[135] Promise of Eternity
Chapter 135: Promise of Eternity
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[First Person Point of View]
“Ah,” the middle-aged devil man was the first to break the tense silence in the room. He smiled at Mem, which made her frown, as he stood up and began to walk over. “There you are... Ohh, you have your mother’s eyes.”
The man himself had red eyes, and the tall girl in the room who wore the same emblem on her clothes as him, making it obvious that she was a family member, perhaps his own daughter, had greenish blonde hair and red eyes too. If so, it seemed the Agares Clan ran on those two characteristics.
Many assumed Mem-Cho’s blonde hair was dyed, I thought the same at the start, but it’s not. Her hair was black at birth, but after she turned 18, it began to slowly turn blonde as her devil blood grew more prominent. As for her aqua-colored eyes, they came from her mother’s side of the family.
Such colored eyes were quite rare for an Asian person to have, which explained why Lord Agares took an interest in Mem-Cho’s mother back in the day. Anything exotic was a feast for the devils.
“It may be sudden,” the man walked over to Mem-Cho, and subsequently at me since I was standing in front of her, as he spoke, “But... it’s not a lie, I am your father.”
He reached out a hand, reaching toward her head as if to pat her head. I would have grabbed it and twisted it the other way right then, if not for Mem’s gentle tug on my shirt. She didn’t want it.
‘Right, it doesn’t hurt as long as he doesn’t propose anything outrageous. I’ll let him be as long as he keeps up the good father act,’ I decided. Considering that he might just be acting as a good father to convince her mind, to pull her into the family, I was aware that this wasn’t a good idea. Still, this was the better choice instead of starting with an aggressive approach.
I stepped to the side, my eyes lingering sharply on the man’s movements, as his hand rested on her head and he ruffled her hair. “We have much to talk about, much to catch up to. But there is no rush, we can take it slow,” he said as he looked at me for the first time, his smile vanishing. Of course, he hadn’t missed the disapproving look I’d been sending him from the beginning, I hadn’t bothered to hide it. “After all, our meeting is overlapping your boyfriend and Sirzechs’ discussion. How about we sit still for a bit, as the two of them unwrap what they have to talk about?”
“Mm,” Mem nodded. I didn’t bother to comment on that, I didn’t mind it.
The middle-aged man smiled, looked at Sirzechs and asked, “Is that okay with you if we’re in the room while you talk, Sirzechs?”
“Uh, yes, of course. It’s not exactly a state secret,” he said and Lord Agares smiled. He pulled Mem-Cho toward the couches placed against the wall, while she wore a complicated look on her face.
I looked at Rias, and she understood my intent as she joined the two of them on the couch. Her Queen, Akeno, followed.
The blonde-haired girl near the table stood in silence for a moment before stepping away. She did not join the Lord on the couch and rather crossed her arms to stand a bit far from the table.
“Please, take a seat,” Sirzechs said, and his maidwife pulled the chair for me when I walked over. I slowly sat down, feeling many eyes on my back, while Sirzechs let his smile drop.
“I heard your proposal for Rias,” he said, “and I disagree with it. Anyone else and I'd have been more discourteous with this, it's incredibly outrageous to invite a member of a faction to join another. I've decided to look over it since it's you, who has helped the Devils greatly by curing Lady Ranefer. Plus you're a young man, mistakes happen. I hope you understand.”
“There is a misunderstanding,” I said with a shake of my head. “Joining a Sect does not mean she's leaving her family, nor her race. It's basically a school, a [Guild]. I've never intended to imply her betrayal to the devils when I asked her to join me.”
“Uh-huh,” he raised an eyebrow. “Sect is not a term I am particularly familiar with, but it's not a new word to me either. Back in the day, China had quite many sects. I hear that, while many of them indeed acted as schools, many tried to stand up to be a faction of their own. Like a ‘Clan’. I'm glad you cleared up your interpretation of it.”
Well, I fucking lied. I do intend to rise as a faction of my own, as a Pantheon. But that's something that should be kept to me for the time being.
“I'm glad we cleared that up,” I said.
My declaration, my revelation, and my understanding that my destiny was mine to shape, snapped into place.
Reality accepted my words.
The world responded with thunder, and in response I took out the artifacts I stored in my Void Storage, and a spark of Soul Fire lit them into flames. The white fire burned even under rain, rushing to me to wrap me like a cocoon.
Qi exploded outward from my body, a visible shockwave of raw energy that rippled through the air. Energy surged within me, a tempest blooming out of my dantian. I felt the threshold approach, the pure juncture between failure and transcendence.
A waterfall-like wage of lightning crashed down in a relentless torrent, enveloping me in its furious embrace. Soul Fire burned my cells anew, while I embraced the chaos, channeling all of it into a force of pure, unbridled power. It was as if the heavens themselves were anointing me.
My willpower bloomed like a flower and my presence reached the far ends of the underworld.
Many of my Icons tried to peek out, to reveal themselves to the world. I only let one of them out; one that Sirzechs hadn't seen before. I tried to pull that new Icon that sang for Ai and me a few days ago, but it did not want to come out. In the end, I decided to pull out one of my more-used Icons. It'll grow powerful just from this
The [Tiger Icon] let out a shine as it shone brightly like the sun in the night sky, and everyone gasped.
The air resonated with a loud thump, as the storm grew heavier, thundering over my head. It rained, and it snowed at the same time, while the dark clouds began to burn with a white flame.
The world approved me; it recognized the birth of a [Sage].
[The White Tiger Sage].
The rain will continue for days, but I can stop it if I want. I did not, and let it be, a proof of my majesty to the devil world. Under the heavy rain, I stood transformed and naked. Naked, yet not exposed, as I kept clouds gathered around my crotch to preserve modesty. I did not wish to shock the already stunned audience any further.
Silence reigned, every eye fixed upon me in utter shock. The power I had unleashed was undeniable; everyone here realized my words were not empty. They were under a spell that Grayfia seemed to have cast, a bubble of telekinetic force that kept them safe from the rain. But it was too late, the shock had drenched them more than the rain could ever have.
I locked eyes with Lord Agares, who was looking at me with wide eyes, and then at his daughter who had dared laugh at my words earlier. Then I looked at Sirzechs, “I am just trying to prove that,” I said under the drum of heavy rain, “Your sister will not be unsafe with me. No, on the contrary, she'll have the entire world on her palms.”
His shocked expression morphed, and he smiled at me, “Alright,” he said, “Fine, Rias Gremory will join Nexus of Eternity.”
And thus he agreed.
As he should have. He was a good brother who knew who to give his sister's hand to when he saw the perfect opportunity.
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