Winds of Change (DxD)

Japan, Kuoh

…

Jin Skyward's Soliloquy

…

I had covered the area around us with a barrier, so no one would eavesdrop, and so she started.

"I was born around 2928 years ago… yes, I am old," she said and glared at me.

I hadn't said anything, so I don't know why she's glaring at me. However, she continued.

"Our universe—specifically, our world is mostly nighttime and has a lot of darkness. There was a part of it once where 'light' existed, however, due to Phumera's ruling, she simply destroyed it. According to rank 1 to 5 she had help with Magnum Tenebrosum."

Caeda then summoned some kind of magic circle in her hand and it started to expand. In it, I saw some kind of… city…? The sky was covered in a thick fog or haze. The buildings looked like something out of an alien planet. Each of them was glowing blue and looked like giant tree trunks. However, they were made out of metal. The part below was a sea of yellow. They seemed like lights, and it seemed like a futuristic civilization.

"This is Vridence, my home city. I was born there, and as you can see it's quite futuristic. The fog is covered by a thick haze that's been around for 90,000 years. It apparently appeared when Magnum Tenebrosum started to use us as his minions. The technology there was apparently stolen from another universe and mixed with others."

"The large buildings that you see are for the 'wealthy' and the top fighters and warriors of my world. Power means more there than here. While power and strength is both respected and feared here and you can stand near the top, over in my world… you can control lives, you can kill anyone you wish with zero repercussions… you're basically a tyrannical god."

"Anyway, the bright lights below are the slums. Those who are deemed weak or poor will live there. Of course, if you have the talent you can rise to the top, just like ranks 2, 3, 5 and 6. Ranks 1,4 and the rest were born talented… ah, I'll tell you about the Eradicators after I tell you a bit more about my home city."

Caeda changed the scene to the slumps and I could see many of the residents there either dead, or on the verge of dying. Most, if not all are struggling to live. There were also those who appeared well off and were, basically, trampling on the weak.

"Might makes right," she said as she looked at the same scene as I did. "It's a common phrase there, as common as 'Fuck you', 'Die', and 'Trash/Weak'. If you weren't born talented, or if you don't work yourself to death to get stronger, you will always be at the bottom."

"Those 'weak' ones you're seeing are at least High-class in terms of power in the devil's system. You start to become 'something' once you reach Ultimate-class, and then from Satan-class to a weak God-class being. That's where you become a soldier in our army. In any case, everything above that is interchangeable based on your achievements.

Caeda sighed and clenched her hand. "Becoming one of the Eradicators is one of the biggest achievements, and moving up the ranks is an even bigger deal. You can challenge any of the ranks above you, you're not limited to just challenging the one above you to go higher in ranks."

"Most Eradicators start at rank 16, however rank 1 has been in his rank since the Eradicators were formed years ago. Personally, I started at rank 12, and then challenged rank 10 after training even more, and then after that challenged the previous rank 8. If you beat whoever you challenged, then you will simply swap ranks."

"But ranks 1 to 3 have remained unchanged since before I joined. They're basically unshakable and are the most loyal to Phumera, especially Yve."

"Is Yve part of the Eradicators? Is she rank 1?" I asked.

She shook her head and said, "No, she is above the Eradicators and just below Phumera. The gap between them in power is large, the same with Yve and Phumera… speaking of that, this is how Yve and Phumera look like."

The magic circle changed to an image of two women.

"On the right is Yve."

Yve had long dark blue hair, she wore a long navy blue dress and her arms seemed to be covered in some kind of blue rash? Perhaps they were just unique gloves to their universe or were just part of her… however, her eyes were closed and she was smiling beside…

"In the seat is our leader, Phumera."

Phumera had a large black hat and had white deer-like horns protruding from them. She also had some kind of animal ears and had long white hair. Her long white tail resembled the tail of a snake, and she had lilac-colored eyes, a white and black dress, and gloves.

If you looked at both of them from a distance, you would probably say they appeared beautiful. However, even from where I was I could 'feel' the evil radiating from them. Any kind of thoughts of redemption in my mind were thrown out the window when I looked at these two.

"Phumera and Yve usually reside here… in her tower." She then changed the scenery again.

What I saw was a tall and intimidating looking tower. It was covered in a strange purple haze. God-class soldiers patrol the premises on a constant basis.

"Are there any rebels in your world?" I asked.

"No… well, there used to be and every few hundred years some tend to form and try to challenge her. However, they are quickly crushed. If Phumera wanted to make a point, she would send ranks 1 to 3 and make it quick. However, generally it's delegated to us lower ranks, though we still get it done in a timely manner."

"Next, I will show you where rank 1 to 5 lives in," she said and changed the scenery again.

This time, it looked like a futuristic city. It had many tall and futuristic looking buildings and even futuristic-looking ships, like the one I built for Nehebkau. There was also what seemed to be the… moon in the sky? But…

"That is not the moon. That is what Magnum Tenebrosum left for that city. He only visited it once... and something happened in it. Rumors say that one of the people there angered him, so in retribution, he put the 'Eclipitcal Eye' in the sky."

"It resembles the moon's light in your world, but it will only cause pain to that man's family, friends and any associate… you could say, he was quite petty when he inflicted this unending curse onto that poor bastard." Caeda let out a chuckle and shook her head.

"They cannot leave that city, they must stay there for all eternity, and all the while they will be in constant pain, even from the moment of conception. However, it's not enough to kill them, but just enough to cause misery for their entire lifespan. It also forces them to create more offspring, hence the 'unending' part."

'And I thought I was petty about some things; this guy is just psychotic…'

"In most of the tallest buildings there, ranks 1 to 5 live. However, the one in the middle, the medium-sized building is where rank 2 lives. She… she's quite modest in a way. We have never fully met each other—me and all 16 members of the Eradicators."

"I can show you ranks 1 to 3, but… you will probably meet the others over time. Anyway, here… this is rank 1, Ecthrois. From rumors and legends, apparently he was taken in and adopted by Phumera, so in a way, he is her son, hence his fierce loyalty. He was trained in many ways, but he prefers to use his daggers and gun blade for most things."

Ecthrois, he mainly had white hair, but a small fringe is blue, he had elf-like ears, blue eyes and wore a business suit that's mostly blue. However, he had another blue jacket attached to his back.

"However, he does have what seems to be the ability called [Ruler of the Blue Night], while not on par with Magnum Tenebrosum, he has very high control of 'darkness'. He just doesn't manipulate it, he can create it too. In a way, he has better control and influence over it than those who use 'darkness magic' or have 'darkness manipulation', but as you can see, his darkness is dark-blue in color, unique to him. He's also a very skilled assassin."

"Rank 1 and 2 are probably the easiest to get along with… as far as I know. Although, rank 2 can be stiff at times."

The image changed to another person. This time it was a woman.

"Rank 2, Raerea. A skilled swordswoman that can split galaxies with a swing of her sword. In all honesty, not many know of her background, but she is the very definition of 'Might makes right'. My own theory is that she led an awful life before becoming one of the Eradicators. Not even Yve or Phumera know of her origins."

Raerea, she had long flowing blue hair with some purple around some of the strands. She had turquoise-colored eyes. She had a long white and turquoise coat, a blue and golden shoulder guard, and her right arm was covered in some blue and golden armor which held a sword that was red and blue in color. It almost resembled a tachi.

She didn't wear much apart from that. Her chest was covered in white linen. She had short black shorts, and her legs were covered in the same armor as her right arm. In that image, she looked very intimidating but kind of sad.

"She looks sad," I said in reflex and Caeda stared at me a bit surprised by my comment.

