Chapter 29

I winced the moment I teleported to Kyoto as my newest sense covered the entire city, locating each individual with special powers. Which was every single fucking person in the city since humans were clearly Magical beings in this world as they all had Magic Power. Some did have a surprising amount of Holy Power, though I assumed those were the members of the Five Principal Clans.

Of course, there were a whole bunch of Youkai as well. I couldn't forget about them since their two leaders were currently focused on me. Interestingly enough, I could even faintly feel Nurarihyon's energy even though he was trying to mask it.

"Are you okay?" Yasaka asked, visibly concerned as I took my seat, amidst the gathered Youkai.

"You look like…" Nurarihyon paused, briefly glancing at Kunou, who was sitting next to her mother. "You've had a rough couple of nights."

"You can say so." I took a deep breath, my head throbbing in pain.

"What happened? Do you need any help?" Rihan asked, hand already on his blade.

"Not really," I replied and threw at him the three swords I brought with me.

"You didn't keep Gram?" The surprise in his voice was clear to everyone that heard him. The rest also looked as astonished at that.

"Nah, don't need it." It was a really good sword, I could admit as much, but I didn't want to become reliant on it.

Sure, it would take me a long while to outgrow it, that was true. However, I already planned to turn my body into the strongest weapon in existence, so I didn't need it. Plus, I also copied its abilities, so there was that as well.

"So what's wrong? Don't keep us hanging," Magari urged me with a frown.

I thought it over for a moment before deciding to simply say the truth, "Ajuka has been helping me with a project. He discovered how quickly I can absorb information, so he decided to test exactly how much knowledge he can shove into my head before I exploded. Turns out, it's a lot."

That was an understatement considering just how good my healing was. It was even better than before because he got me a few Phoenix Tears to play with. Though that didn't change the fact that my head felt like exploding after every session with him.

"Ajuka?" Yasaka asked before her eyes widened. "You mean Satan Beelzebub? And he's helping you with a project?"

"Yes, yes," I said, waving them off, though they still kept looking at me as if I had grown a second head. "I'm making something fun, and he's helping me iron out some of the details."

"Should we be concerned?" Magari asked in concern.

"No?" I tilted my head at her. "I just told you it's something fun. It's… a virtual reality. Just think of it as an illusory realm that's made entirely through technology."

That was actually true to a certain extent. There was still a lot of Magictech involved, but the pods were entirely rebuilt and now lacked any kind of signs of Magic. That was a necessity if we wished to spread it across the supernatural world since most would outright refuse to use it, thinking we would somehow take advantage of them, which was exactly what we were planning to do.

However, if the entire pod was made with basic human science? Well, there's no way something like that could affect all of those high and mighty beings, right? Nope, not at all.

Honestly, we were pretty much ready to release as it currently was. The only reason we were delaying was because I wanted to see if I could implement Nurarihyon's hiding techniques and combine them with our black box technology. A majority of the supernatural looked down on human technology, but there was no reason to take unnecessary risks.

"What's the point of that?" Rihan asked with a tilt of his head while he adjusted the blades on his waist.

"Many reasons, but the one that will interest you specifically is that you'll be able to fight others to your heart's content without caring about the consequences." I told him with a deadpan.

"Why didn't you start with that?" Rihan chuckled as he stared to the side, already imagining the possibilities.

"Perhaps because that is merely a small part of it," Yasaka said as she gave me an appraising look. "It's likely named virtual reality for a reason, and fighting is only a small part of life."

"Yes." I nodded at her. "I'll even donate a few of the pods to the academies you're setting up, and your students will be capable of freely experimenting without wasting any resources. As long as you're still planning to create the academies, that is."

"Mine is already built." Nurarihyon proudly grinned.

"And we will start working on ours after today," Yasaka quickly added, not to be outdone by her fellow Youkai leader. Then she blinked her eyes and cutely tilted her head. "Does that imply that your technique will work in this virtual reality?"

"It should. I mean, it worked for me, though we haven't had the chance to test it out with a Youkai yet," I replied with a shrug.

