goyya 989-1000

Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 989 Loki's Struggle part 6

No one could understand what'd just happened, no matter how many times they replayed the brief battle in their heads. They couldn't even confidently call it a battle since it looked like a game of tag for Kisuke and he wasn't even hit a single time. It's as if he had eyes on the back of his head that allowed him to dodge perfectly, even if he was completely besieged on all sides.

But while they were silenced by his performance, a single drop of sweat ran down Kisuke's forehead, 'Fuck... That was hard and tiring. I had to exert myself more than normal since I'm holding back. I'd rather fight Apollo or Ares again rather than do this.' Dodging physical attacks from Tione and Filvis and Magic attacks from Lefiya proved to be harder than he expected, 'Oh well, it's a good training method for practicing control.'

"...This is ridiculous." Finn could only force a smile, "...If we're limited to the same specs, even if all the top executives of our Familia gang up on him, we might not be able to win."

Gareth has the same sentiment but didn't say anything about it.

"Yo~ Look at how you're enjoying yourselves here! A shame I don't have some good wine in my hand though." Finn and Gareth turned around and saw Loki and Riveria walk around to approach them.

Gareth grinned at Riveria and said, "Strangely enough, I don't remember much details of when you separated from us seven years ago, but I do remember our promise. To be honest, I'm a little bit disappointed when I heard you could only hold back a Level 8, but if you're remotely anywhere near him, I think you're underselling yourself quite a bit."

Riveria sighed, "Don't compare me to him. Even from where he came from, he's an absolute abnormality."

"...We should stop here." Finn turned to Loki, "I think they already get what you want to say."

"I would like that as well," Loki pointed to Ais who was intently staring at Kisuke's figure while wholly ignoring them, "But do you think you could stop her?"

Finn, Gareth, and Riveria looked at each other before displaying a wry smile.

Finn then turned to the audience and called out a few people, "Anakitty, Raul. Take care of Tione, Lefiya, and Filvis. Alicia, Elfy, Narvi. Activate the tower's barrier. The rest of you, take some distance if you don't want to get hurt."

At his command, the entire Familia started moving. Since the [Twilight Tower] was constructed like the Babel Tower with the addition of various protective and strengthening Magics embedded into it, it's very wide and durable. Just enough to contain Ais for some time.

"Good thing Bete isn't here. He's more uncontrollable than Ais in this sort of thing." Gareth muttered to himself.

"Ais... Do what you want but be mindful of the space you're allowed to use," Finn instructed.

Ais smiled slightly and grabbed Lysa nested on her head before passing her to Riveria, "How much should I hold back?"

"I don't even know what you can do now..." Riveria replied while receiving the small Dragon, "But all I can say is the answer to that question, whoever asks, is always a big 'No'."

Ais didn't say anything else and directly pulled out her sword.

"I think you're underestimating her too much," Gareth commented, "We hadn't not mentioned it last night, but she's already the strongest in the Loki Familia. Along with the [Heaven Defier] and [King], they made up the 'Three Gigantis'."

Gareth and Finn peeked at Riveria to see her reaction but saw that nothing changed.

Riveria was curious about Ais' current ability and was more worried about these 'magnificent' Aliases and Kisuke not being able to hold back.

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"Will you be the last one?" Kisuke asked after seeing the changes in arrangement.

Ais nodded, "...Riveria said not to hold back, but only Bell Cranel could really keep up with me."

"Is that so? Good. I'll be able to see a part of Bell Cranel's ability. Don't let me down, alright?"

Ais didn't reply. Instead, she instantly disappeared from Kisuke's sights, "!?"

Without hesitation, Kisuke pulled his blade out of his cane and placed it behind him with one swift motion. At that moment, something heavy struck Kisuke's blade and he was sent tumbling forward.

Kisuke managed to regain his footing after spinning a few times in the air and looked at his former spot. There he saw Ais who'd thrusted her sword and was retaking her stance, "Did I let you down?"

Kisuke stood up while chuckling, "Nope. You surprised me."

Even Riveria was surprised, 'That's comparable to a Flash Step... But compared to the latter, it looks a lot more flexible.'

"That's how much Ais' [Ariel] has improved. Her speed can't be caught by eye anymore and the only one who could keep up with her is Bell Cranel with his [Lightning Shift]." Finn explained.

Even with Riveria's eyes, she could easily see its weakness, 'It has too much 'noise'. Even though she could turn mid-flight, she was leaving too much of a trail that it became too easy to tell where she would go.'

"You're not as surprised as I thought you would be.", muttered Finn.

"Hmmm... Well, I'm surprised for sure. But to be honest, it's only a little bit special."

Finn, Gareth, and the defeated girls who just arrived beside them were confused and skeptical of her words.

Riveria smiled, a little bit proud, and said, "Just watch."

Ais disappeared from her spot once again and instantly reappeared beside Kisuke while thrusting her sword. Ais was ready to continue attacking and pursuing after her attack was blocked. However, as the world slowed down in her eyes, Ais saw that Kisuke wasn't doing anything, 'A trap?', she thought. But there were no movements from him and the surroundings were clear of Magic Power.

There was nothing but Ais still didn't fully commit and aimed for his arm instead. Ais was fully prepared to pull out when something went wrong but her sword continued on its path without any interception from her enemy. She was confused until the tip of her blade reached his right arm, then was shocked when Kisuke suddenly disappeared in front of her.

"How kind of you." Ais' eyes widened as she suddenly heard Kisuke's voice behind her. She immediately reacted by rotating her body and changing the direction of her wind. What she saw then was a flash of the blade striking down where she was just standing.

Ais moved a few meters to the side to get a better view of her opponent, but she was once again shocked that he was not there, 'Where!?'

"Behind you, again," Kisuke whispered with an amused tone.

"!?"

Ais hurriedly turned her head and saw his blade coming down at her once again, this time, with very heavy killing intent. She could change her direction once again, but it was already too late. Without much choice, the combination of Ki and Magic Power erupted from her body in the form of a strong wind that pushed everything around him.

Kisuke's blade clashed with the wind that Ais just released but was surprised to find it as hard as armor. Due to the limit he had placed on himself, Kisuke was pushed away once again, 'Yep... There's no point in continuing this.'

Kisuke landed on his feet more than ten meters away and sheathed his blade.

Ais, on the other hand, was wheezing for air and cold sweat drenched her back. She had just hurt herself by that uncontrolled mass release of power to protect herself. But more than that, she was fully woken up by the 'whisper of death' and became scared for the first time in a while.

"There's no way for me to hurt you. I surrender." Kisuke immediately declared.

Editors:

28th00: See, taking the assassination part out of an assassination technique just to gain better maneuverability… Ain't the best idea. Also, poor Ais is having a small panic attack at that last statement.

Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 990 Loki's Struggle part 7

The already heavy silence became even heavier.

Kisuke caught his hat that was blown off by the wind and dusted it for a bit before putting it back on, "Well then... I think we're done here so I'd like to bid my farewell. Loki-sama, thank you for having me."

"Sorry about this. I'll return this favor someday." Loki was genuinely grateful to Kisuke. Although her children had become stronger, something else degraded, "The undeveloped area remained abandoned thanks to Freya's pressure so it should have remained relatively the same."

Unbeknownst to anyone except for Kisuke, Loki's 'favor' was accompanied by enough resolution that she'd go against just about everything to return it, 'I was pissed that I had to do something like this, but she's paying so much more. I can't keep getting mad, can I?'

"Is that so? I have to thank Freya-sama later." Kisuke turned around and began to exit the Twilight Tower. Although he was in a bad mood moments ago, he left in a good mood since he essentially got Loki's 'promise'.

"W-wait!"

Kisuke stopped walking and turned his head back. His happy expression had already disappeared.

Ais clenched her teeth and said, "You haven't lost! Don't act like you can't fight!"

Kisuke sighed, "I surrendered so I already lost? What are you talking about?"

Ais swung her sword and prepared her Magic again, "Weren't you just about to cut me down? If I wasn't able to defend myself in time, I would have been injured."

"But you defended yourself. And if you keep doing that, I have no way of defeating you.", Kisuke immediately replied, 'Well, within my current limits at least.'

"But I can't-" Ais wanted to explain but Kisuke glared at her, "Think about your words before you say them. What are you trying to achieve here? It's just a simple spar. We are not trying to take each other's life. I have my secrets and you have your own. Keeping them may save your life so why are you so gung-ho to show off your abilities in a simple exchange? Is it because of pride? Is it because you felt like you lost? Please don't drag me into your childish games."

