NOVEL WEB Chapter 68: Chapter 68
Ever since the death of the God of the Bible, the Pool of Angels had dried up. Because of this, Heaven's situation was the worst among the three factions.
The Underworld had Ajuka Beelzebub's Evil Pieces, which allowed humans to be reincarnated as devils. The Fallen Angels could replenish their numbers through angels falling from grace. But angels had no way to birth new angels; their numbers only continued to dwindle.
Now, hearing that the Pool of Angels could be restored, Michael's joy was no less than when Riku had repaired the System.
"Master, please follow me," Gabriel was the first to speak up, unable to contain herself.
"Mm." Riku nodded lightly upon hearing this.
Soon, they arrived at a breathtaking garden in Heaven.
At the centre of the garden was a large, holy-looking pool surrounded by statues of young angels.
However, the pool, which once brimmed with sacred energy, now appeared no different from ordinary water.
"Master, can you really restore the vitality of the Pool of Angels?" Gabriel asked anxiously, her voice full of anticipation.
Michael, Uriel, and Raphael, who once ruled over Heaven, also gazed nervously at Riku. "Of course," Riku replied calmly.
Under the curious gazes of Schwi and Jibril, Riku spread his palm.
In an instant, a golden orb of light appeared in his palm.
"——!" As soon as this golden orb appeared, Gabriel, Michael, Uriel, and Raphael were all stunned, staring at it as a powerful sense of awe and closeness welled up in their hearts.
"Hm?" As Riku produced the Source of Angels, he sensed a reaction from deep within the Pool of Angels and couldn't help but smile.
So that's how it is after the God of the Bible perished; the Pool of Angels' Source didn't disappear; it just went dormant.
Riku then used the Source of Angels in his hand to awaken the incomplete Source within the pool.
In an instant, the entire pool began to bubble with energy.
A moment later, at the centre of the Pool of Angels, a mostly white orb faintly laced with gold floated to the surface.
"What is that...?" Michael asked, stunned, a powerful sense of affinity washing over him.
"That is the Source of Angels. It's this very thing that makes the Pool of Angels what it is. Without it, it would just be a pool of water filled with a bit of sacred power," Riku explained as he raised his hand and the white Source of Angels floated over to him. "When the God of the Bible died, it went dormant, so new angels could no longer be born."
"I see," Michael nodded.
"Now that Master has awakened it, does that mean the Pool of Angels is restored?" Gabriel said excitedly.
"Not quite. It still needs a little something extra," Riku shrugged.
As he spoke, Riku let a drop of golden liquid from the pure golden Source of Angels in his hand fall into the white Source.
Immediately, the white Source began to tremble, glowing even brighter, the golden patterns deepening.
Then, Riku wove a series of divine spells around the white Source, wrapping it in sacred energy.
Once finished, and with the expectant gazes of the four angel upon him, Riku let the white Source return to the centre of the Pool of Angels, where it merged with the water.
In an instant, the Pool of Angels burst forth with an astonishing radiance, unique energy swirling within, life brimming everywhere.
"All done," Riku said with a satisfied smile, tossing the golden Source back into the system's inventory. From now on, all newly born angels would be his subordinates. And due to the influence of the Source, even the old angels would be absolutely compelled to obey his orders.
In other words, Heaven was now entirely his to command.
"Thank you for your blessing, Master," Michael immediately dropped to one knee, gratitude filling his voice.
Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael quickly followed suit.
"Stand up," Riku said with a slight shake of his head.
"Master, could you grant me some of the golden source liquid?" Jibril suddenly spoke up, her tone uncharacteristically serious.
"Hm?" Riku was surprised this was the first time Jibril had ever asked him for anything.
He noted Jibril's rare, earnest expression, so different from her usual mischievous self.
"Will this help you?" Riku took out the Source of Angels once more, contemplating.
"Yes," Jibril nodded sincerely. "But I don't need all of it, that would make me explode. Just a few drops of the golden liquid is enough."
"Riku, I want some too," Schwi couldn't help but add.
"Got it," Riku nodded. It seemed this Source of Angels was even more valuable than he'd thought.
Riku created ten drops of the golden source liquid and divided them between Jibril and Schwi.
As soon as they began to absorb it, Jibril was enveloped by a golden halo and floated quietly in the air.
Schwi's mechanical core flashed with light as she absorbed the power, though it made far less commotion than Jibril's.
"Evolution, huh..." Riku smiled as he looked at Jibril. "Once she's finished absorbing it, she should reach the Transcendent tier."
"Gabriel, take care of Jibril. Don't let any angels near her. Michael, Uriel, Raphael, you three as well," Riku commanded, his tone brooking no argument.
"We understand," the four angel said earnestly, nodding.
Michael then gathered all the angels and had them swear fealty to Riku.
At first, the announcement caused an uproar. But with a thought, Riku used the bond created by the Source of Angels to instantly silence them.
This connection also allowed the angels to understand what had happened, and soon they all fell silent. After that, Michael and the other angels explained that Riku had restored the System and the Pool of Angels.
With that, almost all of Heaven's angels swore allegiance.
With Heaven's business wrapped up, Riku didn't linger. He took Schwi and returned to the human world.
As for Jibril, by Riku's estimation, she wouldn't wake up for a while. But with her "Teleport" ability, once she did awaken, she could catch up on her own. Riku wasn't worried.
Upon arriving in the human world, Riku didn't dawdle. He headed straight for Kuoh Town.
Kuoh Town, although this small Japanese town is unremarkable to the rest of the world, it is actually the centre of this world. Why, you ask? Naturally, it's because this is where the story begins, and most of the plot unfolds in this seemingly ordinary town. All kinds of main and supporting characters either already live here or will appear here in the future.
