"The winner is— Yamamoto Tatsuya!"
As Sirzechs voice echoed the arena was thrown into chaos.
No one cared about the twitching Riser, barely hanging onto his life by a thread.
Instead, Yamamoto Tatsuya's voice echoed like a hammer driving a nail inside.
"Does bloodline grant Nobility or does Strength do?"
"Are you the Noble or am I the Noble?"
Inconceivable!
Every single person in the audience felt a chill go down their spine. The significance behind these words was too heavy!
What Yamamoto Tatsuya was implying was that the bloodline system of the Devils was worthless. At first, these words may seem completely foolish, stupid even.
But the fact remained that a High Noble Bloodline Devil belonging to the Phenex Family, a family known for its durability, was almost beaten to death.
To the point their fabled Immortality was worthless!
And if talking about Immortality.
The image of Yamamoto walking through the blazing flames would become a highlight of the Underworld. His name would echo in every corner of the Underworld for a long time.
And this excited those that were lowly Reincarnated Devils.
Yamamoto Tatsuya was a Reincarnated Devil.
He was just like them.
Yet he could stand up for himself and spit on the faces of all the Pure-blooded Devils that looked down on them!
It was an inspiring tale for all Reincarnated Devils.
But… the Noble Devils?
Undoubtedly, this humiliation will not be accepted.
…
Riser was long taken back to the Phenex Quarters and was fed a Phoenix Tear. While his injuries were healed he remained unconscious much to the dismay of the Phenex Family.
"Onii-sama!" Ravel wept as tears ran down her face.
She tried to shake him awake but he remained unconscious.
"Ravel. Calm down. Come with us." Lord Phenex spoke calmly but the frost in his eyes was hidden by nothing. Ravel flinched before wiping her tears away.
"Return to the estate and let him rest. Take care of him." Lord Phenex said to Riser's peerage members as they nodded with fearful and concerned expressions.
Lord Phenex, Lady Phenex and Ravel wasted no time as they confronted the Gremory Family.
Zeoticus was still recovering from his shock as he looked at Lord Phenex with some guilt in his eyes.
"My old friend… I didn't think it'd turn out like this." His words made his involvement clear but they also highlighted where he had drawn the line.
Lord Phenex looked at his guilty friend for a while in silence before shaking his head.
"I presumed it was Sirzechs. Zeoticus… you've given birth to a very good Lucifer." It wasn't known whether he was praising him or insulting him but Zeoticus could only smile bitterly as he exchanged glances with his own wife.
When Sirzechs had come to them explaining how Yamamoto Tatsuya was better suited for Rias they were shocked and tried to deny whatever plans he had but he insisted on waiting till Yamamoto and Riser dueled.
By then it would be clear if he was better suited or not.
And now…
Does Sirzechs intend to strike back at the Old Devils?
Zeoticus frowned as he continued to placate the Phenex Family.
Having Regeneration itself was fine, but when it clearly surpassed the Phenex Family which was known for Immortality that itself would bring trouble.
If not for the fact they were the producers of Phoenix Tears they would have no dignity left.
"I suppose this engagement was a disaster in the first place…" Lord Phenex was disappointed with how this entire event went and could only drown his frustration, blaming his weak incompetent self.
Should he have had enough strength would Sirzechs be so blatant in his actions?
Ultimately, there was no point in crying over it now.
The Phenex Family departed bitterly.
…
"Is this what you meant by interesting character, Luci-chan?" Serafall stood up and brushed her skirt in a mock manner. Her voice was less giggly and cheerful.
"Is he not suitable?" Sirzechs smiled, "It'll make our days infinitely easier."
"Can he win against Sairaorg Bael? If he can't then all your efforts are for naught. Even weaker Ultimate-Class Devils won't find it easy to fight him if he uses his Sacred Gear."
"I think the Yamamoto kid will win…" Falbium spoke lazily, despite his eyes showing faint interest, "The kid is too cruel. He tortured himself more than he did to that Phenex brat. His facial muscles were twitching like crazy trying to control the pain. What's his past like Sirzechs?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Serafall bobbed her head.
