Chapter 9: The Kuoh Town (2)
"So even Flash can't outrun what the writers smoke, huh…" Latia looked at the television with a bland expression while munching on some snacks. A few seconds later, she turned towards the mobile phone in my hands. "Hm, aren't you watching?"
'Ah, so it's season seven…'
The CGI was enough for me to identify which season it was.
"The only thing good about that show is the Reverse Flash and Zoom, maybe Savitar, too, but that doesn't change the fact that it just went downhill after season three."
The splitting up of the original team flash made it even worse.
After all, even lying to my mother had worse consequences than Barry altering the timeline.
"You have already watched it?"
"Well, yeah."
"But you don't have to be that mean about it… The show is still pretty fun."
I never said it wasn't fun, though.
"Wait until you see speedsters fighting with lightsabers."
With how much she liked the show, Latia's reaction to that would be hilarious.
"Hmmm…" Noticing that I wasn't going to continue this conversation, Latia leaned towards me, trying to get a look at my mobile screen. "What's this?"
"I'm watching kids bump into skaters in a skate park and getting hurt..."
I must say, it was oddly satisfying.
"That's a very disturbing hobby." Latia switched off the television as the snacks around her disappeared, reappearing on the table. "We should sleep now, or Alice will be mad. And we need to leave for our last destination tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah."
Tomorrow, we'll visit the final destination of our little trip—Japan.
The reason why it was last on our list despite being an active zone for supernatural activities was because it was where the plot of DxD would happen, which wasn't a reason enough, to be honest.
Other than that, we already visited Italy, England, India, Russia, the United States of America, Greece, France, Egypt, and even places that weren't much of an active zone for the supernaturals.
We were currently in Romania, the Astaroth Clan's territory.
Our territory bordered the lands of the Carmilla Faction, a female-dominated Vampire Faction.
However, since Vampires had enough internal conflicts, there wasn't much trouble between the Devils and Vampires in Romania. The overseer of Romania and the Carmilla Faction stayed out of each other's ways, not bothering each other unless necessary, which was for the best.
We also met the current overseer of this territory, and during that meeting, something rather interesting happened.
One of the overseer's servants possessed a Sacred Gear, and although it wasn't an extraordinary gear, it was enough to arouse my curiosity.
After the Great Sage analysed the servant's body, there was something else inside it, apart from the Sacred Gear.
An Evil Piece was implanted inside the servant's chest, which made perfect sense, considering he was a Reincarnated Devil.
But what didn't make sense was that Alice's body had no such Evil Piece inside it, so how was she even a Reincarnated Devil, or was she a Half Devil/Human Hybrid?
Great Sage had analysed her body a few years ago, and since there was no Evil Piece inside her, I assumed that it was something that merged with a person's flesh, but apparently, that wasn't the case.
Then, why was Alice posing as Ajuka's [Knight] when she wasn't even part of his peerage, and what was her background?
Or could it be that the Evil Pieces back then were different from the ones used by Devils now? Even something as incredible as the Evil Pieces might need a few upgrades.
That made me even more curious about Alice's background, but since it was only a matter of time before I found out about it eventually, there was no need for me to push things.
After all, everyone has a few secrets, don't they?
Moving on to our current situation, Latia and I had been roommates for a long time.
As for the reason? She was too scared to sleep alone in a hotel room since she always slept with Vanessa ever since birth.
At first, she slept with Alice for a few days, but the latter pushed Latia onto me after realising that she had a bad habit of moving around in bed.
But unlike what I'd expect of a child, Latia admitted she was scared to sleep alone on our first day in Rome without any problems.
"Man, I'm thirsty."
I raised my palm towards the water bottles placed on the table, and moments later, one of the bottles flew right into my hand.
"Hey, how did you do that? That wasn't Wind Magic, right?"
Latia jumped towards me, bringing her face just a few inches away from mine.
"[Gravity Magic.]"
"But I can't do that with Gravity Magic."
"Because you don't know how to. I can even do this."
"Woah!"
Latia exclaimed as she fell backwards on the bed, making it seem like somebody had forcefully pushed her down.
"But didn't you say you could only change the weight of an object only by a little bit? How can you create the phenomenon of attraction and repulsion all of a sudden? Does that mean you can apply [Gravity Magic] to things in your sight from any direction… Or perhaps it has a certain range?"
Latia got up, bringing her face closer to mine once again.
"Shut up for a second."
I pushed her face away with my hand, holding her head still until she calmed down.
