After Dorio took Maine to the bathroom, no one could stand the foul smell left behind. It was so bad, it felt like a sewer had burst, flooding the room with all the filth from the city. Without thinking twice, Alex grabbed Rebecca under his arm and dashed downstairs to escape the nightmare. The others saw how Alex bolted, holding Rebecca, who hadn't even had time to understand what was happening.
Lucy was the quickest to react and followed him. Gloria, who was used to bad smells from her work as a nurse, still couldn't handle this horror and hurried after Alex. The rest, realizing they were left alone in the stinking room, followed suit.
When they got downstairs, they saw two pairs of legs sticking out of the window—one belonging to Alex, the other to Rebecca. Lucy walked up from behind and slapped Alex on the butt.
«How could you leave me?» she said indignantly, sticking her head out the window to get a breath of fresh air.
Alex felt the slap and realized the space in the window was getting crowded. Turning his head, he saw Lucy's upset face staring at him in disbelief.
«Sorry, darling, but I grabbed the first thing I could. Rebecca was just in the right place at the right time,» Alex replied with a shrug and a grin.
Lucy rolled her eyes and lightly nudged his shoulder. Alex smirked but felt another slap on his butt. Turning around, he saw Gloria watching him closely.
He scooted over a bit, and Gloria joined them, squeezing into the window to breathe in the fresh air as well. Taking a deep breath, she tried to get rid of the nauseating smell that seemed to follow them. Turning to Alex, she spoke:
«Is this your idea of 'love'?» Gloria asked with a smirk, looking at him.
Alex gave an embarrassed smile. In reality, he had grabbed Rebecca because she was sitting on his lap, and if he had jumped up and run, she would have fallen to the floor. That would have caused a whole lot more trouble—Rebecca wouldn't have let it slide and would've chased him around the house with threats.
«I was planning to come back,» Alex said seriously, looking Gloria in the eyes.
Gloria rolled her eyes, knowing full well he had no intention of returning, especially after seeing him hanging halfway out the window just to breathe some fresh air.
«Yeah, right,» Lucy said sarcastically, overhearing their conversation.
Alex awkwardly cleared his throat, pretending he hadn't heard, and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. The others followed his example, sticking their heads out of the windows to escape the foul smell. Standing among the girls, Alex finally stopped smelling the stench, filling his lungs with fresh air.
Taking another deep breath, he was about to head back inside to wait for Maine when Rebecca unexpectedly asked him a question:
«Maybe we should take the same medicine you gave Maine?» she asked, tilting her head up and looking at Alex.
This question caught the attention of Lucy and Gloria, who also looked at him. Lucy considered that it might not be a bad idea. Alex had mentioned he gave Maine only a diluted version of the drug, which meant he had a stronger one. However, she had no desire to endure the pain Maine went through.
But knowing Alex, she was sure he could come up with something to make it less painful. Gloria also briefly considered it but quickly dismissed the thought. She was never a fighter and didn't like violence—she got enough of that at work, helping the injured.
Gloria decided she didn't want to be part of something like that and would prefer to lead as normal a family life as possible, given her strange boyfriend.
Alex looked at Rebecca in confusion, then shifted his gaze to Lucy and Gloria. He couldn't understand why Rebecca had asked such a question. The medicine he had prepared for Maine only slightly enhanced physical capabilities and didn't make him stronger or smarter. All it did was strengthen his body, helping him better handle the strain from cyberimplants.
«Why did you ask that?» Alex finally asked, realizing it was better to ask directly than to guess.
Rebecca turned to face Alex, raised her head, and looked him in the eye as she responded:
«I just don't want to be a burden if something happens. I don't want to be one of those princesses from fairy tales who need saving when they get into trouble,» Rebecca said, grabbing Alex's cheeks, forcing him to look into her eyes.
Alex's eyes widened in surprise at her response, and a soft smile appeared on his face. He understood her concern—she didn't want to be a burden, and her desire to become stronger was admirable. However, Alex had never trained them because he wasn't sure what training methods would work for the people of this world.
He had helped Dorio with strength exercises since he was familiar with that, but for people like Lucy and Rebecca, who relied on technology and firearms, he didn't know what training would suit them. So instead, he made items for them that could help them protect themselves or make them even more dangerous. But now, thinking it over, Alex decided that once they returned to Orario, he would organize training sessions for them, similar to those all members of his family had gone through. Even the goddesses hadn't escaped those trainings.
«Silly potato, there are plenty of ways to get stronger, and that medicine isn't the only one,» Alex said with a smile, gently squeezing Rebecca's nose.
Rebecca tried to swat his hand away, but as usual, it was in vain until he let go himself. Lucy, listening to their conversation, raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
«And what can you suggest to get stronger?» she asked with curiosity.
