Chapter 205

As long as she and the rest of her friends carefully controlled the situation, Igor could be used to cull off the parasites that are detrimental to devilkind. It was a harsh solution, but this would kickstart a new period, a new evolution for the devils.

And as unfortunate as it may be, a new period never ushers in without a little bit of blood as sacrifice.

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|DxD|

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There was silence in Sirzech's office. It had been a while since Serafall had left, yet neither Grayfia nor Sirzechs said anything since then. Grayfia was somewhat lost in thought. Who would ever think that the ever-smiling Crimson Satan would wield such dark thoughts?

If he truly acted on them, the Underworld had more than a 90% chance of entering a period of decline. If that happened, then other factions and pantheons might not give them enough time to recover.

Too many vital resources were held by Zekram Bael and his faction that she understood why all the Four Satans had no choice but to bear with their existence-

Sigh…

"..."

Her thoughts were cut off by Sirzech's sigh. Her husband seemed more tired now than he'd been in the last ten years.

"Sirze-"

"Grayfia."

He cut her off.

"We need this alliance with them. Aurelia is beneficial for us, but Igor is our battering ram. His strength and clear disregard for politics will greatly benefit us if used correctly."

"..."

For a moment, Grayfia's lips quivered at the dangerous notion Sirzechs was having.

"Do you…do you plan on…using him?"

"..."

His silence increased her worries even further. But that was soon replaced by confusion when he turned to look at her with a smile.

"No, Grayfia. The risk is too great. Not to mention that Aurelia will see through our schemes, being upfront with Igor will yield us far greater benefits than subtly trying to manipulate him."

He stood up from his chair and made his way towards the window. With his hands behind his back, Sirzechs gazed over the city under his rule.

"My time with Igor was short, but I understand what kind of person he is. You only get his trust once, and once only. If you have his trust, he will go to great lengths for you…just like how he exterminated the Himejima Clan for his aunt."

"Sirzechs-sama. Do you think it is possible for him to do the same for devilkind?"

He shook his head.

"No. It is illogical to expect him to do the same for us. Igor trusts people, not groups. To tell you the truth, Grayfia…"

He chuckled slightly.

"Hehe…maybe you will think it is selfish, but I only have one goal for this alliance. The benefits we will gain from both Aurelia and Igor will be of immense worth to our race."

He turned to face his wife once more with a very sincere smile.

"But, my true goal from the start, was to obtain the strongest shield for Rias."

"..."

Grayfia's eyes dulled for a while in thought before understanding dawned.

"The engagement…"

"Hehe. Yes. I must say that I am thankful for what Azazel and Cleria have done. Those two have gone to great lengths to hide or obscure any information about Igor. To this day, everyone thinks that the one who killed the Himejima has died."

"But once the council finds out that Igor is the one responsible…"

"Then they will be forced to respect him, lest they die."

"...the alliance terms…"

"Yes…"

Sirzechs turned to face the city once more.

"The alliance terms. I might not be able to do much to break the engagement, but Igor would. Unlike us, politics don't matter to him. He doesn't have to care about the wealth the Phenex inject into the economy, or how vital their tears are."

"But then wouldn't the Phenex realise your plan and stop nonetheless, Sirzechs-sama?"

Grayfia was truly worried about this gamble her husband and the other satans were playing. The other devils weren't stupid. They would soon realise that everything done was purely intentional.

"By then, wouldn't they stop regardless?"

"They can't."

With a flip of his hand, a document manifested in Sirzech's hands. He stretched out his hand and handed it to Grayfia.

"..."

For a while, Grayfia read through the papers, her eyes gradually widening before her mouth opened in shock.

"You plan on…forcing them to…"

"Yes. If all goes to plan, not just the Phenex, but every pillar clan will be forced to "donate" a certain amount of their resources to the treasury. It is a mandatory resource production system we have drawn up, meaning that no clan can simply have pillar status and all the power such a status has without giving back."

Grayfia read through the document once more. All the satans had placed their signatures on this. If such a law came to fruition, it not only meant that any clan now had the chance to ascend to pillar status, but current clans could also fall from pillar status.

Clans like the Phenex would now be forced to donate a certain quota of Phenex tears every year with a minimum baseline.

[The amount stipulated here is already the amount the Phenex produce in a month.]

The more tears that were produced, the less the donation amount. This was the same as a regressive taxation system.

"Sirzechs-sama. This would…"

"Develop the Underworld, Grayfia. Too many clans have the traits and capabilities to make our people soar. But because of needless greed, we are now reaching a point of complete stagnation. Since benevolence has not worked after centuries of trying, I will use fear and forceful coercion."

Grayfia's eyes grew concerned. She now understood why Igor was offered such rights. The satans effectively had a remorseless weapon under their belt that could kill anyone without consequence. Who would retaliate against him? Everyone in the Underworld felt that power.

The Underworld respected power, especially the common populace. And with the increased population of reincarnated devils, very few voices amongst the common populace would fight against having such a powerful being as an ally.

And with dissent growing against the power the pillar clans have, many would even wish for such a system to come to fruition.

