Chương 73: After the battle, POV: (CHAT)
Firstly, I need to apologize for the delay. In my country, this whole week is a holiday, and even though I wish I could be lying and saying that I was enjoying the festivities, I wasn't.
In addition to the fact that I don't like this kind of celebration, I was working on some college assignments to get ahead for after the holiday.
Well, sorry again for the delay. I hope you enjoy the chapter!
As always, good night and happy reading to everyone!
PS: If you wish to support me or simply enjoy the story, I have a (P)(A)(T), where there are 3 extra chapters of the stories, both for Devas and Hunter.
If not, I still appreciate you reading my stories!
(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori
[...]---[...]
POV: Devas Asura.
I... I didn't know why I had done that.
I didn't know why I had changed my strike to something quick and painless... He didn't deserve such mercy.
The stag didn't deserve this, not for the amount of chaos, pain, and death he had caused, yet... For a moment, I could feel that he was relieved with death, as if it were liberation...
I didn't know why, but in the end, it wouldn't change anything.
The stag was dead, and his death caused the storm to begin to die almost instantly, Terraria's mana tearing apart the nightmare energy now that the stag wasn't alive.
The world's mana seemed almost angry, destroying and disintegrating the foreign energy, the only exception being myself and my nightmare energy.
I sighed as I stood up, still on top of the dead stag's body, and removed Houtengeki from his forehead.
Even with the storm beginning to disappear, the temperature would take a while to return to normal without any interference. I didn't know how long, but without anything or anyone interfering, I would guess it would take months, probably years for everything to return to normal.
The world's mana must help normalize things, still...
Well... That wasn't my problem. I can help later if asked and paid, but for now, I just wanted to take a hot bath. Drinking a hot chocolate milk would be nice too.
As I stepped off the dead stag's body, I ended up seeing the expression he had on his face. It was an expression of pain, agony, but at the same time almost peaceful... As if he had found peace in death.
It was foolish, but for a moment, I thought our situations were similar, even if only the beginning of them.
We both came from another world to Terraria, and something told me that, like me, he hadn't been warned about this journey... Probably didn't even agree to it.
"How ironic..." I murmured.
In a way, it was funny that I was the one who killed him...
Something from outside the world, to kill another being from outside...
Foreigner against Foreigner...
I shook my head, dispelling these thoughts, and pulled the dead stag's body into my inventory, ignoring the stream's "pings" telling me that the mission had been completed.
I'll check the rewards later. For now, I wanted to go back to the city and see how things were there, if everything was okay.
I didn't know exactly how things were inside, but from the lack of red dots on the minimap, I think my "roar" did more than just damage the Deerclops and stun him.
Either that, or people had managed to find a way to kill the hallucinations more easily. Well, no matter which of the two options it was, the result was the same; it seemed like the battle was over, both out here and inside...
Kicking the ground, the sound barrier shattered behind me, the snow along with the storm being expelled away with the shockwave, along with the air, my shadow flickering...
[...]
POV: Anthony Edward Stark.
"DS never ceases to amaze, does he?" I said to the air, alone in my laboratory.
Pepper was working, so she wasn't here watching the stream with me, but I was sure she had seen that fight.
That thing... That stag and those eyes, what an abomination...
"From what I could watch and study about Devas, he seems to have a certain tendency to exceed expectations." Even though I was alone, my rhetorical question was still answered.
Jarvis still followed DS's order not to call him "sir," even outside the stream.
"Any findings on the 'Fae'?" I asked the A.I.
Fairies... Not a strange concept, whether in some kind of children's movie or in cartoons, I had heard of them, but DS seemed to treat them like a plague for some reason.
A type of creature that was better kept at a distance, which, considering the image I had of a fairy, the "Tinker Bell" from Peter Pan, was a weird way to act.
Jarvis's response shed light on why DS seemed to act this way.
"According to Devas's description, the 'fae' he refers to seem to be linked to Arthurian Legends." King Arthur?...
I won't lie and say that I knew a lot about the folklore of that region, the legends... which, to be honest, after what I had discovered, might not be so much of a "legend."
"The two most famous 'Fae' were: Morgan Le Fay and Vivian, the Lady of the Lake." Jarvis narrated after I asked for more information.
Even though I said I didn't know much about Arthurian legends, these two names, alongside the name of the king and the wizard, were some that I knew.
Especially Morgan, and everything I knew about her didn't paint her as a, in this case, pleasant Fae to have around.
Researching a bit more, every myth, legend, story, fable, the vast majority told me why DS didn't seem to like these little things so much...
