Chapter Text
Chapter XV
"Damnit, damnit, damnit. Pick up, you brat."
Hand shaking, engine roaring, body tense, Smith was cursing her boss, the Campione she was trying to reach, his parents for not buying him a cellphone, and the Devils for not answering her call.
Yes, they missed their meeting.
Yes, that was unbelievably rude.
Yes, they were entirely within their rights to be peeved.
But that stupid girl is in danger!
'Why do I have to deal with children and lunatics? Why can't powerful people just be sane!'
Blowing through a redlight, a police car immediately turned on its lights and pulled out into traffic, clearly intent on stopping such a reckless fool as her. She considered shooting out his tires, but, luckily for them both, his license plate reader informed him that, if she was speeding, the problem was far, far above his pay grade.
"At least some technology actually improves people's lives."
Not like it was doing much else. Since that brat told her not to follow him around, she didn't actually know which path he took to walk to school. She'd been rounding the streets looking for him while Amakasu did his thing and searched on foot, probably going faster than she was by this point.
Even so, of all rotten timing.
"Come on, pick up! Pick up!"
Unfortunately, the phone went to a voicemail, with a polite request for her to leave a message.
Smith hung up and, in the three seconds it took her to swing around a corner, nearly crush her car's pedal into the floor, and redial the Devil's number two things happened.
One, a very pretty young Chinese man appeared directly in front of her vehicle.
Two, he stretched out one finger, touched the hood of her car, and proceeded to lift an automobile off the ground with a single, elegant,flowingmovement. Gravity itself gave way as the massive chunk of metal, plastic, and glass floated over the boy who looked younger than her own daughter.
Adrenaline pounding in her veins, seatbelt locked up, the woman released her steering wheel to keep a death grip on the still ringing phone as she was spun around, the vehicle's absolute loss of traction leading her to yank her feet off the brake and gas alike, and, in an almost small motion, watch as the coffee in her vehicle's cup holder lifted up and hung in mid air.
"Bang!"
All four tires burst when she hit the ground, the airbag going off and keeping the agent from smashing her head into the steering wheel, and, even with her sunglasses smashed to pieces, reeling from the impact, suffering whiplash from being shaken about, raised the precious, humming piece of technology to her mouth, trying to shout into the mouthpiece.
"Crack!"
An incredibly tiny sliver of glass was launched from her windshield as the pretty boy flicked it, sending that almost infinitesimal projectile directly into the phone.
"Now, now, Miss." He chided. "Don't you know it's rude to interfere in family reunions?"
She recognized his face immediately.
How could she not? This young boy was on the list every single agent was required to memorize the moment they joined the Committee, as were all other close subordinates of the Campione.
As the common saying went, where there was smoke… there was fire.
Where Lu Yinghua was, his mistress was sure to be close.
Smith cursed and scrambled for her backup phone.
"Ah, such foul words from such a beautiful lady. But I suppose it does make sense for your sort to talk that way… given circ*mstances. Master makes me wanna curse too."
A single punch to the passenger's side window sent shards of glass exploding inwards, but none so much as scratched the agent.
Getting as far as pressing the 1 key for speeddial, Smith flinched when he ripped her windshield away, casually tossing it aside and then plucking the phone from her hand, crushing it as he did so.
She went for her pager, groping blindly at her ankle, and he responded by flexing an aura, perfectly crushing the piece of plastic into so much scrap.
She drew her side arm, flinching at the bang of the gun when she shot her seat belt, which had jammed, and began climbing out of the car as fast as she could.
Sprinting towards the stopped police car, with its gobsmacked officer, she made it about halfway to the frozen man before Lu Yinghua simply stepped in front of her - catching her as a sudden gust of wind almost knocked her off her feet.
"Please stop being difficult. I do not want to hurt you."
Smith tried to call out to the officer.
"Call in to central, warn them that-"
Forcefully shutting her mouth, the cultivator stopped her from screaming.
So the agent bit him.
"Damn woman! Stop this! I do not want to hit you!"
"Then let me warn the people of this city what's about to happen."
A frown.
"I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Please. Lives… are definitely at stake here."
The frown turned into a look of resignation.
"No. I'm sorry."
