Chapter 399: Mira le
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
"-the Dragon Emperor, ALEXANDER MORNINGSTAR!"
As his voice rang out throughout the ballroom for the final time, Kiba then proceeded to kneel before Alex as one would their liege-lord, and was quickly followed by every one of the girls on the staircase before every person from Asora in the crowd below similarly kneeled. While this was almost to be expected, what caught Alex by surprise(aside from his apparent new name) was that Ajuka kneeled to him as well, prompting all of the Devils below to follow awkwardly their Maou's lead.
Meanwhile Alex was preoccupied with trying to wrap his head around the way Kiba had introduced him, 'Alexander Morningstar'.
'That kind of has a nice ring to it though...' Alex remarked mentally as he pondered the name, to which he suddenly received the notification that his name had been changed precisely to that, while Anne ȧssuredly received a similar notification. Alex then began to wonder why exactly he was given such a name, though it didn't take long though for him to reason that it probably had something to do with Ajuka intending to make him a Maou after the other two were sealed, to which Ddraig and Lauren both voiced their agreements.
Though it felt like Alex was thinking and conversing with Lauren and Ddraig for a while, no more than a couple seconds passed until he told the masses kneeling before him,
"Rise." Slowly the Devils and Asorans rose to look up at him, the Devils expressions still showing confusion as they looked towards Ajuka for an answer.. Instead however, the one who spoke was Alex as he began,
"Thank you all for attending this last minute get together, and I apologize for the long introductions. While I'm sure everyone has a multitude of questions for myself and my lovely complains, I hope that what I'm about to say to everyone will answer the majority of them."
Then, to stunned silence of the crowds below, Alex explained his own origins. How he acquired his Evil Pieces, Asora, where they had been the last couple of years, and some specifics of the world's they had been to. Of course he left out some of the more sėnsɨtɨvė details, such as how he was trying to become the 'supreme' God, his knowledge of certain events, and that some of his abilities were cheats chosen from a system.
Instead, Alex simply said that he and the others were basically part of a inter-dimensional battle royale, and that his Evil Pieces were one of the 'gifts' he had received as a part of it, along with the personal dimension that was Asora. And once they turned twenty, then they'd be able to travel to other worlds in order to meet and compete, like he had with three others right after he turned twenty.
Alex then went on to summarize their adventures in the other worlds, such as challenging the church and God of an entire world, Ehito, visiting two worlds that were almost identical to their own version of Earth, one of which had next to no supernatural existences on it, while the other shared the planet with Youkai.
He also mentioned that this was where he had encountered the fourth reincarnator(not counting Anne), who had attempted the attack that very world with a galactic army that he acquired in a different world. Then, after killing the other reincarnator and destroying or subduing his entire army, they then remained in that world until the time came to move on, and proceeded to move onto another world called Earthland, where they encountered five more reincarnators that had essentially taken over that world.
Using magic to project images to go along with his story, Alex wrapped things up with his marriage to Hisui before he then punched a hole through two realities, and managed to return.
Once he finished his story only stunned silence filled the ballroom as everyone tired to take in the surplus of information he had given them. On one hand it obviously sounded insane to be able to go to other worlds, but on the other it made perfect sense for why no one had been able to find them for the last two years, and for all of the strange people and titles of those who arrived with him.
Instead of giving them time to absorb all of this though, Alex continued,
"Now, many of you might be wondering why I readily explained all of this." As could be expected, numerous people began to nod or murmur in agreement when they heard him since, if they were in his place, any one of the greedy Devils would've kept such information to themselves. Alex however only smiled wryly at this, and explained while simultaneously creating an image to give them a visual aid,
"Rather than to monopolize Asora and the world's I plan to visit for myself, I intend to turn Asora into a nexus that links the world's we visit in order to form a never before seen system. One that stems into numerous universes to allow the various inhabitants to share knowledge and materials with each other, prompting them to grow in terms of strength and technology in ways never before seen in any world."
As Alex paused in order to let his words sink in, many of those below him began to mutter amongst themselves regarding Alex's claims, most of which sounded quite enthusiastic. Almost everyone in the ballroom was a being that had lived for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and one thing they couldn't resist was something new to occupy their attention with. With Alex offering them several different worlds, all filled with new races, cultures, technologies, magics, and many more interesting things, all of them couldn't help but to be excited.
Of course Alex wouldn't just let them run wild in these new world either. He and the other Asoran officials had already discussed a set of rules that anyone planning to interact with the other worlds had to follow, such as the limitation of technology that could be introduced to certain 'underdeveloped' worlds(like Tortus or Earthland). The reason for this was to allow them to develop a their own pace, and in their own way due to magics and technologies specific to them.
Another obviously involved the spread of religion, as any being that belonged to a specific faith would want to spread their influence. While Alex wouldn't mind them peacefully trying to gain followers, the amount of bloody and violent conflicts that had resulted from gods and their believers trying to spread their faith were uncountable, and that was just in one world.
Though there were a few other rules and restrictions that would have to be followed after opening the different worlds to each other, these were two of the biggest ones Alex and the their officials were worried about. But, deciding that he'd explain all of these later, Alex continued,
"And as a small teaser of what to expect when we open this world to others, please enjoy this banquet!" Finishing off, Alex clapped his hands twice and great platters of food appeared on the long tables that were scattered around the ballroom, each piled high with delicacies that varied from familiar favorites, to brand new foods that none of them had ever seen.
With Alex having already given them leave to try the food, many of the people before him immediately gravitated towards the tables in order to try something new. Alex meanwhile took a few more steps down the stairs until he was level with Rias, and asked with a ċȯċked brow,
"'Alexander Morningstar', really?" Rias smiled wryly and replied,
"It was Maou Beelzebub's idea. It's about time you had a clan name of your own, and I thought it had a nice ring to it." Alex couldn't help nodding in agreement, as he doubted the system would've changed his name as well if he didn't approve of it, but he also couldn't help saying,
"You could've at least given me a heads up." This time Rias's wry smile transitioned into a small smirk, as she remarked,
"And where would've been the fun in that?" Alex only shook his head at her teasing remark, before looping his left arm through hers so that he had Anne on his right side, and Rias on his left as they made their way down the stairs.
Around them people began to eagerly discuss the things Alex had told them while also excitedly speculating what these other worlds he'd open were like. Meanwhile several others were quickly trying to greet those who had actually come from those other worlds, intending to form a good relation with them before anyone else could.
Of the princesses Tracy, Hisui, and Liliana were the ones who were able to best interact with the various powerful figures that tried to meet them, but Francesca and Altina were both more than a little overwhelmed. This was to be expected since the demon race in Tortus had been united under one ruler, and the Demi-humans had been completely isolated due to the persecution against them, compared to the human race that had several kingdoms and had been deeply involved in politics.
Of the princesses though, Tio was the one that everybody found the most interesting. Even though there were dragons of different types everywhere throughout the DXD world, none of them had the inherent ability to turn into humans like Tio's people could. There was also the way Tio acted around others as they curiously asked her questions, to which the dragoness respectfully and politely answered each and every time. Her manners were so perfect and courteous that no one even suspected her true perverted nature, or even what was really taking place beneath her elegant kimono.
And then there were meetings that were bound to be inevitable, but would undoubtedly create headaches for everyone else. One such meeting occurred when Azazel was making his way through the crowds towards Alex, after having piled a plate high with the new delicacies.
He was intending to talk to Alex regarding the policies he planned for worldly travel, as he had been the one pushing for peace the most amongst the factions and didn't wish to see a fresh war break out. On his way to him however, something caught Azazel's eye that distracted him completely as he approached a certain young man.
"Excuse me, but might I have a look at your arm?" The man turned to look at who was talking to him, only to see Azazel staring at him wide eyed like a child on Christmas morning.
