--- Chapter 114 ---
"Phew." Huo Yuhao sighed while lying on his bed.
After reading the documents related to the Underworld that Grayfia gathered for him, he could conclude the Underworld's situation is more chaotic than he expected.
Books and papers are scattered on the floor, filling up his bedroom to an alarming height like a flood. Some of these documents are extremely rare, and the public never heard of them, nor does the source exist anymore.
"Oh well, what did I expect from a place called the Underworld? The area is no different than the new continent, but too many hands controlling it from the shadow."
"Not to mention the Realm of Death or the Realm of Hades."
Huo Yuhao was suspicious about something when reading the records about the Realm of the Death because Hades governed that area with grim reapers under his control.
Hades and the original devil kings compromised to keep a boundary against each other, the devils cannot enter the Realm of the Death, and Grim Reapers cannot step into the devils' territory. Well, it's against the natural law anyway.
This "Agreement." has been functioning for thousands of years, but that most likely would be broken by Huo Yuhao later. Underworld will be one of Dragon Nest's territories in the future, and he couldn't let Hades meddle with it.
Huo Yuhao also discovered some issues regarding the Nekoshou Race, Nebirous Clan, Cleria Belial, Beal Clan, and Old Satan Faction.
"It's going to take a while because the roots have been staying long in the devils' community, and killing them won't be enough. I need to show them justice and make an example, just like in the past..." His royal blue eyes glowed while recalling the cleaning protocol of Dragon Nest.
Eluxia shivered unknowingly, feeling a ghastly killing intent more potent than anyone she had encountered. She couldn't remember them well, and her memories about that world had always been cloudy. After becoming Huo Yuhao's contracted soul, she experienced new happy memories that replaced the old ones.
'What was that...' The necromancer mumbled to herself.
Tian Meng and Bing Di are napping in their personal spaces, deafening themselves because peaceful times like this rarely happen. And Helena has shown tremendous growth in the last week, developing into a significantly enormous ball of rose light.
Eluxia glanced at Helena and asked, 'Yuhao, I have something-!'
BAM!
The wall of Huo Yuhao's bedroom was smashed from outside, making the whole house tremble slightly. He frowned and used Observation Haki to see what happened, witnessing Scathach chasing Ophis.
"COME HERE!" Scathach excitedly chased over the ouroboros dragon.
Ophis frowned and ran away from this battle maniac as she had no free time because of her. At first, Scathach only tested her staff mastery and then began to bully her with a sharp red stick.
She hates red things because they remind her of Baka Red, but Scathach's red stick is more dangerous.
Ophis doesn't know why, but Scathach's attack actually makes her feel pain, and she doesn't like it.
Scathach waved Gae Bolg Alternative and questioned, "Ophis, why don't you fight back? I'll give you more candy, you know?"
Ophis breathed heavily and replied, "Go away, bully!"
For the first time in her life, Ophis was troubled by something else besides the Baka Red that stole her home.
"Hehe, what about no?" Scathach chuckled and replied while throwing her spear.
"..." Huo Yuhao would have never thought the situation would end up like this.
He rubbed his forehead because Shishou is known as a teaching genius. After all, she could spot one's talent for something quickly. She could uncover one's weakness with a simple glance and determine a training course/method suitable for that individual.
However, she often used unorthodox methods to teach her students and awaken their potential. Scathach probably discovered something bizarre about Ophis and bullied the ouroboros dragon with her hellish training.
A purple magic circle appeared on Huo Yuhao's bed, revealing a sweaty Ophis with a dirty appearance. Her gothic loli dress has ripped in some places.
"Ophis~!" Scathach's voice reached into the room.
"Yuhao, hide me from that bully!" Ophis sounded so desperate for some reason.
Ophis trembled and buried herself inside Huo Yuhao's blanket, hugging his waist. She heard a step approach them and hoped Huo Yuhao would help her. The ouroboros dragon couldn't run away from this woman nor teleport herself because of Primordial Rune: Spatial Lock.
Huo Yuhao sighed and glanced out the window, "What have you done, Shishou? Ophis is a cute dragon, so you don't have to push her that much."
"Give her some rest."
Scathach rested her head on the window frame and hummed, "Hmm, if you say so."
"It would be such a waste of talent, though. Ophis, you want to defeat the Great Red and take over your home back, right? Don't you think my training in the last week has been fruitful to your strength?"
Ophis's small head peeked out of the blanket and replied, "But I don't want to be trained by you. Your red stick is annoying."
Scathach's mouth twitched because of her treasured Gea Bolg Alternative called "Red Stick." by Ophis. She forced a smile flare with a threatening aura and made the ouroboros dragon hide inside Huo Yuhao's blanket again.
"Ophis, what do you want?" Huo Yuhao laughed and patted Ophis's head gently.
