"V-Valon! I'm glad you're still awake, a request just came in from Lady Yasaka!!"
I blinked, glancing up from where I had been lazily leaning on my throne, nearly falling asleep after glancing through the [Guidebook] for the tenth time that day. In the dead of the night, I didn't expect anyone to come bother me - aside from maybe Shera, Layna, or Runa trying to drag me to the bedroom for 'fun.'
However, in front of me stood the slightly panicked form of Raya as she burst into my throne room.
"What is it?" I asked casually, raising an eyebrow at her. I had personally spoken with Yasaka just the day before, and was under the impression that she had returned to Kyoto.
I wasn't sure what could be causing Raya to look so panicked, but considering the Youkai Queen could become as powerful as a Maou by utilizing the near-endless energy in the Kyoto Leylines, I doubted she'd been randomly attacked.
Unfortunately, Raya quickly confirmed what I thought was certainly not the case.
"Sorry for bothering you with this," Raya said sheepishly, bowing her head slightly in apology, "I would've sent someone else to deal with it, but it'll take a bit to contact anyone strong enough to at this hour."
"It's fine," I waved my hand dismissively. I was sure if I had been asleep or 'busy' with some women in my bedroom, Raya would've just taken the time to send one of my new subordinates in Sirzechs or Falbium, or maybe someone like Tiamat.
But, since I was awake, available, and nearby, it made sense for me to deal with whatever issue this was.
"Just explain quickly," I nodded, standing up from my throne and walking toward her as she spoke.
"Right! The Lady Yasaka is under attack right now," Raya started, continuing at my curious look, "She did head back to Kyoto yesterday, but…"
Raya sighed, flushing slightly as she looked both embarrassed and disappointed. "She held a meeting with the leader of the East Youkai Faction tonight, and it's taken a turn for the worse."
Eh? She was meeting with the East Youkai Faction?
That faction was pretty much the unloved little brother of the West Youkai Faction, as their population numbers were far lower, and overall their leaders were much weaker than the West Youkai Faction's.
That was largely due to Yasaka, who was really the only impressive member of the West Youkai Faction, but she was strong enough to count for a dozen different powerful members.
"Why'd she do that?" I raised an eyebrow. I doubted she was trying to betray me already, so I assumed it must be some personal reason.
But, considering she was a faction under my rule now, I would've expected her to report it to me. I might need to remind her what type of relationship we have now - while I let her maintain governance over her people, the West Youkai Faction was now mine.
Any meetings she had should've been done through Raya, who would've reported such a thing to me.
"To convince them to fall under your kingdom as well," Raya said the last thing I was expecting, causing me to blink in surprise. "She mentioned that she might try this, but I didn't think she'd really do it, so I didn't bother you with it. I guess I should have now…"
I would've preferred if she had told me, but I also couldn't be mad that she didn't. Raya knew how hands-off I was overall with my rule, as I left most of it to underlings such as her, Vargan, Velrissa, etc.
For something as serious as bringing another faction under my Kingdom, I probably should've been informed, but I guess the East Youkai Faction was pretty small anyway. I don't know if they should even be considered a faction.
"It's fine," I waved her off again, grinning lightly as I casually wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her into my side and leaning down as I pecked her lips quickly, "Just explain the situation to me. Why's Yasaka even trying to bring them under my rule anyway?"
The West and East Youkai factions had been at odds for a while, so it was odd that she would suddenly try to make peace and bring them under the same banner.
"T-To impress you," Raya surprised me again as she blushed, slightly thrown off by the sudden kiss, "She admitted to me that she was happy about you taking over the devils, though she told me to keep that a secret. I think that her faction is weak in the grand scheme of the world, and gaining favor while serving under you is a chance for her to gain more power and protect her people."
I was reminded by Raya's 'I think' that she was at one point holed off from the rest of the world in the Familiar Forest, meaning she didn't have the political knowledge I did about each faction. Considering she had barely known what a human was when I first met her, her growth in being able to manage a large part of my Kingdom was really impressive.
I pushed those thoughts aside, thinking about Yasaka's reason for a moment, and it did make sense. The Youkai had always gotten the short end of the stick, and this was her chance to change that.
