59 Ch. 59 Another Step Forward

_______________________________________

You can skip this if you know what this is.

Anyway, if you guys want to support me and are even awesome enough to pass 1$ over, can you please check out either my Patreón or Ko-fi:

Ko-fi.com/alexander_the_grey

&

https://www.patreòn.com/Alexander_the_grey

Thanks a lot to all those who've already supported me. You guys are great.

_______________________________________

The 19th century.

When humanity's geniuses seemingly gathered as they set the stage for the near unthinkable technological boom which would soon occur on the planet. Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, The Wright Brothers, Marie Curie, Charles Darwin and Alexander Graham Bell.

People who helped shape culture like Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Allen Poe, Charlie Chaplin, Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, Claude Debussy and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Those who led or challenged their ruling classes such as Mahatma Gandhi, Frederick Douglas, Joseph Stalin, Abraham Lincoln, Karl Marx and Queen Victoria who even had an era named after her.

(Sorry if I'm not mentioning anyone from the Middle East or Asian countries due to not knowing too much about them.)

Then the major events such as the American Revolution, The 'Great Game', The Napoleonic Wars, Meiji Restoration, Colonialism and the many other socio-cultural revolutions occurring.

All in time to set up the two most all-encompassing wars in history and form everything needed for the largest technological boom in history.

I mean, humans went from two bicycle makers creating the first 'plane' to landing on the moon in less than 70 years. Then with 40 years after the moon landing everyone had computers and access to insane amounts of information anywhere they went.

I personally respect this era's geniuses quite a lot.

I wouldn't have been able to achieve nearly as much as I did in either lives without them laying the foundations. But I won't be recruiting all of them simply because I don't believe I can unless I force them and because some of what made those geniuses great was their humanity, while others where either sociopathic or had egos bigger than I cared for.

I was honestly still debating neutering Alois Hitler and murdering Stalin, alongside a lot of other people. I'm also pretty sure Rasputin would actually be magical in this world, but I'm hoping he's just a type of magician or priest who achieved some holy powers instead of the anti-Christ or Hellboy versions. But that's for later.

For now I was focusing on Azarath and the Neutral Ground my lands had become.

In all honesty, being the Creator/Sky Father of Azarath is a lot easier than running the Neutral Ground.

Up there I get to enjoy relative peace and calm, spending most of my time with my close ones and training my divinities, powers and skills. Aside from that, all I do is send some help to various rulers like inspiration on how to solve some problems, manage by domains, sometime answer prayers or hand out some blessings and the likes.

It's only lately that things have been shaken up a bit from everyone tor-Training the six chosen of this generation.

But that didn't last for too long before they were introduced in the Underworld.

We did all train them properly, but [Time] makes everything quicker.

My little 'granddaughter', Ruby, was still quite the energetic and pure soul, but we at least managed to make her powerful and skilled enough to make up for it. We all made sure she wouldn't just follow strangers for cookies as well.

That last one was… more difficult than I cared to admit.

Weiss nearly rampaged a few times because of Ruby and Tamamo's pranks, but at least her mental fortitude grew a lot from it. She did also become quite skilled in runes under Scáthach, making her another fan girl of my Queen in the process. It was always fun to tease the ever serious girl about becoming my daughter-in-law.

Weiss is a very nice girl though. Frequently drinking tea with myself and Yasaka. In fact, she even reminds of my mate in a few ways.

Hissrad, after he got over the majority of his trauma towards Milim, received quite the lessons on his dragon side and the powers which come with it. From what I understand, he was starting to even begin developing what could become his draconic concept. The poor man was rather direct with his desires however, which did end up with him forming a few new traumas.

Good drinking buddy though. I think I'll introduce him to Thor. They'll get along great.

Adaar was honestly an impressive woman. She delved deep into magical arts and knowledge with Medea, Da Vinci and Scáthach, even forming her own school of magical combat by the end of it thanks to the three. Coincidentally, it was officially called the Arcane Warrior. This did rather delay her development of her dragon side however.

She was incredibly charismatic for a magic lover as well, something I believed would go well with the Amazons.

Little T'soni all but became Da Vinci's assistant during her time here, marveling at just how advanced we truly were in regards to technology and magic. She would have likely forgotten to eat and drink if the food wasn't so delicious. I had to personally teach her how to properly balance other aspects of her life or she would fully lose herself in the endless pursuit of knowledge.

I was actually the most worried about her if I was honest. The others had more goals and desires, but T'soni only wanted pure knowledge at this point, and that is a very dangerous thing to want.

Our last Chosen, Samara, was truly fitting to be nicknamed 'Daughter of Scáthach'. Even Scarlet didn't take after her nearly as much, which always made me chuckle. I don't have any reservations with essentially adopting the Asari, something we eventually ended up doing, causing the woman to cry tears of joy. She was steadfast, dedicated and deeply developed her natural skills as an Asari to impressive levels.

I was already seeing her developing as the spark of divinity as the Asari goddess of combat. She did receive 'divine training' in her youth and was the oldest Chosen, but it was still an impressive feat.

By the end of their training, I introduced them as 'Extra House Devils' we had managed to create, forming the Vassal Houses of Faunus, Asari and Qunari.

Although shocking, their appearances weren't even that weird. Most thought the Faunus were an attempt at bringing the advantages of Youkai into devils properly, the Asari were seen in a similar vein as the Forneus and Vepar due to the 'tentacles', and the Qunari were thought of as an odd mix between Bruné, Balam and actual dragons.

