Chapter 146: Confronting Cao Cao

Since the Belphegor Family was settled in their new home, Masaru left Roygun to live with them for a few days to catch up. Things were moving forward for the Territory of Belial, the population was growing slowly, and with the hidden organisation, Hiei operating from the shadows Belial Territory was labelled as the number one safest location in all of the Devil Country.

The addition of the Adramelech Family, Belphegor Family and Seere Family that came under Masaru's control, although it was not publicity like this since his girls were elected as Matriarch. He chose to directly take control over the families to secure future positions for his children, he had no guilt towards his actions since it was already helping these families indirectly.

There has been protesting towards Masaru's actions of making his girls take the matriarch position, however, after batches of evidence appeared in the hands of the council. Not only did the protestor had to shut up but even the council could no longer have any thoughts of going against Masaru, he had evidence of their corruption and the backing of the devil kings.

With the help of the girls who took care of the minor tasks for Masaru, so there was no need for him to appear all over the place making choices since he managed to establish his own set of subordinates that were managing key locations in the territory thanks to Ulrika who trained them.

Masaru was currently facing his teacher Ajuka with Ophis next to him, Ajuka was not surprised at all to see Ophis since he keeps active contact with Azazel since the two of them are in the same trade and good friends, "So my disciple, why have you taken it upon yourself to hold custody over Ophis? You should know she is the leader of the terrorist group"

Masaru smiled wryly, this man was one of the few people Masaru respected from the bottom of his heart, and someone he could share secrets with since Ajuka took great care of him. Even now his teacher would look after his back while he moved forward, hench he could only feel eternal gratefulness towards Ajuka.

So he explained the situation to his teacher Ajuka, he included his own personal opinions which Ajuka agreed with. Ajuka thought the choice, actions and foresight Masaru displayed was the correct path forward. Only by taking a radical move, can one progress. Just like he did, when he created the Evil Pieces.

"Also, you have to visit Yasaka" Masaru reminded Ajuka who froze for a moment, if Masaru was not attentive to detail he would have missed that instant moment Ajuka blushed but miraculously he managed to make it fade away in a moment notice.

"Cough* For the sake of the Alliance, I will go visit Lady Yasaka" Ajuka spoke, for those who did not know him it would sound like his usual calmness but Masaru smirked as he knew his Teacher got somehow caught in Yasaka's hand.

'I have to thank Yasaka, for entering teacher's life' Masaru thought,

Masaru wanted to ask his teacher how they got hooked but instead will leave it for the sake of his teacher's pride, instead, Masaru took out his new sword that merged together with deadheart. Since Drago became part of the sacred completely, Masaru was able to bring out the sword from the sacred gear as Issei does with Ascalon.

This was a sword that was made through Ulrika, Yui, Elizabeth and his teacher Ajuka had been working together on since Masaru could not use Drago without entering Balance breaker in the past. However, ever since the change Masaru wanted to confirm something.

"Teacher, can you inspect this sword if you think it will work against Gods and Dragons of higher levels?" Masaru asked,

Hearing Masaru's question Ajuka nodded as he took the blade, the three of them heading into the laboratory.

"That sword is strange" Ophis comments as she glanced at the sword Masaru handed over to Ajuka,

"How strange?" Masaru asked as Ophis places her index finger under her lips,

"It tickles" Ophis said while blinking her eyes,

Masaru was floored when he heard this, but he could understand what she meant to say was her dragon trait did not feel threatened by the sword 'Tickle huh? considering her strength, won't this sword become the bane for dragons? However, I still need to confirm it's God slaying properties'. Masaru nodded as he pats Ophis's head making her expressionlessly satisfied with being rewarded.

