"Citizens of America.
I have called the Congress into the extraordinary session because there are serious, very serious, choices of policy to be made, and made immediately, which it was neither right nor constitutionally permissible that I should assume the responsibility of making.
For the past several months, our nation has been blessed by the extraordinary bipartisan unity that hasn't been seen since the time of World War II, when the American People needed to unite to combat the threat of fascism in Europe.
The proud sons and daughters of the United States Military started cleaning out the American cities of the members of Cartels and other terrorist organizations that for too long have plagued our glorious nation. With their unrelenting courage and duty, we have defeated the gangs and criminal organizations that are now part of history and secured the southern border with Mexico.
One month ago, General Keira Clark personally led the Blazer Corps to fight against the Cartels that were carrying out military operations around our borders and endangering the lives of American citizens.
With a heavy heart, I am going to say the following lines and sentences.
Over and over, the government of Mexico has proved to be incapable of dealing with the Cartels that are essentially running the entire nation, and its federal government is incapable of dealing with this threat, even when some of its most influential members are being terminated by General Clark.
Over the past week, the entire nation of Mexico has fallen into civil war, and the Federal Government officials have control over just 20% of the territory. The whole country is plagued by war, and that said, war is already spilling into our own border and endangering our own sovereignty and the lives of our own citizens.
Cartels have taken most of the country and established their own governments, and today, approximately two hours ago, the troops of the Los Muertia Cartel attacked the troops of the United States that were patrolling the borders, resulting in the deaths of more than fifty soldiers who laid down their lives for our country.
With a profound sense of the solemn and even tragical character of the step I am taking and of the grave responsibilities which it involves, but in unhesitating obedience to what I deem my constitutional duty, I advise that the Congress declare the recent course of the Mexico and it's criminal organizations to be in fact nothing less than war against the U.S. Government and people of the United States; that it formally accept the status of belligerent which has thus been thrust upon it, and that it take immediate steps not only to put the country in a more thorough state of defense but also to exert all its power and employ all its resources to bring the situation there to the end.
What this will involve is clear. It will involve the organization and mobilization of all the material resources of the country to supply the materials of war and serve the incidental needs of the nation in the most abundant and yet the most economical and efficient way possible. It will involve the immediate full equipment of the navy in all respects, but an attack on the Cartel-operated navy and rogue elements of the Mexican Navy that went rogue. It will involve the immediate addition to the armed forces of the United States already provided for by law in case of war, at least five hundred thousand men, who will be marching from our southern border to cleanse the enemies of our state.
There is a quote, 'If the King doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?'. While we Americans don't have a King, this quote is true even for us, and as a retired 5-Star General, I have personally overseen many missions in the name of our nation, and this time, it won't be different. Thus, I will be once again donning my uniform and returning to the service to lead our troops to victory.
To show the American people that their leaders are not just hiding behind the pristine walls while the troops fight. Our nation was tested over and over, yet every single time we prevailed and won, and this time, we will too win!
It is a distressing and oppressive duty, my dear fellow Americans, which I have performed in thus addressing you. There are, it may be many months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us.
Yet no matter the obstacle and trial, we will overcome them through the unity of our people and duty to our motherland.
One Nation, Under God. Indivisible. With Liberty and Justice for All.
God Bless America."
- Speech of President Jacob Edward III. Grey from 20. 10. 2020 at the White House during the declaration of war on the Republic Martia and the Warlords of the former United Mexican States
***
Yakou was someone who enjoyed good food.
Initially, he didn't really have money or time for that, because he used all of the money that he made to further his studies in the Onmyōdō, which consumed most of the money that he made.
Now he was enjoying the highest degree of luxury imaginable with the resources of the Illuminati Society. Well, the Society controlled most of the world's finances and was the strongest mundane nation in the world.
And it wasn't for nothing.
Not to mention, over the past few weeks, he had started feeling a particular kind of happiness when it was time for the things he actually enjoyed. Something that was somewhat unusual, but he didn't pay a lot of attention to it.
Yakou and Eve were in the dining room, which was as extravagant as the rest of the mansion, as the two of them were sitting at a relatively large table and eating their lunch. However, they were not the only ones eating, as even Yakou's family, Huginn and Munnin, were eating some pieces of raw meat.
"It seemed that you were indeed telling the truth."
Eve remarked as she looked at the two ravens that were otherwise annoying to heck, and she didn't consider herself to be a fan of the two Divine Ravens that Yakou inherited from Heretic God Odin.
"About?"
Right now they were having their entrées, which he greatly enjoyed. As Campione, he could eat a lot and never got fat, basically, so he had a lot of food before him as his consumption of calories was pretty high, while Eve had a more modest version of it.
"That those two were silent only when they were eating."
Eve chuckled as she said that, and Yakou nodded because this wasn't really anything that much surprising. The two ravens were pretty talkative, but for Yakou, it wasn't really anything that he minded too much, because the ravens were a rather funny duo.
"Well, they may be pretty annoying most of the time, but they are also pretty useful, skilled, and surprisingly loyal."
After spending some time with the ravens, they had already grown on him. Huginn and Munnin were entertaining because Yakou often laughed at their antics, as the two Divine Ravens could be considered proficient comedians.
Now that he thought over it, he didn't even remember when he was having such a good time...
"Also, they sent me servants far sooner than I had anticipated... and the chef is superb, so tell whoever that arranged this that they have my thanks for this one."
Tsuchigumo, who was playing the butler, stood behind Yakou and directed the servants. Eve was aware that Yakou's butler was actually one of the Shikigamis of the Tscuhimikado Clan that he had unsealed during the past month.
Its power was already stronger than most of the Magic Saints, and even Thomas Andre, the sole B-Ranked Knight of the Illuminati Society, was no match for the Tsuchigumo. Thomas Andre was an unnatural oddity within the Illuminati Society, as he was their strongest individual.
