Ruling the Underworld so easily didn't bring Riku any particular joy after all; this was only natural. So, once all the high-ranking Reapers had pledged their loyalty, he withdrew his overwhelming aura.
"You all wait here for me," Riku said, then instantly vanished from sight.
"Lord Riku is just so cool..." Kunou finally snapped out of her daze after Riku disappeared, patting her flat chest and sticking out her tongue in awe.
"Mhm," Koneko agreed, her eyes still shimmering with excitement.
Ophis, meanwhile, stared intently in the direction Riku had gone, lost in her own thoughts.
Riku soon arrived at the Palace of the Dead, heading straight for the diamond chest at its heart.
A few minutes later, he stood before the diamond chest deep within the palace, laid his hand atop it, and opened it right away.
A flash of radiant light, an orb appeared.
[Ding! Congratulations, Master! You've opened a Diamond Chest and obtained: Chains of Heaven.]
Chains of Heaven: An anti-divine Noble Phantasm. The stronger the divinity, the harder it is to break free; even godhood itself can be suppressed to its absolute limit.
'Chains of Heaven? But it doesn't list a source... Isn't this the same as that of Gilgamesh's Enkidu?' Riku frowned, asking the system for clarification.
[No, this Chains of Heaven is a top-level Gift. Even double-digit gods and Buddhas of the Little Garden(Mondaiji world) wouldn't be able to break free if caught head-on, unless they have some specific talents for it.]
'I see.' Riku nodded in understanding.
'Another great drop. Not bad at all,' Riku said, grinning with satisfaction as he tossed the item into his system inventory.
Afterwards, he randomly picked out a Reaper named Banya to serve as the new ruler of the Underworld, regardless of what the other Reapers thought and went straight back to Ophis, Koneko, and Kunou.
"Let's go. Everything here is taken care of," Riku said casually.
He then activated his Balance Breaker again, unleashing wild power to shatter the just-repaired barrier between life and death, then led Ophis, Koneko, and Kunou out of the Underworld.
All the Reapers could do was silently weep. Boss, can't you ever leave like a normal person? If you keep being this violent, the Underworld won't survive...
As for what the Reapers thought, Riku couldn't have cared less. The normal route was just too much trouble...
...
Northern Europe, a countryside town.
Riku, Ophis, Koneko, and Kunou had already arrived.
Originally, Riku had planned to go straight to the Norse Pantheon to open a diamond chest. But midway there, he suddenly got the urge to "raise" the endlessly adorable Ophis, so he took Ophis, Koneko, and Kunou sightseeing, feeding them treats along the way.
As it turned out, just like in the original work, Ophis was completely obsessed with sweets, especially lollipops.
Riku could only sigh. Cute dragons will always be cute. A lollipop was all it took to train her.
They'd come to this small town partly to try some local specialities, and partly so Riku could open a gold chest here. Chest-opening was one of his little joys in life; there was always that thrill of anticipation.
After handing three ice creams to Ophis, Koneko, and Kunou, Riku fixed his gaze on the girl selling the treats.
"Uh, sir… is there something else you need?" Flustered by Riku's intense stare, the beautiful silver-haired woman, whose hair reached all the way to her thighs, looked confused.
Riku was good-looking, and there was something about him that made her heart skip a beat. Still, being stared at like that, she couldn't help but feel awkward.
"If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" Riku hesitated, but finally spoke up, earning a strange look from Koneko.
"Um… Rosweisse. Do you know me? Sorry, but I don't remember you at all," Rosweisse replied, looking perplexed.
'As I thought…' Riku shook his head. She'd looked familiar from the start, of course, she was that valkyrie.
Still, a powerful valkyrie having to work in a small shop… it was honestly kind of sad.
"Rosweisse, you're a Valkyrie, doesn't it feel a little… weird to be working here?" Riku teased, a sly smile on his lips.
"Ugh, don't say it…!" Before Riku could finish, Rosweisse cut him off, flustered and near tears. Of course, this guy wasn't normal; he'd even seen through her disguise. A valkyrie working as a cashier… how embarrassing.
"Don't worry, I'm not looking down on you," Riku said calmly. "Actually, I wanted to ask if you'd consider working for me as a maid. Fifty thousand dollars a month."
"Fifty, fifty thousand?!" Rosweisse's eyes went wide, completely shocked.
Given her circumstances, that kind of reaction was only natural. She was always broke, barely scraping by in cheap shops.
Still, there was something a little tragic about it. A powerful valkyrie, shaken by money...
Watching Rosweisse, Riku shook his head. No wonder in the original, Rias had to offer her a huge salary to make her join her peerage. Well, there was also the fact they'd fought together.
"You're not trying to scam me, are you?" Rosweisse finally regained her senses and eyed Riku suspiciously. In this little town, fifty thousand dollars was an outrageous amount.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Riku, God of the Heavens and Leader of the Adia Alliance," Riku said with a faint smile.
"What?!" Rosweisse was even more stunned than before, her jaw practically hitting the floor.
"Why would a god of the heavens show up here?!" She was completely thrown off. Who would've thought a customer buying ice cream would turn out to be a god?
"In any case, I'm not lying. Want to come be my maid?" Riku asked offhandedly.
"Uh… let me think about it. I'll have to ask my grandmother," Rosweisse said, clearly torn.
"Up to you. Once this town is behind you, the offer's gone, one-time deal," Riku teased.
"Riku-sensei, you're not thinking anything weird about her, are you…" Koneko suddenly tugged at Riku's sleeve, giving him a suspicious look. "Like, H things. She's definitely a beauty."
