Chapter 24: Escalations

Chapter 24: Escalations

Haha! Another update! Enjoy! ^_^

Their criminal escapade allowed them to move the investigation further.

Thanks to Griselda and Valper's assistance in unlocking the case they found earlier, they came across some papers; and according to the documents they 'procured,' there was a warehouse that was used as a staging ground for illegal traffic of materials, even supernatural contraband as well. It was mostly used as a storage facility for the goods before they would be transported overseas, smuggled to other areas of Japan.

In short, it was a checkpoint to avoid the eyes of the law, both public and supernatural.

Sneaking inside the complex was not difficult; the guard at the front entrance was found asleep, leaning back on the wall with his hat covering his eyes, allowing the party to vault over the iron fence without notice. At the moment, the trio were trekking through rows of warehouses under the darkness of night.

Issei was leading the girls in the search. It was his first time infiltrating protected property. The him from his childhood days was definitely jittering with excitement in the back of his head. The experience was a bit addicting, like in a roller coaster ride.

"So. did they tell us which exact building we are looking for?" Issei asked as he walked between the two girls in a single line formation.

Taking the note from her pocket Griselda gave her, Xenovia took a cursory glance in her reply.

"Hmm, unfortunately, none of the sort. However, she did help narrow our target locations. Each warehouse will be in the town's registry if they are storing legal stuff, what is written here are the numbers for those that are not on the list"

However, Xenovia suddenly stopped and raised her fist, signaling Issei and Irina to stop as well. The blunette held a finger before her lips while her other hand pointed at a direction after a corner.

The trio carefully took a peek and caught something unusual.

A warehouse with several men loitering around; some of them were sitting down and playing cards on make-shift tables and seats from the crates and barrels, some of them were standing while smoking white cigars. However, what truly caught the trio's eyes were the sight of shotguns and metal bats stationed nearby.

Why were there guards in a warehouse so late at night?

"Well, what do you know? Looks like we can finish up early tonight." Issei mused. He was about to simply step out, ready to shock and awe with engaging violence and infiltrate his first enemy stronghold, until Irina suddenly grasped his shoulder.

"...What?" Issei was going to beat them up and walk in with swag and style.

"Issei, after yesterday, I think it is a good idea to approach this nice and carefully, okay?" Irina proposed.

There goes his chance to be a secret agent.

"Okay but how are we going this 'quietly'? Taking a detour will take too long, and I don't think we're stealthy enough to sneak past them. We are definitely not ninjas," Issei argued.

"...I guess it's time to give this a shot." Irina smiled.

Issei squinted at her, "Give what a shot?"

"Um, let's just say it is something I always wanted to try." Irina smiled confidently as she waved her hair around. She also made sure to unbutton a couple of her shirts to show a glimpse of her cleavage.

"What are you doing?" Issei asked as his childhood friend grabbed Xenovia's hand.

"Xenovia, let's go do the 'thing!'"

"What thing?" Issei looked at Xenovia.

"Irina I don't think this is the best time for that." Xenovia grimaced.

"What do you mean? What are you going to do?" Issei asked, increasingly worried when Irina started unbuttoning Xenovia's cleavage.

"Mhm! This is the perfect chance to finish a mission without incidence for once!" Irina replied as if it was obvious.

"I prefer a swift ambush and forceful entry than this," Xenovia frowned as Irina finished unbuttoning her shirt, showing a good portion of Xenovia's breasts.

"Yes, I understand, buuuuut" Irina easily replied, "To be honest, I'm getting sick of all the violence these past two days."

"Shouldn't you be used to it in your field of work?" Issei interjected.

"You're not wrong, but The Lord's teaching also includes no unnecessary violence." Irina replied.

"Okay. But seriously, what are you two planning?" Issei pressed the issue.

"Just watch." Irina winked before she finally pulled the reluctant Xenovia with her.

Issei stupidly observed the two walking up to the guards and calling out to them Issei felt his brain dropping its jaw along with him when he watched them do something he never thought they would in their line of work.

Irina was posing no, wait, was she attempting at seducing them? Issei rubbed his eyes just to make sure, but the sight of Irina posing for the guards was still there, puffing out her ample chest to the men.

Xenovia on the other hand, simply stood awkwardly while her eyes darted around between her partner and the bewildered guys. Her face was gradually getting redder.

As he kept watching Irina began to speak while changing poses, he looked within himself, "Ddraig?"

[Yes?]

"Are you seeing this?"

[...Yes, I'm looking at it through your eyes, partner.]

"What are we looking at?"

[I believe we are looking at. Some form of seduction attempt?]

"I see it with my eyes but I am not believing it. The guys there look just as stupefied as we are."

True to Issei's words, the guards were still staring at Irina with suspicious looks. The girl on the other hand, started to feel agitated.

At the sight of Irina pouting and beginning to stomp her feet around, Issei could only cringe.

[...That is just the saddest seduction attempt I've ever seen. Even female ogres my previous hosts had encountered might have been able to pull a better one.]

