Third Person Point of View
…
In the main base of the Khaos Order at the 'end' of the Multiverse, in a certain section were the devils. They were led by the original Satan's and their followers were their descendants and the mass-produced Super devils who ranged from Low God-class to the peak of power of a God-class.
The other ones who allied themselves with the True Satan Faction of the Khaos Order were the [Malebranche] and Lilith, the mother of all devils of the 72 pillars.
Malacoda, the leader of the [Malebranche] was in the same position as the original Satans. However, with Beelzebub and Lucifer essentially crippled, Leviathan was the one who truly led them with Malacoda. However, Lucifer had gone to a different universe just like Beelzebub to find a cure and strengthen himself further.
Lilith, who did not care for her husband simply watched over everything. She did not take part in meetings; she did not take part in invasions. She simply watched over all of them. Lapis did not have a problem with her stance since her old body and flesh was still being used to mass-produce Super Devils.
Lilith had been over-used by her husband, the original Lucifer, in the creation of the original first-generation devils. If the requirements he wanted were not met, he would get rid of the devils he had made and forced Lilith to create more devils. This cycle repeated over and over until the original 72 pillars were made.
The only flesh and blood offspring that Lucifer and Lilith made by normal copulation was Rizevim Livan Lucifer, their only son. The rest of the devils were created using Lilith's flesh and Lucifer's powers.
"Lilith, are you sure of your stance?" asked Leviathan.
"I am," she answered plainly. "I am tired; however, I may act in the future. But for now, I will rest."
Leviathan nodded before leaving. Lilith had avoided her husband the entire time since both of their revivals. Lilith was brought back with Lapis' powers, while the original Satans were brought back using the powers of the Phantasma. The others were brought back by the [Sephiroth Graal] and finally a method by the Evie faction.
Lilith like many of the original devils was crazy, had dreams and ambitions of world domination and had a high ego. That was Lilith before she became a giant blob of flesh. However, after her subsequent 'death' and disappearance, and spending many years locked up in that fleshy prison. She had become quite passive once she was transferred over to a new body.
Her new body was much like her old one, however, it was much stronger. Yet, she did not feel the urgency and need for world domination. Her previous ego had vanished and she simply wished to observe the new world around her. She would remain neutral in everything. Whether the world that she is in is destroyed and taken over by the Khaos Order or flourish under the Middleman's peace, she would simply watch from the side as it happens. Those were her initial thoughts.
The strain that she had to endure during all those years had changed her. The young arrogant, world dominating-wanting Lilith was no more, and now an old relic who wished to remain a 'side character' had replaced her.
However, she did not dislike her current position in the world. Unlike most of the members of the Khaos Order who had some sort of grand scheme or plan, she secretly watched the rest of the human world and the supernatural world.
What caught her interest were the new Rating Games created by her 'children', and the peace that a certain man wanted for all of the factions and pantheons. The Rating Games were a source of entertainment for Lilith, so she would watch all the games she could. She had her own favorites and silently cheered them on.
The other thing that caught her attention was a man—a young human boy who kept shouting about peace, co-existence and wanting a harem. Once she was revived, and started to learn about the Khaos Order's purpose, the one who opposed them—she started to follow his movements.
The other members of her organization thought she was thinking of countermeasures against the Middleman, but she was just curious as to why he wanted peace, and if that was his real goal.
In the course of time, and seeing his goals never changing, she accepted it as fact and was secretly waiting for his next accomplishment. Whether it was something mundane, like helping a random faction or pantheon, having another pantheon or faction join the current DxD Alliance, or him and his comrades foiling another plot by the organization she was in.
Over time, Lilith had one selfish wish take root in her heart. She wanted to meet him—Jin Skyward, the Middleman. She was curious. She wanted to know what drew people to him, why some former enemies of him joined his side, or simply gained respect for him.
The original Leviathan, as much as she had hatred for the Jin, she also held him in high regard and couldn't deny the things he had done and achieved. While the Leviathan wouldn't ever change sides or her beliefs, she had respect for one human, and that was Jin.
When Lilith heard of this she was shocked. She never thought someone like Leviathan would have that kind of opinion on the Middleman. So… she set out, she set out on asking many people in the Khaos Order on their opinion of the Middleman.
As expected, most hated him, most loathed him, many wanted him dead, or for someone to mind control him to join their side to gain a powerful ally. However, to the rare few who had something else to say about him… it usually split into two sides. Fear and respect.
Some were fearful of what kind of person he was and the power he possessed and what he could do with it. Many of them were aware that he was an outer god, however, once they found out how easily he could end them if he wanted, they became fearful.
Several thought of him as naive, wondering why he wouldn't choose to not leverage that power? Why doesn't he change everything to his liking with the snap of his fingers? His own stance and ways of doing things confused them.
On the other hand, he was respected by some on the other side. They too knew of his outer god status, how easily he could destroy their world and organization. Yet he didn't, and they also wanted to know why. But some thought that he had a lot of restraint and thought that the Middleman wanted to fight them equally and slowly destroy them that way.
To have power like that, yet not obliterate everything, and have the restraint to fight them equally from time to time, some grew to respect that. Whether it was his naivety or something else entirely.
To Lilith, it was something else. With her own powers, she created a few small creatures to spy on him, but they were quickly destroyed. So she did her best to find out anything and everything about the Middleman. Interviews, opinions of the general supernatural beings, his achievements.
With all of the things she found, she came to a conclusion. He was just like that. He heard of rumors that he used his powers in the silliest of things, the power to create anything, yet he created robot-like creatures to do chores for him? Preposterous to some, amusing to Lilith.
The power to resurrect anything and anyone without consequences? Abuse it! Revive all the dead gods, powerful creatures, legendary figures and have them join your own faction and use them for world domination!
While Lilith respected his own stance and rules for his own resurrection, she also thought they were stupid and naive. To give the souls the option to be resurrected or let them rest eternally, she couldn't help but bitterly smile. She didn't have that option; she was forced into her new body after all.
To Lilith, Jin Skyward was a naïve boy who had the powers of a powerful god beyond their understanding, yet... he only wanted to act like a normal human male and live a normal life. At first, she didn't understand. In her mind, why would anyone want that? If they had the power to change anything, surely a bit of your own ego would change, wouldn't it?
If most people were given that power, they would become arrogant to some degree, and abuse it to some degree, yet he didn't. She didn't understand. But as she watched on and learned more, she understood to some degree.
If you had the power to do everything, and did all of that… then what? You would be left with an idyllic world with nothing to do. Everyone would regard you as a god and would either be too terrified to stand up against you or try to take advantage of you.
At that point, could you trust anyone? Who was being genuine, and who was doing it for their own gain? Lilith found out about video games and slowly understood how they worked, and she liked comparing Jin Skyward to a max level character who used 'hacks' or 'cheats' at New Game + to make things easier for himself, yet… he played it with handicaps.
'Don't do this', 'Don't do that', 'Hold back here', 'Goof off there'. In Lilith's conclusion, she thought Jin did it so he could enjoy life more, including the fact that he hadn't ended their organization yet. He simply wished to 'enjoy' fighting the bad guys.
Lilith couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all when she came to that conclusion. An all-mighty god playing along with their whims, and one day he would end them all once he had his fill. But she wanted to live and see more of the peace that he desired.
She didn't know if the peace he wanted was real, or were just the bored whims of a god. Yet, she wanted to believe in the former and not the latter. That's why she had been planning.
"I may act in the future." Is that she told the original Leviathan. However, that plan was to defect from the Khaos Order, and join the DxD Alliance. She would cooperate with them, and provide them with all information she knows and that's why she had been attending meetings and listening to the plans of others in the Khaos Order.
Lilith did not like being imprisoned at the base of the Khaos Order. To her, it felt like her own imprisonment in that flesh for hundreds of years. She did not want a repeat, yet she still acted calmly so she could proceed with her plans for the future.
She just wanted one chance to speak with the Middleman and convince him she wanted to start anew. But after that, she wished to remain neutral… although she herself did not know if the Middleman would also affect her. No…
She knew that he had already influenced her. If he didn't, she wouldn't be having these kinds of thoughts, wouldn't she? When she realized this, it scared her, but it was not the type of fear that she held like she did with the God of the Bible, and how easily he could kill them with his lights and powers.
She and the Middleman had never met before, yet he had a profound effect on her. He had changed her in ways she wouldn't dare think of. For a devil who had been alive for many years, who had many experiences prior to being imprisoned…
This kind of power was terrifying. To be able to influence both allies and enemies to this extent even when not meeting. It piqued her interest to wonder if this was another power of his—a power that he had subconsciously been using over time. The power of change.
Lilith, who was sitting on a chair, a book on her lap and as she stared out a window into the city below her. She sighed and got up.
"I still have work to do…"
…
"Asmodeus, how are the preparations coming along?" asked Leviathan.
Asmodeus looked up and nodded. "It is progressing well. However, it will take some time to prepare. For the time being we have sent several super devils to a brand-new universe to see how they fare against its inhabitants," he replied.
"And?"
