Chapter 82: Princess Yasaka
The atmosphere inside Serafall's train was—awkward—to say the least. Its passengers consisted solely of the train's owner, the Satan Leviathan, and her now loyalty-questioned employee, Alduin. Both occupants sat on couches with a glass table between them, fully stocked with all sorts of snacks and refreshments.
Alduin seemed at ease, one leg crossed over the other, a cup of herbal tea in one hand, and a book in the other. The same herbology book published by Magdaran Bael he had seen his mother reading at his bedside while he was hospitalized in Ajuka's facility.
For the sake of the trip, Serafall had him undergo an immediate wardrobe change: a crisp, freshly-ironed white shirt with a structured collar, a tie fitted with a silver pin bearing the Leviathan's demonic motif, dark-gray slacks, and brown loafers cut from the highest quality leather money could procure.
Vice Minister or not, he needed to look presentable before the eyes of the West Yōkai Faction.
Serafall was in her usual, formal, turquoise-colored ensemble, and shamelessly staring a hole through Alduin's laid-back skull from the other side of the table. Eyeing him as if he were seconds away from pulling an Aizen Sosuke on her.
"You shouldn't scowl so much," he took a sip. "What kind of impression will it give the Princess if a Satan waltzes up to her doorstep looking tenser than a thousand compressed springs?"
Her crossed arms tightened, fingers drumming against her bicep in frustration.
"You do realize I haven't forgiven you, right?"
She knew he technically wasn't doing anything wrong, but his audacity to act with such indifference before a Satan who was clearly still pissed off at him seriously rubbed her the wrong way. In a sense, it almost felt like he was mocking her. Even if that wasn't his intention.
"I'm aware." He lowered his book to look at her. "That's what this trip is for, isn't it? A chance for you to determine whether or not I'm worthy of regaining your trust."
The wrinkles atop her brow deepened.
"Alduin."
"Hm?"
"Do you even feel sorry?"
He paused. Set aside his book and teacup, and leaned forward.
"Of course I do. I'm deeply sorry for hurting you," his verdant irises hummed. "However, I am not, nor will I pretend to be sorry for cooperating with the Governor-General. When he said peace was his objective, he meant it. I won't speak to his competency or lack thereof, but his intentions are pure."
[Oh? So there's some honor in you after all, parasite.]
'You're just realizing that now? How hurtful.'
He chucked inwardly.
"Pure?" Serafall scoffed. "He's a fallen angel, an immensely old, and immensely shrewd one at that. He's not even remotely trustworthy, let alone pure."
"Mm. He is indeed a fallen angel." Alduin returned a lopsided nod. "Back when I was training Sirzechs' sister and her peerage, one of her subordinates happened to be a fallen angel. I suppose it was foolish of me to have entrusted such a vile creature with my teachings, wasn't it?"
"That's not what—!"
"Not what you meant?" He interrupted. His expression harsh with admonishment. "Then what did you mean? Because when it comes to Azazel, I've heard a lot of 'he's this' and 'he's that' from you, but I've yet to hear anything actually concrete. Anything grounded in experience you've had with him."
Seeing was believing, and Alduin had seen the Governor-General and his desire with his own two eyes. He had all the confirmation he needed.
"Peace cannot come to fruition without collaboration, and as races that share the Underworld as a home, I believe attaining it with Grigori should be this department's top priority." His posture softened. Eyes lowering and attention returning to the published printed pages of botanical expertise. "However, I did mean it when I said my collaboration with him was over. Whether or not anything happens between him and us from this point onwards is entirely up to you."
Alduin reclined into the cushion propped up against his back, there was no need for him to say any more lest he wanted a repeat of the 'heated discussion' he had with Serafall back at Ajuka's facility.
She was the head of Foreign Affairs. It was her call whether or not devil-fallen angel collaboration remained a thing of myth or became a reality.
Unresponsive, Serafall's lips pressed into a thin white line.
She didn't understand Alduin. Where did this faith in Azazel come from? The amount of time he had spent actually face-to-face with the figurehead barely numbered in the hours. What possible reason could he have to hold him in such high regard? Unless he had been brainwashed or something?
It seemed plausible to her considering the Governor-General's insane technological prowess.
"It's not that simple." Surprisingly, Serafall softened her tone. Switching from outright denial to the analytical assessment one would expect of her position.