"Candy." She answered while hugging his waist.
"I want Yuhao to feed them."
"To me."
Scathach jumped into the room through the window and pulled the blanket away. "Ophis, let's set the ground rules, shall we?" She said, making the ouroboros dragon frown slightly.
Even though Ophis believed Scathach was annoying, there is no mistake that bullying/training increased her strength slowly but surely. Still, she couldn't trust Scathach at all.
"What's it?" Ophis replied while hiding behind Huo Yuhao.
"You can only spend two hours with Yuhao a day. Maybe less after his mother returned but limited nonetheless." Scathach stated while sitting on the bed. "Trust me, if you think of me as a bully, then Yuhao's mother is more monstrous than me."
"You can't hide from her, and Yuhao won't protect you forever."
"She probably has set her eyes on every woman close to Huo Yuhao when arriving in this world."
"I-Is Yuhao's mother that strong?" Ophis couldn't help but question Scathach. She felt nervous because Yuhao did say a few things about his mother a week ago.
Scathach smirked playfully and said, "Her name is Huo Yun'er. She possessed power over destiny and fate. If you committed one mistake toward Huo Yuuhao, that was enough to make your fate miserable in her hands."
"Well, Huo Yun'er doesn't have to lay in her hand on her target. She could curse someone with just a thought."
"I-I see..." Ophis tried to maintain her flat expression, but hearing about Huo Yun'er from Scathach made her even more afraid of the future.
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, "Stop scaring her too, Shishou. Mom wouldn't do something too extreme to a girl like Ophis."
"Hmm?" Ophis realized she was getting swayed by Scathach again.
"You Bully!"
The ouroboros dragon pouted, which made Scathach giggle because this girl was so easy to bully. However, that also means Ophis's ignorance is easy to exploit, and Scathach assumes someone is messing around with her soul.
'It's imperfect. Ophis might not realize it, but separating a portion of her power creates an imbalance. According to Yuhao, someone tricked Ophis by making her sacrifice a little over 1/4 of her full power.' Scathach thought while staring at Ophis.
"Ophis is like a baby koala hiding behind her dad for some reason." She commented casually.
"Shishou!" Huo Yuhao was speechless.
"Hehe." Scathach laughed in entertainment.
"Yuhao-sama, everything is ready-!"
Grayfia suddenly entered the room and watched Huo Yuhao lying on the bed with Ophis hugging and Scathach sitting near him with a playful smirk.
She was stunned and calmed down because this should be the expected scenery from now on. After all, a person like Yuhao-sama wouldn't get satisfied with just one or two women.
'Don't worry, Yuhao-sama! I'll be a worthy maid and woman for you in the future!' The devil maid somehow vowed for an entirely different reason than her original duty. Lucifer would be wondering where the heck his last will is going.
Huo Yuhao stretched his body slightly and replied, "Well, it's time to go."
"Do you want to follow us, Shishou?"
Scathach rolled her eyes and said, "No. I heard the Underworld is full of weak ass devils, which sounds uninteresting to me."
"I'll stay in the compound and train Ophis."
"Hmm, I don't wanna..." Ophis responded while squinting her eyes at Scathach. "I'll follow Yuhao to the underworld, and we might find Rizevim there."
"Everything is decided then." Huo Yuhao nodded while thinking about something.
"We need one member to help me finish the Nebirous Clan's case."
"Grayfia, have Koneko from Rias Gremory's Peerage visited the compound recently?" He asked the maid.
Grayfia pondered and answered, "About that, Rias Gremory and her peerage went to the Underworld too, Yuhao-sama. After the Kuoh Academy got attacked by Kokabiel, the devil kings decided to hold training camp alongside the school holiday."
"Perfect, I only have to contact Kuroka." Huo Yuhao summoned his magic circle and told the black cat to visit the Dragon Nest Compound in a few hours.
"Grayfia, can you cook breakfast for me? I want to wash up my body."
"Right away, Yuhao-sama~!" Grayfia smiled and disappeared in a flash.
Scathach couldn't help but sneer and commented, "That Maid sure is enthusiastic about serving you."
Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied, "Grayfia is a good maid."
...
As Huo Uuhao walked to the shower, he remembered Eluxia was saying something. 'Teacher Eluxia, did you want to say something before?' He asked calmly.
'It's nothing.' Eluxia answered from the spiritual sea,
The necromancer watched Huo Yuhao meticulously and shook her head because neverending suspicion would lead to her demise. She should have trusted her host more.
'What am I even thinking?' She shook her head gently, watching Huo Yuhao take off his clothes.
Eluxia looked down at the something hanging between Huo Yuhao's legs and blushed slightly. 'W-Well, It's not that bad, I suppose.' She coughed dryly.