"I am curious about the female ogres, but anyways. I'm gonna move in while the two draw attentio- oh, shit, he's picking up his gun!"

Issei quickly dashed in when he saw one of the guards reach for his shotgun, running past the frustrated Irina and panicking Xenovia.

"Hey! What's-!?"

Before the first guard could have called out, Issei immediately lodged his fist into that guy's stomach and transitioned to the others, striking their jaws while moving past them, before he grabbed a metal bat leaning on a chair and threw it at the last guy before he could raise his shotgun.

Irina and Xenovia watched the last guard fall to the ground with a nasty bruise on his face as Issei walked up to them.

"I'm just going to pretend that I didn't see that," Issei retorted.

Xenovia only sighed in relief while Irina pouted at her childhood friend who just popped the door open, lock and all.

The inside was dark, the only light source being the street from outside taking the shape of the doorway, barely lighting the shadowy interior within.

"Where's that light switch" Issei muttered as he looked around and spotted it next to the entrance. "There you go." He then pulled the lever down, powering up the lights.

Immediately, the darkness was uplifted, revealing the contents of the room that froze the three onlookers still on their feet.

It was a strange room.

The outside of the warehouse was dirty and eroded, yet the inside was very very clean.

This was the first time Issei saw marble tiles on the floor, white walls that were definitely not made of the same materials as the wall of the warehouse. The light of the ceiling had no lightbulbs yet there was light illuminating from the ceiling.

The inside was a hallway that branched off into four paths, two hallways on each side of the fancy interior.

"...This is new," Issei commented as he looked around. Everything about this room screamed magic, from the inside and the outside.

"Wow" Irina uttered, completely amazed.

"This must have been here for a long while for such advanced magic to take place." Xenovia uttered, completely astounded with awe evident in her tone.

"Hm?" Issei turned to Xenovia.

"...We have invaded such dens in our earlier days as exorcists." Xenovia explained. "We usually separate the level of illegal bases into categories in the church. This one would be a Class Babylon."

"Class Babylon?"

"A location of heavy importance with connections to supernatural powers that should garner Heaven's attention to the utmost fullest. One such example is the unique display of magic presented here, something that normal supernatural beings cannot do under our noses," Xenovia explained.

"I didn't even know something like this is here when I was still in Kuoh," Irina whistled.

There was something Issei did not learn every day.

"Alright then how come none of your higher-ups shook this place down yet?" Issei asked as they walked inside, exploring the well-maintained interior.

"Such locations are hard to track down. The network of the Black Market has evolved to be needlessly complex than needed to throw off its tracks." Xenovia answered.

That or it was kept quiet. Issei could imagine some of the Church wanting this place preserved to protect illicit investments.

Issei looked left and right. He decided to take the right hallway, the one in the front. The others followed him as they entered another room.

Issei whistled as they saw a very long, long row of shelves on one side of the wall.

"Sweet Mother of Gods..." Issei breathed out and immediately walked up to check them out.

On the shelves, many miscellaneous items were there. Tomes, staffs, weapons, even preserved jars of certain organs, fingers, arms, what looked like a stomach and a pair of eyes floating in a jar of unknown liquid staring back at him.

No matter how Issei looked at it, this stuff would definitely make anyone rich with the right buyer. Issei wondered if he should take some home for-

"Whoa!" Irina shouted, pointing at a certain item.

"What?" Issei asked as he looked at Irina. Issei walked up to Irina to see what she was looking at

"Holy shit, is that the Monkey's Paw?" Issei asked as they looked at the shriveled hand locked in a glass box.

"What? You mean, that Monkey's Paw?" Xenovia asked with a wary tone, "That magic item famous for granting wishes laced with incredible risk? Rather, how do you know it's the Monkey's Paw and not some random mummy hand?"

"It's a part of my study when I was introduced to this world." Issei replied, "And the Monkey's Paw is more of a cursed item rather than anything else since the wishes tend to bite you back in the ass somehow. It looks exactly like the picture I saw in a catalogue of cursed items."

"And you remember it in exact detail, why?" Xenovia asked with curiosity.

"It was famous - or rather, infamous as hell. I binged on all the good stuff that caught my attention back in the days, this being one of them. Although, the real question is is it authentic?" Issei asked as he stared at the black, shriveled hand.

"Hmmmm. Well, there is one way to confirm it," Xenovia implicitly suggested with an imperceptible smirk.

Issei opened his mouth, but before anything could get past his lips, he clicked his mouth shut, "Oh no. I'm not making a wish that'll definitely bite me back."

"Why not make a harmless wish?" Irina cheerfully suggested.

"Like what? Wishing for a plate of fries?" Issei snorted.

A crooked, dry snap echoed in the room. The trio flinched as the color drained from their skin. They slowly drew their eyes to the cursed artifact, seeing a crooked finger broken.

"...Oh, fu-!"

Before Issei could finish, something fell on his head, making Issei blink as something covered him while the sound of clattering metal bounced from the floor.

