and Kuroka got tired after they finished up and I cooked them something.

The only reason I’m still awake right now is because I was waiting for the clone to get done, but I kind of wish I just went to bed and dealt with all this shit in the morning.

I also kind of wish the clone would have checked under the cathedral like it was supposed to, but the lack of any security at all is kind of making me doubt the sword is hidden there now.

Granted, Dulio is probably enough security as is, but I doubt that’s what he’s there for.

He’s probably just in Tokyo for the food, seems that way, based on the Archdeacon’s comments.

But that leaves the mission, and…ugh.

Of all times, why is the Church doing this now? Right when I’m acting against them?

There’s no way they know about my plans, so it's got to be something else.

Well, what happened recently that would prompt the Church to do…anything.

“...Fuck.” I uttered in swift realization, “It’s got to be related to the Spear, right?”

Unless Kokpuffs broke out of the Underworld after breaking his limits like some sort of Fallen Saiyan, becoming monstrously powerful, and then stole the Excaliburs to come all the way over here and fuck with the sisters of the Satans…

But somehow, I doubt all that.

Yet, if it is the Spear…

I rapidly tap my foot against the ground, thoughts swirling around in my hand.

Along with…something like a plan.

If a fight breaks out, and Dulio gets involved, I’m likely screwed, but if they are just here for the spear, and not for me specifically…

I can use pre-character development Xenovia to my advantage.

I’m also going to need to whip out my hammer a little sooner than I thought.

My foot stops, and I rise onto my feet, a steady grin spreading across my face.

I almost feel bad about what I’m going to have to do to the Church girls, they are some of my favorite characters after all…

But at the same time, in a situation like this? I can’t afford to hold back.

I’m going to send a clone to keep an eye on Dulio, and possibly check for the sword back at the cathedral.

Then, after I clean up this tea, I need to grab the Spear and my hammer.

I’m going to need the former for…inspiration.

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

Chapter 71 End

I couldn't tell you why, but this chapter really kicked my ass tonight.

On the other hand, things are most definitely starting to heat up...although I wonder what exactly Nori could be doing with the spear and the hammer, hmm?

Though, I'm sure you could probably guess, based on his plans relating to the sword.

Chapter 71 Delayed + Chapter 68 Update.

God I really hate doing this, but yeah, exactly as it says on the title.

I was busy all day yesterday, pretty much from the moment I woke up till right after the sunset, I was out of the house, doing stuff, real busy.

Then I woke up today, and it was like I never even went to sleep last night.

I don't think I'm sick per se, or at the very least, if I am, it isn't something like the flu. More like a shitty cold.

Regardless of whatever this is, it's not helping to put out Chapter 71. I feel as though I could force it, but I don't think the end product will turn out well.

So I'm delaying it, until next Friday at the absolute latest, but if I get better, I'll pop it out sooner.

I'm real sorry guys.

In other news, Patreon finally got back to my email about Chapter 68.

I'm having to edit it to get it back up because they ruled such language as "promoting incest" which is such bullshit.

But yeah, the unedited version is still in the comments of the down notice, if you want to check it out in the meantime.

Seeing as Patreon is taking this stance, "Makin' Waves" obviously can't continue here, and with that in mind...I'm thinking of moving it to another platform or jumping myself entirely.

Not right this second, but when or if I make that decision, it'll get a separate post dedicated to informing all of you, as of right now, I'm simply considering it.

In the meantime ya'll, thanks for your support, and unlike usual, when Chapter 71 comes out, I'll make it in a new post. Going to keep this up for new peeps that might stop by.

Also, check out the stupid hawt Kuroka pics someone sent me on Discord in the attached gallery...though I don't doubt you lot already have, lol.

Have a good Friday, or wherever you may be right now.

A New Sun Chapter 70

Chapter 70

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

“Man, this new couch is reealll~ comfy!” I exaggeratedly exclaim whilst leaning back in the cushions.

Meanwhile, said new couch began increasingly wriggling underneath me.

“Nyahhhh!! Darling! Come on~! I can’t…move! Hnnnghhh!!” Kuroka squirmed, worming from side to side, stuck in place as I sat on her back, keeping her pinned onto the real couch.

Ah, Kuroka, Kuroka, Kuroka. What am I going to do with you kitty? 

I went to bring her food, and I saw her lazing around in the library reading…okay, I’d call it lewd, ecchi, or similar manga, but I’ll be frank, alright?

It was straight porn. Hentai. This little black cat was sitting there on one of the shelves, perched up there like it was a tree, giggling and cackling.

So, needless to say, she’s not getting food.

That, and since she can’t do something as simple as reading books I’ve given her a new job.

Couch.

All she’s got to do is sit around.

Easy right?

Except I don’t think couches are supposed to move so much…

Idly, almost without thought, I swat her right on her ass.

“NYAH~!?” She perks up, stilling, “Daarrllinnngg~!” She continues to whine, but at least she isn’t moving as much anymore.

I promptly ignored her, looking back down at my lap where a lonely little book sat.

It’s the straight porn book Kuroka was reading earlier. I checked and it was one of the ones sent by Ama.

It’s also complete trash, go figures.

I knew my mother had trash tastes, but seriously, I didn’t think my cat girl shared them!

…Well, she does play the local equivalent of World of Warcraft, maybe I should have seen that coming.

My bad there.

I huff, closing that abomination of literature, before reaching over to the table across from us and snatching up the food I was planning to bring to her.

Well, was is the keyword there. Mine now. It's her loss, after all, I haven’t gotten the chance to cook lately, and while I’m not some god-tier - heh - chef, I know I can make some enjoyable stuff.

Like this pork cutlet, or Tonkatsu, I think it’s called. Deep-fried breaded pork cutlet. Took half an hour to make, and it smells delicious.

And if I can smell it real good, I know she can smell it.

Probably why she started squirming again when I picked it up.

“Mmmm! Darling~! Please! Can’t we talk about this??? I’m sorry!” Oh yeah, now she’s begging, sincerely, “Please! Just don-”

Chomp.

Kuroka stopped squirming abruptly, staring off into the wall, as I started eating.

I spared her a cursory glance, and the poor cat looked like her soul had left her body, with the way her eyes somehow whited out and her mouth was slightly agape.

I give her a small pat on the head with my free hand, though that doesn’t stir her at all.

Cat girls and food, I swear…

Well, if anything, this should serve to teach her some lesson.

In the meantime, damn, I do cook good! Crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside, I ought to make this more.

I perk up, as footsteps echo down from the stairwell and into the living room.

I didn’t even need to check my senses to figure out who it was, all that was needed was to hear the pace of the footwork.

Uzume, last I saw her, was shambling around like an undead due to exhaustion. So, considering how fast these footsteps are…

Rose came in, though shockingly not in her uniform, instead she was wearing a…tracksuit.

She had her arms wrapped around herself, just beneath her bosom, and there was a…frown? Plastered across her face? She also seemed a little twitchy…I think.

I couldn’t tell what exactly was going on, truth be told, though it didn’t look good overall.

My gaze swept over to her, and as soon as our eyes might, she stopped, and quickly tried to steel her expression and mannerism.

“A-Ah? Wait, you’re both…done?” She started pretty quiet but ended up muttering in increasing confusion as she beheld me and Kuroka.

I snorted, “I am, yeah.” I responded easily, before pointing at Kuroka, “She got distracted though, so I’m punishing her.”

At that, Rose flashed a genuinely annoyed frown at the cat.

Who was still catatonic. Heh.

“Though,” I continue, eyeing her intently, “I saw the way you were when you walked in here.” She froze up under my words and gaze, “You okay? Is there something going on?” I asked, plainly and expectantly.

Rose immediately started playing with her hands and looking away, a creeping blush growing across her face as she spoke nothing.

My gaze intensified, as did her twitching, until eventually, she finally broke with a long painful sigh.

“I…um.” She uttered and stuttered, still refusing to meet my gaze, “I…finished all my work already and now I don’t know what to do!” She abruptly threw it all out, curt and quickly.

I blinked, as her entire face turned red.

Then I started chuckling, and she cringed.

“Ah, Rose…come on over, take a seat.” I wave and point her over to a free seat on the couch right next to us.

Reluctantly, and still without looking my way entirely, she does so, almost curling up upon herself when she sits.

Poor girl. I’d hug her, but Kuroka is currently in time-out, so just wait for me!

“Lemme guess,” I began, “you blasted through everything…which was probably mostly just the stuff my mother was sending, then did all the small things, and now there probably won’t be anything new for you to look at for the foreseeable future?”

After a long moment, Rose nodded, almost ashamedly so.

I shook my head at her, “Oh Rose…that’s nothing to worry about. That just means you’re doing an insanely good job.” I pause to munch on a pork cutlet, “And since you’re doing a really good job, that just means you deserve the free time.”

She twitched at my words, before beginning to squirm in place, “But…I don’t know what to do with that free time, that’s the problem…” she mumbled.

I shrug, “I dunno what to do with mine half the time either,” I confess, easily, and that’s true especially now, “but you’ll figure it out. I usually just train. Or do stuff with the girls.”

Huh. Speaking of…

Fuck it, why not?

“Speaking of,” I continued with a snap of my fingers, “I've been meaning to do something for or with you since you did such a great job. Wanna go out?”

Rose blanked out, much like Kuroka is still.

I watch, concerned yet intrigued, as she slowly falls onto her side on the couch, keeping her exact pose, still as a statue, the entire time.

…Did I just break her?

Hmm, maybe I was a bit too frank. I guess to someone like Rose, she probably heard something like ‘wanna go on a date’ or similar.

I’ll come back to that with her later, I suppose. Or whenever she unfreezes herself.

I sigh and continue eating my pork unopposed.

Well, with these two out of commission for who knows how long, I suppose that leaves me and myself.

No point in trying to hide from this now…especially after that short conversation with Rose.

What am I going to do now?

The thought nearly makes me click my tongue in reflex, as deep within my chest, the unfamiliar feeling of worry and anxiety surges forth.

All this time, I had a guideline. A plot outline, to follow.

This will happen around here, this will happen here, this attack here, and so on.

I got too used to having that, I’ll admit right upfront. It was easy, far too easy, or at least it made me feel that way. Even with the hiccups and divergences along the way.

But now that metaphorical cushion is, for the most part, gone.

Yeah, I know the ExE will come in something like thirty years or so, but they are essentially a non-factor in the grand scheme of things.

It hasn’t even been a full year since I woke up on top of that mountain, puking my guts out, and look at me now!

