goyya 1024-1034



Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1024 'Aria' part 2

AN: Thank you for waiting~!

After the mini-Ais Arc will be a bos1s battle~



Ais was frozen for a minute or two before she reacted again, "...No. That's a lie."

Aria's melancholic smile grew deeper, "Please don't ignore it. I can see everything in your expression whenever I make a mistake."

"...That's!" Ais couldn't refute her words. It has become a source of her discomfort since earlier but she didn't want to believe it. She stood up and took some distance from Aria "...That's impossible... If you're not my mother... Then who are you!?"

Although Ais only asked in the heat of the moment and was hoping that she'd deny it, she received a straight answer, "You also have an idea for who I am... But for clarity's sake, allow me to introduce myself. I'm the one you call Black Dragon... More specifically, a part of the original that was implanted with some memories and personality from the Spirit of Wind known as Aria."

Ais' head went blank and before she could form any concrete thoughts, she saw her mother's beautiful golden hair slowly turn black and her bright golden eyes turn red. The next instant, a crazed smile that doesn't match her gentle face emerged while spreading her arms open, "...Yes. I'm that Black Dragon! The monster that took all of your important people in the past!"

"No!!!" Ais instinctively replied. Despite the logic telling otherwise, her heart couldn't handle the reality in front of her.

'Aria' started chuckling at her, "What's wrong? Escaping from reality once again? In front of you are your eternal nightmare and the target of your revenge, albeit only a part of it. Why don't you use that sword of yours to strike me down? Or is it just for decoration?"

'Sword?' The distressed Ais looked down at her hand and was shocked that she was already holding her rapier, '...Since when?'

"What? Still refuse to believe it?" 'Aria' raised both of her hands and wind tinted with black miasma rose from behind her and started circulating around her like countless poisonous sharp blades, "In accordance with my original objective, I'll have your entire consciousness removed for my main body to occupy this space."

The black wind from 'Aria' began extending towards Ais and the latter had to jump back while also conjuring her own wind to counter it, "W-why? Why are you doing this?"

The heartache from Ais' question could be felt and 'Aria's' expression twitched a little, but only for an instant, "You're really stupid if you're asking that for real. Of course, it's all for the sake of removing all the pesky inhabitants of the lower world and I'll do anything to gain the power to achieve that! Even if it means eating everything in my path."

With greater difficulty, Ais asked, "...What... What happened to my mother?" It was hard, but she had no choice but to accept that this entity in front of her was not her mother. But within all of this, there was this strange feeling that she's getting from this 'Aria', '...That was fake...?'

The black wind around 'Aria' became worse as she answered, "What do you think? After being devoured and using every ounce of her strength and mind to save her only daughter, it only took a few decades to fully expel her soul from her own body. She was already gone long ago."

Ais didn't answer and gritted her teeth before initiating an attack of her own. After thinking about it for a moment, this was already true ever since she decided to get her revenge on the monster that took away her parents. Nothing had really changed. She's just angry that she was given false hope, 'Yes... It's as she said... Everything is fake... But... What's this? What is this feeling?'

It should have been an easy answer, but there was still uncertainty somewhere and she had a feeling that she had to figure that out or else she'll regret it.

.

.

.

The exchange between two opposing winds went on for some time and while they were at it, Ais finally noticed the black dot in the sky that seemed to be getting bigger and bigger as time went on. What's strange, however, was that Aria's' provocations were only intensifying and instead of getting angry unlike the first few times, Ais calmly assessed the situation, '...She's... Desperate?'

And even her own calmness was a wonderment for Ais herself as she knew that she shouldn't be this calm in this situation. It's as if something was affecting her own state of mind without her knowing, 'But it isn't a bad feeling... Strange... It's as if telling me to take a closer look at what's happening.'

"What's wrong? Already losing your focus? Looks like this is going to be a lot easier." 'Aria' continued to taunt Ais, "What Aria and Albert did was a total waste of time and effort."

Strangely enough, Ais wasn't bothered by her words and only felt that she was coming closer to the truth, '...Could it be?'

Despite her calm mind, Ais displayed a wrathful expression and gathered all of her Magic Power in one full-powered attack.

Seeing this, 'Aria's' crazed smile changed into that of a satisfied one.

After a massive amount of Wind Magic gathered on the tip of Ais' rapier, she disappeared with a single step and instantly arrived in front of 'Aria'. 'Aria' didn't have the time to react and only saw the tip of her blade aimed at her neck, 'But even if I could... I wouldn't...' The black wind around them disappeared and 'Aria' closed her eyes to wait for her fate.

But as the second went by, the feeling of her throat being pierced didn't arrive. She waited for another second before opening her eyes back with great confusion only to see Ais, contrary to her wrathful expression from earlier, was very serene while pointing her blade at her neck. The same as her black wind, Ais's own wind also seems to have dispersed and only the tranquil environment remained, "...What? Why are you not killing me?"

In response to her question, Ais asked back, "Why are you crying?"

'Aria' was startled and touched her face to feel the wet cheeks, "...T-this!?"

"Why?" Ais repeated.

But 'Aria' only got angry and grabbed her rapier with her bare hand, causing it to bleed, "Why!? Why are you not killing me!? I killed your parents! I showed you false hope! I tried to harm you! So why!? Hurry up and do it!"

Her frantic demeanor only solidified a certain idea in Ais' mind, "You have my blade... If you want to die, you can do it yourself."

'Aria' had already lost her calm because it wasn't going as she planned and there was not much time left before 'that' arrived, "Because I can't do it! I can't take my own life! This is your chance! Do it! Are you taking pity on me!? If you don't do it now, you'll only die without any chance of fighting back! Hurry up and do it!"

Ais let go of her sword and stood straight in front of her, letting all her guard down, "Then I won't make it harder for you. Use that sword. Aim for my heart. Finish what you have to do."

'Aria' was speechless and her face contorted to a very complicated expression of remorse, guilt, and despair. She let go of Ais' sword and dropped to her knees, "Why...? Why won't you kill me?"

It was late, but ever since earlier, Ais realized that 'Aria' didn't have any killing intent despite the huge show she was putting up.

Editors:

28th00: Leaning pretty hard into the tropes here, Goyya.

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1025 'Aria' part 3



"Why are you doing this?" Ais asked after picking up her sword and sheathing it.

The 'Aria' on the floor went quiet and gritted her teeth, "Why...? Why won't you kill me...? Why won't you hate me...?"

Ais had already heard the first part of her sentence over and over again, but this was the first time she'd heard the second part and became even more confused.

"I killed your parents... I killed your loved ones... Why won't you hate me?" For 'Aria', this didn't make any sense. Ais' hate for her, a part of the Black Dragon, should be beyond the boiling point. But no matter how she looked at it, she didn't sense any sort of negative emotions while Ais was looking at her, 'But how? Did this space change something within her? Is it my main body interfering? But that should've been impossible with me blocking access to this place.'

But despite everything going haywire from what she initially planned, a small hope bloomed deep within her. She couldn't help but feel that she had been saved, '...Even though I don't deserve this... Why? Why is this happening?'

"...Are you... Not really my mother?" Ais suddenly asked and startled 'Aria' once again, 'At the moment she was going to die, why did she remind me of mother if she's not her?'

'Aria' became quiet and kept looking down at the ground. After some time, she answered, "...I'm not. That's the truth. All I have are her incomplete memories and personality. I was created to infiltrate this space and make a hole in it for my main body to enter easily."

Ais couldn't see her face but her instincts are telling her that she was telling the truth, "...Then why are you not attacking me? Wouldn't that be easier for you?"

'Aria' properly sat up and finally showed her face to Ais that was full of complicated expressions, along with a hint of relief, 'I know I'm just going to make it harder for her but... I don't want her to hate me... I don't want to disappear knowing that she hates me...'

The selfish thoughts that she was doing her best to suppress finally surfaced. After that first step, all of her inhibitions seemed to cease existing, and she decided to tell the truth to Ais, "Without a doubt, I'm a small part of the Black Dragon. But at some point, Aria's memories, despite it being incomplete and just there to assist me to my goal... They consumed me..."

Ais still didn't know what this entity was getting at, but she couldn't interrupt her to ask a question because of the tears that were dropping onto the grassy soil.

