Beta read by n1ch, Shigiya, Solitary heart and 8kagi.
Announcement!: There won't be any updates next week cause I'll be reworking on old chapter just like I did with the first 10 chapters months ago. It's only for 7 days so y'all will manage.
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-Hachiman POV-
Well, the flight was interesting if I was completely honest. Not every day that you get to meet one of the four Maous as a passenger. To be honest, I was very tempted to jump out of the plane, James Bond-style, and fly to Knockbridge with my [Prison Wings].
Unfortunately, I don't think one of the King's of the Underworld would have liked that. The last thing I wanted was an angry super devil coming for my hide.
Standing in front of Dublin International airport, I stretched my back a bit, taking in the fresh air of the Irish land. "What a lovely day it is today." I turned around to see Raynare walking behind me still wearing her tight black clothing attracting once again lots of male viewers–and even some females.
"So what're we waiting for?" She acted like her running away from Sirzechs didn't just happen. Her arrogant and bitchy nature soon returned the moment she found out that the Maou left.
I gestured to a lady in the crowd holding a sign with my name on it. "I'm pretty sure our ride is over there, just in case you missed it."
One might think the local supernatural force was very nice to us by sending in someone, but I knew they just wanted to keep a constant eye on me. Not that I blame them for that… if I was in their place–I would have done the same.
The person who welcomed us was a red-haired woman with freckles. She was wearing a formal suit that looked good on her form. Looking down at myself and Raynare, I kinda felt undressed in our casual attires.
Maybe we should get suits like those Men in Black from that american movie? Might make us look more professional… and it would look really cool if I can pull it off.
Oh wait… it's called Men in Brown in this reality.
"Greetings, Hachiman-sama and Raynare-sama I presume?" Even her tone was super formal. I didn't need to use my [Dual Translate] spell in order to speak English which I was already quite good at speaking naturally.
"Yo, you'll be our driver to Knockbridge?" I asked casually, trying to look as friendly and harmless as possible. Raynare meanwhile was in her own world and ignoring us completely.
"Yes, I present myself as Aife, please follow me to the car, it will take us about an hour to reach the village where you'll have the necessary accommodation and all basic necessities ready for your arrival." Aife bowed forward which I returned.
"..."
"Hey!" I forcefully pushed Raynare's down a bit as she was making me look bad in front of people who already didn't like me much. "You're messing up my hair, asshole!"
Aife just raised an eyebrow at the scene and decided to ignore it as she led us to the car waiting for us to enter before driving us to our destination.
"So… is there anything you can tell about Knockbridge and any recent possible irregularities?" I asked, trying to learn more about my mission.
"Our village holds a small community of various sorts of faes and creatures, from all across the country, that are connected to its rich history and ambient magic–suitable for spirits and natured attuned beasts live in this country," Aife spoke with a monotone voice, betraying no emotions whatsoever. "As for anything else in particular? Aside from the slight increase in ambient magical energy, I see no issues–you will only be wasting your time here."
Though it was very hidden, I could sense the slight hostility in her tone… it didn't take me long to figure it out. "You don't want me anywhere near your village, do you?"
"..."
"There is no need to fake an act, I will do what I promised to Badb and Lugh–but I want you all to be honest with me first."
She clenched her hold on the steering wheel, her knuckles white from the hold. "I was born and raised in that village," Aife said. "That place is my only home and the sole haven for other unfortunate species of ghosts and wraiths. The inhabitants were chased away from their own homes from all over Ireland, as they were not welcomed in both the upper world and lower world– but they've an aura of death–similar to Badb-sama–the stench of death reeks of your being. For you are no god of death, then this is only possible through you killing countless. From your past exploits and… accidents. I don't want Knockbridge to be erased from the face of the world by an immature human who has yet to fully master his partially complete gear." Her tone at the end was harsh and unfriendly. The emotionless mask she wore cracked and showed me the real person inside.
Yet what can I do about it?