Though in the current age, more and more people have reached the B-Rank, but not all of them were Magic Saints, the full-fledged ones. Many lacked the Skills and Proficiency in their Magic and power that were natural to the Saints, as most of the current ones had only raw power, none of the Skill or control.
"Then thanks... I arranged for that."
Now it was Yakou's turn to get a surprising end, but he was delighted by her nice gesture. It seemed that she remembered some things he had rambled about and acted accordingly.
"It actually took a lot of effort to find the right person, but finding someone so skilled that could be stationed here permanently was impossible on short notice, so I hired someone only on a temporary basis. Even though the person is not aware of the supernatural, his cooking skills are top-notch... a bit shame that he is eccentric and not suitable for long-term employment."
Yakou nodded as he didn't really care much about these things. Since he was Campione right now, he had subordinates for that, as they were taking care of everything related to his daily needs.
The people in the Magic Association were responsible for maintaining the Estate and practically everything, like delivering more Magic Tomes for him or other things. It was rahter a good thing to have an army of people that would handle everything, and he could just focus on what he wanted to do.
"Who is the chef that you sent me here?"
This was the first time Yakou had tasted snake, as they were currently enjoying a soup made from a very rare and poisonous species of snake, which made it very difficult to prepare. The requirements for the dish were also very high, and it was extremely hard to prepare, with a possibly high risk of poisoning the people who ate it.
"Yukihira Jōichirō... he attended the Tōtsuki Tea Ceremony and Cooking Academy, and while he never formally graduated from the Academy, he is still considered as one of the best chefs in the world. Occasionally, Rockefeller Bank hires him to handle the private banquets hosted by us or to handle some events."
Obviously, this was telling Yakou nothing, as he wasn't really well-versed in these things, since Eve was still just drilling some things about high society and things she termed "common sense" into his head.
"Well, he is very good... shame he cannot say for a more permanent role..."
It was beyond evident that they could not employ someone who wasn't one of their own, and even this solution was executed because Yukihira Jōichirō had a really splendid recommendation, and the Rockefellers had a high opinion of his skills and everything.
"True... finding good staff in certain places is pretty hard..."
It was somewhat ironic, because finding skilled chefs and servants for the Magic Houses and organizations was a rather challenging thing. This was something that Eve Rockefeller personally admitted, because most of them actually cultivated their own staff from scratch.
Finding loyal staff aware of the supernatural was rare.
"Hopefully, the successor would be someone equally skilled."
Yakou hoped that the next chef would be someone equally skilled, though he rather doubted because the dishes that they were having right now were really extraordinary. Well, if someone like Eve praised it, then it was already something to behold.
After spending more than two months with her, almost on a daily basis, he realized that she had ridiculously high standards. Well, that was to be expected, as the Rockefellers were one of the wealthiest families in the entire world, with their wealth estimated to be worth more than 10 trillion dollars.
Most of it was attributed to their membership within the Illuminati Society and also the destruction of the Rothschild Family many decades ago during World War II. Around the entire world, there were not many who were richer than the Rockefellers.
"When do you plan to go to Brazil?"
Soon enough, they were served the main course, which was Wagyu Beef, but not just a steak, but done in several styles. Yakou, on the other hand, compared to Eve's relatively modest portion, was served with a huge plate of meat.
"In around one week... We need the Brazilians to cool down with everything that is going on right now."
Yakou nodded as he continued eating, as right now, there were many things going on.
Approximately months ago, when he became Campione, two months had passed, and it was already almost November 2020. For the past weeks, the situation in Mexico was shit, especially because Yakou and Keira Clark, with her troops, have destroyed the Oración Seis and Dark Guild Alliance.
Unfortunately, the moment the Oración Seis and Dark Guild Alliance were destroyed, everything went to shit, because the biggest boss was down, the lesser ones started waging war on each other.
Everyone wanted to become the top dog.
"Anything interesting to see in there?"
He wasn't as well-travelled as Eve, who actually was, and she had time and money to travel.
"Maybe a few... what are you suggesting that we go together on tour? Like a date?"
She grinned as she said that, because she knew very well that she could be pretty open around him. Though Yakou only looked at her, he was not really sure of her intentions with this one, as Eve was a rather harder person to read.
Unlike Kirari, whom he could read and knew how to read, Eve was...
More problematic.
She knew how to mask her emotions and intentions perfectly, and it was impossible to tell anything apart. Contrary to him, who was used to not using his emotions at all, because he found them redundant,
"If you are interested? And as an added bonus, you can tell your father to stop nagging you."
When he said the last part without much thought, like it was natural, Yakou saw that she stopped in her tracks for a moment before her expression returned to normal. Obviously, Yakou knew that one of the main reasons why she had been annoyed for the past week was that her father was obviously pressing her to seduce him.
One didn't need to be a genius to figure that out.
Bloodline of Campione was precious.
The means of obtaining it were so scarce that even slaying Heretic God was more common.
The last Campione that had children was César Blandelli.
Several centuries ago, at that.
And yet, it was enough for the Blandelli Family to rise into prominence, and within the entire world, they were considered one of the strongest Magic Lineages in the world. They produced several Magisters and Grand Knights in one generation from time to time.
Yakou knew that Eve wasn't really pleased by the idea of being forced onto something, but at the same time, the Elders in her family and her father specifically were pretty vocal about that, and it rather often led to conflicts with her family.
Not that he minded, though... in his opinion, Eve was a beautiful woman; he liked her personality, and they had a lot in common. And it wasn't like his "current woman", Kirari would be against, as she was always someone who didn't care about social norms at all.
When he remembered her rather adventurous side, she would find it rather hot seeing him dominate other women. Not to mention, in the supernatural side of the world, things like polygamy and similar constructs were very much alive.
