Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres
Chapter 1001 'Caught'

Kisuke continued traveling while moderately using his Flash Step so that he wouldn't break his body. At some point, the eyes that hadn't been watching disappeared, 'They pulled back? Why?'
Kisuke didn't stop moving but the moment he was about to reach his destination, he shuddered and stopped for a moment to look around before immediately resuming his steps, 'I can't feel anyone's presence... But I have a feeling that someone is watching me. Did Stralit replace everyone?'
Although Kisuke had to stop leaving marks on his way since he didn't know to what extent the hidden figure could see, it didn't change his original intention and it didn't take too long for him to reach his destination. Even though it was nighttime, the rate of activity didn't change and thanks to that, Kisuke didn't have to think much when infiltrating.
Since he couldn't leave any marks, Kisuke went straight to one of the unused portals for smaller packages and personnel. Naturally, it was locked so he first had to steal a credentials card from one of the slackers.
Stralit, who's watching from the shadows, was impressed by his ingenuity and thought, 'It looks like this isn't the first time he's had to do something like this.'
She saw him time his entry to the gap of the surveillance to open the door. Since everyone would be alerted when someone tried to use the portal, the surveillance around it is not as secure compared to the large portal.
The moment Kisuke entered, he finally felt a strange presence following him because of their close proximity. Even then, Kisuke couldn't tell her exact location, 'She's in the shadows!? What the heck is that? I want to learn that too!' Kisuke has a feeling that if she really wanted to hide, he might not be able to pinpoint her even if he's using his original body.
Kisuke wanted to observe what she was doing right now so much but he had to curb his curiosity.
He immediately closed the doors and jumped into one of the terminals to operate it. But as expected, he couldn't understand anything on it and he's not really a fan of randomly smashing buttons unless he's in enemy territory.
Without any hesitation to his actions, Kisuke opened the door once again and made his way to where the archive was. He already knew that the credentials that he has right now won't be able to open the doors leading in and he won't be able to find one even if he's willing to steal. However, he still went around swiping various IDs to test them after his first one failed.
Watching all of this unfold, Stralit couldn't help but place her hand on her forehead and sigh, 'I know they are non-combatants, but to be able to swipe many of them without anyone noticing... I need to ask Cleo to add basic presence awareness training to their schedule.'
Stralit's eyes then sharpened as she looked towards Kisuke, 'But I also cannot discount his ability to do all of this. It's very safe to assume that he's trained in the art of espionage. Is this the dangerous thing I'm feeling?' She would soon get an answer to that.
Stralit thought that Kisuke wouldn't be able to open the door so he was bound to give up and return, but contrary to her expectations, the air in Kisuke's immediate vicinity suddenly became heavier as an explosive amount of Spiritual Pressure erupted from him while he was standing in front of the door with both of his tiny hands on it, '!?!?!'
'What is this!?' Before anyone else could notice, Stralit hurriedly manipulated her shadows to block the wave of Spiritual Pressure. Although some of it went through, none of the Luxatos were sensitive to this kind of energy so it only came to them as a strange but nondescript breeze.
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A minute earlier, after Kisuke decided to stop stealing IDs, he stared at the door and thought, 'Hmmm... As expected, except for the managers who are very aware of their surroundings and their credentials, I won't be able to open this. I could but that might give a hint that I'm faking the fact that I didn't notice my stalkers.'
While tapping the metallic door, he added, 'And I won't be able to bore a hole through here... Hmmm... Should I just go aggressive and see how things would develop? In any case, after all those marks, I'll be able to return to this world with Ophis, Lilith, Flanna, Le Fay, and Yoruichi's assistance.'
Kisuke was able to confirm this after he successfully made a connection with a certain individual earlier today.
[Just go for it. I'll cut open a hole for you.] A feminine voice sounded in his head.
[You just want chaos, don't you?] Kisuke replied.
[Why not?] Benihime's voice became stronger, [Aren't you curious about what she can do too? Don't you want to compare it to what we can do?]
[No, no, no. I don't want to fight her. Why would I fight her? I'm not a battle junkie like you.]
[So you'd rather stalk her?]
Benihime thought that he would at least deny it but Kisuke proudly nodded and said, [That's preferable. If possible, up close.]
[...You disgusting bastard.]
[Wait now. I'm just saying that from a professional viewpoint.]
[Stalker's?]
[Medical, of course.] Kisuke then ended their inane banter by asking, [What can you do right now?]
[I'm very far so you would have to release my 'True Name' to form a steady path of Spiritual Power. Can you do that without exploding into a million pieces?]
[For a few seconds, yes.]
[Then I can punch a temporary hole for you. Do it now.]
Kisuke didn't waste any time and muttered to himself "Ban...kai..."
Without his Zanpakuto, a 'blade' couldn't appear at his side, but with his connection with Benihime, he was able to manifest the tiniest amount of her ability.
At his touch, a strange cut emerged on the sturdy door big enough to fit his current stature. Since he couldn't maintain this for more than a few seconds, Kisuke hurriedly jumped over it, sending him inside the prized archive, 'Now then... I wonder what she'll-'
But before he could finish his thoughts and the cut to fully close, the door opened and someone picked Kisuke up from his collar, 'My, that's fast.'
"Well then, naughty little guy... I have several questions and it's in your best interest to answer them." Stralit smiled at him but she didn't seem to be too happy.
Editors:
28th00: Yeah, Kisuke got bored of fucking around and Benihime called him out on it. CHAOS! ANARCHY!
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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres
Chapter 1002 Exciting Development

Kisuke currently couldn't see the face Stralit is making, however, he was pretty sure that she wasn't the slightest bit happy from the cold and pressuring aura she was emitting.
'The way she grabbed me... Her presence was way too vague than my initial estimates.' Kisuke thought while displaying a fearful expression and shutting his mouth.
"Not going to say anything, huh? Fine. I can waste as much time as you." Stralit exited the archive with Kisuke picked up like a kitten and used a teleportation spell to leave the facility.
The moment light returned to his eyes, Kisuke saw that he was in a wide, strange bedroom. Strange because the only thing that tells him it's a bedroom is the wide bed in the middle of it but the rest of it looks like some control room in a spaceship. He took a glance at the monitor and saw that he couldn't understand the words displayed on it.
