As it turned out, no matter the setting, it was always awkward when someone met their ex together with their new partner. Right now, I was experiencing exactly that, with Grayfia and Sirzechs both present in the same conference room.
Aside from Sirzechs, there was also Azazel, who looked like he was thoroughly enjoying the situation, as if he were expecting some kind of drama to happen. Standing behind him was a tall, muscular middle-aged man with a black beard and mustache. Judging by his position, he appeared to be Azazel's bodyguard.
His eyes were fixed on Yusuke, staring at him from the moment he stepped into the room. He appeared hesitant, as though he wanted to say something but ultimately held himself back.
The other person was a man who looked to be in his late twenties. He wore traditional Japanese clothing and carried a sword at his waist. He was Sirzechs's Knight.
Finally, there was Serafall. She was the only person without a bodyguard and was now clinging to me.
"Yu-tan, I missed you~" With her arms wrapped around me, Serafall rubbed her face against my shoulder while speaking in a sweet, cheerful voice. "Did you miss me too?"
"... You have been with Yusuke this entire morning. Stop being dramatic, Serafall," Grayfia stood behind me. She rolled her eyes at the dramatic Serafall and spoke in a quiet tone.
"Hmph! Of course, I'll miss Yu-tan even if I were separated from him for a single minute!" Serafall pouted at Grayfia before kissing my cheek. "Did you have dinner before coming?"
"No."
"Me too. I couldn't eat without you. I didn't have a single bite." She broke into a wide smile before asking with sparkling eyes, "You felt the same way, right?"
"Hmm, you can say that." I stared into her eyes for a long moment and not wanting to shatter her fantasy. I forced a smile and nodded.
I hadn't eaten because I never got the chance to, but why would I ruin a woman's mood by saying that? It was better to tell her what she wanted to hear.
"Yu-tan, you really can't do without me!" Serafall shrieked happily and started showering my face with kisses. "I love you! Yu-tan! You are so cute! I love you! I love you!"
Watching the interaction between them, Azazel stroked his goatee in awe. Every time he witnessed Yusuke's rizz, it made him want to kneel in reverence! This guy was flirting with Serafall while Grayfia massaged his scalp. He had somehow gotten two of the strongest women to fall for him and willingly share him.
The most outrageous part was that he seemed to be doing it all without any effort!
'How envious,' Azazel thought, a hint of envy in his expression as he watched them. The three of them looked so happy together, which made him feel somewhat lonely. At one point in his life, he, too, had women flocking around him. He even had a massive harem back then.
Still, even with that envy, he did not truly want to be like Yusuke. Azazel never wanted to settle down. He was the type who preferred staying single, or perhaps he simply had not found someone he genuinely loved.
"Yu-tan, I have a shooting next week. Do you want to come with me?"
"Is it another magical girl show?"
"Hmm! It's the live-action film adaptation of Magical Girl Milky! You can act as the villainous tentacle alien monster and assault Magical Girl Ria! Hehehe~!"
"He won't. Yusuke isn't a perverted villain."
"I only want him to play the role."
"Hmph! Don't think I don't know what you are thinking!"
"Both of you, stop."
"Okay, Yu-tan! How about it? Will you come with me?"
"Nah, I'll pass. But we can do any play you want when we are alone."
"Really?! Yu-tan, I love you so, so much! You are the best! Yaay!"
Even Baraqiel, who had been itching to talk to Yusuke about his relationship with Akeno, forgot about everything for a moment. He simply watched as Grayfia, the supposed wife of the strongest Maou, acted like another man's wife, while the only female Maou clung to a young man as if she were a teenager experiencing her first love.
"Sirzechs-sama," Souji Okita cautiously glanced at his master. To his surprise, he saw that Sirzechs was sitting completely expressionless, with no emotion visible on his features.
The Knight sighed once again.
Even at this moment, he still could not understand what had happened between Sirzechs, Grayfia, and Yusuke. Things had changed so incredibly fast that the entire peerage still did not quite understand how it had all come to this. And that was without even mentioning the Gremory House and Venelana.
The door of the room suddenly opened, and four people walked in. The first was Ajuka. Walking by his side was a tall, bald man with a goatee. He was the fourth Maou, Falbium Asmodeus.