The strongest person I’ve seen so far is Tobio, and I’m convinced that if the sun was out, I could probably take him right now. Even in his bullshit Abyss Side Balance Breaker.

It wouldn’t be easy, for sure, I become more deity than man in my sun-infused state, and the closer to noon it becomes the closer to a full deity I am, and he does have a straight up god slaying sword, something similar, although likely not as powerful as the True Longinus.

He could probably fuck me up, but no, I think I could win. Probably.

…Maybe I should call him up for a spar sometime.

Regardless, the point I’m trying to make is that I’m not exactly strapped for power here, and if in not even a year I can rival one of the strongest characters in the setting?

Give me twenty-nine more, and I’ll clean ExE, Trihexa, Great Red, Shiva, Indra, and whoever else I need out. At the same time.

Hell, add the Spirit Gods in there too, the Machine Gods we need them, and even then I’d wash them.

Power…isn’t a problem for me anymore. 

There are still a few people I can’t fight right now of course, and the sun is a power-up that isn’t always available, that’s true.

But still, at this point, I’ve got, and need, nothing but time to fix that.

Time, huh…

I slowly put a hand on my chest, and breathe deep…though it's just a normal breath.

Look at me, getting all bent out of shape over time passing. I’m fairly certain I’m immortal now, in the aging sense anyway, I can’t be having a little freak out over time.

My gaze falls upon the still catatonic Kuroka, before sweeping over to the dissociating Rose.

I think, ultimately, we’ll be okay.

Besides, it’s not like there’s absolutely nothing for me to do.

I’ve got the Spear of Destiny under my bed right now after taking it from its dead owner, something that most certainly isn’t usual.

That, and the entire thing with the Church and the sword, and Him. I’ve got suspicions, though they aren’t good ones.

…Maybe, it’s time I be a touch more proactive, and make my own little guideline, hmm?

With that in mind, I scarf down the rest of my pork, and throw the empty plate onto the table, before leaning over to Kuoka’s ear.

“I’ll tell you what, kitty.” I utter down at her, “You finish your job by tonight, and I’ll make you some…chicken?” I decide.

And almost as soon as I uttered the word, light returned to her eyes.

Stiffly, almost robotically, she turns her head as much as she can to look at me.

“...You…Y-You mean it, darling~?” She mumbles out, sniffling slightly.

I roll my eyes at her obvious act, before smiling slightly.

“I mean it.” I state.

“Yayyyy~Nyah!” She exclaims suddenly, fully revived just like that, her arms and legs sprawling out in joy.

I chuckle at her, before patting her on the head and quickly adding, “But! You gotta take Rose with you when you do…she’s got plenty of free time right now that she doesn’t know what to do with anyway.”

I’ll leave it unsaid that Rose will keep the cat on track…or will help, anyway. Food might just be enough of a motivator by itself to keep her in line.

Still, better be safe than sorry. Plus, it gives Rose something to do while I go and do the thing I just thought of.

Sorry, Rose! We’ll do something together, just the two of us, soon! I promise!

Kuroka doesn’t seem at all perturbed by the added condition, instead simply nodding along happily.

That all said and done, I finally stand up, Kuroka giving a cute little huff as I do before she springs up onto her feet.

She takes one look at Rose, and doesn’t even question the silver-haired girl's state, instead she merely calls out, “Oh Rooossee-chyan~!” As she stalks toward the girl like she was a piece of meat.

…Someone is really motivated by chicken, it seems.

I turn away as Rose begins to revive herself at Kuroka’s proddings.

In my case, I head for where Rose just recently came down from, the staircase.

Though I’m heading up for a different room, to see a certain someone.

I need some advice…

Like, for instance, how does one raid a cathedral for a precious artifact without inciting war? Just how much mind control would that take?

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

“...Huh?” Uzume slurred and drawled out through half-lidded eyes, although despite being half awake and only half shambled out of her bed, she seemed shockingly attentive, “...Sorry, can, can you…run that by me again? Need to make sure my ears are working…” she grumbled out, disbelievingly. 

Ah, don’t worry Uzu! You’ll be believing your ears real soon!

“I said,” I enunciate clearly, “how much mind control do you think I could get away with on priests and exorcists before others noticed they were very clearly mind controlled?”

Uzume’s eyes slowly open all the way, as she simply stares at me.

“Nori.” She begins, nigh on fully awake now, and most definitely not pleased by that fact, “Why.”

“Well, you know Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi, right?” I click my tongue while saying the blade's full and true name, yeah, never doing that again, “The Kusanagi Sword.” I correct aptly, despite how odd it feels.

Uzume rolls her eyes at me, “Of course I know about it.” Before huffing and sliding off her bed…she was pretty much completely naked.

Not at all shocked, and I don’t particularly care at the moment.

She continues about as unperturbed as I am, “I was there when Susan,” she snickers a brief moment, “gave the sword to your mother. I remember she really liked the blade too…” she adopts a slight frown, “shame what happened to it. Nor that we don’t know where it is now.”

I blink at that.

Did…did she not tell Uzume about where the sword is? Granted, her letter didn’t say when she found the location, but I assume she’s known for at least a little while, no?

Then why not?

Well, I guess that’s being left to me.

“St. Mary’s Cathedral in Tokyo.” I suddenly state.

Uzume stops right in the middle of putting on a very thin robe that really shouldn’t count as proper clothing, before slowly turning to me.

“...what? What about that place?” She prods, confused.

And so, I elaborate, “That’s where the broken sword is currently at.”

Uzume stares at me, the slight bags under her amethyst eyes make her stare seem…a little crazed.

All of a sudden, she strides toward me, and grabs my face, cupping it with her hands as she looks me dead in the eye.

Oh, yeah, there is a little crazy in there, would you look at that?

“...Where did you hear that from?” She asked, softly yet demandingly.

I reached up, grabbed her wrists, and slowly made her unhand me, holding her still before I started speaking again.

“...Mom told me.” I answered plainly.

Uzume blinked at me, several times, “H-Huh…but she…really?”

I nodded, slowly, “Yeah. Yeah, she did.”

“But that’s…she never…” She gazed off, looking lost, before suddenly snapping back into the now with a growing frown, “It’s…been in Tokyo. This whole time!?” She hisses, and her aura flares.

In the past, I’ve seen glimpses of her power, and I’ve always been able to sense it in its suppressed state.

Back then, she likely would have sent me flying with a flex, nowadays though?

Uzume’s aura explodes forth, and I maintain my grip on her wrists with ease, even as the multicolored waves of Holy Spirit Power roll off her like rays of fresh dawn light.

Nowadays, it’s much more like a light show…an, admittedly, very pretty light show.

It was like someone took everything that made a sunrise beautiful, and jammed it into her aura. Every color, every sparkle, every dazzling shine.

If she put this on full blast and started dancing, I could see why my mother would come crawling out of her girl failure cave.

Unfortunately though, in the grand scheme, Uzume isn’t very strong. Loki probably could’ve beaten her had they ever met or fought.

It makes sense really, Uzume isn’t a warrior deity. None of what she does is battle-worthy, and although she’s known, compared to say Inari…well, she may as well not exist.

All that’s to say, even as I stand in her aura going full blast…I’m not particularly worried.

In fact, I’m not affected at all.

Instead, I merely pull her right up against me, free one of my hands by letting go of one of her wrists, and with that newly freed hand.

“EEP!?”

Slap her right on the hiney. Like one would a baby.

She freezes up, her body doing a full shiver, and her aura abruptly shuts off like one would water from a faucet.

“Enough of that now,” I chastise down at her, “you’re gonna scare the girls if you keep that up.”

She winces, “Sorry, it’s just, Nori!” she grabs my shoulders, “It’s just so…ugh! Tokyo! Right there!? Of all places!?!”

Her aura sparks around her as she fumes, barely contained.

“If I had known…” She grumbles and trails off, her threat unspoken yet clear.

Yeah, I think I know why no one told her anything about this, damn.

I raise an eyebrow down at her, “Well, now that you do know, you’re still not going to do anything…brash, alright?” I hold my palm slowly, “Or else I’ll spank you like you’re a child throwing a temper tantrum.”

“E-Eh!? N-Now hold on!” She stutters, trying to pull and get away…and failing, “Eheh…there’s no need for that! I’ll be good! Okay? Okay!”

I glare down at her steadily.

She chuckles, nervously.

Eventually, I sighed, and let her go, giving her the chance to breathe a sigh of relief.

“We’re not storming the place and bringing it down before making off with the sword bits,” I continue, crossing my arms, “I had this idea, of using my eyes to trick priests or exorcists into either giving up the sword willing, or telling where it is exactly in the cathedral, allowing me to sneak in and grab the pieces.”

“...Oh.” She also crosses her arms, but for her, it’s to pout, “Couldn’t you-”

“No.” I interrupted her, “I’m not gonna blow up the place on the way out, either.”

Her pout grew several fold.

“Ideally,” I continued, rubbing my eyes in slight irritation, “they wouldn’t notice the sword bits are even gone, because I’m not just going to take the sword, I’m going to leave a fake behind.” I smirk, “It’ll be like the thing never left.”

Uzume hummed at that, turning and looking at me intently, “...How can you be sure they won’t tell the distance.”

“Well,” I sit next to her, hand settling on my chin in thought, “they haven’t been able to fix the sword, right? Everybody knows that.”

Uzume nods in agreement, so I go on.

“If I had to assume, that’s probably because they aren’t exactly skilled at working with Holy Spirit Power.” I speculate, “Because they aren’t, I figure that as long as I make something close enough to the original in appearance and feel, they won’t notice.”

Uzume tilts her head in consideration, “...that would require you to sneak in at least twice, or mind whammy certain people at least twice.”

“Yeah, neither of which is ideal, I’ll admit. Though what with the place being under renovations…” I muse, trailing off as I do.

“If it's going under renovations, they could have moved the sword to a temporary location for safekeeping.” Uzume holds up a finger to note.

I click my tongue at that.

That would be the most likely case, but it’s the Church, so I’d give it equal odds they kept the thing in place, just under more guard to compensate.

Though, it would be best to not have to guess at all in the situation, because it could also be a trap, or something else.

Granted, in her letter, she said she could sense the thing there…

Still, better be safe than sorry…and start a war and all that.

“To figure out all that, definitively, most definitely going to need to mind whammy someone.” I reiterate, “Which brings me back to my original question…” I trail off, turning and raising an eyebrow directly at her.