They hadn't gotten along with the devils already, having been fucked over by them in the Nekoshou Incident, and they struggled to make allies in general. Because Yasaka could only use her full power in Kyoto with the Leylines, they had no real way to make moves in the political landscape between factions.
They were overall weak and had a small population, only being able to survive at all because of how powerful Yasaka was. In that same vein, Yasaka couldn't leave Kyoto often, because if she were kidnapped or killed in her weakened state, then the faction would be finished. At the same time, if she weren't in Kyoto, then the entire faction would be defenseless. They also weren't an appealing ally, because their strongest fighter couldn't leave their headquarters.
Even her vacation in [Sealing Dream] was only made possible because we'd done it in secret, and because I had left Benemue and some of my own forces there in case anyone did find out. If Kyoto had been attacked while she was in the sacred gear, then I and my 'new allies' at the time in the devils would've defended it.
"So, the East Youkai Faction guys used the meeting to ambush her?" I deduced easily, to which Raya nodded.
"Yes," She confirmed, "One of her handmaidens has a direct communication link with me in case of emergencies, and she said Lady Yasaka went to Kanto for the meeting. She only brought a few guards with her."
The woman being underprepared was a bit surprising, but I guess she didn't think she needed to take the East Youkai Faction seriously. Their attempt on her life was a death wish, as even if she wasn't under my rule, it wasn't like their leaders were very impressive.
They had a couple of decently strong Youkai, but I figured that Yasaka could handle them on her own. The fact that she was calling for aid meant-
"There's more than just the East Youkai Faction attacking her, right?" I hummed, raising an eyebrow at Raya, who nodded quickly.
"Grim Reapers," She said bluntly, "The handmaiden reported that there were a lot of them as well."
Well, that made things more annoying. It was especially annoying because, aside from the East Youkai Faction obviously, I didn't know who to crush for being foolish enough to attack a faction under my rule.
The Grim Reapers were split into multiple factions, and could've been sent there by either Hades, Thanatos, or Orcus. Thanatos was the most likely candidate, as Orcus was a pretty peaceful guy, and Hades had just gone running from the Underworld like a bitch, but I couldn't be sure.
Either way, that was something I'd have to deal with later. For now, I'll crush them so badly that whoever their leader is doesn't dare try something like this again.
"Kanto," I muttered, stepping back from Raya as I turned around. I swiftly walked up to my half-broken sword hanging on the wall, as Vargan was still putting the finishing touches on my new gear, and took it off the wall. "I'll be back soon."
"You don't want any backup?" Raya asked, tilting her head cutely at me.
"Nah," I just smirked lightly, shaking my head, "I don't need help with a couple of grunts."
[Demonic Teleportation] activated, and a small blank, un-symbolized magic circle appeared under me. A moment later, I was standing near Yasaka's temple in Kyoto.
I had never been to Kanto before, so I couldn't teleport straight there, but it wasn't far. I leaped forward, bursting through the air as I covered hundreds of miles in just a few seconds. The world blurred around me, and I very quickly found myself in Kanto.
The region wasn't a city like Kyoto, so I wondered for a minute if I'd need to spend some time searching for Yasaka, but that ended up not being a problem. Not far ahead of me, a large burst of flames shot up into the sky light a gigantic firework.
I figured that wasn't a usual sight in Kanto, so I went forward and quickly spotted Yasaka. She was standing on the roof of a house within a pretty large city, her hands raised as a burst of fire shot into the sky toward a cloaked figure. I landed on a nearby house, looking up at the cloaked figure.
[Grim Reaper] - Level 127
The body-less being wasn't that powerful, but I quickly realized Yasaka's concerns as nearly a dozen more came shooting out of the dark sky down at her, their scythes raised as they tried to slash at her.
I watched for a second, hoping to get an idea of the situation as the Grim Reapers charged towards her. The sheer amount of them made it understandable that Yasaka was struggling, but she should just transform now and be able to hold her own.
My eyes narrowed as the opposite happened, watching as Yasaka raised her hands and flames formed on her palms. A rather disappointing fireball shot forward, looking like it was coming from a low-level mage instead of a nine-tailed fox Youkai.