"I remember this sword, back then we created it based on Kiba's balance breaker and your knight, Jeanne's Sword sacred gear. Along with ingredients sent from Asgard, the star." Ajuka muttered as he felt nostalgic glancing at this sword. He used his scanner to scanned through the sword,

Masaru smiled wryly, "The reason I came today is to inspect it, during my life and death combat in China that sword merged together with my sword I got from the pendragon, Hrunting but its now named Deadheart"

"If Azazel heard this he would come at a moments notice" Ajuka muttered with a wry smile, he was quite surprised to see how the sword mutated into something so magnificent. After reading the results, "This sword should be able to handle dragons of Tiamat's level, as for Gods I will have to say that depends on how much power you channel into it. This sword depends on your strength"

'Mid Class God, and if I push myself I can reach High-Class God huh?' Masaru thought for a moment as he estimated the amount of power he can channel in,

"Thank you Teacher" Masaru thank Ajuka who handed the sword back towards him,

Ajuka smiled "I forgot to mention this, apparently Azazel is drinking alone in a hotel together with Rias's group. He had been looking for you"

Ajuka mentioned something he just remembered. Masaru smacked his forehead as he blocked off communications for anyone but his girls since he wanted to make sure he dealt with his meetings scheduled today.

"I only mentioned it since it was not important, otherwise that blockage you placed on Communication magic would not have stopped him. That man loves to tweak with things like I do" Ajuka muttered as he turned to leave back for his office,

Masaru held Ophis's hand "You want to come along?"

Ophis shook her head as she places her hand on his chest, "I want to speak with someone" She spoke as she suddenly burst into particles entering Masaru's chest.

'The hell!?' Masaru thought,

[UWAAAA Why is the Dragon God here!? RUN for your lives!] Drago screamed loudly all of the sudden.

Masaru could hear Drago being overdramatic, he probably read something last night and his mind was still not with him yet. 'Did Ophis enter?'

[What you think!? I was taking a dump and only to see those scary endless abyss eyes staring back at me!]

'Where did she go?'

[Towards the other door, why the hell is strange things entering you all the time!?]

Masaru rubbed his forehead as he was once again reminded of Samsara's words, 'Perhaps she is the one who called her'

>\/<

Ophis appears in front of two women both with silver coloured hair and eyes, but one was as young as Ophis in appearance while the other was a mature lady. The three of them did not speak with their mouths, but a discussion took wordlessly place between the three goddesses.

After a while Samsara was the first to speak vocally, "You finally found someone you can stay with Ophis-chan"

Ophis nodded at Samsara "He showed me where home is"

"Fufu, You two girls really are adorable" Origin materialized a table with chairs,

"The reason I called you here today Ophis, is to ask you what your decision is... As you know 'he' will come in the far far future, but when the time comes Masaru alone will not be enough" Origin spoke with Ophis, despite being expressionless she could feel a faint change in her heart beating when Masaru was mentioned.

Ophis kept quiet before answering, "I..."

>\/<

Masaru teleported to the place Azazel was currently enjoying his drink, Masaru stretched his neck he could not ignore the feeling that was irritating him ever since he arrived here. Ever since he entered the Satan Class strength according to Devil Standards, his instincts had been increased dramatically allowing him to instinctively pick up the opposing parties feelings much clearer and detect danger sooner.

Yet even when he scanned the area he found nothing, so he could not understand what his instincts were warning him off. He entered the hotel, the staff member was kind enough to show him the way into the room where Azazel was happily drinking.

"You finally arrived! I thought you were angry with me" Azazel spoke,

"Not yet old crow, but I see you have been drinking" Masaru took his seat next to Azazel.

"Nice to see you as well Gremory team, congratulations on your members promoting Rias" Masaru added with a big smile, Rias felt surprised to see Masaru would come on the day Issei, Sara and Yuuto were doing their promotion exams.

"Thank you" Rias responded with a smile, Xenovia, Asia and Irina were currently praying for Issei's test.

"So you called me" Masaru turned to look at Azazel who nodded, he had been wondering why Azazel would look for him since whenever this crow does, troubles awaits for him.

"Where is Ophis by the way?" Azazel asked feeling surprised that Ophis was not following Masaru as she would normally, Masaru thought for a moment if he should tell or not and chose to trust his instincts on this.

Masaru looked around before pointing at his chest "She entered, not sure how or why but she did, so I have no way other than to wait for her return"

Azazel's lip twitched 'she entered his body? or soul? or Sacred Gear? To think such a thing is possible, perhaps I could...'

