[Big Annoucement!]
[Hi, everyone!! months since I talked directly here xD, not really the best talker (maybe because I spend all day reading...) anyway! as how prices of everything is going up and everyday life is getting expensive I decided to reduce the price of my sub on P@tr30n.
I don't want to make my readers stop having a good time so this is the least I can do.
To coushion a little the lost of money I added a tier for people that want to support me and have access to the polls for new fanfics and incoming events. Just a 1 buck one xD.
The next event will be a poll to pick one of my fanfic to get 10 extra chapters!
Thanks for your support!]
Yuri's face flushed bright red, and she hurriedly covered Hikari's eyes.
"My, my. Lord Akuto really is bold," Ena said with a carefree smile, even letting out a teasing whistle.
Touma pushed up his glasses, the lenses flashing. He felt Kaoru's decision to send a squad of female ninja to protect Shizuka had been absolutely correct. Otherwise, there was a real chance he might have physically ceased to exist by now.
As for Kaoru herself, she first let out a helpless sigh, but deep in her eyes there was a flash of relief. It seemed Lord Akuto, the newly born Devil King, truly did hold special feelings for Shizuka. That could only be good news.
Only after a long while did Akuto finally release Shizuka, who was nearly out of breath.
Her face was crimson, her eyes unfocused, and she panted softly as she leaned limply against his chest. There was not even a trace left of the puffed-up, angry girl from a moment ago. She looked exactly like a kitten that had been thoroughly soothed and pampered.
Akuto looked at her reaction with satisfaction, then lifted his gaze toward Kaoru, who had been wanting to speak for some time now.
Although Kaoru could be considered an old acquaintance of his, the look in his eyes instantly shifted back to the deep, imposing authority of a king. The gentleness he had shown Shizuka a moment ago almost seemed like an illusion.
"Kaoru."
His voice was calm, yet it carried the tone of an unquestionable command.
Kaoru immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply, her posture perfectly respectful.
"Yes, Lord Akuto. What are your orders?"
"Nothing complicated. I know this whole display you arranged is the hidden world of Japan choosing where it stands."
"That is acceptable. I accept your loyalty, so long as you offer your allegiance to me the same way the Italian magic societies did."
Akuto had never had much interest in handling the smaller matters beneath him.
What he needed to do was grow stronger as quickly as possible. If everything had to be done personally, then what would be the point of building an organization of his own?
"The Italian magic societies... Understood. By tomorrow."
Kaoru's gaze swept over the girls standing behind Akuto, each with her own distinct charm, and a faint blush rose to her face.
Akuto's meaning... did that mean that when she offered up her loyalty, she would also have to offer up her body?
Was that it?
Or not?
Kaoru did not know.
What she did know was that this was not the right moment to ask. If she had questions, it would be better to wait until she was alone with Akuto.
...
"As for now, there's something else I need you to take care of first," Akuto continued.
"Yes. Please instruct me."
Kaoru lowered her posture even further.
Akuto's gaze swept over Erika, Liliana, Karen, Arianna, and the quietly following Alecia behind them.
"Arrange enrollment for them in the high school division of Jounan Academy."
He first pointed at Erika and the others, then at the younger-looking Alecia, Karen, and Arianna.
"And arrange enrollment for them in the middle school division of Jounan Academy. As quickly as possible."
Kaoru's heart jolted.
The reason it jolted was because she instantly started thinking about what this meant.
She could understand Akuto continuing to attend school himself. After all, before this, Akuto had studied at Jounan Academy even while earning the highest qualifications the hidden world could offer.
But... why was there any need for Erika and the others to enroll too?
Did Akuto intend to spend his school life flirting with them there as well? Or... in Akuto's mind, was there really not much difference between school and a harem?
It was precisely because the second possibility crossed her mind that Kaoru was so shaken.
Of course, shaken or not, there was no chance she would be slow in carrying out his will.
"Yes, Lord Akuto. I'll handle it immediately and ensure the enrollment is completed as fast as possible!"
She did not even ask for details, such as whether those girls' identities or backgrounds were suitable for admission into Jounan Academy.
Because a king's will was enough to crush any ordinary rule of reality.
Akuto nodded, satisfied by Kaoru's tact and efficiency.
He drew the still-dazed Shizuka back into his arms and said to the others:
"Let's go. We're heading home first."
Akuto's "home," naturally, meant the entire luxury apartment building he had purchased in Tokyo.
The group departed from the landing area in grand fashion.
Shizuka stayed nestled against Akuto's side, clutching the Colosseum pillar and the iridescent seashell tightly in her hands. The blush had not yet faded from her face, and her heart was overflowing with sweetness and shy happiness.
Erika and Liliana exchanged a glance, and both saw the same thing in each other's eyes: gravity, and curiosity.
Because as Akuto's knights, they had both noticed something unusual about a certain girl.
Ena Seishuin.
The girl in a school uniform carrying a long, sword-shaped object wrapped in white cloth had already drawn Erika and Liliana's attention simply because of her striking beauty. But what concerned them even more was the sword in her hands.
