Two diamond-level sign-ins now stood before Takeyo, each representing an extraordinary opportunity. The first required him to win the hearts of both Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri — a challenge that would push the boundaries of social dynamics and genuine connection. The second required him to arrange a meeting between the Red Dragon Emperor and the White Dragon Emperor within a year.
Neither task could be completed quickly or easily. However, Takeyo had the determination and confidence to see both through to completion.
Of all people, he understood the immense value of king-level sign-ins better than anyone. After all, obtaining an incarnation of Vishnu in its original form had elevated Takeyo's potential to quasi-single-digit status, with the possibility of reaching true single-digit classification in the cosmological hierarchy.
The reason was simple: within the Little Garden world, Vishnu's existence was overpowered. According to legend, the incarnations of the top ten deities were fragments of Vishnu's divine body itself. If someone could manifest all of these incarnations simultaneously, their potential would theoretically surpass even that of double-digit beings.
Although one tier below the king-level classification, diamond-level sign-ins still provided tremendous benefits. The rewards on offer could transform his capabilities and open new avenues to power.
In order to complete the Red Dragon and White Dragon sign-in process, Takeyo could not simply allow Issei Hyoudou to die. There were too many complications that could arise from the Sekiryuutei's death, and they were too unpredictable.
If Ddraig left Issei's body and found a new host within the next year, it would be extraordinarily difficult to discover and develop that new wielder into someone capable of confronting Vali Lucifer. The Boosted Gear's host selection process is essentially random and is governed by the inscrutable parameters of the Sacred Gear system. The new host could be anywhere: any country, any background, any age.
If the new host happened to be male, it would be exceptionally challenging to convince him to shake hands with Vali for sign-in purposes. After all, not everyone has the inclination to make such social manipulation feasible.
But what if the new host turned out to be a woman? That would be an even worse scenario. The thought of deliberately cultivating a female disciple, only to hand her over to Vali for an arranged encounter, filled Takeyo with genuine disgust. Such manipulation would cross ethical boundaries he had no intention of approaching.
Therefore, in order to avoid creating unnecessary complications and moral dilemmas, Takeyo had forcibly kept Ddraig inside Issei Hyoudou's dying body. The Red Dragon Emperor would remain exactly where he was supposed to be, regardless of his own preferences in the matter.
'Don't worry,' Takeyo told the reluctant dragon spirit, his tone conveying absolute certainty. 'I won't let you linger as a corpse.'
He held out his hand and a golden light began to gather in his palm.
[Materialise: God's chess piece!]
A golden chess piece appeared in Takeyo's hand, radiating divine power far beyond that of the ordinary Evil Pieces. It was one of his most valuable possessions — a chess piece that transcended the normal limitations of the Devil Reincarnation System.
'Are you planning to reincarnate him?' Ddraig asked cautiously, a glimmer of hope flickering through his mind.
The Red Dragon Emperor experienced a momentary surge of optimism. This mysterious individual seemed to have a genuinely good relationship with his current host, who was a waste of potential. With someone this powerful supporting Issei, perhaps defeating the insufferable White Dragon wasn't completely impossible this time around.
'That's correct,' confirmed Takeyo.
He casually tossed the golden chess piece onto Issei's chest and began channelling reincarnation magic through his fingertips. Complex magical formulas wove through the air, connecting the piece to Issei's fading life force.
The piece he had selected was, fittingly, a pawn — perhaps the most appropriate choice for someone with the name Issei. The symbolic resonance was almost poetic.
Reincarnating the Red Dragon Emperor using standard evil pieces would require a minimum of eight pawn pieces, as well as the significant magical resources and time investment that such a ritual demands. However, God's chess pieces operated on entirely different principles. A single piece had the power of dozens of ordinary ones.
This task required only one God's Piece.
'Yuuma, can you hear me?' Takeyo reached out mentally towards his villa as the reincarnation process unfolded.
The distance was insignificant to someone with his capabilities. Even without using any special powers, setting up a basic magical communication link over a distance of just tens of metres required minimal effort.
