— — — — — —
Inside a room at a traditional inn, several members of the Hero Faction had gathered together.
At the head of the group sat Cao Cao. Seated on a tatami mat with the Holy Spear resting across his lap, he wore a grim expression, deep in thought.
To his left sat a massive gray-haired man built like a wild bull. His name was Heracles, inheritor of both the bloodline and spirit of the legendary Greek hero.
Across from him sat Georg, a bespectacled young man with messy brown hair. He was a descendant of the medieval scholar Faust.
Beside Georg was a blonde, blue-eyed girl clad in armor—a French maiden who had inherited the spirit of Jeanne d'Arc.
Opposite her sat Leonardo, wielder of the Longinus Annihilation Maker and descendant of the genius artist Leonardo da Vinci.
Everyone present shared one thing in common: each had inherited either the bloodline or the legacy of an ancient hero. After joining the Khaos Brigade, they had gathered under Cao Cao's leadership to form the Hero Faction. Even after Ophis dissolved the Khaos Brigade, the Hero Faction remained intact, simply continuing on as an independent organization as it had before.
Cao Cao opened his eyes. "Who's still missing?"
Georg adjusted his glasses, "Arthur Pendragon and his sister, Le Fay Pendragon. Though according to Arthur, he doesn't intend to involve his sister directly in this operation. He said she'll provide support from the sidelines."
"I see."
Cao Cao closed his eyes again. He could understand Arthur's decision, even if he didn't have a younger sister himself.
"In that case, we won't wait for him. Once we're finished discussing the details, we'll send him the relevant parts of the plan."
As soon as he finished speaking, Heracles raised his trembling hands. "Cao Cao... have you really made up your mind? If we cause trouble here, we could die."
Cao Cao glanced at him calmly, "Are you afraid?"
"Afraid? Not a chance." Heracles clenched his shaking fists and grinned, showing a rather savage smile. "I'm excited."
"Our former leader, Ophis the Infinite Dragon God... and that Supreme Leader of the Three Factions. Those are enemies unlike anything we've ever faced. If I can surpass them..." He laughed. "Wouldn't that mean I've surpassed my ancestor as well?"
"That's right." Cao Cao nodded. "Even the original Heracles couldn't have fought Ryo and Ophis. If you overcome those two, you'll truly have surpassed your forefather."
"...Assuming we survive." Jeanne rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I feel like we're walking straight into our own funeral. If you hadn't said Indra was backing us, I wouldn't even have come."
"Scared?" Leonardo mocked calmly.
"Of course I'm scared!" Jeanne snapped. "I'm scared you idiots are going to get me killed."
"Fair enough." Leonardo blew a bubble with his chewing gum.
"Fear isn't a bad thing." Cao Cao interrupted the argument and raised his right hand.
Everyone immediately fell silent.
The hand was trembling. Violently.
"Cao Cao...?"
Heracles stared at the shaking hand before looking up at him in disbelief.
This was the first time he had ever seen Cao Cao like this. Cao Cao had met Ophis before, and he hadn't been this nervous then.
Which meant... The pressure was coming from that man.
Georg pushed up his glasses. "It seems you know quite a bit about our opponents."
"Yeah."
Cao Cao let out a long breath and smiled faintly. "The man who, according to legend, defeated Ophis in a single move. The one rumored to be human. The Supreme Leader of the Three Factions. The current Satan Lucifer. Governor of the Fallen Angels."
"Ryo Yagami."
His eyes sharpened.
"I want to see how big the gap between us really is."
"I want to know whether that man is truly human. I want to know just how far humanity can go."
"And that's why you're accepting Indra's invitation and trying to seize Samael?" Georg sighed. "I really picked the wrong person to follow."
"A true warrior shouldn't fear someone stronger than himself." Heracles crossed his arms and snorted.
"You're hopeless." Jeanne rubbed her forehead. "Just so you know, if things start going badly, I'm surrendering first."
Despite sounding cowardly, she hadn't left.
"..."
Cao Cao took a deep breath. Little by little, the trembling in his hands stopped.
"Then we'll proceed according to plan. Indra's people will launch attacks throughout Kyoto to create distractions. Meanwhile, we'll use Georg's Longinus and its dimensional manipulation abilities to infiltrate Samael's prison."
"The rest of you will use the secret technique Indra provided and work together to restrain him."
Then Cao Cao's expression hardened.
"And after that... You'll help me seize Ophis's power. Then I can challenge Ryo Yagami."
...
..
Kyoto - Nijō Castle—
Two zashiki-warashi dressed in red kimonos wandered leisurely through the castle.