"…Really?" she asked and looked closer at the image. "…I can't really see it, maybe it's just you? Although you are more sensitive to this kind of thing. Anyway, here's rank 3."

She switched the image again. This time it was a man.

"Rank 3, Autemr. Born from the depths of our world, and rose to that rank like rank 2 and 5. Those horns grew after he ate a powerful beast, the same for those bone-like things on his chin and chest. He fights with his fists, but not much is known except for one of his abilities called [Immortal Will]. Some hypothesize that he won't stop fighting until he is erased from reality."

"So… he'll keep on reviving until he beats his target?" I asked and she nodded.

"I think that's it, but I've never seen him fight, and the ones that did fight him… well, they're not alive anymore."

Autemr. He had short blonde hair, and had dead-looking blue eyes. He had white horns protruding from the sides of his head near where his ears should be. He wore some lavish-looking black coat, a white shirt(?) and he had some sort of ornament in the middle of his chest with a green gem.

"Ah, right. The city that ranks 1 to 5 live in is called Pruginia, and the tower that Phumera resides in is called Aerilon. Anyway… I do have one more image to show you, and I think you may like it even more than what I've shown you," she said and changed it and the instant she did… all the hairs in my body stood up.

"…Magnum Tenebrosum," I muttered and she nodded her head.

"Yes, this was when I first saw him when I was a child. That was also the last instance I saw him. It was… an encounter I would never forget," she said and shook a little.

Magnum Tenebrosum… his 'human' form, was even entirely human. He was floating, and had tentacles for legs. He looked like a grim reaper, but the face was mostly hollow and in the chest area, you could see some bones, perhaps a rib cage? Even from this image alone, I could 'feel' how menacing he was. Even more so than Nyarlathotep, although I just equated that to me hating her more, to not 'feel' the 'intimidation' she had.

"It barely resembles a human form, right? He rarely used it, so when he did… he just went with what most found frightening—something we didn't understand, and I guess it worked, huh?" she let out an awkward chuckle.

"Sorry, I kind of skipped my own life since you looked so interested in learning about the Eradicators and our leader. I… I don't know my own parents, well I met them, but don't 'know, know' them, you get what I'm saying? The vaguest memory I have is of them abandoning me and leaving me to fend for myself. However, that kind of thing is very common in our world. Even now I see it happening."

She frowned and sighed. "However, I do know that they are dead. I met them once when I was moving up in the world. At the time they were shocked to see me alive, but I felt indifferent to them. When we first met, I was already above them in our world's hierarchy, so they tried to 'reconcile'. But I left them and they couldn't do anything except fume silently since they knew I could kill them easily."

"Anyway, I trained on my own to get to where I am. I've nearly died a few times, but I never enjoyed it. When I was young—all I saw was death and suffering, so… in the back of my head, I wanted whatever was opposite to that… and that was when I was finally sent to another universe to conquer it. Many of its inhabitants were shouting 'peace' and doing this in a 'better' way."

"It resonated with me somehow, like… it was what I was looking for, but I knew I couldn't ever say these thoughts out loud because I would be stripped of my rank and killed by ranks 1 to 3, Yve or our leader, Phumera. Peace, and any other kind of thoughts like that were taboo."

Caeda finally finished and silently stared at the ground.

"…Wait, so all of this started because of Magnum Tenebrosum?" I asked her.

"…Yes, while our race was like the Evie of Evie Etoulde, we were a lot tamer and didn't care too much about conquering, according to one of the elders I spoke to. The 'light' still existed back then, and we were more open to 'peace', but when Magnum Tenebrosum chose us to be his minions, it changed from there. The 'light' was eradicated, and this new order was forced into our world."

"Over time people began to forget about that time in our species, and now… whatever this new Crepuscule Phantasma is… it is the norm—the normal. It is the Crepuscule Phantasma of today. Any plant or world in our own universe was destroyed or forced to serve our own."

"The outer gods... are the embodiment of chaos. Even Azathoth, who was known to be mostly neutral and watch over whatever happened in all of existence, the entire omniverse, was still considered the most evil-the most insurmountable. Azathoth holds all of us in their hands, and can crush us easily if they so desire. Then you came."

She then scoffed and looked at me.

"You broke all the norms of what an outer god should be. An outer god who fights for love, peace and his own justice? Blasphemy! Who would have ever thought of it? But… it's still a thing, even now when I look at you, I still find it strange... hey, tell me, is this all a farce to bring everyone's guard down so you can annihilate us all?" she asked.

I was a bit taken aback by her inquiry, and laughed. But she doesn't take her gaze away from me and patiently waits for me to answer.

"No."

A simple answer. I'm lazy, but even still, I know what's waiting for me in the end and I don't mind. I never wanted any of it, but if I can bring that peace to those close to me, I don't mind taking up that mantle from her. Although, I'm determined to save her and force her to work alongside me. Even if I have to break every rule she's set, and create brand-new ones.

"I've said this plenty of times before, Caeda. I only want peace for my own selfish reasons. I'm just forced into these situations."

I told everyone in the [Pocket Dimension], around the 60–70 years mark that if I was reincarnated into this world, with my knowledge and without any power… I would have lived a normal life. I would have avoided the supernatural, moved to a quiet part of the country and waited until Trihexa killed me or died of old age.

I would just live a normal human life. I probably wouldn't even try to find out much about my past if I did have that part of my memory blocked. Since I wouldn't have any ambition… I'll live and die as a human all over again.

While some of the girls were upset with me, in their words, I changed their lives in a way. However, if we lived in that world, their lives would have been changed, but by other people, and they would live fulfilling lives with them, just not with me.

"As far as I can tell, you're not lying… but thanks. I'll join your side, so please keep that part of our deal," she said and asked to shake hands.

"Yeah, I will," I said and shook her hand.

From now on, Caeda, along with Team Giichi Stars is under my protection, and the next time Hirokazu asks for that test again, I'll make them my subordinates regardless of if they improved or not, because I'll force them to improve in my [Training Facility], although I did install a [Hyperbolic Regenerative Chamber] in the Abenaki realm.

"Anyway, go back to your team. I set up some barriers around the Abenaki realm so attacking it won't be easy. They're waiting for you, and are probably using the new dimension I set up there. Go get them stronger," I ordered her. "Starting now, and only for now, you're the only one that's my subordinate from his team."

Caeda chuckled and agreed. "Very well, Aaron-sama~ I'll try to get those idiots stronger." She looked back at me one more time before leaving.

I sighed and cancelled the barrier. Now… next on the agenda…

…

Kuoh Academy

…

Many of them asked what we spoke about, but I said I'd tell them after school, and so here we are in the Occult Research Clubroom, and I've finished telling them all of this. I also plan on sending a report to all the other leaders of the alliance about what to expect from the leader, right-hand woman and the first 3 of the Eradicators.

"Hmm… well, we just need to keep an eye out when we venture into their territory, now won't we, Rias?" Azazel asked the [King] of the Gremory peerage.

"Yes, since Caeda-san doesn't know what the others look like… we will just need to judge for ourselves. And who knows what other factions of the Khaos Brigade are there with them? It can't just be the Phantasma, right? There surely are more…" said Rias.

"Right, that's why Team Vali will be meeting us there, but they'll be making their own way there, and according to Le Fay who's living in Jin's house now, she's said they'll be hitting other spots and dimensions before joining us there." Azazel nodded and took a sip of his drink. "Anyway, we'll be leaving in a few days, Kiba, Rias and that Akaza guy… I haven't met him yet, who is he by the way?" he asked me.

"He's here," I said, and a person stepped from behind me alerting them all.

