Chapter 8 - Part 5 - Minotaurs, Orcs and The Tournament of Power

Little Olympia

Jin Skyward

"Huh?"

Hermes grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away but I stood my ground and instead he fell flat on his face. He hurriedly gets up and faces me again.

"It's urgent, Jin!"

"Explain."

Hermes sighed and nodded.

"Hephaestus, she needs help making a few things. I can't go into detail here. She's up on Mount Olympus. Hestia is there for… Encouragement! Anyway, please just go there… Her home is beside the destroyed tree, remember that?"

Does she need help with something? Seeing how it's drawing closer, it's probably something or other for the tournament.

"Yeah, I do. Alright, I'll go there…"

Happy with my answer, Hermes quickly left— Probably still busy with whatever he was helping with. I turn back to the girls and they nod at me.

"We were about to ask for another hour break… Let's make it two?"

Valerie spoke for them and they agreed with her.

"Sure, stay safe, alright?"

They nodded and started to leave. Valerie, Serafall, and Irina continued on their way. Demeter was looking at me.

"Jin, I won't be able to come with you to the South… I have some things to do. I've been neglecting them because I didn't want to do them ~ it's for the festival huhu ~"

What an irresponsible Goddess… She literally ran away with us to avoid work… She walks over to me, holds both my hands and lean into…. My right ear. She then blows at it; she pulls away and winks at me.

…Two can play at that game, Demeter. She lets go of my hands and starts to walk away when—

I grab her arm and pull her back to me. She lets out a small surprised yelp. Griselda and Penemue were the only ones left so they were watching the entire thing go down. I brought our faces together as she looked confused. The closer we got, she slowly blushed, and then—

I lightly headbutted her.

"Ow!"

She pulls away in a bit of a huff and lightly glares at me. She puts her hands on her hips while giving me the look of 'why would you do that?'.

"That's one for one, Demeter."

"I was teasing you! No physical violence! Jin's a bad boy, I'll leave now ~"

Demeter quickly left after calling me that. She looked at the two women leaving and shook her head disappointedly. Penemue just had an amused look while Griselda kept her usual composure.

"That was quite something, Jin."

"I did something similar to you a long time ago."

I shrug and Penemue rolled her eyes at my answer, true but it was a lot less… 'Violent' though it was more comical than anything, she just overreacted after…

"So, what are you two planning to do?"

They look at each other for a few seconds before nodding to each other... Man they all have gotten a lot closer in such a short period of time. It's honestly weird. Meanwhile, I'm here moving at a snail's pace.

""We'll come with you.""

Go with me? I don't mind but will there be space up there? I hope the inside of her home has some kind of spatial magic to expand it or something. Hestia is also there, and who knows who else is there, maybe another God?

"Sure, let's go then… Scenic or instant?"

"Scenic."

I began walking away after hearing their answer, but they quickly caught up with me and walked alongside me. We bob and weave through the crowds of people busy running around the town. We eventually arrive at the Tower of Heaven and go in.

We took the elevator all the way up to the last floor and walked through it again. There weren't as many people here as I initially thought. Though I suppose only a limited number of beings will take part in the tournament? It is called the 'Tournament of Power'.

We walk up the stairs and the guards let us pass when we get to the platform. We stand there and get teleported to Mount Olympus.

…

Mount Olympus

We immediately started walking at a faster pace than the first time we were there. I didn't feel too many auras here, but Hephaestus was definitely here, as was Hestia… And Aphrodite? Didn't expect that, there was an additional aura at her home.

I wasn't too familiar with it but shrugged it off since it wasn't the aura of a God but of a human. We quickly walk through Mount Olympus, we didn't really say much except for pointing out some things that may have slipped us during our first visit.

We go up the stairs and walk past the giant tree stump. To our right were two houses. I could feel Hephaestus in the house to the left, so the last house here. When we knocked on the door, we didn't hear anything; I looked around and found… Some weird lever?

So with no other options left, I pulled it and a large whistling noise could be heard inside the home. In no time at all, the door opened with Hestia there.

"Oh! Just like what Hermes said, welcome! Welcome! Come and join us, Jin."

Hestia welcomes us in, we step inside and she closes the door. She skips away and we follow her. The inside of her home was much larger, so she did use it, good. The hallway had five doors, two on the left and two on the right. The final one was in front of us.

Hephaestus's home was quite plain. Royal blue carpet on the floor, white walls, and lights powered by magic. I can probably clap and they would turn off. The doors were painted red.

Hestia enters the last one on the right, and we quickly follow after her, once inside I close the door behind me. The room was… The living room? Well, it looked like it. Hestia was over by a bookshelf; she pulls a book and… A hole in the ground appears.

I glance around the room before walking down there— The girls quickly go after Hestia. There were three couches in total. They surrounded a single coffee table, and around the room were hooks with some hammers and other tools hanging from them.

There were two glass windows, another bookshelf with what appeared to be real books, and a few plants in vases on the ground and hung on chains. There was a desk with a chair and some documents on there, maybe this was her office instead?

After checking this place out briefly, I headed to the hole that appeared. There were stairs that led down and I could hear the girls speaking to one another. I walked down and it looked like the rest of the home, except for the carpet. It was actually just white stone. Upon arriving down there, I could see it was a large room.

There were more tools, weapons, and armor lying around, a giant table in the middle, with other smaller ones scattered about. Anvils, hammers, and two forges.

Hephaestus, Hestia, Aphrodite, Griselda, Penemue, and an unknown female were standing around the large table as they chatted away with one another. Hestia spots me and starts waving at me, prompting all of them to look my way.

Hephaestus was sweating and she wore her usual outfit with the exception of her top, which was just a plain white tank top. Since she was sweating… It was sticking quite closely to her body… So I could see her curvy body a bit better.

The unknown woman was around 170 cm or 5'6 tall. She wore a sleeveless kung fu jacket, thick trousers in the tight area, gaiters, sandogasa, and her hair was worn in a Chinese braid style. She carried a long spear on her back as her weapon.

"Hey, you needed some help?"

"Yes, thank you for coming, Jin."

The woman looked at me confused, so I put out my hand for a handshake and introduced myself.

"Jin, Middleman, nice to meet you."

"Oh!!! The middleman! I'm Kanami Minagawa! Nice to meet you!"

She enthusiastically shook my hand…. Minagawa…? Like Natsume Minagawa? Wait, are these two related somehow?

"Uh, Kanami-san, are you perhaps related to Natsume Minagawa…?"

"Aha! Yes, I am! I'm her older sister! Who would have thought I would meet her boyfriend here?! We texted a few days ago, actually. We look nothing alike though, I guess I got my dad's hair but we both got our mother's personalities though!"

I see…I haven't really asked about Natsume's family situation but…to think she had an older sister who's also part of the supernatural world.

"Even though I'm the older sister, Natsu is a lot more reliable than me, ahah! She's got a job and works for Grigori, I'm just wandering the world, trying to find a place for myself…. Oh! I'll be participating in the Tournament of Power!"

Before I could respond I hear Hephaestus cough interrupting us, we look over at her… She was a bit annoyed. Kanami laughed nervously and apologized to her.

"Sorry! But Hephaestus-sama! Please help me get a new spear!!!"

Kanami bowed deeply to her, Hephaestus sighed… Seems like they were discussing getting Kanami a new spear then… So she uses a spear? Looks normal to me, and she doesn't have Sacred Gear. She's a bona fide human. What surprised me was that she was peak High-class, and was about to break through Ultimate-class.

When I first met Natsume, she was already Ultimate-class. I guess the younger sister was the overachiever? However, maybe just on the side of the supernatural... Kanami gave me the impression that she excelled at school but after that kind of fell flat... Maybe it was a lucky break for her that she became involved in the supernatural world?

"Haaa…. I already told you, Kanami, I'm too busy with all the things I have to get done for the tournament. You will have to use your spear for it. I can create it after the tournament when everything's settled back down."

"Then why not have the Red Dragon Emperor do it? From the rumors we have heard, he seems capable of many things. He's helping you with your job, no? Why not let him make her spear…"

Hephaestus shot down Kanami again. Aphrodite jumps in and suggests that I make Kanami's spear instead. I don't mind since she's Natsume's sister… The things I make usually end up being things that can destroy… Many things. Let's just take a look at her spear.

"I'll consider it. Let me see your spear, Kanami."

She was confused but complied. She handed me her spear and I examined it.

…

[Item]:

Kanami's Weapon (No name set):

Durability: 1,360/10,000

Effects:

1. Flames – The weapon can ignite itself and produce high-quality flames

…

I see so that's why she wants a brand-new spear made. Why not just have this repaired? Unless she wants a God-class weapon made by Hephaestus… Sheesh.

"It's not a bad spear… But it really needs to be repaired, unless you just want a new spear."

"Aha… Yeah, that spear has been with me for a long time now. We've been through a lot but, I think it's time for a new one unless you can do something about that…"

"Then I'll repair it and upgrade it a little… But tell me this, where did you get this spear from?"

Most weapons I've seen don't have the ability to produce anything by themselves. It's usually through magic or other means that it can be imbued with something. I did the same thing with Shigune's whip.

"Hmm? I think I bought it in Germany when I was in the country. Some old farmer in the countryside said it was just a spear his great-great-grandfather made; I paid him around two hundred euros to take it off him. He was more than happy since he didn't care about it."

To be able to purchase something that's like a family heirloom… How charismatic are you? Kanami didn't think much about it as she tilted her head confused by my reaction. Well, whatever… Let's just repair and upgrade it… Nothing too outrageous though.

I look at the spear in my hands, so I'll start there first. It will have infinite durability. If your weapon breaks, it's a total loss. Next, I'll change it from a normal spear to one that grows with its user. I'll also soul-bind it to Kanami Minagawa.

Finally, those flames will also be able to evolve— While this thing won't be an official Sacred Gear, it's close to it. It can gain more effects as the user grows and wants more things from themselves and the weapon.

…

[Item]:

Kanami's Weapon (No name set):

Durability: ∞

Effects:

1. Evolving Flames – Flames of Evolution. These flames will grow and change to the wielder's desires. The stronger the desire, the bigger and more drastic the changes that occur.

…

"Done, here."

I finished repairing it and upgrading it. The spear had a small change to it. There was a small dragon carved into its wooden shaft. The flame symbol appeared on the pointed head, and both were red.