Alex began running through options in his mind and realized there were plenty. But to avoid confusing them, he decided to pick the most optimal ones for the current situation:
«The simplest way is to join my family in my world and go into the dungeons, killing monsters. The second option is to change your race to one that gets stronger as it grows. And the last option is to combine both.»
Lucy thought about it as she heard the first option. Alex had already explained to them how the leveling system worked in his world and how it helped people become stronger. But this was the first time she'd heard about the possibility of changing one's race. The same question crossed the minds of Rebecca and Gloria, who couldn't quite grasp what he meant.
«What do you mean by 'changing race'?» Gloria asked with obvious interest.
Alex decided to explain with an example:
«Do you remember the fox girl, Haruhime?» he asked.
All three of them nodded, recalling the shy and modest girl whose story was full of pain and betrayal.
«Haruhime is a distant descendant of the goddess Inari. A part of her ancestor's divinity remained within her. Using a spell, I awakened that part, and she was reborn, becoming a demigoddess. Over time, she can become a full-fledged goddess.»
Lucy was stunned. She had never expected Haruhime to be on the path to divinity. But what shocked her even more was that Alex could trigger this process. It sounded unbelievable, but she caught the gist.
«So you can awaken powers in distant descendants?» Gloria clarified, trying to comprehend what she had just heard.
Alex shook his head.
«Not exactly. The spell can rebirth anyone. For example, our little gremlin here,» he said with a smirk, gesturing toward Rebecca, «could become a real gremlin.»
Rebecca huffed in indignation when she heard yet another nickname, and without holding back, sank her teeth into Alex's hand to show her displeasure. Meanwhile, Gloria grew even more confused by his words. She was far from understanding magic and still couldn't grasp what Alex was truly capable of.
Lucy, on the other hand, got the gist of it but had a new question:
«If you're saying the spell can change anyone, does that mean you can turn a human into a god?»
Alex heard her question and fell into deep thought, allowing Rebecca to gnaw on his hand. By now, he was used to her constantly biting him—it had become a habit. But Lucy's question made him ponder. The concept of divinity varies from universe to universe.
In each universe, gods are born in different ways. For example, in the world of Danmachi, gods were born from concepts, meaning they became the physical embodiment of those ideas. Even if a god died completely, the concept would still continue to exist. Alex realized this when he killed the gods from that group of losers.
He had a couple of theories about this subject that he couldn't test since he didn't have any test subjects to experiment on. That's why he only made Haruhime a demigoddess by awakening Inari's divinity in her. Moreover, in the world of Danmachi, gods continue to follow their concepts, which limits their freedom.
For example, Hephaestus was always forging something in her workshop. Hestia took care of the home, as that was tied to her divinity. Loki was always causing trouble and playing pranks on others, while Freya was deeply immersed in love.
But in the DxD universe, gods had similar concepts but didn't strictly follow them and lived freer lives. Lucy's question had really got him thinking.
Lucy noticed that Alex had become lost in thought and patiently waited for his answer—she herself was curious about how this mysterious spell worked. Gloria was also intrigued, watching Alex's reaction as she waited for an explanation. As for Rebecca, who had been gnawing on his hand the whole time, she finally stopped and now eagerly awaited his response. In her mind, she was already imagining becoming the goddess of weapons, and she giggled foolishly, snapping Alex out of his thoughts.
«Actually, that's a very tricky question,» Alex began, snapping out of his stupor. «Divinity differs across universes, and there are many ways to achieve it. But honestly, it's better to choose a long-lived race than to become a god. There are plenty of beings capable of killing gods, and not all of them are gods themselves. The smartest choice is to pick a race that best matches your personality. For example, Lucy could become an elf or something similar. Gloria, with her kind heart, would be perfect as a forest fairy or a nymph. As for Rebecca… there's only one option,» Alex didn't have time to finish before Rebecca flared up.
Lucy and Gloria listened attentively, nodding in agreement—the idea of choosing a fitting race appealed to them. Lucy even briefly imagined herself with long ears, and the thought didn't bother her much.
Gloria, unfamiliar with what fairies and nymphs were, hesitated and didn't know how to react. But Rebecca, hearing that there was only one option for her, immediately assumed the worst—that Alex was once again hinting at 'gremlin'—and wasn't about to wait for him to say it out loud.
«I'm not becoming a real gremlin!» she shouted, attacking Alex.
Alex was caught off guard by such a sudden attack. Rebecca not only latched onto him, but this time, instead of going for his hand, she decided to start chewing on his face. After a bit of a struggle, he managed to pry her off, but there were bite marks left on his cheek, and her saliva was dripping down his face. Holding Rebecca at arm's length, Alex sighed.