Akaza is a very muscular young man of above average height with skin so fair, it appears bright green-tinged white, decorated by a pattern of thick blue lines, which resemble the criminal tattoos he had as a human. Akaza had short, bright pink hair that fluffed out around his head, and inward-tilting yellow eyes with pink eyelashes and blue sclera that looked somewhat like cracked glass.

The lines on his face curved through each of his eyes from below his ears to over his temples, another blue line running from the center of his hairline to the bridge of his nose, with two more lines running around his neck, three others branching off the lower one to his torso.

He wore minimal clothing, only sporting a short, sleeveless dark purple-pink haori that was cut off at his waist, left open to expose his chest, and decorated with a square pattern on his back. Below this, he sported a pair of baggy white pants that he rolled to just below the knee with a blue rope belt to secure them at his waist. Akaza is barefoot, but wears a chain of large round pink pearls around each of his ankles.

"This is Akaza, one of the 'Nocturnes'. He'll be the one accompanying and protecting your guys while you go to Romania. I don't know how long it will last. However, Rias and Kiba might miss the event happening in the Greek realm since it's happening in a few days, and you'll be gone by then."

I glanced at him and he nodded. Akaza then transformed into his 'human' form, and wore a black and white business suit. "You guys will be taking the official channels, right? A flight to that country, I mean…"

"Yeah, just teleporting in will just make them even more hostile because of what's happening, so it's better for us to go here and try to negotiate and do the talks before you go. I mean, you tend to just ignore this and just teleport in… even when Serafall invited you to meet the Four Satans for the first time."

"Heh."

"Don't 'heh' me!" Azazel snapped back and sighed.

"Anyway, we're leaving in a few days. Don't stay up too long when we do!" Azazel announced and the rest of them answered. They then started talking about their contracts.

I turned to Akaza and asked, "How is the construction coming along? I got a report from Antares, but…"

"It's most likely accurate, Aaron-sama. Antares is making everything up to his personal standards and won't cut back on any of it, including the toilets and any unnecessary items in that place. But I will admit that what is currently being built is very extravagant."

"He is starting with your section—the residential area. After that he will move on to the area that will hold 'that' (International Rating Game Zone) for when it happens," he said and showed me a picture.

It was a rough sketch and most of the page was covered in words, but I more or less knew what he had planned. He planned on making it into a giant dome with an artificial sky to emulate the human world's sky.

"I see, good job. I will contact you when the time comes for you to leave."

"Yes, of course," he said and vanished.

"A new home?" Ingvild asked. I was giving her a lap pillow and was partially listening to our conversation.

"Yeah, pretty much. I can't wait to see it when it's done. Hopefully nothing happens there to halt the progress," I said and felt my lips twitch. 'Did I just jinx that…?'

"You just jinxed that," she said while rubbing her head on my thigh.

"…Don't say it out loud or it might actually come true…"

Ingvild simply giggled at me and we just listened to the rest of their spiel, and soon left when they began their devil activities.

…

Skyward Household

…

That night, I was sitting on the rooftop of my home, by the campfire section and reading a book. The fact that I have put so many parts into this place makes it feel like a fortress and a mini-mansion. It's quite strange, but I'm comfortable with it.

"I heard," Rias said beside me.

"Heard?" I asked back and looked at her.

"We're heading to the small town that Antares made in the Antarctic for our date?" she asked.

"Ah, yeah... I heard it's an extremely comfortable town he's built. It's both warm and cold. The town is around medium size, and most of his dragon army (he made humanoid dragons too) runs the place with or without him. Anyway, we'll be treated like VIPs, and I doubt we'll be paying for anything, but I'll still tip them something…"

"If they're anything like Antares, they'll be fanatics of yours, so if you just praise them they'll be over the moon," she said with a giggle.

"I can't deny that possibility either," I said with a tone of disbelief and snorted. "But I do know one thing," I added and turned to stare at her.

Rias tilted her head in confusion and I said, "Sexy time." Which prompted her to blush, however, she doesn't deny it or confirm it—well, verbally that is. She just squeezed my arm a bit tighter in response.

'I guess she's looking forward to that after all. I mean, most of the time when we got into that 'state' in the [Pocket Dimension], we were a step away from penetration, although that could be said with all the other girls there…'

"A-anyway, we'll be leaving in two days so…" she mumbled while hiding behind her book.

"Don't worry, I'll spoil you until you leave," I said and grabbed her then put her on my lap.

"…I-I wasn't going to say that," she said while embarrassed.

"Oh? What were you planning to say then?" I teased back.

It looked like she was going to explode. She just kissed me. For the rest of our time there, we just flirted. Well, that was until a few of the other girls joined us, then it became a bit more chaotic.

…

It was the day that Rias, Kiba, Azazel and Akaza were going to leave for Romania and go on my behalf for the negotiations. However, during that time, Grayfia has been a bit out of it. It's probably due to the fact that she's found out from me that Euclid is alive and might be part of the Khaos Brigade.

On to the group that's heading to Romania. They'll take a plane to go to a certain country, then after that, they'll use a couple of teleportation circles to move around. Then, they'll take the last flight to Romania, and from there use regular transportation to reach their destination. From there it will be up to them, but apart from Azazel, they should all be able to protect themselves.

"If we can, we will also try to make contact with the House of Vladi, Gasper," she said to him and hugged him.

"Yes, President…" answered Gasper.

"Akeno, I leave you in charge of the peerage while I'm gone."

"Yes, Rias," the [Queen] answered in a polite manner.

I walked up to Akaza and Kiba. First, I patted Akaza on the shoulder and said, "Protect them with your life. I trust your power."

For some strange reason his eyes widened for a moment and he nodded. "Yes, I will, Aaron-sama."

"Kiba, look after Rias for me." I then bumped fists with him.

"I will, Jin-senpai. Leave it up to me," he said confidently.

I turned to Azazel… "Get a wife soon."

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?!" he snapped back.

"But seriously, you're smart, don't push your luck, especially if there's an Eradicator among them, Azazel. And if there is one, contact me immediately. I'll immediately go there with some reinforcements."

"Tch, you're way too young to be ordering me around, or worrying about me! …But yeah… I will," he muttered the last part and turned away.

'What a tsundere…'

"Anyway, I'll leave the school to you guys~" Azazel said to his fellow teachers and Sona and Tsubaki.

Sona, Tsubaki, Rossweisse, Lisa, Penemue and Griselda all sighed at him

"Go get yourself killed, Azazel," said Penemue with a 'smile'.

"Hurry back, otherwise the students will start complaining," said Sona and Tsubaki nodded along.

"Be safe on your travels," added Griselda.

"Bring back a snack~" finished Lisa.

"…Wow, you guys seriously try to hurt me at every possible turn, huh?" he said in disbelief. He began to turn away then stopped to look at all of us again. "Those magicians, they might try to kidnap those who are related to the Phenex family—so Ravel who is here, keep an eye out."

"Yeah, I got that covered, Azazel," I replied.

He nodded one more time before all of them left using a teleportation magic circle.

…

Later in the day, at night, everything was winding down. No attacks happened, and it was a normal day at school. However, I sensed that Grayfia was on her own on the rooftop. I had never seen her go up there apart from wanting to clean it, although she designated floors for each of the Pleiades. It was also night so she was done cleaning for the day…

So—I headed up there, and found her by the railing looking up at the sky. She was already in her own clothes, unlike her usual maid uniform. Noticing my presence or the sound I made, she turned to look at me.

"Aaron-sama…" she muttered and I joined her side.

"You're not one to be up here, Fia," I said beside her. However, she does not answer me and continues to look up at the sky.

