Chapter Text
Ungnyeo carefully watches the body of the dragon twitch for a minute after its neck is severed. The young Oni collapses bonelessly on the suddenly calm water a fair distance from the titanic corpse. The Bikou boy circles back on that cloud of his, fishing her out of the water before returning to the beach.
The moment the dragon's body stops moving, signalling the end of the event, she stops holding back her anger for the sake of decorum.
Growling lowly she turns to the assembled deities in the viewing area. The spacious and luxurious tent that they are watching from is instantly filled with her suffocating killing intent.
"Now that customs and conventions aren't holding me back -I want the bastards who decided to bless that monstrosity out of my country, never to return. Neither them, their descendants or anyone bearing their blessing is welcome here."
"I don't care what kind of messed up reason you have for siccing that beast on these children, you will never be welcome here again." She glares at the two obvious suspects, even if she doesn't have the power to directly punish them for it.
"Now now, Lady Ungnyeo, I'm sure nobody here was involved." The Old Monkey pipes up mildly, unaffected by her anger.
She turns her glare at him wondering what his game is. It's obvious who did this. There isn't a single person here that hasn't figured it out.
"None of us would dare tempt your wrath." Susanoo backs him up with a flirtatious grin and a wink towards Ungnyeo.
Damn handsome bastard, Ungnyeo thinks blushing lightly. He's lucky they're both married.
No, bad Ungnyeo, you're supposed to be pissed off right now.
"Obviously one of our enemies managed to sneak through a barrier powered by us all, undetected." Vidar snorts at Susanoo's proposed scenario.
There is almost zero chance of that occurring under their noses.
"Even if they are able to do all that they would naturally still fear us. Therefore, rather than challenge us, they went after our chosen mortals." The Shinto Storm god continues with a smug grin.
Sun Wukong cracks and chuckles.
He sighs theatrically, his conical hat shadowing his features solemnly, "It could have been devastating were it not for the bravery displayed by these young heroes."
Ungnyeo catches Fujin whisper to his brother causing Raijin to start cackling excitedly. These damn foreigners are keeping her out of the loop and she isn't happy about it one bit.
Quickly enhancing her hearing, she is able to catch them whisper something about wind patterns changing over Kyoto.
"Hold on one moment." The Old Monkey says, tapping on his sunglasses and pressing a finger to his ear.
"Hey, Greenie, how's it hanging?" He makes a surprised expression after a second.
"No, I'm not busy right now." He cackles with a wide grin. "Wait, really?"
"Who would be stupid enough to do that?" The Great Sage says moving in such a way as to make it obvious he's rolling his eyes, "No, of course, I'm kidding, I'm well aware of who did it."
"He's right over here." The Monkey hikes a thumb over to an ashen looking deity from his contingent, then proceeds to laugh along with whoever is on the other end of the call.
"I know right, what a moron?" Sun Wukong sighs happily.
"We still on for this weekend?" He barks a sharp laugh at the response, "You bet. I'll catch you later, Greenie!"
After hanging up he looks around at the assembled gods. He rubs his head feigning embarrassment, "Sorry about that, you guys. He really should have known I was busy and not to call."
Ungnyeo's eye twitches as she remembers the monkey specifically saying he wasn't busy.
He sits in silence and pretends nothing happened until, fed up with his shenanigans, Ungnyeo growls at him, "What was that about you senile old man!"
"Oh, I didn't say?" He picks his ear lazily.
He doesn't finish his sentence until one of the gods in his contingent sighs. Then mercifully he pretends to realize everyone was waiting for him to answer.
"Some idiot decided to lay down a blessing in this area without filing the proper paperwork. They even blessed a foreign creature outside their jurisdiction." He says casually leaning his head on his palm.
The ashen-faced deity is progressively looking as though his soul is being sucked out from sheer terror. "Anyway, the Jade Emperor called to say that the perpetrator is being stripped of their divinity and removed from the Celestial Bureaucracy."
There's a loud puff of air and the deity in question disappears.
Sun Wukong tilts his glasses down and rubs his chin looking confused, "I wonder why he left in such a hurry?"
"Well, the sudden departure of our friend aside, whoever did this is quite bold." Sun Wukong says leaning back in his chair.
"With how peaceful things have been in the last few decades, it's basically impossible to get a new position in the bureaucracy. The odds on them regaining their divinity is nearly zero." The other deities from the Celestial Beauracracy shiver at that.
It's hard enough to gain a minor position nowadays and even then you basically need to know someone higher up or expose the corruption of a lower official by yourself.
There is a reason the Celestial Bureaucracy has been voted the most cutthroat work environment for the last century without losing its spot once.
Ungnyeo watches the more troublesome gods in the gathering attempt to hold back laughter at the moron's misfortune. Her anger is somewhat abated by Sun Wukong's retaliation but there is still another party that needs to be punished.
She watches as Susanoo leans closer to Suijin and mock whispers loud enough for everyone to hear. "There's been an incident that you should know about."
"Apparently, the conservative faction of the Doumon clan have all mysteriously fallen ill. Some nasty pathogen was in their water from what I can tell." Susanoo smirk holds a dangerous edge and Ungnyeo curses her traitorous heart when it beats faster.
"I don't know how it happened since you are a water god and they have your blessing." The Shinto Storm god sits back in his chair and shrugs. "Maybe a more powerful god was pissed off that you tried to harm their minion?"
"You even tried to use a proxy, like a coward. I guess it makes sense that you would piss someone off acting like that." Susanoo says conversationally, the angry glint in his eyes belying his expression.
Suijin makes to speak but Susanoo releases a wave of power that steals his breath.
"It's a shame they won't be able to worship you anymore either. The weirdest thing about it is that I have a ton of new prayers bouncing around my head from the rest of the Doumon clan." Suijin grits his teeth realizing he's lost his most fervent worshippers due to this petty manoeuvre.
"It's almost like they've decided to take a new patron. Eh, those turtles have always been good at reading the tides." Susanoo says lazily.
