Chapter 67

"Oh, this one is good too." I let out a chuckle "Bitch Please." A caption with a picture of me backhanding some random mook who tried to sneak attack me.

The comments were great too.

Oh god, I've missed the internet.

I stayed around a little longer after killing the hydra-dragon-snake thing, I was already pretty much revealed at that point, so I put out some fires, both metaphorically, and literally.

Afterwards, it wasn't particularly hard to get my hands on a magic phone, or well, several of them. A few of which were currently in pieces infront of me as I was seeing how they worked.

Interesting pieces of magic. The 'shell' was kinda fake, only made to look mundane and technological. The magical mechanisms were quite well done though. I had to tip my hat to whoever created these things, they were a sturdy and well thought out piece of magic.

I of course took several to pass onto Rin for her own studies, they would go a long ways in helping her project.

But what got my attention, was the attention I had gotten.

Frankly, from what I could piece together, what happened was a complete shit show. Even only several hours afterwards, things were still hitting the fan.

Oh the age of information, how it permeates even the supernatural communities. Many leaks and 'secrets' revealed straight onto the 'devilnet'.

So, my assumption was right, some idiots operating under the Cult of Tamamo-no-Mae started causing chaos to draw attention away from a ritual site a few miles away from where I was at. Don't' know the specifics of that, its really hush-hush. Word on the street is that they were responsible for the big beastie I fought.

Apparently, they brought in a few Human clans who were on the zealous side with regards to their stance on coexistence. That is to say, the only good youkai is a dead youkai, ironic considering who they worked with. 50-50 chance each side was going to betray the other after everything was done. Well, some of the more liberal clans saw what was going on, stepped in, only to be mistaken for the zealots.

There are reports of a third unknown entity that also joined the fray, what appeared to be mostly humans wielding some interesting weapons. There were sightings of them infiltrating a few guarded locations and sneaking away in the chaos.

What an eventful evening, and that wasn't even the end of it!

Almost on que, an explosion erupted a little way away, and the massive form of a 9-tailed fox stepping on some very deserving people.

Some idiots thought it was a good opportunity to stage a coup.

Yup.

I was on a forum basically getting the play-by-play.

No way was I getting my feet wet in that whole mess. I did enough to ease my conscious as it was, but it made for some interesting entertainment.

Now, with all of this going on, it may be a wonder how I somehow drew attention.

Apparently there was a nice picture of me with my wings out, and someone asked the simple question – 'Is that Lucifer?'.

Regardless of my thoughts on 'him'....I couldn't deny the resemblance.

The immediate assumption was that another side suddenly joined in, the devils, but that was quickly disproven by no other devils appearing and me actually helping people.

But, no, it just kinda spiraled out from there.

My favorite theory someone put up is that I'm the time-traveling-younger-Lucifer.

Oh, internet, never change.

Species, magic, mundane, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Unfortunately, cooler heads prevailed in the discussions, and it started to trend on various media sites. Not too surprising when one of the strongest beings in the world suddenly has a hitherto new relative.

Truthfully, I still didn't' know how to feel about my…..father.

Hate?

Did I hate him…..that is a distinct possibility. I didn't exactly blame him for mother's death, it's not like they were close in any capacity. I doubt he even knew I existed for my early life. Hell, my mother didn't even know who he was.

I wasn't ashamed to admit that my mother was a prostitute, rather, an escort.

She did everything she could to give me a life, to provide for me.

I am proud to have had her as my mother.

Even still, I don't know if I could even spare enough to truly despise him. Was it lesser than that? A more mild dislike, perhaps even apathy.

I did not care for him, I disliked him.....he was irrelevant to me.

And most of that stemmed from how I was being forced into a certain little box for my life. Was I still angry about that? Oh most definitely, but I have calmed down from those years ago. It's not like I'm going to jump down to hell and start a killing spree in some insane vengeance-induced rage.

Am I allowed to just want to move on with my life and not dwell on it anymore?

I sighed, cleaning up my mess and gathering everything I had.

"I guess I shouldn't put this off any longer." I muttered, opening a portal to a destination I was both dreading and aching for.

***

It was a small walk away. I didn't want to pop right in, for some reason I felt it would be impolite, especially since I haven't seen her in a very long time.

"Hey…..mom." I said quietly, stopping infront of a certain grave mark as Mieko Shimoda.

It was a fair distance away from Kuoh, so I rarely had an opportunity to visit.

I was feeling things I thought I had gotten over many years ago, yet it seems like they reopen the moment I'm here.

There were some weeds overgrown here and there, I got on my knees and started tidying up placing some fresh flowers along with a few sticks of incense to properly pay my respects.

"It's been a while." I finally spoke, sitting on my butt. "A lot has changed…I don't even know where to begin." I sighed, my eyes drifting up to the sky. "I…have a new name now." I squeezed out. "New name for a new person….or something like that. I don't know, it seems like my reasoning back then was mostly out of spite and anger. I didn't want any connection to my old self, I felt so powerless back then. I don't really regret what happened....more so the reason for why I did it."