"Excuse me?" The man asked, to which Azazel quickly explained,
"Sorry, but your right arm is the best prosthetic I've ever seen! I'd love if you could allow me the chance to examine it!" The man's brows shot up when he realized that Azazel was interested in his fake arm, and, without a single word, he proceeded to remove it right then and there from the shoulder, and hold it out to him.
While others around them showed various forms of shock or revulsion, Azazel happily accepted the arm as he began to scrutinize it, and mutter to himself about the small details. To the untrained eye the arm looked exactly like a normal arm, right down to the feel of skin and muscle. However Azazel had been working with machines since before humans even discovered gunpowder, and as such he identified that the arm was a fake from the moment he saw it, but was unable to see through how it worked.
Eventually he had to ask, "How did you get the arm to look and feel this way?" The young man smirked proudly as he began to explain,
"It's made of the hardest mineral I could find, but then I used Creation Age of Gods magic to alter the look and feel of it to mimic a normal arm. Despite this though I can alter the shape of it at will with that same Creation magic, while there's also a shotgun in the elbow, rockets in each of the fingers, and several mini guns located around the wrist."
Then, as if to show off, the man took his arm back from Azazel and put it back on, before the shape began to shift to form various different weapons right before everyone's eyes. While the other onlookers didn't seem too thrilled with it, Azazel's eyes were sparkling as he recalled a prototype artificial arm he designed with similar features, except they were all mechanical instead of magical.
"Kid, you should definitely come by my lab some time! I would love to see some of the other things you've made, plus I have a few toys myself that I'd like to show off!" Azazel then began to trade notes with the man as they both became increasingly excited, which only exasperated the two women that the man arrived with.
The only speed bump in their budding friendship though was when the young man said,
"By the way, my name isn't kid, it's Nagumo Hajime." Azazel smiled widely as he replied,
"Azazel, former Governor General of the Fallen Angels." And like that, the most unholy friendship ever began. Though, that is a story for another time.
***
As the party continued Venelana wandered here and there throughout the ballroom, greeting and conversing with her fellow High and Ultimate class Devils as she did so. This may have been Rias and Alex's party, but as the current lady of Gremory she still intended to make sure all of their guests were enjoying themselves.
As the evening ticked by though, she was becoming increasingly annoyed with the looks she was receiving from those around her. Remembering when Katerea had her nȧkėd body placed on display for everyone to see, many of the men around her looked at her while silently undressing her with their gazes, ŀust just bȧrėly showing within the otherwise calm and professional expressions they had. Meanwhile the women around her regarded her one of two different ways, half regarded her with pity and treated her as a victim, while the other half regarded her akin to a sŀut, and would readily slander her for trying to 'seduce' their husbands when they thought her back was turned.
While most women would feel complete shame and humiliation at hearing this after going through what she had earlier, Venelana only felt annoyance and irritation at their blatant hypocrisy. Concepts such as 'shame' and 'modesty' were a relatively new thing to Devils, which was to be expected since they were originally beings of sin and dėsɨrė.
It was perfectly normal for Devils to engage in polygamy, cheat, lie, seduce, and Venelana even recalled a trend almost a thousand years back where devil women would go about their daily lives topless or even completely nȧkėd, just because they felt like it. Though she had always been a bit more prudish than her fellow female Devils, Venelana herself even recalled posing hundreds of times for a new painting or sculpture to be made of her, several of which were either nude or had her engaged in graphic moments of intimacy with the other members of her husband's harem.
So, rather than the shame and indignation that those who bad-mouthed her wanted her to feel, Venelana only kept a mental tally of the culprits for later, while also musing on sending her son-in-law after them on her behalf. Her musings were then interrupted when someone said next to her,
"They are truly disgusting." Venelana turned to see her longest and closest friend standing beside her, Sona and Serafall's mother, the lady of the house of Sitri.
Wearing a simple elegant black dress with her matching black hair flowing straight down, Lady Sitri looked around with undisguised disgust at those who were badmouthing Venelana, who remarked to her,
"You'd think they'd be a bit more cautious considering what my son-in-law did to the last person who shamed me." At that both women recalled the image of Katerea being forced to strip nȧkėd, and kiss Alex's feet before all of the most powerful people in the world, forever ruining any chance she had of them taking her seriously. However a second later lady Sitri replied,
"You mean 'our' son-in-law." Venelana smiled wryly as her friend continued, "And here I thought Serafall wound never settle and have a child of her own." Both women then adopted notably gentler expressions as they thought of their new grandchildren, who were now sleeping upstairs in one of the many spare rooms of the Gremory castle. Venelana then added,
"Just imagine your husband's face when Alex wakes him up from his coma, only to suddenly see his granddaughter sitting in his ŀȧp." Lady Sitri's smile widened as she anticipated her husband being woken up, and his own reaction to little Elizabeth. Though she was still worried that whatever Alex's treatment would be wouldn't work, it was buried by the hope and warmth of seeing her daughter's again.
The duo then discussed various things regarding the current situation, such as how their houses would be moving forward from there, when something seemed to catch Venelana's eye.
"Excuse me, there's a certain matter that it appears I need to tend to." Recognizing Venelana's 'business' look, the Lady Sitri silently sent whoever caught her eye her regards as Venelana made her way towards them.
"We are lady Rias's retainers, and as such we have the obligation to present ourselves accordingly so as not to shame our mistress!" Despite his argument though the duo quickly shook their heads as Suzu quickly piped back,
"We're not used to this kind of environment though! We thought it wouldn't be that bad after Tortus, but here it's completely different!" With Ryutarou(and the unseen Endou) nodding at her side in agreement, the trio fondly recalled their time in Tortus where they first had the titles of 'god's apostles', before becoming a part of Rias's peerage and being considered part of the group that brought down Ehito(despite not being a part of the actual final battle).
There they were akin to heroes and were widely respected and admired, but here the atmosphere was completely different. People were still regarding them highly as members of Rias's peerage, but with it they could feel judgment in the eyes of those around them as they tried to scrutinize what they were capable of, which it was also made different since the ones scrutinizing them were beings like powerful Devils, Angels, and gods instead of regular humans.
Freed was about to say something else to try and get them socialize, when a new voice suddenly said,
"And what do we have here?" Suzu and Ryutarou's eyes widened when they suddenly found themselves face to face with none other than Rias's mother, who's expression darkened as she looked down on all of them. Freed meanwhile bowed politely to her while saying,
"Greetings to the lady of the Gremory family. How can this lowly servant ȧssist you?" Venelana's glanced over freed as she scrutinized him for several seconds, before a small smile formed on her lips.
"Well, at least one of my daughter's new servants isn't completely hopeless. Tell me Freed, how goes your studies of our society and customs?" Without missing a beat Freed reported to her,
"I have been studying the customs and letters of the Devils society for the past several weeks after the defeat of the Dark Emperor Darius, and hope that my progress is considered passable for what my station requires." Then, to display his progress to Venelana, Freed proceeded to show off his word magic as he wrote several sentences and words in midair for her.
Nodding in approval, Venelana stated,
"Excellent Freed! I look forward to seeing my daughter's future with amazing people like you supporting her!" Bowing towards her again, Freed crossed his arm over his ċhėst in a salute while saying,
"You honor me greatly lady Gremory, and I swear to you that I will do everything I can to support mistress Rias." Nodding in approval, Venelana then turned her eyes towards Suzu and Ryutarou, who both felt like rabbits under the gaze of a very hungry wolf as she asked,
"And yourselves? How goes your progress" Suzu and Ryutarou both began to curse Freed in their hearts for making them look so bad, when neither one could bear to look Venelana in the eye and say that they had been slacking in their studies, while Endou was thankful to inborn ability to be ignored for once as he desperately willed himself to blend into the wall behind him.
