Telos Karma Meta Gacha

[Hajime POV]

After arriving at the inn, I booked two rooms for three days. The owner had already known Tsubaki. They first met a few days after Tsubaki's exile.

Unable to see a child starving in the streets, he invited her in. Though frequently leaving the inn, she returned when things were getting tough, and he welcomed her with open arms. Whenever she does stay, she offers to do chores to repay his kindness.

After handing her her room key, I told her to tell me if she got hungry, and then I went to my room.

When I enter my room, I fall backward onto the bed before quickly falling asleep.

The following day, I woke up early, feeling refreshed. A lot had happened yesterday, so I needed some rest. I got up, stretched, and changed out of yesterday's clothes.

It's good I didn't use any attacks that caused bleeding during yesterday's fight; otherwise, my clothes would have smelled rancid.

Leaving my room, I pull out some food from my inventory while leaving the inn, heading a few blocks away to the park. On my way over, I spun the gacha.

{ Cursed Gem (Bunnicula) }

I wasn't sure what this was, but the name sounded terrible. Checking the description made me understand why.

{ This gem seems normal at first, but those who look at it will be drawn to it, wanting it for themselves, and willing to use violence. The gem's true power activates when multiple people touch it simultaneously, fusing them into a chimera. To undo the transformation, you shatter the gem, which will eventually reform. This gem will not affect someone unless you want it to. }

The description alone was horrible, so I would ensure that nobody I know is affected to be safe.

Despite its scary description, the item was powerful. If I wasn't careful, it could potentially start a war.

Just imagine throwing it in a room with devils. As beings of sin, they'd likely easily fall prey to it and tear each other apart to have it, only to become a deformed monster for it.

Even if the gem is shattered, the compulsion aspect would still work, even if less than before. I was very curious about how it worked since fusing multiple beings is something only a god can do, and that's at the cost of lots of energy.

Medusa and Athena, for example. When Athena cursed Medusa, it took several decades of divine energy to create a curse that rewrote her being. That was why the devil system upset many pantheons, poaching their people without any cost to the devils. Using the centuries of stored energy in the Agreas crystals, the evil pieces use it to change the race of their users into devils.

They got lucky, finding a giant crystal with so much energy inside. While there were other 'Agreas crystals' out there, the crystals devils had were unique. The primary energy source came from the wards on the island, which served as Lucifer's laboratory.

When Lucifer fell, he warded the island to absorb nearby energy to strengthen himself. Still, most of the energy flowed into the island, granting it a powerful affinity with devils. The crystals are so powerful that they even somewhat replicate Phenex regeneration: energy gets used to make more crystals, strengthening the wards and letting them absorb more energy. It's a powerful cycle.

The crystals might have been more substantial, but for centuries, devils had mined the flying island to half its peak size. These crystals are used to create the peerage sets and help Ajuka's many experiments to strengthen the devil race. However, the crystals grow back slowly, and that rate has slowed down over the centuries of mining.

Leaving the cursed gem alone, I complete my exercise before returning to the hotel and waiting for Tsubaki to wake up.

-----

[Tsubaki POV]

It's been a while since I slept in Yamamoto's inn. The last time was almost a month ago. There were several wealthy people who I purified the houses of, so they had no problem spending a lot of money.

As I left the bed, I thought about Suko and what he had said the previous day.

Did he mean all that?

While I've tried to forget about my family, their words still sting. They believed I was a failure and immediately threw me out without a second glance. I know they couldn't have cared much about me if they got rid of me so quickly, but I still wish they cared a little.

I wiped the tears that threatened to form in my eyes and got dressed.

When I exited, I found Suko reading a book in the lobby. As I approached him, I looked closer at the cover: How to Deal with Non-Magicals.

I remember reading that book a few months before my exile. It's one of the most essential books in the supernatural and one of the first things anyone learns to avoid situations like the rogue he told me he fought yesterday.

Walking up to Suko, he noticed my approach before closing the book.

"Good morning."

"How long have you been up?"

"A few hours, I think. I have already finished my basic workout. I'm reading a book about necessary mind and barrier magics to hide anything I do now."

"You don't know them yet?"

"I awakened my magic less than a month ago. While I probably could have learned this stuff sooner, I never needed it."

"Why not? Couldn't you have learned human magic?"

"I could have, but my living situation meant learning magic would be like a hobby. My aunt has been caring for me since my parents died, so she wouldn't have let me come here if I couldn't protect myself. Human magic takes years to learn, so I'd already be an adult by the time she would let me leave."

"That sounds a little extreme."

"If I didn't have magic, she might've let me leave since I wouldn't be different from a regular human. However, since I already had some experience with magic thanks to my mom, she was worried I would become the target of some lunatic like the guy I saw yesterday."

