Volume 7 – Chapter 4 – Part 1 – The Great King Without Destruction and The Man Who Lost the Holy Spear

Third Person Point of View

— ○ ● ○ —

That man was born without anything to himself. He was born with a weak and fragile body that did not have any demonic energy in it, so he was shunned by his own father, and by those around him. His only ally and solace was his own mother.

This young man tried to fit in, but because of his unique circumstances no one paid him mind—no one wanted to be his friend. Eventually, he and his mother were sent away to the countryside where they lived their days peacefully…that was until tragedy struck.

The Devil Sleep Disease is a unique disease to devils that afflicts both ordinary and noble Devils. When devils develop this disease, they fall into a deep sleep and won't be able to wake up. Then their bodies gradually starts to become weak, and they will meet death.

To the young Sairaorg Bael, his mother, Misla Bael contracted the disease and before she fell into her deep slumber, she made a single promise to her son.

—To become stronger than anyone else.

This was the promise he made to his mother. Sairaorg held onto that promise as he didn't want an unfair world where anyone he held dear would be subjected to the hardships he had to face. However, a miracle happened and he didn't have to go through it all alone.

After training for many years, and building his body up from nothing, he faced a certain haughty female devil. To the young Sairaorg Bael, it was just another noble devil who was brought up with everything they wanted—someone he would eventually put down with those rugged and ugly fists of his.

"You! State your name!" the young woman demanded.

The young girl was tall in height, with straight waist-length blue hair that had bangs split on both sides. She had deep purple eyes and she wore lavish and extravagant female noble attire. Beside her was her butler who looked indifferent as he stared at Sairaorg.

"I am under no obligation to tell you that!" Sairaorg replied defiantly. At this point in his life, he hadn't gathered a peerage yet. He was still yet to receive his [Evil Pieces], but he would have to receive them through a ceremony.

Sairaorg's defiant nature left the young lady speechless as she stood there, mouth agape and staring at the young Bael who had his arms crossed. The butler was amused by the situation so he decided not to interfere here.

"Y-you…!" she shouted and aimed her hand towards him while holding an umbrella with the other. A ball of demonic energy formed in front of her and flew towards Sairaorg.

The young Bael had been training for this very moment, his eyes sharpened and he pulled his arm back. To the shock of both the young lady and the butler, the young man threw his fist forward and hit the demonic ball—obliterating it.

'…A young man recklessly training on top of a certain mountain. His fists shake those very mountains as he desperately chases after something…could this young man be…?' thought the butler as he stared at Sairaorg.

Sairaorg in an instant appeared in front of the young lady who was surprised and fell on her back. She stared up at Sairaorg with fear in her eyes.

"Remember this well, because these fists will eventually be known throughout the Underworld. I am Sairaorg Bael—the man that will become a Satan one day!" he declared.

'It is him! The Bael who wasn't born with the [Power of Destruction]! Because of this he has trained his body—those fists to be able to destroy demonic energy at such a young age!' the butler was surprised and giddy at the same time, but knew he had to step in.

"Sairaorg Bael-sama, please forgive the young lady Stolas. She didn't know who you were," he said and bowed.

The young Sairaorg stared at the now-terrified and young Silveteela Stolas. She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes tinged with a bit of arrogance.

That was the fateful meeting between Sairaorg Bael and Silveteela Stolas.

— ○ ● ○ —

Over the years as both young devils grew up, Sairaorg continued his diligent training—to hone and shape the perfect body for himself, a body that could become [Destruction] itself. Through those fists of his, he would produce the [Destruction] that the Bael family was known for, but his 'destruction' was different.

Silveteela Stolas also began to master the abilities of her clan, which enabled her to produce very potent and toxic poisons. They also grew their own herbs and were good at identifying different types of gems and stones at a glance. The trait for the poison of their clan was called [Sutanrete]. It's a poison that's effective against all types of creatures, but the Stolas clan themselves were immune to it.

The young Silveteela stalked Sairaorg wherever he went, however, the young Bael caught on and told her to stop it, or just spend time with him like a normal devil. Eventually, she agreed and it became less awkward between the two.

While Sairaorg continued his training and the honing of his body, he received his [Evil Pieces] and began his search for his peerage. To Sairaorg it didn't matter if you were of a noble, common, human or even hybrid background, he would accept anyone into his peerage, and that's how his peerage came to be.

It started with his [Queen]. He found Kuisha Abaddon after she was shunned from her clan, the Abaddon clan of devils. According to Kuisha herself, she had a low demonic pool and power. This made her own [Holes] from her clan to be tiny in size compared to the rest, so she was shunned much like Sairaorg.

This was rare among devils as most would usually have high demonic reserves. However, since she was like Sairaorg who was shunned because of her lack of power within him, he accepted her and they went back to train after that day—but during that time, the Stolas' clan's demise began.

It was already in decline for many years, but the decline accelerated once Lord Stolas, the current head perished. The cause at the time was unknown but it was due to the Khaos Brigade which eventually turned into the Khaos Order.

During those years, Silveteela had to become the next head and tried her best at keeping her clan afloat. Sairaorg was aware of this and assisted her as much as he could. But since he had his own dreams and ambitions, he had to focus on that—Silveteela also told him that one day.

In the gardens of the withering Stolas clan stood Silveteela Stolas and Sairaorg Bael. They were at the ripe age of thirteen years old.

"Sairaorg, I am grateful that you're assisting me and my house, but you have to focus on your own dreams," she told him.

"Do not fret, Silveteela, I—"

She shook her head. "No. You made that promise to Misla-sama, did you not? Achieving that dream takes priority over helping me and my crumbling clan. I appreciate the assistance, but please let me handle it—and before we temporarily part ways, I would like to apologize for my behavior all those years ago."

Sairaorg was surprised by this, but he smiled in the end. "We were both young back then, so do not agonize over things you said back then. I have already forgiven you. But are you sure? I have my peerage now and we can assist you."

"Have you forgotten that I also have my own peerage? I have a [Queen] and [Knight] now, Sairaorg, I will be fine. All I need to do is become a competent head and we'll pull through this," she said with a reassuring smile.

The young man stared at her for a few seconds and nodded. "Very well. I will accept this decision, but!" he shouted and stepped forward. Sairaorg then embraced Silveteela which made her blush. "When you truly need my help, do not hesitate to call me!" He looked at her with a gentle smile. "I'll come running to help you. I did not forget your attempts at looking at herbs and stones that would help wake my mother up, Teela."

With a face as red as the Gremory's hair, Silveteela Stolas nodded in embarrassment.

"I will hold you to that, Sairaorg," she replied and hugged him back.

In the distance was Silveteela Stolas' butler who watched her grow up and her current peerage. The butler had a handkerchief in his hand as he wiped tears from his face.

"Oooh! The youth of today…! The love…! Seeing them grow up…!" he said and wiped the tears from his eyes. Both the [Queen] and [Knight] watched on, happy for their [King].

— ○ ● ○ —

Not too long after those two temporarily parted ways, Sairaorg found the rest of his pieces besides the [Pawn]. He had also challenged his half-brother to a duel and the seat of head…to which he won and became the next head of the Bael clan.

He along with his peerage moved into the main house but Sairaorg visited his sleeping mother daily. He tried to have her moved, but Lord Bael, the current head was against it. He wanted to bring the issue up with the First-Generation Bael, but held back since he would only ever go to that figure if he was up against a wall.

Eventually Sairaorg came across…a peculiar sight. A golden lion was fighting devils in a certain area of the Underworld. He had gone out to train by himself and came across such a sight—and once the golden lion was finished attacking its attackers, it turned to Sairaorg and attacked him.

He accepted the challenge and after a gruesome battle, he came out victorious and tamed the lion thanks to his mother's original clan's ability, lion taming from the Vapula clan of devils. However, much to his surprise he had attained one of the original 13 Longinus.