"Maybe we can help with that?" Yasaka quickly asked before Nurarihyon could speak up, offering me a sultry smirk. "I also happen to be interested in your technique, and I wouldn't mind a more… hands-on lesson."

Yasaka understood that this could be valuable for them. Now, the Youkai had no issues with obtaining ingredients due to the many Senjutsu users among their kind. All of those guys were capable of increasing the growth of both plants and animals, ensuring that they always had a large stockpile of both.

However, the Youkai were also planning to pretty much become the best chefs in the entire world with my technique. All manner of supernatural beings were bound to start visiting once that news spread around and when their cooking was confirmed to be best there was. Plenty of those people might bring their own unique ingredients with them, and I doubted they would be happy if the Youkai ended up wasting them.

That was where the virtual reality came into play. It would give them the chance to fool around without ruining the precious ingredients and ensuring that their relationship with their powerful customers never soured due to misusing their valuable treasures.

"How shameless!" Nurarihyon barked out with a laugh as he shook his head, though he was clearly amused by this.

I blinked, fighting through my headache as I went over her words again. Then I snorted. "Oh, I'll be teaching you something hands-on, alright."

"Ehhh?" Yasaka's mouth hung open and her eyes opened wide in surprise. Couldn't take what she dished out, huh? Though she managed to quickly compose herself, breaking character only for a moment. "That does sound… like something I'd find enjoyable."

"Mother!" Kunou looked up at her in shock.

"Alright! Enough flirting with the brat! You can do it later on your own." Nurarihyon stopped our little fun. "Don't forget we have to reward him for his help."

"Oh?" I was more than interested in this topic, though I didn't want to be seen as too greedy. "I did already get three swords from Rihan, though. That's already pretty good, right?"

'Please don't say yes. Otherwise, I will cry. I'm just trying to look humble.'

"That's that and this is this. Rihan made that decision on his own. Plus…" Nurarihyon looked me up and down. "I don't see you carrying them with you."

"Oh, yeah, I already gave away the Demon Swords to Liban since he needed a better weapon," I said with a grin to the astonishment of my present company. "I did keep the Light Sword though. Now that's a collectable item."

"Not the two unique Demon Swords but the commonly produced Light Sword?" Rihan asked as they all kept staring at me.

I shrugged. It was a lightsaber. That was all I cared about, and I proudly displayed it in my workshop, though I did plan on making a cooler one in the future. Not to use it or anything like that, just to have it.

Plus, if I really wanted to use a sword, then I could simply make one by combining the positive traits of all of the ones I had seen so far. Sure, that would require some rare and Magical materials, but we already cracked the basics of transmutation, and we were quickly improving it. It was only a matter of time before we could start mass producing the good shit.

"We got distracted again," Yasaka interjected at that moment and nodded at one of the Youkai accompanying her. "We were talking about giving you a reward."

He walked over, presenting me with an intricately designed wooden box, in which I sensed something with an incredible amount of life force. The Youkai slowly opened it, revealing a glistering peach that made me salivate just from seeing it.

"A Peach of Immortality," Yasaka introduced the object in question, though I already guessed it was something like this due to the crazy amount of life force it contained.

"The old monkey gifted it to us after he heard about the attack," Nurarihyon explained how they got their hands on something as precious as this. "He also mentioned that he's interested in meeting you if you have the time."

Of course, I was. Sun Wukong was a legend. The myth about him had inspired so many different stories that I enjoyed. Not to mention that he was also a Buddha, so I wanted to speak with someone that had experienced enlightenment and achieved inner peace, to see what he had to say about that. Plus…

"I wonder if he'd be up for a heist or two…" I mused out loud.

"Please keep those thoughts to yourself." Magari intently stared at me with narrowed eyes.

"I mean… Can you imagine how wine made by those peaches will taste?" I asked, watching how a majority of the present Youkai actually considered my question.

I was mostly distracting myself with this because I knew and dreaded what I needed to do. It was the best way, and I hated it for that. I was so not looking forward to the atrocity I would have to commit.

