The soft, holy light gradually faded, revealing the results of the transformation. Takeyo Kagutsuchi stood with his arms crossed, observing the two figures before him with a critical eye.
Although both Asia and Yuuma had evolved into ten-winged angels and fallen angels, respectively, his expression remained troubled.
"Interesting," he murmured, his analytical mind processing what he was seeing. "Asia's natural talent is clearly superior to Yuuma's. She evolved from an ordinary human to this level, while Yuuma evolved from a mid-class fallen angel to reach the same point."
His frown deepened as he continued his assessment.
"However..." He sighed, shaking his head slightly. "While the wings represent their potential, their actual power levels are only at the high-class devil equivalent. They haven't yet reached the strength that ten wings should indicate."
The wings were more a symbol of what they could become rather than what they currently were. Ten-winged angels could theoretically enter that exalted realm without obstacles, but the transformation itself didn't immediately grant them that level of power.
Still, Takeyo knew of something that could potentially accelerate their growth to match their new forms. The question was whether he should use it now or wait.
Within the soft, holy radiance that still lingered in the air, Asia slowly opened her eyes. Her emerald gaze shimmered with excitement and wonder as she took in her new existence.
"Lord..." she whispered, her voice filled with reverent prayer as she looked toward Takeyo.
That single word revealed everything about how her transformation had affected her mind. After being reincarnated as an angel by Takeyo, Asia's fundamental understanding of the world had shifted dramatically.
She hadn't transferred her faith from the God of the Bible to Takeyo. Rather, in her mind, Takeyo was the God of the Bible. After all, who else could reincarnate humans into angels, especially ten-winged angels, if not the Lord Himself?
"No, I'm not the God of the Bible," Takeyo corrected her gently but firmly.
The so-called God of the Bible had died long ago during the Great War. From what Takeyo had learned, the deity must have been an extraordinarily compassionate being. He'd had no obligation to seal the Beast Emperor 666, yet he'd exhausted most of his power to do so anyway, ultimately leading to his death in the conflict.
"Then... are you the Son?" Asia tilted her head in innocent confusion.
In her understanding, only the Lord or His Son could possess the power to reincarnate humans into angels.
"Asia, do you truly believe that if I were the God of the Bible, I would accept an existence like me?" Yuuma interjected, stretching her newly manifested black wings.
This was the power her master had bestowed upon her. What wonderful, sacred power it was!
She could feel the Evil Pieces integrated into her body, each one carrying Takeyo's essence. That sacred and wonderful presence, the Lord's breath, the Lord's love, the Lord's claim upon her soul. This was everything she'd been seeking.
"The Lord isn't like the God of the Bible, who could only accept those with the power of the Holy Light," Yuuma continued, her voice taking on an almost fervent quality. "The Lord will love everyone in the world!"
Using her black fallen angel wings, Yuuma seemed determined to demonstrate her point to Asia. She moved closer, as if trying to cover Asia's pristine white angel feathers with her own dark plumage, a symbolic gesture of their master's acceptance of both light and darkness.
"Love everything in the world?" Asia gently covered her lips with one hand, her expression thoughtful. "What a magnificent ideal that is..."
If someone had told her this before, she would never have believed it. But she'd been exiled by the church, and she knew firsthand how cruelly the institution treated those deemed heretical.
Perhaps Yuuma was right. Perhaps whoever their benefactor truly was, he represented something greater than the limited doctrine she'd been raised with.
"Asia, if you don't mind, you can call me 'brother' or just use my name," Takeyo suggested, trying to establish a more reasonable dynamic. "After all, you're my guardian angel now, so it's perfectly acceptable to listen to my personal preferences."
After integrating his Evil Pieces, she was naturally his servant. Calling her his guardian angel wasn't entirely inaccurate, and it was certainly better than having her worship him as a deity.
"Yes!" Asia responded with a bright smile, her happiness evident.
Through the connection with the Evil Pieces, she'd received basic information about her new status. Takeyo was her master, and calling him that would be entirely appropriate.
Asia's heart overflowed with joy at being reborn as an angel. Thank you, she thought gratefully. Thank you, Takeyo, for giving me this new life!
"Oh my, it seems I have a competitor now," Yuuma observed, watching Asia's tears of joy with a knowing smile.
