Chapter 421

"So this is the canvas you're giving me to work with?" Medea eyed her newest victim.

"….why do I feel scared?" Jeanne looked at me.

I gently patted her head. "It's called survival instincts."

"Meep." Jeanne slowly inched behind me.

"What exactly do you want me to do?" Medea asked.

"Eh, going to some gathering of a bunch of factions or what have you. I'm dragging Jeanne along with me. From the letter Yasaka received, some Angels are going to be there." That and no one else really cared about interacting with the other factions.

Hell, I was basically going just to politely decline their request.

It was a bit bigger than I had thought it was going to be. Honestly, I was thinking something along the lines of each group kicking their youngest together and telling them to start punching suspected enemies.

Especially since Odin was the one who technically set everything up.

Come to find out, it's a bit more intricate than that.

Reminded me of the whole Peace Meeting, honestly.

Not only were a bunch of other Factions gathering in Hell, but they're bringing their 'newest generation' as Odin put it.

Yasaka obviously wanted nothing to do with it. Doubly so since we're preparing to invade the Fae Lands, which was understandable in our position to decline any invitations. So, I want to do my part as her man to smooth over the rejection with at least my presence. As she said, it would give them face and wouldn't come off as us just snubbing them, even if we had proper reasons.

It was rather abrupt, all things considered, but I supposed it was something that was weighing on the minds of other factions. We sort of wiped our hands of the issue and dropped the problem in their laps, they don't have the luxury of ignoring everything and continuing as was.

I could imagine it was a pleasant reprieve to be able to latch onto any united agreement or talks about further how to handle this looming threat beyond some vague 'we'll work together' that came about from the Peace Meeting.

"Hmm, anything specific you want?" Medea asked, poking and prodding Jeanne.

"Erm….I-I don't know?" Jeanne looked unsure of what to say. "I've never really worn nice clothes before?"

Medea paused, looking at her. "Now that is a travesty."

"Actually, I don't think she has any actual clothes right now either, let's just get started on a bunch of outfits."

"Definitely, we're going to have to fix this." Medea nodded.

"I have some clothes…" Jeanne said quietly.

"You have your Servant Armaments, dear. That's significantly different than actual clothes. And the fact that you don't have anything to show off that delectable body of yours is a sin." Medea purred.

I ignored Jeanne's squawk. "Actually, she does have one outfit."

"Neeeh." She nudged me.

"Oh?" Medea quirked an eyebrow. " Show me."

"D-do I have to?"

"I need a reference." Medea said with a completely straight face.

Jeanne pouted, and she glowed slightly as her Servant attire was dismissed, showing that School Uniform that she was wearing from behind.

"Bold choice for a Saintess." Medea blinked.

"I-it's not that bad!"

"It certainly shows off that butt of yours…"

"Neh!?"

"That's what I've been saying." I swear, Medea and I were on the same wavelength. "Just not her butt either, for some reason that School Uniform shows off her legs amazingly too."

"D-Don't say something like that out loud!!!"

"Honestly, I'm not surprised that the Saintess is a deviant…"

"You should have seen Saint Martha. I swear, what she wore was more lewd than if she was just naked…."

"T-There was nothing wrong with Marth's clothes!"

At this point, Jeanne was doing her best impression of a tomato.

"Big G has good tastes." I nodded to myself.

"It's not odd for Gods to lean on the side of certain…..interests." Medea agreed.

"Nooo, it has nothing to do with him!"

"Face it my little Bondage Saint, Big G gave you booty shorts as your default clothing." I patted her head. "It's basically a divine proclamation – The Saintess must be lewd."

"Neeeh!" She swung her hands at me wildly.

"Wait, you didn't dress her up like this?" Medea questioned, a genuine look of surprise about her.

"No?" I blinked. "Why do you think I've been giving her a hard time about it?"

"I thought you just bullied her into it so you could tease her." Medea responded.

"That's…..probably something I would do." Jeanne responded to my statement by hitting my shoulder, repeatedly. "But that's all Big G. He apparently believes his Saintesses should show off what they got."

Medea ignored the flailing Saintess as she continued her inspection. "Well, I certainly have quite a bit to work with. But I'm going to have to work from the ground up, how about –" She paused. "Oh my, is this a G-String."

Medea reached for something and Jeanne made a high squeak as she stiffened.

"You really are a bold Saintess." Medea laughed.

I glanced over Jeanne's shoulder. "I'm not even surprised."