The trio looked down to see a metal plate full of french-fries. Some of it was on him and for some reason, the french-fries reek bad. The fries were not even cooked. They smelled spoiled.

They stared at the deformed food for a few seconds, until Issei heaved out a sigh and brushed off the rotten fries off him, "...Okay let's not tempt the dangerous wish-granting hand any further, what do you say?"

Xenovia and Irina rapidly nodded as they backed away from the cursed item.

They looked back at the row of items again for a while. Issei took notice of a sword there he hummed as he walked towards it.

He looked at it within a glass case as he narrowed his eyes at it. Irina was looking at a jar filled with strange balls of putrid-colored meat while Xenovia was staring at an upside down cross made from bone hanging from a very creepy doll with black liquid leaking from its eyes.

"Should we take some of this stuff with us?" Issei asked, tempted to take the sword.

"It is unethical to steal, Issei." Irina asked as she took the jar of meatballs and shook it a little.

"But this is illegal goods. I mean, I'm sure more than half of them were already stolen or something." Issei retorted as he inspected a battle axe with runes on the flat ax head.

"So? Two wrongs don't make it right. This isn't math." Irina chided as she put the jar back.

"Pretty sure it is if you multiply the two negatives..." Issei retorted as he pondered whether he should take the axe that looked nordic as hell.

"Issei..." Irina warned with a scolding tone.

"Fine, fine. We'll check the next room, then." Issei rolled his eyes as he gave up on taking souvenirs home.

They made their way towards the next room, the one opposite to this one.

However, what laid inside did not meet their expectations.

Rows and rows of planted pots on the shelves, tables and even the floor. Some of them even had teeth while others had tiny tentacles.

These pots were labeled with the names of the plants as well while there were other plants contained in glass cases painted with a strange symbol over it.

"Are these?" Xenovia trailed.

"...Yep." Issei was still in the middle of believing what they just stumbled upon.

"Ohhhh, a real-life drug den" Irina could not help but feel impressed.

"Over there is definitely marijuana, that one is a cocaine, and. I think that one is cannabis?" Issei walked up to the potted plant with the label on it, reading it as 'Chimera Blood-Enriched Cannabis.'

Issei stared at the label, trying to digest the words 'Chimera' and 'blood.'

Irina and Xenovia walked up to him and looked at it, then they looked at the plant, sharing Issei's stupor.

The said plant was akin to a morbid carnivorous plant they saw in children television Only with Cannabis as its base. The said hybrid cannabis then snapped at them, causing them to flinch back.

Fortunately, the plant's reach was limited as it could not move from the pot as it lunged at the three with its snapping jaws.

"...You know, Rias never told me what Devil blood can do." Issei muttered aloud as they moved to the next plant.

This one was called the Archespore Vine. The name did not ring a bell, but the flower weed with teeth and dripping acid on the pile of dirt in a glass cage did jog his memory.

"I thought this one was endangered or extinct." Issei muttered.

"You know it?" Xenovia asked.

"Yeah. If I remember, a lot of people tried to cull it to extinction. This thing can spread like wildfire."

The thing spat at the glass cage, bubbling putrid green sliding off the smooth surface.

"...Ew." Issei cringed at the green slime as he proceeded to walk away.

The next one was labeled the African Dream Root. Issei picked up the pot and sniffed it a little.

Irina and Xenovia looked at the rest, seeing Spriggan Sprout, Nymph Buds, Shae Tan Night Blossoms, Egyptian Mirage Reeds, and more plants either in pots or in glass cages.

"I don't even know what half of these things can do." Irina scratched her head.

"Boob growing Plant" Xenovia stared at the plant that looked like a sucking flower bud on a vine. Irina and Issei joined Xenovia as they stared at the thing called the Boob-Growing Plant.

Issei looked at Irina and Xenovia a moment before looking back at the strangely specific-named plant.

"Does it really?" Irina stopped herself, yet her curiosity still burns.

"Let's not tempt fate any more than this." Issei suggested.

Irina and Xenovia wordlessly conceded as they followed Issei towards another door at the end of the room.

This time, there were crates stacked haphazardly, in a way that fits their image of an actual warehouse. Issei blinked as he looked at the strange symbols marking the crates as they toured through the area.

"I think this is the spot where the stuff is ready for shipping," Issei muttered.

He looked at one crate in particular that was at his eye level.

"Is that" Issei muttered. He swore that this symbol was eerily similar to a noble family crest of the Devils.

Irina and Xenovia watched Issei walk towards it and pry open the crate.

"...Wow." Issei commented with wide eyes at the sight of the giant egg.

"That's an egg.. Right?" Xenovia asked.

"If it is, then it's the biggest egg I've ever seen." Irina remarked.

"It is." Issei confirmed as he carefully ran his finger across the egg's surface. "And this isn't just any egg. This is a dragon's egg."

"Dragon?!" Xenovia blanched.

"How do you know that?" Irina was just as surprised as her partner.

