goyya 1063-1073

Chapter 1063 Death | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon

Chapter 1063 Death



Kisuke wasn't done yet and pulled his hand out from the wall before muttering, "5th Gate: Acceptance."

Kisuke knew that he was outclassed by Chaos in almost all aspects and if he wanted even a little bit of a chance to suppress him, he needed to use everything he could manage, focus it, and hit him where it hurts the most.

Stepping on the wall and pushing against it, Kisuke instantly made a big crater in it and shook the entire structure of the Dungeon as he launched himself toward the headless Chaos.

Kisuke positioned his sword horizontally and swung it with all of his momentum and strength when Chaos came within his reach. The headless man moved his arm to block Kisuke's blade but it did nothing except allow himself to be cut along his torso. The cutting power behind his sword was so strong that it left a deep scar along the walls of the dungeon.

But despite this, Kisuke couldn't be happy as he could see small tentacles emerging from the bisected part and reconnecting themselves. Kisuke reached out his free hand and pointed it towards Chaos, "Hadou no 88, Shin Hiryuu Gekizoku Shinten Raihou (Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon)!"

A modified Kidou that truly encompasses the majesty and pride of a Dragon thanks to the experience he got from the real thing. Instead of a normal blue gigantic blast of Spiritual Power and Ki, it took the shape of an Eastern Dragon and was mixed with his own bloody aura giving it a deep red color. The blood 'Dragon' swallowed the bisected Chaos whole and attempted to incinerate him into nothing inside its 'stomach' while also pushing him deep into the Dungeon's wall.

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On the outside, the battlefield is only heating up now with Issei, Vali, Crom, and Sairaog in the lead against the more than five thousand Deities that suddenly teleported on the surface. Although they were still weakened, even if only by a bit since Chaos removed the poison that Kisuke had given them and most of them already had the power to fight back.

"Hey... Isn't this a bit too much?" Issei asked while in his Bishop Promotion form and blasting the cannons behind him almost indiscriminately.

Vali kept reducing and absorbing the power of those he touched until the victim Deities couldn't even maintain flight. But before his stunt earlier, even if he could recover his energy, his body was still strained, "...He's not expecting us to deal with all of them by ourselves, right?"

"What's this? You're actually agreeing with Issei? I thought you'd be more like that?" Sairaog turned to them after splitting the head of an enemy and pointed towards a certain direction where a man with blonde and black hair is rampaging gleefully while taking on the attacks of the Deities.

"Even I have my limits," Vali replied, "Well, just let him release his pent-up frustrations. His training has been paying off recently but there was nowhere to vent. I assume he could be classified as the third Heavenly Dragon just from his strength alone."

[I agree.] Ddraig also spoke up, [Seven years is not a long time by Dragon standards, yet he improved tremendously during that time.]

[But that also means the future is that grim. Such pressure to push a powerful Dragon beyond his limits... The Evies won't be an easy opponent.] Albion also added.

'Is that why Dragons have always stood at the very top of the food chain?' Sairaog asked himself after hearing that, 'When there's a stronger species, the Dragons automatically adapt and vie for the top. Or maybe, it's due to the enormous vacuum that Great Red and Ophis left.'

If his guess was correct, then that would explain the sudden explosion of strength among those who are related to Dragons, 'In any case, I can't be left behind!'

Meanwhile, the rest of Team DxD was behind them giving support and long-range attacks as a form of containment. They only have one goal today and that is to keep the enemy Deities from interfering in the most important battle.

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Kisuke wanted to continue his assault but he had to stop momentarily to cool down. If not, he'd only be shooting himself in the foot.

As he tried to calm down the turbulent energy within him, Kisuke carefully watched Chaos and saw him effortlessly regenerate everything that he did to him, 'That easy? As expected... I have to anchor his existence somewhere first before I can think of killing him.'

However, Kisuke could also see that Chaos was not left unscathed. Although he looked fine, there's something about him that's a bit weaker from their first encounter, 'Alright... Time to push him to the edge.'

Kisuke pointed his sword forward and his red hagoromo from his Shunkou wrapped around his blade as he muttered, full of killing intent, "...Ban...Kai."

From the five 'eyes' behind him, five mechanical fingers with a blade on their tips slowly emerged. Soon, red, shining outlines drew themselves on these giants and menacing fingers and red strings of energy materialized around Kisuke himself. As his aura exploded multiple times over, he continued, "Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame..."

Using the power provided by his Shunkou and the path that the Hougyoku left behind before it disappeared, Kisuke unlocked a new form of his Bankai that seems to have fused with him instead of normally materializing.

At the same time, however, Chaos also finished regenerating as if nothing happened to him. Except, he has this incredibly pissed expression and he turned his deep dark eyes to Kisuke. He ignored this new and strange form and with a pissed voice, he uttered softly, "You pest... Die in ignorance."

Kisuke had been stronger than ever, but unfortunately for him, his lack of complete information regarding Chaos finally bit him back... And Chaos bit hard.

He didn't know when, but Kisuke suddenly found himself floating in the darkness where there was nothing. He couldn't tell if he was standing or falling. He couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. He couldn't tell if he was blinded or if it was just the absence of light. He couldn't see his own body and feel his own aura. It's as if his mind alone was transported to a very dark world.

However, he could feel dread and just now, he had a strange feeling that his left flank entirely disappeared despite not having any senses. In all of his life after his reincarnation, death had never been closer.

Editors:

28th00: Death = Powerup though. He's no Kenpachi though, so this sorta attack is rea lbad.

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Chapter 1064 Saved by the Shadow | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon

AN: Thank you for waiting~! Please enjoy this batch~!



The strange feeling of parts of his body disappearing didn't leave him and seemed to only worsen with each passing second. Although he was in his Shunkou's fifth gate and released his Bankai, Kisuke couldn't feel any uplifting of power from them like he normally does. He tried communicating with Benihime but his voice only seems to disappear into the void, never to reach its intended recipient.

Kisuke concluded that Chaos isolated his mind. He might be on the verge of death right now but he couldn't tell at all, 'Die in ignorance, huh... How fitting.'

He remembered the position of his body before he entered this void but he didn't know if there was a lapse in his consciousness or Chaos broke his footing so he can't rely on his memories on how to move even if it was a simple act of jumping back in an attempt to escape Chaos' manipulation.

Kisuke knew that Chaos was probably tearing his body apart and if any of his attacks contained his [Gluttony] aspect like what he was doing to Null earlier, he probably wouldn't be able to rely on his natural regeneration either. On top of that, he needs the presence of mind if he wants to control Benihime's abilities.

Even then, he knew that his connection with Benihime was still intact and she was still in her Bankai form. Without any hesitation, he left control of his body entirely to Benihime and hoped that she could keep him alive long enough for him to escape this black hell.

'Now then... I probably only have a few minutes to stay alive or even less, but how do I get out of here?' Even if he wanted to make sense of what was happening around him, he only had his thinking ability with him. Though strangely enough, it seemed he had some familiarity with this darkness, 'I'm sure I've already felt something like this before and it wasn't the [Black Coffin].'

He contemplated it more because he felt that this was the correct and shortest direction. And after a few seconds, he got it, '...I'm one lucky bastard.'

There's one thing that he didn't really think of using and it's something he only got because of an amazingly lucky encounter, 'I'm a successor of a high-ranking Etoulde and this darkness has the same scent as her shadow.'

After confirming that Stralit's mark was still within his mind, Kisuke smiled, 'Just this small mark alone won't be enough... It's a shame she'll get an inkling of what's happening, but I hope she can help me.'

Kisuke activated the Etoulde's mark and even though he couldn't feel anything, he could tell that a very small part of this darkness had become his.

Naturally, that wasn't enough and he reconnected the mark to its original owner to gain more power.

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Yoruichi and Serafall positioned themselves to support those who were on the front lines along with others. Yoruichi specifically was tasked to watch out for enemies who were gathering their power and about to release a deadly or dangerous attack. She needed to interrupt them and if there's no choice, go for the kill even if they didn't want a higher body count.

"Isn't this too dangerous?" Serafall came to her side and asked, "Not killing them, I mean."

