Ch 40: Scattered to the winds.

The four of them appeared in a white room, devoid of furniture.

“Before I insert you all in the next world, I will offer you a choice. And Noah, you will not be the one choosing. It will be them.”

“Oh?”

“Asuna, Suzu, Kaede. You can start in the new world at your Master’s side and support him from the beginning. Or, you can start at a different location, and will gain an opportunity to obtain a special power. As your Master mentioned, your soul contracts with him mean that you will be able to share with him a special ability or trait, should you acquire one. But it might be weeks, months or even years before you reconnect with him.”

“I wish to start at a different location, Lilith-sama.” Said Asuna almost immediately.

Lilith nodded and looked at the twins.

“Kaede, Suzu, you can stay by your Master’s side, start at another place together and gain one ability that you will both share, or start at two different positions and gain one ability each.”

Kaede and Suzu faced each other. Suddenly, both lifted their arms and grabbed each other’s hands, interlacing their fingers, and nodded in sync.

“It’s for Master’s sake!” declared Kaede.

“For Master.” nodded Suzu.

“Lilith-sama, we’ll choose separate locations.” Replied Kaede.

Noah smiled warmly at his girls, feeling his heart melt. Then a thought occurred to him.

“Lilith-sama, you said some time ago that there would be other champions involved. Is there a risk they will try to steal my girls before I can find them?”

“I changed my mind about which world I would first send you to. You will be the only Champion on this one, but you will be busy. Your adventure in that game was a stroll in the park compared to what awaits you. But there will be a competitive element in the next world, should you wish to continue. I will give you a moment to say goodbye with each other. Also, none of you will be able to use your teleportation ability to meet each other until you have reunited the normal way.”

Noah, Asuna, Kaede and Suzu hugged together.

“Thank you, Asuna, Suzu, Kaede. I know it’s hard for you. It certainly is for me.”

Asuna smiled. “It’s fine, Master. We’re going to a world where some people will have special powers, and I’m sure some will end up in the harem. I need to get one, to keep my position as the first among your women.”

“That’s true.” Said Kaede. “The stronger you are, the stronger we all are, the safer we will be! Being alone will be painful, but I will endure.”

“We must become strong!” nodded Suzu.

“Let’s work hard, and find each other on the other side.” Promised Noah.

“Yes!” Asuna, Kaede and Suzu nodded.

After a few more seconds, they stopped hugging, and looked at Lilith with eyes blazing with determination.

Lilith smiled and snapped her finger.

…

Noah looked at his surroundings, ready to seize his Vortex’s Edge replica from his inventory at the first sign of danger. He was alone, at night, in the middle of a deserted street. Each side of the street was dotted with a mix of low-rise buildings and individual homes, and the streetlamps were a clue that the setting for this world was modern.

[Noah. I made this world by taking inspiration from six different fictions and fanfictions. You do not know them all. As you now have some experience, I will also not give you any more advice until the end. You get no quest by default, either. But you can buy quests, and completing them will provide you greater rewards than their initial cost. The first quest is cheap, but each one after will be much more expensive. You will earn Yin points by using healing, Yin points and Experience by killing monsters, and Yang points by collecting more slaves. Your only mission is to thrive, gather subordinates, and become the dominant power.]

[If you get yourself killed, I will revive you and send you back to the SAO world, because it would be bothersome and more than a little embarrassing to replace you over there almost as soon as I made that public declaration, but that will be the end of the Great Game for you. And I know you’ll want to keep access to this world, at the very least, so make sure not to die. I will give you one parting gift. Good luck. I’ll be watching.]

[User has gained the Sacred Gear: Gemini Drive]

[Gemini Drive?] asked Noah, trying to contain his excitement at the mention of the words “Sacred Gear”.

[If any magic or ability successfully hit User, User will be able to instantly learn it, or a close variant of it. Magic spells causing direct damage like fire balls cannot be learned that way.]

[That sounds very strong. Thanks.]

[User gained Special ability from User’s bond with Kaede: Light Magic Affinity. Advanced Light Magic: Hard Light Arsenal.]

[User gained Special ability from User’s bond with Suzu: Demonic Magic Affinity, Bloodline ability: Hole.]

[How interesting…]

Noah was getting increasingly excited as he considered. The existence of Light and Demonic magic, not to mention sacred gears, indicated that Highschool DxD was one of the fictions that had been used by Lilith for inspiration, and describing that fiction as a target-rich-environment was an understatement. Fish-in-a-barrel would be more accurate. There were plenty of beauties in this novel… And Noah wanted at least half of them.

