บท 9: Chapter 9: Call me One Punch Man

Egyptian Land of Lost Souls - Four Weeks Later

"Rias and Akeno are total hotties, and Akeno is really doing it for me. You know, checking off all my boxes and all that. I just don't know how I'd advance our relationship to the next level. Hell, I don't even know if she'd be interested in that. If anything I think I should let her give me a genuine hint towards that…Well what do you think?" I asked.

The golem in question, who I named Slender, was looking up at me with an expressionless face. Well his face was expressionless because he had no features. If I'm being honest I had no way of even telling if he was really even a he.

In response to my question the golem tilted its head to the side. Seriously, I have to make a way for these guys to communicate. I had tried adding a mouth, but it seems like I don't have enough control in Anubis' domain to do that just yet.

Currently I was lying down within the Land of Lost Soul where I had spent the last four weeks. In this time I had been in my {Akhekh Incarnate} form. I was mostly in it to get used to the complete control of the body. It would suck if I accidentally crushed someone I was trying to help.

My point for coming back to this hell? To read of course! I had only got through about 1/100 of the books Anubis had given me during the second week of my training. I wanted to read the rest and advance my knowledge.

After four weeks. I've still only read around five percent! Although now I can claim to be smarter when it comes to the supernatural world. Since I was so big, it was hard to turn the pages so I had Ron, my mummy best friend do it for me!

The books I read were mostly based around the Great War between the Angels, Fallen, and Devils. I learned about the major factors of the war and the results. Honestly the whole thing was…disappointing. I had pictured the God of the Bible being an almighty deity that could erase things as easily as he created them. How wrong I was.

The other books I read were based on creating blessings and avatars. Apparently an avatar was a being who held the divine protection of the God who bestowed the title upon them. As of right now, I'm too weak for such a thing, but at the very least, I can grant blessings now!

The blessings I can grant rely on three of my five domains. The blessings are pretty much restricted regarding those three domains. However, I can grant someone an insane wind affinity with my [Air] domain. An incredible lightning affinity with my [Storms] domain, and unrivaled battle instincts with my [War] domain. My other two domains specialize more in curses than blessings. Although some curses can be seen as blessings, depending on how you look at it.

"Grrr."

I turned my attention to my mummy friend, Ron who was looking up at me emotionlessly. He was the most easily recognized mummy in the entire land, with his long flowing dirty midnight black hair, black eyes, and strong yet decaying body.

"Sorry, just in thought. I think I'll head back to the human realm again. If I'm correct it should be around ten o'clock." With a nod from Ron, and Slender, I transformed back into my human form for the first time in a month and teleported back home.

—

When I arrived back home, I took off my clothes and put them in the wash before hopping into the bathtub. After a long soak, I returned to my room and took out my phone.

17 New Notifications

I raised my eyebrow and noticed I had been added to a group chat.

Occult Research Club GC

How did they get my number? Nevermind, Issei would gladly give them my number. All it would take is a jiggle of Rias' breasts, and he'd be yipping my digits.

*Sigh* I decided to ignore the tick mark forming on my forehead and read the messages they were sending.

Issei (10:27pm): I'm sorry everyone, I couldn't even get a single contract done. :(

Yuuto (10:27pm): No worries, Issei. I'm sure you'll get one sooner or later.

Rias (10:28pm): Yuuto is right, Issei. I know sooner or later you'll get a contract. Until then, get comfortable with that bike I lent you.

Akeno (10:29pm): Ara, It seems Isamu has finally decided to check his phone. Do you want to ask him now Rias?

Yuuto (10:29pm): Yo, Isamu, how's your night going man.

Koneko (10:29pm): Sup.

Isamu (10:30pm): Hey, I'm doing fine. Sorry about seeing the group so late. I just spent the last four hours in my fathers domain and just got back.

Issei (10:30pm): Wait, doesn't that mean you spent four weeks there?

Isamu (10:30pm): Yeah. I was mostly reading up on some history and blessings. Since you all seemed pretty interested in the whole thing.

