Chapter 74: To the Underworld!

Beta read by Shigiya

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-???-

They said that the road to hell was paved with good intentions. Well, they were right, the smooth ride I found myself on proved to be a far better experience than I ever could have imagined.

The train to the Underworld, something that should have only been accessible to pure-blooded Devils and their peerage. A ride so ridiculously luxurious that I began wondering what was not covered in gold or other types of precious jewels. Yes, even the toilet was made out of gold. 

Why do they need to use so much gold!? 

WE GET IT! 

"This is fascinating… no wonder the Devils managed to bring in so many humans to reincarnate." 

By my side was Xenovia, wearing something else than her ridiculous church clothes that were nothing more than slightly durable latex leotards or her school uniform. Wearing blue skin-tight jeans and a long-sleeved black turtleneck sweater. It was a refreshing look from what I was used to seeing her wear since these last few days. 

"I can see that you're enjoying the ride… especially your stomach." I said, watching my so-called sworn knight absolutely destroy the food in front of her like a vacuum cleaner. "You might be human but this just contradicts so much…" 

Like seriously, she probably ate five times the volume of what I normally consumed… and my portions were quite large! From 2 whole chickens, three entire steaks, a whole bowl of salad, and three plates of fries — Xenovia ate all of it in a single hour. She must have broken some kind of record by now.

"I'm going to be sick," sitting on my left was a certain black-haired Fallen Angel. "And here I thought humans couldn't get any more disgusting," Raynare muttered with a time filled with disgust. 

The girl was dressed very differently as well. Keeping true to her leather fetish, she sported tight black leather jeans and a black tank top with the same colored leather biker jacket. Having nearly encapsulated the goth style by even wearing a spiked choker. 

She was sipping on a full bottle of champagne before continuing to chat with another Fallen Angel, Kalawarna. She wore her regular blue secretary clothes that she loved so much. Kala saw that I was giving her a look, before she gave me a flirty wink. But I soon felt my heart stop for a moment when she slowly uncrossed and crossed her legs in front of me, making sure to look me in the eyes with her actions. I gave every ounce of my will to not look down, otherwise, I knew she would trap me. Raynare just rolled her eyes and let out scoff at her actions.

Even after all these years, this woman was still dangerous!

"You don't really get to judge people on that, Raynare. Not to mention, aren't you hanging out with Aika, Murayama, and Katase a lot lately? They are humans too." I commented, making her huff in response before ignoring me completely, while Kala just smiled at our interactions. At least she didn't comment on what just happened, but she would bring it up sooner or later. 

Nevertheless, the entire squad was here. All three of them were technically part of my group, Kalawarna as my personal secretary, Xenovia as my sworn knight, and Raynare who was still under the soul contract that would kill her if she didn't obey. Since this visit to the Underworld also included a formal party that I needed to attend with my inner circle… I didn't really have a choice other than them. And this was a great opportunity to have Xenovia explore more of the Supernatural world and gradually change her perspective bit by bit. 

"Aside from the food, how are you feeling?" I asked the Holy Sword user, curious to know her answer.

"Hm," she put her knife and fork down before pondering my question. "It feels weird. Both Irina and I grew up in the church with the idea of the Underworld being a lawless world with every sin imaginable and all acts of debauchery happening on the regular. Aside outside of official missions, stepping there willingly was no different than becoming a heretic who needs to be put down." Just like I expected, she was quite direct with her words. 

"Would you count the Underworld and Hell as the same? As there are dimensions from other pantheons, some not even having the concept of heaven and hell… just being called the afterlife." Granted, the souls of the dead weren't wandering aimlessly in the Underworld. This place was just like a regular territory just without the presence of the Sun. No souls were being kept here and there was another completely different system that was too complicated to get into right now.

"Hm, I don't know. We never questioned our teachings. So anything outside of Earth associated with other factions and beliefs is labeled as heretic and pagan. No matter the case, associating with any of them was very forbidden." She explained, making me realize just how strict their system was. "Still, I never expected to one day willingly go to the Underworld just to attend a party… my past self would most likely kill me without hesitation for my heresy."

On the other side of the table was Irina having the same appetite as Xenovia. In fact, she was eating more! Must have been due to her now being a Devil. 

"I'd be even more shocked," she said with her mouth filled with expensive food. "I literally became a Devil, my past self would have just killed herself on the spot for such blasphemy." 