Kanami looked at it with starry eyes, seemingly unable to wait. She twirled and spun it around before tapping the top end of the shaft onto the ground. She had a very satisfied look on her face.

"I'll guess that you like it then."

"Yes! Very much so! Thank you, Jin!"

Kanami puts away the spear and hugs me. I awkwardly stood there as the girls watched on. Penemue grinned at me. I could feel Hephaestus getting more irritated. Why?

"Can I have your number?! I didn't get a chance to ask for it from Natsu!"

I nod, summon a piece of paper, and hand it to her. Happy with this, she bids us farewell while leaving the room. I felt her running through the hallway and out the door. Those two are really sister, huh? While Natsume isn't as energetic as her older sister… It does come out from time to time.

"So, what do you want me to do?"

…

Ting! Ting! Ding! Clank!

"Are you sure you haven't done this before…?"

"I'm sure…"

After being shown by Hephaestus on how to do the basics of blacksmithing, I was hammering away at a plate of armor. I had a few other tools with me but I was still shaping it with the help of the forge.

Penemue was asked to keep track of everything that was done, the materials, tools, etc. Griselda was… Well helping me, Hestia and Hephaestus worked together… Well Hephaestus did all of it, while Aphrodite and Hestia encouraged her— In their own way.

According to Cúntóir, I could just create an Omniversal-class item with one hit of this hammer. Now… Making those for the general populace wouldn't do anyone good.

This was the fourth thing I was making; I had created some smaller things earlier. A dagger, a shield, boots, and now a plate of armor. This thing can at least take up attacks from a High-class being, anything below it won't pierce or damage it.

What was most impressive was that Hephaestus had produced seven things in such a short time. It was all high-quality stuff too, nothing half-assed or half-baked. As expected of the Goddess of Blacksmithing.

Even in the heat of this room, Griselda was fine, as was Penemue since I had upgraded their stuff as well. The other three were sweating: Hestia, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus.

"Hey…. Why are you three okay in this heat?"

"...You brought up a very valid point, Hestia. Explain yourself, Red Dragon Emperor."

Even Hephaestus stopped working to look at us strangely. I chuckle and tell them what I did to our clothing.

"Ahhh!! Do that to me!! I want my clothes to cool me down! I'll let you touch my boobs if you do!"

I didn't mention the other upgrades, only the temperature ones. Also… I don't mind doing it— It's just temperature upgrades, also that's sexual harassment, no, thank you.

"I don't require that kind of compensation, but I'll do it since you've been quite kind to us since we got here."

I put my hammer down and walked over to Hestia. I touched her dress and upgraded it. Almost immediately she had a look of relief on her face and she started to squeal at herself. I glanced at Aphrodite and then turned to Hep—

"Wait a minute?! Please! Please put it on me too!"

"…"

"W-Was it the way I spoke to you when we first met? T-That's how I normally speak! I'm sorry, please!"

The Tsundere, high and mighty act she was performing crumbled immediately. Did she really want the cooling effect that badly? I mean… I was just teasing her a bit, now she looks like Aqua complaining…

"Ahaha… Her true self showed up… Haaa… Why do you even bother with the act?"

"It just happened that way! Jin, please!!!"

I sigh, that was the first time she called me by my name. She's only called me Red Dragon Emperor or Middleman so far. When I walked over to her and did the same thing, she experienced immediate relief.

I walk over to Hephaestus who was waiting there patiently. I stood in front of her and put my hand on her shoulder, I felt her tense up a bit. Does she hate..... Why are you embarrassed? ...She was getting warmer the longer I was touching her, so I just did it and stopped.

[Partner.]

No, I know, but— Like, why? It doesn't make sense. I just helped her out on a whim since I wanted to see what was underneath it. I literally didn't do anything special… She— She's overreacting…

"T-Thank you, Jin."

"No problem."

…

An hour and forty minutes have passed and we had gotten a lot of work done. Hestia, Aphrodite, and Penemue had gone upstairs to get some food ready. It was still early in the day but since we worked up an appetite while working… They offered to.

"They can cook, right? I mean, Hestia and Aphrodite… I'm fairly certain Penemue can. It would be stranger if she couldn't."

"...It's edible… For the both of them."

That's not reassuring at all, Hephaestus! What do you mean it's just edible?! I mean— I won't die or get food poisoning but, Jesus! I'll just have to eat what Penemue prepared…

[If you're a real man, eat that crap those two made too!]

Then I welcome you to come out here and eat it for me.

[Oh? What was that Albion? You want to fight? Allllriiigghhtttyyyy let's gooo ~]

{…I said no such thing—}

[FIGHHHHHHHHHTTTTTTT]

Coward—

Bang!

"Food's ready! Come up here!"

The time of reckoning has come. I sigh and leave my tools there, well they're Hephaestus's… Anyway, we go upstairs and Hestia poked her head out of the first door to the left by the entrance.

We followed her in and the room was quite spacious too. It was mostly the same but had the kitchen and dining room in there. Penemue appeared stressed as she sat in a chair with her hands on her face.

I walk over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She looks up with an exhausted expression.

"How did it go?"

"If you eat what they made, you will die."

...….

"They're not that bad!"

Both Goddesses shouted back, a bit angry with the low evaluation of their dishes. I take a look at the table and...why is it purple? Why is there some sort of ominous smell coming from it? Why is that one alive? Is that squid?!

We take our seats as I stare at the weird food prepared by Aphrodite and Hestia. Penemue pushes a small dish she made towards me. I have a taste of it and it's pretty tasty.

"Mmm, it's good."

"Of course. I made it after all."

""Me next/ Taste my food!""

"….Fine."

…

"Thank you for your sacrifice, Jin."

Griselda patted my back as I let out a sigh while I was outside of Hephaestus's home. Five minutes remained until we had to leave for the south; the meet-up time was rapidly approaching.

Now you may be wondering, how did they taste? One word, awful. If I wasn't immune to poisons and other crap, I would have gotten food poisoning or died. That's how bad their food was, Penemue on the other hand… Well, it was great.

"For world peace… I must eat shit food…"

"…You're exaggerating again…"

I chuckled and looked back at Griselda, she looked confused.

"Hey, you can cook, right? If you and Irina plan on moving to Kuoh, can I have a bit of a taste? You're aware of me wanting to open a restaurant, right?"

"…I am not sure if my cooking will suit your tastes, but I do not mind. If and when we do move, then I shall make something for you."

"Enough flirting, let's get going… You already told them we were leaving earlier, right?"

Thankfully Griselda agreed to it, but we were interrupted by Penemue as she looked a bit irritated while leaving.

"Yeah, I did. What's got you annoyed?"

"It's nothing, just those Goddesses refusing to accept cooking advice, let them be bad at cooking! Not that I care…"

Penemue started to walk away before we could respond. I didn't know she was that passionate about cooking… Hmm, maybe I can have her join my restaurant in the future? I'll ask her about it before this trip is over.

…

Little Olympia

When we got to the meet-up spot, the girls were already there. They were in a cheerful mood as they were happily conversing with each other. Though it's weird… Serafall is the oldest out of all of them, but Valerie seems to be the one leading them.

"Yo, are you guys ready?"

We reach them and I greet them, they respond with a nod and we fly up into the sky. South… Orcs and Minotaurs… I don't know how long we'll be there but if we only spend a day there then we'll have time for ourselves before the tournament.

"Let's go then."

…

We had been flying for the last few minutes with the same scenery around us… Which was just plain fields and trees. We did go by some old ruins of old homes and the like, but nothing of significance was there.

Since Demeter wasn't with us, I had to rely on myself for this one— I wonder if Chronos is over there? He did say he had good relations with them…

"It's so plain, there's nothing here…"

Irina complained in my arms. She had asked me to carry her since she was tired…now I didn't believe that but I didn't mind. Both Serafall and Valerie giggled at her when she did ask me earlier.

"Well, we were already told on what to expect… We just need to travel further to see any change…. Like those in the distance."

"Eh?"

Irina was looking at me but when I pointed out what was in front of me, she turns around and I could see her eyes widening…

In front of us, unlike the previous scenery were large rocks that went as high as the clouds, it looked like they were damaged during some kind of battle in the past— Probably during the attack by Typhon and Black Alice.

"Hmm?"

I could feel some auras around those rocks… I didn't think anyone would make this place their home. I fly down, the girls were confused but follow after me. I landed by one of the rocks and found only a few more auras like it. I let Irina down and jump towards where the auras were.

When I landed there—behind one of the large boulders… It was a goblin? When they noticed me, they were a bit startled.

"Human? What is human doing here?"

I summon the [Boosted Gear] and they nod.

"Ah, Red Dragon here. Welcome to… Little village."

As I looked up and behind them, I could see a small settlement here with a few small houses made of wood; more were made of stones, rocks, and probably boulders scattered around here.

"Hello, you're a tribe of goblins, right? Why did you pick this place to live in?"

"Near food and water sources. Rocks good shelter, and peaceful. Discrimination."

Makes sense. There is already a lot of discrimination against goblins, thanks to the media, folklore and well, yeah. They are not seen in a positive light. Goblin Slayer, eat your heart out. These guys range in size, height, and build.

Some were large and round, some small and thin, and others were large and muscular. Even the females were like that. They all possess green skin, with pointy ears and noses. Rags cover their lower private areas and, for females, their chests as well.

"I am, Sryrdezz, leader of this tribe."

From behind one of the goblins came a medium-height goblin, who had a more humanoid shape and had better speech than the one I was talking to. He was a bit greyish in color, I wonder what that meant?

"Jin, Red Dragon Emperor."

"We do not have much to offer, Red Dragon, but please feel free to look around…"

I nod and the girls and I go into their little settlement. It was mostly practical since they said there was a source of food here… Probably from the water, so fish. But I did see some cattle around, they were in a fenced-off area.

While they didn't have much, I could feel that the majority of them were happy. But how did they get those cattle?

"Since I am the most human-looking goblin, I go to Little Olympia to sell some of our fish that we catch, I bought two cattle a long time ago and we've bred them. These are their descendants you could say."

"But we can eat fruits and vegetables since we didn't have much luck in the beginning. I have been chief for around twenty-seven years now. My father was longer, my father was a goblin, while my mother was a human… That's why I look like this."

I'm more surprised that they didn't reject you…though they probably saw value in you so you could go into the town to get things. It seems they're not too dumb or barbaric here.

"Where are you headed off to, Red Dragon?"

"Further South, to the city of the Orcs and Minotaurs."