She didn't believe for a moment that their master had given Asia those precious Evil Pieces merely for protection. No, there had to be more to it than that.
Meanwhile, in the Underworld, the demon king Sirzechs Lucifer sat at his desk dealing with official duties. Unfortunately, the workload had increased significantly recently, forcing him to work overtime just to keep up.
"Well, well, I really found myself a capable brother-in-law, didn't I?" he muttered to himself with a wry smile. "And Ajuka found himself quite the troublesome disciple."
Sirzechs had heard about Takeyo Kagutsuchi from Ajuka and had agreed to his fellow Satan's request to grant the boy certain privileges.
"One or two months of hard work in exchange for my sister's lifelong happiness," he mused. "I have to admit, Ajuka, you really know how to negotiate. You knew I'd never refuse this condition."
His expression turned contemplative as he considered the implications.
"What kind of changes will such a person bring to this world? I'm genuinely looking forward to finding out." He shook his head with a slight chuckle. "If he were so inclined, the entire world order could be turned upside down. Fortunately, he's currently on the side of devils. That's enough for now."
Just as Sirzechs prepared to return to his paperwork, he felt a familiar magical presence.
His eyebrows rose as a transfer magic circle suddenly materialized in his office. The magical signature was one he recognized instantly, it belonged to Ajuka Beelzebub himself.
As the magical light dissipated, Ajuka emerged from the circle, his characteristic analytical expression in place.
"If you'd come earlier, I would have been happy to invite you to dinner," Sirzechs said, glancing at the clock. "As it is, you're catching me during my late-night work session."
He wondered what trouble Ajuka was bringing to his door this time.
"Not happy to see me now, then?" Ajuka asked with a slight smile as he stepped fully into the office.
He wasn't alone in his predicament, after all. With the recent proposal that had been approved, all four demon kings were now working tirelessly together. Misery loves company, as they say.
That's right, all four of them were now in the same situation.
Through the combined proposal of Serafall and the approval of both Sirzechs and Ajuka, they'd successfully convinced Falbium Asmodeus, the last demon king of the Underworld, to join their increased workload.
"It's not that I don't welcome you," Sirzechs replied with a helpless expression. "I just suspect you're bringing me more trouble."
In truth, the demon kings weren't quite as omnipotent as human legends suggested. Most of the time, they functioned more like CEOs of a massive corporation, dealing with bureaucracy and administrative decisions rather than wielding absolute power.
"You're right, this is rather troublesome," Ajuka admitted. "I want to collect all the magical knowledge in the Underworld."
"Pfft!" Sirzechs had just taken a sip of tea and nearly choked on it. "I don't think 'rather troublesome' quite covers it."
He set his cup down carefully, his expression becoming serious.
"This isn't just troublesome, Ajuka. It could be as problematic as starting another war. The Four Demon Kings aren't omnipotent, you know. There are still many stubborn old devils alive in the Underworld."
Sirzechs shook his head slowly.
"Furthermore, whether pure-blood devils or reincarnated ones, none of them will easily surrender the magic they've inherited. These techniques represent family legacies, power, and status."
He looked at Ajuka with genuine concern.
"Why are you making such a decision? You're not someone who acts arbitrarily, you must have a compelling reason."
"This is why," Ajuka said simply.
Without another word, he produced a recording crystal and activated it. Images sprang to life above his desk, footage of Takeyo's battle, along with detailed analysis of the power he'd displayed during the fight.
"This is...!" Sirzechs's carefully maintained composure finally cracked.
He'd just witnessed the dragon king Tannin in the recording. Tannin was the only one among the Four Demon Kings with combat power that could potentially surpass even Sirzechs himself in pure destructive capability!
Several minutes passed as Sirzechs watched the entire recording and reviewed Ajuka's analysis. When it finished, he stood abruptly from his seat and slammed his hand on the desk.
"Well then, which family shall we visit first?" His entire demeanor had changed, his tone now businesslike and determined. "Your family or mine? Or should we start with Serafall's or Falbium's?"
His attitude had completely reversed by a full one hundred eighty degrees. There was nothing more to say, if this was the level of power they were dealing with, then yes, they absolutely needed to raid the vaults of those old Underworld families.
