DxD: DO System Chapter 42

Chapter 42: The Underworld 

As Issei felt the Gremory circle form beneath him, he was once again jealous of the skill. He really wanted the ability for himself.

‘You’ll learn it one day,’ Ddraig chimed in, though the whole one day thing didn’t exactly thrill Issei.

“This will be your first real trip to the Underworld. If anything feels off or makes you uncomfortable,” Rias said mid-teleportation. “Just let me know.”

Asia gave a soft smile and a nod, certainly not planning on letting the redhead know even if she did face any problems.

As for Issei, he was more interested in learning about the Underworld.

From his memories, he knew the Underworld was not as fleshed out as he would have liked. So, he was genuinely excited to explore it for himself. And as the teleportation finally made him feel the sensation of falling—as if in a free-falling elevator—Instead of being anxious, though, he felt excited.

The Familiar Forest had been only a tiny part of the Gremory Estate, let alone the Underworld, so he hadn’t learned much about it back then.

Minus the artificial sky and the daylight cycle.

Apparently, these were created by the Satans, and thinking about it, Issei felt it made sense.

After all, how could there be a sun in the Underworld?

Barely a few seconds later, the teleportation process ended, and they arrived at their destination.

Immediately, Issei was met with the scent of lavender and roses—a soft, sweet aroma. Looking around, he saw that they were surrounded by shrubs forming a wall-like pathway. Beyond these shrub-walls were massive fields filled with nothing but flowers—mostly roses and lavenders—arranged in patterns that could make anyone pause their daily activities and simply admire.

“This is… unlike what I imagined,” Issei said, amazed by the beauty of the place.

“Volcanoes, barren lands, and random monsters spawning everywhere?” Rias asked with a knowing smile. “Is that what you thought?”

That wasn’t entirely what he thought. He already knew about her estate, and the Familiar Forest had hinted at the abundance of artificial plant life in the Underworld.

“More like…” He looked around, taking in the scenery. “I didn’t expect the place to be this beautiful.”

The sky was purple, even tinged with red, but it wasn’t creepy or unpleasant. If anything, it gave the place a mystical glow, as though it were straight out of an abstract painting.

He could tell the plants had been artificially placed—not because they were fake, but because of how perfect they looked and how meticulously they were arranged.

“Since you and Asia haven’t seen my estate before, I took the liberty of teleporting us a little away from the main house,” Rias said, her hands crossed behind her back. “I hope you don’t mind.”

Issei didn’t, and neither did Asia, though she was still a little uneasy—mostly because she had recently become a devil and was now surrounded by them, after being raised to hate devils.

As they walked—and they walked for quite a while—Issei noticed the scenery remained largely the same, with occasional ponds, pergolas, and gazebos scattered at perfectly chosen locations.

After several minutes, they came across a massive, devilishly beautiful fountain that made Issei pause to ask a question.

“Just how big is your estate, Rias?”

The question made the girl think for a second before answering. “Roughly the size of Kyushu.”

This forced Issei to stop in his tracks. “You’re telling me… your estate is roughly the same size as ten percent of Japan?”

“This estate is,” Rias nodded. “Then we have additional land scattered around, which is bigger than this, but it’s pretty much uninhabitable, so we don’t consider it part of our direct estate.”

Issei was baffled. “And how big is that?”

“A little bigger than Hokkaido.”

“The entirety of Hokkaido?” Issei was at a loss for words. Seeing her nod, he had to take a deep breath.

“It’s not that big of a landmass. Almost every high-ranking devil family, especially Duke-ranked families, gets similar—if not bigger—plots of land.” She shrugged casually, which made Issei realize just how much of an easy-mode life she was living.

‘Bael blood, Power of Destruction, Gremory blood, devilish luck,’ Ddraig scoffed. ‘And still so pathetically weak.’

‘Wait, devilish luck? What is that?’ Issei was taken aback by the sudden revelation.

