A Hunt For Confections Part 1

Entry 155:

Mash Kyrielight POV:

"Ray Shift completed. Ozias Senpai, are you alright?" Ozias Senpai nods as he stretches, and we look out onto the French countryside. But then we notice a fire in the distance, and as we approach, the person sitting there notices us and says, "Oh my. What do we have here?"

This woman is holding a glowing silver bow and arrows as I say quietly, "Ozias Senpai, this woman is in strange clothes… She's holding a bow in an improper posture, firing not-so-effective arrows, and-" Before I can continue, a roar is heard in the distance.

Romani then says [I am reading multiple werebeast signatures heading your way. Defend the dumplings!] I nod as I say, "I'll get every last sweet dumpling back!" Ozias Senpai smiles as he says, "I haven't seen you so excited in a while, Mash. Are you a fan of sweet dumplings?"

I nod as Romani often gave me dumplings when he took care of me, but for now, I just nod as Ozias Senpai looks to the woman and says, "I hope you know how to use that bow, stranger as it seems we have some company."

The woman smiles and says, "Yes, these ruffians love to ruin my quiet times, so they must be eliminated. But aren't you both decisive ones? I will take up on your kind offer. Let's fight together. We can leave the fun conversation for after the battle. Right now, let's take out these bandits!"

We nod as a group of werebeasts approaches. "Hostile enemies identified Ozias Senpai. May I use the sharp end of the shield?" Ozias Senpai then says, "Permission granted, Mash, but where exactly is the sharp side of a shield?" Huh, I thought he already knew, but I just ready myself.

Ozias Senpai then takes out what looks like a cross with a chain and morning star attached to the end, and as I ask, "What weapon is that, Ozias Senpai?" He simply says, "A weapon created to slay creatures of the night."

He then launches himself forward, and a glowing fire emanates from the morning star chain whip as it hits one of the werebeasts. It emanates what looks like a glowing white fire that disintegrates the werebeast it hits as he then wraps it around another. It burns the beast entirely.

The woman then says, "Such skill. It has been a while since I have fought with another, but I will try my best." She then fires her silver arrows into the sky. Which then turned into multiple silver streaks of light that eliminated a decent number of the werebeats. Seeing how these two are getting ahead of me, I rush into battle using the bottom end of the shield as a form of blade to bisect them.

One of the walking wolves tries to bite me, and I slam it into the ground as Ozias Senpai throws another into her shield, to which I then slam the bottom end down on it, splitting it in two. Soon enough, Ozias Senpai looks to the woman and asks, "Stanger, may I ask for a jolly cooperation?" The woman looks confused as Ozias Senpai creates another arrow for her to fire, which she does with a smile.

The arrow flies, and a pure silvery light bathes the wolves as they disintegrate in blue fire. I wonder what that was as it was rather beautiful. Ozias Senpai then says, "I appreciate the gesture of trust. You are probably wondering what that arrow was. Simply put, it was pure silver holy essence in the form of an arrow, which is the bane of werewolves."

It's a wonder how he can come up with some ideas so quickly, and the Archer even looks impressed with the idea. "Enemies eliminated Romani, do you read?"

All I hear is static, though, as if something is not allowing us to communicate with Ozias Senpai, saying, "It seems our communications are being jammed by something no matter our mission remains to find the sweet dumpling thieves."

He then looks to the woman and says, "Well, met stranger, may I ask your name as I know you are not human but rather a servant if I may be so bold?" The woman then thinks for a moment and says, "Hmm? Am I a Servant? Oh, you mean a Heroic Spirit! I know all about them! Indeed! I am a Servant! The splendid huntress that is forever seen in the night sky. My name is Orion! That's me! Round of applause, please!"

I look confused as I ask, "But wasn't Orion a male and a son of a primordial or a goddess at that?" Orion then says, "Truth is stranger than fiction, you know. They say that Orion was a fast-talking, no-good skirt-chaser who'd go after any woman he saw, but—" We then hear what sounds like grumbling from the woman's upper body, but she then diverts by saying, "My apologies as I seem to have come down with a cough."

I know for a fact that servants cannot get sick unless cursed, but Ozias Senpai looks at me and says, "Play along." in my mind, I do so. "You may have appeared to repair her reputation… In other words, to correct an incorrect history! I know how you feel, Miss Orion. Your skills with a bow. I'm confused about how you could hit a target effectively with that stance, but that was really impressive! You're as good as the Greek myths say! The legendary hero who never misses, who seduced the Goddess Artemis!"

My comment causes the woman's smile to become more dangerous as she says, "Oh my. Oh dear. Never misses, you say? Hehehehe." We hear more grumbling as she says, "That was my stomach as this talk of dumplings is making me hungry."

Ozias Senpai nods as he asks, "Well then, Lady Orion, have you seen any suspicious characters running around with boxes of food and dumplings?" The woman then replies, "Suspicious people… Maybe that trio I just saw? They were running that way, carrying something strange. But, they were a little out of it. All the food was falling out all over the place. See those wolves gathering? They're here to get the food that fell out."

