The next morning.
Rhode was woken up by someone shaking him. Opening his eyes, he saw Lavinia sitting on the edge of the bed looking rather nervous, her hands repeatedly pushing at him.
Lavinia had never made such a face before. Rhode knew instantly that something must have happened.
"What is it?"
He instinctively sensed the area; Asia, the Fallen Angel trio, and Kuroka were all in the house, and their auras were stable.
"T-this... here..."
Lavinia was more anxious and unsettled than usual. Seeing Rhode wake up, she pointed toward "Little Rhode."
Rhode saw that "Little Rhode" looked as if he had just survived a brutal war. He was covered from top to bottom in bright red blood—some of it had already dried and clumped, making the scene look incredibly tragic.
Rhode was instantly wide awake.
Little Rhode! Hang in there!
Without a second thought, he pulled a bottle of hand sanitizer from his storage space and splashed it on. It felt icy and refreshing.
[Bio-brand Hand Sanitizer] Description: Instantly heals all physical injuries upon use.
Aside from that, there was no other sensation.
The newly awakened Rhode's mind wasn't quite sharp yet. Now that he thought about it, how could his own body have a problem? With his current physical stats and reflexes, his body would react automatically to any approaching malice. A "yandere girlfriend with a wood axe" scenario was impossible.
If it wasn't his blood, it could only be Lavinia's.
And at that moment, the girl was sitting on the bed, looking helpless. Rhode suddenly realized the cause. He hadn't expected that girls in a supernatural world would also have to deal with periods. In all his years, this was the first time he had encountered it.
"Go wash up. But shouldn't you remember this sort of thing yourself?"
Rhode couldn't imagine how Lavinia had managed the previous years if she didn't track this. For example, having it happen suddenly during a battle would be a nightmare.
"Oh, I know... but I forgot."
In everyday matters, Lavinia was as airheaded as ever. Fortunately, after Rhode's reminder, she realized now wasn't the time to be spacing out. She quickly got up and went into the private bathroom in Rhode's room.
Rhode shook his head helplessly. After cleaning himself up, he went downstairs and told Raynare to prepare some brown sugar water.
"Eh? Miss Lavinia... did something happen?" Asia, who had finished her prayers, asked curiously.
"A bit of blood, but it's nothing serious," Rhode said casually.
"Miss Lavinia is bleeding? Is she hurt? I'll go see her! my Sacred Gear can help!" Asia stood up, her slight lingering resentment toward Lavinia vanishing instantly, replaced by pure worry.
"No, she's already handled it," Rhode quickly stopped Asia. Though he wondered if Twilight Heal worked on period cramps.
"Oh, alright then." Asia sat back down, still looking toward the stairs with concern.
After a while, Lavinia came downstairs, dressed neatly.
"Miss Lavinia, Mr. Rhode said you were hurt. Where is it? Does it hurt? I hope I can help." Asia fussed over her.
"Thank you, but I'm fine now." As she spoke, Lavinia gave Rhode a rather resentful look. This man really didn't have a filter.
Just then, Kuroka yawned and said, "Oh right, I forgot to tell you, Master Shirone's devil master decided to pay a visit tonight nya"
"Rias?"
Rhode could guess the reason. There were only two possibilities: either she was coming to demand an apology, or she had a change of heart and decided to make a change.
Generally, most people who received such sharp criticism from Rhode—like Akeno and Koneko—would admit their mistakes and decide to reform. But Rias belonged to that small group of people with an incredibly strong sense of self. Without the influence of a "heroine's aura," she could even come off as having an overinflated ego. She wanted to be first in everything; while she succeeded in many things, she was a mess in the most important ones, yet her self-esteem remained perfectly intact.
Rhode didn't dwell on it. He would find out tonight anyway.
"Brown sugar water is here~" Raynare walked over with a steaming cup, smiling. "Miss Lavinia, drink up. Master personally ordered me to make it."
"He made it specifically for me?" Realizing this, Lavinia felt a bit happy.
Considering Lavinia's condition, Rhode decided to pause the specific training for her Longinus. Besides, even without training, the progress bar had risen to 85% over the last few days. The day of reaching Balance Breaker was close at hand. Rhode didn't worry about what his Balance Breaker form would look like; as Lavinia had said, he just let nature take its course.
Night fell.
Even after Rhode and his group finished dinner, no one came to knock on the door.
"Are you sure it's tonight?" Rhode looked suspiciously at Kuroka.
Kuroka was also glancing at the entrance from time to time. Hearing Rhode's question, she said uncertainly, "Shirone definitely said they would visit tonight nya. Did I hear it wrong nya? But that's impossible nya, a cat's ears are very sharp nya..."
Despite her words, since it was so late and no one had knocked, Kuroka began to doubt if she had misheard the date.
"So, maybe it's the day after tomorrow nya?" Kuroka suggested dubiously.
"It should be right. I heard it from Baraqiel's daughter too; they were supposed to visit at dinner time," Raynare added. She had even made extra dishes for the occasion.
Yet they were all full, and there wasn't a soul at the door.
Strange. Very strange.
Normally, even if they were delayed, they would have sent a notification. But there was nothing. Not even a familiar had been sent.
As Raynare was thinking this, Kuroka's voice suddenly rang out with conviction: "I know nya! It must be because Master's mouth is too hurtful nya! So she's stood you up on purpose to get back at you nya!"
Rhode was speechless. Anyone else might do that, but not Rias. Though she hadn't put her effort in the right place so far, she was the most fervent about maintaining her family's honor.
As the group was deep in analysis, Kuroka suddenly pricked up her ears and looked out the window.
"I think I feel a very strong presence entering nya? And my sister nya... sister is there too nya?!"
"The scent is very similar to Raynare and the others nya... so is it a Fallen Angel nya?!"
The Fallen Angel trio's faces instantly turned pale. A Fallen Angel with a powerful presence—who else could it be but a cadre?
Could they have discovered we left Grigori and come to drag us back for punishment nya?
At that thought, the three of them began to tremble.
Rhode, realizing something, opened the system map. He found a highlighted red dot moving on the edge of Kuoh Town. At the same time, several green dots representing friendly units were hovering nearby.
Rhode frowned, sensing that things weren't simple. Kokabiel's entrance seemed a bit different from what he had imagined.
In the original story, Kokabiel had made a grand entrance on a throne in the sky, generously planning to play a "game" with the protagonist's group. Before that, he had even gone to meet Rias and spoken a few words. Now, he hadn't even said hello, and from the markers, the two sides had already started fighting.
Simultaneously, the system's voice rang out.
[Current Mission Boss has spawned] [Target: Defeat the Fallen Angel Cadre, Kokabiel.] [Reward: Based on the damage the host deals to the Boss. The higher the damage, the richer the rewards!]
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High School DxD : Reincarnated into the Multiverse, but it's High School DxD (156 Chapters – Ongoing)
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