To The World Stage
Waking up I put a smile on my face.
It's been over a week since Operation: Coup took place, and things went off without a hitch.
Not only did I rescue Valerie, but Dominque, Chess, and the others managed to safely extract the defectors from the Tepes faction.
There were a few spies, but since one of the members of the operation had a sacred gear that could distinguish truth from lies were able to weed them out without trouble.
Then once everything was secure we made our escape, and arrived back at castle Blackspire without incident.
As Hannibal from A-Team would say, "I love it when a plan comes together."
Getting up I quickly got dressed and then made my bed.
Once that was done I headed to the dining hall for breakfast.
Arriving I already found my mother there, along with Valerie who waved at me.
I waved back.
As soon as we returned to the territory I brought Valerie straight to my mother. Then right after I did my mother could instantly tell that Valerie had a powerful sacred gear inside of her.
Actually anyone could since she wasn't able to hide the energy signature of it at all.
The only reason no one was able to detect it back in the Tepes faction was because the cell, and entire Tepes castle was heavily warded, distorting the senses of all who walked its halls.
Needless to say my mother promptly put a cloaking spell on Valerie and then began examining her sacred gear to determine which one it was. And the look on my mother's face when she found out that Valerie possessed a Longinus of all things, was priceless.
However that only lasted for a moment before she got deadly serious.
She knew the stakes of Valerie being in our care after all.
Not only did we now have a Longinus user within our faction, but we also had one of the most dangerous Longinus as well.
All the Longinus are dangerous of course, but Valerie's is on a whole different level.
Personally I don't think the combat-oriented Longinus are the most dangerous. Sure the True Longinus, Divine Dividing, and the likes of Regulus Nemea are great for close-combat and one-on-one battles, but in the long run of things that is mostly all they are good for.
No, the Longinus I think are the most dangerous are the ones that aren't especially combat oriented. Those along the lines of Dimension Lost, Annihilation Maker, and the most obvious being Sephiroth Graal. Despite not having overall high direct-combat potential Dimension Lost and Annihilation Maker are classified within the top four original Longinus.
The reason being, their limit is only limited the the imagination of their user.
Dimension Lost allows one to go anywhere, and send their enemies anywhere they please. If you are facing an enemy with an obvious weakness, all you would need to do was send them somewhere where their weakness is magnified and you have them. Hell, one could probably even create their own Kamui dimension using Dimension Lost, and well all know how OP that is.
Annihilation Maker needs no hype, it's OP as fuck. A gear that literally allows the user to create anything they can imagine. I have no clue what God was thinking when he created that monstrosity.
Finally we have Sephiroth Graal which gives one the power to control life and death itself. Valerie's is even more OP since hers is a subspecies, and she can remove the weaknesses of other races with nothing but a snap of her fingers.
I actually shudder to think what would happen if Valerie is ever able to achieve balance break. Since she can already control life and death, I have no what the next step would be. Could she make people gods, make gods into mortal men, or perhaps create an entirely new race? The possibilities are world ending.
So although the Longinus have ranks, that's basically just for combat potential. But in my opinion, that system is busted as hell.
Anyway, as soon as my mother realized the gravity of the situation she took Valerie in as her personal ward, and only told her closest advisors about her gear.
I also did the same with Chess and Dominque since I trust them both with my life.
Once that was settled, my mother and I went to work coming up with a routine for Valerie. Because honestly she needed it desperately.
A thorough examination by our doctors revealed malnutrition, and repeated physical abuse, that's not even mentioning all the emotional abuse she took, or the fact that her sacred gear has awakened and she has no idea how to control it.
It's a wonder she didn't crack under the pressure and crawl into a deep dark hole.
But I guess that spirit of hers is what allowed her to make it through the hell known as canon. Good thing I yeeted that bitch aside.
A girl like Valerie should never have to go through anything like that.
And now that she's with us she never will.
Taking my seat at the table I began eating my breakfast.
As I did we all made small-talk, until breakfast was over.
Then as soon as it was Valerie stood up. "I'm off to train. See you later Kufa, and you as well lady Krul." She told us.
She then left the dining hall and headed to the training field, where Veronica was waiting for her.
My mother decided to make her her teacher in all things. She decided that Valerie needed the example of a strong woman to follow, and Veronica checks all those boxes.