It was just an excuse since any Devil worth their salt would realize that none of the six held any sort of Devil power, but no one really cared much and wouldn't care unless they cause trouble or become a threat. Plus, who wants to piss off the 'strongest Devil' because he did an experiment that hasn't harmed anyone?

Too bad they're all technically threats, but who's going to mind a few more people with Satan level and above power running around?

Pretty sure it's going to be fine.

Samara is a dutiful woman, Adaar will be visiting the Amazons and Valkyries for a while, T'soni will need a chaperon but I know she'll be rather busy learning for a long time, Weiss is going to keep Ruby from following random strangers and then kicking their butts when they don't have any cookies and I'm leaving Hissrad with Thor, so the god can take all the blame for everything.

Back to the Neutral Ground.

A few years after things began stabilizing, I did another controversial move: Offering Asylum.

My lands were to be somewhere all those who wished for a safe haven could gather, no matter the race or pantheon. As long as one is the wronged party and desires either peace or purpose, they could find sanctuary and receive the protection of Azaroth.

This very much included devils desiring to leave peerages they were forced into or were being abused in.

As the co-creator of evil pieces, I offered to remove them to those suffering because of a system they either were tricked into or were never given a choice into joining.

The revelation sent massive waves in the Underworld as many nobles instantly sent many complaints to the devils regarding this, prompting a visit from Sirzechs, Ajuka and Grayfia.

-Visit, Lith's office, 3rd person POV

"Are you sure you truly want to do this? It will cause enmity between Azaroth and a large number of Houses." Sirzechs said out of concern more than blame.

He was actually quite supportive of this move. It saddened him greatly when he heard of or saw reincarnated devils being treated as nothing but slaves when they were supposed to be his friend's solution to one of their greatest problems.

To Sirzechs, seeing this reminded him precisely of those they fought to oppose, but he couldn't do anything due to the Council holding a firm reign on things, even more so than before Azaroth issued its 'Warning' and became a Neutral Ground in fact.

"Like they can even do anything about it." Lith scoffed with a disdainful expression. "I've always hated slavery, even with my own peerage I've always given them the option of being freed whenever they choose. I actually moved to help in the recent war in America."

"What?!" A surprised Sirzechs almost shouted.

"Devils were supporting slavery and I had a problem with that. Just like I have a problem with just letting all those fools enslave, abuse, throw away, falsely accuse and even force our people into becoming strays." Lith told him with a sharp gaze.

"Lord Azaroth, is there anyway for anyone to trace this back to you?" Grayfia asked with a mildly serious look.

"Is there ever?" Lith asked in return with a cocky smirk.

The maid fetishist hummed in agreement to that sentence.

Many had tried their best to properly measure House Azaroth for centuries and still had no clue of the true depths they possessed in any way.

Absurd military strength, unimaginable wealth, impossible to predict political ties and unmeasurable personal power.

And no one truly knew how Lith Azaroth had accumulated all of it, except his closest confidants who are also powerhouses.

I mean, his Queen can take on chief gods and his personal maid is a true goddess.

"Lith, I greatly approve of what you have decided to do, but have you thought everything through properly?" Sirzechs asks not to try and convince his friend, but to hear about the measures in place for the backlash and possible dangers.

"Yes." Was the confident answer. "In fact, we've technically already been offering Asylum to many long before I had announced it. This is mostly for those accused of crimes, fleeing positions akin to slavery or with no place to go. I want them all to know that they can live here."

"What about possible frauds? Abuse of your offer?" The red haired Satan asked.

"It won't happen for two reasons: our incredibly thorough examination of applicants and me personally looking through their pasts and souls." Lith answered with certainty in his voice. "I'm not looking for perfectly innocent souls or pacifists mind you, just a normal person being wronged. As long as you aren't simply trying to abuse the system, my hospitality and values, or others, I am generally amiable to most people."

"You're going to be personally handling all of them?" Grayfia asked with mild surprise visible on her face.

"Yes. This is a serious matter and I will not be responsible for harboring true criminals or unrepentant psychopaths. But if someone is being targeted simply because they found someone important's dirty secrets, because they were deemed a 'threat' or some other bullshit so many seem fine doing, I will protect them." Lith declared powerfully.

Honestly, those present couldn't help but agree and feel a bit awed by the will it took to simply face the world for the innocent. Ajuka might be a seeker of knowledge but he still wanted his work to help others, Sirzechs always desired to do more for devils and Grayfia was an honorable woman with strong morals, all three wanting a better world after seeing so much of its ugliness but trapped into not being able to.

"Do you wish for any help?" Sirzechs finally asked his friends.

"Not directly. None of you can be seen or heard helping me on this or you could truly spark civil unrest. At most I want you all to inform me using a new set of means i will pass you, just in case something slips through the cracks." His friend answered with a grateful smile.

"How certain are you in removing the evil pieces?" Ajuka suddenly asked.

"100%. I've even set up various barriers around my domain to halt 'kings' from summoning them back and if desired I can make the person stay a Devil, but they will obviously lose all the advantages of an Evil Piece." The Lord Azaroth answered.

"Truly?" A shocked Grayfia unwittingly asked as both Satans sported widened eyes at this news.

This was huge news. It could help devils recover even further if used properly thanks to freeing up more Evil Pieces and forming true devils. It would reduce the possible firepower available due to losing piece benefits, but numbers and talents/skills wouldn't disappear.

