Chapter 17

When his face began warming up slightly from some sunlight passing through the windows to his room, Vali groaned to himself as he began to return to the waking world. His eyes tightened shut at first before they began to slowly open, a small groan escaping his lips whilst he sat upright. "Ugh…. man that was a nice rest, how long was I sleeping for?" he mumbled feeling a strange headache throbbing through his skull.

"About four days Vali."

He didn't expect an answer to this though, so when he did Vali glanced to the side and noticed that he wasn't alone. When this happened, the silver-haired male forgot about his headache in favor of processing this information. To the male's surprise, he found that it was Reinhard, the other male having been leaning against the side of the door with his arms crossed above his stomach area and his sword strapped to his waist. As a result, Vali didn't try to pump the guy full of holes and instead looked back down towards his lap. One leg was raised to his chest and the other laid out in front of him whilst the boy's weary eyes narrowed with a frown. "Damn... it's been that long?"

Reinhard nodded his head in response to that, his frown mirroring the silver-haired teen's own as he put his hands inside his pockets. "Yeah, true but it's the truth. Not only that, but it seems you've been getting some fans recently…" the boy remarked with a slightly teasing smirk although it didn't reach his eyes, something which Vali understood since, from the moment he looked into the other males' eyes, he felt like the red-haired male had still been under the pressure from the recent 'defeat' they'd all suffered at Magic's hands. Internally, Vali bristled, but it didn't last long since he caught on to Reinhard's words, prompting him to explain. "Multiple girls who claim to be your friends, have been checking on you daily to see if you are getting better now. Multiple Elves, noble children, a commoner and a bunch of others. Since when were you so popular?" The last time that he had seen him, Reinhard had only seen Vali with two girls: Alpha and Emilia, but now he has a whole GROUP of hot ladies wanting him.

"They're my comrades, man." Vali stated bluntly with a sharp gaze.

One which didn't really affect the Sword Saint any. "Yeah, yeah…" he dismissed with a matching wave of his hand. "In any case, we were about to take you to the hospital due to the wounds you had sustained, but your body has been healing itself which is not a normal phenomenon. Though, I believe that your Variant Mana is responsible." he explained, chuckling in amusement since he had known since the beginning of how 'abnormal' Vali truly was. Though considering the recent developments, Reinhard believed that seeing this right now would lift his mood which he wasn't wrong in thinking.

"Yeah... it is." Vali replied, before his eyes widened when he remembered seeing images of Alexia carrying his mother away from the city. Whilst he had been taken to this room before, Vali had recalled Reinhard explaining to him about that, causing him to start leaving the bed. "Wait, the hospital! Shit, I have to go there!" he exclaimed.

Although, before he could take another step Reinhard had appeared by his side, making him sit back down on the bed by pressing his hands down on his shoulders. "Be still Vali, you just woke up now and you're still exhausted right now. Relax a bit and get something to eat, I'm sure that eating without four days would have taken some serious toll."

"Dude, I'm fine, just let me-"

(RUMBLE-RUMBLE)

"..... take me to the diner place, Reinhard."

"Hahahahahah come on just follow me."

Later

After reluctantly admitting that his Rival had been right, Vali felt his companion let him go to allow him to get up. Since he was already dressed, the silver-haired teen didn't take too long in getting ready for the day before he followed the Sword Saint. After leaving his room, Vali and Reinhard walked down a nearby corridor, heading towards the ship's dining place, although as they neared a corner, someone else stepped out into their view.

Almost immediately, Vali noticed several traits: Red waist-length hair, a formal uniform, and a dignified yet stern look on her face. Looked to be in her 20's too.

Reinhard however, perked up when he saw the woman ahead of them. "Ahhh Lady Iris didn't expect to see you here."

"Indeed so, Sword Saint." The red-haired woman replied, nodding to him with a sense of deep courtesy and respect. The kind of respect any swordsman would have towards their colleagues, or perhaps a boss and their trusted subordinate. "I was coming to see you if you were still checking up with the Combat Saint, but since he's with you right now I guess that is unnecessary."

Whilst he looked her up and down, noting the uniform and the sword strapped to her waist, Vali internally put some of his Demonic Power into his hand in preparation to form a MS in case of her being hostile or an annoyance. "..... who are you, woman?" he questioned as bluntly as ever.

Something which earned him a scandalized look from his rival. "Vali don't be disrespectful!"

Fortunately, it seemed as though the woman before him didn't take offense to this statement as she held a hand up to silence the Sword Saint. "It's fine Reinhard, my name is Iris Midgar, leader of the Crimson Knights."

Hearing the name Midgar however, Vali soon recognized the name and, now that he thought about it, observing her facial features made him think of a certain silver-haired noblewoman. "..... huh, so your Alexia's older sister then?" he questioned, though it sounded more like a statement than anything.

Hearing this, the woman's eyes slightly widened as surprise crossed onto her face, looking like she had been caught off guard by those words. "Why yes I am, how do you know about that?" she questioned.

A question which Vali easily replied to whilst pocketing his hands inside the pants of his current attire. "She told me about you when she was always in your shadow, wanting to surpass that and all other things." he explained.

"........ I see." Briefly, Vali saw a look of complex emotion pass over her face, with what he could make out in that moment being sadness, frustration, anger and self-loathing. Looked like she didn't like that about her sister, but at least it showed that she gave a damn about her, so Vali considered her a better person than Zora at least… which wasn't hard, honestly. "Still, since your awake, this would be the perfect time for you to tell us who was it that caused the destruction of Eden."

