51

I was already flagging. It was challenging to keep myself awake, and I had already been forced to pinch myself multiple times in an attempt to stay awake.

It was useless as while I had a semblance of nerves Alter Self didn't create actual insides, so the sensation was less the jolt it had been before I found the Grimoire and more like a typical pinch which did not suffice to wake me up.

Blinking my eyes, I looked around blearily and saw that many of the other concertgoers had drifted off or were close to it. The song was quite nice, and while good as a melody to put somebody to sleep, to put an entire crowd to sleep was something else.

Shaking my head, I saw the two figures from the outskirts moving through the crowd, occasionally stopping to grab something from a sleeping concertgoer. They would then tuck it away and move on to the next victim.

My mind moved slowly through what was happening and eventually settled on what was likely the case. These two people had planned with the musicians to put everybody to sleep and then rob them blind.

That theory was proven false when I looked over at the musicians, who were just as baffled as I was. I pushed myself up on my parasol and noticed that Komainu was darting over to me and whispering while watching the two figures robbing people.

"What's happening? Wriggle, and Crino fell asleep all of a sudden." She asked as I started shuffling towards the entrance trying not to catch the attention of the two thieves.

"I don't know, but I believe it is time to go," I replied, then stifled a curse as I slipped slightly and saw the person with blond hair spin around to look at me.

Flying over she laughed. "So we have a human attempting to escape!" She said with a cruel mirth filling her voice. "Give up all your valuables, and I'll let you leave unharmed." She then extended her hand out in anticipation.

"Sod off." I rasped as I leaned heavier on my parasol while peering at her. I didn't want to fight, but I wasn't letting her rob me without a fight.

In response to my statement Komainu who was strangely unaffected by the effect that had put everybody else to sleep stood in front of me and stretched out her arms to prevent this person from getting at me.

Looking down her nose at Komainu, the girl scoffed. "You think that a simple youkai can stop me?" She asked with her voice filled with arrogance. She then darted down in front of Komainu and grabbed her shirt.

Pulling on it, she used her strength to attempt to move Komainu; however, she was incapable as the guardian dog stood firm and pushed back.

Her face scrunched up in rage as she stopped attempting to move the youkai and removed her left hand from the shirt. She then turned her hand around and backhanded Komainu causing her to stumble and allowing the girl to throw her out of the way.

The tiredness melted away as I heard the crack of flesh meeting flesh, and I stood tall, looking down at the small figure who had just assaulted Komainu.

"I was going to allow you the opportunity to leave us alone," I said as my not-inconsiderable temper was immediately hit into overdrive by her assault; it was only enhanced by the state my soul gem was in now, and it was only the fact that I would be forced to flee and Komainu would have to leave her friends behind.

Scoffing, the girl flipped her strange ringlet-styled hair while talking to me. "You don't know who you are facing, do you, human." She said while spitting the word human like it was a curse. I simply tilted my head as my rage bubbled and grew while I allowed her to continue digging a deeper hole.

"I'm Joon Yorigami and a Pestilance God!" She boasted while striking a pose. "So I will allow you the chance mortal to hand over all your valuables, and then I'll leave you alone." She counited with a nasty smirk on her face.

"You hurt my sister!" I shrieked as I raised my parasol. "The only way your getting out of this is in a fucking morgue, you blond Arschloch!" I spat out before opening the Gate of Babylon and firing standard swords toward her. If they hit people, it would be painful, but Spell Cards would prevent their demise.

Dodging back, Joon shouted towards the other girl. "It looks like we got a fighter!" She continued while laughing. "You know the drill Shion so hope to it!" While she talked, I teleported inside her guard and Reinforced myself before slamming my parasol into her side.

The blow sent her flying into a wall with a crack and a few ribs broken. I was then forced to teleport to the side as a strange purple mist flew through where I was just floating.

Turning around, I snarled as I raised my hand and sent out another flurry of blades as I opened the Gate wider. Flinching back, Shion barely managed to drop down under the spread of weapons.

"You can't win." Boatsed Joon as she removed herself from the wall. "You'll just trip fall and crack your head open soon enough." However, despite her bravado, I could tell she was still hurt as she clutched her ribs and floated away from me.

I didn't care what she was saying and readied myself for another attack. However, I was stopped as I saw Komainu struggling to her feet. With a flick of my parasol, I sent her back home and out of the way of the fighting.

Turning back to face Joon, I raised my parasol again and summoned half a dozen Gaster Blasters. They were expensive, and I was forced to drain more Dust that had grown around my body in order to keep myself relatively topped up.

