— Leon Greyrat —

  A day had passed, and just as we had agreed, I was making my way over to Orsted with Rudy at my side.

  “So you really didn’t get a visit from the Man-God?” I asked.

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I guess that bracelet really did work.”

  “Yeah… so do you feel a bit more confident now?” I asked.

  He frowned. “Well… I’m more confident, yes, but still don’t want to go against him. Just because he can’t talk to me doesn’t mean he can target me, right?”

  “Orsted said that he shouldn’t be able to see you either,” I said. “But either way, we still don’t know the entire picture.”

  “Right,” he agreed as we continued. “And it’s not like we can trust him completely…”

  Right… there was that too.

  Anyway, just as Orsted said, I was able to find him quite easily by using my Demon eye and seeing the mass of mana, so after a quick breakfast, a kiss exchanged with each of my wives, and a quick hug with Aria and Anna, I grabbed Rudy before heading outside the city.

  Eris did seem curious about where I was going, as well as what I was doing yesterday, but she thankfully didn’t ask to join us as she was preoccupied with spending time with her parents.

  I loved her, and I trusted her to be on my side and have my back, but I didn’t want to risk her meeting Orsted, at least not yet.

  After all, my Eris was a bit confrontational, and that was without the hatred curse thing, so I didn’t want to risk it.

  After a few minutes of walking, we eventually reached him, with the grey-haired man in his long white cloak once again making my blood boil, despite the fact he was hopefully going to be my ally.

  “You made it,” he said in his monotone voice.

  “Yeah… we did,” I said, looking around at the old cabin we were currently in. “So… why did you want to talk today and not yesterday?”

  Rudy then created a set of three chairs and a table as the two of us sat down.

  “I… had some things to take care of,” Orsted said, sitting down as well. “I needed to ensure your words were true concerning Nanahoshi’s safety and that you truly had families that could be threatened.”

  “Oh… I see,” I said.

  So he scouted us… I didn’t even realize.

  How scary.

  “Now… you wish to work together to defeat the Man-God and protect your families, correct?” he said, to which we both nodded. “And Rudeus… the Man-God appeared in your dreams?”

  “Yeah… though not st night, thanks to you,” he said. “But still… can’t he just create another apostle to come kill me? How will this protect me?”

  Orsted hummed. “While the Man-God can make most people in this world his apostles, they are still limited in number.”

  Oh?

  Well… that was good.

  “And as such, he chooses his apostles very carefully,” he continued. “So it only stands to reason that he would not use them in a way he cannot guarantee victory, especially not for something as petty as revenge or punishment… or rather, not with the threat of me being here.”

  “I see… do you know how many he can have?” I asked.

  Orsted nodded his head.

  “The Man-God can influence three people at a time, as far as my knowledge goes,” he answered, as he then narrowed his eyes at me with a piercing gre. “More importantly… you are sure you are not an apostle as well.”

  “Yes, am pretty damn sure,” I said. “Why do you think so?”

  He constantly went on about me being an apostle, even though I hadn’t done anything… what was with that?

  He stared at me for a few moments in silence before answering, “No reason.”

  Alright then…

  “Now… Leon Greyrat,” he said, looking between me and Rudy once again. “You mentioned that the Man-God threatened you and became your enemy… you said it was because he thinks your descendants defeat him, right?”

  I felt my fist clench as I remembered the damn reason for all this trouble.

  “Yes… The Man-God… according to him, my descendants are an important piece in his future defeat,” I expined. “He said that they and you work together to take him down.”

  Orsted widened his eyes.

  “Really? Hmm… the Man-God is not someone you can trust nor take their words at their true value, but there isn’t any other reason for him to make enemies of you two,” he said, tapping his fingers against the table. “This event… is this a result of Roxy Migurdia having her affections returned?”

  What?

  “What do you mean? Why are you bringing up my wife’s name now?” I asked with a slightly threatening tone.

  Orsted narrowed his eyes at me, as if trying to discern my true nature with his fierce gre.

  “I… am able to see one’s set fate,” he eventually expined. “It is an ancient technique that was created by my predecessors, and while there are many paths and branches, there are certain destinies that can become certain in the future.”

  “I see… but what does that have to do with Roxy?” I asked.

  “Well… while not fated to be together, it is destiny for her to fall in love with you, shall you two meet,” he said.

  Yeah… unfortunately, I had to disagree.

  If this fate nonsense had any merit, then it would be Rudy who was fated to be with Roxy.

  But I was… fine with that.

  I had accepted it.

