Chapter 15
"-and this is my abandoned old workshop. You may pick any one artifact to help you with your journey and as many drugs *cough* I mean, elixirs and poisons you can carry from the Alchemy table over there. Nazica, feel free to grab some goodies as well. If anyone has any questions on what's what then ask away."
I brought the Three Magi into one of my oldest secret hideouts near my parent's home in Tokyo. This underground workshop several hundreds of meters below our family home had acted as my main base of operations back when I had less confidence in my ability to conceal dimensional spaces and preferred heavily trapping my stronghold instead. The sheer number of powerful concealment and defensive measures I placed here would make Kayneth regret his boasting and kowtow to this daddy!
"Why are there so many different types of pills? What happened to standardization?" Nazica complained as she started picking one of everything from the Alchemy Table, then depositing it into her interspatial ring.
Nearly all the round 'pills' were the Cultivation based ones, while most of the bottled liquid elixirs/poisons were created using methods that would be familiar to anyone that has watched To Aru Majutsu no Index and Seikon no Qwaser… okay, maybe not the best example there, but just citing Full Metal Alchemist would be too mainstream.
Spoiler: Nazica - Approx. coloring
"Just as it is in your world, Alchemy is also split between Western and Eastern methods. Western Alchemy began with purifying, maturing, and perfecting certain materials for the sake of transmutation and the creation of the elixir of immortality. Eastern Alchemy, or more specifically Chinese Alchemy, focuses mainly on the purification of one's spirit, mind, and body for health, longevity, and wisdom-"
I went into a long lecture about the differences of the Alchemy processes used in the creation of pills and some general tips on how to excel in both fields. Fiore and Radia had split the remaining products of my Alchemy fairly between the two of them, before coming to me with questions for the ones they could not identify.
"What does this red potion do? It looks like it's going to explode at any moment." Fiore asked me while occasionally returning her gaze to the volatile looking bottle.
"That's not actually a potion. That's my special chili sauce mix blended using Abyssal Chilies. With your Cultivation as it is you would probably die if you taste even a little bit of it."
Back then not even I could handle the full extent of that chili sauce…
"We have questions on the potions stored within these strange bottles… every time we try to focus our attention on them we find ourselves distracted and- oh, I saw that artifact before!" Radia showed me something that made me want to groan into the palms of my hands, I don't blame her for getting her attention diverted by the enchantment, even my Divine Senses nearly glanced over the collection of bottled aphrodisiacs there, "It looks interesting, should I swap it for-"
Spoiler: Radia - Approx. coloring
Blasted Xianxia Aphrodisiacs! I got too into making everything that I had read in this one novel many years ago, before I knew it, I ended up making potent aphrodisiacs with masterfully crafted containers that could hide its presence even from my senses!
If I hadn't made my most recent breakthroughs then even I would have trouble keeping track of the damn thing in spite of my perfect memory.
"*Ahem* Yeah, that's a troublesome one. It's basically undetectable super aphrodisiacs."
"Hey, sis, I missed that one so gimme!"
"Nazica! Don't act so childishly in front of everyone! Also, here you go, and here's your share Fiore."
… I guess I have to watch them closely to make sure they don't accidentally drug themselves from now on.
"Moving on… the two of you will get an interactive magical map that can keep track of all locations and beings of interest within the realm, although you will need to input your search criteria yourselves. I have already placed an enchantment that will eject you out of the realm if you are in grave danger, you will have a week to spend inside the realm and another week to create the Sacred Gear with the pre-made component parts I've placed on the table."
I went on to explain and clarify the scope of the competition between Fiore and Radia, including the judging portion that will involve inviting members of the Hyoudou family.
"Your judges will be the users of the Sacred Gear, namely, any one of my brothers and sisters-in-law. I have laid out their combat profiles here, you may ask any further questions about them from me as I know them personally and a lot of funny stories about them from Airi. Otherwise, you can continue your preparations and start your journey whenever you think you're ready."
Radia quickly grabbed Kurenia's profile and continued on her way, saying, "Your brother-in-law is quite the enthusiast in all things magic and Sacred Gears. This will be sufficient."
That's a huge loss flag right there…
In contrast, Fiore took the time to look through everyone's profile and then asked questions on their personality, wants, concerns, and other things before showing a great deal of interest in Robertina.
Looks like I may not have to rig anything in her favor after all.
After the two girls teleported back to my home where the portal leading to the secret realm awaited them I went ahead and brought Nazica back up to the surface, where we spent some time shopping and hanging out with each other as friends.
I ended up buying a new phone for her after she became enamored with the modern communications device. Unlike Rin Tohsaka, it looks like this Magus girl isn't technologically illiterate.
Now if only she can tone down the selfie stops…
After bringing Nazica back home I decided to take my extreme time dilated realm artifact and visit a dead universe that appeared to be unmonitored by anyone other than myself. Just to be on the safe side, I decided to cram my Cultivation and training sessions in compressed time, and head back home as soon as I can.