"Nothing we can do. Deities are the foundation of this world and if we can actually control this person, or at least, grant them  assistance in their time of need, it'll be an enormous help. And we still have a lot to learn from them so just think of each of them as books that could potentially tell us how to deal with aliens."

At that moment, the battlefield was briefly silenced when a vast and heavy aura suddenly exploded from the depths of the Dungeon that was very familiar to the people of the otherworld, "Kisuke, huh... Looks like he's about to ramp it up."

But as soon as Yoruichi muttered that, another aura, much more terrifying and heavier blanketed the whole space so that it was actually hard to breathe, including people of Yoruichi's stature.

"W-what is this? Is this Chaos?" Serafall nervously muttered to herself, "...Will he be alright?"

But not even Yoruichi could answer that when Kisuke's aura suddenly disappeared as if a candle flame that was blown out by a storm, "!?" The next instant, indescribable darkness covered the hole leading to the Dungeon.

[Kisuke! Kisuke! What's going on down there!?]

Unfortunately, there's no reply, "Is it blocked!?"

Yoruichi didn't want to but she had no choice but to use a Telepathy Magic that they designed to penetrate any barrier and reach any distance that was based on Le Fay's [Consciousness Targeted Teleportation Magic], [Kisuke! What's happening down there!?]

But the same as before, nothing went through. Yoruichi gritted her teeth and decided to dive into that darkness when Serafall grabbed her, "Yoruichi! No!"

"Release me, Serafall! I have to go!"

"You're not thinking straight!? Don't you see how dangerous that darkness is!? You'll be gone the moment you go in!"

"Then what do we have to do!?" Yoruichi tried prying open Serafall's arms but the latter wouldn't budge.

Serafall gritted her teeth and came to a resolution, "We'll go together!"

Yoruichi stopped and wanted to say that it was too dangerous but Serafall interrupted her, "Let's go! Every second counts!"

Yoruichi sighed and was about to open a rift in space to instantly travel when another voice, albeit very faint, interrupted them, [...I can keep him alive for one minute. Stay still for now.]

"Huh!? Who was that!?" Serafall was surprised as she didn't recognize the voice.

Yoruichi, meanwhile, just muttered, "Benihime..."

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Stralit suddenly woke up and hurriedly looked around the dark and dirty cavern. She calmed her nervously beating heart and wiped away the sweat that had formed on her forehead. Sadly, her face only became muddy due to the dirt that had accumulated on her body. She wanted to use Magic to at least clean herself but that would only invite the pursuers that were after her life, 'And I don't really want to waste any of my stamina now.'

It has been a week since she magnificently fell for a trap that was arranged by the enemy Evies, and Etouldes that wanted her removed from the power struggle of her own faction. She thought that she would be safe because an inspector was arriving, but it turned out, this inspector is also part of their deal.

She couldn't request help or contact her brother and family because all communication was blocked. No one was going to rescue her either for some time because the news outside was that she went on an expedition, 'Them manipulating the information going in and out would mean that I can't expect any outside help. It's obvious that they had been planning this from the start, even the direction of my escape in case they couldn't finish me off.'

She thought that it might be her end and regretted that she couldn't see her dear friend before perishing.

Editors:

28th00: Didn't Kisuke specifically warn Stralit that this was going to happen?

Goyya: He did, but she was still caught. I didn't make it clear here, but I'm thinking it's because of her 'responsibility'. Sadly, I don't have the time to expand on that and I don't think it's necessary for this part.

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Chapter 1065 Saved by the Shadow part 2 | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon



'By the way, what woke me up? There's nothing here...?' Stralit thought to herself.

As Stralit looked around, her eyes landed on the only thing she was able to bring with her, a capsule that contained her sleeping successor, John Smith. Because the traces of her power were on him, if she had left him alone, they would have surely killed him, 'Is he finally waking up?' She thought to herself after feeling the tiny but strange aura on him, 'I never understood what kind of being he was until the very end.'

Since no one knew that John Smith was her successor, she'd be able to use herself to bait the enemies while he escapes, 'He, at least, should get out of here alive and he'll be able to make contact with Seraselbes. Take revenge for me, little guy.'

'Although I won't be able to see it myself, the last laugh would be mine. Did you think that you were the only one who could cooperate with an Evie? Unfortunately for you, my friend there would be able to destroy your whole clan. Forget about the power struggle, none of those who share the same blood as you will be able to keep their legacy. Ah, I should also include that damned inspector. I'll ask him to annihilate your whole clan, innocent or not.' With a wicked smile on her face, Stralit opened the capsule but soon enough, her smile froze.

'What's this?' she asked herself while picking up John Smith. She could see the mark on her forehead flashing, signifying that he was using her innate ability, 'But where? And how?'

She looked around and inspected John Smith more but couldn't find how he was using it. But because she opened the capsule, the aura of her ability escaped and it'll only be a matter of time before her enemies descend into this hidden cavern.

"Tsk." Stralit placed John Smith back into the capsule before running deeper into the cavern that looks like the mouth of an abyss when she heard some activity not far from her, 'They were this close!?'

She was actually fortunate that John Smith's aura of her ability escaped at that time or she might have been caught off guard, 'They even have the stealth of this level... Only one other clan has this kind of ability. They're in on it too?'

Stralit took random branching paths into the darkness while erasing her tracks and adding some decoy. Though while running, she could feel the aura from John Smith strengthening to the point that the capsule couldn't contain it anymore.

Stralit ran faster, ignoring where she was going. She only wanted to get away faster. But during this, there was a strange feeling that's coming from the capsule, 'As if he's reaching out to me... What's happening?' And the further she went, the stronger the feeling was.

Stralit gritted her teeth and measured an appropriate distance before opening the capsule again and touching the mark on John Smith's forehead, 'Screw it... Please wake up after this.'

Immediately after, her consciousness was transported to a very dark place.

'This is... Where?' Stralit found herself within a very uncomfortable darkness. Since her innate ability pertains to 'Shadow', she has always felt safe within its domain, 'Unless it's from a hostile enemy that's at least on the same level as me or stronger... But how did I come here? Was my consciousness forcefully pulled?'

It didn't take too long for her to find who called her here as there was a very small patch of 'comfortable' darkness that caught her attention after looking around. In the middle of that 'comfortable' darkness was a small light, about to be snuffed out, however, it had a very familiar aura, 'John?'

Stralit hurriedly approached it while analyzing the situation, 'This darkness is trying to devour him. At this rate, he'll disappear.'

What would happen if the light disappeared? Stralit doesn't have any idea since this was the first time she encountered something like this. Although she recalled reading something similar from her clan's library, it was in her younger years when she was forced to study and really hated reading. '...Oh young me... You're still putting me on the spot to this very day... Though I at least remember that I have to do something in this situation. But if I were to do that...'

If she were to release her power now, it would be akin to attaching a very loud siren to the top of her head and she wouldn't be able to stop it until she was done. On top of that, she doesn't know how much of her reserve will be used and there's a possibility that she'll be completely depleted and tired after assisting him, which made it close to fatal for her due to her current situation.

'But it's not like I can escape... Sooner or later, I'll be trapped so I'll just be delaying my death.' Stralit reached out her hands and embraced the small light that was about to flicker out of existence, 'If I could do a good thing before my end, that wouldn't be so bad, I guess? Besides, I took him in and he's technically my responsibility.'

The moment she further connected her consciousness to the light, a new space was revealed to her that was still in the darkness. However, she was stunned to see an unknown unconscious man with missing body parts that looked like someone or something had taken a bite out of him. A quarter of his head is missing but Stralit managed to recognize him, "J-John?"

The man was John Smith if he was as tall as her.

Nevertheless, she didn't have any time to think about this as more and more of his body is being 'eaten' and it wouldn't take long before he disappears entirely, 'I don't have enough power to repel these unknown beasts, but I should have enough to take him out of this place. And he's not entirely unconscious since he's fighting back. I just have to support where he wants to go.'

Stralit didn't hesitate any more and released her innate ability. While her short white hair and bright green eyes turned jet black, her own darkness painted the darkness around 'John Smith' and pushed back the 'beasts' eating him. And as soon as their 'shadows' met, a resonance occurred and made their minds connect to a deeper level, allowing understanding between the two instinctively.

