I did not damn near moan as the pork I took into my mouth practically melted with how tender and juicy it was.
I did, however, completely ignore the smug as fuck smirk leveled at me from the silver-haired halfbreed standing just off to my left.
With a huff, I set my chopsticks down right beside the bowl.
"Prick," I grunt with a swallow.
"Figures." Vali hums in amusement right back.
Me, damn it, alright, fine! I won't admit it out loud, but he had me there!
This is quite possibly the best tonkatsu ramen I've ever had, and I literally never would have thought to check here without Vali saying something.
My eyebrow twitches as my barely contained pettiness boils in my chest, practically screaming to be released.
And, while I could say, hit him with a particular bit of news…
It's a bit much to reveal that over something as rather minor as this, no?
As antithetical as it feels to say, not everything is a fight. Unfortunately.
So, with a heavy heart, I shove down those feelings entirely and pick up my chopsticks.
Just in time, as a rather stereotypical Japanese man walks up from the other side of the counter.
Well, I say 'man.' In truth, this guy is a kami, just a very low-level and incredibly weak one.
"Your order, sir." He nods to Vali before placing down a steaming bowl of ramen right in front of him.
Vali gives the man a nod with a simple, "Appreciated." His smirk drops entirely as he immediately eyes the contents of the bowl with an almost analytical bent.
Without wasting a step, the man turns to me and bows deeply, "My Lord."
I give the guy a wave as he swiftly hurries out and into the back of the shop again.
Now, I want to ask, but I'd really rather not get mocked for something I should, maybe, probably, know.
So, I'll be keeping this to myself, but what the hell kind of ramen is that!?
Vali's bowl, for whatever reason, is filled with a thick orange paste type of substance, and I can smell the spices from here, even without the bowl being directly under me.
Now, in it, I see a bunch of normal ramen inclusions, such as noodles, eggs, and so on.
It's just the broth that looks so out there. If you can even call it a broth.
"It's curry ramen." Vali states, without even looking my way, easily pulling apart and reading his chopsticks.
My next blink came out unnaturally slow.
I can't tell if what I'm witnessing warrants someone or something to die. It'd be so much easier if so.
All I know is!
"I feel like I should be offended by this concoction," I state, plainly.
Vali clicks his chopsticks together as he pokes at the egg inside, as though studying it like one would a captured alien being dissected, "If my research is correct, it's actually fairly popular in the northernmost regions of Japan."
Huh. The more you know?
Luckily, I can't be mocked for that; I don't live in the northern reaches of Japan, only visited there once.
But really, I think it's abundantly clear I'm completely and utterly outmatched if we keep going on about ramen.
So, since he stuck around, I might as well see if he can't give me some answers to the bombs he dropped not even ten minutes ago.
That in mind, I give a few moments for his words to pass, with Vali using that to swirl a bit of the noodles around his chopstick, appraising them carefully, before I pop the most pressing question on my mind.
"Know anything about this evil dragon?" I do the same with my noodles and chopsticks, although they don't linger on my utensil, going straight down my hatch instead.
Vali clicks his tongue at that, a disgusted frown crossing his face before he answers, "Based on the minuscule amount of aura we discovered, Albion has an idea, although that dragon should be long gone." With a flick of his wrist, Vali crushed an egg under a wad of noodles and began mixing the two.
Huh. Did Odin revive another dragon like he did Fafnir?
Before I could even ask, however, Vali raised his wad of noodles and continued, "The Slavery Dragon, Fernyiges. According to Albion, even if it shouldn't be possible, it's the only one it could be. He's the only evil dragon to possess an aura so vile." That plainly stated, Vali popped the noodles straight into his mouth.
Yet, I could see that none of it went down right away; instead, he seemed to keep it all in his mouth, almost like a wine taste tester.
Weird.
Also, Fernyiges.
Are you serious? What mythological system did he originate from? Phineas and Ferb?
That guy better pray we never meet, or I will relentlessly bully him on principle. Not even just because he's likely a pure piece of shit and deserves it, simply because of that name.
I couldn't help but snort at that, "Heh. Ferny."
Vali swallowed with a roll of his eyes, "I'm not surprised you've already taken to giving him a nickname," then, after a second, he gave me a small smirk, "but it is deserved. Truly, amongst even some of the worst evil dragons, Ferny was quite despicable. His power lets him take over people, possessing them, gaining access to all their memories and powers as he uses them practically as a puppet."
Now, at that, my eyes sharpen.
That could be fairly dangerous depending on who he manages to nab, and whatever the conditions are for nabbing people.