Fixing the internal stress from utilizing [Unified-Realm, Divine Augmentation] took over two weeks, once I was fully healed, I decided to Cultivate the technique until I got rid of as many flaws as I could perceive.
And boy, there was still a lot of room to improve there. It took nearly six months to get rid of the most glaring flaws, nearly a year to practice all my laws to bring up my minimal Law utilization competency to the point where I could use [Unified-Realm, Divine Augmentation] without burning my reserves away and another half a year practicing the technique until I could use it effectively.
I ended up restarting the universe at the end of my practice so I promptly moved to another dead universe to practice my other trump card.
[Domain Rescindment: Eon Reversal]
… I had to cancel my training early because the technique erased my training realm and a large part of the cosmos upon activation, risking the detection of higher beings that may notice the 'abnormality' I caused.
In the end, I had to destroy that dead universe to leave absolutely no traces of my second trump card. To be more specific, I refined the entire universe into energy, which wasn't much because it was the lowliest realm (no life residing in a universe lowers its energy quality massively) I ever had the displeasure of consuming, but it's better than blowing it up and wasting the scrap of energy it could give me.
Airi POV
She waved Dio's clone goodbye after he finished placing the dining room enchantment, ushering a new era of peace into the Hyoudou household mealtimes.
Airi held Kurobara and Shirayuki back from latching on to the clone and begging their 'Dio-niichan' for more sweets. They will only suffer from a lack of confidence in their cuteness if they tried to get anything from those paper clones, which can only convincingly act as a human if it was given a specific role to do so or if they were controlled remotely.
There were a lot of really stupid stories involving her clone that was left behind in the week that had passed by when she was away.
Sensing a sudden intrusion using the lesser laws of Space and Void, Airi quickly retrieved one of her god-killing gauntlets and was about to message Dio for help when-
"Ara, Ophis-chan! It's been a while!"
-Airi heard Akeno greeting the Ouroboros Dragon and the 'honorary little sister' of the family.
"Nee-chan, why do you have a scary face?" "Shiny gloves…"
"It's nothing. Turns out its just Ophis-chan. Ehe, I overreacted ☆"
On the bright side it looks like all the training sessions, aka, sessions where Dio and Artemis continuously 'styles' on Alfia and herself, are paying off.
Airi almost dodged the speeding black bullet that launched itself at her but chose not to, it's been a long while since she got a hug from the family's 'vagabond playmate', "You're back Airi. Issei asked Idiot Red and I to look for you the first time around… we spent so long in the Dimension Gap together… just the two of us…"
Ophis looked increasingly annoyed as she recalled those times.
Airi could only laugh loudly and took out some sweets, knowing that she was looking for an apology, "Sorry for the trouble. Here you go, I saved up some of the sweets Dio made for me."
"Wha-?! You said there were no sweets!" "Gimme!"
Ophis had already swiped the sweets from Airi's hands before her two cat-eared sisters could steal them, "No! Mine! Rwarrh!"
It was the most unconvincing dragon's roar Airi had ever heard.
Ophis may have existed for a long time and changed greatly from when she met Airi's father, but it seemed that she latched on to the behavior of a human child and had stuck with it for decades… probably because she could get free candy this way.
Honestly, Ophis only ever came by and stuck around when she felt the urge to eat Asia's cooking and treats.
"These are… delicious! Extra tasty! Bring your husband, I must have more!"
"He's busy right now, I can try to get a clone of his on dedicated kitchen duty but you'll probably have to pay for it."
"I can pay in dragon scales. I will go beat up Idiot Red for his."
"Please don't start a fight that could destroy the world for sweets!"
Airi's panicked protest was quickly echoed by the entire Hyoudou family when their 'Ophis is going to do something silly' senses were tingling like crazy.
Ophis had no choice but to give up.
"Why is your husband so busy? He took you on holiday, so that must mean he has a lot of free time."
"It's actually the other way around, I'll tell you some stories later, alright? Things have been quite hectic after Dio went and upgraded Heaven's system."
Ophis had a rare look of surprise on her face and exclaimed, "Ooooh! Is that why the 'noise' from Heaven's stupid system is quiet now? Hmm, I see, your husband too, is a man of silence."
The dragon loli looked so satisfied with herself that Airi couldn't bear to interrupt her.
She had the sinking feeling that Ophis was going to be more than just friends with her husband at this rate…
Airi spent nearly an hour regaling Ophis and her siblings with colorful tales of her adventures in the 'Nasuverse', specifically, the mind-bending strange defensive measures Alfia and her needed to get through just to kill dangerous Magi and Dead Apostles.
"-and then the last door sent me right back to the beginning of the entire labyrinth! What's worse is that a sign appeared with the words 'Are you lost?' right in front of us? Spatial Manipulation is the worst type of trap. Ever. If you ever make your own castle in the future, then please put doorways to different dimensions or ones that would send invaders back to the beginning, make your defenses so frustrating and maddening that any invaders will just leave your home alone and never come back again."
A few of her older brothers and sisters were actually taking notes on the various traps that she had to deal with, while her younger siblings were just laughing at her story. Ophis seemed to be taking a special interest in the 'home defense' measures.