Still careful of his surroundings, Noah examined his new abilities. Light and Demonic Affinity were just that, affinities. He wouldn’t be able to use them for anything unless he learned the associated magic. Or until he was targeted by it, and Gemini Drive would allow him to learn it. So far, he had one magic in the Light category.

Hard Light Arsenal was, as the name suggested, a way to gather light into a solid shape, and use it as weapons. It didn’t sound all that strong, when he could already create weapons, but he already had a few ideas he wanted to test.

The last ability, Hole, had two modes. It could be used to create small black holes, attracting enemies or attacks to its center, or it could be used as portals. Noah thought about a scene from the Genshin Impact 3 game, where the possessed heroine opened multiple portals to swallow incoming artillery shells, and reopened those portals at another place, sending the projectiles back at the mechas who had fired them.

The world of Highschool DxD was more or less divided into three large areas. Heaven, home of the angels, the Underworld, home of the devils, and the human world, where both devils and angels maintained a presence and had deep business connections. The human world was further divided into several areas, with pantheons of local gods ruling over them.

From the skills he had just gained, Noah suspected Kaede was either in Heaven, or somewhere close to the Vatican. And Suzu might be somewhere in the underworld.

As he was thinking about those, Noah felt something, and quickly turned around. That was when he saw, it.

A tall, dark shape partially hidden behind a corner. Noah could see it clearly, thanks to his night vision. The thing had a dark gray skin, large limbs, and was three meters tall. Long arms ended in sharps claws, but the most distinctive features were the thick mask covering its face, seemingly made of white plaster, as well as the hole in the middle of its chest, about thirty centimeters in diameter and all the way through.

A hollow.

“Bleach, eh? With a side of DxD? It’s going to be interesting. And crazy.” Noah said out loud and laughed, as he took his Vortex’s Edge from his inventory.

The Hollow, seeing that Noah wasn’t scared and had instead taken a weapon, decided to run away.

Noah pursued him, turning the street's corner. And before he made three steps, he found himself, in yet another world.

Dunes of white sand spread all over most the horizon, excepted for a rocky area, with few desiccated trees breaking the monopoly of the landscape. A crescent shaped moon in dark, starless sky illuminated the land.

It was a desolate space. It was Hueco Mundo, the world of the hollows.

And speaking of hollows, the one Noah had pursued had stopped running a few dozen meters away from Noah. It didn’t need to run, because it wasn’t alone. Two dozen hollows were standing behind him, and more were emerging from the sand. Those hollows had various body and mask shapes, but all shared having a white mask and a hole in their chest.

Noah had fallen into an ambush.

In a split second, he weighted his chances. He was confident he could deal with a hollow or two. But dozens?

“Shit!” Noah cursed, as he started to run across the desert, the hollows running after him.

…

Kaede appeared inside what looked to be a church, wearing her day maid uniform, for some reason. She looked around and the church seemed to be empty. Since she was alone, she first paid attention to the ability Lilith had given her, Hard Light Arsenal. She already knew how to use it, similar to the abilities she gained from her Master.

Light gathered between her hands, and she formed a spear made of yellow light, almost weightless, but hard as metal. Holding it, her memories for her time in SAO resurfaced, and she started twirling it, executing a few of her favorite moves. They were harder to do without the assistance of the system, but she managed. She became so engrossed in playing with her spear, going from one movement to another, that the was taken by complete surprise when she saw someone looking at her. That person was a tall, beautiful nun, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and she clapped with a smile when she saw Kaede notice her.

“Ah!” Kaede blushed, wondering he she should keep the spear at the ready, or dissipate it. Finally, she let it go, and the spear dissipated into motes of light.

“That was beautiful. You obviously have a lot of training and experience. I am sister Griselda.”

“Hello. I am Kaede Aizawa. I’m sorry for intruding…”

“Miss Aizawa, I’m not angry about you being there. But how did you enter the church? This isn’t a place any tourist can reach.”

“…I was sent there.” Said Kaede cautiously.

“Sent there? Could it be, that the Lord sent you to this place? Or maybe, some other power?”

Griselda walked a little closer, her smile turning warm.

“Please tell me, miss Aizawa. You are human, right?”