"[Regulus Nemea], huh? To think you would be down here in the Underworld, was your previous master a hybrid of a human and devil?" Sairaorg asked the now transformed Sacred Gear.

[Regulus Nemea] in his human form, he had the appearance of a young boy with spiked dark orange hair, golden eyes, and facial markings.

"Yes, that was my previous master, but he was ambushed and…as you saw, I killed the attackers, but he lost his life. However, I thought you were part of their group that's why I attacked, you please forgive me," replied the Sacred Gear.

Sairaorg nodded. "I will help bury him…but after that, what will you do? Normally don't Sacred Gear return to Heaven and then given to a new wielder?" he asked.

"Yes, but I believe a bug occurred and I became like this, so right now…I am roaming and looking for a new master. With that said, I'd like you to be my next master," he said surprising Sairaorg. "I can feel some sort of pull towards you. I do not know why though."

Sairaorg couldn't help but smile. "It must be because of my mother's blood," he told him and explained to the Sacred Gear.

The Sacred Gear nodded. "I see…the ability to tame lions, certainly if you had the blood within you—that's why I felt a pull…so what is your answer? I have an axe form, and I can—"

"I do not use weapons! These fists of mine are more than enough!" Sairaorg suddenly shouted, surprising the Sacred Gear.

"Certainly, your fists are powerful…" replied [Regulus Nemea]. "…Then how about my Balance Breaker? From what I can tell you should be able to use it since your body is trained enough. It will clad you in golden lion armor and since you use your fists to fight, then you'll get a boost in power as well as defense when utilizing my armor."

Sairaorg sat there staring at the Sacred Gear, and it continued. "You will still need to train to lessen the stamina drain and increase your mastery over it, so it's not a cheap and easy way of gaining power."

Sairaorg smiled. "Very well. However, I will turn you into my [Pawn], how does that sound?"

"I do not mind, since you are my new master," replied the Sacred Gear.

"Good. But I will call you a different name, saying [Regulus Nemea] every time is a mouth full…then how about just 'Regulus'?" asked Sairaorg.

"Yes, master!" replied Regulus happily. Sairaorg laughed and brought out his [Evil Pieces]. He put a single [Pawn] piece and saw it wasn't enough, and he started adding more until seven pieces were used and Regulus was finally reincarnated.

"I didn't expect that," said Sairaorg as he stared at his last piece—a single [Pawn] piece that was mutated. "But as expected of a Scared Gear and one of the original Longinus. Now then, let us go back home!"

"Yes, Master!"

That day, Sairaorg Bael obtained a Sacred Gear and the last member of his peerage, and when he returned home, the rest of his peerage were shocked to say the least.

— ○ ● ○ —

Time slowly passed and Sairaorg and Silveteela reconnected as she started to bring back the Stolas clan out of financial ruin. However, as the years passed, both of them became worried that Sairaorg's mother wouldn't wake up from her sleeping disease…until they heard a rumor.

'—Someone called the Middleman is boasting about bringing peace to the supernatural world and will do requests and jobs for peace from any of them.'

When the two of them heard that from their servants, they were skeptical. However, being desperate, Sairaorg took the chance and asked his cousin Sirzechs Lucifer about the man, and he soon enough, said man showed up right at his doorsteps.

At that time, Sairaorg was surprised that it was someone close to age as him and he became slightly spectacle. However, due to how he interacted with Satan Lucifer and the strongest [Queen] of the Underworld at the time, he held out hope.

However, that hope quickly came back as his mother who had been sleeping for a very long time woke up. He couldn't help but feel relief as he felt her stroking his head and he spent many minutes telling her of his adventures and hardships over the years.

"…Doesn't that mean you love her?" his mother suddenly said. Sairaorg froze upon hearing that statement. His mother smiled and added, "Apart from your training and becoming the next head of the clan, she's the one you speak of the most. Sairaorg, follow your heart and you'll arrive at that answer."

"…Yes mother, I will," he replied. "I will go and thank the man responsible for this."

His mother agreed and Sairaorg went back outside. Once there he was offered a wheelchair and he accepted gracefully. He wanted to thank the man, but at the same time his fighting spirit told him that he had to fight him too—at a quick glance, the man in front of him looked relaxed, but he knew that he was powerful.

"Jin, I'd like to have a sparring match with you," he told him. Sairaorg didn't expect for him to accept since such a request was sudden and out of the blue.

Instead, the man chuckled and said, "Sure, I don't mind. But where did this come from all of a sudden?"

Sairaorg explained a bit of his past and they finally went to the nearby colosseum and had a sparring match. He was ousted of having a Sacred Gear, forced to use it and still badly lost—according to everyone around him, he was injured quite badly. Soon after that, Jin, the newly appointed Middleman left.

"…I'd like to fight him again someday," Sairaorg muttered. "But I need to get stronger first."

Soon after that, his friend Silveteela found out about what had happened and scolded him.

"Are you an idiot?! No, you are. I've always known you were an idiot! A blockhead! Muscle brain!" she said in frustration while also worried for him. "You're lucky he healed you…"

"Fuhahaha! I am fine, Teela. You worry too much!" replied Sairaorg. Both of them were in her office in the Stolas territory. Silveteela put a hand on her head, annoyed and frustrated by her friend. "But I believe he will do a lot of good in the coming months. Call it a gut feeling."

"…Your intuition has always been right, so I'll trust you but you really need to be more aware of your surroundings. Especially to the people who are worried about your well-being. You know as well as I that you're strong, but there are limits to that and you felt that against the Middleman, right?" she asked.

Sairaorg couldn't deny that. Even as they fought, he felt inside of him that he couldn't win. However, his pride wouldn't let him back down and he kept on fighting until the end. However, it also showed him that he wasn't at his limit yet and he could keep growing.

As Sairaorg thought of what to say back, he instinctively got closer to Silveteela and got behind her desk. He then peered at her face making her blush. As he did that, he remembered his mother's words. He pulled away, looked at the large glass window in front of him and nodded. These set of actions confused Silveteela.

"Um, Sairaorg—" As she was bout to ask him what he was thinking about, the man leaned back down and kissed her much to her surprise. But she quickly put her hands on his chest and kissed him back. After a few seconds they separated. Silveteela blushed the entire time.

"Mother woke up and told me to follow my heart. I have always done that, but romance and other things…were just at the back of my head. I guess because of various things happening recently, it made me think about the future more—my own personal future that doesn't involve being a Satan or the next head, but as just Sairaorg Bael," explained Sairaorg.

Sairaorg gentle grasped both of her hands into his. "These are rugged and ugly hands that's mainly used for fighting, the same with my body—in truth I'm just a muscle brain idiot as you said, but…if possible, can you stay by my side even more? If possible, not as a friend but as a lover."

"…Those fists can be gentle too, Sai. Even after you've been through you still remain a kind person, and even treated me the same after our initial meeting. You kindly helped me when my house was falling apart. It would be pretty difficult for me not to fall in love with you after all that," she said and kissed him again.

…Outside the door was Silveteela's butler. He had planned on bringing some tea and snacks for the both of them, but heard that conversation outside the door and couldn't bring himself to go in. Instead, he simply stood outside and quietly cried.

"Finally…it's finally happening…Lady Stolas…!" he whispered to himself.

The Lady of the house of Stolas took her own life a year after the decline of the house. However, before that she was a loving mother and wife to her daughter and husband. It may have looked selfish, but Lady Stolas had a sickness she kept secret from everyone and knew that the medical bills would be too much for the household, so she left one day and took her own life. It was only four months after her disappearance that her body was found along with a letter to her daughter and Sairaorg.

That day, Sairaorg Bael and Silveteela Stolas entered into a secret relationship.

— ○ ● ○ —

Aaron Toole's Soliloquy

— ○ ● ○ —

Right after the match between [Team Phantastic Dragons] and [Team Trump Card of Heaven], I along with a few others immediately headed to the Underworld to perform a live show for the Oppai Dragon show. Instead of letting my avatar do it, I thought it would be an enjoyable change of pace by doing it myself.

