The Seraphic System Hydra?

The Seraphic System

Chapter: 68

Disclair: I don’t own High School Dxd or any other universe used in this story.

Pa/ t reon details below the chapter if you're interested in seeing so content in advance. I'll keep posting regardless. If you have any suggestions you would like to see added, I will try to incorporate what I can :)

(Hydra?)

“We are an assassination organisation based within the underworld, more so in Devil territory as it’s easier to hide among them. We get a lot of work from them, including the hit that was placed on you.” The Forr Assassin quickly explained.

“What’s the na of this organisation?”

“Hydra.” He replied grimly.

“Right, I’m guessing it’s sothing to do with the ‘For every head cut off, two regrow in its place.’ Aspect.” I mused.

A very faint heat rose to his cheeks.

“Tell more about the hit on , who wants dead?” I asked perhaps the most important question.

“Lord Phenex.” He replied.

That one word made everything click into place.

Yeah, fighting two pureblood devils was never going to go down well. Admittedly, my mind had been… not completely healed at that point so I hadn’t given a shit.

That had co to bite in the ass.

The Assassins had shown themselves to be a nuisance for the most part, but a few tis like the first attempt had done real damage.

It seems I would have to visit Lord Phenex too.

Though, how would I go about that? Holy power or light power would leave residue. Even the use of Angelic mana would be able to be traced unless I found a way to absorb it. This normally wouldn’t matter but I was going into Devil Territory.

If the Devils found my involvent, it’d be war.

We didn’t have the resources for that or the manpower. It also led to one of the reasons I had been hesitant to tell anyone about my status as the Heir. My power simply wasn’t near the level of the Super Devils or even a Major God.

One thing at a ti.

The Assassination organisation was in Devil territory. I wouldn’t be able to bring Angels who don’t know how to conceal their own auras. Tiamat should be able to co at the very least.

“How many Assassins can I expect?” I further questioned.

“Ten. Minus the one you’ve killed and .” He explained. “As for the power scaling, it’s quite simple. The lower the number, the stronger the Assassin.”

I smiled reassuringly.

“Good, now. What defences can I expect within the building?”

That was one of the most important questions.

"Most of the warding is automated and concentrated on the exterior. The building itself functions as a hotel, so you can enter through the front without issue. The real problem is the heavy surveillance. If you can find a way to conceal your aura, you should be able to slip through unnoticed." He inford . “Other than that you only need to worry about the Grand Inquisitor.”

“The Grand Inquisitor, I’m guessing he’s your boss?” Hestia asked from beside .

“Well, yes. Technically.” He responded.

“Technically?” I asked.

If there was another boss I needed to know.

“He’s vaguely ntioned his Master.” He replied hesitantly.

“Continue.” I urged.

“There is soone above, soone who gives us all the high-tech. I really can’t tell you much because I don’t know but he’s a high-ranking mber of a group.” He replied seriously.

“What’s his na and the na of the group?”

“I don’t know either, I only know the organisation above starts with a K and is composed of several powerful groups.” He responded with a frown.

I grimaced.

“The Khaos Brigade,” I concluded.

His eyes widened. “Yes!”

So his boss was a high-ranking mber of the Khaos Brigade. A high-ranking mber ant he would be powerful. My knowledge of Canon was iffy at best and I doubted I’d have much value anymore.

That ant he was up there with Shalba Beelzebub and the other leaders of Factions.

I’d be going to war with the Khaos brigade too.

“Kai?” Hestia questioned.

I better not get caught then.

“Tell more about the Grand Inquisitor.” I ordered.

"I don’t know much about him either. All I can say is that he’s Ultimate-Class in strength. He always wears a hood, so I’ve never seen his face, but I do know he has long, bony fingers and the ability to control shadows." He answered instantly.

That was useful. He wasn’t in the God-class and that’s all that mattered or at least he hadn’t shown himself to be. I’d be wary. My Angelic magic reserves had reached the High-ultimate class and my magical attack power was easily in the pseudo-God class.

I had co to learn there was so much more to power than just sheer power levels. There ca a point where it beca about your skills and how much attack power you could generate with them.