What a bleak and dark way to think. But then again, she was the more religious one of the duo. 

"Oh, Ise-kun, come try this caviar!" She called her childhood friend, the latter sitting in silence as he held his left arm while probably talking to Ddraig. He was broken out of his concentration when the newest Knight of Gremory dragged him to sit next to her. They were getting along better than I expected, though Issei still didn't know how to deal with her — the boy just went along with whatever she wanted. He still behaved awkwardly around Raynare, even after our talk. 

For the moment, my mind was preoccupied with the matters concerning Kuroka and Koneko. The Naberius house was done for, their past association with the Satan faction and the incident with Kuroka was one of the main reasons why they were basically nonexistent at this point. 

I walked around the room, looking outside the window where the sky here mimicked the same color as the human world. I read that it used to be purple in color for both day and nighttime, but the Maous literally created a fake moon and sun to give the people the illusion of the standard sky on Earth, to make the reincarnated feel more welcomed to their world. It was hard to believe that this was my first time in the Underworld, I never visited Rias' home in the past due to how busy I was in general and Rias never brought it up, as she usually just hangs out at my house. 

"Father and mother are excited to see you." A voice behind me spoke, I turned around to find Rias wearing her Kuoh uniform for some reason. "They wouldn't stop nagging me when you would finally visit them." 

"Guess today is their lucky day, though they'll most likely be let down."

"Why do you think so?" She asked, confused by my words. 

"Because I feel like they have a different image of who I truly am. Let's be honest, most of the Underworld thinks of me as someone similar to Vali, a battle maniac who regularly searches for powerful opponents to battle and isn't afraid to steal women from their partners. You know? Being literally called the Black Dragon King for a reason. When in actuality, they'll find out that I'm the complete opposite." I'd like to think I was someone peaceful, but it didn't help that my recent battle with Kokabiel kind of ruined that image. 

Rias shook her head, and planted a gentle kiss on my cheek "You're overthinking things. I'm sure if you spend a few moments with them, they'll be impressed by you — just like I was in the past."

"I agree with Rias." Someone else joined, it was Sona. "I can't speak for everyone else but our parents are generally more accepting of you and have been wanting to meet you for a while."

That was good to know.

{Break}

-Lucifaad-

After an hour, the train stopped in the city of Lucifaad — the capital city of Devil kind. We stopped in a station reserved only for us, the entire place was empty with rows of servants waiting for us.

Once we arrived, I walked out of the train car and took a deep breath of the air. My body felt stiff after being confined inside for so many hours. That feeling of being claustrophobic came back to me once again, so I decided to stretch my muscles a bit.

Xenovia had fallen into step beside me, while she gazed around the location "This place doesn't look that different..."

"Were you expecting fire and brimstone to cover the land with Devils holding a fiery pitchfork and tormenting the souls of the damned?" I asked jokingly, not expecting for Xenovia to seriously nod her head. 

"I did expect to see a lot of fire and a bunch of Satanists, but I guess that isn't really the case." She continued walking next to me, her eyes focused on the ground. "But I'm surprised that people actually live here."

"They do," I replied, noticing a few limos parked in front of us. Threw cars to be specific, each group traveled separately. 

"Quite extravagant..." I commented, "Does this always happen?" 

Rias shrugged, "It isn't that impressive, I know how you don't like things that attract too much attention. So I asked Onii-sama to keep things quiet and discreet." 

This was considered discreet? I looked at Akeno who was standing behind Rias. Wanting her to confirm the redhead's words as both of them regularly traveled to the Underworld.

"Fufufu, don't be surprised. On regular days Rias would be welcomed by an entire crowd of adoring fans who loudly cheer her name." 

"..." 

"Furthermore, she quite enjoys the attention." Her words made Rias become all flustered and embarrassed, she grabbed her Queen's hand and pulled her forcefully to the car.

"A-Akeno, stop spewing nonsense! Let's go now, my parents must be getting impatient by now!"

"Ara~! You act so shy despite what happened between you and Hachi-kun last time, you naughty girl~"

"Akeno!"

They both got inside the car, followed by Kiba, Koneko, and finally Irina. Gasper decided to stay behind like always. The same happened with Sona and finally, it was our turn. We all got inside the car and we were driven straight toward the center of the capital — Lucifer's main castle.

