บท 150: Chapter 150
AN: I'll sumarize this quickly. I did leg day. I got sick. In conclusion, I hate leg day. Today is also Friday. Moving on, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and the next two.
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"AURELIA!! SEAL THE AREA!!! NOW!!!!!!!!!!"
There were very few times that Azazel displayed this much urgency in his voice, but this situation required it. If word of this sight got out, Igor would be hunted down by every single entity in the supernatural world. Good or evil, all of them would unite to hunt him down.
Because on Igor's head, although it was illusory, his aura had shaped itself to look like ten horns.
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|DxD|
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Aurelia saw it as clear as daylight. Ten crimson-black horns formed from Igor's aura, their tips pointing forward like a bull's. Despite being illusory, they were ramrod straight with only the base having a slight curve.
Igor raged out, his fists burying themselves into the ground as his aura grew increasingly demonic. The ratio of red and black slowly but surely, grew in favour of the latter. It was as if he was having an internal struggle, a fight of crimson against darkness.
"RAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
His voice came in two tones: the smooth baritone of a warrior's roar and the screeching wail of a recently widowed wife. It was…demented. Yet no matter how demented it was, Aurelia would never attack her brother with the intent to kill.
However, there was an external factor who possibly wouldn't align with her ideal.
[Azazel…]
Without hesitation, she summoned her sword with the intent to kill. But her target wasn't Igor. It was Azazel. All her senses trained upon him like a hawk.
It did not matter that Igor was showing the traits known to be possessed by the Beast of the Apocalypse. He could turn into the beast itself for all she cared. All she knew was that he was family.
And if Azazel showed even the faintest lick of killing intent, she would use her strongest seal to trap and then decapitate him in one shot. Consequences? She took a page from her brother's book and damned them to hell.
If Azazel even dared to form a light spear, she wouldn't hesitate in killing him on the spot, even if it meant risking her own life in the process.
But, it appeared that Azazel did not want any more bloodshed to happen. With a tense expression on his face, he fiercely commanded.
"AURELIA!! SEAL THE AREA!!! NOW!!!!!!!!!!"
"..."
His command came as a surprise, but she didn't dare dawdle. Atleast for now, he showed no inclination in killing Igor.
Silently believing that he would find a way to pacify her brother, she turned her focus towards creating a barrier, and blocking out any information of Igor's…'condition'. Knowing how fragile the situation was, mistakes couldn't be made…and any witnesses must not be left alive.
Vwong! Vwong! Vwong! Vwong!
Four magic circles formed around her and from them, four clones of herself manifested.
"You know what to do."
"""Yes."""
Su! Su! Su! Su!
Without hesitation, the clones rushed forward. Time was of the essence and delays could not be condoned under any circumstances. Their job was simple, rush to the four corners of the battlefield and erect a large 360 degree barrier to obscure any curious eyes.
As for Aurelia, she remained behind to do what needed to be done. Clutching her sword tightly, she focused her senses for any other foreign entities.
[...]
Her brows trembled slightly in exertion. It was rather difficult to sense other entities due to Igor's ki enveloping the vicinity. His power was so 'loud' that it was hard to signal out the weaker energy signatures.
But, that didn't mean it was impossible.
[One…two…three…six…]
Like blips on a radar, she picked up multiple life signatures that were hiding at varying distances. There were even some over eight kilometres away that were watching. As her count reached the double digits, she didn't rush to finish them off.
This was a very volatile situation with absolutely no room for mistakes. If one straggler managed to escape and leak the news of Igor's current state, it would not be long before they potentially faced attacks from the entire supernatural world.
[I won't let that happen.]
With her range having expanded over five-hundred kilometres, she had detected a total of twenty seven energy signatures that were nearby. She was overdoing it since there was virtually no energy signature she could sense further than ten kilometres. But, taking chances wasn't something she would entertain in this venture.
Fortunately, the entities she sensed came from only one direction and from what she could sense, most were devils or had traces of being devils, possibly reincarnated devils.
[Azazel must've sealed Grigori.]