"W-wh... No... I didn't mean it like that!"

"Then you're much worse than I thought. If we're basing it on my opinion, the girls who came before you are a lot better since even if they lay defeated on the floor, they kept their most important cards hidden."

Losing his interest in lecturing her, Kisuke resumed his steps, "If you keep that up, you'll lose your life without knowing how nor why."

Riveria wanted to follow him but she knew she couldn't because of this mess she'd started, 'Looks like a lot of things indeed have changed... But not all of them were for the best.'

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Kisuke returned to Hestia Familia's base, the abandoned church that Hephaestus had gifted Hestia when she was just starting out, "Such a nostalgic scene. This place really hasn't changed much." Kisuke muttered to himself as he entered the first shop he built when he came to this world by accident.

He inspected the shop and was able to glean some clues that multiple people went through this place multiple times. Though that doesn't really concern him since there's nothing here and the entrance to the underground hideout wasn't touched.

'Yoruichi and the others won't be here for a few more hours. For the time being, I will need to plan out my moves on Luxato Abtor and get that blueprint in one go.'

The things he did in the Loki Familia were already shoved to the back of his head, only to be remembered when he sees them again.

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It was nighttime again and Kisuke was already done with his preparation to steal. There was a commotion two hours ago in his shop above ground but Kisuke ignored it, mainly because he could feel Freya's presence and he didn't want to deal with her right now, 'Loki knows how to enter this place so if it's an emergency, they'll just come in.'

Kisuke was about to kick back and relax when a blurred presence suddenly manifested not far from him. Since there was no malicious intent, he already guessed who it was but he decided to play along.

Using Flash Step, he reappeared behind the blurred presence, however, he saw nothing. Instead, the presence was already behind him again, 'What!?'

Kisuke 'stepped out' again, but the same thing happened. This time, he couldn't dodge as a pair of familiar arms wrapped around him from behind, "Surprise~!"

A gentle smile emerged from Kisuke's face as the familiar scent softly assaulted his nose, "I was really surprised. How are you doing that?"

The arms released him and once again, the presence behind him instantly disappeared with the space not far in front of him suddenly warping slightly before Yoruichi, with a big grin, appeared from it, "Like this~!"

Kisuke's eyes widened and exclaimed at the traceless teleportation, "Instant Transmission!?"

"There are some limitations..." Yoruichi nodded, "But yeah, an Instant Transmission."

Kisuke jumped and happily hugged her, "Congratulations! You've just achieved something unbelievable!"

Yoruichi hugged him back and was absolutely content with his praise, "With you working your butt off, I can't just slack off now, can I? And welcome back."

"Yeah... I'm back... And I actually missed you."

Although very happy with hearing those words, Yoruichi shuddered, "When did you start saying those things?"

Kisuke chuckled, "Just recently. I've got to change too, you know."

The feelings of endearment, intimacy, and fondness they have for each other were as real as it could get. However, they were not exactly adults that could say their serious feelings because they saw it as a weakness. So when Yoruichi heard Kisuke verbally expressing his feelings and not a hint of a joke in it, she was absolutely surprised.

Yoruichi too wanted to express her adoration, but found her words stuck in her throat. She wanted to force it, but before she could do so, Kisuke covered her lips, "If it doesn't come out naturally, don't do it. Besides, both of us are people of action so we'd rather see something like that."

Yes, they are the type of adults that couldn't say it but show it. So a steamy night began with only the two, separated from everything in the world.

Editors:

28th00: The 1st cat is back! Kisuke has a lot of cats, huh? Yoruichi, Kuroka, Shirone, Ophis, Lilith and Tanith. Six Cats. Dragons are just big scaly cats. At least I don't have to edit a sex scene…

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 991 Together Once Again

The next morning, Serafall, Hestia, and Artemis came down to the underground hideout and the first thing they noticed was Yoruichi's 'glow', "It really looks like you enjoyed yourself.", Serafall muttered with an awkward expression.

"Well, it really has been a while, so I got a little excited~!", Yoruichi answered back while rubbing her cheeks and with a slightly embarrassed expression.

Artemis blushed and the corner of Hestia's lips twitched. Choosing not to entertain her any further, the latter asked, "Where is he?"

Yoruichi pointed behind her with her thumb, "He's inside, working on something again, as usual."

Hestia was instantly appalled, "Again!? How much of a workaholic is he!?"

"Yes.", Yoruichi simply answered.

Hestia grabbed the blushing Artemis with a furious expression and said, "I'm going to drag him out on a date!"

Yoruichi nodded, "You're free to do whatever you want. No one remembers him anyway... Well, except for a few people. The most troublesome one is in the Tower of Babel right now so she shouldn't bother you for some time."

Yoruichi then ignored the Goddesses and proceeded to tell her night story to Serafall despite her protests.

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Kisuke got dragged around the city by the Goddesses, but he didn't really mind it. This was also the first time he was able to get around when there was still daylight and it gave an entirely different vibe compared to the night city with young people happily going around instead of drunkards creating noise.

As they went around, Kisuke told them various stories of what had happened on the other side. Although they already knew most of these stories, it gave a different feeling and joy to hear it directly rather than just through screens.

"Heeeh~ I heard last time from Sona herself that she wanted to establish an educational facility that didn't take people's status into account," Hestia commented while munching on the street food she'd gotten.

"But it mustn't have been easy.", Artemis added, "I've seen how those at the top of the hierarchy do their best to destroy this kind of thing because it's a threat to their position."

"It wasn't. But if you gather enough influence and people who can support you and push back against those types of people, it becomes easy enough."

While Hestia took Kisuke's words at face value, Artemis knew that it wasn't that easy either, 'For a power like that to rise on a global scale, the power struggle has to be turbulent enough that they'd have a chance to pave through. Looks like their world isn't as peaceful as he let it on.'

At some point, Kisuke felt an intense stare. He followed it and turned his head towards the top floor of the Tower of Babel to see a breathtaking Goddess with a slightly fuming expression.

In response, Kisuke just smiled and waved his hand in greeting before ignoring her again.

Curious, Hestia and Artemis turned their attention to where he was waving. However, since they couldn't really see as well as Kisuke, they couldn't really see Freya, but they could guess who she was.

"You haven't met her?" Hestia guessed.

"She'll be a pain in the ass, but I'm sure that her children will be a lot more annoying than her, so I'm saving myself from trouble."

"You know you can't ignore her forever. That woman's obsession isn't something you can deal with by just ignoring her."

"At least she'll get the idea not to bring her children if she wants to meet me. I already learned my lesson in the Loki Familia and they are at least ten times worse in a certain sense."

"The Loki Familia?" Artemis asked, "What happened?"

"Well, it's just kids who became a bit drunk on power and were thinking that they are at the top of the world."

Artemis and Hestia understood what he meant and the latter asked, "Can you blame them? They are literally at the top of the world right now."

Kisuke went silent for a moment before answering, "...Maybe I just expected something better from them."

The three of them walked around for a few more minutes until they came across another group.

"K-Kisuke..." Riveria called out with a bit of an awkward tone.

Behind her were Loki, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Filvis, Ais, and a fair-skinned, white-haired, and golden-eyed little girl around seven years old holding Ais' hand.

Naturally, Kisuke was not the one to be bothered by their situation and casually greeted them, "Yo~ Riveria, Loki-sama, and everyone from Loki Familia. Good afternoon. Looking for a place to have lunch?"

"That's right~!" Loki stepped in front of everyone, "How about you join us?" Her eyes then went down and met the eyes of a growling Goddess, "It's also been a while since I talked to this shortie. I want to catch up~!"

"Who would want to catch up with you!? Get lost!"

Kisuke was thinking if he should accept her invitation or not and was leaning toward the former because he could see Loki's attempt at reconciliation. But before he could say anything, someone else called out to him and it surprised him, "Kisuke... Urahara?"

Kisuke hurriedly turned and saw a handsome young man with white hair and red eyes, "You're Kisuke Urahara, aren't you?"

"Bell Cranel, is it? What a surprise... It has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes. It really has been a while."

"But I don't think we've talked that much."

Bell approached him while nodding, "That's true. But there's something I'd like to ask you in case we meet again."

Bell then placed his right hand on his back and pulled out a familiar dagger. The moment Bell placed the dagger in front of him, Kisuke's eyes widened, 'Now this is really a surprise... I didn't think it'd reach this stage considering how poorly optimized it was.'

A smile emerged from Bell's face, "I wanted to ask if you're the one who gave it to me, but considering your reaction, is it safe to assume that is a yes?"

