Takeyo caught Ingvild as she began falling from the sky, her body going limp mid-descent.
He'd been searching for her for a while now, tracking her magical signature through the chaos. He hadn't expected Nyx to deliver her straight into his hands like some gift-wrapped present.
The moment his fingers touched her arm, the familiar notification echoed in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for completing the plot check-in! Sign-in level: Gold!]
[Check-in location: Ingvild Leviathan!]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the reward: Magic Trait, Destruction MAX!]
[Magic Trait, Destruction MAX: An evolved magic characteristic! With this trait alone, you can train step by step to reach the Transcendent realm! Greatly strengthens the original destructive power and... ]
"Looks like my abilities are becoming more and more comprehensive," Takeyo muttered, a wry smile crossing his face. "Maybe I should just call myself an Almighty Mage at this point."
The thought amused him. He now possessed three of the four original Devil Kings' magic traits, two of them in their evolved forms. If he managed to collect them all, he might genuinely be able to call himself an Original Devil King successor.
"Damn... as expected of my boss!"
Issei's voice came from below, his standard prostrated position finally allowing him to climb back to his feet. With Ingvild's oppressive song silenced, the overwhelming pressure had lifted.
"Still, it's a shame we didn't catch the Goddess of Night herself," Bova Tannin rumbled, stretching his massive draconic body. His eyes remained wary, fixed on Ingvild as though she might awaken and start singing again.
He'd nearly reached the level of a Heavenly Dragon in power, and Issei had even activated his Juggernaut Drive. Yet both of them had been rendered completely helpless by a single girl's voice. The experience left him wondering whether even the Infinite Dragon God might fall victim to such power.
"Don't worry about Nyx. Leave the Goddess of Night to me," Sairaorg interjected, striding forward with confidence radiating from every step.
The battle had ended so quickly that he hadn't even had a chance to demonstrate his strength. He'd brought his entire peerage along for this mission, anticipating a challenging fight. In the distance, his [Rook] was still engaged in combat with a lesser dragon, having not yet reached the main battlefield.
Without an opponent like a goddess to test himself against, how could he be satisfied? The disappointment was almost physical.
"You can train together after everyone's recovered. I need to take care of something first." Takeyo's voice carried a note of finality.
"Wait... did I see that correctly? You actually defeated a goddess?" Riser's voice held a mixture of disbelief and numbness.
Having stayed in his castle for so long, he'd been somewhat out of touch with how rapidly Takeyo's strength had grown. The idea that someone could defeat a divine being...
If Takeyo could accomplish such a feat, then perhaps having his immortality forcibly broken by him wasn't quite so shameful after all.
"Gods are just beings with greater innate strength and longer lifespans," Takeyo replied with a casual shrug. "Nothing particularly special about them."
His tone made it sound as though defeating deities was merely a matter of having sufficient power, which, in his view, it was.
"Uh..." Riser stared at him, momentarily speechless.
The logic made perfect sense when phrased that way, but somehow the casual delivery made it even more absurd.
Several hours later, in the finest hospital the Underworld had to offer, Takeyo sat beside Ingvild's bed, waiting.
"Hey hey hey! Young man! I heard there's a new Longinus user?! Let me see!"
A man practically radiating enthusiasm burst through the door, his eyes gleaming with barely contained excitement.
Azazel, Governor-General of the Fallen Angels. The moment he'd heard about a newly manifested Longinus, one that had supposedly suppressed both Issei's Juggernaut Drive and Bova Tannin with ease, he'd immediately judged it to be one of the top-tier Sacred Gears.
Now he could barely contain his eagerness to study it.
However,
Boom!
Takeyo's foot connected solidly with Azazel's face, sending him flying backward through the doorway.
"Cough... cough... did you really have to kick that hard, kid? I'm your teacher, you know," Azazel groaned, picking himself up off the hallway floor.
"And as a teacher, don't you know hospitals require quiet?" Takeyo rolled his eyes. "Someone's trying to rest here."
"Alright, alright, my bad. I'll go in quietly now." Azazel raised his hands in surrender, his voice dropping to a more reasonable volume.
"Don't even think about it. She's my person now, Azazel. You can look, but if you want to run tests, you'll have to wait until she's recovered from her sleeping sickness."
