—There is always someone who feels pain because of the peace that [DxD] protects.
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Third Person Point of View
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"Everything should be in order. How do you all feel?" asked Promestein. She, along with various other researchers of the Khaos Order had finished the tests on the [Z-Team] and were unwilling to let them go.
The leader of the [Z-Team], Leon grinned as he felt a surge of power emanating from his body. "This…is amazing. I'll admit I was skeptical at the start, but seeing the new power I have, I gotta say it was all worth it. Though it did take a few weeks," he said as he put his clothes back on.
"Well, since we've been cut off from the Evie and Phantasma, we have to make do with our current resources. It took us some time to find that though, the Outer God did a good job in distracting us," said Promestein in frustration.
A few weeks had passed since the match between [Team Sona Sitri] and [Team Golden Rakshasa], and this meant—in the human world, the summer holidays for everyone had just started.
During that time, the members of the [Z-Team] had gone under various experiments to increased their overall power. Many of them had become Satan-class, and their leaders, Leon and Zialbes became God-class in power.
"We've also increased the powers of your Sacred Gears; how do they feel?" Satanael asked, as he just walked into the room.
Leon glanced at the man before summoning darkness, shadows, and black wind around his right arm. A grin spread across his face as he could tell that they had been strengthened too.
"Perfect, just perfect," replied Leon. He then looked around and inquired, "When will we go meet up with Hades?"
Satanael smirked and said, "He's waiting for you and your team along with our leader. I'll bring you guys there, so hurry up."
Doing as they were told, the rest of the team got dressed quickly and followed after Satanael who had left the room before them. Leon and Zialbes joined him and they started a conversation.
"Do you have any idea on when the mission will start?" Zialbes asked.
"I have no idea about the details, I'll also hear about it when we meet up with him today," replied Satanael.
"You're joining?" asked another member behind them.
"No, but some of our hybrids will. They have some new Artificial Sacred Gears that need tuning and are in need of field tests, so this will be a good opportunity for them," explained Satanael.
As they walked through the halls of the Khaos Order's base, they climbed up a few flights of steps and ended up in front of a very unique-looking door. It had various weapons embedded in it, as well as the names of certain leaders that had been slain—one of them included the name Lapis, but many had disdain for the name, yet no one could argue against Daniel as he had put it there per the orders of Aaron—to mock them.
Satanael injected some of his energy into it and it opened. All of them stepped inside after Satanael, and once they were there, they felt several powerful auras hit them. Leon himself was even surprised by this as he grinned at the people near the top of the room.
In the middle, on a throne-like chair was a man that wasn't too far from his own age, but the power he exuded was beyond his own. This was Daniel, the current 'leader' of the Khaos Order. Beside him was Hades with a few other Grim Reapers. One of them was Zeno, the leader of [Team Black Satan of Darkness Dragon King].
The other was Thanatos and another female Grim Reaper. On the other side of them were two females and a male.
"Hmm? Oh, you two were already here? Good, I didn't need to call you then," said Satanael as she joined the two ladies and the man.
"Promestein notified us, so we came," explained one of the females and the other two nodded.
Hades turned to the [Z-Team] and squinted his eyes. <
The man stepped forward and grinned as darkness and black wind covered his body. "That's my mother's name? Eris…isn't she the Goddess of Strife and Discord? Interesting! Then I will call myself the Demi-God of Strife and Discord!"
<
Dismissing his powers, Leon said, "So? What's the mission?"
Daniel flicked his hand and a magic circle showed various things in front of them.
"Previously, the Nekoshou, Shirone Toujou had the item we needed, it had the necessary information for perfecting the creation of Artificial Devils. However, because of our previous 'affiliates', we managed to create them en masse. However, since they are gone now, we need to obtain that to continue the process," explained Daniel.
"The current rate at which we make them only creates Middle to High-class at a consistent rate. Ultimate-class, Satan-class and the aforementioned 'Super Devil-class', or Transcendental-class are produced at very random rates. Even with the original Lucifer and Satan cannot create them consistently, so we will need that document in that hair clip that Shirone had."
"So? Where is it now?" asked one of the other members of the [Z-Team].
"It's currently in the possession of the Middleman. He apparently keeps it by his side," said Daniel. He then zoomed in on Aaron's belt and a small accessory was on it. "It's in that. If we can swipe it off him during the mission, then we win."
"How cute, it looks like a cat," said Leon as he laughed.
<
"So we take that thing and bounce, huh? Sounds simple enough…it shouldn't be that difficult, right?" asked the same member of Leon's team.
"If you go into the operation with that kind of mindset, even with your newly acquired powers, you will die and fail," said one of the female hybrids. "His powers and achievements are real, and he will kill you without hesitation."
"Heh, we'll see about that," replied the man with a smirk. The female hybrid silently shook her head and thought he was a fool.
Daniel dismissed the hologram and said, "If you wish to test your newly acquired power, then there are countless facilities here. The operation will start when the Rating Game between Vali Lucifer and Rias Gremory begins. Until then, we will gather up the necessary equipment and force. You're dismissed."
Grinning, Leon asked Daniel, "Hey, why don't we fight?"
With a single glance from Daniel, everyone on the [Z-Team] fell to their knees and were unable to stand up. The gravity around them had been increased several folds. Leon, not wanting it to end like this, increased his power to its newest limit. However, he was still unable to get up, much to his shock.
'So this is the power of the current leader, huh? …Interesting! Joining these assholes was worth it!' he thought and began to laugh. "I like you! I'll definitely fight you seriously at another time!"
Upon hearing that, Daniel cancelled the ability and disappeared from his throne. The rest of the member of the Khaos Order held their breath as they rarely saw their leader react to anything. The fact that he reacted to Leon must have meant something in their minds.
"Bring them to one of the facilities and let them test out their new powers. We can still gather some data this way," Satanael ordered his hybrids. They nodded and jumped toward the entrance and gestured for the [Z-Team] to follow them.
Satanael glanced at Hades and Thanatos. "Is he under mind control?" he asked.
<
"Care to elaborate?" asked Satanael.
The God smirked. < "He can still bring him back to life," said Satanael. < Daniel, who didn't teleport away from the place, simply killed his presence and became invisible. A smirk appeared on his face as the 'false memory' that his master created worked wonders. — ○ ● ○ — Aaron Toole's Soliloquy — ○ ● ○ — Summer vacation. It's that time again, so all divisions of Kuoh Academy were on a break currently, and fortunately this year, the Gremory peerage and Sitri peerage didn't need to train too hard for an upcoming Youth Rating Game. However, they still needed to train for the Rating Game World Cup. This also meant a few weeks had passed, and during that time I had formed an alliance with the Roman Pantheon and the Philippines Pantheon. They certainly had interesting realms, and even more strange people, but were overall very friendly—now whether that was because of my status (fear or respect), remains to be seen, but I was willing to bet that it was a split down the middle. Presently, we were in the swimming pool in the high school division. Just like last year, we came here to clean it per Asia's and Xenovia's orders. This also meant that the Sitri peerage was also with us this year. My own household had increased since then too, so it felt even more crowded, so I had increased the size to accommodate for all of us. I guess the school got a free upgrade on the pool then. But a similar scene during our graduating trip was happening right now. With a bottle of lotion in my hand, I stared at it and the numerous females lying on their front waiting for me to rub them down. "Hurry, Aaron~" whined Akeno. She was the first one in this and was a bit impatient. Before I started, I glanced around and a few others were enjoying our time here after we cleaned it. In particular, Genshirou as he was being coddled by both Ruruko and Asbeel, who had been granted permission since I was looking after her for the day. Although she wasn't the most dangerous person in the former organization, a few higher-ups wanted me to keep an eye on her regardless of that fact. "A-a-r-o-n~!" "Alright, alright, I hear you…" I crouched down and started applying the lotion to the back of her body, and she immediately moaned. Everyone around us was mortified and blushed at her obscenity. "Harder~ aaah~ Aaron~ Iyaaa~" moaned Akeno. She stopped, winked and giggled at me and everyone else. "Sweet Satan, Akeno, can you not just moan like that?" Rias asked while looking at her [Queen] with disappointment. Without another word, Akeno turned around and said, "On the front too please~" Rias' lips twitched at being ignored, but wanting to tease her back. I applied oil to my hands before grabbing her breasts and squeezing them quite hard. "Aaaaaaahhnnn~" moaned Akeno again, but this time she covered her mouth with both her hands looking horrified. This time everyone stared at me as I grinned. "What's wrong, Akeno? I grabbed them normally, you know? That moan almost sounded real," I said and pinched her nipples and twisted them. "W-wait, Aaron—Aaahhn~ Iyaaaan~" Akeno's body then shook as she closed her eyes. A few seconds later she lay there exhausted, drooling glistening from her mouth. "Eh…? W-wait, did you just—" Before I could finish my sentence, Sona and Rias appeared beside me and pulled both my ears and dragged me away. "Hold up, I didn't