Stralit seems to have guessed what he's thinking and said, "Can't understand it? Don't even try. That's the language that the top officers of Etoulde use. It's only a bunch of characters strung together and doesn't have any vocal equivalent."
She then tossed Kisuke to the corner of the room and before he landed, black fences erupted from the shadows and formed a large cage around him, "Until you're already willing to speak, you'll have to stay there."
Kisuke already 'calmed down' and checked the cage he was in, '...It's similar to the [Black Coffin]. Amazing.'
"Your adaptability is really amazing. Or are you just acting?" Stralit commented.
Instead of addressing her question, Kisuke replied with a question of his own, "Are you going to torture me?"
Stralit sat down on her bed and started staring at the monitors, "I apologize, but I don't have such a hobby. And I don't want to worsen the relationship between us."
"Worsen the relationship?" Kisuke asked with an unbelieving expression, "I did espionage work yet you want to keep the relationship between us from worsening? Are you naive or just plain stupid?"
Stralit stared at him for a moment with a contemplating expression before saying, "So you've been acting. This is the real you."
Kisuke let out a bit of himself. This wasn't a mistake as this was just another change in his plans due to the changing situation, '...Strange... Even if she was sure that I wasn't from Evie's side, she should at least contact her leader... But what's with the strange tone in her words?'
"If you're from Evie's side, they wouldn't use you as a spy. Because of your spiritual abilities, they'd rather turn you into an experimental subject. So I'm sure that you aren't their spy. As for the other opposing forces, well... They don't exactly exist anymore. Even if there's a remnant, they wouldn't be targeting this place because this is near the frontline against the Evies. If they knew something about the Evies, they don't really spare anyone regardless of their motives."
Kisuke remained silent and let her continue her monologue.
"The only other big possibility is this is just something personal for you. If that's the case, then I don't really want to have a fallout with you."
"...Why?"
Stralit grinned at her and said, "I have a use for you."
'Now this changes everything...' Kisuke immediately thought. If she has a use for him just because he showed him a little bit of power, then negotiation is possible, "Are you confident in forcing me to do your bidding?"
Stralit saw that Kisuke visibly calmed down, 'Look at this guy... He guessed that he won't be going through due process and trying to gauge me now. Well, this is a lot better than getting a stupid teammate.'
"I'm not and as I've said, that isn't my thing." Stralit smiled at him, "And I'm pretty certain of what you want. We could start from there."
Kisuke stared at her for a few seconds before turning around and lying down to close his eyes.
Seeing this, Stralit just shrugged her shoulders, 'I can wait. For the time being, I'll gather all the related materials.'
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The next morning, Kisuke opened his eyes with a warm breakfast in front of him. Not just that, the cage extended, and at the end of the new expansion, is a private booth to do his private business, 'She might actually keep this for months or years.'
For now, Kisuke arranged what he knows in his head and pulled out several conclusions from it, 'First possibility, she wants to use me to advance her career. Second, she had something against her superiors and wanted to get back at them. The third is that the Etoulde might not be as monolithic as I initially thought and several factions are vying for supremacy.'
'I still don't know what she wants me to do so I can't make a concrete guess now. Hmmm... I think stalling for time to gain an advantage over negotiations is out of the window now, huh?'
A few hours later, Stralit returned from her usual work and Kisuke immediately started with, "What do you want me to do and what do I get in return?"
"Not playing the waiting game anymore, huh? Pretty decisive. I like it." Stralit smiled and snapped her fingers. In an instant, a curtain of shadow enveloped the whole room, terminating anything that moved any information.
She then brought up her right hand to conjure a ball of light to give proper vision to the surroundings.
"I'm not going to beat around the bush, I am willing to do anything you want as long as it's not unreasonable and doesn't go against my goals. In exchange, I want you to be a point of contact between me and my Evie friend~."
As soon as she dropped that 'bomb', Kisuke glared at her. But on the inside, he's cheering in delight, 'Oh my~ I like this kind of drama. I really struck gold upon meeting her.'
At that moment, Kisuke tossed out the multiple plans he'd made with care out of his head, 'This will be amusing.'
The more chaos and confusion he could make, the better it was for him.
Editors:
28th00: Ah, time to raise some anarchy!
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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres
Chapter 1003 Learning

Kisuke did his best to stop himself from laughing out loud at this sudden development and did his utmost to glare at Stralit with fury, "Have you forgotten what those Evies did to my home? I didn't expect to meet a sympathizer of such a group, much less, an official of an opposing force."
"Right. However, you just haven't realized the scale of these two forces. If a world could have multiple races, cultures, and beliefs, why couldn't these two civilizations that are on a galactic scale be the same?"
Stralit sat down on her bed and disregarded Kisuke's angry expression, "I'm sure that's true in your world too, right?"
Kisuke didn't answer her question but asked his own question, "What do you hope to achieve?"
Stralit began hesitating. Although she tried to pretend that her pause was just her thinking of her goal, it became apparent to Kisuke that she was hesitating whether to say her wish, 'Is it a lofty goal of standing on the top of the hierarchy? She doesn't really strike me as such.'
Soon, Stralit sighed as she couldn't think of anything else aside from her real goal, 'It sounds ridiculous, but I guess I'll just be honest. It's only this little guy, after all. If he doesn't believe me, then I'll just make a more convincing excuse later.'
With a reminiscing and gentle smile on her face, Stralit answered, "I just want to walk and hang out with my friend in broad daylight without being judged or persecuted."
'...Now that I've said it out loud, it's really ridiculous. Just so that I could play around, I'm willing to make contact with our worst enemy... It's really laughable.'
Stralit was about to think and say a less 'unbelievable' reason, but Kisuke didn't allow her, "I see. Then what can you provide me?"
Instead of answering, Stralit stared at him, dumbfounded.
"What? Are we negotiating or not? Just kill me then."
"W-wait! Wait! Aren't you too harsh on yourself!? Wait, before that! You believed me!? Something as absurd as that!? Aren't you too naive!?" But after getting past her shock, Stralit finally noticed the change in Kisuke's demeanor.