Kisuke stared at the dagger for a few more moments before saying, "Do you know a quiet place with good food?"

Bell nodded, "I know exactly a place just like that."

"Then let's go." Kisuke then turned to the other group and asked, "Do you mind it, Loki-sama?"

"I'm also curious why the heck he could recognize you, so let's go~!"

Editors:

28th00: Protagonist-kun and his anti-NTR aura means he can't be affected by mental influencing skills! I see that Bell and Ais seem to have had a kid too, unless it's the dragon loli… They're spreading!? I blame Ophis. At least, I think so? So this is what happens when Riveria isn't around, huh?

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 992 Hatched by Ophis

In a surprisingly quiet corner of the bustling city, situated a hidden bar that only a few people knew. The bell attached to the door rang, grabbing the attention of a tall and thin old man tending the bar, "Master, I'd like to reserve the place. Is that alright?"

The bar owner saw Bell entering with a group of people and nodded silently before going to the back and informing the cook to prepare lunch.

Bell then led everyone inside the cozy bar to sit down, "Please help yourself. I can guarantee that this is a good place."

Loki didn't take the ceremony and directly sat down on one of the chairs, "It has been a while Bell-kun. I believe it was the last expedition meeting against the 'Corrupted Goddess' or was it the hunt for the 'One-Eyed'? How are Miach and your wives? It's rare to see you all alone."

At the mention of the 'Corrupted Goddess', the members of the Loki Familia flinched, except for Riveria who didn't have any idea what this term is referring to. Kisuke was also the same since he only heard how Yoruichi's group was doing and nothing really about what was going on in the world at large.

Bell, meanwhile, smiled wryly, "It was the former, Loki-sama. And let's call it 'Corrupted Spirit'. After all, the term you used is very... controversial to say the least."

"The people you invited here today are all trusted ones so let's call it for what it actually is, alright?"

Bell could only sigh, "Miach-sama is currently helping Takemikazuchi-sama escape from Astarte-sama, and Lili and Haruhime are doing fine. Thank you for asking."

Loki's eyes widened, "Astarte is still hounding Take? That's devotion right there if I've ever seen some. Just make sure this doesn't devolve into a war, ya hear me?"

"I've already talked to Astarte-sama and we've reached some sort of agreement so that won't happen." Bell nodded, "I know that a war right now between the top Familia's is the last thing we want."

A simple back and forth ensued between Bell and Loki making Kisuke see how much the former has matured not just in appearance but also experience. He didn't interrupt them and just listened. Bell noticed that Kisuke just wanted to hear for now and the awkward atmosphere between him and the Loki Familia, mostly from the latter, and talked to them too to ease the tension.

All this while, the unknown little girl was silently staring at Kisuke. Kisuke knew who this little girl was but chose to ignore her for now and see what she was up to.

Thanks to Loki leading the conversation, the tense atmosphere around the girls of the Loki Familia had already mostly disappeared and at that time, their lunch arrived, helping the air around the table become more pleasant.

Ais urged the little girl to eat too, but the latter was too busy staring at Kisuke and that's when she noticed how weird she was acting right now, "...Lysa? What's wrong?"

However, she received no answer and the intensity of her stare just became stronger.

At that point, even Kisuke was weirded out by her quiet stare and just said, "I wouldn't know what you want if you just kept staring at me like that."

Ais and the rest of the girls were wondering why the usually obedient little girl had suddenly started acting up but their worries and questions fell on deaf ears. Bell also knew her real identity and stopped talking, wanting to figure out what was going on.

After the relatively long silence, the little girl finally spoke up while pointing her tiny finger at Kisuke, "Can I get that?"

Everyone looked at Kisuke with confusion and curiosity. Kisuke himself was surprised for a moment but he noticed that she was pointing at him, what she was referring to isn't exactly him, but something attached to him.

'...Well, she was technically hatched by Ophis, so maybe she can instinctively feel her power?' Kisuke smiled and beckoned the Dragon-transformed little girl, "If you can get it, you're more than welcome to have it."

Lysa's smile beamed befitting her image and escaped from Ais's side before running towards Kisuke, "Lysa!"

Ais was about to follow her out of fear that something bad might happen to her if she approaches the 'bad man' but Loki stopped her by raising her arm to block her way, "It's fine. He'll never hurt the kid without a good reason and feeling annoyed is not a good one. And if there's someone who knows more about Lysa than us, it would be him."

"...More than us?" Lefiya muttered in astonishment. As far as she and everyone knew, no one else had come across a friendly Dragon and one that transformed to look like a Human. It's one of the Loki Familia's greatest secrets and only a few individuals were aware of it outside them and most of that was because Lysa was a bit careless, revealing her identity.

'He has several of those under his fingertips and all of them could potentially destroy the whole world.', Is what Riveria wanted to say with a distant look in her eyes, but she clamped her mouth shut to bury her desire to drop this bomb.

Everyone from Loki Familia watched Lysa come to Kisuke's side with bated breath as she suddenly grabbed his right arm with both of her hands and raised it in front of her after removing his sleeve out of the way.

The next second, the blood from Ais and others' faces drained in an instant when they saw Lysa opening her mouth, revealing her row of sharp teeth before taking a hefty bite out of Kisuke's arm.

"Lysa!" Ais called out in panic while standing up from her seat. She knew how sharp Lysa's teeth could be so she had no doubt that Kisuke would retaliate and would probably hurt Lysa in the process as self-defense.

While Riveria was stopping Ais from interfering, Kisuke ignored them and could feel something intangible draining from him. It wasn't anything from him, but Ophis' and Lilith's lingering aura that stuck with him from years of contact.

Lysa, after finally taking a bite at this strangely mouthwatering aura, felt something like glass breaking inside her head and a flood of memories came rushing in.

Lysa then inadvertently released Kisuke's arms and shouted in shock, "Ophis!"

Editors:

28th00: Hey, she can speak more than 2 words now! Ophis is pretty unforgettable though! Don't doubt the Dragon-Loli. So, Lili finally got her man in this timeline and Haruhime got her hero? I wonder if this means that Naaza finally got Miach?

Goyya: Sadly, I can't really go over everyone's relationship now since that'll slow me down too much. If there's an epilogue, I'll add them.

Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 993 Lysa

AN: Thank you very much for waiting~!

I'll just say this first, in my attempt to speed up the development, I may have ended up skipping many character interactions mostly from the characters of Danmachi save for some key characters.

Although I could write them, the pace of the story will become slower and I didn't really want the spotlight from Kisuke and his group to leave for very long.

Anyways, thank you very much for your continued support and I hope you have a good day~!

The moment Ophis' name escaped Lysa's tiny mouth, all the memories that had been sealed were returned to her, including the inexplicable joy of meeting the man who saved her again after not seeing him for most of her life, "Kisuke!"

"It's Kisuke-niisan for you.", a small gentle smile emerged from Kisuke's face as he patted Lysa's head.

Ais was stunned at his sudden change and her mind became jumbled. Meanwhile, Riveria sneered at him and said, "Stop kidding yourself. You're at least an uncle to her."

However, Riveria immediately regretted opening her mouth. With the same smile on his face, Kisuke pointed toward her and said, "Say hi to grandma Riveria~!"

"Hi grandma Riveria!"

"..."

Lysa immediately ignored the dazed High-Elf and turned her back to Kisuke before asking excitedly, "Ophis! Where!?"

She is supposed to have already learned how to speak properly but due to her excitement, her vocabulary and linguistic skill had almost disappeared.

Kisuke understood her excitement and started thinking of a way to meet those expectations. Since she's just a kid, he'd happily grant her small wish of meeting someone, 'Now then... It's not like I can conveniently contact Ophis or Lilith from my side...'

He knew that this would cause further confusion and might result in something undesirable among the girls of the Loki Familia. Nevertheless, it isn't exactly a problem that he cared deeply about so he would just leave them to Riveria.

Though before he could think of a solution for Lysa, the communication card that he'd kept outside his inventory started sending out alarms, and that card is specifically connected to Ophis.

Curious and happy with the coincidence, he took the card out at once and answered it.

After placing the card on the table, a holographic image of Ophis and Lilith emerged, [My mark... What happened?]

Kisuke answered by pointing to the little girl beside him.

Ophis and Lilith followed his finger and saw the Dragon with bright eyes staring back at them. For a moment, they forgot who she was, but her eyes and aura finally reminded them after thinking for a few moments, [Small white.], muttered the former.

"It's Lysa!" The Dragon proudly proclaimed.