mean to make her orgasm!!" "…E-ehehehe, that was amazing~ and in front of so many people~" she muttered, still in a daze. Her masochist side just came out at the strangest time. I only wanted to tease her a little bit. I didn't think pinching her nipples would make her cum. As the others got up from their chaise lounge chairs and began to play around and jump into the pool, I was brought near the changing rooms by both heiresses. "Now that we're here…" Rias started. "Yes, let's begin his lect—" Expecting a 'lecture', instead Rias grabbed my right hand and placed it on her left breast surprising Sona, who stared at her childhood friend in shock. Rias leaned forward and began French kissing me. "W-w-what are you doing…!?" Sona asked in a whisper. Rias stopped kissing me and looked at Sona whose face had turned a deep red. "…Have you done anything lewd with Aaron yet?" she asked. "W-what? N-no…" mumbled Sona, averting her eyes from both of us. Rias smiled and grabbed her hand before putting it on my crotch. "Then how about we help him with this, together?" Sona looked at Rias with horror and wonder. Her mouth quivered before she shyly agreed—that wasn't something I expected. As we sneaked into the girl's changing room, Lavinia waved at me and winked. As expected of her…she saw us—although I believe more did. — ○ ● ○ — Lime Start — ○ ● ○ — "This is…quite stimulating," I mumbled. My member was sandwiched between Sona and Rias' breasts. Sona used to have 77B breasts but they've grown a lot and stand at 92B, although she did complain that they were heavier when she initially had them, but now… "Fuuu…hello Toole Jr~ it's been a while," said Rias and then she gave a peck to my tip. Sona on the other hand was staring at my member, unblinkingly, almost fascinated by it. She had seen it a handful of times over the 100 years as I would inevitably be dragged into the girl's bath when the others asked me to join them, and Sona was usually forced to stay too. "…You have that look again, Aaron," said Sona as she turned her attention to my face. "Look? I have a few 'looks' that the girls tell me I have, so you have to be more specific, Sona…" I replied. "…A really immodest one," she said. The look she gave me turned me on even more, and she noticed it as her eyes widened in surprise. "Fufu, I think you're both a sadist and a masochist, Aaron. Even though Sona was glaring at you and reprimanding you, your dick just got harder. Though…you are quite rough with us on the regular," said Rias. "Pervert…" Sona said and looked away. Rias giggled and pressed their breasts together with more force. Rias began to move her breasts around while Sona stood still. "…You seem to have some experience in this, Rias." "Hmm?" Rias kept moving her breasts as she looked at Sona. "Well…I…have some experience…I mean, I use my mouth, breasts, and hands on a regular basis. With that said, move with me, Sona—or you can use your hands, I mean, he's big and long enough, fufu." Sona's lips quivered again, but she tentatively reached out and began to stroke the small part of my member that was poking out between their breasts. She circled her fingers just below the ridge of my tip and slid them downward. I put a hand on both their heads and began to gently stroke them. Rias seemed elated with what I did, and she leaned further forward and gobbled the head of my member into her mouth. I let out a strange moan because of it and Sona stared at her. "Om, mleh, slpr…! Hah, mn…! Mn, mn, slpr, mnh…nmh…hah…!" Rias sucked and licked the tip of my member, she swirled her tongue around my mushroom head, or even giving it a light bite. "She's gone into heat, haha," I muttered. Glancing at Sona, she was staring at Rias—it looked like she was analyzing what she was doing. Suddenly, Sona began to match Rias' movements which surprised us both. She seemed focused on getting the rhythm right and the pressure. She was acting pretty serious about this too even if it was meant to be something casual. As Rias continued to give me head, Sona, with a flustered face, leaned over. Seeing her childhood friend approaching, Rias let go of my member and gave some space to Sona. Both heiresses back to lick and kiss the head of my member. Rias glanced back at me and smirked. She pulled away from licking my tip and grabbed Sona's head before forcing her to suck on it. Sona wasn't expecting that and she intensely licked my shaft and head as she struggled to breathe. "Don't panic, Sona. Breathe through your nose and focus on sucking on it as well as licking the thing in your mouth," Rias ordered. "Nngh…slrp…sllrrrp…mnhn…mlem…" Obeying her instructions, Sona began to pleasure my member, and Rias began to move her breasts up and down to stimulate me even further. With most of my shaft wedged between Rias' breasts, Sona was forced to focus solely on my glans. Sona looked up at Rias briefly and the crimson haired heiress understood the look. "He's getting bigger, right? That usually means he's going to cum—or ejaculate, Sona," explained Rias. Her eyes widened as a look of panic and unease washed over her face. "Don't worry, just swallow it, or have it splash on your face, it's your choice." Hesitating for a moment, Sona considered her options—it seemed like curiosity won her over as she began to swirl her tongue more around my glans—she chose to swallow it. Rias giggled at this and squeezed her breasts even tighter around my member. "First me, then Sona—will Latia be next after this? Or have you already done it with her too?" she asked. "No, we haven't. Well, at most I've only felt her up when we make out," I replied, delaying my own orgasm. "Hmm~ well, let's try all four of us down the line," said Rias as she continued her movement. Sona seemed too focused on her job to listen to us. "Hm…! Mlhe, ah, your thing…is starting to twitch more…hah, ngh, mmnnnh!" muttered Sona. "Shit…I'm cumming!" I shouted and pulled away from Sona's mouth. She let out a cute yelp, as I ejaculated all over them. Even though she had decided to swallow it, I wanted to cover both of them with my seed. I had a strange 'want' to do that to all my lovers at one point in time, so I guess it was Sona's turn. My member twitched and kept spurting semen out of it as I was still sandwiched between their breasts. Even though I did it a lot with various women over the past couple of days—even last night, I still let out a lot. "…This is…semen…" mumbled Sona as she played with the sticky white liquid with her fingers. She then looked at Rias who was licking up the semen that covered her. "R-Rias?!" "Hmm?" she looked at her friend and laughed. Rias then explained what I did with the semen and a look of curiosity appeared on Sona's face. She looked at the seed on her fingers and nervously put it on her tongue. "…Strawberry cake," she mumbled. "You really are strange, Aaron." "Riiiiight~?" said another familiar voice. All of us turned to it and found Lavinia smiling at us. "Congrats, Sona-chan!" "L-L-L-L-L-Lavinia-san!? T-t-t-this isn't—?!" Sona panicked and tried to pull herself away from me but she couldn't. "Fufu, why are you panicking? I came here to join you three~" she said and immediately took her bikini top off. "Eh?!" After that, we spent a bit more time in the girl's changing room teaching Sona various lewd things. — ○ ● ○ — Lime End — ○ ● ○ — After we stepped out of the girl's changing room, everyone was still running around having fun, eating or sunbathing. As I was about to join them, I felt someone hold my hand, and when I turned to look at them, I found Ophis. "Those three smell like you…did you do lewd things?" she asked. "…Yeah. Did anything happen while we were gone?" I asked. I was somewhat aware of what was happening, but I focused more on the pleasure side of things. She shook her head then pointed at herself. "When am I next? Gabriel…sucked your thing before, so…" [Bruh.] "…Soon, but let's go on a dat—" "And what about me?" Irene asked as she came over to us with Kunou and Yasaka. Yasaka smiled and added, "I'd like a sibling for Kunou too, Dear~" "Aaron! Phis!" Kunou shouted and ran over to Ophis, who changed into her loli form. The two ran off to play but Ophis nodded to what I previously said. "Everything…will happen in due time, but for now let's take it easy—especially with having a kid, at least let me graduate from being a student first," I told Yasaka who laughed at me. "That's right, my little baby isn't ready for that yet!" Mom said from behind me while hugging my free arm. "Er, that's not what I meant…" "Ah, the doting mother has arrived. Fufu, at that rate, Róisín, you might also just marry Aaron," Yasaka teasingly said. But mom let go of my arm, put her hands on her cheeks and started shaking her head. "N-nooo~ t-that's forbidden, don't tease me like that, Yasaka~" "Son-con? Is that a word?" Irene asked. "I believe it is, fufu~" replied Yasaka. They began chatting among themselves while mom kept on mumbling to herself so I slipped away. Walking by the poolside I came across Mittelt and Meruem—the Slash Dog Team had joined us today and they were enjoying themselves too. Koga Hyousuke also came along as he was part of their tournament team. Sae and Tobio didn't since they traveled to a different place in Europe to spend the week there as a family. "Meruem, Mittelt, is something wrong?" I asked as I stopped behind them. "Father…Mittelt can't swim, but…I can't swim either, so we're stuck here," explained Meruem. I expected Meruem to just dive in and begin swimming by himself. However, apparently, Mittelt didn't dive in, so he jumped in and just sank to the bottom of the pool. He just jumped up and back to the side of the pool and didn't swim. "You're a quick learner, so come on, I'll teach you," I said and jumped into the pool. Like what I did with Asia and Shirone last year, I helped him by doggy paddling and then showing him how some other strokes on my phone. Once that was done, Meruem swam around the pool like some kind of Olympic athlete. He then offered to teach Mittelt and she quickly agreed. Once my assistance was done, I left and sat on a random chair and watched everyone else enjoy themselves. 