Chapter 125 - 124

When the golden-haired woman had her eyes open. She becomes startled seeing the unfamiliar environment.

She hastily sits up from the bed only to wince in pain since her internal injury is still not fully healed yet.

She warily started to survey her surroundings and saw that she's supposedly inside a cave... but what's with this bed?

And she somehow survived from that wild beast clutch? Someone must've saved her seeing the bed below her...

She then inspects her condition more thoroughly... And much to her amazement, the injuries she sustained from that wild beast before is completely healed!

Not a single blemish could be found her whole body. The only sign that she just fought that wild beast from before was her torn clothes...

She also realizes that she's still wearing her mask.

"Don't worry, I didn't do anything other than treating your injuries. But you might want to change your clothes." She heard a deep voice belonging to a man coming from the entrance of the cave.

A man? A faint disdain flashed within her gaze... to think that she has been saved by a man.

She had scorned and even despised all men in the world from a very young age. From the moment a shade of her beauty had made its appearance, she was showered with countless looks of wonderment, yearning, and l.u.s.t. The geniuses, proud sons, realm kings, sons of god emperors, and even the god emperors themselves thought that her beauty triumphed every other that existed in the world, and they were willing to discard everything, even their pride and lives just to win a smile or a glance for her.

They didn't know that she thought of all their actions as "lowly", however. In her world, no man in the world deserved a second glance from her except her birth father, the Brahma Heaven God Emperor. She would never allow any man to touch any part of her body, not even her little finger either.

In recent years, she had gone so far as to cover her own face. The common folk thought she covered up her face to prevent more people from succ.u.mbing to her beauty, but in reality, she simply thought that the men of this world no longer deserved to catch even a glimpse of her face. Her thinking might be twisted, but the problem was that she had the power to be as twisted as she wanted to be. It was because she was the Brahma Monarch Goddess! Qianye Ying'er!

While other women were trying to become the wife of a powerful husband, play the role of a good wife and mother, beautify themselves, improve their cultivation or power, she was pursuing something that the ordinary dared not even think about. The way of True Gods! To this end, she could do anything. Everything could be manipulated, and everything could be destroyed as long as it aided in her search for the way of True Gods.

But she needs to put up a facade since this person is a savior... his strength must be very powerful for being able to save her from that wild beast's hands.

She started to speculate just who this man is... Which Divine Master was he? Was it the ? It shouldn't be... last time she checks, he doesn't seem to have any intention of entering this realm. And he's still in his domain according to her source...

As far as she knows, there are very few Divine Master cultivators that could contend against her. Dragon Monarch is obviously one of them.

While she's speculating, she doesn't forget to change to a new different set of clothes...

"...Thank you. You can come in now." She took a deep breath and let out a soft voice.

She keeps her true personality well hidden and does not reveal her cards to anyone except her most loyal servants or her father. She is ruthless, shrewd, and scheming. She never believes anyone except herself and that all others are tools for her to use in order to breakthrough beyond the Divine Master realm. She will keep anything that is of use, discard anything that has lost its use, and kill anyone that can't be controlled.

Although her cultivation and mastery of profound arts are extremely high, she prefers to manipulate the hearts of men to do her bidding and control others through schemes in order to conceal her true power.

And she was thinking if she could make use of this man or not... he's obviously powerful. So how about his identity?

Then she heard the footstep of that said man entering the cave.

After re-entering the cave, Issei saw that the woman who was originally lying on the bed is already awake and she's currently standing in front of the bed with a brand new set of clothes.

"I assume there's no other problem with your body?" Issei asked her calmly. His gaze when looking at this incredibly gorgeous woman is completely calm without any fluctuations whatsoever.

But even after waiting for a while, he doesn't hear any response coming from her. He started wondering if there's still something wrong with her body... but that shouldn't be it since he already makes sure to cleanse her from any remnants of the energy.

That said woman had her eyes widen widely after she saw the man that just saved her... She thought that there isn't anyone else that could contend with her beauty other than the rumored ...

But this man in front of her... has turned her worldly view upside down. From head to toe, the word "perfect" couldn't be used to describe this man in front of her...

She believes herself to be extremely perfect in terms of beauty alone but this man goes beyond that...

She hates to admit it but comparing their looks alone, he already surpasses her by miles away.

It's not easy for her to admit defeat but here she is admitting defeat just from the single glance of this man before her...

As for his strength... peak Divine King Realm? That's impossible!

She doesn't believe someone at the Divine King Realm could save her from that wild beast clutch! Even she could barely do anything against it and saying that this man could save her from that wild beast is only at the Divine King Realm is clearly impossible!

She immediately concluded that it must be a fake... his cultivation is clearly a fake. She never saw this man before in her entire life and just based on his looks alone he would've attracted a lot of attention to himself if he were to present himself in the God Realm.

And this makes her feel even warier against Issei... is he even human in the first place? Could he be a wild beast from the that transforms into a human form? It could be...

But since he's a man then perhaps he saved her from that ape because he took fancy of her? If so then she could make use of him.

"Yes, this one thank benefactor for saving my life." She smiled sweetly at him.

Issei who saw this frowned a little... because he can tell that this smile of her is a fake.

