Chapter 267

What he wanted to do was temper his perception, particularly his reaction time. He needed to be able to process the high volumes of information his body was delivering to him and sparring with Souji would fix that.

[Yes. I will find some time this week to go-]

"Big brother!"

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|DxD|

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Few things in life could make Igor smile. Some of them were food, battle, legs, and training. The last of them was family. When he saw Asia running towards him, a genuine smile spread across his face.

"Big Brother! You're back!"

The little blonde jumped up and latched on to him like a koala.

"Hihihihihi~"

Her tender giggle made Igor's eyes fill with warmth.

"Yes. Big brother is back, Sia."

He wrapped his arms around her and stood up.

"Come on. I want to see Akeno too."

"Okay~. But let me tell you a secret."

Slowly, Asia leaned into his ear.

"Akeno missed you the most, big brother."

"And you didn't?"

Asia seemed to be offended by the statement.

"Hmph! Of course I missed you."

She spoke as if he should be proud of that singular fact. And he was.

"Hahaha! To be missed by my cute little sister is a great achievement for me."

He walked with her towards the house. She was in his arms and with how glued she was to him, it was clear she wasn't willing to be let down.

"By the way, why aren't you wearing shoes? You'll get cold if you don't."

"A little cold won't defeat me. I'm strong too, you know?"

"Yes, yes. My little Sia is strong. But just to be safe, big brother will check."

One of his arms supporting her moved to grab her foot and Asia quickly realised what was happening.

"Huh? Wait…wait, wait, wai-hihihihihi~. Hahahahahaha! Stop it, big broth-hahahaha!"

The tickles began, and there was no escaping. She furiously struggled, twisted and turned, but she couldn't escape his hold.

"Hahahahaha! Stop, big brother. Hahaha! Stop!"

Escape was futile. The devious grin Igor had told her she was completely at his mercy. Kicking or pushing away were fruitless endeavours. That warm arm supporting her waist now became a lock that kept her in place.

It was only fortunate that assistance soon arrived.

"Waah! Sneak attack!"

Jumping from the roof was a fearless Akeno aiming right for Igor. Her wings were deployed and she swiftly latched onto his back.

"Hmph! Have a taste of your own medicine, onii-chan!"

She quickly directed her hands underneath his arms and began tickling him.

"Hey! Hey stop it!"

Igor's body involuntarily twitched. Her soft fingers completely bypassed his absurd defence. He tried shaking her off, but Akeno firmly secured herself to him using her legs. Her powerful core muscles and her wings kept her upright.

"This will be the last time you bully Asia!"

Akeno shouted with righteous indignation as she continued her assault. Igor had no choice but to let go of Asia. But no sooner did that happen, the little blonde turned on him and targeted his ribs and sides.

Her feather-like fingers did far more damage than any knife or bullet ever could. Igor could shrug off most attacks, but these two managed to topple him down.

"Let's get him, Asia!"

"Yeah!"

He fell on his knees and eventually his side under their incessant attacks. He tried protecting his vitals, but it was no use. Their little hands could bypass their way through any defence he put up.

"Aaah! Hahahahahaha! Stop it! Sto-hahahaha!"

The noise of the battle naturally attracted Shuri and Aurelia. When they came outside, they arrived at the sight of a fallen giant being ruthlessly tickled to death by his two little sisters.

""...""

Lord Shiva's heir, Veteran of Thirty Wars, The Demigod of the Aryans…was defeated in a hard-fought battle.

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|DxD|

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Gremory Clan, Devil Territory, Underworld

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Teleporting to the Underworld was now an easy affair for Igor. He'd memorised the energy signatures of the Four Satans enough for him to use the Instant Transmission to find them. Finding energy signatures across another dimension was still somewhat cumbersome, but possible.

The only problem with teleporting across dimensions was that unlike on Earth, he wasn't able to accurately sense the surroundings around where he would teleport. So to his surprise once more…

Tswii!

…he teleported right into the dining room where the Gremory were still having breakfast.

"..."

"""..."""

Several pairs of eyes locked on to him. Zeoticus and his wife, Rias and Isaiah, along with a couple of maids carrying away empty plates and leftover food.

[Atleast I arrived after they finished.]

The timing was a bit awkward, but Igor did not waver before these eyes. His back straightened and his arms remained crossed.

His thick skin made him refuse to admit he was intruding. His shamelessness erased the word 'embarrassed' in his dictionary.

"Just to be clear, I knew you were eating, but this couldn't wait."

Lies. All of it was lies, but his steel jaw didn't twitch even once.

"""..."""

If Igor thought he could deceive a room full of devils centuries his senior, he was in for a rude awakening. He was strong, but he was no deception expert.