'In a few days the match between Vali and Rias will happen, and those guys will attack. I was originally going to involve [EXE], but I might just deal with it myself and the group I bring with me.' {Didn't some of them ask to be part of the next operation? Well, the ones that are down in that futuristic part of the condominium in the Dimensional Gap base…} [Yeah, that was weird. It felt way too futuristic. I didn't think Antares would make it like that.] '…Well, I might just have them participate and a few others. The 'operation' isn't that big and repelling them is easy enough since Daniel already sabotaged them,' I replied. A soft sensation suddenly enveloped my back and when I glanced back, it was Suzaku. She had grabbed a chair and embraced me from behind. She wore a black and red bikini for today's excursion. "Suzaku? I thought you were with Akeno…" "She's busy speaking Lavinia and Danu-sama right now. So…I'm free and want to spend some time with you. You were looking quite serious just now, is something the matter?" she asked. "Oh, it's nothing too serious," I replied and told her about my thoughts. "Organization [EXE]…would it be possible for me to join?" she asked. "I don't see why not? I'll talk to the others who set it up and inform you after they make a decision." I don't think I have the overall say on who joins unlike Team [DxD] since the Satans, Four Seraphs, Azazel, and other Chief Gods were the ones who created it. I simply became the leader since they wanted me to lead the future for the rest. However, there are talks of something else being set up once everyone becomes allied with each other. We'll incorporate Team [DxD] into it as well as [EXE] as its secret intelligence division. I believe they also want me to have a big role in it, but I won't be the sole 'leader' so there's that. I'll still be the leader of both [DxD] and [EXE]. They don't have a name for it either yet, so I left it to them for now. As I was about to speak, Serafall, who had gotten time off, jumped towards me and I caught her. Now I was sandwiched between two women again. "A-a-r-o-n~! Since I have the rare day off, please spoil me," she said and bashfully fluttered her eyes at me. I silently stared at her as I remembered what Sona and I spoke about a few weeks ago. — ○ ● ○ — "About Serafall?" I asked. "Did something happen to her? I didn't sense anything like that…" "Well, I know it's not my place to say things like this, since it's between you two and how you go about it is up to you, but…Onee-sama has been quite gloomy lately and it's related to you, Aaron," she said. "Gloomy, huh?" I repeated and remembered all my interactions with Serafall so far. The last time we saw each other was two nights ago, and the last time we became intimate was when she stayed at the hotel in Lilith with me, Scathach, Lavinia and Rose. She didn't seem like that back then, or the time I saw her. However, I know that hiding depression is quite easy and fooling people around you, although my previous one was quite obvious. Both here and in the past. "What makes you think that?" I asked. Sona sighed and made her way to me and surprisingly sat on my lap. Looking me straight in the eyes she said, "She confided in me—well, she does it regularly enough that I'm used to it, but I still listen…anyway, she said that she's sad that you haven't proposed to her yet. In Onee-sama's words: 'Gabriel and Grayfia-chan got engaged before me! I feel like I'm being left behind! My magical girl sparkly is dwindling.' "Although she said it like that, she did look quite sad about it," she added. Sona squinted her eyes at me and waited for my reply. 'Is this how they felt about my meddling back then? Jeez, I want to hit my past self, and that was just a year ago…' I sighed and patted her head. "Because of our jobs and statuses, it makes seeing each other quite hard, but I'll make sure to ask her soon enough, but I wanna make it a bit more romantic than my previous ones because I seriously feel like I'm lacking in that department." I could only think of a handful proposal I made that could be considered 'romantic', and I do feel bad for the women for that. Rias was probably the most romantic so far…well, by my standards that is—before that was probably Lavinia, the rest were… [You fail.] 'Shut up…' Looking back at Sona, I added, "I better propose to you too soon. Hmm, how about I do it at the same time for you two sisters?" Sona looked away and sighed. "…F-focus on Onee-sama first, and then think about me afterward." Putting her older sister's happiness before her own, huh? How thoughtful of you, So-tan. "I'll do that then, thanks for informing me." "Wouldn't you normally know about this? I mean, you did evolve," she muttered. "I'm going to sound like a broken record with this, but—" I told her about my stance on that. If it's just everyday life things, I won't look too far into it. However, if it concerns the world, universe or multiverse then I will, but apart from that…then no. "It's like being spoiled for the rest of your life, but I have the choice of turning it off and on, so you know…" "I see…that's all for now, Aaron. Thank you for listening to my request," she said, pecked me on the cheek and got off me. She and Tsubaki walked out of my office and left me by myself there. "A date…where would she like to go…? How about…some place cold? I mean she likes using ice manipulation…" Pulling out a piece of paper, I began brainstorming ideas on where to take the eccentric Leviathan. — ○ ● ○ — "Sera, a day before Rias and Vali's match, how about we go on a date?" I asked her. She stared at me for a few seconds before agreeing by showering me with kisses. "Alright, killer lingerie is going to be worn during that! I expected to—" I pinched her mouth closed. "I get it, I get it, you're excited. We don't need to hear the rest of that sentence…but." "But?" she repeated and tilted her head. "The final destination for the night—I have a specific place in mind, but apart from that, you can either choose where we go, or we can go with what I have in mind, so…what say you, Leviathan-sama?" I asked. "Tokyo! There's a convention there and we can go and cosplay together! There's a supernatural section, actually and they're having one on that day, funnily enough!" she said excitedly. "Magical girl Levi-tan and Oppai Dragon! It's perfect, let's do it!" Serafall immediately got off me and ran towards Sona. Behind me, Suzaku giggled. "It sounds like Serafall-sama is excited about this…do you plan on proposing?" she asked. "That's the plan, and I'd like to apologize for yours since it was so lackluster…" "Jeez, I already told you it's fine…" Suzaku hugged me tighter from behind but our little moment was interrupted by a loud explosion. When we looked over at the spot, we found Ruruko and Asbeel had started a fight, but Genshirou himself looked quite content with himself. Asbeel had two lights spears in her hand while Ruruko had demonic energy around hers. Both women looked like they were going to murder each other. "They're already at that stage, huh? Genshirou does things at his own pace," I mumbled. "What do you mean?" Suzaku asked. "They're fighting over who gets to sleep with him tonight since apparently, for now Ruruko wanted to have a 1-person sleeps with him every night rule. Because of various circumstances, Asbeel got to sleep with him for two days in a row…" I didn't think I would be describing my junior's love life in detail, but here I am. I sighed and Suzaku giggled beside me. "You don't have that kind of problem, right? Although…that list does help, if not, I do wonder if it would be that chaotic," said Suzaku. "I'd like to believe that you girls are a lot more amicable with each other. But when I think about our current life, the chaotic things that happen on a daily basis keep on flashing in my head, and it makes me think…it might be like that," I replied. For the rest of that morning and afternoon, we enjoyed it as much as we could, although something else happened further on the day. — ○ ● ○ — Mom, Shuri, Venelana, Misla (for support), Kasumi and Göndul had come over later on that night. In front of me, in my office, and on my desk was a single document. On it were various locations, dates, and other detailed information about my potential weddings in the future. I had been in my office just doing my usual work, but these guys just suddenly barged in with their 'daughters' and gave me this. "Erm…we've spoken about this, haven't we? The latest was when we traveled to my other home in the Dimensional Gap…" I told them. Shuri stepped forward and nodded. "We are, however, we—the [Mother's Association Network] have gathered tonight to give you ideas. Of course, many of these came from our own daughters. These are essentially their dream weddings," she explained. Mom had taken Aoife as her daughter. Shuri had Akeno, Asia and Lavinia. Venelana had Rias, although she had written (me too!) in their wedding plans…Misla was here because she part of their group, Kasumi had Suzaku and finally Göndul with Rossweisse. There were more girls that wrote down their dream wedding, but since they couldn't call up their mothers on short notice, this was all that showed up. The fathers weren't invited because…well, I had no idea, but they just said they were busy. But Baraqiel had been texting me nonstop while apologizing, and even Sairaorg warned me of his mother's departure. I took another glance at the document and it detailed a lot of things. Akeno wanted a traditional Japanese marriage, the same with Rias, Asia, and Suzaku. Rossweisse wrote that she wanted to get married in her homeland of Asgard, Aoife was looking forward to having her wedding back in Ireland and Lavinia… [I don't care, as long as I'm together with Aaron.] That's all she wrote. There were other notes that were written by Shuri asking her to be more specific or at least do it back in Italy or her previous home. Mom also added some things to it, but in the end, it seemed like Venelana and Göndul's comments on it made them leave her to make her own decision. The other girls I was also engaged with added their own sections, although most of them wrote [We have no idea (yet!).] on them. "Funds won't be a problem, I can tell you that," I said and put it down. But we won't need to worry about this for a long time. "I know that look, Aaron, but did you think of this yet?" My mom said and I tilted my head at her. "A father, who do you want to take the role of your father there? I know not everyone here has one, and I know Baraqiel wants to walk Akeno and Asia down, and…" "D-Dario wants to walk me down the aisle…" muttered Lavinia. Right, her family's friend, Dario, and his wife, Giorgia. The rest I can guess, like Kaito for Suzaku, Zeoticus for Rias, so on and so forth… "…I mean, does the groom's dad even do anything at the ceremony? Apart from welcoming guests, and doing a speech and other small things. They don't really have that much of a role—God that makes me sound like an asshole, but you know what I mean, right?" I asked. Mom looked at me sadly. I wonder who'll do it for Aoife? Should