That does make sense, but who would do this? Ozias Senpai says, "Well, we just need to follow them. Mash, do you agree?" I nod as I say, "Right. It's definitely not that I'm hungry. Anyway, they're very special dumplings. They're humanity's most significant treasure and must be defended at all costs."

The woman nods as we begin to follow the food trail to what looks like another campfire with Queen Antoinette and Chevalier D'Eon, and as we approach, Queen Antoinette says to her knight, "Here you go, d'Eon. Open wide. Say aaah." The knight, looking uncomfortable, eats them as Sanson says, "My Queen, I cannot, as a man of medicine, continue to allow you to eat these sweet dumplings as you will become fat."

The queen then says in a matter-of-fact tone, "Nonsense! All I eat goes to create a more robust form." Sanson looks confused as Queen Antoinette eats some of the dumplings. Before they can eat more, I reveal myself and say, "Release those dumplings, you three, and surrender and be sentenced for your crime against food."

The three stop as Queen Antoinette says, "Hey, Mash, I see you guys have arrived. Come join us." I am confused as Ozias Senpai asks, "How are you all here, and why are you not trying to kill each other?" 

Sanson then says, "Ah yes, you must have met my other version, the one that deludes himself into believing he is a just executioner." The queen then explained that he was afflicted with madness enhancement, and now he is not.

Chevalier then says, "We are devoted Servants of the queen, even if she may be a bit eccentric, but it is truly nice to meet you all. I am Chevalier D'Eon, and how we got here is simple. It seems whoever stole these dumplings Ray Shifted not only the servants you know but us before you all came to the singularity."

That really doesn't make sense, but I'm just going to go with it as Ozias Senpai asks, "Well, you're Majesty. Do you happen to know who took you from Chaldea?" The queen then shakes her head as she says, "Sadly, I do not know as inelegant as my lack of information is. I can only point you towards some servants on the coastline that may know."

But before she can say anything more, werebeasts appear as Chevaleire takes up his sword and says, "Take arms, Sanson, and let us punish these brigands for daring to interrupt Her Majesty's snack time!" The man sighs as he does.

Marie then says, "Well, met my citizens. Now let us show these furry monsters what true elegance looks like." They both nod as me and Ozias Senpai gathers the food, with Ozias Senpai creating copies of the food for them to enjoy. 

We then join the battle, and as Chevalier sees Ozias Senpai's weapons, he says, "That weapon looks rather effective if not the most practical." the angel then smiles and says, "This is a holiday, is it not? I am simply trying to enjoy myself."

The werewolves are then dispersed as Mozart appears and says," What did I miss?" The queen then says, "Everything lazy, Amadeus, but we still have food for you to eat." The man then sighs as the queen turns to us and says, "Sadly, we had some of the Confections, so we apologize, but you will find the others along the coast."

Ozias Senpai then shakes his head and says, "Don't worry, I still left you guys with food. It's a copy of the originals, but it should be filling nonetheless. Enjoy your time, as I feel like once we are done here, we're all going to have to return to the facility." They nod as Sanson and Chevalier bow to Ozias Senpai.

With some of the food recovered, we then head to the coast, which, thanks to our speed, only takes us a couple of minutes, with Ozias Senpai offering to carry me as we fly using his wings. The huntress says she will find us there.

As we fly across the night sky, I ask, "So this is what it feels like to fly?" He nods and says, "Yes, even now, I enjoy the ability as it feels freeing in a way. What brought this about?" I remain silent as Ozias Senpai says, "If you do not wish to say it, I will not pry, but know that a future only ends when we decide it ends or a random omnipotent being decides it ends."

My eyes widen at this as it seems like Ozias Senpai knows something, but he keeps it to himself, which I appreciate, and as we fly to the coast, I enjoy this feeling with Ozias Senpai nodding and saying, "Feel free to take a feather as I feel, nothing from them. Who knows, it may bring good luck."

I take one, and as I hold it, I feel reinvigorated. It reacts to my shield and joins it with Ozias Senpai, remarking, "It seems my feather has become a part of the shield interesting."

I wonder what that means? But I am unable to think further as we land with the huntress saying, "You are definitely rather fast, and a lady can appreciate that, but next time, allow me to join you."

We nod as we find a man in large bronze-looking armor with a dragon head decorating the cape and pauldron with Saint Martha sitting next to him with the man saying "It's quiet. Very quiet. Don't you think, St. Martha?" 

The woman nods as she says, "Yes. The ocean waves are calm tonight. By the way, St. Georgios-" The man then asks, "You wish for me to draw a picture of you, I assume? Sadly, I only do landscapes."

Martha then sighs and says, "I am not interested in pictures, Saint George, but I do wonder if we are going to start eating these foods we found." Saint George then says, "Well, we found these along our path, and no one is around, so this may be God's way of rewarding us. You may enjoy one first."

The woman nods, and as she eats one, she begins to say in pleasure, "Aah. Oh! These smell so good, and they have a divine texture on the tongue! It's super-duper yummy—Ahem. It tastes divine. The wisdom of the East is not to be dismissed."