«Calm down! It was a joke! I was actually thinking of suggesting you become the same race as me,» he said, trying to soften his tone.
Rebecca squinted, studying Alex carefully, trying to figure out if he was joking again. Once she was sure he was serious, she finally stopped resisting.
«Will I get horns or a tail?» she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
Alex's eye twitched at her question.
«Do I have anything like that?» he asked, smiling awkwardly.
Rebecca gave him a once-over, noticing he didn't have any horns or tail. Even Lucy and Gloria glanced behind him to see if there might be a tail hidden back there. The only 'tail' they had ever seen him with was a fox one when Alex demonstrated some magic. His expression darkened as he noticed them all checking behind him.
«I'm a demon, but that doesn't mean I need horns and a tail,» Alex began to explain but quickly bit his tongue, realizing that in the infinite multiverse, there were indeed demons with such attributes.
While Alex was chatting with the girls, the rest of the group had already gotten used to the unpleasant smell and returned to the room, settling in while waiting for Maine and Dorio to come back from the bath. Alex glanced over, saw them getting comfortable, and decided to join them. Wrapping up the conversation, he mentioned that they could discuss the race change later, as it wasn't urgent right now.
«We've got time; no need to rush,» Gloria agreed, and the girls eased up on making any quick decisions.
Walking over to the others, Alex plopped down on the couch next to Gloria, wrapping an arm around her waist. If there had been more space, he probably would've laid down on her lap to be pampered, as he often was at home. The group began exchanging stories and jokes, sharing funny moments from their lives. Alex, deciding to join in on the fun, shared one of his own humorous stories—about the time he chased people with a stick, «just for fun.»
The story sparked a wave of laughter, especially from Pilar, who laughed until tears ran down his face. Gloria just sighed, remembering how this story had reached her through the goddesses. Rebecca immediately declared that she absolutely had to go with him the next time he pulled something like that.
«Absolutely,» Alex replied without even thinking.
Lucy tried to protest but, seeing his puppy-dog eyes, gave in.
«Fine, but on one condition—I don't want to see it.»
Gloria stayed silent, recalling Freya's words that sometimes it was better to let Alex do what he had in mind; otherwise, the consequences could be much worse.
Soon, Maine appeared downstairs, finally recovered after the cold shower Dorio had given him. He saw the others chatting and laughing.
«Oh, I see you're already having fun,» he said with a smile as he descended the steps.
Everyone turned to him, and Alex, squinting, teased: «Looks like our stinky leader doesn't stink anymore!»
The group burst into laughter. Maine, hearing Alex's words, nearly stumbled down the steps. Despite all his efforts to wash off the unpleasant smell, it still felt like it clung to his skin. He shot a glance at Alex, the one responsible for his suffering, and couldn't help but recall the pain he had endured. However, Dorio had explained why Alex had done it, and though Maine felt irritated, he was grateful. After all, it might have saved him from another bout of cyberpsychosis.
«Yeah, keep laughing. I'd like to see how you'd feel if you were put through a meat grinder and then stank like you'd lived your whole life at a dump,» Maine said irritably, grabbing a beer can from the table.
His words sparked another round of laughter from the group, but Maine ignored them, cracking open the can and taking a greedy gulp of the cold beer.
«Ah, that's exactly what the doctor ordered,» he said with relief, leaning back in his chair.
He cast a glance at Alex, who was snuggled up to Gloria. Maine raised his eyebrows in surprise. He knew Alex was in a relationship with Lucy and Rebecca, but he hadn't expected to see Gloria among his companions.
Still, judging by the satisfied look on her face, it was clear everything was mutual, and he decided not to dwell on it. His thoughts drifted back to what had happened while he was in the hospital. Dorio had told him that during his absence, the team, under Alex's leadership, had pulled off several dangerous operations. Maine even started thinking that Alex might become his successor when he retired. But for now, with everything still fine, that conversation could wait.
«So, Alex, care to share how you managed to infiltrate Arasaka?» Maine asked, eyeing him closely.
At the mention of Arasaka, Kiwi immediately turned away, clearly not wanting to revisit that memory. Falco coughed, trying to hide his smile. He still recalled what he had seen through the cameras, especially how Alex «handled» the guards. Pilar smirked, eager to hear how Alex had pulled off the operation, knowing only the plan but not the execution.
Alex coughed awkwardly, feeling all eyes on him, and glanced at Kiwi and Falco for help. But they pretended not to notice him. Alex didn't want to reveal what he had done at Arasaka, especially since Gloria had repeatedly warned him not to create any cult following or even mention his actions among people.
«It was pretty simple,» he began with a forced smile. «Kiwi, Falco, and I played the part of a new supervisor coming to check out his future position. So they let us in without a problem, and we walked right out just as easily.»
