Chapter 158

As fast as it came, the connection broke. After hearing Aurelia's clarification, she felt relief. Baraquiel would be fine. No one was hurt too much. Now, she had to deal with this stubborn blonde who tried to shoulder the blame when he had no need to.

Standing up, she made her way towards him and silently wrapped her hands around his waist. She felt him tense at her embrace, but she tightened her hold.

"Aunty…?"

[Idiot…]

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|DxD|

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Igor stood in the room, unsure of what to do next. In place of yelling, Shuri had hugged him.

"Aunty…?"

A part of him wondered if she was trying to crush him since her hold became strong enough to crush a normal man. However, before his mind could ponder any further, she tilted her head to look into his eyes, their concern evident in them.

"You look tired, Igor. Go and see your sisters."

"..."

Igor didn't seem to process that question since he just looked at her blankly.

"Aunty. I almost-"

She placed a finger to his lips.

"Shush. We will talk about this at a later date. For now, go see your sisters and get some rest after. They missed you so much."

"..."

His eyes glazed over in thought for a moment before he nodded.

"Alright, aunty. And…thank you."

Without any further words, he vanished.

Su!

"..."

With the blonde gone, Shuri waited for the imminent arrival of Aurelia. And sure enough, she arrived just as she expected.

Su!

Turning around, she was briefly awed by how beautiful Aurelia was, but she quickly dispelled her thoughts. It was time to get straight to the point and understand exactly what happened.

"Please show me."

Aurelia nodded quietly and grabbed her hand.

"I will show you everything from when I met him up to the moment when we met Baraquiel, Shuri-sama."

Without hesitation, she readied herself.

"Alright."

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|DxD|

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It was another lovely day in the small town of Kuoh. With it being a lovely Sunday afternoon, the town was rather empty. Due to the sudden surge of power that took out every electrical appliance and shattered every window, most people had temporarily moved out of the town.

Still, the streets were still filled with cars and the sidewalks had a few dozen people on them. Business had resumed in full and the town was recovering.

Deep in the shopping district of Kuoh, Igor was standing on the top of a building that housed a clothing store. Ironically, he was in clothes so damaged they would make a homeless person look decent.

Surrounding him were metal boxes that could be AC units or ventilators for all he knew. The sky was bright with a few clouds, and it was only when he saw this sight that he realised he was tired.

He could feel the energy signatures of Akeno and Asia inside the store he was on and he didn't want to bother them too soon. Looking at the clouds, he felt he might as well lie down and enjoy them.

"I'm dirty anyway."

He could already imagine how his mother would shout at him for dirtying his clothes. It was a nostalgic memory that made him smile fondly, though his past self would never forget the feeling of that shoe.

"Heh. Good times."

He could still never explain that deadly accuracy she had. How she could throw a shoe right on his forehead every single time was a phenomenon he would never understand. He wouldn't be surprised if it was some sort of supernatural power all mothers had or something similar.

He was thankful to Triny for giving him the chance to see her again, though he certainly didn't wish to see her in such a…state.

[I wonder if they're all doing well in Heaven.]

He figured after they died, they would surely go to heaven.

[Except Vali. I'm sure he went straight to hell. I can already see the devil welcoming him with a plaque that had his name on it.]

He found himself chuckling at the thought.

" 'Valindor von Dimori. We welcome you.' "

Imagine the little short stack his brother was meeting the devil with all those formal suits he loved to wear brought a sad smile out of him.

[He was only nine.]

Feeling his mind being brought too far back into the past, he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"No use thinking about it, Igor. We can't do anything about that anymore."

Closing his eyes, he wanted to get himself a few minutes of sleep when his mind glossed over the matter of Baraquiel.

"..."

He tried to make them go away, but they wouldn't.

[Stupid brain. I can't even train to take my mind off of this.]

Without the familiar feeling of weight tearing his muscles or gravity jostling his organs, he was trapped in his own thoughts as his mind went over to the situation with Baraquiel.

Raising his fist, a part of him couldn't believe he harmed him like that.

[To think I blasted a hole inside him.]

He couldn't remember the feeling or the act, but that didn't erase his actions.

"Atleast I wasn't conscious enough to remember the feeling."

Lowering his hand again, he settled for gazing at the clouds as they slowly moved about. His mind replayed the contents of the scene over and over again. But, a fortunate distraction came.

The wind tickled the torn pieces of his vest, causing a small piece of fabric to flutter up his nose.

He swatted it away, but the process kept repeating.

"...tch."

Having had enough, he incinerated the fabric with a small ki blast. Finally having some peace again, he let himself relax. There was a bit of an uncomfortable feeling with one half of his back being in direct contact with the concrete, but it was not enough to make him change his posture.

He calmly waited for Akeno, Asia, and whoever the third person was to finish whatever it was that they were doing inside the store.

[Why are they taking so long?]

It was a clothing shop. It shouldn't take so long to buy a few clothes. Time gradually passed as he idled away listlessly. His mind was empty as he focused on their energy signatures, his eyes passively following the clouds.

It wasn't until after a few dozen minutes that he felt them leave the store.

[Finally.]

Standing up, the blonde unhesitantly made his way to the edge of the roof where he jumped right into an alleyway.

Doof

Landing on both feet, he casually walked out as he slowly tied his hair in a rough ponytail. Turning to the right, he bumped right into the trio who froze upon seeing him.