Following behind the two was Odin, walking with his cane, and behind him was Rosseweiss, dressed in a light blue vest and matching pants. Her head hung slightly low, perhaps because Odin had once again poked at her scars, making fun of her for being single.
"You guys finally came. With this, only Michael is missing," Azazel said as he stood up alongside Sirzechs. The former spoke with a grin.
"Sorry, I am late, everyone." Just as he finished speaking, Michael walked through the door with Griselda.
Sirzechs invited everyone to take their seats with a smile, despite his attempt to ignore Grayfia and Yusuke.
As everyone began to take their seats, Rosseweiss, who followed behind Odin, looked up to observe the big shots attending this meeting. And as if struck by lightning, the moment her eyes landed on the black haired, robust looking young man sitting on the sofa with two women by his side, everything inside her froze.
Her eyes locked onto Yusuke. In an instant, they widened dramatically. Her pupils dilated, and her heart suddenly stopped!
Ba dum! Ba dum! Ba dum!
As if her heart had been revived after it died once, it started beating frantically, like when you're in the shower and suddenly remember you left the stove on with milk boiling.
All the sounds of the people speaking in the room suddenly faded away. Rossweisse stared at him with intense, unblinking focus. It felt like time had come to a halt, and the noise disappeared. The world went completely quiet!
For a moment, it felt like her soul had left her body.
No... she really was feeling as if her soul was leaving her body.
'Haah! Haah! Haah!'
Staring deeply into his eyes, Rossweisse felt something overwhelming stir violently inside her chest!
Something important... Something life-changing. It was as if she had finally discovered the true meaning of her entire existence in this single moment.
And the longer she stared at him, the deeper that obsessive thought burned itself into her heart, branding her soul with his name.
In that instant, something inside Rossweisse cracked open. A burning, all-consuming, obsessive thought flooded her veins like molten lava.
She did not know who this person was, but his presence in this room meant he was someone important and powerful. Still, that did not matter to her at all, because she had finally understood.
She finally understood why she had never been in a relationship before.
It was not because she was a lonely workaholic, exploited by her blackhearted, perverted boss.
It was because she had not met her destined one. The man she was fated to be with. The one she would live with and love forever and ever.
A massive flood of thoughts and intense chaotic emotions crashed into her soul and heart with overwhelming force. Countless fantasies erupted wildly inside her mind like fireworks. Blood rushed violently through her veins with every thunderous beat of her heart. The sheer amount of emotion, something she never thought a person could experience in a single instant, flooded her completely.
And then suddenly blood began trailing from her nose. Her eyes rolled upward, and faint wisps of steam seemed to puff from her head.
Thud!
Without any warning, the Valkyrie bodyguard collapsed to the ground and passed out completely!
"Rosseweiss!"
"What is wrong with her?!"
...
Rip!
The space was torn open, forming what looked like a swirling portal. Four people walked out of it.
"For a trickster and the God of Mischief, Loki sure is easy to trick, Bikou said with his hands crossed behind his back and a wide grin. "He looks like a stupid guy to me."
"He is not stupid. However, he was tricked by us this time because of his arrogance," Arthur replied calmly as he placed his sword back at his waist. "Gods still have their foolish pride and their sense of superiority, which makes them look down on us."
The sword he held was the strongest Holy Sword, Caliburn. It surpassed both Excalibur and Durandal, possessing the ability to tear through space itself. Arthur had used that power to teleport the four of them close to the capital city, bypassing every magical barrier that surrounded the area as if they were nothing more than thin glass.
The other two were Kuroka and Vali. The four of them stood atop a mountain, gazing toward the tall building where the gathering was currently being held.
"Yusuke... sniff, sniff... I can sense him. He is here too!"
Kuroka crouched low to the ground, sniffing the air. Her golden eyes glowed with intense delight as she spoke in a burst of excitement. She looked like an addict going through withdrawal who had just gotten a small dose of what she craved. Her mood spiked so sharply that she began trembling, overwhelmed by joy and happiness.
She closed her eyes and took another deep breath, inhaling the air around her, "Huuufff! Yusuke's scent... subarashi!"
