Five hours later, the airship flew past a flock of murder condors. A rare sight to behold, and about six fell victim to the propelling paddles. Kakunō tried to swerve away, but it only resulted in more being murdered. “Hey man, can you please go outside and wipe them all out?” he turned to Hokori.

He walked to the cockpit. “Oh, I would… but I’m quite the conservationist on my good days. Just blow the horn, fam,” he moved back to the refrigerator.

Kakunō sighed, doing what Hokori suggested; it only worked half the time. He decided to drive high above at full speed, resulting in the buzzards pressing down against the elevating airship. Kakunō became frustrated, now that a lot of them hitched a ride. He began cursing. Yukino walked to him to give out a hug on his right side. “W-What are you doing…?” he looked down.

“Anger’s never good, Big Bro. Mama says that is the best cure,” she smiled with her hands behind her lower back.

He looked back in front of the holographic windshield. “Well, I appreciate it, Yuki… But you might distract me. Just leave it to me, okay? I can handle the stress.”

“Okay… I’m sorry, Big Bro.” With that, Kakunō gave her a head pat which made her giggle. Yukino walked away and moved to Kenkō, who sat by a table holding a syringe filled with an orange fluid substance. She tested its potency on an Ambrosia brown rat she kept in a cage.

It was the only legal test animal in the medical field due to its nigh immortal properties. Nepetalactone was the only way to kill the species. After testing, the caged rat got back up to do its usual business.

Kenkō turned around. “Oh, hello, Yukichi. Wanna pet Elizabeth? She won’t bite.”

“Big Sis, I have a question,” Yukino walked closer.

“Go on, go on… I’m all ears,” Kenkō smiled.

Yukino pointed at the cockpit screen, “Why are there so many?”

“Oh, you mean those things…” she turned to Yukino again, “Murder condors only fly in large numbers when huge piles of carcasses are nearby, Yukichi. They don’t make good pets. In fact, they’re pretty dangerous. So don’t go outside, alright—” Kenkō realized she was crying lightly. “What’s wrong…?” she held her shoulder.

Yukino began sobbing, “Carcasses…? You mean dead people?” she rubbed her eyes.

Kenkō held her close, patting her back. “No, no, no… It could mean anything. They could just be dead animals.”

“But, Big Sis… I don’t want that either. I want to save them all….”

she sobbed further.

Kenkō consoled her further in return. “I’m sorry, Yukichi… but we can’t do anything about that. Look at me…” she wiped her eyes dry, “…You’re strong. We all are. With us by your side—we can save even millions of people in the future. Understand?”

Yukino dried her eyes as well and hugged her big sister back. Next, Kenkō held her hand and asked if she would love to play a video game; she agreed.

Meanwhile, Hokori came back to the karaoke section to pick another song: “Fly Away” by Lenny Kravitz. He never went offkey. At the library nearby, Haruto read “The Notebook” to his wife, Tokino. Throughout the climax and ending, she cried softly. After the read, she hugged his husband; her fingers gripped his back tremendously. In such a tearful declaration, she vowed from now on that they would never regret a single moment in their life. Haruto agreed but told her politely not to claw at him, which made Tokino let go. “I’m so sorry, honey….”

Moments later, Hokori walked toward them. “Hey, boy! Wanna see something cool?”

“Oh, umm… Sure, why not,” Haruto stood up. Hokori walked him to a similarly sized table just beside the one used for billiards. “What’s this? Holographic hockey?” his eyes squinted.

“Nope. Even better!” Hokori smiled, “It’s a full-fledged Pokémon battle board! You can even do Triples here. Sadly, it’s stuck at Gen 8—but there’s a caveat. The National Dex is available!” He turned it on by its side. Two menu screens appeared on the opposite ends. “So… build your team for AG Singles. Mega Ray’s my all-time favorite—cuz he speaks to me on a spiritual level,” Hokori placed his right hand on his chest.

“You only like that Mon ‘cause it’s the most powerful one…” an unimpressed Kenkō chided while playing Harvest Moon with Yukino in the game section nearby.

Hokori turned his head. “Well duh… but I got ‘nother reason for dat!” He turned back and pointed at Haruto. “You’ll know soon enough, boy. For now, let’s dance! Dragon Dance!”

Hokori’s goto team was Rayquaza, Necrozma-DM, Yveltal, Calyrex-Shadow, Groudon, and Dialga. On the other hand, Haruto picked a team that surprised Hokori: Zacian-Crowned, Marshadow, Klefki, Urshifu, Kyogre, and Ho-Oh.

Just as Haruto expected, Rayquaza came in first. He chose Klefki first, so Hokori switched in with Primal Groudon; Precipice Blades did the job. Primordial Sea eventually replaced Desolate Land, and so Rayquaza switched back in.

