28 Ch. 28 On the trail of the Chains pt.3

With the confirmation on Enkidu's location, the three of us left Kur and continued on with the search as the new aim was officially the Land of Shadows.

Hopefully it won't turn out to be a kind of Mario situation. I don't want to hear 'I am sorry, but the Chains are in another afterlife' or something.

At least the search for the Lands of Shadow was much easier than the one for Kur. In all honesty, I had found the entrance some time before we found Kur, but I wished to at least give the search a few days before giving up and going directly to it.

It was quite easy due to the Land of Shadows being semi-open compared to all the other Realms of the Dead which have strict gates. Although the gates can't even slow me down due to my powers, they are actually difficult for even most gods. As for the Land of Shadows, it always remains half-open as a way to gather wandering or desperate spirits trying to remain as they are, but the entrance becomes an uncrossable barrier once inside.

For spirits anyway. There are plenty of examples in the ulster cycle alone where the living sought the teachings of Scáthach and left after failing her trials or left after having received her teachings. Most noticeably Cú Chulainn, his son Connla, and Cú's fellow disciple Ferdiad.

At the entrance I set an extra layer of security to permit our exit now that I had a sample of the dimensional energy the Land of Shadows was compromised off, not daring to completely look down on the resting place even gods feared. Even if I was confidant in myself, I would not risk my peerage members recklessly.

Once inside you could tell why it gained its name.

The Land of Shadows was a place where you could only see shadows, and with difficulty.

The realm was eternally nighttime, with no moon, shrouded in fog covering the vast forested landscape and mountains. Spirits would be lucky to spot anything if it wasn't a few feet in front of them, especially since I could feel the fog trying to restrict everything, but even more so with senses.

There were an incredible number of spirits wondering around this place blindly, either in groups or alone. Most were likely to be simple humans, while some strong spirits could be felt, indicating that they might have been from stronger races, held significant power in life or might have even been Demi-gods, while the few divine spirits remaining were almost bright beacons to my senses.

And at the center of these lands lay a fortress, likely to be Dún Scáith, the home of Scáthach herself.

If I couldn't feel her coming our way, that is where would have headed.

The mist is far too weak to hamper my senses. Even though Mana showed signs of being mildly affected, she noticed our approaching target as well, while Musashi seemed to have instinctively reacted to our reaction.

"Nii-sama?" Mana asked as she requested orders.

"Remain at the ready but do not act hostile. She is likely to be the strongest human to have ever lived and I do not see a reason to attack first unless absolutely necessary." I told her as acknowledged my order by placing her hand on her custom pistol at her hip.

Musashi also heard my order, but she was having difficulty holding her excitement and fighting intent back as she desperately wanted to try her hand at fighting the Queen of the Shadow Lands. She constantly fidgeted and subconsciously played with her sword handles.

And then she appeared. Scáthach.

It was obvious to someone like me who could sense her being and essence thanks to my [Space] and advanced Senjutsu and Touki skill, feeling her being intimately connected to this place, strong enough to easily handle the old Satans and un-aging.

I then wondered if being in the DxD verse made everyone famous into a sexy woman because come on.

The woman had long purple hair and wine red eyes, and was wearing a full-body outfit that highlights her curvaceous body, with metallic shoulder pads and a small black cloak connected to them. Her face was half covered with a black mask of the lower half of her face and she had a veil over her head.

She carried a blood red spear with sparsely serated edges in her hands, more than likely it being the cursed god-slaying spear Gáe Bolg. The weapon Scáthach had passed down to her student once upon a time, forged from the bones and skull of the mighty sea monster Curriuid, and now in her hands again.

"Why are you here… odd devil, half-youkai devil and half-human devil?" She asked emotionlessly as she seemed to find Musashi different with just a glance.

That was already a display of knowledge and experience since reincarnated Devils aren't exactly prevalent yet.

"Great Queen Scáthach, my name is Lith Azaroth, these two girls are my peerage members: Mana Tatsumiya and this one is Musashi Miyamoto." I reply in polite greetings, "I have come seeking the Chains of Heaven Ereshkigal has asked you to safeguard. She has given me this token to at least attempt to prove we have received her permission."

I then threw the golden token to the woman as she caught it without blinking, gave it a quick look an then tossed it back.

"Although I do not know what a peerage is, I welcome you warriors of the East and you half-devil. It has been a long time since someone of your lands found themselves here." She neutrally responded. "As for the Chains, they reside in a sealed state in my fortress. I shall guide you."

"That would be most appreciated Lady Scáthach." I said to her with a light bow, to which she simply nodded and began to move swiftly towards her fortress as we stayed close.

With all of us being far above human in ability, we reached Dún Scáith quickly.

The exterior of the fortress was oppressive and established Scáthach's authority well, with the interior at least showing levels of comfort fit for the Queen she is. The vast majority of the place being decorated in wine red or a similar purple to her own hair.

She guided us down into the dungeon where she presented a spear-tipped Golden chain inside a sphere of divine energy.

"This is what you seek. It is sealed, but that is easily remedied if necessary with this key which came with it." She said as she passed an intricate stone key with golden inlays.

"I thank you Lady Scáthach." I responded as I took a look at my two girls and decided to go for it, "But if it isn't too much to ask, I have a favor to ask of you."

Instead of answering, she looked me straight in the eyes as she seemed to be looking for or measuring something.

