Telos Karma Meta Gacha

[Tsubaki POV]

We were exhausted from the fight against the stray devil. They were much tougher than we thought they would be.

Suko was the one who did most of the work, fighting the stray head on. Kimiko and I were practically useless throughout the fight, though that didn't stop us from interfering where we could.

Now, though, we were all tired. Suko was injured from the fight, choosing to fight in close-quarters combat. While he was tougher than most humans, that didn't mean he was fine after taking those attacks.

He was fighting a high-class devil who was a physical fighter. Even with Hajime's enhanced durability, he certainly couldn't feel good after all those attacks.

I'd be happy that we won if this creep didn't arrive.

"Hello, children. Would you mind listening to a deal I have for you?"

"Who are you?" Suko asked.

"No need to be on guard, children. If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have said anything.

I'm here because my organization has heard about you and wanted to recruit you."

"Sorry, but I'm not interested."

"I could say the same, boy. My organization was interested in your friend there," he said, gesturing towards me.

What did he mean by that? Has he been stalking me? How else would he know who I am? Why me, anyway? If he knew who I was, he'd know about my history with my clan.

Suko recruited me because he planned on making an organization, so to him, it didn't matter if my clan hated me. It doesn't make sense why this man would have an organization wanting to recruit me.

Looking towards Suko, I saw him frowning while looking at the man before him. Was he offended that they didn't want to recruit him or because they were trying to recruit me?

Either way, it didn't matter. I didn't plan on leaving the person who accepted me at my lowest, even if it was for his gain.

"Sorry, mister, but I don't plan on leaving Suko-san. He helped me when I was kicked out of my family, and thanks to him, I met Kimiko."

"Now now, little Shinra, you haven't even heard my offer.

Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Doumon Hisao, a former member of the Doumon principal clan.

My organization is filled with people like you and me. People whom our clans rejected. People who got kicked out of our families for things we couldn't control."

As he said this, I looked toward Suko, with the frown on his face even larger than before.

I felt he knew what Doumon Hisao was talking about, but there wasn't time to ask.

"When our organization learned that another member of the clans had been exiled, we planned on contacting you to invite you to our organization. Unlike the principal clans, we won't throw you out for having a sacred gear, being unable to use Shinto magic, or whatever other reason those fools use to get rid of us."

As he spoke, I could feel the malice in his voice. Though he tried to hide it by sounding friendly, it was clear by how he spoke that he was not someone I should work with.

I could tell that he wasn't saying everything. I understood what it was like to be exiled from the clan, but even I didn't hate them to the point that thinking about them upset me.

Since they kicked me out, I would help Suko grow his organization to surpass them. He wanted me as his right-hand woman. He said he could help me get stronger and has already shown that he wasn't lying. I wouldn't join a stranger after all the help Suko has given me.

Besides, Doumon Hisao feels strange. He feels like a tiger ready to pounce or a compressed spring.

"If it would help, I can extend the offer to your friend. My organization is nothing if not kind to children such as yourselves."

I doubt Suko would accept. Though he hasn't shared everything about himself, I know he'll share in time. His reason for creating his faction is personal, and I doubt he'd subordinate himself to anyone.

"What would you have us do if we did join?" Suko asked from the side. Is he really considering this?

"Just completing the missions we assign you. Other than that, you're free to do as you like."

"And what would these missions entail?" As Suko said that, a minor frown appeared on Doumon's face before quickly vanishing. Though he tried to hide it, I'm sure Suko also saw it.

"Unfortunately, I cannot go into specifics until you join; however, it will mostly be stuff like getting things we need for our goals or dealing with people who attack our agency.

You won't have a task that would be considered 'risky. ' We prefer to keep our members alive after all."

"When you say dealing with people, are you sure you don't mean killing any members of the principal clans we come across? Isn't that your group's goal? The destruction of the five clans."

What?! How would they even do such a thing? The five principal clans have been around for centuries, and this organization must be new, or else the clans would be aware. Do they think they stand a chance at fighting the clans?

A scowl appears on Doumon's face. "How do you know that, brat?" He spits out.

"Your mom told me."

"Am I to take that as you rejecting my offer?"

"Take your offer and shove it."

"How rude. Am I to assume you are with him, Shinra?"

I didn't hesitate to answer. "Yes." This man, and likely the others in his group, was insane. Destroying the clans would upset the balance of Japan's supernatural world. While Suko might have similar ideas of destroying the current system, he hasn't said he planned on genociding anyone.

Even if somehow their plan to destroy the clans worked, what would they do next? They'd be terrorists that would be hunted on sight.

In the best-case scenario, they do it without anybody finding out they did it, but then what? Their whole purpose is to hurt others, so what would they do once they were done?

