Chapter 240: Sending Some Benefits to the Brother-in-Law
Yubelluna and Xuelan were only holding on by sheer willpower. Once Ravel extended a helping hand, their resolve dissipated, and they promptly lost consciousness.
Many in the Phenex family felt Ravel was wasting resources, but who could argue when she was the most beloved little princess?
Healing Yubelluna and the others didn't require much resources anyway—it was just a way to indulge the young princess.
Meanwhile, thanks to his powerful self-healing abilities and the full support of the Phenex family, Riser quickly gained complete control over the power within him.
Though he had lost any hope of further advancement, the results were indeed remarkable.
Originally at S+ rank, he broke through two barriers in one go, reaching the threshold of a Special-Class Devil.
In more common rank classifications, this could be called SSS-.
The immense power filled Riser with confidence, but the memory of Haruto severely injuring the Satan-Class Azazel with Juggernaut Drive still left him without full assurance.
Unfortunately, even the Phenex family's immortality couldn't withstand the cost of repeatedly using secret arts.
Otherwise, he would have definitely contracted another batch of servants and continued the ritual.
This was his only method for improving his strength in the future, but it could only take him at most to the Ultra Satan-Class, just below God-Class.
However, finding such willing and cooperative servants again wouldn't be easy. He would have to rely on exchanging benefits or forcibly extracting power.
The former came at a high cost—even the wealthy Phenex family couldn't use this method to push him all the way to Ultra Satan-Class.
As for the latter, if he actually went through with it, even as one of the Four Great Satans, his family would be collectively attacked by others.
Otherwise, the Phenex family would have long dominated alone.
God-Class beings and those above possessed too much destructive power and rarely acted within the Three Realms. Their battlefield lay in the boundless void beyond the Three Realms.
Within the Three Realms, the Ultra Satan-Class was the strongest existence.
…
Knowing full well that the challenge was a trap, Haruto naturally wouldn't go unprepared.
He attempted to break through—the next threshold for qualitative life change was the God-Class, so there were many methods to try.
Unfortunately, to advance from SS+ to SSS-Class, he either needed to dual cultivate with an SSS-Class or stronger female, or continue accumulating power, or achieve a breakthrough in the heat of battle.
For now, there were no targets among powerful women, and even if there were, they wouldn't easily agree to dual cultivation.
Rapidly breaking through via combat was also unfeasible.
Finding an opponent for a life-or-death struggle with perfectly matched strength was even harder than finding a suitable dual cultivation partner.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. The entire Occult Research Club entered the Underworld via a teleportation array.
Mio was very curious about the Underworld and took this opportunity to come along for a look, with Maria naturally following behind.
Thus, on Toujou Basara's first day of transferring schools, not only was a large group of people missing from the class, but he didn't see a single familiar face either…
In the Underworld, numerous demon nobles, dressed extravagantly and possessing excellent looks and temperaments, looked up at the sky.
On the broadcast screen that occupied almost half of their field of view, the red-haired Devil King Sirzechs finished his speech, and the camera shifted to a large coliseum.
The entire colosseum was constructed from white marble, appearing identical to the ancient Roman amphitheaters.
Within the vast arena, two small figures stood in confrontation.
Under the curious gazes of all the demons, the camera gradually zoomed in, revealing the two individuals facing off to be Riser and Haruto.
"Dragon versus Phoenix—a clash between two legendary powers is about to begin."
After Sirzechs finished introducing the demons, he spoke to Haruto in the arena through magic: "Since this duel was initiated by Riser, he has offered a reward. However, as the one publicizing this duel, I will not be stingy either."
"So, heir of the Red Dragon Emperor, what reward would you desire? A noble title, a Sacred Gear, or perhaps a peerless beauty?"
Haruto glanced up at the screen in the sky, never expecting such an unexpected boon.
He wanted to suggest dual cultivation with the silver-haired beauty once, but with so many nobles of the Underworld watching, the red-haired Devil King would have to step in personally to spar with him just to save face.
