The heavy wooden doors swung open, and Shura walked in, followed closely by Lightning.
The cosmic projection had just snapped the room back into reality, but the air in Mephisto's office still hummed with the residual weight of my Absolute Manipulation. Lightning, being the sharp, hyper-observant investigator he was, immediately stopped in his tracks. His lazy, sleepy demeanor vanished in a millisecond. His eyes widened behind his messy bangs as he felt the lingering cosmic energy, darting between me and Mephisto.
Shura, entirely unbothered by the heavy atmosphere, walked right up to me and leaned comfortably against my chest.
"Did I miss the fun, brat?" she asked, a playful smirk on her lips.
"More like a little history lesson," I replied, wrapping an arm loosely around her waist.
Lightning stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. "World history? Or something a bit more... classified?"
I glanced at Mephisto. He gave me a knowing, amused smile, silently confirming that he couldn't expose the contents of Section 13 himself without getting caught in the political crossfire. So, I decided to throw the dog a massive bone.
"Oh, I was just using my cosmic awareness to watch the history of the universe," I said casually, feeling Shura stiffen slightly in surprise against me. "It's really wild, Light-boy. Especially the origins of Section 13."
A manic, almost feral grin slowly stretched across Lightning's face. "Oh, Rin, you really are a treasure trove. Did you happen to see who's hiding the skeletons in the Vatican's closet?"
"Oh yea, you're heavily into this history stuff of the world too, ain't ya?" I asked, feigning innocent curiosity.
"Well, wouldn't anyone be a little curious?" he replied. "Especially with so many things being kept in the dark for so long."
"You've got a point there," I acknowledged. "So, since you're into that detective stuff, then how about this."
I held out my free hand and tapped into my divine power, condensing the energy in my palm to solidify into physical matter until a silver pocket watch materialized in my palm. Inside the glass face, instead of clock hands, a tiny, dormant silver flame hovered in the center.
I tossed the watch at Lightning. He caught it instinctively, his eyes marveling at the flawless, otherworldly craftsmanship.
"It's a Truth Compass," I explained. "It's completely dormant right now. But when you find a real clue about whatever you want to find, or when your detective work is actually on the right track, the flame inside will expand and point you to the next piece of the puzzle. It'll keep guiding you until you get enough pieces to get a glimpse at the full truth."
Lightning practically vibrated with excitement. He gripped the silver watch like it was the holy grail. "A breadcrumb trail. How interesting."
I smirked. "If you're as good an investigator as everyone says you are, then that little toy will make sure no secrets can hide from you anymore. If not, then I guess your skills were just the Order blowing their own horn."
Satisfied with the seed I had just planted, I turned my attention back to Mephisto. "By the way, where's Shiemi supposed to go to deal with Amaimon?"
Shura blinked, looking up at me. "Wait, what? Sweet, clumsy Shiemi is supposed to deal with the Earth King?"
"Apparently," I nodded.
"She has to go to her family's ancestral home, Amahara," Mephisto answered smoothly, picking up his teacup.
"Is that far?" I asked.
"It's in a separate state of reality, just as what you created," Mephisto explained.
"Ah, so like another pocket dimension," I mused. "But how's she gonna even beat Amaimon? Sure, he's in a weaker state, but he still has a massive physical advantage over her."
"Time in the dimension functions differently, so she'll be thoroughly trained to be able to deal with him."
"Reaaally?" I raised a brow. "Who'd be training her?"
"The clan that serves Shemihaza and her descendants, the Uzai family," Mephisto said. "They'll also be responsible for taking her there. They are a secretive and powerful branch of the True Cross Order that only a minimal few even know exist."
I whistled. "They must be responsible for some serious shit if they're kept secret from other Order members."
"Indeed," Mephisto nodded. "When the artificial Gehenna Gates were opening, they actually planned on moving in to secure Shiemi Moriyama, but you gave the Order a means to fix the problem."
I raised a brow in slight surprise. "Wow. So, their last resort was getting Shiemi ready."
"Yes, and they still plan on using her."
"How?" I questioned.
"The Order thinks since Shemihaza was able to stop Amaimon through sacrificing herself, then—"
"Then Shiemi might be able to do the same with me," I finished his sentence for him. I let out a dry, genuine laugh. "How hilarious."
Shura scoffed in disgust. "Are you kidding me? They want to use her as a fail-safe against you?"
