Winds of Change (DxD)

Third Person Point of View

— ○ ● ○ —

The Underworld—in the territory of a certain devil was a village that had been established for the players in the International Rating Game Tournament. It belonged to [Team Black Satan of Darkness Dragon King] and their lodging house was in the corner of the village. In the room for the players, the jade-haired Verrine looked like she was watching the recording of a match on the TV with a bored expression.

"Hey, Balberith. What do you think Hades-sama wants to do by making us participate in this tournament?" asked Verrine.

The bronze-haired young man who was reading a folklore book [The Red and White Dragon] behind her was Balberith.

"…I don't know. It seems like he wanted to cause a miracle by having us clash with the Two Heavenly Dragons, but…to be honest, I think the Dual Dragon Emperor can only do it—the White Dragon of the Morning Star is strong, but…he can't cause miracles," replied Balberith.

Verrine then said as she lay down, "Anyway, our current goal is to make Sonneillon and Gressil as strong as Balberith and I in this tournament while also awakening their [Traits]."

After reading the book, he put it down on top of a pile of books as he looked at another book with the word [Ouroboros] written on its cover.

"… Hey, Verrine. I want to fight Ophis and the like," said Balberith.

"Well, the Two Heavenly Dragons might be the best right now. It's said that Ophis is currently under heavy protection from the Middleman," replied the woman.

"… As expected, the Two Heavenly Dragons, huh?" Balberith then looked at a book with the title [Parent and Child] in the stack of books. "Verrine, if our mother is Lilith, then who is our father?"

Verrine who seemed uninterested answered, "Hmm, I don't know? Hades-sama? But Hades-sama looked like he hated devils and I'm sure that we are just pawns to him. Well, as long as it's fun, I am fine with that."

"No, Hades-sama clearly denied and said that he is not our father. That means he is not our father."

"You want a father, Balberith?" asked Verrine as she sat back up.

Balberith stared at the book and then asked, "Verrine, you don't need a father?"

"I don't know. I do want a big brother and maybe husband?" she admitted and smirked.

"Then, I will be your big brother…but husband? Why?" replied Balberith.

Verrine laughed as her brother responded with a serious expression, "Hahaha, judging by who was born first, I am the older one, you know? And…I just feel like it. We may be new to the world, but I saw a bunch of stuff in that universe, you know?"

"I see, so I am the little brother." Balberith even took that joke seriously. He then closed his eyes as he put his hands on his chest and said, "For me who was born with this power, I'm really curious about the ambiguity of my birth. Whose child am I? And why was I born into this world? …If my transcendent father really exists, then he must be someone with supernatural powers and abilities fit befit that role."

"Well, will you search for your father? If judging by what you just said, only a small number of people in this world fit that description. We don't like those ExE and Phantasma assholes. They're too…weird," said Verrine. She then drank some of her sweet coffee.

"Searching for my father, huh…?" muttered Balberith. To him, only a few individuals fit this description of his—the 'Top Ten Strongest' in their world, as well as the lone Middleman. 'I just need to test them all…'

— ○ ● ○ —

The day before the Rating Game, in the Asgard, in a certain home on its main island, Vidar, the [Rook] of [Team Leisure of the Kings] sat on a chair while drinking alcohol. He had ordered it from Aaron, and was quite tipsy already.

As he was about to take another swig from his bottle, someone stopped him and he looked at them in annoyance. But he found his fellow team member, Apollon, the [Queen].

"Hmm~? Oh, Apollon, whazzup~?" asked the tipsy Vidar.

"Are you truly serious with this? Or was it really just a prank?" asked Apollon while setting down the bottle.

Vidar laughed. "Nah, I wasn't serious. I just wanted my match with Jin. Also, I've heard from Brynhildr and the others about her status in his harem as well as the others, so I thought I might as well help all of them. Although, Göndul was a surprise."

"Göndul-dono? What about her?" asked Apollon while taking a seat in a nearby chair.

Vidar laughed and looked out one of the windows of this home. "It's nothing too serious. She apparently spoke to my father about something to do with her husband. —Valhalla, she attempted to check on him there, but it seemed that he was missing which was strange. We investigated a bit and came to two conclusions."

He sat up and stared at Apollon seriously. "One, the Khaos Order—they've been a throne on our backsides for an entire year. They may have done something to him and various warriors there. Two—well, we've heard about how multiversal reincarnation works, right? Although rare, that's what Jin said might happen. But he thinks it's the Khaos Order's doing."

"…So, is Asgard searching for the lost warriors and souls?" asked Apollon.

"We don't need to look far," said Vidar as he got up and stared out the window. "The Alliance of the Evil Gods. That's who Jin thinks is responsible for it—it may also relate to the disappearance of Óðr, Freyja's previous husband."

A frown appeared on Apollon's face. "…I have heard from my father, but he also has not heard of the full truth. Is that the reason for Freyja-dono's move to our pantheon?"

"…Maybe. If Göndul's husband, along with the other warriors were taken by them via Lapis or someone before, then Óðr will certainly be over there. Only time will tell when we see them again, or if we can recover them," said Vidar.

He turned around and sighed before summoning another bottle. "Bah! Who cares about that right now! Let's focus on the match tomorrow and then deal with it afterward—Jin said he has some insiders in the Khaos Order, so we should leave it to him, but I don't want us to be overly dependent on him!"

Apollon chuckled at him. "It seems you're slowly taking your role a bit more seriously now. Were you influenced by a certain someone?"

"Hah! I, the great Vidar have always been capable of this!" he proclaimed and drank from his bottle again. "I'm fighting him one-on-one tomorrow! No one is stopping me!!!"

Vidar went on a strange rant that Apollon didn't listen to. '…I should inform the others about the movements of The Alliance of the Evil Gods, but Vidar did say that Jin-kun was on it…no it's still worth mentioning, unless they already know…'

— ○ ● ○ —

The place that both teams were teleported to was the base of the artificial Yggdrasil tree. When they looked up at the tree, they were all astonished by it.

"Woah…is…is this how it actually looks?" Aoife asked. The rest of the team glanced at Rossweisse and she nodded.

"Its original size is much larger and taller, but the general shape of the artificial Yggdrasil is near-perfect," replied Rossweisse.

The tree itself was gargantuan as it was higher than the artificial clouds in the dimension. Aurelia's team also knew that Typhon's team was on the other side as the King of Monsters' aura was slowly increasing as he prepared himself for the battle that was going to occur soon.

On Yggdrasil, a spiral staircase was hung around the tree, but there were also footholds floating around which surrounded the tree. Each team could utilize those as a place to take a break or do battle. Of course, going to the top by flying was also permitted.

Based on the overall height of the tree, it looked like it would take a reasonably long time to reach the top. It would take a while even for a normal person or God to reach the top by flying at full speed, and maintaining that pace. They could arrive faster if they focused all of their strength on it, however, they couldn't do that because the other team would also try to prevent that.

Before the game started, there was a brief period to go over their strategies. [Team Golden Rakshasa] gathered around the table that was set up at the base of the tree and discussed what to do. Ravel then laid out a piece of paper on the table which had the opponent's team composition written on it.

"They have a strong lineup. From their [King] Typhon, all the way to their [Pawns] since the Valkyrie Squad is part of Team [DxD], their powers are comparable to God-class beings, so we should go into this with that in mind—that we're facing a team full of Gods," said Aaron.

The [Pawns] this time were— the Valkyrie squad. On top of that, it seemed like they were all members of Team [DxD] who spent around 200–300 years in the [Training Facility] while Aaron was out during his trials.

"We have already discussed this beforehand last night—we won't hold back and will fight with our full power otherwise this matchup would be useless," said Rossweisse. All doubts for all the valkyries that were in this match had been thrown away so they could fight on an even field.

Inaie laughed with excitement. "…It's a parade of Gods. Even I can't stop trembling! We haven't fought too many yet in the tournament!"

In the Draconic Deus, Valkyries were known as demigods too. So in a way, they were facing a team full of Gods.

[Hah! I can't wait, I'm trembling with excitement. I only fought Partner, Albion, Cúntóir, Apophis and the previously wielders of both [Divine Dividing] and the [Boosted Gear] for those 10,000 years—I'll take on Typhon's challenge at any time!] declared Ddraig.

[Although, I feel a bit bitter that I didn't get to fight any of them before I died, but I'm alive again and this tournament is giving many battle fanatics like myself to do this kind of thing,] he added.

With unease on her face, Roygun said, "I couldn't have imagined that I would be fighting a team that surpassed mythologies and races—a team full of Gods. Even as the former second ranker, it's still quite surreal."

Ravel said, "To be perfectly honest, if we weren't helped by Aaron-sama, then this match would have been a lost for us. If Aurelia-sama wasn't leading us either. Even our unique abilities and strategies, they can only go so far when facing Gods. That's just how vast of a difference there is between us and theirs, but…"

Ravel's face changed into one filled with determination. "But that's not the case this time. However, we will still face challenges. To be honest, Artemis-sama and the Valkyries will be our biggest challenge as they've been directly helped by Aaron-sama. Please don't let your guard down around them."