".... I never got the name of their organization, but the woman who seemed to be the head called herself CFW Magic."

When Vali said this, Iris cupped her chin with her hand, her free one on her hip. "Magic? What a strange name..." she mumbled.

Not like Vali cared much, though. "It is, but anyways the reason why she tried to get rid of me was that I was a threat. Previously, I had gathered some information about some cult named the cult of diabolos. She was also responsible for hacking that Gate that had appeared in the Goddess Trials, using it to trap me."

".... So, they were the ones behind this."

'Looks like I wasn't the only one investigating them…' the silver-haired male thought, his respect for this woman gradually increasing since this showed that she wasn't as gullible as the majority of women he knew. Just then however, he remembered something else which caused a figurative lightbulb to switch on in his mind. "Oh! And she said something about a goddess she worships, one that I have never heard before. She had said that its name was...… the deity of sin, or some shit."

"Deity of Sin? Where have I heard that name before..."

"That's all I have, now if you'll excuse me I'll be heading to the diner."

"Hmm?.... Oh yes, go right ahead. It's just by that corner and you'll see it."

"Thanks."

Later

Vali and Reinhard walked through the halls as they passed through some windows by the walls, passing by people who all went back forth, pushing injured people through a medical cart as they focused on the situation at hand.

However, Vali ignored them in favor of searching for his companions, eventually coming across Alexia sitting at a table with Barcus and Colin. When he saw them, an eruption of pain went off in his chest when Vali saw how there was a significant redness in their eyes, although that pain vanished when they looked up, seeing Vali's form. His father Barcus quickly reacted, speeding over to Vali before he hugged him. "Vali! Thank the CPUs you are safe! I thought I lost you!"

In the hug, Vali would have tried to push him away, however seeing him invoked memories of his mother which caused his eyes to darken. As such, his arms rose up and wrapped around his father so Vali could hug back, burying his face into Barcus' chest. "I'm fine pops, just.... Bitter that mom is like this..... Why was she at Eden, pops?"

"She.... Was preparing a surprise party for you that.... She would welcome the girls to the family..... I should've never let her go that day!"

"It's not your fault, pops.... We didn't expect this to happen…. How is my mother Alexia?"

For a moment, Alexia wondered what she should say, before deciding that the truth would be the best thing she could give at the time, resulting in her looking into his eyes as she gave her response. "She's.... Heavily wounded. Her internals were starting to bleed, and she would have died if I had not managed to bring her here in time. I made sure that she will get the BEST treatment there is in my family's hospital. Currently, they managed to mend her wounds and stop the bleeding, but...…. She is now in a coma."

Hearing those words caused the boy's breath to get caught in his throat. Whilst it could have been much worse than that, he knew this for certain, it didn't stop the cold feeling of loneliness from swelling up inside of him. Not only that, but the sense of sadness and despair inside felt all too real nonetheless. Still, he clutched onto the hope that things would get better for his mother, especially with the knowledge that she had been there because of him and the girls, making him think that perhaps if he hadn't gone there to sate his own love for combat, then perhaps she wouldn't have been put into that scenario. "..... how long, Alexia?" Vali dared to ask, almost being afraid of the answer.

Feelings which the silver-haired girl noticed as well since she shook her head with a sorrowful, guilty look on her face. "... We don't know, Vali... maybe years?" she told him, and in the end the amount of uncertainty she held within her voice hadn't been small either.

When she said this, Vali gritted his teeth after a moment of silence, that silence being spent feeling like he had been crushed under a mudslide before his explosion of fury blew it all away. His gritted teeth got accompanied by a brief flaring of his power whilst he clenched his fists tightly. "... I'll kill her, Alexia. I swear that I will make that bitch pay for this." he told her, no he PROMISED her. Dragons didn't go back on their words and neither did he.

This would not be the end, not by a long shot. Magic may have won the battle this time, but the war between her and him had only just begun… and he'd be damned if she didn't SUFFER for DARING to lay her filthy hands on his precious family, his ever-so-precious mother. Vali would make DAMN sure that she would get her just desserts, of that he felt CERTAIN.

Seeing the way he was right now sent chills down Alexia's spine at that moment, but she at least had managed to mitigate the possible damage the furious hybrid could have caused. Still, she felt glad that this wouldn't keep Vali down, that he had been the man she had thought he was, "You will, Vali." She told him, her tone carrying none of her usual holier than thou attitude and instead, got replaced with the tone of a good person trying to console their comrade in arms. She then gestured behind her, where a door could be seen. "But for now, the others are waiting for you next door."

When he heard that, Vali nodded his head, having come to the conclusion that Alpha and the others were in the following room. Internally, he felt a pressure akin to nervousness inside his gut at what would happen in there, but right now he didn't give too much of a damn. He wanted to tell them something that he felt had to be said, for the lot of them. "Alright…" he told her, and Alexia made to step aside to let him pass, but then he placed a hand on her shoulder which prompted her to look back at him in surprise. "….. And thank you for.... Rescuing my mother... I... really mean it."