“Huh? yes? Why would I not be?” Kaede was flabbergasted at the strange question, unaware of this world’s peculiarities.

“Can I see your spear again, please? I wish to confirm something.”

Kaede recreated the spear, and let Griselda examine it.

“It’s not quite light magic. It seems, better, stronger. So, it must be a sacred gear!”

“Sacred gears?” asked Kaede, unfamiliar with the term.

“Yes. They are the proof that you are human. They are something that God gave humanity, so that they could defend themselves against hollows, fallen angels, and devils. Sacred gears can take many forms, and in some rare cases, they can evolve and become even stronger.”

“The one who sent me there, gave this ability to me.” Said Kaede, as an idea came to her. Surely Lilith had sent her to this place for her to meet this Griselda. Maybe she was supposed to become her disciple or something. Her expectations weren’t far from the truth, when Griselda suddenly grew more serious.

“Please tell me, miss Aizawa, would you be interested in joining the Inquisition? It is a branch of the church that fights to protect humanity. I’m sure you have great potential, and you must have been sent here for this reason.”

“…Would I be able to become strong?”

“Yes! We have many experts in our ranks. I am not half bad myself. We could teach you light magic, assuming you have an affinity for it, as well as how to better use your sacred gear, and give you combat training. And, you aren’t limited to just creating spears, I suspect?”

“No… I am willing to join, on one condition. I will not take action against my Master, or his other maids.”

“You are a real maid?”

Kaede nodded.

“I am not doing cosplay, if that is what you mean.” She said with a small smile.

“Is your master human?”

“Yes.”

“Is he associated with devils or fallen angels?”

“Not as far as I’m aware. I didn’t even know they existed until you mentioned them.”

“Then it’s fine! Do you know where you Master is? I would like to speak to him.”

“He was sent somewhere else, too. I do not know where. I’m willing to join, sister Griselda.”

“I’m very happy to hear that. Please come with me. I will guide you through the procedures and supervise your training. I will be a strict teacher, but I promise you, Kaede, you will become strong.”

…

Suzu, dressed in her day maid outfit, appeared in the middle of an empty parking lot in front of a warehouse. She looked around, seeing no one, which made sense as she glanced upward at the night sky. She decided to first go to a less exposed position. Suzu walked closer to the warehouse as she thought about the skill Lilith had gifted her. She was quite satisfied with it.

She suddenly stopped, lifting her head. Thanks to the night vision skill her Master had gifted her, she had seen the head of someone, peeking at her from a window on the warehouse’s upper floor. And it wasn’t a human’s face. Noticing Suzu had spotted it, the face disappeared.

Suzu put a hand behind her back and used Item Creation to make a copy of the dagger she used during SAO’s last few months.

Noise came from the warehouse’s door, and it slowly opened, revealing only darkness inside. But Suzu had night vision, and she could see the shape mostly hidden behind the door.

From it, a voice came through.

“Little lady, it isn’t safe to be out at night. Why do you not come, inside? You will be safe here.” The words were innocuous enough, but they were spoken by a hissing, slightly strident voice. One that would be suited for a witch in a cartoon.

Keeping her eyes fixed on the door and the dagger hidden behind her back, Suzu slowly started backing away.

“… If you do not come to me, little lady, I will come to you.”

A four meters tall figure appeared. Whatever it was had the torso of a human woman and still wore torn clothes, but the limbs were exaggeratingly long, and the thing’s neck was almost the length of Suzu’s arm. The head of the creature might have looked like that of a woman, if not for her mouth full of sharp yellow teeth extending from the base on one ear to the other.

“Your flesh looks so tender…” said the thing, bending forward until her clawed hands reached the ground.

Realizing that she would be severely disadvantaged in close quarters, due to the reach of the creature and its probable nimbleness, Suzu pointed the index of her free hand toward the creature and decided to use her new ability, Hole.

The thing, that would have made a pretty terrifying monster in a horror movie, likely realized something as it tried to evade, but its movements were greatly slowed down by the sudden attraction force of the fifty centimeters wide portal appearing right where it had been.

The thing tried to sink its claws into the asphalt, but the portal’s attraction was relentless, and it was sucked in. The portal’s razor-sharp edges dismantled the monster as most of its torso was sucked in, and the rest was projected behind the portal for an instant, before they were sucked back in. In seconds, the monster had completely been swallowed, not even leaving blood behind.

Suzu stopped the skill, and the Hole closed itself.