"Yes. The mind, body and soul are things I am incredibly familiar with for nearly every race in existence, gods included, hence such manipulation is relatively easy for me." Lith told the visiting trio. "But it would be far too dangerous to spread the means of doing so, hence why it is an incredibly well guarded secret."

"Understood." Ajuka replied with a nod.

He knew how correct those words were and also understood that some things are better left secret. In fact, the only reasons Ajuka himself isn't trying to take these secrets and bury them was because his friend was intelligent and even more powerful than himself, as well as being away from any force which could 'force' him.

Lith Azaroth was likely the man closest to what God of the Bible had achieved.

Hell, with those six he introduced, he might be a lot closer than many people even realized.

They were three entirely new races.

"Ok. We'll let you know if something happens. But I have a question: Can you help truly strayed devils? Those who physically transformed and near lost their minds." Sirzechs asked with a good deal of hope.

"The short answer is yes." Lith said with a more neutral expression.

"But I assume it's not something simple." Sirzechs responded with an unspoken question.

"*Sigh* The problem with those types of strays is that all three fundamental parts of their beings became tainted due to the Evil Piece functioning like a minor Malebranch without proper regulation. This means I need to directly mess with their minds as well as create a new 'clean' body for the soul to heal in. It's that or use some serious [Time] to rewind them back to before they transformed or went insane. Both can go wrong in a lot of ways." The lord explained with a bit of resignation.

He could create new life sure, but to 'fix' a stray would involve manipulating an already existing life rather extremely. It wasn't something his divinities enjoyed.

"So you can't guarantee survival and I'm also guessing it isn't cheap." Ajuka stated as he went through various possibilities in his mind.

"At best, I would say survival is between 30-40%. The cost doesn't bother me too much thanks to my abilities, as well as those from my people, the resources aren't a problem either. It's simply because it would be better for them to either be 'purified' by exorcists or angels thanks to them giving them 'salvation' and making them enter the cycle of souls." Lith explained with a mildly unsavory expression.

He didn't like how God made it so devils had to 'saved'. It was something very few actually experienced since it required the killer to actually pray for their souls, which isn't something many people do unless they are true believers and not the usual fanatics, serious hunter or blind types. That's part of the reason why Lith wanted to form his own cycle for his people.

"I understand." Sirzechs replied with a thankful expression for the honest answer to his query. "We'll make sure to keep in touch and at least try to bring some innocent strays back."

"Thanks. But don't take every loss personally if you can't Sirzechs. Sometimes, it's just not meant to be and it's not your fault. The important thing is to keep trying." Lith said to his gentle friends.

"Thank you." Came his reply with a grateful smile, Grayfia's maid bow and Ajuka's nod before the three guests left

-Lith POV

Like we all predicted, it was a bit of a shit show in the Underworld due to my words, but I couldn't give a shit and neither could the Satan's really do anything.

They can't blame me if their peerage members runaway and coincidentally end up somewhere which stops any unauthorized teleportations from inside and out. And setting up anything remotely resembling a military force near the borders of a Neutral Ground would not end well, while Azaroth really doesn't need to rely on the Underworld either, so those options were bust.

Not that they would be done properly anyway thanks to the two largest names in the military and economic fields were secretly vassals of Azaroth.

What was funny to Lith was that most of his tip off's regarding strays and innocent criminals came from his unknowing double agents in the nobility. Those complaining the loudest had no clue they were subconsciously helping those they wanted dead, escape.

The reason I had asked Sirzechs and Ajuka to simply keep me in the loop was because I didn't have everyone under my influence and they could help should something like the Nekomata Incident still happening.

And I made sure to make this something everyone knew, potentially bringing some heat down on me because I also wanted to give people like Cleria Belial, Baraquiel, and so many others the best chance to hear about it. Even if it is mentioned with hate, the knowledge of my promise will still spread to those who might need it.

Many tragedies in DxD could have been presented if someone just gave people a safe home. And that's just the immediate, plot important or relevant people.

As for the other dramatically bad lives children had suffered through which could not be solved with just offering Asylum, well there were already plans in motion just in case they still happened.

Jeanne had been making it her mission in life to save those harmed by the church and make them burn for all their dirty secrets. So that meant she would already be on top of the future 'holy sword project'. She would likely also scoop up Asia very quickly, especially since the pure girl was a saint. I'm not even sure if she'd wait until they excommunicate her.

Evangeline and Moka were simply waiting on my word before doing a very hostile takeover of Romania and Vampires in general. Their people had already infiltrated both factions and I did ask them to keep an eye out for any new dhampirs. Honestly, both those factions can burn for all I care. They're weak, egotistical animals who deserve to suffer for all the pain they've caused. I feel bad enough not erasing them now.

Yasaka was keeping an eye on all the Youkai, which very much included the Nekomata, so we should know if one of them departs for the Underworld or if a clan does so. They are one of the more numerous Youkai, so they have many clans and it was never clear if the Incident involved just Shirone, Kuroka and their mother, or if an actual massacre happened. It was just too bad the Nebiros and Naberius Houses were not part of those i had 'influenced'.

And I was already friends with Baraquiel, Azazel and Shemhazai thanks to all their visits. So I'm pretty sure if I offered the man a place for his family much easier to get to and safer he should accept. And if he doesn't, I'll 'kidnap' them when they're in trouble. He can deal with the angry sadist he should marry afterwards.