"For the time being, along with the soldiers of the Evie, and some phantoms of the Phantasma they have taken over 75% of the world after 2 days. There has been some resistance, but they are not strong enough. Although they are mostly humans, a few youkais and monsters. The dragons of that world are the only ones who can truly stand up against them," explained Asmodeus.
"Two days and only at 75%? Those dragons are at least on par with God-class beings then?" asked Leviathan.
"It seems so. They call themselves Dragon Gods, however, it doesn't seem they have that kind of power, yet everything else in their world cannot stand against them," replied Asmodeus.
"Do they have devils?" asked Leviathan.
"Yes and we have tried to recruit them, but like us, they are arrogant and prideful, so we killed them. We will, however, use their flesh and mix them with the divine beasts and cryptids to have another powerful army of otherworld demons at our disposal."
"Hmph. If they do not bow down to us then they will serve as nothing more than minions," said Leviathan. "How about Lucifer and Beelzebub? I heard they travelled to the Evie and Phantasma respectively."
"Yes they did. Lucifer is seeking out assistance from the Evie while Beelzebub has gone to the Phantasma. Lucifer didn't suffer much damage, yet he seeks to increase his power through cybernetic enhancement. Beelzebub was basically crippled, so he may seek out a new body entirely, one possibly made by the Phantasma," said Asmodeus.
He then looked at her and asked, "What about the Seekers of Truth? Do they not have any plans?"
"The Wizards of Oz will do something in the coming months, but after that, I do not know. However, they will apparently set the holiday of Halloween into an unending blaze, for both the human and supernatural worlds. It is a large-scale attack," answered Leviathan. "They also won't suffer too many losses, only a few strategic losses."
"So they plan on sacrificing some of their witches, huh?" asked Asmodeus.
"Yes, it sounds like it."
After that briefly exchange, Leviathan left the area, she walked down a hallway and summoned a magic circle. Through that it showed a picture, of a purple-haired Diva—Ingvild Leviathan.
She had become quite famous in the Underworld and human world due to her voice and songs. Even though it hadn't been long since her debut, she had gained a lot of positive attention, and had become a celebrity.
Initially Leviathan was disgusted by this, however, once she heard her sing, she also quite liked it. So she sought out the father of Ingvild Leviathan and had him join the Khaos Order. She also knew that Ingvild possessed a powerful Sacred Gear to which Lapis classified as a [New Longinus] that could manipulate dragons and the sea. She wanted that—even if they had to use mind control on their own descendant, or outright take it from her—killing her.
Leviathan wanted it, but she wanted to entice Ingvild with the opportunity to meet her father. She knew that as a hybrid and being around the Middleman, her own emotions would be used against her.
Ingvild's father had no issues with it as he had planned on using Ingvild to rise up in the ranks of the Underworld. However, once he found out that his only daughter had gone to the Middleman's side, he had basically abandoned her, and he also resent the Four Great Satans for it.
So he retreated back to seclusion. That was until he was approached by the original Leviathan and he joined them very quickly. Ingvild's father had the mindset of the old Satans, so he did not associate himself with the current Underworld government that much, and that's why he quickly joined the original Leviathan's side, to create an ideal world for himself.
…
"Fafafafa, to think with the help of Lapis we would be able to consistently create Super Devils that could even rival Shiva! Fafafa!" Hades laughed as he looked at the many tubes in his own laboratory.
He like many others had moved their base to the Khaos Order's base so that the Middleman couldn't foil their immediate plans. After that, he transported the giant flesh of Lilith's former body into this place from the depths of Cocytus.
After that, Lapis injected the blood of Nyarlathotep, as well as used some of her powers to stabilize the production of the new Super Devils. Currently, they had amassed around 5000 Super Devils that ranged from Low God-class to the peak of God-class. Also, there were at least 4 of them that were around the weak end of Dragon God-class.
Those were Balberith, Verrine, Gressil and Sonneillon. They were born unusual, even more so than the other Super Devils, so Hades classified them as Dragon God-class, the ones who surpassed the [Artificial Transcendentals].
However, he had not sent them out on a mission yet. He wanted them to get used to their powers, train and hone them, so that's why he had sent both Balberith and Verrine to the Evie faction to be trained further and also have their powers enchanted further. The same with Gressil and Sonneillon, as he sent them to the Phantasma.
<
"Good, do that. Our goal is to make at least ten million in the next few months. If we can do more than that would be more ideal," said Hades and the grim reaper nodded before leaving.
"To think these little things could even help conquer the multiverse, fafafafa! Now all we need is for Lapis to come back and make it possible to make Dragon God-class beings consistently!"
Hades laughed again. He hated Team [DxD], the Middleman, and the suffocating peace that he pursued.
There is no surprise that not everyone would like the peace that Jin pursues. Some are fine with the way things are, some are content with being enemies. To some, peace even hurts them—hurts the way they live, the way their lives are brought.
To many beings—including Gods, they want to stop that peace that he pursues. Along with the unusual Sacred Gear wielders that keep appearing, along with the original 13, new Sacred Gears that could be considered 'on par' with the original are appearing now too.
Hades is aware of one of them, not including [Nereid Kyrie] possessed by Ingvild Leviathan. [Alphecca tyrant], however, he is still trying to capture the current possessor or at the very least, force them to join the Khaos Order. But it is progressing well, as the current wielder has no control over it and their own personal circumstances. Hades believed that it would be easy to manipulate her.
"Fafafa, a way to deal with the Middleman's desires, that would most certainly be beneficial! Fafafa!"
…
[You are interested in participating in the Halloween operation?]
"Yeah," replied Atsutarou Himejima. "Even if I die, I want to speak to Shuri one last time."
[Very well, we will inform the rest of the members of the Wizards of Oz,] replied Oz. [But, as you know, we are expecting a calculated loss from this operation.]
"I know. That's why I said that if I die, I won't care that much," he replied again in a calm tone.
'At the very least I'll be with her after I die,' he thought and showed a rare smile on his face.
Atsutarou Himejima did not have much to live for. The few exiled members that joined them, and the few that were captured, it was a loss. However, they would keep on moving forward, and even now. Some exiled members are still appearing, the ones that bear grudges toward the clans.
"What about you, Nakagami Nakiri?" Atsutarou asked his fellow members.
"…I will do what I originally set out to do. After inheriting this Divine Beast that is on par with the Yellow Dragon of my clan, Huanglong," he said as his right arm started to turn into that of a dragon.
"You sent out your clone during that attack, right? You even had it pretend to be someone else, pretty sly of you," said Atsutarou.
"I only wished to test Ryuuta. To see how far he's come, but it seems like he's still hung up on me. Well, it doesn't matter. I wish to get revenge on Vali Lucifer and Tobio Ikuse," he said and bloodlust poured out of his body.
"And they say I hold grudges," Atsutarou laughed. "Well, since you're not participating yet, I'll go and rattle them when times comes then," said Atsutarou and walked away as he dismissed the magic circle.
Nakagami Nakiri silently watched Atsutarou as he finally left his vision. He closed his eyes and looked at a scar he had obtained from his final confrontation with Vali Lucifer and Tobio Ikuse. They had used a combined attack to finish him off—presumably to his death, but he was saved and now he was here.
"You two aren't the only ones who grew stronger… with this Divine Beast I am even stronger than before… just you wait." He then looked at a certain image of a blonde woman. "Lavinia Reni will be mine too… Dual Dragon Emperor—Jin Skyward, you are a pest that is in my way."
…
A man with silver hair was currently destroying his own living quarters. Every night since he had that showdown with Jin Skyward, he had not had a peaceful night's sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he would have the same dream, two women he was obsessed with would be inevitably taken away from him by Jin.
Every time he slept this would repeat, so he would force himself to stay awake, he even spoke to Avezza and Promestein asking for some help, he threw away his pride—in case he would become insane because of those dreams
In those dreams, his beloved sister Grayfia Lucifuge and the silvery-white-haired woman Rossweisse would be endlessly taken away from him by that one man he hates—a man he hates nothing more in this world and would give anything for a chance to kill him.
However—the pills and experiments that he was put through did not help, and when he stayed awake for too long, he would start to see images while he was awake of those dreams come to life. He hated it, he couldn't take it anymore.
'My sister! My sister! I want your love! I want your touch! I want eveeerrryyttthiiiiiinnggg!!' He screamed in the depths of his mind. Bloody tears streamed down his cheeks as his bloodshot eyes stared with a ferocity you would see only in a cornered animal.
The picture he stared at was none other than Jin. He then fired a powerful ball at him. "Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die! If only you never existed!!!!!" He howled and destroyed his room again.
"E-Euclid-sama, we have found some intel…" muttered a devil.
"What is it?!" He screamed at them.
"It seems that—"
Once he heard that, a large grin spread across Euclid's face. However, even in his own rage he wouldn't be foolish enough to venture there himself, no he would risk being captured, so…
"Prepare around 1000 body doubles, I am going to fight him there. I do not care if I kill humans, they are nothing but trash," he ordered the other devil.
"A-at once…!" the little devil didn't want to argue. He knew that his master was unstable and if he refused, he would perish right there and then.
