The Underworld is Shaken! The Scandal of the Leviathan Successor

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"Huh?"

Upon hearing Vali's report that Akira had left with a woman, Lavinia's delicate brows furrowed slightly.

"Akira left with a woman? What exactly happened?"

Although Lavinia hadn't fallen in love with Akira, she did have some feelings for him, so she was naturally concerned about the women around him.

"This is what happened..."

Vali recounted everything he had seen and heard. In truth, he hadn't gathered much information. He had only seen Akira carrying Seekvaira away, followed by Sona handling the aftermath.

"Was she wearing glasses?" Lavinia asked.

"Yes, she was."

"So, it was Sona Sitri?" Lavinia ventured a guess.

"No, it wasn't. I know the Sitri family's princess. After the battle, she stayed behind to clean up the battlefield. The woman who left with Akira wasn't her."

"Then..."

Lavinia hesitated.

Who could it be?

If Akira was carrying her, they must have been quite close, right?

Could it be that Akira had found his true love outside of his engagement?

"Big sister, judging by your reaction, could it be that you've fallen for Akira?" Vali teased. Of course, he didn't actually believe Lavinia had feelings for Akira—after all, they hadn't interacted with him much.

"..."

Lavinia fell silent for a few seconds.

Finally, she first nodded, then shook her head.

"I don't know. I just... want to see him again and properly thank him," Lavinia replied softly.

Vali also fell silent.

Well, this was quite the revelation.

He had thought Lavinia simply wanted him to repay Akira's kindness, but it seemed there might be some genuine feelings involved.

Romantic relationships... were still too complicated for him.

Lavinia, along with Toujou Sachi and Minagawa Natsume, were among the individuals Akira had "intercepted" early on. However, due to his limited strength at the time, Akira hadn't directly intervened but had instead provided support from the sidelines.

Lavinia's full name was Lavinia Reni, the wielder of the Longinus-class Sacred Gear, "Absolute Demise: Eternal Ice Maiden."

From a young age, Lavinia had awakened her Sacred Gear, allowing her to unconsciously wield powerful ice abilities. However, her awakening wasn't a blessing for those around her. Many were troubled by the invisible ice spirits she manifested, leading them to view her as an oddity.

After her parents tragically died in an accident, Lavinia was taken in by the Southern Witch of Oz, Glinda, who taught her magic and the knowledge of Sacred Gears. It was then that Lavinia realized the ice spirits were manifestations of her Longinus, "Eternal Ice Maiden."

Years later, Lavinia was sent to study under the Grey Warlock, Mephisto Pheles, where she interacted with other magicians. However, upon hearing that Glinda had been attacked by the Witches of Oz, Lavinia returned to Glinda's residence, only to find it empty.

Since then, Lavinia had been searching for her mentor, Glinda, while gathering information on the Witches of Oz.

In the original timeline, Lavinia had fought alongside Ikuse Tobio and others during the Hollow Incident, clashing with the Eastern Witch of Oz, Yastusta, who wielded the Longinus "Incinerate Anthem: Purple Flames of Purgatory."

However... Yastusta had exploited Lavinia's psychological weakness, revealing that her beloved mentor, Glinda, had once been their ally.

Lavinia was shocked to learn that the person she admired, the mentor she had been searching for, was actually a member of the wicked Witch Nation.

This revelation left Lavinia mentally shaken.

Seizing the opportunity, Yastusta, the leader of the Witch Nation, used a secret technique to invade Lavinia's body.

But thanks to Akira's intervention, the timeline had changed.

Akira had provided Lavinia and the "Fallen Angels" organization with crucial information in the guise of a mysterious figure. Eventually, Akira personally led the battle, helping Ikuse Tobio and Lavinia defeat the Hollow organization.

Out of gratitude, Lavinia gifted Akira a piece of "Eternal Ice" as a means to contact her. She promised to provide whatever help she could, both personally and officially, whenever Akira needed it.

Akira's Twelve-Winged Fallen Angel persona had also infiltrated the Fallen Angels organization thanks to Lavinia and the Fallen Angels' connections.

However, neither Lavinia nor the Fallen Angels had anticipated that the "Eight-Winged Fallen Angel" with exceptional research talent—who had since been promoted to a "Ten-Winged Fallen Angel"—was actually Akira's Twelve-Winged Fallen Angel persona in disguise.

Previously, Akira had dared to confront Hayasaka Nao precisely because he had Lavinia and the Fallen Angels as his trump card.

"Thank him, huh..."

Vali shook his head.

He wasn't interested in matters of the heart and didn't know if this counted as love.

All he knew was that his fate was now intertwined with Akira's!

Though he claimed he wouldn't go all out, Vali would still seize any opportunity to fulfill their destined battle!

"Enough, Vali. Let's head to the Fallen Angels' base and rest for now. We still need to prepare for the Three Factions Summit."

Lavinia glanced at the sky with mixed emotions, tightening her grip on the "Eternal Ice" that connected her to Akira.

In truth, the "Eternal Ice" not only allowed Akira to contact her but also enabled her to reach out to him.

However... she had never used this function.

[In just a year, he's obtained a Longinus and surpassed even Vali in strength. Perhaps... he'll never use the 'Eternal Ice' to contact me again.]

[Should I... reach out to him? To see if he's forgotten about us.]

Holding the Eternal Ice, Lavinia fell into a cycle of hesitation.

The next day.

Old School Building.

Rias was training.

Seekvaira had been highly efficient, securing the spiritual herbs Rias needed by the previous afternoon. As soon as the herbs arrived, Rias immediately began stabilizing her power.

Compared to before, Rias had changed somewhat.

And it was all because of Akira!

She had witnessed firsthand the terrifying rate at which Akira's strength had grown!