I don't know what to think about him. On the one hand, he's so kind to me, but on the other, I can't help but feel jealous of him. He got a family that cared about him, while I was stuck with people who threw me away.

I push those thoughts away for now. They aren't helping.

"So, I wanted to know if we could spend the day getting to know each other."

"Sure, ask away."

"Well, you said you had plans to change the world, right? What did you mean by that?"

"Remember how I said my aunt wants me to be able to protect myself? Well, that's because she's in a less-than-favorable position right now. I want to be able to help her, but right now, I'm too weak to do anything."

"So what do you expect me to do then?"

"At the moment, you would be like a bodyguard, but I plan on you being a sort of enforcer in the future. I want to make an organization, but I need someone who can deal with things if I'm gone."

"And why do you think I can do that?"

"Your sacred gear can potentially make you a threat that nobody can touch. As for your management skills, that doesn't matter since you can always learn. I don't expect much from you besides training yourself to handle things."

That's... surprisingly little. I would've expected more, though I'm unsure what more would be.

"What will you do after leaving Kobe, then?"

"Regardless of your answer, I'll train and search for more teammates. I need combat experience, so I'll be hunting other criminals."

The conversation soon became more personal. We discussed our lives, though I avoided some questions about my family.

-----

[Hajime POV]

The last three days have been calmer than my first day here.

There was nobody to fight and nothing to do, so I spent the entire time working on magic. I focused on barrier magic first since it was easier to learn.

I would learn mind magic eventually, but having one was better than nothing. The consequences of repeated revealing of magic are serious crimes, even for children.

It was like magic in Harry Potter. You would get a warning and maybe a fine the first few times. However, if you kept it up, you would eventually be given a high bounty to get you to stop.

Most supernatural beings hated cleaning up others' mess, even though causing problems for others always seemed to be their favorite activity.

In addition, I'd been working on Laxus' assimilation, reaching 82%, but it was getting harder to make any progress now. At this rate, I'd need another fight to complete the assimilation.

It wasn't a problem since the rewards would be worth it, but I did want to try out the other assimilations.

I've started increasing my physical training since I can't increase my weight or the gravity around me yet. I increased Saitama's workout by 50%, but that won't work forever. Eventually, I will need to improve the quality of the workout to get anything out of it. Otherwise, I'll have to continue for days to see any growth.

It was finally time for checkout, meaning I would get an answer today.

I had spent some time talking with Tsubaki. While she spoke quite a bit, she always got reserved whenever the question had her mention her family.

Entering the lobby, I hand my keys to the owner before waiting in the lobby for Tsubaki.

When she finally entered, she handed in her keys before walking to me. The two of us exited the building when I asked the obvious question.

"So, do you have your answer?"

"I do. I will join your team."

Awesome! Tsubaki will be a great teammate. There's a reason why you rarely saw Sona without her in canon, and it was because she was such a capable number two. She always did her work, fought hard, and helped keep Sona's peerage in line.

"Let's go then."

I started walking towards the train station, with Tsubaki following me.

"We'll start your training tomorrow, but for today, we're heading towards Awaji island. I've been looking at the bounty book, and there seem to be many targets."

As we left, the only thing I could think about was how this world would change from now on.

-----

[Several Days Later] [Sona POV]

I had finally arrived in Kobe with my sister's rook, Behemoth. My sister had learned that a member of the Shinra clan had recently awakened a sacred gear.

She was about my age and had the sacred gear, Mirror Alice. It was not the most powerful sacred gear, but it had potential. Its reflective capabilities would help defend my peerage against light and holy attacks.

After getting our hotel rooms, we went out searching for her.

-----

It has been several days since we started searching, and we have found nothing.

Behemoth even used magic to try and find where she might be, but nothing. There wasn't a single trace of her.

We were heading to one of the many magician families in the city. If anyone knew where she was, it would be them.

Knocking on the door, they invited us inside.

"Welcome, Heiress Sitri, Lady Leviathan's Rook. I am Nakajima Toshio. Why did you ask to arrange this meeting with me?"

"Nakajima-san, I heard a member of the Shinra clan awakened a sacred gear and exiled for it. I plan to invite her into my peerage. Do you know where she is?"

"Before we get into that, shouldn't we discuss payment?"

"Very well. What do you want in exchange for the information?"

"A copy of a book from your clan's library. Any book will do, but preferably a rare book about water magic. In exchange, I will tell you everything I know about her."

"Deal." Behemoth leaves the room while forming a communication circle to get the book.

"Very well then. Over a week ago, someone asked me the same thing. My son showed them where she stayed for a few weeks. They might have already recruited her if you can't find her."

"So you don't know where she is?"

"I can bring you where she usually is, but if you can't find her, she might have left the city."

"What about this other person? You said they recruited her; were they a devil?"

"That's not information about the Shinra girl."

