— — — — — —
The moment Sirzechs heard that, his heart skipped a beat.
So this man really was connected to Lilth.
But that only led to another question—what exactly was Ryo's relationship with the Devil Progenitor Lilith?
Compared to Sirzechs, Ajuka reacted far faster. He blurted out, "She asked us to inform you that... the Creator God is suspected to be reviving."
The words landed like a hammer. The air froze.
Azazel went blank for an instant. A afterimage was left where he stood, while his real body suddenly appeared in front of Ajuka, grabbing him by the collar, completely losing control.
"What did you say? Say that again!"
Ajuka wasn't surprised by the sudden attack. He simply kept a grave expression, "He is really suspected to be reviving."
Azazel's pupils shrank violently. His magic nearly slipped out of control, and faint traces of light power leaked into the surroundings.
"Azazel."
Ryo tapped the desk lightly in reminder.
"…My apologies. I lost control for a moment."
Azazel took a deep breath, released Ajuka, and offered apologies to both him and Ryo before stepping back. But the detached, spectator-like mood he'd had earlier was gone. He looked dazed.
It felt like a stern old father who'd already been laid in a coffin suddenly kicking the lid open and sitting up.
There was a strange fear, and an equally strange flicker of relief. His emotions were tangled beyond words.
Ryo understood. He didn't hold Azazel's outburst against him.
Poor guy. He'd been enjoying the show only for the fire to suddenly spread to his own doorstep.
After that, silence fell over the room.
Azazel was still distracted. Ajuka kept up a deliberately serious façade. Sirzechs snapped back to himself, thinking that Ajuka's reaction had been quick while using the silence to consider countermeasures.
Only Ryo was genuinely thinking through the implications of the Creator God's possible revival.
Soon, the only sound left was the steady tapping of Ryo's finger against the desk.
After a while, he sighed.
"So He really didn't die completely…"
Sirzechs and Ajuka both wore strange expressions.
What do you mean, "really didn't die completely"?
Could this man have actually participated in the Great War?
But with his strength, how could he possibly not have left his name in such a war?
Even someone like Kokabiel had gained recognition from that conflict. Someone at Ryo's level would have been a core combatant, on par with the Four Great Satans themselves. Yet there was no record of him at all, as if he'd appeared out of nowhere.
Sirzechs's suspicion toward Ryo deepened.
At that moment, Ryo sighed again. "Then again… the will inside the True Longinus, the Holy Grail's vitality and divine blood, and that system in Heaven… It's only natural that He left a way to revive."
Ryo had long expected the Creator God might not be truly dead.
Just look at his achievements.
He created the system that governs the world.
He made angels and devils, and indirectly gave birth to fallen angels.
He sealed numerous evils that threatened humanity, created Sacred Gears to grant humans power, and kept countless pantheons in check.
He slew a peer-level Apocalyptic Beast, 666, and sealed its remaining body.
Though he burned himself out in the process and was ambushed by devils and fallen angels, he still fought the Four Great Satans and the entire force of the Seventy-Two Pillars on the battlefield of the three-way war. He even sealed the Two Heavenly Dragons when they showed up to interfere, and somehow found time to create two Longinus-class Sacred Gears to bolster humanity.
In the end, before dying from exhaustion, he dragged the Four Great Satans, Lilith, and most of the Seventy-Two Pillars down with him.
Honestly, those feats alone could fill an entire novel—one of those invincible protagonists who crush everything in their path.
For someone like that, leaving a backup plan for resurrection? Ryo absolutely believed it.
Still... hearing that the Creator God might be reviving left Ryo feeling complicated as well.
If the world he was observing turned out to be one where the Creator God was completely gone, then once his observation ended… the Little Garden would instantly erupt into chaos.
But if the god was only half-dead, things were easier to handle. After all, God dying and resurrecting was a famous legend in itself.
That meant that when the DxD world was observed, the Cross wouldn't make any outrageous moves.
At least it was far more reasonable than Indra becoming the Heavenly Emperor—and Sun Wukong's boss, at that.
So Ryo wondered whether he should put in a bit more effort… and nail the coffin lid shut for good.
…Yeah. That kind of thing would require a proper discussion with Algol. If no one else took the blame and he had to do it himself, even he felt a little nervous.
Meanwhile, Azazel's face had turned white as he listened to Ryo list the Sacred Gears.
"There's… the Creator God's will inside the spear?"
"If the Grail and the spear reunite with the system, the Creator God could revive? Damn it, why didn't I know about this?!"
Then he suddenly thought of something and exploded into curses.
"Shit! No wonder Indra snatched the True Longinus Spear. That old bastard knew all along?!"
When the wielder of the spear appeared in the east, Azazel hadn't told anyone. He'd secretly contacted the new holder once.
He did that sort of thing all the time.
He'd met Vali Lucifer, the wielder of the White Dragon Emperor's Light Wings, when the boy was still young.
He'd also investigated Issei Hyoudou, the current host of the Red Dragon Emperor's Boosted Gear.
And many others. Azazel had contacted countless Sacred Gear users, usually trying to recruit them whenever he couldn't identify their gear for sure.
The fallen angels even ran a school filled with Sacred Gear users and dedicated to teaching them how to control their powers. It served as an auxiliary force for the fallen angels.
As for the current wielder of the Spear of Longinus—Cao Cao—Azazel had actually met him too. He just hadn't realized it was that spear at the time. Later, Indra poached him, and only after Cao Cao awakened the Sacred Gear did Azazel realize what he'd lost.
Back then, he'd only felt regret.
Now, after hearing Ryo's explanation, his insides were turning green with it.
That spear could revive the Creator God!
If he'd known earlier, he would've risked falling out with Indra to snatch it away and bury it under tens of thousands of seals, never letting it appear again.
And now?
He was practically sick with regret.
How the hell was I this stupid?!
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