As we were driven to our location, I gazed at the city from my seat. Everything looked the same as any city on Earth. People in suits going to work, students talking to their friends while others used their phones. It was like we were still in Kuoh, though the only difference being that people here weren't hiding their wings and even had familiars out in the open.

"So, do you know where exactly we are going?" Xenovia asked, keeping an eye on the streets.

"We are heading straight to the castle," I said, letting my eyes rest as I began feeling a bit tired from the constant travel. "After this, we'll probably go to Rias' house, I think. It's my first time here, just like you."

For all I knew, we could all be given rooms in Lucifer's castle. 

"You look tired, are you okay?" Kalawarna asked, pressing the back of her hand on my forehead, being far closer than I expected. "You don't seem sick."

"Idiots don't get sick."

"Don't be mean, Raynare. "

"Pft, whatever. I honestly don't get why you want to fuck this guy."

"Raynare!"

Never would I have imagined for Kalawarna to be able to control Raynare, even when she was still mouthy at times. The latter was her boss in the past, the group leader who made all the decisions. Now their dynamic had made a 180 turn with Kalawarna being the one in charge, and seems to be doing a far better job at keeping the others in line. I made a note to bring her along whenever I would need to deal with Raynare.

"It's nothing, just been feeling a bit tired with everything that's been happening lately... A vacation would be much appreciated." Maybe I could take a few days of vacation in Hawaii or something. Just chill by myself under the sun, having no one to talk to for the next few days and being all by myself. 

I sighed.

'One can always dream.'

Now that I thought about it, every day the time I had for myself grew thinner and thinner. I couldn't even remember the last time I spent at least two hours all by myself. 

"I can book you a private beach all for yourself." Kalawarna proposed, having decided to sit next to me.

"Nah, I don't want to be bothered." I said, giving up on my dreams of solitude. "I don't want to bother you with such a little matter."

"I'm afraid I can't," she said stubbornly, her face becoming serious. "I have come to realize that I haven't been taking my role as your secretary seriously enough if the reason that you declined is because 'you didn't want to bother me'. I have already a few spots in the Underworld in mind, I'll give them a call and make some reservations for you." Grabbing her phone, Kalawarna immediately started making a few calls.

I honestly didn't mind it, if she indeed found something worthwhile then I would be immensely grateful.

The car stopped in front of a large white building, the doors opened and we all stepped out, revealing a grand lobby which was lined with red carpet and statues of devils. The marble floor was covered in gold dust, and there was a fountain in the middle of the room than most normal houses. Even the ceilings were high and glowed with golden light.

"Wow..." Xenovia whispered with wide eyes, her jaw dropped in awe. "This place looks like the Vatican. I feel like I'm visiting the royal palace or something."

"You're not wrong, this is Lucifer's castle after all." I explained, seeing the place made me feel just how freaking rich these Devils were. "And this is just the entrance, imagine what the inner chambers will look like..."

"Hm, our guests have arrived." 

All of us heard a calm voice come from the end of the hall. A man with a familiar shade of red hair stood there accompanied by Graifya and a few other servants. He hadn't changed a bit since I last saw him, having that familiar smile that conveyed little to nothing. A perfect mask for a being such as him, and one that suited his moniker as the Prince of Lies.

"It is an honor to be invited by a Maou." Kalawarna was quick to respond, she and a frightened Raynare all bowed their heads deeply at him with Xenovia following suit as well. It was undeniable that even while standing there and doing nothing, his presence still brought heavy pressure over them just like it did for me when we first met.

At least Raynare didn't run away like a dog with its tail between its legs.

"Hahaha! No need to be so polite, treat me as you would any regular person." 

Yeah right, as if they would ever do that to someone who could erase them with a simple sneeze. Especially him of all people, a character so broken that they had to create a new category in classing his powers as a Super Devil. 

Grayfia walked forward, gesturing to the attendants to escort my group to inside the castle. 

"Please make yourself at home, we have a feast prepared for you after such a tedious trip. For those who want to relax further, there is a hot spring and sauna available for the guests to use." She said, bringing everyone along to the next room while leaving her King and me all alone in the entrance room.

I would like to say that I didn't feel nervous.

"..."

"..."

He just stood there, menacingly, his smile making me very uncomfortable the longer he stared at him.

"Well… how's it going?" That was the best I could say without showing my nervousness.