I bring her family back too? Cúntóir: Answer: Impossible. They are currently reincarnated as different people and in different universes. '…Well shit.' I scratched my head again and sighed. "Let's just think about that another time—for now let's just focus on the girls," I told them. A dad, huh? Baraqiel kind of fills that role…though Azazel might, but he's more like a cool uncle to me. No one else really come to mind…ah, who cares? That pile of crap from my previous life can rot for all I care… So, while I worked on my restaurant's documents, I also chatted with the moms there about the dream wedding that they'd like to see for their daughters. The girls also added or removed things from their wish lists. — ○ ● ○ — Even later on that night, I stood in the top section of my home. The conversation about my 'father' attending to my own wedding had been in my mind, so I was thinking of traveling the multiverse to speak with him. According to Cúntóir, he's currently on the waiting list for being reincarnated, so there's a chance I can speak to him. With that in mind, I got ready to depart on this short trip. As I was about to, I felt a few people come up on the roof. Glancing back, I saw Mom, Aoife and Lavinia. "Haven't fallen asleep yet?" I asked while turning back around and looking at the sky. "Are you planning on going to him?" Mom asked. "Was I that obvious?" "Yes." I laughed and waved them off. "It won't take long, I already know where he is, and I just want to have a quick chat…and no I won't let any of you come. I won't let that asshole anywhere near you," I told my mother. My mother came over and hugged me from behind. "Just be quick, okay?" "I will, but I know you're trying to dote on me because of our past, but I don't blame you, okay? Everything was just against us from the start, including Cindy, Ryan, Jennifer, Aoife and her family. So please forgive yourself, alright, mo—Róisín?" I turned around and hugged her back. When I pulled away, I also hugged Lavinia and Aoife before I finally made a portal and stepped through it. [So, where is it?] asked Ddraig. 'I don't know how to even describe it, so just trust me on this,' I replied. — ○ ● ○ — Traveling the multiverse felt like traveling through the Dimensional Gap back in the Draconic Deus. However, turn up the light show by one million and have your sense of direction skewed from the very beginning and also… Some weird monster flew towards me and I killed it immediately. For some strange reason there are these 'things' here. They defy common logic, but I can't get rid of them. They have to exist to keep everything from collapsing. 'Cúntóir, what are these?' Cúntóir: Answer: Etinosru. These things days after Azathoth came to be, she—we don't know what they are, but…you may be able to replace them, but not destroy them. 'Etinosru? What a weird name…but replace them? So I can make them less annoying? They're kind of endless, I wonder if Velgrynd had to deal with these things.' Cúntóir: Answer: She did, but they are not that strong, so she didn't have much trouble. But it's recommended to face them when you're at least Satan-class and up…go right and keep going until I say stop. Turning right, I changed my velocity to speed up this journey. I wasn't even sure at what speed I was accelerating at, but it was definitely beyond the speed of light. I also made sure to change time dilations, so I should only be gone for a few minutes at best. Cúntóir: Answer: Stop! Over there, go to that and you'll meet him…are you sure you're ready? Hearing her scream stop, I halted my movements. When I turned to where she was directing me, I saw an amalgamation of lights that were in a swirl or vortex. That's not a universe, but another realm that keeps the souls of the dead once their universe implodes on itself. I wonder how long that old shit was wondering around until I finally got here? I'd imagine Mom, Cindy, and Aoife's souls are quite old now like mine. "I'm ready," I replied and entered the strange vortex. Once in there, I was in some kind of strange path, and beside me were countless souls in the shape of humans—I'd assume that those were their previous lives appearances. Following them, we walked across a road made of clouds and none of them spoke. All of them kept their eyes on the cloudy ground. Looking ahead, it was quite a long bridge, so I dashed ahead of everyone and arrived at a completely different area. It was a large platform with many souls sitting or standing and waiting. In front of us was a large gate—it seemed like some kind of strange creature was assigning them a new life…using a lottery system. It was just: Good or Bad life, nothing more, nothing less. Is this the system I enforced? Well…having reincarnators running around creating disturbances across the multiverse would be annoying. Whatever, that's not why I'm here. Turning my attention to my west, I followed the soul aura of my previous 'father'. It took around two minutes of walking, but he was by himself sitting at a corner and looking at the ground. It almost looked pitiful. He looked up and stared at me. What should I say? I had a lot of things to say to this man… — ○ ● ○ — Lavinia Reni's Soliloquy — ○ ● ○ — "Um, Miss Róisín?" Aoife asked looking worriedly at Aaron's mother. She had been standing there for at least a minute without responding. But that look on her…she was covering her face and was blushing quite hard. That's quite forbidden, you know? Although I know she knows that… "Róisín-san. You've said it a lot over the past few weeks since you and Aaron came back. I know you said it jokingly, but…right now, how do you feel?" I asked. Aoife understood what I meant and she looked conflicted—she looked horrified and excited. She's such a strange girl, almost like Aaron. I can tell she wants to help Róisín, but at the same time, helping her with such a thing was…taboo. After hearing me vocalize it, Róisín Toole's face paled. Do I have a say in any of this? Earlier today Ruu-chan (Ruruko) and Asbeel-san were fighting over who was supposed to sleep with Gen-kun, but back at the stadium in Aaron's Dimensional Gap home, Asbeel-san said that Ruu-chan was the 'main' wife. That got many of us thinking…who was the 'main' wife among us? The legal wife that Aaron will marry someday. Unless they reveal the supernatural by then and their rules, then he would need to marry a single person to make it legal, right? Many say it's Akeno-chan, Kuroka or me. We've spoken about it between the three of us since we were the first in his harem. However, Kuroka doesn't really care, she's not the 'leader-type' in her words, and Akeno is content with being with Aaron just like me. But he also told me that I would be the legal wife in the future… But he also said that it could always change, so nothing is really set in stone. Róisín-san looked at me and smiled. She put her hand on her chest and announced, "Aaron is my beloved son. That's how I'll always see him, that won't ever change." "…If that's your answer for now, then I won't force you," I replied. Accepting such feelings is scary after all. If you lived most of your life believing that, then it would surely be strange to develop such feelings. How would Aaron feel? Those topics…he never really went into detail about them, but at the same time he doesn't like hurting those close to him—such a thing would definitely weigh on his mind. "W-well, let's just leave that aside for now and wait for Aaron!" Aoife said trying to change the subject and lighten the mood. "Yes, that's true. I'm sorry for bringing it up," I apologized and bowed. "N-no, it's fine," she said and bowed too. We sat on one of the benches and chatted about mundane things as we waited for his return—almost as if nothing had happened. It wasn't awkward at all… — ○ ● ○ — Aaron Toole's Soliloquy — ○ ● ○ — "Aden Toole." Once I called his name, the soul looked up at me with some alarm and unease. He must have not anticipated for me—a living human to speak to him. "Do you know who I am?" I asked. He didn't answer and simply kept staring at me. "Aaron Toole, does that name ring any bells?" I clicked my fingers and transformed into my previous life appearance. "Or would this be more appropriate?" His eyes slowly widened at the realization, and then he started to laugh. He covered his face with his hand and laughed. As he did, he slowly got up to face me. "So my son has come to see me? Reincarnation—I've lived many lives, but we only remember those memories once we're here. It's pretty jarring you know? So, are you some kind of powerful thing now? Come to take revenge on your pops?" he asked condescendingly. [Even after all that time, he's still a dick, huh?] asked Ddraig. {Some people never change, that's just a fact of life,} replied Albion. Suddenly, a silvery-white puppy with gold and blue eyes appeared on my shoulder. He licked my cheek and jumped into my arms. Aden looked at us in amusement and didn't say anything. "No." I shook my head. "I just wanted to ask some questions and I guess I can explain a bit of my situation to you." I proceeded to tell him what happened after my 'death', how long it's been and my journey until now—and where both mom and Cindy were. "The new ruler of this shithole? At least you became something notable—unlike in your original life, where you were pathetically useless. You didn't live up to my expectations. Don't worry though, you had a half-brother who stepped up to the plate and he did all of it—he became another me. I'm sure he made descendants down the line too," he said proudly. "…Grandmother and grandfather were like that—they forced those things onto you. I'll assume you tried to change it, but they were too overbearing and you caved. But once you were an adult, couldn't you try again? There's always—" He interrupted me. "Break the cycle this, break the cycle that. Yeah, yeah, I've heard that sappy shit being said by my therapists, Aaron Toole. As you said, it tried, but those two were too unforgiving and harsh and I caved, but the more I caved, I realized that it felt good." A crazy smile was on his face. "Being able to do those things to people—to have so much power that I can move the world, it felt great! It felt euphoric!" his face looked ecstatic while saying that, but he looked back at me and said, "yet, you're not doing that when you're the ruler of EVERYTHING? Why?! Why do you act so passively?! Is it because of that whore of a mother of yours?!" He stomped his foot like a child having a tantrum. "It's always her! She coddled you too much! If I had complete control of how you were brought up, you wouldn't have fucking died! It's