He ran to a magician, explained what Euclid wanted and they headed to Satanael and Avezza who were working together on something. They told them of what Euclid desired and they obliged. They hadn't used that many body doubles yet and were curious on how much Euclid's clone could take, and Euclid himself.
So they were going to approve of this selfish yet psychotic demand for their own curious minds. Euclid would become a guinea pig for his own selfish desires.
…
Japan, Kuoh
Skyward Household
…
Jin Skyward's Soliloquy
…
"I never thought Göndul-san was Rossweisse-san's grandmother," said Fusae.
I along with Le Fay and Lisa were in the library of my home, it around an hour I would be going out with Rossweisse on a date. I would take pictures during it and send it to Göndul so she could send it to her parents.
"Hmm. She didn't tell you yet? Though I can kind of understand since it's not something you would casually say," I replied.
I was sitting on one of the many couches and chairs littered in this room. Fusae, for some reason was sitting between my legs and reading a book from there. Le Fay and Lisa were also at my sides. So I was squished in by two magicians and had one in between my legs.
"Fufu, I knew, Fusae-chan~ you could have asked me about it since I was in Rossweisse-chan's home after all~," said Lisa.
"I had a vague feeling since they did look alike when Göndul-sama came in," added Le Fay. "But it was still quite a shock. No wonder Rossweisse-sama was such a talented magic user!"
"Ufufu, I guess it runs in the blood, huh~?" asked Lisa and she for some reason licked my cheek.
I gave her a questioning look but she just quietly giggled to herself.
"By the way, Aaron. You're heading out on a date with Rossweisse-san, right?" asked Fusae as she looked up at me.
I looked down at her and said, "Yeah, we are. We'll be traveling to Tokyo for the date, though I suspect that she'll try to take me to some 100-yen shops."
"Even after having such a high paying job from her beloved boyfriend, she still makes trips to those stores~ I guess old habits die hard, huh?" Lisa then got up and faced me. "Well? Am I hired for this position yet? I've been at it for a little while now you know?" she asked.
Lisa did offer to be the librarian at this place, though she doesn't really need to do anything as far as I'm concerned. "I mean sure, but you don't really have a 'job' of sorts here since everything is run on magic or advanced technology," I said to her. "Or are you after money?" I asked and smirked.
Lisa bent over and got dangerously close to me. "How would you respond if I said I was aiming for your heart, cutie~?"
An unexpected response! …Well, partially. I didn't think helping her that one time made any sort of lasting impact on her.
"Well, go for it. But sure, why not? Welcome aboard—as one of my employees I mean," I said and put my hand out, but instead of shaking my hand, she made me squeeze her breast. "Please don't do that…" I said and pulled away.
"Fufu, I will pay you back that way, Aaron-kun~" she said and walked away with her book.
"How can you deal with people like Lisa-senpai?" asked Fusae. She had gone back to reading her book during that short exchange between me and Lisa.
"I just got used to it. Whether it be here or my old life… probably. Anyway, it's just life experience. I thought you'd have that too, Fusae?" I asked back.
"No… I tend to stay away and just study, experiment and read on my own. Though, I guess that still remains the same here, while I live in your home… but…"
"You talk to a lot more people here, Fusae-sama!" said Le Fay. "You tend to come out of the library at night after dinner and even if you have your books, you chat a lot with everyone here, and you tend to move from one group to another," she added.
I agree with Le Fay. At the start when she first moved in here, she was quite a recluse. However, thanks to Inaie and a few others, she started to talk to them more often, and she had even started to initiate these small conversations, and seeing her like that was very encouraging. She, in her own way was becoming more social.
"I'm not against it, I just didn't have a lot of opportunities back in Grauzauberer, and the two people I was interested in speaking with were gone, so…"
As I pointed at myself, I asked, "I'm the one to blame?"
"I never said that," Fusae replied, and she turned back to reading. "By the way, your magic that you use it different to ours, Aaron. Is it from another world?" she asked.
"Yeah it's different. It's like the devil's demonic powers. I mainly use my imagination, and don't need to rely on equations and formulas."
"Sounds convenient…"
"Do you want to use it?" I asked but she shook her head.
"I already spent a lot of time with my own magic, so if I abandoned it now it would feel like a waste, but… I heard from Lavinia-senpai and Rossweisse-san that you helped them with a few things…" she said and looked back up at me.
"Ah, those… yeah sure why not? Show me your magic circle."
She did so and a magic circle appeared in front of us. I examined it, tapped a few places, and applied my own magic and powers to them. What I did was the same thing I did to Rose and Nia. I decreased the strain and drain on her magic by around 99%, so she would be using in theoretical sense 1MP out of her, let's say 10,000 MP pool. She would also regain her magical energy at a rate of 10,000 MP per second, so basically infinite.
Of course, these were just theoretical numbers, as I hadn't looked at Fusae in detail with my [Observe]. But… it wouldn't hurt, right? So I used it on her.
…
Name: Fusae Hirawa
Age: 18
Potential: High-Tier God Class – Ex+++
Rank: Satan Class – SSS
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Titles: Library Girl/Fu-chan/Silent Beauty
Sacred Gear: None
Mp: 66,666,666 (Mp Regen: 66,666,666 per second)
…
'What the… I know I redacted her stats, but what kind of MP and MP regen is that…?' I was quite shocked by the revelation. I know she had started training in the [Training Facility] in my home, and was being taught by Nia, Rose, and Lisa as well as a few others, but this was…
"You're incredible, Fusae. Are you sure you don't have some kind of special bloodline or something? I have the ability to see people's potential and other parameters, and what I'm seeing right now is pretty amazing," I said to her.
"Not that I could think of… my family wasn't part of the supernatural, I'm the only one. To keep them safe, I moved away from them after finishing college," she explained.
"Wait what? You're only 18 though?"
"I skipped a few grades and enrolled in college when I was 12 before leaving college when I was 17. During that time Mephisto Pheles-san financially supported me, and I also supported myself by doing some jobs and assignments."
"Damn… dare I say, you're a bigger genius than Rose on that part…" I said a bit shocked. Twelve years old and in college, I couldn't even imagine such a thing, especially in my past life. That just sounds wild to me…
"Though as most would say, I lost my chance at youth because of that… but at last I can experience it here," she said and looked at me.
I didn't know what she was implying there, so I just agreed with her. After that, I along with Le Fay and Lisa asked her a few questions regarding her time in college and other things.
…
I arrived in the entrance hallway and found Rose patiently waiting there. She wore a long brown coat, a pink skirt, pantyhose and brown boots. It also looked like she had put some lip cream on his lips.
I took a look at myself and cringed a bit. I was being way too casual about this, so I quickly changed into more appropriate clothing. Well, my usual clothes for my job, but it's still better than what I was wearing…
"Hey, I can see you're ready. You look gorgeous by the way," I said to her as I arrived beside her.
Rose blushed and hugged my arm.
"To Tokyo then! The normal way…"
…
Tokyo was only around an hour away using Kuoh's train station, so it wasn't that long of a journey. Though I had to thank Japan's easy to use and fast railway system as well as their bus routes. Ireland was the same, kind of. The railways were only accessible in certain parts of the country, but the bus service was excellent, and I wish that more countries would implement it as well.
We had to switch trains when we arrived at Shinjuku station and once we were on that train, a lot of people were drawn to her beauty. It's not every day that Rose dresses up, or does her make-up, though I noticed she started doing it more once we got into a relationship.
"Is she a model…?"
"She's so beautiful…!"
Those were the whispers we heard when we sat down together, though I wasn't too far from the comments either, which were—
"Tch. She has a boyfriend, lucky asshole."
"Die."
"It should have been me, not him! It's not fair."
Most were hostile as you could guess. Rose, however, glared coldly at them and clutched my arm even tighter when she heard that.
"Maybe I should have worn something less conspicuous," she muttered to herself.
"Nah, anything you wear makes you cute, Rose."
Upon hearing that she blushed again and lightly hit me on the arm making me laugh. We got even more glares because of that, and it made the ride to Tokyo both lively and tense.
…
We had arrived at a station that was away from the city center, and she dragged me to a certain shop, and once we got there, she became rather excited.
"…" I wearily smiled since the shop she dragged me to was a 100-yen shop. I more or less expected this, but seeing her this excited I chose not to say anything otherwise it would bring the mood down.
We entered the shop and she immediately let go of my arm and—
"…T-this is the huge 100-yen store for women that I had been dreaming about. The "Bella"! It means beautiful or beauty in Italian, and this brand only has fashionable items for women all lined up! It's famous for having a high-grade item that really doesn't look like a 100-yen item just by the look of it. Oh, look! That plate looks very fashionable! Oh, that pen holder has a beautiful shape which has no flaws to it! Oh, this one has a tremendous amount of storage space even at this size…!"
She was running around like a child let loose in a toy shop. I had trouble trying to keep up with her excitement. I did promise her that I would bring a 100 and 200-yen shop to her countryside home and other places in Asgard. But I did expect her to relax a bit since she finally has extra income, and I also give some money to Göndul every now and again.
"Ah…! Everything costs just exactly 100 yen! Nothing over it! Not 200 or 300!" she exclaimed excitedly.
