I wouldn't be surprised if Rias and the others were here.
I wouldn't even be surprised if Momo, Nana, and that overly imaginative, wife-like Sephi were here.
But Lala-you?
You shut yourself in the lab for ages without coming out. Why did you suddenly decide to visit? Did you finally figure out how to control the system?
That guess flashed through Hiro's mind.
But looking at the gloomy expressions on the three Deviluke sisters and Queen Sephi, he immediately knew that wasn't the case.
If it were, they would be celebrating happily.
Lala would have already jumped on him to claim credit.
They wouldn't look like someone in the family had just passed away.
Bang!
The castle gate shut behind him and Grayfia, announcing their arrival to everyone present.
"Hiro-chan, you're back."
Nanamiya Yasuko waved at him, urging him over.
When she noticed the silver-haired young woman beside her son, she didn't say anything-but the helplessness in her eyes was obvious.
In the end, he still brought another one back.
At this rate, before his three years of high school are even over, this enormous castle might not be big enough.
And this time... he's gone for a more mature type, huh?
On the extravagantly spacious sofa, Rias and the others sitting beside Nanamiya Yasuko made room for Hiro and Grayfia.
When did Lord Lucifer and Hiro get together?
They looked like complete strangers at that meeting two days ago, and now they're already together in secret?
Rias glanced at the silver-haired beauty beside her, confusion surfacing in her heart.
She turned to Akeno on her right, only to see the ponytailed Yamato Nadeshiko shake her head slightly.
No answers there either.
"Mom, this is-"
After sitting down, Hiro first introduced Grayfia to Nanamiya Yasuko, Lala, and the others who didn't know her.
Then he turned to what he actually cared about.
"Lala, judging by your expressions... did something happen over there?"
Looking at Lala's delicate face, clearly dejected, he spoke softly, keeping his tone as calm as possible.
If only one or two of the sisters looked like this, it might have been something minor-a school issue, or an unexpected incident.
But with Queen Sephi wearing the same expression, it clearly wasn't something that simple.
Hiro could tell that much.
Once he reached that conclusion, guessing an "unexpected situation on Planet Deviluke's battlefield" wasn't difficult.
Rias, Akeno, and Sona nearby seemed to sense the gravity of the situation and didn't interrupt, quietly listening.
"Mm..."
Lala nodded slightly as she looked at him.
"In the battle on Planet Deviluke, the Galaxy... failed. Dad-Gid Lucione Deviluke-disappeared within the Devourer swarm. We estimate-"
"However,"
Sephi Mikaela Deviluke, who had removed her veil, interrupted Lala.
She clung stubbornly to the last shred of hope.
"When the survivors withdrew from the battlefield, Gid's life signs were still detectable. We can't fully confirm his death yet."
Even Nana, who was usually lively and energetic, had lost her usual vitality and sat silently beside Lala.
At the far left of the sofa, next to Nana, the pink-haired Momo narrowed her eyes slightly, staring in Hiro's direction, lost in thought.
"Mm. Based on that information, Mr. Gid's life and death indeed can't be confirmed yet."
Hiro offered words of comfort that didn't entirely match his inner thoughts.
Gid had already reverted to a childlike state after exhausting his power and repeatedly overusing it in a transcendent way.
Even if he was still alive, it would take him decades-at minimum-to recover enough strength in any reachable place.
By then, everything should already be resolved.
None of those thoughts leaked onto Hiro's face.
Although Grayfia possessed mind-reading abilities, they were ineffective against him in his current state.
And more importantly, it was impossible for Grayfia to read his mind at all.
-[Susanoo in the Dark].
"Besides Mr. Gid's situation," Hiro continued calmly, "the Devourers, now unopposed and free to rampage through the galaxy, are also a massive and unavoidable problem. If they invade the Solar System, based on current human technology, there's no way they could put up meaningful resistance."
They had fought a full-scale war against the combined might of the Galactic Empire.
They were absolutely not comparable to those so-called 'miners' who'd been stalled by Earth for decades without even fully occupying it.
As for the single Heavy-Class Radiation-Type he possessed-
He wasn't even sure it came from the Galaxy, so it proved nothing.
"Indeed."
The wife-like Queen nodded, worry clearly visible in her eyes beneath the sorrow.
"Our intelligence on this newly emerged group of Devourers is far too limited. The distance from Deviluke to the Solar System is over a hundred thousand light-years. With our technology, it takes a week to travel that distance, and two days for communication."
"But for them, it might take a year. Or a week. Or perhaps... just three days. Or even less."
Three days?
You're saying they could show up tomorrow?
Isn't that a bit exaggerated?
Or is this just unfounded speculation?
Hearing Sephi outline such dire possibilities, Hiro frowned slightly, his expression growing serious.
They couldn't be classified as innate gods or star spirits.
With the 'Light Wheel of the Conqueror' capable of destroying one-third of a 'World,' and the [White Horse] able to transport the sun itself, saving Earth wouldn't be difficult in theory.
But facing a race that could defeat the combined galactic forces led by Gid head-on-
That was another matter entirely.
Even sheer numbers alone might be enough to fill the entire Solar System.
The numerical disparity was too vast.
Trying to confront a likely cosmic-level combat race with an immature power that only reached star-system-scale destruction...
At that moment, a flash of inspiration crossed Hiro's mind.
He thought of a Rank-2, super-standard helper from the Little Garden world.
Gid is currently in an unknown state between life and death.
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