Especially if there aren't any. I should be fine regardless. If I can resist my soul getting shanked, I should be able to shrug off an evil dragon's possession, but…
I lean forward slightly, my ramen temporarily forgotten, "Are there any limits to this power of his?"
"He supposedly claimed to be able to possess anyone," Vali answered, clearly doubtful, "but from what Albion has seen and remembered, he tended to possess those filled with despair and such."
Ah, I see what Vali's getting at here. It's one of those situations where, theoretically, he could possess anyone, but he likely has to fight for it.
However, emotional stability, or lack thereof, can swing the ease with which his power takes hold.
I should be fine, not only for the reasons above.
Now, the girls on the other hand…
Well, they're young, and if Schwe is any indicator, there's some drama going on in the background here that would certainly screw with at least one person's heart.
Schwe herself. Two, if counting her friend.
Whoever that may be.
Hmm, I wonder if they've run into each other by now, or not?
Definitely something to look into once I make it to the inn.
Well, regardless, I'll let Vali keep his dibs on this guy. If that's all his power really amounts to, it wouldn't be worth actively seeking him out. Especially if I am just resistant, if not outright immune to his one thing.
Would ultimately be just boring as hell.
Though speaking on that.
I nod at Vali's words, "I'll leave him to you, then." Before shoveling another piece of pork into my mouth, "He'd be a terrible match-up against me, ya know?"
Vali huffs at that, "And I would?" He asks sardonically.
I smirk, "I'm not a chuuni white supremacist Dragon Emperor with a severely edgy backstory, now am I?"
In the middle of raising a piece of chicken, somehow expertly wrapped in noodles, he stops for a moment, shooting me a short glare.
"I'm still not sure where you got white supremacist out of any of those chants…" He grumbles with clear fatigue as he completes the chicken's course to his mouth.
"Eh, White Dragon of Supremacy? Ring a bell?" A point out, swirling noodles around my chopstick, "You also talked about taking my innocence. How obscene~!" I dramatically exclaim.
Unfortunately, Vali doesn't take the bait, instead scoffing and completely immersing himself back into his curry ramen.
Ah well.
I allow that conversation to fall, and after a few more moments of silent eating, I open my mouth again.
"By the way," I start anew, "I killed your grandpa."
To my shock and slight disappointment, initially, Vali didn't have that big of a reaction.
He merely stopped. His eyes widened, and he immediately seemed to be looking off into the distance, as though remembering something.
None of that lasted long, however.
With a soft clank, he set his chopsticks down right next to his bowls and turned slightly toward me.
"What?" Was all he felt like he could say it seemed.
"Yup." I confirm for him again, then go on to elaborate, "He looked a lot like you, just way older, and going through a constant midlife crisis."
Vali took a breath. A deep, slow breath, his gaze growing more intense by the minute.
"Kusanagi." He begins, voice strained, "I put up with much of your…you." He emphasized with a particular bite, "I know you aren't aware, so I'll give you a warning. That man is no joking matter to me. Do you understand?"
Oh, damn, he thinks I'm fucking with him, huh?
Thankfully, I took pictures!
With one hand still using my chopsticks, I use the other to reach into my robe, unlock it, and pop open my evidence.
Wordlessly, I turned the phone screen to him.
As I did, I could see the confusion in his eyes, only for his face to turn to complete stone.
"What…what is this?" He asked, voice quiet.
"I took pictures." I explained, "A couple. Rizevim Livan Lucifer, despite, ya know, being the Son of the Devil, was actually…completely and utterly pathetic."
My words seemed to shock him out of whatever stupor the photos sent him into, causing him to blink and perk up, "That man, pathetic?" He parroted back at me, a particularly bitter smile crossing his face, "You are more correct than you understand, Kusanagi."
I set my phone down, leaving the picture of his severed head lying there on the blasted ground.
"Oh, most likely, yeah." I shook my head, "I wasn't even looking for him, specifically, ya know? I was there for his butler. Needed some info the guy had about the Khaos Brigade." I let out a sigh, "Didn't help much, so I decided to take a consolation prize. Those idiots invited me in, and I was right there…" I trail off, letting the implication finish that sentence.
"Hah." Vali chuckles lightly, "Of course, that would be his undoing, that arrogance, that vanity of his…" Vali nearly growled, but with a shake of his head, he appeared to move on, "That battle, tell me, how did it go?" His smile changed, bitterness shifting to anticipation.
"He died in two hits."
His smile didn't die; it cracked, and then proceeded to not know where to go at all.
"I…really?"
I don't think I've ever heard two words radiate equal parts confusion and disappointment so perfectly before.
I gave him a nod, "Yeah, remember how I called him pathetic?" Vali nodded in return, his smile dropping into a curious frown, so I elaborated, "Well, there was a reason for that. I was being literal when I described him as being in a 'constant midlife crisis'..."
