Chapter 256

His eyes narrowed in on an elder who almost voiced his complaints. His subtle killing intent immediately silenced him. Everyone felt it. No one commented on it. The sweat-stained elder swallowed any objections he had in his throat without defiance.

Sirzechs's actions may displease his allies, but he had no time to care about straining relations and offending key members.

Too much was at stake for him to worry about decorum.

"In recognition of our allies, there may be an unfamiliar faces for all of you. So with this opportunity, I would like for Lord Atid to come forward."

|DxD|

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Atid stood at the podium, completely unfazed by the disgust some of the devils were showing him. He was partially a human so they could sniff that part out.

Still, he wasn't going to let those eyes of disgust last.

"My name is Atid but you shall refer to me as Lord Atid."

Like clockwork, the Boosted Gear Gauntlet manifested on his left arm.

"[BOOST!]"

FUUUUUUSH!

The power he kept suppressed surged like a rocket, flooding the room with his pressure.

"I am the son of Lord Indra, and the last Red Dragon Emperor."

"""?!?!"""

The tension in the room was palpable. Atid wasn't a bastard son of a god left to rot on Earth. He was the true heir of Indra and the Sekiryuutei. Furthermore, he was strong. His high-God Class power was revealed when he manifested the Boosted Gear.

"..."

What was worse, he was aligned with both the Shinto and the Aryans.

[Problematic indeed.]

Zelefam, the head of the Bael clan scrutinised Atid. In the face of such sheer circumstances, he remained calm and collected. He had a feeling Atid was strong, especially when he spoke on equal terms with Igor.

Given how the blonde also suppressed his energy last week, he assumed this Atid could do the same---though he did hope his conjecture would only remain a conjecture.

Unfortunately, it was true.

[As if there weren't enough problems.]

This whole mess with the Shinto and the Hindu wasn't supposed to happen. The Aryans were already enough of a headache, but a combination of these three produced a deterrent effect that couldn't be underestimated.

[Rizen might no longer be willing to dispute this policy. This will weaken our delayment argument significantly.]

Rizen Phenex, clan head of the Phenex and a key instrument to their argument might change his mind due to these three factions. The threat of the Aryans was neutralized since Sirzechs would never let Igor attack his own allies. But the pressure from the Shinto and the Hindu was real.

[A new set of plans need to be drafted in face of these circumstances.]

Zelefam kept a cool head. The arrival of Yasaka, Sun Wukong, and Atid was a clearly kept secret since not even his clan received notice. It would've been better if they arrived yesterday, but Yasaka arrived thirty-minutes before this meeting---not close to enough time to plan proper countermeasures.

"..."

Hie glanced at his peers and elders. Some of them, especially heads from lower-ranking clans seemed to have lost all hope.

[Disappointments.]

His eyes showed veiled disgust. These failures who loved to boast were now on the verge of losing their composure like headless chickens.

[It's up to me now to lead the way forward.]

The Shinto, Hindu, and Aryans were interfering in devil politics. Cutting them out was not viable in the near future. At the very least, their threat deterrence had to be addressed.

[This will not be easy.]

Zelefam had to plan things properly in the short time he had. Not only did he have to test the Aryans's response, but he also had to carefully navigate just enough to delay the policy's deployment, but not also offend the Shinto and the Pantheon.

[Hmmm. Just like chess. And as always, chess needs a few…pawns.]

Since these useless clan heads could no longer contribute their intellect, they'd serve far better use as probes. If they were killed by Igor? Well, what are heirs for?

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|DxD|

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Serafall had no smile on her face. She was all business with no room for any giddine-

[Yaaaayyyy!]

There was room for some giddiness. Serafall loved the gloomy faces of the elders and clan heads. The presence of Yasaka and Atid's by extension was the same as aiming a missile at a small village---the clan heads being the village in question.

The combined might of the Shinto and Hindu was not something devils could bear. It was self-deprecating, but Serafall wouldn't create a fuss. Indra's motivations could not be guessed, but his son's presence as a delegate of the Shinto did not bode well for the conservatives.

By her estimations, Serafall was sure the establishment of this policy was going to be a smooth ride. If anyone threatened to be a speed-bump, she'd sic Igor on them.

[And he'll bash them like the scum they are!]

Her thoughts were jubilant, but she kept a calm expression. She'd roped Falbium into making this policy nitpicking-proof. She would not give those old farts the chance to delay it by any margin.

Their race's prosperity hinged on this policy passing. As long as it was made into law, it would make it easier for more changes to be made into law.

[Done!]

She activated her magic and immediately on everyone's desk, a stack of documents appeared. Without a word, the devils as well as the allies took them and read.

Some devils frowned when they saw Serafall had given 'those foreigners' confidential documents, but they did (could) not dispute her.

[Hmph! That's right.]

She was excited, but she had to remain stoic. She could laugh all she wanted when they succeeded.