  She was now my wife, and we had a beautiful child together, just like I did with Sylphy, and with Eris soon enough, so even if they were fated to be Rudy’s… I was fine with it.

  “This… future fate reading… is this why you called me ‘Leon of Rakaz’, and why you believed that I was an apostle even during our first meeting?” I asked.

  That would at least expin a bit of this, even if his ‘fate reading’ was faulty.

  “Yes,” he said, nodding as his eyebrows turned down into a frown. “And I… apologize for that. It seems that your path was different from what I had seen.”

  “It’s fine,” I said, shrugging.

  That encounter, while painful, did allow me to grow much stronger by showing where I was cking, and how far I was from the pinnacle of strength.

  But to think his ‘fate reading’ saw me as an apostle… that must have been the path I took if I wasn’t with Mama, and wasn’t in Rudy’s life, like in the diary where there was no mention of me.

  “Well, back to my descendants… I don’t pn on having them fight,” I said, bringing the conversation back to the important topic. “Instead… I will kill the Man-God myself, preferably with your help. So… what needs to be done?”

  There was a moment of silence where I could feel the surprise in the room, both from the Dragon God and my brother.

  Orsted simply shook his head. “It is not so simple. If so, I would have already killed him.”

  “Is this about the sacred treasures of the dragonfolk?” I asked, causing Orsted to widen his eyes in shock.

  “You… how do you know of that?” he asked.

  Reaching into my bag, I then brought out Oldeus’ diary, flipping to one of the marked pages that detailed his discovery of how to reach the Man-God before passing it to the man.

  Reading through it, Orsted calmed his suspicion, instead having it be repced by confusion as he finished.

  “What terrible handwriting…” he said, causing Rudy to hang his head. “Either way… what exactly is this?”

  “A future Rudeus’ diary,” I said, massaging my temples. “It’s… a lot to expin. You should get the point if you read that, though.”

  “I see… I will do so ter,” he said, closing the diary as he then looked back at me. “But as for reaching the Man-God… it is impossible for you.”

  That was a bit disappointing to hear.

  “Do you not know where these treasures are?” I asked. “Or is it something to do with the activation sequence.”

  “No, I know the activation spell and where all the sacred treasures are. I can even gather four of them within a year if I so wished. The problem… is with the final one,” he said. “That one is held by Lapce.”

  I tilted my head in confusion.

  “The… Demon God Lapce? What does he have to do with this?” I asked.

  “The final treasure is located with Lapce’s true body, and can only be taken by killing him,” he expined.

  Okay, I was a bit confused now.

  “Isn’t he already dead? That’s the legend, right?” I asked.

  “No, Lapce was never killed. Instead, he was sealed,” Orsted expined. “While the seal that holds his body and the sacred treasure will dissipate after his reincarnation’s death, that will not be in another eighty years at the earliest. Thus, as you cannot obtain the final treasure, it is impossible for you to reach the Man-God in your human lifespan.”

  Reincarnation?

  And Lapce being sealed…

  I think I had heard of that before, though I don’t exactly remember where from.

  “Reincarnation… is that like what Kishirika does?” I asked.

  “The Great Empress? No, that is a trait unique to her,” Orsted said. “As for Lapce, before being sealed, he cast a unique spell that allows him to reincarnate. Since he has already done so, he will not be able to do it again, lest his soul shatter, but that doesn’t really matter here.”

  So Lapce was on his st life, so to say.

  That was good… but I still couldn’t accept not reaching the Man-God in my lifetime, especially now that we were officially enemies.

  “Then… can we do something to hasten his reincarnation?” I asked.

  “It is impossible,” Orsted said, shaking his head. “I have tried many times, but to no effect. Even then, in the future, only I can kill him with some help, which I assume will be your children or grandchildren.”

  What?

  He needs help?

  “But… aren’t you stronger than Lapce?” I asked.

  “I am,” Orsted nodded. “But I cannot use my full power against Lapce. You see, due to the technique that allows me to read the lines of destiny, I am also separated from the world. Due to this, I am hidden from the Man-God’s vision. An effect which the bracelet I gave you and the spell I cast replicates.”

  “Right… but how does that make you unable to use your full power?” I asked.

  “…Since I am hidden from the world, I am also unable to regenerate mana nearly as fast,” he answered. “Thus, if I use too much mana in the fight against Lapce, I am fated to lose against the Man-God in the final battle.”

  Oh.

  That… expined something I had been wondering for a while now.

  On our first meeting… Orsted was definitely aiming to kill, and he absolutely had the ability to.

  Even after meeting and sparring with the Water God and Sword God, I was confident that Orsted was the strongest fighter around, as well as the most skilled.

