Chapter 26

–Magari–

"...and you can arrange it like this to make it both pretty and delicious," Michael warmly said as he helped Kunou prepare her own colorful meal.

"Woah!" Her eyes lit up before she picked it up and scurried to the side to test it for herself. Kunou took a bite, and her ears cutely fluttered in delight.

"It's really good, right?" Michael grinned.

"Of course, it is!" Kunou proudly puffed her chest. "I made it, after all."

Michael chuckled, and Magari had to admit that this side of him was kind of endearing. Though he was still an idiot in her eyes. There was no doubt in her mind about that. However, he was also… lucky. Yes, extremely lucky.

Because Magari couldn't explain this situation in any other way. This was an important meeting for them, one that could potentially mend their differences, and lead to a more united Youkai faction.

And what did this idiot do? He started making funny faces at the daughter of Yasaka! The worst part was that it fucking worked!

Because Yasaka now looked at him fondly, even allowing her daughter to learn to cook from him. Honestly, Magari wasn't sure if she should be angry at him for daring to do such a thing during the meeting, or if she should be thankful for it.

"Chop, chop." Michael clapped his hands as he turned towards Rihan. "Put those sword skills to use! Those ingredients won't cut themselves on their own."

Rihan rolled his eyes and secretly flipped him off while Kunou giggled at their antics, watching them with amusement while she nibbled on her food, releasing a happy sound with each bite. Their factions were getting closer due to an idiot's stupid cooking technique. Magari was having a hard time believing that even though it was happening right in front of her very eyes.

And, yes, his cooking technique was stupid! It made no sense, and it was completely moronic, and… and…. and why couldn't she use it?! Magari perfectly followed the recipe, she manipulated her life force in just the right way, and yet… why did her food always end up bad? She was the best Senjutsu user in their faction, so how was she messing up a technique that was so simple?

What made it even more aggravating was the fact that a few others had already picked up the basics! Even the Youkai here–who were just now introduced to the technique–were already making progress.

They saw how Michael prepared the miso soup earlier, and he was now overseeing them as they made it on their own. He was doing that while also working on a couple of main dishes for the night

The not so little shit even had the gall to say, "I've never made sushi before, so this will be fun!" All while making one that looked so good, it made her mouth water just from seeing it. This just wasn't fair!

Despite her thoughts, the night was going well. As long as it continued in this way, they would…

Things took a turn just as she thought about that, and all of them tensed as they felt a barrier wrap around the compound. From what she was sensing, it was large enough to cover a neighborhood, and it also seemed to block any kind of dimensional techniques.

Magari and Sosa–the Tengu that kept watch over Yasaka's daughter–moved at the same time as they positioned themselves in front of Rihan and Kunou, keeping Michael away from them.

Nurarihyon was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially since he provided them information about the humans they suspected for killing a whole group of Youkai, but they still kept a close eye on him, just in case this was all a big ruse.

Michael turned to them and only raised his eyebrow in response to their actions, but he quickly looked away, staring at the wall. He seemed focused on the strong presence that just appeared out of nowhere, though Magari still kept her eyes on him, watching him carefully.

"Hmm." He cupped his chin thoughtfully as he mused out loud, "I don't think I can fight that."

"Lord Nurarihyon and Lady Yasaka can easily handle the intruder," Magari tensely replied. Whatever that thing was, it was definitely above Ultimate-Class in power, so only those two stood a chance.

Michael nodded and looked to the side, tracking a few life signatures that were moving towards them. He tilted his head to the side before speaking, "There's a traitor here. Not one of the cooks since none of them had touched their phones or used any kind of Magic."

Magari blinked, a bit surprised by his observation, though she still kept her guard up since he was the most likely traitor, as he put it.

"Would you look at that? Keep them safe while I…" Michael paused for a brief second, his eyes flickering over to Kunou, making Sosa tense up. "Go and unalive those doodoos."

What was he on about? Nevermind that. Magari wasn't going to let him leave just like that.

