Benihime, wearing a white v-neck shirt, blue skinny jeans, and a fox mask over her face, stepped away from the coffin while carrying her katana. Kisuke followed her to ask her for the complete story first before examining the coffin because he found Benihime's seal on it while also leaving Le Fay to reinforce and remove the traces of the summoning.
"What exactly is that?... No... Since it's a coffin, who exactly is that?" asked Kisuke while analyzing the Demonic Power that's coming off from it, 'It's unusually dense but also a bit different that of normal Demonic Power?'
"I don't know." Benihime shrugged her shoulders, "When I arrived, some of Hades' men seemed to be extracting blood samples from it. I took a peek and the only thing I could figure out was that it was a woman. I'm not really sure if she's a Devil despite all of that Demonic Power, and the most surprising of all was that she's still alive, even though her body was already half decayed. It must be an agonizing torture to be kept alive that way."
Kisuke thought about it for a moment while Benihime was unsealing the coffin from her position and a certain person came to mind, which made him open his eyes wide, 'Could it be!?'
"Benihime, don't release the seal!" Kisuke turned around and saw that Riveria approached the coffin out of curiosity while no one else did because they were still in their defensive position, "Riveria!"
Riveria stopped her steps and turned around with confusion, however, Kisuke couldn't continue his words when a mass of Demonic Power exploded under them, crushing through all the floors and arriving in the hall. A young-looking beautiful woman with lavender eyes and bright crimson eyes tied in a two-sided updo and a small crown-like accessory on the top of her head.
"P-Progenitor!?" Zeoticus exclaimed upon seeing the woman covered with a very dense crimson Demonic Power that's only second to what a Super Devil could emit.
However, the newcomer ignored his call and only set her eyes upon the coffin with great concern reflected on her eyes. And upon seeing Riveria who was closest to it, she immediately marked her a threat to the coffin and instantly took action. Instead of a normal set of Devil Wings, hers was made from pure crimson Demonic Power that she emitted. These crimson wings then flapped, instantly propelling her forward in an attempt to remove the threat.
All of a sudden, a man with pale blonde hair wearing an oriental outfit appeared in front of the green-haired Elf. However, that didn't matter as he was only added to the list of threats. Extending her hand out, it was covered by her Demonic Power and formed into a set of large claws that was in no way inferior to Crom's or maybe even sharper.
Everyone else in the room tried to take action with Issei even going straight into his Cardinal Crimson Promotion form, Vali into his Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive mode, and Vasco releasing a massive amount of Holy Power in an attempt to stop the clash. But even then, they were already too late and saw Kisuke sighing to himself.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that he was pissed, however, not at the incoming enemy, but at his own inadequacy. He'd already promised Riveria's protection and safety and he wasn't even bringing her anywhere dangerous, yet here he is, blocking an attack that would instantly kill her when something like this shouldn't happen in the first place.
With that brief frustration taking over within him for an instant, he ended up going a bit overboard.
As Kisuke took a stance to throw a punch, the sclera of his eyes turned black and his pupils golden with a single angular horn sprouting on the right side of his head. His hair also grew longer along with the right half of his body being covered with Hollow matter, transforming his right arm into something more monstrous.
Everyone was speechless with his sudden transformation, however, he's still not done as five 'blood drums' linked together appeared behind him, with three of them instantly opened into 'eyes', abruptly spreading out an immense oppressive aura in all directions.
Grayfia, Zeoticus, and Venelana hurriedly deployed multiple barriers to protect everyone and those who could still move also did the same. Issei still wanted to jump in to stop them, but he was stopped by Vali and Vasco who both had cold sweat drenching their backs.
After being drowned with Kisuke's killing intent and pressure, the crimson-haired girl finally fully woke up and realized what she was doing. And when she saw the man in front of her gathering something extremely dangerous in his transformed hand, she stopped her flight in panic and yelled surrender, "W-wait!!! Stop! Stop!!!"
Not just those around, but even Kisuke was taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor that resembled that of a child, '...What?'
Kisuke was confused because she didn't seem to be acting and he was pretty confident in his ability to read expressions, "I won't attack! I'm stopping now! So let's have a truce! Please put that dangerous thing away! It's scary!"
While the girl landed her feet on the ground, Kisuke also slowly retracted the Gran Ray Cero he'd been gathering in his right hand that he wanted to use to blast her into nonexistence, '...She looks like a kid... She acts like a kid... I can't really hit a kid without a better reason, can I?'
Unlike Serafall, who had a pronounced childish side to her, the one in front of him was undeniably childish, which doesn't make sense, 'He called her Progenitor, didn't he? Then the one in the coffin is really...'