Uzume shook her head in exacerbation, “And here I was, thinking you were just talking nonsense again…okay, let’s see.” She taps her finger against her chin, “Mental manipulation is used commonly by Vampires and Devils, and Humans are always susceptible to it, so they have protocols specifically for catching and detecting such spells…especially for the higher ranked members.” She looked at me intently.

“So…I need to find someone in the middle of the pact, then?” I try, and she nods to that.

“Yeah, they wouldn’t know everything you need, sure, but they’d be the best to draw from to at least start getting what you need on your own. I’d say, at best…” She hums, thoughtful, “You could get away with mind-whammying someone twice…maybe three times? Depends on the target, and how smart you are about it.”

She smiles, and pokes my nose, “For instance, mind whammying a priest after they’ve been secretly getting blackout drunk at a bar? Easy to get away with, they wouldn’t question the gaps in their memory then…but jumping a guy right after work…?” She trails off, expectantly.

I chuckle and push her finger away, “Yeah yeah, I got it. Don’t be an idiot, and I have some breathing room.”

…Does this mean I have to start stalking priests now?

That’s going to get really weird real quick.

I better not find anything freaky, or shit, I might start killing.

Accidentally, of course.

Wait a minute…I could just make my clones do that shit for me!

In the meantime.

I stand up, “Well, this is certainly a start, Uzume…get some actual clothes on,” her pout returns, which I ignore easily, “and let's take this to the living room and see if there’s anything else to think about.”

Now at that, the purple-haired goddess smiles almost…devilishly.

“...Still no exploding things.” I tact on before turning away.

“Awwww!! Come on! Norrriiii!!” Uzume exclaims and whines behind me, as I cackle and walk away.

Ah…this is going to be a productive evening, I think.

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

Chapter 70 End

Originally was just gonna end it on Uzume smiling, felt the need to add a bit more so people don't start think Uzume is a devil in disguise or something. 

A New Sun Chapter 69

Chapter 69

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

With a small sigh, and a light groan, I plop down onto the floor amongst one of the many, formerly, unused rooms of my palace home, setting my morning cup of orange juice next to me.

I say formerly because it was turned into a warehouse by Rose to store everything Ama had been sending me ever since Odin left and we made that alliance with the Norse.

And oh boy, was there a lot.

After coming back home from making Kunou unable to walk for the foreseeable future, I had decided it was finally time to go see what Ama had been throwing at me…that I had no idea about until like, a couple of days ago.

As I thought, it was quite a bit. This explains why Uzume had been absent again, Ama was using her as the delivery girl.

Currently, though, she’s back and passed out on the couch, and according to her and Rose, the flow of stuff has stopped…for now.

So it’s probably a good idea to go through it all now before she starts sending more, and this piles up to the point I don’t have a chance to get through any of this reasonably.

Luckily?

I slap down the stacked binder Rose has put together.

Rose has made this entire process much less painful for me.

I really ought to do something nice for her for this, seriously, this is far more than I was expecting…from both Ama and Rose.

First things first, the money and books.

The money portion was easy to see…all I had to do was check my banking account.

Though as I started flipping through the first few pages of the binder, Rose didn’t slouch on even that.

The first, and smallest, section of the binder was all accounting essentially. She put down the exact dates, down to the hour and minute, of when the exact amounts of money were deposited, and added up the total all at the end.

Damn, just damn.

Also, to note, this was millions of yen, by the way. These weren’t small numbers she was working with.

Crazy, simply crazy.

I idly note that with the cash refresher I got sent, I should be good there for at least a few more years.

That is until whatever the discount copyright-free version of Blizzard is called here becomes the discount copyright-free version of Activision Blizzard and scams Kuroka out of even more money with their monetization schemes.

That’ll be the day.

Regardless, we’ll be fine until then.

Next up, the books I asked for, and speaking of Kuroka…

I’m having the black cat girl be useful for once and go through all of those in the library right now.

Mostly because, out of all of us, Kuroka knows the most about the Eastern Systems of Magic and Ki, and could tell which material would be most useful and such.

And as I flipped through the pages to the binders section specifically focused on the literature sent, I let out a low whistle.

Once again, Rose has categorized every single book in subdivisions, alphabetically ordered them, and cited them in a style I haven’t seen since I wrote essays in my first life.

So the weeb shit isn’t folded in with the magic or ki books, and each book has an author, a published or written date, the title, and all the fancy-looking jazz you’d see at the end of an essay.

The more I read, the more I simultaneously feel awed and proud of her, but also a little bad for her for feeling she needs to do all this.

Because somehow, I doubt this is an Asgard standard thing.

I do a quick skim through this bit, cackling as I find that, yes, Ama didn’t go hard in the weeb shit, as I said. Most of the books are magic or spiritual stuff, or at least they seem so from a glance.

Which means Kuroka has some work to do.

Heh!

I’ll stop by the library once I’m done here, just to check on her, though the walk from here to there might be a little dreadful.

See, this room I’m sitting in now is specifically one of the ones furthest away from the meeting and living areas.

Why? Well.

I lift my head, and cast my gaze across the sea of golden glows permeating throughout visible space and the Shinkai.

Yeah, pretty much every single item here is imbued with Holy Spirit Aura. They’re all mystical artifacts or weapons. 

This is the kind of space one would usually lock up in a special containment vault…but I don’t have that, and with them all sitting here together, the aura they put off is far more than your average deities shrine.

If a Devil or Youkai walked in here, and they weren’t stupid strong, or special like Kuroka, they’d probably die from the divine aura poisoning.

This is precisely why this place is as far as it can be from the meeting hall.

Hopefully, one of those new books has a spell or three in it that’ll lock up and seal this room more effectively, but for now, this will have to do.

I stand back up, snatching up the binder and my cup, downing the rest of its contents in one gulp before throwing it over my shoulder and outside and stretching out one last time.

“Ahh…well,” I mutter to no one, “time to get to work.”

It’s a shame life can’t be all sex, sleeping, and fighting, huh?

I flip to the first page of the section that Rose has titled as simply ‘Artifacts’ despite most of what I see around the room being glowing weapons.

It seems for this section, she ordered them based on the strength of their aura, something she could feel, as she couldn’t wield anything here due to lacking the affinity for it.

As a result, she just has that noted down, along with the names of the artifacts, if applicable, the Uzume told her.

Importantly though, she didn’t know the abilities. She’s got it noted down, first thing, and rather amusedly as a break from her clean and precise note-taking, that although Uzume does know what each of these things can do, she was ordered not to talk by Ama specifically to keep the surprise.

Fun. That means I have to go through and individually inspect each object personally.

Thankfully, Rose left space between each artifact listed so their abilities could be neatly written down.

How thoughtful!

So, first up, the weakest aura presenting artifacts…

A bunch of bog-standard Totsuka swords, ancient-looking Japanese longswords.

Well, I say ‘standard’, but they’re still producing Shinto aligned divine aura.

I know of families of Shinto Priests and Exorcists that guard and utilize these types of swords.

Though not as strong as any of the well-known swords, they still work far better as weapons compared to, say, the standard light sword Church Exorcists use.

Rose has their smiths noted down, and they are all names I don’t recognize, so I doubt these swords have an added special ability, but it still wouldn’t hurt to check.

That said, I run my hand along the grips of the swords, which are all neatly sheathed together within a barrel, and hum as what happens is exactly what I expected.

Nothing.

They all are indeed just powerless Holy Spirit Swords.

We’re off to a great fun start, yeah?

I’m just going to…

I start flipping through the pages, ignoring everything I instinctively feel is going to be duds for anything beyond a novelty, or maybe something I can play around with when I feel like playing smithy.

It, shockingly, doesn’t take long for me to come across something of worthy note.

Though admittedly, it doesn’t look like much on the surface.

Rose has all the objects' names written down; ‘Gohei’, ‘Onbe’, and ‘Heisoku’. So many names for just a wooden wand.

I walk over to where the wands, which weren’t too far from the swords, because of course she sent several copies, are laid, sitting atop a table, neatly spread and sitting atop a dark soft cloth. 

Each wand is wooden, decorated with two zigzagging paper streamers set on either end, and both wand wood and streamers are different colors compared to the others.

These wands are usually used in Shinto Rituals by Priests and Mikos, though the wands I’ve got sitting may be a bit more special, at least that’s what Rose surmizes in her notes regarding these.

Supposedly, she picked up on not only a divine aura coming from these wands but also a magical aura as well.

Not like the divine aura would get used like the aura from the sword since there’s no blade, but…

Interesting.

Tentatively, I pick one of the wands. For color theme sake, I choose the blackened wand with yellow paper streamers, though I doubt it matters because each feels the same to my senses regardless.

I don’t feel anything upon touching or holding it, so I turn away, facing toward the exit still wide open to the outside, and give it a wave.

…Then snort, as nothing happens.

This isn’t Harry Potter, right.

I point the wand toward the exit, and this time, channel a smidge of what I’m fairly certain is magical power.

This is probably a terrible idea because I don’t exactly know magic, but still-

A fireball nearly the size of the door I’m aiming at flies from the tip of the wand, and shoots off into the sky.

The force of the spell(?) firing off usually wouldn’t have knocked me over, but the result shocked me so much I wasn’t prepared for it, and so it did.

I’m sent tumbling to the floor, staring outside wide-eyed as the mass of purple-cored red flame shoots up into the sky, and explodes like a firework.

Slowly, I stood up.

Even slower, I put the wand…whose tip was now emitting small golden sparks and smoke like a magic gun, down with the others.

Picking up the binder, which I had dropped when I fell, I casually took up the pen stuck to the side of the binder and wrote down ‘Amplifies Magic Power Passing Through It’.

Yeah, nope, not touch that thing again until I know how to magic without blowing up the house.

Until then, I think I’ll leave these tools for Rose and Kuroka. Most likely Kuroka, since she likely knows more about Eastern Magic, which logic tracks would probably work best with these wands.

I vaguely recall, in canon, that Rose herself gets a wand that enhanced her spell power later on, and the one she got was made of some material that was the best at conducting magic.

Or something like that.

I’ll probably have to revisit this one with the girls and see if they can even use it. As a Shinto implement, it would make sense for it to only work for Eastern Magic, specifically Shinto and such.

As I did take Kagutsuchi’s power and all that, for all I know, my magic could very well just be the Fire Phase of Shinto Magic incarnate, and I only got that reaction from the wand because of that unique condition.

…Though I could just grant them access to the Fire Phase via a blessing to get around that anyway.

Food for thought later.