Suzu breathed out in relief, and then raised her vigilance as she heard the sounds of wings beating. Big wings. And more than a single pair.

Turning toward the sounds, her eyes widened as she saw one boy and three girls land gracefully, about ten meters from her. They had moderately sized bat wings coming from their lower backs, which folded and disappeared behind them.

“Hello. We mean you no harm. We’d just like to talk to you, if that’s okay.” Said the one Suzu supposed to be their leader with a kind smile, as she slowly walked into comfortable talking distance.

Suzu examined them closely. The one who had just spoken was a gorgeous young woman with long, straight crimson hairs and blue eyes. And her body was just as attractive as her face. Her bust size in particular was, impressive.

To her right, standing a step back, was an equally gorgeous young woman with very long black hairs in a ponytail and purple eyes. Her body curves and bust were just as impressive, and of a second, Suzu wondered what they ate to grow them that big.

To the two women’s left was a boy with blue eyes and short blond eyes. He was handsome, though not as much as her Master. And beside the boy was a very cute younger girl, with short white hairs ending at neck level, and golden eyes.

Suzu nodded, and used item creation again to create a sheath for her dagger, since she didn’t have any place to store it. She sheathed the short blade, but kept her hand close to the hilt, just in case. She noticed they observed with interest the creation process.

“My name is Rias Gremory.” Said the redhead. “My companions are the members of my peerage. Akeno Himejima, Yuuto Kiba, and Koneko Toujou. It is nice to meet you. You currently are in my family’s territory.”

“…I’ll leave.” said Suzu.

“No, I didn’t mean it that way. I am not trying to chase you away. I just said this because were patrolling our territory to search for stray devils, like the one you just killed. That ability you just used, it is Hole, right? So you must be a member of the Abaddon family…"

Suzu shook her head.

“I’m Suzu. Suzu Aizawa.”

“It is nice to meet you, Suzu. Are you also hunting stray devils?” asked Rias.

“No… I am, traveling, to become stronger.”

“Do you know where your relatives are, Suzu-chan? For you to be able to use Hole, they must be related to the Abaddon Family.” wondered Akeno.

“They, aren’t in this world.” Truthfully said Suzu.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She apologized.

“No, it’s fine.” said Suzu as she shook her head.

“Have you been all alone since then?” asked Rias with compassion.

“No. I have my sister, and my Master. And a close friend. But, we got separated. I want to train and become stronger, before I search for them.”

“I see... Is your Master a human?” asked Rias, as she looked at Suzu up and down, a speculative gleam in her eyes.

“Yes.” Suzu was also looking at the four in turn. The boy held no interest to her, but she was already thinking that meeting those… devils?... might be the reason Lilith had sent her here.

“Suzu, would you be willing to become a member of my peerage? I would take care of you, and I would help you become stronger. I could use my family’s resources to help you search for the three people you seek.”

“Your peerage?” Suzu tilted her head in confusion.

“I could reincarnate you as a devil like us, using something called an Evil Piece. If I do, you would become part of my entourage, and also part of my team, both to participate in a competition between devils that we call rating games, and for real fights, mostly patrolling to eliminate stray devils like the one you killed, and big monsters called hollows. But I should warn you that we devils also have enemies, mostly the fallen angels, and the catholic church. In return, you would gain some territory in the underworld, and as a reincarnated devil, your lifespan would be extended to ten thousand years.”

Suzu thought about it, as she gazed in turn at the four devils. The more she pondered, the more certain she was that Lilith wanted her to accept Rias’s invitation.

“I have two requests.” she finally said.

“Please state them. I am willing to fulfill them, as long as they aren’t absurd.”

“I will call you Rias-sama. I already have a Master.”

“I’m fine with it. You can even call me just Rias, Suzu, in all but official settings. What’s your second request?”

“I will not act against my Master, or any of his subordinates. That includes my sister and my friend.”

“I understand. I would not be so cruel as to ask you to do this. Welcome to my family, Suzu.” Said Rias with a radiant smile as she extended her hand toward Suzu, who accepted it.

“It’s nice that we have gained another member, ufufu...” giggled Akeno as she smiled and came closer.

“Welcome.” said Koneko with a nod, and the shadow of a smile. Suzu guessed that the little white-haired girl was similar to her, being sparse with both words and facial expressions.

“I am glad that we have a new team member. And I think you have potential. As long as you train diligently, you will become strong.” Said Yuuto with a smile.