Acting as if their lack of answer was to be expected, Venelana sighed and stated,
"Very well, I shall educate you since my daughter had apparently been too distracted to do so." She then seized the ears of both Suzu and Ryutarou and began to drag them away, not heeding the wincing and cries of pain from both of them.
As he watched her leave Endou let a small sigh of relief that he had been overlooked, only to jump a moment later when Venelana's voice reached him once again as she asked in an unamused voice,
"Well? Do I need to drag you as well?" Looking at her in alarm, Endou found Venelana staring directly at him with a stern glare, while Freed, Suzu, and Ryutarou all jumped in surprise from seeing him there, while Ryutarou even demanded,
"Endou?! When did you get here?!" Though he didn't want to answer, Endou slowly said as he joined Venelana and the other two,
"What do you mean? I got here before any of you did..." Ignoring the stupefied looks Suzu and Ryutarou gave him at his answer, Endou reluctantly followed along as Venelana led them away, and Freed rejoined the party. By the time the party ended that night, all three of them agreed that they would have rather dealt with the Devils, Angels, and gods than another one of Venelana's lessons.
***
As the night dragged on and the party continued, Alex and the girls felt as if they were finally getting to the point where it was time to call it a night with how late it was getting, and with how much Alex's himself just wanted to drop into bed. It was at this point though that Azazel finally managed to pry himself away from Hajime and his creations to talk to him, as he made his way up to Alex and asked,
"Hey kid, how have you been?" Alex smiled at yet another one of his old teachers, and replied,
"I've been good, busy of course, but I enjoy every minute of it." Azazel nodded and asked,
"Even with those 'other' people you were talking about?" Alex's expression darkened slightly as he replied,
"They've been more of a problem for the people in the world's they go to sadly. Even the world we've been to most recently, Earthland, is still going to be rebuilding for years after what they did to them." Azazel nodded slowly as he recalled the destruction and devastation that every war would leave in it's wake, which was one of the primary reasons why he'd fought so hard for peace. Having spent the majority of his long life fighting, it was only natural that people like himself and Michael would eventually get tired of it.
Going off of that, he then asked seriously, "Speaking of which, have you considered what you're really doing by opening different worlds to each other? Certain people might try and take advantage of that." Alex however nodded seriously, and replied,
"We've already created a rough draft of a set of rules and regulations for people to follow when it comes to worldly travel. I can have a copy sent to you tomorrow if you want to look over in case there's anything we missed." Azazel nodded in acceptance to Alex's offer, despite the fact that he was retired, as he would feel much better about such things after looking over it himself.
Then, to change the subject, a mischievous grin formed on Azazel's face as he asked,
"On a different subject, you managed to even get Gabriel pregnant huh?" With Gabriel being the most desirable woman in Heaven, Azazel couldn't help feeling both incredibly jealous and proud of Alex for landing her, to which Alex replied,
"Watch yourself Azazel. That's the mother of one my children you're talking about." Though he might have entertained Azazel's curiosity in the past, that was before Alex and his wives began to move things to the next level by beginning their own families.
Putting his hands up placatingly, Azazel quickly said,
"Alright, alright. But seriously, is your little girl ok? No problems with Heaven's system despite being part Angel and Devil?" Alex's expression softened at Azazel's concern as he replied,
"None, we tested it shortly after deciding to wait a day for me to recover from opening the hole. Gabriel mentioned that it was possible that, since Edith was born in a different world, she isn't connected to God's system like the other Angels are." Azazel's brows shot up when he heard that, as he recalled Alex saying when he first told them about Asora that it was separated from God's system, and that Angels wouldn't fall while there.
However what truly caught him off guard was what Alex said next, as he continued,
"Though if she did end up 'falling', then I would've just turned her back into an Angel before severing her connection to God's system entirely so she couldn't 'fall' again." Not just Azazel, every single Angel and Fallen Angel within earshot reacted at those words, to which Azazel testily asked,
"What are you talking about?!" Alex, either not aware or not caring about the stir he just created, replied simply,
"Just that I would have reversed the 'falling' process on Edith so that she was an Angel again, before making it so that I wouldn't have to worry about her 'falling' again." As he said, Alex already decided that if Edith had 'fallen' he would've used Regeneration magic to turn her back, before using Spirit magic to sever the spiritual connection she had to the system located in Heaven, which they had already tested to an extent.
With both types of Angels around him just gaping at him in disbelief though, Azazel practically demanded,
"Show me!" Though he had no dėsɨrė to regain his grace and return to Heaven, Azazel couldn't resist his curiosity at the idea that it might actually be possible for Alex to turn Fallen Angels back into regular Angels, something that should have been completely impossible.
Alex, not caring about the concern and interest of those around him, placed his palm onto Azazel forehead and channeled his Regeneration magic into the Fallen Angel while he summoned his twelve feathery wings, which appeared to be the blackest of black.
For a second nothing happened as Alex channeled his magic power into him, and many people started to think his claims were simply a bluff, but that changed a moment later when a bright light began to radiate from Azazel's body. Everyone watched in dumbfoundment as Azazel's black wings began to shift from the blackest of blacks to the purest of whites, while a halo began to flicker to life above his head.
By this point the entire ballroom turned to witness the 'miracle' as Azazel was turned from a Fallen Angel, to a servant of God once more, and holy light began to radiate from his body to fill the entire chamber.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
"-the Dragon Emperor, ALEXANDER MORNINGSTAR!"
As his voice rang out throughout the ballroom for the final time, Kiba then proceeded to kneel before Alex as one would their liege-lord, and was quickly followed by every one of the girls on the staircase before every person from Asora in the crowd below similarly kneeled. While this was almost to be expected, what caught Alex by surprise(aside from his apparent new name) was that Ajuka kneeled to him as well, prompting all of the Devils below to follow awkwardly their Maou's lead.
Meanwhile Alex was preoccupied with trying to wrap his head around the way Kiba had introduced him, 'Alexander Morningstar'.
'That kind of has a nice ring to it though...' Alex remarked mentally as he pondered the name, to which he suddenly received the notification that his name had been changed precisely to that, while Anne ȧssuredly received a similar notification. Alex then began to wonder why exactly he was given such a name, though it didn't take long though for him to reason that it probably had something to do with Ajuka intending to make him a Maou after the other two were sealed, to which Ddraig and Lauren both voiced their agreements.
Though it felt like Alex was thinking and conversing with Lauren and Ddraig for a while, no more than a couple seconds passed until he told the masses kneeling before him,
"Rise." Slowly the Devils and Asorans rose to look up at him, the Devils expressions still showing confusion as they looked towards Ajuka for an answer.. Instead however, the one who spoke was Alex as he began,
"Thank you all for attending this last minute get together, and I apologize for the long introductions. While I'm sure everyone has a multitude of questions for myself and my lovely complains, I hope that what I'm about to say to everyone will answer the majority of them."
Then, to stunned silence of the crowds below, Alex explained his own origins. How he acquired his Evil Pieces, Asora, where they had been the last couple of years, and some specifics of the world's they had been to. Of course he left out some of the more sėnsɨtɨvė details, such as how he was trying to become the 'supreme' God, his knowledge of certain events, and that some of his abilities were cheats chosen from a system.
Instead, Alex simply said that he and the others were basically part of a inter-dimensional battle royale, and that his Evil Pieces were one of the 'gifts' he had received as a part of it, along with the personal dimension that was Asora. And once they turned twenty, then they'd be able to travel to other worlds in order to meet and compete, like he had with three others right after he turned twenty.
Alex then went on to summarize their adventures in the other worlds, such as challenging the church and God of an entire world, Ehito, visiting two worlds that were almost identical to their own version of Earth, one of which had next to no supernatural existences on it, while the other shared the planet with Youkai.