Her father, who had managed to come home early, also joined in the laughter.
"Oh man, if it were me I would have just gotten so mad and blasted everything."
"I know what you mean. Alfia and I were so close to doing it, but if we did, then it will just mean we weren't smart enough to figure the defenses out and we didn't want to give the guy the satisfaction."
"Heh, there's nothing better than to prove arrogant bast-er-en-enemies wrong!"
Airi could admit that she missed doing this with her family, it's nice when they can just talk and share stories of their experiences without getting into any arguments.
"Oh, I wouldn't say nothing… but it's up there in the Top 10."
"Really? Name one thing."
"I can't~"
"Why not?"
Airi chuckled and hugged her father, then whispered, "None of them are appropriate for children to hear about."
Her father looked mortified at the thought, thankfully for him, he didn't need to think about it any further since dinner was ready.
They all sat down at their large dining table and started serving each other food. Dinnertime was a little different with the enchantment in place, but it helped a lot in making mealtimes a lot more 'normal'. Even her father seemed to enjoy the change, it made it easier for people to have their own conversations even when everyone was gathered together, among other things… Airi would really like to selectively filter her senses at times like these, especially when Akeno was rubbing her father's crotch using her feet under the table.
"Pst! Airi-chan!" Ravel 'whispered' from the other side of the table.
"You know you don't have to whisper right?" Airi 'whispered' back since playing along seemed like it would make Robertina's birth mother happy.
"I know, I just wanted to try this out. Anyways, I have great news! We got your Evil Pieces ready and can get the ceremony done by the end of the month."
"Eh, okay? I don't really want them though."
"Heh?"
If it were the past 'her' then she would have been ecstatic about the opportunity, if only so that she could find some 'servants' to help better protect her family with.
But Airi had changed a lot, she was no longer a sheltered girl that only cared and fought for her family. She had spent around a year in a world where gods and mortal races lived together, where her wonderful husband continued to bring great changes to the world, from saving entire countries, revolutionizing the way magic was taught, freeing slaves, lifting the 'ordinary folk' out from poverty and other situations, and preventing future catastrophes.
Watching how he changed an entire world for the better inspired her to do so as well!
The first thing that came to mind had been her own family's racial history.
Airi ended up reflecting on the worst kinds of Familia, how the ruler of the largest Empire behaved, the enslavement of men by the Amazons, and the rampant slavery in the Kalos region until Dio put a stop to it. After doing so, she had started to think about the current situation and direction of her homeworld, and in the end, she found that she could take no part in her race's culture any longer.
Even if the 'servants' of her family were treated like family she still wouldn't have any servants herself because it was not a system she could support and it wasn't one that was necessary.
"Um, Airi, why not? Your mothers and father worked really hard to push it through."
"Thank you for that, I appreciate it, but it would be better if you can give that placement to someone else. I don't want them, nor need them anyway."
"Erm, could you just take them and not use them?"
"Ravel kaa-san, please help me out with this?"
Her other mother shrugged and laughed, "Alright, I can do that much. I figured that you would say 'no' with how you were reacting this morning, at the breakfast."
"E-eh? I didn't say much though."
"You didn't need to. Your discomfort was written all over your face. It's fine, worse comes to worst, the media will just blame it on your husband that 'turned you against the devil race'." Ravel smirked as if imagining a hilarious scenario, "All the rich heirs that have been aiming for you are going to whine and pull out the 'population' excuse."
Airi certainly didn't remember any rich 'young masters' trying to seduce her, then again, her father probably scared them all off. She made a mental note to give him a special present for father's day just for that.
"They can say what they want. Knowing Dio that's exactly what he's looking forward to, he just can't stop baiting idiots so that he can slap their faces. As for the population bit... Dio did say he once pranked a devil noble by using a fertility artifact on him so that his entire peerage got pregnant after an orgy, so solving every faction's fertility problems shouldn't be an issue-"
Ravel dropped her chopsticks and groaned, "Oh, figures. I thought it was weird that your uncle Riser got Yubelluna and the others pregnant all at the same time."
Airi thought back to all the smug grins he gave her whenever he mentioned that story and felt really dumb when she hadn't figured it out. Of course, it had to be someone she knew if he was shooting her his 'knowing grins'!
If this were the week before her father would have already blown up after hearing the conversation Airi had with Ravel, but thanks to the enchantment (and Akeno's footjob) he couldn't hear us at all!
Issei would definitely have blamed Dio for 'corrupting' her just because she had experienced life and cultures from beyond this world and embraced a wider view of how to live a worthwhile life.
Thank Dio for this dining room enchantment!
Wait, what? Oh no, she's starting to sound like those angels… tch, all the 'sect-speak' must be getting to her.
Chapter 16
"It looks like calling the effects an 'absolute existential threat' can be counted as an understatement."
I muttered as I observed the will of Hell and countless demons break into the dimensionally relocated dead universe. As I suspected, just the mere activation of [Domain Rescindment: Eon Reversal] was a red alert for any realm or entity intrinsically tied to one of the greater Laws, regardless of how weak they are, if they had sufficient space-time or dimensional detection and travel capabilities.
