*The Passage of Time*
"What a drag; I feel like my research isn't going anywhere. Maybe I'm thinking about everything too scientifically, distancing myself from the mystical," I complained in the armchair that looked ancient while I racked my brains.
"Perhaps you should look at it from another perspective," said the old man in front of me, who was perhaps older than me in terms of timelines.
I just looked at him, somewhat weary; he wasn't paying attention to our conversation; he was polishing a mystical code he held in his hand.
Looking at the object, it didn't seem special to me, not even something he used to manipulate the second magic.
"What do you mean, 'I should look at it from another perspective'?" I tentatively asked him.
The truth is, I was already feeling very depressed and stressed.
Zelretch just shrugged, a sign of complete disinterest.
"I don't know why I came here," I complained, getting up and ready to leave. Just as I was about to open the door, I heard his voice.
"From what you understand, it has a sealed mystical code that helped it see and uncover the deepest secrets. With that ability, deciphering the seals and eliminating them shouldn't be too difficult, so your focus should be on how to use your powers without that thing interfering."
Hearing his words, I froze.
It had never crossed my mind to use my powers again.
The truth is, I had seen my body, and the seals on it were easier to deal with than what the scythe contained, but I didn't want any trouble with the Counterforce or Gaia, since I didn't want to be forced out of here without Medusa.
Honestly, what that old man said seemed more feasible than anything I'd done so far.
"Retch, that's the best idea you've given me since we met," I said frankly.
After so many years in the clock tower and with my promotions, having achieved the rank of Pride, and with my status as a being from before the age of man, just like him, it was only natural that he'd have a certain interest in me and want to get to know me.
The user of the second magic finally looked up from his useless mystical code and met my gaze.
"If you want to repay me for my help, you can use those eyes to see some things that might interest me," he said seriously.
"I didn't mention anything about rewarding you," I said wearily, turning to leave the room. I figured if he helped me, it would be to gain something of personal interest.
But after so long here, I'd gotten used to these types being this way.
...
"So, what do you think, Akane?" I asked my former teacher from the Second Holy Grail War.
She just sighed, stopped what she was doing, and looked at me.
"Dante, to be honest, at this point in my life, I'm no longer interested in obtaining any of the five magics." Her answer filled me with shame and disappointment.
For all these years, my research had focused on how to release the scythe from its confinement so that when I left this world, I could summon it again without any problems or seals.
"But..." I tried to say but stopped myself.
"My dear friend," she interrupted, "look at me, I'm old now," she said, pointing to herself; I saw her wrinkles and her graying hair.
And the truth is, she didn't just look old; she was old.
"Fifty-five years have passed since the Holy Grail War. During this time, hoping to finally get married, I continued my travels and found ways to help you help me. I did my research, have four daughters, and now I'm here, ever closer to retiring and resting. I know you promised to take me with you, but I feel it would be pointless." Her words struck me right in the gut.
The truth is, I never intended to delay finding a way to release the seals on the scythe, but I was never very skilled in magic.
My rank and status are more due to my strength, my continued presence, and the help I've provided during my time in the Clock Tower. My sorcery and research were never anything special or anything that wasn't already being done by someone else, but since these people are protective of their work, I had to create my own from scratch.
When she looked at me, all I could do was sigh.
"Look, if you want, you can do something for your grandchildren rather than for us." Upon hearing those words, I looked directly at Akane.
"What exactly do you mean?" I tried to confirm what she meant.
"What you just heard," she replied. "You know I searched for the root to inherit the Aozaki magic basket, something I ultimately abandoned. So, obtaining one of the five magics after the war was never a priority. That's why I never pressured you or was disappointed that you didn't keep your word. And if I had it now, I would most likely end up inheriting it."
Hearing this, I understood what she meant. The truth was, I knew, but I wanted to keep my promise and not feel so bad about forcing Akane to revive me. But I know she never cared and has never regretted it.
And the truth is, my grandson might need it more than Akane.
"Fine," I said decisively, "but I still owe you one then." At my response, she could only smile.
"Then I'll ask you to look after Opera for me." Hearing her ask me to care for one of her daughters—the wildest, most impulsive, and most erratic—made me tense up.
"You're wicked," I complained, to which she only laughed.
"It's my revenge for all these years." Her response only made me sigh, since now there was no going back.
...
In the room, I sat and waited. The place was filled with seals and talismans. The idea was to create a barrier that would isolate the outside world as much as possible, delaying the intervention of those two forces.
