Yet the party in question cared not for what he just did. Right now, his only concern was Asia who was sleeping on his lap.
The affection in his gaze could not be hidden in the slightest.
"Don't worry any longer. Big brother Igor will always be here for you, little sister."
.
|DxD|
.
Baraquiel was slowly going through his movements on a small remote island owned by Grigori. It was a relatively lush landscape filled with various shrubbery and large bushes. A few pine trees dotted the island but they were few in number. In the place of grass was white beach sand that covered the whole island.
Standing on that sand was a topless Baraquiel. He was also barefoot, only a pair of black pants covering him. With his eyes closed, his mind flashed back to the two moments he felt Igor's strength from nearly halfway across the world.
[That brat has gotten so strong in such a short time. If this carries on, even Brother Azazel would be hard-pressed to fight him without his any of his sacred gears.]
Having felt Igor's previous thirty-times Kaioken in the Himalayas and his sudden outburst in the Vatican, Baraquiel was clear that the blonde had a peak combat capability that was situated around the upper end of god-class (high satan-class). To Baraquiel, this kind of fast growth in power was on the level of, or already surpassed that of Longinus wielders.
Knowing all this pushed Baraquiel to train even harder. The sand shifted beneath his feet as he slowly moved around with timed precision. While his movements seemed meaningless, the muscles on his body were bulging immensely with sweat dripping down his forehead. Even though he was laid bare to the burning sun, Baraquiel remained focused. A few crackles of golden lightning would occasionally escape his body every dozen-or-so seconds. In tune with those brief crackles, he would suddenly switch movements and explode with cold ferocity that would cause a loud thunderclap to resound.
But he remained moving. From slowly punching forward, to raising his leg in a high kick and holding it in the air for a certain amount of time. After a dozen seconds passed, he would instantly lower his leg and punch forward, crackles of holy lightning appearing around his body like a golden sash.
Each time he went through his movements, he only had one thought in mind.
[Get stronger. I must get stronger. For my wife and child, for my brothers, and for my race, I must get stronger.]
With the Igor's arrival, it finally hit Baraquiel just how weak he was. That little brat that could barely take a proper punch from him without getting knocked unconscious completely surpassed him after training for ten years in his time chamber. While it seemed long for others, it was a short time for Baraquiel. It still struck him hard to this day that all it took was just over sixty years of training for the blonde to move from a complete weakling to an entity far stronger than him.
Not even a week had passed since Baraquiel felt Igor's demi-ki permeate the world from the Himalayas. It had come as such a complete shock to him that if the blonde had gone all out, he wouldn't have lasted a second. It was such an eyeopener that just feeling his power made him completely redouble his training.
Besides the blonde's aura, he had also felt numerous powerful energy signatures that had lingered around where Igor was. A part of him was astonished that so many powerful people existed. But that only served to remind him that the supernatural world was broad and numerous hidden existences roamed it.
This fact only further cemented his desire to train. They weren't at the top anymore. Unlike the beginning of time when they were considered to be very strong, this wasn't the case anymore. Numerous years had passed and numerous entities had come into existence. With each new generation coming, they surpassed the old. Well…Baraquiel no longer wanted to be surpassed.
With sweat dripping down his cheeks, he further assessed the current situation.
[Of all the three factions, only the Fallen have stayed relatively stagnant. The Devils have the likes of Sirzechs and Ajuka while the Angels have numerous sacred gear wielders and figures like Strada. Although we have a few talents here and there, our development is too low and…]
A slight crackle of black lightning formed around his body before it quickly reverted to gold.
[Tch. It is about time we evolve as well.]
.
|DxD|
.
Vatican City, Italy
.
On a nice and sunny day, flowers would blossom and bees would buzz around them to collect nectar. Birds would release lovely mating calls while butterflies would flutter around the fields. That was the kind of peace and serenity that most of the city was experiencing.
Yet in a certain area of the Vatican Estate…
*Glare*
*Glare*
"..."
…Igor and Vasco were at a standoff. The atmosphere between them was so heavy that not even a fly dared to get close to the corpse lying on the ground. Metaphorical dark clouds hovered about the two god-class entities as they glared each other to hell and back. The only reason hell hadn't broken loose was because the little bundle of sunshine that these two behemoths were disputing over was still in the area.
To be specific, in the blonde's arms was Asia who was peacefully snoozing on his shoulder. Igor held her very tightly like the overprotective brother he was. But that was not the reason for the suddenly tense situation.
Standing just a door's length from Igor, Vasco stood there with his hands outstretched. His intentions were clear- he wanted to carry Asia. For over a minute, both parties stood at a deadlock. Neither was willing to step down. The object of their affection was far too much for them to acquiesce.
Sun Wukong only acted as a bystander ready to watch a good show. Observing them silently dispute over the honour of carrying the little blonde, the old sage suddenly had the idea of simply snatching Asia and seeing their reaction. But he immediately cancelled that little thought due to how dire the consequences would be. Even though he was much, much stronger than them, he knew full well how annoying it would be to fight two knuckleheads without fear of death. Having resolved to not allow his intrusive thoughts to win, Sun Wukong silently chose to continue observing the situation.
And the situation was gradually descending into pandemonium. Sparks were flying between Igor and Vasco as the former refused to hand over his dear little sister. Although Igor viewed Vasco as his idol, that was worth squat in the current situation. Under no circumstances was he going to compromise and hand over Asia. It did not matter that during the first years of his training, Vasco Strada was the person he would repeatedly chant his name over and over again whenever he was on the verge of giving up. It did not matter that his idol was standing in front of him and asking for something that could be easily accomplished. Asia was non-negotiable and the blonde was completely firm on his stance. Hell hath no fury like an overprotective brother, and Igor was determined to show the exorcist what would happen if he so much touched a single strand of Asia's hair.
