Nate woke up buried in warmth.
Arms, tails, soft hair, and way too many bodies pressed against him. Someone had their leg thrown over his waist, someone else was using his chest as a pillow, and he was pretty sure at least one fox tail was wrapped around his ankle.
He yawned.
Carefully—very carefully—he slipped out of bed, not in the mood to deal with morning clinginess just yet. He padded downstairs, still half-asleep…
…and stopped.
There were people tied up in his living room.
Rope. Seals. Spiritual bindings. The serious kind.
Lily stood with her arms crossed, eyes glowing faintly. Yasaka leaned against the wall, calm but radiating pressure. Around them were several of Nate's contracted yōkai, all alert, all very ready to throw hands.
Nate blinked once.
Then twice.
He looked at the prisoners.
First was a beautiful foreign woman with long blonde hair and clear sky-blue eyes. She wore a girl's gakuran, reinforced with silver armor that looked both medieval and holy.
'…Jeanne d'Arc.'
Next to her was a two-meter tall monster of a man, built like a walking fortress. Shoulder-length gray hair, scars, and Greek-style armor layered over a Japanese school uniform.
'Heracles.'
Beside him stood a young man with neat brown hair, similarly dressed—Greek armor, gakuran beneath, eyes sharp and cautious.
'Perseus.'
Then there was a short, dark-skinned boy with gray-blue hair and striking purple eyes. A gakuran with a long coat draped over it, gaze restless even while restrained.
'Leonardo.'
And finally—
A handsome young man with short black hair and piercing blue eyes. His outfit was a fusion of Japanese school uniform and ancient Chinese hanfu, his presence alone carrying authority.
'…Cao Cao.'
Nate stared at them for a long moment.
Then he turned around.
Went into the kitchen.
Made himself a coffee.
Took a long sip.
"…I do not have the patience for this," he muttered. "What happened?"
Jibanyan, sitting on the counter with his arms folded, answered casually.
"Long story short? They tried to kidnap you and Kunou."
Nate paused mid-sip.
"…They did what."
"They broke the barrier around the house," Jibanyan continued. "Summoned Yasaka by accident. Woke up Lily—who got very angry. Then every strong yōkai under your contract showed up in about five seconds."
Lily smiled sweetly.
It did not reach her eyes.
Yasaka added calmly, "They were… persistent."
Nate slowly lowered his cup and finally turned back to the bound heroes.
"…You people broke into my house," he said flatly.
"Tried to take my fiancée."
His aura shifted.
Nothing exploded. Nothing flared.
But the pressure in the room dropped like a guillotine.
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes. "So you truly are the Yokai King."
Nate took another sip of coffee.
"Congratulations," he said dryly. "You found me."
He glanced at Jeanne. "Let me guess. Holy swords, destiny, balance of the world, blah blah."
Then at Heracles. "Muscle."
Perseus. "Ego."
Leonardo. "Wildcard."
Finally, Cao Cao.
"…And the guy who thinks this ends well for him."
He set the cup down.
"Alright," Nate sighed. "You're in my house. You scared my family. And you woke Lily up."
Lily cracked her knuckles.
Nate pointed at the Hero Faction.
"Start talking. Slowly."
The Hero Faction arc had officially begun—and they were already on the back foot.
Cao Cao glanced at Lily again, his jaw tightening as he remembered how casually she had shattered his spear earlier.
"…She's terrifying."
Nate took a slow sip of his coffee.
"Thanks. She's my mom. I inherited my ability to scare people from her."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Anyway. What's your deal?"
Cao Cao inhaled deeply, steadying himself. When he spoke, his voice was measured—controlled.
"Humanity has been trampled under gods, devils, and monsters for millennia. We are tools, sacrifices, collateral damage. The Hero Faction exists to correct that imbalance."
Nate nodded slowly.
"…Right. So what I heard was: 'We're hypocrites pretending to be heroes while actively making things worse.'"
The room went still.
"Excuse me—?!" Cao Cao snapped.
Nate didn't raise his voice.
"If you actually wanted to protect humanity," he said calmly, "you wouldn't be playing terrorists."
Cao Cao stiffened.
"You'd build a fourth faction. A real one. Not this cosplay rebellion nonsense."
He raised a finger.
"You train humans. You empower them. You don't kidnap supernatural figures like some bargain-bin cult."
Another finger.
"You court gods who actually give a damn about people. Minor gods. Forgotten gods. Spirits who rely on human faith to survive."
A third.
"You get funding. Quietly. From factions that don't want another war but do want stability."
Cao Cao's eyes narrowed. "…You speak as if this is easy."
Nate shrugged.
"It's not. That's why real leaders do it instead of playing revolutionary."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Then—and only then—you go to the Three Main Factions. Politically. You show them numbers. Infrastructure. Allies. You show them you're not a threat… but you could be if pushed."
A pause.
"That's when you negotiate rules. Barriers. Treaties. Human protection laws."
His gaze hardened.
"What you're doing now?"
"You're making devils, gods, and yokai associate humans with instability, kidnappings, and assassination attempts."
Lily's eyes glowed faintly.
"You're not protecting humanity," Nate finished.