"I see. I wish you luck, Red Dragon."

He didn't seem to have an opinion on them, did they ever interact? They are fellow monsters after all… This place is a bit sad… I'll help them then. I crouch down and touch the ground… I make it more fertile so they can grow things easier.

I flash stepped towards the water source. It was a small to medium-sized lake, and there were some fish in it. There was a small hole near the bottom so that's how they got here. I'll make a pump for them then.

Placing an invisible pipe into the ground, I flash step back to the village. I create a pump and place it into the ground. Once there, I connect it to the pipes, I add some filtration so they won't be drinking crap water.

"A pump, so you can get water from here, you won't need to go over there to get water to drink… Though you'll need to still head over there for food… Speaking of food…"

They had cows and sheep, so I summon some chickens and ducks for them.

"These ducks will go live by the pond; I've added magical filtration to the pipes so it won't affect you that much."

The goblins were in disbelief. I don't blame them. We just met and I helped them so much. They were in need and didn't seem like a terrible bunch. This also didn't take too much from me so it's no problem...

"Anyway, those chickens and ducks are 'magical' so they'll produce eggs at a faster rate, and also grow faster. Just keep an eye on them and try to keep their population to a minimum. I made your land much more fertile, so you can grow pretty much anything here now. We'll get going. Good luck."

I started flying again, same with the girls, when...

"T-Thank you, Red Dragon! We-we will never be able to repay you for this kindness!!"

The other goblins started to bow and kneel before me. Please don't do that. I just wanted to help you. That's all. I don't need some kind of cult to start.

"It's fine, I'll visit again someday, so just do your best. Bye now."

I flew away with the girls as I heard them saying goodbye to us. Irina flew beside me and eased herself into my arms.

"Look at you being Mister good boy."

"That sounds weird, Irina…"

…

Around forty minutes passed again as we kept on flying, what surprised me was the weird terrain changed that we passed by. After the Rocky Mountains where the goblins were living at, we came across a few short lakes and streams of water, there were any creatures living there but it seemed serene and calm.

Past that was a bunch of small destroyed ruins, probably remnants of the past, there were also no value there so we quickly moved past it. After that, to the right of us was some sort of mountainous village, I zoomed in with my eyes and I saw a lot of webs… Probably some kind of arachnid civilization?

We didn't stop there since we already had a tight schedule. I'll come back and visit it another time. To the opposite side of it, was a sea of lava. There were some drakes there but no dragons. I wonder why? However, some of those drakes were humanoids and some were normal drakes.

They didn't to have noticed us so nothing happened, but I did see a lot of male drakes, very few female ones.

Once we were past those areas, it was just plain fields again with the occasional tree and rocks… That was until… I saw it in the distance.

There was a large structure in the distance, another tower-like structure could be seen that were in the clouds… This was the city and it was huge! What the hell? From where I was the buildings look like they were made out of orange or red stone? On top of the castle was a flag.

A few of the buildings had fires? Perhaps they were a source of light? Below those large structures were smaller buildings, probably the housing and shopping districts of the city. Around the city were also mountains but they looked untouched.

However, the land before the city was mostly green… Where did they get the orange stone? There were no guards or anything. We got closer and closer— Then we landed at the 'entrance' of the city.

When we did, there were some Orcs and Minotaurs there just going about their day. They stop to stare at us. They were interesting as they range from green, orange, grey, and other colors, as well as sizes and height.

Some of them appeared to be humanoid as well. This place was quite diverse… There were also hybrids too. This place was interesting. After the initial shock, they just carried on with their day.

They have Gods and Goddesses here, our arrival shouldn't be that shocking. In what seemed to be the middle of this area was a little… Uh lava fountain? Much like a waterfall, it was slowly spewing out lava.

"Uwa… So hardcore…"

Irina says while the others agreed, it was unique, I'll say that much but not the weirdest thing I've seen.

"Hohoho, you finally arrived, young one!"

An all too familiar voice came out of one of the buildings, it was Chronos. He was here and lucky for us, he can just help guide us around. He walks over to us and waves his hand.

"Chronos-sama, I didn't expect you to be here."

"I am always on the move, Little Leviathan. Now come with me, Jin. The King and Queen as well as both the Princesses eagerly await your arrival. I've hyped you up even more than before."

….This damn geezer, what the hell did you tell them? Also, two daughters, huh?

"By the way, what's this place called? It's interesting, it may be a bit cliché but I expected it to be a bit more… Forest-y or at least simpler than what I'm seeing now."

"This place is called Minda Akrur. I don't know why but… Minda means knowledge, wisdom, and Akrur means 'who is not cruel'. I don't know how or where they came across those words, I certainly never told them it."

A city that is knowledgeable yet not cruel? Maybe something like that? But, aren't Orcs and Minotaurs all about strength and power? I'm not saying that all people have a desire for knowledge and wisdom.

"Maybe they wish to be seen more than just for their power and strength?"

"Hohoho, perhaps that may be it, young Griselda. If you wish to know the true reason, you should ask the current rulers of this city."

Those… Fires on top of certain buildings, what do they mean? As we walked through the streets of Minda Akrur Chronos was stopped every few blocks by Orcs, Minotaurs or Hybrids as they wanted to speak to him.

He's popular, and from what I could tell, it's for good reason. He's a gracious and outgoing God, almost like that cool uncle or grandfather you sometimes see, and introduces you to some cool stuff they found or got.

"…"

Why is she here? …Nyx… I could feel her aura and it was in the castle. She just teleported in…

"Chronos, Nyx is here. Do you know why?"

"Hmm? Nyx? How do you know?"

"I felt her teleport in, she's in the castle right now and probably talking to the King and Queen."

Chronos frowned but didn't seem too bothered by it, is this a common occurrence for her to do this? I mean Gods are generally free to do what they want— To a certain degree. 'Evil' Gods like her, well, they don't care. So they have more freedom.

"We'll find out once we get there, so hurry up if you're that curious."

"One last thing, what are those fires for?"

"A symbol of strength to them, when Typhon and 'she' attacked, these fires are what kept the Minotaurs and Orcs warm at night— A symbol of their tenacity and shows that they can get through the toughest of times with the smallest of embers...also just some lighting around their city, hohoho!"

…That sounded so cool until you had to add that last bit, even if it's true… Couldn't you have just stopped at that point? Haaa…

After that, we sped up our pace as I wanted to figure out why Nyx was here. Chronos probably saw how I was, so decided to speed up too. I did see more of the city even with that goal in mind.

I only saw two brothels along the path we took, unlike the numerous brothels back in Lamias city. But other buildings were the same, food shops, vendors, and a lot of weapon and armor shops.

Though that makes sense, as they're mostly known for their physical strength and now for their willpower. I saw a few library-like places. Are there certain Orcs or Minotaurs who want to branch out? They did rename their city to that name…

After a few more minutes of walking, walking upstairs and being stopped by Chronos, we arrived at a drawbridge. Two guards were there, an Orc and a Minotaur. One of them pulled on a lever and the bridge lowered itself as they saluted Chronos with their weapons.

Once it was down, I summoned and de-summoned my [Boosted Gear], I could see the excitement in their eyes as they had no problems in letting us through, even though we already had the okay thanks to Chronos.

"Is this even a castle…?"

I asked everyone as they stared at the place in shock. The inside of the 'castle' didn't look like one. It was more… I guess, barbaric? Weapons, armor, armor stands, crates, and other objects littered the entrance room. It was large, so a lot of random crap was everywhere.

Inside some of the crates were ammo, and more weapons, like bows, crossbows, axes, javelins, and the like. I also felt some staff members and wands in a few of them. Feels like they're ready to go to war at any time.

Add magic and weapons, and these guys are already quite powerful. They were born with superhuman strength. This time, no one was there to greet us, but Chronos did start to walk in a direction, and my god the halls were also filled with random crates or weapons…

"They don't seem like royalty anymore, it's more disgusting than Xenovia's room back when we were both exorcists. She did clean, but her room did get thrown back into a mess really quickly."

Irina muttered to no one in particular, but then shivered as Griselda looked at her with sharp eyes.

"Is that why whenever I stepped into her room…it was like a pigsty?"

Irina nodded furiously at the question asked by her boss. Chronos laughed at their interaction while Valerie patted her shoulder in trying to comfort her.

Irina and Valerie started to talk quietly to each other as we walked through the very clustered hallways of the castle. Why don't they have maids or servants to clean this place…? Well, I guess no Orc or Minotaur wants to be that… A servant. How the fuck did royalty come to exist?

Do they fight over the place? The strongest in this city? Or is this a previous generation kind of thing?

As I was lost in thought, we eventually stood in front of a large door. I could feel five auras in there, one of them being Nyx. Chronos finally pushed the doors open.

"Oh? My ~ if it isn't old man Chronos and ~ Jin ~ Red Dragon Emperor ~ Daddy ~"

"..."

D-Daddy? What the fuck is she saying? We barely interacted… No, she's just trying to goad me on, well it ain't working.

"Queen Shelur, King Kurtus, Princess Cara, and Princess Ruka. This is Jin, the Middleman and Red Dragon Emperor. I've told you much about, hohoho."

Chronos introduced me to them as he laughed to himself. Nyx stood there smiling and staring straight at me. I could see that the girls saw this and were looking at her funny.

"Jin Skyward, nice to meet you all."

The King was staring at me. If looks could kill, his glare could. But after a few seconds, he lightened up and started laughing. The King Minotaur had brown skin, with smoke scars, and he was wearing gladiator-like clothing. Blue dimachaeri and brown arm guards adorned his appearance. He had hooves on his lower half.

He had long grey hair tied in a ponytail with the tied part being brown in color. He also had light blue eyes and a light blue feather on the right side of his head. He had two white horns with blue ornaments attached to them. He had a small chin strap beard.

The Queen was dressed kind of strangely. She's a typical green orc, muscular. She had short messy black hair, white eyes, and a cross-shaped scare that ran across above her nose and her left eye. She wore a black shirt with a green apron on her as well as black jeans with brown sandals. She had a black choker around her neck…?

Princess Cara is a very tall, dark-skinned woman with very large breasts. She resembles her parent's well as she's quite muscular. Her hair is short and dual-colored, white in the front and dark brown in the back, and usually hangs loose.

As a Minotaur, she has a pair of large, upward-facing horns on her head, cow ears, a cow tail, and her legs have hooves instead of feet and are covered with fur.

