True Magician (Fate/Grand Order / High School DxD(Multi)

[mirzael]

Kuoh Academy.
Ranking Game Day.

- "I give up." Riser stated in a feignedly pitiful tone while Issei stood over him in his Balance Breaker.

- "Riser Phenex admits defeat. The victory goes to Rias Gremory." Greyfia's voice echoed through the arena, ending the game.

Well, it went about the same as in canon, except for the last scene.

He had planned to win at first, but when Issei used the Balance Crusher, he decided to give in after all. And that way there would be no questions from the demons about him losing, even though he could have single-handedly scattered Rias' entire retinue. And neither her nor his reputation would suffer.

Heh. Playing the pompous and self-righteous jerk has its perks, eh?

And at those thoughts, I waved my hand, and the screen in front of me disappeared. And my gaze slowly drifted toward another person present in the medical room.

- "Why are you looking at me like that, Romani-sensei?" She asked incomprehensively.

- "Don't play dumb, Alaya. In canon, Riser wins the game, not loses it, right?" I asked her, to which I got a nod, "And if that's the case, why don't you say anything about it?"

- "Well... Issei beat him."

- "At the wedding, not in the game."

- "But the bottom line is the same."

- "So, it's the outcome that matters, not the events leading up to it, right?"

- "Uh-huh. But that's what I said, right?"

- "Actually, no." I rubbed my temples.

Yeah... And how this world hasn't fallen into oblivion yet... I guess that's the cost of Mankind's overly human Unconscious Will. But thanks for confirming my theory that the order of events is not important, only the outcome.

Right. The next arc is Kokabiel, and if my memory serves me right, Issei didn't defeat him, but was captured by Vali and imprisoned in Cocytus, and now all I have to do is wait for the arrival of the two "competent" owners of Excalibur. Well, and start thinking of a plan to reskin him, though that will require me to contact the descendants of the local King Arthur.

- "Skipping class is bad, Aika-san," I said, coming out of my thoughts, "Get out of here."

- "But, sensei..."

- "Shoo-shoo, I said."

Alaya made a pouty face and walked out of the medical room, stomping loudly on the floor.

I guess I can sleep for the rest of the day.

-0-

West of England.

I didn't get much sleep. Why not? Alarm bells went off in my head when I sensed that TWO Shadow Servants had arrived at once. Not only that, as Merlin was acting suspiciously quiet and the Shadow Servants' mana was flaring up every now and then, apparently from using Noble Phantasm.

When I arrived, I saw a huge, ornate mansion in typical English style. Well, or rather, it had once been so, as half of this mansion was now in ruins. And a huge crevice in the ground that started within the building extended hundreds of meters away from it, and ominous red lightning crackled near the place where I appeared. It appeared to me that the place was a garden or something, like in those old-fashioned movies.

As I looked around, my hearing picked up a rather mature male scream filled with rage.

- "Die!"

It was followed by the sound of metal clinking, like swords clashing. Heading in his direction, I entered the mansion and saw a middle-aged man with blue eyes and blonde hair who looked very shabby, and the numerous wounds and cuts on his body were bleeding. He glared fiercely at the Shadow Servant dressed in gray armor with red stripes on it. And watching them from the second floor balcony was a second Servant, dressed in a dark-colored dress with blue lines, and in her hand she held something between a spear, an axe, and a staff in the same color scheme.

My eyebrow twitched and my hand started rubbing my face, foreshadowing a HUGE headache.

Great... Truly great... Mordred and Morgan le Fay... Why the hell are there so many Servants associated with the legend of King Arthur!

- "Оh? We have company? How unexpected." The sensual voice of Morgan noticing my presence.

- "Just passing through, Your Majesty," I said calmly and bowed respectfully, "May I ask you a question?"

- "I allow it, Magician."

Uh-huh. Fairy eyes. So, the Berserker from the lostbelt. Uh-huh.

- "Why are you in your right mind? I'm sure you know you're a Shadow Servant, and the Beast whispers to you. But somehow, you're quite yourself, and so is Mordred."

The Knight of Betrayal grinned savagely, using the middle-aged man as a punching bag. But she didn't hit any vital organs.

- "Оh? Is that what you mean?" She asked and began to slowly descend and then walk towards me, "Do you think such trivial things can affect the Queen of the Fairies, Magician?"

- "I suppose you're right," I replied, keeping my gaze on her veiled face, "But still, what are you doing here? And who is this man?"

- "You already know the answer to your questions, Magician. I'm sure you know a lot more than you're letting on." she replied, reaching me.

- "Heh, your fairy eyes see right through me, huh?" I grinned, "But still, I don't think you decided to attack the Pendragon mansion for nothing."

Boom.

A loud sound echoed down the hall, and shifting my gaze in his direction, I saw Mordred walking slowly in our direction, with Clarent over his shoulder and Uther Pendragon buried under a column of concrete and dust at the other end of the room.

- "Who is he, mother?" She asked with a smirk on her face.

- "Well, well, well. Be nice to our guest, Mordred, he's a Magician. A polite magician, at that. Not like that flower bastard."

- "Bleh, I don't care." The Knight of Betrayal shrugged and walked past us and sat down on one of the large rocks.

Yeah. That's a fine character. That's why she's a top waifu, though.

- "The visit here was driven by my curiosity. I wanted to see the descendants of my sister of this world."

- "I suppose it was a disappointing sight?" I shrugged, already assuming the answer.

- "You have no idea how much, Magician. But why are you here?"

- "It can't be explained in two words, Your Majesty. But if you try to do so… keeping the plot alive."

- "Plot? Interesting." She was interested.

I sighed tiredly and snapped my fingers, creating a table with three chairs. There were two glasses of wine for Morgan and me, and a steak for Mordred.

- "Have a seat. Explanation will take time."

-0-

A while later.

- "It doesn't make any sense." Morgan listened to my explanation and sipped aristocratically from her glass.

- "Uh-huh. Absolute nonsense." Mordred added, chewing on her fifth steak.

Apparently a black hole instead of a stomach is hereditary. And Servants don't actually need food.

- "You think I have other ideas about that?" I grinned and took a sip, too, "Anyway, I suggest you join me."

- "What is my benefit, Magician?"

- "Mana. I can provide you with it, since you are a Servant, Your Majesty. You can draw it from the ley-lines, but then there's a chance of provoking powerful beings you don't want to provoke, the concepts of Dream and Infinity, for example, or the various gods, since you've probably realized by now that the Age of Gods didn't end here. Besides, you won't be the only Servants in my care."

- "Оh? Such as?" she asked interestedly.

- "Your sister, Flower Pervert, and the Knight of the Lake."

At those words, both Mordred and Morgan froze. An evil smile appeared on the Fairy Queen's face, and the Knight of Betrayal....

- "Father... is... here?" She asked. Her eyes didn't blink, and her hands clenched the cutlery so tightly that it turned into scrap metal.

- "Wow. What a magnificent wedding gift you have given, my husband." Morgan said sensually a few seconds later.

I froze and stared at her incredulously.

Stop. I think I heard something completely illogical. Ah, no. For a Berserker with Madness Enhancement of rank EX, it's quite logical... Maybe I should have just used Solomon's Noble Phantasm and blown the hell out of both the Servants and the mansion? And where the hell is Merlin? I don't want to get all the attention of the Fairy Queen in one go. Uh-huh-uh.

- "Mother? Don't you think that's illogical?" Mordred asked incomprehensively, directing her gaze at Morgan.

- "Listen to your child, Your Majesty. I am no match for you." I added, trying to ignore the look she was sending me.

- "Оh? Is that what you think, Magician? I think you're perfect for me," she said in a confident tone, "Only someone extraordinary could be my husband, and you have True Magic."

And while I was thinking how I could refute her point of view, even though I realized that asking a Berserker with Madness Enhancement Rank EX was useless, my senses picked up a sudden burst of magic. And turning in his direction, I saw a slit appear in the air, from which two clearly familiar people emerged. Le Fay Pendragon and Arthur Pendragon.

- "Оh? More guests?" Morgan said, staring in their direction, and froze once more when her fairy eyes told her who they were and a smirk appeared on her face, "Very interesting guests."

- "Who are you?" With his sword at the ready, Arthur asked and pointed at the ruined mansion, while Le Fay hid behind his back and peered out from there, "Is this your doing?"

You couldn't have picked any other time to show up, hmm? Ah, stop. Arthur left the house because of the maid, right? And apparently, when he heard the situation, he rushed here to rescue her.

- "Have a seat, my sister's descendants. We have much to talk about." Morgan said with a sweet smile on her face and dragged them telekinesis to the table, immobilizing the poor souls and creating seats for them. Arthur and Le Fay could only blink in incomprehension and stare warily at me, Morgan, and Mordred.

Yeah... What's my luck parameter there? А++? That's a lie, I'll tell you that.

-0-

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[mirzael]

Pendragon Mansion.

A nice, cool breeze caressed my face, while the sun hung high in the sky and birds chirped melodiously in the nearby forest. And all this beautiful picture was spoiled by the oppressive atmosphere at the table at the dilapidated Pendragon mansion.

- "So, you bear big father's name, eh?" Mordred asked with a challenge in her voice, looking at Arthur, "Weak."

- "Well, well. Don't be so rude, my child," Morgan said with a sweet smile on her face, "It's not his fault it doesn't match 'his' name."

Yep. Let's talk about the extremely beautiful character of one ultra strong witch and her super rebellious daughter. Love/hate for her 'father' Mordred and pathological jealousy of her 'brother' Morgan, even though she's from the lostbelt where she ruled Fairy Britain.

Arthur acted very wisely by remaining silent in response. Though his very hard stare in Mordred's direction made it clear that he noticed how the Knight of Betrayal put it.

- "W-why are you insulting my brother?" Le Fay cautiously asked, "And who are you people? You feel so... familiar."

- "My husband, would you be so kind as to introduce us?" Morgan turned to me with a wide grin on her face, "It seems our guests still haven't realized who we are."

- "Do I have to be your husband, Your Majesty?" I asked in a tired tone, putting my palm to my face.

- "You shouldn't ask such obvious things, my husband. You already know my answer, don't you?" she replied smugly.

- "You know what? Fuck it," I waved my hand, "The one in the armor is Mordred, Knight of Betrayal, and the one in the dress, whose conceit shines brighter than Rhongomyniad, is Morgan Le Fay."

Arthur's and Le Fay's eyes widened, and their mouths opened so wide that they looked like they could fit a basketball in them. His brother's glasses skewed in a second shudder, and his sister stared at Morgan with unblinking eyes.

- "Y-you..." she murmured in a shaky voice.

- "Yes, little one. And I find it very amusing that you were named after me," Morgan said with amusement in her voice, "And that goes for your brother, too."

- "But why did you name us after your 'sister' and not your 'brother'?" Arthur asked calmly.

- "You've already guessed why, haven't you, boy?"

- "But..."

- "Listen, Arthur," I intervened. At the same time, Mordred made a face when she heard me say that name, and Morgan grinned, "I suggest you simply accept the fact that King Arthur was a girl. Any further resistance or doubt will only damage your mind. Trust me."

- "Okay." he sighed tiredly and nodded. And there was silence at the table.

How wise. He just took my advice. He'll go far. And Le Fay is still silent and silent.....

- "By the way, why are you even here, kid?" Mordred asked me casually.

- "Even if Uther Pendragon isn't the best father, I understand his decisions. And... I'd rather he didn't die of old age," Arthur replied, then looked at Morgan, "He's not dead, is he?"

- "Tattered, unconscious, but alive," I answered in her place and pointed to a small pile of concrete and plaster, "He's over there."

- "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to get him out of there and check his condition." Arthur stood up and headed towards the slide.

Le Fay hid her eyes and clutched her hat nervously as her brother left to trash their father.

Impressive. Arthur realizes that both he and his sister are of interest to Morgan, so he's not too worried about Le Fay's safety, at least not as obviously. Also, he didn't mention the maid who caused him to leave the house. Heh.

- "Le Fay," I called out to her, from which she cautiously looked up, and created a cup of tea in front of her, "Calm down. Have some tea and relax a bit. You and your brother are in no danger, since Morgan isn't vindictive enough to harm you two. Well, at least not unless you insult her badly or something."

- "O-okay." She muttered nervously, and took the cup carefully and sipped from it.

Yeah... I feel like I'm bullying a schoolgirl....

- "Оh? You know me so well, my husband. Do you still have doubts that we're not right for each other?" Morgan said sneeringly.

- "I suggest we leave that topic for another day, Your Majesty," I said and turned to Le Fay, "I see you have questions. You may ask them."

The little witch paused for a moment.

- "Weren't Sir Mordred and Morgan Le Fay dead a long time ago?" Gaining her courage, she asked, "A-and... their magical signature is very spirit-like... Are they ghosts?"

- "In principle, you're right. Her Majesty and her 'son' are dead, and the ones sitting at this table now are a metaphysical digital copy of them, with all their memories, character, abilities and so on, but with a flavor of magic. You could say you're looking at the real-life Knight of Betrayal and King Arthur's older sister."

- "I... understand. Thank you for explaining," Le Fay muttered and stood up and bowed to them, "It's a pleasure to meet you, honorable ancestors."

- "Yeah, as you wish." Mordred shrugged her shoulders and stood up from the table and walked toward Arthur. "I'll go keep an eye on the boy. Talking is not my thing."

- "Oh, how cute you are," Morgan smiled and examined Le Fay, "Hm? You are very talented in magic. You remind me of me when I was young, so innocent and naive."

- "T-thank you." She hesitated and sat back down, covering her face with her hat.

- "Tell me about yourself and your brother." The Queen of the Fairies said with a hand on her head and leaned on the table.

- "Well... I studied at the Golden Dawn, one of the main magical associations. There I learned the spells I use... And my brother...."

- "What about him?" Morgan asked with interest.

- "Well..." Le Fay procrastinated, pondering whether to share this information.

- "About the same thing as Artoria, only with less Caliburn-related problems," I answered for her, "Romance with his maid in the Pendragon mansion left the house, taking the aforementioned sword with him, followed by Le Fay herself. Basically, it's no big deal."

- "Оh? So you came here because of that maid?" Morgan asked.

- "And because of my father too," Le Fay nodded cautiously, "And like my brother said, he's not a bad father, he just doesn't know how to do things differently."

- "In that, they're alike." Queen of Fairies grinned.

Heh. Morgan's father trusted Merlin too much. And that was his biggest mistake, but then again, he couldn't have done it any other way. Because the timeline would have become a lost belt with the wrong history of the world. Or destroyed altogether at the instigation of Alaya and her Counter-Guardians. Besides, women rulers weren't exactly favored in those days. But Morgan was a fairy, and a strong one at that.

As these thoughts raced through her mind, the two witches were already talking passionately about magic and how to use it. Apparently, the Fairy Queen had decided to take on an apprentice. Hopefully, little Le Fay won't turn into another Morgan. Though the circumstances are different, so it's unlikely.

- "In any case, I'll take my leave as I don't want to meddle in your family's affairs. The note with my address is on the table, so if you want to come over," I stood up from the table, leaving the note on it, and then turned towards Le Fay, "That goes for you and your brother as well. I wish I could talk to you, but I see the circumstances aren't right."

- "But we don't know where your home is."

- "A certain black cat will tell us the way," I rolled my eyes and Le Fay gave me a surprised look, "Did she really think she could go unnoticed?"

Kuroka has been hanging around my house for a week now. However, it wasn't me who noticed her, but Grandpa. And he was even impressed with her disguise skills. I guess it's because of her senjutsu skills. But I didn't understand why she was watching me. I didn't interact with her sister, and there can't be any other reason. At least, I don't think so.

And on those thoughts, I teleported away.

-0-

Unknown location.

But I wasn't at home, and the first thing my eyes noticed were three teenagers: one with a spear, the second on his left was wearing glasses, and the third on the right had a decent amount of muscle.

- "Good afternoon, Romani Archaman," the one with the spear began, "My name is Cao Cao, and I am the head of the Hero Faction. To my left is Georg, and to my right is Heracles."

My eyebrow twitched, I can't remember which time today.

Is that too much to ask?! Just a break for a day or two, for crying out loud!

- "And I'd like to invite you to join a stronghold of Humanity." He finished solemnly, looking at me with interested eyes.

But then, a wide grin appeared on my face, showing all thirty-two teeth.

I needed an outlet, though.

-0-

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[mirzael]

An unknown place.

- "Humanity's stronghold, you say?"

- "That's right! We are the descendants of great heroes, and our goal is to save people from the tyranny of arrogant, disgusting and cruel supernatural beings!" Heracles intervened, puffing up his chest proudly.

This is such obvious propaganda that I don't even know what to say. And actually, it sounds like bullshit.

- "Oh, it does? But it's still not clear to me what this has to do with me." I said disinterestedly, starting to clean my ear with my little finger.

- "Romani Archaman, you don't need to hide your power," Cao Cao said in a soothing tone that made my eyebrow twitch, "I'm not much of a magician, but Georg is. He has labeled you as a very talented magician, and we would like you to join our cause." Humanity needs people like you.

- "Marked? Is he some new species of humanoid mammal?"

- "You're wrong," Georg said irritably and adjusted his glasses, "Our leader simply chose the wrong word. But he's right nonetheless. If my observations are correct, and they are, then you are a very promising mage, because your mana reserves are twice as high as those of the average human."

Hmmm... And that's what he considers a talent? Apparently, they're severely understaffed. And it's probably because of Gilgamesh's attacks on them.

- "Oh... So you've been watching me like a common pervert?" I made a face, "Disgusting."

- "You misunderstood, Mr. Archaman," Cao Cao tried to keep a smile on his face, "We are constantly watching people, looking for talents among them. And we need people like you."

- "Oh, p…"

- "Why are we being ceremonious with him, Cao Cao? We could just take him by force." Heracles interrupted me.

This ghoul is starting to annoy me. And the fact that he goes by the same name as Berserker makes him as ridiculous as possible.

- "Okay, I get it. You're just a bunch of perverts consisting of a stalker, a humanoid mammal, and a 'special' gym-goer. I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in your merry band." I waved it off.

Cao Cao and Georg were quite tolerant of my character, unlike the third member of their group....

- "That's it! You're coming with us!" Heracles shouted and, stretching out his fist, came at me... However, he was blocked by the blue magic circle with Solomon's seal, which I, of course, hid.

His impact with the circle released a small wave of power. Not bad... for a Servant with power rank E. Heracles' eyes widened in surprise, and Cao Cao and George's gazes became serious.

- "Oh? Would you be so kind as to not come within ten meters of me? I wouldn't want your 'special' vibes to get on me." I said and lightly waved my hand in his direction.

And from this movement there was a strong stream of wind, which threw Heracles and sealed him into the nearest cliff, forcing him to fly five hundred meters. And my eyes only now discerned the environment I was in. It was some rocky terrain with all the rocks, trees, and a big mountain in the distance. Well, that's a good place to go.

And most importantly, let off some steam.

- "By the way," I started casually, while Georg and Cao Cao were studying me and preparing for the fight, and a wide grin blossomed on my face, "Are you looking for new members so zealously because of a certain blond man with red eyes and his friend with green hair?"

- "How do you know that?" Georg tensed up.

- "Because he works for me, you humanoid mammal."

- "Bastard! Do you realize how many members we've lost!" he shrieked, and various magical circles appeared around him, "So much work has been lost for nothing and all because of you and your six!"

- "Why did you do it, Mr. Archaman?" Cao Cao asked me seriously and pointed the tip of his spear at me.

- "I didn't do anything," I shrugged my shoulders, to which I received surprised looks, "Believe it or not, I didn't give any orders. They just decided to take a walk and you just got unlucky. And besides, I wouldn't have joined you anyway. I don't like being around perverts."

- "I see..." Cao Cao nodded, "Then we have nothing more to talk about."

After he finished speaking, he instantly attacked and aimed his spear at my neck. And me? I just stood there. I didn't dodge or block, for I don't need to do that.

And when the True Longinus almost reached my skin, it stopped a centimeter away from me. Cao Cao thought it was some kind of magic and put more effort trying to pierce my neck, but the spear wouldn't budge or move an inch.

- "Oh, I forgot to mention," I tapped my fist on my head, acting like an anime girl who realized the mistake, "Your spear can't hurt me. Not at all. So if you have no other way to damage me, then just run like a scared rabbit."

And then he raised his hand and flicked it into the air in front of him. From which he flew away just like Heracles. But Cao Cao didn't fly for long, but slowed down with his spear and, having made a somersault, landed softly on the ground forty meters away from me. And in the center of his forehead, a large bruise from my flick was visible.

- "Why can't my spear hurt you, Mr. Archaman?" He asked tensely.

Because I am Solomon? As it turns out, anything where God's will is present cannot harm me. I guess that's the cost of recognizing the Almighty in Solomon. But, of course, I won't tell Cao Cao that.

- "Oh, I don't know..." I grinned, "Maybe the will of God, contained in the True Longinus, doesn't agree with your ideals?"

- "What are you…" he was about to continue asking questions, but he was interrupted by the loud shout of Heracles.

- "Here I come, you bastard!"

BOOM

A deafening explosion sounded, covering the space around me with dust and dirt.

Slowly turning towards the active defense circle, I saw Heracles standing in the Balance Breaker. His arms and shoulders were covered in missiles that resembled RPG shells. And one of them was still in contact with the circle.

- "Why can't I hit you!" he shrieked and swung for another blow.

- "Stop, Heracles!"

Of course, he didn't listen to his leader and started pounding the circle.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

- "Die, damn it! I am Heracles, descendant of Greece's strongest hero! I can't help but defeat you!"

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

And while he was trying to get through, I was reminded of a certain scene from the anime involving Romani and Goetia. Really, there's no punching involved.

- "How long are you going to put up with this buffoon, Romani?" Beast I asked.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

- "Come on. It doesn't make me uncomfortable." I replied, rolling my eyes.

- "Why aren't you dying!!!" Heracles growled madly, not stopping pounding.

- "You can finish it, though."

At these words, I snapped my fingers, applying 3rd magic, and he instantly froze and fell to the ground like a puppet with cut strings.

- "Heracles!" Georg shrieked, and a purple mist covered Heracles' body, and a couple seconds later it was gone.

- "I didn't kill him, if anything," I shrugged and turned toward Cao Cao, "Where were we interrupted? Ah, yes. The ideals."

I paused.

- "You call yourself and your faction heroes. But all I see is a foolish child playing wargames and begging for attention. You're brash, cocky and manipulative. You want to fight, test yourself, and get glory. You don't care about people's lives, only your own. Why else would you gather like-minded people and brainwash them?"

- "We're heroes. We save people! What I'm doing is necessary!" he shouted.

- "Oh, is that what you're telling yourself? And stop using 'we' when all you care about is 'me'. After all, you're an even bigger child than I thought you were. You don't even realize that 'salvation' and 'heroes' are subjective. And you're fixated on the easiest way to achieve them: killing. And it doesn't matter how many lives you lay down on the way to 'salvation' and 'being a hero', whether innocent or not. No thoughts, no regrets. Nothing. All I see is a frog at the bottom of a well that has never seen the outside world and never will."

- "What are you…"

- "You're nothing. A cellophane transparent bag with no writing or prints. Useless trash and a parasite. Some tragic shit must have happened to you, and you went through some kind of training and learning about your 'true' self. And later at some point, the thought looped in your brain, 'I'll save them, because I'm a hero' and blah blah blah blah."

- "How…"

- "How did I know that? Your backstory and motivation is as clichéd as it could possibly be. You're a previously written story. An empty echo. You will not be heard of. You will not be remembered. You'll fade into oblivion just as you appeared. A trash who thinks he's a savior and a god."

He stared at me silently, his eyes clouded.

- "Cao Cao, descendant of the hero from the novel Three Kingdoms, owner of the True Longinus," I said in a measured tone, "Nobody. He was, is, and will be. Until the day he dies."

He didn't move, his empty eyes didn't blink, and his fingers clutched the spear until it bled.

Did I overdo it?

Georg, seeing the state Cao Cao was in, quickly activated his Sacred Gear, and fled, taking his leader with him.