"What the hell? Why are you acting like a dog?" Bikou stared at her with a confused look.
"Shut up, stupid monkey. You will never understand!" Kuroka snapped, turning toward him with an expression full of utter disgust.
"What am I supposed to understand? A stupid cat acting like a dog!"
Vali glanced at the two of them, then exchanged a look with Arthur. It seemed that even if Kuroka had become obsessed with the man called Yusuke Aoki, some things never changed. She and Bikou still could not stop arguing.
On the other side, at the Vali team's base.
"Ophis, are you going somewhere?"
Only Le Fay and Ophis remained in the base. The blond witch noticed Ophis suddenly floating and tearing open space, and she asked her curiously.
"Somewhere," Ophis stated simply.
-x-X-x-
In the conference room, the atmosphere gradually returned to normal after the commotion Rosseweisse had caused by suddenly falling unconscious for no apparent reason.
After taking Rosseweisse to another room to rest, Grayfia returned and silently took her place beside her Darling once more.
The two exchanged a glance, but neither of them said anything.
'2B, that woman is also a yandere, right?' I tried to keep my face neutral.
This was getting ridiculous!
He just wanted to go somewhere without attracting yet another yandere, and someone had the face to keep telling him that yanderes were rare!
The only consolation he had was that, unlike before, he was now strong enough to protect himself.
[Of course, she is.] 2B answered nonchalantly.
'Issue the quest.'
[New Quest!]
[The Real Modern Woman: Rosseweisse is a professional woman who has prioritized work and study above all else since her youth. She is extremely bitter about missing out on romance and is very frugal. If she were to fall in love with someone, she would become obsessive very quickly. Tame her before she ruins both herself and you, dragging the two of you down together.]
[Task: Raise Rossweisse's submission value to at least 80]
[Rewards: 6 Skill points, 1 Random Skill, 1 Random Item.]
[Penalty: Lose Observation Haki.]
I stared at the quest for a long time and did not know where to start.
"Ehem, Yusuke-san," Michael said.
With Michael calling out to me, I had no choice but to put the matter aside and turn my attention to the faction leaders.
"We know almost nothing about you."
"Can you tell us more about yourself?"
All the factions had investigated Yusuke after the last meeting at Kuoh Academy, but all they discovered was that he had been an ordinary young man until recently. Then, almost overnight, he had become incredibly powerful.
What worried them even more was that, according to their observations, his strength continued to grow at an astonishing rate.
He was nearly as strong as a serious Sirzechs, which in itself was already incomprehensible. How could someone like him suddenly appear out of nowhere?
The strangest part was that he was still a human!
Even Sirzechs, who ironically was the closest person to him among all the leaders, knew very little about his background.
"What do you want to know?" I glanced at the gentle looking angel and replied in a rather nonchalant tone.
"We want to know where your power came from. Azazel was the one who spoke this time." His expression was rather serious. "I have seen many things throughout my long life, but this is the first time I have encountered someone like you."
"You can copy other people's abilities and permanently grant abilities to others. On top of that, you are extremely powerful as well. No matter how we look at it, your existence is very strange. It cannot be explained by a mere Sacred Gear."
Azazel and Sirzechs had become somewhat close recently, and the two exchanged the limited information they had on Yusuke while continuing to observe him. It was not difficult to deduce some of his abilities after seeing Rias, Sona, and others possess skills they should not have, such as Immortality, which they had used extensively during the last Rating Game.
Sirzechs had also fought Yusuke personally, and during their battle, the latter had used Lævateinn, which Sirzechs had mistaken for a Sacred Gear.
"I prefer not to answer," I stood up and said with an indifferent look. "You don't see me digging into your little secrets either. I only agreed to come to this meeting because of reasons you are clear about."
...
After the incident, the reception hall was restored by the staff members who rushed over, their magic repairing the damage until the room was mostly back to normal.
The young people had gathered again in small groups, exchanging greetings as if nothing had happened. The yandere girls were seated around a table, watching the room. Sairaorg had gone off to speak with the other young devils.
"You two have been doing well recently. Many people have been talking about you," Seekvaira Agares said as she walked toward them, her servants following behind her. She looked at Sona and Rias and spoke with a slight smile on her usually cool face.
