— — — — — —
"Indra has the Spear?"
Hearing this for the first time, Sirzechs and Ajuka immediately exchanged glances. Both saw the same flash of delight in the other's eyes.
Well, damn.
Indra really came through on this one.
Sure, he'd always had his eyes on the three factions, but in this case the benefits clearly outweighed the risks.
At the very least, the angels had basically no chance of reclaiming the spear.
And if they couldn't get it back, the revival of the Creator God would remain nothing more than talk.
Compared to that, Indra's ambitions felt minor.
Sirzechs could still fight Indra if it came to it. But if the Creator God returned…
Well, there was no fighting that. None at all. The gap was just too wide.
On the other hand, Ryo reacted calmly to the news that Indra had obtained the spear. He already knew.
He even had the leisure to comment. "Indra probably guessed something, but didn't dare to try. Still, he likely developed a way to influence the Heaven system through it."
Ryo paused, then added, "I guess he even managed to interfere with the reincarnation of the Longinus Boosted Gear, steering it into a family of his choosing."
If Ryo remembered correctly, that family was Issei's.
Issei's parents had conceived multiple times, but every pregnancy ended in miscarriage due to the Boosted Gear. Only after his grandfather sought Indra's blessing was the boy safely born.
Once you thought about it, the implications were unsettling.
Why would a Longinus that normally reincarnated randomly among newborns fixate on one family?
"Wh...what?"
When they heard that Indra had interfered with a Longinus reincarnation, the three high-ranking figures were stunned.
Especially Azazel, who prided himself as a Sacred Gear expert.
He was completely dumbfounded.
You could do that? That should be illegal, right?
"Indra can influence Sacred Gear reincarnation?" Azazel felt like he'd just discovered someone else had slept with his wife, and the kid was already born before he noticed.
He'd always believed his research into Sacred Gears ran deep. He'd created artificial Sacred Gears and even built devices to detect whether someone possessed one.
But influencing the system itself and interfering with Longinus reincarnation? That was outrageous. Give him a few hundred years and he still wouldn't manage it.
Didn't that mean, if Indra wanted to, he could make every Longinus reincarnate into chosen hosts, then gather them to expand his power?
And if you took it further… what if Indra modified the restriction that only humans could use Sacred Gears, letting himself wield them?
The world's fifth-strongest figure plus a Longinus. Strength on top of strength. Who knew how terrifying Indra could become?
And the stronger Indra became, the more dangerous things grew for the three factions. That much was obvious.
Yet Indra had started from scratch, never having access to the system.
Azazel, on the other hand, had once been the Creator God's blade during his time in Heaven. The system had practically been open territory. Their lord had never guarded against them.
Thinking of that, Azazel remembered his former colleagues, the Angels in Heaven, and couldn't help but curse aloud.
"What the hell are the angels doing? Couldn't they keep an eye on the system? Do they even have brains?"
Ryo looked at the three of them with a strange expression and said dryly, "If angels had brains, there wouldn't be devils or fallen angels. Honestly, if I were leading them, your ashes would've already been scattered."
Azazel: "…"
Sirzechs: "…"
Ajuka: "…"
Seeing their twisted expressions, Ryo waved dismissively. "Anyway, relax. Worrying about this won't help. If the sky falls, I'll hold it up. This isn't something you need to lose sleep over."
"Fair enough."
Azazel thought it over, slapped his forehead, and drifted back to his original spot, practically floating as he walked.
So what if the Creator God might revive? So what if Indra could indirectly manipulate the system?
He wasn't the Governor of the Fallen Angels anymore. Why should he care?
If the sky collapsed, Ryo would be the one holding it.
At that moment, Azazel suddenly felt relieved.
Thank goodness he'd been quick-witted and sold off the Fallen Angels early. Otherwise, he'd be the one with a splitting headache right now.
With that thought, Azazel glanced at Sirzechs and Ajuka.
Both Satans looked grim, their faces dark, like they were one step away from cursing out loud themselves.
Then silence lingered.
Sirzechs and Ajuka exchanged another look, nodded, and then Sirzechs straightened his back and spoke to Ryo with a serious expression.
"The devils wish to sign a ceasefire agreement with the fallen angels, and invite the angels to witness it."
No matter what they'd just learned, their purpose for coming hadn't changed.
.
.
.