"Do you think I'll just allow this?" Suijin grits out once Susanoo lowers his aura.
Susanoo blinks before laughing, "The better question is whether you can do anything about it. What, did you think I'd care what you think?"
Lightning flashes behind his eyes as he gives the water god a frigid glance, "I ignored your meddling because it's good for my minion to be challenged. You are not, nor will you ever be a threat to my interests."
The ground underneath Suijin cracks as Susanoo's aura concentrates on the other god, "Know your place."
Suijin storms out of the viewing area and disappears in a flash of blue. Nobody misses the slight limp to his step, however.
Raijin leans over to whisper to his brother and this time Ungnyeo is ready, enhancing her senses to listen in, "When do you think the glorified water boy will realize that our cousin gets material claims on the dragon's corpse? The idiot gave her metric tons of divinity enhanced materials."
Fujin and Raijin laugh merrily together at the shared joke.
Ungnyeo finds their banter amusing as well, even if her anger is still simmering beneath the surface.
It was hard enough to suppress her protective instincts when the Tengu girl got teleported inside the dragon. Now letting the culprits go with slaps on the wrist is leaving a bad taste in her mouth.
Suijin especially won't take this humiliation lying down. Ungnyeo glances at Susanoo who winks at her with a grin. She narrows her eyes at the man, realizing he knows this as well.
He has a plan to deal with that though, right?
"Well, we've sat around for long enough letting the youngsters handle everything." Sun Wukong says, standing up with a stretch. "Time to wrap things up."
Susanoo snaps his fingers at his subordinate gods, Fujin and Raijin. "Since you two are enjoying yourselves so much: you can have fun fishing out the remaining dragon corpses from the water."
"Aw, come on boss, don't be like that," Raijin whines petulantly.
"Yeah, let's all work together instead!" Fujin pleads as the assembled deities look away from the pitiful duo.
Susanoo smirks and waves his hand toward the exit of the tent. "Off you go. Make sure to separate the bones and scales from the meat and organs as well. Also, check with my minion before dismantling the largest one. If I was her, I would want to keep it as a trophy."
"Dammit, come on Brother. Let's get this done quickly." Raijin says trudging out with his head hung low.
Ungnyeo bites her lip as they leave, "I'll go check on the brats while the cleanup is happening. We're still reconvening here later to discuss everything right?"
Vidar snaps his fingers and the table in the centre of the tent is covered in a bountiful feast. "Of course, Lady Ungnyeo, we still need to discuss the exploits of the younger generation today."
Ungnyeo nods and leaves the tent, heading towards the brats in question.
As her feet pad along the sand towards the group of youngsters, she notices that they're hanging out in a single vague group. Still, there seem to be a few distinct conversations happening at once.
The Valkyrie and Vermillion Bird inheritor as chatting with each other off to the side. The Viking brothers are wrestling a scaled horse into submission with the samurai, though they seem to be failing in that endeavour. The rest are crowded around the quadrupedal dragon Ibaraki captured early in the day.
Both her country's lone representative and the Oni girl have returned to consciousness in the short time between the death of the final dragon and now.
Apparently, the first thing they needed to do was pester the dragons that were captured earlier. The Monkey King is laughing while holding Ibaraki back as she slashes her claws toward a shivering dragon.
Even though she is displaying a lot of energy as she struggles in Bikou's hold, she still looks tired. That last attack clearly took a lot out of her even if she woke up quickly.
The sounds of the ensuing argument are what drifts into her ears first as she approaches.
"-If you say you win the competition because the final kill was a team effort, I can accept it! What I can't accept is the fact I lost because of that." She growls and kicks her feet out. The claws on her toes almost scrape across the dragons tail.
"Now just let go of me so I can kill this one right here!" The dragon continues cowering as its new master rages a short distance away. It's is too terrified to run away but knows it shouldn't stay here any longer.
"Don't be a sore loser about it, Ibaraki." Bikou gets out between laughs, "It's just a single favour."
"And I'm saying it's just a single dragon! If you let go I can skin this guy and we will have tied." She struggles more.
Haneul walks past Bikou and Ibaraki, sighing wearily. Ungnyeo smiles at the sight of him getting along with the others. She was afraid he would either not talk to anyone or fight them all.
Her representative starts to drag the terrified reptile away by its tail, "Oi, you traitor get back here! I thought we were friends! Turncoats, the lot of you."
"Didn't you say you were bringing the dragon back as a pet for your sister?" The Tengu Princess asks confused.
"It isn't like Shuten knows I was bringing a dragon back." Ibaraki points out, ceasing her struggles. "I can always find her another one later."
Her companions look at her askance.
"Do you think dragons grow on trees? They're incredibly rare creatures and most of them aren't 'tameable' to any degree." Seiryuu points out.
"Anything is tameable if you hit it hard enough!" Ibaraki says cracking her knuckles and laughing.
"Is that true Brother Feng?" The white-haired Daoist asks the mountainous archer innocently while tugging on his sleeve.
Feng Meng chuckles patting her on the head, "Try not to take everything our friend here says at face value. While there is a hint of truth there, the statement is also very incorrect."
Seiryuu looks at Ibaraki with a smirk, "The moment you appear heroic your true nature as a violent thug shines through."
Ungnyeo laughs when Ibaraki nods beaming at the young man. "Thank you for the compliment."
"It wasn't one." The Azure Dragon inheritor says pinching his brow.
Deciding to make her entrance at that moment, Ungnyeo speaks up, "Good job out there kids."
"Oh, hey Ungnyeo," Ibaraki says, running up to her. "What's up?"
She ruffles Ibaraki's hair causing the young woman to squawk at her, "I came to let you kids know that things are wrapping up soon."
"That's a shame, I was just getting warmed up." Ungnyeo rolls her eyes at Ibaraki's statement.
"Sure, pretend you aren't having difficulty keeping yourself upright at the moment." To prove her point, Ungnyeo pokes the girl in the forehead causing her to teeter dangerously.