Granted, I needed to relocate the dead universe all the way to a whole different multiverse, one that was within the reach of a realm of chaos like Hell, in order for it to be detected and invaded by a relatively harmless threat like the demons from the Doom series.
Point is, the activation of my technique was definitely detectable and made beings in other universes feel threatened, and at this rate, I won't be able to confirm the full extent of my Ascendant God Art's power and refine it without an especially 'far away' multiverse to act as a training spot.
And I can say with near absolute certainty that I would be detected no matter how 'far' I go with my World Crossing spell, after taking into consideration the current pattern of how gods/higher dimensional beings are spread throughout the 'vast expanse' of this small part of the omniverse.
Keeping my technique activated for more than half a second with a much higher being in the neighborhood is an instant death sentence.
The most obvious option is to acquire more power until I can create an entire multiverse by myself and have sufficient guardians that can defend it while I safely refine [Domain Rescindment: Eon Reversal].
But that would be too risky.
While I would definitely survive all the opposition could throw at me on my path to acquiring that power, the same can't be said about my wives and the other people I care about. The same people which can only be defended from higher beings using the Ascendant God Art which I'm trying to perfect.
Unfortunately for me, my Xianxia MC luck does not give the people I love absolute immunity to getting their existence erased.
Trying to raise my Cultivation level faster and getting perfect consecutive victories (no death runs) against higher dimensional beings several stages above me is a way of living that I'm actively trying to avoid... because the mere thought of Airi and Artemis being destroyed while I can only watch helplessly hurts me more than I could even describe...
Whether I seek more power or not, whether I try to perfect this technique or not, the possibility of the people I care about getting killed and/or erased still remains. Even if I can bring them back it wouldn't be the same, nor would it remove the stain of failure upon my heart.
Hence, I had to fall back on my proven strategy to overcome this dilemma!
If I cannot overcome this problem with just my plot armor, then I just have to tie myself to an MC with the right kind of power and plot armor that can help me overcome my dilemma!
It already worked on an 'invincible' harem protagonist whose plot armor could force his villains into a desperate position where going full evil was their only option (and got me my darling wife~) so I don't see why my brilliant strategy couldn't be reused to give me the opportunity to gain more power.
And I have just the Main Character in mind for this!
I may not have watched the anime or read through the web novels, but the little I could remember from a wiki walk and a couple of feat discussions I've read through already have me salivating in anticipation at the bullshit magical powers and overpowered equipment within the universe the MC resides and reigns supreme in…!
While my magical and crafting abilities have been improving steadily, what I really need is explosive growth through integrating an entirely new system of magic into my own. The small portion of the Nasuverse's magic system didn't quite cut it since I only got a small glimpse into the Root's mysteries, with only the Third Magic being something I had a high degree of mastery in, neither did I gain the right type of magic that could let me cheat my way into solving the multiverse creation/training ground problems.
I felt a bit bad about leaving on an impromptu adventure without the people I've come to know, but I simply couldn't put this off any longer, if my [Unified-Realm, Divine Augmentation] had so many imperfections, to begin with then there's no way I can rely on my second trump card as it is now.
Besides… I don't think a few of my women would necessarily approve of this sticking around a Demon King for a long period of time, and leaving the rest of the plot for him to resolve like the overpowered MC he is, just for the sake of allowing me to observe his magic.
But first… time to tie up some loose ends. I continued my cross-universe observation of the dead universe being invaded by the denizens of Hell for a little longer-
"Ah yes, demons from hell… in the name of all that is holy I declare Exterminatus upon the dead universe of ABC. I hereby resign the death warrant of an already dead universe and consign hundreds of thousands of demons to oblivion. Yadda yadda yadda… EXPLOSION!"
-before detonating a cache of my 'special-grade' artifacts, causing a chain reaction that would make the dead universe implode in on itself, killing a small portion of Hell's invading force and covering my tracks!
The method I used to destroy a universe could only work for 'trash-tier' realms like dead universes with no life forms and utterly mundane worlds without advanced technology. Just the mere intrusion of weak-ass demons made it impossible for me to 'refine' the universe when it gained a bit of will and power upon the entry of several evil constructs of chaos. Which made destruction via a conceptual bomb the only option to deny resources to the realm called 'Hell'.
Speaking of 'refining' hopeless realms, I would definitely need to compile a proper method for it, especially if I were to make a habit of it. My experience in this is rather limited, after all, and I needed to research this to see whether it was a viable avenue of power.
'Refining' a dead-end timeline according to humanity's definition (or one part of 'The World') back in the Nasuverse was relatively easy and energy-rich. While it was an above average-tier realm, 'pruned' timelines all center around humanity and it's lost potential, which meant that most of the energy was concentrated around the Earth, and having lost half of its world's 'will' (Humanity/Counter Force) made it relatively defenseless.
