Chapter 277: Forging a Peace Pact & The Captive's Fate
Before reaching god-class, the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet served as a stable tool for transcending levels.
With Haruto's absurd combat prowess and talent, it was equivalent to leaping two entire classes.
As for what comes after God-class...
Surely by that point, he wouldn't still encounter enemies a whole major realm stronger than him.
Beyond God-class, the number of individuals at each successive realm decreases exponentially. Roughly only one out of ten God-class experts can reach Quasi-Dragon God Class.
And among ten Quasi-Dragon God Class beings, at most one might break through again to become a Dragon God Class powerhouse.
Beyond that level, conflicts rarely escalate to life-or-death battles.
If such battles were to occur, the three realms would suffer devastating blows, and no one would emerge unscathed.
So Haruto set a small goal for himself first: to become a God-class expert.
But before that, he needed to reach Satan-Class.
Thus, Haruto turned his gaze to Katerea, who lay unconscious with a feeble aura.
Come to think of it, after using his dual cultivation ability for so long, this was the first time he had employed forceful methods.
The thought was rather thrilling, but before that, he needed to find a way to restrain the recovering dark beauty.
Sirzechs and Serafall watched Haruto holding Katerea and seemed about to say something, but upon meeting Rias and Sona's reproachful glances, they promptly rubbed their noses and dismissed the thought.
As pure-blooded descendants of the former Leviathan, the two Satans dearly wished to protect her.
However, it appeared Haruto had no intention of killing Katerea, so there seemed little need to offend the Red Dragon Emperor and the two young princesses over this.
Glancing at the two Satans, Haruto felt much of his earlier frustration dissipate.
He dragged the half-crippled Katerea back to Rias and the other women, discussing how to imprison a Satan-Class powerhouse and exploit her at will.
As for whether the leaders of the three factions would continue signing the peace treaty or return to resolve their internal conflicts first—that was no longer his concern.
The fervor of battle abruptly cooled. After successfully repelling the enemy, the angel and fallen angel soldiers once again separated into two distinct groups.
"Devils, fallen angels, and angels fighting side by side," Shemhazai remarked with a faint smile as he observed the soldiers in the sky. "Peace has truly arrived."
"Of course, the incident with Kokabiel was my oversight," Michael added immediately. "I will have him sealed in the eternal ice prison upon my return to atone for his sins."
Michael and the two Satans instantly understood—failing to sign the peace treaty would only play into the hands of the Khaos Brigade.
Although this collaboration among the three factions was triggered by the enemy first uniting their forces, their cooperation was undeniable and could serve as a compelling narrative.
"The matters concerning Katerea and Zolgear are our responsibility as well," Sirzechs followed up, stating, "We will handle them properly upon our return."
"The situation with Vali resulted from my lack of thorough consideration, causing trouble for everyone."
Shemhazai read between the lines—the White Dragon Emperor was indeed more closely tied to the fallen angels—so he promptly claimed responsibility, as it was merely a verbal commitment.
Besides, having the devils bear three burdens alone would appear unseemly.
The gentle and handsome Michael resumed his amiable demeanor, smiling with narrowed eyes. "The Ten Great Gods seem to be growing restless again. I hope that after the peace treaty is signed, we can all remain vigilant."
"Have those stubborn beings still not abandoned their insane ambition to enslave all of humanity?"
Serafall said with a look of disdain, "They merely taught the Brave Clan a little at the beginning, yet they placed themselves in the position of masters. What a strange sense of pride."
Michael also let out a soft sigh. "Actually, the Ten Supreme Gods have gone through many generations. There have been some who recognized humanity and shared our policies, but..."
Haruto pricked up his ears and listened carefully. He had already gained a decent understanding of the worldview of High School DxD, but there were still some aspects he didn't fully grasp regarding how the elements from The Testament of Sister New Devil were integrated.
One of these was the relationship between the Ten Supreme Gods and the three races, as well as the reasons behind it.
With Michael's "but," Haruto finally understood the cause and effect.
The Ten Supreme Gods also emerged after the true gods disappeared, similar to the remaining system in the Heavenly Realm.
However, they possessed true life, and thus their own consciousness and personalities.