'W-what's this!?' All this time, the aura that Kisuke is giving is that of a small beast baring its fang to protect itself. However, that suddenly changed. He's still the same small beast but it's as if the shadow he's making is a cunning demon that is waiting for its chance to devour her. She blinked her eyes again, but the instinctual image returned to how it was before, '...Was that just my imagination?'
'I only intended to reveal a bit of my aura but she still saw too much,' Kisuke thought to himself, 'That's one very sharp sixth sense. It's going to turn into my disadvantage if I reveal too much right now. For now, I have to see her friend first before I can make any concrete plans.'
"Ehem..." Stralit cleared her throat to get herself back on track, "Well, if you believe me, that's fine... But why?"
"It's ludicrous, but it's also simple and sincere enough. If it's an overthought excuse, you wouldn't be able to say something like that." Kisuke explained briefly, "I'll start first. I want a way to return home."
Stralit already expected this request and said the answer she prepared, "I don't have the coordinates of your home world. And even if I do, we can't just set up a Space Gate without any preparation on that side. However, since it was Evie's side who found that place, it'll be on their records, and they probably already built an outpost there. Meet my friend and she'll be able to help you."
Kisuke stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "She's your friend but not mine. How can I be sure that she'll just point the way there? Because of that, I want to learn how to construct this Space Gate."
"Construct it? That's not really a problem for me, however, there are multiple problems that need to be solved before you can even construct one. Aside from gathering the required amount of resources and setting it up on both sides, no one can teach you how to make one so you'll have to settle with self-study."
"That's not a problem for me."
Stralit shook her head, "I didn't explain myself enough. No one could teach you since it's technically forbidden to share this technology. I can't teach you myself because I don't fully understand how it works and I don't really have that much time to dedicate to you. On top of that, you'll be studying the theories behind it and not the actual blueprint. I'm sorry, but I just can't give you building instructions since those contain security protocols in them. Even if it's not you, I'm afraid you might leak it and that will compromise the many Space Gates we have."
Kisuke nodded, "That's still not a problem for me. I may not look like it, but I'm one of the top craftsmen in my world. And even if I fail to learn it, I won't be asking for anything else. The moment you pass me those theoretical documents, consider your side of the deal fulfilled."
"...Fine. But before that, you'll have to learn something else first."
"What is it?"
"As you are now, you'll get caught immediately the moment I send you to my friend's side so you'll be learning my shadow abilities."
Kisuke's eyes widened in surprise, "You can teach that!?" For him, Stralit being able to pass her skills was more of a surprise compared to her having an Evie friend.
"Oh, right. You don't know much about the Etouldes. Short answer, you'll become my successor and you'll be able to use my abilities."
Editors:
28th00: Ah… She's making a horrible deal with the devil. That reason is mundane and simple enough that Kisuke would go "Yeah, checks out for the amount of stupid in my life."
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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres
Chapter 1004 Successor

Stralit explained that among the high-ranking Etouldes with special abilities, they also have the ability to pass that on to a successor. Everything she could do with that ability, the successor will also be able to do it. Naturally, there are restrictions. First, the high-ranking Etoulde would only be able to choose a single successor. The successor also won't be able to pass this ability to others.
And while the successor could use the ability with great flexibility and the successor's own take, it could never become stronger than what the 'master' could do.
"Since you're capable of using a Spiritual Ability, learning this isn't a problem."
'...So that's how it is. She chose to use me because I can use Spiritual Power.' Kisuke thought to himself as what she was trying to do finally made sense to him, '...High-rank Etoulde, huh? I should learn more about how their society works.'
"Well then, shall we start?"
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It had been a week since Kisuke and Stralit reached an agreement. Kisuke was released after that and went on to continue his life as a freeloader while also receiving the Space Gate-related documents that he was promised, 'Hmmm... I didn't think it was this complicated. And there are indeed resources and metrics that are used and I'm not aware of. I'll probably need another week to understand this and another week or two... wait... maybe a month or two to develop my own Space Gate.'
But if anyone from the greatest engineers and scientists of Etoulde's side were to hear what he's thinking, they would be cursing at him nonstop.
A moment later, a knock came on his door as it swung open, "John, the preparations are done. Let's go."
'...John?' Kisuke looked at her with a puzzled expression, 'Oh right... That's me.'
"What? Could it be that you forgot?" Stralit then took a second look at his very messy room. Though it wasn't really full of trash but important documents tossed at random places, "When was the last time you went out of your room?"
Kisuke stood up and dusted himself, "Why would I go out?"
'He has the same weird temperament as those old geezers so it's probably true that he's a craftsman.' Stralit sighed, "Enough of that for now, and let's move. We're running out of time."
Kisuke cleaned his room up and set aside the documents in a safebox that Stralit provided to him. He wanted to study more, but these documents aren't really needed anymore since Kisuke had already memorized it down to a single letter. He only needed some time to digest everything and create a blueprint of his own.
Soon, they reached Stralit's room once again and this time, she revealed to Kisuke a hidden door leading to a small empty gray room. Along the walls, ceiling, and floor, there are various encryptions and to Kisuke, it looks like some kind of Magic Circle.
"Let's start. Stand in the middle of the room and don't resist anything that enters your body. This is the first time something like this would be performed on a non-Etoulde so I'm still determining how it's going to turn out. However, I spent this whole week keeping the procedure as safe as possible. If there's a problem, I'll immediately stop this."
"And if it fails?" Kisuke asked while walking towards the center of the room.
"Then you'll have to settle with Soul Equipment that covers your presence and tracks. But those aren't as reliable as an innate ability so it would be great if this were to succeed."
Kisuke didn't say anything else and waited for Stralit to do her thing while also confirming the defensive mechanisms that would 'trap' whatever she was going to send inside this body so that it wouldn't affect his original body, 'If it's useful or I can make it fully independent from Stralit, I'll take it to my original body.'
Stralit then went to each corner of the room to pour her Spiritual Power and the engravings on the walls, ceiling, and floor began lightning up with soft white light. A few seconds later, the white light reached Kisuke and it started entering his small body, 'Hmmm... It's going directly to my Soul fragment. Is it strengthening it?'