Azazel thought for a moment coming up with a few new ideas to try on artificial Sacred Gears, "Well I only wanted to check how are things going, did she experience in any change of thoughts?" Azazel asked after he finished his thoughts,

Masaru nodded as he recalled her changes, she was showing interest in things, showing her desire towards something and had even expressed her happiness from his pats. "She seems to no longer show interest in the Dimensional Gap, as of this moment. As for how she really feels, I am waiting for her to tell me"

Azazel breath a sigh of relief, "Well that is good news, at least when I step down from Governor I can feel relieved I did one last good thing" He spoke with a wry smile

Masaru clasps his hand over Azazel's shoulder, "Once you get tired of schooling kids, you can work for me. I have plenty of places you will enjoy"

Azazel only chuckled while shaking his head, Masaru did not push for it but only wanted to tell this old crow that his door was always open for family and friends. He felt much closer to Azazel compared to Michael and Sirzech, since he and Azazel shared similar ideology towards peace for this world.

Shortly afterwards, Yuuto, Issei and Sara came back together with Ravel from the promotion test. It seems this girl had became interested in Issei who fought against her brother for the sake of Rias, since then she had been following him till she eventually became his manager.

"Welcome back" Rias welcome the three of them but she gave Issei extra long hug. Masaru nodded

"It sure reminds me of my days when I young" Masaru spoke intentionally like an old man causing Azazel to laugh

"I know right! It sure is nice to be young" he played along as they teased Rias and Issei who turned beet red. It was quite amusing for Masaru to witness Rias blushing like this, it made him feel grateful that he trained that silly disciple of his to take this girl's hand.

They began to celebrate the promotion test of the three who participated although the results were not out yet, but the promotion test to Mid Class was quite easy as it only required the devil to have common sense about the higher-ups of the Devil Society as well as strength for it.

"So how was the test?" Azazel asked with a smirk on his face, Masaru shook his head as this old crow still enjoyed seeing such events after all. Even he could remember what his girls said about the test, those questions were really unexpected.

"I am honestly surprised, both the written was completed but with the practicals" Issei stopped there, he was not certain if he should say this since he was told not to overdo it and he did.

Masaru could imagine what happened "No need to worry, I still remember the day when Ingvild did her test she slapped her opponent through a wall"

Hearing this Issei stared at Masaru with a shocked face as it happened with him too although he punched his opponent,

Azazel laughed "Your girls are an exception, their all monsters in terms of firepower all because you have been training them personally since a very young age. Their foundations are solid, Issei still needs more training" Azazel commented.

"Well everyone will reach the stage, it lies all in continuous training" Masaru nodded as he agreed with Azazel and Issei did indeed require more training since his body was different from an average devil, he was similar to Sairaorg where he needs to focus on strengthening his physical body.

"No need to worry about the wall as the Gremory Family will fix it, but you must remember today as a lesson Issei. If you ever come in a fight against a low or mid-class you can't go all out with them" Rias reminded Issei who nodded,

"Well you should train your control, then you can beat them up without killing them" Masaru suggested making Rias glare at him for teaching Issei the idea to beat up deadbeats, Masaru simply laughed because he knew his disciple will end up learning it eventually if he intends to take Rias as his wife to keep pests away.

"How is the date with Aika going?" Masaru stood up sitting next to Barold who was quietly enjoying his meal,

"It is going smoothly, we had our fourth date this last weekend" Barold placed down his book as he and Masaru began to chat happily, shortly Issei joined in the talks.

"So you finally upgraded from groping master to groping Girlfriend huh?" Masaru clapped Issei's back, Issei chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. When it came to Masaru, Issei was quite open with him like he was with his two friends.

>\/<

In between the talks of the boy's group, the two dragons Drago and Ddraig were having a heated discussion about books. For some odd reason, Ddraig will run for books when he feels his fear for tits was acting up, so he was doing much better compared to his usual days.

[Have you see this book, how the Author kept his MC so pathetically weak for like 80+ Chapters straight calling it "Incomplete Soul crap", if it was not for the act his book was decent I would have like to slap a one-star in his face] Drago said,

Ddraig nodded [Not to mention the fact he did not take the girls we wanted! Now we have to read how some demon is getting the girls like freebies on the market!]