"Yeah!" Everyone shouted enthusiastically, except Aurelia, Scathach and Aaron.

They were also fired up by their strategist's words. Even if their opponents were Gods, the winner would be the one who reached the top first. They only need to reach the goal first, even if it was only one of them.

However, many of them didn't want it to end like that. They wanted to fight Gods on an even playing field. Aaron also wanted to smack Vidar since the word 'prank' gives him headaches because of Nyarlathotep. Even when she's gone, she still troubles him with her memory.

Ravel turned to Roygun and asked, "Roygun-sama, is it possible for you to use [Crack] on the roots of the tree to topple it down?"

The team was stunned by the young girl's question, Aurelia and Scathach ended up laughing at it, and Roygun seemed troubled by the question.

"While I have grown stronger…I can't do that yet. If I tried, I would end up using all of my demonic power, and it probably wouldn't even budge," said Roygun.

"Then what if we ask Aaron-sama to [Boost] and then [Transfer] that power to you?" she inquired.

With a chuckle, Aaron asked, "Ravel, do you plan on ending this as soon as it starts? Also, we'll need to use [Crack] at certain points for it to fall to a side that will be beneficial for us. If we do it recklessly, we'd end up making it fall to the enemy's side, giving them access to the roof—resulting in their win."

Ravel sighed and agreed. "It would also take some coordination to fully implement this plan, and I doubt they would let us do it. Perhaps I was being too optimistic. However, can't we ask you to punch it after it begins falling?"

"Ha-ha-ha, aren't you happy to be used like that, Lord?" asked Scathach.

"I'll decline…" replied Aaron while looking away.

Aoife raised her hand and said, "Well, isn't this a simple game-type? So why not just…go with a simple strategy? Let's all fly or run up together. Whoever we come across, we'll just fight and split off. We'll need to send the strongest to go to the top and we'll win."

"I agree," said Inaie. "I mean, the other team wants to fight us too—I doubt they would just head up to the top, so they'll aim to catch us as we climb up. But that means we'll need to pick who we'll face."

Scathach patted Inaie's head, proud of her—the hybrid had a smug smile on her face as she received her praise.

"…Alright, we'll move forward with that. However, we'll decide on who fights who now—Aaron-sama. Can we assume you'll be fighting Vidar-sama?" Ravel asked as she turned to him. Everyone followed her gaze and they found Aaron in the distance staring up at the tree.

"…Yeah, leave him to me," he replied without turning around. They were confused by his reaction, but didn't question it. "…Their other [Knight], Midgardsormr won't participate in battle, so you can rule him out."

"Why?" Ravel asked.

"Vidar has an Artificial Sacred Gear made by the Norse, and the contracted being is Midgardsormr, so in a way, I'll 'fighting' both of them," explained Aaron. "He also has his own Counter Balance."

"…! T-they already made such advancements in such a short time!?" asked Ravel. "…Very well, we'll leave him to you then, thank you!"

Aaron nodded and Aoife joined him. She held his hand and said, "It's huge, huh? …Are you planning to propose to Rose when you reach the top?"

"Well, when we reach the top of the real thing, I've already had two women propose to me during their games, haha," replied Aaron.

The rest of the team talked about whom to face for the next few minutes.

— ○ ● ○ —

[Now, it's time to start! Both teams have arrived to the starting point. The game will start when the signal on the field is fired! Both teams and spectators, are you ready!?]

A brief silence overtook both the game field and stadium, before a loud bang reverberated throughout the field and arena.

[Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaart!!]

[Team Golden Rakshasa] split into two groups. One would go up the spiral staircase in the tree, while the others would fly up. They didn't want to be bunched up and be blown away if near the start of the game, nor be caught in an ambush with all of them together.

As the group climbed the stairs, the group that flew outside came across their first enemy. He stood on one of the platforms with a smile.

—It was the [Queen] of [Team Leisure of the Kings], Apollon. "Who will be my opponent to keep me distracted?" he asked.

Everyone knew their opponents already, and the silver-haired cheerful beauty, Aoife flew towards him and their auras clashed. "Me!"

With a smile on his face, Apollon said, "Ah, so you, is it? Aoife…very well, let us dance!"

A powerful tremor shook the entire tree as the two began fighting. Apollon created a bow made of light using his divine powers. Divine aura infused each arrow. Normal opponents would be too scared to face the god with so much divine exuding from him, but Aoiffe faced him fearlessly with her [Fragarach].

Apollon fired hundreds of volleys of divine light arrow at Aoife, the woman countered with the ethereal swords and magic. To the surprise of the God, his attacks were destroyed—but he didn't have time to stay like that as Aoife appeared in front of him and slashed at him with her sword. The God avoided the attack, but a few slashes appeared on his clothing, again to his surprise.

'I shouldn't underestimate them—even if we don't know much about this woman, she seems equally close to Jin as much as his other women,' thought Apollon. "Hmm. It seems like this match-up may be a bit more challenging than I thought."

A wide grin spread across Aoife's face. "I'm glad it did!"

The other two with her, flew past them—this was just the start of the game.

— ○ ● ○ —

Ten minutes had passed as Aaron's main group ran up the tree, and they finally encountered their second enemy—a female with blue hair and green eyes stared down at them with a bow in her hands.

"Artemis, huh?" muttered Aaron. "Do you want a rematch in that shooting bet we had?"

Before the Goddess could respond, two individuals flew towards her and began a battle. They were Roygun and Inaie. The goddess fired multiple arrows at them, but Inaie matched them with her light spears and Roygun used her [Crack] ability to slow down their momentum, creating a large explosion that shook the tree again.

Everyone on Aurelia's team ran past them, with Aaron and Artemis making eye contact.

'So?' he asked.

'…Perhaps another time, and I'd like to make another bet again,' replied the Goddess.

Aaron smiled at her in response as they kept running up the tree. Inaie and Roygun launched their abilities at Artemis who countered them with her arrows.

"You need to keep an eye on us, Artemis-sama," said Inaie.

"Fufu, I agree. It's not every day we get to fight gods," said Roygun.

"…I get beat up by Scathach-shishō nearly every day, so I do fight gods nearly every day!" Inaie announced and saluted Artemis. Both older women were too stunned to reply to her declaration, so Artemis just shot some divine arrows at them again.

"That's just rude!" shouted Inaie as she flew towards the goddess while dodging her attacks. As she arrived in front of her, she grinned and blasted Artemis with a point-blank ball of light energy.

However, once her attack ended, she was shocked to see Artemis unharmed. "Little Inaie, have you forgotten I spent time with all of you in 'that' (Pocket Dimension) place?"

"Geh! I forgot!" Inaie shouted in horror and created a defensive barrier in front of her as Artemis did an axe kick, hitting and breaking the magic circle, making Inaie crash back to the platform below.

"Are you okay, Inaie!?" Roygun shouted in worry. However, she couldn't go tend to her comrade as Artemis began her relentless assault again, forcing the former second ranker to avoid her attacks.

After the dust settled, Inaie looked up and smiled. "Scathach-shishō hits harder!!" she then flew back towards the two older women while creating her own bow made of light. "Boooom!!" she screamed and fired a barrage of light arrows from the bow.

"Hmph. I was the one who taught you that," said Artemis.

She fired her own batch, but to her surprise, some of her arrows passed through some of Inaie's while others collided and exploded. This forced the goddess to dodge the rest, but Inaie suddenly appeared behind her and in quick succession, Inaie shrouded her body in touki and slammed her elbow on the goddesses' back!

Inaie had hit her towards a specific spot where Roygun was ready and slammed both her fists downward as her body was also enshrouded in demonic power. Artemis smashed into the platform below, and the two tengu-fallen angel hybrid and pure-blooded devil fired enormous balls of energy at her! Both of them mixed, creating an even bigger explosion.

[Ooooooooooooooh!! Player Artemis has been hit by a large attack! Will she be alright!?] shouted the commentator.

Once the explosion diminished and disappeared, Artemis stood there unharmed while dusting her shoulders off the dust that landed on her.

[S-s-she's okay!! The Goddess Artemis is okay! As expected of a god! They're quite durable!]

"Seriously!? I know I got stronger you know!?" said Inaie with concern.

"Have you forgotten our own ranks? You're a MV – C, I'm a MV – BB…there's a significant difference between us, Inaie," said Artemis.

MV means Multiversal. Although Aaron had changed the ranking system, their powers had not changed much, and Artemis was still much stronger than Inaie and Roygun combined.

"…Crap, I don't think we'll win, Roygun-san!" Inaie said nervously.

Roygun smiled wearily. "Let's just do our best in delaying her, Inaie."

The match between them was going to be a tough one for the members of [Team Golden Rakshasa].

