Chapter 217
Understanding that his daughter, Mana, wasn't entirely to blame for her actions, Izuku closed his eyes and exhaled a tired sigh before extending his arms, his expression and tone gentle as he said, "Come here..."
Though she was initially guarded, Mana eventually leaped into Izuku's embrace, clinging to him like a koala as he propped her with his left hand and patted her back with his right. At the same time, Izuku focused on the lingering presence within his mind, asking, 'Can't you do something about this? I don't believe for a moment you lack the ability...'
'Why should I?' asked Fediel. 'It would be one thing if these people were my followers, but if that were the case, they wouldn't have raised a hand or weapon against our daughter. That bull-like woman exhibited the intent to kill no fewer than three times. This outcome is the natural consequence of her actions.'
"..."
Staring down at the bifurcated body of Maria, whose face was fixed in horror and disbelief, Izuku felt slightly nauseous but maintained a stoic frown as he argued, 'This woman is one of the most influential Heroes of her country. If she were to remain dead, it would complicate my position in the outside world and undermine our efforts to prepare for the coming Convergence...'
'Hmm...'
As she was literally inside Izuku's mind, Fediel could sense that he was telling the truth. She also felt that Maria could be useful, so after a brief moment of deliberation, Fediel stated, 'While there is truth to your words, it doesn't change the fact this heifer attempted to kill our daughter. I shall permit her resurrection, but she will need to spend at least three centuries as Manakiel's Thrall.'
Though he felt Fediel's proposition was a little excessive, Izuku knew that if Maria had been a Villain targeting his daughter, he wouldn't have batted an eye at her death. He also knew that Thralls were functionally immortal so long as their Master had enough Mana to sustain them, so Maria might actually benefit from becoming one in the interim...
Since he didn't have many other options sans transporting Maria back to Japan, Izuku set Mana on the ground at Fediel's instruction, confusing the twin-tailed girl before he gently caressed her head as he explained what she needed to do. Mana's scythe had the property of absorbing the 'Ego' of a target slain by it, so if Fediel resurrected her, she would effectively be a mindless, soulless zombie. Mana first had to extract what looked like an angry golden will-o-wisp with tiny bull horns from the eye-like gemstone on her scythe, placing it against Maria's chest and rebinding it to her body using the magic circles on the backs of her gloves...
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Reaching the perimeter of the hastily evacuated encampment with Maria following close behind, carrying Mana in her arms, an exasperated sigh escaped Izuku's throat. Mana was only five years old, but her Level was 273 from birth. The soldiers must have shown hostility for Mana to start 'playing' with them, but since they had no idea who she was or where she came from, Izuku couldn't fault them for the ignorance that drove them to antagonize an entity far beyond their comprehension...
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Name: [Manakiel]
Species: True Dragon Whelp
Title: Larval Chaos(Vit+1000%. Other effects sealed.)
Class: Maestra
Bond Level: 100
Current Level: 2,158
Effective Level: 11,996
[Attributes]
Strength: 295
Agility: 373
Vitality: 113,490
Intelligence: 49
Dexterity: 337
Luck: 5,417
Free Attributes: 0
[Perks]
[Authority(Death)], [Deathless], [Adaptation], [True Dragon's Sight], [Dragon's Heart], [Abyss Cloak], [Karma]
[Skills]
[Shadow Step], [Reap], [Rend], [Soul Extraction], [Devouring], [Shadow Bind], [Third Circle Darkness Magic], [Darkness Dragon's Breath], [Soul Resonance], [Death's Visage]
[Authority(Death)]: Vulnerable to Light and Holy Magic, but can only be killed by those who possess an even greater Authority.
[Deathless]: Even if you are sliced apart, skewered, reduced to ash, or disintegrated, so long as you exist at any point in time, you will revert to an uninjured state.
[Adaptation]: You gain temporary resistance against anything that has seriously injured or destroyed a part of your body.
[True Dragon's Sight]: Perceive weaknesses and see through all illusions.
[Dragon's Heart]: Vitality and Mana Capacity increase exponentially with age.
[Abyss Cloak]: Amorphous darkness that resists sealing and protects against most physical and magical attacks.
[Karma]: The ability to ascertain a person's true nature and pass judgment on them. Punishing the wicked results in the accumulation of merits and a golden aura, while killing the innocent and virtuous strengthens the user's miasma.
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"I'll head outside and try to explain the situation..." said Maria, handing Mana to Izuku as she supplanted, "Though, it may be best to conceal the existence of Lady Manakiel outright..."
"To do that, we'd need to destroy the encampment and hope none of the people operating the command center grabbed the drives containing the surveillance recordings..." Izuku remarked, doubting the feasibility of such an act as there was likely to be at least one person with a Quirk related to recording and storing information. And, even if there weren't, they likely uploaded the data from any recovered drives to their satellite the moment they got outside...
'I just have to pray my Sensei is on top of things...' thought Izuku, meeting Mana's wide eyes and smiling as he gently pinched her nose, causing her to giggle as he said, "I'll take full responsibility for what transpired. But if your government thinks it can separate me from my daughter or detain us, I'll have no choice but to complicate things further..."
Reaching up to scratch near the base of her right horn, Maria assured, "If you're alright with revealing Lady Manakiel's status as Fediel's offspring, I can make it clear to the Presidente that our side was at fault for exhibiting hostility and attacking her..."
Nodding in approval, Izuku responded, "Then the three of us wait here until you return."
