Chapter 72: An Infiltrator and a New Teacher
The person who appeared was a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure, long black hair with parted bangs, and hazel eyes with cat-like pupils. Her attire consisted of a black kimono, a yellow obi, a set of golden beads, and a highly detailed headband. The kimono had a red interior and was open at the shoulders, revealing her large breasts.
"Kuroka..." Rias nodded.
A while back, she had taken the time to contact Koneko's sister when she saw her watching her little sister. Instead of trying to push her away, she gave her the opportunity to see her as often as she wanted and even converse with her, and, in the near future, clear her name. Kuroka didn't have high expectations for the arrangement, but she had nothing to lose by trying.
After Rias fought Indra, her expectations grew greatly, and she began to spy for Rias within the Khaos Brigade and Vali's group. For her, even though Vali's group were allies and friends, the opportunity to mend and improve her relationship with her sister was much better.
"So you really know about Perseus..." Harry commented, crossing his arms.
"Mm... Harry nya~..." Kuroka smiled slightly upon seeing Harry, but noticed Rias's slightly threatening gaze. "Yes... Perseus has joined Cao Cao's group nya~"
"He's actually quite polite and very loyal. Although... he's not stupid either; he has his own opinions on things. But sadly, Athena-san, I don't think you can get the Eye of Medusa back."
"Why?" Athena asked, narrowing her eyes.
"The Khaos Brigade has Ophis as a front-line leader. However, the person who leads in the shadows is the real problem..."
Kuroka sighed slightly: "Rizevim Livan Lucifer, that man really is dark and annoying. He's cunning and doesn't let others speak or get close to him easily. Along with him are the other descendants of the original Maou and other powerful powers."
"Also..." Kuroka looked darkly at Athena. "Even with Perseus's abilities, do you think he can simply sneak in and steal the Eye of Medusa before leaving unseen by you gods?"
The goddess's eyebrows rose in surprise, and she looked at Kuroka angrily.
"Are you saying a god from our pantheon helped him?!"
"Hades..."
That name alone made Athena clench her fists. Most who had been in the supernatural world for a while and heard of the gods would know that Hades doesn't get along with Zeus or most of the other Olympian gods. He also referred to reincarnated creatures as 'fakes' and despised most other supernatural beings.
"Even if Hades spends most of his time in his realm, he can actually probably help Perseus," Athena snarled angrily. Her eyebrows were almost knitted together while her eyes showed coldness and fury. The goddess was angry at the trouble Hades's decisions could cause.
"How powerful is Hades?" Harry asked curiously.
"He's within the top ten most powerful existences," Rias replied seriously.
"Then..." Harry raised his eyebrows at her. "...He can still be defeated, right? Why so afraid?"
"The problem might not be Hades himself," Athena said, frowning. "He has his Grim Reapers, and some of them are quite powerful."
"Ah... I see," Harry nodded, understanding better.
"You guys..." Kuroka looked at them in exasperation before sighing. "It's annoying enough dealing with Vali's madness, but you guys just talk about beating a god in the top ten most powerful existences like it's a conversation over tea."
The three of them simply shrugged.
"Looks like I'll have to return to Olympus empty-handed," Athena rubbed her temples, feeling annoyed by how things were going.
"Ma~... Don't be so sad, maybe I can help. Kuroka just has to take me to where Medusa's Eye is," Harry smiled a little tightly, showing his playful side.
"Are you planning on using the Invisibility Cloak?" Rias asked with her own smile.
"Yes..."
"What's that?" Athena asked.
"It's the coat Harry has draped over his shoulders. It's a family heirloom passed down through generations. Smells, sounds, presences, auras—it hides everything so no one can detect it."
"What about emotions? Some people are pretty good at detecting that sort of thing," Athena frowned.
"I can handle that with mind magic."
"Fine... then let's get going," Kuroka interrupted, not wanting to continue listening to their headache-inducing conversations.
. . .
"You don't seem worried about your partner," Athena looked at Rias, who was watching anime on television.
"He can take care of himself. In fact, he might be really hard to kill with the magic he knows."
"It was actually easy," Harry's voice appeared behind them as he held a vial of liquid with an eye inside. "Actually, there weren't too many people around. But I could hear something interesting."
"Something interesting?" the two women asked curiously.
Harry smiled as he nodded. "Apparently, there's a facility in one of the circles of Hell. I have no idea which one, but it seems the ancient Satan faction is conducting experiments there."
"It's impossible in Purgatory. That place is where it's decided whether someone goes to Heaven or stays in Hell. At the same time, it has a gateway to Heaven like Limbo. Malebolge is where those with evil minds or evil spirits end up. This place could be, but it would be too obvious, and there are always some guards near the place. They'd be taking a risk, no matter how small the chance of being discovered."
Athena then said, "Hades wouldn't let Devils into the Realm of Death. No matter how strong they are. The only possibility is that they had arranged a meeting beforehand, or that Hades simply doesn't have the power to stop that person. But the latter is difficult. Within the Devil race, Sirzechs Lucifer is the only one capable of doing so." "That's it."
"So Cocytus, huh?" Harry commented.
"It's the place with the greatest potential," Rias said with a frown.
Harry shook his head slightly. There wasn't much point in thinking about this for now. Eventually, they'll discover the location. Then, he approached Athena and handed her the Eye of Medusa.
"Thank you..." Athena smiled. He had now recovered his mission item. Asking them to bring Perseus was simply foolish. It was better that the enemy didn't find out about the theft.
"Are you leaving now?" Rias asked.
"Yes..." Athena nodded and smiled at the pair. "Thank you very much for your help, Rias Gremory, Henry Potter... I'll come back in a few days to give you a reward. It's the least I can do to make my mission easier."
"You're welcome... anyway, we didn't have much to do," Harry said with a shrug.
"You can come back if you want," Rias smiled at her friendly. "Actually, I have an offer, I don't know if you can accept it."
"An ofeer?" Athena looked at Rias, slightly puzzled.
"Yeah... would you like to be a teacher?"
"Teacher?" Athena blinked.
"Currently, I'm forming my own place. If you'd like, you can call it a faction. The lowest-class devils, reincarnated devils, and those who've advanced through the ranks to obtain their pieces of evil, are training there with Nezha."
"Is this place only for the devil race?... Also, Nezha? The Buddha?"
"Yes, that Nezha. And no, but only a few Devils are there. But I want all kinds of races to train and learn at Aeternum. Oh... I almost forgot, but Fafnir is there too, he's a guardian.
Athena tilted her head slightly as she frowned, wondering if it was a good idea. As the goddess of wisdom, she was obviously good at teaching. Plus, her knowledge was extensive due to her long life and authority. She could also form a good friendship with Rias, someone who could already take on gods. And Harry, who wasn't too far away.
Building a good relationship with these two, and at the same time, with a place like this, wasn't a bad idea.
"Fine... but I'd like to bring some young people with me."
"Of course, but warn them that pointless fighting isn't acceptable." I want all the races attending the venue to try to get along."
"No problems, none of them are arrogant or prejudiced against other races," Athena smiled.
"Great..." Rias smiled.
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