Dead universes had absolutely no defenses against my improvised existence refining methods, turning the slow process that could only refine a planet-sized entity into a continuous accelerating all-consuming wave that would swallow up an entire universe within two weeks. The downside is that barely any energy can be gained from a useless realm like that.
Incidentally, even a 'low-tier' realm like my homeworld could not be refined by my technique (without killing every living being on the planet), as a result of the universe's strong will and defense mechanisms.
After taking a few more moments to bask in the glorious explosion I created, I activated all my anti-divination, detection, and information obscuring spells before using World Crossing to bring me to my desired world.
Upon taking my first breath in this new universe, I was immediately taken aback by the sheer potency of the energy and Laws that permeated every inch of existence!
Truly, this world was one of the best places to attain even greater power and knowledge!
It didn't take me long to find the recently reincarnated MC and his loving parents.
It was currently nighttime and the Demon King with the physical appearance of a child was currently reading books by the window while his parents were engaged in lovemaking next door.
Looks like I've arrived just before he ages himself up to attend the titular demon academy.
I moved right next to this bedroom window and floated outside, smiling and clasping my hands together, "This dimensional traveler, Dio Dorana, greets Venerable Demon King Anos Voldigoad!"
The protagonist of 'The Misfit Of Demon King Academy' showed absolutely no surprise to my arrival and merely smiled without a hint of mockery, "Hmph, you sure kept me waiting. I was wondering when you would stop gawking like a tourist."
As expected, he detected my arrival in this human city instantly!
"It can't be helped, the overall level of this universe is on a much higher level than any I have visited before."
There's no sense in being dishonest around Anos Voldigoad. He may be an invincible ruthless demon king, but he is also caring and kind to others, I mean, he allowed himself to be killed to end a pointless war for goodness sake!
He was also the right balance between natural kindness and practical ruthlessness that I wanted to emulate. In some ways, I looked up to him as a senior brother.
"With how magic has regressed as of late I suppose it falls to me to take up the burdens of border control. So, what is the purpose of your visit, Dio?"
"I would normally visit other universes with my wives and partners to see what good we can do, learn the local power systems and acquire some souvenirs along the way. In this case, I'm here alone to learn this world's magic to properly defend myself against higher dimensional beings across the omniverse, and who better to learn from than the most powerful being in this universe? Naturally, I have prepared gifts and compensation, for the opportunity to serve and observe you for the duration of my visit."
I had no issues with trying out the 'lackey' role for once in my life, especially for a true magic expert like Anos Voldigoad, who constantly found loopholes in other HAX magics and divine authorities to achieve victory.
Exhibit A - Gods can't be killed permanently? Transmute their temporary corpse into a castle or transfer all their power and authority to another person so they can never harm anyone again.
Exhibit B - You can't kill the god in front of you without the world being destroyed? Just destroy his 'source' till only 10%, the bare minimum required to maintain the world, then prevent him from regenerating it.
And that's just scratching the surface of it all.
"Interesting. You have come a long way. Very well then, meet me in the nearby park tomorrow afternoon, then follow me back home. You can't properly observe me without being accepted by my family."
We talked a bit into the night and made a contract with each other. Having been perfectly candid with him about my abilities helped made him fair and favorable. Suffice to say, I was quite happy with my new mentor.
Well, he wouldn't be the only one doing the teaching. While his strongest magics were a lot more powerful than my own, my compiled magical system and grimoires had a lot of versatility at meager costs in magical power, something that Anos Voldigoad was interested in academically and practically since he was using his currently weakened reincarnated state (reincarnates start at 10% of their original power and can slowly recover it) and fragile environment ('weak' human parents) to practice his magic control.
If he released his power recklessly then his parents would die in an instant, so he had to suppress his power for their sake, incidentally, more magic control would also improve his efficiency and power in the future.
The next day we met up in order to sell the story that I was an average teenage magical prodigy that found a kindred spirit and was impressed by his heaven-defying genius to the point where I needed to pass on my knowledge and exchange my ideas with him to his parents.
The 'act' was a lot more genuine when we were both giving honest praises and criticisms to each other's magical spells. Anos was fond of my paper clones given that they could be used to protect his parents and to dealing with weaklings.
"I'm home, mom."
"Welcome home! Did you have fun? You didn't go too far, did you? You're only two weeks old so it's not very safe out there-"
The adorably cute and lovely voice of Izabella, my benefactor's mother, made me recall a time when I had loving parents.
"Who's this?"
"-Oh right, I still haven't introduced you. This is Dio Dorana. I met him in the park and discussed magical theory with him."
Putting on my earnest excited face, I started laying it thick, "Yes, it's nice to meet you! Though I have been called a prodigy in my life, your son is a genius among geniuses in comparison! I was hoping to get your permission to tutor him and also learn from his insights."
"Kyaa, Anos-chan is so smart!!!" Izabella grabbed on to Anos and rubbed her cheeks on him while patting his head, though he didn't express himself much, I could tell that he was appreciative of her love, "You're only two weeks old and you're already making such smart friends!"
Izabella was very… expressive. Oh, my gods, she was so cute, I can't believe I'm saying this, but for a moment there I thought she was cuter than all my wives combined.