"Oh? Might we know what you require, Dimori-san?"

The first to recover was Venelana. Contrary to being offended, she was amused at this unexpected turn of events. Playing along with him might bring her some extra amusement. After all, it wouldn't be good if they embarrassed the benefactor of their people by chasing him away…along with her fun.

"I wanted to talk to Sirzechs. But specifically…"

Su!

He instantly appeared next to Souji and placed his hand on the man.

"...I wanted to ask. Can I borrow Souji for today, Sirzechs? We had an agreement we would fight."

"..."

Sirzechs didn't know how to answer. Souji's eyes were pleading for him to say no, but he also wanted this lazy knight of his to get off his rear.

"Hmmm…"

A plan quickly formed in his head. Igor's arrival was a chance for him to exploit.

"I don't mind, Dimori-san. A promise must be fulfilled after all."

A small smile formed on his face as he uttered these words. Souji's helpless expression was one he would remember forever.

"Thanks, Sirzechs. Let's go, Souji!"

"?!"

The swordsman tried to break free, but Igor's firm grip made it impossible. Souji was fast, but he was still in the realm of low-God Class while Igor was at the peak.

"WAIT!"

"Hm?"

Souji tentatively asked.

"Can I refuse?"

"Nope. I'm stronger than you."

"..."

For the first time in his life, Souji held thoughts of signing up for his evil piece to be modified. Under the assistance of his pig-headed king, he was about to be thrust into a battle he was unwilling to endure.

[Curse you, Sirze-]

Su!

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|DxD|

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The Underworld had no lack of land. There were plenty of wastelands available for one to go wild. Far into the wilderness, Igor and Souji were in one of those wastelands. For as far as the eye could see, there was only barren land with a few scattered rock hills.

The ground itself was grainy and unusually red instead of brown. The grainy sand was as numerous as the sea and each step would crush it into smaller particles.

Krrr…Krrr..Krrr…

Igor took a few steps forward and observed the horizon with a prideful smile.

"Yep. This will do."

"..."

Standing sullenly behind him was Souji. His heart ached when he thought of the dessert he missed, his warm bed waiting for him, and the book he was looking forward to reading.

Now this battle-maniac was here and Sirzechs actually offered him up like a-

"?!"

Clang!

In an astoundingly fast quick-draw, Souji unsheathed his sword and blocked Igor's white aura blade. He found himself struggling under Igor's downward swing. A lapse in concentration nearly led to him gaining a nasty gash on his chest.

"Hey, Souji. Don't sleep on me, alright?"

[Tch! What an annoyance!]

It felt like he was fighting against a hydraulic arm. Igor's blade was nearing closer and closer to his head-

Tswii!

Igor instantly appeared behind him and struck out before…

Tswii!

…he appeared in front of Souji once more. His posture was crouched, his blade ready to slit open Souji's exposed nape if he couldn't react in time.

"?!"

Souji had initially slashed out behind him with his sword, but he never expected Igor would appear behind him with his sword once more.

Clang!

Astonishing reaction speed was the only thing that saved Souji's life. He had swung his sword over his shoulder just in time to block that brutal slash. But that was only a temporary measure. In such an awkward position, competing in a test of strength would be counter-intuitive.

Su!

Souji dared not linger. He swiftly opened up some distance in an effort to regain his bearings and calculate his next moves.

But Igor was incessant.

"Let's fight, Okita!"

[You say that after you've attacked?!?!]

Clang!

Souji blocked another strike once more. Igor's absurd strength made him wish this maniac could've picked someone else like Bahamut or Surtr. Both were rooks and incredibly strong.

But wishes couldn't contend with reality.

[Tch!]

Souji dared not be careless in front of Igor. This maniac really would gut him if he wasn't careful. So he decided to go all out. In place of demonic energy, he began to utilise youki to-

"Nope!"

Faster than Souji could ever hope to react, Igor struck him with a powerful gut punch.

Gu!

"Argh!"

His grunt of pain was followed by him weakly falling to his knees. The power behind the punch rattled his spine, temporarily paralysing him.

Even worse, Igor had the audacity to stand in front of him with a small smile on his face.

"Can't have you using that, Souji. I want to fight you, not your teammates. Now…"

Souji looked up to see Igor cracking his knuckles.

Crack!…Crack!

"...will you get up or should I help you?"

"..."

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AN

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I'm writing an exam on the 6th which is on Friday. This unfortunately disallows me from either writing or updating since I need to make preparations.

So thank you for reading and until the next chapter. Should you wish to read ahead, you can go to p.a.t.r.e.o.n and look for HolyGambler.