A Cheap, OP Brawler - Chapter 154

Once Nyra and Obina’s makeout session was done and things calmed down, the latter used her ethereal magic to bring up the biggest bean bag chair I’ve ever seen. It was better to call it a bean bag couch as it was big enough to fit me and all my girls on it. There were some magical properties in this out-of-place furniture that somehow adjusted itself to let all of us sit on it comfortably, no matter our positions. By my suggestion, we ended up with Nyra and Ume sitting on both my sides while Ren sat between my legs. This was so I could pet Ren to calm her down if she was still riled up from earlier, and honestly, I kind of needed the comfort, as well.

Also, Obina took the liberty to fix up Nyra’s old clothes that became worn out and too small for her. The dark violet tunic she wore now stretched past her generous ċhėst, still exposing the navel with no sleeves. Her matching skirt only went far enough down the upper thɨġhs to cover her nethers and backseat. She would only need to bend forward slightly enough to leave all that exposed from behind, pantiless, and nothing could cover her ȧss as she sat down. Apparently, Pixies almost never wear shoes, so Nyra’s dark-toned feet were out in the open. From what Nyra told me, she only wears thick leather shoes when working in her smithy back in the day. Makes sense, since you’ll need your feet protected from stepping on shrapnel and any sharp objects falling on them.

After we got comfortable in our seats, with Obina sitting directly across from us in her own bean bag chair, we went into the first question in everyone’s minds: Nyra’s new appearance.

“This is a first for me, but there are times when our powers as Immortals can do strange things that are not to our knowledge,” Obina explained while resting a hand on her large bosom, “To explain what happened to Nyra, let’s start with what we know. We’re all aware that she was cursed, and she still is as she sits with us. That curse being sealed into the tanto she last created as a blacksmith.”

We all nodded in understanding, following along.

“That curse forbids her from leaving the tanto, basically making her become the very weapon she created,” Obina continued, “There are other effects to the curse, but this one is important. While Nyra’s body was fused with the tanto, her soul was also corrupted by the curse, allowing her to use skills and magic to an extent, both old and new ones that she learned while she was trapped. You’ve all witnessed her new tricks at least once. Drawing attention from monsters, possessing sentients, dramatically decreasing their LUCK stat when holding her, examining memories of whoever comes in contact, and sharing them with others. All of that was done while Nyra was in the tanto. Can you still do that now in your current state?”

“Huh, I don’t know, let me try,” Nyra said before turning to me and Ren, placing her hands on our heads. She closed her eyes and focused.

Then, suddenly, I saw a group of men in white approaching me in a dark cave, while I was looking down from above. Their attire was eerily familiar as I knew what organization they ȧssociated with all too well. The man who was the leader spoke of some nonsense about helping him fight evil before he reached up and grabbed me. This all happened in a vision that flashed before my eyes.

“… I saw the leader of the White Rapture who raided Dondegarm, trying to preach to me about justice and crap before reaching up to grab me,” I said.

“I saw the same thing,” Ren added.

“I figured I should show something that either of you haven’t seen or heard from me yet, so I went with that memory from before Jinma and I first met,” Nyra explained, “Though, I will say I’ve never mastered [Psyche Magic] to this extent before I was cursed. After that, I just played around with it while I didn’t have much else to do.”

“And that’s the key here,” Obina said, “Though Nyra was sealed, she still managed to train whatever skills and magic she could with her mind. During the times she possessed and killed many people, she has also grown stronger, especially with the EXP multiplier in the tanto. All that EXP accumulated in Nyra’s soul, waiting to be transferred to original body properly. It wasn’t until Jinma came along and brought her here that the monument provided an opportunity for her to get that body back, receiving all the EXP she accumulated.”

“Even if it was the monument that helped Nyra get this body, only acknowledged companions of a Champion can come here, right?” I asked, “I never got any notice that told me Nyra was one. If anything, I only formed a Weapon’s Bond with her when she was still a … tanto.”