After all, a God-class mage who was limited by his spells would only be able to generate a certain amount of attack power. This could be considered a barrier for many. Except , since I had a Manipulation Skill. Multiple of them along with a higher-tier Manipulation Skill in the form of Light Embodint.

Learning this made realise that Manipulation Skills must be pretty rare.

They could obviously be obtained. Maybe that’s why mages were known to seek Gods to worship. For blessings that would grant them Manipulation Skills.

Anyway, I wouldn’t have this problem.

“Perfect, thank you for your cooperation. We will speak again when your information has been verified.” I finished.

“Wha-“

I moved before he could finish his sentence, a quick chop to the neck knocking him out cold. His body slumped forward, and with a flick of my wrist, I stored him away in my inventory.

Hestia blinked at , then smiled in amusent. “You could’ve at least let him finish talking.”

I smiled at her. “He was done.” I stretched my arms and rolled my shoulders, feeling satisfied with how the interrogation had gone. “Shall we head back?”

Her face shifted to gain a look of worry.

“Sure- but Kai. Are you going to be okay? What’s this Khaos Brigade? And he said there would be multiple Assassins, will you be able to handle them along with an unknown Ultimate class?” Hestia asked worriedly. When she put it like that, it did sound bad.

“I’ll be fine, I’ve gotten alot stronger and plus Tiamat will be with ,” I replied reassuringly. “If it gets too hectic, I have a couple of trump cards.”

Hestia nodded hesitantly, coming next to and holding my hand silently. I blinked and she rely tightened her hold on my hand.

“How have things been going in Olympus?” I decided to change the topic.

She frowned a bit at that.

“You certainly left an impression. After it was revealed that Ares was involved, Zeus called him for punishnt. I don’t imagine it would have been anything too bad but Ares has vanished.” She explained with a sigh. “More troubling is the fact we think Father has returned.”

"Your father… Kronos?" I asked carefully.

She nodded, crossing her arms. "The signs are subtle, but that attack we received before ascending up to Olympus. It certainly felt like him and I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“So, as you can imagine. It’s been a bit strange as of late but mostly the sa. Even with such a threat my lazy brother has decided that since multiple parts of Kronos still remain locked away. That he wasn’t a threat.” She sighed.

“Parts of him are still sealed away? How would he be alive in that case?” I questioned.

“A vessel. A strong one. He’s probably incredibly weakened.” She replied.

“Is that the assumption everyone is going with?” I asked, it was plausible. I imagine he would have probably attacked us instead of trying to destroy the gate to Olympus.

“Yes.” She said softly.

Her face was mixed.

“How do you feel about it?” I asked.

She jumped slightly, looking at with wide eyes.

A faint red hue beca evident on her pale cheeks once more and she rely smiled as she started leading back to the house.

“I’m good, thank you.”

Well, ok then.

ntally shrugging, we began walking down to where everyone else was down by the house.

I walked inside and was greeted by dusa… who didn’t have her blindfold on. My hand let go of Hestia’s and rely smiled, walking off and giving us so privacy.

dusa’s gaze t mine, deep violet, swirling with two rings within them.

She hesitated for a mont before offering a shy smile. “Welco back, Kai.”

“It looks like the tree’s blessings have done more for you than anyone else,” I imdiately noted, studying the rings in her irises.

dusa brightened, her shyness giving way to happiness. “Yes! And I can’t ever repay you enough.”

“So tell , I’m assuming the curse has either been removed or you’ve gained control?” I questioned.

Her face lted and beca slightly more emotional. “Finally, the curse that’s haunted for so many years that I can’t even count has beco controllable. I don’t know what those trees are but the blessing has turned the curse into a weapon.”

I grinned. “So you can control it now, huh? I had expected the blessing would have an effect on your eyes but this was perhaps the best thing that could have happened.”

She pulled him into an excited hug, her thin arms gripping tightly.

“You have no idea how surprised and overjoyed I was, I wish you could have been there.” She replied sincerely.

I chuckled lightly. “It’s good to be back. Has everything been okay?”

dusa nodded. “I was startled when a Greek God suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but Lady Hestia has been good to . I’ll admit, I was wary at first because of my past experiences, and I may have been a bit rude. But she was kind—nothing like the gods I’ve known before.”