Before she could respond, he simply stepped, disappearing from her view. And, as Smith's consciousness suddenly shut off, she didn't even have time to feel the blow.
"You know… I kinda expected more when I heard you were a bunch of perverts. Your tastes are way too vanilla."
No insult could have cut him deeper.
No transgression would ever burn Issei more than this very moment.
He would carry this memory for years, allow it to fester deep inside his soul, and one day turn to it as the motivation he needed to overthrow the world and make all the thankless infidels who dared cross him in this most sacred of matters. But before engaging in this crusade… he had to seek counsel from his closest aides.
"Matsuda… Motohama… are we… are we truly vanilla!?"
"No!" His glasses wearing friend declared. "We are cultured gentlemen of exquisite taste!"
"Indeed!" Issei's shave-headed comrade cried out. "Ours is a rarified and excellent form of mastery! Not the plebian dabblings of a hag! We are more than mere perverts, after all."
"Ours is a life of struggle and sacrifice for that ultimate shot!"
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" The Campione declared. "What is more worthy than a life spent in pursuit of ultimate mastery, of perfect artistry!"
"Yeah. But you guys are just **** with **** and like to ****** while ******* and *********."
A passing adult looked at the brown haired schoolgirl in horror and awe, mouth open, before the salaryman turned around on the spot and walked away as if he hadn't witnessed what just happened.
"Y-You can't just say that!" Motohama scrambled back, looking around as if the authorities were about to pounce out of the bushes to arrest them. Which they weren't because Issei asked Agent Smith not to follow him around, though there was the matter of her daughter.
The daughter who apparently liked to stab first and not ask questions, which was half the reason he was avoiding walking to school by himself the last few days.
What he couldn't have foreseen the girl who caught the three of them a few days back to live nearby and follow them to school now
Even now, Aika Kiryu wasn't impressed and constantly voiced her opinions on their tastes.
"Yes, yes. High culture. Really, half of the stuff you guys watch is basically mainstream with boobs and ass. Even I'm embarrassed people would consider you guys perverts."
Issei clutched his heart.
There would be a reckoning for this!
"How can you say that! Harem Collection Omega is a masterpiece!" Motohama shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her.
Who scoffed derisively.
"Really? Harem Collector? You might as well go play Pokémon. At least the combat is as simple as the artwork. Just because the art is good doesn't excuse the fact it's stripped down hormone bait."
"Then how about Synth Builder Life?! I have the limited edition too!" Matsuda rallied, unwilling to surrender the point.
"Synth Builder? That stuff is pure yap and little action, you might as well go read a visual novel instead. At least then the writing would be the point and not the only saving grace."
Only to be brutally shot down.
'Very well, then it's time for the trump card.' It wasn't often that Issei revealed this part of his collection, because the series had been banned, but there was no way he could allow this attack on his taste and that of his friends' to go any further.
"Dark Scripture Genesis."
To the side Matsuda and Motohama froze up, looking at him with horrified surprise, only for their eyes to shoot back towards the sole girl of the group… who rather than mocking looked pensive instead, thoughtful as she mulled over what she just heart.
"Well now… that's an oldie, and you said you got a physical copy?"
Issei nodded resolutely.
Aika smiled.
"Well then… I guess you'll have to let me take a look sometime unless you wanna get in trouble, no?"
The trio surrendered.
Aika was simply too cruel.
Her words were too cutting.
It was like gazing into the sun and feeling its heat burn you to your core. And all that was left was a scorched desert. And yet this woman, sad*stic and cruel, simply chuckled, patting Issei's head and looping her arm into his as they continued walking.
For who could stand in the face of such reckless hate?
In the end, the boys gave in to their new friend's poking and prodding, ultimately being enticed with promises of much better, more refined games… and doujins… and bootleg ecchi shows that you couldn't get on the normal market. That last one sounded a bit like something the Devils might actually sell, but, not wanting to stand out anymore than he already did, Issei simply nodded along.
Mostly because Dark Genesis was only banned because of a copyright dispute and it being super hardcore was only kinda true and most of its reputation was just hype.
"Why are you even stalking us? Don't you have any more swimmers to gawk at?" Matsuda harrumphed, adjusting his glass.