"Then we have an agreement, then.
Even nodded as she calmed down a bit, because this answer was rather...
Unexpected?
Probably.
As they were reaching and chatting, suddenly Tsuchigumo appeared in the doors as he tapped on several buttons and activated the television that was built into one of the wooden closets.
If it was in open, it would destroy the feeling of the entire room.
"There has been news from the Association; there has been an urgent thing happening."
Both Eve and Yakou stopped talking as they saw Grey, preparing to start the speech in the Oval Office of White House. And he looked rather serious, very serious, which meant that something must have happened during the past few hours.
Well, it was highly possible, and even if something happened, Yakou's Numengard Estate was rather isolated, and there wasn't a lot of modern technology around the mansion either.
Soon enough, Grey broke the silence and started speaking, and Yakou and Eve just listened.
And it wasn't just them, because across the Estate, it seemed like the time had come to stop, as everyone was staring at the very few televisions in the entire Estate. And not only here, but also throughout he rest of Charlottesville, Virginia, and the rest of the United States of America.
Even beyond the USA, millions of people were watching the speech of the 45th President of the United States of America, Jacob Grey, who was right now in the middle of a declaration of war against Mexico, or at least, what has remained from it on paper and various Warlords that were occupying parts of the country.
American people were no strangers to war as the United States was waging war almost constantly, which, in a certain sense, was a good thing. The Army of the United States has the best tech, best doctrine, and plenty of experience...
Holy Trinity of all things.
"Well, one thing is certain... Grey really likes hearing his own voice."
Yakou commented as both of them observed the speech coming to an end. The speech was rather lengthy, but its message was rather clear. The United States was going to war once again as its President declared it right then in the speech.
"It seems that there won't be any trip to Brazil with this announcement."
Eve remarked that the situation has changed drastically right now. With the U.S. being in a state of war right now, it means that they certainly won't be going anywhere.
Within the Illuminati Society, members at certain levels had a high degree of autonomy, making their own decisions and acting on behalf of the entire Association.
This was, though, limited only to the Executives who had some degree of autonomy, and in certain cases, they could act without the explicit consent of the Knights of the Round Table.
Meanwhile, the Knights of the Round had the highest degree of autonomy to make decisions on behalf of the entire society. Especially in the areas for which they were responsible, they could do what they wanted, like Grey was doing right now.
2nd Seat of the Round Table and Head of the Department of Policies, which was responsible for all policies of the entire Illuminati Society and for the development of the mundane side of the world.
Even though Yakou was technically King of the Association, he never intervened in its operations, as he saw no need, and he was explicit in his wish that, even though the Illuminati Society had his full support, they didn't need to ask for his approval when deciding things.
"Grey managed to put everything in this span of a few hours?"
Yakou asked because President Grey's speed was out of this world. Mainly because it seemed that the incident at the borders took place around morning, and Grey already managed to put together the entirety of the Congress and declare war on Mexico and its Walrods just a few hours later.
Which was...
Sketchy at best because it really gave the appearance that everything was already prepared.
Though it wasn't really far from the truth, because the CIA had already predicted that something like this would happen, and Grey decided to make use of it, and since the civil war in Mexico, the USA raised DEFCON to DEFCON 2.
The Defense Readiness Condition (DEFCON) is an alert state used by the United States Armed Forces. The DEFCON system was developed in 1959 by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and unified and specified combatant commands.
It prescribes five graduated levels of readiness (or states of alert) for the U.S. military. It increases in severity from DEFCON 5 (least severe) to DEFCON 1 (most severe) to match varying military situations, with DEFCON 1 signaling the impending outbreak of nuclear warfare.
For security reasons, the U.S. military does not announce a DEFCON level to the public.
DEFCON 1 = Exercise Term: COCKED PISTOL: Nuclear war is imminent or has already begun. Maximum readiness. Immediate response.
DEFCON 2 = Exercise Term: FAST PACE: Next step to nuclear war. Armed forces are ready to deploy and engage in less than six hours.
DEFCON 3 = Exercise Term: ROUND HOUSE: Increase in force readiness above that required for normal readiness. Air Force ready to mobilize in 15 minutes.
DEFCON 4 = Exercise Term: DOUBLE TAKE: Increased intelligence watch and strengthened security measures. Above normal readiness
DEFCON 5 = Exercise Term: FADE OUT: Lowest state of readiness. Normal readiness.
With DEFCON 2 activated, the entire U.S. military machine was ready to march towards their first target within a few hours.
And with the remnants of the Oración Seis and their Dark Guilds Alliance that are now playing as the local Warlords, the Blazer Corps would be deployed together with the Enforcers of the Illuminati Society.
"With DEFCON 2 in activation, it's no wonder. Shame, I was looking forward to the trip to Brazil."
Yakou, in fact, didn't really care that much about the fact that they were basically not going anywhere. On the contrary, it was Eve who was more disappointed with this one, because she was rather eager for the trip, especially when they agreed on a date together.
Though Eve was an adult and a grown woman, she wouldn't be overly disappointed over that and decided that she would propose another date at a later time.
"Are you returning to the D.C.?"
Yakou asked as they stopped watching television while all TV channels were going berserk about this latest announcement by the President. It seemed that their lunch would be cut short, as Eve would most probably return to the Headquarters as soon as possible.
As the Head of Department of the Treasury within the Illuminati Society, she was one of the most important members of the Knights of the Round when it came to the mundane matters.
"Probably... depending on how things would be playing out. I will wait until Grey issues his summons after he finishes meetings in the Pentagon about our strikes against the Warlords and when the latest piece of intelligence arrives."
Yakou nodded, because right now, this was solely a matter of Jacob Grey, as these things were more related to the Mundane Side than the Magical Side. Of course, Keira Clark, as Head of the Department of Sealing Designation Enforcers, would also be representing the Illuminati Society in this matter.
