"So only the first stage is complete."
Rias sighed.
Exiting the Arena, Rias stretched lazily.
The leap in the essence of her life was too great; even with the Hōgyoku, it wasn't enough to support her evolution.
In other words, there was a lack of energy.
After all, the limit of the Hōgyoku was only so much.
"I need to find a new energy source to support my evolution."
Rias pondered.
She had two methods now.
First: accumulate slowly; it would take about two years to complete the qualitative change.
Second: find an energy source and complete the qualitative change all at once.
After igniting life fusion, she would be able to reach the level of a Transcendent in about three months.
Physical body, energy, and techniques.
With these three combined, it wouldn't be impossible to reach the level of the world's top ten in one go.
In two years, she might reach Shiva's level, or perhaps the Dragon God Level.
Anything is possible~
"Forget it, I'll take it slow."
Thinking this, Rias began a new course of study.
Researching the domain of life was also equivalent to cross-referencing it with the Power of Destruction.
Power isn't just one-sided; it must be multifaceted.
Being able to destroy everything while simultaneously being able to create everything—that is the truth.
The next day arrived quickly. Sona was already staying at Rias's home, sleeping in the same room as her every day.
That night, Serafall came over on her own to sleep with the two of them.
After Sona fell asleep, the two in their pajamas ended up playing energetically for half the night. They were too tired to wake up the next day, causing Serafall to flake on her work for another half-day.
Bringing Sona, Nelliel, and the others, Rias went to the villas at both ends and called the people from both sides over.
At this moment, Aizen and Kisuke Urahara were each holding an Underworld dictionary, asking the Gremory Family servants to help teach them the demonic script.
In this regard, the two were quite consistent.
"Seeing you guys again, Hollows."
Hirako Shinji said with a fake smile, "I never expected back then that I'd unknowingly recruit a genius like Ichimaru Gin into my ranks."
"A genius? I'm certainly not that~"
Ichimaru Gin said with a smile, "I'm just an ordinary Shinigami."
"An ordinary Shinigami wouldn't have your level of strength."
Hirako Shinji didn't disagree. The two seemed to have taken an interest in each other, or for some other reason, they were inexplicably mocking one another.
Soon, Aizen and Kisuke Urahara were also called over. With both parties present, it wasn't too chaotic.
"If you have time, you can wander around the Underworld. As long as you give the Gremory name, basically no one will give you trouble."
Looking at this group of shut-ins, Rias couldn't help but complain, "Why do I feel like you guys are even more of shut-ins than I am?"
"Can't be helped, researchers are just like that."
Kisuke Urahara said, waving his fan.
"It's said that researchers in the Living World have very prominent receding hairlines. Urahara-kun, you seem to be showing signs of that already~"
Aizen teased from the side.
"Hehe, there's no need for Aizen-kun to worry about that."
Kisuke Urahara chuckled.
The reason Kisuke Urahara and the other two agreed to come to this world with Rias was because of her power and their desire to understand the dangers it might bring.
But after arriving, they found that the Underworld, which the world calls 'Hell,' was unexpectedly peaceful.
Although it still had many bad habits, it was much better than the Soul Society, which was rotten to the core. This left Kisuke Urahara somewhat bewildered.
'Other World'—the term was quite foreign, yet it was happening to them.
Kisuke Urahara didn't know what to think of this, and most of the others were also in a state of confusion.
Fortunately, there was plenty of time; they would get used to it slowly.
"Next, you will be divided into two groups. One part will become my peerage, and the other part will become Sona-chan's peerage."
Rias looked at them, clapped her hands for silence, and said, "The Rating Game is an entertainment game in the Underworld, and it is also the necessary path for ordinary devils and Reincarnated Devils to advance. As long as one person from each of your two groups reaches the rank of High-Class Devil, I will grant you independence. At that time, I will need you to do one thing for me."
"Isn't it just for fun?"
Hirako Shinji muttered.
"Since I've already brought you back, I might as well make use of you."
Rias shrugged. "The reforms in the Underworld aren't thorough. The resistance to what I want to do is quite large. With you guys around, it will certainly be much easier."
Next, Rias took out a set of Evil Pieces.
The Queen was naturally given to Aizen, while the Rooks were Tier Harribel and Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck.
The Knights were Ulquiorra Cifer and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.
The Bishops were Coyote Starrk and Lilynette Gingerbuck.
These two Bishops were quite special. As the No. 1 of the Espada, he wasn't turned into an Arrancar by Aizen, but was someone among the Espada who became an Arrancar on his own.
Lilynette Gingerbuck wasn't an ordinary Subordinate Officer either; she was essentially a product of his soul splitting. In other words, the middle-aged man and the little girl were actually one.
The reason he joined Aizen was simply because of loneliness.
Because the moment a Hollow approached him, their spiritual body would collapse.
As a Vasto Lorde-class Hollow, the Spiritual Pressure he unintentionally emitted alone would be unbearable for others.
However, he should have discovered the gift that body brought him by now.
The ability to perfectly restrain his Spiritual Pressure.
Even when interacting with ordinary people, he wouldn't have to worry about crushing their souls because he couldn't control his Spiritual Pressure.
As for the rest, they were given the Pawn pieces.
Ichimaru Gin received three pieces, Tosen Kaname received two pieces; Emilou Apacci, Franceska Mila Rose, and Cyan Sung-Sun—these three were Tier Harribel's fracción—received one piece each.
As for Nelliel's two fracción, even before their Masks were stripped, they were 'weaklings' cared for by Nelliel, which is why they were so loyal.
Because of this, Rias did not count the two of them as combat strength.
In this way, all the people on Aizen's side were just enough to be converted into devils.
Although Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun weren't very strong, the pet they created using one arm each was quite powerful, having easily severely injured several Lieutenants in the original Shinigami series.
By estimation, they would be considered top-tier among High-Class Devils, so they were included.
"Oh, right, there's something very special about becoming my peerage."
Rias thought of something and said, "The wings aren't wings in the usual sense; they are designed by yourselves. You can construct them however you like, but you only get one chance."
That being said, the wings didn't contain great power; they just inherited a fraction of the traits from Rias, who acted as the 'King.'
Of course, Rias could also adjust the pieces, but it would be much less interesting if the power gap between the two sides was too large.
"Do your best~"
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.