"Mini sociopaths with a lot of power." That was the best description I could give to the Fae, at least those from my planet. I didn't know if it was the same in Terraria, or if that's how DS knew them, but at least here, the Fae didn't inspire trust.
"Archive everything for later, Jarvis." I ordered and stood up from the chair.
DS had returned to WinterHord and was talking, or rather, being bombarded with dozens of questions from his groupmates.
Things seemed to have calmed down there, which was the opposite of the (CHAT), which had been silent for most of the battle but had exploded with messages and viewers in the end.
DS had six thousand people watching him, and I could see that some of them had appeared in the (CHAT) that I and the others used.
DS might have tried to hide it, but I knew that this (CHAT) where our messages appeared was the (CHAT) of important people, at least in their respective worlds.
He probably kept it a secret to prevent some people from getting a big head and thinking they were "invincible" because they were important or something like that and ended up getting themselves killed.
Was I important? Obviously, I knew that since I was six years old, I was a genius, but "invincible"? No.
I knew I was important to the world; I could be arrogant and proud, but I wasn't an idiot. I never considered myself invincible, untouchable... at least not since I started watching the stream, received the information I received.
My world was much more dangerous than I thought it was, the monsters under the bed were more than just stories...
It scared me for a while, for a short time, I just couldn't let it shake me. I just needed to arm myself better, prepare better.
"Jarvis, bring Mark 5." I ordered at the same time as I positioned myself on the platform.
"Of course, sir." With Jarvis's voice, my armor began to cover my body, not even ten seconds later, I was completely covered.
DS had written the summary of my "first movie," where I would be kidnapped, trapped in a cave by terrorists, where I would create my first armor to escape.
This was supposed to be today; if the stream hadn't appeared, I would be on a trip right now...
"Jarvis, prepare the route..." I ordered at the same time as the takeoff runways opened.
DS said that without that kidnapping, the "Iron Man," as he would be called in the future, wouldn't exist, that I would continue being my arrogant, unassuming "self," that I wouldn't become the "Superhero" I was supposed to be...
"Where to, sir?" Jarvis asked.
DS chose to kick all doubts away and trust me, that I would be better, so I would be.
"To Afghanistan." Iron Man had come out of that cave, right?
"It's time for my debut." Pepper would kill me for not letting her know.
Well, this time, he would fly in.
[...]
POV: ???
I found this cell phone before the recording of my show; I thought it could belong to someone from the cast, maybe someone from the crew, but everyone I asked responded in the same way.
"That's not a cell phone; it's a metal plate."
I thought it was some kind of elaborate prank or something like that, it wasn't, I found out the moment I started inspecting the cell phone.
I couldn't detect any demonic energy, mana, senjutsu, or divinity coming from the cell phone, which I admit made me lower my guard a bit, but my suspicions hadn't disappeared.
Turning on the cell phone, the first thing that appeared was for me to put a name, a nickname, like registering on a website, I thought for a moment before typing.
[MagicalGirlSera-Tan]
I couldn't use symbols; otherwise, I would have put one or two stars, a shame.
The cell phone was pretty... Normal, or almost.
The cell phone's memory and processing power were absurd; I hadn't seen technology like this even in Ajuka's laboratory. The camera was even better!
The resolution was ridiculously good; not even the cameras in my studio had this! If I had five... No! Three cameras of this quality, the show would skyrocket!
I had to clap my hands on my cheeks to focus; the temptation to record my entire show with this cell phone was almost winning.
Looking a bit more, I found that besides having an internet connection, the only app on the cell phone was a streaming one.
"A stream?..." I hummed while swinging my legs on my chair.
There was some time before the recordings started, so I entered the app to see what it was about... Big mistake. After watching only ten seconds of the battle that was happening, I had to be forced to change the entire script of my show.
Probably for the next two seasons.
"What the hell is this?..." I cursed quietly, my attention divided between reading the notice of what the stream was about and the armored guy fighting in the middle of a storm against a giant deer-like creature.
Part of me wanted to doubt what the notice was about. Other worlds? That was common; the Underworld was a thing, Asgard, Heaven, Mount Olympus, but other universes?...
Other worlds coming from other universes? Did the owner of this ticket think I was an idiot? That I was born yesterday?
It was somewhat unbelievable, but the battle I was seeing was no lie, it wasn't anything staged because if it were, the special effects would be better than those of my show, which was clearly impossible.
So the battle was real; that was the only explanation.
Even though I had never seen any creature like that, the closest being Wendigo, but even those things fell short, and the battle wasn't anything special, probably high-class, maybe bordering on Ultimate-Class still, a part of me had gotten excited watching the unfolding of the fight.