As it went on, Yveltal walled Marshadow and Urshifu. Regenerator Ho-Oh destroyed Necrozma-DM and Dialga; Rayquaza returned the favor with interest. Zacian-Crowned revenge-killed the sky dragon and outsped the dark bird. Calyrex-Shadow was next.

Just when Zacian-Crowned survived the enemy’s Astral Barrage, it countered with Assurance. However, it turned out Hokori gave his pocket monster a Focus Sash. With that, the game had a clear victor after unceremoniously Dynamxing. He never needed to use Max Phantasm; Hokori grinned as the attack animation occurred.

Haruto clenched his fist with his eyes narrowed. “Damn it…! So close…”

“Wooohooo!! Dat was da realest shit, boy!!” Hokori raised his fists high.

Haruto let out a sigh and smiled when he shook hands with his brother. Tokino walked toward him from behind, very much sure he did great either way; Hokori confirmed it and patted her head. This time, however, she politely asked him not to do it again, by which he agreed with a nod.

“So… Why is Rayquaza truly your favorite?” Haruto walked closer.

Hokori chuckled, “Let’s just say—that me sayin’: ‘Haha! Impressive! You made me use more than a centillionth of my power!’ would actually not be a joke,” he walked to the refrigerator. “Speakin’ of questions—this reminds me…” he closed it and turned to the couple.

“What does?” Haruto asked again.

Hokori finished his white food bar. “The way you guys hooked up was cute and all. But you’re tellin’ me it took a week and a month, and…” he snapped his fingers, “…just like that—y’all lived happily ever after?” He crossed his arms.

Tokino walked closer. “Oh right, I haven’t told you. I’m so sorry. You see, um…” her cheeks reddened, “…our first kiss happened at the heat of the moment. We got too excited when the fireworks burst in the sky.

“We were so embarrassed the next day—we decided to part from each other until we were ready to date again. And after three months—we finally…” she looked at her husband and held his hand, cheeks redder than before.

“You had problems along the way, right?” Hokori raised an eyebrow once more.

Tokino nodded, “Oh, yes, we sure did. Some are present to this day. There were times I stayed up late at night to calm my Haruto’s depression cycles. As for me—well—I hate to talk about it. You’ll know soon enough….” Her head lowered.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault. It never was….” Haruto held her shoulder and gave her an intimate smile.

Hokori gave out a hearty laugh and reassured her, “Don’t stress yourself, kid. Had enough depressing backstories for one day….”

With that, he walked back to the refrigerator.

One hour later, Kakunō’s eyes drooped down. His coordination waned. Before, he dozed off four times. For the fifth time he did, the airship swerved back and forth abruptly; everyone else felt it. After apologizing, he yawned while driving again. “By the Gods… How much more should I endure? Of all the things—those demons just had to choose such faraway—” a loud thud outside the airship startled him.

The others had the same reaction except for Hokori, “Goddamnit…!” he spoke in Japanese, dropping his food bar.

Kakunō looked at surveillance of the ship’s right side. He was utterly baffled. A Pegasus carriage’s failed landing knocked out the white horses, so the condors crept in closer for a rare snack. However, blue beams of magic energy killed them all swiftly. It was none other than Richard using Runic Art—the Minagawas’ chauffeur. He went inside and kneeled to the family. “A million apologies. I had too much to drink last night with the king. My hangover was relentless.”

Surprisingly, the Pegasi were very well behaved, huddling around each other as they slept; Yukino petted one of them. Richard performed dogeza in front of the couple but was quickly told not to by Tokino. Standing up thanking her, he walked to an old friend.

“Yo, Richie! Long time no see, fam!” his said friend smiled.

“As to you too, Hokori…” they shook hands. “I hate that name immensely, but either way, I’m glad you’re getting along with them. Clovis would have knocked on your doorstep if you didn’t.”

Hokori shrugged. “Well—we still got skeletons here and there, but you’re pretty spot-on. Not gonna lie. And besides—I legit curb stomp Clover’s hairy ass with my left pinky toe.” He chuckled.

The couple joined their conversation; Haruto hugged and patted Richard for coming back. Five minutes later, Kakunō’s call interrupted the reunion. They finally arrived at their destination.

The murder condors that were outside the airship flew down. Looking out the cockpit, Yukino witnessed the pitiful state Smaragdos was in; she covered her mouth and gasped. Like ancient ruins, buildings that were supposed to be skyscrapers tall had their upper halves litter the ground, alongside discarded, rusty airships and vehicles.

Yukino also noticed long rows of giant, rusted metallic arms planted on elevated concrete. Colorful boulder-sized gems on conveyor belts laid in front. Countless corpses and smears of dried, brown blood piled up in droves everywhere. Yukino stood back, hyperventilating. As Kenkō ran to comfort her little sister, Kakunō did the same. After thanking them, Yukino ran to her mother and hugged her close.