He also mentioned that this was where he had encountered the fourth reincarnator(not counting Anne), who had attempted the attack that very world with a galactic army that he acquired in a different world. Then, after killing the other reincarnator and destroying or subduing his entire army, they then remained in that world until the time came to move on, and proceeded to move onto another world called Earthland, where they encountered five more reincarnators that had essentially taken over that world.
Using magic to project images to go along with his story, Alex wrapped things up with his marriage to Hisui before he then punched a hole through two realities, and managed to return.
Once he finished his story only stunned silence filled the ballroom as everyone tired to take in the surplus of information he had given them. On one hand it obviously sounded insane to be able to go to other worlds, but on the other it made perfect sense for why no one had been able to find them for the last two years, and for all of the strange people and titles of those who arrived with him.
Instead of giving them time to absorb all of this though, Alex continued,
"Now, many of you might be wondering why I readily explained all of this." As could be expected, numerous people began to nod or murmur in agreement when they heard him since, if they were in his place, any one of the greedy Devils would've kept such information to themselves. Alex however only smiled wryly at this, and explained while simultaneously creating an image to give them a visual aid,
"Rather than to monopolize Asora and the world's I plan to visit for myself, I intend to turn Asora into a nexus that links the world's we visit in order to form a never before seen system. One that stems into numerous universes to allow the various inhabitants to share knowledge and materials with each other, prompting them to grow in terms of strength and technology in ways never before seen in any world."
As Alex paused in order to let his words sink in, many of those below him began to mutter amongst themselves regarding Alex's claims, most of which sounded quite enthusiastic. Almost everyone in the ballroom was a being that had lived for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and one thing they couldn't resist was something new to occupy their attention with. With Alex offering them several different worlds, all filled with new races, cultures, technologies, magics, and many more interesting things, all of them couldn't help but to be excited.
Of course Alex wouldn't just let them run wild in these new world either. He and the other Asoran officials had already discussed a set of rules that anyone planning to interact with the other worlds had to follow, such as the limitation of technology that could be introduced to certain 'underdeveloped' worlds(like Tortus or Earthland). The reason for this was to allow them to develop a their own pace, and in their own way due to magics and technologies specific to them.
Another obviously involved the spread of religion, as any being that belonged to a specific faith would want to spread their influence. While Alex wouldn't mind them peacefully trying to gain followers, the amount of bloody and violent conflicts that had resulted from gods and their believers trying to spread their faith were uncountable, and that was just in one world.
Though there were a few other rules and restrictions that would have to be followed after opening the different worlds to each other, these were two of the biggest ones Alex and the their officials were worried about. But, deciding that he'd explain all of these later, Alex continued,
"And as a small teaser of what to expect when we open this world to others, please enjoy this banquet!" Finishing off, Alex clapped his hands twice and great platters of food appeared on the long tables that were scattered around the ballroom, each piled high with delicacies that varied from familiar favorites, to brand new foods that none of them had ever seen.
With Alex having already given them leave to try the food, many of the people before him immediately gravitated towards the tables in order to try something new. Alex meanwhile took a few more steps down the stairs until he was level with Rias, and asked with a ċȯċked brow,
"'Alexander Morningstar', really?" Rias smiled wryly and replied,
"It was Maou Beelzebub's idea. It's about time you had a clan name of your own, and I thought it had a nice ring to it." Alex couldn't help nodding in agreement, as he doubted the system would've changed his name as well if he didn't approve of it, but he also couldn't help saying,
"You could've at least given me a heads up." This time Rias's wry smile transitioned into a small smirk, as she remarked,
"And where would've been the fun in that?" Alex only shook his head at her teasing remark, before looping his left arm through hers so that he had Anne on his right side, and Rias on his left as they made their way down the stairs.
Around them people began to eagerly discuss the things Alex had told them while also excitedly speculating what these other worlds he'd open were like. Meanwhile several others were quickly trying to greet those who had actually come from those other worlds, intending to form a good relation with them before anyone else could.
Of the princesses Tracy, Hisui, and Liliana were the ones who were able to best interact with the various powerful figures that tried to meet them, but Francesca and Altina were both more than a little overwhelmed. This was to be expected since the demon race in Tortus had been united under one ruler, and the Demi-humans had been completely isolated due to the persecution against them, compared to the human race that had several kingdoms and had been deeply involved in politics.
Of the princesses though, Tio was the one that everybody found the most interesting. Even though there were dragons of different types everywhere throughout the DXD world, none of them had the inherent ability to turn into humans like Tio's people could. There was also the way Tio acted around others as they curiously asked her questions, to which the dragoness respectfully and politely answered each and every time. Her manners were so perfect and courteous that no one even suspected her true perverted nature, or even what was really taking place beneath her elegant kimono.
And then there were meetings that were bound to be inevitable, but would undoubtedly create headaches for everyone else. One such meeting occurred when Azazel was making his way through the crowds towards Alex, after having piled a plate high with the new delicacies.
He was intending to talk to Alex regarding the policies he planned for worldly travel, as he had been the one pushing for peace the most amongst the factions and didn't wish to see a fresh war break out. On his way to him however, something caught Azazel's eye that distracted him completely as he approached a certain young man.
"Excuse me, but might I have a look at your arm?" The man turned to look at who was talking to him, only to see Azazel staring at him wide eyed like a child on Christmas morning.
"Excuse me?" The man asked, to which Azazel quickly explained,
"Sorry, but your right arm is the best prosthetic I've ever seen! I'd love if you could allow me the chance to examine it!" The man's brows shot up when he realized that Azazel was interested in his fake arm, and, without a single word, he proceeded to remove it right then and there from the shoulder, and hold it out to him.
While others around them showed various forms of shock or revulsion, Azazel happily accepted the arm as he began to scrutinize it, and mutter to himself about the small details. To the untrained eye the arm looked exactly like a normal arm, right down to the feel of skin and muscle. However Azazel had been working with machines since before humans even discovered gunpowder, and as such he identified that the arm was a fake from the moment he saw it, but was unable to see through how it worked.
Eventually he had to ask, "How did you get the arm to look and feel this way?" The young man smirked proudly as he began to explain,
"It's made of the hardest mineral I could find, but then I used Creation Age of Gods magic to alter the look and feel of it to mimic a normal arm. Despite this though I can alter the shape of it at will with that same Creation magic, while there's also a shotgun in the elbow, rockets in each of the fingers, and several mini guns located around the wrist."
Then, as if to show off, the man took his arm back from Azazel and put it back on, before the shape began to shift to form various different weapons right before everyone's eyes. While the other onlookers didn't seem too thrilled with it, Azazel's eyes were sparkling as he recalled a prototype artificial arm he designed with similar features, except they were all mechanical instead of magical.
"Kid, you should definitely come by my lab some time! I would love to see some of the other things you've made, plus I have a few toys myself that I'd like to show off!" Azazel then began to trade notes with the man as they both became increasingly excited, which only exasperated the two women that the man arrived with.
The only speed bump in their budding friendship though was when the young man said,
"By the way, my name isn't kid, it's Nagumo Hajime." Azazel smiled widely as he replied,
"Azazel, former Governor General of the Fallen Angels." And like that, the most unholy friendship ever began. Though, that is a story for another time.
***
As the party continued Venelana wandered here and there throughout the ballroom, greeting and conversing with her fellow High and Ultimate class Devils as she did so. This may have been Rias and Alex's party, but as the current lady of Gremory she still intended to make sure all of their guests were enjoying themselves.
As the evening ticked by though, she was becoming increasingly annoyed with the looks she was receiving from those around her. Remembering when Katerea had her nȧkėd body placed on display for everyone to see, many of the men around her looked at her while silently undressing her with their gazes, ŀust just bȧrėly showing within the otherwise calm and professional expressions they had. Meanwhile the women around her regarded her one of two different ways, half regarded her with pity and treated her as a victim, while the other half regarded her akin to a sŀut, and would readily slander her for trying to 'seduce' their husbands when they thought her back was turned.
