Volume 5 – Chapter 2 – Part 1 – Nembesouk, Rabbit Town, and Halzaham

Greeks Realm

Rabbit Youkai Village

Jin Skyward

What the hell did she mean by that? Help her fix what?

""What?""

Kurousagi and I both said the same thing at the same time, making Vera laugh. Suddenly she pulled out her spear and took a stance. She even used her black transformation.

"…Did they request you to capture me? If so, I will fight back."

Her power was slowly building, and she was staring daggers at us. If looks could kill, then the way she was looking at us, we'd be dead ten times over. Vera frantically waved her arms in front of her.

"No, no, no, no!! While I do want to drag you back into our own home, I… I requested the help of the Middleman to help fix your problem!"

She turns around to me and gave me a pleading look.

"Right? ~"

"…Yeah."

I wouldn't need to resort to such a roundabout way if I had been invited by them. However, since Kurousagi and Vera are my current ticket in there, I'll play along. However, Kurousagi didn't relax.

"So, servant of Ra, care to elaborate on why you ran away? Vera here hasn't exactly told us."

"…"

After a full minute, Kurousagi undid her transformation and put away her spear. She glares at Vera who pretended to whistle while looking away. She then turns her attention to me.

"What do you know?"

I tell her of what Vera told us just a few minutes earlier, and she falls silent during my explanation. When I said the mentally weak part, she scowled, but didn't say anything.

"What Vera failed to tell you is once you are chosen as the servant of that God, you will inevitably marry the other servant that's the servant of the other God. In other words, I, who is a servant of Ra, will marry the male who is assigned to God Osiris."

Kurousagi scoffed and had a look of pure hatred.

"I don't have shallow feelings or reasons for my escape. I detest that fellow. The one who was assigned to Osiris, he is scum that shouldn't be allowed to live. But in our race, the Moon rabbits, males are genetically superior."

"So, even if I try to rebel against the 'arranged' marriage, he is ten times stronger than I am. Even in my [Alternate War God] form. All of the Moon rabbits have this ability, however, only a few ever reach the 'black' form. It's been rumored that we may have something else above it, but no one has reached it."

I see, so, another arranged marriage, huh? First Rias, then Kiyome Abe, and now Kurousagi? I mean… I already have Rose as mine, so I doubt Odin and all of them will try to set her up in a fake arrange marriage, so I can rule that out…

"Can't you just—"

"No."

I try to say, but she interrupts me and continues.

"Trying to back away from it is heavily looked down upon. Although Ra is against me getting married to him since he knows about my reasons, and... Tch. I told Ra what kind of scum he is…"

"What about Osiris? What is his opinion?"

"Ra and I have approached him, and he understands, is sympathetic, AND supports me... Our race is insistent. The current 'leader' of our race is that scumbags' parents who are in favor of the marriage, and in turn so are the rest of them."

"My parents also support me, but they will eventually buckle to the pressure being put on them by the rest of our race."

I see. Everything is basically against her, but why can't she fight him for her freedom, wait no. Before that…

"Do you mind telling me why he's 'scum'?"

Kurousagi's expression became dark and she starts to tell this 'Scums' backstory.

"We've known each other since we were children. Truth be told, I quite liked him when we were young. I would even go as far as to say I loved him. But it was all a ruse to hide a monster. Many of our friends started to avoid us and it confused me, but I chalked it up to whatever I thought at the time…"

"But then some of them started to get hurt. One of them was severely hurt after a certain incident, and they began to shun us even more. I started to have my own doubts since he had begun to act strangely. So…"

"One day I followed him. After we parted ways after spending most of the morning together, I followed after him. He walked to a certain spot where some of our former friends hung out...…"

Kurousagi's emotions started to flare, and a look of rage appeared on her face.

"That sociopath, he just started attacking them at random. He broke one of their arms, and a leg. He bashed another's head in. However, since we're resilient they did not die. He didn't know that, so he tried to cover it up and threw one of them down a small ravine."

"Once he was done with his 'handy' work, he left like nothing happened…. We were 10 years old! He used his superior strength to his advantage since he was stronger than the average rabbit of our species. He even tried to kill someone... The one who was thrown into the ravine was rescued in time, but they have permanent damage to them, and is essentially disabled for the rest of their life."

"He is very distrustful of everyone, the only ones he trusts are his immediate family. And he got off free! Even when I reported it. After that day, I avoided him, my hate for him grew. The one he attacked was also a close friend of mine before they distanced themselves from us."

"But after that day, I also avoided him. Every time I saw him my own blood boiled, and I could only think of doing the same things he did to everyone else. But as we grew up, he also became stronger, and stronger, until… Another incident occurred."

I wanted to say something, but decided to keep my mouth shut. I have a feeling about what she will say.

"Like Vera here, he also had a rival who had the potential of being picked over him… So, he got rid of him, permanently this time, and made it look like an accident. When it happened, he already had a lot of backers, fans, and many in the village supported him…"

"While the other candidate had some support, and he was known, he wasn't on the same level as him. So, when he suddenly disappeared one day, there were some concerns, but many assumed that he just ran away since the pressure got to him. And so, he became the default pick for Osiris."

Kurousagi stopped talking, and she didn't seem to want to continue. She had unknowingly transformed into her [Alternate War God] form, the black form. But…

"You've avoided saying his name. What is it?"

"Halzaham."

She scoffs as she says the name with venom. She really hates the guy, huh? So, what do they want me to do? Bring him to justice? Stop her arrange marriage? Help convince Osiris? I wasn't too sure what they were asking me.

"So, what exactly do you want me to do?"

I turned to Vera and gave her a questioning look.

"Well, one, bring Kuro back to our realm, and two… I guess stop the marriage, and bring the guy into justice? As far as I know he has his own concubine right now, and I'm inclined to believe he would just add Kuro into it."

So does that mean she hates harems? But every time she looks at me, she usually has no feelings or is neutral.

"Do you hate harems or concubines, Kurousagi?"

"I hate him. What people do with their love lives is irrelevant to me. It's none of my business. Unless you're asking if I hate you, Middleman. Then no, I respect what you are doing, even if it's a bit questionable."

It's always the 'A bit questionable' part added in the end…

"Well, I am the Middleman, so I guess I can give it a try. Vera, do you keep in contact with your people? If so, what kind of reputation do I have over there?"

I nod to myself, and turn to Vera. She thinks about the question for a bit before clapping her hands.

"Hmmm. Although I keep in touch with them, well, with my parents, I haven't inquired about your relationship with them. One moment let me try."

She walks away while summoning a circle beside her. To respect her privacy, I don't listen in on the conversation. She speaks with them for at least five minutes, and during that time we awkwardly stand around as Kurousagi just stares at Vera.

"Hmm-hmm ~"

Eventually, she came back to us while happily humming a tune to herself.

"I have the results, Jin!"

She said dramatically while doing a strange pose. Glancing at Kurousagi she did not look amused and was clenching her fist quite tightly. Sensing the impending danger, Vera kept going.

"Haha… A-Anyway, it's a split. Half of our race adores you, and the other hates you, but it's mainly due to Halzaham. He doesn't like you for whatever reason, and has essentially brainwashed his followers and fans. Funnily enough his father is a big fan of yours."

Vera looks at Kurousagi and beams.

"We can use this, Kuro ~ if we bring Jin back to our home, and have him convince our current leader that Halzaham is a corrupt, sociopathic asshole. We then can have this arrange marriage annulled, have his past crimes come to light, and well… Whatever happens after that!"

Vera finished her sentence with a wide smile. Kurousagi also seemed a bit hopeful, but I doubt it would be that easy. Well, if I was normal, it wouldn't be easy… However, even with irrefutable evidence some won't budge and just double down.

[So, what's your plan, Partner?]

I have an idea. Hey, I have a question, Cúntóir. Is it possible for me to show the events of the past in real time?

Cúntóir: Answer: What do you mean by that, Jin?

I will ask Kurousagi to take me to where she saw Halzaham beat her friends in the past. I'll play the events of the past in real time for everyone present. That way, they can see what really happened… Though I can imagine them saying that it's just illusion magic or something, but it's worth a try, right?

Cúntóir: Answer: Yes, it's very much possible.

I see, I'll run it by them then.

"Hey."

They turn their attention to me, and I tell them of what I want to try to do. They seemed a bit surprised, even Rose and Raiko.

"Can we have a demonstration?"

"Demonstration, huh?"

I nod, and touch the ground. This place was perfect, Kurousagi was just training, right? So, I'm gonna have to show them that then. In the following part, I left it to Cúntóir since I had no idea how to accomplish this feat.