None of the entities she detected were beyond high class in terms of their energy signatures. But that didn't mean she would underestimate them, even if she herself was a peak-god class entity. Be they a scout sent to observe or a wanderer at the wrong place at the wrong time...she was determined to leave none alive.
Mentally mapping out the most optimal path for her impending assassinations, she gripped her sword tightly before she vanished.
Su!
She had to be fast. Her clones were nearly finished setting up a barrier that would be able to obscure the figures of Azazel and Igor. At the very least, anyone else looking would only see a normal skirmish between the two. Although, those with keener eyes would be able to see that some scenes were being repeated in different orders.
This barrier was rudimentary in its execution, but she didn't need it to be perfect. It just had to stall them for long enough. Until then, she had to eliminate everyone before they eventually figured out everything was an illusion and that the horns they saw were real.
Su!
She appeared above a devil. It was a mere low-class, an easy kill.
Shiing!
With her energy suppressed, the devil didn't even know what hit him. With her sword cleanly slicing through his neck, she placed a magic circle on his back which immediately began to glow.
Zuuuu…
With all of this being completed in one fluid motion, her feet barely touched the ground for long before she vanished again.
Su!
Placing aside her talent in sealing, Aurelia was a very talented assassin. With a keen eye to detail, she moved with such precision and struck with such lethality that any would-be observers would never know how they died.
Shiing!
Placing a magic circle on the back of her latest victim, she vanished again.
Su!
There were only nine targets left, and they didn't know a single thing. With so many energy signatures suddenly having gotten snuffed out, it was only logical that the remaining scouts would figure out that they were being hunted.
This was where her circle came in. It was a work of art inspired by necromancy and druid magic. For a brief moment, anyone who had this magic circle would be kept alive for a certain amount of time, even if the victim was decapitated.
It was why the silverette could continuously assassinate multiple targets so quietly. With her skill, it was too easy to escape detection.
But, it seemed a few of them were already trying to leave.
[Tch. They must've caught on.]
With the majority of them forming teleportation circles, the silverette only had a few precious seconds before it was too late.
[Three seconds.]
Three seconds. It was the average time it took from manifesting a standard teleportation circle, activating it, and vanishing. She had to kill every single one of them within three seconds before they could teleport.
As fast as she was, she couldn't cover the varying number of kilometres between each target and kill all of them within three seconds, atleast not with her current capabilities.
Vwong! Vwong! Vwong! Vwong! Vwong!
This was no longer the time for subtleties. Immediately forming five clones, they rushed off to their individual targets with utter disregard for stealth, not that it was an option anymore. Having already ventured beyond eight kilometres from the battle site, her energy output from creating clones was no longer overshadowed by Igor's ki.
Su
Vanishing just shortly after her clones, she could feel multiple energy signatures fluctuate in alertness, but it was fruitless.
Feeling her clones dispatch most of the remaining foes, she rushed on towards her target who was the furthest away, her sword poised for a quick strike. But upon reaching her target, her expression soured.
[A familiar.]
Still mid-stride, she changed her tactics upon seeing her target. It was a bat familiar just above the size of a mango fruit. With its little wings fluttering as it keenly observed the battlefield, Aurelia watched it in slow motion as she neared.
The familiar itself wasn't a threat. With its paltry strength, it could barely even qualify as low class in terms of energy. What made the familiar a threat however, were its abilities.
[If it is sharing its sight with its master, this will be a problem.]
It was indeed a problem, but Aurelia assured herself with the fact that since this was a very low class familiar, then the owner must be weak as well.
Reaching out with her left hand, she grabbed the familiar and trapped it within her palm. With a quick burst of mana, she knocked it out. Feeling its struggles ceasing, she closed her eyes.
If the familiar was indeed sharing its sight, then she needed to be quick, very quick.
[...]
Focusing on the magical link that exists between a familiar and its master, she followed the line until she found its master on the other end. However, the magic link had also passed through several barriers that would make it so that standard teleportation would not be possible.
[Problematic.]
While her own unique teleportation circle would allow her to passively dismantle these defenses and phase through, it wouldn't be as discrete. At the very least, a trace of her energy signature would be left behind, something she didn't want to leave if her target was from a noble clan from her guesses.