I added that little note about the possibility the wand’s usage is locked to certain magic types, before quickly stepping away from the wands entirely and flipping ahead some more.

The next one I stop at isn’t because of my interest, but purely because of Rose’s note.

‘It’s…just a bunch of rocks????’

It took everything I had not to keel over and burst out cackling.

It was a very close thing though.

When I finally did manage to calm down enough, I decided to see what she was talking about and walked off to where these rocks are noted to be stored.

I quickly find and open up the small square box by removing the lid, and find that, indeed…it’s just a bunch of rocks, six in total, each sat in soft cloth at the bottom neatly.

However that’s not all, they aren’t perfectly round or oval-shaped rocks. Instead, each one has a jagged jutting point or deformity, that makes you do a double take.

They’re also each wrapped up in lengths of laid rice straw or hemp rope, it looks like.

Curious, they are just rocks, but the divine power within them feels less neutral and more…empty.

That feeling also kind of feels… familiar?

I found myself reaching down to poke at one, almost unconsciously.

As soon as my finger brushed against the top of one, I knew what exactly these are, and what they’re for.

I quickly jerked my hand back, and looked back at the binder, reading the name of the artifacts beneath me.

Yorishiro. ‘Approach Substitute’ in Freedom Tongue.

That’s when it all clicks together.

Alright, in layman's terms, these rocks here? I can use them to create my own Shrines, dedicated specifically to myself as a Kami, giving out blessings related to me automatically, and such.

Basically, all I have to do is infuse my Holy Spirit Power into one of these rocks, turning the Yorishiro into a Shintai, or ‘Body of the Kami’, then all I have to do is build a Shrine around it, which makes the Shintai the core of the Shrine, becoming a Mitamashiro, or simply ‘Substitute’ for me.

Once complete, that Mitamashiro will act similarly to the spirit Inari I saw at her Shrine, getting offerings, giving blessings, and so on. This is how I create one of them.

…It sounds complicated, but it really isn’t.

The reason why these rocks felt so familiar is because I had to do something similar with Kagu’s old Shrines.

All in all though, very neat. I never really thought about, or even considered, building my own Shrine before, but…well.

As I set the lid back on the box, I look around my general area and find boxes with stacks of O-fuda talismans, O-mamori amulets, and O-mikuji fortune-telling slips.

Interestingly, though I can tell what they are O-mikuji based on them being long slips of paper…they don’t have anything written on them. They’re blank.

Besides that though, yeah, I now have pretty much everything I need here to set up my own Shrine. All I need is an actual Shrine.

It feels like a certain someone is pushing me toward doing this, for some reason.

I’d usually spite the notion of being all but told what to do, but in this case, I’m mildly…curious.

Ah, well, I’ll give it some thought. Though right now I’m thinking it’d be a good side project to work on since…I don’t know what's going to happen next.

I shake my head off that slightly terrifying thought and dive back into the binder.

I pass over the pages talking about the other smaller artifacts I just mentioned, along with other Shinto equipment, until I landed on one of the first weapons.

Well, technically it’s a weapon. It’s a hammer, a magic hammer, though I don’t think I’ll use it as such.

Another quick jaunt takes me to its resting place, sitting neatly wrapped in cloth atop a table, yet despite its covering, its golden glow shines through, albeit muffled.

The Uchide no Kozuchi, literally the ‘Tap-Appear Mallet’, is pretty much just a glowing wooden hammer, though its length makes it closer to its name, a mallet.

I remember hearing stories about this one in this life, back when I was much younger, from a fairy tale.

Well, technically not about the hammer specifically, it was focused on the hero of the story, Issun-boshi.

I suddenly snort.

Issun-boshi. ‘One-Sun Boy’. 

Damnit Ama and your stupid references.

I shake my head and carry on with my thoughts.

In the stories, Issun-boshi used the hammer to do some crazy shit. Its name tells you pretty much everything there.

You hit something, and stuff happens.

What kind of stuff?

Anything! In the fairy tale, Issun-boshi uses it to get insane amounts of wealth, and the Princess he saves in the story uses it to make him taller.

…Oh yeah, the guy was only like, an inch tall in the story, forgot to bring that up.

Doesn’t matter though, the point is, the hammer is supposed to be ridiculous.

So as I pick it up by the handle, and connect my power to it, I’m not at all shocked to find that I can’t magically make anything I want.

However, that doesn’t make it one bit useless.

Connected to it now, I can feel its unique power, and it’s…sort of hard to explain.

Essentially, it grants something like enhanced luck or fortune toward whatever the wielder wishes for.

So, for example, let’s say I smack a guy who’s wearing a full suit of armor…and assume my already insane strength doesn’t just destroy the guy and the armor outright.

Let’s say I wish to break his armor, to create an opening. Well, when wielding this mallet, I’ll have a greater chance of doing just that.

Somehow. That’s the part that’s hard to explain…but then again, when it comes to luck-based powers, that’s par for the course.

I’m not much of a hammer wielder, turns out, so I won’t be using this for combat…but, having a fortune-boosting divine hammer when blacksmithing sounds incredibly useful, just for its insane raw durability alone.

The fortune bonus, if it pays off, could lead to some insane creations. 

I cackle as ideas start running through my head, putting down the hammer gently as I do.

The first thing I’m going to do with that hammer is upgrade the Horni Bat-

Which I just realized is right next to the True Longinus, under my bed.

A cackling snort leaves me heaving and nearly falling over at that particular realization, before I manage to right myself and move on.

I am trying not to spend all day here after all.

Next up, is a trio of artifacts, a pair of weapons, and a magical harp of all things, that caught my eye not because they seemed particularly powerful, but because of who they belonged to.

The pair of weapons are called Ikutachi and Ikuyumiya, ironically enough, the ‘great sword of life’ and ‘great bow of life’ respectively.

The harp is called the Ame-no-Norogoto…which legit just means ‘the heavenly harp’.

The reason I said ironically for the weapons?

They were Susan’s weapons.

Oh yeah.

So, with snickers and a smirk, I walked over to where all three artifacts sat. 

The three were all contained in a box case with a glass cover, letting one peer inside to see them.

A sword, a bow and quiver filled with arrows, and a harp all sat neatly inside, glowing with some of the strongest divine aura of the items here in this room. Each one possessed the same design, a cascade of bright blue and white, swirling with beautiful patterns of sea waves, with people dancing happily within them.

…Ah, damn. I can’t lie, they’re gorgeous. How the hell did Susan lose these things!? I certainly didn’t see or sense these babies anywhere within the Palace down in Yomi, and with the amount of Holy Spirit Aura they radiate, I would have, I know it.

Carefully now, I open the casing, and brush a couple of digits along the side of the blade of the sword, temporarily connecting and getting a feel for the blade’s power in turn.

It’s important to note that, at certain levels, although magic or divine swords never gain sentience, they do kind of sort of have a will of their own, the stronger the weapon becomes.

For instance, in canon, Durandal in particular is noted to be rowdy, and to ‘kick like a horse’ at their wielder.

I bring this up because weapons of these types tend to have wills based on their long-time wielder or makers.

So, in this case, this sword should have a will based on Susanoo, and yet…

As I connected to it, the sword didn’t revolt against my attempt at all, instead, it embraced me with open arms, shocking me.

It freely shared the details of its power, a sword that can’t cut the living, only the spirit…essentially the Senjutsu ability to strike the soul in sword form.

Hot damn.

I assume it’s likely the same with the bow as well, then?

Though I wonder…

I pull my hand back, and brush it against the cords of the harp, being careful not to accidentally strum it.

Connecting to it was pretty much the same as the sword, but its ability was slightly different.

Its cords create music that the soul can hear. Whatever that means, exactly?

Literally music for the soul, huh?

I give the three artifacts a good-natured chuckle, before pulling away entirely and closing up the case.

I was expecting a trio of very edgy, destructive artifact weapons…not that. Still a welcome surprise though.

And on and on it went after that, there were still a couple that were worth mentioning. 

Another Holy Spirit Sword, Kogitsunemaru. The “small fox” blade.

Though, as its name likely suggests, it was slightly different compared to the others, that is it seemed to be based more on a Youkai, the Kitsune, than anything else oddly enough.

It was a katana with a golden hilt, going up to the guard that was shaped like fox tails or ears.

Its power seemed to be rather simple, igniting the blade with blue foxfire when I picked it up.

I couldn’t help but feel a real Kitsune would probably get more out of the sword, and though I planned to make a sword for each of my future kids myself…well, this could do as a backup for one of them I suppose.

The next one I’m only mentioning because it slightly peeved me. Dojikiri Yasutsuna, the sword that supposedly killed Shuten-doji in myth.

I know the guy is stuck in a rock at current though, so that myth is not accurate, but at the same time, it is still one of the five great blades of Japan.

It looked more like a demonic spirit sword with its base colors of red, black, and gold, but the golden glow around the blade gave away its true allegiance. All in all, it looked exquisite, like the perfect Japanese sword. 

It’s power, though, that’s what peeved me.

I didn’t have anyone to test it on, thankfully, but the sword seemed to be telling me it was super effective against evil spirits, like Oni.

Gee, that would have been useful months ago!

That said and done, it didn’t end up taking all day to go through everything, and by the time I was penning the last notes down, it was only a touch past lunchtime.

Just to make sure I didn’t miss anything, I flipped through the section again, all the way to the back…only to find that I did indeed miss something.

Although, it wasn’t an artifact, no.

It was a mail envelope, tapped neatly to the final page at the very end of the binder’s content. Above it, a small, and final note from Rose.

‘This is the last thing Lady Uzume gave me and told me to give you at the end of…everything.’

I quirked an eyebrow at the envelope, removed it from its spot pinned to the binder, and pulled it open.

It’s a letter, written in…crayon? Yellow crayon.

I snorted. Does she not have a pen or pencil lying around in her girl failure cave?

In any event, it's not like it's ineligible, so I read on.

‘Noriaki!’

‘I hope you like everything I sent! And, even if you don’t, I’m sure you’ll find some use for it!’

Well, not everything is useless, which I kind of sort of expected, to be honest…so, yeah. I can’t say I didn’t like it. Also, who doesn’t like loot?

‘I really really really wanted to send the Kusanagi sword, over…but still, nothing from the Church or Heaven, of course.’

‘So! My last gift to you! St. Mary’s Cathedral in Tokyo That’s where they’re keeping the broken pieces of the sword. It’s undergoing renovations right now, but I know it’s there.’

I stared, blankly, down at the words I just read.

Really? They’re keeping the sword in Tokyo? Right in the Imperial Family's backyard?