"Ask half-devil Lith." She replied with any sort of fluctuation in her emotions.

"I would like to ask for a spar for these two ladies beside me. Musashi deeply desires to test herself and Mana requires a difficult battle to push herself to the next level. Should you accept, I shall endeavor to fulfill a request in kind." I said to her respectfully.

I might be stronger than her, but I did respect a woman of such skill and power who managed to reach the realm of gods while staying human.

Before answering, Scáthach gave the two young women a look as she analyzed them silently. Musashi was fidgeting in excitement again while having a big grin on her face, while Mana had a raised eyebrow at my words before doing her best to gleam any sort of information from the Queen before us.

"Teaching these two for today is acceptable. Their talents are even beyond the best I have taught. Can I keep them as disciples?" She finally said as I saw a unidentifiable glimmer pass through her perpetually tranquil eyes.

"Although they are free to make their own decisions, I would prefer for them to return with me. Mana is my sister in all but blood and Musashi is my Knight." I replied as Scáthach understood my meaning and turned to the girls.

"I must apologize Scáthach-sama. I appreciate the offer, but wish to remain by Nii-sama's side." Mana politely rejected with a small bow.

"I would love to test myself against you as much as possible Scáthach-sama, but as a Samurai I must stay by my Lord's side!" Musashi said passionately as she too rejected.

"A pity. Teaching such talented students after so long might have finally given me my wish. But I guess asking for it in exchange for this favor might do." The Queen of the Shadow Lands said as her emotions did fluctuate minutely after being rejected.

"As long as it is possible and not too much my lady, I shall do my best." I replied as I readied myself.

I wasn't going to do something ridiculous in exchange for a spar, but she's been patient and hasn't made things difficult for us, so I can at least fulfill a reasonable request.

"Kill me." She then said as the three of us froze at the words.

"What?" I asked out of confusion and surprise.

"I wish for you to kill me in exchange for giving these two my final lesson. To go out in one final battle where I can die as a warrior." She clarified with hope in her eyes as she looked at me with her wine red orbs. "You are strong enough and are a warrior, unlike the rest of your race. You can succeed where others have left me down, freeing me from this existence of mine."

I didn't know how to answer.

I could kind off understand her possible reasoning for the request, but to hear someone ask for you to kill them is not exactly normal.

I then remembered her's/Cú Chulainn's story.

In exchange for training the young Hound of Culann and finally choosing him to receive her spear Gaé Bolg and her final technique over his fellow disciple Ferdiad, she had desired to be killed by her student, to die as a human, but lamented when he was unable to do so.

'Perhaps... I wanted to be killed by your hands. I give up. Better die before that happens. If only you were born a little earlier... Young, so young.' Those were her words before she returned to the Shadow Lands, only to later teach Cú's son Connla until she predicted his death and he left.

She has remained in a state of crushing acceptance over her fate ever since as she guarded these lands for the last 1500 years.

I could understand her desire as a warrior. To be able to die fighting a worthy foe instead of continuing a bleak existence in this 'reward' for her abilities. Such a dreary life is truly not something I would wish on others.

Taking a deep breath, I looked at arguably the most skilled human in history in the eyes, "Understood. After you finish you spar with these two, I shall end this life of yours." I told her with determination.

Musashi understood a warrior wanting to die as one and Mana would not get in the way unless she thought it would be dangerous for me, so they simply watched on with some mixed emotions but prepared for their fight.

"Thank you." She softly replied as her eyes expressed her sincerity. "Now this way to the training area."

She led us behind her fortress, to an open field devoid of any mist and illuminated by crimson flames, the ground holding carved rune stones as a perimeter to create a barrier.

"Which of the two shall go first?" Scáthach simply asked as she stood in the center of the field with her spear in hand.

"Me!" Musashi loudly declared as she appeared in front of the spear mistress releasing a thick desire to fight.

Scáthach raised an eyebrow before looking at me for confirmation, which I gave with a wry smile, then she turned back to her fist opponent.

"Understood." She responded before the two took some distance from one another.

"My lord has introduced me earlier, but as a samurai I must introduce myself regardless!" Announced Musashi as she pridefully drew her two blades and readied herself. "I am Miyamoto Musashi of the Niten Ichi-ryū style, Knight of Lord Lith Azaroth!"

"Very well. I am Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows and true wielder of Gaé Bolg." Was the response as she honored a fellow warrior, even if she had not bloomed yet.

She then removed the half mask as a sign of respect, showing the absolutely stunning visage of a cold beauty on her emotionless face. Before getting ready herself.

-Shift to 3rd person perspective for fights.

Without anyone signaling the beginning of the fight, Musashi suddenly burst forward as her unique energy already gathered in her blades, raising the full katana and lowering her wakizashi before seemingly attempting to make both meet in the center as she attacked her opponent.

'Niten Ichi-Ryū: Ten to ji ga deau!(Heaven and earth meet)' She inwardly declared as her opener.

"Impressive to reach this stage at such a young age." Scáthach simply said as her spear was covered in a crimson aura and she perfectly angled her spear to block both strikes.

She then twirled her spear, causing both of Musashi's arms to recoil as she sent a kick to her foe, which was once again blocked as the foot landed on the spear's body, resulting in Musashi flipping away from her opponent.