He dislikes fake personality quite a bit considering how his first date(Reynare) literally got him killed.

As for her soul... it's bordering on the evil side. Albeit it's not pure evil like some cases he once saw.

"Is that so? Then you better leave this place now." After saying that, Issei doesn't linger for a second longer and immediately turned around to leave.

Qianye Ying'er who saw this become dumbfounded... how come the scenario is different than what she had in mind? Doesn't he fancy her just like the rest of those men out there?

The reason why she thinks this was because she doesn't believe that a stranger like Issei would save her without any hidden attention at all. She believes that he must want something in return for saving her like that.

And she concluded that something is herself... but reality said otherwise because he doesn't even spare her another glance before turning around without hesitation.

Ah... It's probably because he doesn't see her true face yet. Even though this man's looks surpasses hers, she doesn't believe that she couldn't grasp his attention just like the other men.

"Wait." She called out.

Issei who heard his shout frowned once again but he does stop in his steps: "Yes?" He asked her while turning to face her.

Qianye Ying'er calmly took off her mask exposing her beautiful face to another man other than her father for the longest time.

She doesn't say anything other than flashing another smile at Issei.

When she thought that she finally had his attention, she heard Issei's voice once again: "What?"

There's still no change with his expression nor voice which made her become dumbfounded once again. She thought that he would at least get a reaction out of him... but...

Even his expression and gaze still looks clear without a speck of impurities within it. No l.u.s.t, no desire, no greed... wait... could it be that he swing 'that' way?!

It shouldn't be... he still has his vital yang. Meaning that he never touch a woman nor a man before...

And she can tell that he's not faking it either since she has met quite a lot of those kinds of men who act like they're not interested but in truth, they're just playing hard to get or feigning indifference.

"...If there's nothing else then you better leave." Issei said with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. What the hell does this woman want anyway? Is there something about her taking off her mask?

Then Issei immediately resumed his steps...

...

When he reaches the exit and walks a few distances away from the cave, he notices that the woman is following him.

"Okay... Just what is it that you want?" Issei said without hiding his annoyance at the woman. He already has one troublesome 'woman' following him, he doesn't want to add another one into the fray.

"I..." Right... Just what did she want from him? Normally she should've gone back already considering that she almost lost her life just now.

She wanted to use him...? Yes, that's probably it. She wanted to make use of this mysterious man who supposedly could fend off that ape.

"I wanted to repay you for saving me." She said with the same soft tone. Her real intention was she wanted to follow this man and make use of him as a shield...

The way he's going is not towards the exit but it's the other way around... He wanted to venture deeper.

This may be her chance to further explore the .

If she's lucky enough then she would be able to gain some fortuitous encounter and maybe even found the other parts of the .

If things went south then she will immediately use her escape talisman without hesitation.

"There's no need to repay me. Me saving you just was a coincidence." Issei said with a wave: "You better leave now because I won't save you twice."

He already saved her once and if she were to go brave another danger then he won't save her again.

"You don't need to save me again. I can take care of myself... If benefactor were to be in danger then I will save you in return." She said towards Issei.

Issei narrowed his eyes at her words.

"You can stop pretending in front of me." His words jolted Qianye Ying'er on the inside but on the outside, she still has her facade on.

"What benefactor means by that?" She feigned ignorance at Issei's words.

"You can feign ignorance all you want but let me warn you... If you were to provoke me, even though I hate killing a woman, I won't hesitate to do it either. It's best if you leave right now... Don't think that I won't stay true to my words." Issei's red eyes glowed briefly which made her body shiver.

Qianye Ying'er who realizes that she just shivered under his gaze becomes ashamed. Since when did she would fear someone like this!? Not even the could instill fear to her!

And those glowing red eyes... He's most likely not a normal human just like she expected!

But before she could collect her thoughts, she saw that Issei has already resumed his steps once again.

She gritted her teeth in frustration but she still decided to follow him regardless.

Issei who noticed this frowned once again but he doesn't say anything any longer... so be it. If she wanted to die that badly then he won't stop her.

...

On his way to the center of the realm, they came across the dead body of the wild beast that almost killed Qianye Ying'er.

Issei doesn't spare a single glance at this since he knows that it must be Nyarlathotep's doing but the same couldn't be said to Qianye Ying'er.

She thought that Issei managed to escape from the beast and perhaps fend it away but she never expects that he manages to kill it!

And the way it died... There's no wound at all! The wild beast died without any visible injuries and there doesn't seem to be any fierce battle happening here either.

She started to become increasingly curious and warier at Issei... She grasped the escape talisman in her palm even tighter prepared to use it if he were to suddenly decided to attack her at any given moment.

Both of them traveled deeper into the realm and at some point, Qianye Ying'er reaches the place where she found a part of the ... but what made her become flabbergasted is that there's not a single wild beast attacking them... not a single one in sight!

Back then, she and the Heavenly Wolf Star God were attacked by a lot of wild beasts. And only because of his sacrifice that she managed to survive...

She saw a few treasures here and there but... her intuition is telling her to not stray far from Issei's side. She chooses to trust her intuition and fight the urges to take away those treasures for herself.

