Before Kisuke and Koneko reached the school, they encountered Sona Sitri and Tsubaki Shinra on the way.
"Yo! Good morning Shitori-Kaichou and Shinra-Fukukaichou! Nice day today isn't it?" Kisuke waved his arm when he saw them and greeted them happily and pointlessly energetic.
"Good morning." Koneko did the same but in a lot less intensity than Kisuke.
"Good morning to the both of you too. And you're awfully energetic again Urahara-kun." Sona greeted them back while also giving her comments on usual Kisuke's behavior. Tsubaki just nodded at the two of them and didn't speak.
"Well, it's because I saw our beautiful StuCo President early in the morning and brightens my day.~" Kisuke replied teasingly. He really likes how this girl always keeps up her serious appearance and makes him want to tease her more.
"W---, Ahem... Please stop teasing your seniors Urahara-kun." Sona stuttered for a moment but immediately returned to her serious expression and fixed the position of her glasses. Looking closely, there is still a faint blush on her face which she can't cover.
Kisuke and Koneko noticed this and both shocked, although in different meanings.
Kisuke only talked to Sona for a few times this past week, but every time they meet, he would try to tease her to break that serious face of hers. And this time, it only took a single sentence to get that reaction from her which pleasantly surprise him, 'So she's weak with compliments, note taken.'
Koneko however, thought that this is inconceivable as she is looking at Sona Sitri, heiress of Sitri Clan and best friend of her master who she knows a lot stricter than her. Sona from her childhood had many pursuers and even had a fiancee one time because of her heritage and she kept receiving praises and flatteries from them so she should be immune to such things. But looking at how she reacts when Kisuke teased her, she started to question herself if this is really Sona Sitri in front of her.
Sona saw Kisuke's grin and Koneko's shocked face. She doesn't know what Kisuke is thinking but she can somehow guess what is Koneko thinking which made her panic a bit, "W-Well then, we have to go or else we'll be late." She chooses to escape.
She turned around and walked briskly to the school building. Tsubaki followed her silently, she probably knows what her master is thinking. As if she remembered something, before she could enter the building, she turned around again and looked at Kisuke who is still grinning at her and this face tick her off.
She approached him again with a renewed serious face and said, "I want a rematch later. Are you free this afternoon?"
"Rematch?" Kisuke tilted his head in confusion and it suddenly hit him, "Ah... You're talking about another chess match? Sure, I don't mind. But you still haven't fulfilled your end of the deal."
"Ughh! Damn it, why did I have to bet on that. I should have just bet something I could buy!" Sona faltered and muttered to herself in frustration.
Koneko who is listening was confused, "A bet?" She directed this question to Kisuke.
"Hmm? Ah, you see, Shitori-Kaichou here invited me to a chess match and whoever wins will get their proposed bet." Kisuke happily explained.
Koneko was enlightened and continued to ask, "So, who won and what did you bet?"
"If she wins, she gets me as her knight. But if I win, I'll have her accompany me in a cosplay photoshoot. And just coincidentally, I won." Kisuke explained to Koneko.
Koneko shuddered when she heard his first sentence, 'A knight? Sona-Kaichou will have an overpowered knight and we can't hope to defeat him.' But when she heard the rest of what he had to say, she sighed in relief. And after a few more moments of thinking, she looked at Sona with eyes filled with pity, 'You just had to mess with him.'
The onlookers who are just coincidentally passing by also reacted, "What? So the rumors of the StuCo President is one of the victims of the final boss of the 'Four Heavenly Perverts' is true!?"
Such words started spreading to the surrounding students until almost all who passed by already heard of it.
Kisuke's mouth kept twitching as he wants to shout, 'What victim!? It's a legitimate deal between us!!!' But spared himself the effort as it'll just have an opposite effect. 'Anyway, such rumors won't last long as long as I just leave it be.'
Sona also heard everything that is going around and she gritted her teeth and looked at Kisuke with hostility.
"Wait, don't look at me like that. I didn't it'll end up like this if I said that." Kisuke raised his arms in mock surrender.
"Haah... Anyway, are you free? You haven't answered my question. As for my end of the deal, I'll also do it later." Sona calmed herself down and said to herself that she shouldn't blame him as she is the one who proposed the bet and there is no lie in his words.
"I have some business to attend this afternoon, so no. But if you're fine with the evening, then you can talk to Koneko here to lead you to our place." Kisuke answered and suggested to her.
"Fine, the evening then." Sona thought for a while and accepted his suggestion. She's more active in the evening because she is a devil and will raise her chance of winning against him.
"Then let's talk the specifics later at our place or else we'll all really be late," Kisuke said and started walking to the school building, bidding farewell to Koneko, Sona and Tsubaki.
"I'll see later Sona-Kaichou." Koneko bowed to her and also walked to her class.
Sona looked at their departing backs and thought for a while back, it has been a week since Sona lost her chess match against Kisuke and what it entails slowly sinks into her. At first, she thinks nothing of it as she still thinking back on how she lost the game, but as time goes on, the realization of the fact she lost is a very big deal and every time she would encounter Kisuke, she became more and more aware of him, 'If everyone knows that I lost to him, do I really have to marry him? No, one thing for sure is my nee-sama will object and tell him that he has to be stronger than her. But I'm the one who made the promise to marry someone who beat me in the game of chess! Gggh, what to do?'
