Chapter 57: Devil's Whisper (7)
Azrail Astaroth Pov:
"Haah…"
A small sigh escaped my lips.
The next few years would be difficult in a different sense.
.
.
.
After a few minutes, the mist around the island started thinning out, and Lyra appeared near me under the effects of [Shadow Teleportation].
The first thing I noticed was that she had no wounds on her body.
"That was exhausting…" She looked down at her left hand with a small smile. "I haven't fought this hard in over half a millennial..."
Contrary to her statement, she seemed disappointed because she couldn't continue the fight.
"Exhausting? We barely fought for fifteen minutes…"
With those words, Alice also appeared near us and deactivated the [Way of the Wind].
"Please. My Magic Power Reserves are already down by a quarter…"
While the two talked, I noticed the small slash on the right side of Alice's neck, and my eyes widened slightly.
'Lyra… managed to wound Alice first?'
That wasn't even the last thing I imagined.
"Don't misinterpret the situation…" Lyra removed her left glove and revealed a thoroughly burned forearm, and her smile widened slightly. "Alice won…"
"To think someone in the Three Factions is faster than me… You might be the fastest person in the Christian Pantheon outside of those two, Alice. The fact that you still have an unknown [Balance Breaker] frightens me…"
Despite those words, there was no fear in Lyra's voice.
Alice and I watched as she summoned a round-bottom flask and dropped the blue liquid inside it on her burned forearm.
'Using a high-tier healing potion on such an insignificant injury…'
It only took a few seconds for Lyra's forearm to heal completely.
'What a waste…'
If the situation were different, I would have given her a drop of my blood in exchange for that potion. After all, I planned on reviving the art of alchemy by researching the potions I found previously.
But if I did that, it would work against me.
Lyra was a vampire.
If she consumed my blood regularly when she wasn't on death's door or heavily exhausted, her strength would start increasing.
I couldn't let that happen.
'The only vampire getting these precious bodily juices is Elmenhilde...'
[…]
"You aren't worthy enough for me to use my [Balance Breaker] against…"
"What?" Lyra walked in front of Alice. "Are you picking a fight with me?"
"So what if I am?"
Lyra stared into Alice's eyes with a smile while the latter looked down at her with a frown.
For context, Alice was 181 centimetres tall — five centimetres taller than Lyra.
"Alice, I will suggest you sleep with your eyes open from now on…"
"A cowardly threat is what I expected from you…"
Both Lyra and Alice surged their auras simultaneously without backing down in the slightest.
[POV: Your main Mommy meets your side Mommy (they hate each other).]
"Pfft…" I hurriedly covered my chuckle with a cough, imitating a sick old man. "Apologies. It seems like my age is catching up with me…"
That caught me off guard.
Fuck you, Great Sage.
[xD]
"You just thought of something inappropriate, didn't you?"
"Talk about ruining the mood. I lost all will to fight…"
Alice shot me a sharp glare while Lyra exhaled heavily in disappointment, and as the two turned towards me, their auras subsided.
"Lost your will to fight? That's a nice way to say you backed down from a fight you picked…"
"You know what, Alice? Your abilities and skills are praiseworthy. Only a handful of individuals can match my skill level, and I can't defeat you in a fight, but..." Lyra's smile disappeared, and she stared at Alice with a blank face. "You would have died if our battle continued…"
"No matter how much—Huh?"
Alice was about to continue, but suddenly, her eyes lost focus for a second, and she stumbled forward, almost falling to the ground before stabilising herself.
"Alice…!"
Even though she stabilised herself, her back hunched forward, face pale as blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.
"Poison… How…"
With trembling eyes, Alice placed her right hand over her mouth while her left hand hung lifelessly.
Within seconds, the left side of her neck and hand turned purple.
"My weapons are an extention of my shadow, so I can use them to summon items I have stored inside my shadow..." Lyra smiled and locked her hands behind her back. "And naturally, that includes poison and medicine, too…"
'Wait. The poison spread from Alice's left rather than her right side?'
Did that mean Lyra poisoned Alice during their first exchange before using [Mist Manipulation]?
"Be grateful I didn't inject Pure Holy Water into your bloodstream, Alice. The last devil I did that to had a rather unsightly end…"
A blush appeared on her face, and her smile widened as she walked towards Alice.
Veins bulged on Alice's forehead, and Lyra leaned forward, bringing her mouth closer to the latter's ear.