"My family is already handled," Ajuka replied, producing another document. "Let the other two prepare themselves first. By the way, this is the official justification we'll be using."
He handed Sirzechs a detailed plan.
"'The Underworld Grand Formation Plan'?" Sirzechs read aloud, his eyes scanning the document. "This would utilize all the demon families' magic to create a defensive barrier... Yes, as expected of you, Ajuka."
The Underworld Grand Formation, if completed, would create a barrier so powerful that even transcendent-level beings would find it impossible to breach.
"This plan has existed for a long time," Ajuka explained. "We simply lacked the courage to implement it before. Now we can kill two birds with one stone."
"By the way, how's the Silver-Haired Annihilation Queen?" Sirzechs asked, referring to his Queen. "If she were here, you should have had an easier time with this paperwork, right?"
"Ah, Grayfia," Sirzechs said with a rueful smile. "She's very much a nine-to-five type. When her shift ends, she returns home. It's probably because I took an unauthorized break earlier today, so she's currently irritated with me."
Normally, Grayfia would have helped, but he'd apparently exhausted her patience for the day.
"Well, shall we visit Serafall first?" Ajuka suggested. "That way, Falbium will have no choice but to participate as well."
"Haha, Ajuka, you're still as devious as ever," Sirzechs said with genuine amusement.
Unlike the previous generation of demon kings, the four great demon kings of the new era were remarkably united. They typically operated on a majority-rule basis, three would make a decision, and the fourth would be "voluntarily" compelled to agree.
Poor Falbium was about to once again "voluntarily" make a choice... the kind of choice that would hurt him to his very core.
Over the next several days, the Underworld became remarkably unsettled.
The Four Great Demon Kings sent visitation requests to each devil family. Every household that received a visit from all four Satans simultaneously emerged with their patriarch wearing an expression of profound displeasure.
After the most powerful families had been addressed, the four demon kings split up to handle the remainder more efficiently.
The entire Underworld had by now heard what was happening, and the remaining smaller families couldn't create any significant resistance. There was also a clear hierarchy among devil families, dukes, marquises, and earls all had different levels of influence.
One curious detail was that the Sitri household was visited not only by the demon kings but also by another prominent devil family, though few knew the significance of this particular visit.
Takeyo remained unaware that the Four Great Demon Kings had essentially robbed the entire seventy-two pillar families of the Underworld on his behalf.
When he eventually learned of this, he would be genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected his teacher Ajuka to go to such lengths for him.
Several days later, Takeyo woke up a few minutes earlier than usual, thanks to Yuuma's dedicated "wake-up service."
"I've told you repeatedly not to sneak into my bed every night," he said, his tone carrying mild exasperation.
While the situation was admittedly pleasant, he remained concerned about the influence Yuuma might have on the others in his household.
Both Asia and Est were also living with him now. If any of them decided to learn from Yuuma's example, how would he manage to keep proper boundaries?
"Ehehe," Yuuma giggled, entirely unrepentant.
She truly was a mischievous little troublemaker.
After the chaotic morning routine, Takeyo decided to take Asia with him to school.
He specifically didn't want to leave Asia alone with Yuuma, knowing the fallen angel would undoubtedly fill the innocent girl's head with all sorts of inappropriate ideas. Asia was far too pure to be corrupted by Yuuma's influence.
Following her along was the better choice.
The first place he headed was the Student Council room. In addition to wanting to complete his sign-in task, he also needed to help Asia with her enrollment.
Today's sign-in location was refreshingly straightforward.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for completing sign-in! Sign-in rank: Silver!]
[Sign-in location: Sona Sitri's glasses]
[Sign-in time limit: 1 day]
[Remaining time: 23 hours]
This was today's refreshed sign-in task. He came to the Student Council room every day during lunch, but today he'd arrived in the morning instead.
Besides wanting to see if he could find an opportunity to complete the sign-in, he needed to handle Asia's enrollment procedures so she could reasonably accompany him during school hours.
"Click..."
Quietly, Takeyo and Asia entered the Student Council room together.
"President Sona is as diligent as always, watching over everyone here each morning," Takeyo said with an appreciative smile.