"It's not me!" Jeanne squeaked again. "I-i-it's what Laeticia was wearing!"

"Uh huh." I didn't believe her.

"It's true!"

"I completely believe you."

"S-stop!"

"Lewd Saintess is Lewd."

"No!" Jeanne squawked with a red flush spreading all over her face. She looked for the easiest place to bury her face, which just happened to be my chest.

I just gently pat her head. "I think it's cute."

"R-really?" She looked up at me. "…..it's comfortable." She then looked away.

Jeez, she's so adorable.

"You heard her, make her more panties like this."

"Neh!?"

"I was thinking white lace, it aligns better with her natural charm~"

"Neeeh!"

"She is just precious~" Medea cooed. "Don't worry, I'm going to make her several sets of lingerie."

"W-why would I need that!?"

"I'm surprised she even knows what that is." I said with full honesty.

"The Grail!"

"The Grail only provides pertinent information." I countered.

"It's not what you think!" She quickly flailed around in embarrassment.

"Even a Saintess can't overcome her debauched French heritage…"

"Suddenly a lot of things make sense." Medea commented.

"Stopppp." Jeanne whined.

"She's really too easy" Medea looked my way.

"I know, and I can't help myself. It's too fun to get a reaction out of her for everything." I said helplessly.

"You're a meanie." Jeanne puffed up with a pout.

I couldn't help but pinch her cheek. "But seriously, we're going to get you a bunch of clothes you actually like. So feel free to add anything you want."

Jeanne's expression softened considerably. "Thank you, Wilhelm." She finished with a warm smile.

"Alright, you can flirt later." Medea interrupted. "Let me do my thing and stop disturbing me." She physically started pushing me towards the door.

"F-flirt!?" The Saintess flustered.

"Alright, alright, stop being so aggressive. I liked the version I met in the Singularity better." I grumbled.

"Didn't she ask you to marry her?" Jeanne asked.

"Excuse me!?" Medea's voice was raised a few pitches.

"What can I say, it's difficult being this handsome and charming." I sighed in mock exasperation, but quickly decided to make myself scarce before her brain could reboot.

"Get back here you brat!" She screeched, but I was already out the door and fleeing at a very brisk pace.

[***]

I looked out upon the horizon. It was odd seeing it within my inner world. It felt real, and I guess in sense, that it was. It was my own memories used to facilitate the feelings and sensations that came about through the physical.

"Staff." I held my hand out, and the Staff of Magnus appeared.

"I will say nothing else, prepare yourself." Musū Tengai replied.

The same thing happened as last time. A large mirror appeared, a reflection of myself but one that wasn't me. He pushed through, as if truly entering my inner world.

"We meet again." He smiled.

I raised an eyebrow, and waved my staff. "Shatter."

Like glass, the surroundings shattered. It wasn't so much a spell I had cast, but an expellment of my force around us. There was the beginning of an illusion that had begun to intertwine with the environment that I disrupted before it could properly settle.

"Worth a shot." My counterpart shrugged. Holding his own Staff of Magnus, he swung it over his shoulder. "So, what do you wanna do for round two? Some witty banter before we begin? Oh, oh! Can I play the 'Cliché Evil villain?" His eyes brightened. "I swear I've fought so many, I think I can get the lines down."

"You know, I'm inclined to let you." I revealed an amused smile. I knew what he was doing, he knew that I knew, and at this point, we were just playing a small game. With a mental thought, spell sequences began in the background.

My counterpart cleared his throat. "YOU DARE STAND BEFORE ME!? MORTAL, YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!!"

"Eh, 4 out of 10, you were trying too hard. The douchiness needs to come naturally."

He shrugged helplessly. "What can you do? I'm far too charming and likable to pull it off."

"I can't argue with you there."

"Just fuck already!" We both heard Ddraig shout from somewhere.

We both shared a small chuckle, but there was a hint of tension underneath.

Without another word, as if a reflection of one another, we both raised our staves.

"Order of Lightning!" He shouted.

"Lightning Runes!" I countered.

My Runic Circles appeared all around me, actualizing into existence. Dozens upon dozens that utterly filled the space behind me.

In return, he did something slightly similar. Rather than facilitating the Elemental effect through Runes, the sky above us darkened and the clouds deformed into the shape of Spell Circles.

My Lightning Ascended to the sky, while his fell down upon the earth.

The collision of the two elements did not react how one would expect. It wasn't natural by any means, it didn't quite follow the predefined behavior of Lightning.

