A Late Night Rendezvous

"Aaaaaahh… *nom*"

While seated in Wu Song's lap, Huang Luan is being fed by her. Meanwhile, Momoyo and Kazuko are having a hard time figuring her out. Currently, her behaviour right now and what previously happened at the temple as well as the walk to the restaurant is very much in line with her appearance. But the contrast between her previous actions at school is just too extreme, smoking on the roof while cutting class and an undisciplined brutish fighting style. Lu was initially a bit surprised, but he didn't let it show and acted as if everything was normal. Tesshin on the other hand, while not surprised, his feelings were learning more towards disbelief, 'If I were to say who she really is, not even those fanatics of hers would believe me.'

"Aaaahh…"

Huang Luan opens her mouth up wide once more as she finishes what Wu Song previously gave her and awaits her next serving.

"Are you sure you're older than us?" Kazuko blurts out.

"Kazuko, don't be so rude," Lu says.

"But didn't you do something similar not too long ago," Momoyo says.

"..."

Having finished the last of her chicken, Huang Luan pats her stomach and says, "I could feel the presence of a descendent of mine in the school."

"Oh, so your descendant is also a student at Kawakami… WHAT!" Momoyo shouts, attracting the attention of the whole restaurant.

"I know it's surprising, Momoyo, but you need to control yourself. This is a public place," Lu says as he stands up to address the many new eyes looking towards their corner, "I apologise for the noise everyone." Sitting back down, Lu continues, "Now then, what were you saying before?"

"I know I shouldn't be surprised considering your age, but… really? With that body? Why would someone want that?" Tesshin asks.

"Are you looking for a fight!?"

Kazuko, who had been zoning out for the last minute after hearing that Huang Luan has had children before, snaps back to reality as soon as she hears Huang Luan's words, "I'm looking for a fight!"

"I'm also looking for a fight with you!" Momoyo follows up.

"But I don't want to fight with the two of you right now... However, this old man is another problem!"

Though Tesshin isn't averse to the idea of sparring with Huang Luan, he knows that she wants nothing more than to beat him up and not engage in a friendly spar if given the chance. Thankfully for him, she also knows better than to try and engage Tesshin in a fight in a public space. Despite knowing with complete confidence that she can win and if she really wanted to, Huang Luan could isolate the space around them to fight, but unless she exerts full strength trying to fight with Tesshin is more trouble than it's worth. As someone who stands at the absolute peak of the realm of man, Tesshin is more than capable of putting up a fight, not that he could feasibly win, but he can definitely last for a decent amount of time so long as Huang Luan doesn't use all her strength. At the end of the day, Huang Luan simply thinks it's too troublesome to actually fight Tesshin without trying to kill him and just spends the rest of dinner one-sidedly trying to provoke him while his two granddaughters try to get Huang Luan to fight with them instead.

As the group leaves the restaurant, Huang Luan stops and looks off into the night sky, "You can all go on ahead, there is some stuff I want to do."

Tesshin opens one eye and looks in the same direction as Huang Luan before closing his eye once again and nods, "I understand. I won't press you to attend classes, but at least try to show your face at the school."

"Allow me to accompany you, Lulu," Wu Song says.

"Mhm," Huang Luan simply grunts in acknowledgement as if her coming along was a simple matter of fact.

"I want to come too," Momoyo says.

"No, leave them be, Momoyo. You shouldn't pry into the private affairs of others," Tesshin says.

"But I wanna go with the cute and beautiful girls on a late-night stroll. C'mon, Wanko, aren't you also curious about what they're doing?" Momoyo asks.

"Ehh… I mean, I am, but I think it's better for our health to get a good night's sleep," Kazuko says.

"It's as she says. Getting a good rest at night is healthy for your body," Lu says.

"But I wanna go! I sensed someone powerful coming this way and she's definitely going to check it out."

"Momoyo, we are returning home and that's final. If you won't come willingly then I'll bring you back by force. There are some things that you shouldn't be involved in right now," Tesshin says in a stern voice.

It doesn't take a genius to know how serious Tesshin is about the matter so Momoyo gives in and returns to the temple with the others. Although she's made up her mind to get as much information as she possibly can from Huang Luan later.

After splitting from the Kawakami group, Huang Luan is once again sitting on Wu Song's lap on a park bench. And before long they hear a voice coming from behind them.

"Why are you so difficult to find?" A confident yet calm and soft-spoken voice asks.

"Why are you a little girl? You were an old man the last time I saw you," Huang Luan asks.

"I copied you."

"Hmm… I supposed if you were to copy anyone then I would be the pinnacle, hahaha. So, what do you want, Ophis? Oh, and why don't you try to restrain your power a bit more. You are practically telling everyone where you are. You should be more like me and stay lowkey and hide your presence."

"I'm strong. I don't need to hide myself from anyone."

"But I can beat you," Huang Luan says in a deadpan manner, getting up from Wu Song's lap and staring the Dragon God in the face.

For the next few minutes, no one speaks a word as two of the world's most powerful beings are staring each other down while Wu Song is doing her best to remain composed in hopes that these two don't suddenly start fighting.

"I want your help," Ophis says, ignoring Huang Luan's previous statement.

'Heh, I won,' Huang Luan thinks as her expression grows into a smirk, "With what?"

Ophis doesn't immediately respond as her eyes focus on the smirk on Huang Luan's face, "I want to return to the Dimensional Gap to obtain silence."

"And why do you need my help for that?"

"Kick the red one out. Join my organisation and help me defeat him."

"You're in an organisation? Since when?"

"Khaos Brigade. I'm the leader. They said they would help me defeat him. With your help, the goal can be achieved. Now."

'Khaos Brigade? I think I remember hearing that name before. I'm pretty sure it was originally formed as a cooperation between the Fallen Angel Satanael and the Wizards of Oz. I may not remember their purpose, but I do know it wasn't related to Great Red. Someone is definitely tricking her. I don't need the intuition of the Justiciar Pathway to know something is fishy about the Khaos Brigade… but this seems interesting so I'll play along,' Huang Luan thinks. "I don't mind lending a hand, but I won't actually be doing anything myself, so you'll still have to rely on those fellows from the Khaos Brigade. I can provide things like treasures or mystical items I've made in the past to your compatriots, but that will be the extent of my support. I have little interest in actually fighting with Great Red."

Despite the fact that the expression on her face never changes, Huang Luan can still tell that Ophis is dissatisfied but after a minute of silence between them, she agrees.

"Good, this will be a fun way to kill time. So when do I get to meet the others in this Khaos Brigade of yours?" Huang Luan asks.

"In a few days. Someone will come," Ophis says before leaving.

With the exit of the small Dragon God comes with it the release of the pressure she had been releasing, causing the tension in the air too thin, allowing Wu Song to finally relax.

"Lulu, that was…" Wu Song says, trailing off.

"Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God. One of the strongest beings in the world. Let's go bac-- *Brzz* hold on."

Getting interrupted by her phone, Huang Luan first thought is 'This better not be because Klein died again or I'm gonna beat them silly,' and thankfully for his well-being, it's not because someone prone to dying has died, but instead, it was a notification from the System.

[Lightning Archpriestess has joined the Dimensional Chat Group.]