Princess Ruka is an Orc girl. She has pointy ears, hooves for feet, and a pig's tail. She looks nothing like her sister as she's slim and a lot more, feminine? She does not look like the typical Orc.

Adopting the Gyaru cultural trend, Ruka has long blonde hair dyed pink at the tips. She has light green skin, blue eyes, and long pink nails. She is wearing a ripped-up white t-shirt, a pink sports bra, jean shorts, bracelets, pink sunglasses, and pink upside-down heart earrings.

"So, you're Jin. We're glad to meet you lad! Welcome to our city, Minda Akrur. The Tournament of Power is coming soon, right?! Are you participating in it?!"

He asked me excitedly. I looked at Chronos and Nyx as both had different reactions. Chronos just laughed without really giving me an answer. Nyx shrugged and licked her lips. Another horny woman has arrived. I am in danger.

"I'm not personally fighting, but one of my subordinates is. They're quite powerful so whoever does win can fight them, as sort of an exhibition match. It should provide a worthwhile challenge for the winner."

"You have subordinates?! Hooooo!! Now I'm quite excited! Should I partici—"

Smack!

"No. You will not. We already have Cara participating in this as well as others in our city. You will not participate."

King Kurtus was quickly denied by his wife and Queen with a smack to the head. The King clutches his head as if in pain. He looks back at the Queen with a 'hurt' expression. The Queen just rolls her eyes at him.

"A-Anyway, Chronos has already told us of your plans. Feel free to explore our wonderful city! There are many areas where you can participate in legal fighting, however, those who are participating aren't allowed since we want them to be ready for the tournament."

"They can train in a controlled environment. In Orc and Minotaur gyms, or even Hybrid gyms. We don't want them getting injured before their big day! There hasn't been a winner in those for our town in years! We hope to win this year, especially my daughter! Haha—"

Smack!

This time, Cara was the one to smack him. She was blushing and was embarrassed by her father who was bragging about her. Ruka was just chuckling to herself…this family is pretty relaxed, nothing like royalty.

"A-Anyway, Cara, Ruka please show them around… Come back here as we will have a feast tonight! We already have an Inn for you and your companions to stay the night in!"

"Alright. Please follow us, we know this city like the back of our hands!"

Cara flexes her right arm while Ruka stands beside her. They walk past us and go towards the door.

"Nyx, we must decline the invitation, but thank you for the offer."

"Ah, is that so? Then I'm done here, bye-bye ~"

Nyx disappeared again and I couldn't feel her anywhere in the area or the realm. She must have left it entirely. I look at Chronos as he shakes his head. He's probably staying here then. I nodded and followed the two princesses.

…

Once we were back outside, they greet the guards and we start walking through the streets.

"Princess Cara, why do you want to participate in the tournament?"

"Just call me Cara… My reason is simple, I just want to test myself, to see how far I can go. If I win, then great! I can choose one of the Gods or Goddesses to train me!"

Valerie was the one to ask the question and she gave a very admirable reason, just to test one's self? To see how strong they are in a fair and relatively safe environment? I wonder why Ruka doesn't feel the same way as her sister.

"Then, Princess Ruka, why are you not participating?"

"Like what Cara said, just call me Ruka…haha, isn't that obvious? I would be snapped like a twig. I don't look like a typical Orc, do I? While I exercise, I don't do it as much as my parents or sister. I just want to maintain a slim body. I'm more of the new type of Orc that's emerging…"

"Brain over Power? Or the combination of both?"

I answer for her and she turns around to nod at me.

"Yes, I want to combine both. If I can enchant myself with magic to become stronger as well as use my physical strength from being an Orc, wouldn't that mean I'll reach newer heights? Not to mention the spells I can cast."

"Sis Ruka has been obsessed with it since she found out years ago. Mom and I are supportive, it took dad a while to be, but he eventually did, that's why he brags about us as much as he can."

The two sisters high-five each other as we continue walking. As we passed some shops, they explained to us what they are and what they do.

"That building in the distance is the largest training facility in our city. Anyone can enter and join. But you have to be serious. Four blocks down from it is the new gym, which is also popular. It's the type that Sis Ruka goes to. The Brain and Power Gym. Use magic and your natural strength to get stronger."

Our first stop is the gym, since Cara is quite popular as the Princess and as a person in general. We get in quite easily. We meet the owner and she tells him that we're just touring the place, and he didn't have any problems with it.

The inside was quite large. Different sections train different parts of your body. A few training benches, dumbbell sets that were filled with some sort of magic, pull-up frame and bar, treadmill, stationary bicycle, rowing machine, and even a ring of sorts. Possibly so the members can fight?

The ground was soft and hard at the same time. It was weird. Cara explained that if you fell it would recognize it and would soften so that the impact would be lessened. When you're just walking around or working out, it's tough. Apparently, the 'mage' Orcs and Minotaurs were responsible for it.

That's probably why there isn't much conflict between them since they benefit from one another so they can co-exist easily.

Don! Don! Don!

We had left the gym and after checking out the other one which looked the same but had an emphasis on learning magic and less training equipment. We were walking around another part of the city— It seemed a little run-down— Sort of like a 'bad' part of the town but we were assured that there wasn't anything like that here.

We heard some sort of hitting noise and when we turned to look it was… Two people hitting each other. One of them was a typical looking Minotaur. Brown fur body with a bull's upper half and a human lower half. The other was an Orc who was a giant green bald muscular giant. The two of them were beating the shit out of each other.

"Do we step in and stop them, or watch?"

"While these sorts of things aren't illegal or looked down upon, not many do it since there are many facilities in this city to do them at. But you do need some income to be able to join them. But they aren't that expensive…"

So, they may have known each other and probably planned this out? The buildings around here appear quite decent even in a 'bad' part of the city. They looked the same— Orange or red walls, with orange or red roofs, a few fences here since that area looked like a sports ground of sorts.

Yeah, it's basketball, I didn't know this place had normal human sports that they played, I could see two hoops in there.

"Oi!! What are you two doing?!"

Cara finally shouted as the two stopped what they were doing and looked up and towards us. They were a bit startled and quickly stopped fighting. Suddenly, they rushed to us and became a bit sheepish.

"Sorry, Princess, we were just preparing for the tournament… You know how it is, the ones participating can't fight unless in gyms but we're a bit too poor to go so…"

Cara and Ruka sighed and nodded. They're quite level-headed princesses and understood their reasoning. I also didn't sense they were lying.

"I understand, try not to get caught by anyone else and also be careful, alright?"

"Yes ma'am!"

Cara was satisfied with their answer and left with the girls. The two walked back and started to spar with each other again. I ran up to the girls to catch up.

…

We were taken around the city for a few hours, but there weren't many places they could bring us since this city mainly focused on getting stronger, whether that's physically or in a new way. But they did take us to the library and teach us a bit of their history.

Long story short, their mother and father are from different backgrounds and a few years ago, around thirty or forty they became the new King and Queen and it was as I thought, through combat— A small tournament here.

Whoever won— They had to be female and male, it didn't matter which was which, they would become the new King and Queen. It will repeat when those two step down. Cara and Ruka are not guaranteed to succeed their parents. If they want to, they have to participate like everyone else.

Unlike other royal families, they don't have maids or the like, they do have cooks though so that's one perk they have. That's why they invited us earlier for dinner. There were other Kings and Queens of the past they mentioned but what stood out to me was that they were mostly Hybrids.

Hybrids like the Sirens had more advantages in this city. Due to hybrids getting the benefits of both Orcs and Minotaurs, they're born stronger and are generally looked up to since birth. That's why hybrids are stronger than only Orcs or Minotaurs.

These two— Cara and Ruka are hybrids so they were already stupidly strong since birth. Both trained at their own pace, Cara focusing more on the physical department and Ruka in both.

It also said that they had to rebuild their city after the attacks of Typhon and Black Alice. However, it didn't mention the name 'Black Alice' but it did say some other monsters attacked. They also explain why they have fires above certain buildings.

After the attacks, those buildings remained intact, so they decided to use them as symbols.

…

It was night and we were in the dining room of the castle. King, Queen, and the two Princesses with us. On the table was a lot of food… Mostly meats, different kinds but mostly meat. There were a few fruits and vegetables but… Like I said, meat.

"Go ahead and eat, Jin, his harem! Enjoy the food that was prepared!"

Without further ado… He dug into his share… It was quite a spectacle to see him just eat it all like a savage barbaric beast… The Queen, while still a bit… Wild she tried to eat a little bit more modestly. She was already blushing because of her husband.

Cara was trying her best but eventually succumbed to her natural instincts and started to devour her food like her father. Ruka looked fine and was eating normally, this was such a weird sight. Griselda, Irina, and Penemue were a bit stunned and stopped eating.

Valerie wasn't too bothered by it since she was used to watching Kuroka eating like that. I was surprised that Serafall was fine with it. I took a bite and it tasted… Well normal? They don't seem to be picky eaters. I wonder where Chronos went? He was not in the city anymore because his aura had left as we toured it.

"Jin! Join me in our open-air bath behind our home! We built it a few years ago. Chronos will be joining us, he had something to take care of, something pertaining to an alliance with you? I wasn't told of the details."

"It's really spacious out there, girls join us too."

After dinner, we were invited to the open bath by the King and Queen, and I looked at the girls and they didn't seem bothered, so we headed there.

"Sure thing."

"Excellent! We shall have manly discussions!"

Okay, now I'm not too sure… What the hell are manly discussions?

[Seggs?]

{I feel like Ddraig is becoming stupider by the day.}

[You need to lighten up a bit, Albion. Stop being so rigid all the time. We can be wise dragons when needed. However, I would rather sleep, relax or do something I want rather than just being a piss ant.]

{…I just can't keep up with your energy.}

They cut the link as they're probably planning to have a civil conversation. I didn't expect that from Ddraig just now.

…

Open Bath – Men

I was last in as both King Kurtus and God of Time Chronos were already in the open-air bath. I was checking out my room with Serafall and Valerie earlier. It was normal— Plain is the best way to describe it. Nothing special just the typical King-sized bed with lights that could be turned on and off with a clap.

But they were different since they were torches on the walls instead of the ones on the ceiling…. Yeah, I was scolded by Valerie for clapping like a monkey.

"Hohoho! Jin, come, come."

Don't say it like that, it sounds weird. I do go over there and sit down; we were across from each other. The bath was in a circular shape, at the north side, was King Kurtus, to the east was me and west was Chronos. We could hear the women on the other side, mostly giggling to themselves.

