DxD: The Truth of the World

CHAPTER 11

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Removing his suit jacket, he revealed the crisp, collared shirt beneath. With a familiar ease, Ren handed it to Agatha, who accepted it with a warm smile.

Her gloved hands moved with practiced grace as she turned and gently hung it on the coatrack fixed near the cockpit door. It had become a quiet ritual between them.

"How have you been?"

He asked as he folded the cuffs of his shirt after loosening the tie around his neck. Agatha returned to her place beside the table before a steaming cup of coffee materialized in her gloved hands. She sets it and pushes the stray strands of hair from her face, tucking them neatly behind her ear with a graceful flick of her fingers.

"As well as one can be after finally dealing with the mess caused by a malevolent god. Oh, and my master sends his greetings as well."

Taking a sip, he sighed at the delicious taste that entered his mouth, his body relaxing fully as he sank into the comfortable leather seat.

"I didn't expect the task to take four whole months."

"The Velvet Room exists between dream and reality, as explained by my Master. Time and space, too, flow differently. In my perspective, it had only been two weeks at most."

Her smile then shifted into a teasing smirk.

"Though from your tone, could it be that you missed me, dear Sir?"

That caused his cheeks to flush slightly as he looked down at the cup in his hands.

"You—Agatha, can you just not with the teasing?"

He grumbled as he took another sip, savoring the flavors that bloomed across his tongue. He made a mental note to ask her for the blend later; there was a distinct taste of dark roast, with something floral.

Lavender extract, perhaps? It complemented his tastes rather well, granted it was his favorite kind of tea.

Agatha chuckled softly before manifesting a seat of her own, a sleek, low stool in the same ultramarine velvet as the rest of the cabin. With grace, she took her place beside him, leaning in just enough to invade his personal space as her elbow came to rest on the armrest of his chair.

The sudden closeness made him shift, ever so slightly, to the opposite side.

"But where would the fun be in that, my dear Sir? It’s been two weeks since I last saw this embarrassed expression of yours. I need to replenish the "Sir Cuteness Bar" inside myself to sustain the next few days of inevitable loneliness."

She leaned in further, their faces just a few centimeters apart. He had to snap himself out of the intense gaze of those golden eyes as he turned the other way and coughed in his fist.

"I-Ahem, I heard from Pixie that you have something urgent for me?"

He quickly changed the topic at hand.

S-She was always this teasing, even when he first appeared in the Velvet Room back in high school. Between all the stuff that had happened and now this, his poor heart is struggling because of how many marathons it has endured over the past few days.

Deciding that she was done teasing him for now, Agatha sat back with a satisfied hum, her amused smile lingering as a thick tome appeared in her grasp. Softly flipping open the cover, the tome began to flip through its pages on its own, rustling through pages upon pages until it stopped at a specific page.

"It seems that your recent meeting has resonated in the eyes of the Arcana, thus establishing a new bond."

A palm hovers above the tome before a tarot card manifests, depicting an old woman holding onto an open book.

"Number 2 of the Major Arcana, the Priestess. It represents hidden knowledge or other untapped power, wisdom, female mystery, and patience."

With a soft push, the tarot card in her hand floats forward as it merges into his chest.

He inhaled sharply at the sudden spike in power, sending jolts throughout his body before the feeling slowly diminished into his soul, the power lingering within him. He knew that if he ever needed it, it would be ready whenever he required its strength.

"... That was stronger than usual."

He muttered under his breath, eyes flicking to Agatha, whose gaze was still on the tome in her hand.

"Personas are the strength of heart. The more bonds that surround you, the more power your Personas will gain, especially if you establish a bond connected with a Major Arcana."

Rubbing his chest where the Priestess Arcana merged, he breathed out as he did a mental count. Adding the Priestess into account, he now had a total of 6 Major Arcanas established.

"Almost 10 years into this Wild Card business, and I still only have 6 out of the 22. My predecessors would be laughing at my lack of progress right now."

He couldn't help but chuckle at his own self-deprecating words. Other Wild Card Persona Users usually complete their journey in under a year's time, yet here he was, still not even halfway into his journey.

The soft texture of a glove suddenly pressed against his cheek, gently but firmly turning his head to face a rarely seen serious Agatha. Her golden eyes were now filled with an intense sharpness that Ren was unused to seeing.

"My dear Sir, do not belittle your progress. The path you're on is not like theirs. Each journey is different, and no one else's timeline should dictate how far you've come or how far you have to go."

Ren stayed silent, closing his eyes. He drew in a slow breath before nodding as he reopened his eyes to meet Agatha.

"... Yeah, you're right. Thanks."

"There is no need for thanks, my dear Sir. I was created for your own sake, after all."

They both enjoyed the silence that came after.

