Chapter 221

[Maybe Sirzechs isn't wrong when he says we should also form an alliance with the church.]

It was a previously inconceivable notion because of the previous leadership. But with Vasco as the new pope, the possibility existed.

[I should arrange a meeting with him. If I also introduce myself as Igor's acquaintance, it should open some doors for me.]

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|DxD|

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Far in the outskirts of Kuoh sat a lone two-storey house. Hidden inside the forest, it was pleasantly taken care of with elegant flowers planted next to the iron fence surrounding the entire household.

Inside the house, Asia and Akeno were quietly watching some anime dvds on television. Both girls sat limply on the sofa. It was a hot day and both seemed like they were moments away from dozing off.

Asia was especially vulnerable since she was lying down. With her head on the pillow, the scenes on the television were gradually getting more and more blurr-

"?!"

With completely unexpected swiftness, she sat up. She immediately stared at the wall, but it seemed as if her eyes could penetrate through it.

"It's…"

Without hesitation, she leaped off the couch and ran out. Wrenching open the door, she ran with her arms spread out.

"Big…big brother!"

Jumping up, she closed her eyes in a gleeful smile, fully aware of what would happen next. In an instant, a shadow seemingly snatched Asia before the sound of shoes skidding on grass was heard.

"Ooooh! My precious little sister! How are you?"

"Hihihihihi~"

Asia was wrapped in the tight embrace of Igor who plastered her with kisses all over. Standing at the doorway, Akeno quietly peeked out.

"Nii-chan?"

"Hmm?"

Looking over Asia's shoulder, Igor smiled as he offered his other arm.

"Akeno! Come here."

"..."

There was a brief sense of hesitation before finally, she also ran forward. But instead of hugging him, she crashed into him with the intent to knock him over…which failed.

"Mouuu!"

Grabbing his pants, she looked up at him with an expression of grievance.

"Why did you leave like that? Don't leave like that!"

She looked at him with a piercing gaze. What she thought was a deadly and menacing stare was instead a pouty glare in Igor's eyes.

"Hehe."

Patting her head, he let Asia down.

"Alright, little chick. Next time I'll leave with a goodbye, okay?"

"Hmph."

She turned away from him.

"BUUUT…I'll only do it if you give me a hug."

"..."

Her lips twitched in contemplation. Akeno couldn't give him the satisfaction. She had to show that she was angry at him for suddenly leavi-

"Akeno. You were the one who missed big brother the mo-"

"A-Asia! Don't say anything!"

Akeno leveled a pouty glare at the little blonde, her cheeks puffed in indignation. But it was too late.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Swiftly, Igor swept her off her feet and pulled her into a hug.

"Hahaha! I missed you too, little chick."

"I…I…hmph! Well I didn't miss you!"

"Oh rea-hm?"

Igor's attention was brought by Asia pulling on his pants.

"Hihi~. Akeno is lying, big brother."

"Asia!"

While the two children were embroiled in a game of truths and lies, Aurelia and Shuri walked out of the house one after the other.

"My lord. It is good to see your safe return."

Letting Akeno down from his embrace, Igor flashed a bright smile.

"Hey, sister. Hey, aunty. How are you two?"

"We're fine, Dimori-kun. How was the…"

Realising what Shuri was getting at, Igor replied unabashedly.

"It was fun. Really got my blood pumping and now I know how to train for the rest of the year."

Shuri was quick to catch that last tidbit.

"Rest of the year?"

"Yep. But let's talk about that later."

With a glance of his eyes, he showed that he didn't want to talk about such a matter in front of Asia and Akeno. Although the two were not paying attention, he didn't want them to hear too many things.

"Alright, Dimori-kun."

Slowly, time passed and the afternoon stretched into the night. School children that were not home by sundown could expect a sandal to the back accompanied by a scolding from their mothers. As the sun set and the street lights turned on, fathers and husbands returned home from work to a warm dinner prepared by their wives.

A warm dinner was also being shared in the Himejima Household. In a heavily watered down retelling, Igor spoke of what happened the past few weeks, making sure to skip over the gory details and focus on the parts filled with glory.

Asia and Akeno were particularly interested in the concept of people like asuras who had multiple arms. They never imagined that there were actually beings with six arms and their elder brother had fought them once.