Sona made a habit of observing the students as they arrived at Kuoh Academy every morning, while Rias did the same when students left in the evening. It seemed to be some kind of unspoken arrangement between them.
During the day, Kuoh Academy belonged to the Student Council. At night, it belonged to the Occult Research Club.
"Takeyo? You're coming to the Student Council room in the morning? That's quite unusual," Sona said, helping adjust her glasses. A smile appeared on her face, an expression she rarely showed to others.
Though Takeyo felt he'd been seeing that particular smile quite frequently lately.
"The girl next to you is..." Sona's sharp gaze immediately noticed Asia. "Is there something you need her for?"
Although Asia was dressed in casual clothes today, she still wore a cross pendant at her chest.
The presence of a cross typically indicated affiliation with the church, and theoretically, such individuals could be eliminated on sight when they appeared in devil territory.
Sona could definitely sense the presence of sacred power from this blonde girl. Although the holy energy was quite weak, it nevertheless proved she was connected to the church.
"I want to help her complete the enrollment procedures," Takeyo explained. "Ideally, I'd like her placed in the same class as me."
"Takeyo," Sona sighed. "You do understand her identity, don't you? We are devils."
"I'm aware," Takeyo confirmed. "However, Asia doesn't belong to the church anymore. She used to be a saint, but she was exiled. She has no organizational affiliation now."
"An exiled saint?" Sona's expression shifted to one of understanding, then sympathy.
She'd been about to offer Asia one of her Evil Pieces for reincarnation in that instant, before remembering the uncomfortable fact that she no longer possessed any Evil Pieces. They'd all been consumed during the failed attempt to reincarnate Takeyo.
"Well, it's essentially political asylum," Takeyo continued. "You can report it to the appropriate authorities."
After speaking, he simply looked at Sona expectantly.
After several seconds of consideration, Sona sighed in resignation.
"Very well. Tsubaki, please take Miss Asia to handle her registration."
"Understood," Tsubaki responded. After giving Takeyo a meaningful glance, she gestured for Asia to follow her.
In this academy, the school board had far less authority than the Student Council and the Occult Research Club. For all practical purposes, this institution belonged to them.
"President, would you perhaps like to play a game for old times' sake?" Takeyo asked with a smile once the others had left.
By "game," he naturally meant a chess match.
"I refuse," Sona declined immediately. "I won't play when I know I have absolutely no hope of victory."
In the past, she'd believed her abilities were comparable to Takeyo's. Now she understood the truth, Takeyo had been deliberately holding back the entire time. She'd always felt like she could win but never quite managed it.
That was because Takeyo's skill so vastly exceeded her own that he could consistently maintain the game at that precise level of tension.
After his superhuman calculation ability and learning capacity had been revealed, Sona had realized he'd been letting her win all along. Given her pride, she certainly couldn't accept that.
Moreover, he'd brought a beautiful blonde girl to see her today, which had left Sona feeling somewhat melancholic.
Of course Takeyo would never believe Sona wasn't angry at him, let alone fail to notice her displeasure. He hadn't studied psychology and microexpressions for nothing, even if he didn't know her personality, he could read the signs clearly.
"President," he said in a soft, gentle voice. "I don't suppose I'd be honored enough to give you a gift?"
"A gift?" Sona asked, confused.
It wasn't any special occasion. Why would Takeyo want to give her a gift?
"Consider it my apology to you. I wonder if I might earn your forgiveness?" Takeyo produced a small, exquisitely crafted box that was clearly meant for presenting a gift.
"Well... I don't know if I'll forgive you or not," Sona replied, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she lowered her gaze.
She didn't deny being angry, which at least demonstrated a certain honesty in the moment.
"Click..."
Gently, Takeyo opened the small gift box.
"This is my apology to you, President," he said, revealing its contents.
Inside lay a pair of black-framed glasses, similar in style to Sona's usual round frames but with slightly more feminine details that softened their appearance.
"These are... glasses? I didn't expect you to give me this type of gift," Sona murmured, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth before she forcibly suppressed it, returning to her typical composed expression.
"I wonder if I might be honored to place these glasses on you myself, President?" Takeyo asked, looking directly into her eyes.
"..." Sona didn't respond verbally.
Instead, she simply closed her eyes slightly, giving her silent consent.