"Those memories consumed me." 'Aria' repeated with her eyes glazed over and uncontrolled tears overflowing, "I've watched you grow up. I've watched your struggles. I've watched you open up with your friends and family. I've watched you grow stronger. I've watched you solve your own dilemmas. Your regrets, happiness, satisfaction, excitement, hope, sadness, pain, frustration, fear, guilt, anger... I've watched all of it.

"But because of these memories, I saw you through Aria's eyes... I saw you as my own daughter." 'Aria' finally admitted it. As it stands, she doesn't know whether she could consider this a curse or a blessing. Toward her original goal, it's a curse. But for her to experience something that's normally impossible for someone like her. She was given a 'heart' and it's the greatest blessing she could have ever received in this twisted life of hers.

It was then, all the confusing things Ais saw from her clicked in her head, clearing the fog in her mind. The eyes that were looking at her were the same eyes that her mother looked at her with and she didn't know how to react to this truth.

Ais' silence placed a heavy burden on 'Aria's' heart and the tears didn't stop. After sobbing and choking for a few seconds, she finally let out her greatest wish, "Please don't hate me..."

It was both a simple and ridiculous desire and Ais didn't immediately have a reply for that.

Ais closed her eyes and the crying 'Aria' disappeared from her sight as she entered a retrospection. As if her own life flashing before her eyes, questioned herself, '...Do I hate her?'

She directly ignored her pleading because she couldn't dictate how she felt. Even then, Ais surprisingly couldn't find a reason to hate her, 'Is it because of them?... Wait... Them?'

Ais' eyes instantly shot back open as forgotten memories were unlocked, "H-how? How could I forget!?"

Because this was the deepest part of Ais' soul, the influence of Serafall and Freya's spell had a very minimal effect, and the moment she remembered what she had forgotten, it all came flooding back. However, those were not what's important but instead her current situation, '...It's because of them. Although we had forgotten them, we didn't forget what they left behind. They are the first people who didn't see others for their outward appearances, even if their origin was that of a monster born from the Dungeon. They are the reason why we could easily accept Filvis and Lysa. They are the reason why we could even talk to the Xenos as equals these days... Their identities were erased, but not their legacy.'

Using that logic, Ais figured out why she couldn't hate the entity in front of her. She'd already learned how to judge people for who they are and not what they are.

Ais then looked down at the sobbing 'monster', 'Besides... I don't think I was fooled.'

Ais bent her knees and lowered herself while reaching out for 'Aria's' upper arm.

'Aria' was alarmed by the sudden touch and nervously looked up. But out of all the bad things she was expecting, she didn't anticipate a small, gentle smile, "...A-Ais?"

Ais didn't say anything and just leaned forward before tightly hugging her.

'Aria', not knowing what was happening, panicked and asked, "A-Ais!? What's wrong!?"

She still didn't give any answer but her alarm only caused Ais to chuckle softly, '...That's right. She's a fake... A fake that embraced the illusion and became real...'

If one were to think about it again, although it's true that 'Aria' was a part of the Black Dragon, she's also a part of the real Aria by inheriting her memories, personality, and feelings. And upon acting upon those instead of her origin, she technically stood as her mother.

'Aria' finally realized Ais' intention and also timidly wrapped her arms around her. A dream came true... Nevertheless, it's a short dream.

Editors:

28th00: A "Be careful what you eat" scenario. Reverse possession by the possessed. Seen this a few times.

Goyya: It's pretty fitting imo

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1026 Clash of Wills



'Aria' tightly grabbed Ais as if she was going to lose her forever. Nevertheless, she understands that Ais only accepted her for who she is, not her second mother. Even then, that was way more than enough.

'Aria' still wanted to drown in this sea of warmth but time is not on her side and any further delay will only reduce Ais' survival against her upcoming enemy that was threatening to expel her soul and eat her body.

"Ais... Thank you... But what you have to do hasn't changed."

Ais finally remembered the predicament that she was in and separated from 'Aria', "Do you still want me to kill you!? Why!? I don't see you as my enemy anymore! In fact-"

'Aria' covered Ais' lips with her finger. She didn't want to hear it lest it cause more pain at their inevitable separation. 'Aria' had already guessed it, but Ais thought that the reason why 'Aria' wanted Ais to kill her was because of guilt. However, that's the furthest from the truth.

'Aria' pointed to the sky and Ais saw a pitch-black dome that was about to engulf the whole place. It was the black dot that had been growing and Ais didn't notice that it kept enlarging, '...That wasn't her doing?'

"This place is the deepest part of your soul. You are about to be consumed by my main body but I created this space to protect your consciousness. However, what I can do is only delay it and right now, it's about to breach this sanctuary created from Aria's memories. And when that happens... I'll return to my main body and it will regain its full strength, making your chances of survival slimmer than they already are. Finally and most importantly... I will lose any and all of my sense of self."

'Aria's' words were like a hammer to Ais and her mostly calm and collected demeanor was demolished, "W-what? But..." Ais didn't know what to say, much less what to do and felt her throat dry up.

'Aria' smiled wryly and grabbed Ais' hand before leading it to the hilt of her rapier, "You have to do it. Please do it. I can't allow myself to return to the way I was before. Please grant my wish of not turning this beautiful dream into my worst nightmare."

Ais still didn't answer. She didn't have an answer. She thought that everything would be alright, but her naive hope only served as a painful realization that not everything will go the way she wanted it to.

The black dome was rapidly approaching and 'Aria's' skin started cracking with flakes of it beginning to float upwards, "Please. I don't have much time left."

Ais' hand started shaking uncontrollably. She didn't want to pull out her blade, "T-there has to be another way!" She's not willing to lose the warmth that returned to her despite it coming from someone else.

The pulling force is becoming unbearable for 'Aria' and her consciousness is slowly being sapped out. It'll only take a moment for this space to collapse so she gathered her strength and used both of her hands to force Ais to pull her rapier out, "You're the only one who can do this. You have to. For you to defeat the Black Dragon, you first have to destroy me."

"But..."

"Ais!" 'Aria' yelled at her in a scolding tone like an actual mother would, "I'm happy with your thoughts... But that selfishness will not only destroy both of us in the worst possible way, but also those who are important to you who are currently fighting will be put in danger. It's hard to do it, but you have to weigh your options now and it's obvious what you have to choose. I'm just someone from the past and it's about time you get over it if you want to continue moving forward."

'Aria' then looked straight into Ais' eyes. The red eyes that Ais thought to be disgusting at first were now beautiful and full of longing, "You of all people understand what will happen those to who will be left behind if you were to be defeated here. Your friends, your family, and everyone will be mourning for you. But worst of all, they might be trapped in the cycle of revenge and hatred as you were."

The faces of everyone flashed through Ais' mind for a moment and her facial expression immediately darkened. While gritting her teeth and shadow cast on her face, Ais slowly stood up as if she was enduring a boulder on her shoulders before shakingly pointing the tip of her rapier at 'Aria's' chest.

Ais could see that 'Aria' was already about to collapse but there was a relieved expression painted on her face, "That's it. You don't have to regret it. Just continue looking forward from now on. Nonetheless, if it gets hard, it's fine to stop and look back. All you have to remember is not to stay stagnant or else you'll return the way you were before."

Even with a heavy heart, Ais still smiled, "Do you really have to lecture me right now?"

"If not now, when?" 'Aria' replied with a chuckle. Despite the pain that was running through her entire body while she was being torn apart, her heart was at ease after seeing the resolution within Ais' eyes, "Promise me that you'll never give up. Look for the chance to get around the Black Dragon and escape its dominion. I'm sure you'll find it."

'There's another way... But that's... Impossible...' 'Aria' thought as she saw Ais' blade going through her heart. It should have been the most painful thing, but 'Aria' only felt an invisible shackle finally letting her go.

Since the heart is the source of her power, her senses instantly deteriorated.

But the moment her vision clouded, 'Aria' suddenly saw an outline of another woman appearing just behind Ais and that woman has an uncanny resemblance to her, '...Ah... So it was you.' 'Aria' finally understood how Ais could keep her calm.

'Thank you.' She heard the woman behind Ais speak.

'It was me who should be thankful. There would be nothing left of me if not for you.' 'Aria' tried to say, but after seeing her, she instead dedicated the last of her strength to say something else, "Ais..."

The tear-filled Ais hurriedly pulled out her sword and supported her body with a hug, "Yes... I'm listening."

"If there's a chance... For you... To defeat it... You can..."

Ais' eyes widened in shock at 'Aria' last words.

"It'll be... up to you... Good luck... And I love you."

.

.

.

