Chapter 111 – Sairaorg!
Time passed quickly, and before long, the day of the grand banquet finally arrived.
It was the one day when the heirs of nearly every devil noble house gathered in one place—the most magnificent city in the Underworld, Demon City. This was the true capital of devilkind, the beating heart of their civilization.
Like the capital of a great nation, it served as the center of everything—politics, culture, and power. And tonight, it would be the stage for an extravagant gathering, a meeting ground for the younger generation of devil nobility, and a rare opportunity for the Four Maou and other top-ranking figures of the Underworld to meet face-to-face.
Amidst this grand atmosphere, Rias Gremory stood out even more than usual. Dressed in a breathtaking evening gown, she perfectly embodied her title—The Princess of the Gremory Clan.
She wasn't the only one. Every guest at the banquet was dressed to the nines, including Akira himself. No one would dare underestimate the importance of this event.
Just before stepping into the main hall, Rias came to a stop and turned to Akira with a very serious expression.
"Akira, you remember what I told you, don't you?"
On the other hand, Akira's expression stiffened. From the Gremory estate all the way here, this was already the third time he'd heard the same warning. He felt like he was going to explode.
"I remember. I won't act out… and I'll try to keep my temper in check," he replied, his voice carrying a hint of exhaustion.
"This is important," Rias pressed, her tone stern. "Everyone here is a descendant of high-ranking devil families. If you make too many enemies, it will become a real problem."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it…"
Akira gave a tired nod, silently regretting his decision to come with her in the first place.
"I'll say it one more time," Rias continued, her blue eyes narrowing slightly. "No matter what happens, you must stay calm. No violence—no matter what someone says to you."
She emphasized the point yet again.
Originally, Sirzechs and Azazel had invited Akira to attend with them. In a way, he was already being treated as part of the Gremory family, and with a power level comparable to a Maou, he was more than qualified to join their company.
But Akira refused. He'd rather spend his time with the girls than accompany two grown men.
Now, however, he was starting to regret that decision. Rias had spent the entire trip drilling her "behavioral rules" into his head, draining his energy before they'd even arrived.
"Rias—"
Before he could finish, a voice called out from a nearby corridor.
"Hm?"
Rias turned, her eyes widening slightly in recognition.
"Sairaorg? It's been a while."
"It has indeed," the man replied as he approached.
He was a tall, broad-shouldered man with black hair, radiating the aura of a ferocious beast. Even Akira couldn't ignore the raw presence he carried.
This was Sairaorg Bael, the current heir of the Bael Clan.
Technically speaking, he and Rias were related. Rias' mother, Venelana, was born a daughter of the Bael Clan before marrying into the Gremory family.
Ironically, the Power of Destruction—the Bael Clan's signature inherited ability—had not been passed down to the clan's rightful heir. The power had always been rare, appearing in only a handful of individuals across generations, and even fewer had mastered it to its peak.
In fact, Venelana's children—Sirzechs and Rias—had both inherited the ability, despite her having married out of the clan. Sirzechs had even built his rise to Maou on the foundation of that power.
But Sairaorg, the man standing before them now, was an exception.
Born without the Power of Destruction, he was branded a disgrace to the family and exiled to the Bael Clan's remote territories with his mother.
When his mother later fell into a coma, Sairaorg returned to challenge his younger half-brother in a duel—defeating him and reclaiming his rightful position as the clan's heir.
A devil without the Power of Destruction, yet able to stand at the top of the Bael Clan… It wasn't due to politics or connections. It was pure, overwhelming strength.
The devil world valued one thing above all else: absolute power. Lineage and inherited demonic power meant nothing. The strong deserved to stand at the top—no exceptions.
"So you're the one engaged to Rias… the mysterious Red Dragon Emperor, huh?"
"Huh? You know me?" Akira blinked in surprise.
"You might not realize it since you don't live here, but you're a pretty big deal in the Underworld right now. Your fight against the third son of the Phenex family spread like wildfire. A lot of young devils admire you—some even idolize you."
"Uh… but that fight was kind of… humiliating for him, wasn't it? How could that be idolized?"
Sairaorg chuckled. "You forget—you came from the human world. But this is the Underworld. Even though times have changed, one thing about devils has never changed: we admire strength above all else."
"…I see."
Hearing that, Akira finally understood why, in the original timeline, Hyoudou Issei—the so-called Oppai Dragon—had become a celebrity in the Underworld.
Identity? Eccentricities? No one cared.
One thing mattered—strength. If you had it, devils would respect you… and chase after you. Nothing more, nothing less.
What Akira didn't know was that his brutal dismantling of Riser Phenex had already become a legendary moment among young devils.
Ever since the end of the Great War, the devil population had dwindled. In order to preserve their race, strict new laws had been put in place.
One such law was the ban on life-or-death duels. In their place, the Rating Game system was established.
But the bloodlust, the addiction to battle, and the urge to kill—those were instincts that had been etched into devilkind since ancient times. Akira's match with Riser had stirred those instincts awake once more.
"Sairaorg, what about you?" Rias cut in suddenly, breaking off their conversation.
She didn't want Akira lingering on that topic. She knew all too well that, right now, there were plenty of devil women openly scheming to get into Akira's bed.
It wasn't about love. It was about status and pride—like obsessive fans willing to do anything to claim their idol.
Some even thought that spending just one night with the Red Dragon Emperor would be enough to boast about for the rest of their lives.
That was why Rias had cut off Akira's access to media entirely. Even in the Gremory estate, she never once let the television be turned on.
And truthfully, the Underworld's technology was as advanced—if not more so—than the human world, boosted further by the use of demonic power.
"Ah, I just got bored, so I decided to take a walk," Sairaorg answered casually.
"Bored? So everyone else has already arrived?"
"Almost. Same as every year, really. I've never been too fond of the party atmosphere, so I stepped out for some air."
Rias could read between the lines.
Sairaorg Bael wasn't the type to care for meaningless pleasantries or shallow displays of luxury.
He was the embodiment of pure, unshakable strength, walking in the shape of a man.
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