The streamer, DS or Devas, from what I could read in the chat, was a human, not a devil, yokai, exorcist, or anything else. That was what surprised me the most.
He wasn't the strongest human I had seen; that position belonged to that church monster, which was also questionable since I didn't know if he was truly human...
But this Devas was one of the strongest humans I had ever seen. The way he fought was strange, a martial art that I had never seen, but that wasn't what surprised me the most either.
What surprised me the most was the atmosphere around them. Around the battle, it was a snowstorm.
I was an expert in ice and snow, even though I didn't know if what the ticket said was true about other worlds, even though I didn't know what energy fueled that storm, I knew it was something ridiculously cold.
Nothing compared to my best attack, but I would guess the temperature easily reached at least two hundred degrees below zero.
Few High-Class beings would survive in that environment, let alone fight. Just moving and not dying frozen would be a challenge.
Only something of the Ultimate-Class could move and fight in that kind of place, even with movements and attacks weakened by the cold, which didn't seem to be the case for either of the two combatants.
The deer-like creature seemed not to care about the cold, not even feel it. In fact, I didn't even know if that thing was really alive... I knew I could practically flick that thing out of existence, but those screams... That shadow... Those eyes...
It wasn't the worst thing I had seen in life, but it came close.
As for the streamer, he seemed to be affected by the cold; I could see his movements more constrained. It was also easy to figure out that what kept him protected was his equipment.
The strange symbols on the armor and mask he wore glowed faintly. Probably protection runes or something similar, although I had never seen that kind of symbol.
The closest image I had was the Nordic runes, but they were still completely different; the symbols were only slightly similar, but the resemblance ended there.
It was good armor, even though the material didn't seem to be anything special. The armor could protect him from the cold and seemed resistant; the mask also served well, probably allowing him to breathe in the cold.
I hardly noticed time passing as I watched the battle. Even though I was much stronger than the two participating in it, it was still impressive, the human much more than the deer.
The way he moved, the attacks, everything seemed to flow slowly and quickly at the same time. It was like watching an anime protagonist fight.
I would know; I was the protagonist of my show, which was the top one in the entire Underworld. Even though my butt attracted the audience, they stayed for the story and the fights.
My breasts too, probably, but an audience is an audience.
I also couldn't remember any Sacred Gear that matched anything the streamer used, so either he could camouflage it very well, or he didn't have any, which was even more impressive.
When he got careless and was kicked away, hitting some kind of barrier, I saw that his mask had been broken.
Game over, was the thought I had, slightly saddened to see someone with this potential die. I could see his mouth freezing; presuming that the throat, lungs, and other organs were in the same state or worse was expected.
Then he simply stood up, made another mask appear in the place of the broken one somehow, and seemed to recover in seconds, completely ignoring the injuries he had.
Advanced regeneration was nothing new; the Phenex were there to prove that. But a human recovering at this speed? That was more than impressive.
"Silence!"
When he spoke, imitating the strange cries of the deer, I may or may not have shouted in celebration, scaring some of the devils from the cast who were passing by.
"I want you..." My Peerage was practically empty, and even though the streamer... Even though Devas seemed not to have much affinity with ice, more with fire, judging by the liquid flames coming out of his halberd with each strike, still, I wanted him.
A Pawn seemed like a waste, so no...
A Knight? He was fast, very fast, much more than the sword kid Rias had, but his strength was also nothing to underestimate.
A Rook? His strength would skyrocket to monstrous levels, perhaps more than speed if he turned into a Knight...
Bishop was still an option since I hadn't seen him use magic, so I wouldn't rule out that possibility.
But something told me that the Queen piece was the best choice, that if I turned him into my queen, Grayfia would lose her title in a few years...
"That's it!" I exclaimed excitedly, watching Devas finish the battle, tearing the deer apart.
I would need to see his personality, of course, and many things before; I wouldn't be rushed. Still, if everything went well, I would turn him into my Queen. In case he refused, I had some offers that were practically irresistible.
I was a Maou; money, power, raw materials were not lacking for me to use as bargaining chips.
The harem offer was always open too. I had lost count of how many Reincarnated Devils had accepted to become a devil just for the desire to have a harem, both men and women.
Some of these things should tempt him; if not, I could think of other offers, but first...
"Screenwriter!" I shouted, getting everyone's attention.
I needed a deer-like creature in my show as a villain. That shadow... Those eyes!
It was so weird, at the same time cool, so villainous!
I could use some fire attacks too; I knew a few and could improvise! A special transformation! I could transform with the sun at my back!
Ice-Sun Magical Sera-tan!
That's it, I'll first fix the script for the show, then go talk to Ajuka and Sirzechs about the cell phone.