'Master? What is it?' Yuuma Amano responded immediately, his voice filled with eager attentiveness.
'I have a task for you. I need you to capture Mittelt and bring her back to me. She should be nearby, as she was your fallen angel partner in this operation."
Mittelt was the small, loli-sized fallen angel with her distinctive gothic aesthetic. It was she who had actually killed Issei just minutes ago, likely acting on her own initiative after realising that Yuuma had abandoned her assigned assassination mission.
The girl had probably come to find out why Yuuma had failed to complete their objective. She had then discovered that Issei was still alive and potentially dangerous, and had decided to handle the matter herself.
'Master's orders are absolute, and I will carry them out to perfection!' Yuuma declared with passionate devotion.
'Good. I'm counting on you,' said Takeyo, satisfied.
Having transmitted those instructions to Yuuma Amano, Takeyo settled into a chair in Issei's room and observed the reincarnation process with analytical interest.
After Issei had provided the chess piece, his vital signs stabilised and began to improve. The boy was currently undergoing a transformation — a process of rebirth and evolution that would alter his physical and spiritual makeup.
'That loli fallen angel is truly ruthless,' Takeyo muttered, shaking his head slightly. 'She killed him without hesitation or remorse. Who'd have thought she'd act so decisively, creating this entire bloody scene?"
'At the very least, she should have cleaned up the evidence properly, or altered Issei's parents' memories downstairs. Leaving such obvious traces demonstrates remarkably poor operational security.'
Mittelt displayed a certain lazy callousness in her assassination work. It was the kind of careless efficiency that suggested she had done this sort of thing before and could not be bothered with proper clean-up procedures.
Several minutes passed in relative silence while the reincarnation magic did its work.
Unlike ordinary devil chess pieces, God's chess pieces had a much stronger binding effect on their servants. If the master chose to exercise this authority, they could exert absolute control over their dependents' actions and will, similar to the Command Seals from the Fate series.
This form of dominion made the typical master-servant relationships in Devil society seem almost casual by comparison.
'It looks like it will take a while for him to wake up,' Takeyo observed, noting the steady but gradual progress of Issei's transformation. 'But I don't have time to sit here and monitor his recovery.'
He turned his attention to the location of Ddraig's consciousness within the Boosted Gear.
'Hey, Ddraig! Can you hear me?'
The Sekiryuutei had remained silent since he was intimidated earlier, staying quietly inside Issei's body without protesting or commenting.
'Unknown Dragon God, what are your orders?' Ddraig replied, his voice carrying a majestic quality that nonetheless revealed an undertone of uncertainty and wariness.
His voice had an inherent majesty, a natural gravitas reminiscent of a legendary dragon. His wariness stemmed from his reasonable respect for, and fear of, beings who could casually manifest dragon god presences.
'When Issei wakes up, you'll need to explain everything he needs to know about his situation. I can't be bothered to talk him through the basics of the Devil society and the mechanics of the Sacred Gear. Once his reincarnation is complete, you should be able to manifest more freely than before, shouldn't you?"
'Yes, Lord Dragon God,' Ddraig confirmed.
The Red Dragon Emperor could sense the changes occurring in Issei's body. Once the reincarnation process was complete, his host's physical capabilities would increase to at least mid-class Devil level, along with corresponding improvements to his overall constitution and magical capacity.
Perhaps, in this condition, defeating that insufferable white dragon was actually within reach.
'Just call me Takeyo,' he said, smiling slightly.
'As you wish, Lord Takeyo.'
Although Takeyo had said that he didn't care about excessive formality or elaborate titles, Ddraig was determined not to be disrespectful or presumptuous. It was a matter of basic survival instinct.
Respect for strength was a fundamental commonality among dragons. They were inherently hierarchical beings who understood and acknowledged power structures with absolute clarity.
The dragon race operated under the simple logic that the harder you could defeat them, the more genuine respect and acknowledgement they would show you. Strength commanded deference, and overwhelming strength commanded absolute loyalty.