— ○ ● ○ —

The rest of [Team Golden Rakshasa] had arrived at the half-way point, meaning their lone [Pawn] could promote to any piece they wanted—and of course, he immediately transformed into his [Queen] form and promoted to [Queen].

Just then—

[Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!] a loud booming voice resounded throughout the tree. [Who's going to be my opponent!?]

When all members looked up, they saw the [King] of [Team Leisure of the Kings], Typhon flying towards them.

"He's coming to us!?" Ravel shouted. "Aurelia-sama, Aaron-sama!"

"Hahaha! Come, King of Monsters!!" Aurelia shouted excitedly then looked at Aaron.

Aaron glanced at her too and nodded. He raised his right arm up and the gems all over his body glowed. "Ddraig, get your ass out here! Come, the [Welsh Dragon] that dwells within me!!"

An intense jet-black-crimson glow emitted from Aaron's armor and seconds later, the [Welsh Dragon] came out in all his glory.

[Let's goooooooooooooooooo!!!] Ddraig shouted and Aurelia immediately jumped on his back.

"Forward, Ddraig!" ordered Aurelia.

The dragon laughed before flying up at Typhon. He was covered in a golden aura as Aurelia let her aura free too and then Ddraig headbutted Typhon in the stomach. They then turned left before demolishing the walls of the tree as they decided to fight outside it. Powerful tremors shook the game field as a fierce fight began between Ddraig, Typhon and Aurelia.

— ○ ● ○ —

Róisín Toole's Soliloquy

— ○ ● ○ —

The match between Aurelia's team and Typhon's team had been going on for the last thirty-minutes. After Ddraig, the [Welsh Dragon] was summoned, his team kept running up the tree until everyone faced their own opponents.

The ones that appeared after Typhon were Helmwige and Ortlinde, the two members of the Valkyrie Squad of the Norse group of [DxD]. The one who faced both female valkyries was Scathach, the Witch of Dún Scáith.

She was the one who had been designated to fight them, and they were fighting now too. Next were Rossweisse and Little Ravel. They faced Brynhildr, Grimgerde and Schwertleite, and the rest of the Valkyrie Squad. It seemed like Rose wanted to fight her former captain and comrades…

…Now the last was…Aaron as he ran up the staircase. The closer he got to the top, the more powerful the divine aura that came from it. On the last platform before the top of the tree, he came across the last player of [Team Leisure of the Kings].

[Yo, Oppai Dragon! Our match can finally happen, huh?] asked the Norse God, Vidar. Beside him was a miniature version of Midgardsormr.

Apparently, they had asked Aaron for help in that regard, so now—even though Midgardsormr usually sleeps at the bottom of the ocean, they had managed to bring him to Asgard and had moved him to sleep at the bottom of the real Yggdrasil.

He could also freely change size, hence why he's a miniature version of himself and could directly participate in this match. However, he probably won't fight and will forfeit at the end when the rest are knocked out.

Aaron stood a distance away without saying anything. However, he took a step forward and the game field and screen shook. A wide smile spread across Vidar's face as he did that.

[Haha! I like it, but today you face me as just the [Red Dragon Emperor], right? Let's get started too! Oi, Midgardsormr wake up!]

[Zzz…zzzz…zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…]

The dragon did not wake up, the last [Knight] of the team kept on sleeping. Vidar started to light smack the dragon on the head until his eyes fluttered open.

With his sharp eyes he asked tiredly, […Huh…oh…it's Vidar…what's up?]

[Don't 'what's up?' me, we're in a middle of a match! You made a contract with me, didn't you? So let's fulfill it now!] said the God impatiently.

[Fuuuuu…okay…I have no choice after all…but make it quick, okay…?]

After that exchange of words, the magic circle in his hand glowed and transformed into a jewel. I was surprisingly familiar with that jewel. Azazel once used something like that before in the books and of course Vidar too since I read it to the end.

Vidar lifted his leg up, he operated the mechanism on his footwear, and on the side of his calf, there was an indent that appeared to fit that said jewel. He affixed the jewel to that indent and in an instant, the gem that was attached to his footwear caused it to begin to emit a gray light. Vidar's whole body was then enveloped in a gray aura.

[These boots are an improved model. With the help of the Grigori, our Norse mythology tried to copy the Sacred Gear system by also using the power of the original Yggdrasil!] he said happily.

The light that Vidar emitted was so bright that it covered the entire platform he and Aaron were on. After the light settled down, there was a materialized full-body suit of plate armor constructed from a dragon's power just like Aaron's.

That was exactly the same as the way that Azazel turned Fafnir into armor! An Artificial Sacred Gear armor. It was used by Vidar, along with his pact was with the Dragon King Midgardsormr. A full set of gray plate armor.

However, there was a slight difference between him and Aaron. The bulk of the armor was concentrated around his feet, and that was where the center of the structure seemed to be. The parts on his legs also seemed more elaborate than his arms. It was fitting for a wielder whose primary attacks were kicks.

[I would say this is a semi-God armament. The Asgard version of the artificial Sacred Gear. I named this form [Ragnarök Aesir Berserk]. It's a simple, yet good name, right?] he asked while tapping his shoes on the ground.

An even broader grin spread across his face. [Shall we start then!?]

Aaron silently nodded and the two finally clashed. When I glanced around the VIP room we were led to, my group that Aaron dubbed [Mother's Association] were still cheering loudly. Göndul seemed almost silent as she watched the match unfold. She was worried for her granddaughter, her team, and Aaron. Although she didn't need to since he was—

[Ooooooooooooh!! The Dual Dragon Emperor is overwhelming him!! Even with Player Vidar's new Artificial Sacred Gear, he's still winning only using his [Boosted Gear] abilities!!] shouted the commentator.

[Kahaha! As it should be! If I started winning easily, I'd be annoyed! Let's keep going, Jin!!] bellowed Vidar.

As we watched the fight continue, various conversations I had with Aaron and other people echoed in my head.

— ○ ● ○ —

"Aaron, honey?" I called out to my son. His and Aurelia's game was coming up and I was concerned. Even back during the expedition match I was worried. Maybe it's just a mother's instinct to be worried?

He was in the back garden staring at the pool and sky. He tends to do strange things in this new life of ours that he didn't in our previous one. Perhaps it was because he felt free? I wasn't sure…

"Hmm? Oh, mom…what can I do for you?" he asked.

"I know you can look into the future and all…so will the match turn out alright?" I asked.

He tilted his head and looked at me. "Yeah? If you're worried about an attack by anyone, then don't, they won't do anything during it," he said reassuringly.

"N-no, I mean like…will anyone be seriously hurt? I know that we…" I glanced around us and saw no one. "…Read the books and all, but this is a different universe from that, so I was just wondering. Since I've gotten closer to everyone, I'm just worried."

He chuckled, confusing me. He took a step forward and embraced me. "You don't need to worry about that. I can promise you that nothing like that will happen. I'm happy that you're getting along with everyone, otherwise I'd be worried."

Aaron embracing me made me emotional. The times he showed this level of emotion and intimacy was when he was with Aoife and his friends. Anytime he was at home, he was mostly indifferent and cold towards his father. The times he hugged me were few and far between, but they didn't feel like this.

"…Mmm? Are you using your powers to let me feel how you feel right now?" I asked and he laughed.

"I was caught, huh?" he asked and pulled away and looked at me with a lot of affection. "Without him anymore, I can treat you in the way I always wanted to. That house was suffocating, and I never felt truly at home. Only you and Cindy made me calm there, otherwise, I was seconds away from losing my temper with that man."

He leaned forward and I panicked, but he touched his nose against mine. "I know you said to let you spoil me, but…I'd like to do the same for you and Cindy. Will you let me?" he asked.

He was definitely aware of it. My face was way too red. What is wrong with me? He is my son, but he is way too close. I heard from Lavinia that he does this to her and many other girls. However, it being done to me was embarrassing, even if he meant nothing by it.

"…O-okay, b-but I want to do the same for you, okay? Equivalent exchange! You know, from Fullmetal Alchemist?" I told him.

Aaron looked at me amused. "You watched that? When was that?"

"I-it was during the time we were separated…I'm sorry…" I replied. I have felt guilty since—

"It's fine. Anyway, let's go back. Everything will be fine, so please don't worry about anything, okay?"

I agreed with him and he held my hand as we walked back into his home…should I call it our home?

— ○ ● ○ —

Another memory played—this was the night during our visit to his Dimensional Gap home. I was in my room, but a knock suddenly interrupted my reading and I told them to come in. The one who came in was Venelana Gremory. She greeted me with a wave and a smile. Putting my book down, I tapped the spot beside me on my bed and she came over.

"How can I help you, Venelana?" I asked the older woman.

…Hmm? No, aren't I the older one? If Aaron floated for so long by himself, doesn't that mean we also did the same (Aoife, Cindy and I)? I'll ask Cúntóir or Azathoth about that another time…

She stared at me and then said quite seriously and bluntly, "I'm in love with your son and I kissed him earlier."