Drago nodded, [Well at least the author had a conscience to at least grant us two lolis for the Harem, so I will let it slide... But the trick he pulled to give the Milf to his teacher was really shocking!]

Ddraig nodded with a smile [I know right!? I Never expected the Author to jab his readers with this surprise, it was like giving them a fifty percent discount!]

[But it came down, the first two volumes made him look like a Beta] Drago muttered,

[And the author start using the dictionary to explain the meaning behind the word! What a guy, using the dictionary to rebuke his readers. I give him two stars] Ddraig said,

[Yep, and it took him months to realize that the reader was referring to his mc's "overly polite" attitude towards the girls that made him call the MC a beta] Drago laughed,

[Yet despite how crap the book is, I can't stop reading it!] Ddraig laughed as well

>\/<

After awhile of everyone chatting happily, the atmosphere changed the moment spatial fluctuations appeared surrounding Masaru, Azazel and Rias's Peerage. Sensing the change in dimensions Masaru already stood up as he could already determine who was targeting them, his eyes squinted.

"So they came" Masaru muttered as he glanced towards a particular direction, the familiar mist shrouded them and the surroundings before teleporting them away. He went out of the room going down the stairs towards the lobby, Azazel and the Gremory team followed them.

"Is this!?" Xenovia cried out in surprise as Issei nodded

"Yes, it's them... I will not be able to forget this mist" Issei muttered while clenching his fist, he really could not accept the hero faction yet could not hate them either.

"You seem to be familiar with them" Rias commented at Masaru's calm face, she could see that he was indeed VERY familiar with this group of people compared to Issei and them who fought against them.

"I was a spy for your brother in Khaos Brigade, so of course I would know of them" Masaru answered which shocked Rias as she never expected Masaru's 'work' to be something this sensitive,

Reaching the lobby a fireball came flying towards them, Masaru conjured several magic circles. Masaru sneered when he watched the fireball was breaking through his fake created magic circles one at a time he raised his left hand coated in Worthless attribute demonic power, with a smack he caused the fireball to dissipate in a puff of smoke.

In front of Masaru were two men, Cao Cao and Georg were sitting comfortably.

"Good Work! Although that was meant for the Durandal Strike before, but to think you would stop it... Masaru" Cao Cao spoke after clapping hands, he did expect Vali's team to be here but never did he expect to find Masaru here instead.

"And I see Ophis is with Vali huh?" Cao Cao spoke as he caresses his chin.

"No, she is here but you will have to deal with me first" Masaru answered, he was not sure what these two wanted with Ophis. However, he needed to keep them here while reinforcements would arrive.

Not only that, he was not certain if Cao Cao had Samael with them and he would rather be able to determine the location it emerges instead of a surprise, Cao Cao glances at Masaru who has an expressionless face.

"You really have a way to irritate me at times you know that? but I have yet to greet the others! It has been a while Governor Azazel and Sekiryuutei" Cao Cao greeted Azazel and Issei,

"Cao Cao!" Issei roared

Masaru shook his head as he calls out his sacred gear, with a stoic face he glanced at Cao Cao unamused.

[White Tiger Emperor: Byakko mode!]

Masaru's outfit transformed wearing a white shirt, silver pants with a chain belt holding it firmly around his waist, armoured white tiger leather boots. Open Collar white tiger fur hooded Jacket with a Belial Crest pattern engraved pauldron attached on his left shoulders strapped across his chest.

Deadheart became a double, one of it was sheathed within Avalon attached to his back in the form of a broadsword, and the other one was attached to his hip in the form of a katana with a white flame marked sheath. His left hand was wearing a full tiger leather gauntlet till his elbow and his right hand was a similar gauntlet however it was fingerless with his inventory bracer underneath it.

Issei glances at Masaru's Balance breaker finding it difficult to fathom why he gained tiger ears and a dragon scale tiger tail, Masaru did not allow Cao Cao to continue his talk as he used trackless steps.

Sensing Masaru's decisiveness Cao Cao laughed happily "You really are impatient as always"

Masaru appeared at his left side, Cao Cao thrust his spear but Masaru gripped the handle before slamming his left gauntlet fist into his face.