I understood her fear, how would someone feel when a walking disaster walked into their house? They would want to get rid of it as soon as possible. 'I wonder how the rest of the village will react to my presence…'
This interaction gave me a rare view of how the supernatural world saw me. In Kuoh everyone knew me to some extent and the supernatural forces never feared me, since these people were the devils and Azazel. But I couldn't say the same for the rest of the world…
For the rest of the journey, I stayed quiet. Not wanting to antagonise Aife anymore as I figured that she was already putting in massive amounts of effort to lead the source of her fear right into her home.
But a part of me, somewhere deep inside my soul, was screaming at me to break and destroy her village.
I felt my nails dig into my palms, and hoped that I can get this over with quickly.
…
We soon reached the village about an hour later.
As expected we weren't really welcomed the moment I got out of the car. A cold feeling of dread crept up my spine as I felt like someone poured a bucket full of ice water on me.
I expected a few hateful glares but not an entire empty village… I should really re-evaluate my own image outside Kuoh. "Let me guess, the residents all fled the scene when they heard of my arrival," I said to Aife, who to my surprise, shook her head.
"That is both true and false. Yes, a handful of locals did indeed flee the site of your arrival. But a steady stream of villagers kept leaving Knockbridge through their own volition each month. We never got a clear answer from any of them, aside from one human claiming to see a horde of Bánánach near the river… Some claimed to have seen a Bean-nighe." She said that last part while sneaking a glance at me.
This got me curious, "What is a Bean-nighe?" I asked curiously, never having heard of such a creature.
"It's a female spirit from folklore, regarded as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. She is a type of ban-sìth that haunts desolate streams and washes the clothing of those about to die…"
I had a bad feeling already.
"And whose clothes was she washing exactly?"
"..." Aife turned silent for a moment before answering me. "Though everyone saw a different version of the Bean-nighe across the area, they all washed the same… 'clothes'. Them being dark armour covered in spikes and… a dragon-like tail."
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Why am I not surprised…
Someone else was worrying more about this piece of information than me. "Shit, I don't want to die because of you!" Raynare screamed, taking several huge steps away from me.
Rude…
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, bitch."
Why can't I get a simple request? Like doing simple house chores? I was a good cook, familiar with many foreign cuisines…
{Break}
The house they provided us was cosy, with a small fireplace, a kitchen, and even a clean bathroom. There was only one teeny tiny problem…
"Why the fuck is there a single bed!?"
Well, at least Raynare voiced it out first.
I must admit that I outgrew my previous self by a lot, to the point of becoming someone completely different in a way. Though even after living through two different lives. I didn't just change to the point of letting another girl–who isn't Akeno– invade my personal space. Let alone share a bed of all things!
'There were many times when Rias slept with me… but she always sneaked in so I didn't know!'
I'm not sleeping on the floor when it's this cold outside. Forget about sleeping in the living room, I like having a comfy bed. Forget about being a gentleman when it comes to my sleep. "You will sleep on the couch, Raynare."
If looks could kill then I would have been burned to a crisp in less than a second. "And why the fuck should I sleep there, huh!? Are you too much of a pansy to sleep with a girl? Or are you such a freak that you be able to control yourself and fuck me in the middle of the night?" She said, almost daring me to do it.
Don't fall for it Hachiman.
She's basically a venus flytrap.
"I have a girlfriend and I don't think it's okay for a guy and a girl who aren't in a relationship or are not related to sleep on the same bed."
"And I had many lovers in the past as well, you don't see me creating a fuss over it, do you? Hurgh, I need some booze to deal with this bullshit." Raynare dropped her stuff and went for the door.
"Where are you going?" I asked her, but I honestly didn't really care, as long as she didn't make my job more difficult.
"Didn't you fucking hear me right now!? I need to get away from you before I lose my mind! I'll find a local pub with someone I can use as a living dildo." Wow, she didn't even hesitate to say it. "And why are you worried about where I'm going? It's not like I can escape with that damned contract. I'm literally chained to you, you dipshit!"