Well, yes… we're in a 100-Yen shop after all. I followed Rose along as she enjoyed her extended shopping spree in the store.
…
Around an hour later we had left.
"I couldn't help but buy around ¥10,000 worth of items! I'm sorry, Aaron…" she said apologetically.
That was around $75 or €70. Or if I count them individually, around €0.70 or $0.75 per item. She really bought a lot of things. The majority of the bags were carried out by me before we slipped into an alleyway and stored them inside her ring.
"Don't worry about it, I paid for all of it after all," I said as we walked away and held hands.
"Ugh… I'm sorry, I'll pay you back!" she said and squeezed my hand.
I laughed, pecked her on the lips and said, "There, you paid me back."
"…~~~ t-that's unfair…" she mumbled to herself as she blushed again.
After just a short while, we bought some food and walked to a small park to eat it. We sat on a bench and ate in silence for a few minutes.
"…I never thought my life would take me here. I believe most of my previous choices led me here, and I'm happy with it," she suddenly said.
"I was able to become a Valkyrie because I put all my time and effort into studying. I ignored my youth for it, but now I look back at it, I think I made the right choice," she said and looked at me.
"But I have my own failures, Aaron," she said and took out an emblem from her ring and presented it to me.
I knew what that was, and I guess she was about to share a bit of her history with me. I tried to breach the topic a few times over the 15 and 100 years. However, she said 'another time' or 'I'll tell you when I'm ready', so I didn't push her after that.
"This is a unique symbol, a house crest that has been passed down through my family for generations. The oldest child in the family inherits this symbol and gets it carved into their body and soul in order to pass it on to the next."
"I am the oldest child, the oldest daughter to be specific, but I couldn't..." Rose stopped there and then said in a lower tone, "I couldn't inherit this symbol."
In Asgard, the demi gods that live there create and polish their unique magic, techniques, and traditions. Those would be passed down through the generations. That symbol that Rose carried was proof of that, proof that she inherited it, as it would be carved into her body and soul. Yet she failed.
Rose's family was no different. They had planned for her to carry that symbol into the next generation and inherit it from her mother who had inherited it from her own mother.
But Rose couldn't do it. She couldn't inherit the emblem. No matter how many times she performed the ritual to inherit it, the emblem didn't get carved into Rossweisse's body, soul and magic circle.
"I don't have any siblings, so my distant cousin inherited the emblem in the end. That child completed the ritual with no complications and inherited it immediately."
"I remember it very well because no one at the time made any complaints about it. I was originally bad at using the magic that my family used. I don't know if I had bad compatibility with it, the seiz-style, but I still can't use it even after I try to after meeting you..."
"However, I learned how to use rune-style and the gandol-style, but what shocked me the most was that I easily got used to the battle maiden's offensive magic. Currently, I have become the user of one of the most powerful offensive magic in my family. However, among my family, who had learned all three rune styles, I was the only irregular one."
"To have great compatibility of magic that my family barely used, it's quite strange, isn't it? But I was fortunate enough to become a Valkyrie, but I'm nothing compared to my grandmother during her prime. The results she showed back then..."
I already knew all of that, but hearing it from her personally, and how close we are, I can sort of understand her feelings about it.
Rose had compatibility issues. You could even compare her to Sairaorg in a way. This is because he didn't inherit the [Power of Destruction] from the Bael family, nor could he utilize the power of demonic energy.
Yet both of these people managed to thrive with the handicaps they were given in life. For example, Sairaorg rose to where he was and even, he came the heir to the family even without those things. Rose also got to where she was, a body guard of Odin, even it wasn't the best position in the world.
It was too much for me to understand, at least at their level. I feel... I think that I felt inferior in my past life. Both my parents were successful, as were my other family members and cousins. I think I was an only child, and my dad who was successful, pressured me to succeed.
I squeezed her hand and said, "Well, even if you couldn't, it's as you say, you learned to be competent, or even better at other areas of magic. You showed your family that you could become an excellent magician and a Valkyrie without those things. And with your hard work, you became stronger when we went 'there' didn't you?"
She blushed and nodded, so I continued. "You've even learned many new spells, techniques, and abilities that you have yet to show everyone, especially in that upcoming International Rating Game."
"Hmm... but before we met, I had a lot of anxieties. I worried about my future. I was desperate, you know? Brynhildr-senpai and the other Valkyries didn't have this problem either, so I felt even more pressure, and I then became Odin-sama's body guard..."
"But... you gave me a job, and we eventually..." she blushed and couldn't say the rest. She shook her head and continued with her earlier remarks. "None of my parents, the people of my family and my grandmother blamed me and even treated me normally when I couldn't inherit it."
"My family accepted my situation and said 'Well there will always come a time when a child like her appears and can't inherit it'. I was bothered by it but also happy they didn't shun me. But after that I always felt different."
She shook her head and said, "No, I am really happy with how things turned out. I don't know what would have happened if those things hadn't happened in my life. Would we have met differently? How would we be now? I ask myself questions like that on a regular basis."
"You know the rest of my history, skipping grades, taking my classes and studies very seriously, and became Odin-sama's escort. Being abandoned and having to choose between becoming a devil or staying a Valkyrie and being your secretary," she said and laughed at herself.
"But I do think I have to apologize to my mother for failing her and not living up to her expectations." She briefly stopped and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to unload all of that on you, it just felt right. We're on our third date, right? Though we did have small ones in the [Pocket Dimension] like the others."
"No, it's fine, Rose. I'm here to listen to your troubles. Hell, it makes me happy since it shows that we're getting closer to each other, right?" I said and she agreed.
"I don't regret any of it, okay...? I love my life after being abandoned here in Japan. The people I met, the things I've seen and experienced, and..." she looked at me and blushed before pecking me on the cheek. "Falling in love with you."
I smiled and asked, "Is being a teacher fun?"
"Yes, I never thought that being a teacher would be this fun. Azazel-san, Penemue-san, Lisa-san, and Griselda-san are my comrades and colleagues. Even the students there are a joy to teach... even if they're a bit perverted at times."
Rose is loved by both faculty and students. That much is a given. Even if she's a bit strict with them when at school, and scolds them for 'inappropriate' behavior, she's coming from the right place. She only wants them to succeed in life.
"...Are you sure you want to quit teaching and come with me? I won't force you, you know? If teaching is fun for you..." I said to her. "Also, didn't Sona also ask you to become a teacher at Auros Academy?"
She gave me a troubled smile and shook her head. "I appreciate the offer from Sona-san, and I am thinking about it seriously, and of course, I love my job as a teacher, but... maybe I want to be like Lavinia-san, I want to be close to you, and be with you."
"Of course, I can always accept Sona-san's offer and teach there for a few years, I mean... I want to... become, you know..." she started to mumble her words and shyly looked at me. I think I know what she was telling me.
I put my hand in front of me and created a barrier. At the same time, I transported us all to a replica of Tokyo as an attack was targeted at us.
"Dual Dragon!!!!" The familiar voice of Euclid screamed at us.
"Now, now, don't be so hasty, Euclid," said another voice.
"She is right, calm yourself down. Even if we are clones, we can still suffer damage because of his abilities," added another.
On the ground we saw Euclid. His eyes were bloodshot and he was foaming at the mouth, but I could also tell that it was just a clone. He was also accompanied by two others.
The male had long flowing brown hair with blue eyes. He wore a unique white and yellow shirt that looked Chinese. He even had some sort of leather arm guard. He had some sort of cloth wrapped around his waist and he wore sandals with black and red shorts.
The female had a gray ponytail, sharp green eyes and wore glasses. She wore a professional looking top with gold buttons, a black skirt, pantyhose, heels, and gloves. She also carried a wand of some sort.
When I used [Observe] on both of them, the male was Bisusbyu, and the female was Aubilca. Both were clones and were direct subordinates to the 7th Eradicator. Both of their clones were just True Satan-class beings, and it showed that they were weaker than the originals. Euclid's clone was different and shower he was also a Super devil, around Middle-tier God-class.
"We're here for the Valkyrie," they both said in unison, but before I could answer, another shadow tried to attack us and I pulled Rose towards me and avoided the attack.
We looked back to see another one, but when I used [Observe], I was shocked to see it was a clone of the 7th Eradicator, Yanuyo.
Yanuyo had short black hair, black eyes with yellow pupils. He had tattoos on both his arms and he wore a black, white, and gray business suit.
"Kekeke, hey there Middleman-man-man!" he said with a strange laugh.
I put my arm in front of Rose in a protective manner and released the illusion around me.
"Oooh~ so scary. Who would think an outer god like you would be for justice and peace? Kekeke. And look at him, defending his flesh light like some kind of hero of justice, kekeke—"
Bam!
I appeared in front of them and with a single punch blasted them all away. After they were hit, I immediately sealed their abilities making it impossible for them to do anything, including escape.
"Hahaha! Amazing, I can't even use my powers anymore. The originals should know what happened! So what's your plan, oh magnificent outer god?! Read our memories?! We got rid of those you know? All you're going to see are the things we did after we started following you!" shouted Yanuyo.