Seeing that Issei himself doesn't have the intention to take those treasures, she can only give up...

This is a correct decision since even though those treasures seem like it's unguarded. In reality, it is being watched closely by their respective 'guardians'. Qianye Ying'er just can't sense them since they're hiding their presence... it is not because they're waiting for some foolish human tries to take their possession away but rather because they don't want to earn Issei's ire...

Those beasts might not attack them since they're afraid of Issei but if Qianye Ying'er were to leave his side then they won't hesitate to kill her. Unless it is Issei himself that tries to keep the treasures then the beasts won't let anyone else take it...

Of course Issei is not interested in those treasures so he doesn't have any intention to keep it for himself.

Finally, after walking for a few more distances... they arrived at the place where no man ever reached beforehand. Not even the managed to venture this far...

Issei stops for a moment observing a spatial wall in front of him. It looks like this spatial wall is the border of this area...

He stared thoughtfully at this spatial wall while preparing for any unforeseen encounter that might befall him when he crosses this spatial wall.

"...What is it?" Qianye Ying'er asked cautiously since she can also sense the spatial wall ahead of them. Seeing that Issei doesn't answer her, she furrowed her brows but make no further movement.

She doesn't know what lies behind this spatial wall and it would be unwise of her if she were to inspect it on her own even though she was very curious herself.

After a few seconds, Issei finally stepped forward and his body promptly disappeared from her line of sight...

She waited a few moments while deciding if she should also go in or just go back right now. But ultimately decided to follow him... she admits defeat in terms of appearance but she won't let herself lose against him when it comes to perseverance and will.

...

When she went inside, she immediately felt her entire being felt like it is being crushed by a mountain. The sheer atmosphere and gravity of this place are truly out of this world!

She hastily used her divine energy to protect herself but it could barely allow her to stand straight.

She clenched her teeth and started to survey her surroundings... what she saw made her become petrified.

The air is scorching hot and freezing cold at the same time and the earth looks extremely toxic with that purplish and black color. There are many bone fossils that can be found scattered around all over the place...

Saying that this place is hell on earth won't be an exaggeration at all...

And something else in the atmosphere is quite suffocating to say nonetheless. If she didn't cover herself with her divine energy then she reckons that she will have trouble breathing properly...

"What is this place..." She muttered incredulously.

There's a flying wild beast that radiates power and terror... A being that she has never seen before.

But she can tell if that beast were to arrive in the God Realm then there will be huge casualties just to kill this creature if it's even possible that is...

That's because according to her estimation, this creature is at least above the Divine Master Realm. Is it the in legends? She doesn't really know for sure but it might be...

This place is filled with mysteries after all so it won't be weird if things such as this existed...

And when she saw Issei once again, she realizes that he seems completely normal unlike her who need to cover herself with Divine Energy.

He is still the same as before... there's no energy fluctuation that came from his body whatsoever as if he's just a normal mortal.

If she doesn't know any better then she might think that he is indeed a normal human. But she knows that is not the case at all...

[Hmhm, this is my true domain, Dragon King. What do you think? It is truly a sight to behold, right? The elements of this place are all over the place since I let it run amock. And also because of my experiment to create the law... If you venture even deeper then you will find the center of this universe... where I spent most of my time being locked in here.] Nyarlathotep said with a chuckle.

Issei doesn't say anything in return before spotting one of the flying beast coming their way.

Qianye Ying'er who saw this felt alarmed and immediately channeled her divine energy into her escape talisman only to notice that it's not working!

The space law on this place is preventing her escape talisman to properly activate! She was about to turn around to return to the previous area when she notices that Issei still doesn't make any visible movement.

At first, she thought that he might've been frightened and in a state of shock because of the sheer terrorizing aura this beast is emitting.

But his expression says otherwise... his face is still calm even when he saw the incoming beast heading towards their way.

The wild beast is shaped like a bat and a wolf at the same time. It has the head of a wolf with the body of a bat and an elongated tail shaped like a scorpion tail.

It let out a deafening roar with its claw and fangs bared ready to strike its target which is Issei.

Qianye Ying'er took some distance from Issei since it seems that this beast is aiming at him and not her.

She wanted to see if Issei is capable of stopping this creature attack or not. She wanted to see just what is the extent of his true strength.

When the beast finally reaches Issei's location, he used his left hand to intercept that beast claw.

*BANG!*

The size of the beast is at least ten times larger than Issei's small form but what happens next made Qianye Ying'er eyes went wide once again since Issei managed to stop the beast claw with only one hand.

The beast is at least stronger than a Divine Master Realm cultivator and for Issei to easily block his attack with only one hand is enough proof that Issei is even stronger than that said beast.

How could she not be amazed by this?

The beast growled menacingly trying to put more strength into its claw but Issei doesn't budge in the slightest.

"Noisy..." Issei muttered before he throws the beast down to the ground.

*BAM!!!*

The earth beneath them shook greatly and a huge amount of purple cloud of dust obscured her view...

Qianye Ying'er reflexively covered her face and doesn't dare to inhale carelessly during the whole ordeal since the dust might contain some poison in it.

When the dust settled she saw that the beast has become a splattered meat on the ground while there's a giant crater beneath it...