His drinking.
His drunken passing out.
His whiny and childlike attitude.
I described all of it in exact detail.
With each description, I could see in the back of Vali's eyes that something wasn't clicking.
The image that Vali had of this man was vastly different from the one I'm describing right now.
Incompatible as they were, something had to break.
And considering his opinion of the man was already quite possibly as low as it could be?
Yeah, it was that image Vali held of him that snapped first and foremost.
"He always did try and act like some twisted, demented, fun-loving grandfather…" Vali intoned a moment after my explanation, "So, after I left, after I couldn't entertain him anymore, that's how he ended up, huh?"
Slowly, his mouth curved in a smirk, a genuine vindictive smirk.
"Serves him right."
I considered asking him directly what Rizevim would do to him, to keep himself entertained.
But then again, if Vali wanted me to know, I get the feeling he'd just tell outright, at this point.
Probably not something he wants to recount right now, anyway.
Especially considering the news being delivered to him right at this moment.
"Still, though…" Vali continues, his smirk turning into something more doubtful, "It only took two strikes to put him down? That's all?"
"His extremely large amount of demonic power was enough to enable him to survive the first, even inebriated and asleep." I let out a sigh, "Wasn't enough for the second, though."
"Hmm." Vali hums, considering my words, before simply stating, "Good."
I raised my eyebrow at him, and Vali was quick to elaborate, "A man like that doesn't deserve a proper fight. Only to be put down."
You know what, Vali? Absolutely fair.
His point gotten across, Vali turns back to his ramen and proceeds to promptly vacuum whatever is left inside the bowl down.
I'm still stunned by the time he turns back toward me.
"It's almost a shame I couldn't do it myself, but I guess if it had to be someone else, I'd rather it be you, Kusanagi." His gaze flickers back to the picture still displayed on my phone, causing him to reach into his jacket and pull out a slip of paper, about the size of one of those flyers devils use to get contracts.
He sets it down next to my phone, but instead of a magic circle on it, there's a number.
"Send me that photo when you get the chance?" A far more cheeky smirk crosses his face, "I'll consider it payment, for the guidance, and ramen itself, of course."
I nearly scoffed, but held back, instead waving him off with a smile, "Yeah, yeah, I'll see to it you get the photos."
"Appreciated. Now, I'm sorry to cut this short, but learning all this…" he almost trails off, before catching himself, "I have some plans to change."
"See you around?"
"Of course." He returns, his gaze turning expectant, "I expect to see that power which took that man down, after all."
Heh. Careful what you wish for there.
"I hope you've got more to show than last time we fought…" I trail off wistfully.
His gaze sharpened, and I could nearly feel his power do the equivalent of tensing up like a coiled spring, desperate to release.
Yet, instead, he turned and made his way off, leaving me with a couple of simple words.
"You'll see."
As he leaves, I can feel Arthur and Bikou, who were more or less guarding the entrance to this particular ramen stand the entire time, follow him.
I hope so. Truly, I do. Though I have to ask, what could he truly bring to bear against me right now that could even possibly hurt me?
As I took my time finishing off my own ramen and putting in Vali's number to send him the pictures he requested, I considered just that question.
Honestly, I can only really think of his DxD Form. In that form, he fought Heavenly Dragon-level opponents, which is around, if not directly above, where I stand at my max right now.
His upgraded version of Juggernaut Drive, I'm just not sure if it'll be able to hold a candle to me.
At least he seems confident things will be different.
Well, confident, or arrogant. A Lucifer's primary trait.
When my photos are sent, I get ready to squirrel away my phone and focus back on my ramen, only for the thing to suddenly go off.
At first, I thought it was Vali replying already with something cheeky or chuuni, but instead, it was Rose.
"Huh." I audibly huffed to myself.
Well, no wonder she's been taking so long.
As it turns out, Freya herself called up Rose, both in her capacity as my manager, technically, but also in Rose's capacity as a former Valkyrie for something.
Now that they've taken care of whatever they needed to do, it seems like it's my turn to join in on the meeting party.
I click my tongue in distaste at that. I would rather Rose not be locked up in meetings all the time. Not only do I demand Rose in a country girl outfit, but I would like her to have fun at one of her home's own festivals!
I'll definitely be pulling us away if the meeting and shit in the background get too much.
That, and I should also warn the girls about the Slavery Dragon when I get the time, maybe see if he's the one that cursed Lile, destroyed her hometown, and all?
Though I doubt that, his power as it was described to me, didn't seem like the cursing type exactly…
But, in the meantime, I suppose it's time to meet the Goddess Freya myself!