'That way? Got it.' Stralit grabbed 'John' and flew to a certain direction where he wanted to go and shaped her shadow into a drill that shredded the darkness in their way. A minute later, Stralit found the boundary and understood what she needed to do, 'In the end, I would need to go all out... I have a lot of questions, but it was an interesting experience.'

Gathering her power, Stralit gritted her teeth and punched a hole through the 'uncomfortable' darkness with all her might before throwing 'John' beyond it. Tired, her body slowly disappeared into her own darkness as her consciousness returned back to her body where she'll have to do her best to survive while waiting for 'John' to wake up.

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[...ke! ...suke! Kisuke!!! Answer me!]

Kisuke opened his eyes and was greeted by the bright light of the sun while also being rattled by frantic voices that were ringing inside his head, '...I got out?'

[...Finally awake?] Kisuke heard Benihime's voice.

"...Yeah."

[Then reply to that girl or she might just rush into her death.]

As soon as Benihime said that, another set of shaking voices rang inside Kisuke's head, [Kisuke! Answer me! Are you alive!?]

[...Yeah. I'm alive. Thankfully.], Kisuke replied to Yoruichi.

[...You finally answered.] Kisuke could tell the relief from her tone, [But are you really alive in that state?]

Kisuke was momentarily confused by her question until he checked his own body. About three-quarters of his body is gone and was replaced by Benihime's red strings bundled together to keep him intact, [Let me remind you that the moment you exit out of Bankai, you'll die.]

Kisuke confirmed that his Shunko and Bankai were still active and that he's currently floating on top of the former Orario. He could see the ongoing battle from a distance and it seemed that they were pushed back because Chaos just unleashed a terrible ability that almost instantly killed him, "I'm lucky to have survived that, huh?"

While Kisuke was gathering his thoughts, the darkness filling the Dungeon shook before converging into a form that he was more familiar with. When Kisuke saw him, despite only having half of his head, he smiled, "Looks like that wasn't that easy for you either, huh?"

Chaos couldn't reply and was instead incredibly surprised that he was able to escape and that he was actually alive at all.

Editors:

28th00

Chapter 1066 Fight Back | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon



It became a staring contest between Kisuke and Chaos for a single moment before the both of them disappeared from their spots and a clash of something akin to metal rang out not far from them. Such clashes then continued on for some time.

Those who were below a certain level could only hear the sound of the clashes produced and couldn't even see the figures of the combatants.

But to those who were involved, it was like a slow-mo movie playing out to their senses with each movement being caught by the other.

Chaos would reshape and harden his body to his will to attack and it would look like he has at least ten to a hundred arms in varying instances. Kisuke would block them using his sword and the five 'fingers' around him, but even then, multiple hits would still go through his defense due to their sheer numbers and speed. To make matters worse, some of these attacks also had 'Devour' mixed in so it was additional pressure and focus that Kisuke needed to commit to accurately figure out which 'arm' had this. And in his current state, any additional injuries only brought him closer and closer to actual death.

But although Kisuke was at an extreme disadvantage, his strange ability was actually sending a wave of panic through Chaos, which became obvious with his apparent impatience. With each moment, five invisible knives would cut open his 'arms' and stitch them back up. The next instant, these arms imploded into themselves and Chaos had no way of repairing them like he should've been able to easily do. Without much choice, he had to recreate the destroyed 'arm' to keep the numbers up, but it was taking a toll on his reserves even if he had an absolutely massive amount.

And despite being confident in his 'unkillable' nature, Chaos was always the first one to disengage from their clashes while Kisuke, who's on the verge of death, would follow him like the madman he is.

'This guy... Doesn't know how to fight.' Kisuke came to this realization after having a deeper understanding of his opponent from their clashes. He was another being that was born into power and didn't really think about surviving nor having a natural enemy, 'Despite his overtuned specs, he can't utilize most of them so I shouldn't be worried about the small nicks he's doing. Big techniques, however, are still a problem which means I can't give him too much space for something like that.'

'But if he ever repeats that one from earlier...' A strange glint surfaced on Kisuke's remaining eye as he modified the 'arms' he touched.

Chaos gritted his teeth and tried getting away. With each clash, the cuts and stitches were doing worse and worse damage to him as his 'arms' didn't just simply implode, 'He's actually poking holes in me now! My power is leaking and I have no way to easily repair them! Just what is this ability!? And how come a mere mortal like him has something like this!?'

Chaos tried mixing up his attacks with other techniques, but the detestable 'cut and stitches' would cause them to fail. As he audibly clicked his tongue, he thought, 'I can't do anything else aside from that. But that would leave me depleted and I would have to go back up to replenish.'

Nevertheless, after watching the crazed Kisuke as he hounded him without any regard for his own life, a tiny, tiny bit of fear finally sprouted in his mind, 'But if I can remove this variable... It's a shame, but I will have to call down my children to clean up the rest of them.'

Coming to a decision, Chaos immediately acted upon it.

He sped away and the 'arms' all around him retracted as his whole body turned into a black mist. Along within it was the same blood-freezing aura that almost drowned everyone and it was way worse since he's doing it now on the surface and in everyone's view.

Chaos' body expanded rapidly and engulfed the whole area, "Try surviving this again.", however, he thought he saw Kisuke grin when he was about to be swallowed by the darkness that almost killed him earlier.

A sphere of darkness was instantly created so that no outside interference could influence the inside.

Yoruichi and the others got worried that he got swallowed once again, but the former knew what Kisuke was capable of and how he dealt with things he already saw once.

And as she was expecting, five cuts were created on the surface of the sphere before it was immediately stitched up. A second later, the perfect sphere turned wobbly before it collapsed back into Chaos' figure, but this time, his body was partially melting as he coughed out black 'blood', "...Y-you! How!?"

Kisuke, who just stood still and came out perfectly fine, gave him a large grin, "Even the most terrifying guy I know wouldn't carelessly touch me twice."

No matter how inexperienced Chaos was, he finally realized his opponent's ability, "Modification through understanding?" Chaos' initial guess of him concocting specialized poisons was very wrong.

"Great job, but sadly, no prize for you." Kisuke disappeared from his spot and reappeared in front of the still disoriented Chaos, "I'm too poor for that."

Chaos hurriedly solidified his limbs to block all six blades that were coming to him, but as soon as he touched them, the neverending cuts and stitches appeared once again, imploding his defenses into nonexistence. He instantly recreated his limbs and while doing so, created even more. However, it became very obvious that he didn't have the same vigor he had before.

Chaos then turned his attention to his home and attempted to call down his children to push back and smother Kisuke using their sheer numbers. In that instant, however, there was a lapse in his concentration and Kisuke found an opening to dismember him into several pieces.

Kisuke's opponent didn't actually mind this since he was confident that Kisuke hadn't understood enough of his very essence to make any direct modifications on him. What he was wondering and what caused him to be cut down, however, was that there were no responses from his children. Or more specifically, he lost his way of communicating with his 'home' and he only realized it just now. Chaos couldn't even open the path to the void, as if someone was holding the door tight. He could pry it open, but he would need a lot more effort.

Kisuke, on the other hand, guessed what was on his mind and said, "Why did you think I didn't have those Dragons with me when they can freely cross the boundaries between dimensions?"

In other words, Chaos's home was locked from the inside by the two bigshots and his children were trapped inside along with them. No matter how numerous they were, they wouldn't be able to do anything against the True Dragon and the Dragon God, at least not for a very long time.

Editors:

28th00: The escape route/reinforcements were cut off the entire time and he never noticed. For shame.

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Chapter 1067 Their Mission | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon



Within the infinite darkness, three figures could be seen doing their own things.

While Flanna was shooting her pistols at the distant enemies to practice her aim, Lilith was shaping her own power to whatever she could think of to smash the grotesque lifeforms that were trying to approach.

Ophis, on the other hand, created a bubble around them and released her aura to push back the majority of these wriggling creatures all the while munching on some banana chips that she had been saving for such an occasion. And all in all, she's the one keeping the dimension closed.

As Lilith and Ophis had now taken the forms of a teenager to follow Claire, Tanis, and Kunou's physical growth, they looked like triplets.

"This is tiring and boring." Flanna put back her precious pistols and took out her own set of banana chips, "Aren't the two of you enough here?"