"Oh and don't mistake it, I'm only this week because I'm not the original, all of us are, well, maybe not the devil beside us," he said and waved his hand making Euclid even angrier.
"Silence, fool!" shouted Euclid and he ran towards us, hellbent on trying to kill me because of the curse I put on him and Rizevim.
I didn't have a plan for them, I simply wanted to trap them here for stupidly attacking us. Euclid eventually appeared in front of me and sent a punch towards my face. I easily dodged it and kicked him in the stomach. This made him puke out the food he ate and blood. I followed it up by punching him in the face and ripping off one of his arms, then finally kicking him away to our left side.
"Rose," I called out to her.
"Mhm." She brought out her [Mistilteinn Wand] and pointed it at Yanuyo and his subordinates. Hundreds of magic circles appeared behind her and then it started to multiply, to thousands, hundreds of thousands, to millions and finally tens of millions.
"Kekekeke! Look at that, so many! Would I even survive that barrage if my original body took it?!" he shouted. Since they couldn't do anything, they accepted their fate.
Rose fired her new [Full Burst] at them and obliterated them from existence. Once her attack was complete, only a flat space and an empty park were left behind. Euclid, who I had kicked away started to weakly stumble his way back to us.
He eventually arrived in front of us and fell on his ass. But his rage and hatred never wavered. "Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is a number of a man: and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six," said Euclid as he coughed up more blood.
I believe that was a verse in the Bible. He then looked at us and said to Rose, "I heard that you wrote a certain essay during your time as a student in Asgard. And the title of your essay was 'Regarding the Beast of Apocalypse'."
Euclid simply smirked and brought out some kind of device. It then played a voice recording. It sounded like a female's voice. When I looked at Rose, his face was pale but also full of anger.
"…I'd spoken a bit about the contents of that essay to my roommate back then. Don't tell me you…!"
"I enjoyed torturing her, my Valkyrie-san. Join us and we may spare her life—oops, never mind she's already dead," he said and started to laugh and cough up blood at the same time.
"However, we no longer need you, silver-haired Valkyrie. However, I personally would love you to join my side, and I will eventually acquire my sister too, Dual Dragon," he said and smirked at me.
Again, he pulled out something and stabbed himself. His body started to decay and wither away. "Whether it is now, or in the future, we will succeed in our plan. To bring the Apocalypse and the two kings together, and we will rule everything… so until then, wait for me," he said and smiled at Rose, before finally disappearing.
"Aaron, I…"
"No. Let's go home. Sorry for abruptly ending it here, Rose."
Rose looked distraught, and I refused to let her think that way, or let whatever was going through her mind stick, so I decided to take charge and go home. We can talk to Team [DxD] afterward.
…
'We no longer need you, silver-haired Valkyrie' the words spoken by Euclid echoed in my mind. That small sentence confirmed it for me that they already found a way to unseal Trihexa and are just waiting for Lapis to bring Ghidorah and the Death King here to our universe.
I hope Velgrynd finds their base or at least finds some kind of trace of Ghidorah before it all happens.
"To think a clone of Euclid would appear in Tokyo… and also one of the Eradicators and his subordinates. How was he?" asked Azazel.
"We murdered them."
Smack!
I was smacked by Grayfia on the head with my bluntness, although I didn't lie, we quite literally beat them down by a lot and they couldn't even fight back…
"Well, I sealed their powers as soon as they tried to fight us, but they were clones so they were much weaker. As to what their real strength is, I don't know. But I would wager they should be around battle-oriented God-class in strength, and the 7th Eradicator, Yanuyo should be at least Dragon God-class," I explained.
"What about Rossweisse-san's essay on Trihexa?" asked Shigune. "Even if they say that they don't need her anymore, there's always a chance, right? Especially if Euclid-san wants her in another way."
"…I already produced a copy," she said and handed it to Azazel who took it and read through it. Everyone waited for him and he nodded.
"I see, so this was the way you were going with it, huh?" said Azazel as he stroked his chin.
"What do you mean?" Rias asked.
"When many of the researchers of Apocalypse were focusing on the number 666, one portion of the Magicians apparently used the different approach of using the number 616 to research about it. The ones that had been abducted for this incident all researched about the 'number of the beast' by referring to the number '616'."
"This confirms it. Rossweisse's essay wasn't about how to unseal 666, but about how to reach the seal of 666 itself. She truly is a genius. I'll ask right now since anyone around Jin becomes rather abnormal. Have you managed to create it?" Azazel asked.
"While I believe Jin can do it himself without a problem… yes, I have completed the sealing technique for it," replied Rose. "Well, I had help from Jin with it, but in the end, I completed it on my own."
After that, Rose created a magic circle and explained it to Azazel. Everyone else tried to understand it, but it was rather complex. In the end—
"What the hell? Don't you think that's a bit too much magic? Any normal person who tries to use that will die! Unless you're an abnormal existence or a powerful god or God-class being! …Rossweisse, did you consider anyone else apart from Jin to use this?" he asked.
"No, this seal is unique to me. In spite of the fact that I believe some of the women here are able to reproduce. It will be slightly different from mine," replied Rose.
"Does that mean it's possible to recreate it then? If so, how long will it take?"
"Writing down the necessary information won't take too long, but for a person to master it, it will take some time."
"I see…"
After that, we spoke more about the sealing technique, and what to expect when we travel to Auros and Auros Academy. Every territory in the Underworld would be on high alert for any major attack. The defenses of the floating city of Agares would also be defended by two peerages.
I'd have peace of mind if Sairaorg's peerage was the one defending it. Seekvaira's isn't terrible, but their power isn't reliable yet, so I'll rely on my shadow soldiers too. Apart from that it sounds like Silveteela will also join them.
…
Underworld
Agares Territory
…
Auros Academy, the Rating Game school anyone can attend. It was a dream of Sona's and it's slowly becoming a reality. Usually, you would expect this place to be located in the Sitri territory, but due to political matters it was put here instead.
Serafall was heavily in favor of Sona's school being established. However, due to the older devils bitching about it, especially about keeping the 'pure bloodline of devils' and having a school like this would break those norms for them.
The world of politics is a giant headache that I try to avoid as much as possible. I don't want to come off as a tyrant, but at times, when those old devils act like this... I simply wish to erase them since it makes unnecessary trouble for us.
However, even after Serafall wanting to protest, a savior appeared for Sona. A 'middleman' appeared; they were the House of Agares. Just one rank below the House of Bael, the Agares—the Archduke saved the day.
Aurous was a small town in the Agares territory, hence why Sona decided to name the school after the town—Auros. It mostly dealt with agriculture and wasn't too notably large, and that's why today we were here to help with the 'experience' day.
The Gremory, Sitri and my group would be here. Originally Sairaorg's group would also attend, but... he somehow found time, and Sairaorg would attend some of the 'classes' and help out, but after a certain time he would leave.
My group consisted of Rossweisse, Raiko, Fusae, Gabriel, Raynare, Ravel, Irina, Inaie, Ingvild, and Kuroka. I had invited a few more like Penemue and Griselda, but apparently Azazel had asked them to stay behind in their respective factions just in case they were attacked as well.
"This place seems quite calm, doesn't it?" asked Saji.
"Yes, it's an idyllic and quiet place! I would like to live in the countryside for a short while!" proclaimed Asia.
"Doing farming for a bit of our lives doesn't sound bad," added Xenovia. "It also doesn't sound like a terrible place to raise children."
In the far distance, from where we were walking, we could clearly see the floating island of Agares, the place where Rias had her Rating Game against Sairaorg, and where I achieved my [Queen] form. All around the Underworld, I had many of my allies ready in case anything happened.
Team Slash/Dog was in the Astaroth territory along with Latia, shadow soldiers and one of the G.o.B.
Eventually, while walking south of the town, we saw a similar building to that of Kuoh Academy (High School division) but a bit smaller. Near the gate and on one of the pillars, was a nameplate that had 'Auros Academy' written on it in devil text.
At the entrance were Sona and Tsubaki. We quickly approached them.
"President, I've brought the Gremory and Toole group," said Saji.
"Good work, you can leave now," she said and he nodded.
"See ya, Aaron-senpai~!" he said and we bumped fists before he left.
"Let me say this first, Sona. Congratulations on having your school built," Rias said and shook hands with Sona.
"Thank you, Rias. This is still only the first school and the opening of this school is quite far away, though we were able to organize the experience day." She turned around and said, "Now then, let me show you the inside."
…
As we walked through the hallways, it was a near 1-for-1 remake of Kuoh Academy, smaller and with slight differences. As we passed certain classrooms, we saw parents and kids in them with devils that I didn't recognize, or someone from Sona's peerage as they spoke to everyone there. Both parents and kids were listening in seriously as this was a rare place to be in.
"How many are here, Sona?" asked Rias.
"This is an experience day where people simply heard from rumors or from other people but the number of them that came here were more than what I imagined. There are most likely 150 children today. If we include their parents and siblings, then the number of people here would exceed 400."
That was a lot more than I expected. Most of these came here based on rumors as Sona said, but we didn't expect this many. It seems like they'll definitely have a lot of students applying if today and other experience days in the future go well.