"I am Seekvaira Agares, the next head of the Agares family, rank Archduke." She then turned to the other girls, including Murayama, Xenovia, and Aika, and greeted them.
The Archduke rank is an extremely high position among the 72 Pillars, second only to the Great King title, which is exclusively held by the Bael House. The Agares House itself is also the second highest ranking clan among the 72 Pillars; even the Gremory House holds only a Duke rank.
Since ancient times, the Archduke has served as the Maou's agent, passing judgment on the lives of devils.
As a result, they hold not only immense noble status but also extremely high authority.
"The Glaysa-Labolas family seems to have run into some family trouble recently. The person who was supposed to become the next head of the family suffered an unfortunate accidental death. Zephyrdor, whom you saw earlier, is said to have become the new candidate for the position."
She casually took a seat beside Rias and Sona as she spoke. Then she turned toward Sona and said, "You surprised me earlier. You have always been the cautious type. I did not expect you to do something like that. Honestly, I would not have expected even Rias, with her reckless temperament, to act that way."
Seekvaira spoke to the two girls in a very familiar manner because the three of them had been childhood friends. When she was younger, she used to play with Rias and later became friends with Sona as well through her. The three of them had once been very close.
However, after Rias and Sona enrolled in school in the Human World, they no longer had the opportunity to meet as often as before.
There were six young devils gathered at this meeting along with their servants.
There were the Gremory that has Lucifer, the Sitri that has Leviathan, the Astaroth that has Beelzebub, the Glaysa-Labolas that has Asmodeus, and also the Great King and Archduke as well. These were the six families.
"People change," Sona replied as she swirled her glass.
From time to time, her gaze wandered around the room. She had already started to miss Yusuke. Even though they had been apart for only a couple of hours, her vitamin levels were already running low.
"Indeed, I can sense that both of you have changed. Aren't you going to introduce your new servants?" Seekvaira asked, genuinely curious about what her two friends had experienced in the Human World.
She had heard that the two of them were in a relationship with a man, but aside from his name, she knew almost nothing about him. Everything else regarding him was hidden.
Just then, the door opening interrupted their conversation.
"Sorry for making you all wait for so long." A door opened over there, and an employee came in.
The atmosphere in the room changed, and it fell silent. All the chatter came to an abrupt stop.
The empty seats positioned high above the hall were soon occupied by the people who had just entered.
Sirzechs, Serafall, Ajuka, Falbium Asmodeus, Michael, Azazel, Yusuke, and Odin all took their seats above, looking down at the young devils gathered below.
In the end, the meeting still continued smoothly. When Yusuke had been about to leave earlier, all of them had tried to stop him, apologizing for being insensitive enough to ask him such a question.
Since the beginning, it had been normal for people to be curious and even wary of Yusuke's power.
However, he had no intention of telling anyone about it. Even now, none of his yanderes knew the source of his power, so why would he tell anyone else?
He had honestly been wanting to leave that boring meeting. In the first place, he had no interest in politics.
Despite that, he still wanted to help them deal with the terrorists and maintain peace, because he did not want to be bothered by endless trouble either.
The meeting lasted for over three hours. It mostly consisted of discussions and negotiations between the Three Factions and the Norse Mythology faction represented by Odin.
I didn't spoke throughout the meeting, spending most of the time listening. There were only a few occasions when he chose to interject or voice an objection to something being discussed.
"Eh?" Seekvaira stood up from her seat to show respect to the higher-ups. Her eyes first landed on Sirzechs and the other Maou, then she glanced at the other figures seated on the elevated platform.
Michael and Azazel, once considered mortal enemies.
When her gaze moved further to the side, it landed on a black haired young man, and her expression froze.
-x-X-x-
"Kyaah! I don't want to!"
"No! No! Stay away from me!!"
"Someone, please save me!"
Rosseweisse's screams echoed through the dark, twisted space around her as she desperately crawled backward across the cold floor. Her heart hammered violently in her chest, each beat so powerful it felt like it would burst through her ribs.
An ugly man loomed over her.
