Chapter 318: Putting a Collar on the Girl, Sealing Her Lips...
Today, the Occult Research Club welcomed a few new faces.
One was a girl with purple hair, a descendant of Leviathan.
However, she was not affiliated with the previous Leviathan. In fact, if the former Leviathan from the Old Satan Faction knew of this girl's existence, she would undoubtedly try to kill her.
The reason was simple: this purple-haired girl was a hybrid of human and devil. As a pureblood, Katerea would never accept such a being and would seek her death.
Now, this girl sat somewhat bewildered and uneasy, as she could be said to have no family left in this world.
It wasn't that her relatives had been killed or anything of the sort, but rather that the girl was from a hundred years ago.
A century earlier, she had fallen ill with a special condition—sleeping sickness—and had only awakened recently.
Upon waking, she found that her family from the past had already passed away.
"Ancestor, you said Miss Ingvild woke up last Sunday?"
Rias asked the twin-tailed red-haired girl before her, who appeared young but was actually the ancestor she referred to—the ancestor of the Gremory family, named Runeas Gremory.
This ancestor had been very close friends with the original Leviathan in the past, so while helping him search for suitable candidates, she inadvertently looked into Leviathan and discovered this child, bringing her along.
"Mhmm."
Runeas nodded and took a sip of the tea handed to her by Akeno.
"And this Miss Valerie Tepes also suddenly awakened a Longinus last Sunday."
Rias said, turning her gaze to another figure.
The other had golden hair tinged with an earthy sand color, tied into a ponytail at the back. Her crimson eyes held a hint of emptiness, yet her face wore a very gentle expression.
As for her, she was a hybrid of vampire and human. Normally, such individuals would be ostracized by vampires, as seen with Gasper, one of Rias's servants.
Moreover, Valerie had some connection to Gasper—a relationship akin to that of a benefactor, as without her, Gasper might have come to harm.
Valerie's sudden awakening of a Longinus on Sunday had also caused turmoil within the vampire race.
There were two major factions among vampires: the Carmilla Faction, which revered females, and the Tepes-led faction—which revered males.
But because news of Valerie's sudden Longinus awakening leaked out, tensions between the two factions grew strained.
Originally, their powers were roughly equal, but the balance shifted due to the Longinus, potentially sparking a civil war among vampires, with the Carmilla Faction likely striking first.
Thus, Runeas, who had unintentionally become involved, took Valerie Tepes away as well, not only because vampires were targeting her but also because Rizevim!!!
Had Runeas been any later, Rizevim would have almost captured Valerie.
"Both last Sunday...?"
"Could it be!"
Asia and Xenovia exchanged glances, then speculated on one possibility.
Rias, too, sensed that these two—one suddenly awakening (also related to a Longinus) and the other suddenly gaining a Longinus—were clearly connected to him.
That day, he had gone to Heaven. Could he have inherited the power of God there?
Moreover, the Divine Artifact System existed in Heaven as well. Perhaps after he took it over, the system returned to normal operation?
Note: I've maintained consistency with the provided glossary for character names and terminology. For names not in the glossary (like Katerea and Rizevim), I've used standard romanization. The translation preserves the original's narrative flow and contextual nuances while adapting it into natural English.
"Actually, quite a few people have suddenly awakened their Sacred Gears in recent days."
A rather serious voice chimed in—that was Lavinia, who was also a member of the fallen angel organization Grigori.
According to intelligence obtained from them, most of the suspected Sacred Gear users under surveillance had suddenly awakened their Sacred Gears.
Among them, they discovered a Longinus called the Black-Bladed Dog God.
So, this must be related to someone, right? Specifically, the monarch she now serves.
Lavinia only knew that he had gone to Heaven that day, and then these events occurred, so the rumors about him possibly inheriting the power of the God of the Bible might be true.
"So, that guy inherited the power of the God of the Bible, right?"
Runeas pursed her lips, speaking with apparent displeasure.
"That's not it, King Solomon-sama is—mmph!"
Asia, who had spoken up to this point, was immediately gagged by Xenovia, who signaled her not to speak carelessly.
Although most people present were trustworthy, there were still a few outsiders here, and it would be troublesome if they escaped.
"Oh? It's not?"
Runeas showed an intrigued expression.
If he didn't inherit the power of the God of the Bible, then why was Gabriel's attitude toward him so excessively respectful?
Even if he was a Son of God, he shouldn't be treated with the respect due to a master.
Master?
That probably wasn't possible.
"King Solomon?" *3
Three astonished voices spoke in unison.
Two of them were Ingvild and Valerie, while the third was also a half-breed—a hybrid of a grim reaper and human, a petite blue-haired girl named Bennia Orcus.
This shinigami girl was also one of the candidates brought by Runeas, having been taken from Hades' side.
This was somewhat strange because Hades, as the Ruler of the Underworld, actually wanted to kill such a young girl—clearly there was some secret involved.
And indeed there was a secret, as this girl had accidentally discovered Hades' conspiracy and was nearly silenced before being rescued by Runeas.
Soon, the three of them realized the purpose of being brought here by Lady Runeas—it must be to meet this person, right?
Was he the one who could shelter the three of them?
But it was strange—wasn't King Solomon a figure from three thousand years ago? Shouldn't he be dead?
Also, inheriting the power of the God of the Bible? What did that mean?
It sounded almost as if they were saying the God of the Bible had died.
Perhaps Ingvild and Valerie didn't know yet, but Bennia indeed knew that the God of the Bible had already died.
When she accidentally overheard some of Hades' conspiracies, she learned the news that the God of the Bible had long since perished.
"Hmm, his class should be over, he's probably coming soon"
The princess of the Gremory family said this.
So, this King Solomon was also studying at this school?
No, the identity of a teacher would be more appropriate.
Just at that moment, they heard footsteps approaching from outside.
What kind of person would it be?
As the door opened, the scene that greeted everyone's eyes made them all stunned.
A young man was leading a golden-haired girl as beautiful as a Western doll.
But here, "leading" didn't mean holding the girl's hand—instead, he was holding a rope, with one end connected to a collar around the girl's neck, and her lips stuffed with a ball gag?
What kind of play was this?