There was a text saying that I could invite three more people; if this wasn't some kind of trap or prank, I would invite them both.
Not the bald one; he didn't even watch once, not even my show. The audacity!
Anyway, the last invitation already had an owner; I was sure that my dear Sona-tan would love the big sister's gift!
[...]
POV: Kazuma Sato.
"You finally dropped that sign?" I heard Aqua comment as if she said, "Finally!"
"What is this thing, anyway?" Megumin asked. "You never explained; is it some kind of magical artifact? Some kind of cursed item?" Before the gnome mage could have one of her Chuunibyou moments, I interrupted her.
"It's a cellphone, a common thing where I come from." I instinctively replied.
Not that it tells them much; Megumin seemed as confused as before, and Darkness too, even though she didn't say anything.
The only one who seemed to understand was Aqua, but...
"Have you been drinking?" She asked almost worried. "Hit your head somewhere? Went to the bathroom? Is that why you took so long there yesterday?" Silence, woman! That's private!
"No!" I exclaimed, maybe just a little louder than I should. "Why would you think that?"
"Kazuma, I know what a cellphone is." She stated, pointing to the cellphone. "This is not one; it's a piece of metal." Oh yes... I forgot that those not in the stream can't see the cellphone...
Damn... How do I explain this shit now? Ignore it, like ninety percent of the things I've been ignoring?
Something tells me that if I do that, Aqua will try to purify me or heal me, thinking I hit my head, and with the great competence she has, I might develop some kind of magical cancer or worse.
Magical cancer, perhaps...
"I'll explain after the mission." I asserted, trying to make my best imitation of Devas when he didn't want to explain something or was in a hurry.
It seemed to have worked, as all three nodded slightly, with Aqua frowning as if forming a plan in her semi-empty head.
I could almost feel the magical cancer spreading already... Why, God? Why?
I just wanted to watch the stream peacefully before the mission. It's not my fault that Devas decided to go out and fight against a fucking giant ice demon and act all cool!
I answered instinctively! I didn't want to say it was a cellphone!
Damn, the fight was so engaging that I didn't even realize what I had done. It wasn't like the battle against the goblins; Devas practically dominated the fight, even with the disadvantages he had.
I need to learn some kind of breathing style, even if it's a weak one! Trying to imitate Sun Breathing went wrong; feeling my body tense and swell as if I were about to explode was horrible!
Imitating the Sun Breathing Devas used was even worse; it didn't seem to work, as if I weren't worthy or something, what the hell!
I've been trying to create one since day one, but the best I've achieved is just stabilizing my breathing and controlling it better. Did it help? Yes, but I couldn't move at absurd speeds, nor did I have cool attacks!
Devas had said that if we wanted to create a breathing style, we should try to create something derived from Sun Breathing, imitating an element or some animal that we thought we resembled more or felt closer to... But I didn't feel close to anything!
How do I imitate water breathing? Breathe in a limp way? Liquid?! Damn! Wasn't there a guy in the anime who had Stone Breathing? How do I breathe like a stone?
I still had to invent something with mana since I didn't have spiritual energy... Why did I get irritated and ask Aqua to join me?
I could have so many cool powers, blessed weapons, cursed ones! But no! I have a useless goddess who only serves for fan service!
Was Aqua pretty? Of course, she was, but knowing that she drank more alcohol than all of humanity combined and had the personality of a drunk thirty-year-old uncle took away a lot of her appeal.
Above all, she was a goddess! I couldn't even get out of this mess in the simplest way, which was inviting the three to the stream.
I had already come to the conclusion that I would stick with these three in my group for a while... For a long time, so my hesitation to spend the stream invitations had practically disappeared. The problem was only one.
Megumin and Darkness I could invite to the stream easily, as exotic as their personalities were, they would end up fitting into the (CHAT); there were only crazies there anyway.
But Aqua? Aqua was a different problem. The goddess would end up fitting in, the people in the (CHAT), as I said, were nice, but that didn't exclude the fact that she was a goddess...
Something that Devas didn't seem to like very much, if his racial trait was anything to go by.
He had never said anything, and even knew about Aqua's existence, so it should be fine, but what if it wasn't?...
The least that could happen was him banning Aqua from the stream, which didn't matter much, the most was him banning me!
The only thing keeping my sanity at this moment, between Megumin's explosions, Aqua drinking all our money, and Darkness being... herself, was the stream.
If I get banned from it because of this useless goddess, I'll end up crazy!
I also didn't want to be on the bad side of the guy who started fighting against an entire army, which was impressive on its own, for someone who managed to kill that thing!