"Chronos, I heard that you may sign an alliance with me and the others?"

"Yes, Zeus and I had discussed it that night with Hera and Apollon. We have no quarrels with it, we will be discussing it with the other Gods and Goddesses tonight. It will be put up to a vote, even 'those' Gods will have a say in it."

"But I am confident that we will win, so there's a very high chance of us joining… Whatever the large alliance you want to create is."

Right, I haven't thought of a name for that alliance… Should I just stick with the 'DxD Alliance'? You know, referring to this world— The Draconic Deus.

"How does, 'The DxD Alliance' sound?"

""DxD?""

They both repeat and I nod.

"DxD refers to our world, the Draconic Deus. Since two of the strongest of our world are Dragons, it makes sense, right?"

"Are you referring to the Dragon God of Infinity, Ophis? But who is the second dragon?"

He wasn't aware of Irene? I thought they were… Huh, interesting. Given the possibility of this alliance, I will tell him. I nod and tell them of Irene, or Great Red's existence. They were quite shocked.

"The Dragon of Dragons? A True Dragon? And has powers over Dreams and Illusions?"

"Also, on par with the Dragon God of Infinity? I'm quite surprised that I wasn't aware of its existence… Though it is in the Dimensional Gap."

I didn't tell them that both of those Dragons were in the necklace around my neck. But it's fine for now, I don't want them being too shocked.

"Anyway! Jin! Do you plan on being a parent in the future?"

Kurtus decided to change the conversation and did it quite loudly making the girls on the other side go quiet. I know your plan, dude. But whatever…

"Yeah, though since… I have an extended life, I don't plan on being one any time soon. Probably far in the future… Unless one of the lovers asks for one, then I don't mind."

"Hohoho!"

"Mmm! Good answer!"

The two of them proceeded to ask me more and more obscene and lewd questions. Some I answered, some I didn't. The other side became completely quiet after they started asking those questions…

…

A few days later – the day of the tournament

"We'll get going then. I'll see you all there."

"Yes! See you there, Jin!"

We had spent the next few days in Minda Akrur instead of going back. We participated in a few activities such as a public fighting tournament… I didn't, but Irina tried to, she was suplexed by an Orc and was knocked out…

Penemue gave it her best shot, but only finished fourth. The tournament was mostly about physical strength so no magic, so they didn't have a good time, especially Irina.

We were going to teleport back to Little Olympia. It was around ten in the morning and we had to go and find seats in the colosseum? Though I feel like we'll be getting VIP seats. I nod one last time to the Orc and Minotaur rulers and left.

…

Little Olympia

"I knew you would teleport here… I just didn't think you'd be away for that long, Jin."

Hermes with Hestia was waiting for us at the spot we teleported back to. I gave him a strange look and he laughed it off.

"We're here to pick the VIPs up, look over there, that's where we'll be watching the matches at."

Hermes points in a direction and we follow it. A lot of the residents of Little Olympia were heading in that direction… I wonder how many participants are expected to be there? What the fuck? They were all en route to the gladiator-style colosseum.

"You can't see it, but there is a VIP booth for Gods, Goddesses, and guests we take with us. You better dress up, Jin, girls. It's a special occasion after all. Come, we'll be teleporting to that place from Mount Olympus. This event usually lasts the whole day since there are a lot of participants."

"You don't limit it?"

"Of course not! That would be silly, the longest it has lasted for was three days straight, it was a fun time. We all just drank, ate, and watched a lot of fighting."

Jesus Christ dude… I'm glad this one will only last a day then… We follow Hermes and Hestia back to the Tower of Heaven and back to Mount Olympus.

…

"Get dressed in there, girls…you do have clothes, right?"

"Yes, we do, we had to dress up during a fancy dinner a few nights ago."

Hermes nods and walks away, dragging me with him. I don't need a changing room you know; I can just snap my fingers…

"I know you can just put clothes on, but this is about the Alliance. We were originally planning to tell you after the tournament, but Zeus changed his mind. You'll be meeting all the Gods and Goddesses again, so be ready… Some are quite… Not all for it, you know who already."

Ah— It's about that. Alright then. Hermes lets go of me and I start to walk by myself, I snap my fingers and wear my black suit. We silently walk back to the meeting room, once we got there Hermes nods to me and goes in first. He quickly goes to his seat and I enter.

All the Gods and Goddesses I met that day were there, including a very, very pissed-off-looking Ares and Athena. The other 'Evil' Gods were also there and didn't look too happy with me, with the exception of Nyx who was smirking quite widely.

"Welcome back, Jin! I hope you're excited about the upcoming Tournament of Power! Hermes may have already told you on why you're here, yes?"

"Yeah."

Zeus nods as he looks around at his fellow Gods and Goddesses.

"Then without further ado! We, the Greek Gods of Mount Olympus have agreed to the alliance of the Three Great Powers, Kyoto, and the Irish Gods!"

"We put it up to a vote, and… The ones for the alliance won. If anyone else has any objections then spe—"

"I FUCKING OBJECT!"

Ares jumps up and interrupts Zeus. His glare on me intensifies, right now he's pretty weak and useless since I took away his powers.

"No. Moving on, anyone else?"

I wave him off, pissing him off even more while Hermes was holding himself back from just laughing out loud, Athena gets up as well.

"I also object."

"Your reason?"

"One of his lovers assaulted a God."

Is this woman retarded? It's called self-defense since your boy-toy tried to literally sexually assault Valerie in her sleep. She woke up in time so nothing happened, but that doesn't change the fact that he still tried to, you imbecile.

"It was self-defense, Mister God of War sneaked into Valerie's room and tried to violate her… Though, that may not be the first that time that happened, right, Athena?"

Her eyes widen as her gaze changes from mine to Artemis who had closed her eyes after I said that. She looks back at Ares and silently told him to sit down, that incident was probably known to all of them so they can't really defend themselves there.

"…Anyone else?"

While I could tell that the 'Evil' Gods did not like it, they kept silent. Seeing as no one else objected Zeus stood up and summoned the documents I had given him a few days ago. He floats down and hands them to me.

I go over them and confirm that he had signed the right places… So I guess my first trip to this realm had me make an alliance with the Greek Gods. I guess Black Alice had a hand in that, in a way I have to thank her before I erase her from existence.

"Thanks."

"We should be the ones thanking you, Jin. Now then! Let us make our way to the colosseum in Little Olympia!"

All the Gods get up from their seats and float towards the door. I stand aside and watch them go, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Demeter, and Hestia joined me. Zeus, Poseidon, and Chronos lead the rest away.

When Hades, Erebus, and Nyx stop by in front of me, we stare at each other.

"I look forward to our next meeting, Red Dragon Emperor."

"Watch yourself, Dragon, do not court my sister."

"Booo ~ in reality I am the one courting him ~"

Hades left after saying that, followed by Erebus and Nyx. They're very wary of me as I felt a lot of hostility from Hades and Erebus, though I feel like Erebus's current reasons are because of Nyx.

I barely interacted with her, dude. There are zero reasons for courting her right now…

"You sure do have a lot of fans, Jin."

"Probably."

Afterward, I store the documents in my [Inventory] and follow up on the rest. The other four Gods join me as we talk about the time I spent in this realm.

"Did you get those things done, Hep?"

"Yes, thanks to your help it sped up the process, thank you again, Jin."

As we approached the rooms where the girls were changing, I knocked on the door and was told to enter. When we entered, they were wearing the same clothes as they wore the night before, when we ate at the fancy restaurant below the Tower of Heaven.

"Looking sharp, are you guys ready?"

"Can't wait to see some fights~"

"Osu!"

Demeter walked over to Irina and helped her fix her hair. Once that was done, we left the room. Hermes took the lead and brought us to a room we hadn't been into before. There was just another platform with the lightning symbol inside. We stood on it and were teleported away.

Once it was done, we were in an unfamiliar room. In front of us was a wide glass pane. There were also multiple chairs in a row. The Gods that had arrived before us were already seated.

"Geez, Zeus! Why did you not inform me of the Middleman being in our realm?"

I hear a very feminine voice resound throughout the room. I look over and see that Zeus has his hands up in a protective manner. A woman looked at him disappointedly.

"M-Mother, please… I… It just slipped my mind, that is all!"

"Oh please, don't lie, you're just scared Jin will try to add her to his harem. You'd be his son-in-law or something, then, huh? Hohohoho!"

Zeus snapped his neck back to Chronos and glared at him, prompting the God of Time to laugh even more.

"He's the one with the black suit, Amalthea, to the right of you."

In Greek mythology, Amalthea or Amaltheia is the most frequently mentioned foster mother of Zeus. So, that's Zeus's foster mother, huh? She's quite pretty, I'll admit that.

She had golden-blonde hair that hung down to her waist and cerulean blue eyes. She had silver-grey-ish colored horns on her head. She wore a classic white toga with a golden bracelet around her neck and on both her arms. She also had a cute hair clip on the right side of her hair.

Amalthea turns to her right and we make eye contact. Zeus looks mortified as we stare at each other for a few seconds, all the Gods and Goddesses in the room were looking at us in silent anticipation. She slowly walks over to me and stands in front of me.

"Uh, I'm Jin, Red Dragon Emperor, and Middlema—?!"

Chu ~

Without warning, Amalthea goes on her tiptoes, leans forward, and kisses me. I was a bit too stunned at the act to do anything— She then invaded my mouth with her tongue.... What the fuck is happening?!

Finally, coming back to my senses, I grab her shoulders and pull her away from me. Zeus had fallen on his ass out of shock, the other Gods and Goddesses were amused by what just happened, Chronos and Poseidon had shit-eating grins plastered on their damn faces.

"Wha—"

"Hmm, I approve, Zeus. He shall be your new foster father."

Doom!

"...…"

Excuse me? Lady, we just met. You just kissed me and told me that I am what now? Everyone else was too stunned to speak or do anything. I could even feel the confusion of the 'Evil' Gods as they stared at Amalthea in disbelief.

"Lady, I don't just add anyone to my harem, you know."

"Hmm, then I shall work on getting your affection. It will take time, but I believe I will succeed. Now then, let's all take our seats."

Amalthea answered in her usual tone, left me, and sat down, leaving me to look at everyone beside me and shrug. I decided to pick a seat away from her since I had no idea what she would do.

[Partner, you're a goat fuc—]

Thud!

{...…}

'...…'

Cúntóir: Answer: .....

