It had been almost two months since Kisuke decided to stay in this world for some time. Regarding his practice with Stralit's shadow, he mastered it after two days. Since it's like controlling a Zanpakuto, it was a lot easier than he first imagined. As for why he hadn't left for Stralit's mission, Kisuke pretended to practice studying the Space Gate more, and right now, he was about to finish his blueprint, 'After this, I'll ask Sona to set it up on their side.'
A few hours later, Kisuke left control of his small body and woke up in the Dungeon. After stretching his body for a bit, Kisuke first contacted Yoruichi, "Yo, how is it going?"
[Kisuke? Where have you been?]
"It'll take too long to explain so I'll just say to a place where I could get what I need. How are things on your side?"
[Not much has changed except that corrupted 'Spirit' is trying to reach the surface.]
"...That's a pretty big change if you ask me."
[Well, it's not really a big problem since both Serafall and I were pressing our own weight at it in secret so it won't be able to reach the surface if we don't let it.]
"That's great." Kisuke nodded, "If those things come up, it'll be the point of no return. But I'm done on my side and we'll just have to wait for Sona to finish hers and we're good to go. In the meantime, give a warning to the Gods."
[...What kind of warning?]
"Death for most of them is imminent."
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After sending the blueprint of the Space Gate to Sona and the instructions of what she and the other girls had to do after it was done. Kisuke returned his consciousness back to his small Gigai. As soon as he opened his eyes, there was a presence that was watching him with curiosity, "I wonder, what was that deep hibernation for?"
Kisuke stretched his limbs and answered, "Who knows? It's always been like this."
Since Kisuke was capable of understanding the Space Gate, Stralit thought that their civilization must be pretty advanced. And in such an advanced civilization, it's impossible for them to not study themselves. So it really might just be a big mystery, or Kisuke just didn't want to reveal anything about himself any further, 'It must be the latter. I might have something to do with their weakness.'
Even then, Stralit didn't ask anything about it, "How's your practice? Do you think you'll be able to do it in a few months?"
Kisuke looked at her with a blank expression before grinning at her and the shadow under him suddenly swallowed him up, disappearing, not just from Stralit's sight but also from her other senses, "!?"
Thankfully, her innate connection made it possible to immediately find him. Stralit immediately turned around and saw a lump of shadow at the corner of the room, 'There... Wait... Something doesn't add up.' But upon closer inspection, it wasn't Kisuke and really just a lump of shadow adorned with her power, "!?"
"Right. A fake." Kisuke's voice suddenly resounded beside her.
Stralit didn't look at Kisuke and just stared at the shadow dissipating into nothing with the corner of her lips twitching, "...I can see that. I never thought you'd be able to fool my senses with it, though?"
"It might have been a success, but it'll allow me to hide from you for a few seconds." Kisuke then turned to her and asked, "Though it should be enough for what you want me to do?"
Stralit nodded, "Indeed... it hasn't been two months yet you're already able to do this. It wouldn't be an understatement that you're a genius. You also have the right attitude and mindset for this kind of activity. I also won't be sending you somewhere dangerous so this should be good enough."
"When do I start?"
From her inventory, Stralit took out a box and placed it in front of Kisuke, "Put that on while I explain to you what you'll be doing."
Kisuke opened the box and saw the same tightfitting bodysuit Stralit and her brother were wearing when he first met them, but tailored for his size. Other than that, three smartphone-like devices and two small black cubes are also in the box.
"The suit will help you stave off the harsh environment of your travel and also help you control and boost your shadow abilities. As for those terminals, you would have to activate them in a certain specific sequence each time you go through the unmarked Space Gates. If you go through one without activating or you did it in the wrong sequence, you'll be sent somewhere even I don't know, so you'll have to be extremely careful of that."
"Finally, those cubes, those are the ones you'll have to hand over to my friend. After that, you're done. Either you return with the same cube from her or she asks something else of you. Don't worry about her being an Evie. She's kind enough to be friends with me and you'll be meeting her in a random abandoned world. You may even ask her a few questions. Just tell her that I allowed you to do so."
Stralit explained it once more but with more detail in it while Kisuke tested the bodysuit and what it could do, 'This is great. I'll have to study it later and maybe I'll be able to use this for something else.'