"Don't ask me. I can never understand what he's trying to do." Ophis strengthened the bubble that was keeping the unknown beasts back because Lilith had also stopped what she's doing and sat beside her and Flanna to eat some banana chips.

After that, there was a silence that spanned for a few minutes. It was also during that time that Kisuke's aura suddenly plummeted to dangerous levels and they were extremely worried. However, none of them moved from their spots since they knew the importance of their presence here for his victory. It was only when the fighting resumed that they were able to continue eating their banana chips.

"Why did you come to this side?" Ophis suddenly asked, "You could have returned to your home after regaining your body."

Without missing a beat, Flanna answered, "I'm interested."

Ophis and Lilith turned to him and the latter asked, "Interested?" before the former continued, "You were not interested in him at all when you first met him and only played along with him until recently."

"Oh? You could tell?" Flanna asked back but she didn't receive an answer. She then thought about it for a bit before answering her, "It's true that I was not really interested in him. The people on his level are mostly divided into two types, those who are brimming with ambitions and aspirations and those who are apathetic and don't want anything more. When I first met him, he fell into the latter type, which I don't really like. He was interested in his surroundings, but nothing beyond that."

Tossing a single chip into her mouth, Flanna continued while chewing, "But as he influenced the world more, he had more things to protect. As time went by and his strength went along with it, he only found more and it only became harder and harder for him."

Ophis stopped her hand and asked, "What's strange and interesting about that? That's normal for you who watches all the 'dreams' in the world. Only the 'strength' of the 'dream' matters to you."

Nevertheless, Flanna chuckled before continuing, "It's strange. After all, instead of being fulfilled or burned by his ambition and aspiration to protect those who were important to him, he was plagued by nightmares of his own creation. He's an idiot who doesn't know how to relax and that's very interesting and funny.

"Well, there might be other people who are like that out there, but that isn't really important anymore since I realized that it's better to experience things myself instead of just perpetually watching."

Flanna turned to Ophis and Lilith and saw that there were no apparent reactions from them so she continued while grinning, "I'm jealous though. Unlike me, the two of you are in his nightmares. Looks like he really cares about the two of you."

Although there were no apparent changes in their expressions, Flanna, as the Great Red Dragon of Dreams and Illusions, never really looked at the physical attributes of people. Instead, she was always looking at the floating thoughts of everyone surrounding her so she could see how happy the blackies were.

"What about you? How did you get interested in him? I think you only approached him and Yoruichi because they're quite unique individuals that didn't exist in the world and most of your attention was on Aika. Lilith only tagged along because you were always attaching yourself to him."

Ophis gave it a small thought and looked away. She was trying not to show it but Flanna could easily see that she was embarrassed. Thanks to the time they spent with Claire, Tanis, Kunou, and the Ouroboros Academy as a whole, the three of them had managed to learn some common sense that allowed them to develop more like a normal person. And that included developing all sorts of emotions that shouldn't have been possible if they didn't 'disappear'.

Lilith suddenly raised her hand and said, "She was lured by food the first time she met them! Not very Dragon-like!"

Ophis' eyes widened. Since they were intricately connected, the memories they have are shared between them, but she didn't expect that Lilith would betray her like this. As retaliation, Ophis punched back with, "You were lured by a bar of chocolate from Azazel! At least I got a full dinner!"

"You can't blame me. I was a newborn at that time!" Lilith immediately retorted.

From then, it became a war of words by revealing each other's embarrassing moments between the Dragon Gods in an attempt to preserve their dignity and pride. But from an outsider's perspective, their actions were very far from achieving what they wanted.

Flanna watched all of this with warm eyes. As she was in a better position than both of them since she could experience everyone's dreams and learn from them, she didn't really have any embarrassing moments. But if her thoughts were to be revealed to those around her, they'd just sneer and tell her that she has a skewed common sense and standards.

'I was apprehensive with both of us leaving our 'positions' but it looks like it was the best decision we've ever made.' Flanna thought to herself when she remembered something, "Ah, by the way, it seems that boss is planning to leave-"

" "We'll follow him." ", Flanna couldn't even finish her words when Ophis and Lilith stopped their bickering and gave their answers.

"Even if Lilith could establish herself within this void and gain the same authority as Ophis without relying on her?"

Lilith didn't hesitate and immediately answered, "I don't care. I want to see more of what's out there."

"What about you? You can become more powerful than you ever were the moment you establish yourself in this world." Ophis returned her question.

And similar to Lilith, Flanna didn't hesitate to answer too, "I don't care about any of that. I want to see more of what's out there too! And it's the place that shaped him, you know? I can never miss this trip!"

Without his consent and knowledge, Kisuke gained some freeloaders for his next trip.

Editors:

28th00: Ah, they learnt how to human! Mr. Hat is a true hero to the Dragon Gods. Totally. Turning themselves into teenagers absolutely hasn't given them hormones like someone in puberty either, totally! Going to Soul Society next? That place is true hell, honestly. Kubo went ham on the expanded universe shit and made it somehow 200x worse than before and SS is only the good guys compared to the somehow even WORSE guys. Sheesh…

Goyya: While they are not really adapted to the fast pace of life of 'mortals', they were still able to learn a lot of things, albeit, a lot slower than normal people. Well, normal people are forced to adapt due to their limited time which is not applicable to these Dragons.

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Chapter 1068 Final Stretch | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon



Kisuke was constantly whittling down Chaos, but the latter could also see that the former was already at his limit.

Chaos also noticed that the army Kisuke had brought didn't have any intention of bringing down the Deities despite having the apparent advantage and it didn't take too long for him to figure out why 'They want to preserve as much of this world as possible. How arrogant. It'll be their own undoing.'

Chaos was already tired and most of his powers were already drained by Kisuke's modification ability, however, this was only a minor problem for him as he could also replenish everything back and he had multiple ways of doing it. Not to mention, even if he was defeated here, his plans would only be delayed by a century or two.

'But that's still a bit too long.' Chaos thought to himself and turned his gaze towards the Deities that were struggling to bring out their whole power because most of them didn't know how to actually fight, 'How useless. I can make them useful but this will delay my acquisition of Null for a few years.'

'But if I can remove this man now, a few years of waiting isn't not bad.' Chaos weighed his options and smiled, 'Yes. As long as I can remove this man, everything else will be smooth sailing.'

Kisuke approached Chaos with five-bladed fingers slashing at him in all five directions while asking, "How nice. You still have the leeway of thinking about something else. Must be nice to be a true immortal, huh?"

Chaos sneered at him even while being cut into six parts, "You know you can't kill me, so why the wasted effort? If your aim is to delay me for some time then I applaud you for trying your best. Nonetheless, I won't make it easy for you and your companions. I'll make sure to bring a few of them to the afterlife."

"With how exhausted you are? I'd like to see you try." Kisuke divided him into even more parts while studying the composition of his body. However, that's the limit of what he could do. He can only study the substance and nothing beyond it or why he's unkillable in the first place. As of now, Kisuke could only poke holes through his vessel so that he could whittle away his power source.

Confidence returned to Chaos as he smiled widely, "Then behold and despair."

As soon as he said that, a few hundred Deities started shrieking in pain and convulsed uncontrollably.

At that moment, the whole flow of the battlefield stopped to watch the black nerves on the Deities of Chaos' side expand and cover their whole skin before slowly melting into a black goo and shooting toward Chaos.

Only silence reigned as Kisuke himself went into a defensive stance to see what was going on, hiding the glee he was feeling behind a poker face.

"Fuhahahaha!" Chaos' laughter filled the silence as the black goo reached him and fused with him seamlessly and giving him a feeling of extreme ecstasy. And while all of these are happening, everyone could feel the weakening aura of Chaos begin to climb up to peak once again, as if he was not exerting himself at all.

The Deities on Chaos' side watched in horror with some of them fleeing the battlefield. Without any more will to fight, they all wondered if their fate would be reduced to mere 'food' too.

As soon as he recovered, the first thing Chaos did was erect a barrier around Kisuke and himself against outside interference. Chaos knew how this would result in them stopping this war after he 'ate' them and secured their perimeter to prevent Kisuke's helpers from assisting his opponent, "Shall we begin the next round?"