"He told me he was born like that. Hunted some stray Devils and Fallen Angels for fun and justice only to let them live. Long story short, they came back for revenge, killed his family and tried kidnapping his sister. Came under me and Rias for long-term protection."
"I feel bad for saying this but why the hell are you so lucky!?" Serafall was filled with grievances, why couldn't Sona encounter someone like him?
"Ne ne, I want to meet him! He has got to know about So-tan and Magic Girls' greatness." Serafall was determined in her mission and Sirzechs smiled wryly as he looked towards Falbium and Ajuka.
"I'll leave it to fate. If he keeps growing stronger we'll eventually meet." Falbium departed with these words and Ajuka nodded similarly.
"When he becomes a High-Class Devil officially and comes to retrieve his Evil Pieces, I will meet him then."
Serafall seemed disappointed they weren't all going all along but that didn't dampen her enthusiasm.
They both disappeared.
…
Fuck that was annoying.
Returning to my private waiting lounge I couldn't help but snort in irritation. I've dealt with normal flames before so I was prepared for the pain of being burnt alive but his Hellfire flames were much more devastating.
Of course, I expected this but it was still a bitch to endure while trying to maintain the 'cool' image I was building meticulously.
Thankfully Ban's regeneration was so fast that before I could fully feel the pain it disappeared.
I have to say, aura farming is quite pleasurable. I can see why people get addicted to showing off.
[Ding!]
[Challenged Riser for the right to become Rias' husband. Humiliated Riser and the Phenex Family. Made a name for yourself as the Undying Immortal Devil in the entire Underworld, having also become the idol of all lower-ranked Reincarnated Devils that were human or non-devil before. Earned the ire of the majority of Pure-Blooded Devils. Reward— 1,500 World Essence.]
I felt my dissatisfaction melt away as a melody akin to the angels' blessings echoed in my ears.
But—
…Undying Immortal?
I'm not in some Xianxia, what kind of nickname is that?
[From what I've gathered through the threads of Chaos the diehard fans of Rating Games and Duels are filled with admiration towards you despite your disdain for Pure-Blooded Devils. They felt that you were too cool and couldn't simply be called Yamamoto Tatsuya. They also didn't want to simply call you the Immortal Devil because Immortality was a trait of a Phenex and your personal Immortality seemed much more superior.]
I have no words.
1,500 huh… I suppose the Phenex Family and the engagement are only worth this much.
[They are minor characters and if it weren't for the engagement bit you would've only gotten 500 World Essence. This entire ordeal was barely worth more than just stealing Asia's Bishop Piece.]
Hmm… she's right.
Shaking my head I asked another question.
How much World Essence do I have?
[World Essence— 5,117 units]
5,117 units of World Essence… Should I just go for it?
I guess there's no reason to prolong it.
Kaguya, spin the wheel.
[I was waiting for you to do this. Give me 1,000 more World Essence.]
I raised an eyebrow in response before nodding.
I was curious, this was the first time I've seen Kaguya request something other than devouring Heavenly Spirits.
[Congratulations!]
[You have received a modified version of 'Shinigami Eyes' from Death Note! Assimilate?]
Now… this was information to take in.
My mind clocked the significance of this spin. Or rather the significance behind it.
I couldn't help but frown.
What's the meaning of this, Kaguya?
This time she didn't answer as the 'System' and sat down beside me. Her long pretty legs dangled in the air and her pearly toes caught my attention. This goddamn 'System' is trying to seduce me again and again. The fact her entire body is crafted in a way that entices me is just too soul-searing.
"Since I've divided the powers of this world numerically shouldn't you also have an ability to discern these power levels, my dear Host?" Her ethereal voice echoed beside me as I felt a bit lost.
"I was going to ask you to create a spell for me instead for that, you should've known. Is there a reason you've wasted my spin along with the extra World Essence? I delayed this spin so that I'd have extra points to spare."
If I spun the wheel just after amplifying myself I would've been left with 500 or so World Essence which is just not acceptable in my opinion. A minimum of two thousand was something I thought was safe. After all, World Essence was quite versatile in Kaguya's hands.