The little Dragon wanted to talk to them and ask who is the other 'Ophis' and where are Claire and Tanis. However, another individual entered the hologram which made her freeze on the spot, [Hey, Blackie. Did you contact Boss? Hmmm?]

The red-haired grown-up 'Ophis' stared at Lysa and Lysa also stared back at her. The silence continued but it wasn't for too long as Lysa suddenly took several steps back and started prostrating while her whole body shook from fear.

Before anyone could react, Kisuke arrived behind her and instantly picked her up from the ground, "Yep. You don't have to do that."

Feeling the familiar arm and aura, Lysa hurriedly turned her body and grabbed Kisuke's head into a hug. After seeing Flanna, she couldn't speak anymore.

Unlike Ophis who saved her from the 'abyss', Flanna is technically a stranger. Since she's just a relatively weak Dragon, suddenly facing a 'God' made her panic and anxiety blown out of proportion, "...Kisuke...!" She could only mutter in a soft voice while burying her head into Kisuke's hat.

Flanna, on the other hand, just chuckled and asked, [Hey Boss, what's that amusing thing?]

Kisuke properly carried the child in his arms and tried to appease her, "Don't be scared of her. If she hurts you, Ophis will beat her up."

"Wha-" Flanna wanted to protest against Kisuke's words, but Riveria suddenly entered her view and saw her deadly stare. Flanna shuddered and immediately shut her mouth. Out of all the people in the world, Riveria is one of the very few that could actually scare her because of the nature of her eyes that could see through her if Riveria ever tried.

Riveria then turned to Kisuke and her cold expression was immediately replaced by a gentle one. She reached out and took Lysa into her arms, "I'll take care of her. Let's go Lysa. The adults are going to talk. I'll introduce you to a new friend."

Kisuke didn't say anything as Riveria took Lysa and the card off the table before leaving the bar.

Ais wanted to follow them, but Lefiya stopped her, "I'll go with them. Ais-san. Please stay here."

Lefiya knows that Ais was very worried about Lysa, especially about how she acted so weirdly. However, more than that, they need to figure out more about the strange man known as Kisuke Urahara to even make sense of what's going on. And Ais, who had the sharpest instincts, just a bit inferior to Finn, needed to be present.

After a moment of hesitation, Ais sat back down and watched Lefiya leave, and Filvis followed her, leaving only the Hiryute sisters and her on Loki's side.

"I don't know what happened, but I think it's a good time to get into the main reason why I invited you here." Bell forcefully pushed through the silence and took out his dagger once again before passing it to Kisuke.

Kisuke carefully received it and inspected it with an astonished expression, "This is actually amazing. For it to have evolved this much was not really in my consideration. It must have been hard."

Tiona, Tione, and Ais also looked at the dagger as it was a famous weapon that Bell had ever since he started adventuring and was rumored to have never changed and not even need to be maintained. It was a famous weapon not just because it's very sharp, but also because it could change its form to a certain extent. In addition to that, it's the only weapon that Bell could use when he uses his signature spells [Lightning Shift] and [Flame Shift].

Sadly, its name when Bell was just a beginner has been stuck with it, [Black Rabbit].

But while they were busy, Hestia and Artemis noticed that Loki was sweating bullets. Though after thinking about it for a brief moment, they understood what happened.

As a shapeshifter herself, Loki was able to see through Flanna's real identity, 'What the heck!? Isn't that the ridiculous Dragon that passed by years ago!? And why is she calling Kisuke 'Boss'!? And why does it look like she's scared of Riveria!? Just what happened on that side!?'

Editors:

28th00: Yeah, no scaring the children, Flanna. Grandma(pfft) Riveria will spank you if you do that! Loki has realized how bullshit Kisuke is, just a bit more…

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 994 Bell Cranel

While Kisuke was inspecting the [Black Rabbit], two more people came into the bar, "How rare. A quiet place like this actually still exists."

"The commercial district is slowly moving and expanding in the outer circle of the city and away from the production district so more and more places like this have popped up."

Although this was the first time he had seen them in years, they still looked exactly the same as they did when they disappeared from everyone's memories, "...Yoruichi Shihouin and Serafall Leviathan." Bell muttered their names out loud.

Yoruichi and Serafall stopped in disbelief and stared at him, "What the hell? You actually got out of that?", commented the former.

"That's really impressive.", commented Serafall as she approached and went around Bell, "There shouldn't be many loopholes you could take advantage of to get out of that. How did you do it?"

Bell scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "I don't really know. I just did it one day. Though I did have an idea that something was amiss so maybe it started that way?". Meanwhile, his innocent-looking eyes took a quick but meaningful glance at Yoruichi and Serafall and he could only sigh internally, 'As expected... They are the same as Kisuke Urahara and Riveria Ljos Alf. I can't estimate their strength.'

Normally, his eyes were pretty sharp and could actually approximately estimate someone's ability just by the movement of their Ki and Magic Power. That had been the case even against Ottar and Ais, however, Kisuke, Riveria, Yoruichi, and Serafall all have chaotic movements as if they had never trained and fought before. Naturally, he knew that it was impossible and the amount of energy they have further suggested against it. Moreover, there's an inexplicable danger that warned his instincts not to pry any further.

Needless to say, Kisuke, Riveria, Yoruichi, and Serafall all noticed his observing eyes but they just thought nothing of it. After all, that's what everyone does, on the other side, at least. In this world, Bell is a rarity as someone could just refer to others' 'Level' to estimate their strength and ability.

Which made them think. Bell probably isn't a Level 9 like how he claimed.

"Oh hi there, Loki-tan~! How long has it been~?" Serafall proceeded to greet Loki.

Loki stood up to receive Serafall, "It's been a few years, Sera-tan~! Just where did the lot of you go?"

At the arrival of more 'unknown' personalities, the three girls from the Loki Familia felt even more alone and didn't know what to do. If someone else were to see this, they'll be shocked that prominent figures like them are pushed to the side. It's as if they were invited to a party but no one would talk to them. Even Bell was feeling a bit of pity towards them and more curiosity and suspicion about what happened between them.

In the meantime, Kisuke waved Bell's dagger toward Yoruichi.

Yoruichi didn't know what she was looking at for a moment and approached him with curiosity. But after staring at it for a few moments, it finally hit her, "Soul Gear...? Whose?"

Kisuke pointed at Bell.

Yoruichi and Serafall's eyes widened, "Since when?" asked the latter.

"It is the very first working prototype. It's thanks to the valuable data that Cranel-san has provided that I was able to make the Soul Gears for Sona and others.", explained Kisuke while handing the dagger back to Bell.

"So it's called a Soul Gear." Bell received it back and stared at it for a moment before continuing, "It's all thanks to this that I've reached the place where I am now. Thank you for giving it to me. Or do I have to pay the price for it now?"

Kisuke chuckled, "Don't sell yourself short. Though it's really amazing compared to normal weapons, It's nothing without its user. It's really just a basic dagger that follows the growth of its user. If not for that, it'd just be a slightly sharper dagger. Everything was still based on your hard work. As for the price... Well, you already paid for it the moment you received and used it. I only gave it to you to confirm my designs are working the way they should and by chance, you were the most compatible with it."

Even though Kisuke essentially told him that he was just an experimental guinea pig, Bell was still grateful because this very dagger had saved his life multiple times thanks to its durability and auto-repair functions. It's arguably a lot better than other 'Durandal' weapons that he used since its blade never dies, "Hard work... is it? I don't think I did that much."

Kisuke then grinned at him and said, "Of course you did. And the fact that you're not a Level 9 is proof of that."

Bell's eyes widened in surprise but didn't refute it, 'As expected... He could easily see through me.'

At his reaction, the girls of the Loki Familia were startled, "Y-you're not a Level 9?" Tione asked with a nervous tone.

And her real question was asked by her sister, "...Could it be that you've already reached Level 10?"

Ais creases her brows. If this is true, then they will be truly left behind... And she might not be able to fulfill her long-sought revenge.

At their question, Bell immediately shook his head, "No. I didn't reach Level 10... And probably never will."

But his words only further confused them. If this goes on, they would really lose their minds sooner or later.

Thankfully, Kisuke doesn't really care about that, "Hmmm... If I were to guess, Level 7 or 6?"

Bell went silent for a moment before sighing, "This is supposed to be a secret as some group of people wouldn't like it if they were to know it, but you're right. I'm not a Level 9. I stopped updating my status when I reached Level 5."

The girls of the Loki Familia would not go home today without their worldviews breaking apart and being humbled down by a few notches.