Well, I've blown off some steam. Now it would be good to sleep for a day or two....

I activated the teleportation circle and disappeared from this place.

Yeah. Let's do that.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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[mirzael]

Kuoh Academy. Medical room.
Two days later.

I stood by the window and relaxed while sipping my coffee.

These couple days had been pretty peaceful. I had even managed to sleep without the interference of any supernatural beings.

The Servants' pastime has become a normal daily routine. Goetia now occasionally takes physical form and hangs out with Tiamat and Fou. Grandpa started training Hundred Face again, and sometimes, even Archer, who of course wasn't opposed to the idea. Medusa, Enkidu, and Artoria went shopping. Gilgamesh conversing with Merlin when the latter wasn't being pursued by Foe. And Hercules... just Hercules.

By the way, Morgan and Mordred still haven't visited me. Which I'm actually glad of, since their visit will make things very noisy.

And today is going to be a beautiful day, too. With no work or any other worries. At least, that's what I thought....

- "Romani Archaman, please report to the Student Council room," Tsubaki's voice came from the speakers, "Repeat. Romani Archaman, please report to the Student Council room."

I sighed.

Well, at least I had a couple days off.

-0-

Kuoh Academy. Student Council Room.

I burst in there as usual, without knocking and entering as if it were my home, and looked around. Apart from the usual inhabitants of this bureaucratic hell who looked as tired as possible, my eyes noticed a certain person in a pink magical girl costume.

- "Good afternoon, lovers of the smell of cellulose." I said hello and, walking inside, sat down opposite Sona, "What did you need my busy personality for? I was all about work, you know."

- "Romani-sensei, we both know that your words are nonsense." Keeping her composure, Sona said.

- "Now, now, So-tan. You're hurting my feelings," I said, clutching at my heart, and her glasses skewed, "But still, why do you need me? Don't tell me Archer won your heart, and you want my blessing?"

- "What?!" Saji shrieked.

- "So-tan?! That handsome, sarcastic, hot, arrogant, muscular and caustic bastard stole your heart!" Serafall flew up from her seat and started waving her fists around, "How dare he?! So-tan belongs only to me! I'll find him and catch him right now!"

Oh? An addition to Archer's harem? She didn't use the words 'castrate' or 'kill', just 'find' and 'catch'. Oh, and she described him... that way. Eroge Protagonist EX, I guess.

- "Enough!" Sona shouted, and her face turned redder than Emiya's cloak, "You promised you'd behave yourself, sister!"

- "Why are you red as a tomato then!!! Don't lie to your little sister!" Serafall pointed her finger at her.

- "You…"

Well, that's not going to move the conversation forward. Then...

- "For God's sake," I began, which made the demons in the room cringe in pain upon hearing the word, "I don't think he'll mind taking you both in, but I'm still curious as to why I'm here."

The Student Council members chuckled upon hearing me, and Tsubaki sighed tiredly. As for Saji? He just passed out either from anger or jealousy.

- "Really?!" Serafall asked excitedly.

Yeah. Plus one victim of Emiya.

- "Sensei, shut up... Or I'll shut you up," Sona said with a deadpan look at me and the water snakes behind her, then turned to her sister, "And you too. Otherwise I won't talk to you for a month."

I grinned and raised my hands in a surrendering gesture, and Serafall instantly sat back in her seat and assumed the pose of a model schoolgirl.

- "Okay," Sona nodded and put her snakes away, "Sensei, my sister wanted to talk to you about Archer."

- "Right. I hope you'll answer my question." Serafall said, taking a serious look.

Oh? Interesting.

- "Of course," I shrugged, "But you do realize I could be lying right?"

- "That's for me to judge, Romani-san."

Wow. Seeing a serious Serafall is so unusual. It's like I'm looking at a completely different person. It's true that her outfit didn't match her mood at all.

- "And my question is, what is he, Romani-san?"

- "A person?"

- "That's not what I meant. When Sona informed me that she would be trained by a man, my opinion was rather skeptical. And later, when I saw him with my own eyes, I had questions."

- "Such as?"

- "I know the terms of your and Sirzechs's contract," she said in a serious tone, which was not unexpected, "But it bothers me that a strong man like Archer is around my sister and training her."

Oh? She brought up that very topic? Well, I can't blame her for that. One Caladbolg can wipe an entire Kuoh to dust, since Archer gets a limitless supply of mana from me. And need I mention the spamming of Excalibur shots?

- "Lady Leviathan, why are you so wary of Archer-sensei?" Tsubaki asked cautiously, "We know he's powerful, but is he that strong?"

- "This Archer is at least on the level of the Sirzechs Knight, Okita Soji," Serafall stated, to which she received stunned looks from Sona's entire entourage. Especially Sona herself, "I've seen how he moves and how much he holds back. And that worried me."

I'd say Archer is stronger than that. One Gae Bolg and that's it.

- "He's not as dangerous as you think. Although he's an annoying bastard, but hurting someone for no reason isn't his profile."

- "Maybe. But a man with that kind of power and in dangerous proximity to my sister still makes me uneasy," she insisted, "What if he thinks Sona and her entourage are a threat?"

- "Then talk to him in person and get to know him," I rolled my eyes, then smirked, "But be careful."

- "What do you mean?" She asked cautiously.

- "You could be the fifth? Yes, his fifth woman. Well, and Sona's sixth, if things keep going the way they are."

The reaction was immediate. It amazes me how quickly this woman's moods can change.

- "Noooo! I'm not giving him So-tan!" Serafall shrieked, breaking out of her serious mode and leaping at Sona, enclosing her in a bear hug, "She's mine alone!"

Sona herself froze, straddling the statue, and seconds later threw her sister off of her and ran out of the Student Council room with tears in her eyes.

- "Sis, I hate you!"

- "I'm sorry, So-tan!" Serafall rushed after her, "I won't do it again!"

Yeah. Classic. It's a lot more fun to watch it live than on the screen, though.

As the duo left the room, there was silence. No one said anything, and Tsubaki rubbed her temples tiredly.

- "I... apologize for this scene," she bowed, "I hope you will forget this incident."

- "How could I forget it?" I grinned and stood up from my seat and headed for the exit, "Now that we're done, I'll get back to work. And you probably need a way to keep this whole thing quiet."

- "You mean slack?" Tsubasa asked with a wry smile, "You're right, though. We have plenty to do."

- "Good luck then."

And with those words, I left the Student Council room, ignoring her comment.

-0-

Emiya Residence.

Upon returning home, I found none of the residents of the residence. None at all. Not even Fou, who usually slept in one of the rooms or on Tiamat's head. And Hercules, usually standing outside, had also gone somewhere. And I have no idea where or why at all. Though it's likely Grandfather is here somewhere, it's just not realistic to spot him.

Shrugging, I collapsed on the couch and was about to snuggle up for dinner, but suddenly the doorbell rang, though I obviously wasn't expecting anyone.

Ding dong.

Walking to the door and opening it, I slammed my palm sharply on my face, heralding a headache. And Goetia's caustic laughter wasn't helping the cause at all.

- "Good evening, Mr. Archaman," the guest bowed, as did the other two behind him, and smiled politely, "I'm delighted to meet you in person. Can we come in?"

- "You know what? Exclusively to avoid an even bigger headache than it already is, I'll let you in." I said in an irritable tone and let the guests inside.

- "We apologize for the visit," they bowed again and went inside.

They sat down on a vacant couch and behaved as modestly as possible, though their eyes stayed on me as I sat across from them.

The silence lasted about a minute or so before I decided to start talking.

- "So. Pardon my French, but what the hell are two archangels and a nun with an indecent body doing here?"

The man kept a calm smile on his face, the woman pouted, and the nun cast an uncertain look at me, as if deciding how to react to my words to her.

Yep. Michael, Gabriel, and Griselda, respectively. I think the decision to reveal ourselves was a hasty one.

- "We would like to personally welcome the reincarnation of a man whose wisdom the Father has personally recognized," Michael said with a note of awe, "We are truly pleased to welcome the reincarnation of Solomon, King of Israel."

He then stood up, as did the other two, and all three bowed once more. For the THIRD time, please note.

- "Didn't I tell you to get used to the attention, Romani?" Goetia asked with a sneer in his voice, "How embarrassing, eh? Such scrutiny, and from two archangels, representatives of the highest ranks of Heaven itself... You want to run away and hide somewhere, don't you?"

I'll send you away, you bastard. Twice. For this and the last time you made a joke about me. You bet I will.

Looking around at the trio, I saw pure respect and acceptance in their eyes... Which made me rub my temples hard.

Fuck.

Maybe I should just erase their memories.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
My P.a.t.r.e.o.n: P.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m/mirzael
You'll be able to read more chapters there.

 

[mirzael]

Emiya residence.

I had finished my fourth cup of coffee during the silence. Which did nothing to lower my headache and irritation level.

- "Is our visit inconveniencing you, Mr. Romani?" Michael asked cautiously, seeing my irritation, which I didn't try to hide.

- "Oh, my God. How could you think that?" I indignantly pressed my palm to my face, "A humble man like me was visited by such distinguished and majestic guests as you. I am so filled with joy that I cannot contain my smile. Don't you see that?"

The Leader of the Heavens still kept a smile on his face, Gabriel looked at me incomprehensibly, and Griselda's eyebrow twitched.

What else did they expect after arriving here in person? Don't they realize that demons won't sit idly by when not one, but two archangels arrived in Kuoh? I have no doubt that Sirzechs and Serafall are already tearing up at this news.

- "Whose fault is this?" I heard Goetia in my head, "I remember it was your decision to reveal yourself to the archangel, wasn't it, Romani? What's the saying? 'You fight for what you fight for, you get what you get'?"

- "I didn't know that two archangels would show up here at once," I answered him, "And why am I justifying myself to you?"

- "Because you admit your stupidity?" he said with undisguised sneer.

- "Dreaming is not a bad time…"

I was about to contradict him when Michael interrupted my conversation with Goetia.

- "I suppose our visit was unexpected," he said, "but we couldn't help but do it."

- "Because of my humble personality, I take it?"

- "You yourself must realize that Solomon's personality is of great importance not only to Heaven, but to the entire Biblical faction," he began with admiration in his voice, "Even apart from his... special fascination with women, he was probably one of the greatest Saints in history. And the entire Council of Archangels considered him an extremely important person, since Father himself recognized him."

Hehe. At the mention of God, he became sad, and Gabriel's eyes began to water.

Yeah, yeah, God is dead... I wouldn't say that, though. His will still exists in the True Longinus, and if I wanted to, resurrecting him wouldn't be a problem. But would it be worth it? I don't know, I don't know.

- "On that basis, we would like you to be part of the Church. And according to my sister, your personality is a replica of the original Solomon. Only with less attraction to women and a rougher personality."

- "Rough? I'm telling it like it is, not mincing words. If someone's an asshole, they're an asshole. No buts or ifs." I shrugged my shoulders, "And I remember telling the Cardinal, that obscene nun and your sister, didn't I?"

- "I see. We'll... figure something out," he nodded.

Then there was silence in the room. Michael was thinking seriously about changing the structure of the Church. His eyes did not move, and his hand scratched his chin in thoughtfulness. Gabriel, on the other hand, looked at him with troubled eyes. And so did Griselda. I decided to bring him out of it, of course, because I didn't want to wait for him to think it over.

- "Is that the only reason for your visit?" I leaned back on the couch, "Because I don't think it is."

- "You're right," he nodded, "There was a situation that you mentioned in a conversation with my sister a couple days ago."

- "Оh? So the holy toothpicks were stolen after all?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

- "Toothpicks, Mr. Archaman?" Griselda took the floor, "I don't mean to be impertinent, but calling artifacts of this level 'toothpicks' is rather rude."

I grinned.

There's no other way to call these reforged Excaliburs. If you compare them to the Noble Phantasms, they're at most D rank. Explosion on every strike? That's a bit weak. Shape-shifting? Not bad, but only if the wielder is someone at the level of Emiya. Mind control? Magic resistance, hello.

And I could give some sort of a head start, given the circumstances of this world and the anti-demon properties of the swords, but their durability... I'm guessing they'd be more likely to shatter than the shield if they hit Rho Aias.

- "Believe it or not, there's no other way to call these things."

- "May I ask why?" Gabriel asked, tilting her head to the side.

Okay. Now we can find out what my local colleague was capable of. Though I doubt he'll be as powerful.

- "Just for the record, do you know what Solomon's powers were?" I assumed a businesslike demeanor.

Michael took on a pensive look, as did Gabriel. And Griselda waited with genuine interest for an answer.

- "Aside from the obvious power over demons? He was quite a powerful mage." Scratching his chin Michael replied.

Well, now that they're here, I think Azazel would be a good addition to the conversation.

I snapped my fingers and a magic circle with Solomon's seal appeared underneath us all. A regular six-pointed star encased in a circle. Seeing this, Michael and Gabriel were not particularly wary, unlike Griselda. She was about to pull out the sword hanging at her side as the next moment we disappeared from Emiya's residence.

Oh, yeah. Did I mention there were already demons at the door of the house?

-0-

Azazel's house.

- "Where are we?" she asked with concern in her voice as the lights went out, sword drawn. At the same time, the two archangels were examining the decorations of the room.

And it was quiet and eerie. Just like the last time I came here. Is Azazel playing hide and seek with Nightingale again?

SCREEP

Suddenly there was an eerie creak of a door, and we all turned slowly in its direction. Berserker walked through it with her scalpels clasped between her fingers with a calm step, and upon finding us with a glance, she stopped and lowered her hands, putting them away.

- "Оh? Master? I thought intruders had broken in," she said and shifted her gaze to the others, "Who are these? Patients? Amputation or injection?"

Michael had his perpetual smile on his face and Gabriel had a look of intense surprise on hers. Apparently her eyes told her who it was.

- "Who in…" Griselda was about to ask a question when I interrupted her.

- "It's all right, Berserker." I raised my hand. I'm looking for Azazel.

- "Azazel?" Michael asked.

- "Is the brother here?" Gabriel added.

- "This is his house after all." I shrugged and turned toward Nightingale, "I hope you didn't castrate him, Berserker. Can you take us to him?"

- "Sure," she nodded and led us somewhere, "Please behave yourselves. He's on sick leave."

- "Is he sick?!" Archangel asked excitedly, "What's wrong with him? Is his life in no danger?"

- "Unfortunately, yes. He has a severe alcohol addiction," Nightingale nodded, and stopped at one of the doors of the house, "He's behind that door. And please don't disturb the patient too much. Otherwise, it may prolong his treatment time."

I nodded briefly and entered the room. And what my eyes saw can only be described as a horror movie.

There was only one single lamp burning in the room, which hung in the middle of the room. There were metal bars attached to the window and the walls resembled those in hospitals. In the room was a hospital bed, to which Azazel was handcuffed.

He was dressed in a straitjacket and his eyes were dead and resembled a dead fish. He didn't move or blink, he just... was. Azazel looked more like a corpse or a vegetable than a patient or a sick person. And only the heart monitor showing his pulse gave information that he was alive at all.

- "Fuck..." I muttered, seeing all this.

Maybe I'd gone a little overboard. By some fraction of a percent, say. Because now I felt sorry for him. Turning toward the others present, I saw Michael's very concerned face and Griselda's nervous look. And Gabriel...

- "Brother!" she shrieked and ran over to the bunk and started tugging on his shoulder, "How are you feeling! Are you alright?!"

Azazel slowly turned towards her voice and upon seeing Gabriel, his eyes widened so much that I was worried they were going to pop out of his eye sockets.

- "S-sister..." he muttered in a weak voice, "S-save yourself... The d-devil is near... R-run..."

And then he lost consciousness, apparently unable to believe his eyes.

- "Brother! Brother!" Gabriel started yanking him from side to side, "Come to your senses!"

- "Mr. Archaman," Michael called to me cautiously, "What happened here? Why is Azazel in such a state? And who is this 'Devil' he mentioned?"

- "I will only say that I am not to blame for this. Figuratively."

- "Figuratively?! Why does the Governor General of the Fallen look like he survived the war?! And his psychological state is so unstable, judging from his behavior, that I think he's going to go insane! You…"

- "What's all the noise, dear visitors?" came the calm voice of Berserker, who entered the room like a ghost. I jumped, Griselda raised her sword, and Michael opened all twelve of his wings to defend himself. Gabriel tried to wake Azazel, "Didn't I tell you not to disturb the patient?"

And she was looking at us with eyes so scary that it made me want to pee. I did what anyone else in my position would have done.

- "Fuck it!" I shouted and activated the teleportation circle, taking myself, Azazel, Michael, Gabriel, and Griselda back to the Emiya residence and knocking Nightingale out with 3rd magic.

Once home, I instantly created an entire liter kettle of coffee and drained it in a volley, trying to calm myself down.

Nurse of steel? More like Freddy Krueger in a skirt, for crying out loud!

Fuck this kind of adventure. Just fuck it. I won't make that mistake again. Never in my life. Uh-huh.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
My P.a.t.r.e.o.n: P.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m/mirzael
You'll be able to read more chapters there.

 

[mirzael]

Emiya residence.

- "I... Thank you for saving me... I thought... that I would spend the rest of eternity in such a... state..." Azazel practically whispered in a weak voice as Gabriel spoon-fed him, her worried gaze never leaving him. Neither did Michael, who was sitting across from him.

Honestly, I'm still shaking from what happened in the house of the Governor General of the Fallen. I never thought I'd naturally find myself in a horror movie.

And Azazel? I managed to resuscitate him, although it took a lot of effort. With 3rd magic, I erased the most... unhealthy memories from his mind, scraping out every detail of what he'd been through. And now Azazel is slowly recovering with support from the archangels. Griselda stood behind Michael and watched the whole thing.

I didn't completely erase his memory because, given his temper, he would have wanted to get to the truth. He wouldn't now. Definitely not.

- "Well... I didn't expect it to turn out this way. I'm sorry," I tilted my head toward Azazel, "I assure you, she won't bother you again."

At the mention of Nightingale, he began to tremble, and Gabriel hugged him gently to quiet his trembling.

- "As... compensation, I'm willing to help you with one thing of yours and provide one Servant of your personal choice," I said and rubbed my temples, "Besides, I'm the reincarnation of Solomon. That's just for the record."

He froze and slowly looked up at me.

- "Solomon?" He blinked with disbelieving eyes, "The same Solomon I used to hang out with?"

Heh. They hung out together? I guess my local counterpart's attraction to women brought him and Azazel closer together.

- "I don't know about that, since I'm not him," I shrugged and turned toward Michael, "Where did our conversation break down? Ah, yes. Solomon's abilities."

I paused for a moment before continuing.

- "Since the theory of parallel universes makes sense because of the Space Between Dimensions and the existence of two dragon gods... In short, I'm from another world."

- "Another world?" Michaell was surprised, but not too much, "Can I ask how different it is from ours?"

- "Not much. It's just that mankind has left the gods there," I began, to which I received a raised eyebrow from the current ruler of the Heavens and a surprised look from his sister, "In my world, time can be divided into three eras: Gods, fairies, and humans. During the first one, supernatural beings walked amongst ordinary humans and it was considered the norm."

- "That is, what is happening now." Michael commented thoughtfully.

- "Right," I nodded, "In the second, something happened and dealt with almost all of them. It was then, with the support of the planet itself, that the fairies forged Excalibur, the physical embodiment of the prayer called 'glory', which is conceptually indestructible as long as at least one person is alive. And now do you understand why I called your Excaliburs 'toothpicks'?"

- "Unfortunately," Griselda replied, "your sword is far superior to ours, though I don't want to admit that fact. After all, ours was forged by God himself. And if your words are true, this sword can defeat even someone like Shiva, the god of destruction, and is virtually indestructible."

- "With enough mana? No question. And not 'virtually indestructible', but 'indestructible in principle'. Well, at least as long as one person is alive. But that doesn't matter, because the power of the gods depends on the number of believers, does it?" I grinned, to which I got a nod, "What am I talking about? Exactly. And the third one, only a few still walk among humans and are carefully hidden due to some factors I won't mention. And that's the one going on at the moment, the age of man."

Having finished my explanation, I took a sip of coffee and waited for my words to fully sink into their heads.

For them, the very possibility of excluding supernatural beings from the lives of humans is... unattainable. They are so used to the current realities that they haven't even considered it. A cost of Sefar's absence from this world, I suppose.

I wonder what the history of the world would be like if she were here? After all, the local gods are far weaker than their Nasuverse counterparts. They don't embody a concept, they merely borrow it. It's like comparing a guy scooping water out of a lake with a bucket to the lake itself. The difference is so enormous that the comparison becomes ridiculous.

- "By the way," I heard Michael's voice, coming out of his thoughts, "You said something about Solomon's abilities. What did you mean?"

- "Were there others? Well, besides demon control and not bad magic, of course." Azazel, who had more or less come to his senses, joined the conversation. And Griselda and Gabriel's ears perked up.

- "Not bad?" I grinned, "Azazel-kun, you don't realize what an understatement of the century you just made."

- "What do you mean by that?"

- "The seventy-two Pillars are very powerful on their own, aren't they?" I asked, to which all four of them quickly agreed, "What if I told you that the Solomon of my world made them even more powerful?"

They froze when they heard my words.

- "More powerful?" Michael asked cautiously, while Griselda and Gabriel gave me a concerned look.

- "How?" Azazel asked, intrigued.

I answered them with a flick of my finger, and a few seconds later, Goetia materialized at the table. Upon seeing him, Griselda bared her sword, Michael and Gabriel opened their wings, readying themselves for battle, and Azazel examined every detail of Beast I.

- "Ah, yes. I forgot to mention one very amusing fact," I said, placing my hands on the table and crossing my fingers in a lock. And my chin rested on them, keeping my head upright, "With the advent of the age of man, seven entities were born. Seven entities embodying the seven sins of mankind. Not trivial ones like 'Envy', 'Lust', and so on, but far more profound ones. Like 'Regression' and 'Comparison' and so forth. And in my world, they're called Beasts. They're conceptually immortal beings who can't die until human progress stagnates or goes extinct altogether. Amazing, isn't it?"

I paused, and the eyes of my listeners widened at what I heard.

- "And before you sits the Beast I. The very first of them, created personally by Solomon with his 'not bad' magic, who combined all seventy-two original demons into one being, making him the Demon God King. A ritual to correct the Order of Mankind, epitomizing the sin of 'Pity', Goetia."

- "It is interesting to meet you in person, representatives of Heaven." He said in a dramatic voice.

The guests did not blink. Didn't move. Even stopped breathing. They looked like statues of the most skillful work that mankind was capable of. And it was Griselda who was the first to come out of her stupor.

- "What?!" she exclaimed, her eyes practically bulging out of her eye sockets, "You've got to be kidding me! You mean to tell me that we are essentially having all seventy-two Pillars sitting in front of us?!"

- "Indeed. We are here." The simultaneous response of dozens of different voices rang out in the room at once, and magical circles with the seal of each demon Pillar lit up around Goetia, "Does this embarrass you, servant of God?"

Hearing them, the guests flinched, and Gabriel generally began muttering the names of the demons whose voices she could recognize.

- "Sitri, Beleth, Leraye, Phenex, Morax..."

- "Fun fact, damn it!" Azazel picked up on it, "Do you realize what you've just revealed to us?!"

- "I-I agree with them," Michael joined them in a trembling voice, "Y-you realize how much power you have in your hands?"

- "In his hands?" Goetia raised an eyebrow, "I obey only myself, Archangel. This wretched man is not my command."

- "Oh?" I rolled my eyes, "It is not good to lie. I don't give you orders just because I don't need to."

- "Your comment has been ignored, Magician."

- "Uh-huh," I waved it away and turned to the guests, "Anyway, don't pay attention to him. He's not worth it."

- "Not worth it?! Wake up, Romany! Do you have any idea what will happen if the others find out about him?! They'll start treating humanity as a disease to be eradicated, for crying out loud!" Azazel yelled, pointing his finger at Goetia, "And the fact that he's basically part of Biblical mythology makes it even worse! There's going to be a war! Everyone is against us!"