“You getting the picture now, Jinma?” Obina asked, “Nyra may not be your ‘companion’, but she’s connected to you, body and soul, through the Weapon’s Bond. With that bond, she’s inherited your benefits as a Champion; thus, why she came here with you. Since the curse prevented her soul from escaping the tanto, though, the monument’s ethereal powers did some extra work and transformed the weapon into the form of her manifested soul. If she came here like the rest of you, she wouldn’t arrive so exhausted and starving for food. Those of you whose souls are only transported here don’t need to eat. What we have here is Nyra’s real body after years of accumulated EXP being put into it, allowing her to evolve into what’s called an Arch Pixie.”

“Whooooa, I really am like the queen from my hometown now. SCORE!” Nyra exclaimed while pumping a fist.

{Huh, so some races of the Demon-Kin can apparently evolve? Well, there are Arch Imps like Winny and her brother, but I kind of thought they were born that way? I guess that’s not the case for all of them? What other races are like that?}

“This all may be conjecture, though, as I only took what circumstantial evidence was found and applied it to what I know. The Pixie who sealed Nyra away did a hell of a job crafting the curse to make this possible,” Obina finished with a shrug.

Even if it was a guess, it did explain why I don’t have the tanto on me right now. Still, if the ethereal power that made this possible is something that Obina, an Immortal, is unaware of, then the other Immortals are in a similar position. I guess they aren’t as omnipotent as I thought they’d be.

“I have a few questions,” Nyra said with a hand up.

“Go ahead, Nyra,” Obina permitted.

“You said I’m still cursed, right? Does that mean I’ll turn back into a tanto once I get back down from here?”

Obina nodded solemnly, “Honestly, I was worried the curse would turn you as blood-crazy as you were before meeting Jinma, but it seems his influence did more to your soul than I anticipated.”

“Is it also because of Jinma that I have this eye color? I forgot most of my original appearance, but I’m pretty sure I used to have light blue eyes instead of red,” Nyra said as she pointed to said eyes, being as vibrant red as blood.

“Hmm … that might be the case. I imagine Jinma’s race as a D-Human played a part in your changed eye color. I initially thought that was a side-effect from the curse, but considering your connection to him now …” Obina trailed off before clapping her hands in remembrance, “Right, you came here to speak to me about something important, right, Jinma? Is there anything else you need to know, Nyra?”

Nyra waved her hand dismissively, “Nah, I think I got most of what I want answered. Jinma can have the floor.”

I nodded to Nyra in thanks before turning to the Goddess of Lust, “Obina, I’m not sure how much you know of my situation already, but I could really use some help.”

Obina started counting with her fingers, “What you should do with Sue after her act of betrayal and confirming your lineage as a D-Human, yes? I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you about the latter in person for some time, hence why I urged you to come see me here in person, but I’ll need to speak with you and Nyra alone on both of them.”

“Why’s that?” Ren asked with a tilted head.

“It involves highly confidential information that I’m only allowed to release to Jinma as a Champion,” Obina explained, “And since Nyra’s bonded to him body and soul, as well as being able to look into his memories, I need to bring her along, too.”

“… Very well, will Ren and I need to remain here or move to another room?” Ume asked.

Obina then snapped her fingers before an ethereal glow emanated from the door she used earlier to get Nyra’s food, “You may use that door on your way out. There will be an ȧssistant who can fetch you any refreshments you may like while you wait.”

“Didn’t you say we don’t get hungry while we’re here?” Ume asked.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy food, does it?” Obina argued, “As long as you’re in this realm, you can have as much as you like and never feel full.”

Ume and Ren then looked towards me with concern on their faces.

“It’s okay, you two. We’ll call you when we’re ready,” I ȧssured them.

“Alright, well, try to take it easy, then,” Ume urged before giving me a quick kiss and standing up from the bean bag couch, “Let’s go, Ren, I can tell you a little more of my background as a Dragon while we wait.”

“Yes, Lady Umeiyon,” Ren responded as she got up before turning around and giving me a kiss, too, “Take care of yourself, Master, Nyra.”

