Story 15 The One Above The Heavens Chapter 8

After meeting and dealing with Rin and Atalanta along with dealing with Sakura's shards of the corrupted grail in her womb. Dealing with Verathragna himself... I was completely mentally fried after the day.

So I just climbed into the huge enchanted bed that I made for myself with some thick pillows enchanted to remain cool at all times propping up my head as I turned on some TV.

And then came the issue of living with almost a damned dozen people as I heard a series of knocking on my door with the door opening with Medea's voice calling in flatly. "Jake, you conveniently 'forgot' your cell phone in the bathroom so the History Committee is terrified they angered you somehow. Especially after you had the city begin and then end evacuations and then refused to further respond to them."

My head hit my pillow with a thumping noise as I groaned out loud. "Just tell them I am taking a break after the events of today. They can bring any news they wish to discuss with me tomorrow at like noon or something."

She actually opened the door and seeing me laid out on the bed she snorted and said. "Very well. I will tell them you are occupied, is there anything else?"

I gave Medea a look and I asked more seriously. "How is Sakura looking?" At my question, Medea's form softened slightly.

"She... She is sleeping off the mental stress of the event and healing with her new womb settling into her body so she needs plenty of rest." 

I nodded and then after a moment I said. "Thank you Medea, I am going to get some rest as well... I did just kill a god after all." I remarked dryly making Medea's face twitch into a smile.

The blue-haired elven beauty bowed her head and said with humor in her voice. "Verathragna was a god of great power, should you wish to take a nap I will not decry your actions, Jake. I will see to it that Sella and Lysritt make you some food. Excuse me then." 

With that Medea turned on her heel and left my room with her shutting the door behind thankfully as I went back to watching TV with my eyes closing as I relaxed into a meditative stupor to recover my energy.

-

Across the mansion, Medea sat imperiously in a smaller throne that was in front and off to the side of Jake's own throne as she looked down upon the priestess that the History Committee had sent her. "My lord refuses. He has just killed another god that snuck into these lands with the so-called guardians of this land sending no word of its arrival upon his very doorstep. You are lucky Yuhuang Yudi is so forgiving!"

The priestess briefly shuddered as the everpresent wards of the estate pressing down on her via the Witch of Betrayel's will as Jake had given her control of them as a great show of trust to Medea. And the wards however crude made from the essence of a Campione's power was no small thing.

"We... We did make a mistake! But Verethragna was briefly seen in Italy before rushing here to Japan in under a day, we thought he was licking his wounds after defeating Lord Salvatore Doni and was going to fight Lord Sasha Vobahn!" 

Medea rolled her eyes and dryly retorted. "Once again your failure is not with me. Now your lord has declared that after dealing with the Persian God of War, he will have the rest of the day for rest, the Committee and all other organizations are not to disturb him and that is his order." 

But as Medea was about to wave the young priestess off who was obviously sent as some sort of honey plot ploy to earn Jake's favor. Medea's eyes slid to the side and saw the new little trollop that was so firmly hanging onto Jake's form in Erica Blandelli all but glide into the room.

And it seemed that the priestess herself recognized her as she yelled out. "Erica Blandelli what are you doing here? The Copper Black Cross is based in Europe!?"

And Medea couldn't help rolling her eyes Erica chuckled deeply as she laid a hand on her chest and spoke proudly. "Oh, I am exactly where I belong here in Japan. Lord Yuhuang Yudi has wisely seen the value in the Copper Black Cross above all other organizations and by taking me as his lover. He has claimed my family's organization for his own!"

There was a moment of silence and then Medea silently crushed the armrest of her throne under her hand as she gave the... Little tripe a gauging look. To see how true her words were and whether she needed to evaluate her own thoughts about the girl and her own lord.

The priestess had her mouth gaping open for a time as she stared at Erica in shock at her shameless declaration. And then after seemingly recollecting herself she awkwardly shifted and then said. "I see... Then I must excuse myself, as I must tell my superiors to send myself or another agent tomorrow when the lord is ready to receive visitors."