Other members were not called, technically, and Thomas Andre was still in Japan, guarding Kirari, before she would relocate to the United States. That also reminded Yakou that he needed to call Andre and tell him to speed things up.
"I will go with you then... like I said before, I have always planned to support the endeavors of the Society, and oversight over the war where the Mages are involved also falls into this."
Yakou planned only to oversee things because there were still many remnants of the Oración Seis and their Dark Guilds Alliance across Mexico, and many would be fighting against the U.S. Forces.
Obviously, they would be met with the Blazer Corps and Enforcers of Illuminati Society, but because Thomas Andre was out in Japan, Faust was needed to hold the Headquarters, and despite everything, Grey couldn't go into the battle directly; Yakou needed to be present and deal with the threats that Keira wouldn't be able to.
Andre was a B-Rank Knight, albeit a bit weaker one, and wasn't as full-fledged as ones like other Magic Saints. While he had Mana on the level of Magic Saints, he lacked the finesse of skill to be actually recognized as a Magic Saint, as titles were given not just on the measurement of Parameters.
Faust, Jacob Grey, Keira Clark, and Dairenji Shidou were all either Magisters or Grand Knights.
And that was everything for the highest combat process of the Illuminati Society.
Pretty low.
Due to that, Yakou decided that he would personally oversee the theater of war. Obviously, as he knew shit about military matters, he would be there only in the case some powerful Mage appeared on the battlefield randomly, which could pretty much happen.
It was pretty essential to have the protection, and he knew that people in the Joint Chiefs of Staff would be delighted to have the protection of Campione, because it meant that they could reduce their casualties by a significant amount.
The fewer the casualties, the better for them it would be in the long run.
"Then shall we wait for the desert?"
To his question, Eve nodded as she was curious what the desert would be, as the entire lunch was superb. Well, why wouldn't it be if there was no budget on the ingredients and it was prepared by one of the best chefs in the entire world.
"I am in the mood for some traditional Japanese dessert..."
She commented, and Yakou was inclined to agree, but he didn't really know what was on the menu. What he knew about gastronomy could be compared to shit, as he didn't know anything, so for him, it was rather a constant surprise.
Most of the time welcomed one.
And while Eve and Yakou were enjoying their peaceful time chatting and having a delicious lunch, the outside world was in total turmoil.
***
Outskirts of Tokyo, Main House of the Momobami Clan
Within the compounds of Momobami Clan, Thomas Andre, the 6th Seat of the Knights of the Round Table, finished the briefing from the Headquarters of the Illuminati Society in Washington, D.C., but that also wasn't really necessary.
He saw Grey's speech on television that ended just half an hour ago.
In the Momobami Clan, he wasn't alone, as he had brought around twenty Enforcers from the Department of the Sealing Designation Enforcers that 5th Seat Keira Clark gave him for this mission.
The situation has escalated quickly, and a message from Headquarters has been relayed that he is to return to the United States with Campione's paramour immediately.
The political situation was becoming more complicated than one could imagine.
When the United States had decided to initiate war against Mexico and its Warlords, though speaking about Mexico as a country now sounded laughable, because most of the country fell to the Cartels that consolidated themselves into the real, geniue Warlords.
Most of the nation had already fallen apart to the Warlords that were fighting for every city and town. Some of the more ridiculous ones were even proclaiming themselves as the sole legitimate Mexican Government...
The more problematic news, though...
According to the CIA, some of the nations were supplying the cartels and Warlords with information about the U.S. and their recent moves. Among them, the most notable were Great Britain and Japan.
Which wasn't really that surprising, considering the current geopolitical landscape and the things that were on the horizon. With this taking place, the entire NATO was ready on the verge of falling apart, and most of the European Union was running around like a headless chicken.
Most of the European states were in distress primarily because most of the military power of the entire NATO belonged to the United States, as they had the biggest and strongest military in the world.
Yet...
With the Campione on their side, the stance of the United States was unchanged.
Every bit of dissent was cleared, and everyone was now strengthened by the extraordinary feeling of unity and ultimate backing from Campione, which fully supported their nation and their goals.
John Pluto Smith disappeared from Los Angeles, and nobody knew where the Campione went, nor did they care. The Governments of the United States and the Illuminati Society had a rather complicated stance towards John Pluto Smith.
At first, they wanted to have some kind of relationship with the Campione, because it would mean that their greatest weakness would be instantly covered up, and they would be able to stand on the Magical Side against the old Magic Associations in Europe and Asia.
Unfortunately, John Pluto Smith was someone who wasn't interested in anything aside from cosplaying as a hero and fighting crime.
Which caused most of the politicians in the USA ot resent the Campione greatly because they didn't obtain anything from having a Campione being born in their nation.
"Well, it seems that we need to speed up the things..."
Thomas Andre, after finishing the briefing with the Headquarters, went to find his second in command, Christopher Reed.
Chris Reed was a tall and muscular young man with wavy brown hair that was shaved on both sides of his head, blue eyes, and slight facial hair. While using his powers or agitated, his eyes glowed light blue.
He was one of the Great Knight Level Enforcers from the Department of the Sealing Designation Enforcers of the Society and had the most prospects of reaching the Grand Knight Level.
Reed was an extremely powerful Fire Mage as he was born with an extraordinary affinity for the Fire Magic and innate Flame that made every single Fire-Attributed Spell much stronger than on average.
He was one of the few rare talents in the Society and, overall, among the Mages born in the territory of the United States. He was someone who had the potential to reach the Magic Saint Level, and if that happened, he would have higher combat prowess on average compared to the other Saints, due to his special mutated Fire Magic.
"Reed, go gather the rest of the Enforcers and start packing up. We are leaving in two days at the latest."
