He feared that this was some sort of illusion. He couldn’t bear it if this was some trick that was being played on him. Igor feared that his mind would really break if all of this was some sort of joke.


    But when Shuri spoke…


    “Ara…where am I?”


    …all his doubts vanished.


    “Aunty!”


    .


    |DxD|


    .


    “Aunty!”


    Puff!


    Igor slammed into Shuri and wrapped his arms around her. He buried his head into her chest, his ears listening for her heartbeat. His hug was like a vice grip that refused to let her go, which greatly confused Shuri since she was unsure what happened.


    All she knew was that she awoke in a destroyed forest with tattered clothes before she was suddenly enveloped by this strange boy with dry blood on his body. She felt no fear since she couldn’t sense or feel any hostility from him, but she was curious who he was.


    So gently patting his head, she asked.


    “Who are you, handsome boy?”


    “?!”


    Igor lifted his head and stared intently into Shuri’s eyes. He could see the genuine confusion in her gaze.


    “You don’t recognise me, aunty?”


    Shuri squinted her eyes slightly as she tried to remember who he was. It hurt the blonde a bit that she didn’t remember him, but he would choose to have her being an amnesiac rather than a corpse.


    With that thought in mind, he gently pushed himself off her with a cheery smile.


    “It doesn’t matter. As long as you’re alive, aunty!”


    Shuri frowned.


    “Ara…how do we know each other?”


    Igor placed a hand on his chin in contemplation.


    “Hmmm. How much do you remember, aunty?”


    “...”


    Shuri remained silent. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to answer, but because she couldn’t. When Shuri searched her head for any memories, she could find…


    “Nothing. I remember nothing.”


    Then suddenly, a voice came out of nowhere.


    “Fufu~. I think I can help with that.”


    A teenage girl with long black hair in a hime cut and black eyes appeared. She wore a long black dress and a pair of leggings that, even though she dressed modestly, did very little to hide her beauty. She was standing just a few metres away from the duo with a kind smile on her face.


    However, her sudden appearance was not taken well by the blonde.


    GRUUU!


    On instinct, Igor immediately entered Kaioken x30 and placed Shuri behind him. His eyes glared menacingly at the strange woman who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. As calm as the blonde was, he was still reeling from Shuri’s loss and he was in a very, VERY overprotective state.


    The woman lightly laughed at Igor’s sudden display of aggression before introducing herself.


    “Fufu~. No need for alarm, Dimori-kun. I come here in peace. You can call me Amaterasu, the-”


    GRUUUUU!


    Without delay, Igor instantly boosted himself to Kaioken x50. He brought Shuri into his arm and placed two fingers to his head. For all rights, Igor was not the brightest in the room, but he was not ignorant. And he was not ignorant of the Chief Goddess of the Shinto Pantheon. Having investigated all the major gods after Baraquiel’s excuses for not dealing with the Himejima clan, he was made aware by Sun Wukong that she was very, very strong. It was why he didn’t even get into a stance. With his Kaioken active, his reaction time had soared and if she made even the slightest move, he would teleport away with Shuri.


    The blonde watched Amaterasu like a hawk, his eyes betraying the anxiousness in his heart.


    “Are you here to avenge the Himejima?”


    Igor could only imagine one reason why the Chief Goddess of the Shinto Pantheon would appear so suddenly. With his recent massacre on the Himejima, he did expect that there would be retaliation. But not this soon.


    With Shuri here, his anxiousness was because he was afraid of implicating her. He was very confident in his survival abilities. With his Instant Transmission and his time chamber, he could evade any vengeance seekers and train until he was strong enough to face them. But all of that would be pointless if Shuri died again.


    Amaterasu smiled at Igor’s display of aggression. She did expect to face hostility but not to this extent. She could feel Igor’s entire focus was on her, waiting for even the slightest move. She found his actions quite cute, but scaring a blonde wasn’t on her agenda.


    So she lifted up her arms in false surrender.


    “Relax, Dimori-kun. I’m just here to see if you like your gift?”


    Igor’s brows furrowed in confusion, apparently taken aback by the goddess’ continued lack of hostility.


    “...gift?”


    He looked at Amaterasu in complete cluelessness until the goddess gave a quick glance to Shuri.


    “?!”


    Igor looked at Shuri once or twice before his eyes turned back to Amaterasu.


    “You…revived her?”


    “Yes. Are you happy?”


    Igor looked at Amaterasu meaningfully before dropping his Kaioken. Thoughts of her lying to him would make no sense given her power and standing. And with her power, reviving Shuri wasn’t something beyond her capabilities. Thoughts like why Shuri doesn’t remember anything were something he pushed to the side. He was just grateful that he didn’t have to bury a loved one.


    So responding to her earlier question, he clasped his hands together respectfully.


