80: Chapter 80

Ikuse Tobio's expression was a bit helpless, but after glancing at Luo Yu, the bitter smile on his lips deepened. "Brother Luo Yu, I think there's still a chance for me to catch up to my brother and Dulio Gesualdo, but you—forget it."

"This is the peak of the Super Devil realm, for heaven's sake."

Luo Yu did not deliberately suppress his aura; his strength was something Ikuse Tobio could see at a glance.

Ikuse Tobio's self-confidence was severely battered at this moment, and he even began to suspect that by the time they met again, Brother Luo Yu might have jumped straight to the level of a Super Devil.

Regarding the hint of flattery in Ikuse Tobio's words, Luo Yu could only smile bitterly in his heart.

Ikuse Tobio didn't know his actual situation, but he knew it himself.

If that thing, the Beast Emperor, couldn't help him break through to become a Super Devil, it was possible that Ikuse Tobio might actually catch up to him later; that wasn't out of the question.

Heaven knows how long it would take for him to cultivate his way to the Super Devil level.

Moreover, now that his Dragon bloodline had reached the Dragon King level, his foundation was deeper, but the difficulty of breaking through to the next level had also doubled.

To break through to the Super Devil level, he would need at least several times the strength of an ordinary peak Super Devil. "Tobio, Azazel sent you, didn't he?"

He had just been wondering why this guy would suddenly pop up, but upon second thought, Ikuse Tobio, like Vali, was a member of Grigori. The people who could mobilize him were few and far between. Furthermore, Ikuse Tobio certainly wouldn't come looking for him without a reason.

If he needed to find someone, he should look for Vali or his foster sister, Lavinia Reni.

That woman held the Sacred Gear "Eternal Ice Princess".

It wasn't that their relationship was bad, it was just that compared to the family-like bond Vali and the others shared, it was lacking a little something. "As expected, I couldn't hide it from you, Brother Luo Yu. The Governor sent me."

Ikuse Tobio didn't try to hide anything and admitted it directly.

Compared to Vali, who always loved to play devil's advocate, Ikuse Tobio was practically an obedient good boy within Grigori.

As soon as Azazel gave an order, he would immediately carry it out. "Brother Luo Yu, the Governor sent me to confirm—is the matter regarding Mount Sumeru true?"

"Didn't Vali already tell him? The situation he knows is basically how it is." Luo Yu looked up at the endless expanse of blue.

He wasn't surprised at all that Azazel would come to ask about this.

With Vali's mouth, the fact that Mount Sumeru was finished couldn't be hidden from that old fox. Moreover, that guy had long guessed that he had already been to Mount Sumeru before the gods made their move.

Now, the foundation of Mount Sumeru had been completely emptied out, not even a single hair remained. Wasn't that the most glaring evidence?

The other gods might still be wondering if the mastermind who caused the fall of Mount Sumeru was up to some other trickery behind the scenes. But a shrewd ghost like Azazel would never think in that direction. "It seems this guy can't sit still anymore. Even though he clearly already knows, he still had to come and ask again."

Luo Yu shook his head. "Brother Luo Yu, you can't blame the Governor. Once Mount Sumeru fell, the Three Realms were nearly in an uproar. Now, every pantheon is terrified, fearing that such a man-made disaster will fall upon them. Now that it's confirmed that Shiva did it, Grigori definitely has to be more vigilant."

When Ikuse Tobio said this, he was actually drumming in his heart.

Even though he had known the answer for a long time, when the moment of confirmation actually arrived, he still found it hard to believe.

After all, Shiva's strength and status in the Three Realms were well-established. Especially after the God of Destruction died, his reputation had risen steadily. In private, some were already calling him the strongest god.

A figure of this level had actually dealt a lethal blow to Mount Sumeru. "Shiva struck while Mount Sumeru was weak, aiming for the Beast Emperor. You guys in Grigori don't have what he wants, so he has no reason to mess with you. Besides, the commotion this time was so big; Shiva isn't a fool, and he won't bring more trouble upon himself at this time."

If that guy dared to continue causing trouble behind the scenes during this recent period, there would definitely be flaws for other pantheons to seize.

None of the gods in the Three Realms are easy to fool. "When the lips are gone, the teeth are cold" is a principle everyone understands. If they really find any clues, they will turn the entire Three Realms upside down to drag Shiva out.

By then, even the Hindu Pantheon won't be able to protect him.

Luo Yu's tone was very flat: "He is still far from the realm of a True God, and on his own, he simply cannot suppress the Three Realms."

If it weren't for Michael, Cao Cao, and the others wanting to handle it personally to settle their private grievances, Luo Yu would have already exposed Shiva.

Even if they couldn't kill him, it would be enough to make him and the entire Hindu Pantheon suffer the consequences.

It is not at all strange in the Three Realms for pantheons to look down on each other, erupt into conflict, or even start fighting.

They had even fought life-and-death survival wars like The Great War.

But this time, Shiva was different. He wanted to release the Beast Emperor and destroyed the entire Mount Sumeru.

This matter crossed the bottom line of many gods and factions.

Once that kind of uncontrollable monster went out of control, all pantheons would suffer.

Many old-school gods still remember the blood feud the Beast Emperor stirred up in the Three Realms during ancient times.

"Brother Luo Yu, the Governor has one more thing he asked me to convey to you." After Ikuse Tobio got the answer Azazel wanted, he didn't rush to leave. "A message? What message?"

