Hello. I haven't made an author's note in quite a while, so I decided to make one here...!
Arc 5.5's first part is complete, and we'll be moving onto Kararagi! What awaits in the Japanese City in the west?
Hopefully I could get back on schedule with my uploads, sorry about that. February decided to fuck me over a little. Really sorry... I'll upload a lot more during the next three weeks, since it's spring break. I hope I could finish Arc 5.5 before I go on my hiatus.
Cheers and enjoy!
Capella POV
"Meatbags... you failed your job, didn't you?"
The leader of the assassination organization sat atop her throne in her new base, which she situated near Priestella's underground, a place that Y/N carved out for her. And now, she was angered at the fact that her spies failed to keep an eye on her and her beloved.
"Mama, we couldn't!" A member from the former Witch Cult section spoke out, his legs trembling in fear already. "The one who took control of the scene was an Archbishop of Schlizirkel... he called himself Discord."
"Schlizirkel? What's that? Elaborate."
"It's an underground organization that has been roaming secretly for years... they done many misdeeds, but they retained their secrecy until recently. The worst thing is... the one named Discord told me that their true leader is the platinum-haired woman... the one that even you fear."
"Platinum-haired? Wha- oh, her. Pandora, huh?"
Capella stretched out her wings before her dragon claws dug into her throne in anger, but relaxed before assigning a few more missions. "Don't worry, the Schlizirkel won't do us any harm. The key to all of this is Y/N. It's him that Pandora wants."
Haha, you old hag. Now that most of your archbishop puppets are lost, you're going to fire up a new threat, hm?
If you think you can stand against the boy who changes fate itself without your powers... reconsider, hag.
The ones who follow him will end up at the true point of salvation and happiness...
I'm sure of it.
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Y/N POV, Next Morning
"I'm sorry, I think I forgot to mention our new addition to the family." I said as I waved a hand towards our new pet (sort of), who happily munched away at a pan of yakisoba I made in the morning. I was still mentally tired from the trip, so I'm just lying on the bed, too lazy to get up.
"It's eating all my foooood!!!" Sphinx wailed as she scraped some of the leftover yakisoba from the pan I created this morning, stuffing it down her stomach.
Meili, Colette, and Palmyra were very intrigued by the creature, and they continuously petted it. Elsa and Yae regardes to creature carefully, while I noticed that Omega took out her usual note-taking clipboard, scribbling various details.
"You've never seen a hydra before, Omega?"
"Well, I kinda helped Volcanica back then with annihilating dark dragons, and hydras like this little guy here was probably part of the batch. It was truly regretful that I did not get to study them before I casted my Al Shario spells."
"Okay, you mass-murderer..."
Turning my attention back to Chibi Valgren, who saw me looking and attached himself to my shoulder, flapping his wings like a natural.
"We should get going now, shouldn't we, Y/N dear? Kararagi is quite the long trip from Picoutatte, and we might need to take days getting there even if it's with your 'car' vehicle." Capella remarked as she changed her clothes using her Authority, and raised the question that everyone had in their minds.
"I wouldn't be lazing around if I didn't knew what this little guy is capable of. I already stored our camping van in the Dimensional Storage, so we're all set for the journey already."
"You surely don't mean..."
"Ya, we're going to fly to Kararagi. On the back of a hydra."
"You still shouldn't procrastinate like this, you know, Y/N?" Omega said as she closed her clipboard.
"Tell that to all the teachers at my school who tell us to not do that but does it themselves anyways." I retorted, and Omega sighed.
"I'm beginning to question your intelligence considering that if your education system was really like that..."
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Intermission***
3 hours before...
Bryan and Maximillian, the two who I rescued from the prisons, decided to join us on our journey. I had something to ask them first, however.
"Hey, Bryan. Do you two know how to take care of Civil Affairs?"
"Both Max and I are very well-versed in the art of merchants, as well as any calculations and regular problems that we face everyday, such as frauds or black market dealings. So if you're looking for experts in that field, here we are!"
"Can you guys do algebra then?"
"Hm? Algebra, what's that?"
"..."
????!?!?!?!!
WHAT!? Do the people of this world not know how to do intermidiate-grade math? And here I thought the merchants were the smartest ones at doing this...
Well, it seems like I can't slack off on my calculations anytime soon...
(T~T)
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A few hours later, we arrived in a deserted field near the border of Vollachia, where nobody was in sight. I put the camper van back in my Dimensional Storage, and Typhon jumped out from the car, wearing her gloves (which prevents her authority from activating directly).
"N/N, why are we here? Aren't we supposed to go to that awesome country you mentioned? You know, the one that Dona mentioned?"
"Yup, we are going there! However, we're having a change of method of transportation here!" I clapped, and Valgren's tiny form perched on my shoulder.
"Are we finally going?" Valgren M. asked me, yawning before he knocked the other two heads awake.
Since Valgren had three heads and they each have their each consciousness, similar to the Titan King Ghidorah, I have to refer to them using names. But since I didn't have time to come up with any cool ones, I just refer to them as L, M, and R, which stands for Left, Middle, and Right. Middle seems to be a leader type, L is lazy and dumb type, while R is the classic emo boy.
"Yes, M. Now, the transformation, please."
"Taiseki Tenkai: Gensun Jaryu!"
