— — — — — —
"You showed up right on time."
Using Grayfia's body, Algol sat casually on the ground, completely unconcerned about the length of her skirt as she idly played with her hair.
"The tides of this transitional era are about to stir. I thought you'd arrive a little later… didn't expect you to show up the moment that cat got its hands on the gem."
Algol didn't know the exact mechanics of the Dimensional Forum, but she had a rough idea of how it worked.
She had only just handed the medium over to Kuroka when Ryo showed up almost instantly. It made one thing pretty clear: the Forum handled movement in a very peculiar way, as if concepts like time and distance simply didn't exist to it.
Still, as long as Ryo didn't explain it himself, she wasn't going to pry. Up to now, all Algol knew was that he possessed a high-ranking Gift, something at least on the level of a two-digit existence. As for what it actually was, what it could do, or how it manifested, she had no clue.
Digging into details like that was something you did to enemies. Ryo wasn't her enemy. If anything, they were partners in crime with aligned goals. There was no need to press further.
"I didn't expect to arrive at this time either," Ryo said with a small shake of his head. "Before coming here, I thought I'd show up around the same time as you."
Originally, he'd assumed he'd land in the era of the Devil Civil War, when Sirzechs and the Old Satan faction clashed over reforms.
Instead, he'd ended up in the modern era—Rias's time.
"The last historical transition period was pretty small. I got involved a bit, didn't see much benefit, so I dropped it."
Algol shook her head, holding up a mirror as she adjusted Grayfia's hairstyle—according to her own tastes, of course.
"Small, huh?" Ryo nodded, understanding.
Historical transition periods varied in scale.
The fall of an empire counted. A shift that affected all of humanity's fate also counted. And naturally, these events were ranked. The impact you made determined the scale of the spiritual gain you received.
Back in the Demon Slayer world, Ryo had stirred up such massive consequences because he altered one of the biggest historical turning points in modern times: the World Wars.
Those wars didn't just leave scars, they set the course of the entire world. By tipping the balance on the Asian front, Ryo had indirectly meddled with World War II itself, rewriting its outcome from the ground up. Japan rose to become the dominant power, with Asia turning into the center of global activity.
That kind of shift wasn't something you could ignore. It was enough to alarm some two-digit existences.
After all, the post-war world was supposed to see the spread of the Cross and Western faith across the globe. His interference disrupted that. Eastern religions showed signs of revival instead, throwing everything into chaos.
That was the nature of historical transition periods. You could touch them—but you also couldn't. Not because they're truly immutable, but because changing them means making enemies of a vast number of powerful forces. It's practically asking for death.
And now... In the DxD world, events like the Three Factions Peace Talks, the fusion of pantheons, the revival of Trihexa, and invasions from other worlds all affected humanity's fate on a global scale.
Compared to those, the Devil Civil War was minor.
Once Algol confirmed that, she had no intention of calling Ryo over during that earlier period.
At best, he'd just be there keeping her company, wasting time. Worse, it might dull his drive. Ryo was still young, not even thirty. He was in the middle of his rise. Algol had no intention of letting centuries of idle comfort wear down her most important ally.
"We don't have much time. Let's keep this short."
Algol estimated they had about twenty minutes. Any longer, and her interference with the Little Garden's central system might start to slip.
"Alright." Ryo nodded, then got straight to the point. "What do you think about the revival of the Creator God?"
"Don't bother with Him," Algol replied calmly. "Coming back from the dead is basically His specialty. This version might be a little different, but that ability hasn't gone anywhere."
Her tone was far too relaxed for someone who was, technically, Lilith—the progenitor of devils.
And honestly, that made sense.
In the Cross texts, Lilith didn't exactly have a great reputation. In fact, she barely appeared. But even a bad reputation was still influence. It still generated merit and strengthened Algol's spirit rank.
To be blunt, just the identity of Lilith was enough for Algol to thrive in Little Garden as a top-tier deity. Her supposed conflict with the Cross wasn't nearly as intense as the texts made it out to be.
Hearing her attitude, Ryo let out a quiet breath of relief.
If there had really been deep, irreconcilable hatred between them, things would have been much harder to handle.
"Algol," After a moment's thought, Ryo carefully picked his words. "Do you think… there's any chance we could pull this God over to our side?"
"…What did you just say?"
Algol froze.
She genuinely froze.
Bring the Creator God of the Cross over to their side? In other words, Ryo wanted to recruit Him?
A four-digit trying to recruit the head of the largest faith in Little Garden—a behemoth with over a hundred three-digit entities under its banner?
How much had this guy been drinking?
"There's really no possibility at all?" Ryo pressed, unwilling to give up.
The Cross faith had over two billion followers. In the 21st century, it was the largest religion in human history.
And with the amplification effect of Little Garden's observed universes, that number ballooned to an unimaginable scale—an ocean on a cosmic level.
Even shaving off a tiny fraction of that would be incredibly lucrative. How could he not be tempted?
"You've got some nerve, I'll give you that," Algol said, rolling her eyes.
Everyone in Little Garden wanted a piece of that pie. Countless pantheons had their eyes on it.
But trying to poach God himself from outside and use him to carve up Cross's influence? Ryo was the first person to come up with something that outrageous.
What was his brain even made of?
Still… while not entirely impossible, the risks were enormous. Algol had no intention of completely falling out with that powerful camp.
Shaking her head, she said, "Forget it. I'm not planning to turn against Yahweh."
"I'll help you!" Ryo answered instantly.
Algol shot him another exasperated look.
Help her?
More like help her make a mortal enemy.
This guy really had some nerve.
.
.
.