Lightning's expression turned grim. "The Uzai family... so the Grigori really are that desperate. They're dusting off the Emperor of Creation's relics just to build a weapon against you."
"They're pretty prideful, huh?" I asked Mephisto, ignoring the supposed threat.
"But of course," Mephisto smiled. "The clan has served each new iteration of the Emperor of Creation for centuries. There hasn't been anything able to break out of any of their seals."
"Until Rin," Shura added proudly.
"Correct. So, you might understand why they even attempted to go as far as securing Ms. Moriyama for training after your little demonstration."
"They did?" I questioned. "What stopped them?"
"The Order didn't want to incur any further wrath from you, so they had them pause their efforts for the time being."
I smirked, thoroughly amused by the Vatican's scrambling. "How interesting. But that doesn't matter anymore. Hit their line and tell them to come get her. Time's a-ticking, and I want all pieces ready to go on the board."
I turned my attention to Shura. "I've got some errands to run regarding the army I'm building. You wanna come along?"
"Lead the way, brat," she grinned.
"We have to make a stop in my pocket dimension for something first," I told her.
"Before you go," Mephisto chimed in. "I've already taken the liberty of transferring Target Two into the eastern ridge of your pocket dimension. Do try to tame them; they're quite unruly."
"Appreciate the delivery service," I smirked. I glanced over at the hunched detective. "Catch you later, Light-boy. Have fun with your new toy."
Lightning just waved dismissively without looking up, already completely mesmerized by the dormant pocket watch.
I activated the black square tattoo on my arm and stepped through the doorway with Shura right by my side.
I set the location to bring us directly to Hachirotaro's coordinates.
When we arrived, we found that the previously empty section of land had been completely terraformed. Hachiro and his snake familiars had used their ice manipulation to carve out a majestic fortress directly into a glacier-like mountain.
Hachirotaro approached us immediately, bowing with absolute reverence. "My Lord. Ms. Kirigakure. The base of operations is established. However... the dimension is currently only suited for ice and earth demons. The temperature is quite severe. Furthermore, that horde of elementals the Director deposited on the eastern ridge are aggressively feral. They've been screeching and attempting to cause trouble since they arrived."
Ah, right. I haven't set the climate yet; I just made the space bright,I thought. And the goblins are already here too, settling them down might be a headache on its own.
"I'll handle things," I said, raising both hands toward the bright but empty expanse above us.
I released a massive, highly condensed sphere of pearl-white and silver flames that anchored itself into the atmosphere of the "sky." The sphere bloomed into a brilliant, artificial sun that immediately bathed the entire dimension in a warm, restorative light. I followed it up with a cooler, silver-blue sphere, setting it in a synchronized rotation.
A sun and a moon.
The climate instantly balanced out, melting the harshest edges of the ice while keeping the fortress intact. It was a perfect environment for the incoming recruits.
"I'll never get used to that," Shura said, her eyes filled with wonder.
"Now," I said, turning to Hachiro and Shura. "I want to see what that new Fang can do. Hachiro, spar with her."
Shura's eyes lit up with excitement. She drew her demon blade. But this time, instead of the terrifying drain on her life force, the intricate snake tattoo coiled around her forearm glowed with a warm, pulsing energy.
"Let's see what this new body can really do!" she challenged, a fierce, feral grin stretching across her face.
She lunged. Her speed was explosive, kicking up a cloud of crushed ice in her wake. She channeled her power seamlessly, unleashing a massive, corruption-free energy wave from the blade.
Hachiro, testing her, summoned a thick, towering wall of reinforced ice. The energy wave cleaved right through the first three layers before finally dissipating in a shower of freezing sparks. Hachiro held back just enough not to kill her, acting as the perfect, immovable benchmark for her new strength.
For twenty minutes, they clashed, shaking the glacial foundations of the fortress. Shura was a blur of movement, her red hair whipping through the air as she flipped off ice pillars and launched barrage after barrage of crescent strikes. She let out an exhilarated laugh, clearly drunk on the sheer freedom of her own untethered strength.
"Alright, that's enough!" I called out, halting them. They both pulled back, breathing steadily.
Shura sealed her sword back on her arm and looked at her glowing tattoo in disbelief. "I... I feel amazing," she breathed, her chest rising and falling smoothly. "I feel like I could go for another three hours!"