I smiled. “Good, I heard she’s been taking care of everyone.”

dusa finally pulled back and looked at deeply. “A lot has happened. Hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” I responded tiredly.

“Is Heaven treating you well?” She asked worriedly.

“They have been, so recent events have certainly been tiring though,” I replied.

She stared at imploringly.

May as well rip the bandage off.

“Not to alarm you but I am considered the King Of Heaven,” I revealed.

No one ever said I was good at explaining anything.

She stared at with evident disbelief.

“Let call Hestia back, if I’m going to tell you, I want to tell her too.” I sighed.

She deserves to know, Hestia had beco close to and I wasn’t going to keep it a secret from her. It wouldn’t make sense too, considering my Angels and Tiamat know about it.

Keeping secrets when it wasn’t needed would be foolish and annoying to keep track of.

Hestia reappeared next to us at the ntion of her na. She tilted her head softly. “Tell what?”

dusa inspected my face. “You aren’t joking are you?”

“No. It’s a long story and how it ca to be could be linked to the events that transpired during the Divine Quest. To first explain, I need to reveal that God has been dead for a long ti.” I started my explanation.

Hestia paused, looking slightly shocked by the information.

dusa nodded slowly. “Yeah. That’s not completely unbelievable.”

That made pause in my explanation. “Why?”

“Well… I hadn’t wanted to bring it up, but rumours among Monsters had been spreading. The church was weakening and no Saint had been chosen in hundreds of Years. Assumptions were being made and with how bold the Devils have been…” she trailed off.

When she put it like that, it felt pretty obvious.

“Yeah… I’m sure you’ve noticed that the Angels here refer to as their Father.” I started slowly.

dusa nodded understandingly.

“Yes. I had made a few speculations about that. My main thought was that you raised the other Angels and thus they referred to you as their Father, then again, my Domain had picked up that it was a bit deeper than that.” Hestia revealed with a sweet smile on her face.

“Well. To put this bluntly, I am the new successor To God and the Angels recently found out.” I revealed.

dusa once again looked at in disbelief while Hestia went completely blank. She could tell I was telling the truth after all.

“I see, so you created those Angels in the other room?” Hestia questioned.

“Yes.”

“WAIT A SECOND. So how did you beco King of an entire Faction? That’s a serious change, Kai. That changes everything. The supernatural political side of this… Heaven is a prominent Faction. There’s so much to consider.” dusa suddenly went on a rant.

"Well, to start, I was planning to reveal my status, but I needed to find a way to bypass Heaven's wards first. I wanted to visit you all." I explained and both of their eyes softened. “So I found myself down in Hell…”

Hestia blinked the fire in her eyes dimming. “Kai, you shouldn’t joke around.”

“No, I really did go to Hell,” I revealed bashfully.

“As in the deepest part of the underworld.” dusa seed close to having an aneurysm.

“Yes.”

I would forever deny any claim that my voice went a tad ek for even a nanosecond.

“Have you any idea how dangerous that place is?” Hestia’s voice wasn’t loud but I could practically feel the worry radiating off her. “As soone with a younger brother who manages part of the Underworld, I know about Hell. Not even Gods go there Kai. Beings live down there, only restricted by the Seals placed by the Abrahamic God.”

“I know, I didn’t know much about it before. I won’t be going down there again.” I assured her.

She nodded.

"Yeah, and while I was down there, I encountered a Demon," I admitted.

Their reactions were instant.

"A Demon?" dusa's eyes widened.

I noted her reaction.

“I see, so they were as rare as I thought. I hadn’t heard any ntion of them.” I mused.

"Kai, no one has seen a Demon in centuries. Not since the old wars a long ti before I was born.” dusa explained urgently.

Hestia looked just as shocked. "Are you certain?"

"Positive, but don’t worry, I handled it." I waved off their concern.

“You killed a Demon?” Hestia asked quietly, instead of relief there was worry.

“No, but I did escape,” I replied. "Though I don't think it was the only one."

A tense silence followed before I continued.

"When I teleported back to Heaven, the throne reacted to . That’s when my status as the Heir of God was revealed to the Arch-Seraphs."

dusa ran a hand through her hair, clearly overwheld. "That’s… a lot to process."