  So… why didn’t he use any ranged touki techniques?

  But now it made sense, if he was unable to regenerate mana, or at least regenerate it slowly.

  Wait… mana? And not touki?

  Weren’t they the same thing?

  I know touki was a bit different, since it wasn’t really stored and was rather taken in via willpower, but if he specified mana, then that wouldn’t expin why he didn’t use any ranged techniques.

  Okay… maybe it didn’t expin as much as I thought.

  I would have to ask that ter.

  “Either way, even though Lapce is weaker after his reincarnation, especially if I know where he is born as a child, the troublesome thing about him is his mix of magical prowess and ability to gain powerful allies,” Orsted said. “But again… this is all in the future.”

  The future… I didn’t like it.

  I hated this ‘fate’ nonsense he kept talking about, and I didn’t want to leave anything to my future kids and grandkids.

  This wasn’t their fight, this was mine.

  And I didn’t want my family harmed while we waited for that fated day of reincarnation to come.

  Plus, even if my decedents ended up not fighting directly, like Orsted assumed, if Lapce started another great war, they could end up getting caught up in it.

  And that wasn’t even mentioning the possibility of discrimination against demons increasing due to it, which would cause problems for Roxy and Aria.

  …Wait a second.

  “So Lapce… his true body, that is… is he dead?” I asked.

  “No,” Orsted answered. “His true body will only die once the reincarnation magic is completed and his soul is transferred.”

  Okay… okay now we were getting somewhere.

  “Then… if he isn’t dead… would killing him stop the reincarnation magic from completing?” I asked.

  “As far as I know, it should, as the soul would be purged before transferring… but what are you getting at, Leon Greyrat?” he asked, confusion ced into his tone.

  So there was that possibility…

  “Then how about we break the seal and defeat him here and now?” I asked.

  I finally remembered where I heard about Lapce’s seal before.

  Arumanfi… Perugius’ familiar that attacked on the day of the Dispcement Incident.

  He attacked because Perugius, one of the heroes that fought Lapce, was worried about the seal being broken.

  So for him to be worried… then there was definitely a possibility.

  “It’s impossible,” Orsted said.

  Or maybe not…

  “While Lapce would still be weakened from the effects of his st battle and casting the magic, he would still be stronger than his reincarnation, meaning that it would require too much mana for me to fight,” he said. “And even then, it is impossible to remove the seal, even for me without my restrictions. The only one with enough mana to remove that barrier is Lapce himself.”

  Ah… so there was that too.

  Wait.

  Enough mana?

  My eyes drifted over to Rudy, and activating my Demon eye, I winced at the overwhelming brightness that came from my brother’s ridiculous amount of mana.

  I wasn’t sure about Lapce, as I had never met him… but even after all my years, I had not seen anyone like it, including Orsted here.

  “As for the fighting, I can help. And for removing the seal… could Rudy do it?” I asked.

  Orsted narrowed his eyes at Rudy.

  “Hmm… demonstrate your strongest attack,” he said as he stood up. “I don’t care what spell, simply pour all your mana into it. And make it small if possible.”

  Sharing a gnce with me, I motioned Rudy to follow his words as he stood up, gripping his staff as he began to form a conical projectile of earth.

  Adding spin and heat to it, I watched as more and more mana got pumped into the attack, as Orsted watched on with interest.

  Uhh… wasn’t this quite bad?

  I know Orsted was strong, but even he needed to dodge my st desperate attack, so what would he do here?

  “Orsted… it’s ready,” Rudy said.

  “Fire it,” he said, raising his hand. “Dragon Gate.”

  A circur gate then appeared in front of him, the inside shimmering like a mirror as Rudy released his spell, destroying the sound barrier with a crash and instantly impacting the summoned gate.

  What… what in the world was that magic?

  I can only guess it was something unique to dragons, like that one he cast on the two of us before we departed yesterday.

  After a few moments, Rudy’s spell was finally sucked into the gate, which had cracks forming on the edges of it as Orsted looked at Rudy with interest.

  “Tell me, Rudeus, are you able to do that again?” he asked.

  “I… think so. Maybe two more times?” he said. “I have never really used all my magic since I was ten or so…”

  “I see…” Orsted said, waving his hand as his spell went away. “Then perhaps it is possible. You definitely have as much mana as Lapce. I suppose you have the Lapce factor to thank for such capacity.”

  Overcoming my shock at the exchange of magic, I quickly pointed out something he said.

  “Orsted… what is a ‘Lapce factor’?” I asked.

