After he asked that question, the meeting was practically over, but Ajuka and Serafall did not leave immediately. The two decided to continue the meeting for nearly two more hours. During that time, the conversation eventually delved into much more delicate matters, mainly politics and the situation of the great families of the Underworld.
One of the most important points discussed was the fact that he had awakened "lineage traits" belonging to three ancient families. These families had been extremely powerful in the past, but today they were practically extinct. Because of this, his situation was extremely unusual. Not only did he possess the blood of these ancient families running through his veins, but he was also the only known person capable of manifesting the lineage traits belonging to each of them in his [Demonic Power]. In other words, he had become the only living person capable of using the inherited abilities of those noble houses...
This automatically placed him in a very delicate position within Underworld politics, because his very existence represented the continuation of bloodlines that the world believed had already been extinguished!
Within the structure of demonic nobility, each great family corresponds to a "pillar," which functions as an officially recognized noble house in the Underworld hierarchy. When a family loses all of its members, the pillar technically ceases to have an active representative.
As the only known descendant capable of using the traits of those lineages, he would essentially end up assuming two of those pillars: Gäap and Häagenti. In the case of the Häagenti family, this would happen because he was the legitimate heir of the last head of the house. In the case of the Gäap family, recognition would come from the fact that he had awakened the hereditary ability of that lineage. If this actually happened, he would officially become the lord of those two houses, inheriting not only the name and authority associated with them, but also all the political responsibilities that came with those titles...
However, the situation involving the Leviathan family was far more "complicated."
Unlike the other two, the Leviathan lineage was not completely extinct. Nevertheless, even that family was in a difficult position, both politically and socially, since its members belonged to the Old Satan Faction—a group that still caused tension within the Underworld.
The so-called Old Satan Faction was formed mainly by pure-blooded devils—that is, members of the ancient demonic nobility who strongly valued the purity of their lineage. These individuals were fanatical followers of the ideals defended by the original Satans: Beelzebub, Lucifer, Asmodeus, and Leviathan. During the period when those Satans ruled, the dominant view was that devils should dominate the world and exercise supremacy over other races and factions.
Even after the fall of those Satans and the beginning of the Underworld Civil War, many of these nobles remained faithful to those ideas. They joined with the descendants of the ancient demonic houses and formed what became known as the Old Satan Faction. However, after the political and military defeat of that group during the war, the organization was eventually dissolved. Its surviving members were scattered throughout the Underworld—some living in hiding, others gradually trying to regain influence.
Among those remnants were also some members of the Leviathan family. To preserve the stability and legitimacy of the ancient demonic houses, it was highly likely that the council would try to place him as the official representative of the Leviathan lineage as well. After all, he had awakened the hereditary ability of that family and also carried its blood. Moreover, there was another important factor: he did not belong to the Old Satan Faction, which made him a politically safer choice in the eyes of the council.
He even found it strange that the council was willing to grant him so much power all at once. After all, by officially assuming the pillars of the Gäap and Häagenti families—and later the position tied to the Leviathan family after his marriage to Serafall—he would end up accumulating enormous influence within the political structure of the Underworld.
It all seemed too straightforward.
…Although, to be fair, that had always been his plan from the beginning. By revealing the "lineage traits," his intention was precisely to use them as currency to gain political influence.
Still, he hadn't imagined everything would happen so easily...?
It was then that Ajuka explained that he was underestimating the importance of hereditary abilities among devils.
In demonic society, lineage is not merely a matter of status or tradition. The blood of a noble family carries special abilities that can be passed down from generation to generation. These abilities, known as lineage traits, are inherited powers that naturally manifest in members of certain families and that, very often, cannot be replicated by any ordinary form of magic. Because of this, such abilities are extremely valued among devils. For the nobility of the Underworld, preserving and strengthening these bloodlines has always been a priority, since the birth of a descendant with a powerful trait can dramatically elevate a family's influence.
A clear example of this is the type of political marriage that frequently occurs between noble houses. Families do not think only of political or economic alliances, but also of the genetic possibilities that may arise from such unions. Certain bloodlines are deliberately combined in the hope of producing descendants with even more extraordinary powers.
A famous case was the marriage arrangement between the Gremory and Phenex families. The intention behind that union was not only to strengthen political ties between two powerful and extremely wealthy families, but also to attempt to produce a descendant who would simultaneously inherit two of the Underworld's most impressive abilities: the [Immortality] of the Phenex lineage and the [Power of Destruction] of the Gremory lineage.
If a child were born with both abilities, they could become an extremely formidable existence—someone capable of destroying almost anything with the Power of Destruction while simultaneously possessing the absolute regeneration characteristic of the Phenex immortality...
With that in mind, to the great noble families, he was someone of extraordinary value. If he had children, there was a real possibility that his descendants could inherit the traits of the Leviathan, Gäap, and Häagenti families. For that reason, many families would do anything to get close to him and win his favor. The council itself would inevitably try to turn him into little more than a "stud," arranging new political marriages with families interested in those bloodlines. After all, in their eyes, he was practically a lone boat in the middle of a stormy ocean—someone without a consolidated power base, without strong allies, and with few resources of his own. In other words, an easy target to manipulate.