It barely even phased the Grim Reapers as they easily dodged the attack, and Yasaka raised her hands again. This time, instead of flames, she just winced as she stumbled backward.
I was extra confused as instead of fighting back, or moving to dodge, Yasaka just fell back onto her rather thick ass. Her eyes went wide with fear as the Grim Reaper swung his scythe, aiming for her neck, and I figured now was a pretty good time to take action.
I shot forward, the roof under me becoming a crater as I casually swung my sword. Metal hit metal as the jagged side of the broken blade deflected the scythe, and a moment later, the Grim Reaper was weaponless. I swung forward pretty casually, not chasing as the cloaked figure quickly moved backward away from me.
"Are you alright?" I glanced over my shoulder, looking pretty arrogant as I ignored the various Grim Reapers looking wearily at me as I reached out a hand to Yasaka.
"Y-Yes!" She breathed out, her face turning red as she reached out, took my hand, and was pulled to her feet. I glanced away from her, looking back at the Grim Reapers curiously.
Were they really strong enough to take down Yasaka, and their level was underselling their skills?
I was about to find out.
"I'm here," I said simply, tensing my legs as I shot forward, the force of my legs smashing through the roof of the building under us and causing it to crumble. "You're safe now."
I lashed out with my sword casually, not even needing to fight seriously or use any skills as I moved through the air. I was far too quick for any of the low-level Grim Reapers to react, and to their eyes, I practically teleported behind them. My sword ripped through their cloaked bodies, and over a dozen died in an instant.
I frowned as I glanced behind me, watching as the scythes fell to the ground below and the cloaks floated down more slowly as they were cut in half. I knew the Grim Reapers looked bodyless, as they were essentially just floating robes with pure darkness where their head would be, but it seemed they literally didn't have bodies.
Which made me click my tongue in annoyance, as it meant there was nothing for me to use [Devour] on. Having some death-related skills would've been nice.
I casually fell back down, landing on the broken roof next to Yasaka as I lamented the loss of skills.
"Y-Your Highness!" Yasaka called out behind me, and I blinked in surprise as the woman was breathing heavily as she looked thankfully at me, "T-Thank you for coming!"
"Are you alright?" I asked again as I glanced over her for the first time, taking in her figure. Her usual loose yellow robe was ripped, and she raised her hand as she winced in pain and placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Y-Yes, I can keep going," She nodded, stumbling slightly despite her words.
A trail of blood was flowing down her front, bringing my attention to a long flesh wound on her right shoulder and stretching down to her limp arm. Her exhausted form and injured body made it clear she was losing the fight, but-
"Why didn't you transform?" I asked bluntly.
The woman could take on the form of a massive nine-tailed fox, which even without the Kyoto Leylines should ensure she could hold her own. The numerous Grim Reapers were annoying, but they shouldn't be enough to injure Yasaka this badly this quickly.
Unless the handmaiden hadn't contacted Raya right away, and Yasaka had been here fighting for hours, she shouldn't be in this state.
"I can't," Yasaka huffed, wincing lightly as she tried to stand straight and catch her breath, "T-That slimy man, Nurarihyon, caught me by surprise. I-I'm experiencing energy-counterflow."
Well, I didn't really know what that meant, but it definitely was a bad thing. Nurarihyon, the leader of the East Youkai Faction, might be stronger than I expected.
In the series, his true power hadn't really been shown since he was just a side-story character. He was certainly decently skilled, as he was able to hide himself from the entire Occult Research Club as he watched them, and then had effortlessly hypnotized Rias, Kuroka, and Koneko.
He also never had a real fight, as he was just one-shot by Ophis, who literally defeated him by slapping his ass - which wasn't a knock on him, as the Dragon God would probably one-shot most beings in this world - so I wasn't sure how problematic he was.
"Energy counterflow?" I asked, looking curiously at Yasaka.
"I-It reverses the flow of the energy in my body," Yasaka explained shakily, stumbling again despite standing still, "It's done by forcefully reversing the current of someone's energy. It's hard to do in the middle of a fight, but when I had my guard down, that man… for most Youkai, they'd die from trying to utilize any techniques. I can still fight, but…"
She trailed off, and I just nodded easily. Her shaky movements and the way it looked like even a strong breeze would make her stumble told me all I needed to know. Her even lasting this long was pretty impressive.
