(Image: Himejima Akeno)
"—So that's how it is…"
A few minutes later, after Rias and the System both filled him in, Akuto fully understood what had happened to Himejima Akeno.
Because she was born a Fallen Angel, Akeno believed herself to be tainted by nature.
She wanted to reincarnate as a devil—together with that "heaven-sent conception" of hers—precisely to erase her Fallen nature.
However, fate was unkind. After becoming a devil, Akeno's Fallen wings didn't disappear; instead, she ended up with half Fallen wings, half devil wings—a hybrid.
…
"In that case, Rias, I should tell you something too." Akuto gently released the slightly-dazed Rias.
"Hm? What is it?" Rias broke contact, her moist eyes tinged with curiosity.
"You must be wondering why I got handsy with Irina the moment we met, right?
Here's the truth—those two were sent by the Church… Holy Swords… the God of the Bible…"
Akuto quickly explained the situation.
"So they're expendables sent by the Church?"
"In that case, Akuto-kun, you should take them in."
Rias had already decided to pull Akeno into the water, so she had no objections to the girls Akuto found.
In a sense, she couldn't object. After all—though Akuto had said they would have multiple children in the future to solve the Gremory infertility issue, that was still an unrealized future. If things failed, and she bore only one Gremory-named heir, she'd be a "first wife unworthy of the title."
That was why Rias had accepted Ravel so readily at the time.
With Ravel around, even if Rias bore only one child, other devils would hold their tongues.
…
While Rias and Akuto talked, Akeno had already finished the dishes.
At the table, Xenovia and Irina were eating like a storm.
"Mmm—mmf—mmf—mmf—!"
Xenovia was treating the food like demons to be smitten, solemnly vowing to exterminate every last bite.
Irina was better—mindful of her image in Akuto's eyes, she ate with more restraint than Xenovia.
"Honestly, Xenovia, even if you've been starving, you can't give up your ladylike image."
Irina said a phrase that didn't really exist on either of them: "ladylike image."
"Ladylike? Why do you think we're starving in the first place?"
At the topic of going hungry, Xenovia bristled. "Irina, don't you know exactly why we've been broke?"
"Isn't it because you impulsively spent our funds buying that so-called saint's portrait!?"
"B-but… but that was Saint George's… How could we not buy a saint's image and enshrine it properly…?"
Irina's voice grew smaller.
She'd gotten overexcited in the moment; later, when they knelt to pray, they noticed the "saintly portrait" had meme-like expressions… and realized they'd… been scammed.
Xenovia's faith wasn't as fervent as Irina's. For example, if a mission endangered their lives, Irina would go in ready to die for the Lord, while Xenovia would try to stay alive.
Not that Xenovia was irreverent—she simply believed that alive, she could serve and spread the Lord's word better.
…
Watching this classic duo of "No-Brain & No-Chill," Akuto chuckled.
"Irina, unless I'm mistaken, you're both carrying Holy Swords, right? If the Church's Holy Sword maidens came to me, there must be a reason."
"Knowing who we are before we draw our swords… as expected of the blasphemous devil, Akuto."
Both Irina and Xenovia looked up at his words—though their chopsticks never slowed.
"Blasphemous… devil?"
Akuto arched a brow. Since when did he have such an edgy codename?
"That's right, Akuto-kun. Lots of people in the Church are calling you the 'Blasphemous Devil.'" Irina nodded.
"Didn't you show on-stream that you weren't harmed by Holy Swords?"
"Yeah."
"Oooh—so that's why…"
He understood immediately.
"So because they can't accept a devil immune to holy power, they label me blasphemous and call it a day?
That kind of self-avoidance is exactly what I'd expect from Church folk."
"Self-avoidance?" Xenovia scowled at the term, but—maybe recalling Irina's warnings—she held her tongue.
…
Fearing Xenovia might say something to sour Akuto's mood, Irina rushed to continue:
"Right, Akuto-kun, you asked what the Church wants.