"Your earlier assumption was correct, Alice. Unlike you, I don't fight to win. I fight to kill…" Lyra stared at Alice's trembling body, her expression relaxing. "The only reason you are alive is because of Azrail. If it weren't for him holding me back, nothing could have saved you from me…"
If it were someone else, I would have stopped Lyra by now.
However, I didn't move and quietly watched the scene.
Why?
The answer was simple. I believed in Alice.
She would never lose to such a simple tactic.
'Not to mention, there's no way Alice will take an L in front of me after hyping herself up all those years…'
She was the one I had spent the most time with in this life, and I could confirm one thing.
Alice hated losing more than anyone I knew.
"Next time, activate your [Balance Breaker] and try to finish me before I escape..."
With those words, Lyra straightened her back and looked down at the back of Alice's head, who was panting heavily.
"Don't force yourself. This poison spreads through physical movements. It shows the effect after infecting a third of the target's cells. Your body will naturally heal in a few hours…"
'Does Lyra hold a grudge against Alice because she destroyed most of her body the last time they met?'
That sounded possible.
She couldn't be my [Knight] without being incomparably petty.
"This is boring…" After not receiving any reaction from Alice, Lyra's eyelids dropped in disappointment. "No harsh comments? Magic Spells? Holy Fire? I expected someone as strong-willed as you to struggle more…"
'Lyra called me arrogant, but she's no different. And worst of all, she loses herself in bloodlust after fighting intense battles…'
It was the same reason I survived our first battle.
Lyra held back so she could torment me more because she 'liked' me, which then led to her downfall.
Though, I couldn't blame her for that.
After all, she won our first encounter.
The reason I survived was because I summoned a nuke out of nowhere.
"At least make it entertaining…"
Lyra sighed, but her eyes widened when she saw the fingers of Alice's paralysed left hand move slightly.
She tried to defend herself, but fortunately, she was one millisecond late, and—
BOOOOOOOOM!*
Alice's paralysed hand punched Lyra straight in the stomach, sending a massive shockwave throughout the island.
Lyra's eyes went wide, an ungodly amount of blood pouring out of her mouth as she stumbled backwards, holding her stomach.
The punch hit her so hard that her spine cracked.
However, it didn't end there.
Before Lyra could even stabilise herself—
Squelch!*
Alice appeared in front of Lyra and pierced her stomach with a sword, passing it through both her wrists as it emerged from her back.
"I win."
"Gah…!"
Lyra groaned when Alice purposefully twisted her sword, causing blood to pour out of both her hands and stomach.
'Ah, my lifespan is increasing. I love you, Alice…'
Without wasting time, Alice surged her Demonic Power, forcefully circulating it through Lyra's body and hindering her use of Magic Power and [Aura Enhancement].
It was a skill that required extreme precision and concentration.
"I noticed it during our battle, but…" Alice increased her Demonic Power, watching as Lyra's expression worsened. "You are not built like a fighter…"
It was something I noticed a while ago and one of Lyra's weaknesses.
Without [Aura Enhancement] or Magic Power, she was worse than most supernaturals with no training.
If it weren't for her vampire lineage, such injuries would have been life-threatening.
Lyra gritted her teeth and met Alice's gaze, her eyes bloodshot.
"The poison disappeared…"
The left side of Alice's body had turned purple because of the poison, but for some reason, it was no longer spreading.
"Don't underestimate me. I can burn poison inside my body. This one was tricky to deal with since I realised it too late; that's all…"
"Tricky, you say? Not even the most proficient Senjutsu users can erase that poison this quickly…" Blood dripped from the corner of Lyra's mouth, and she narrowed her eyes at Alice. "You might be the most proficient user [Incinerate Anthem] has or will ever have..."
"You are so full of yourself that it leaves me speechless…" Contrary to Lyra's genuine praise, Alice's voice was dry and filled with disappointment. "If that makes your loss more acceptable, feel free to think that, but don't misunderstand something…"
"What?"
"Even if the poison manifested during our battle, nothing would have changed. No matter what, you can never kill me…"
"When you didn't react earlier, I was truly disappointed, but this is great…"
Lyra's head dropped forward, and she started laughing hysterically, a twisted smile plastered on her face.
"Kee-hee-hee! Kee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!"
Due to her injuries, blood poured out of her mouth whenever she laughed and fell on Alice's hand.
"The more time I spend with you, the more I like you…" Lyra's cheeks flushed red, and she smiled at Alice, revealing her sharp fangs. "I can't wait to see those noble, confident and proud eyes fall into despair…"
Her voice was ecstatic, and her blood-red eyes intoxicated with excitement and delight.