'How long has it been... I can still remember those words clearly... But I can't find a chance...' Although she appeared strong, the toll on her mind was already affecting Ais' motivation to continue fighting.

Another attack came from the darkness and at the single lapse of losing a bit of concentration, she only was able to barely dodge the sharp claws, leaving a deep gash on her flank.

Ais shook her head and gritted her teeth, 'I can't lose! Besides... The frequency of attacks has been slowly increasing. Is it getting impatient?'

And Ais was correct with her line of thinking. Although time seemed to flow very slowly in this space within her soul, it was still continuously flowing and any further delays would be a bad risk for the Black Dragon in case those detestable lifeforms outside decided to attack.

But after looking at the bleeding Ais, it finally decided to go all out and devour her in one go. Leaving the darkness of the world, the Black Dragon appeared behind Ais while being covered by a dense black wind, ready to blast Ais into many pieces.

Unbeknownst to it, however, Ais was also dearly waiting for this chance and even if it exacerbated all of her wounds, Ais released all the power and strength that she still had to face her enemy.

The Black Dragon was stunned that Ais still had this much in her and finally realized that it was her that's waiting for the chance. It tried to defend itself and turn back, but the wind that Ais conjured had already trapped it and her rapier was already traveling multiple times the speed of sound, 'This is the end!'

Ais remembered how 'Aria' disappeared when her heart was pierced so she aimed at the same place. Her rapier traveled in a straight line and shredded everything in its path, reaching the Black Dragon's chest. Only a fraction of a second and it would have been over, but she failed to notice the sneer on the Black Dragon's mouth.



Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1027 Clash of Wills part 2



Ais didn't know for how long, but after some time, she was able to regain consciousness. And while her head was still a mess, light entered her eyes, and saw the outside world for the first time. But this wasn't at all good news to Ais since she immediately found out that her body was trying to move on its own despite being enclosed in a block of ice.

The first thing that Ais saw was the state of her arms which were obviously not hers anymore and that made her realize that she had already lost and the worst scenario came true. And knowing how dangerous she was right now, she panicked and despaired when she saw that Lysa was approaching her. But when she saw who was beside her, she immediately pleaded while she could, "...P-please... Kill... Me... I... Can't..."

She couldn't hear what everyone was saying but it looked like Serafall was smiling and everyone else was admonishing her. However, she couldn't care about any of that now because Lysa is still approaching her, "...N-no... Don't come!!!"

Immediately after that, Ais' consciousness sank back into the darkness.

Strangely enough, however, the 'dirty' darkness seemed to have escaped from her and was replaced by a different kind of darkness. A kind that gave a regal and majestic feeling, totally different from the darkness just before that was slowly gnawing away at her mind.

Before she noticed it, Ais was standing in the darkness again, but this time, there was an extra person watching from afar and she was someone familiar to Ais, "Ophis?"

However, 'Ophis' ignored her and just blankly stared at one point in the darkness. Ais followed her sight and saw the Black Dragon growling and gritting its teeth at Ophis from some distance away from her. Ais didn't notice it, but her rapier instantly materialized the moment she thought about it. She gathered her Magic Power and Ki to prepare for the inevitable clash.

Ais waited for the Black Dragon to move but even a few minutes later, it refused to even step forward from its spot. She, however, noticed that not all of its attention was on her, but on 'Ophis' instead and she could see fear and apprehension within its formerly arrogant and madness-filled eyes.

Ais turned her sights back to Ophis and the latter was now staring at her using the same expression she had when she's looking at the Black Dragon, indifference, 'What does she want?' Ais didn't know what she's doing here or how she came here, but the most important thing to figure out was what her intentions are.

Deep in thought, Ais started second guessing Ophis' intentions but it was also at this moment that she felt a threat coming towards her fast, "!?"

Ais hurriedly turned and lowered her body to block the incoming claw with her rapier. Nonetheless, due to the element of surprise, Ais was sent flying away and almost dislocated her arm, "Guhh!!!"

She stabilized herself right away using her wind and performed a counterattack. Unfortunately for Ais, the Black Dragon wasn't playing around anymore with its life on the line and roared, releasing a massive amount of black wind that formed a horizontal tornado of nearly invisible blades.

Ais was taken aback and also used her own wind to block but she was no match for it and got engulfed within the wind blades.

Her clothes and armor were instantly shredded into pieces and she was only able to escape  when her body was full of cuts and she only got away with her because she was able to concentrate her wind on top of her skin. Sadly, she couldn't protect one of her eyes and so she was blinded.

The sharp pain all over her body made Ais buckle and take a deep breath. It was so painful that she almost dropped her guard against another incoming claw, "Tsk..!" Ais couldn't figure out how it could move so silently and stealthily with that massive of a body, but she knew for sure that it wasn't using the darkness anymore to hide.

As she was sent flying once again, the world in her eye slowed down when she saw the Black Dragon preparing another roar and this time, the power it was gathering was more than five times the first one. After it concluded that Ais wouldn't be able to defend effectively anymore, it decided to use everything it had to finish her off, 'Ah... Is this the end?'

At the same moment, her eyes incidentally glanced to the side and saw Ophis, with the same indifference within her deep black eyes.

Those eyes that didn't care about her upcoming demise woke Ais up to the reality that she wouldn't be saving her. As that realization dawned on her, Ais gritted her teeth and became angry at herself, 'She was not here to save me... She's here to create a level playing field and be an impartial judge... And I just wasted the opportunity that she gave me.'

She should have known that a hero that would save her wouldn't easily come. And she questioned herself, 'What's wrong with me? Why am I expecting something like that? When did an idea like that enter my head?' She remembered what her late mother said about finding her own hero and for the longest time, she believed it while bearing the weight of hatred and revenge.

But it's also been a while since she also learned that one 'truth' is not all the 'truths' in the world and finding a hero is only a single option in the sea of all possibilities. Her mother wasn't wrong, but it also wasn't what her own story should be about since they had very different experiences.

She realized this, however, some Gods, especially Hermes, kept mentioning the idea of a hero and without her knowing, she started to long for it, 'But that isn't right... Hoping for a hero that will save me would mean that I'm resigning myself to fate.'

Ais' memories kept flashing in front of her as she tried to gather her remaining strength in an attempt to resist until she was reminded of the first time she fought Kisuke, 'That guy... He had the power to save everyone yet he never moved forward himself unless he could get something out of it...'

It was the memory of their sparing that reminded Ais that her wind was very weak and unpolished. Her tensed jaw relaxed and a smile emerged, 'But he's always been a big help. He helped me walk so it'd be too much to ask him to help me run, huh?'

Relaxing her body, Ais sharpened her mind and recalled everything from her first spar with Kisuke while the black tornado was approaching her, 'I don't need to overpower it. I just have to read its flow and apply the necessary pressure on certain focal points to disturb its entire structure.'

Ais held her rapier tightly and reoriented her body mid-air, 'Using my vision won't be enough. I have to feel it using all of my senses to get a better read.'

The aura of defeat had already entirely disappeared from Ais and her chaotic wind became serene, 'Predict the path, wait for the right time, and create an opening. Just a single opening, without disturbing anything else. I only have one chance. If I fail, the price is my life and potentially my family's life.'

Strangely enough, the more she focused, the more the fear she had been feeling subsided. It was supposed to be a bet with her life on the line, but she only got excited. An unprecedented amount of excitement for when she's about to break the chains of her fate.

The Black Dragon thought that it'd already won when the wind barrier surrounding Ais weakened and let its guard down. So when its 'food' suddenly took a drastic action, it became too late for it to react.

The serene and gentle wind around Ais suddenly became a strong gust that pushed her forward directly towards the eye of the tornado. By now, her fear had completely left her, and knowing that it'd be a life or death moment, something that'd make her hesitate had no place in her mind.

With very precise calculations, Ais arrived at the center of the tornado and it started shredding her, taking off bits of flesh. Ais, however, entirely ignored the pain and instead of counteracting the black wind, her own wind went along with its flow until her proportionately small amount of wind had completely melded into her enemy's wind, 'Remember how he did it. Hitting it is not the only way to change its direction. Following along and changing it from the inside works too. This wind is something it only stole and I shouldn't be afraid of a tool that it only knows how to swing.'

Ais could now understand Kisuke's frustration at that time, '...It really looks like child's play.'