After that, Stralit approached Kisuke while raising both of her hands in front of her. The moment she reached Kisuke, a jet-black orb the size of a marble emerged from her hands before she grabbed it and placed it on Kisuke's forehead.
The black orb quickly melted on his forehead and entered his skin and skull without any trace.
On the inside, Kisuke could see the black orb directly entering his Soul and changing into some type of 'liquid'. The melted orb then entered the 'bloodstream' of his Soul fragment and stayed there to circulate along with everything else, 'Is that it?'
Kisuke heard Stralit's audible sigh and looked up at her, "Good... It went in without a hitch. It went better than I initially expected. How about you try using it now?"
"How?"
"Just recall how I use my shadows. You should be able to do it too."
Kisuke took his eyes off Stralit and transferred them to the lingering shadows in the surroundings while remembering the image of Stralit controlling the shadows. As soon as he did, the black liquid started circulating faster and weird knowledge of shadow control popped up in his head.
Kisuke put forward his right arm and the shadow under his sleeve became alive and coiled around it, 'This is?' Kisuke asked himself while genuinely surprised, 'It's as if I called Benihime's name for the first time. It's really an innate ability. And to be able to transfer it to another individual? I can now understand how these Etouldes managed to compete against the Evies.'
"Oh. You're doing pretty well. Keep practicing it until it can cover your presence and tracks inside this room. I'll provide you with your daily necessities."
"I can't practice outside?"
Stralit shook her head, "The fluctuation you're emitting is a dead giveaway that you became a 'successor'. Although only Etouldes would be able to notice and there's no one other than me here currently, it's still better to be on the safe side. My brother visits pretty often too and I don't want to rope him into this."
"How long do you think I'll need to be competent enough?"
"I'm not really sure, but with how you manipulated the shadow just now, I think it'll take you 3-6 months."
'I'll do it in three days then.'
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In an unknown world, a certain Evie received an encrypted message. Although the message couldn't be long, Evies was able to get the essential information, "John Smith, huh? To think we'd find another race that's capable of controlling Spiritual Power. What a nice coincidence."
The Evie then obliterated the encrypted message while muttering, "The first race we discovered... No. It's more like the first individuals... That reminds me. I hope my priestess is doing fine in Draconic Deus."
Editors:
28th00: I'm laughing. The amount of anarchy this is gonna cause is hilarious. No clue which Evie the one at the end is, but man it's gonna be a really rude awakening for ExE when the anarchy begins.
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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres
Chapter 1005 Not in the Plan

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.
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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres
Chapter 1006 Change of Plans

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.
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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres
Chapter 1007 Change of Plans part 2

Kisuke spent just over a day reaching the final Space Gate to return. But before he stepped into it, he first returned to his original body to inform those on Earth of what he'd heard from Seraselbes, 'It's going to be complicated since this is most likely funded by some big factions. I can only hope that they'll be able to slow down their entry and secure the foundation of the barrier.'
Since they went through some Summoning Magic, Kisuke knew that there was a limit to how much they could send inside and any strong Evie won't be able to go through it due to their 'size'. However, it also means that they'll try to take the barrier down from the inside and once that happens, it'll be an all-out war.
"You're back. Sooner than I expected. How did it go?" Stralit asked when she felt Kisuke entering her shadow.
Kisuke didn't say anything and passed the cubes that Seraselbes gave him.
Stralit inspected the cubes before inserting them into the console in her room. It took her around half an hour to get all the information that she needed and immediately destroyed the cubes with a deep frown on her face.
"Is something wrong?"
Instead of answering, however, Stralit asked back, "Did she say anything else?"
"She told me that you're in danger?"
"She did?" Stralit's eyes widened, "She's trusting you? Just what did you do?"
Kisuke shrugged his shoulders and feigned ignorance, "I don't know. I simply passed her what you wanted her to receive. That's all."
"...Did she introduce herself to you?"
Without any pause, Kisuke answered, "After I introduced myself, she also told me her name. Is something wrong with that? Is there some sort of spell that automatically activates when I hear her name?"
Stralit stared at him for a few moments before shaking her head, "No. There's nothing like that. I'm just a bit surprised. But you better keep her name a secret because it'll only land you in trouble, especially in the territories controlled by us." She then returned to her console to work on something while muttering to herself, "I really don't know what she's thinking this time around."
While changing back to his usual clothes behind a small curtain, Kisuke asked, "What exactly is putting you in danger?"
Only the sound of keys being pressed was heard for a minute or two until Stralit answered, "I guess this might involve you too so it's better if you know. An unknown Etoulde is working with the Evies and Abtors so it's safe to assume that most of what I do and my schedule were already leaked to them."
Kisuke came out with his usual green shihakusho and added, "And there are probably a few Luxatos working with them. With that kind of lineup, no matter how careful you are, they'll catch you off guard sooner or later."
Stralit stopped her hands and there was a complicated expression displayed on her face. She didn't want to believe Kisuke's assumption but she was not naive to think that everyone besides her meant well, 'But as much as I want to weed them out, I have no way of finding them.'
Kisuke was able to guess what she was thinking and said, "This is where I come in, right? Although I learned that shadow technique from you to safely traverse the Space Gates, it can also be used to find those in the dark and no one would really bat an eye if I disappeared for long periods of time."
"That's too dangerous since they know my ability. They could have something that could easily find even me."
"But you should be able to tell when they use something like that, right?"
Stralit thought about it for a moment before answering, "This is the special ability of my clan so anything that could detect it, we would be able to detect it too."
'Right. Your ability doesn't allow you to control or hide within shadows but put the shadows themselves within your dominion. Any changes or fluctuations made in it would be noticeable unless you come across someone with an unreasonable ability like 'Complete Hypnosis'.'
"The problem is, we don't know how many of them are out there. They'll surely use a sacrificial pawn just to find me and all I would be able to do is to send that one guy to jail, cutting off any further leads. Any wrong move and I'll fall for their trap." Stralit added.
"Then that would mean that as long as you're within their sights, they won't use something that would incriminate them."
After thinking about Kisuke's proposal long and hard, Stralit finally agreed to it, "Fine, but I'm giving you a distress call device and you shouldn't hesitate to use it."
"Then I would like to do something to keep us connected."