It was almost as if the pain she felt from Alice's Demonic Power rampaging inside her body had turned into pleasure.
'Her switch flipped completely…'
That was Lyra's personality at her core — a sadistic bitch who found pleasure in torturing and mentally breaking individuals who caught her interest.
I knew about it because of our first meeting, but right now, I couldn't be sure how much of it was an act.
After all, her actions were all over the place, and to make it worse, she rendered [Lie Detection] useless.
'That's…'
Out of nowhere, Lyra's blood hardened and extended from her pierced stomach to Alice's sword like a parasite, soon reaching her hands, neck, chest, and down to her feet, immobilising her.
"[Blood Manipulation]?!"
Alice's eyes widened when the blood on the ground around them condensed into daggers and moved towards her from all directions.
Swoosh!*
A burst of purple holy fire engulfed Alice and Lyra, forming a torrent and destroying the daggers.
However, the sudden activation of [Incinerate Anthem] caused Alice's Demonic Power Control to fluctuate.
That small moment of distraction returned Lyra's control over her Magic Power for a brief moment, just enough for her to activate [Shadow Merge] and [Shadow Movement] to escape.
'She used [Blood Manipulation] at the cost of her stamina instead of Magic Power…'
Intrinsic skills were abilities inscribed on someone's body, so using them in exchange for stamina was possible, too.
Most supernaturals didn't do that because their Magic Power Reserves would last far more than physical stamina.
Yeah. As someone with infinite stamina, I could use abilities like [Blood Manipulation] and [Mist Manipulation] forever.
It was similar to how [Anatomy Control] didn't require Demonic Power from me.
In theory, I could one day wake up and decide to fog the entire world for no particular reason.
"I was wrong about you, Alice…"
Lyra's body materialised at a distance from us, and she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
Her shadow rose from the ground and devoured her clothes before tightly wrapping around her, covering her entire body from the neck below.
A pitch-black spear manifested in Lyra's hand, and she turned towards Alice with a smile.
"You are worth more than some cheap one-time entertainment…"
'Her tone changed…'
Lyra's current tone in addressing Alice was similar to how she addressed me.
"I have had enough of this..." Alice summoned her original sword into her left hand while holding her second sword in her right. "I was being considerate not to destroy the island, but it doesn't matter. I'll pay the repair costs…"
Honestly, our clan wouldn't mind since we created this island in the first place.
'But this is too much. We all have better things to do…'
Before the two could attack each other again, I activated [Gravity Magic] and [Way of the Wind] to appear between them.
Whoosh!*
Alice's sword and Lyra's spear stopped an inch from my throat, and I sighed. "That's enough…"
Based on their previous fight, I moved to the place where these two were most likely to clash, and it seemed like my prediction was correct.
"Azrail…"
"Your face has never irritated me this much before…"
'It makes me happy to know that my face irritates you…' With those thoughts in mind, I glanced at Lyra from the corner of my eyes. "I said, that's enough, Lyra…"
We maintained eye contact for a few seconds before she relaxed her stance, exhaling in disappointment. "You are no fun…"
Her weapon and the killing intent around her body vanished, too.
'Her quick change of pace makes me wonder if she also has [Thought Accelaration] or something similar…'
No matter how unpredictable or whimsical, Lyra was still an assassin.
She specialised in concealing her intentions.
'She likes to follow her heart but knows when to compromise. In that regard, Lyra and Alice are similar, but...'
From what I inferred about her, Lyra's main problem wasn't control. It was confinement.
'The more I try to restrain her, the harder she will rebel…'
That was why I gave up on subduing or restraining Lyra this time.
As someone who preferred to be in control, it went against my nature.
However, I needed to focus on myself more than others right now.
'Then again, I can never be 100% sure when it's about her…'
On the contrary, as long as we were on the same page or it piqued her interest, she had no problems cooperating with me.
'Dealing with someone like her is a pain in the ass…'
Was this how people felt dealing with me?
"Haah…"
Noticing her enemy back off, Alice also relaxed her stance, a bit dumbstruck.
She must have been surprised to see Lyra obediently following me without complaints, and I turned towards her.
"Are you alright?"
Although Alice managed to burn the poison from her body, it didn't heal the infected parts.
Half of her body was still purple from the poison's aftereffects.
She smiled at me. "Yes. Don't worry."