Editors:

28th00: Ah, Bell has learnt the power of "The Grind" properly, hasn't he? He went down a different developmental path like Kisuke's faction. The Levels are still very useful for increasing your soul, but once you reach a certain point, it becomes somewhat detrimental if you're trying to maintain any form of exotic advancement I guess?

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 995 Bell Cranel part 2

"Level 5, huh? Better than I expected.", Kisuke was genuinely surprised not just because it was hard work, but also of his courage to answer the question and toss aside the 'faith' that proliferates through the entire world. For Kisuke, that's more impressive than people who could face monsters they have no hope of defeating, 'Though beyond that line is just extremism and insanity. It's great that he was able to keep it to himself and not preach about this 'enlightenment'.'

Kisuke was sure that those who wanted the Deities to leave this land would feast on his appearance and gather around him. At that time, it wouldn't be a pretty sight, 'But it'd be a different story if this world could interact with the previous one.' For a moment, Kisuke's eyes sharpened, '...There are ups and downs, but the advantages that it'll present me are much more than the consequences it'll bring... Perhaps I really have to do that. I'm sorry, Chaos-san, but it really looks like you've really chosen the wrong pawn to pick this time.'

Bell and Ais shuddered the moment they caught that but they didn't have any idea what he was thinking. Loki, on the other hand, had a guess, 'It's only now that he decided to commit? Just how careful is he?' With how he does things, especially with how he dealt with Freya, she thought that he was fully prepared to raise hell on earth, but now Loki knew that he was still considering a lot of things, which made Loki think, just how big of a playground he's preparing that he could switch sides any time or maybe, even swallow up both sides?

But one thing is for certain, as much as possible, she didn't want to be on the opposite side of his sword.

"Level 5? I heard you learned your signature move, [Flame Shift] and [Lightning Shift] when you reached Level 7.", Serafall approached Bell with curiosity, "Does that mean the Falna didn't provide you with those techniques?"

"Now that you mentioned it. I'm guessing it's a fusion technique between Ki and Magic? Do you mind if you show it to us?" added Yoruichi, also curious about his very famous move and she hadn't really seen it since they were traveling the whole world not long after Riveria left.

Bell decided to forget what he saw just now since there was nothing he could really do without knowing anything. He scratched his cheek and with a bit of embarrassment, he said, "I would, but it's not exactly a very quiet technique, I'm afraid I'll damage this establishment, and those sensitive with Magic Power or Ki would come rushing in, thinking that I'm fighting someone. It'd cause all sorts of misunderstandings and I'd like to avoid that as much as possible."

Without saying a word, Serafall snapped her fingers and a Magic Circle encompassing the whole bar instantly appeared below them before a wave of an enormous amount of Magic Power started pouring into all corners of the bar. Everyone who doesn't know what she was doing panicked but it only lasted for a few seconds before the Magic Circle disappeared, "I've reinforced the whole place so unless you use most of your strength, you can forget about destroying even a single chair."

Everyone was silent at her explanation but Serafall thought that Bell was still worried about something so she added, "I also added a barrier over us that restricts the flow of Magic Power and sound to the outside so it's also fine to get a bit noisy. No one's going to notice~!... Oh... Maybe Riveria-chan who just went out would."

Bell was still silent but he managed to get his bearings together and walked towards one of the free tables. He stared at it for a few seconds before raising his right arm and smashing his fist at it after a short breath, "Hmmmph!"

An explosive sound rang out and a small quake shook the building, however, instead of crushing the wooden table into tiny bits as he expected, there are only a few cracks that are running through it. Although it was about to fall down from the cracks, it was far more durable than it'd originally been, "U-Unbelievable..." He muttered to himself.

Tiona, Tione, and Ais saw this and tried it out themselves which resulted in a similar, "...What the hell is this Magic?" asked Tiona.

"It's nothing special. It's just a simple Reinforcement Magic that fixes the entire building's position relative to the ground. Enough about that and let's see that flame, lightning transformation."

Bell could only sigh and decided not to ask as he knew that he won't be getting any better answer than that, "Alright. Please excuse me.", he replied while gesturing to the fearful bar owner to get back.

The bar owner sighed in relief and decided to leave the place. In any case, even if the entire thing is destroyed, Bell could easily pay him multiple times the price of the bar.

Bell took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A second later, a dense amount of Ki and Magic Power began interacting around his body and lightning arcs started crackling on the surface of his body. Opening his glowing ruby-red eyes, the whole world slowed down for him as all the energy gathering around him became concentrated and the lightning arcs covering his body multiplied.

"This is my [Lightning Shift]. By dousing myself with Lightning Magic and maintaining it using my Ki, my reaction time, dexterity, speed, and to some extent, strength, are all exponentially improved. In addition to that, I can apply Lightning Magic to all of my attacks and further increase the damage I can deal to someone or something. My [Flame Shift] works the same, but with Flame Magic and more focused on defense and power."

While Bell was proudly explaining his technique, Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Serafall were all circling around him, making him feel a bit awkward too.

"What do you think?" Yoruichi asked.

"The way that his Ki moves is not of the general style. They remind me of how the Youkai use theirs so it's understandable why he could combine the two. He might have a good aptitude for Youjutsu." Serafall answered.

Yoruichi looked at her with surprise, "Youjutsu? Can a Human even learn something like that?"

Serafall nodded, "Although it's very rare, yes. Both the East and West Factions of the Youkai group have a few Human Youjutsu practitioners under their wings, but they are all used in spying activities since it's really hard to find them and you'd normally never associate a Human to Youjutsu technique."

"Hmmm... I'd say that it's more in line with Shunkou, but it's too sloppy to be at that level." Kisuke mercilessly compared Bell's technique to a technique only a few masters could ever hope to learn.

"Why compare it to that monstrous technique?" the corner of Serafall's mouth twitched at Kisuke's comment.

However, Yoruichi backed up Kisuke's claim, "I agree with Kisuke. If it's fundamentals that we're talking about, there's a resemblance if we take out the principles of Kidou from the Shunkou. The sloppiness, on the other hand, could be attributed to his half-assed knowledge of Magic. As it is now, he's just a walking scarecrow. Those who know how to make fire will burn him instantly."

"Ah... That's true. If he shows this to someone who knows his craft, he'll be lucky to escape alive. It's really a reckless technique that only works against someone who doesn't know anything about it."

While the three of them are arguing, they already forgot about the mortals who could only listen in a silent stupor.

Editors:

28th00: When it comes down to it, it's mostly due to the half-assed knowledge of magic and ki, which is a world-tier issue compared to places like Bleach and DxD.

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 996 Mystery of Magic

"Are you fine with this?" Artemis asked Loki with a low voice. After their debate got everyone's attention, the three Goddesses were seemingly forgotten.

"About what?" Loki asked back with a smile.

"You went out of your way to stop the skewed mentality they have, yet here you are, letting it happen again. After this, some cracks on the seal would surely appear."

"It's fine, isn't it?" Hestia answered for Loki, "It's been years and the seal was placed and they've changed to a certain extent. If you don't allow this, then you'll just be too overprotective."

"...For once, I agree with you.", Loki replied with a wry smile, "If they still can't adapt , then I'll just accept that it's their fate."

Hestia knew that even though the Loki Familia was deemed to be one of the most powerful Familia out there, they were also one of the most closed-off bubbles that Loki was in full control of. Although it may seem that they all have the freedom in the world, it was actually Loki who was steering the whole ship and without them knowing, they ended up depending on her way too much. More than Freya to her Familia in Hestia's opinion.

'Because of that, when Kisuke's existence was revealed to them and they too tried to reach it, it was mostly for their pride as a member of the Loki Familia and for their Goddess, Loki.', mused Hestia, 'That Ais Wallenstein might have been different, but the bond of the family shackled her for better or for worse.'

Loki saw that Hestia was looking at her strangely and was able to guess what she was thinking, "I know... But you also know what I am and I couldn't change that. At worst, I'll just disappear somewhere."

People would see Loki and Hestia being good friends and that's the truth. But if it's just Loki, she would never want to be friends with Hestia mainly because she's the one Loki is most envious of. The same as all the Deities of this world, absolutely nothing major could be changed in Loki and that includes her mentality that's influenced by her Divinity. So even if she wanted to stay back and watch, she would always want to do something to control the situation to a certain extent, 'I wonder what could have happened if I could become the 'Hearth', I could watch from the sidelines quietly too...'

Of course, Hestia could also understand this frenemy of hers. Turning her head away with a harumph, she said, "Hmph! Did you think your Familia could have reached this height without you?"

For a moment, Loki smiled softly before it immediately changed into a grin as she stood up and messed with Hestia's hair, "What? Feeling a bit mature and trying to comfort me? It's still too early for you!"