......…Huh!? W-w-w-what?! I sat there in confusion and shock—what did she just say? Love? Kiss? Earlier? Today?!

When I looked back at Venelana, she was blushing like some kind of love-struck teenager! Grabbing her shoulders, I began to shake her gently. "What. Do. You. Mean!?" I asked quite loudly.

"I mean what I mean, Róisín. I love your son romantically," Venelana declared again, stunning me.

"B-b-but what about Zeoticus!? I-isn't this an affair!?" I asked in a panic. As far as I know, Aaron doesn't like doing things like this! Surely, he hasn't accepted her into his harem, right?!

In response to my question, Venelana smiled and told me everything. Their semi-dead bedroom life, the fact that her husband had fallen in love with one of his concubines—a person called Lilion Vapula, and how they tried to do co-management of the concubine, but their philosophies and methods differed too much.

The books never delved into detail about their love-life or marriage, but it seems like this new universe is different. While Venelana allowed her husband to have a concubine, she had never done anything lewd together with them. She was the main wife and only ever did lewd things one-on-one with him.

Before they stopped trying, they tried their best in fixing or at least changing the relationship. The love that Zeoticus felt for that woman was the same he felt for Venelana, so he wanted to make it work, but in the end after trying for nearly a year, they stopped.

They don't want to get a divorce as it's looked down upon in noble society, and it would also most likely cause problems for themselves, their clan, and children. Venelana was a child of a mistress of Lord Bael, so she wasn't going to inherit the position of heir in the Bael Household. So they might as well give her to a devil clan and hope for the best, right?

And it strangely worked out for them…producing Sirzechs, one of the strongest devils, Rias, who is also very strong now and Millicas, who I've heard has the potential of being a Super Devil or Dragon God.

Their status in the Underworld also rose because of their marriage and because of Sirzechs, so many things would be damaged if they made their separation public, so they have to keep up appearances while going out in public.

However, they still care for each other like friends, and don't hold any ill-will against each other. According to Venelana, things change—time, and people that is, and they wish each other luck, but still plan on being amicable with each other and keep up appearances while in public.

So Zeoticus could keep up his new love life with Lilion Vapula while Venelana was free to do what she wanted—and…

"So you chose my son of all people!?" I asked again while lightly shaking her.

"The heart chooses what the heart wants. Also, it wouldn't be strange if most women in the supernatural world—or even the human world would want him, right?" she asked. "His status, his power, how he treats children, his overall personality. If we think about it, he almost seems perfect…but he's anything but that, you should know since you live with him."

As I did, I remembered a short conversation I had with Aaron back in our previous world.

— ○ ● ○ —

'…Aaron, out of curiosity, if you could date any of the girls in this book series, who would it be?'

'Akeno. Hands down, I can't think of anyone else.'

'…If given the chance to go there, would you try to get a harem? Or just stick with Akeno?'

'…If possible, a harem, I mean…it's quite a dream, right?'

'But…how would you financially provide for them? Assuming you don't have supernatural powers. And how many would you want in that harem?'

'…If that world and ours are relatively the same…I'll take advantage of the lottery, win it every few years, and then invest in stocks or something. Also study harder in school, start up a business, and stand at the top of the human world. That way I can provide for them.'

'…You've thought a lot about this, haven't you? So? What about the number of women?'

'If possible, all of them!'

'…That's just unrealistic…'

— ○ ● ○ —

He…made it into reality, or at least is going towards that reality…although I have no idea how serious he was in his answer back then. But he did keep his 'promise' and dated Akeno first. He was way too obsessed with her, but things have changed, huh?

Lavinia and Suzaku, they're part of his 'Fated Ones', and while he admitted he liked their designs and personality…his fondness for them wasn't as high as Akeno. What a strange twist of fate…

"I mean…I guess? But are you sure? Isn't there anyone else out there that takes your interest?" I asked.

"No, not really. It's not there are many men with those kinds of quality, as most noble devils are still quite traditional and look down on others. That's why I'm proud of my children and grandchild that they don't discriminate," said Venelana.

"I won't stop you, but…please think about it carefully," I told her and sighed again.

"Fufu, I'm fully aware of my decision, but we may need to keep it a secret…and Aaron-kun hasn't given me an answer yet."

Aaron…how far are you willing to go…? …Göndul and various other older women pop into my head and I smiled wearily.

…He won't go that far…right?

— ○ ● ○ —

[Doooooooooooooooown!! Player Typhon slammed to the bottom of the treeeee!! Ddraig and Player Aurelia knocked down the King of Monsters!!]

I was brought back to reality and saw that Typhon was lying on the ground, but wasn't that injured. Two massive grins were on Ddraig and Aurelia's faces. They were enjoying this a bit too much…

The 'Mother's Association' were shaking and moving their glowing sticks while cheering—a few of them even forced other people to do the same. Cao Cao was being made by Yasaka to do such funny things and the young man looked mortified. His team silently snickered at him.

— ○ ● ○ —

Third Person Point of View

— ○ ● ○ —

"Ha-ha-ha! What's wrong, is this the extent of your 'love' for him?" the Witch of Dún Scáith asked the two valkyries with her.

Scathach faced off against Helmwige and Ortlinde. Helmwige had her battle axe with her while Ortlinde had her spear with her, and both valkyries were already in their [Walküre Drive] and going all out while fighting the Goddess.

However, all their attacks were avoided, parried or countered, leaving the two valkyries with the damaged armor and cuts all around their bodies.

"T-that's just cruel, Scathach-san!" Helmwige shouted. She flew towards the goddess and swung her battle-axe down. "You can't just say that! Especially if you're in a relationship with him!"

Helmwige continued to swing her weapon at the goddess—each time she did, her speed increased more and more, until her attacks became a blur. Yet, Scathach easily deflected and parried them with no effort on her part.

"Hmm, your power seems to increase the more emotional you are—are you trying to copy Aaron?" asked the woman.

"Wha—n-no! Where did that come from!?" Helmwige asked flustered by the question.

Her fellow valkyrie, Ortlinde also started attacking the goddess with her spear. However, like earlier, it seemed like Scathach danced in the air with her spear while deflecting their attacks. To the viewers and commentators, it looked like an adult was playing with children.

Yet both Helmwige and Ortlinde were veteran fighters and have experienced their fair share of life-and-death battles over the years. So both of them felt quite insulted by this, even if Scathach wasn't doing it on purpose—she, over the years just started teaching like this, because most of the time it would end up helping her students become stronger.

Ortlinde knew she would be inferior in spearmanship compared to Scathach, yet that didn't stop her from trying. Coordinating with Helmwige, her spear glowed brightly and she thrust it towards Scathach, who dodged it. However, the goddess looked at the spear curiously as it shone.

Ortlinde smiled and increased its brightness even more, forcing Scathach to close her eyes. During that split-second, Helmwige brought her battle-axe up and enshrouded it with touki before slamming down towards the goddess.

Scathach's instincts were next to none, so her body moved on its own and she dodged it gracefully. However, Ortlinde had already begun swinging her spear sideways in an attempt to slash the woman. But again, the goddess parried it with her spear before creating rune-style magic circles and blasting the two away with elemental attacks.

It did little effect to the two valkyries as they shrugged off the attacks, although some of their clothes were torn up even more.

Scathach smiled and asked, "You two, you like him, do you not?"

Confused and startled by the sudden question, Helmwige and Ortlinde glanced at each other before nodding to her question.

"What do you expect out of your future relationship with him?" she asked then appeared beside Ortlinde while thrusting her spear towards her stomach.

Ortlinde used her aura, magic, touki and spear to block the attack that was aimed at her. Scathach had no intentions of harming her, but used enough force to destroy all her attempts at blocking her attack, and quickly switch the ends of her weapon, so the blunt tip slammed into her stomach instead.

"Can't you ask without trying to kill us!?" yelled Helmwige as she began to attack Scathach. The woman simply laughed at her and continued their little scuffle before sending a kick towards Helmwige's stomach. She reacted on time and blocked it with her battle-axe.

"No. It makes it fun this way," Scathach replied while grinning.

"I…I want to do lovey-dovey things with him!!" declared Ortlinde—stunning Helmwige who had recovered from the attack that hit her.

Ortlinde, like the other valkyries under Brynhildr had been single for most of their life. They failed to get dates and boyfriends since they dedicated their time to their jobs and roles. They also had the status of being picked as part of this squad and had to upload some kind of morals and etiquette that Brynhildr put on the group.

However, Ortlinde herself had her own expectations in regards to her own future. Her parents, like many others had been pressuring her to find a man and settle down while also maintaining her job as part of the Valkyrie Squad of Team [DxD].

She prided herself on her usual calm and composed nature, as well as her intellect, but…she was always frustrated because of her own single status. Even more so when she found out that her previous college was in a relationship and even more so when it was with Aaron—a rising star in the supernatural world.