I raised my hand forward. "Give me your hand…"
At first, Alice raised her right hand towards me, but after a small gesture, she gave me her left hand instead.
"Don't surge your aura."
I gently took hold of her contaminated left hand with my hand, resting my other hand above hers.
Alice's hand was warm, opposite to Lyra's cold hand.
'Great Sage…'
[Understood.]
Moments after Great Sage's confirmation, her hand started healing rapidly and returned to its original colour.
"Azrail, this is…"
Alice's eyes widened as the cure started spreading through her body, from her hand to her shoulder, neck, face, chest, and legs.
Even the slash on the side of her neck healed as her skin recovered its original colour.
"How did you…"
It didn't take long for Alice to recover completely, and she stared at me in surprise.
I smiled at her. "I didn't come with only bad news. I have some good news, too…"
From our side, the bad news in question — I mean, Lyra spoke. "You can heal poisons now?"
She sounded baffled and irritated at the same time.
My smile widened at her words. "Of course."
Because of my incomparably potent healing factor, I was, in a sense, immune to all poisons.
I could also analyse a substance inside my body and change my resistance for it to become immune with [Anatomy Control].
Lyra knew that already, but the fact that I could cure others must have been a surprise.
"First Lilia, then Ajuka, and now you…" The Vampire lightly shook her head and let out a tired sigh. "The Astaroth Clan's bloodline needs to be studied…"
'Her injuries disappeared...'
While I healed Alice, Lyra's injuries also recovered because of a healing potion.
'Batman was right. Money is a superpower regardless of the world…'
Her clothes changed, too. Now, she wore a sleeveless red dress and matching gloves instead.
"I understand Azrail and My Lord, but..." Alice frowned at Lyra's words. "What does Lilia have to do with anything?"
"Ah, right. You don't know…" I gave Alice an awkward smile and raised my arm towards Lyra. "She's the one who killed our clan's progenitor, Lilia Astaroth…"
Thinking about it now, Lyra's history with the Astaroth Clan wasn't good.
"Is that so?"
'She accepted it quicker than I expected…'
Or at least, that was what I thought, but the next instant—
"Wait a minute…" Alice hurriedly turned toward me with her mouth wide open. "She did what...?!"
'Nevermind…'
"In the first place, what happened between you two...?"
At Alice's question, Lyra pointed her index finger at me. "He tortured me with such gruesome methods that I never thought existed…"
I pointed at her in exchange. "She slashed my body in two with a sword…"
"He looted my treasury and threw me into walls…"
"She bullied me and chopped off my limbs…"
"He enslaved and abused me…"
"She threatened and harassed me…"
"He called me his Sugar Mommy…"
"…"
I turned towards Lyra and glared at her.
"I did, so what?"
"That didn't sound like a joke."
"Guess what, it wasn't one."
In moments like these, backing down meant accepting defeat.
"Haah…" Alice held her forehead and stared at the floor, completely dumbfounded. "I regret coming here…"
Poor Alice. She had a lot to catch up with.
.
.
.
"Whoa…"
Alice's eyes widened when she saw my arm regenerate within a second.
She was even more surprised than when I ripped it off out of nowhere a moment ago.
"With this body's infinite vitality, I won't expend spiritual lifespan to exist from now on, so I can heal my life force over the years without worry…"
"I'm glad. I had doubts when My Lord told you to obtain Hydra's [Immortality], but…" Alice's shoulders slumped as her body relaxed, and she smiled at me. "You are really amazing, Azrail…"
She was genuinely relieved that I found a solution to my problem.
Now, I only needed to find someone to heal my life force.
I smiled back at Alice. "In the future, I'll present my [Immortality] as an incomplete form of the [Regeneration Magic] I developed..."
"Incomplete?"
"Yes. I'll tell everyone that it only works on me. I don't want to risk healing strangers, as it'll be troublesome if people find out the insanely potent healing properties of my blood…"
I'd heal my friends and family if needed, but publicising this ability would be the worst call possible for now.
Also, I planned to research [Regeneration Magic] either way.
"That'll be for the best. [Regeneration Magic] is still believable, but [Immortality] is pushing it for what a child can accomplish..."
At her words, I stared at Alice's face without blinking.
She tilted her head in confusion. "Is something wrong?"
"No. Nothing…" I shook my head and continued after a pause. "About Lyra, can you please keep her identity as Shadow Fiend a secret?"
In the Four Great Satans' eyes, Shadow Fiend was dead.
I wanted to keep it like that.