He's taking a nap, guys, chill. Anyway…. Valerie and Griselda sat beside me, Serafall and the rest sat beside them. Behind me was Hephaestus who had become furious, she was still frowning and glaring at Amalthea, the lady in question just smiled back at her.

Hep, calm down, I understand you like me, but… Like, calm down…. Zeus coughs into his fist, seemingly having recovered from the shock.

"T-The tournament should start soon… The participants should be running through last-minute checkups before we start…"

Zeus was awkwardly looking at me and Amalthea, he felt complicated about the whole thing, I don't blame him. I just met her and she assaulted me. I didn't feel any malicious intent so my [True Infinity] didn't activate or I didn't manually activate it either.

"Um… Are you okay, Jin? That was a bit of a shock, huh?"

Griselda asks beside me, I look at her and she still had a look of shock on her, I nod at her. It wasn't too big of a deal…

"I'm fine, I was initially a bit shocked but I'm fine now. Let's just enjoy today…"

"Oh, yes, Jin. Have you chosen your subordinate you'll be sending out for the exhibition match?"

"Yeah, I have. They'll be ready."

…

A few minutes later it finally started.

[Ladies and Gentlemen!!!! Welcome to the 34th Tournament of Power!!!!!!!]

An announcer's voice resonates throughout the area, and both crowds of beings that were inside and outside the stadium go wild. There was some sort of blue hologram screen in the sky, I would guess this was the case outside the colosseum too since not everyone could fit in here.

[Without further ado!!!!!! Let the Tournament of Power, begin!!!!!!!]

…

An hour had passed, and the fights were… Interesting, I mean the crowd loved it. Some were actually interesting to watch as they were evenly matched, while in some other fights the other fighter clearly dominated. There haven't been too many notable names that popped up—

[Our next participant is from the west! In a small little village! A monkey youkai! He issssss Jojo!!!!]

From one of the doors came out a monkey youkai and it definitely was Jojo, it was his first match in this thing and he had a serious expression on him.

[His opponent comes from the southwest! A small little town full of rabbit youkai! She's quite well known throughout our realm! A great fighter and has participated before and is the fan favorite to win!!! It'ssssss Kurousagi!!!!!]

From the opposite side, came out an attractive young woman with long blue hair, red eyes, and the distinct rabbit ears unique to her race.

Her regular attire consisted of a black collar with white frills, a black, double-breasted thigh-length vest, a red mini skirt, black stockings supported by garters, red shoes, and large wrist cuffs, all lined with white frills.

Kurousagi means Black Rabbit, interesting.

"Oh! It's Jojo-kun! He's finally made his appearance!"

"Yes, though we came across a monkey youkai village when we traveled west..."

Irina began to cheer on for Jojo, even though the announcer just said that Kurousagi was the fan favorite to win this time around. I also agree with Penemue, how did we not see their town? Was I too distracted by what I saw after meeting Jojo's village?

Doooom!!!!!

The fight had started. What was surprising was that Kurousagi's hair had turned bright pink, and she got into a stance and readied herself for Jojo.

Both fighters were in a large square-type arena, you didn't necessarily need to win by knocking your opponent out, and that's how some previous fighters fought. While not a favorite by the crowd, it's still a good strategy.

Fwsh!

Jojo disappeared from his spot and appeared beside Kurousagi; he followed up with a straight punch to the bunny girl's face but—

With very minimal movement, Kurousagi shifted her some of her weight, caught Jojo's punch, and threw him to the ground!

"Agh!"

He let out a pained cry, but Kurousagi wasn't done, as she jumped into the air and landed back on Jojo's lower half— Causing more pain to the monkey youkai. It was a bit surreal to see this Jojo was 9'3 and Kurousagi was at best 5'7. But the crowd as loving it as many cheers and shouts resounded throughout the stadium.

"Hmm, it seems she got even stronger— That Kurousagi. She may win this year…"

Zeus comments as Poseidon and Chronos nod along— I could see Ares was looking at her like a piece of meat to conquer… Seriously dude?

Doom! Don! Don! Crash!

Jojo pushed himself off the ground but Kurousagi caught him quickly as she hit him with a barrage of punches and kicks, all hitting him on vital areas of his body. The large youkai fell to the ground face first— Seemingly unconscious.

"Oh no… Jojo…"

[Winner! Kurousagi!!!!!!!!!]

The crowd went wild after the match, there were a lot of cheers for her winning this year since her bigger rival wasn't participating? I wonder who that is…

Irina sounded sad for the guy, we did briefly know him so I sort of shared the same sentiment. But the stronger or smarter one will win this tournament; we can't really do much in that regard. There was still Cara that was participating. I wonder who else is going to appear from the places we went?

"Hey, who's the rival?"

"Another rabbit youkai, we do not know why she isn't participating in this tournament, but she came close to winning the last one. Her name is Vera"

Hermes answered from behind me, another rabbit youkai, huh? I wonder what she looks like…

Squeeze~

I feel a pinch to my left side and see that Valerie hadn't taken her eyes off the arena but had pinched my arm… I just wanted to know what she looked like, Valerie… Is that a crime…?

…

Another hour passed with some good and one-sided matches that took place. There was a short break to get some food or go empty your bowels. I didn't expect this, but apparently, it will keep happening depending on how long this takes to finish.

The girls went out to buy some food and drinks, Valerie can teleport them to and from this place so it wasn't any problem. Ares and Athena were whispering amongst themselves while sometimes glancing at me, even during those two hours of fighting.

It consisted of mostly empty threats, cursing, and plans of ambushing me either in my home or before we left. Athena suggested on targeting the girls, but Ares quickly shot it down since he had a 'weird' feeling.

Smart guy, the shadows would have murdered you if you did since they prioritize their safety. I didn't give any instructions to the Shadow Knights about keeping anyone alive if they attacked them.

Amalthea was speaking with Zeus and Hera; she kept glancing at me and Zeus sighing. I didn't listen in but I could more or less tell what they were discussing.

"You're going to get some food for yourself, Jin?"

Demeter had come to sit beside me while the others were gone, she had been energetically cheering on everyone that was fighting earlier. I glance at her and see she had nothing either.

"How about you? You don't seem to hav—"

"Tada ~"

She pulled out a bag of popcorn out from her cleavage...how does that even work? She opened it and offered me some… Well, it's food, so why not? I reach over—

Boing ~

"..."

She removed the bag of popcorn and put her chest there instead, so I ended up grabbing a handful of Goddess titty.

"Hohoho!"

I look over to the other side and apparently, we were the center of attention, all of them had just seen me grope this Goddess… I sigh and remove my hand from her chest.

"On second thought never mind."

Chronos was laughing to himself as Amalthea nodded and seemed to take note of what just happened, please don't get weird ideas into your head just because of Demeter, also don't go to her for some weird advice.

...Aren't you older than Zeus? Why do you need advice? Don't you have a husband or previous one? Shouldn't you be knowledgeable about this kind of thing?! Apart from raising Zeus, other myths suggest you raised the other Gods and Goddesses too!

"Now ~ now don't mope, here you can have some this time ~ I'm not joking."

She brought back the bag of popcorn, I quickly got some using speed she couldn't follow. She blinked and I already had a handful of popcorn in my left hand.

"Eh?"

She looked stunned as I kept eating my little share. I read you, you lil shit, you were going to do the same thing again. I had a smug look on me as she huffed beside me and just decided to eat the popcorn instead of teasing me.

One for me, zero for Demeter.

[I'm pretty sure it's a draw at this point.]

No.

…

Forty-two minutes passed, and the matches had resumed a few minutes ago, now fighters and back out if they want at the last minute so… Quite a number of them did once they found out Kurousagi was in the tournament, so it cut the number by a huge amount.

"Hah, cowards. Whoever decided to quit after witnessing the power of others are nothing but cowards. Put yourself out there and test yourself! How will you know your limits?!"

Ares went on a little rant, while I do agree to what he's saying to a certain extent. Just because they forfeited doesn't make them cowards, I think they just know their current limits… But I may be wrong.

"Oh! It's Cara!!"

Irina pointed to the right side of the arena and it was indeed Cara, she had come out with some gauntlets on her hands that went up to her arms. She didn't mention using gauntlets during our time in their city but… We never did outright ask what she used when fighting. All she said was 'I use my fists!' or something along those lines.

There were also no rules regarding if you could use weapons or items, so there were a few other contestants that used swords, daggers, axes, staffs, and other unique weapons. A human man entered earlier, he had what he called 'Paint magic' he could pain whatever and it came to life, though it was tied to his own power and mana.

His creations were as powerful as he was, also each time he used it a significant amount of his mana was consumed, it was interesting to watch… Until he lost mana and was practically beaten down.

Cara's opponent was…a hooded figure, but once they stepped into the ring the hooded figure took off their robe— It was…

"Kanami! Oh, so it's her first match against Cara! Oh, no… Who do I cheer for?"

Interesting matchup, Kanami versus Cara… Who will win? Kanami brought out her spear and spun it around before pointing it at Cara. Cara punched her gauntlets together as both women had confident smiles on their faces.

[Let the match, begin!!!!!!]

…

Kanami Minagawa

Let's do this! In front of me was to be a young Minotaur girl, she towered over me by quite a lot, but! I have been traveling and training for the last year for the next tournament here! I also got a gift from Jin-kun! I won't lose here!

Dashing forward I quickly closed the gap between the female Minotaur and I— She was caught a bit off-guard and sent a punch downwards, I quickly dodged it!

Dom!!!

The ground where I once was had a small crater, what a destructive punch! She isn't even trying yet! Those gauntlets are also amplifying her power, I have to be careful.

If what Jin-kun said was true, then this spear will grow with me…

"Dance, flames!!"

Flames engulfed the entire spear! They seemed much stronger than before… Did these flames also grow stronger with me? Interesting! Amazing! Jin-kun is amazing! I felt myself grow a little more confident.

The young Minotaur became wary as she had gone into a defensive stance. Then I'll go to you!

Dash! Clang! Clang!

I quickly dashed behind her and swung my spear down! But she turned around quickly and blocked my attack—I did another but was also blocked! This girl… Is stronger than me! Interesting! As expected of your race! But I won't give up, I want to catch up to my little sister!

Clang! Clang!

My spear wasn't getting through so— Extend! Flames!!!! The flames that covered my spear then burst forth, hitting and covering my opponent, did I get— Woah!