If it weren't for the stream somehow, probably using some time bullshit to make everyone able to see the battle easily, I probably wouldn't even be able to see Devas move!
That's because he was fighting in the middle of the biggest snowstorm I've ever seen in my life, just imagining how cold it should be, I already start to tremble, or I might be trembling because of what he was facing.
Deerclops, the name even seemed silly at first, until that thing appeared.
Pure and simple nightmare fuel, that thing seemed to have come directly from a disturbed mind, those eyes...
"Ugh!..."
"Kazuma? Are you okay?." Aqua asked slowly raising her closed hand.
"I'm fine, woman! Move aside!." I glued my body to the other side of the carriage we were in.
Don't even try to come and use your purifying fist, or whatever the name you gave to that thing!
Magical cancer isn't real, it can't hurt me...
"If you say so..." Aqua didn't seem convinced but lowered her arm. "And that weird plan of yours to create a breathing skill?." She asked, yawning.
"It's going..." Going more or less, I had managed to create the skill! But it was low level... Very low.
At least I could evolve it using status points; it could be a weak skill, nothing compared to real breathing styles, but over time and many points, it would surpass them!
That or it would turn into something completely different, but at this point, I was accepting crumbs...
[...]
POV: ???
Even the item analysis indicated nothing about this cellphone, only that it was a common cellphone with a streaming app.
As if I would believe that.
Demiurge also couldn't analyze the cellphone or find out anything about it; for him, the cellphone was just a common, practically indestructible metal plate.
Common, for sure, any common cellphone would withstand an attack from one of the tomb guardians.
First YGGDRASIL becomes real, with me transforming into my character, now this strange cellphone appears out of nowhere.
I'm sure that if it weren't for emotion suppression, I would be in a panic, but I could only feel a slight discomfort at this moment, which was good.
Panicking wouldn't help me here.
I decided to inspect the cellphone myself; it was a model I had never seen before, it looked old, almost archaic, without holographic screens or nanotechnology.
At least it was easy to use; even my fingers containing no skin could handle the screen smoothly, which, as soon as it turned on, asked me to choose a nickname.
Hmm... It took me a few seconds to decide.
I thought about putting what I always used, but at this moment, I wasn't Momonga anymore. I am the last one left from the Great Tomb, so I will uphold the legacy of all Nazarick...
[AinzOoalGown]
That's how I will be called from now on.
Now, let's see what this broadcast is about...
[…]
POV: Jiraiya.
"Taking a break?" I heard one of Minato's brats ask.
After Devas "hinted" that we should keep an eye on him and Minato's team, I ended up moving to a battlefield near them.
It didn't make much difference to be on the battlefield against the sand since they had practically surrendered at this point, proposing a peace treaty.
The problem was the rock and the cloud, their Jinchuurikis were no joke, especially the one with eight tails.
Killer Bee, if I remember correctly, was the nickname they gave him.
"Kushina-chan, who sent you here?" I asked without taking my eyes off the cellphone where the battle was happening. "Did your training finish?"
Devas had gotten strong, that was obvious, but at this point, he could go head-to-head with practically any Jonin, maybe a whole squad if they were unprepared, which they probably were.
Most ninjas were fast, but accelerating to maximum speed from zero was something that few could do or keep up with.
I could think of two off the top of my head who had done that, Minato and one of those two Uchihas, Shisui. Only these two could go from literally standing still to full speed instantly.
Maybe the Raikage, but I had only heard rumors about him, I hadn't seen what the man was capable of for myself.
When it came to facing Devas head-on, the number was a bit higher, including myself, and many others who were considered "monsters," but that was today's Devas.
The Devas from a month ago was much weaker, today's was able to fight an average Jonin, and the one from the next month?
The kid was a monster, as monstrous as the greatest monsters in our world. I'm glad that Pa was the one who found the cellphone first; I doubt things would be good if it wasn't for him.
If it were any other village, I doubted they would have as good a relationship as we had with Devas at this moment, which could be bad depending on whether they ended up offending him...
Devas would come to our world one day; it was a matter of when, not if, and as foolish as it was to fear a single man, Minato was there to prove that wrong.
Hearing the name "Yellow Flash of Konoha" made half of the ninjas on the planet shit themselves, and the other half started running like chickens.
Devas had that same potential, and I didn't want someone like that as an enemy of Konoha, especially him, who knew our "future" or a possible future, from what Pa had told me.
He didn't show me the letter that Devas wrote, saying that sometimes ignorance was a blessing. I agreed with him; if Pa said it was better for me not to know, then I would hold back my curiosity.
"Kushina-nee told me to come get you." The Uchiha boy sighed, moving his shoulders. "We're taking a break; we'll return to training later." He replied.