I finally managed to create a magic circle. When I stood inside it, I could release all the seals on my body; the smaller the circle, the more effective it was. When I opened it without isolating the area, it took the world a minute to intervene and fix the anomaly. With those seals and talismans, it takes them much longer to realize what's happening.
A long time ago, Zelrecth showed me an incomplete path to reach the root, but it needed a bridge, something no one else had. But with the scythe, I could create that point, or, as I like to say, that leap from point A to point B.
Once I had my scythe in my hands, it was just a matter of deciding when to use it, and the idea is to do it as soon as possible, since you never know when someone might ruin your day.
"Father, we've arrived," I heard an adult woman's voice say.
"Come in," I ordered, only to see Chiaki enter with my grandson, Takeo Aozaki, son of Shuji Aozaki and Chiaki Kurozumi.
"Very well, then, we're ready," to which they both nodded.
Without wasting any time, I stood in the magic circle, where the pillar bearing the sealed scythe stood.
The truth is, I was nervous, as I had a hidden reason for doing this: I needed to obtain one of the five magics, more specifically, the third, the one that allowed me to manipulate souls.
Now ready, I began reciting my incantation to activate the magic circle.
"Essentia existentiae, veni et voluntatem meam imple activando alas libertatis," I said, and the magic circle changed color from green to blue.
My body felt all its shackles release, and I could feel all my abilities free after so long, but there was no time to lose.
Activating the all-seeing Eyes of God, I examined the seals on the scythe. I saw them all: the words, the translation, how it was made, its weaknesses, and how to deactivate it.
"Chiaki," I commanded, to which she simply nodded.
She was the current head of the Politics and Seals Department. Being the matriarch of the Aozaki clan had caused her to abandon her research, but the influence she had gained in the Clock Tower hadn't faded; she still held positions there despite Ryujin's and Shuji's complaints, which led to her becoming head of the Politics Department, making her seal skills, if not the best, certainly among the best.
With my instructions and her advanced knowledge in this area, she began to surgically dismantle the seals, like a surgeon, under my guidance.
Her skill and coordination meant that in five minutes the seals were completely destroyed or deactivated.
Without wasting any time, I deactivated the magic circle. I felt the seals on my body reactivate. I made my eyes stop working, but it didn't matter, because, breaking the pillar with a single blow, I grabbed the sickle it contained and examined it.
Just looking at the weapon, I felt the helplessness of all these years and how Athena, along with Zeus and Hephaestus, had done all this, since it even had something to nullify any damage or send it elsewhere. Seeing that, I could only feel rage inside me, but I could only calm myself, since the culprits were no longer here, so anger would do me no good.
"Wow, that's incredible, Grandpa," Takeo said, inspecting the scythe in my hands.
"True," I confirmed, twisting the weapon and placing it on my shoulder in a rather unbelievable way—or so I thought.
"Ahem," she interrupted. "Well, let's get on with it, since being there, you never know what will happen or how long they'll be," Chiaki complained, pulling out a fashion magazine.
"Hmm, you're grumpier than usual," I said, noticing her demeanor.
"You have no idea how much I had to do to get a full day off that wasn't a holiday," he replied, sitting down and starting to read.
Takeo was about to say something, but I stopped him in time; he looked at me, and I just shook my head. It was best not to anger a woman, especially if she were your mother.
Without wasting any more time, he buried the sickle in a wall and, with a slash, the space opened, creating a portal.
Takeo, seeing this, was mesmerized, but coming out of his trance, he took off his shirt, leaving his torso bare, revealing a large seal that Chiaki and I had placed there to prevent the root from affecting him too much and activating it.
"Alright, let's begin," I announced, jumping into the portal while grabbing Takeo.
(Note: Since I don't know how this direct interaction with the root works, and Shiki didn't exist (as far as I understand from the timeline), I decided to omit him.) If I write something based on my own interpretation, I could be completely wrong. Additionally, the ages and dates for these moments will be omitted because it's quite complicated to reconcile them, and to avoid making mistakes, I decided not to bother.)
...
After running while holding Takeo at full power with his circuits open, I managed to find an exit and, without thinking, went right through it.
The moment I reached the surface, I was once again enveloped by an icy wind capable of freezing even thought.
It was a cave filled with ice; without much thought, I left Takeo on the ground and stepped out of the mountains. I looked outside only to see a freezing storm raging.