Previously, even if Akira had hidden his strength and only revealed it after Sona broke off their engagement, he would have been, at most, a High-Class Devil.

The strength of a High-Class Devil wouldn't have been enough to pressure Rias.

What truly pressured Rias was Akira's "Boosted Gear."

Even though they were both High-Class Devils, Akira had used the Boosted Gear to defeat Ultimate-Class Devils and even... Maou-level opponents!

Because of the Longinus, Rias felt immense pressure from Akira. After he left, she had trained relentlessly, eventually breaking through to the Ultimate-Class Devil level.

In fact, Rias had even sought out a Longinus that suited her, all to ensure she could stand beside Akira.

At the very least, she didn't want people to think she was leeching off Akira's success.

In this regard, she was similar to Riser.

However, Riser had swallowed his pride and used herbs to enhance his potential, while Rias had swallowed her pride and used a Sacred Gear, something the demon world generally looked down upon.

But...

Things didn't go as planned.

Now... Rias felt even more pressure.

Maou-level!

After just over ten days of secluded training, Akira had returned with strength at the Maou level!

When using his Balance Breaker, Akira likely reached the level of a Super Maou!

This level of strength was enough to make any member of the younger generation sweat.

Previously, Rias had simply disliked Riser and felt he wasn't worthy of her.

But now... if she didn't train harder, it would soon be said that she wasn't worthy of Akira!

If she didn't improve, Rias could easily imagine the rumors that would spread in the Underworld.

Things like, "Rias is just a pretty face, completely unworthy of Akira."

Or, "The Gremory family used their status as a Maou family to force Akira, who has the potential to become the next Maou, into a sham engagement. How shameless!"

And it didn't stop there!

Her engagement to Akira was fake!

When they eventually broke off the engagement, rumors would surely spread, saying things like, "Akira broke off the engagement because Rias was too weak."

These things were entirely possible!

In fact, some of them were already happening!—For example, last night she had heard whispers that she wasn't good enough for Akira!

Demons... ultimately placed too much importance on strength.

A demon strong enough, even if they were an Old Maou or supposedly of mixed blood, would face no objections to their status once they demonstrated Super Maou-level strength!

[Since breaking off the engagement would cause problems, maybe... I should just let my engagement with Akira continue indefinitely?] A dangerous thought crossed Rias's mind.

Just as Rias was struggling to focus on her training due to her complicated emotions, the door to the Occult Research Club burst open.

Rias opened her eyes and looked toward the door.

The intruder... was Akeno.

"Rias! Rias! Something big has happened!" Akeno rushed in, holding a stack of newspapers.

"Huh? What's going on?" Rias calmly ended her training and stood up.

"Look at today's newspapers!"

Akeno hurriedly handed over a pile of papers, including the "Underworld Daily," "Demon Gazette," and "Duke's Discourse," all prominent Underworld publications.

"Alright, I'll take a look."

Rias glanced at the newspapers, and the headlines immediately caught her eye.

[Underworld Daily: Shocking! The Red Dragon Emperor Returns! Easily Defeats an Evil Dragon Soul Surpassing Maou-Level Strength!]

[Demon Gazette: On the Legitimacy and Necessity of Granting the Leviathan Successor Maou Status After Reaching the Level of the Original Four Great Maous.]

"What's the big deal? It's just reporting on Akira's achievements."

Rias sighed. She had expected this to make the news, so why was Akeno so worked up?

"Huh?"

Akeno looked confused for a moment, then realized her mistake.

"Sorry, I showed you the wrong side. The big news... is here."

Akeno flipped the newspaper over, revealing the headlines Rias needed to see.

[Blood Moon News: Shocking! The Untold Story of the Uncrowned King Akira and the Phoenix Princess!]

[Duke's Discourse: Will Leviathan's Successor Akira Launch a 'Love Conquest' Against the Phoenix Family? Here's What the Duke Has to Say...]

[Phoenix Gazette: Regarding the Matter of Akira Leviathan and Ravel Phoenix, the Phoenix Family Will Await the Results of the Great King's Investigation Before Taking Action.]

[Great King's Interview: The Data Submitted by the Phoenix Clan is Currently Being Analyzed in the Capital. Stay Tuned for Updates.]

[Underworld Weekly: Rumors Suggest Phoenix Princess Ravel Phoenix Will Marry Leviathan Successor Akira Leviathan with a Dowry of Ten Phoenix Tears. Will This Affect the Fated Battle Between the Red Dragon Emperor and the White Dragon Emperor?]

Headlines!

As Rias looked at the stack of newspapers, her mind went blank.

She had expected Akira to gain fame after defeating the evil dragon's soul, but she hadn't anticipated it dominating over 90% of the newspapers' front pages.

It seemed that the scandals of the powerful were just too enticing.

A strong individual naturally attracted attention, and Akira was a rapidly rising star among the younger generation.

Combine strength with scandal, and you had the perfect recipe for a media frenzy.

Akira's news ticked all the boxes: "Longinus," "Old Maou vs. New Maou," "Romance," "Pre-Marital Misconduct," and more. It was no wonder it was so popular!

"Akira and the Phoenix Princess?"

"So... Akira and Ravel!"

"Love Conquest?! What's going on?!"

In the Underworld, "Love Conquest" referred to a challenge issued by one party in a pre-marital affair to the other's family, usually to legitimize the relationship.

Typically, pre-marital misconduct included things like pre-marital sex, polygamy, or infidelity.

According to the newspapers, Akira and Ravel had engaged in pre-marital misconduct?!

Rias clutched her chest.

Given how Ravel had clung to Akira the last time they met, it wasn't entirely impossible!

Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 145 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 30 power stones I will publish the next chapter.