"Sairaorg, I'm very interested in you. You should know what other identity I hold, correct?"
Seeing Sairaorg retreat momentarily before his fighting spirit reignited in his eyes, Takeyo asked with satisfaction.
Perhaps... Sairaorg was exactly the kind of hot-blooded warrior he'd been looking for.
"I know, the captain of the peacekeeping force who has never taken action. Because of that, countless people are now eyeing your position."
Sairaorg's eyes gleamed with understanding. "But... just as I suspected, you've been hiding your true strength, Takeyo-san."
An exclamation mark appeared above Sairaorg's head, at least from Takeyo's perspective.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for triggering a plot sign-in! Sign-in Level: Silver!]
[Plot Sign-in: The Lion's Iron Fist]
[Plot: Defeat Sairaorg in combat!]
[Sign-in Time Limit: 1 day.]
[Remaining Time: 1 day.]
Well, the difficulty matched the relatively modest reward tier.
"Sairaorg, are you interested in contributing to the safety of the Underworld and the Three Realms?" Takeyo asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He'd already told Sirzechs before that he wanted to recruit this man to his team. Sairaorg's strength and character made him an invaluable prospect.
"Oh? What do you mean by that, Takeyo-san?" Sairaorg asked curiously.
"Join the peacekeeping team."
"But I remember... everyone on your team should be Longinus wielders, correct? The newly discovered [Sacred Heart of the True World Dragon] fell into your hands, the Fallen Angel's main force wields [Canis Lykaon], and the Angel representative has [Zenith Tempest]."
Sairaorg was testing the waters, trying to verify his suspicions.
"Aren't you also a Longinus user? Wielder of Regulus Nemea," Takeyo pointed out directly.
What's the point of pretending? I already know what you're hiding.
"As expected, you already knew. I heard you possess the power of foresight, it seems those rumors are true." Sairaorg looked directly at Takeyo.
"Foresight? You could understand it that way, I suppose."
Takeyo shook his head. Who the hell had been spreading these rumors about him having prophetic abilities?
"By the way, what's your answer to my question?"
Sairaorg had already made his decision before Takeyo even finished speaking.
"If I can join, I will definitely join. No... please, allow me to join!" Sairaorg stood at attention and bowed slightly toward Takeyo.
His reasoning was simple.
What he most wanted to become... was a Maou.
However, he knew that with his current experience and accomplishments, reaching that position was impossible. Besides, the Great King's family had never produced a Maou.
Therefore, before becoming a Maou, he needed to accumulate capital and strength. If this team could provide what he needed, he believed it would give him a high enough platform to build upon.
Putting aside everything else, just establishing good relationships with team members who had reached at least the peak of Maou-class power or beyond was attractive enough on its own.
Without hesitation, Sairaorg agreed to Takeyo's invitation!
"You want to join? But... if you want to join, you'll need to gain my approval first."
"Your approval? That's something to look forward to." Sairaorg's eyes filled with determination. "Please test me however you see fit!"
Originally, he'd thought Takeyo was at best at the peak of Maou-class strength.
However, if Takeyo possessed strength surpassing his own, then when they both used their ultimate trump cards, their respective Longinus Balance Breakers, he definitely wouldn't be able to win.
I've been sitting in a well watching the sky all this time...
"My test is actually quite simple. You don't need to be so tense."
Takeyo smiled. There's no need for us to fight to the death.
"It's very simple, you just need to withstand one punch from me."
Takeyo spread his hands. See? Easy, right?
"So this is your test, Takeyo-san? I swear on the glory of the Great King's family, I, Sairaorg Bael, will definitely pass your test!"
A layer of fierce touki erupted around Sairaorg's body, the fighting energy crackling visibly!
"Are you ready?"
Takeyo looked at his own fist, wondering if he should hold back a bit.
Maybe I shouldn't use fighting qi or immortal techniques? After all, while punching seems like a basic attack, with my internal system's automatic optimization, there's no difference between my normal attacks and my ultimate moves anymore.
A light charge instantly reaches full power state.
"Ready!"
"Crack, "
The floor beneath Sairaorg's feet shattered! The space and air around him thickened as he gathered his power.
"Bring it on!"
A faint white light appeared around Takeyo's hands.
Serious Punch!
No fancy techniques, just a straightforward punch to defeat the enemy before him!
"BOOM!"
The punch easily created a sonic boom, tearing the air apart into a large vacuum!
"CRASH!"
When the two fists collided, Sairaorg felt like his entire body was being overturned, as if suppressed by an impossibly terrifying force!
"PFFFT, "
A line of blood sprayed through the air as Sairaorg flew backward! His body slammed into the garden wall, creating a human-shaped crater in the stone.
"You passed."
Leaving those words behind, Takeyo walked away directly.
Ten seconds later.
Sairaorg pulled himself out from the crack in the wall. He truly hadn't expected to receive such serious injuries from a single punch.
If he'd thrown a few more punches, I'd undoubtedly be critically injured or even near death!
"But... I'm qualified? That's truly exciting news."
Despite his body's severe injuries, Sairaorg had ignited unprecedented fighting spirit!
"Takeyo-san... the people eyeing your position are going to have a rough time."
Sairaorg coughed up another mouthful of blood.