Scáthach calmly watched the much younger warrior as she landed, before suddenly striking out during the moment Musashi would be thinking about her feet touching the ground.

'Chiad stailc (first strike)' the Queen thought as she used the most basic spear technique in existante.

Although basic, the strike contained all of Scáthach's own devotion and experience in the spear, causing Musashi to feel as if an immovable mountain was heading for her in a difficult moment.

But the sword prodigy then remembered a move her lord had used on her before, and embracing a sudden enlightenment she created a version for herself.

'Niten Ichi-Ryū: Āsumākingu (Earth Marking)'

Using her downward momentum to fall into her lowest stance ever, she struck the earth with her pommel and aura to attack Scáthach's footing as a shockwave traveled through the ground.

The strike forced the Queen to halt her strike to tap the butt of her spear on the ground, cancelling her opponent's shockwave with her own and jumping over her as she struck out with three quick jabs.

Musashi didn't have the time to change her position, but she used her wakizashi to quickly deflect the jabs as best she could, only to still be grazed by the three strikes.

The two then properly stood once again as they readied for a second exchange.

"It seems you are completely ambidextrous." Scáthach noted as she didn't expect the sword user to be able to defend as well as she did on those jabs.

Sure she wasn't going nearly as strong of fast as she could and she hadn't activated her spear's curse, but she had faced dual sword wielders in the past and nearly none would have even blocked a single strike of that level from the position of the young devil before her.

"You're so Great! Let's keep going!" The completely focused Musashi loudly proclaimed as was enjoying every second of these exchanges.

"Indeed, let's." Scáthach lightly replied as the smallest smile graced her lips unconsciously for the first time in over a millennia.

The two prodigies the went forward to clash again as they blurred.

They began to exchange dozens of blows in mere seconds as the strikes became stronger and stronger, with slashes and holes appearing in the ground, great booms coming from colliding weapons and ever growing auras being unleashed as a light purple figure clashed against a crimson one.

"Subarashī! Subarashī! Subarashī! Hahahahaha!" The near mental Musashi yelled out as she lost herself in her duel.

"Niten Ichi-Ryū: Hebunrīsurasshu! (Heavenly Slash)" Musashi yelled out as an enormous purple blade slashed downward unto her foe.

"Bidh cuan a 'ruighinn na speuran (An ocean reaches the sky)" Scáthach calmly called out as her crimson spear aura surged upwards to meet the descending blade.

The resulting clash cause the land around the Queen to split and the misty sky above the Sword user to gape as an explosion of purple and red energy forced the two apart.

"You truly deserve the praises my lord said about you lady Scáthach! Such divine skill in spear! Truly worthy of a god-slayer!" Musashi earnestly shouted, "But I will reach you with this blade of mine!"

And with that declaration Musashi finally activated both her Knight piece and demonic power as she gathered everything together into her body.

"I shall show you this style I have created after becoming his sword!

"Ten no akuma (Heavenly Demon): Ashura no sutoraiki (Ashura's strike)!" She called out as one could almost see the great six-armed figure as she moved forward with her two blades striking out.

But even Scáthach was surprised when instead of two strikes with a weight even surpassing Musashi's Heavenly Slash from earlier, six were bearing down on her from both sides.

'What a wonderful strike.' The Queen thought as her smile returned in face of such a move. 'But it is immature and rough. Although, I can see that she will become far stronger than this.'

Scáthach herself then released a much calmer energy as she readied her spear and drew a circle around of herself.

"Faileas na gealaich (The shadow of the moon)" She declared as an aura barrier was formed in front of Musashi's most overbearing strike.

Noticing the response, Musashi instinctively felt that her attack would fail as it is.

So to respond, she gritted her teeth before roaring out in defiance, tapping into her very soul as she was enveloped in a golden light. The light gave her the momentary enlightenment and power necessary to transform her technique and evolve it mid-swing as she went into a complete trance.

"Ten no akuma (Heavenly Demon): Ashura ga michi o mitsukeru (Ashura finds a path)" The tranced Musashi called as her six strikes merged into one, striking Scáthach's barrier with might even Musashi didn't know she could unleash as the barrier cracked under the strike's weight and eventually shattered as Musashi fell forward.

Unfortunately, the Sword lover couldn't capitalize on the moment due to falling unconscious from exhaustion. Resulting in her being caught by her master before she could tumble from her momentum.

"That was a wonderful strike Musashi." Lith fondly said to the now sleeping girl as she smiled unconsciously.

"It truly was." Scáthach agreed as she faced her opponent to reveal a single scratch on her cheek.

"Truly this girl will always surprise you. To think she would awaken her sacred gear now of all time." Lith wryly said as she looked at the lively girl.

"Desires are what awaken the weapons God put in the hands of man. I am sure yours responded to your desires as well." The Queen wisely said as she revealed something Lith had never told anyone, internally shocking him before simply being impressed.

"Indeed." He agreed as he lifted his Knight into a princess carry and brought her outside the training ward, fixing the damaged battle field with every step.

'To think he has the ability to appear beside me without me noticing in my domain, is not affected by the Christian God's name and can fix this place without so much as a magic circle or rune.' Scáthach thought, maintaining her calm exterior as she watched the man who would kill her walk away with a girl who's talent almost made her desire to live longer just to train her.

"Then I guess it shall be my turn Scáthach-sama. I am honored to have this chance to face you." Mana politely said as she stepped up.