"What are you doing!?" Hestia angrily slapped her hand away.

All in all, Loki never regretted being friends with this shorty.

Watching the understanding between the two of them, Artemis only chuckled gently. It was these kinds of moments that she looked forward to life.

.

.

.

Bell couldn't understand most of what they were saying, but there was one thing he could gather from their conversation. And that is the technique he's so proud of is shit in front of them. Since he couldn't take it anymore, he asked, "Uhmmm... What could be the problem with this technique?"

Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Serafall all looked at him before all saying simultaneously, "It's too basic."

"...Huh?" Bell, and the others listening to them, couldn't understand. When Bell is in [Flame Shift], he could overpower Ottar. And when he's on [Lightning Shift], he's faster than Ais. Calling that basic seems to be an insult to everyone he defeated using those techniques.

Kisuke was about to answer his confusion but a certain signal suddenly interrupted his train of thought, 'What are they doing now?'

Without explaining himself, Kisuke bid his farewell, "Thank you for the lunch, Cranel-san. Something came up so I have to go. Loki-sama and everyone from Loki Familia, I'll be going first. Yoruichi, Sera-tan, Hestia-sama, Artemis-sama, I'll see you later."

The slight urgency within his voice made Yoruichi and the others only nod their head in understanding, "Alright. Be careful. We'll take care of things here."

Kisuke left the bar in a hurry and just a few seconds later, his entire presence disappeared.

"That's too abrupt. Is he going to be alright?" asked Bell.

"He's the last guy you should be worried about." Yoruichi immediately replied, "Anyways, want to know why we called your technique very basic?"

Bell hurriedly nodded his head.

"When we say it's too basic, we're talking about the Magic side of your technique. Your Ki integration with Magic Power is impressive and it's really hard to believe that you are self-taught. In that regard, you're definitely a genius. Your Magic, on the other hand, is too elementary."

"Elementary?"

Serafall sat back down and answered his question, "In other words, you're a complete beginner. Although your Magic has good fundamentals, it still lacks the most crucial aspect which is a mystery. Without mystery, your Magic is nothing more than manipulation of an existing phenomenon, and anyone who can control Magic Power is fully capable of doing that."

Serafall then raised one of her fingers and a small ball of ice appeared on top, "This is produced using very basic Ice Magic. Try destroying it with your lightning."

Bell did as he was told and pointed his finger at the ball of ice before an arc of lightning escaped from his fingertip. The ice was instantly blasted into many pieces and disappeared as a vapor.

Serafall didn't mind that and produced another ball of ice, but this time, a complicated Magic Circle appeared below it before it was conjured, "Now this is produced using an advanced mystery that I developed. Can you tell the difference?"

Bell stared at it for a moment before shaking his head, "...No."

Serafall didn't immediately give the answer and instead looked towards the girls of the Loki Familia starting from Tiona, who shook her head, and Tione, who also couldn't tell the difference. Her eyes then landed on Ais and the latter answered, "...I don't exactly know what the difference is, but this ice... Is very dangerous."

Serafall smiled, "As expected of someone who also uses mystery. In that regard, your wind is much more valuable than his lightning even if you can't defeat him in a fight."

Turning back her attention to Bell, she continued, "Now do the same thing. Destroy the ice."

Bell got a bit wary because of Ais's words but still went and sent his lightning arcing to the ice. He was expecting something else but the ice was easily destroyed as before. But when he thought that nothing else would happen, the vapor gathered again, and instead of forming the ice back, the path that the lightning arc took to travel suddenly began freezing and it instantly reached his arm which in turn, also started freezing, "!?"

Bell hurriedly gathered his lightning in his arm to defrost himself and he was successful in blasting away the ice freezing his arm. However, it didn't end there as the vapor once again gathered and began freezing his arm once again, though this time, it reached his shoulder and threatened to freeze his whole body.

Bell got scared but he also understood what he had to do. Releasing his Ki and Magic Power, he blasted the ice away and cleared the vapor using the shockwave generated by his power. It was then that the ice stopped freezing him and he was able to calm down a bit, "W-what was that?" he asked while taking deep breaths.

"Oh nice~! You were able to deal with it faster than I thought.", praised Serafall.

Editors:

28th00: Serafall is using Kisuke-styled training methods! SHE'S BEEN CORRUPTED!

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 997 Mystery of Magic part 2

Bell calmed his breathing down and asked once again, "What was that?"

"Ice that doesn't melt and would never cease freezing."

"...Does something like that really exist?"

"In the natural world? No. But with Magic, yes. That's what it means to have a mystery. It doesn't make sense." Serafall didn't want to continue lest she gives too many hints. In this world where research of Magic is just starting, it's without a doubt will be hard to wrap their heads around the 'Magic that doesn't make sense'.

However, it was already existing and that's in the form of skills and developmental abilities that come with the Falna. If they want to further develop their Magic they would have to realize this themselves first.

In the previous world, almost all the Magic comes with a mystery since it has been taught from the start this strange power mostly comes from will and beliefs. The prime example of this is the Devils and Angels whose powers come from imagination and faith respectively. And even the Magic that the Magicians use that's derived from Devil's Magic and is fundamentally logical, what they had to understand isn't just the natural order of the world, but also the mind of such power. Only then they could prevent any or most hijacks on their Magic known as Spell Interceptors compared to when they use pure logic. It's also one of the reasons why there are so many systems of Magic.

Of course, just having a mystery in one's Magic doesn't give them immunity against anomalous Spell Interceptors like Ajuka, Kisuke, and Riveria.

"Compared to the Magic Power I used to the Ki and Magic Power that you used, even if I'm a lot weaker than you, you'll be in deep trouble just dealing with that kind of Magic," Serafall added.

"...T-that..."

"But we haven't touched upon why this technique is reckless even if you think you have full control over it." Yoruichi interrupted, "Hmmm... Let's see... I guess a demonstration is better than words."

Yoruichi horizontally raised her right arm and in an instant, lightning arcs similar to Bell's started crackling through it.

Bell, Ais, Tione, and Tiona's eyes all widened, "...T-the same as me?"

"Not quite, but visually, yes." Yoruichi then pointed her arm towards Bell and the lightning arcs on his body began leaving him and going towards Yoruichi.

"!?" Bell tried to take back his lightning but it was to no avail, "What!?"

He tried to put more power into it, but they still didn't listen and continued to move without his instructions, "W-what's going on!?"

Yoruichi took back her arm, leaving behind only a fraction of the lightning left on his body, "I can do this too."

Soon, the remaining lightning started to move weirdly and attack Bell, "Gaahhh!!! What is this!?" Bell tried to expel the lightning and stop the technique but none of his attempts worked. As much as he wanted to take back control of anything, it only further hurt and scared him.

A few seconds later, Yoruichi stopped her manipulation and all of the lightning disappeared while Bell is feeling a lot weaker than he normally is.

"That's what we meant by reckless. Since your lightning is conjured through the natural laws and not through your will, these lightning arcs are technically ownerless and those with higher mastery than you could easily take it over, even if they are weaker than you.", explained Yoruichi before signaling to Serafall, Hestia, and Artemis that it's time to leave.

Serafall got her message and stood up, adding, "So when you come across someone you think has higher mastery or someone who uses mystery with their lightning or flame, you better not bring out that technique or else, you'll only be killing yourself."

After silently bidding her farewell to Loki, Yoruichi finished their free lesson, "Of course, you can also develop your own mystery and not just control those elements using values dictated by the Magic Circuits. If you want to use someone as a reference, you could come to Ais Wallenstein here. Similar to Serafall's ice earlier, her wind will move according to her will. Her Magic is not the Wind, but the Wind is her Magic."

.

.

.

Kisuke hurried himself to the hidden pond and immediately hopped into the pod, 'I hope they haven't started cutting me up.'

When he reopened his eyes again, he was inside a glass tube that was in the middle of being filled up with an unknown green translucent liquid while he was attached to various cords, "W-what!? What's going on!?", he shouted using the language that these people 'forced' into him.

Across the room that the glass tube was situated in, he heard a familiar voice of a woman, "H-He woke up! Doctor, stop the procedure! He finally woke up!"

As soon as that voice rang out, the green fluid began receding and the cords attached to Kisuke were loosened.

Kisuke dropped down and started checking his Gigai. Thankfully, they didn't do anything else or they might have destroyed the delicate balance of this prototype, 'It'd be a shame if this body were to die. Roaming around with just a piece of soul isn't convenient. And considering how these people have pronounced Spiritual Pressure, they might have a way to trap a soul.'