Alexia's mouth fell downwards when she heard him say this, as well as the lack of his usual pompous, arrogant attitude. 'Just like me… looks like this is removing a lot of barriers we've put up, huh?' Alexia mused in her mind, but nodded nonetheless with a small, genuine smile on her lips. "... your welcome….. Let's go, don't want them to keep them waiting, do you Vali?" she remarked, turning on her heeled boots to walk towards the door. Looking at him, and thinking about those girls, Alexia had a good idea as to how this meeting between them would go down… not to mention she believed that it would go down differently compared to what Vali had likely been anticipating. She believed this due to one thing:

Woman's intuition.

".... your right, let's go."

Perhaps… Perhaps this would be something that could trump going through a thousand matches with Albion back to back, what Vali felt like he was going into.

The silver-haired teen felt his heart hammering away through his body with heartbeats that were so loud that they almost felt like occurring right next to his ears. He'd slowly approached the door leading to where Alexia had said the girls were located behind, the said girl keeping pace with him yet not saying anything. Likely due to knowing something about his situation, he bet, since the girl had quite the astute mind for a tactician and planning. He knew that from what he'd seen of her during their fake relationship.

Still, to him that wasn't important, nor was it what he was thinking about.

Meeting with the girls felt… different, compared to before for some reason, although he knew why himself. With what he wanted to tell them, a decision which he had come to himself, it felt like it could quite literally break the ties that he'd forged with them into nothingness, they may actually come to end up hating him for it. Thinking about that stung more than Vali cared to admit to himself, or others, something which also annoyed him.

This hesitation… if Reinhard or any of the guys back at Gamicademi learned of how he felt right now… he'd likely never hear the end of it.

The urge to just come back later and see them one by one felt strong in him at the moment, however Vali refused to do that, not only because it would insult his draconian pride but it would also make him curse himself as a coward for the rest of his days.

Vali Fou Bartford would be NO goddamn coward!

By the time that Vali had mentally prepared himself, he strode forwards and opened the door, stepping inside to see a small room. One with a round table filled with food and with only a few occupants… the girls whom the boy had come to know.

When he entered, Vali's eyes scanned through the girls, taking them in their entirety. The first girl whom he laid eyes on turned out to be Alpha, with the male thinking back to when he'd first met her along with Emilia, when he'd helped her with her Demonic Possession. The image of the dirty, almost deformed girl stuck to his brain for a moment, before it turned into the girl whom he saw before him: a young woman who wore a somewhat revealing, dark decorative gown with opera gloves and high heels, along with a choker and necklace. The Gown split at the sides, showing off her leg up to the thigh whilst it wrapped around the back of her neck to leave the majority of her back exposed. Now, whilst Vali had seen her in this getup many times, since she'd been in multiple outfits like this back home as she considered it her default getup, seeing her in it now made him feel… a little hot under the collar, since he now had begun changing his views of her. Seeing her as less of a sparring partner/comrade and more of a… well, a woman.

Each of the girls wore gowns similar to her too, with Gamma wearing the same dress he'd first seen her in back at Eden whilst Beta wore her Natsume attire. He didn't care though, because for the first time since he'd come to learn of their feelings, Vali had begun to… see them in a similar light to Alpha and Emilia. Maybe not as much as them considering he saw the aforementioned two a lot more these recent times, but still he felt something there for all the girls assembled here.

Behind him, Alexia closed the door with an audible thud, almost making Vali jump out of his thoughts… though instead it resulted in the girls looking and noticing the silver haired Hybrid.

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"...VALI!"

"OMPH!"

The boy had literally 0.5 seconds to gasp when all of a sudden that bit of air, as well as everything else, left his lungs when Alpha and the others slammed into him instantly. The blonde elf quickly embraced him whilst burying her face into his chest, with the others doing similar stuff, though one common factor they all shared was the relieved tears that streamed down their faces.

"Everyone…" Yet, seeing this and feeling more than a little uncomfortable with the amount of movement taken from him, Vali's mouth fell open as he took in this situation he'd found himself in. Momentarily, what he had wanted to tell them slipped from his mind, as well as his ability to speak. However, this didn't last for long as Vali looked down at them, his posture slackening as he relaxed into their combined embrace. "Heh… sorry, looks like I worried you guys a lot…"

Looking up from his chest, Alpha glared at him with teardrops in her eyes, something which… nearly made Vali's heart skip a beat. "You bet your ass you did, idiot!" she retorted in a scolding manner.

To her left, Emilia nodded. "What do you expect?! you had us worried to death when you came back, looking like that!"

"I concur!" Angelica stated, angrily glaring at him like Alpha. Not to mention that her face had gone considerably redder than normal, looking like she wanted to beat his lights out yet held herself back.

"Meanie!"

"Delta wants a rematch with you, so how can she get it if you're dead?!"

"You have no idea how hard it was for us, baka!"

Similar things got launched at him by all the other girls, something which Vali couldn't retaliate against since they were perfectly justified to be angry. In the end, the male just sighed, letting out the uncomfortable feelings in the pits of his stomach as he let them hold him. Though, if he could he would have tried to hold them back, but with the way they had crowded around him that proved to be an impossibility.

For a while, he just let them hug him and soothe their worries along with whispering apologies to the girls which had been something that his mother (PANG!) used to do to him in order to calm him down too. Eventually, Vali gathered what courage he had and managed to separate himself from them. "Right well… again, I'm sorry for worrying you girls…. But is it alright if I say something?"

After wiping away the last of her tears, Alpha responded whilst nodding as the girls did the same thing with their tears. "What is it, Vali?"

"I found out about… how each of you seem to have feelings towards me."

"?!"