"You're painting a target on its back."
Silence.
Leonardo swallowed.
Perseus looked away.
Jeanne's hands trembled slightly.
Cao Cao stared at Nate for a long moment.
"…You speak as though you stand outside all factions," he said slowly.
Nate smiled—but there was no humor in it.
"I do."
Yasaka chuckled softly.
"He really does."
Cao Cao exhaled sharply. "And what are you, then?"
Nate took the last sip of his coffee and set the cup down.
"I'm the guy you should've talked to first."
He stepped closer.
"I rule a faction that hasn't declared war on anyone. That protects humans without turning them into martyrs. That negotiates instead of conquers."
His eyes locked with Cao Cao's.
"And you broke into my house."
Kunou's voice suddenly came from the stairs, sweet and sharp.
"…And tried to kidnap me."
Every hero froze.
Nate didn't look away from Cao Cao.
"So here's the real chess move," he said quietly.
"You can keep pretending you're the saviors of mankind…"
A pause.
"…or you can sit down, shut up, and learn how to actually be one."
Check.
Cao Cao straightened.
The shock passed. The strategist in him clicked back into place.
"You speak as though we caused this chaos," he said evenly. "But the truth is simple: before the Hero Faction acted, humans were already dying. Sacred Gears being abused. Devils recruiting reincarnated humans. Fallen Angels experimenting. We chose action over complacency."
Nate nodded once.
"Good. Let's use facts then."
Cao Cao's eyes flickered.
Nate raised a finger.
"Fact one: Devils do not abduct humans at scale anymore."
He remember Rias' direction—unspoken reference.
"Since the reincarnation system stabilized, devils recruit volunteers or contract-bound individuals. Kill counts dropped. That's documented."
Another finger.
"Fact two: Fallen Angel experiments spiked after the Hero Faction went active."
Leonardo flinched.
"Azazel accelerated Sacred Gear research because you started stealing, breaking, and weaponizing them."
Cao Cao opened his mouth—
Nate cut him off.
"Fact three: Most large-scale supernatural casualties involving humans in the last decade trace back to rogue actors reacting to you."
He looked directly at Cao Cao.
"Not because humans were targeted. Because you destabilized balance."
Cao Cao's jaw tightened. "Correlation is not causation."
"Correct," Nate said instantly. "Which is why there's more."
He raised another finger.
"Fact four: You radicalized humans who should never have been on the battlefield."
Jeanne stiffened.
"You took teenagers. Civilians. Gave them half-training and mythological weapons, then dropped them into conflicts involving beings centuries older."
He tilted his head.
"That's not heroism. That's negligence."
Cao Cao snapped, "They chose to fight!"
"So do child soldiers," Nate replied calmly.
"Choice doesn't make it ethical."
The room went cold.
Nate continued, voice level.
"Fact five: Every major supernatural power now has contingency plans specifically for 'human extremists.'"
Yasaka nodded. "True."
"Which means," Nate went on, "if war breaks out, humans die first. Not devils. Not gods. Humans."
Cao Cao's fingers curled into fists.
"And finally," Nate said, raising his last finger, "fact six."
He stepped closer.
"You don't protect humanity."
Cao Cao glared. "Then what do we protect?"
"Your idea of humanity," Nate replied. "One that needs you to be its savior."
Silence.
Perseus whispered, "…That's not true."
Nate didn't look at him.
"Then explain this," Nate said to Cao Cao.
"Name one city made safer by the Hero Faction."
Cao Cao opened his mouth—
Nothing came out.
"Name one treaty you've signed."
Silence.
"One human protection law you passed."
Nothing.
"One evacuation you coordinated."
Cao Cao's breath hitched.
Nate exhaled slowly.
"You don't build," he said. "You provoke."
Cao Cao's voice came out low. "…We act because no one else will."
Nate met his eyes.
"No. You act because you don't know how to govern."
That landed.
Hard.
Jeanne finally spoke, her voice shaking.
"…Is that true?"
Cao Cao didn't answer.
Nate straightened, stepping back.
"Here's the difference between us," he said calmly.
"I don't need humanity to worship me to protect them."
Kunou smiled softly.
"I just need them alive."
Checkmate.
They where finally united
Leonardo looked at Nate. "How do you know so much about us, we have been hiding from the Yokai Faction".
Just like hat a crack in space time happened, as small girl with black hair came out.
Nate poined at Ophis. "She told me about you?".
Jeanne looked at her. "Who is she?".
Nate looked. "Let's say someone very powerful, her name is". Nate maked up fake name not to scared the capture hero Fraction. "Olga".
Leonardo stiffened.
"…You're saying she told you?"
The small girl floated forward slightly, bare feet not quite touching the floor, space around her subtly bending as if reality itself was uncomfortable being too close.
Ophis—"Olga" for now—tilted her head.
"…You are loud," she said softly.
Everyone went still.
Not because she shouted.
Because something ancient pressed down on their instincts, the same way prey knows when a true apex predator has entered the area.
Jeanne swallowed. "Who… are you?"
Nate answered calmly, taking another sip of coffee like this was a normal morning.