Firing more blades to corner her, I ignored the Grimoire growing as the Gaster Blasters fired their massive beams. Joon managed to dodge four of them. However, the other two scored direct hits and sent her flying out of the building.

Teleporting behind Shion, I swung my parasol again, this time into her head, causing her to stumble in the air. Shaking her head, she flicked her wrist and summoned more of the purple mist.

I didn't want to give her a chance to get back on the offense, so I opened several gaps and allowed the Carcass Spark's flame to spill out and consume the mist. Flinching away from the burning flame as it nipped at her, I forced the fire down but allowed it to keep swirling around her.

"Since you didn't hurt my sister," I said while pointing my parasol at her. "You can leave, I don't particularly care what you do, and I promise you'll get your sister back."

Her head darted back and forth from me to the hole where her sister had flown out of before her shoulders slumped, and she whispered. "Alright."

Nodding, I pushed the flames back inside the Gap and flew to where Joon had landed. Coughing the Pestilence God was climbing to her feet.

She was covered with burns, and her clothing was in tatters, but despite all of that, she was still a god, which meant she was almost impossible to put her down for good.

Landing in front of her, I jammed my parasol into her chest, knocking her back down to the ground with another cough expelled from her lips.

"Now, Joon," I said, my tone underlay with a mountain of rage. "I'm going to give you one chance; you can leave. I never want to see you again." She rolled over on her back and chuckled before spitting at me.

"If you think I'm just gonna give up, you're an idiot." She said, her voice interspaced with gasps of pain. "'Sides, you can't kill me; just hurt me, so I'll still be the last one laughing when you trip and fall." The last part was shouted towards the mansion, and when she received no reply, she scowled and attempted to get up again.

Placing my parasol between her eyes, I pushed her down again as I opened a gap and allowed the Carcass Sparks flame to emerge and brush over Joon's skin.

She gaped as the fire burned and consumed her skin. Squatting down next to her, I spoke gently. "This is the flame from a dead god, and it consumes everything, that includes divinity."

Standing back up, I continued as I allowed the flame to burn a smidge deeper, causing the blond-haired god to gasp and twitch as she attempted to move but was prevented by my parasol.

"So I want you to leave, and if I ever see you again, I'll test how long it takes for a god to have their divinity burnt away," I said, and when I didn't hear a reply, I pushed my parasol down on her head. "Do you understand?" I said again, my voice like thunder.

Her neck twisted as she attempted to nod, resulting in me releasing the parasol and lifting it on my shoulder. I then heard the whoosh of somebody else approaching.

Turning around, I saw the red-white-clad form of Reimu hovering above me with a stick with white talismans attached to the head of the strange weapon.

"Hello, Miss Reimu," I said, giving her a nod as the shrine maiden floated down to meet me. "Is there going to be a fight?" She asked as I could see her preparing for combat, and despite witnessing the state of Joon, she didn't appear to be worried.

"No, I already got my pound of flesh," I said before I raised my hand and pointed at the mansion. "Shion is inside. They both were robbing people." Finished with my statement, I twisted my parasol to open a portal back home.

"Have a good day, Miss Reimu," I said as I stepped through the portal and closed it behind me. Ignoring the sounds of her stalking towards the twitching form of Joon. Striding through the field of sunflowers, I emerged from my house to see Komainu surrounded by my simulacrum.

"Out of the way!" I shouted as I strode over to the sniffling form of my sister. Sitting down, I enveloped her in a tight hug and started talking. "You know, I think I realized something," I said as her sniffles slowed, and she looked up at me with her blue-grey eyes so similar to my own.

"What?" She asked as my rage fell away, and I breathed in as a lump in my throat grew. "You're my sister," I said in a rushed tone before speaking more. "I'm just your brother, not master or anything else. I hope you can see it that way."

Looking up at me, tears burst from her eyes as she squeezed me harder, and I allowed myself to relax. I had plenty of time, and she needed this to compensate for the awful concert.

Soon I heard gentle snoring as she drifted off to sleep. Picking her up, I saw the other simulacrum looking at us with wry grins and smirks, ready to mock me. However, those smiles faded into sad ones as they looked at the slumbering form of Komainu and walked away.

Carrying her inside, I gently set her on the bed and tucked her in as the Grimoire pulsed and grew. I needed to check my Grimoire and see what had given me such a large boost in power. I doubt the fight with Shion and Joon would have gone so well if I hadn't gotten the power up.