"And miss the chance to talk shop? No way! It's not my fault you two turned out so basic. At least he has a bit more taste." Adjusting her braids in textbook tsundere fashion, the bespectacled girl scoffed.
In a way, it was strange how much life could change in a couple days.
After his little… training session with the occult research club, things had fallen into a lull for Issei. Without any attacks or weird supernatural people trying to talk to him, he could almost trick himself into believing life calmed down over the last forty eight hours.
Even Smith hadn't come talk to him or visited his house, something or another about having to prepare for a meeting.
She'd seemed very annoyed and Issei had offered to punch someone if they'd upset her. The adult had actually looked like she wanted to accept before telling him not to worry, but that when she got back, she and her partner were going to explain a few things to him.
He was annoyed, too, over losing the chance to talk with a ninja. All the secret sneaking techniques he could use for peeping should be acquired as swiftly as possible! Issei could already taste paradise even though it seemed so far away now.
'Still, she seemed odd.' Because Smith spoke to him like he was an adult… not just some idiot kid in way over his head and didn't seem to be in the mood to tease him either.
Something happened, but he wasn't sure what.
"Good morning, everyone."
"Ah, Kiba. Good morning."
Greeting the Devil, though his friends didn't know about that little secret, the Godslayer, which his friends also didn't know about, introduced the blonde boy to the group, while doing his best to not worry about how many secrets he was keeping.
"This is Matsuada, Motohama, and this is Aika."
"Nice to meet everyone, I'm Kiba Yuuto."
Officially he was Issei's 'contact' with the Devils. Not that he thought they needed to put a babysitter with him, if Issei needed to talk to them he could always visit them at the club building.
Not that he disliked the guy… much.
He was Issei's natural enemy, a pretty boy through and through. However, having trained with the guy, the young Campione just couldn't bring himself to dislike him. In fact, if he got the chance later today he was gonna ask the swordsman for another match.
"He's a good guy, but, uh, mainstream, if you know what I mean."
"Fu, fu. Poor Ise~ Afraid we'll embarrass you in front of your occult club friend?"
Aika was clearly enjoying herself, but the other two guys seemed to get what Issei was trying to be clever about and quickly adjusted their stated interests to be far less… enthusiastic. Those like them could not survive in a school environment without learning how to camouflage themselves, with Aika having been an unfortunate accident.
Still, as far as first weeks went, this one was turning out to be quite busy.
His first date was crashed by a duo of vengeful goddesses. He was approached by a secret agent and had to come clean to his parents about the magic stuff. And then he ended up meeting and fighting a bunch of other students who turned out to be actual Devils.
All in all, the month he spent after the incident at the ship where nothing happened felt so far away now.
"So, are you considering joining any clubs? I hear that we only have until the end of the month to pick something."
Issei hummed.
"Photography Club." Matsuda grinned mischievously.
"Literature." Motohama agreed, looking away from Ayaka's grin.
"Swimming. Unless the occult research club is looking for some new members, that is?" Aika piped in from the side, eyes discretely roaming up and down the figure of the blonde student. No doubt her head must have been full of wicked lecherous thoughts.
He had to protect Kiba from this one, at all costs!
The pretty boy, unaware of the danger to his purity, chuckled sheepishly.
"I'm afraid our president is very picky when it comes to accepting new members. We don't get a whole lot of interest from most students and she doesn't like the idea of crowding the place with a bunch of hobbyists."
Well, looking from a certain point of view, anyone who didn't already know about magic, gods, or devils probably counted as a hobbyist or plain uninformed, huh?
Issei did think about joining.
After all, they probably still had a whole lot of stuff he could learn about that might make his god slayer gig easier. But at the same time, he felt like it would be imposing too much on them.
Besides, there were other ways he could improve.
"I was thinking about Arts and Crafts."
That earned him a look of confusion from the others.
"What? Did I say something weird?"
Aika hummed, thoughtful.
"Not at all. Just didn't take you for the artsy type. Unlike those two half baked hobbyists."
Kiba, however, seemed to understand what he meant, shooting Issei an approving look.
It was something he picked up to try and learn how to use Dusa-chan's power, back when the only things he could do were half baked clumps of stone. With some effort and practice, he'd gotten pretty good at making a ton of different statues with [Mineral Garden] but he was still far from great at it.
