To be fair, even though the Two Heavenly Dragons were targets to be hunted down, the fact that they managed to force the three factions to join hands just to suppress them was something worth bragging about for a lifetime.
Back then, the three factions were still in the middle of a war. The hatred between them was far deeper than it was now. And yet, because of the Two Heavenly Dragons' sudden rampage, they were forced to halt the war and cooperate in a joint subjugation. That alone showed just how desperate things had become.
And honestly, it made sense.
At their peak, the Two Heavenly Dragons were true god-tier beings, existences capable of standing toe-to-toe with chief gods and supreme deities from other mythologies. Throwing them into a battlefield between the three factions was no different from a dimensionality crush.
The three factions back then were nothing like they are today.
Now, the devil side has Sirzechs and Ajuka, two Super Devils whose power rivals god-tier beings. The fallen angel side has the Grigori, which has trained numerous Sacred Gear users, including the White Dragon Emperor. Even the angel side has the Church's elite warriors backing them up. Despite facing a crisis of racial survival, their overall combat power is anything but lacking.
But in the mythological era, things were very different.
Aside from the angel side, which still had the aloof God of the Bible, the strongest force among the devils was the Four Great Maou. On the fallen angel side, it was a group of executives led by Azazel. Most of these were only Maou-Class, and whether any Super Maou-Class beings even existed was still uncertain.
To make matters worse, the God of the Bible had already exhausted himself sealing Trihexa and could no longer maintain his peak strength. As a result, even the only true God could not step in to suppress the Two Heavenly Dragons.
With no one able to stop them, the Two Heavenly Dragons unleashed a full-on dimensionality crush across the battlefield. They ignored the threats from all three factions and fought as they pleased. And when they got carried away, they even hurled out the line that would be passed down to this day:
"So what if you're gods and Maou? You're not allowed to interfere in a dragon's duel!"
That, of course, provoked universal outrage, and led to the three factions joining hands to bring them down.
That was the one and only time, from ancient history to the present, that the three factions truly cooperated.
Which was why Leo said what he did to Hyoudou Issei, the current Red Dragon Emperor.
"Uh… who are you, exactly?"
Issei wasn't sure whether he knew that history or not, but when Leo suddenly spoke to him, he blurted it out in confusion.
After all, Kokabiel had knocked him unconscious. Issei hadn't seen the fight between Leo and Kokabiel at all. As far as he knew, he'd taken a nap, and the terrifying enemy who had driven them into a corner had somehow been dealt with.
Now that this guy was talking to him, Issei only had one thought.
This guy is the same type as Yuuto Kiba… an annoying pretty boy.
And then,
Why is he surrounded by girls I've never seen before?!
Those girls were way too pretty. Way too cute. They didn't lose to President Rias, Akeno-senpai, or even Koneko at all!
Damn it! All pretty boys with absurd luck with women should just drop dead already!
While Issei was grumbling to himself internally, Rias spoke up.
"Come to think of it, you haven't met Leo yet, Issei."
As if to change the mood, Rias called him over.
"This is Leo Eligos, the heir of the once-extinct Eligos family. Like Sona and me, he's a High-Class Devil. And he's an active 'King' who's about to officially debut."
At her introduction, Issei's eyes went wide.
"H-He's a High-Class Devil like President and the Student Council President? An active 'King'?" Issei pointed at the group of girls beside Leo, shouting in disbelief. "Then does that mean all these beautiful girls are...?!"
Seeing how over-the-top his reaction was, Leo couldn't help but laugh.
Of course he knew exactly what Issei was shocked about.
So he answered cheerfully, without a hint of restraint.
"That's right. They're all my servants, members of my harem."
That bold declaration left the girls speechless.
Yukinoshita Yukino shot Leo a sideways glance. Kasumigaoka Utaha rolled her eyes. Yuuki Asuna gave a dry, awkward smile, while Shiina Mahiru's cheeks turned faintly red.
Each of them felt a little strange and uncomfortable, but perhaps they'd already prepared themselves mentally for this sort of thing. Or maybe the repeated mixed baths during their special training had already made them accept certain realities. In the end, all four remained silent and didn't argue back.
As for Ravel, Ram, and Rem, they were even calmer.
One was a noble born from a pureblood devil family, and the other two were Oni who had lived in the Underworld for years. Their sense of ethics was fundamentally different from that of humans.
To them, a High-Class Devil like Leo having a harem was completely normal. And since they were already his servants, his possessions, being acknowledged as members of his harem was something to be proud of.
After all, in the Underworld, most High-Class Devils treated their servants as slaves. Female servants were nothing more than tools to vent desire and satisfy physical needs, with no right to any formal status as harem members.
Compared to that, the fact that Leo acknowledged them at all already made him far better than most.
Under those circumstances, the three of them found Leo's words entirely natural and had no reason to object.
Which was exactly why.
Issei completely snapped.
"No way! You're kidding, right?!"
He looked at Leo with a complicated expression, admiration and excitement mixed with envy and jealousy… and even outright hatred.
The admiration came from seeing a role model for life.
The envy and jealousy came from watching someone else live out his dream.
For Issei, who wanted to become a High-Class Devil and openly have a harem, Leo was the very image of success, the embodiment of everything he envied, resented, and longed for.
His mental defenses shattered instantly.
"I don't believe it! I refuse to believe this is real! He's just a slightly sunnier-looking, infuriating pretty boy! Why does he get to achieve my ultimate life goal the moment he shows up?! This world is way too unfair!"
Bloody tears of accusation streamed from Issei's eyes as he rejected reality.
"Don't be rude, Issei."
Rias grabbed his ear and scolded him sharply.