With everything ready, Stralit asked Kisuke to hide in her shadow as she brought him to her personal Space Gate, which was one of the almost unused Space Gates under the large one used for transport.
Half a day later, Kisuke finally stepped into the Space Gate with the three terminals emitting strange signals that affected his destination and brought him to a barren and small rocky planet.
He took out one of the terminals to look for the next space gate and it took him half a day to reach it.
Kisuke carefully hopped nine times and each time, he left a small mark not far from the Space Gate, 'It actually took four days to reach the final gate.', Kisuke thought to himself while staring at the last Space Gate of his journey. He could have directly tunneled here, but it was too dangerous for Stralit and him. If they were tracked, it'd be over for the both of them.
Kisuke entered the last gate and what greeted him was not a lifeless and nameless world anymore, but a deep red forest with a healthy amount of noise from swaying leaves, branches, and insects.
'Three hundred meters north, I should be able to see a cabin.'
In accordance with Stralit's instruction, Kisuke started jumping through the thick fauna and it didn't take long for him to find the clearing and a small red wooden cabin. He felt a single presence inside the cabin and he also didn't hide his as he approached the door of the cabin slowly with his small steps.
He knocked on the door and said, "Delivery!"
From the inside, a surprisingly soft and gentle feminine voice sounded, "Come in. I've been expecting you."
Kisuke went inside and thought the interior to be normal despite the strange sense of arrangement. From what seemed to be a kitchen, Kisuke could hear some noises of utensils hitting, "I'll be out in a second. Go to the living room at the right and wait for me with some drinks."
Kisuke did as she said while carefully examining everything, 'Everything has traces of long term use on them. This place looks like a permanent meeting point. Isn't that dangerous?'
A minute later, steps came close and Kisuke finally saw Stralit's friend. Standing at more than six feet, the first thing he noticed was the mechanical arms and legs. But aside from those, she looks like a normal beautiful woman with long white hair and golden eyes. However, Kisuke shuddered at the sight of her as she was far from being normal, '...Dammit... I didn't think she'd be friends with such a big shot.' Kisuke was currently looking at a Transcendent level being.
Meanwhile, the Evie also stopped her steps and was stunned at Kisuke before resuming her walk a few seconds later and placing the tray she was holding on the table.
'What was that weird pause?' Kisuke asked himself while having a bad feeling about it.
And he didn't have to wait long before that bad feeling became worse.
The Evie sat down on the opposite side of Kisuke while pouring the drink on the cups, "I heard I'd be meeting with a little guy known as John Smith, so imagine my shock when I actually met the famous Kisuke Urahara."
As soon as she finished her words, Kisuke wanted to trigger his self-destruction immediately, '...Fuck... I messed up.'
Editors:
28th00: Kisuke himself is not safe from his own anarchy. Also, are we sparking the apocalypse in Danmachi now? Oof. Poor world gonna get ashed.
Kisuke sighed and stopped his self-destruction. As much as he wanted to leave this place, it wouldn't really change anything, 'Now then... How should I deal with this?'
While staring at her, the Evie continued to pour the drinks and said, "Take your time. You can also drink this to calm your nerves and I can assure you that there's nothing wrong with them. Though it'll still be up to you if you were to trust a few of my words."
Kisuke had already stopped hiding his demeanor and revealed his calculating side. He looked at the cup for a moment before grabbing it and taking a sip, "Thank you."
The Evie smiled at him and replied, "You're welcome."
But after that, there were no more exchanges between the two for some time.
'And here I thought Ophis and Lilith were able to grab their attention when I'm deploying the barrier but it seems they placed great enough importance on me too to know me by name.' Kisuke thought while recalling how he stopped the Evie that claimed Great Red's life to get his trophy, 'And who would have thought that I'll meet a Transcendent here...'
Although not much was known about their abilities, there were only three Transcendents on the Evie's side and only one with feminine stature. One of the Three Pillar Gods. The younger sister of Regalzeva and Melvazoa. The one is known as the Wicked God. Seraselbes.
Kisuke also checked the drink that entered his body and found nothing strange about it aside from the flavor and scent. But he didn't let his guard down and secured his connection to his original body, 'If there's a deviation to my consciousness, my Soul and Benihime should be able to notice it.'