Sitting down at the table, I summoned the Grimoire to my hand and ran a thumb over it while thinking. I didn't know how I had stumbled across it. All I knew was that several people had worked together to make it, and they were being opposed by the Outsiders.

While that was good, as all the Outsiders wanted was to destroy the world, it didn't help me know why they made the Grimoire and any greater purpose it had.

If they were powerful enough to get Destruction to grant his power or imbue somebody with a fragment of Crimson Moon Brunestud, they had to be incredibly powerful; pushing those thoughts to the side, I flipped open the book to its newest page.

Flipping back a page, I inhaled as I read the title, Fallen Goddess. My breath was in my throat as I continued down the page where it detailed that I now was a former god and would become more powerful as people worshipped me.

I stopped at the part where it described my domains, Magic, Fantasy, and the Moon, with the unholy attribute. Slamming the Grimoire closed, I stood up and started pacing. I had a divine spark, and that had terrible, glorious ramifications. It seemed that while I wasn't a capital G god, I still had a divine spark that would grow as people worshipped me and would likely lead me to full-fledged godhood one day.

What it clarified was that worship doesn't cross worlds, which meant that developing a cult in one world wouldn't benefit other worlds. Something else was niggling me as I kept pacing. Holding out my hand, I summoned an Eldritch Blast, then flung it at a tree on the outskirts of my home.

The single blast of energy exploded when it hit the tree, sending shrapnel everywhere as most of the tree was vaporized. A single Eldritch Blast, while powerful, was not this strong and had only been this strong when I was in Millennium Castle Brunestud and fighting Gilgamesh.

Flicking my wrist, I sent out a flurry of white magic and noticed that it was much more powerful, and I could send out larger quantities at once. It seemed that as part of holding dominion over the moon as a god I was always considered to be under the effects of a full moon which in turn enhanced my magic twelvefold.

My lips twisted into a wry grin at this knowledge; I now held a divine spark and would only grow more powerful in time so long as I stayed in one world and received worship.

Stroking my chin, I turned over ideas in my head. I could simply proselytize in town if I wanted to gain power. The issue was that if I did that, I would likely be stepping on Reimu's toes as she was the shrine maiden in Gensokyo, and I didn't have anything concrete to offer the citizens.

I could attempt to recruit youkai, but that would be even more futile as I doubted they had little use, if any, for gods, and while I had no doubt Komainu would worship me if I asked, there was no way I was asking my sister to bow and scrap at my feet.

I could theoretically go and get followers from outside Gensokyo, but given the fact that youkai, vampires, and other supernatural beings existed, I didn't want to step on the toes of any other powerful beings, and God was likely among the people I could piss off which would be a death sentence.

Shaking my head, I reminded myself that my stay here was a vacation away from the stresses the last two worlds had given me. There was only one thing standing in the way of true relaxation, Scion.

Walking over to where my simulacrum had set up a camp of sorts, I blinked in bafflement as they tossed poker chips between them, and one of them started to deal a classic Texas Holdem game. Stepping behind the dealer, I saw the rest of them freeze before I grinned. "Deal me in," I said as I sat down.

I was quickly dealt in and given a small number of chips to start with. The game produced from there, with me losing a lot more than I was winning. The others were able to predict my bluffs with strange ease, and I eventually asked why.

"How are you so good at guessing when I'm bluffing," I asked after they all folded the round after two aces came on the river, and I held the other two. The dealer chuckled and shook his head slightly before responding. "We're all the sameish person, which means we all have the same tells, and we have had more time learning those tells than you have."

Tilting my head to the side, I chuckled as well for a bit. That made sense and was good proof of how I was losing quite often. Tossing the cards down, I saw the last two simulacra arrive with the body of Coil on the shoulder of one and the large gem in the hands of the other.

The one carrying Coil moved off to resettle him back in his containment field as the other walked up to me while I stood up and grabbed my parasol.

"Well, we drained his shard dry." He said while handing the gem to me. "He'll likely be pretty much useless for producing mana, but we should get a few drops out of him."

"Thank you," I said while taking the gem, and with a nod, he took my place at the poker table. Even just holding this item, I could feel the massive amounts of mana it held.

They had drained a planet-sized creature to death in order to power this mana battery. That only cemented the proof that Pathcoli was an excellent Magician if she was able to craft something able to hold that much mana.

I was forced to tighten up my Self-Hypnosis as my mind went crazy figuring out all the uses for such a powerful source. I already had a plan and would not let The Inspiration of Madness force me into building something else.