My face slowly morphs into a scowl.

Of course they are. It’s the Church, after all.

‘Do with that information what you will…well, mostly what you will, don’t go for the nuclear option right away, alright? I trust you won’t just up and start a war!’

I huff. No promises.

‘Annyyywayyyy~! Enjoy your stuff! There will likely be more opportunities to earn more stuff soon!’

‘Until then! I looooveee you~! Can’t wait to see you again!’

I gave a small warm smile at the poorly drawn heart with a smiley face and rays of sunlight coming off it that followed.

…She’s really trying, huh?

With a shake of my head, I tuck the letter away and start heading out. 

I would like some lunch to think all…that, over. Maybe I should bring some food to Kuroka while I’m at it?

I doubt she actually did anything…but hey, a guy can dream, right?

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

Chapter 69 End

A little housekeeping, a little calm before the storm begins.

Notice! Chapter 68 Temporarily Down

So, you may have noticed that Chapter 68 vanished.

That's because it got hidden by the site. The auto-mod caught Kunou calling Nori "a certain word" and assumed they were related.

Of course, we all know they aren't, but the auto-mod can't comprehend that. I shot them a message, but it might take a day or two to get back from them about it.

So! If any of you lot haven't seen it, or are new here for it, give it a little bit, and we'll see what happens.

Check comments.

A New Sun Chapter 68

Chapter 68

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

“Well now,” I muse with a smile, “it’s been a while since I’ve seen you wearing that, hasn’t it?”

“Hush you!” Kunou quickly fires back, “It has! But, you know…” she blushes, and turns away, and although she tries to hide it, I can still see traces of a small smile spreading across her face, “It’s a special day, and I remember how much you liked it, so I figured…why not?”

Why not indeed?

She’s wearing the same pretty pink kimono that her mother made her put on when I first showed up at Urakyoto and man, it has not lost its luster one bit. Even in the rather dreary lighting of the city and Urakyoto Palace behind us.

It’s also perfect because our date won’t be starting bright and early, instead, we’re starting a little bit after noon.

It’s a little poetic in that respect truly, since this is around the time that my day with Yasaka had to end early for work.

Now, my day with Kunou is starting late because of work.

I think the world might be telling me something there.

Well, that, or it’s being cheeky to fuck with me.

Either or.

Regardless, I still have a whole half of the day plans left to use, and it's not like the main attraction that I was talking about the other day is closed or anything.

…Okay, technically, it’s not even open to the public yet, and won’t be until November.

But! I have bullshit powers that let me ignore things like that!

…Is it bad that I’m getting into the habit of scurting things like this?

Naahhh.

If it's for girls, it’s perfectly acceptable. 

It’s also kind of funny, I did the same thing for Yasaka’s day too. Heh.

With that spirit in mind, I hold my arm out to her.

“Are you ready then, Princess?” I ask, with noble inflection.

She nearly huffs a rather undignified snort but manages to catch herself and chuckle instead, “I have informed everyone that needs to know that I’ll be gone and all that, so…yes.” She takes my arms, practically snuggling up against it, “I’m ready!”

I return her chuckle with my own, “Then please…close your eyes.”

She blinks, “Huh?” and looks up at me quizzically.

I don’t elaborate, instead, I simply smile at her.

After a moment, she finally realized I was not going to explain, and so complied with a haughty huff, closing her eyes.

I didn’t even hesitate, as soon as she did, we vanished.

In a burst of golden light, we appeared elsewhere.

The jolt from the movement understandably caused Kunou’s eyes to fly open, right as the light faded.

“H-Huh!? What was…” she blinks, blearily, as she finally sees where we ended up, “...woah. T-This is…”

“Gorgeous?” I tried filling in for her, “I know.” I couldn’t help the pleased chuckle that came up from my gut as I watched her completely awed expression.

We have appeared in a giant forest path. Beneath our feet, fallen leaves of all sorts of colors adorn the path seemingly off into the distance, and to our sides, the trees from which the leaves came.

Vibrant oranges, yellows, reds, and greens. And once again, heading straight down the path, seemingly continued for as far as the eye could see.

The trees here were still in transition from Summer to Fall, to the colors were much more a mishmash than when it's usually shown to the public I feel…but honestly? I think that just makes the sight even more beautiful.

Idly, Kunou reaches out, as a leaf randomly falls into her hand, “...Where are we?” She asks, almost in a daze.

“I told you yesterday, didn’t I?” I answer with a smirk, “Kyushu Island. Nearly the northeasternmost point of it. Specifically, we are currently standing the Kawachi Wisteria Garden.”

Kunou took a moment to process that, “But…these aren’t even…” She swept her gaze across the definitely not wisteria trees.

She’s right of course. We are specifically where some seven hundred such variety of different trees fill the gardens specifically for the autumn.

It’s not like we’ll miss the wisteria part of the gardens, though. There are twenty-two wisteria trees, that bloom across something like ten thousand square meters across the garden.

In freedom units, that’s a bit over six miles, which is a lot.

So I doubt we’ll miss it.

“That’s correct,” I confirm aloud for her, “don’t worry though…I think if we follow this path, we’ll come across the wisteria section eventually.”

Kunou's eyes widened at that, and she smiled and held my arm even tighter, “You said yesterday you had everything planned out, yes?”

I nod along, “Yes, I do.”

Her smile grew bigger, “Then what of food, hmm?”

I roll my eyes, “Of course, we can grab a snack if you so desire…or dunch if you’d prefer.”

She almost immediately recoiled at my words, “Dunch? What!?”

I cackled, “Dunch. In between dinner and lunch. Like brunch.”

“That sounds so…so…” Kunou looked legitimately offended at the word combination.

To be honest, I kind of am too. Just doesn’t have the same ring to it as brunch.

Of course, that’s not all I have planned…though, I’m not going to just tell her right now.

We’ll see though, just how much of Kyushu Island we can see in half a day.

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

As it would turn out, not much, though I probably should have seen that coming.

We only managed to hit the major city of Kitakyushu and have dinner there after wandering around so, so many acres of that wisteria garden.

Still, Kunou seemed to enjoy it. No matter where we went, she couldn’t stop smiling.

Even as I took her home, and we went to her bedroom…

Kunou seemed only a tad nervous as we walked into her room together, her gaze pointed down at the floor, face slightly flushed, even though her body was practically pressed into my side and arm. 

She knows what's about to happen, so that makes sense, and it is her first time, so it makes even more sense, I suppose.

Honestly, I'm more amused than anything else.

Out of all my girls, the ones I went on dates first before fucking them are the fox girls. What kind of cosmic joke is that?

Well, regardless, it is Kunou's first time…so I'll be gentle.

Mostly.

As soon as the door closed behind us, I reached around, and grabbed a big handful of her ass, right through her kimono.

“EEP!!” Kunou yipped, rather adorably, before giving a huffy gasp as I pulled her right up against me.

As much as our clothes will allow.

“J-Jeez~...You perv…” She muttered with faux disdain, her blush intensifying, “We just got back, at least-hah~!?” She let out a shocked moan as I groped and squeezed her rear as much as I possibly could through her kimono.

I smirk down at her, before starting, “Oh yeah, I'm well aware we just got back, “I pause, moving my head down to the side of her head, and mutter right into her ear huskily, “…but don't you know how long I've been waiting for this~?”

Her entire body quivers in my grasp at my words.

“H-Hnn…don't get so ahead of yourself you-”

“It's Master.” I interrupt before the brat can go on a name-calling crusade once more.

“W-Wha!?” She exclaims back in alarm, “What d-do you mean by that!?”

“I mean,” I utter to her, “it's Master. Not perv. Not degenerate. Not anything else. For tonight, brat,” she shivers as I hiss the word at her, “and many other nights beyond…I'm your Master. Got it?”

“I…U-Uh…But that's…” she tries to say back, but I simply squeeze her behind harder, causing her to cut herself off with a yelp.

“Say it.” I ordered.

“S-Say what!?”

I stare at her pointedly, “...Who am I?”

“A-Ah…” She looks away, her face practically on fire, “..M-Master...” she stuttered out quietly.

I hum in acknowledgment.

Could be better, but it's a start.

I reach up with my free hand and pat her on the head.

Her entire body seemed to perk up at the act, and that was before I even started speaking.

“Good girl~...” I praised her, “You did it…maybe there's hope to make a proper servant girl out of you yet!”

Kunou's tails swished behind her and her ears twitched, she huffed, even as she pushed her head further against my hand.

“Hmph…Thank you, M~Master...” She shivered as she spoke, still a bit quiet, but much more audible than before.

Look at that, progress! I just have to smash the praise kink until that button is broken!

Well, smash that button…and something else.

“Kunou.” I suddenly speak up, removing my hand from her head.

She perks up once again, this time in attention, looking at me as much as she can, “Y-Yes…Master?”

…Though, if she keeps hitting those buttons on me, I might just decide to switch everything up on the spot.

But no, no. There's a certain way I want to go about this, for her more than anything else.

So I'll reel it in. For now.

“Get out of those clothes.” I follow up with another fairly simple command.

Kunou shudders at my order, yet, for once, doesn't immediately try to question my words.

She gulps, nods slowly, and steps back from me…I unfortunately have to let go of her bottom so she can, but it's well worth it.

I couldn't help the soft whistle I let out as she complied, her adorable pink kimono easily falling to the floor with a few tugs here and there at the garment.

“Well,” I smiled at her, not entirely unlike when one sees a particularly delicious meal set out before them, “you certainly came prepared, huh?”

The fox girl refused to meet my gaze, her cheeks blazing as she stood there in a pair of sexy lacy black underwear that looked like it was taken directly from her mother's closet.

It wouldn't surprise me if that was the case.

In any event, now that she's mostly undressed, it's only fair if I follow suit, no?

Similarly, a few pulls here and there, and my robe was nice and loose and ready to fall.

Except, unlike her, I didn't let it. I grabbed the hem of it and pulled it all down.

That included my boxers underneath.

So when my pile of clothing hit the floor, I was entirely exposed.

Something Kunou most definitely noticed, judging by the way her eyes practically bulged out of her head.

Her gaze was, of course, locked onto a specific section directly beneath my abdomen.

“O-Oh my…” she utters, whether in shock or awe or both, it was kind of hard to tell.

It was kind of hard to see, or even so much as feel it in such big stuffy robes, but I was already at nearly full mast.

All it took was grabbing and getting a feel of her through her clothes, and…yeah.

