AN: Yo, Clear Sky Sage here with another chapter for you all.

  Question of the Chapter(Another one about crafters):

  Who is the best crafter; Celebrimbor, Sauron, or Aul?? ( This is a battle of pure skill, power is irrelevant. Besides, If you know another medieval-like crafter who can beat them you can say it(Warrior of Light, Dragonborn, Etc.).

  Now, here is the chapter:

  ~Ajuka Beelzebub~ Sitting in the middle of his b after a particurly rushed morning, Ajuka analyzed a blood sample.

  "... this… Silicon!? and Carbon?!" the green-haired devil excimed surprised; "How is he even alive…" he shook his head; "... how can this be." he continued to mumble while focused on his work

  Scanning the blood sample once more, the result he obtained was the same. Frowning a little, Ajuka went to a corner of his b, a massive contraption made of mystical metals, outright sci-fi technology, and a ton of magic from many different cosmologies -basically magitech of the highest caliber - awaited him with strange beeps and mana pulses.

  His steps were swift and firm, and his mind was sharp and clear. Inserting the blood in the machine, he turned it on, and with a low *bzzzzzz* sound, the magitech contraption started to work.

  While his machine ran another in-depth scan of the sample, Ajuka summoned a few Magical Circles, each of them projecting a video feed but from different angles and pces. With another wave of his hands, even more projections appeared.

  In one of them, a 10-year-old red-haired boy was receiving a small box filled with a crimson-colored chess piece set, the only piece missing being the King.

  On another, the same red-haired boy, but a bit older, was talking with the now Bael Heir. Ajuka felt the urge to chuckle, they were talking about werelions of all things.

  A central circle projected another image of the same red-haired boy, but he was sleeping in the middle of a b, a group of scientists observed him, they made notes and looked at the many machines the boy was strapped to.

  Turning his head downward, Ajuka saw a circle showing the red-haired boy who had woken up while the scientists were talking in hushed whispers about their findings.

  On another blinking circle, only a document was visible, it was a complete profile of Patient G-042, this profile contained a massive amount of very personal information; age, actual height and future height range, physique, psychological, and at the bottom of it there were a few words written in bold; [Most Probable Primary Sin(MPPS): Sloth(STRONG)].

  Turning to his right, a screen with the same boy, but this time he was conversing with someone at a dinner table, his tone ft, dead, and weak.

  Then Ajuka's gaze turned to one of the central circles, a scene of the boy animatedly talking about his Mutated Trait repyed in a loop, making Ajuka's eyes narrow.

  "For such a strong leaning towards a sin to suddenly disappear like this... a possession, maybe?" the genius mumbled out loud, his tone ft but inquisitive; "No, the mannerisms are way too close, he is the same person, that I have no doubts." he then reviewed the footage once more; "Sirzechs remarked he felt more mature…" Ajuka blinked owlishly, an idea coming to his mind; "... he does appear older." The Super Devil pulled many different versions of the red-haired Devil's file; "Albeit his biological data does match his actual age…".

  "Such a drastic change…", the scientist continued mumbling and muttering, many specutions and scenarios repying in his mind; "There must be a reason… a logical reason, he would…"

  Ajuka knows this was not the first nor the st time he would go over this issue, his curiosity and paranoia are such that he will go back to it eventually, even if he takes some breaks in between.

  "Maybe it was the Tower?" the scientist specuted out loud in a rather nostalgic tone, his right hand moving in a circle while he controlled the Magic Circles before him; "... personally collected data indicates that time passes faster inside the Dreamscape. Perhaps he…", Ajuka drifted to the left, adding a bunch of new specutions, questions, and data to Antares' file. He knows very well how much The Tower affects someone, he experienced it himself after all.

  Looking at the Magical circles to his left performing analysis on South American territory, Ajuka remembered something and Summoned another magical circle, the projection of a very familiar gss crater in the countryside of Brazil appeared.

  "... Self-Destruction…" Ajuka scoffed out loud, the very idea such a lie could fool him of all people is simply absurd; "No Six-Winged Angel could create such a crater… a fme-aligned one… maybe… but perhaps it could be another source… Incinerate Anthem?" Ajuka shook his head discarding the possibility instantly, Antares possessed no Sacred Gear, he double-checked.

  "A spell perhaps?" the scientist's humor almost broke his ft tone; "... he has neither the reserves nor the skill…" the genius Devil frowned; "But if it was a trait then…", if Ajuka was an expressive person, his eyes would've widened; "... Weak Force… of course… If he somehow managed to initiate the process of Nuclear Fusion with his trait, he could have probably…"

  Ajuka pulled Antares' scan once more, his eyes focused; "... no traces of radiation on him, but it is normal for someone to be resistant to their own Trait." Ajuka Summoned a cup of coffee and took a few sips, his mind deep in thought; "But why would he lie to us, to his own brother?" The Devil Inventor frowned, remembering Antares' marriage contract and shaking his head; "… *sigh*. Not my problem.", Ajuka grumbled and gave up that train of thought, even if he intellectually knew his curiosity would get him to return to it again ter.