Seeing how easily Issei dealt with that beast send shivers down to her body...

That was... pure una.d.u.l.terated raw strength! Without a single drop of divine energy power put into it! He created a giant crater and killed the beast with just his physical strength! How powerful must someone be to be able to do such a feat?!

This commotion attracted the other wild beasts in the surrounding area and they immediately headed towards Issei location.

Seeing the swarm of Absolute Beginning Profound Beasts that seems stronger than the first one almost made Qianye Ying'er legs went limp...

Issei frowned since if it's like this then there won't be the end of them... These wild beasts are not a normal beast.

They're a beast that has been thoroughly infected by . Normal intimidation won't work against them.

Issei glanced at Qianye Ying'er briefly before he shrugs lightly. Well, if she went insane then it's not his fault since he already warned her before...

With that out of the way, Issei closed his eyes for a second before opening them once again. His eyes color turned golden while his energy is being released out of every fiber of his being.

The wild beasts who sensed his halted immediately while their body started to shiver... They are afraid of Issei's overwhelming energy.

As for Qianye Ying'er... Her eyes become glazed over like she's being entranced. She keeps gazing at Issei with a longing expression on her face... she stood no chance in resisting his law.

But because of this, she loses control over her divine energy and her frail body is exposed to the climate once again. Even though her body is starting to sustain some wounds because of the climate, she's still in her entranced state... the pain is not enough to help her snap her out of her daze...

Issei noticed this but he already warned her that he won't save her the second time... when he is about to leave her behind, he heard a faint voice coming from her...

'Please...'

It is not the voice of Qianye Ying'er...

'Please... save her...'

The voice begged Issei.

'Please save my daughter...'

Issei who heard the voice turned his head slightly: "I have already warned before... It is her own fault for not listening to me."

'I know... but please... I beg you...' The owner of the voice started to take shape... It is a mature beautiful woman that looks very similar to Qianye Ying'er. Their only difference is that this woman has a gentle and kind face whilst the latter is more overbearing.

By exposing her soul form here, she's risking her soul essence to be corrupted by the energy... if this goes on then soon she will have her soul become corrupted unable to truly reincarnate.

She will join the ranks of the chaos beasts before them.

It looks like she attached her soul to one of Qianye Ying'er belongings...

"...I refuse." Issei denied flatly.

The woman could only bite her lips and closed her eyes in sadness... she doesn't have any intention to blame Issei at all since she knows that Issei has already saved her daughter once and that is more than enough for a stranger who just met.

The woman looks lovingly at her daughter: "Ying'er... It looks like we will reunite sooner than I thought... Don't worry, mother will always stay by your side..."

The love of a mother is truly powerful... If it was anyone else then they would've shared the same fate as Qianye Ying'er no matter what form they take. Whether it be the physical body, spiritual body, or even soul body...

Issei started to ponder for a moment before he exhaled lightly... it looks like he couldn't just turn a blind eye to this kind of self-sacrifice and love...

He waved his hand towards Qianye Ying'er enveloping her body with his aura.

"*Cough!* *Cough!* *Cough!*"Qianye Ying'er who has been enveloped by Issei aura instantly snapped out of her stupor and dropped to the ground before she started coughing her lungs out.

She gritted her teeth while the feeling of exhaustion started to overwhelm her body... What was that? How come she loses control of her body and sense?! She froze when she saw the glowing golden eye of Issei.

Since when did his eyes turn golden? And those beast swarm... how come they are kneeling right now?!

The mature woman who saw that her daughter is back to normal let out a relieved and happy smile before she repeatedly bowed at Issei's direction: 'Thank you... Thank you so much...'

After bowing a couple of times at Issei, her soul body dissipated and returned back to the item that she's currently possessing...

Issei could also sense another soul residue at Qianye Ying'er body but that doesn't matter right now.

Qianye Ying'er is oblivious to this since she couldn't see a soul as Issei could.

"...Can you stand?" Issei asked Qianye Ying'er who's currently sitting on the ground.

"..." She nodded dumbly at Issei before standing up. Her legs are a bit wobbly but she managed to stand at least.

She's also still taken aback with the whole situation...

"I already told you to leave before, didn't I? You should be thankful that something managed to convince me to save you a second time. If not, you would be dead by now." Issei said with a frown.

"Something?" Qianye Ying'er muttered unsurely.

"Well, you can't go back now..." Issei muttered while looking at the spatial wall behind them dismissing her muttering. This spatial wall is designed to let anyone from the outside to enter freely but they won't be able to leave once they enter...

Qianye Ying'er seems to notice what Issei trying to imply since she failed to use her escape talisman just now. She then tried to go back through the entrance where they came from but the spatial wall won't budge in the slightest...

It looks like they're indeed trapped in here. Well, at least she's trapped here while he seems completely fine.

She started to survey her surroundings once again... the beast swarm that were about to attack them just now is shivering in fear on the ground...

"...Just who are you?" Just who is he... He's by far the strongest person she has seen in her entire life... His realm should be higher even than the ... Could it be that he's at the ? Is he perhaps some survivor from the past?