But more than that, I have never seen a mother so devoted to her son, not at this level...
Gusta, Anos's dad, suddenly entered into the living room with a wide grin, "What's this about my son making a friend already? Attaboy! That's my son alright!"
I ended up striking a good rapport with his family. I ended up exchanging crafting knowledge with Gusta who was a craftsman himself, when I showed him my interspatial ring and the artifacts I stored up within, he immediately asked to sign himself up as a student so that he can learn to make something for his precious son.
Izabella and I turned out to be cooks at comparable levels, though I had much stronger technical skills, the sheer amount of love she puts into cooking elevated the dish to beyond mortal levels.
"Dio? Are you alright? You're crying."
Especially the Mushroom Gratin. How could this be… why does it taste so good, yet…
"Your mushroom gratin is just that good, mom." Anos answered in my stead while praising his mother's cooking.
"Yeah, what Anos said. I'm alright." I quickly followed up to keep that worried expression off her face, "This is just so good and… it's been a long time since I had a home-cooked meal like this." Don't get me wrong, Airi and Artemis cooked with love, but they were more focused on making sure the food was good, rather than just cooking with the entirety of their heartfelt feelings, which was understandable since they were cooking for the household and not just myself. As for my parents… unlike in my first life, my second mother rarely cooked at all. "You two make a lovely couple and have raised a wonderful son."
"Fufu! Well, the secret ingredient is love after all! And thank you! Anos-chan really is the best child, isn't he? Yes, yes you are!"
"Come on, mom."
"Do you not have anyone to cook for you?" Gusta asked directly as if sensing my thoughts. Man, I can't overstate how much I love straight-forward, empathetic, earnest parents like these two.
The difference between them and my in-laws (excluding Asia) is like that of heaven and earth. The less said about my parents in this life, the better.
"My wives, the other women staying with me and I take turns cooking-"
"Wives!? Plural! How did you meet them? How many? Wait, y-you will be teaching Anos your casanova ways right? I want lots of grandkids!"
"H-huh what? Two wives, one at school and the other in a dungeon? And I'm pretty sure your son doesn't need any lessons on that..."
"That's right! He's my son alright! The ladies will be swooning over him in no time!"
"They sure will!" I agreed with Gusta instantly.
Anos kept his face stoic, for the most part. The slight curve of his lips showed how much he loved the sight of his parent's sheer happiness.
I wish my new family could have been like this.
I promised myself there and then that I would shower my own children with love just like these two did with their reincarnated demon king.
Life went on peacefully for the next two weeks until Anos got his invitation letter to the demon academy. Incidentally, my special demon magic signature spell paid off, and I managed to get an invitation myself.
"Magic Owls? It's like Hogwarts all over again."
"There's a magical academy in your universe as well?"
"Not quite, it's in a different universe and mostly for human magic users. It's also a pretty famous book series in many other universes, however."
Anos tried to leave to the demon world without his parents after aging himself up but they recognized him in an instant-
"So you've gotten bigger again!"
"I'm surprised you can tell."
"Of course I could tell. Anos-chan is Anos-chan."
-and decided to follow him along!
"... if you'll get lonely, it can't be helped."
I saw the lingering sense of loneliness fall off his expression and could tell just how much his parents truly loved and accepted him at that moment.
The two of us quickly packed everything and were ready to move across worlds, but his parents needed some time to settle their affairs there, so it took a couple of days to move to the demon world.
The day before Anos and I would sit for the tests, his parents and I had a heart-to-heart about my origins after they've started seeing Anos Voldigoad as a real up and coming demon king.
Instead of latching on to the fact that I was a reincarnated person from another universe they were much more concerned about my own relationship with my parents.
"It's not like they don't take care of me. Magic is… not exactly normal there, my parents aren't as open-minded as you two are either. I did my part by revolutionizing technologies and making money with businesses, I tried to spend more time with them but we… couldn't understand each other. Eventually, they just trusted me with my own thing and… stopped trying. Eventually, I stopped trying too. Heck… right now, they don't even know I'm married."
"They love you." Izabella said all of a sudden.
"Yeah, they definitely do." Gusta nodded sagely.
"Huh? But…"
"Nope! They're your parents and I know it in my heart that they love you, they may not know how to show it now, they may even be frightened when you tell them about everything, but they will come to accept you in time so long as you never give up and never stop trying."
Their sheer optimism moved me to the point where I ended up agreeing to set things straight with my parents. Anos's knowing smile at the doorway made me realize that he had set his parents on me to achieve that result.
Honestly, my demon king is way too kind.… he really makes me want to go 120% on my 'competent lackey' roleplay.
A year of over-the-top shenanigans at the titular demon academy was finished without any tragedy, as expected from Anos's invincible MC credentials and my own efforts.
A year of getting outclassed by bullshit HAX from the main villain that pops up every couple of months that I could only hold out against until Anos solved the problem.
I never felt so eclipsed in magical power until Anos fully unlocked his true power.