Even in Kuoh, which is a small to medium town, the sky here is clear and free of pollution. Therefore, we could see the stars at night, which is a luxury for people living in dense and populated cities. They need to go to the countryside to enjoy this spectacle.

I glanced at Grayfia and remembered what Sirzechs said to me just a few days ago.

…

Flashback

…

"Wanna go to bed?"

"…Yes."

"Let me put some of these back in their places and I'll join you," I said to her and she kissed me briefly before leaving.

I watched her go and another magic communication circle appeared.

"Jin-kun?" Sirzechs voice asked.

"Sirzechs? Do you need something?"

"Yes, it's about Grayfia. You should know her personality by now, shouldn't you? Well, I assume you do. But she's the type of woman who doesn't show her emotions that much, but I'm sure she does to you. Anyway, I'll bluntly say it. She needs as much reassurance as any normal woman. I've heard from Asteri from time to time that she would consult her about the topic of Euclid, so…"

"It's my turn then, huh?" I finished for him and he added a 'Yes'.

"I wouldn't know what to say to her personally, so I'll leave it to my future brother-in-law~"

"…I see, thanks, Onii-san."

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa~" he shouted and then a loud smack was heard.

"Jin, don't spoil him too much," Asteri said through the magic circle.

"I'll try, and good night, Nee-san."

"…Please try not to kill me too," she said through the magic circle and then it disappeared.

I quickly cleaned up my office and joined Grayfia in bed for the night. Later on, the others joined us.

…

Flashback End

…

"Grayfia, I can't promise much, but when the time comes and I face Euclid… I'll beat him up and bring him back to the Underworld so you can question him yourself," I said to her while turning to her.

I grabbed her hands and looked her straight in the eyes then said, "So for now… um… just wait, I guess…?" I said a bit awkwardly. I didn't think this through…

Grayfia stared at me a bit dumbfounded before she started to laugh and then broke into a fit of giggles. She finally stopped and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Is this your way of proposing to me, Aaron?"

"Well, you'd be the second one I'd propose to up here, so… if you want?"

"…You both have tact, and no tact at all. You are a strange person, Toole-sama… but… if I had to choose the words to say… I would copy Asteri," she said and smiled. "'Very well. I'm probably the only devil in existence who would be okay with being asked here...' and I quote that from her…"

Grayfia then closed her eyes, waiting for a kiss. I brought her closer to me and kissed her.

"Thank you…" she whispered after we broke our kiss.

The face that Grayfia made was one I hadn't seen before. The sad and troubled one she had earlier had been replaced… even if this was something temporary to distract her from finding out about Euclid, it's fine for now. I'll bring that idiot back, so we can interrogate him, and I'll eventually read his memories too…

…

Kuoh Academy

…

"God dammit, Jin! I hate being paired up with you in P.E. It's hell on earth trying to keep up with you…!" Najima complained.

"We're literally just doing pushups, dude," I replied.

"Well, at least I got a lazy partner," added Kouta.

They then looked at me with massive grins making me back away.

"What?" I asked.

"I-I think I'm getting closer to doing it with my girlfriend…!"

"Same, dude!"

"Kouta… you're dating Sakura-san, right? And Najima… with Yua-san?" I asked, but instead of giving me an answer, they just started 'hehe-ing' to themselves.

"Soon…! Very soon…!" Kouta said excitedly.

"Yes, yes, thighs, thighs…!" repeated Najima.

The two of them suddenly stopped and looked away. I had been looking at the sky without paying much attention to their horniness.

"Hey, who the hell are those? Are they cosplayers?" asked Kouta.

"Looks like it. But they must be… cosplaying magicians or something, why though?" asked Najima.

The daily life I live at this school is one I wanted to protect, one that wouldn't be influenced by the supernatural. In a way, it's calming and healing. The normal laughter of human students, one that will disappear someday since I'm immortal. I wish to protect that.

Upon hearing those words, I looked up and saw magicians... they seemed like Stray magicians... or perhaps they were working for the Khaos Brigade or just recently joined Nilrem. They then aimed their hands at me—more of my classmates looked at them in confusion. Akeno, Ingvild, Sona and Tsubaki's eyes widened from the window of our classroom.

'We couldn't sense them… they took the vial. Then—'

Magic circles appeared in front of them. I jumped in front of my classmates and shouted, "Run!"

"H-huh? Jin, why are you so panicked?" asked one of my classmates.

"Yeah, Skyward, we just have trespassers, who care—"

Boom!

They finally fired an attack at me and I blocked it. Once the smoke cleared, some students had fallen on their asses and were visibly panicked and had a look of horror on their faces.

"Hehe, this is fun. Hey Dual Dragon Emperor, are you trying to save these humans? Did you really think we wouldn't try to attack them eventually?" one of them asked.

"No, I'm not that stupid," I replied and snapped my fingers.

Everyone that wasn't part of the supernatural soon fell asleep and fell to the ground. At the same time, I erased this memory from them, and replaced it with a normal one. I looked back at them, furious.

"Don't interrupt my daily life, assholes."

Boom! Splat!

"Aaron!" I heard Akeno call out as the rest of them joined me.

I instantly read their memories before I killed them, and they were stray magicians working with the Khaos Brigade, and more specifically—Nilrem and Hexennacht. But…

"Where's Ravel?" I asked calmly and the girl in question stepped forward.

"I'm here, A-Aaron-sama," she replied.

Boom! Boom!

Suddenly, explosions occurred near the first year's floor, and I noticed that Shirone and Gasper weren't here.

"Let's go," I said to them and appeared where the explosions occurred. Everyone else shortly joined me. "Good job you two," I said to Gasper and Shirone.

Four Stray Magicians were down on the ground, bleeding, but they were grinning at us. Then one of them spoke to us.

"H-heh… w-we're just a distraction… w-we, the K-khaos Brigade knows of your mind reading powers… grunts will no longer have anything useful for you…! B-but… we do have something to say. Our suicide attack wasn't all for naught…" one of them said in between breaths.

He then looked at Ravel and with a shit-eating grin said, "H-hahaha… L-lady Phenex sure does scream a lot, d-doesn't she…? Ha-hahahahaha!"

Splat!

Shirone was the one to step on his head, ending his life. Ravel, who was beside me started to tremble—however it was because she was furious…

"Y-you scum kidnapped my mother…!?"

Did they come to the conclusion that they couldn't kidnap any one of us, so they might be…

[Aiming for family members or close friends.] Ddraig finished my sentence.

{Then we can assume they took them to the Underground train station?} asked Albion.

"Meeting. Now," I said to them.

I read their memories, but as he said… they were only blank now—a pure white void.

…

Gathering in the old school building, Sona ordered Saji and Ruruko to help put the students back to where they were. I also helped with my shadows. After they were done, I would forcefully wake all of them up.

"All damages that were caused to the school have been repaired thanks to Aaron. Once we are done with placing them all, he will undo his sleeping spell and we will have the principal make an announcement to send them all home," Tsubaki read from her clipboard.

"Would it be right to assume that Lapis, or an item she had created made it possible for them to enter Kuoh town's barriers?" asked Sona while looking at me.

"It's the only way, especially with the ones I made," I replied.

Suddenly, Reya came back in and said, "All placements are done."

I nodded and undid the sleeping spell. Immediately after that, we heard the school's intercom telling the students that all classes for the rest of the day were cancelled and they could head home. Immediately, there was an uproar, but they were all more than happy to go home early. I got a text from both Najima and Kouta asking where I was.

I just replied that I left early since I knew about it. Of course, they cursed me out saying it was due to me being close to Sona and Rias.

"Who are the culprits?" Saji asked as he came in with Ruruko.