"Rude." The Oni says with narrowed eyes.
Snorting the Korean Goddess heads over to where Haneul is sitting next to Ibaraki's pet dragon. He waves lazily to her and dips his head in acknowledgement. He looks exhausted from using his Balance Breaker which considering the power he displayed at that moment, she can't blame him for.
"Impressive work." She says with a smile, "I would have preferred if you killed more than one dragon but the show you put on fighting Ibaraki was an adequate trade-off."
"It was hardly a fight, we both held back a lot." He points out.
"That doesn't matter. You showed off enough that the others won't think you're a pushover." She ruffles his hair, something he would avoid if he had the energy.
"I still need to improve somehow." He mutters, laying back against the dragon's belly.
Seeing the reptile so placid is amusing in its own right given its nature. That tiger of Ibaraki's sure put the fear of God in the little dragon.
"I have a suggestion that might help." Ungnyeo jumps in surprise when Ibaraki appears beside her.
"Don't do that." She scolds the Oni, hiding her embarrassment at being snuck upon.
Ibaraki snickers, entirely too pleased with herself.
"Before I get into my suggestion, we're all exchanging our phone numbers so we can keep in touch." Ibaraki pulls out her phone and hands it to him.
"Put your number in there and you can collect everyone else's numbers later." Ibaraki glances at her dragon while Haneul does as she asked.
She steps around to the front of the creature and crouches down in front of it. The Oni hums as she pries open the mouth of the creature and examines it. She goes as far as sticking her head in but the dragon doesn't even make an attempt at eating her.
The dragon looks at her fearfully as she backs away. "Are you just going to hold your mouth open forever now? Close it already."
Its jaws snap close and the younger woman sighs, "I wanted a tamed dragon, not a toothless lizard. My sister is going to get bored of you if you're such a coward."
"We can work on that later, I guess," Ibaraki grumbles, shaking her head in annoyance.
Her eyes narrow as she looks over the full length of the dragon's prone form. "...You're not going to fit inside the house…"
Ungnyeo barks a sharp laugh at the mental image the words invoke. She can imagine Ibaraki futilely pushing the dragon into a door, the reptile wiggling and shaking its legs in protest.
"Right, shrink down to a manageable size." The dragon must notice the glint in Ibaraki's eyes because it makes a series of distressed squeaks.
Its vocalizations sound a lot like a juvenile crocodile, Ungnyeo muses. Which means the squeaks are annoyingly reminiscent of rubbing balloons together.
"No complaints," The younger woman says tapping it on the nose, "Your 'Father' is big enough to circle the planet but can fit in the relatively shallow waters between Japan and Korea while vigorously mating. If that doesn't say that Jormungandr can shrink, I don't know what does."
Haneul makes a funny face when Ibaraki mentions vigorous mating causing Ungnyeo to chuckle. He probably hadn't put much thought into how all these dragons were conceived until now.
The dragon lets out a distressed call again causing Ibaraki to frown, "Just compress yourself, I don't know."
It hisses at her and she shrugs, "Make big dragon into little dragon. Chop chop, dude."
She squints at the dragon and tilts her head, "Dudette? I don't know how to tell with reptiles."
It snaps at her and rumbles threateningly. "Ah, okay, that makes sense."
"Can you actually understand the dragon?" Haneul asks suddenly.
Ibaraki, hearing this, looks at him like he's an idiot. "Of course not. When would I learn how to speak dragon?"
'Then how are you communicating with it so well?' Ungnyeo thinks, sweatdropping in disbelief.
The dragon hisses lowly at her and she stares back unimpressed. "Figure it out or I'll squeeze you until you shrink. Either way, you'll end up more compact but if I have to do it you'll find it hard to breathe."
The dragon squeaks again its eyes shimmering with tears.
"I'll give you to the count of three," Ibaraki says cracking her neck and rolling her shoulders.
There's the thuggish side coming out again.
The threat of impending doom is enough for the dragon as it vanishes in a flash of light. When the blinding flash dies down, there is a boxy reptile with stubby legs and a short tail. It's surprisingly adorable.
Ungnyeo hears a sharp intake of breath and sees Ibaraki cupping her hands over her mouth with wide eyes. The goddess blinks and the young Oni is suddenly picking up the little dragon and squeezing it against her chest.
"All is forgiven," The Oni pulls the dragon up higher and starts rubbing her cheek against its head. "You can be as cowardly as you want. I'll protect you forever."
"Who's a good gator? You are~" She coos, disturbingly fond of the creature now.
Ungnyeo and Haneul glance at each other, unsettled by how quickly her feelings toward the dragon flipped. Apparently, she has a weakness for small and adorable critters. Ibaraki remembers she isn't alone after a few more tense moments of fawning over the reptile.
She coughs and composes herself in a fruitless attempt to regain her dignity.
Walking over to Haneul, Ibaraki takes her phone back, still hugging the chubby little crocodile in her other arm. "So what do you know about Sacred Gears?"
Both Haneul and Ungnyeo blink at the non-sequitur.
"Don't be cryptic, it doesn't suit you," Ugnyeo says, flicking her in the forehead.
"Fine, you didn't have to flick me. You know, when you act so brutish it makes sense that you were originally a bear." Ungnyeo's eye twitches and she rolls up her sleeves.
"Oh yeah?" She cracks her knuckles and the wind whips up around her, "Tell me more about how brutish I am."
"Did I say brutish?" Ibaraki swiftly begins backtracking, "I meant gentle and ladylike! Was I remembering the myth wrong? Ah, I think it was a swan or maybe a doe!"
"Damn right." The goddess mutters, "Now, what were you saying about Sacred Gears?"
"They have the ability to evolve through external manipulations." She proclaims, eliciting an interested glance from Haneul.
"How would that work?" Her representative asks; his fatigue washing away as he's energized by interest.
"Depends if you're running on plot armour or not," Ibaraki says under her breath while scratching a ridge on her gator's head. It gurgles happily as its mouth opens slightly.