"I'm coming as well," Rihan spoke up and stepped forward.

Did he not see how suspicious this was? This was clearly a targeted attack on their entire race, and it happened while Michael was here! Why did Rihan trust him so much?

Michael gave him a nod before he looked at Sosa. "Don't trust anyone and don't let anyone get near her."

The Tengu stared back at him, still apprehensive and alert, but also visibly confused. Kunou was hiding behind Sosa, not really understanding what was going on, though she knew something had happened.

"Do you understand?" Michael growled out.

"They will only reach the young princess over my dead body," Sosa finally replied, his words filled with conviction.

"Good." Michael nodded before looking at Rihan and flicking his head. "Let's go."

The two moved, jumping out of the window in the kitchen, and Magari followed after them, unwilling to trust Michael with the life of her Boss' son and future leader. She cursed silently as she stepped after them, noticing that both had paused on top of a building just outside the kitchen, silently staring in the distance.

Magari followed their gazes, knowing exactly what she would find there. A massive golden fox that towered over all the buildings was fighting against a just as large purple Dragon-like creature that was pulsating with a type of energy that made her hair stand on edge. A figure flickered in and out of existence around those two, delivering devastating attacks to the creatures, though all of its wounds kept regenerating the moment they appeared.

That wasn't a fight they could participate in. They stood no chance against that monster, and they would only hold back the two Youkai leaders. At most, Magari could act as a support, but those two would only drag them down.

"They are here," Michael said as he turned around to the approaching figures.

A dozen Magicians led by two figures, one who she recognized from the illusions Michael showed them. The other was a young man with silver hair and red eyes, dressed in a priest outfit and carrying multiple swords on his waist.

"You're still alive?" The one calling himself Heracles yelled with disbelief as he stared at Michael.

"I will kill you, you filthy animal!" He erupted with pure rage, his aura soaring and forming into rod-shaped objects around his arms, pushing him past HIgh-Class in strength. "Detonation, Mighty Comet!"

Well… this definitely wasn't the response Magari expected from allies as this guy flew into a berserker rage the moment his eyes landed on Michael. Perhaps… she had overreacted earlier by a little bit.

"Cute." Michael's weird red Touki flared around him. "Now let me teach you about the most bullshit non magical creature."

Magari noticed the silver-haired man jumping away from the group just as Michael made his move. He flung himself from the building, small and nearly invisible platforms of Ki forming underneath his feet as he ran in the air, appearing above the group in a split second. Then his arm blurred, moving so fast even Magari had trouble following it.

For the briefest of moments, a star descended on the Earth before it exploded, shaking the entire city and blinding all who caught a glimpse of it. A heat wave swept over her as Magari stood there in a daze, her heart beating rapidly.

'What the fuck was that?'  She looked up, finding Michael standing high above in the air, thrown up there from the shockwave of his own attack.

HIs clothes were singed, and his left arm limp, awkwardly hanging from his shoulder. He grabbed it with his right and shoved it back into place, though it still hung loosely beside him.

Her eyes then trailed down. The location of the enemy group was now a crater filled with molten slag, with not a single sign of them remaining there.

The only one that survived was the silver-haired man that jumped away before Michael reached them, who was now breathing hard and watching Michael warily. Four silver arms had materialized from his back, and he was now holding all six of his swords.

They knew that he was strong. They were also aware that he had trump cards up his sleeve. He carried enough life force to detonate a city, after all, and he clearly knew multiple ways to attack with it.

But this? This attack used none of his life force. In fact, he only used Ki to protect himself from his own attack! And yet he completely erased all of those people from existence. One of them even stepped into the Ultimate-Class, yet not even ash remained from him.

This… eased her concerns. If Michael could pull off an attack like this, he could've just as easily done it while they were in the kitchen. She and Sosa would've survived the attack, even if they would have suffered grave injuries.

But Rihan and Kunou? Those two would've died right there and then, delivering two massive blows to both Youkai factions.