Only being able to make stuff he was familiar with wasn't enough.
He had to learn how to really use it instead of aping Dusa-chan all the time.
You never knew when trouble… would… turn the street…
"The chick squirming in its nests, born with wings soon to soar. The foal struggles to stand, yet born with legs destined to gallop. Though a conqueror may struggle along the path, it is only natural they will soon grow victorious."
A voice, a beautiful voice echoed in his ear.
Down the bustling street, all noise was swallowed by deafening silence, and amidst the void only the poem could be heard. Practiced, flowing words with perfect diction. Though spoken with no music to accompany them, by their nature, they echoed like son.
"Do you guys hear-?"
Issei stopped, nearly stumbling as a strange sensation washed over him. A chill ran down his back as the hair on his arms stood on end, the world seemingly frozen in place. The weight of someone's gaze slamming down on him was palpable; nonphysical that it was, the blow was sudden, hard, and clear.
And the urge to attack, to run, to fight, to do anything was compounded by a sudden pressure that nearly knocked the air out of his lungs.
The others weren't as lucky.
Matsuda, Motohama, and Aika were laid flat against the ground… no… it was as if something was forcing them against it!
Neither of his friends seemed to be able to breathe well, their faces going red as they choked, and Aika was nearly panicking with her eyes bloodshot and wide!
Kiba wasn't doing any better. Driven to his knees, the devil swordsman was sweating bullets as he tried and failed to control his breathing, forcing himself to stand upright as the pressure bearing down on them threatened to crush him on the spot.
Issei's mind spun.
Was this another Heretic?
'No, it feels different.' Unlike the immediate urge to stand his ground and give battle, he was confused, unsure. He wanted to fight - but at least half of that was simple confusion!
"Barely any reaction, impressive. However… refusing to prostrate yourself before a senior is disrespectful. There is a proper order to doing things even amongst us, King of Wakoku."
Wakoku?
A fragrant wind carried the voice of the person across the street, the pressure that even now ground against Issei increased, driving the Devil beside him face first into the pavement.
All as the uneasy sensation of familiarity settled down.
Walking from under the shade of the tree, the woman across the street looked like someone out of a period piece, with flower hair pieces, two bangs running the sides of her face, a dress that should probably be hanging in a museum somewhere, and piercing jade eyes that seemed to glow with a ferocity as they cut through him.
"Who are you? What are you doing to them?"
Issei wasn't dumb, the words were more to focus up, to try and let his mind tick through the number of possibilities - precisely whether it was a spell or not didn't matter. But panicking and launching off massive area wide attacks would definitely put Aika, Matsuada, and Motohama inlethaldanger.
This feeling that he should know her face. That her name should be on the tip of his tongue. The air around them crackled, the pavement beneath her feet splintering.
"Ignorance by itself is no sin. However, to so callously brush aside a senior's courtesy and then demand answers from them is a faux pas. This one merely wished to greet you as befit a fellow conqueror, and averted the eyes of your companions so as to not be insulted by their gaze. Even so… to so crassly overlook that kindness… very well, it would seem this one shall have to begin your evaluation promptly."
Evaluation?
He had a bad feeling about this.
"I-Issei… run!"
Unable to stop himself, the young man glanced down in surprise, Kiba calling out to him.
"C-Campione!"
Throwing his hands up, the God-Slayer didn't bother with a chant. He merelycommandedhis authority toMAKE.
There was a booming thunderclap and the girl seemed to teleport, her fist buried in the teenager's gut as he tried, and failed, to block the strike. However, the backlash from the attack was diverted by a pair of marble domes he threw up over his friends.
But, vomiting as his stomach was seemingly shoved up next to his heart, the schoolboy didn't have the time to react when a kick slammed into him midair.
And then he flew.
Issei was literally spinning, head over ankles, as he roared through the sky like he was Team Rocket!? It was absurd, his head hurt, his ears popped, his throat burned, and most of all he had no idea whatin the Hell was going on!?
Even worse, he could, in brief flashes, make out something approaching him at high speeds.
So he did something stupid.