She recalled the words her Nii-sama had said while the two were watching Musashi fight.

Mana had been impressed by both fighters until her brother and lord actually corrected her assumption that the Queen of the Land of Shadows was like an older and more experienced Musashi wielding a spear.

'While more correct than you know, she is far more than Musashi in terms of overall talent before I met the girl. After all, not only is her true style not simply one spear, she is also a prodigious talent in magic as well.' He had said after he clearly knew things she didn't.

'If I understand Nii-sama's words properly, she not only uses two spears, but also has skills equaling her abilities with the spear in magic. But at least I know the Celtic's used runes as a magic base and that at least gives me some understanding of her abilities there thanks to all that studying Nii-sama recommended for me. He truly knows best.' Mana thought with some adoration towards her everything.

"Mana Tatsumiya, Pawn of Lith Azaroth, Lord and founder of his House." Mana declared as she placed both her hands on her heavily modded pistols dubbed 'Jackals'.

These two black pistols were a culmination of her experience using her sacred gear and developing her fighting style as they allowed for high enough power for her desired level of combat, allowed for a wide variety of attacks and blended well with her chosen style.

She will create other guns mid-fight depending on her aims and needs, but these two were her standard choice.

"Those are your weapons?" Scáthach asked as clarification.

This is due to her not recognizing the things on her new opponents hips. She knows of current firearms, but those were simply too far from what is currently available for her to immediately associate the two.

"Indeed. They shall become more common in the future." Mana casually answered. "Shall we?"

"After you." Scáthach replied to the young woman who seemed to have a similar temperament to herself.

'This should be interesting as well. Such talent radiating off of her and using weapons I have never faced before.' The Queen thought as she noticed her excitement had risen significantly after facing the young sword prodigy, 'And much stronger as well.'

*Bang bang bang bang bang bang*

In a moment six shots rang out as Mana drew her gun faster than most could even understand, much less perceive, and seeing these incoming shots Scáthach smoothly shifted her body to flawlessly dodge.

But grew surprised as she suddenly felt eight more were incoming.

'So she can shoot silently as well.' Scáthach noted as the little trick forced her fully dodge by using her footwork to appear a behind the gunslinger.

Striking out with her spear, it was only once she committed to her attack that she noticed a small glint under her target's arm, making her widen her eyes in realization before… *Bang!*

The force of the round being far more powerful than any firearm sent the warrior Queen backwards as dust picked up in her trail.

"I thought I would at least score a minor hit with that one." A slightly disappointed Mana exclaimed.

The dust cleared around as the Queen as she swung her spear creating a gust of wind, revealing that she know held a shorter spear in her left hand which she had materialized in a moment to defend herself.

"It was a surprise to see you being able to fire behind you like that, even for me." Scáthach lightly replied.

"It was one of the most important criteria for mastery in the style Nii-sama taught me after all." Mana said as she aimed her guns.

"How novel." The warrior Queen responded as she took her true stance with her dual spears.

The two composed women began their rapid fire exchanges as the spear user aimed to strike at Mana and she fired round after round at Scáthach to take her down or at least slow her down.

The result was a series of pure martial exchange as Mana fluidly dodged or deflected the spear user through her mastery of close range gun fighting unseen in this world, all while never ending her shooting as Scáthach either struck down the bullets or dodged them will counterattacking. All until they suddenly distanced themselves from each other with small grins on their faces.

"Shall we quick things up a notch Lady Scáthach?" Mana suggested as her two guns began to shine with power. "I am rather curious about your magic."

"As you wish." Scáthach responded with a small smile as she invoked a series of runes and launched a barrage ice lances towards Mana in an instant.

Mana immediately responded by firing a slew of elemental beams of magic against them as they burst the lances mid air.

The two began a duel of magic as they now mixed rapid spellwork into their attacks, turning the battle into a clash of skill, firepower and knowledge as their magic collided and cancelled each other out, with spells and magic shots sometimes breaking through towards their target as they outmaneuvered the opponent or tricked them.

They turned the training ground into an elemental showcase as they struck out with all of them and countered with their opposites, send fire against wood, lighting against earth, water against fire and the likes, creating scars in the ground as they casted spell after spell using their personal methods.

All until Mana revealed something which would later earn her the title of Bane of Magicians as she cancelled the runes Scáthach had begun forming with a grin on her face as the fight immediately went up a few for notches when the warrior Queen understood the danger of such a skill and summoned dozens of simultaneous runes circles around Mana in an attempt to overwhelm the younger woman.

To answer the challenge Mana activated part of her youkai physiology and self enhancement magic to drastically increase her reflexes and senses, while calling out "Promotion, Knight."

In the following moment every magic circle shattered like glass as shots rang out and mana's limbs blurred.

She then fired a barrage of bullets all around Scáthach, apparently missing the woman before each stopped in place in a dome around her, causing the Queen to realize the danger as the bullets exploded in unison.

*Booom!!* *shatter*

From the dust cloud shards of ice flew at great speed towards Mana as she shot every single one down with perfect accuracy, but then her eyes widened as she dodged a crimson streak which landed in her previous position.

"How dangerous, the famed Gáe Bolg." Mana said as the dust revealed one of the cursed spears Scáthach had been wielding piercing the ground before levitating and returning towards its owner.