"Let's… move on from this topic." Nurarihyon quickly changed the subject, and they began talking about the logistics of the academies and their competitions, something I wasn't that interested in.

Instead, I continued my game with Kunou from last time. This time around, we threw caution right out of the window as we included even sounds in our monkey see, monkey do performance.

Meanwhile, the boring adults talked about tedious and dull things. I was mentioned a few times, though mostly to confirm that I would be receiving any unique ingredients they got their hands on as long they weren't brought by a customer who had wanted a dish made out of them. That was fair enough, and I did briefly inform them that I could be called upon and would come to cook the dish myself should I have the time.

"Want to play a different game?" Kunou asked, completely ignoring the meeting at this point.

"What game?" I asked curiously.

"Hide and Seek! I'm the best hider! No one can ever find me." She proudly stuck out her chest, her tails happily swinging behind her.

"Oh, really? I bet I can find you," I replied challengingly.

"Nu uh." She shook her head before she jumped up. "Count to twenty and make sure you close your eyes!"

"Alright then." I chuckled as I closed my eyes before I started counting, "One…"

"Kunou really is good at hiding. Her illusions are also incredible for her age," Yasaka said fondly, happy to get the chance to praise her daughter.

"He found me," Nurarihyon added with a grumble. "I wasn't hiding my aura and life force, but he still found me…"

"Trully?" Yasaka asked in surprise,

"He even had the gall to take his girlfriend out on a date before he started looking for me!" The old man complained with a sniffle. "I don't remember when was the last time someone hurt my pride that badly."

"Twenty! Ready or not, here I come," I said as I got up and started searching for her.

"Michael…" Yasaka looked at me warningly.

"I know, I know," I mouthed back. I might be a little shit at times, but I wasn't going to ruin a little girl's fun. Kunou had a perfect record of never being found, and I wasn't going to be the one that ruined it.

I casually strolled around the compound, pretending I was searching for her. Plenty of guards respectfully greeted me on my walk, their eyes filled with mirth as they knew what was going on.

This continued for a good while until I comically sighed in defeat. "I give up! If you can hear me, Kunou, come out!"

"Hehe," her chuckle came from behind me, and she jumped on my back, wrapping her arms around my neck. "I told you I'm the best hider there is."

"So you did," I hummed in amusement.

"Also, you must refer to me as princess!" She demanded haughtily before leaning next to my ear. "But when there's no one around, you can call me Kunou."

"As you wish, princess." Naturally, I obliged her, holding back my chuckle.

"Another game?" Kunou asked in giddy as she hopped off my back.

"This time, I will find you. I'm sure of that," I promised, full of determination.

"No you won't! Now close your eyes and count to twenty!" Kunou then ran away once I started counting, turning around a corner and waiting there, planning to follow after me again.

I finished my counting and began my search anew. Just as I was walking around, I sensed something, and my head snapped to the side. There was nothing there, yet my new energy sense indicated that wasn't the case.

"Oh, you little shit," the old man spoke, his words only for my ears. "I really must be losing my touch if you managed to find me again."

I smiled in response before I continued my search. My newest Perk was something special alright, though I only discovered him when he came close to me, so it wasn't perfect yet.

"We'll be taking our leave," he informed me, and I nodded, carefully watching him with my energy sense as he moved away, completely losing track of him once he was about a dozen feet away from me.

We played a few more games of hide and seek with Kunou, and the little princess always won. She was just too good at the game, and I was pretty bad at looking behind me. Oh, well, I would get her next time for sure!

"Thank you for playing along with my little princess," Yasaka told me quietly before I left as well.

"Mom!" Kunou complained, though her smile never left her face.

"It was fun, though the little princess is way too good at this game," I replied and winked at Kunou.

"Hehehe," she giggled, her body swaying left and right as her lips widened even more.

Yasaka then stepped closer with a coy look on her face while innocently twirling a finger through her hair. "I wouldn't mind if you visit us again in the future. I do want to learn more about you, and perhaps you can even give me that lesson you promised earlier?"

"Mom!!!"

"It sounds like you are in need of some good spanking," I replied, giving her an appraising look, not willing to back away.