"How so?" Alduin's demeanor shifted in kind. If she was going to speak with professionalism, it was only fair that he listened in the same manner.
"An alliance between our races, if such a thing were ever to come to pass, wouldn't just be about a handshake between our respective leaders. It'd include our people too."
Her ice-cold eyes shimmered with centuries upon centuries of experience and wisdom.
"The animosity between us runs too deep. The bad blood culminated throughout our shared history is deep-rooted in our genome. Me and Azazel could get up on a televised stage and call our past wander under the bridge all we wanted, it wouldn't make a difference. If anything, it'd just be seen as an insult to their hatred: protests, riots, unrest, you'd see all of it run rampant in our streets."
She leaned on her side, a tired exhale leaving her breath. 'Peace' was the beautiful fantasy of many idealists, but reality always had a tendency to trample on that dream. To spit on it with the truth that no matter the race, supernatural or not, bloodshed was their inevitable future.
"That's especially true amongst our older kin, isn't it?" A coy smile tugged at Alduin's mouth. "The Great King Faction devils, to be more specific."
"Yes. Your point being?" She waited for his elaboration.
"Our people follow the strong, always." He pointed at her. "You, Sirzechs, Lord Beelzebub, and Lord Asmodeus are the 'strong' of this generation. You are the voices they follow. They used to follow Zekram and his stooges, but their era ended a long time ago. And with the recent, catastrophic loss of influence his faction suffered. The impact his voice has on our people is going to decrease, drastically."
Serafall's eyelids lifted. It took a moment, but she understood exactly what he was suggesting.
Soon, very soon. An opportunity would arise. One that would quite literally define the Underworld's future.
"This is the chance for course correction. I'm sure the four of you have already realized it, our current way of life isn't sustainable. It's outdated. We have conflict where we need peace." He emphasized his voice. "Zekram may have stopped a second Great War, but that doesn't make him a pacifist. He clings onto an outdated philosophy, and imposes it on our species while fully believing he's in the right."
In other words, he was so deluded it made him dangerous.
"Our people deserve better than Zekram Bael's outdated ideology, don't you think? Yes, fallen angels hurt devils, but devils also hurt fallen angels. The pain is mutual. I know it's hard to imagine, but it serves as a connection between our species."
He smiled faintly.
"In a way, Kokabiel's their Zekram, in terms of what he represents: the desire to cling onto something that faded a long, long time ago. Once he's gone, Azazel will have the same stage as you four will, and there'll be no outsiders to interfere in the play you put on."
A tinge of excitement graced his face.
"The question is, will you put on the same, grim show as our races did all those years ago? Or will you show your people a new, brighter show? With a happier cast that goes on to lead happier lives?"
Serafall wasn't sure how to describe it, but his words made her shoulders feel heavy. Extremely heavy. To the point where the sensation reminded her of when she had first assumed the title of Leviathan.
Alduin was right. Zekram's time ended long ago. He had done well to cling on thus far, but the loss of control over the Rating Games was pretty much the final nail in the coffin.
Soon, the decisions would rest solely in her and her colleagues' hands.
"You think that'll be enough to quell our people's anger? The voices of us four alone?"
He shook his head. "No. Words alone can't settle everything, but it'll be a start. An extremely important start I can't emphasize the necessity of enough. It'll open the door the past has kept shut for all this time, and give you Satans the momentum you need to build a different future."
As they should've been able to, if not for Zekram's meddling and insistence on the 'value of tradition'.
Serafall, amidst a moment of clarity, looked at Alduin intently. Her gaze shifting as if she were seeing him in a completely different light.
"Is that why you do the things you do?" Like going behind her back, for example. "For the sake of peace?"
"No." He answered a bit too quickly for her liking. "It's not that I have anything against peace, I'm in support of it if anything. It's just that I happen to share my mother's tendency, that's all."
She pursed her lips. "And what would that tendency be?"
"The tendency to use my gifts in all the wrong ways."
///
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With the wonders of magical transportation at work, they reached the human world in a matter of hours, stopping at the train's station in Kuoh Town.
As much as Alduin wanted to pop in to pay his students a visit, and Serafall wanted to envelop her little sister in one of her signature bear hugs, they couldn't afford to dawdle and keep the West Yōkai Faction waiting. Thus, they hastily embarked on a train ride from Tokyo to Kyoto. Enjoying the human world's scenery as they rode.