'He has another arm.' Magari thought, realizing that he could've killed her and Sosa as well if did this twice in quick succession.

Shaking her head, deciding not to think about this, and instead, she focused on the silver-haired swordsman. His eyes moved between her and Michael, trying to keep them both within his eyesight.

That was a mistake, Magari deduced as there was one more person with them. He seemed to have realized that as well, judging by how his eyes widened. However, it was already too late. A black katana materialized behind him, cutting off his head in a single swing.

Rihan was a great swordsman, but Magari had watched him grow, and she knew that his talents lay in assassination–just like his father's–no matter how much he enjoyed fighting others head-on. Thankfully, Rihan realized that this wasn't a situation where he could play with his opponent and used his strength to finish him off in one blow.

The situation here was taken care of from the looks of it. Magari didn't even have to make a move herself. Now they just had to ensure no one else attempted anything unsavory. Kunou was still safe with Sosa watching over her, the Tengu not allowing anyone to even come close to her just as he promised.

Rihan hopped over, carrying with him the six swords of the swordsman. Five of them were demonic in nature, though the last one was the light swords that exorcists tended to wield. He was holding that one a bit awkwardly and away from him.

"Nice haul," Michael said as he dropped down next to them.

"Your arm?" Rihan looked at him with concern.

"Hmm." Michael turned to his arm with a slight frown. "It will take some time to heal. All of the bones in it shattered into pieces."

That explained why he hadn't healed it yet, considering just how ridiculous his regeneration was. After all, she saw him heal his wounds nearly instantaneously when he sparred with Rihan.

"What was that?" Magari asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Mantis Shrimps are bullshit." Michael proudly grinned at her. "Though my body still can't fully handle punching like one. Oh, well, I'll get there soon enough."

"RAAAGH!" A monstrous roar bellowed out, and they all snapped their heads in the direction of the other fight, only to witness Yasaka obliterating the Dragon-like creature with a torrent of blue fire.

The strongest being on the enemy side was eliminated, but none of them relaxed as they could all sense multiple unfamiliar and powerful auras in that location. Still, the worst should've been dealt with–

A wave of Holy Power swept through them all at that moment. Rihan dropped to his knees, and Magari had to struggle to keep standing, pushing with all her might against this feeling that tried to force her to back down.

'What the fuck is this?!' She screamed in her mind before she noticed that Michael hadn't been affected by whatever the fuck this was as he was still standing tall, staring right at the location the wave originated from.

"I'll be back," he said simply before he took off, his back looking oddly large at that moment, making it appear as if he could carry the entire world on his shoulders.

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–Nurarihyon–

Well, they were in a bit of a pickle, he could admit as much. The fight with the fake Dragon had been difficult due to its weird regeneration, but it wasn't that bad. Working together with Yasaka, they managed to take it down with some effort.

However, things took a turn when the true masterminds of the attack made their presence known. Nurarihyon recognized two of them as the Longinus users that Michael told them about.

They made some bold claims, stating that they had captured their kids and were willing to kill them if they didn't cooperate. That was a blatant lie since he could feel the presence of their people and knew they were still safe even with his shoddy Senjutsu.

That was when he made his first mistake. He should've slipped away and assassinated those brats right there and then, instead of bantering with them like a fool. He also shouldn't have underestimated the power of the strongest Sacred Gear, and he was now paying the price for that mistake.

Nurarihyon wasn't sure what the one who called himself Cao Cao had done, but he struggled to even stay on his feet. He felt like he'd lose his consciousness if he even tried to move, let alone attempting to attack them.

"You should've willingly cooperated with us," Cao Cao said with a sneer as he stared at them in contempt while holding the True Longinus, the spear pulsating with Holy Power.

Cooperate with them? They attacked by setting loose a monstrous creature upon them. What cooperation was he talking about?