- "Well, about the first point - they already think so, at least some of them, but about the second? I doubt it. And besides, what makes you think I don't have enough power to deal with all of them?" I shrugged, to which I got twitchy faces, "Servants haven't been canceled, you know. Some of them killed gods and, by enlisting themselves in the Throne of Heroes, got anti-divine properties at their disposal. And weapons of the same type. That's just for the record."

He froze again and stared at me intently.

- "Servants? Throne of Heroes?" Gabriel asked, uncomprehending.

- "You'll find out from Azazel. I was tired of repeating the same explanation."

I rubbed my temples.

I suppose it was wise not to tell them about the two more Beasts living under my roof. And the Grand Servants, of course. Otherwise they'd have died right here. Uh-huh.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
My P.a.t.r.e.o.n: P.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m/mirzael
You'll be able to read more chapters there.

 

[Akuma-Heika]

"Even if Uther Pendragon isn't the best father, I understand his decisions. And... I'd rather he didn't die of old age," Arthur replied, then looked at Morgan, "He's not dead, is he?"

Click to shrink...

So does he want to kill him personally, or did you mean to say he would rather he die of old age?

"So, you bear your father's name, eh?" Mordred asked

Click to shrink...

Don't lie to your big sister!" Serafall pointed her finger at her.

Click to shrink...

FTFY

whose wisdom the Father has personally recognized

Click to shrink...

That's different from Biblical and Nasu canon (where Solomon's Wisdom was a blessing given by God [although it could be argued that Solomon was at least wise enough to know he wasn't wise enough, when that is what he asked for, when God gave him a blank check])

I'll send you away, you bastard. Twice. For this and the last time you made a joke about me. You bet I will.

Click to shrink...

Solomon's wisdom was compromised when Romani got it

"You yourself must realize that Solomon's personality is of great importance not only to Heaven, but to the entire Biblical faction

Click to shrink...

FTFY

Nurse of steel? More like Freddy Krueger in a skirt, for crying out loud!

Click to shrink...

lol

 

[mirzael]

Okinawa.

I sent the guests away. Well, after we talked the Excalibur thing over.

Turns out Kokabiel's already crossed into Japan and is heading toward Kuoh. Michael said he would send Church men here to investigate the matter. To which I only grinned. In the end it was decided that they would visit me when they arrived in the city. Ah, yes. The Archangels also asked me to keep the information about Solomon and Goetia a secret if possible.

And by golly, Goetia definitely scared them.

After dealing with the guests, I set out to find the missing Servants. And I managed to find them here on the beach in Okinawa. Or rather, what was a beach.

When I arrived here, the first thing I saw was a cut, pierced, and bombed ground full of blast craters. The trees that were near the beach were uprooted or destroyed altogether.

- "Ahahahahahaha! Look what I can do, Enkidu!"

Turning toward a voice obviously belonging to Gilgamesh, I saw him doing a one-legged stance and balancing Ea on his head.

Why does he even have this BFG 9000 Nasuverse edition! Isn't that the prerogative of his version of Archer!

I looked around and found the rest of the Servants with my eyes. Enkidu was rubbing his temples, looking at his friend. Merlin was buried up to his head in the sand with Fou sitting on top of him. Heracles was splashing in the water like a child. And the others.

- "Shirouuuu. Drink up! For me!" Artoria was shoving a bottle of sake in Archer's face.

- "Come on, Shirou-kun. Just one cup." Medusa did the same thing, only hugging him from behind, pressing herself against him.

- "I knew this was a bad idea." Facepalmed Eroge the Protagonist.

- "Shut up, you have no idea how enviable your position is, nameless hero!" Shouted Lancelot, looking at him with burning eyes.

- "Aaaaaaaaaa~" Tiamat softly sang out, looking at them and smiling happily.

And yes, they smelled like they were so stinky. Well, except for Enkidu and Archer, who were not amused by the current situation. The servants certainly had fun. And by my calculations, it all happened in less than six hours.

What the hell?! Why does the beach look like it's been through Armageddon?! What kind of idiot releases his Noble Phantasms?! Whose goddamn idea was this anyway?!

My face is twisted in a childish way. And my hand slapped my face with a very loud sound.

- "Asako." I called out to the main facet of the Hundred Faces.

- "Master?" She replied, appearing beside me and looking at me with nervous eyes.

- "Would you be so kind as to tell me something," I began, to which she tensed up, "Who was the instigator of all this?"

- "It was..."

- "It was me, sensei." I heard a familiar girl's voice.

Turning toward him, my eyes saw a smirking Aika in a swimsuit, holding a glass of some kind of cocktail.

- "Tell me, Alaya, why did you decide to arrange all this?" I asked, my eyebrow twitching relentlessly.

- "Well, even Servants need to relax at least once in a while." She replied cheerfully and took a sip.

Relax, for crying out loud! Doesn't she see what the beach has become?! Doesn't she realize how dangerous the Servants are?! I…

Stop.

I took a closer look at Aika's face, at which her cheerful smile turned into a smirk.

It's clear now. She's getting back at me, huh? For putting her next to Artoria and Medusa.

Oya? You've decided to take revenge on me, Alaya-shiki? Oh, you should, my dear. Oh, for nothing.

- "So, EVEN Servants need to relax, don't they?" I asked in a measured tone, to which I received a nod.

- "Then that includes me, doesn't it? I'm basically a Servant, too, aren't I?" The kindest smile bloomed on my face, and now her grin was frozen, "And if they can afford to blow things up, so can I, can't I?"

- "Somehow, I don't like where you're going with this, Romani-sensei." Aika said cautiously, and the smirk slid off her face.

In a brief flash of light, my appearance changed. Now, instead of me in Romani's body, it was now Solomon. And the ten rings flashed with power.

- "It's alright, Aika-san. I'll blow something up too," I said with a smile on my face. Her whole body trembled in response to my words, "I mean, it's only fair, isn't it?"

- "M-maybe you shouldn't do that?"

- "The Time of Birth Has Come."

- "Y-you're seriously gonna use that on a s-schoolgirl like me?"

- "He is the One Who Masters All."

- "I apologize! I won't do it again! I…" she shrieked, throwing the drink away and kneeling down.

- "Ars Almadel Solomonis."

That day, everyone in the world saw millions of rays of light falling towards Japan.

Of course, before that, I used Territory Creation and reduced the power of Noble Phantasm by as much as two ranks. I'm not a fool, ah-ha-ha.

-0-

Kuoh Academy. Occult Research Club.
The next day.

- "Thank you for coming, Romani-sensei." Rias began as soon as I was seated and bowed. "First, I would like to thank you for helping Ise with his training. It was a surprise to me that he could reach Balance Breaker in such a short period of time."

- "That's right! Thank you, sensei!" Issei added.

- "Yeah, anything." I waved it off and asked Rias to continue.

- "Yesterday we felt a holy aura in your house and we wanted to check it out. But then she disappeared. And so did you. I'd like to know who it was." she said in a businesslike tone.

Uh-oh? Is she at it again? Doesn't she realize that I won't report to her?

- "Calm your tits, tomato-san," I shrugged. Rias twitched in response, and Akeno giggled, "Just some unexpected guests who wanted to talk to me. Nothing serious. And yes, I'm answering out of courtesy, not because you asked."

- "I'm in charge of this town, and it's important that I know what goes on in it," she said, crossing her arms. "And since you live here, it's important that you follow the rules."

My eyebrow twitched.

What kind of hypocrisy is that? I remember you were the one who missed the group of Fallen that killed Issei. That would also include killing locals by renegade demons. Sona's doing a pretty good job, so why can't you?

I glanced at Issei out of the corner of my eye. I saw that he didn't seem to be following the conversation at all.

Once again, I'm surprised that extreme naiveté is the hallmark of protagonists. Rias didn't even notice how she misspoke and revealed the fact that she was, in fact, complicit in his murder.

In some fanfics, she purposefully lets him die. That doesn't seem to be the case here. In theory. But the very fact of it gives the Shinto faction an opportunity to push the demons. Like the case of Nekosho Incident, for that matter.

I don't even want to lecture them like I did in the case of Akeno. But then I had a one-off impulse, so to speak. She ended up revealing herself to her fullest in the Rating Game, and now she has a more or less genuine smile on her face rather than a fake one.

- "If that's it, I'll go," I said, "Or is there something else?"

- "Yes," Rias nodded, "I'd like you to... train us."

I raised an eyebrow.

- "Оh? And why is that?" I wondered.

- "The other day Sona and I decided to test our powers, and..." she hesitated.

- "We were destroyed. Literally," Akeno finished for her, "From talking to her, we learned that you, Sensei, provided the mentor. And you're a very powerful mage yourself. So much so that, according to Sona, even if we team up, we don't stand a chance against you."

Oya? Sona told them about me? Although I can see Rias isn't too interested in that information. Well, she relies too much on her brother's strength. I wonder how I could break her rose-colored glasses?

- "No problem," I began, to which I received a very pleased Rias, "But what do I get in return? Free cheese is only in the mousetrap, tomato-san."

- "I wish you'd stop calling me that, Mr. Sloth," she replied, to which I just rolled my eyes, "And what do you want for your help?"

I wondered.

Well, at least she's willing to learn. Though she doesn't see the problem of her entourage closely. So. What do you want me to demand? Hmm.

- "How about one request, not from you, but from your brother?"

- "No problem!" She answered instantly, to which I remained calm outwardly, but inwardly....

She's fucking stupid. Definitely and irrevocably stupid. Doesn't she realize what a huge mistake she's just made? I just don't know what to say.

- "Fine. I'll meet you tomorrow night outside the clubhouse. I need to assess your abilities," I said and stood up and headed for the exit, "See you, tomato-san, the rest of you."

And with those words, I headed to my workplace.

I need to clear my head after such an obvious display of stupidity and shortsightedness. I hope the coffee will help me.

-0-

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[mirzael]

Kuoh Academy.
The next day.

Under a beautiful evening sunset, I and the entire cast of the Occult Studies Club stood across from each other, parodying old 90's cowboy action movies in every tradition.

The battlefield was ready.

Admittedly, as they set up their barriers, my eyebrow occasionally twitched in realization of how weak they were. In the anime, when the battle against Kokabiel was taking place and Sona and her retinue were holding the barrier, I had no questions about the barrier's strength and stability. Now, however, there are. And very big ones at that.

At that point, Sona was far weaker than she is now, and how the hell did their barrier hold back the attacks of the Fallen, who had TEN wings? Even for plot convention, this ranking of forces is just too illogical. So I put my closed field on top of theirs, just in case.

- "Master, why do I have to be the one to do this? Again."

Ah, yes. Of course, I brought Archer along. And he'll be the one to test their skills. I think a little change of scenery will do him good. Well, given recent events.

- "Well, imagine if I put Gilgamesh against them. What would he do to them?" I began, to which he rubbed his temples and remained silent, "Or Lancelot, or Enkidu, or Hera..."

- "I get it," he grumbled, "But Saber or Rider could take over, right? Or, God forbid, Merlin."

- "Hmm? Is your inner Hero of Justice messing with your head again?" I rolled my eyes, and his eyebrow twitched, "Don't tell me you don't think you're the best fit? Isn't your versatility the deciding factor?"

- "Tsk," Archer tsked.

While we were talking, an impatient Rias intervened.

- "Shall we begin, Sensei?"

- "Right!" Issei seconded her.

- "Uh-huh," I replied and stepped aside, then shouted to Archer one last time, "Remember, Emiya. People die if they are killed."

Shirou froze for a moment and then produced his favorite blades and threw them at me in annoyance. In response, I squatted down, causing the married swords to fly over me.

- "Ouch? Why do you have to react like that, Emiya-kun? Just because I'm right doesn't mean I'm right, right?"

Now he took out his bow and started shooting Hrunting at me, which of course were blocked against my magic circle.

- "To complete the package, throw at me also the very spear whose owner took your heart, aha-ha-ha."

- "That's it! You're dead, Master!" he shouted and was about to rush at me when a black and scarlet ball of energy flew towards him.

- "Attack!" Rias shouted, and the retinue rushed to the attack, while she kept throwing the orbs as if there were no other use for them.

Kiba was the first to reach Archer with his sword and swing it, but was blocked by Emiya, who wasn't even looking in his direction. Akeno flew up into the sky and raised her hand. From that a magic circle appeared, from which lightning flew out and headed for Archer.

But it too was repelled by him, to which he received the widened eyes of Rias' entourage. She wasn't discouraged and continued to fire lightning bolts while in the air. Though Emiya wasn't really paying much attention to her either. A cost of the battle with Medea, I suppose. Well considering the circumstances preventing him from using devastating Caladbolg-type Noble Phantasms.

Shirou swung his Bakuya and flung Kiba away from him, breaking his sword in the process, then dashed towards Rias. On his way to her, Koneko stood in front of him, which he jumped over and threw his swords at the King of the retinue.

- "I will protect the President!" Issei shrieked, "Balance Breaker! Scaly Armor of the Booster Gear!"

As he activated it, he was ready to meet Archer's attack when, unexpectedly, Shirou turned sharply towards Asia, who was standing a bit away from Rias. Kiba and Koneko instantly asked after Archer. As well as Issei, for that matter.

- "Asia!" Issei shrieked and rushed to defend her.

But it was too late, as Archer quickly reached Asia's figure and knocked her out with a hilt strike to the back of her head.

At full speed, the Issei flying towards him sped up even more and put his fist out, aiming for Shirou's face. Seeing this and thinking quickly, Archer thrust his hand forward.

- "Rho Aias!" he shrieked, and a pink-colored flower-shaped shield appeared in front of him.

BOOM

There was an explosion, and a cloud of dust blocked the view. Rias managed to put a barrier in front of her, and her entourage searched for Emiya with their eyes until they found him standing near me with Asia in his arms.

- "I think that's enough. You all suck." I said in a measured tone and snapped my fingers.

The bodies of the Club members were wrapped around the roots and immobilized.

- "But, why?" A perplexed Issei asked.

My eyebrow twitched.

- "Really, why? Maybe because you could have killed Asia, hmm, you stupid skillful pervert?"

At those words, he froze and turned pale, his eyes widening fearfully. As did the rest of them, though.

- "Oh? Your whole look screams that you haven't thought about it, huh?" I said, crossing my arms, "Or did you take advantage of it on purpose, counting on Archer to protect her and set her up for a hit? No, you're not smart enough to think that."

He lowered his head, and the rest of the entourage looked at Asia and Issei with concerned eyes. I snapped my fingers once more, and the roots released them.

- "I... thank you for not abandoning Asia, Archer-san." Rias said and bowed, walking over to us.

- "As you wish," Archer shrugged and handed Asia to Kiba, "Next time, watch your surroundings. You have no ability to make quick and thoughtful decisions. And if my hunch is correct, you'll be trained by me. That means you'll have a lot more work to do than Sitri-san and her entourage."

Rias sighed disappointedly, as did the rest of her entourage. Except for Issei, who was still in a downcast state.

- "That's right," I nodded, "And anyway, whose idea was it to leave the dumb skillful pervert in reserve? Wouldn't it be preferable to leave the attack to him, and the rest of us to group up and support him from afar? And put Kiba and Koneko in the middle or closer to him, hmm?"

- "Well..." Akeno started awkwardly, throwing a glance in Rias' direction.

- "Heh. Your brains are swollen with the fat of your tits, eh, tomato-san? Didn't you already know that Archer was strong, and your standard tactics could go in the trash?"

- "But... It worked in the Rating Game..." she muttered.

TWO of my eyebrows twitched.

How did you even get the idea to compare soap to an airplane! And anyway, Riser gave in to you, for crying out loud! Didn't you notice the look he gave you when he gave in?!

I'm just shocked. She's either playing dumb or she is. Yeah... And to pull a stick the size of a skyscraper out of her ass and break her rose-colored glasses is gonna take a lot of time and effort, which, frankly, I'm sorry for.

- "Okay," I rubbed my temples, "To summarize, it turns out to be: a dumb, skillful pervert who doesn't look where to hit. A tomato who can't sensibly assess the situation and strategize. Homo-eyes who is unable to create even a somewhat acceptable sword. White Cat, who has no speed at all on principle, and Healer, who can't defend himself in any way. Only Akeno, who more or less fulfills her role as fire support, has no special complaints. Anything else to add, Archer?"

- "Nope." he shrugged.

But in the next moment, a scarlet spear exuding a bloodthirsty aura was aimed at my face... which I blocked with my index finger.

- "Oh? Isn't saving everyone your credo, Emiya-kun? Don't I fall under that category?" With a cute smile on my face, I asked, already knowing where the punch was coming from.

- "All Magicians are annoying bastards that need to be destroyed," Emiya said confidently, holding up his spear, "You, Master, Zelretch, and that flower bastard. And if you all disappear, the world will only thank me."

- "Thank you for the compliment, Mother Emiya," I grinned, and the edge of his mouth twitched, "And I wouldn't give the interdimensional troll a bad word if I were you. Given our current circumstances, he could very well come here and play a joke on you. And you certainly don't want that."

- "Tch."

Turning to the side, I saw all the Club members tensely staring at the spear in Archer's hand, and Koneko had even fainted from its aura.

- "W-what kind of spear is that, Sensei? Why does it have such a terrifying aura?" Kiba asked in a trembling voice.

Ouch. Did Gae Bolg scare them? Yeah... Their mental defenses are in the shitter too....

I rubbed my temples and grabbed the spear and broke it with two fingers. To which I received stunned looks from Rias's entourage and Emiya's annoyed face.

I guess he's going to have a lot of work to do with them... A lot of work....

-0-

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[mirzael]

Kyoto.

I decided to rest a bit and feel the atmosphere of the ancient city again. And this time without visiting Nurarihyon's place.

The sun had already set, and life in the city was just beginning: beautifully decorated red lanterns lighting up the streets, the clatter of traditional wooden Japanese sandals on the cobblestone road, and, of course, yukata men and women having a cultural time.

Spurred on by the moment, I too changed into a black colored yukata with a pattern of white flowers on it and strolled around, breathing in the ancient Japanese city-soaked air, which was a nice change of scenery.

- "It was a beautiful city. Like the smiles on the faces of the people here," I heard Grandpa's voice beside me, "In my time, they were covered in sand and dust, and the only sources of light were candles. The atmosphere was darker."

- "I suppose there was rather little entertainment in your time, eh?"

- "Perhaps there was, but I didn't pay any more attention to it than necessary. What I did take up all the time available."

- "Do you regret it?"

- "No," he said firmly, "It was my choice. I found my calling in it, and my personal needs took a back seat. Hashashin became my child who needed all my attention. The training of each candidate must be thorough and deliberate, and the enforcement of the code all the more so."

- "Oh? There were those who didn't follow them?"

- "Of course there were. Eighteen generations, eighteen leaders. Some lost their way, some found more important recognition in their lives, and some just reveled in the opportunities that came their way. And I remember them all."

- "Hmm... In addition to you as the founder, I know three other Hashashin heads. Can you tell me anything about the others?"

- "You already know the answer to your question, don't you, Master?"

- "It was worth a try." I shrugged.

Grandpa is definitely cool, and I'm already guessing what he was doing before he did what he's doing now. If you remember Shiki Tohno from Tsukihime, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception can bring its owner a decent amount of inconvenience and limitations. The boy was experiencing a severe headache, and one wrong move could cost a massacre around himself and those around him. Not the most pleasant of sensations.

- "By the way, how did you set foot on this path? And what did you do before your current line of work? The voice of God?"

- "I don't even remember what I was before. But yes, one day I heard the voice of God. He chose me to decide the fate of murderers and sinners."

- "Oya? So, we are brothers in a way, huh?" I said passionately.

- "Brothers, Master?" he asked in a puzzled tone.

- "Well, since I'm Solomon's Pseudo-Servant who was also chosen by the Almighty, we can be called that, can't we? Nah, it's better to stay 'Grandpa'. It's more comfortable."

- "As you wish."

As I walked down another alleyway, the blonde head of a little girl with distinctive fox ears caught my eye. She was running from counter to counter as if she was hiding from someone, looking around from time to time. And apparently, I looked at her for a very long time.

- "Do you know this girl, Master? You've been staring at her for a minute."

- "Uh-huh. The daughter of the head of the Yokai who likes to run away from her guards. Do you think we should intervene?"

- "It's up to you."

- "Then I will."

As I blended in with the crowd, I slowly made my way toward Yasaka's daughter. When she went into an alley, I followed her. Kunou stopped in the middle of the space and sighed in relief, apparently not sensing my presence. She was wearing the standard garb of a Japanese temple priestess, consisting of a white shirt and a bright red hakama.

- "Running away from your guards is not the smartest thing to do, young lady." I whispered to her with her back to me.

- "Whoa-a-a!?" she shrieked and jumped away from me, turning to face me.

- "Calm down," I said in a soothing tone and raised my hands, showing that I was not dangerous, "If I wanted to harm you, I would not have made my presence known."

- "Who are you? What do you want from me?" She asked as cautiously as possible, searching with her eyes for an escape route.

- "To take me to my parents, I suppose. Your mother's probably already turned the whole town upside down looking for you. You wouldn't want to worry her too much, would you?"

- "How do I know you're not lying, mister?"

Hmm. Makes sense. I wouldn't trust the first person who offered to help me either.

- "Wait a minute," I said, and looked for a similar energy signature to Kunou. And from the looks of it, she's headed to Nurarihyon right now, probably for help. Hmm? What kind of demonic aura is heading this way? "Young lady, do you happen to know where your guards have gone?"

- "They asked me to wait for them and went somewhere, why?" Still cautiously, she replied.

- "I think I know what happened to them." I said, and the next moment there was a rather violent explosion.

BOOM.

The area where Kunou and I were standing was covered in dust, and the nearby buildings turned into rubble. When the dust cleared, my magic circle, which had protected us from the explosion, was visible. When I looked up, I saw a man with brown hair in the sky, spreading ten demonic wings and looking straight at my circle.

- "Weak for my blood," said the demon Beelzebub, "Although he clearly did not want to kill. What are you going to do, Romani?"

Oh? So this is Shalba Beelzebub? Doesn't look like the straightest guy I've ever seen.

- "Hey! Isn't introducing yourself before attacking the basics of a civilized third-rate villain, hmm?" I shouted at him.

- "Who are you?" he asked, ignoring my complaint, "Why does an inferior person dare to meddle in my affairs?"

- "I apologize for not asking permission, Mr. Pedophile," I said, at which his face contorted in anger, "And you still haven't introduced yourself. Maybe I was wrong to think demons had any dignity."

- "How dare you insult me, insect? But I'll introduce myself. Shalba Beelzebub, descendant of the Great Demon King, Lord of the Flies, Power…"

- "Yeah, yeah. You're cool and everything. Can you keep it short?"

In response, he held out his hand in my direction with a magic circle appearing in it. And a beam of energy flew out of it, which of course was blocked. And Kunou, finding no other option, ran up to me and hid behind my back.

- "You know what, why don't you come down to earth, dearie? I'm gonna teach you some etiquette."

My magic circle appeared in front of me, from which golden chains flew out, parodying Enkidu. With the speed of a bullet, they headed toward Shalba, trying to tie him up. He, of course, tried to dodge them and even fight them off, but it was all in vain. The chains wrapped around his body and with all speed and force slammed Shalba into the ground in front of my feet.

- "Who are you?! How dare you bind me, you, inferior creature!" he roared in my direction, gritting his teeth hard and glaring at me with angry eyes.

I silently created a Tora-shinai in my hand, which I had once managed to see in Archer's hands, and walked around him.

- "What the hell are you doing!"

- "Young lady, let me demonstrate how to punish naughty children." I pronounced with the kindest smile on my face and under Kuno's gaze, swung around and slapped Shalba's ass.

BAM

- "Agh!" he screamed in pain, "Why does it hurt so much?! I'm one of the strongest demons, dammit! So why does a wooden stick hurt so much!!!!"

BAM

- "Aah!"

Is it worth mentioning the tenfold increase in pain I added to Tora-shinai? I guess not.

