Chapter 267: Beyond God-Class (Contains Half a Chapter of Setting; Skip if Uninterested)
Beyond the entanglements of gratitude and grudges among the three major factions, Sona also provided a detailed explanation of the world's power dynamics and the strength classifications beyond Satan-Class.
The Three Realms are vast. While they appear to exist on a single planet with the endless cosmic void beyond, the truth is that they form a supermassive world with a dome-shaped heaven and flat earth.
However, this truth can only be discovered upon reaching god-level.
Just as the Ten Chief Gods occupy a corner of the Heavenly Realm, many mythological forces from legends are active in other parts of the world.
Angels, devils, and fallen angels are merely the three strongest forces in this region.
Nearby exist Eastern mythological forces, while closer to the origin lie Greek mythological forces, Norse mythological forces, Egyptian mythological forces, and other powerful entities.
All these forces evolved over a long period of time from the world's origin after the innate deities returned to the cosmic source.
Like the three races of angels, devils, and fallen angels, constant wars rage within each mythological force.
To take the nearest example - Eastern mythology:
First came the great war among dragons, phoenixes, and qilins, followed by the war between witches and devils, then the Investiture of the Gods conflict, and later the struggle between Buddhism and Taoism...
Far more spectacular and intense than the war among the three races.
Were it not for this, Eastern mythology would undoubtedly dominate all mythological forces.
As for Japan's native mythological forces, they aren't even recognized.
Their so-called eight million gods are viewed by the outside world as eight million cannon fodder, and the lowest grade at that.
While there are indeed some top-tier experts among them, the truth is they're all failures from Eastern mythology.
Having failed to establish themselves in their homeland, they went abroad to find some corner to hide in.
This is also why Japan was easily invaded by the three races.
The three races urgently signed a peace agreement because they realized they couldn't continue fighting.
Their foundations aren't as deep as Eastern mythology's. If they kept consuming themselves in internal conflicts, they might turn into historical dust once other mythological forces invaded.
Moreover, the world's momentum follows the pattern: long divided must unite, long united must divide.
When other mythological forces calm their internal conflicts, war between mythological forces becomes inevitable.
Whether dealing with immediate crises or preparing for future trends, the three races cannot continue exhausting each other.
Haruto listened while nodding. Seeing that President Sona had been speaking for so long, he thoughtfully handed her a glass of water to moisten her throat.
These ancient secrets were fascinating, but more than that, he wanted to know this world's power ceiling.
"President Sona, how powerful were those innate deities exactly?"
"The specifics are lost to time, but if they didn't turn into world origin upon death, this world would likely have been destroyed long ago in their battles."
Sona took a drink of water. After speaking for so long, she was indeed quite thirsty.
With Haruto's help, having moistened her throat, her condition improved again, and she continued explaining the power hierarchy of top-tier experts.
With innate deities at the peak, this power level is called Evil God.
They exist in the Three Realms, though not many. Such powerful beings are nearly immortal, only possibly falling when confronting external Evil Gods.
Precisely because external powers watch the Three Realms, this level of power is called Evil God.
Of course, for those who protect the Three Realms, there's another term - Far Beyond Dragon God level.
Naturally below Far Beyond Dragon God level comes Super Dragon God level, followed in descending order by Dragon God level, Sub-Dragon God level, and Chief God level.
The Chief God level is essentially the God level. While not numerous, there are still a considerable number of beings at this level across various factions, each with different designations.
This is the origin of the Ten Chief Gods title.
Moreover, there are multiple ways to attain God level.
Depending on the method of advancement, different titles are used.
Among the widely recognized ones are: God level, Chief God level, Heavenly Dragon level, Transcendent, and Higher Deity.
Below God level is the Super Satan-Class, equivalent to EX+, while Satan-Class is EX.
Further down is SSS rank, known as Special-Class Devil in devil terminology, equivalent to Ten-Winged beings for angels and fallen angels—which matches Haruto's current strength level.
Corresponding to Satan-Class is Twelve-Winged status, with both Michael and Azazel being Twelve-Winged beings.
Haruto mentally noted this power classification system.
He had encountered all levels below God level and had a general understanding, but his main focus was on levels above God level.
Previously vague concepts finally became clear—the Two Heavenly Dragons were merely at the entry level of God level, with several major realms still above them.
"God level beings rarely appear in the Three Realms, as they primarily reside in the boundless void of the universe."
"This is because the destructive power of God level beings is too great for the Three Realms to withstand, and the Three Realms no longer meet their cultivation requirements."
Sona concluded: "All God level beings tacitly agree not to interfere in Three Realms affairs, making Super Satan-Class the strongest combat force in the Three Realms."
Haruto nodded in understanding.
In this world, personal strength wasn't tied to race, and tracing back to origins, everyone came from the same source. There was truly no need to intervene in mortal development.
...
...
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Due to busy preparations for the meeting, Haruto's plan to help Rias and others improve their strength had to be temporarily shelved.
Meanwhile, to avoid negative impacts, the treatment of beautiful girls wasn't continued either.
Thus, Haruto spent these three days mostly catching up on numerous eroge heroines.
Though busy without a moment's rest, he enjoyed himself thoroughly.
June 20th, Sunday.
9:00 AM. Haruto and the Occult Research Club members stepped onto the teleportation array.
After the familiar spatial fluctuation, everyone appeared in a medieval European-style castle villa's living room.
Haruto scanned the room and found some acquaintances already present.
At the black marble round table, the red-haired Devil King Sirzechs sat directly opposite, while on the other side was a charming black-haired twin-tailed beauty.
Undoubtedly, this should be Sona's biological sister, one of the current Four Great Devil Kings, Serafall Leviathan.
Haruto had some impression of her, but mainly focused on the two people standing behind her.
"President Sona, and Tsubaki, good morning."
He greeted them, but the two bespectacled girls only nodded slightly without speaking.
Not only were they silent, but Rias' group was also unusually quiet.
Apparently, the presence of two Devil Kings combined with the meeting's importance was putting great pressure on the girls.
Haruto shrugged—he didn't feel much pressure himself.
However, seeing both the usually frivolous Sirzechs and Serafall looking serious, he touched the tip of his nose and quieted down as well.
Soon, two more spatial fluctuations occurred in the living room as the meeting's other two representatives appeared simultaneously.
The representative of the angels was a golden-haired beauty with a halo above his head, a gentle smile, and clad in shining golden armor—one of the Four Great Seraphs, Michael.
The other person had short white hair and wore a pair of glasses, dressed like a scholar.
Following behind him was a trendily dressed young man with flowing silver-gray layered hair and a defiant gaze, though when he looked at Haruto, there was a faint hint of hostility.
Haruto glanced back but didn't pay it much mind.
He recognized the other—the renowned successor to the White Dragon Emperor, Vali Lucifer.
That meant the scholarly-looking man in front was likely Shemhazai, who had taken over Azazel's position.
As for Shemhazai, Haruto couldn't say he knew nothing about him—he was completely unaware of the man's existence.
While Haruto was lost in thought, Michael and Shemhazai had already taken their seats.
Vali Lucifer, like Haruto and his group, stood against the wall behind Shemhazai.
"Allow me to introduce everyone—this is my younger sister and her servants…"
Sirzechs spoke first. The four Satan-Class figures exchanged brief pleasantries before quickly getting down to business.
All three factions had their own war advocates and those dissatisfied with the ceasefire, but since they were present here, it was clear that internal issues weren't a major problem.
Under the influence of the butterfly's wings, the meeting proceeded much more smoothly than in the original timeline. Even the fallen angels didn't bring up Azazel's death.
It seemed all sides were truly feeling immense pressure and urgently needed time to recuperate.
Once a preliminary consensus was reached, the representatives of the three factions turned their attention to Haruto and Vali—or rather, to the current Red Dragon Emperor and White Dragon Emperor.
"Now, we'd like to hear from the Red Dragon Emperor and White Dragon Emperor—outsiders to the three factions yet possessing the power to influence the world…"
Shemhazai paused before asking, "What are your thoughts?"
Vali Lucifer leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed, and said indifferently, "As long as I can fight strong opponents, I'm fine with anything."
"Well, even without a war, there are still strong opponents."
Vali glanced at Haruto. "True enough."
"Then… Red Dragon Emperor, what are your thoughts?"