In the end, he chose the noble title, deciding to discuss dual cultivation matters privately later.
"Lord Devil King, I choose the noble title. Going through Rating Games one by one is too troublesome."
Haruto shrugged and said with a laugh.
"Granted."
Sirzechs agreed without hesitation. Haruto's strength was already sufficient—what he lacked was seniority.
Some conservative, stubborn old demons wanted to say something, but upon seeing Rias beside Sirzechs, they wisely swallowed their words.
They were stubborn, but not stupid.
The matter between Rias and the heir of the Red Dragon Emperor was no secret, and this duel was inextricably linked to it.
The Devil King was merely finding an excuse to give his future brother-in-law some benefits.
If Haruto had chosen the peerless beauty, Sirzechs would have directly arranged a marriage between Rias and Haruto.
He had always doted on his only sister, but his position as the Devil King forced him to play the villain in certain matters.
Through recent events, Haruto had demonstrated his value with his unique abilities and formidable strength.
Even the most stubborn conservative demons had to admit that Haruto joining the demons was beneficial, offering hope of restoring the demon race's former glory.
The dragon race's reproductive capabilities, coupled with their complementary dual cultivation abilities, could rapidly enhance the overall strength of the demons.
Of course, this was contingent on the next head of the Gremory family being willing to lend her man to other families.
What? Not asking for Haruto's opinion?
He wouldn't need to take responsibility—female demons could even take the initiative during the process.
What fool would refuse such an arrangement that offered both pleasure and power?
Haruto remained unaware of the demons' schemes for now, but if Rias and the other women truly didn't mind, he probably wouldn't refuse casual encounters.
As for whether female demons would find other male demons unsatisfactory afterward...
That wasn't his concern—such matters would need to be clearly agreed upon in advance.
In reality, the demons were being overly optimistic. Procreation and dual cultivation couldn't occur simultaneously.
Dual cultivation for power enhancement would consume life essence, preventing conception.
As for conceiving first then enhancing power, or enhancing power first then conceiving—neither could be achieved through just one or two dual cultivation sessions.
Occasionally, Haruto might try it for novelty, but maintaining long-term relationships was another matter entirely.
"Sorry, his schedule is already fully packed."
"Begin the battle."
As Sirzechs' voice fell, the screen in the coliseum's sky vanished. Haruto and Riser simultaneously assumed combat stances.
Unlike the Gremory family, the Phenex family excelled in close-quarters combat due to their immortality trait.
Over the past two days, alongside his drastically increased power, Riser had been continuously investigating Haruto's information, attempting to find weaknesses.
Haruto's growth was extremely rapid, only truly entering the Underworld's spotlight after the battle against Azazel. Beyond that fight, there was basically no useful information.
"SSS-class? Quite a pleasant surprise."
The feedback from his perception magic made Haruto raise an eyebrow slightly in surprise. Rather than fear, he felt eager for the challenge.
This duel had no restrictions about fatal blows - perhaps he could use this opportunity to break through in one go.
"Hmph, I'll give you time to activate your Sacred Gear. Otherwise, you probably won't last five seconds."
Riser glared darkly at Haruto's left hand. Haruto was only SS+, while he was SSS-.
Though it was just a minor realm difference, it was almost insurmountable.
In his view, the only unstable factor was the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet.
One of only thirteen Sacred Gears in the world, no one dared ignore its power. All those who had gambled on underestimating it had met unfortunate ends.
Azazel, who had reached Satan-Class, was the prime example.
Haruto wasn't one for trash talk during battles, nor was he affected by his opponent's provocations - characteristics that perfectly matched those of a combat specialist.
"I don't need the Sacred Gear to deal with you. Friendly reminder: you'll regret treating me as an ordinary Ultimate-Class Devil."
With a light laugh, he directly transformed into his devil form.
The broad bat wings, gleaming tail, and eerie, ferocious patterns on his face drew continuous exclamations from the noble demons watching from outside.