The two sides met in a collision of explosive power. As soon as the two opposing sides met, it erupted in a torrent of lightning that was discharged in every direction. Hundreds of similar explosions filled the sky where the two sides met.

"Interesting, you created a redundant Runic formula to facilitate the continued casting sequence." My copy stated. "The simplicity is rather elegant."

"And you went the opposite route. You summoned a natural phenomena and bent it into the casting of your own spell, creating a casting loop that doesn't need further input from yourself other than direction." I admired his as well. "Using the clouds themselves as the Spell Circles was inspiring. In a prolonged fight, I would lose just from my spell fizzling first."

"You're too kind, I –" My Copies' eyes widened and I noticed what he did as well. My Lightning was overcoming his, which shouldn't have been such an obvious conclusion, unless…. "Divinity!?"

His phrasing of that opened up a lot of questions, but instead of broaching the subject, I pushed through. I overloaded my Runic Circles. Instead of them continuously casting a basic Lightning Bolt in succession, I put everything into a single discharge.

Immediately, I overwhelmed his opposition, and shot through to his Spell sequences, utterly destroying it at the source.

"Well, that's unfortunate." My copy commented, though he didn't stand still, he moved quickly. It wasn't Shunpo. However, that didn't mean he was slow.

"Air Elementals you silently summoned under your feet?" I furrowed my brow.

"Yup! Good guess, but there's no prize!" He shouted, holding his staff up to his other hand, and a large Spell Circle formed. A Golden light emerged firing at me.

I slammed the Staff to the ground, casting my Shield of Asgard.

My shield held firm, but immediately, I was beset by extremely thin projectiles numbering in the thousands. The unrelenting bombardment of those needle like constructs, while none of them even came close to penetrating it, but after a few moments my shield shuddered.

"Shield of Asgard, nice spell! I have one too, so I know the weakness of it!" He shouted. "A good shielding spell, but it's meant to stand against powerful strikes, not a continuous bombardment, I guess you haven't fixed that flaw yet!"

My Shield shattered. And I was genuinely surprised.

"Dragon's Maw!" An eastern-like Dragon made of fire opened its massive maw, flying at me.

"Hadō # 58, Tenran." I moved my hand in a circular motion, producing a whirlwind that collided with the Fire Dragon.

The wind and fire dispersed one another, sending a cascade of flames in all directions.

"Unseen blade." He held his staff pointing right at me.

The image of a Blade shot right at me.

"Greater Ward." I cast in all directions.

The blade in front of me blurred and disappeared. In place of it, my ward was hit in three other places simultaneously. Behind me and on both sides. "Really?" I shot him an annoyed look.

"What? It's a fun spell." He smiled. "Why do you think I would name it something like that if it's so obviously seen? Not to mention speaking the incantation aloud like that?"

I was about to respond, but I felt a tingling sensation on the back of my neck and quickly leaned back.

The original blade from earlier reappeared and narrowly missed me.

"Okay, that's just a dick move."

"It's called unseen blade for a reason!"

"Gather!" I commanded, calling forth an inordinate amount of Lightning around my staff. "Thunder Bolt!"

A discharge of accumulated Lightning fired off. Big enough to utterly consume him whole.

"Earth Wall in one hand." He raised up a wall of Earth. "Immovable Object in the other." The Wall glowed a brilliant light and my Lightning collided with it.

It lasted but a brief moment but my lightning dispersed, leaving a weathered and brittle earthen wall still standing defiantly.

A spell like Reinforcement?

The wall crumbled quickly, and then I saw him stab his staff into the ground. He clapped his hands together and pulled them apart. However, it wasn't as simple as one may think, it looked like he pulled apart the seams of reality. "Distortion."

Feeling the sense of danger, I decided that standing still was perhaps a foolish idea.

I fired off a plethora of spells, mere cantrips to annoy him as I gathered my Reiatsu and moved. Out of the corner of my eye, the spells I fired….they bent and twisted in an unnatural way. They didn't even come close to hitting him.

Not only that, as soon as I moved, the world turned upside down. I found myself crashing face first into the ground.

Out of panic, I attempted to roll to the side and push myself up, but once more, I plummeted to the ground. Jerking to the side, I stumbled over myself going the opposite direction.

Between his hands, there was a vague shape, shifting and changing. It resembled a Rubik's Cube as it continuously twisted.

"And let's end this." My counterpart spoke. "Cloud of Daggers."

A misty Haze surrounded me, like an illusion but not. It changed, warping its appearance. Merely a blink, and I was now surrounded by hundreds of razor sharp daggers.

