Chapter 250: Four Seraph Daughters! (First Update—Please Subscribe!)
After Riku merged the Source of Angels into the pool, the water, already crystalline and brimming with divine aura, turned into a dazzling golden brilliance, radiating boundless vitality.
He then actively guided the Source to hasten the creation of angels.
Hours later, four breathtakingly beautiful women emerged silver-haired, skin like jade, figures both elegant and voluptuous, and from their backs stretched twelve golden wings each. Four female Seraphim.
The newly born Seraphim gazed at Riku with wide, innocent eyes. Though they had been granted knowledge, their hearts were still pure, blank paper filled only with curiosity for the world.
"Four-digit strength, hm? With plenty of room to grow… I underestimated the Source of Angels." Riku studied them creations akin to his daughters and nodded in satisfaction.
A few drops of angelic essence had once raised Jibril to four-digit levels. These Seraphim, directly birthed by his hand, were on an entirely different scale.
"Master, thank you for your gift," the four Seraphim said softly, their voices reverent and full of admiration.
Riku blinked and smiled at them warmly.
Though their beauty was enough to topple nations and their allure undeniable, he looked upon them as a craftsman admiring his own work of art. "Put some clothes on before speaking further."
From his storage, Riku pulled out women's garments and handed them over. They were clothes he'd picked up while shopping with Rias and the others' purchases that had been left behind.
"Clothes…?" The Seraphim tilted their heads in confusion. "Master, we do not know how to wear them…"
Riku froze for a moment. Apparently, though they had been granted knowledge, many practical things still needed to be taught.
"In that case, let me show you." He grinned, amused.
"Thank you for Master's kindness," they said in unison, still pure and earnest.
So Riku set about dressing them. Inevitably, there was skin-to-skin contact. The Seraphim flushed, their bodies trembling slightly with unfamiliar sensations.
They didn't understand what they were feeling. Riku, meanwhile, nearly lost his composure; no reaction at all would have meant something was wrong with him.
After much effort, he finally managed to get them dressed.
Looking at his daughters, now even lovelier and more refined in their attire, Riku nodded in satisfaction.
"Now, let's give you names." He rubbed his chin, considering the four blushing girls before him.
"Spring. Summer. Autumn. Winter."
Simple, straightforward, but fitting.
"Thank you for Master's grace," the four said with bright smiles, delighted with their names.
Riku chuckled. With nothing better to do, he began teaching them various things. After all, they were his daughters and would also serve as the four captains of his angelic forces, helping him govern Skyborne City. They needed to learn.
Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter had been created with care, their talents extraordinary and potential vast. Their ability to learn was remarkable. Knowledge and practice were different things, but Riku had both the means and the patience to cultivate them.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Under Riku's control, more angels were born around a hundred. Not Seraphim like the four daughters, but Ten-Winged and Eight-Winged Angels, roughly five-digit in power, yet with great potential.
The birth of angels shocked Athena, Poseidon, and Juntan. They marvelled at Riku's unfathomable depths; he could even create angels rivalling those of Christianity.
Of course, they also shook their heads. To create angels was to break one of Christianity's greatest taboos. If discovered, the faith would retaliate, and the Son of God would descend with his angelic legions.
Yet even knowing this, neither goddess spoke out. Their bodies and souls now belonged to Riku; whatever he did, they would follow. Besides, given his endless trump cards, they weren't worried that Christianity could ever erase [Disboard].
As for Juntan, he was beyond loyal, utterly devoted to Riku, ready to follow any command without hesitation.
Skyborne City grew lively, its halls filled with a hundred new angels and Juntan's wyverns, drakes, and phantasmal beasts now [Disboard]'s lower-ranked members, patrolling and guarding the exits.
Half a month later, the floating fortress above the Juntan Mountains had naturally drawn the attention of many communities.
Riku opened the gates freely.
Those who entered were astounded. Many wise leaders recognised the city's potential and, upon learning it was the domain of Riku Dola, the dark horse of the Solar War, countless communities begged permission to establish branches there.
Riku entrusted these matters to Athena. As the Goddess of War and Wisdom, once the greatest strategist of the Twelve Olympians, she handled the task with ease, managing Skyborne City flawlessly and setting it on a path of prosperity.
Word of the city spread quickly across the East District. Within months, many communities had set up a presence within its walls.
At this rate, within a year, Skyborne City would likely become the most prosperous hub of the Third Layer.
And as the news spread that this was the stronghold of Riku Dola and the community [Disboard], many powerful beings turned their attention toward it.
Indra's Twelve Heavenly Protectors, the twin goddesses of [Thousand Eyes], the Queen of [Queen Halloween]… and in the Western District, the Twelve Olympians, who were scouring for Riku's trail, finally caught wind of a faraway city rising in the East.
