Chapter 38: A Stroll
"It's an honor to be able to meet the parents of the current Satan Lucifer." Kento gave a respectful bow. "Thank you for allowing me to come here."
Kento had adjusted to the power of the high class devils and because of that, being in their presence didn't bother him.
Additionally, he was now confident to be able to go toe to toe against a low to middle level of high class devils.
"It's always nice to have Rias' friends around."
Kento saw the beautiful brunette speak.
"Everytime Rias has brought a friend over in the past, it was always a nice experience. They are always well behaved and friendly." The woman said. "And I heard that you are helping our daughter. So, providing hospitality is the least we can do as parents."
Kento was getting used to the beauties of this world, but every time he thought he had seen them all –another beauty appeared.
Rias's mother was someone who looked barely to be in her early to mid twenties. She could even pass for being her sister and her beauty was even higher than Rias.
While they possessed the same features, she had the advantage of mature charm over Rias.
"W-Wait!" Issei gasped. "You are not Rias' sister?"
Kento was glad that he wasn't the only one with such an opinion.
The woman chuckled. "That's a nice thing to say to an old lady."
At this statement, they heard a man's voice.
"I don't think you can be considered old, honey."
The people in the room saw a man with red hair, the same bright red as Rias with a maroon-ish goatee –walk towards them.
Kento noticed that he appeared to be in his early to mid-thirties, a little older than Rias's mother. However, he couldn't deny that the man was handsome.
'Beauty in her genes, I suppose.'
But as he made his way towards them, everyone bowed to him.
"Greetings, Lord Gremory."
Seeing the Rias's peerage showing respect to the man, Kento figured that it was Rias' father.
{Inspect}
{Name: Zeoticus Gremory
Age: 1200 Years
Class: High Class Devil
Skills: Greater Demonic Power (S), Castling (A), Memory Alteration (A), Summoning (A+), Greater Luck (A), Keen Intellect (B+), Flight (B+), Transformation (B-), Superhuman Physique (A+), Perfect Demonic Control (S)
Special Trait: Being a Gremory devil with years of experience, Zeoticus has control over his demonic power to the last atom.}
Zeoticus' stats were nothing mind boggling, but they were impressive.
Turning around, Kento inspected Rias's mother.
{Inspect}
{Name: Venelana Gremory née Bael
Age: 1100 Years
Class: High Class Devil
Skills: Greater Demonic Power (S), Memory Alteration (A), Summoning (A+), Genius Intellect (A+), Flight (B+), Transformation (A), Superhuman Physique (A+), Power of Destruction (S+)
Special Trait: As a devil with Bael blood and years of experience, Venelana is able to use the Power of Destruction at a level that many cannot fathom. Her power of destruction can completely remove atoms from existence.}
'Matter can neither be created nor destroyed.' Kento recalled his middle school science. 'But who am I kidding? Everything is possible in this world.'
"I have heard a lot about you children." The man revealed. "Kento, Issei and Asia. Thank you for helping my daughter."
The blonde girl felt embarrassed while the boy grinned.
"She has helped us often." Kento said.
While it was not really true for him, she did kind of help Issei and Asia. Rias was the one providing for Asia's tuition and living expenses.
And it was not always that a human could explore the underworld.
"We should have dinner." Zeoticus said. "And since you guys came here quite late, you can explore the place either after food or tomorrow."
"Since the day after tomorrow is an important day, you all should get as much rest as you can." Venelana suggested.
"I believe everyone must be hungry." Rias said. "And I miss home food."
…
…
Devil cuisine was quite similar to human cuisine, with the few exceptions of availability of different types of drinks and a few herbs that were not found in the human world.
Other than that, Kento felt that the human world had more things than the devil world. Mostly because of the lack of water bodies and the variety in climate and topography that the human world had but the underworld lacked.
'This place is not that bad though.'
Kento found the underworld to be quite advanced, not just in technology but in city planning as well.
The houses were placed perfectly and even the drainage system was immaculate. Apparently the sewers were cleaned using some magic powered device which filtered the water to the point that one could drink that water.
Walking through the massive corridor and humming a random tone, Kento enjoyed the air. It was a little different from what he was used to, but it was not bad.
In a sense, he liked it. At least it was not mixed with the smoke from cars and industries.
He wanted to go out and enjoy the moonlight. While it was artificial, it was still stunning.
But on his way, he saw someone that he did not expect to find.
"Out for a walk I suppose?"
"The moon is too beautiful to miss out on, Lord Gremory."
Kento did not expect to find Rias' father standing and staring outside.
"The human world has a much prettier one." Zeoticus said. "But I heard the pollution from the developing world has led to its reduced visibility."
"Regrettably." Kento agreed. "Thus I was surprised to find the moon looking so beautiful."
Zeoticus kept staring at the moon. "It was created by Beelzebub's blueprint. And it is because us devils do not have the need for vehicles or industries that cause pollution… that we are able to preserve the beauty."
"Yet given the advancement in technology the devils have made and the genius of Satan Beelzebub, I am certain pollution would not have been an issue even if you were to use vehicles."
At Kento's statement, Zeoticus smiled. "I don't doubt that. Beelzebub is a genius beyond explanation."
