Chapitre 986: 55
Chapter 55: Conquest IV
Summary:
I backslid a bit on the upload schedule, sorry about that. In the last chapter, I kind of allowed it to go off the rails when Tobio saved the devil. Not that it was out of character, if anything it was better that way because it was in character for him. The issue is that I didn't think through how to deal with that... It took a bit to plan that, hence the longer time between uploads than I wanted.
The good news is that I have the next three-ish chapters planned out... Mostly... The next chapter is shopping with Akeno for date prep. Then there is the date itself. Finally, there is an interlude with Takehiko and what he has been doing for the first half, then Yasaka and a special guest for the second half. With that being said, I hope that you all enjoy the chapter.
Chapter Text
On our ride back to my house, I mostly stayed silent because I was far too engrossed in figuring out how to handle this new problem.
Tobio sparing the devil was not in my plans.
Shuten kept glancing at me curiously every few minutes but seemed to accept my silence rather than question it. She occupied herself with poking and prodding the unconscious devil.
Tobio, on the other hand, looked progressively more uncomfortable as we drove. The shift in the atmosphere must have been awkward for him.
The main reason I spent the whole trip in silent contemplation was that I was busy trying to decide how to make this new obstacle work for me.
I don't particularly care that Tobio saved Lillian, that was never the issue.
I'm a firm believer that you should choose the path you want to take, no matter the opposition and push past whatever stands in your way.
This is doubly so for a Longinus wielder, as they quite literally need to have that level of resolve to not be used by anyone who desires their power. I think that is one of the reasons you never see a timid Longinus wielder that lives happily in canon.
…Or it could be that possessing godlike power washes away reticence.
One of the two.
Also, all Sacred Gears, but especially Longinus, run on the desires and willpower of their wielder. Someone who is timid or lacks resolve can't truly manifest their power properly.
So no, him saving Lillian isn't an issue. The issue is that I was originally going to train him in my home and it's hard to do that with an enemy there.
Well, that isn't to say that Lillian herself is a threat to anyone in my home.
Both my sisters and my mother could kill her if she lashes out.
Akeno could vaporise her instantly with Holy magic, and Shuten could kill her with little difficulty depending on how my sister decided to do it.
My mother, while weaker than other Oni physically, could still snap the devil's neck easily. If she were to use magic as well, the devil wouldn't stand a chance.
Hell, they could feed her to Gator too because for all I bully the little reptile, he's a dragon. Even as the runt of the litter, Gator still surpasses everyone in my family in power, purely as a result of his bloodline.
The problem is that Lillian could scurry away back to her King -despite the fact that said King cut ties with her by trying to kill her.
I'm simply not confident that I can instil enough fear in Lillian that she won't try to backstab me.
I mean… I could but it would alienate Tobio if I were to break the will of the person he saved.
To that end, Byakko and I spent the whole car ride going over the ancient magics that he learned after swallowing Ibaraki-Douji's soul and distilling the knowledge left behind.
While Ibaraki-Douji wasn't the best magician in comparison to the greats of either time period, he still had quite the array of spells.
Byakko and I have gone over them before when I was refining my Yojutsu and building the barrier for my Domain technique but only those that I needed at the time.
We had avoided the largest category, Black Magic, due to a lack of necessity.
As an Oni of ancient times, the particular brand of Black Magic that Ibaraki-Douji compiled is a compendium of pure sadism. The majority of the spells exist merely to cause suffering or extend it. Few have any real utility or combat applications, only being useful for torture.
The spell Byakko and I decided could settle my current situation nicely is a slave brand.
Of course, I wasn't going to use the original spell because I have no need for a slave, but the spell's base could be modified to work as a restraint.
Byakko suggested that I tie the spell to Tobio, forcing him to learn to think of the consequences before he acts.
He would act as her "owner" until she was no longer a potential issue.
I shot that down because there was no way I was enabling any Harem Protagonist tendencies. Having a female with a slave brand is easily in the top ten of Harem tropes and I'm not helping him down that path.
So, since it wasn't going to be tied to me or Tobio, the option we went with in the end is to tie her slave brand to the property my house sits on.
Once I've finished dealing with her King and the rest of the peerage, taken over their territory, and shifted to deal with the Black Feather Brigade, Lillian could be cut loose.
