After returning to the DxD world, Akuto had just opened his door when Rias burst in, face filled with anxiety.
Before he could even pour her tea, Rias threw him down on the sofa.
Looking down at Akuto, Rias's azure eyes were brimming with helplessness.
"Akuto-kun, do you know? Something huge has happened!"
"Huge? What happened?"
"Recently… haven't you been appearing together with Serafall a lot?"
"Mm, that's right." Akuto nodded.
"That's exactly the problem! I've already seen your and Serafall-sama's images appearing in two magazines and a TV program preview."
"If only I had seen it, it would be fine… but the key point is—"
"The Devil Council believes this is the perfect match between the current Leviathan and the Old Leviathan, and they're preparing to marry you and Serafall-sama together!"
When she said this, Rias was nearly trembling.
She had never expected that the one she had to guard against wasn't Sona, but Sona's older sister!
What kind of shortcut overtaking was this?!
But what could she do? From the way Serafall and Akuto presented themselves, nothing could better heal the rift between the Reformist Devils and the Old Devils than their marriage.
Old Devils and Old Maou were not the same.
Old Maou were the direct descendants of the original Four Maou, while Old Devils were the ancient devils who had once followed them and their descendants.
To the Old Maou faction, Akuto was an absolute enemy, a false Leviathan.
But to some of the ancient Old Devils, as long as Akuto's bloodline was pure enough, then he was the true inheritor of Leviathan.
The Old Devils had always believed the Reformist Maou should never have expelled the Old Maou, and that it was a grievous mistake.
Many conflicts between Reformists and Old Devils had arisen because of this.
Now, at last, something both sides agreed upon had appeared!
If Akuto and Serafall married and had children, the rift between the Old Devils and Reformists would be greatly eased!
They might even support Akuto and Serafall's offspring inheriting the position of Maou Leviathan.
The child of a pure-blood Old Maou and a powerful current Maou—such a child was practically born to be the next Maou!
"Things have developed to that point?"
Akuto acted surprised.
But in truth, this was entirely within his expectations.
He had already researched the rules and politics of the Underworld in detail—this was something he had deliberately pushed forward himself.
Even if Serafall hadn't dragged him into programs, he would have leaked carefully chosen photos on his own.
Rias, of course, had no idea that Akuto was the one fueling this, and she continued anxiously:
"Yes, that's how severe it is."
"If you and Serafall-sama form a marriage contract, I'll never again have a chance to break free from my engagement!"
Rias knew Serafall's personality very well.
Though Serafall was not fond of marriage, as a pure-blood devil, she still recognized the importance of passing on her bloodline.
Before, she had no suitable candidate—but once she deemed Akuto suitable and agreed to marriage, it would be too late!
Serafall was not like Sona!
Akuto had defeated Sona, and thus their marriage was broken.
But defeating Serafall?
Even if Rias had full faith in Akuto, she did not believe he could surpass Serafall within a single year.
And she couldn't wait for over a year—
The Phoenix family had already decided she must complete her engagement before graduating high school!
Once the engagement ceremony began, changing it would be nearly impossible.
So—
Rias made a bold decision—
"Akuto-kun, while we still have this chance… let's just make rice into cooked rice!"
With that, Rias took his hand and placed it on her chest. Feeling the heat from his palm, her face blushed crimson.
"Akuto-kun, you like me and want to marry me, don't you?" Her beautiful blue eyes shone with watery light.
"Yes, I like Rias. I absolutely won't allow you to marry anyone else." Akuto answered firmly.
"Good… good."
Relieved, Rias exhaled.
"Actually, I know you're a lecherous boy. Otherwise, you wouldn't have so many female servants."
"But, I don't care."
"As long as they're just companions, not female pure-blood devils, I can accept it."
Rias didn't care about Akuto having female servants. What she wanted was the rightful position.
So she ignored the flirtatious events between him and Ravel.
"Well, Akuto-kun… should you take the lead, or should I?"
"In times like this, I still respect the boy's choice." She licked her lips nervously.
"I think it's better if we both take the lead." Akuto sat up and held Rias's sensuous body.
"Then… both together."
Her heart raced wildly. Through her connection with the symbiote, she could already feel Akuto's powerful heartbeat, his burning blood, and his intoxicating aura.
Her body quickly entered a fertile state.
"—!"