  With a flick of his wrist, he summoned a Magical Circle that dispyed data about the energy readings in and around the gss crater; "… Demonic Mana and Light Mana… hmmm... is this…" Ajuka gritted his teeth, some particurly bad memories coming to the surface; "The Nephalem project." he concluded grimly; "To think they would go that far. Even after all that mess the Artificial Angel project caused… *sigh*, now I need to inform the others about this, how annoying." The introvert devil grumbled while sending a message in the 4 Satan's Group chat, detailing his most recent findings on the ongoing investigation.

  With that part of his duty out of the way, Ajuka pulled up another Magic circle, this one detailing a report on the body of Patient G-042; "…DNA, muscle tissue …bone marrow, and the physique in general…, enchanted… unblemished… a ck of identifiable 'fws'…" he hummed, deeply analyzing it once more, his mind going over the data a few hundred times, again; "...his body is perfect… way too perfect. Almost like he is the next…" Ajuka's eyes widened; "The next evolutionary step!".

  ~ Razen Antares Gremory ~ Arriving at his brother's office in the underworld, the first person Antares saw was Grayfia, who was calmly waiting for him.

  "Good Morning, Young Master Gremory." greeted the maid in her usual serious but polite tone; "Satan Lucifer is waiting for you." she indicated with her left hand towards the office's door.

  "Good Morning Grayfia." Antares greeted back with a smile; "How is Milicas doing?" he asked while approaching the door.

  "… He is doing okay." answered the silver-haired Devil, briefly breaking her facade of a 'maid' and answering as a 'mother'; "It took a bit for him to recover, but he is already running around and giving the younger maids a headache," Grayfia added fondly.

  "I am happy he is well." added Antares while gripping the door's handle; "Send him my best regards." Grayfia nodded.

  "Excuse me.", announced Antares while knocking on the door. "You may enter." answered his brother in a muffled tone.

  Entering the office, Antares couldn't help but notice just how spartan and barebones it looked. There was barely any decoration, the walls spotted a mostly pin magenta wallpaper, with weird golden symbols stamped on it, the carpet was also brand new and of a maroon color, and there didn't seem to be any pnts or other decorations besides a few empty shelves and the main desk proper.

  Sitting on the big wooden desk, Sirzechs was eating a burger with gusto, it was one of those handmade burgers that cost a veritable fortune if you didn't have a personal chef.

  Seeing his brother entering, Sirzechs quickly finished his burger before cleaning his hands and mouth with a napkin; "Good Morning Little bro. How was your evening?"

  "It was pretty good." answered Antares with a friendly nod; "I was honestly so exhausted that I had no trouble sleeping at all." the youngster did not comment on the strange dream he had, as he saw no need to bother his brother with one of his silly dreams of all things.

  Smirking, Antares did an obvious show of looking around him; "Did you Destroy your office, again?"

  Sirzechs rolled his eyes with a smirk of his own; "The Golden Cow Milk fiasco was quite annoying to deal with, sadly, my office was one of the casualties as well.", Sirzechs then looked a Antares and smiled; "Albeit we are rebuilding it." The older devil then indicated the chair before him, something Antares gdly took.

  "I guess you want your expnation then." let out Antares after a brief period of silence.

  Sirzechs nodded and gestured with his hand; "By all means."

  "Okay, I won't bother you with what was a fairly standard excursion through the familiar forest." Sirzechs eye sparkled a bit, he was absolutely interested in that, but dutty came first; "Later." the Super Devil demanded with an annoying smirk, making Antares roll his eyes.

  Antares just sighed and continued; "It all started just after Eu acquired her familiar, I felt something weird with the trees at the-", Antares then went on and expined the whole sequence of events that led to the battle of the crater. At the end, he even apologized for demolishing the armor Sirzechs had gifted him.

  "Don't worry little bro, that armor was to protect you, and it has accomplished its job. It's more than I could ask of such equipment." Sirzechs dismissed his brother's worries.

  Antares sighed, feeling a little relieved. Before he noticed Sirzechs staring at his table, deep in thought. The crimson Satan stayed like that for a brief moment, before turning towards Antares, his sharp eyes hiding a bone-deep tiredness Antares wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for Communication Talent. Whatever info he just revealed to his brother seemed to spark quite a few bad memories in him.

  "That purple-haired girl you just added to your peerage… ", started the older Devil amicably, his change of subjects not subtle at all; "Tell me about her.".

  "Well, there isn't much to tell really." Antares sheepishly added; "I barely know her-".

  The two then went and continued their talk, the younger brother telling what he knew about Neptune and adding a few more details of the battle of the crater he forgot to mention before. Their talk extended for hours, to the point that Grayfia even brought a snack and a couple of refreshments for them.

  ~Eu Lawrence~ Waking up, Eu felt completely different; her body was stronger, her mind was sharper and her mana improved; not only in density, weight, and quality, but also in quantity as well. It was an incredible almost indescribable sensation, but all her mind could focus on at the moment was her feeling a slight pang of sadness her lover wasn't beside her. Massaging her eyes she got up and stretched herself, getting a feel for the differences in her body.

  "Did I get another consteltion?" Eu mumbled feeling a little speechless. With a flex of her will, she summoned her Aphros Delos, The Brilliant Sea-Foam consteltion.