But speaking about Azazel, I had the 'talk' with him not too long ago. One regarding his… simping for Da Vinci.

-One night as the two Leaders drank under the moonlight.

"Sooo, tell me kid, what's this for?" The tipsy fallen asked.

It was almost always certain that he was faking it, but he had been relaxing more often around me and getting properly drunk sometimes.

"Alright, you know everyone with a working set of eyes, hears and understanding of emotions can tell you fell hard for Da Vinci right?" I started off as this was a weird ass discussion for me.

Azazel was a pretty chill guy once we stopped playing around each and trying to out-scheme one another because we could.

"Is that a problem?" He asked with serious eyes.

"Not at all. I trust Da Vinci with my life. And I know you won't backstab me since we're actually building up some decent traction for peace with my Neutral Ground and you're mildly afraid of me." I answered him as I sipped my drink.

"So why bring it up? To give me your blessing?" He jokingly asked with a chuckle.

"No, not that. More to inform you of some things." I replied with a shake of my head.

"Is she sick? Hurt? Can she not have kids? Cause that's not really a problem." The fallen quickly asked as he immediately assumed the worst and got worried.

It was kind of cute to see a millennia old pervert act like a high schooler in love.

"None of that. It's mostly to tell you that, well, *Sigh* do you know Da Vinci's full name?" I asked him as I couldn't straight up tell him.

"Her name? No, I guessed that Da Vinci was just what she preferred to be addressed and that she really loved the city." Azazel answered with a thoughtful look.

"Well, it's Leonardo. Her full name is Leonardo Da Vinci." I finally said as I felt a bit lighter.

"Leonardo? Like the Renaissance artist? That's a weird name for a woman. Were her parents fans?" The fallen jokingly asked.

"No. Da Vinci is Leonardo Da Vinci. Born in 1452 and 'died' in 1519." I answered.

"Wasn't Leonardo Da Vinci a man? I saw his portrait before." He questioned with a weird look.

"She was. Until we created her new body to match what she considered 'perfect'." I once again answered truthfully.

The man froze for a good few minutes before finally taking a sip of his drink.

"Alright. Is that all?" He asked rather calmly.

"You aren't upset? Or doing a spit take?" I asked with a good degree of surprise.

"Kid, I've had a lot of time to try a lot of things. Hell, I'm working on a gender changing gun just for the fun of it on my down time. I've had men, women and everything that isn't before truly decided women were the only thing for me. So the woman of my dreams once having been a man, well that doesn't do much." Azazel answered seriously before grinning. "And besides, she's been a woman longer than a man and she chose to be a woman, so that makes her one in my books. Plus, those breasts, ass and legs, those don't belong on a 'man'.

The only things I'm upset about is you having seen everything before I did."

I don't know what I was expecting from this pervert, but somehow I'm glad he's ok with it.

"Well that's really all I wanted to say. Didn't want you to either suffer through too much heartbreak from the revelation or hurt her because you couldn't take it after somehow achieving the near impossible and obtaining her heart." I told him with a smile before turning serious. "Because if you hurt my friend, I will either castrate you or end you."

"*Gulp* Sheesh, don't worry, I'm not planning on doing that. Have a little faith." The fallen replied with a slightly nervous chuckle.

"It's good that we understand each other." I responded with a nod as my message got through.

"Haha! You sure you aren't her father giving me the 'talk' before giving your blessing?" Azazel jokingly said to relieve the tension.

"*Chuckle* Maybe a little bit. I'm protective about my family after all." I meaningfully replied with I looked up and took another sip.

"Well if it means anything, I am more serious about her than I've been about anything. Maybe my research tying." He openly said as he took a sip as well.

"Then I guess all I can do is root for your success. I don't think a Devil praying for a fallen would do much after all." I replied with a playful smile.

"Too true! But let's forget that and drink!" The fallen cheerfully said.

"Indeed."

-End of that scene

In hindsight, I should have expected Azazel to not care too much about Da Vinci's original gender. Like he said, he's a thousands of years old pervert who was alive before homosexuality was really 'unholy', so I shouldn't be surprised if he experimented or had a few 'accidents' during massive orgies.

I mean, some male angels do look very feminine, not everyone can compete in gruffness against Wolverine like Baraquiel, so it could be justified I guess.

Moving away from those thoughts, it was good to see the man was at least persistent as he continually suffered through rejection after rejection. Unsurprisingly, there was a betting pool on his chances at success, which many of the Grigori Cadre involved themselves in, except grumpy Kokabiel, but most were kind of rooting for the man.

Beyond all that, things have been going well though.

As more people safely received Asylum from pricks and Azaroth actually turned over true criminals trying to make use of its offer, our reputation grew. Every year where no incident occurs that isn't handle immediately, our prestige continues to grow. And as time passes, we become more and more entrenched in our position.

Like I told Scarlet we began holding the Grand Azaroth Games, where regional tournaments were held to qualify. It was essentially a mix between the Magic Games of Fairy Tail and Rating Games. There were also exhibition matches to serve as entertainment between 'Seasons'.

There were also a few new 'sports' appearing such as multiple forms of racing like 'magitech bike racing', a new water sport based on the Aztec ball game ōllamalīztli, which ended becoming something rather similar to Blitzball from Final Fantasy X/X-2, grand strategy games similar to the systems in Ender's Game but not real, and even some real robot fighting tournaments like Real Steel.