Vali's admission first made the girls go silent… until the words processed themselves in their minds and caused them to blush crimson. Well, red for the shyer members of the group like Emilia and Olivia whilst Delta's dog features flickered about at high speeds. As for the rest, each of them became pink-faced whilst Alexia, who leaned beside the door like the Sword Saint had back when Vali first woke up, remained rather stoic. Although, the amused smile on her lips spoke all that needed to be said about her feelings regarding the situation.

Before any of them could formulate a reply, however, Vali raised a hand to stop them. "Before you say anything, I know its true just from your reactions to those words right now. But, I found out from seeking some advice recently…��� he explained, before glancing to the side. "But, I'm right, aren't I…?"

Each of the girls glanced at one another, then at Vali before they nodded, too embarrassed to say anything more.

For a moment, Vali remained silent as well, before finally he broke the awkward silence between them. "We… I can't say I expected this, I actually never saw this coming a mile away. I guess guys just don't detect these feelings as fast as girls do…" the male mused before he frowned. "But, well… what I'm trying to say is… that they aren't one-sided."

"...?! Wait! Vali, do you mean…?!"

Beta and Emilia's eyes widened after they processed the silver-haired male's words in their minds, a conclusion reaching them that they just HAD to clarify. Meanwhile, Vali himself nodded, his face similar to theirs in color as he awkwardly looked to the side with a hand on the back of his head. "...ugh… yeah. I do like you guys… as more than friends… but that's the problem." he told them, gritting his teeth as he shook his head to face them with a hard gaze. Although his face remained pink colored. "I like you all, and I know that sounds stupid of me, but I do. If you want me to list why I do, well lets just say there's too much to list in this one meeting. But it'll suffice to say that I… #GULP# I love all of you, but I can't do anything more than confess because I'd break your hearts if I did. It's not like you'd all want to be with me in THAT sense…"

"Delta doesn't mind."

"WHA?!"

"?!"

Everyone then glanced over to Delta who had said those words, the girl still having her beastman features shaking though she didn't look nearly as embarrassed as she had before. "What? Did Delta say something wrong?"

"Uh… no, but…"

"Aren't we all family already?"

"?!"

Once again, the simplistic words of Delta sent them all into stunned silence, Vali the most. He honestly couldn't get a grasp on what the hell was driving Delta to do this, since sure she had been a Beastman and their culture was quite different compared to humans, but wouldn't she, after growing up with humans and elves, learn to accept different cultural norms as her own? It was then that Vali recalled how simple-minded she was, and that just answered his question for him.

"Delta sees us all as one big pack already, even the nerd Gamma." she remarked, ignoring the affronted look Gamma had sent her way since the two had a bit of a rivalry going on. Though considering their personalities, one being simple and the other a complex tactician, their relationship was like fire and water. Hence, their rivalry is understandable. "Delta loves Vali, and Delta loves all her family too. So, why can't we all just stay together, that way nobody is sad, Delta isn't sad, and neither is Vali?"

Hearing such a simple, Delta-like reply combined with the way she looked at everyone, as if she were saying 'that's the obvious answer here, guys!' to them, caused everyone to look at her strangely… then at one another. Honestly, the thought HAD come to everyone's minds, even Vali's although he would never admit it. He wasn't used to that sort of thing either, being someone who loved battle most of all, so he had been as stunned as everyone else.

"Well… I can somewhat see where Delta's coming from…"

Just then, Olivia patched into the conversation, getting everyone's attention. "We all love Vali, and Vali loves us too as he just admitted. We all felt shattered when we saw how beaten he was when he came back onto the ship, remember?" She questioned, flinching at the memory which prompted the others to do the same. "Also… I wouldn't mind getting along with everyone like that anyways. I mean… I've always wanted to know what it's like having a sibling, this is just another form of that. I love everyone here a lot, so…" she admitted, blushing so much that steam was coming out of her head.

'...Again she demonstrates why she's the purest member of the group…' Vali thought to himself, internally amazed at this development. He did NOT see any of this coming, in his mind he had expected to have had to form his MSK and defend himself against an onslaught of blows from some scorned women wanting to make him suffer for his actions. But, the more things happened, the more he began sensing like that may not actually happen.

"{It's also quite normal in mine and Tiamiat's universe, too.}"

In an instant, Divine Dividing appeared on Vali's back, the feathers blinking multiple times to showcase Albion's speaking.

"Huh? What do you mean, Albion?" Vali questioned, surprised just like the rest of them at his Sacred Gear's appearance.

"{It's as I said. In our universe, dragons are power incarnate, and as such we tend to draw people to us, especially members of the opposite sex. Either as rivals or as romantic partners. This situation happens quite a bit as a result, to the point where it's considered normal. Oh, and before anyone says anything, do you all REALLY believe my partner here will do you harm or injustice? It is normally difficult for guys to explain their feelings at all, yet he came to you all and confessed first. That's proof enough that he's sincere with what he's saying.}"

"... Well, he's not wrong there."

The words from Angelica's mouth drew everyone's attention to her, as she began to explain. "Since women do this all the time here, taking multiple lovers, wouldn't it be natural for some guys to want to do the same? Plus, we've all seen what kind of man Vali is, so Albion's got a point, he won't treat any of us terribly, we all mean a lot to him, and isn't that the point of people being... romantically involved…?" Geez, the noblewoman thought, this felt harder than it should have.