    “Thank you. I am very happy.”


    His words were sincere without his usual boisterousness. It was to the extent that Amaterasu couldn’t help but draw parallels between the vicious boy who destroyed a clan of one of her most devout worshippers and the respectful boy in front of her.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Amaterasu looked at Igor right in the eye before giggling.


    “I like you, Igor-chan~. But don’t you want to know why she doesn’t remember anything?”


    All this time, Amaterasu looked at Igor right in the eye as she awaited his answer. She was interested in what kind of answer the one Shiva chose, would give. And he did not disappoint.


    Not once did Igor’s pupils waver.


    “As long as aunty breathes, other things do not matter.”


    He remained steadfast in his words. With Shuri standing behind him, he took comfort in the fact that her lifeforce was abundant and that her heart was beating. To hear her breathe again was already an immense luxury that he would never question.


    It intrigued Amaterasu that he was serious with his words.


    [Kyaaa! He’s so cute when he makes such a straight face. Shiva-tan was right. Igor-chan is interesting.]


    She restrained her urges to glomp him and instead, faced Shuri who had been quiet this whole time.


    “I can see you’re confused, Shuri-chan. Want to know what happened?”


    Shuri lowered her head respectfully. As blank as her head might be, she still retained her knowledge and skillsets. And she definitely knew that if the presence of the woman in front of her was enough to make the blonde suddenly power up, then it was best she showed respect.


    And also because she was indeed confused.


    “Yes, Amaterasu-sama.”


    Amaterasu clapped her hands together.


    “Alright. You are Himejima Shuri from the great Himejima clan. Well, former. You have a nine-year-old daughter with a fallen angel named Baraquiel and until recently, you were hunted and killed by your clan for giving birth to a hybrid. Igor-chan here was not happy that you died and so he killed off many people from your clan in revenge. Does that explain it?”


    “...”


    Shuri was quiet with a slightly confused expression on her face. It was abundantly clear that Amaterasu’s words did not explain the situation.


    And the goddess clearly noticed that.


    “Hehe~. It’ll be too long and confusing if I explain it in detail. So I’ll show you Igor-chan’s memories.”


    When Igor was about to groan at being called “Igor-chan” again, his body froze when he finally processed the whole sentence.


    “Eh? Memo-”


    In an instant, Amaterasu appeared in front of him and placed her hand on his forehead. At the same time, she placed her other hand on Shuri’s forehead.


    “Your body can’t handle everything yet, Shuri-chan. So I’ll only show you just enough to understand what’s going on. Aannnd…done!”


    It was a quick process that barely lasted a second. Igor touched his forehead and scanned his body multiple times.


    Upon finding nothing, he frowned even more.


    “What did you do?”


    Amaterasu didn’t say anything but motioned towards Shuri who was fervently looking at him with him.


    “Aunty?”


    .


    |DxD|


    .


    Shuri could see snippets of everything. From the first moment she met Igor up until recently. Scenes of the loving family she had were all shown from his perspective. She could feel how calm and happy he was when he spent time with them. Their moments during dinner to the funny moment when he watched an anime with Baraquiel.


    She appeared in these memories like a spectral spectator, a ghost that could not interact or interfere. But her heart warmed when she watched these wondrous scenes. She even looked at her former herself who was standing in the hallway watching the two boys gush with a light smile on her face.


    Then the scenes rapidly shifted to the Vatican. The happy and harmonious moment from before fell apart to reveal an atmosphere of urgency and fear. Shuri could feel the deep anger and trepidation Igor went through when he received news of the Himejima attack. She watched his desperate efforts to find them, felt the different emotions he went through when his efforts showed hope only to crash. She almost fell to her knees as she felt his ki quite literally, flow through her like a shockwave. It had the effect of making her gasp as if she was suddenly thrown off a high building.


    Then the scene rapidly shifted to Japan when he first sensed Akeno. The change was sudden as she was still reeling from the previous sensation.


    *Puchi!*


    Shuri was suddenly rendered aware to a sound she could keenly identify as a chest being pierced. When she opened her eyes, she bore witness to the swift visage of Igor as he slaughtered every single hunter with a heart full of anger. She was not fearful, but rather curious as to why he had went on a rampage like this. It didn’t make sense to her until she suddenly saw him approach a little girl who looked just like her.


    Her heart bled when she saw him comfort the little girl who leaped into his embrace. She smiled when she saw Akeno cling onto him and Igor providing her with the reassurance she needed. The emotions of relief and care were overwhelming that she thought everything was over.


    Then suddenly, the scene shifted to another part of the forest.


    “W-what?”


    A deep, overwhelming feeling of sadness and rage bombarded Shuri. It was so heavy that even as a spectral form, she found herself gasping for breath.


