Chapter 197

[I'm not sleeping tonight.]

According to Ddraig, boosting himself while in his variant Juggernaut Drive would take away his lifeforce. He had temporarily ignored that issue, but today, he would solve it.

[Goku was always ahead of Vegeta. I will not disgrace him by remaining behind Igor.]

In the name of Goku, he would surpass Igor. By fire or by force.

.

|DxD|

.

August 20, 1999 (Friday)

.

It was a lovely Friday morning. No weird weather phenomena happened. Everything was back to normal. Apart from schools, most businesses had reopened and mothers used this opportunity to take their children out to play on this nice Friday.

A few kilometres from town however, while people would be feeling energetic, it was the complete opposite for a certain blonde.

BAM!

As the door suddenly opened, it revealed a very haggard Igor.

"Haaaaaa...…haaaaaa…"

Igor walked with heavy steps out of the house. His hand was on his stomach, his other hand holding onto the doorway for support.

"Aaaaah…I ate too much."

There was nothing more that he wanted than sleep right now, but it was still morning. Sleeping while everyone was up was something his father would kill him for if he did. So with a heavy heart, he trudged out of the house.

"Maybe…some training…will help."

But it was no use. His eyelids were getting heavy. The paved pathway was looking about as comfortable as a high-class suite in his eyes.

"..."

Barely a few metres from the door, he fell to his knees.

"Maybe…"

He slowly lied down, uncaring that bits of rabble were hanging onto his clothes.

"...a few minutes. Just five. Just…"

He yawned heavily as he laid on his arms.

"...five."

Closing his eyes, he placated himself by saying he would train his mindscape.

[Father will understand.]

Wherever he is, he hoped he would. In fact, it would be better if his father couldn't see him. Only God knew what sort of colourful words he'd receive if his father was indeed watching over him.

.

|DxD|

.

In an ever-expanding field of grass, Igor slowly appeared in a…

"...what is this?"

It was a mess. Everything was a mess. It was as if someone tried combining a rocky desert and a volcanic region into one biome. Giant boulders were as common as the snakes of lava flowing across the ground.

How a giant prairie fire had not erupted had more to do with the little girl manipulating the lava.

"..."

Oblivious to his arrival, Triny was hard at work. After Igor's insistence, she had taken to learning how to use her abilities again. Expertly manipulating the lava, she shaped it into a giant sword that began cutting apart the rocks.

"Die Igor!"

Shiiing!

Thinking of that pig-headed brute who abused her for three days straight, she imagined that instead of giant boulders, it was him that she was cutting.

Like a never-ending dance, she gripped her giant lava sword with both hands and continued slashing. By masterfully manipulating chakra to her feet, she was able to control her speed and balance.

Su! …Shiiing!

Waving the dozen-metre sword like a stick, she sliced apart the last boulder when a content smile formed on her face.

"Hmph! Take that, meanie."

Admiring the sight of over a hundred boulders sliced apart, Triny felt that her grievances had now been aired out. With a flick of her finger, her lava sword floated away from her before it turned into formless lava.

Tensing her face in concentration, she manipulated the wind and the water vapour to rapidly cool the blob of lava. She knew of a rock called obsidian and she wanted to create it. But that had to be done quickly and carefully.

The seconds passed gracefully. The lava was turning into a glassy substance. It was working. She was succee-

"Boo."

"Ahh!"

Disturbed in her concentration, a delay happened and without any qualms, the lava exploded when it wasn't cooled quickly enough.

Su!

BOOOM!

The massive explosion raised dirt and gravel into the air, obscuring the view with a giant dust cloud. A few hundred metres away, Igor stood with Triny in his arms, a coy grin on his face.

"Morning, old hag."

"..."

Triny couldn't respond. She watched her hard work go out in a literal explosion. And it was all because of the stupid blonde holding her like a hostage.

"Meanie! I'll bite you! I'll bite you to death!!"

Immediately, she chomped on his arm with razor-like teeth. Regretfully, her teeth couldn't break through his skin, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try.

"Hahahaha. Who said you must imagine me when you cut those rocks, huh?"

"Nngggh!"

Growling, Triny didn't pay his question any heed. She ravenously shook her head, eager to tear off a part of that shamelessly thick skin she had come to resent.

"Ow ow ow ow ow!"

Tensing at the sudden pain, Igor cried out in pain as he let go. It didn't matter if she chomped down. But if she began shaking her head like that, then she would really tear him a new one.

"Hmph!"

Landing on the ground after letting go, Triny was immensely proud of her accomplishment. Turning around to face him with a triumphant grin, she gloated.

"That will teach you to mess with me, meanie."

Rubbing his sore arm, Igor grumbled quietly.

"Sheesh. People her age would kill to have proper teeth. Where did she get those nasty chompers?"

"..."

Black aura slowly formed around her when she angrily lashed out.

"Meanie!"