"Oh I'm fine, did you know that in a few days, the school will be having a school visit day for parents who want to see their kids in class?"  

I did know about that, Aika mentioned this at one point. It wasn't that big of a deal to me, my father and mother already knew how little I performed in class. So they would only see their son sleeping in class or barely paying any attention and probably feel embarrassment from my actions. 

Could have been worse…

"Yes, though it had been pushed back a bit due to how everyone was busy taking care of the aftermath of Kokabiel's assault."

"An unfortunate case. There were many things wrong with the Cadre Fallen Angel, but who wouldn't have thought that his obsession with the past war made his judgment get damaged to such a degree. Having the idea that killing Rias or Sona would have caused another war."

"It wouldn't have?" I was slightly shocked by his words, I wasn't expecting such a response from him. Then again, he is a Maou with the responsibility to keep his people saf—

"I would have annihilated the entire Fallen population by myself if he had hurt a single hair on my precious sister."

Yeah, I repeat my past statement — this guy was scary. 

"Anyways, about the parent conference day." What a weird way to change subjects. "Our father decided to pay a visit with the Phenex family head. I, of course, would like to surprise Rias."

"She didn't tell you, didn't she." I stated, knowing how the girl was embarrassed of her brother's antics and didn't want him to attract too much attention in school. 

"We both know how Rias is, but I don't hold any grudges. If it wasn't for Shuri-san paying a visit then I would have honestly forgotten about it."

"... You do realize that I can tell that you're lying, right?"

"Pft-hahahahaha! You're funny, Hachiman-kun!" I haven't said anything funny though… "I believe this is the second time you mentioned something like this to me." 

Second time? Oh right, that time inside the plane. 

"You remember?"

"Of course I do, I don't tend to forget such things."

Well, that was worrying on its own.

"..."

"..."

We once again stood there, facing each other quietly for the next minute. This was getting a bit awkward, I didn't know what he wanted with me aside from the Naberius topic he called me here in the first place.

"Hachiman-kun, take care of my sister, okay?" 

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He knew.

My heart started beating like a drum, I could literally blood pump with each beat, the sudden increase in tension making me sweat buckets in a matter of seconds. There wasn't any worst way this could go any worse, Sirzechs was an infamous siscon who just admitted that he would have caused the Fallen to go extinct over the death of his sister. 

"I-I-It's not like th—"

Once again, he started laughing.

"Don't worry, Hachiman-kun. If there is one person I'm comfortable letting Rias fall in love with is you. I knew this moment would come for years, I just didn't expect it would have taken so long. It was obvious that she had a crush on you for a long time." 

"You're… not mad?" I asked fearfully.

"Of course, I'm not! I would love to have you as my brother-in-law."

Rias and I weren't married… 

"Alright, enough messing around." His smile died down before a serious aura grew around him. "I called you here for another reason. It involves the former Naberius house. We have made a lot of progress since the incident in Paris and just recently I've managed to put in place something that I'm sure you'll like very much." 

Fwish!

A large crimson magical circle encompassed the hall, having the Lucifer insignia displayed proudly in the middle. Though there were some changes to it, making it have some resemblances to his past Gremory identity. The spell began transporting us to another location while I kept my composure after the conversation with Sirzechs. This matter concerned not only me, but Koneko as well and I couldn't let her down — since I made a promise to her a few years ago.

Though as we were half gone by then, at the corner of my eyes, I caught sight of a black figure observing us from the ceiling above. Giving a quick glance before I disappeared completely, I raised an eyebrow as what I found was quite unexpected.

A black cat?

{Break}

-???-

We reappeared in the middle of a forest, looking around I came to witness a dilapidated manor with overgrown vines and broken walls. The windows were shattered and there was no sign of life anywhere inside, it was abandoned. But the one thing that caught my attention was the sigil on the entrance door. It wasn't in good condition, but whole enough for me to recognise it —  house of Naberius, the former Marquess of Hell.

"A few years ago, the head of the Naberius family was found dead inside his manor. Having sustained fatal wounds from disemboweled and his limbs torn off. The initial investigation had shown that this was the doing of his former Queen, now wanted criminal and terrorist Kuroka." 

I listened to him carefully, this story was a major scandal in the past. A peerage member killing their king was one of the gravest taboos in the Underworld. Given how the status of reincarnated Devils was already fragile and unstable, to begin with, this incident cracked any progress they made in fixing the problem.