"Three...?" parroted Maria, tilting her head to the side until a faint whir reached her ears, followed by Kaina dropping down next to them with the briefcase containing Izuku's Hero Costume. Her task was watching over and keeping Izuku safe, so while Mirio and Tokoyami were forced to flee with the rest of the military and archaeological personnel, she concealed herself and observed things playing out from an elevated position...
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While waiting for Maria to return, Izuku observed Kaina teaching Mana Cat's Cradle while conversing with Fediel telepathically. It was apparent that he couldn't leave Mana with her, even temporarily, so they were re-discussing what he'd need to look out for while raising her in the outside world.
Though Mana took the form of a five-year-old human child, her true form was a roughly sedan-sized 'whelp' with features resembling an oversized gecko with horns vaguely akin to cat ears, six limbs, bluish-black scales, webbed, draconic wings, and a thick, slightly chubby tail covered in hard spines. Izuku found both of her forms unbelievably precious, but he knew she was an exceptional danger to others. That was one of the reasons he decided to awaken when he did, as, with each passing day, Mana's Level increased by at least one. If he had remained in the dreamscape until she reached adulthood, he wouldn't have been able to stop her if she lost her temper and decided to embrace her more destructive instincts...
Bringing his and Fediel's conversation to an end, Maria returned through the breach alongside a group of heavily armed soldiers. Fortunately, they were there to secure the encampment, not to try and detain Izuku, Mana, or Kaina. Izuku didn't appreciate how some of them looked at Mana as if she were a monster, but after what they had witnessed, he couldn't really blame them...
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[December 10th, 2149]
Arriving in Japan in the early afternoon, Izuku's group took a helicopter directly to UA. There, Izuku had a meeting with Nezu, consulting him on several sensitive issues that were best discussed in person, before exiting his increasingly secure office to find Maria and Mana waiting for him in the hallway.
"Chichiue~!" exclaimed Mana, extricating herself from Maria's embrace and flying Izuku's despite only a few minutes having passed since they last saw one another. As a result, Maria, feeling slightly envious, flicked her bull-like tail behind her and asked, "How'd it go?" in fluent Japanese, courtesy of an immersive course within the dreamscape.
"There aren't any issues with you being Mana's caretaker, but I told you there wouldn't be," contended Izuku. "As for where you'll be staying, we have plenty of rooms back at my place. You can either share a room with Mana or live next door to her."
Feeling relieved, Maria placed her right hand over her voluminous chest and sighed. As a Thrall, she felt uncomfortable when she wasn't near her Maestra, but more than that, she was relieved to be near Izuku. They had spent nearly a year together within the dreamscape, bringing them 'much' closer together, and though she didn't mind being enthralled, he promised to help her regain her humanity once things settled down.
"Let's go," said Izuku, causing Maria to blush slightly as he extended his hand for her to grab. Then, while holding her hand and carrying Mana, he escorted them to his home and introduced them to the bevy of beautiful women waiting to receive them, specifically Inko, Rumi, Nemuri, Fuyumi, and, somewhat surprisingly, Hanako. Eri was also present, so Izuku had Mana introduce herself as he had taught her before entrusting Maria and Fuyumi to watch over them as he had a conversation with the moderately annoyed Inko and Rumi, unsurprisingly irked that they would no longer be the first to give birth to his child...
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Though she had been given a room alongside Nemuri, Maria, Mana, and Eri, Izuku had Fuyumi bunk with him for the night to make up for missing her birthday. Eri and Mana had wanted to join them, but Izuku had them invite Hiroshi and Kotaru for a slumber party under the close supervision of Nemuri, Maria, and, as she was adept at handling her younger brothers, Izuna.
Fortunately, though Hiroshi and Kotaru had a habit of biting, they were used to being around Eri and had sharp instincts. Thus, the moment they were introduced to Mana, they immediately understood she was someone they shouldn't bite. Instead, they behaved uncharacteristically obedient, causing Izuna to tease them until they bared their shark-like teeth at her and hissed at her with their characteristic 'shaaaaaaaaaaa.' This annoyed Izuna quite a bit, but as she, too, possessed sharp instincts, she behaved much more reserved than usual...
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Staring at the veritable glacier produced by her Frost Quirk and Third Circle Ice Magic, Fuyumi, wearing a dark-blue bikini, wiped the frozen flakes of sweat from her brow as she jokingly remarked, "Magic is really powerful. At this rate, I may even surpass Shoto when it comes to using ice..."
"You're not done yet," stated Izuku, seated in the air a few meters away, cross-legged, topless, and wearing a pair of green and black swim trunks.
Exhaling a sigh that produced a large cloud of icy condensation, Fuyumi responded with a weary, "Right..." before raising her hands, palms facing the glacier, closing her eyes, and chanting, "Spirits of flame, awaken and become a storm to purge my enemies from this world! Hellflame Pillar...!"
Though she collapsed onto the sandy beach that Izuku had created for her training, Fuyumi, panting heavily, managed to remain conscious and keep her hands oriented toward the glacier as a crimson magic circle materialized beneath it, subsequently giving form to a rapidly expanding tornado of red, orange, and black flames.
"She's become much stronger..." asserted a feminine voice from Izuku's left, belonging to the tall, muscular, raven-haired Nana, wearing a black, thong-like bikini and a choker. Then, as it was her turn next, she floated forward, providing Izuku an unobstructed view of her well-sculpted back muscles and truly breathtaking ass as she formed a circle with her hands and began casting a gravity-based spell of her own, made possible by the magical knowledge Izuku had acquired during his protracted confinement by Fediel...
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(A/N: This chapter feels both long and incredibly short at the same time. Also, for those that are curious, Mana's name, Manakiel, basically means 'the light within the darkness.')