I reacted as quickly as I could, grabbing my own Staff of Magnus and slammed it on the ground, an invisible force descended, causing everything around us to shudder.

Even my counterpart nearly stumbled in place, he gritted his teeth and the cube-like projection between his hands dispersed. "Clever, altering the Gravity. That'll do it."

Even the misty-like daggers fell to the ground forcibly and the spell unraveled.

I took a deep breath, standing up properly. "You altered my sense of direction…"

"Well, that isn't incorrect. But not quite. Close enough, I'd say." He mused. "Good counter, You just brute forced through it with a torrent of Gravity. However, there is one detriment to that. As soon as you relent, I'll recast my spell, so you're forced to hold the gravitational increase."

I cracked my neck. "Not used to the extra force?" I mocked.

"Not everything requires brute force." He did look like he was having a tad bit of trouble standing completely straight, comparatively to me who was more or less used to the increased force pressing down. "But I can't deny it's a valid approach to most issues. However, you don't always need to push against the world in order to make it move in your favor." He gently tapped the staff against the ground. "Sunder."

I found myself falling.

The earth below me had split open, massive walls on either side of me as I descended down into the depths of the earth.

Well….I do believe I've played myself.

I would have been able to react if my own spell didn't hamper me.

He saluted me once and I simply closed my eyes as the two halves of the earth closed with me at the center.

I opened my eyes again, and I was on my back, staring up at the ceiling.

Looking down at me, Salem had a blank look on her face. "Are you okay?"

"Define, 'okay'?" I asked.

"You were sitting there in a meditative position. Then your aura shifted and it became hard to approach you for some time. Now, you are like this."

I let out a sigh. "Yeah, I'm good. Just lost a fight so I'm moping."

[You did better this time.] Ddraig spoke.

Yeah. It was a good fight, I learned a lot.

Didn't know my Shield of Asgard had such a weakness. It's never had to sustain such a number of attacks in succession like that before.

Among other things, I'm….okay with losing there. I saw where I could improve in my spellcrafting. Seeing a reflection of me that took such a different approach to things….it was interesting.

{I'm pleased you are treating it as a proper learning experience.} My Zanpakutō added. {Keep trying your best.}

I'm more inclined to forceful resolutions to my problems. His responses were more….not necessarily smaller, but more focused. I was far more used to throwing around large amounts of power to answer any problems that cropped up.

Something to consider more as I went forward.

"Hey." I said, looking up at Salem who was still staring at me while I was on the ground.

"Are you comfortable?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I would be if you took a step forward."

"Yes, I'm sure that would help if you could peer up my dress." Her eye roll was noticeable. "My Subordinates were concerned, they could feel you."

"Whoops." I scratched my head. "Didn't think it would be that noticeable."

"They were surprised." She shrugged. "What were you even doing?"

"Training inside my inner world. I came over to see you, but you were busy with your thing and I didn't want to interrupt, so I figured I would get some training in" I explained.

She was having a meeting or something with her people, so….no time like the present to start my training in earnest.

"Do you require something from me?"

"No, I just got back home after the thing I told you before. It's been a bit stressful and I missed you." I smiled.

"Hmph." She crossed her arms. "You still have your glib tongue."

"You didn't miss me too?" I asked.

She twitched slightly. "…..I did not speak those words."

I sat up. "Cute."

"Be quiet." She hissed.

"Well, I was about to tell you about the gift I brought, but if you don't want to hear about it…"

She grumbled. "You know what I meant."

Cute.

I held my hand out, letting the second copy of all the books I got in that weird world drop onto the floor in a few stacks.

Her eyes flashed as she realized what these books contained. "This is….a significant gift…." She muttered while touching the book on top. "….what do you wish in return?"

"Pardon?" I tilted my head

"What boon do you desire in return for this gift?" She reiterated

"Salem, not everything between us needs to be a transaction."

She huffed again, crossing her arms again. "…..It's easier." She said softly. "I don't know how to reciprocate otherwise."

"Would it make you feel better if I asked for something?"

"I would not dislike it." She responded. "However, if you ask for something perverted, I will be most upset."

"Am I really someone who would ask something like that?"

She swung her hand, lightly slapping my shoulder. "I suppose that is accurate however. You wouldn't ask. I am more than aware of how careful I must be of your wandering hands."

"I admit nothing."

"Hmph." She grunted again. "Tell me what you want."

