As soon as he said that, he stretched out his hand and immediately, Durandal appeared in his hand. A cold glint sparkled in his eye, his muscles bulging as he flexed. With Asia now safely away, he would no longer restrain himself.


    Killing intent instantly emanated from him.


    “Time to clean up the rats.”


    Starting from the bottom, he would kill every single person who conducted immoral experiments up to the person who approved them. By sunrise, the church would’ve undergone a bloody massacre that only came second to the Himejima Massacre.


    |DxD|


    .


    Back in Kuoh, it was turning out to be a sunny day in the town. Damage reparations were under way and enough issues had been resolved that Cleria no longer needed to personally oversee them. Her and Aurelia made their way through Kuoh to Shuri’s house where the woman stepped out to meet them. Having swapped her blue dress for a slightly worn out brown one, Shuri was the exact definition of a house-wife.


    Smiling as Aurelia and Cleria landed on the ground, she greeted them.


    “Cleria-chan. Aurelia-san. I trust everything is well?”


    Aurelia gave a polite nod while Cleria replied with a smile.


    “Yes, Shuri-chan. It turns out that Aurelia-san here is looking for Dimori-kun.”


    Shuri’s eyes darkened slightly.


    “Ara?”


    Her gaze trained on Aurelia with suspicion. With recent turbulent events, having an unknown person look for Igor was not good as far as she was concerned.


    “May I know why?”


    Aurelia didn’t evade her gaze.


    “Worry not, Lady Shuri. This one’s purpose is not nefarious. Lord Dimori is this one’s benefactor that she wishes to thank personally.”


    Shuri scrutinised her for a while before smiling.


    “Very well then. Would you like to come in? They may take a while to come back.”


    Cleria took the lead in stepping forward.


    “Thanks, Shuri-chan.”


    Aurelia also followed behind Cleria, her head lowered respectfully. Shuri didn’t take her eyes off her. She was still rather untrusting to this new silverrette that was looking for Igor. But, she would let it go for now.


    Following behind them, she gestured for them to enter the kitchen where there were pots, pans, and all sorts of other ingredients already on display. Shuri made her way over to the stove where the cooking oil was already crackling due to the heat.


    Adjusting the temperature on the stove, she turned towards the two women who had already sat down.


    “How are the repairs coming along, Cleria-chan. I assumed you would be busy.”


    Cleria sighed as her head fell on the table.


    “I WAS busy, Shuri-chan. Thanks to Dimori-kun, paperwork was up to my eyebrows.”


    “Fufufu~. He wouldn’t be Dimori-kun if he wasn’t a bit brash in his way of doing things.”


    “Yeah. And thanks to him, I’ve had to do more work in these past five years than I had to in fifty.”


    Friendly banter was shared between these two friends as Cleria revealed some of the interesting things Igor did since he came to Kuoh. From robbing resident gangs to causing stores to run out of meat, she revealed all the messes the blonde caused in his earlier years.


    Cleria had to work hard to silence newspapers from reporting on him, especially since it was very hard to find him.


    “Seriously, Shuri-chan. You have to reign him in before I become the first devil to die from overworking.”


    “Fufufu~. I’ll try, Cleria-chan.”


    Aurelia was content to simply listen to these two talk. The way they talked fondly of the blonde made her evaluate that even amongst other species, not everyone hated the Aryans. And despite Shuri being a Himejima, she didn’t hold any prejudice against her after Cleria told her of what happened as they flew here.


    In fact, she was rather thankful to Shuri because in a way, she freed her from the coil of revenge that had wrapped around her mind for decades. And also because of her, she was able to find out that she had a living, breathing member of the same race who she would soon meet.


    For once in her life, Aurelia felt a true sense of peace. She even had the liberty to take in the mundane aspects of life such as the sound of the sizzling pan, the birds singing outside, and the gentle breeze of the wind flowing through the open window.


    She let her senses spread out with wild abandon. If she was in Kyoto, she would never do this because this was simply leaving her vulnerable to assassination. Walking around the bustling city of Kyoto with enhanced senses, the sound of the cars alone would disorient her. She wouldn’t even know how she died before her world turned dark.


