The blonde knew enough about teleportation to know that if one truly wanted to, they could ditch the passage mid-teleportation to the nothingness of space. That was not a risk he was willing to undertake.
“I will try to persuade Sister Cleria. I hope she agrees.”
Expanding his senses and focusing on the silverette, he vanished.
Tswii!
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|DxD|
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Cleria was drowned in paperwork as always. The sheer amount of responsibilities she had as the Overseer of Kuoh were tumultuous(heavy/a lot) indeed. Sometimes, the silverette found herself wishing Serafall fired her from her position like she threatened to a few weeks back.
Kring! …Kring!
But, there were a few enjoyments she had in life. Seeing the name of her friend appear on her telephone, a smile formed on her face as she enthusiastically picked up the call.
“Shuri-chan!”
Yet it seemed her friend did not share the same sentiments seeing as she immediately got to the point.
“Cleria. We need to talk. Listen carefully. Dimori-kun has returned and-”
Fuuush…
It was brief, but it was there. Cleria felt that sensation that caused her body to shiver and her toes to curl at the sheer power and might hidden behind that energy wave. Before she knew it, that feeling vanished, but her mind had already begun to churn.
It didn’t take her long to arrive at the most likely conclusion as to who was responsible for this. And it also didn’t take long for the culprit to appear in the flesh.
Tswii!
Without any ceremony, the blonde appeared in her office, a gentle red corona (lining) of aura surrounding him like a misty haze. With the appearance of the blonde in her office, Cleria could immediately guess what he was here for.
And with how his crimson gaze was quietly laid on her, she had a feeling that he knew she knew what he was here for.
“Listen, Cleria. Dimori-kun…Dimori-kun is-”
And there was only one reason that would bring him here.
“I know. He’s looking for Baraquiel.”
Without waiting to hear her friend’s next words, she calmly put down the telephone and met his gaze. Truth be told, she wasn’t feeling any pressure from him, but this only made her more surprised, yet apprehensive.
She wasn’t a fighter by any chance, but she knew that for him to not exert any pressure only meant he was in full-control of the state he was in, which further meant that he was strong…very strong.
And if a very strong Igor was looking for help in what she guessed he needed help in, then she had even more reason to refuse.
“Sorry for not greeting you properly, Sister Cleria. But you should know what I’m here for.”
Indeed she did.
“Passage to the Underworld.”
“Yes.”
Gradually, his hair fell down to his sides as his aura receded. Yet, his eyes remained red, his stance tall, and his gaze authoritative and unyielding.
“You’re the only one here I can trust to give me safe passage.”
“...”
Pushing aside her work documents, Cleria propped her elbows onto the table and used her fists to support her chin. She regarded the blonde with a calm gaze, ruby peering into crimson with an appraising eye.
“Dimori-san. I have said it before and I will say it again. Your presence in the Underworld will not be a good thing for anyone. Disregarding the fact that I will be charged with treason for bringing an Aryan into the Underworld, there is a high chance that your presence will result in mass discord across the supernatural world.”
Calmly delivering her statement, it was the result of hours upon hours of analysis. Putting aside Baraquiel, Igor must not step into the Underworld no matter what. In fact, she would prefer it if he never left Kuoh.
“The younger generation may not notice it, but the older devils and fallen will notice the abnormality in your lifeforce and they will immediately recognise you as an Aryan. Apologies for my words, but the ‘shitstorm’ that will result from that is not something any of us are ready for.”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“...”
He was quiet, which meant he was listening…hopefully. She couldn’t tell with how he was looking at the floor.
Either way, she had to drive her point home.
“I know this may frustrate you, Dimori-san. But please quench your anger, atleast temporarily. I know that Baraquiel will arrive within a week or so to visit Akeno. You should be able to meet him th-”
“I found it.”
“...?”
Cleria was confused as to what he found, until she saw him place two fingers on his forehead. While she had no idea where he was teleporting to now, she had a sudden sense of foreboding.
“Dimori-san…?”
However, she ignored him in place of seemingly monologuing to himself.
“I still find magic circles rather hard to read, especially one as complicated as this one.”
Cleria briefly wondered what magic circle he was referring to, until she saw where he was standing. Right underneath his feet was a large magic circle intricately carved into the wooden floor. This wasn’t just any magic circle. It was a teleportation circle.
And with his previous words ringing in her head, her sense of foreboding grew stronger.
“...”
She found herself subconsciously standing up, poised to dash forward at a moment’s notice to interrupt his teleportation. It was stupid, potentially bordering on suicidal. Even Igor briefly smiled when he saw her subtle actions. It was only because of their relationship that he did not find her actions offensive, but cute.