'Good. I need you to do your absolute best to help Issei develop. This time, your opponent is the descendant of the previous Demon King, Lucifer himself. He is the so-called half-demon, half-human prodigy whose talent surpasses that of every previous White Dragon Emperor host in recorded history.'
'Understood, Lord Takeyo!' Ddraig responded with newfound enthusiasm.
News that the White Dragon had found such an exceptional host ignited the Red Dragon Emperor's competitive spirit. Although Ddraig hoped to defeat the White Dragon Emperor in their eternal rivalry, he did not want to crush an opponent who was completely unworthy.
True satisfaction would only come when both Heavenly Dragons were fighting at their absolute peak, pushing each other to transcendent heights. Defeating an inadequate host would be a hollow victory.
'It's good that you understand. Well, I'll be leaving now,' said Takeyo, rising from the chair.
The next instant, he had vanished completely from Issei's room, moving through space as casually as others might walk through a doorway.
'An unknown dragon god whose presence and authority surpass even those of Great Red and the Infinite Dragon God Ophis.' Ddraig's consciousness echoed through the quiet room after Takeyo had left. 'I never expected such an existence to manifest in this world.'
The Red Dragon Emperor's tone conveyed a deep sense of yearning, coupled with the appropriate reverence.
Moments ago, when Takeyo had departed, Ddraig hadn't detected even the slightest spatial fluctuation. It was as if the earth itself had naturally formed a pathway beneath his feet, reality accommodating his will.
'However, the emergence of such an overwhelmingly powerful being will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the current power structure of the world. The various factions will certainly undergo a new period of reshuffling as they try to position themselves advantageously in relation to this new factor.'
'I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing how this unfolds,' said Ddraig, sounding almost excited.
Dragons have always been symbols of raw power, their very existence drawing extraordinary outcomes towards fate and destiny. The Heavenly Dragons embodied this principle even more intensely than their lesser counterparts.
But what about this individual who had surpassed even the realm of the Dragon Gods? Their mere presence would inevitably cause ripples of change to spread through every supernatural faction.
'Although this host lacks raw talent, with the support and personal attention of that lord, he could reach heights never achieved by previous Sekiryuutei hosts.'
The realm beyond the Heavenly Dragons.
In the original timeline, Issei did indeed reach transcendent status at certain critical moments. This was powered by his unwavering dedication to the Oppai Dragon philosophy and his dream of building a harem of beautiful women.
However, it was uncertain whether that would still occur in this altered timeline. After all, without the breast-themed motivational drivers of the heroines from the original story, and with only the almighty power of BL masterpieces to fuel his ambitions, Issei's path to power could take completely different trajectories.
Nevertheless, if Vali's defeat at the hands of Issei required the Sekiryuutei to reach a transcendent level, then Issei would undoubtedly achieve it. The logic was simple and inescapable.
It was because Takeyori Kagutsuchi wanted him to reach that level.
Takeyo got what he wanted.
After securing his first dependent and ensuring that the diamond-level sign-in remained viable, Takeyo returned to his villa.
'Learning... learning makes me happy,' he murmured to himself, sounding genuinely content.
Takeyo resumed his studies immediately, diving back into the ocean of knowledge with all the enthusiasm of someone who had discovered their true calling.
From his earliest childhood memories to the present day, he has maintained an insatiable appetite for knowledge and exploration of the unknown. After awakening the power of the Ten Incarnations, this natural inclination intensified to a degree that would seem obsessive to ordinary people.
Examined objectively, his dreams were remarkably simple.
Firstly, read and absorb as much knowledge as possible from every field and discipline.
Secondly, he wanted to marry women he genuinely loved and build meaningful relationships with them.
Both aspirations were fundamentally straightforward: the first sought intellectual fulfilment on a cosmic scale; the second pursued the highest level of emotional connection available in companionship.
Reading as much as possible about this world. Marrying the girls he loved. Staying with those beloved partners for as long as fate would allow.
Simple dreams. But achieving them to their fullest potential? That would require a level of power, wisdom and determination that most beings could not even begin to comprehend.
Takeyo Kagutsuchi intended to achieve both of these things.
...
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