Tsubaki is looking at her master making a complex expression and thought, 'Sona is finally being aware of him? That really took her long enough. She's really very slow at things like this. I have to assist her and make sure she won't do any mistakes in this regard whatever her decisions are.'
"Kaichou, we have to go," Tsubaki called out to Sona who is immersed with her thought and startled her a bit.
"I'm sorry, let's go." Sona resumed walking with Tsubaki on tow. They still have a long day ahead.
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Somewhere in the Dimensional Gap, a black sphere with the size of a football stadium in diameter is floating around aimlessly.
Inside it is a dark spacious room with only floating balls of lights illuminating the place. The only thing in it is a rectangular table 100 meters long and 2 meters wide and two luxurious chairs at each end of the table.
Sitting on both chairs are two figures. The first figure's appearance of a skeleton dressed in attire worn by high priests adorned in gold and red jewels which gives him a regal look. Despite his attire, however, he gives off a creepy aura. Despite having no eyes, his eye sockets can glow to give the appearance of eyes.
The second one, however, is covered with a white cloak that blocks most of his features. The only thing that can see from him is his thin lips and some of his black hair spilling out of his hood.
The two of them are strangely silent and only looked at each other. The skeleton lifted his right hand and a purple magic circle materialized and with it is a golden pitcher and two golden glasses of wine. He poured the wine from the pitcher to the wine glasses and an aromatic smell came from the alcohol that can intoxicate even those with high tolerance to it.
After pouring the wine in both glasses, the skeleton raises one of them and released it in the air. The glass floated and moved towards the white-cloaked figure and landed in front of him. The white-cloaked figure glanced at the glass and shifted his vision to the skeleton.
"Why bother? You know I won't be touching that." He said in an indistinguishable voice. His voice sounds like multiple voices of man, woman, old, and young overlapping each other. Whoever listens to his voice will be creeped out.
"Fafafa, I don't want you to tell me that I'm lacking as a host." The skeleton laughed and drank his wine, releasing a satisfying sign even though he just all bones. His voice is also one that will send chills to those who don't have enough backbone.
"So? Why did you call me here?" The white-cloaked figure rested his elbow on the chair's armrest and rest his chin on his knuckles ignoring the skeleton's antics.
"The collection of the bats' blood is going as scheduled." Mr. Skeleton set down his glass and nonchalantly announced.
"Enough with that crap. You won't be calling me here with only that." Mr. White Cloak furrowed his eyebrows under this hood and seriously looked at the extravagant skeleton.
The skeleton stared at him for some moments thinking of something. After a while, he spoke, "I've lost contact with two of my special operatives."
"Hmm? That's not good for both of you and me." He raised his brows and urged the skeleton to continue.
"It's not as dire as you think." Mr. Skeleton took another sip of his wine.
"Tell me everything I need to know. We're accomplice now. I want to know how these 'special operatives' of yours operates." The cloaked man leaned towards the table and waited for the skeleton to speak.
"You already know about the imitation of my 'Helmet'. Every member of my special operatives is presumed dead to evade the eyes of other Gods and mythologies. Their number is limited due to his, but thanks to that, I was able to equip everyone one of these fake 'Helmets' raising their effectiveness in intelligence gathering." The skeleton slowly narrated while swirling the wine in his glass.
"Mind telling how many is that 'limited number' is?"
"No can do. Even if we're in an alliance, I can't release information like that. You're the same, aren't you? I also don't know how much your so-called 'children' you've amassed. Fafafa."
"Then tell me at least how effective this 'Helmet' of yours." The cloaked man sighed and gave up.
"They can hide from Ultimate Devils, Minor Gods, and Seraph levels as long as they don't stay too close for their presence to be revealed."
"How about those Super Devils and Major Gods?"
"If they are moving, they can realize their presence but won't be able to tell where they are. They won't even be able to tell the race of the wearer."
"That is a very powerful force you're hiding. Wouldn't you able to assassinate Ultimate Class Devils in your leisure?"
"That's not possible, as even the original 'Helmet' leaves traces when you attack someone."
"Hmmm? Are you fine telling me this weakness?"
"Fafafa, it's fine. I'm not using them to attack others. We have a separate plan for that, don't we?"
The cloaked man didn't answer his question and leaned his back to the chair, "Aren't you using them to collect the bats' blood?"
"Yes, only for intelligence, that is. My underlings will find someone else to the dirty job and dispose of them afterward to leave no evidence behind."
"You're not worried that they trace it to you? After all, no matter how careful you are, you can't keep hiding in the dark forever without someone noticing you."
"Even if they suspect me, as long as they don't have any concrete evidence against me, I don't really care. Besides, most of the bats I target are of those Anti-Satan Faction descendants. I can just blame it to the Khaos Brigade who are getting more and more active these days."
"Then what happened to the two of your operatives? Were they captured or killed?"