I just hope she survives that demonic training regimen.
I said a prayer for Valerie as she walked off.
Moving on, once she left my mother looked at me. She then put a serious expression on her face. "So you've decided then?"
"Yes mother I have." I told her. "I am going to travel the world for a bit." I said.
Which has been my plan all along.
I told my mother ages ago that when I turned 13 or 14 I wanted to travel the world on a training journey.
She agreed with me, but I knew she didn't believe I would do it. She probably thought it was just a child's whim.
But since I've kept repeating it my mother finally realized I wasn't bullshitting her.
"I see. Well all I can say is good luck, and stay safe. Also call me often." My mother mused, giving me a loving smile.
"Don't worry, I will." I told her.
Looks like she's finally comes to term with me leaving the nest.
I am grateful for that.
When my mother I finished our talk I left the dining hall and headed back to my room.
I have packing to finish afer all.
---------------------------------------------------
Standing in the training grounds I leaned against the wall, with a smirk on my face.
Valerie is currently running laps, and being supervised by Veronica.
Seeing someone else go through the same pain that I did makes me feel incredibly happy.
Valerie completed her ninth lap, and then started to slow down a bit.
When she did Veronica fired off an ice shard at her, which hit the ground a few inches from her body.
"Agh!" Valerie shouted.
"Don't slow down." Veronica told her, giving her a bright smile. But from the cold emanating from her body we all knew that sweet smile was just a fake.
"No, I can't go on." Valerie whined.
"Don't give me that." Veronica retorted. "When you feel like you can't go on, it's the perfect time to do so. Surpass your limits!" She shouted. "And if you slow down again I'll freeze you solid for the entire night." She added.
"Yes!" Valerie shouted.
She then not only started running at her original pace, but also sped up. Allowing her to finish her tenth and final lap in record time.
After which she promptly collapsed onto the ground.
Once this happened I walked over to her and stood over her. I then gave her a thumbs up. "Nice job, it looks like your youthful passions are burning brightly."
Valerie gave me a deadpan look in response.
"Come on, I don't even get a laugh?" I questioned.
"No." Valerie said.
"Whatever." I said. "So anyway, you heard right, about me leaving?" I asked her.
Everyone in the territory has been talking about it for the past week after all.
Even in the supernatural world, yenta's are plentiful.
"Yeah." Valerie mused. She pushed herself up and then stood up. "But, do you really have to go? We were just getting to know each other."
I smiled at Valerie and started patting her head. "Hey now, don't be sad. It's not like I'm going to be gone for forever. I'm only going to be gone for a year, two years tops. And anyway we can talk anytime. Besides, this is something I really need to do."
I not only need to build my team, but I've also hit a bottleneck in my growth. My skills are top-notch, but for the last year or so I haven't really seen any improvement at all.
The biggest reason I can think of is that all my opponent's are small fry. I never really get a challenge from them, and while training is all well good since I know my life isn't really on the line no matter how real it seems, even that is reaching its limits.
I know what I need to grow. I need battles that actually put my life on the line. That's the only way I'll be able to truly grow stronger.
Those battles are also what I need to help me achieve balance break.
So either way, I am doing this and no one is going to stop me.
"Ok." Valerie said. She then looked me in the eyes. "But when I call you better answer, got that?"
"Sure, sure," I said, waving her off.
"Meanie." She said, puffing up her cheeks.
"I am a sadist after all." I told her. "Anyway, later." I said. I then walked away from Valerie and went straight to Veronica. "Take care of her will you?"
"But of course. She is one of my precious students after all." Veronica said. She then gave me a light hug. "Also Kufa, take your own advice. Don't be too reckless."
"I won't teacher." I told her.
She then left me go from the hug and I left the training field, my list of goodbyes finally completed.
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Arriving in a specially made teleportation room inside the castle, I had a winter coat over my body, as well as a piece of luggage rolling behind me.
Coming to a stop I saw Dominque and Chess waiting of me, dressed in the same manner.
"So, where are we headed first?" Chess asked me.
"You'll see when we get there." I told her.
With that all of us stepped onto one of the teleportation circles and then it activated, sending us to the first stop on our world tour.
A land of ice and snow.