Andre said that he had found Christopher Reed on guard duty, as the activity of the Committee's Mages around the main compound of the Momobami Clan had skyrocketed since they were in Japan.
"The girl is now playing at the Academy, so send someone to notify her about the things and that we need to leave."
Reed didn't say anything as he just nodded to the orders as he went to carry them out.
***
Hyakkaou Private Academy, Tokyo
Hyakkaou Private Academy was an educational institution where students from powerful Japanese families in the political and financial world of Japan attended.
Hyakkaou Private Academy was founded 122 years ago in Japan, and for many years since its inception, it was a school attended by students from powerful families in Japan's political and financial world and most of Asia.
It is a school where students are not evaluated by studies or sports, but by the social status they possess.
This is because studies and extracurricular activities are not necessary for people who are destined to have power over others. For them, it was important to be well versed in tactics, reading an opponent, and the strength to grasp victory, which are abilities they have to prove and obtain through gambling.
"This early?"
Kirari Momobami sat in the private room for the members of the Student Council, though the lavish and luxurious room that was as big as a random average flat was right now mostly empty, because she was having a very important phone call.
She wore the standard Hyakkaou Private Academy school uniform, which was a red blazer with black trim on the cuffs and around the neck, and it was decorated with gold buttons, complete with a black tie. Kirari sported a gray colored skirt with patterns on it, black-tinted pantyhose, and Hyakkaou Private Academy's brown loafers with black soles.
"Yes, I have seen the news... of course... yes..."
Her tone was rather grave as she indeed watched the speech of the President of the United States that was aired around half an hour later... well, the better question was that, who didn't?
Everyone in the higher society watched it, and it was the sole topic of conversation because it was a very serious and important thing. The fact that the most powerful country in the nation was once again going to war was a huge thing, and the stock markets were reacting accordingly to that.
Unseasiness, uncertainty, and tension.
The price of gold was rising, and stocks were falling... aside from the defense contractors and weapon manufacturers whose stocks were, on the other hand, rising.
"As you wish then... I will prepare my things."
She answered the phone as she ended the call.
Kirari realized that the moment Grey announced his war, it would forever reshape the geopolitical situation, and at the same time, she would be forced to relocate to the United States to be with Yakou.
Who would leave their child in a hostile country?
Technically speaking.
Even though he was confident that the History Compilation Committee wouldn't dare to do anything, it was better to be safe than sorry.
She was four months pregnant, and although her pregnancy wasn't yet visible, she could already feel it. She often felt that her emotions were out of control, and sometimes she felt unimaginably horny...
Yakou was the only man with whom she was and with whom she would ever be... not to mention he was unnaturally gifted in certain areas and very well endowed. When she was fifteen, she seduced him because well...
She always had a crush on him as he was handsome, powerful, and was probably the only man who really didn't fear her Clan or anything related to it. Not to mention, the aura of a mysterious Mage was something that was rather attractive.
Not to mention, she found his detached demeanor very appealing and intriguing.
So when she reached her 15th birthday, she obtained what she wanted, and she was literally split in half... Since they, when Yakou was hired to work for the Momobami Clan, they would fuck.
Not to mention she didn't want anyone else, as her standards for men were pretty skewed and she was rather obsessive wth her target of affection.
Something that only she knew, but she didn't get pregnant to obtain the Magic Blood for her Clan or increase her standing.
She got pregnant to bind Yakou to her.
As she was very possessive, she didn't want another woman to take the dominant position.
She wouldn't be against Yakou having other wives or concubines... she would enjoy watching how her man would break them and make them scream or force them to service her. It was rather interesting, that contradiction of his...
Because during the intercourse, he was behaving rather differently.
Rough.
Sadistic.
Brutal.
Very.
Yet...
Also passionate and caring.
She knew that he was psychotic.
Heavily psychotic.
Kirari liked seeing him like that... it brought her another sense of enjoyment because one would swear that he had two personalities in him. And that one, that was far more emotional, raw and almost beastial...
It was something that she was very fond of.
"Miroslava, would you be so dear as to prepare the car back home? We are moving to the United States."
Miroslava Honebami was a pale-skinned teenage girl with light grey hair that was split in two, which went down her back and ended in twirls. She had light green eyes and a noticeably large bust. She wore black gloves with the standard female Hyakkaou Private Academy-issued uniform.
She was a bodyguard for Kirari and something akin to a retainer. That was the role of the Honebami Branch within the wider Momobami Clan, as they handled the things related to security and the need for brute force.
They provided bodyguards, took care of the security matters of the Clan, carried out assassinations on the enemies of the Clan, and other more unsavoury and life-threatening activities when the Clan demanded so.
Miroslava was trained from childhood for a single duty: to act as the bodyguard for Kirari and protect her with her own life. She was expected to carry out all of her orders and ensure her satisfaction and protection.
"Also pick up my pet... I will be taking her with me... Yakou would surely enjoy playing with her a bit."
Miroslava just nodded and didn't say anything as she went to carry out her orders without saying a word. She knew very well, that once they arrived at the America, she too would become property of Campione as her master would for sure present her to him.
As if she were some object to be given away.
Yet in a certain sense, she was.
Kirari even had several scenes that she and Yakou filmed together, as she had a habit of recording their sex just for the fun of it, so she could watch it later when Midari was pleasuring her.
She knew that Kirari would let her be raped if she didn't consent, just to see the reaction, and there was a huge chance that she would rape her together with her man just for the enjoyment of it.
Contrary to that thought, Miroslava had no significant idea of resisting anything.
If she dared to resist, then Kirari would take her sadistic tendencies on her, which was something that she wanted to avoid at all costs.
She knew that for Kirari, she was just a plaything, albeit a more useful one as she was her bodyguard... she could still be far worse.
And end as Midari...