"It seems I need to teach you not just about shamelessness, but also about manners and hierarchy."
Sona Sitri seized his other ear, her voice cold.
"Th-That hurts, hurts, hurts…! President, please spare me! Student Council President, mercy!"
Issei screamed as he struggled.
"No matter what, he's a noble by blood and a High-Class Devil on the same level as President and the Student Council President," Akeno Himejima added gently. "Being this rude will only bring trouble."
"And Leo-sama is a close friend of Rias-sama and the President," Shinra Tsubaki chimed in. "How could you be so disrespectful?"
One after another, everyone joined in to lecture him, until Issei was forced to beg for mercy repeatedly, swearing he'd never do it again.
"Saji, come over and say hello too."
At that moment, Sona called someone else over.
It was a male student in Kuoh Academy's uniform, someone who hadn't appeared earlier.
"This is Saji Genshirou, the new servant I mentioned before."
Sona introduced him to Leo.
"I'm Saji Genshirou, President Sona Sitri's Pawn piece. Pleased to meet you!"
He stood straight like a junior who'd just been called on, then bent deeply at the waist in a formal bow. Clearly shaken by Issei's example, he didn't dare show the slightest disrespect.
Leo, of course, recognized him.
Saji Genshirou, a second-year at Kuoh Academy, the student council's secretary, and one of Sona's servants. In the original story, he always saw Issei as his rival. Compared to Issei, he was weaker and often unreliable, but he was diligent and hardworking.
Sona had used four Pawn pieces to reincarnate him, which said a lot about his potential. By Leo's standards, he'd rank as having solid, mid-tier potential.
He was also a Sacred Gear user. His Sacred Gear was called Absorption Line, a Sacred Gear that could connect to any object and draw out its power.
It was the same type of Sacred Gear as Issei's Boosted Gear, both being Sacred Gears that sealed legendary dragons within them.
The difference was that Issei's Boosted Gear housed the Red Dragon Emperor, one of the Two Heavenly Dragons, while Saji's Absorption Line sealed part of one of the Five Great Dragon Kings, the Prison Dragon, Vritra.
Among the Five Great Dragon Kings, Vritra's raw power was relatively weak, but in terms of special traits, it ranked first. Its cursed black flames were notoriously troublesome. Once they latched on, they were far more irritating than facing other Dragon Kings.
Unlike Tiamat, who now lived in seclusion in the Familiar Forest and served as one of the underground referees and true administrators of the Rating Game, Vritra had been slain long ago. Its soul was sealed into Sacred Gears and split apart into multiple fragments. As a result, there were many holders of Vritra's power, and Saji was just one of them.
Even so, possessing a fragment of a Dragon King's power made Saji a rare talent. The fact that Sona used four Pawn pieces on him might not mean he was extraordinary, but it certainly meant his potential wasn't low.
If he ever gathered all of Vritra's Sacred Gears, became its sole host, and awakened its soul, his potential wouldn't be inferior to rare Sacred Gear users like Yuuki Asuna, Kasumigaoka Utaha, or Yuuto Kiba.
For the Sitri peerage, which valued versatility over raw power, Saji's addition was a strong and meaningful boost.
"Relax. No need to be so stiff." Leo smiled at him. "I'm very close with your master, so you don't need to treat me like some noble. Just think of me as a senpai."
"Uh…" Saji immediately looked to Sona for confirmation.
"Do as Leo says," Sona replied calmly. "He's not an outsider. To a certain extent, there's no need to be overly formal."
That single remark made several people exchange glances.
Rias narrowed her eyes. Meanwhile, Issei rubbed his reddened ears and sidled up to Yuuto Kiba, whispering,
"Th-That damn pretty boy… I mean, that senpai, his relationship with the President is really that close?"
Yuuto nodded without hesitation.
"The President and Leo-senpai are indeed very close. They've known each other for a long time. I've heard they often have tea together and chat privately, practically in daily contact." He lowered his voice further. "President Rias once told us that the Sitri family thinks very highly of Leo-senpai and intends to arrange an engagement between them. If nothing unexpected happens, he'll likely become the President's fiancé and partner in the future."
"What?!"
Issei's eyes flew open, and he was just about to shout when Yuuto clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Don't make a scene," Yuuto said helplessly. "You'll just get scolded again."
"Mmmph…!"
Issei nodded frantically, signaling Yuuto to let go. Inside, he couldn't help muttering,
"Now I don't even know whether I should be more jealous… or more impressed."
Sona Sitri was a rare beauty in her own right. At Kuoh Academy, her popularity was second only to Rias and Akeno. If not for her cold, strict personality and her somewhat lacking figure, she might have even surpassed Akeno.
Many students at Kuoh admired Sona. If this news ever got out, Leo would become the target of universal envy and jealousy.
Issei felt the same.
He was insanely jealous of someone who could openly and naturally have a harem, and even be engaged to an icy beauty like the student council president.
But after being strictly disciplined by Sona for so long, Issei no longer felt romantic attraction toward her, only fear and respect. So toward the man who could conquer the student council president, all he could do was sigh in admiration.
Damn it… when will I, a man of passion, ever reach such heights?
I want a beautiful fiancée too. I want a whole harem of cute girls!
If that ever happened, I wouldn't need to hold back anymore. I could do this… and then that…
As he drifted deeper into fantasy, Issei's expression turned downright lewd.
Then another thought struck him.
Don't tell me he's already done this and that with those beautiful servants?
Looking at the group of girls following quietly behind Leo, each one so beautiful it was unreal, Issei's envy, jealousy, and hatred spiked several levels higher.
Damn you, blessed normie! Just explode already!
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You can read up to chapter 222 on patreon.com/NiaXD.