"I know but the spell I would've created wouldn't be as trustworthy because of the lack of World Essence. If I made a spell not only does it have to accurately note everyone's power levels above the High-Class Level but also hide its presence. Just hiding its properties would've been a headache with the amount of World Essence you have right now. If you look at anyone with the spell I make without the cloaking effect you'd be detected instantly."
"...So the modified Shinigami Eyes—"
"Yes," Kaguya cut me off with a bright smile, "The Shinigami Eyes' innate trait of being undetectable will be a blessing here and instead of learning anyone's name and lifespan I've modified it to make sure you can see their power levels, hence the extra World Essence."
I was delighted to hear that.
The cost of the Shinigami Eyes were lifespan but that was irrelevant to me considering I had the Fountain of Youth, granting me infinite lifespan.
I had undoubtedly benefited in the matter.
But there was something that troubled me.
"You can personally select which world you bring abilities or items from and know what exactly you're giving me?"
If the answer was yes then things would become quite straightforward from here on out. I won't even care why she hid this fact earlier on.
"No." Kaguya shook her head with a somber expression, "Actually the process of selecting worlds and skills itself is complicated. I'll explain briefly. The strength of a world like Death Note on a grand scale is similar to that of an ant. Barely and I mean it when I say it, just barely a Green-Level World. It's actually easy for me to know which World I am forming a bridge to by going through your memories. Once I identify the world I can then siphon out an ability or item."
"So basically my knowledge of these worlds helps you identify them? Otherwise, to you, these worlds are simply domains and only the rank of the Heavenly Spirit matters, correct?"
"Correct, in fact, I also choose abilities and items through the selection of the various threads available. These threads are similar to the threads I showed while explaining the process of creating parasitic bridges. To me these threads aren't colored, merely black. The only difference is the density of each thread. The denser the thread the stronger the ability or item."
The picture slowly became clear to me.
"I see… So if I'm right about this the World of Death Note should only have two threads. One that signifies the Death Note, and the second the Shinigami Eyes. Considering that the Shinigami Eyes are less significant than the Death Note you simply chose the thread with lower density."
Kaguya nodded as she glanced towards the entrance of my lounge.
Noticing her gaze the curiosity in my heart grew.
Assimilate it.
At my command, Kaguya disappeared and the door was knocked.
Without being allowed to say anything or give permission the door was opened.
Two figures walked in.
|Sirzechs— 88,750|
|Serafall— 69,200|
Two numbers hovered over the head of Serafall Leviathan and Sirzechs Lucifer. I forcefully stopped myself from glancing towards the top of their head blatantly and simply greeted them politely.
Given their strength I suppose it's only right for them to be at the peak of the Maou-Class.
I wonder how strong Sirzechs would be in his Power of Destruction Form.
"Ya-hallo~! Nice to meet you☆. I am the Maou Serafall Leviathan☆. Call me Levia-tan☆."
At the end of each sentence, stars exaggeratedly glittered around her leaving me baffled. I was somewhat knowledgeable about her personality but this still surprised me.
"Ahem!" Sirzechs coughed and pulled Serafall behind him, "Please don't mind her, she's just a bit odd." Sirzechs smiled, "But that aside, Yamamoto-kun… What a great performance. I couldn't have asked you to do better!"
"I was simply following the will of Lord Lucifer."
"Ma, ma, shouldn't you be calling me Brother-in-law now?" Sirzechs smiled in a teasing manner and I showed hesitation.
"For that matter, I'd like to leave it to Rias."
Sirzechs paused for a brief moment however his expression didn't falter as he nodded, "Of course. That was the purpose of this arrangement."
By now, I had refused to take the initiative to marry Rias twice, though subtly. I didn't want to show too much enthusiasm nor did I outright deny it.
Desire brought value.
Should Tatsuya's value increase in the future, which I planned to slowly accomplish, the more Sirzechs desire would grow towards me.
And the more the desire… the more room for negotiating when making demands in the future.
I will not allow Sirzechs to manipulate me to his favor even if these actions will benefit me without a cost.
The more I can bleed this peace-seeking Super Devil the better. In the near future, the situation would become so that even if Sirzechs despised me for some reason he wouldn't be able to take action because of his status as the Lucifer.