Cúntóir: Answer: Recreating past events...… Replaying past events... Processing...… Complete.

As Cúntóir finishes saying that, the area around us briefly glows white, and 'another' Kurousagi is shown to be jumping around, doing kicks, punches, and acrobatic moves. She looked very serious and was working very hard.

"Wow ~ so this is what you meant!"

Vera says in surprised enthusiasm, she walks over and tries to touch the other Kurousagi, but her hand just passes through her. She nods and comes back to us. Kurousagi just silently looks at her 'past' self just training when—

Thud!

Her past self tumbles and falls face first, in front of us was a full panty shot. I quickly avert my eyes as Kurousagi focuses her icy cold glare my way. I have no power over this, also it's you… You fell, I didn't influence it…

It eventually comes to a close, and the light being emitted vanishes as well as the 'other' Kurousagi.

"That can work, Jin! Well, we need to convince them slowly, but I believe they'll be convinced of this. If we can persuade Kuro's other friend to see it then…"

"He won't, the trauma is too much, and he's too scared to be near Halzaham."

"I can just heal him then."

Kurousagi shakes her head.

"No, as I said it's imposs—"

"I've woken up devils from the sleeping disease, healed a Goddesses' eye defect, and revived two of the Heavenly Dragons. I think I can heal whatever happened to your childhood friend, Kurousagi."

I interrupt her, and she stares at me in surprise. I bring my right arm in front of me—

"Hey, Ddraig, Albion. Come out for a second."

Shing!

Two balls of light come out of me, one red, and one white. The two of them then turned into their human forms.

[Freedom!!!!!!]

Smack!

{Behave, you imbecile.}

[The hell you say?!]

As soon as the two came out, they immediately started to fight. This was no different, as Ddraig jumped on top of Albion as they started to roll around while punching each other. Since I'm used to this, I will continue.

"As you can see, it's both the [Welsh Dragon] and the [Vanishing Dragon], alive, and very full of energy. I know we don't know each other very well, Kurousagi, but put that small trust in you into the Middleman, and let me try to work that miracle."

"…What is your goal?"

"I need entry into the Egyptian mythology. I would rather not barge in there since my reputation is already piss poor with some of the residents in there thanks to two of my past wielders."

I thought being honest would be the right course of action since Kurousagi was quite distrustful of people. After I said that, she stared into my eyes and I did the same. I believe she's trying to see if I'm lying.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

However, it wasn't exactly too tense since the loud thuds and crashing sounds were happening behind me due to Ddraig and Albion's fight. I felt my eye twitch, and Kurousagi cracked a small smirk.

"Very well. I wish to see the Middleman at work."

"Yay! ~ I can finally bring you back!"

Vera jumped for joy as she hugged Kurousagi who had reverted to frowning. I stomp my foot gaining the attention of the two Dragons. The area shook a bit, and they stopped immediately. They then turned back into balls of light and disappeared back inside of me.

"Do you need time to prepare?"

I asked her and she nods.

"A few hours. It is my intent to depart today, but I need to prepare my home here first. Although I am returning, this will be my permanent residence. I am only returning to try to resolve this issue. After I have finished, I will come back here."

Kurousagi says shocking Vera. She was staring at the blue-haired rabbit youkai with her mouth agape.

"W-Wait, Kuro! How are you sure you won't be punished?!"

"If all goes well, and with the help of the Mid— Jin, it will proceed smoothly. I will tell you my plan in detail once I finish organizing my home. Vera, if you wish to know more, then come ba—"

"Let's go!! Sorry, Jin! But can you come back in a few hours?!"

I nod and give them both my number. I didn't need to explain and they understood before walking away. Vera making a big fuss and Kurousagi seemingly answering her questions.

I turned back to my companions, who had mostly remained silent during all of it.

"So, shall we head back home for the time being? We can explore this place in the future. I saw how intrigued both of you were earlier."

"Yes, of course, Jin."

"I shall follow what you decide, Jin."

Raiko, that's way too stuffy of an answer…

"Is that so? Alright, let's go."

…

Japan, Kuoh

Skyward Household

Once we teleported home, Raiko headed towards the kitchen and Rose turned to face me.

"Jin?"

"Hmm?"

"I will go to school to check up on my avatar, can you please turn me invisible?"

"Sure."

I touch Rose and she turned invisible; I then feel her teleport away. I go to the kitchen to see what Raiko was up to, and when I got there Grayfia, Kuroka, Inaie, Scathach, Penemue, and Valerie. I go over and sit on one of the couches.

"Hmm? Oh Scathach, you're back?"

"Hmm. Yes, I am, Jin. I had to check a few things in the Land of Shadows, and go to a short meeting of the Gaelic Alliance. It seems quite a number of things are happening around the world as of late."

"Yeah. I already have some subordinates in Ireland, and Ddraig is heading there too. Do you mind if you—"

"I will."

She answers my question before I even finish saying it. I chuckle at her, I guess she was anticipating me asking her that? Well at least I won't need to go into detail.

"Jin! Raiko-san told us why you came back, does that mean I can go with you?"

"Yeah, but stay close to me, alright? Even if you have the ring, I'm still worried. We should be due to step into the [Pocket Dimension] sooner or later…"

"Yes, sir!"

Sir… I'm not that old you know? I watch her as she's quite excited by the prospect of venturing into a totally different realm. She had been mostly stuck here in Kuoh, and had been getting some advice as well as practice from Grayfia on how to be a maid. I don't know the reason for why though.

Inaie is a lot like Ingvild and Valerie as they had to adjust to life in the modern era. Therefore, she had a lot of fun checking out the internet, and using other gadgets when she first came here. Ingvild and Valerie also helped her with that, so she's been steadily gaining friends.

I had asked if she wanted to enter into education, but she said she'd think about it. But she did say that if she did, she would wait until Rias, Akeno, Ingvild and I got into the college division before trying to enroll.

I turned my attention to Raiko. She also had been able to adjust well to the change. However, she was already a bit more experienced as she had a smartphone so she wasn't that alienated from the modern world.

As for Raiko, she also got along with a few other people, like Grayfia, Irene whenever she decides to visit, Griselda, Re— Lavinia, Penemue, and so forth. Every woman her age... I noticed that all the women in her age group were staring at me, except Grayfia who continued to cook.

"."

"What?"

They didn't answer me and just stared at me. I should get rid of that sooner or later.

"Your face is quite obvious. Jin."

Grayfia says without turning around. Damn, she's transcended into another realm if she can tell what I'm thinking without needing to see me! Although she does pride herself in that, it's almost like an old married couple knowing each other's habits and quirks.

Shuffle ~ Shuffle ~ Pomf ~

I looked to my side as Penemue had sat beside me. She was smiling at me, but I could tell she had other intentions. So I waited for her to do something. Everyone else had gotten back to chatting among themselves. Valerie was giving Inaie some advice on what she should and should not do while in another realm.

Such as respecting the rules, cultures and the like, and of course just general rules like not being rude and other common sense type rules. Inaie had her phone out and took notes… She sure is looking forward to this, even though shit might hit the fan when we get there.

Poke ~ Poke ~

"Hey, hey, pay attention to me."

Penemue poked my cheek as I was observing the other girls' interactions. I turn back to face her as she was a little pouty. For a grown woman of her age, she can certainly act cute. As I finished thinking that, she had an annoyed look on her face.

"…It's true though."

"...…"

"Alright, alright, my bad…"

"Mmm!"

Satisfied with my apology, she forcefully made me give her a lap pillow. However, she was aggressively rubbing her head against my thighs in an attempt to get me aroused. I'm not really in the mood, so her efforts were in vain.

I make brief eye contact with Grayfia as she smirks. Was that smirk aimed at Penemue? She looked very smug about it. Fia, you…

"Sex-crazed maid…"

I muttered, but she apparently heard it and I could see her cheeks were a bit red. So, I chilled with everyone else as we waited for Kurousagi or Vera to call me so we could go back.

…

Greeks' realm

Kurousagi

I had arrived home, and was slowly sorting through every item I owned, and cleaning others as I came across them. This has been my home for the last few years and I treasure it. I have made many memories here, even if not all of them were pleasant.

Vera, who was also a 'Moon Rabbit' just like me, and my rival had accompanied me to my home. It was not the first time she had come here, but it had been a few years since she entered it.

"Wow, it certainly has changed by a lot, huh? Ooh! When did you get this? Ah! You read some Light novels too, Kuro?"

She was just wandering around my home, checking things out, and haphazardly putting them back. Truth be told, I was a bit annoyed, but I didn't say anything. While silently suffering, I let out a hot breath through my mouth.