"What do you want then?"

"I'm the only one with this information, so two more books. They don't need to be as rare as the first."

"Alright," I nodded but grumbled internally. I didn't like being tricked, but I couldn't do anything about it. This information might be valuable. If someone else got to the Shinra girl first, I imagine they had a reason to recruit her. They are someone worth keeping an eye out for.

"It was a boy around your age, Suko Hajime. He helped us with the Ritual of Broken Whispers; he's got mid-class strength from how much he did in the ritual."

"Was he a devil?"

"No, pure human, at least that's what my wards say. He didn't hide it, but he had the mana of a dragon, so I believe he has a sacred gear, likely newly awakened, considering his age. Also, he had a lightning affinity and a prominent one. Not sure what it is, though."

"I see. Thank you very much."

"It's fine."

Behemoth reenters the room, and Sona asks him to get two more books for some more information they have. Sighing, he nods before leaving again to call back.

-----

When I finished all my business with Nakajima-san, Behemoth and I returned to the hotel, explaining everything I had learned.

"Cheer up, Sona. If this kid is a human with a sacred gear, you could get two peerage members. However, I don't know of any lightning dragon sacred gears. Maybe a subspecies?"

"I doubt either of them would join my peerage, Behemoth. The fact that Suko Hajime recruited her means he has some backing to find the information. Either that, or he got lucky. However, he likely wouldn't join a peerage if he were forming a group. If I wanted him to join me, I'd have to put something of high enough value for him to accept; it wouldn't be worth it.

As for the Shinra girl, she likely wouldn't join now. Maybe if it were before the two met, she'd have been struggling for months; I could have helped her in exchange for her loyalty. Now though? It's impossible. He's probably the first person to treat her kindly in months, so she's likely feeling attached to him. On top of that, she probably feels indebted to him for his help and wouldn't leave his side. When we find them, she might think leaving him is a betrayal of his kindness.

I'm also unsure about his sacred gear. If he does have backing, it may be an artifact, such as a dragon-slaying weapon. However, I can't think of any notable lightning dragons.

The only Japanese dragons I can think of are Kiyohime and the Nakiri and Kushihashi clans' sacred beasts, but none use the lightning element."

Heading to the hotel, I kept thinking about Suko Hajime. I would tell my sister and have her look into this for me.

----------

Omake: Excalibur Thief 3

[Francisco POV]

I couldn't believe it. I had a sacred gear, and it was a blender?!

How does that make sense?!

Did god make this one before I was born as a joke?

Mentally sighing, I figured that it didn't matter anyway. It's not like this makes things worse.

Focusing on my sacred gear, I quickly understood everything about it.

{ Supernatural Blend }

By inserting things into the blender, I could turn them into a drink that strengthened me after I consumed it.

Turning, I saw the food I had pushed away when the cardinal came. His words had ruined my appetite.

Shoving it all into the blender, I turned it on and felt my stamina slightly draining.

The blender finally stopped a minute later, as did the drain on my energy.

It contained what looked like a smoothie but made from my dinner.

Somehow, I already knew what this drink would do for me.

{ Temporarily enhances all abilities by 3 times for 1 hour. }

That didn't seem right. The food was low-quality, and half was gone, so I wasn't sure how it had such a powerful effect.

"Oh, well. Bottoms up!"

I started drinking the smoothie, and when I did, I realized why it was so powerful. This drink was my last hope. If they knew I had a sacred gear, they'd execute me now to prevent me from trying anything.

As I finished drinking it, I knew the clock was ticking. My mid-class strength couldn't break the cells; they would have already accounted for that when imprisoning me.

They certainly didn't prepare for anything to push me into high-class strength.

Grabbing the bars, I pulled them open and took off.

Rushing upstairs, I carefully opened the door and peeked out. Seeing nobody in the hallway, I ran.

I didn't know where I was going for now, but that didn't matter. I just needed to escape.

Opening a random door to try and find an exit, I found nothing.

I continued looking in surprisingly empty doors before I soon came across one with guards posted outside.

Knowing I couldn't let them see me, or they might report me, I rushed at them, slammed my fist into their diaphragms, and jabbed their pressure points.

After opening the door and peeking inside, I saw a golden-colored blanket and quickly moved toward it. As I got closer, I knew what this was.

The Shroud of Turin.

__________

Author's Note:

To clarify, when talking to Japanese supernaturals, Hajime will refer to them by their last name. Tsubaki is an exception because of her exile. While she keeps her name, he won't call her Shinra while in Kobe. I also have to get used to using honorifics, so there will probably be some mistakes whenever I try.

Also, though Sona might have seemed a little cold at the end, it was more out of practicality. She is a devil, and that was the situation.

Behemoth and Yamamoto images here.

Thanks for reading; I'll see you next time!