" Oh hey guys, you all are just in time, " Roxanne greeted Vali and his team cheerfully.
But Vali and the others ignored her as their eyes were on the trembling Issei, who is still in his dragon form. The poor guy was in so much pain that Roxanne didn't even need a chain to keep him in place.
"What the hell did you do to him? " Vali asked after some hesitation. He didn't know why, but he was getting a very ominous feeling seeing Issei's state.
"Oh, it was nothing really; I just temporarily deprived him of his concept of dominance," Roxanne said, making a shiver go down Vali's and even Albion's spines.
As dragon emperors, they knew exactly how important the bond between the dragon emperors and their concepts was. This is especially so when the said dragon emperor is entering Juggernaut Drive.
There is a reason why the sacred gears of the Heavenly Dragons were called the most powerful under the True Longinus. This is because these two sacred gears have the ability to let the wielder interact with the concept of the Heavenly Dragons, who were one step away from being Dragon Gods.
The Juggernaut Drive essentially allowed the wielder to wield the full power of their concept the heavenly dragon once had. And as they say, there is no free lunch in this world. So the price the wielder had to pay for such power was their life force and a curse that would make the wielder feel all the resentment of the past wielders.
" You are a devil, " Vali muttered with fear written all over his face. As far as he knows, when in Juggernaut Drive, the host would be able to wear their concepts into their bodies. So her act of depriving the concept is no different from skinning Issei alive.
"Well, duh, of course, I'm a devil. In fact, I'm the daughter of the devil himself, " Roxanne said exasperatedly. Wasn't this already common sense now?
Vali was at a loss for words. Although the explanation is very reasonable, he wasn't talking about the race. But Vali knew better than to argue with an unreasonable person like her.
Seeing Vali like this Bikou almost laughed out loud. It wasn't every day you saw the cocky Vali being speechless. But remembering how scary the person in front of him was, Bikou held his laugh.
Ignoring the scared Vali Roxanne turned her attention towards the rest of Team Vali. "Hello there, my name is Roxanne Morningstar, Vali's aunt. "
Vali wanted to correct her that she was actually his grandmother, but seeing the sweet smile Roxanne threw at him, he shut up immediately.
Never correct a woman when she mentions her age, even if the said woman is way older than she said. This is the first survival rule all men must learn if they want to live in one place. This is especially so if the said woman is way more powerful than you.
"Hello, my name is Bikou the Monkey King, " Bikou said as he introduced himself quickly. He was very tense as he felt a very dangerous feeling just a moment ago.
" Hmm, how is your grandpa these days? Is he still traveling with Yu Long to get away from that idiot Indra? Roxanne asked with a smile.
"Hehe. " Bikou had an awkward smile as he nodded in agreement. He didn't think this girl knew his grandpa very well.
Roxanne then turned to the other two. There was Arthur, who was still carrying the unconscious Asia, and Kuroka, who was ignoring them and looking at the faraway distance where Koneko was with the rest of her friends.
Yes, due to her years of experience, Kuroka managed to perfectly master the technique of stalking even from a long distance.
" It's been a while, Arthur. How is your girlfriend doing? " Roxanne asked with a smile. She had met Arthur in the past during her travels. In fact, the reason why Arthur and his girlfriend were able to run away from the Pendragon household is because of her help.
And what's more, Arthur is, in fact, biologically Artoria's and Morgana's half-brother. Which also meant he was Merlin's cousin. Arthur was the son of the main wife, while Artoria and Morgana were children of one of the Mistresses of Uther Pendragon: Arthur's father.
"Yes, it's been a while, Lady Roxanne. And Elaine is doing well, " Arthur said in his refined gentlemanly way.
After that, Roxanne turned to the last member, Kuroka, who was still looking away. Seeing her acting like that, Roxanne couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
" You know Kuroka. I can tell that Koneko is out of your observation range. So you can stop the act. "
Hearing her words, Kuroka stiffened and slowly turned towards Roxanne while keeping her head down. She had the look of someone who had snitched on their best friend and was awaiting their punishment.
Seeing her like this, Roxanne sighed. " You know Miyuki and the others don't blame you for what happened in the past. "
Kuroka's body trembled when she heard that name. It was a name she was very familiar with. Her eyes were overflowing with guilt as she looked at Roxanne.
The past memories began to flow into her mind. The past was where she had nothing but sad memories that still haunt her today.
It was about 10-13 years ago when the incident happened. Devils called it the Nebiros Calamity, but for the Nekomata it was called the Nekomata Massacre, where hundreds of innocent Nekomatas died tragically under the Nebiros family.
Many beings died that day. And it was the same day that Kuroka, the root cause of the incident, met Roxanne, who was traveling through the underworld in search of a teacher to learn Youjutsu and Senjutsu.
As for why she went to the underworld and not Kyoto, well, even she didn't know, as she just had this feeling she would be able to.
Strange yet not unheard. After all, Roxanne is known to be quite whimsical after all. And in this world, the more whimsical one is, the more one can achieve.
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