The sister of the Etoulde twins came running towards him and asked in a worried voice, "A-are you alright?"

Kisuke's reaction wasn't delayed in any way and immediately acted out with a bewildered expression that slowly transitioned into a shocked one, "H-how?" And as soon as he spoke, Kisuke looked down and touched his mouth, "This is...!?"

Kisuke's acting career is still going strong. And while doing so, he's thinking of how much he could mess things up. After all, only when something goes wrong could he get a good feel of the overall situation, 'Looks like I'll be staying here for a while.'

Kisuke was a bit worried since the air of danger was already looming over the entirety of Orario with the hidden power of the Corrupted Spirit reaching the surface when he last inspected it, 'Well, Yoruichi and Serafall are around. If the Dungeon were to 'wake up', they'd know how to contact me.'

He felt like he was forgetting something else but didn't contemplate it further, 'Oh well... I couldn't think of anything urgent.'

The Goddess of the tower was set aside once again.

Editors:

28th00: Freya getting ignored this bad is hilarious.

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 998 Running Around

AN:

Good day~! 

First, I'd like to apologize for only posting now. I've been too busy this past week or two and I've been too tired to do anything else even when I get breaks. 

Additionally, I'm on the hard part of the fic and at the start of this arc's climax so blanking out became much too often that I would stand up and not return to write anything for the day.  

I'm sorry and thank you for your understanding.

On a side note, hurray for 1000+ chapters~! Too bad I can't do anything special with this mileage but thank you very much for everyone's support! I never would have reached this far without you!

Happy that she could be understood now, Stralit began to explain to Kisuke his current situation. Although it's something he already knew, Kisuke acted surprised.

"After the forced Language Transmission, you lost your consciousness for a very long time and your body functions have started degrading. Without much choice, we decided to put you into a life support module. Though before it could be fully activated, you suddenly woke up."

"Surprisingly, you're very energetic despite going through something like that." The short old Elf-like man interrupted while reading through Kisuke's medical report, "You've already recovered most of your vitality after greatly stressing it by your extended inactivity. What a strange creature you are."

Kisuke could confirm their words to be the truth, however, those aren't everything either. For one, they should have a way to detect the state of his Spiritual Power yet they didn't say anything about that. Second, there are multiple people currently watching the room from the outside, and lastly and the biggest thing, is the very tiny tracking device that's traveling through his blood vessels and using its movement to power itself.

If not for his constant monitoring and adjustment of this experimental body, he wouldn't have noticed this in any normal scenario, 'I want this thing.'

Naturally, he isn't angry or offended by how they did this since he would have done something way worse if he were in their shoes. In fact, they were way too lenient to him in his opinion, 'There could be more, but even with just this, I can take advantage of it.'

While the Etoulde and the Luxato were discussing his health, Kisuke started formulating a plan in his head. Right now, his main goal was to get their wormhole technology. But from how he saw things, if the one the Etouldes had was the same as the Evies, it should be quite easy to acquire since it wouldn't be as secure as a monopolized tech, 'The most I can get would probably be an incomplete blueprint since they won't be storing the security protocols for those holes anywhere near the frontlines.'

As for the minor objectives, he wanted to get the information on their maps and the range of their activities, culture, politics, overall war potential, and some other minor technologies that could prove useful.

A few seconds later, his train of thought was interrupted when Stralit suddenly directed a question to him, "By the way, what's your name, race and where did you come from?"

Kisuke paused for a bit before answering with a straight face, "I'm John Smith of the Nendoroid Clan. The land I came from is known as the Endless Eight."

Stralit and Gordo stared at him for a moment before the former went to operate her smartphone-like device, "...As expected, that's not in our database."

"Well, we only know a few hundred worlds and most of them were already destroyed by the Evies. It's only natural that there are still countless worlds out there that we're not aware of.", added the latter.

'Yosh... They bought it.', Kisuke cheered inside his head. It was dangerous for him to use an Earth-related reference, but it's funnier this way.

Kisuke was asked to rest for the rest of the day and Stralit promised to show him around the next day.

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Kisuke, with Stralit as his escort, left the medical facility that he had been staying in ever since he was transported to this place and the first thing he saw was a beautiful amalgamation of modern aesthetics and nature. Towering spires wrapped around gigantic trees that cover half of the sky. Flying vehicles that weaved around colossal branches and trunks. Strategically placed orbs of light that brought the energy of the sun to the ground and magnificently lit the whole scene. The bustling crowds of 3-4 feet Elf-like beings with a horn on their heads. Lastly, the sun, several moons, and a planet peeking through the gaps of the huge leaves.

It was a very strange world, yet a very fascinating and beautiful one.

"What do you think?" Stralit asked with a smile on her face.

"...I don't really know what to say." Kisuke replied after a small pause, "But it's a strange one."

Stralit thought back to the description of his home world and asked, "Do you not like it?"

Kisuke shook his head, "It's very calming scenery, but I don't know if I could get used to it."

He could only describe it as such because he already told them what his 'previous world' looks like. A world almost desolated and society mostly living under the ground.

While sitting on her shoulder, Stralit showed Kisuke around the entire city, explaining various things he didn't understand. It was a very peaceful and prosperous city, but even with his very limited senses, beyond the sphere of influence of the city, Kisuke could feel some tremors and waves of destructive energy sweeping every hour or so.

And when he looked at one of the moons, he momentarily saw an explosion on its surface, albeit, very tiny from his perspective, 'We've been going around the whole day but this girl is the only Etoulde that I met. Are they spread out due to the number of worlds they manage, or is she the only one they need here?'

With the sensitivity of his senses right now, Kisuke couldn't gauge nor estimate the strength of this Etoulde known as Stralit, but he had a feeling that she was not just any random soldier or general.

"Do you have any questions or is there anything you want?" Stralit asked the silent Kisuke.

Kisuke looked straight into her eyes and asked, "How do I return home?"

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In the evening, Kisuke was arranged to a room that's equivalent to a hotel room. He could see the continuing bustle of people going about their daily lives.

[...That…, I'm sorry but we couldn't find your homeworld even after your description.]

[Then that strange portal... I'm sure I can reach my home if I keep going through one!]

[You can't! It's not that easy!]

Kisuke recalled the slightly heated conversation he had with Stralit, 'Now then... I've set up my stage. Now let's see how far I can go.'

Kisuke waited for about an hour before making his move and sneaked out of the building he was staying in. His goal was to reach the location of the wormhole that is being used to transport various supplies out of the city.

As soon as he left, several eyes immediately came following him but he pretended not to notice any of them and they just let him run like a small animal, 'Good... Time to leave my mark everywhere~!'

Editors:

28th00: Those poor fools… A fucking Nendoriod… And that world name… It's like a neon-flashing sign if anyone even vaguely knew the references!

Goyya: The power of randomly generated names~!

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 999 Running Around part 2

"Ma'am, we've confirmed that he left his room and moved towards the entertainment area." one of Stralit's subordinates reported.

Within the wide control room that monitored almost everything that's happening regarding the war, a small portion of it was dedicated to Kisuke's surveillance.

While her main focus was the ongoing conflict, Stralit gave a quick glance at the corner before saying, "Do not engage and just keep watching."

"Do we inform the managers of the area?"

"No. I want to see what he can do. If he's about to do something dangerous or get caught, we'll step in."

Aside from his race, Stralit didn't actually believe anything that Kisuke said. For that to actually happen, she would need proof. In the first place, the world where he was found was too suspicious.

Stranu Nelzell is a fallen world. It became a training, repair, and transportation hub for the Evies some time ago and her older brother only went to that place to rescue the remaining inhabitants that managed to stay alive. Naturally, Kisuke wasn't the only one that was suspected to be a spy, but only his existence was too odd.

So instead of being brought back to the backlines, he was to remain near the frontlines where it's better equipped against sabotage while also figuring out his real identity.

Stralit initially wanted her subordinates to supervise him first, but the moment their eyes met for the very first time, her instincts immediately screamed at her that he was someone dangerous. However, up until now, she couldn't understand why that feeling hadn't disappeared even after numerous tests on him by the renowned doctor, Gronos, and her personal observations, 'It's very obvious that he's weak and the stored energy inside his body supports that. Surprisingly, he has higher than normal Spiritual Pressure and it fluctuates strangely, but even that doesn't really amount to anything.'

'So where is this feeling coming from?' Stralit could think of several possibilities. One, she's just being overly sensitive, but she has always trusted her instincts and it helped her survive and grow stronger until now so she didn't lean on this. Second is that if this John Smith really was an Evie spy, he's doing really a great job at it. If it's that, then it's really a bad plan that doesn't really get them anything substantial.