"This incident was investigated by both Ajuka and a few members of the pillars. They found that Kuroka became drunk with power and lost her sanity in the process. The usage of Senjutsu has corrupted her mind due to its very nature. I'm sure you know this, but amongst the carnage, we found a single survivor."

"Shirone," I said, using her previous name before she changed it to Koneko.

As for Senjutsu, it had a fatal flaw, as while it lets the user read and handle spirit power, it could also take in the malice and ill will that flows in the world, potentially corrupting the user. Kuroka was labeled as someone who fell down this path, making her SS-class Stray Devil and one of the most wanted criminals in the Underworld.

"You know my stance on this matter," I said to Sirzechs, the latter nodding.

"You don't believe the story."

I gave the man a sharp glare, using the full force of my freaky fish eyes "And so do you." 

He smiled, not even a little intimidated by my glare, as expected, but  not denying or agreeing with my claim either. 

"While Senjutsu is a powerful art that has in some way become tainted, people tend to exaggerate its effects. Humans capable of practicing it tend to have little to no defense against the malice thus easily falling prey to it. But this differs heavily with Youkais, they are born with a certain degree of immunity against the negative aspects of Senjutsu. In fact, some species, in particular, are immune to it — Kyuubis, Tengu, Onis and Nekoshous." I explained, having made my own research on the matter since I learned about it with several inputs from Vritra on the specifics. "Koneko is capable of using Senjutsu after she got over her fear, but never at any point did she suffer or have to deal with the malice or ill nature of the world."

"...You certainly did quite a lot of research, Hachiman-kun."

"I tried to learn Touki but with very little progress on my part. It is logical that I would have needed to learn about the effects of Senjutsu on humans. But this isn't about me, Grayfia-san told me that you made some sort of progress on this matter." The best way I could help Koneko was to deal with the situation surrounding her sister at first. I didn't neglect the possibility of Kuroka genuinely being a criminal who had evil intentions, but the chance of that being the case was very minute. And given how I suffered at the hands of a Naberius clan member, I couldn't not be suspicious of them as well.

"Malum Naberius has a lab hidden under this mansion. Hidden through hundreds of layers of magical barriers, traps, and natural protection from the environment. None of us sensed this in the first place if it wasn't for Azazel's help with one of his prototypes." 

Who would have thought that the lazy crow was the one who actually helped the most in this case.

"The underground lab was filled with… failed experiments. Corpses of young children of various races, dissected and left to rot, deformed creatures that somehow lived trapped inside the lab and some kidnapped Devils who've been gone for years. A disgusting place that needs to be erased in my opinion." Sirzechs face was doing a great job to hide his anger. But I could tell that given the chance, he wanted nothing but to destroy the entire area off the face of the Underworld. 

He took a deep breath before exhaling slowly.

"I digress, but thanks to this discovery, we've uncovered countless notes and journals of every Naberius scientist and their scientific projects — including Kuroka's late King." He summoned a stack of papers. "We uncovered these notes, detailing the process of how the former late head of the Naberius clan wanted his servants and their families to go through a certain level of power-ups and had intended to use Kuroka as a live specimen, who could already use Senjutsu and Youjutsu, to study the nature of her power, experiment to see how her power worked and to then apply these findings on other subjects who hadn't matured yet."

I felt sickened, a bile of rage rising to my throat as it was clear the bastard tried to experiment on Koneko in the past. That girl who I've seen grow up was just a little girl, having treated her like a sister, to be used as nothing more than a disposable lab rat for them to use as they please. 

"Sirzechs, you know what this means. Kuroka has been wrongly accused and her status as a wanted criminal has to be repealed and Koneko needs to know the truth."

He sighed, "I agree with you on both sides. But unfortunately, we can't change her status as a wanted criminal anytime soon…"

"Is it because she killed her king out of self defense? The same guy who was illegally doing these experiments and whose family has been found out to be supporters of the old Satan faction?" How could they not see the sheer level of stupidity in this case was beyond me.

"The Underworld holds the importance of the King far beyond the system you're used to, Hachiman. Things work differently around here, and you can only change the rules if you have the power to back it up."

"And you don't?" He was known as the strongest Devil for a reason! Who else but him could do such a thing?

"Heh, I concur that I'm in a better position to make such changes. I may be the Maou and one of the strongest Devils alive, but I still don't hold that much power as people think. There is only a single wall stopping us from solving this case and removing Kuroka's status as a criminal."