The totality of my magical reserves could only destroy several solar systems at max, with the right spells and preparations I can move that up to a couple of galaxies, mixed in with my Cultivation techniques and I could do a bit more than that.
My reserves were only a bit higher than his own, but his magical output far outstripped my own, it took examining how the 'Source' interacted with their physical bodies in order to increase my own output, and even then, I still had a long way to go until I could properly compete with the Demon King.
Man, now that I think about it… the entire year was my first true experience in getting outclassed by my usual specialties and had to learn on the fly on how to counter a stronger HAX with different kinds of HAX.
Well, it all paid off, I could now legitimately kill and revive people following the 3-second rule without any complicated workarounds, send my attacks across time, fluctuate my magical power to encompass all possibilities, reincarnate myself, fuse and separate entire beings, transmute my enemies into objects and so much more.
And it all paid off with my own replication of the Silver Sea, which was essentially countless pocket universes layered on top of each other, to finally master my [Domain Rescindment: Eon Reversal] Ascendant God Art.
I also made a couple of friends and… well, I would have to visit one day to resolve some things, but other than that, it was a pretty good time.
That said, the aching loneliness in my heart that formed from not having Airi and Artemis by my side only grew stronger. Training by my lonesome in a dead universe with no sapient lifeforms was perfectly normal for a Cultivator like myself, but going on an adventure and experiencing 'life' beyond training without my wives filled me with a sense of emptiness that was only relieved by the wonderful people I met in the world of 'The Misfit Of Demon King Academy'.
Arriving back at my homeworld just two hours after I departed for my trip, I withheld my urge to see my wives and friends, if only so that I wouldn't give away the fact that I went for a long adventure without them… and also to fulfill the promise I made to Izabella and Gusta.
I reached for my phone and called my parents.
Voicemail. Figures… I reached out for the charms and spells I placed on them and-
-Wait… what the hell?!
[Unified-Realm, Divine Augmentation]
I can't find them.
I can't fucking find them!
They're not in this universe.
I was about to search the past records of the universe but then realized that I would need way more processing power than what I had now, so I opted to utilize a pre-existing system to keep things efficient.
I reappeared right in Heaven and urgently requested of Gabriel to use the system for my selfish request. She agreed immediately and reassured me, then displayed all the results of their last known movements and circumstances.
"They appeared to have… willingly followed some people through a portal here. None of them are recognized by Heaven's system."
"I thought as much. I couldn't find them in this universe… hmm, I'm scanning the area in an attempt to trace them back."
"Dio, there's a letter on the ground."
I almost ignored it if it weren't for Gabriel pointing it out to me.
It was a letter addressed to me with an earnest request written on the front with my home address begging anyone that picked it up to deliver it… I opened the letter in front of Gabriel and sighed in relief.
"Oh thank goodness, turns out that my parents are from a higher realm, I mean, alternate universe. Thomas and Lia Dorana weren't their real names. Turns out that they were the young master and mistress of their respective divine noble families that fell in love with each other and decided to elope together. They had me after living on Earth for a couple of years..."
Gabriel looked at me with surprise on her face, "You don't seem as worried as before."
I smiled brilliantly and pointed to the last words of the letter, "They still love me and that's what matters. I was more worried about them leaving me behind out of disappointment of me being 'just human' or fear of my 'unnatural' talents. I trust their judgement enough to know that they're safe and likely too important to be punished too harshly. I'll find them, teach their families a lesson and bring them back eventually."
Heh. I truly am a Xianxia MC. Anyways, there's no point to rush things go in half-cocked. I need information about their world and general power level before I could formulate some plans.
"Thank you Gabriel, for your help. I really appreciated it. Let me know how I can make it up for you time."
"That isn't necessary at all! I'm just happy that I could help you in return for all you've done for us."
"But I insist! I must repay you somehow."
"Mmnn you don't have to…"
It looked like the word 'hug' was on the top of her tongue, but she did not dare to say it.
Hmm, I have an alternative in mind that she will definitely appreciate.
"Well, I've recently studied up angel physiology and I might have come across a way to help all angels relax with a special massage technique. It's still all very theoretical, but if you have some time off tomorrow night then you could come by my house and help me out with it."
"I would love to!"
She agreed with, ahem, bouncy enthusiasm.
I returned back to Earth a moment later at a particular private island, one that I had made for my parents in mind for their next holiday.
Now that all the urgent matters were attended to, for the time being, and my scouting clones were already hard at work tracing the dimensional signal to my parent's higher realm… I could take some time to calm my heart and mentally prepare myself for seeing everyone again.
Airi had deeply missed her siblings and was currently too busy to spend time with, which was convenient for me given my situation. Alfia was occupied with Final Fantasy right now, Nazica was watching her play by her bedside, Fiore and Radia were in the secret realm… Artemis had just finished dinner and was sitting on top of my home's roof, gazing at the moon above.
I found myself sitting on a rock formation in the freshwater lake I created for the island, looking down at the water's reflection of the moon, idly thinking that Artemis and I were looking at the same thing.