With renewed vigor, Chaos rushed towards Kisuke and created at least a hundred 'arms' from his back with their tips as sharp as a razor blade.

Kisuke gritted his teeth and retreated while defending himself from numerous blades that could prove fatal. He still tried modifying the 'arms' but Chaos could create them faster than Kisuke could destroy them because without a doubt, he was really already at his limit and the majority of his ability was already dedicated to keeping himself alive.

[To survive this, you have to get back what was stolen from you. You don't have to defeat him, just get what you need first!] Benihime reminded him.

[As much as I'd like to, I can't find it. He's not something I can fully understand with just a few minutes of clashing.]

[Didn't you research those strange beasts from his void? Didn't you get anything from it?]

[I did, but I already used my knowledge of that on something.]

Benihime became confused and wanted to ask when. However, she kept her question as she saw something more confusing. Chaos still had this wildly excited and crazed expression on his face as he brandished his weapons at Kisuke. What's confusing is that he's slow and to someone on a similar level of perception as Kisuke, Chaos' movement had become slow and was still slowing down.

Kisuke guessed what Benihime wanted to ask before and grinned, [Before it all began.]

Chaos also noticed the discrepancy but from his point of view, Kisuke suddenly became faster and faster until he couldn't keep up by creating new 'arms', '...What's going on? How does he have enough energy to move like that?'

So when Kisuke decided to disengage, Chaos let him go since he didn't understand how he was still losing, 'I'll use that again. I doubt he still has the energy to modify that.'

But just as Chaos was about to cast the technique that had almost killed Kisuke for the third time, he saw Kisuke grinning at him while pointing at him.

Confused, Chaos followed where his finger specifically pointed but as soon as he saw it, Chaos' mind froze.

Without his knowledge, his left leg had fallen off and the stump was melting, "!?"

Chaos immediately tried recreating his leg and wondered when he was hit but just as he did that, he saw his right arm and right leg detach themselves and fall, "...What?"

Soon, it wasn't just his humanoid form but also his 'arms' were slowly melting and Chaos couldn't do anything to prevent it as he finally noticed that he was being drained faster than before and there was no sign of it stopping.

Kisuke didn't let go of this chance and cut him into pieces. Chaos wanted to defend, but found that he was too fast for him, 'What happened!?'

He tried regenerating but he couldn't seem to put himself together effectively, "What's happening!!!?" Chaos' head was flung off yelling in anger.

"Poison~" Kisuke gleefully answered him.

"...Poison?" After some effort, Chaos managed to get a semblance of himself, "Impossible! I removed the poison from those Deities!"

Kisuke chuckled at him and said, "You really are an idiot. Removing the poison from the food doesn't mean the food is safe to eat. It's a poison that's specifically crafted to create another poison. You're just dumb for not thinking of the possibility that your food may have gone bad even if you cleaned it."

Chaos wanted to curse at Kisuke, but he couldn't keep his form anymore. And as he slowly melted into black goo, Kisuke continued, "Your next move, Chaos-san~ Or is it already checkmate?"

Editors:

28th00: I expected something like this to happen when he ate the gods. Now lets hope Kisuke can get his missing pieces back soon enough.

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Chapter 1069 A New Neighbor | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon

AN: Thank you for waiting~! Thus, Volume 15 ended.

Thank you for waiting~!



The barrier around them collapsed like a tall broken pane of glass crashing downwards and Chaos couldn't do anything about the collapse of his own body until there was only a five-inch wide eyeball with a red pupil surrounded by a thick dark mist left.

Kisuke's smile disappeared when he saw this and immediately tried cutting it into two. However, his sword only went through it as if he slashed at nothing. He then used Benihime's modification ability to at least cut it open but neither Kisuke nor Benihime couldn't 'find' this eye. It's as if it's not existing at all.

[Cease your futile attempt.] Kisuke heard Chaos' voice inside his head, only this time, in a much calmer or even apathetic tone, [You've won. I can no longer proceed with my plans.]

"You discarded everything and only left the most essential part?" Kisuke guessed that this is the real Chaos and the Chaos earlier is just a manifestation through 'eating' various things endlessly.

The eye stared down on him but Kisuke could only feel a bit of irritation from it akin to splashing juice on his new clothes, [You've won but I'll continue living and return to get what's truly mine while you'll be remembered as someone who sacrificed himself to fend me off.]

"Sacrificed myself? I'm sorry but I'm not heroic enough to do something so selfless."

[Stop pretending. I know that the moment that form of yours is broken, you won't be able to keep yourself alive anymore. After all, I ate more than half of what makes you, including the very essence of your existence.]

Kisuke became silent. He already tried pushing his regeneration but there was no response from it as he expected, 'There's no need to regenerate because there's nothing missing. I, as I am now, am 'complete' that the regeneration isn't kicking in.'

And as powerful as his Bankai is, all modifications it has done were just temporary alterations and reality will correct itself once the influence of his power disappears. Benihime knew this so that's why she was more obsessed with the desire to kill Chaos and taking back what was stolen than Kisuke. And now that she finally realized why Tiamat and Kisuke repeatedly affirmed that Chaos couldn't be killed, she became a bit desperate, [Oi, Kisuke! You came here knowing a way to eliminate him, right? If so, do it now! You're already at your limit and he's about to leave!]

Kisuke ignored Benihime and replied to Chaos, "Good job noticing that, but aren't you too confident? Who knows, I might just pull out a miracle and suddenly cut you."

[You of all people know that for a miracle to happen, there has to be a basis for it.] Chaos started floating and the space above them began quivering. Ophis, Flanna, and Lilith were trying to keep it closed, but Chaos' return to the void was the natural order of things and couldn't be stopped, [You had two chances for that miracle to demonstrate itself. One is already long gone and the other one is still sleeping deep within the Dungeon, both of which are already far too late to utilize.]

Chaos was so confident that nothing would be able to touch him that he revealed the only things that could work against him.

Kisuke, meanwhile, completely agreed with his confidence. After a few moments of observation, he guessed that he was in a state where the boundaries between real and unreal were blurred to the extreme. If he were to continue his conjecture, Kisuke speculated that Chaos' existence itself was deeply ingrained in the void where he's residing most of the time and without cutting this connection, Chaos would just return again and again.

However, this is something that Kisuke already expected from studying the beasts of the void from long ago. Since Benihime kept shouting at his consciousness, it was about time to pull out his last card, 'I didn't really want to leave my fate to others since I already died once by doing just exactly that... But I guess I don't really have a choice anymore.'

Kisuke snapped his fingers and the quivering space stopped and five golden lights suddenly shot up from the ruins of Orario to the vast expanse of space before a thin golden barrier connected the lights, "Negacion."

Chaos looked around and felt the space around them closing off. The barrier was even stronger than what he'd erected earlier and was designed to secure a perimeter. However, he could also see that it wouldn't last long as its strength is proportional to its longevity, [What's the point of this? To keep me here longer? Will you attempt waking up Null? I'm sorry to break it to you because even if you could open her eyes, she'd just destroy everything in this world while birthing more monsters. She's not exactly in a state where you could reason with her.]

If Chaos had a head, Kisuke would've been able to see him sneer. Nevertheless, he ignored his reaction and pulled out a dagger that was somehow kept safe.

Benihime always wondered what this dagger was and why it gave her a very bad feeling, but only after Kisuke pulled it out of its hilt did she finally understand what he had been hiding, [Kisuke!!! You bastard!!!]

Kisuke only chuckled at Benihime's uproar and said, "Just think of it as my ticket to save myself."

[Kuh!!! No!!! But still...] Benihime couldn't make up her mind, [AAHHHH!!! I'll cut you up later!]

"It's true that I can't do any miracles, but creating the foundation for one? I'd like to call myself an expert on that." Kisuke then let go of Benihime and his Bankai was withdrawn. As soon as it disappeared, the strings that were keeping Kisuke together also disappeared and as an extension, his Shunko was also dispelled, leaving him in a state ever closer to death.

Chaos thought that he'd already given up, but the smile on Kisuke's half-face didn't disappear as he continued to broadcast his intent, [Say hi to your new neighbor, Benihime. Descend, Tiamat!]