BAM

- "Stop it!" he shouted, and Kunou covered her eyes and ears.

BAM

- "I'm going to kill you! My flies will eat you alive!"

BAM

- "You…"

BAM

- "Not over…"

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM

After a couple minutes of beating, he fell silent and his eyes glazed over. After stopping beating him, I smiled happily as I felt great. It felt like all the stress had dissolved into nothingness and all that was left was contentment.

Maybe I'm a sadist? Nope. Beating… Oh. Raising bad guys isn't sadistic, right? Pure justice, I'd say.

- "S-scary..." Kunou whispered in a shaky voice, looking up at me. Her fox ears were pressed against her head, and her legs were barely keeping her upright.

My eyebrow twitched.

I kind of saved your life, little girl! Maybe a word of thanks, hmm? No? Anything?

- "You scared the child, Master," I heard Grandpa's voice in my head, "That's a sin, you know."

- "I was about to object when I was interrupted by a woman's scream."

- "Kunou!"

Turning in the direction of the shout, I saw an extremely emotional Yasaka, accompanied by Nurarihyon and one Tengu woman, looking at her daughter. And transferring her gaze to me with Tora-shinai, raised her tails and took a fighting stance.

- "Who are you?! What are you doing to my daughter?!"

I'm a good guy, damn it! Why do you want to attack me when I saved your daughter?! The bad guy is lying in front of me, not standing!

- "Answer me!" Yasaka shrieked, and golden flames flickered in her hands.

I want to go home. Definitely.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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[mirzael]

Kyoto. Yasaka's Palace.

I sat in the seiza position in one of the rooms of the palace and sipped my tea with a calm expression on my face, even though I'm an avid coffee drinker. The moon was shining unusually bright that night, eliminating the need for an alternative light source. The sounds of fireflies permeated the room, and the warmth of the tea cup warmed my skin.

So, today's incident aside, I need to think about how exactly to deal with Kokabiel and Excalibur.

The Fallen can be dealt with without too much trouble, as his role isn't important enough to proceed with caution. He's just the catalyst for the Biblical faction's peace treaty. I haven't met him yet, so it's too early to draw conclusions about his personality. What if he also doesn't fit the canon as well as Riser? Who knows, who knows.

According to the description from the anime, he's a typical war-crazed villain, without any clarification in the narrative. And I wouldn't want to let him go to waste without figuring out his motives. Cao Cao and his gang reeked of arrogance and a kind of madness, just like the recently met Shalba. They didn't have any deep thoughts or thoughtful motivation, as was the case with Riser. And considering that Kokabiel, though fallen, is still an angel, I highly doubt his mind is as illogical and clouded as the first two.

I think I should get him into a conversation sometime to get a better idea of what exactly his goal is.

The Excalibur thing is both complicated and simple at the same time. I'll definitely get all seven of his reshaped shards, even the Excalibur of Control that Arthur currently possesses, as well as making it whole again with the help of Merlin and Emiya under Muramasa's influence, but then what's next?

Leave it in the hands of the local factions? Nope. The other supernatural factions, upon learning that the sword is unified again, will try to pull something, as the balance of power will change. Although the local Excalibur isn't as strong as Artoria's, it's still powerful enough to pose a threat to mystical beings. A noble Phantasm of rank B. Maybe B+ at most. Durability is very lame when you consider it in his shards, though.

Morgan, Artoria, Merlin, Lancelot, and even Mordred wouldn't mind the idea of keeping the sword in my care, but then the Biblical faction would lose an effective weapon and an important asset in its face.

And all would have been simple, were it not for Alaya's restrictions. In the absence of them, my hands would be completely free, and Trihexa wouldn't be a problem, as two EX-ranked Noble Phantasms from two Grand Servants at once would wipe her out in a second. But unfortunately, I'm still limited in what I can do.

I need to start testing my theories on circumventing the rule of relative non-interference in the plot as soon as possible, or else there will be more and more of these situations. Although, they're going to be that way anyway, given the intensity of the story arcs.

I took a sip to calm my mind and looked into my cup.

- "You may enter, Ms. Ninja," I said, still not taking my gaze off the cup, "You don't have to be so careful. If I wanted to do something, your attempts to resist me would be futile, as you probably already know from Nurarihyon-san's words."

The response was a silence that didn't last too long, as the shoji to my room opened, and in its opening was a figure dressed in a black ninja uniform.

- "I apologize, but I'm only doing my job." She replied, sitting down in the seiza.

- "I see," I looked at her and placed the cup on the table, "I understand Yasaka-sama wants to see me?"

Her answer was a short nod. I got up from the table and headed to the main hall, which took about a couple minutes to reach. Once inside, my eyes immediately noticed Yasaka sitting on her throne and Nurarihyon standing at the stairs to her and smiling cheerfully at me.

- "It is a pleasure to welcome you to my palace, Romani-san," Yasaka began, adjusting her kimono, "First of all, I want to thank you for saving my daughter, as well as apologize for my behavior when we first met. I should have investigated the situation more thoroughly before making false accusations."

- "It's all right," I said, "Given the emotional state you were in at the time, your actions can be justified. And the damage you and our not-so-decent guest have done, I've already undone."

At my words, her ears drooped, and Nurarihyon chuckled.

- "Well, well, well. You shouldn't have mentioned it, young one. You upset the lady."

- "Oh, you could have kept your mouth shut, old man," I rolled my eyes, which got another chuckle from him, "By the way, how did your people miss someone like Shalba anyway? I thought that since Kyoto was the capital of the Yokai faction, the defense should be at an appropriate level, right?"

- "And it matches, but the demon got into the city in some other way we don't know about yet," Yasaka said and thought for a moment, "You don't have any guesses on that?"

- "Just a couple. And without any proof."

Georg of the Heroes faction and perhaps someone from the faction of past demon lords, given that Shalba was the one who came to the city. And the fact that he was alone is pure arrogance.

- "I see. Anyway, I'd like to thank you in some way," Yasaka straightened up and said,

"What would you like to receive as a reward?"

- "Oh? I intervened purely of my own free will, so I don't see the need for something like that," I shrugged, "And anyway, what makes you so sure I'm not part of some sinister plan of the enemy?"

- "Well, well, well. Don't you know that, Romani?" Nurarihyon grinned, "One of the Yokai's greatest abilities is the ability to read intentions. The Kitsune are particularly gifted in this area."

- "Nurarihyon-sama is right. If you had ill intentions toward us, I could sense it. So your suspicions are unnecessary."

Heh. How did an entire village of Nekoshou go under the knife if the Yokai have such skill? The geniuses in senjutsu missed the definitely aggressive demons right under their noses? By the way, I don't know the details of this event yet.

- "I have a question."

- "What kind of question, Romani-san?" Yasaka asked.

- "Can I know the details of the incident without being told?" I asked, at which Nurarihyon stopped smiling and Yasaka made a very sad face. "If it's as you say, I don't understand why it happened."

There was silence for a few seconds, which felt like hours.

- "It was... our oversight. And I would prefer to stop there, Romani." Nurarihyon replied.

Yeah... that's a response I don't think I've gotten yet. According to the wiki, Kuroki and Koneko's father was a scientist who experimented on his own children. And he was sponsored by the Naberius family, who were interested in the race's abilities.

I sighed and rubbed my temples.

Okay, I'll get the details from Kuroki. She hangs around my house anyway.

- "Okay," I began, and Nurarihyon and Yasaka relaxed, realizing that I had decided to postpone the topic, "In that case, I'd like to go home. The residents of my home are somewhat... restless."

- "Okay," Yasaka nodded, "But what about the reward."

- "See you later, Yasaka-san, old man." I said and teleported home before I heard her.

I'll ask her for the reward some other time.

-0-

As soon as Romani disappeared, there was a silence in which Yasaka went into thought.

- "What do you think of him, Yasaka-chan?" Nurarihyon asked cheerfully.

- "He's strong. Very strong, even if he tries to hide it," she replied thoughtfully, "How did you meet him, Nurarihyon-sama?"

- "Spontaneously," he grinned, "He was going through an identity crisis and happened to stumble upon my establishment. We met there and got to talking. I'd call him a true neutral, if I were to infer from his thoughts and conversations."

- "I see." Yasaka nodded.

Romani Archaman was... unusual. When she had first met his eyes, two words had rung clearly in her mind: 'Wisdom' and 'Magic'.

Magical power enveloped Romani's body like a thick woolen cloak. A very thick cloak from which thin threads of mana would occasionally fly out. And each of those threads was powerful. So much so that each of them could match one of Yasaka's most powerful spells. Based on that, one could imagine how powerful this man was if he didn't hold back.

Not only that, talking to him gave the feeling that Romani knew far more than she showed at first glance.

And... as she spoke to him, a subtle feeling of... connection ran through her body, and her heart skipped a beat. Outwardly, of course, she didn't show it, but that didn't negate the fact itself.

All of this raised questions in Yasaka's mind, even if she believed Nurarihyon's words about the man's character.

- "Do you want my men to observe him, Yasaka-chan?" As if reading her mind, Nurarihyon asked.

- "No, he'll notice. It's better to let things stay the way they are. We already have problems with the demon faction, and I don't want to add to them by provoking this man."

- "Suit yourself," he said and headed for the exit, "I'll be at my place if you need anything."

Yasaka nodded briefly and drifted off again. She needed to think. And to check on Kunou.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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[mirzael]

The forest of familiars.

- "I'm so sorry, but why am I here?" I asked the question, looking at the two groups of schoolboy demons.

- "Because it's your job?" Covering her mouth with the palm of her hand, Akeno giggled.

- "Somehow I don't recall a clause obliging me to visit another dimension with my students in the list of duties as a nurse of Kuoh Academy," My gaze went towards Sona, who had a smug grin on her face, "I demand compensation for overtime, President of the Student Council."

- "Oh? Need I remind you exactly how you work?" She fixed her glasses and raised her hand and continued, curling her fingers, "Late hours, leaving the workplace abruptly, damaging school property, unscheduled days off, sleeping on the wo…"

At this point I stopped listening to her and looked around.

The landscape was beautiful. Untouched by industrialization, nature breathed life. The swaying leaves of the trees, the murmuring of the waters, the sounds of mystical creatures, and most importantly, the high concentration of mana, reminded me of Solomon's memories of the Other Side of the World. I think there would be something to do here.

And actually, instead of 'looking after' these demons, I could be lying on a bunk in the med room, stroking Foe and sipping coffee. So much time wasted... I have something to say to them. And Sirzechs, of course.

- "Are you listening to me, Romani-sensei?" Sona asked with displeasure in her voice.

- "Why are there two retinues here at once? Isn't the forest of familiars only open to one?"

- "Romani-sensei?" Her voice became louder.

- "Do you have some sort of arrangement with the local parody Pokémon trainer? Or did you utilize the support of your brother and sister? Again."

- "Hey!"

- "We found a way out," Rias replied with her arms crossed, "And you're only here to ensure our safety, though I don't see the need for it. Lord Lucifer insisted on it."

Oh? He wants to see my power? Somehow I have a feeling that something is going to happen today with subtle assistance from Scarlet Satan. Well, I don't think he can do that. After all, there's nothing in this forest that could force me to act even the slightest bit seriously.

And while I was pondering this, a huge wave-like shadow appeared behind me, and my magic circle lit up. A huge wave of water hit my side with unnatural hardness, making a loud explosion sound.

BOOM

- "What is that!!!" Issei exclaimed.

- "When did Sona become so strong! She didn't show it when we were fighting!" Supported her retinue by Rias herself, who along with Akeno held protective circles in front of her retinue.

My circle extinguished, and I slowly turned my head towards the enraged Sona with her arm outstretched in my direction, and gave her a cheerful look.

- "Oya? When did you become so irritable, Ms. President?" I smiled, at which two giant snakes of water formed behind her and roared at me, "Maybe you should sniff some paper and ink to calm down? Or would you prefer I call your sister over here? Your irritability can affect your appearance, you know? Wrinkles, that sort of thing? But I have absolutely nothing to do with it, if you ask me."

And as soon as I finished speaking, the snakes came at me, trying to naturally devour me. Even though they were stopped by my circle, they were beating on it with the intention of getting to my carcass.

- "Can you not annoy Sona, Sensei?" Rias questioned, looking at me sternly, "We're attracting too much attention."

- "Oh? Tomato Princess, please keep your seeds to yourself and don't interfere in other people's conversation. Or have you not been taught etiquette?" I raised an eyebrow, and Akeno giggled, as did Sona's entourage.

- "Trained, unlike you, Mr. 'sleeping on the job'." She replied, and the edge of her mouth twitched.

- "I'm just assuming that all the training went into your chest and stayed there, never making it to your brain," I said, to which she was covered in a black and scarlet aura, "It's bigger than your head, after all, so I think it's a reasonable assumption. Isn't that right, Koneko?"

Rook nodded confidently, and Rias joined Sonia in firing balls of energy at me.

- "I've never seen a president like that before," Issei muttered.

- "And you have no instinct for self-preservation. If your opponent is even a slightly attractive girl, your goal is not to win, but to undress. And I'm not talking about your fighting ability at this point, mind you."

- "Hey! I can't help it! Like you wouldn't look at a pretty girl even if she's the enemy!" he exclaimed, and then froze for a moment and looked at me suspiciously, "Or... or are you not into girls?"

I was stunned and slowly looked at him, and Saji started throwing wary glances at me as well.

That bastard is hinting at 'it', isn't he? What an ungrateful bastard! It's only because of me (Archer) that he was able to reach the damn Balance Breaker in such a short period of time!

- "Repeat what you just said. Loud and clear so I could be sure I was listening," three Gae bolgs appeared behind me, their aura like a wave of icy water that washed over the crowd and stopped the gunfire. The spears themselves pointed at Issei, causing him to freeze, and his eyes flickered between them and me, "It seems that lately, stupidity has become airborne, and I'm afraid I'll catch it."

- "Well..."

- "Well?"

- "You are g…" my assumptions were confirmed, and he was about to say what he wanted to say when he was interrupted by a voice, towards which one Gae Bolg instantly flew.

- "What's going on here!!!" The voice asked, and then, as the spear almost caught up with him, shouted, "What is this?!"

The silhouette dodged, to which I raised an eyebrow, and appeared in my field of vision.

Yep. Coach Ash on minimums. Same red cap, same backpack, and same fingerless gloves. It all looked totally ridiculous, since instead of a teenager, it was a man in his forties. But I'll give him credit. Dodging a Rank B Noble Phantasm is an impressive feat. I guess running and dodging are the only talents he has.

- "What are you?" I asked with a deliberately surprised look.

- "I'm Zatugi! I'm a professional trainer of familiars! And you're making too much noise! And…"

- "And if you don't shut up, you'll become a professional colander, capisce?" I finished for him, and the number of spears increased to ten, to which he instantly shut up.

- "You can't threaten him! He…"

- "Will become the owner of more holes than given to him by nature if you don't shut up too, tomato-san," I said, to which Rias also fell silent, glancing warily at Gae Bolgs, "I'll take a walk. And you can do whatever you want once I'm far enough away that I can't hear your ramblings. I hope that's clear?"

- "But you must protect on…" Rias wanted to start to emerge as the spears turned in her direction, releasing an ominous aura that made her cover her mouth.

- "Fine. Good luck then." I said and headed deep into the forest.

As I walked through it, my eyes noticed a wide variety of creatures, even more reminiscent of the Backside of the World. Dragons, elementals, dryads, fairies, and a bunch of other creatures like them were going about their business. And they didn't notice me, or just ignored me, which was rather odd. I wonder how a certain white Beast would react to this place.

- "Fou." I said, as the next moment, a small portal appeared in front of me, out of which the Primate Murder flew out with its leg extended into my face to hit me.

I only raised an eyebrow and caught him by the scruff of his neck, bringing him closer to my face.

- "Fou, kyu!"

- "And? You beat up Merlin every day. It wouldn't be a tragedy if you missed a day or two," I said, to which he crossed his arms in front of him, "Besides, take a look around. What do you think of this place?"

He started twirling his head from side to side, then sniffed the air.

- "Fou."

- "I know what it looks like, but do you sense anything special? How much of it is connected to other dimensions?"

Fou hesitated and closed his eyes. Then a couple minutes later he opened them and looked at me seriously.

- "Fou, fou, fou, fou, kyu."

- "Interesting."

Why did I say that? Because, this place is basically the Texture of this world. In DxD, there is no separation between the outside world and the backside. It's more like an onion. The human world is the outermost layer, and Hell, Heaven, Asgard, the Forest of Familiars, and so on are underneath, reminiscent of the Textures from the Nasuverse. That is, overlapping realities, like layers of an onion.

And the interesting thing is that True Magic affects them specifically. That is, if I resurrect a person with 3rd magic, I pull the soul out of the lower Textures to the higher one. The soul still belongs to the world, it just goes through several layers of reality, Textures, thus I bypass the rules of the world, making me ignore the path the soul of the dead has traveled.

Yes, each pantheon has its own afterlife, but they too are Textures connected to the outer layer, the world of humans. Basically, each layer is connected to it, creating a unified communication system for the entire world.

And since that's the case, here, I can test my theories, since this place is connected to both the outer and inner layers. A middle ground, so to speak.

I grinned.

Well, it's time to test the rule of non-interference in the plot.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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[Shane.W]

Is he about to resurrect God?

 

[Xcell]

(True, but there's a catch. If Trihex isn't defeated by ANY main character, then the conceptual law of this world will be broken, and the timeline will reset to the original timeline. As for those who don't belong to that very original timeline? They will be erased. Not killed. Not returned to their birth line. They will be erased. Te-heh." she finished, repeating the gesture.) this is just the author's way of telling us the readers the MC will have no effect on Canon at all. It's like he's there but not really. So this is basically the set up for the most boring type of fanfic story that has ever been imagined. As it's basically just going to be a rewrite of the entire DxD plot with an extra character who doesn't change the story in any meaningful way.

 

[mirzael]

An undisclosed location.

- "Did it work?!"

- "Did the magic work?!"

Stunned gasps and gasps were the first sounds my hearing picked up. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I was in some parody of a basement, and a rather remarkable crowd in front of me.

A red-haired woman who was looking at me with a certain sense of uncertainty. A middle-aged brunette who had his mouth wide open. Another black-haired man with a stone face and wearing clothes that made him look like Batman. A woman in her forties wearing a cartoon witch style hat with her mouth wide open. Another curly-haired man, frozen like a statue. And ahead of them stood a brunette girl of about fifteen with green eyes and round glasses.

But most notable were the two old men standing in front of them. One of them had a beard, he was also dressed in turquoise clothes and had small glasses on his face. His eyes were studying me with genuine interest, as if I were some kind of guinea pig or something. But the other one...

- "Would you be so kind as to explain to me where I am, why I'm here, and why your extremely cheerful grin makes me want to punch you in the face, dear Zelretch?" I said with twitching eyes.

- "Oh? No manners. What a bunch of young people... So rude and uncivilized..." he said with a pained look on his face, but my eyes could see the very annoying smirk that never left his face.

- "Answer the question, you bloody bloodsucker." I said as calmly as possible.

But suddenly a red-haired woman intervened in the conversation.

- "Are you the version of Valerie from the other world?" she asked in an uncertain voice.

- "Valerie?" I didn't understand.

- "That's me," a girl of about fifteen now spoke up, to whom I shifted my gaze, "It's nice to meet another version of me. My name is Valerie Potter, what's yours?"

I froze and slowly turned towards the interdimensional troll, whose shoulders were twitching with giggles.

Potter?

Bloody Potter!

That old man threw me into the world of bloody Harry Potter?! And not the canonical one, but a parallel to the female version of the main character?!

I took another look around the crowd and realized why it seemed so familiar. 'Dumb as a Door,' McGonagall, Sirius, Snape, and... Potter's bloody living parents! And judging by age, current events are somewhere within the Goblet of Fire. But... shouldn't 'Valerie' have a lightning bolt scar? Welllllll...

- "Hehehe..." Zelretch's giggle volume got higher, which made everyone present could hear it, and me even more so.

'Gae bolg Alternative' appeared behind my shoulder and flew at lightning speed at the troll's head... which he stopped by catching the blade with his index and middle fingers.

- "What is that?!"

- "Where did that spear come from?!"

- "Why does it give off such a terrifying aura?!"

Of course, both the vampire and I ignored the crowd's cries of surprise. He let go of the spear, and it shattered into blue-colored dust particles.

- "Ouch? Did you really think it could hurt me?" With a toothy smile on his face, he asked.

- "I'd use Noble Phantasm, but I'm afraid that if I did, the Alaya of this world would be furious at me."

He didn't say anything in response and looked at me cheerfully.

Why is he looking at me like that? Isn't... Stop.

With True Magic, I touched the Texture of the world and realized something that made my eyes widen.

There is no Alaya here. Which means there are no limitations. Which means I can act in any way at all.

- "Not all worlds obey a rule like your last one," he said, as if reading my thoughts, "And you haven't introduced yourself yet, colleague."

- "You already know me, don't you?"

- "Introduce yourself not to me, but to them." he pointed to the crowd.

I tilted my head to the side and looked at the gawkers. Each one of them looked at me with either shock, surprise, or suspicion. But all of them were clearly expecting my introduction, judging by the expression in their eyes.

- "Romani Archaman, Magician." I said and bowed.

- "I assume that word has a different meaning in your homeworld?" Dumbledore asked with genuine interest.

- "Who knows." I shrugged my shoulders.

- "You don't trust me, and I can understand that," he nodded, "In that case, I'll wait until you're ready to share that knowledge."

Oya? Is he just playing around or is he really that understanding? Somehow I'm too lazy to explore his soul.

- "Archaman? Now I see why you don't have Lily's or James' eyes or hair color," Sirius remarked, "White hair and golden eyes are rare."

- "But he didn't deny being an alternate version of my daughter. If the head of the Clock Tower is to be believed, all worlds are different," Valerie's father interjected and looked at me, "Can I ask how old you are, and who your parents are?"

- "Clock Tower?" I interjected and my face twisted.

I don't want to see the haughty and arrogant faces of the Clock Tower Lords in any world. Though the Queen is pretty interesting... for jokes. Well, and Marisbury isn't bad, I guess...

- "One of the most secretive factions of wizards," Dumbledore obligingly replied, "By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves. Valerie you already know. The man and woman standing behind her are her parents, James Potter and Lily Potter, née Evans. The man with straight hair is Severus Snape and the one with curly hair is Sirius Black. The lady next to me is Minerva McGonagall. I can be called Albus Dumbledore, as my full name is quite long. And can we hear the answers to James' questions?"

- "Thirty years old. I don't remember my parents." I shrugged.

- "You really don't trust us..." said Lily sadly, "In that case, what do you think about becoming part of our family?"

I raised an eyebrow.

- "Well... Since you are an alternate version of our daughter, why not?"

- "That's all well and good, but I still don't understand why I'm here." I said, rubbing my temples and ignoring her words.

- "The explanation... will take some time..." McGonagall said tiredly.

- "Voldemort is back," Valerie said confidently, to which she received stares from the others, I raised an eyebrow once more, and Zelretch was still smirking, "He's back and he's got some kind of artifact that can steal magic."

Steal magic? Interesting.

- "Well, since my goddaughter started..." Sirius began, "There was a competition recently called the Tournament of Three Wizards. And in the final round, Valerie was transported to a place where, according to her, a powerful dark wizard was reborn, and there he stole her magic with the help of some artifact."

- "Then I turned to Lord Zelretch for help," Dumbledore continued, at which Zelretch smiled smugly, "And he suggested using his family's ancient magic, which can work miracles."

- "Miracles?" I asked, realizing exactly what the troll had suggested.

- "To summon someone who would be able to deal with one of the strongest dark wizards and prevent a catastrophe related to him." James finished.

- "I still don't understand what this has to do with me." I rolled my eyes.

- "Lord Zelretch offered to summon an alternate version of Ms. Potter capable of doing all of this."

- "And you just took his word for it?"

- "He's never been wrong before." James said, as if not believing him was completely stupid.