Bam!
She shut the door with force, leaving me alone in the single bedroom.
"Screw you, Azazel." Every time something goes wrong with me, I just know that it had something to do with Azazel. And in this case, it was most certainly that guy's fault as well.
…
Deciding to do some amateur-level detective work, I travelled around the village to find some noteworthy sightings. Areas with higher concentrations of magic, old caves systems–if there was any–and even old trees. The land itself was quite flat, there was nowhere in general people could hide.
That is until I found a popular tourist attraction, according to Aife–a certain gravesite.
It didn't take long for me to find the place, as a single gravestone stood alone in a vast empty field.
"You gotta be kidding me… Cu Chulainn…" I can't believe I'm in front of the grave of a legendary hero! He was like the Irish version of Hercules for god's sake!
I recovered the book I brought about every myth and legend from the land. This was my first purchase from the souvenir shop… I should bring the others something as well.
"Let's see, Cu… Cu… Cu… where is it–ah! There we go, Cu Chulainn. Born with the name Sétante, said to be the son of… Lugh…a hero of great prowess… used a mighty spear which pierced 30 times with a single thrust… student of Scathack...'' I wondered why neither Badb nor Lugh bothered to mention anything about this.
After all, for such a strange phenomenon to affect the entire region, especially in the territory where Lugh's son's grave lay. Why wouldn't the God of Light not intervene? It can't be over a simple thing as a promise or that lie about their words being sacred. The gods were known to lie before, the promise of a god held as much value as the words of a stranger.
All legend originated from a source of truth, from far in the past to the present. Legends are not myths, for the latter is meant to be a lie, the former being a story passed down from generation to generation. Myth were meant to teach an ideal which conformed to general human morality. They taught an important life lesson through a made up story… but in this world, every myth is a fact.
A general agreed upon reality among every myth storyteller was to never trust the word of a god–for they hid and twisted the truth just like demons.
Was there something they were hiding from me? "Just what game are those two Gods playing…"
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Out of nowhere, I heard someone speak behind me.
"Oh? So ya came to visit the grave of tha famous Cu Chulainn?" The person said with a slight Irish accent.
I turned to see a tall young man standing behind me, waving at me with a large grin. When I said he was tall, I really meant it. The man was definitely more than two meters tall. Having a roguishly handsome face with a sharp chiseled chin with the trace of a beard. Whereas Vali leaned more to the feminine side of handsomeness–this guy looked like a rugged man. He had brown hair with the end tips being either yellow or red–giving it the appearance of a fire burning on the tips whenever the wind blew.
"Heya! You're tha first tourist I saw in a while… especially a Japanese person." The man came to my side and happily patted my back. "Ha! I got excited when I heard there was a new guy in town–lately, things have been too silent around these parts."
I was still trying to recover from his earlier sudden appearance, not to mention I wasn't used to someone being so instantly friendly aside from Yuigahama. "Ho-how do did you know that I was Japanese?" That was all that I could say, giving myself some time to compose myself… These happy-go-lucky people were still a bane to my former loner existence. 'A male version of Isshiki I suppose… '
"Oh yeah, I was just passing by and heard ya mutter in Japanese, then repeating the name of old Cu here. I 'Nihongo Jouzu' as well, hahahaha!" The man just laughed at his own joke, I cringed very hard when he said 'Nihongo Jouzu' with a very heavy accent, and I tried calming down my twitching eyebrow with his jovial attitude. "Where's ma manners! The name's Sétante An Dara, yes yes before ya point it out, I was indeed given the same birth name as Cu Chulainn. Me parents were… avid fans of him… doesn't help that I was born with hair like this." Sétante said as he pointed out his long locks of tri-coloured hair.
But I wondered how his hair correlated with the legendary hound of Ulster. "What do you mean by your hair?"
