High School DxD: The Lucifer's Devil Trigger — Chapter 64

Chapter 64: The Ranks of the Long-Lived

Before the previous Hakurei Shrine Maiden passed away, she had entrusted her young successor to Yakumo Yukari. From that day forward, Reimu Hakurei was raised single-handedly by the boundary youkai.

For a being like Yukari, who had witnessed countless youkai, humans, gods, and all manner of chaotic existences drift through her long life, true friends were a rare commodity. She could count them on three fingers. The first generation Hakurei Shrine Maiden was long dead. The previous generation was also dead. And then there was Yuyuko. Although the ghost princess clung to her side day in and day out, she retained absolutely no memory of the days when they were close companions.

‘Family, huh…’

Yukari turned her head to cast a quiet glance at Reimu, letting out a soft sigh. She raised the chess piece and pressed it firmly against her chest. A faint light pulsed from the artifact before it slowly melted through her skin and into her body.

The contract between her and Levi was sealed.

Yukari made no attempt to haggle. She knew perfectly well that she held no bargaining chips in this situation, so she simply accepted her new reality and looked up at the young man before her. “Well, I suppose I have no other choice. Lord Levi, Reimu and I will be relying on you from now on.”

“Ophis, use the snake to keep her alive.”

Levi gave a brief nod and snapped his fingers.

The space beside him warped, tearing open a small rift. Ophis emerged from the void, her small hand guiding an ethereal snake directly into Reimu’s chest. The shrine maiden’s life force had been incredibly weak, hovering on the edge of oblivion. The moment the snake merged with her, that fragile, flickering candle flame anchored itself deep into the earth like wild grass. It would not be extinguished easily now.

With Ophis’s task complete, Levi stepped forward to wake the unconscious girl.

“Where am I…” Reimu slowly opened her eyes, her gaze unfocused and dazed.

Then, Levi’s calm voice cut through the silence. “Reimu, are you prepared to become a long-lived species?”

A long-lived species?

Reimu blinked, her confusion evident. She noticed Yukari standing nearby and realized the young man looking down at her was entirely serious. She actually took a moment to ponder the question. “If you ask me… it’s hard to say.”

She stared blankly at the ceiling, her voice quiet. “Everything I’ve learned over the past dozen years has been about how to quietly wait for death. You’re suddenly telling me I can live for a very long time. I really can’t imagine it.”

“Reimu.” Yukari sighed, a mix of relief and exasperation in her tone.

Levi stood up, his expression unreadable. “If you can’t figure it out right now, then use the next few decades, hundreds, or thousands of years to think about it slowly.” He looked down at the shrine maiden and offered a faint smile. “Welcome to the ranks of the long-lived species.”

Leaving those words behind, Levi exited the room with Ophis in tow.

Now that Reimu housed Ophis’s snake, her life force would no longer drain away into nothingness. The next step was a permanent cure.

“Sirzechs, I need the tears of phenex. Just one drop.”

Sirzechs received Levi’s magical communication and agreed immediately, not even bothering to ask for a reason. To the outside world, the tears of phenex were a closely guarded secret, but to the highest echelons of the Underworld, they were simply an expensive medical supply. If Levi needed it, Sirzechs was more than willing to spare a drop from his personal reserve.

“You can just come and get it,” Sirzechs replied through the magic circle. “But Levi, if you really need this stuff, why not go directly to the Phoenix Clan? Their eldest son has been agonizing over the fact that you cut off Riser’s legs. He is absolutely terrified of you, so he doesn’t dare come to ask for an audience. If you take the initiative to find him, he will definitely give you whatever you want.”

“I only need one drop.” Levi shook his head, stepping toward the teleportation circle Grayfia had just opened for him. “Forget it for now. If he doesn’t come to me, I’ll deal with him the next time I need something.”

Ending the communication, Levi stepped through Grayfia’s magic circle, crossing the dimensional boundary back into the Underworld. He retrieved the tear from Sirzechs and returned to Gensokyo. The entire trip took less than fifty minutes.

Upon his return, he administered the tear to Reimu.

Her recovery was instantaneous. Not only did her physical wounds knit together, but the massive drain of the Great Hakurei Barrier was completely severed from her life force. She looked far more energetic than she had in years.