Plus, if there's one thing I know about the clans, it's that they are incredibly racist. Who knows which faction they would target next if this group were to wipe out the clans? They might even destroy all of supernatural Japan just because they can. And it isn't like people will ignore what happened.

The gods would certainly investigate and go to war over the incident, and the war would possibly kill millions.

They would kill an unknown number of people just because these guys had their egos bruised.

If they wanted to insult the clans, they'd make their group overshadow them, making it look like they were holding them back. It would make the clan elders look incompetent and backwards. Instead, they chose violence. Pathetic.

"I see. Well, that's too bad." Doumon Hisao says, as his body tenses up. "I can't leave now since you seem to know my organization's purpose. So, I'll have to deal with you to avoid leaks."

He rushed toward Suko, brandishing a tanto in his left hand.

I tried to move, but I used too much stamina deflecting one of the stray's attacks.

I hope Suko can win this.

-----

[Hajime POV]

As Doumon Hisao charged at me, I drew the blade that the stray stole and used it to block Domoun's attack.

When the two blades clashed, I felt my arms numb for a second.

Shit.

I was already physically exhausted from fighting the stray, and this guy seemed just as tough.

He wasn't even holding back. I guess it makes sense. He had no reason to toy with us, so he was trying to end this as soon as possible.

If not for the durability of Laxus and his and Slade's regeneration, I doubt I'd even be standing.

Doumon kept swinging at me with all his might.

I either blocked or redirected the attacks, but he slowly whittled down the last of my energy.

Suddenly, swinging with more force than before, our blades clashed, and mine was thrown from my hands.

Falling onto my butt, I stared at the blade, which was pointed to my neck.

"Shouldn't have been so cocky, brat. It'd have saved your life."

As he spoke, though, I didn't listen.

I felt something click inside my brain and immediately knew what had happened.

Opening my assimilation slot, I quickly shoved one of my cards into the slot Slade had taken up before immediately looking at Doumon.

"Can I get some last words?"

"You get one."

I smirked hearing that. That was all I needed.

Activating the power from my assimilation, I stared into his eyes and said, "Die".

He immediately pulled the blade back before bringing it up to his neck and driving the sword through it.

After taking a deep breath, I fell to my back, completely spent.

Looking over to Tsubaki, I saw she had regained her breath and was walking over to me with Kimiko.

"Are you okay?"

"About as good as I can be after that."

Sitting down next to me, Tsubaki and Kimiko were completely silent.

"So, Suko, how did you do that?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you get him to kill himself? I doubt he did it himself."

"I'll explain later in a more private area. I need to rest for a bit."

Picking myself up, Tsubaki helped me stand before returning to the hotel. Well, Tsubaki walked. I was hobbling. I could barely move after everything that happened.

When I entered my room, I immediately collapsed onto the bed, not even caring about the blood covering my body.

----------

Omake: Excalibur Thief 9

[Francisco POV]

As I finally saw signs of civilization, I transformed from my sand worm form and went on foot.

When I finally reached the small town, I was relieved. After receiving directions to the nearest city, I thanked them before going over.

It took several days, but I was never without food, thanks to my blender.

While I hadn't gotten another special smoothie, I learned a bunch of smaller 'recipes' using dirt, trees, sand, rocks, and other stuff I could find.

I discovered that mixing everything in different amounts changes what the smoothies do.

For example, a smoothie with plants increases my regeneration slightly, but adding some stone into it will improve my durability at the same time.

I just needed to see if the smoothies affected other people and what different magical ingredients did. If I get the right connections, I could easily make a potion shop that could dominate the supernatural world. After all, healing abilities are extremely rare, and potions that can heal, such as Phenex tears, are invaluable to all factions.

A potion that can not only heal others but costs almost nothing and thus has a much lower price than any other healing item? I would almost overnight become one of the most important people in the world.

When I arrived in the city, I first looked for a doctor's office. I wouldn't be a doctor, but I could be an assistant.

Taking temperatures, preparing patients, giving shots - I can easily do that.

Luckily, when I reached the doctor's office, it didn't take long for me to get a job. Even if I wasn't a qualified doctor, I could easily pass as a nurse. On top of that, once I showed my 'natural remedy' made from random leaves, grass, and twigs, the manager hired me on the spot.

It was an easy way to make money since they could charge prices similar to a pharmacy's. After minor experimentation of my 'cure', it proved better than several different prescriptions they gave.

My potions were quickly increasing profits for the clinic. In only a week, the manager had made so much that he gave me enough to afford a small apartment.

It wasn't the best place, but I could relax for now. The church had no idea where I was.

__________

Author's Note:

Starting Saturday is Spring Break, so I'll spend some time trying to get ahead on chapters. I've been slacking off recently.

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