“Lord Shiva. My goal has always been to become the strongest in the universe. Don’t question my drive.”
“...”
Shiva did not take Igor’s display of killing intent as disrespect. Rather, he was impressed.
[As expected of the one I’ve chosen.]
If he were to borrow Igor’s terminology, he did not want a pansy as an heir. Only those who could overcome their losses were worthy of his cuirass.
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|DxD|
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1999/09/02- September 3rd, 1999 (Friday), Devil Territory, Underworld
.
Su! …Su! …Su!
A barely perceptible figure flashed across the treetops in one of the Underworld’s forests. Their movements were so quick that the only sign of their passage was a singular leaf falling to the forest floor.
Su! …Su! …Su!
Kuroka was running away from her pursuers using the tree tops. Her little sister Shirone clung tightly to her back, her beady eyes shivering in fear. For two days they had been evading pursuit. In that time, they did not have the time to eat, drink, or sleep.
The devils were relentless in their pursuit and Kuroka was beginning to feel weary. Senjutsu could only sustain her and her sister for so long before they needed real food in their bodies and Shirone was still growing.
Su! …Su! …Su!
[I have to get to the village of my people.]
She leaped from branch to branch in a surprising display of agility. This forest presented her with the chance to escape detection from her pursuers. She did not leave traces on the ground nor was she visible from the skies.
[We can seek sanctuary there for a while and…hope for the best.]
She had no solid plans in her mind for now. Everything happened so quickly that a part of her still couldn’t believe the mess she had gotten herself into. She was a stray devil, a fugitive who would be killed on the spot if caught.
Her only worry was Shirone.
[She hasn’t been reincarnated yet so…she could still be accepted by our people.]
Unlike her, Shirone wasn’t tainted by demonic energy. Kuroka had no idea if her people would accept her back, but she wouldn’t hold her breath. If need be, she was willing to move on and live as a fugitive.
Su!
She leaped over towards another branch and continued forward. Her senses were spread out for the slightest sign of any pursuers. The only benefit of the crazy experiments Sullivar performed on her was that her strength had risen to Ultimate Class. That allowed her senses to stretch for a few kilometres.
[What?]
She stopped.
[One…three…six?]
She could feel six devils homing in on her location. Five of them weren’t much, but one of them had power that completely eclipsed anything she ever felt before.
[Oh no…]
She recognised this power. It was this same power that had been chasing her for two days now. Apart from this group of six, there was also another group that had roughly thirty people. But no matter what, she wouldn’t risk meeting with either of them.
[Damn devils…]
The group of six was heading towards her with some amount of speed. She knew they were heading right for her, and its all because of the pieces in her chest.
[Calm down, Kuroka. Control the energy and suppress it.]
Because she killed her master, the demonic energy contained in her peerage piece was no longer stable. She had to use her youki to control it via senjutsu. It wasn’t hard, but it took time, time she did not have.
[This should be enough for now.]
She opened her eyes and rushed forward once more.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Su!
“Nya?!”
Shirone was taken a bit by surprise from the sudden acceleration, but Kuroka could afford no liberties, not when the enemy would reach her previous spot in a few seconds. Thankfully, the little neko made no further sounds after that and this allowed Kuroka to think.
[I have to move faster. No matter what, we can’t be captured.]
Her brows were covered in sweat from nervousness, but she held hope that everything would be fine. It had to be fine. The pieces in her chest would act up a few hours later, but she would deal with it then. She just had to place as much distance between her and her pursuers first.
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|DxD|
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In a remote clearing, six individuals garmed in dark clothing stood. Some were hooded and some wore face masks. The only one who didn’t hide his identity was Falbium Asmodeus. His hulking figure and his bald head made him a person to be feared.
His blue eyes penetrated the depths of the forest with a slight frown. He was getting tired of having to chase this Nekushou.
If the situation wasn’t so delicate, he would’ve had his subordinates handle it themselves.
[What I wouldn’t give for a nap.]
Interrupting his listless thoughts was one of his subordinates. It was a woman who carried a small tablet with two long antenna stretching from it.
“Lord Falbium. We’ve lost the target again.”
The screen where the red dot was slowly disappeared.
“We move to their last seen.”
It couldn’t be helped. They were over five kilometres from their target and using teleportation was an absolute no. It was too easy to be tracked that way.
“Be quick and discreet.”
“Yes, Maou-sama.”
The woman replied and instantly, they moved.
Su!
Kuroka was fast so they had to move even faster. Her senjutsu made it hard to locate her through conventional methods.