The show itself ended on a good note as everyone performed well, and the children enjoyed watching it. Even after Kiba became Yumi and the character was revealed to be a woman pretending to be a man, her popularity just skyrocketed even more. However, I fear I gave future generations a new fetish…

— ○ ● ○ —

Several hours after our performance, event signings, and meetup were held, we moved to another location. The truth of the matter is our schedule today was filled with events like these. We had a hero show at an outdoor theater during the daytime, and in the evening, there was going to be a talk show between young Kings.

The topic of the show was [The Future of the International Rating Game, the Avezza Cup]. As for the people appearing in the show, they were young Devils who were currently participating in the International Rating Game and were superstars among the citizens of the Underworld.

Rias and Sairaorg were invited, and I was invited along as an honorable guest and one of the organizers. Meanwhile, Sona and Seekvaira were also invited but couldn't make it because of their own schedules not fitting in with the talk show.

Right now, we were on the talk show and the host stood in front of the podium and explained to the audience what the topic we were going to speak about tonight.

"Then, without further ado, we'll call upon the two most anticipated Kings in this game as well as one of the organizers. Please come forward."

Rias, Sairaorg and I came up to the stage while receiving applause and as instructed by the host, we sat down on the chairs prepared for us. Rias and Sairaorg were at the front while mine were a bit behind them. When looking around the stadium, I saw that every single chair was filled, not a single one of them was empty. There were even some standing up to see us.

"Now that Prince Sairaorg, Princess Rias and Jin Skyward-sama have arrived, we'll start the show. To begin, the beginning of the [Avezza Cup], the International Rating Game which has been a main focus for many different factions…"

During the talk, the host briefly recalled some of the highlights of the games so far and talked about the current events. He also talked about the games that Sairaorg, Rias and I (exhibition match) had participated in, and also asked about our feelings about the game as well.

"I am very thankful that many different factions came together to make this event a reality. As one of the participants, I am honored to be included in such an event, and as one of the Devils in the game, I cannot let my guard down," Sairaorg said seriously.

"As a game that anyone can participate in, I think there's a high chance we can find someone who deserves some attention or possesses a hidden genius or an unknown talent. I want to meet those people and fight against those people. It's most likely that we'll be able to meet people who can not only help during the competition, but also help the Underworld and the supernatural world at large," said Rias.

I then received a certain question.

"As a person responsible for our current peace as well as one of the organizers of the tournament, you boldly said you'd grant any wish to the winners, is that true?"

Thinking about it for a second, I looked at the ground then back up at everyone.

"It is not just me who is the reason for our peace existing. Many people contributed to it, so they deserve as much praise and attention. As for your second question, I can, and as long as it's not anything like starting a war, or turning one's self into a god, I can grant it, but there will be restrictions. It will be revealed to the winners when the time comes."

The host smiled and nodded. He then followed up with, "I see. Then the upcoming match between [Team Leisure of the Kings] and [Team Golden Rakshasa] is getting a lot of attention. What are your thoughts on that? How about Princess Rias and your rival, the White Dragon Emperor's match? As well as Prince Sairaorg and Cao Cao's match, he is your subordinate now too, correct?"

"Because of the viewers at home, they wish to see me fight Vidar, and I will wholeheartedly fight him during that game. As for Rias' and Vali's match…I will be cheering for both my fiancé and my little brother. They've grown a lot and I look forward to seeing that in the game."

"For Sairaorg and Cao Cao's game…it's also another match I look forward to seeing. I owe a great debt to Sairaorg and he's an excellent friend of mine. As for Cao Cao…we had a rough start, but he's also changed since then, so I eagerly look forward to seeing his performance in the match," I told them.

"So, theoretically, if your 'little brother', the White Dragon Emperor makes it to the finals and wins, the fated battle between the two Heavenly Dragons will be seen by the entire supernatural, correct?" the host asked.

"I would assume so, yes," I replied.

When I gave that answer, the entire place cried 'Ooooo!' and the place became excited. Because Vali was entering under the name 'Vali Lucifer', so many devils in the Underworld became known to his circumstances as the last living blood relative of the original Lucifer.

I also heard from Serafall and Sirzechs that some of the older devils are becoming shady again as they found out about the original Satans revival and wish to contact them. I've prevented it from happening since that would become a bigger headache than necessary.

And just like that, the show continued with all three of us answering various types of questions. Then, near the end, it happened. As Sairaorg was answering a question about 'The future of the devil players who were participating in the game'.

"...Therefore, I think that it's not an awful thing for pro players to lose to other teams. Instead, they should take that as a lesson to create a much better team—"

"You cheat!!" someone from the audience shouted, interrupting him. One male audience member stood up and looked at us. No, he glared at Sairaorg.

"Yeah! You used the [King] piece, didn't you?!"

"That's why you're that strong without having any powers!"

"You're the heir to the Great King, aren't you?! Then there's no doubt about it! You used it!"

Words of criticism came flooding in and the number of people standing up from their seats increased.

"P-please everyone calm down. This is time for the International Rating Game, not—"

The host tried his best to keep the situation under control, but the voices of resentment only grew and grew.

Another audience member couldn't hold his anger and shouted, "You protected the politicians in the Great King faction as well! I bet you did that to hide your own duty!"

They even started to go after the politicians. I knew that this would happen, because of the use of the [King] piece by certain people, the House of Bael would be scrutinized by the people, because some of those people that used it were backed by them.

Although, hearing a friend of mine be accused of that annoys me. They had no evidence of him using it, and Rias and I knew that he didn't use it. He got that strong because of his own hard work and a bit of help from me. That guy built himself from the ground up. He wouldn't resort to such underhanded tactics...

"Scum!"

It only took one person to say that before the others started to chant it in unison.

"Scum! Scum!"

"Scum!"

Nearly everyone in the venue started to shouted 'scum' at Sairaorg. As I mentioned, not everyone did it, but a significant amount did and it couldn't just be ignored. In the meantime, Sairaorg kept silent and took the abuse in stride. He wasn't angry and kept his composure.

I let out a hot and frustrated sigh through my nose. Losing my cool here wouldn't do anyone any favors. But as much as I wanted to defend my friend, it would probably worsen it.

Rias, who had moved her chair back near mine, put her hand above mine, indicating that she was frustrated at the situation. Both of us wanted to do something, but we didn't. Rias and her peerage would come under attack and suspicion.

She, along with many others associated with me grew strong, incredibly so, but it was accelerated at such an abnormal rate and speed, that the crowd would definitely start accusing her too.

I would also come under fire since I said I could grant any wish, so it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that I could create the [King] piece and give it to them, right? Or use another method to increase their strength—the fact that we're friends will also make them think I'm doing it in favor of them.

'You're a king and also a ruler now. Protecting yourself, as well as your subordinates, allies, friends and loved ones comes first and is your prime duty. However, you also can't act recklessly to endanger them socially,' said Rudra. 'This is the start; you can't let this get to you.'

He was right, so I closed my eyes. I will do my best in helping him once we were in a more private setting, but for now…I'll hold my tongue and anger.

"You cheat! Go get burned by the angels!"

Curses were still thrown at Sairaorg while he was getting escorted out by the security. He would never resort to that, as someone who exchanged blows with those fists—that person, I understood that very well. He's a man who wouldn't resort to those things, ever. He even refused me trying to give him the [Power of Destruction] as well as access to demonic powers…

As he was about to leave the venue, Sairaorg said, "…Please watch my future fights. I request that everyone here to watch my battles from now on, that's all I can say at this point."

When he said that, the people who were cursing and throwing things his way became silent. For the rest of the interview, I maintained my regular composure, but silently seethed. However, as he said, I'd let Sairaorg's actions speak for themselves during his upcoming game.

