Ander walked out of his room only to see that a figure in silver armor had broken into his home. While it looked familiar, the suit of armor seemed to hold killing intent.

  “Excuse me, but do I know you?” Ander asked.

  “You went and got married. I am very disappointed in you.”

  “Eh?”

  Chiyo followed Ander out of the room in a bathrobe, scowling at the figure. “Who is he?”

  “She.” Ander corrected.

  Chiyo squinted. “Who is she?”

  “How dare you betray my hopes.”

  “Like I said. I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “You were supposed to choose Brion!”

  “Eh?” Ander seemed confused.

  Chiyo turned to Ander for a long moment. “Ander…Do you?”

  “I don’t swing that way. While Brion is my best friend we wouldn’t go well together.”

  “I thought Kyrion was your best friend.” Chiyo scowled.

  “Master Kyrion is friends with everyone. First Cecion dies now Brinder! How!”

  “Ah…Are all your friends so colorful?”

  “Yes.Well most. Brion is pretty down to earth and stoic. Cecil is smart, and stoic, thats about it.”

  “I don’t even register as a friend?” Kyrion asked as he gathered leftover white rice out of curiosity.

  “What are you doing?” Chiyo asked.

  “We don’t have rice back home so I want to experiment with it while I'm here.”

  “No. What are you doing in my house? Did you figure out how to get back?”

  “Yes, but we’ll have to pool our financial resources. I need money, cars and to raid toy stores to figure out what the kids use here. Also, some presents for my students.” Kyrion added oil to a wok and heated it with magic before adding oil.

  Ander flicked a bolt of lightning at Kyrion. “Cook in your own kitchen.”

  Kyrion took the blow and sighed. Putting the ingredients back up.

  “So what's the plan?”

  “I’m going to gather power from every sentient creature on this planet then on christmas play the role of Santa Claus. Eventually while doing so I’ll also connect to the planet's ley lines.Then I’ll head home taking everyone into my domain before I go. But to do so I‘ll need the support of all the world's ley lines on.” Kyrion continued to go over the details and preparation, it would be their big finale.

  “That sounds crazy enough to work. But, are you sure you want to return home with all that power?”

  “It would take a while for the memories and experiences to return. As I will be willfully delaying them to prevent destroying my brain. This world is more annoying than ours.”

  “I get it. All this technology with our abilities is a headache.” Ander sighed as he looked out the top of his honeymoon high rise looking down at the lit city below. The building had previously belonged to the slayers but due to some deals and purchases as well as the organization falling to pieces. It helped that he spent enough gold to fund the country for two years to control the structure.

  “So Ander, what's it like being a billionaire? Has the money gone to your head?”

  “Chiyo dear, I do believe some poverty stricken individuals have broken in. Should we have them escorted out by our defense system?”

  “What are you…Oh.” A switch was flipped and a cannon pointed towards Kyrion from the ceiling.

  “You have a turrent! I want a turret in my house. You think Lin will let me put a get a few?” Kyrion opened the window and stood on the railing.

  “Ander? Is that?”

  Ander snapped his fingers and a bullet the size of a football shot towards Kyrion via magnetism.

  Like a fool, Kyrion didn’t try to dodge it but he also didn’t plant his feet letting the momentum of the shot send them both flying over the city for two hundred miles just from the attack alone.

  Kyrion hadn’t been damaged by the shot but his mana and divine essence didn’t work when he tried to use them as though the attack was powered by Kyrion's mana, he tried to get off with physical strength before he crash-landed in a private bath house. Sending hot water and stone everywhere. His black tee shirt had been torn to shreds revealing a large spherical tattoo on his back that resembled a planet being circled by various animals and demons in a spiral towards the center where a Fox, a Swan, and a tree with diamonds for fruit and two large snakes curling up it.

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  Though in comparison to the other people present, he was the least inked as multiple people eyed the giant kid for a long moment.

  “Nice ink. Sorry for intruding. But this bathhouse is quite nice. Oh, that looks like empowerment spirits…But it isn’t alcoholic.” Kyrion took a sip out of a small cup of the rice wine and scowled. “Somewhat sweet.”

  “What are you doing here?” One of the tattooed men asked.

  “My friend shot me with a strange bullet and it took me a while to get here. Cheers!” Kyion took out a bottle of his finest blue wine.

  One of the bald men drew a blade and then thrust it into Kyrion’s right shoulder watching as the blade snapped on impact as geometric triangles rose from the limb and consumed the blade with what seemed like miniscule bites.

  “Cease this at once.” Kyrion said to the thorns as they retreated into his arm.

  “What kind of demon are you?”

  One of the tattooed men said. “One who comes bearing drinks. Disciple of Baccus. Creator of the Hungover brigade. Commander of Unity and Peace! Patron of magical gifts and a healer. I also own a hotel chain back home with baths and the like. But a demon, I am not.” Kyrion poured a drop of the liquid into the bath.

  The water turned a deep blue as mana and divine essence filled the pool, watching as everyone present healed old and newer wounds, bones strengthened and everyone present looked younger and stronger. Some of the balding men grew hair where there hadn’t been any for years, and one old man seemingly doubled in height, gained muscle tone, and a deadly look in his eyes.

  “Ah that explains it. I was a Hound in the past. You are what we keep in.”