“Let’s all return home. Then, we’ll get to know each other, and we’ll answer any question you may have, Suzu.”

“Yes. Thank you, everyone.” Suzu felt genuine gratefulness at the warm welcome. Those people seemed to be nice, although a bit naive in her opinion, and she felt she could get along with them. And she knew exactly how to return the favor. One day, she would reunite with her Master. And wouldn’t it be nice, for everyone involved, if she could on that day present him with Rias and Akeno, both bound and wearing only a gift ribbon? Her master would like them both for certain.

She was confident that she would manage to pull it off, given enough time. She had the Hands of Nirvana skill, as well as ample experience on how to please a girl's body, and had seen her Master and Asuna in action plenty of times.

…

Asuna opened her eyes. She was laying on the grass, under the shade of a tree. Raising her upper body, she examined her surroundings, seeing no immediate threat. To her left was a forest. To her right was what looked like an eighteenth-century Japanese village. A poor village, with most of the huts and shacks she could see being in a damaged state. Beyond the village, she could see some kind of immense white castle in the distance. She was too far to see the many details, but it had to be many hundreds of meters in height. Standing beside the castle was an even bigger rock formation, that abruptly ended in a slightly angled slope, as if a god had cut it with an axe and removed the top part.

Guessing that Lilith didn’t send her to this place to try her hand at surviving in a forest, Asuna rose to her feet and entered the village to collect information. As she did, she noticed that she now wore a pale green yukata, the more casual kind of kimono.

She grinned at the thought of starting in this place still wearing the gala dress she had put on for the conference. That would have made her stand out far too much for her taste.

She could see a few villagers, and chose to go talk to a young woman close by.

“Hello? May I take some of your time?” she asked politely.

“I don’t mind. Are you perhaps new here?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“Your yukata looks brand new. It’s not going to last long.” smiled the woman.

“I see. Can you please tell me where I am?”

The women looked at Asuna with sympathy.

“Well, I’m sorry if I am the one to break the news to you, but if you are here, it means that you are dead. This is the afterlife.”

“Dead?” asked Asuna in surprise.

“Yes. This place is called Soul Society, where the souls of the dead wait until the time comes for them to reincarnate. There is only one inhabited city in Soul Society, called Rukongai, and you are on its western’s edge.”

“I can’t believe I’m dead… What is this big white castle in the distance?” asked Asuna.

“This is the Seireitei, where the Shinigami lives. They are like nobility in this place.”

“Shinigami?”

“They are the Death Gods that regularly descend to the human world to deal with monsters called Hollows, and to help guide errant souls to the Soul Society, before they get corroded and become hollows.”

“Descend to the human world…” mused Asuna, as she started to understand what she was meant to do. Noah or the twins would either be in this Soul Society like her, or they would be in the human world. Either way, this white castle seemed to be where she should go.

“I do not know much more about them. We are forbidden to enter the Seireitei, only Shinigami can.”

“Are Shinigami strong? Do they get special powers?”

The woman shrugged. “They have a special katana, called Soul Slayers, or Zanpakutos. They use it to fight hollows. And they can use magic, too. If you wish to know more, you should talk to them. They regularly patrol Rukongai to deal with troublemakers or recruit those who have high spiritual power. You’ll recognize them easily, they are the only ones dressed in black. A few of them are arrogant pricks, but the vast majority are decent fellows, so there’s no risk talking to them, as long as you as you remain respectful.”

“Thank you very much. I wish you a good day.” Said Asuna gratefully, as she headed toward the Seireitei.

She walked for a fairly long time, as the Rukongai was really a huge place. She estimated she had traveled about half the distance to the Seireitei when she spotted the first Shinigami. A woman wearing black kimono, with a katana sheathed on her waist. She had a wooden insignia tied on her left arm with the kanji for the number eight, and what seemed like a stylized strelitzia flower.

She was headed Asuna’s way, as she carefully looked at each civilian on the side for a few seconds, before switching to the next.

Asuna walked closer, and the woman noticed her. Asuna could see she was taken aback by her beauty. A few seconds later, her eyes widened, and she walked closer.

“What’s your name, miss?” She asked with a polite smile.

“…I am Asuna Yuuki.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Asuna.” Said the woman. “I am Mikoto Kirisawa, of the Gotei 13’s Eight Division. I can feel that you have a lot of Reiatsu. Do you wish to become a Shinigami?”