"...Don't stray too far from me or these beasts would kill you." Issei said calmly while ignoring her question.

Qianye Ying'er bit her lips before she started to follow Issei once again... How long has it been... for her to be this powerless...

She usually had the whole situation within her hands but now... she's entirely clueless and powerless. She can only hide behind someone else...

Even though she often used people to be her 'shield', the current situation is completely different.

She basically just become the thing she hates most... an empty vase...

Power... she desires power! So that she won't be this powerless any longer!

Issei noticed her expression and could understand what she's currently thinking to a certain extent. He had the same expression before after all...

Back when he loses against Riser Phoenix and some others...

So that is her true desire in life... to become powerful.

"Let me give you some advice..." Issei said: "It's better if you stop your search for power right now."

"...What are you trying to say?" Qianye Ying'er said in a cold voice: "If you're saying that I lack the resoluteness to become strong then you don't have to worry... even if you're more powerful than I am right now, I will surely surpass you!"

It looks like she finally decided to discard her facade and show her true self.

Whether it comes to looks, the profound way, influence, and status, Qianye Ying'er could be said to be standing at the pinnacle of humanity, or even the pinnacle of all the existences within this universe. But despite reaching such heights, she has never once stopped striving. In fact, she has started trying to break through these limits with all of her strength. In order to achieve this, she has spared no effort, used whatever and whoever she could use and she has been willing to brave any and all risks. During these years, she has also been the person who has entered the the most.

The Dragon Queen and Brahma Monarch Goddess are the two most peerless beauties that no one else can compare to. As the 'Goddess', there are countless powerful men that are willing to die for her and would die without regrets.

She has the highest innate talent the Brahma Monarch God Realm has seen in its million years of history. When she was only nine years old, she completed the successor ceremony and it was the most perfect and complete fit. In the current Brahma Monarch Realm, the fame of the Brahma Monarch Goddess has almost surpassed the fame of the Brahma Monarch Realm King...

"There are two types of pain you will go through in life... the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. Discipline weighs ounces, while regret weighs tons." Issei said calmly: "I never said that you lack the will to become strong but at your current pace right now, you will lose yourself in your search of power... When that time comes, it will be too late for regret."

"Hah, I will never regret my decision!" She snorted at Issei.

"Perhaps... But what about those you hold dear? Will they be proud of your action so far? Or will they feel disappointed instead?" After saying that, Issei doesn't say anything else before he turned around and started walking forward once more.

Qianye Ying'er frowned once again while thinking what Issei just said... Her father will obviously be proud of her actions so far.

So what is he trying to say here? Just some random nonsense? But she has a feeling that the person he's talking about is not her father but rather someone else...

Someone he holds dear? Other than her father then... it would be her mother... but that can't be...

Her mother has already passed away a long time ago... There's no way Issei knows about her mother.

She doesn't have the time to ponder about it since she realizes that Issei has already started moving.

She hastily follows after him but this time closer than before...

Qianye Ying'er couldn't help herself feeling amazed by the sight of every wild beast they came across. Each and every single one of them doesn't dare to come close... They keep trembling on the spot in a submissive manner.

They created a path for Issei to pass through without intervention. Even those who were fighting with each other stopped their clash just to pay their 'respect'...

She feels envious of this sight... she wanted to become the strongest in this world. That way everyone will need to bow down before her like these beasts...

She realizes the red aura that's currently surrounding her seems to be protecting her as well. She doesn't need to use her divine energy and the deadly climate of this realm isn't affecting as well.

She also feels more powerful than ever...

Being surrounded by this reddish aura also made her feel... comfortable and... safe...

How long has it been since she feels this way? Ever since her mother passed away, she never felt this kind of emotion any longer... Not even her father could make her feel this way.

Truly... This man is truly mysterious and also fatal to women... she wanted to uncover all of his secrets and see just what else is he hiding... But she knows that would be impossible.

Not only is he far stronger than her, but he also isn't affected by her charm in the slightest whereas, for the other men, it's the complete opposite...

The way he carries himself and how calm and collected he is no matter what stands in his way is truly one of a kind... she has to admit that he looks extremely gallant and domineering when he handled that wild beast so easily.

Perhaps... perhaps she has found the perfect match for herself? But she still won't change her desire... she will become the strongest. Even stronger than him! No matter how long it takes.

And at that time, it won't be too late for her to claim him for herself... She prefers to be the dominant one if she ever establishes a relationship.

If it was before she's affected by Issei law, perhaps she won't be thinking this way... but the damage has already been done...

He still has his vital yang and as for his age... around twenty-four? That should be a fake age as well... right? There's no way someone at the age of twenty-four could be this powerful! But not like age really matter anyway in this world... he could be a million or even billion years old and she still won't care.

Qianye Ying'er pair of phoenix eyes glistened slightly when she looks at Issei now... she's looking at Issei as if he's a prize that she must obtain!

Only a man of his caliber is worthy to be her, Qianye Ying'er, the Brahma Monarch Goddess man!

She won't be womanishly fussy when she set her eyes on someone like most women out there. She will take what she wants without acting in a coy manner.