She shakes her head and clears her throat. "You'll want to infuse your Sacred Gear with something meaningful to the Sacred Gear or yourself. It would be better if it aligned with both since you'd probably get a bigger boost."
Tapping her finger against her chin thoughtfully she continues, "You have a legend in Korea about lesser dragons becoming true dragons, right?"
Ungnyeo frowns, nodding thoughtfully.
Ibaraki snaps her fingers as she reaches an epiphany, "Imoogi! That's the name I was looking for."
Ungnyeo, recognizing what she's angling at, gives the girl a flat stare, "You expect him to find a Cintamani and combine it with his Sacred Gear?"
"No, that would be insane." She says, shaking her head. "You'll be getting one for him!"
Ungnyeo's eye twitches at the sheer irreverence of the statement. If she were a less easy-going deity, then making demands like that would be an action that would earn a smiting.
It isn't a bad idea though…
"I like the kid and all but what do I get out of this?" Ungnyeo says not wanting to submit that easily.
She has her own pride as a goddess to consider and folding instantly to the suggestion of a mortal would be embarrassing.
"Make him your champion or something." Ibaraki shrugs lazily.
The goddess sighs and looks at her representative. She isn't the type of deity that really needs a champion to run around to do her bidding. At the same time, because she doesn't care about things like that it means she can be more casual about selecting a champion.
Why is she actually considering this?
This Oni woman is too troublesome.
Haneul looks confused, "I get that I gave you some pointers earlier but they were things you would have figured out yourself eventually. Why are you going out of your way to help me like this?"
Ungnyeo nearly smacks her forehead in dismay. Of course, her representative downplays his assistance.
Ibaraki isn't one of the beginners at his family's dojo but rather a foreigner who was basically his competition in this event. Even if it wasn't a strict competition, their performances are still going to be judged against each other. By helping her, he potentially hindered himself.
Ibaraki squints at him wondering if he's serious, "What are you talking about? You promised to spar with again me in two years, didn't you?"
He gives her a blank look, not connecting the two points.
She leans over and raps him on the head with her knuckles. "Your head doesn't sound hollow so you've got a brain in there. Your Balance Breaker must drain your IQ to function because I remember you being smarter earlier."
He swats her hand away and Ungnyeo decides to take pity on him.
"The inner workings of Sacred Gears are a big deal, Ibaraki." The Oni snorts and waves her hand lackadaisically.
"No shit but I'm not going to hold back in the next spar we have and I want a challenge." She warns him seriously.
"Not only that but I don't plan to remain as weak as I am now either." Ungnyeo frowns at the wording there but doesn't say anything.
That sword she used at the end was anything but weak. Those black flames were also terrifying to witness. Their power even caused Susanoo to crack a grin when she used them.
"If you don't get stronger than you are now, I'll kick your ass all the way across Korea if when we fight," Ibaraki smirks and there's mirth dancing in her eyes.
She bares her teeth in a feral grin and Haneul shudders.
"Heh, I'll fling ya across the DMZ and keep hittin' ya until we reach Pyongyang!" Ungnyeo smacks her on the head.
"Don't joke about causing international incidents and escalating conflicts." The girl pouts and rubs her forehead.
"Anyway, If I don't help him a little I'll be embarrassed to associate with him. I can't be friends with people weaker than me." Haneul laughs, a tinge of disbelief in the sound.
"Got any other secret knowledge to shatter my worldview?" He snarks in an attempt to control the flow of the conversation.
"Of course! try this on for size." She poses theatrically, "The God of the Bible is dead!"
There's a pause before they burst out laughing. Really, who would say something so absurd?
As Ungnyeo wipes the tears from her eyes she glances at the Oni.
The young woman is doing her best to appear confused at their reaction. Hell, her expression of confusion would almost be believable if the context behind it weren't ridiculous.
Even if it were possible for that God to be killed, nobody would ever say that to people they just met. The four original Satans couldn't even kill him together. He wouldn't die without Great Red or Ophis getting involved.
Ibaraki missed her calling as a comedian.
"Ok… Um… Weird. I wasn't expecting that reaction." The young woman says, maintaining her look of confusion.
"Izanami believed me right away." The young woman mutters, causing Ungnyeo to roll her eyes.
It isn't funny if you keep hammering away at the joke.
"Er, meditate a lot and you might be able to commune with your Sacred Gear, unlocking more power in the process," Ibaraki says looking unsure at her own words.
Ungnyeo points this lack of confidence out causing Ibaraki to bite her lip.
The Oni sighs and runs her fingers through her hair, "I know this method works for Longinus-class Sacred Gears. The question is whether a normal Twice Critical even has an intelligent dragon sealed inside."
They all pause unsure of what would be inside the Sacred Gear, "If the dragon inside isn't intelligent or even worse what's inside is…"
She pauses for a moment thinking, "I don't know, a scale from a Heavenly Dragon or a bone from one of the dragon kings; something with enough draconic energy to power a low class gear but no intelligence -then that method is out of the question."
"The idea is to commune with the spirit inside your Sacred Gear and… bargain? Maybe, coming to an understanding is a better explanation." She says thoughtfully.
"What this does is allow you to temporarily remove the limiter on the spirit inside the Sacred Gear." Ibaraki finishes.
"I'm not even going to ask where you interacted with a Longinus wielder amiably enough to have this knowledge," Haneul says with a pained expression at the miraculous ideas Ibaraki is spouting off without any concern.
Yeah, you bit off more than you could chew making friends with this girl. Ungnyeo shakes her head trying to process the revelations herself. This is the kind of knowledge entire factions would kill to obtain or keep secret.
"One last thing." She wraps her hand around his wrist, balancing the dragon on her hip.
Ungnyeo watches his muscles begin to spasm and his teeth clench. "Well, two interconnected things."
"When you exercise, you're breaking down your body so it can be built up stronger," Ibaraki says conversationally as though Haneul isn't in immense pain.