The speed with which the gods below learned of [Disboard] unsettled Zeus. But on reflection, it was simply proof that the enemy hadn't taken the [Twelve Olympians] seriously at all.
That thought stoked his fury.
He immediately rallied the Olympian host into action, sending envoys ahead to demand Riku return Athena and Poseidon.
They declared that to seize the members of another community was the work of a Demon Lord, and insisted on their return offering to pay "reasonable compensation."
For Zeus, it was a chance to frame himself as righteous. By spreading the story that Riku was a Demon Lord, the Olympians placed themselves as victims, demanding justice.
Riku dismissed the message without a thought. Intrigue and schemes meant nothing before absolute strength.
But the rest of Little Garden paid rapt attention.
Athena and Poseidon's new allegiance to [Disboard] was already public knowledge. Two goddesses of that stature, openly appearing in Skyborne City as officers of [Disboard], was no trivial matter. Combined with Zeus's rhetoric, the situation became the hottest topic in the East.
Most communities waited eagerly for what would come next, none happier than those who enjoyed watching chaos unfold.
Riku's indifference only inflamed Zeus further, though the Olympian king wore a thin smile: the trap was sprung.
They were the victims, Riku the Demon Lord. The justification was ironclad. Now, all that remained was to crush [Disboard] before every watching community reclaim Athena and Poseidon, restore the Olympians' honour, and raise their prestige higher than before.
Thus, Zeus mobilised tens of thousands of gods, marching with Hades, Hermes, Artemis, and Apollo at his side. Five other Olympians remained behind to guard Olympus.
And then, Zeus made it official: the [Twelve Olympians] declared war on [Disboard].
The Little Garden erupted in a storm.
Never before had one top community launched such a cross-district invasion, mobilising entire divine hosts. Normally, such an act would have been unthinkable for the Western District to barge into the East was an affront. But Zeus framed it neatly: this was a just crusade, a mission to punish a Demon Lord and recover stolen members.
And to soothe tensions further, he promised: the Olympians would cause no collateral damage to the East. If they did, they would pay compensation.
Even Indra and the divine kings of the Twelve Heavenly Protectors could only frown and shake their heads. They saw through Zeus's opportunism, but with his reasoning so airtight, they couldn't intervene.
So the stage was set. All across the East, communities turned their eyes to Skyborne City. In the West, even the Norse Pantheon and Celtic Pantheon watched with keen interest, some dispatching strong representatives to witness what came.
Only in the North and South did most communities remain still, with only a handful crossing boundary gates to see.
Would it be the Olympians, reclaiming glory and crushing an upstart? Or would the new force [Disboard] stand triumphant, its Leader Riku Dola cementing his place among the top-tier communities of the Third Layer?
The Little Garden churned with a storm.
And Riku? He passed the days leisurely, training his four Seraph daughters, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.
Athena and Poseidon could only cover their faces in exasperation. Their Leader's carefree attitude robbed them of any sense of urgency.
But deep down, they understood. Riku saw Zeus as nothing more than a noisy clown. However much he raged, in the end, Riku would step on him, and no one would question it.
—
Riku wasn't the only one who thought so. Both the Lord of White Night and the Halloween Queen, knowing Riku's strength and secrets, looked upon Zeus's crusade with equal contempt.
So naturally, they too came to Skyborne City, eager to spectate.
—
On the lawns outside the palace, Riku reclined with his head in Spring's soft lap, enjoying her lap pillow. Summer kneaded his shoulders with delicate hands, while Autumn and Winter hammered gently at his legs. The picture of a man who had conquered life itself.
Just then, Riku opened his golden eyes and smirked, gaze lifting toward the sky.
"Queen. Since you're here, show yourself. You should know by now I don't enjoy being spied on."
"You truly know how to relax… or perhaps how to enjoy yourself." With a ripple of boundary waves, the Halloween Queen appeared in the sky, her elegant figure descending until she stood above him, peering down.
The sudden arrival, her aura radiating without effort, made the four Seraphim daughters tense, eyes flashing coldly.
"Easy. She's a guest," Riku said casually, and their hostility melted. Smiling once more, they returned to pampering him.
"They feel familiar," the Queen mused. "This overwhelming light attribute… without Divinity of Light, yet reaching four-digit levels, halos above their heads… To my knowledge, there is only one possibility. They are angels."
Her gaze swept over the four faces, radiant, pure, captivating and then across the palace, where many similar presences stirred.
"Moreover, I sense many more within your halls. What is the meaning of this?" She fixed Riku with an inquisitive stare.
"You guessed correctly. They are Seraphim, named Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. The others are Archangels." Riku answered calmly, with no attempt at concealment.
He even introduced his daughters one by one to the Halloween Queen.