Nurarihyon raged in his mind as he stared at those fuckers. He just needed a chance to slip out of whatever this was and…

He caught a red blur out of the corner of his eyes, speedily rushing towards the human group. He kept his eyes on them, trying to not give away what was going on. However, someone must've alerted them in some way because they reacted way too quickly.

Purple mist flew out of Georg, forming a shield in front of him. Cao Cao spun his spear and thrust it with lightning speed just as Michael appeared next to them.

A fist met two top tier Longinus Sacred Gears. A star erupted into a supernova, blocked by the purple mist of Dimension Lost, and pierced through by a ray of Holy Power.

Michael's body was flung back, both by the shockwave of his own attack, and the massive beam of Holy Power. He managed to flip in the air and land on his feet.

The other two didn't escape unscathed from the attack, and they were badly burned from the heat, but Michael… the entire right side of his upper body was missing, obliterated by the True Longinus.

"You're alive?" Cao Cao sounded more than surprised as he stared at Nurarihyon's favorite human.

Michael didn't respond. Instead, he turned at his missing right side. He then raised his head to stare at the two Longinus users and the hundreds of other humans they had brought with them. Nurarihyon wasn't sure what he should've expected to see on his face, but it definitely wasn't a savage grin filled with excitement.

Then it happened. He would've honestly missed it if he had blinked. One moment, Michael was missing half his body, but the next, he was completely healed. That alone was astonishing enough, but his favorite human clearly wasn't done surprising them.

His aura surged next, growing to the point where even Nurarihyon was starting to feel threatened. His Touki changed colors again, turning into a brilliant gold as it exploded outward, damaging his surroundings with its presence alone.

Man, his favorite human was full of surprises! Nurarihyon was already starting to get loose from the power that was holding him shackled. Michael only needed to push Cao Cao a bit more before he managed to free himself.

"What even a–"

Cao Cao words were interrupted as massive amounts of life force burst out of Michael. To his credit, he instantly reacted and pointed the spear towards his enemy. Georg was just as quick, forming a shield made out of purple mist in front of him.

All of that was for naught as Michael appeared behind them, teleporting there in an instant. His right hand swiped at Georg's head while his left punched towards Cao Cao.

Despite the surprise attack, both of them managed to react. Georg cast multiple spells in that split second while Cao Cao swung his spear, firing another beam of Holy Power that blocked some of the explosion and flung Michael away from them.

"GEORG!!!" Cao Cao roared, body burned badly, but his eyes were opened wide as he stared at Michael, who was holding the Magician's head in his grasp. His favorite human only grinned in response as he clenched his hand, crushing the head like a watermelon.

"ATTACK HIM!" Cao Cao yelled at the rest of the humans with him, voice filled with pain and anger.

The power holding Nurarihyon in place was loosened more and more by the second. Just a little more, and he would be set free, ready to take his revenge and end this threat for good.

The hundreds of Magicians and Sacred Gear users sprung into action, all following Cao Cao's lead as they attacked Michael, firing all kinds of different attacks his way.

And how did his favorite human respond to this onslaught? The crazy bastard met them head-on without a hint of hesitation.

Michael rushed over, his arms blurring into motion. Each of his punches detonated a miniature star, shaking the entire city, and killing dozens upon dozens of his enemies.

Multiple attacks landed on him, but he disregarded them all. Whatever injuries they caused were healed in seconds.

The only attacks he avoided were those from the True Longinus, though he never stopped punching even for a second, soon reducing the enemies to just a couple dozen, all of them badly injured and burned.

Nurarihyon was almost free from his binding, but that's when things took a turn for the worst. Another enemy appeared above them, one whose aura threatened even him as he radiated with the same powerful energy as the fake Dragon they killed with Yasaka.

"Pathetic weaklings!" The Devil he vaguely recognized looked at the injured humans with a sneer.

Damn it all! Nurarihyon was so close to getting free! This wasn't an enemy his favorite human could fight, but Michael just had to endure a bit longer. Just a little bit, and he would be free to assist him. Or so he thought.