  “It is an effect of Lapce’s reincarnation magic,” he expined. “Upon casting the spell, it released his ‘aspects’ into the world that would be taken on by newborns. These aspects can be magical prowess, green hair, or even an enhanced mana pool. Either way, once enough time has passed since casting the magic, and a child is born with enough aspects, he will be reincarnated in that child’s body.”

  Huh… interesting.

  But green hair… then…

  “Is Sylphy one of these people?” I asked.

  “Sylphiette does possess a Lapce factor, yes,” Orsted replied, nodding his head.

  Well, that finally expins why she had bright mana like Rudy, and why she was so skilled at magic, even as a child.

  But to think one of my grandchildren or their kids could be reincarnated as the Demon God… I guess this was another reason to kill Lapce here and now.

  But…

  “Sorry, Orsted, but… how do you know this?” Rudeus asked. “Lapce was sealed four hundred years ago, and I doubt you knew him personally… so how?”

  Orsted waited a few moments before replying.

  “The technique Lapce used is one of my kin, as he was once known as the Demonic Dragon King Lapce,” he expined. “According to the texts left by him that I have read, he was a member of the Five Dragon Generals of the First Dragon God. After fighting the Fighting God, he was split into the Technique God and the Demon God Lapce. Splitting his soul is what caused him to hate the human race, which led to the subsequent war.”

  Well… from that little history lesson, it seemed that Orsted was pretty knowledgeable about all this stuff.

  I could only assume the due to his race, he had quite the long lifespan.

  “I see… So that ‘Lapce factor’ expins why I was able to have so much mana,” Rudy said, looking down at his hands. “But still… does this mean it is possible?”

  Orsted shook his head. “While you indeed have enough mana to remove the barrier, that only solves one issue,” he said, looking at me. “You are still too weak to defeat Lapce.”

  My eyebrow twitched.

  “Then train me,” I said. “Train me, and let me gather some allies to fight him now, and not leaving it to my children in the future.”

  Orsted leaned back into his chair, cupping his chin in thought as he seemingly contempted my request.

  I needed to press the advantage here.

  “Orsted… you are trying to win against the Man-God, yes?” I asked, to which he nodded. “Then why are you so set on following your destiny-defined pns? Isn’t that the same trick the Man-God uses? You should aim to change things and stop being an outside observer.”

  “Being able to read destiny is my only advantage,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

  “Are you an idiot?” I asked, instantly freezing.

  Shit… I didn’t mean to say that out loud.

  Let’s move on quickly.

  “You’re strong. The strongest being I know,” I said. “And you have me and my brother, along with any other allies we gain… that is your advantage.”

  Orsted looked at me in silence once again, the mix of his curse and his narrowed eyes making me feel as if he was directing a hate-filled gre my way.

  “Perhaps… but if you are to become my ally, you should do so without any doubt,” he said. “So if there are any questions you may have, ask them.”

  Did… did he just move the conversation from my request?

  “Well… why are you so hated and feared?” Rudy asked. “And… why don’t I feel that way?”

  And Rudy went along with it…

  “I bear the curse to be hated and feared by every being in this world, which all the dragonfolk possess,” Orsted said. “And as for why you aren’t affected… there are some who are immune, such as Nanahoshi. There are also others that are strong-willed enough to not show fear or get lost in hatred.”

  He then looked over to me, lightly nodding his head. “You were always unique in that way, which is why I agreed to this alliance. Though it usually ended in us fighting, as you were still an apostle.”

  Huh?

  I was always unique… why did he sound so familiar with me?

  “Like Nanahoshi… I see. Then… why are you fighting the Man-God?” Rudy asked.

  “Hmm… you could say it is revenge, as that being caused the death of my father,” Orsted said. “It is also my purpose in life, just like all Dragon Gods before me. It is the reason I was reincarnated into the future.”

  Uhh… what?

  “Reincarnated into the future… why would that happen?” I asked.

  “To defeat the Man-God,” he said, not offering any more expnation. “Either way, that has been my purpose for my many years in this world. It is my bound duty to defeat the Man-God, even without the hatred I harbour.”

  “I… see…” I said.

  Well, at least I didn’t have to worry about not being on the same page.

  “Well… that sure is something…” Rudy said. “And one st thing… the Man-God said that killing him would destroy the world… is that true?”

  Orsted frowned.

  “I would suggest you not take his words or pieces of advice at face value. He is skilful at deception,” Orsted said. “But as for that… I am not sure.”

  Well, that wasn’t great.

  I guess we’ll have to proceed cautiously if that actually was the case.

  Perhaps we could seal him instead, like Lapce?