"The Grigory was strict in my supernatural education. Believe it or not, fallen angels have some business connections with dragons in some parts," Issei replied.

"Okay. Do you know what kind of dragon egg this one is?" Irina asked with small curiosity in her voice.

"Ddraig ?" Issei silently asked the dragon expert in his gauntlet.

[I might be ancient, but I am not that versed in egg appraisal.]

"And why is that?"

[The same reason why humans never bother to guess what kind of baby would pop from the womb at first glance, but I digress. If you want an estimate, I would say wind, water, or lightning. It's probably a mix of two or all three attributes.]

"I'm not a dragon expert, but I guess wind, water, or lightning. Also, if I had to guess, the egg is illegally poached."

In his past study about dragons, something that he had to do to understand his Sacred Gear, dragons were notoriously territorial; be it eggs, treasures, packs or mates, they were creatures who protected their belongings fervently.

"Really? Dragon poaching is a thing?" Irina asked.

"The dragons are kinda endangered at the moment. Long story short, they're prized for many reasons, either as food, ingredients, or strong familiars, all top grade for many reasons. No idea what this fellow's fate is honestly, but it can't be good if he/she's being shipped this way."

Issei took out his phone and quickly took a picture of the noble crest. He should be able to find out the clan that bore this symbol as their flag if he asked Rias.

"...Are you going to take the egg?" Irina asked.

"Tempting, buuuut I already got a dragon - in my Sacred Gear." Issei retorted. "Having another one sounds very redundant in my case. What about you girls? Any of you want to be a dragon tamer?"

Irina and Xenovia looked at him contemplatively at the prospect.

"...I don't think I know how to raise one" Irina mused.

"Do we even have the space to raise it?" Xenovia asked.

"I don't think so." Irina shrugged as Issei rolled his eyes.

'Want me to take the egg with us, buddy?' Issei grew a second thought and asked Ddraig.

[It's up to you, but let me warn you - handling a dragon is no easy task.]

"I handled Rover and Black just fine, so how hard could a dragon be?"

[Correction, it was your parents who got your. Pets under control even before you're born, and each species has its own perks when it comes to nurturing and maturing.]

"Well I do want to surpass my dad." Issei was very tempted. This is black market stuff the question is how he could bring it home unnoticed?

[Still, my point is, raising a dragon is far different than raising that creature you call a dog.]

"Yeah, yeah, whatever; got a way to store this thing?" Issei asked with a dismissing tone.

[I can see warning you is futile, and yes, there is. Place your hand on the egg.]

Issei placed his hand on the egg.

[...I mean the one with Boosted Gear.]

"..."

Issei silently placed his other hand on the egg.

Boosted Gear glowed an emerald light for a moment before the dragon egg disappeared, vanishing.

"Okay, so"

[Items can be stored inside Boosted Gear. Think of it as an inventory space like those video games you played. There is a capacity limit though.]

"That is neat and you didn't tell me this earlier because?"

[You didn't need it until now.]

Issei pursed his lips, unable to argue against that.

"Whoa. Issei, what did you do?" Irina asked, looking at the now empty crate.

"...I stored the egg." Issei mentioned. "Can't leave it behind in this accursed place after all."

"Hmm. Noteworthy, but we shouldn't waste our time here further. We must continue searching for the items we came here for."

The item she mentioned was the most important to finish this quest - the ledger. Even criminal organizations must have a valid record to keep track of their inventory and transactions, otherwise any attempt to build an illegal empire would crumble.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it" Issei waved off. "Buuuut I want to take a little look-see first."

[And by look-see, do you mean 'loot like hell'?]

Issei chose not to dignify the Welsh Dragon with an answer as he proceeded to look around.

Irina and Xenovia watched the boy wandering around.

"Well, if you want to take a look, we'll be looking for the ledger then." Irina waved off.

"Probably better this way." Issei agreed. "Yoller if you need me."

Issei and Irina quickly huddled over to look at Xenovia's findings, "Some of the lines were redacted, but there are mentioning of 'church' and 'holy relics'. Though. The name of the client is what worries me."

"Name him." Issei gestured to her to continue. He looked at the papers around, curious of the items, until one caught his eye, one about the Urn of Wei Cheng. Issei picked up the paper with curiosity as he read it, wanting to see what his new loot could do.

"Kokabiel." Xenovia muttered with a warry tone.

The name caused Issei to pause and blink before he turned to Xenovia, "...What?"

"...I take it that you know him." Xenovia informed.

"That Fallen Angel of Stars Kokabiel? The guy that looks like a freaking Vampire from the movies Kokabiel?" Issei asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but yes, it's that Angel of Stars Kokabiel. So do you know anything about him or not?" Xenovia replied.

"Know him? I sparred with him from time to time when I was at Grigori HQ. Hell, he even helped me train during his free time." Issei's face fell with a serious gloom.