The thing preventing Sirzechs from taking action against me in the future wouldn't be strength but instead, the restrictions he had placed on himself subconsciously.
Yamamoto Tatsuya, the hope of Low-Class Devils, could not be killed carelessly!
Not unless 'he' commits a crime warranting death!
Hiding the malice in my heart I looked towards Serafall with curiosity, not trying to hide it.
She clearly noticed it as she jumped forward, pushing Sirzechs away and shoving her magic wand towards me, "What is it? Could it be that Yama-chan is interested in Magical Girls!?"
She asked with stars in her eyes, ready to explain all the glorious points of magical girls. Of course, there wasn't any hint of flirting or desire, just a simple wish to share her hobby with others.
I just wanted to talk for a bit to build a connection but…
I could only nod helplessly to her enthusiasm which Sirzechs seemed to be gloating about, if his smirk was to say anything.
Why the fuck is he giving me such a shit-eating grin?
Retard, I'll fuck the wife you love so much and make her my personal maid, I'll make sure you witness as she warms my bed every night.
Making a personal vow, I chatted with Serafall for a bit before suddenly asking, "Why haven't Rias and the rest come visit? I thought they'd be worried about me."
"I've sent her home, along with your sister. There's a short trip you guys have to make so she's going to prepare for it in advance. Follow me in a bit and I'll teleport you home." Sirzechs was the one to answer and I grew curious.
"Where exactly…?" I asked only to be met with another grin.
"It's a secret." He winked and my lips twitched.
This guy is getting on my nerves.
I ignored Kaguya's amused giggling before returning to the conversation with Serafall.
…
After about an hour, Sirzechs led me inside a teleportation circle he created.
"This is your second time, right? My magic circle is a bit stronger so don't be alarmed if you feel slightly dizzy." Sirzechs warned kindly as the magic circle glowed in crimson.
I nodded as he waved goodbye and my vision blurred.
But before I could even open them I felt someone crash into me.
"Onii-chan!!!" Ichika's voice reached my ears as she seemed relieved by my appearance.
"You could've told us about this insane ability before and none of us would have to worry about you." She complained as I looked ahead only to see Rias pouting in dissatisfaction while crossing her arms.
I walked up to her and said nothing, simply staring at her.
Rias' eyebrow twitched in annoyance as she stomped her foot in frustration, "How great! The Undying Immortal Devil really is great! No time for people like us huh?"
The match had ended more than an hour ago and it shouldn't have taken me more than ten minutes before meeting them.
Unfortunately, my conversation with the Leviathan was going quite well so I couldn't abandon it midway.
It was understandable if Rias was angry.
She was pretty cute.
"You should've just told us you had something similar to Immortality. You should've seen Rias' face when she saw you walk straight into that storm of Hellfire. She almost barged into the Arena." Akeno exclaimed in relief, glad that Rias hadn't done so.
"Akeno!!!" Rias yelled, clearly mad at Akeno for spilling the beans.
Barged into the arena? Hahaha, what was I, Issei?
Had she done so I would've forcefully kissed her in front of everyone just to humiliate that Riser more.
The mere notion filled me with laughter but my face didn't change as I nodded awkwardly.
"Lord Lucifer told me to keep it a secret for dramatic effect."
"What!? Onii-sama did!? What the fuck do you mean dramatic effect? I was so concerned!" Rias growled as her hands clenched into tight balls.
Fuck you Sirzechs, handle this on your own now.
Letting out an evil chuckle inwardly I patted Rias' head forcefully, "Alright, you can deal with him later but tell me what he meant by we had somewhere to go."
Rias snorted as if she planned to thoroughly scold Sirzechs later. She shoved my hand away with slight embarrassment.
"We're going to the Familiar Forest."
"Familiar Forest?" I was genuinely puzzled, my knowledge of DxD was really quite vague, only remembering the main plot arcs. It really had been too long.
"Yeah!" Rias nodded her head as a black sphere with big doodly eyes and small bat wings appeared, floating around her.
I looked to my left and saw Ichika playing with Koneko's familiar cat.
Kiba had a bird familiar that was perched on his shoulder.