"That wasn't something special, just a small application of [Gravity Magic]…"
For the next few minutes, I explained the basics of how to manipulate a target's gravitational field to cause a desired effect, and Latia listened seriously.
"Gravitational fields… Do you mean the weird pattern that appears around a target when I use [Gravity Magic]?"
The frown on her little face was rather cute, though.
'Weird pattern? Right, she doesn't even properly understand what gravity is yet, much less gravitational fields…'
Latia's understanding of [Gravity Magic] was more or less zero. The only reason she could utilise it was because I let her copy the spell formation with her clan trait, but without the knowledge, being innovative with it was impossible.
"Try this instead…"
A Magic Circle appeared between us, revealing the spell formation of how to create the phenomenon of attraction and repulsion with [Gravity Magic] before disappearing a few seconds later.
"Hmmm… I think I can do it."
Latia raised her hand towards the rest of the water bottles on the table, closing her eyes.
After a minute, she opened her eyes, and a water bottle dashed towards her, but there was something I noticed.
'Her aim is a little off…'
Knowing what was about to happen, I watched as the water bottle collided with the blonde's forehead, earning a groan from her, but she looked happy regardless.
"I did it, Azrail!"
She exclaimed with a slightly red forehead, which had a small bump on it.
"You sure did, but don't get hurt like that…" I rubbed her forehead, massaging the bump lightly. "No one will marry you if you have a scar on your face, you know?"
'No wonder magicians hate our clan's guts… She copied the thing I worked on for more than half an hour in seconds without even realizing what she was doing…'
The ability to copy Custom Spells as long as one either understood the spell formation or had it revealed to them was annoying for those who dedicated their entire lives to magic, especially if the other party was a [Bishop].
And since Latia already knew the basics of [Gravity Magic], it wasn't a surprise that she could do a trick like this even without knowing how it worked.
'But I wonder… How far can she take the [Power of Time] with the buff provided by [High IQ] if I train her…'
That was what interested me the most since her natural control over the [Power of Time] far surpassed any Pure-Blooded Devil from the Agares Clan.
"Tee-hee." Latia giggled.
"Don't 'Tee-hee' me."
"But if that happened, then I'd just marry you!"
That was pretty disturbing to hear, considering she was five, not to mention my brother's daughter, so I ignored her comment, only giving out a dry laugh in response.
[Notice. Magic Formation Successful. The spell, A Corpse Never Lies, is now available.]
Great Sage's sudden callout had surprised me a little.
I never imagined that [A Corpse Never Lies] would be completed so soon.
"What's up?"
Latia looked at me with a confused expression.
"It's nothing. I am just a bit sleepy."
"Hmmm…" Latia turned towards the wall clock, noting that it was past midnight. "It's already way past twelve, so let's go to sleep."
"You're right."
"Mmh…"
Latia grabbed my hand and placed it above her head, wanting me to stroke her head.
Although I did it randomly one day, she developed a habit of getting her head stroked before going to sleep.
It was only a minor thing for me, but if Vanessa were here, she would have said that I was spoiling her little girl a bit too much.
"Good night, Azrail."
"Good night."
With things peaceful and quiet, I decided to look into the spell that Great Sage had just completed.
'Great Sage, transfer the Spell Formation to my brain...'
[Answer. Understood.]
The feeling when my brain got imprinted with information was weird, but it wasn't uncomfortable. I'd even say it was a rather pleasant sensation, similar to a gentle head pat.
But of course, most people wouldn't know how a gentle head pat felt.
After the information was imprinted inside my brain successfully, I internally nodded at Great Sage's handiwork.
'Good work, Great Sage.'
[Answer. Thank you, Master.]
The spell turned out exactly how I wanted it to be.
[A Corpse Never Lies.]
[Category: Custom Spell.]
[Usage: Allows the user to look into a target's memories in a video format, regardless of their race or strength. However, it only works on dead life forms. Through Great Sage, a target's memories are automatically stored to be used later.]
'Yup, that's it.'
The common [Mind Control] and [Mind Reading] spells that Devils used were only effective against normal humans, as the more magical power one had, the less affected they were by these spells.
And even if I were to get my hands on better spells regarding mind reading, strong individuals would be able to defend themselves without much trouble.
On the other hand, [A Corpse Never Lies] worked on everyone, regardless of their race or the power they once possessed. The only condition is that the target's corpse must be intact, or their head, to be precise.
A person has their memories stored in two places: The Mind and the Soul.
My current self couldn't mess with a dead person's soul, so the best bet was to extract their memories from their mind.
In a way, the brain was similar to a hard drive, while the soul was a cloud storage.