    Having lived as Yasaka’s personal attendant, there was no end to the racism she got as a human that served as the leader’s most trusted aide. While she did miss Yasaka and Kunou, she wasn’t going to return to Kyoto any time soon, at least not without a ring on her finger.


    Her mind continued to mill about the future while her senses remained spread out. Like taking off a pair of earmuffs, it was somewhat therapeutic to not have to restrain her senses like before. Cleria’s and Shuri’s voices didn’t get louder, but she could hear more than just their voices.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    For instance…


    Tswii!


    A bit different from the normal sounds of birds, Aurelia heard the very familiar sound of something akin to high-speed acceleration. Focusing her senses on the sound, she was appalled to sense three different energy signatures that were not there before suddenly appearing.


    [Fallen angel, human, and…]


    And then it hit her.


    [What is this?]


    She could feel the pure, raw power coursing through the one in the middle. His restrained power alone was on the peak of mid-god class. And he had a ludicrous amount of energy within him and even now, she could subtly feel it climbing up, especially his lifeforce. There was no mistaking that aura.


    Even if it was very subtle, this was definitely the same energy she felt in Kyoto.


    “Ara? Dimori-kun and Akeno-chan have come back.”


    It seems it wasn’t only Aurelia who was able to sense them. With her body being restored to its peak, Shuri was able to hear the telltale sound of the [Instant Transmission].


    .


    |DxD|


    .


    Igor, Asia, and Akeno appeared outside Shuri’s house. With Akeno in his arm and Asia clutching his other hand, the blonde began walking forward.


    “I promise you, Asia. You’ll really love it here a lot. You won’t believe the amazing food Aunty Shuri cooks-”


    “And me too!”


    Apparently, Akeno didn’t want to be suddenly left out of the praises.


    “Yeah, yeah. And Akeno too. Aunty and the little chick are really great when it comes to handling the pot.”


    Akeno couldn’t help but frown at the nickname, especially when she saw Asia struggle to hold back a laugh.


    “For the last time, big brother. I’m not a little chick!”


    Igor’s response to that was to pinch her waist, causing her to flinch at the mild pain.


    “Ow!”


    She looked at him with an expression of grievance, but all she got was a cheeky smile from him.


    “No matter how big you get, you’ll always be a little chick to me, Akeno.”


    Asia looked at the interaction between the two and couldn’t help but giggle.


    “Hihihi~.”


    Their interaction was genuine, normal, and really funny. It was a far-cry from the people who tried to befriend her back in Italy. Unlike them, she could see no hidden intent in their eyes. It seemed like their banter eased any sort of the nervousness the little blonde had at the sudden change of scenery. But she would not have much time to take it in because the door to the house suddenly opened to reveal Shuri in an apron.


    Upon seeing the three of them safe and sound, Shuri smiled.


    “Come in, you three. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes.”


    Climbing down from Igor’s arms, Akeno dashed forward.


    “I’ll set up the table!”


    Without waiting for her mother’s approval, she quickly ran past her into the house, leaving the two blonde’s alone.


    Shuri then focused her attention on Asia.


    “Ara, you must be the little sister Dimori-kun was talking about so much.”


    “...”


    Asia didn’t respond to Shuri’s words, mostly because she couldn’t understand a word that was coming out of her mouth. She looked to her big brother for help because it seemed he could understand.


    But all she got was Igor’s encouraging gaze.


    “Come on, Asia. Aunty won’t bite.”


    “Um…I-”


    Shuri was quick to catch on to the girl’s plight.


    “Fufufu~. She can’t understand me, Dimori-kun.”


    Clearing her throat, Shuri spoke again.


    “How about now, Asia? Do you understand me?”


    Asia’s eyes widened when she heard Shuri speak Italian. But she quickly nodded.


    “Y-yes. I understand now.”


    “Fufufu~. So cute~. You really brought a gem, Dimori-kun.”


    The little girl couldn’t help but blush at the sudden spotlight that was shone upon her. She was no stranger to attention, but the way Shuri looked at her seemed a bit too…warm, far warmer than what she was used too.