Not long after she entered the tornado and shrunk the distance between them, Ais controlled her wind at a very specific moment. The next instant, the Black Dragon could only stand shocked when it saw its attack suddenly dispersed into nothing, leaving only behind the bloodied girl that was glaring at it with her only remaining eye.

Because it'd just used a big spell, the Black Dragon was temporarily stunned and could only watch helplessly as Ais arrived right in front of it and thrust her rapier that was aimed straight at its heart.

It became scared for its life and immediately called for the trump card that it received from the corrupted Spirit.

The power of the corrupted Spirit of Lightning, Tornitus, came out of its heart and black lightning arcs blocked Ais' rapier.

Ais was already expecting this and released her remaining power to act as a defensive shell against its stunning capabilities before pushing forward.

Ais clenched her jaws and used the entirety of her strength to push this one final thrust.

The rapier kept moving forward and slowly going through the black lightning and the Black Dragon's scales and flesh. For several seconds, it became a battle of attrition and the Black Dragon did its best to harden its flesh. It knew that once it could move again, it'd win.

Ais also knew this and kept pushing with only a tiny bit needed to reach her target. Despite this, however, the progress of her blade is not up to her expectations. Whether she's a lot weaker or the Black Dragon was a lot stronger than expected, she didn't know. But what she did know was that her strength was already waning and didn't have the confidence that she could reach its heart.

Seeing this grim future, she regretted it. She regretted the fact that she acted and realized things far too late, 'If only... If only I acted before I was reduced to this state... I could have won.'

The pain she has been enduring had already disappeared and for someone who was trying to move, it was bad news. Ais couldn't feel her legs or arms anymore and was just pushing herself with her lingering wind. Obviously, that wasn't enough to close the gap that was only a fraction of an inch. So close yet so far.

'...I lost.' There was no fear in her eye, only regrets.

But at the moment that she'd lost all of her strength, she caught the sight of golden hair at her side. If this was a normal situation, she would have mistaken it for her own hair. However, her own beautiful hair was already gone and only a few inches of it was left on her head, so the long flowing hair shouldn't have been impossible.

The next instant, a very familiar scent tickled her nose, followed by a very familiar soft voice, "Don't stop. You promised her that you'd never give up, didn't you?"

'Mother!?' Ais wanted to yell and turn around, but she didn't have the strength to do either.

Tears started blocking Ais' sight as she saw a flawless arm stretch out from behind her and gently held her hand that was holding her weapon, "This isn't the real world. This is your world. As long as you don't give up, you'll never lose your strength. Forget the laws of the world that you know of, for your mind is the only thing that matters here."

Ais knew that it was her real mother this time but before she could say anything, the outstretched arm disintegrated into motes of golden light along with the presence behind her, "I know you can do it, Ais. Your father and I will always be watching over you. We love you."

The last vestige of her mother that silently lingered within Ais that even the fake Aria didn't notice until the end had completely disappeared, but not before leaving her final gift.

The golden motes of light traveled along her arm, towards the rapier, until it reached the black lightning. As soon as they touched, they annihilated each other into nothing.

She shouldn't have any strength remaining yet she noticed that she could still cry, 'Not yet... There's still something within me. I just have to pull all of it out!'

Ais opened her mouth and took a deep breath and shouted, "AHHHHHHHH!!!"

The inner world, while it followed the understanding of the individual owning it, was a malleable world where one could act like a God to a certain extent. The reason why Ais was losing in the first place was because she was using common sense to fight while the Black Dragon was proficient in moving about in such a world, which made it capable of moving silently and stealthily while also covering this world in his own darkness.

So when Ais lost her strength, it was her mind that lost its power to provide strength. And with the right motivation, strength that she never knew she had all came erupting out, easily pushing the sword and crossing the gap, piercing through the Black Dragon's heart.

Editors:

28th00: Mind over Matter is a thing when souls get involved.

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1028 Winner



The Black Dragon instantly lost its strength and crumbled down to its knees. It was still alive but it could only stare at Ais with hatred and fear.

Ais let go of her rapier and fell back on her butt as she tried to wheeze for air, 'I... won.'

She could see the Black Dragon twitching while a black smog was being ejected out of its wound. Ais stared at it for a while and thought, 'I was able to fulfill my revenge... But what's this?... It feels so empty.'

Ais couldn't believe that she had been chasing after such a hollow victory. It's true that she won, but she'll never be able to get what she lost back, 'On the bright side, I didn't completely lose myself thanks to Loki and others. If I stayed the way I was when I was a child, I might have just killed myself after exacting this revenge.'

After calming her breathing down, Ais stood up once again and walked towards the Black Dragon slowly. She then looked straight down to its remaining eye with her own remaining eye and I could feel the deep hatred and agony that was radiating from it, 'Why were the monsters created? Why are they trying to take over the surface? What are they fighting for?'

Several questions emerged in Ais' head but she didn't have a single answer for any of it.

Ais could pull out her rapier and decapitate the monster and she's sure that it'd be eradicated forever. However, she couldn't do so with the fake Aria's last words reverberating in her head.

Ais looked to her side and saw that 'Ophis' was still standing still, watching her every movement, as if waiting for her decision.

[If there's a chance... For you... To defeat it... You can... reciprocate its action... My main body's ability to absorb... Is not a one-way avenue... After it sets the stage, it'll be a battle between minds and souls... The winner... Takes everything...

[But if you... win... You'll turn into a monster... That you hate... What you'd want to do... It'll be... up to you... Good luck... And I love you.]

Ais turned back to the dying Dragon and crouched down to touch its wound. The Black Dragon growled angrily but it couldn't do anything as it'd already lost control of its own body and couldn't feel it anymore.

"...Hmmm... Is this how you do it?" Ais muttered and the black smog became concentrated towards her arm and began to circulate around her and covering her entire body. She also recalled Kisuke's fight with Freya and his transformation left a long-lasting impression on her, 'I was scared at first, but that looked pretty cool, now that I've thought about it…'

The Black Dragon was able to guess what she was doing and growled even more loudly and this time, there was only a little hatred within it as it was mostly replaced by fear.

'Ophis' also saw what she was doing and instantly transformed into a giant snake before swallowing both Ais and the Black Dragon.

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.

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The Ais that'd been taken over by the Black Dragon tried to flee from the jet-black snake but failed to do so when the snake suddenly enlarged itself and swallowed her whole.

Everyone who was watching this panicked, but Serafall created a 50-meter tall wall of transparent ice that circled around her, Lysa, and the swallowed Ais, to prevent anyone from interfering.

Some people tried shattering the ice but the most they could do is create a small nick on it that immediately regenerated soon after. And since they were getting noisy, Serafall also blocked the sound from the outside so that she could concentrate and take action whenever necessary, 'So it really happened. Now then... I wonder how this will end? I doubt Ophis' snake would explicitly help the girl since it doesn't have a consciousness of its own and can only move on instincts.'

Since long ago, Serafall had been eyeing Ais with the goal of inviting her to her peerage after seeing her potential. However, her standards are preventing her from extending her hand out, and so she waited until now to see how Ais would develop, 'A cross between a Human and a Spirit, I wonder what'll happen if she accepts an Evil Piece?'

It was also the reason why Serafall was so against someone 'saving' Ais. She had a feeling that a gem like her would be ruined when someone took that step for her. That's why her peerage wasn't filled like the rest of the Devil Kings. Power is important, but she's also looking for someone with a good character more.

The black snake then transformed into what seemed to be a giant black egg and dropped straight onto the ground.

Freya, who could see souls as long as they were within the effective range of her eyes, became dumbfounded because the snake actually blocked her view, "What was that snake?" she asked the other Deities.

However, Loki and Zeus, who were far more sensitive in other aspects, could only stand nervously, though the former was having a better time due to her already encountering this snake in the past, 'It's different from the snake that blocked the sky for a short moment,' Loki thought to herself.

Zeus had figured out that she had a slightly different reaction from him and repeated Freya's question, but this time, directly at Loki, "What was that snake?"

Loki scratched her head and gave a simple but definite answer, "It's not from around here."

Zeus' eyes widened in shock and he immediately thought of the implications of her words and hurriedly turned his head back to Serafall's direction, 'Could it be...? Then the reason why they are not involving themselves is...'

A certain possibility emerged in his mind and he nervously looked up to the sky.

Hermes was confused at his reaction, but before he could ask anything, Zeus shouted at Bell, "Bell, escort me back to Melen!"

The urgency was obvious in his voice but Bell, taken aback, still asked, "Now?"