"I should say the same. For such small things to hold this much destructive power is impressive." Scáthach sincerely said as she walked out of her own cloud of dust, revealing a frozen perimeter behind her which indicated how she defended against the attack. "I guess I should take this more seriously then."

In that moment the Land of Shadows seemed to still as a dark red aura appeared around the warrior Queen and the spear aura she had used in her spar against Musashi appeared in the form of crimson lighting around her spears.

"Seriously it is." Mana responded as she unleashed her other half fully.

Her body released an immense amount of energy as her hair shone white with lighting flowing through it, her left eye joined her hair as a single black horn sprouted on the left side of her forehead as well, her hands and feet blackened and teeth and nails grew more feral. She then took it a step further as she still felt inferior to the woman before her and activated her trump card, 'Embodiment of Lightning', turning her body into lightening itself through her touki and youkai heritage.

She stood proudly with her guns and her entire body shone with light grey lighting dancing around her and her hair flowing behind her.

"How beautiful." Scáthach commented at Mana's form, feeling that this was a beautiful crystallization of her opponents skills and power. "To think you would have also received the blessing of a god as well as taken your black Oni heritage this far. How truly beautiful."

"Thank you. Now shall we begin anew?" Mana responded calmly as she readied herself for what would be the final round of this fight.

"Come. Show me your brilliance." Was the response as the Queen as she pointed her spears towards her foe.

The two then disappeared as they began to fight with speed utterly dwarfing anything shown before.

Mana began to unleash a barrage of rail gun shots as her lighting was channeled in her guns to reach extreme power, making every shot capable of piercing mountains. But all of them were met head on as the Queen of the Land of Shadows struck them all out with her precise thrusts.

The two danced in the sky in a red and grey blur as beams and shockwave erupted and clashed.

If it wasn't for Lith upholding the barrier of grounds then the Land of Shadows would have already been facing massive amounts of destruction as the two women casually unleashed attacks which took out chunks of the place.

Exchanges of magic and martial arts continued until the two separated and gathered huge amounts of power.

Mana summoned an advanced anti-material rifle as she took a kneeling position and poured her lighting into it.

Scáthach placed herself in a throwing stance as her spear gathered crimson energy.

As if they had planned on it, the two fired their attacks causing lighting to surge all around as they collided and battled for supremacy.

Unfortunately for Mana, the Gáe Bolg gradually burrowed into her attack as it was gradually winning.

Feeling herself being overpowered, Mana decided to stop caring about what came afterward, trusting Lith to protect her should it come to it, and used everything she had into her attack as her energy flooded her rifle.

Two things happened once she let herself go all out for this one attack: the first was as if her energy suddenly clicked and her lightning compacted itself to unleash a concentrated blast of much purer energy and her rifle seemed to evolve by itself into an intricate and larger size as her Sacred Gear resonated with her power and unlocked a sub-species balance breaker, resulting in the magnification of her lighting instead of just channeling it.

"Susanō no ikari! (Susano'o's wrath)" Mana yelled as she poured her everything into this attack which could take down gods.

'The both of them are truly magnificent. How enviable it is for that man to be able to guide them. But I am glad this was enough to let her breakthrough.' Scáthach thought as she observed the beam of lightning overpower her spear.

"Let me repay this wonderful attack." She said mainly to herself as she grasped her remaining spear. "Gáe…"

The cursed spear began to unleash its true might as it heard its name from it wielder, revealing why it is so feared in her hands as a god-slaying weapon. The very sky of this forsaken land shuddered as she began to contract her muscles for her signature strike. The one which allowed her student to remain the strongest of his time.

"Bol.." "It think that's enough." Lith suddenly interrupted before she could complete her attack and grasped her spear as he dissipated Mana's attack as well. "She is not ready for such a strike."

The serious look on his face as some traces of anger and worry appeared in his eyes, snapping Scáthach out of the unnoticed fervor she had been under during those last moments.

'Thank Satan I have precognitive abilities and stopped that attack. Nothing could have healed the wounds on Mana until the spear which cause them was destroyed and she wouldn't have survived long enough for that to happen. Gáe Bolg is a cursed god-slaying spear for a reason.' Lith grimly thought as he went to Mana.

Scáthach had forgotten in the heat of the moment that the girl would not be able to defend herself after this attack, evident by the fact that Lith let go of her spear and appeared next to Mana as she fell into unconsciousness like Musashi had done.

'It seems that some habits cannot be eroded even after so long.' The Queen thought with some guilt over her blunder.

She would have regretted immensely if she had killed such a promising young woman in her battlelust.

"I apologize for my mistake. It would seem my desire for battle had gotten the better of me after so long." Scáthach said as she sincerely apologized.

"*sigh* Alright. I can understand you losing control for a moment after being stimulated for the first time in so long. I will also let it go since you have been nothing but patient with us and have helped both my girls reach higher heights." Lith replied as he lay Mana down inside his own barrier, beside the still asleep Musashi.

"Thank you and it has been my genuine pleasure to help such talented girls." The Queen said as she looked at her two last opponents and one-time semi-students before turning her gaze to the half-devil beside her.

'He not only appeared beside me twice without me noticing, he also stopped my Gáe Bolg and dismissed a powerful lightning blast like it was nothing, has a fully awakened sacred gear which is at least high-class and is far stronger than any devil I have ever faced.