"Not you too!" Kunou looked horrified at our casual flirting.

We both chuckled at her before we said our goodbyes. I then left with my gift in hand, greatly considering her offer. It was… an interesting one, that was for sure.

With a heavy heart, I walked inside the kitchen, stopping in front of my dreaded enemy, who innocently stood on the table. The shitty blender looked like a regular one you could buy on amazon, but I knew better.

This was one of most advanced cooking tools in existence, and its blades were enhanced with the sharpness of Nothung. The metal we used wasn't the best one, but I could throw the bones of a dragon inside it, and it would turn them into soup without any issues… probably.

"I hate this so much," I complained as I cut up the Peach of Immortality and threw it in the blender before adding milk from a sacred cow and some magical honey.

Then I frowned as I stared at the ingredients, feeling like this wasn't right. Something was missing, but I wasn't sure exactly what. I thought it over for a moment before I grabbed the blender and brought it to my workshop.

"This will do," I said as I threw in a Phoenix Tear before nodding to myself. This felt right, though… I felt I could make it even better.

"What else can I add?" I asked as I looked around before my eyes landed on a particular object. This one had no right to be used for this, but it spoke to me on some level.

"Welp! Nothing ventured, nothing gained!" I threw the last ingredient inside before I turned it on.

"Brrr!" The dreadful sound echoed in my workshop as its blades sliced apart everything inside it, only struggling with the Twice Critical for a brief moment before slashing it apart, turning into liquid like the rest of the things.

Yes, I was crazy enough to throw a Sacred Gear inside, and it seemed to have worked? At least, I believed as much since a three thousand year old Peach of Immortality formed in my weird pocket space. Well, even if this concoction had failed, I could try again in about a month.

A monstrous presence appeared next to me before I could drink it. This was the second time Ajuka had left the virtual reality ever since he came here. The first time he came out only to create a large pocket space, so he could move Helel's servers there since my baby AI was too precious to be left unprotected in the real world.

"Drink it in the pod," he said before teleporting us inside the new pocket space he casually made.

"Alright, alright," I mumbled as I stepped inside the pod before downing the drink.

A groan escaped my mouth the moment I consumed it. My eyes shut close as I took a deep breath, and I focused on my soul, watching how it expanded while deepening my connection with the life stream. My body also experienced some changes, growing stronger by just a little bit, pushing me over to the next level.

It hurt slightly, but the pain couldn't compare to the anguish I felt when I got my third Perk. That one… scarred me for life as it reconstructed my body from the ground up. Bones, muscles, flesh, skin, everything was rebuilt, and I was forced to endure the pain of that on my own.

Honestly, nothing had hurt me as much as that transformation. Even getting my chest blown up or losing half my upper body to the True Longinus didn't hurt as much. That was how painful that experience was.

"Interesting." Ajuka thoughtfully looked over the data from the improved scanners. "You didn't develop any Draconic qualities, but your soul, body, and your Magic Power capacity experienced a qualitative upgrade."

My Magic Power? I felt over the moon hearing that and quickly checked, only to be disappointed since it was still relatively low. If I had to measure it, it was what I would expect from a Mid-Class Magician. That was… disappointing, but it was some progress at least!

"Was it tasty?" He then threw a random question at me.

"I… yes, it was pretty tasty," I answered. "It was really sweet with a hint of spiciness, which somehow mixed perfectly with each other?"

"Hmm. I would like to try one in the future," Ajuka said with a nod before he walked inside his own pod and continued doing whatever he was doing with Helel. Probably making even more games, or perhaps they had already started creating the virtual world.

'We should come up with a name for the game at some point.' I thought as I walked out and teleported back to my workshop.

I really wanted to go and test out my improvements, but unfortunately, I had more things to take care of today. My phone dinged at that moment as well, Helel notifying me that it was time for my meeting. I freshened myself up with a little spell and walked out of the workshop to greet my guest.

Seekvaira Image. 

She appeared from a Magic Circle, taking a moment to look around before her red eyes landed on me. I wasn't sure why she wore glasses, but they kind of fit the cold image she was giving off. Though that didn't detract that much from her beauty.