I do not like the label of 'weak willed, mentally or emotionally weak'. Even if it is true, I hate it. Because it caused my own downfall at times. For someone who was chosen to be the servant of God Ra, it's one of the highest honors.

If I had to be honest, I wouldn't have minded the arranged marriage if the other person was sound of mind, and not psychotic. But the thought slowly dawned on me over the years as Halzaham had always been at the top of the male rabbit youkai in our race.

I hated it, and I secretly wanted Vera to win, but my own pride and ego forced me to win in our match. I always regretted it. Maybe if I let her win none of this would be happening … I even brought Master Ra's spear with me.

I didn't disclose that to Jin, but I'm sure he saw me with it during the Tournament of Power. He will surely ask me about it before we leave. But I am also dreading heading back. I do not know how Master Ra will react. He is a kind God… Well, most of the time, but he does put his foot down when the times do need it.

The same with the other Gods, though some more than others. I hope with the Mid— With Jin being there, they won't immediately restrain me...… It feels like I'm taking advantage of J—

Shake! Shake!

I felt hands on my shoulder and I was violently shaken. I stared at Vera as she was the culprit.

"What?"

I asked her and she just sighed in relief.

"I was calling your name for like the last three minutes you know? You just stopped and stared at the ground there. Is everything okay, Kuro?"

She stared at me with concern. Even if we are considered rivals, and even when I treated her quite poorly over the years... She still considers me a friend. She also treats me with care and respect. But I… I sigh. I need to make it up to her in the future.

"No, it's fine. I was just lost in thought. Forgive me."

"Really? If you say so! Anyway, let's get to cleaning! Oh, right. Are you really betting on Jin helping you? What if he's not successful?"

I shook my head.

"He has had a 100%success rate so far. I want to bet on that. I'm also sure that he knows that I am, but he still accepted the request. He really must need to get to our realm if he's that desperate. I wonder why?"

"Hmm ~ why indeed? Oh! Why not just ask him? Surely he'll tell us, right? Unless it's something super important and he can't share it with us, you know?"

Vera was too positive at times, but I would like to think some kind of 'mutual' trust was achieved between us, even if this was our first time interacting. Maybe I was being too hopeful?

"Although I will consider the idea, I won't hold high hopes that he will tell us. Now then, let's hurry and not keep Jin waiting."

"Sure! ~"

I put any encumbering thoughts to the side for the time being, and focused on the task at hand. Vera also followed along, and we quickly and efficiently cleaned and organized my home.

…

Japan, Kuoh

Skyward Household

Jin Skyward

A few hours have passed since we came home. I was currently at the top of my home, and I was in the jacuzzi. Hopefully those two will contact me soon since I'm quite eager to get into that realm.

I looked up at the sky and sighed. In any case, if what Cúntóir told me is true, I might not have the best experience there. Also, from what Vera said, it was only her race, but they're equally split about me. I wonder if they were also affected by my past wielders.

I shake my head. There's no point in thinking about it, let's just focus on the present and get through that first. I'll contact Ignia now and ask him about when he thinks they'll attack. I tap my ear and connect directly to Ignia's mind.

'Ignia.'

'Father? Do you need something?'

'Do you know when phase two of the plan will start? Even if it isn't an exact date, it will be useful.'

'No. They've been quite vague about it. I think they know there's a double agent, but aren't sure who, so I think they're being deliberately vague about it. But 'soon' has been thrown around. I suggest you just stay alert.'

'I see. Alright, thanks.'

'Does this mean we can fight soon?'

Ignia asked with a bit of excitement in his voice.

'You can fight Aurelia or my other Electa when we go to Egypt.'

'Nice! Alright, I'll go now, father.'

I sigh again.

"So, no dice, huh? Guess they catch on quickly or perhaps Nyarlathotep or Lapis already knew what I was going to do. I'm not sure if they're smart and calculating or just paranoid…"

Creak ~

I looked back down to see Suzaku had come up here too. However, she was only wrapped in a towel as she came over to me, and got into the jacuzzi. She sits beside me, leans her head on my shoulder, and sits there for a moment.

In the last few hours Suzaku had joined us and was mostly speaking to the other girls. I had been either reading or watching TV. Now, I was kicked out of the kitchen since they wanted to have a 'girls talk'. So, I have no idea what they spoke about.

"What might you need, ma'am?"

Suzaku chuckled beside me but shook her head. I wrapped my hand around her waist and pulled her closer to me. We sat there in silence until I decided to speak up.

"Amaterasu will come to Japan when all this shit is over. So, just be ready, okay?"

"I see… Also, language, Jin."

"Yes, mom."

Pinch ~

"Sowwy."

Suzaku pinched my cheek after I teased her a bit, but quickly let go. We stayed silent for a few seconds until I felt her starting to move. I glanced at her as she had her eyes closed and had turned to face me. I leaned down and captured her lips.

"Mmm… ~"

Reaching over with my free hand, I grabbed a handful of Himejima titty. Suzaku let out a muffled moan into our kiss. I decided to push forward a bit and insert my tongue into her mouth. She was a bit surprised but quickly started to lick me back with hers.

"Nnn… Chu, nnn…. Chuupu…"

Squeeze ~ Squeeze ~

Our tongues rolled and lapped around each other. As we increased the intensity of the kiss, I felt Suzaku's hand touch the head of my member through my towel. She starts to poke at it, but then starts to circle her finger around the hand.

Suzaku proceeds to take off my tow—

Ring ~

We were brought out of our trance when we heard my phone ring. I was a little annoyed as I pulled away from our kiss. A small sting of saliva could be seen between us. Suzaku blushed quite hard as she stared longingly at me.

"…Hello?"

"Jin? We're done and ready to go."

"I see, I'll be there soon."

I end the call and throw my phone back into my [Inventory]… Now we could continue or I could go… I can always make a barrier around us—

"Su—"

"You have to go, Jin... A-As much as I would like to continue, please prioritize your work… For now."

Suzaku says to me while sounding a bit sad and disappointed. Since I found out about her being 'one' of them, I have felt a slightly deeper connection with her. Or it's always been there, and I had just been ignorant of it.

"…Yeah, I guess you're right."

I removed my towel and stood up.

"…!!"

I stood directly in front of Suzaku's face, and let my member be only inches away from her face. She stared at it with an even bigger blush.

"We can continue another time, Suzaku."

She didn't answer me, but I helped her up, and we shared another kiss.

"J-Jin, I—"

"Don't worry about it. We'll go at our own pace, no need to rush."

"…Thank you…"

I informed both Rose and Raiko that the two rabbit youkai were ready, and I'd be down in the entrance hallway in a minute. I got dressed and so did Suzaku. She was still feeling a bit flustered as we descended back downstairs.

…

"You three ready?"

""Yes""

"Yes, Grayfia and I prepared some food too."

Rose and I turn to Raiko as she showed us a basket of food. From the entrance of the dining room Grayfia smiled at us.

"I see, thank you."

I appear in front of Grayfia and I give her a kiss, the same as everyone else. Inaie looked away while blushing a little. I'm more surprised that she's not used to seeing us kiss yet. I go back to the three going with me and we head back to the rabbit village.

…

Greeks' realm

Rabbit village

I had teleported to the entrance of the village, located the two auras and began to make our way there. Just like a few hours ago, we were welcomed by them. However, I also noticed that Amalthea's aura was not here anymore.

She probably left during that time… We quickly arrived at Kurousagi's home. It was a medium-sized home, and looked like the rest of the homes here.

"Hey."

"Welcome back. We're ready."

"So, how do we get to the Egyptian realm?"

"Teleport to Egypt, and into the city of Luxor."

"Sure thing."

We walked over to the two, and I teleported us away.

…

Egypt

Luxor

The heat hit us in the face once we got there, however since our clothes were enchanted, we were fine except for Kurousagi and Vera. I had teleported to a quiet area with not many people so no one saw us teleport in.

"So, where to?"

"We must go to the Temple of Luxor. However, we usually do this at night so we will not be seen, or sneak our way in."

"No problem then."

I snap my fingers and turn us invisible. Vera was a bit excited and jumped around. Kurousagi reprimanded her and started to walk away. As we left the small alleyway we were in, we could see the hustle and bustle of the city of Luxor.

There were many people walking around, buying groceries, going into shops, or were on their way to a specific place. The buildings were mostly constructed of stone. When I looked up—

"Oh wow, is that… A hot air balloon?"