"Nilrem, some from Hexennacht and a few Stray magicians, so two of the Khaos Brigade's magician factions. I didn't see any members of the Wizards of Oz, if we can even call them a magician's faction," I replied. I then looked at Rose.

"Yes, judging from their magic circles and from my analysis from when we spent time in the [Pocket Dimension], it must be them, but—"

Rose was interrupted when her phone echoed in the room. She blushed and took it out and answered it.

"H-hello… g-granny, whatz wrong? Did somethin' happen?" she asked, going into her usual accent. "Ya, me in an important meeting now. Wha? C-comin' 'ome? N-no worry, we talk bout dis, no worry, I talk to him, okay?"

Everyone was staring at her. This was probably the first time they heard her speak like this, and she was painfully aware of it as she blushed the entire time. I didn't hear it that much when we visited Asgard and her hometown, but she tends to use an accent when speaking to her grandmother.

"O-okay, okay, luv ya, ye, ye, I'll bring 'im again, ya, ya, luv ya, bye." Rossweisse finally put her phone away and said, "I-I'm sorry about that…"

Saji came over to me and asked, "What was that about?"

"Dunno, but I've met her grandmother before, anyway, since they're not the richest over there, and her parents are warriors who serve the Norse Gods, they're rarely home, so with Rossweisse's new job, she sends money to her regularly… though keep this a secret, but I've sent Göndul a hefty sum of money so she shouldn't worry about that for a long time…"

Sona then grabbed everyone's attention and said, "We can assume they are after Ravel or the Phenex family for the Phenex Tears. However, it doesn't make sense for them to attack us after getting Lady Phenex… unless they're targeting you, Aaron."

"That's probably it. They must already have a method of making Phenex Tears, and doing this is just to draw me out. The vampire civil war, and now this. It must be Lapis… I know she's obsessed with me, so she's probably trying to see me somehow."

Click~

"…Anyway, let's go. My shadows found where they were. It's at the train station."

'My King—'

"…They also want just the Gremory, Sitri and my group to go… otherwise they'll kill her." I looked at Ravel and said, "Leave this to us, we'll get her back."

I don't really know what they meant by 'My group' since it's very vague, so for now… I told them to get ready, and we'll commence the operation tonight. Since those weirdos told us to come with those groups, they're not going to do anything to Lady Phenex, and are probably trying to get me, or Ravel. Therefore, I'm placing a bunch of Electa and having some of the girls stay at home with her.

…

Nighttime

…

It was nearing midnight and we were in front of the train station in Kuoh. Further investigation earlier in the day revealed that the magicians of the Khaos Brigade had somehow invaded the personal space of the devil's train station that connected it to the Underworld.

Since Rias wasn't here, Sona was the one who contacted the Underworld about it, and now the alliance was alerted to the attack on Kuoh. However, I told them that I would be the one to take care of it, and the ones here are enough to repel them, so they weren't going to send in reinforcements.

However, they did send in 'officers' that would help in arresting them and bringing them back to a neutral spot to interrogate them, but I doubt they'd get anything if what that other magician said was true for ALL of them (grunts/foot soldiers).

The teams that came here were the Sitri peerage, led by Sona, the Gremory, led by Akeno and mine, which consisted of me, Raynare, Raiko, Inaie, Irina, Griselda, Gabriel, Lisa, Fusae, Rossweisse and Scathach.

It seems overkill, but I do plan on killing them for endearing and causing emotional damage to Lady Phenex. She entrusted Ravel and I promised Ravel that in turn I would help keep her family safe. However, earlier, before night came, I sent at least two shadows to everyone's family members. This also included Natsume and Kanami's parents.

They were worried that theirs would be targeted, so they were the ones to speak to the shadows and I don't know where they are yet. Because according to them, they want me to meet them when they're both ready… this would also mean Kanami would be meeting her parents again after a long time.

In preparation for wanting to go independent, even though she doesn't plan on having anyone in her own peerage… Akeno is acting as [King] for the Gremory peerage right now. We already contacted Rias and Azazel earlier, and she didn't have a problem with it.

As we slowly made our way into the station, Sona addressed everyone.

"We all know each other's strengths and weaknesses. We should be able to work flawlessly with each other since we spend a lot of time with each other. With that in mind, keep your strength to a minimum and don't cause unnecessary damage while we're in here," she said and looked at the few who sometimes would go overboard.

"Well, not all of us…" Sona muttered and looked at her newly acquired [Rook] and [Knight].

Loup Garou is her other new [Knight], and Bennia Orcus is her other new [Knight]. Loup Garou is the son of a famous witch and a werewolf that is famous for its ash-colored fur, as well as a second-year college student at Kuoh Academy. Bennia Orcus is the daughter of Orcus and an unnamed human mother. She was a former underling of Hades until she defected to become the second [Knight] of Sona's peerage.

Loup has the appearance of a young foreign man with a large physique, looking in his late teens. He has gray hair with long bangs that cover his eyes. He has a handsome face and an extremely well-built body, rivaling that of Sairaorg Bael.

Bennia has the appearance of a girl with pale skin. She is a cute girl with long, dark purple hair and sleepy golden eyes. Her hair is tied in a long braid with a bow with a purple skull, reaching all the way down to her hips.

Bennia also has 3 black markings on both her thighs also having gold neon lines in its interior. She wears a white skull mask in conjunction with her Grim Reaper clothing which consists of a light blue dress and a black and white hood resembling a jester cap with an emerald gem at the tip.

She also wears black elbow length gloves covered in gold neon lines with gems at the back of her wrists. She has many embroideries of its designs on the back of her black cape.

"Call our brand-new [Rook] Rugal-san, and our brand-new [Knight] Bennia," said Tsubaki.

"Call me Rugal," Loup Garou said in a monotone voice.

"A grim reaper? It's been a while since we last saw one," I said.

<<...My name is Bennia… I'm a former Grim Reaper,>> she said and looked at me with starry eyes. <<Boss Oppai Dragon! I'm a big fan of yours. Look, I have so many embroideries of the Oppai Dragon behind my cape. Can I ask for an autograph please?>>

"Another fan, huh? Sure thing, Bennia." I proceeded to sign her cape as she had a look of excitement.

<< Yes, plus I didn't like the ways of my shitty dad and Hades-sama, so I left home.>>

"It was fortunate that I only needed to use one piece," said Sona with a sigh.

She flexed her arm and said, << My blood from my mother's side is stronger, so I'm that amazing.>>

"Bennia, just like Rugal, can I leave the support to you?" asked Sona.

<<Yes ma'am. I'll do that with my big brother Rugal.>> replied Bennia.

Bennia then slipped away and we were back to silently walking. A couple of them around us seemed to want to say something, but decided not to, especially Xenovia who seemed intrigued by Bennia.

"We'll proceed with the plan we made earlier in my home, understood?" I said to them.

"Yes, sir!" they all answered in unison.

It felt strange being called 'sir' all of a sudden by people around my age, but whatever… I'll let it slide for now. In reality, we didn't have much planned. Everyone here, save for a few, are insanely strong, but as we walked, a few of the talented magicians in our group—Lisa, Fusae and Rossweisse had been adding their own magic circles that would disrupt teleporting within this space.

And if they managed to get through it, all that was waiting for them outside was the alliance 'officers', my shadows and Electa since I also blocked and sealed the usage of teleportation magic by anyone that wasn't part of the alliance within Kuoh right now. So they won't get reinforcements, the only way to leave is with Lapis' help, or another way.