— ○ ● ○ —

After finishing the talk show and the hero show, we stayed in a high-class hotel at Lilith. I was in my own room with Lavinia who came with me as well as Rossweisse, however, neither of them could come with me onto the stage so they were in the backstage. Rias travelled back to the Gremory territory as she was summoned by Venelana.

Lavinia left earlier to buy some food around Lilith along with Rossweisse, so I was by myself in our room, until I heard a knock on the door and I got up to see who it was. When I opened it, I was surprised to see Serafall there with Scathach.

"That's a rather odd combination. Come in, and how can I help you guys?" I asked as they came into my room.

"My schedule cleared up, so I have time to come home more often! The android fairy-chan is really the MVP in my job, but it's not just paperwork anymore and a lot of talks, I'm tired…" replied Serafall as she jumped towards and I caught her.

"Fufu, she is lying. She watched the fiasco that happened at that show live. Sairaorg was targeted after all, but it was clear that you were frustrated by the whole thing," said Scathach as she came up and touched my cheek.

"Well, I can't just lash out or it would make things worst for him and me. Anyway, we still have tomorrow's shows to do and then they'll have their match the day after," I told them and sat on bed.

"We're back! Oh? Sera and Scathy~ I didn't think you two would be here~" Lavinia said as she and Rossweisse came back to our hotel room with several bags and food. "Will you two stay here with us for the night?"

"S-Scathy…? Well…that was the plan," replied Scathach as she seemed confused by the sudden nickname.

"Yeeeeeeeeees! Seeeeeeeex!" Serafall screamed and put her arms up while rubbing herself against me. Seeing her like this makes me wonder who enjoys the act more. Me or her?

The rest of the night passed with not much incident and unfortunately for Serafall there was no sex, but we did do a little something in the bath.

— ○ ● ○ —

The next morning, it was still quite early and  I sneaked out and headed to a nearby park around the hotel. I saw this place from my hotel window. Sairaorg was training in a remote part of the park alone. After seeing him training in his work clothes, so I decided to join him.

The rest of his peerage was also in another hotel. It seems like he decided to go to another one so we wouldn't be bothered by the people that hated him. He was too considerate.

But I do have to commend him for training straight after that fiasco last night, even more so for doing it openly, even if it's early in the morning.

When I approached him, he turned his attention to me. Looking at him, I asked, "Do you mind if I run with you?"

Initially shocked at seeing me and my offer, he shook his head and quickly agreed with a bitter smile. We ran through the early morning of the capital in silence. After a few kilometers, he spoke to me.

"Physical training, this is something you need to do regularly. I even did it in our 100 years in your dimension. Although I noticed that you had done it earlier when everyone was still asleep. It's one of the trainings I like the most," he said."

"…I don't get to do it quite as often, but if given the chance, I'll just hop into a dimension, change the time dilation and run for a few kilometers, around 10 km or 20 km for the day," I replied. It wasn't often though…I got into the habit while in isolation for 10,000 years.

We fell back into silence as we ran through the park. Eventually, we saw four figures in front of us. They were Silveteela Stolas, his fiancé, Lavinia, Kuisha and Scathach. They were also in workout clothes and joined us. The silence continued though as we jogged.

Sairaorg then said after a few minutes, "It seems like you got mad on my behalf.

Everyone there glanced at me as I sighed. Perhaps I was too obvious with my emotions? Or he knew me well enough to know I would react like that. Either way, the cursing, and hate directed at Sairaorg didn't stop after he left.

"…It's as you said, all you need to do is to prove to them that you don't have the [King] piece through your future games, and that will shut them up," I told him and smirked. I wanted to do more, obviously, but as I said, it would just make things more difficult for both parties.

Sairaorg laughed wholeheartedly and said, "Hahaha! I'm thankful for that gesture alone. I was informed of your evolution and isolation, so I believe you have more on your plate than I do now. As the leader and face of Team [DxD], as the Oppai Dragon, and as the leader of an up-and-coming faction, you can't afford to let things like that get on your nerve."

"This is basically my destiny for being born into the House of Bael. To tell you the truth, I'm slightly happy that I got into this situation in the first place," he told me.

"This is definitely not an easy life, but many people regard me as a Devil of the House of Bael, or the Heir of the House of Bael. It's a painful and tiring situation…but it's worth it, and I genuinely want to sort this situation out as well."

Even after being ridiculed and accused of using the [King] piece and having his own powers questioned, this person still took pride in being a Bael. When looking at his life so far, it has certainly been full of hardships, but he has gained his powers and position legitimately.

Whatever things came his way, this person wouldn't become flustered at all since he already went through countless instances of pain and suffering to get to where he was.

When I think about it again, he's still amazing. I can't compare. My struggles so far seem like nothing…no, I can't think like that. All of our hardships have shaped all of us, belittling another is just a stupid way of thinking.

Sairaorg continued and said, "Aaron Toole. I'm just a stupid devil. Towards my comrades, citizens and loved ones, I can't do anything but be honest. I've trained this body after countless losses, but I have to keep moving forward and towards my goal and just win."

He suddenly stopped running and so did we. He lifted up his fist to the sky and added, "So that I can reach anything with these ugly fists of mine, I'll keep on training and become a better person."

His fists were riddled with scars and the skin had become rigid. It was well trained so that it didn't look like a fist that belonged to a noble prince.

"In spite of this, others were born with their natural talent and I was not. You've surely seen and experienced this throughout your one-year journey, right?" he asked.

If I hadn't been given my powers, I would have surely struggled with many enemies. In my eyes they were geniuses and hard workers… Yumi, Vali, Cao Cao and various others. Men and women I fought who trained most of their lives.

At times, I wondered if I really deserved it. However, I also trained on my own, even if it wasn't in front of many others. But it also felt weird until I evolved and trained for those 10,000 years.

"However! There are limits to what talent alone can do, and soon, those people will realize their limits too. But there is no end to patching up what you lack and training will definitely improve them."

"If what you lack is speed, then you need to train in that. If you lack physical strength, then you need to train in that. If you would like to be more unpredictable, then you just need to interact with the unknown," he declared and put his fist in front of me, asking for a fist bump.

"You just have to keep training. I heard from Kuisha that you doubt yourself at times. During those 100 years, I saw you train when no one was looking, even Cúntóir-dono told us as much. At a glance, you seem to have a lot of power because of what you are, but you still train regardless of that. You must not deny the efforts you have made. That is the real enemy."

I stared at Sairaorg as he waited for me to bump fists with him. As I raised my arm, a memory flashed in my head. It was from my past life; Ryan and I were hanging out normally and he was frustrated with me about something and he snapped.

'You keep saying you're not good enough, but holy shit, dude! You're at the top of our class! Your dad just keeps on shitting on you to downplay your achievements! Fuck him! Just look at your grades for fuck sake!'

'The Toole I know is a hard worker. I don't know what weird delusional thinking you have, but you need to get out of it or I'll punch you! And I'm feckin' serious!'

A grinned appeared on my face as I bumped fists with him. As I was about to reply to him, all of us turned to our right and saw another person there.

"…Ah, what a coincidence."

He had short black hair, blue eyes and wore a training jersey—it was Cao Cao.

"Cao Cao…why are you here? I thought you were training in my home," I said.

"Heracles came here, so I went with him. We stayed the night, but I didn't think I would come across all of you," he said and glanced at everyone.

While some people have forgiven him and his comrades for their past actions, not everyone has. Like what Yasaka and Kunou said, some youkai still hate him. The same applies with the devils of the Underworld because of the [Demonic Beast Riots].

"Hmm? Is something on my face, Silveteela Stolas?" he asked.

She shook her head and said, "No, it's just that this is the first time I've seen you without your spear. You're usually carrying it around…"

He smirked. "It wouldn't be wise to do that. I understand that not everyone has forgiven me, nor do I expect them to, so if I carried my newly acquired spear around, I would have the devil authorities called on me," he replied.