"Yes! Now! We don't have much time!"

Bell didn't ask anymore and hurriedly ran to Zeus and asked him to jump on his back.

"Zeus! Where are you going!? We're still not yet done here!" Hermes shouted at him.

In fear of alerting the eyes in the sky, Zeus could only grit his teeth without providing any answer, "Let's go!"

'I have to reach Odin and Ouranos now! If my guess is correct, it's going to be an all-out war and the fate of everyone in the Lower World will be the least of our concerns!'

Editors:

28th00: Yes, Ais! GO FOR THE RULE OF COOL! Demonic Transformations are always baller! Serafall is looking to get her own Riveria from this world, in the form of Ais. Zeus realized "We're so fucked!" too.

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1029 Unexpectedly Easy

AN: Thank you for waiting~

I'm sorry for the delay of this batch. I ended up binge-watching a bunch of anime during my free time these past 2-3 days.



Ignoring the confusion that Zeus had caused, Serafall finally saw some changes in the egg that she had been eyeing for the last few minutes.

The Egg started cracking with golden light seeping through it. Those outside of the wall stopped clamoring to watch what was happening and a few minutes later, most of the eggshell had fallen off, revealing a pair of wide golden Dragon wings that were acting as a cocoon for its owner.

"...Did Ki-tan expect this?" Serafall loudly muttered with her lips twitching.

Finally, the wings began retracting and folding, revealing Ais, still with Draconic limbs and scales, but now golden.

Everyone outside of the wall, except for Freya and Loki, were dismayed and almost in despair when they saw this, but contrary to their reactions, Lysa beamed and excitedly flew over to her 'mother' while roaring out cutely.

Everyone from the Loki Familia cried out in fear for Lysa but they couldn't do anything.

Lysa caught Ais' attention and was revealed that her golden eyes had turned reptilian too but that still didn't impede Lysa's flight and hurriedly buried herself within Ais' bosom.

Ais gently caught her and started stroking her head, "That was dangerous."

The small Dragon, however, ignored her soft scolding and directly transformed into a little girl and hugged her, "Welcome back!"

Ais smiled softly and carried the girl in her arms, "I'm back."

Seeing that there was already no cause for any concern, Serafall snapped her fingers, and the wall of ice crumbled down before disappearing into nothing.

Still, everyone else was remaining silent and trying to take in what was happening in front of them.

Naturally, the first one to step up was Loki with a big smile on her face, "How are you feeling, Ais? Any discomfort?"

Ais turned to her with her usual demeanor and answered, "None. I actually feel pretty great. Did you know that I'd end up like this?"

"Of course not. Who would expect this?" Loki shrugged her shoulders but remembered someone, "...Ah, that guy might have since it was him saying that Lysa should be by your side at all times."

Ais smiled wryly and agreed, "That's true... But I don't feel like I was forced into this." Recalling that 'Ophis' only took over as an impartial judge, she didn't think that Kisuke was forcing her into this route, 'It was me who ultimately decided what I should do in my own life.'

"You still don't know anything regarding this form." Serafall approached them with a big smile on her face, "I'll ask Ki-tan to do a full body scan to make sure that there's nothing amiss. A Humanoid Dragon like you could have various complications that you might not be aware of."

Loki immediately furrowed her brows. Although Serafall was friendly and very easy to get along with as long as you don't piss her off, Loki knew that she wouldn't be offering something like this without an equivalent exchange. Her proposition is very tempting, especially considering Kisuke's skills, but she just can't agree to it, "You have something in mind?"

"Let's talk about it later~" Serafall replied before turning around and taking her distance. As she went through the people around, they all had awkward expressions and didn't really know how to deal with her. Serafall ignored them and went towards the tallest standing building to survey the area, 'I can feel Ki-tan and Yoru-chan's presence at the opposite end of Orario. What are they up to?'

.

.

.

"I-is that really you, Ais?" Finn asked when they approached.

"Ah, captain. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused. I almost hurt everyone."

Hearing her clear voice of reason, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya all teared up and jumped at her, "Ais!!!". Meanwhile, Filvis and the rest of the members of the Loki Familia curiously looked at her wings and scales that dotted her body and asked Ais about them.

Hermes, on the other hand, had an unbelieving expression, "H-how is this possible?"

Asfi looked at him with worry because this was the first time she had seen him this frustrated multiple times in such a small span of time.

"If a miracle happened once, don't you think it's also possible for it to happen twice?" Freya answered him with a slight chuckle, 'This is why you Gods are too boring.'

"How is that a miracle!? It's obviously a result of a cause! What was that snake!?"

Since Hermes was getting heated again, Freya ignored him and reminded everyone, "I'm sorry to rain on your parade, but we're not done here yet."

After the Black Dragon's defeat, the monsters that were surging from the Dungeon had started retreating, however, that didn't mean that the Corrupted Spirit would stay still.

Everyone's force and battle readiness returned to them, except for Ottar and Tsubaki.

But before they could do anything, the remains of the Tower of Babel suddenly erupted with light before completely crumbling down in a following small earthquake. The almost blinding light continued to travel upwards and became as tall as the former tower. Immediately after that, two long spikes of light appeared on each side of the towering light, forming a gigantic cross across the sky.

This overwhelming sight silenced everyone, but it didn't end there as a giant grotesque figure made of faces mashed together letting out shrill cries started floating up from the base of the cross and was slowly lifted up to the middle of the cross.

A ring of light as wide as the whole of Orario then appeared with the cross and the 'monster' right in the middle and it immediately began shrinking.

The shrill and horror-inducing cries of multiple voices amalgamated worsened but the ring kept shrinking and soon the cross too.

As if being crushed by an immense pressure, the giant 'monster' also started getting smaller and smaller with its various voices also weakening.

A minute later, the ring and cross had already disappeared and the 'monster' was compressed inside a 3-inch translucent crystal, frozen in time.

It was unknown when, but Riveria suddenly appeared beside it and nonchalantly grabbed it before pocketing it, and what they heard next baffled everyone, "Well, that was easy."

She then turned towards where the group was and despite the distance, Riveria still instantly saw the completely changed Ais and the aura she was emitting, "Dragon? What happened?"

Editors:

28th00: Riveria, you absolutely stole from the angels too, huh? Ais thought dragons are cool, so she decided to become one. It helps that her daughter is one too, though.

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1030 From the Depths of the Dungeon



Since there was already no point in hiding after what she'd just displayed, Riveria used Flash Step several times to instantly arrive in front of Ais and everyone else before eagerly asking, "How did you acquire a Draconic Trait?"

But including Ais, nobody could answer her. Riveria's excitement of finding something new and intriguing temporarily blinded her to how others viewed her and it was Serafall who brought her back to her senses, "Riveria-chan, was that Sealing Magic?"

At her moment of realization, Riveria's face tensed up to an awkward expression, and turned to Serafall before answering, "I found out how the Corrupted Spirit... or Deity, whatever you want to call it, connected to the Dungeon. So I worked around it and severed that connection. After that, it couldn't maintain its form and was weakened enough that a simple sealing barrier is enough to contain it. I thought Kisuke might have some use for it so I sealed it instead of eradicating it."

"...Where did you learn Sealing Magic?" asked Serafall because even at first glance, she knew that it wasn't simple at all.

"I studied under Rossweisse for several years and also incorporated some of Le Fay's Security Magic in it," Riveria answered casually. But then, she recalled something and her expression became serious while looking around, "By the way, I noticed some changes within the Dungeon, and from the timing, it was when the Black Dragon was defeated."

Serafall's expression also turned serious, "What changes?"

"All of its Magic Power is funneling to the deeper floors and those were enough to leave the higher floors crumbling and monsters to stop spawning. It's also the reason why I was able to easily sever that corrupted one's connection to the Dungeon."

Just like Riveria, a bad feeling surfaced in Serafall's heart, and she couldn't help but curse while remembering Kisuke's grin, "That bastard. Couldn't he give a bit more of a heads-up? Riveria-chan, just to be safe, evacuate everyone."

Riveria nodded and started preparing Teleportation Magic for everyone but they were already too late as the Dungeon began sucking in all the available Magic Power in the air, making the flow of energy very turbulent.

"It's no use! I can't do it fast enough if I were to take the chaotic flow into the equation!" Riveria shouted, giving up constructing the complicated circle.

"Then apply Flight Magic to everyone and bring them away to Melen. I'll leave it to you to reinforce that area!" Serafall instructed before taking up into the sky.