I turned toward the vampire and stared at him dumbfounded.

- "Oh? What did I do to deserve that look?" He asked cheerfully.

- "Considering you're one of the most, if not the most, annoying bastards in the universe?"

- "Well, you're one of the most annoying bastards in the universe!" he smirked, and then his face suddenly turned serious and the smirk disappeared. And in a whisper that only I could hear, said, "Besides, if I hadn't intervened, you would have vanished from existence like that version of the world you were in."

- "Hmm?!"

- "When you started experimenting on your soul, you didn't consider all the intricacies and details of the effects of your actions on the world. Had I not intervened, the Textures of the world would have collapsed one on top of the other," he said seriously, "I don't think I need to tell you where this is leading? Though I've already mentioned it."

I stared at him dazedly, and my hands trembled.

Testing my theories could be worth the destruction of an entire world? I suppose I should thank him in that case.

- "For a Magician, you're still young and inexperienced. Even for the likes of us, there are rules not to be broken. 2nd magic gives me the ability to travel between dimensions, whether they are within Akasha's jurisdiction or not. After all, if the rules didn't exist, do you think there would be anything I could NOT do?"

Fuck. This whole situation smells like shit, defined.

- "Now that you're done whispering," Dumbledore intervened, "We can change to a more favorable environment. Over a cup of tea, say. How would you feel about that?"

I nodded briefly and headed with the crowd towards the exit of the room.

I guess I have a lot of things to think about, if even Zelretch was dead serious about revealing this information to me.

Yes, it's something to think about... Think hard....

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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[mirzael]

Potter Mansion.

There was the rhythmic tapping of my fingers on the table in the living room, where the Potter family, along with Dumbledore, sat besides me.

After my arrival, the school representatives had gone back to their rooms to bolster their defenses. Zelretch had gone to prepare the area for my training. And Lily Potter insisted that I stay with them for the time being, to which I shrugged and went along, since there was basically nothing for me to do. After all, I could deal with Voldy at any moment.

- "Pretty cocky, though given the level of power in this world, I can't deny the validity of what you're saying." I heard a familiar voice in my head.

Ah, yes. Goetia is still with me, which I'm frankly glad about. After a brief conversation, I was able to find out that I wasn't the only one with a memory lapse, and he was, please note, a Beast.

The last thing on my mind was how I activated the 3rd magic in the forest of familiars. And after that, there was a void, as if that period of time had just been cut out of my memory. But as I realize, I was still lucky, as Goetia, in addition to losing some of his memory, also passed out for a while, which I was genuinely surprised about. Zelretch only became even more serious at my questions.

There was also a question about Alaya DxD. Without my guidance, the Servants can do as they please, and I haven't mentioned Ophis and Tiamat yet. The situation with the loli dragon might still be tolerable, but with Tiamat... I can only trust that Grandpa and Emiya will somehow contain my entire gang.

Aside from that, I managed to find out why this version of Potter didn't have a scar, or rather he did, but not anymore. Basically, everything happened about the same as in the movie. The Potters left the child in the care of Pettigrew, and themselves went to some event. Further everything is the same as in the original.

True, when he was reborn, he took a piece of his soul along with his scar with the help of an artifact that he obtained in an incomprehensible way, which increased his power. I believe he is now collecting other Horcruxes.

- "Mr. Archaman? Is everything all right? You seem to have lost your mind." Dumbledore decided to ask and interrupt my musings.

- "Uh-huh. Did you want something?" I created a cup of coffee in my hand and took a sip, to which I received surprised looks from those present.

- "I'd like to know more about the magic you use," he began, "Without casting a spell or wand, you created that intimidating spear, as well as this cup. Can you tell me about it?"

- "Oya? Is wandless magic unknown here? Or is my information out of date?"

- "Of course it is," James said, "It's mostly used by members of the Clock Tower. But when you created both the spear and the cup, I, and I think everyone else, didn't feel a drop of magic. And that's strange..."

- "And?"

- "Is it really 'magic'?" Valerie questioned, "At Hogwarts we were taught that any spell releases waves of magic. And you don't have any."

- "Hmm..." I wondered if I should tell them the principles of Nasuverse magic. In fact, it doesn't harm this world in any way. Perhaps it would even encourage local wizards to study science and Muggles, but...

Why not, though?

- "In my world, anyone can become a wizard if the necessary conditions are met. One condition, to be exact, is to have magical chains."

- "Everyone?" Dumbledore marveled.

- "Magic chains?" Lily didn't understand.

- "The local mages have a magical core instead. There are those who are born without them and are incapable of magic, however, there are such cases here too."

- "You still haven't answered the Headmaster's question." Valerie said in a businesslike manner.

- "I'm getting to that. And all magic is divided into 'Magecraft' and 'magic' or 'true magic' as it is still called. The difference is that 'true magic' is capable of miracles," I raised the cup up a bit so everyone could see it, "For an example, this cup can be made using a bit of porcelain or clay. That is, it would require materials and time. At the same time, 'magic' circumvents this rule and simply creates something out of nothing."

I didn't bother mentioning Root, as I don't see the point of it. They wouldn't understand something like that anyway.

- "But it goes against common sense!" Lily exclaimed, and the others supported her, "Even magic can't do something like that."

Hmm? Oh, yeah. She's a 'muggleborn' or something.

- "That's why it's called 'true magic'. However, certain features of this world can do something similar. Teleportation is one of them, by the way," I shrugged and took a sip, "You can consider your world particularly advanced in that regard, if that adds some sense of ego. Your magic system takes the mana of the world and converts it through a magical core that allows you to cast magic. You do not have a mana reserve, unlike the mages of my world, as it is simply not necessary. Besides, magic there is more of a martial nature."

- "Is that why you called us 'wizards' and not 'Magicians'?" Dumbledore asked.

- "Uh-huh. And by the way, there are five true magics. And I told the essence of the first one. Of course, magic is achieved in a very peculiar way, and there can be only one Magician who possesses a certain magic. Not several at once."

- "Fascinating," the old man's eyes lit up, "Can you elaborate?"

- "Are you so interested in this topic?" I raised an eyebrow, to which he nodded enthusiastically.

- "The first magic I just mentioned is called 'Denial of Nonexistence'. The basic ability is to create anything, limited only by the user's imagination."

- "So, you can create an entire castle with a single thought if you want to?" James asked, staring at me incredulously.

- "If I wanted to," I replied with a shrug, "The second magic is Kaleidoscope, which gives the wearer the ability to move between dimensions and see parallel versions of them. We all know one of those, by the way."

- "Lord Zelretch?" Lily wondered, "He's the one who suggested we call you."

- "Yeah," I nodded, "The fourth magic is unknown, and the fifth is time manipulation. The user can not only stop the time of the whole world, but also skip forward or backward. Of course, your 'Time Flywheel' is capable of such a thing, but it only works for a limited time frame."

- "That's... tremendous power..." muttered Dumbledore, "But why did you miss the third?"

- "Well, how would you take the resurrection ability without any negative effects? Well, and manipulation of the soul itself, for that matter."

His eyes went wide, and a couple seconds later his hands clenched into fists. The Potter family was no better. They looked like statues with their mouths open. Dumbledore's reaction, however, was expected. After all, he had seen an opportunity to resurrect his sister.

- "Resurrection?! Are you mocking us?!" James jumped up from the table and shouted, "Do you have any idea what kind of nonsense you're talking about?! Even the Resurrection Stone can't do that!"

- "Why 'nonsense'? The Headmaster of Hogwarts believes me, you know." I rolled my eyes and pointed my finger at the bearded man.

- "Dumbledore?! You believe him?!"

- "James, be quiet," the old man said coldly, and his now intense gaze never left me. Potter looked at him in surprise, but remained silent. There was a stunned expression on Lily and Valerie's faces. Apparently, they didn't expect this old man to be capable of such a tone, "Is it possible to comprehend 3rd magic here in this world?"

- "Oya? Why do you ask?"

- "Answer the question, Mr. Archaman." He said in a cold tone.

Oya? It seems that this Dumbledore is not 'Lawful-Good'. If he were, his behavior would be like Chiron or Jeanne of the Ruler class. It's more like his version of 'All for the Highest Good' and similar nonsense. Which I made sure of by scanning him with the Touch of Heaven. The amount of manipulation on his part is too much for a 'good headmaster'. I guess that's why Voldy got his hands on the artifact. Balance, so to speak.

- "Last time I checked, we were just discussing magic. At what point did that turn into an interrogation?" I grinned.

We played peek-a-boo for a few seconds before his expression changed to a familiar smile.

- "I apologize for my behavior. The ghosts of the past seem to have caught up with me," he said in an apologetic tone and bowed his head. "I hope you'll forgive my oversight, Mr. Archaman. But is it possible to hear the answer to my question?"

- "As I mentioned before, in order to comprehend True Magic, one must fulfill rather peculiar conditions. Each Magician achieves it in his own way, which is never repeated, so it is pointless to discuss the details." I took a sip of coffee and looked at the old man with intrigue, "But I know the current 3rd Magician."

- "Who is it?"

- "Me."

I grinned.

Well, I guess it's not only in anime worlds that the expression 'eyes out of their sockets' applies. However, his clenched teeth, through a naively kind smile, promise me a rather interesting time in this version of the world. And I'm sure Zelretch knew that and decided to have a little fun at my expense. And the Potters? Too boring, as far as I'm concerned.

But then again, why not?

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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[mirzael]

Unknown location.

After the conversation, Dumbledore flew straight out of the Potter mansion, clutching his Elder Wand under his clothes. And I'm very curious to see what he decides to do.

I decided to check out Voldy's party, and after finding his magic signature, which smelled of snakes and death, I teleported to him without saying anything to the Potter family, because I didn't see the need to. When I arrived at the location, a rather amusing sight appeared before my eyes.

The location was a small stone hut, and Voldy himself was sitting on a chair in front of it and stroking his crossbreed snake. At the same time, a sapphire ring stood out on one of his fingers, which was most likely the very artifact that could steal magic.

Of his minions, only Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange were here. The rest of them he had apparently sent somewhere else. Malfoy was about the same as in the movie, but his appearance gave the impression of a less arrogant snob. Bellatrix, on the other hand... a distinct aura of madness surrounded her soul, which is quite in keeping with canon.

While I was looking at them, a snake noticed my presence and turned its head in my direction and hissed. This caused the other people present to turn their attention to me.

- "Oh? It's not often I meet unfamiliar faces," Voldy was surprised and smirked, "Who are you, here to swear allegiance to the strongest wizard?"

Yeah. Bigger than his robe.

- "Just passing through. I couldn't pass a pale child like you. What do you think of that, Tommy?" I smiled, at which his eyes widened and his minions looked at Voldy incomprehensively, "Oya? You didn't think your real name was known only by 'dumb as a door' and 'four eyes'."

- "Who are you?" he asked threateningly.

- "Well, well, well," my smile changed to a smirk, "the Bat we all know already told you about me, didn't he?"

- "I wasn't asking for your name," Voldy said and stood up from his seat and walked towards me, "Why didn't the ring work on you?"

At his words, Lucius and Bellatrix became wary and readied their wands.

- "Who knows. Maybe you should eat more to make it work." I said, already behind his back and scratching his smooth skull, "Look how weak you look. Your hair has fallen out, your nose is gone, and your skin is whiter than bone. Would you like some candy?"

He instantly turned in my direction and held out his wand in my direction, from which a green beam flew out. I only waved my hand, thus knocking the beam aside, which hit the nearest tree and blew it up. Seeing this, Voldy himself was now wary as well.

- "Heh. Gotta take care of your nerves, little Tommy. The grown-ups are gonna laugh at you, you know. Here, have some candy." I created a lollipop and popped it in his mouth, to which he froze for a microsecond, then shot another one at me. This time I didn't wave him off and just teleported ten meters away from him, "By the way, you have a very smooth skull. Did you shave it yourself?"

- "Kill him!" He shouted, and now three green rays came at me, blocked by the blue magic circle in front of me. The rays kept on coming, constantly supporting the attack, but to no avail.

- "You know, I've always wondered why you decided to preach the superiority of 'purebloods' when you yourself are a 'half-blood'? Or whatever it is you do? Oh, right. 'Mudblood'." I asked, starting to look at my gloves.

- "What?" asked Lucius, stopping firing the spell at me and looking at Voldy, "Is it true, my lord?"

- "Did you believe that buffoon, Malfoy?" Bella remarked with contempt in her voice, "You dare to doubt a lord?"

- "You didn't tell them?" making an extremely surprised face, I asked and tilted my head to the side, "Tom Marvolo Riddle, son of Merope Mrax and Tom Riddle Senior, is a half-blood... who hunts half-breeds. Don't you think there are some inconsistencies here?"

The thickness of Voldy's beam tripled, and I felt something as if against the walls of my mind. I rolled my eyes and stared at him, determined to knock Bella out and tweak 'something' in her mind, which was a mess and one single thought about the bald man's greatness. Malfoy, on the other hand, was still waiting for Voldy's answer and didn't know what to do as he realized the futility of his efforts to pierce my defenses.

- "Oh? Are you trying to use Legilimensy on me?" I asked, to which I got a very angry look on my face, and then a very funny idea popped into my head, after which I smirked, "Well, suit yourself."

When Voldy made another attempt to get inside my head, I let him in.

Time to have a little fun.

-0-

Tom was indeed one of the strongest wizards in Britain. His power of skill and magic helped to bring together a group of those feared and hated by all the inhabitants of the magical world. He never doubted himself and believed that this was the way it should be. And all the surprises that fate could provide would be a stepping stone to even greater power and authority for him.

When Tom learned that the light side had gotten the support of the Clock Tower, he wasn't particularly excited or wary. They wouldn't be able to oppose him with a ring capable of taking magic from others anyway. In that short period of time after his rebirth, he had been able to gain the magic of several powerful wizards, making him five times stronger than the Headmaster of Hogwarts. And nothing could stop him... Or so he thought until the current moment.

Now he was standing in the middle of a hill covered in greenery and rocks. Flying islands and white clouds filled the sky, presenting Tom with a very magical picture and light. And Tom's robe stood out amongst all of this and, completely mismatched the surroundings.

In front of him was a white marble structure without a roof, filled with the same color columns. It also contained a staircase that led upward to some sort of platform.

Tom looked up and used one of his abilities to fly without a broom. On the way up, he noticed that amongst all the scenery stood out a huge hole amongst the clouds and flying islands, with stars shining brightly in it. It made him wonder if his Legilimensy had really worked, or if he had simply fallen into another dimension.

As he climbed up onto the platform and lowered himself to the floor, a throne with an extremely high backrest, made of the same material as the entire structure, appeared before his eyes.

On this throne sat a man with his eyes closed, supporting his head with his fist like some kind of king. And when Tom saw him, he actually wondered if he had mistaken the purpose of the Legilimensy.

The long snow-white hair, the symmetrical face, the scarlet-black robe with silver inlays, and the gold rings that covered the man's fingers instilled a feeling of inferiority in Tom. A feeling he thought he would never experience again.

But Tom's senses and instincts went crazy and screamed deafeningly in his head of danger as he looked at the man. The sense of a very ancient and powerful magic emanating from the man sitting on the throne instilled another feeling that Tom had forgotten - fear. Fear not only of the man, but of the unknown that appeared before his eyes.

Tom didn't know where he had gotten to, who this man was, what kind of magic was coming from him and, most importantly, what lay ahead of him.

But he still managed to gather all his strength into a fist. He gripped his wand tightly and looked at the man confidently... only to be frozen by a renewed sense of fear. And not just fear, but insignificance. As if he were an insect standing before God.

The reason for this feeling was simple. As Tom braced himself and prepared to face the unknown with his head held high, he saw that the man's eyes, which a moment before had been closed, had opened.

Eyes of pure gold stared at him and studied him, thus making Tom feel like a lab rat. And as if that wasn't enough, the magic emanating from the man increased, making Tom feel the weight of the mountain collapse over his body and fall to his knees and his wand fall out of his hands. When the weight almost crushed his head, the pressure disappeared. And from the side of the throne came a male voice that clearly did not hide his amusement and amusement.

- "Well, well, well. You wanted to get into my head yourself, didn't you, little Tommy? How are you feeling? As smooth as your skull?"

It was as if Tom had gotten a second wind, and he looked up sharply to see the familiar annoying smile of another version of the Potter offspring.

- "Heh. Don't look at me with those eyes, little Voldy, I'm all about the girls." He grinned.

And in that moment, Tom promised himself that he would kill this buffoon, no matter what it cost him.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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[mirzael]

Romani's Inner World.

My mind, which took the form of Solomon's Temple of Time, had a rather pleasant environment, if I do say so.

In front of my throne was a table covered in frills and decorated in a lovely pink color scheme. And on it was a tea set with cakes and hot tea. Behind it sat me and Tommy, who was giving me a look that promised the worst and most painful torture. I smiled sweetly and drank coffee from a pink cup with pictures of cute ponies on it. Tommy himself didn't move at all, and only his occasionally constricted pupils showed that he was alive.

- "Uh-huh. Relax. I just want to have a little chat. And no, nothing's poisoned, and I don't want to kill you."

- "But I do." he said with a stone face.

- "Oh? You're good at humor," I grinned and took a sip. "You know, when I came here and found out about you, I was curious about your goals."

- "Why should I answer your questions?"

- "Because then you won't get out of here?" I asked, tilting my head to the side, but I got his clenched teeth, "You're smart, there's no doubt about it. And given your self-confidence, you can't have a more or less thought-out plan after the war is over. With you as the victor, of course."

He raised an eyebrow at my words.

If you take his story from the wiki into account, he's a typical unrecognized genius with an unorthodox mindset. The very fact that Tommy tried twice to become a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher shows that, and he is, please note, a master in that direction. Why would the very 'true evil' himself want the very idea of teaching children? And from the same dark magic he himself uses? It doesn't make sense.

- "See, in my original world, there is a faction of mystical beings that is divided into three parts: good, evil, and not so good. Pretty familiar, isn't it?" I began, at which a tiny flame of interest lit up in his eyes, "There's a supposed non-aggression pact between them, but if no one knows of any violation of it, it doesn't exist, right? What I'm driving at is that they are more or less equal to each other and are parts of one unified faction, one unified mechanism. Brings to mind some thoughts, eh?"

- "What are you getting at, 'Magician'?" Tommy finally decided to speak up.

- "At the moment, all wizards are divided into three factions: light side, dark side and neutral. And in theory, if they divide the whole territory of magical Britain into more or less equal parts, and the balance of power becomes approximately equal, what will happen?"

- "What happened in your world." he muttered thoughtfully.

- "Exactly. And now imagine the existence of three main schools of three factions. The head of the light one is the same 'dumb as a door', the dark one is you personally, and the neutral one is someone else. Imagine something like the 'Tournament of the Three Wizards', but instead of kids fighting for glory, there would be three schools, one on each side, where the winning side would get a chance to control magical Britain as a whole. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it?"

Heh. Introducing the Grail Wars concept with a dash of magic games from Fairy Tail or The Misfit at the School of Magic into the world of Harry Potter? That sounds like a lot of fun.

Am I afraid that Voldy will just kill off all the half-breeds? Nope. He'd rather put his ideology on the back burner under those circumstances. Besides, there is magic here that can turn a half-breed into a pureblood through some ritual.

Another thing to consider is that in this world, the light and dark sides are very clearly separated. The local wizards don't realize that the world is not divided into 'black' and 'white'. It is 'gray'. Are all 'good' people good? Nope. Are all 'bad' people evil? The answer is the same.

- "What you're saying is a load of crap. The strong will never submit to the weak. Rats will assert their rights, which will lead to fights, protests, and the like."

- "That's true, but what if 'someone' provided 'something' as a prize for the winner of this tournament that could shut up the dissenters? Say, an artifact tied to a particular soul and capable of raising the dead. Well, or magic. And I'm not talking about the demo version of resurrection that the Resurrection Stone has, but real resurrection without any negative consequences for anyone."

- "What?" he asked perplexed, frozen in place.

- "Of course, I'll probably have to make a deal with someone, but it's a possibility."

Now he was thinking. Really thought about what I'd said. To be able to snatch someone from the clutches of Death itself is an impossible feat for this world. And Voldy is well aware of that, even if he doesn't take my word for it. Though he does take into account my power, which I have glimpsed. Plus, I'm giving the local Dumbledore an incentive to step out of his kindly grandfather persona.

- "Who's going to enforce the rules? And who will have custody of the artifact?" Voldy asked, coming out of his musings, "I don't believe it will be any of us."

- "Oh, that's the easiest one to deal with," I grinned, "The perpetual annoying grin on your face, the gray hair, the obnoxious sense of style and humor don't remind you of anyone?"

- "Zelretch." he answered instantly.

- "Exactly!" I clapped my hands together, "As you probably guessed, he's much stronger and more powerful than he shows. It wouldn't cost him anything to level all of Britain in a minute."

- "And he'll just go along with your plan?" Voldy raised an eyebrow.

- "Your worries are unnecessary," I dismissed him, "If the event entertains him, he'll be all for it."

He nodded briefly and fell silent.

I'm not destroying the world, just slightly altering its basic mechanism. The focus will shift from the confrontation between two people to each individual who will take part in the event. I guess you could say that by my actions, I'm contributing to revealing more characters from more perspectives. If, of course, it all works out. But knowing Zelretch, he definitely won't be 'against' it.

- "Well," I began, bringing him out of his musings, "Think about my offer. After all, even you have someone you'd like to get back, don't you?"

- "Why did you come to me with this proposal and not Dumbledore?" He asked after a few seconds.

- "He's not as interesting as you" I shrugged, "Besides, I already have something planned for him."

- "Oh?" now a creepy smile blossomed on his face, "I don't suppose he'll like that 'something'?"

- "Of course he will. And you're in for a surprise too, you know."

- "What kind of surprise…"

He didn't get a chance to finish because I sent him out of my mind. And as soon as Voldy disappeared, giant tentacle-like pillars filled with scarlet eyes with vertical pupils and red waves of energy ran through the ground around me.

- "Introducing a kind of Grail War just for fun?" rang out the deep voice of the demon Sitri throughout my inner world, "It seems True Magic has finally started to drive you crazy."

- "Oh? Pretty harsh, you know."

- "But no less true." I heard a voice on the other side of the table, and turned to see Goetia sitting down in Voldy's seat.

- "I'm very much in my right mind, that is."

- "That's what you think."

- "Well, if it makes you feel any better." I grinned, to which I received a twitch of the Beast's eyebrow.

I wonder if Voldy liked his surprise.

-0-

Leaving Romani's mind, Tom fell to his knees from the intense headache and exertion. The power of this 'Magician' really amazed him. As did the vision of a possible future that he had contemplated. The very thought of true resurrection was firmly fixed in his mind, and all sorts of plans began to be born in Tom's mind.

The idea was indeed appealing, but even if Tom was confident in his abilities, there was a risk of interference from the many powerful wizards hiding their true power. After all, the idea of possessing true resurrection was too sweet for anyone without exception.

And while Tom was pondering this, he heard Bellatrix's worried voice.

- "My lord, are you alright!" she shrieked, running up to him, "What has that buffoon done to you!"

He didn't answer and quickly found with his eyes the 'wizard' standing nearby, who was smiling very anxiously as he looked at him.

- "It's alright," Tom said and stood up, "We should get going. The place you suggested will be fine."

- "Really!" she exclaimed happily.

- "Are you sure about this, my lord?" Lucius asked cautiously and pointed at Romani, "What about him?"

Before Tom could object, Bellatrix shouted angrily.

- "You dare to question my lord's decision, you insect! Do you want to die?!"

Her shout made Lucius shiver. And he wasn't the only one, for when she turned and looked into Tom's eyes, he would swear he saw pink hearts shining with a frightening light there.

Tom felt like prey being stared at by a hungry predator, and Bellatrix's anxious smile and the movement of her tongue across her lips only intensified the feeling. The feeling of being devoured.

What Tom didn't know, though, was that his feelings had a slightly different connotation... one that he would learn a little later.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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You'll be able to read more chapters there.