Unfortunately, rigid rules akin to a system always influenced them, resulting in extreme hostility toward fallen angels and devils, and treating the newly born beings of the human world—humans—as disposable servants.
The arrogance of lofty gods was portrayed by them to the fullest, but they were merely god-class beings, and highly restricted ones at that.
In the end, they were driven to a corner of the Heavenly Realm by the three races and human experts, the Brave Clan, and could no longer interfere with the affairs of the three realms.
However, the ambitions of the Ten Supreme Gods never wavered; they constantly sought ways to change the current situation.
Their arrogance made them look down on ragtag groups like the Khaos Brigade, even if the founder was the Infinite Dragon God Ophis. In their eyes, it was still a motley crew of lowly half-breeds.
The Khaos Brigade prided itself on noble bloodlines, which clashed entirely with the Ten Supreme Gods' views. Ophis, in turn, had no patience for them, which is why the two never joined forces.
Ornis's appearance this time was merely a case of shared objectives, leading to a temporary alliance.
The bizarre mechanical angels like Ornis were the Ten Supreme Gods' creations meant to replace angels.
Without a system, they couldn't produce angels, so they took an alternative path, creating these mechanical angels who, like them, viewed humans as lowly servants.
Due to the constant succession of the Ten Supreme Gods, there had been occasional Supreme Gods with normal thoughts, particularly those who wielded powers related to positive emotions, as they were more likely to break free from their innate constraints.
Examples include Raphaeline and Afureia.
However, awakened Supreme Gods were always a minority. Once their transgressions were discovered by the other Ten Supreme Gods, the punishments ranged from deprivation of their godhood to eternal imprisonment or even execution.
Executions were rare, almost nonexistent.
Executing a Supreme God of the same rank would set a bad precedent and easily undermine their unshakable authority among the mechanical angels.
Thus, even when Raphaeline, the surrogate mother of Toujou Basara, committed such a grave crime, she was only stripped of her godhood and subjected to severe punishment.
In the end, the leaders of the three races still signed the peace treaty here.
However, the matters concerning the Khaos Brigade and the Ten Supreme Gods meant they would have headaches to deal with even after returning.
The peace treaty among the three races would allow their people to develop in peace, but as leaders, they seemed even more exhausted than before.
As for the matter of Haruto and Katerea, everyone tacitly chose to forget about it.
Even the reason for Zolgear's defection was briefly mentioned—one factor being Wilbert's unusual relationship with the Gremory family.
Another point was that Mio Naruse possessed exceptionally high potential, destined to become a Satan-Class powerhouse if she continued to grow.
And this powerhouse would undoubtedly stand firmly on the Gremory family's side.
After all, Mio Naruse's adoptive parents were currently working as servants in the Gremory household, effectively receiving protection under their wing.
...
Late at night, the severely injured Katerea finally regained consciousness. "Ugh... Where is this...?"
Faced with the completely unfamiliar environment, she felt disoriented for a moment before immediately recalling the vicious Red Dragon Claw.
The beautiful dark-skinned woman's body trembled involuntarily, as if reliving the excruciating pain of shattered bones and severed tendons.
It took her quite some time to calm down before she could carefully observe her surroundings.
It was pitch black and eerily dark, without a single trace of light. Even her demonic night vision proved utterly useless here.
Judging by the echo of sounds, the room wasn't very large—roughly just over ten square meters.
After assessing her environment, Katerea shifted her focus to her own condition.
Her Satan-Class powerful regenerative abilities had already restored most of her injuries, yet she still felt utterly weak, unable to break free from the ropes binding her hands and feet.
Moreover, she realized she was completely naked. Every time she curled up and squirmed on the ground, the cold sensation against her skin filled her with both shame and fury.
Remembering Haruto's words during their battle, Katerea shuddered and urgently focused on sensing her lower body, which was bound in a lewd pattern by coarse hemp ropes.
"Phew... Thank goodness..."
Detecting no obvious abnormalities, the dark beauty finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Heh..."
Haruto's slightly mocking laughter suddenly echoed. "I never thought the mighty Leviathan Satan would care so much about her first time."
Being addressed as Leviathan Satan secretly pleased Katerea, but remembering her current predicament, her expression immediately darkened.
What she found even more unacceptable was that Haruto had been watching her reactions up close all along, while she remained completely unaware.