Takeyo stepped aside slightly, allowing Azazel a view of the purple-haired girl resting peacefully on the hospital bed.
"Oh? Your person already?" Azazel's eyebrow rose, and he gave Takeyo a knowing look with an exaggerated wink. "As expected of you! Moving fast, aren't you?"
After all, he'd fallen from grace specifically because of his desires. He understood these things perfectly.
"What are you even thinking..." Takeyo's expression deadened.
He wasn't some beast ruled entirely by his urges. If he truly wanted to, he could simply activate his Biblical God essence combined with the power of his Ninth Incarnation [Buddha], and beautiful women would naturally flock to him.
"Hm? You're here too?"
Takeyo glanced toward the hospital room door as two figures appeared in the hallway, one silver-haired, one green-haired.
Serafall and Grayfia had arrived almost simultaneously, and both seemed determined to reach Takeyo first. The silver-haired maid walked with purposeful strides, while Serafall maintained a position perpetually half a step ahead of her.
Despite her usual cheerful demeanor, Serafall's competitive nature flared whenever Grayfia was involved. She quickened her pace subtly.
"Hm?" Grayfia's expression remained perfectly neutral, but her walking speed increased to match.
Both women's legs became slight blurs of motion as they raced down the hallway while maintaining completely dignified upper-body composure. The scene resembled their old rivalry for the title of Underworld's strongest female devil, neither willing to concede even an inch.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two gusts of wind announced their simultaneous arrival before Takeyo.
"Master Takeyo, I've come to visit on Lord Sirzechs' orders," Grayfia announced with perfect professional courtesy.
"Takeyo-kun! I should be allowed to see her, right?" Serafall's voice carried its usual playful lilt.
Both had spoken at exactly the same instant.
"Well, it's fine. Come in," Takeyo said with a slight smile.
These two were genuinely entertaining. He'd noticed that Grayfia's normally stoic personality shifted subtly whenever Serafall was around, her competitive spirit emerging from beneath that calm exterior in ways that diverged interestingly from his original understanding of her character.
"They were always like this, though Serafall usually instigates it," a gentle voice observed from the hallway.
The green-haired Devil King Ajuka appeared, his analytical gaze already assessing the situation with characteristic perceptiveness.
"You came to see Ingvild too?" Takeyo raised an eyebrow.
Even if Ingvild possessed a Longinus, she shouldn't warrant visits from multiple Satans. This seemed excessive.
"No, I'm here to see you. I heard from Bova that there's something called the Alliance of Hell Lords? Do you know anything about it?" Ajuka's expression grew serious, his usual relaxed demeanor replaced by focused concern.
This attack had clearly been premeditated, and obviously targeted specifically at Takeyo. If there truly was an organization called the Alliance of Hell Lords, he worried that Takeyo might fall victim to some divine conspiracy.
"Alliance of Hell Lords..." Takeyo's eyes narrowed slightly, his mind working through implications. "According to what Nyx mentioned, it seems to be a coalition of gods associated with death and the underworld. Their exact purpose isn't clear yet, but they're obviously stirring up trouble."
He frowned, genuine frustration creeping into his voice. At his current strength level, facing top-tier gods without using his Original Incarnation would be uncomfortable. He could handle them, it wasn't impossible, but their power wasn't concentrated in just one or two leaders.
The knowledge gnawed at him. The boss of the Alliance of Hell Lords was Hades, but he couldn't simply march into the Realm of the Dead to settle accounts yet. This powerlessness irritated him deeply.
Of course, he'd already made a mental note. Once he had sufficient strength, he'd definitely pay Hades a personal visit. After all, shouldn't a leader take responsibility for the actions of his subordinates?
What? Nyx was just following orders? Had nothing to do with Hades personally?
As the organization's leader, wasn't Hades responsible for his followers' behavior? That seemed like basic management to Takeyo.
"Gods of the underworld pantheon..." Ajuka's frown deepened.
The most powerful among those would be Hades himself, wouldn't it? Takeyo's reluctance to directly confront these gods despite his gratitude-and-revenge personality suggested he wasn't yet confident in handling them, which meant their strength likely approached or matched Hades' level.