The dagger in his hand melted into a black substance, but unlike Chaos' black goo, it was Tiamat's black sea. It then reformed itself into a longsword with a soft greenish sheen on its double edged blade and the pommel was reminiscent of Tiamat's Dragon horns.

Chaos knew what that longsword's existence meant and hurriedly flew up while desperately trying to open the space, [HOW!!!?]

Without the Shunko's and Benihime's support, Kisuke immediately lost his focus, and his senses rapidly dimmed as he plunged down. But with all of his remaining strength, he threw his longsword and saw it hit the bullseye before losing consciousness, 'I hope this won't be the last time I'll be sleeping.'

Editors:

28th00: So that's where Tiamat ended up? Benihime no longer has dominion over his soul, huh? Made her his own personal bootleg Sacred Gear+Zanpakuto thing I can't remember the name of… Soul Device? Soul Gear? I mean, she even fits his theme! That theme being "Life", sorta. It's complicated.

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End of Volume 15 Chapter 1070 Pitiful End | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon



Benihime, who fell first, transformed into her humanoid form and caught the already unconscious and bleeding out Kisuke.

After covering his wounds with her strings, she sent one of them to his heart to help it keep beating. But despite that, the signs of life were rapidly leaving Kisuke's body.

Benihime was gritting her teeth when she heard someone banging on the barrier. When she turned, she saw Yoruichi shouting, "Benihime! How is he!?" As much as Yoruichi wanted to enter, Negacion doesn't just strengthen the space it is protecting but also disrupts its real location so any space warping and teleportation isn't doable in the short term. She could use Le Fay's teleportation but that required the target to be awake.

"Not good." Benihime answered shortly before looking up at the eyeball stabbed by a longsword, "We can only hope that she'll be able to do it fast."

[Tiamat!!! You! How are you alive!!!?] The eyeball screamed in panic while trying to get away from the longsword.

From the exquisite handle, appeared a flawless hand, and from that, a young girl with light blue hair, a small chest, pink eyes with star-like pupils, and prominent horns manifested. She wore a small blouse with two long sleeves that covered her hands and as she swung the longsword in her hand, the previously invulnerable Chaos was cut, [AHHHHH!!!]

A pain that was unimaginable for the invincible 'Father' of all Deities and crushed his fantasy that he was eternal, [Tiamat!!! No!!!] Just as he mentioned earlier, there are only two beings that could hurt him and those two are his masters that he slowly poisoned for eons using his own body for his own ambitions.

The young girl, Tiamat, didn't listen to his words and further cut him up into multiple pieces before skewering each and every part into the longsword. As someone who came close to Chaos' existence to save herself, Tiamat was also able to be on the same wavelength as him and hurt him, [AHHHHHHHH!!! IT HURTS!!!! STOP!!!] Despite his current state, Chaos was still alive and well.

Still, Tiamat didn't listen to his pleas and opened her mouth before taking a bite at the diced-up eyeball, [AHHH!!! STOP!!! STOP IT NOW!!! TIAMAT!!! PLEASE!!! MASTER!!! FORGIVE ME!!!]

Hearing him call her master after eons invoked memories of the past in Tiamat when she was still traveling through various worlds with her precious twin sister, Null. Their adventure was full of ups and downs and lasted for an uncountable number of generations. But all in all, it was a fun and fulfilling experience and that made the sister want to nurture a world too.

However, their misfortune began when the naive sisters trusted a being that promised would help them in managing the said world after threatening them that most of the creators fail on what they do and only ended up creating a dead world.

Not wanting their creations, which would essentially become their children, to crush and destroy themselves, Tiamat and Null accepted the being's offer and found a remote corner of the universe to get started.

With Null's incredible power, she gathered the required materials and created the 'Souls' and 'Flesh'. With Tiamat's marvelous power, the flow of 'Souls' and 'Flesh' was created along with shaping the land all these living things would walk on.

And with both of their powers combined along with sacrificing some of their own essence, they granted these 'Souls' and 'Flesh' their own power, hence, the Deities were created.

Tiamat and Null had already noticed the look of jealousy and greed from the being that was helping them and that they should have been more careful. However, they didn't believe that he'd betray them and their attention was on their 'children'. It took a very long time, but the world managed to stand on its own and the advice of the being helped them along the way which made it harder for them not to trust him.

Soon, these 'children' of theirs also began shaping the world on their own values and image. The twins didn't know how it came to be, but these 'children' came upon children of their own. But while investigating this wondrous event, they lost their sense of self and to protect their minds, they accepted what was given to them in an attempt to control it, 'No... That isn't right. We didn't lose ourselves. We already forgot about it.'

[NOOO!!! MASTER!!! FORGIVE ME!!!]

Tiamat was pulled away from her already fragmented thoughts and memories when she heard Chaos' final scream for forgiveness and there was only a piece of it remaining on the sword. Not even acknowledging him, Tiamat ate the last piece while listening to its last words which were only equivalent to random noises for her. She should have felt resentment and anger, but even those feelings were already eroded by the flow of time. She appreciated that she's still alive along with her sister, who's still suffering, but she's not at all happy that she still exists.

.

.

.

Kisuke opened his eyes and immediately noticed that he was incredibly weakened, 'But my body is in one piece. Looks like my bet paid off.'

But then, he recalled something and he thought that this is familiar, 'Wait... I didn't reincarnate again, did I?'

Kisuke hurriedly sat up while enduring the aching body and looked around in panic. The first thing he saw was a room with a single bed, cabinet, window, and nothing else. To his right side is his cane and to his left is a wakizashi, a knife that you'd find in yakuza movies.

[...You're pretty energetic for someone who just came back from death.]

"Benihime!"

[...What's with you? Why are you panicking? Oi, Tiamat! Something went wrong! You said you returned everything, but what's this!?]

[I did what I had to do and there shouldn't be any problems. Perhaps something went wrong that I'm not aware of?] Another young-sounding voice answered Benihime.

[What was that!? Weren't you very confident earlier to the point that your ugly horns were about to fly?]

[!? My horns are heavy but they are not ugly! What about you?! You're too smelly with all that blood on you! Get away from me!]

[What was that, you old hag pretending to be young!?]

[Still better than someone pretending to be a proper lady!]

It looks like the two blades were about to cut each other so Kisuke said something, "Looks like the two of you are getting along rather well."

Immediately after saying this, Kisuke could feel the heat from the two blades but he only sighed in relief after feeling Yoruichi and the other's aura rushing towards him, 'That's one problem solved, but I have a feeling that there are more coming my way...' He's especially worried about his future with these two beside him.

Editors:

28th00: Larval Tiamat… stage 2 I think? That's the black blouse with long sleeves one.

Goyya: For those who are wondering what she looks like,



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Volume 16 Chapter 1071 Payback part 1 | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon



Yoruichi came rushing through the door and saw Kisuke smiling at her. Sighing in relief, she slowly walked towards him and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly as if she was very afraid of losing him.

"This isn't like you," Kisuke muttered in her ear while returning the hug.

Yoruichi tightened the hug and said, "Shut up. This is for both of us. Both of us became cowards."

Kisuke chuckled, "I guess that's true... I wonder how Soifon would react if she saw us like this."

"She'd probably treat us as completely different people. But now that you mentioned that, it seems that you've made up your mind." Yoruichi then released Kisuke while also turning to the door, "Let's talk about that later. For now, you have to entertain them."

From the door, girls that are always with him, were waiting.

.

.

.

After a few hours, Kisuke managed to get away from the clamoring girls and came to take a break at a certain spire located at the corner of the academy. Before leaving, they finally told him how long he had been out, 'Three days, huh? I recovered pretty fast considering my state this time.'

[Are we finally going 'home'?]

On Benihime's question, Kisuke didn't immediately answer. There were many reasons why he wanted to return even if he's already pronounced dead on that side, but the main reason was probably attachments. He did everything to protect that world even if it cost him his life and knowing that there was still a ticking time bomb waiting to explode, he couldn't sit still.

Another reason is he wanted to know the secrets behind the Hougyoku, not how it was made, but why something like this was allowed to be made if the creator of Souls was carefully watching everything.

And the final big reason, he wanted insurance.

"If I'm going to do it, I have to do it now while we still have time." Kisuke briefly answered Benihime.