I get why the Rating Games are still more valued since they directly correlate to the strength of devils, but they really need other forms of entertainment so we helped make a few using magic and technology to form breathtaking displays of skills, ability and intelligence to promote things outside of just power.

Strategists for war, trained reflexes and skills for combat, technological advances from competitions and even the revenue streams from these new sports made all of it quite worthwhile. Putting aside the fact that it did help keep me entertained. Normal sports just don't do it when everyone is stronger than human and has magical abilities.

Beyond that, I was also making steady progress with my relationships as well.

I actually 'finalized' my relationship with Eywa properly with some rather steamy loving. She had been getting a bit antsy about it and I thought it would be good to make things official since everyone worshiping us already believed us to be married since 'time immemorial'.

I had 'taken' Ereshkigal about a year after our date in the mountains, which had turned her into a blushing and giggling mess for about a week and a half after the fact, even though she was thousands of years old widow. It did make her rather adorable with how 'pure' and 'innocent' she could still be regarding relationship stuff and it was fun to tease her from time to time. She was starting to want a 'family' as well.

Gabriel and I were still waiting to properly take that last step. People had generally gotten over the fact that we were dating and the even more baffling revelation that she hadn't fallen, hence meaning that we had true feelings of love towards one another. That last bit was actually turned into some kind of romance novel like Sirzechs and Grayfia's story had been. It did still grate on the egos of a lot of idiots, but that's what strength is for. Personally, I quite liked our relationship, but I could tell Gabriel deeply desired to take things further to 'create proof of our love' as it were.

Overall we were in a fantastic position, with everything going rather well setting aside the dissatisfied gods or beings who aren't allowed in the Neutral Grounds and 'important people' I pissed off.

There was only one major headache which happened to me over the course of this century.

One cute headache, but a major one nonetheless.

-Whitechapel, London, England, November 24th, 1888

'As much as they like too brag, this city feels like a bloated corpse to me.' I thought as I looked down upon Victorian England.

Brick buildings, muddy streets, people walking around with horse drawn carriages and carts sharing the streets. Factories abusing its working class and spewing endless amounts of pollution, homeless and diseased men, women and children in the streets.

'I'll see if I can start a proper gang here and carve myself a nice little spot in England's underworld.' I thought briefly as I looked at the many opportunities below me. 'Noble Devils won't even look at the poor or lower class individuals due to their egos and beliefs, but organized crime is something very useful.

But I'll need to make sure nothing gets tracked back to me. Then I'll do the same in Russia, France and much of Europe during the Great War. Have people in place when Europe 'leaves' Africa, set up some others in the South Americas while they vie for independence, and in the Middle East soon thanks to the Ottoman Empire crumbling.

This way I can at least mitigate and control much of the harm these entities do to the world and subtly impact the worst behaviors of humanity. Alphecca Tyrant's abilities will be able to properly shine anew.'

But today wasn't about that.

I came to England simply out of curiosity. Boredom is a real problem for long-lived and powerful people, so I began taking more time to enjoy my little fancies. In this case, my curiosity over the identity of Jack the Ripper.

I even stopped myself from looking through [Time] so I wouldn't get any 'spoilers'.

As I watched, I actually felt a rather interesting bit of information.

It would seem like the supernatural side was on the move and from my eavesdropping, they have been trying to hunt down 'Jack the Ripper' due to it being an evil spirit.

That actually made quite a bit of sense honestly. Like I said, London is a bloated corpse of a city, with more negative natural energy in the air than I've felt in a long time. For an evil spirit to form here wouldn't be very surprising, only needing some lingering souls and a bit of magic.

This environment, should explain why it isn't just the church moving around, but also the Pendragon Family. With holy swords too.

I'm guessing the sprit isn't a weak one or there are too many spirits and this one slipped through the cracks, necessitating more immediate actions to prevent the exposure of the supernatural world.

But it was obvious they could only wait for the spirit to appear and were scrambling to surround the Whitechapel district. The evil spirit wouldn't attack during the day, the sun is far too dangerous to those and it would break the pattern, so this was just the set up.

While they were doing that, I decided to go around and do a little bit of prep work myself. Not for Jack the Ripper obviously, nor the little 'Knight' wannabes or exorcists, but for my plans in the underworld.

It's ridiculously easy for me, but rather nostalgic as it reminds me of my time in Lucifaad all those years ago.

By nightfall, I had subtly taken control of many gang heads and instructed them to begin taking in kids to 'train them up' as future members. All while some of my people would be recruited and quickly rise the ranks, gaining influence until they can take over properly. After that, the gangs would begin gathering together until they form a council for the 'big players' and carve up London's underworld.

It was a plan which would take a few decades, but that just makes it even harder to spot. Most people look for evidence in the present, not 10-20-30 years in the past.

This train of thought was swiftly left behind when I finally felt magic being used in Whitechapel.

Said magic turned out to be a useful little bit of fog which hampers the senses and causes memory of those within, while also being capable of isolating sounds, answering why Jack the Ripper had never been caught nor identified. The interesting bit was that, judging by its level, it should be able to affect high-class individuals, making this spirit quite the strong one.

Immediately after the appearance of the fog, a set of barriers activated around the district. A trap concealed from human eyes, giving off holy attribute and some light. Likely to be powered by some artifacts.

The exorcists and Pendragon's then burst into action as they rushed into the fog, all of them holding glowing crosses, likely protecting them from the effects of the fog.

I simply watched as they neared the location where I felt everyone's target chasing someone who was likely another prostitute.