Riveria immediately followed her directions and brought everyone away despite their immense confusion. Those who were not very sensitive to the movement of Magic Power asked what was going on but nobody could give them an answer.

Hermes, who had been quite noisy from earlier, is now silent and glaring at the Dungeon hole.

"Riveria. You can leave the Deities here. We're at least allowed to deal with that if it ever decided to come up." Freya suddenly uttered.

Riveria looked at the Deities and both Hephaestus and Loki have the same expression as Hermes. She thought about it for a moment, 'If whatever's surfacing can make the Deities wield their full power without any repercussions, Kisuke wouldn't have prepared so much and he'd have definitely used them to the fullest extent. But the fact that he's doing all of this himself, he didn't think of depending on them even a little bit.'

"Is that so? But before I leave you behind, please try summoning your Divine Avatar."

Freya looked at her doubting eyes and sighed and connected her consciousness to the Upper World. But as soon as she found her avatar, a splitting headache suddenly assaulted her, "Ughhh!!! W-what!?" Even the very calm and collected Freya was taken aback.

The Deities that are watching her were also very surprised and tried calling upon their Divine Avatar, but the same as Freya, all they received was a head-splitting pain before the connection they were establishing was abruptly severed, "W-what's going on!?" Hephaestus exclaimed. She took off her eye patch and directly looked up, only to see a black haze that was invisible to normal eyes, covering the sky, "...Impossible."

From her reaction, the other Deities could guess what was happening and there was really only one entity that could do this.

Their grim expressions made Riveria sigh too since she didn't really want to be right about this, though it was an obvious conclusion, "Let's gather everyone first."

Moments after they left Orario, everyone saw a world of ice suddenly blanketing the whole area before the entire city was surrounded by a 100-meter-tall black wall that emerged from the ground.

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.

.

As soon as Riveria's group left, Serafall could finally clearly feel the dreadful aura that was coming up from the depths of the Dungeon and thought, '...It's not weaker than Trihexa... How are we supposed to deal with this?'

Shaking her head, Serafall remembered the real reason she was here, "I just have to hold it off for a minute or two, right?"

There was no answer to her question, however, she could feel an intense activity from both Kisuke and Yoruichi's side and guessed that they had a better way of containing it and they just needed some time to deploy it.

"Oh well~" Serafall smiled, "It had been getting boring waiting for something to happen and I'm not exactly the passive type~"

As she started muttering to herself, her black hair was slowly being painted blueish-white starting from the roots. At the same time, the enormous amount of Demonic Power she possessed started compressing itself in an extremely small space within her heart. A few seconds later, the air surrounding Serafall had condensed into ice particles and became hazy.

Right now, anyone who doesn't have extreme resistance against the cold would have instantly been frozen the moment they came within a few meters from her, "For now... Let's plug that entrance."

With a wave of her hand, three meters of solid ice instantly covered the entirety of Orario. Nevertheless, it didn't end there as her ice also filled the entire first floor all the way until the 18th floor of the Dungeon, as if they were pipes being filled with water, leaving everything that was somehow still alive, dead.

Serafall still wanted to continue, but the moment her ice reached the 19th floor, she felt an incredible resistance and was stopped in her tracks, "I could push through, but that isn't the goal here."

At the same time, 100-meter tall black walls started emerging from the ground and surrounded the whole city and Serafall received a telepathic message, [Sera-chan, just make sure it won't be able to leave for a few minutes. Once the sealing barrier is fully deployed, we're done here.]

Editors:

28th00: Serafall has her supermode now too? Reminds me of Rukia's Bankai.

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1031 From the Depths of the Dungeon part 2



Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Serafall watched as the edge of the walls closed up and while they were at it, they could also see Serafall's ice cracking and bulging up even though she was continuously supplying the ice sheet with her Demonic Power, "How are we supposed to fight that thing? From the looks of it, it could be harder to deal with than Trihexa and we're just three people right now."

"As we are now, we don't really have a way to fight that thing head-on." Kisuke replied, "But we've got so much head start that it's actually really easy to deal with it."

Yoruichi looked at him and asked, "But the fact that we're delaying this means we have other problems? Aside from the guy above us, what else?"

"Of course. And that's everyone in this world." Kisuke didn't explain it further and took out two bottles containing 1 liter of a red translucent liquid, "We have three days, please spread this throughout the entire world."

Serafall's state returned to normal and she inspected the bottle before turning her head to Yoruichi who did the same, "Couldn't we have done this earlier?"

"It would have been detected." Kisuke answered and grinned, "Thankfully, that guy above is doing us a great favor by blocking the Deities' senses. There's no better time for it than now~"

"So you never trusted any of them," Yoruichi murmured while keeping the bottle.

"I did give Hestia-sama and Artemis-sama the antidote so they're safe. And it's not like it'll kill most of them since it's pretty easy to nullify it."

"Then what's the point?"

"Just in case, it's rat poison."

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.

.

With Riveria's protection, a large barrier was erected covering the entirety of Melen. But despite most of the monsters being eliminated, the atmosphere was a lot heavier compared to the monster's siege from a day ago and all of the Deities present in the vicinity were gathered in one large hall that was hurriedly built to accommodate everyone.

All of the mortals were not allowed to enter the hall but everyone could hear the intense shouting and argument within it and they were worried that it could devolve into a large brawl soon.

Not far from the hall was the Loki Familia quarters and everyone was gathered around the two main characters that had a lot of explaining to do, Ais, who'd returned to her normal human form and Riveria.

Riveria wanted to interview Ais herself but it seems she could escape from the spotlight, "So what do you want to know?"

Gareth immediately stepped out and sat in front and glared at her, "Why did you lie?"

Riveria looked straight into his eyes and instead of anger like he let on, there was only frustration within, "As much as I'd like to tell you the truth, there was the important context that would be missing so the only reasonable number I could give is Level 6 or 7 with a minimal blessing from Loki. You wouldn't have believed me if I said I'm suddenly stronger than all of you despite being a Level 1, would you?"

Everyone looked around to see everyone else's reaction and found that nobody could deny that. But despite her very short and incomplete explanation, the frustration in Gareth's eyes left him and a smile emerged on his face, "That's true. But I guess that would mean I've lost our bet."

Riveria was a bit surprised but immediately thought that this is his normal reaction, "Drinks are on you then." Although they bickered most of the time, Riveria feels much closer to Gareth than Finn. And seeing how he's the most accepting one with her rather bland explanation even if he's the most frustrated one, she couldn't help but smile too.

"Do you mind telling us what this missing context is?" Finn pushed the conversation forward. When he heard that Denatus was not going well despite defeating the last Great Quest and the Corrupted Spirit, he guessed there was something else much worse lurking within the depths of the Dungeon and he needed more information of any kind now to draw out even a bit of conclusion.

"Sadly, even if I explained it, it'd be hard for you to understand. After all, everyone's memories here are sealed."

"...Sealed?"

Riveria nodded but before she could continue, Ais started muttering names, "Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihouin, Serafall Leviathan, Sona Sitri, Medusa, Kuroka Toujou, Shirone Toujo, and Aika Kiryuu."

Riveria turned to her and asked, "The seal was lifted?"

"When I was fighting the Black Dragon. I don't know how it happened but I just suddenly recalled them."

Finn burrowed his brows and murmured, "Kisuke Urahara? You mean that man that came with Riveria?"

But before Riveria could give an answer, an uninvited guest interrupted them, "Did someone call for me~?"

Since everyone was too focused on the conversation, Kisuke who appeared out of nowhere almost gave them a heart attack and some even hurriedly pulled out their weapons.

"Woah~ Chill. I heard my name so I came." Kisuke raised both of his hands in surrender.

Finn looked around and could see from everyone's expression that not one of them was able to tell that he was already behind them, 'If Riveria lied about her abilities, chances are he did too and he's probably on the same level as that mysterious Serafall.'

Riveria knew that it wouldn't end well if Kisuke started taunting them again so she immediately asked, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in the Denatus?"

"I planned to, but I don't really want to be grilled alone. I feel like I'd lose my marbles just talking to those prideful shitheads that can't accept that someone is better than them."

Riveria chuckled at him since she could clearly feel his unenthusiasm, "Are you talking about Hermes?"

Kisuke shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I just hate the know-it-all people who can't accept it when they are wrong. Anyways, you're coming with me."

"Can I refuse?"

"Nope~!"