“Am I… considered a long-lived species now?” Reimu sat up, still looking a bit bewildered by her sudden vitality.

“Yes. As long as Ophis’s snake remains inside you, you won’t die.”

“Is that so…” She scratched the back of her head, a genuine smile breaking across her face as she bowed deeply to him. “Then thank you very much!”

Yukari quickly stepped in and pulled the girl away. The chaotic anomalies in Gensokyo had not been completely eradicated yet. The cleanup operation had ground to a halt when the shrine maiden fell into her coma, but now that Reimu was back on her feet, it was time to get moving again.

With Reimu’s situation resolved, Levi finally received his delayed system notification.

[Check-in target: Reimu Hakurei.]

[Task: Solve the problem of the Great Hakurei Barrier of Gensokyo.]

[Status: Completed.]

[Reward obtained: Physique significantly enhanced.]

Levi accepted the reward without hesitation.

Back when he was a Mid-Class Devil, his physical body had been adequate, and the enhancement from Shirone’s check-in had pushed it to a decent level. After rising to High-Class Devil, he remained relatively capable in close-quarters combat within that tier. But he was now standing at the absolute pinnacle of Devil society. Compared to his overwhelming magical output, his base physique could only be considered ordinary. He had always relied on his vast magic power to crush opponents, using his Devil form to handle the physical strain. He had never actually dedicated time to serious physical training.

The moment the reward integrated into his body, his physical parameters shattered their previous limits.

His base strength, speed, and durability shot up to the Satan-class level in a single breath. Even Sairaorg Bael, a man who tortured his own body through unimaginable physical training in the later stages of the timeline, only hovered around this level of raw physical power. If Levi were to fight the Sairaorg from the beginning of the original story right now, he could pin the Bael heir to the ground and beat him senseless with one hand, completely devoid of magic power, unless Sairaorg activated his Longinus.

, this massive physical evolution dragged his Armament Haki up with it.

Much like Observation Haki, this ability scaled slowly alongside his physical vessel. Previously, Levi’s Armament Haki had been barely usable, a thin layer of hardened defense. Now, a thought was all it took to coat his entire body in an impenetrable, blackened armor of spiritual pressure. It had finally reached a level where he could deploy it in high-tier combat.

‘Reimu’s side is done, Yukari has become a retainer, and her check-in reward should finalize in a few days.’Levi mentally calculated his remaining tasks.’Yuuka’s reward requires rebuilding the Sunflower Field. She will probably handle most of it herself, but Ophis’s Infinite Power can speed up the process. I’ll go take a look when the time comes.’

Those three rewards were within immediate reach. As for the others, they required patience.

Marisa needed a bit more time to naturally transition into a true Magician on her own. She had already found her path, so interfering now would only stunt her growth. He would only step in if she hit a wall.

Alice’s requirement to create dolls with true life was a different matter entirely. He would need to find time to track down Aozaki Touko to solve that particular puzzle.

Kaguya Houraisan’s task was the most difficult of the lot. Erasing her status as a sinner of the moon would likely require waiting until the second Moon War to find a viable opening.

None of those three were urgent. Instead, his attention shifted to the present.

Levi casually picked up the newspaper Grayfia had brought back from the human world outside Gensokyo.

Every morning, without fail, Levi required Grayfia to procure a human newspaper whenever he descended into the human realm. If he spent too long away, he had her collect every single issue he missed. Grayfia never understood what exactly her master was searching for in the mundane human news, but she never questioned his orders. The paper always arrived on his desk precisely on time.

Today was no exception. He picked it up and scanned the front page. His eyes darted across the text, barely registering the minor articles, until they locked onto a specific headline.

‘Found it.’

The front page featured striking, bold characters:

[Luxury cruise ship suffers sudden shipwreck]

[Graduation trip turns into a nightmare]

[233 high school students on board, life or death uncertain]

[Slim hope of survival]

The school name printed beneath the tragedy was Ryoko High School.

Levi hooked the corner of his mouth into a sharp smile.