  Picking her cellphone, she activated the camera app on selfie mode and looked; it was the same crown-shaped figure floating in waves of sea foam, but instead of just one star being lit up, there were two.

  "How?" the Cryo user excimed shocked; "Shouldn't these consteltions be difficult to acquire?"

  Eu pondered, she had been in plenty of life-and-death battles in Teyvat and fought a wealth of absurd monsters at equally absurd odds, but she never got a consteltion for that; "What changed…" she mumbled while pacing back and forth, her naked feet spping silently on the bedroom's floor and making her feel slightly uncomfortable for being out of her high-heels.

  "Maybe it's because of the Talents?" she thought aloud, remembering Antares had expined he purchased Talent Share for Martial and Soul Talent during the battle. But she didn't have those talents when she acquired her first consteltion, but to be fair the first consteltion is always the easiest.

  "I know for a fact that talent does make getting a consteltion easier," Eu mumbled while shaking her head. This was just like the cssical conundrum: who came first, the chicken or the egg; 'Did she get a consteltion because she is talented? Or is she considered talented because she has a consteltion?'.

  But Eu fully admits the st daemon was something she has never faced in her life, not only was it massively strong, it was also incredibly fast and could turn itself into a weird orange beam with great piercing power. Compared to even some boss-like monsters she fought in the past, it's certainly a cut above the rest.

  And to think Antares' brother destroyed it with a single attack as if such a monster was barely worth consideration to him, dispatching it just like yesterday's trash. Eu sighed, the power scaling of this universe always makes her feel small.

  Then a very unpleasant memory about the big Daemon resurfaced; It killed Neptune, the miserable memory making Eu visibly wince.

  She thought the girl was quite nice and brave, not to mention a worthy warrior and comrade. So she thinks it is good that Antares was able to reincarnate her, from what she saw, the purple-haired girl would be a nice addition to their team, and perhaps more if she interpreted the girl's gnces towards Antares correctly.

  Deciding she wasted enough time, Eu went to freshen up but stopped as soon as she took her first step. The moment she thought about it, her body was fully cleaned, to the point that even if she took five long baths in sequence, she wouldn't even come close to this level.

  "What!?" the Cryo user excimed surprised, immediately checking her body over to see if there was anything amiss. There wasn't, quite the opposite actually, she was feeling pretty great… albeit she felt no need to go the bathroom, like, ever. Which confused and weirded her out quite a bit.

  She thought it was enemy action for a second and tensed, her hand clenching around the handle of her summoned Song of Broken Pines, but she soon rexed, letting the sword dissipate.

  "What am I doing…" Eu mumbled while shaking her head. Feeling there should be some expnation about this, she went to pick up her cell phone, maybe send a message to Antares or call him, but then she saw there were already a lot of messages from her lover.

  The first message was just Antares expining he went towards the meeting with his brother and should be in the underworld by now. The second one was his most recent purchases in the catalog and the expnation about them.

  Closing her eyes, Eu searched internally, Grail Knowledge was already at work, to the point she could probably finish high school today if she wanted to, which meant she finally knew how to read and properly use the tech around her. This made her quite happy, and although she knows Antares did his best at expining things, Grail Knowledge was something else. It saved her a lot of precious time.

  The other messages were mostly her lover expining stuff, and apologizing for letting his excitement get the better of him and that they should buy things together the next time. Eu chuckled, knowing Antares would always choose what he thought was the best for them, so she wasn't worried nor hurt he bought stuff without consulting her. Albeit she is a little sad at the missed opportunity to spend more time with him.

  Antares st message was asking if Eu could help Neptune if she woke up while he was gone; "Huh, that shouldn't be a problem…" Eu mumbled while walking towards the kitchen, still in her pajamas; "Just show her around the house and expin stuff… I guess?"

  Arriving at the kitchen she cooked a simple omelet, made a few toasts, and bacon for breakfast, with a skip on her steps she opened the fridge and picked fresh orange juice to seal the deal. After eating, she thought about brushing her teeth, but before she could even move, her new Time-Savers perk had already done it.

  Going towards her room, she saw that Neptune was still sleeping, so she quickly put on a set of casual and comfortable clothes and went towards the library, there was a book she needed to apply her vengeance to.

  A few minutes ter, with said book in hand, Eu picked a chair from one of the empty rooms and put it outside Neptune's room. Sitting on the chair she opened the book, which to her delight, ended up being The Hobbit, a book belonging to her favorite franchise, and she could now finally read it.

  Eu opened the book, smiling; 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit-'

  A few chapters ter, and after picking up a small table to have some tea and snacks, Eu finally started hearing some shuffling sounds inside the room. Closing her book, and marking the page on her phone, she got up and waited in front of the door until the shuffling ceased and then she knocked.

  "Who…?" a slightly hoarse voice echoed from inside.

  "It's me, Eu." answered the Cryo user with a calm voice.

  "... end-user license agreement?" asked the hoarse voice, making Eu's brow twitched in irritation, now that she has the proper knowledge to understand it, she felt particurly annoyed by the acronym.

  Sighing, the ice user expined; "No. I am the blue-haired girl-"

  "Ooooh, The Ice Lady!" excimed the hoarse voice before turning into a slew of coughs at the end.