However, the man beside me only coldly glared at Cao Cao since he showed up. The others also noticed this too, but in a way, it was understandable since they were going to be fighting in the next game. Both [Kings] met by chance here in a park in the Underworld of all places.

Cao Cao himself glared at Sairaorg for the next few seconds.

However, Scathach added fuel to the fire. She said, "Youth, it's splendid, yes, let's glare more at each other."

"Don't provoke them…" I chided. She responded with a smirk.

The glaring eventually stopped as he walked past Sairaorg and said, "I'm looking forward to the match, Great Lion King."

With a provocative smile on his face, Sairaorg responded with, "Heh, I'll see you at the arena then, former wielder of the Holy Spear."

And just like that, the short exchange between both men ended. One was known as the incarnation of strength of the devils while the other was known for his former spear. They didn't need to exchange too many words, as those simple ones were enough to convey their feelings.

Even though the most anticipated game that was coming was between [Team Leisure of the Kings] and [Team Golden Rakshasa], this one was also all over the newspapers of the Underworld.

"So, what's up with the slight animosity?" I asked, knowing exactly how he would answer.

He shook his head and said, "Ah, well, it's just that I only ever meet that guy when something big is about to happen. The Kyoto incident, and the [Demonic Beast Riots]. I know he repented and even risked his life to fight for another universe, but…"

"Are you curious?" I asked while grinning at him. Sairaorg nodded in response.

"The power and mastery he possessed while still wielding the holy spear was second to none. However, since he lost it you informed us you bestowed him a new spear, one that rivals or is stronger than the [True Longinus]…I can't help but be curious about it," he said while looking at Cao Cao's back.

"In addition, I can't help but think that his life so far has been very complicated, maybe even more than mine…" he added.

A life that can't be summed up in just a sentence. The life of the man who previously possessed the strongest holy spear, the [True Longinus]. Sairaorg and the rest of the group can only imagine how a man lived such a life.

"…It makes me wonder why he decided to challenge supernatural beings," said Lavinia as she came to my side and grabbed my hand.

"Did he not say that it was the humans—the heroes' job to topple down such beings?" asked Scathach.

"Perhaps that was his initial reasoning, but after experiencing the changes throughout the year, I wonder what his new stance is now? For a man who lost everything and gained something new, what kind of thoughts does he have now?" Sairaorg asked and then started jogging again.

…I knew, as someone who knows everything now—I know what he's thinking. The man who once thought he had it all, the man who once had the strongest holy spear, the man who led others who had heroes' blood in them.

To him, toppling thing such as gods and buddhas don't matter as much anymore. He only wishes to get stronger for various other reasons. But to Cao Cao right now, the reason for his participation can be summed up in two words. For growth and for love.

The day he spoke to Vasco Strada changed his life, as well as his visit to the Phantasma. Both of these men have something to work for—and those dreams will keep pushing them.

This match will be talked about for a long time. A match between two people whose dreams are pitted against each other.

The Great King that didn't have the [Destruction] of the Bael clan and the man who had the blood of a hero in his veins and who lost one of the greatest spears in the world. Who would come out on top?

As we watched Sairaorg jog away, I said, "The man whose fists became [Destruction] themselves or the [Spear of the Universe], it makes you think who would win in an all-out fight, right?"

— ○ ● ○ —

Third Person Point of View

— ○ ● ○ —

That man was born with the greatest spear in his hand, yet he lost it—he lost it to that man and his dream of peace.

— ○ ● ○ —

A boy was born in a village in a remote mountainous region in China. The family members of this house in which the boy was born into had been traditional farmers.

The boy's grandparents, great grandparents, and so on had all lived their whole lives in that village as farmers. This boy also started his farm life as he grew older, learning how to farm from his parents day in and day out.

It was a farming village. There were no televisions, let alone electricity in the village. The house the boy lived in was just a shack, but so were all the other houses in the village. That was the way of life there.

The boy enjoyed running around the mountains and playing with children his age. His heart jumped whenever he heard stories with 'monsters' in them. He liked playing 'monster hunting' with his friends in the mountains.

That boy had a place to go whenever he was happy or upset or when he was scolded. His own special place. He climbed up the tallest tree in the village and looked up at the nameless mountain in front of him.

The tallest mountain he could see from his village. The boy's dream was to climb to the top of that mountain one day. The calming and static life in the village, the boy thought life wouldn't change in his lifetime.

But that sort of life wouldn't remain the same. One day, an incident happened. It happened when he stepped into the mountains to play with his friends again. He was the only one who got lost and ended up losing his way deep inside the forest.

The thing he met there was a monster he had never seen before. The boy saw the monster eating an animal by chance, and unfortunately, he was spotted by the monster right there. The monster said that it was his first time in a long time to taste a human and jumped at the boy.

The boy ran for his life as fast as he could, but since it was a dense forest, he couldn't run as fast as he wanted. With his small and childish steps, there was no way he could outrun a monster. Then, when he was about to be eaten by the monster and given up hope, his whole life flashed before his eyes. Suddenly, he thought of that time he played the 'monster hunting' game with his friends.

'…I don't want to die…I want powers that can beat those monsters,' he thought and just like that, a miracle occurred.

He felt a pulse deep inside his heart. And with a bright light, an object shimmered in white light. A spear with a holy aura around it. The monster staggered as his body was disintegrated by the light of the spear. The boy grabbed the spear, and as if he had known how to use it his entire life, he attacked the monster.

…A few minutes later, the boy was covered in blood and stood expressionless where the monster used to be. And about an hour later, the village's search party found the boy in the forest. Everyone, including the boy's parents, was shocked at the sight of the boy covered in blood.

After that, his life continued normal…except for one thing. He could now summon that holy spear from his body at will. He didn't understand what had happened to his body. It was so unbelievable that he didn't tell his parents or friends.

But when he stared at that spear, his mind became calm. For an exquisite spear to appear before his eyes, the eyes of a boy living a normal life in a remote village. At that moment, he had something to 'show off' to others. Half a year later, the boy met another monster.

"Oh ho~ looks like that spear has gone to some troublesome kid."

It was a monster resembling an old monkey. That monster called himself 'Sun Wukong'. The monkey monster spoke while patting the boy's head.

"Hey kiddo, that spear will make your life here—in this small and remote village very difficult. But don't let that spear control your life, alright? You're you, and not the spear. You need to make that spear part of you."

After that, the monkey monster said something like 'right, what should I report back to the heavens?' and smiled bitterly before disappearing. But just before he departed, he left the young boy with parting words.

"I don't know if you know this, kiddo, but the blood of the hero of this country, [Cao Cao], runs through you. Well, so far, it's just running through your body, that's all. To be able to awaken that power and use it is a whole different story, and that's up to you."

...Cao Cao. It was a name without any resemblance to his own, a complete stranger's name. But the word 'Hero' stayed strongly with him. After gaining that spear, the boy experienced countless mysterious encounters. And after a while, not only monsters, but even humans approached him.

One day coming home after a day's work on the farm, the boy saw a bunch of men in suits at his house. His parents smiled when they saw the boy.

"This is very exciting news!"

"Yes, great news indeed!"

Since his parents hugged him tightly while saying that, the boy was surely confused. Even during that, his parents continued.

"You've been accepted to a school in the city!"

"This is amazing! You can eat lots of tasty food there!"

The boy's head was filled with questions, but…a man in a suit smiled at him and said, "You've been chosen, and we've come to tell your parents the news."

And then, they explained what was going on. However, as they used all sorts of difficult words which the boy couldn't understand, he couldn't follow what was going on.

However, he knew one thing for sure. His gaze was locked on his father's hands. His father was holding a thick wad of cash. Even this small child could understand what was going on.

He had just been sold.

That night, the boy, only with a small amount of food in his pocket, ran away from his home. He thought that by leaving the house for a few days, he could return to his normal life after that.

But his delusions were shattered when a visitor from a world outside his own came to him. Adults wielding weapons targeted the boy, and just like that, an unequal and struggling life had started.