  “If your hounds have three heads than yes, probably. You should be a bit stronger, hopefully you use this gift for good. But that's not my problem. You’re just getting a slight head start on the masses. Unless…”

  “You’re a crafty child aren’t you?” The old man knew he had been on a hook.

  “I’m recruiting for my organization. With the Slayers of Humanity being hunted down, I require human hands among my people. The power vacuum will be filled immediately.”

  “What are you after?”

  “Nothing, people will need training in combat once the disaster begins. My current goal is to have systems in place to teach those without resources, how to fight and use magic. To do that I’ll need fingers in every pie. So to speak.”

  “Did you come here by accident or on purpose?” The old man asked.

  “If it wasn’t you, someone else, I just happened to get shot here so you can call it fate.” Kyrion left the water and stood near the roof he destroyed and used mana to fix everything he’d broken.

  “So you want us to fight and teach kids?”

  “No, I want you to make bathhouses…”Kyrion said straight-faced and noticed some eye twitching. “Both partially, to be honest, one of the things I’ll have my people give you will be schematic. It will have water that heals and restores vigor as well as various tools necessary for your day-to-day.”

  “I’m lost.”

  “Sounds about right.” Kyrion sighed as he opened a portal back home.

  “Now I know not to get hit by that directly.” Ander said as he stayed in the room watching the armored warrior.

  “He left me here and teleported home. Didn’t he?” Ceres felt irritated.

  “Highly likely.” Ander opened a fridge and pulled out a bottle of Sake, then placed some snacks on the table in front of Ceres along with a bunch of prepackaged snacks, and flat cups for the sake.

  “What is this?”

  “It’s a local beverage. Supposedly a wine made from rice. The other things are snacks. I imagine you’re a bit confused and hungry.”

  “Confused, yes, but Kyrion took me to the Silver Pen, an All you can eat buffet. We were kicked out after thirty minutes.”

  “So you’re still hungry.”

  “I can go with a snack.” Ceres picked up the bottle and proceeded to drink from it.

  “Ceres, you're supposed to use those as well.” Ander pointed to the saucers.

  Ceres nodded, then took a curious bite out of the cup, chewing for a dangerously short time before swallowing and picking up the other two, which she swallowed with more of the Sake.

  Chiyo closed the door, clearly not awake enough for their shenanigans.

  “This stone is delicious.”

  “Ceres…people don’t eat porcelain. Have you seen Kyrion do that before?”

  “This isn’t food?” Ceres looked at the remaining saucer and then nodded. “I see.” She said as she took a bite out of a packaged rice cake and began to chew.

  “Uh, Ceres… You aren’t human, are you.” Ander recalled incidents that Kyrion had laughed away in the past. It should have been obvious, but without the others there to help her out, the antics were odd.

  Ceres’ expression fell as she looked at Ander in shock.

  “What makes you say that? The clear thing doesn’t taste good.” Ceres removed a rice cake from the packaging and ate the second one properly.

  “No reason.” Ander placed a bowl with rocks and stones on the table, next to a bowl with frozen takoyaki. He didn’t microwave as part of the test.

  Ceres knew she was being tested, the rocks were lukewarm while the Takoyaki was frozen solid.

  “Which one is food?”

  “Good question.”

  “Both are rocks.”

  “I promise, one of these are edible.”

  Ceres picked up a frozen fried octopus ball and then put it down as it was too cold. She then picked up a red bead. She popped that in her mouth and bit down, turning it into dust, and swallowing it. “That was pretty good. Slightly spicy.”

  “Ceres…That was a rock.”

  “No, that's the rocks.” Ceres pointed to the Takoyaki.

  Ander surrounded the bowl with a cage of lightning and cooked it in a moment causing a cooked smell to waft through the room.

  “When did you learn that?” Ceres asked.

  “Very recently. I’ve been learning party tricks like this.” Ander let out a dry chuckle.

  “Ah you’re joking.” Ceres laughed as well.

  “How did I not see it before? You’re like me.” Ander muttered.

  “You’re also a dragon?”

  “There we go. How many dragons are attached to Kyrion, geeze. What does that make it, three or four.”

  “You, me, this dog thing. All dragons.”

  “Ceres…How have you gotten this far without getting caught.”

  “Anesthesia, and memory removal.”

  Ander scowled. “I hope he didn’t hit me with that.”

  “He did say that you were trouble. But he was worried all the memory wiping was making you shorter.”

  Ander was shrouded in black lighting and like a bolt, flew out of the window towards where Kyrion had gone.

  “That’s for tricking me.” Ceres bit into another saucer. She walked through a purple door and left the room.

  As the room was empty Kyrion appeared. “Ooo snacks. Ander! If you don’t want me to eat these, let me know! Wait, where did Ceres go? Why is everything spinning?” Kyrion teleported again leaving behind a bottle of green liquor and a note.

  Chiyo decided that she wanted to develop anti-teleportation zones if possible. People popping in and out were getting annoying fast.

  Returning home after a ten-minute flight Ander returned noticing a note on the table.

  Ander, that missile messes up magic. I don’t recommend using them indoors but they could be good on giant monsters. Also, the soft rocks taste pretty good. I also left you a bottle. We’ll talk about Project Christmas later, but you need to buy a car manufacturing company, or three.