As we continued walking the halls a few kids and parents were surprised to see me (Oppai Dragon) and the Rias (Switch Princess) here. A few asked for autographs, pictures, and fist bumps from me. Apparently, I'm known for them now…
A few jokingly called me 'Fist Bump Emperor'. If Ddraig were here he'd have a fit. However, only Albion came with me. Ddraig wanted to 'torture' the two dragons a bit more, so I asked Irene, Ophis and Tiamat to keep him in line and not to go overboard.
Finally, we arrived at the gymnasium, and once we were there, we saw a familiar face and voice.
"Listen up! In order to do a punch, you would need to bend your hips and release your fist directly forward as if you are punching with your whole body!" said Sairaorg.
"Yes!" the children replied with enthusiasm.
We walked over to them as Sairaorg and the children kept on punching the air in front of them. Despite their struggles, they continued to smile. They definitely saw Sairaorg fight and some may even know his backstory, so they held a lot of hope in their eyes.
"Hmm? Ah, you all finally arrived, Rias, Jin!" said Sairaorg as he turned to look at us.
"Look! It's the Oppai Dragon and his comrades!" one of the kids said and they all turned our way.
"Oppai Dragon!!"
"Switch Princess!"
"Ah! The Dark Knight Fang (Kiba) is also here! Are you going to fight?!"
The regular class immediately became an Oppai Dragon event.
"Oppai Dragon! Push the switch, push the switch!" they pleaded. I looked at Rias as she blushed.
"Please transform!"
I was about to say something when Ravel stepped up and said, "Please line up for the autograph and handshake! Please also set up tables and chairs! Please get in a line! Oppai Dragon won't go anywhere! Rias-sama, please make a line for the Switch Princess! Okay then, Jin-sama, Rias-sama, here is a felt-tip pen!"
Ravel did all that in a quick and timely manner. I wasn't bothered by it so I went with it.
…
After that short event, I changed into the [Boosted Gear] Balance Breaker with Elsha's voice confusing many of the children. But I simply told them it was… a limited-edition voice for today, and they got excited, so Ravel contacted the Gremory family who were responsible for my merchandise and told them to expect it, and we sent them a few recordings of Elsha saying some lines.
The Gremory and my group had split up and everyone was helping out in the experience day. A few were troubled at first but quickly adapted to their roles. Currently, I was on break and I was walking around in my Balance Breaker without the helmet.
"Hmm? Ah, Jin," Sairaorg's voice called out to me. I turned to see Sairaorg, Tsubaki and Sona talking to each other, so I approached them.
"Are you on break?" asked Sona and I nodded. "Then good work so far, and thank you for indulging those children earlier. I also thanked Rias earlier for participating, as well as Kiba-kun. So what do you think of the school so far?"
"Haha, don't worry about it. I enjoyed myself, and it's an excellent place, Sona. I think it is destined to have a prosperous future. If you want, I can help fund the place in the future and provide some help with staff like Shaula since she's quite skilled at magic or Aurelia, though…"
"Aurelia-dono? Fuahahaha! She will surely kill one of these children by accident! I worry for your future children, especially one made between you and her," said Sairaorg.
"I'll do my best not to have that happen…" I replied.
"This place isn't just for Low-class or Middle-class devils, but for everyone else too. This is because they lack the ability and the demonic power to do so. There are children that have had their future shut down simply because they come from a lower-class family. If there are those who hail from an upper-class family but have to quit school because of being cornered by those around them, there are also those who have the gift but don't come from an upper-class family."
For Noble families that work as the higher-ups and that take importance in their bloodline, a place that raises 'Low-class' and 'Untalented' devils is something they won't take very well.
There is a chance that a devil nurtured here might become more powerful than the High-class devils when their potential comes out. If that happens, then these devils will take the place of the noble devils that represent the Underworld since what's important in the current Underworld is 'strength'.
That's one of the main reasons for opposition to building a school like this. A place anyone can enroll in, a place where their powers can bloom in other ways.
Sona then said, "Japan is a wonderful country. Everyone has the right to learn. The country that Akeno, Tsubaki, and the others were raised in, is a place that has better educational opportunities than the Underworld. I would assume it's the same for Ireland, right?"
"I guess it is. I had never been in a situation where I couldn't go to a school and learn anything. Something like that was just 'natural', you know? But…"
If this school that Sona built can give the children here a chance at a bright future, then…
"I'll fully support it. I don't know how much influence the 'Middleman' or 'Oppai Dragon' has in the Underworld, but I'll fully back you on this, Sona! Even if they try to shut it down, I'll stand with you to keep it open!" I declared and grabbed her hands, startling her a bit. "Everyone has a right to an education. I've heard that a lot in my past life, and I believe it even more now."
"Fuahaha! If you make such a declaration, even Sona might fall for you, Jin! Yet... the establishment of this school, which has never been done before, has a profound significance in itself. I hope one day that this example will spread to each of the territories. No, we must make sure of it," he said seriously as he looked at the school building.
"I-I get it so let go of my hands already…" she stuttered out.
"I'm teaching them hand-to-hand combat," said Sairaorg. I remembered earlier that he was definitely doing that. He was teaching them the right way to throw a punch.
"If they lack in talent, then they can use something else to make up for it. It can be wisdom; it can be strength or something else. I'm in charge of strength, to the children who have come here for that alone, I will guide them, even if I'm only here for a short time. I'm also using a book as a guide. Even during those 100 years, I was not a teacher, I was being taught."
It was clear that Sairaorg was enjoying his time here by showing us a bright smile.
"They were taking it very seriously. Each of them was throwing a serious punch," I said.
"Indeed. I also felt the same way when I saw them," he replied and then looked at his own fist. "This huge, rough and unsightly fist of mine was something I trained in order to come this far. But while I taught them hand-to-hand combat, I came to realize something."
He looked at all three of us and said, "I, who was born without the [Power of Destruction], must have been born in order to teach them this. I may be exaggerating, but I felt like I was blessed to find out that my fist had such value."
"Let's do our best then. For our own goals, and for the children of the future," I said and looked at the school building. "I guess I can turn up the heat a bit more since I'm here."
However, we suddenly heard screams, and phrases like 'He's come!' and 'He's here!'. When all of us turned to look in the direction of the shouts, the one who is standing at the center is a man with ash-gray eyes and hair. It was the Rating Game champion, Diehauser Belial, also known as 'The Emperor'.
"Hey, I've come to take a look," said the Emperor and he put his hand up.
Both Sairaorg and Sona shook hands with Diehauser and as soon as they did, the kids started gathering around him and cheering for him.
"Emperor Belial!!" they screamed.
I walked up to the champion and we stared at each other. The area fell silent until he put his hand out and I shook it.
"Dual Dragon Emperor, it is my pleasure to meet with you today. I've been meaning to do this for some time now," he said.
"Likely wise, Mr. Champion. The aim of one of my lovers is to beat you after all," I said, and he laughed.
"Haha, is that so? In that case, I look forward to their challenges in the future." He let go of my hand and the kids cheered. "This is a nice place. I hope it blooms in the future," he added. "I won't be here for too long, but I will help out as much as I can."
Sona, Sairaorg and Diehauser walked away and Tsubaki whispered into my ear, "The truth is, there will be filming done for a movie tomorrow at the sky city Agreas where Sir Diehauser Belial will be acting as the lead role. He came for a visit here on his way there."
"Is that so?" I said. But I knew it was a lie, unless Diehauser had a change of heart of didn't find out yet, then he's planning on helping Qlippoth and the Khaos Order and try to steal the city tomorrow.
But it won't happen, as long as the Bael peerage is there along with my shadows they will fail. So unless they plan on doing something else, then that part of history won't come true.
"Well, let's just see how it all plays out," I said and grabbed Tsubaki's hand and held it. She blushed a bit but in the end we walked away to start helping out the children again.
…
"While I'm not part of any peerage, I designed my [Illegal Move Triaina] based on chess and the [Evil Piece System]. So I'll show you all my [Knight], [Rook], and [Bishop] forms," I said to the children.
"First, my regular Balance Breaker is considered the [Pawn] form." I proceed to enter the regular state of my Balance Breaker, the regular red armor. "In traditional Rating Games [Pawns] can promote to a [Knight], [Rook], [Bishop], and [Queen] if certain requirements are met. It also depends on the [Type] of Rating Game that is played," I explained.
After that I quickly entered my [Rook] form and punched the sky creating a small shockwave. I then changed into my [Knight] form and ran around at a moderate speed so that they could keep up with me. Then, I switched to my [Bishop] form and fired a small [Dragon Blaster] into the sky. I ended it with my [Queen] form and told them that the [Queen] form boosts many of their qualities that all had the [Bishop], [Knight] and [Rook].
"Thank you, Oppai Dragon-san! It's as he said everyone, as a [Pawn] you can—" the lecturer continued with their explanation and I walked away with my Balance Breaker still active, but I had changed back to my [Pawn] form.