In exchange, Igor was told of Sirzech's visit with Rias and how he would come back tomorrow with her. The two girls excited recounted their days of playing tag in the forest. They especially shared a giggle on how they tortured Rias by always evading her by the briefest of margins.

Although minimal, Igor was proud that Asia was already fast enough to outrun a devil with a naturally superior physique.

[As expected of my cute little sisters. I told Sirzechs they were better.]

As dinner came to an end, the children were sent to take a shower together, leaving Igor, Aurelia, and Shuri at the dinner table. With all the dishes cleared, it was time to discuss the real matters.

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|DxD|

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"Dimori-kun. How was…the war?"

"..."

Igor was not in a rush to answer. He learnt his lesson in discretion after Shuri's reaction a week ago. Knowing how sensitive she was, he decided to give her two options.

"You want the gory rundown or the simplified rundown, aunty?"

"..."

Now it was Shuri's turn to be silent. Her brows furrowed in contemplation as she weighed Igor's words. In the end, she sighed and chose the first option.

"Please tell us in detail, Dimori-kun."

She had a somewhat resigned look on her face. Igor was tempted to skim certain parts, but that would be disrespecting her wish.

"Alright, aunty. For one, I actually became Lord Shiva's heir, making me the next possible candidate for the title of God of Destruction. I'm not sure what Lord Shiva sees in me, but he said I'm not forced to take the title. It's also why five months from now, I'll be leaving for the Heavenly Realm where I'll be training under him. As for the war…hmmm. It was a bit different this time. I didn't actually get to participate this time. Because of how powerful Atid and I were, we could no longer fight alongside those of God Class and below."

Shuri seemed to heave a silent sigh of relief at that. Unlike Aurelia, she did not focus on Igor revealing his status of heir. She was only glad that he didn't have to fight.

[Thank goodne-]

"So we were set up to fight with those of the Supreme Class."

"?!"

Shuri couldn't hide her shock. No matter how much she prepared herself, she couldn't prepare herself for the bombshell he just dropped.

"S-Supreme Class?"

"Yes, aunty. I qualify since my power has reached that level. It's a shame that I couldn't fight alongside them in the end though. Because Atid and I had been made heirs, it was decided that the both of us would fight each other. Quick question. Are you considered dead if your heart stops beating?"

"..."

Not just Shuri, even Aurelia's expression turned slightly ugly when Igor asked such a question. She had somewhat gotten desensitized to some of his stunts, but she could never not worry when his life was in danger.

Regardless, she could only answer his question solemnly.

"It has to stop for five minutes before one can be considered dead, my lord. The same rule generally applies to other supernatural species but we can survive for longer."

"Oh. That's good then. I asked because Atid has this technique where his speed suddenly increases by insane margins. I don't know how many times he punched me in the heart, but I had to restart it a couple of times. It was really annoying fighting him when he could do that."

Tactfully, Igor decided to end it then and there. Though it might've been too late. Shuri was especially fraught with worry as she looked at his chest.

"It's also because of that annoying technique that I ended up losing to him in the end."

In a sense, he wasn't lying. His heart had given out and he was unconscious. He had lost and had no input on what happened after.

"W-wow…Dimori-kun. That was…are you alright?"

"Alright?"

Triumphantly, he beat his chest twice which made Shuri flinch.

"I'm better than alright, aunty. That was the best fight of my life and I'm looking forward to a second one. Next time, I'll definitely beat Atid."

.

AN

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I do realise that some people are dissatisfied with how Igor lost. To speak the truth and this is my opinion, Igor could've very well won. Easily in fact. The problem is, both him and Atid had different motivations. He just wanted to fight. Atid wanted to win. Atid knew he was weaker than Igor and as such, wanted to win more than anything while the blonde was more interested in getting a good fight than winning.

If we speak truthfully and this is facts, Igor could've ended this entire fight in just his Demigod State. If his sole focus was to kill and win, then his Instant Transmission, Instant Vanish, and his insanely high ki reserves would've netted him a win.

If he was truly serious, bootleg sage mode and Kaioken x20 would've been more than enough. The 300x power boost would've slept Atid even if he had Juggernaut Drive or Hyper Drive or Whatever Drive. The insane perception that comes with those tattoos Igor gains most likely borders on the realm of future prediction. Almost like the sharingan on steroids.

Thank you for reading and once more, five chapters are available on my p.a.t.r.e.o.n. Today is Friday so until the next chapter.