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[Crossover] Ch 154: The Difference in Worlds
🕑 Added 2025-07-17 17:10:20 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
As soon as Ryo finished speaking, Iblisveil instinctively stepped forward, ready to say something—only to be suddenly interrupted.
With a gust of violent wind, a massive silver serpent burst onto the scene, fangs wide as it lunged straight for him with a chilling hiss.
Iblisveil dodged just in time, scowling as he turned his gaze toward the attacker.
"Damn it, snake freak! What the hell are you doing?!"
Vatler, ever smiling, gave a graceful bow and said pleasantly:
"A conversation between monarchs isn't something we should be interfering in."
"You're insane!"
Iblisveil gave Ryo Yagami a wary glance, then flew off toward the beach, keeping a safe distance.
Seeing this, Vatler gave a quick bow toward both Ryo and Giada before following after him.
Moments later, down on the distant beach, a golden jackal and a monstrous serpent began clashing, their intense auras shaking the air around them.
Watching the chaos unfold, Koyomi split her focus—half on the ongoing battle, making sure no serious damage broke out, and the other half still locked onto Ryo.
And honestly? She was full of regret.
If she'd known this job would come with this kind of pressure, she definitely would've thought twice before accepting it.
She thought about the official retirement age for someone in her position—65.
She was barely a decade in... and already on the verge of collapse.
How the hell am I going to survive this?
— — —
Meanwhile, back on the concrete path near the port's watchtower—
Giada, in response to Ryo's earlier offer, grinned with interest.
"Now you're inviting me to join you?"
She looked amused.
One minute, he says she's bottom-tier. The next, he wants her on his team? What kind of idiot did he take her for?
Giada leaned closer to Ryo, smirking, her nose twitching as she sniffed the air.
"Things aren't going so great for you over there, huh?"
She rubbed her nose slightly, her voice more curious now.
"No matter how well you hide it... that faint divine scent clinging to you—I can still smell it."
Her earlier flirting and clinginess? All part of the act. She had leaned on him just now to confirm what she suspected.
Now, she was sure.
Ryo wasn't just some overpowered human. He was a human god from another world—masking his divine nature with some kind of power or technique.
As for his offer?
She figured it was just a cheap recruitment pitch to lure in newcomers. Sweet talk with zero bite. Too soft, this guy.
Ryo raised an eyebrow, but nodded as if it was no big deal.
"Yeah. It's... not looking great without me around."
He wasn't even fazed that Giada had figured out he was an outsider. In the Strike the Blood world, it wasn't that shocking.
There were the Demon World, Familiars from other realms, devas from the Celestial Realm, and even the original human homeworld beyond this one.
Dimensional stuff was practically normal here.
In fact, humans in this world were originally brought over by Cain from the other world to wage war against the gods.
That war? It was called the Cleansing—mankind's declaration of war against divinity.
"What a bold man..." Giada thought, secretly impressed by Ryo's confidence. 'That kind of with me around, everything's fine energy?' She could respect that.
Anyone strong enough to injure her in a single blow... definitely wasn't ordinary. Even in another world, he must be someone standing at the peak.
"So? You want to recruit me to help stabilize your little domain?" Giada teased, letting out a loud, playful laugh.
"If that's the case, then I hope you brought more to the table than just some sweet talk."
She leaned into him again, casually running her hand over his chest like some shameless seductress.
"And please... don't repeat that crap about me barely being strong enough to get a human job."
"It's not crap. It's the truth," Ryo said plainly, giving her a pitying look. "At best, you'd rank in the five-digit tier."
Then he added, "The lower the number, the stronger the being. Each digit marks an entirely different level of power."
Giada blinked. Then her eyes sparkled with excitement.
"So that means... above me, there's four-digit, three-digit, two-digit, and even single-digit beings?"
"Exactly," Ryo nodded. "Although so far, single-digits are purely theoretical. In reality, the strongest ones are two-digits. We call them 'Authority Sovereigns.'"