For the formation, the vanguards were Xenovia, Irina, Saji, Tomoe and Tsubasa. The middle guards were Raynare, Irina, Tsubaki and Ruruko. The rear guards were Akeno, Sona, Asia, Reya and Momo. The rest of my group was mostly there to provide support, like Rugal and Bennia. The same with me, as I will be mostly watching from the sidelines and looking to grab Lady Phenex as soon as I see her.

The formation was set so the close-range type members were positioned as vanguards, the members who fight from long-range were positioned as middle guards, and the rearguards consisted of members of support-types and the person giving commands as the central pillar which was Sona and Akeno.

The further we walked into the tunnel, the more auras I could feel. The others were the same. As their eyes started to dart around, they were already preparing to ambush us. Even though it won't work... we eventually reached the spot where they were building their base.

There were many magicians in front of us. When using [Observe] I could tell which ones were from the Nilrem and which ones were from the Hexennacht. I appeared at the front and asked, "Where's Lady Phenex?"

However, the large majority of them just laughed or shrugged at me. This was annoying and they were clearly trying to get me riled up, but it wasn't working. I couldn't see Lady Phenex yet, so I didn't kill them yet, otherwise I ran the risk of—never mind, I could feel her aura now. I wonder why I couldn't…? Did they force her to drink it?

Finally, one of them—I believe the leader stepped forward.

"Oh my, to think we would be greeted by so many big shots! It's certainly a pleasant thing, isn't it? The Gremory and Sitri peerages, and the oh so amazing Middleman-chan~" he said with a snicker.

"What are your objectives? The Phenex, us, or Jin?" Sona asked as she stepped beside me. Akeno also joined us. I signaled for my group to start moving. I slowly started to feel many of the auras behind us start to disappear.

"All of you, actually, but due to our leader's... let's say obsession, he wanted Sir Middleman there the most. Worry not, we treated Lady Phenex with care~"

Leader… they must mean Euclid then. So he really was still obsessed with Grayfia, and since she's in a relationship with me… no, if he finds out that we're engaged, he might actually lose it.

"No, no, the issue regarding the Phenex clan is done, and what's left is the thing with all of you~ we can't help ourselves become concerned about it, you see?"

"The strength you all have was rated quite highly by that shitty geezer chairman Mephisto and that shitty association. Our feelings. You must be able to comprehend them, right?"

"No, I'm being naive, you obviously can't, you're all too stupid. Well, it's natural for humans to want to test ourselves, right? To see who's stronger, devils, fallen angels, angels, and that dumb fucking Middleman who randomly showed up."

"Not only that, but you also took something precious from our leader, as well as us..." He clicked his fingers and all of the magicians appeared around us and created magic circles.

In the distance, I could see Lady Phenex, with a calm face and I quickly scanned her and found that they didn't do anything to her. However, she was covered in a cloak which made it difficult for me to locate her aura…

'That Lapis, she didn't, did she…?'

Cúntóir: Answer: After a quick analysis, it is indeed made out of 'Lapis' herself. Traces of her blood and… flesh are mixed in that cloak.

"I'll leave it up to you, Sona, Akeno," I said to them and disappeared.

"Let us start then! The battle between shitty humans and the supernatural! Devils, angels, fallen angels and a god, eh!?"

I appeared beside Lady Phenex and checked the memories of the magicians who were with her. They were blank, so I simply killed them. I delved into Lady Phenex's memories, but what I found made my blood boil... they did something morally wrong, especially towards the Phenex family. But thankfully, they didn't do anything else apart from that, but I was still pissed off.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!"

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"

"T-this is absurd! That dumb geezer's ratings were all wrong! These devils are more than that! They're at least Satan-class and up!" one of the magicians shouted in horror.

I looked back to see… a complete slaughter. Most—no, all of them weren't even trying. They just used physical attacks or very minor spells that annihilated the magicians. However, they also kept the formation, while my group killed off the rest towards the back. So much for planning... even Sona sighed not sure if she should say commands or not.

"Are you okay, Lady Phenex?" I asked.

"…Jin-kun…" she muttered, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

'…'

She hadn't suffered any kind of physical trauma or injury, but the mental and emotional trauma was definitely causing this. Just to be sure, I had already scanned her body again and nothing was wrong with it. 'Cúntóir, check her.' As I told her, I appeared behind everyone again.

"It's done then?" asked Scathach as she had killed many of the magicians around us using her runes.

"Yeah…"

"You don't look too happy about it, Lord," she said and touched my shoulder.

"That's enough," a voice suddenly said and everyone on our side retreated.

Someone with a silver robe that covered their entire body appeared. The voice was that of a young man. I see… that's Euclid… no, he feels just like Lucifer and Beelzebub… so a [Double Body], and using [Observe] confirmed it.

"Are you the mastermind of this operation?" asked Sona as she briefly glanced back at Lady Phenex.

"Indeed, I am," the silver-robed man answered. He then looked at me and Lady Phenex. "She was a very obedient woman, so it made the process much easier."

"…You're part of the Khaos Brigade I assume? Then why did you attack us?" she asked.

"For many reasons, but starting with the magicians here, they were the ones that became stray, and left the association of Mephisto Pheles due to their dissatisfaction with what was going on. The others... well, they simply wished to test themselves against the 'Rookie Four', and my, you all did deliver."

He took a good look at us and continued. "The old Satan faction of the Khaos Brigade was one of the biggest. However, after all of its members were killed off, the same with the Hero Faction, they were essentially disbanded, but… recently two others came to life."

"Led by the original Satans, their descendants and remnants of the devils that stayed behind in our organization. The new one, who took in the old Hero Faction members are called Chowa o Tsunagu, or simply called 'Connected Harmony', led by Hanezu Himejima."

"But... none of that matters. This was sparked by our own selfish motives. The magicians and mine alone. You could say… we did it because we felt like it," he said in an almost bored tone.

"The other reason was this," he said as he clicked his fingers. "Our factory."

The walls around us then disappeared and what we saw were many… capsules with people in them. I see… so this was—I could feel my own anger getting the better of me, but I forced myself to calm down… I said it myself, I feel like whatever happens from now on will test the control of my emotions, so I have to get better control of them and not just burst out like that.

Lady Phenex, who had gained more of her awareness back, and who was in my arms, turned away and buried her face in my chest and quietly sobbed.

"Do you know the methods of how Phenex Tears are produced? The pure-bloods from the House of Phenex go inside a magic circle that goes through a special ritual."

"They then prepare a cup that has a cup that is filled with water. The water inside the cup that has the teardrop added turns into a Phenex Tear."

"However, during that procedure, it is stated that the water won't become Phenex Tears if it isn't a tear shed while having an empty mind, as tears with emotions are 'That person's own tears'. As such, there won't be any effects if it's tears they shed for themselves or others."

He then pointed at the capsules.

"The reason why I said that this was a factory is because the magicians were mass-producing them. They created many clones of the high-class devils of Phenex, and they produced Phenex Tears inside those capsules. Since we planned on abandoning this factory, all the machines inside have stopped functioning and we have no need for them anymore."

So they were cloning members of the Phenex family… how long has this been going on? And which ones were the unlucky ones to be captured and used…? This was part of the reason she was crying, but...

Sona squinted her eyes at them and said, "So they have been sending those fakes into the black market then? To gain enormous funds? The idea itself is repulsive… so the reason why your people have been trying to gain pacts with the Phenex was because of this?"

"It's wonderful that you can catch on so quickly, Heiress of Sitri. In spite of the use of the magicians' studies, there are limits to mimicking the Phenex clan's traits. So they used the last resort of kidnapping those related to the Phenex and taking information directly from them."

"In the end, it seems like there were things they could only obtain directly from those carrying the blood of Phenex, so that's why they kidnapped Lady Phenex. Ah, you don't have to worry. We didn't do anything to her body. We only took detailed data of her demonic power to improve the accuracy of the Tears."