"I. heard that he's one of the survivors of the Great War between The Three Factions. His Eminence Vasco Strada once fought with him on the battlefield and managed to defeat him to retreat with Durandal. Issei, you met with him. How strong is he?" Irina asked.

"Kokabiel is one of Grigori's heaviest hitters. There aren't many in Grigori that can beat him well, if you're just counting Fallen Angels."

"...What about you? Do you mean" Irina asked with a hopeful smile.

Issei returned with his own smile and shook his head.

"Sorry, Iri. Like it or not, I'm still green compared to the old timers. Even I am severely outmatched by that guy." Issei answered.

He looked back at the paper describing the Urn of Wei Cheng, reading the description of the item he pilfered and squinted his eyes.

"Whoa"

"What?" Irina asked, tilting her head as she peeked at the paper.

According to the paper, the wooden prism has the ability to store an infinite number of supernatural effects or energy, and it has two functions.

One, it could convert the stored spells or magics into energy to fuel the wielder. Two, it could fire the magical effects out at any object it points to, be it stored raw magical energy or the effects.

There was even a brief history of the item, saying how it was made by a Chinese Taoist priest during the Ming Dynasty with Chinese alchemy that uses a fundamentally different system compared to that of western alchemy. The creation process was lost to time, and the buyer was

"...Cao Cao?"

Irina and Xenovia recognized the name written on the paper.

"That's isn't that the name of someone from the Journey to the West?" Irina asked.

"No, Romance of The Three Kingdoms, and it's gotta be an alias." Issei corrected while shrugging as he threw the paper away. There was no way that someone like that still exists to this day, that guy was human.

He then returned to the matter at hand, "Anyway, we'll see if we can find any more papers like the one Xenovia found, and. We'll leave, when I figure out what to do with that safe." He glared at the locked compartment.

"We can just secure this place and have Sister Griselda to come over." Irina suggested.

"We can?" Issei blinked. "How? We are technically invading private property, you know?"

"It's not a crime when you do it for the good guys?" Irina suggested again, albeit with some hesitation in her tone.

"...I'm rolling with that. Also, I got some stuff to check out from that side once I'm done with the wait oh, I'm dumb." Issei slapped his face.

"What? Why?" Xenovia asked.

"Ddraig, how can I take out that urn thing?"

[Just do it with your thoughts. It's not god-level magic oh, wait it kinda is since Sacred Gears are made by God, but you get the point.]

Issei rolled his eyes as he willed out the wooden Urn. He looked at the thing in his hands

"...Now that I think about it, how do I use it?" Issei inspected it. There was an indentation on one side, one the size of his thumb. He placed his thumb on the slot.

Suddenly, he felt something the wooden prism connect with him through the thumb. It was like a mouse plugged in the laptop if he had to describe it, but he could feel something electrifying coursing through him.

"Okay" Issei aimed it at the safe.

"Issei what is that?" Irina asked.

"A souvenir I'm testing out." Issei licked his lips. He could feel his thumb touching something more than just the flat wood, something intangible he wondered he tried pressing with his mind.

The lines on the urn glowed to life as the top of it flicked open, three triangular lids flipped up as a cone of blue color shot out. Issei and the others watched as the spells that covered the safe were sucked into the urn, the glyphs and symbols peeling off instantly, leaving the safe naked as it was supposed to.

Everyone blinked, Issei in particular, darting his gaze between the safe and the magic urn in his hands. Returning the urn to Boosted Gear, Issei approached the safe and tried to forcefully pried it open.

The metal buckled as Issei ripped it open.

"Holy fuck knuckles." Issei whistled.

Inside was a bunch of items, a rabbit's foot tied to a beady chain, a large fang-like bone of unknown origins, and a golden apple that looked like the fruit of wisdom from the legends. Not only that, there was treasure, stacked bars of gold, faceted diamonds of various colors, and more. He felt really tempted to take the wealth and step into the shoes of the rich.

It was really, really tempting.

There was also a small book in there.

Issei reached towards the item that looked out of place compared to the other valuables. The book was well-maintained with a leather cover, he could even smell some spicy scent - presumably oil or other measures to keep the papers from bugs and literally bookworms.

There were Japanese words on the cover

"...Binbou gami?" Issei quirked a brow.

"Binbougami?" Irina repeated.

"Binbougami eh, don't know who he is, though the name sounds familiar." Issei shrugged as he opened the notebook. He saw an index a long index of markings and page numbers. Business dealings, names when Issei flipped the page, he saw something.

"Valper?" Issei saw an unexpected name in the index.

"Huh?"

Irina and Xenovia peered over to read the familiar name.

"But It's just Valper, though. No surname." Irina remarked.

Issei flipped the pages towards the page number.

"... This is not a good day for me." Issei started reading.

The omens spoke of misfortune arriving at the day of my greatest trial. I thought that the Monkey's Paw would cancel out the side effect of the Blood Moon Rabbit's Foot. However, it seems that it might not be the case, meaning the contents of my wish must be too naive. Today I have to go to the annual meeting of the Sumeru Gods and start auditioning myself to become one of the Gods of Fortune. No longer will I be mocked as the decrepit, useless God of Poverty anymore.