Stralit tilted her head at him and asked, "What are you going to do?"
"Since you shared your ability, it's only fair that I also share with you what I know." Kisuke approached her and jumped to her shoulder, "If you feel it's something threatening or bad, you may reject it while or after I'm done."
Stralit wanted to ask more about what he wanted to do but Kisuke didn't let her do so as a mix of Spiritual Power and Magic Power formed a 'brand' on her forehead, 'With that, the Le Fay's Teleportation Magic should be set as long as she doesn't erase that mark.'
Stralit touched the Magic Circle that had already disappeared and asked, "What was that?"
Kisuke didn't explain but instead sent a telepathic message [For something like this. As you can see, there's no fluctuation of the usual Telepathy Magic so it's a safe way to communicate even at long distances. I think this will be better than your distress signal since I can instantly send a call as long as I'm conscious.]
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Kisuke spent three days stalking Stralit's subordinates and found at least ten suspicious people with enough evidence gathered. But catching ten people is not good news for Stralit at all since all of them were caught while being careless and that would mean that they're comfortable enough to let their guard down which either they are idiots are they are actually a sizeable number on their side that they wouldn't have to worry about getting caught.
"Are you going to be alright?" Stralit asked after Kisuke told her that he would have to sleep for an extended amount of time.
"I'll be fine. This is a normal occurrence. Though I might take some time because I used a substantial amount of Spiritual Power." Kisuke would have searched for these spies more if not for Yoruichi's call.
Kisuke didn't say much more and immediately went to sleep as soon as he reached the room that Stralit secured for him.
Editors:
28th00: Spygames are fun, but now we play Deicide games.
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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres
Chapter 1008 Asserting Dominance
AN: Happy New Year once again~! I hope you had a great time over the break.
This is the first batch of the year and let's get along this year too~!

As soon as Kisuke woke up, he packed his Gigai controller module up since he had a feeling that it might get destroyed here if he left it behind.
[Are you going?] The strange voice talked to him for the first time in a while.
Kisuke immediately replied without stopping, "Yes. I'm not sure to what degree things are going to develop, but I'm preparing for the worst and inevitable."
[...I see.]
For the next few minutes, only the sound of Kisuke packing up was heard and when he was done, he finally said, "If you go up there, it'll be the death of you."
[...I know. But I'm not going down without a fight... Even if it means destroying this world.]
At her answer, Kisuke grinned, "Is that so? Then do you mind listening to my proposal?"
[You're most likely the one who'll kill me and you know this too, or else you and those important to you are going to perish instead. So what proposal is so great that would circumvent that?]
After making sure that Benihime wasn't listening, Kisuke walked towards the pond while cutting his wrist open and letting a huge amount of his blood flow out, "It's not something great and you're still going to die, but..."
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Kisuke returned to an obscure corner of Orario through Teleportation Magic. To his surprise, he immediately found that the whole city was almost deserted with only a few strong Adventurers roaming in secret. But most importantly, it's mostly monsters that were running amok the surface, 'Yoruichi and Serafall wouldn't have let this happen... Did something change?'
Kisuke extended his senses thin and found the concentrated amount of Magic Power on the spot where Melen is. However, what's more concerning is the 'Deity' at its full power resting on the first floor of the Dungeon.
He hid his presence and started running around the whole town to check if his formations were still intact. If there were damages, he'd fix it.
That took about three hours and the sun was already setting when he was done. After taking a quick peek at the Dungeon's opening, Kisuke decided to finally leave for Melen.
Kisuke ignored the war that was being fought between people and monsters at the halfway point between Orario and Melen and went straight to a relatively large house in the most southwestern part of Melen.
As soon as he got to the door, Kisuke immediately felt some unfamiliar presences along with very familiar ones. When he opened it, he was greeted by a crowd of Deities sitting in a circle and their guards standing behind them.
"You're finally back." Serafall waved at him with a cheerful smile from behind Artemis.
Kisuke waved back at her with a smile, "Sorry for the wait~" He then looked at Yoruichi who in turn, just sighed and shrugged her shoulders. She knew what he wanted to ask, but there was really nothing she could do but to let things pass this point.
'So the final round is, indeed, approaching... I'd like to say that I'm fully prepared, but I can't let my guard down.'
Kisuke then looked around and saw every Deity eyeing him for many different reasons, 'No wonder Hestia-sama didn't run to me or even greet me. Everyone's on guard against each other.'
Starting from on his immediate left was Hermes with Asfi Andromeda behind him. Next to him is Ganesha with Shakti Varma, Kali with Argana Kalif and Bache Kalif, Hephaestus with Tsubaki Collbrande, Freya with Ottar, Miach with Bell Cranel, Ouranos with Fels, two old men he didn't know, Takemikazuchi with Kashima Ouka, Astarte with Carys, Hestia with Yoruichi, Artemis with Serafall, and finally, Loki with Riveria.
Feeling the heavy atmosphere around them and the gazes that the Deities are giving him, Kisuke guessed that Freya had already undone the spell she'd cast on their Avatars to make them forget him and his Familia.
"Allow me to introduce you," Loki suddenly spoke up, "Since you probably already saw everyone here except for those two old men, I'll just skip to them. The old guy with long white hair and mustache is Zeus and the other old man with short silver-gray hair is Odin."
Kali immediately slammed the table in protest, "Do it properly! Even after the bitch's spell, it looks like I'm the only one who still hasn't met him in person!"
Loki shot her a fed-up expression and said, "...And that unfortunate shortie over there is Kali. She's no one important so you can just ignore her."
Kali stood up from her seat and put her foot down on the table, "What was that, you bitch!?"
But instead of Loki, it was Kisuke who spoke up, "Ah, Kali-sama. I've heard so many great things about you. It's an honor to finally meet you~."
Kali's anger immediately dissipated and she sat back down, "My, looks like you're one sensible lad."
But immediately after, Kisuke took out a chair from his inventory and placed it in between Hermes and Loki before sitting down among the Gods.
Those who don't fully know his capabilities creased their brows and the heavy atmosphere became even heavier with their guards about to pull out their weapons.