Rias (10:31pm): That's great! Thanks so much, Isamu. That's actually what I was going to ask you about. Learn anything?

Isamu (10:31pm): Yeah, I learned how to grant basic blessings revolving around my domains. Like an increased affinity in wind, and lightning magic, or increased battle senses and tactical overview. To learn more advanced blessings, I'd have to get stronger.

Rias (10:32pm): That's fantastic! I'm sure that would help us out a great deal if you're willing to grant those blessings upon us. I'm rather curious though what does each blessing do specifically and how many can you grant per person?

Isamu(10:32pm): They're as I said, they just add more to what you already have. As for how many, I can only grant one blessing per person. If I did more, the energy of each domain would probably start to consume whoever the target is.

Rias(10:33pm): Oh I see. Akeno's lightning affinity is already quite powerful, so I'd like it if you could give that one to Kiba. As for the wind affinity, give it to Koneko. The battle senses, I believe I myself would be best fit for it.

Isamu (10:33pm): Right, I'll do that tomorrow.

Rias (10:33pm): Good thank you. I'll cash app you some money as a thank you once it's done. (You Liked this message)

Turning off my phone, I started thinking about the future. What does the future hold for me? What kind of enemies will I face? Will I even face any enemies?

A frown worked its way onto my face. Ever since we were little, Daiko and I loved fighting. We loved it so much we dreamed of making it a profession. Now I see why Daiko was so pumped up to make our dream a reality. After all this training, my body is itching to fight. The vibration within my fists on impact, the taste of my own blood in my mouth, the overwhelming feeling of power I would feel as the rivals would submit to me. I loved all of it. As my eyes closed, a smirk shone bright on my face.

—-

The next day, I went through my daily routine. Anubis hadn't even known I had gone to his domain last night as he was busy sitting on the porch outside for most of the day. My mother had let him back into the house just today, although if he even dared to touch her she would kick him right back out.

He was currently apologizing to her while she was washing the dishes. I was busy eating breakfast, but I found the situation amusing at the very least. The huge 231 cm man was on his knees begging the 170 cm woman to forgive him. Saying how he couldn't live without holding her in his arms. He really was quite smooth. I even saw my mother wavering a few times if her drooping ears and tails were anything to go by.

Knowing she would be persuaded sooner or later, and they would start fucking, I quickly ran out the door.

When I came out, I was surprised to see Akeno getting ready to knock on the door while Rias and Issei were just a few steps behind.

"What's the occasion?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We were heading to the clubroom early, I wanted to see if you would be willing to come." Akeno said with a teasing smile.

"Boy, who is it?" The voice of my father asked from within the kitchen. I turned around and I saw my mother in his arms kissing his cheek over and over again. It hasn't even been a minute! She really was weak to this man!

"A friend from school, Dad." I shouted back.

If Anubis was interested, he didn't show it. Instead he settled for tasting my mothers lips before groping her ass cheeks firmly.

I sighed at the sight. Akeno who was standing in front of me could also see the scene clearly and adopted a small almost unnoticeable blush.

"So that's Anubis, and the Nekoshou?" She asked.

"Indeed." I said closing the door and walking out of my yard. Rias and Issei seemed rather amused by my newfound passion to get to school and as far from the house as I could.

Deciding to change their focus, I asked Issei a question.

"So. How were your contracts last night?" I already knew the answer from the text messages, but thought 'hey why not piss him off.'

Issei slapped the back of my head and ran towards the school. I gained a look of anger and quickly chased after him, leaving the two ladies to walk by themselves. A small smile graced my face as I chased my friend. For him this was a morning routine we did everyday that was put on pause a couple of days ago. For me though. I had spent nearly two months without this familiar scene. It was for that reason that I let Issei get away. At my current level, catching him would be like catching an ant. Annoying but inevitable.

The school day went by uneventfully, and it was time to head to the ORC. Kiba met us at our homeroom and walked with us to the clubroom.

When we entered the room we saw Rias shuffling through paperwork with Akeno by her side. Koneko was sitting down eating her snacks already.