‘What do you think allowed her to find so many rare beings for her peerage?’ Ddraig sighed. ‘And even you just happened to live in the place where she decided to spend her high school life. What do you think that is?’

Issei was genuinely surprised by his words.

‘Insane amounts of luck and an astronomically high level of control over their demonic powers. That’s the power of Gremory.’

Issei was forced to think about it, and it did make a lot of sense—not just the luck, but the control too.

He knew how little Rias practiced her powers, yet they never went out of control. Being the daughter of one of the highest-potential holders of the Bael family was one thing, but being able to control the Power of Destruction effortlessly was another.

Many skilled Bael family members struggled with the Power of Destruction, from what he had learned, and yet Rias simply spammed it.

Perfect control was no joke.

Feeling a little jealous of her bloodline—despite having multiple cheat-level abilities himself—he finally saw Rias’ house.

In name, it was a mansion, but it was nothing like a typical one. He had never seen a human mansion so grand and immense.

“It might not be as impressive as some other devil houses, but it’s cozy enough,” Rias said, and Issei genuinely wondered if she believed her own words.

“There are houses bigger than this?” Asia asked, equally amazed.

‘Even someone who had been in and out of the Vatican Church finds it massive,’ Issei thought, amused. ‘And she says it’s not big enough.’

“Anyhow,” Rias finally paused and looked at Issei and Asia. “Welcome to the Gremory Household.”

As if on cue, Issei saw a line of maids and butlers forming a pathway toward the mansion’s door, with the butlers standing to the left and the maids to the right.

Two of them—one butler and one maid—walked forward and slowly opened the door, revealing a beautiful red-and-gold-themed interior. From within emerged a familiar face.

“Welcome, Lady Rias,” Grayfia said as she stepped out, dressed in her usual maid outfit. “Lord and Lady Gremory are waiting for you and your peerage.”

‘Why is she always in a maid uniform?’ the dragon asked. ‘Some sort of weird hobby?’

‘I wonder the same,’ Issei replied.

…

…

[Same Time — Lucifer Town, Lilith]

Sitting against a pile of files, documents, and paperwork that could last a lifetime was a man with red hair, bluish-green eyes, and a face that even the female population would envy—flawless.

Usually, almost every day, he would be buried in paperwork, barely having time to lift his head. But today, he wasn’t as hardworking. Instead, he sat with his legs crossed over the desk, staring at the ceiling.

“Are you not going home?” asked a girl who appeared younger than him but was probably older than most families’ entire bloodlines. She wore a green shirt, a black skirt, and a bow that hung down. Her hair was styled in twin tails, and she looked curiously at the man. “Your sister is home, and you aren’t there. Isn’t that weird?”

“I’ll be going in a bit,” he answered. “I’m just taking some time to think this through.”

“Her marriage?” the woman asked. “You know you can’t do much about it, Zechs.”

“I have to do something,” Sirzechs Lucifer stated. “I know Rias. I know that what most are thinking will never happen. Just because time passes, she won’t start looking at Riser affectionately or grow to like him. She can hold her grudges and hate forever.”

“She can’t win, can she?” the woman asked. “Isn’t her peerage incomplete?”

“It is,” Sirzechs replied. “One of her bishops still refuses to work. She got another, but the new bishop is untrained. As for the new pawn… the Red Dragon Emperor can certainly win against Riser, but not now. He’s only recently awakened his powers, and while Grayfia stated that he’s one of the more gifted ones, it doesn’t make up for years of training difference.”

“What are you planning to do?” she asked, and he gave her only a glance.

“Something that won’t be too pretty but will be necessary, Serafall,” Lucifer said tiredly. “And I hope that Rias’ peerage pulls off some miracle and wins.”

Serafall knew well enough that whatever Sirzechs was planning would put him in a difficult position, and as his friend, she didn’t want that.

But could she do anything about it? Probably not.

Would she have done the same if Sona were in the same situation?

Most certainly.