He is also the master and lord of these two remarkable girls and has the aura of a warrior king surpassing gods and mortals of the past, while still feeling warm and approachable.' Scáthach thought as she analyzed the man she knew could give her the death she desired. 'A man I would be satisfied dying to as a warrior.'

"Alright then. I will create a reinforced dimension to protect this one from our fight. The Land of Shadows would not be able to withstand our clashes." Lith said as his [Space] had already taken over this region during the previous fights in order to able to protect his girls, which was the right decision considering her saved Mana's life in that last exchange.

'For him to be able to manipulate such forces in this place all but confirms his deep connection to Spatial magic. This should be how he approached me without my noticing.' Scáthach deduced as she observed the half-devil show off exquisite control over such a powerful force.

"There. I guess we can begin." Lith declared as he finished setting everything up to be sturdy enough to handle his own power.

'Good thing I'm used to setting these types of things up for my training or it would have taken a few hours to make a dimension this sturdy otherwise.' He thought as he looked around to double check his work before focusing of the purple haired beauty.

"Simply witnessing this confirms your magical skills are beyond my own." Scáthach sincerely said as she looked at the man a thousand years her Junior.

'He is likely to be the most talented person I have ever come across. Surpassing me with only a century and a half of life. Too bad I couldn't have taught him either, but I guess being surpassed by him isn't worst than my own student felling me.' The warrior Queen thought as she inwardly sighed a bit.

"Only in a few fields. My elemental manipulations are far behind your own and my aura is still far below yours as well. While your experience dwarfs mine in most subjects as well." Lith humbly replied without any actual lie.

"Experience can only take one so far against a superior foe, but I believe mine shall at least allow me to enjoy this battle." Scáthach said as she took her stance with her dual Gáe Bolgs at the ready, pulsing with their cursed energy already as she would go all out from the beginning.

Her body radiated her prowess as a warrior, with her crimson aura burst out until it focused itself into a thin layer above her outfit, with runes briefly flashing all over her body as she reinforced herself further in all the way she knew how.

Scáthach already knew firing magic at the man before her would be pointless and possible self-harming should he be able to her attacks back to her. So she planned of going all out physically as she enhanced herself even beyond her limits.

She could already feel her body protest as she used far more magic than it could withstand purposefully.

'I will not survive this fight regardless, so might as well see just how far I can truly reach.' She thought with some excitement and a bit of regret.

"Since you are already aware of my Scared Gear, I guess I can let it out to play this time. I have never had the need to do so. Unfortunately this is only my third strongest state, as you would not be able to contend against my [True Form]." Lith said to the woman as he activated his Balance breaker, resulting in his hands and feet being covered in a semi-fluid metal and holes appearing in them.

Though his absolute control over his Longinus and energy stopped the typical anime energy explosion once a character powers up, Scáthach could clearly feel the drastic increase in threat level Lith had undergone.

His before he was capable of killing her, now he offered certain death. That was an incredible jump as he pressured someone like her to the point that she broke out in cold sweat.

"To think it wasn't just a Sacred Gear, but a Longinus which attained its Balance Breaker. Now I am curious as to which one I am facing and why you desire the Chains." Scáthach said to the half-devil out of awe and curiosity.

"This Longinus is Alphecca Tyrant, also know as the Unparalleled Crown of the Abyss. It is the 'Holy nails' which nailed Jesus Christ to the cross.

And I desire the Chains simply because I believe it can allow me to push further down my path and could be the most suitable weapon and comrade for me." Lith truthfully answered the Queen of these lands.

"To think I would be facing one of the holiest relics of Christianity in the hands of a devil. How interesting." Scáthach replied a smile gracing her lips in amusement.

"Part of the reason I conceal it. It would look bad for a devil lord to have something so holy. It might even turn most old families against me." Lith admitted with a shrug, "Not that they could even do anything against me, but I do not desire the large scale slaughter of my race, and my wife and friends wouldn't exactly be thrilled about it either."

"Fufu. So even amongst devils this kind of thing happens." The warrior Queen replied as she laughed for the first time in a long time.

She was surprised at this, but to her it made sense. She was about to die and she felt lighter than she had in all her life as everything didn't seem to matter so much in front of that.

"You have no idea the headaches they give my wife when she has to clean up their messes with other groups." Lith bemoaned as he heard first hand about the trouble they caused.

"Fufufu. It seems I would have had plenty to talk about with this wife of yours." Scáthach responded a bit wistfully.

"And she would have made you call her Sera-chan in no time as she did her best to become friends with you." Lith replied with a smile full of warmth as he thought about his bubbly and lovable wife.

"In another life perhaps. But for now, here I come." Scáthach said as she hardened her expression and stepped forward with speed far surpassing what she had displayed facing her two previous opponents.

The ground near exploded from under her as she hadn't fully adjusted to her current dangerous levels of enhancements as she aimed directly for her opponent's head.

But it was dodged as Lith had moved his head, knowing her target before she had even moved.

'Precognition!' Scáthach immediately realized as she unsealed her own which she had put away a long time ago. 'This must be how he stopped Gáe Bolg earlier. Because one has to stop it before the thrust since afterwards it is already too late.'

The battle immediately turned into an insane game of 'who could see further into the future?' Causing the two to visualize countless possibilities as they fought.