I don't plan to spend more than two months dealing with both gangs because then I'd miss my chance to play around with Tobio and his friends. Therefore, it isn't really slavery.
I think about it more like a short prison sentence!
That wonderful spin of the situation pops into my head just in time for our arrival at my house, bouying my mood as I finally have a workable solution.
I stretch as the car comes to a stop, then reach over and pat Shuten on the head, "I'm glad you came with us. It was fun watching you play."
Shuten squirms and flashes me a grin, "Bring me next time as well then."
I consider it for a moment while rubbing my chin, "That's definitely something to think about."
"If I know who will be defending the location ahead of time and think it will be manageable, I'll take you." My sister cheers at my compromise and even Anzu hisses happily.
"Thank you, Sis." She says.
Shuten then swings the car door open and hops out, "I'll be in my room studying until dinner!"
I clear my throat before she can get too far away, "You can study what you took from the raid as long as you're careful. If I find that you have tried any of it yourself, your 'studying' privileges will be revoked and I'll seize the samples."
Shuten rolls her eyes in response, "I'm not stupid. Besides, that's what lab rats are for."
Questionable use of small animals aside, I know she'll act responsibly during her testing of the drug samples.
"Alright, have fun then." She scurries off into the house leaving me alone with Tobio.
And the unconscious devil, of course.
"We're all headed to the central courtyard," I punctuate my statement by exiting the car and quickly slinging Lillian over my shoulder.
Tobio follows me looking off balance, "Don't you need to explain what we're doing first?"
I bounce the body on my shoulder with a shrug, "I'm dealing with her, not training you yet. Watching that raid was enough for today."
"Okay?" Tobio says, letting the last syllable drag on.
"Your first interaction with combat was today. You need to take your time and let that settle before we can get to work." When I say this to him I enter the front door, pausing mid-explanation to announce my presence.
After Tobio slips off his shoes, Akeno pokes her head around the corner with a smile, "Welcome back."
She studies Tobio briefly, then turns back to me with an amused smirk and a raised eyebrow, "I see you picked up another stray while you were out."
"Hilarious." I catch Tobio glancing between us with a frown but I shrug it off, "How was your day?"
"It was good thanks." She brushes a hair behind her ear, "I trained with Shuten in the morning, and studied for a while. Not much else really."
"Did you study anything interesting?" Akeno shakes her head with a smile.
"Are we really ignoring the body on your shoulder?" She asks, not bothering to answer my question.
I pout, "I wanted to hear about your day first. She's not going anywhere."
"No, I didn't study anything particularly interesting. I'm rounding out my mundane studies." I raise a brow but Akeno barrels onward.
"Just in case." She says with a faux sigh of exasperation, "Now, would you care to explain the body?"
"Her King activated a cursed artefact on her in an attempt to kill us all. Tobio decided to spare the devil, and I didn't care either way." Said devil still hasn't stirred from her state of unconsciousness which says a lot about how heavy the internal damage was from the artefact.
"Tobio was it?" Akeno asks, turning to him, "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too. You're Ibaraki's… sister?" Tobio ends the sentence awkwardly.
I furrow my brow at the hesitance behind that statement, only realising a second later that Akeno looks far too similar to Suzaku for Tobio not to notice.
Well shit…
I've got to start thinking ahead rather than reacting to everything that happens. If I did, awkward moments like this wouldn't happen nearly as often.
Akeno doesn't notice either of our reactions and simply smiles at him, "Adopted, but yes."
There's a loud crash coming from the kitchen and Akeno's shoulders slump, "I'll go deal with whatever the little monster has gotten up to now. You deal with your devil friend, okay?"
"Sure, Akeno. It shouldn't take too long but I'll see you at dinner either way." She scurries off towards the kitchen and I'm left alone with Tobio once more.
We both stand in silence for a few seconds. This stillness is broken when he sighs abruptly and pinches the bridge of his nose.
"You know that Suzaku told me about the deaths of her cousin and aunt, right? It was when she was telling me how dangerous our world was and talking about the Himejima clan." Tobio sounds tired as he asks the question which I suppose is better than rage at this point.
"I figured she would." Jin licks Tobio's cheek in a show of support as he continues talking.