Issei, Irina, and Xenovia blinked at the word 'God.'

"...The owner of this place is a God?" Irina asked.

"...I remember now. Binbougami is a God of Poverty here in Japan Damn, he is moving up in the world." Issei was very impressed if he must admit.

I am still concerned about my latest clients. Those accursed ones from the Biblical Sect the secret of creating the perfect holy sword wielder is something I cannot pass up on. Paying me in knowledge was very enticing, and the money offered as consolation was nothing to ignore. The obese man assured that my trade will not be involved, but I am not so sure. Thus, I decided to move my operations elsewhere. The door leading to my inner sanctum shall be transferred to Osaka tonight after I finished petitioning to become a God of Fortune. Hopefully, I will become one of the Lucky Gods this time. Aahh, I can smell the attention and fame washing the years of mockery away like cleansing rain.

Issei finished and looked up to regard the two exorcists, whose expressions were a little distraught.

"Father Galilei made a deal with the God of Poverty?" Irina mused. "Err. Is the God of Poverty a good deity?"

"Don't know." Issei shook his head slowly, "If I recall, his legend is vague as hell, but the God of Poverty is more hated than worshipped to begin with; some people claim he's an evil deity, others believe he's more akin to a force of nature - tasked to maintain the balance between fortune and misfortune of mankind. I'm more inclined towards the latter belief and the pages showed an instruction manual on how to make anyone a holy sword wielder using. the replicated genes of a Hero from times past and oh, damn."

"What?" Irina asked.

"...The main ingredient is the souls of the pure," Issei grimaced.

Irina and Xenovia lost color from their faces, the word 'souls' inciting their imaginations of the worst.

"...Does it say the souls have to be human?" Xenovia asked.

Issei glanced at the blunette, "I don't think animal souls count in this case."

"The need for live, fresh souls is but a temporary measure for the ideal result - it does not bring a good image for us Shinto Deities if we do."

The trio froze when another voice entered the scene.

The three slowly raised their heads to see the new presence in the room. Issei started to sweat a little upon seeing a decrepit old man wearing luxurious clothes, holding a crescent baton of white rock and a paper fan.

"Um Binbougami?" Irina sheepishly asked.

"Oh ho ho, my my, little sheep, to act so innocent despite breaching a God's sanctum. I already expected it from the signs, but to see it for myself is another story."

Binbougami held a book. Wait, that book

Issei looked at the journal. It was gone. He looked at Binbougami, his wrinkle-covered eyes staring at him with a smile showing his surprisingly clean white teeth while he pocketed the book under his robes.

"Uhhh we come in peace?" Issei flashed an awkward smile, sweating profusely.

"The God of Fortune and Poverty will consider it."

A thrust of the white, crescent baton at them, the three suddenly fell as pitch black wisps flew from the wand and crashed into them.

The enervation was intense.

Issei could only describe as if his bones turned brittle and his muscles withering as tears and blood flowed from his eyes and nose before Issei threw up on the floor, staining it with his recent meal.

[Partner!]

Ddraig shouted as Boosted Gear materialized as the dragon ignited [Boost], attempting to replenish Issei's strength.

"ACK!?"

However, instead, Issei coughed blood, more crimson fluids leaving his nose in a trickling stream.

"Keh hi hi hi hi hi hi." Bimbogami cackled as the three withered at his mercy. "How does the taste of my curses suits you young lads? I've been refining it for more than a thousand years like fine sake!"

[Kid, this guy is somehow using Boost against us. I don't know how he is doing it but it is not good!]

He looked at Irina and Xenovia, seeing lying on the ground prone, both breathing very heavily. Dark discoloration of their skin started to appear as well, creeping up towards their necks, threatening to consume them in unhealthy black and then it started receding.

The pain started to recede from Issei, though blood was still flowing from his nose and mouth. The feeling of asthenia was still prominent in their muscles and bones - it felt like they aged to the very limits, having the bodies of feeble old people.

"Keh hi hi." Binbougami laughed as the dark shadowy wisps left them and returned to his crescent wand.

Issei looked at Binbougami, seeing his wrinkled face filled with mirth.

"Now, now, what should I do with you naughty children? I could send you, Irina, to a brothel at best."

"H-huh?" Irina groaned, the lethargy still throbbing in her bones. She could not even push herself up.

"Despite my terrible countenance, my memory is sharper than Kusanagi. I know basically every interesting folk that graced these lands."

Issei suddenly felt something tapping his head.

"Like this one's father, for one."

Issei blinked as he looked up, seeing the old god standing over him. He blanched as he glanced at the spot where the old thing stood before, seeing him no longer there.

What the hell was that movement technique? Teleportation? It was way too fast to be instant transmission.

"Yes, yes, I know your father. No, it is more like, I know who your father is, and frankly, he completely terrifies me. Your family relation is the only reason why I didn't kill you three the moment I saw you." The old thing walked around to Issei's face and squatted down, looking down on the prone hero.