"What I want…." I tapped my chin. "Offered such a wonderful boon by the Grimm Queen? What could I possibly ask for?"

"….as long as it is something within reason, I do not mind retracting my previous words." She whispered.

I was admittedly tempted, but it didn't feel like the right circumstances. Rather…

"I want this." I grabbed her hand, slipping my fingers between hers.

"…..this?" She looked confused.

"Just this." I smiled.

"….I do not understand you sometimes." She sighed. "However….I am not upset."

"Hmm, is it too late to ask you to do something lewd?"

"Yes." She snorted.

"I guess I'll just have to seduce you the old fashioned way."

"Oh? Then by all means seduce me."

"Are you sure you're ready for this level of wooing? I don't know if your heart will be able to take it."

"Yes, I'm sure I'll be swept off my feet." She drawled.

I cleared my throat. "Girl, as long as I have a face, you'll have somewhere to sit."

"….."

"Now that I'm holding your hand, I can tell everyone that I've been touched by an Angel."

"….."

"If it's true that we are what we eat, then –"

"Please, do not finish that one." She groaned.

"I see, you don't even need any more. You're now head over heels." I sniffed haughtily.

"Of course, how could I ever resist such romantic callings." She said dryly. "Truly, you are a master of sensual word play."

"I knew it, you are now seduced."

She rolled her eyes. "I find it inconceivable how I am romantically involved with you at this moment."

"Hey, I can be romantic."

"Before this moment, I might have agreed with you."

"Alright, give me another chance."

"Do what you want." She sighed.

I squeezed her hand and looked her into the eyes. "Do you remember how I told you how I learned about you?"

"Yes, you said that you used the Relic of Knowledge." She responded.

"That's right, I wanted to see everything about this supposed 'Grimm queen'. And as soon as I laid my eyes on her, she took my breath away. This woman I had never interacted with before, never seen until that moment, she left me utterly breathless. You don't have to steal my heart,, it already belonged to you from the beginning."

It felt like she unintentionally squeezed my hand because she had a strange expression. She seemed to settle on looking away because a small flush appeared on her pale cheeks. "Don't spout that ridiculous trite around me. I'm annoyed, as soon as you're finished, leave."

"Well….I may not be finished for a while."

"Do what you want." She huffed.

"How about I tell you what I've been up to recently?" I offered.

"Very well." She tried to sound uninterested, but it wasn't quite working out too well. "If I am forced to bear your presence, I may as well understand what you were doing while you were gone."

Cute.

[***]

I yawned and stretched, popping back out at home.

It was nice, visiting Salem for a few hours. And I even got some training in while I was over there.

I walked over and knocked on the door that Medea was holding Jeanne hostage in. "You guys still in there?"

"Almost done!" Medea shouted back.

I waited patiently outside of the door. We weren't on the strictest time schedule, but it was sorta getting there.

"Wait, wait, don't touch there!" Jeanne squawked.

"Hush, this is important."

"How is it important for you to touch my chest!?"

"Measurements."

"You already measured!!"

I was…tempted to go inside.

"Alright, come in." Medea called out.

"Wait! I'm not mentally prepared, I need –"

I pushed the door open. Medea was standing to the side but my eyes landed solely onto Jeanne. She was wearing a slender, shoulderless, blue dress. It hugged her curves perfectly, but it was also very tasteful and elegant.

Frankly, there was only one word to describe it.

"Beautiful."

"Heeh!?" Jeanne squeaked, turning bright red. "T-thank you." She covered her face.

"As always, I do good work." Medea stated.

"Thanks for the hard work, Medea." She wasn't only skilled, but she was extremely fast.

"Thank me after you see what she's wearing underneath." She began to cackle.

"Don't tell him that!!!" Jeanne's high pitch voice was drowned out by Medea's laughing.

"I'll leave you two to your little date~" Medea ignored her, throwing up her hand as she walked out of the room.

"It's not a Date!" Jeanne whined. "N-not that I would hate it, b-but it's not!"

I'm getting a cute overload today.

"You look wonderful." I said with full sincerity."

"Do….you really think so?" She asked, bashfully. "I've never worn anything this…pretty before. I don't really feel right….I'm just a plain farm girl and this is so….."

"Jeanne…" I took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "The dress isn't what's making you beautiful, you're the one that's making the dress stunning."

She made a strange noise, and refused to look me in the eyes. "W-we can go now, right?"

I laughed, gently tugging at her hand. "Sure, let's get this over with. Are you ready to go to Hell, Saintess?"

[***]

A/N

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