Richard asked if they could use his ride to get down there without getting caught—proclaiming it would be a great honor to do so. Hokori quickly declined his offer, “No need for that, fam. We got that covered.” He revealed that Kenkō brought in more flying carpets than just the one back home. He explained to Richard that it had been a longtime staple for Coelestian mages on missions.

Yukino walked toward Kenkō and lightly tugged her shirt. “Ummm, Big Sis… Can I fly with—”

Kenkō hugged her little sister. “Of course, you can, Yukichi. Tell you what—we’ll fly together from now on, alright?” she looked at her, holding her shoulders. After accepting, Yukino gave her a big smile with her eyes closed. With decisions made, Kakunō walked past them and prepared the carpets by pressing a button near a hatch. Outside, said carpets floated midair in a line, ready for use. Excluding Richard, they all exited to a door. Tokino held her husband close, while Yukino did the same on her big sister.

Hokori stopped just at the door to turn around, “You comin’ or naw, Richie?” he raised an eyebrow.

“No, thank you. If I leave my Pegasi alone, they’ll have tantrums again. And they need rest.” He turned to his steeds and stroked their necks.

Hokori chuckled, “Welp—suit yourself, fam. Anythin’ goes wrong, just fly by us, ya got that?” he threw a small circular device unto his hands. Seeing Richard nod, he closed the door.

“Pocket Hubs,” these devices were called. Hokori threw more to his family, who now rode their carpets. “Place them on your necks. They only serve to transceive The Every Hub interface back home. That way, we can call each other anytime.” Hokori lamented that he should have told them about this earlier along the ride. He laughed in front.

Kenkō politely told Yukino to step back, as she would be the one to drive. Noticing this, Hokori looked at the couple, “Any y’all know how to fly dat shit?!” he raised an eyebrow.

“I do!” Tokino raised her hand and lowered it, “Well, I mean… I haven’t driven one in ages. You just have to mentally command it where you want it to move, right?”

“Yeah, das right, but it’d be tedious as fuck if ya don’t know what you’re doin’. Just don’t go free fallin’ down there, ya hear?!” Hokori took off to the skies. Everyone followed suit.

Hokori showed the most mastery out of all of them. He casually stood up, putting his hands on his pockets, and effortlessly weaved through flocks of murder condors via barrel rolls. The species’ average length was three and a half meters from beak tip to tailfeather, with a wingspan of six and a half meters. Befitting their bulky appearance, they weighed eighty-five kilograms.

When one came close to gobbling down Hokori’s head, Kakunō witnessed the attacking condor’s own disappear in a single time frame; its corpse fell below, spinning around. He smiled with his eyes closed and sighed internally, “Insatiably arrogant as always….”

On the balcony of Smaragdos’ palace, demon general Auris looked upon the arriving family using binoculars. Out of pure distilled, heart-raising fear, he instantly alerted his comrades. Running to one of them, he caught his breath. “Meretrix… Meretrix. They’re here!” he pointed from behind.

“My, my (あらあら)… slow down, hon. Just tell me straight.” Said the red-dressed Meretrix as she crossed her arms under her ample rack. Her femme fatale never faded, even in battle. Being a wavy brunette was also a plus.

The lanky Auris stood up and fixed his blue tie quickly. “It’s them. It’s really them…! Hokori and his gang! He’s got three new ones, too!” His report lit up Meretrix’s eyes, sweating bullets.

After observing the fire cage, blonde Lupa got off from squatting. “Oh, just fucking brilliant!” she complained. “Normally, I’m supposed to be the violent one. But the sheer bloodlust of the Peerless Champion makes him neither human nor animal. I say it’s time to bounce!” She pulled up her short shorts.

“No…!” Meretrix turned to her, “They might do something to the boy.”

Lupa grunted and walked toward her. “Huuuuuh? What do you mean by fucking ‘might,’ you smegma-riddled whore?! I hate their guts, but they’re not rapist raiders! Ya got cum in your ears or somethin’— Ugh!” She was suddenly choked with one hand, kneeling on the ground as she frothed in the mouth.

Meretrix gave off such a glare even her hardened comrade became terrified. She squeezed her hand tighter. “Oh, my dear sweet, sweet Lupa… For all my times fighting alongside someone—you’ve always been the ugliest.

“Must be so privileged to be Yama’s daughter. Never having to gag and vomit out the so-called ‘cum’ of your clients… so you can provide bread for your little angels.

“And so I dare you, my darling Lupa… Shame me further!!” As tears rolled down her cheeks, she strangled her comrade harder, making her eyes bulge.

“Calm down, Meretrix!” Auris stepped in to make her let go, by which she complied. Lupa fell on her knees and coughed excessively. “Do you even CARE what’s gonna happen to us when he arrives?! Are you suggesting we do nothing?” he gestured his arms.

Meretrix walked to him and shook her head, “No… We do the opposite. Let’s warn our men,” she exited the ruined throne room.

Auris helped his comrade Lupa get back on her feet. “Crazy psycho bitch…” she panted with eyes narrowed.