With these factors, she only had one choice left.
[I'll use Direct Teleportation.]
It was a technique inspired by her brother's Instant Transmission and its inherent advantages. It was still a work in progress and it took a lot of her energy. But compared to the risk of Igor being depicted as Trihexa's incarnation, feeling woozy from mana exhaustion was the better option.
Firmly cementing the energy signature of her target, she maintained her grip on the familiar before she vanished in a flash of golden light.
Shuu!
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|DxD|
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Gremory Estate, Underworld
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Rias was bored. Her brother had just left her when they were having so much fun playing. Having been left in a big room filled with all sorts of toys, posters, and action figures from Japan, the little heiress was not in a good mood due to her brother's abrupt departure.
"Hmph! Onii-tan is a big meanie. I wanted to go too."
Rias milled about in her room with a sullen gaze. Her curiosity at what that sudden energy was made her all the more curious to see it. Even her parents were talking about that power spike behind closed doors while everyone else was on guard, even the maids.
While there was no adult in her room, she already knew that a maid was outside her door. Her only companion in this sunlit room was her newly contracted bat familiar that suddenly flew onto her head when it noticed its master's distress.
"Ah! That tickles, Akane-chan~."
Giggling as her familiar "buried" itself in her long red hair, the little heiress fell onto her back, her feet kicking up a fuss and wrinkling her dress at the ticklish feeling.
It was only after a long while that her familiar finally stopped, the little bat satisfied at having raised her master's soury mood.
However, that calm was temporary.
"Pik pik!"
Squeaking as it dodged a palm, it immediately flew out of reach of Rias' hands.
"Pik pik! Pik pik!"
Flying around the room, it dodged the sword that her master was using to swat at her. Although it was a wooden sword, it would still hurt.
"Hihihi~. Stop running, Akane-chan!"
Excitedly chasing around her familiar, her footsteps covered the room for quite a while until the little redhead finally collapsed in exhaustion.
"Huff…huff…huff."
Sitting on her bed, her cheeks were cutely flushed from the exertion. Leaning towards her nightstand, she took a bottle of milk with both hands and drank it straight from the bottle.
Gulp Gulp Gulp Gulp
Holding it with both hands, she chugged down the dairy liquid until her stomach bloated.
"Haaa…"
With a white mustache on her face, the little heiress whispered to her familiar.
"Don't tell kaa-chan I drank from the bottle, Akane-chan."
The little bat flew down and landed on her lap, its two eyes staring at her master with reassurance behind them.
"Pik pik!"
"Hihi~."
Lying down on her bed, she picked up her little familiar with a thankful expression.
"Thanks, Akane-chan~."
Time slowly passed as the little heiress continued to lie down on her bed. The heavy feeling in her stomach from drinking so much milk made her not want to get up.
With her arm covering her eyes, Rias' initial excitement from playing with Akane was gradually suppressed by the feeling of boredom strengthened by the sound of the clock.
"Mou~. I wish onii-tan was here."
Sitting up, a look of concern formed on her little face.
"He never left like this before."
With her hands on her cheeks, the little redhead remembered how her onii-chan's face suddenly darkened as he looked out the window.
Suddenly, she got an idea.
"Hey Akane-chan! Can you go and see what onii-tan was up to?"
She got up from her bed and ran over to the large open window bleeding out to a very beautiful scenery. Pointing excitedly, she looked at her familiar.
"Brother was looking over there? Can you go and see what's there? I can feel something weird coming from that direction."
"Pik pik!"
Using one of its wings to form a salute, the little bat flew out the window and sped towards the source of the energy.
Behind her, her master peeked her head out the window and waved excitedly.
"Thanks, Akane-chan!"
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AN
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Cute little Rias makes an intro, though I don't expect it to be smooth. Hell, she might not even survive if Aurelia's determination remains strong. Will cuteness win or will sheer ruthlessness prevail?
If you're interested in reading ahead, you can find more chapters on my patreon under the same username.
Holy out.
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