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Now for the last and main course, there are two people who wish to fight strong people like you. It's a brand-new cooperation with a brand-new ally of ours, so please bear with us."

He then created a giant magic circle between us—no, this wasn't any ordinary magic circle, it was…

"…The Dragon Gate?" asked Akeno as she stared at it in confusion.

The magic circle turned green, then to a darker green… so he's coming, huh? But… what did he mean by two? Were they sending in two dragons? If so, it would be great. I can kill and seal two of the Evil Dragons now then. So I won't interrupt him…

Finally, the summoning was finished and out came—a 15-meter tall Western Dragon with black scales, bright silver eyes, horns, wings, and thick limbs, uniquely being a bipedal Dragon. Beside him came… a mech—!?

'Cúntóir! Analyze that thing!'

"Let me introduce you to the legendary [Crime Force Dragon], the Evil Dragon, Grendel~!"

Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

[Guahahahaha! It's been so long since I was summoned by a Dragon Gate, so who am I fighting? Oh?! The Dual Dragon Emperor is here! What a treat!] he said menacingly.

[Confirmed sighting of [Him], engaging in combat,] said the mecha-thing.

"That robot-like thing is a foot soldier of our new ally, the Evie of the Evie Etoulde. Oh yes, he's at least Satan-class in strength, so good luck," said the silver-robed man.

[Guahahaha! I have dibs on the shit, Ddraig! Stay out of my waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!] he screamed and a burst of powerful evil aura came out of his body.

This Grendel… he was much stronger—and seeing from [Observe] he was at least Dragon God-class.

"It… can't be helped then. Scathach, Gabriel, look after Lady Phenex. I'll make this quick," I said and handed her to the Queen of the Land of Shadows.

"This will be an interesting fight, right~?" asked the silver-robed man in a much happier tone.

I was already in my [Autonomous Ultra Instinct], so all I needed to do was 'cancel' the illusion that I had on my appearance, and appeared in front of the two, surprising them. I then punched holes through their chests and ripped their hearts out.

[Guha?!]

[Euugh?!]

Both stumbled back, but I followed it up by kicking Grendel on the head, completely obliterating it, and did the same to the mecha-thing from the Evie. But… as I attempted to capture Grendel's soul… he didn't have one…

'What…?'

[Guhahaha! I stand no chance even after reaching the power of the Dragon God of Infinity?! What kind of monster are you?!] Grendel shouted happily as his body crumbled away. [Let's fight again, Dual Dragon! And next time, at least make it last! Guhahaha—!] he finally vanished.

I tried to read his memories, but like the magicians, it was blank. Fuck, what the hell is happening? When did they figure this out!? In addition, are you telling me they've already mass-produced Grendels?

Turning my attention to the Evie soldier, it looked like it tried to scan me with its body, so I destroyed the rest of it. Finally, I turned my attention to the silver-robed man, who had stepped back quite a bit.

"…Quit the games already, I know who you are. And even if what you have right now is a [Body Double], I'll drag your ass back to the Underworld because I promised her," I said to him.

His mouth formed a smirk and he finally removed his robe. He is a young handsome looking man appearing in his early twenties with silver hair that is tied in a braided hairstyle. Underneath that robe, was a silvery-white business suit and his eyes were like hers—red.

"Euclid Lucifuge," I said to him. "So? Are you still Rizevim Liven Lucifer's right-hand man?" I asked.

"Kuku, so you already know that much? I was, but now I am Lucifer's personal right-hand. But I still work for Rizevim-sama. But… well, he runs his own faction within the newly formed Khaos Brigade. I am the leader of the Nilrem, Lucifer-sama is the leader of the True Satans Faction, and finally…"

Bam!

"…Ugh… it seems even with 20 other bodies, you still do a significant amount of damage. Thank you for helping with the experiment, Dual Dragon Emperor," said Euclid after I punched a hole through him.

"Please tell this to my elder sister, Grayfia Lucifuge, who stooped so low as to become a servant of the Gremory. 'If you are living as you like by abandoning the role of Lucifuge, then I also have the same right to do so'."

I tried to 'add' that to him as he said his last words, but it seemed to have less effect on him because of the more 'bodies' he had. I'll need to increase it then! But as I did, he smirked at me more as he finally faded away.

'Cúntóir, can I bring him back?'

Cúntóir: Answer: I finished the analysis and it's as Euclid Lucifuge said, it is a mere foot soldier for the Evie. To answer your other question, yes and no. You will be able to bring back the body double, but since it isn't attached to him anymore, it's just a husk that you'll be left with.

"…"

"This space is about to collapse! Bring those magicians who aren't killed with us! Everyone retreat!" Sona ordered. "Aaron!" she shouted at me.

I put my hand up and teleported us all out of there.

…

The sun was almost rising, and according to Lavinia, Lianne and the rest, no one was here to attack the house. However, a certain new fiancé of mine, and fellow Lucifuge, wasn't in a terrible mood after hearing about Euclid finally appearing. In a way, she was expecting it with me talking about him not too long ago. So Grayfia was just waiting to be called back to the Underworld, and I hope Sirzechs somehow convinced them—those old devils.

"Aaron-sama, I have brought you a drink," said Ravel.

I had been sitting on the sofa just looking at the ceiling… the Evie and the Phantasma are involving themselves more in this world, things are changing even more… so is it safe to assume that there is at least some kind of Eradicator or someone higher up from the Evie over in Romania? What if it's both?

They should be fine, but who the hell knows about Azazel? I should send someone else over there… maybe a shadow…

"Oh, thanks, Ravel…"

She stood there and nodded. After a few seconds she began to shake, and tears began to fall from her eyes. However, she was furious as her body was covered in flames.

"I… I won't forgive them…! To use our clan members like that, cloning them, and even violating my mother like that…! It's unforgivable…!" she said in a trembling voice full of fury.

Currently, we had informed the Phenex clan, and Lady Phenex was being looked after by Beru, Asia, Gabriel, Penemue, and Griselda. So she should be in the right hands. I also asked Cúntóir about it, but it was mostly emotional shock and stress.

So once she recovers from that, she'll be mostly okay. But if she doesn't, I can offer to remove that memory from her if she wishes.

Shirone, who was sitting beside me, put a hand on Ravel's shoulder and said, "I won't forgive them either, so when we see them again, let's kick their ass even harder."

Ravel wiped the tears from her face and blushed. "Don't say such vulgar things, Shirone-san," she said to her. Finally, she faced me again and blushed even harder.

"Aaron-sama, may I speak about something that happened a long time ago?" she asked.

I silently nodded. There were a few others in the living room, like Kuroka, the girls of Slash/Dog, Ingvild, Valerie and most of the Sitri peerage. A few others had left to inform their faction or pantheon of what had happened. Including Sona and Tsubaki since they traveled to the Underworld to give a detailed report of what had happened.

"My heart shook with excitement when my butler told me a story about heroes when I was younger. I had my young heart filled with the dream of wanting to become a woman who could support such a hero! But as I grew older, I forgot about it without realizing it..."

She then looked me straight in the eyes.

"But that dream eventually came back. Hearing of your achievements and the reason for doing it... it sounded like what a hero would do and want, right? Even helping Rias-sama out of her engagement and fighting Riser-onii-sama."

She blushed again.

"And even helping me with my cheek back in that party, even when I was the younger sister of that man who was trying to take away Rias-sama from you. Seeing and hearing more of your achievements... the dream that I had when I was younger came back to me gradually."

"And before I knew it, I was trying to research every single piece of information about Aaron-sama. You seemed straight forward, you wanted a harem, and you were very honest with your desires and reason for wanting peace."

