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The moment Rod dropped those lines, every witch from Oz looked like they'd been hit by lightning.
If this guy really was some grand heavenly descendant… why on earth was he slumming it with them?
"Are you sure that's true?" the purple-robed witch narrowed her eyes, voice skeptical.
"Of course," Rod nodded.
He was a transmigrator, sure, but also a genuine citizen of that land. "Descendant of the Crimson King, and scion of the dragon" wasn't just a figure of speech. It was practically in his DNA.
Besides, it's not like they could verify his background.
As expected, after a brief huddle, they found nothing unusual about him. Naturally, no matter how long they investigated, they'd never find anything.
"Incredible background," the purple-robed witch wondered. "But if that's true, why haven't we heard of you before?"
"Easy," Rod smiled. "I keep a low profile."
The witches were speechless.
Still, for now, they accepted his presence, he was from the Hero Faction, after all.
Though "accept" didn't mean "trust." That would take time.
Coincidentally, they were planning a special operation against the Five Great Clans. This presented the perfect opportunity to gauge the Hero Faction's sincerity.
If he impressed, cooperation might deepen. If not? Well, cannon fodder was still useful.
Ironically, Rod was thinking the same thing.
He had no plans to form any deep ties with the Fallen Ring. He was just here to clear a mission.
These witches didn't exactly scream "lawful good."
Rod might be morally flexible, but not enough to cozy up to literal terrorists.
...
Since Oz's witches weren't exactly a formal organization, the interrogation wrapped up quickly.
Rod was told to stick around, the big operation was coming soon.
"If you perform well in the next mission, we may deepen our collaboration with the Hero Faction," said the senior purple-robed witch, introducing herself as Augusta.
"And if you truly are a descendant of the Crimson King," she added, "then prove it in battle. Do that, and I may even personally instruct you. Your magical potential seems promising."
Rod nodded with solemn resolve. "Then I'll give it everything I've got, Miss Augusta."
The title and tone pleased her. She smiled. "Very good. I'll have my disciple, Walburga, show you around. I expect you to be ready soon."
"No problem, Miss Augusta."
After a few more polite words, Augusta turned to leave.
As the leader of this Night of the Witches, she had a lot on her plate.
The one who stayed behind was the petite, blonde girl who'd been by her side earlier.
Dressed in a purple gothic l0lita outfit, parasol in hand despite the absence of sunlight, she looked like a finely crafted porcelain doll.
Light makeup, lips painted with purple lipstick, her appearance was undeniably beautiful, but carried an eerie undertone.
"Well then, I look forward to working with you~ I've never met anyone from the Hero Faction before. But you seem interesting."
The moment Augusta left, Walburga skipped over cheerfully.
Her curious gaze lingered on Rod with childlike wonder… though it carried a cold glint that betrayed a far more complex nature.
Not that it bothered Rod. He'd met enough lunatics and psychos to be immune.
One burst of super acceleration and they'd all calm down real fast.
"I'll introduce you to everyone. That way you won't accidentally friendly-fire."
Rod nodded silently. How do you know I won't be doing it on purpose?
"Yeah, good idea. Let's get familiar."
Under Walburga's guidance, Rod began to understand why witches from as far as Europe were gathering in Japan.
Augusta's goals were twofold: researching the local Sacred Gears, and resurrecting Oz's Three Great Beasts.
Those were the Lion who'd lost his courage, the Tin Man who lacked a heart, and the Scarecrow missing a brain.
Rod blinked. He'd never seen any of that in the original DxD plot.
Then again, weren't those straight out of The Wizard of Oz?
"In short," Walburga chirped, "Master's aiming to recreate those beasts and maybe reverse-engineer the Sacred Gears. That's why we're working with the God-Child Watchers~"
Her tone was light and bouncy, like she was talking about someone else's weekend plans.
"Well, technically it's the fallen angels who betrayed the Watchers~"
Rod had to admit, Griselda's intel was on point.
They even knew there were defectors from the God-Child Watchers operating here.
Wait a minute… did Heaven have spies embedded among the fallen angels?
"The guy's called… uh, something like Satanael? Hard to remember."
Rod didn't know Satanael personally, but the name "Satan" was famous across myth and media.
Before his fall, he was known as Lucifer, now one of the top demon kings of the Underworld.
Though Satanael probably wasn't the same person, Rod had a feeling he wasn't far off in terms of power.
At the very least, Satanael was likely on par with top fallen angel leaders like Barakiel, Azazel, or Kokabiel.
Add in the witch leader Augusta, who wielded the Sacred Gear "Chief Mourner's Crucified Stand of Purple Flame/Incinerate Anthem," and yeah…
Rod knew that if things went sideways, he'd be seriously outnumbered.
And just then.
[Mission "Abyssfall" completed]
[Reward acquired: +10 Hero Faction Reputation, Item – Seraphic Sevenfold Petal Shield/Rho Aias]
[Equipment: Seraphic Sevenfold Petal Shield/Rho Aias, also known as the Chrysanthemum Shield. A defensive Noble Phantasm projected by Archer EMIYA. Composed of seven overlapping petals, each with the durability of ancient fortress walls. Said to grant invincibility against projectile attacks. Note: Emphasis on "said to." Invincibility not guaranteed.]
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