that other bitch's fault too! Aoife or whatever the hell her name was! She wasn't good enough—I had a woman ready for you and everything!" He grinded his teeth and added, "And now you revived them and that bitch of a maid!? Are you insane?! Why not me?! I will bring this multiverse salvation and order under my rule—if we worked together, we would be unstoppable!" After his rant, he began to pant as if he had just lost his breath. I stood there with a mixed bag of emotions. A small part of me wanted to just erase him from existence, but I also knew that he was a victim. However, he just accepted it in the end and even enjoyed doing all those things. It's almost impossible to sympathize with him when he said it like that. "…So you feel no remorse at all? For what you put me, mom, Cindy and everyone else through? Did the means justify the ends?" I asked. An even larger smile appeared on his face. "Yes. As long as I win in the end, it doesn't matter who or what I need to throw aside. Your grandparents taught me that as long as we—as I win, nothing else matters. I can even cast aside my own flesh and blood," he said indifferently. I sighed. I see, so nothing has changed since then, huh? …No, it got worse, this man kept on falling deeper and deeper into depravity and relished in it. There's no saving him, there's no redemption, he's a lost cause… "So? Are you planning to revive—!?" I grabbed his head and shut his mouth. He began to struggle and even try to claw at my hand, but it didn't do anything. In a way, I wanted to see change—or at least some kind of regret or remorse, but maybe I was a bit too optimistic. There are just some people in this world that won't change, no matter how many opportunities are given to them… "Well, I'll go check on my grandparents on your side after this to see if they had any change, but…I really doubt it if they made you into this monster…you won't hurt anyone anymore, goodbye—Aden." I crushed his soul while applying my power to that death grip, erasing his soul from existence. [What now, Partner? Are you going to those two?] asked Ddraig. "Yeah. If they're like how Aden described, then I can't in good conscience let them live," I replied and left the place. — ○ ● ○ — "Aaron!" Lavinia shouted and ran up and hugged me. "…I'm back, I wasn't gone for too long, right?" I asked and hugged her back. I'm pretty sure it was just— "You were away for ten minutes. How was it?" Mom asked and I sighed. "It…was fine. A lot more exhausting than I thought, but I got through with it," I replied. Those two…weren't any better, honestly, they were even more awful than that man—how such people come to be is beyond me, but I guess people are just born like that—born broken from the very start. "Well, time to sleep!" Aoife said and began dragging me away with Lavinia clinging to me. "Thanks…" I told her and she held my hand a bit tighter. I appreciate them not asking about it. Repeating it would be even more exhausting and I didn't want Cindy, mom or Aoife to hear the awful things they said about them. — ○ ● ○ — The day before the match, I was in my usual clothes. However, I was also ready to change into cosplay since I'm traveling to that Tokyo con for the supernatural one that Serafall wanted to attend for our date today. She tried inviting others with us, but I had to remind her that it was a date between us… "I'm ready! I'm ready!" she said beside me like a hyperactive child. She also reminded me of SpongeBob when she started saying that… "It's starting soon, right? So let's get going," I told her. Serafall was still in her work attire and not in her magical girl outfit, thankfully. She would definitely attract attention in the normal Tokyo area if she did that. "Let's go!" she shouted while hugging my arm. — ○ ● ○ — Arriving at a particular spot in Tokyo because of Serafall's insistence, she immediately pulled me away in a certain direction and began talking about the specifics of this convention. From the quick history lesson I got, it was like this: — ○ ● ○ — 1. Only people that were associated with the supernatural may enter. 2. It was a neutral zone since it was apparently made before the alliance and it was super secretive since only the chosen few were allowed into it. But rules have relaxed since the alliance was made. 3. It's just like a normal anime or comic convention. You could show up in regular clothing or cosplay, set up booths or sell items. There were also other events that happened there. — ○ ● ○ — "Ah, by the way, since we're popular we might be swarmed by fans, or even asked to do mock battles as Oppai Dragon and Magical Girl Levi-tan~ so be ready~" "Yeah, I expected as much," I replied. We eventually arrived at a secluded spot in Tokyo. Normally you'd imagine this place would be filled with the homeless or drug addicts, though I haven't seen many in Tokyo, or Japan… There was a door that led into a wall. Serafall opened it and walked through. I did the same thing and noticed that it was made with the same techniques as the Rating Game fields. This meant that the Four Great Satans, Angels and Devils were aware of this event now. Checking for myself, the creation of the previous conventions was based on an abandoned building in Tokyo, and the organizers would use magic and other techniques to keep humans away from that spot whenever a convention was happening. But now they had the help of other people, it made it easier and safer for those going to them. After going into the new realm, the entire place was humongous. It was the size of the Tokyo Dome, and there were a lot of people here. They ranged from devils, fallen angels, magicians, normal humans, youkai, monsters and other races. In the distance were a few booths by the entrance and further in were other various shops. "Let's go get changed!" she said and leaned in closer. "Maybe cosplay sex?" I poked her on the forehead and sighed. "Let's leave that kind of talk for later on the night, alright?" A grin spread across her face. "Hehehe~ so it's not out of the question~?" "You know it's not," I replied and poked her nose. We began walking away from the 'entrance' with Serafall in the lead and we took us to the changing rooms and we went our separate ways…or so she thought, but I didn't need to 'change' since all I needed to do was enter my [Boosted Gear]'s Balance Breaker. As I waited there, many people that passed by me looked at me strangely, or did a double take, and they looked like they wanted to speak to me, but were unsure. However, Serafall came back out and twirled around in her outfit. "Magical Girl Levi-tan is ready~!" she announced and brought out her wand. The people around us were stunned but then cheered. "O-o-one of the Satans is here!?" "Serafall-sama! Levi-tan!!" "Uuuwoooooo!!" Suddenly, they started crowding around Serafall and practically kicked me away. She seemed bothered by it, but I reassured her it was fine, and her fans were just excited to see her. Although I sometimes forget that she has her own show because most people I see or meet just scream 'Oppai Dragon!', but her own show is pretty popular in the Underworld… Most of those who crowded around her were devils, low, middle, high class, both pure and reincarnated devils. There were also other species like fallen angels and angels, but the vast majority were devils. "Serafall-sama, why are you here today!?" one of her fans asked. She poked her cheek with her finger and hummed. "I'm here for the con—well, I'm on a date with my boyfriend~?" "Boyfriend…?" they repeated and turned to me. 'Not everyone keeps up to date with news. They may hear about your name—the Middleman, but they may not know the face to that,' said Rudra. 'I know, I mean when I was younger, I didn't care about the news, so I don't entirely blame them,' I replied. Serafall stared at me expectantly with stars in her eyes. I chuckled and brought out my Sacred Gear. 'Help me out here, Ddraig.' [Welsh Dragon: Balance Breaker!!] Donning my Scale Mail, the crowd around us froze as the realization hit them of whom I really was. "The Middleman?! Holy shit!!" "Kyaaaa Serafall-sama and Jin-sama~!!" "…Do you accept men into your harem?!" Turning to the man who asked me that, I shook my head, and he fell to his knees in despair and began to sob. His friends with him patted his back while saying 'Try again next time'. [What about Yumi?] 'Please shut up about that…Yumi is a woman now, so…' I told Ddraig and he snorted at me. "Jin-sama, can we have an autograph?!" someone asked and I obliged. After that, we were swarmed even more and our date turned into a more of a meet-and-greet event, and we had to apologize to the organizers for causing such a ruckus. Although they were more than happy about it since we came to their convention. — ○ ● ○ — "Can this still be considered a date?" I asked as I brought back some drinks and food for us. We had taken a seat on a bench near a corner of the convention. There had been a lot of excitement and different events over the course of around three hours. We still enjoyed our time here though, even with all the attention we got. We gave out more autographs and products for our shows than I would have imagined. But it made sense when Serafall told me to bring some items from our shows since we may have needed to give away some stuff. Honestly, I had an overabundance of it, but it worked out in the end. "I do, do you?" she happily asked and accepted her share. Serafall began to eat while leaning against me and watching the crowds pass us by. There were still many that wanted to come over to us, but they saw us eating so gave us some privacy which I was thankful for. "Well…as long as we're having fun, then I'd say it's a date," I replied and we laughed together. As we continued to chat, two children approached us and what seemed to be their parents looked troubled as they did. "Oppai Dragon!" the boy shouted. He was together with another boy, he looked to be the younger one. I put my food aside and crouched down to their level. "Hello, I'm the Oppai Dragon. How can I help you?" I asked. At a quick glance, I could tell they were noble devils but were of low-class. "How can we get stronger like you?" he asked while patting his little brother on the head. "We're weak…we're from a low-class family, but I still love my family and want our name to be known by everyone!" he declared. I've met so many of these kids, even back in Auros Academy. As I was about to answer him, their parents came over and began apologizing profusely. They were a noble family, but they looked quite poor. The moment I raised my arm, I created a barrier around us, which surprised