"Yes, I believe there are tours and businesses for that. If you wish you can book or just pay upfront. However, I'm not entirely sure since I did not spend much time in this country…"

"I see…"

We kept on walking and followed after Kurousagi. I turned my attention to Inaie as her mouth was slightly open as she quickly looked around her. Vera was telling her small fun little facts about the place, and she nodded along furiously.

"Enjoying yourself?"

"Mmm-mmm!"

I chuckle at her enthusiastic response. But we quickly reached the entrance to the Temple of Luxor. At the front were the two large pillars or also called 'Obelisks of Ramses II', and behind them were the 'Statues of Ramses'.

We passed by the large entrance and I looked at Kurousagi again.

"Where is the barrier of entry at?"

"It's within the Sanctuary area of the temple. Please be mindful of where you step and go, unless you want to accidentally destroy something."

Inaie stiffened and seemed to be on high alert, and felt a bit nervous. I chuckle and pat her on the head.

"Relax. Just be mindful and you won't break or disturb anything."

She nodded and we quickly passed by the Courtyards of Ramses II, and entered the Colonnade of Amenhotep III. Since it was daytime, the inside was being illuminated by the daylight outside. The inside was covered in unique symbols and hieroglyphs, they were mostly in the color of gold, with the occasional blue, and red.

"Ohh!"

Inaie says as she becomes even more excited. Luckily, there were no tourists in here with us, otherwise they would have heard her. But both Raiko and Rose were also fascinated by it. I won't lie, I was too.

But our time there was cut short as we reached the other side and exited the building. We now were in the Courtyard of Amenhotep III, in front of us were multiple pillars and beyond them was the Hypostyle Hall. There seemed to be a ceiling above it at some point, but now it was just open air. However, beyond that was a lone building.

"Just in front of us is the gateway into the Egyptian realm."

Kurousagi said while in front of us. However, I could tell that she was nervous and was a bit stiff. Vera was still telling Inaie some fun facts about the place while in a low voice. She didn't want to accidentally attract people's attention.

Once we were inside the building, Kurousagi had some sort of item with her that made us pass through the stone wall. The inside was illuminated by lights on the ground at each corner of the room. In the middle was some kind of tomb.

"Touch the tomb and you will be transported into our realm. But please keep in mind to put some 'energy' or 'magic' in order to do so."

She warns us and Inaie gulps beside me. She grabbed my sleeves and became a little more tense. I patted her head again to calm her down. Kurousagi looked back at us before touching the tomb and disappearing. Vera was next and she also disappeared. I let the girls go first, Rose, and then Raiko with Inaie, and finally I touched the tomb.

…

????

"Oh my…"

I heard Inaie say beside me and I could see something quite spectacular. In front of us was a vast city? It felt more like an empire. Anyway, we were on an elevated platform and in front of us was a long walkway that looked like it connected to the enormous palace.

I could feel some divine auras but it was only a few, maybe the Gods and Goddesses here weren't present, though that would make sense since they didn't know I would be coming. There was a large archway in front of us and two guards were there.

Below this platform and the walkway was the city below. Beyond them in the distance were also a couple of structures of varying sizes. There were many people down on the ground and they all seemed quite busy. I could see animals being used by the people, a few camels, and elephants for some reason. There were also some cats scurrying around and eagles flying high above us.

"We should meet up with Master Ra just in case. Follow me."

Kurousagi then starts walking away and we quickly follow after her. We are stopped by the guards when we arrive.

"Hal— Kurousagi? Vera? I did not think I would see you again, the blue-eared one. You have finally returned?"

One of the guards asked.

"For now… I have some business to attend to, I also brought the Middleman."

When they heard that they turned their gazes toward me, and nodded.

"I see. Welcome to our realm, Nembesouk. God Ra and Goddess Isis are the only ones present. God Osiris is currently out along with many others."

"It's fine, we need to meet with Master Ra."

The two nodded and let us through.

"Middleman."

One of them calls out to me, and I turn to glance at him.

"Good luck."

"Yeah."

With that we continue walking—

"Woah! Look at that! There are so many people down there! Oh, look, there's a family of cats! Oh, and some eagles flying together above us! Ohh! That elephant is much larger than the ones in the human world!"

Inaie was practically bouncing around as she checked out both sides of the walkway and commented on what she saw. Rose and Raiko watched with smiles on their faces.

"Inaie ~ do you see that building in the distance?"

Vera pointed at the building behind the palace and it was a bit to the left.

"No, is it a home for one of the Gods or Goddesses?"

"Huhu ~ close, but not anymore ~ it was formally Master Ra's home, but he decided to turn it into a public domain. Now it's sort of like a fancy mall. What attracts many who come here is the dancing competition they have there as well as the food ~"

"Because the Gods and Goddesses also attend those dance competitions, they also love the food there."

She explains in a chipper tone. She then proceeds to explain other things in the realm...… Food, huh? I wonder if I'll have a chance to go there when all this shit is over? I feel someone grab my arm and they hug it. Rose caught my attention as I glanced at them.

"Are you thinking of heading over there? The word 'food' was mentioned after all."

"…Heh, maybe."

"Vera, what's the circular shape building to the right of the palace?"

"Hmm?"

She follows my finger and nods sagely.

"That is the library! It's quite massive, isn't it? You can enter it free of charge, and it's quite extensive about our realm's history! It also includes our races' history, well, that's what my dad told me. I haven't been there myself yet."

""Library…""

Both Inaie and Rose mutter at the same time. I already know what they want to ask so—

"If we have time then yeah, we can stop by and check it out."

Chu ~

Satisfied with my answer, Rose gave me a kiss on the cheek. Raiko listened to Vera as she continued to act like a tour guide for us, while Kurousagi remained quiet and made her way forward.

As this went on, we were nearing the palace, and I could see from a distance that there were another set of guards there. Once we arrived by them, they saw Kurousagi and Vera. Kurousagi who was ahead of us by a relatively large margin spoke to them while pointing back towards us. They looked our way and nodded before parting ways to let us pass.

One of the guards looked at me with suspicion while the other was rather welcoming. I see, I just came across one that may have been skeptical of me coming here. We climb up some stairs and finally enter the palace. Gold, red, and blue dominate the interior. Many unique drawings were all over the walls, and ceiling.

There were expensive jewels and artifacts everywhere. The occasional plant was also there but they were few and far between. Kurousagi said nothing and kept on walking, so we just followed her.

"Woah…"

This time Inaie was just speechless, she just stared with her mouth open and Vera just giggled at her. I understand how you feel, Inaie, I had the same reaction when I first saw the Faerie Kingdom…

Now that I think about it… Kurousagi still has her 'authority' since she's the servant of God Ra, right? Even after running away and disappearing, they are not immediately surrounding her and arresting her. I wonder if Ra ordered that?

As I pondered this thought we eventually reached a large golden and black door. Kurousagi with the help of Vera pushes it open. I could feel three auras inside, two of them were divine while the other was normal.

Once the doors were opened the two rabbit youkai stepped inside first. The three of them turned their attention towards us, and Ra gained a surprised look.

"Oh?! Kuro! You're back?! Vera, did you succeed?!"

The Chief God of the Pantheon got up from his seat and ran over to us. He was followed by what seemed to be a maid and Goddess. Ra finally looks at me and a large smile spread across his face.

"The Middleman… I see, so Vera, you asked him for help, correct?"

"Y-Yes, but he did say he wanted to come here of his own accord."

"Hmm? Please tell me then, Middleman!"

God Ra is a young man with dark skin, medium-length white hair, and green eyes. He is tall and lean yet muscular, and always carries his sword with him. He dresses pretty flashily, with a gold chain wrapped around his neck, one end of which is clipped to his right ear and the other to a weight. He also wears a white off-the-shoulder tunic, white shorts, a thick golden belt, and gladiator-style sandals.

I look at the Goddess and used [Observe] on her, to my surprise it was Goddess Isis, and the maid was called Rashida. She had blond hair with a white fringe in the middle. She has elf-like ears, and red eyes. She wore a black and white maid uniform.

Goddess Isis had black hair that reached to her waist, blue eyes, and sported a one-piece white dress that reached all the way down to her ankles. However, they barely cover her breasts and I don't think she's wearing a bra. She wore luxurious golden colored ornaments and jewelry around her body. Especially her head, neck and right arm. She was staring at me with particular interest.

I'm pretty sure she's the Goddess of Healing, wisdom and magic in the Egyptian mythology while Ra is God of the Sun in DxD.

"Keep this a secret as not many know about it."

They seemed skeptical but agreed in the end, so I covered the room in a barrier.

