The Seraphic System

Chapter: 83

Disclaimer: I don’t own High School Dxd or any other universe used in this story.  However, all original characters, plotlines, and worldbuilding elements created in this story are my own.

Pa/ t reon details below the chapter if you're interested in seeing some content in advance.

(Tablet Of Destiny - part 2)

{Name: Golden Apple of Immortality} 

{Description:} A golden fruit from the gardens beyond time. Each bite grants permanent enhancement to the consumer's lifeforce and ability to recover. Legend says that those who consume an entire apple may transcend their mortal limitations entirely.

{Effects:} Enhanced Vitality: Permanently increases the user's life force. 

Accelerated Healing: Wounds close and heal at an increased rate. 

Toxin Immunity: Grants resistance to poisons and diseases.

Potential Ascent: Grants whoever eats it a 30% chance of gaining access to Divinity and a Divine Form. Chances vary depending on whoever eats the fruit. 

Warning: Can only be eaten once by anyone below an Olympian-Level God.

I looked at the last warning. 

That meant the God-class I was assuming…

Still… This was incredibly helpful. Heaven didn’t have access to fruits like this. While we definitely had our own fruits they didn’t outright provide such effects.

I met her gaze steadily, saying nothing.

"Your thread is unique," continued the middle Fate. "Or rather, the absence of your thread is unique. I don’t suspect the many others who dabble with Fate will take this as well as we have.”

Michael stepped forward, his hostility toward the Fates evident in his rigid posture. "Father, we should leave. Our business here is concluded."

I nodded, sensing his discomfort. "Thank you for the reward," I said to the Fates, carefully placing the golden apple in my inventory.

"Until we meet again.” One of the Fates said. 

Michael's eyes flashed dangerously. 

"There will be no 'again,'" he stated firmly, moving to stand between me and the ancient Gods.

We left without further ceremony. 

Once outside, we teleported back to my sub-dimension. 

As we entered the sub-dimension, Michael's stance finally relaxed for the first time since we'd departed. 

The tension visibly drained from his shoulders.

"Father," he said, more relaxed. "Thank you for allowing me to accompany you on this mission."

I nodded, pleased.

I would have had to use my Semi-Divine form if it wasn’t for him and even then I doubt I would have been able to do the job he did. 

"You were incredible out there, Michael. I couldn't have asked for better support."

A smile brightened his features. "It was my honor to serve. I've been... confined to administrative duties for too long." He stood, straightening his white robes. "But I must return to Heaven. There are matters requiring my attention that I've postponed for this excursion."

"Of course," I replied. 

He bowed slightly. "I hope you found what you needed from this venture."

"I did," I assured him, thinking of the legendary summon token now safely stored in my inventory.

With a final nod to everyone present, he left. 

Tiamat, who had been uncharacteristically quiet since our return, finally spoke up. "I should take my leave as well."

"So soon?" I asked. 

The Dragon King nodded, her eyes meeting mine briefly. 

"There's something I need to attend to. A matter that cannot wait." She moved toward me, lowering her voice slightly. 

"Do not worry about me. I'll be back soon. I simply have found myself preoccupied as of late.”

With that, she promptly took her leave as well. 

Hestia sighed softly. “I need to go check on some things… I can stay if you need me.”

“No, it’s fine. Go do what you need to do.” I replied. “Thank you for your help.”

Hestia sent me a look. “Always.”

She abruptly vanished into her Hearth.

With Hestia's departure, only Jeanne and Aphrodite remained with me in the peaceful garden. A comfortable silence settled between us as the sounds of flowing water and rustling leaves filled the air.

Aphrodite glanced at the two ancient trees in the distance, her expression changing slightly.

"So this is your sub-dimension," she murmured, a note of awe slipping through her voice.

She took a slow step forward, and as she did, I watched the slight shimmer cross over her body. It was subtle, but it was there. Her pink eyes brightened, the color deepening just a little.

"How interesting..." she said, tilting her head.

She looked down at her hands as if feeling the difference.

I answered her unspoken question. "Anyone who gazes at the trees gets a blessing. It provides an enhancement.”

Aphrodite's lips curled. "I can feel that," she said simply, sounding impressed but curious.

Jeanne approached me next with a weird look after a moment. 