Hestia took a step forward. "When did this happen?"

I exhaled. "Just a few days ago."

That seed to be the breaking point for Hestia. Without warning, she pulled into a tight hug.

"You've been through a lot," she murmured. "It must have been a hectic few days. If God has been dead for so long, I can only imagine the reaction you’ve received from Heaven.”

I smiled slightly, allowing myself to relax for a mont. "Yeah… they all think I am the reincarnation of the old God.”

“Why’s that?” Hestia questioned.

“Because his Essence sohow rged with and I’ve been gaining his power.” I let loose another reveal.

They both stared at with wide eyes.

“Kai, not to alarm you but that’s a big deal,” Hestia muttered, protectively hugging .

Her large chest was pushing into and the sll she produced was filling my senses.

I took ti to admire her new form. She was curvy, extrely so. Perhaps only overshadowed by the likes of Gabriel. She had an easy hourglass with visibly thick thighs.

I closed my eyes and removed my focus from that particular thought.

“I assu Tiamat knows?” Hestia asked.

“Yes, she figured it out. I don’t think my Angels will care much. Besides considering Heaven mine.” I replied.

She smiled, pulling back with a small blush. “How about we relax before you go doing anything about that organisation…”

She had worded that carefully.

dusa still looked shocked, but she was sending a smile. “I suppose it doesn’t matter, you’re still the person I’ve decided to devote myself to. I’ll just have to get stronger.”

Wasn’t that nice?

“I admit, I do need ti to process this though.” dusa revealed dazedly.

I chuckled.

I finally had a chance to relax.

We walked into the living room.

Tiamat lounged on a couch, spotting and pulling onto the couch next to her. She smiled, only for that smile to falter as we were joined by… everyone.

I sunk into the couch beside Tiamat, with Avael, Ariel, Zakiel, Tamiel, and Aurel who had all found their spots directly around. I noticed that they seed to find a lot of comfort in physical touch.

Avael was already pestering Tamiel about sothing, while Aurel and Ariel had claid the floor by my feet, chatting in hushed voices. Zakiel, the quietest of the bunch, sat beside Hestia, watching the chaos with a faint smile.

Hours passed like that, simply relaxing with everyone. We didn’t particularly do anything. I mostly just listened as they spoke about training and learning tricks under Tiamat. Who had taken it upon herself to train them?

That did remind that I needed to teach them how to use Angelic Spells.

Finally, I caught Tiamat’s gaze.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t sit around for too long.

I had taken up a throne that had been inactive for a very long ti. There were many problems to attend to and I had only explored under a quarter of the entire Heavenly System.

I’m sure the eting tomorrow would have involved in these so-called political problems with Heaven too.

Even now, I was hesitating. If I ssed up, I’d start a war… that’s why Tiamat would be coming along.

She’d make sure no one escaped.

I needed to do this now.

We both took a step outside.

“I need your assistance,” I stated plainly.

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I know that look. What do you need and what’s in it for ?”

“An Assassination Organization dubbed Hydra has been after for quite a while. I need you to co as backup and make sure no one escapes since it’s in Devil Territory.” I inford her.

Her face went from relaxed to downright vicious at the reveal. “Never mind about compensation, where are they located?”

I smiled at her words and relayed what the Assassin told .

“When are we going?” She asked next.

“Now, I don’t have much ti before I should get back to Heaven,” I responded.

She frowned in displeasure. “Are you going to be gone for a long ti again after this?”

I paused.

“No. I have more freedom now and I'll be able to co back more often.” I assured her, shooting her a smile.

“Ok.” She replied, but I could sense her hesitation.

She didn’t push any further.

“Are you ready to go?” I questioned.

Tiamat smiled. “Yes. Pyrelis is a moderately sized City under the leadership of the Phenex. It won’t have any powerful figures we will have to worry about anywhere near it.”

I put my mask on and concealed my presence.

Opening my inventory, sothing Tiamat knew to be so sort of Spatial magic storage. Which was incredibly rare in this world. I pulled out two cloaks, tossing one of them to her.

She caught it and shot an amused smile.

"Can you teleport us to Pyrelis without anyone detecting us?"

She nodded.

I called Avael.

“My Lord?” She questioned.

