The overwhelming masculine scent made the silver-haired housewife panic instantly. Looking at the handsome young man who stood a head taller than her, Grayfia's snowy-white skin gradually flushed a deep pink.
After a long moment, Grayfia regained her composure, smiling with her usual steady grace. "Ethan, stop playing around. I am Rias's sister-in-law..."
"I know."
Ethan cut off her attempt to soften the mood, and the room fell into a heavy silence.
"Grayfia, I know this might not be love, or even common affection..." Ethan took a deep breath, taking the delicate hand of the silver-haired beauty. He spoke with utter sincerity: "But I really want you. I want you to stay by my side forever."
The moment he poured out the obsession buried in his heart, his entire body felt light. Regardless of her answer, the final barrier in his mind shattered along with his words. At that instant, Ethan experienced a profound epiphany. Inspiration erupted from his heart like the rushing waters of a sugar valley, washing over every cell in his body.
He truly recognized his deepest, most primal desires. He was a man of raw hunger. Even though he had been lucky enough to be reincarnated with immense power, that fundamental truth remained unchanged.
The world was born unfair. Some were born with infinite wealth and power. Some were born protagonists, surrounded by beauties. Since others could have it all, why couldn't he? He realized he had been shackled by his past memories. Now, he would be the protagonist of his own life and this world.
Ethan felt his spirit leap above the river of time and the infinite dimensions. He saw the towering structure of the multiverse, abstract loops of fate flashing before him. His presence had solidified the timeline of this chaotic world onto his own thread of destiny.
Suddenly, Ethan's heart thundered! His mental state achieved complete sublimation. Simultaneously, an extraordinary power surged from all directions. It was so massive that even Ethan struggled to contain it; his heart rate spiked to hundreds of beats per minute.
With this influx of power, his soul began its final metamorphosis. His pupils dilated as he felt a divine energy flowing through his spirit. His intangible soul became solid, glowing with an ethereal blue light. With every pulse, his soul grew stronger, aligning perfectly with the laws of the universe.
In reality, only a split second had passed. Grayfia, moved by his "confession," had no idea what was happening inside the young man before her. Had she known, she wouldn't be questioning her feelings; she would be clinging to him to sense the change.
Grayfia had been at the Satan-class (Devil King) level since the Great War. Part of why she never advanced was because her heart was clouded. She had betrayed her family for Sirzechs, and though she was hailed as the "Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation," she was treated more like a maid in the Gremory household. Sirzechs was kind but distant, focused entirely on his duties and cultivation. Grayfia realized long ago that their "romance" had been a political victory for the reformists. Her heart had been stagnant for years.
The silver-haired beauty remained silent for a long time. Finally, she withdrew her hand.
"Ethan..." Grayfia suppressed her inner longing, putting on her serious Queen persona. "Even though you haven't married Rias yet, we are still..."
She hesitated. In the open and chaotic Underworld, such relationships weren't forbidden, but she feared Sirzechs. Sirzechs and his father were cultivation maniacs who often went beyond the Three Realms to train. She didn't want Ethan to face the wrath of a man whose power might already exceed the God-rank.
But as she prepared to reject him, Ethan's transformation hit its peak. A vortex of energy erupted around him, expanding outward. Grayfia's eyes widened. She realized Ethan was breaking through.
Thinking quickly, she used a teleportation circle to move them both from the accounting office to her private cultivation chamber. Ethan, deep in meditation, began to absorb the concentrated energy of the Underworld for his final evolution.