As I said, I've been waiting for just a little while. To say Nori Junior has been antsy would be a slight understatement.

I don't even say anything, instead, I just start walking toward her.

Kunou, seemingly instinctively, backs up, until she hits the bed and falls back, sitting upright on it.

“Eh!?” She cries out in shock upon hitting the bed, only to pause and stare, almost transfixed, as I'm now standing right in front of her.

Her and her bed’s height is almost comically perfect. With her sitting down as she is, her head is around waist level with me.

This means, as she's sitting there, the only thing that's filling her vision right now is my polearm.

If she started acting like a brat, I'd slap her with it, but she's been shockingly docile so far…so, instead, I put my hand right on top of her head, steadying her.

“First things first,” I speak down at her, though her gaze doesn't even so much as flick away from my member, “for everything to go smoothly, you'll need to get this,” I point to my twitching shaft, “ready. Do you know what I mean?”

“...I…” Kunou uttered, breathly, “Yes…but I've never…”

I pat her on the head, getting the jiff of what she's trying to say despite her shell-shocked utterances.

“That's alright.” I replied with a smile, “You can learn. It shouldn't be too hard…just follow my words, alright?”

Kunou, very briefly, looked up at me, nodding slightly, before looking back at my throbbing rod, and gulping.

“First,” I begin, “hold it steady at the bottom of the shaft. One or two hands, it doesn't matter. You won't need them for a little while.”

She nodded slowly, before tentatively, almost like she was afraid she’d hurt me if she went too fast or something, her hands moved up, and surrounded and grasped the root of my shaft, holding it steady.

“That’s it.” I nod in praise, “Next, use your tongue, brush it along the sides first, with good long strokes, then wrap it around the head, and switch sides. Think like…an ice cream cone.”

“...Ice cream, huh?” She tilts her head slightly in thought, before shrugging, and rolling her tongue out of her mouth, “Ahhh~...” She breathed out hotly as she moved, starting near the bottom, and up to the head, she traced her tongue along the side, lapping at it, almost like well…ice cream.

She goes up to the head, wherein her tongue slides and swirls around the bulb, before going straight back down the other side.

“Oh~...Yeah.” I almost shiver, though I do let out a light pleased breath as I feel her warm tongue continue painting my shaft wet.

I scratch behind her ears as I watch her go, leaving her to move at her own pace, which steadily increased as moments went by, and she got used to the feeling.

Once she got going, I spoke up again.

“That's a real good girl, a very good girl~...” I gave her extra deep scratches, causing her to preen and shake happily. It also made her stop licking, but that’ll change very soon I feel.

“This next bit, I'll leave up to you,” I continue, “now that the shaft is nice and slick, you can stroke it with your hands…or, you can try and take it in your mouth. Just, uh, if you do…watch the teeth, alright?”

I'll be honest, I don't think I know how to explain how to do a blowjob properly besides that one very crucial piece of advice.

Granted, I don’t expect her to jump straight into trying a blowjob…

“Watch the teeth…?” She muttered, “Like…this~?”

Wait, wha-?

Abruptly, her smooth lips wrap the head of my cock, and in the next moment, she’s pushing forward, and got half of it into her mouth!

I was so taken off guard by that sudden escalation, I groaned with satisfaction, and damn near started thrusting up into her face, before catching myself and looking down at her.

For once she’s looking up at me, and she looks rather smug for someone within face fucking range.

Well now, that’s an idea, and I’m not feeling any teeth, so!

I grab ahold of her head, causing her eyes to widen in surprise, but before she can say or do anything else for that matter, I start to thrust. 

Not enough to send my cock down her throat, of course, she’s not ready for that yet, but just enough to where her mouth is more than a little full.

“Mmm!?!” She muffledly moans around my shaft, before I pull back slightly, and thrust again, dragging another moan from her throat.

Then again, and again, and again.

“Mmm!! M~Mmmm~!! M~Mmmm~~!!!”

I may have gotten slightly out of hand face fucking the smug princess, to be entirely fair.

But I can’t be blamed, right? It’s poetic, taking her mouth like this, considering how sassy and haughty and smug she usually is.

I’m just not going to wax on and on about how warm and wet her mouth feels wrapped around most of cock, or how the way her moans feel as they vibrate up and around my shaft.

None of that has any bearing at all as I start thrusting rougher and getting faster.

“Naughty little girl~...” I grunt down huskily at her between thrusts, “You think you can play with Master’s like that, hmm? You think you can play and just get away with it~!?”

“M~Mnnm~!! M~Mmnnm~!!!” Her muffled moans tried to reply.

I can’t say for sure, but I think she’s saying she’s sorry. Kind of hard to tell.

In any event, not but a moment after she tried saying something back did she start moving again, this time, her hands.

She let go of my shaft’s root, as she no longer needed to hold it in place now that I had her head, and swiftly started pulling at her underwear. 

She couldn’t get her bra off her as she was, she settled for simply pulling it down, exposing and enabling her chest to finally bounce around and jiggly freely from the force of her face being fucked.

Her panties slid off with much more ease, falling to the floor with a pull, only for the space they occupied to be swiftly taken up by her hands, as she started rubbing and fingering herself on the spot.

It wasn’t quite furiously, but it was getting there.

She looked up at me now, meeting my husky gaze with an almost desperate and needy one.

After a second, I pull her head off my cock, and eyed her expectantly.

She huffed and puffed rapidly and lightly as she caught her breath, before quickly starting up, “I’m sorry~ Master~!” She spoke and moaned out softly, pressing the side of her face against my shaft, “Please don’t be mad, here~!”

She starts scooting back, getting onto the bed more, and laying down, to spread open her legs and reveal her pretty pink hole.

Her very wet pretty pink hole, which she continued to rub and finger even now.

“I got myself all ready for you, alright~?” She continued, light and sultry, “So- EEP~!!”

Only to be cut off further by her yipping as I pounced on her, pinning her down to the bed.

“That's a good girl~...Though, don't think I'm ready to forgive you so easy~...” I huff down beneath me at her, as I line myself up.

“Wha~!? B-But…Master~ AHH~!?” She cried out, not in pain, but in shock, her full body shivering as my rod poked against her lower zone, nearly piercing through.

In short order, she wraps her arms around my shoulders and holds on tightly.

“M~Master~...” She quivers out into my ear, to which I give only a grunt in acknowledgment, as I focus.

This is her first time, and as much as I played up being a beast with Yasaka, I'm not actually one, it turns out.

Shirone had Rook Durability, Kuroka had a whole bunch more than that going for her, Suzaku was the strongest of the Clans Heads, and so on.

Despite it being their first time, they could take it if I started pounding away incessantly.

Kunou doesn't have any of that, so, I'll be taking this a little slow to start, despite every single urge I have screaming to hilt inside her and pound her outline into the mattress and the sheets.

In that vein, I slowly, and as gently as I could pushed down into her.

“Ah~, Ahn~!! Ammhh~!”

As I went down, Kunou tensed more and more, I heard her as she gasped into my ear, waiting for that final push.

The head slid in easily and quickly, no doubt the work of Kunou's tongue and fingers respectively, but eventually, as I tried pushing the shaft in, the tightness swelled, and it got to the point where I'd needed to give it a little oomph to break through…

“Master~...” Kunou mumbled into my ear, fear and lust in equal measure laced through her voice, “I'm not some little girl~, I'll be okay~...push it inside, as much as you can~...!”

Well, alright then…! No need to talk back to that!

And so, I do just that.

I push. My cock slams down and fills her folds with ease with just a bit more effort.

“A~AHHHNNN!!?” Kunou screams, her entirely lower body and straight up her spine shuddering.

I let her adjust, giving her a moment to get used to feeling filled by my cock, and eventually, her shuddering subsides, and she lets out a nearly dizzy breathy moan.

“A~Ahhh~...Thank you, you~...you can move now, okay~? And~...” she looks me straight in the eyes, her own covered in a lustful haze, “Don't hold back, alright Master~?”

I look at her, not saying anything, instead, I simply raise an eyebrow. 

Then, without further ado, I move.

I thrust, once, a single heavy slam that fills the room with the echoing sound of a clap of flesh, the creaking of a bed, and the shuddering moan of the girl beneath my body.

“OHHH~!! Hahh~...Yes~, please~! More~! Mmm~!!”

That one thrust turns into two.

“AHHHAH~!! Yesh~!! More Master~! Please~! Take me~!!”

Into three, four, five.

“T-Take mee~!!! Ahhnnn~!!!”

I quickly started losing count as l laid into the demanding brat's cunt, pounding her straight into the mattress, just as she was begging for.

Her legs quickly swung and wrapped lazily around my waist, she couldn't leg lock me as she was too short to do so, so that was the best she could do.

“That's right~...” I grunt down at her, already feeling the heat starting to build in my core, “Who's the little brat that's needed this correction for so long~!?”

“M~Me~!! Ahh~!! Me~!! Mmm~!!!” She moaned and breathed out, “Correct~!! Me~!! Mmmm~!!!”

Her eyes roll up slightly as her breath hitches all of a sudden, her entire body shivering and twitching.

Huh. I think she just came.

Well, there's more where that came from!

I don't stop my assault, continuing to pound into her despite her hitting her peak, probably even pushing her a little beyond it…

“Ahhh~!! Master~!! Don't stop~!! Don't ever stop~!! I can't~! I can't~!! Hnngghh~!!!”

Judging by some of the things she's saying.

I gave her a deep amused chuckle, and, just to see what she'd say, grunted out, “Get ready~, because Master's about to cum, alright~!?”

She perks up at that, the haze of sex and lust clearing up in her eyes, but only slightly, “Ah~!? Master's going to~ cum~!? Please Master, cum for me~! Fill me up~!! Breed me~!! Pleasepleaseplease~!!!” She starts begging, almost deliriously, like she's in heat or extreme need.

The way she begs…I won't lie, ignites something in me.

“Pleaeassee~!! I'll be good Master~!!” She continues, clinging to me tighter as she keeps begging, “I'll be really good~!! Just please breed me~!!!”

“Fuck~...” I grunt out lowly, my pace rapidly picking up, as that ignition inside turns into a fucking roaring flame.

A flame that desperately wanted to be released!

Fortunately, I have enough sense not to make it so there's even a chance she gets pregnant, despite her begging for it, because that's an awful idea right now.

With that in mind, I don't hesitate or hold back anymore.

I wrap my arms around her body, and slam deep inside of her in one last heavy thrust, just as the heat inside explodes.