Just like before, she saw many treasures scattered around here and there. There are some treasures that she never saw before but considering just how powerful the energy they emitting then it's safe to say that it must belong to a True God in the past...

And if that is not enough, there's a giant lake of the ! Or perhaps was it the more powerful version of the former? She can't tell for sure but it should be, considering how pure the energy is...

Alas... she doesn't dare to separate too far from Issei less those beasts might pounce on her...

"What's your name?" She asked after they walked for a while.

She won't ask who is he or anything like that anymore since she knows it will be pointless to ask. She gets the feeling that he won't answer her anyway if she were to ask him of his identity yet again...

But a name should be fine right...?

Sadly for her, Issei doesn't seem to have any intention of answering her question.

She frowned but make no further action other than that.

Finally, they reached the place where Nyarlathotep led them to...

[What lies beyond here is the center of this universe] She said with a chuckle.

What lies before Issei and Qianye Ying'er is a pitch-black whirlpool made out of black miasma... One can't see what lies inside this whirlpool. But just by standing close to this place, you can feel your strength is being sapped away and if Qianye Ying'er is not protected by Issei red aura then she would've become ashes by now...

"...Is this the deepest part of the ?" Qianye Ying'er muttered. She never thought that it would be so sinister looking: "You're not thinking of entering it do you?"

Right after she said that, suddenly there's a pitch-black creature starting to take shape right in front of them emerging from around the whirlpool...

One of them is shaped just like a centipede, the other is shaped like a spider, another shaped like a shark but with legs and arms, etc...

And coming from the center of the black whirlpool, an extremely pale group of a humanoid-shaped silhouette emerged from within... Their body is pitch black with only their hair and eyes are discernable.

They have long pure white and black hair... A golden, purple, and red eyes... Some of them also had a pair of horns on their head or forehead. And on the forefront of the group, there's a literal beast skull resting at the top of its head.

When they finish taking shape, they set their gaze on Issei before they kneel at the same time: "We welcome your return, Master..."

Issei knows that their "Master" is not him but rather Nyarlathotep...

[Ah, right... they're the abyssal human that I created before just to serve me.] Nyarlathotep let out a voice of realization. It seems that she has forgotten about them...

"Detecting intruder... eliminate." One of them said while looking at Qianye Ying'er.

In the next second, the one who just spoke disappear from its spot and before Qianye Ying'er could react, she saw something sharp right in front of her eyes.

It's only a few millimeters away from her...

She froze on the spot because she doesn't even realize just when did this thing suddenly appear right in front of her eyes... The only reason why it doesn't kill her right now was because Issei stopped it on its track.

He grasped the hand of the abyssal human that has taken shape into a blade which about to puncture Qianye Ying'er head.

"Stop... She's with me." Issei said towards the abyssal human.

"...Affirmative." The abyssal human nodded before it returns to its previous location.

Qianye Ying'er started gasping furiously because she knows that she was inches away from death just now.

[Go and enter the black hole, Dragon King... That way you can claim this whole universe for yourself.] Nyarlathotep said with an enticing voice.

[Not interested] Issei said flatly.

[Ara? If that's what you want then we can just stay here forever... Fufufu~ I'm so happy that you finally decided to stay here forever with me~] She said with joy.

Issei frowned because if this place is her domain and if she doesn't let him leave then he won't be able to...

Perhaps if he is at his full power then he might be able to do something about it but when that time comes... won't Nyarlathotep will also be at her full strength?

She has fused their soul together... It might take a while before he could find a way to separate their soul from each other.

And being stuck in this realm is not something he wants right now...

[You don't have to worry now~, I already said that I won't be harming you countless times already, right? What I want for you to do is to claim this universe for yourself so that way you can become more powerful. I want to see just how far the limit of your strength is...]

'And the limit of your resistance...' She added inside her mind.

"..." Issei started to weigh the risk and benefit... but finally decided not to take the risk for now...

'Se...'

Issei's eyes widened when he heard the faint voice of someone...

'I... Se...!!!'

Someone he missed day and night for the last three years...

'...Ise!'

He turned his head instantly to the source of the voice and dashed without delay. His speed is even faster than the abyssal human just now.

'Tsk... It looks like there's a gap in this place that I didn't realize until now...' Nyarlathotep clicked her tongue since she also sensed the spatial disturbance coming from not far away.

She never bothered to see if there's any gap or not since no one would be able to reach this place unless they're strong enough. It seems that her negligence just cost her a bit...

Qianye Ying'er could only blankly stare at the place where Issei just disappeared... what she supposed to do now? She has been left behind here...

But thankfully the abyssal human doesn't have any intention of attacking her anymore... she could only stay silent while hoping that Issei won't really leave her behind...

...

"Everything is ready, Semiramis-sama. We can try again..." Mertel said with a bow.

"Um." Semiramis nodded before she used her magic along with Irene and Forzelotte's help...

"Checking the 'fuel' condition... The 'fuel' condition seems stable. Starting trial number fourteen. Searching for the nearest location of Master... Success! But we won't be able to open an actual spatial opening to his location because of some interference! The best we could achieve is projecting the image and sound!" Da Vinci said while biting her lips.

