Chapter 369 - Boons & Banes

SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWRK!

The horrible, piercing sound echoed in the place as the monster threw back its head and screamed. By this time, Daizo's consciousness had completely disappeared, his body completely overtaken by the harpy's bloodlust.

"Run and don't look back!"Kuro yelled at the women as they ran towards the backyard.

As soon as they disappeared behind the house, Kuro faced the still transforming harpy and he swallowed hard. He'd seen harpies before of course, but he had never experienced pitting against it as the harpy he knew was Aello, Young Master Gin's pet.  Nonetheless, he knew that he was way out of his league in this fight. He just had to find a way to buy time until reinforcements arrived.  

Kuro knew that the Young Master Aoi was in a call with the Young Master Gin earlier right after hell broke loose inside the house. The unconscious people that the younger Kazehaya knocked out suddenly got up like zombies and they were pretty aggressive in their attacks. Because they were very cautious to not kill them, it was difficult for them to deal with them.

But this sinister foe arrived unexpectedly and he knew things would be a lot more complicated and dangerous. At least, they didn't have to take it easy with the harpy as they were ordered to fight to the death with it. Only the people with the shadow lurkers could be saved anyway.

At this very moment, the harpy raised its claw and brought it down with great force. Kuro watched in slow motion as he tried to calculate his chances. He could move and evade it easily, but he couldn't really go farther as the barrier he placed would be gone.

WHOOSH

The claw descended on him and Kuro quickly dodged to the side, bȧrėly missing being crushed.

SLAM!

The harpy hadn't gotten used to the body yet and so it toppled over, crushing Yuuka's car underneath.

"Kuro!" Kazehaya Aoi called out as he swiftly flew towards him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Young Master," he answered just as Ozomene stood up again.

"Geez, I'll try and lead it far." Aoi stood up as well and using his power, launched wind that was fine as blades, slicing their way to the monster.

Ozomene got hit on the arm, and she writhed in pain.

Enraged, her blood-red eyes glared murder at Aoi. Seeing as he had her attention, the Young Master quickly led the monster away. Only Kuro was the one maintaining the barrier, and it would be bad if he got hurt. People outside would not only see them, but the possibility of civilians getting caught up was high.

However, just as Ozomene took a step forward to chase after Aoi, her body trembled, and to their horror, the harpy split in two.

"What the…"

The harpy's size decreased. It shrank from twelve feet to eight feet, only two feet taller than Kuro. Still, it's still a harpy, and it's insanely strong.

"Kuro, don't die!"  Aoi told him as he flew away, leading the other harpy away from him.

On the other hand, the light died in Kuro's eyes; his expression bleak.

Er… Thanks a lot, Young Master…

Still, there was nothing he could do. Even if Kazehaya Aoi was stronger than him, the Young Master was still not powerful enough to deal with more than one harpy. As for Shiro and Aka, he was sure his brothers were busy. He could their energy nearby, and so it meant that the two had activated the cage and couldn't move, else the people infected with the shadow lurkers would come out.

"Er… Be gentle," he told the harpy who just screamed at his face, making his black hair blow backwards. "I guess that's a no…"

Perun walked the length of the wharf in the man-made lake of the estate. It was the farthest place from the house where he didn't want to go back at the moment. He just had a conversation with his brother and was currently at war with himself.

Kazehaya Sora.

It seemed when he decided to have the name, his selfish nature wanted to take root in this world as well. First, his beloved child was here. Even if he had found her and had cleared the huge misunderstanding between them, he knew that Alinea would choose to stay in this world with Kresnik. Even his brother, Stribog looked as if he would stay in this world for a while as well.

This was why he thought that it was a good idea to have a fixed identity for when he came here to visit.

Also…

An image of the curious woman with huge brown eyes and ċhėstnut hair looking down on him flashed in his mind and he let out a sigh of frustration.

Mister, are you alright?

Seriously, even after thousands of years – even if after being punished by heaven by erasing her past, Shitara was still the same.

Yes, the girl, Maki Yuuka was Shitara, his beloved wife.

As the King of Heaven, he was granted additional powers by Rod, the original god, the creator of everything that existed including deities. Perun was born strong, but due to his additional powers, his divine powers amplified by more than a hundredfold. It was why his strength was miles away from his brother and other deities. Due to this power, he was able to easily do what other deities couldn't do so easily, like identifying souls, including the blank ones.  

The third reason why he wanted to have an identity in this world was because of his wife whom he had no plan on revealing who she was. At least, not for now.

"It's why I was thinking, brother, you are the best candidate!" Stribog had said.

As if it was that easy.

Until he's able to do what he promised her, Perun didn't want to face her. Also, even if everything's been settled he would still give his wife the option to forget everything and live a normal life as a human just as she should have a long, long time ago back in Ged.

As soon as he thought about this, an urgent shot of energy sliced through the sky like a rocket. Perun turned to its direction and narrowed his eyes.

It was Stribog's energy – and it's the type that they used to tell each other that there was danger.

Perun pressed his lips together as tumultuous clouds built up above him. Light appeared beneath his feet, and soon he was soaring up in the sky, riding the storm clouds. He followed Stribog's direction at great speed as his heart beat fast.

His daughter was with both Kresnik and Ivan. This meant that the one in danger that Perun ought to know about was Yuuka.