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Alya stayed silent.
Akio spoke calmly, "Since you don't want to say it, then I will. Dealing with Umbrella Corporation isn't the same as dealing with demons. You can't just lump the two together."
"For me, taking down Umbrella is easy. But their backers—the demons—that's a different story. That could get tricky."
"So… you'll have to pay extra."
At the core, Akio's point was simple: you want me to take on the demon behind Umbrella?
Fine.
But five Servants aren't enough. You'll have to give me five more.
If Alya had anything like human emotions, Akio's words would've made them laugh out of sheer disbelief.
Five Servants at every turn? Did he think Servants grew on trees?
Sure, Alya had hundreds at their disposal, but that didn't mean they were worthless. Every time one was handed over, it stung. And now Akio was asking for five more.
That was daylight robbery.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible." Alya rejected the idea without hesitation.
But Akio only smiled, and laid the numbers out.
"The demon backing Umbrella is clearly targeting humanity. If Umbrella succeeds, at least half the world's population—maybe more—will die."
"And when that happens, you'll take more damage than ever before. Tell me, isn't that worth five Servants?"
Alya had to admit, he wasn't wrong.
Umbrella had come with hostile intent, and a demon pulling strings behind the scenes.
Taking care of Umbrella itself was easy. But the demon in the shadows? That was the real threat.
Especially since Alya didn't even know who the demon was. That made things worse.
And if Alya did get seriously weakened, who knew who'd seize control of the Servants in the Throne? No one could predict that.
Still… just handing Akio five more Servants? That was painful. Each one given away was one less forever. Alya truly hated the idea.
Akio, meanwhile, watched Alya with complete ease. He could see their dilemma as clear as day.
To put it bluntly—he had them cornered. No one could change that.
After a long hesitation, Alya finally bowed their head, forced into submission. "Fine. Once this is over, you can pick five more Servants."
"Now that's what I like to hear." Akio chuckled. "Humans have a saying: 'A wise man adapts to the times.' And Alya, I'd say you're the wisest of them all."
Alya's face remained blank. "Don't think I don't know that's an insult."
With that, they turned away, and in an instant, their figure vanished from Akio's dreamscape.
Akio didn't mind. Once he saw Alya off, he left the dream and returned to reality.
Sunlight poured in. A new day had begun.
After enjoying the breakfast carefully prepared by Erina Nakiri, Akio conjured up an illusionary double to take his place at school.
Then, at a leisurely pace, he headed for Umbrella's Tokyo branch.
There, he summoned Medea and Hohenheim to "his" office—technically, the branch president's office.
Of course, the actual president had been hypnotized by Akio and sent off to clean toilets. Which left the office conveniently in Akio's hands.
"Last night, I had a talk with Alya," Akio explained. "According to them, Umbrella's higher-ups have already sold their souls to demons."
"So yes—the ones backing Umbrella are demons. And the ones aiming to wipe out humanity are demons."
Hohenheim and Medea frowned at the same time.
In their experience, demons were nothing but troublemakers. Always scheming, always eager for chaos. It wasn't surprising they'd want humanity destroyed.
No wonder Alya was wary of Umbrella—wary enough to hand Akio authority just to deal with them. So this was the truth.
Hohenheim asked, "Did Alya tell you who the demon behind Umbrella actually is?"
Akio sighed. "I asked. They don't know either."
Medea let out a short laugh.
Humanity was on the brink of disaster, and its so-called Counter Force didn't even know who the enemy was. What a cosmic joke.
So much for humanity's safeguard.
Hohenheim rubbed his temples. He had thought they were just up against a corporation. Instead, it turned out to be demons. That was a much bigger problem.
"So what do we do now?"
Akio smiled. "Relax. Demons aren't united any more than humans are. We can find other demons to go against Umbrella's backers."
Hohenheim blinked. "Wait, BOSS—you actually know demons?"
"Not personally. But I know where to find them."
Before coming to Umbrella today, Akio had done some digging online. In Kanagawa, he'd found a town called Kuoh. And in that town—Kuoh Academy.
That, he knew very well.
In fact, the moment Alya mentioned a demon was backing Umbrella, Akio suspected this world had stitched in yet another of those… let's say, "fiery" series he knew.
And sure enough, his little search confirmed it.
Well then, what else was there to say? Kuoh Academy, here we come.
"You two are coming with me. Business trip."
An hour later, Akio, Medea, and Hohenheim arrived in Kuoh Town and soon stood before Kuoh Academy.
Medea's eyes gleamed, immediately picking up the many non-human presences lingering within the school.
She asked curiously, "BOSS, how did you even know this was the place?"
Akio smirked. "If I said I watched the anime, would you believe me?"
Medea stared blankly. Anime? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Akio didn't explain, just strode right through the gates with the other two in tow.
Medea casually cast a detection spell.
The ordinary students inside felt nothing. But the demons? They instantly sensed the ripple of magic.
A red-haired girl frowned, stood up, and excused herself from class.
As soon as she stepped out the classroom door, she met her Queen.
By the time they reached the stairwell, they'd run into her friend—Kuoh Academy's Student Council President, Souna Shitori.
"Looks like we had the same thought, Rias."
"Then let's go see who dares trespass on our school."
Rias Gremory, the red-haired devil, smiled faintly as she spoke.
And so, together they walked to the front doors of the school building—where the intruders of Kuoh Academy were waiting.
"..."
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