Although Scáthach realized that Lith was seldom counterattacking as he careful accepted everything she had to throw at him. But his movements shocked her due to him always shifting or dodging just enough for her spears to not touch him every time.

'This is!' She thought as her eyes widened. 'Is he completely aware of everything around him?'

"Looks like you realized." Lith said with a small grin before sending out a single punch infused with Touki and [Space], causing everything to crack as his metallic fist struck one of her Gáe Bolgs and sending her flying.

Stabilizing herself in the air, Scáthach created a small air platform, coiled her body and exploded forward with her two spears without any hesitation.

'Gáe Bolg Alternative.'

Scáthach put her entire body into striking Lith, who defended with his ability to accept harm but was still launched upward alongside one of the two Gáe Bolgs continuously attempting to pierce his body. It was unfortunate that although a god-slaying spear, Gáe Bolg was not strong enough the break through the defenses of a Longinus using its balance breaker powered by a super devil.

But this bought Scáthach the time she needed to power the true strike of this combination as she threw her second spear with everything she had, activating her deadliest technique which assures her strike reaches the heart of her opponent.

And although she desired her death at his hands, her warrior side secretly wished to see her strike reach someone she instinctively felt an assured death from. She wanted to at least harm a being she as no doubts could be among the strongest in this world.

But she was to be disappointed as her spear throw never reached her target.

Not because her attack failed or he blocked it or even because he cancelled it out with his own strike, but because it seemed to be unable to close the distance to reach him as it hovered in place.

Scáthach would have thought it was some sort of defensive magic, which it technically is, but there was no impact and she could feel her spear moving toward the target through their connection. It simply made no sense to her, which Lith noted.

"It will never reach me. I know the power of that spear and your skills with it. 'A strike which reaches the heart without fail', but in the end it is still a technique and skill, thus has limitations. And what you are witnessing is one of them." Lith explained as he floated in the air with one spear in his hand and another furiously trying to reach him. "The space in front of it is continuously growing after all and it can only cross so much distance."

The warrior queen's eyes widened in shock as she understood the implications of such a defense.

'This means that without a way to pierce through space itself, my spear cannot reach him.' She thought before reflexively dodging a red streak.

"I have let you strike at me, now prepare for my retaliation." Lith declared as he grasped the second spear which had lost its steam and threw it back as well.

The warrior Queen grimly caught the weapon as she summoned the second one from behind her and readied herself.

The next moment Lith disappeared without any hint of movements and reappeared on her left as he kicked.

'Blue Dragon's Kick X [Space] X Longinus, Rending Azure Dragon.'

That one kick made everything silent as a tearing wave of destructive space made its way to Scáthach as hurriedly summoned some of her attempts to create more Gáe Bolgs using the remaining materials of the original and formed a defensive formation with them as she used an immense number of runes simultaneously to protect herself.

And as the attack hit. There was a monstrous level of power behind it as her barrier trembled and cracked, with even her replicas gradually suffered more and more damage under the enormous strain.

It felt like the longest moment of her life as the attack subsided and she breathed a sigh of relief through ragged breaths when her barrier collapsed immediately afterward, alongside one of her replicas.

"Are you ready Scáthach?" Lith simply asked as he had already hardened his heart when he agreed to her request for death.

In a surprising show of defiance, she raised her spears once more as she attempted to calm her breath and stabilize her body which had been breaking apart every moment of this fight due to her overusing her enhancements.

She then levitated her replicas and summoned more as her eyes lit up with a fire of pride and the spirit of a warrior.

"I have an offer for you great Queen Scáthach." Lith then said to the woman before him.

"I will die soon, nothing will change that." She replied with more emotions than she had shown since they had met.

"I know. This offer regards your next life." He calmly said in response.

"Speak then so we may resume." She said as she kept her tension up.

"I wish for you to join my peerage in your next life." Lith straightforwardly said to her.

"Sure. If you can find me in my next life I will join under you with pride as I follow such a powerful lord." She answered with a confident smirk as she no doubt believed this man would actually do what he said and somewhere inside of her, she even wanted to follow him now and see where he and his 'peerage' would go.

"Then we have a deal." Lith confirmed with a small smile. "Defend yourself."

In response she sent out a barrage of replicas his way but was met with another of the annoyances of facing a spatial manipulator, attacks can just go through them as the spears harmlessly did just that as he ran towards her.

And when she noticed that, she enchanted her one remaining spear with the spatial runes she could in the brief time she had before Lith entered her range as he ran towards her instead of appearing.

'Letting us cross attacks.' She realized as the two pulled back their striking weapons, her spear and his fist, attacking simultaneously.

'Aon leis an speur (one with the spear)' Scáthach inwardly announced as she put her entire mind, body and spirit into her last strike, intent on piercing everything in its path no matter what.

'Freedom from all.' Lith thought as he prepared his spear hand.

Both struck out as a blinding light burst out for a moment and the Land of Shadows trembled.

Soon, one could see two figures frozen in their attack as their bodies nearly touched each other.

The woman had her spear out as it passed by the man's chest, cutting his clothes and leaving a shallow cut across his chest.

While the man's bloodied metal hand was coming out of the woman's back, having avoided the spear and fatally wounding his opponent.

*cough*

Scáthach coughed out a large amount of blood as Lith immediately removed his hand using his [Space] and gently laid her down and held her hand as she bled heavily.