"Hello, Buchou, Akeno-senpai." Kiba greeted with a small bow.

"Oh, good afternoon, Yuuto." Rias responded, noticing our presence only just now.

"So what's the plan for today, Rias-senpai?" Issei asked eagerly.

Rias smiled at her pawns enthusiasm. "Issei, If you wouldn't mind I'd like you to call me Buchou when we're in the clubroom and at school. As well as any other important devil meetings we attend in the future, okay?"

Issei looked a bit dejected but nodded nonetheless.

"Right. Then first things first." She looked directly at me and smiled.

"On it." I smiled. I placed a hand on Kiba's shoulder which earned an eyebrow raise from him. "You wanted to give the lightning affinity to Kiba right?" I asked and she nodded. Wasting no more time, I channeled my [Storm] aura into Kiba's shoulder. Kiba looked a bit alarmed as he felt my energy entering him but seemed to trust me.

It took a couple of tense minutes, but I noticed a stable amount of my aura within Kiba's body. I removed my hand and looked at Kiba's reaction to my power.

He glanced at his arms then flexed.

"I think it worked." He said as he was engrossed in the new feeling of power that emanated throughout his body.

"Good, now for the next one." I said, turning to Koneko. She watched me as I approached her and seemed to melt in my hand once I placed it on her head.

She gave no resistance and let my [Air] aura flow into her head, then down into her torso, and eventually to her feet. Releasing my hold on him I allowed her to inspect her body.

"...I feel something weird in my feet, but I don't know what to do with it." Koneko admitted with a nervous expression.

"Try forcing some magic into the soles of your feet and find your balance." I explained.

Koneko closed her eyes and followed my instructions. Ten seconds went by and nothing happened. Thirty seconds still nothing. Around a minute later a sudden explosion of wind came from Koneko's feet that launched her into the air. She, using her advanced cat-like reflexes, placed her hand on the ceiling to avoid collision and slowly fell back on the ground. Landing perfectly.

When she fell back to the ground everyone seemed amazed by what they witnessed.

"I could have sent the blessing throughout your body, but I feel like if it's focused on your feet you'll have the best experience with it. You're a rook right?" I asked which got a small nod from her. "Which means your body is strong and durable, but you need speed with that. With this extra wind affinity more focused into your soles, you'll be able to use it easier there and maneuver around the battlefield like a bullet train. Fast, yet sturdy." I explained.

Koneko still looked amazed at the power she demonstrated before turning her attention to me. A small smile adorned her face.

"...Thank you, Isamu-kun."

I continued patting her head which she seemed to enjoy. She snuggled her head further into my hand. Everyone looked on with soft caring expressions.

"Aw. That's adorable. I guess now I know your good father material. Right, Is~a~mu~kun?" Akeno teased with a healthy blush.

Seriously, this girl gave me no breaks. I decided not to answer. Right now I was enjoying my moment, patting cute little Koneko's head, and I wouldn't stop. Even for Akeno's sake.

"Ara, if its like that then-"

"Akeno, please knock it off." Rias ordered.

"Right, my apologies Rias." Even though Akeno said that, she still sent me a look that said 'We'll continue this later.'

"Isamu, do you think you could give me the final blessing right now?" Rias asked.

I wasted no time and answered her question by walking to her.

Stopping in front of her, I stared into her deep blue eyes as she stared back into my own crimson red eyes expectantly. Looking at her close up really allowed me to see just how beautiful she really is. Flawless skin, beautiful crimson red hair, her deep blue eyes, and not to mention her insane body which was practically touching me with how close we were.

"Whenever you're ready." I said with a small blush.

Deep breaths Isamu. Deep breaths.

Rias closed her eyes. I took it as the sign she was. I placed my hand on her shoulder and started channeling my [War] aura into her.

"Annhh!"

I froze. Everyone froze. Rias opened her eyes quickly and realized what she just did. Her face turned as crimson as her hair.