"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"
The heartfelt, poetic way of confessing one's love in Japanese, somehow found its way out of my mouth before I realized what was happening.
Spending time with Anos's family ended up loosening my tongue a lot.
I felt a familiar soothing presence by my side, a whisper reached my ear, "I quite like that. You can say it again, but-"
Artemis placed herself down and bumped against my legs, then leaned behind and rested her back on my sides, sparing my an alluring side-ways glance that sent my heart aflutter.
"- I would appreciate it more if you can say it directly."
"I love you."
"Ehehe… I love you too."
We stayed together like that for a few minutes, basking in one another's presence in quiet appreciation.
"You were gone for a long time."
Her words almost made me jump.
"I needed to master my two trump cards and ended up spending years in dead universes. You know how I'm like when I get to it, the length of time spent never feels significant, especially when I don't have you by my side."
Artemis playfully shoved her shoulder at my own, "Flatterer and Training Maniac, who would have thought you could embody both so perfectly?"
"Oh, no one's perfect, I could still be better." I quipped back and swayed to my left, shoving her slightly in retaliation.
"I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not, but I'll support you either way… so, did you make a lot of new friends?"
"Huh?"
"I won't tell Airi or anyone else, it will be our little secret."
Ah, the jig's up. "How did you know?"
She shifted her position and then placed her head down on my lap, staring back up at me with her bright green eyes, then poked my nose.
"Everything~ While your energy is a dead giveaway from how much 'deeper' it feels, the first thing I noticed was your 'presence', or rather... you feel a lot less guarded than before and more at peace." I blushed at her knowing look, she was right on the mark that I felt more comfortable with who I am and who I could be, especially after spending a year watching the demon king and his family work his charm, "And, this is just a woman's intuition, I feel that you've learned how to trust and believe in others a little better."
I thought back to how I immediately went up to Gabriel, the resident God system expert other than myself, for assistance instead of commandeering the system for my needs. I realized that I picked up a bit of Anos Voldigoad's habit of allowing others to show their stuff and assist in their development, instead of just handling everything himself while giving others opportunities to be rewarded for their loyalty and assistance.
"Yeah, I think so too. Are you alright with that?"
"Of course I am."
"Then I'm fine with that too."
I brushed the back of my hand over her cheek gently and pushed away some stray strands of hair, she giggled and sat back up, then guided my hands to properly embrace her from behind.
"Did you have fun?"
"I did… but I also felt really lonely."
"Hmm?"
"I don't want to spend that kind of time away from you all again. I know that it's 'just a year', but for me, it still felt like an eternity. I know that it's silly, that we're all going to live for such a long time that just a year doesn't matter…"
"It's not wrong to feel that way, you know, even though it was just for a few hours, I felt really lonely during dinner."
"Ah… right, everyone was away or busy… sorry, it's my fault."
She snuggled into my chest and said, "It's alright. You're here now."
"I'm not leaving, not without you."
We ended up spending a few minutes sharing kisses and laughter together. I then started to tell her about my adventures in the other world, though I kept it brief for now and focused on what I learned, more specifically, about my parents and my own feelings.
"I think I had been unfairly comparing my parents right now to the ones in my past life. I used a type of magic Anos showed me to retrieve some of my past life's memories and they were a lot more involved in my life… because they were the few people I involved myself with. I didn't… have a lot of friends, among other things that… it's really embarrassing to talk about."
"You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to. But I will tell you that it's fine, it's 'only' around twenty years plus worth of your life. Hehe, we gods have many years of shameful memories, sometimes up to a millennia's worth of history that we want to forget. It's alright to take your time."
Artemis's words were a balm to my soul. It's times like these that I become more conscious of just how long-lived and experienced Artemis was. Her perspective on life was far 'longer' than my own and it helped to reassure me that I didn't have to rush everything. I didn't need to be desperate to confess all my troublesome thoughts of the past, both in my past and present life.
"Your existence is suited for immortality, but your mindset still hasn't gotten there yet. I don't think it's a bad thing, you know?"
Airi may be a devil but she was raised with a mortal lifestyle in mind. Alfia never expected to live on as long as she did. The Magi living with me could be expected to live well over a hundred if they were careful, but were intimately aware of their own mortality.
None of them had the countenance of an immortal being, the patient kind of acceptance that I needed... not like Artemis did.
"I love you so much."
"Hehehe… I like hearing those words. Will you say them again?"
"I will say it as many times as you want."
"10,000?"
"10,000 every year or every month?"
"I don't know… what will it cost me?"
"Nothing you aren't already paying."
All my worries for the future faded into the background as we simply talked and kept hold of one another until the sun rose from the horizon.
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ENIYA, Feb 8, 2021Report
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Traviswhite97Getting out there.
Joined:Nov 6, 2019Messages:12Likes Received:142
That's cute~
Traviswhite97, Feb 8, 2021Report
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ENIYA, Feb 3, 2021Report
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Birthday8080I trust you know where the happy button is?
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ENIYA said: ↑
Ooooh! Is that why the 'noise' from Heaven's stupid