Maine raised an eyebrow in disbelief at the simplicity of it.
«And how'd you pull that off? With what?» he pressed.
Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gadget, placing it on the table. Maine took the device in his hands, examining it with interest. Pilar stepped up, intrigued by the gizmo.
«And how does this thing work?» Maine asked, turning the device over in his hands.
«You attach it to your temple, and it does its thing,» Alex explained.
Maine figured that this gadget might come in handy in the future and made a mental note to discuss its use with Alex later.
«Amazing you didn't get noticed,» Maine muttered, still inspecting the device.
«Yeah, 'didn't get noticed,'« Kiwi commented, shooting Alex a reproachful look.
Her comment resonated throughout the group. Everyone started exchanging glances between Kiwi and Alex, and Alex's eye began to twitch nervously. He was about to justify himself when he noticed Pilar feverishly searching for something.
«Pilar, what are you doing?» Alex asked cautiously, but Pilar just smirked mysteriously.
Pilar turned on the TV and began rapidly flipping through channels, obviously searching for something specific.
«Stop, Pilar!» Alex shouted, realizing something bad was about to happen.
Alex immediately understood why Pilar was grinning and why he was looking for the remote. That crafty bastard had apparently caught wind of the news about Arasaka. His curiosity had led him too far, and now he wanted to confirm that their infiltration had gone unnoticed. Pilar's intuition didn't fail him; he found what he was looking for—an intriguing report—and couldn't wait to share it with the others.
Dorio, coming down the stairs and finally rid of the awful smell, heard Alex's shout and quickened her pace. Seeing Pilar frantically clicking the remote, she looked questioningly at Alex, whose face had turned deadly pale. Lucy and Gloria, noticing his distress, also became concerned—what had he done this time?
The answer came swiftly. Pilar finally found the right channel, and urgent news appeared on the screen.
[Breaking News: Another attack by a masked gang—this time at the Arasaka Tower. Two assailants infiltrated the tower, posing as employees: Yamamoto Kaya and his secretary, Misa Goto. According to information gathered by our correspondents, this is likely a new gang trying to make a name for themselves. Recent crimes involving masked individuals include the kidnapping of an Arasaka limousine and interference in gang wars. However, their latest stunt was the detonation of an entire floor in the tower, as well as a security system breach. If you have any information, please contact us.]
Images flashed on the screen of Alex standing on top of a limousine, flipping the camera off. Next was a shot of Alex, surrounded by police, stepping on Dylan's chest while playing a staring contest with an officer. The climax was a photo of the blown-up floor of the tower with his «message» on the Arasaka building, showing the entire floor covered in paint.
Gloria stood frozen, unable to believe what she was seeing. She had promised Hephaestus that she wouldn't let Alex create a cult, and here he was, announcing it to all of Arasaka Tower after hacking the security system. Lucy tiredly rubbed her temples, realizing that there was no avoiding this now.
Rebecca, on the other hand, was practically glowing with excitement as she watched the TV. Falco simply smirked and shook his head, knowing that as an accomplice, he could only watch. Kiwi, seeing herself on the screen in a mask similar to Alex's, grimly realized they had indeed been spotted. Pilar could no longer contain his laughter and burst out, slapping his thigh.
«Alex, did you seriously do that?» Gloria asked dryly, giving him an icy glare.
Alex looked away, avoiding her disapproving gaze. He had promised not to create a cult, and in essence, he had kept his promise. But who said you couldn't sow chaos as a cult member? That wasn't part of the conditions!
«I couldn't help myself,» Alex shrugged with a slight smirk.
Gloria simply sighed heavily, realizing that there was no changing it now. What's done is done. Falco, determined to drive Alex deeper into a hole, projected the photos they took in front of the Arasaka Tower onto the main screen. Different thoughts raced through the minds of everyone watching the images: some regretted not being there, while others, like Lucy and Gloria, wished it had never happened at all.
«Damn, Alex, next time be sure to take me with you. I don't want to miss out on that kind of fun!» Main declared with a broad smile.
Alex raised a thumbs-up and promised that next time he would take everyone along to create such chaos together. Following that, questions started pouring in about what had really happened during their infiltration of Arasaka.
This time, Alex answered honestly, skillfully hiding moments related to the lab. Kiwi and Falco supplemented the story with their impressions. Rebecca regretted not being part of the operation, but everyone agreed that with her involved, it would have ended in a shootout and a bloody massacre. Seeing her disappointed eyes, Alex promised to take her next time.
The atmosphere in the room gradually softened, and conversations turned friendly, filled with jokes and laughter about how Alex had mocked Arasaka. Gloria mentally apologized to Hephaestus, realizing that stopping Alex was now impossible.
To be continued...