".....So...… what now?" Vali asked, nervously as he shuffled on his spot, not knowing that Alexia had left the room with a knowing grin on her face like she had anticipated this from the very beginning. Everyone looked uncertain at what to do since it was true that they all liked the same man and all, with Olivia and Delta even supporting the whole harem route. "Also, I'll be honest… I'd rather not spend the rest of my life knowing even one of you all hated me… I'd rather be with all of you happier than that…" he explained, trying not to stammer like a young schoolgirl whilst scolding himself for not acting calmer and more like how he usually should have acted.

Why was this so difficult for him? Battles with life or death stakes were much easier than this…!

POOF!

Still, his words did serve to put blushes on the girls' faces, their hearts skipping beats at the admissions of their love interest.

In the end…

"...I say we give it a shot."

Finally, Alpha decided to say her verdict on the situation, making everyone look at her."Delta and Olivia are right, we've all built our own little family here, right? Our Slime Suits are part of that too if you think about it. Plus, if Vali hadn't helped us when we needed it the most, when the world would have just left us to rot, why should we let them decide how we should live our lives? Let's give this a try, who knows maybe we might even find more about it that we may come to like."

"Yeah, let's do that!"

"Indeed."

"Delta will be sure to have a rematch!"

"Yup, I agree."

Similar responses came from each of the girls, with Alpha at the head.

With each one of them agreeing to try and have a whole group relationship, Vali's heart finally gave out a weird beat inside of him, mixing with the relief and happiness in knowing that he no longer had to hide his emotions around them anymore. Just then though, his ears twitched when he then sensed something… something which he hadn't noticed before thanks to all the relationship talk: his energy within the girls who once had demonic possession.

"Huh? Wait a second, girls…" Vali began to say, catching their attention again as he furrowed his brows in a detective's thinking pose. "Why do you all have my energy?" he questioned.

The one who answered turned out to be Beta, whose eyes brightened up considerably at the mention of it. "Ohh! It's from the time when you rescued us from the curse and somehow it had become a part of us!" she explained.

"{Hold on a second. Hmmmmmm.........…. Vali, if your memories were correct, then you injected your Mana into them to stop this 'demonic possession' right?}"

Just before he could reply, everyone then heard from the White Dragon of Supremacy, causing the silver-haired Hybrid to glance behind him at the right-wing. "Yeah what about it, Albion?" he questioned with the others, even Beta who looked confused as to what the Dragon was getting at,

"{Then you're in for a surprise partner. Looks like there's more to it than what happened on the surface, for you see the Curse that was rotting their bodies seemed to be a part of them down to their very souls. I took a look at the curse's symptoms in your memories to see this. Therefore, it couldn't have been healed by any means in this world, however since you injected your demonic energy in them, several changes occurred. First, your energy caused a bit of a reaction to the curse itself, resulting in it being fused with them in a safer manner like it had been a part of them their whole lives. In addition, it went and built them the ability to produce Demonic Power like a normal devil. Not only that, but...… the process made them all half-devils, essentially they're the same as you.}"

"...."

"...."

"...."

"...."

".... Albion. This has to be some sick joke right? Because if it is, we're not laughing."

"{Nope it's the truth. If you want proof them girls who were cursed imagine bringing out your wings and see what I mean}"

"That's impossible there's no way that-"

Just as Vali made to denounce Albion's claims, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon suddenly arched forwards and nearly stumbled a bit too. When they glanced behind them to see why, their eyes widened when suddenly wings sprouted forth behind them, numbering at 4 whilst their shapes and sizes were similar to Vali's own.

Vali stood there, looking gobsmacked with his jaw wide open, stunned at the fact that he had unknowingly changed them into the same race as him. Heck, out of reflex his own 8 wings manifested from his back. '... then, why did this happen now, then…?'

"{If I were to guess, I'd say this wouldn't have been made known to us if these girls hadn't depleted their Mana reserves. Their bodies must have needed time to adjust to themselves as well as the new power source in their bodies, resulting in the demonic power in them being suppressed in favor of their Mana. Now though, they're ready for it and as such, now have access to both power sources. Think of it like that Mage class in that Diablo Game series, they can use demonic techniques with the aforementioned power as a source, whilst the techniques of this world are still accessible to them. Obviously there may be some drawbacks, but nothing a bit of research can't fix.}"

Alpha stayed silent then put out a smile on her face. "Well... looks like you're not the only Devil here in Gamindustri." she commented with her smirk changing into a sheepish grin, rubbing her new wings tenderly with her right hand. Plus, Delta began to play with her new appendages whilst those who hadn't been cursed (Emilia, Olivia, and Angelica) began to gossip with the newly made Devils, too curious about these changes to hold back.

So, as he saw all this happening before his eyes, events that had only been made possible through his own actions, Vali had only one thing to say. ".......Well, shit."

Timeskip 3 years later

It's been three years since the 'Fall of Eden' had happened, three LONG years since everything had been so drastically changed.

A new organization called the Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime or for short the ASIC, and the cult of Diabolos has been gaining more influence on the world.

They would've had the same ruling powers over politics as the CPUs had before their capture, but they were constantly being opposed by a group called the Crimson Knights, a group which had been going left and right, searching for those who are connected to ASIC and the cult. One could consider them like bloodhounds, sniffing out ANY signs of there being collaborators for this organization.