"Right now, the Khaos Brigade is planning to attack three countries and probably their mythology. These are Russia, Ireland and Egypt. I have several double agents in the Khaos Brigade. Anyway—"

"I think they have another country they'll attack if they fail to conquer one of the three. I already have my subordinates in place in all three, and several others all over the world. The countries in the DxD alliance are on alert and are ready to act."

"My other objective was to inform you and to help protect it as well. As I mentioned a subordinate of mine is already here and—"

"Is he the eccentric fellow that does strange poses?"

Goddess Isis interrupts me and I facepalm.

"Y-Yes…"

Ra looks at Isis and I before bursting into laughter.

"I see, I see, so that's why you came to me not too long ago, Isis. You did inform me of such an interesting fellow. You couldn't feel his power, but he was very sure of himself, but also strange. Now it makes sense. He's the Middleman's subordinate, no, forgive me. Jin, was it? He is Jin's subordinate."

Ra seems like a rather chill God like Zeus and Odin… So far so good, I think?

"Thank you, Jin for warning us, and having some of your subordinate stationed here. Hmm, that isn't everything, yes? Kuro and Vera said…"

"Yeah, so it's a personal request from Kurousagi, and I want to help her."

Ra nods understandingly and hums for a minute before looking back at me, a wide smile still on his face.

"Very well! I will support it! I see this little one as a daughter of sorts. Do what you must! I will inform Osiris of your arrival and plans."

[It makes you wonder if your infinite charism is finally working, or is just completely random, Partner.]

I mean, I tend to forget I have a [Status] screen since I rarely use the thing. With that in mind, I opened it.

…

[Status]:

[True Name]: Aaron Toole

[System Name]: Jin Skyward

[Age]: 18 (Physically) (Soul: 87+ Quintillion)

[Potential]: ∞

[Rank]: ∞

[Gender]: Male

[Race]: Outer Ultimate True Dragon God (Evolution <1/2>)

[Titles]: Dual Dragon Emperor (Click to Expand)

[Sacred Gear]: [Boosted Gear] and [Divine Dividing]

[Level]: ∞

[Hp]: ∞

[Mp]: ∞

[Str]: ∞

[Vit]: ∞

[Dex]: ∞

[Int]: ∞

[Wis]: ∞

[Char]: ∞

[Luk]: ∞

[Gold]: Way too much (∞)

[Money]:  Go ruin the economy or something (∞)

…

What the hell is with the [Gold] and [Money]?

Cúntóir: Answer: Teehee.

Don't 'teehee' me, woman! I inwardly sigh and look back at Ra as he had a confused expression on him.

"Sorry, I was talking to the two dragons. Thank you, Ra. I'll need to go to the rabbit's town/city/domain/realm, or whatever the hell it's called as soon as possible."

"Hmm. Very well, I will not delay you any further. Oh yes, Jin. You are invited to this realm, however—"

"I know. Ddraig and Albion told me. I mean at least some have forgiven them, right? I just gotta win their hearts and I'm all good."

I stop Ra as he looks at me a bit stunned before laughing again, and then finally nodding approvingly.

"Good! Good! You already know, so that saves me the trouble of informing you. Umu, we will talk another time, Jin. However…"

He looks at my companions, and sighs.

"You seem to have brought some interesting companions. A Valkyrie, a hybrid, and the legendary Minamoto no Raiko of Japanese mythology? Interesting, very interesting… Oh, yes, my bad. Feel free to explore. Kuro, Vera, we'll chat in detail once all of this is behind us."

He turns to Isis.

"I will go tell the other fellow Gods and higher-ups to be alert of the imminent danger. Help me out here, Isis, Rashida."

"I will have to decline, Ra. I want to observe Jin for a little while."

"Mmghm... Very well, let us depart then, Rashida."

"Yes, sir!"

Even though Ra said that, he starts to speak with the maid Rashida, so we took this opportunity to leave. Goddess Isis was also following us, so we had an extra person now.

"I will lead us to our realm. Please follow me."

Kurousagi starts to walk away again. Vera this time was beside her as she told her about some things to expect when they get back. Isis joined us as she silently stared at me. I felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Make this interesting, boy."

"Sure thing, hag."

Goddess Isis glares at me as I blankly look back at her. I don't know where that came from but it felt a little good. We quickly left the palace and were outside again. We go back onto the walkway and stand there.

"So, how do we get to your home?"

"The only way to reach our home is to be invited to it by someone from our race, or if a God or Goddess is the one to bring you there. Otherwise, you will never reach it as there is a powerful magic spell surrounding it, so that no outsider accidentally stumbles into it."

Kurousagi brings out her spear and then taps it to the ground, a magic circle appears underneath her. We stand in it and she teleports us away.

…

"Interesting."

We were in front of a large town's entrance. The walls around it were red, and the pillars had round tops with the top being pointy and it was the color blue. I could feel many auras in the town, and they were all rabbit youkai.

I looked behind me and could see a path but it was mostly covered in thick fog. The same holds true for the sky and the rest of the surroundings. This is probably the magic Kurousagi was talking about. I looked back and realized that there was a fountain in the middle of the town. In all honesty I was expecting this place to be a bit bigger…

"Is it safe to assume that the castle like structure is the house for Halzaham and his family?"

Kurousagi nods. Hmm, using a bird's eye view I check the entire place out. The houses are spaced, and there are multiple areas with street vendors, shops and there seems to be a large pond to the right side of the place. As for where Halzaham threw the kid…

Either behind us, or to the west or east. I can't see a reason for them to go north. But what I found peculiar was that there were no guards. Though seeing as how they have a powerful magic that turns away unwanted visitors, it's kind of unneeded.

"My turn! Follow me, we'll go meet our leader! I already informed them of your visit and Kuro's return. Expect them to make a fuss!"

Vera skips forward and is followed by the rest of us. As soon as we step through there were shops on the right and they were already trying to get our attention when—

"Wait, Vera?! Huh…? Kurousagi?! She's back?!"

As soon as one rabbit youkai said that, more and more started to appear until the two of them were surrounded and it became quite noisy. They were filled with questions about why she disappeared and so on.

"Hmm? Oh, isn't that—"

They finally turn to us, and Inaie hides behind me and grips my sleeve. The reaction was mixed, as some people became wary and some even hostile. Others appeared to become excited and happy.

"Hello."

"Oppai Dragon!"

"Ketsu Dragon!"

A few of the younger rabbit youkai came over to me and started running around us. With a chuckle, I summoned a plushie of the Scale mail from my [Boosted Gear] and gave it to them. They were happy about that and finally ran away while playing with it.

I did that on reflex and didn't do it to try to improve my opinion of the ones watching us. However, some seemed to relax due to that, so whether that was a positive thing or not remains to be seen.

"Well, we'll get going! The Middleman here has a request he needs to get done! So excuse us!"

Vera said it rather loudly, and that made the crowd part. She was also considered to be the runner up behind Kurousagi, so it makes sense that people listened to her. But when I look at the bunny youkai here, they really do vary in shape and size.

Quite a lot of the males were either, skinny, medium build or super buff. The females were usually thin or slightly muscular. Both Vera and Kurousagi were the outliers as they had what I would classify as the 'balance' builds.

Not too slim, but not too muscular. Perhaps that's why they were chosen as candidates? We continued walking as I pondered this thought. But the journey wasn't long since we quickly arrived by fancy blue stairs that ascended towards fancy looking blue gates.

However, this time there were guards, but they quickly let us through as—

"K-Kurousagi?! V-Vera?! Did yo—"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it already. Let us through already."

Vera stopped them and waved them off. Their lips twitched but they did as she said. They also noticed me and greeted me quite cheerfully. Once we go through the gates, we see…

"Huh? Why's there a small pool of water with a bridge in the center of this place? What the hell's the point?!"

"Who knows? Hazzaham's father is also eccentric, but he isn't psychotic like his son. Anyway, let's go! ~"

We quickly go up another flight of stairs but they're quite short and enter the castle. Once inside it was mostly blue. Why the hell does this guy like blue so much? But some items were different in color, like red and brown. However, they were usually furniture or portraits.

"Um, this person… Your leader, he…"

Inaie starts but Vera laughs and finishes off for her.

"Likes himself a lot? Yeah, he surely does have a lot of portraits of himself, and nearly zero of the mother."

"Oh yeah… Now that I take a look there isn't even one portrait of her…"

I also took a look around and noticed that there wasn't a single picture, portrait, or small statue of her. I wonder why that is? Could he be following the 'male' dominated race thing in a literal sense?

We finally reach a door, and we didn't see a single indication that a mother existed, not even the son…

Knock ~ Knock ~

"En-te-r."

"…??"