  "... There is water by the nightstand." helpfully informed Eu, just earning a cough in response and a few minutes of silence.

  "*Gah* That hit the spot." added Neptune in her normal voice; "Thank you Ice dy."

  "That wasn't me." corrected Eu softly; "It was Antares who gave you the water."

  "... Okay." answered Neptune in a confused tone; "I am supposed to know who that is?".

  "The tall red-haired man that was with me.", eborated Eu pinly.

  "Ohhh, the hot stuff." answered Neptune in an understanding tone, her mind quickly going to the battle; "He was pretty amateurish at the start, but he got better quickly. And he is hot," she added the ending with a slightly lewd chuckle.

  Eu chuckled as well; "Yeah, he is…" the Cryo user paused, memories of her kissing Antares, her hands feeling up his strong body, his hands gripping her ass- Eu suppressed her pleasant memories for ter, it wasn't the time right now.

  "May I enter?" Eu asked politely.

  "Is hot stuff with you?"

  "No." answered the Cryo suer sincerely; "He went to meet his brother in the underworld.".

  "Huh… Okay then," replied Neptune in a relieved tone? Eu wasn't so sure.

  Entering the room, the Cryo user saw the purple-haired girl, still dressed in her shredded clothing sitting on the corner of her bed, the bottle of water on the nightstand more than half empty.

  "Before we continue our talk. We should introduce ourselves." started Eu in a friendly tone; "My Name is Eu Lawrence, and I am Antares' Knight.".

  "Name's Neptune, just Neptune." answered the purple-haired girl in a rather animated tone.

  Picking a chair from the corner of the room, Eu put it close to the bed; "I suppose you have questions?" Neptune nodded enthusiastically; "Yeah, tons of them.".

  "Ask away." offered Eu with a friendly smile.

  "Okay…" Neptune started unsurely; "What happened? I remember feeling a sharp pain in my chest, and then… I heard some sort of chant… and woke up here?"

  "Well, I will be blunt with you." answered Eu in an honest sympathetic tone; "You died."

  "...huh", Neptune looked over at her shredded clothing and noticed how her hoodie had a hole on both its back and front exactly where her heart should be. Memories of her final moment assaulted her mind, she was talking with hot stuff and then pain, darkness and chanting, and…. 'Okay Neptune, now is not the time for PTSD, you can deal with it ter.'.

  "I really did…" mumbled the purple-haired girl lowly. "But how am I alive? … or am I dead and this is just the afterlife?, Neptune's eyes narrowed suspiciously; "You guys did say you were Devils, will I have to Fight in the Blood war for eternity now?"

  Eu looked at the purple-haired girl puzzled, a small frown on her face; "No?" the bluenette answered slightly confused; "First, you are not dead, Antares reincarnated you. So you are indeed alive now. Second, I have no idea what a Blood War is… so I don't think you will have to fight on it?"

  Neptune sighed, not having to fight the Blood War was some good news; 'Albeit hot stuff still said that Devils can become Demons, but it is more of a Title thingy?' the purple-haired girl thought inwardly while making a weird face that puzzled Eu even more.

  "Reincarnated? Is Antares a R.O.B?" she asked the possible eldritch entity before her.

  "No…? His name is Antares, as you've said yourself." replied the Knight even more confused.

  Neptune rolled her eyes; "You know what I mean, R. O. B. You can clearly hear the capital letters.", seeing the Cryo user's persistent confused expression, Neptune huffed; "...Random Omnipotent Being? Does that ring any bells?".

  Eu's eyes lit up; "Do you mean Macroz? He is Antares Patron, but I am not sure he qualifies as omnipotent, he said so himself.".

  "AHA!, so there are R.O.B. shenanigans involved." Neptune excimed happily, nodding in understanding; "That expins a lot of stuff."

  "It does?" Eu asked bewildered. She feels like the purple-haired girl is misunderstanding something, but she is not sure exactly what.

  Neptune nodded; " Yup."

  "I… Oh… Okay?" Eu shook her head, trying to hopefully change subjects; "Are you feeling any different?"

  Neptune paused, frowned, and raised her open hand, her fists closing and opening in a weirdly rhythmical way; "I… Seem to be stronger?" she then stopped and closed her eyes; "My mana has improved in all aspects… a little weird, but well, better.".

  "Hmm…" Neptune opened her eyes, her mind a little distant for a moment; "I seem to know a lot of new stuff?".

  "Like high school knowledge, general appliances, and-" Started Eu only to be interrupted by the overeager purple-haired girl; "Yeah, that stuff. It's like I finished high school in this dimension.".

  Eu nodded, she felt the same way, as she spotted the same knowledge. "Any improvement in your Martial skill?" asked the Spindrift Knight with a knowing look.

  Neptune paused, got up, and did a few punches in the air, her form a little bit weird, but Eu felt her own Martial Talent constantly pinging while seeing it, indicating the girl was quite a bit skilled, and she seemed to be getting better, and quite at a fast pace to boot.

  "…oookay, this is new." Neptune commentated in a slightly surprised tone; "I've always been good at kicking ass and taking names… but this is well, quite a few notches up?" she added unsurely.

  "Right now it's mostly feeding up on your past experiences." informed Eu in a warm tone; "The initial boost is quite significant… It clears a lot of stuff up."