Third is that she's wrong. Maybe he only has this strange aura that's giving her a bad feeling and he's really just a lost guy trying to find his way home. And lastly, he's someone entirely different from what he's portraying and is not affiliated with either the Eltouldes and Evies.

The clash she was watching settled down for a bit so Stralit peeked at the monitors that were monitoring Kisuke's movements once again and saw that the target was not on it, "Where did he go?"

"Ah! I'm sorry ma'am. Our agents keep losing sight of him due to his very erratic pathing. But please don't worry since we could immediately find him a few seconds later."

"You're losing sight of him?" Stralit asked with a surprised expression, 'How? I know they are experts and even I would have a hard time evading their tracking.' She approached and went closer to see and after several minutes of watching, she couldn't help but admire his movements, 'Is this skill or luck? How does he keep finding the only few blindspots and completely loses everyone the moment he enters the darkness? Does he know that he's being watched?'

But after a few more minutes of watching, she attributed to the latter, 'Maybe because he's too small and it's very hard to track his aura because it strangely blends in with his surroundings?'

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'20th mark, done.' Kisuke thought while carefully planning his path, 'I'm done in this area. Let's move to the next one.'

Every now and then, Kisuke would leave his observers' senses for a few seconds to leave a small mark using his Magic Power, Spiritual Power, and a bit of blood. It was nothing substantial and there was really nothing major he could do with it since anything bigger would just gather attention to it. However, with enough of them, he could use them as nodes for various formations that might prove useful. In any case, Kisuke's immediate goal was mapping out the whole area and gathering more data that he couldn't get if he were to go around during the daytime.

Kisuke spent two more hours running around before returning to his room.

And just like that, seven days went by. Every day, Stralit would show up and pick him up before showing him around a different part of the city, and at night, Kisuke would explore that area while leaving his marks.

Stralit carefully observed his activities and aside from looking for something, she was able to tell that he was mapping out the place, 'He's not with the Evies... The Evies don't need to do this since they already have this data. If so, who is he? Is he really just simply lost? But how could he be on Stranu Nelzell? His homeworld was attacked and he woke up on that planet... How was he able to survive that place and who brought him there?'

Many questions surfaced in Stralit's head but she could find no answer to most of them. However, she has a good guess for what he's looking for, 'If he's not with the Evies, then he could only be looking for that? Shall I bring him to that place?'

The next day Stralit arrived on time again and cheerfully opened the door to [John Smith's] room, "Hey John, I'll bring you outside of the city today! I want to show you something amazing!"

Kisuke sighed and replied, "...How many times do I have to tell you, please knock before entering."

But Stralit ignored his pleas and directly grabbed him before putting him on her shoulder, "You already know what time I come and you're always ready, so let's go!"

'Finally.', thought Kisuke while showing a disinterested face, 'After tonight, it should be about time she confronts me.'

Kisuke figured that he couldn't get her trust at all, but the kindness that she was showing him was without a doubt real. If she wanted to, she could just restrain him and torture him to get the answers that she wanted. However, she never forgot the possibility that he might really just be a pitiful guy that wanted to go home. Although not the type to feel any guilt from this, he still appreciated her actions.

'Now then... What excuse should I use to brand her consciousness with the Teleportation Magic that Le Fay developed?'

Editors:

28th00: Oh, that's gonna be evil… Do it. Starlit is a high-ranking commander? Kisuke must be setting off all the weird fucking "DANGER" senses then. Poor girl…

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1000 Running Around part 3

Stralit brought Kisuke to a station where they could ride a flying shuttle and it didn't take too long for them to exit the barrier that was maintaining the city's climate.

An hour later, Stralit and Kisuke were at an enormous gray cube with countless openings on it that various vehicles went in and out of. They went through one of the openings and a long dimly lit tunnel greeted them before reaching the interior of the cube a few minutes later.

The first thing that caught Kisuke's attention was the portal in the middle of operating, 'It's the same as the one that the Evies use. That settles it, they share the same underlying technology, so it should be easier to acquire them.'

Stralit was silent as she watched Kisuke look around with great interest. Since she already found the pattern in Kisuke's nightly activities, she wanted to see if he'll sneak into this place too.

When they reached the ground, Stralit immediately started showing him around. Thankfully, they didn't have to go through any checkpoints or they'd be moving slowly and they wouldn't be able to see the whole place in just a few hours.

Naturally, the Luxatos working nonstop were wondering why the commander was showing this critical place to the outsider, but thanks to their unbending trust in her, they didn't do anything beyond staring curiously.

After the tour, Kisuke was able to summarize the place into three main points, 'The single large portal in the middle is used for transporting a vast amount of resources and arms. Aside from that, there are three rooms containing a smaller portal each that transports smaller parcels and personnel, though it seems it's not being used that much.'

'Lastly, the rest of the space is being used to manage the whole logistics operation... However...' Kisuke turned to a certain corner and pointed to an unadorned metal double door that no one seemed to be touching, "What's in that room?"

Stralit was waiting for him to ask that but she didn't show any strange reactions on her face, "That's the archive of this place. Just some instruction manuals to train newcomers and other stuff that could be used for the operation."

Kisuke immediately turned his head away from it and started asking questions about the other things.

A slight grin was present on Stralit's face since it was very obvious what he was trying to do. Unfortunately for her, Kisuke indeed made it obvious for someone like her. She thought that she was manipulating Kisuke's movements, but she never would have expected that Kisuke was controlling her thoughts by just giving her false impressions.

Although this could really only work if the one he's controlling didn't know anything about him. This was also one of the reasons why he chose to use a small and weak Gigai. Disposability aside, it's really hard to take his current form seriously.

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Night time, Stralit focused on Kisuke's monitors since there wasn't anything critical that was going on, 'Now let's see how you'll sneak into that.'

At the same time, Kisuke opened his eyes and immediately moved to arrange his bed as if he were sleeping in it. Up until this point, Kisuke never revealed to anyone why he would sometimes take a very long time to sleep so they'd been watching his sleeping patterns too.

And as they expected, Kisuke soon came to the edge of the city and made his way toward the supply hub.

"But how is he going to make it?" One of the Luxatos monitoring Kisuke asked, "By his speed, he won't be able to reach his destination."

"That's right. And here I thought he'd hijack one of the transport vehicles." another Luxato commented.

Stralit was also wondering what he was going to do but her eyes went wide a few seconds later when Kisuke suddenly disappeared from their sight, "Where did he go!?"

"P-please hold on! We're contacting our agents to ask them what's going on!"

As Kisuke was traversing through a thick forest, they thought that they'd just lost sight of him, however, they couldn't really be blamed on it since they all knew the forest that he was running through like the back of their hands.

A few seconds later, Kisuke appeared on their monitors again but a lot further than they had initially estimated.

"Tell them to get closer and spread out more. But take care not to be noticed." Stralit commanded.

But not long after, Kisuke's form disappeared once again before they caught him again tens of meters away from his projected position, "Ma'am, our agents were able to confirm that he's using some sort of instant acceleration technique."

"What? Enough that they lose sight of him?"

"According to them, yes. It seems to be a Magic technique but there's something else that's bothering them so they took out their analyzers to get more concrete data."

"Fine... Just be careful not to be noticed."

And every few seconds, Kisuke would disappear and reappear, inching closer and closer to his destination. Nevertheless, it only took a few minutes to get the result of the analysis, "M-Ma'am... The results have returned."

Stralit noticed the strangeness in her subordinate's voice and looked at the data herself. After looking through it a single time, Stralit took a step back and sighed while rubbing the bridge of her nose, "...You're kidding me. A Spirit Technique? To think he's someone who could use something like that."

In an instant, the importance of Kisuke's existence shot up to the top of Stralit's priorities, 'Do I have to report this to the higher-ups?... This is the first time we've met another race that could naturally use their soul to strengthen themselves.'

"Tell everyone to back off. I'm observing him myself." Stralit commanded, "And reclassify... No... Purge the data we've gathered tonight."

"P-purge!?"

"You heard me. And brief everyone involved in this operation to never release any information that they saw and heard today. Or else, there'll be heavy consequences and I won't be able to save any of you."

"U-understood!"

Little did he know that the same 'higher-ups' are hiding the fact that someone else could use Spirit Techniques aside from them. And that someone is currently the one who locked the whole Earth up.

Editors:

28th00: How kind of Kisuke to leave a massive headache for the poor commander!

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