Chapter 30 - Part 1

"So, basically. You are telling me there is another way to find a god other than summoning them?" Leo tried to confirm this piece of information from Liliana with undivided interest.

"Yes! You shouldn't even consider summoning a god because it's a very destructive ritual and very… costly one." Liliana snapped in front of Leo, completely forgetting about her fear of Leo because of her emotional state.

Anyway, that evening. After Leo and Liliana returned home. Leo initiated a discussion with Liliana in regard to his wish of summoning a god to slay them and gain power.

Leo had considered many things on their way back and decided he should stop procrastinating and actually work toward his goal.

This discussion eventually led to the current conversation.

Liliana finally realized she snapped at him and quickly apologized but Leo didn't mind it and asked her to continue.

"Where was I… Right, about the Netherworld. It wasn't much of a secret really. Most Campione lack the ability to access the Netherworld and the only Campione that could is Madam Aisha but her whereabouts is unknown and her authority, Fairy's Corridor isn't exactly reliable because she cannot control where she will land at."

"However, if you have the ability to access the Netherworld. Logically speaking, you can also access the realms where the gods reside." Liliana explained.

Leo didn't respond immediately and instead took his time digesting the information while a plan was hatching inside his head. When he did however, he said the most outrageous thing Liliana ever heard.

"I'm going to the Netherworld." Leo said and is already in the process of using his authority, Goddess of Crossroads to open a gateway to Netherworld.

"Wait! Right now?!" Liliana would spit out a fountain if she had water in her mouth.

"Yes." Leo replied with slight confusion at her panicked state.

Seeing that Leo isn't joking as he already takes a step in. Liliana jumped from her seat and quickly followed Leo as he entered the gateway.

In the Netherworld, Leo took in his surroundings and it's just a sea of tree trunks as far as his eyes could gaze.

"A forest?" Leo mutters when Liliana suddenly appears behind him, covered with a layer of her mana that acts as a barrier.

"This is the Netherworld of Japan. It's a virgin land never explored by humans." Liliana explains, trying to aid her lord the best she could.

"I see…" Leo nods.

Leo tried to sense the presence of God but he couldn't sense any. His ascension into Campione grants him basically a large buff to any ability in regard to god. This includes his senses that allow him to sense any god near him. Provided that they didn't try to hide themselves.

"Do you, by any chance, know the address of the god's home?" Leo asks a question that is too sudden and random while actually expecting her to answer yes that made Liliana stare at him weirdly. "Hmn… I guess no." Leo answered himself after seeing her befuddled face.

Seeing that both of them are ill equipped to navigate this land, Leo chooses to trust and follow his instinct.

———

"Still no news about Liliana?" Erica talks on the phone while sitting in a red nightgown with a frown on her face.

"I see. Continue looking for her whereabouts." She said before ending the call with a long sigh.

Everything is in a big mess after the fight that night.

Emergence of an unknown and possibly the Eight Campione, death of the Oldest Campione and presence of another Campione hidden in Japan where her lord laid claim on. However, all those are overshadowed by the disappearance of her friend and also rival, Liliana Kranjcar.

*Ring* *Ring*

"Hello?" Erica answered the phone while enduring a headache.

"Yes… Wait! What! Duke Voban still alive?" Erica couldn't hold back her voice as she exclaimed loudly with a shock. "Alright. Yes… Tomorrow? Alright, I will return to the headquarter tomorrow morning." She said before the call ended.

"Impossible… I saw Duke Voban being killed. How is he still alive!" Erica mumbles while staggering towards the bedside table and opens the drawer to take some aspirin for her splitting headache.

After consuming the medicine, the pain lessened as she lay on the bed with hundreds of thoughts swimming in her mind.

So much problem occured in such a short span of time. However, the appearance of an unknown Campione is the main talk of the magical community around the world. A potential lord they can pull to their organization.

Although, Erica cannot share the same sentiment. She was there that night. That Campione nay, that man is too dangerous. The way he talks, the way he fights, his presence, his aura, his killing intent. The experience is too vivid in her mind. It's impossible to forget the nightmare she saw that night. The blood red moon that incite a primal fear in mind and a thirst for blood, the sweet scent of blood that beckoned her to parch her drying throat with the blood spilled by the Campione, the madness in the Campione's eyes as he brutally cut and rip Duke Voban apart as he feast on his blood with a feral smile.

Erica quickly shakes her head to dispel the thoughts from her mind. She cannot sleep in this state so she sits cross-legged on the bed and meditates instead. The experience had shaken her a lot and perhaps meditation would help.

She spent a few hours meditating before she calmed down. She ends the meditation with a deep breath and exhales.

Now that her mind is more clear. She thought of it. If Liliana were still alive, she definitely would have contacted the Bronze Black Cross. Maybe she can start from there to find out about her situation.

This matter is very important because that night, after Duke Voban was defeated. Erica hears the Oldest Campione explicitly state that he had lost and ordered Liliana to serve the one that slain him.

Erica must learn about this new Campione for her Godou's safety. Other than for information gathering sake, she must also discern the intention of the other Campione considering how dangerous he is.

As much as she didn't want to admit, if Godou were to fight against this mysterious Campione, he will be defeated due to the sheer difference in their fighting experience where the latter one seems to outclass Godou by a large margin according to her assessment.