"Just stay here and look pretty," I grinned, causing the woman to blush lightly as my legs tensed again, "I'll finish this up."
As I glanced up into the dark sky, I didn't immediately spot the East Youkai Faction leader. Instead, the moon far overhead was blocked as hundreds of Grim Reapers floated above. They had paused their quest to take down Yasaka at my arrival, and even the bodyless figures seemed uncertain now that I was here.
"If you don't want to die…" I grinned, holding up my half-broken blade and pointing the jagged edge up at them. [King's Aura] and [King's Command] activated, causing my presence to extend out into the night sky.
"Fuck off, okay?"
I blinked in surprise as it… actually worked?
I was left confused as the air in the sky shimmered and started to swirl. One of the Grim Reapers in front abruptly disappeared, his cloaking swirling into itself as it blipped out of existence.
The ones behind the front one quickly followed, and in just a few seconds, the entire army of Grim Reapers had teleported away.
"The hell?" I muttered, glancing over curiously at Yasaka, who just shrugged in confusion.
"Those cowards! They're just running at the sight of him?!"
I glanced back up, and now that the massive crowd of Grim Reapers had fled, I was able to spot the main culprits for why I was here as they floated far above the city.
[Youkai] [Nurarihyon] - Level 528
The first was a short, small-statured old man with a wrinkly bald head. He was thin, with no muscle on his body, and was wearing a loose robe. His eyes were filled with interest as he looked at me, and his face looked rather young compared to his body.
However, he wasn't the one who yelled angrily, as that belonged to the non-humanoid man next to him.
[Youkai] [Kumowatari] - Level 295
The man looked more like a dog than a man, as he had floppy ears, a furry body, and a tail sticking out behind him. A trail of lightning seemed to perpetually strike around him, curling around his body and causing static to shock through the air around him.
"It's not their fault," Nurarihyon chuckled, looking down at me with a glint in his eyes, "They were sent with orders to fight the Youkai Queen, not the Beast King. We're backing down, too."
"W-What?!" The dog-like man, Kumowatari, huffed as he looked at Nurarihyon incredulously, "After all this, we're not finishing what we started?!"
"Fighting the Beast King is much different than fighting an injured nine-tailed fox who is without her full strength and can barely fight," The finally Youkai spoke, who was floating next to Nurarihyon.
[Youkai] [Nekomata] [Magari] - Level 415
The final Youkai didn't look like a person at all, as it was instead a small cat. She had pure-white fur with black spots scattered along her body, along with seven tails sticking out where the usual one was.
"So?! We're just running?!" Kumowatari yelled angrily again, glaring at the small cat now.
"You're not doing anything," I called up casually, pointing my broken sword up at them again, "You know what you just did, don't you, Leader of the East Youkai Faction?"
"It was just a bit of fun, Beast King," Nuriarihyon chuckled, still looking unserious as he looked down at me, "You brats haven't experienced the boredom of living for a millennium yet! You've gotta find ways to have fun sometimes, y'know?"
"Fun that almost killed her?" I raised an eyebrow, gesturing to Yasaka's bleeding form as a predatory grin appeared on my face, "Then, I'll have to follow your lead and have some fun of my own, won't I?"
"You've made a lot of enemies, Beast King, but I don't want to be one of them." Nuriarihyon just chuckled, "A man must do what he needs to do in order to survive, right? If you must blame someone, then blame the Greeks for making me a vehicle for their anger!"
The Greeks? That still didn't distinguish between Hades or Thanatos being the ones behind the attack, as they were both technically Greek, but it did confirm that they didn't just take my taking over of the Underworld lying down.
I had been content with letting Hades run because the quest was complete, but it seemed I had a new target now.
"We'll take our leave now," Nurarihyon continued, smirking at me lightly, "Don't take it personally, alright? I'm not much of a fighter, I was just doing what I had to."
"Your old age has made you senile," I countered, my grin still present as my legs tensed, "You touched something that is mine, and you think you can just leave unharmed?"