“‘Scuse me while I get a little more comfortable,” Nyra said before standing up and taking Ren’s space between my legs, teasing my crotch with her ȧss as she sat down, her wings fluttering. The bean bag couch adjusted itself enough so I could comfortably see Obina over the Arch Pixie’s head.

“Ahh, much better. You can fondle my tɨts if it helps you relax, Jinma,” Nyra offered.

“You just want to feel good, too, don’t you?” I asked teasingly.

“Your point being?” Nyra countered while looking back over her shoulder, watching me expectantly.

I looked over to Obina, “Are you even okay with this? We’re kind of your guests, after all, I don’t want to be rude.”

“Sweetie, you’re talking to the Goddess of Lust. What do you think I’m okay with while you’re in my presence?” she asked with a raised brow.

{Fair point.}

With that, I decided to go all in by reaching around and flipping Nyra’s top up, exposing her brėȧsts to the Goddess of Lust in front of us, before copping a feel with both my hands. I relished the soft, almost springy resistance of her mounds as I squeezed, guessing their new size to be D cups, at the least.

“Mmh, I love having fondable tɨts now,” Nyra mȯȧnėd as she arched her back, her wings fluttering again in delight as she relaxed.

I’ll admit that this may not be appropriate when we’re about to dive into a serious topic. Considering how much Nyra and I have bonded since we became partners, though, when we get her curse sorted out back on Earth, I have a feeling this will be a routine whenever we talk about practically anything between us. If both of us are comfortable like this while we’re talking, why bother fretting over anything else?

“Now, I must confirm with you one last time before we start talking, Jinma Kotori,” Obina said while slightly furrowing her brows in seriousness, “Part of what I’ll be discussing with you, your lineage, is of utmost importance to you, not as a Champion, but as your own person. You may honestly be better off not knowing this fact about yourself as you could live your new life on Raiza as happily, if not more so than you would after learning it. I’ll even need you to swear an oath of secrecy to me, from Champion to their representing Immortal, that you won’t speak of what you’ll learn here to almost anyone under the set of conditions that my superior put down. Nyra must also follow this oath, being connected to you through the Weapon’s Bond until you breathe your last breath. This information is just that big of a deal, and the conditions are non-negotiable. Knowing all that, do you still wish to learn what you need to know? Your lineage, Sue’s secret, and what you should do with that knowledge moving forward?”

I honestly didn’t think it was that big of a deal before I came here. I was almost sure Obina would have to turn me down on information that I want to know due to certain rules, but considering what she said about wanting to speak to me about my D-Human race, she may have jumped through quite a few hoops to set up this arrangement for me. There may be a lot of complicated rules the Immortals set a long time ago to avoid controversy, and Obina’s basically bending a lot of them to work in my favor.

The gravity of the situation right now may have gotten a lot heavier than I realized, but it made my final decision all the firmer.

“My lineage, Sue, The Blink, why the Demon King has her eyes on me, I just have this feeling that they’re all connected somehow,” I answered while looking down in thought, “Could I just drop everything that I was doing, escape the Demon-Kin’s Territory with my party and live the rest of my life avoiding them all? Maybe, but I think they’ll all catch up to me one way or another. Not only do I think it’s better that I learn all that I can now, but I don’t want to move around aimlessly in the dark anymore, flailing my arms and hitting whatever seems like a threat to me without giving it a good look. Even if my bloodline has no relation to who I am now as a person, maybe learning about it can actually give me a direction to where I want to go. I’m tired of fooling myself knowing where I’m going when I’m totally blind.”

I looked back to my goddess straight in the eyes with unwavering conviction, “I want to see what’s straight ahead with my own eyes, having nothing to obstruct my vision, so please, Obina … give me a light that will show me a path.”

For a moment, Obina showed shock in her eyes. I wondered if she was surprised of me being so resolute, but maybe that wasn’t entirely the case.