Sétante looked lost for a bit before realising something. "Aye, ya must not be familiar with Cu's famous physical traits. Legend has it that the man had three colours: brown, blond, and bright red. Each of his cheeks had four dots which were blue, red, yellow, and green. Bastard even had seven toes on each foot, seven fingers on each hand, and seven pupils in each of his eyes! How women of that time find him handsome is a mystery to me! I would have called in the local exorcist, hahahaha!!"
I tried acting like I was laughing along with him while on the inside I was planning to retreat back to my house, but before I did that, "Hey Sétante, did you by chance notice anything out of the ordinary in the area?" I asked him.
"There is always something strange going on in these parts… This place is very ancient and has many histories behind it. Some say that the bones of the legendary Curruid can be found here. The entrance to the shadow realm, a passing Dullahan, banshees, and the list goes on."
"That's a lot for such a small place." I couldn't help but comment on that fact. "Aren't you scared or unnerved by all of this?" I thanked Aife for clarifying that I was not the only reason for the emptiness in the village.
"Leave huh? I don't want to, this place is ma only home… they're so many things holding me back in tha place. The people have done so much for me and I want to return the favour in my own way. The people of my land have since suffered from a certain group… I just wish to have the power to do so." There was an underlying meaning behind it. The atmosphere had changed, becoming more tense and heavy. I was sweating from the sense of danger–sweat covering my forehead.
We both just stood there, I was expressionless with my gaze locked on the grave, while Sétante still kept smiling. No one was armed or exuding any sort of killing intent, yet I felt as if a spear was aimed at my heart from my back.
Step
Step
The man turned his back and was walking away from me. "Take my advice Hachiman, don't become the god's tool and fall for their schemes–they have done enough damage to the world and its people as it is." The world slowly returned to the normal atmosphere it had before but I didn't relax one bit. "You're a good man Hachiman, the incident in Paris wasn't your fault. But if you hang out with the gods, then you will only repeat history–and this time the fault will lie with you."
After a few minutes, he went back to the village.
I didn't notice it before, but my hands were shaking and sweating profusely. My grip had tightened so much that I drew blood.
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"Well, at least I found a clue, if not the main suspect behind all this."
{Break}
(Night-time)
After making it back to my temporary home, and taking a shower to help relieve some stress, leaving me in just my sweatpants, seeing that Raynare wasn't showing up tonight.
My phone rang, looking down, I saw it being none other than Akeno.
"Hello?"
"I finally reached you!" The raven haired girl exclaimed. "I was getting worried, you were unreachable for a while."
Really? Maybe it was the countryside making the connection weak.
"Sorry about that, Akeno. How are you and the rest?" I asked.
"They are fine and so am I… mostly. Though Rias… she's a wreck, she looks calm on the outside but I know she's just a step away from having a panic attack." That bad, huh? I didn't really have an opportunity to talk with her lately due to what happened these last few hours. "Tell her to believe in herself, because I do."
"I will, she's probably downstairs instead of sleeping like the rest. I'll be joining her for a bit." Akeno said, after which a few seconds of silence followed after that. "Neh, Hachi-kun. Do you love Rias?"
"—!" I was caught by surprise by this question, "Why the question?"
"Because she is suffering from your silence."
"..."
I gathered my wits, and concentrated on this question. "Akeno, you know how I feel about this whole harem thing, right? I'm not sure that it will work out between the three of us if it would ever go that far. What happened before… it was at the spur of the moment."
"But you love her." She stated, knowing me more than anyone in this world. "And so do I, we've both cherished her for years."
I chuckled, "Can't forget every time you teased her with your body. That girl always had an over the top reaction with these things." Of course I knew about Akeno's feelings for both of us, it was easy to recognize when I was in the same position as well.
"How about this, when you come back, you take her on a date and have sex with her for once!" I moved the phone away, not prepared from her tone. "Sorry about that, but you two have been getting on my nerves with how you tiptoe around each other despite knowing your mutual feelings for each other."
"It's not that simple, Akeno." I heard a large sigh coming from the other side.