[Isn't this another trip to a 'strange' world? Why are you making it sound like it's any different?]

"Because it is different. The fact that it's very similar to the world where we reincarnated makes it very different from your usual travel."

Tiamat didn't really want to get in the conversation but after seeing Benihime's confused expression, she couldn't help but butt in, [If it's a similar world, including the history, language, and culture, it's not a world within this universe. More likely, it's a world from an alternate reality.] Thanks to her experience crossing worlds countless times, her words have some weight behind them. Although she was interested in their 'home' which seemed to be different from where they came from, she's not interested enough to ask.

"What Tiamat said is true. It's similar enough that we won't be able to find it within this universe no matter how much we tried if the multiverse theory is true. If not for the trace that we left behind, I wouldn't be able to find it. And if you think we'll be able to use Le Fay's Teleportation Magic to circumvent the distance and go back and forth, you'd be wrong since the prerequisite of that Magic is to be in the same plane of existence."

"In other words, if I decided to go, I won't be able to return until I'm done with what I have to do and that could mean years, if not decades."

'No wonder... He would jump to an unknown portal without hesitation but not when the destination is known.', Benihime thought to herself but she was still annoyed that Tiamat had to explain it to her. But if she says something, she'll just be giving her what she wanted, a reason to gloat.

Kisuke wanted to think about this decision more but he saw Sona coming from the outside with a worried expression, 'Did something go wrong with the cleanup?' Kisuke thought as he jumped down from the top of the spire to meet her, "Did something happen?"

"You already know the Human woman who came from Fadir Fedora, Sefaira Seraselbes?" Sona asked.

"Yes. Azazel told me about her existence. What about her?"

Sona shook her head, "No. Let me rephrase it. When did you meet her?"

Kisuke furrowed his brows and answered, "Never... As far as I'm concerned."

"I see." Sona thought about it for a moment before continuing, "I don't really know how to deal with this but Sefaira Seraselbes is insisting on speaking with you privately."

"...Why?"

"No one knows. Even those watching after her are having a hard time because she's apparently quite desperate. Normally, I'd dismiss something like this and investigate the person in question thoroughly but after talking to her, it seems to be quite important that she meet you and that's why I asked you if you already met her on any other occasion."

'Seraselbes... That's the only connection I have on that side. The fact that she's trying to contact me recklessly like this...' Kisuke thought about the friend who saved him from the darkness and immediately asked Sona, "Do you have her on the line?"

Sona nodded and gave him the transmitter that's already connected on the other side.

Kisuke picked it up and didn't mind Sona's presence. Soon, a black-haired woman with green eyes came up. After confirming Kisuke's appearance, the woman immediately said, [Please save the daughter of shadow.]

Kisuke didn't need to hear more and directly disconnected the transmitter while turning to the shocked and confused Sona, "Sona, led me a bit of your Demonic Power. I'm still recovering so I'd like to save as much stamina as possible."

Sona saw Kisuke preparing a Teleportation Magic and asked, "Are you going to be fine alone?"

"I'm already taking a big risk with just me going. I don't want to complicate things more than they should have." All of a sudden, a headache struck Kisuke as if he just received a heavy blunt on his temple, "Urrgg.."

"What's wrong!? Is it the sequelae?"

Kisuke raised his hand to signal that he was fine, "I'm alright. It's just a sign that I have to hurry."

Sona sighed and she helped Kisuke powering the Teleportation Magic he's preparing, "Please be careful. And do tell me what's going on once you're back home."

Kisuke patted her head and gave her a small smile, "Thanks and I will."

A few seconds later, Kisuke disappeared and soon, people started coming to the spot where Sona was standing to ask her what was going on.

.

.

.

Stralit doesn't know how long she has been running within this network of tunnels under the surface of the planet nor she doesn't have any energy to count such a useless thing. What's important for her right now is the number of enemies approaching her and the capsule that still contained the sleeping beauty.

With all the dirt, grime, and tattered clothes on her, even her closest friend wouldn't be able to recognize her for a few seconds of meeting her.

And more importantly, she was already beyond her limit. After the failed attempt of waking up 'John Smith' from his deep slumber, she has been severely depleted due to the weird occurrence where she saved an unknown man that looked like her little friend.

Stralit wanted to leave him in some corner where he wouldn't be found and hope that he'd wake up before someone found him, but because of that instance, he was currently emitting heavy traces of her own energy.

Even then, she was not regretting what she had done as she had just followed the principle of her clan which is treasuring their successors.

'My brother must be looking for me since he'd figured out that they are lying about me... But without any evidence or leads, he won't be able to confront them and could only look for me in secret.'

But while thinking of a way out of this predicament, Stralit suddenly felt something running through her stomach and when she looked down, she saw an iron spear sticking out of her belly, '...Huh?'

The iron spear then left the way it went in and due to its barbed tip, it hooked some flesh and innards.

The sudden pain made Starlit lose her posture and ended up tossing what she was holding as she fell forward, "Ugh!!!"

She hurriedly looked back and saw a familiar man with a nasty smile emerging from the ceiling of the tunnel, "Found you~!"

Editors:

28th00: Yeah, kinda gotta pay her back for that save, don'tcha, Kisuke? THESE NAMES THOUGH! UHG!

Goyya: I can't trust myself with naming stuff, especially alien ones. Here come the name generators.

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Chapter 1072 Payback part 2 | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon



"Ajax... Aurelius..." Stralit slowly muttered as she endured the pain in her stomach and tried to cover it with her hands.

The being in question was a young man with deep brown hair and slightly long ears that swept backward. Although he had this nasty smile on his face, the first thing Stralit notices is that half of his body was connected to the earth of the tunnel. But instead of being buried, his body is that of the earth itself, 'Aurelius' [Mineral Transformation], is it?'

"Wondering why I didn't go for your head?" The man named Ajax slowly emerged out of the ground, "Because you would have dodged it."

Stralit regulated her breathing and stood up to posture herself, "Cut the bullshit. Even if I could dodge, any subsequent attack would have done me in. So what does the young master of the powerful clan Aurelius want with me for you to appear personally?"

"Geez... Can't even do small talk." Ajax let go of the spear and it slowly fused to the ground, disappearing, "But what should I expect from the daughter of one of the most terrifying matriarchs that even the Royal Ones can't ignore."

Stralit stayed silent and glared at the young man. But deep inside, she was panicking because he actually wanted to talk, 'There could be only two things that he wants... To control me and the spot for my successor.'

If it was as she had guessed, then her life was not in danger but she couldn't think the same for the little guy in the capsule.

Stralit wanted to check on his condition after being thrown back but she can't spare any attention to him out of fear that Ajax will notice him.

However, wishes were just wishes. Even if you think about them strongly, most of the time, the world will just ignore one's convenient desires.

After a few seconds of silence from both sides, Ajax's Spiritual Power instantaneously moved and Stralit was not its target.

Stralit hurriedly turned around and used every strength she had in her body to jump. Nevertheless, her battered body couldn't keep up and could only watch the capsule be pierced by multiple earthen spears. Thanks to her ability to see in the dark, Stralit could see flesh and blood that was caught on the tips of the spear and even a small arm that escaped from the capsule without its owner.

"Now this has become more complicated, isn't it? I didn't think that you had already chosen your successor." Ajax casually continued while taking back his spears, "Still, it would be more advantageous for me to take you alive and assign another person to be your successor."

There were another few seconds of silence before Stralit finally reacted without turning around, "How did you think I'd agree to any of your demands?"

In response, Ajax replied with a sneer, "Did you think that we'll do something like this without any preparations? A few centuries is enough to plan things out."

"...That's true, isn't it?"

Stralit's strange tone immediately set off alarms inside Ajax's head and immediately took out the item he prepared for her capture, 'She's tired so she shouldn't be able to do anything else...' However, his accomplice's words rang from her consciousness, [If you ever have to touch a Luxeux's successor, do everything in your power to kill or disable the Luxeux first. They are the most casual in granting the position of successor and anyone could become one, but they are also the worst enemies if you ever hurt their successors.]

And just as he took out the item he'd prepared, Stralit slowly turned around, ignoring the blood spilling out from her stomach, and looked directly at Ajax. Not with his usual bright and beautiful green eyes, but horrifying deep black eyes that swallowed any light.