"…I also want to be spoiled and pampered!!! It's unfair that Rossweisse only gets it!!" she screamed.

She charged at Scathach at a speed that the goddess didn't expect. However, she also parried it with little to no effort, but her strikes, slashes, and thrusts were becoming even faster—faster than Helmwige's. Even after Ortlinde's outburst, her face mostly kept its composure, but a bit of snot fell from her nose.

'…I didn't think Ortlinde felt that, although I think we all share the same sentiment. The first time we saw Rossweisse going on a date with Aaron all those months ago…it was a shock to say the least,' thought Helmwige. 'But…! I also—no, we all feel the same way, damn you, Rossweisse!!'

"Ha-ha-ha! I didn't think you would admit it so easily, Ortlinde!" Scathach laughed at the valkyrie while parrying her attacks.

"Khhhh…!!" Ortlinde's face turned bright red as she kept attacking Scathach—but a grin appeared on her lips confusing Scathach. "B-but I got a kiss last night, hehehe~"

"Hooo?" Scathach was amused and slammed the blunt end of her spear into Ortlinde's stomach, knocking her away. "So he'll have a valkyrie harem, too, huh? Humans, devils, fallen angels, angels, dragons, goddesses, and valkyries. Ha-ha-ha! Nothing is beyond Lord's lust."

Ortlinde sent a flurry of thrusts towards Scathach, who matched her and parried all of them. "That's not the point! I-i-i-it was my first kiss!"

"Ha-ha-ha! How adorable, you treasure your first kiss that much?" asked the goddess as she happily fired rune-style magic at Ortlinde who also matched her using her Norse-style magic. Helmwige also helped her teammate and fired her own magic at the goddess.

Scathach tapped the air in front of her as all the attacks were just inches away from her and negated them all. "What about you, Helmwige?"

"E-eh? W-what about me?" Helmwige asked, scared of what Scathach might say.

"She means—"

"I know! I just don't want to answer!!" screamed Helmwige.

"Fufu, let's continue then," said Scathach.

She once again disappeared, but didn't reappear. Unknown to both females Scathach was moving at a speed that they couldn't perceive yet, but they did notice that they kept receiving small cuts around their bodies again and they began to create defensive magic circles around themselves. But they were shattered moments later, and this kept repeating until all the cuts accumulated and they bled everywhere.

"Hmm. That should do it," said Scathach after she finished her relentless assault.

[B-b-both Player Ortlinde and Helmwige have been backed into a corner!! Will this be the end of the two Valkyries of [Team Leisure of the Kings]!?]

"Don't…kill us off yet! None of these cuts are deep enough!" shouted Helmwige in frustration.

Both valkyries flew towards Scathach while firing more magic attacks at her, but they proved to be useless. Once in front of the woman, they both began relentlessly slashing at the woman with their weapons.

Helmwige mixed in wind magic to her battle-axe which made several blades of wind shoot from it, but they were negated by Scathach. Ortlinde did the same while coating her spear in blue lightning, but they were reflected away by Scathach's spear.

From the beginning of their match up, to now, they never stood a chance, but since it was a game and since they had fought her from time-to-time while in Aaron's [Training Facility], they wanted to at least have her take them seriously today, even if there was a slim chance of it happening.

Helmwige suddenly threw her battle-axe at Scathach, who dodged it. However, she immediately followed it up by enhancing her body with magic and touki and throwing a punch directly towards the goddess. Scathach looked back and laughed at her attempt—but happily followed up by headbutting the fist that Helmwige used.

Initially it looked like they were even in power, but to no one's surprise, Scathach's headbutt began to push Helmwige back. However, the woman in question pulled her battle-axe back towards her using her free hand, and as it was about to hit the goddess in front of her, she stopped it with the tip of her spear.

"Come on!" shouted Helmwige.

"Quite predictable," replied Scathach.

"I didn't ask!!" Helmwige continued her futile assault as Ortlinde charged up an attack from behind her.

Scathach was aware of this, but continued to battle Helmwige. However, she silently commended the two for their trust in each other as they didn't need to verbally confirm with each other to know what they wanted to do.

'This can only be made possible by fighting together in countless battles and life-and-death situations over time. Most wouldn't have this level of trust in each other—yet [DxD], and especially the Valkyrie Squad of the Norse do,' thought the Witch of Dún Scáith.

Ortlinde had finished charging her attack. An attack that would pierce the heavens.

[Helmwige!] she shouted at her friend through their team's transceiver.

[Do it!] Helmwige replied with the same fervor. Without waiting for another second, Ortlinde drew back her spear as a powerful silver-blue aura coated it.

All she needed was a single thrust to end it. An attack that she had been practicing religiously, an attack that would pierce everything. She had desperately practiced it since the war ended as she felt utterly useless when facing certain enemies.

Helmwige grabbed onto Scathach, as if hugging the woman who became amused.

"This is quite obvious, you know?" said Scathach.

"I don't care…! At least I can take you down with me!" said Helmwige as she held the woman tightly. To her surprise, she didn't put much of a fight…and it worried her. 'To hell with those thoughts!! I'll deal with it when it comes!'

The aura around Ortlinde's spear shone brighter and brighter! …Until she thrust her spear and attack towards Scathach and Helmwige. It was blindingly fast that Scathach was taken aback by it. However, the goddess broke free of Helmwige's hold and kicked her towards the spear's attack!

The attack pierced Helmwige's stomach. The woman coughed up blood, but that didn't stop its trajectory, power, or speed as it kept going towards Scathach. The Witch of Dún Scáith raised her spear up and slashed down at the attack while coating it in divine aura.

[Oh my goodness! Player Scathach is pushing back the powerful attack used by Player Ortlinde! Amazing!!] shouted the announcer.

Helmwige's own consciousness began to flicker as. She had just been pierced, but wanted to keep fighting. As she raised her battle-axe above her, much to everyone's shock, her life flashed before her eyes.

— ○ ● ○ —

The day that she became an official valkyrie was one of the happiest days of her life. It was one of the greatest honors in their realm, and of course, her mother was one. Her father also worked for their gods and still does, and she wanted to follow in their footsteps.

She also met their strongest valkyrie at the time—her captain, Brynhildr. Not many knew of her realm name before she received the title. But she didn't care, she only wanted to keep on rising in their world with her captain and the others who joined her.

Originally there were even more in the squad. However, because of the harshness and strict nature of Brynhildr, many of those valkyries dropped out of her squad to join others. However, to the one who stuck by her—and even when a young new recruit—a maiden called Rossweisse joined them, they tried to welcome her the same way.

Even if she was the granddaughter of one of the most famous valkyries, Göndul.

"…So, we've all been single!? None of us have gotten a boyfriend!? What the heck is this!?" shouted Helmwige in despair.

"F-focusing on our studies, battle tactics, strategies, gaining experience and power should be top priority! R-r-romantic relationships should not take precedence…" replied Rossweisse.

"You're a virgin, so are we. Just accept it, Rossweisse…" mumbled Grimgerde.

Rossweisse had nothing to say to that, so she silently looked at the ground with a bright red face.

— ○ ● ○ —

After a difficult mission, Helmwige fell on her bed, exhausted. She raised her hand up and sighed. "…I don't want to die a virgin...…I want a boyfriiiiiiiiend!!"

"Shut up!! Virgin Squad!!" another valkyrie screamed in another room over.

'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!' Helmwige grabbed her head and began rolling around her bed, frustrated at her current situation. "I'll…definitely…get one…someday…and before anyone in my squad…!" she said while tears fell from her eyes.

— ○ ● ○ —

Helmwige fell on all fours. She had just seen Rossweisse, her friend and former squad member in 'clothing that looked like she was on a date', and with the new Middleman before they linked arms and left their realm. It was like a punch to the gut for her. She refused to believe it.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuwooooooooooo Nooooooooooooo!!!" she screamed in despair, startling the people around her.

"Calm yourself, Helmwige…" muttered Brynhildr.

She looked up at her captain and let out a patronizing chuckle. "You're quite shaken up too, captain…"

Brynhildr was unaware of it herself, but her face was covered in sweat and her right arm was shaking. She, like the other valkyries in her squad had been single for many years. They were much older than Rossweisse too, but…but…they never thought that their youngest and former member would go on a date before them.

"…Is it worst that we never went on a date before…?" Helmwige asked. The energy and life inside of her had disappeared.

With a dead look in her eyes, Brynhildr looked at her squad member and said, "Schwertleite went on a date once…it didn't end well because she was stood up."

Silence fell in the vicinity.

"We're going to die as virgins and single women, aren't we?" she asked her captain.

"…Don't say anything anymore—it will only hurt us more," replied Brynhildr. Both women walked away from the spot, a gloomy and depressive aura emanating from their bodies.

— ○ ● ○ —

Tears flowed down Helmwige's face as she roared, "I don't want to die a virgin!!! Jin!! Please have sex with me after this maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatch!!!!!!!"