He was old, with long, unkempt grey hair and a filthy, tangled beard that reached the floor, flailing with the wind. A gold and white monocle covered one eye, while the other gleamed with a sick, perverted look.
His wrinkled face twisted into a grotesque, lecherous grin, yellowed teeth exposed as drool dripped from the corner of his mouth. His gnarled hands reached out with crooked fingers, and from his lower body, dozens of thick, slimy tentacles writhed and squirmed like living serpents, glistening with foul mucus.
"Little Valkyrie~ Come here, my dear. Let this old man have a taste of that pure, untouched body of yours," he croaked in a raspy voice, his lone eye roaming across her body with undisguised depravity. His gaze was so filthy that it made her skin crawl.
"No! Stay back! Don't come any closer!!" Rosseweisse screamed, tears streaming down her face.
She tried to stand, but her legs shook too violently to support her. One of the tentacles suddenly shot forward and wrapped around her ankle, yanking her backward. She crashed onto her stomach and cried out in pain.
"Please! Someone! Anyone! Save me!!" Her voice rang out, filled with despair, as another tentacle slithered slowly up her thigh, slipping beneath the fabric of her skirt and brushing against her skin. She kicked and thrashed wildly in a frantic struggle for freedom, but more tentacles wrapped firmly around her wrists and spread her legs apart, completely exposing her most private areas.
"Hehehe," The old man chuckled, his perverted grin widening as he crawled closer. "Such a pure, beautiful Valkyrie. I will enjoy breaking you in completely. I will make you scream my name over and over until you forget everything else and only my touch remains burned into your mind forever."
Rossweisse sobbed hysterically, her body trembling in terror. "No... please... I don't want this... I've never... I've never been with anyone... Please stop!!"
She felt the thick, slimy tentacle pressing against her entrance, ready to violate her. Her mind was breaking from the humiliation and fear. This was her worst nightmare, being defiled by this disgusting, perverted old monster while completely helpless.
Just as the tentacle was about to push inside her, an intense flash of light erupted and blinded the entire world around them in an instant!
A majestic figure in radiant silver armor descended from above like a divine savior sent from the heavens themselves. He was a tall, black haired man holding a glowing divine sword in his powerful grip, and his presence radiated overwhelming power and absolute protection for all who stood in his light. With one powerful swing of his blade, he severed the tentacles holding her in a single motion.
"Who are you?! Noo!!" The old man let out a blood curdling scream as his appendages were cut apart, black blood spraying everywhere. He glared at Yusuke with hatred before dissolving into shadows with a final, hateful screech.
"My knight...! I know you'll come to save me!!" She clung to him desperately, burying her face in his chest while sobbing. She started caressing his face with both hands, looking at him with glowing eyes, her heart overflowing with unending love.
She looked at him with tear-filled eyes, then pulled him into a deep, desperate kiss. Their lips moved against each other as clothes were dissolved into white light. They fell together onto the soft grass, bodies entwining passionately under the open sky.
"Haahn! Hahn~!" Rossweisse's eyes suddenly snapped open as she began breathing heavily.
"Where am I?" She sat upright in bed, gasping for breath and sweating profusely from every pore of her body. Her face was flushed red as she frantically looked around, only to realize that she was lying in a large, luxurious bed inside an unfamiliar room.
"Ah!" Hurriedly, she lifted the blanket, and the moment she did, her already red face became even redder with overwhelming shame.
She covered her face with both hands as smoke gushed out of her head from sheer embarrassment. Her underwear was completely soaked through, and a large wet patch had formed on the sheets beneath her.
She had just experienced an incredibly vivid and intense wet dream.
Her hands trembled as they brushed against the damp fabric between her legs, her mind still trapped in the dream, replaying every moment clearly.
"So this is love... I am in love. That man... my Knight...' she whispered breathlessly, her voice filled with obsessive longing, her eyes glazed as she clung to the lingering feelings the dream had left behind.
...
What is love?
Despite Seekvaira's cool and serious exterior, she was just like most young noble ladies. Beneath that composed facade, she held a deep interest in love. It was a question she had wondered about for a long time.
More than once, she had fantasized about the day she would finally fall in love with a man worthy of her, someone capable of stealing her heart and leaving a lasting mark on her life.