When I set it down next to the casing, I stumbled as the Grimoire grew and granted me new knowledge of a method to pass on my powers. My eyes glinted as I quickly summoned my Grimoire to my side, the bomb momentarily forgotten.

Flipping through the pages, I arrived at the most recent power, and my grin grew wider. It was called Ritual Maker, and with this, I could ensure that Komainu could no longer die without the fiddly bits of my prior spellwork that Risen Legend had pointed out could be improved. It would be difficult, but I knew a way to blend together a few powers to ensure she would survive anything.

Soul Gem could be combined with Shard of a Selfless Wish to link the self-replenishing nature of the latter to the former so that when she respawned or healed, she would not become a Witch. I could then make a deal with her to enhance the capacity of her Soul Gem at little cost to herself.

With Liam's warlock powers, the patron footed the bill when it came to making pacts which meant that so long as both parties agreed to the deal and kept up their end, the deal would last.

Cackling, I received Dust and conjured paper and a pencil. Sitting down on the stool near the forge, I started scribbling a simple ritual that Komainu could do, as well as something I could repeat if I wanted anybody else to become immortal.

I didn't want the ritual itself to be complex, but the main difficulty came from the fact that I was attempting to blend two powers into one package. The only saving grace that prevented it from taking incredibly long was that I had two powers dedicated to rituals and blending magic together, along with the fact that both ran on the same magic system.

Attempting to whistle as I worked proved to be just as fruitless as it had every other time I tried, so I settled for humming a few bars of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen under my breath as I worked.

The time was approaching midnight as I finished, but after blowing on the piece of paper and brushing off the pencil shards from where I had broken them in my haste, I grinned as I folded the paper up and tucked it in my robe pocket.

Realizing that my hands were twitching and my brain was tingling with more ideas, I spent a few minutes reapplying Self-Hypnosis before I did anything else.

I decided that a nap would be the way to go, but first, I reviewed my mental checklist of things I needed to do. I needed to wait a few days for Patchouli to prepare to watch the bomb, and I also needed to forge a pair of rings for Komainu.

Those were the only two things I had on my table for the future. I had no doubt other things would crop up, but until they did show up, I could relax.

Walking inside, I dismissed my robes and parasol, removed my shorts and t-shirt, replacing them with a pair of plaid pajama pants.

Crawling under the covers next to Komainu, I closed my eyes and breathed in through the nose ad out through the mouth. This cycle and Komainu's soft snores quickly lulled me to sleep.

I woke up to a feeling of pressure around my side. Blinking, I looked over and saw that Komainu had rolled over and was grabbing ahold of me and squeezing. Chuckling slightly, I placed an arm behind her head and started gently rubbing her head as I closed my eyes again and fell asleep shortly after.

I was woken up the second time by the feeling of the blanket lifting up and off of me. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw the figure of Komainu attempting to get out of bed without waking me up.

To achieve this, she decided to fly out of bed; however, as she was still waking up, she had forgotten to get out from under the covers and was dragging the bedsheet with her.

I snorted as I grabbed the sheets and let her drift out of the room, leaving the sheets behind. Standing up, I rolled my shoulders and sighed in pleasure at the feeling of my back popping.

Tossing the sheets on the bed, I looked around the room and frowned. I was rarely in here due to me lacking the need to sleep or change clothes due to my Monster nature, making it so I didn't sweat or need sleep.

That meant I hadn't been cleaning it up, and it was a mess. Sighing, I got to work cleaning it up and putting everything away. Thankfully magic made everything much easier, and judicious applications of Prestidigitation allowed me to ensure everything was clean.

Dusting my hands off as I looked around the room, I walked into the main living room and saw that Komainu was slumped over the table, half-asleep.

I decided to make her some breakfast which I needed supplies for, requiring me to retrieve a sack of Dust. As I got to work, I added another tally of things I needed to do.

I needed to pick up groceries from the town; it would serve as a dual-purpose trip. I could get groceries, check out the village, and see what it was like.

Ignoring the feeling of the Grimoire growing, I decided to cook some bacon and a slice of peanut butter toast. I had all the tools from last time, so I had to conjure uncooked bacon, a slice of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a toaster.

As the smells of cooking filled the air, Komainu perked up and was fully awake by the time I had finished and set out a plate for her. Digging in, she managed to, after a quick look from me, eat it without leaving a mess.

Sitting down, I summoned the Grimoire to my side and read through the pages as she ate. We enjoyed the silence until Komainu finished her meal and tossed her plate into the sink.