After a pause, Obina gave a smile, but I couldn’t help but feel it looked a little lonely. “Very well, then let’s begin by having you and Nyra signing the oath,” she said before snapping her fingers, conjuring an unfurled parchment that emanated an ethereal glow along with the letters inscribed in it, and two quill pens, “By signing on the dotted lines below, you both agree to not disclose any information you’ll learn from this exchange to anyone outside of this realm. The person you know as Sue is the only exception, but you must wait exactly seven days from the time you return to Raiza before you may question her on anything you’ve learned here today. Your Familiars, Kenaka and Mametama, will also be informed of this oath automatically and will follow the conditions while they’re under their pact with you. Should any of you fail to follow through with these terms, you all will automatically forfeit your lives to us Immortals to do with at our disposal. This oath will become null and void when Sue chooses to disclose the truth to any of your companions.”

“… Uh, excuse me? Why does this oath seem to fall into Sue’s favor?” I asked, slightly annoyed.

“These are the conditions set by an Immortal of a higher power than me, the God of The World, Palonitus, after I came to him for his permission,” Obina answered, “He allowed me to release only a limited amount of information that he, himself, had arranged for this exchange. I’ll be frank that I’m not fond of this arrangement, either, but if I don’t do as he says, he’ll serve my ȧss on a platter a hundredfold.”

“An Immortal more powerful than Goddess Obina?” Nyra asked in shock.

“… And how do I know that this senior of yours didn’t set up bullshit for me to fall for?” I asked.

If you had worked in the industry I was in back home, you’d be surprised how underhanded the people setting up a deal can be, even so much as going back on their word. God or not, Obina’s superior may not be any different.

“I’ve confirmed the contents myself,” Obina answered, “Some of it is censored to avoid giving too much away, but that’s as far as he had altered it. Everything else falls into what I’ve seen happening to you in real time.”

I didn’t feel my [Intuition] reacting to any lies, but then again, Obina’s a Goddess. She could very well use her ethereal powers to block all my skills and abilities from activating. Still, if she’s known me for who knows how long before I died on Earth, what would she gain from losing my trust now?

At a loss, I turned to the Arch Pixie whose tɨts I’m currently fondling from behind. Honestly, the situation made me forget I was even doing it. “What do you think, Nyra?” I asked her.

“Well, I can totally understand why you’re cautious about this, and this is the first I’ve even heard of an Immortal more powerful than Goddess Obina,” Nyra said, “Though, if what she said is true and she can explain what happened when Sue altered my memories last night, I’d like to know, even if it’s a little bit. True or false, it’s better than not knowing anything, but I’ll sign the oath if you will.”

I sighed. I really didn’t like how this oath/contract seems to favor Sue, and if it’s Obina’s superior, Palonitus, who set this up, then there must be something bigger going on right now that I’m unaware of. Somehow, I have a feeling I’ll get pulled into it, whether I want to or not. Like Nyra said, even if it’s a lie, it’s better that I’m equipped with some knowledge for what’s ahead. The best I can do out of this is take what I can get with a grain of salt.

Resolved with my decision, I signed one of the dotted lines in Japanese before Nyra did the same in Padimonian characters. Immediately after that, the parchment rolled into a scroll, turned into light, and split into two before they sunk into our ċhėsts. A white crest in the shape of a heart then appeared on the back of our dominant hands, which Obina explained that it served as a sign of us currently under the oath’s effects. Only the two of us can see them, and they will disappear once the oath becomes null and void.

“Okay, and with that finally out of the way, let’s get right to business, starting with your lineage,” Obina said, which brought mine and Nyra’s full attention. What she said next was something I half-expected, with additional information that I didn’t anticipate.

“Jinma Kotori, you are one of the last direct descendants of Sango Kurokichi, also known as the ‘Demon of Calamity’, the founder and first chairman of the Kurokichi Clan, one of the longest running, underground yakuzas that exist in Japan. He is the very reason why you were born as a D-Human with the [Devil Eyes] … and the curse that came with them.”