"Your fight is with the Greeks, not us, Beast King," Nurarihyon tried again.
"I hope whatever the Greeks threatened to do to you is worse than what I will do to you, Youkai," I shook my head easily, "This woman is mine, and nothing pisses me off more than someone touching what is mine. Be grateful she isn't dead, so I'll be satisfied with only your head."
Nurarihyon still didn't look very worried by my words, just chuckling lightly as he raised his hand. His palm started to glow as he opened his mouth again.
"If you won't be reasonable, then neither will I. You'll have to forget this ever happen-"
"You monologue too much." I appeared in front of the Youkai in a split second, causing his eyes to widen as my fist slammed directly into his face.
If he thought I was just going to let him use his hypnosis abilities, he really was senile. My various skills meant it likely would barely affect me anyway, but I wasn't taking that risk.
And, I was pretty pissed off. If I had been a bit later, then Yasaka would really be dead right now. Someone needed to pay, and there were no Greek gods in the area, so he would have to do.
Nuriarihyon was sent slamming downward as his nose broke from the strike, blood bursting out and flowing down his face. Before he even reached the road of the city below us, I was already below him.
My hand lashed out, grabbing him by his robe's collar as I yanked him upward. His momentum was stopped, and the air was pulled from his lungs by the act.
"Leader!"
Kumowatari came shooting down from above, his fist cocked back as lightning circled around his fist, but I didn't need to act. The dog-man's eyes went wide as a glowing paw slammed into his face from the side, belonging to Magari.
"W-What the hell are you-" The fist slammed into the top of his head again, tapping him lightly as it wasn't really an attack, but it caused him to stop as he looked at Magari incredulously.
"Don't make it worse, fool," She just huffed, looking at him dryly. "He said he wants only his head. If Nuriarihyon dies, we don't need to die with him."
I smirked lightly at her words as I raised my fist, casually shifting my hand into a knife as Nuriarihyon's hand glowed again. I jutted my arm forward, stabbing the knife-hand directly into the Youkai's palm as he hissed in pain.
"S-So you want us to just watch him die?!" Kumowatari shot back, glaring at her, "You're a coward!"
"A coward who's lived much longer than you, and who will continue to live far longer than you," The cat said back with a smirk, glancing down at me, "Beast King! He might be an old coot, but I promise you he's more useful alive than dead!"
"Oh? Your previous words were so selfish, but you do care for him," I hummed, chuckling lightly as I wiggled my knife-hand in Nuriarihyon's hand as he tried to use magic for a third time, not learning his lesson.
"Not at all," Magari's cat-face turned from a smirk into a grin, "He got himself into this situation, so he should get himself out of it. I'm just giving you sound advice so I don't meet the same fate."
So, she wasn't trying to save his behind, but her own? That was actually pretty smart, but also ruthless.
I wasn't going to let the other two get away anyway, even if I only wanted Nuriarihyon's head on a pike. The East Youkai Faction joining my forces was more beneficial than just slaughtering them.
It wasn't like they really went against me because they wanted to either. The faction was small, weak, and definitely couldn't deny the Greeks if they were being pressured into doing something.
But that didn't change the fact that they had almost killed Yasaka.
"Alright, East Youkai Faction Leader," I hummed, my grin turning a bit vicious as I looked down at Nuriarihyon's bloodied and genuinely nervous expression, "Since you were looking to have fun, let's play a game, alright?"
I let my sword drop on the ground next to me, my knife-hand slamming forward as I pinned Nuriarihyon's hand to the ground behind him. He grunted in pain from the action, wincing as more blood flowed from his palm.
"I'm going to punch you until I don't feel angry anymore," I said bluntly, smirking as the Youkai's eyes widened in slight horror, "If you're still alive when that happens, you can be a slave. If you aren't, well…"
My fist rocketed forward, slamming Nuriarihyon's head into the ground as more blood shot out from his nose.
"Then your soul can personally tell Hades that he'll be joining you soon."
Nuriarihyon's pained screams would fill the air that night, and the East Youkai Faction fell under my rule without a struggle.
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AN: Thank you for reading! There will be another chapter posted in a few hours today!
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