"By drawing in the malevolent Ki from the environment, you destroy every part of your body swiftly and efficiently." Her brows furrow as she continues.
"With the side benefit of increasing your pain threshold." She says as an afterthought.
"Then you do this-" Haneul makes a noise of surprise, the context behind the sound going over Ungnyeo's head. -purifying some of the Ki you draw in."
"You use this purified Ki to heal the damage you did to yourself and repeat the process as many times as it takes. Eventually, you'll find your body growing stronger in all aspects." She says, finishing her explanation that happened to explain nothing.
Ibaraki rubs her head suspiciously. "...Probably avoid the brain until you're confident in your ability to heal yourself… also find someone to monitor your health while doing this since you're a squishy human."
"Understand?" She asks, neatly skipping over the implications of her previous statements.
Haneul glares tiredly at her, covered in sweat from the pain and looking exhausted again. "No, I don't understand."
Ibaraki grins and Ungnyeo finds herself stepping backwards slowly.
The demon beams at him and speaks in a saccharine tone, "Don't worry, I'll show you again!"
She cackles with dark amusement, "Pay close attention now. Or don't! I'm willing to show you again if need be."
Ungnyeo gives her representative a moment of silence as she leaves him under Ibaraki's care.
With the draconic remains removed from the waters, and the youngsters all sent home, it's time to review the event. And what an event it was on this occasion.
Vidar grins as he drinks ale from his horn and leans back in his chair. This part of the festivities is always the most entertaining. A great feast after watching a glorious battle.
Over a millennia ago, when the Allfather suggested they open the culling of Jormungandr's spawn to other groups, Asgard was fraught with confusion. This was a right for the warriors of Asgard? How could others intrude upon this sacred stage?
His insistence that this would allow the younger generations to bond in their shared adversity was even more confusing. When the blood of young warriors is boiling, unless they had already shared in the experiences of the training hall and drank as companions, how could they create lasting bonds?
As the tradition continued the bonding that was seen was few and far between. Some groups ended up working together but for them to remain in contact after was rare.
In fact, the hunting of some clutches would cause relationships to deteriorate instead. The competitive nature of young heroes oft serves to drive them apart rather than bring them together.
Yet this group today was able to do something that few others had over the centuries; they came together, working in unison to protect one of their own. Then once the day was done they parted on good terms, with the expectation that this would not be their last meeting.
A lasting companionship being forged in such a competition…
Is this what the Allfather saw when he made that proclamation? With a touch of melancholy Vidar wonders if he will ever be able to peer as far as the Allfather into the mists of the times to come.
For now, however, that matters little. Instead, it is his duty as a son of Odin to achieve the Allfathers ambition. Something that Vidar believes has become slightly less distant on this day.
With everyone having returned to the seating area -save the two meddlers from before- Vidar stands and smiles at the assembled deities.
"Welcome back, friends! Now that we've had time to ruminate on the events and seen off our young heroes, let us discuss their exploits." He gestures widely before snapping his fingers.
"As you know, the barrier we placed also recorded the events from all angles. This will allow us to review the events at our leisure, and properly witness the saga each warrior wrote." Vidar takes his seat again and begins to fill his plate.
Sun Wukong hums and rubs his chin, "Which youngster should we begin with? Any suggestions?"
Predictably, there is some quiet chatter as they suggest their respective favourites. Vidar grins at the number of times young Rossweisse is brought up. It seems like the straight-laced Valkyrie earned some interest with her magical prowess.
"Let's begin with Yoshishige Senzaemon, hm?" Takemikazuchi interupts.
The god of Swords and Thunder bringing up the representative he brought earns some eye rolls.
Still, they need to begin eventually and this was the first suggestion put forth to the whole assembly.
"Very well then," Vidar says and snaps his fingers, bringing up an image of the young samurai in battle.
This specific shot is of the samurai, atop their steed, stabbing their spear into the throat of a dragon. The still image is framed by the spray of seawater contrasting nicely to the fresh blood beginning to burst from the wound.
"His form is excellent," Vidar remarks thoughtfully. "As expected of the favoured follower of Yahata."
The image brings Vidar warm memories of his Father swinging Gungnir atop Sleipnir, fighting hordes of monsters in his war gear, lightning flashing in the background. Yes, this child has his respect for bringing back those memories.
Raijin groans from his seat drawing the attention of the others, "It's still just a spear stabbing something. Martial arts are cool and all but the image lacks that rock and roll flare."
The picture shifts to a series of edited clips that show Senzaemon's full prowess. His mount dancing nimbly across the ever-shifting surface of the sea, his spear flashing out with deadly precision, the raw physical prowess necessary to slay such beasts, and finally their… capture of the dragon.
"Alright fine, fishing for dragons definitely has that star-power I was looking for. Complaint retracted." The lightning god says with a wild grin.
"The kid has good fundamentals," Sun Wukong points out. "They need something more esoteric than simply skill if they want to improve."
There is a series of nods around the room as they agree. The blessing of Yahata will only go so far as to provide a method of attack and defence beyond physical force. There is also the chance of losing favour and therefore losing power.
Susanoo sighs from his reclined position, "Come on, let's move on already. Unless 'Catfish Slayer' over here is going to lay down a blessing on the kid there's no point in further discussion."
Takemikazuchi looks vaguely offended by the form of address but makes no move to bless the young samurai.
"Since you wanted to move things along, Susanoo, why don't you choose next?" Vidar says smiling.
Susanoo smirks and snaps his fingers. The image of Senzaemon fades away and is replaced by the Kushihashi heir of all people.
Ungnyeo makes a noise of surprise at the Storm God's choice, "Really, I thought you would have gone for someone else?"
Susanoo winks at her causing her to groan, "I was impressed by this guy. Usually, those Kushihashi brats have all the personality of the plants they use their magic for."
A few gods titter at that, whether because they thought it genuinely funny or are buttering up Susanoo, Vidar isn't sure.