As soon as he entered, Kisuke immediately asserted the position he wanted to take, 'Oh my~ How fun.' He thought while waiting for someone to jump on him so that he could stomp that guy's head to the ground.
"Shall we start over?" He said while placing both of his elbows on the table and clasping his hands.
Editors:
28th00: Yeah, Kisuke belongs at the God's table, because he's the man with the plan~! Dungeon-chan is gonna get a Great Red pulled on her, eh? Another one enters patting range, and Ophis has been practicing hard for this moment!
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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres
Chapter 1009 Decision

"I thought you were sensible, but what are you doing, kid?" Kali scowled at him.
Kisuke laughed dryly and replied, "Compared to everyone sitting, I'm indeed a kid."
"But that's not the point." Hermes followed up with a frown, "Are you trying to call yourself a 'God'?"
Loki whistled and Freya just smiled knowingly. Meanwhile, Kisuke continued his dry smile and replied, "A God? I won't become one even if you paid with all the world's riches. It sounds more trouble than fun."
At those words, even those Gods who have a good impression of him were a bit offended, except of course, for the four exceptions. However, the three old Gods who were just silently watching things unfold managed to get a hint of what he's trying to say. Ouranos took a peek at Zeus and Odin and so did the other two, confirming that they'd also guessed that Kisuke knew things that a normal mortal wouldn't know.
Ouranos then looked at the Goddesses that were close to him and asked himself, 'Did those four reveal the secrets of Heaven to him?... No... If that's the case, they would have broken the rule and their Avatars would disintegrate. Then how?'
Hermes and Kali were about to say something again and their guards were about to apprehend him when Astarte raised her voice, "You have something to say, don't you? I'd like to hear it."
Unlike those from Orario, Astarte and her captain, Carys, never forgot him or his group. And even with just their limited interaction, she knew how strange this group was, especially when someone like Medusa was following him, 'If I were to compare him to something... Ah... It would have to be that... From an old story. A being that opposes Heaven. A Demon.'
It was an old story written by the people of the olden times when the Gods had just descended to the Lower World. It was just a normal fantasy story but in it, there was a being that was capable of going against the Gods and was residing at the very depths of the Dungeon. A Demon.
"Indeed." Kisuke nodded at her, "If I were to guess, that's what this 'Denatus' is for, it's probably to force Yoruichi and Serafall to deal with that thing."
The Gods became silent as Kisuke guessed correctly. He thought it was weird for the cheerful Hestia to stay silent when he'd arrived, so he thought that these guys were trying to force Yoruichi and Serafall to do something, while Hestia was trying to figure out how to get out of there without agreeing to any of their demands. And knowing Freya and Loki, they wouldn't readily extend their helping hand when they too weren't so sure of how things could develop so they most probably were waiting for his arrival.
Kisuke sighed, 'They're completely passing this problem onto me... And from Freya, I can feel some resentment... Let's just ignore her.'
Their children, on the other hand, were also incredibly confused about why the Gods were trying to convince Yoruichi and Serafall, two unknown people, to fight the corrupted Spirit when they themselves could do as much. They still haven't realized how terrible this 'Spirit' is.
Kisuke's eyes sharpened and said, "On their behalf... I refuse!"
"What!?" Hermes immediately reacted, "With that kind of power, it should be doable for them! And where are you going to use that strength if not now!?"
Kisuke watched everyone's reaction and the majority of the Gods are in agreement with him, "We have our own problems and that takes priority, however, it seems that any words that come from us will just be met with disagreement until we agree to your demands. Too bad, I also don't see myself agreeing to any of your demands."
Kisuke then stood up from his seat and took back his chair without waiting for anyone's reply, "With that said, we'll only be wasting our time here so we'll leave first."
Kisuke turned around and walked towards the exit and soon after, Hestia, Artemis, Yoruichi, and Serafall followed him.
"W-wait!" Hermes shouted, "Hestia! Artemis! Are you sure about this!?"
Hestia stopped her steps and turned her head to Hermes, "As I've said earlier, I can't agree." After that, no matter what they said, Hestia didn't turn back anymore and left the house. Although Kisuke and the rest hadn't really told them about anything, Hestia and Artemis knew that what's concerning them is not the incredibly weakened 'Goddess' that's in the Dungeon but something else, far more terrifying.
While both of them had a guess as to what it was, they didn't have the heart to ask since they knew that they would be stopping them with all their might once it was confirmed. As much as they hated it, they didn't want to go against what they needed to do.
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Kisuke's group left Melen and traveled a few kilometers to the south. Once in a while, they would meet some monsters that were dealt with swiftly and reached deep inside a forest. With Serafall's help, Kisuke constructed a 'temporary' house much larger than where the 'Denatus' took place.
"Byako refuses to get involved." Before Kisuke could ask, Yoruichi answered his question when they finally got alone with just the two of them.
Kisuke looked at her and asked, "But only now? Why?"
"Who knows? The contract probably has a time limit and we're nearing it. Nothing I could do to delay it any further. What about you? Are you done on your side?"
"For the most part, yeah."
"Then what are you going to do after all of this?"
Kisuke turned to her, "I'm not even sure if we could weather this and you're already asking that?"
"You're always not sure of everything. That's always been how you've lived your life."
"That's true.", Kisuke chuckled before becoming silent for a few minutes, "After this, I'm going to work on making my way to the Soul Society."
"...That's a bit earlier than I thought."
"Will you be coming with me?"
Yoruichi shook her head, "You know I can't. While I'm laying low, I could be considered a trump card. If both of us leave, it's going to be dangerous for everyone else."
Kisuke sighed, already expecting her answer. Although he doesn't know to what degree, he has a feeling that Yoruichi was not very far from his own full capabilities. He's focusing on his own strengthening, but Yoruichi is also working towards 'Transcendence' as both of them promised each other and she might have already found a clue on how to get over that figurative 'Dragon Gate' after coming to this world.
"Who are you bringing with you?"
"If possible, Claire and her group, including Ophis, Lilith, and Flana."
"Then bring Serafall with you."
Kisuke tilted his head in confusion, "Serafall? Why?"
"You need another adult to look after them, and out of everyone, I have a feeling that she's going to help you the most, including me."