When I was completely out of the cave, I realized we were on a mountain. The lack of oxygen was quite high, so we must be at a very high altitude. This reminded me of when I first visited Skypiea in the world of One Piece, or when I visited Mount Everest in...
Wait a minute. I think being at the root momentarily shut down my neurons, but now I'm back to normal.
At that moment, I sensed a presence behind me, only to see Takeo walking where I was, leaning against the wall. His discomfort was more mental than physical; after all, achieving a connection with the root isn't something you can do just like that without losing so much of yourself.
"How are you doing so well?" he asked when he saw me.
"I've been through similar things; that's all I'll say," I explained; it was true; I once had a strange encounter with Lovecraftian beings and characters from a place called the Dark Tower. "We'd better get out of here."
Just as I was about to create a portal home, Takeo stopped me in my tracks.
"Where are we?" he asked, sounding tired.
"I think on Mount Everest," I replied, but he shook his head.
"That's not what I meant, where are we?" he asked again, and now I understood what he was asking for; he meant the coordinates.
"You'll have to wait then," he nodded.
While I was trying to get the coordinates, I couldn't help but ask.
"What kind of magic did you get?" I asked, looking at him.
He was silent for a moment.
"Blue magic," I realized immediately, but it was to be expected, since the root ends up reading the magic most suited to you; before, I wondered if I would get another kind of magic.
(Note: I made that up to justify myself.)
"And what did you get?" he asked me.
I just smiled at him, since I had achieved what I wanted, because I only showed him my hand and held up three fingers.
...
*Time Skip*
I stood before the two tombs, gazing at them while smoking a cigarette. It had been a while since I'd been here; work had kept me busy until the fifth Holy Grail War.
The little information I'd gleaned from the third Holy Grail War was more or less what I already knew; in this case, an Avenger was summoned, not a Ruler, so I didn't have to interfere to prevent the events of Fate/Apocrypha, as it wasn't in my best interest.
"I figured you'd be here," I heard an old, raspy voice say. I glanced to the side to see a very old Takeo, only able to walk thanks to time magic, which had altered various aspects of his body. He could not only travel to the future but also perform other actions. It has its limitations, so it's not very effective, but it allows him to walk even though he's nearly 100 years old.
"And you, such a beloved son, visiting your parents," I remarked as he stood beside me.
Before us were the graves of Chiaki and Shuji; it was a shame Akane's grave was in Greenland, where she lived with her husband.
"I admit I haven't been a good son," he said, stepping on the weeds around the graves. "But I really just came to think."
"What's on your mind?" I asked, out of curiosity.
"I think I'm going to change the heir to the Fifth Magic." When I heard that, I already knew what was about to happen, since the story of Mahoutsukai no Yoru wasn't unfamiliar to me.
"I think you're rushing things too soon, brat. Aoko is only six and Touko is ten; it's too early to decide," I warned him about making a rash decision.
Takeo remained thoughtful.
"Perhaps you're right; I'll think about it some more. I'm not getting any younger, and my delay in having children meant I didn't have time to pass on the magic. I had thought about giving it to Helena before, but she refused, saying she didn't need it."
Upon hearing this, I could only shake my head, as his age was affecting his ability to think clearly.
"We should go back to the estate; you're not going to get sick and die before we're ready," I told him.
"Ha, you wish; when we get there, let's drink some of the best sake I have stored away," he added upon hearing my words.
...
When I arrived at the Aozaki residence, I was greeted by a small, unidentified being about the size of a six-year-old girl.
"Uncle Dante, you're back! Look at the drawing I made," the girl said, showing me a piece of paper with a drawing that I imagined depicted her and me in a castle, exterminating vampires—or at least that's what I think it was.
"Oh, amazing drawing! I imagine this is you and I'm that," I said, crouching down to her level.
"That's right, that's us when we get married in a castle with vampire servants waiting on us." Her response completely altered my perception of reality, leaving me speechless.
"Hahaha, so that's what it was," Takeo laughed, since he hadn't thought of that either.
While I was processing all of this, I noticed another little girl peeking out from around the corner of the hallway, not unlike Aoko.
"Tch, Aoko's hogging all the attention again," Touko complained, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Aoko noticed and looked at her older sister.
"It's not my fault Touko's being such a Touko," she chided, blaming her sister like a child would, always blaming others.
"Tch," Touko clicked her teeth again and turned to leave, like the demure young lady she is, as if she didn't have to stoop to fighting someone inferior, or at least that's how I saw it.
"Touko's just jealous," Aoko finished, raising her arms toward me.