Yes, such a reaction is expected as Ozias Senpai did help to create those dumplings, and with his cooking skills, it makes sense. Saint George then eats one and has a similar reaction, but then they turn to another man wearing a flowing purple robe that seems to have Japanese origin.

"When will I be able to test myself against you two?" The man asks as Martha says, "Soon you battle maniac. We must enjoy these before we duel. Even if I do not desire to, as I do not believe in the benefit of conflict."

The man raises his eyebrow and says, "Oh, is that true?" Martha nods as she says, "Yes, I do not want to fight you, and why are you even pursuing a fight so avidly? Are you not a samurai that is honor bound to only do those who besmirch your honor?"

The man then chuckles and says, "That is the thing, Lady Martha, I am not a typical Samurai; I am but a wanderer, and each day, I represent a new self reborn with each day's new light. But do you truly not wish to fight with that burden you carry, Tarasque wasn't it?"

The woman seems surprised that he knows about her dragon as we then reveal ourselves, "Halt! Stop eating those dumplings as they are stolen goods." Saint George then stands and says, "Stolen? We paid for these dumplings." Mash then elaborates, "The food was taken from us and spread around the area. You must have bought it from the thieves. Did you recognize them?"

The three then stand and ready themselves as Ozias Senpai asks, "I mostly direct this question towards the two Saints, but are you sure you wish to fight for this greed?"

They nod as the samurai remains still while Ozias Senpai says, "Mash, hold off, Martha while I take the dragon slayer saint." I nod as Martha, and I separate. She asks, "I am surprised you follow his orders so readily. Is there a reason for that?"

I simply say, "He is my Senpai and so much more, but for now, I am your opponent." She then rushes at me as we begin to fight.

Linus Ozias POV:

I stare at the dragon-slaying saint and ask, "Are you sure you wish to do this?" The man then says, "I have fought for the protection of the people for a long time, and I believe I am due some rest and dumplings, of course, and who is to say that you are not the thieves yourselves, so now prove your resolve."

I chuckle as he rushes at me with his sword Ascalon, which meets my Vampire Slayer, but the sword itself seems to lose its luster as if sensing who I am and wishing not to fight, but Saint George seems to not notice as we clash over and over.

Soon enough, I am able to wrap the man in the chain and toss him into the air and then use my ability over control and slam the man into the ground over and over again with my telekinetic ability. The man then uses Asacalon to stop himself as he stands battered he stands and prepares his noble phantasm over dumplings.

"Thy dragon, originating from sin. See the truth of Ascalon!" A beam of light appears from his sword as I wonder if swords in this universe all have either space lasers or wanna-be excalablasts. I then stand in the phantasm unafraid as this sword came from the world and, as such, cannot harm me.

Do not mistake this as immunity from all Noble Phantasms, only the ones that come from the world, as I have the blessing of Gaia, both of them. Actually, it's what allows me to remain in this world without the counterforce coming to mess with me. The blast lands and the yellow light shines and soon explodes, and I stand there unimpressed.

Make no mistake, if that hit any being from DxD that had a dark alignment, it's a KO, if not instant death. Noble Phantasms really are hacks. St George, seeing that his sword has done nothing, seems surprised as I blink over to him, grab him by the face, and slam him into the ground. 

Then I proceed to toss him up into the air, take his sword, and do my rendition of Tsunade's heaven, kick of pain and heel kick the man into the ground, causing a large crater to form.

I look to Mash and her battle with Martha to see that she actually has Martha on the Run, thanks in part to the fact that she's connected to me and thus is much stronger, but it seems Martha literally jumped onto her leviathan dragon Tarasque and ran away.

I walk over to Mash and ask the samurai, "So do you wish to continue this foolishness, or will you relent from the dumplings?" The man then pulls out his katana, and I stand before him with my own sword drawn.

He draws his blade with precision I have not seen before, and soon enough, his pure skill begins to surprise me. Make no mistake, he does not outpower or outspeed me, but in terms of skill, he does outclass me, and so I use this chance to learn.

The samurai begins to smile as he realizes that I'm using this chance to learn from him, and with every passing second, my swordsmanship improves, boosted by my shattered limiter and skill towards initiative weaponry use. 

Eventually, after around half an hour, I find an opening and slash the man across the stomach, but as he fades, he says, "This may not have been the duel I was looking for, but it was definitely a fight worth having. I recognize your skills. May we meet again."

I then sheath my blade and give a slight bow to the man as he disappears even now. I feel the improvement while not in power but in skill, but I also find myself lucky that he did not use his Noble Phantasm. While it may not have been able to kill me, it definitely would have left a mark.

It's no wonder that in the future, one could learn to become one with one's sword just by dueling with him, and maybe I will be able to reach that state soon enough. For now, we gather the dumplings, but we also find traces of where those people bought the goods.

I look to Mash and the huntress as we run through the forests, looking for where the rest of the dumplings are.

( If you guys don't know so far, this is the short story from the event Does Moon Goddess Dream of Dumplings? This pseudo-singularity acts as a connecting storyline towards the next actual singularity. Septem, it's not going to last very long as it's most likely going to end the next chapter. I just wanted to inform you all what's going on.)