[...Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhh?!!?! W-w-w-what in the world is Player Helmwige screaming about?!]

[The Virgin Valkyrie Squad member finally hit her tipping point!!!] the commentator that was from Asgard screamed.

Helmwige's battle-axe slammed against Scathach's spear that was also blocking the thrust attack that Ortlinde sent to them. Even with the added power of a near-unconscious woman, the Queen of the Land of Shadows didn't budge from her spot.

It…only made her snicker. "That was an interesting declaration, Helmwige, but I doubt Lord will agree to it…"

[Then…] Aaron's voice resounded in the field—

— ○ ● ○ —

"Dammit! I can't land a shot on you, quit zooming around!" Vidar shouted in frustration.

"…Zoom, zoom, iyaan~" Aaron said in a monotone voice and then snickered. This only made Vidar even more frustrated. It didn't help that Midgardsormr snickered in his sleep after hearing it.

Vidar suddenly stopped and asked, "Are you taking me seriously at all? I'd like a serious match, Jin."

Aaron stopped and stared at Vidar through his helmet's eyes. "Are you sure?"

"I am. Also, if you lose, then I'm taking Brynhildr, you know? After speaking to her for a bit—not just as her god, but just as another person, I quite like her. Of course, the other valkyries will also need to fulfill their end of the bargain," he said quite matter-of-factly.

Aaron sighed through his helmet and nodded. "Very well, since I don't want my valkyries going to anyone else, I may as well beat you up since you've been asking for it since last year."

"Kahaha! That's what I'm talking about! Come then!!" shouted Vidar. However—

[I don't want to die a virgin!!! Jin!! Please have sex with me after this maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatch!!!!!!!]

Helmwige's voice was so loud that it echoed throughout Yggdrasil that even Vidar and Aaron heard her shout. Both of them stopped and looked down at the platform below. Aaron suddenly laughed confusing Vidar.

He removed his helmet and smiled at the god in front of him. "I won't let you have them." He touched his ear and said, [Then please give birth to as many of my children in the future—you're my valkyries, right?]

[Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!? W-what kind of conversation is happening right now!?] the commentator asked in shock.

Brynhildr, Rossweisse, Ortlinde, Helmwige, Grimgerde and Schwertleite all responded at the same time—faces brighter than Rias' crimson hair.

[Yes!!]

Everyone that watched from their TV, and in the stadium were stunned by these events, but erupted into cheers and laughter. In a way, they already expected a multitude of things to happen if Aaron was part of a game—he already made things strange when he just watched or commented (Hirokazu vs Dulio Rating Game).

— ○ ● ○ —

In the VIP booth where Aaron's group were—an older woman suddenly shot up from her seat, surprising everyone.

"Um…Göndul-san…?" asked Jeanne.

"That includes me, right? If so, I'll do it," Göndul told everyone, stunning them into silence.

Venelana turned to smile at Róisín Toole whose mouth twitched.

'It happened!! Aaron…nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!' Róisín screamed in her head as she put both of her hands on her face while sighing heavily. Cindy walked over and patted her back.

"Me too!!" Lavinia shouted.

"…You're not a valkyrie?" Penemue asked, confused.

"I don't care!!" said Lavinia while she hugged Shin.

"…What am I going to do….? Ugh…" muttered Róisín while going through various scenarios in her head about the future.

— ○ ● ○ —

"Then let me take you seriously, Vidar—as the Red Dragon Emperor," said Aaron. He jumped back and put his hand over his heart. Vidar didn't react as he waited to see what would happen.

Aaron suddenly began to chant.

"The Outer Dragon God dwelling within me, awaken from your dominance—"

His entire body was shrouded in numerous different colored auras and an aura that Vidar wasn't familiar with radiated from his armor.

[The Crimson Heavenly Dragon I possess within me, rise up to become a King and roar—]

Ophis chanted the next line. At the same time, the gems all over Aaron's body unleashed jet-black auras.

[The Jet-Black God of Infinity—]

A jet-black aura and the various others began to merge with his body and armor.

[The Glorious God of Dreams—]

Irene said her line and certain parts of his armor began to turn gold.

"[[Watch over the true forbidden existence we shall become that transcends the boundaries—]]"

The rest of his armor started to change color to a jet-black and the gems around his body flashed then turned crimson red. All three recited the last line together.

"[[Thou shall dance within our perfected radiant inferno!]]"

"[[D ∞ D!! D ∞ D D ∞ D!! D ∞ D D ∞ D D ∞ D!!! D ∞ D D ∞ D D ∞ D D ∞ D!!!! D ∞ D D ∞ D D ∞ D D ∞ D D ∞ D!!!!! D ∞ D D ∞ D D ∞ D D ∞ D D ∞ D D ∞ D D ∞ D D ∞ D!!!!!!!!"]]

[[D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D!!!!!!!!!!!!!]]

[Dragon ∞ Full Drive!!!!!]

Aaron entered his [True Diabolos Dragon God] armor and retracted his helmet. "So, let's start round two then…"

"…Kahaha! So the same as Vali Lucifer, eh? No…you showed the [Divine Dividing]'s version when you fought Indra, meaning you already could do this beforehand. Well, whatever! Let's go then!!" screamed Vidar as a gray aura shrouded his body while charging towards Aaron.

— ○ ● ○ —

"Power is flowing through meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!" Helmwige screamed and the power she produced increased even further, shocking Scathach.

"How idiotic…but I don't dislike it," said Scathach. "But let's end this fight, shall we?"

Her spear's divine aura increased further which blinded Helmwige who was the closest to them, and with a single thrust—destroyed Ortlinde's attack and retired Helmwige.

"I'm still getting dick—"

[1 [Pawn] of [Team Leisure of the Kings] retire!!]

"We're both wielders of the spear, how about you show me how much you improved, Ortlinde? You practiced that technique a lot, didn't you? It almost resembled a certain technique of mine, didn't it?" asked Scathach.

Ortlinde summoned another spear in her other hand before spinning both. "…Please take care of me," she said and flew towards Scathach.

— ○ ● ○ —

Ravel Phenex stood on top of the platform as she watched four valkyries fight above her. She wanted to help, but…she was told by all of them to stay out of their way. The reason for this was simple, it was because—

"I'll have three kids with him!!!" roared Rossweisse.

"Four!!!" Grimgerde shouted back.

"…Five!" said Brynhildr…but the winner was—

"As many as he wants," Schwertleite muttered calmly. The other three stared at her in disbelief. At that moment, they saw Schwertleite not as a fellow valkyrie…but a god—no, a goddess!

Even though Schwertleite, Brynhildr, and Grimgerde were on the same team, they had started fighting each other along with Rossweisse. One could call this 'fight' a royal rumble, and for the dumbest of reasons. However, Ravel didn't want to interfere as she was screamed at earlier by all four of them. Ravel also trusted in Rossweisse's power, so she wasn't that worried about the battle royale happening in the air.

"That's what we meant!" the other three screamed back, agreeing with her.

Ravel sighed and shook her head. 'Does it matter? Sooner or later all of us will end up pregnant…'

Another round of attacks started as magic attacks, large touki attacks and the sounds of armor and flesh hitting each other rang through the area above Ravel. The young girl sighed and created a chair using her flames and sat on it.

Brynhildr and Rossweisse slammed their foreheads against each other, creating a shockwave so powerful that it pushed the other too back.

"Daughter!" shouted Rossweisse.

"Son!" replied Brynhildr. "My parents wanted a son, but they had me, but they still loved me. So I wish to have a son so I can bring that joy to my family."

Rossweisse didn't expect a reason for it—she…had overheard the talk between Suzaku, Lavinia and Aaron. She found out that they knew the names of their daughters in the future, and it made her curious. So she only said 'daughter' because of that, but in reality, she didn't care as long as she had his child.

However—

"It doesn't matter what sex our child is, I will love them all the same," said Schwertleite. Both valkyries turned their gazes at her and glared.

"…Are you doing this on purpose?" Grimgerde asked, feeling a bit uneasy.

With a playful smile on her lips, Schwertleite shook her head. "…I meant what I said, Grimgerde. I do not like…"

"Liar!!" shouted Grimgerde before she tried to attack Schwertleite, but the woman avoided her slap. She retaliated by firing a fireball towards Grimgerde, who slapped it away.

[U-uhm, it seems like the [Pawns] of [Team Leisure of the Kings] are fighting each other…? I'm very confused by this development…]

"…Let's stop this for now, Brynhildr-senpai. Today, I'd like to fight all three of you seriously," Rossweisse suddenly said, making everyone around them stop. Brynhildr stared at Rossweisse before backing away and joining Grimgerde and Schwertleite.

"Yes. Let's have a more civil discussion with each other once the match ends…but for now, I'll accept this challenge, Rossweisse. Show me—show us how much you improved during your time away from us," said Brynhildr.