"I haven't known her long but Suzaku values family above anything else. Should I trust that there is a good reason why you haven't told her that her cousin is still alive?" Now it's my turn to sigh.
"I haven't told Suzaku because Akeno asked me not to yet." Tobio's eyebrows climb to his hairline in surprise, "Her mother was killed by her own clan, the clan Suzaku is now leading."
I want to cross my arms in annoyance, but I deliberately keep my posture neutral, "Akeno isn't exactly fond of them and she's not sure how she feels about Suzaku at the moment."
"So you aren't setting up some cruel torture for her?" I blink at the sudden non-sequitor.
"You know, a scenario where you date Suzaku until she feels affection for you, then break her heart as you betray her trust, culminating in the reveal that you've turned her cousin against her?" My jaw drops in shock at the absurd conclusion he has come to.
"What the hell? What kind of dramas are you watching that you came up with that?" Tobio has the decency to blush in embarrassment.
"It was a reasonable assumption." He mumbles, much to my disbelief.
Jin takes pity on him and licks his cheek again but the gesture falls flat due to the absurdity of the scenario Tobio concocted.
"No, it really wasn't." I shake my head.
I'm glad that he didn't make a scene in front of Akeno or try to attack me. Though I do wonder why.
"I suppose you believe me then?" Just to be clear, I ask.
I would not have expected this outcome after he figured out who Akeno was. Maybe his impression of me is surprisingly positive.
Actually, him trusting me isn't surprising at all; I healed him, promised to help save his girlfriend, and am going to train him for no tangible benefit.
"Well, it is farfetched but so is everything I've learnt in this last week." Tobio scratches his cheek in embarrassment, "I'd like to think I'm a good judge of character though."
"Besides, I've seen you interact with Suzaku twice and you seem genuinely interested in her. If that affection was fake I wouldn't have believed you."
I cough awkwardly and wave his words off, "This and that are two separate things."
"Ibaraki, I very much doubt that." He says with a laugh.
The show of trust is nice, even if I think he's being a bit too naive. He isn't wrong and I'm happy that I don't have to convince him but he should really be less trusting.
Tobio clears his throat and schools his expression, "I'm going to trust you for now but Suzaku should know about this."
Giving him a smile, I nod. "I know she should. I think Akeno already knows that Suzaku wasn't involved. She is simply upset that her cousin didn't swoop in and save them. It's understandable even if a bit childish."
"Well, I'm going to see Akeno often while training under you. I'll do my best to help them reunite happily." Tobio grins, "Suzaku has been great to me since I've met her so I should pay her back."
"I think that is an excellent plan. I'll help as well." We both happily agreed and I feel relieved that this potential roadblock has passed smoothly.
I shake my head as I remember what we were heading to do, "Alright, let's head to the courtyard now."
Tobio hurries to not fall behind as I head towards the centre of the property.
"I thought we weren't training yet?" He says as he falls in line behind me.
"We still aren't but I need to be at the centre of the property to deal with our friend here." Without looking at him, I can feel his Ki grow turbid as worry overtakes him.
"When you say "deal with her", what do you mean?" I frown, thinking about the best way to put this.
"Basically, she's a liability. Not because she's strong but because she will rely on proximity to me in order to not turn into a stray devil."
Provided I can even figure out how to balance her demonic energy. A fact that I don't say aloud.
I'm certain it's possible with Senjutsu, considering Kuroka pulled it off in the story, but I obviously haven't had a chance to try that theory out.
I carry on my explanation without pause, "That means she'll be around my family and I need to be sure she can't run back to her King the moment I look away from her."
Tobio goes silent as he processes that, "Is it really that bad? Suzaku explained what Stray Devils were but didn't give much detail."
"Potentially, yeah, practically, probably not." I shrug, "It would be terrible for her since she would devolve into a demonic beast that is ruled by the demonic energy inside her. They still retain enough intelligence to speak, but beyond that, I'm not sure."
"As for my end, I don't think I have any reason to be concerned even if Miss Devil here escaped but I'm not willing to take the chance."
"If I was alone, I'd welcome the development. I can't do things like that when my family's safety is on the line though." Tobio chews on that as we approach the central courtyard.
"I'm sorry, Ibaraki. I hadn't thought of the problems that would come from saving her. I only knew that she was dying and didn't want that to happen."