"Can't you do something about that?" Serafall groaned, munching on a packet of complementary biscuits one of the attendants handed her.
"About what?"
"That!" Her index finger jabbed at his head, focusing around the four, totally-not-attention-grabbing horns atop his scalp. "You're attracting way too much attention!"
Had Alduin noticed the endless monsoon of odd stares he had been getting since he arrived in Japan?
Of course he did. They were the same ones he had gotten during his stay as Rias' mentor.
Could he do something about them?
Of course he could. All it would take was a pinch of low-level transformation magic to hide his horns, a trick Roygun had already mastered.
Would he do so?
Of course not. The draconic pride written into his DNA was much too potent for him to ever consider hiding his horns of unparalleled majesty.
"So? Let them stare and admire my brilliance, these mortals should feel honored I'm giving them the chance to look upon my horns at all. Hmph." He folded his arms and held his head up high, the parental side of his genetically-inherited personality taking hold for once.
Serafall facepalmed. "You're incorrigible."
Three hours worth of railway travel later, they set foot on Kyoto's soil. Stepping out the station and taking in the sights.
It was nothing like Kuoh Town, which was situated in Tokyo. The people here gave off a much calmer, relaxed impression in comparison to the corporate rush their counterparts in Tokyo always seemed to carry over their shoulders. There was a sense of ease here those burdened by the stress of modern life would happily pay for.
The streets were narrow, laden with low-rise buildings you could enter through the sidewalk, and an array of powerlines that stretched overhead. Alduin and Serafall could see the distant mountains that loomed in Kyoto's backdrop, their enhanced eyes capable of admiring their beauty in greater detail than any mortal could ever hope to.
And then there were the attractions. For instance, the golden brilliance of Kinkaku-ji, more commonly known as the 'Golden Pavilion'. Or the endless red gates that spanned the Fushimi Inari Taisha, a Shinto shrine dedicated to Inari Ōkami. The deity of rice, prosperity, and success.
Serafall couldn't sense it, but Alduin could. With his Senjutsu, he could feel the larger than life, overbearing presence that blanketed the shrine like a warm mother's embrace. The Divine Power that gave it true significance amongst the supernatural world.
A God was here. A million times weaker than he was in the times of old thanks to a depletion of faith, but still powerful enough to pose a genuine threat to Alduin if he was stupid enough to provoke its wrath, and by proxy, that of the Shinto Pantheon that possessed Japan's heavenly mandate.
Inari Ōkami was without a shadow of a doubt aware of Alduin's presence, and the fact that he could connect to Ki. Likewise, Alduin could also feel the great presence's eyes fix onto him. Silently warning him not to test any boundaries while he was a guest of Kyoto on Yasaka's behest.
"Don't worry, we come in peace." He spoke to the air, a gentle breeze sweeping by his face in 'response'.
"Who are you talking to?" Serafall queried.
"Myself." He smiled.
Serafall simply sighed, she didn't have the energy to put up with any more of his shenanigans. They had work to do.
Alduin wondered how the West Yōkai Faction was able to maintain their autonomy for so long, even throughout the most brutal of supernatural eras despite their leader's strength only being Peak Ultimate-Class. At least, that's what the reports said.
Now he understood. The Gods were behind him, not just spiritually, physically too. To pick a fight with them was no different than spitting right in the face of Amaterasu-Ōmikami herself. An opponent less than a handful of creatures could hope to survive the wrath of.
They continued their trip, arriving at a stone-cut, lengthy staircase that led upwards to a shrine situated on a more remote section of Kyoto. Much more subtle than Fushimi Inari Taisha, and far more restricted. Any outsiders, both supernatural and natural, were completely forbidden from entering without the West Yōkai Faction's permission.
Step by step, they ascended. Arriving at a strikingly humble, temperate shrine that rested above a hill. Desolate, yet well maintained. The work of someone who truly cared for the structure's sanctity.
"Ah, Leviathan-dono. Sallos-dono. You've arrived."
A gentle, homely voice greeted the two of them. Belonging to an objectively attractive older woman with a light shade of blonde hair, her eyes sharp and embedded with an amber glow. Her outfit was that of a typical Shinto shrine priestess, and she carried a simple broom in her hand that she used to keep litter off the temple grounds.
"Sallos? That's the first time anyone's used that name on me." Alduin chuckled. His eyes fixed onto two standout parts of the priestess's figure.
