(Illustration: Grayfia)
Just like that, with a very conflicted mood, Grayfia completed the approval process for the very first Special Operation.
Although in theory, with the authority of the Grand Speaker, Akuto could bypass the DXD Agency's deliberative layers and act directly against external enemies, that was reserved for emergencies where Akuto needed to make unilateral decisions. Under normal circumstances, it was still more convincing to the public to follow standard procedure.
Besides, this was the DXD Agency's first operation. If they used the Grand Speaker's special authority right from the start, it would be a bit hard to justify in terms of appearances.
Power, at the end of the day, is nothing more than where people's hearts point.
If you give people a sense of resistance from the very beginning, then even if you try to fix that first impression later on, it will be extremely difficult.
In any case, an institution like the DXD Agency was destined to expand its authority as it continued to exercise its functions. The more it fulfilled its role, and the more often it acted, the faster that authority would grow.
With so many enemies fated to appear in the future, the DXD Agency's power was destined to spiral upward.
According to Akuto's plan, the DXD Agency would eventually expand into a global organization in which all pantheons would participate: gaining authority, receiving protection, and being placed under its supervision.
Now that the three factions had already been integrated, the next step was naturally to reach out to the Fuso youkai, who interacted with devils the most, and to the Norse pantheon, whose leaders yearned the most for peace.
...
"Three votes from the Grand Speaker, three from the Vice Speakers, nine from the councilors. Governor Azazel's proposal as Honorary Speaker has passed with unanimous approval!"
"Grand Speaker Akuto…"
Having announced the result, Grayfia turned to look at Akuto.
She understood very clearly that at this point, Akuto's status and authority had already surpassed that of a Maou, and there were even faint signs of him eclipsing Maou Lucifer himself.
Under normal circumstances, the position of Grand Speaker would not be handed over to someone this quickly.
Yet the three faction leaders had taken an unorthodox route and chosen Akuto, someone trusted by all three sides, to fill this role.
Though she was thoroughly displeased with Akuto's behavior when it came to women, Grayfia still couldn't help looking forward to just how far he would go in the future.
"Mm. I have indeed received the decision of the Grand Council."
"Once the DXD Squad is successfully assembled, I will personally lead it to provide support for the Fallen Angel faction."
The DXD Squad Akuto mentioned was the Agency's field team, made up primarily of Tsubasa Kise from the Fallen Angels, Sona Sitri from the devil side, and Dulio from the angel side.
Perhaps because she felt the need to rack up achievements as quickly as possible, or perhaps because she had obtained a Dragon King-class Sacred Gear, Sona also joined the DXD Squad and became one of Akuto's direct subordinates.
"Before the DXD Squad makes its official deployment, I ask Fallen Angel Governor Azazel to provide as much intelligence on the enemy as possible. I will lead the DXD Squad in executing targeted eliminations."
Even though Akuto knew the enemy would launch a proactive attack before he made his move, the proper procedures still had to be followed.
"Governor Azazel, how long will it take the Fallen Angels to整理 and submit the information on the enemy?" Akuto looked over at Azazel.
"Understood. As for intel on the enemy, I had it prepared long before I submitted the proposal."
...
However, at that very moment, an unforeseen change occurred!
"Vmm~"
A strange fluctuation suddenly swept across the entirety of Kuoh City!
Around Akuto's body, the barrier of his Supreme Teigu activated automatically.
At this point, after subduing the Church and successfully redirecting its faith, the maximum coverage of Akuto's Supreme Teigu had already reached Chief God-class.
Moreover, as more and more members of the Church were reincarnated as angels, and as faith spread through the Apocalypse world and the Akame ga Kill world, the strength of the Supreme Teigu's barrier continued to grow.
While Akuto's Supreme Teigu unfolded automatically, everyone else in the room instinctively activated their own defenses as well.
However…
The instant that strange fluctuation touched them, nearly everyone mysteriously vanished!
Only Akuto, Serafall, Grayfia, Rias, and Gabriel were left standing where they had been.
[Ding~]
[Detected: regional world line partition. The host's main body and any existence bearing the host's power are immune to its effects.]
...
"Hm? A world line skill? What's going on?"
As he questioned the system, Akuto also searched through the accumulated knowledge of the God of the Bible in his mind.
Within a single breath, Akuto had his answer.
"So that's what it is."
Hearing that, Serafall immediately turned her head to look at Akuto.
"So it really is like that? No wonder things just now felt so utterly bizarre!"
"They really were far too bizarre!"
They had deployed defensive barriers outside well in advance and had prepared a whole array of countermeasures for the moment an enemy attacked. Yet faced with that sudden wave of power, none of those measures had any effect at all!
Aside from those still present in the room, everyone else had vanished without a trace!
"Akuto-sama…"
Gabriel also turned her gaze toward Akuto with a look of clear appeal.