I knew what she wanted, so I stood up and picked her up; she just smiled as I held her.
Takeo just gave me a knowing look.
"You know, my mother said that you and she aren't related by blood, so you could perfectly well marry either of us," Takeo told me as I walked down the aisle.
"I have a wife and children"; besides, I'm not a pedophile, but I said that more to myself than to the girl.
"Grandpa gave us his blessing," Aoko declared proudly, looking at me intently.
"I didn't hear what I said," I said, looking somewhat wearily at the girl, who feigned ignorance of my words.
Touko and Aoko are too intelligent to be Takeo's descendants; that quality must come from their other blood family.
...
*Passage of Time*
As I walked toward the place where the sorcerer Erreje was said to be, I realized there was no life in this place.
In front of me was a tall, empty, and abandoned building, but I didn't go inside. According to the information the Mage's Association had given me, there was a very troublesome sorcerer here, one who needed to be hunted down urgently.
During my time in this world, I've experienced many things; among them, joining the Sealing Designation Enforcers, of which I am currently the head and organizer. The other enforcers must follow my orders, and I decide if someone is acceptable to join the organization.
The Association can decide to send someone to apply, but I decide whether or not they are accepted.
Among my other duties is hunting mages, especially those of greater importance to the Association, such as the sorcerer I came to bring back.
But, as I said, there's no other living thing around, but that doesn't mean there aren't any people.
"Vampires, ghouls, the undead—what could it be this time?" I thought to myself, since it wouldn't be the first time someone's investigation went wrong and they ended up getting killed by one of those things.
"I see you're not coming in, and I'd even prepared the place to receive you," I heard a voice say from inside the building, from which two people emerged—or at least that's what they looked like from the outside.
The moment I saw them, I realized they were dead apostles.
"Vampires," I said simply.
"Exactly," one of them announced. My name is…
"I'm not interested in the name of a corpse," I interrupted abruptly, making him open his eyes, while his companion just stared at me. "Where the sorcerer is, that's all I care about."
The vampire clicked his tongue, gesturing to his companion, who pulled a man's head from a bag; he immediately recognized it as the man he was supposed to hunt.
"This…" he couldn't finish speaking, because in one swift motion I approached the men and snatched the bag and the head from them.
I looked inside the bag and saw that it contained only bones and pieces of the sorcerer, noticing that they had eaten even the flesh; he was probably going to use his bones for some ritual or something. What a bummer, my mission failed since I was supposed to bring back the whole body; it didn't matter if he was alive or dead.
With this in my hands, I was about to head back, but the men quickly attacked me. I simply dodged their attacks and swiftly snapped both their necks. I would kill them, but I would only leave them immobilized for a few moments. I am an enforcer for the association, not the church; I will not do their job of eliminating dead apostles.
Just as I was ready to leave, I sensed the other undead presences, who appeared only to see a man I recognized standing before me.
I simply squinted at him. The man standing there was a true ancestor, more specifically Rizo-Waal Strout.
(Note: I know Helena killed an ancestor and took their place, but I couldn't find the chapter where that was written, so I hope it wasn't this one.)
Beside him were several dead apostles scattered around the place, but something was missing: two beings with even more power hadn't appeared.
I knew all of this, and honestly, I didn't feel like fighting; I just wanted to do my job and be done with it, but I see that it's not going to happen.
"I can't let you go, Dante," the true ancestor announced. "Come with me; she wants "See you."
"Hmm," I thought, surrounded by several enemies. "Why doesn't she come here instead?"
"That's not your decision," he replied, sounding annoyed.
"Well, too bad," I said simply, using it to disappear from everyone's sight.
The vampires went into a frenzy when they saw me vanish, except for Rizo, who noticed my movement and turned to hit me, but I had already acted.
"Gravitas quinquagies augetur," I recited, causing Rizo to open his eyes and fall to the ground, unable to move.
"What did you do to me?" he asked angrily.
"It's my sorcery. I can alter the parameters of physics; in this case, I altered gravity. I made your mass increase, which in turn affected your gravity, making you as you are now," I explained as I pulled out a knife and threw myself at the other dead apostles.
Without much effort, I cut down all the dead apostles without any trouble, but they didn't die from this; they simply began to regenerate, like the vampires they were.
"It's useless; you can't kill us," one of them boasted, which I took as a challenge.
"Is that so?" I questioned, leaping up and landing on top of one of the apostles. Using advanced Haki and Geppo, I launched myself at the guy.