  Neptune nodded absently; "Yeah, it's like… I was able to pick the correct answers to a bunch of questions that always puzzled me, but not answer something I did not know, but I still can make very good guesses. Which is also awesome", she then pursed her lips, trying to find the correct word; "Almost like the years I spent fighting and training were multiplied in effectiveness, somehow.", the purplette paused briefly; "My instincts seem to be better as well… at least for fighting that is.".

  "It's the same for magic, no?" pressed Eu while folding her hands on top of her p.

  Neptune closed her eyes again, and a few breaths ter she nodded; "… Yeah, Lighting Bde is way easier to cast right now. It went from an annoying Rottweiler that does not respect me, to an overeager puppy that wants to listen to my every order…".

  "But my mana is really weird, it is like-"

  "Not just Mana, Demonic Power." interrupted Eu while summoning her 'mana' to the palm of her hand, the reddish mana already trying to turn into Ice, its Cryo nature almost forcing it into such a state; "It's different in many ways. More flexible, denser, stronger, better."

  "Huh…", Neptune mumbled while also summoning her mana, prompting a red vapor-like aura to cover her hand, the aura became straighter and cracked, like broken gss or lightning. But Eu and Neptune, thanks to their Talent, could notice there was a visible quality difference between them, with Eu's being clearly superior.

  "Lightning then…" Eu mumbled while cupping her chin; "But your affinity seems quite faint…".

  Neptune shrugged; "Yeah, I don't have a particur affinity like you.", she then grunted and turned her Demonic Mana into Lightning; "I just trained with Lightning a lot.".

  "That's is still quite impressive." praised Eu with sincerity; "Principally considering you were a human back then."

  "A Human?", Neptune turned towards Eu, the gears turning inside of her head; "Am I not a human anymore?".

  "No." Eu shook her head; "You are a Devil now." The Cryo user then drew her wings, prompting Neptune's body to reflexively do the same.

  "I have wings!?" Excimed Neptune Feeling the new pair of limbs coming out from her shoulder bdes; "So cool!!" she preened.

  "You also have enhanced physical abilities, flight, and dark vision, are effectively immortal unless killed by acts of great violence, and have the ability to speak any nguage as if it were your native one," added Eu with a small smile.

  "Nice!" Neptune smiled broadly, her happiness almost contagious. But then she stopped, a small frown adorning her face; "This isn't all, is it?"

  "Nope." Eu looked at Neptune with a slight smile; "There are still a few weaknesses you should know about." Neptune nodded, still frowning a bit.

  "First things first; as a Devil you are a creature of darkness, meaning light is way more effective on you. You may even feel weak under the sun for a few days after you turned, the Archons know I did." expined the knight in an approachable tone while adjusting her position on the chair; "There is also Holy Light, which is basically your kryptonite, Holy Light makes the damage Light does to you look cute in comparison. It's like the difference between destroying a thin paper by submerging it in water, or burning it with fire and gasoline."

  "So, Light is Super Effective and Holy Light is Ultra effective, got it." Neptune then turned towards the nightstand and drank a few gulps of water; "… that is quite the tradeoff. But not as bad as I thought." she saw Eu wincing a little. Neptune sighed; "There is more isn't it?"

  "There is." Eu confirmed; "Speaking or merely referring to the head of the Abrahamic pantheon will bring you pain, even if you just use his titles. Holy symbols like crosses, Stars of David, and others are toxic to the point of being almost acidic to you. Same about Holy pces like Temples, Churches, and Synagogues." Eu paused and pursed her lips, remembering something at the st minute; "Oh, and reciting verses of the Bible has the same effect."

  "So everything Holy and of Light does bonus damage to me. Including symbols and verses, lovely," grumbled Neptune without heat.

  "Well, It's not as bad as you are making it sound." comforted Eu; "Getting stronger, does mitigate the effects.".

  "It does?" Neptune asked with curious enthusiasm.

  "Yup. A Satan Css Devil, for example, would require an 8-10 Winged Angel to affect them." expined Eu while getting up; "And while the Holy Light user's skill can indeed make such estimates wonky… it's still the most reliable thing we have."

  Neptune nodded, appreciating the blue-haired girl's honesty; "Does it reach the level of immunity?"

  Eu shook her head; "Never. It is always mitigation, resistance, a sort of double the effort for half the result type of deal, and such ratings do increase with the gap between both parties."

  "Interesting…" mumbled Neptune deep in thought; "This dimension seems very shounen-like."

  "Antares said the same thing." Eu nodded; "He also mentioned the name Highschool DxD and that you may recognize it, but he wasn't sure."

  Neptune shook her head; "Never heard of it, the closest we had where I came from was Highcollege YbY, which was about a small girl turning into a Shifter when she entered college. It was pure Yuri, to the point it was almost a Hentai." Neptune shook her head; "Never liked it. The protagonist was way too unlikeable for my tastes and I was never a fan of Yuri, to begin with."

  "Understandable." nodded the Cryo user; "Now, there is another aspect I must inform you of, and that is the Peerage System."

  "Peerage?" asked Neptune confused; "What noble titles have to do with anything?"

  "An annoying lot actually." informed Eu with a slight tick above her left eyebrow; "You remember how I introduced myself as Antares' Knight?"