    She couldn’t figure out what was causing Igor to feel such heart-wrenching emotions until she finally saw the cause.


    “That’s…me.”


    She saw herself lying on the ground, her mangled body resting only a few metres from another man.  But that wasn’t her focus. It was the dialogue between her former herself and the blonde that caught her attention. She endured the heavy feelings that he was going through, the sense of helplessness, the unquenchable rage, and the endless sadness. She looked on intently at what was going on.


    She listened, observed, and felt.


    ‘I love you, aunty. When I was alone in this world, you and the old man took me in, gave me food, and showed me care. You showed me what it was like to have a family again…and a mother.’


    She could feel that these were his genuine feelings. His love, his appreciation, everything was transmitted into her. There were no falsehoods in the adoration he held. There was absolute sincerity in his emotions.


    And her other self could sense that since even in the state she was, she couldn’t help but smile.


    ‘Thank…you…son.’


    Those were her last words, and Igor knew it. Yet he couldn’t accept it.


    ‘Aunty…AUNTY!!!!’


    Tears streamed down Shuri’s cheeks as she watched Igor scream her in pain. The absolute anguish and despair as he shook her corpse made Shuri rush over to comfort him, to tell him she was still alive…


    …that she was there with him.


    “Dimori-kun!”


    But her phantom self couldn’t touch him. She knew it was a memory. She had just seen the blonde not long ago. Yet she never comprehended that her death would cause him so much pain.  She watched him grieve, watched the tears stream endlessly. All the while, she felt the deep pit of regret and helplessness he was feeling.


    Shuri knelt next to him and tried to hug him. But she couldn’t touch, couldn’t hold him, couldn’t comfort him. With tears flowing down her cheeks, it made her wish with every single fibre of her being that she could hold him. And she tried. She tried to hold him in her embrace. Although she couldn’t feel his skin, she kept her arms around him and offered as much silent comfort as she could.


    But then, Igor began to stand up. The emotions of sadness were being replaced by absolute rage and fury. She could feel his power level silently creep up as he stared at the corpse of her former self. But like a switch, that absolute rage and sadness vanished like a candle in the wind.


    She could feel no emotions from him, almost as if a part of him had died in that moment. There was absolutely nothing she could feel from him. When she touched his face, he appeared like a statue with a gaze as dark as the depths of the ocean.


    For a good ten seconds, his mind was completely hollow, his eyes empty.


    Then…


    ‘HIIIMEEEJIIIMAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!’


    All that rage, anger, and desire for vengeance came rushing back. She collapsed to the ground, her mind overwhelmed by these dense emotions that threatened to crush her.


    “Haaa….haaaa…haaa…”


    She couldn’t handle it. His overwhelming rage was like a mountain that pressed down on her back. Shuri felt like she truly going to die in that moment. The emotions she was feeling from him threatened to drown her entirely.


    But thankfully, the scene changed again to the destroyed forest. She could see herself now, sitting up and looking around in confusion. Unlike before where she was watching from a third-person perspective, she was now in her body and watching from a first-person view.


    She was still reeling from the intense waves of emotions from the previous scene so it took quite a while for her to recover. When she finally did, she looked around and noticed the empty forest. She was wondering where Igor was when the blonde suddenly appeared in the clearing. His eyes were empty and all she could feel from him was a sense of resignment.


    There was some amount of dried blood on his person and his eyes appeared listless and lost. Those muscles and abs that she admired a moment before were no longer her focus. Instead, it was those eyes that seemed to have no life in them.


    But that changed when he finally looked up, when he finally saw her. She could instantly feel his senses instantly roam over her entire body, not a nook or cranny left unchecked. She could feel his ki run through her mind in deep search for anything that dared to occupy her body. From top to bottom, she was awash with the warm feeling of his ki desperately searching for any illusions.


    When Igor felt nothing was amiss, Shuri bore hope to the sudden sparkle in his eye, the deep sense of trepidation gradually being overwhelmed by hope. She wanted to beckon him over, to offer her embrace when she found she couldn’t control her body.


    Before she could panic, she suddenly found herself speaking.


    “Ara…where am I?”


    And that was when the scene ended. Her vision gradually shifted towards reality. The first thing she saw was Igor looking at her with eyes full of concern. Those same eyes that she found cute just a few minutes prior now held a higher profound meaning. She understood what those eyes had seen and had been forced to endure.


    She couldn’t hold it anymore.


    “Dimori-kun…”


    When she thought of all the things Igor did for her, felt for her, her heart couldn’t help but melt.


    With misty eyes, she wrapped her arms around him.


    “Thank you.”


    .


    AN


    .


    If you’re interested in reading ahead, here’s the link:  <u>patreon.com/HolyGambler</u></a>