I couldn't help but run a hand through my hair. "Your son is strong now….." I paused twiddling my fingers. "I'm also a Magician." I let out a laugh. "I think I said I wanted to be that when I was younger after we saw that 'magic' show. Well, I suppose dreams do come true, even if it turned out a bit differently."

I smiled faintly at that old memory. I also made a small promise to myself to learn stage magic.

"I also have a girl in my life...rather three." I felt oddly bashful at saying that infront of my mothers grave. "I wonder if you would be annoyed at me for that...but I care for all of them."

"I'm sure they would love you, they're all wonderful girls. The first one I met was Meridia, she's….not human, but she is really sweet." I smiled as I reminiscence about my first meeting with her. "She's strong too, could basically tell the world to f-" I caught myself. "Sorry…..tell the world to 'sod off'." I corrected.

"Then there's Artoria...I'm sure you would absolutely get a kick out of meeting her." Yes, I had my 'knight phase' as a kid as well. "We started to date more 'seriously' recently, well, kinda just accept our relationship as something more than a one-off I guess." I glanced back down at my mother's grave. "Don't worry, I'm not keeping any major secrets from any of them, nor do I plan to."

"Lastly though…..she…."I stopped myself. "It's hard to talk about her right now. It still hurts mom. I know it's not a final goodbye, but I miss her so much." I wiped away a little wetness in my eyes. "Excuse my language, but I'm going to kick her ass the next time I see her."

"If I keep talking about them I don't think I'll ever stop." I felt a small sense of genuine contentment at this moment. "Why don't I tell you about some of my adventures instead? How about that time I fought a dragon with my friend Thorum?"

***

I took one last look at my mother's grave.

I felt...relief.

I didn't realize how much I needed to get some things off my chest. It honestly felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders.

Scathach was still a sore spot, I still almost wept when I thought about her…..but I felt okay at this moment.

I was content for the moment, and I felt like I could properly mourn without becoming a complete wreck.

Even being gone for over a decade, Mom still knows how to make me feel better.

Well, regardless, I could really use a drink right about now. My whole purpose for coming back here was to find some kind of closure, for my own mental health. I would just enjoy my time while it lasted, no responsibilities, just have some fun and finish some projects that didn't need my immediate attention before.

I stepped through a portal back over to Kyoto, close by where I left before. It was an area that was relatively untouched, so some places were still open for business. I recalled seeing a pub around here somewhere….or rather an Izakaya. I wouldn't mind some comfort food as well….been awhile since I've had proper Japanese cuisine, even if it is the bar variety.

My mind wondered as I just enjoyed my stroll.

I was pretty much set on buying that property I took a few looks at. The house didn't really matter much, but the land was prime real estate for my need. And I wanted to get testing on this, I was quite interested on how this would turn out.

To anchor a single location and spread it across several world-lines and make it stable enough to support several different time flows.

It will be…..fun and I couldn't help but smile at the thought.

Perhaps I should do a smaller test once I work the kinks out, maybe buy some land over in America, see if I can't do this small connection first.

My muse brought me to the little bar I saw before. I saw the lights still on so I happily walked inside, though I felt something both strange and familiar as I got close.

It almost felt like…..I was in the land of shadows again, except it wasn't nearly as oppressive.

I just shook my head, this was a supernatural place, many species and people lived here, it wouldn't be good to judge someone based on what they 'are' or where they come from.

Though when I entered, I only saw a single person sitting at the counter, and only the bartender off to the side.

A woman with grayish-silver hair. She turned her head to look at me, red eyes almost seemingly capable of penetrating my soul.

I raised an eyebrow, keeping my power bubbling under the surface.

[Wilhelm..]

I know.

Strong.

This woman was extremely strong, but she was keeping it extremely contained. Like only the absolute barest of her 'presence' was leaking out, and even then I couldn't tell what she was.

She didn't seem hostile, so I ignored it and she was content to enjoy her own drink.

The man behind the counter eyed me warily, and I noticed he was kind of keeping his distance from the woman….as much as he could without being rude.

Odd…

"Start me off with some Yakitori and a beer." He didn't even answer me before getting started.

What a strange atmosphere...and I couldn't quite help myself.

I glanced over to the woman drinking by herself a few seats down. "Hello, I'm Wilhelm." I introduced myself.

I noticed the man freeze briefly behind the counter.

The woman turned to me a little surprised at my words, she stared for a moment before answering. "Izzy." She said plainly.

Huh, strange name for a Japanese woman, but who am I to judge. Who knows what her actual ancestry is like, I try not to judge based on appearances.

Well, I wouldn't mind some conversation while I drink.

***

So in retrospect, I should have written the Interlude before this chapter, would probably have been better, but i was rather busy the few days I pumped these out. doesn't really detract from much, but i know people were looking forward to reactions, so sorry, those are next chapter from a few perspectives. If people really want, I can do a PHO-esq addition to the chapter after the interlude, or at some point in the next few chapters.

Well, regardless, setting up some future plot points and laying down some motivations. Also, do people want me to add pictures when I introduce characters that will appear more than some 'npc' in the backround? I don't mind adding them in the paragraph comments.

Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead, or support me, go to my pat.reon.com/Astoryforone.