"That doesn't matter right now! As long as we could see him even just for a fleeting moment is fine! We can just ask him about his location later!" Semiramis said impatiently.

"Roger! Ultinia, Miarute, try to keep the 'fuel' steady for as long as possible!"

""Understood!""

"Establishing connection... Connected!"

*SLLSHH!!!*

There's a pseudo spatial tear above their location...

"Ise! Ise! Can you hear me?! Ise!!!" Semiramis shouted at the spatial tear.

But all they hear is a static noise even after waiting for a while...

"Tsk! Was it another fail after all?" Forzelotte said while gritting her teeth seeing that there's no response coming from the other side...

"This is why I told you that the 'fuel' is too weak." Okita Alter said with a frown.

"You know that they're the only one who has been with Master the longest... except for Semiramis-sama and the other that is. But since they're pregnant. We can't risk it." Mertel said with a sigh.

"It's fine... We can just try again." Jeanne said comfortingly.

When Semiramis about to close the spatial tear, they heard a voice: "...Semi?"

All of them who are present froze on the spot before their gaze basically zoomed in towards the spatial tear.

They finally saw the face they've been longing to see after all this time...

Tears started to pour out from their eyes before they shouted in unison: "Dearest!/Ise!/Master!"

The husband and wives are finally able to see each other...

Issei's face becomes extremely gentle and loving when he saw his beloved wives' faces...

He keeps gazing at the spatial tear with a loving smile on his face as if it meant the entire world to him.

'Guh! How overwhelming!' Nyarlathotep shuddered when she felt the tsunami of emotion that started to overflow from Issei...

'I need to do something soon...' She thought with a grin before she started to tinker with the spatial tear.

"Master! Where are you?! How are you right now? Are you hurt?" Jalter anxiously asked.

"I'm fine, Jalter... As for where I am right now... I'm not so sure either. But I do know that this place is extremely far away from our home..." Issei said in the gentlest tone he could possibly muster.

"You're clearly lying, beloved... If you're truly fine then you would've returned home by now." Irene pointed out.

"Master!" Jalter said in anger at Issei for trying to lie to her.

"Heheh... I'm not really lying though... I just need two more years of recovery then I should be back to my full strength." Issei said with a comforting smile: "Ah, right. Ten years in this world is only one month over there so I will surely return before all of you give birth." He added with a wink.

He might try to sound cheerful but the girls couldn't share the same sentiment right now...

"...How long have you been there, dearest?" Semiramis asked while biting her lips.

"...Around three years." He said with a sigh.

Three years... for them it's only been a week but for him, it has been three years...

They felt saddened by this revelation since he clearly suffers more than they do...

"You can't pinpoint your location right now, Ise?" Forzelotte asked with a slight frown.

"...Right now I couldn't." Issei said while shaking his head: "But how did you all create this spatial tear?"

He couldn't risk bringing Nyarlathotep back right now either.

"We have our ways..." Semiramis said dismissively.

"I see... but you better not endanger your body, you hear me?" His voice turned serious at the end but they felt happy by his care.

"We could say the same to you, baka deshi... You better take care of yourself properly over there or I will surely beat you up when you get back." Scathach said with a growl.

"Yes, ma'am," Issei said with a smile.

They finally sighed in relief knowing that he's fine... they know that he's hiding something but at least he's fine right now...

"So, dearest... Just how many women did you seduce with your new appearance?" Semiramis asked with a knowing look: "And I really have to say that your new appearance is really mouth-watering..."

She licked her lips seeing Issei's new appearance. The other girls also started to blush deeply while fidgetting on the spot.

"That's right, Ise! Why did your appearance change once again!" Rossweisse said with a pout.

"Uh huh... I bet he keeps getting handsome just so that he could attract more girls to himself... this stupid husband of ours truly doesn't know when to stop." Kathryn said in annoyance.

"Umu, although I like your old and new look all the same, but I have to agree with Kath on this one." Ramius nodded at Kathryn's statement: "Not that I mind though."

"Heheh, Ise-nii will probably bring more sisters with him when he gets back..." Gurigura said with a grin.

"Not 'probably'... He will surely bring a couple of girls home with him." Riche tagged along with their conversation.

"Otouto-kun~, hurry and return, okay~? Onee-chan miss you lots!" Croix said while waving her hands giddily.

"You better not be having 'fun' over there when we're worried about you here, Ise..." Forzelotte said while narrowing her eyes at Issei.

"Err, I'm not..." Issei sweated at Forzelotte's accusing look: "I keep thinking about you girls all this time... how can I think of other women right now?"

"...Tsk, you and your sweet talk" Although she said that, Forzelotte couldn't hide her smile.

"Ise-nya~ be sure to bring back some souvenirs for us, okay?" Kuroka said with her tails waving jovially: "And... I miss my lovey-dovey time nya~ you better hurry and return to us since I'm not the only one that misses it~" She added mischievously.

"Kuroka!" Rossweisse shouted while blushing in embarrassment.

"What nya? I'm only saying the truth~" She stuck out her tongue at Rossweisse: "Don't tell me that you don't want to do it? Especially with his new appearance nya~" She licked her lips l.u.s.tfully while looking at Issei.