"But even then, you were passionate, kind, and thoughtful towards your comrades. You kept on walking the path that led to your dream. Despite stumbling, you didn't change your stance. It only reinforced it."

"You saw the dark side of reality, but still wish to see the good side of people. But you won't just allow anyone to receive that second chance now—you see through their lies."

"Even now... I am willing to bet that you tried to detect any hint of Euclid Lucifuge being able to redeem himself, didn't you? The children of the Underworld, no, the supernatural world sees you as a hero even if you don't think so. You inspire them to do good rather than evil."

"Right now, even with all the horrific things happening in the world—all the darkness trying to consume it... you're like a shining beacon of light. This kind of light... it wasn't present around me in the upper echelons of the devil society."

I was shining…? I really don't...

Bzt~

…

'Do you see this, Aaron? —Red, it's pretty and I think… it's the color of heroes! Like the power rangers and that anime you watched—the Red Dragon Emperor, right? He's like the hero of his world! Yeah… Red is the color of heroes, I like that! Okay, I'll make that my own… catchphrase?'

'Really? If that's the case, I'll start wearing more red then… hey let's find and buy a red coat and jacket. I'll be that hero then! I'll be the Red Dragon Emperor of our world, pfft—kind of cringy now that I say it out loud.'

'It's fine! It's not like normal people will understand what we're saying or the references! Look at you, Aaron Toole~! The new hero of Ireland~!'

…

The voices of Aoife's and mine echo in my head… I don't remember when that happened but…

'Red is the color of heroes, huh? If what she said back then… and what I've become now…'

It's either fate or a giant coincidence… but… I guess I fulfilled or I am fulfilling our promise now then… a hero, huh? I looked back at Ravel, and it's true I never saw myself like that. I was just doing all of this for my own selfish reasons, but…

I looked at Nia, and she tilted her head cutely… she—her personality… no, I'm reading way too much into it. They may have had some parts that resemble it, but I doubt that Aoife's soul is in her… they did say that her soul was already done.

"T-that's why I want to stand beside you and watch over Aaron-sama's dream of peace! Over time, I also started to want the same dream as you, and now it's the same thought! Peace. It's the best direction our world can move in. That's why I came here, for my own selfish reason... but I was really happy when you said I could be part of the 'interchanging secretaries' system'. So I hope to work with you forever..."

"But I didn't—"

"If it's about my mother, then you're wrong, Aaron-sama. You're doing a lot for her now, and even for my clan! …You were busy with many things that this may have slipped your mind. You've already added some shadows to Akeno-sama's family, right? You've also done it for more of our family members that are alive…!" she said trying to do her best to convince me.

"Just accept it, Aaron-nya~ birdie-chan won't take, no for an answer, nya~" said Kuroka as she giggled beside Shigune.

"I-I have also sent those capsules you saved from the Dimensional Gap after that field was destroyed. So you're already helping us even more…!!" she shouted while closing her eyes.

"Hehe, yeah just accept it, Aaron. Cúntóir said that you would be relying on all of us even more, and not trying to take on the entire Omniverse's burdens alone, unless you plan on going against that promise? I mean, you'll have all of us as wives, right? We can share it," said Valerie making the other girls in the room blush.

Although Saji was a bit jealous after hearing about that, he had to be spoiled by Ruruko. After that, more of them started telling their stories from their perspective about how I affected their lives. They really made me emotional, so I held it in and also relented in the end. These girls can be persistent…

After a while, Riser finally showed up, looking really worried.

"Ravel?! Are you okay?! W-what about mother?! Skyward!!"

"Onii-sama, I'll guide you to her, please calm down… I am fine," said a calm Ravel.

Seeing that she was okay, he calmed down and followed after his little sister. He gave me a small nod before they headed upstairs.

…

????

…

Azazel's Soliloquy

…

I, Azazel was currently on a flight to Romania to meet up with vampires for a negotiation for a peace treaty. The ones traveling with me were Rias Gremory, Kiba Yuuto, and a man named Akaza.

These brats… they've gotten stronger since the last time I saw them! I don't know how Jin keeps doing it, but… argh, trying to think about it will just give me a headache, so I won't bother doing it.

But… looking at that man, Akaza, he was also powerful, like that woman Aurelia Le Guin, or his other subordinates. He even had more maids for crying out loud! I should tease him about having a maid fetish when I get back, or when we meet up in the vampire territories.

Jin… paid for all of our travel expenses, and had us travel first class in everything. That brat has way too much money for his age! Meruem said he'd ask him about funds but I haven't heard anything from him since…! But recently we got a call about what had happened while we were away…

"Those guys can't stay out of trouble, can they?" I asked myself.

"…But they still defend Kuoh, so it's not a problem, however…" Rias trailed off and looked out the window.

"Yeah, Euclid reappeared with someone from the Evie and also one of the Evil Dragons, Grendel, huh?" I replied. "It'll be even wilder from now on, so be ready. Are you not worried about your boyfriend?" I asked.

Rias nodded her head and said, "Aa—Jin can defend himself, and I doubt anyone can actually injure him, but… as one of his lovers, it's natural to be worried. I mean, even if we were only friends, I would be worried about him."

This girl… like the rest of them, are way too head over heels for that brat… I really don't understand what they see in him… though that's just me not being around him constantly, probably…

"By the way, did you know that Cao Cao is alive?" I said to them.

This attracted their attention, except for Akaza who was silently reading a book.

"What do you mean by that, Azazel-sensei? I thought Jin-senpai and Aurelia-san killed him back when those attacks happened," said Kiba.

"He did die, but you know how that guy is… he revived him and threw him into the depths of hell and said 'Repent 100 times over! Each time you reach the exit, you will be teleported back to the beginning, weaker than before' or something like that, apparently."

I looked out the window and sighed. "So, he's still doing that, but when he does come out… I don't know what will happen."

"…Aa—Jin-sama, has bound Cao Cao to him, just like Kurousagi, the new Goddess of the Egyptian Gods. Jin-sama's will is his will. Whether or not Cao Cao wants to do good or not, he will be saving the supernatural beings of our world from now on. He will also no longer be the user of the [True Longinus] since it belongs to Kanami-sama," said Akaza without looking up from his book.

"So, he's his subordinate in a way?" I asked him.

"Yes, you could look at it like that. But Jin-sama does not acknowledge him as such, for now. He needs to repent for his sins, and rebuild himself from scratch, and when that happens… he will be rewarded with a spear on par with the [True Longinus] from Jin-sama himself."

I nodded. I see, so that's how it is with the former leader of the Hero faction, huh? …Wait—

"So, how many times has he repeated his trips to hell?" I asked him again. I didn't know, my subordinates didn't want to stay there for too long, and also Sakra hasn't contacted him at all... I think he just abandoned him, the same with Cao Cao's former team.

I mean, they are in Grigori, and they have been doing their own repentance. Most of them are being forced to help with the daily life of Grigori, and their powers are sealed, so they're forced to be normal humans.

Just like Raynare… Jin probably sees some good in them. I mean, they're doing good so far, so I'm not complaining. I think once Cao Cao is done with his, and comes back out to the supernatural world… his team will be reformed again.

"Currently, he's on his 72nd run. He's quite persistent, although he gets weaker the longer he does... the hardest part will be his 90th, if he reaches that," Akaza said without looking up.

"Jin-sama wishes for him, along with his other lovers to be the pinnacle of 'humanity', even if some of them will change in the future. He's teaching him some humility since he was quite arrogant and thought of himself in a higher light."

"Is that so?" I said to myself and looked back out at the window.

…