"Ack if you know my dad, why attacked us?" Issei grimaced. He tried to push himself up, but his arms were so weak that they fell like wet noodles.

"You three are trespassing, you used my Monkey's Paw And you stole from me. Son of the Strongest Man or not, I will not tolerate intrusion and theft in MY sanctum!" Binbougami scowled at Issei.

"Oh" Issei flashed an awkward smile at the angry god. "So uh did you get the promotion you always wanted?" He asked, attempting to cool the wrinkled god with small talk.

"In fact, I did. I did state my current station, the God of Fortune and Poverty." Binbougami's scowl turned into a cheerful, wrinkled smile. "But returning to my current debacle, what should I do with you? I think I can make a decent profit from you, boy." Binbogami poked Issei with his crescent wand.

"Um. If you'd be so kind to hear me out, I kind of have a good reason for this, so"

"My recent clients are sowing trouble in Japan, and their trail of breadcrumbs lead you to my domain." Binbougami summarized.

Issei blinked, not expecting the recently promoted God to hit the nail on the case correctly "...Oh, uh Yeah."

"I am actually livid. The omens spoke of ill winds yet their offers were too valuable to forego. Now that you are here, the other Shinto Gods might annex me from my home for jeopardizing foreign relationships for the sake of my greed. Honestly, I am torn between killing you three or keeping you all alive to be safe." Binbougami poked Issei's head again.

"The latter. Definitely the latter." Issei stated.

"And why should I spare your lives? No one knows you're here. And my Client is going to cover his tracks, and subsequently yours."

Meaning there would be no way for the others to track the three to the promoted God's dwelling.

"Okay, uh" Issei furiously worked his brain. "...What if I pay you for the damages? And your services?"

Binbougami quirked a wrinkled brow.

"You wish to purchase my aid? You have no wealth of worth to speak Wait no, no, you are surrounded by wealth that is not yours." Binbougami corrected himself.

Issei was surprised how much this God could see through him.

Issei struggled to dig into his pockets with his slackened arm, slowly pulling out Rias' credit card. Binbougami quirked a brow as he looked at it.

"...The seal of the Gremory Clan." Binbougami mused as he took it.

"I don't know how much is in that card honestly, but knowing Rias and the Gremory folks"

Binbougami rubbed his chin for a moment.

"They will compensate you ten times over if you help us. I mean, you are pissed at those clients of yours, right?" Issei wasn't sure if they could, but it would be a good time to test their financial might.

Binbougami hummed to himself deeply in contemplation. It was hard for Issei to get a read on the old man since he could barely see his eyes under the wrinkles.

"...A debt of favor."

Issei paused.

"What?"

"You will owe me a favor in addition. You yourself have stolen two of my items and used something that belongs to me. Thus, I will, upon you one day, bestow a task in the future. Do you humbly accept this pact, o' Son of The Strongest?" Binbougami flashed a smile as he offered a hand to the weakened Issei.

The boy stared at the offered hand, then flicked to glance at his two downed allies. Thinking about it, they had no other choice than to accept his offer. The old god had them at checkmate the moment he spotted them.

After biting his lower lip in a brief contemplation, Issei let out a breath and accepted the god's hand, albeit with some struggle to the ailment inflicted upon him.

"Oh, and do not mention me or our encounter to anyone."

Issei hissed when his hand made contact, but Binbougami did not let go, holding his hand tight as the burning continued. Once Binbougami released Issei's hand, Issei inspected the damage, seeing a symbol marked on his palm.

"What did you put on me?" Issei asked.

"The tangible proof of our pact. This way, you will have no choice but to obey me once I call upon your services."

Issei grimaced at the mark, yet he did not say anything in return.

Taking the silence as implicit consent, the new God of Poverty and Fortune conjured and waved his paper fan, and the trio suddenly regained their vitality. Even Issei had found his bleeding had stopped completely.

"Now, get out of my sanctum and get rid of my pesky clients. Speak of this to anyone, and I will curse you three and your descendants with infinite poverty."

The three shared a brief glance.

Their welcome was overstayed, and they have no more reason to remain. They nodded to the old god, slowly picked themselves up, and carefully made their way out of the sanctum, leaving the recently promoted deity to his own device.

The walk out of the compound took a few minutes, and once they confirmed that they had no tail, still seeing the unconscious bodies of the guards loitering the entrance, they gave a collective sigh of relief.

"...Dammit, Ise." Irina could not help but mutter as she rested her palm on her knees, panting out her stress.

"How was I supposed to know that we were trespassing on a god's territory?" Issei retorted.

"I hate to say this, but he's right." Xenovia quipped, "None of us expected that kind of surprise ambushing us. We've gone in blind, and that's a part of the risks. Rather, what are you gonna do with that?" Her eyes trailed to the mark on Issei's left hand.

"Are you okay?" Irina asked with a concerned tone.