A pair of fluffy, fox-like ears poking out of her head, and three, white-tipped tails protruding out of her backside.
A Yōkai. A Kitsune in particular. The most renowned bloodline within the faction, second only to their evolved Kyuubi superiors. Every one-hundred years, a Kitsune grew another tail, which meant every Kyuubi alive had either lived for a minimum of nine-hundred years or were the offspring of an existing Kyuubi.
"Your mother's reputation has spread far and wide amongst our species," the Kitsune replied with a courteous nod. "I can tell just by observing your lifeforce, you're not a long ways away from reaching her level."
She tried her utmost to mask it, but the undertone of fear in her voice couldn't escape Alduin's ears.
He wore a knowing grin.
'Her level? I'm not even close.'
The Kitsune glanced over at Serafall. "Although, I suppose this isn't the time nor place to discuss such matters." She gestured politely. "Please, follow me."
Serafall and Alduin followed her into the shrine, the smell of burning incense greeting their nostrils upon stepping inside. Coupled by a stench of Ki so potent, that it couldn't possibly come from the Kitsune managing the modest structure. To Alduin, the step over the doorframe felt like having a thousand gallons of cold water splashed at him all at once. Forget the Kitsune, the gathering of Ki here was so dense even his mother wouldn't be able to replicate the phenomenon.
"This is the gate, Sallos-dono." She noticed his stupor. "It's what allows access into Urakyoto from Kyoto with Yasaka-sama's permission."
Upon hearing that, his eyes lit up in an 'a-ha!' moment. This place had to be connected to the Leylines that ran beneath Kyoto's soil. The bottomless well of Ki that only the Kyuubi who sat at the top of the West Yōkai Faction had the power to tap into. A god-like source that no-one but the most disciplined, righteous bearer should wield lest they abuse its immense capabilities.
And to think what he was sensing was just a node connected to the Leylines, nowhere near the power source's full scope. He loved his mother, but shuddered to imagine what'd happen to the world if she ever attained access to such a thing. In fact, the Gods protecting the West Yōkai Faction were probably the only deterrent that had prevented her from doing so in the past.
'Thank Kami.'
The thought of it alone was enough to make a Satan-Class Devil of all creatures feel gratitude towards the Shinto Pantheon.
"Allow me a moment, I'm going to connect to Yasaka-sama and let her know of your presence." The Kitstune closed her eyes and folded her hands around her stomach, honing her concentration as flickers of Ki started to jolt off her figure and absorb themselves into the colossal node of Ki embedded into the shrine.
'Fascinating.'
Alduin could feel the world begin to shift as a refined form of spatial dissipation took place. The auras of citizens roaming Kyoto's soil disappearing one after the other, like dying lanterns, and the already considerable Ki density in the atmosphere skyrocketing: twofold, threefold, fourfold, it just kept going and going. The perfect training environment for Yōkai and other practitioners of Senjutsu.
'Shirone should consider coming here at some point.'
"We're here," the Kitsune announced. Calmly leading the Underworld's delegates outwards and letting them witness and marvel in the majesty of the West Yōkai Faction's headquarters in all its wondrous glory.
"Whew," Alduin blew an impressive whistle.
"Right?" Serafall merely smiled, this wasn't her first time here after all.
From where they stood, the headquarters resembled a massive, traditional shrine complex. Its size eclipsed the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine outside of Urakyoto's barrier with ease. Numerous paths led up to its entrance, each laden with rows upon rows of vermillion torii gates, all packed to the brim with complex formations of Ki and Youki.
Alduin couldn't even begin to guess what kind of defensive measures would be activated if one were to provoke the structure's defenses, assuming anyone were foolish enough to try.
"Shall we?" The Kitsune offered with a proud smile, observing an outsider's reaction to the majesty of their realm was always a pleasure. Especially when that outsider happened to be the son of the most renowned Sage of Ryūchi Cave.
Following the Kitsune's leads, the devils passed through the torii gates and entered the headquarters' main grounds: a wide courtyard of evenly spaced gravel, meticulously raked in exquisite, flowing patterns by the faction's ever-dutiful servants.
Massive, wooden halls rose in the distance at the courtyard's rear, their architecture nothing short of pristine antiquity, fitted with curved roofs, gold accents, and polished dark wood, all curated on a scale that felt much too large for the likes of a human. This was a place for the supernatural, and supernatural alone after all. How could a mere mortal possess the right to bask in the glory of its architecture? Much less appreciate it?