"Komainu, you got hurt yesterday, so I have something that will ensure you will be safe without any of the issues of the phylactery I made earlier," I said as she moved to leave. Stopping for a moment, she tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"I need you to stay here for a few hours while I forge a pair of rings and you perform a ritual," I explained, prompting her to reply. "Alright!" She chirped as I stood up, and she followed me out

Grabbing the paper from the forge, I led her to the open field I made for the Lunar devices and handed her the paper as I started to explain what I was doing.

"This is a ritual that will ensure you are stronger and less likely to be killed. The one I had earlier was terrible and had a few side effects that would crop up if you died often, which is unacceptable." I said with my voice rising slightly on the last word before I smoothed my robes out and continued.

"What your going to be doing is performing that ritual, and after, we'll be making a deal to enhance the capacity of the soul gem so that you don't have to worry about Witching out." As I finished speaking, Komainu started on the ritual.

It had to be ten minutes long and required some mystical augments to ensure it felt properly cultlike, but besides that, I had a fair bit of freedom which allowed me to make a large portion of the ritual chanting 'grant me power' over and over.

I would also need a regulator, I thought as I remembered how when grief was created in the soul gem, emotions became amplified, which could lead to a feedback loop where somebody died and was sad, which created more grief which led to them being sadder.

That meant I had two items to make. The first was a pair of connected rings, while the second was some form of emotional regulator that could apply Self-Hypnosis when she died.

However, that could be made later and once testing had been applied. I was only using Self-Hypnosis on myself so freely because I had crippling madness, and if I didn't use it, I would be incapable of holding everyday conversations.

Shaking my head, I watched Komainu to ensure she didn't mess up any portion of the ritual. I wasn't concerned as it was simple, and I had built-in safety measures that would prevent it from blowing up in her face but better safe than sorry.

When the ten minutes came to a close, there was a flash of light, and when my vision recovered, Komainu was holding a pendant with a dark blue gem on the end. Peering closer, I could see swirling bright pink lights dancing around inside of it, ready to purify any grief buildup.

Walking over, I held out my hand for the gem, and after a few moments of hesitation, she handed it over. Looking it up and down, I activated my magesight to ensure there were no issues with the ritual and everything had gone as planned.

"There were no problems which means we have two things left before your free to go," I said while stretching out my hand. "The next part is a deal to expand the capacity of your gem." I counted before clearing my throat and pushed down thoughts of exploiting her end of the deal to ensure she would be my sister.

"In exchange for expanding the capacity of your soul gem, Komainu will give me a hug once a day, and if either party is unable to, it will be deferred to the next available day." Blinking after my speech, she tilted her head before nodding resolutely and grabbing my hand.

Blue fire spread swirled around both of our hands and I felt a tremor in my chest as a bond forged between dealmaker and recipient. When the fire faded, Komainu hugged me and squeezed tight. Hugging back, we stayed like that for a long moment before she let go of me.

"Alright, the last part is me forging you a pair of rings so that your soul gem is not a big weak spot, as if it breaks, you'll be dead for good." She nodded in response, causing me to ruffle her hair for a moment before heading to the forge.

The process was simple, and I had done it twice before, which meant it was largely rote, and I wasn't going to experiment with Komainu's rings, causing the chance for excitement to lower even further.

Pulling out tools and Dust from large sacks, I got to work forging a simple pair of rings. The usage of Celestial Fire ensured the process went smoothly, and the only hiccup was when the Grimoire grew as I was pulling out the molten rings with Telekinesis.

After that, I quenched the rings and sat down to allow them to cool. When they had cooled, I walked over to Komainu and handed her the rings.

"Here you go. These rings will allow you to leave your soul gem here and keep your body connected to it. I want you to understand that you must keep one ring with you at all times, understood." I said as she looked down at the rings before looking back up at me with a blinding smile.

"Alright, brother!" She chirped before giving me a tight hug and skipping off. I almost stumbled at the wave of emotions that hit me when she called me brother. Shaking myself, I decided to head to the village to perhaps find a spot to get something to eat as well as checking it out.

Ritual Maker

Hard work pays off, and you, jumper, have spent quite some time studying the occult. With this power you can now create rituals through which others may temporarily access your perks or powers. These rituals can involve anything from chants, to performances, to tools, or even reagents, and if you've purchased the Rites of Initiation, you may even require one or more Principles from this world to be invoked using influences or affinity. All rituals must require at least 10 minutes to prepare and cast, but you can otherwise set the terms and conditions freely. Know that after imbuing any power into a ritual, that specific power will be much weaker for a few days, and unless the ritual has stringent conditions, anyone with the appropriate knowledge may use it.