Throwing up several marble walls behind himself, the Campione managed to stop his flight - before needing to rapidly conjure a platform beneath himself as he started to fall - and managed to get his feet under him just in time to make out that the approaching object was the crazy lady trying to kill him.
However, with the marble slabs he'd created falling around him, and his platform starting to seriously pick up speed, he decided to double down.
"With rising sea and raging tide, with crumbling towers and churning desert, with the fury of scouring winds and burning ash, be still and silent, white-gold-shrine!"
The chant was something that seemed to be right for what he was trying to do and even if the words were snatched away from the wind, the teenager felt himself charging up for what was coming towards him. So he clapped his hands together and unleashed the power of the Gorgon!
"[Mineral Garden]"
One layer of stone wouldn't do much. And since they were on the ground, trying to trap her in rubble was pointless. But if this psycho wanted to hurt Issei's friends, well, he wouldn't let her get away! Or blow his city!
'Silk threads and lattice work, just like lacey panties!'
What were probably kilometers of marble threads spread out in a net, almost stupidly vast and fragile, as a seemingly endless torrent of stone-rain began to fall all around him. Thankfully, his enemy didn't seem to care, quite happy to punch away the strands in her path, but that simply meant that drips and drabs began to cling on to her clothes - anchor points that Issei was all too happy to exploit.
Hooks carved into the ground and all of those semi-liquid strands that had made contact with his attacker went rigid.
Sure, they broke the second they became hard, but each round caused a small jolt. Leading to more threads hitting her. Making the mesh more complete. Meaning that there was simply more and more and moreand morecontact each time.
And, in a somewhat spiteful act, he made sure to absolutely coat the crazy lady's hair in stone, too, intentionally hardening it to make a mess of her fancy buns!
She… didn't even seem to notice.
Several hundred tons of magically enhanced stone just crumbled. And when Issei collapsed the mesh on top of her, her voice was calm. Untroubled. And entirely audible despite the fact she should be buried alive!?
"One strike crushes wood so that two may crumble stone and three shatter steel. Yet this body is one that has withstood countless blows. Therefore, no force on this world is great enough to scratch it."
"[Divine Might of Vajrapani]"
The explosion that followed was massive, more massive than Issei had imagined, and the incredible roar of sound was so deafening he thought the world was going to shake itself to pieces. Debris swirled about in a maelstrom, reduced to fine, biting sand, and the blast was utterly indiscriminate. The Campione and his enemy were both hit by it and, while he lost track of the woman attacking him, the teenager was able to at least screw his eyes shut and cling to handholds on his platform.
That at least kept him from being tossed about.
Instead, what felt like an eternity later, his not so aerodynamic flying craft landed with an immense thunk, leaving a massive imprint on the loose soil below and crushing an unfortunate tree which happened to be close by.
He was shaking loose, losing his grip and flying several yards away, rolling across sand and then grass, before ending up bumping into a tree.
"Guh."
Trying to get his hands underneath his torso, unsure of what was going on, and highly confused, the only noises he made were groans of pain and pitiful attempts at Japanese.
"That worked."
For a given value of work.
"Moving our battle to a private location, though unnecessary, shows considerable thoughtfulness behind your actions. My Young Eagle reported you as a crazed barbarian yet you also display care when necessary."
And there she was, as if waiting for him.
Spotless clothes and not a hair out of place, the chinese girl looked oddly pleased with herself. Around them, the woods looked like they'd seen better days, with debris and pieces of stone littering the area. Frankly, it looked like a building had collapsed on top of the place.
"Perhaps you may prove to be up to this Luo Hao's standards after all."
Issei blinked owlishly.
"Ah, thank you?"
His fellow campione nodded, as if expecting him to say that and that gave him time to take in his once again ruined clothes and strange surroundings.
'This is so confusing.' Not to mention the second time he'd gotten ambushed this week… well… if he counted the occult research club pulling their powers on him this would make the third, actually. Once was happenstance, twice was coincidence, three times was enemy action.
Murphy officially hated him.
Around him, long shafts of white stone sprouted from the ground like flowers, forming a protective circle around the young Campione even as he took one in his hands, ready to fight.
The strange woman tilted her head.