Five kilometres wasn’t a long distance and they covered it after a dozen seconds or so.
Su!
All six of them arrived in the clearing and immediately, four of them spread out to find any traces.
Su! …Su! …Su! …Su!
Falbium was left alone with the woman who immediately took out another device once the others were gone. It was a small computer and slowly but surely, she began typing into it with her dexterous fingers.
Kla Kla Kla Kla Kla Kla Kla Kla Kla
She only used one hand to type, but she was very quick. Soon, the sound of static rang out before she pressed a button for it to stop.
“Lord Falbium.”
Her small laptop hovered in the air while she took out two wireless earpieces and handed one to Falbium.
He took it and placed it into his ear.
“Begin the transmission.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Falbium waited for the static in his ear to end before finally, audio finally played in his head.
{...orting. This is number Fifty-One. We have found traces of the Nekushou at coordinates…}
Falbium listened without a single change in his expression. He was not surprised to find that amongst those he nurtured, one of them was a spy.
{The false Asmodeus has not revealed knowledge of the location of the Nekushou, but there’s suspicion that it will be caught soon.}
Falbium looked at his watch and knew the rest would soon be coming back.
“You’ve done well.”
He handed her the earpiece and focused ahead, unaware of the woman’s blush.
“Y-yes, Lord Falbium.”
She quickly closed the laptop and hid it away. A few seconds later, the four other members returned with grim expressions on their faces. The shaking of their heads was a view on how they failed to find traces of their target.
Falbium furrowed his brows lightly before turning away.
“We head south. The Familiar Forest is there and that is where she may seek refuge.”
Su!
They all vanished. Falbium has long since been aware that his movements would be tracked. He hoped that by leading the enemy astray, he would give the girl enough time to reach her village. Once he captured her for trial, she could atleast have diplomatic protection. By then, no one would be able to kill her without consequence.
[Survive, girls.]
Su!
He had to spend some time in the Familiar Forest, but not for too long. If the other side went too long without receiving intelligence, they may go ahead and search the Nekomata Village out of spite. He’d already received intelligence of such a scenario most likely happening.
The hours passed and they finally reached the Familiar Forest. They skirted around it with intent to find their target. As expected, there were no traces. Since there were no traces outside, Falbium saw it necessary to enter.
This time, he spent a few more hours with his team, letting the day finally pass into night.
He was sure that by now, Kuroka and Shirone would’ve made it or are atleast close to the Nekomata Village.
[We don’t need to stay here any lon-]
“L-Lord Falbium.”
“...”
Falbium looked at his assistant with a slightly concerned look. Her grave expression was putting him on edge.
“Speak.”
“Yes, yes. The…the Nekomata Village…it was attacked.”
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|DxD|
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Blood, corpses, fire…that was all that remained of the village. There were hundreds of corpses littered across the ground. Limbs of adults, limbs of…children, no one was spared. There were far too many Nekomata who had their limbs severed, showing that this was a one-sided fight…a massacre.
It was a blood sport. The pungent stench of demonic energy mixed with the blood to create a hazy atmosphere. In such a scene, only three figures were left standing in front of the burning village.
#31, #34, and #36.
These three were the elite operatives under Zekram Bael. Amongst the corpses of Nekomata were also the corpses of devils, a multitude of devils. Only those three were the survivors. To be accurate, they were meant to be the only survivors.
“Mission accomplished.”
Number Thirty-One was the one who spoke. He was short with neatly combed hair that threatened to spike out. Like his fellow numbers, he was garbed in black skin-tight combat gear along with a face-mask that hid half of his face.
“If you will throw away these daggers of yours again, why don’t you give them to me, Thirty-One?”
Number Thirty-Six was an effeminate-looking man. His long raven hair and lithe figure made him appear like a woman from behind. But his cold violet gaze and sadistic smile made him appear otherwise.
“Thirty-One. Thirty-Six. Cease your meaningless pleasantries. We must depart for base before our presence is detected.”
Number Thirty-Four, the tallest of them commanded them to leave. Multiple teleportation circles were appearing and it would not be long before one of the satans arrived.
“Awww. Alright, Thirty-Four.”
Different from a conventional magic circle, a dark vortex swallowed them individually before they vanished from sight.
The death of the Nekomata would not doubt stir the supernatural world, but that was not for them to worry about. Their only allegiance was to their progenitor.
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AN
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Once again, thank you for reading. We are up to chapter 254 on my p.a.t.r.e.o.n. For those interested, you can read on ahead by looking for Holygambler.
Until the next chapter.