They proceeded down the halls, paper lanterns floating around them with no visible support or tether whatsoever as they cast a warm, flickering glow on their surroundings.
Most outsiders wouldn't notice, but Alduin's sensory perception noticed how the corridors stretched further than the dimensions of their exterior gave them any right to. A truly intriguing application of spatial manipulation.
If he were to hazard a guess, it was probably a precaution in the rare case that someone actually managed to infiltrate the headquarters' perimeter. The incomprehensible twists and turns designed to keep them from ever reaching the figurehead herself, Princess Yasaka. She wasn't just a leader after all, she was the West Yōkai Faction. No Kyuubi meant no Leyline control, and the only other Kyuubi in the faction was much too young to take up the responsibility.
"Who painted these?" Alduin inquired, observing the sliding doors painted with scenes of fox spirits, storms, and ancient battles that almost seemed like they were alive if you squinted hard enough.
"That would be us of the Kitsune Clan." The pride in her voice doubled, she had a personal hand in painting a good number of the works scattered around the headquarters. A privilege granted to her people with Yasaka's permission.
"They're impressive. Like seriously impressive."
"You're too kind, Sallos-dono." A complete contradiction to the tales swimming around his mother.
Eventually, they arrived at a sliding door far grander than any other. Its surface marked with the image of a gargantuan beast of a yellow fox with nine tails, a sea of blue fire spitting out its maw and laying carnage to everything unfortunate enough to stand in its path.
The image of a Kyuubi in its true form.
"Yasaka-sama." With unmistakable, ocean-deep respect and reverence, the Kitsune lightly tapped her knuckles against the door. "They're here."
"Thank you." A regal voice echoed. "Let them in."
The Kitsune stepped aside, opening the sliding door and revealing the interior of the headquarters' central chamber.
It was an elevated room, dominated by colors of gold and crimson that acted as symbols of authority and divine heritage. Pillars made from thick, lacquered wood were positioned around the space, their exteriors partially covered in embroidered silk, which upon closer inspection, were imbued with protective wards and ancient, millennia-old sigils. All fortifications to guarantee the figurehead's safety.
At the rearmost end of the chamber, the elevation rose in purposeful stages. Each step upward came with an increase of pressure, a reminder to whoever dared to ascend that its uppermost platform was to be occupied by one, and one person only.
It was Yasaka's seat. Not a gaudy throne, for it had no need to be. Rather a broad, low seat framed by gold detailing, placed smack dab in the center of it at all. What need did it have to be grand? She was a Kyuubi. Controller of the Leylines. A figure protected by the Shinto Gods themselves.
If that didn't speak to her right to leadership, then what did?
"I've been looking forward to meeting you," her voice carried through the very Ki in the atmosphere itself. "Son of Martha."
Alduin paused, taking a moment to reel in the woman's appearance.
Her long, golden-blonde hair cascaded down her back in smooth, heavy strands. Her eyes were sharp with wisdom, carrying a luminous gold hue that shimmered in her irises, and her eyebrows were cut in the long-forgotten fashion of a bygone era of noblewomen. A style that suited her to perfection.
The Kyuubi's ensemble consisted of a jet-black kimono patterned with numerous golden skulls that accentuated both her eyes, and immensely attention-grabbing figure. Namely her chest area which seemed to transcend all biological rationale, but remained a strikingly pleasant sight to behold nonetheless.
Behind her, nine, impossibly soft-looking fox tails were fanned out like a living backdrop. Slowly swishing and swaying as if to highlight her relaxed, composed demeanor. Alongside two, upwards-pointing fox ears that twitched attentively, like they were resonating with Alduin's scrutinization of the woman.
"It seems you bear a curse with you," she remarked. Peering at Alduin to determine whether or not he was aware of his own peril.
"A gift from my mother." He nodded, brushing his fingers against his cheek, their trail revealing grotesque, pitch black veins that bulged out of his skin. "I understand we have a lot to discuss, Yasaka-sama. But before we do, there's probably something I ought to bring to your attention."
Her eyes widened a distance. "Yes?"
"Someone's compromised your defenses."
"Oh?"
Slowly, Serafall craned her head towards her employee. Blinking repeatedly to ascertain whether or not she had misheard him.
"What did you just sa—"
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