 

[mirzael]

The Clock Tower.

After Voldy and his minions had left me, Zelretch contacted me, informing me that everything was ready. Well, he had just opened a portal beneath me, transporting me here.

After a short walk through the corridors, I was able to learn the structure of the Clock Tower.

As it turned out, he had kept the traditions, so to speak, and the Clock Tower was located in the same place as in the Nasuverse. More specifically, in the dungeons covering almost the entire center of London. The system of power is roughly the same, only there are orders of magnitude fewer arrogant snobs, though they consider themselves superior to other wizards due to their possession of magical chains, knowledge in science, and lack of need for a wand for magic.

Upon entering Zelretch's office, without knocking of course, in addition to the Magician himself, I found two other personalities I didn't expect to see here at all: Luna Lovegood and Daphne Greengrass.

Daphne, when she saw me, just looked at me with a scrutinizing and rather mature look for her age, but Luna... she was staring at me like some bizarre animal. Her eyes were filled with the intrigue and childish interest of a fourteen-year-old girl. Zelretch was looking at me with his arms crossed and resting on the table.

- "Do you have a fetish for blondes or something?" I asked him, to which Daphne raised an eyebrow and Luna smiled.

- "Oh? Why the question?"

- "I just don't have any other idea in my mind as to why they're here," I shrugged and sat down on the chair in front of his desk, "No, wait though. I understand Luna's presence, since you probably found her interesting, but what's Greengrass doing here?"

- "Are you embarrassed by their presence?" He grinned.

- "Aren't they supposed to be Hogdwarts students?"

- "Why, Mr. Soul?" Luna asked.

- "I'm interested in that question too," Daphne supported her, and then turned towards Luna, "And why did you call him 'Mr. Soul'?"

- "He's the 3rd Magician, Daphne," Zelretch said, and Daphne froze in shock, then quickly turned to me and gave an aristocratic bow, "And the 1st, too, by the way."

- "How marvelous!" Polumna clapped her hands, and Daphne....

- "Two True Magic at the same time!" she shrieked in exasperation, straightening up sharply, "How the hell is that possible?!"

- "Ah... So, she's the local version of Rin," I said and nodded, "Also a tsundere?"

- "Uh-huh." He smiled toothily.

- "I'm not a tsundere, you, decrepit old man!" she protested.

- "Well, well, it's all right," Luna began to comfort her, giving her a little hug, "Even if you are a tsundere, we still love you."

- "That was unnecessary, damn it!"

I just shrugged and looked at Zelretch.

- "You still haven't said why they're here."

- "Luna has potential in Kaleidoscope," he started, which I wasn't really surprised at, considering her features, "Daphne has it too, but less pronounced. She's also more interested in learning curses, which makes her a frequent visitor to the faculty. I decided to take them both under my wing, since why not?"

- "And the fact that Polumna is quite interesting and Daphne looks like Rin didn't influence your decision?" I grinned.

- "Absolutely." He grinned back.

Hehe. Polumna is more of a fun and interesting animal to him. And Daphne does resemble Rin with her behavior. Though it's not canonical to the original story. Either way, he's definitely having fun at their expense.

- "Well, that can be put aside for later. You said the area for my training is ready. And I'm genuinely curious as to what exactly you have in store for my sinful soul?"

- "Not exactly. Since each True Magic has its own subtleties, I can't help you master the ones you possess. But I can share the rules that I personally adhere to. And I've made an appointment with someone who can help you with 3rd."

Hmm. Ideally, I could talk to Justice and learn the details of 3rd magic from her, but then I'd have to go to the Nasuverse during the 4th or 5th Grail War. And either he didn't want me to go there, or he knew that's not where I wanted to go.

Also, digging up the instructions on how to use 1st magic is, I assume, impossible. The 1st Magician didn't shine anywhere at all. And since I'm the one currently in charge, it's impossible to find it, unless you ask Alaya or Gaia about it personally.

- "Oh?"

- "Let's start with the rules. First, if I take something from other worlds, I must provide some equivalent to it. That is if that someone is already assigned to that world as a constant."

- "Doesn't that mean you put some poor bastard in my world? And given my circumstances, you'd have to find a pretty strong replacement."

- "Nope. Since a person named 'Romani Archaman' shouldn't exist in principle in that world, it didn't cost me anything. You are a variable, not a constant. Besides, your presence is due to Alaya's own interference," he shrugged, "Secondly, if I interfere in the affairs of another world, then in cases where it faces annihilation due to my interference, I must assist. And, in fact, those are the only rules I adhere to."

- "That makes sense." I nodded and thought about it.

It turns out that the fanfics involving him are more or less canonical. He moves personalities around ostensibly for fun, but they're usually met with some sort of circumstance that they won't ignore. And if they do, they'll unknowingly become part of the story, leading to the same outcome.

Though I have no doubt that some moves were still meant to entertain the Magician. But such worlds are usually basically unbreakable under any circumstances.

If we take the idea of canonicity of fanfics featuring Archer as a basis, Emiya either fights someone and saves the world, which is the first situation, or has another harem and gets more or less normal everyday life, which is the second situation.

I wonder how many worlds the poor guy with Rank E Luck has been to.

- "Anyway, you said you've arranged a meeting for me. Where is it supposed to take place and when?"

- "Tomorrow at noon. Black Lily Coffee House in the center of London," he said, and I was about to ask who I should wait for, but he beat me to it, giving me the answer to that question, "And don't worry. You'll recognize the right person right away."

- "How mysterious." I grinned.

- "It's either that or nothing." Zelretch shrugged, to which I rubbed my temples and sighed tiredly.

I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?

-0-

Black Lily.
Noon.

When I entered the coffee shop, I didn't find anyone even remotely resembling the person I was looking for, so I sat down at one of the tables and ordered a coffee and cheesecake and waited.

The room was decorated in British style: paintings on the walls, shelves of books and lamps on long fixtures. It looked quite atmospheric and somewhat rich, so it was a sin to complain. The place had quite a wide selection of coffee and pastries, which pleased me.

But the question remained as to who exactly I was waiting for. Zelretch had mentioned that this 'someone' would be able to help me with 3rd magic. So he must know about the soul. An expert level of understanding. And I can't think of anyone in the world who would fit that role.

After about 15 minutes, I felt a strong aura, very similar to... the concept. Like Ophis with Infinity. And looking up, my eyes noticed a woman walking straight towards my table. Extremely pale skin, the color of which was similar to white chalk, long loose black hair down to her waist, and the same color eyes, more like the abyss itself.

Those around her paid no attention to the woman, as if she didn't exist to them. She was attractive, hence the male contingent of visitors should be casting glances at her, but that wasn't happening. Which was very strange.

Upon reaching the table, she silently sat across from me and began to stare at me. And looking into her eyes, I could not read the look of a woman, and only a small smile on her face made it clear that she found the situation interesting.

The next moment it hit me, causing my eyebrow to twitch.

'Someone' versed in souls, and who Zelretch was 'negotiating' with? Yeah, yeah, yeah. How could I not have guessed exactly who the damn vampire had arranged for me to meet, it was all too obvious.

- "Romani Archaman?" the woman began the conversation in a rather flirtatious tone.

- "That's right. And you, miss?" I asked, already knowing the answer to my question.

- "You guessed it yourself, didn't you, Magician?"

Yeah. As if she could be confused with anyone else.

- "Is 'Ms. Death' okay with you, or shall we drop the formalities and just go with 'Death'?" I said and drank the entire contents of my cup in one gulp.

- "Just 'Death' is fine with me," she smiled, showing her white teeth, "So, shall we start our 'date'?"

Heh. It seems I'm dating too many embodied concepts....

- "If that's okay with you."

I want to go home. Definitely.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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You'll be able to read more chapters there.

 

[SmileyVamp]

Please, stop with the dashes. Just using the quotations would be fine.

 

[mirzael]

The Black Lily.

It's been about fifteen minutes since the meeting started, and the conversation still hasn't started. Not because I don't have any questions or anything, but because I just don't know where to start.

Dealing with an embodied concept with a mind and will is a lot of fun, judging from my experience with the Ophis. Though, given the current circumstances, I'm more likely to be dealing with a flirtatious mature lady than someone... abnormal. And the slight smile on Death's face kind of hints at that.

- "Now, now, don't be shy, Romani. I don't bite," she said, deciding to start a conversation, "Although I'm not used to waiting, I have a busy schedule, you know."

- "So, you're a busy person, Lady Death," I said, tilting my head to the side. "In that case, what have I done to deserve this level of attention? More specifically, what did Zelretch tell you about me that would interest you?"

- "The Touch of Heaven, of course," she smiled sweetly as she studied me with her gaze, "True magic that can affect souls? Pretty intriguing. When I first heard about it from him, I thought it was one of his pranks. But..."

- "But?"

- "But now that I've seen your soul with my own eyes and what it is, for the first time in ages, I'm intrigued."

- "Hmm? Would you mind telling me exactly how you see my soul?"

- "The soul of every living creature is a small flame of light. It's like how people see the stars from the surface of a planet. Yours is like a black hole. Huge, volatile and devouring. The stars simply can't compete with you and have to submit to you in silence."

I raised an eyebrow. The analogy is... odd. Huge? I suppose she means powerful, but it gets more complicated from there. The inconstancy might indicate a change in me, but what kind of change? In the time I've been using 3rd magic, I haven't felt any change in myself. The only part of me that could indicate this is the loss of past life memories.

Regarding the third adjective? It could refer solely to 3rd magic. And I have no idea what it is exactly.

- "What do you mean, 'devouring'?"

- "Hmmm..." she hesitated, tapping her index finger on her chin, then pointed at some guy sitting at another table, "Apply your magic to him. Nothing drastic, something ordinary will suffice."

I just shrugged and did as she asked, making do with just a soul reading. And there was nothing interesting there. Ordinary childhood, ordinary friends, ordinary job. There was nothing to latch on to. Then he shifted his gaze back to Death... whose eyes naturally glowed at what he saw. Intrigue and childlike interest danced in her abyss-black eyes.

- "How interesting!" exclaimed Death and, jumping up from her seat with bullet speed, brought her face close to mine, from which the distance between us was just millimeters, "Really interesting!"

- "Uh..."

- "Do you realize what you've done, Romani?! I'm so horny now!"

- "Lady Death?"

- "I want to dissect you right now and find out how your magic works!" With a crazy grin on her face, she ranted, making my soul naturally leap to my heels, "You don't mind, do you?! Right?!"

I'm... I'm scared. I'm definitely scared. And Death isn't really listening to me, I can tell. Any more and she'll do what she said she'd do. And this is the one who gave the impression of being a proper lady? So dealing with concepts is a pure headache. Even Goetia was silenced by shock. I think we'd better reschedule our conversation for another date.

In that case...

My body flared up, revealing Solomon instead of Romani, and the rings on my fingers glowed.

- "It's time for the coronation, he's the one who starts everything," I began to activate the Noble Phantasm quickly. Death's mouth drooled, at which the feeling of fear for the safety of his carcass intensified, "Ars Paulina."

The next moment I was in the Temple of Time on Solomon's throne and I sighed in relief, closing my eyes and relaxing.

I don't even want to imagine what awaits me the next time we meet. Death will probably eat me up when my carcass catches its eye. But I have a very pressing question about her reaction.

What exactly did she see when she used the 3rd magic? And it's definitely not something trivial, judging by her reaction and... scary face. I'll have to ask Zel-

- "It's beautiful! It's your soul, isn't it!" I heard an excited female voice dangerously close to me, making my blood run cold, "I want you more and more, Romani Archaman!"

I slowly turned to the side, where I was immediately met by an abyssal gaze that shone brightly with excitement and interest. The same one that had scared the hell out of me. Death drew its face closer and closer to mine, and I panicked.

After all, not even True Magic could help me with her, so how do you "kill Death"? Well yeah, well yeah, what did I do to save myself? Heh. I did something I will definitely regret.

In one swift movement, my hand grabbed her head and pulled her even closer, causing our lips to touch, and her eyes to go wide.

- "What have you done, Romani?!" Goetia screamed in panic in my head.

- "Insane!" the demon Gremory backed him up.

- "Well, the Magician certainly has balls, doesn't he?" added the demon Agares, puzzled.

Was I reckless? Definitely, yes. Do I regret what I've done? Definitely not.

When her eyes returned to their normal state, and I thought I was done for and was about to pull away, suddenly, a pair of slender arms encircled my head and neck, pulling me closer to Death, and her tongue invaded my mouth and began to do... wild things.

By now my eyes went wide with shock, as this was the kind of shit I definitely wasn't expecting. Death dominated me and wouldn't let go. At one point she sat down on my lap and just enjoyed the kiss... unlike me, I guess.

After what seemed like an eternity, she broke the kiss, forming a thin stream of saliva between us. She had a very flirty smile on her face, and her eyes stared intently at me.

- "Well, well, well, you surprised me, Romani Archaman. No one has ever tried to kiss Death herself, much less in such an aggressive way," she smirked, licking her lips, "At first, I just wanted to study you, but now...Now I have slightly different plans. You want to be my boyfriend?"

Fuck...

In an aggressive way?! I wanted to save my life, damn it! Where was that my plan?! Why would I want to be your boyfriend anyway?! Can I have the innocent hugging Ophis back, please?!

-0-

The Clock Tower.

I burst into Zelretch's office and, stomping my feet loudly, walked over to his desk where he was telling Luna something. He turned in my direction and an extremely annoying shit-eating grin appeared on his face.

- "Oh? How did it go?" The bastard asked snidely, "Did you enjoy it?"

- "Shut the fuck up!" I growled, "You knew it would turn out like that, didn't you, you bloody bloodsucker?!"

- "Definitely liked it," a woman's voice sounded under my ear, "You were right about him, Zelretch. I liked him a lot."

- "Glad to be of help, milady," the vampire rose from his seat and bowed respectfully to my companion, giving me a mocking glance at the same time.

Ah, yes. Death was hanging on my shoulder and smiling sweetly, showing her contentment with the situation.

Of course, her question in the coffee shop was rhetorical, and I had to just accept that. The alternative choice? Pursuit by the most powerful entity in this world. And I'm not self-confident enough to resist it. And Death knows how to wait. And she gets what she wants.

- "Oh?" she said in surprise, glancing toward Luna, who was looking at Death with childlike interest, "What an interesting child. You're not afraid of me?"

- "No," Luna shook her head and smiled, "Why be afraid of something that everyone will eventually meet?"

- "What a clever girl," Death smiled and walked over to her and stroked her head, "Would you like to be our daughter?"

My eyes rounded with shock and I stared dumbly at Death. My hearing picked up a rather loud giggle from Zelretch's side, to which my eyebrow began to twitch.

'Our' daughter? Didn't we agree to only date, hmm? Oh, yeah. We didn't. The mighty Lady Death decided all of this for both of us.

I seem to recall mentioning that, but I'll say it again.

I want to go home. Definitely. And away from this madhouse. I mean, even in DxD, I felt a lot more comfortable.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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[mirzael]

The Clock Tower.

It had been about an hour since my arrival in Zelretch's office. Polumna had had a nice chat with Death about something and left us. And now, me, Zelretch, and Death were just sitting and reviewing amongst ourselves. The vampire and I were doing it, and the embodied concept was staring at me without blinking, which looked creepy, to say the least.

There was no point in getting agitated over the concept's last words, so I had to just chock it up and deal with it. After a while, I calmed down and decided to distract Death from the conversation. After all, I wondered what had stirred her up to such an extent. And I think the presence of an interdimensional vampire would be helpful.

- "You still haven't told me exactly what my magic did," I began, drawing Death's attention to me. "What was it that piqued your interest to the point where you wanted to dissect me?"

- "Hmm... Really?" She said thoughtfully, to which I nodded briefly, and Zelretch perked up his ears, "Remember what I said about your soul?"

- "That it was like a black hole?" I began to remember.

- "That's right. When you used your magic on that man, your soul touched him. That man's soul was, how shall I put it... infected by yours. Like a virus, to put it simply. I even looked at his soul, and found that a small part of it had changed. A tiny, almost imperceptible change, but a change nonetheless."

- "And what does this change mean?" Zelretch asked with intrigue in his voice.

- "Normally, I am the one who claims the soul of every living thing. That is the law of the universe. But the Touch of Heaven rewrites that law. That tiny altered part of the soul that my boyfriend influenced is no longer mine, but his."

I froze and scrutinized her face, looking for any sign of a lie, because the very idea of such consequences of altering someone else's soul is utter nonsense.

Back in DxD, when I was experimenting with 3rd magic, I'd learned that the soul was the purest bundle of energy that no one could change. No one at all, except herself. Well, under normal circumstances, I mean. Even the most evil and ruthless being still has a pure soul.

It can be compared to a man and his clothes. Any soul is pure, innocent and unchanging, as a person does not change, regardless of circumstances. And behavior, character, emotions, ambitions and the like are clothes.

And the only one who can accomplish this feat is the owner of the Touch of Heaven. I thought there were no serious consequences, but as it turns out, there are.

You'll say what's the big deal, but alas, there is a big deal.

Suppose I resurrect someone. Let's take this particular situation as an example, as this is the most common use of 3rd magic. Considering what the embodied concept of death said, the soul of the person I resurrect will no longer belong to the world and its Textures... but to me.

Again, the soul is the purest blob of energy. A tremendous energy that has many uses if you get it.

The question then becomes, why does the world allow a 3rd Magician to exist? The answer is, he has to deal with it. Every world has its own metaphorical 'Well of Souls' where all souls in principle are stored, and the Magician is a leech stuck to the well itself. And any opposition to this is a risk of damaging the vault, leading to the destruction of the world.

In short, every True Magician is a parasite, clinging to some branch of the universe and drawing power from there.

Ophis is the embodiment of 'infinity', or 'nothingness', or 'nonexistence', and she considers me a kind of relative, since I draw my power for Denial of Nothingness from the same source as she does.

With Death, the analogy is the same. She is a pillar of the cycle of life and death, and Touch of Heaven clings to the Well of Souls, which she is, in fact, in charge of.

Going back to the implications of Touch of Heaven, every soul I affect empowers me, since the likes of it belong exclusively to me.

And that is... frightening... What is frightening is that the more I use 3rd magic, the stronger I will become and undergo changes. After all, the truth has long been known: 'Great power corrupts'. Due to the fact that I only used it on a very small number of living beings and not that much, I didn't notice any difference in myself.

Apparently, when Death mentioned 'fickle', she meant exactly that. Because with each use of the Touch of Heaven, I change. And the strength of the change depends on how much I use it.

Look at Zelretch. He's out of his mind, a little, but still. And at the expense of entertainment, he manages to retain a part of himself that he values. Humanity. Even if he is a Dead Apostle.

The 2nd magic hooked him on the concept of "infinity". An infinity of probabilities and parallels. He sees every possibility of every world where he exists, and I am truly amazed at his stamina, as not going insane under such circumstances is nearly impossible.

- "Archer Emiya's words were right, eh?" Goetia's voice echoed in my head, "Although he said them with the intention of insulting you, the accuracy is amazing."

I didn't answer, only sighed tiredly.

- "How... interesting..." Zelretch murmured thoughtfully with a serious expression on his face, apparently coming to the same conclusions as me.

- "Indeed," I nodded and asked a very interesting question, "Is there any way to undo this effect? Or will it dissipate with time?"

- "I doubt it," said Death thoughtfully, "When you play with the laws of the universe, the consequences can be unpredictable."

- "And you don't resent that I have, in fact, broken those laws, because?"

- "I'm just an observer. No more, no less. And such a thing doesn't fall under my jurisdiction, since you're not even from this world." she shrugged.

- "I see."

There was silence in the office for a while, and everyone was thinking about something else. Until Death raised an eyebrow at something.

- "Hmm? I think there's something that needs my intervention," she mumbled and stood up from her seat and kissed me on the cheek, "I'll see you later. I should get back to work. See you later."

And the next moment she was gone, as if she had never been here.

Well, she did mention being a busy person. Heh.

Speaking of which, I think I figured out why I have memory loss. Apparently one of the theories I wanted to test was changing my own soul.

Basically, a paradox occurred where my soul tried to process itself, subsequently, a stupor occurred within it. And it seems that the part that did manage to process either broke away or got blocked. It's more likely the latter, since I've just lost my memories and don't feel any other changes. And looking at my soul, I couldn't find any visible defects.

I rubbed my temples and took a sip of coffee from the cup that appeared in my hand to clear my thoughts a little.

I guess I'll have to file this one away in a drawer until the effects are visible.

-0-

Ministry of Magic.

The clacking of my shoe heels on the black marble floor echoed clearly in my ears. High ceilings, masonry bricks of the same color, and British-style buildings definitely didn't suit this place, which looked like a sewer without water. People were walking back and forth, and flashes of green fire from the portals in the arches appeared one after another.

Huge crowds of wizards from all over Britain were huddled together, discussing something, rushing somewhere or just looking at their surroundings. The whole place gave the impression not of a place of power, but of an ordinary marketplace.

But everyone who saw me, or rather whoever was walking beside me, stepped aside and gave me a surprised look filled with concern.

- "So," I began, rubbing my temples, "Why are we here? And why do they look like this, looking at you?"

- "Usually, every visit I make here is accompanied by me having fun at their expense," Zelretch grinned, "And why are we here? Someone decided to make a fuss about you. And you know exactly who it is."

- "Dumb as a Door, I presume?"

- "Indeed. Lately he's been pulling all his connections and trying to dig up on you, even though he knows it's useless. You want to tell me what that's about?"

- "Oh? I just told him that I'm a 3rd Magician, and shared information about True Magic," I said thoughtfully and smirked, "Heh. He charged me with something, didn't he?"

- "That's right. He stated that you might be a dark wizard, citing that there was no action on your part regarding confronting the dark side. And that you let Voldy go without a single wound."

- "Is he stupid?" I raised an eyebrow, "If the first is understandable, how did he know about the second? Isn't he giving away his spy by doing so?"

- "Emotions make people act impulsively and rashly," Zelretch shrugged, "We're here, by the way."

We stopped at the double doors leading to what I realized was the hearing room.

I grinned, already anticipating what would happen behind those doors.

I guess after all the heavy thoughts about True Magic, we could use a little fun, couldn't we? Zelretch didn't mind anyway, judging by the cheerful, fangy grin on his face.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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[mirzael]

Ministry of Magic.

Once inside the hearing room, I took the time to look around. The area that the doors led to was an oval space with a dark marble floor and a single chair. It was surrounded by a wooden partition behind which the jurors were seated.

Among them were the aristocrats, such as Lucius Malfoy, and the higher-ups themselves, which included Amelia Bones, Percy Weasley, and, of course, Dolores the toad. And right in front of me behind the judge's podium was a slimy looking old man. Most likely to be Cornelius Fudge. And a bunch of other people in robes for extras.

How did I recognize them? The looks more or less matched the actors in the movie. Zelretch was here too, taking seats with the aristocrats, who were obviously scared of him.

Dumbledore was standing next to a chair, throwing a look full of expectation at me, to which I grinned and sat silently in the chair, then scanned the aura of those present. There wasn't much to say, as their magical power was at about rank E or lower. And that's quite disappointing. By the way, did I mention the local magic chambers?

- "Since the defendant has arrived, let's begin the hearing," Fudge said in a businesslike manner, and then looked at me with a rather arrogant look, "Romani Archaman, are you aware of the charges against you?"

- "Roughly," I shrugged, "Something about the dark side and that sort of nonsense."

- "I will elaborate," he continued, "You are accused of belonging to the dark side and of aiding and abetting a dark wizard. Do you have anything to say?"

- "Of course, I do. First of all, I'm not even from this world, so I don't have to obey the local authorities. Seco…"

- "Oh?" The toad interrupted me with an annoying smile that made the edge of my mouth twitch, "But you're a Magician, right? In that case, it's okay."

- "That's a different concept in my world and this one, Ms. 'pink toad with disgusting hair'" I shrugged, and her smile froze for a moment, "Secondly, even though Zelretch said I MAY deal with him, that doesn't mean I SHOULD, does it?"