“Avael, and Tiamat are going on a quick excursion. We will be back in an hour at most.” I inford her. “Make sure to tell your siblings and dusa, ok?”

“O-ok,” Avael confird.

I smiled, giving her a pat on the head for her efforts.

A rift ford and Tiamat followed through it. We both stepped out of the rift created, exiting the sub-dinsion so that Tiamat could teleport us.

Tiamat’s hand barely moved but I felt the shift in space imdiately. A do appeared around us and the flash of a magic circle was barely visible before we teleported.

-{Dulio Gesualdo}-

The light died down around Dulio and he erged from the teleportation circle just outside Kuoh, and more importantly the technical jurisdiction of the Devil's territory.

His form was obscured beneath a simple grey cloak.

Despite its simple look, this was actually an artefact. More specifically a Church artefact he carried, Veil of the Martyr, which concealed his holy presence.

He had borrowed it to ensure that neither Devils nor Fallen Angels would sense his arrival. Considering his strength he was politically considered a Heavy Hitter and was a presence that would be cause for alarm.

Dulio inspected the town before him, quiet under the evening sky. He adjusted the hood over his blond hair and moved quickly through the streets, keeping to the shadows as he searched for Asia Argento.

His eyes blurred as his sharp vision scanned the streets of Kuoh. Minutes passed, and he found sothing. He jumped and vanished from his position, reappearing a distance away.

Freed Sellzen.

His sharp mind vaguely knew of him. More importantly, there was a figure standing close to him.

Asia Argento.

Dulio’s gaze locked onto an alleyway where the rogue exorcist was dragging a struggling girl. Asia’s expression was one of quiet resignation, but even from a distance, he could see the uncertainty in her erald eyes.

Freed cackled, gripping her wrist tightly. “Oh, co on, Sister, don’t be so stiff! You’re gonna love it with us. Way more fun than that boring old Church.”

Asia’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I just… I just wanted to help.”

Freed snorted. “Yeah, yeah. You can help warm up later. Now keep moving.”

She was pure. Dulio could tell.

He jumped off the building top and landed on the ground gently.

Dulio stepped forward. “Let her go.”

Freed froze for a second before turning with a sneer. “Oh? And who the hell are you?”

Dulio reached up, lowering his hood slightly, revealing golden-blond hair and piercing blue eyes. “I am Saint Dulio.”

Asia gasped, her eyes widening in awe. “Saint… Dulio?”

Freed, on the other hand, burst into laughter. “Oh, that’s rich! You expect to care? There hasn’t been a Saint in hundreds of years, idiot. The bitch stays with .”

Dulio considered what to do. He was so laughably more powerful that he simply felt bad. He didn’t enjoy bullying.

Freed unsheathed his sword, swinging it with admittedly skilful precision. “Aren’t you so Church bigshot? Think if I kill you the idiots will let back in. All I did was kill a couple of sinners.”

Dulio sighed. “I was hoping you’d be reasonable.”

He moved.

In an instant, Freed’s vision blurred. A sharp impact cracked against his jaw and he crumpled like a broken puppet, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

Asia stared in shock, her lips parted in shock as Dulio turned to her.

“It’s alright now,” he said gently.

Asia’s hands trembled as she clasped them together. “Dulio… why are you here?”

He smiled kindly. “You must be very confused. You’ve been away from the church so I imagine many events have gone unknown to you. Do you know ?”

“I do, y-you are the strongest exorcist.” She replied, her face morphed in pure shock.

“I am.” He smiled.

She lowered her gaze. “Why are you here? You do know I’m excommunicated. I’m worthless to you and our Lord.”

“I don’t think our Lord agrees with that, considering he sent here to collect you,” Dulio replied warmly.

“H-he sent you here?” She replied, dropping to the ground.

It didn’t take any longer for tears to start streaming out of her eyes.

“You haven’t heard since it's being kept as a secret but I have been elected as the new Saint of our Lord.” He announced.

Her eyes widened even further.

“His first task was to bring you to safety, your excommunication was a mistake.” He continued.

The words hit her hard and she couldn’t handle it anymore, she broke down.

This was going to take a while.

-{Kai}-

For a split second, I saw nothing. No light, no dark. Just a void between places.