The flames disappear as she violently shook them off! She didn't look hurt, just a few burn marks here and there!

"My turn!"

Don!

"Guha!"

Eh?! She practically teleported in front of me… My stomach hurts… Her punch felt heavy— Powerful, what is this—

Crash! Slide Thud!

[Winner! Princess Cara of the Minda Akrur city!]

…

Jin Skyward

Cara was powerful, a lot more than what her rank suggested. Kanami never stood a chance, or was she just caught off-guard? But one move was all it took and she won, Kanami was currently unconscious as she had been punched quite hard into the stadium's walls.

Cara bowed to her downed opponent and left the area. What looked like the medical staff rushed to her and brought her with them.

"Will Kanami be okay?"

"She will be, the medical team is top-notch, no fighters will die today."

Griselda seemed concerned, but Hestia answered her concerns with an upbeat tone. If she's that confident then she'll be fine, physically. She seemed like a tough girl to crack mentally, so she should be fine. I'll check up on her before we leave… If she's still here.

…

A few more matches happened and we were nearing the climax, it was the quarter-finals. So the game after this is the semifinals and then the finals…Cara, Kurousagi, and six other participants were left.

Cara was up against a bird youkai, Kurousagi was against a human magician and the others were against one another.

Cara and Kurousagi won their matches and advanced forward to the semifinals. In the other two games, a creature that looked like the Jack O'Lantern won his match against his opponent, the last one is a humanoid black wyvern.

The next matchups were Jack O'Lantern guy versus Kurousagi and Cara versus the Black humanoid wyvern. These seem like tough matchups for the girls, their opponents look intimidating and strong.

"Who do you think will win, Jin?"

Hermes from behind me asked, truthfully, I don't know. The Jack O'Lantern thing is at least Ultimate-class, the same with the Black Wyvern, Cara was also Ultimate-class but… The way her opponent is she's at a disadvantage, he uses magic and she's a physical fighter, it didn't seem good for her.

Kurousagi and the Wyvern were also going to be an unknown, both of them dominated their matches so far so I can't tell who'll win. Both are also Ultimate-class.

"It can go anywhere, they're all good fighters."

"Hmmm~"

We all became quiet as the match with Cara and Jack O'Lantern started.

…

Cara

I stood in the arena once again, I felt many eyes on me, my family is also part of that, my people too! I have gotten this far; I have proven my strength. If I fall here, then so be it! But if I can keep going forward then I can keep testing myself.

I received these gauntlets from my father, apparently, sis Ruka made them, I was against using them a long time ago but…as I grew older, I grew to love them. It was made by my sister after all.

This Jack O'Lantern fellow looked quite creepy. He wore a dark-purple pointy witch hat, he had a pumpkin head with green eyes that looked into your soul, he wore a battered and torn-up magician's robe, brown gloves, and shoes. He had a red cape behind him and was holding onto a small lantern that glowed.

[Begin!]

The fight started! I dashed forward! I didn't know how this being fought or what they could do, so I wanted to get the first strike in! Once I was in distance, I sent a right uppercut his way! But to my surprise, he didn't move or flinch— He was smiling at me.

Dogon!!!! Doom!!!

"Ugh?!"

I felt something heavy hit me in my gut and I was launched backwards. I punched the ground trying and stopped myself from being thrown out of the arena. I look back at my opponent and they didn't move but was grinning at me.

"Is that… A shadow?"

Some sort of black shadowy hand had come out of the ground, is that what hit me? Does he control darkness? This might be a problem… But I won't waver. Let's go all out then!

Doom!!!!!! Bang!

"Oh?!!?"

The being let out a surprised yet happy yelp! I had appeared and disappeared from my spot, my right hook sunk into his stomach and sent him backwards! But he also stopped himself with a wall of shadows, he was about to go out, damn!

"Hehe, you're finally taking this seriously young hybrid? Then allow me to respond in kind. I am Pack, by the way."

The being called 'Pack' covered himself in his own darkness… It slowly morphed into clothing? Armor… His previous attired had changed and he was wearing a 'darkened' version of it.

"——Almost like a Scale mail [Balance Break] of the Red Dragon Emperor, no? I just copied the idea and came up with this. Here I come~"

Many shadows like spears and tentacles appeared around me! I could also feel something behind me! They quickly were approaching! ...Time to use these gauntlets to the fullest, Sis!

"Haaaaaa!!!"

Bashwooom!!! Gooooom!!!

"Wha—"

I spun around in a circular motion and released fire and ice from my gauntlets! Yes! These gauntlets were imbued by fire and ice crystals that were found in this realm, they were rare and when Sis Ruka found them, I expected her to use them for herself. Her 'Multi-purpose staff' but she used them on this instead…

The attacks from the darkness were destroyed!

"Then call these my own [Balance Break], the true power of these Gauntlets my sister made! Here I come, Pack!"

I covered my left gauntlet with flames and the right with ice, I dashed forward towards Pack as he sent another wave of attacks towards me! I launched another fiery punch at his attacks, and destroyed them!

My passion, my pride, and the hopes of my people are what push me on! As well as my own test of strength! If you don't match these…. Then you can't hope in winning, Pack!

Panicking he sent out another wave of attacks, but I used my ice attacks to freeze them too! I then increased my speed appearing below him.

"Damn it! I have no choice but to— Shit!"

"Too slow!!!!"

Don!!! Don!!!

I punched Pack with my right gauntlet, hitting him on the stomach and freezing his lower half. He couldn't move anymore, due to the ice and damage from the punch! I followed it up with a left uppercut covered in flames!!!

Pack was sent high into the air, his shadow armor also broke and disappeared! I jumped up as he was already had a grin of defeat on him.

"Well done…"

Bam! Crash!

I kick him in the gut— Sending him flying into the stadium walls! Even with those looks! He was still an admiral warrior! A good sportsman! You have my respect, Pack!

[Winner! Cara!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

The crowd around me cheered loudly, I raised my arm up in victory! Mother, Father, Sis! Watch me! I'll take definitely win the finals!

…

Jin Skyward

Now I wasn't expecting that! I did feel some magic in those gauntlets earlier, but I thought they just enchanted the 'impact' strength on them, I didn't think Ruka put actual magic in them or is something else powering those? I'll ask Cara about it at a later date.

"Impressive, that young hybrid from Minda Akrur has a lot of potential. I would like to train her…"

Zeus comments while stroking his beard. I never would have thought he would take interest in a disciple of all things…

Dooooooooooooooom!!!!!!!

"Woahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! That was fast!"

Irina sounded even more excited, I look back at the arena and the match between Kurousagi and the Black Wyvern was over. What the— Her hair had turned black, instead of the pink color… I mean it makes sense since her name is literally 'Black Rabbit' is this a form above the pink one?

"I guess we're going straight to the finals then… I was kind of excited to see what the Black Wyvern could do."

"Yeah…"

I agree with Serafall, that Kurousagi is a lot stronger than she looks. She had a pink form that she used on everyone else, but used the black form to instantly win against the Wyvern, did she see him as a worthy opponent?

[From the left side! The Princess of Minda Akrur! She has done very well for her first time participating! Making all the way to the finals! She's shown great sportsmanship and ability!]

[To our right side! Is the famous Kurousagi!! This is her fourth time making it to the finals! She was thwarted many times in the past! But perhaps this may be her time to shine?! She also showed a new form! She only had the pink one over the years! Is that her trump card?!]

[This is the finals! Both fighters seem ready! Begin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

…

Cara

She's a formidable opponent! I can't take this easy, I'll go full power from the start! I quickly approach my opponent, this Kurousagi is a known participant! You're mine!!!!! I sent a full-powered left hook covered in flames towards her stomach!

Dom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"…"

"Wha— Ugh!!"

Don! Don! Don! Don!

Kurousagi had turned into her black form! Her ears and hair had turned black! Her red eyes also glowed as she hit me with a barrage of punches! Heavy! They're heavy! Each hit felt like she was hitting me with her entire weight and being!

I slam my fists into the ground to stop myself from being knocked out of the arena! That was too close! I look back and I was inches away from falling out…

"If you're not coming, then I will!"

"?!"

I block her kick with one arm and sent a punch to her with the other!

Tang!

Wha— Is that a spear?! She summoned a spear and blocked my punch… She didn't use a single weapon during her battles today! I quickly sent a kick to her side; she again blocked it with her spear and jumped backwards to the middle of the arena.

I dashed towards her; I can't let up now! Even with the difference in strength and experience!

Don! Tang! Clang! Don! Don!

I was on the attack as Kurousagi blocked all my attempts at hitting her! She didn't even look that bothered by my attacks! I jump back and punch the ground! Flames erupted from it and hit her from below! How's that?!

"Interesting, well done."

A sort of barrier had covered her! She had the spear in front of her and it's what probably produced the barrier!

What do I do? I haven't used much of magic in my life… I should have taken sis Ruka on that offer when she did… I will when this ends. The strength I have plus whatever magic she can help me with should help me in the long run…

But I can't dwell on that right now, I'll go out with a bang! With everything I have!

"Bring it Kurousagi!!!!!!"

I'll experiment even if it means I blow myself up! I put my hands together and try mixing both the ice and fire I have! It started to expand!! Workkk!!!!! Dammitttt!!!!!!!!!

Fire and Ice started to erupt from beneath me! Kurousagi looked a bit surprised, so she dashes towards me with the spear pointed at me.

"Haaaa!!"

I slam both my fists down into the arena ground as a pillar of ice and fire erupted from it! It was large and devastating! But!!!! Kurousagi had covered herself in another barrier, wait does this mean she can't attack?

I dashed behind her and prepared to pu—

"Argh…"

"Naïve, however, it wasn't a bad plan… You just assumed that I couldn't attack when I used the barrier with the spear… But I can, once the barrier is up, I can attack with it around me. My attacks just pass by through it."

Kurousagi lifted her right leg and brought it down on my head!

Doom! Crash!

"….Haaa… Haaa…. I can keep going…"

My whole body hurt, the last person I fought that was this powerful was my mother and father. Did I get too overconfident in my victories in this tournament? Or was this person— Who has participated in many of these… Just that overwhelmingly strong…?

"You should quit while you're ahead. I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"As the Princess of Minda Akrur, I can't fall here. I came into this tournament to test myself, to see my current limits… And go beyond them!"

That's right, that's why I am here, it doesn't matter if I win or lose! I am just here to test myself and nothing more! Win or lose, I gain experience and find what my current flaws are! And I did! During this and the past match! So, I thank you, Miss Kurousagi!!