Once I felt it, I shifted over there, my own senses unhampered in the least as I looked upon the one I presumed should be Jack the Ripper.

It was a mildly baffling sight to say the least as I once again wondered if DxD turned everything into hot or cute girls.

This was because I saw a young girl with short white hair, a cute face with a large scar over her yellow-freen left eye and a stitched up one below her right, covered in a tattered black coat and chasing a terrified prostitute with two knives.

But the biggest I problem I saw, beyond the fact that the evil spirit was in the form of a young girl and was killing people with a look of complete innocence somehow, was that it wasn't just one spirit in her body.

There were thousands. I'd say somewhere around ten thousand even.

The thing that bothered me most however, was that they weren't even properly developed, meaning these were the spirits of infants or maybe even fetuses if I piece the puzzle together.

"Are you our mother?" The young girl asked curiously as she kept chasing the near traumatized prostitute.

'That settles it. Jack the Ripper is likely an amalgamation of the thousands of innocent souls ended before they 'lived' as a result of the prostitution industry here, corrupted by the tainted natural energy of these lands and given shape when enough of corrupted spirits gathered.

They, or it/she, then were drawn to those who essentially should have been their mothers, in this case prostitutes, and likely tried to either punish them by killing them in a brutal manner and taking the organ which gives life, or desired to experience what was denied to them.' I broke down as I felt great sadness for the being in front of me.

It's existence was something I felt was truly one which required 'salvation' or even a chance, especially with my divinity towards souls.

I hope those arriving can help her achieve peace. She is an innocent forced to sin due to her abusers after all. One so innocent that she does not understand the concepts of morality, nor good and evil, because those beliefs were kept from her.

Plus, it isn't like those past and current victims of 'Jack the Ripper' were innocent. Aside from the infanticide, most of them have either killed, stolen or simply sinned in an excess of sex and drugs. I can understand why some do it, but from what I've gathered, 'Jack' is naturally drawn to those with the most 'negative' aura, usually meaning the worst kind of people.

"HELP ME!!! JACK THE RIPPER IS HERE!" The long brown haired prostitute screamed as loud as she could, only to turn even more frantic when no one seemed to notice.

"Can you be our mother?" Jack asked as she seemed completely ignorant of the woman's approaching mental breakdown from fear.

Luckily for the prostitute, it would seem like her 'knights in shining armor' had arrived. Eight of them.

Literally in this case since the Pendragon men seemed to be fond of plate armor with lions on their chests and double edge swords drawn.

"Back foul creature!" One of them shouted as he rushed forward to save the woman, only for Jack to dodge easily.

"You aren't a woman, so you can't be our mother. But why are you trying to hurt us?" Jack asked with a cocked head.

"Kill it." One of the armored men coldly said, causing the group to rush forward with battle cries and raised swords.

"So you're trying to stop us from finding mother." Jack said in a childish tone before her eyes darkened. "We can't allow that."

With those ominous words, the fog came alive as it became much denser and envelopper the girl's body, robbing the knights of their quarry.

"Where did the creature go?!"

"Don't let it escape!"

The honor of House Pendragon is on the line! Do not let those church bastards outdo us!"

The group shouted as they blindly searched.

'Foolish grunts.' I thought as I saw Jack burst into action and stab both her knives through the eye slit of her first victim.

"AAAAAAHHHH!!!" The man screamed in pain before he stopped and collapsed as soon as Jack retreated.

"URK!!!"

"GRAAH!"

*Crash*

I took Jack no time at all to dismantle these 'knights', reappearing within the circle of corpses she had created as the fog lessened.

"There's the spirit!" A rather young voice yelled in accented English.

'An Italian? So the church actually sent someone from outside the United Kingdom.' I thought with mild interest. 'It could mean that Heaven or the churches themselves pushed for it to try and mend ties between the Anglican and the Catholic ones.'

"Strada! Get back here you fool!" An older exorcist shouted strictly, causing the young man to flinch as the others caught up to him.

'Strada? As in Vasco Strada? A relative maybe. Or it could actually be him. He was considered the oldest human alive and his future strength could rather easily allow him to reach those years. With the fight against Kokabiel being around 60 years from now, that would place him at about 80 years old at the time, but he still shouldn't look anywhere past 40 by then if he had the strength to beat back a fallen Angel cadre.' I quickly analyzed as I look at the young man.

He had shoulder length black hair tied back, clear blue eyes, a rather gentle face with hidden sharpness, and a well trained body towering over his comrades at 2 meters tall (6'7). He was wearing classic exorcist robes and had one of the holy swords I could feel.

'If my eyes aren't wrong, that should be Excalibur Destruction.' I thought with a raised eyebrow at the church letting a kid bring such a weapon to a place like London.

I know they let two teenage girls do it in canon, but still.

"Damn. The spirit already killed some of the Pendragons." A red haired exorcist said with a grim expression.

"Take it down." The eldest amongst them ordered as a another holy sword appeared today.

Excalibur Mimic.

"But sir. Shouldn't we free this tormented soul to allow her to return to our father?" Strada asked with discomfort.

"We can't afford that right now. No more lives are worth one soul." He was coldly answered as the exorcists began moving like a well oiled machine towards the curious Jack.

"More people trying to stop us from finding mother? But why?" She asked as she dodged a few coordinated blows dexterously before her eyes widened and she bent backwards at a near impossible angle to dodge the extended blade that Excalibur Mimic had become.