Asuna smiled politely.

“Maybe, but I am unfamiliar with some of the terms you use. Gotei 13? Reiatsu?”

“Would you walk with me? I will explain and answer your questions.”

“Sure.”

Mikoto walked toward the Seireitei, with Asuna walking at her side.

“We Shinigami are responsible for maintaining the natural order and keeping the balance between the three worlds. The Human World, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo. Well, there’s also Hell and the Underworld, but I’ll try to keep it simple. Our role is crucial. Without us, all the ghosts that remain on the human world would eventually turn into hollows, and countless more humans would die.”

“G-Ghosts? I’m no good with ghosts and undead.” said Asuna as she paled.

Mikoto laughed.

“Not that kind of ghosts. Rather, you should call them souls. They look like how they were before their death, except that they are somewhat translucent, and have a broken chain hanging from their chest. When we find any of them, we send them to Soul Society.”

“A chain?”

“A chain that once linked their souls to their physical bodies. But that chain has been severed when they died, and as a result, their souls could not reenter their bodies. When someone dies, they will see a shining portal leading them to Soul Society. Most of them end up here this way. But some have a very strong emotional attachment to the human world, for one reason or another. It could be a desire to watch their loved ones, a desire to get revenge, anything."

"They become errant souls, and we call them Plus. A few of them even have enough spiritual power to affect the material world, like moving objects or such. A lot of ghost stories originate from this. And Hollows love to devour any Plus they can find. They are like fine delicacies to them."

“What are Hollows?” wondered Asuna.

“There are two kinds of Hollows. Most of the first kind is Born in Hueco Mundo, and tend to stay there, so they aren't much of a danger to humans. The second kind of Hollows, however, are former Plus who became a Minus, when too much time spent as an errand soul corroded their humanity past a certain point, and they become monsters. At the place where their chain was attached to their chest, they have a hole, representing a desire they can never fill, hence the name. And their human face is covered by a monster’s mask."

"Their forms and size vary a lot. Hollows with pure white masks are the normal ones, and are already dangerous enough. Hollows with colored masks generally are stronger, smarter. And the more color to the mask, the stronger the hollow. There’s a lot more to learn about them, but I do not want to overwhelm you with information.”

“So Shinigami go to the human world, kill hollows, which are like evil spirits, and find errant souls to bring them to soul society before they turn into hollows?”

Mikoto grinned.

“That’s right. Although we do not actually kill hollows. Our swords, called Soul Slayers, are special. We do not kill hollows, we purify them, and they end up in soul society after losing the memories of what they did while they had become hollows. There is a second way for hollows to be born, however, and that's about the first type. Hueco Mundo, the world where most hollows live, constantly absorbs some of the human world’s negative energy, and that energy regularly coalesce into more hollows. Those are killed when we defeat them. And some hollows can eat other hollows to grow stronger and turn into Menos Grande. Those are really dangerous, and for the lieutenants and captains to deal with.”

“How long does the training take, to become a Shinigami?”

“That will depend on your talent, and your reiatsu. That’s the word for spiritual power, by the way. For most people, it takes anywhere from three to ten years. But I can feel you have quite a bit of it, and if you do particularly well, maybe you can do it in two years or less.”

Asuna smiled. “For what it’s worth, I was a good student, before. One of the best of my grade.”

“Good. What you will learn in the Shinigami academy is mostly magic, and combat training. It can be quite fun.”

“You said there are lieutenants and captains? How are the Shinigami organized?”

“Shinigami are divided into a few major organizations. Central 46, the judiciary court that makes the decisions. The Hado corps, who specialize in magic and stay in the Seireitei. The Gotei 13, made of 13 divisions, each with a Captain, a lieutenant, a third seat, and about two hundred members on average. I’m part of the eighth. A few of them are specialized. The second division does Intelligence work. The fourth one specializes in support and healing. And the twelfth is the research division. I advise you to stay away from the twelfth. Their captain tends to… take liberties with the notion of consent, when he starts thinking someone would be an interesting subject for experiments. You do not want to catch his attention.”

“Urgh… I’ll take that advice to heart.”

“Gotei 13 is led by the First Division’s Captain, Genryusai Yamamoto. He walks carrying a staff and has a long white beard. But he isn’t anywhere near frail, and his body is very fit. He’s also the strongest. He is strict, and no one dares anger him, but he is also fair. Most of the time.”