I give a low, primal, sustained grunt, almost a growl, as my inert yet still pretty damn hot seed fills the fox girl writhing in my arms.

“AHHH~!! Y~Yes~!! Yessss~!!!” She moans, her body shaking hard as she clings back onto me, “Haahh~...So warm~...” she giggles, adorably so.

This poor girl, she has no idea, huh?

I haven't gotten soft yet, while she's slowly relaxing.

I sit up, abruptly, bringing her with me as I'm still holding onto her.

“H~Huh!? Ahh!? Master~!?” She shouts out in shock, now that she's all of a sudden straddling my lap.

My still rock-hard rod pierced and filled her.

I give her a grin, and judging by the way she blushes and almost flinches, I think she understands what I'm about to say.

“Master…doesn't forgive you yet.” I state rather simply.

“...Eh? AHHH~!!!”

I did say all night, didn't I? Or did I not?

Eh. It'll be fine. She'll learn that brat correction isn't just a one-time thing…

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

Chapter 68 End

Man, I really wish this was Chapter 69, the contents here would fit soooo much better with it.

It's also pretty fitting, that this arc ends with the kinky fucking of a fox girl, riiiighhht before the Church shows up.

Making me feel real nice. Tho, once again, most of the chapter is just...seggs. Something I tend to prefer to avoid, but eh, in this case. I wrote the lewd section first, because writing smut takes me much longer then writing normal story content...for some reason. But hey, I quite like this one...and it did make my muse be like "both foxes? Yes, both foxes."

So, Yasaka. Her "interlewd" is pretty much finished, I just gotta do an editing pass on it now. Will either have it out tonight, or sometime tomorrow morning. Honestly, I don't think it's really long enough for a full on interlewd, so I'm probably just going to update the old chapter with the extended seggs.

Either way, you guys will know, lol. You'll either get a notification saying an old chap got updated, or one that talks about me posting an interlewd.

Also, big thanks to Lulu and Lee over on QQ for the Kunou imgs this chapter. 

A New Sun Chapter 67

Chapter 67

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Rose look quite so distraught before.

And it’s not the kind of distraught that I saw etched on her face when she had to deal with Odin’s tomfoolery, no, this was a whole new breed of distraught.

It was also all over one very specific detail.

“So, if I’m hearing this right,” Rose began to reiterate, entirely ignoring the crunching noises from Kuroka eating chips in the background, “the Spear of Destiny somehow didn’t return the System when its user died, so you took it…and shoved it under your bed.” She stressed the end particularly harshly.

I nodded along at her words, happily.

Rose sighed in turn, painfully.

“Don’t you have…anywhere else to put it? Like a vault? Or maybe it would be a good idea to hand it to the Gods for safekeeping?” Rose tried, rubbing her forehead with her fingers as she looked at me, almost pleadingly.

I chuckled, and waved her off, gently, “Nah. Well, I probably do have something like a vault around her somewhere…that’d be too obvious a place to check if someone comes looking for it.

“As for handing it over to the Gods,” I pause, humming in thought at the idea, “I think I got a good read on my mother, and she wouldn’t want news getting out they had the thing if I did hand it over, so…she’d likely just stuff it under her bed instead.”

Kuroka snorted and cackled in the background, while Rose groaned heavily, leaning forward to dip her head down and look at the floor.

I reached over, and gently patted her head, making sure to ruffle her beautiful silvery white hair at least a little bit.

“Don’t you worry so much about it, alright, Rose?” I reassure her with a small smile, “If something does happen relating to the spear, like say it starts glowing for no reason, I fully intend to break that bitch in half and chuck it halfway to Hawaii.”

Rose lifts her head abruptly, but slowly, at my touch and words, “I…I don’t think you need to go that far, but…well, alright.” She sighs, and gives a small tired smile back at me, “I’ll leave it to you.”

I give her a nod in return, “Thanks, Rose.”

She blushes slightly, and in the background, I can vaguely see Kuroka poking her head into the room, smirking at the silver-haired girl.

Ah, poor Rose. I will probably have to leave here soon, which means you get stuck with the cat all day.

Apologies, preemptively.

Though before I can do so verbally, Rose suddenly perks up, “Oh! Right! Nori.” She tries to look and speak professionally again, but her fingers twitch in her lap at merely saying my name.

Probably because it isn’t professional or some such.

Cute~!

She clears her throat before continuing, “Speaking of your Mother, she, and the Shinto, sent a…well, lots of things.” With a wave of her hand, a magic circle appeared and deposited one of those three-ringed binders straight into her palm.

Except, unlike most binders, the one which she just summoned to her hand was full.

She sets it down on the table directly next to us and flips it open with professional grace.

“I went through everything, categorized and listed every item based on value and level of importance…” At this point, she started rambling on a bit too quickly, and I quickly lost track of what she saying, blinking blearily at her as she started, somehow, going into…budgets.

Huh.

Though, on a side note, it was at this point I realized that this is probably what she was doing all those days ago when I saw her doing paperwork almost religiously.

I didn’t even know the stuff she sent had come in!

…Man, Odin floundered with this one, didn’t he?

Rose was still going, so I stopped her by simply standing up.

The act caused her to pause in confusion, then sputter as I reached over and placed my hand right on her head.

“Look at you,” I give her a proud smile, “already doing so much for something that isn’t that important.”

She almost immediately became twitchy at my words, “I beg to differ,” she politely, yet shyly, shot back, “rewards or gifts from the Chief God of a Pantheon…that shouldn’t be taken so lightly.”

I shrug, “Maybe. Maybe not. Still.” I ruffle her hair, causing her to yelp, “I appreciate it regardless. Your work will certainly help me sort through everything easier. So, for that, I thank you. Good job Rose.”

The poor girl almost immediately flushed and looked away when I was done speaking, muttering out something very quietly, so quiet, I couldn’t actually hear her.

Though based on the way her lips moved, if I had to guess, I’d say she said something like, ‘I’m just doing my job’ or some such variation of that.

Jeez…how little did this girl get genuine well-meaning praise that wasn’t immediately followed up with a snide remark about her lack of a love life?

Before the girl could fall over or something, I quickly continued with the original point I wanted to bring up before Rose jumped in first.

“I’ll make sure to check it out later, alright?” I continue, smiling as she looks up at me in silent and shy askance, “I’ve got to go check up on the fox girls in Urakyoto, see if they need any help with the cleanup going on, and see what’s up with the meeting with Indra’s people that was supposed to happen last night.”

Rose stared at me, slightly agape, “...Meeting with Indra?” Rose spoke, the words laced with disbelief despite her having spoken them herself, “...Why would he want to meet with some Youkai Leader in Japan, of all places??” She immediately questioned, her eyebrows creasing in befuddlement.

It doesn’t make any sense to me either, Rose, I know.

Though…

I raise my eyebrow at her, “It sounds like you know him. You and the old virgin met with him before?” I ask, purely out of curiosity.

Rose almost makes something of a scoff at that, seemingly not even hearing my disrespectful nickname toward her old employer, “No, we haven’t, he refused to even send his underlings to convene with us when we passed through his territory. Something about us being from a savage, cold, backwater that nobody knows or cares about?” Rose practically seethed as she recounted.

I whistled at that, “Damn…what an arrogant asshole.”

Already knew he was one, but still. Definitely going to say that to his face if I ever meet him, see how bad it pisses him off.

Rose crossed her arms under her chest and leaned back into the couch as she let out an annoyed sigh, “...That’s one way of putting it.” She agreed, “I’ll say, it’s also fairly suspicious this meeting was supposed to happen right around when several Longinus users ambush and attack you and Kuoh Town…at the same time.”

“Yeah…I know, something feels up there.” I stretch my arms out, pausing to let out a light groan as I do, “But, ah…well, there’s only one way to find out if he’s involved, and that would be questioning him personally…something I doubt will be happening anytime soon.”

Rose gave a conceding, albeit annoyed, nod at that, as I pulled out my phone.

Hmm, still nothing from the foxes…

I fire off a quick message, telling them I’m coming on over, before slipping the phone away.

“Now then,” I start, heading toward the door, “I’ll be back when I get back. Till’ then, Rose is in charge!”

“O…Kay?” Rose slowly accepts.

“Nyah~!?” Kuroka shouts and sputters in indignation and shock in the background.

There we go. That ought to make sure she isn’t too much to handle.

Of course, before the cat can come bursting out to protest, I quickly make my leave out the door with a snicker and a smirk.

Next stop? Urakyoto!

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

During a big incident, you can usually expect there to be a bit of movement, bustling, and a touch of well-ordered chaos.

Especially within the center of power with governs the area in which said incident takes place.

It’s odd, but that, as a whole, wasn’t happening in Urakyoto.

The backdoor straight to the palace was sealed up, which makes sense as a security precaution, so I took the ‘long’ way around, into the city proper.

For the most part, the city seemed about as bustly as usual. There wasn’t any panic or fear, no one seemed to care or even know that three Longinus users were just galavanting around practically right out their city causing chaos.

It was only really when I strolled up to the palace did I see anything resembling urgency.

I barely managed to make it to the gates before several tengu, including a much older one whom I assume is the leader or captain of some sort, landed right in front of me.

“Lady Yasaka and Princess Kunou were expecting you, Lord Kusanagi,” the older tengu stated gruffly while bowing minorly, “come. They are busy right now, but we will lead you to a place where you can wait for them in peace.”

He turns, although mid-turn he grumbles, “It’s a good thing you didn’t try and play shinobi this time…”

I gave the old bird a good-natured chuckle at that and followed him leisurely as he started walking.

The other tengu didn’t follow, and instead spread back out, taking to the skies around and likely on the walls surrounding the drearily lit palace.

I was swiftly led to what I thought might be a private living room, judging by the rather lax and modest traditional decor, a bunch of mats, cushions, tables, and such.

The old tengu left without even huffing a word quickly after that, which is perfectly fine by me.

I’d say I don’t think he likes me much, but on the other hand, he might just be your classic Japanese old-guard stereotype who doesn’t like anyone.

Can never really tell at first glance. 

Regardless, it is here I sit now, on a rather comfortable mat, leaning back into it in a way that would likely completely fuck up my back…if I wasn’t built differently.

But I am, so I don’t care. It’s nice and comfy!

In the meantime, I let my senses spread out, finding the hustle and bustle of the Palace’s occupants that I was expecting to find out in the city as a whole.

Everyone’s running around, especially the tengu guards, going to and fro, leaving the Palace only to return for something or another, and leave again.

I unfortunately can’t tell the specifics, but still, they’re moving.