"Princess!!! Do your best!!!"

"Uwoooooooo!!!!"

The crowds were cheering me on… I can't disappoint them either… Here I come, Kurousagi! I charge forward with my right fist clenched tight!

"I see, you at least bear the 'will' of your race. That's something praiseworthy, young one."

Dom!

Everything went black.

…

Jin Skyward

[Winner! Kurousagi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

The crowd was already in a stir with the little speech from Cara, but they went even wilder after Kurousagi won the match. It was pretty one-sided as Kurousagi dominated the match, even more so when she pulled that spear out.

That spear… I felt divine energy coming out of it… I also took a look at it from earlier… It said, [Divine Spear of Ra] and one of Kurousagi's titles was [The Spear of the Sun God Ra]… Haha! Who would have thought I would come across someone from the Egyptian mythology here?!

Why is she part of the village though? Is she undercover? Or is she a 'former' spear of Sun God Ra? Is she in hiding? So many questions, yet so few answers!

Zeus gets up from his seat and the window in front of us disappears. He floats to the middle as the crowd goes silent.

"Winner, Kurousagi. You are the winner of the thirty-fourth Tournament of Power. What is it you wish of?"

"Nothing. Perhaps in the past, I would have wished for something, however, I do not anymore. Is it possible to give it to the young warrior, Cara?"

Zeus looked a bit stunned, like the crowd as they began to murmur to each other. Zeus then lets out a chuckle.

"If young Cara has no problems with that, then I don't see a problem with it… However, there is one last thing left in this tournament."

Zeus looks at Kurousagi and then at the confused crowd of people, he looks back at me and I jump out and float beside him.

"This is the Red Dragon Emperor and Middleman, and as of earlier today, we the Greek Gods have decided to join in the Alliance of the Three Great Powers, Irish Gods, and the Kyoto Youkai!"

"As to why he is here, right now… We will hold an exhibition match with one of his subordinates and the winner of this tournament… How does that sound, Kurousagi?"

The crowd was stunned but began to cheer! They were excited about the alliance and also about the extra fight they'll see.

"I am fine with that, I would have wished to fight the Red Dragon Emperor instead, but if it's one of his subordinates… Then I trust he picked well."

I would hope, so, anyway, I landed on the ground as Zeus and Kurousagi stayed in the air. I had already chosen who since a few days ago, she also volunteered before I went to sleep on of those nights.

My ring glows and out came Lianne. She was already in her armor and didn't have her helmet on. I look at her and nod, she does the same.

"Well, I leave Kurousagi to you Lianne."

"Yes, leave the young one to me."

Lianne summoned her lance and swung it down, it created a large updraft making Kurousagi's eyes widen. She then lands on the ground as the two of them stare at each other.

"Let's get back then, Zeus. This should be interesting."

Once we got back to the VIP booth, the Gods and Goddesses there were staring at me.

"Jin, who was that?"

"Lianne Sandlot, one of my subordinates."

Hestia asks me who she was and I answer her plainly, she huffed a bit.

"That's not what I meant, why did she come out of your ring?!"

"That's a secret, get more friendship points and you'll find the answer."

Hestia sighed and gave up since I wouldn't tell her, the 'Evil' Gods were looking at me with even more curiosity and were even warier, because of the question… 'Does he have more in there?' would come up, right?

I just grin, they'll all find out at different points in the future. For now, let's see how this goes… The Spear of Sun God Ra versus Lianne Sandlot the Lance Maiden.

…

Lianne Sandlot

I was informed of this Tournament of Power by Jin earlier in the week. I had no problems with fighting in it, I was curious about what kinds of warriors would be in it. I was quite surprised when Jin informed me of this…

Young Bunny Girl Youkai, who also has a title called [The Spear of Sun God Ra], if one has such a title, they should be formidable, especially her 'Black' form.

[Oh!!!!!!!!!!! We have an extra match here folks! A special match! An exhibition match! Kurousagi versus Mysterious subordinate of the Red Dragon Emperor, Lianne!!!]

[It seems both fighters are ready!!! Let the exhibition match, begin!!!!!!!!!!!]

Kurousagi immediately turned into her Black form as well as summoned her spear, the Spear of Ra.

Tang! Clang! Tang! Tang!

Such a wild spearmanship, she was using more force than earlier. Kurousagi disappeared from my sight and started to run and dash around me, to the untrained eye she will look like a blur— Almost like she was teleporting around. She was Ultimate-class in her pink and normal form, in this form— Her Black form, she is peak Satan-class.

"Haaaaa!!!"

She appeared above me and summoned flames, the flames came out of the spear. Those weren't any normal flames; they were flames produced by the God of the Sun in the Egyptian Mythology… Flames used by Ra himself.

Did he imbue it into that spear too? The flames made of a god came down on me— But I swung my lance at it, and destroyed them. Unfortunately for you, my powers are above that of typical Gods of this world…

Zhing!

"You still have much to learn, young youkai."

"Wha—"

I had appeared behind Kurousagi as she wasn't able to follow my movements. It has been mentioned that she has lost many times before, and has reached the finals four times in a row, perhaps looking for something? Wishing for something?

Did she purposely lose in those previous attempts? What about the rival she has? Did they hail from the same species, in Egypt?

Kurousagi began to turn around but I hit her on the back with my lance, I didn't use too much force since I did not need to kill her.

Crash!!!!!! Booom!!!!!!!

When the dust settled, Kurousagi stood up. She was clearly injured and most hit by that would usually stay down. But she stood up, she was glaring at me… What drives you forward, Kurousagi? I and my Master, Creator, and Husband, Jin would like to know too. I glance at him and he had that look on him.

Tang! Tang! Tang! Fwosh! Boom! Boom!

Kurousagi came back up as her spear and my lance clashed. The strikes of the two weapons created large gusts of wind and shockwaves. I could feel her anger but she was controlling it and was becoming faster, her techniques sharper.

What an interesting fellow. She summoned six red-orange glowing fiery balls behind her, then they all flew towards me… Another use of the flames of Ra? I pull my arm and lance back and quickly did stabbing motions— All of them hit the glowing red balls, destroying them.

Kurousagi seemed even more shocked, did she not expect me to destroy them? Next, she created tornados out of flames… Which is quite dangerous as the crowd could get hurt. I could see the crowd become nervous too… I shall end this.

Bang!

I appear behind Kurousagi and used a little bit more strength and hit her on the side of her stomach. The young girl crashed into the ground, creating a large crater, she did not move or get up from that. I finally land on the ground too.

"..."

[....W-Winner! L-Lianne!!!!!! Wow!!! She took out the winner with such ease like she was toying with her!]

"…"

Do not be hasty, young Kurousagi. Whatever is troubling you… You will move past it, in due time, like my husband.

…

Jin Skyward

"I guess that's that then. That means we'll be going home soon… Also, my summer vacation is ending soon, damn it all."

All that's left is fighting Scathach for the duel she wanted as well as the Rating Game between Sona and Rias…

"Hohoho, eager on leaving, Jin?"

Lianne came back up as she passes through the window, she stands in front of me and nodded before going back into the ring. They were looking at me but I just shrugged.

…

After the award ceremony when Kurousagi woke up, she declined the invitation by the Gods, the same with Cara which was surprising. She said that she already knows of her own faults and wishes to get that wish when she can do it on her own violation and power.

So, in the end, no one is going to be trained by the Gods or Goddesses. But the crowd and Gods were satisfied with the fights they saw. When it all calmed down, I went over to check on Kanami but she had already left.

I didn't feel her aura anywhere in the realm, I guess she was already fine and left? Or didn't want to be seen by me because she lost easily with her brand-new spear? Does she have some kind of complex?

Whatever her reason was, she's already long gone so I can't do much there. I'll just ask when the next time I come across her.

Time had passed and it was around five in the afternoon, the sun was beginning to set in this realm. I was by the gates of Little Olympia with Hermes, Hestia, and Hephaestus there to see us off, Zeus was dealing with other things after the tournament so he couldn't join them.

"This is goodbye, for now, Jin. Do come back, you hear?"

"Obviously, Hermes… I didn't get to see everything this place has to offer. The bunny youkai, the wyverns, and those spider girls near the south. Also, I still need to speak to their leaders more… With a limited time frame I can't get to all of them."

"Haha! Is that so? Then I look forward to it~"

I shook hands with him, while a bit two-faced, he generally means well so I have no problems with it— Most of the time he's just mischievous.

I'll probably deal with Ares, Athena, Eris, Hecate, and Atë at different points in time. They became more interested in me after Lianne came out— They obviously didn't feel her powers since it was much higher than theirs… Though this should have alerted Hades.

I'm curious about what his next move was. I wave to them one last time before I left with the girls. My time in this realm— Meeting the Greek Gods was over…

…

????

Black Alice

Huhu~ who would have thought a fool such as that thing would join us~ his grudge against that young boy is quite something, and for the petties of reasons ~

Beside me was Promestein and her four creations, the 'Next Dolls' as well other high-ranking monsters and youkai. We, the Monkai Association was created by me ~ Black Alice ~ after being revived by an unknown God, I was given more blood and became stronger.

But I am not foolish~ so I waited and got even stronger. Once I found out about the terrorist called Khaos Brigade, I started to make my own little faction ~ and then I merged with them~

This has been hundreds of years in the works ~ I won't fall that easily~ I'll get my revenge on those stupid old Greeks ~ backstab this stupid organization and then be the ruler~

We had our newest member, while he is weak… He had some interesting information for us.

"So, if I take this vial, I'll get stronger?!"

"If you can withstand the pain and not die, then yes, your power will increase…"

Promestein answered the little weird youkai…. He immediately took it without hesitation! I wonder if he's brave or stupid? Maybe both?

He started to convulse on the ground while clutching his throat… Oh, did he die—

Doom!!!!!!!!!

"Hahahaha!! This power, yes!! With this, I can get my revenge!"

The weird Kangaroo youkai had a very strange grudge against this generation's Red Dragon Emperor, that was the sole reason for joining us… He wanted power— He had information, and we accepted him.

"Huhu ~ then welcome to our organization, Kangaroo-san ~"

"Pleased to be here."

He had a very wide grin on him. I liked it.

…

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In other news: This chapter marks 670k words written in total...I hope I can round it to 700k by the end of Chapter 9!

Check the chapter comments to see images of certain characters.