Miroslava internally shuddered at the thought of what the girl had to go through... various forms of abuse... mostly sexual abuse as Kirari's hands because while Kirari refused to let any man even look at her, she took her sexual frustrations out on Midari.
And some things that she forced the girl to do were...
Just purely repulsive.
Midari Ikishima was just a sad excuse for a human after Kirari was done with her, and every single time Mirosalva thought over what Kirari was doing to her, it made her shudder in fear, disgust, and humiliation.
Over time, Kirari wanted to present Midari to Yakou and train her as their personal sex slave and human toilet.
Just for the fun of it and as an added bonus, she could use Midari as an example for the other servants... no other woman wanted to end in the same situation.
So no...
There was no resistance.
Miroslava didn't have the need to be subjected to the same thing as Midari or some unfortunate girls who owed a lot of money to the Momobami Clan to the point where they became their playthings, where they would be reduced to broken husks.
She knew that once, Kirari owed a debt to some man who had a lot of money to the Momobami Clan but didn't pay, and instead wanted to escape. Aside from that, the man was also in possession of something that belonged to the Momobami Clan; thus, the Clan contracted Yakou to bring the man to them.
Which he did, capturing both the man and his fiancée and bringing them before Kirari, who decided to give rather more creative punishment. As the man's wife was rather beautiful, so she decided to make a show out of it.
The man gambled against her.
If he won, then he would only have to give the things to the Momobami Clan, but the debt would be considered null.
If he lost, then the punishment would be something that Kirari would devise.
The man agreed, as he was a professional gambler in casinos.
And he lost.
The punishment was... inhumane.
Kirari let the man bound as he was forced to see how his wife was being raped by several of Kirari's prized stallions, and to make sure that it would be as entertaining, both the woman and horses were given as many aphrodisiacs as possible.
And while Kirari and Yakou were enjoying the "show" as they had sex in the back, the poor woman was literally fucked to death as the man could only shout, scream, and cry as his fianceé was fucked to death by the horses over the course of several hours and the horses didn't stop even when the woman was already dead as they defiled her corpse.
Miroslava had those scenes in her living memory, because she was there, as Kirari forced her to watch the entire thing... right from the start till the end, before Kirari, after finishing her own hours-long passionate intercourse with Yakou, ordered her to kill the man that only repeated the name of his fainceé like a broken machine.
As Kirari watched Miroslava leave, she grinned because she planned to give a present Miroslava to Yakou. Midari was of no concern; she was already her little obedient pet sex slave, but Miroslava was different.
Kirari almost shuddered in ecstasy when she thought her Yakou would break her over and over until she wouldn't be able to think and destroy her emotionless facade. At the same time, she was becoming horny just by thinking about the scenes that she imagined...
She made a mental note to have her pet pleasure her during the flight to the USA.
Right now, before they left for the U.S., Kirari needed to handle some things, especially regarding the Academy, which would be left to her twin older sister, Ririka, for oversight, as she would be away.
She also needed to pack her things up and prepare everything for moving. Now that the U.S. would march to war, it was more dangerous in Japan. She was sure that the History Compilation Committee would try something to help the Warlords and cartels against the advance of the U.S. Military.
Since returning from the United States, where the Momobami Clan officially joined the Illuminati Society, the History Compilation Committee has been sending more and more manpower to observe their every move.
Aside from the observation, they were not doing anything else for the most part, but one could never be sure. Especially regarding individuals like these, because for the History Compilation Committee, they were threats and enemies.
Overall, even though Kirari was a bit disappointed to leave her playground behind, on the other hand, she was a bit eager to live with Yakou.
At least, they could play around, and it would be more fun...
It would be the most enjoyable time.
***
United States of America, Virginia, Arlington County, Pentagon, Several Hours Later
The Pentagon was the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II.
As a symbol of the U.S. Military, the phrase "The Pentagon" is often used as a metonym for the Department of Defense and its leadership. The Pentagon building spanned 28.7 acres (116,000 m2; 11.6 ha), and includes an additional 5.1 acres (21,000 m2; 2.1 ha) as a central courtyard.
In the deepest parts of the building, a meeting between the highest echelons of the U.S. Military and Grey's Administration was taking place. However, there were only a few people within the underground room.
The first one was obviously President Grey, who sat at the end of the table. Besides him, was the Secretary of Defense, David Brennon. A stocky middle-aged man with light brown hair that he wears in a small ponytail, blue eyes, and a neatly trimmed beard.
He was also a former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, or in short, CIA, and someone who spent his whole life in the military before he moved into politics. He was also serving temporarily as the Director of the CIA because the last Director had retired two months earlier, and Grey had named Brennan as the temporary Director.
The next person was General Michael Connor, the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. He was a middle-aged man with green eyes and blonde hair, wearing a military uniform with a few decorations.
Keira Clark, as General of the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps, was also present, though, compared to the rest of the people who actually tried to look serious, she was sitting comfortably in her chair, her legs on the table like some rebellious teenager.
Unlike everyone, she was grinning from ear to ear because she finally got what she wanted...
Another war.
This was the area in which she thrived greatly...
Though another person who was eager for war was the current Vice President of the United States of America, Matthew Tyler. Another former General in the U.S. Army who became a politician when Grey chose him for the position of VP.
If one thought over it, many of the cabinet members and high-ranking members of the Grey administration were former soldiers and officers in the Military or in the intelligence services.
Yakou was sitting next to General Clark, as he was most familiar with her, and the woman demanded a fight with him... which was... rather a weird request to have from Campione, as his power was far above hers.
But if there was one thing that he admired about Keira Clark, it was that the woman was a total nutjob when it came to battles. She was an absolute battlemaniac who was obsessed with fighting strong opponents, and she, in fact, wasn't born as a Mage.