Even then, Kisuke was still not satisfied and fortified his mind by adding various Security Magic to both his head and Soul Fragment without hiding it from the Evie in front of him.
The Evie didn't mind it and just waited for him to finish what he wanted to do. If this is what it takes for him to talk to her properly, she'd gladly wait all day. Regardless, she likes how careful he is, 'I'll be able to leave Stralit in his care.'
Kisuke sighed once again after finishing what he needed to do and initiated the conversation, "Let's start from the top. It's nice to meet you. I'm Kisuke Urahara."
"Likewise. I go by Seraselbes. Let's get along." The Evie properly introduced herself, "Though I'd like for us to talk more, we don't have much time, so let's get our business out of the way first."
Kisuke agreed and took out the cubes that Stralit passed him before giving them to her. Kisuke didn't attempt to take a look inside of the cube since he knew that he wouldn't be able to decipher it. On top of that, he didn't know any of the anti-tamper measures that littered the cubes.
Seraselbes carefully inspected the cubes before taking them away with satisfaction and bringing out her own set of cubes, "I'd like you to deliver this to Stralit as fast as possible."
Kisuke nodded and jumped down from his seat after keeping the cubes. Since he didn't have the advantage, he wanted to leave as soon as possible and prepare for their next meeting.
But before he could leave, Seraselbes spoke up, "It may not look like it but Stralit is in great danger right now. The group that wanted to clean up the Peace Faction is closing in on her... If it becomes too dangerous, I want you to save her."
Kisuke stopped his steps and nodded. He doesn't have any negotiation power so he could only agree, "I'll see what I can do."
'At least, this way, she won't be dropping me since she has a use for me.'
Kisuke was about to leave again but was stopped by the continuation of Seraselbes' words, 'Urgh... I don't want to hear it.'
But to his surprise, it was beneficial info, "Some of Regalzeva's soldiers have already breached your 'wall' through some summoning techniques that were done from the inside and are already disguising themselves as Humans. This is for the work you'll be doing."
"...Thank you. I'll be coming back. I hope we have more time next time." Kisuke hid his shock and made a dash through the forest, 'Dammit... I'm already expecting a breach at some point but not this early. Summoning, huh? As expected of an intergalactic civilization. They sure have a bunch of tricks they collected.'
Kisuke didn't fully believe Seraselbes' words but there's nothing wrong in investigating these breaches, 'But if this is true, I have almost nothing to bring to the table and my only choice would be helping out Stralit. Looks like I have to understand more of their inner conflict.'
Kisuke sincerely hoped that Evies are the only enemy they have to deal with, but from the looks of it, both Factions have cracks in their ranks that makes this very complicated, 'I can see it... A three-way war. But as of now, we don't stand a chance and once the Etouldes find us a hindrance, they'll eliminate us before we can grow.'
He scratched his aching head and thought, 'I guess that's the only way... Bring in more people.'
But despite the mounting pressure on his back, there was a fearless and crazed smile plastered on his face while also thinking, 'Now then... How can I scam the 'Immortal' and the 'King'?'
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While she was busy working on the Space Gate, Sona received an emergency message. And after going through it once, she felt a massive ache hitting her head, 'They already breached the barrier? And we are not even aware of it even though we're closely watching it?'
Sona immediately went and used a secured line to contact Akeno, "We've got a problem."
After explaining to her the situation, Sona added a few suggestions, "Should we use the grassroots organizations to find them?"
[No. They are most likely our problem. Since being associated with the Evies is a big problem, larger factions would rather use these grassroots organizations to have what they want. We'll only put ourselves in their crosshairs if we suddenly start looking for them. If it's up to me, I'd spread a rumor of an Evie passing through the barrier to muddy the waters. That way we could hopefully fish out those who make the wrong decisions.]
Sona nodded, "Alright. I'll leave it to you. This Space Gate needs to be done as soon as possible too so I won't be able to assist you as much."
[Alright. I'll contact Irina to prepare her side.]
Editors:
28th00: Chaos and anarchy, all around! Stralit is really the token-good-guy(girl) teammate, isn’t she? Huh, that’s a bit surprising. Time for some purges to happen to the bigger factions pulling this shit though. I mean it too, they don’t deserve to live for trying to bring omnicidal-machine-gods into the world.