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Chapter 44 - DG 45: Place to Belong

"Master."

When that word left Alaric's lips, the meaning of this battle shifted instantly.

Perhaps even Scáthach herself didn't understand why she was so sensitive to that term. It was as if a switch had been flipped, activating a second persona.

[Seriousness].

An unprecedented seriousness, even surpassing the intensity of facing a mortal enemy.

... When fighting a sworn foe, she relied mostly on the battle instincts ingrained in her body, hardly needing to think.

In ordinary combat, it was like an elder humoring children, a casual spar where winning or losing didn't matter.

But when it came to "teaching." She transformed into the strictest schoolteacher... a blend of math instructor and headmaster. A miscalculation or even sloppy handwriting would earn a sharp rebuke, demanding corrections.

"Too slow! What are you waiting for? Do you think your enemy will stand still for you to hit?!"

"Your weaknesses... you need to know where they are. Protect them at all costs, never letting your enemy exploit them... unless you're deliberately baiting a trap."

"Think more, use your head! Attacks failing is the norm; success is the exception. Your goal is to chain attacks to lure your enemy into mistakes!"

"Your tail... where's your tail? Why isn't it attacking? Is it just a decorative ornament?"

"And your attacks... they're too obvious! Learn to conceal them, understand? Don't let your enemy sense your intent until the strike lands!"

"You… forget it, that's probably unfixable!"

Scáthach was a dedicated and rigorous teacher.

She taught Alaric many things, and he genuinely learned a wealth of combat techniques from her.

But one thing... "honest and direct attacks"... seemed etched into the very core of this Blue-Eyes White Dragon's being, unchangeable.

Not only unchangeable, but it grew more brazen as the battle continued. By the end, he couldn't help shouting lines that gave even the seasoned Scáthach goosebumps.

"Tough, invincible, supreme!"

"Crush, shatter, grand acclaim!"

"A mere old lady dares to be so arrogant... take my [Burst Stream of Destruction]!!!"

"Hahaha... !"

The battle between the two gods raged on the reverse side of the world for months.

Yet neither combatant noticed the passage of time.

Unlike the mortal world with its clear day and night, time in the reverse world flowed indistinctly. In the Land of Shadows, cloaked in gray mist and devoid of life, a second, a year, or even centuries made little difference.

"Honestly."

"Compared to a land of the dead, this feels more like a prison."

"A prison holding you."

During a break from combat, Scáthach and Alaric reviewed their battle's lessons while idly chatting about various topics.

Their discussions ranged from the secrets of the gods to the ancient wars between divine beings, to epic tales of heroes... naturally including Scáthach herself.

"Yes, it's true."

Scáthach nodded at Alaric's observation, making no attempt to hide it.

This was indeed her "prison."

But no person or force had locked her here... it was a "home" She had chosen for herself.

"For someone like me, who's fulfilled her purpose but refuses to die quietly, I had to find a place to belong."

"Otherwise, I'd be a homeless old hag, wouldn't I?"

Scáthach admitted openly.

A slightly counterintuitive fact:

Though in his past life, people jokingly called this graceful, stylish woman a "purple BBA." After some time with her, Alaric realized she didn't care about her age. She even occasionally leaned into the joke herself.

Or rather, for her now, "age" was a meaningless concept.

"To die, or to live like the dead."

"That's all there is."

Another period of training passed, roughly a year.

Under Scáthach's guidance, Alaric's strength grew significantly. Estimating that the ahoge sister had likely sorted out the tedious governance, he bid farewell to Scáthach and leisurely returned to the mortal world.

... This time, a transformed kingdom greeted him.

Eight cities, three hundred thousand people, ten thousand elite soldiers, and over a hundred knights of exceptional skill and character... never in this island's history had such a powerful kingdom existed.

And this kingdom's strength continued to grow.

Like a colossal beast amidst Britain's smaller nations, its siphoning effect was lethal. Especially with a ruler known far and wide as the [Holy King] and a land famed as an Eden, the common folk of other nations refused to remain in their apocalyptic misery.

"Divine might resplendent, royal path majestic!"

Every day, new refugees flooded the borders for a better life; every day, knights arrived, drawn by the chance to witness the glory of the world-saving king.

Though the kingdom inevitably faced minor internal issues, it was undeniably the island's last bastion of hope.

"But don't you find it strange?"

In the kingdom's temporary palace, Morgan, finally free from that grueling period, had time to relax and ponder a question that had troubled her for a while:

"What is that false king doing?"

"Our actions have been so bold, our expansion so rapid… yet why has he done nothing? As if he's completely unaware?"

"Is he plotting something?"

***

Hi guys, I just wanted to let you know that I'm currently working on a new fanfic, so if you like this one, you should definitely check that one out too:

[Saint Seiya: The Lord of the Underworld (Multi-Cross)]

Hades.

The Lord of the Underworld and one of the Three Sovereign Gods of the Greek pantheon is among the most powerful deities to ever exist.

It is said that He was the strongest of the Three Sovereign Gods, and that Zeus holds the throne of the heavens only because He allowed it to happen, because He lacking of ambition and valuing the balance of the world above all else.

But what if this time, the title of Lord of the Underworld had changed hands, and inherited by someone whose ambition is as vast as the waters of the sea?

Chaos!

This is the story of an ordinary human who through both luck and misfortune inherits the title and responsibility of the Lord of the Underworld.

Yet there is a fundamental difference between the Lords of the past and the present.

Ambition!

It is in human nature to possess ambitions that can reach the stars, and because of this once-in-a-lifetime chance, he will not let the opportunity slip away to expand his dark and somber dominion, making it as bright as the sky and as deep as the ocean.

---

This is a multiverse fanfic that focuses on journeys to worlds other than Saint Seiya.

Saint Seiya, Nasuverse, Dragon Ball, Campione, Re:Zero, Date A Live, Genshin Impact, Akame ga Kill, Kimetsu no Yaiba, Overlord, No Game No Life, Marvel, DC, Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, Pokemon, Fate, Danmachi, and etc.

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