The eldest man clicked his tongue as Jack righted herself and looked at her cut shoulder which leaked black energy.

"That hurt." Jack quietly said with a sad pout. "We don't like you."

With that fog once again came forth, concealing Jack.

"Holy water! Splash it around to beat back this cursed fog!" The head exorcist yelled as he quickly did just as he ordered, with his subordinates following soon after, resulting in the fog actually retreating.

It was just in time for the man to spot Jack aiming for his throat.

Too bad for the spirit that he was more skilled and experienced as Excalibur Mimic bent to strike at her, forcing her to cancel her attack to dodge and retreat.

Jack was now surrounded by much more careful Exorcists pointing sanctified, one-handed crossbows at her.

"Surrender and let us give you peace. Please child. Let us bring you back into our heavenly father's grace." Strada said with a compassionate look in his eyes.

"But why? We just want to find our mother?" Jack asked in return.

"Stop speaking to it Strada. Kill it." His superior ordered sternly.

This made Strada hesitate due to his target looking like a damaged child.

The others had no such qualms. Vampires were a frequent enemy and many liked to look like beautiful with near child-like bodies, so killing something like Jack was unfortunately something most experienced exorcists had grown accustomed to. Hence, they shot their crossbows, with bolts of light instead of real ones.

Jack was very quick, dexterous and agile, with good reflexes, managing to dance around the numerous bolts of light shot at her. The problem was that these weren't the only dangers, only a distraction used by the leader to strike out with his extended blade, slashing Jack's left tendon. As a result, she couldn't dodge the many bolts coming her way, with one piercing her left thigh, a second in her right forearm and a third in her stomach, making her fall and tumble.

"Owwww! Why did you do that to us?!" Jack cried out with tears in her eyes as she looked up at Strada, whom she had fallen in front of.

"Finish it Strada!" The leader yelled sternly at the hesitating man.

"I think that's enough actually." I finally said as my voice resounded around them all.

They were all looking around in attempts to find the source, failing to notice my presence before the wounded spirit.

"Who are you?" Jack asked with curiosity, causing those present to realize where I was, momentarily feeling great fear before they raised their weapons.

"Depends on you Jack." I softly answered the girl as crouched down and gave her a soothing pat on the head which she seemed to find endless enjoyment from if the pure smile on her face and her rubbing against it were any evidence.

Even in her state, she seemed to treasure the warmth.

"Are you our mother?" She questioned with a thoughtful look after I pulled my hand away.

"*Chuckle* No, I'm a man after all." I answered her with a soft smile as I gave her another head pat. "But I could be your father instead."

"Fa…ther? What's that?" The little girl asked innocently.

"Well, if the mother gives birth to the child and gives it love, the father protects them both and gives them warmth." I simply answered as I made to light bolts disappear and used my head pat to heal her wounds.

She couldn't die from blood loss without a true body, but the light was still 'corrupting' her being.

"But what about our mother?" Questioned the mildly confused girl.

"It's the father's job to take the child back to its mother, and I know just where the best mom is." I answered.

"Really?! You know where mother is?" The now excited girl asked as she stood up, causing the surrounding exorcists to tense considerably.

"I believe I do." I replied.

"Where is mother then?" She asked as she looked around.

"*Chuckle* She's at home." I warmly told her.

It's honestly hard not to want to help so many unfortunate souls as a god with such a divinity. That's why I was planning on having a talk with Ereshkigal.

She's secretly wanted a child, and I can't really think of anything which would fit the two of us than helping so many souls while fulfilling that wish.

"What's home?" Jack asked with a head tilt.

"The place where the child, mother and father can live and be happy." I answered her simplistically.

"Then we want to go there and see mother, father!" The white haired girl excitedly said with sparkling eyes.

"Of course." I told her as I beckoned her towards me.

"Don't move!" The lead exorcist finally shouted as he finally broke out of the daze this unfamiliar situation brought forth. "I don't know who you are, but you are not taking that evil spirit away."

Ignoring him for a moment, I held out my hand, to which Jack looked at curiously until she instinctively reached out cautiously with hers until her small hand lay in mine and I could gently hold it.

The little had a curious expression as she looked at where her hand was until she broke out into an incredibly pure smile.

"Don't let go ok? This way you won't get lost." I told her.

"Ok father!" She happily responded.

"I said don't move!" The exorcist shouted fiercely before I turned my head and he paled considerably.

"I'll be taking her." I simply said as if it was already a fact.

"L-L-L-Lith Azaroth." The leader stuttered out, making the other exorcists start shaking and breaking out in cold sweats.

"Indeed. I'm sure Gabriel and Michael would much rather I help these 10'000 souls back into the cycle properly instead of ending them, so I'll be taking Jack home to meet her 'mother' and fix a few things." I responded as I dropped a few bombs.

"T-ten thousand souls!?!" One of the exorcists shouted.

"Yes. Of the aborted children and abandoned infants of prostitutes if I'm right." I answered as I gave Jack another head pat for being a good and patient girl, causing to almost pur.

"Can you truly help her Lord Azaroth?" The young Strada asked with great hope.

'A gentle soul he is.' I thought with a rather pleasant impression of him so far.

Even if he hesitated in battle.

"Yes. Ereshkigal and I will make sure Jack gets exactly what she truly deserves, a home with loving parents. In this case, us. Eresh has secretly been wanting a child." I answered with little care.

"*Sigh* Thank God the poor souls may have hope to find peace." Strada said with a relieved sigh.

