— — — — — —
"You look pretty lively, Shemhazai. Not having to worry about that idiot Azazel anymore makes me feel ten years younger."
Ryo stepped forward and shook hands with Shemhazai, both men smiling pleasantly.
As they chatted, two more people stepped out of Ryo's car.
Akeno Himejima and Ophis.
The moment Ophis emerged, the atmosphere around the entrance shifted instantly.
"That dragon aura... she is..."
The fallen angel Armaros, a bearded man with a black eyepatch over one eye, looked visibly stunned.
"The Infinite Dragon God..."
Kokabiel's face filled with wariness.
"So that's Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God?"
Within the crowd, Vali Lucifer's fighting spirit surged almost immediately.
"A little girl?"
Tobio Ikuse, meanwhile, looked completely dumbfounded. He clearly couldn't reconcile the legendary strongest being in the world with a girl who looked barely twelve years old.
At that moment, Ophis suddenly turned her head toward Vali.
"Albion?"
As soon as she spoke, blue light wings appeared behind Vali.
Then a deep, resonant voice rang out. "It has been nearly a thousand years since we last met, Lady Ophis."
The White Dragon Emperor Albion. One of the legendary Two Heavenly Dragons, and the powerful dragon sealed within the Longinus Divine Dividing.
According to legend, Albion had already been a Heavenly Dragon-class being from birth. After countless years of growth and battle, he eventually became one of the strongest beings in the world.
Yet during the Great War involving the Creator God, he was defeated, and both his body and soul were forged into the Sacred Gear now known as Divine Dividing.
"Oh? Has it really been that long?"
Ophis didn't seem particularly sensitive to the passage of time. Or rather, she rarely cared about anything besides returning home.
Still, encountering one of her own kind made her slightly more talkative than usual.
"So this man is your current host?" She glanced at Vali.
"Hahaha, more than that. Vali is the strongest host I've ever had." Albion sounded genuinely pleased for once.
Perhaps because another dragon was present, he couldn't resist showing Vali off a little.
Vali neither rejected the praise nor acted smug about it. He simply accepted it as fact.
"Oh?" Ophis looked at him again, though her expression remained flat. Then she delivered her evaluation calmly. "If there were ten thousand people at his level, they might be able to cause Ryo a little trouble. Not bad."
The moment those words landed, Vali's expression froze solid.
Ten thousand copies of him... just to cause Ryo a little trouble?
Was that supposed to be praise for him or praise for Ryo?
At that moment, Ryo walked over to Ophis and chuckled softly, "Sounds like you're underestimating me, Ophis."
Underestimating...
Vali's face twitched violently.
So apparently even more than ten thousand of him still wouldn't be enough to do anything significant?
"Hmm? Is that so? Ah... yes, I suppose that's possible." Ophis seriously considered Vali's strength for a moment before nodding in agreement with Ryo's wording.
Albion: "..."
Something suddenly felt very wrong.
He had proudly declared that Vali was his greatest host ever, yet Ophis casually claimed ten thousand Valis would only amount to "a little trouble" for Ryo.
Lady Ophis, are you secretly Ryo's biggest fan?
At that point, Ryo finally looked toward Vali.
"So this is Vali Lucifer?"
"Yes."
Shemhazai quietly moved beside Vali, partly to stop him from exploding and partly to handle the explanation himself.
Vali's challenge to Ryo had been the direct trigger for this visit, but the bigger reason was that the fallen angels wanted to prove their value.
Among the three factions, their side was currently in the weakest position. If they didn't show some potential soon, even Shemhazai worried they might get abandoned.
Because of that, Vali could make trouble... just not right now.
Better to wait until Ryo started doubting the value of the Fallen Academy, then let Vali show off a bit and remind everyone that the fallen angels still had promising talent.
So at this moment, Shemhazai had to keep Vali under control.
After examining Vali carefully, Ryo smiled. "A very promising young man. With the proper training, he might reach Ophis's level in about two thousand years."
Two thousand years..?
Vali's expression darkened, though excitement still flickered beneath it.
He didn't actually mind being looked down on.
If Ryo truly possessed the strength to stand above him like this, then Vali had no complaints.
A real man shut people up with strength.
"Va-kun definitely won't need that long!"
Lavinia immediately puffed up in protest and aggressively patted Vali on the head. "Two hundred years is more than enough!"
'Shut up, woman. I was aiming for thirty...'
Vali screamed internally, but against Lavinia, whom he treated like an older sister, he didn't dare fight back.
"Two hundred years?" Ryo shook his head slightly. "Possible, but unlikely."
The "Ophis level" he referred to was Little Garden's four-digit rank.
Vali was still far from that.
Though with an extraordinary opportunity, it wasn't entirely impossible.
After all, hadn't Ryo himself risen from an ordinary human to the four-digit level in less than half a year?
"How is it unlikely?!" Lavinia looked ready to argue further, but Shemhazai quickly stopped her.
"Let's end this discussion here."
He looked at her helplessly.
The new counselor was still far too naïve and didn't understand the situation.
How could you openly argue with your superior like that? You had to do it discreetly.
Grumbling internally, he turned back toward Ryo, "Regarding the inspection schedule..."
"Let's begin immediately," Ryo replied casually, sounding not particularly expectant. "I'd also like to see the standards of the Fallen."
The most talented individuals were already gathered here.
Tobio Ikuse.
Vali Lucifer.
And Lavinia, the girl who had just argued with him.
Those three Longinus users represented the academy's greatest talents.
If properly trained, producing three four-digit-level existences wasn't impossible.
Even in Little Garden's lower levels, they would already count as top-tier fresh blood.
"Please follow me." Shemhazai gestured politely and took the lead.
Ryo nodded and followed behind his guide.
The group entered the building ahead.
"We should get going too."
Akeno took Ophis's hand, though inwardly she felt nervous.
Ajuka hadn't come. Sirzechs hadn't made a move either.
Among the visitors, there were only Ryo, Ophis, and herself.
Which probably meant she was the weakest member of the group by far.
Could this really work?
Akeno was starting to panic a little.
But then Ophis gently squeezed her hand, and Ryo, walking ahead, turned back and smiled reassuringly at her.
Seeing that, Akeno immediately calmed down.
With those two present, nothing could possibly go wrong.
Holding onto that thought, she took a deep breath and stepped forward.
Right then, however, a female fallen angel approached her.
"Please come this way. Vice Governor Shemhazai has already prepared the optimal tour route for the two of you."
It's starting.
Akeno's pupils contracted slightly, but she still nodded and followed behind the female fallen angel.
The group was deliberately being separated.
As though everything had already been planned in advance.
Sensing the two drifting farther and farther away, the corners of Ryo's lips slowly curled upward.
.
.
.