Chapter 179

"I love you, Aurelia."

"?!"

Without waiting for her reply, he kissed her once more, their lovemaking slow and sensual. They conveyed their feelings to one another, their passionate desire strengthening their bond.

They made love, and silently through her tears, Aurelia replied.

[I love you too, Igor. I love you so much.]

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|DxD|

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In the Himejima household, an unexpected occupant had visited the showers for the first time in years. With blonde hair falling over his shoulders that bled away to a very sculpted physique, Igor was naked as the day he was born.

He was feeling particularly satisfied this Tuesday morning. Enjoying an early morning shower, his grin was wide from the events of yesterday night and the morning today.

[I didn't expect sister would be that…wild.]

That prim and proper form she always carried hid a perverseness that genuinely surprised and intrigued him even now. They shared the same bed for ten years and not once did she show any hints that she had such an…explorative side.

Regardless, he was now a man and even better, he had a good woman at his side.

[Hehe. I wonder what father would say.]

At the very least, his first time wasn't with a prostitute or a loose woman. His father would've surely killed him if he was alive.

[Probably would've gone on about giving Dimori seed to useless wenches and stuff.]

Aurelia was certainly not a wench by any means and one day, Igor believed she would make a great wife. Though, as 'eager' as she was during their lovemaking, she was surprisingly shy when outside the sheets.

[Hehe.]

Remembering her cute expression when she asked him to shower first so that she could clean the room ignited a spark that made him wish to tease her more and more. These new expressions she had, reactions that he had never seen before would make one doubt she was the cold iceberg beauty she was publically known to be.

Faaaaaaaaaaaaa…

Still, temporarily removing his thoughts from her, he focused on the matter at hand. Today was Tuesday, meaning he would have to go and meet Baraquiel in Grigori.

The guilt he had for harming Baraquiel had faded a lot compared to Sunday. The old man would be alright so there was no point in guilt-tripping himself forever.

Still, he still felt apologetic and wouldn't be completely at ease until he saw him fully awake.

[I should find Sister Cleria later today. She'll be able to notify Uncle A that we are coming.]

He did not want to trouble Azazel more than he had. While he did sense a few humans in Grigori, his Aryan heritage was too easily distinguishable. Aware of the hatred existing for his people, he didn't want to cause him any unnecessary problems.

Faaaaaaaaaa…

With the shower water sprinkling over him, he washed away the soap in his hair. He could feel Shuri walking along the hallway, meaning she was going to wake up Akeno. Using his beyond-human speed, he rinsed his body, turned off the faucet, and dried himself.

Opening the shower door, he got out just in time for Shuri's enquiry.

"Dimori-kun. Are you finished?"

Quickly wrapping a towel around his waist, he opened the door.

"Yep. You can go and wake Akeno up, aunty."

"..."

Pausing at suddenly seeing him half-naked, Shuri quickly controlled herself and chastised him gently.

"Please exercise modesty, Dimori-kun."

"..."

The blonde gave himself a once-over before shrugging.

"It's not as if I have breasts, but alright."

Closing the door behind him, he vanished.

Su!

It wasn't until she heard the door to his room gently close shut that she realised he returned there. She was not strange to his habit of using superspeed to move around, though it still amazed her.

"..."

A part of her still felt a bit complicated that him and Aurelia shared the same bed, but she would not pry. He had done too much for her and this family for her to trouble him unnecessarily. As far as she was concerned, this was also his house.

Walking on ahead, she went on to wake up Akeno. It was already a bit late so her little girl would need to hurry a bit.

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|DxD|

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Aurelia was not in the best of moods. Lying down on the bed with her head buried in a pillow, she was caught between killing herself or living in shame.

[I can't believe I did it again!]

It had been a while since she cleaned up and made the bed, but the amount of…"fluids" that she had to clean using magic wrought a massive wave of embarrassment over her. Even worse, most of the fluid came from her, a self-proclaimed noble princess.

"Aaaaaaaaah!"

Screaming into the pillows, she wished the earth would open up and swallow her whole. The images of the wild night they had, particularly her eagerness, was a memory that dispelled all of her composure. To add on top of that, she was the one that initiated their earlier battle, and the site after their 'war' was over was a…mess, a complete and utter mess.

"..."

Suicide was heavily frowned upon in their culture, but this time would be an exception, right-

Su!

"?!"

Feeling his presence suddenly appear behind her, she hid her face in the pillow once more. She didn't want to see him. She didn't want to see his face at all.

"..."

Closing the door behind him, Igor stood awed at the sight before him. He had seen her naked, yet he still couldn't help but be mesmerised by her beauty.

Her long white hair was draped in a perfect mess over her back. A modest black-striped white dress adorned her figure and extended all the way to her knees. Despite her modest clothing, her dress couldn't hide the 'hump' of her rear.

This wasn't a speed bump that cars could breeze over. This was a speed hump that would force one to slow down and carefully manoeuvre over it, just like how his eyes took a considerable amount of time to 'manoeuvre' over her hump before they trailed down to her absolutely lovely calves.

"..."

If it weren't for the time, he would really want to bed her again. But maybe there's…

[Time for teasing?]

He knew she was aware of his presence. But it was cute how she tried to ignore him by burying her face in the pillow.

"Hmph~"

Barely restraining a chuckle, he decided to let her know how close her demon can get if she did nothing to stop it.