While most women would feel complete shame and humiliation at hearing this after going through what she had earlier, Venelana only felt annoyance and irritation at their blatant hypocrisy. Concepts such as 'shame' and 'modesty' were a relatively new thing to Devils, which was to be expected since they were originally beings of sin and dėsɨrė.
It was perfectly normal for Devils to engage in polygamy, cheat, lie, seduce, and Venelana even recalled a trend almost a thousand years back where devil women would go about their daily lives topless or even completely nȧkėd, just because they felt like it. Though she had always been a bit more prudish than her fellow female Devils, Venelana herself even recalled posing hundreds of times for a new painting or sculpture to be made of her, several of which were either nude or had her engaged in graphic moments of intimacy with the other members of her husband's harem.
So, rather than the shame and indignation that those who bad-mouthed her wanted her to feel, Venelana only kept a mental tally of the culprits for later, while also musing on sending her son-in-law after them on her behalf. Her musings were then interrupted when someone said next to her,
"They are truly disgusting." Venelana turned to see her longest and closest friend standing beside her, Sona and Serafall's mother, the lady of the house of Sitri.
Wearing a simple elegant black dress with her matching black hair flowing straight down, Lady Sitri looked around with undisguised disgust at those who were badmouthing Venelana, who remarked to her,
"You'd think they'd be a bit more cautious considering what my son-in-law did to the last person who shamed me." At that both women recalled the image of Katerea being forced to strip nȧkėd, and kiss Alex's feet before all of the most powerful people in the world, forever ruining any chance she had of them taking her seriously. However a second later lady Sitri replied,
"You mean 'our' son-in-law." Venelana smiled wryly as her friend continued, "And here I thought Serafall wound never settle and have a child of her own." Both women then adopted notably gentler expressions as they thought of their new grandchildren, who were now sleeping upstairs in one of the many spare rooms of the Gremory castle. Venelana then added,
"Just imagine your husband's face when Alex wakes him up from his coma, only to suddenly see his granddaughter sitting in his ŀȧp." Lady Sitri's smile widened as she anticipated her husband being woken up, and his own reaction to little Elizabeth. Though she was still worried that whatever Alex's treatment would be wouldn't work, it was buried by the hope and warmth of seeing her daughter's again.
The duo then discussed various things regarding the current situation, such as how their houses would be moving forward from there, when something seemed to catch Venelana's eye.
"Excuse me, there's a certain matter that it appears I need to tend to." Recognizing Venelana's 'business' look, the Lady Sitri silently sent whoever caught her eye her regards as Venelana made her way towards them.
"We are lady Rias's retainers, and as such we have the obligation to present ourselves accordingly so as not to shame our mistress!" Despite his argument though the duo quickly shook their heads as Suzu quickly piped back,
"We're not used to this kind of environment though! We thought it wouldn't be that bad after Tortus, but here it's completely different!" With Ryutarou(and the unseen Endou) nodding at her side in agreement, the trio fondly recalled their time in Tortus where they first had the titles of 'god's apostles', before becoming a part of Rias's peerage and being considered part of the group that brought down Ehito(despite not being a part of the actual final battle).
There they were akin to heroes and were widely respected and admired, but here the atmosphere was completely different. People were still regarding them highly as members of Rias's peerage, but with it they could feel judgment in the eyes of those around them as they tried to scrutinize what they were capable of, which it was also made different since the ones scrutinizing them were beings like powerful Devils, Angels, and gods instead of regular humans.
Freed was about to say something else to try and get them socialize, when a new voice suddenly said,
"And what do we have here?" Suzu and Ryutarou's eyes widened when they suddenly found themselves face to face with none other than Rias's mother, who's expression darkened as she looked down on all of them. Freed meanwhile bowed politely to her while saying,
"Greetings to the lady of the Gremory family. How can this lowly servant ȧssist you?" Venelana's glanced over freed as she scrutinized him for several seconds, before a small smile formed on her lips.
"Well, at least one of my daughter's new servants isn't completely hopeless. Tell me Freed, how goes your studies of our society and customs?" Without missing a beat Freed reported to her,
"I have been studying the customs and letters of the Devils society for the past several weeks after the defeat of the Dark Emperor Darius, and hope that my progress is considered passable for what my station requires." Then, to display his progress to Venelana, Freed proceeded to show off his word magic as he wrote several sentences and words in midair for her.
Nodding in approval, Venelana stated,
"Excellent Freed! I look forward to seeing my daughter's future with amazing people like you supporting her!" Bowing towards her again, Freed crossed his arm over his ċhėst in a salute while saying,
"You honor me greatly lady Gremory, and I swear to you that I will do everything I can to support mistress Rias." Nodding in approval, Venelana then turned her eyes towards Suzu and Ryutarou, who both felt like rabbits under the gaze of a very hungry wolf as she asked,
"And yourselves? How goes your progress" Suzu and Ryutarou both began to curse Freed in their hearts for making them look so bad, when neither one could bear to look Venelana in the eye and say that they had been slacking in their studies, while Endou was thankful to inborn ability to be ignored for once as he desperately willed himself to blend into the wall behind him.
Acting as if their lack of answer was to be expected, Venelana sighed and stated,
"Very well, I shall educate you since my daughter had apparently been too distracted to do so." She then seized the ears of both Suzu and Ryutarou and began to drag them away, not heeding the wincing and cries of pain from both of them.
As he watched her leave Endou let a small sigh of relief that he had been overlooked, only to jump a moment later when Venelana's voice reached him once again as she asked in an unamused voice,
"Well? Do I need to drag you as well?" Looking at her in alarm, Endou found Venelana staring directly at him with a stern glare, while Freed, Suzu, and Ryutarou all jumped in surprise from seeing him there, while Ryutarou even demanded,
"Endou?! When did you get here?!" Though he didn't want to answer, Endou slowly said as he joined Venelana and the other two,
"What do you mean? I got here before any of you did..." Ignoring the stupefied looks Suzu and Ryutarou gave him at his answer, Endou reluctantly followed along as Venelana led them away, and Freed rejoined the party. By the time the party ended that night, all three of them agreed that they would have rather dealt with the Devils, Angels, and gods than another one of Venelana's lessons.
***
As the night dragged on and the party continued, Alex and the girls felt as if they were finally getting to the point where it was time to call it a night with how late it was getting, and with how much Alex's himself just wanted to drop into bed. It was at this point though that Azazel finally managed to pry himself away from Hajime and his creations to talk to him, as he made his way up to Alex and asked,
"Hey kid, how have you been?" Alex smiled at yet another one of his old teachers, and replied,
"I've been good, busy of course, but I enjoy every minute of it." Azazel nodded and asked,
"Even with those 'other' people you were talking about?" Alex's expression darkened slightly as he replied,
"They've been more of a problem for the people in the world's they go to sadly. Even the world we've been to most recently, Earthland, is still going to be rebuilding for years after what they did to them." Azazel nodded slowly as he recalled the destruction and devastation that every war would leave in it's wake, which was one of the primary reasons why he'd fought so hard for peace. Having spent the majority of his long life fighting, it was only natural that people like himself and Michael would eventually get tired of it.
Going off of that, he then asked seriously, "Speaking of which, have you considered what you're really doing by opening different worlds to each other? Certain people might try and take advantage of that." Alex however nodded seriously, and replied,
"We've already created a rough draft of a set of rules and regulations for people to follow when it comes to worldly travel. I can have a copy sent to you tomorrow if you want to look over in case there's anything we missed." Azazel nodded in acceptance to Alex's offer, despite the fact that he was retired, as he would feel much better about such things after looking over it himself.