Of course, there was an uproar at my words, and the jury began to whisper quietly amongst themselves, throwing judgmental glances at me. The only one wary of me was Malfoy, who had already seen some of my powers.

- "This is outrageous!" Exclaimed the toad.

- "Silence!" Amelia intervened and then turned to me, "It seems we started off on the wrong note. May we hear the reason for your inaction regarding the dark wizard?"

- "Oya? Has someone finally shown signs of adequacy? That's good to hear," I grinned, but she didn't react in any way, keeping a stern look on her face, "It doesn't take me a snap of my fingers to get you to understand the situation. It's a snap of my fingers and your problem is solved. But..."

- "But?" Amelia asked.

- "He's not my concern." I made a disinterested face and replied. There were shouts of indignation and anger again, as if they were being exposed to an unobvious truth. My hand slowly rose up and made a small wave, and silence ensued.

The screamers' voices disappeared, and their mouths opened and closed like fish. And then there was a collective look of incredulity and fear in my direction. Amelia's eyes grew sharp, Fudge and Toad shook, and Dumbledore grew wary. And only Zelretch was having fun with the whole situation.

- "In fact, your current situation is entirely your own fault. The abominable systems of law and order, protection and power, and the concessions to the upper classes create so many opportunities for Voldy that he doesn't even have to try to operate covertly. He can do his business right under your nose without you noticing," I rolled my eyes, "And, most importantly, why should I help you for nothing? Oh, yeah. You still have a voice, Mrs. Bones. After all, you're smarter than most."

- "What do you want?" she asked gently but firmly.

- "Just to hear something. The last time I saw Voldy, I gave him an idea. The same idea I'm going to pitch to you. Three factions, three schools, one tournament. The prize is the ability to resurrect anyone with no ill effects."

At my words, everyone present except Zelretch froze, staring at me incredulously. Dumbledore's eyes naturally lit up with eagerness, and Amelia staggered.

Even knowing the consequences of using the Touch of Heaven, it was unrewarding to refuse to use it. Besides, I never said that a resurrected dead person would live for a long time. And most importantly, you can eliminate the use of 3rd magic by simply negotiating with Death.

Her job is to maintain balance. And a very simple function can be included in the device of the artifact whereby it will be preserved. The dead person will be given half of the remaining life span of the person using the artifact. And its use would be limited to one time only.

Yes, the idea is brazenly stolen from the eponymous work, but it fits the current situation perfectly. After all, Death has already interfered in the affairs of mortals in this world, so why not do it again?

And the 'negative consequences'? Can essentially natural death and the preservation of the laws of the universe be considered 'negative consequences'? Nope.

- "Do you realize how absurd your idea is?" Amelia asked, regaining her composure.

- "Oh, really?" I tilted my head to the side and smiled sweetly, "As absurd as the existence of other worlds?"

At my words, she fell silent, and I returned my voice to the audience. The next moment, a magic circle appeared in front of me, blocking the spell from Miss Toad's side.

- "What are you doing, head of magical law enforcement?" Amelia asked sternly, "The use of magic during the hearing is forbidden."

- "It undermines our authority, Minister. He could destroy all of our traditions," the toad said, still pointing his wand at me, and then looked at the jury, "Don't you see that, gentlemen? This Magician should be locked up in Azkaban."

Yeah... Such obvious provocation is just painful to watch. And I don't think…

Suddenly, two more circles appeared on my sides. I stared incredulously at those whose brains were definitely showing signs of death, for only a weakling would fall for her words.

- "Stop!" Amelia shouted, trying to stop this circus, and the corner of my eye noticed that Dumbledore had managed to fend off a couple of spells, apparently counting on me to remember it. That said, he definitely intended to somehow force me to use 3rd magic by organizing this whole circus.

Heh. Well, let him count on that next.

In the next moment, I released some of the mana I was holding back. And it was felt by everyone present.

Every single one of them, with the exception of Zelretch, fell to their knees and was drenched in sweat from the pressure of my magic. And some even fainted. Wands fell one after another, and the idea of confronting me became impossible for them, judging by their faces. After a couple of seconds, my mana was drawn back into me, and they slowly rose from their knees, staggering and looking at my figure with frightened looks.

- "Just so you understand, this isn't all the magic I possess," I grinned at them as they took a step away from me, fearing another wave, "In case my idea comes to fruition, the artifact will be stored at the Clock Tower. You don't mind, do you, Zelretch?"

- "Nope." He smiled fangily, already foreshadowing the fun to come.

- "Good. Then I bid you farewell," I stood up from my chair, and teleportation circles appeared beneath me and Zelretch. "And remember, either you agree with me, or you will be swallowed up by Voldy."

Well, or Dumbledore, though of course I won't tell them that. 'Light' and dark sides are interested, and in regards to the Touch of Heaven I've made a couple deductions.

The magic stealing ring doesn't work anymore, which Voldy has definitely already noticed, so things will go exactly as they should. And since Alaya doesn't exist in this world, there won't be any problems.

Long story short, I should be getting back.

-0-

The Clock Tower.

- "Well, I certainly had fun." stated a satisfied Zelretch once we were in his office.

- "Good for you." I rolled my eyes, and then an ordinary looking dagger with a straight blade appeared in my hand.

- "A prize, I take it?" he raised an eyebrow.

- "Almost. All that's missing is the bind to Death. You'll give it to her after you send me home."

- "In a hurry?" He grinned.

- "More like worried. Leaving such peculiar Servants unattended? No, thank you."

Heh. Tiamat's worth a lot. If I disappear for long enough, she's the threat to the world, not Trihexa. Her Sea of Life will just turn all life into Lahmu, that's all. And that's a much bigger and faster cataclysm than mere destruction.

Ah, yes. It's worth mentioning that the Textures of the DxD world would indeed collapse if I finished what I was doing before Zelretch's intervention, because the influence extended not only to me, but also to the Life and Death aspect of the universe.

Hence the rule for using 3rd magic: Don't use it on yourself, at least not in any drastic way. And I think that's enough for now.

- "Well, I'll reassure you," he began, to which I raised an eyebrow, "Time between worlds is not constant, so you've been missing for about half a day or so."

- "That's good. Now, if you'd be so kind as to send me back."

- "Okay," he nodded. And as the shimmering them of the Kaleidoscope began to appear in my vision, Zelretch added, "I don't think Lady Death will take this lightly, though, and I may have to pull you out again."

I didn't have time to sarcasm as I was thrown out of this world.

I suppose I should prepare for my next visit here. And hopefully it won't be for a while. I hope so.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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[mirzael]

Familiar's Forest

- "Master!!!"

- "You're finally here, you mongrel."

- "The Garden of Avalon would not have lasted much longer."

The collective cry of the Servants in my head was the first thing I heard upon returning here, and the feeling of reconnecting with them immediately followed. Looking around, my eyes recognized the familiar scenery of the Familiars' forest, causing me to breathe a sigh of relief.

- "Don't yell, I'm not deaf," I grinned, "I hope it wasn't anything serious."

- "Of course not. Unless you count the fact that Beast II went berserk when she sensed your disappearance and we contained her rampage in my Soul Mirror, of course. But that absolutely can't be considered anything 'serious', can it?" hissed Emiya in his usual sarcasm.

- "You have no idea how glad I am to hear from you again, Queen Shirou," I began, and then froze as I processed his words, "Wait. Did you say 'contained'?"

The next moment, the space in front of me exploded, forming a gap the size of a skyscraper. And out of it appeared the figure of Tiamat in her gigantic Beast form. Her aura was like a tsunami wave through the entire forest of familiars, causing the animals around me to run in all directions to get away from its owner.

Tiamat's four-pointed star pupils flickered until they stopped on me, and then her mouth, with its razor-sharp, shark-like teeth, opened wide, tears streaming from her eyes.

In a brief flash of light, her Beast form was replaced by the familiar form of a Servant. Then Tiamat threw herself on top of me and hugged me tightly, dipping her head on my chest and beginning to rub herself. Her embrace was so strong that if I hadn't used Strengthening, my body would have turned to mush.

After a second, I silently put my hand on her head and began to slowly stroke, making the strength of her hug even stronger, and my shirt had already turned into a wet rag.

She was really scared, huh? Beast II, the Evil of Humanity and the original Goddess, now looked so fragile and helpless. Her hands were trembling and unwilling to let go of me, causing a wave of warmth and guilt to run through my body.

That level of affection warmed my heart, but at the same time came the shame that I had made her so anxious. And honestly, I don't have a single thought to apologize to her. The feeling emanating from Tiamat was directly screaming in my mind. It wasn't the feeling of a worried mother, but...

- "Well, here's an idea." The demon Asmodeus remarked casually, having made certain conclusions. From which a tired expression appeared on my face, as I also came to them.

Previously, I had only considered her figure as a loving mother, but as a woman? This is... new... though not unexpected. Considering this particular point of view, a better woman doesn't exist in principle, huh?

The tired expression on my face was replaced by an awkward one.

Besides, on second thought, I'm in love with her.

My eyes closed for a few moments.

Well, as long as she's okay with it, why not?

My hand slowly and carefully reached for her, intending to lift her chin a little. Tiamat obediently lifted her head and looked up at me with tear-stained, reddened, worried eyes. I brought my face close to hers and kissed her gently. There was no passion or desire in it, as there had been with Death, but only love, affection, and... awkwardness.

Her eyes widened for a moment and then, how shall I put it, smiled happily? She responded to the kiss, and her concerned embrace was replaced with a loving and sensual one.

I don't know how long we kissed, but both Tiamat and I were really enjoying the moment. After a while, we pulled away from each other and our gazes met. My awkward smile met hers, filled with happiness. Tiamat gently laid her head on my chest wet from her tears and felt true joy. I didn't even need to use magic to realize it.

Hehe. I guess we're a couple now, huh?

- "How... unusual..." Goetia practically murmured in a whisper, "Love between a Beast and a human? How... strange..."

His words shifted the focus of my attention away from Tiamat, and I noticed a look of disbelief and shock directed at us, or rather at Tiamat.

Slowly turning my head towards the source of the stare, my eyes noticed a female figure with blue hair that resembled Tiamat. She was naturally staring in our direction, and her dragon-scented body was shaking uncontrollably.

Tiamat, noticing that I was distracted, turned toward the figure as well. And seeing the watcher, recognition appeared in her gaze.

- "M-m-mother?" In a trembling voice, as if it would break in the next moment, the figure whispered.

- "Aaaaaaaaaa~" Tiamat sang sadly and joyfully at the same time and, breaking away from me, walked towards the figure.

- "Y-you're alive? I-isn't this a dream?"

- "Aaaa~" Tiamat gently hugged the figure, causing the latter to start crying.

Yeah... The moment is really touching, I won't argue, but I'd like to get some context. Also, the description of a certain dragon figure is very fitting for this woman.

- "Master?" Grandpa's voice echoed in my head, "What about Beast II? Should I report to you?"

- "It's all right. Have all the Servants gather at home and recuperate," I assured him, "By the way, how did you manage to hold out against Tiamat without my mana? I realize that in this world the concentration of magical energy is quite dense, but still."

- "Ouroboros shared it."

- "Ophis?" I raised an eyebrow, "And where is she now?"

- "She left. Said she had to check on her group."

Heh. Well, something doesn't change, I guess.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a couple of heads with blue hair walking towards me.

- "Aaaaaa~" Tiamat sang with a slight smile on her face as she reached me and pointed at the woman, giving me a headache, "Aaaaaaaa~"

Yep. Just as I thought. That woman was the dragon queen Tiamat. And now I've dated three female bearers of that name. But I don't understand, why the hell are there TWO people with the name 'Tiamat' in DxD at once?

But the next moment my thoughts were cut short as Tiamat's last words reached me, which I didn't understand.

- "Wait. 'Our' daughter?"

- "It's a pleasure to meet you, Father," the dragon queen said naturally and bowed respectfully, "I'm so glad my mother is alive and well, though I don't see how that's possible, and that she's finally found a mate who's truly interested in her happiness."

My eyebrow twitched.

And I really don't understand why you're taking this so naturally. Is it something wrong with me, or with everyone else?

Time to ask questions...

-0-

Emiya residence.

Well, the answer lay on the surface, so to speak. This Tiamat was the child of Tia, as I had now decided to call Beast II, of this world. Moreover, the only one who had not turned on her mother. The dragon queen had previously borne a different name, but later changed it to honor her parent. And seeing Tia alive, her shock is understandable.

When I asked her why she had so easily decided to recognize me as a father figure, she replied, 'Mother said so', which made the edge of my mouth twitch, for I had not, in fact, heard any clarification or anything of the sort. And the dragon queen was extremely respectful to me, even considering that she had only met me a few minutes ago.

We eventually parted on the fact that she would visit me and Tia from time to time, to which I simply shrugged.

Well, whatever.

Arriving home, I was confronted by the tired and frazzled Servants gathered in the parlor.

Merlin and Archer were sprawled out on the couch with their eyes closed. Though the floral pervert occasionally threw an envious glance at Emiya, who was being tended to by a worried Medusa and Artoria. Lancelot lay on the floor and just slept, as did Hercules. Even Gilgamesh and Enkidu, who had likely taken the brunt of Tia's attacks, looked bad. A hundred faces with almost imperceptible signs of fatigue stood next to Grandpa. And Fou wasn't here.

Fortunately, there was a closed field around the house, blocking out unnecessary glances.

- "Thank you for not interfering." As I approached King Hassan, I made a deep bow.

- "She was important to you, Master," he replied, and then gave Tia a brief glance, to which she lowered her head slightly, "But if you had stayed even a moment longer, I would have done what was necessary."

- "I understand." I sighed tiredly.

It is indeed pleasant to be back, as it is to see the faces of my Servants. But the aftermath of my disappearance is definitely not pleasant. It's lucky there weren't any particularly violent or dangerous ones, though Grandpa would have dealt with them anyway.

While I was pondering, the door to the Emiya residence opened wide, and a disheveled Aika flew into the living room with a frightened look on her face.

- "Sensei! You're back!" she shrieked.

- "Yeah."

- "Do you realize the danger of your rash actions?!"

- "Uh-huh."

- "Are you even listening?!"

- "Uh-uh."

At my words, she boiled like a kettle and without a word, she left the house, stomping loudly on the floor.

Ah... It's good to be back. Although, I think I forgot something... I wonder what it was?

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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[mirzael]

Emiya residence.
The next day.

The most ordinary lunch at the Emiya Residence. All of its inhabitants were peacefully enjoying their meals after yesterday's tiring events. Though it didn't really bother the culprit herself, given her satisfied face, which was glowing with joy while I was spoon-feeding her, so to speak.

- "Honestly, mutt, I never thought it was possible. You do realize she's a Beast, right?" Gilgamesh began, pointing his fork in our direction, "However, all Magicians are insane, eh?"

- "Oh? You're really calling that bundle of joy a Beast?" I rolled my eyes and poked a finger at Tia's cheek, which made her mewl cutely, "Look at her, aside from her history with Gaia's urges, do you even think she's dangerous? Besides, you think I don't know, about you?"

- "What exactly, mongrel?" He raised an eyebrow.

- "Like you don't go to her and Enkidu to complain about your life, or rather about Archer and his magic, huh?"

- "Only because Enkidu asks me to." crossing his arms, he said.

- "What do you think about that, Emiya?"

- "Well, I didn't know that the King of Heroes himself is a child who likes to complain to his parents about his life. And I wouldn't believe it if it weren't for the excuses that came out of his golden mouth just now," Archer smirked, to which Gilgamesh gritted his teeth and looked at him intently, "I suggest taking him to an amusement park, or a daycare center. Take him out, so to speak."

Hearing Emiya's words, Artoria and Medusa giggled, throwing amused glances at the King of Heroes, making him naturally boil. Even Enkidu, who covered his mouth with his palm, let out a laugh.

- "Do you want to die, Faker?" Gilgamesh growled, and golden portals appeared behind his back with staffs pointing towards Archer. In response, Emiya's smirk grew even bigger, of course.

- "No fighting at the table, Gil-kun," I said, pulling a fatherly smile on my face as if Gilgamesh were a child to me, and then turned toward Lancer, "Enkidu, dear, calm your friend down and explain to him the rules of behavior at mealtime."

- "Yes, 'father'." chuckled Enkidu. Blue flashes of energy traveled through his body, and the next moment Gilgamesh was chained hand and foot, and the portals behind the latter's back disappeared, sucking in the staffs.

At this sight Archer covered his mouth with his hand and his shoulders began to twitch. Merlin, Artoria, Medusa, and Tia found the situation extremely amusing. The Assassins didn't react in any way, and Heracles was just chewing on Emiya's cooking, as were Fou and Goetia.

- "What are you doing, Enkidu?! I must punish these buffoons! Let me go!" Gilgamesh cried out indignantly.

- "You must obey your elders, Gil," Enkidu said with a cheerful smile on his face and, holding a chain in his hand, dragged the bound King of Heroes upstairs while covering his mouth with another chain, "Come, I'll give you a lesson in manners."

After giving them a glance, I stuffed a piece of steak prepared by Emiya into my mouth.

It was good. As usual, though.

-0-

Two hours later.

After lunch, I decided to relax a bit and collapsed on the couch, or rather, Tia's lap, and then closed my eyes and, after dispersing the Servants, I reflected.

After a break in the world of Harry Potter, it was time to get back to the business at hand.

Kokabiel's Arc.

Since he doesn't die in the story, it is possible to act more or less with his hands untied. The Fallen One participated in the Great War, has seen a lot, and now he just wants a war? To put it mildly, that doesn't seem right.

Ideally, before he attacks the school, I'd like to talk to him, just to find out his motives. The crazy priest is basically nothing to worry about, since he's going to be expendable anyway. A psycho scientist with a track record of inhuman experiments and obsession with a particular thing? Classic.

Speaking of attacking the school. Since both Sona and Rias and their retinues are now stronger thanks to Archer, my direct intervention will probably not be necessary, unless some force majeure happens. At this point, we need to wait for the church duo and that's basically it. By the way, where-

The next moment the doorbell rang, causing me to roll my eyes.

Thank you, universe. Uh-huh.

Leaving Tia's rut, to which she was obviously upset, I made my way to the door and opened it, where I was greeted by Church representatives. True, there were not two of them, but three: Xenovia, Irina, and Griselda. And the first, as in canon, held Excaliburs plus Durandal.

- "Good afternoon, Mr. Archaman," the nun said hello and made a small bow, "I hope we're not disturbing you?"

- "Come on in," I shrugged and let them inside.

- "Thank you."

Once they were inside, they settled on a vacant couch, glancing at Tia every now and then. I returned to the same position I'd been in before they came in. Xenovia gave me a stern look, Irina a puzzled look, and Griselda a tired one.

- "So," I began, relaxing on Tia's lap, "I didn't expect to see you in this group, Miss 'nun with the indecent body'. I take it you're going to Gremory's after me?"

- "Yes," replied Griselda.

- "Good. I'm going to take a nap," I said, and Griselda silently rubbed her temples, "I waved her off, to which Griselda silently rubbed her temples."

- "Uh... Why are you being so rude?" Putting her finger to her mouth, Irina asked, looking at me.

- "Indeed," Xenovia supported her and gave me a judgmental look, "You're looking at one of the strongest exorcists, but you don't care. You're dealing with demons and you're not afraid of the Church's wrath?"

In response, I slowly turned my gaze to Griselda, who was already looking at her adopted daughter with a stern look.

I understand the archangels have decided to keep my identity a secret, eh? Quite discreet, if they consider my words towards the Church. Doesn't change the weather, though.

- "And why would I fear God's stronghold on this sinful earth?" I grinned and, straightening up, put Tia's head on my lap, "He's certainly not against my actions."

- "And why are you so sure of that?" Xenovia did not refuse, glaring at me.

- "Let's just say he gave me his approval."

- "What are you…"

- "Xenovia. Shut up," Griselda said softly, interrupting her, then inclined her head in my direction, "I apologize for my daughter's behavior, Mr. Archaman. She can be overly stubborn and forthright at times."

- "I find it quite amusing," I shrugged, "By the way, I hope the Viceroy of Heaven isn't re-forming the Church? Last time I saw him, he was seriously considering the idea."

Not that it bothers me, but if Michael does do it, who will be the first contender for the role of the new Pope, even if the current one is well downright competent? The answer is obvious.

And if you consider the fact that God is dead here, then I will essentially rule Heaven as well. They don't know it yet, but the Touch of Heaven is indeed connected to the 'Heavens', or rather the Heavenly System. They are both connected to the 'Well of Souls' of the DxD world, which means that Michael is no longer the only one who can watch over the system. I, on top of that, can also make adjustments to it, something that only God himself, who actually created it, was capable of doing.

In the end, it turns out that a man named 'Romani Archaman' is the closest thing to God in this world. And the consequences of this do not make me very happy, because to be in charge of the Church and to be in charge of Heaven sounds like an extremely troublesome business, no matter how you look at it.

- "There are consequences," the nun replied, and then gave me an annoyed look, "And isn't that your fault?"

- "Oya? Why so, Miss Nun? I only told the truth, nothing more," I shook my finger, then pointed at Irina and Xenovia, "Besides, look at the 'battle' attire of the Exorcists. You could go to a strip club for a 'fight' in such 'battle' attire."

- "But they're comfortable. They don't constrict your movements in battle." Irina said, throwing off her white cloak and showing her 'clothes'.

- "Somehow I don't see it on Ms. Griselda," I rolled my eyes and then looked at the nun intently, "Or do you wear it, Ms. Nun? Aye-aye-aye, shame on you. A mature woman like you, and with a body as obscene as yours, to dress like that and not blush? You want to kill all the demons with a nosebleed?"

- "I do not wear such things." Griselda said in a monotone.

- "But this 'battle' outfit is standard for all exorcists, isn't it?" I asked, to which both Xenovia and Irina nodded confidently, "Then why aren't you wearing it?"

- "It seems that Lord Michael was wrong about you. You did adopt some of the characteristics of your predecessor." Griselda said, glancing at Tia, or rather at her outfit.

- "No, no, no, no, it's common sense. If a certain uniform is standard for a certain profession, then all members of that profession are obliged to wear it, aren't they? Or am I confusing things? Don't tell me there's nothing underneath your nun garb because you refused to wear 'battle attire that doesn't constrict movement in battle', hmm, Ms. perverted nun?"

Her eye twitched at my words, and the glances from the church duo in her direction didn't help in any way.

Well, seriously, where am I wrong? Or is there something wrong with my common sense, hmm?

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
My P.a.t.r.e.o.n: P.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m/mirzael
You'll be able to read more chapters there.

 

[Odd1todd89]

thank you for writing....

 

[Shane.W]

Bulli the nun's.

 

[mirzael]

Kuoh Academy.

Standing at the window of the medical room and sipping coffee, I watched the canonical scene of Kokabiel and Valper's attack on the academy. And honestly, nothing much had changed. Sona and her entourage are still maintaining the barrier, and the occult research club along with the churchmen fought.

And Griselda, who wasn't in canon, was holding Freed back, while the others focused on the Fallen and the three Cerberus clones. Valper himself was just watching them from the sidelines, clearly not interested in the outcome, but throwing glances at the Excaliburs in Zenobia and Irina's hands.

The nun was definitely stronger than the priest, but she had to be distracted by other factors from time to time. Freed was really good at battle vision. It was evident when he switched from Griselda to her two wards or to the demons, trying to hit them from behind while they were distracted. In this way, Freed was forcing Griselda to go on the defense, making it impossible for her to fully focus on defeating him.

The Fallen One, on the other hand, basically did not inspire adequacy in his personality, with his skewed face, insane laughing and staring, and disorderly movements of body parts.

I didn't manage to meet him and chat with him somehow, as Tia took up all my time, but as I see it, there was no point.

- "When are we going to act, Master?" Artoria asked behind my back.

- "Indeed," Merlin backed her up, at first in a calm tone, and then... "You see what they're fighting in! What a fine choice of clothing! It fits their skin exactly and emphasizes their shapes! Do you think I should invite them to dinner, Master? I'm thinking…"

But he was interrupted by a sharp blow to the face, sending him flying toward the door. Slowly rising, holding his broken nose, Merlin smiled cheekily.