"..."

But, did Sirzechs not see the problems with this?

"Sirzechs-sama. Do you not worry that he would…abuse-"

He raised his hand to stop her from continuing, an action he had never done to her before.

"Grayfia. I trust him. Were it anyone else, I would've torn those papers apart."

"..."

Grayfia was…appalled. The amount of leeway Igor and Aurelia, especially Igor have in this alliance means they not only have access to their council halls, but they can act with impunity. If they suddenly turned enemy or spy…she feared the repercussions.

"..."

No. She had to voice these thoughts-

"If you met him, you would understand why. I've met Igor twice, both under different circumstances. He is as simple as you can get. He doesn't have a mask nor does he try to hide who he is. When you finally meet him, Grayfia, you will understand that betrayal is the absolute last thing you could ever expect from him. And it is because of that quality that I am willing to place Rias in his care."

"..."

Grayfia did not try to dissuade him. Rias was Sirzech's absolute bottom-line. If he was willing to place her in his care, then that meant he absolutely trusted Igor.

It still didn't make sense to her. Meeting a person only two times was far too little for her husband to trust him to such a level.

But, she would believe in him.

"I understand, Sirzechs-sama."

She would trust him in his judgement. If he believed that Igor was trustworthy, then she would extend the same hospitality.

"If I may ask, how do you plan on placing Rias-sama under Igor-sama's care?"

"..."

Sirzech's eyebrows rose slightly.

['Sama' already?]

His wife was more adaptable than he thought.

"Very simple, Grayfia. We did promise on competing who has the cuter sister. Since he won't be coming here anytime soon, perhaps I'll make a trip to Kuoh some time soon."

In that moment, Grayfia brought him back to reality.

"Perhaps we can venture to Kuoh after we accomplish this week's quota."

"..."

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|DxD|

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Back in Kuoh, just a bit over half an hour had passed since both boys sat underneath the tree. They relaxed in a comfortable silence, seemingly uncaring for anything. Igor knew that Aurelia was still placating Shuri in the kitchen, but he didn't understand what the fuss was about.

[Aunty worries too much.]

To him, war was no different from going out and riding a bicycle. It was why he couldn't understand why Shuri would suddenly act like a mothering hen.

Thankfully, Aurelia soon walked out of the house alone.

"?"

Glancing towards her, he stood up while waiting for her to arrive.

"Hey, sister. What's the verdict?"

Even Atid opened one eye to listen in.

"Shuri-sama still finds it hard to believe, but she has accepted that this has been something you have done for years and will not try to stop you. Her only question is how long will you be gone?"

"I'll be gone for a week at most."

"...I see. Then…may I come with."

At that moment, Atid was about to speak when Igor shook his head.

"Sorry, sister. You can't."

"..."

Subtly clenching her fists, Aurelia was unwilling.

"May I ask…why?"

"..."

For a moment Igor looked at her meaningfully before he glanced at Atid. Both teens met each other's eyes before Atid stood up.

"I'll wait for you at Flower-Fruit Mountain."

Without further words, he instantly vanished.

Su!

Finally, Aurelia and Igor were left alone. Gradually feeling his friend leave this country, Igor turned to face her.

"Look, sister. There are no rules preventing you from coming and I do want you to come, but there are problems here. I haven't forgotten that you are hiding things from me."

"..."

Aurelia lowered her head in both reluctance and understanding.

"Alright. When you come back, I will give you an answer."

She could only solemnly give him this answer.

"..."

Gently cupping her cheeks, Igor placed his forehead against her.

"Why the long face? I'm not going to disappear, you know?"

"..."

She couldn't meet his eyes. He almost died when she wasn't by his side. She was afraid something similar would happen again.

"Listen to me, Aurelia. I trust you, alright? I trust you. Right now, something is eating up aunty from the inside. I don't know if it's only because of the old man or some other reason, but she isn't alright. And I have a feeling you know the reason."

"..."

Once again, she couldn't reply. He hit the nail right on the head.

"I won't ask for too much, sister. Everyone has their secrets they want to keep. You have yours and I have mine."

For a moment, he looked at her right in the eye before he looked down.

Sigh…

Igor was about to regret saying the next few words, but they needed to be said.

"I don't care about the secret you and aunty have anymore. I just want you two to use the time I'm gone to sort everything out."

"..."

Not knowing where the tears were even coming from, Aurelia dumbly nodded.

"Yes…I will."

"..."

Feeling the need to tease her one last time, he pulled away from her.

"Alright, Lia. Tell them I'll be back next week."

"Ah…? Yes…"

She was a bit saddened that he was leaving just like that, but-

Chuu~

"?!"

She didn't even have time to widen her eyes when she felt the back of her head held roughly. Her mind was still caught unaware, but her body reacted naturally. Swiftly, her arms wrapped around his torso in a bid to deepen the kiss-

Tswii!

Suddenly, all she felt in place of the previous warmth was cold air.

"..."

Her eyes opened unwillingly, her hand rising up to her lips. Still, a soft smile blossomed on her face.

"I love you too…"