A Nascent Kaleidoscope - Chapter 313

Chapter 313








Chapter 313:

Sona POV

"Sona, it's good to see you."

"Lady Lucifuge, thank you for activating the teleportation circle for me." I politely bowed my head in her direction.

"It is no trouble." She smiled faintly. "Rias and her Peerage are out back, would you like me to escort you?"

"It's fine, I know the way."

"Very well. I am preparing tea and snacks, they will be ready shortly, please tell Rias when you see her."

I gave her one last polite nod as she walked off to the kitchen. I guess formalities were slightly dropped in these circumstances. It's not like I haven't been to this house hundreds, if not thousands of times since I was born.

Even if I had thoughts preoccupying my, my body seemed to carry me through the mansion with ease to the point I didn't even realize I came upon two individuals I recognized.

"Oh, Sona!" Lord Gremory perked up seeing me, Lady Gremory right at his side.

"How are you doing, Sona?" Lady Gremory had a very gentle tone as always.

"I am doing well, Lady Gremory."

"Always so polite." Lord Gremory chuckled. "I'm glad you're safe. That all of you are." He smiled towards his wife – Ex-wife?

I wasn't entirely sure what was happening there. The way they were sitting seemed to exude familiarity, which wasn't surprisingly considering the length of their relationship over the past centuries. However, it also lacked that sort of intimacy that couples were known for.

I supposed it's safe to assume that Lady Gremory's apparent relationship with her....grandson was not one that surprised Lord Gremory.

"It's all thanks to our grandson." Venelana beamed. "I can't wait to thank him properly, again."

And suddenly, all my thoughts came to a screeching halt.

Even Lord Gremory looked utterly flabbergasted. That was, until he started laughing abruptly.

"That boy has no idea what he's in for, that's for sure!"

Lord Gremory seemed to have no mind that Lady Gremory insinuated she was going to be intimate with their grandson at a later point. If anything, he seemed entirely amused by the idea.

.....this family was so strange.

But I had no room to talk with my sister being....well, my sister.

How many times has she showed interest towards me?

"....yes, it's thanks to Wilhelm that we escaped alive." I begrudgingly admitted.

"What a fine man he's grown into. Just look at that, taking after his Grandfather!" Lord Gremory jabbed his finger at the phone in Venelana's hand. "And he even has his own Daughter! Such a cute little thing. Vene, did you pass a message, huh? I'd love to meet him at some point."

Lady Gremory let out a giggle in response. "I told him already, but with everything that's been happening, it's probably been pushed to the side for now."

Lord Gremory.....pouted. "I guess it can't be helped. He's involved in that whole Fae thing right now, and now this. Oh well, just make sure to tell him that the offer is open ended."

"Millicas also said he wanted to meet his brother, I'll make sure to say something again, but no promises."

"That's all I ask."

Lady Gremory turned to me. "I'm surprised that Serafall let you out of her sight."

"She only did because I said was coming over here." I couldn't help but sigh. "And she's still has meetings all day. I was called in earlier again, but she couldn't get away."

"Again?" Venelana raised an eyebrow. "I was also called to come in for a couple hours, but this is getting out of hand. How many times have they had you come in?"

"Half a Dozen."

Lady Gremory frowned. "I will tell them to let you rest. It's bad enough what happened, but to be pulling you every which way right after. Hmph, I will have words with my son and your sister."

And that was one of the many reasons I always adored Lady Gremory.

"Thank you, Lady Gremory." I said sincerely.

"It's no problem, Sona." She smiled brightly again. "And Rias is out back with her Peerage."

With another polite nod, I left and continued to make my way through the large mansion. Surprisingly, despite the size of this place, they had very few servants. It was inhabited by mostly Peerage members who took up the chores and such. I knew Okita Souji had his own set of pieces and his Rook took some duties here to watch over the family under Lord Lucifer's request. And there were others.

Lord Gremory's peerage wasn't established entirely for just his...pleasure.

But there were no traditional servants.

Everyone just chalked it up to the Gremory oddness.

Though I did hear some rumors, something about the Old Satan Faction using spies and had snuck into the mansion under the guise of Servants long before I was born.

I never asked about it as it seemed like a personal and private matter.

I dismissed those random thoughts and pushed the back door open, seeing my friend sitting around with several other people.

"Sona, you came!" Rias happily greeted.