I moved to another part of the school and found Saji teaching everyone with a lot of enthusiasm. Another lecturer that Sona had hired for today was teaching along with Saji. It looked like Saji was the one provided assistance since they were learning about Sacred Gears. He had brought out his snakes and showed them to everyone.
After his turn was done, he saw me and came out.
"Good work, Saji."
"You too, Aaron-senpai."
We leaned against the window that oversaw the grounds of the school. It was the same grounds that Sairaorg had taught earlier. However, this time it was Loup Garou who was teaching the kids about punches and kicks. Momo was there to be the one to speak on his behalf since he wasn't much of a talker.
"Aaron-senpai," he called my name out again. I looked at him and he had a very proud look on his face. "The children in there… they called me 'Sensei' with smiles. Even though I'm far from being one…"
He wanted to become a teacher for many reasons. One to help Sona, and for his late father who was also a teacher and… for his little brother Gengo.
"Aaron-senpai, I came to realize it once again after I looked after the children here several times. I will definitely become a teacher. Even though I'm already a Middle-class devil, I can still keep on improving. And hopefully, in the future, I can become a High-class."
"Yeah, if it's you, I know you can achieve it, Saji," I said to him and then we heard more voices in the distance.
"Bring out the dragon, dragon!" the children said.
"Okay, okay, please wait a moment," said Asia as she brought out Ahin and he was already in his large dragon form.
"Ahin, can you play with the children?" she asked and saw Saji and me looking at them so she added, "Papa is watching."
Ahin looked our way and his eyes shown.
[Yes, mother!] Ahin declared and carried some children on his back and flew around with them. He didn't fly too high up, but just enough off the ground that the children laughed after they were allowed to fly on a dragon.
Ahin started to talk back during the 100 years, so I was a bit surprised. I had joked that he may become a Dragon King or even a new Heavenly Dragon or Dragon God. So he's been aiming to reach that strength and be able to speak, and he obviously reached those already, but he thinks he still needs to improve.
"Vritra often says that Ahin may be able to officially join their rankings once he proves himself to the supernatural world," said Saji.
Suddenly we saw Irina, Xenovia and Raynare approach Asia and help her up. They spoke to each other before Xenovia pulled out [Durandal] and started swinging it around to show the children. Since both Raynare and Irina were 'Angels' they also showed them their light powers.
On the other side were both Shirone and Kuroka teaching the children about senjutsu, touki and about youkai.
"I'll get back to it, Aaron-senpai," he said and tapped me on the shoulder before returning to the classroom.
"Yeah, good luck," I replied and kept on walking around the school until I came across another classroom.
Inside it was Rossweisse. She was teaching magic to the parents and children in it. Not only did the children listen carefully, but their parents as well. I felt some of them were unable to use demonic energy so they probably wanted to try magic to see if they could use it at all.
"Rossweisse-sensei!"
"Sensei, please teach us more!"
Rossweisse was surrounded by children and a few parents as they kept asking her questions.
"Fire came out! The fire did! It was small, but a flame broke out!"
Looks like the children became capable of actually releasing fire after learning basic magic. I then remembered that Sairaorg also asked Rose to be a teacher here during the meeting of Team [DxD].
…
'Jin's 'Secretary' Rossweisse, I want you to think about it one more. Will you become a teacher at the school that will be built in the Underworld in the future?'
'I'm not asking you to become one now. But it would be greatly appreciated if you could help out in the future, even if it's only for a few years.'
'To teach magic to the devils?'
'It may sound strange for a devil to use magic, but it's also true that there are devils that are terrible at manipulating demonic energy. There are also children who can't use demonic energy like me. Even if they can't use it, there is a chance for them to utilize magic, correct?'
'Even if they couldn't acquire magic, their knowledge behind it will become a powerful weapon to them in the future. I don't care how many years it is. Will you please take on the role of a teacher?'
…
Like before, Rose didn't give Sairaorg an answer back then, but she did look troubled. I know from our recent date that she loved teaching, and I could see she wanted to stay and do it, be it in Kuoh or in the future at Auros Academy.
Behind all the children that were excited about learning magic and being able to create an element. I found a single boy who had been standing at a distance from the other children. He was desperately doing a chant as he put his hand forward.
It seemed like he was desperate in trying to release magic, but there was not a slight sign of it happening. That child, I believe I saw him at the random signing and handshake events that was set up for Oppai Dragon before.
I believe his name was Lirenkus. I see, so that kid also came here today, huh? From what I saw he seemed to be facing difficulty using magic, so he wasn't gifted with demonic energy, huh? He also looked like he was going to cry.
I walked over to him as the rest of the children and parents were occupied with Rose. I put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring nod and smile. I gave his small body a small boost in power and then—
Fwosh!
A small flame appeared. The look of relief that appeared on his face said many things. Even though the flame appeared for a split second and disappeared the next, that was more than enough to make Lirenkus happy.
"O-oppai Dragon… I did it…!"
"Yeah. Remember, hard work will always show results. Don't give up, Lirenkus," I said to him.
"Y-you remember me?" he asked a bit surprised.
"Of course, I remember you coming to a few signing events," I said and patted him on the head. He happily nodded before running to his parents and he managed to make a small flame appear again.
"Oh my, this is a surprise," said a familiar voice behind me. I turned around to see Göndul.
When I saw her, I took her back outside and spoke with her. Soon after, Rose joined us.
"G-granny—grandmother, you came today…"
"I made a promise to become the special lecturer for this event. It will certainly be an enjoyable leisure before the assembly tomorrow," said Göndul. "Huhu, it seems you gave that boy some encouraging words, Jin."
"Yes. He had a lot of potential. He just needed a small push so he wouldn't give up on it," I replied.
"Hmm. As expected of my Rose's future husband. Now then, I came here to teach," she said, and a small fairy appeared from behind her.
She walked into the classroom with Rose and me behind her.
Göndul then addressed everyone in the room. Everyone saw that it looked like an older version of Rossweisse, but also saw Rose beside me, so they looked at Göndul with curiosity.
She then patted the small fairy gently on the head and then asked, "The source of magic, how did magic come to be? Does anyone know the reason?"
A child put his hand up and said, "I heard it came from fortune telling and sorcery!"
Göndul nodded and smiled at them. "Yes, that's correct. Magic was born from fortune telling and charms. 'I want to know about this', 'I want to be able to do something like this', 'I want to do this for that person', 'I want to do it for another'. It was created by magicians who wanted to help many people."
Her speech to everyone was smooth, gentle, and understanding for both children and adults to understand.
"There certainly are positives and negatives in the current magic that is used today. There is a clear distinction between them and how certain magicians use them. But... not matter what magic it is, it will definitely help the magician and those around them. There is no such thing as useless magic in this world," she said seriously, and from the looks of it. It had touched the hearts of the children as well as the adults.
Göndul usually had a strict expression on her, but right now she was showing a very gentle expression towards everyone, one that I only saw during our talk about Rossweisse on the night we started dating.
But I also held the same belief, just like magic and Sacred Gears. You can achieve your goals if you have the desire, perseverance, and will. There is no such thing as useless magic or Sacred Gears in this world.
[Desire. Sacred Gears are driven by the power of desire. And it also determines the power for it as well. Even though you are a Devil, your will to desire hasn't been lost. The stronger you desire, the stronger your Sacred Gear will respond to you.]
Those words, that sentence. It always stuck out to me when I first read it in the light novel back in my previous world. Rias said that too, I believe Issei.
When I glanced at Rose, she was smiling at the scene. She had been a bit gloomy for the past few days since our date. I don't know what has been on her mind, and I've approached her a few times about it. However, she said to let her approach me when she's ready, so I've been waiting.
"Fufu, now let's end our lesson here for today, shall we? Now this may be abrupt, but how many of you here want to become friends with a fairy?" she asked.
"Me!" all the children answered and put the hands up.
"I'll get going, I still have other people to help. Send my regards to Göndul," I said to Rose and she nodded.
…
Night had arrived here, tomorrow we continue the experience day. Everyone that had come here, the children and parents had gone home for the day. Everyone else, plus the special lecturers that Sona had invited were staying in the dorms that were near the schools. Sona had made a dormitory for anyone who lived very far away.
We had eaten dinner earlier, and everyone took turns having a bath. I was waiting for my turn and three angels were surrounding me at the moment.
"Those cute children were so curious about a Seraph! They kept on asking me questions about my powers and Heaven!" said Gabriel as she used my lap as a pillow.
"The same with me. A few of them were a bit pervy because they tried to touch my breasts and thighs," added Raynare. "But they're kids so I didn't do anything…"
"I helped Gabriel-sama! They really wanted to touch our wings too, so I let them touch mine instead!" she said enthusiastically.
"Gabriel-sama, Irina, Raynare, it's our turn, let's go!" Xenovia said.
"Right~!" replied Gabriel as she kissed me on the cheek and left with the other two. She asked Xenovia something but I heard that it was only girls tonight and they were having a serious discussion.
I was left on my own—but suddenly the door opened and Göndul came in. I wasn't expecting her to still be here. The assembly is tomorrow so she should be getting rest right now instead of being here.
"Good evening, may I sit here?" she asked and gesture to the spot beside me.