"As you can see on your desks, I have given all of you the current stipulations regarding the Peerage Overhaul Policy. This is a big change for our people so I hope for your sincerest reviews. If you have revision recommendations, please voice them out so we may make changes as required."

Her tone was calm and formal, but her inner thoughts were another matter entirely.

[Hah! I dare you to find something you old fogeys! I dare you! I double dare you!!]

She stayed up for two days straight, continuously going back and forth between Aurelia and her tower just to draft these stipulations. Even if she left anything, Serafall was confident all of it could be addressed today.

By fire or by force, this policy had to be voted for, signed, and passed into law by the end of today! Failure was not an option!

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|DxD|

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The hall was silent as each person read their document. Surprisingly, even Igor was readin-

*Vein Twitch*

Correction. He was trying to read. There was so much political jargon and nonsensical words that he found it tiring to read. If he could, he would skip to the end and sign "I agree". Fortunately, he wasn't required to sign or agree to anything. The number of small letters and fancy words was not something he was fond of.

[Terms and conditions agreements are better than whatever this is.]

The stipulations were long, but they could vaguely be summarised like this:

The very first thing that was addressed was the availability of professional individuals qualified to perform the procedure. Currently, only Ajuka and Aurelia were qualified.

Thankfully, Aurelia could create clones of herself with the same intellect and capability. She can create and sustain well over five-hundred clones without harm to herself. This gives enough time for a specialised task force to be trained in modifying peerage pieces by Ajuka.

Secondly, a pilot group of one-thousand devils selected randomly from all clans will be eligible for free peerage modification and monitoring will last a year to ensure no unexpected results occur.

Thirdly, implementation would be based on eligibility. Reincarnated devils who've reached high-class are eligible by default. Devils with significant contributions to society will also receive high priority to have their evil piece modified. After that, the system would descend downwards from those who've served the longest.

Next was the issue of reincarnated devils turning rogue upon freedom. They were categorised as high-risk pieces and held the highest eligibility for modification. Reincarnated Devils known to belong to masters who treat them poorly would receive further counselling.

Masters will be forced to pay reparations to the abused. Depending on the level of the abuse, it may be money, resources, imprisonment, or a combination of all three. A special trial council will be created to try incompetent masters who abused their peerages and the punishment would be at the council's discretion.*

Reincarnated devils possessing insider, dangerous, or crucial knowledge were also labelled as high-risk. Unfortunate as it may seem, they will have to accept a soul contract and an Aryan seal binding them from releasing confidential information.

This policy was cut and dry. Serafall believed that she could shut down anyone who tried to oppose this policy's implementation. By now, sixty minutes have passed, more than enough time for anyone to read it properly…except for Igor.

The blonde was well aware of his diminutive patience. If it came to training, he could endure. Reading? Unless it was a manual containing a technique, he wouldn't last over two minutes.

So to maximise his time, he subtly began spreading his senses throughout the building. The incident at the Gremory household made him wary of unwelcome visitors.

His training with Sun Wukong allowed him to spread his senses without anyone noticing, except for the master of course.

The old monkey subtly turned around, grinned, and faced forward once more. Igor's technique was good, but he still hadn't surpassed the old.

[Hehe. Of course the monkey sage would sense me.]

His method of spreading his senses was slow and passive, but it still allowed him to sense everyone. As he expected, all the devils here were wea-

[Hmm?]

He glanced at the far corner of the hall right across him.

[Ultimate Class? That's rare. He's even reached the high stage.]

The person he sensed had black hair and violet eyes. He appeared rather young…maybe thirty by his guess. But judging by the lifeforce he felt from the man, he was maybe seven or nine-centuries old.

From his knowledge, this person was Bael.

[But…]

His brows furrowed slightly.

[...why so many rings? Is he…bent?]

If he wore so many rings, Igor was sure his father would beat him half to death.

[Then again, maybe those rings contain enchantments.]

The man from the Bael was strong, certainly stronger than the other middle-aged Bael sitting next to him, but Igor didn't pay him much attentio-

[Wait.]

He scrutinised the man more. It was faint…very, very, very faint, but those rings were emitting mana, not demonic energy. Just the use of mana told him this was most likely a human-made artifact. Why a devil from the Bael was wearing magic rings made my humans could be anyone's guess.

What Igor knew however, was that he would keep the man in his mind. Still, for whatever mystery those rings had, Ultimate Class wasn't much by his standards. The man didn't even look or feel like a fighter.

His energy reserves were something though.

[Meh. Still weak.]

His bones were disappointing for someone in the realm of Ultimate Class. He couldn't see clearly, but just a glimpse of his hands told Igor this guy had no calluses.

[I could be starving, tired, blind, and he still wouldn't land a blow on me in a millio-]

"Everyone. I would now like your opinions and comments on any of the stipulations so that any adjustments can be made as necessary."