"The Hell Fist!" I shouted, delivering a powerful blow that shook the entire area.
The impact of the punch generated a shockwave that leveled almost all the trees; the ground warped and crumbled, destroying all the houses and the building that stood there. The earth heaved as if tectonic plates were uprooting themselves, leaving a 3-kilometer-wide area of pure destruction.
Once my attack ended, I landed on the ground to see only the feet of the dead apostle, who was trying to regenerate, but it was clearly a struggle.
I simply snapped my fingers, and a flame erupted, burning the rest of the guy.
Rizo, who was nearby, since the increased gravity had kept him relatively close to the explosion, watched all of this in astonishment.
"I expected nothing less from a doctor of mathematics and physics, head of the Mage's Association's enforcers, and, above all, Helena's father," I heard a somewhat childish voice say.
The moment I turned around, I saw a young lady with an aristocratic air standing next to a small beast I would recognize anywhere.
I hadn't expected to see Altrouge Brunestud and Cath Palug in their Primeate Murder forms.
I didn't know if I would win fighting two ancestors and a beast, but there's always a first time.
...
"A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Norway creates a fault line that splits almost half the country in two." Takeo read the newspaper article aloud in front of me, then turned the page. "This fault line is very similar to the one in Greece, but with completely different dimensions."
With that, he closed the newspaper and looked at me.
"I don't know why you're doing this; from my point of view, I didn't do anything wrong," I said, defending my position.
"That's not the problem. When you argue, you're very destructive. If they didn't think it was an earthquake and a hidden fault in the tectonic plate, there wouldn't be time to come up with an excuse to hide the truth from the world and protect magic," he reproached me. I just wiped my ear with my finger, ignoring him.
"Calm down, Grandpa. He faced two true ancestors at the same time. You can calm down a bit," Touko, who was standing next to Takeo, said in my defense.
"I don't know why you're doing this; from my perspective, I can't do anything about it."
"I don't know why you're doing this. From my perspective, I can calm down a bit." "Okay, but my question is, did you defeat her?" he asked.
The truth is, I let him go after he nearly destroyed a good part of where we were, only to give him a little advice in the end.
"She escaped just as I was about to launch my final attack," I lied without a shred of remorse.
"Well, it doesn't matter," Takeo finished, rubbing his temples.
At that moment, a young woman entered whom I immediately recognized. The instant she saw me, she jumped on me, and I caught her instantly.
"Dante, you're back! You came to keep your promise to marry me," Aoko declared happily.
"I never promised you anything," I replied, already used to this routine.
I glanced sideways as Touko tensed up and glared at her younger sister.
I knew the two sisters' feelings, both toward me and toward each other, but I had always chosen not to interfere or take sides, remaining as neutral as possible.
"It's good you're here, Aoko. Now I can tell you why I called you both," he said, standing up, making us all look at him. "I've decided that my true heir, the one who will ultimately take the reins of the Aozaki family, will be Aoko."
I felt a pang of sadness when I heard those words. I ran my fingers over my eyelids and braced myself for the explosion.
"Grandpa!!! What does this mean???" Touko exclaimed angrily.
"What you heard. In the end, Aoko will be the one to inherit the magic basket along with the fifth magic," Takeo replied calmly.
"But I've spent my entire life studying and learning so I could be the next heir of the family," she retorted.
I glanced at Aoko, who was silent, still, doing nothing, as if trying to blend into thin air.
"That doesn't matter anymore. You can do whatever you want with your life now. My decision won't change," Takeo declared, staring intently at Touko.
She wanted to continue arguing, but her grandmother's gaze silenced her; she could only look at her. My younger sister glared at me with anger and envy before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
"Well, maybe," I said, getting up as well. "I'll go calm her down. Aoko, stay here with Grandpa for now."
With that, I followed her, leaving the two of them alone in the room.
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Well, folks, I'm back.
I wanted to make this chapter even longer, but I'm running out of time, and I said I'd upload it on Thursday, so I'll leave it here. I was planning to delve deeper into Dante's relationship with the sisters, but I'll have to do that in the next chapter.
Just so you know, Aoko will be the newest member of the harem.
I also wanted to mention something. I'd seen tons of fanfics where Imu from One Piece was female, but now, with the spoilers, it turns out he's male. For this reason, I don't like to invent things that will be revealed later, like the interaction or form of the Counterforce, the tone of Hoeres, or the root, which is why I'm not writing it.
That's all I wanted to say; I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Cheers.