"That's... so damn interesting," Giada whispered, licking her lips and practically glowing with excitement. "What about you? What rank are you?"
Ryo gave her a weird look, and just as Giada was wondering what was with the expression, he said:
"Five-digit."
She stared at him in disbelief. "...Seriously? Just five-digit?"
Honestly, that was a massive blow.
They were supposedly in the same tier... yet she couldn't even take one attack from him.
How big is the gap between two beings in the same tier?!
"Within the five-digit range," Ryo explained calmly, "the power gap between the weakest and the strongest can be over ten thousand times. That's probably about the difference between us."
He casually tossed her a white memory crystal.
"There. Everything you wanted to know—free of charge. Now, what's your answer?"
Giada caught the crystal and stretched with a sigh. Her body might not have had the most seductive curves, but she made the motion deliberately anyway.
"So... I'm so weak, and you're not that OP, huh? Kinda irritating—but it makes sense."
She examined the memory crystal, her smile growing wider the more she saw.
Eventually, she tucked it away, raised her hand, and beamed at him. "Sensei! I wanna get stronger! Please take me under your wing! Use me however you want to~"
Ryo gave her a funny look, like something short-circuited in her brain.
Where does she even come up with this stuff...?
"Alright then, I'll take that as a yes."
Ryo turned around as he added:
"We'll do the official initiation when you arrive over there. Oh, and before I forget—make sure to send my dolls to Natsuki Minamiya's place."
"Huh? You're not taking me with you now?"
Giada blinked in confusion, still holding her hand up like a kid waiting to be called on in class.
"I'm ready, you know? Whether it's your creepy basement or a romantic picnic in the park—I'm down. And for your information, I'm 100% factory sealed."
"..."
Ryo's mouth twitched slightly.
"I need some time to prepare. Should take a few years, give or take."
He hadn't fully calculated the risks of observing Strike the Blood's world through Little Garden. He wasn't about to rush in and yank this place into a parallel observation domain just yet.
Especially considering how... off this world's history was compared to standard human records. There hadn't even been a World War.
Last time he barely nudged the history of a different world, and the gods had a meltdown.
This place, where mankind actually won their war against the gods?
Yeah, better to play it safe.
While he was still deep in thought, Giada smiled slyly.
"Let me guess... your 'prep work' includes reviving the Fourth Primogenitor, doesn't it? Or acting like you are that Primogenitor?"
"Yup."
Ryo admitted it without hesitation.
That Fourth Primogenitor identity? It was the perfect cover—something to hide behind and reduce the chances of being noticed by the gods.
Still, just identity wasn't enough. He was planning to drag Shiroyasha into this too.
She was his sponsor deity, after all. Some divine protection was only fair.
"When I'm ready, I'll contact you. Until then, act like you always have. If anything comes up, you can reach me through Natsuki. That's it for now."
With that, Ryo's body dissolved into faint light and vanished from the port.
Giada slowly lowered her arm, watching the spot where he disappeared, then chuckled to herself.
"Got it... I see how it is."
Whether that guy's telling the truth or not, I'm going to test it for myself.
She tilted her head back, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand.
"Those two old fossils never would've guessed it, huh? This world's full of ridiculous, interesting surprises!"
Looking down at the massive artificial city of Itogami Island spread out below her, she smirked.
"A playground for gods... Little Garden, huh?"
With a grin full of mischief and anticipation, Giada vanished from the port too.
...
Back on the now-empty dock, Koyomi sighed.
"Looks like the battle of the Blazing Banquet has come to a close."
Aside from the two rogue vampires causing a ruckus earlier, there had been zero casualties on Itogami Island. Even the damage to the terrain was minimal.
By all accounts, this was the least destructive Blazing Banquet in recorded history.
And yet... Koyomi couldn't bring herself to feel happy.
With Ryo and the Third Primogenitor teaming up, the balance of the Lion King Agency was in jeopardy. A world-shaking war might be coming.
And all of it now weighed on her tiny, overworked shoulders.
"I wanna retire so badly..."
"Just 47 years left of living the dream."
.
.
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