Then we were standing on a street.

The oppressive Demonic Energy didn’t take its ti making itself known, it was noticeably a few folds weaker than what the Depths of Hell had felt like. I looked up at the purple sky.

We were certainly in the underworld. Most of all, I looked out from the alleyway.

The city was alive with flickering lanterns and the distant murmur of Devils walking the streets. Devils walked around uncaringly, all around the low-class with a couple of mid-class Devils.

We arrived in the centre of Pyrelis.

We remained hooded, my mask concealed my presence and Tiamat’s presence was also concealed.

No Devil would sense us unless they were actively searching.

Tiamat stepped forward and I followed in silence, my eyes scanning every corner.

The streets were pristine, lined with polished stone and gold-trimd lamp posts. The Devils here were mostly well-dressed.

We slipped through the city, avoiding the main roads and taking the quieter paths. Each turn brought us closer. We knew the rough location of our target, and we knew the exact details of the Hotel that secretly served as a base for an Assassination Organisation.

It took a while of walking around until we saw it.

The hotel was unassuming as it stood three stories tall, its dark stone exterior blending in perfectly with the surrounding buildings. It wasn’t a place that would be looked at.

Hidden in plain sight. I could respect the thought put into it.

The windows were curtained, the entrance flanked by two seemingly ordinary Devils who stood unnaturally still.

We stayed hooded, our presence hidden beneath layers of magical concealnt. Even if a Devil stood right beside us, they wouldn’t notice unless they were actively searching.

As expected, we hadn’t encountered any Ultimate-Class or High-class Devils present.

Tiamat ca to a stop beside , her eyes narrowing as she studied the building.

“What’s the plan?” She questioned.

“Can you isolate the building with a barrier, one that would prevent anyone from coming in or out?” I asked, turning to her.

Her draconic eyes peered from under the hood.

“I can.” She replied.

“I want to go in alone. I’ll call you if I need help.” I replied.

I could just get her to do everything for but I couldn’t beco reliant on other people's power. I had a feeling I would be subjected to that for quite a bit in Heaven.

Without a word, she lifted a hand and spread her fingers, a pulse of draconic energy that could only be sensed for a single mont, expanded outward before the energy signature disappeared.

My chakra eyes activated and I was blinded by the sheer power used for this spell.

A barrier ford, a nearly invisible do that wrapped around the hotel seamlessly. To ordinary eyes, it was unnoticeable, but with my chakra-infused vision, I could see it clearly.

A dense network of layered draconic energy, woven together with precision. It was a barrier ant to block teleportation, suppress sound, suppress any energy signatures from escaping and prevent anyone coming in or out.

The two Devil guards jumped, only to promptly slump over. My Tempest Chakram ca back to my hand, their heads disconnected.

I glanced at Tiamat, who smirked. “That should keep anyone from slipping away.”

I nodded, my eyes locked on the hotel’s entrance.

“Then let’s begin.”

A powerful blast of wind destroyed the entrance.

-{Grand Inquisitor}-

His eyes snapped open.

Sothing was wrong.

The explosion that rocked the entire building that followed a few monts later only solidified that.

Already, a lot of the magical defensive formations had been brute-forced through.

That ant he was dealing with an Ultimate-class being of strength at least, he conjured a circle and raised an eyebrow at the lack of connection.

That was bad.

A powerful barrier was set around the building.

What had happened? All of this must have occurred within the last minute at best. aning a coordinated assault.

The master wasn’t going to be happy if he lost so many resources, especially with his plans regarding Heaven coming to fruition so soon.

Annoying.

Shadows ca up to cover him.

An alarm rang out as the building's many backup defensive wards and traps ca to life.

It seems he had sohow annoyed soone that shouldn’t have been annoyed. Even when he had been so careful. His mind calmly went through the candidates.

The Angel.

The only target that hadn’t died. Apparently, he had gone and gotten back up. Powerful back up.

His strength had risen incredibly during both encounters with his Agents. Last he was known to be at the low end of the ultimate class.

To be safe he would have to assu he had grown stronger.

He supposed it was about ti he stretched his limbs.

The Lord wouldn’t be happy if too much was damaged, especially if it cut into the profits.

-END-

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