Chapter 179: Settlement ; Omen

"We're going to settle here for a few hours," I proclaim, "Then, we immediately launch an assault on the capital."

Pointing at a location on the map that's set on the table in front of me, I say,

"There will be an attack launched there by our allies, which should divide the enemy's attention."

Yvonne nods her head once before asking,

"How many?"

Knowing that she's asking about the scale of the 'allies' I just mentioned, I nonchalantly reply,

"Three."

Yvonne is a little perturbed by my reply as she has a strange look on her face while she doubtfully says,

"Three hundred or three thousand?"

"Three," I repeat.

Realization seems to hit her as Yvonne says in a worried tone,

"Will this work?"

"Don't worry," I say, "Those three are more than enough to wreak havoc in the capital."

That's only to be expected. One of them is a Code that can use a multitude of powers, with her only weakness being that she has to 'prepare' her power before usage.

The other two are angels that well-versed in the field of warfare. With either of the two most likely being capable of wiping the capital out with one attack.

"Gabriel, how are things on your side?" I mutter.

[Nothing has changed, Father.]

Hm… perhaps, I should visit them.

Raising my head, I say,

"I will go and check on the others."

Then, I immediately begin to focus on the link between Gabriel and me.

It takes me a while, but I'm able to find the general location of where Gabriel is.

So, I waste no time directly teleporting over and using my senses to search for them.

Soon, I locate a relatively small town, which seems to be where Gabriel and the co are.

Letting out a small sigh, I fly over to the town while trying to pinpoint Gabriel's location.

As I land on the ground in the middle of the town, I notice a multitude of stares from all around me.

Right, these townspeople shouldn't know who I am, so I must seem like a dangerous existence to them.

That's what I thought until a man suddenly exclaimed at the top of his lungs,

"The Heavens have blessed us!"

This is soon followed by loud cheering from everyone, as some townsfolk begin to outright sing praises to the benevolent god'.

What the hell is going on here?

"Father!" I hear a loud and cheerful cry before a small body 'crashes' into me from behind and hugs me tightly.

"Hey, Aruru," I say while changing her position so that she is in my arms before asking, "Did you miss me?"

"Yes!" Aruru immediately replies before sinking her face into my chest.

I wrap my arms around her and begin to pat her head while listening to her recount everything that occurred up until now.

A few minutes pass by before I sense to figures approaching us from behind.

Letting go of Aruru, I straighten my posture to face the two beauties.

"Father," Gabriel says in a calm tone before walking over and hugging without any hesitation under the curious eyes of the townsfolk.

The moment she lets go, I get hugged once again by the only one left.

A few seconds later, she lets go and says,

"Come, let's head inside."

---

"This is quite the nice house," I say while looking around the small house that the three girls seem to have been staying in.

"I'm glad that it pleases you," Yuno says with a small smile on her lips.

"Did the townsfolk offer it to you?" I casually ask.

"No," Yuno replies," The previous residents accidentally died."

Hearing the way she phrased it, I squint my eyes and say,

"Accidentally?"

As if she's a kid that got caught for doing something that she isn't supposed to, Yuno covers her mouth as her eyes widen marginally.

"Yuno?" I say in a heavier tone.

Unexpectedly, Aruru is the one that answers me by saying,

"When we were fighting against those that occupied this town, she lost control of her aim and killed a family that was trying to escape the area."

By the time Aruru is done recounting, Yuno has a ruddy hue all over her face as she hides her face using her hands.

I let out a relieved sigh before saying,

"So, that's it? I thought that one of her old habits had returned or something."

Looking at her, I say,

"Also, I'm sure that she's more worried about the fact that missed her target more than anything else."

Seemingly having hit the nail in the head, Yuno's body jolts as she stops covering her face and says in a hurried tone,

"That's because I've been feeling some weird sensation at random times."

"Huh?"

"I also know it's related to you…"

What is she talking about?

"At what times do you feel this sensation?" I inquire out of curiosity.

Yuno then begins to tell me about the intervals in which they seem to happen and when it first happened.

I took a few moments to think of what I was up to around the times she felt the sensation, only to realize that it's exactly whenever I did something 'intimate' with Krul.

What the hell?! She can sense that?!

Please, let it be some kind of property exclusive to Codes instead of it being her instincts...

The thought of Yuno being able to sense every time I'm being intimate with another girl is disturbing for various reasons.

To ease the burden on my mind, I decide to set the matter aside and not think of it too much for now.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, I say,

"Gabriel, follow me."

Then, I proceed to create a portal directly linked to my room in Albion's castle and walk through to the other side.

Once we're on the other side, Gabriel seems to have misinterpreted my intentions as she directly embraces.

Naturally, I don't mind it at all as I begin to hug her back while enjoying the pleasant sensation against my chest.

After a few minutes, Gabriel breaks the hug and steps back a little while looking at me with eyes full of affection.

Seeing her like this, I swiftly move closer to her and lock my lips with hers.

Surprised, Gabriel is unsure of how to react in the beginning before she gradually wraps her arms around my back and returns the kiss.

A while passes before we finally stop kissing and create some distance between us.

I take this moment to observe Gabriel's face, only to be met with the fascinating sight of an alluring smile on her soft lips.

Beaming her a smile, I reach my arm out to grab her hand before slowly walking toward the bed and while pulling her along.

Then, I take a seat on the bed, while Gabriel sits right beside me.

Aware that she's still under the misconception of me having brought her here for this, I say in a casual tone,

"We're going to be launching the attack on the capital in a few hours. I can't give the enemy any more time to prepare, so I'll end this in one final attack."

Gabriel presses her head against my shoulder and closes her eyes, waiting for me to continue saying what I have in mind.

"There is a high chance that whoever it is that's waiting for us is someone that wields great power. A power that's comparable to mine in a sense."

Time passes, with none of us uttering a single word, until Gabriel finally opens her mouth and says,

"I knew that something like this would happen."

Surprised by her statements, I inquire,

"What do you mean by that?"

As a response to my question, she explains,

"The way the humans have been acting, as well as everything that we came across on our way here. It all suggested that there was something abnormal going on.

"Usually, that would be associated with the acts of a god, however, the way this world works is different compared to the one we hail from. I realized this when the people were easily convinced of Aruru's claims regarding us having appeared in lieu of Father."

"Isn't that normal?" I ask, confused. In fact, I would be surprised if they didn't believe her after seeing the wings and halos as well as the powers the girls possess.

"No…" Gabriel says, seemingly doubtful of her words, "It's just that it felt different compared to what I'm used to."

Different, huh? I wonder in what sense did she find it to be different.

Gabriel is right. This world is abnormal when compared to the Rift. There are a lot of things that I'm struggling to make the head and tails of.

The most confusing part of it is - time period.

Simply put, there are objects in this world that shouldn't exist at the time that we're in. Why is that? Did humans invent them earlier due to some change in the past compared to the Rift?

Or, is there some other world that's comparable to the Rift, through which humans managed to get here and share their 'futuristic' knowledge?

Either way, this world seems to have an unusual past that I've yet to discover.

That's not the end of it, as I have a strong feeling that it's related to me in some way...