"Go ahead, it's not like anyone else is here," I replied and she sat down.
"I didn't get to ask, but I assume that your relationship with Rose is progressing well?" she asked.
"It is, but lately, after the date she's been thinking a lot about something. I'm worried so I've been waiting for her to approach me," I told her and what had happened during it.
"To think they would try to kidnap my own granddaughter… I won't let it happen, even if I die trying to prevent it," she said seriously.
"You won't need to worry about that. I'll protect her like I did with everyone else. Also, I wouldn't forgive myself or I don't think I could face Rose or her parents if I let you die. Jeez, Göndul, please refrain from saying such dramatic things," I told the old woman who laughed at me.
"Rest assured tomorrow we won't have any casualties," I added and sighed.
"…Please look after her. She's my precious Rose and I can't stand to think of her being hurt. Oh, and her parents were happy with the pictures you two took, especially of Rose in that store in Tokyo."
"I will, and no problem. It was fun watching her all excited like that."
We then heard the girls leaving the bath, so it was my turn. Saji had gone home to check on his siblings and stayed the night there, but he would be back by tomorrow morning.
"I'll get moving then, Jin. Good night," she said, got up and left.
"Yeah…"
…
"Phew…" I let out a sigh as I soaked in the large open bath provided by the dormitories. Today had been quite taxing, not physically but mentally as I had to do a lot of speeches, demonstrations and helped out with various things.
I was surprised when the girls said that I'd be going in here by myself. I didn't ask, but I heard them speak about it, but let it be. Tomorrow should be…
Before I could finish my thoughts, I heard the door open. I didn't need to ask who it was since their aura was very familiar to me. It was Rossweisse.
"Oh hey Rose, I thought you went with everyone earlier?" I asked.
She shook her head and quickly joined me. However, she didn't have a towel wrapped around her this time, and also… this was the men's section of the open bath. Once she joined me, we fell silent. She had leaned her body against me and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder.
"That magic lesson was pretty popular today, huh?" I asked breaking the silent atmosphere.
"Yes, you're right. But I couldn't take a break because of its popularity and so many people coming to it," she said.
"But everyone enjoyed themselves, didn't they?" I asked.
"…There was one child who struggled at the beginning, but after you intervened, he looked quite happy and started to use magic quite easily. He made some wind and water too, you know?"
Ah, she must be talking about Lirenkus. "Is that so? I just gave him a small nudge like I did with everyone else," I admitted.
But after that brief conversation, we fell back into silence.
"Rose… I didn't get to ask back then and even a few days ago, but why were you researching about Trihexa?"
"Aaron, you may be aware of it, but the existence of 666 was only stated and never confirmed. However, Great Red who also appears in the same Apocalypse exists. That's what moved me to research it. Finding it was impossible. But I wanted to find out what kind of entity 666 is, so I used the numbers 666 and 616 to research the documents related to it."
That's true, until I told everyone that Trihexa or 666 was actually real, then they started to believe. There have been a few things that I have proven in the world, including the omniverse, and I have caused some strange miracles and phenomena to happen in the world. They wouldn't start not believing me now, would they?
"Though I didn't get my answers from years ago, I finally did with your help, and we even developed a unique seal for it that I can use. So if that thing ever gets unsealed, then I can seal it back up," she said with confidence.
Once, I asked Irene and Ophis about 666, and they answered in a way that I understood. In Irene's case…
'I've never met it, so I don't know much about it. But rumors say it's on par with Ophis and I… well it used to be, but I'm confident that one of us, and definitely both of us—if we fought it, we would win, easily.'
In Ophis' case…
'Big, regenerate, stupid, sleep. But, if it threatens my family, I will kill it. But also, I never met it.'
Well regardless of whether it's 666, Ghidorah, the Phantasma, Evie or whatever else. I'll kill them all if it threatens this world. This is my home, I've come to love it, and even if I do go traveling to the multiverse in the future… this will be my home.
"…Aaron. Even if it's unlikely to happen… but if I ever get used by them, please kill me."
Hearing those words stirred something in me. I felt sudden cold sweat appear all over my body. My stomach dropped, and my own anger started to rise. I felt like I had done a lot of things to stop her from saying that sentence, but…
…
Rossweisse's Soliloquy
…
Ever since that day, I had many thoughts running through my mind. With Aaron's help I managed to create a seal for 666 and potentially the False King and any other beings. He called it the Ultimate Sealing technique, or the sealing technique that would seal anything in the multiverse.
I didn't know if he was being serious back then, but sometimes the things he says has some truth in it.
So, I thought about events and scenarios that might occur if and when I was captured. There is a low probability of it happening, but… we all thought the same thing, but Lavinia-san was hurt a few months ago.
Although Aaron has made many more improvements to our protection, there might be that small factor that something might go wrong, so if that happens…
"…Aaron. Even if it's unlikely to happen… but if I ever get used by them, please kill me," I told him.
I was sitting beside him and I felt his body freeze, and even though I wasn't the best at sensing emotions from other people. I could tell that he was angry… was he angry at what I had said? No, he definitely was. Who wouldn't be? If your lover told you to kill them if something goes wrong then…
Even more so if it's from Aaron. I and everyone else came to know that he's extremely loyal. Not just to his harem and lovers, but to anyone he truly considers a friend. He would go to hell, heaven, and back multiple times over just to help you.
It's like Cúntóir-san said, he's loyal to a fault. Even in his past life, she shared a little bit about him to us. The few friends he had there, he was deeply loyal to them. He apparently got into fights if it meant backing them up, or getting into trouble for their sake.
Cúntóir-san he was just like this, but it was amplified when Aoife-san, his past lover influenced him even further.
"…What are you saying, Rossweisse?" he asked me.
Rossweisse… he rarely calls me that, he always affectionately calls me 'Rose' like granny. I felt my own heart twist. But I had to push on.
"If I was to be used by them to hurt my comrades and cause trouble in this world, I would rather choose death. I won't be able to endure everyone dying for someone like me," I told him honestly.
I think this is the most appropriate answer.
"Don't say something like that. 'I would rather choose death' or 'everyone dying for someone like me'. There's no reason for you to die."
"But if I get captured by any of them—especially Euclid Lucifuge or one of the Eradicators that's coming, or—"
Aaron gritted his teeth and he looked up at me, visible anger, but…
"That won't happen. I won't hand you over to them, ever," he said and cupped my hands gently. "When they appear again, I'll definitely defeat—no, kill them! Any of you, whether it be my lovers or friends… I won't let something like that happen!"
Tears dripped down his face as he told me this. I hadn't seen Aaron shed a tear before. No, I doubt any of us have… even though he relies on us more, and shows a wide range of emotions to us. His own sadness and troubles, he tends to keep them to himself. But…
He seemed to want to say something else, but held himself back. Instead, he hugged me tightly and embraced me gently. It was warm and comforting—reassuring. If it were anyone else, I would have had a hard time believing those words, but…
"Okay..." I said to him. "I'm sorry for saying that…"
It felt like he showed me something that even Lavinia hadn't seen before, in my own selfish way… I felt like I had won in that aspect. Maybe I was jealous of Lavinia-san…?
But I would work hard from now on, harder than anyone else. I won't let anything like that happen to me or anyone else important to us.
…
Jin Skyward's Soliloquy
…
I held myself back from saying something psychotic or cheesy, but… it was also uncharacteristic of me if I said those words—
'I'd sacrifice this universe, no this multiverse first for all of you before I'd let any of you die.'
If I said those words, what would she think of me? That's why I held back... even though I said I loved this world, saying that would be too far. If I destroyed it and remade it, would the ones that I created be the 'originals', or would they just be 'copies of the originals'? I didn't want to think about it, so I left it at that.
But our time was interrupted when Kuroka and a few of the girls burst into the bathroom.
"Nyaaaa?!"
"Ah, wait Raynare-san, don't move!"
"Irina, you're the one who pushed us in as soon as we arrived!" snapped back Raynare.
"Weeee~ we can take another bath together!" Gabriel happily exclaimed.
"Fufufu, ara, ara~ let's calm down everyone," said Akeno.
"Haaa… I knew it would be a bad idea," added Rias.
"Why was I dragged along…?" asked Fusae.
"Ahahaha… you'll get used to it, Fusae-san," said Ingvild.
"Please, everyone, form an orderly lin—aah, hey!" Ravel was stopped when Inaie pushed her further into the bath.
"Nyuhuhuhuhuh, let's go birdie-chan!" said Inaie as she dragged Ravel along with her.
"Shirone, come to me!" shouted Kuroka.
"…Nee-sama you're being a nuisance, don't swim around the bath," snapped Shirone.
"Haaa… I wish it was a little less chaotic," said Raiko as she put a hand on her cheek.
The open bath on the men's side had quickly become overcrowded. Rose and I stared at them dumbfounded, but we also ended up laughing in the end. I wiped the tears from my face and whispered to her, "I promise you that, this peace… will be a permanent thing in the future… also keep my tears a secret. It's pretty embarrassing."
"Yes… it's our little secret," she replied and pecked me on the cheek.
The rest of the night was chaotic, but… it was typical of my household.
…
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