Sitting around the living room table, all the girls were studying for the end-of-semester exams. There was less than a week left before the exams started, and after that, summer break would begin.
Adrien was fast asleep on the couch while the others studied relentlessly. Even though they were devils, they still needed to study if they wanted to pass their grade.
"He won't study?" Saeko asked, looking at Adrien's sleeping form.
"I've never seen Adrien study school-related subjects," Mahiru said, shaking her head.
They looked at him for a second, then returned to their books.
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A group of students stood in the hallway, murmurs echoed throughout the hallway as everyone looked who placed first from each grade.
First years ranking:
1st. Shiina Mahiru 578/600
2nd. Itsuki Hanabusa 544/600
3rd. Hina Kurosawa 543/600
Mahiru ranked first for the second years, behind her a boy and a girl were fighting a close battle with one point difference between them.
Third years ranking:
1st. Sakayanagi Arisu 589/600
2nd. Akira Kanzaki 561/600
3rd. Shin Amamiya 548/600
Sakayanagi ranked first among the third-years, scoring the highest mark the school had ever seen. Saeko wasn't able to enter the top three, but she still ranked among the top twenty in her grad
Second Years ranking:
1st. Agares Adrien 600/600
2nd. Takagi Saya 582/600
3rd. Agares Celia 575/600
Sakayanagi would have been the highest scorer in Seijo High's history, if not for Adrien scoring perfect marks in every subject.
Everyone looked stupefied as they searched around for Adrien but he wasn't in the hallway, Adrien didn't even come to school today, saying he didn't feel like it.
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"So, what do you think I should do?" Adrien asked.
Sitting in front of him was a man with black hair and golden bangs. He had a smile on his face as he rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.
"What an interesting idea," Azazel said. "I knew you were smart, but I didn't expect you to be able to form a Gear like this on your own. Wanna join Grigori's research department? I'll give you whatever you—"
"Ain't no way," Adrien cut him off. "You think I'll let you work me to death, you fallen angel fucker?"
Azazel sighed, then pulled out a dagger and placed it on the table in front of Adrien.
"Look, I'm not just some guy who likes Sacred Gears a little too much," Azazel said, tapping the dagger with his finger. "I've made a few replicas myself. Most of them are garbage, sure, but hey, you don't get anywhere without failing a few dozen times."
He leaned back with a grin. "Still, I'll give credit where it's due. Sacred Gears might be the one thing God made that I can honestly call impressive. Too bad He left the world before patching the damn system. Longinus. Balance Breakers. Those things are basically bugs that were left to grow into disasters. They completely ruin the balance of the game. But I guess that's exactly why they're so damn fascinating."
Adrien picked up the dagger from the table and started examining it from different angles. Azazel watched him with a proud grin.
"This is my masterpiece," he said. "The Downfall Dragon Spear. An artificial Sacred Gear born from my research into the Vanishing Dragon and other similar weapons. When it enters its pseudo-Balance Breaker state, I call it Downfall Dragon: Another Armor. It gives me Scale Mail, the same kind of armor the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing give their users in Balance Breaker."
Adrien glanced at the dagger again. "But it isn't a true Balance Breaker, is it?"
"Exactly! I push the Sacred Gear into a burst mode and force it to activate."
"So you're overloading it, It would probably fall after one battle."
"But so long as the jewel at its heart is still intact, I can always rebuild it"
"How did you make it reach that level though?" Adrien asked. Azazel didn't answer he just left Adrien to think about it, "wait... you sealed dragon in it just like the three factions did with Ddraig and Albion?"
Azazel grinned, "I've sealed the Gigantis Dragon, the Golden Dragon Lord Fafnir one of the five Dragon Kings, inside this artificial Sacred Gear."
The Five Great Dragon Kings were a group of five legendary dragons, said to be the strongest and most noble among dragonkind. Their destructive power rivaled Ultimate-Class Devils, and the strongest among them were said to be on par with the Four Great Satans. Their names were Tiamat, Yu-Long, Vritra, Midgardsormr, and Fafnir.
Adrien thought about it for a moment, then smirked.
"Do you have your research on Divine Dividing or the Boosted Gear with you?"
Azazel's smile widened. "And what exactly are you planning to seal inside it?" he asked. "There aren't any creatures with the power to reverse how things work."
"Yeah, I changed my mind about that," Adrien said. "I don't need a creature that reverses concepts anymore. What I need is a way to bypass Divide. So, I'll ask again. Do you still have your research on Divine Dividing?"
"I do," Azazel said. "But they're at Grigori headquarters. I'll send them to you in a few days. In return, you'll have to help me with something."
Adrien narrowed his eyes.
"I helped you defeat Katerea and Vali. I still haven't been paid for that, by the way."
"We gave you Tokyo, you brat!" Azazel snapped. "If you don't help me, I'm not sending you the research!"
Adrien clicked his tongue. "Fine," he sighed. "What do you want me to help you with?"
"I'll tell you later. You're going to the Underworld this summer, right?"
"Yeah," Adrien said. "There's stuff I need to deal with. And right now, I have way too many ideas I want to try with the info you gave me."
"—!" Azazel's eyes widened. He had just remembered what kind of person Adrien was. And he might have brought a catastrophe to the Underworld.
Click!
The door to the Occult Research Club opened, and a girl entered the room. She had long black hair tied into a ponytail behind her back and purple eyes.
"Ara~ who do we have here?" Akeno said with a smile. She walked up to Adrien and sat on his lap.
"Why haven't you been visiting?" she asked, hugging his neck then kissing his cheek. "I missed you."
Azazel watched the two with a smirk on his face. It reminded him of himself.
Adrien wrapped an arm around her waist. "I need to talk with Azazel about something, and I need Rias's help too."
"I'm sure she'll happily help you," Akeno said as she took out her phone. "I'll contact her."
Then she sent a message to her best friend.
"How's Issei doing?" Adrien asked, turning his head toward Azazel.
"The kid's full of spirit," Azazel said. "He's constantly spouting nonsense about wanting to become a Harem King."
"He gets it," Adrien said, nodding in agreement with Issei's dream. "Nothing better than being surrounded by gorgeous women."
"Right?" Azazel said with a grin. "Though dragons naturally tend to form polygamous relationships. Strong men attract attention, so he doesn't really need to worry about that part. And I guess he gets stronger when girls are around him, so Sirzechs ordered the girls of the Gremory peerage to move into the Hyoudou residence. Everyone did, except Akeno here." Azazel pointed at her with an amused smile.
"You didn't?" Adrien asked, shifting his attention to Akeno.
Akeno smiled and gently touched his cheek with her finger. "I don't mind Issei. He's a cute underclassman," she said. "But the one I really like is you."
Azazel let out a small laugh. "Sirzechs didn't really mind either. Actually, he looked kind of happy for some reason. Which means he's definitely planning something."
Adrien looked at Akeno for a second.
"Wanna come live with me?" he asked casually. "I've got plenty of rooms, and you can set up a magic circle in your room so you can teleport straight to Kuoh."
Akeno's smile widened. "Ara~ I'd love to," she said. "But I should ask the president first."
"I think it'll be fine," Azazel said. "I'll talk with Rias."
Of course, Azazel had his own reason for agreeing.
He had heard that Akeno still hadn't fully accepted her Fallen Angel side. But he had also heard from Rias that she became less against it after Adrien spent a week with her at the shrine.
So Azazel wanted to see if Adrien could help Akeno use her holy power properly.