They might have suspicions regarding Lyra's identity, but as long as Alice didn't confirm anything, I doubted anything significant would happen.
As for why someone as strong as Lyra willingly became my subordinate, I had already prepared a rather convincing story for that.
All that remained was to create the necessary evidence and some help from Alice.
Alice and I maintained eye contact for a few seconds, and she intercrossed her fingers.
"Why did you do it?"
She already knew in what condition I found Lyra and how I healed her.
What she didn't know was why I did that.
"Are you disappointed in me?"
"I'd be lying if I said no…" Alice's expression relaxed, and her eyelids dropped until her eyes were almost closed. "I know the magnitude of your crimes because of [Incinerate Anthem], but… I thought our emotions meant more to you than that…"
Indeed, devils were selfish creatures.
Alice didn't care about the countless innocent people I hurt, but the fact that I disregarded my family's emotions disappointed her.
It wasn't something she would hate me for or change our relationship drastically, but how she saw me changed ever so slightly.
It was a common phenomenon.
As one spends time with their family, friends, or partners, they experience new things together and learn more about each other — from their personalities, habits, and values.
It leads to small changes in their initial perceptions.
Over time, little by little, their perspective of them changes.
The change could be for the better, too, but sadly, that wasn't the case for me.
It'd probably be the same for my parents if they knew.
After the engagement banquet, my mother said, "I don't care what you do outside of home; I don't care what you do to strangers... All I know is I don't want to lose my son, no matter what."
Even she'd be disappointed in me.
I couldn't blame them, though.
If I wanted to blame others for the consequences of my actions, I would have lived a quiet life instead.
"You are wrong about one thing, Alice. I'm doing this because I care about them…" I smiled at my favourite [Knight], watching as she opened her eyes again. "And to make sure something like this never happens again…"
That was the least I could do for their sake.
"And what if it backfires?"
"Have some faith in me…"
In our current standing, the last thing Lyra wanted was a fallout with me. Unless, of course, she goes completely nuts and doesn't mind dying for practically nothing.
Alice quietly examined my expression for a few seconds. "Fine. I'll do it, but I have one condition..."
"What is it?"
"Please don't try to do everything alone. If you ever need help, ask me…"
At those words, my smile widened slightly. "Yes. That's why I had you meet Lyra before her official introduction as my [Knight]…"
I didn't lie about how much I trusted Alice.
She was always on my speed dial.
"In that case, I'm relieved."
"By the way, Alice. What do you think of Lyra?"
"She's extremely dangerous…" Her explanation was much shorter than I expected, and she looked into my eyes with a grave expression. "I still suggest we kill her before she can do anything…"
I could kill Lyra alone if I wanted to, but it'd be counterproductive to my growth.
"I see…"
"And if you want to learn about ancient magic and artefacts, why not ask My Lord instead?"
"Learn from Ajuka…?" I thought about that proposal while moving my eyes upward, only to shake my head in denial. "Forget it. I'd rather die…"
There were lines not meant to be crossed.
"Are you for real?"
"Yeah…"
After that, I filled Alice in on how I saved Lieselotte and Selina, met Vali, Arthur, and Le Fay, found Gleipnir, and nuked Pythagoras' dimension.
The Griffin I borrowed from her had already told her some information about what happened, so the summary finished quickly.
I also explained the [Random dead human NPCs, barrage!]'s destructive capabilities in detail.
"The explosion inside Pythagoras' dimension was strong enough to destroy the earth a hindered times over… Its power was roughly 10^31 of the explosion you saw back in the familiar forest…"
In theory, I could raise the explosion's intensity to unfathomable levels if there were enough corpses or matter around to explode.
Alice narrowed her eyes at me. "And?"
She probably found the sudden increase in details suspicious — as she should.
"I want something from you, and if you disagree, I'll destroy the world. And this time, the explosion will be 10^100. The world's fate rests in your hands, Alice…"
"Azrail, I swear if you—!"
"Don't worry. I won't ask you to groom me…"
I had already realised — I couldn't force Alice to groom me.
It was a painful realisation, but if I forced her, I would no longer be the victim.
Where was the fun in that?
"Instead…" I stared at her with the most serious and unhinged face possible. "Touch me inappropriately…"
"Azrail…" Alice looked horrified, not by [Gravity Collapse]'s potential danger, but by how horrendously downbad I was. "Sometimes, you scare me…"
I let out a suppressed laugh at her reaction, leaning back on the tree behind me.
"Haah…" After a few seconds of observing me, Alice sighed. "You seem different from before…"
"What do you mean?"