them. "You guys are from the Dantalion family of devils, right?" I asked. If I remember, they were near the bottom and there was nothing specific about their family. The family seemed shocked and hesitance, but the father nodded in confirmation. Serafall was also surprised by this and she became serious upon learning that. "We…" the father said. "After the Great War and Civil War, our family's wealth and status began to decline, it declined so far that we're near the bottom of the Underworld. We weren't super wealthy back in the day, but we weren't treated like garbage by other houses…we barely get on by and…" He looked at his son with a pained expression, but just sighed. I more or less understood what he meant. This trip was probably expensive, but they wanted to spoil their children and made the sacrifice. "Our own powers have also dwindled over the years. We haven't produced a powerful heir in many generations, and even I'm nothing to celebrate about. I also failed as a parent since neither one of my sons could use demonic power…" he explained and sighed. The wife stood by her husband and nodded along—tears threatening to leave her eyes as he recounted their life so far. "So-ta—" "Then how about applying to Auros Academy?" I suggested. "The devil's school that anyone can attend regardless of class and status? B-but we don't have that much money…" mumbled the wife. I pointed at Serafall and said, "I'm close friends with Sona Sitri, the one that created the school, and of course, Satan Leviathan also supports it in secret. I can probably work out something for your kids, and I can also help a little bit now…" Gesturing for both boys to come closer to me, they did. I stared at them for a few seconds and nodded. I then poked their heads and made it easier for them to learn magic and use touki. If they can't rely on it, then I'll just make them future Sairaorg's. I pointed at the left boy, the oldest. "You have a high affinity for lightning magic and water." I pointed at the right. "Your little brother has high affinity with flames and duplication magic. If you train in magic that humans use, then you'll be able to become stronger…you also know about Sairaorg Bael, right?" "Lion King-san! He uses uhm…t-touki, right? He made his body big too!" replied the older brother. "Yes…so if you train hard like my friend Sairaorg, you can even use touki like him and become strong. Using human magic and touki, you'll definitely become stronger so just work hard" I told them. It's possible, especially in the world. Unlike my previous one where sometimes it's just useless, this world defies common logic, so if you just work hard, you'll definitely get stronger. Of course, breaking past your limits and set potential is also possible like Cúntóir mentioned a year ago. Summoning a business card, I handed it to their parents. "Contact me through this once they're both eligible to join Auros Academy. I'll set everything up with Sona." — ○ ● ○ — Serafall Leviathan's Soliloquy — ○ ● ○ — Watching him interact with people and children has always been fascinating. Aaron has always said that he was worried about being a father and husband because of his troubled past. However, his mother and others have told him time and time again that he would be fine. But we respect his wishes for having children further down the line. After he gave the business card to the parents, they hugged him and spoke with him for a little longer. After that, he crouched back down and began teaching the two brothers magic. After around five minutes, and with his help, the oldest brother created a magic circle and a spark of electricity came out of it. "I did it! Mom! Dad!" he turned and showed them it. Seconds later, the younger one also managed to create his own magic circle and flames came out of it. It was obvious that he had made it easier for them. Normally it would take them longer to achieve such results. But if the reason was to give them a bit of hope, Aaron would do just that. As far as I know, I don't know what the future holds for the remnants of the Dantalion clan will be. However, if they're helped by him, they'll definitely get out of their current situation. "Don't worry, my little Sona is dependable and the school she made will undoubtedly help these two bloom into fine devils," I told them. "T-thank you Leviathan-sama…!" they said and bowed. I feel like they're a lot more scared of me than Aaron, but I believe it's just because I'm a Satan. Eventually, the family left and we were left by ourselves again. "Let's continue our lunch then, shall we?" "You just like helping people, don't you? Especially children…" I mumbled. "Do I? I never noticed that I gave preferential treatment towards children, but I guess being the Oppai Dragon makes me do that. They look up to me after all," he said and looked back at the family who seemed even happier than before. I hugged his arm and said, "Weeell~ you did let people know more about So-tan's school, so should I reward you right noow~?" He poked me on the forehead again and said, "Let's save the lewd things for tonight and just enjoy ourselves for the rest of the day. With that said, do you want to stay here until we go to the final destination for tonight?" "There are more events coming up so let's stay here for a bit more!" I suggested and he agreed. — ○ ● ○ — "Stay down, Magical Girl Levi-tan! You're outnumbered!" said a man in a board costume. Behind him were various other people in costumes that looked 'evil'. Presently, we were performing a small performance with other cosplayers on the stage for many people at the convention. "Hmph! Evil-doer, I won't let you get away with this! I'll call my friend, the Oppai Dragon!" I shouted, while twirling and releasing some sparkles. On cue, and because of my 'magic power' Aaron jumped out from behind some boxes and the children in the venue (as well as a few adults, mainly females) screamed. "Kyaaaaa Oppai Dragon!!" "They're teaming up. These bad guys don't stand a chance now!" Aaron pointed his finger towards the bad guys and proclaimed, "I won't let you do as you please, Levi-tan and I will defeat you today!" he touched my breast and shouted, "Oppai Transfer!!!" [O-P-P-A-I Transfer!!!] He had used his [Pai-phone] and made my breasts glow, while pretending to transfer power to himself. I also moaned, some of it was real since it felt tingly and he transformed into his [Queen] form. Cannons came out of his back and he aimed them at the bad guys. "Dammit! He's in his [Oppai Over mode] form! We need to get away!" "No you don't!" I aimed my wand at them and made illusionary ice magic appear and they faked a struggle. "Take this!" he shouted, and the crowd shouted 'Oppai Beam Cannon!' along with him. A pink beam left his cannons and hit the bad guys, like mine. They were made of illusionary magic and the bad guys jumped backwards as if being hurt. "D-dammit…! We can't…fall here…" said the boar-man. Suddenly a new pair arrived and stopped us from getting to them. "This is as far as you go, we will be taking them away!" said the masked woman. Before we could react, all the villains vanished in a puff of smoke. "Noooo! They got away! But who were those?!" the children asked in exhilaration. Curtains fell around us, and we stepped away to the backstage. The others in costumes removed their head piece and sighed. "Thank you for joining us, Leviathan-sama, Jin-sama. It was kind of last minute to change the script, but it worked out," the boar-man said. "No problem! Everyone enjoyed it, so it's not bad—we also got to promote the upcoming villains for my show, hehe~!" I replied. The two that showed up were new villains for the new season for my show in the Underworld. At the last minute we decided to have a small crossover event and had Aaron participate. Everyone's lines were just slightly altered, so it wasn't that big of a deal. Aaron helped everyone remember their new lines through his powers too. "Yeah, it was fun," replied Aaron as he summoned some drinks for everyone. We started to unwind and he began to mingle with everyone there…and a few females began flirting with him. I wasn't jealous, definitely not! Even though it was our date, he's talking to other women! …Wait, am I being insane right now?! Serafall is shocked! …Why the sudden third-person talk?! Calm down…I need to calm down. "Uh, Sera, are you alright?" he asked while looking concerned at me. "Yesh!" I shouted and showed him a thumbs up. I can't be the crazy girlfriend, I refuse! There are already other candidates to that…I think? Checking the time, the day was coming to a close and night was coming. After that show, most people should be going home, or to the nearby hotels in Kyoto because this convention runs for a couple of days. But Aaron and I wouldn't be staying here…I am curious about one thing. Will he propose to me tonight? That's the feeling I got from this date, and it makes me quite nervous if I'm being honest. Even after being alive for so long, and already being immortal because of him—I'm not the type to become easily nervous about things. Looking back at him, he was chatting with countless people already. My jealousy from earlier had already vanished as even though there were other women flirting with him, he didn't reciprocate and he turned them down easily. Was he being considerate of me? Was it because we were on a date? Or did he use his powers on purpose to see into the future and 'pursue' certain women because of that? Aaron usually doesn't keep too many secrets from us anymore, but he does keep his silence when— "Uh, are you there, Sera?" When I came back to reality, his face was in front of me. Looking around us, everyone had left…how long had I been just staring into space? I swear I just looked at him just now and he was speaking to other people… "Um…how long was I out?" I asked. "An hour? I was done talking to everyone nearly forty-five minutes ago, but you wouldn't come out of your own little world, so I just waited," he explained. I clutched my head and screamed. "We wasted our tiiiimee!!" I looked back at him and grabbed his hand. "We have to go to that place!" — ○ ● ○ — Aaron Toole's Soliloquy — ○ ● ○ — "…You're panicking too much. Let's go have dinner first and then go to our final destination. It's not going anywhere, so don't worry too much," I told her. She seemed unsure so I reassured her again and she went to change. I also left my Balance Breaker armor and sighed. "I will have to do that more from now on…though balancing my life when my company expands will be more work." I already had a plan for it although—the Middleman would be known as