"Did Buchou…just moan?" Issei asked. His usual perverted expression was gone. He was just genuinely surprised. Issei's words seemed to make Rias blush even harder if that's even possible.

"G-Guess so." I stuttered.

Akeno was the first to recompose herself and took this chance.

"Ara ara, Rias. Tell me does Isamu's 'energy' flowing into you just get you all hot and bothered? Ufufuufufu~"

"I-It's not like that. I just d-didn't expect his energy to be so…potent." Rias tried defending herself.

"Phrasing." I facepalmed, my blush grew. . I wasn't going to lie. I enjoyed the current situation I found myself in, and I promised myself I'd pay Akeno back for allowing me to see a side of Rias I never thought I'd see.

"Nevermind that. Continue!" Rias practically ordered.

I decided against teasing her even if it was very tempting. I'm not her close friend like Akeno after all. I continued pouring my aura into Rias, and she held back her moans by using her hand to block her mouth. How come she's like this, and Koneko wasn't? Once I was finished, Rias wasted no time grabbing her phone and doing something on it.

"Thank you, Isamu. I have already sent the money your way." Rias said with a pleased smile.

"The honor was mine. I'm sure I won't come to regret this."

"No you will not." Rias promised with a determined and hopeful look.

Once again I noticed that she's acting all hopeful. For what? I don't know if it's my place to ask, but I am quite interested. I was going to ask when all of a sudden Rias ran back to her desk.

"Seems we got a call. Issei, you think you can handle this one?" Rias asked seriously. Issei gulped but nodded and gave her a thumbs up. She smiled and handed him a piece of paper with the address. He then ran out of the clubroom with a determined face.

"Issei may be a bit slow and perverted, but he's one of the most stubborn guys I know. If he says he'll get a contract, then it's only a matter of time." I promised Rias. She looked surprised by my attitude towards him.

"Weird, all this time I believed you had some sort of hidden distaste for Issei." She admitted.

"Well to be honest, we've been friends for a long time, and I'm not exactly Mr. Innocent either. I'd call myself a pervert, but not nearly on the same level as him. He does things that piss me off but at the end of the day he's my best friend. I'd die for him without a second thought." I finished solemnly. The floor was looking really interesting right now. That line was really cheesy, but I meant every word.

"You'd die for him but you let him get beat up by a group of angry women with wooden swords after selling him out?" Rias asked with a raised eyebrow.

"In my defense, he was going to get beat anyway. Nothing I said, or did would change that. I just chose not to get my ass beat with him." I shrugged. "Plus I knew they wouldn't kill him. If they planned on it, I would have fought them all even if It would have been futile."

The rest of the ORC looked at me with calculating expressions before they all smiled warmly. Even Koneko!

"I'm happy to hear that. Well then let's make it official." Rias got up and walked towards me and extended her hand. "Satoru Isamu, would you like to join the Occult Research Club?"

I wasted no time and grabbed her hand. "Of course, Buchou." Her smile remained as she shook my hand firmly.

"Well then. Welcome to the club!" She cheered.

"""Welcome to the club!""" Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko all cheered.

"Thanks for having me!" I smiled. A joyful blush appeared on my face.

"Well then, I want all of you…except for Kiba and Isamu to get moving on contracts. We should have a slow night but that doesn't mean we can slack!" Rias exclaimed, Akeno and Koneko both nodded before teleporting to their own individual customers.

Rias went back to her desk and started doing paperwork.

Noticing there was literally nothing for me to do, the excitement of joining the club died down as I summoned one of my books through my shadows and started to read it. It was part two of the supernatural anatomy and physiology book my mom wrote.

—

Three Hours later

During the last three hours, Akeno and Koneko would appear after finishing a contract request then disappear heading back to complete another. All this time Issei had yet to show up. I sighed internally because I could just tell he sold the bag. He wouldn't bring home a contract tonight and he'd probably spend the entire night beating himself up for his incompetence.

