Chapter 15 - Preparations

Akio had.. forgotten to visit Theos' grave, apparently, as he is quite shocked and rushes to it, with Kurayami, holding Ruby, running behind him. He reaches it and sits down, praying, and continuing to greet his father.

He took some time, as he explained every little detail about his adventures with his friends and the creation of his new family, as well as him unlocking his new magic, and he wished that Theos could be there, alongside him, to lead the way and be proud of him up close.

With this, Akio gets up, with Kurayami and Ruby bowing to the late man's tombstone, not knowing what to do, as the three leave. They end up enjoying the rest of their day, and right after, they remember that it's September, so Ruby should enroll to school, something that Kurayami volunteers to do.

Waving goodbye to his beloved ones, Akio goes to train in the headquarters, where Genkei awaits, having had the feeling that Akio would come. Genkei turns around to face Akio and smiles, while Akio does the same, with the two knowing exactly what to do.

Genkei, however, surprises Akio. He activates his vortex magic and envelops his right hand in a vortex, effectively making it a drill of sorts. Akio asks how he'd do that, and Genkei says that he simply covers his hand in magic, though the shape is whatever fits him the most.

Wanting to try it out, Akio does the same, though he first begins with making a ball. This confuses Genkei, but Akio continues, manipulating the ball's magic and having it envelop his fist. Unfortunately for him, it doesn't have a cool shape like Genkei's version does, but it'll work.

Asking if he's ready to begin, Akio takes his fighting stance, while Genkei follows. Seconds later, they're at it, with Akio using his new "technique" to fight Genkei, who appears to have the advantage at first.

Out of nowhere, Akio appears behind Genkei and shoots him with a fireball, giving him time to activate his cursed form and Burning Sense. He goes to hit Genkei, but he (Genkei) turns around and hits Akio in the face, much to the latter's surprise.

This, though, does not continue like normal. Akio is in an unconscious-like state for a second, as he sees a glimpse of something, and he snaps back to reality. Genkei asks him if he's okay, as he looks like he's seen a ghost, but Akio says that he's alright, continuing their battle.

They appear to be almost equal, with Akio having the upper hand, but Genkei has better reflexes, so he can dodge Akio's attacks better, though Akio has the strength to land stronger blows. This, though, soon balances them out, and after a few hours of fighting, they call it a draw, since they were both pushed to their limits.

They do not get a break, though. As soon as they stop, they feel a presence that makes them feel like they're dying, though it was only for a few seconds. Akio and Genkei rush to where it came from, only to find nothing, much to their surprise.

Akio says that it was probably a side-effect from their training, and Genkei agrees, as they wave each other goodbye and go their separate ways. Akio goes back home, only to see that Kurayami hasn't returned yet, as he goes upstairs.

Before he can even reach the stairs, though, he suddenly blacks out. He wakes up in his soul, only to see Roland again, who is looking quite surprised.

"Akio.. this is.. urgent.."

This confuses Akio, who asks Roland what he means, as the latter continues. "My prediction had been wrong. The Dark Wizard will be attacking within a year, so you have no time.. you must start training.. now!"

"Roland.. why are you trying to help me? Normally, wouldn't you try to take over me?" Akio asked Roland, being doubtful of his words, but the latter says that if his wielder dies, then he won't have the chance to take over him.

And so, with this in mind, Akio reluctantly trusts Roland for now, though he is still far too weary of him. Waking up, Akio finds himself in a strange place, wondering if he's still unconscious, though two voices inform him that he is not.

Two men appear before him. To his right, a man with bright (light yellow) hair, with beautiful white wings and the purest of hearts, but to his left, a man comes, being the very opposite, with pitch black hair, red eyes and horns.

"Let me guess. Am I in the afterlife? You guys look like you came out from Heaven and Hell." Akio sarcastically said, though the two men confirm it. Yes, he is in the afterlife, but he is not dead. The man on the right is God himself, but the man on the left is Satan.

Akio asks them why they're here, and more importantly, why is he himself here, but they explain. What Roland told him was the truth, and The Dark Wizard will be attacking in less than nine months, within the time frame that Roland had recently stated.

This shocks Akio greatly, as he asks them what does that have to do with him. Satan takes the initiative and tells Akio that what he saw in Theos' memories, within that forest, was The Dark Wizard himself, and the man in front of him was Hades.

Satan continues on, by saying that ever since that point, The Dark Wizard had become the strongest human alive, stronger than even God and Satan themselves, though he didn't know it. After killing Theos, he started to suspect it, but he decided not to take any chances, so he went to hiding.

Now Akio starts to understand, but still asks them what that has to do with him. God tells him that he's the only one capable of defeating him currently, as he is the one destined to wield the magic that controls the world itself.

God is quick, however, to understand his mistake, and he changes the subject, telling Akio that he'll be receiving training and help from them, in hopes of getting even a chance to beat the wizard. Akio, though, knows what he has to do and he asks them if his friends can join in.

The two deities facepalm, being unable to believe that Akio had just asked such a dumb question. Of course they can! They'll need all the help they can get to defeat The Dark Wizard, though God and Satan themselves cannot participate directly, due to laws bounding them.

Nodding, Akio asks them when will the training begin. The two tell him that in two days, all The Shining Generals and those deemed worthy will be teleported to this very spot, so they should be asked to prepare themselves, and Akio tells them that he'll do it, no matter what.

With this, he wakes up in his bed, with Kurayami sitting besides him. He greets her and asks her what's up, to which she hugs him and tells Akio that she was worried about him, since she found him on the floor.

Remembering what had happened, Akio tells her that now's not the time to worry about that, as they must inform everyone. Kurayami is confused, since she doesn't know, but Akio elaborates, and they begin the preparations for the next chapter of their lives.

However, Akio asks Kurayami to leave him alone for a few minutes, so he can think this through. When the door closes, Akio gets a solemn look and mutters under his breath: "God damnit.. You damned author.. this pacing is too fast.."

After that, he stands up and prepares himself, heading out with Kurayami to the headquarters, sending out a notification to each and every Shining General. They all respond to the call immediately, knowing that such an event would be very serious, and Akio tells them everything.

Everyone knows that this'll be very important, so they oblige, and everyone goes to prepare themselves. Akio goes back to his old home with Hisako, as Kurayami goes to get Ruby, and they sit down, asking Ichika if she can take care of herself and Ruby, since they'll most likely be unable to come.

The young girl nods, saying that it'll be fun, and that they should focus on their training. Telepathically, a voice calls out to Akio, which he recognizes to be God. The deity tells him to not worry about his sister and daughter, as they've already settled their matters, to which Akio nods.

Akio then pats Ichika and hugs Ruby, as the two fated days pass, and everyone is teleported to the afterlife, where God and Satan await. The deities tell them that their training will take place somewhere between the two dimensions of Heaven and Hell, where everyone is waiting for them.

Soon after, when they reach this space, they are greeted by the subordinates of God and Satan. All the Archangels and the Devils greet their new training partners, wishing to have good cooperation with them. The humans are quite confused but they get used to it.

Satan says that the strongest will train with the highest-ranking Archangels and Devils, while the others will fight the rest, as the training begins immediately, with God asking Akio to fight Beelzebub, one of Satan's strongest henchmen.