Jin Skyward, the one that changed their perception of reality. The owner of 'Dragon's Heart Legacy' will be Aaron Toole, and I'll change my appearances for whenever I 'play' as one or the other. One will be hated and the other loved. It'll surely be an interesting time, won't it? And if I reveal the truth—wouldn't that make an even bigger deal? Well…looking into the future, there were countless paths it could go, but there is one that works out for me. Warm lips suddenly touched my and when I looked down, I saw Serafall had kissed me. "I'm ready, let's go," she said and held my hand again before dragging me out. As we left the place, we met a few of the staff members as they also were only leaving now. I was thankful they stayed behind while Serafall was still in her own little world. I'll tip them some money later… — ○ ● ○ — We had dinner at Gastronomy 'Joël Robuchon', and it was pretty good. I had made reservations a few days in advance, but with the long waiting list, I had to use a bit of my powers. The waiting list was two long months, two! At least it was sort of worth it—well, Serafall liked it. I also tasted some high-end and unique-tasting food, so in a way, I benefited from it too. However, as I mentioned, it was expensive…like ¥22,000. The cheapest dish was ¥5,800, I believe? And the most expensive was ¥22,000, although it was for an entire buffet, I believe? But we mostly stuck with the standalone dishes instead. But they cost around ¥13,800 to ¥5,800. Still, they were around $98-$42. "That was good…but expensive," said Serafall, looking a bit guilty. "Your food tastes better and isn't as expensive. No wonder you get a lot of customers! Though I get to eat it pretty much for free hehe~" "Giving me praise won't give you extra benefits you know?" I said and glanced at her. Serafall squinted her eyes at me and squeezed my arm tighter. "…So where are we going? It's already night here…" she asked. "Well, we're heading to the North Pole. I asked Saint Nicolas for this favor. So—" I summoned a coat and put it over her head. "Put this on, you're going to need it." "H-hey! Don't just do that so casually around us!" she hurriedly said and looked around us. "Huh? Why aren't they reacting?" Chuckling, I told her what I had already done in the past and she sighed. "Casually warping everyday reality and perception for the silliest of things, Serafall is shocked!" Serafall said and crossed her arms. She then looked at the coat, called it cute and put it on. It was a plain white-pink coat with bear heads as designs and had 'Serafall' near her left breast. She shook her hands and brown mitten gloves appeared over them, as well as a white scarf and earmuffs. "Serafall is ready!" she said and held my hand. "How about you?" I touched my chest and changed clothing too. I matched her, but had 'Aaron' on my chest. She giggled and we finally left for Saint Nicolas' realm again. — ○ ● ○ — Arriving back in Saint Nicolas' realm, we were greeted by him and his wife near the entrance to the city. "Jin, it's been some time, thank you for the help back during Christmas Eve," he said and shook my free hand. "It seems you came with Satan Leviathan? Welcome, welcome, I hope you enjoy your stay," he said and grinned. "…Please enjoy yourselves," said Carol Claus and waved at us. "Thanks for letting me do this. We'll stop by before we leave," I told him. He laughed and patted my back before thanking me again and leaving with his wife. Looking at the sky, there was still some time before 'it', so— "Let's go for a walk for a bit. There are some food vendors here so…" "Fill my stomach again? There's always room for dessert!" she exclaimed and pulled me away. We walked around the city again, and the enormous Christmas tree was still there along with the elves going about their lives. It was less chaotic this time around since Christmas had passed and everyone seemed relaxed and happy. We went to a few food stalls and Serafall ordered one item each and stuffed her cheeks with the food. If we didn't calm down, she'd have an upset stomach… I sighed. "You're like Gabriel, jeez." I then wiped the same milk stain on her lips and she stuck her tongue out at me. But she then offered me a bite and I accepted—it was the same cookie that Danu had offered me when we were here. "Hmm. It still tastes the same as ever, but I did change it on my menu. What do you think?" I asked. "Yours," she answered and pointed at my crotch. "What?" I replied and stopped her from pointing at it. She giggled at me again before we checked the town more, and just like last time it was mostly the same—many of their items were Christmas themed, but there were a few exceptions. Serafall found some erotic cosplay which surprised me since they sold it there and bought one for herself and Sona, for the eventual threesome she wanted to happen. I swear she became even hornier after we first did it. I mean I heard that it takes away from stress, but she's— "Hey, can we go over there?" she asked while pointing to one of the highest points in the realm. It was a snow-covered mountain just around half the height of Mt. Everest. "That's our final destination for the night. I was planning to teleport us near the tip, but if we go now and climb it…we'll most likely reach the top by the time I planned," I explained. "Oh! A bit of adventure, let's go!" she shouted and began running ahead of me. A few elves around us chuckled at the Leviathan's enthusiasm. I ran after her and we began our climb up the steep mountain. — ○ ● ○ — "What…the…heck…is…this?! Why are obstacle courses in this mountain?! Sheer drops into nothingness, random cliffs, and, and…a fake prop of a Cerberus?! Who made this?!" she asked as she stomped her foot in frustration. We had made it to the halfway point and there was a small cottage area that was meant to be a pit-stop here. Obviously from what she described, this place felt more like a carnival of training courses rather than a regular mountain. I mean, we had to fight a mechanical Yeti and Dragon King Fafnir near the start, so I can understand her confusion. "After the alliance with the North Pole and Saint Nicholas, Azazel came here and modified this mountain with Sirzechs. Let's just say they went a bit overboard…Saint Nick said he wanted more visitors here, so…" "Mumumumum…!" Serafall wasn't happy, but for other reasons. "They didn't invite me!? Unforgivable!!" Yeah…I guessed as much. I laughed at her comment but she softly hit me repeatedly saying that if she was part of it, she would have made it much more fun, and not just some kind of training course. "Well, let's head up further and see what's in store for us, shall we? I promise the second half is a lot less chaotic," I told her while offering my hand. She squinted her eyes at me but still accepted the gesture. And so we set out for the rest of our journey. — ○ ● ○ — "La~ la la la ~" Serafall skipped, and jumped around as a soft and cute lullaby played all around us. Other smaller creatures also appeared every now and again to give her something. Even though it was freezing she had a crown made of ice and a necklace that resembled flowers. The second half of this journey was calm and a gave you a sense of peace. I had managed to convince Azazel and Sirzechs to do this…with the help of Avezza and Asteri. Anger wives have great powers. I won't mention that Gabriel came with me that day and recommended most of this to us since I know she sees her as a rival. Well, Asteri and Avezza also helped pick a lot of it out and those three bonded during it. Even Azazel and Sirzechs commented that such a thing would have been impossible a year ago. A devil (Asteri), a fallen angel (Avezza) and an angel (Gabriel) just walking around, talking, giggling and having fun would have been a strange sight. We were coming up to the summit and Serafall ran ahead of us while being followed by the small creatures. I eventually reached it too and she stood up there looking over the realm. "The view's nice, is this what you wanted to show me?" she asked. I came up beside her and patted her head. "Yes, part of it…the main event should start now," I said and looked back up. Serafall did the same thing and her eyes shone in wonder as she saw it—the Northern lights—the Aurora borealis. Normally this realm would follow the human realm's time, so it should still be daytime over there. However, I asked a selfish request from Santa and he let me do it. The Northern Lights were also made by me—or at least I influenced them to happen at a specific time during our date. I felt Serafall squeeze my hand and point at it. "I haven't seen this before…it's pretty…" she mumbled. I also had to agree, it was quite a spectacle. Although I saw it with Gabriel and the others when we were making this—but that would piss her off if I said it to her. Let's keep the peace and mood by keeping my mouth shut. Looking back at Serafall, her cheeks had become flushed as she waited in anticipation for what I was going to do. Well, at least my intentions were obvious, slowly I turned her towards me while holding both her hands. Unlike her earlier demeanor, she was acting quite shy and reserved now. Was Serafall weak in these kinds of situations? Looking back at my memories, she rarely acted like this. "Sera—" "Y-yes!?" she screamed instantly as a reply. Holding in my laughter, I took a deep breath and said, "We first met in Heaven, right? The day I announced myself as the Middleman. Who would have thought we'd end up here." She smiled and nodded. "Of course, I remember that day clearly. Even before you evolved, to me you didn't look bad." "…I'll take that as a compliment?" I replied and we laughed together. She let go of my hands and hugged me while placing her head on my chest. "You remember what I said back then, right? How I fell for you?" she asked. "Because of what you did for Kuroka. I couldn't help but think 'What if I was in her place? What would I do?' And I came to the same conclusion: I'd do the same thing as her. I'd protect So-tan." Back then, it was a coincidence that they called me to capture Kuroka, but I wanted to clear her name. I didn't have any plans on having her fall in love with me. The one that I was interested in prior to reincarnating was Akeno. But after staying here over the year and years in the [Pocket Dimension] changed that. She looked up at me and said, "Well…? Aren't you going to ask?" "I thought you had more to say, but yes I remember all of it, Sera." I took a deep breath and asked, "Serafall Leviathan, will you marry me?" Her usual haughty smile appeared on her face again. "Hmph. I have a lot of competition