Once he wrapped up the final details in Gensokyo, his next move was to retrieve Ryougi Shiki, followed by a trip into the territory of the Five Great Families. After securing the anchor of the world in Gensokyo, he would finally board Noah’s Ark to fulfill the promise he had made to Artoria.

The Ryoko High School shipwreck. This was the inciting incident of the Blade Dog storyline. It was the perfect, natural entry point to cut into the affairs of the Five Great Families. His younger brother, Vali, was currently operating alongside that very same Blade Dog.

His upcoming trip to the parallel world involved complex space-time dimensions. A conservative estimate suggested the journey would take at least a few years in real-time. By the time he returned, the Three-Way Deadlock meeting Sirzechs was preparing for might already be concluding.

‘Before I leave, I still need to meet Vali once.’

With the shrine maiden’s crisis averted, the rest of the work in Gensokyo proceeded smoothly. Yukari used her boundary manipulation to sweep the remaining Slimes out into the open, and the local residents moved with ruthless efficiency, wiping the creatures out completely.

By noon the next day, Levi received his next prompt.

[Check-in reward (Yakumo Yukari): Coin of Positive and Negative]

[Coin of Positive and Negative: Flip the coin; nothing happens on heads. On tails, it forces the holder and the target to enter the reverse side of the world together.]

When he first read the description, the mechanics seemed slightly vague. But the moment the silver coin materialized in his palm and he channeled a fraction of his energy into it, the concept clicked into place.

“So that’s how it works,” Levi murmured, flipping the coin over his knuckles. “This is exactly like the positive and negative phases of the world in A Certain Magical Index.”

People existing in the positive world stood on the heads side of the coin. Those in the negative world stood on the tails side. The inhabitants of the positive side could not perceive the negative side at all. Meanwhile, those trapped on the negative side could observe the positive world perfectly, but were entirely incapable of interacting with or interfering in it.

He slipped the coin into his pocket and left the shrine.

Deep within the Sunflower Field, Yuuka stood perfectly still, her pale finger gently brushing against the golden petals of a newly bloomed flower. The plant trembled slightly, leaning into her touch as if it possessed a soul of its own.

The surrounding soil was still churning with life. Fresh green sprouts forced their way through the dark earth, spreading across the desolate wasteland inch by inch. The air was thick with the rich scent of damp soil and the fresh, sweet fragrance of thousands of blooming sunflowers.

Levi paused at the edge of the field, genuinely surprised by the sight.

Not long ago, he and Ophis had walked through this exact area. The land had been dry, gray, and completely dead. The Slimes had gnawed away everything, leaving a sterile husk where not even microorganisms survived.

Now, an ocean of golden sunflowers crowded the rolling hills. They stretched out endlessly, as if someone had shattered the sun and buried the fragments in the dirt. When the breeze swept through the valley, golden waves rolled across the landscape, carrying heavy pollen and a sweet fragrance into the air.

Levi took a slow breath. “How long has it been?”

He glanced down at the system interface hovering in his vision.

Not completed?

He frowned. By any logical metric, the Sunflower Field had recovered beautifully. Anyone looking at this vibrant ecosystem would declare the reconstruction a massive success. Yet the system refused to register the task as finished, which meant a crucial element was still missing.

He walked deeper into the field, heading toward the elegant mansion nestled in the center of the golden sea. His shoes crunched softly against the rich soil. Crystalline dew clung to the leaves, and a few stray butterflies fluttered past his shoulders, their wings catching the morning light.

When he reached the front of the mansion, he found Yuuka.

She was crouching beside an empty flowerbed, pinching a single tiny seed between her fingers. She wasn’t using her immense demonic power. She wasn’t casting any growth spells or manipulating nature. She simply used her bare fingers to dig a small hole in the dirt, placed the seed inside, and gently covered it with soil. Her movements were slow, methodical, and incredibly careful.

“You’re here?” she asked, her voice quiet. She didn’t bother looking up from the dirt.

“I’m here.” Levi stopped beside her, looking down at the freshly planted seed. “The field has recovered quite a bit. Why hasn’t the system judged it as completed?”

Yuuka brushed the dark soil from her hands and slowly stood up. Her crimson eyes swept across the endless golden waves of her territory before finally shifting to meet Levi’s gaze.

“Because you didn’t help.”