Her excitement was always contagious, I felt myself smiling back, seeing my friend again. Even if it'd only been a day or so since we'd been called in together to give reports, it felt like an eternity.

"Rias." I politely greeted back. "Are you doing well?"

"Yeah, good. I'm doing great." Rias smiled happily , but it felt.....forced.

I've known her long enough to tell when she's in these kinds of moods.

"She's lying." Akeno, who sat at the table with Rias, said bluntly.

"Akeno!" Rias squawked in embarrassment.

I guessed she still felt awkward about it? Letting out another sigh, I took an empty seat at the table. "I'm still shaken." I closed my eyes, letting out a breath of air. "I thought I was ready for that kind of thing, to be able to fight a real battle. I've ran so many battle simulations, trained with my peerage on many 'what-if' scenarios, yet.....we almost died."

"I..." Rias looked down. "Yeah..." She whispered.

I shared a look with Akeno who shot me a thankful expression.

"How's Gasper?" In the immediate commotion we had forgotten about her other Peerage member who always hid himself away. The Half-Vampire who couldn't control his Sacred Gear which activated on sight. So he hid himself away.

"He was scared – obviously. But otherwise, he's not hurt, just shaken too." Rias smiled wryly.

"Where are your other peerage members?" I glanced around and couldn't see them.

"They're running around doing some training." Rias sighed. "Well, I don't think it could be called that, but that's why they claim. I think they don't want to sit still right now. Issei's reaction was to immediately start running around and doing his exercises again. And Kiba.....Kiba felt guilty that Issei almost died to protect him that he's taking it upon himself to hover over him."

"Is he still upset about the Excalibur Pieces?" I pushed my glasses up.

"Surprisingly...no." Rias looked confused. "I guess he is, but at the same time he isn't. I think Issei's little sacrifice brought back some really bad memories for Kiba, so he's coping in the only way he knows how. So his anger right now is overcome with guilt."

That needed to be dealt with sooner rather than later. But knowing Rias, she'll ignore it until it's a problem that can't be ignored. It was rude to interfere in another's running of their peerage, so I didn't voice my thoughts.

"What about Koneko?"

"Well –"

Boooom!

We all turned to see said girl throwing boulders at the two running boys as they screamed.

"I see..." I just blinked.

"Fufu..." Akeno giggled to herself with a....sadistic look on her face. "Ara Ara, they're in for a beating. Our Koneko decided to join them in their training."

For some reason, Akeno was practically drooling.

Which....was a little much even for her.

I glanced at Rias who flushed red in embarrassment.

I glanced back at Akeno who I think had snuck her hand down between her legs.

Opening my mouth, I closed it again. It was best to ignore that and not comment. I've been around Serafall long enough to know certain ways around situations like this.

"Fallen Angel.....Sadism." Rias glanced back at me with red cheeks and muttered.

And it suddenly made sense.

Akeno's sadistic interests were no secret. Nor was her....origin and hate of her Father. She was a Half Fallen Angel and despised her Fallen Angel Father. Seeing another – Powerful – Fallen Angel get so thoroughly debased and beaten.....

I didn't need to continue down that line of thought.

Suffice to say, she was probably still very happy.

"Have you heard any news?" I decided to chance the subject.

"Probably only what you heard. Brother did mention something about a Peace Meeting coming up with the other factions. He said not to tell anyone, and that the only reason he told me was that we would need to be there incase the other factions had questions."

"Yes, my Sister said the same. As witnesses, we are there to give our accounts if they call upon us. It's likely that Michael and the Angels will want to hear everything from our mouths as well as the reports we gave."

I wanted to say it's surprising that we were having a Peace Meeting, but it seemed like this had been a long time in the making. Technically, we're still at war, but there haven't been open or rather wide spread hostilities in a long time.

".....did you hear anything else?" I asked.

"You mean about Wilhelm?" Rias questioned.

"Sona sure seems interested in him~" Akeno giggled. "Maybe there's something else there."

"There is no such thing!" I adamantly denied.

"Sona-chan~" Rias had that mischievous look of hers. "It's okay, you don't need to lie."

Hmph.

I pushed my glasses up. "I think your mom already took that spot, Rias. Unless, you're suggesting I'm attempting to get with both of them?"

Rias just started sputtering.

"Do you think they'd let me join in?" Ñøv€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

"Akeno!" Rias squawked again, scandalized and turning bright red. "That's my mom!"