While Riveria was sighing in defeat, Kisuke's eyes inadvertently landed on Ais, who in turn was also staring at him intently, "I'm glad to see that you're doing well, Wallenstein-san."

Ais was startled that she was unexpectedly addressed. She thought for sure that he was going to ignore her, "It's thanks to you. Thank you."

"I only gave you a choice. It was up to you where your feet would take you. As long as you don't regret it, I could say that I fulfilled my promise to... well, could you call her your mother?"

Without hesitation, Ais answered, "She was my mother."

"I see. That's great then." Kisuke then grabbed the hand of the grumbling Riveria and was about to leave when he suddenly recalled something and turned back, "Ah, Line-san. Get ready. You'll be our backup."

"Y-yes!"

Editors:

28th00: I wonder if Riveria realizes how that looked in front of her familia? She's casually holding hands, with a smile on her face, with a man. Her, not just an elf, but a Royal High Elf. How lewd~!

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1032 From the Depths of the Dungeon part 3



When Kisuke called Line out, Riveria hurriedly turned her head back to look for her and found her at the very back of everyone, 'I-I forgot about her!'

The restriction within her eyes eased up and she looked closely at Line, only to discover that she wasn't Human anymore with the presence of Demonic Power and a pair of Pawn Evil Pieces, "Since when?"

Line knew that her question was directed at her and answered, "F-Five years ago."

Kisuke, however, continued dragging Riveria while saying, "You'll be in charge of her protection later so you can ask your questions then."

As the wind blew, both of them disappeared from everyone's sight. A few seconds later, Finn and Gareth recovered and hurriedly turned to Line but she too, had disappeared. She escaped knowing that she'd be interrogated next, "...What the heck is wrong with these people?" Gareth inadvertently asked.

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"Are you alright with not lifting the seal on your children?" Freya asked Loki who was sitting beside her.

Loki lifted her legs and placed them on the table in front of her while leaning back on her arms, "It's fine. It looks like it'll be better for them to figure things out on their own. And who knows? Maybe another one or two of them can break it on their own? He or she would be another irregular and that would be great."

Freya touched her chin and thought about it, "Maybe I should have opted for that too... In any case, the children won't have to do anything else aside from survive from here on out."

"Oh? You're thinking of the same thing? Then we might as well cooperate." Loki chuckled, "How about we escape this place and just hide somewhere until this is all over?"

Another one beside Freya also joined in, "Count me in. I don't really care what happens to me but I can't let my children be exposed to this unreasonable danger."

Freya turned her head to Hephaestus and asked, "You think they'll allow you? They are at least hoping to call down their Divine Weapons and you're one of the Deities who has the highest chance of making that happen."

Hephaestus sneered, "Divine Weapons? With their current bodies? Might as well just send them back up myself. Less effort and trouble." She then looked at the faintly glowing talisman in Freya's hand, "On a side note, that's a really convenient item. Give me one of those."

Right now, Hephaestus, Freya, and Loki are in the middle of all the Deities that are attending the emergency Denatus and being interrogated due to their close relationship with Kisuke's group, who had stopped the entity from surfacing. Sadly, even with their 'close' relationship, they don't really know much and they were sure that no one would listen to them anyways.

Without much choice, Freya whipped out the talisman that she received from Yoruichi some time ago to erect a physical barrier that also blocked the sound. So no matter how much the impatient Deities banged on and shouted at the invisible wall, the three of them could hear nothing, granting them some peace, "Couldn't you just use your charm to make them go away? Although it was funny at first, their angry faces are now annoying me."

Freya shrugged her shoulders, "As much as I want to, I can't. They're too emotional to be affected by the limited charm I have. By the way, where are the chief Gods? Shouldn't they be calming this crowd?"

"They're in a separate room and haven't come out ever since issuing a command to gather all the Deities they could." Loki answered while yawning, "They probably have a better idea of what's happening and are thinking of some countermeasures."

"The real question is if what they are cooking up coincides with what Hestia and Artemis' children are cooking up. It'd be a real mess if both sides want different things. And it doesn't really help that the two of them really don't want to attend this gathering." Hephaestus added.

At her words, Loki shuddered, "Why the heck would they attend this wolf-filled meeting? Even bones wouldn't be left behind. If that were to transpire, we'd have to worry about Kisuke killing all of us before that thing in the Dungeon could swallow the whole world."

"Oh~ and speak of the devil." Freya suddenly muttered while looking at the entrance to the hall.

Hephaestus and Loki also looked over and despite the barrier covering them, they still heard his annoyingly casual greeting, "Good day to the Deities of the Upper World. It looks like you're all having fun~! Care for me and my companion to join?"

A moment of silence descended on the already chaotic scene and Kisuke's appearance added fuel to the keg full of gunpowder. Freya looked at the talisman in her hand and deactivated it, 'This won't be needed.'

A few seconds later, the previous liveliness returned and more with some of the Deities jumping out of their seats and rushing toward the newcomers.

But before they could approach a dreadful aura suddenly stopped them in their tracks and made them freeze in fear that most of them haven't even felt before.

Their eyes that were stuck on Kisuke were stolen by the Elf releasing the aura of the True Longinus, whose true purpose is slaying Gods. Although Riveria could only copy the aura that it releases and not its actual ability, she thought it wasn't that big of a deal and only that it could be convenient to have something that could catch a being with Divinity off guard, even if only for a few seconds.

While that's true in the other world, that didn't translate very well in this world where Longinus-class weapons simply don't exist. Although Divine Weapons exist in the hands of each Deity, there's simply nothing like a weapon that directly spits on their Divinity and instantly vaporizes weaker Gods.

And Kisuke, who was well aware of this, 'forgot' to mention this important bit to Riveria, 'Such amusing expressions~! I should have made some rubber duckies that explode with this kind of aura to randomly toss at the annoying Gods.'

The Deities started backing away from the duo and even Loki, Hephaestus, and Freya who were watching from afar were clenching their fists tightly from nervousness, to the point that their nails had already started digging into their palms, making them bleed.

"That's a terrifying aura you're exuding, young lady." From the inner room, three old men emerged and Zeus with a difficult expression continued, "Let's talk this out instead of threatening each other."

Editors:

28th00: CHAOS~! Riveria being casually and innocently terrifying is hilarious. OP Elf is good Civilization.

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1033 From the Depths of the Dungeon part 4



"Talk?" Out of nowhere a white paper fan appeared in Kisuke's hand and he covered his sneer with it, "I don't really want to hear that from the people who started the threatening and lost when someone did it better than them."

Another silence covered the hall as Zeus couldn't really say anything back that could defend his position. It's true that the Gods were just about to use their position as Deities to get close to Kisuke and even get physical, betting on their 'immunity' within the Lower World. But if he denies that, it'd only hurt his pride.

'I want to properly sit down and talk to him but it looks like that's already impossible as of now...' Zeus sighed as he looked around the disgruntled and angry Gods that kept their distance from these 'mortals', "Tell us what you want to happen."

Kisuke closed his fan and answered, "Nothing. I want you guys not to involve yourselves in the upcoming battle."

Zeus and the other Deities' eyes widened in surprise, "You're planning to fight that thing? How are you going to achieve that?"

The other Deities wanted to say that it was impossible for him but with Riveria radiating a horrifying aura and Ouranos and Odin keeping an eye on them, they didn't dare interrupt the conversation.

"That's not important. Regardless of the results, you'll do what you have to do. I just want some space in three days. Meanwhile, you can do whatever you want outside of that and I won't be getting involved."

Zeus stayed quiet for a few seconds before replying, "We can do that, but I can only speak for myself and a few others. What will happen if a Deity interrupts you? As much as I'd like to say otherwise, we're not a single group and bad actors that just want to mess with everything are abundant."

Kisuke's smile widened but it was laced with killing intent, "No problem~! Everyone who approaches is going to be killed. If those guys wanna bet if I can get cursed or not are very much welcome to try, but they'll also have to consider the fact that they might not return to Heaven like they are expecting if they were to die."

His matching words and killing intent shook every God in the room to the point that even Zeus wasn't able to speak immediately.

Since he was done with his warning, Kisuke didn't need to say anything more and turned around to leave. Riveria also followed him out and didn't stop emitting the aura until they exited the building.

The two of them then simultaneously disappeared when they used Flash Step to avoid any further pursuers.

"The Holy Spear's aura was a lot more effective than I thought. I was sure that they'd have angrily jumped at us once they got used to it." Riveria commented while traveling with Kisuke.