They watch Seiryuu strangle a few dragons in vines and trees while flying around the battlefield. An adequate performance but nothing special.
The real main event is when he joins The Monkey King and the Oni to save the Tengu Heiress. His manipulation of wind shows extreme precision, his lightning show holds incredible power, and the wooden hands that pried the jaws of the dragon open are fantastic.
The wooden hands, fueled by the power of the Azure Dragon and the Senjutsu of his companions, showed an almost divine might. Yes, this was a wonderful showing from the young hero.
"Basically, the clan should expect stronger manifestations of Lightning and Wind manipulation in the next couple generations," Susanoo says giving a sidelong glance to Raijin and Fujin.
The two sighs in unison realizing this is an order rather than a suggestion.
Susanoo continues, "They'll get a trickle of Storm blessing and the ability to swiftly grow trees with their hairs from me to round things out. I always liked that ability, a shame I don't get to use it often."
"Awfully generous." Sun Wukong points out mildly.
This earns a sharp grin from Susanoo, "He annoyed my minion and helped save the damsel. The kid is firmly in my good books for now."
"Such flimsy reasoning…" One of the deities from the Celestial Bureaucracy whispers in disbelief.
"Eh, I'm a whimsical guy." He says with a shrug.
Vidar clears his throat, wishing to continue things along so discussions don't stall. "I suggest the Valkyrie Rossweisse next."
When no one objects, the image of Seiryuu is replaced by the white-haired Valkyrie.
Susanoo wolf whistles before getting smacked on the head by Sun Wukong's staff. The Storm God glares at the Victorious Fighting Buddha who looks as though he has suddenly dozed off. A bubble expands and contracts from his nostril before he hiccups 'waking up'.
"Hmm? Did I miss something?" He says stretching.
"Nothing major," Ungnyeo says, "Just a dog being disciplined."
Susanoo pouts at the Korean Goddess. Vidar clears his throat and steamrolls over their antics. "Young Rossweisse showed an impressive capability in the mystical arts."
A looped clip of her bombarding a dragon with a diverse array of magical attacks from all directions plays for everyone.
Sun Wukong's sunglasses tip down and his fiery red and gold eyes scan the different magic circles intensely. He lets out a low whistle after a second, already deciphering every spell used. "That girl is a monster. There are over fifty different spells from fifteen schools of magic being used in concert there."
"High praise from The Great Sage Equal To Heaven," Susanoo says tipping his hat.
"I call it as I see it." The Old Monkey shrugs, "Are you going to nurture this talent, Vidar?"
"I believe the Allfather plans to take her as his personal bodyguard." They all laugh at the idea of the God of Runes needing a bodyguard.
Ungnyeo furrows her brow, "A test then? He plans to see if she will seek his tutelage or waste the opportunity? Isn't that convoluted?"
Vidar shakes his head with a sigh, "Rossweisse has always been straight-laced and far too respectful."
"She did well in commanding the Vermillion Bird inheritor and controlling her flames. She was able to forgo respect when it was needed then." Ungnyeo points out getting a nod from Vidar.
"The Allfather wants her character to evolve so as not to waste away in this position. There is a place for respect but she would serve Asgard better by furthering herself." There are noises of agreement all around at Vidar's words.
That part is more of a guess since the Allfather's motives are always far-reaching but Vidar doesn't need to announce that.
Sun Wukong glances at Vidar and gives him a small nod, "I'm glad the fog of ages hasn't dulled your Father's wit."
"The Wise One is not an empty epithet," Vidar says chuckling.
He changes the image on the screen again to Agnar and Orrin. These two met his expectations which normally would be an achievement worthy of praise. Yet the other heroes here all surpassed Vidar's expectations.
"Ah, more boring ones," Susanoo says tipping his hat over his eyes and slouching casually. "Wake me up when something interesting happens."
Sighs ring out around the table but none make an effort to contradict him. They can handle this part without his input easily.
"I like the Berserker," Raijin says with a shrug.
"Our cousin dug into her dragon with more style," Fujin says to him pointing his finger.
"Oh, almost forgot about that. Support retracted." The lightning god says.
"That style of fighting is a bit undignified." A deity from the Celestial Bureaucracy interjects with a grimace. "I suppose the efficacy can not be denied, however."
"Those kinds of fighters are blunt instruments," Sun Wukong points out, "Anybody with skill will run circles around them."
"His brother was much better," Takemikazuchi says. "His form was lacking but that can be corrected with effort."
"You just like him because he used lightning on his axe." Ungnyeo points out with a frown.
Takemikazuchi opens his mouth to dispute her point but pauses, "Actually, you are correct."
Vidar grins behind his horn of ale. That sounds like Takemikazuchi alright; if it's swords or lightning he's sure to enjoy it.
"Blondie was also drinking on the job." Fujin says, "The redhead was drinking to enter his berserker rage so it's acceptable but this was a quest if you will, given by the gods."
Ungnyeo grunts in agreement, "A certain amount of respect for the task is necessary."
"He'll be reprimanded for that slight," Vidar says in agreement, changing their focus again.
This time, the Korean representative shows up. The image is of him in his Balance Breaker killing one of the final dragons with that upwards kick.
Ungnyeo sits up straighter and her eyes sparkle with excitement. She may pretend to be more laid back than the rest of them but she still gets fired up to show off her chosen mortal.
"Haha, isn't my champion something special!" She says before looking like she ate something sour.
"Oh? I didn't think you took champions, Ungnyeo?" Sun Wukong says with a smirk.
"Shaddup, damn monkey." She says crossing her arms sullenly.
"Good choice though." He says with an approving nod, "His form for this kick is sublime. All the power is drawn from the initial stomp, through his body and up to the tips of his attacking toes."
The assembled gods nod along with Sun Wukong's explanation. "The draconic aura from his Sacred Gear is also used perfectly in the attack."