Akeno smiled before raising her hand, a small light burst forth as several small multi-colored oni-looking imps appeared jumping and playing happily around her.
"Yayayayayayayaya!"
I ignored the cute sounds they made, "Should've told me this earlier, I like the idea of having a magical pet."
"Yeah, yeah!" Ichika nodded next to me enthusiastically as Koneko stood beside her, her familiar cat lying on her head lazily.
"Let's go!" Rias said as her wings unfurled.
As I looked at her with confusion she giggled, "The Familiar Forest is in the Gremory Territory itself. We can just use our wings to fly there."
"Oh yeah! The wings!" Ichika was the first to jump as her wings appeared.
Thud!
She flapped them a bit too hard causing her to collide with the ceiling.
With a teary expression, she rubbed her head as everyone laughed.
She's really going all out in her acting as a naive excited girl or maybe… a part of her really is naive and searching for excitement?
Nonetheless, whatever it was I too unfurled my Devil Wings. Unlike Ichika, I displayed only slight trouble before mastering normal flight.
"Wow…" the monotone Koneko muttered in amazement and Ichika pouted.
Akeno seemed jealous while looking at me while Rias showed some embarrassment.
"It took her three days to master flight." Akeno exposed her without mercy and Rias started bickering with her. They flew about with Rias chasing her and Akeno evading.
Just like that, our comedic group flew towards the Familiar Forest.
…
Just as we were about to reach the forest Rias began briefing Ichika and me.
She told us all the relevant information about the forest before nodding in encouragement.
"I believe in you two, as long as you try hard enough you'll definitely find some Familiars compatible with you!" Rias looked at Ichika, "You lack strength so you can only find a familiar that willingly wants to become your pet. As for you…" she looked at me and I smiled energetically.
Rias grumbled, "Do whatever you want. With your strength, you can get any familiar you want. Just beat them down a bit and make them submit."
"Hahaha." I laughed much to her annoyance.
By now we could see the outline of the forest.
It looked quite eerie.
Grim-looking trees, constant subtle magical fluctuations, dark eyes looking towards us from the depths of the forest.
It all made up to be quite scary.
"Ah, by the way, there's a few things to note" Rias suddenly said as we landed.
"There's a Nine-Headed Hydra which will be quite suitable for you Yamamoto-kun. I heard it's quite strong but hard to find. If you can tame it, that would be the best."
"Oh? Hmm, alright." I nodded and looking at the forest a question surfaced in my mind.
I looked towards Rias.
"What's the strongest creature in this forest? Is it known?"
I wasn't really expecting anything concrete from her but much to my surprise she nodded and put a finger to her chin in a pondering manner.
"I've heard that Tiamat, the Strongest Dragon King, is also in this forest. Though no one has been able to make a contract with her before. Ah, she's also quite grumpy and fierce so take care to not anger her."
"Tiamat?" For a second I tried to recall if I knew anything about this character.
Unsurprisingly, I failed.
However, from Ayanokoji's memories I found a single piece of information— Tiamat was a Mesopotamian goddess.
Why did he know so many random things?
However, Rias seems to misinterpreted my whisper as a question.
"Yeah, the known Dragon Kings are Tiamat, Yu-Long, Vritra, Midgardsormr, and Fafnir. Ah, there was also Tannin who was also one of the Dragon Kings but he became a Devil which stripped him of that title." Rias showed a look of admiration as she mentioned these Dragons, "As of now, Tiamat, the Chaos Karma Dragon, is said to be the strongest Dragon King."
I was originally listening to her words in a lackadaisical manner but all of a sudden my heart froze.
I snapped my head towards Rias who seemed frightened by my sudden change in demeanor.
"What did you say?" I demanded fiercely and Rias seemed confused.
She began speaking again, "The known Dragon Kings are Tiamat, Yu-Long, Vritra—"
"No! The last part!"
"As of now Tiamat, The Chaos Karma Dragon, is said to be the strongest Dragon King...?" Rias wondered why I seemed startled but I didn't have the heart to explain anything to her right now.
The title Chaos Karma Dragon boomed inside my mind like thunder.
__________________
A/N— Next Chapter will be fun haha.
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Link in synopsis.