'This spell will save me from the troubles of torturing someone to extract information; it'll be a lot easier to kill someone and simply watch their memories… By the way, Great Sage, how is the [Army of the Dead] spell doing?'
[Answer. No progress has been made as Master lacks data about a person's soul and necromancy in general.]
How convenient it would've been if one of the 72 Pillars had a Clan Trait related to Necromancy.
A shame.
'What about the study about Clan Traits?'
[Answer. It is confirmed that a Devil's Clan Trait isn't imprinted on their physical body but on their Demonic Power itself. Master lacks data regarding other Clan Traits, so nothing else could be confirmed.]
Something that was imprinted on someone's Demonic Power, huh?
'There's only so much I can confirm by using my demonic power and body as a test subject...'
'But there must be a factor that synchronised a Devil's Clan Traits with their physical bodies, or the Phenex Clan would've been able to make others regenerate simply by pouring their Demonic Power into someone' body, or the Bael Clan wouldn't have any resistance against their Power of Destruction…'
'If that's the case, I'd need to do some extra things.'
'Even this little information was confirmed by observing the differences between both my and Latia's demonic power signatures for a long time...'
Well, the amount of freedom I had to experiment would increase after becoming the overseer of a territory within the human world, so there was no need to be hasty.
'What about [Darkness Magic]?'
[Answer. No significant progress because of the lack of data.]
Figured as much.
'Great Sage, wake me up in 4 hours.'
[Answer. Understood, Master.]
---
[Human World: Japan.]
"Oh, we can finally enjoy some nice hot springs!"
"You could've just used the ones back at the Gremory Territory, no?"
"You don't get it, Azrail. Hot springs are only fun when you're in Japan. And since the hotels are owned by the Gremory Clan, it's the same thing."
"It's not."
Looking at how Alice and I were going on and on about hot springs, Latia interrupted and decided to change the topic.
"So, Alice, where are we?"
"Kyoto!"
Alice was a lot more excited than she had been in any of our destinations so far, which made me wonder if she was a hidden Japanholic.
"The place where the Kyoto Youkai Faction and the Five Principal Clans reside, huh?"
The Five Principal Clans were a group of powerful human clans of Shinto Mystics who carried a divine connection to the Shinto Gods and had served them for generations. If I wasn't wrong, each of the five clans had an element they could control, ranging from Wood, Water, Metal, Fire, and Earth.
Of course, that wasn't enough to get my attention. What interested me the most were the Five Sacred Beasts passed down within the clans, with each being more powerful than the other.
If there were an appropriate opportunity in the future, I'd probably make sure to 'visit' them.
"You know a bit too much about the Human world."
Ignoring Latia's comment, I turned towards Alice.
"By the way, Alice, there is a place called Kuoh Town in Japan, right?"
"Indeed, why do you ask?"
"I want to go there."
"Is there anything special about that place?"
"Not really; I'm just interested, that's all."
"Hmmm." Alice pondered for a few seconds. "From what I remember, that town's overseer is Cleria Belial, Diehauser Belilal's cousin. It will be good for you to know her, so let's go there after we're done roaming around Kyoto."
Cleria Belial—I researched a bit about her some time ago.
She was the current overseer of Kuoh Town, which was most likely the centre of DxD's plot.
'Maybe Cleria Belial is also an important person in the plot?'
That would be entertaining.
"Where will we be going first, Alice?"
"Let's go to Kyoto Station. The shopping mall there has a lot of different things. After that, we will go to the Kyoto Sirzechs Hotel and check-in. I've already reserved our rooms."
"A hotel named after Lord Lucifer? What the hell is the Gremory Clan even thinking these days?"
In every place we went, we mostly stayed at hotels owned by the Gremory Clan, which made it easier to get luxurious rooms even in the busiest times.
But to think there was a hotel named after Sirzechs, I found it rather funny, for some reason.
"Now, you shouldn't talk about a Pillar Clan like that…"
Before Alice could lecture me any further, Latia helped me out by jumping into the conversation.
"Hey, Alice! We should get going! We have to buy souvenirs for our parents from Japan, too, so let's go!" She tugged Alice's shirt, expressing her desires with her big, innocent, and bright eyes. "I want to see Japan, too!"
Thanks, Latia.
"Alright."
Alice accepted her defeat and held out her hands. I grabbed her left hand while Latia grabbed her right hand, and soon, the three of us started walking towards Kyoto Station since it wasn't that far from us.
.
.
.
"Hey, hey, Azrail, let's go to that Purikura."
Latia pulled my arm while I was munching on some newfound snacks.