Waving his holy spear around, the boy ran away from these adults. Even after being caught by his pursuers, he escaped with his life thanks to his spear. Even after being cornered by wild animals in the middle of the forest, he escaped with his life thanks to his spear.

Even after being confronted by human traffickers in one village, he escaped without dying thanks to his spear. Having experienced many events that could change his whole life around in a row, the boy saw the wide world for himself.

Shiny buildings with towers as tall as mountains, roads that could host countless people once the festival started. Even in that huge town, his pursuers targeted him and his spear.

'Give up your spear now! That is an object that the likes of you should never handle!'

The day-to-day life of risking his life continued. And there were even people who tried to recruit him using sweet and tempting words. However, after being sold by his parents and chased by many people, the boy became a person who couldn't trust anything but his spear.

And just like that, a few years after leaving his home village the boy left China for another country. While meeting and observing people and cultures he had never seen before, he began to believe in something.

'…I've got this spear in my possession. With this, I will be able to travel anywhere and will be able to beat anyone.'

While he was on the run, he awakened his talent and learned the abilities of his spear. And after denouncing his own name, he began to use the name of the hero that the monkey demon used...Cao Cao.

Also, he had learned that his spear was one of the Sacred Gears, and of those, one of the special Longinus, and the strongest of all…one of the Holy Relics.

The boy now named Cao Cao then roamed around the Earth, and after becoming an adult, he visited the village he grew up in once again. While traveling around the world, he learned that his village was a very small part of the world. And most of all, he learned the terrifying power of this object called 'money'.

Cao Cao had reached an understanding that with a huge sum of money, even basic farmer parents in remote villages were willing to give their son away. It wasn't like he wanted to fault his parents at this stage, nor intended to stay in that village any longer.

But he wanted to see his parents' faces at least once. But the house he once lived in had become deserted. His parents no longer lived there.

When he asked around the village, they told him the story of what had happened. After their son ran away, it was said that his parents were visited by an agent of a certain faction. His parents decided to give information about their son away.

Information about a person who wielded the world's strongest Longinus was precious. Information that could be used to lead that user to their side was too great of a temptation.

On top of that, his parents had earned great money selling information about him, and as a result, they had learned the joys of spending. For people who had lived all their lives poor, it was a turning point.

Of course, people who had never known the joy of spending would also not know how to spend sensibly...and not long after having lost their sight to money, they had accumulated a huge amount of debt. Day after day, they were chased by debt collectors. The path that they had chosen was...a thorny one.

The villager, who told Cao Cao the story, pointed to the empty house and said, "...They hung themselves there."

...That was the final answer those two gave him.

'...I wonder if I wasn't born with this spear, would our lives be peaceful?' he thought. But he quickly shook his head. '...Me or my parents, we are all weak humans.'

With or without the spear, it didn't change the fact that they were weak. Even with the blood of a hero and possessing the spear, he wouldn't be able to change the outcome back then.

If he had fought there instead of running away, his parents might not have met their demise. If he had talked to them instead of running away, all of them might have survived.

It could have happened, it could have, it could have... All the possibilities went through his head, but...it was all pointless, and all he could see was the reality where he was standing in front of his old, empty and abandoned house.

After sitting there for about an hour, Cao Cao left the village. Swearing that he would never return.

'In this world, there is only I. All I have is this spear. If that's the case...all I can do is to go as far as I can with this spear.'

That was what Cao Cao used as his fuel...his reason for living. After that, he had met people whose lives had been ruined because of Sacred Gears just like himself. And in the process of meeting them, he learned about the supernatural beings such as God and such. Devils, Satans, Dragons, Dragon Kings, Dragon Gods. They all possessed power that transcended human power, and they were hiding at the edge of their world. Naturally, Cao Cao began to think of something.

'...Gods and Buddhas…will my spear ever reach them?'

Gaining his first ever objective...his purpose in his life, in the blink of a second, many Sacred Gear users gathered around him. With the Sacred Gears that had ruined their lives, they found new meanings to their lives...and thus began the daily life of endless fighting.

Cao Cao's group fought ability users, Devils and Dragons, and they showed off their power. And in the middle of that, they met a certain man.

Jin Skyward. The human who boasted about bringing peace and unity to the supernatural world, and also claimed to be this generation's Red Dragon Emperor. To him and his comrades, he was a fool.

Peace? Such a thing was impossible in their world, and any fool who chased after it would end up dead quickly…yet, he defied all logic.

Incident after incident—that fool—that man caused miracle after miracle, and the ones who initially made fun of his dream—the peace that he pursued…their mouths started shutting up as it slowly became a reality. To them, to the ones who have been in the supernatural for a long time, it defied common logic.

Over time his achievements grew, as did his influence and allies. And in the end, Cao Cao, his faction and the organization they were in had to act. They had to stop this abnormal existence from becoming more powerful—more influential.

For someone like Cao Cao, who had never cowered in front of any God or Demon, the beings that made him truly feel awe and made him shudder was him…one of the Heavenly Dragons. However, amidst all of it, he also came across another—Vali Lucifer. This one showed off even greater talent than himself.

While the now called 'Middleman' created miracles far greater than his own spear. Then one day…because of Jin Skyward's group, he lost his life, he lost his spear, and he lost his reason to go on. He lost everything.

But another miracle was created by that man.

'—Repent, a hundred times over.'

Those words—that man had brought him back to life, to the shock of Cao Cao. After that day...he worked harder than ever before. He didn't know if it was out of spite, or to prove that he could climb newer heights for himself or for the man who brought him back.

But as he kept repeating his trials, his hatred for the man disappeared, and a strange mix of gratitude and confusion clouded his heart. But he didn't know how he would react once he saw that man again. However, it eventually came when his trials were done—he appeared in front of that man again.

To his utter shock, he was gifted another spear, a new weapon—he felt strange, but he also felt like that weapon that was gifted to him…it belonged to him even more than the holy spear he previously wielded.

"[Arredoval], that's the name of that spear. Take care of it—it's also known as the [Spear of the Universe]…how you evolve it—what powers it will have, they will be dependent on you and you alone. Show me what kind of resolve you have, Cao Cao."

Again, such strange words were said to him by that man, but…he accepted it, and he left to gather up his team again. This time, he had an ambitious goal, to surpass his previous self and grow to new heights.

As he did, he was told that he would be sent to a different universe and he and his team's sole purpose was to kill the 'evil' within it. He found it ironic since that was what he did before being resurrected—the heroes were now traveling to a different universe to slay the bad guys—the evil.

But before he departed, Cao Cao visited a certain old man in a certain country and the conversation they had would change his life. Those words that Vasco Strada left him still rang in his ear to this day.

'…Go and love something, young man. Whether it be yourself, or even something intangible. Love, if you don't have the heart that loves something, then you won't be able to reach someone who has love. The object that you love will appear in front of you one day, and at that time…you will gain 'power' from within your body and soul.'

'First! You should keep on chasing the Dual Dragon Emperor. That man…he is at the mercy of love. He loves as many people around him as he can, whether it be his lovers, his friends, his comrades or the random people of the supernatural world or the human world. He will show them love.'

'Jin Skyward is a man that loves everything around him, and in turn, he is loved back by those around him. Compared to my old bones, you're still near his age are you not? Yet…his presence is tens of thousands of times brighter than yours.'

Cao Cao, as he looked up at the Underworld sky sighed. 'I prefer a blue sky though…' he thought while walking down the streets of Lilith. He then looked back down and straight in front of him, he clenched his fist tightly.

"Is the me of now a person who has 'love'?" he asked himself. His comrades, his group of friends and a certain woman of a different universe flashed in his mind. "…I'm not sure, but I hope I do…"

— ○ ● ○ —

In a residential area somewhere in Lilith, Cao Cao arrived at a certain corner of the town. At that specific part of town was a kindergarten for devil children. Cao Cao approached the building and showed his I.D to the guard who silently stared at him for a few seconds before nodding and leading him inside.

Inside the building and at the yard of the kindergarten near some flowerbeds was a huge and muscular man, it was Heracles, his current teammate. Heracles was currently a 'world-wide-worker' in his words.

He would tend to daycares and kindergartens across the supernatural at his own request. After he was settled in Grigori with his job there, he wanted to do this kind of work in different pantheons and factions to repent for his sins. While many devil parents there were reluctant, in the end they accepted the decision as it was backed by the Four Great Satans, several other leaders, especially Sirzechs Lucifer and the Middleman himself.

Currently, it was the end of the day, and so many children were now going home. They left the building while holding their parents' hands. As they left, they waved at Heracles who worked on the flowerbed.

"See you later, old man!"

"Bye, bye old man-chan!"

Heracles with a strained smile waved back at the children. "Be careful on the way home, and stop calling me an old man."

Cao Cao and Heracles' eyes then met, and the muscular man put his hand up. "Hey, you're earlier than I thought. So are we meeting at Grigori after this?"

The young leader nodded his head. "Yeah. I already sent the text to everyone, so they'll be making their way there. I'll wait until you're done," he said and moved to a nearby bench and sat on it. He summoned a book and read it. The words of his new boss rang in his head as he read the book.

'Cao Cao, you need a different hobby apart from just training and fighting. If you can't think of anything, then go read a book, and no, I don't mean books about fighting and techniques. I mean regular books that tell stories…here, take this.'

The book that he was given was called The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. At the start, Cao Cao was confused, but he kept reading the book, and in the end, he ended up liking the story that was told, so he continued reading more books by the same author.

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store, The Camphor Keeper, Silent Parade: A Detective Galileo Novel, Kirin no Tsubasa and many others. However, Cao Cao began to read different genres and from other authors, including fiction and he started to like reading and turned it into his first ever hobby.

But then, after he came back to the Draconic Deus, he wanted to have another one—cooking. When he was in the Phantasma's universe, they ate things that Aaron had prepared in capsules, so they were allowed to eat delicious food every day. However, he wanted to be able to cook such meals by himself.

For himself, his teammates, the Resistance and…her. He had approached two people about this issue. Tobio Ikuse and Aaron Toole, and he was taught by both—each person had a different way of doing things, and in the end, he mixed both to make his own style.

While Cao Cao wasn't the most skilled cook yet, he was getting there as he received feedback from his teammates, and from Tobio and Aaron.

"I'm done, let's go—you're reading a new book, huh?" asked Heracles.

Cao Cao got up and put his book away. "Yeah, it's called I Am a Cat by Natsume Soseki. Fusae was the one that recommended it. Anyway, let's go."

— ○ ● ○ —

In one of the free meeting rooms of Grigori gathered a certain team for the tournament. All of them were present as they sat around the table waiting for their leader to speak. Finally, Cao Cao stood up and addressed them all.

"Tomorrow, we will fight [Team Imperial Purpure] led by Sairaorg Bael. All of you are already aware of how powerful he is and how he fights. With that said, leave him to me, from my conversation with him today—that seems to be what he has in mind too," he told them.

"Then, will we fight our own match ups, or see who we come across?" asked Heracles.

"We don't know what kind of game we'll have, Heracles, so we can't really say how or who we will fight yet, but…it will depend on where we go to," replied Georg.

"I guess…" grumbled Heracles as he looked at the table in front of him.

"Well, it matters not, we will simply blow them away with our powers!" said a young-looking girl.

She was one of the new members of the team and as well as Cao Cao's group. Her name was Zhuge Liang. She is the descendant of the general Zhuge Liang from the Three Kingdoms era. Zhuge Liang had the appearance of a cute young girl (about the age of a middle school student), that wore a classical Chinese Taoist robe.

"Will my youkai be allowed to participate in this? I was limited to one or two depending on the game," asked another member of the team.

He was Momono Kibitsuhiko. He was the inheritor of the soul of Momotarou. Like the original he is accompanied by animal companions such as a Monkey Youkai, a Dog Youkai and a giant raven.

Momono Kibitsuhiko was a Japanese-looking man who wore a battle fur coat and a colorful pink headband. He also had black hair and strong-looking brown eyes.

He wields a sword in battle with his animal companions assisting him. Cao Cao found him as he journeyed across Japan, and accidentally came across him. The two of them fought and Cao Cao told him of his plans—both for the International Rating Game and fighting monsters from another world. That piqued Momono's interest and he joined his team.

"Well, if two or three of us go and face three of them, or even one—wouldn't that mean it would be easier for us?" asked another man.

This young man was called Marsilio and he is the descendent of Marsilio Ficino and was also part of the Hero faction. Marsilio had short spiked white hair, green eyes and wore a white suit that resembled a Japanese middle school uniform. He was also a wielder of a Sacred Gear called [Dreamlike Curse].

"I doubt they'd let us do that so easily, man," replied Perseus. Another member of the former Hero faction. He left due to differences of opinion between himself and Cao Cao, but was sought after by the man after the faction fell apart.

"Especially if it's Sairaorg-san, I mean he values his peerage just as much as Jin," added Jeanne.

"Jin, huh? When did you become buddy-buddy with our boss?" asked Marsilio while eyeing Jeanne suspiciously.

"Huh? I asked him if it was alright to call him that…and he said yes, so I'm calling him that," she replied while giving him a confused look. In response, Marsilio rolled his eyes.

"Regardless!" Cao Cao said with a raised voice. "We will continue with that plan with Georg when the time is right. Sairaorg's team has trained in the same place as us, but our other trump card is my spear and Leonardo. However, because it's the International Rating Game, several restrictions have been placed on his Sacred Gear."

Leonardo, their only [Pawn] sat there eating some ice cream and nodded. He played a large part in helping the Resistance with his Sacred Gears creation. Because he had read a lot of manga, light novels and watched anime, his creations became even more vivid and diverse.

"What does that mean?" Zhuge Liang asked.

Georg adjusted his glasses and explained, "Leonardo's Sacred Gear so far has been heavily restricted during the tournament. So far, we have played two games, and in those games too, he was limited. He's limited to creating three of his creations on the field, but the great thing about that is, he can make them as powerful as God-class beings…but nothing more."

"Furthermore, Leonardo can't use his Balance Breaker, whether that be the subspecies that Shalba forced upon him—the Bandersnatch or Jabberwocky or his other one," said Georg.

"Uhh then what about his X-side? It's two for one, right?" asked Heracles.

Georg frowned. "That's the thing, we don't know, because so far, we haven't used it, but…I will speak with Jin about it and he'll speak with the other officials regarding it. It can make Dragon God-class beings after all, so it might be heavily restricted or even outright banned."

Leonardo's X-side Balance Breaker was what helped Cao Cao's team in the Phantasma along with Cao Cao's [Arredoval], and the other unique X-side Balance Breakers that the rest of his team achieved.

"Then Georg, I'll leave that matter to you. Let's continue then—we'll plan for various scenarios of each Rating Game, so we won't be leaving for a while," said Cao Cao.

There were a few exhausted sighs, but Cao Cao opened a pill that had various foods that Aaron prepared and they became a bit more motivated.

"Georg-san, can I come with you when you go to Jin-san?" Leonardo asked. Georg glanced at him and nodded.

Over the short course of their time, when Aaron introduced Leonardo to the literary world and anime, it quickly caught his interest and he would frequently ask Aaron for more books and anime to watch—in a way, they had a sibling dynamic much like Vali and Aaron had. Everyone on their team knew this and for the first time since they met him, Leonardo started acting more his age thanks to that.

— ○ ● ○ —

The day of the battle between [Team Imperial Purpure] and [Team Spear of the Draconic Emperor], various prominent people watched the match in the Agreas—the floating city in the Agares territory. This was the same stadium at which Rias and Sairaorg's peerages fought in the Youth Rating Game, as well as the one where Sairaorg and Aaron fought at.

Aaron, his group, The ORC both new and old, as well as the Student Council were in a VIP room in the stadium to watch the match unfold. With this place being a very popular place for Rating Games, the seats in the stadium were full and many more were watching outside as there were no more seats left.

Amidst all of this, one of the announcers, Naud Gamigin, the same announcer for the match between Aaron and Sairaorg was also commentating today.

[Now then everyone, the match that's been quite hyped up the last few days! The match between the elite group of young devils, the [Rookies Four], Player Sairaorg Bael!]

The crowd cheered wildly as Sairaorg and his team walked onto the stage on the western side.

[On the other side, is the former wielder of the strongest Longinus and holy spear and the new subordinate to the Middleman, Player Cao Cao!]

Another round of loud cheering was heard from the crowd, and it surprised Cao Cao since he expected to be hated coming into the match. The same could be said for his teammates.

[These two teams have created overwhelming hype over the past few days and now it's finally time for them to clash! I will now introduce the other commentators for this game!]

The cameras turned to focus on the person next to Naud. They saw a tanned person who looked quite slick—it was the God of Destruction, Shiva.

He waved to the surprised crowd and said, [Hello, everyone, how's it going? I'm one of the main organizers of the tournament, Shiva.]

With a tense look on his face, Naud continued. [S-since the God of Destruction himself is in attendance, even I'm quite tense! But also excited!]

Shiva laughed beside him and started smacking on the back. [Hahaha! Don't be, but keep up that excitement! If some bad guys decide to interrupt this game right now, I'll get rid of them easily, well, if they make it past Jin's defenses that is. So don't worry~!]

An awkward laugh erupted from Naud, who sat beside the God. [I-it's reassuring then!] he was clearly lost for words at the situation. He then coughed once before he resumed his commentary.

[Now, the game in which the VIPs from all over the factions are having all of their interest in will be starting shortly!]

The two teams were already glaring at each other on the field. Both sides were emitting such dangerous and unspeakable killing intent from their bodies.

[This game is currently going to be an [Audience Choice] format! Audiences both in the living room and currently in the arena, please choose from the many rules that you would like to watch!]

Prior to the match, they asked the audience, both in the arena and the ones that were watching at home, what rules these two teams would be playing by. This was a festive type of match which was being broadcasted to the public, so they raised the entertainment value by doing such a thing.

They normally used this system when two popular teams faced off, and even during normal Rating Games, it was quite a popular system among fans. It was understandable that if you were a fan of this game, then you would want to watch the two most famous teams fight in a match most fitting of their hype.

Everyone in the VIP booth that was with Aaron had voted for what they wanted to see. The players, the audience and their eyes all watched the giant monitor in anticipation.

[The rule with the most votes will be used! Now what rule will everyone here choose?]

The names of the rules were randomly flashing before everyone's eyes, and finally, one was chosen.

[The results are in!]

The rule that was chosen was...[Lightning Fast]! Seeing the result, Naud got excited while the audience cheered loudly.

[Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I can't believe it! I-it's been decided! The format that everyone has voted on is...[Lightning Fast]! A rule famous for its short blitz fights!]

Out of all the rules in the Rating game, this one had the smallest area, as well as the lowest time limit. That's why matches like these usually involve blitz-style fights.

"...It seems like everyone both in the stadium and at home wants to see both teams facing off immediately, especially the [Kings], I would assume," said Ravel Phenex.

"It's understandable," said Aaron and everyone looked at him. "The man known for not inheriting the [Power of Destruction] of the Bael clan, yet became the next head and one of the strongest devils of his generation..."

"And the man who was known as a terrorist and was part of the Khaos Order, who turned sides, but also lost the strongest spear he once wielded, many are curious as to what he'll use during the match," he explained.

"That's why [Lightning Fast] was chosen by everyone. It makes the match go faster as well as forcing the players on the team to fight to showcase their abilities," said Sona.

"Right, it makes things faster and more intense, not just for the audience, but also for the players on the field," replied Aaron.

[Sairaorg Bael, I have an offer for you,] Cao Cao said as the cameras all focused on him while he smiled confidently. [Whatever happens in this match, there are things you and I must do. I will strive for that and towards victory...]

The two [Kings] left their sides and walked towards each other, all the while Cao Cao kept talking.

[I will wait for you at the center of the field. You know what that means, right?] asked Cao Cao.

Both teams were surprised by his proclamation. Georg on his team began to whisper to them quite rapidly, while Sairaorg's [Queen] and one of the [Pawns] spoke to the rest of his team.

With a fearless smile on his face, Sairaorg said, [Are you perhaps suggesting a one-on-one duel between the [Kings]?]

Cao Cao also smiled. [That is what you want to happen, right? I'm including your Longinus in this too.]

Everyone in the room froze and the audience in the arena began to wildly cheer for Sairaorg to accept what Cao Cao had offered him.

[Such a provoking statement! Player Cao Cao has just offered a duel against Sairaorg-san! A fair and square fight between [Kings]!!] Naud screamed into the mic.

After sending his challenge, Cao Cao added, [You might be suspicious when it comes to my offer of a one-on-one battle because of my past after all. A villain who tried to destroy the supernatural world and incite chaos. I am untrustworthy to many, however…I will swear on a person that I am looking forward to an honest duel.]

Raising a brow, Sairaorg said, [Swear Upon? To whom? To Indra who you use to serve? The Holy Spear that you lost? Or to your ancestor from whom you claimed your blood and name from?]

Without a moment's hesitation, Cao Cao answered the question right away, the cameras focusing on his face the entire time.

[…I swear upon the name of Jin Skyward, the Middleman and the man who gave me this second chance,] he declared with a serious expression on his face.

A gasp was heard around the arena while the smile on Sairaorg's face only widened in response as well as a dense amount of touki covered his body due to Cao Cao's answer.

Everyone in the VIP room with Aaron turned to look at him. However, they only saw him staring at the monitor with the same seriousness as Cao Cao. His name as of this moment in time held weight, because of the various things he's done over the year, it wasn't something to be taken lightly.

But unknown to everyone except for four—no, five people there, they could see the excitement in his eyes as Cao Cao spoked those words.

[Can you believe me with that?] asked Cao Cao as he also covered his body with a powerful dense touki. Both their auras were now colliding within the arena, and they threatened to destroy it.

Sairaorg turned around and walked away while retracting his aura. [Yes. Since his name was uttered, there is no reason not to believe you. I will wait for you in the center of the field and defeat you!]

[He accepteeeeeeed!!! A fight between [Kings] will happen in the game fieeeeld!!] Naud shouted in excitement.

[Fufu, youth at its best, wouldn't you agree?] asked Shiva. [I look forward to this too.]

Genshirou Saji leaned forward in his seat, and with a serious expression on his face said, "Master Sairaorg won't trust Cao Cao at all yet, but Master Sairaorg is a person that Cao Cao wishes to defeat…but they would never do something so reckless, but if they uttered his name…"

Rias continued Saji's sentence. "For the two them who have been influenced a lot by Aaron, to say his name and pledge upon it, they can't afford to not accept it."

And thus began the match between [Team Imperial Purpure] and [Team Spear of the Draconic Emperor].

— ○ ● ○ —

Team Spear of the Draconic Emperor:

King – Cao Cao

Queen – Georg

Bishop – Marisilo

Bishop – Zhuge Liang

Rook – Heracles

Rook – Momono Kibitsuhiko

Knight – Jeanne

Knight – Perseus

Pawn (8) – Leonardo

— ○ ● ○ —

Team Imperial Purpure:

King – Sairaorg Bael

Queen – Silveteela Stolas

Bishop – Coriana Andrealphus

Bishop – Misteeta Sabnock

Rook – Gandoma Balam

Rook – Ladora Buné

Knight – Liban Crocell

Knight – Beluga Furcas

Pawn (4) – Kuisha Abaddon

Pawn (4) – Regulus

— ○ ● ○ —