体積展開: 原寸邪竜
Valgren recited his spell, and in an instant, bright light flashed before our eyes before a loud thud is heard. When the dust cleared, a full sized hydra stood before us, and I definitely noticed some jaws dropping.
"Come on, you lot, I even made a special seat arrangement up there." I said as I pulled out a ladder, and we climbed onto Valgren's back, where I summoned the flying pod out of my dimensional storage and attached it to Valgren's massive saddle, which I made today in the morning.
"Passengers on the left can view the glorious forests and valleys of Vollachia while passengers on the right could get a glimpse of Gusteko's snow ice peaks. If you decided to look back, you can see Lugnica below, and looking front, is our destination, Kararagi!"
"Capsule closing, everyone buckle up..." I said as the seatbelts were attached for everyone by my Extensions, and I gave Valgren the order to lift off.
"Let the flight begin!"
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Meanwhile:
Subaru POV
We decided to wait for Y/N to come back after his week-long trip of sorts, before we advance onto the Pleiades Watchtower. Anastasia had no problem with it, since we needed to have some time preparing.
Y/N also said Rem was getting a wheelchair that he helped design himself, and added on his own tweaks to it. Apparently, Rem is going with us on the journey, considering the Sage person could probably heal her right there in the tower if they knew how to.
Anastasia, Rem, Ram, Emilia, Beatrice, Julius, and myself. And add the entire Battalion of Y/N's to it. This seems like quite the prepared team, to be honest. For once, I'm confident about the next step and that I might even conquer it without Return by Death.
"Hey, Subaru, did you notice that flying thing in the sky?" Beatrice suddenly tugged on me, confusing my brain for a moment.
"Something flying?" I asked, and Beatrice lifted us up into the air using Murak, and I caught sight of the flying dragon in the distance, quite far from Priestella.
"Is that a... hydra?" I remarked, barely noticing the outline of the three necks that stemmed from the body, and only when I noticed a weird futuristic capsule on its back, I knew what it was.
"Y/N... what are you doing now...?"
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Kararagi
"If you don't pay for this again, I'm going to beat your ass, old man! Also, stop wooing all the women from the area! It's annoying, you know!"
A feline beastman shouted towards his client, who simply twirled his fingers as he drank his wine.
"Stop worrying, Hige, it's not like I can rob you of anything-"
"You always rob me of my wine and vintage!"
"Fine, fine... Just let me go this one time, okay? I swear I'll pay it back, not that I never paid it back in the first place. I'll come back in a day."
"Huh? And who do you think will come running as your benefactor?" Hige snorted, but the wolf-human already walked out of the bar.
A calm breeze blowed as the man disappeared into the shadow, before reappearing on the roof of a building nearby. He stared into the distance towards the west, and felt the immense presence of both danger and excitement on the air.
"I'll see you soon, youngster who will shake the world."
One of the four strongest martial artists in the world, his name is...
'Admirer' Halibel.
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Pleiades Watchtower
Third Floor, Taygeta
An unknown hum came from one of the hidden library, one that has yet to be revealed to the world since its trial has not been solved yet. The one who can and will solve it is coming soon, but for now, it lies dormant.
The same cannot be said for the entity that resides in the depths of the books.
A flicker of light shone, and a single book dropped from the top to the middle shelf, making the first sound heard in centuries.
The 'Book of the Dead' of Reid Astrea.
"Hehehehe..."
A voice came through the book. Although it shouldn't be there, and no one has any idea of explaining why it is there, a single girl laughed.
Giggling in her own excitement.
She didn't bother contacting her elder brothers, still out there devouring like they always did. She was more infatuated with the concept of the two people coming here.
The hero that her brother mentioned, Natsuki Subaru.
And the self-declared liberator of the world, Y/N L/N.
"Onii-chans, don't make me wait too long, okay?"
Another shrill laugh came through the Corridor of Memories, heard only by Louis herself.
Then, Satiation of Sin Archbishops of Gluttony's existence was concealed once again.
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The Seal, Elior Forest
"I've returned, Vanity."
The man who called himself the Sin Archbishop of Discord stepped forth into the glacier field, where his master stood, still scrutinizing the very seal she tried to obtain 100 years ago. Unfortunately, no progress has been made, much to her disappointment.
"Discord. Have you completed your mission?"
"Unfortunately not, mistress. Deceit showed up and wrecked-"
"Calm down, Archbishop. His interference was foreseen. It was inevitable that a man like him would snatch a pawn that is right there, ripe for the taking. However, this is also our next step to annihilating that annoying threat." Pandora said as she waved a hand, and the ice melted near her feet. "The Witch Cult is useless now. Everyone except Gluttony has fallen, and Lust has been recruited to the enemy's side thanks to Deceit and Disloyalty. Hmph. Did Bishop Solace predict this, 80 years ago?"
"What shall we do now, then, mistress Vanity?"
"We wait for the perfect moment. All we have to do is make it seem like we have the perfect pawn that could be convinced to work on Deceit's side. Find that target, and we'll begin the final operation. Once Deceit gets betrayed by that pawn of his that we placed in his circle, he'll be destroyed."
Schlizirkel seems like a fitting name for his group as well, doesn't it?
Everything is on track again.
Nobody, can defy the fate that rests under my hands.
Hope y'all enjoyed!