  The purple-haired girl nodded, eyes slowly clearing in realization.

  "That has a lot to do with the fact that we are Reincarnated Devils now. And much like you, I also used to be human. A dead human in fact." added the blue-haired girl with a sardonic smile.

  "Huh…" Neptune eloquently replied.

  "I was then Reincarnated as a Devil, more specifically using a Knight piece." the Knight continued expining; "You see, around 500 years ago, the Devils entered some kind of civil war, and a lot of their popution died off. To more easily replenish such a popution, and considering Devils have a very low fertility rate Ajuka Astaroth, now Crowned Beelzebub, created the Evil Pieces. A set of chess pieces created of a special crystal that allows a High Css Devil to reincarnate other people into Devils.".

  "Here, they look exactly like this." Eu then picked up her phone and brought a photo of Antares' Evil Pieces Set for Neptune to see.

  "… why do the Queen Piece, One Bishop Piece, and the Pawns look so swanky?" asked Neptune curiously, feeling an odd sort of attraction towards the image of the Queen piece.

  "Oh, those are Mutation Pieces." expined Eu calmly; "Like their name suggests, they are Evil Pieces who had their standard capabilities mutated for the better. A boost in their range or power if you will.".

  "Oh, so they have some rules as well," added Neptune in understanding.

  "Indeed. As heartless as this may sound, people have a sort of number, a value measured in Pawns. A High Css Devil can then use a spell to identify if it's possible to reincarnate the target." crified Eu with a smile.

  "Let me guess, the stronger they are the higher the value?" specuted Neptune.

  "Yes, but not fully." Eu made a so-so gesture with her hand; "While having superior strength to the 'King', which is the High Css Devil who owns the peerage, does increase someone's 'Value'. What raises the value the most is potential." the emphasis on the st word made Neptune smirk in understanding.

  "So Gohan would have a higher value than Goku." the purple-haired girl also got up again; "Even if he is objectively weaker, his potential is greater. Thus higher value. Not counting super on it thought." Eu had no idea who Goku or Gohan were, but she nodded nonetheless, understanding the gist of what Neptune said.

  "Evil pieces also have a sort of, improvement, they come with," said Eu while Neptune perked up.

  "Knights, like me, have a boost in speed, mobility, and dexterity." informed Eu with a small smile; "Bishops gain enhanced Demonic Power and Magical abilities, turning them into magical powerhouses. Rooks have superhuman strength and durability, turning them into physical powerhouses. Pawns, while not having any of the other's strengths, are capable of promoting into any piece as long as they have the King's permission or enter the enemy territory.".

  "And what about the Queen?" Asked the purplette feeling a small twist inside her stomach

  "The Queen has them all, minus the promotion," added Eu in a more neutral tone now.

  "Awesome! So what piece am I?"

  "You are the Queen." Neptune was utterly speechless.

  After that, Eu briefly went back to her room and picked a change of clothes. And while Neptune is a little smaller than her, it is not by much, so she was able to wear Eu's clothes for now and until Antares returned and they could go shopping.

  The two then went towards the kitchen to eat something and continue their talk. After enjoying a hearty meal, Eu continued her expnation, going further into detail about Devils, Peerages, Rating Games, Devil Society, Enemies and many other things Antares has been sharing with her all this time. Eu didn't know if Neptune caught everything, but the increased cognitive ability she gained as a Devil should allow her to retain the information better.

  Then came the topic of other factions, allies, and external enemies.

  "Wait… Like… Every single Pahntheon, mythology, or whatever the Wizard of OZ is… is… Real?" Neptune was at a loss for words, part of her wanted to shout in disbelief at how impossible such a thing was, about how many pantheons have contradictions that shouldn't allow them to coexist in the same world.

  "Indeed. From what Antares told me and my own research, there are a lot of unbelievable things in this universe." Eu then paused and sighed; "And now that I have the proper local education to see it, I can understand how you are feeling."

  Their talk then continued well into the early afternoon, when Eu started talking about Sacred Gears.

  "... ought… So people can be born with utter cheats here as well." added the purple-haired girl with a depressed tone.

  "Well, considering the st two mutated Devils changed the entire Underworld's society with echoes that have spread throughout the whole world and are sting to this day, having a Longinus-Css sacred Gear is not much different; It's just like being born really, really, really talented. Basically a Super Mutated Human in a way…"

  "That does make sense. And considering there are 13 Longinus-Css sacred, there should be 13 Super-Level humans around… which is not happening." added Neptune with a snort, part of her still digesting this new info; "Let me guess. Since God *Ught* is dead, the system he created isn't working as properly anymore?".

  "Correct. Since his death, Sacred Gears have been evolving and mutating in interesting directions, even becoming capable of achieving the fabled Bance Breaker." completed Eu while taking a sip from a cup of fresh orange juice.

  Neptune hummed in thought; "...Bance Breakers, as cool as their name may sound, break the bance, right?." Eu just nodded.

  "And considering Half-Humans are appearing with Sacred Gears left and right in the st centuries, the system isn't as robust as it used to be," added Neptune more to herself than replied to her new friend? sister?