Then, to change the subject, a mischievous grin formed on Azazel's face as he asked,
"On a different subject, you managed to even get Gabriel pregnant huh?" With Gabriel being the most desirable woman in Heaven, Azazel couldn't help feeling both incredibly jealous and proud of Alex for landing her, to which Alex replied,
"Watch yourself Azazel. That's the mother of one my children you're talking about." Though he might have entertained Azazel's curiosity in the past, that was before Alex and his wives began to move things to the next level by beginning their own families.
Putting his hands up placatingly, Azazel quickly said,
"Alright, alright. But seriously, is your little girl ok? No problems with Heaven's system despite being part Angel and Devil?" Alex's expression softened at Azazel's concern as he replied,
"None, we tested it shortly after deciding to wait a day for me to recover from opening the hole. Gabriel mentioned that it was possible that, since Edith was born in a different world, she isn't connected to God's system like the other Angels are." Azazel's brows shot up when he heard that, as he recalled Alex saying when he first told them about Asora that it was separated from God's system, and that Angels wouldn't fall while there.
However what truly caught him off guard was what Alex said next, as he continued,
"Though if she did end up 'falling', then I would've just turned her back into an Angel before severing her connection to God's system entirely so she couldn't 'fall' again." Not just Azazel, every single Angel and Fallen Angel within earshot reacted at those words, to which Azazel testily asked,
"What are you talking about?!" Alex, either not aware or not caring about the stir he just created, replied simply,
"Just that I would have reversed the 'falling' process on Edith so that she was an Angel again, before making it so that I wouldn't have to worry about her 'falling' again." As he said, Alex already decided that if Edith had 'fallen' he would've used Regeneration magic to turn her back, before using Spirit magic to sever the spiritual connection she had to the system located in Heaven, which they had already tested to an extent.
With both types of Angels around him just gaping at him in disbelief though, Azazel practically demanded,
"Show me!" Though he had no dėsɨrė to regain his grace and return to Heaven, Azazel couldn't resist his curiosity at the idea that it might actually be possible for Alex to turn Fallen Angels back into regular Angels, something that should have been completely impossible.
Alex, not caring about the concern and interest of those around him, placed his palm onto Azazel forehead and channeled his Regeneration magic into the Fallen Angel while he summoned his twelve feathery wings, which appeared to be the blackest of black.
For a second nothing happened as Alex channeled his magic power into him, and many people started to think his claims were simply a bluff, but that changed a moment later when a bright light began to radiate from Azazel's body. Everyone watched in dumbfoundment as Azazel's black wings began to shift from the blackest of blacks to the purest of whites, while a halo began to flicker to life above his head.
By this point the entire ballroom turned to witness the 'miracle' as Azazel was turned from a Fallen Angel, to a servant of God once more, and holy light began to radiate from his body to fill the entire chamber.
"-the Dragon Emperor, ALEXANDER MORNINGSTAR!" As his voice rang out throughout the ballroom for the final time, Kiba then proceeded to kneel before Alex as one would their liege-lord, and was quickly followed by every one of the girls on the staircase before every person from Asora in the crowd below similarly kneeled. While this was almost to be expected, what caught Alex by surpriseaside from his apparent new name was that Ajuka kneeled to him as well, prompting all of the Devils below to follow awkwardly their Maou's lead. Meanwhile Alex was preoccupied with trying to wrap his head around the way Kiba had introduced him, 'Alexander Morningstar'. 'That kind of has a nice ring to it though...' Alex remarked mentally as he pondered the name, to which he suddenly received the notification that his name had been changed precisely to that, while Anne ssuredly received a similar notification. Alex then began to wonder why exactly he was given such a name, though it didn't take long though for him to reason that it probably had something to do with Ajuka intending to make him a Maou after the other two were sealed, to which Ddraig and Lauren both voiced their agreements. Though it felt like Alex was thinking and conversing with Lauren and Ddraig for a while, no more than a couple seconds passed until he told the masses kneeling before him, "Rise." Slowly the Devils and Asorans rose to look up at him, the Devils expressions still showing confusion as they looked towards Ajuka for an answer.. Instead however, the one who spoke was Alex as he began, "Thank you all for attending this last minute get together, and I apologize for the long introductions. While I'm sure everyone has a multitude of questions for myself and my lovely complains, I hope that what I'm about to say to everyone will answer the majority of them." Then, to stunned silence of the crowds below, Alex explained his own origins. How he acquired his Evil Pieces, Asora, where they had been the last couple of years, and some specifics of the world's they had been to. Of course he left out some of the more snstv details, such as how he was trying to become the 'supreme' God, his knowledge of certain events, and that some of his abilities were cheats chosen from a system. Instead, Alex simply said that he and the others were basically part of a inter-dimensional battle royale, and that his Evil Pieces were one of the 'gifts' he had received as a part of it, along with the personal dimension that was Asora. And once they turned twenty, then they'd be able to travel to other worlds in order to meet and compete, like he had with three others right after he turned twenty. Alex then went on to summarize their adventures in the other worlds, such as challenging the church and God of an entire world, Ehito, visiting two worlds that were almost identical to their own version of Earth, one of which had next to no supernatural existences on it, while the other shared the planet with Youkai. He also mentioned that this was where he had encountered the fourth reincarnatornot counting Anne, who had attempted the attack that very world with a galactic army that he acquired in a different world. Then, after killing the other reincarnator and destroying or subduing his entire army, they then remained in that world until the time came to move on, and proceeded to move onto another world called Earthland, where they encountered five more reincarnators that had essentially taken over that world. Using magic to project images to go along with his story, Alex wrapped things up with his marriage to Hisui before he then punched a hole through two realities, and managed to return. Once he finished his story only stunned silence filled the ballroom as everyone tired to take in the surplus of information he had given them. On one hand it obviously sounded insane to be able to go to other worlds, but on the other it made perfect sense for why no one had been able to find them for the last two years, and for all of the strange people and titles of those who arrived with him. Instead of giving them time to absorb all of this though, Alex continued, "Now, many of you might be wondering why I readily explained all of this." As could be expected, numerous people began to nod or murmur in agreement when they heard him since, if they were in his place, any one of the greedy Devils would've kept such information to themselves. Alex however only smiled wryly at this, and explained while simultaneously creating an image to give them a visual aid, "Rather than to monopolize Asora and the world's I plan to visit for myself, I intend to turn Asora into a nexus that links the world's we visit in order to form a never before seen system. One that stems into numerous universes to allow the various inhabitants to share knowledge and materials with each other, prompting them to grow in terms of strength and technology in ways never before seen in any world." As Alex paused in order to let his words sink in, many of those below him began to mutter amongst themselves regarding Alex's claims, most of which sounded quite enthusiastic. Almost everyone in the ballroom was a being that had lived for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and one thing they couldn't resist was something new to occupy their attention with. With Alex offering them several different worlds, all filled with new races, cultures, technologies, magics, and many more interesting things, all of them couldn't help but to be excited. Of course Alex wouldn't just let them run wild in these new world either. He and the other Asoran officials had already discussed a set of rules that anyone planning to interact with the other worlds had to follow, such as the limitation of technology that could be introduced to certain 'underdeveloped' worldslike Tortus or Earthland. The reason for this was to allow them to develop a their own pace, and in their own way due to magics and technologies specific to them. Another obviously involved the spread of religion, as any being that belonged to a specific faith would want to spread their influence. While Alex wouldn't mind them peacefully trying to gain followers, the amount of bloody and violent conflicts that had resulted from gods and their believers trying to spread their faith were uncountable, and that was just in one world. Though there were a few other rules and restrictions that would have to be followed after opening the different worlds to each