"And this person is?"

He gave a long stare, going quiet for a few seconds before saying, "... One of the oldest Devils, Bael. One of the first kings of Hell." 

{Break}

(A hour later)

Rummaging through the rubbles of the manor, I absentee picked random items before throwing it back down. 

Sirzechs had left, having a meeting to attend and would be back in an hour. I asked to be left here instead of going back to the castle or be teleported to the Gremory estate.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Vritra spoke, coming out in his Absorption Line form. 

"Just thinking about the whole Kuroka situation. You would think people as old as Bael in positions of power would be able to see the benefits of solving this case. Why go through all this trouble and create another powerful enemy? If they had handled matters correctly, then they would have less to worry about. Literally less trouble." I said, grabbing a pebble and throwing it at an intact mirror before shattering it to pieces.

"Devils, Humans, Gods, Angels, Fallens… All of these people have flaws and desires just like any other person. Just because someone is centuries, or even thousands of years old does not mean they always can see the bigger picture. Wisdom comes along with age, but it rots due to power and arrogance. I know very little about the first Bael, but he does not strike me as someone who could be this foolish and ignorant. Surviving this long where most of the first generation of Devils have died is an astounding achievement that couldn't have been done without the proper mindset and cleverness. He obviously has something to gain from having the Nekoshou labeled as a criminal, large enough to overlook the advantage the Devils as a whole could gain from this."

"Do you think I should confront him?" I realized how ridiculous my words sounded, but I was willing to try.

"With what authority? For such beings, Dragon Kings matter little to them, especially if it involves the weakest one like me, known to have gone mad for centuries. If I was Ddraig or Albion, then we would have something to work with. But if Sirzechs can't do it then you don't have a chance as of right now. Grow stronger, become powerful enough to have the authority to shake even the strongest of Devils to their knees."

"... I can't do that, Vritra. It'll take too long, and I'm afraid that time isn't on our side. We've grown stronger every time due to stupid luck and nearly dying from battles. I can't always do that, and I can't have Koneko wait for another ten years."

This was honestly quite frustrating, I knew no one from the Bael family who could help me. Rias and Sirzechs were technically part of the Bael clan due to their mother and their powers. But the former was officially the Gremory heir while Sirzechs had to cut ties with all clans in order to become Lucifer. Maybe I could discuss matters with Rias' mom, but whether she would listen to me or not was an entirely different matter entirely.

As I stood there contemplating my next move — something brushed itself against my ankle.

I looked down, seeing a black cat rubbing its face on my pants and purring loudly.

"You?"

It was the same cat that appeared at the top of Sirzechs' castle, did it get teleported by mistake?

"Hey there, you alright?"

"Meow~!" It looked up at me and blinked.

"You sure are happy to see me, little guy."

"Mew..." It rubbed its body against my leg.

"Are you hungry? You want some food?"

"Mew!" It batted its eyes at me with anticipation, looking like it understood my words.

"Sorry, I don't have anything on me." 

The moment I went to scratch its head, a sudden jolt of electricity traveled from the tip of my finger to my head. I was shaken when the Absorption Line on my other arm reacted violently, scaring the cat into running away.

"[Restrict!]" 

"Nya!?"

Before it could even escape, Vritra's voice came loudly from the Gear and dozens of tendrils burst from the ground and completely bounded the animal in the air.

"Vritra!?" I shouted in surprise, confused as to why he reacted so violently.

"That is not a normal cat! It has two tails!" 

My eyes widened as soon as he said that, looking at it, there were indeed two tails — how did I not notice that!? This was further confirmed when it started glowing brightly before expanding rapidly in the shape of a… woman?

This turned out to be a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure, long black hair with split bangs, and hazel-gold eyes with cat-like pupils. Her attire consisted of a black kimono, a yellow obi, a set of golden beads, and an ornately detailed headband. The kimono also featured a red interior as it slid down her shoulders, giving view to her large breasts which rivaled those of Rias and Akeno in terms of size. They were further pronounced with how tightly the tendrils wrapped around them.

'Cat ears?' 

Wasn't this the same as…

We both stared at each other.

"Eh… nya?"

"..."

At that moment, I was both speechless and afraid.

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, Harry Potter and my 3 other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post monthly commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.