"They just got scared of something unknown. Those Gods almost know everything in existence due to the virtue of their long lives so they must have been pretty shocked when placed under that kind of pressure." Kisuke then turned the chat in another direction, "Although I warned them from approaching, I'm sure that a few of them won't care and come closer. I don't want any of them to die, at least not for now, so I'd like you to block them."

"I'm not joining the three of you?"

"You'll be helpful, but I already planned out what's going to happen so I'm sticking to that. But be ready for our call anytime we decide to get your assistance."

.

.

.

Three days later, Kisuke, Serafall, and Yoruichi were standing at the south side of Orario that's covered by a black wall that was already full of cracks and was about to break.

There were no other living beings within the 100-kilometer vicinity, with animals moving away due to the threatening aura of death emanating from the black walls and the Mercenaries and Adventurers evacuating further away.

Even then, the three of them could feel countless eyes pinned on them, "It looks like they still managed to use that monitoring system of theirs." Yoruichi muttered while feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"I could block it, but it's a good source of info from our side too."

"It's fine. The mild annoyance will disappear once we focus."

Soon after, the cracks became worse and black mud started seeping out from them. Kisuke immediately approached the black mud and hurriedly sampled it, 'What's this? A collection of organic matter? But it doesn't contain any Magic Power, Ki, nor Spiritual Power.'

Finally, the walls failed and Kisuke stopped the supply of Magic Power flowing through it, causing it to disintegrate into nothingness and letting the flood of black mud flow. Kisuke, Serafall, and Yoruichi tried finding their target but failed to even get a glimpse of it with only the black mud uncontrollably spreading out and originating from the hole of the Dungeon and swallowing everything in its path.

Serafall felt weird while watching this mud because it seems to be familiar to her.

It wasn't until the black mud had already flooded and covered more than 30 kilometers in radius from the Dungeon that Serafall realized what it was, "Ah! That's a medium!"

Yoruichi turned to her and asked, "Medium? What type?"

"It's similar to when I construct ice that I use for instant teleportation."

Serafall didn't have time to explain more because something had begun emerging from the center of the black flood. That something slowly rose up from the mud, starting from its head that had a pair of enormous curling horns following its light blue hair, pale white skin, and pink eyes with star shaped-pupils on a very beautiful face.

Soon, a 50-meter-tall woman was floating on top of the flood and staring at the trio. As if rewriting the reality they were in, it became clear to Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Serafall despite knowing almost nothing about it. It appears as a woman with light blue hair clad in leg and arm restraints, with features that represent the planet, large horns that symbolize the land, and eyes that reflect the inner sea of the planet.

Kisuke who wanted to lighten the mood could only make a stiff smile while muttering, "I already expected this, but this is really going to be difficult."

Before they could do anything, the gigantic woman opened her mouth and released a shrill scream. The deafening voice immediately traveled thousands of kilometers away in all directions, but that was not what concerned the three.

"The Magic Power and Ki in the atmosphere have stagnated..." Serafall commented.

"On top of the power difference, we'll fight with limited batteries too, huh..."

Editors:

28th00: Tiamama? I mean, it fits.

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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1034 Tiamat

AN: Thank you for waiting~!

As always, thank you very much for your support.

And have a great day~!



The shrill cry didn't just freeze the flow of energy in the surroundings, but also flattened everything that was still standing and hadn't been swallowed by the black mud.

After a few seconds, the giant woman's pink eyes stared directly at the group, and more specifically, at Kisuke.

A cold wind swept through Kisuke's spine and the hairs on his arm stood up, "!?"

He immediately dodged to the side and at the same time, the giant woman's eye lit up for a brief moment before an invisible projectile pierced through the air and went through the place Kisuke was just standing in.

But the moment he dodged, it was also when he realized his mistake and yelled, "Riveria!"

A large explosion occurred at a far out distance. Thankfully, after a few seconds, Kisuke got a reply, [...We're fine. But that pierced through several layers of my barrier. Line is already 'healing' the damaged parts of the barrier and should be up again within a minute or two. However, we won't be able to take it if there's a barrage of them, considering how effortlessly she fired something like that.]

While listening to her report, the trio noticed that the giant woman was slowly moving towards the direction of the camp where the concentration of Deities is located, "...Prepare the Teleportation Magic. I'll give you a signal when to move out."

[Understood.]

"Kisuke, look," Yoruichi called his attention and pointed her finger below them.

Kisuke looked down and saw a carcass of an animal that wasn't able to get away in time got swallowed by the black mud. But a moment later, the submerged carcass floated up on the surface of the mud and started moving again as if it returned to life.

"Resurrection?" Serafall asked, but Kisuke shook his head after a few seconds of observation, "It's more akin to corruption."

Kisuke then secretly brought out a token that transfers sound mentally and asked Serafall and Yoruichi to connect to it. The token is connected to a 'virus' that Kisuke implanted among the network of Deities that uses the same connection as their monitoring system so they would be able to listen to what they were saying if they were watching this battle.

[Just what is that thing?] This is the most common question from the Deities.

'They don't know?' Kisuke asked himself, 'Yet they won't fight against it? Looks like Chaos has more control over the Deities than I expected.'

"So anything we should know about her?" Yoruichi asked.

Kisuke stayed silent for a moment before replying, "Tiamat. That's her name and the only thing I know about her."

Serafall released her Demonic Power, "Tiamat, huh... I know names have some sort of strange power over the Worlds, but should we expect some Draconic aspect from her?"

"...I don't know. But those horns have a wisp of what seems to be a Draconic Aura. Just be careful since anything could come out of her. Lastly, follow the plan of forcing her back down." Kisuke's hair grew longer and a pair of angular horns sprouted on his head with his turning to that of a Hollow.

"Allow me to do the opening act.", Yoruichi pulled out her dagger and pointed it towards Tiamat, "Bankai."

A mass of Spiritual Power exploded out from Yoruichi that pushed both Kisuke and Serafall to the side. The tie that was holding up her hair instantly disintegrated and as her hair swayed in the air, it slowly turned white while also leaving behind streaks of her black hair. Yoruichi's feline eyes glowed golden and her dagger became thin and transparent.

With a flash of a lightning, Yoruichi disappeared and reappeared on top of the towering Tiamat and brought her dagger down on top of her head, "Rend."

In an instant, a thin line was drawn from the sky to the ground with Tiamat in the middle of it. A split second later, the air began to escape through this thin line before it disappeared three seconds later. Yoruichi had split open the space, separating everything that was holding it together.

But even after an attack that could technically cut everything, Yoruichi could only mutter, "Seriously?" Physically separating bonds between matter didn't do anything to the monstrous being in front of them, "And that should have been fatal for most."

Despite not doing anything, Tiamat still saw Yoruichi as a threat and turned her head toward her before opening her mouth. Immediately after, a ball of red light started gathering in her mouth and made Yoruichi shudder.

Yoruichi tried escaping through teleportation but found the space around her solidifying. She could easily break it but she wouldn't have enough time for that. She then tried physically running away with Flash Step which had the same problem. She could still escape through other methods but that would require sacrificing an arm or a leg.

"I've got you." She heard behind her and she didn't have to turn around to figure out that she was safe now and just had to brace for impact.

A blast of red energy ejected out of Tiamat's mouth and matching that, a pitch-black ray of light came from behind Yoruichi to meet the opposing force.

The black and red rays instantly met and created a blinding white light for a second before a massive fiery explosion occurred, spreading outward as if a gigantic bomb had gone off midair.

Yoruichi gritted her teeth to endure the shockwave and heat as the restrictions around her were broken and she teleported away. When she got out, she was already beside Serafall, who had also escaped the range of the explosion and saw the small sun the collision of attack generated. As there was almost nothing to burn, there was no smoke and just a ball of superheated air continually expanding.

Beyond the black mud, the trees that had been felled by the shrill scream were instantly incinerated by the hot air, creating a hell-like landscape.

Soon the light that engulfed the scene was snuffed out, revealing Tiamat with slightly cracked horns and Kisuke's slightly tattered shihakushou. The former, however, had already begun to heal from any damages she received.

"Well, it's good to know that she's not immune to physical trauma." Serafall commented, "Although it seems like you're a bad match against her."

"...If I can't cut her, I'll just bash her skull in.", answered Yoruichi.

Editors:

28th00: Sometimes, you tend to forget that Yoruichi is a muscle headed brute.

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