Moreover, it would be far too naïve to believe that the council would grant him political power for free. They had their own interests in recognizing his legitimacy as lord of those houses.
Many of the territories that originally belonged to the three families had been taken over by other noble houses of the Underworld over time. By restoring his legitimacy, he would have the right to reclaim those lands. That would inevitably cut off a significant portion of the livelihood of several influential families.
Among them was even the Gremory family, to which Sirzechs belonged. Although he was one of the Satans and recognized as the strongest devil in the Underworld, he was still deeply hated by a considerable portion of the council...
There were other reasons why this matter was being discussed, which were extensively covered between him, Ajuka, and Serafall. In simple terms, he was in an extremely delicate position.
Even so, that didn't keep him up at night.
In the days that followed, life continued peacefully...
In the blink of an eye, a week passed...
During that time, only a few noteworthy things happened.
First, the mere fact that he had awakened had already spread throughout the entire Underworld. The news that the heir of the Häagenti family had finally awakened after years trapped in the so-called "Sleeping Disease" quickly drew attention!
But what really caused an impact was not just the awakening.
Soon rumors began to emerge that he had awakened several lineage traits at the same time: that of the Gäap family, that of the Leviathan family, and also the power inherited from the Häagenti family itself...
And then came the most shocking rumor of all.
Some people began to say that he also possessed a Longinus—and not just any one, but the second most powerful in the world!
When all this information began circulating together, the entire Underworld was stunned. Many didn't even know if the rumors were actually true, but true or not, his name was already being discussed by every noble family in the Underworld!!!
…Well, at least according to his maids.
But he had already expected that the Underworld's attention would eventually turn to him after everything that had happened. Because of that, he simply didn't attach much importance to the matter. To him, it was just an inevitable consequence of the situation...
During the week, Serafall visited him several times. However, contrary to what someone might expect considering the nature of the engagement between the two, none of those visits had any personal motivation.
She always came for official matters.
It was during one of those visits that she brought the announcement that had already been expected.
Alear had been officially recognized as Lord of the Gäap Family and the Häagenti Family.
The decision was made just three days after his awakening.
He had even imagined that he would have to attend some formal meeting, perhaps appear before the demonic council or go through some kind of traditional ceremony to assume those positions.
But none of that happened.
The decision was simply announced.
First to him… and soon afterward to the entire Underworld.
There were no complicated meetings or ceremonies—just an official declaration recognizing that the Häagenti heir was now the Lord of the noble houses Gäap and Häagenti.
In practice, nothing had changed immediately, beyond the fact that his status had gone from heir to Lord of two noble families.
The administration of the territories, servants, and properties continued functioning the same way as before, since everything was still being handled by Serafall... However, politically, the situation was quite different.
Most of Serafall's visits during those days were precisely to talk about this.
Various noble families had already begun contacting them, requesting meetings with him. This was especially common among those who possessed territories within the areas belonging to the Gäap and Häagenti families, or who had some kind of old agreement with those houses.
Naturally, all of them wanted to meet him as soon as possible.
For many of them, this was the ideal moment to try to influence him. After all, in the eyes of the demonic nobility, he was still a "novice lord"—someone who had only just assumed his positions and who, theoretically, could still be easily manipulated or persuaded before consolidating his own authority.
Fortunately, the one dealing with this avalanche of requests was Serafall.
And, at his request, she simply refused or postponed any meeting for at least one week, preventing those families from showing up immediately to pressure him or take advantage of the situation.
During that week, he basically focused on fully recovering from the years he had spent in a coma.
He spent the days eating properly, resting, and allowing his body to finally return to its normal state. At the same time, he used his free time to study. The mansion's library contained a large number of books on demonic politics, Underworld history, and territory administration, and he spent a good part of the time reading to better understand the position he now occupied.
Naturally, he also dedicated time to familiarizing himself with the hereditary abilities he had awakened, reaching a decent level of mastery over them...
But above all, the main focus of his training was his Longinus, [Zenith Tempest].
Unlike many other abilities, a Sacred Gear responds directly to the desire and willpower of its user. The stronger the determination of the person using it, the greater the power it can manifest.
And at that moment, determination was something he had in abundance.
Because of this, in just a few days of practice he had already reached a surprisingly high level of mastery over his Longinus.
...
The sound of the subtle movement of a body rising and falling on the grass repeated continuously in the mansion's garden.
One, two, three…
The movement was firm, constant, and without any hesitation.
Under the shade of a large tree in the courtyard, Alear continued his physical training. His body rose and fell steadily, maintaining the same rhythm from the beginning. Even after hundreds of repetitions, his movements were still precise, showing no signs of form breakdown. Nine hundred ninety-seven. Nine hundred ninety-eight. Nine hundred ninety-nine. One thousand...
With the final push-up completed, his arms finally gave out.
Alear let his body fall sideways onto the grass before slowly rolling onto his back on the ground, breathing deeply as he gazed at the sky above.
His body was completely covered in sweat.