Editors:
28th00: When in doubt, JoJo reference. Getting close to the Serafall romance-arc. By tearing up Soul Society! Truly, a match made in hell. The Terrible Trio is going after all.
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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres
Chapter 1010 False Information

Kisuke didn't agree with Yoruichi but since there was still some time before he left Yoruichi told him to think more about it.
Yoruichi and Kisuke returned to the house where Serafall was preparing dinner. But before they could reach the house, the two of them felt several presences dashing towards them.
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After Kisuke left the Gods, It just became an argument on how to 'convince' Kisuke's group to have a mutual front with them. But as the talks went on, and they couldn't think of any way to persuade them through words, Hermes, Kali, and Freya started suggesting methods on how to force them into a corner to make them move in the direction they wanted.
Since it became boring fast, Loki just decided to leave and after that, the Deities left one by one, not coming up with a single concrete solution to this problem.
"Alright~ You know where they are, right? Let's go." Loki asked Riveria while stretching her arms.
Riveria looked towards the direction Kisuke's group left and saw the minute traces of Magic Power they left behind through her 'eyes', "They're not that far but should we really leave? Wouldn't Finn want your opinion on what's happening?"
"It's fine. From now on, I'm hands-off. I will not influence what they want to do... At least I'll try to hold myself back."
Riveria looked into Loki's eyes and despite the casual tone she was using, she could tell that she was very serious about this, "Understood. Do you want to be carried in front or hop on my back?"
"The front, of course!"
But before Loki could jump on Riveria, two Goddesses approached with their children, "Do you mind us going with you?" Freya asked with Ottar behind her.
Loki looked towards them and also saw Hephaestus and Tsubaki behind them, "I know what this girl in heat wants but what about you?"
"I just want to know the situation.", answered Hephaestus.
Loki stared at her for a moment before giving a reply, "The situation is as you see it. The lid of the Dungeon is broken because of that irregular who loves the Spirits the most. Nothing really complicated nor surprising after the failed subjugation of the Black Dragon."
Hephaestus immediately gave her a glare and said, "Don't talk to me as if I'm some fool. Those guys back there argued that they have to do everything to solve this problem. That's not wrong, but they don't seem to be much concerned about what's going to happen next. Now then, let me ask you two who seem to have some idea, what's going to happen next?"
Loki and Freya looked at each other before chuckling, "Nope~! We actually don't know.", answered Loki, "But I could at least tell you that Kisuke thinks that this problem is trivial and he didn't want to get involved with it and would rather work on more pressing matters."
"Trivial, you say..." Hephaestus frowned, "But this could decide whether the children of the Lower World could still exist or not."
Loki shook her shoulders, "Every answer I could give you from here on are just my assumptions and I would rather not reveal those without any assurance."
"Then bring me with you too so that I can make my own assumptions."
Loki immediately jumped into Riveria's arms and said, "Follow us. Let's move before those clowns can think of following."
Freya was also silently carried by Ottar and Hephaestus hopped onto Tsubaki's back.
"Please try to keep up." Riveria briefly uttered before running towards the edge of the town.
Tsubaki and Ottar were shocked to hear that from her and that's understandable. The fact that she never updated her Falna after being relieved of all the blessings she had had already reached them, including the 'fact' that she could only match a Level 6 or 7.
The two of them followed her while Tsubaki replied, "Don't worry about us. We'll stay behind you." As both of them are Level 9, the top of the caste, they were confident that they wouldn't be left behind.
But as soon as they left Melen's premises, Riveria muttered, "That's good to hear. Well then..."
Instantly as she finished her words, a Magic Circle appeared and disappeared in just a fraction of a second under Riveria's feet before she disappeared from their sights.
Everyone's eyes widened and when they saw her and Loki again, they almost became a small dot on the horizon.
"...W-what the hell?" Tsubaki muttered to herself as she tried to funnel most of her Ki into her legs to speed up in an attempt to catch them.
Ottar also did the same without saying anything but he was only a bit faster than Tsubaki and could still see Riveria's silhouette getting smaller, 'We had false information...'
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The first to arrive was obviously Riveria and Loki, "Good timing. Serafall was just about to finish making dinner." Yoruichi greeted them.
Riveria just ignored the weird house that suddenly popped out in the middle of nowhere and went straight inside while saying, "I'll go help out."
However, her companion couldn't, "...Is this one of your hidden bases?"
"Nope~ Just built it earlier."
Loki immediately felt tired and not just because of this but also because of Riveria. The fact that even the top players of Orario couldn't catch up to her is just screaming to the world that she's lying about being able to hold back a Level 8, 'I already knew that she was lying... But not to this extent. Just what did she gain on that side?'
After less than a minute, Tsubaki and Ottar finally arrived while carrying their patron Deities with the former wheezing for air, "...W-where... Where is she?" she asked while slowly placing down Hephaestus.
"She's inside, helping out with the preparation for the dinner.", Yoruichi answered nonchalantly, "Come in. We'll have a better time with a satisfied stomach."
Ottar, on the other hand, could only stare at where they came from and recall the scene earlier, 'It wasn't just her speed... All the monsters she encountered were also instantly obliterated without her even looking at them.' For the first time in a while, Riveria's coldness implanted a bit of fear in his heart which not even Bell managed to do.
"You'll understand later." Freya voiced out to him as she slowly walked towards everyone.
Editors:
28th00: Holding back is ending? Cool. Apocalypse is starting? Not so cool.
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Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres
Chapter 1011 Proof of Strength

Hestia and Artemis welcomed the newcomers with open arms and invited them to dinner.
It was a normal dinner overall with all of the Goddesses just calmly talking with each other about random things. Meanwhile, Tsubaki couldn't stop staring at Riveria while Ottar's eyes didn't leave Kisuke.
"Now that we're all satisfied, I hope you don't mind clearing up some of my confusion." Hephaestus started while the tea was being served.
"Then I would like to apologize in advance as I can't tell you that much. All I can say is that we won't involve ourselves with the 'Spirit'." Kisuke immediately prefaced.
