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[Crossover] Ch 57: [Authority: Demon]
🕑 Added 2025-05-31 16:09:37 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
Algol lightly tapped her toes against the stone floor, and with just that, the plain stone slabs twisted and reshaped mid-air—forming a gray throne.
She sat down gracefully, pulled out a small mirror to adjust her hair, and after making sure the angle was just right, finally turned to Ryo and said:
"So~ what goodies did you bring me?"
"Is it the latest cosmetics from the North Area? Or maybe some new beauty elixir from the East?"
"If that's all you've got, then we're done talking."
Sure, she'd acknowledged that Ryo had the qualifications to speak with her, but that didn't mean she was going to accept his offer.
Even if she had been defeated by the Greek gods, sealed away and downgraded into a Medusa form, now watched over by the Perseus community—
It didn't mean Algol had no awareness of the outside world.
Every month or two, members of Perseus would gather up beauty-related items and offer them to Algol.
Partly to appease her, keep the demon star from going berserk. Partly to stay on her good side, in case they needed her power someday.
Because of that, Algol was quite familiar with what the world had to offer.
She hated wasting time, so she cut straight to the point—asking if Ryo had come just to barter with more of the same stuff.
She'd already tried most of it, and tossed nearly all of it afterward.
To her, no potion or beauty treatment ever came close to her expectations.
And if Ryo's offer was just more of that trash? Then too bad—she'd end the trial right here and now, no hard feelings.
But Ryo lifted his eyes and calmly replied, "Rather than me explaining it, how about you experience it for yourself?"
He knew—trying to bluff or play tricks on a relic like Algol was a one-way ticket to disaster.
So from the start, he'd decided to make a fair trade.
As soon as he finished speaking, he released the seal on the Hōgyoku.
In that instant, the Hōgyoku's power—its ability to sense desire and manifest it in others—kicked in naturally.
"Hm?"
Algol froze mid-motion, putting down her mirror. She could feel the presence of the Hōgyoku.
She closed her eyes, trying to pinpoint the source of the energy.
"This... Feels like the Mind Dragon from the West Area? Or maybe the Wish-Lamp from the South? Could it even be Yahweh's Holy Grail?"
She ran through a mental list of similar powers, but quickly realized—this wasn't like any of them.
At that moment, she simply opened part of her spirit and let the power flow in. And immediately, she felt the change.
She hurriedly grabbed her mirror again and examined her face. Her eyes sparkled.
"Huh? My skin's darker now—just the right shade for that perfect glow?"
"I calculated that it'd take a thousand years of maintenance to get this effect..."
Seeing what the Hōgyoku could do, her eyes practically lit up.
She looked up at Ryo, her gaze intense:
"Is this your Gift ability? It can even modify my Celestial body?"
'All you ever think about is getting prettier, huh...' Ryo grumbled silently to himself.
He knew full well the Hōgyoku could grant the deepest wishes of others, within certain limits.
But he hadn't expected this to be Algol's deepest wish—beauty. He thought it would've been freedom or something.
Still, faced with her question, Ryo simply nodded and said: "Yeah. That's right."
He wasn't worried about Algol trying to steal it. The Hōgyoku was already bound to him—without his permission, nobody could use it.
Not even a Demon Lord could override that kind of binding.
Otherwise, Leticia wouldn't have ended up being sold off after her abilities were sealed—they would've just stripped her of everything and raised a new, obedient pureblood vampire.
"Wanna sell it?"
Algol's expression turned serious and excited all at once.
"I can trade Divinity, Authority—even entire concepts if you want! Or name your price, anything goes!"
Ryo twitched at her offer. He was tempted for a second—but quickly shut it down.
"This Gift isn't for sale."
The Hōgyoku was his trump card, his ticket to breaking into the three-digits. There was no way he'd part with it.
"Ah, so it's an natural ability, huh?"
Algol seemed to realize the situation and sighed, a little disappointed.
But in the next moment, she looked at him with a glint of greed in her eyes.
"You must be that bitch Shiroyasha's divine subordinate, right? How about switching sides? If you want, I can even toss that ugly hag Athena onto your bed."
She might not be able to buy the Gift, but she sure wasn't above poaching the talent. And she went straight for the dirtiest kind of temptation.
Yeah—seduction.
A demon's intuition told Algol beauty would work on Ryo. And if we're talking beauty as bait, who better than Athena?
High status, strong reputation, tons of name recognition—and aside from being slightly less attractive than Algol herself, plus a nasty temper, she was a solid pick.
Ryo was speechless.
He figured it was about time he stopped her from spiraling into madness. If she kept going, one of those chaste Greek virgin goddesses monitoring her might just snap and smite her on the spot.
"I've already made my offer."
He spoke firmly. Algol pouted a little.
"Tch. So even Athena's not as pretty as me, huh... I knew it."
Then she waved her hand lazily.
"Fine, Al-chan approves this deal. You're free to leave safely now..."
But Ryo raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not here for a safe exit—I want victory."
Algol paused, turning to look at him with interest.
"You mean... you want Al-chan to pretend?"
She gave him a cheeky grin, narrowing her eyes. A faint gleam sparkled in them.
Ryo frowned. He thought she was going to attack.
But instead, she chuckled mischievously and said: "I knew it."
"You must be Shiroyasha's lovechild, right?"
"No, wait. Probably her divine subordinate. That hag's obsessed with beauty. With your powers, of course she'd want to keep you for herself."
Hearing Algol's... unique vocabulary, Ryo's eye twitched, but he stayed quiet.
He realized she'd just tried to scan his Gift with her powers.
Good thing the Hōgyoku was bound to him. She couldn't get a read on it.
But it confirmed his earlier suspicion—
Algol might look like a joke, but if you underestimated her, you'd get swindled so hard you wouldn't even have your pants left.
Old monsters like her didn't get old by being easy to deal with.
"For me to suffer a total loss... that wasn't enough." Algol returned to admiring her face in the mirror.
She thought for a moment, then looked Ryo dead in the eye.
"You mentioned freedom earlier, right? You meant it?"
"Yeah," Ryo nodded.
The next second, he locked eyes with her...—[Authority: Demon].
Suddenly, a surge of knowledge rushed into his mind. Ryo let out a muffled groan, clutching his head and sinking to his knees.
Across from him, Algol chuckled.
"You already paid your part of the deal. So, in return, Al-chan will pay hers."
Sweat dripping down his face, Ryo narrowed his eyes and saw a new entry appear beside his Gift card.
——[Authority: Demon] Rank: Four-digit (awakening)
Algol flipped her bangs with a smug little hum.
"You're Shiroyasha's subordinate, huh~ So what?"
"Well, now you're mine~ Hehe~"
"Sleep. When you wake up, the trial's over. Al-chan says you passed! Don't worry—I do have the authority for that."
As Ryo fought off the sudden wave of drowsiness, he reached into his Gift card—And pulled out a Zanpakutō.
A blank Asauchi.
.
.
.