"It itches a little but I don't feel off with this thing on me." Issei looked at the mark. It was more of a kanji than anything, one that meant 'Debt'. "I'm more worried about what kind of favor he'll call me on after all of this kind of surprised that it went better than I expected. Even more surprised that he let me keep the egg and the awesome Urn."

Issei knew he was going to have a lot of fun with this chinese artifact.

"Yeah We were lucky, weren't we?" Irina nodded with a small smile.

Then, the trio's moment was interrupted by the sound of Issei's cell-phone. He picked it up and saw Rias' contact ID on the screen.

"Hello, what is it, Rias?"

Irina and Xenovia watched the boy answering the call.

"Things on my end? Well, you won't believe what we just ran into. What about you?"

Then, the two exorcists watched as Issei's eyebrows furrowed.

"...What? This isn't a western spy flick. Really, did he use that? How is everyone else?"

A few seconds later, Issei's expression relaxed a bit, as he took a breath.

"...Okay, okay, I'll see you soon. Stay alert."

Issei then turned the phone off and addressed the exorcists, "Sorry, something came up and I gotta go back."

Irina and Xenovia blinked at the sudden turn. "Is everything okay?" the former asked.

Issei eyed the two with a somewhat wary gaze before replying, "...They were attacked, but they're alright now. They'll tell me more once I get back. Let's call it a night for now."

The two girls shared a brief glance before they nodded.

Issei returned the gesture, "Good night, you two."

It did not take long for Issei to vanish from view as he ran into the night, leaving the exorcists with their own thoughts.

"Say, Xenovia"

The blunette glanced at Irina, who looked uncomfortable for some reason.

"The book we've found down there, where it mentioned Father Galilei There must be some kind of explanation there, right?"

Pity briefly flashed in Xenovia's eyes as she regarded her partner. Irina was always the more devout Christian than her.

She then placed a hand on Irina's shoulder. "I'm sure there is, Irina. We don't have the evidence anymore, but we still can report our findings to Father Galilei and Sister Griselda. At the very least, they will listen to us."

Irina gave a shaky nod before they both began their trek back to their hotel.

Kuroka gritted her teeth and muttered curses under her breath as she had to shake Rover off her tail.

Again.

Seriously, I just wanted to steal a quick look at Kuoh because there are exorcists in town, can't that mutt take the hint already?!

Kuroka thought as she made another turn into a deserted parking lot not far from the industrial district, much to her chagrin. Her plan was supposedly going towards the more populated commercial district so she could blend inside the crowd, betting on the dog's miniscule intelligence and common sense beaten into its brain not to cause trouble in public space. However, the dog was somewhat smarter than it let on, and it ramped up its running speed to cut off her desired route, forcing her to turn away to the deserted areas.

Then, she noticed something - a magical signature not far from her position.

What is that?

With Rover hot on her trails, Kuroka had no choice but to investigate it with the dog biting her trail.

She was currently nearing the edge of the district, one block away until she ran into several civilians. Making another sharp turn, Kuroka leapt over rooftops, fences, and crates, the dog doing the same with astounding agility and acrobatics, until her eyes spotted it.

Placed on an empty road between rows of old shophouses which were either abandoned or put on sale, was a magic circle. Kuroka was not sure what kind of circle it was, and the fact that it was here was suspicious alone.

Kuroka ran around the circle with the dog barking behind her to inspect it, but the dog decided to cut her off by stepping on the magic circle which triggered as soon as its paw made contact.

"Nya?" Kuroka stopped when she saw the dog engulfed in a bright light.

When the light vanished a few seconds later, the magic circle was gone.

Along with the dog.

Kuroka blinked at the sight before she paddled towards the spot where Rover was before.

"Uhhhh hello?" Kuroka called out. "...Please tell me you're playing a trick on me, nya?"

Kuroka hoped that the dog was great at playing hide and seek. Otherwise, she would have to break news that she was somewhat responsible for the dog's disappearance.

oXo

As for Rover, he found himself in an unfamiliar place yet again. It did not know why it was here, it only cared about chasing the suspicious cat that kept loitering his best friend's home.

Still, it should find a way home right now. His friend and his mother would get angry if he took too long going outside of the house unsupervised.

However, a new, enticing scent gave his thoughts a pause when it struck his snout like lightning. It smelled so delectable, saliva started to drip off its fangs as it followed the scent sniffing until its red eyes greeted the mountainous mound of meat - the freshest meat that he had ever laid his eyes on neatly piled like this.

Rover's mouth watered a river and immediately went after the nearest pile, sniffing closer, only for the scent to hit him like a hammer.

What kind of meat was this!? It smelled so much better than anything he smelt but it smelled familiar. It did not know why but it reminded it of something it later stopped caring and began to sloppily dig into his meal, carefully not to grow in size to savor the rich flavor.

This was one of the best days of its life.

And there you have it! Thoughts of the s*itshow you just saw? Let me know your thoughts in the review! ^_^ The next chapter is already posted in you-know-where. ;)