"And she's hot." Akeno grinned. "If I knew that she was open for it, I would have made a pass earlier."

"Y-you..!" Rias didn't seem to know how to respond.

I was not prepared for this.

"And it's not like Wilhelm isn't handsome. Did you see him? Definitely filled out his clothes a lot better than when we saw him back in school."

"....please stop." Rias whined.

"Now, picture your mom and him fu –"

Rias made a strange sound as she launched herself over the table, attempting to strangle her Queen. The latter of whom just broke out in a fit of giggles as they struggled.

That his Magic was beyond even Gods now?

How was he progressing this fast!?

It was frustrating!

The more I learned, the more I felt like all my efforts were pointless.

"And he had the True Longinus as well. The strongest Holy Weapon in the world, and he could use it like he wasn't a Half-Devil." I snorted, getting annoyed as this went on. "Do we know how he was able to avoid being burnt to a crisp by the Holy Power? Not to mention able to use its Balance Breaker and somehow become a Archangel for the duration."

I'm sure the Angels will be enthused by that bit of information.

I did not envy my sister's current predicament.

"No, Brother was tight lipped about it. One of the things he said not to spread around as they talk it over." Rias shook her head. "And if he's worried about it, that means others are."

"Yeah, the Angels and Fallen might throw a fit if they find out we can become immune to their main weapons." I spoke my thoughts aloud. "But..." I turned my eyes to Issei. "It's entirely possible that the answer is right here."

Everyone else turned towards him too.

"Any progress on.....whatever this is?" I asked.

Rias raised her hand up to poke Issei. A strange Energy-like shield came up and protected him, blue in color.

"We've been experimenting with it, but we're still working on what exactly it is. I asked mom and she just said it wasn't anything bad and it's called 'Aura' or something, and but hasn't said anything else." Rias frowned, clearly annoyed about the whole thing.

"What about Ajuka, did he not show any interest?"

"He did, but...."

"Other priorities." I sighed, guessing what she wanted to say. "I guess we'll have to wait and see. They said that they were going to try and pull in the Youkai to the Peace meeting, so hopefully we'll get some answers there."

I just....wanted to understand how.

Was he just talented, or am I doing something wrong?

Hopefully, I would find out soon.

[****]

Wilhelm POV

I didn't know what I should say.

I was honestly frozen solid here.

This.....thing was staring right at me without blinking and it was very intimidating.

Izzy was also a statue, and I felt like Ddraig was having trouble speaking.

I couldn't tell if this thing was intentionally projecting its presence so blatantly, or if this was just its natural state of being. Or Gods....was this how it felt after it reeled in its overwhelming power?

"You." It – she, raised her dainty hand to point at me.

I expected a follow up, or anything, but....she didn't speak again.

".....what do you want from me?" I barely managed to get out under her drilling eyes.

"Help me beat Baka-Red."

....I don't know what that meant.

"I –"

"Smell similar." The thing suddenly was right in my face, staring straight into my eyes.

"Pardon?"

"Lots of things."

I blinked, still unable to decipher its words.

"Cao Cao." It said again. "Promised to help. Gone now. You help."

"...why me?" I still didn't know what I was supposed to supposedly help with.

"Strong. Noisy. Hear it every time you enter the world." She said had that expressionless look on her face. "Noisy beats noisy."

However, her explanation made my eyes widen.

"What do you mean?"

"Enter World, noisy. Lots of noise, like Baka-Red. Too many voices, too many things happening all at once."

[She's talking about Great Red.] Ddraig spoke.

"Yes." The thing apparently heard Ddraig from inside my soul. "Ddriag, help too. Too noisy, want my silence back."

".....Lady Ophis." Izzy spoke up with a still terrified look about her. "Perhaps you should explain it fully he doesn't.....understand." She chose her words very carefully.

Ophis frowned and the realm shuddered for a moment before stopping. "Baka-Red came into my home, won't leave. Too noisy, I want my silence. Cao Cao promised to help me beat Baka-red, now he's gone. You help in his place."

"Great Red lives in the dimension Gap. You mean to say, he's being too noisy in the Dimensional Gap, where you live?"

"Yes."

"It's a big place, why not just go to a different part?"

"Too noisy." She sounded....annoyed, like she didn't like repeating herself.