Huffing, I shake my head, "I wouldn't have let you save her if I wasn't ready to deal with the consequences. You don't need to apologise to me, what you need to do is think things through for yourself."
"If I wasn't here then you'd have to watch the girl you saved slowly turn into nothing more than a beast. In that case, it would've been better to mercy kill her."
We stroll into the courtyard and Tobio takes a chance to look around.
It's probably a good idea for him to distract himself with the scenery rather than dwell on what I said. He will need to come to terms with that kind of thing soon. Yet it's probably too early for him to deal with too many heavy revelations, lest his resolve is crushed.
I proceed to an empty section of the courtyard and lay Lillian down on the ground.
There is a small garden nearby with a bit of space for a new plant which works great for my purposes.
With an exertion of Senjutsu, a small sapling starts to grow out of the soil. I make sure to stop its growth early however since I need it small for this.
With Lillian here in the centre of the property, I can begin the ritual of binding her. Before I can start though, I need to prepare materials.
Glancing over my shoulder, I call Tobio over, "Come over here for a bit, I'll explain what I'm doing as I go."
Jin barks and Tobio gives him a confused glance, "Maybe?"
"Can Jin wander around, Ibaraki?" Considering this, I hum.
"I don't see why not." The puppy leaps off his shoulder and makes a beeline back inside my house.
"Jin smelled something interesting and wanted to check it out," Tobio says with an apologetic smile.
"Probably the dragon," I say dismissively.
Tobio starts to laugh, only to realise I'm not joking. "Wait, really?"
"Yeah, he's a cute little lizard." I grin as I finish mapping out the ritual in my head. "I'll introduce you to him later."
I bite my lip then nod to myself, "Right, you aren't squeamish around blood are you?"
"No, why-" Tobio gets out before paling as I use a single claw to slice a deep gash down my forearm.
The blood flows smoothly, pouring onto the ground beneath me. As it flows, I consistently infuse my Ki into the fluid to retain control over it. In doing so, I'm able to essentially paint the blood across the ground.
I slowly walk around the prone devil as my blood slowly forms a magic circle around her. The life energy-infused blood will serve to stabilise the ritual but isn't nearly all that needs to be done.
Still, it's a far better method than the blood of ten virgins. Dark magic, am I right?
"Is that necessary?" Tobio asks with a pale complexion.
I roll my eyes and heal my wound, "Not everyone has a millennium of nice people-friendly magic to draw upon. Old school magic, like what I'm doing here is all dirty and dark. If anything, I'm doing a great job in making this tame for you."
Bending over the prone devil, I quickly snap one of her fingers off and regrow it in one smooth motion. It wasn't quick enough, however, if Tobio's gagging is any indication.
"Ugh," Tobio coughs as he pushes the contents of his stomach back down, "What are you doing now?"
The finger glows with a dark red aura of Youki, tinged with black flecks of demonic energy from the finger itself, and I slowly insert it into the base of the sapling I grew earlier.
"Casting a curse," The bark starts to turn black and crack as the sapling grows, "The original spell had the caster eating a piece of the cursed individual's body to anchor the curse. This one still technically uses that link of consumption, it's just the tree doing it rather than me."
The sapling continues to grow until it reaches waist height and bright red buds appear on the branches.
Tobio looks disgusted as he processes that, "Hey, my ancestor was a massive asshole. This is nothing."
The magic circle of blood starts to emit bright light as the curse takes hold. The sapling continues to grow as the curse feeds it, while the sapling acts as the anchor of the slave brand.
Tobio shakes his head and slaps his cheeks, "This… curse… is supposed to do, what exactly?"
"Restrict her movements so she can't run to her King. It doesn't do anything else." Tobio takes comfort in that answer.
Though technically speaking, the curse could do more than that.
Because the tree can't give any orders to Lillian, what the curse becomes is more of a restrictive barrier. She won't be able to travel a certain radius away from the tree or else she will begin to experience extreme pain, and if she persists past that, she will simply die.
If I were to be the anchor of the curse, I would be able to order her to do whatever I wanted. She wouldn't have to listen but the consequences of disobedience would be pain or death.
My ancestor also didn't care for slaves but mostly because they were boring. He liked to invert the proximity effect instead, so the slave felt extreme pain close to him but would still die if they went too far away.