It was good not to train the kids until they fainted, at least not on the battlefield. Well, Minato and Kushina knew what they were doing; I taught the former myself; he must have learned a few things from me.
"Let's go then, kid." I got up while stretching. Fortunately, the battle had already ended; Devas had little trouble killing that thing...
Weird creature; I was used to shadow manipulators, but that thing compared to the Nara was a different kind of being.
The Nara controlled shadows and were normal, lazy but normal; that deer was more of an undead than anything else. Its shadow didn't seem to be controlled but rather alive.
Those eyes were not pleasant to look at either. Konoha had its share of strange eyes; all the ninjas were practically used to that, but that...
It wasn't just strange; it was unsettling, disgusting to look at.
"This little metal thing..." I heard the Uchiha kid talk. "Sensei has one of these; what is it?" He asked with both arms behind his neck.
The kid was relaxed, wasn't he? Talkative too, reminded me a bit of myself when I was a child, something Kushina-chan and Minato had already pointed out.
I put my hand on the boy's head and messed up his hair, to his own consternation, he grunted and tried, failing miserably to escape my claws.
"Nothing you need to worry about, brat; when your sensei thinks you're ready to know, he'll tell you." I'll let Minato explain it; the brat was his job, not mine... Well, in parts.
Obito reminded me a lot of myself as a child; I'll give him some tips later, but for now, let's see what Minato and Kushina-chan want...
[…]
POV: Albus "Too Many Names" Percival "Too Many Jobs" Wulfric "Too Old" Brian "Too Many Responsibilities" Dumbledore.
"Dementors aren't that unpleasant, are they?" Severus joked with his still neutral voice.
Harry had managed to pull the man out of the lonely and depressive shell he was, but still, Severus was Severus.
"Compared to that thing? I won't agree; I hated seeing that as much as I hated seeing the Dementors." Minerva grumbled; I was forced to agree with her.
The Deerclops, even though we couldn't feel the aura he exuded, we could imagine, and if it was anything close to what his shadow looked like or his energy felt like, it shouldn't be a pleasant sensation.
In a way, I admired Devas; he didn't hesitate or mind being in the presence of that creature. The moment it appeared, he jumped to fight it in the middle of the storm to keep everyone safe.
"Changing the subject." Minerva didn't even try to hide that she wanted to talk about something else. "Are you sure that was necessary?" She asked.
"What, may I ask?" I knew what she was talking about, but in my old age, playing the fool was one of my few pleasures.
That and playing Plants Vs Zombies; I liked the game, watching the stream was also a good pastime.
"Don't play the fool, Albus!" Minerva quickly unmasked me. "Nymphadora Tonks, Albus, that's who I'm talking about!" The deputy headmistress of Hogwarts spoke in a serious tone.
"Was it necessary to practically hire an Auror as Harry's bodyguard?" She asked.
"Technically, she's an Auror in training." This didn't seem to calm Minerva's nerves. "But yes, Miss Tonks is something I deemed necessary."
I understood why the young woman didn't like her own name, so I tried to call her by her last name whenever I could.
I couldn't keep an eye on Harry all the time, not even staying at school to protect him. Having someone other than the teachers as an extra protection was something I deemed necessary.
Miss Tonks was perfect for that role; as an Auror in training, she wasn't well-known, and as a Metamorphmagus, she was perfect to pass as a first-year student, where Harry was.
She and Alastor treated this "mission" as infiltration and information gathering training, which wasn't bad. The young woman didn't complain about the payment either.
In her words: "Am I getting paid to act like a child? Count me in."
Of course, she knew it was serious work, and that she should protect the boy Harry, but treating things lightly when we could was good.
After that, it was just a matter of pulling some strings for a "Transfer student" to come to Hogwarts in the middle of the year.
"Still... I..." Minerva sighed, her speech dying. "I'll believe you, but you told Harry, didn't you?" She asked.
Severus had a serious look on his face, as if to say that if I didn't tell, he would, and he wouldn't let the boy be spied on without knowing.
"I told young Harry, don't worry." It was one of the first things I did; the boy didn't accept it at first, but after I told him that Miss Tonks was his cousin, he changed his mind quickly.
Miss Tonks also appeared happy to know that, in her words: "She didn't have only her mother and father as her relatives who weren't pure-blood idiots."
She said that with a few swear words, which I prefer not to think about. I'll need to tell the young lady not to use them too often or near other children.
If Devas could control himself not to swear too much in front of the entire (CHAT), she should be able to do it at least... I think...
Fawkes chose to chirp at this moment, as if he heard my thoughts and said that I was wrong.