She was born with an aptitude for Magic, but her talent wasn't really the best one around, and she also wasn't really good at studies. Contrary to Thomas Andre, who was born to the Mage Lineage, as he had some Mage ancestors, Keira Clark was someone who was born in the mundane world.
Even Magic, she learned mostly through opportunity, and she worked very hard to achieve her current level of Great Knight.
That was something that he both admired and respected.
Yakou naturally agreed to the spar, because she was an excellent combatant, though, and he admitted that he could learn from her in this regard. Yakou wasn't that self-centered to solely depend on his inherent abilities as Campione.
Due to his own past, where he was forced to fight for every single piece of resources before ascending as Campione, Yakou was pretty open-minded and had a need to make use of every single opportunity.
If he could learn something from Keira Clark, then why not?
That was also the same reason why he was often training with Thomas Andre, because that man was truly a master of merging Magic with the Martial Arts and close-quarter combat, in a similar fashion to Luo Hao.
Yakou was then led towards the place where the Department of Lore of the Illuminati Society was located within the Pentagon. Or rather, it was located in the depths of the Pentagon, where the Illuminati Society was storing most of their Lore and Artifacts.
During the last meeting of the Knights of the Round Table, Dairenji Shidou reported that they managed to obtain a fully sentient Artifact from the Oración Seis, and Yakou needed to check on it.
Aside from the full sentience of the Artifact, the fact that the Artifact had power comparable to the Divine Ancestors or High-Level Divine Beasts, which meant that its abilities were at the A-Rank, was pretty much disturbing.
And Yakou knew that this was only the power that the Artifact had showcased till now.
Its real power could be far higher.
Aside from them, the room was mostly empty, as this was the highest level of leadership that would decide on their next steps, taking into account the state of the Dark Mages in Mexico, who were now playing as local warlords.
"Now that all of us are gathered here, Gentlemen and Lady."
Grey opened the meeting as they were supposed to have a discussion about their next step.
"David, what do we have?"
The man who was tasked stood up and pushed some things on his tablet as he displayed some files on the huge screens around the room.
"While on the first glance the situation seems to be complicated, in truth it's more complicated until it isn't. What is to our advantage is that most of the cartels, Dark Mages, and Warlords are too engrossed in fighting against each other to be any kind of threat, even remotely. The leader of Los Muerte Cartel was identified as one of the former members of Oración Seis, Hermán Gonzáles, a rather powerful Grand Knight who seized the opportunity and managed to consolidate some power from the Oración Seis. Aside from Gonzáles, there are several other targets, but none of them pose a real threat to our overall forces. The only notable individual is Erigor, who has moved to Mexico after the demise of Oración Seis and the possible intervention of our adversaries. What is playing into our cards, that the infighting didn't stop even after the President's speech... on the contrary, according to the intelligence and images obtained from satellites, the fights only got more intense."
Most of the factions were right now too busy fighting against each other, which was something that nobody could understand because even when there was a threat of full-scale invasion by the U.S. Military and Campione backing them, they were still killing each other.
Mainly because their animosities against each other were too high to ignore.
Or were they just inherently stupid?
"And their forces?"
General Connors, as the Chief of Staff, asked because their numbers were the most important right now. Mexican Armed Forces had something around 387,000 members, and approximately one-half should have already defected to the various Warlords and cartels.
Which wasn't really something surprising.
"Problematic to know with more dying every single day and more being recruited by every single day. The overall number shouldn't cross 200,000 without the former soldiers of the Mexican Armed Forces included."
Brennon, as someone who led the CIA for many years, had a strong disdain for such a lack of intelligence in this department.
"Well, their numbers won't be a problem with our superior firepower and technology, but what about the Mages? If all of their cartels have some Mages and Knights here and there, it means that Blazer Corps would need to divide their focus."
Keira Clark, who commanded the Blazer Corps, had other things to care about, as she was tasked with dealing with hostile Mages and Knights. Contrary to the times when the Oración Seis was ruling the place, now all of the cartels and organizations had some Mages and Knights in their ranks.
"A few hundred at best, but most of them shouldn't cross into the realm of Great Knights and Great Mages. What we need to be careful of is that it would be more and more problematic to hide the fact that Magic exists."
Separation of the Mundane and Magical was the basis of their world for the past millennia or so.
"We can pass it like a random explosion... in this kind of mess, nobody will care, and we will also restrict the acess of the press to the warzone. No journalists this time, as we will be adding a lot of Mages and Knights this time. Now, what about the possible intervention from the outside?"
Jacob Grey, as the President of the United States, had the final say in this thing, and Yakou didn't really care, or he didn't have the experience or knowledge to make a better decision.
"As it was expected, we confirmed that several foreign groups are already intervening in this. We discovered that the History Compilation Committee reached an agreement with Goto Ryuji and his Drawn Sword School, who would provide support to Los Muertia, but it's most likely their real goal is to cause us the greatest losses possible. On the other front, Witenagemot is sending in support, several Mages, and from Canada, Grand Knight Jay Mills is making a move. In London, there are rumors that even Magic Saints may make a move... most want to use this war to cause us as high losses as possible."
Brennon's reports were met with a lot of negative emotions and suspicion, but given the Grey's agenda of annexing Canada and the fact that the USA-Japan relationship has basically deteriorated to shit, they already expected they would intervene.
And sabotage them.
And they did.
"Isn't it risky for Great Britain, which isn't great at all, to risk their few remaining Magic Saitns in an endeavor to weaken us for Canada?"
When Yakou asked his question, everyone turned to him because it was the first time in half an hour he had spoken.
"It is Your Majesty, but for Brits, the humiliation of loss of the Commonwealth is probably far bigger than we could imagine. Not to mention, their target is not to fight against us but to cause our forces as high losses as possible. For that, they are supplying them information, resources, weapons, and even Artifacts and Relics."
Hearing this, everyone grimaced because this could be a huge setback.