other, these were two of the biggest ones Alex and the their officials were worried about. But, deciding that he'd explain all of these later, Alex continued, "And as a small teaser of what to expect when we open this world to others, please enjoy this banquet!" Finishing off, Alex clapped his hands twice and great platters of food appeared on the long tables that were scattered around the ballroom, each piled high with delicacies that varied from familiar favorites, to brand new foods that none of them had ever seen. With Alex having already given them leave to try the food, many of the people before him immediately gravitated towards the tables in order to try something new. Alex meanwhile took a few more steps down the stairs until he was level with Rias, and asked with a ked brow, "'Alexander Morningstar', really?" Rias smiled wryly and replied, "It was Maou Beelzebub's idea. It's about time you had a clan name of your own, and I thought it had a nice ring to it." Alex couldn't help nodding in agreement, as he doubted the system would've changed his name as well if he didn't approve of it, but he also couldn't help saying, "You could've at least given me a heads up." This time Rias's wry smile transitioned into a small smirk, as she remarked, "And where would've been the fun in that?" Alex only shook his head at her teasing remark, before looping his left arm through hers so that he had Anne on his right side, and Rias on his left as they made their way down the stairs. Around them people began to eagerly discuss the things Alex had told them while also excitedly speculating what these other worlds he'd open were like. Meanwhile several others were quickly trying to greet those who had actually come from those other worlds, intending to form a good relation with them before anyone else could. Of the princesses Tracy, Hisui, and Liliana were the ones who were able to best interact with the various powerful figures that tried to meet them, but Francesca and Altina were both more than a little overwhelmed. This was to be expected since the demon race in Tortus had been united under one ruler, and the Demi-humans had been completely isolated due to the persecution against them, compared to the human race that had several kingdoms and had been deeply involved in politics. Of the princesses though, Tio was the one that everybody found the most interesting. Even though there were dragons of different types everywhere throughout the DXD world, none of them had the inherent ability to turn into humans like Tio's people could. There was also the way Tio acted around others as they curiously asked her questions, to which the dragoness respectfully and politely answered each and every time. Her manners were so perfect and courteous that no one even suspected her true perverted nature, or even what was really taking place beneath her elegant kimono. And then there were meetings that were bound to be inevitable, but would undoubtedly create headaches for everyone else. One such meeting occurred when Azazel was making his way through the crowds towards Alex, after having piled a plate high with the new delicacies. He was intending to talk to Alex regarding the policies he planned for worldly travel, as he had been the one pushing for peace the most amongst the factions and didn't wish to see a fresh war break out. On his way to him however, something caught Azazel's eye that distracted him completely as he approached a certain young man. "Excuse me, but might I have a look at your arm?" The man turned to look at who was talking to him, only to see Azazel staring at him wide eyed like a child on Christmas morning. "Excuse me?" The man asked, to which Azazel quickly explained, "Sorry, but your right arm is the best prosthetic I've ever seen! I'd love if you could allow me the chance to examine it!" The man's brows shot up when he realized that Azazel was interested in his fake arm, and, without a single word, he proceeded to remove it right then and there from the shoulder, and hold it out to him. While others around them showed various forms of shock or revulsion, Azazel happily accepted the arm as he began to scrutinize it, and mutter to himself about the small details. To the untrained eye the arm looked exactly like a normal arm, right down to the feel of skin and muscle. However Azazel had been working with machines since before humans even discovered gunpowder, and as such he identified that the arm was a fake from the moment he saw it, but was unable to see through how it worked. Eventually he had to ask, "How did you get the arm to look and feel this way?" The young man smirked proudly as he began to explain, "It's made of the hardest mineral I could find, but then I used Creation Age of Gods magic to alter the look and feel of it to mimic a normal arm. Despite this though I can alter the shape of it at will with that same Creation magic, while there's also a shotgun in the elbow, rockets in each of the fingers, and several mini guns located around the wrist." Then, as if to show off, the man took his arm back from Azazel and put it back on, before the shape began to shift to form various different weapons right before everyone's eyes. While the other onlookers didn't seem too thrilled with it, Azazel's eyes were sparkling as he recalled a prototype artificial arm he designed with similar features, except they were all mechanical instead of magical. "Kid, you should definitely come by my lab some time! I would love to see some of the other things you've made, plus I have a few toys myself that I'd like to show off!" Azazel then began to trade notes with the man as they both became increasingly excited, which only exasperated the two women that the man arrived with. The only speed bump in their budding friendship though was when the young man said, "By the way, my name isn't kid, it's Nagumo Hajime." Azazel smiled widely as he replied, "Azazel, former Governor General of the Fallen Angels." And like that, the most unholy friendship ever began. Though, that is a story for another time. *** As the party continued Venelana wandered here and there throughout the ballroom, greeting and conversing with her fellow High and Ultimate class Devils as she did so. This may have been Rias and Alex's party, but as the current lady of Gremory she still intended to make sure all of their guests were enjoying themselves. As the evening ticked by though, she was becoming increasingly annoyed with the looks she was receiving from those around her. Remembering when Katerea had her nkd body placed on display for everyone to see, many of the men around her looked at her while silently undressing her with their gazes, ust just brly showing within the otherwise calm and professional expressions they had. Meanwhile the women around her regarded her one of two different ways, half regarded her with pity and treated her as a victim, while the other half regarded her akin to a sut, and would readily slander her for trying to 'seduce' their husbands when they thought her back was turned. While most women would feel complete shame and humiliation at hearing this after going through what she had earlier, Venelana only felt annoyance and irritation at their blatant hypocrisy. Concepts such as 'shame' and 'modesty' were a relatively new thing to Devils, which was to be expected since they were originally beings of sin and dsr. It was perfectly normal for Devils to engage in polygamy, cheat, lie, seduce, and Venelana even recalled a trend almost a thousand years back where devil women would go about their daily lives topless or even completely nkd, just because they felt like it. Though she had always been a bit more prudish than her fellow female Devils, Venelana herself even recalled posing hundreds of times for a new painting or sculpture to be made of her, several of which were either nude or had her engaged in graphic moments of intimacy with the other members of her husband's harem. So, rather than the shame and indignation that those who bad-mouthed her wanted her to feel, Venelana only kept a mental tally of the culprits for later, while also musing on sending her son-in-law after them on her behalf. Her musings were then interrupted when someone said next to her, "They are truly disgusting." Venelana turned to see her longest and closest friend standing beside her, Sona and Serafall's mother, the lady of the house of Sitri. Wearing a simple elegant black dress with her matching black hair flowing straight down, Lady Sitri looked around with undisguised disgust at those who were badmouthing Venelana, who remarked to her, "You'd think they'd be a bit more cautious considering what my son-in-law did to the last person who shamed me." At that both women recalled the image of Katerea being forced to strip nkd, and kiss Alex's feet before all of the most powerful people in the world, forever ruining any chance she had of them taking her seriously. However a second later lady Sitri replied, "You mean 'our' son-in-law." Venelana smiled wryly as her friend continued, "And here I thought Serafall wound never settle and have a child of her own." Both women then adopted notably gentler expressions as they thought of their new grandchildren, who were now sleeping upstairs in one of the many spare rooms of the Gremory castle. Venelana then added, "Just imagine your husband's face when Alex wakes him up from his coma, only to suddenly see his granddaughter sitting in his p." Lady Sitri's smile widened as she anticipated her husband being woken up, and his own reaction to little Elizabeth. Though she was still worried that whatever Alex's treatment would be wouldn't work, it was buried by the hope and warmth of seeing her daughter's again. The duo then discussed various things regarding the current situation, such as how their houses would be moving forward from there, when something seemed to catch Venelana's