Why did he say it so strangely…? Vera pushes the door open and we step into a throne room? It didn't look like it, it was more like—

"A pigsty…"

Inaie says beside me, and she was right. It was basically a pigsty, random junk thrown around the place, boxes, cartons, and other wrappers all over this room. In the center was a throne made out of piles of trash, and the 'leader' sat on it.

He had silver hair, purples eyes, and he was… Um, I wasn't sure if I should describe him as muscular or fat. He had white rabbit ears, but he wore normal clothes. I guess there is no royalty here, just… This thing in front of us.

"Hmm? Oh, Kurousagi is back, well done, Ver— M-M-M-Middleman?!?!?! Dual Dragon Emperor?!"

Boom! Thud! Crash!

The leader of their race fell from his trashy throne, but quickly composed himself and looked quite nervous.

"How can I help you? Oh, I'm Alnaham by the way!"

Both Vera and Kurousagi glanced back at me, so I stepped forward.

"So, I heard the real reason as to why Kurousagi left, and I'm here to help. There is a way for me to prove what she said was real all those years ago."

He sighs and looks at Kurousagi.

"You really approached the Middleman for this? Kuro… Very well, I will humor this. Please show me."

He looks at Kurousagi with a pain look, but turns back to me and nodded. I crouch down and touched the ground. The room glows lightly and he had a look of shock. Another 'Alnaham' appeared through the door while eating something.

He slowly makes his way to the trashy throne in the middle of the room, and then…

"Okay, dude...… Why here of all places?"

We all turn away, all the girls in disgust. The leader of the race, his majesty 'Alnaham' started to eat and masturbate at the same time. He also made weird grunting noises, of course, that was the 'past' Alnaham, and the current Alnaham was mortified.

"Wha— Wai— Okay, okay! Stop! Stop! I believe you!!!"

I quickly stop the 'show' and the girls were staring at the guy with disgust. I was awkwardly looking to my side.

'Gross…'

Even Velgrynd made her disgust apparent. I sigh and turn to look at him now. The leader was crimson red in the face.

"So, if I take this to the spot where Kurousagi said those incidents happened, then we can replay them like that."

"I see that it can show us irrefutable proof, however…"

Alnaham looks at Kurousagi and sighs.

"It won't be that easy, Kuro. As much as I love my son, I've come to see the 'real' side of him. And I was already starting to believe what you had said many years ago. However, as I said it will be difficult since his followers and fans are too loyal."

"This includes many of the elders and higher-ups. If they saw that they would just assume it's an illusion magic trying to frame him. He has everyone in the palm of his hands."

"Khh…!"

Kurousagi wasn't happy, and her emotions were already starting to increase, and her power was rising.

"If I may?"

Rose puts her hand up and everyone focuses on her.

"Why don't we just set up a trap? Any kind of trap will be successfully laid if Jin is involved."

You're giving me too much credit, Rose. I'm not that smart… But if Cúntóir is with me then—

Cúntóir: Answer: I love you too, darling ~

...…

{[...]}

'…Hmph.'

'Oh?'

'Be quiet, Rudra.'

'Hehe.'

"What are you?"

Isis's voice echoes throughout the room, I had genuinely forgotten about her! I turn to face her as she stares at me with a look of shock and concern.

"Jin Skyward, Middleman."

"…"

She just stared at me with an annoyed look. Inaie giggled on my behalf, thank you.

"Anyway, let's make a plan then. It's no surprise that everyone here will know of your return, Kurousagi. So with that in mind, let's use you as bait."

"…Bait…?"

This plan is simple, but I'm hoping Halzaham is caught up in the fact that Kurousagi is back and uses his common sense a little less. I'm betting on him being obsessed with her, and following her to 'that' spot, and forcing a confession out of him while we let the entire village hear it.

During the confession, I will also let the 'memory of the past' play, and also stream it to everyone in the village. Now it may be painful for the one who experienced it that day, but I'll also heal him. So he can live his life how he wants.

I tell them my plan, and Kurousagi thinks on it.

"It's simple, but I believe my son will fall for it. He has been thinking of temporarily leaving the village and searching for you, Kuro. So yes, you have been in his mind for quite some time."

"…Just hearing that makes me want to retch."

Alnaham wryly smiles at Kurousagi. She looks back at me and nods.

"Alright, Jin. I will follow along with this plan. Let's do it."

"Cool beans. Alright, hag, watch me do my thing!"

…

We had left the castle and Alnaham promised to help us as well. He apparently was going to call his son back; he also warned us that he may bring his 'group' of 'friends' with him as he had gathered them over the years.

"How long do you think it will take him to come back?"

"…He may be strong, but it will take him a little while since he is out training. Even though he's a sick psychopath he was quite diligent with his training."

Kurousagi sounded both impressed and disgusted.

Clap ~

"Well, since we have time, let's bring Jin around our home ~"

"This is not a vacation, Vera. We have to—"

"Prepare, I know, I know!"

Vera huffed but sighed in resignation. I chuckle at her—

"It won't take long, Vera. I'll just need Kurousagi to bring me to 'that' place and I can set everything up. Creating a holographic screen in the air isn't anything difficult."

Vera nods, claps her hand and turn to the three women that came with me.

"Then I'll bring these three around! According to Jin, it won't take long. I'm assuming Goddess Isis wants to tag along with Jin?"

Isis silently nodded, and the other three looked at each other since they seemed unsure.

"Go for, it won't take long."

While reluctant, they eventually agreed to Vera's suggestion. So, she cheerfully leads them away leaving Isis, Kurousagi and I.

"Follow me then."

Kurousagi turns right, so we're heading west, huh? She then started running, and when she reached the metal fences, she jumped over them. Isis and I followed her, and I was surprised that she kept up with us.

This may sound wrong or presumptuous of me, but I didn't think she was the type to be able to, you know, do athletic things. But now that I think about it, she is a Goddess so it makes sense she can keep up.

Once we were outside Kurousagi picked up the pace and started to run straight forward. We followed her and it was mostly barren land made out of rock. Nothing really changed, until around two minutes in and she stops.

We walk over to her and could see a huge drop-down. Below was just the black void, I wonder how long this is…. Cúntóir?

Cúntóir: Answer: It is 5,895m from here to the bottom. To put it simply, it is as if you jumped from the highest point on Mount Kilimanjaro.

How the in hell did that kid survive such a fall…? I look down at the ravine and was flabbergasted. I would understand if they were adults since they would know some techniques or have abilities to negate some of that damage, but a kid…?

"Kurousagi… How did your friend survive? From my estimates this is 5,889m, almost like Kilimanjaro. How did he not just go… Sorry for saying this, but why didn't he just explode when he hit rock bottom…?"

"I have mentioned that the males of our race are substantially stronger than the females. I did not exaggerate that. They truly are stronger, this proves it. If a female rabbit youkai were the one to be thrown that day, then she would definitely would have died upon impact."

Isis who had been silently listening and also looking down speaks up.

"Hmm. I have heard many things from both Osiris and Ra about your race, but to think a mere child could survive a fall, it's certainly impressive."

I give her a look that said 'really?' She didn't understand for a few seconds before nodding.

"My apologies, I did not mean to be insensitive, Kurousagi."

"…N-No, you were just making an observation, Mistress Isis, it's fine…"

Suddenly, there was an awkward atmosphere, so I decided to move on.

"Anyway, let's see how it turned out then."

I touched the ground and replayed the past. The area glowed, and multiple small children were here, among them was Kurousagi, who was hiding nearby, and a few other rabbit youkais. The other, who I believe is Halzaham, but smaller had a grin on his face all throughout them playing.

Finally, he suddenly attacked them. The ones who fell first and didn't get up he left them be. But the one who stood up and that tried to defy him got the beating of his lifetime. We see him break a leg and arm, and the guy had passed out.

Next, he dragged him near the edge… And tossed him. The grin on Halzaham never left him. I bent down next to the past memory of Halzaham, and peered into his face.

"This kid was defected from the start."

I look back at the two, and then back at kid Halzaham. When you look into someone's eyes you can tell a little bit about them, or a lot about them. It depends on your own observation skills, and other abilities, but…

Even without using my powers, I could tell from just looking into his eyes… There was nothing there. Even Vunzor, the Dark Elf King that I killed had a crazed look, a bit of insanity, but this child… Just had nothing. He was lifeless, soulless, if that's a thing.

Both are 'broken' but in different ways.

"What do you mean by that, Jin?"

Isis asks me—

"Isis, tell me, how much can you tell about a person you just met? Let's go with the assumption that you heard nothing about them, and it's the first time meeting them. A blank slate for the both of you."