"I don't know. I sent the two of them to watch the town where the heiresses of Gremory and Sitri was assigned and snatch them if there is a chance."
"So? The Gremory and Sitri girls manage to capture or kill your unseen operatives?"
"No, I'm sure that it is not them. I know their abilities and they're just kids playing around, much less they notice the existence of my Grim Reapers. Their last report is the Gremory adopted another bat and on their way to deal with some crow. The Sitri girl is silently sitting at her headquarters lecturing her newest Pawn. There are also other devils from Astaroth Clan, but they're just watching the proceedings. There is also an 8-winged half-crow and half-bat that entered the town some time ago, but even then, that guy won't be a threat to the two."
"Then how?"
"Mind telling me that prophecy of yours again before I continue?"
" 'A human will crush our ambition.' "
"Haah, really, how ridiculous."
"Can you continue your story?"
"Before all of this, I received a report from them previously that an unusual human is living in that town."
The white-cloaked man instantly turned serious and asked, "Unusual? How?"
"He is just a normal human according to the earlier reports but my underlings took more notice of him when he made contact with a bat from Gremory."
"Nothing unusual there."
"Listen to me until the end. This human actually turned out to be a Sacred Gear user, albeit a weak one. But the real kicker here is when the bat from the Gremory kept on visiting him. They gave more attention to him after that." The skeleton drank another mouthful of his wine before continuing, "Not long after, the said bat started living with the human and strange things happen from then on."
"Strange things?"
"The bat, each and every day, the moment she started living there had a tremendous increase in strength that even my underling feel threatened and almost caught his presence." The skeleton stopped speaking and looked at the opposite man.
"What? How strong is this bat exactly is before she started living with him?" The cloaked man raised his creepy voice a little.
"An average young low-class devil." Mr. Skeleton paused for a moment and said.
"What!? How!? Aren't your special operatives at least can deal with an average high-class devil? And they felt threatened of her and almost caught their presence?" Mr. White-cloak felt very agitated as his divinity is warning him that something is very wrong. He already invested a lot on their plan, and if he were to fail here, that will be the end of him.
He calmed down and looked at the skeleton again, "How long did that bat live with the human before that report?"
"One week."
"O-one week?" The man was stupefied again at the almost impossible power jump at that given time, "How about this human? Did they report how strong this guy was?"
"I tried sending multiple people to gauge him, but they all had the same judgment on him, He is weaker than a lower-class devil even with his Sacred Gear."
"Haaah, Hades, if you got a chance, use 'that' on him." The man leaned back and let out a sigh while looking up.
" 'That'? To a mere human? Even Gods can be killed with just a drop of that. And we only have four drops at that." It is the skeleton's turn to be stupefied. Making just a single drop of that takes enormous amounts of raw materials, and some of it is very rare that they needed the help of some sealed beings.
"I'm serious. Use two drops." The man looked at him with a craze looked that even the skeleton got a bit panicked.
"Two!? Have you lose your mind?!? You know how much resources we needed just to procure that! And now you want to use two of them at once!? And to a human, we aren't even sure if he really is a threat to us?" The skeleton can't believe what is hearing. He wants to know the opposite party's reasoning.
"My divinity has been giving me alarms the moment you mentioned that he might have been able to strengthen a lower-class devil to a high-class devil in just a week. And you know what that means as you are a God too." The cloaked man said this while gritting his teeth.
"B-But even so. Using two drops is too much." The skeleton is still hesitant even though he understands what the other God meant.
"I'll pay for the cost of the two drops."
"Still..."
"I'll also lend my research result about the homunculus to you. It'll help your research on artificially making a Super Devil underling."
"How did you... Haahh, fine. But only if I saw a chance." The skeleton conceded to the god's unreasonable request. Although he may seem disappointed, inside he is celebrating. For one, the one who'll shoulder the cost will be the god in front of him, even though it is very hard to create 'that', it isn't possible as long as there are funds and time. He is also happy that this god is willing to share his research on artificial being creation that will help his own research on the subject.
Hades drank the rest of his wine and poured himself another glass before saying, "Onto our next agenda. How did it go to your side?"
The man calmed down when Hades agreed to his demands, but also felt bitter that he'll lose a lot of things over this. But he isn't regretting it at all as this is related to his divinity which was never wrong.
He heard Hades words and fixed his position in the chair before continuing, "Thanks to your concoction and the blood ritual, I was able to open another hole to the seal. We can only wait before we can remove the seal on Mt. Etna. We'll need more blood to speed up the process. The husband and wife duo is already making a ruckus."
"Tell them not to behave badly if they don't want Zeus to notice the seal weakening. Fafafa" Hades is happy that his experiment was a success. Now they only needed time to before they proceed to their next big step. "Anyway, it is amazing that you manage to convince that Aetna," Hades commented.
"It's pretty easy actually. She had enough of Hera." The man also commented lightly before asking Hades, "How did it go to your side? You didn't fail, right? The seal over there is a lot stronger than the seal on the volcano."
"Fafafa, I manage to punch a hole through the seal and the Titans are in the celebratory mood now." Hades creepy laugh echoed to the surrounding.
"With this, the advent of the new age is near."