waiting for me, but I'm ready for it! Magical Girl Levi-tan accepts your proposal!" "Great—" "Now sex!!!" she bellowed—an echo followed after it. I laughed. "Way to ruin the mood, but sure, let's go. I already have a room booked at Antares' base." — ○ ● ○ — That same time, in Japan we returned home. We did the deed for a few hours while under a barrier, so we got our rest. During it, I received a notification to return as soon as possible. Serafall didn't mind as she had her fill for the day, and she ran to Sona to officially tell her of our engagement. Entering my office, I found Cao Cao and Tobio there with Shaula, Zeno and Silva. Going to my chair, I sat on it and clicked my fingers. I gave them some snacks and refreshments. They took a seat and began having some of them. "So, is everything ready for tomorrow?" I asked. Tobio nodded and said, "It's been a while since I went on my undercover missions, but it came from you as a favor so I couldn't refuse. Sae also understood, and yeah, what I found syncs up with what you told me beforehand. The [Z-Team] is coming with some hybrids and Grim Reapers during Vali and Rias-san's game." After drinking his drink Cao Cao said, "We also went to the Netherworld with Bennia Orcus' help and spoke with Orcus, the leader of the Conservative Faction in there. To say that the place is in chaos is describing it lightly." He put down his drink and sighed. "It's as you said, Thanatos' 'Militant Faction' has been destroyed and they're all under Hades or the Khaos Orders' control. I'm also led to believe Thanatos himself is under mind control. So keep that in mind. But…there is an unknown Grim Reaper in their ranks that's going with Thanatos." "The leader of the [Z-Team] is also a demigod with a powerful Sacred Gear," added Tobio. He summoned a piece of paper and threw it to me. "That's the list of their members. They're all quite powerful, but if it's against you guys it won't really matter." — ○ ● ○ — [Z-Team]: Leader – Leon (Demi-God + Sacred Gear) Right-hand – Zialbes (Dragon Monster Human Hybrid + Sacred Gear) Falnall Aegwyn (Human Elf Hybrid + Sacred Gear) Kysmalis Aegwyn (Human Elf Hybrid + Sacred Gear) Sokus (Devil) Ovellia (Devil) Pelola (Bird Youkai) Yorane (Wolf Youkai) Bliron (Monster) Audos (Monster) Gzrel (Fallen Angel) Maliel (Fallen Angel) — ○ ● ○ — "The two half-elves are siblings. Falnall is the older brother and Kysmalis is the younger sister. The rest are from different species, but I'm sure some of them have some Artificial Sacred Gears because of the Khaos Order. As to who…even the ones I interrogated and followed didn't know," explained Tobio. Shaula got up and handed me another piece of paper. In it were three other names. "Those are the hybrids that are participating in the mission—they were apparently Satanael's newest hybrids with Artificial Sacred Gear fused into them. Two females and a male. One of them is a devil hybrid, one is a youkai hybrid and the last is a monster hybrid," she explained. "The artificial dimension is ready as well. I worked with Georg to make it less advantageous for them since a few of [EXE] wants to fight them, right? Zeno and Silva also made some traps with this magic in case of further reinforcements," said Shaula before looking at me expectantly. "Thank you for the help, guys," I told them and patted Shaula on the head. "It's fine, and are you sure you don't need my help? I know the Slash Dog Team is helping you," asked Tobio. "It's fine. Prioritize your family—you're going to be watching the match from Grigori, right? Just leave this to us," I told him. Tobio sighed and got up. "Alright, but I'm a call away if you do. But I'm definitely participating in the next mission assigned to [DxD] or [EXE], I'm feeling a bit restless. I'm sure Sae will understand." "Fine by me," I said and fist bump with him before he left. "Georg and Jeanne will participate too, but the rest of my team will be busy," said Cao Cao. "That's also fine," I replied and he left after that. "We will go and get ready for it, Aaron-sama," said Silva as he got up with Zeno. "It seems Aurelia's team also wishes to participate during this, will that be alright?" I nodded and they left. The ones left here were Shaula and I. She immediately sat on my lap and asked to be spoiled. It's been a while since we saw each other, so her being this clingy made sense. — ○ ● ○ — The day of the game, my group, [EXE] and a few others gathered in a certain room in [Fafnir Stadium] in the Fallen Angel's territory in the Underworld. Apparently, Azazel still had the contract with Fafnir and still had his [Down Fall Dragon Spear]. He and Avezza have been slowly making it more powerful, and he plans on passing it down to someone soon. That's the reason for this stadium being built. It was part of the updated contract signed with Fafnir. It seemed the Dragon King wanted something in his name, and this was what they came up with. There was a golden statue of Fafnir and Azazel at the entrance of the stadium. "That's everything. Some of the members of [EXE] will be helping back in the Dimensional Gap too, and will transmit information through those transceivers. So, any questions?" I asked the room. They all shook their heads. "Good." I raised my arm and gave them the [Dragon Tattoo]. "The most prominent ones are the leader Leon, his right-hand Zialbes, Thanatos, the female Grim Reaper, and the hybrids made by Satanael. Capture them—the rest can be killed or captured. I'll leave that to your decision." There were more coming like Divine Beasts, but no cryptids. It seems like their disposable members were slowly dwindling down. They'll need to start relying on new mob characters if they can't keep making them. Lapis and the rest really provided them with a lot of resources. Cutting them off from other universes and worlds was also crucial… "Alright, dismissed. They won't attack until the start of the game since they want that to distract everyone." Once I dismissed everyone most members began to file out of the room and I was left with Lavinia, Suzaku, Danu, Mom, Cindy, Aoife and Velgrynd. They came up to me and Lavinia grabbed my arm. "Let's go talk to Vaa-kun before the game starts." "A bit of encouragement won't be bad for him. He's facing a tough team after all," I replied. The other seven were okay with that. Although, I was surprised that Rose didn't join us… — ○ ● ○ — Third Person Point of View — ○ ● ○ — At the nearest vending machine from the player's waiting room in [Fafnir Stadium], Vali inserted his coins so that he could buy something to drink. After putting in the correct amount of change, Vali was just about to press the button for the sports drink he wanted to have. However, he was beaten to it by a slender finger that reached over from the side. After taking the plastic bottle out of the pickup tray, that person offered it to Vali. "Vaa-kun, you choose that drink every time you have an important battle." The person who held out the drink was a witch who wore a white cloak, Lavinia Reni. She was a woman who couldn't be more familiar with Vali. "…You also came, huh?" he asked and glanced behind her. There were others there too, including his 'older brother'. Lavinia replied to Vali with a gentle smile, "We came and we plan on cheering for you." After Vali received the plastic bottle from her, Lavinia said, "In comparison to Vaa-kun, there might be more members of [DxD] who are cheering for Rias-chan. After all, not too long ago, Vaa-kun was still doing bad things." Vali thought to himself that Lavinia still talked to him in the same old way that she always had—the same way since five years ago. "I don't care. As long as I have my team and a few others, then that's fine. I don't need millions of supporters, the few that matter count," he told her. Lavinia's hands suddenly reached over towards his face. Lavinia held Vali's face and smiled as she said, "I will always be on your side, okay Vaa-kun? That's why I'll be cheering for you." "That's right, unlike back then, you're not alone—so rely on us more," said Aaron as he came over and put a hand on his shoulder. Vali glanced at both of them and then looked away. 'She hasn't changed since then, even after starting a relationship with him. She's still as gentle—no, maybe she became even more gentle,' he thought. To Vali, ever since his mother…aside from his mother, this was the gentlest womanly smile that he had seen. Vali broke free and turned around. "…You can do whatever you like. It's not like I can stop either of you," he impatiently told them. "I will. But I need to do a bit of work while I cheer for you…" "Work?" he asked and looked at Aaron. "Don't worry about it, alright? Leave it to us and give it your all in the Rating Game," Aaron told him reassuringly. "Mmm-mmm. Vaa-kun only needs to worry about that. We'll deal with this small problem ourselves," added Lavinia. Vali realized that trying to pursue the matter any further would not result in a satisfactory answer for him. "…I see. Then I'm going. Thanks for the drink." Vali walked back towards the waiting room. "Do your best, Vaa-kun," shouted Lavinia, the others also giving him words of support. Vali continued to move forward without concern. When he had almost arrived back to the waiting room, Albion laughed lightly from within him. {Fufufu, how does it feel to have your new family cheering for you?} Vali's cheeks became red as he didn't answer immediately. However, he stopped and looked back at his life so far. It had been full of ups and downs, but right now—at this very place in time—he was content. A smile appeared on his face. "It's not an unpleasant feeling." This answer took Albion by surprise, but he was happy for his wielder. Lavinia was the first woman who responded to him with a smile aside from his mother. Then there was his rival, who showed the same kindness to him even after he acted quite brazenly and unruly towards him. To him, he felt so privileged to experience such dazzling, warm and generous support from those two people. To Vali Lucifer, these two were two irreplaceable existences to him. — ○ ● ○ — Team Rias Gremory: King – Rias Gremory Queen – Akeno Himejima Bishop – Gasper Vladi Bishop – Asia Argento Rook – Shirone Toujou Rook – Vasco Strada Knight – Yumi Kira Knight – Xenovia Quarta Pawn (8) – Crom Cruach — ○ ● ○ — Team White Dragon Emperor of the Morning Star: King – Vali Lucifer Queen – Fenrir Bishop – Calantha Vordenburg Bishop – Le Fay Pendragon Rook – Gogmagog Rook – Zhu Bajie (Current Generation) Knight – Arthur Pendragon Knight – Sha Wujing (Current Generation) Pawn (5) – Bikou Pawn (3) – Salamander Tomita — ○ ● ○ —