"Don't worry about Takeyo-kun. Even if this Alliance of Hell Lords you mentioned comes to the Underworld, we can handle them." Ajuka's eyes gleamed with determination.
He'd known for some time that Hades harbored resentment toward the Underworld's devils for occupying territory he considered part of his domain. Now it seemed that discontent had escalated into actively interfering with devil affairs and freely disposing of Longinus users.
It appeared the outside world had long underestimated both his and Sirzechs' true capabilities, leading to these kinds of misunderstandings about the devils' defensive strength.
They only needed to wait a little longer. Once the Underworld's defensive formations were fully integrated and operational, any invasion would meet devastating resistance.
Seeing Ajuka essentially giving himself a pep talk, Takeyo smiled helplessly.
He wasn't actually afraid. With his current abilities, if he wanted to flee, who could possibly stop him? He simply found certain gods extremely annoying, they kept trying to stab him in the back when he least expected it.
The situation reminded him of an old saying: to properly deal with external threats, one must first secure the home front. If there were always people in your own house looking to put a knife in your back, confronting foreign enemies became exponentially more difficult.
"Ajuka, there's something I need to tell you. Go back and discuss it with Sirzechs." Takeyo's expression grew serious, his tone shifting to something heavier.
He'd been avoiding this topic, but recent events made it clear he couldn't delay any longer. Rizevim's threat needed to be addressed.
"What is it?" Ajuka's eyebrows rose slightly.
For Takeyo, who typically handled problems independently, to actually request their assistance meant this was significant.
"It's about Rizevim Livan Lucifer, the son of the original Lucifer." Takeyo's eyes narrowed dangerously.
He wanted either the devils to locate Rizevim, or for Takeyo himself to handle it, but either way, Rizevim needed to be eliminated immediately.
Otherwise, when Rizevim eventually sacrificed himself to summon the Beast King 666, a substantial portion of the DxD world's high-level combat power would be tied up in an eternal battle against that monstrosity.
Without those fighters available, facing the invasion from the ExE world would become far more difficult and passive than it needed to be.
The ExE world was another dimension that would invade the DxD world within approximately thirty years. Even the usually benevolent gods from that world, like the one who'd once blessed Issei, were actually from the ExE world's "heroic" faction.
The villains of the ExE world possessed combat capabilities that undoubtedly exceeded those of the DxD world's strongest fighters. If the DxD world's top masters weren't united when that invasion came, simply defending against it would prove challenging.
The problem was that too many of these powerful individuals were walking disasters waiting to happen.
The Beast King 666 was a villain who'd consumed enormous amounts of their fighting strength. The Biblical God had sealed the Beast King but died in the process.
The Infinite Dragon God had been swallowed by Samael the Dragon Eater and split into Ophis and Lilith, drastically reducing her overall power.
Therefore, Great Red, the strongest being in the DxD world at level 999, had been miserable. After thirty years, when facing the offensive from another world, he'd been the first to engage.
And then...
Then Ophis' dream came true. Great Red died, his head severed.
There was no helping it. The opponent was Regalzeva, an ExE world mechanical divine entity titled "Malevolent Dominator" with strength exceeding even Great Red's true-red level. Additionally, his subordinate faction "Heavenly Sea Kings", consisting of Celestial King Rugatimu and Sea King Dhuramudara, both possessed true-red level strength.
Against such opposition, it would be strange if Great Red Dragon God Emperor didn't die.
Facing opponents of that caliber, if Takeyo relied solely on natural growth, he'd only manage to handle everything once his realm advanced to the Devil King level in several years' time.
During those intervening years, would nothing unexpected happen? Takeyo couldn't guarantee that. Better to eliminate potential problems before they could manifest.
"Rizevim Livan Lucifer?" Ajuka's expression shifted to one of surprise and wariness.
He knew of Rizevim, one of the three known Super Devils, alongside himself and Sirzechs. Rizevim had been born from the union of the original Lucifer and Lilith, and his inherent power even exceeded his father's.
Why would Takeyo suddenly mention him?
"I'll explain the details to you later, but in short, Rizevim is a cancer that needs to be removed from this world. Immediately." Takeyo's voice carried absolute certainty. "Go back and talk to Sirzechs about how to handle this. The longer we wait, the more dangerous he becomes."