"That's good," I said, looking at both of them. "Since you two are familiar with each other's move sets, I thought it'd be a good idea to have you two spar like this at least once a week going forward. It'll keep you both sharp."
Shura shot me a cocky wink, resting her hands on her hips. "As long as the big snake here doesn't mind getting his scales bruised on a weekly basis, I'm down."
Hachiro bowed his head slightly, a faint, dignified smile on his face. "I look forward to the challenge, descendant."
After that, we went to the eastern section of my dimension.
Since I made it so that my dimension would adapt to anything I designated into it, the "air" in this sector had become thick, toxic, and chaotic. A barren, rocky landscape had even formed around the massive horde of elemental goblins inhabiting it. They were feral, muddy, and entirely disorganized, screeching and fighting amongst themselves.
"This is Target Two?" Shura asked, pinching her nose against the smell. "They reek, and look weak."
"Right now, they are," I agreed, stepping forward to the edge of the cliff overlooking the horde. "But they'll be highly malleable soon."
My four-colored halo flared, and I unleashed a massive, sweeping area-of-effect wave of my divine flames. The fire washed over the thousands of feral goblins, burning away their impurities, and forcefully injected a spark of my power into their cores.
The evolution was instantaneous.
The chaotic grunts screamed as their bodies shifted. They grew bigger, taller, and more defined. Their feral eyes sharpened into glowing, disciplined slits, and their bodies pulsed with new divine energy. In seconds, I had forcibly evolved a horde of mindless goblins into fiercely loyal elemental infantry.
They all turned toward me in unison and dropped to their knees, bowing to their new king.
"Not bad," I smirked, then turned to Shura. "They could probably help in your training with Hachiro too."
Shura placed a hand on her hip, eyeing the glowing army with a dangerous grin. "Oh? Setting me up to play crowd control with your new pets? Don't come crying to me if I accidentally slice a few dozen of 'em in half."
"I'm counting on it," I shot back, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. "Every king needs a queen to keep his army on their toes."
She rolled her eyes, but the heavy blush on her cheeks gave her away. "Keep smooth-talking, brat. I'm just here for the violence."
I smirked at her then, turned back to the new horde. "You were all previously mindless savages," I began. "But now, you have a new purpose. One that will utilize your keen instincts and desires for battle."
The goblins hummed in understanding.
"Get yourselves settled," I continued. "Because you're all going to be very busy going forward. Someone will be here soon to give out any other objectives I may need from you all, so be ready."
In response, the entire horde slammed their fists against their chests in a thunderous, synchronized salute that echoed across the barren ridge, vibrating through the ground beneath our feet.
After leaving the dimension, Shura and I popped back to True Cross Academy, stepping out into the crisp air of the Exwire training yards.
Bon, Izumo, Konekomaru, and Shiemi were completely collapsed on the dirt, drenched in sweat and gasping for air. They had been pushing themselves to their absolute breaking point.
"Not bad," I acknowledged, casually walking over to them. "You guys are actually starting to look like somewhat of a threat."
"Shut up... Rin," Bon panted, struggling to push himself up from the dirt. "I didn't ask for your critique."
"Relax. I'm giving you a morale boost," I said.
I summoned four small, gentle embers of my pearl-white flames and flicked them directly into their chests. The flames sank seamlessly into their bodies. In an instant, their heavy breathing stopped, and their fatigue vanished from their muscles.
"Whoa..." Izumo muttered, looking at her hands as the exhaustion was completely eradicated.
Konekomaru patted his chest, looking caught between utter relief and lingering terror at my flames. "T-Thank you, Rin."
"Consider it a recovery potion with some serious upsides," I told them. "It ain't gonna be a consistent thing, so don't get used to it. It's just to keep you from permanently breaking your bodies before the war starts. You can train harder and longer now. So get back to it."
I looked down at Shiemi, who was staring up at me with wide, grateful eyes.
"Shiemi," I said, my tone shifting to something slightly more serious. "Head up to Mephisto's office. He's waiting for you for a special assignment."
She blinked, nodding quickly as she scrambled to her feet and jogged off toward the mansion, entirely unaware that she was about to be sent to another dimension to subjugate a Demon King.
I watched her go for a second before Shura bumped her shoulder against mine.
"So," she said, looking up at me with a battle-hungry glint in her eye. "We've got the grunts. Where to next?"
I pulled the warded dossier out of my pocket, a predatory smirk spreading across my face. "Next, we go get some real muscle."