  Or even if we found a way to stop the Man-God from interfering with the world, that would be enough.

  “Now, is that all?” Orsted asked.

  “Yes… at least for now,” I said.

  “Same here… though I am still worried about being targeted,” he said.

  “I’ll set up a barrier for your house, Rudy,” I said.

  “Alright… but still, I’m worried,” he said.

  Giving him a light pat on the back, I then turned to Orsted.

  “So? You’re the one with the information and you ‘fate reading’. What’s the next step?” I asked.

  Narrowing his eyes at me, Orsted thrummed his fingers against the table again before answering.

  “Your pn to defeat Lapce has merit, but I have no reason to invest in it thus far,” he said. “But… attacking him directly is not the only way to harm the Man-God.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “There are some events and pivotal points where if they go a certain way, it can lessen the Man-God’s power,” he said. “Specifically, getting Ariel Anemoi Asura to the throne of the Asura Kingdom, and forming the Shirone Republic.”

  “I was pnning on getting Ariel to the throne anyway,” I said.

  “And… well… I guess I can help with Shirone,” Rudy said. “Though I’m not sure how to do that…”

  Orsted looked between us. “Then, I will consider the Asura Kingdom a test. If you can instill the second princess on the throne, I will train you and join your idiotic pn against Lapce.”

  Well… there was no need to insult my pn like that.

  “My only piece of advice is to obtain the support of Perugius,” he said, standing up. “But for the moment… I suppose I can show you something to improve in the meantime.”

  Oh?

  Was I getting a lesson?

  “I noticed your skill during our first encounter, and even more so yesterday,” he said. “Your ability to manipute mana and touki are impressive. If experience and techniques aren’t a factor, I can even say it is at the pinnacle of humanity.”

  “I… thank you, but aren’t they the same? Touki and mana, that is,” I said.

  Yes, I had been curious about that since he had been speaking.

  If it was anyone else, I would assume they didn’t know the difference, but Orsted seemed too knowledgeable for that, and he chose his words carefully, so it shouldn’t be a slip of the tongue.

  “That is not entirely true,” Orsted said. “Even the Technique God does not know the truth of it all, but in essence, they are the same energy operating in different spaces, those being on the physical and spiritual pne.”

  …What?

  “The… spiritual pne?” I replied, confused.

  “Yes. That is how such otherwise indescribable things such as souls and reincarnation function,” he said. “Mana and touki… They are separate, but… they are also simir, like pieces of a puzzle.”

  I then watched with my Demon eye as he formed his touki defence over his hand, and… I noticed it.

  It wasn’t just touki, like I had previously thought.

  There was mana there too, overpping and intertwining, filling in any gaps that were there before with the pure mana, seemingly using the same properties that allowed barrier magic to exist.

  Fuck… that was why my defences were always cking… I was missing half of the fucking equation.

  “I assume you understand now,” he said, lowering his hand. “And since we are allies, I suppose I should give you some of my support.”

  He then reached into his coat before pcing a pouch of what seemed to be coins in front of us, and looking into the opening, I saw that they all seemed to be Asuran gold coins.

  “That… are you sure about this, Sir Orsted?” Rudy asked.

  ‘Sir’… he sure changed his tune quickly.

  “This is nothing,” he said. “I will stay around and possibly in this city unless I need to do something, but I will leave the Asura Kingdom to you.”

  “Yeah… I got it,” I said, taking the money.

  This would definitely be helpful for Ariel.

  Money is quite valuable, after all.

  “S-Sir Orsted… we can’t just take this without doing anything,” Rudy said.

  “Why not?” Orsted asked.

  “Just because!” he returned. “Look… my friend, Cliff, just finished a prototype of a magic item that wards off his wife’s curse… perhaps he could build one for you as well? Though he’s probably too busy preparing to be a father at the moment…”

  Orsted narrowed his eyes in confusion yet again.

  “Cliff… Cliff Grimoire? I suppose he is clever, but not to the extent where he could nullify my curse,” Orsted said. “Either way, I think this is good enough for now. I will contact you if anything else happens.”

  And with that, the meeting with the Dragon God came to an end.

  I guess before I could take down the Man-God, quite a few things needed to happen first, the most important being helping Ariel become Queen.

  But that could wait until her graduation, as hopefully Orsted would be enough to deter the Man-God from targeting us in the meantime.

  Now… while I didn’t want to involve anyone else in these affairs, I wasn’t one to simply bear everything myself.

  Now that I had a pn, it was time to tell my wives what was going on… or at least most of it.

  After all, that’s what partners were for, no?