"The capabilities of devils are not explainable by humans." Kento said. "I don't think humans can reach the realms of what some of the devils and other beings have reached."
This made Zeoticus look at him. "I heard you were introduced to the devil world not long ago. So, it's understandable that you haven't heard of some of the beings that surpassed devils and even some of the godly beings."
"Can you name a few?" Kento guessed that some of the humans from mythology might be of the level but he still wanted to know who were the people with such power.
"Those are mostly beings that are found in story books." Zeoticus smiled. "Ronald, Samson, Beawulf, Cu Cuhlain, Arthur, even Ajax and Hector were humans that many supernatural beings feared." He explained. "But if we talk about the current strongest humans, one name comes to mind that makes almost every strong devil shudder."
"Who might that be?" Kento asked in genuine curiosity.
"Vasco Strada." Zeoticus answer. "Vatican's greatest warrior and the strongest human that rejected even the angels' offers."
Kento knew that some of the beings he previously listed were demigods but most of them were human.
"Is Strada a demigod?"
Zeoticus laughed at the comment. "He is not. He is a human that was blessed but he has no godly blood."
This made Kento even more curious. "Is he stronger than you?"
Zeoticus sighed, yet did not lose his smile. "I am centuries older than him. In my eyes, he is a child despite him being an elderly by human standards. Yet I cannot say I can land a hit on him, much less win against him."
Kento was amazed by what he heard. 'It would be great if I could meet that person.'
"But Kento." Zeoticus said. "Being a human without backing is difficult in this world. I believe you have already experienced that. However, I can promise you that it only gets worse from here."
Kento raised an eyebrow. "Pardon me, Lord Zeoticus. But… Is that a –"
"It is not a threat." Zeoticus replied. "I am just giving you a heads up. Because those humans that I previously listed had their lives filled with pain, suffering and enemies."
"What do you suggest?" Kento asked, wondering what the man was getting at. He didn't believe that the man said that because of his genuine worry.
"I won't ask you to join my daughter or any other peerage. But I will suggest you to have people around you to help you with such issues." The devil said. "Because even if a person becomes strong, they will still have people coming for them. Every living creature is tenacious and even if you are able to defeat them easily, it gets tiring after a point in time. So, you need people to deal with them for you."
Kento could not get a read on the man, which made him quite mysterious in his opinion.
"Thank you for the suggestion." He said. "I will keep them in mind."
Zeoticus looked satisfied with his response. "It's quite late. Venelana will be waiting for me." He said. "You should not stay up late. After you enjoy the walk, get some sleep."
"I will." Kento answered.
As he walked, Zeoticus said. "And after the rating game, please meet me once."
This confused Kento. "Something that you cannot tell me now?"
Zeoticus nodded. "Indeed."
Kento could not force the Lord of Gremory and thus he agreed to his request, which made the man leave the place in peace.
Kento was left alone, which made him wonder if he should go and sleep. However, he felt he was not sleepy enough. So, he decided to continue his walk.
Walking out in the massive garden, Kento loved the flowers that he saw. Some of them were so rare that he had only seen pictures of them. But now he was witnessing them in person.
As he walked through the massive garden. He discovered a gazebo, one made entirely of white marble.
But what drew his attention the most was the red that he saw in between the white.
"Rias?" He called, surprised to see the beautiful red haired girl in the middle of the night.
The girl who was enjoying the night saw the boy and smiled. "Oh, I thought you would be asleep by now, Kento."
Kento walked towards her. "I thought the same."
"Devils rarely need sleep." She explained. "But you are not one, so why are you here?"
It was not her looking down at him, but rather looking out for him.
"Wasn't feeling sleepy, so I decided to watch the moon."
At his answer, Rias called him over. "The moon looks prettier from here. You should sit, it was also the reason I came here."
"Oh?" Kento walked inside the gazebo at her invitation.
The gazebo was quite spacious, enough for quite a few people to relax.
But at that moment, it was only Kento and Rias.
Rias was in her nightwear, one that was quite translucent –enhancing her curves.
"It's a rather nice sight." Kento stated.
"It is." Rias said. "Sadly I might not be able to experience this at will if we lose the Rating Game."
"How bad is Riser?" Kento asked. "And I don't mean his personality but him as a person and lover?"
Rias looked at him. "You have seen his peerage. Women to him are nothing more than sex slaves and that is not a fate I want for myself."
Kento leaned over the marble pillar. "Then we have to win at any cost."
"Their strategist is the problem." Rias said. "And their immortality."
"What if I am able to find a way to deal with both?" He asked. "As long as you can deal with the others on your own, I believe I can handle Ravel and Riser."
Rias was pleasantly surprised. "You can?"
Kento nodded. "Yes, but you will have to deal with the rest of his peerage."
Rias was not sure how certain he was but she knew he was the best shot she had got at this. After all, she was out of time.
"That we will."
"And I am expecting something good as a thank you." Kento winked. "We might be friends, but I ain't putting my safety on the line for free."
"Don't worry." Rias assured. "I can promise you that you won't be disappointed."
"I sure hope so."
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[[A/N: Read 25 chapters ahead on Pat reon + other stories: Pat reon.com/Greedyfrog]]>
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