Yet, that brief smile quickly vanished in place of a stoic visage as he put down his hand.
“Sister Cleria. I’m not an idiot. I know full well how many people will clamour to kill me once they know of my existence. I know enough of my race’s history to know that no one wants to see us rise up again. And, I fully understand your worries and what implications my visit to the Underworld may have not just to me, but everyone around me.”
From Vasco’s words when he told him of his life experiences, to Aurelia’s stories of how their race was massacred, he was keenly aware that no very few would dare fight him honourably.
But, he didn’t care…not anymore.
“Regardless, you have to understand something, sister. To you, it has been a month. To me, it has been ten years. In that time, I have grown stronger…a lot stronger. I won’t beat around the bush so I will put it bluntly, Sister Cleria. And feel free to tell your leaders my next words at your discretion.”
There was no pressure. There was no intimidation. There was no killing intent.
“If I find an unverified devil in Kuoh, and they pose a threat to my family, I will not only kill that devil, I will find whoever is even suspected of having ordered them. I don’t care if they belong to the Old or the New Satan Faction. I don’t care if they were from a pillar clan or if they belong to a satan’s peerage. I will kill them regardless and kill anyone who supported them from behind.”
“...”
.
.
.
Silence…
The tone of voice did not match the content of the words. The way he so casually mentioned that he was willing to slaughter a clan on suspicion alone was downright terrifying. What was even more terrifying was that he would even kill someone from a satan’s peerage.
This was indirectly implying that he did not fear the Four Satans in the slightest. Someone like this who showed his cards like this was terrifying because from a political perspective, he was willing to go to war with the entire Underworld just because someone harmed ONE of his own.
Even worse, he had proven he was willing to go that far. The Himejima Clan was that proof.
Gulp…
And Cleria couldn’t forget. Just before he left, he was a verified Low-Supreme Class entity. After over ten years of training, she wouldn’t put it past him to have advanced by a rank. And all of that was within a month.
“I…I understand.”
Sitting down on her chair, she had a hard time processing all of this. She knew she was not on his radar, but she now had the task of delivering his message to the Four Satans. And she feared she would have to do so very soon.
With his statement, the blonde had made it obvious that with or without her help, he will go to the Underworld. As for Baraquiel, he didn’t even qualify to enter her current thoughts. If her guess was right, Igor was probably taught by Aurelia how to read magic circles.
While the teleportation circle itself was complicated, it was simply another language to an Aryan. With their ability to understand any language, she no longer found it too ludicrous that the blonde managed to find the teleportation coordinates to the Underworld.
Sighing, she knew there was no point trying to stop him.
“I know this is redundant, but please try not to cause too much chaos, Dimori-san.”
“Mm.”
Giving a brief nod, the blonde was about to close his eyes in focus when he opened them again due to the imminent arrival of a familiar energy signature.
Vwong!
With a brief flash of golden light, Aurelia appeared out of the golden circle that gradually vanished beneath her.
“Sister.”
Whether it was a tacit agreement that had been established beforehand, Igor held out his hand and Aurelia took it between both of hers.
Silence filled the office for a few seconds as the silverette held his hand between her palms, her eyes closed in focus. Eventually, she opened them with a half smile while the blonde took back his hand.
“So?”
“I suggest I transport us to the Underworld, Lord Dimori. If we use your method, we may end up in the Belial Clan Manor which may cause unnecessary problems.”
Slightly miffed at her formal speech patterns, he quietly extended his hand again
“Take me to Grigori.”
“I apologise, Lord Dimori. My range for teleportation is only limited to the land around the home of the Nekomata.”
“No problem.”
His mind had already pulled up what he knew of Nekomata. All he knew was that they were yokai, which was no cause for concern.
“Pardon me, Lord Dimori. But might I suggest we request Lady Cleria for assistance?”
The silverette perked up at the mention of her name. She was already about to refuse when she noticed Igor’s look of confusion.
“You should have my memories.”
“Please enlighten me.”
“...”
Realising this was one of those moments where she was testing his awareness, he answered.
“We can’t. If she brings us to the Underworld, she would have to face unnecessary consequences. While my first intention was to let her bring me there, I realised how it would place her in an unfavourable situation. Now stop wasting time and take us to the Underworld.”
With a proud smile on her face, Aurelia acquiesced as a magic circle formed underneath the both of them.
“At once, Lord Dimori.”
Vwong!
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AN
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Seems like those ten years weren’t just spent on techniques. For those concerned, Igor’s sudden personality change will explain itself soon. Either way, thanks for the comments. They are greatly appreciated.
Today is Friday, so I will be unable to update tomorrow.
Also, if you’re interested in reading ahead, you can find more chapters on my patreon under the same username.