"Thank… you… Lith." She said with difficulty, but even though her mouth and chin were covered in blood, she smiled all the same as if the pain she was suffering didn't matter.

"You are free now Scáthach. Of this place and your eternal duty." Lith told with with softened eyes as he looked at her.

"I… guess… I will… see… you… in…my…next…life." She said with difficulty as her breathing became labored. "Try… not… to… take… too…long."

"*chuckle* Don't worry. You won't be getting away so easily." Lith replied as she began closing her red eyes.

'I wish he could have come sooner. His hand, it's so warm. How long has it been since I've felt this warmth?' Scáthach thought to herself as she felt her life slipping away from her.

'You better find me.' Was her last thought as a single tear fell down her cheek and her hand loosened completely.

"I won't take long to find you since you're already here." Lith then said as he took out a black chess piece with purple veins pulsing on it.

He then placed what is revealed to be his mutated Queen piece in the hole he had made in her.

What followed was an enormous amount of demonic power flowing in and out of the Land of Shadow's former Queen as her body rapidly mended and transformed into that of a devil. The entire dimension was crying as her departing soul returned to her body once more and the breath of life became visible once again.

"Found you, my Queen." Lith said softly as he picked up the woman who would likely be his Queen should she accept his little play on words and levitated his still unconscious peerage members.

He then activated his [True Form], properly sealing this place so no spirit would escape while they were gone, then opened a portal back to his home.

He had achieved even more than he set out to after all.

_______________________________________

EXTRA AUTHOR NOTES:

Let's talk about Scáthach.

First off, her general power level against any opponent would be around mid Satan-class in this story, which is by far the strongest a human without any sort of Sacred Gear has ever reached if my research and memorry serve me well.

She is also basically specialized in killing Gods up to a certain level. She cannot just take on chief gods or top ten members however, but could possibly harm some of them.

And Gáe Bolg in this universe doesn't have the ability to alter causality, it is a technique which relies on the Spears abilities and her skills to basically create a honing spear strike which will always hit its intended target. It does extra damage to gods and boosts it wielder when facing one, while also retaining its ability to forever wound its foes. (Tempted to have her take away the True Longinus from Cao Cao later as she scolds him and calls him a child.)

As for 'Wisdom of Dún Scáith', this thing was limited to skills related to her own general Pantheon/Europe, not allowing her to just use any skill expertly right off the bat no matter what. This is why she couldn't just know how Musashi fights since it is both her own creation and from Japan, while Mana's guns surprised her because they haven't actually been invented yet technically and she can't know how something which isn't invented can be used. It wasn't mentioned in this chapter because it is a passive skill which will help her grow fast later on.

Next up. Her fights this chapter.

Her fight against Musashi was essentially one of pure weapon skills and techniques were she limited herself to Musashi's level, which is lower ultimate-class after becoming a devil, and then basically helped her awaken her sacred gear, which I mentioned she would have in the notes of the chapter she was recruited.

Against Mana she displayed her great magical skills mixing with her martial skills as she took on a gunfu user and pushed Mana to the edge as well to help her unlock the higher level energy required to officially become Satan-class and awaken a sub-species balance breaker. The actual balance breaker she will unlock later is basically how Fate Oda Nobunaga summoned a bunch of guns all around.

During these two fights she was limiting herself to act as a whetstone for two ladies she saw as worthy of teaching.

And as for her fight against Lith, the reason she was stomped was for two reasons: Her Spatial Runes weren't nearly developed enough due to never having faced anyone like him before and his Longinus is Balance breaker allows him to actually be ranked in the top ten without his True Form as it boosts all his aspects. Also the clairvoyance the two used essentially came down to who could see further into the future and I decided that it made little sense for her to be able to outdo someone with a direct access to time itself, so she wasn't able to use that against Lith.

So overall Lith was kind of a hard counter for Scáthach in general.

Next up, Scáthach as a peerage member.

I actually hadn't initially wanted her to be one, having Brynhildr (fate) as a Knight instead and another who will be introduced later as Queen. Brynhildr is no longer part of the plans. (Ingvild was not going to be the Queen either, future Bishop)

But Scáthach just fit too well as the role of second in command and for the abilities of the Queen piece (unlike akeno who wastes most of it by being a pure mage). Immense physical and magicals skills and knowledge, extensive experience in leadership and battle, expert trainer and advisor, all the while being someone Lith actually respects.

Now as for Mana and Musashi.

Mana officially stepped into Satan-class now, specializing in Lightning energy, much like Serafall's ice. And her Balance breaker revolves around the ability to not only enhance the guns she knows how to create and the rounds they can shoot, but also as an energy multiplier. She's kind of a mix of Mana and Negi from her anime when it comes to fighting style.

Musashi mostly just awakened her Sacred Gear completely and developed further on her new path. This is because she is the newest member and had the least amount of time as a devil and is still rough as a supernatural swordsman.

Finally Enkidu.

I thought about making this chapter focused on establishing not only Scáthach, but also showing the fighting styles and power of Mana and Musashi after joining Lith's peerage. So instead Enkidu will be properly introduced next chapter.

Updated Harem candidate/member List:

Again, this list just includes introduced characters. It will grow more in the future.

-Serafall

-Yasaka

-Gabriel

-Mana

-Jeanne (Don't know how she slipped my mind last time)

-Scáthach

-Ereshkigal