A silver-gray magic circle lit up on the floor.
"Grayfia? Akuto-kun…"
Seeing Grayfia arrive, Rias froze. She simply didn't have the courage to continue before her.
But Akuto? He would never back down.
"It's fine, Rias. Leave this to me—I'll take full responsibility."
He pressed his lips against hers, his hands suddenly pushing her down.
"Ah—!"
Before she could savor her first kiss—
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, host, on completing a past-life objective—Taking Rias's first time before Grayfia (Red Mission).]
[Reward acquired: Sacred Gear Evolution (True Boosted Gear).]
[Sacred Gear Evolution (True Boosted Gear): The dragon soul within evolves, its strength raised to surpass the original Red Dragon Emperor's—(Sub-Dragon God level).]
Power hierarchy (from low to high):
Humans and common lifeforms
Low-class Devils (Stray Devils, Stray Priests, early Hyoudou Issei)
Mid-class Devils (early Kiba, Xenovia, most trained devils)
High-class Devils (Rias, Sona, Riser, young pure-blood elites)
Ultimate-class Devils (Eight-Winged Angels/Fallen, pure-blood devils at full growth)
Maou-class (Ten-Winged Angels/Fallen, Dragon Kings, modern Old Maou)
Super Maou-class (Twelve-Winged Angels/Fallen, titled Dragon Kings, Maou Serafall, Maou Falbium, Yasaka the Nine-Tailed Fox empowered by ley-lines, First/Second Maou)
Transcenders: beings surpassing racial limits, between Super Maou and Chief God. Weak ones can still be defeated (e.g. Creuserey); powerful ones rival top-ten Chief Gods (e.g. Rizevim, Azazel's father).
Chief Gods (range: minor gods up to top-ten like the Hindu Trinity)
Heavenly Dragon level (on par with Chief Gods but slightly stronger; Ddraig, Albion, Vritra surpassing Dragon King limits)
Sub-Dragon God level (Beast God, Biblical God, evolved True Boosted Gear upper limit)
Dragon God level (Great Red, Ophis, Dragon Gods of other pantheons)
Super Dragon God level (Primordial entities beyond Dragon Gods)
Outer Gods/Evil Gods (EXE world gods, Chaos Gods, Demon Gods)
Watching the entwined pair, Grayfia's lips pursed, her eyes twitching.
Too late—Akuto was bolder than she had thought.
Her gaze dropped to the blood beneath Rias, and a visible ache crossed her expression. After all, she had watched Rias grow up.
Sighing, Grayfia said slowly:
"Rias-sama, you've lost your chastity before marriage. Aren't you afraid the Phoenix family will retaliate?"
"Or do you and Akuto-sama truly believe you can face every Phoenix youth directly?"
"Haa… haa…"
It took Rias a long time to catch her breath before answering:
"Grayfia, I know the consequences of premarital loss of chastity, and I'm willing to bear them. That's why I came to Akuto-kun today."
"It's only the Defloration Law, right? With Akuto-kun's current strength, he can already deal with Riser and his peerage."
The "Defloration Law" was part of the Underworld Marriage Law—essentially the devils' rule for dealing with premarital indiscretions.
For pure-blood devils, losing chastity before marriage was a supreme taboo.
If the girl lost it to a half-blood devil, that half-blood would be executed—unless he could defeat every member of the fiancé's family.
If the girl lost it to another pure-blood devil, he wouldn't be executed—but he would have to defeat all peers of the fiancé's family.
If he failed, the half-blood would be executed, while the pure-blood would become the family's servant for a thousand years.
Such harsh rules ensured the bloodlines of devils remained pure for millennia.
This was why Diodora had to store his captive girls elsewhere.
The law was merciless to pure-blood fiancées—but left one loophole:
If someone had enough strength, they could carve their own future.
If a devil defeated an entire pure-blood family, then their bloodline deserved to continue!
"The Defloration Law, huh…"
Grayfia sighed again. She knew this was what Rias was aiming for.
"It's true, the law is cruel for half-bloods, but since Akuto-sama is pure-blood, the requirement is just to defeat all of the peers."
"But even so, I don't think Akuto-sama has very high chances of success."
"Eh? Why not?"
Rias was confused. With Akuto's power enough to crush Sona, why did Grayfia think his odds were low?
(End of Chapter)
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