Unfortunately for the blonde, Vasco either didn't notice, or chose to ignore Igor's subtle killing intent. Similarly to the blonde, Vasco was relentless and he had more than enough patience to continue waiting like this. He was more than confident that the moment Asia woke up, she would kick up a fuss just to come to him.
It was that as opposed to the blonde's snarl, he had a slight smile on his face.
"Lad. I'm waiting."
Yet while his smile appeared kind, the sudden increase in killing intent flooding the vicinity stated the complete opposite. Just this straightforward action summed up that he wasn't asking. In front of this towering behemoth of a man, most would've already cowered under his gaze. But Igor wasn't most people.
Matching Vasco's gaze, the blonde remained unwavering.
"Signor. There is no need to trouble yourself. I will take care of my little sister."
The blonde delivered his statement with respect, assurance, and complete authority. It was only because he respected Vasco from the bottom of his heart that Igor didn't broaden the man's vocabulary with a few colourful words.
But Vasco wasn't willing to relent. Asia was his granddaughter in all but blood. He deeply wanted to hold her after all that had happened recently.
Yet before he could continue to fight, an exorcist quickly appeared in front of him with a bow.
"Father. Your presence is required by the council."
"..."
*Subtle Vein Bulge*
For the first time in his life, Vasco wished the church never existed.
.
|DxD|
.
A few hours passed and the evening sunset was about to reach its climax. A beautiful orange glow cascaded over the entire area and blended well with the lightly coloured buildings of the estate. Currently, Igor was sitting alone outside on the grass. He had hugged his knees together while his eyes roamed over Vasco's garden.
He was in complete silence, his gaze revealing that he was in contemplation. When Sun Wukong happened upon this scene, his curiosity was incited.
Moving over to the blonde, he sat beside him.
"What has your brain running around like a monkey chasing bananas?"
"..."
Igor seemed to ignore the old sage, but Sun Wukong didn't take offence since he knew the blonde was still thinking.
[For him to think this much, I wonder what he will say?]
The quiet drew on for a minute or two before Igor finally responded. His words were unusually soft and yet strong.
But the sincerity behind them could not be faked.
"Monkey sage. Thank you. You have helped me find someone to call family. As we discussed before, I am willing to honour the deal between us."
The blonde turned to face Sun Wukong, his gaze serious.
"What do you want me to do?"
Sun Wukong mulled over the thought a bit. Over the period of time he had gotten to know the blonde, his evaluation of him had changed. His thoughts of drafting him into Indra's army had all but disappeared, especially after he saw how carefully he treated Asia.
Sun Wukong would never forget how the same hands that nearly crushed Durandal could so carefully caress a face.
[If before I had a hunch, now I am completely sure that he will not get along with Indra. They will inevitably clash.]
But even with this thought, the old monkey was still curious. He wanted to now know what a person who has found family, feels about a particularly sensitive topic.
"Kid. What do you think about war?"
Igor looked at Sun Wukong with a confused gaze before it shifted into one of uncertainty.
"I…what about the deal-nevermind. If you want my take on war old man, is that I don't have one."
*Eyebrow Raise*
"Don't have one?"
Compared to having an answer, not having one seemed to be more intriguing.
"Tell me why you don't. The humans I know either advocate for war, or abhor war."
Igor shrugged his shoulders before turning to face the garden.
"Before I answer, let me first ask monkey sage. I know I'm pretty strong now. Although I'm not the strongest, but I'm getting there soon. So here's the thing. Let's say in ten years, you and I fight. Our battle is explosive and numerous towns and cities around the vicinity are affected by our fight. Is our fight considered a war since widespread destruction was caused? Is there a certain number of men needed for our fight to qualify as a war? Or does there need to be a clash of ideologies?"
Sun Wukong looked ahead in contemplation. This was a question he never truly gave thought. Although there were some aspects that the blonde failed to list, he had gotten his point across.
But fortunately, he had an answer for it.
"If you ask for my opinion, a war is considered a war when the stakes are high enough. The number of people or the ideology does not matter. If the risks of loss are high enough, then a conflict can be considered a war."
Calmly receiving the answer, Igor posed another question.
"Then, can it be considered a war if I go to fight and my life is at stake?"
Sun Wukong replied without hesitation.
"Yes. Your life is a high enough stake. If there is a chance of you or others losing their life when dealing with another entity, then it can be counted as war, regardless of numbers."
The blonde couldn't help but grin at the old monkey's answer.
"If that is indeed the case, then I advocate for war because only in a war will I get stronger. Me against ten-thousand people with my life at stake sounds like a pretty good way to spend a Sunday don't you think, monkey sage?"
"..."
Sun Wukong couldn't help but blink once or twice at Igor's statement.
"You…"
He couldn't hold himself anymore.
"Pfft…Pwahahahahaha! I like you more and more, kid! You truly possess the heart of the strong!"
Sun Wukong knew that if Igor's statement was heard by others, they would immediately shower the blonde with curses without bothering to crucially analyse the meaning behind what the blonde said. Just from this conversation, Sun Wukong knew that Igor would definitely become someone who can reach the Strongest Top Ten.
He looked at the blonde again with a gaze full of approval.
"For someone your age, you speak great words, kid! Only someone who is willing to fight can earn their seat among the strong!"
.
AN
.
Huh. Chapter 47. You're quite far behind, you know? There's my p@tre0n if you want to read ahead of the general public.
Here's the link: p@tre0n.com/HolyGambler
Replace the '@' and '0' with 'a' and 'o' respectively. Or just search for 'HolyGambler'.