She and the other three knew in the back of their minds that Rossweisse had already improved beyond what they were currently capable of. In a way, this was just a formality between valkyries—something that Brynhildr wanted to do when a valkyrie left her squad in an amicable way.

An enormous Norse-style magic circle appeared above them as Brynhildr raised her hand. From it came a giant made of lightning and wind. Both landed behind her and stood still waiting for Brynhildr's command.

Grimgerde summoned her staff while Schwertleite summoned her sword. On Grimgerde's shoulder a small bird made of yellow paper appeared and perched on it. Hundreds of thousands of yellow papers began to swirl around her as they formed into various weapons around her.

Schwertleite's sword glowed a faint purple before dark-purple-like tentacles began to wriggle out of it. The same dark-purple tentacles also wrapped around her own arms and legs and four more came out of her back.

'So they're going to go all out against me, huh? …No, I asked them to, but I didn't think they'd use their innate abilities against me,' thought Rossweisse.

Brynhildr raised her arm up slowly before the both Grimgerde and Schwertleite flew towards them. Ravel got up and was about to join her when Rossweisse held her hand out towards the young Phenex daughter, indicating she didn't need any assistance.

[Ravel-san, I will be fine. I asked to fight them, you can probably join Aaron at the last platform,] said Rossweisse.

Ravel quickly agreed, and fiery wings appeared from behind her back and she flew upwards. The valkyries paid her no mind as she left their area

The first one to arrive in front of Rossweisse was Grimgerde. She spun her staff around herself before thrusting it towards the woman in front of her. Rossweisse dodged the attack with no effort on her part. However, she created a magic circle at the same time which blasted the yellow paper that Grimgerde tried to sneak behind her fellow valkyrie.

"I know what those do, Grimgerde-san. Please don't make fun of me," said Rossweisse.

"…Well, at least you don't fall for that same trick now, Rossweisse," replied Grimgerde.

She then formed the yellow paper into a large spear which then turned into yellow steel. It then multiplied and shot towards Rossweisse. She accelerated their speed by utilizing wind magic and furthermore augmented the attack by coating it with lightning magic.

Rossweisse summoned her [Mistilteinn Wand] and constructed flaming lightning swords and launched them towards Grimgerde's attacks. The two attacks collided, and a large explosion occurred which covered the vicinity with black smoke. From the black smoke shot out a large hand coated in lightning. Rossweisse deflected it with her right hand and it missed her.

Another arm coated in wind shot towards her and she moved up before firing a ball of touki at it, destroying it. Once the smoke cleared, she saw that the two elemental giants that Brynhildr were the ones responsible for attacking her. The arm on the wind giant quickly regenerated and all of them fired a barrage of elemental attacks at her.

Schwertleite dashed towards her and began slashing at her. At the same time, the dark purple tentacles began trying to attach themselves to Rossweisse. A few of them grazed her and she felt a burning sensation on that part of her body, so she sent a powerful blast of magic at Schwertleite before backing away and assessing the spots touched by the tentacles.

Every spot that was touched were seared intense toxins and poisons. If they had stayed longer on Rossweisse it would have been fatal, so she quickly healed herself and cured the spots that were affected.

Schwertleite had complete control of her abilities, as she could choose when or not to apply those effects to the person she fought with. However, as she wanted to seriously fight Rossweisse, she was willing to use this to win.

"You still get hit by them, Rossweisse," said Schwertleite.

"You did nearly kill me with them before you gained full control of them, Schwertleite-san," replied Rossweisse.

Schwertleite smiled wryly before attacking Rossweisse again. The valkyrie dodged all her comrades' attacks before throwing a punch towards Schwertleite, who in turn used her sword and dark purple tentacles to defend herself. However, Rossweisse focused on using [Penetrate] and her fist passed through Schwertleite's sword and tentacles and hit her square in the face, blowing her away. She immediately followed it up with several lightning bolts using her wand.

The attacks were blocked by two defensive magic circles and both giants' hands. While they stopped the attacks, the hands of the giants were destroyed along with the magic circles—and both Brynhildr and Grimgerde suffered some damage as a result of Rossweisse's attacks.

"I'm fine," muttered Schwertleite.

She wiped the blood off her nose and sighed at Rossweisse. If this fight had happened a year prior, then it wouldn't be like this. While powerful, Rossweisse had various issues to work through back then, but now she could fight all of them at once and come out on top.

A brief moment of tranquility befell the area. Moments later, all hell broke loose as all four valkyries disappeared. The elemental giants that Brynhildr created began to continuously fire elemental attacks at Rossweisse. They had the ability to home-in these attacks on a specific target, so Brynhildr's group didn't need to worry about being struck.

The countless yellow papers that Grimgerde created transformed into fifteen paper birds that began to continuously dive-bomb Rossweisse while they were coated in lightning magic. At the same time Grimgerde herself began to attack Rossweisse using her staff that was coated in two elements—lightning and ice.

Ice shot out first then followed by lightning. Both would be close to touching Rossweisse, but she would use magic negation and destroy them before they reached her. She dodged the yellow paper birds while also destroying them after, but they would quickly regenerate soon after.

At the same time, Schwertleite continued her attacks as well. She swung her sword erratically while using her dark purple tentacles to try to restrain Rossweisse. However, the valkyrie of the Golden Rakshasa avoided them all this time—it was subtle. However, Rossweisse had started to imitate the way Sona had used her [Ultra Instinct], while not her own. She was slowly incorporating it into her own—hence why she did not get hit.

Finally, with her own wand, but not a [Mistilteinn Wand], Brynhildr created numerous magic circles that shot out fire magic. Most of the magic shaped themselves into various things like spears, swords, and even animals like snakes and rhinos.

Rossweisse's eyes glowed briefly before all three other valkyries were hit by an invisible force. It wasn't just a single hit; it was a barrage. All of them were struck in various places around their bodies before being knocked away. She also used [Penetrate] on some of those attacks which bypassed their defenses, causing even more pain for them.

Rossweisse didn't end it there, as she created an enormous hand made of shadows and then ordered it to attack Brynhildr's group. The giants stepped in and attempted to block it, but they were much weaker than the attack used by Rossweisse, and the lightning and wind giants were destroyed.

The fist didn't stop there as it went after Grimgerde next. Seeing this she ordered her yellow paper birds to attack it and delay it. The yellow paper birds dove towards the fist first, but it only slowed it down temporarily, but Schwertleite used her tentacles to also slow it down even further. However, to their surprise, smaller fists made of shadows came out of the larger one and slammed into their faces.

The only one to defend herself was Brynhildr. However, the smaller shadow fist also shattered her defensive magic circle, resulting in forcing her to guard herself using her arms, and then being blown away too. But she did not take a direct hit to the face unlike the other two.

The Dual Dragon Emperor's first valkyrie didn't stop there as she appeared above Grimgerde who panicked and shot touki blasts at Rossweisse. —For a brief moment, she entered her [True Ultra Instinct] and slapped the attacks away before landing an axe kick on Grimgerde's stomach. As the woman was blown away, Rossweisse sent a barrage of punches towards her, each one creating a powerful shockwave and all striking her on various places on her body.

Grimgerde slammed into the ground and was immediately unconscious. Rossweisse didn't stop there as she flew down and dealt the finishing blow as she used enhancement magic on her body on top of covering it with touki and slammed her fist into Grimgerde's face…which ended her and she was retired.

[1 [Pawn] of [Team Leisure of the Kings] retire!]

[D-d-d-down!! Player Grimgerde was relentlessly attacked by Player Rossweisse and now she retired!! So ferocious! The Middleman's first valkyrie didn't show any mercy to her former colleagues and comrades!!]

Without any hesitation, Rossweisse appeared in front of Schwertleite. The woman in question was shocked to see her friend be knocked out so easily. However, as Rossweisse appeared in front of her, to Schwertleite, it seemed like the world had slowed down.

'What do I do? Do I strike? No, anything big or elaborate will be too slow, so something quick and simple! Restraint her with my tentacles too!' thought Schwertleite.

She couldn't think of anything else and had to react now. Raising her strength to the maximum she swung her sword horizontally towards Rossweisse's neck. Rossweisse herself watched the blade slowly reach her and gracefully pulled her body back just enough that it wouldn't graze her. Then using [Penetrate] and [Boost] she slammed her fist covered in various energies (touki + enhancement magic + U.I energy) into Schwertleite's stomach.

Schwertleite was knocked away and slammed against the tree's wall. The impact of Rossweisse's punch created a powerful upward and downward draft of wind that it halted everyone's fight for a few seconds. Seconds later, Schwertleite was covered in the retirement light.

[1 [Pawn] of [Team Leisure of the Kings] retire!!]

[One out after another! Player and [Queen] Rossweisse is on a roll! The only one left she has to face is the other [Knight] of Typhon's team!!]

"Brynhildr-senpai, it's just us two now, please allow me to face you one-on-one again," said Rossweisse as she entered her [True Ultra Instinct].