Zashiki-warashi were everywhere in Nijō Castle. Some had been captured long ago by human onmyōji to serve as household spirits. Some had been assigned there by powerful yokai factions. Others had simply been born within the castle itself.
Regardless of their origin, every zashiki-warashi in Nijō Castle received exceptionally generous treatment.
Nobody assigned them work. Nobody beat or mistreated them.
They were fed well and cared for properly.
As long as they didn't cause trouble or wander off, nobody bothered them.
After all, abusing a zashiki-warashi would weaken their ability to attract good fortune to the castle.
As a result, their lives were remarkably comfortable. They spent their days strolling through the grounds and occasionally transformed into human form to sell souvenirs to tourists.
No matter who ruled the castle, their meals were guaranteed.
It was a pretty sweet life.
At first glance, the two zashiki-warashi seemed no different. But a closer look would reveal that the one walking slightly behind looked unusually nervous.
"Brother... are you sure this is okay?"
Le Fay Pendragon, disguised as a zashiki-warashi through magic, found the whole adventure unbelievably exciting.
"Pretending to be zashiki-warashi and helping Cao Cao's group if things go wrong... can that really work?"
She nervously wrung her hands while sneaking glances around her.
Walking ahead of her, Arthur Pendragon appeared completely calm.
"It's fine, Le Fay. We're not actually participating in the operation. We're only stepping in if the right opportunity arises."
He smiled reassuringly. "To put it in your terms, we'll be the heroes who turn the tide at the critical moment. Didn't you always want to be a hero?"
"Mhm."
Le Fay nodded seriously.
Then she tilted her head. "But if nothing goes wrong, wouldn't disguising ourselves like this be pointless?"
...Since when did this kid start asking smart questions?
Arthur's lips twitched.
Why had he chosen to disguise himself as a zashiki-warashi?
Because it was safe. Nobody bothered zashiki-warashi.
That was the whole point.
Otherwise, why would he abandon his Hero Faction comrades and spend his time hiding here?
If he didn't keep an eye on his innocent little sister, she'd probably charge off and challenge Ophis herself.
Naturally, he couldn't tell her that. So he adopted a solemn expression.
"Le Fay, our role is extremely important. We're like a fuse. It doesn't look impressive, and maybe we'll never be needed. But when the crucial moment arrives, we'll be the strongest support. The true heroes. We'll be the move that decides victory or defeat... Do you understand?"
"I understand, Brother." Le Fay took a deep breath and nodded earnestly.
"Good." Arthur patted her head. "Now follow the checklist I gave you and focus on acting like a proper zashiki-warashi. Let's scout out Nijō Castle first."
With that, he led Le Fay along the main path of the Nijo grounds and turned a corner toward the castle's main palace.
The moment Arthur rounded the corner—
Thunk!
He felt as though he'd walked straight into an invisible wall.
The impact sent him stumbling backward several steps and crashing into Le Fay behind him.
Using the rebound from colliding with his sister, Arthur managed to regain his balance.
Le Fay wasn't so lucky.
She fell flat on the ground.
"Ow!"
The shock disrupted her magic.
Her disguise collapsed instantly.
Poof!
The zashiki-warashi vanished, revealing a cute blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl wearing a witch's hat and holding a magic circle.
"Oh no."
Arthur didn't even need to turn around. The sound alone told him exactly what had happened.
Looking forward, he saw two figures standing in front of him—one tall, one short.
He barely registered their appearances.
His heart was already pounding out of his chest. His mind raced.
Within moments, he reached a conclusion.
There was only one option.
Knock them unconscious. Then escape.
Arthur raised his hand.
Combining years of swordsmanship and martial training, he stepped forward and swung a precise knife-hand strike toward the neck of the black-haired young man standing before him.
But unexpectedly—
His attack was caught... Effortlessly.
The black-haired youth held Arthur's wrist and suddenly smiled. Then he turned toward the shorter figure beside him.
"Ophis, is this the source of that strange smell you noticed?" He paused. "Are you sure it's not just the nice scent coming from a little girl?"
Ophis?
Arthur's eyes widened.
He looked down at the small girl beside the young man.
Black hair. Gray eyes. An expressionless face.
There was no mistaking her. Their former leader. The former head of the Khaos Brigade.
The Infinite Dragon God, Ophis.
If Ophis was here, then that meant—
Arthur slowly turned his head toward the black-haired young man holding his arm.
His throat tightened.
Wait... I'm supposed to be the backup plan. Not the vanguard!
At that moment, Arthur's bravado shattered completely.
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