He wore a short black shirt that was already clinging to his skin from the effort, and white sweatpants held by a black sash tied at the waist. The fabric was also damp, clearly showing how much he had exerted himself...
Still, despite the evident fatigue, his body looked far healthier than it had just a few days earlier.
Although he had initially used a magical method to accelerate his metabolism and consume large amounts of food, slightly strengthening his body, he had still remained somewhat debilitated.
However, after a week of proper nutrition, rest, and constant training, his condition had improved dramatically.
He was fully recovered!
His chest rose and fell slowly as he breathed.
Above him, the leaves of the tree swayed gently in the wind, letting small beams of sunlight pass through the gaps between the branches.
Alear remained there for a few moments, simply staring at the blue sky through the leaves.
"…Haa."
A long sigh escaped his lips.
"... It's been a week and I still haven't gotten anything decent! Is this ability really useful? My 'bad luck' makes it practically useless!"
He was, of course, referring to the ability [Fate Gacha].
Throughout that entire week, he had used the ability every day without fail.
And the result?
Garbage.
Absolute garbage.
On the first day, he had received Medb's panties.
On the second, a pipe belonging to Nobu-chan.
On the third day, a bra from Scáthach appeared.
After that came other equally useless items: random personal objects, mementos with no apparent power, and things that clearly had absolutely no combat utility.
Up to that point, the only logical conclusion he could draw was simple.
His bad luck was completely sabotaging that ability.
Anyway, he didn't necessarily need that ability to become stronger.
His current potential was already more than enough to reach the top of that world.
After all, in addition to possessing an extremely powerful Longinus and several lineage traits from ancient noble families, he also had another Sacred Gear.
And it wasn't just any one.
It was [Innovate Clear].
Another Longinus.
Just thinking about it already seemed ridiculous. Having one Longinus was already extremely rare. There were very few users in the entire world. But possessing two at the same time… that simply didn't make sense.
Yet that was exactly what had happened.
Although [Innovate Clear] was not an ability directly geared toward combat, its utility was undoubtedly extraordinary.
This Sacred Gear had the capacity to create an ideal world within a separate dimension. Within that space, it could generate perfect imitations of living beings, recreating people, creatures, and even entire environments with absurd fidelity.
Because of this capacity, it was known as the Sacred Gear that allows one to impersonate God.
However, there was an important limitation.
Everything created within the world of [Innovate Clear] could only exist in that world itself. The creations could not be brought outside the dimension.
Even so, that did not make the ability any less impressive.
In addition, [Innovate Clear] also possessed another extremely useful function: it could take control of other barrier spaces. In other words, theoretically, any type of artificial dimension, isolated field, or sealed world could be dominated by it.
That was an absurd ability!
Even so, he had plans to use it for training. Since it was an ideal world where he himself was God, he could create all the environments necessary to train and grow stronger quickly. If he could also manipulate the flow of time within that world, it would be even more incredible. That way, years could pass there while only a single day passed in the real world. However, up to that moment, he hadn't even entered the "ideal world" created by his Sacred Gear...
Alear remained lying there for a few more moments, watching the sky through the leaves swaying gently in the wind.
Then, he finally stood up.
His body rose slowly from the grass as he supported himself with his hands on the ground and stretched his back.
A faint cracking sound echoed as he stretched.
He raised his arms above his head, stretching his shoulders and back before slowly exhaling. Then he began rotating his right arm a few times, loosening the joint while testing mobility.
"…It's about time," he murmured quietly.
During that week, he had spent most of his time studying, training his supernatural abilities, and strengthening the body that had become weakened after years in a coma. But now that his physical condition had finally returned to normal, he could begin something he had been postponing for some time: training in the Chinese martial art of Bajiquan.
A faint gleam of anticipation appeared in his eyes.
He had learned it directly from Li Shuwen in his previous life and, honestly, he had completely mastered the style. In terms of technique, he had already reached the maximum level. But that did not mean his body was ready to execute it. Martial arts of that level do not depend solely on knowledge. They depend on muscle memory, physical conditioning, and the body's ability to withstand the explosive pressure generated by each movement.
Bajiquan was famous precisely for that.
It was an extremely violent and direct style, focused on short-range power explosions. Each strike concentrated the entire force of the body into a single point, turning the practitioner into something akin to a human projectile.
The problem?
That kind of movement placed enormous pressure on muscles, tendons, and joints.
If he tried to use the style at full power without properly preparing his body, he would probably injure himself before even hitting an enemy.
That was why he decided it was time to start from the basics again...
But that would have to wait. He knew Serafall would be visiting him soon, so he needed to take a bath and dress formally, since she was bringing someone for a meeting.
Someone from the Gremory family.
Most likely the patriarch or matriarch of the house, since the matter concerned a territory that originally belonged to their family and was currently under their control.
Apparently, they couldn't wait for him to take the initiative and decided to approach him directly. To secure this meeting, it seemed they had even used a favor that Serafall owed to Sirzechs...
That meeting would be his first experience dealing directly with Underworld politics.
Honestly, he wasn't particularly anxious about it… but he knew exactly what he needed to do.
Letting out a sigh, he walked toward the bathroom to take a good shower...
___________________
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