— — — — — —
After steadying himself, Ryo looked toward the three figures approaching him head-on, then froze for a second.
First, he glanced at Uriel, whose head was wrapped in bandages and who looked like he'd just come back from the Great War.
Then he looked at Raphael, who was wearing an eyepatch like a pirate captain.
Finally, his gaze landed on Gabriel, who stood timidly off to the side, nervously rubbing her fingers together with an adorably conflicted expression despite still looking breathtakingly beautiful.
Ryo forced out a stiff smile.
"Looks like Gabriel is as shy and timid as ever..."
'Yeah, right. Tell that to my left eye...'
Raphael grumbled inwardly behind his eyepatch.
The moment Gabriel heard Ryo's voice, she lowered her head shyly, looking exactly like a bashful girl in her first romance.
The sight made Ryo's lips twitch awkwardly. He genuinely didn't know what to say anymore.
At that moment, Uriel, the one with bandages around his head, stepped in to smooth things over.
"We already understand the details. When Your Excellency enters the system core, we hope Michael and Gabriel may accompany you. Is that acceptable?"
"That's fine, Mr Uriel. Bring out the contract."
Ryo nodded and gestured for Uriel to produce it.
Among the Four Great Seraphs, Uriel held authority as the Angel of Judgment and governed Libra among the Zodiac.
Contracts drafted by Uriel could invoke the system's binding authority, making it impossible for the signer to violate the agreement.
Of course, that meant absolutely nothing to Ryo.
Still, it would put the angels at ease, so he signed without hesitation.
Future subordinates still needed good relationships maintained.
Hearing Ryo agree so readily, Uriel visibly relaxed.
Before arriving, he'd honestly worried Ryo might suddenly turn hostile. But the man's calm and friendly attitude had already earned quite a bit of goodwill from him.
Couldn't blame him, really. Just look at the kind of lunatics who usually barged into Heaven.
Azazel, the shameless pervert.
Lucifer, who looked down on everyone through his nostrils.
And that original Lilith from this world, who was so seductively alluring that just one glance made people think 'damn, that bitch is horny again.'
Compared to those people, Ryo, who was merely a little dirty-minded beneath the surface but otherwise polite and easygoing, was practically the perfect guest.
Yup. Clearly a good person.
And angels loved dealing with good people.
People with similar values were less likely to stab you in the back.
While mentally roasting everyone involved, Uriel took out a white parchment scroll.
In ancient times, sheep were sacred creatures. Many gods treated them as divine familiars, and legend claimed parchment made from their skin possessed mysterious power, enough to record even the secrets of the world itself.
Little Garden basically confirmed this rumor, since the Central Authority issued official documents exclusively on parchment.
And in the DxD world, at least among the angels, the same tradition still applied.
Right in front of the Four Great Seraphs, Ryo signed the contract.
Afterward, accompanied by Michael and Gabriel, he stepped into the only palace on the island.
Watching the three disappear inside, Raphael rubbed his temples and sighed. "Are we really okay with letting Gabriel and Michael do whatever they want?"
"You got a better idea?"
Uriel's tone was noticeably hostile.
He'd opposed Gabriel the hardest out of all the angels, which was why he'd also gotten injured the worst. Even now he was still wrapped in bandages, unlike Raphael, who only had lingering bruising around one eye.
"Nope."
Raphael shrugged openly. "To be honest, if it weren't for the revelation from a few centuries ago, I'd still think God truly abandoned us. After all, before He died, He sent word that He was placing His hopes in the future."
The Great War between angels, devils, and fallen angels might've looked like a chaotic three-way battle on the surface...
But in reality, it had been a counterattack after the devils and fallen angels joined forces to ambush God.
The Four Great Seraphs had participated in the war, sure, but honestly speaking, they were mostly just contributing support fire from the sidelines.
The real frontliner had always been God himself.
Because among the three factions, once you removed God from the equation, the strongest force had always been the devils.
According to God's own definition, He had designated Himself as the embodiment of "good," which naturally placed Him on the angels' side.
To preserve balance, the "evil" side therefore needed enough power to counterbalance both Him and the angels.
That was why the devil faction possessed monsters like the Four Great Satans and Lilith, five beings on Heavenly Dragon level, alongside the Seventy-Two Pillars and countless extra clans.
And all of it existed because God, for the sake of maintaining balance between good and evil, personally spent His own power helping Lilith create them.
Yes.
Even when Lilith was having children, God had lent a helping hand.
Without the system assisting, the devils born probably would've all been brain-dead copy-paste clones.
Of course, in the end, God tasted the consequences Himself.
After sealing Trihexa, the Apocalyptic Beast of Revelation 666, He was betrayed by the devils and fell into a prolonged siege. Eventually, His strength was drained away until He bled out and died.
Even so, He still left behind countless contingency plans.
Or rather, it felt like He'd already anticipated His own death and had been laying out backup measures throughout the war itself.
The Sacred Gears created from the Two Heavenly Dragons.
Deliberately allowing Longinus and the Holy Grail to reincarnate.
Ordering the Four Great Seraphs to defend Heaven and place their hopes in the future.
After all of that, even the Four Great Seraphs ended up lost and uncertain.
"To be honest, I don't really see the point anymore."
Raphael's expression turned conflicted and weary. "After God's death, angels already lost their future. But God isn't truly dead, is He? At least His will still remains. Otherwise, He wouldn't have ordered us centuries ago to gather divine relics and repair the system."
Uriel sighed.
And that was precisely why he had opposed Gabriel.
God's will had actually returned centuries ago. Since then, the angels had quietly been collecting sacred artifacts and repairing the system under His fragmented guidance, preparing for His resurrection.
Only the Four Great Seraphs knew this secret.
And it was exactly why Uriel and Raphael had opposed bringing Ryo in.
If they could revive God step by step on their own, why spend a fortune hiring Ryo's help? Wasn't that just making trouble for themselves?
But Gabriel had insisted strongly.
The world situation between the major factions was becoming increasingly tense, she said. They needed immediate action.
Combined with her overwhelming force, the two highest-ranking angels had ultimately been forced to comply.
No helping it.
When even the strongest angel in Heaven, who also happened to be the kindest, was this nervous, there was no way Uriel and Raphael wouldn't panic too.
So in the end, they decided to give it a shot.
That was one of the reasons the two angels finally agreed to Gabriel's proposal.
Of course... Gabriel hadn't actually told them the whole truth.
In reality, she found "God" who had been issuing revelations over the past few centuries deeply strange.
It wasn't because His power had weakened.
Nor because He had become corrupted.
It was simply the tone of the revelations themselves.
The way "He" spoke felt wrong.
In Gabriel's eyes, the warmth and compassion God once carried were gone.
In their place was something more willful. More commanding.
That was what truly frightened her.
She suspected...
...the being revived from the system might not actually be God.
And that was the real reason she had asked Ryo for help.
...
"So this is the system?"
Deep within the palace. Standing before an altar, Ryo looked upward toward the system core floating above it.
It shone like a miniature sun, radiating soft light. Its true shape couldn't be seen clearly, though one could vaguely make out that a crystal lay within.
"Yes."
Standing behind him, Michael answered respectfully.
"As requested, we have brought you before the system. Next, we—"
Before he could finish speaking, Michael's expression suddenly changed.
His eyes widened with joy as he stared at the system core above.
Within it, a will was slowly beginning to awaken.
.
.
.