He would usually use their heart in the ritual which only allowed them to live for scant minutes either way. Something about seeing the branded panic at the empty hole in their chest was enjoyable to him.
I purse my lips as the curse slowly takes hold. I don't need to do anything but wait now that the process has started.
Hmm, maybe I can examine her demonic energy and plan how I'm going to deal with that now.
Sitting down next to the magic circle, I focus my Ki sense on her body.
Her Ki is still in the same condition I sensed back before we raided the warehouse - smothered by the demonic energy in her body. That same demonic energy is already beginning to surge without the mitigating force of her King's influence.
I frown, directing her diminutive Ki reserves to battle against the flood of demonic energy. With the amount of Ki she has, the process is like throwing pebbles into the ocean to dam it up.
A futile endeavour.
Annoyed, I flood her body with my Ki and simply beat back the demonic energy with brute force. I continue to do so until the majority is pushed back around the Evil Piece at the core of her being.
It's a hack job of a healing treatment but it will be enough for now. The problem is that I will have to do this daily and any heavy use of demonic energy by her will cause the process of becoming a Stray to accelerate.
Tobio has been thinking the whole time I've been examining Lillian and decides to speak up now, "Is she going to be alright?"
"Kind of," I stand up slowly, careful not to damage the magic circle, "She's not at risk of mutating for now as long as I continue treating her. She'll have to figure out how to deal with that issue herself if she wants a permanent solution."
"You can't fix it?" Tobio asks, though not accusatively.
I scoff in response, "No, I'm barely able to hold back the transformation. If it were my own body I might be able to balance the energy but someone else? Not a chance at my level of mastery."
Even if it were my body, it would take constant monitoring to maintain the energy balance. The fact that Kuroka was able to freely use Devil Magic while maintaining that balance is incredible.
She wasn't considered a Senjutsu master in the story for nothing it seems.
I nearly jump when my phone starts buzzing in my pocket, glaring disdainfully at it while I unlock it.
My expression takes a full one-eighty when I read the caller ID, and I answer it with a wide smile.
"Hi, Suzaku, how was your meeting?" In the complete opposite manner of my excitement, she lets out a groan.
"Annoying is what it was." She grumbles, "The meeting was mostly posturing from all sides and attempts to gain a measure of control over the future of the Doumon clan."
"It doesn't help that their Sacred Beast holder isn't old enough to complete the inheritance ritual yet." I hum to let her know I'm following along.
"The Black Tortoise ritual is gentler than the others so it can be done at a younger age but even that has limits." She says with a sigh.
I hadn't thought that Genbu wouldn't have control over the Black Tortoise at this time.
"How would any of the clans even control the Doumon clan? None of you would allow the others to create a power imbalance like that." It doesn't make sense for them to even try. It would only cause friction between the clans.
"That is one of life's great mysteries. The only sense that the clan elders can perceive the world with is their greed." Suzaku laughs derisively.
"If it's the elders that are the problem, does that mean the other inheritors are more progressive like you and Seiryuu?" I can almost hear the smile in Suzaku's voice as she responds.
"Thankfully so. They recognise that change is needed in our clans if we're meant to do anything but self-destruct."
I find myself smiling as I listen, "It's great that they agree. It will certainly make your dream easier."
"Seiryuu is definitely on my side. I think our time fighting together helped tighten that bond." Suzaku suddenly makes a noise of frustration.
"I need to figure out how to become better friends with Byakko and Ouryuu now. Byakko is too wild for me to handle easily and Ouryuu is distant since he's older than us." My brows furrow as I hear that last detail.
"Sorry, Ouryuu is older than you?" I ask, thinking I've misheard.
"Yes, he is a year older than Seiryuu and I, making him the oldest inheritor. It doesn't help that his title as the strongest Yellow Dragon makes him harder to approach." The information makes me frown but Suzaku carries on. "He is a prodigy akin to famous Onmyouji from history."
The picture she paints of Ouryuu is tempting enough that my Ki roils through my pathways and a feral smile breaks out across my face.
When Tobio flinches, I realise my Touki has manifested and cough awkwardly as I pull it back under my skin.
"He has a sister, Momiji Nakiri, who is nice enough; even if she rarely leaves their compound." Now I'm firmly out of my depth, not understanding who Suzaku is talking about.