After the priestess all but ran away, Medea shifted in her seat as she and Erica both waited for the priestess to all but flee with Medusa prowling after her... To make sure she obviously didn't do anything stupid while on their property.

And once said priestess was gone, Medea's cold eyes slid onto Erica's form who met her eyes with a proud smile that spoke of the passion in her heart. "So what is your game little girl? Are you trying to prove something?" Medea spoke in a droll tone of voice.

Erica's smile widened and she held a hand to her waist while she stood with her back straight. And with zero shame announced out loud as Medusa walked back into the room. "While you and the other so-called heroes of legend stayed here and hid from the Heretic God. I went out and made it possible for him to defeat Verethragna after Jake killed him and the god resurrected at full power again." 

A pressure filled the room as Medusa stared at Erica through her visor and her curt voice came out as almost a hiss. "Do not play this game Erica Blandelli, this household is not a court or magical association that has politics. Jake is our lord and if you are playing at trying to become his Queen or whatever. Stirring up drama will only make him look at you with disdain." 

There was silence as even Medea shrunk back as Medusa... Even with Jake filling Medea's form with his Campione grade mana, with Medusa being capable of going into her Gorgon form possibly, Medea knew even Heracles couldn't defeat her.

But there was also the fact that Medea herself realized she was falling into the same habits she had as the princess of Colchis. And not Jake's courtly mage.

Medusa gave both ladies a moment to digest that before she folded her arms over her chest and said frankly. "Medea, you and I both are Servants at least until Jake gives you an incarnated body. You need to understand that our place is to serve until that happens. And as for you Erica... Jake may play at being a proud lord of the heavens, but you already know that beneath that, is a man who will happily sleep half the day away while watching TV or talking to friends."

After a moment Erica pursed her lips and then sighed saying. "I... Yes, I apologize Medea, I am not sure as to my place here under Jake's wings and I have my responsibilities as the future leader of the Copper Black Cross."

This means that Erica was more absorbed in trying to make sure that through herself, that her own magical organization would be in a good position in whatever social construct that Jake would manage to make once things called down.

As everyone in the house knew that Jake was still worried about the corrupted Grail that was beneath the city along with other issues like his Campione siblings almost certainly coming to test or just to mess with him.

The room of three women with powerful personalities became somewhat awkward as they looked at one another until Erica shifted and then spoke out. "I understand, I won't jockey for some position in his circle but I am saying here and now that I will be the head wife as we shared our first kisses!"

Medea's face twitched along with Medusa laying as a hand across her own face as Medea dryly retorted. "A first kiss? I do not particularly care as I do not share such a relationship with my master... But even if I did our situation would be closer as he pours his essence into me whenever I desire." Medea finished with a triumphant look as Medusa just threw up her hands and left the room leaving Medea and Erica to bicker between themselves.

-

The priestess who had left Yuhuang YudI's mansion in the old Matou estate was holding herself still as the power of the wards and the god slayer himself shook her mind with the half-formed visions of possible futures tearing at her mind.

The priestess's name was Yuri Mariya and ever since the newest king had been crowned she had been having terrible nightmares that she knew were prophesies malformed and incomplete due to the newest king's Campione protections blocking out scrying and methods of fate manipulation.

The serpent swallowing itself, the all-knowing owl, the strongest steel, the cosmic spider, the divine monkey, the forrest of blood, the bloody moon, the great evil eye in the sky... And lastly, the vision that haunted her the most and what confused the members of the History Compilation Committee most. The view of a Golden Fox made her eyes bleed upon awakening.

Only a few of the visions she had could be deciphered at will so easily but it was done as some were rather simple. The spider was almost certainly ORT or the Ultimate One of the Ort Cloud, the Forrest of Blood was likely to be the sentient Dead Apostle Forrest, the money was certainly Son Wukong and of course, the Owl was picked out to be Athena descending as a Heretic God.