"He practised really hard to be able to do that kick," Ungnyeo says with a wide smile, "He calls it the 'Dragon Sign Round Kick'. Apparently, it's his variation of a family technique, incorporating that draconic aura."
"He showed excellent ability when sparring with the Oni girl earlier," Vidar says and watches Susanoo's eyes crack open minutely.
"His Ki manipulation was incredibly refined. Being able to manipulate your opponents Ki like that is no small feat." Sun Wukong explains helpfully.
"My champion is amazing, as he should be." Ungnyeo leans back with a proud grin.
"I believe we have more representatives to speak of." A member of the Celestial Bureaucracy interjects.
Ungnyeo slouches sullenly but doesn't protest when the Roc Demon King, Wang Chongyun appears on the screen.
The deity who chose this next topic nods approvingly, "The bloodline of the Roc continues to show its pedigree."
Vidar frowns, "His speed isn't in question but how effective was he? His kill count was on the lower end and most of those were early on."
"That boy has always been more interested in eating exotic foods." Sun Wukong says with a sigh, "He only agreed to come for the opportunity to eat dragon meat."
"So, he has no drive then." Ungnyeo says, "If he isn't willing to put in the effort why should any of us care?"
Sun Wukong snaps his fingers changing the image to the Roc's part in the rescue of the Tengu Princess. "This right here."
They watch him fly in the dragon's mouth and following instructions leave immediately with the girl. "If it were before today, he wouldn't have bothered helping rescue the girl."
"If he is pushed now that this initial fire has been lit, he has a chance to grow into a valuable asset rather than an indolent Demon King." A member from the Celestial Bureaucracy continues making an impassioned plea.
The other deities from his cohort clap and nod respectfully and even Sun Wukong graces him with a quick smile.
His connection with the others will nip that problem in the bud before another Demon King needs to be eliminated continuing the cycle. While their bloodlines are powerful, the nature of the times means they grow lazy, then become tyrants, needing to be dispatched quietly.
Such is the political territory of the area.
The picture changes to Feng Meng, the burly Chinese archer. Vidar admires the dedication the young man shows with his powerful physique. That kind of build would be what men strive for on Asgard not typically something welcome in his homeland by martial artists.
Susanoo tips his hat back up and gazes at the clips of Feng Meng slaying dragons with his arrows, "He's not at Hou Yi's level."
"He doesn't need to be." Sun Wukong retorts, "It's fine if he makes his own path. His ancestor failed to become Hou Yi's successor, why should he follow that same nigh impossible path?"
"Why not reach for the peak of archery?" Susanoo retorts, "If you're going to pick up a bow and play at being an archer, aim for the top."
Ungnyeo groans into her hands as the two argue again. "Can we just talk about how he did not what he may or may not do in the future?"
The two visibly debate the merits of following her suggestion much to Ungnyeo's annoyance. Vidar on the other hand finds the whole thing amusing. You can't bring together deities from separate pantheons and not expect some light arguments.
"He's damn good with a bow," Susanoo concedes with a sigh.
"His cultivation is also impressive considering how much soul force he injects in his arrows." Sun Wukong says mildly.
"Great, let's move on!" Ungnyeo says massaging her temples.
Her efforts to keep things on track are admirable but that might just be so she can kick everyone out of her country sooner, Vidar muses to himself.
The chosen hero this time is the Frostflame Daoist. A short montage of her elegant manipulations of both frost and flame plays, eliciting noises of approval from the assembly.
Vidar cringes when she freezes her dragon solid with the help of Suzaku, the massive reptile shattered completely into tiny crystals. The invoked image reminds him too much of stories regarding Fimbulwinter for his comfort. The prelude to Ragnarok is not a good image for a Norse god.
"Far more focused than a magician like Rossweisse but her abilities have their own charm," Vidar states diplomatically.
"A little sheltered though," Raijin points out.
A female deity from the Celestial Bureaucracy coughs delicately, "Her master, the Frozen Lotus Immortal is… protective."
The male deities from China all cross their legs in unison, shivering in terror at that cursed name.
Well, not Sun Wukong. He just barks out a sharp laugh. "Heh, that Ice Queen is a real piece of work."
"Her master doesn't trust males to behave around her hence the… treasures to deter… beasts." The female deity says finishing lamely. "The girl in question doesn't even realize it either."
"How dense… No never mind that isn't important." Ungnyeo says shaking her head. "Next, bring up the Old Monkey's spawn."
"Oi! He's my descendant, not my kid." Said monkey grumbles.
"Tell that to someone who didn't see the replicas of your armaments you gave him. They might believe you." Ungnyeo grins back at him.
"I don't like him," Susanoo says petulantly.
"I don't either," Sun Wukong says with a grin.
"Eh, did I say that?" Susanoo asks picking his ear, "I meant to say he's my favourite this year."
"Are you two children?" Ungnyeo says staring incredulously. "You're gods and higher-tier gods at that. Act your age, not your IQ."
"Mama Bear is being mean to me," Sun Wukong whines to one of the deities near him.
"Why you!" Ungnyeo says standing up and unleashing her aura.
Vidar coughs getting everyone's attention again. "I believe we were discussing the current Monkey King?"
"What's there to say? He's my descendant and therefore amazing." The Great Sage says with a yawn, "Next!"
Vidar cringes at that but doesn't argue.
It's never a good feeling to be stuck in someone else's shadow.
Bikou must constantly have to deal with everyone comparing him to his ancestor and finding him lacking. What that could do to his self-esteem would be horrible, especially given the talent and potential he showed today.
Hopefully, his new friends are enough to keep him from getting lost in that shadow.
He returns his attention to the screen in time to see the new Himejima clan head's image emerge. Ah yes, the new Vermillion Bird herself.
"I'll just ask what we are all wondering." Takemikazuchi says, "Was this a failed merge or a perfect merge?"
He waves his hand and another image joins hers. The second image is that of Seiryuu drawing on the power of the Azure Dragon.