———

Returning from the Netherworld, Leo looked very disappointed because they had spent hours walking aimlessly and found nothing worth mentioning.

"I am very sorry for my incompetence." Liliana bowed shamefully to Leo.

As for why Liliana is apologizing? It's because she had been nothing more than a dead weight to Leo. Because she cannot keep up to his speed and needs to constantly maintain the barrier around her body, they couldn't explore much as Liliana became exhausted and running out of mana.

"I told you before. Don't worry about it." Leo easily sweeps the matter under the rug. "I wasn't expecting to find anything anyway. It's just an exploration I decided on a whim." He reassured Liliana that she blamed herself too much when she did nothing wrong.

Leo sighed with exhaustion. He can't deal with Lilliana's personality, so dedicated and zealous with her duty that she blames herself even for things that happened outside their control.

Meanwhile, Liliana thought Leo sighed because he was disappointed in her but being considerate to not speak it directly at her.

"Anyway, go and retire for the night. You will need that rest." Leo told Liliana before he stood up and went to take a bath.

Liliana obeyed because she is very exhausted, both physically and mentally. But she soon ran into an issue.

"Where do I sleep?" She asked because there is only one bedroom and it belongs to Leo.

She then looked around before her eyes stopped at the couch. "Better than nothing…" She said and took a seat. She is waiting for Leo to finish his shower because she also wants to take one. But in the meantime, she contacts her maid Karen to help her acquire any information related to Netherworld. She must work hard to not disappoint her lord.

———

Meanwhile with Leo.

[Current Thoughts: She must work hard to please and not to disappoint her lord.]

"Haah… this girl is helpless." Leo mutters as he applies soap on his body.

To be completely honest, taking a bath isn't necessary for Leo because his body is biologically different from humans. He will not get dirty as his body does not produce waste products. He doesn't even piss or shit anymore. But taking a shower is more spiritual than physical for Leo. It's therapeutic to his mind.

After he is done applying soap, Leo turns on the showerhead again and water starts to cascade down his head and rinse off the soap.

His thoughts wander to Liliana. Leo genuinely pity her as he can sort of piece together her thoughts and figure out why she is desperate to latch on to Leo.

Before serving Leo, she was ordered by her grandfather to serve Voban. But she obviously didn't like it but because she is a knight bound by her sense of duty, she obeyed her grandfather and served the cruel Duke Voban like a tragic knight forced to serve the Demon Lord.

All of this is because of her friend and Kusanagi Godou's lover, Erica, for setting an example for her grandfather to copy. So, after Liliana overcame her fear of Leo, she started to see Leo as the ideal type of lord she wished to serve and now desperately wanted him to acknowledge her as his knight so that she can escape her fate to be ordered to serve another Campione.

Well, Leo didn't really mind it since she is very serious with her job as a knight and generally a very kind hearted girl. Anyone would have agreed in a heartbeat if they were in Leo's shoes. But Leo has a reason why he cannot accept her.

To be related to him means to be targeted by his enemies. He already learned his lesson with Mittelt and Ravel and he wouldn't want it to repeat again. He would never wish such cruel fate on anyone. So, Leo had decided to never involve anyone with his personal matters.

"It's a promise I made for the good of others and for her too." Leo mutteres somberly as he turn off the showerhead and dried himself with a towel.

After Leo put on a set of clothes, he exited the bathroom and saw Liliana on the couch suddenly jolting up.

"You can take a shower next." Leo said.

Liliana nods and quickly goes to grab a towel and a set of clothes. After she enters the bathroom, Leo remembers he only has one bed in this apartment. He immediately decided to offer Liliana the bed. He didn't need to sleep anyway as he can stay awake for a week in tip top shape without being hindered by fatigue.

Leo walks to the fridge to grab refreshment for himself. A habit he has after arriving in this world.

"Did I run out of beer?" Leo scratches his head as he opens his inventory and sees he indeed does. "Strange, how come I didn't notice it at all?" He said while returning to his room to grab his wallet and making a quick run to the convenience store. The supermarket had closed at this time.

"Hey, Liliana. I'll go out for a moment." Leo reminds the girl before he puts on a slipper and exits his apartment.

———

It was a brief 5 minute walk to the convenience store. Upon arriving, Leo swipes clean all the beer he prefers to stock up in his inventory too.

When he went to pay for the beers, he looked at the cigarette at the glass display behind the cashier and decided to buy a few. He didn't know why he did it. Probably the stress is making him crave for nicotine that he hadn't touched since his arrival at DxD world.

Ignoring the worried store clerk, Leo carries the 8 crates worth of beer with ease and exits the store. Once out of people's sight, he placed them into his inventory and went on his merry way back home.

Leo took out the cigarette pack he bought. He opens it before taking one out and placing it on his lips. He didn't forget to crush the flavor beads in the filter before he produced a small fire on his finger, just enough to light up the cig.

"Lemon and mint. It taste good." Leo commented as he exhaled all the smoke from his lungs.

He took a few more deep puffs to ease his crave for the nicotine kick before he stopped abruptly and turned his head left. On his left is a playground that kids would usually play at but during the night, it's empty.

Or it should be.

"Athena" Leo mutters the name as he sees the little girl in school uniform and a beanie on her head.

—————

(Ugh... Why is it so hard to write about the characters feeling and thoughts? I have to literally sit there for a hour, imagining every the thoughts and conversation.)

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