"Can't you see I am eating right now? And why are you calling it a Purikura? Just say a photo booth."
"C'mon, all you do in every damn country is eat. If you weren't a Devil, you would've transformed into a pig by now."
"That's a rude thing to say… And if I were to—Hm?"
Stopping mid-sentence, I turned around and looked at the man Alice was staring at with slightly wide eyes. From her expression, it seemed like she knew who that man was.
"Huh, Baraqiel?"
'Baraqiel, The Fallen Angel Cadre…? And he's with a human woman and a little girl?'
"Alice…" As Baraqiel's words finished, he stepped in front of the woman and child while raising his hand sideways. "Why are you here?"
Was he trying to protect them from Alice?
'That's a rude thing to do, but then again, we're Devils...'
For a moment, my eyes met with the little girl behind Baraqiel, but she soon averted her gaze and hugged the woman, looking a bit scared.
'Don't act like I'll eat you, brat…'
The woman patted the girl's back, trying to calm her down.
"Wait, Baraqiel, the Lightning of God and one of the founding members of Grigori?"
It seemed like the Astaroth Clan's efforts in Latia's education hadn't yet gone to waste, unlike the heir of our clan.
"There's no need to be on guard, Baraqiel." Alice smiled at the Fallen Angel Cadre. "I am just here as a tour guide. If I wanted to do something, you would've gone missing centuries ago. You know that, right?"
Baraqiel frowned, but he still lowered his stance, indicating that he wasn't looking for a fight.
"Why are you here? I never knew Beelzebub's [Knight] was a babysitter, too."
For a second, Baraqiel looked at me and Latia, but his gaze returned to Alice.
"There's no need to be hostile. I am just here for a vacation, and even I wouldn't want to fight in a place that'd kill thousands of people..." Alice was a bit too relaxed about the situation, unlike the fallen angel, and her smile widened slightly. "Not unless you want to, that is…"
"Very well."
"Hm?" Alice looked at the woman behind Baraqiel, only to let out a small laugh in amazement. "That aura… A woman from the Himejima Clan, and you even have a child with her? I don't know whether to laugh or congratulate you..."
'So that girl's a Fallen Angel/Human Hybrid, huh? Not to mention that her father is Baraqiel, the user of Holy Lightning...'
That was certainly interesting.
'Although, it'd be more fun if she inherited a Sacred Gear...'
"It's none of your business."
Baraqiel was visibly annoyed by Alice's comment.
"I don't care about your love life, but the Himejima Clan won't take it nicely, so you better be careful… While they can't do anything to you, I wouldn't be so sure about those two."
Although Alice said what was on her mind, there was barely any concern in her voice.
"Are the Five Principal Clans on bad terms with Fallen Angels?" Latia asked, placing her index finger on her chin.
"From what I read, they're stuck-up humans who think too highly of themselves, especially the older generations, and they're way too suspicious of anything that isn't related to the Shinto Gods, like Devils and Fallen Angels… In a sense, most of them are similar to High-Ranking Devil nobles…."
"The way you say it is easier to understand."
Latia nodded at my explanation.
Alice turned towards me, and soon, she sighed. "I won't even ask you to be careful of your words now, but please don't rub off on Latia." And she gave up. "Let's go. We have more places to visit tomorrow."
"Yeah, I need more snacks."
"Let's go to the photo booth, Azrail."
"Let me eat some snacks first… We have clicked thousands of photos around the world already. Our priority is to find a sushi restaurant, too."
"Is your brain incapable of thinking about stuff other than food?"
"For now, yeah."
We soon walked away from the Fallen Angel and his family, and after we were at a distance from them, I gave Baraqiel and his daughter one last glance.
Our eyes met, and I smiled at the black-haired girl.
.
.
.
We stayed in Kyoto for about a week, and honestly, nothing much happened after we ran into Baraqiel and his family.
The only event worth remembering was when we met some Youkai who were causing trouble, but Alice dealt with them while teaching us how to use Demonic Power more creatively and efficiently.
She was a diligent teacher.
The Youkai's Youjutsu and Senjutsu were somewhat interesting, and although I had no plans of actually learning them, studying them should be worth it.
After all, life force was one of the topics I had been researching for the past few years.
That incident, however, once again reminded me that my babysitter was an Ultimate Class Devil with how effortlessly she dealt with the Youkai.
After that happened, we left Kyoto and arrived at the place I had wanted to visit for a long time.
Kuoh Town.
---
Words: 3,576
A/N: Been a week since the fic started uploading. Nice.
It even crossed 500 PS, so thanks.