"Gah!" Cao Cao flew back a few meters before glaring at Masaru with his nose bleed,

"You can touch the spear without being burnt!?" Cao Cao cried out in shock, he ignored the pain due to how surprised he was. It was the true Longinus after all.

Hearing this Rias and they were shocked as they knew Devils were highly vulnerable to holy powers, Masaru appears to be an exception. Only Azazel remained silent as he knew the reason was that Masaru became a Devil Dragon, and his fight with the Mid Class gods made him stronger.

Masaru sprint after Cao Cao as the two of them clashed against one another, Masaru pulled out Deadheart from Avalon as it began to clash against the True Longinus.

[Damn boy, this weapon is dangerous! Make sure to pump in some more worthless attribute power into me] Drago said with a serious voice, it was because of that spear Masaru had to move carefully. It was a God Slayer for a reason.

Masaru nodded as he conjures several magic circles, several white spheres were sent flying leaving a trail of energy beams following after it, shortly the spheres began to twirl around each other before merging into one massive beam shooting towards Cao Cao.

"HMPH!" Cao Cao snorted as he thrust out his spear,

SWOOSH!

The beam was cut in half with the energy destroying the building behind him leaving two trails leading to two different directions, Georg who was with him had to teleport away since he could not take on the strikes of Masaru. Yet amongst, these Magic circles were scanning magics which trigger the moment the magic circle is broken.

CLANG!

Clang!

clang!

"What's wrong Cao Cao, your strikes are getting pathetic" Masaru said as he raised his sword with both his hands above his head before slashing downwards,

Cao Cao who saw this narrowed his eyes while holding his spear with both his hands to block the strike, it was then he began to realize his strikes were becoming weaker each time he clashed against Masaru, although Masaru could not nullify the Will of God in the spear he could nullify the holy power of the spear which in turn made it become weaker.

"You really are annoying as always" Cao Cao gnashed his teeth, he could understand from this direct confrontation that he was no match for Masaru physically. So he took a step back twirling his spear around Masaru's sword before he thrust his spear towards Masaru's abdomen.

Masaru dodged the strike by teleporting behind Cao Cao slashing at him, Cao Cao brought the spear next to his neck to block the strike before he was launched like a catapult by the force of Masaru's strike leaving several aftershocks as Cao Cao was blasted out of the Hotel.

boom!

Boom!

BOOM!

Georg watched in shock as he did not expect Masaru to be this strong, but ever since the fight Masaru had been feeling the presence of a God pressuring him from the shadows. He kept resisting as he slowly made himself familiar with this peculiar aura.

'Come baby boy, let me sense you thoroughly. We will see whether or not you will survive once I reach your level' Masaru thought sneering in his heart.

While Cao Cao stood up from the rubbles dusting his clothes despite his body was aching all over from Masaru's rough beatings, he re-entered the lobby of the destroyed hotel while Georg had a complicated face as he muttered

"Devil Dragon? I heard those dragons were exterminated by Heaven a long time ago" Georg began to explain the ritual he once read up in the library of the Magic Association he was once part of, hearing this Cao Cao smirked as he found the way to deal with Masaru.

Considering his chances of winning without using Balance Breaker, Cao Cao chose to use the more efficient Method to kill Masaru "It's a shame that we have to use this so soon because fighting against you who survived a battle against a Mid Class God that is stronger than an Ultimate Rank is something I am not capable of handling"

Georg nodded at Cao Cao who continued to speak "Since we have Masaru the Devil Dragon and the Sekiryuutei we can kill them here before looking for Ophis, bring forth the dragon eater"

Georg conjured a massive magic circle behind him, the surroundings began to vibrate an a dreadful ominous feeling shrouded the entire vicinity.

[What the hell have I done to have someone to hate me to this degree!?] Drago complained despite shivering from the feeling that magic circle was giving off.

Ddraig materialize on Issei's arm [This presence! An overwhelming evil intent only directed at a dragon!]

Issei also felt the trace of fear in Ddraig's voice, Masaru had a difficult time himself although it was much easier for him compared to the two dragons.

'Dragon Eater... So this is Samael, although I managed to eliminate the dragon-slaying weakness I underestimated the hatred that dead god had towards Dragons' Masaru thought as he watched a man bounded onto a cross with cloth wrapped around his body written with strange runic letters.