"Adults are complicated..." Kunou muttered under her breath.
"...," Riku rolled his eyes. He couldn't deny he was interested in Rosweisse, but his real goal was to have her serve as a peerage member for Rias.
While Rosweisse was still hesitating, Riku casually walked over and opened a gold chest not far away.
But what he got made him a little disappointed; it was just a regular Sacred gear, completely useless to him now. At this point, if he really wanted, he could make the same grade Sacred Gears himself.
Even Sacred Gears weren't much help for increasing his strength anymore.
"Another useless thing... Looks like gold chests just don't drop anything good for me now. Maybe it's related to my own strength," Riku muttered with a frown.
He shook his head, no longer concerned. Opening anything below platinum tier was just for fun these days; there was no point in overthinking it.
After all, he was so strong now, ordinary things meant nothing.
"Rosweisse, have you made up your mind?" Riku turned back to her with a cheerful smile.
"Um… I agree. My grandmother said it's okay, too," Rosweisse replied shyly.
"Great. In the next couple of days, head over to Kuoh Academy in Japan, find Sona and Rias, they'll arrange your work and accommodation," Riku said, nodding with satisfaction.
"Okay, I understand," Rosweisse replied, giving a slight nod.
Then, with a little reluctance, she said, "Um, God-sama, how about I treat you to an ice cream?"
The pained look on her face made Riku roll his eyes.
"Don't worry about it. I've got business with Odin, so I'll be going now," Riku shrugged, waving it off.
Rosweisse was both relieved and a little embarrassed, leaving Riku speechless.
"Let's go." Riku left with the ever-calm Ophis, as well as the glaring Koneko and Kunou.
"God of the Heavens, coming to see Lord Odin… could it be...?" After Riku left, Rosweisse fell deep in thought.
"Whatever, it's not something a mere valkyrie like me can interfere with. And I still have to become Lord Riku's maid soon..." she sighed, shaking her head, letting go of those worries.
...
BOOM!
In a certain forest, a series of terrifying explosions echoed, leaving devastation in their wake.
The source of the earth-shattering breath was a group of five massive dragons, each about the size of the Holy Evil Dragon Tannin. Though smaller than before, they still closely resembled Jörmungandr, one of the Five Dragon Kings.
Standing atop one of these, Jörmungandr was a young man in a black robe. The most striking thing about him was his unmistakably villainous eyes; they screamed, 'I'm a bad guy,' sending chills down anyone's spine.
The Jörmungandr's prey were three figures desperately trying to escape. The first was a handsome, blond-haired young man wielding a Holy Sword.
The second was a girl in a mage's robe and pointed hat, clutching a staff, cute and blonde, but visibly less experienced.
The third was a black-haired woman with cat ears and two black tails, dressed in a kimono clearly an older, cool type.
Facing the assault of five mass-produced dragons with Dragon King-level power, the trio could only retreat while fighting back, searching for any opening to escape.
But with the area sealed by a barrier, even trying to break through while fighting for their lives was a close call.
And the main enemy hadn't even made a move yet.
"Hmph, a few Khaos Brigade nobodies dare set foot on my place? You really don't know what's good for you," the black-robed young man said with a sinister sneer. Malice rolled off him in waves, chilling all who heard.
"This is looking bad..." Arthur Pendragon, the only male in the group, tightened his grip on the Holy King Sword after clashing with one of the Jörmungandr, his expression darkening. "What rotten luck of all people, we ran into this damned evil god Loki," Kuroka muttered, face grim, weaving defensive spells from senjutsu and magic.
The petite mage, Le Fay Pendragon, was the weakest of the three. If it weren't for Kuroka and Arthur's protection, she'd have been done for already.
But at this rate, all three might be finished.
Arthur and Kuroka had power not inferior to lower-tier Maou-class beings, but facing five of the same level at once, and having to protect someone else, defeat was only a matter of time.
"Kuroka, buy me a little time. I'll use the Holy King Sword to cut open a path," Arthur gritted his teeth.
They really couldn't catch a break. After escaping Rizevim's assassins, they ended up running straight into Loki.
"Leave it to me," Kuroka's eyes sharpened. If only Bikou were here... but he'd already been captured.
Facing five of these at once was a deadly gamble. But if they didn't try, they were already as good as dead.
"I'll help too!" Le Fay mustered her magic, throwing up defensive spells weak, but still a help.
"Oh? Trying to pull a fast one? I don't think so," Loki taunted, his expression full of mockery.
"I'm an evil god. I won't give you the slightest chance," Loki said, voice dripping with malice.
As soon as he finished, a black magic circle formed beneath his feet.
AWOOOO!
A blood-chilling howl split the sky, freezing Kuroka, Arthur, and Le Fay in horror.
Three monsters appeared: two grey wolves with sharp claws, soulless eyes, and gaping maws. The one in front was much larger a massive grey wolf, dwarfing the others.
It would be a grave mistake to think these were just ordinary wolves. These were the god-slaying wolves, beings even gods feared. Their fangs and claws could tear through gods, Maou-class beings, and dragons alike.
Each had power on par with the Two Heavenly Dragons at their peak, the ultimate monsters. The leader was the god-slaying wolf: Fenrir!
"The fangs that slay the gods, my servant Fenrir! If you get bitten, you'll be destroyed in an instant. So, little nobodies, what will you do now?" Loki taunted, malice brimming as he looked down on the terrified trio.
"Fenrir, the god-slaying wolf... This is bad," Arthur's hand trembled on the Holy King Sword. This legendary beast was beyond anything they could handle.
They might not even have time to react before those fangs bite through their throats...