I didn't believe that either, my dear friend, I didn't...
[…]
POV: Rin Tohsaka
Were there some deer in the forest near Fuyuki, right?
I hope there won't be any school trips there; I'll end up attacking them on reflex, and that will end up being bad.
Abominable creature, that was a chimera; there's no way that thing is natural, there's absolutely no possibility!
Ugh! Every time Devas looked at that thing with that nightmare energy, it was like seeing worms moving inside a body... There's no way that thing is alive; it's just a puppet or an apostle.
No way a living being can simply coexist with worms inside the body, be made of them!
"A yen for your thoughts?" A female voice asked me from behind.
"My thoughts are worth much more than that." I replied reflexively while preventing the activation of the jewel in my hand.
Ayako! Don't surprise me like that, especially with my body full of adrenaline from watching this battle!
I almost exploded unintentionally, girl!
"I don't have much more than that at the moment; just one will have to do." She stuck her tongue out while sitting beside me on the school terrace.
I took the one-yen coin she handed me and sighed.
The audacity!
I put the coin in my pocket before responding to her.
"What you just gave me is mine." The pout she made amused me.
"You've become more cheeky." Ayako pointed to the cellphone in my hand. "Did you get a boyfriend or something? The bet is still on, you can tell me; I'll accept my loss gracefully."
I chuckled and shook my head, denying.
"Nah, I was just watching something I stumbled upon." It wasn't a lie, but telling the whole truth wasn't something I could do either.
"Hmm..." Ayako hummed with her finger on her chin. "I'm not sure if I believe it... But I'll pretend I do." She laughed before pointing at the cellphone again.
"Never seen that cellphone brand, is it something new?" She asked curiously, making me freeze for a second.
"Yeah, it's something from abroad." More than that, probably from another planet, a completely different universe.
After classes resumed, I had to put a Bounded Field on the back of the cellphone. It was something simple, an illusion, so that anyone looking at the cellphone would see a common cellphone model that Devas had shown me.
The problem was that Devas had shown me a cellphone model that would only be released in ten years or more! I never paid attention to technology; I only realized the mistake when someone commented before, but then it was too late to change.
At least, it's better for them to see a new and futuristic cellphone model than to see me looking at a metal plate.
Explaining that I was rich and had contacts was easy. Them thinking I was crazy? No.
"What were you watching before?" Ayako asked after chewing a piece of her snack. "Porn?"
"What!?" I shouted louder than I should, I admit. "Of course not! Why would you think that?" What did she think I was?!
"I don't know... Your face looked focused, and you seemed almost excited watching; what else has those effects besides porn?" She had the audacity to laugh at my reaction.
"I was focused on the battle!" I spoke reflexively before realizing what I did, but still finished the sentence. "I was just excited about how the fight was unfolding; it was something frantic." Please buy this!
Fortunately, Ayako ended up falling for the small exchange of words I made. "A wrestling show?" Ayako asked excitedly. "Can I see it?"
I sighed in relief. Fortunately, I didn't say anything more, and she ended up confusing things. I would hate to be forced to erase her memories.
But now, I had a different problem... Inviting Ayako to the stream theoretically wasn't telling her about magecraft, but she would eventually find out for herself over time, and I didn't want her to be pulled into this side of the world.
Being a magus was walking with death; I was proud to be one, but I didn't deny the dangers.
"It's a paid thing." I replied after thinking for a moment. "You said you don't have money; too bad." I replied as seriously as I could.
"You know we're friends, don't you?" She gave me the best kicked puppy look that she could muster. "Come on, I can pay you back later for anything."
"No." My mouth lifted into a smile when I saw the pure betrayal look on her face. "It's also kind of exclusive; I'll need to ask before inviting you." I doubted Devas would care if I invited someone, but Ayako didn't know that.
I even put the cellphone in my pocket so that she wouldn't have hopes of trying to grab it to watch this "wrestling show" herself. The battle had already ended, and Devas had returned to Winterhord; I can see what happened next in the recording.
"Petty." Ayako murmured. "Witch." Almost true. "Ugly." Not that.
"Me ugly?" I asked with a scornful smile. "Look at me; what part of me is ugly?" If there was something I was proud of besides my family's magecraft, it was my appearance; I exercised and took care of myself to keep my body in shape and beautiful the way it was.
Ayako, with all the maturity in the world, turned around and stuck her tongue out at me before laughing; I ended up doing the same.
Moments like these made me happy that I chose to have a normal life besides being a magus; I didn't have to worry about mishaps and not exploding because of a failed experiment...
I just had to be myself.