His body was bounded with several stakes, from the looks of it he was a half-fallen angel with his black wings and the lower body of an Asian dragon. The feeling of God's hatred towards Snakes and Dragons was dreadful.

Masaru could hold himself together facing the hatred he sensed from Samael's existence thanks to Origin who was assisting him from the shadows and Byakko unleashed a silverly white aura around his body to counter against the oppression towards Dragons.

"I see it is effective even against you" Cao Cao Spoke with a smile.

Azazel was shaken when he saw Samael, Masaru already told him about it but still, he felt Hades would not go so far.

"To think you would bring Samael out of Cocytus. Does this mean you have unsealed the seal of Cocytus!?" Azazel yelled at Cao Cao for doing something so reckless,

Masaru sighed, "It says that it is the poison of God. It says it is the evil intention of God. A forbidden being that made the people in Eden eat the fruit of knowledge. The first crime that was judged by the dead God from the Bible and still continues to be in effect. The angel who had received the curse of God who hated dragons and snakes was called Samael. A dragon. Yes. A dragon whose existence was eliminated from the record" Masaru spoke with his eyes squinting...

He felt something else was missing from this story, he was certain there was more to this than just a crime.

Cao Cao clapped his hands "You are quite knowledgeable, did you get that information while you were spying on me?" He asked with a sarcastic tone,

Masaru chuckled "I did, stealing from fake Heroes is much easier after all"

Cao Cao's eyes became stern when he heard the term he hated since Masaru never approved of his terms about Heroes... And being called a Fake, he could not tolerate it even with his personality.

Masaru smiled wryly as he felt a bit regretful he could not use his Pseudo-Kouryuu Mode yet due to its cooldown, Cao Cao had an unamused face as he points at Masaru. "Devour Him"

Cao Cao ordered as a black tentacle from Samael shot out towards Masaru, several layers of magic barriers along with scanning magic circles overlapped one another. It consists of Demonic power and Dragon Slaying attributes in the form of hammers, these two powers were used for the purpose of being the bane of Dragons and Fallen Angels.

BANG!

"GROAR!!!" Samael roared in rage when it sensed the counter attributes facing it, it felt irritated that it could not finish Masaru in a single blow. It immediately sent another tentacle created with light and dragon aura cloaked in Dragon eater attribute towards Masaru.

(AN: Calling the power God gave Samael based on his hatred towards Dragon and Snakes, Dragon Eater it's codename)

"Get back!" Masaru called out towards the Gremory team and Azazel who moved away, he managed to scan Samael using his magic to block its initial strike for an opening.

With the knowledge he gained from scanning Samael, Masaru pulled out his broadsword from his back cloaking it with his worthless bloodline power. He did not use his dragon divine aura since it will be counterproductive to face it when it uses Dragon Eater Attribute, 'To think I met another nemesis' Masaru thought,

But his smile became broader while his teet revealed traces of becoming sharp like fangs, his eyes became slits gleaming with excitement. 'Secret Sword ~ Sun and Moon Slash'

Holding his broadsword above his head with both his hands, his eyes focusing on the tentacle that was approaching him in an incredibly fast speed. The moment the sword came down, the temperature on the right side became incredibly hot, while the left side became incredibly cold. One filled with life, and one devoid of life.

With fluid control over his movement, Masaru divided the tentacle in halves. The secret behind his attack was to reflect his fighting spirit towards his opponents to give them the impression of behind tortured by the sun and moon.

"GROAR!!!!" A reverberating scream escapes the mouth of Samael who retracted his attack after experiencing the pain caused by Masaru's dragon slayer swords.

"Phew... Glad to know that worked" Masaru spoke sarcastically with a smirk although Cao Cao and Georg had complicated faces towards him.

"H- He deflected Samael's attack?" Issei stared at Masaru with wide eyes,

Azazel chuckled as he realized what Masaru did can't win against the poison but he should be able to keep Samael at bay. But Masaru had a different thought in mind, 'Perhaps killing Samael will ease his sufferings and Hades will have no choice but to give himself up'