- "Well, well, well, don't react to my usual remarks like that, my King," he said in a cheerful tone, to which Artoria gave an irritated tsk, and then added, looking around at her, "Besides, it's no one's fault they don't grow, even with your appetite."

Artoria's face took on a stoic expression, and she herself didn't move.

- "I'm glad that…" Merlin was about to say something again when another blow came to his face, hitting him in the same place as before… "Why?! For telling the truth?!"

- "Teacher." Artoria spoke in a completely monotone tone, to which Merlin, who was rubbing his face, perked up and looked at her cautiously.

- "Y-yes?"

- "You are indeed right," she continued in the same tone and started walking slowly towards Merlin, Excalibur without Wind Defense appearing in her hand, "But you have no right to say such a thing to a girl. Don't you agree, teacher?"

- "Well, Archer likes you just the way you are." I said casually, to which Merlin nodded quickly, and Artoria turned slowly in my direction.

- "Master, you're like…"

- "Oh?" I interrupted her, covering her mouth with three fingers, which got a twitching eyebrow and a very indignant look, then pointed to the courtyard, where Valper, while we were distracted, had already managed to get his hands on four Excalibur and combine them into one, "We'll leave that for later, but now I suggest we move out."

I didn't wait for her response, but simply teleported the three of us to the battlefield at the exact moment that Freed was coming at the wounded Griselda with the combined Excalibur.

Quickly orienting herself and bringing back Wind Defense, Artoria fended off Freed's blade, Merlin stood near the demons to heal them, and I, throwing Griselda onto my shoulder with her ass forward, sprinted toward Merlin. Her nun's robes were nearly half-emptied, and she was holding up her practically exposed breasts with one hand.

- "More demons?! I was just about to try out my new Excalibur!" Freed looked at me, licking his sword.

- "Sensei?! Why are you here?!" Issei shrieked, giving me a surprised look, as did the other demons.

- "And who is that with you?!" Rias added, looking at Merlin assisting her group.

- "Helping overconfident schoolboys who think they're strong," I shrugged, and a groan of pain came from my shoulder, "Oh? I apologize, Ms. 'perverted nun', I completely forgot about your obscene body."

- "You're... so..." she hissed.

- "Wonderful? Amazing? Magnificent? Yes, that's me."

- "Bastard."

- "Well, well, a nun shouldn't swear in front of children, Miss Griselda." I grinned and slapped her ass.

- "Mnnnn~" she moaned, to which both I and everyone else stared at her with stunned looks. Griselda, noticing this, just stared at me intently, but I noticed a tiny blush on her face.

- "And you really are a 'twisted nun'," I grinned and threw it at Merlin.

Griselda's eyes widened in surprise, as did all the 'good' people present. Caster easily caught her in his arms bridal style and placed her next to Asia, who was close behind him.

My gaze shifted to Kokabiel, who had been silently observing the scene the whole time while Artoria was taking care of Freed.

- "So, it's nice to meet you in person, Mr. Fallen," I began, "You're quite calm, even with the sudden appearance of strangers."

- "Not really."

- "Hmm?"

- "I've been expecting you, Romani Archaman. Magician. And those long dead." With eyes shining with anticipation, he said. At his words, both I and Artoria and Merlin rounded their eyes.

Well... This smells like something I don't understand.

- "I'm flattered and all, but why were you expecting me?"

- "You may not remember me, but I remember you," he continued, "The one before whom Father appeared in person. The one whose wisdom He recognized. And the one who was the friend who made me fall without regret..."

Fuck.

- "Solomon of Israel. My friend, my rival...and my teacher."

At his words, I simply fell out of reality. Did my colleague really have such a relationship with him? How much more do I not know?

It wasn't just me who was in the same state. Everyone present, and even Griselda who knew about me, was so shocked that they stopped fighting and just stared at Kokabiel and I.

- "Um... I hate to break it to you, Mr. Fallen, but I really don't remember that."

- "That's to be expected," he brushed it off without the least bit of surprise, "You're his reincarnation. And you're probably wondering how I knew about it. The answer is very simple: your personality, your way of speaking, your body language - all of it is almost identical to his. A little cruder, but it's still true."

- "So what are you going to do now? Don't tell me your plan to undermine all of Kuoh and attack the heiresses is now unnecessary?"

- "No. I'm even more sure of it now. All of Christendom needed a jolt to get out of stagnation and move forward into the future. And my plan is that push. And you, my friend, are the one who will lead them all to prosperity," he said with a smile on his face, "You, who holds the title of 'Wise King' among men, who is favored by the Heavenly Father himself, and who is able to subdue the entire Underworld with a single word."

He raised his hand into the sky, where after a moment a complex web of magical circles formed, filled with a large amount of energy.

- "We can make a deal, sort of." Tilting his head to the side, I said.

- "It's okay. I know you're going to stop me, but there's no point. The process has begun," he continued, and giant spears of light appeared around him, aimed at me, "There's just one last step left to take."

I sighed tiredly and rubbed my temples.

He's serious, isn't he? I could understand his motives, though. The ceasefire between the factions is in a very shaky state. And right now, the entire Biblical mythology is going through the very stagnation he mentioned. Even in the anime, this is the moment that forced the leaders of the three sides to come together at the negotiating table and focus on the common good for all. The outcome doesn't matter, but the result is guaranteed.

And since he's so adamant, why not give him the same respect?

-0-

Griselda, already more or less healed under Merlin and Asia's care, stared at the scene before her.

Romani's body glowed for a brief moment, revealing a completely different appearance. The dark skin tone and white hair remained, but the robes and most importantly, the aura, no longer did.

Long and majestic robes belonging to ancient times covered the Magician's body, his gaze changed and a warm smile appeared on his face.
Griselda noticed ten shining rings on the fingers of his hands, releasing a wave of Holiness she had never seen before.

The sight was stunning, so much so that her gaze couldn't take her eyes off the transformed Magician, and his appearance... she didn't even notice the blush appearing on her cheeks.

- "If it's your own choice, then who am I to talk you out of it?" Romani said softly and raised his hands to the sky.

- "The Time of Birth Has Come..."

Griselda saw thousands upon thousands of particles of light begin to rise from the ground and float gently above her as if in a fairy tale.

- "He is the One Who Masters All..."

Then, these tiny clots of light soared into the sky with unimaginable speed. And not just from the battlefield. Griselda noticed millions more of them wherever her gaze went. On the side of the city, on the side of the mountains and forests, wherever her gaze went. And lifting her head to the sky where they were headed, a giant ring of light appeared before her, making a hole in the clouds and clearly showing the myriad stars in the distance of the planet.

- "Ars Almadel Solomonis."

And in the next moment, that ring glowed brightly, blinding the eyes, and then millions of rays of light began to fall directly on Kokabiel, who only responded with a smile.

How... beautiful...

-0-

Under the effect of the Noble Phantasm, Fallen's body vaporized without affecting anyone else.

Fortunately, I lowered the power and focused it solely on Kokabiel. At first the thought of taking his soul and resurrecting him later crossed my mind, but then I gave up. I suppose someone like him has a right to rest, doesn't he?

Sighing tiredly and returning to Romani's body, I surveyed my surroundings. The Cerberus clones were gone, and Freed and Valper had fallen off their hooves. Kiba was holding his holy-demon sword, and Artoria was looking at the fused Excalibur in her hand, which was glowing with joy.
The rest of you...

- "Y-Y-You..." Rias whispered in a trembling voice, pointing her finger in my direction.

- "T-this..." Akeno mumbled, covering her mouth with her hand and looking at me.

- "S-solomon..." Rias, Zenobia, and Irina all did the same. And everyone else present just stared at me with unblinking eyes and didn't move. Except for one...

- "Solomon?! Who is this?! How did you change your appearance?!" Issei gibbered, pointing his finger at me.

Well, something doesn't change, I guess.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed five individuals watching the action. Vali from one rooftop and Morgan with Mordred, Arthur, and Le Fay from the other.

The White Dragon Emperor was grinning wildly, Morgan was smiling contentedly, and Mordred was just looking at Artoria with her fierce gaze. Arthur and Le Fay, on the other hand, were in the same state as those present on the battlefield with their mouths and eyes wide open.

I rubbed my temples once more and clucked my tongue.

I don't think I'll be able to sleep for the next few days, huh?

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
My P.a.t.r.e.o.n: P.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m/mirzael
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[mirzael]

Emiya residence.
Evening.

There was a deafening silence in the living room, and my eyebrow occasionally twitched at the looks I received from some of the people present.

Across from me sat a nervous Rias and Sona, while their entourages silently watched from the sidelines. Heiress Gremory's mouth was opening and closing, and Heiress Sitri was adjusting her glasses every now and then. In short, they were still reeling from what had happened, even considering that a decent amount of time had already passed since the incident had ended.

The church trio was also present. Xenovia and Irina looked as if they had met God himself, that is, with eyes shining with fanaticism and a happy expression on their faces. But I was disturbed by the strange behavior of Griselda, who from time to time furtively cast a strange glance at me, and then turned her head as if to drive away some thought.

The Pendragon family was here, too. Arthur and Le Fay stood behind Morgan, looking merrily at the stunned Artoria and Lancelot and the irritated Merlin. Mordred, on the other hand, kept her eyes averted from the 'father' figure with his fists clenched tightly. The rest of my Servants simply waited for the outcome of events from behind me.

- "So," I began, "What can I do for you? Hopefully nothing, and you'll be leaving right now."

- "We... apologize for such a sudden visit, Romani... sensei," Sona took the floor, gathering her will in her fist, "But the question of your identity is extremely important to us."

- "Sona is right. The return of Solomon himself is an important event for the entire demon race. Especially the members of the Pillars." Rias backed her up.

- "Cool, but I'm not interested. Get outta here."

- "You do realize that even if we leave now, the Demon Lords and the Council will not just leave you?" Sona asked, ignoring me.

- "Like the debt collectors? I didn't take out a loan, I don't think."

- "You're having fun, huh?" Rias crossed her arms, "Do you have any idea what will happen when they find out? Those old men will try to get rid of you. Solomon is the only man who has subjugated the entire demon race. And some, if not most, won't just go along for the ride."

- "Oh? For the record, I'm not going to rule the Underworld just because I'm the reincarnation of Solomon. Too much time and energy wasted, if you ask me."

- "They don't care," Sona intervened, "The Council is made up of very old demons. Those who are used to solving problems quickly and radically. The Lords are more modern in their thinking, and will probably just want to talk to you."

- "Just talk? More like interrogate," I rolled my eyes, to which Sona chose to remain silent, "It would be like three evil uncles plus one aunt surrounding poor me like a good old porno, wouldn't it?"

- "I'd like to see that." Akeno cooed.

- "Stay away from me, SM devotee. Not for you to color." I said, to which Akeno...looked upset? "If that's all, please leave. Too many people for someone like me."

- "Okay!" Rias jumped up and pointed her finger at me, "Since you're being an asshole and you don't need help, we'll leave! But you still have to answer the Lords' questions, or else...?"

- "Or else?"

- "Like Sona said, there will be attempts on your life. Don't you realize we want to help you?"

- "Ok."

- "Why are you being so insufferable, for God's sake?!" She shrieked irritably and grimaced in pain, as did all the other demons present.

- "Ok."

Rias' face turned as red as her hair, and smoke naturally began to billow from her head. With a loud stomp and a grunt, she stood beside her entourage and, activating a magic circle, teleported out of the house.

At this, Sona rubbed the bridge of her nose and then gave me an annoyed look.

- "Wasn't there any other way to send her away?"

- "She, unlike you, tends to follow her emotions rather than reason," I grinned and produced a cup of coffee from which I took a sip. "And how did she become an heiress with such self-control? By proxy, I suppose?"

- "I... understand your argument. She's impulsive, fickle and unruly. And I'd rather Millicas take the place of Gremory's heir than Rias."

- "Oh? That's rather interesting coming from a close friend."

- "Don't misunderstand. I do consider her a close friend and value our friendship, but more than that. Rias is my rival and object of comparison. Our circumstances are identical. Both she and I are younger sisters of Demon Lords, descendants of the Pillars and heirs to those very Pillars. However, we are... different."

- "President?" Tsubaki asked cautiously.

Sona paused and closed her eyes.

- "As much as I hate to admit it, Rias is extremely spoiled and undisciplined. She's also not self-sufficient. Where I've gotten rid of an imposed marriage with my own hands, she's enlisted the help of her retinue, though that's definitely not their concern. I'm basically the only one in charge of the city, and her retinue..." she continued, then opened her eyes and looked at me, "Do you know about Gasper, the second bishop of Rias?"

- "The dhampir under the seven seals?" I rolled my eyes, "Uh-huh. Poor guy hasn't seen sunlight in who knows how long."

- "I'm not surprised you know about him, but, yeah," Sona nodded, "She can't even properly deal with the problems of her retinue, even though she proudly calls herself King."

- "Hmph!" Gilgamesh snorted, drawing attention to himself, "There is only one King - that's me, all the others are just mutts calling themselves such. But I am amused by her self-confidence. Tell me, demon, what does the word 'King' mean to you if you are so comfortable criticizing your friend?"

- "'King' is not an honor, it's a burden. Not a favor, but a sentence. A 'King' is obligated to give his people what they need, not what they want. This I have learned from conversations with my sister and my own observations. Look at her, her comical and surreal image of a girl wizard makes demons forget the past and move forward." At her words, not only me, but everyone present rounded their eyes, and a wild grin appeared on Gilgamesh's face.

- "Interesting words, girl," now Morgan intervened, who looked at Sona with intrigue, "And if this 'King' is a tyrant in the eyes of the people?"

- "If it will ensure the future of the people, I don't see the problem."

Yup... This Sona is straight up a treasure chest. Such confidence in her gaze and words that gave me goosebumps. Her words definitely impressed Gilgamesh, Morgan, Merlin, Lancelot and Artoria. Especially Artoria, judging by her clenched fists. I don't know how exactly Sona gained such maturity, but I can tell you that I'm definitely shocked.

- "Sona Sitri," I started, to which she turned her gaze on me, "Will you marry me?"

- "WHAT?!" shrieked everyone present in general. And even the Assassins widened their eyes at my words.

- "Master, are you a pedophile?" Emiya asked with a twitching eyebrow.

- "Are you out of your mind!" Artoria was indignant.

- "Well, I certainly don't mind her candidacy." Morgan grinned.

- "Aaaaaaah~" clapped her hands together Tia.

- "You're too old for President!" Shouted Saji.

- "Disgusting." Griselda hissed, glaring at me.

- "W-w-what are you n-what are you talking about?!" Sona, blushing like a tomato, exclaimed, frantically adjusting her glasses.

- "... I would have said, if you were older." I continued and grinned. Sona and everyone else froze in surprise, and then started pointing their fingers at me, not knowing what to say.

Heh. Did they really think that I would seriously consider it? I'm definitely not against the idea, though.

- "This isn't funny, damn it!" Sona shouted after seeing my smirk, "You can't play with a girl's heart like that!"

- "It's not my fault you didn't finish listening to me, is it?"

- "Your tone didn't promise a continued sentence, bastard-sensei!"

Hehe. Her over-emotional face looked so funny and adorable that I even glared at it. It was like an adorable kitten that was just begging to be pity and petted. It's beautiful.

- "Why are you so excited? Don't tell me you're okay with the idea?" I asked with a sweet smile on my face.

- "No!" Sona whirled her head around, "Not in this life or the next, I'm not going to be your wife, dammit!"

- "Oh? You're breaking my heart, So-tan," I said with a sad face, clutching my heart, "But you can come to me whenever you want if you need to hide from Sera, okay?"

- "I'm done!" she jumped up and walked over to her entourage, "We're leaving!"

- "But, President…" Tsubaki began cautiously.

- "I said we're leaving!" Tsubaki interrupted Sona, forming a magic circle underneath her, and then gave me one last look, "See you next time, you bastard-sensei!"

And in a brief flash of light, Sona and her entourage disappeared from the residence. And I looked back at the group of Pendragons and the church trio.

- "So, with you now. Or shall we reschedule this conversation for another day? I wouldn't mind that. Uh-huh-uh."

-0-

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[mirzael]

Kyoto.
The next day.

Well, the conversation wasn't rescheduled after all. However, we had time to settle things last night.

The churchmen were confused about the fused Excalibur being in Artoria's hands. Of course, I wasn't about to hand over the sword, which I told them to their faces. Strangely enough, the straightforward and stubborn Zenobia did not object to me, though it was probably because of the revelation of my identity. Irina simply looked at me like an idol and silently absorbed my every word.

In contrast, Griselda said what I already knew: destabilizing the balance of power, the loss of weapons against demons and so on. I just waved her off and asked her to tell Michael directly that I now had the sword. She had nothing to say about it. That was the end of it.

Now about the Pendragons.

During that time, which, I should say, was no more than ten hours, Mordred managed to resolve her issues with Artoria. Of course, with shouting, poking with a sharp stick, and even the use of Noble Phantasm, but still.

Plus, she started calling Archer 'Mother' basically without embarrassment or anything like that. To this, Emiya himself first raised an eyebrow and then accepted the situation with Artoria accepting Morderd's attitude with a calm face. And now Queen Shirou had truly become 'Queen'.

As for Morgan and the local Pendragon descendants, they are the easiest to deal with - they all moved in with me. Could I have objected? Nope. The Fey Queen had simply put me to the fact, and her axe staff she held up as if to hint at the consequences of a possible refusal. Arthur, on the other hand, fell under Artoria's wing, and Le Faye was taken care of personally by Morgan. Well, the Pendragon house maid that Arthur had fallen in love with was now living in Emiya's residence as well.

Now Tia and I were having a nice time walking around the cultural capital of Japan, or rather the supernatural part of it. Of course, the duo of dragon and human auras attracted attention, but not so much that it interfered with our date. I was dressed in my usual Romani outfit, and Tia was wearing a blue, non-warm sweater and a long white skirt.

Well, I could tell that Tia loves to eat. We visited almost every food stall that came our way. And at the moment, I was relaxedly sipping my favorite coffee while watching Tia enthusiastically devouring her fifth udon.

We were in a small cafe with a long counter along its entire area and tables for a maximum of two people. And the only employee of the place was some elderly yōkai with wolf ears, who was probably also the owner.

At some point, the doorbell rang, which I didn't pay attention to at first. But then I felt a stare from the entrance, and interest did take over.

There were three people standing at the door, two of whom I knew well: Yasaka, Kunou, and some other teenage girl of about fourteen in a school uniform. What was notable was that the teenager had a divinity about her that was as bright and warm as....

Оh? I hadn't expected SHE to look like that.

Noticing my gaze, a cheeky grin appeared on the girl's face, and then she waltzed over to the counter where Tia and I were sitting and sat down next to us. Yasaka silently and meekly followed her, as did Kunou, looking at Tia with childlike interest.

- "Udon, please!" she shouted cheerfully to the youkai and, receiving a short nod, turned to me, "It's nice to meet you in person. I've heard a lot of good things about you, especially from a decrepit old man, magician."

Heh. How open-minded. Given her attitude, she's counting on me to guess her identity, which is actually already done. But what if we play around a bit?

- "It's not polite to call those who are several decades older than you 'decrepit old men', young miss. You should respect the older generation," with a cute smile on my face, I said and started pinching her cheek.

At this, Yasaka and Kunou rounded their eyes in shock and their mouths took on an oval shape. The owner of the establishment on the other hand stopped shaking the noodles and froze like a statue.

- "I can call him whatever I want," the girl said in a voice that matched her appearance and pulled my hand away, "My name is Amaterasu, magician. And don't you dare do that again. My anger is comparable to the brightness of the sun."

- "Hmm?" my eyebrow raised playfully, "Amaterasu Oomikami herself?"

- "Yes!"

- "One of the three main deities of the Shinto faction?"

- "That's right!"

- "A majestic and wise goddess whose beauty is known throughout the world?"

- "Absolutely!" Her nose turned up in pride.

- "Would you like some candy?"

- "Yes! I mean, no! You still don't believe me, mortal?"

- "Ah-ah-ah..." I mumbled thoughtfully and nodded my head, "Your mental state raises questions for me, young miss. I am a doctor after all. I suggest you visit the hospital for a detailed analysis of your situation. They say Japan has the most qualified doctors in the world."

- "That's enough!" She shouted. Her body began to emit waves of divine power, and then became covered in bright and very hot flames, making the furniture begin to catch fire and melt. Yasaka took her daughter in her arms and stepped away from us, the wolf youkai jumped back, and Tia just continued to devour the udon as if nothing had happened. I, on the other hand, didn't react in any way to her outburst with the same sweet smile, "Now you believe me, mortal..."

- "Ahhhh... Maybe there's a problem in your family? Some accident damaged your brain?" I mumbled loudly in the same thoughtfulness, at which her head began to smoke with anger, and the temperature increased by a couple hundred degrees, "Tia, dear, you need your maternal support here."

- "I…" The disguised goddess wanted to object, but she couldn't finish her sentence. Her head was almost instantly sandwiched between Tia's breasts, and Beast II's hand soothingly began stroking her head.

- "Aaaaaaaa~" Tia sang out, looking up at the goddess.

- "Let me go!" The teenage girl squealed and began to twist her arms and legs to break free somehow. To no avail, though.

Heh. The scene of Amaterasu herself, the main deity of Shinto mythology, trying to free herself from the loving embrace of Beast II was really funny. Tia's Endurance attribute makes her practically invulnerable. And that, please note, is for the Nasuverse. For DxD, though? Well, aside from Trihexa, Great Red, and Ophis, no one can basically hurt her.

- "I... can't... breathe..." Amaterasu practically whispered before passing out in Tia's arms, and the temperature of the surroundings returned to normal.

At this, Beast II worriedly released the goddess and looked at her. And after realizing that she was unconscious, tear drops began to gather on her face, after which Tia's gaze headed in my direction.

- "Aaaaa~" she asked with a crying face.

- "It's alright. She just couldn't stand your love."

- "Aa~"

- "Yeah. Don't worry." I waved her off and looked around.

The place was almost completely reduced to ashes. So was everything within a half kilometer radius. The moisture had evaporated, and the air still showed distortions from the heat released by Amaterasu.

Well, the material damage is definitely going to cost some money, eh?

- "You realized perfectly well that it was really Amaterasu-sama, didn't you?" Yasaka asked in a concerned voice.

- "Yeah," I admitted honestly, to which I received a judgmental look, "But can you blame me for finding it rather hard to believe?"

- "Well... Amaterasu-sama is rather... peculiar..."

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so. I haven't come across the other pantheons yet, but judging by the Shinto and Scandinavian pantheons, they all have their own cadres. The same Odin is a pervert who isn't shy about showing it, judging by canon.

- "By the way, you were looking for me, I take it?"

- "You're right," she nodded, "Amaterasu-sama wanted to talk to you about the recent incident in Kuoh."

- "Oya? My identity has been revealed?" I grinned.

- "Solomon. Someone whose power could rival that of the gods. You yourself must understand the circumstances, since all of this happened on our land."

I grinned.

'Ars Almadel Solomonos' definitely made some noise. And not just in Shinto, but in all other pantheons I'm sure. A power like that can't go unnoticed, no matter what you do. The balance of power is a delicate thing, after all.

- "Shall we head to your palace, Yasaka-san?" I asked, to which she nodded briefly, "You don't mind if your goddess is carried by my companion, do you? She's a little concerned about the latter's condition."

- "I wish I could say no, but I don't think you'll listen to me," Yasaka sighed tiredly and rubbed her temples, "Follow me. Hopefully Amaterasu-sama will be awake by the time we arrive."

- "As you wish." I shrugged and with a brief nod to Tia, we set off towards Yasaka.

I wonder how many other gods are out of their minds? Besides Odin and Amaterasu, I mean.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
My P.a.t.r.e.o.n: P.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m/mirzael
You'll be able to read more chapters there.