Posed with the question, Isis nods and thinks about it. As she did, the memory kept replaying. Kid Halzaham left the injured kids behind and went back to the village. Kurousagi who had been watching in horror waited for a few minutes before running out of her hiding spot and helping the injured kids.

She was completely hysterical. But that's when the memory ended. But it then continued with Kurousagi leading the adults there and some of them jumping down and sliding down the walls of the ravine to go down.

After a few minutes, two of them came down with the badly injured child, one of the adults crying hysterically, I will assume they were his parent. The memory finally ended as everyone rushed away from the spot. I look at Kurousagi as she tears silently streamed down her cheeks.

"Jin."

Isis calls out to me, and I turn to her. I think it's better to let Kurousagi have that moment to herself, so I did call out to her or comfort her. I don't think I'm suited for that as we're still basically strangers…

"I believe you have a limited number of things you can learn about an individual. If it is the first time we meet them, and we have zero information about them then… I believe from body language and how they speak will be a key indicator in what kind of person they are."

"However, without information on them, it is severely limited, as you have to rely on your own judgment and observational skills. If we are not using our powers that is. If we are allowed then it would be quite easy."

"No powers…"

I tell her and she shrugs with a smug look on her face. Isis is the Goddess of magic in the Egyptian mythology, so it WOULD be easy for her to do that. But she is also wisdom, so I would guess she has her own ways of finding out how a person is without needed to use magic.

She's probably generalizing my question, and not putting herself in those shoes, even though I asked her if SHE was the one put in the situation. Like me, but I'm already well known so they know what to expect.

"Unfortunate."

Kurousagi finally back over to us and the tears that were streaming down her face were wiped away.

"Let's go back. I wish to meet with my parents, and hopefully go to the victim's home to have him healed… If you don't mind, Jin."

I nod.

"I did promise to do that. If we do, I— No, we'll get more supported, right? I see that as a win. But they won't turn you away, right?"

She shakes her head.

"He— Junaid, that's his name. He's only afraid of Halzaham, we have made amends a few years before I left. His family also does not blame me. They were thankful to me for telling the adults all those years ago… Enough, let us depart."

Not wanting to argue we followed after Kurousagi; however, she was going at a slower pace. Whether this was due to anxiety of meeting up with Junaid and his family, or coming across Halzaham, I wasn't sure.

…

As we arrived in the village, the sun was nearly done setting. Locating Vera's aura and the girls it seemed like they were having an early dinner. I make a note to join them after we meet up with Junaid.

We entered through the west entrance, and Kurousagi walked right past a few shops before turning right again and heading toward a blue-roofed shop. A woman and a man were selling fruit and vegetables there. There were still quite a few people here even in this corner of town, which surprised me a little.

The man and woman rabbit youkai look up to see Kurousagi walking towards them and their eyes widen.

"K-Kuro? W-When did you come back…?"

"Oh, honey, so many have been worried about you!"

The two hurriedly make their way to the blue-haired rabbit girl and started to check her over, and hug her. I see, so they really didn't blame her, huh? It almost seems like she was a daughter of theirs.

They finally stop checking her and look at us, their eyes widen—

"The Middleman and Goddess Isis… H-How can we help you…?!"

"So, I'm here to help you son."

…

We were invited into their home, and they had closed their shop an hour earlier. Their son, Junaid was in his room, and he was on crouches for the rest of his life, and had no use for one of his arms.

Creak ~

"Oh, mom, da— K-Kuro? Wha— G-Goddess Isis? O-Oppai Dragon?! W-What's happening here?!"

Junaid who had come out of his room saw all of us here and had the shock of his life. Not only he saw his childhood friend, who he regarded as his 'savior', but he also saw me and Isis. He quickly finds a chair to sit down since it looked like he might fall over.

His parents who were in the kitchen came over and put down some tea, and small snacks for us. Goddess Isis accepted the offer quite quickly and ate the snacks.

"May we know why all three of you are here…? But seeing the Middleman here, perhaps it's…?"

I nod.

"Yeah, I'm here to heal Junaid. Both physically, and whatever trauma he holds towards a certain individual of your race."

I decided to not use his name. I don't know the extent of the trauma, so I want to avoid giving him unnecessary stress. Junaid gave me an awkward smile, I guess phrasing it like that didn't trigger anything, so that's good. His parents, however, looked quite hopeful.

"How are you su—"

"He can."

The father starts to ask, but Kurousagi stops him and proceeds to tell him what I said before. Healing the devil sleeping disease and the others. They then bowed deeply towards me, even Junaid.

"""Please."""

Were the only words they uttered; Junaid's was slightly trembly. No, his entire body was trembling. Well, time to be a miracle worker again. I got up from my seat and walked over to Junaid. I stood in front of him and touched his shoulder.

I've never done the blocking or sealing of memories before. I've only mind-controlled some people recently, Cúntóir are they the same? If not, I'll leave it to you.

Cúntóir: Answer: It is slightly different, however, blocking or sealing it is effective, and using your powers it can never be broken or unsealed. However, I suggest we completely erase the 'trauma' he has. He won't forget about it, but the emotional turmoil will be gone.

I see, alright. I'll leave it to you then.

Cúntóir: Answer: Healing Junaid's broken arm, and leg... Erasing emotional trauma... Processing... Success!

A bright yellow light consumes Junaid; however, he does not panic. He remains still and calm. I could feel him putting his trust in me, so that's why he wasn't panicking. His parents were a little worried, but seeing Junaid like that they decided not to say anything.

The light eventually ends. Junaid opens his eyes and stares at me, I remove my hand from his shoulder and step back.

"Try moving your arm and leg."

He does so and it seemed like he never broke them. Upon noticing this, he expeditiously removed the casts on both his arm and leg. Once that was done, he started to swing his arm back and forth and moved his leg side to side.

"I guess that's all good. Now then, for the next one... Halzaham."

I said the name that would give him some sort of trauma. His parents looked panicked, but Junaid had a neutral expression— No, he was surprised. Surprised at himself that he didn't react negatively.

"I… Huh? I don't feel anything when you mention his name."

Both his parents were astonished. They started to ask him if it was really true, and he nodded. He turns to Kurousagi and started talking about what happened that day in detail.

"—After he hurt the others and came to me, I stood my ground since if I didn't, who would, you know? But I didn't think he would break both an arm and leg, or that he would drag me to the edge and throw me off."

"You know, as I fell… The thoughts of 'Am I going to die?', 'Am I going to see my family again', or 'Will those other kids be found?' kept on circling over and over in my mind. But as I finally hit the ground, I passed out. But the next time I opened my eyes, I was back in our town, you know?"

They kept going talking about it, and his parents seemed relieved. I sit back and let them talk, however, I felt a certain Goddesses' gaze on me even after I did my thing. I glance at her as she stares at me, so I stare at her back.

[It's a game where whoever blinks first or cuts eye contact loses. Don't lose, Partner!]

...Ddraig, Albion, when we go outside after this. I think both of you should head to Ireland and Russia.

[Huh? Where'd this come from, Partner?]

{I do not mind, Jin. But I would like to know the reason.}

We are unaware of when Khaos Brigade will start their attacks, so I want you two to be over there. I decided not to send my avatar or clones there. Seeing as both of you offered to go as well as my Electa and shadows being there… I think it's fine.

We also have Scathach in Ireland, but I guess Russia is the only I don't have a connection to— As in, a person I know prior, you know? Maybe I should send another Electa there…

[She should be fine with the Shadows and Albion, Partner.]

{Then why not Celestin? He's not exactly doing anything right now. He's also a reliable butler.}

...Sure, why not? Celestin is my only butler, and one of the Electa's I created. I made four in total, two male and two female. Selene is in Ireland, the other is here in Egypt. Celestin in my ring, and the other female in Russia.

"I'll go out first. I need to do something…"

I left before they could say anything. However, Isis followed after me. I jump back beyond the walls since I needed some space. But Isis kept on following me. Seeing as she won't stop, I just sigh and stopped.

"Celestin."

When I called his name, I saw a man in his 30s with short, combed light-blue hair, violet-colored eyes and finely tailored glasses. He's seen wearing a butler's uniform that's light and dark silver in color, a dark/grey-purple vest, a white-collar shirt tucked underneath the vest with a black tie tied around the neck collar, black laced shoes, and white gloves, which came out of my ring.

Ddraig and Albion followed after him, and were in their human forms.

[Finally, I get to fight! Well, hopefully I do.]

{We will get going then, Jin. I will be in Russia.}

[Ireland for me!]

"Jin-sama, I shall join Albion-sama in Russia."