Seekvaira looked like a no-nonsense type of person, which was honestly surprising to me. At this point, I expected all the Devils to be whacky and quirky. Was she finally going change my thoughts on the Devil race?

"It is a pleasure to meet you in person, Seekvaira," I greeted her with a warm smile. I was apparently a big shot now, so I couldn't be seen bowing to others, even to someone who was a heiress to one of the most important Devil Families.

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Wilder," she replied formally, and I had to resist the urge to frown. Being called mister felt so wrong for some reason.

"Just Michael is fine," I said, and she agreed to my request before I led her to the kitchen here to serve her some tea.

"I admit, I was a bit surprised when one of the Satans personally made this request," she said as she gracefully took a sip, her eyes opening wide for a brief moment, but she quickly composed herself.

"I did him a favor, and I needed something in return. He then pointed me in your direction," I replied simply, without really explaining anything.

"I see." She nodded as she placed the cup down before intently focusing on me. "Then let us set up the details of our contract."

"As you wish." I smiled, thinking that I had indeed met a different type of Devil.

"I will use my Family Trait to trap us in a bubble of time. It will last exactly one hour while only three minutes will have passed in the outside world."

"That sounds perfect to me. What do you wish for payment?"

Seekvaira intertwined her fingers in front of her as she leaned in, her aura intensifying and becoming more and more serious by the moment.

"I did my research on you. Your debut to the supernatural world was spectacular. Few if any could dare claim to have a better one. Fighting against two Longinus users and killing one of them is quite the achievement. "

I nodded along, wondering what she would request. If she pushed too much or asked me to join her peerage, I would refuse without hesitation. Though I wasn't even sure if she could actually reincarnate me now that I knew how the Evil Pieces actually worked. She just wasn't strong enough for that.

"However, there is something else that caught my eye. I found out that you were the owner of a certain website and also the author of a few stories that I've recently begun following."

Yeah, no, I was mistaken. All Devils were fucking weird. There was no doubt in my mind about that at this point.

"I would like to know if you have already completed them, and if so, I would like to request for you to provide me with the completed series." Seekvaira said, her voice growing in passion with each word as she stared at me with eyes filled with hope.

"Which series are you talking about?" I asked, doing my best not to sigh.

"Evangelion, Mobile Suit Gundam, Gurren Lagann, and Code Geass are the ones I'm most interested in," she fired off instantly with no hesitation.

'All mechas? Though Code Geass was more than a simple mecha manga.'

"I… can provide you with the completed versions of Gurren Lagann and Code Geass," I said after thinking it over.

"You have a deal," Seekvaira quickly agreed as if she was afraid I would change my mind.

I nodded calmly at her while I was inwardly screaming in my mind. What was wrong with all the Devils I had met so far? Why were they all so weird? Ahhhhhh!

On a side note, this reminded me that I should probably print out some physical copies for Rias at some point. She did ask for it, and her brother was Chuckles…

"Do tell," she said as she used her ability, surrounding us in a bubble of compressed time. "Were you inspired by any other mecha shows or manga when you came up with those?"

"You can say so," I replied while I focused on analyzing her ability. All the puzzle pieces I had gathered slowly came together, forming a picture in my mind. This was exactly what I needed, and I felt like I could start working on creating the Hyperbolic Time Chamber now.

"Oh, which ones?" Seekvaira asked, eyes shining with excitement.

I sighed inwardly before I started bullshiting, telling her I had been inspired by various media from this world. Of course, she ate it all up, and we ended up spending the next hour discussing all kinds of mecha shows. All things considered, it was actually pretty enjoyable, and I happily agreed when she asked me to contact her should I ever feel like talking about this topic.

Devils, man… why were they and their names all so fucking weird?

Beta'd by Gerald of Revea.

A/N

I wasn't planning on writing today. I don't know how this happened. I just wanted to read some stories, and yet I ended up here…

On another note, the school year in Japan just started, aka canon is beginning. Some of you have already told me your opinions on that, but I am open to any kind of suggestions.