Rias on the other hand looked completely unbothered by his lack of appearance thus far. She had probably anticipated his failure at least for tonight and thus was unaffected. Until she wasn't. Her eyes widened and she quickly stood up. Noticing her actions we stood up as well.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I sense a Fallen Angel at Issei's location."

A Fallen Angel? Don't tell me they still want him dead because he has a gear!

[BOOST]

I summoned the [Boosted Gear] and activated my {Shadow Walk} disappearing into the darkness. I used my [War] aura to sense Issei's location, which was a couple of blocks away. I could also sense a dark aura there as well. Although it wasn't an aura as dark as the devils. The aura of a Fallen. A weak one at that. I wasted no time maneuvering in the darkness towards the two.

I arrived to see Issei with a hole cut in the side of his stomach and a man with a fedora slowly walking towards him.

"I almost feel bad for you, stray who has abandoned their master."

"I didn't abandon shit! I was on my way back from another failed contract when your 'I am the darkness' looking ass decided to attack me!" Issei taunted with a pained expression.

"Enough! I'll show you what happens when you insult me." The Fallen summoned a dark blue light spear and threw it at Issei, only for it to be consumed by dark energy and disappear.

"W-What!?"

I emerged from my {Shadow Walk} a few meters from the two.

"Who the hell are you?" The Fallen asked.

"Isamu!" Issei shouted as he noticed me. "Run, this guy's bad news, and he's a massive Kaneki fan. He's cracked his fingers like eight times. Trust me! He's got nothing to lose!"

"Will you stop insulting me!?"

"Will you drop the whole, 'the world turned its back on me, so now I'll turn my back on the world' attitude?" Issei asked in pained annoyance. I'm almost certain he'd be shitting himself right now if it was just him, but he must have known we'd come running if he got attacked.

"Leave him to me, Issei." I said as I took off my jacket, and shirt. It would be a pain in the ass if they got damaged and I had to buy new ones. I glanced over at Issei and saw his clothes ripped. Poor bastard.

"Don't have to tell me twice. I'll just sit here and enjoy having my life saved by my super badass friend. This aint even the first time!" Issei sounded completely overjoyed. Indeed it was not the first time. Issei almost died along with Matsuda and Motohama in junior high after peaking on one of the delinquents' girlfriends. Though Daiko and I showed up with our gang and kicked their asses.

"You think you can defeat me? A Fallen Angel!? Don't make me laugh." The Fallen taunted after cracking his fingers.

"Nine!" Issei shouted.

"Will you shut the fuck up!?"

"Jeez. You are the most cliche villain in any anime, light novel, or manga I have ever seen. Trust me. I have seen a lot of cliche villains." I explained with a deadpan.

The Fallen seemed tired of our insults and created a light spear that he threw at me.

[BOOST]

That makes my sixth boost, which honestly is way more than enough. 'Let's go Ddraig.'

'[Finally. Some action.]'

[EXPLOSION]

As an extra crutch, I also activated my {War Aura}.

Overwhelming power filled my body. Usually I'm around high middle class, though with six boosts and my aura, I'm around high high class or low ultimate class.

I shot forward at mind numbing speeds and punched the Fallen Angel in the face. I deadpanned when his head exploded on impact.

"..."

Neither Issei, nor I said anything as we watched the Fallen's body erupt into a fuckton of feathers.

"A-are you op?" Issei asked after the silence.

"No. He was just weak. Like really weak." I explained. I picked up my uniform and put it on before placing the jacket over my shoulder.

Issei and I stared at the many feathers on the ground for another few seconds before a crimson magic circle appeared near us.

When it opened, the entire ORC walked out and got into battle stances. They scanned the area and found nothing.

Rias looked confused but upon seeing an injured Issei she ran towards him at full speed.

"Issei! What happened!? Who did this!? How bad does it hurt!?"

I felt inclined to smile at the display of affection Rias was showing my friend. If I wasn't sure Issei would be fine as her servant before, I am now.

"So where's the enemy?" Kiba asked me with a relaxed expression once he saw how nonchalant I was.

"Dead." I answered simply.

"Already?" Kiba raised an eyebrow.