Recently, the Fallen Angel Kokabiel attacked several Church sites and stole their Holy Swords.
To reclaim them, the Church—"
Irina's soft lips gave an answer that surprised Akuto.
…
A few minutes later—
"So you were sent out like this?" Rias asked, incredulous.
She'd caught on: under these conditions, sending Holy Sword maidens was sending lambs to the slaughter.
Kokabiel—a cadre-class Fallen Angel—was at least Maou-peak, if not stronger!
With just Xenovia and Irina, they planned to take him on and reclaim the swords?
That wasn't just reckless—it was suicidal.
Rias even doubted the two of them, combined, could beat her.
Over the past two months, between personal training and Akuto's bloodline infusion, Rias had already stepped up to High-Ultimate Devil class; her strength had skyrocketed.
Facing the challenge, Xenovia answered firmly:
"For the Lord, it is all worth it."
"Oh? Even if it costs your lives?" Akuto pressed.
He knew how shaky Xenovia's faith actually was before she learned the God of the Bible had perished. In the original, the moment she heard that truth, her faith collapsed—and she became a devil in despair.
Before Xenovia could respond, Irina answered first:
"Even at the cost of our lives, we won't hesitate! At the very least we must destroy the stolen Holy Swords—we can't let them fall into Fallen hands!"
"…Y-yes. The mission must be completed," Xenovia said after a few seconds of struggle.
"I see."
"In that case, I have a proposal. How about this—" Akuto smiled.
"If your baseline is to destroy the Holy Swords… then why not hand them to me instead?"
"In my hands, they'd be far better kept than in the Fallen's. I'm already your so-called 'Blasphemous Devil,' and I already wield a Holy Sword of my own—what's a few more Church blades?"
His words stunned both girls. So there was another path?
Xenovia hurried to think it through with her not-so-nimble brain:
"Inde—indeed. Akuto Leviathan has demonstrated in public that Holy Swords don't harm him; that suggests he carries the Holy Sword factor. Placing them with him isn't a bad choice.
Most importantly, doing so can secure his power against the Fallen. Given his relationship with Irina, with a proper pretext, he will help."
Xenovia was swayed. Irina, however, disagreed.
"Xenovia, what are you saying? Destroying the Holy Swords and giving them to Akuto-kun are totally different!"
Akuto gently took Irina's hand.
"Irina, do you… not want to see me again?"
"Even if you complete the 'destroy' objective, surviving is unlikely.
Isn't it better to hand the swords to me?"
Seeing the worry in his eyes, Irina suddenly remembered the ticklish warmth of his breath and the teasing at her chest earlier.
"…"
"A-Akuto-kun, d-don't look at me like that—d-don't hold my hand—
…I—I… fine! I agree, okay!"
…
Deal, sealed.
If I can absorb the Church's seven Excaliburs or Durandal, Est should advance to Gold quality, Akuto mused.
"It's enough for now, but down the road, anything less than Gold—never mind Red—won't cut it.
Fortunately, DxD has plenty of Holy Swords. Worst case, I can fuse my way to a Red one."
[Ding!~]
[Host need not worry about reward quality. After the Host completes the third dungeon world, the System will undergo a major upgrade.]
[At that time, the Host can store, combine, or enhance System-granted abilities and items.]
[Stored draws can be merged into higher-tier draws, or used to enhance existing abilities.]
[Per System rules, three lower-tier rewards can be combined into one higher-tier reward—e.g., three Purple draws can be merged into one Gold draw.]
[Example: using the Host's "Prototype Holy Sword."]
[Normally, the Purple-grade Prototype would need two Purple draws to advance.]
[However, since it has already absorbed the Purple-grade "Holy Sword that Slays Maou," only one Purple draw is now required to raise it to Gold.]
"Mm… so the Combination function is actually my biggest countermeasure against the Oka World."
"In ten days, once the System finishes indexing the third dungeon world, I have to unlock it ASAP."
(End of Chapter)
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