As a result, they stopped many productions that could have made the masses lose what little of their faith they had in the four CPUs, something which had been their highest priority. This was due to the fact that the CPUs were in need of Share Energy to maintain their existence, or else they would be gone forever. Not only were the CPUs trapped in Eden, or rather the Gamindustri Graveyard as people had started calling it as a reflection of the horrible incident, but one time the Oracle of Leanbox got kidnapped also. The Unbeatable Prince, also known as Vali the Combat Saint, had been the first person to recognize that it was a fake one, but before they could interrogate the fake Oracle she had escaped. However that hadn't been the case for long since they managed to follow her to where she went, and once they had found her location Iris had sent out Reinhard and Zangetsu to find the Oracle and bring her back to the nation.

Though, this hadn't been the first time the Leanbox Oracle got kidnapped and would certainly not be the last.

Furthermore, in these past few years Angelica's uncle, Zangetsu Redgrave, also known as the Magic Reaper, came to visit Angelica due to the fall of Eden incident alerting him, resulting in him wanting to check in on his niece. In terms of appearance, Zangetsu looked like a tall lean-built, and stoic middle-aged man. He had pale skin, high cheekbones, stubble, and long ragged black hair with brown highlights. His attire consists of a tattered white dress shirt with an upturned collar and cuffs, black pants, low-heeled boots, and a long, amorphous black overcoat with a burgundy highlight that flared out into ragged ends. He wore brown-tinted, semi-transparent wraparound sunglasses.

By the time that he had found her, the sight of his daughter safe and sound calmed the old man immensely, though it had been a bit of a surprise to see that she is in love with Vali. he then questioned him if he would be a perfect person for his niece, Vali told him that he might not due to others showing affection to him but he will make sure that he would never betray her trust, break her heart, and give out the same treatment to her. Zangetsu stayed silent before speaking out; he sounded like the perfect person for Angelica, much better than Julius who didn't show even the SLIGHTEST affection to her.

He had then decided to train all of them, due to the members of Shadow Garden showing potential and wanting to test Vali's strength to see if he is strong. It was a short fight due to Zangetsu's being a Veteran with years of fighting life and death, but it impressed him that Vali was indeed worthy of his strength and the numbers of techniques he had created. He then took him in as a personal apprentice, but still trained the other Shadow Garden.

For the girls, Zangetsu had taught them numerous techniques in his arsenal that he called the 'Quincy Series' or Q series for short. It worked similarly to Vali's Mana Series but was able to absorb and manipulate Mana much more effectively than his incomplete Mana Zone, in order for a variety of techniques to be formed. Furthermore, Vali's Mana Series was meant to diversify his options for battle, making it a jack-of-all-trades kind of deal whilst the Q series focused specifically on the concept of manipulating Mana in the air, another difference between the two but with their own benefits.

Hence, why Zangetsu had decided to teach it to the girls, as well as because Vali's M series was something which was specifically designed for his own large reserves.

For example, Zangetsu had decided to teach Olivia the ability to form a 'Heilig Pfeil' a Bow that she could create by gathering the Mana in the air and then mold it into the form she wanted, reminding her that the only limit to her ability to create and fire arrows was her own stamina and ability to absorb ambient Mana. The reason why he trained Olivia in Archery was since she didn't like to see that much blood, thus it suited her the best. Zangetsu, seeing how fluent Olivia turned out to be with this practice, taught her other Q Series techniques too, such as the 'Hirenkyaku', a powerful movement technique, as well as 'Blut', a technique which pumps ana into the blood vessels to improve offense and defense abilities.

Aside from these two techniques, Zangetsu taught them to the other girls too along with others he'd found over his years of experience in the hope that they could evolve their own skills into more powerful forms in the future.

In current times, a boy sat in the lotus position, having sat next to a beautiful girl while in front of them was an older-looking man who was bald with dark eyes, wearing a vest that was green with gold color lines on the end of the vest and the sleeves. Beneath that, the man wore a kimono with dark green lines on its ends, and with a belt that looked like a circle with a square on the center.

The three of them sat within the small confines of a house, built on the island which the boy owned. It was a small home, one which had been meant for him and only a few visitors, one could call it his place of solitude yet not really. The house itself consisted of a living room, a couple bedrooms, and a small bath house. There wasn't a kitchen, which meant that one would have to have something like a BBQ Spit or some outdoor cooking tools (something which the boy had in spades) to prepare food in the form of hunted animals or crops from the farms on the Island.

Right now though, the old man had a pleasant expression on his face whilst regarding the two kids before him. He held up the teapot and put tea on three cups and offered it to the boy and girl as he smiled. "Well it's good to finally meet with you Vali, my niece has told me all about you through her letters. Have some tea." he spoke, offering a cup of tea to the boy.

Said boy, or rather Vali as it turned out to be, graciously accepted it as he held it above his lap. Beside him, the girl who was actually Olivia shuffled in nervousness, since this was something which she hadn't anticipated would have happened so soon. She had thought that it would have been at least 5 years before they were to meet her family, but instead she had received a surprise visit from her Uncle who had come to see how she had been doing.

Unaware of her thoughts, Vali nodded in gratitude. "Thank you Mr Mushi." he said, before sipping the tea. To his surprise, it tasted quite nice, and it also reminded him of the gentleman teacher who had perished during Eden's fall… something which still stung to this day. He tried to keep it hidden though, not wanting it to disrupt the pleasant atmosphere around them.