If Kuoh Town is the centre, then Kuoh Academy is the centre of the centre. On the surface, it's a prestigious girls' school that only recently started admitting boys, but in reality, none of its students are ordinary.
Devils, sacred gear users, the descendants of exorcist families, characters you'd only expect to see in fantasy novels, can all be found at this school.
What's more, even the school itself is run by the offspring of two pure-blood devil noble families from the Underworld.
At this moment, Riku brought Schwi across the sea to Kuoh Academy.
"Wow, look at that girl, she's so cute!" NPC 1 said.
"Mhm, I wish I could hug her in my arms." NPC 2 said
"But that white-haired boy is really handsome, too. I think he's even more attractive than Kiba-senpai." NPC 3 said.
"Yeah, I wonder what he's doing at our school. I'd love to get his contact information." NPC 4 said
As Riku and Schwi walked through the academy, many girls' eyes lit up as they stole glances at them, whispering among themselves.
As for the boys, they looked at Riku with envy, jealousy, and even hatred, especially when they saw him holding Schwi's hand, their eyes practically burning with resentment.
"Riku, is this the 'school' you mentioned as the most important place in this world?" Schwi asked curiously, looking around.
"Yeah. Do you want to try attending classes here? It might be a brand new experience for you," Riku said with a gentle smile.
"Attend classes? Would you be here too, Riku?" Schwi pondered for a moment and asked.
"Me? No, not as a student. I'll be working as a teacher," Riku said, lips curling in amusement.
"I see." Schwi nodded.
At this moment, a handsome blond boy in the Kuoh Academy uniform noticed Riku and Schwi approaching. Instinctively, he stopped in his tracks, pupils contracting as he felt an overwhelming pressure wash over him.
Even though they were just passing by, he felt a sense of fear... Two extraordinary people had arrived at the academy; he'd better report this to the president.
Kiba Yuuto's expression changed, and he quickly turned around and left.
"Kiba Yuuto... as expected of an important supporting character. He can actually sense something's off," Riku commented, shaking his head slightly.
Schwi glanced at Kiba Yuuto. Seeing that Riku had no intention of doing anything, she remained silent as well.
Soon, Riku and Schwi arrived at the student council president's office.
At this school, the chairman isn't the one in charge. The real authority is Sona Sitri, the student council president, who is also the next head of the pure-blood devil Sitri family from the Underworld. It's worth mentioning that Sona Sitri is the younger sister of Serafall, the Maou, who had been "disciplined" quite a few times by Riku.
As Riku was about to knock on the student council office door, it opened on its own. Standing in front of him was a girl slightly shorter than Riku.
The girl had shoulder-length black hair and wore glasses. Her delicate features exuded intelligence, and she radiated a cold, serious aura. Her crimson eyes were full of spirit.
The moment the girl looked at Riku, her gaze fluctuated sharply, but she quickly spoke calmly, "Come in."
Riku walked in calmly.
The elegant door closed once again, and Riku and Schwi sat leisurely on the sofa. The girl sat across from Riku, while another beautiful girl with long, straight black hair stood behind her, also looking refined, but with the bearing of an attendant.
"I am Sona Sitri, student council president of Kuoh Academy," the girl said, adjusting her glasses and looking straight at Riku. "This is the vice president, Tsubaki Shinra."
"Kuoh Academy does not permit outsiders to enter when the school is not open to the public. May I ask, what brings you two to Kuoh Academy?" Sona asked, composed and dignified.
"Looks like you haven't been informed yet," Riku shrugged casually.
It was clear the Underworld hadn't told the young devils like Sona or even Rias about the recent major events. Riku could even guess that Rias herself probably had no idea. Then again, that made sense, telling these young devils would only add to their worries without helping anything.
"Informed about what?" Sona frowned, a look of puzzlement on her face.
"My reason for coming here is simple. My name is Riku, and I'm here to apply for the position of P.E. teacher. This is Schwi, who will be transferring into the first-year class," Riku replied in a relaxed tone.
"..." Sona stared at Riku and Schwi in silence. People with such extraordinary power saying something so mundane... she couldn't imagine it. But she couldn't think of any other reason why people of this level would take an interest in this school.
"...Understood. I'll take care of your employment and transfer. You'll be able to start work and school tomorrow," Sona said at last, shaking her head slightly.
"Sona-chan, I'll leave it to you then," Riku said nonchalantly, as if he'd expected her answer.
"Sona...chan..." Sona's eyelid twitched slightly. When did I get on such familiar terms with you...?
Tsubaki Shinra also looked speechless at Riku's excessive casualness. Flirting with the president as soon as you walk in, he really is something else.
"Well, we won't trouble you any longer," Riku said, standing up and taking Schwi's hand.
"Oh, by the way, if you can't find any information about me, you can ask your older sister. I'm sure she'll tell you," Riku added with a smile as he reached the door. "Your sister's quite something."
"...?!" Sona's eyes narrowed at his words. He knows her real identity...? And what did he mean by that last line?
Though she couldn't figure out what Riku's final words meant, Sona instinctively felt it wasn't anything good.
As Sona was lost in thought, Riku and Schwi had already left, closing the door behind them.
"President...?" After Riku left, Tsubaki Shinra asked hesitantly.
"I'm fine," Sona waved her hand, taking a deep breath. "Looks like things won't be quiet around here for much longer."
"He said to ask my sister. Does he know her? But with my sister's personality, there's no way..." Sona frowned in thought, full of confusion.