[…]
POV: Weiss Schnee
"So cool...," I heard Ruby murmur.
"She won't stop talking about this for days..." My voice was, in part, impressed and tired, already foreseeing what would happen.
Impressed because Devas had killed something that I could only classify as a Grimm deer, very strong, large, and malevolent.
If hallucinations were something that reminded me of Grimm, the Deerclops was one; everything about it resembled one, the strange aura it seemed to exude, the red eye whenever Devas looked at it with nightmare energy, the fur that turned into a pitch-black tone...
Everything about it resembled a Grimm, so much so that if I didn't have Devas' confirmation that that thing had gone to Terraria, from another world that wasn't Remnant, I would have started to worry about variations of that monster that could exist here.
Any distance I was from that shadow... Those eyes, it was too close.
Just thinking about that thing looking at me made me start to scratch myself in disgust!
"You can't blame her." My partner's sister smiled ironically. "You're always quiet, theorizing ways to try to integrate Mystical Symbols and Runes with your Glyphs; it's not that different from Ruby."
"It's totally different!" And I didn't spend all my time theorizing, just sometimes...
Okay, I admit it was more than usual, but even with the help of Dumbledore and Rin, who had experience with magic, I hadn't achieved any results!
The Mystical Symbols and Runes just seemed not to want to work, not with Aura, not with Dust, nothing!
At least, I had managed to mimic some matrices with my Glyphs... I might not be able to use Symbols or Runes, but learning about them gave me more than just ideas for my Semblance.
"If that's what you say..." Yang flashed that shit-eating grin she had, but didn't continue talking, and I didn't insist on the subject either.
"Are your bags ready?" I asked my partner, who had finally calmed down after the battle.
This had ended ten minutes ago!
"They're ready." She pointed to the corner of the room where her bags were.
"Did you grab everything?" I won't lend my hairbrush to anyone, and I won't even say what I'll do to anyone who dares to ask to use my toothbrush!
"I've got everything, clothes, dust, ammunition, tools, spare parts..." Only one of those things was for you! The rest was for the scythe!
Before I could reprimand her, Ruby stuck her tongue out and disappeared in a hurricane of rose petals, reappearing with a suitcase with the basics.
"I'm kidding; I have everything here." She laughed and put the suitcase on the floor.
"You sound like a mother hen." Blake teased, lying on her bed.
She wasn't using the ribbon to hide her ears; she still wore it outside the dorm, but not inside anymore.
I'm glad she has fit in; I know I'm not one of the most pleasant people to live with, but I'm not racist, let alone like being compared to the creature that is my father.
"I'm not a mother hen." I grunted. "I just don't want trouble; it's a mission, our first official mission outside Beacon." It was almost not official; we were planning to investigate on our own, but Headmaster Ozpin noticed and ended up turning it into something official.
We would even be accompanied by Professor- Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck.
I could almost hear him yelling "Doctor" in the distance; the man had some serious coffee issues...
"I know, but worrying and stressing unnecessarily won't help." Blake replied.
"We'll be fine, Weisscream." Yang commented, calling me that horrible nickname... At least it was better than the ones Jaune called me.
Ugh!
"We're the best first-year team; we can beat several second-year students too, as long as we stay calm and together, I doubt anything will happen..." Yang spoke, her voice dying before falling silent, her face frowned.
"I just jinxed us, didn't I?" She asked while sighing.
"Yes!" Ruby grunted. "Yang! It's the basic rule!"
"My bad, my bad..." Yang scratched her head embarrassed.
"Let's keep extra attention now." Ruby affirmed, to which we all nodded in agreement.
I didn't know if I believed much in this superstition, but I wasn't foolish not to stay alert; none of us were, especially to where we were going...
Mountain Glenn, one of humanity's greatest failures, the failed attempt to create a fifth kingdom...
[...]---[...]
Some quick explanations here!
First of all, Sera-tan, well, it's kind of obvious, but I won't confirm anything. Well, first: Her wanting Devas doesn't mean he'll accept, well, you know the guy, and he can be summed up in one word - Human.
That said, the other new member of (CHAT), the other "???" well, I guess he's kind of obvious too, but one thing I want to say is that when something "big" happens, some important characters will appear in (CHAT).
Of course, they can appear randomly here and there, but overall, without a big event, only "normal" people will appear on the stream.
That said, the characters that enter these "big events" always have something in common with the event.
Deerclops was considered a demon. A "devil" is something close, and on top of that, it's ice-themed!
He was also an "Undead," and well... It's self-explanatory.
I won't go into much more detail than I already have; any questions, just comment, and I'll respond with my best without giving spoilers!
That said, good night and happy reading!
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