"My Lord," she began, her voice carrying the slight accent I'd grown fond of. "I... I know this is probably weird to bring up now. Considering what we just went through but I found something while walking through your garden earlier."

I raised an eyebrow. 

From behind her back, she produced a single flower of breathtaking beauty.

A bloom with petals that shifted between shades of blue and silver depending on how the light caught them.

"This is for you," she said softly, extending the flower with both hands, her cheeks tinged with faint pink. "A token of my continued gratitude… for allowing me to remain at your side. I had intended to offer it sooner, but-“ she glanced down briefly, "the quest swept the thought to the back of my mind.”

I accepted it carefully, genuinely touched by the gesture. 

When you had the ability to cause an unhealthy amount of damage, you came to enjoy the more beautiful aspects of life. 

“It's beautiful. Where did you find it?" I questioned. 

"Here, In your sub-dimension," she admitted, a light blush coloring her cheeks. "It’s started to bloom at the very edge of the sub-dimension, it’s quite far away but I like wandering sometimes. I thought..." her eyes lowered slightly, "I thought you might appreciate its beauty."

"I do," I assured her, examining the unusual flower. "Thank you, Jeanne."

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Aphrodite watching our interaction with an expression of confusion. 

Aphrodite stepped forward, her tone unusually casual. "Why don't we spend some time together?"

Her gaze flickered between me and Jeanne, a hint of something unreadable behind her smile.

I shrugged. "Sure. I’ve got time to kill.“

The legendary Summon Token could wait, I hadn’t spent much time with the both of them as of late. Being the King Of Heaven was draining.

Jeanne brightened immediately at my answer.

Aphrodite looked at Jeanne who wasn’t looking at me and smirked lightly to herself as if confirming something. She didn’t say anything at first, just moved closer. 

She turned back to us, her hands resting on her hips. "Well, if you have some time Kai" she started, walking slowly toward Jeanne, "I would love to know more about you, Jeanne was it? You are rather strong, I’m surprised I haven’t heard about you.”

Jeanne stiffened a little, clearly flustered. 

I raised an eyebrow but said nothing, deciding to watch the show.

We walked over the canopy of the two Trees and I took a moment to look over my expanding realm. It was growing even larger. And the Trees weren’t showing any signs of stopping.

Galadriel slithered out from under the Trees and came to rest on my lap. 

Aphrodite laughed softly. "Come on, Jeanne. Tell me about yourself.”

Jeanne looked a little nervous in front of the Goddess. 

“I-I can’t boast much. Most of my time has been helpfully used serving my Lord.” Jeanne started.

“Oh? You’ve been serving Kai?” Aphrodite asked.

“Yes. I was born in a small village, during a time when my country was falling apart.” Jeanne explained, sending a glance towards me.

I sent her a reassuring look, appreciating her wording. She wasn’t keeping it vague.

“I'm not anyone special, just a farm girl. I helped with the fields, prayed at church, and lived the kind of simple life everyone expected.” She further explained.

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow, looking over her athletic form. “You don’t look like some random farm girl.”

Jeanne blushed slightly. “A-ah thank you.”

“Continue, I’m interested now.”

So I was, I kind of knew it was but I wanted to hear it from the woman herself. 

“Until one day, I started hearing voices.

They said they were Saints Michael, Catherine, Margaret. They told me that God had chosen me for something bigger” she said hesitantly.

Aphrodite smirked. “It seems they were correct.”

Jeanne sent a glance towards me, her gaze filled with something deep. “It would seem they were.”

“Then from there, my life has been dedicated to him.” She smiled at me. 

“So you were a human… I must admit I am rather curious about you. A divine spirit is rare. And one being that of the God-class realm of power isn’t even rarer. You are quite the powerhouse, Jeanne. Most Gods would kill to have a follower with such beauty and power.” Aphrodite praised. 

There that term was again…

Divine spirit. 

“Uh, I didn’t really know I was a Divine Spirit until today.” Jeanne replied somewhat confusedly.

“Oh? How strange.” She mused for a second. "Divine Spirits," she started simply, "are... beings that are closer to the idea of a God that humans believe than most Gods themselves. It’s quite hard to explain, but there’s a lot more to Pantheons that meet the eye. There’s a reason that one new God simply could pop up and that’s due to the power of belief…”

She flicked her hair over her shoulder. "You’re not just a powerful human anymore. You’re something built from belief, legend. It’s rare, and certain requirements have to be met. But legends can have the same concept as God’s birth from belief. They can become immortalised.” Her eyes narrowed as if realising something. “Oh now that’s interesting.”