Brynhildr became uneasy, but she had accepted plenty of Rossweisse's sparring request in the past, so she wouldn't deny her now—or rather, she couldn't at the place they were in.

"That was the plan from the start, Rossweisse. Come," said Brynhildr.

She changed into a stance. She was expecting a fist fight between them. She knew that she was already inferior in terms of magic power—so Brynhildr decided to put her pride to the side and have a plain and simple brawl with her junior.

Rossweisse also knew that this was going to be the conclusion between her senior and herself. She had looked up to Brynhildr for the longest time as she was chosen as their generations 'Brynhildr'. 'Brynhildr' was just a title after all—and a new name for the chosen valkyrie. It was an honor for any valkyrie, so most of them decided to abandon their old name, some would only allow close friends or family to call them by their real name.

Silently, they charged each other, and then, both their fists connected with each other's faces—or so thought Brynhildr. However, to her surprise, because of Rossweisse's [True Ultra Instinct], Rossweisse moved in a way that made it look like she was hit by her senior's fist, but in reality, her fist barely grazed her and missed. But Rossweisse's fist landed squarely on Brynhildr's face.

This resulted in Brynhildr being knocked away, but she quickly flew back, and the two began a fistfight in the air. However—

[Brynhildr, the [Knight] can't land a hit! Every time they throw a fist, only Player Rossweisse lands a hit! It's like Player Rossweisse can see the future of Player Brynhildr's attacks and perfectly avoids them!!]

That was the truth of the fact. In this match-up, Rossweisse had the advantage—no, the second that Brynhildr's group—Zelma's group encountered Rossweisse and Ravel. They already lost as both Rossweisse and Ravel were substantially stronger than them, but since it was a Rating Game, they had to face them.

Zelma took another punch to the face from Rossweisse. As she did, she felt proud of her junior, but at the same time some regret and jealousy. At the start of last year, she had it all. She was known as 'Brynhildr', she was the leader of a squad that became notorious throughout the realm, and she worked closely with God (even if they acted like a bum).

Most people in her position would be over-the-top and joyful. However, it all changed once their realm met a certain man who made changes to their world in just a year. Part of that change was her junior who left and became Odin's bodyguard and then became part of Aaron's group.

At the start, she was proud and she still was, but at the same time she grew jealous and frustrated at her own situation, both professionally and privately. With the various things that happened throughout the year, all factions and pantheons were on high-alert and their warriors and fighters were ready to mobilize at any time, but usually the Middleman ended up solving that crisis.

This included the incident with Loki, and how he was still trapped and sealed underneath the home of Odin on the main island, along with her daughter Hel. This left them with mostly clean-up or less desirable jobs and work. However, they were also grateful to Aaron for his help.

However, her own personal life was still quite dull and left her stressed. Her parents also wanted her to find a lover—although they didn't mind waiting a bit longer as they just wanted her to be happy. However, Brynhildr put herself to such a high degree that she couldn't help but compare herself to her junior who seemed to have it all after leaving their pantheon.

Through the grapevine they heard that Rossweisse had entered into a romantic relationship which left them stunned and some fell into despair. Even though it was just for fun, they made bets to see who would get a lover first, and they had picked Rossweisse as last—Brynhildr was second last because of her attitude.

But Rossweisse broke all odds and was in a relationship before them, and they were stunned. While they were happy for her, they were also extremely jealous of her. They wanted something similar to her, so they started to put themselves out there more. Brynhildr did the same thing…but she was met with more rejection than the rest because of her attitude and reputation of being harsh and strict.

As she received another painful punch to the face, a certain memory played in her head. It was a few weeks after Aaron visited Asgard and helped the dark elves.

— ○ ● ○ —

Brynhildr had gone to her home island after a stressful week's work. Her parents had invited her back and she accepted, and thought it would be a good idea to take a few days off. So after she requested a few days leave, it was granted and she packed up to go home.

It was rare for her to take time off work. However, she had to silently admit that the 'new' Rossweisse and the Middleman Jin Skyward had some influence on this decision.

Once she arrived back home, she received the same warm welcome as she did not too long-ago during Jin's visit. Said event happened three days into her vacation.

"Zel? Can I ask a question?" her mother asked.

"Hmm? Yes, of course. How can I help you?" Zelma asked.

She had been sitting in the living room, reading a book and had a cup of coffee beside her. Zelma had come back from helping around the town and it was around four in the evening, so the day was ending.

"I know we ask you this every time you return, but how goes the search for a husband? We heard that your junior, little Rossweisse is part of the Middleman's harem?" her mother asked.

Zelma put her book down and sighed before rubbing the bridge of her nose. She had expected this topic to come up. During her stay she had noticed her parents wanted to ask her something, but were unsure when to bring it up.

'So they finally brought it up, huh? …I already have an answer ready,' she thought. She looked at them and said, "I am searching for a suitable partner for me, as you know, so you don't need to worry about it. But in my line of work, it's quite hard to come by that kind of partner."

Her parents smiled, but…it was the same answer she always gave them.

'It's difficult to find one in my line of work.'

'My personality is keeping them away, but this is who I am so I won't change myself for others.'

'Most men who come to me only want my body, and nothing else, so I won't accept them.'

'Some are just idiots.'

So on and so forth. It was always the same excuse that came out of her mouth, but…she couldn't give them any other answer because it was the truth. Not many men desired her for her personality as she was strict and did things by the rules—only a few could change that for her.

Her line of work was also stressful and always changing. She could die at anytime when facing stronger enemies or going into situations where the probability of survival was low. Not many want to be in a relationship like that—one where they won't know if their significant other would come back to them or not.

Just like in the human world with humans—the army, going into the service, the rate at which spouses cheat on their significant other has always been there. The rare few who stick by them and don't cheat are few and far between, while infidelity was on the rise with married couples.

The one goes off to fight in war and the other stays at home, feels lonely, goes out, gets that feeling of being wanted and appreciated from someone else and…the rest is a tale as old as time. Then it's followed with divorce.

And of course, her body was quite something. Even if she wears her battle suit or business attire, certain parts of her body will always be exposed or stand out. Zelma couldn't deny that. She at first was disgusted by the attention she received because of it, but eventually became numb to it. However, she knew when a man asked her out just for her body and she always rejected them as harshly as she could.

Although she acknowledges that those rejections may factor into her constant rejection too. However, Zelma would prefer that to having a few relationships with a man who didn't care about anything else.

"I see…well, we'll just ask someone we know," said her father and he chuckled.

"Father…you don't…"

"Oh, all of us already met him, so don't worry too much about it. Leave it to us—you like him to a certain degree, or at least tolerate him, bahahaha!" explained her father and laughed.

Confused, she asked, "Who are you talking about?"

Nevertheless, her parents didn't answer her, and only teased her about it. Yet Zelma was given a small hint as they said 'She knew him', and she could only think of a few males that she knew and were somewhat close to her.

One, it was a God, although their 'closeness' was professional at best, the other close males to her were either friends in the island home, coworkers, or…a certain rambunctious young man who appeared a few months of said year.

The word 'harem' echoed in her mind, but she dismissed it.

'That's impossible. We're incompatible,' she thought. To her, to Zelma, such a union between her and that man felt and sounded impractical.

— ○ ● ○ —

Zelma, as her own consciousness began to fade, threw one last punch towards Rossweisse, who dodged it. With a bitter smile on her face, she received another barrage of hits on her body before she began falling to the ground.

On reflex, her left arm reached out to her junior as she fell.

"You've long…surpassed me, Rossweisse…" she muttered before the light of retirement consumed her.

[1 [Knight] of [Team Leisure of the Kings] retire!!]

[Player Brynhildr has retired!! The captain of the famous Valkyrie group of Team [DxD] has been knocked out of the game!!]

Sensing her teammates in need of help, Rossweisse glanced up once before she saw large fiery wings sprout from the last platform, shocking her. She also bits of jet-black armor from those wings. 'Aaron and Ravel…?'

[W-w-w-what kind of combination is thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis!?] the commentator screamed in shock.

'…What happened?' thought Rossweisse, but she shook her head before flying towards Artemis, who was facing Inaie and Roygun.

— ○ ● ○ —

"…You're quite powerful. Jin-kun has without a doubt destroyed the balance of this world…" muttered Apollon.

He and Aoife had been battling for quite some time, and the god had lost an arm during that time, meanwhile Aoife was left unscathed. Around her body was ethereal-like armor that only covered her arms and legs.

"Aaro—Jin doesn't take about that…well, to some degree, but he doesn't have world domination in mind, if that's what you're worried about," she said nonchalantly.

"If he had plans of that, he would have already enacted upon it, but he hasn't, so I am not worried at all, Aoife-san," replied Apollon. Powerful divine aura erupted from Apollon's body and the entire game field began to shake. "However, I cannot lose her, for I do have the pride of a god after all."

"Hehe, I can't lose either, I can't let Aaron down!" shouted Aoife before charging towards the God.

— ○ ● ○ —