Adjusting the towel wrapped around his waist in readiness, he decided to tease her to oblivion and maybe, get a few kisses out of it.

Su!

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|DxD|

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Breakfast was a normal affair, except for Aurelia who seemed a bit more reclusive than usual. Her eyes were more focused on her food, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

On the other side of the table, Igor and Asia tore into their food with unmatched enthusiasm like the voracious beasts they were. Eager to keep up with her big brother, Asia's cheeks puffed up like hamsters, her eyes darting to his bowl to see how close he was to finishing. Apart from that little spectacle, nothing much happened that diverted from the norm.

Later on, Igor sent Akeno to school with Asia in tow. The little blonde was attached to his hip the whole time like a little duckling, her presence never trailing far from his. Once Akeno was dropped off, they took their time returning home because of how Asia enjoyed mingling amongst the people.

The hours passed gradually from there once they returned home with Asia being very excited to practice even more magic. Watching from the sidelines, Igor took in the sight of Aurelia carefully teaching Asia with that prim and proper expression back on her face.

He was tempted to tease her just to gain a reaction like this morning, but he respected her desire to keep their relationship a secret. Why she would want that? He didn't know. Nor did he ask.

The only reason he didn't ask or outright ignore her request was that she had sincerely asked him. She didn't elaborate, but she promised it would only be for a week or so. Thinking of that unreadable expression he saw on her face when she asked made him suspicious. But he trusted her.

From there, Shuri returned with Asia from school along with Lina, Cleria's queen. With her standing next to Shuri, Lina was rather quite short. Shuri explained to the two girls that she, Igor, and Aurelia would need to leave for a few hours. During that time, Lina would be taking care of them.

Although confused, the two girls didn't cause a fuss. Asia was a bit unwilling to part from Igor, but she eventually accepted since he would be back by evening.

With everything sorted, Aurelia, Igor, and Shuri went to Cleria's mansion where after a brief moment, Shemhazai arrived and teleported them to the Underworld.

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|DxD|

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Underworld, Grigori

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Shemhazai was never one to be overly curious. Fulfilling the job designated to him by Azazel, he teleported to Kuoh, picked up those that needed to be picked up, and brought them to the Underworld.

A few pleasantries here and there, expend a bit of magic, and he could go back to his life. He did not ask why Shuri was there or how Igor had suddenly gained that diamond tattoo on his forehead. Those things were for Azazel to ponder.

Vwong!

Right outside Baraquiel's private hospital room, a teleportation circle formed before it finally revealed four people. Azazel was standing there with a clipboard in his hand. His eyes gazed interestingly at the new arrivals, his eyes focusing on Igor.

[He's changed.]

With his perception, he was able to sense that Igor had changed drastically in the last three days, and the appearance of the tattoo on his forehead may have something to do with it. Regardless, he could figure out the hows and whys later.

"Shuri! So good to see you."

Walking over the woman standing at their forefront, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know if I should celebrate or dread your arrival. But just know that no matter what happens, you will have the support of Grigori."

"..."

Catching the underlying tone in Azazel's words, she bowed her head slightly.

"Thank you, Azazel-kun."

"..."

Looking at this woman who had been through so much, his eyes flickered with inexplicable emotions before he finally changed targets.

Moving over to Igor, he calmly greeted the blonde.

"Dimori. How have you been since…"

Subtly catching what Azazel implied, Igor replied with a sigh.

"I have a new mental problem I have to deal with."

{I'm not a mental problem!}

"A very annoying one I can't get rid of."

{Booo! I'm not talking to you. Hmph!}

Azazel noticed how Igor's eyes would flicker towards the top of his head, a characteristic people generally did when in thought.

"..."

But whether it was truly in thought or not was a puzzle he would solve later.

"Good. You almost had me and your sister at our wit's end. I'm very interested in knowing how you suppressed it. I would also like to discuss a possible collaboration with you after this, Aurelia."

"The pleasure is all mine, Azazel-sama."

"Good! But enough of that. It's time we go and see my brother."

Azazel walked to the front and then opened the door to Baraquiel's room. Walking inside first, he began speaking.

"I won't hide it from you, Igor. I have been studying this energy of yours and I still can't understand it completely."

Instead of feeling anger or apprehension, Azazel grew more excited.

"For one, I must genuinely praise you, kid. The ability to casually compress so much energy into one stable sphere is a feat very few could achieve."

Moving over to where Baraquiel was sleeping, Igor's sphere of demi-ki still hovered above the old man, though it was certainly smaller than before.

"Apart from other things, what amazes me more is that it can heal. Particularly, your energy enhances cell vitality and regeneration. Just this bit of knowledge and the possibilities are endl-"

"Cough!"

It was Shemhazai who coughed. Aware that his brother was about to get too…'excited', he decided to cut it short.

"Brother. I believe your questions can be reserved for after everything has been concluded. Dimori-san. You said you would return today but did not have the chance to elaborate on what you would return for."

"..."

Walking over to Baraquiel who was unconscious in his bed, Igor reabsorbed the ball of demi-ki into his body.

"Did the old man wake up?"

"No, Dimori-san. He has been in a state of unconsciousness since your departure. But his vitals are steady and under the aid of your energy, his wounds have healed much faster than estimated."

Atleast without a phoenix tear, Baraquiel's recovery speed was second to none.

"Alright. Then I'll help him wake up now."

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AN

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Until the next chapter.