Albion, Ddraig and Celestin all disappeared in that order. I glance back at Isis as her eyes were wide again.

"So you really did revive the two Heavenly Dragons, and that butler… He was strong, stronger than any God or Goddess here. You truly are intriguing, Jin Skyward."

I didn't answer her and just simply went back to the home of Junaid.

…

It didn't take them long to finish, and asked where I was. I simply answered I wanted to check the surroundings out a little more before the day came to a close. We didn't tell them of our plan, but we alluded to them that we were going to expose Halzaham soon.

Junaid had a look in his eyes that said he was all for it, and would help any way he could. Goddess Isis, Kurousagi and I were on our way to Kurousagi's home. We turned a corner and she stopped.

"Is it possible for me to only go?"

"Sure. I'll go meet up with Vera and the others then."

"Thank you."

She probably doesn't want us seeing her embarrassed in front of her parents, or she just wants to explain herself without us eavesdropping. So, following Vera's aura Isis and I made our way there. We passed by a few shops, and the place wasn't as dead at night as I had thought, hell… They seemed even more lively, actually.

"They are like this."

"Excuse me?"

With no prompt, Isis starts speaking.

"They are called Moon Rabbits after all. It doesn't matter what type of moon is in the sky, they get even stronger at night, the previous Goddess of the Hare, or Rabbit was called Goddess Wenet. However, since her supposed passing, the overall powers of the rabbit people of our realm has decreased."

Rabbit Goddess? That's the first— Well, I didn't know much about the Egyptian mythology…

"What do you mean?"

"Did it not occur to you as to why the females of this species were much weaker? And their birthrates were low? It's because of her 'passing', however, Ra has speculated that she is truly dead, and a new successor will come to be."

"I remain skeptical, but who truly knows? To my previous point, the females were equal in strength to the male, however, since she passed it has decreased. The real tradition was the strongest male was selected for Osiris, the second-strongest female would go to Ra, and finally…"

She trails off and glances at me, I was listening in to her so she continued.

"The one assigned to Wenet would be a female as she was one herself and wanted a female. Ra speculated that when an especially strong female rabbit youkai appeared, she would be reborn as the next Rabbit/Hare Goddess."

The two that come to mind right now were Kurousagi and Vera. As for who might turn into one… I have no idea. I wait for her to continue but she didn't speak anymore, so we silently arrived at where everyone else was at.

"Oh! Jin!"

She cutely hops over to me and starts poking me for some reason while giggling.

"Your harem here has praised you to the moon and back! Hearing so much of it makes me wanna know you more!"

I look at all three of them, Inaie was crimson in the face, while the other two gave me strained smiles… I really doubt they would play me up that much, I would guess they were just having a normal conversation.

"Is that so? I guess I'll need to praise them later then."

"I was joking about them all being in your harem! But you didn't deny it!"

It is inevitable. I won't deny that.

'Normally this is where Ddraig would say something, but since those two are missing… How about we provide commentary, right Velgrynd?'

'...Jin is okay.'

'Huh?'

'…'

I'm as confused as you are, Rudra. Anyway, I move on and ordered some food for myself with many of Vera's recommendation. The other three also gave the food praise. I also let Isis order as much as she wanted since I was paying.

"Phew! Thanks, Jin. I didn't have enough to pay, so I was panicking, and that's the reason why we hadn't left! I didn't want to dine and dash!"

Seriously? I look towards Rose and Raiko. In a way, Raiko is also 'working' for me so I was paying her the same amount as Rose, which was one million yen a month. Inaie was a roommate so she was getting half a million a month. Like Asia, she nearly had a stroke seeing the amount of money I was giving.

"It's fine…"

My food came after a few minutes of waiting, we just chatted about random things while we waited. I had ordered something called Egyptian Fatteh. It's an Egyptian and Levantine dish consisting of pieces of fresh, toasted, grilled, or stale flatbread covered with other ingredients that vary according to region.

I had Cúntóir look it up as we waited. I was eager to taste it, so I went ahead since Isis didn't have hers yet. Vera was looking at me expectantly, so after swallowing the food and processing my thoughts on it…

"It's good. However, I am interested in trying in all types of dishes around the world. Whether they be from the normal country or made in the supernatural realms."

"Huh? Why is that, Jin?"

I told her of my plans after I graduate from high school and she nodded sagely.

"I see, the Skyward restaurant of the supernatural world. I wish to taste some dishes on day! Mmm-mmm!"

I let Vera ramble on about the food in my restaurant is going to be amazing, even though she hadn't eaten a single bite, but I assume the girls told her about it so it kind of makes sense. While I ate, I felt the aura of Kurousagi slowly approaching us.

"Hmm? Oh, Kuro. You're done on your end, huh?"

"Yes. I am ready… He's also here."

Yeah, I also felt a couple of auras enter the town, and they were quite interesting, but one stood out completely. His aura was wild, like an untamed animal ready to pounce on anything that moves.

"It's safe to assume that he knows about my return, and the appearance of the Middleman. He does have a lot of fans in the city. It would not be strange if he was contacted by them."

Kurousagi says while looking at all of us. She then stares at me directly.

"Jin. Prepare yourself, perhaps the ones who hold you in contempt have been mostly silent, but if Halzaham riles up his supporters and fans it may become—"

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry about it."

I only really need to watch out for two of the girls who came with me, and even then, they had the rings, and the shadows to protect them. Also, they hadn't slacked off as they do go to the [Training Facility].

Just as Kurousagi was about to sit down a figure with multiple others appeared behind her. The wilder aura grabbed her shoulder and a wide grin on his face. I used [Observe] on him and it was Halzaham.

Halzaham was a young man with a fit build, he has messy white short hair which covered his left eye while his right eye is red with a black sclera. He is also shown to have sharp teeth. He has black rabbit ears with one of the ears drooping over his left eye.

He wears a collar with a black bow on his neck. Two black suspenders hooked across his shoulders supported his extremely tight and revealing black shorts. He also wore a large white rabbit tail on his back. His shoes were a pair of black dagger high heels.

I didn't expect him to look like that… He's wearing a females bunny costume of all things… He's truly unhinged.

"I didn't expect you to come back here all by yourself, Kuro-Kuro ~ it makes me so happy, do you know that? We're finally reunited after all these yea—"

Swosh!

Kurousagi sends a kick towards Halzaham and he swiftly dodges and jump back while laughing. His group also laughs with him.

"As spicy as ever! Haha! I expected as mu— Hmm? Well, well, if it isn't the Middleman and Oppai Dragon. I didn't think the rumors were true, but I'm happy to meet you ~"

He says this but he doesn't really mean it. All his words were empty, however, his posy were staring at me with so much malice that I was a little surprised. So, they're the ones who hate me, huh?

Wait a minute, don't tell me— I turn to look at Isis, and she was already staring at me… I see, so. I get it. They were also responsible for her death, huh? The past wielders of the [Boosted Gear], and [Divine Dividing]. They accidentally, or purposely killed the Goddess Wenet.

"I don't want a killer anywhere near me."

"Oi, oi, I'm no killer ~ what are you even talking about, Kuro? ~"

He said that in a sickeningly sweet voice, and had a shit-eating grin. He didn't even try to hide the fact that she was right. However, Kurousagi hadn't said anything. I left it to her in how to lead Halzaham down to that place.

"You disgust me."

"Haha ~ oh well, let's catch up later, okay ~ I'll leave you now then ~"

I wasn't expecting that, and he left with his group. Their figures slowly vanished and Kurousagi sat down.

"…I will lead him out there tonight. I know that look he gave me before he left. He will be stalking me for the rest of the day unless I go home. Please be ready, once we are finished here, I will commence the operation."

Everyone nodded and I finished my meal with relative ease. However, we waited for Isis to finish since she got her meal during the confrontation of Halzaham and Kurousagi.

After a few minutes, Isis was done, and we made a note in finding a small hostel and going in there for the night. Both Vera and Kurousagi left us after we went in.

Kurousagi was to be leading Halzaham to that place. Once we were in our rooms, I put invisibility on all of us.

"I will remain in the town."

Isis says and goes back t reading a book she summoned. We didn't argue and left her there. I will be streaming the whole memory thing to everyone in the village after all, so she won't need me to be there.

Inaie, Raiko and Rose will be staying behind and making sure nothing violent will be happening. Vera will also be helping them. Vera will go check with the King to see how much he's going to help us.

I had given them temporary transceivers so we can communicate. Kurousagi's one is invisible so Halzaham can't see it. I touch my transceiver.

[Alright, let's get this mission started.]

[Roger.]

…