Hmm, I’m also sensing a few familiar ki’s lumbering about. The Genbu and Byakko, they’re with Yasaka right now.

The North and West clans right? Huh. Was the bridge I was fighting on in the territory under their clan's control? Or, maybe in between the two?

In any case, I’m glad I’ve kept a tight leash on my powers since I arrived in the city. If I was fighting in their territory, I’d rather not deal with them sensing me and coming to hassle me.

Not like I think Genbu would. But Byakko would one-hundred percent show up to complain about not getting invited to fight a bunch of Longinus users.

In any event, it looks like Yasaka is going to be held up for a little while still.

But Kunou, well, it didn’t long for her to show up, promptly ruining all the relaxing vibes I had built up.

The door slid open, and almost as soon as she stepped in, she began.

“...You know that’s where Mother usually sits, right?”

“No. I didn’t, actually.” I grunted back at her groggily, my eyes barely halfway open, “I don’t live here you know?”

A huff, followed by dainty little footsteps coming over to and stopping in front of me, followed.

I managed to open my eyes just a touch more, and damn near opened them the rest of the way immediately when I finally registered what exactly I was seeing.

It was Kunou alright, but in an outfit I didn’t expect at all. Rather than some sort of fancy kimono, she was wearing a pure white blouse, with red frilly outlines, and a cute little red bow just beneath the cleavage of her chest. Her skirt and stockings were also white, with a little bit of red outlines on the upper portion of the stockings to match the blouse.

Needless to say, she looked fucking cute. At the same time, the amount of cleavage and those stockings are stirring something in me…

Kunou seems completely oblivious to her flipping a bunch of my internal switches, and yet still makes it worse by crossing her arms under her chest and leaning forward to look down at me pompously.

“Well? Now you do! Get up!” She commanded.

I wasn’t listening though, and instead, reached out, and grabbed her arms.

“...Huh? What are you-EEK!?”

And then promptly pulled her into my lap and right up against me.

Fluffy tails acquired.

“Hnnngh!” She squirmed around, “What do you think you’re doing, pervert!”

I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her against me tightly so she couldn’t escape.

“Well, I was just thinking, I could use another pillow to make laying here more comfortable…” I drawled out with faux tiredness, “Then you came along, Princess. Now here we are!”

“Huh!?” She scoffs, sounding legitimately offended, “I-I’m not some pillow you can just-”

I proceed to shut her up, by snuggling her.

“HHNNGHHHH!” That, unfortunately, just makes her squirm harder, “And here I was! Coming to check on you after you fought three Longinus users! You big damn pervert! Let me go!”

Doubly unfortunately, her words just make me squeeze her back harder, and coo, “Awww~! You do care!”

“Ghaa!! You degenerate sicko! Not anymore!” She rapidly bats at my head, almost like a cat.

I chuckle even as she spats and bats at me more and more.

Until eventually, my voice loses its teasing tone, and I start again.

“Seriously though, when I saw what you were wearing, I couldn’t help just snatching you up…you’re oh so lucky, you know?” I move to whisper to her ear, “I would have started a diplomatic incident already if the plan wasn’t to bed you after our date~!”

Kunou shivers and lets out a breathy gasp at that, finally simmering down, she lets out a much quieter and weak, “D-Damn perv…”

I give her a good-natured chuckle. She slapped me over the head again, not like it did anything.

“...I was worried, once Mother told me what happened.” Kunou begins after a moment's pause, leaning against me herself, “But she seemed confident you were okay, and as much of a…deviant,” she hisses out lowly, “as you can be sometimes, your strength is the real deal. Just like when you fought Ibaraki. And Loki, too. But, still.”

Her tails swayed restlessly behind her as she pushed her face into my chest, “...I don’t like it.” She muffledly admits.

I raise an eyebrow, “Don’t like what?”

“The…idea of you getting hurt.” She clarifies, slowly.

This is prime teasing bait, but no, not now. Maybe later.

I rub and pat her back gently, “Yeah, that’d do it. You care, so you don’t want me hurt…but I care, so I go and fight the idiots, the malicious, the whoever…so you all don’t get hurt first.” I reach up, scratching her fluffy little fox ears, “I heal, but you don’t…so feel free to worry, because I know I won’t be able to stop you, just know, I’ll come back no matter what, alright?”

After a second, Kunou slowly pulls back, looking me straight in the eyes.

“...Do you promise?” She asks, sternly, almost desperately.

I don’t even hesitate. Why would I when it’s the truth?

“I promise.”

“Do you mean it?” She fired back, grasping onto me tightly, eyes growing intense, “Because failing to uphold a promise to a Princess is punishable, you know!”

I give her an amused chuckle, before answering again, “Yeah, I promise, Princess. I do.”

She gives me a good, long, and hard stern stare, before relaxing just a tad and nodding in satisfaction.

“Good.” She starts, relieved, “Then, because I am a benevolent Princess who rewards those who do well…” She trails off.

I don’t even get to ask what exactly she means by that, before she outright shows me, by leaning forward and kissing me on the cheek.

It was pretty tame, but for her, it was a tad shocking, so I was still slightly stunned.

She pulls back, and gives me a cute little wink, “Keep up the good work, and who knows, there might be more where that came from.”

Ah, there’s her Princess training from Yasaka kicking in.

I smirk back at her, “Might?” I parrot back huskily, before dragging her right back up against me, our faces right up against each other as I look her right in the eye, “Oh, Princess…you forget yourself…I’ll be taking everything eventually~...”

Unfortunately, her Princess training wasn’t Nori training, so Kunou almost immediately gives a full-body shiver that shoots down her spine are my words, as she bites her lip, and her cheeks light up like spotlights.

Her only retaliatory comment?

“Damn, p-perv…”

“You know it~!” I add on with a chuckle, causing her to look down and give a long huffing sigh.

As fun as it is teasing my little fox princess here, we do have stuff we need to discuss, unfortunately.

Now that all of that is out of the way, may as well get into this.

“Speaking of taking everything,” I continue with a smile, to her embarrassed groan, “our date. That still on for anytime soon?”

Kunou slowly looks back up at me, much more shyly than before, “I…suppose? Mother is handling pretty much everything right now, I only helped out here or there at the start.” She pointed at me, “Also, you mean ‘courting ritual’, correct?”

I rolled my eyes at that, and swiftly waved her off, “Pretty much the same thing. I’m just calling it a date because it’s easier to say, and I’m feeling mighty lazy right now.”

She huffs at that, “You better not be lazy for our day…” he blush magnified, “...or night.” She finished, a touch quieter.

I chuckled, and quickly spoke to assuage her of that idea, “I won’t be. Got it all pretty much planned out already, in fact.”

“Really?” She perked up, “That’s…good, yes. Hmph.” She nods a few times, “That’s far better than I was expecting.”

Hey now. I may be blunt, and kind of a dick at times, but I try not to slouch on special occasions like this!

Blow to my pride brushed aside though, though not forgotten, I continue.

“All that’s left, is when we are actually going to head out.”

Kunou hummed in thought, “How about…Well, I want to say tonight, but that might be a bit too early…I want to make sure Mother doesn’t need me.” She looks my way, unsure, “Is…Is that okay?”

I pat her on the head all of a sudden, causing her to squeak in indignation, “Heh! Of course it’s okay, Princess, there isn’t a time limit to this or anything. We can head out whenever you’re ready.”

She huffed, batting my hand away before responding with a pout, “Then tomorrow, most definitely, if Mother doesn’t need me!” She nods a few times, as if proud of herself for being able to schedule.

Cute.

“That aside,” Kunou continues, a frown slowly growing across her pretty little face, “can you please get off of Mother’s seat now!?”

She’s still on about this?

“I don’t see her usin’ it.” I reply plainly, leaning back into the cushions, dragging the small fox girl with me along the way.

“W-Well!” Kunou sputtered as we went down, “That’s because she’s busy! She’ll want to use it after she’s done!”

“Then she’s welcome to join us.” I state, prompting Kunou to blanche.

“J-Join!? That…That’s!” She stumbles over her words, her tails rapidly swaying with something like panic, “That’s degenerate!”

“No, that’s oyakodon.” I correct her.

“...What!?” She cries in legitimate confusion.

Oh, you sweet summer child.

“Besides,” I continue, pretending I didn’t say that, “there’s plenty of room here. It’ll be fine~...” I trail off.

“Hnnghhh!” Kunou struggles, squirming around atop me, before finally giving up with one final pout.

With that, we lay in a comfortable silence.

For all but a few minutes, before the Princess had to ruin it.

“...Can you at least tell me where you plan to court me?” She mumbled out all of a sudden.

“You mean where I plan to take you on a date and then proceed to have my wicked way with you?” I correct once more for her.

“Hnnnghhhh!!” She strains, only reaching up to bat me on the face once, “I’m being serious you depraved man…”

“So am I?” I snarked back, only to get batted once again.

“Come on!” She almost pleads, “You can’t tell me even a little bit?” 

I hum thoughtfully at that for a second, before shrugging and deciding to give her a few crumbs.

“So, I know your Mother can’t leave Kyoto. I figured that means you haven’t really gotten the chance to leave yourself, right?” I half ask, half state, already figuring I know the answer to that.

I wasn’t shocked when she nodded, slowly, “You’re right, the furthest I’ve been out of Kyoto has been to Tokyo, that’s about it.” She fills in my assumption, slightly downtrodden.

I nod back at her, “That’s about what I figured, yeah, so we’ll be heading out a little further than Tokyo.”

She perked up at that, “...How far are you talking about?”

I hum, keeping my lips shut in a smile, even as her stare becomes an increasingly more and more intense glare.

I didn’t break, more so that I just wanted to tease her a little more before I gave her the crumbs.

Just when it looked like she was about to turn away with a huff and become her default state of haughty pouting Princess, I spoke up.

“Well, I heard of a couple of places over on Kyushu Island that were free and looked quite beautiful this time of year.”

“...Kyushu?” She parroted back, with a touch of awe, and almost something sounding like disbelief, “That…Well!” She gave me this absolutely beautiful smile, her excitement barely contained in her voice, “I can’t wait.”

Well…if you’re going to look at me like that, I have to say the same, huh?

< ~ A New Sun ~ >

Chapter 67 End

Date and lewd next chapter, and that'll be the end of this second Kyoto arc. Gods willing, lewding fox daughter gives me the strength to finish the interlewd for the mother at the same time. We shall see.

Big thanks to Emperor Lee over on QQ for the Kunou img.