"He was unbelievably weak." I deadpanned.

"Hey I take offense to that!" Issei shouted as he stood up with some difficulty.

"Good. Maybe you'll get stronger if you realize you're so weak. Honestly, that guy was at best high low class, but I think that's being too generous to him." I explained.

"If he was that weak, then it makes sense you killed him so fast. Even I would have dealt with him in a couple of minutes, or perhaps even less thanks to your blessings." Kiba commented as he held his chin in thought.

"...Weak crow." Koneko muttered as she took out a pack of her sweets and started munching.

"Well that's that." Rias sighed. "Now that one of the Fallen has died in our territory, this will no doubt leave consequences for us if they were loyal to the Grigori. Although I doubt it would lead to war."

I nodded then looked down the road in the direction of my house.

"I'm going to head home for the night. Think you guys can take care of Issei's wounds?" I asked seriously.

"Leave it to us. Have a good night, Isamu." Rias confirmed before bidding me farewell.

I waved to everyone before activating {Shadow Walk}.

—

Once I arrived home, I instantly started thinking about the Fallen that I killed. Was I feeling remorse? Fuck no. I felt worse for the undead hellhounds I had to kill then for that shitty crow. What I was thinking about was how easy it was. Just a few days ago in this realm, he would have wiped the floor with me, yet now I was so strong I 'accidentally' killed him. I'm sure without the [Boosted Gear] It might have made for a more eventful fight, but it still would have been quite fast. Though even with the gear, I still wasn't even using near my full power.

With {Akhekh Incarnate} and {War Aura} I'm around mid ultimate class, but if you factor in the [Boosted Gear] I don't even know how strong I am. I know I'm still weaker than any of the gods and by extension the satans, cadre, and seraphim, but that power is no joke. The [Boosted Gear] is truly busted.

'[Indeed it is. If you unleashed your full boosts, which I'd say the amount you could handle right now is around 25 in your true form, you would be around a D rank Low Tier God which is no joke. That would be around the level of the weaker of the Cadre]' Ddraig explained.

I nodded. As of right now I was pretty powerful all things considered, but I was still quite weak in the grand scheme of things. I wouldn't even be considered within the top 500 strongest beings yet, and if I didn't use the gear, then I wouldn't even be considered anything special at all.

'[Like I said, your potential is unmatched. With my power and yours combined, you could easily reach the top 10 strongest beings in the world, and perhaps even conquer it.]'

I nodded at my partner's words. That much was true. I was by no means overpowered. Not yet at least, but my potential on a scale from one to ten was one hundred and fifty.

'[And if you manage to reach Balance Breaker and combine it with your dragon form..the possibilities are endless.]'

'Balance Breaker?'

'[A glitch in heavens' system which bestows great power upon the gears. My specific Balance Breaker is called Welsh Dragon: Scalemail and is a transformation type where draconic armor shields the host from attack. The main power in this form is the lack of a timer. Meaning in Balance Break, you'll be able to boost continuously without a need to wait. You can boost as much as your body can handle before I would call it off.]' Ddraig explained. I could just tell he was grinning.

I was awestruck by the dragon's words. No timer? Continuous boosting? That's broken. Even a weak low class could boost up to ultimate class as long as their body was strong enough to handle that power.

'Why is your gear not ranked number 1?' I asked seriously. This gear was stupidly powerful even in the hands of a weakling. If you put it in the hands of someone like Ra, Set, Osiris? They would be ranked number 1 in the world easily.

'[Because my hosts have gone mad through craving more and more power. They decided against training themselves and relied on my power to destroy their enemies. The result is the [Juggernaut Drive]. I'm relieved to have you as a host. You not only train, but have a loving family who is willing to guide you along the correct path. Not many of my hosts have had your fortune, Partner. Don't take it for granted.]' Once Ddraig said that he cut the link and left me to my thoughts.

Take my fortune for granted? Never crossed my mind. I'm thankful for everything I got. For all my friends and for my loving parents. Even to you Ddraig.