Hearing his formality, the older man waved a hand dismissively before putting it back on his own cup. "Please call me uncle Iroh or uncle if you wish. I hope you have been treating my niece very well, despite your rumors." he spoke. To be fair, he had heard many things about Vali, about his abilities as the unbeatable prince, as well as his usually cold and rude demeanor, so he had been a worried uncle when learning that his beloved niece had found herself interested in him romantically. However, from what he had seen so far it would appear that there was more to Vali than that.

At this, the said silver-haired Hybrid stared straight into Iroh's eyes, having recognized the seriousness hidden behind this question. "I am treating her very well….. Uncle. I might not be the perfect man for her because of….. Multiple girls being in love with me, but I'll make sure that I would give her the same affection and never betray her trust." He told him, and Vai meant it.

Aside from training and fighting in these last 3 years, Vali had been trying his best to spend as much time with the girls as a couple the best he could. Being in a harem wasn't something he was used to, and Vali had quickly found it to be VERY different compared to fighting, an entirely unknown battlefield without any kind of rule book. Still, Vali had tried his best by asking his father for advice on how to treat a girl romantically interested in him, using the advice he'd gotten as a basis for bonding with the girls. He took them out on dates, he had picnics with them, he even took part in their hobbies to show that he had been interested in what they liked to do. All the while, if they had any problems they were going through then Vali would make it a point to be someone who they could talk to, and if he could he would solve them… mostly with his fists, but hey it was the thought that counted.

One could say that it was hard work, and that would be an understatement if one asked Vali

Remembering the effort he put into spending time with his harem, Vali didn't realize it but Iroh saw into his gaze at that moment. As such, he found something, and he liked what he had found. "Hmmmmmm...… you are indeed a good boy, no, a good man. Let me tell you something, hope is something you give yourself. That is the true meaning of inner strength. Remember that Vali."

".... I will."

For a moment, Vali had glanced down as he pondered on this information. Meanwhile, Iroh smiled back at his niece. "Heh Olivia, you choose the right man for yourself and he helped you gain friends, I'm proud of you."

A meek expression formed on her face, her cheeks tinged pink as Olivia smiled shyly at her uncle. The man had always doted heavily on her as his only niece, ever since she had been a young girl, always took her out on outings whilst carrying her on his head using his hands to hold her by her legs. He would always offer her important life advice, and even had become friends with the one who had taught her healing Magic, then put her onto the path that she had. As such, he could be counted as one of the most important people in her life aside from Vali, so hearing that he approved of her relationship with him REALLY meant a lot to her. "Thank you, uncle."

"Now then…. Tell me all about what has happened between you two these day-"

KNOCK-KNOCK

However, as Iroh grinned whilst eagerly making to ask more about how their relationship had been, the sound of someone banging on the door to the house broke the tranquility they had enjoyed. "Hmmm? looks like we have a guest…" The old man remarked, noticing Vali sighing as he made to get up to answer it. However, he stopped him by getting up first, placing a hand on Vali's shoulder. "Let me."

Surprise filled him as the boy sat back down, allowing Iroh to go to the door of Valis home. He then opened the home's door and saw two girls standing there, one being IF and the other was a girl who has long light congo-pink hair with matching congo-pink eyes. She wears a tan-white wool sweater top with matching arm warmers and boots, but with fuzzy balls at the top. Compa also wears a red plaid skirt, a black choker with a small heart on it, black-brown knee-socks with light pink heart cut frills, and carries a black hip purse and heart-shaped buttons. Like her headband, both her purse and the heart on the choker has a noticeable C logo.

"Hmmmm? Who are you little ladies?" Iroh questioned, an eyebrow arched. He did glance at Olivia and Vali, seeing them looking at him with confusion to the point where one might see floating question marks above their heads. 'Seems like they may not be people my niece and young Vali know about...' he thought to himself.

It was the sweater-wearing girl who responded, and it was a cheerful-sounding one. "Oh, why hello there old man! My name is Compa and this my friend IF."

"Hello." IF, the brunette, curtly stated as she gave a matching nod.

As a result, a thoughtful hum escaped Iroh's lips as he took this information in. "I see, what do you ladies need, some tea?" he offered with a kind smile.

Unfortunately, IF shook her head as she stepped forwards, stopping Compa from accepting since she knew the girl likely would. "Thank you old man, but we're not here for that. We're here for Vali."

Hearing this, Iroh's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh I see. Vali, there are some girls here to meet with you."

After the man had yelled that out to the silver haired male in the living room, Vali shouted back. "If it is, then tell them to go away. I don't need some fangirls asking for marriage."

Hearing that, Compa pouted as she puffed her cheeks at the rude exclamation. "Heeeeyyyy, it's not for marriage! It's because Historie wants to meet with you!" she proclaimed.

Upon hearing those words, Vali's eyes twitched as he proceeded to stand up after a moment's contemplation, glancing at Olivia whilst having silently asked her input with his gaze alone. Her own told him what he needed to know though, so with that done Vali stood up whilst offering a hand to her (making Iroh smile at the gentlemanly act he gave his niece) to which she smiled and took, standing up. Then, the two walked hand in hand to the door where the other girls stood. "Historie? Who is that?" Vali questioned cautiously.

Caution which went in one of Compa's ears and out the other as she beamed happily. "Why the Oracle of Planeptune, she wants to meet with you regarding asking you a favor." she explained.

When he heard this, Vali's eyes slightly widened, surprise flashing across his face which got mirrored by the member of his harem beside him. Oracle of Planeptune? So, she was similar in stature to that of Chika, then? Vali remembered how… eccentric that woman had been, and mentally hoped this wouldn't be the same. Not only that, but he found himself curious as to why she would be trying to contact him like this. "..... alright lead the way."