Michael looked at the new enemy before he grinned. HIs aura suddenly surged yet again, doubling in the process, and Nurarihyon faintly heard Yasaka gasping from beside him. He understood what happened at that moment as that crazy bastard had tapped into the leyline and started pulling energy from it.

His life force exploded as Michael instantaneously teleported right above the Devil. Both of his arms blurred at the same time, and two suns lit up the night sky before erupting into a mighty explosion.

The Devil crashed into the group of humans, parts of his body melting from the heat of the attacks, as he stared at Michael with a tinge of fear, just like the rest of the humans there.

Nurarihyon and Yasaka managed to break out the power that held them in place at that moment as Cao Cao finally lost his hold on them.

The fear in the Devil's eyes turned into full-blown panic, and he summoned a large Magic Circle that teleported the group away before they could jump them together.

His favorite human dropped next to them, giving them a slight nod. Nurarihyon felt like he could kiss him at that moment! He had to do something really nice for him. Maybe even build him a statue!

They scanned the surroundings with their Senjutsu, searching the area for more enemies, only relaxing when they found no more of them. He and Yasaka turned towards Michael at the same time, seeing him tilt his head as he stared in the distance.

"Oh, you piece of fucking shit!" He suddenly cursed, catching them by surprise.

"What happened?" Yasaka asked, looking around in confusion.

"Just… pissed they got away," Michael replied with a huff.

Nurarihyon was sure there was more to it, but his favorite human was allowed to keep his secrets. This could've ended badly for them if he hadn't assisted them, so he deserved at least this much.

"Also, there's a traitor amongst your men," he continued, staring at both of them. "A group of them made a beeline straight towards the kitchen. Someone must've tipped them off about both Rihan and Kunou's location."

Nurarihyon shared a look with Yasaka, both nodding to each other. It seemed they would have to clean up their house if that was the case, and they didn't doubt his words even for a moment.

"It might be for the best if we resume this meeting in a few days," Yasaka said in a moment.

Nurarihyon agreed with her, part of him happy that she was still willing to go through with it. He then looked back at his favorite human, wondering how he was even supposed to reward him. Building a statue of him was becoming more and more appealing the longer he stared at him.

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Generic Magical Girl: Anti-Magic - 600 CP

You can just shut down any magic less powerful than your own. Attacks vanish, curses break, animated statues stop moving, and spells in progress stop dead. If the source of the magic is stronger than you, you'll still manage to disrupt it a little, but you won't be able to break it completely unless it's a very delicate spell. Starts out weak, but as with other powers gains strength with practice. Tires you out a lot to use it, you can only manage this once a day at the start. 

Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: Royal's Wisdom - 600 CP

In these flooded lands, this ocean and its islands, there isn't much in the way of magic left in the world. Most of what you'll find is magic items - weapons and the like that have a special effect when magic is channeled through them. Things like the Deku Leaf, or the Fire and Ice Arrows. Still, just because magic is forgotten, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Where others must wield these magical weapons in order to use any magic at all, for you merely using them a few times is enough for you to use the magic yourself. Beware though, as your magical strength is not without limit.

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Beta'd by Gerald of Revea.

A/N

Anti-Magic was the first Perk that I rolled with the new Grimoire… Like, you can't tell me it wasn't a complete troll move, right? The other one is kind of good, but also a bit redundant because of the Magitech Perk. At least, it would speed the process of him learning new shit, so there's that. 

I figured Michael earned two Perks for this since he killed an Ultimate-Class opponent and a Longinus user. That should be worth two Perks, right?

Lastly, the only reason Michael could even fight against and injure the Devil *cough* Shalba *cough* is because he borrowed the leyline from Yasaka and because Mantis Shrimp is bullshit. Plus, his fake Super Saiyan form and his makeshift Kaio-ken, those two also played a major role. Without the leyline? Well, he would put up a fight but lose in the end. But, yeah, the Mantis Shrimp mutation let's him punch above his weight class.