"It appears you have come upon quite the unorthodox ability, King of Wakoku. To so freely manifest and manipulate the shape of stone, utilizing its divine attributes for offense, defense, as well as mobility. Perhaps this senior was too hasty in judging your power as lacking."
She started complimenting him, of all things.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad?
"However, your form is amateurish at best, the grip on your weapon is two inches short from where it should be, and your feet too close together to avoid being thrown off balance. Powerful techniques are no excuse for shoddy skills and lack of practice, junior."
And there it was.
Maybe it was the fact Issei had been fighting and experimenting all week, but having his abilities criticized like that made him feel like an amateur hobbyist having one of his art pieces critiqued by a professional.
Embarrassing in the extreme.
"I don't get it… are you here to fight me or something? Like… aren't we on the same side because of the whole… Campione thingy?"
The young woman, whose name he hadn't gotten yet, looked at him as if she hadn't quite heard what he said, a quirked brow the only thing betraying her feelings. Really, if Issei wasn't freaking out right now, he would actually be focusing on how damn pretty she was.
Seriously, he doubted paintings could stand up to how good she pulled off her look. And none of his attacks had even damaged her clothes. Even his spoiler move to muss her hair had failed and she was totally unmarked.
"While it is true that we both walk the path of conquest, that does not make us allies. Rather, the other way around, we would be bitter rivals if not for this senior's mercy and compassion."
Conquest? Rivals?
She was talking like a villain straight out of a light novel!
"So, you are here to… what? Fight me? Kill me?" It wouldn't be the first time this week, not the second either when it came to the former.
Sighing, the lady looked down at him with a pity-filled gaze.
"This sojourn was meant to be but a short training exercise, and to test the limits of my strength in the backward frontier of my territory. To pit one's might against new rivals and take my next step in the road of absolute power."
Backward?
Territory?
When he found out about the whole Campione thing, he figured that they would be something like heroes, protecting the innocent from heretic gods. Athena hadn't said much, and Smith had only explained to him how the supernatural side of Japan worked.
So maybe it was different for other countries?
The lady didn't seem to care instead, continuing to monologue to herself. As if assuming she had his attention by nature.
"And yet here my rival stands, woefully misinformed, or perhaps so young that he has yet to realize his true nature. That is a mark against him. Or perhaps it is fate then that he would cross paths with this Luo Hao."
She nodded, as if reaching some kind of profound realization.
"Yes, fate can be a harsh teacher."
Issei was lost.
Was she here to kill him or not? And if so, why hurt his friends? The HCC had said, explicitly, that the supernatural was suppressed where possible to avoid panicking people. Something like what she did, and how he had responded, would at the very least require John Pluto Smith's PR firm chiming in on the nightly news… and Japan was pretty good about not letting the few, actual superheroes get out of hand!
"Tribulation is the path through which you shall prove yourself, my rival. As the King of Wakoku, it is this Luo Hao's duty to test you and should you be found wanting, to mete out punishment."
He didn't like the sound of that, but at the very least he managed to bring her away from down. At the very least everyone would be safe, and Kiba could warn the others and send some help.
Even though he doubted it would help at this point.
"And what kinda test is that? Do I need to answer some questions? Do some squats? Not to brag, but I can touch the tip of my toes." And maybe, just maybe, if he passed this crazy lady's test there wouldn't be any need for a fight.
"Through combat of course. Only by battling you shall this Luo Hao be certain of your worth."
So they were fighting after all, huh.
"And if I fail?" He had a feeling, but wanted to confirm anyway.
"If you prove too weak and dishonor our name as god slayers, then this Senior shall spare you further shame… and execute you promptly."
Wasn't that… just fighting to the death anyway?!
Unprompted, the overwhelming pressure from earlier returned, slamming back down on Issei's shoulders, like the very air around him was trying to crush the younger campione's body.
This time he was ready for it, standing his ground, the leftover stone riddling the clearing's floor started to liquify, pull together, and ripple beneath their feet; he'd had to cheat a bit and keep hair-thin connections to each part, but, well, Issei was hoping the immense puddle of white stone would be… enough.
The two campione's eyes met, the older girl's looking on with warm acknowledgement, a hunger behind them that made Issei's skin prickle in a mix of anticipation and terror.
He should have kept his mouth shut.