  "Yes. Even with Heaven adding Miracle-Type magic to the equation, it only deyed the inevitable failure of the system. Which is a worry to every one of the three factions." Informed the ex-noblewoman while sipping her juice.

  "Miracle-Type magic?" asked Neptune a little stunned.

  Eu just raised her eyebrow and smiled, remembering something her lover told her a while ago; "Antares commented it was something like Souls-Like miracles?"

  Neptune made an '0' face; "... that makes a surprising amount of sense and it fits this setting quite well." added the lightning user a little distracted.

  The two stayed silent for a moment, nursing their respective drinks while deep in thought.

  "... he feels quite a bit guilty, doesn't he?" asked Neptune while looking outside the kitchen window.

  "He does…" answered Eu with a small voice; "He didn't explicitly say it, but I heard part of the Aria, and yeah… it was pretty obvious, to begin with, we did talk about it a lot in our first day together, after all.".

  "Oh? There is definitely a story there." pressed Neptune with a teasing smile.

  Eu snorted; "Tell me about it…", seeing the expectant and curious look on her peerage mate, Eu pursed her lips and sighed; "... Much like you, I also died.".

  Neptune winced, as someone who died once herself, she knew the experience was as far from being pleasant as possible.

  "It was a fast thing, a Tsunami that broke every bone in my body and turned my internal organs to mush." Eu paused, took a deep breath, and did nothing to hide the nostalgic smile followed by a blushing dreamy expression that adorned her face; "Then he Reincarnated me, saving me from certain death and that pce.".

  "Back then, he had the same concerns; thinking I would hate him, thinking we would never get along, that I would bme him for something…" The blue-haired girl shook her head with a smile and took a sip from her juice; "But I've only been happier since, the literal best weeks of my life. I… Getting reincarnated by Antares was the best thing that happened to me, and he is simply perfect, handsome, warm, cuddly, understanding-", Seeing as the girl would continue forever if she let her, Neptune interrupted; "Damn girl! You are down bad for hot stuff.".

  Eu stopped and blushed; "Yeah, I am…"

  "It's a pity then." Neptune sighed without hiding the visible sadness in her tone; "I was going try shooting for him, but I don't want to mess up a good thing my new friend has going for her."

  "Huh?" Eu titled her head confused; "Why would you think that?"

  Neptune raised her eyebrows; "You two are lovers, right?" Eu nodded in affirmation. "So I don't want to come between you two silly."

  Eu chuckled; "You won't, Neptune. I would gdly welcome you as a new sister-wife, if you want to pursue Antares, you have my full support."

  "I… what?" babbled the purple-haired girl confused.

  "Silly. Harems are pretty much the common thing for Devils., added Eu with a schorly nod; "And at the rate Antares is growing, soon enough there will be raining candidates to join his Harem. So if you do want to join, go with the mind that we won't be the only two.".

  "Okay…" Neptune mumbled, trying to tone down her speechlessness; "I definitely didn't expect that as an answer." Albeit the future her mind is conjuring, of holding hands with Antares while they walked in the park and then having a steamy kissing session while hugging each other, did make her blush and her panties a little bit damp.

  Eu rolled her eyes; "To be honest, you and Antares would get along quite well, it even makes me a little bit envious. Still, if you are to be my new sister-wife, I would be very happy." Neptune nodded absently, her imagination going even further beyond with the lewd scenes, a growing blush taking over her features and her breath getting slightly haggard.

  "But there is still the most important thing," Eu added in a sage-like tone.

  Neptune instantly whipped her head to the Cryo user, momentarily losing control of her mana due to her excitement; "What would it be?"

  "Antares has to like you, of course." answered the Cryo user while getting up; "How can you become his lover if he doesn't even like you?"

  Neptune defted, her expression and excitement damping a good bit; "I… That makes sense, of course."

  Eu nodded; "But you don't need to be worried." Eu patted her probable future sister-wife on the shoulder; "Just be yourself, follow your heart, and let things happen naturally."

  Neptune nodded, the fme of determination burning inside of her gaze. Things still feel a little strange for her, not the bad kind of course, but with Eu's express permission, she will try her best to grasp her happiness with her own two hands.

  ~ Razen Antares Gremory ~ Antares was feeling quite a bit tired, the talk with his brother was long and arduous, with even Ajuka joining a bit at the end to offer his more scientific standpoint. The two Devils were very reasonably worried about some kind of interpnar invasion happening in their territory.

  Thankfully, Ajuka managed to dissuade their worries. The green-haired Satan had already analyzed the crater in great detail and found out there weren't any Space-Time traces left from the wound in reality, quite the opposite actually, as the Space-Time in the region seemed more robust after the act, meaning possible future invasions on the same pce just became a few magnitudes more difficult as well.

  The scientist had also picked all the Daemon bodies and was now doing his best to analyze them in full detail, currently; he only discovered that Light, Holy, and Order attributes seemed to be Super Effective against Daemons, which painted quite an interesting picture, almost like they were distant cousins to Devils. Ajuka also discovered these Daemons were way more spiritually aligned than Devils proper, their flesh composed of a strange spiritual atom the Devil was having quite the headache with. Then Ajuka mentioned it reminded him of his own cells when he was in his True Form.