"I agree," Ramius affirmed the second Kuroka finishes her words.

And if one looks around, there's not a single one of them here tries to refuse Kuroka statement...

Even Rossweisse doesn't say anything else since she also wanted the same thing... she's just too embarrassed to admit it out loud.

Issei smiled wryly at their antics... ah... how he misses them...

"I miss you girls..."

"We miss you as well, dearest."

They shared a loving smile with each other.

But then the spatial tear disappeared without any sign...

"What happened?!" Jalter said feeling taken aback.

"I'm not so sure either... but most likely our 'fuel' has reached their limit." Da Vinci said while looking at the giant glowing capsules on the corner of the room.

Inside those capsules, there are Rias, Akeno, Xenovia, Asia, Irina, Koneko, and Ravel...

They're the 'fuel' that they used.

The 'fuel' being their soul essence...

They have been with Issei the longest so their soul contains the biggest remnants of Issei's presence other than Semiramis's group.

Rias being the 'strongest' since she often sleeps on the same bed with Issei in the past.

"It can't be helped..." Semiramis sighed: "Take them to their room and let them rest."

"Well, at least they're being useful for once." Nobunaga who also happens to be in the room said.

"Hmph..." Jalter snorted: "I still won't let them get close to Master!"

Kuroka then also tagged along and she's the one who carried Koneko away.

She already tried stopping Koneko before but since the latter insisted adamantly, Kuroka finally relented.

"Well, we better get ready for another trial later... Perhaps we could increase their overall strength for better energy output? Let's ask for Princess Lala's help as well... maybe she could provide some ideas. And who knows... if we're lucky then we could create an actual spatial opening to his location..." Da Vinci said while taking notes.

"Agreed." The girls unanimously agreed.

"We better snap them out of their daze as well." Scathach pointed at Grayfia's group.

They still looking dumbly at the direction of where the spatial tear was located. Thankfully they didn't broadcast their little experiment just now or it will be very troublesome...

The girls smile wryly at this sight... It looks like their husband charm just increased by another fold...

Even the heroic spirits group could barely resist themselves as not to have the same fate as them.

"...But there's something else that bothers me." Irene muttered: "That place we saw... it's clearly not a normal world."

"Um... It looks so desolate... just like a... purgatory of hell." Semiramis said worriedly.

"If it's only a normal purgatory then I won't be too worried since he has been to worser place before just to train his body. And you should be able to feel it as well... That place contains so many energies." Forzelotte added.

They know the energy quite well. Millet for one contain energy within it...

"Tsk, that dummy of a master really needs a beating when he gets back..." Jalter said with a snort.

"He's just worried about us..." Jeanne said wryly at Jalter.

"I know that... But still..." Jalter said with a pout.

"Good... after you're done beating him up then I will be the one to 'treat' him." Salter who's at the side said with a smirk.

"You shut up!" Jalter scowled at her.

"Towa."

"H-Hai?!"

"You better not be spreading his new appearance this time..."

Forzelotte voice made the 'mischievous' girl who's currently already started to draw Issei's new appearance into her drawing book flinch.

Forzelotte finally knows that the main culprit from the incident back then is Towa.

To be fair, it's not like Towa wanted to spread his image around but she was just sharing her story with the children... sadly for her, she forgot taking the teachers and staff into account...

"I-I understand..." She said with a wry smile...

"Now let's wrap it up for today..." Then they all dispersed and head back to their respective room.

The girls felt relieved and happy that they managed to speak with their beloved husband and Master even though it's quite short...

...

Issei who saw the disappeared spatial tear froze for a moment before he gives a sigh... It looks like their time was up.

[Fufu, it looks like your time is up, Dragon King?] It looks like she doesn't really need to do anything after all... whatever method they used to create that tear just now was clearly still lacking.

Issei doesn't respond to Nyarlathotep but he started to ponder to himself before suddenly saying: "...I will enter that black hole."

[...] If it was before then perhaps Nyarlathotep will be happy but now... his emotion was fluctuating to a terrifying degree. She had to use most of her strength just to suppress it right now.

And to be honest... it is already affecting her by a great amount.

[Is that so? Good to know then~] But whatever... not like she really care in the first place anyway...

If she loses then she loses, if she won then she won. She was never a sore loser in the first place... well, not like she ever lose until now though...

Then Issei head back to the black whirlpool location where Qianye Ying'er could be seen with an anxious expression on her face...

She secretly sighed in relief seeing that Issei finally returned but something else caught her attention... his expression...

It looks extremely gentle right now... she once again went into a daze seeing his gentle face... so he can make that kind of face... she thought dazedly to herself.

"You wait here... I will enter this black hole," Issei said to her snapping her out of her daze.

"What?! You..." She was about to say something but Issei has already entered the black hole.

She stomped her feet feeling irritated...

...

"Welcome... to my humble abode, Dear husband~" When Issei entered the black hole, he thought that it will be one of a hellish place but the interior couldn't look more ordinary...

It is literally a normal bedroom without any grand decoration or anything like that...

When he's busy observing his surroundings, Nyarlathotep eyes glimmered slightly while eyeing Issei.

She licked her lips l.u.s.tfully before she extended her arms towards him...