eye. "Excuse me, there's a certain matter that it appears I need to tend to." Recognizing Venelana's 'business' look, the Lady Sitri silently sent whoever caught her eye her regards as Venelana made her way towards them. "We are lady Rias's retainers, and as such we have the obligation to present ourselves accordingly so as not to shame our mistress!" Despite his argument though the duo quickly shook their heads as Suzu quickly piped back, "We're not used to this kind of environment though! We thought it wouldn't be that bad after Tortus, but here it's completely different!" With Ryutarouand the unseen Endou nodding at her side in agreement, the trio fondly recalled their time in Tortus where they first had the titles of 'god's apostles', before becoming a part of Rias's peerage and being considered part of the group that brought down Ehitodespite not being a part of the actual final battle. There they were akin to heroes and were widely respected and admired, but here the atmosphere was completely different. People were still regarding them highly as members of Rias's peerage, but with it they could feel judgment in the eyes of those around them as they tried to scrutinize what they were capable of, which it was also made different since the ones scrutinizing them were beings like powerful Devils, Angels, and gods instead of regular humans. Freed was about to say something else to try and get them socialize, when a new voice suddenly said, "And what do we have here?" Suzu and Ryutarou's eyes widened when they suddenly found themselves face to face with none other than Rias's mother, who's expression darkened as she looked down on all of them. Freed meanwhile bowed politely to her while saying, "Greetings to the lady of the Gremory family. How can this lowly servant ssist you?" Venelana's glanced over freed as she scrutinized him for several seconds, before a small smile formed on her lips. "Well, at least one of my daughter's new servants isn't completely hopeless. Tell me Freed, how goes your studies of our society and customs?" Without missing a beat Freed reported to her, "I have been studying the customs and letters of the Devils society for the past several weeks after the defeat of the Dark Emperor Darius, and hope that my progress is considered passable for what my station requires." Then, to display his progress to Venelana, Freed proceeded to show off his word magic as he wrote several sentences and words in midair for her. Nodding in approval, Venelana stated, "Excellent Freed! I look forward to seeing my daughter's future with amazing people like you supporting her!" Bowing towards her again, Freed crossed his arm over his hst in a salute while saying, "You honor me greatly lady Gremory, and I swear to you that I will do everything I can to support mistress Rias." Nodding in approval, Venelana then turned her eyes towards Suzu and Ryutarou, who both felt like rabbits under the gaze of a very hungry wolf as she asked, "And yourselves? How goes your progress" Suzu and Ryutarou both began to curse Freed in their hearts for making them look so bad, when neither one could bear to look Venelana in the eye and say that they had been slacking in their studies, while Endou was thankful to inborn ability to be ignored for once as he desperately willed himself to blend into the wall behind him. Acting as if their lack of answer was to be expected, Venelana sighed and stated, "Very well, I shall educate you since my daughter had apparently been too distracted to do so." She then seized the ears of both Suzu and Ryutarou and began to drag them away, not heeding the wincing and cries of pain from both of them. As he watched her leave Endou let a small sigh of relief that he had been overlooked, only to jump a moment later when Venelana's voice reached him once again as she asked in an unamused voice, "Well? Do I need to drag you as well?" Looking at her in alarm, Endou found Venelana staring directly at him with a stern glare, while Freed, Suzu, and Ryutarou all jumped in surprise from seeing him there, while Ryutarou even demanded, "Endou?! When did you get here?!" Though he didn't want to answer, Endou slowly said as he joined Venelana and the other two, "What do you mean? I got here before any of you did..." Ignoring the stupefied looks Suzu and Ryutarou gave him at his answer, Endou reluctantly followed along as Venelana led them away, and Freed rejoined the party. By the time the party ended that night, all three of them agreed that they would have rather dealt with the Devils, Angels, and gods than another one of Venelana's lessons. *** As the night dragged on and the party continued, Alex and the girls felt as if they were finally getting to the point where it was time to call it a night with how late it was getting, and with how much Alex's himself just wanted to drop into bed. It was at this point though that Azazel finally managed to pry himself away from Hajime and his creations to talk to him, as he made his way up to Alex and asked, "Hey kid, how have you been?" Alex smiled at yet another one of his old teachers, and replied, "I've been good, busy of course, but I enjoy every minute of it." Azazel nodded and asked, "Even with those 'other' people you were talking about?" Alex's expression darkened slightly as he replied, "They've been more of a problem for the people in the world's they go to sadly. Even the world we've been to most recently, Earthland, is still going to be rebuilding for years after what they did to them." Azazel nodded slowly as he recalled the destruction and devastation that every war would leave in it's wake, which was one of the primary reasons why he'd fought so hard for peace. Having spent the majority of his long life fighting, it was only natural that people like himself and Michael would eventually get tired of it. Going off of that, he then asked seriously, "Speaking of which, have you considered what you're really doing by opening different worlds to each other? Certain people might try and take advantage of that." Alex however nodded seriously, and replied, "We've already created a rough draft of a set of rules and regulations for people to follow when it comes to worldly travel. I can have a copy sent to you tomorrow if you want to look over in case there's anything we missed." Azazel nodded in acceptance to Alex's offer, despite the fact that he was retired, as he would feel much better about such things after looking over it himself. Then, to change the subject, a mischievous grin formed on Azazel's face as he asked, "On a different subject, you managed to even get Gabriel pregnant huh?" With Gabriel being the most desirable woman in Heaven, Azazel couldn't help feeling both incredibly jealous and proud of Alex for landing her, to which Alex replied, "Watch yourself Azazel. That's the mother of one my children you're talking about." Though he might have entertained Azazel's curiosity in the past, that was before Alex and his wives began to move things to the next level by beginning their own families. Putting his hands up placatingly, Azazel quickly said, "Alright, alright. But seriously, is your little girl ok? No problems with Heaven's system despite being part Angel and Devil?" Alex's expression softened at Azazel's concern as he replied, "None, we tested it shortly after deciding to wait a day for me to recover from opening the hole. Gabriel mentioned that it was possible that, since Edith was born in a different world, she isn't connected to God's system like the other Angels are." Azazel's brows shot up when he heard that, as he recalled Alex saying when he first told them about Asora that it was separated from God's system, and that Angels wouldn't fall while there. However what truly caught him off guard was what Alex said next, as he continued, "Though if she did end up 'falling', then I would've just turned her back into an Angel before severing her connection to God's system entirely so she couldn't 'fall' again." Not just Azazel, every single Angel and Fallen Angel within earshot reacted at those words, to which Azazel testily asked, "What are you talking about?!" Alex, either not aware or not caring about the stir he just created, replied simply, "Just that I would have reversed the 'falling' process on Edith so that she was an Angel again, before making it so that I wouldn't have to worry about her 'falling' again." As he said, Alex already decided that if Edith had 'fallen' he would've used Regeneration magic to turn her back, before using Spirit magic to sever the spiritual connection she had to the system located in Heaven, which they had already tested to an extent. With both types of Angels around him just gaping at him in disbelief though, Azazel practically demanded, "Show me!" Though he had no dsr to regain his grace and return to Heaven, Azazel couldn't resist his curiosity at the idea that it might actually be possible for Alex to turn Fallen Angels back into regular Angels, something that should have been completely impossible. Alex, not caring about the concern and interest of those around him, placed his palm onto Azazel forehead and channeled his Regeneration magic into the Fallen Angel while he summoned his twelve feathery wings, which appeared to be the blackest of black. For a second nothing happened as Alex channeled his magic power into him, and many people started to think his claims were simply a bluff, but that changed a moment later when a bright light began to radiate from Azazel's body. Everyone watched in dumbfoundment as Azazel's black wings began to shift from the blackest of blacks to the purest of whites, while a halo began to flicker to life above his head. By this point the entire ballroom turned to witness the 'miracle' as Azazel was turned from a Fallen Angel, to a servant of God once more, and holy light began to radiate from his body to fill the entire chamber.