...

...

...

The gloved hand on his face was still there. In fact, her thumb has been playing with his lips, gently caressing the surface with circular motions, which made him a little flustered.

"Agatha, what are you—"

"You haven't been sleeping much, have you?"

Her tone sent a shiver down his spine as he tried to avoid eye contact with the disappointed look of the Velvet Room attendant. U-Ugh, the look of disappointment is just not fair.

"Technically, I sleep the perfect amount for a person in his prime. Five hours is just enough for the mind to—"

The grip on his face tightened as Agatha’s golden eyes narrowed. Her thumb moved to caress the dark circles under his eyes as a dark aura began to exude from her body, causing him to start sweating at the dense magical energy being exerted.

"It seems that you have lost your discipline after my short disappearance..."

Before he could protest, Agatha had already pulled him up from the chair with her inhuman strength. He stumbled after her as she dragged him to the back of the plane through the door that hissed open.

His face paled at the realization of where they were heading.

"W-Wait, by your logic, shouldn't I be resting? Haha, I feel rather tired now, actually!"

He tried to escape his fate by trying to use his Persona Skills to increase his strength, but Agatha didn’t even flinch at his resistance as she continued to drag him with her locked arm onto his.

As soon as they stepped foot through the back door, the world spiraled for a moment as gravity warped and shifted, their surroundings changing in an instant.

They were now in a vast, open chamber that resembled a temple; golden and pearl tiles covered the floor, with towering velvet columns reaching up into a starry night's sky.

He nervously swallowed as the moment she let go of his hand, he immediately leaped a few feet backwards, increasing the distance between them with his favorite sword in hand. They were currently in the Challenge Temple, and there was only one reason why they were in here.

Cold sweat beaded down his face as an overwhelming wave of pressure surged from Agatha, one gloved hand clutching her open tome while the other hovered above its surface.

The air around her crackled from the blue energies that surrounded her, and her platinum hair began to lift on the rising updraft. From the tome, twenty-two ethereal tarot cards manifested into existence one by one as they began to orbit her in a slow, deliberate spiral.

"Let this lesson be etched once more in your body so that next time, you won’t be foolish enough to neglect your health."

Flicking her free hand, she grabbed onto one of the many tarot cards revolving around her and raised her hand into the sky. With a swift motion, she crushed the card between her gloved fingers.

"Savor this taste of power. Argat bat Mahlat, show him the might of the Queen's Decree."

A lithe figure dressed in witch attire wielding a parasol appeared in front of her. With a cold expression, she waved the parasol in her hand as twelve miniature balls of white light shimmered before her.

Panicking, Ren quickly swapped Personas as he switched from his current Persona, Pixie, to the Persona that held the strongest vitality prowess in his psyche before the floating stars of the Demon Queen rained on him.

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The Velvet Room exists between dream and reality, mind and matter, and time and space. Therefore, when he exited the Room after hours of grueling torture and survival, only a good ten minutes had passed in the real world.

Ren stumbled forward, hitting the shed's door as he clutched his ribs with a hiss. His appearance and clothes were still in the same condition as before he entered the Velvet Room, but he still felt the phantom pain of the mini-Almighty stars that had detonated around him.

He looked back at the glowing door before shuddering. If it were him, he would avoid the Velvet Room as much as possible until she calmed down, but she had instructed him to visit her daily to keep up with their training.

Coupled with the fact that she could traverse out into the real world too... He was not looking forward to their training sessions tomorrow.

Casting a quick max-tier Diarahan to fully restore his health and vitality, he breathed out with a sigh of relief at the fading phantom pains before walking out of the shed. Moving back to his room to rest before dinner, he was about to enter his room when Issei suddenly yelled for him.

"Nii-san!"

BANG!

Looking back at the stairs, he could see Issei clutching his head after slipping and hitting himself in the head, groaning. There wasn't a mark from hitting his head anywhere, though. after reincarnating as a Devil, Issei's durability seems to be increasing drastically by the day.

Since his parents weren't nearby, Ren sighed before pointing a finger gun gesture towards Issei before firing a low-tier Healing Skill, Dia, to soothe and heal his wounds. A warm glow of green covered Issei's being as he breathed out in relief.

"Thanks, Nii-san—Wait, this is exactly the point!"

He stopped his thanks as he pointed at his older brother with a surprised look. Ren tilted his head in confusion before understanding what his little brother was thinking about.

"Y-You just did something to heal me, didn't you? Nii-san, y-you're in on this Devil situation too?!"

Ahh... He totally forgot about this after spending hours fighting for his life.

Right, he had to explain his involvement with the supernatural to his brother, who looked shocked and confused. He pinched his temples as he gave out a sigh.

Today was just a busy day.