A chill on the spine immediately woke Ajax up from staring at her eyes but he didn't know when, but there was only darkness around them even with the normally dark tunnels. He tried using his [Mineral Transformation] ability but it seems that he became isolated from the ground and lost her advantage in terrain in an instant, 'How!?'

Without any hesitation, Ajax activated his trump card and a flash of green and white light flooded the tunnel, washing away all the darkness.

Stralit, on the other hand, couldn't believe what she was seeing, "...Lux Sigil...? How and why do you have the Lux Sigil!?" Stralit yelled as all the 'shadow' left her body.

Lux Sigil, the Luxeux Clan's greatest weapon but only for those who could handle and know how to use it which could be counted on two hands. For the rest, it's their greatest weakness that renders them powerless.

Nevertheless, that isn't the biggest problem because these Lux Sigil could only be created by those who could use it and there shouldn't be any way for him to have any of it, '...Unless there's a traitor... And a pretty high up one too.' Stralit thought in despair while watching the light strip her of any power she used in exchange for her own life force.

Seeing Ajax slowly approaching her, she couldn't help but regret it. Regret the fact that she couldn't protect one thing, 'Me in the position of power? How is that any use if I can't do anything I want?' On top of that, she's afraid of what she could end up being if she were to fall into his hands. Because she knew for sure that she wouldn't agree to any of their demands, she was afraid of what they were preparing for her.

She turned around for one last time to peer at the 'corpse' formerly known as John Smith, 'I can't have myself become a detriment to my family.'

In this situation, Stralit was only left with one single choice and that's not giving the enemy any further advantage.

Ajax saw that Stralit's very weak Spiritual Power roused but he panicked when he saw where it was going, 'The head!? She's planning to kill herself!?'

Ajax did his best to dash towards the resolute Stralit in hopes that he could stop her. But as soon as he took the first step, he knew he wasn't going to reach in time, "Damn it!!!"

But because of this tense atmosphere, both Ajax and Stralit failed to notice the Magic Circle that took shape between them, "Gosh... My head is already killing me and then there's this annoying light that's making it way worse."

An out-of-place voice made the two of them momentarily stop what they were doing as they hurriedly turned their heads to their source.

Ajax was taken aback at the sudden appearance of a stranger but that was not important to him as at the moment that Stralit actually stopped her suicide attempt and stared blankly at the newcomer. With a newfound opportunity, Ajax strengthened himself to reach Stralit. But as he was about to pass by the stranger, his world suddenly started spinning, '...Huh?'

While wondering what just happened, he finally felt the immense force that hit his nose and threw him back crashing along the walls of the tunnel.

"Back off, pervert. The lady is scared of you." Kisuke who just appeared while holding his head in pain threw a backhand punch at the young man sporting a rather unpleasant grin.

Editors:

28th00: Ah, Young Master's deserve death 99% of the time, as we've learnt. The Traitors go high in this operation, huh?

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Chapter 1073 Payback part 3 | Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres on Patreon



Kisuke ignored the thrown-off creepy man and grabbed the shining sigil before turning to Stralit who was staring at him strangely, "How do you turn this off?"

Kisuke noticed that the light had a strange effect on the mark that Stralit gave him and it was very annoying as if there was an unreachable itch.

Stralit was very confused about what was happening but she knew that the man who appeared was exactly the man who she saved from the void. For the lack of any better response, Stralit grabbed the sigil and manipulated her spiritual power to turn it off.

After that, Stralit wanted to ask him things but Kisuke suddenly walked off and the direction he was going is the capsule that was punctured many times and with blood still spilling out of them, "W-where are you going!?"

Stralit tried to stand up but in addition to her wound, she was really fully depleted now that she can't even reasonably move her muscles. Even then, she didn't give up and crawled towards the capsule, "What are you doing!?" She shouted after seeing Kisuke pry open the capsule and reveal its mangled content.

Kisuke ignored her as he wanted to resolve his throbbing head first. He reached out for [John Smith's] corpse and absorbed the scattered parts of his soul that were originally embedded in this specially crafted Gigai. In normal times, these scattered parts were not a problem for Kisuke, but because he was still in the middle of recovery from a very intense battle, it affected him to the point that the manifestation of the physical pain wouldn't leave Kisuke and it was actually very challenging to endure.

It was a relatively simple operation that would ease some of the pain Kisuke was feeling but in Stralit's eyes, she saw the strange man suddenly emit an identical spiritual signature as John Smith which should've been impossible even with the cloning technology they had, '...Unless...'

Kisuke finished absorbing the soul he left in the Gigai and the Gigai itself immediately turned to dust. Not letting go of such a good specimen, he kept the dust in a sealed container after filtering out the impurities that mixed in when it 'died'.

He then let out a long breath while muttering to himself, "...So much better~"

Kisuke then turned to the stunned Stralit and thought while approaching her, 'She must have already guessed what's going on.' And when he reached her, Kisuke held out his hand and initiated a Kaidou(Healing Kidou).

As soon as the soft green light wrapped around Stralit's wound, a warm and calming feeling that she hadn't been able to experience inside these tunnels washed over her mind, giving in further to the weakness of her body, "I can only close the wound. You'd have to be properly treated for your internal injuries. Will you be safe once you reach the surface?"

Stralit nodded, "Y-yes. My brother should be looking for me. Once they figure out my location, they'll be able to counterattack."

Kisuke looked up and tried to scan the surroundings with his Reiatsu-Ki but failed to penetrate the surface, 'There's a barrier blocking any information going in and out.'

And while he was busy analyzing the situation, a patch of earth from the left moved and the young man Kisuke just punched away silently emerged with a silver spear in his left hand and an expression full of rage. As silent as he appeared, he thrust his spear directly into Kisuke's head.

But although it went through his head, there was no resistance and soon, Kisuke's image disappeared along with the appearance of killing intent on his right.

Without any concern, Kisuke slashed down at his assailant's torso after using Flash Step and successfully bisecting him in the stomach. But unlike what he was expecting, the creepy young man's body turned into dirt, and suddenly felt his presence on top of him. Unescorted by hesitation, Kisuke drove his blade upwards and pierced the young man's temple who suddenly appeared.

Kisuke already expected the result but was still a bit surprised that the young man, once again, turned into dirt and feeling his presence reappearing some distance into the tunnel, 'I can't hurt him physically, huh? But my punch worked.'

"It's no use." Stralit was able to recover a bit and was able to find the strength to sit up, "As long as you can't separate him from the earth, it'll be hard to hurt him."

"And what if I destroy everything in here? I can still feel his presence lurking."

Stralit was taken aback at his sudden proposal for violence and immediately shook her head, "No. In that form, any competent member of the Aurelius Clan would be able to escape an indiscriminate destruction. And please don't hurt these tunnels. They are a form of Magic Circuit that maintains the livelihood of this planet.

"If you're going to help me by sacrificing the livelihood of innocent people, then please forget about me and escape. As long as you can bring the news outside, I'll be fine to be buried here."

Kisuke scratched his head, 'Was she always this headstrong?' But to be fair, Kisuke hasn't really known her for long and he hasn't seen her be in a desperate situation. Sighing, Kisuke continued to think, 'I would be able to easily deal with him if I were to use Bankai but that's impossible in my current state. And I don't really want to reveal anything that would further link my connection to Earth. Having Luxeux-san see all of this is already a big risk for me.'

[You can use me.]

All of a sudden, Tiamat proposed.

'...Now that I think about it, I still don't know your abilities. Unlike a normal Zanpakuto, I have to learn all your abilities manually.'

[Would you like a complete instruction manual or just a hint?] Tiamat asked even though she already knew the answer.

'The hint please~'

[I was once called the Governor of Elements.]

Benihime didn't say anything because she knew her limits and she didn't want to embarrass herself by over evaluating herself.

At the same time, the young man's voice resounded throughout the tunnel, "...Who are you?"

Ajax was done observing and figured out that Kisuke was 'weak' thanks to the fluctuation of his Spiritual Power. However, he's still very wary of his presence because he's obviously not an Etoulde like him and Stralit but still could take advantage of Spiritual Power.

Editors:

28th00: The tutorial fight for a new mechanic!

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