Black tentacles came out of the ground, all of them Igor to trap this blonde idiot so that their mistress could rip out that nasty tongue of his.

"?!"

Su!

With splendid reaction speed, Igor retreated a dozen metres in one step, his eyes widening at the onslaught of tentacles.

He hastily raised his hand in surrender while the other held his core.

"Wait, Triny! My stomach hurts. I'm not alright!"

Furiously, she ignored him as she manipulated a mass of tendrils to descend upon him like a giant spear.

"I don't care! Just die!"

BOOOM!

.

|DxD|

.

Outside his mindscape, Igor lay on the floor with a trace of sweat dripping from his brows. Next to him were Asia and Akeno looking at him with curiosity. Akeno had knelt down next to his head, her finger idly fiddling around with a strand of his hair.

Asia was standing with a stick in her hand. Her gaze was filled with pure curiosity and befuddlement.

"Is big brother okay?"

"I don't know, Sia. Mama said he did eat a lot."

"..."

Slowly, Asia reached out with her stick and poked his stomach.

*Poke* *Poke*

"Mmmm…"

Asia stopped when he groaned, but her amused smile didn't stop widening.

"Hihi~. Big brother is making funny faces."

"Don't laugh, Asia. Onii-chan isn't alright."

His face steadily got covered in cold sweat. Was he sick? Akeno didn't know.

"Wait for me here, Asia."

Standing up, she spread her wings and flew up to the second floor where she entered through an open window.

"..."

Asia watched in wonder.

[I wonder if I can also have pretty wings like that.]

Soon enough, Asia came out the window with a wet towel in her hand. Jumping down, she landed deftly before she made her way to Igor. Kneeling down, she twisted out the remaining water in the towel before she slowly wiped his face.

His body shivered from the sudden contact, but gradually calmed down.

"I think big brother is conip…constitae…consta…um…"

"Constipated, Asia."

"Right! Constiplated."

"..."

Resisting the urge to chuckle at how her new little sister fumbled the word, Akeno gently continued pressing the towel on Igor's forehead. It was surprising how much he was sweating.

"Maybe you're right, Asia. Maybe onii-chan is constipated. Mama did say that he ate a lot."

Thinking of the mountains of bowls that littered the kitchen table, she was sure that she would never be able to eat so much.

"I know, right? There must've been like a hundred bowls or something, Akeno."

"Yeah. Onii-chan eats a lot. And you too, Asia."

"Waaah? N-No. I don't eat a lot, you know?"

"..."

"..."

Blushing under Akeno's deadpan gaze, the little blonde muttered.

"Alright. Just…just a little more than…normal people."

"Hihi~."

Giggling, Akeno was about to say more when suddenly, she noticed that black marks were covering Igor's body.

"Waa!"

She instinctively backpedalled away. Seeing rivers of ink spread across his skin momentarily frightened her.

"Big brother!"

Unlike Akeno, Asia rushed forward when Igor was attacked by these black marks. With her sacred gear manifesting, she grabbed his arm and tried healing him.

"Ow!"

She did not expect that the moment she touched him, there would be a burning sensation in her hand. Swiftly letting go, she darted back as tears clouded her eyes.

"B-Big brother?"

She stood aimlessly, unsure of what to do. On the other hand, Akeno reacted quickly.

"MAMA! MAMA HELP!"

At her screams, not even a moment passed before Shuri and Aurelia appeared one after the other.

Su! Su!

Shuri's eyes scanned the clearing before they finally settled on Igor.

"..."

Her mouth twitched when she saw Igor lying on the ground like a drunk. From her position, she couldn't see the marks on his face and hands since clothes covered the rest of his body.

"Aurelia-san…?"

Aurelia was walking around Igor with a curious gaze before she smiled. Leaning down, she took his limp arm, peeled back the sleeve, and showed Shuri the markings.

"Fret not. This is a state that my lord has managed to attain recently. These markings are a byproduct of accessing that state."

She calmly explained everything in simple terms, ensuring that everyone understood. Some questions were asked, but she specified that even she either wasn't clear or couldn't say without his permission

In the midst of their conversation, a sudden change happened.

Fuush!

Igor opened his eyes, but he wasn't focused on them. Immediately standing up, his eyes focused far into the distance like a predator's.

Slowly, a golden aura formed around him, a grin spreading on his face.

"Atid is here."

Saying those words, he suddenly vanished from sight without an explanation.

Su!

It was only a while later that far off into the distance, a massive clash of fists was heard.

BOOOOM!

.

AN

.

Let me take this opportunity to officiate my schedule. Six chapters a week are the baseline. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are the preferred update times. Sometimes, I'll upload on Sunday and Monday depending on how free I am since I do have work built up that has to be done every Sunday. Unless due to extremely extenuating circumstances, three days will not pass by without me updating.

If you're interested in reading ahead, you can visit the site of patrons.

Until the next chapter.