"As they deserve." I followed up as I looked him in the eyes. "Keep that compassionate heart of yours and you'll go far kid."

"T-thank you sir!" The embarrassed young exorcist replied as I smiled and waved the group goodbye.

Leaving behind the stunned men.

I didn't immediately go back home due to wanting to make sure this doesn't happen again, all to give the deceased an easier time at reaching the cycle of souls.

"Is this home father?" Jack asked innocently as we looked at the city of London from atop Big Ben.

"No Jack. In fact we are still in the same city, I just want to make sure no other children need to look for their mothers like you." I explained to her as I held her hand.

"Ooh! Father is great!" She exclaimed in admiration.

"*Chuckle* I try." I responded fondly before turning my eyes towards the city anew

I then let out one long breath, before breathing in deeply.

Repeating the cycle as massive amounts of negative energies began gathering to me, entering my body as I cycled it all using my special Touki method. At the same time, I was doing the same to the many souls within Jack.

"Whoa! That feels so good and warm!" Exclaimed Jack as she actually began glowing.

London had become far too polluted in all manners and this was the cleaning I offered.

Usually I held back since I needed keep a proper balance between negative and positive natural energies depending on where I was, like with the Underworld needing a majority negative. But right now, London had far too much negativity due to the abundance of poverty and exploitation, those in power drowning in it and taking as they please from wherever in their growing empire, and the many hopeless and damned finding their way here. I was simply returning the balance.

And once I was done, I felt like I had a good reserve of negative energy to work with.

"It feels so much better Father. Can you do it again?" Jack asked with a giddy smile.

"Not here. Too much of a good things can sometimes be bad too." I answered her.

"How can good be bad?" She innocently questioned.

"I'll explain it to you a bit later ok?" I responded with more head pats to sooth her many souls.

They had just underwent quite the change from all that negativity and corruption being taken from them. Not all of it, mainly because Jack needed some to remain in existence and I wanted to properly give her a chance at life instead of just sending her away. The head pat helps calm everything down.

"Hehe~. Ok father." She replied with little giggles.

"Good girl." I told her, making instinctively beam at the words.

But then something I didn't predict happened.

A purple magic circle with the symbol of infinity formed from a serpent eating its own tail flashed in front of me.

And then came a a cute young girl with long black hair down to her hip which mostly cover her pointed ears, dark grey eyes with reptilian slits, wearing a black gothic Lolita outfit with an open front showing her tiny breasts only covered with nipple pasties.

"Ophis." I neutrally said as I tightened my grip on Jack.

"Father… is that mother?" The white haired girl asked with some instinctual fear.

"No." I calmly answered. "Why are you here Ouroboros Dragon?"

"You… give me silence." Ophis said with her emotionless face and voice.

(Yes! It is I, the cliffhanger!! Fear my might and await the coming times!

Sorry about this, I just thought it would be a rather fitting place to stop.)

_______________________________________

EXTRA AUTHOR NOTE:

Hahah! Weren't expecting that were you?!

Vasco Strada, Jack the Ripper and Ophis in one bit!

The first was because nothing is really known about Vasco's past except his fight against Kokabiel. He was called the oldest human alive and the strongest one as well without even a Longinus or Sacred Gear. So I'm making him over 140 years old by canon and still kicking ass. This was mostly to show him as youthful, inexperienced but ultimately still a holy sword user and very kind and compassionate. I know he didn't do much, but he's green as brocoli at the moment, being between 16-19 and facing something that looks like a beating child.

Wanted to have him and Lith kind of know each other.

As for Jack the Ripper, the inclusion of her was pretty easy to guess and many people wanted her there. I think I did right by her in her way of speaking and her fighting.

I had a good amount internal debating over what to actually do with her, but in the end I thought Ereshkigal would be a perfect mother for her as she would care for so many poor infant souls and gets a baby with Lith.

There was some back and forth between her and Gabriel, but I thought the goddess of the Underworld Lith was with would be better in the end.

I mean, both would make cute and loving moms anyway. So yeah, Jack, or as her full name will be, Jacquelyn, is going to be Lith third child.

As for Ophis, I think I have enough hints as to why she would appear then and there. Revelations next chapter with what I think she really means by 'silence'.

Now prior to this, we had Lith revealing Da Vinci's original gender to Azazel.

This was something I saw going two way: comedic or most probable. Spit take and freak out or the super pervert being onboard regardless.

I went with the latter since I think Azazel actually wouldn't care being who he is. Like is said, he likely has tried everything, so it wouldn't shake him, plus I feel like if Azazel ever truly fell in love, it would need to be through personality since he's had far too many beauties over the millennia already.

And before that, we have Lith making another preparation for the possibility of 'canon' still generally being a thing while also doing some actual good and moving his own agenda along. There's always more than one reason for his actions usually.

This time I thought having his friends actually be supportive of his actions even if they can't move openly would be good. It cuts down on strays, likely helps tone down the actions of those abducting and killing/reviving people to join their peerages since said people have an out now and doing so recklessly would just get them into trouble twice over, while also giving them a potential source of information which could be critical to them, all while it being the right thing to do.

Next chapter will have more time skip and recruitment I couldn't get to because the chapter was getting too long.

Gonna be mostly powering through as I try to get to more canon events.

Hope you all still enjoy.

Also, I'm currently open to suggestions and inspirations for Gabriel and Lith's child. No Dante or Virgil cause I'm not a fan.