Now... With dozens of priestess seers and other people who could read the signs of terrible things to come. All organizations were sprinting to the Campione to find ground with them as the very Earth itself in Gaia was changing.

Which for millennia hasn't happened in this case. As for the first time in more than four millennia, the very earth was opening up and releasing mana and not denying mages as much in keeping magical effects on the Human Texture... Which meant only one thing.

That Gaia itself wanted humanity to be at its best to face whatever terror was coming.

Japan was a nation steeped in mystery and powerful mythological power. Should the dark ages of time occur again with a dozen Heretic Gods descending similar to the times that the dragon Albion became a Heretic god and opened a portal to the land of Fairy in its wake? With that incident, it flooded the world with magic for a short time allowing many Heretic Gods to roam the Earth.

The History Compilation Committee needed... Deeply needed a powerful deterrent as in reality most heretic gods don't descend as powerful war gods and are instead lesser gods or earth goddesses. But even still a god was a god and only Campione and True Magicians could force the heretic gods away from Japan's shores.

"Let alone forcing Heretic Gods away... Only Campione can kill gods." Mariya muttered to herself as she sighed and then she took out a phone and called her agent in the History Compilation Committee to report her meeting with Japan's own devil king... Or at least the lack of one.

-

After a long rest, I was awoken from my nap by the sound of my door being knocked on so I sleepily called out. "Come on in."

I didn't bother to open my eyes or anything and a few moments later I made a noise of discontent as my blankets were shifted around and then I opened my eyes as I felt a soft figure climb into the bed beside me and then a head landing on my chest.

My eyes took in the purple hair and I exhaled with my arms coming up to wrap around Sakura to pull her tight agaisnt my form. "You are being rather brazen," I whispered softly into the top of Sakura's head.

And there was some time before she responded and I realized that she had changed into a night dress with how thin the dress was agaisnt my almost bare body besides some shorts. "I... I didn't want to be left behind, and you already did-"

I gently lifted Sakura's face up by her chin and as I looked into those purple pools I saw how distraught she was. And I knew how generally what she was feeling even if I had no idea the depth and amount of emotion she was feeling. As, of now Sakura was free. Totally free of the Matou curse that had been hounding her since a child.

In literally replacing her womb I had cleansed her of the filth that she quite literally had within her, I burned away the crest worms and other familiars that had infested her body, I had killed the entire Matou bloodline completely.

She was literally free of all that suffering and it all was due to my act of grabbing her and saying. 'Sakura... You have had a shit life. But its over, you are mine and no one can hurt you.' In her mind, as a Campione, she rightfully thought that as her devil king and Emperor, I was staking my claim on her.

Even though at first she clearly didn't have that many positive emotions for me besides gratitude, over the days. I had seemingly entered her heart with how I had fixed her life and made her whole mentally, physically, and most importantly spiritually.

"Shhh..." I put a finger to Sakura's lips and stopped her tirade as I smiled and then said. "No words, only actions so just relax and do what you want, I helped you become free Sakura, I don't want a debt between us." 

With that, I gently teased her by giving her soft lips a poke with the tip of my finger making her flush as she took the finger her and I raised and eyebrow as she gave it a little sucking of a kiss before letting it go and then she laid her head somewhat sideways on my chest with those purple pools that were her eyes staring up at me.

I exhaled a breath at that and I looked over Sakura's head to the tv while she stared at me from below my propped op upper body and head by the pillows behind me. And after a bit, she spoke in a tiny whisper and I looked down to see her face was red. "So only actions huh?" and then she shimmered downwards slightly with her hands pulling the blankets up over her head.

And as I felt her smooth hands pull my shorts down, I realized Sakura Matou was definitely a lot braver than I expected as she whispered. "Keep the blanket up, I don't want you to look."