"Well… if he's on good terms with his sister maybe try making friends with her first?" I say, grasping at straws. "It will be hard if she's always in their compound but it will be worth it to bring the clans closer, right?"
"Hm, that might work." Suzaku says slowly, "I figured you would be more interested in Byakko. I'm sure you would both enjoy fighting each other."
The White Tiger inheritor is interesting but he doesn't bear the title of "strongest". I would be more excited to fight him in order to prove my Byakko is better.
Said tiger is still napping happily in my mindscape but I have no doubt he will be excited for that fight as well.
"Hey, I'd be happy to fight either of them. You know me better than that." Suzaku laughs when she hears the pout in my voice, "Also don't think I didn't notice you dangle the title "strongest Yellow Dragon" in front of me. How can I not get fired up hearing that?"
"Sorry, sorry, I'll make sure to set up an arena for the two of you. Is that enough to cheer you up?" I grin at the teasing edge to her tone.
"I know something that would cheer me up more." I purr back into the phone.
Suzaku coughs daintily and I can almost hear her blush, "Nothing bothersome happened during the meeting so we can still meet up over the weekend… If you want I mean."
"I definitely want to," I reply, hopefully not too quickly.
I don't want to sound desperate even as I leap at the opportunity,
"Does Saturday work for you?" I ask while starting to formulate a plan.
Suzaku has probably seen most of Kyoto in her lifetime but there is one place that I doubt she has had the chance to tour.
"Saturday sounds great!" Suzaku responds brightly, "We could meet up early and decide where to go from there?"
"I'd like that. Is there somewhere specific you would like to meet up? I have somewhere I want to take you but it's a surprise." It probably wouldn't be a good idea for me to wait outside her clan's estate.
Some trigger-happy Onmyouji might try to start something if I do that. Worse, they wouldn't be too fond of their new clan leader dating an Oni.
It will be a revelation that they'll need to be eased into after Suzaku has stabilised her hold on the clan.
"I'll text you the address, okay? Though I need to know where we are going. How else will I pick an outfit?" I feel giddy at the prospect of my first real date and bounce on the balls of my feet.
"I'd say that you will look incredible in anything but I know that doesn't solve the outfit issue. Something comfortable and not too formal, maybe? We'll have time to see a lot of different places but nowhere too stuffy." Suzaku hums in response.
"Now I'm curious where you're taking me." I laugh when she lets that statement hang, the question implicit.
"You'll have to wait to find out." She clicks her tongue.
"Not going to fold that easily, huh? I suppose I'll have to look forward to it and fret over my outfit alone." She lets out a dramatic sigh.
"I'm looking forward to it too and don't think you're the only one who will panic over their outfit," I say with a wide smile. "Would you like to speak to your cousin for a bit?"
"Yes, please. I'm excited to hear what you taught him today." Tobio looks shocked that I would suggest that -likely due to the Akeno situation- and even more surprised when I hand him the phone.
If he were to tell Suzaku about Akeno right now, then my weekend plans would go up in smoke for sure.
I'm not too worried though. Not only do I doubt that Tobio would do that, but I'm also confident that the revelation would only be a minor roadblock in a relationship with Suzaku.
Sure, she will definitely be pissed off for a bit but she will be happier that Akeno is alive and safe. I believe Suzaku would understand and forgive me after a while, especially when she finds out it was Akeno's idea to keep it a secret.
With Tobio on the phone, I refocus on the curse being applied to Lillian.
The ritual is nearing completion now, and the sapling has grown into its secondary growth stage. A solid root system has developed, the branches have grown strong, and the buds have grown into willowy red leaves.
I feel bad looking at the tree because the demonic energy has turned it into a sad effigy. The leaves are a long drooping red, the previous black bark has faded into a sickly grey, and cracks run along the trunk and limbs.
It has a strong vitality, or at least normal for a tree of this maturity stage, but it looks depressing.
The magic circle made from my blood has mostly evaporated as the ritual finishes and the glowing auras are starting to dim.
The ritual finishes with a final flash of intensity and I can feel the pulse of magical energy burst through the air around the house, setting the boundaries.
Now all that is left is to wake Lillian up and explain her new place in the world.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone