Chapter 136: The Powers of a Sage

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We walked back indoors, taking the main door this time. I paused at the door while everyone entered, intending to dry myself off with a voice command.

“Dr-”

But before I could murmur the command, Rias ran up to me with a towel in her hand and a smile on her face.

“Come on, lean down a little,” she said as she reached out her hands to ruffle my hair with the towel. I compiled with a smile as she carefully dried my hair.

She began to move to my chest next, her towel wiping my neck along the way, but that's when Grayfia stepped in.

“There are people, be mindful,” she said in a low voice to her sister-in-law while walking closer to me. She raised a hand at me and chanted, “Dry.”

Circles of magic appeared under my feet and the air heated around me, blowing at my face, as the droplets of water on my body dried off. The cloud around my waist was almost blown away by that, but a focus of willpower kept it in place.

“Come with me,” she said. “I'll give you a pair of clothes.”

“No need,” I rejected the offer and closed my eyes. I focused on the inventory of items I had in my Void Storage, picking up a shirt, as I teleported it outside. Instead of teleporting in my hands, however, it took shape around my body since I bothered to focus on this. A Sage's willpower could pull off feats far greater than this. 

“Ah,” the weaker individuals here didn't catch what I did. Rias, Akeno, Mem-Cho, and that other blonde girl seemed to have assumed I used a cloth creation spell, but the three adults didn't miss my usage of a space-time technique.

“You own spatial storage without wearing an item? Very impressive…” Lord Agares said with an impressed look. As a Devil with dominion over Time, his knowledge of space-time magic wasn't short, so he understood how impressive it was.

The blonde girl appeared surprised seeing her father praise me. She looked back at me with a soft frown and said, “You're not bad for a human…”

“Ah, Seekvaira,” the Lord Agares looked at his daughter and shook his head. So that is her name? “You must train your senses better, he is not a mere human. At least, not anymore.”

“Huh…?” She shot her father a confused look and then looked back at me.

“He is a Demi-God,” Sirzechs cleared up, and that startled all the little girls. Memmy shot me a pleasantly surprised look, while Rias and Akeno looked at me with mixed shocks as well as slight fear.

Sirzechs noticed his sister's reaction and laughed, “Don't be like that, not all Gods are enemies to us. He is obviously an ally, as well as a… very good friend of yours.” He said, “Come inside already, it's discourteous for me to keep guests standing at the door for too long.”

He said and led the way, and we followed. Mem-Cho stepped back from her father and hugged my side with a smile, “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” I said, pulling her by the waist to bring her face close. I placed a soft kiss on her peck before lowering her to the floor.

We walked into the living room, and a much more welcoming feeling lingered in the air in comparison to the meeting room from earlier. We took seats on the couch, and Mem-Cho and Rias sat on my side.

Now, we had another thing to discuss.

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[Third Person Point of View]

“I am Gavrel Agares,” Lord Agares knew it was time to speak about the matter with his daughter, so he didn't beat around the bush. He looked at the young man beside whom his newly found eldest daughter sat comfortably and continued, “I have heard your names quite many times by now, Aquamarine, thanks to my cousin-aunt Ranefer Phenex. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that you're my daughter's boyfriend.”

Indeed, he learned about Aqua before he knew about this daughter of his. So it was quite a surprise when he learned about her.

“Oh, Ranefer is your cousin-aunt?” Aqua asked which made Lord Agares blink. He shared a look with Sirzechs who shrugged.

‘Did he just call her by name…?’ Gavrel was taken aback a little by that. In his mind, he knew of Aqua and Ranefer’s relationship to be that of a, in today's human terms, sugar mommy and sugar baby.

‘Oh well, it's probably nothing.’ Gavrel internally shook his head and nodded at Aqua's question. “Indeed she is. She is one of the progenitor devils, just like my late father. They were cousins.”

Aqua looked at his daughter hearing that, and Gavrel could practically hear his line of thoughts, ‘So that's why this girl looks similar to Ranefer.’

“Great to know,” he looked back at Lord Agares and smiled. “Then, father-in-law. I heard about your sudden discovery and interest in Mem’s existence. You seemed to be so interested in wanting to meet her that you sent your underling to threaten her,” his eyes turned cold at that. “That is quite unhealthy to do for a father who's attempting to meet his daughter for the first time, after abandoning her yet never bothering to look for her for 25 years.”

Lord Agares was not quite as arrogant as the other heads of prominent Devil Houses were, but he was still a devil. If the young human had dared to call him out like this half an hour ago, before he displayed the impressive show, Lord Agares would have had a lot to say to that.

Now? He just chuckled, “Ah, forgive me for giving you such an impression. I never meant to threaten her, she’s my own daughter, I was just excited to meet her. It appears that the subordinate I sent failed to properly follow my orders. I'll punish him myself.” He said and looked at Mem-Cho, “Have I scared you, sweetie? I'm sorry if I have.”

“Uhm, it's alright if you didn't mean it,” She hesitated, “But honestly… I'll prefer it if you don't contact me again.”

Gavrel paused while Seekvaira furrowed her brows. That was sudden. The room’s vibe changed suddenly as it grew tense and unpredictable. Aqua himself didn't show any reaction and maintained eye contact.

“Why, Mem?” Gavrel asked gently. “Did I offend you in some way?”

“Other than forgetting her existence? Or throwing her mother away after using her?” Instead of Mem-Cho, Aqua replied. “Yeah, I think they are reason enough already.”

Seekvaira redirected her frown towards Aqua and opened her mouth, “You, watch your tone when you talk to Father. Even if you're a Demi-God, you're inside the house of Satan Lucifer.” As an Ultimate-Class Devil, she didn’t fear Demi-Gods. “Besides, how dare you blame my father for a consensual mutual exchange? Do you even know how kind of a father he is? I-”

“Oh, Princess, shut up.” Aqua narrowed his eyes at her, his blue eyes crackling with lightning that put her red glare a step back. “You received the best from your father, and grew up as a princess, while my girlfriend suffered in poverty. She has to drop her education and leave her dreams behind to earn money. During the hardest times in her life, you were probably enjoying the life of royalty in some luxurious middle school?” He didn't stop at that, “Clearly your dear father raised you in luxury, no wonder you grew up so spoiled that you dare to threaten an enemy who is leagues above you in power.”

“You-!”

“Silence.” Aqua commanded and reality tightened her lips in one. “This isn't about you, so don't try to make it. This is about your father and your older sister,” he said and looked back at Garvel. “I realize that part of you might wish to make all things right, but she doesn't wish for it. The least you can do to make up for your mistakes is to respect her choice without argument.”

Sirzechs and Grayfia exchanged a look of pleasant surprise. They were surprised at Aqua’s authority over pure reality that he could shut up an Ultimate Class devil, even a weak one, with a voice command.

“....” Lord Gavrel’s expression remained a mask of placidness. He looked at Aqua for a short second before turning to Mem.

Devils were not as fertile as humans, they had a hard time conceiving children. The current heir to the Agares Clan, his daughter Seekvaira was only 20. Mem was 5 years older than that, so it's fair for her to be mad at him that she lived a hard life while her younger sister lived the life of royalty.

In any other situation, Gavrel would have argued or tried to talk sense into her, but… the young man beside her was too hard-headed.

At last, Gavrel sighed while maintaining eye contact with Mem-Cho. “Alright. I… understand where you're coming from. I'll respect it and not bother you after this. But just know that you're always a part of the Agares Clan, if you need anything you can reach out to me anytime. And… give your mother my greetings.”

“I'll keep that in mind.” Mem nodded with relief on her face. “But I'm not sure about the last part. She might not appreciate your greeting, Lord Agares.”

Gavrel felt slightly pained hearing her call him by title. Initially, he was only interested in her because of her power; after all, it wasn't everyone who awakened the Power of Time even within the Agares Clan. 

The other reason he was interested in her was because she was Aqua’s girlfriend. He had heard a lot about the boy and thought it was a jackpot that this random daughter of his was his girlfriend. But his intention was not pure evil, he also wanted to bring Mem to the family as his daughter too.

“Why not?” This time, Gavrel didn't give up as easily. “She might hate me, but I wish to meet her someday. I'm not sure if you are aware, but we devils can raise humans as reincarnated devils. In the future, I may be able to reincarnate your mother, as well as your brothers, even though I don't share any blood with them if they want it. They'll be immortal and therefore live fore-”

“I'm not interested,” she said, leaning on Aqua and putting a hand on his chest. “My boyfriend has already promised me a better option a long time ago. I'm sure my mother and brother will much prefer living a life of fulfillment, and then rest in heaven.”

Lord Gavrel stayed silent. He had nothing to say to that.

His youngest daughter, Seekvaira, looked extremely irritated by that, but she couldn't talk, her lips were still sealed.

“Alright then,” he sighed, nodding. “I understand.”

“Great. Let's put an end to this talk since we've reached a conclusion already,” Aqua said and snapped his finger to release the seal on Seekvaira’s lips.

The girl immediately snapped at him. No matter what, she's still an Ultimate Class devil in her own right. “You dare-!”

“Seekveria,” Gavrel raised a hand to stop her. “Don't embarrass me. Your older sister has decided, let her be.”

She snapped her head at him, opening her mouth to say something but closed it in the end. She clenched her jaws and shot Mem a glare, moving to Aqua to glare longer.

“Ahem,” Sirzechs cleared his throat. “As he said, let's put an end to this talk. I hoped it'd go better than this, but the choice has been made.” He said, turning to Rias, “Rather, do you not want to discuss the details about his sect? Like the process of joining and all the other things.”

“No,” she nudged closer to him, putting her arms around his elbow. Mem looked at her but said nothing. “We will discuss the details in private~ Or are you going to put your nose where it doesn't belong??”

“Rias, it was you who reached out to me about this matter…” Sirzechs looked at her dryly and she shrugged.

“Yeah, and you’ve already given me the permission. So now you can mind your own business, Onii-sama,” she said and he shook her head with the expression of a brother who realized he might have spoiled his sister a bit too much.

Grayfia looked at her sister-in-law with an annoyed frown and said, “If the meeting is done, you should leave. A Satan has a busy schedule.”

“Onii-sama, will you tell your maid to not be so rude? I can spend as much time as I want in my brother's home.” She looked at the Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation with a pouty frown, which she returned with a blank stare.

“Yes, Rias, we should leave,” Aqua was not at all interested in being an awkward spectator of this corny family exchange, so he stood up. He looked at Lord Agares one last time, who was not in the mood to care about Rias’ family banter.

“Okay, let's leave~ let's leave~” Rias had no reason to reject when Aqua asked that. She shot up to stand beside him and Mem, which made Sirzechs shake his head again and his wife sigh. 

Grayfia looked at Akeno, who had been standing behind the couch all this time. Her eyes spoke to Akeno’s, who nodded in understanding. It was up to her from now on to keep watch on her old friend as well as her King.

“In that case, I'll teleport you guys away,” Grayfia walked over to the four of them. She raised a hand to start casting the spell but Aqua raised a hand to stop her. 

“We got it,” he said and brought his hand down in a cleaving motion in the air. His voice commanded, “Cut.”

The dimension split into a door.

A door to the Occult Research Clubroom peeked at them from behind it. Everyone, including Sirzechs, stared in shock as he casually walked inside the crack in space.

“Come on,” he said as he left the devil's realm, entering the human world, while the spectators stood in silence. 

Mem-Cho was the first to follow him, her shock lasting short since she failed to understand the height of such a feat, till Rias and Akeno followed after them.

The split in the fabrics of space-&-time blinked out right away, leaving a room filled with stunned devils.

Gavrel Agares’ sigh was the first thing to break the silence, before he chuckled, “Ha, I hope I didn't make an enemy out of him.”

He really hoped his daughter would find it in herself to forgive him one day. Or at the very least, see herself as an Agares Devil. That way, the Agares Clan will be blessed by being connected to this powerhouse of a man.

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