Later, after a quick ride to Planeptune Via airship, Vali, Olivia, IF and Compa walked through the Planeptune Basilicom: home to the CPU Purple Heart and the Oracle who governed Planetupe.

'Hmph, hope this Oracle won't be an annoying bitch…'

'{On that, we can agree, partner. That Chika Hakoxaki could make some of the more annoying dragons back home pale in comparison.}'

Yeah, Vali had bad opinions about women in general thanks to seeing how horrible they were, and Chika's personality didn't really help things. In fact, the ones he could tolerate were those in his harem, or rather those within Shadow Garden, so he hoped that this Oracle wouldn't be like her in terms of being annoying. Furthermore, this would be the first time that Vali had met an Oracle aside from the one from Leabox, so he found himself curious as to her nature as well. According to what he had learned at Gamicademi, the Oracles of each nation acted somewhat like governors when the CPUs were absent for any reason. Making sure that the people didn't lose their faith on the CPUs, reasoning that they need their faith or else they will be gone forever.

Bringing himself out of his thoughts, Vali stopped by a stairway, one which had something floating down it towards his and the girl's position. Judging by the respectful look IF had on her face, the male having figured her to be similar to Iris Midgar in temperament, he figured this person to be Histoire. 'Wow, she's tiny…' the boy thought with slightly wide eyes, taking in the person in all their features. The person looked to be a small woman, small enough that she could sit in the palm of his hand whilst she rode atop a large book. Her hair looked to be in two blonde pigtails at medium length along with a purple and orange headdress, accompanied by a hat with the letter N in the center. Her dress seemed to be an open shoulder one, and had a teal colored tie. Her leg-wear consisted of thigh high socks and white shoes with green circles that had some black lining on the center.

'So… THIS is Historie, the Oracle of Planetupe…'

Unaware of his thoughts, Histoire aimed a small smile at him, one which reminded him of Alpha or Vert's smile whenever they went to formal events like parties or some shit like that. "Thank you for arriving here, Combat Saint." she told him, then glanced over to Olivia. "As well as your companion."

Since she didn't showcase any hostility or any standard bitchiness, Vali decided to subtly nod in response. She gave him respect so he would repay her in kind. "... indeed so, Oracle of Planetupe." he replied evenly whilst Olivia remained silent, though she did nod meekly in response. She didn't know what to say in this situation, therefore she had decided to keep to herself.

"Call me Historie would you please Vali?"

Internally, Vali frowned when she requested him to call her by her first name, since his old instincts told him to be wary of any flirting attempts made on him. However, Vali would make sure to withhold judgement for the time being, not something he'd usually do. "..... Fine. Now then, what is it that you have called me and Olivia here for? Your little escort mentioned a favor?"

"Yes, it's time we finally gain the upper hand against the ASIC and the Cult of Diabolos."

"... what do you mean, Historie?"

"Well, over the last 3 years, the CPUs have been imprisoned within the Gamindustri Graveyard. We all know this, but Planeptune's CPU candidate is also there, having been unable to escape before things went down. As such, we have been preparing ever since to try and rescue the CPUs and our Candidate. As of yesterday, our preparations are complete and, due to a recommendation by Iris Midgar, we would like to ask for your assistance. Out of the Crimson Knights, you're the one with the most experience against ASIC's leaders, which would make you an ideal asset for this rescue operation."

"...... Fine I will, it's time I finally have my revenge against that bitch."

"No not yet, Vali."

However, the moment that he heard the Oracle say these words, one could make out the sound of tyres screeching to a halt when they saw Vali's expression. This lasted only a few seconds, before his eyes narrowed at her with a predatory gaze slowly bleeding into it. "... What do you mean not yet, Oracle? Explain." he remarked, anger starting to escape his words like a dragon breathing fire.

"For multiple reasons." Histoire replied, holding up her index finger. "One, we have had to gather what remained of the weakened Faith in the CPUs from the populace, which is why we didn't immediately try to rescue them. The barrier could only be dealt with via Share Energy after all. Furthermore, ASIC has taken most of it for themselves, leaving very few who still believe in them." Taking a pause, Histoire then raised the middle finger whilst continuing. "Two: With the Share Energy we have gathered, the Share Crystal we formed can open a hole in the Barrier, one big enough only for a small group. However, there's a problem: Once you rescue the CPU candidate, you have to get out of there as soon as possible for the barrier will regenerate its damage before it's too late to leave the graveyard."

As he heard the explanation, Vali hummed in thought as he recalled what he had been able to do to it. Which was pretty much nothing, not only that her words did correlate with what he had observed of the Barrier's during his mad rampage. Looked like what Histoire had said may be true after all, though this didn't mean that he had to like it. After spending a moment internally forcing his indignation aside, Vali eventually came up with a response. "........ Alright, I understand. When you are ready, let me know. We'll assault the barrier then."

Hearing that, Histoire nodded to him, a look of relief on her features that the man before her had understood. Not too far from them, Compa and IF (who had been chatting with Olivia) heard this exchange and glanced at him, getting a nod from the silver haired Hybrid. "Thank you for your cooperation, be sure to be safe….. Combat Saint."

Vali nodded at this, a small smirk spreading across his lips as his eyes briefly flashed silver. "Ohhh, I will Historie."