"She never calls on the power of the Vermillion Bird once," The Thunder God points out, "She just uses it with impunity. Therefore, she has either merged perfectly with the bird, or it has taken over completely."
The image changes to when Ibaraki fed Suzaku the dragon meat. "Here she shows almost no disgust in consuming the flesh of an intelligent creature; something that she would have firmly denied before the merge."
"That isn't even touching upon her clear enjoyment of slaughtering the dragons." The god finishes, waiting to hear the thoughts of the others.
Ungnyeo looks pissed off that this would be a problem, though considering her origins this wouldn't phase her. Vidar himself finds no issues with this scenario either.
The girl is clearly is still herself given her reaction to when Ibaraki called her out on the sadism.
The Vermillion Bird wouldn't have been concerned, they would have already known they were enjoying the death. It is a creature of enthusiasm and impulse, of warmth and strength, death and rebirth. Why would it care about burning a dragon to ash?
This is simply a girl who has come into a new level of power and hasn't had the opportunity to push her limits till now.
"Her concern over potentially killing my minion by not having enough control over her flames is enough to prove it is a perfect merge." Susanoo points out lazily.
"Don't make problems from nothing. She's skilled, cute, and a powerful magician." He grumbles with a sigh. "Next!"
Ungnyeo glares at him muttering under her breath, "We all heard that bit you slipped into the middle, bastard."
The second to last hero to be discussed is the Tengu Princess. Vidar smiles at the fact they're avoiding the elephant in the room till the end. It is traditional at this point to save the problem children for last.
"I'm training her after this," They all blink in shock at the steel in Fujin's voice.
Raijin elbows his brother, "Hey, when did you decide this, bro? Is she really that exciting?"
Fujin waves his hand and the scene changes. On the screen, it shows a close-up clip of her promise to Ibaraki before the event.
Immediately after that, another clip plays, this time of her reaction after being rescued. It shows her determination remains unchanged even after nearly dying, instead, growing stronger in the face of adversity.
"That kind of backbone can't be taught. She may be the weakest now but even if I didn't get involved she wouldn't give up. She has my blessing from this day forth." Fujin concludes with a serious expression.
"Well, if you're that serious about it I'll support you!" Raijin says slinging his arm around his brother's shoulder with a grin.
Vidar smiles at the determination shown by Fujin. Even the gods can be spurred into action by these children, the new generation is full of surprises it seems.
Susanoo finally stops slouching and smiles widely, "Let's talk about my minion finally!"
Vidar notices Sun Wukong sit up straighter too. Apparently, the young woman caught his attention as well.
Not that Vidar wouldn't be lying if he wasn't interested as well. Anyone who can provoke such a distinct change in Rossweisse from a single meeting is worth noting.
With Ungnyeo and both Fujin and Raijin perking up as well, this one young woman has gained a startling amount of divine interest.
They all sit quietly and watch the montage of her exploits, the video containing her interactions with the other heroes as well. Her ability to rally the others to her banner is the aspect Vidar find most enticing.
The Allfather will be happy to hear that part the most. He may even go missing from his Valkyrie's watch in the coming days. Wayweary indeed.
Susanoo's eyes cloud reminiscently as she demonstrates those black flames of hers. If she wasn't a pure-blooded Oni one would almost suspect that she had the Black Blaze Flare Sacred Gear.
They all frown when a camera angle cuts out during her final attack with that sword of hers.
After a few tries of rewinding and playing the clip again, Sun Wukong starts laughing. "She unravelled part of the barrier spell with her sword! This brat is hilarious!"
Sure, enough as they change the camera angle the clip of her attack plays fine. In fact, all of them work except the angles down that singular path the attack took. Magnifying the image they watch a near insignificant scratch form across the entire barrier along the slash's trajectory.
Sun Wukong is busting a gut at this point and Susanoo is smiling so smugly that even Vidar kind of wants to punch him.
Not all the reactions are so happy about this news.
"Is nobody going to speak about the significance of this event?" One of the deities from the Celestial Bureaucracy states.
"It may be barely a scratch but that blade has reached the realm of the gods. What if she turns that blade against us?" They whisper dangerously.
"It is a fine sword," Takemikazuchi says intensely scrutinizing the blade.
Sun Wukong snorts and shakes his head, "You're all too young and inexperienced."
They gasp turning an interesting shade of red. "That is a dangerous weapon that needs to be sealed along with its wielder!"
"Have you ever met a Sword Immortal?" Sun Wukong says tipping his sunglasses down.
He doesn't even wait for them to respond before continuing, "Of course not. The only one in existence anymore went into seclusion a little after I returned from my Journey to the West and hasn't come out again."
Vidar blinks having heard the capitalization.
"Therefore, you've never seen one in action." He shakes his head as he waves dismissively at the sword on the screen, "That is a butterknife compared to what that man could do."
"Without even drawing his blade he could flatten a country. From a single finger, he could unleash sword-light sharp and numerous enough to cut down everything for miles; All the way down to their base atoms." Sun Wukong frowns shaking his head.
"I thought he'd give me a good fight too but I bonked him on the head too quickly." Ungnyeo pounds her head on the table at the sudden change in mood.
"Anyway, the kid has potential but that doesn't mean that potential needs to be snuffed out." He glares at them with his fiery eyes. "I hate it when people wipe others out because of what they might become."
The gods hastily nod in fear and Sun Wukong's jolly nature returns.
"Oi, stormy!" The Old Monkey says yelling to Susanoo. "If she ever realizes you aren't teaching her anything, send her to me for a bit."
"My minion loves me, she'd never bother with you," Susanoo says with a dismissive glance.
"Oh, did she ask for your autograph on your first meeting?" The sage whispers sweetly.
Susanoo's eye twitches, "No, instead she offered to name her firstborn after me. She said it would be an honour to be allowed to use my hallowed name like that."
Ungnyeo coughs and it sounds suspiciously like 'bullshit'.
Things devolve further from there and Vidar tucks into his meal, enjoying the atmosphere. Truly this has been a great day.