"Forget it. I should go change clothes first, today is a gathering of young devils, after all."
Sairaorg dragged his injured body as he walked out of the training field.
No choice. I still need to maintain the Great King family's dignity.
On the other side, after Takeyo left.
He looked at his fist again.
"It seems the automatic operation system's enhancement to my body is too significant. Every ordinary attack already has this much power..."
It looked like just a simple punch, but with his body's automatic operation system strengthening it, the attack already possessed power equivalent to using a Longinus Balance Breaker.
"However, the injury wasn't too severe. Good thing I didn't hit hard enough to traumatize the kid..."
Cough... Anyway, the sign-in was complete.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for completing the plot sign-in! Sign-in Level: Silver!]
[Plot Sign-in: The Lion's Iron Fist]
[Plot: Defeat Sairaorg in combat!]
[Congratulations to the host on your reward: Characteristic Enhancement!]
[Characteristic Enhancement: You can choose one of your magical power characteristics to upgrade. The magical power attribute you select will be upgraded to a higher-level magical power attribute.]
"This is straightforward. I choose... magical power attribute, Absolute Calculation... upgrade!"
[Ding!]
[Upgrade successful!]
[Spiritual power attribute, Absolute Calculation has been upgraded to magical power attribute, Absolute Calculation Auto!]
[Spiritual power attribute, Absolute Calculation Auto: Greatly enhances the original effect and can grant computational power to anything! If the attributes given to objects are strong enough, they will obtain powerful autonomous computational capabilities!]
[Note: Can only be granted to non-conscious entities.]
"Hmm?"
"This ability..."
Takeyo rubbed his chin. Instantly, he thought of many ways to utilize it.
It seems like another thing that looks inconspicuous but could have terrifying effects if used creatively.
The first thing he thought of was granting this characteristic to the magic circles inside his body, though he wasn't sure if that would work.
Takeyo quickly became absorbed in researching this new characteristic. It felt truly interesting.
However, while he was happily experimenting, he received a communication from Grayfia.
"Takeyo-sama, the meeting is about to begin. Where are you now?"
"I went out for a walk. I'll be back soon."
Takeyo squinted slightly.
It seems... something interesting is about to happen.
When Takeyo returned to the venue, he noticed a large hole had been opened in the meeting hall.
"BOOM!"
A devil who looked like a thug flew out of the opening.
Takeyo recognized him at a glance. This devil resembled him somewhat in appearance, and his strength was... well, street-level trash.
The kind I'm too lazy to bother with.
Sairaorg's every word and action exuded boldness.
"I said that was an ultimatum just now."
"Since you lack proper education, I can only speak with my fists."
Sairaorg walked out, and it was clear he'd only used a small amount of power moments ago.
"Bastard!"
"Damn Bael!"
The thug's peerage members stepped forward because their master had been overthrown...
However, even their master wasn't an opponent, how could these people possibly win? Not all devils possessed strong and capable peerages.
"Take care of your master first. That's what you should do now. Pointing swords at me won't do you any good. There are important activities coming up next, get your master healed first."
Sairaorg had no intention of continuing the fight. This level of lesson was sufficient, and it would be troublesome for the staff if everyone ended up on the floor.
At that moment, Rias, who'd been watching beside Sairaorg, noticed Takeyo.
"Takeyo-kun!"
Without the slightest concealment of her inner excitement and happiness, Rias threw herself directly into Takeyo's arms.
"Rias, don't do this... there are so many people watching."
Takeyo reluctantly patted Rias's head.
How did I feel like Minister Rias, who was originally full of confidence and pride, has become such a soft and affectionate girl around me?
This feeling... I don't hate it.
But... he knew Rias was doing this to a certain extent because Sona was standing nearby.
With Sona's temperament, she definitely couldn't do something like competing with Rias for Takeyo's attention in front of a crowd.
In that case, isn't this a declaration of sovereignty?
"If that's the case, the princess of the Archduke's family should also be satisfied, right?"
Takeyo said to another bespectacled girl present.
Her name was Seekvaira Agares, one of the six young generation devils who'd appeared at this gathering, and also the next head of the Archduke Agares family.
The two special devil families, the Great King and the Archduke, could be said to be the most powerful families in devil society besides the Maou families.
The six young generation devils present all had significant backgrounds.
Rias Gremory represented Lucifer, Sona Sitri represented Leviathan, Diodora Astaroth represented Beelzebub, and the beaten thug Zephyrdor Glasya-Labolas represented Asmodeus.
Combined with Sairaorg Bael representing the Great King and Seekvaira Agares representing the Archduke, these six young devils represented different power factions and interest groups.
If His Majesty the Maou is the CEO of the company, the Great King is the Deputy CEO, and the Archduke is the Chief Operating Officer.
Though four chief executives might seem strange, this was devil society.
However, once Takeyo joined the peacekeeping team, this balance would be broken.
The peacekeeping team was equivalent to supervisors with oversight authority, capable of doing many things within a certain range, and that range was quite extensive.
So... these people wanted to insert their own representatives among the supervisors to secure more benefits for themselves!
Seekvaira nodded. She remembered... she'd seen this man before.
Oh, that's right!
He's the man who crashed the Phoenix banquet!
It could be said that the vast majority of people who currently knew about Takeyo had learned about him through that live broadcast.