Hephaestus became silent before saying, "At least tell me why Hermes is so keen on you taking action." She wasn't able to ask but it was incredibly weird that the Deities there were so sure that Yoruichi and Serafall would be able to deal with the corrupted 'Spirit'. It's not like it was impossible to defeat it with their current combined forces, but there would certainly be casualties that everybody didn't want. However, that doesn't really justify their weird reaction and behavior from the earlier meeting, 'It's as if they were the only correct solution for this problem.'
Kisuke smiled at her. He was a bit more patient with her since it was because of her giving away every Magic-powered vehicle in her inventory that the whole city of Orario and Melen were able to evacuate safely in a timely manner. Along with Ganesha, they were the two most prominent actors that pulled out all stops and opened their wallets just to ensure that every non-combatant person was safe and comfortable to do their tasks.
"Because Hermes and some of the Gods there know their abilities. If I were to compare them to Bell Cranel, that kid is just a little bit better than small fries compared to those two."
Tsubaki and Ottar's eyes widened in surprise.
And seeing that, Freya muttered, "Oh right, I almost forgot." Then with a snap of her fingers, the 'Charm' that was affecting both of them was instantly lifted and Serafall's Magic Power that was powering the spell dissipated.
In that instant, the memories that were locked behind a strong mental wall forcefully flooded their heads, causing a massive headache for Tsubaki and Ottar.
"Ughhh..." Tsubaki groaned while clutching her head and the first thing she thought after this was, 'How did I forget people like them!?'
Ottar, on the other hand, only silently endured the pain while muttering loudly, "...Either one of them is enough to deal with the corrupted Spirit."
He then looked at Kisuke with a regretful smile, "And if he is to take action personally, something like this would be obliterated within just a few seconds."
Hephaestus and Tsubaki were stunned to silence at his comment, not because of his ridiculous words, but because those ridiculous words came from someone like him who was very prideful and hated lying.
"Hey! I could do it within a few seconds too!" Serafall, meanwhile, protested at the underestimation of her.
But Ottar ignored her as there was a more important thing on his mind. He turned to Freya and asked with a heartfelt expression that he never really showed, "...My Goddess... Freya-sama... Why?"
"Are you disappointed?"
Ottar hesitated for a bit before nodding, "...Yes."
"What are you disappointed about?"
"...Freya-sama. You didn't trust me with this 'knowledge'."
Freya looked at him with knowing eyes, "But that's not the main reason you're disappointed, isn't it? More than myself, you're most disappointed in yourself."
Ottar's head hung low and was unable to refute her. Deep inside, he knew that her actions were not the source of his disappointment, but the fact that he wasn't even able to close the distance between him and Kisuke. He genuinely thought that as long as they train with them as their goal, they would sooner or later reach that step. However, even now that he thinks that it'll be hard for him to get stronger, he's still a mere ant in front of them, '...I see. We became too obsessed.'
But all of a sudden, he remembered the one person that disappeared for an entire seven years and the unknown strength that she'd just shown. Ottar's head snapped to Riveria, "You..! Did you...? How!?"
Riveria scratched her cheek with an awkward smile, 'I can't really tell him that I got stronger because of something that doesn't exist in this world, can I?'
"...It's the difference of mindset, environment, and how they view power." In the end, she could only give a vague answer.
Riveria thought that would be the end of it and Kisuke would further explain it to him, however, the look in his eyes changed, and said, "I challenge you to a duel. Please fight me."
Riveria wanted to refuse but Loki suddenly clapped her hands and interrupted her, "That's a good idea~!"
"Loki?"
Loki turned to Riveria with her sharp eyes, "I'm also very curious about what you can do. Aren't you the one who's going to deal with the corrupted Spirit?"
Hephaestus and Tsubaki were finally able to react to the nonsensical conversation, "You?" Asked the latter with disbelief.
Riveria didn't confirm it but that was the plan. She came into agreement with Yoruichi and Serafall that she should be the one to deal with the corrupted Spirit since they needed all the manpower they could get for what was going to happen after that, no matter how inconsequential it was. Although they would be capable of fighting it on their own, they didn't like the large casualties that it'd cause. So instead of wasting their lives on something as trivial as this, they should actually deal with this on their own.
However, it was not as easy as that since they didn't want to provoke the one that watched from the sky so they could only opt for Riveria who was the absolute limit.
Riveria could only sigh and couldn't find any reason to refuse, "Fine."
.
.
.
Outside, Riveria and Ottar were standing some distance away from the rest of the group. "Now that I think about it, to what extent did Riveria improve? Everyone told me that she could copy Magic, but to what degree?" asked Yoruichi.
Like how Yoruichi and Serafall didn't reveal anything about their progress, Kisuke and the other girls also didn't reveal much about themselves to surprise each other when they see each other again, "It'll be an interesting show, so just watch."
Ottar was already ready to go with two greatswords in his hands along with his Ki and Magic Power flaring up.
Riveria, on the other hand, was rubbing her chin and eyes closed in deep thought.
"Should I start?", asked the impatient and somewhat offended Ottar, 'She didn't even take out her wand, and what's with that very casual stance? She doesn't see me as an opponent?'
Riveria finally opened her eyes after a few seconds and said, "Let me do the opening act."
Ottar saw Riveria raise her left hand and got into a defensive stance. The next instant, a weird Magic Circle appeared on top of her but after a few seconds, Riveria let out a disappointed voice, "...Ah...", before it suddenly disappeared without doing anything.
But unlike her sad expression, the corners of Kisuke's mouth were twitching, "...Just what are you doing?"
Without any hesitation, Riveria answered while looking at her left hand, "I tried summoning Midgardsormr through the Dragon Gate but it seems that the dimension is locked tight. I can't pry it open."
Hearing that, Serafall pointed her finger at her while looking at Kisuke with a blank expression, "Oi... Did I just hear that right? Setting aside how she managed to make a contract with the Sleeping Dragon, she wanted to summon a Dragon King in a simple spar? And the largest one at that? Does she want to kill him from a heart attack?"
"If he doesn't die from a heart attack, he'll die from a single tail swipe," Yoruichi added with a similar expression.
Editors:
28th00: When you spend enough time around Ophis and her… family(?), you tend to think the goto answer to all life's problems is "Have you tried a Dragon yet?"
Goyya: "Have you tried a Dragon yet?" I chuckled more than I should have.
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