"The Governor said, if you guys are about to make a move, remember to let him know." Ikuse Tobio relayed Azazel's exact words without missing a single character.

Without any embellishment, the message itself was less than twenty characters long.

When Ikuse Tobio relayed it himself, he was actually confused. Start? What start? People who don't know the inside story can't guess what this means at all.

Luo Yu muttered: "Azazel, he intends to bring the Fallen Angels in on this, huh?"

Ikuse Tobio didn't understand, but Luo Yu understood as soon as he heard it.

Azazel wanted to join the revenge plan of the Angels' side.

This matter probably wasn't leaked by Vali; it was likely something he guessed himself.

After all, when the True God sealed the Beast Emperor back then, Azazel and the First Generation Four Great Demon Kings both took action at the final moment.

Moreover, when Michael pretended to be the True God during The Great War, he couldn't hide it from Azazel's eyes.

Following these clues, it is not at all strange that Azazel could figure out the truth.

What Luo Yu really couldn't figure out was another matter.

Himejima Suzaku sat kneeling before the tea table, staring blankly at the steam rising from the cup. "You are right, that Ah Yu... is he the Red Dragon Emperor from back then?"

Akeno Himejima held the teacup, a gentle smile curling at the corners of her lips. "Yes, does Cousin also find it quite surprising?"

"To be honest..." Himejima Suzaku lowered her eyelids, her voice filled with an indescribable complexity, "I really didn't expect it to be him."

Akeno Himejima gently blew on the surface of the tea and didn't respond. The two sisters sat quietly like this; in the air, only the steam from the tea slowly swirled.

After a long while, Himejima Suzaku withdrew her gaze from the teacup and looked back at her cousin opposite her. "Your tea ceremony skills have improved quite a bit."

She praised her sincerely. "It's almost catching up to Aunt Shuri."

Akeno Himejima shook her head, smiling modestly. "Compared to my mother, it's still far off. Ah Yu always says my mind isn't calm enough, that I can't keep my heart as flat as a mirror like Mother could, so I'm always lacking a little in the execution."

When mentioning that name, Akeno Himejima's eyes brightened.

Every word she said, every action she took, inadvertently carried the shadow of that person.

Sometimes, lying in bed, she would wonder if Ah Yu had cast some kind of spell on her since she was a child.

Otherwise, how could she have fallen so deeply, so deep that at the thought of days without him, her whole being felt as if it had been hollowed out.

Silence spread between the two for a few seconds. Himejima Suzaku finally spoke, her voice filled with obvious hesitation. "Ah Yu... is that Red Dragon Emperor, right?"

Akeno Himejima nodded, a smile still hanging on her lips. "Cousin, were you frightened by his identity?"

Himejima Suzaku did not answer immediately. She lowered that face which was eighty percent similar to Akeno Himejima's, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

After taking a deep breath, her tone became even more complex. "I really didn't expect it, it actually really is him..."

Akeno Himejima didn't pay much attention to the reaction of the person opposite her, assuming she was just shocked by Luo Yu's identity, much like she had been when she first heard about it.

She had indeed been stunned at the time.

She couldn't help but recall the past, saying softly: "Cousin Suzaku, do you remember? When we were little, you always used to sneak out of the Himejima Clan to come find me and Ah Yu to play..."

When saying this, her face blossomed with a smile. Those days were her happiest times.

Mother was in the shrine, and Ah Yu and Cousin Suzaku were by her side, playing around.

She continued, smiling: "I remember back then, the two of us were always fighting to be Ah Yu's bride. Every time we made him choose, he would look so troubled, flustered and embarrassed."

Speaking of this, she couldn't help but laugh out loud. "But in the end, he chose you."

Himejima Suzaku also shook her head with a bitter smile, recalling these childhood memories.

Her expression suddenly darkened, and she said with a bitter face: "In the end, he has always been on your side."

No matter how slow Akeno Himejima was, she noticed that Cousin Suzaku was not right at this moment. "Cousin Suzaku, what happened? Is the Himejima Clan forcing you to do something you don't want to do again?"

She had never had any good feelings toward the Himejima Clan. The people sent to assassinate her and her mother back then were dispatched by the Himejima Clan.

Himejima Suzaku closed her eyes in pain and said: "Akeno... the Himejima Clan is long gone; it was destroyed several years ago."

"Gone?!" Akeno Himejima was stunned; this news was completely unexpected. Immediately, she realized. "It was Ah Yu who did it."

Himejima Suzaku nodded gloomily.

Confirming this answer, a complex feeling welled up in Akeno's heart.

So Ah Yu had already avenged her mother years ago. Only she seemed to still be stuck in place.

"Do you know, Akeno..." Himejima Suzaku's eyes flashed with pain as she looked down at the teacup in her hand and murmured. "For the past few years, I have been searching for the Red Dragon Emperor, one of the Four Great Emperors. Not just for revenge, but more so to ask him clearly."

"Why he destroyed the Himejima Clan, and why he chose to spare us."

Himejima Suzaku pulled a bitter smile at the corner of her lips. "But it wasn't until recently that I accidentally found out that the Red Dragon Emperor was Ah Yu. Akeno, you can't imagine how chaotic and painful I felt at that moment, but more than that, I actually felt a sense of relief."