"..."

Igor could admit at that very moment, that he was wowed. Akeno was every bit as beautiful as her mother. She wore a light purple dress with a picture of a cat in front.

Her hair was tied in a low ponytail and funnily enough, the little fallen had a sunhat that seemed too big for her. However, it did not hide the violet gaze that froze in complete surprise when she saw Igor.

Asia was dressed in a brand new white dress with roses patterns on it. She was in sandals and as always, her long golden hair cascaded down her sides like a curtain.

Her emerald eyes widened as she saw Igor, a bright smile full of life forming on her face as she shouted.

"Big brother!"

Dropping the shopping bags she was carrying, Asia leaped towards him with her arms outstretched. Jumping nearly twice her height, she dove into his open arms while hers snaked around his neck in a hug.

She was utterly and genuinely excited at his return.

"You're finally back!"

Different from Asia though, Akeno wrapped her arms around his leg and glared at him with a pout. Her hat had already fallen off but was held by the strap against her neck.

"You left without telling us again…"

Her hold was far stronger than it had any right to be. She tried to appear mad, but she couldn't stop a little smile from forming on her face when their eyes met.

Igor shifted his gaze between Asia and Akeno. Just seeing them made his day a whole lot brighter.

Using his right hand, he ruffled the little fallen's head who was trying her best to tear through his leg like a cat on a scratching post.

"Big brother was busy for a little while. But this time, I'm going to stay."

Asia cheered brightly at the news. At the same time, she looked at Akeno with a victorious smirk.

"Yaaayyyy! See? I told you big brother would come back again. And youuu didn't believe me, Akeno-chan."

"Hmph. I never said that..."

Not wanting to argue with her sister in all but blood, Akeno decided to ignore her and enjoy the gentle ministrations of his fingers on her head.

But Asia wouldn't let that happen.

"Liar."

Turning to face their devil caretaker, she called out.

"Nee-san. Didn't me and Akeno-chan make a bet to see when big brother would come back?"

Lina, a modest young lady in a checkered dress gently replied.

"Indeed you did, Asia-chan."

Her voice was melodious and mature, a complete contrast to how she could be confused for a fourteen-year-old girl.

"Heh~. Take that Akeno-chan! I'm the one who believes in big brother the most."

"..."

Akeno didn't retort. Rather, she was too lost in her own world. Igor's fingers were doing wonders to her scalp that she found herself in a daze. Her eyes were closed while her cheeks pressed against his thigh.

On the other end, Lina decided that now was a good enough time as any to introduce herself. Lowering her head slightly, she spoke.

"Greetings, Igor-sama. My name is Lina with no surname. I am the queen of Cleria-sama and I was requested to take Asia-chan and Akeno-chan out for shopping."

"..."

Igor would be honest.

[She makes short hair look good.]

Her hair was neatly trimmed and hovered over her cheeks like a bob-cut. He could already tell from the calluses on her hands that despite her rather gentle way of speaking, she was a fighter through and through.

"Nice to meet you, sister. Thanks for caring for these two. I'm sure they must've been troublesome."

"Hey!"

Asia was not happy about that statement. However, Lina's words made it worse.

"You are right, Igor-sama. Asia-chan's appetite has gotten us into trouble a few times."

The little blonde immediately blushed at such an accusation. Her head lowered to the extent that her chin was almost digging into her chest.

"W-w-well I don't eat that much…"

"..."

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Critical Strike!

She was too cute.

"Aaaah!"

Removing his hand from Akeno, he hugged Asia very tightly, his chin muzzling into her forehead.

"Too cute! Too cute!"

"B-b-brother!"

"My little Asia is too cute! Big brother can't resist!"

Chuu~

He kissed her on the forehead, making her flush even further in embarrassment.

"N-not in public!"

"Nonsense! You're my little sister. If anyone has a problem, I'll bash their skulls in!"

As if proving his statement, he looked around to glare at anyone looking at them. However, people continued to walk by them as if they didn't exist.

"Hah?"

"Fufu~. I used a bit of magic to make them ignore us, Igor-sama. After all, it would be very easy to attract attention with your current…apparel."

"..."

Once again, Igor gave himself a lookover and saw that he really was in a horrible state. To further enhance that fact, Akeno dug her fingers into the hole in his pants, her fingers scratching his thigh.

"Hihi~. You have holes in your pants."

She fiddled around with the holes as if they were fun toys. Asia also dug her hand into his torn vest and it came out through his sleeve.

"Look, Akeno-chan. Big brother has three hands now."

"Heehee~. You're right!"

Igor was a bit overwhelmed, but he didn't mind that his sisters were treating him like a toy. They were his little sisters after all. If it was them, it was fine.

"Pardon me, Igor-sama. But might you be interested in a wardrobe change? It seems awfully inconvenient for you to walk around dressed like that."

"?"

The blonde was just about to ponder whether it was worth it when both Akeno and Asia decided for him on the spot.

"Let's go, big brother!"

"Yeah, let's go!"

Akeno was already trying to drag him into the store while Asia was treating his arm like a horse by excitedly galloping on it.

"I know some nice clothes that you will definitely like, big brother!"

"..."

Igor felt a little helpless at their enthusiasm. But, if it would make them happy…

"Alright."

""Yaaayyy!""

…then he would do it.