"She's an observer. She watches currents of fate, factions, movements. Not out of curiosity—out of boredom."
Ophis blinked slowly.
"…And interest."
Her gaze slid to Cao Cao.
"You make the world noisy."
Cao Cao's grip tightened around the spear he didn't currently have. "…That presence—"
Nate cut in instantly.
"Careful. You don't want the real answer."
Leonardo frowned. "Then why tell us anything at all?"
Nate shrugged.
"Because hiding only works when you're small."
He gestured vaguely at Ophis.
"You stopped being small the moment you started stealing artifacts tied to the roots of the world."
Perseus exhaled sharply. "…So we were never hidden."
"No," Nate said. "You were tolerated."
That word hit harder than any insult.
Jeanne stepped forward despite herself. "If that's true… why aren't we dead?"
Ophis floated closer, stopping just in front of Jeanne. She looked up at her with blank curiosity.
"…Because you hesitate," she said.
"…And because he asked."
She pointed—small finger, absolute intent—at Nate.
Jeanne's breath caught.
Nate met her eyes gently now, the edge gone.
"You're not villains," he said. "But you're walking a path that creates them."
Leonardo clenched his fists. "…Then what do you want from us?"
Nate thought for a moment.
Then smiled—but this time, it wasn't playful.
"I want you to stop running around pretending to be humanity's shield… and start deciding whether you actually want to be."
Ophis floated back to Nate's side and leaned slightly toward him, like a cat choosing a favorite spot.
"…They are interesting," she murmured.
Nate smirked. "See? You impressed the eldritch snake god."
Every Hero Faction member froze.
"…Snake what?" Perseus whispered.
Nate waved it off. "Don't worry about it. Her name's Olga."
Ophis blinked.
"…For now."
Somewhere deep in Cao Cao's mind, a single terrifying realization finally settled in:
They hadn't come to kidnap a king.
They had walked straight into a crossroads of fate—
—and Nate was standing right in the middle of it.
Jeanne looked around at her companions, then back at Nate's household—Yokai lining the room, calm, alert, ready.
"…Now what?" she asked quietly.
For once, no one answered immediately.
Yasaka finally stepped forward, her presence alone making the air feel heavier. She hadn't raised her voice—but she didn't need to.
"You attempted to kidnap the Yokai King and his Queen," she said evenly. "That is not a misunderstanding. That is an act of hostility."
The Hero Faction stiffened.
Lily took over, her tone polite in the way only truly dangerous people manage.
"So you will be given a choice."
She lifted one finger.
"Option one: confinement. The Yokai Dungeon, deep in the Japanese Underworld. Sealed space. Time distortion. No outside contact."
She let the words sink in.
Every Hero present went pale.
"Option two," Lily continued, lifting a second finger, "the Hero Faction is formally dissolved. Your name, structure, and independent authority end today."
Cao Cao's jaw tightened.
"You will be absorbed," Lily finished, "into the Yokai Faction. Under supervision. Under rules. And under him."
Her eyes shifted to Nate.
Silence.
Heavy. Suffocating.
Cao Cao finally laughed—short, humorless.
"…So this is how it ends," he muttered. "Not with a battlefield. Not with ideals clashing."
He looked up at Nate.
"But with logistics."
Nate met his gaze calmly. "No. With accountability."
That did it.
Cao Cao exhaled slowly, shoulders sagging just a fraction. The moment was small—but everyone felt it.
"I lost," he said.
Jeanne blinked. "Cao Cao?"
"I didn't lose a fight," he continued. "I lost control."
He turned his head, eyes sharp but tired.
"I told them we were heroes. That our methods were necessary. That fear was a tool."
He looked back at Nate.
"And you dismantled that with five sentences and a coffee."
Nate shrugged. "Facts do that."
Leonardo clenched his fists. "…If we accept, what happens to us?"
Nate answered before anyone else could.
"You keep your lives. Your skills. Your identities."
He stepped forward now, voice steady.
"But you stop acting like self-appointed saviors. You don't move unless the Yokai Faction approves it. You protect humanity without destabilizing the world."
Perseus frowned. "And if we refuse?"
Yasaka's tails swayed once.
"Dungeon."
Simple. Absolute.
Jeanne closed her eyes.
Then bowed.
"…I accept."
One by one, the others followed.
Leonardo. Perseus. Heracles. Leonardo. Even Cao Cao—after a long pause—lowered his head.
"…Very well," Cao Cao said quietly. "The Hero Faction… stands down."
Ophis—still hovering lazily near Nate—tilted her head.
"…Noise reduced," she said approvingly.
Nate smirked. "See? Team-building exercise."
Lily clapped her hands once. "Then it's settled."
She smiled—warm, proud, terrifying.
"Welcome to the Yokai Faction."
Cao Cao looked up one last time, meeting Nate's eyes.
"…Tell me something," he said. "If we hadn't come for you—if we'd done this right—would you have joined us?"
Nate thought for a moment.
Then shook his head.
"No," he said. "I would've built something better."
That answer lingered long after the bindings were removed.
And somewhere deep in the supernatural world, the balance quietly—irreversibly—shifted.
To be continue
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