“The Gotei 13 are those who return to the human world to fight hollows, right?”

“Yes. It is rare for members of the Hado corps to leave Soul Society. It mostly happens when there is something that requires magic to be solved.”

“I think I’d like to join the Gotei 13, if I can. Do you have any recommendation about the division I should aim for?”

“Avoid the twelfth, unless you’re fine with having parts of your body replaced with prosthetics. Which may or may not look like the original parts. All the others should be fine. My captain is an easygoing guy and a womanizer, and he would without a doubt tease you a lot, since you’re so pretty, but he does take consent seriously and will never abuse his position. And the lieutenant, who is quite strict, will kick or punch him if he gets out of line. Sometimes, I think it’s one of the reasons the captain chose her for the position. He complains about her being too strict a lot, but never does anything against her.”

“He sounds like an interesting character.” commented Asuna, making Mikoto laugh.

“He is. Most of the other captains are strict, but fair, and they take care of their subordinates, as long as they strive to do their jobs well.”

“I understand… You mentioned Hell, Heaven, and the underworld. Is Heaven different from Soul Society?”

“Yes. Heaven is populated by Angels. There’s not that many of them, and they rarely interact with the human world, mostly using the Church and its Inquisition to kill hollows. There are at war with Fallen Angels, who fell due to temptation, and the Devils, who live in the underworld. As for Hell, all we know about it is that when a human or a hollow who was a particularly evil individual on earth dies or is purified, instead of being sent to soul society, a large door will appear out of thin air, open, and a giant arm holding a massive blade will skewer the sinner’s soul, before dragging it inside. The Hell’s doors then close and disappear.”

“Angels, fallen angels and devils?” asked Asuna, very interested in meeting some of them.

“We Shinigami aren’t the only organization dealing with hollows. Although we are the oldest. On the human side alone, you have organizations like the catholic church’s Inquisition, the Legion in Europe and the anti-demon corps in Japan. The devils also kill hollows on sight. They have deep business connections with the human world and a lot of influence over it. Most of the world is governed by various pantheons, and their underlings also hunt hollows. Yes, gods are real, and there are many.”

“Are the angels, fallen angels and devils, enemies with the Shinigami?”

“No. We mostly make sure not to get in each other’s way. We just nod to each other whenever we meet. The devils aren’t particularly malevolent, either, contrary to some popular beliefs. They are just like people living in the underworld, although many of them are selfish to a sickening degree, and their nobles live partially in the human world and try not to stir trouble. The Angels, Fallen Angels and Devils are in a three-sided war, though. Have been for centuries.”

Before very long, Mikoto led Asuna out of Rukongai proper, and into a vast paved area that seemed to surround the Seireitei. After crossing it, they reached a vast circular white wall, twenty meters tall.

“So, are you willing to become a Shinigami, Asuna? Once you get inside, it will be too late to change your mind.”

“Yes, I am.”

“That’s great.” Grinned Mikoto. She turned toward the massive gate in front of them, put her hands around her mouth, and yelled.

“Oy! Jidanbo-san!”

Asuna’s eyes widened as she saw a massive shape jump from the other side of the wall and land in front of the gate with a great noise. A truly massive man, a mountain of muscles. He had to be at least eight meters tall!

“Jidanbo-san, I found a candidate! Can you let us through?”

“Very well.” He said with a deep, rumbling voice, turned to the gate, and inserted his fingers under the massive stone slab.

With a grunt, Jidanbo lifted the stone door, sliding it upward, until he could get under it and secure it with his shoulder.

“Let’s go!” said Mikoto, taking Asuna’s hand and walking quickly.

“Thank you, Jidanbo-san!” she called out as they passed through, and Asuna echoed her thanks. Jidanbo waved them goodbye as he carefully closed the gate.

“He is one of the four gatekeepers. There are other gates in the North, South and Est of Seireitei.” Explained Mikoto, released Asuna’s hand.

Asuna looked up, seeing the Seireitei from up close. What she had assumed to be a massive castle from a distance was in fact a collection of large white buildings with reddish-brown tiled roofs, forming an irregular spiral as they got closer to the center. It was very high and imposing.

“Asuna, I’ll lead you to the Shin’o Academy, that’s where you will be taught everything you need to know, from swordsmanship to magic.”

“Yes, thank you very much.” Asuna bowed as she glanced one more at the huge complex that would be her home, for the foreseeable future.