Before Alice, Latia also mentioned something similar, but before she could elaborate further, Tiamat abducted her.
"I don't know how to explain it, but… You were always distant and uninterested. It was almost as if you didn't live in the present…" Alice held her chin, pondering hard. "But now, it feels like I'm talking to an actual person…"
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Alice, did you just call me autistic?"
She avoided eye contact with me. "Maybe..."
"I mean, my parents are cousins and it shows..."
"Pfft…!"
Alice pressed her lips together and covered her mouth with her hand, holding back her laugh because of how much she respected Sebastian and Celis.
In the end, Alice couldn't hold back and decided to change the topic of our conversation. "Anyway, even if your body is immortal, please be careful. That doesn't mean you are invincible. Also, don't confront a Grim Reaper, no matter what. Their Death Scythes can reduce the lifespan of those it slashes..."
Even a Low-Class Grim Reaper could take a few years of lifespan from someone in one successful attack, which was instant death for me.
"I know. I won't confront a Grim Reaper until my lifespan heals…"
Although, unlike what Alice expected, I wouldn't die from a Grim Reaper's attack.
It would kill one of my three bodies and the soul that inhabits it, but the other two would remain unaffected.
But that was enough risk for me not to meet a Grim Reaper until I healed completely.
"What does 'until my lifespan heals' mean?"
Alice frowned, and I gave her a knowing smile.
"It means what it sounds like…"
My favourite [Knight] shook her head helplessly. "Seriously, you never listen to me…"
"What do you mean, Alice? I'd bend over if you asked me to…"
"…"
"…"
[…]
Thanks to [Parallel Processing] still being in the development stages, I accidentally said my intrusive thoughts out loud instead of the response I had in mind.
It was the downside of having ten thought lines simultaneously — sometimes, the thoughts would interact at the worst possible moments.
It was also how the [To be groomed by Mommy Alice!] incident happened.
"Wait…" I raised my hand towards Alice. "Hear me out…"
"N-No… It's fine.." Alice shook her hands as a [Transportation Magic Circle] appeared under her. "I just remembered, I need to pick Latia up from school, so I must go…"
With those words, she disappeared.
"You have something to say?"
I turned towards my right, glancing at Lyra's head on the ground.
"No… I am the one at fault for eavesdropping." Lyra seemed so done with life, and her head started sinking into her shadow. "I must find those Nekoshu sisters and look into the Naberius Clan…"
A few seconds after she left—
"Ahaha…"
I chuckled a bit.
'Now that the matter with Alice and Lyra is settled...'
All that remained was to deal with Gleipnir, Lieselotte, Selina, and Le Fay.
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Words: 4,748
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A/N:
The promised Never—I mean, chapter is here.
I wasn't lying when I said I wrote a 12,500 words chapter xD.
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Over the course of the last two chapters, Lyra's evaluation of Alice went like:
She's strong > Let's mess with her > This is fun > Let's bully her for destroying my body > I want to kill her but can't (sad) > She's kinda boring > Never mind, she's interesting > I want to keep her in my basement.
—
Current female devils ranked based on strength:
1: Alice (Balance Breaker. Duh).
2: Alice (Base while using Incinerate Anthem. It has an unfair advantage against devils, especially when used by someone this strong).
3: Serafall Leviathan (Highest DC and MP).
4: Grayfia Lucifuge (Second highest DC and MP).
5: Roygun Belphegor (Might rank higher or lower? I don't know / haven't decided how her clan trait would work or how strong she is).
6: Alice (Base. She's still the fastest and most skilled after Lyra. Ranks higher if she has a Holy Sword).
7: Lyra (Lowest AP and MP. Most skilled and second fastest after Alice. Not including stuff like poisons).
2, 3, 4 might be interchangeable tbh. I placed Alice higher because of her advantage against devils + Her Spatial Slash is instant kill if it lands on someone around her level of strength.
Take it with a grain of salt since I wrote this without much thought.
—
A Question (Plot related):
How strong is Roygun? Both with and without her [King] Piece boost.
If I'm not wrong, she's said to be on par with Serafall and Grayfia with her [King] Piece, right?
As for without it, I have no idea. Help.
—
Another Question:
Is DxD light speed? I'm having a hard time scaling the characters and the verse.
If it is, when do the characters become FTL?
Also, if it is, then this chapter has FTL feats (I sneaked them in just in case). If it isn't, ignore this statement.
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Send power stones RAAAAAH.