    “Hello. My…my name is Asia…”


    After saying her name, she remained quiet. As for Igor, he seemed completely lost. Asia not understanding Shuri brought up a lot of questions that he previously never considered before. The blonde considered himself a bonafide Italian. So for Asia not understanding Japanese suddenly brought up the question of how he understood it when he never learnt to speak or read it before.


    Having stayed in Kuoh for years, questions of how he was able to understand the street signs, the labels on the supermarkets and the words of every Japanese he met suddenly arose.


    Now that he thought about it, even the manga for Dragon Ball was most likely in Japanese, yet he easily read it as if it was written in english.


    “I’m so confused…”


    “Ara? What is so confusing, Dimori-kun?”


    Catching the confused look from Shuri, Igor decided to test something.


    “Aunty. Are you speaking Italian or Japanese right now?”


    “For Asia’s sake, I am speaking Italian.”


    “Then…can you say what you said earlier, but in Japanese?”


    “...”


    Shuri mulled over his request for a bit before acquiescing.


    “Ara? What is so confusing, Dimori-kun?”


    Igor’s confusion only got worse.


    “You…said that in Japanese, right?”


    “Yes, Dimori-kun. Is something wrong?”


    He turned to face Asia and saw that the little blonde was also looking at him with concern. Deciding to get it out of his chest, he revealed his concerns.


    “Look, aunty. To me, every word you speak sounds either Italian, or English. I can hear your ‘ara’ and ‘kun’ with no problem. But every other word sounds mostly Italian to me. I never noticed that until now with Asia. It makes me wonder how I never had problems understanding a language.”


    While no one here had the answer, a third party did. Alerted by the sound of footsteps, all three of them came face to face with Aurelia and Cleria.


    Being an Aryan herself, Aurelia would be able to explain.


    “Greetings, Lord Dimori. This one’s name is Aurelia. As for your confusion, this one will be able to resolve it.”


    .


    |DxD|


    .


    Grigori, Underworld


    .


    Baraquiel was sitting alone in his office. With wooden flooring and furnishings, only the walls were painted a peach white colour, giving off a rather normal and professional atmosphere. But right now, the curtains were closed and there were bottles all over. Slumped on his chair was Baraquiel who appeared to be a total mess. Gone was his coat, leaving him with only his wrinkled black shirt and trousers. His eyes were dark and lifeless, his hair and beard uncombed.


    He was grieving…heavily.


    “I’m sorry, Shuri.”


    He took a long swig of alcohol from the bottle.


    “I’m sorry, Akeno…”


    Again, he took another swig from the bottle in his hand. He was broken, the results of his failure having finally overwhelmed in. He couldn’t bear it anymore, especially after Akeno told him right to his face that she hated him.


    It was like the final blow that sealed the coffin. For the past half-an-hour, he’d been drowning his sorrows in liquor, something he had never touched for decades...until today. These bottles of alcohol were all the gifts he received from Odin and a few warriors he used to spar with whenever he got the time to visit Asgard. These gifts that were received during happy and satisfying times were now used to drown the sorrow in his heart.


    He felt like a complete and utter failure. It wasn’t so much that his wife died with his daughter nearly following, but that he actually swallowed his rage. He was the Lightning General, a Cadre of Grigori. He survived hundreds of wars and witnessed thousands. He was a warrior that even Asgardians acknowledged as a friend. Yet when his family was touched, he shied away from the thought of exacting revenge.


    The thought alone aroused his rage and frustration.


    “RAAAAAAH!”


    CRASH!


    Throwing away the bottle in his hand, it crashed against the wall with glass shards and liquor splattering all over. His face was buried in his hands, grief and hatred becoming the only things that accompanied him.


    In that brief moment of self-loathing, a thought entered his mind.


    “Alicia…”


    The only person that came to mind in his time of great sorrow was the woman who so easily proclaimed her love for him. He wanted to see her, to feel her warmth. He already lost everything and he was in danger of losing himself. There was nothing more that he wanted to do than to see her. It was to the point that it had become an instinct. He could go to his brothers, but he didn’t want them to see him like this, to see him…so broken.


    Without hesitation, a teleportation circle formed underneath him before he vanished.


    Vwong!


    .


    AN


    .


    Today is Friday and thank you for the continued support. It is greatly appreciated, especially the comments I receive from all of you.


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