Sabotage in the finest.
"Well, if they are seen on the battlefield, I will deal with them; if not, then you can count my support against powerful individuals and freeing the manpower of our Mages and Knights."
Yakou planned to participate in the entire thing actively. Hearing that Campione planned to act personally greatly eased the tension in the room, because Campiones in history very rarely acted against mortals.
Only Marquise Voban was noted to do that from time to time.
But Yakou wasn't really traditional Campione.
He didn't have qualms about attacking mortals and normal humans as long as it served his purpose.
So he didn't really care about this, and he would do whatever he wanted... this was something that was pretty good for the Illuminati Society, as they had the backing of Campione, which was actively helping them in their endeavors.
"The Drawn Sword School could be problematic if they remain hidden in the background and focus on sabotage and assassinations."
When Brennon said that, most agreed with his words, because Drawn Swrod School was rather troublesome. The Drawn Sword School, also known as the Blade Guild, was the strongest guild in Japan and one of the largest guilds in Asia.
Guilds were different compared to the Magic Associations.
There were two main distinctions.
First was that the Guilds were less unified; they most often lacked the foundations of the Associations in terms of resources, Lore, and everything around that.
Second was that the Guilds were basically Magical Mercenaries for hire. Many Magic Associations would hire them to do various things for them, ranging practically from everything one could even imagine.
Obviously, though, the ones hiring them were no non-Mages, but the Guilds usually worked primarily and solely for the Magic Associations, powerful Mages, or sometimes for the various nations and states that could pay them for their services.
It was founded by Goto Ryuji, a swordmaster and Grand Knight of considerable power who was taking on various quests, especially the ones that were related to the Tombs and their explorations.
Obviously, what they had in common was the fact that all of them were proficient in swordmanship and kenjutsu as they were members of the Japanese Guild. They had their fair share of powerful Magic Swordsmen, and they often worked together with the History Compilation Committee.
The four families that created the History Compilation Committee often refrained from making moves themselves because they wanted to conserve their own power as much as possible.
So they often resorted to the external source.
"We need to employ Echelon III."
Yakou didn't know what the Echelon III was, but seeing that everyone went silent as Grey's declaration, it meant that it was something very important either to the Society or the USA, or both of them, actually.
"Wasn't it just a prototype?"
Vice President Matthews asked as Brennon shook his head in denial.
"Not anymore... It's working. Although not the best result, considering that this was only recently created and not properly tested, the results are actually far higher than we had initially anticipated. We can activate the system at any time."
Yakou, who listened to the conversation, then searched for information about Echelon III on his tablet, and soon found a result.
The Echelon III was another application of the Magitek and a pretty advanced one.
The United States always pursued integrating aspects of Magic into its technology, which became its greatest strength and foundation for facing far more powerful Magic Associations without fear or concern.
Echelon III was a pinnacle information system that was capable of gathering information all over the world and also monitoring the entire planet through the collection of Magitek Satellites that were orbiting Earth.
It was something that was being developed over several decades by the United States Military, and only lately has the project ended with a certain degree of success, and this would be the first time that the technology would be applied in the field.
If they employed the Echelon III system, it would allow them to monitor everything that was happening acorss the entire world completely. If the entire power of the system were turned to one concrete area, then the effects would be even more precise and staggering.
"Then the next thing on the schedule..."
***
The meeting in the close circle continued for another hour until everyone went their separate way, with Yakou heading to the place that was deep underneath the Pentagon building.
The area where the Illuminati Society was storing more of their Lore and Artifacts, because the Pentagon was one of the safest places in the world.
Not to mention, the Pentagon was constantly protected by the Mage-Knights of the Blazer Corps commanded by General Clark, and there were tons of ordinary soldiers and even Enforcers from the Department of the Sealing Designation Enforcers.
Wards around here were also pretty strong, not like the ones used by the older Magic Associations, but were still better than average, and security was taken very seriously.
Dairenji Shidou, who was spending most of his time here, waited for him at the entrance to the underground complex, which was the heart of their Vaults and Department of Lore. The former head of the Twin Horn Syndicate acclimatized rather well to the enviroment of the U.S., even though he arrived here only a few years ago.
"Welcome, Your Majesty, to the Department of Lore and its Vaults."
Shidou was clad in his usual outfit, where one would most probably mistake him for a butler if they looked at him. He actually even had that uncanny feeling of politeness and unassuming aura, but that was just an outer facade that he was putting in front of people.
"Well, show me that Relic."
Yakou said as he was technically in a hurry, because he had other places to be and didn't have much time for pleasantries or useless talk. Relics were problematic objects to store, because they possess power and some degree of sentience.
Which wasn't the most ideal combination.
Illuminati Society had a lot of Relics stored in these vaults under the Pentagon, as Dairenji Shidou led Yakou to the deepest part of the entire complex, where the most valuable and powerful Relics were stored.
"This is the central Reliquary where almost all the most powerful Relics are being stored together with some of our most precious Magic Tomes and Grimoires."
They crossed over a massive metal gate that was inscribed with various runes of all kinds as they appeared in something that was like a library with tons of books. Yet, aside from the books, there were also a lot of other things; various objects were stored safely in their places where they were isolated.
Yakou looked around as he followed after the Head of Department of Lore, while they headed to the deeper parts of this enormous room.
Soon enough, they arrived at the place where the Relic named Crow was resting on the bird perch.
The Crow Relic looked remarkably similar to Munnin, but it was significantly larger than Munnin and appeared more imposing; its aura was more menacing.
[Name: Crow
Title: ???
Classification: ??? Relic
Race: Relic
Type: Heirloom
Grade: ???
*
Parameters:
Strength - A+
Vitality- A+
Endurance - A+
Agility - A+
Magical Energy - A+
Luck - S+++
*
Class: A-Rank
Abilities: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???.....]