"But....." I didn't understand what she was trying to say. I knew frighteningly little about the thing infront of me. The bare basics of it's origin and that's it. And even that was...too little for dealing with a being like this. "You were born in the void between worlds, devoid of all life....." And I suddenly realized what she meant. "Great Red is the Dragon of Dreams, his existence is everything that comes from dreams, all of existence, every possibility that could be dreamed, all contained into a single entity. And that's...blasting right into the Dimensional Gap for someone like you. Someone who never coexisted with the concept of life before."

She was getting spammed with everything that every single entity dreamed, right in her face, every second that she's near Great Red.

"Yes." Her eyes sort of sparkled, like she was happy that I finally understood. "Want my silence back."

But that left me with one worry. "How do you expect me to do to something like that?"

From what I vaguely remember, Ophis and Great Red were supposed to be relatively equal in strength. Yet, she's asking me to fight something equal to her when her current self fucking terrified me.

Ophis looked actually thoughtful at my question. I don't think even she knew what I was supposed to do.

And with that small opening, I did the thing I was best at.

I flicked my hand, grabbed Izzy into my arms and pulled her through a portal with me, quickly shutting it off behind us.

"Wilhelm..." Izzy breathed out, as if sighing in relief.

"What the fuck." I felt my heartrate skyrocketing as I pulled myself up from the sand dune we landed on.

I didn't have even a second to think about where I took her, and apparently, it's the same place I threw the user of the Divine Dividing that one time.

"I have heard about those who ran afoul one of the Dragon Gods, but I never expected myself to be facing one down like that." Izzy forced herself to her feet. "I only hope that Yomi remains once she grows bored and leaves.

"Is that normal then? To just....leave?"

"I don't know about Great Red, but for Ophis.....the Infinite Dragon Gods usually leaves after getting what it wants or grows bored. Sometimes without issue, or sometimes realms go missing. The only option is to usually wait it out and hope."

"Are we –" The words died in my mouth.

I stared in utter shock as my previous portal was forced back open.

A petite arm reaching through and pulled it back open, and a familiar 'little girl' walking through.

Without even thinking again, I grabbed the Spear out of my Ring and stepped infront of Izzy.

And for the first time in a very long time, I felt scared.

I was very close to jumping to my final trump card.

Ophis, didn't even react to my attempt to run away.

Instead, she looked at my curious, specifically my spear that is. Like she recognized it. "Made promise, not your home." She replied, staring right at the spear before turning back towards me and a little tilt of her head. "Give."

I hesitantly held the spear out.

"No, the tasty thing." She frowned, tossing the True Longinus to the side like it was a piece of garbage.

"....tasty thing?"

Ophis didn't wait for me to response, she grabbed my arm. And I felt like no matter what I did, I couldn't get her to let go.

She reached forward, and space distorted. It took a moment for me to realize she just forced herself into my Storage Ring and pulled something out.

She held a disk-like thing her in her hand before releasing me.

Something I hadn't thought of in a bit since I got it. "The Gorgoneion?" I blurted out.

She completely ignored me, just staring at it. Then just like all her unrecognizable actions, she opened her mouth, and ate it.

Her eyes flashed.

A few strands of her hair turned silver for a brief moment before returning to black. Her body bulged for a second before returning to normal as she held her stomach. One of her eyes changed color but also returned to normal.

She looked up and burped.

A wisp of divinity seeped out.

....what just happened?

"Hey, is that Great Red?" I pointed off into the distance.

The Infinite Dragon God turned to look.

And while I would normally be dumbfounded, and marvel at the sheer ridiculousness of that working, I was understandably very stressed at the moment. I waved my hand, opening a new portal right next to her and in one swift movement, literally kicked her through before slamming it shut.

"....what just happened?" Izzy finally managed to ask mimicking my sentiments.

"No fucking idea."

"And what's stopping The Dragon God from coming back?"

"I pressed the Meridia Button."

My Kaleidophone then buzzed. And I didn't even need to look to know who was calling. Still blankly staring at the spot Ophis just occupied, I answered.

"Wilhelm." I recognized Meridia's not all-too-pleased tone. "At your earliest convenience can you please come over. I believe there is a matter that needs discussion."

[***]

Sorry for late chapter, the p.a.t.r.e.o.n. chapter took much longer than expected. That being said, the next chapter over there is probably going to take me several days to write up, so don't get worried if i disappear for a few days.

If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone