Underworld, Lilith, the capital.
"Sazeks, big trouble!"
A black-haired girl in a magical girl outfit burst into the office, waving a file. "Your sister's Red Dragon Emperor took out Kokabiel!"
"Oh? Ajuka's here too."
Ajuka glanced at her. "Same as you, here to discuss this with Sazeks."
"So Sazeks already knows?"
"Yup, I'm aware."
Sazeks nodded.
"Got a plan yet?" Serafall asked.
As the four Demon Lords, each had distinct roles.
Sazeks, bearing Lucifer's name, oversaw strategy and commands.
Ajuka, Beelzebub's heir, handled tech and intel.
Serafall, Leviathan's successor, managed devil diplomacy.
That's why she rushed to Sazeks upon hearing the news.
A fallen angel cadre's death was a top-tier diplomatic issue.
If mishandled, it could spark war.
"No war will happen," Sazeks said, reading her mind. "Before you arrived, I contacted Azazel, the fallen angels' governor, remotely."
"We haven't finalized things, but he says Kokabiel acted alone, not tied to the Grigori."
"Good."
Serafall exhaled.
No war, no problem for her.
"Sazeks, your sister's Red Dragon Emperor just awakened recently, right? What's his deal? How's he beating Kokabiel already?"
"I'm curious too."
Sazeks shrugged, glancing at Ajuka. "Any theories?"
Ajuka: "Maybe the Biblical God's death broke the balance mechanism."
Serafall: "Huh? For real? I'm no expert, don't mess with me."
Ajuka: "Just a possibility. But otherworldly beings have been popping up more lately."
Serafall: "Ugh, so annoying. Hope it doesn't mess with Sona's school life."
"Oh, Sona's breaking off her engagement soon. Ajuka, Sazeks, keep an eye out. If she fails, I'll find a chance to off her fiancé."
Sazeks: "…"
Can you not say that out loud?
Underworld, fallen angel territory.
Vali passed verification, opening a high-tech metal door and stepping inside.
At the room's far end, a golden-haired man in a wheelchair tinkered with a Sacred Gear.
Hearing movement, he spun the chair, waving. "Yo, Vali, you're here."
"Azazel, what's up?"
"Kokabiel's dead."
"The Church?"
"Nope, the Red Dragon Emperor."
Azazel summarized the incident.
"So the Red Dragon Emperor soloed Kokabiel, no help?" Vali mused.
As the strongest White Dragon Emperor ever, he wasn't thrilled about the fated Red-White clash.
Per Albion, even the strongest past Red Dragon Emperors were far below Vali's current power.
But fate twisted—this generation's Red Dragon Emperor was different.
"First Phenex, then the Church traitor Siegfried, now Kokabiel soloed. Interesting."
Recalling intel from a Chaos Brigade guy, Vali's lips curved. "Azazel, you've got more on the Red Dragon Emperor, right? Let me see."
"Nope."
"?"
"Vali, don't do anything stupid."
Azazel set down his artificial Sacred Gear, his face serious. "The Red Dragon Emperor has Gram, a sword that counters dragons and dragon-type Sacred Gears."
"With his freakish strength, even you'd lose."
"Your guess."
Vali didn't buy it. "Nothing's certain until we fight."
"Still no. I don't want you hurt."
Azazel hesitated, then dropped a bomb. "I'm planning to end the Red-White Dragon rivalry."
"…How?"
"Kokabiel's stunt was a wake-up call. I'm proposing a peace treaty with Michael and Sazeks."
"They'll agree?"
"They will."
Azazel's tone was firm.
Having survived the Great War, Michael, Sazeks, and he knew war's cost.
Four Demon Lords dead, the Biblical God gone, fallen angel cadres decimated—the war's scars lingered.
Initially, Azazel wasn't confident.
But Kokabiel's fiasco showed Michael avoiding war.
The Church, most hostile to devils and fallen angels, was key.
If Michael cooperated, a peace treaty was feasible.
As for devils, Azazel knew Sazeks and Ajuka, both Transcendents, well enough.
Barring surprises, a 90% chance they'd agree.
"Vali, we're lucky this Red Dragon Emperor's with the Gremorys."
"A peace treaty with devils could end the Red-White rivalry for good."
"I don't want it ended."
Vali stared at Azazel's earnest face, then asked, "When's the three-way meeting?"
"Not set, but I'll notify you."
"Got it."
Vali nodded.
Maybe it's time to leave.
Kuoh Town, present world.
While fallen angels and others discussed Kokabiel's fallout, Roy left cleanup to Rias and returned home, opening his entry vault to upgrade.
Normally, upgrading an entry took ten of the same tier.
But a higher-tier entry worked too.
Kokabiel's [War Maniac] was useless to Roy.
Rather than let it rot, he'd use it to upgrade a solid Purple entry.
His Purple entries were all decent.
For training: [Pureblood Devil] and [Seasoned Athlete] sped up progress.
For combat: [Senjutsu] was versatile, [Immortality] boosted fault tolerance.
Plus, [Soldier] bluntly raised physical stats.
After pondering, Roy chose [Senjutsu].
[Entry upgraded. Congratulations, you obtained Red-tier Senjutsu.]
[Senjutsu (Red): Manipulates life and natural energy, applicable in many fields with deep mastery.]
The description barely changed.
But equipping it, Roy noticed subtle shifts in his body.
"Life energy surged, and manipulating ambient natural energy got easier."
Testing further, Roy found no casting delay for Senjutsu.
Even large-scale illusions were instantaneous.
His potential-unlocking [Auto-Cultivation] doubled in efficiency.
"Not bad."
Roy was pleased.
[Auto-Cultivation] was his first Senjutsu, self-developed on day one.
Lacking theory and cautious, its initial effect was weak.
But with study and [Immortality] as a safety net, Roy got bold.
Now, [Auto-Cultivation 9.0] was a reckless potential-draining technique.
For normals, even Demon Lord potential would cap at High-class devil.
Less Senjutsu, more forbidden art to most.
With [Infinite Potential], Roy didn't care.
Running [Auto-Cultivation 9.0] 24/7, his potential never ran dry.
His rapid growth owed much to it, alongside overload training with gravity gear.
Choosing [Senjutsu] was 70% for this technique.
The doubled efficiency proved his choice right.
From now on, he'd grow even faster.
"My love is the vast horizon, blooming flowers at the green hills' base…"
His phone rang mid-test.
Checking, Roy saw an unmarked number.
"Weird, few know this number."
He answered. "Yo, who's this?"
"Suzuki Shou."
"Oh, you. What's up?"
"???"
Suzuki twitched on the other end.
His gut screamed Roy, the irresponsible leader, forgot yesterday's talk.
Sighing, he reminded, "You said you'd come today to discuss Akatsuki's next steps."
"It's evening. When you showing?"
"Uh… tomorrow."
"Huh?"
"Just killed a fallen angel cadre. Not in the mood to fight today."
"HUH?!"
"What? Something else?"
"Nope."
Suzuki backed off.
Roy's words were too wild.
True or not, he didn't dare pry.
One wrong question, and he'd be in danger.
Staring at the active call, Suzuki added, "If you're busy, a few days is fine. It's not urgent."
"Nah, Akatsuki's growth matters," Roy corrected.
For entries or Meredith's arrival, he needed to crush Claw fast.
"By the way, your dad doesn't know you joined Akatsuki, right?"
"Nope."
"Use that connection. See if you can gather Claw's espers."
"Tomorrow, I'll take you to Claw's HQ to nab recruits."
"Huh? Straight to HQ?"
"Yup, don't wanna waste time."
"…Fine, I'll try."
Suzuki, hesitant, trusted Roy's strength.
Ending the call, he opened his contact list.
Staring at pre-collected numbers, he dialed the first.
"Hey, Second Branch Leader there?"
"New orders: bring your cadres to HQ by noon tomorrow."
"Hope he pulls through."
Back home, Roy hit the living room for training.
100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, 10K run to finish.
Old-school rules never fail.
With 50x gravity, he finished ten sets.
Rias and the others trickled back.
"Sometimes I envy your stamina," Rias said by the treadmill. "Fresh off Kokabiel, and no rest?"
"Don't say that, Rias," Akeno chuckled, joining them and winking at Roy. "Talent plus effort—that's Roy's charm."
"How's your nightlife? Need me to spice it up~?"
Roy glanced, unfazed. "Instead of being the teasing queen, I'd rather see some action."
Akeno laughed. "So blunt. Not scared Rias'll get mad?"
Roy: "She's been griping about sleep deprivation lately."
"Huh? For real?" Akeno's eyes lit up, turning to Rias.
"Ahem, just too much to handle lately. No rest," Rias coughed, dodging.
A day or two was fine—she was a High-class devil.
But weeks of classes, all-nighters, and business drained her.
"Oh my, juicy news," Akeno said, catching Rias's indirect admission.
Her gaze on Roy shifted.
Akeno wasn't reckless.
Her teasing stemmed from genuine interest.
She'd held back for Rias's sake.
But now…
Pulling Rias from the gym, Akeno left.
Midnight, Roy finished training and returned to his room.
Noticing a bulge under the covers, he spoke. "Akeno, hiding's pointless. I track life energy."
"Huh? Like that?"
Akeno emerged, pouting. "Wanted to surprise you."
Unlike her school uniform, she wore a swimsuit.
Graceful curves, slim waist, and a stunning figure dazzled Roy.
"Where're Rias and Koneko?"
"Rias is napping in my room. Koneko's playing the game I got her."
Akeno licked her lips, patting the bed provocatively. "You call me the teasing queen? Let's test your strength tonight."
---
If you want to read more than 20 chapters early feel free to visit pa tre on . com /Archus