If Kisuke's guess was correct, then he could understand the actions of the girl in front of him.
The girl sighed in relief but didn't dare approach him any further, "W-who are you?"
But Kisuke stayed silent with his transformation spreading slowly throughout his whole body as he continued to stare down the girl.
Kisuke's heavy intimidation didn't just work on the girl, but on all of those around him. But even with a palpitating heart, Zeoticus had to do something, or at least say something to defuse the situation. Although, before he could step up, another young woman with ponytailed crimson hair silently appeared beside them and blocked him with her arm, "M-mother?"
"Let them be. Just focus on protecting Milicas and Venelana.", replied the woman.
Zeoticus wanted to object but he trusted his mother's judgment in the end, 'Just why did she wake up now? Is it because of that coffin?', he asked himself while looking at the confrontation.
"Ummm... Hello?", asked the girl in front of Kisuke, "B-big brother, who are you?"
The members of the Gremory family except for Milicas almost retorted, but they were able to collectively calm themselves, partly thanks to the scary aura coming off of Kisuke.
As Kisuke's second horn fully formed and the other half of his body became fully white, he finally answered, "Shouldn't you be saying something first?"
The girl thought for a bit before realizing it, "Ah... Where're my manners? I sincerely apologize for attacking first, big brother. I'm Runeas Gremory." She introduced herself before pointing towards the coffin behind him, "And the one behind you is my mother."
Those who already knew who Runeas was were stunned at her announcement.
"Runeas? Why does that name sound familiar?" asked Crom, who'd already returned to his human form.
"Runeas Gremory, the original Gremory.", answered Vasco who didn't ease up.
"T-the original Gremory? That's Rias' ancestor? So she's still alive...", muttered Issei, but then he recalled what she'd just said, "W-wait. Her mother? T-then inside that coffin is..."
"There's only one mother all of the 72 original Devils ever knew." Vali sighed while also taking back his armor, trying to withstand Kisuke's pressure dryly, "Should I say that as expected of his companion? To just swipe the coffin containing the mother of all Devils and my great-grandmother."
"Lilith..." muttered Issei.
However, that wasn't the most interesting thing for Vasco, "More importantly, what is Kisuke Urahara?"
A smile flashed across Crom's face and said, "Who knows? Only one thing that I'm sure of is that he has been holding back."
Editors:
28th00: No touchy the Elf. Is Runeas really this childish? I mean, looking her up she went to sleep specifically to avoid aging mentally. She usually goes back to sleep soon after waking up though. Kisuke is scary, that’s what.
Goyya: One thing I’m sure is that Runeas is way more innocent than Serafall.
While Kisuke and Runeas were still having a standoff, Benihime silently pulled the stunned Riveria to the side. After the former sent a stream of energy to the latter to help her block the oppressive aura, Riveria was finally able to recall how to breathe and panted hard while holding her chest in pain.
Benihime patted her back and comforted her, "There, there... Take it easy. You're safe now."
Still confused about what was happening, Riveria returned her blurry sight back to the confrontation and the first thing she saw was Kisuke's monstrous form, "W-what... What... is going on?"
Benihime didn't say anything and just allowed her to stare at Kisuke, wanting to know what was going to be her initial reaction. Knowing her origin, Benihime didn't think she'd have a positive response to this.
"What... is he?", Riveria softly asked while trying to focus her mind.
Benihime got closer to her left ear and whispered, "You don't know? In your world, that's the very definition of a monster."
Riveria's expression instantly became darker as she calmed the rhythm of her breathing. Under the mask, a small smile formed on her mouth, however, her eyes didn't say the same as she gave her a stare full of disappointment. But that's until she felt the movement of Demonic Power on Riveria's arm and a Magic Blade instantly extended from her hand.
Benihime bent her back away to dodge the blade that cut the corner of her mask before jumping away to secure some space from the angry Elf, "My~ How rude of you to attack someone who'd just saved your life."
Riveria shook her head to shake away the dizziness she was feeling and stared back at the fox-masked woman, "I'm just returning the rudeness of you calling a friend of mine a monster. And if someone saved me, it would be Kisuke, who went in front of me."
The disappointment immediately left Benihime's eyes with a chuckle, "Well, I guess that's true." She then looked at Kisuke who was already looking in their direction and winked at him, "Ufufufu~ And now that I've brought this interesting thing, my job here is done." After saying that, Benihime disappeared with a very familiar Flash Step, instantly leaving the scene after bringing Kisuke some trouble.
But before her aura completely left, Benihime left a few words only for Riveria to hear, "Aren't you one lucky girl? For him to reveal some of the cards he had been keeping for an emergency just to protect you from a bit of danger."