"Hachiman," scary, she never used my full name unless it was important. "If you don't plan on taking the first step, then by Lucifer, I will take the lead in this relationship and drag Rias to become our lover."
"Our? Woman, you're too greedy."
"But do you accept? Does Rias hold a place in your heart?"
"... I guess she does." I begrudgingly admitted. "What are you going to do? Kiss her?" I asked jokingly.
"I might." She said with a deadpan. "She probably needs it with how much of a mess she is."
"Just don't push the girl too far, she might get a bit too angry."
"So I take this as a confirmation?"
This girl… "I'm hanging up, Akeno. I'm telling you this relationship won't work, us three can't be together without something messing up."
"You stubborn little…" I heard her take a deep breath on the other side. "Then I'll prove you wrong, we'll be together and be happy for all eternity, Rias, you and I will not seperate over such a simple reason. Love you and be safe out there. I have some nefarious plans to prepare~" She said coyly before hanging up.
I gazed at the phone for a bit before deciding to focus on the present matters and to round up the information I got so far.
There wasn't much I could do after the encounter I had with Sétante. In better words, I didn't bother to investigate anymore as I think I already found the one responsible for the anomaly.
He was human… I think. I was familiar enough with the aura Devils and Fallens–living with two of them did help. So he was either a human or one of the local species. A fae? I don't think so… maybe a spirit? I'll just have to find out.
Though the more I kept thinking about it, the more I leaned towards him being human. But that hair did throw me off a bit.
After doing some research on Cu Chulainn, I found that the description that Sétante gave about Cu was indeed the truth and not a made up joke.
Wait…
It can't be…
'The hound of Ulster, was a well known historical hero.' The flashbacks of a certain individual who backstabbed me once before began resurfacing. "Is Sétante one of Cu's—"
Bam!
The front was blasted open while an extremely drunk and irritated Raynare hobbled in–with her wings out. She, as he expected, reeked of booze and cigarettes–giving me the urge to vomit from the foul stench that wafted into the room.
"I'm baaackkssh youuuu son of a bichhhh!" She slurred with her words while taking a swing of her whiskey bottle, emptying it all at once.
"You're late." I said with a resigned voice, disappointed that I couldn't have the bed to myself. "And I thought you would be sleeping with a poor schmuck from the bar." What she did with her body was her deal and had nothing to do with me. If she wanted to sleep around then all the power to her.
My words did not go well with her. "Ha! There wash no man ath tha baaaar that co-could handle alllll thish! I wash all alom becuash all of thosh men are bunch of pusshy!!" She made her way towards the bed, her wings unintentionally knocking everything to the ground as she wasn't able to control them.
"There is no way I'm letting you sleep on the bed." I said. Like seriously, I would rather sleep inside a sewer than be anywhere close to her.
"Ooohhh fuk ov!" She proceeded to do something out of my expectations.
Rip
A pair of ripped tops.. and pants fell on the floor.
"What are you doing!?" I nearly screamed when I saw Raynere ripping her clothes off and standing there with breasts out in the open. "Put some clothes o—"
I couldn't finish my phrase as the drunk girl threw her bra onto my face and fell on top of me. "Hurgh!" We both fell on the bed, her wings circling around me and pressing me further into her as she slipped further into unconsciousness.
"Hmm cold…" Raynere's hold on me tightened, squishing her naked breast further onto my chest as she snuggled deeper on my neck, her hot breath sending chills down my spine. Her breasts pressed onto my own chest, as skin rubbed onto skin.
"I am not above using force and my sacred gear to knock you away so you better—"
"—Noisy!" I was interrupted once again, the Fallen moving one of her hands to her underwear…
Rip
And ripped them off.
Before I could ask what she was doing, she shoved the used garment into my mouth and moved upwards, buried my face into her breast, while she embraced my head with her hands and locked her legs around my waist. Her wings surrounded us like a black feathered cocoon.
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I'm not going to get an ounce of sleep today, am I?
Sigh
I hate you Azazel, so very much.
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