  Such a comment earned the Beelzebub quite the pointed gnce from Sirzechs, which made the scientist roll his eyes and continue talking anyway. Ajuka then expined how a Devil's True Form has three stages, the sheer significance and weight of said knowledge were something Antares would never forget, just thinking about it made him remember said talk that happened not too long ago.

  ~A Few Hours Ago ~"... A Devil's True Form has Three Stages." continued the green-haired Devil completely unbothered by his best friend's scolding gaze; "The First one is what I called the Freedom Stage. It happens when a Devil gets strong and skilled enough with their Trait that it breaks its own imposed limits, the trait itself stretching and expanding in use and effectiveness." Ajuka then paused and pointed at the other Super Devil in the room; "A Good example is Sirzechs', who upon reaching this stage managed to evolve his Power of Destruction to be able to reach concepts as well.".

  "This is why his PoD is so different from others, so pliable and powerful. Yes, it has a lot of skill and training involved, of course, that is a given, but reaching the Freedom Stage was what pushed him beyond what simple skill, talent, and dedication can take your average Devil." continued the scientist without even taking a single breath.

  "... not even our Ancestor Zekram Bael, the first user of the PoD, is capable of doing the same things I do, and I have lived for just a fraction of his age." added Sirzechs after a few grumbles; "That is why the Freedom Stage has another nickname, The Godmaker, as it is were 'mortals' turn into Gods in their own right, breaking the Shackles of an Ultimate Css lifeform and turn into a Satan Css lifeform."

  "It is a very arduous task, case in point, there are around 5 Devils who managed to achieve such a state to this day," added Ajuka offhandedly.

  "Five?" asked Antares curiously.

  "Sirzechs Lucifer, Serafall Leviatam, Falbium Asmodeus, Ajuka Beelzebub, and Rizevim Livan Lucifer," replied Ajuka robotically.

  "Moving on." urged Sirzechs with gritted teeth; "Before we reveal even more state secrets."

  Rolling his eyes, Ajuka continued; "The Second Stage is the most critical one, it is also the stage your brother is currently stuck at as well." Ajuka then brought a magic circle with a confusing diagram of a Devil's cell; "It is called the Energy Stage, where a Devil who thoughtfully explored their Godmaker stage will start to see an exponential rise in their own Demonic Power.".

  "This is an increase all over the board, by the way.", added Sirzechs from the side; "Meaning your quantity, quality, purity, density, weight and every single aspect of your Demonic Power will grow as well, all of that exponentially."

  "And it is all triggered automatically, as the moment your body, mind, soul, and Trait detect that you are 'ready', you will start to feel the exponential increase." Ajuka then looked with a small smirk towards Sirzechs; "Just pray it doesn't start in the middle of the battlefield, as it can be the difference between you using enough power to Destroy a single squadron to accidentally annihiting half of the enemy army in a single attack.". Sirzechs groaned and facepalmed, likely remembering the humiliation of that day.

  "Then your Demonic Power will continue to rise until it manages to reach critical mass, in each one of your cells." Ajuka then showed the Devil cell diagram, which right now was looking more like the core of a nuclear reactor with Demonic Power being nuclear energy.

  "This is where I am stuck." added Sirzechs with a sigh; "My famously known Human Shaped Aura of Destruction is just me using the Second Stage of my True Form.".

  "The problem that I face is that, ironically enough, I am too destructive for my own good." continued the crimson-haired Satan with a mirthful chuckle; "Every time I tap into my True Form, I can never do it in full, I can never 'stretch my legs', so to say."

  "I already said that you should use the Dimensional Gap and train until you get to the third stage. But you always find excuses not to." Grumbled Ajuka without heat.

  "You know very well how little time I have." Sirzechs rolled his eyes, but ended up relenting; "But I know you are right, things are changing, and while I firmly believe in my strength, having a trump card others do not know is always wise. I will make some time."

  "As you probably guessed, the Energy stage is a transitory period." continued Ajuka in his usual robotic tone; "A sort of in-between stage, a stage where you are building up from your st push, a push that will lead you into the third and final stage; The True Stage."

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  AN: Damn, finally over. This was one of the hardest chapters to edit I've ever put my hands on, not because of errors or anything but simply because I've slept on top of my Keyboard 5 to 6 times during the hours it took me.

  Yeah, I had quite a difficult and extremely tiring week, been functioning on 3 hours of sleep for three days straight, and made a 12-hour trip inside a car on Monday, a trip I still haven't recuperated fully from. In conclusion, I am super tired so the edition quality may be a little lower than normal. Sorry about that, but I didn't want to go to sleep before posting this chapter.

  We finally start on True Forms here, which is something I am quite excited about. It's been a while since I've been thinking about Antares True Form, and I want to go really evil-looking monstrous thing.

  Neptune finally starts taking her first steps as a Devil in this new crazy world of DxD and seems to be nurturing a liking *wink* *wink* to Antares. I liked to write it from Eu's perspective a bit, she is one of my favorite characters after all.

  For my answer, I would go with the Dragonborn, simply because I've always leveled up smithing as one of the first things in my pythrought, (Besides, I think smithing with Tonnal magic is bound to bring some absurd results.)

  Going to sleep now, bye.

  ~ClearSkySage