Riveria's eyes went wide open and her mind went blank.
'She didn't know, but that didn't mean that she didn't have any ideas about what was inside the coffin. She'd brought this thing here knowing it might cause problems.. Hahhh... Just where did she inherit that fondness of messing with everyone?' Meanwhile, Kisuke didn't want to admit it himself.
'But even if that's the case, it's a good opportunity to meet an original Devil.' Kisuke returned his sights to the already restless 'young' Devil.
A few seconds more passed and then the oppressive aura Kisuke had been releasing finally receded, with him returning to his original form. But instead of talking to Runeas, Kisuke placed his right hand on his nape to grab something before throwing it toward Riveria.
As it traveled through the air, the thing he threw sparkled in a green light, and when it reached in front of the Elf, it stopped before forming a series of green hexagonal shields around her, "Stay there for now. But if things go south, those shields should be able to protect you for a good while."
But instead of being glad, Riveria only felt bad and frustrated, 'This helplessness... It's been a while... But as I expected, I still hate it.' She thought while looking at the hexagonal shields revolving around her. She recalled Benihime's words and got a bit embarrassed before sighing in frustration, 'I will have to apologize later. But the better thing to do is to work on myself so that I won't need any saving in the first place.'
After making sure that the 'Millón Escudo' was properly integrated on Riveria and changed its state into automatic activation, Kisuke turned back and raised his right hand, pouring out the unique energy that he'd finally decided to call Origin, since it's a mixture of everything he knew how to use, "Kurohitsugi."
The oppression momentarily returned and Runeas prepared to defend herself as she saw jet black walls rise up from the floor, covering both her, Kisuke, and the coffin, "What are you doing!?"
Runeas was about to bash through the forming walls but Kisuke stopped her by saying, "Making a private place to talk."
The claws and wings she'd brought out again were taken back and formed into a thin film of dense Demonic Power around her.
As soon as the black walls connected, they also extended to form a ceiling and a floor, completely sealing the two people and the coffin away from the world, "I understand that you would want to protect your mother, but why did you suddenly attack?" Kisuke started while stepping away from the coffin. At this point, Benihime's seal on it was already gone.
Runeas approached the coffin and answered, "Because I was half-asleep. The moment I felt my mother's presence and how someone unknown was beside her, I automatically assumed the worst." Opening the coffin, Runeas' beautiful face couldn't help but grimace, "...How awful."
Kisuke returned and took a peek and even he couldn't maintain a stoic expression, "I think it's a few more degrees than that. This is quite the distasteful torture."
With only a few strands of black hair hanging from her scalp, Lilith was a half-dried-up 'corpse' with her flesh gone from her lower stomach until her feet and her almost rotting organs hanging out. But despite all of this, she was still breathing and her was heart beating, albeit, very softly and slowly, "Whoever did this to her, did a great job in keeping her alive.", added Kisuke in a sarcastic tone.
Runeas gritted her teeth and gently touched Lilith's face, "Unforgivable..."
Kisuke stared at the shaking Runeas for a few moments before saying, "My companion grabbed her from the depths of the Realm of the Dead, but I doubt that it was Hades and his happy friends who did this considering the age of the spell placed on her."
"...Why are you so sure it wasn't them who did this?" asked Runeas with glowing lavender eyes.
Kisuke closed his eyes and answered, "Because they are using her to create more Devils that will work under them."
The moment she heard that Runeas' aura exploded outwards, cracking the jet-black walls just from the initial impact.
Kisuke sighed and patted her shoulder, "Calm down for now. The fact that they've only started doing this recently meant that they didn't have her that long. Though that doesn't really change the fact that they're doing something nasty." But while saying this, a certain individual entered his head, 'Kurotsuchi-san would have done it too, I guess?'
Runeas' aura abated but the intensity around her hasn't disappeared, "I'm going to destroy them."
"That sounds fun, but the issue here isn't them, but Lilith-san." Kisuke then looked towards Lilith and said, "I present you two choices. One, and the easier one of the two, is death. The other one... Well, I can see a way for restoration. It's not going to be easy or cheap, though."
Runeas looked at him in shock, "Restoration? You mean healing her!? You can do that!? Please-"
"Hold on." Kisuke interrupted her by putting his hand in front of her face, "I'm not asking you."
"Heh?"
"I told you, right? This is distasteful torture. What is torture if you can't feel it?"
While still confused, Runeas suddenly heard a woman's voice resounding in her head, [What's the price of restoration?]
Editors:
28th00: Ew, yeah, that’s really distasteful. It’s been centuries or millennia for Lilith too…
Peter M