Yeah, I wasn’t being subtle with her identity. 

But this was interesting. I hadn’t dug too deep into why Faith was so regarded and important. I knew of miracle magic since I had seen the sheer power it contained when making Dulio a Saint. 

Those blessings were nothing to scoff at. 

I knew there was more to the world than met the eye. 

“I-I see. I hadn’t realised. I don’t feel any different.” She said, examining herself.

“You won’t, this doesn’t mean you are immortal. You simply won’t age.” Aphrodite informed her. “It’s also not easily noticeable. Which is probably why more people haven’t figured out your identity. Jeanne D’Arc.”

Jeanne flushed, turning to me quickly. “I’m sorry my lord, I was never good at lying.”

I chuckled, unbothered. 

“It’s fine, Jeanne.” 

It wasn’t going to stay a secret for long, but confusion would be met when they realised the soul of this universe’ Jeanne D’Arc was still in the Third Realm of Heaven.

That did remind me that I should probably go check that out. I believe there was an automatic system, one of the few things that hadn’t failed when the Heavenly System was running on auto. 

Aphrodite looked excited. “I won’t tell anyone. I’m sure a few have figured it out by now, especially your Arch-Seraphs.” 

“You think?”

She sent me a flat but fond look. “Kai, they are older than me. Let’s not pretend that they are the adorable children they present themselves to be.”

I huffed. “I’ll have you know that they are adorable and very well-mannered.”

She giggled. “I see you are fitting back into your role as their father nicely.”

I shrugged.

I honestly liked the capacity my Angels had. They were no doubt kind and good. It was no wonder the whole world had a good opinion of them, but they knew when to switch that off. 

The previous God hadn’t made good use of this, while I valued his goodness much more than I would have when I was reborn. I still knew that not everything could be handled in the same manner.

We continued talking for the next few hours. I spent this time relaxing. 

Jeanne was genuinely interesting, as was Aphrodite. And I found myself enjoying their presence. 

Alas, I didn’t have too much time to spend. 

As I left them to talk among themselves, which earned me a displeased look from the both of them. I headed towards what I knew to be a secluded spot in Heaven. 

The secret place Michael had shown me. 

-Scene Break-

I found a secluded clearing tucked away from any prying eyes.

Doing this alone was good. I didn’t want anyone questioning why I could simply summon beings of such power. I would come up with an explanation when I introduced them.

Quiet.

Sealed off from everything else.

I pulled the Legendary Summon Token out of my inventory.

Finally,

A surge of genuine excitement hit me. 

I hadn’t known the value of the Legendary Summoning Token before when I had summoned Jeanne to first protect me from the strange Demon I had encountered. 

All I had known was it was an ally that could potentially give me some time to figure out a way to escape the Demon’s notice. Now, Jeanne had shown herself to be someone I cared for. She wasn’t just a character but someone that I encountered daily. 

A truly kind girl that I didn’t give enough attention to. 

Now, hopefully it would summon another strong ally that would help solidify Heaven’s continued existence. 

A notification blinked into existence in front of me

[Do you wish to use Legendary Summon Token?]

 [Yes/No]

I didn’t hesitate.

Yes.

The token disintegrated into light, and in an instant, the clearing was swallowed by it.

It wasn’t blinding, but it was enough to force me to shield my eyes for a second.

The air changed, charged with a dense magical pressure that made the grass around me flatten to the ground. From the center of the clearing, the light slowly began to condense, pulling itself inward.

A figure took shape.

At first, all I could make out was a slim silhouette, standing still in the center of the storm of energy. The light peeled away bit by bit, revealing her.

She was beautiful in a cold, distant way with long pale hair falling freely around her shoulders, pointed ears marking her clearly as an elf.

An elf? 

Her skin was pale, almost luminous, and she wore a simple but elegant robe that shifted faintly in the still-charged air.

Her face was calm, almost expressionless. She stood barefoot on the grass, the last of the light pulling away from her.

Her eyes slowly opened. 

-END-

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