That cloth-wrapped blade... was a divine weapon.
To ordinary eyes, because it had been specially wrapped in consecrated white cloth, it looked like nothing more than a normal sword.
But Erika and Liliana, now both half Godslayers, could already see that this blade was anything but ordinary.
If it ever unleashed its full power, even destroying divine tools would be effortless.
...
Their judgment was entirely correct.
In truth, as a supreme divine weapon that could still grant an Authority after being destroyed, Ame no Murakumo was already something on the level of a top-tier subordinate god.
And in actual fact, there was already proof of it: Kusanagi Godou had once obtained Ame no Murakumo itself by defeating it.
Because Ame no Murakumo's other name was the Kusanagi Sword. It was a divine weapon the author had practically custom-made for the protagonist, Godou Kusanagi.
At that moment, Akuto also noticed Erika and Liliana's line of sight and stopped walking.
"Ah. Come to think of it, I almost forgot about this."
Of course he knew the nature of Ame no Murakumo well. It was essentially an extension of Susanoo's will, so he had no intention of keeping it by his side.
He walked over to Ena at an unhurried pace and said slowly,
"Miss Seishuin, if I'm not mistaken, the reason you came to me carrying that sword is because Susanoo has something he wants you to convey, correct?"
Since Akuto was not especially familiar with Ena, he still addressed her as "Miss Seishuin."
Ena smiled gently, doing her best to present the prettiest version of herself before him.
"You are correct, my king. Grandfather does wish to speak with you."
"Oh, and considering that I'll probably end up marrying you one day anyway, Lord Akuto, you can just call me Ena."
As she said that, she casually lifted the usable Ame no Murakumo right there in front of him.
"Huh?!"
Yuri and Shizuka both turned sharply toward Ena with shocked expressions.
Akuto himself remained unconcerned. It was only a matter of time anyway. He had not forgotten even minor supporting characters, so there was no chance he would forget a heroine like Ena.
"Let's set the marriage talk aside for now, but I'd be happy to call you Ena."
Akuto smiled lightly and extended a hand toward her.
"In any case, if there's something to discuss, bring him out first."
Understanding flashed across Ena's delicate face.
"So you've already heard about Grandfather, Lord Akuto."
She did not ask any further questions. With deft movements, she removed the long object strapped behind her, layer after layer of special enchanted cloth coming loose.
It was the divine blade of Japanese legend itself: Ame no Murakumo.
As the wrappings fell away, an ancient and ferocious aura began to seep out.
Holding the sword with both hands, Ena's expression turned solemn.
Dark-toned cursed power and divine force poured out of the blade like living things, rapidly winding themselves around her body.
"O Ame no Murakumo, I offer this body as a sacrifice. Please calm the raging spirit."
Ena began chanting sacred words, her voice clear and reverent.
But her eyes did not become vacant. Ame no Murakumo did not possess her. Instead, it directly displayed its own power, the level of a subordinate god.
The black divine blade floated up on its own, humming as darkness pulsed through it.
"Chihaya-buru, kami no igaki mo koe-nubeshi, ima wa wagana wo oshimu nakuni."
The words that followed carried an unmistakable hostility.
As the chant took effect, the air around Akuto froze solid in an instant.
Akuto remembered that incantation. It was the chant of devouring and plunder. Ame no Murakumo's nature was to swallow the power of transgressors and make it its own. Right now, it had clearly marked Akuto as prey and intended to consume that vast, ocean-like reserve of cursed power within him.
"Hm?"
Akuto let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head as a trace of mockery flashed through his eyes.
"So I'm being underestimated after all."
A mere weapon of a Heretic God, even one with the rank of a subordinate god, actually dared challenge him?
Then again, it made sense. The fact that Akuto could kill gods and usurp their myths had been kept extraordinarily secret. Not even Ame no Murakumo knew. Not even Susanoo knew.
And the ignorant knew no fear.
Whether Susanoo had sent it here to test him or simply to throw around a show of force, Ame no Murakumo had already made its attitude clear. And that meant it would have to pay the price.
Akuto could not even be bothered to rise properly. He simply stepped forward casually.
Space itself seemed to lose meaning beneath his feet. With a single step, he appeared before Ame no Murakumo like a phantom.
"Go on. Absorb as much as you want."
He extended his right hand and casually pinched the sword's razor-sharp tip between his thumb and index finger, his tone almost indulgent.
Absorbing cursed power? Copying Authorities?
To Akuto, that sort of ability was laughably crude.
He understood Ame no Murakumo's temperament far too well. What he was facing now was the same kind of treatment Godou had gotten in the original story.
At the end of the day, Ame no Murakumo was just a difficult, contrary thing that refused to behave unless someone beat it into submission.
The difference was that Akuto had no intention of taming it like Godou had.
What he wanted was something much more direct.
"O King of Godslayers..."
Ame no Murakumo, manifesting itself externally, let out a low, furious roar. The blade trembled violently as it struggled to break free from those two fingers.
"Even a Godslayer cannot humiliate me like this!"
(End of Chapter)
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