Under normal circumstances, she absolutely would not show such a soft and dependent posture in front of him. But now, faced with an unknown crisis, Akuto had become the one they relied on most.
Although in the eyes of the outside world, Akuto's strength was still "only" at the peak of Super Maou-class, neither Grayfia nor Serafall had any illusions about it. They both knew Akuto's true power had already reached the level of a Chief God.
Precisely because they knew this, Grayfia and Serafall attached extreme importance to Akuto's judgment.
And clearly, based on how Akuto had casually said, "So that's how it is," just now, he had already shown that not only his strength, but also his perspective, far surpassed their own.
Under the gaze of the two women, Akuto spoke slowly:
"The attack we just suffered is called 'World Line Division.'"
"Because this kind of world line attack is a special assault that acts directly upon the rules of the world itself, physical defenses are useless. So even though everyone activated their defenses in time, they were still dispatched to different world lines."
"Right now, everyone should have been transported into different world lines and are each enduring ambushes from the enemy."
Akuto looked out the window.
From the unchanged, intact rules of the world visible outside, they could tell they were still in the original DXD world and had not been drawn into any of the partitioned regional world lines.
"But then… why weren't we sent away?" Grayfia asked in genuine puzzlement.
"That part?"
Akuto gave a playful smile.
"In my case, it's as the system just said: my own nature allows me to ignore this kind of world line-targeting attack. As for you, it's because you all carry my power inside your bodies."
"Mm? Because we carry your power inside us?"
The moment Akuto said that, Grayfia immediately recalled the scene of him forcefully kissing her earlier that day.
Could it be that the reason she hadn't been sent away was because there were still traces of Akuto's bodily fluids left in her body?
[Wait a second!]
All of a sudden, Grayfia noticed a blind spot.
[It makes sense that Rias would still have Akuto's fluids inside her. After all, they're already engaged. But… what about Serafall? Why wasn't she sent away either?]
[Don't tell me she and Akuto also have…]
Grayfia quickly turned to look at Serafall, only to meet an equally confused gaze.
In the end, the two of them very tacitly withdrew their eyes at the same time.
They both felt it was better not to pry too deeply into each other's private lives.
Alongside the awkwardness and guilty conscience, Grayfia felt her anger toward Akuto flare up again.
She knew it. With how lecherous Akuto was, and with how often he and Serafall appeared at the same cosplay events, how could he possibly have not made a move on Serafall!?
As for Gabriel?
Grayfia simply ignored Gabriel.
There was no way Akuto would lay hands on a Seraph, right? The reason Gabriel hadn't been transported away had to be because of the God of the Bible.
...
In truth, on that point, Grayfia really was misunderstanding.
On Serafall's side, after breaking eye contact with Grayfia, a charming blush spread across Serafall's delicate, fair cheeks.
Because, according to Akuto's explanation, he had long since figured out why there were traces of his fluids in her body.
It had all started out completely by accident.
Once, during an event, Serafall had absentmindedly taken a drink from Akuto's cup, creating a third instance of indirect physical contact between them.
After that day, Serafall discovered that she wanted physical contact with Akuto even more than before, and not just on the surface level, but something deeper as well.
Originally, Serafall disliked contact with men. Akuto was the only exception.
As time passed, that desire became harder and harder to suppress.
Later, during one of the many occasions when Serafall "rewarded" Akuto by burying his face against her chest, she was startled to realize that Akuto had opened his mouth. Embarrassed as she was, Serafall did not say anything, merely enduring this further step in their intimacy in silence.
From that point on, Serafall completely crossed the line.
Not only did she intentionally "reward" Akuto more often, letting him leave his scent on her clothes, she even proposed a new strategy of swapping cosplay outfits.
Serafall suggested that, as a commemorative gesture for every event they attended together, they could exchange their cosplay costumes once it was over.
Since Akuto had always had a bit of a collector's obsession, he naturally wouldn't refuse Serafall's proposal. He had long wanted to collect a full set of cosplay outfits that Serafall had personally worn.
And so, the deal was sealed.
The two agreed that for every event they attended together, they would exchange the outfits they had worn at the previous event.
This way, Serafall only needed to clean the fabric over her chest a little after each event, and she could simultaneously achieve both "temporarily keeping her own clothes" and "getting Akuto's clothes at the next event" in one go.
But after a few rounds of swapping, Serafall noticed something: Akuto did not seem to have any habit of washing clothes at all. Every time, his outfits were brand new, worn once and discarded.
Even so, she had no intention of advising Akuto to start washing his clothes.
In fact, after wrestling with herself for a while, Serafall stopped washing her own outfits as well. Once she finished using her "reward outfit" for Akuto, she would simply do a light wipe-down of the fabric over her chest and then, at the next event, hand over the entire, unwashed cosplay set to Akuto in one piece.
When you traced it back to the root, it was precisely because Akuto would open his mouth during their intimate moments that Serafall now remained unaffected by the world line skill.
(End of Chapter)
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