When she heard that her two childhood friends were in love and had found a man they loved, she honestly felt very envious. However, as the heiress of the Agares House, she could not act willfully.
Unlike Sona and Rias, who had managed to break free from their engagements, Seekvaira was not as fortunate.
However, today the answer to that question has finally been answered in the most unexpected way possible.
The moment her eyes landed on him, something inside her stirred violently like an apocalyptic hurricane violently storming through her heart and shaking her soul.
'What... is this?' A strange suffocating warmth flooded her chest, spreading rapidly through her body and igniting every nerve ending with an overwhelming intensity she could barely comprehend.
Her fingers tightened around the fabric of her dress as she tried desperately to steady herself against the turbulent emotions surging within. This was not normal in any sense.
This was not how she had ever felt when she looked at powerful men before. She had seen and met countless important figures before, but none of them had ever made her heart race with such uncontrollable intensity as this one did.
Why is my heart beating so fast?'
It pounded violently, like a wild beast trying to break free from its cage. Each beat sent strange, dizzying sensations coursing through her entire body. Her cheeks grew hot, and her thoughts, which were usually so calm and composed, descended into complete chaos.
'Who is he? Why do I feel like this?' She tried to look away, but her gaze kept drifting back to him against her will, drawn by an irresistible magnetic pull. The longer she stared at him, the stronger the feeling became. It was an intoxicating feeling that consumed her completely. It felt like her soul had suddenly recognized something it had been searching for its entire life without ever knowing it was missing until this very moment.
This man, who is he?!' A deep, obsessive pull took root inside her heart, wrapping around it like vines and refusing to let go. She absolutely knew nothing about this strange man, but a strong feeling of longing was filling her heart and soul completely as she wanted to know everything about him, and she wanted to be near him more than anything.
She did not know what the fuck was wrong with her, but at least she knew one thing for certain.
She needed this man.
She wanted him!
She must have him!!
She will have him!!!
Pressing a hand against her chest and feeling the frantic rhythm beneath her palm, Seekvaira realized that, for the first time in her life, she felt truly alive.
For the first time, she had a real goal beyond following the blueprint her family had laid out for her. A goal she could call her own.
And that goal was him!
Seekvaira's emotional state did not go unnoticed by the yanderes around her. She was surrounded by 13 yanderes, and every single one of them had gone through the same state she was experiencing right now.
As such, they immediately understood what was happening.
Another one would soon be joining their ranks.
"Another one bites the dust!" Aika said sarcastically.
She was already reaching for her phone, ready to "Knock some Sense", if Tsubaki had not stopped her with a cold glare.
"Rias, Sona," Seekvaira spoke without taking her eyes off Yusuke. "Do you know the identity of that man?"
For someone to be seated alongside the Maous and the other big shots present, his status had to be on the same level as theirs. The possibility of him even being a God was not out of the question.
"Of course we do," Rias said, tucking a strand of crimson hair behind her ear before leaning closer to Seekvaira. Then, in a low voice, she added, "He is my Husband."
As she spoke, Rias carefully observed Seekvaira's expression.
For a moment, her face froze completely, then it twisted through a whirlwind of emotions. Loss, anger, helplessness, and determination.
It was a cocktail of feelings twisting across her face in such a short time that it revealed the intense inner turmoil consuming her completely.
"N... no way!" Her face turned deathly pale. Seekvaira muttered helplessly as the color drained completely from her features.
"He is also my Husband," Sona said as well.
As if another arrow had pierced her heart, she twisted her head mechanically to look at Sona and exclaimed, "How could this be?! How is that even possible?!"
"He is also my Husband," Tsubaki added calmly.
"He is my Husband as well!"
The other girls, like Ravel, Yubelluna, and Murayama, also spoke up one after another, and each time one of them declared it another piece of Seekvaira's heart was crushed.
This made her heart, which had just been beating with such intense passion, sink deeper and deeper into a painful abyss of despair and heartbreak.
The only person who had not joined in the fun of bullying Seekveira was Akeno.
Her gaze was fixed on the man standing beside Azazel. Her hands were clenched tightly into fists; for the first time in many years, she had seen her father.
-x-X-x-