The next morning, the first large-scale gathering in terms of influence was held at the Ouroboros Academy. As this gathering was not kept secret, there was a huge number of people from various factions, including the newly reinstated DxD Team, guarding and patrolling the whole island.
Those in attendance were the current Devil Kings who had taken almost full control and authority over the Underworld after Zekram Bael's faction's downfall. Issei and Vali were supposed to attend too as successors of the Devil Kings, but the two of them opted out for some unknown reasons.
Next were two of the Archangels, Michael and Gabriel, representing Heaven. In terms of actual power and influence, they were arguably on top right now after they had taken in countless souls from different worlds into their Reincarnation System. These souls had directly increased the available Holy Power for all the Angels and even indirectly benefited the Fallen Angels as there was an abundance of Faith in their religion right now.
And with Kisuke helping them solve their Sacred Gear problem, they had closely aligned themselves with the Ouroboros Academy, giving their faction further stability.
From the Grigori, only Azazel was present, but considering how most of the top-ranked factions couldn't even attend, he was happily talking to others about their current progress in expanding their movement beyond the confines of Draconic Deus.
The remaining factions were the ones from Asgard, represented by Odin, Olympus, represented by Zeus, Takamagahara, represented by Amaterasu, Urakyoto, represented by Yasaka, Urakanto, represented by Nurarihyon, and the remains of Indra's faction, represented by Sun Wukong.
That was all from the Draconic Deus side, and there was some pushback on how limited the attendance was, but with the Ouroboros Academy organizing it and having most of the influence right now, the opposition was ignored.
There were also people who came from outside of Draconic Deus, including Corvina Luxeux, Stralit Luxeux, Gwenn Yarwood, and Adrenna from the Etoulde faction, Ouranos, Hestia, Loki, and Freya from the Dungeon World, and Genryuusai Yamamoto, Shunsui Kyouraku, and Nanao Ise from the Soul Society.
Of course, all the core members of the Ouroboros Academy were present too, acting as a connection between these many differing groups. Even then, there was an obvious wall that separated Draconic Deus from both the Etoulde side and the Soul Society. The Dungeon World had the same problem from the start, but they were able to socialize easily because they had been coming and going to Draconic Deus and vice-versa.
Soon enough, Gwenn, Stralit, Adrenna, Shunsui, and Nanao also joined the 'festivities' and started their diplomatic work, leaving Corvina with her face covered by a veil, and Yamamoto in his former attire but without the emblem of his squad, silent in their respective seats.
Kisuke, who was having some small talk and exchanging information with Ajuka and Azazel, saw this 'awkward' space, immediately excused himself, and approached them, "Old man, are you not joining the fun?"
Yamamoto chuckled for a bit before replying, "Let the youngsters have their fun, and I'm not supposed to be here in the first place."
Kisuke grinned a little at his words, "You say that, but I'd have to remind you that some people here are even older than you."
Rubbing his long white beard and looking around with interest, "Is that so? But they all look youthful in my eyes. I guess this is what it means to be closer to death than everyone else."
"Are you perhaps referring to the energy they are exuding? You can do it too, you know?"
"Hohoho... Thank you, but I'd rather stay in a quiet corner. I find this sort of peace is not bad at all." Yamamoto then peeked at Kisuke for a brief moment before continuing, "But I might have to bother you if I ever require a bit of excitement here and there."
His last few words ended up waking up the beast deeply hidden within him for a moment, which made everyone in the room silent, with some of them looking at Yamamoto with trepidation. He immediately noticed this mistake of his and reined in the demeanor he used to display when he was still leading the Gotei 13, "Ohohoho. I apologize. I ended up disturbing everyone. Please continue whatever you were doing."
Everyone knew that Shunsui was the leader of the organization known as Soul Society, but they didn't know the old man he brought with him would suddenly exude such a presence, and with just that small reveal, they figured that he might just be one of the most powerful people in the room, and that immediately changed their perception of him.
To their side, Corvina was also surprised but didn't show it in any way, 'Just how much did they underestimate this world? Their lives are a cheap price to pay.' She also pitied those back at home because they were fully unaware of what type of beast this world was, thinking that they still had control over this place, '...So that's why it was too easy. They had more to gain under our umbrella, yet they can always detach themselves from us.'
She turned to her daughter, who was happily introducing herself to others, before internally sighing, 'At least they aren't outright hostile against us.'
Of course, everyone knew that Draconic Deus, even with the help of both the Dungeon World and the Soul Society, couldn't win against the Etouldes in an outright war with how huge and technologically advanced the latter was. However, Corvina believed that they were hiding something else, and it would be enough for them to weaken the Etouldes drastically so that they would become easy pickings for the Evies, 'Especially these so-called Shinigami. They have a way to directly hurt our souls, which is our sole weakness. The Holy Mother was forced to push forward the advancement and research regarding Spiritual Power because of them.'
This was her main mission, which she received directly from the Holy Mother, to closely watch them and hopefully find a countermeasure against this threat, 'I'd have to get my hands on those Soul Gears.'
Corvina was suddenly pulled away from her thoughts when Kisuke suddenly addressed her, "Luxeux-san, it has been a while. I'm sorry I couldn't receive you the other day. Been a bit busy these past few days."
"You don't have to. I'm also aware of what you intend to do and the purpose of this meeting."
Because Yamamoto had already gathered everyone's attention in their direction, they also refocused on Kisuke and Corvina's conversation, becoming curious about its contents.
[The reason for this meeting? Did anyone already know about that?] Azazel asked the people of the Underworld, Heaven, Asgard, Olympus, and Takamagahara.
[...No. I don't think they mentioned anything remotely close to that.] Sirzechs replied, [I assumed that this was just a simple gathering and exchange of information.]
[I'm the same. I also have no idea anything regarding that. I thought that this was just a show of force and a provocation to those who are still hiding.] Amaterasu added while looking at everyone else, [...But were they always this close?]
[Yoruichi managed to send us to the Etoulde side, so I won't be surprised if they already knew each other prior to the Indra-Shiva war.] Ajuka answered.
[...Haahhh... I really do pity Indra and Shiva. They tried embroiling the whole world in their fight, but these guys were already playing outside the field. He's not the referee... He's the organizer.] Zeus appeared dejected, but his voice was excited.
Except for the girls of the Ouroboros Academy and Stralit, similar conversations were also happening with everyone else.
Corvina saw their reaction and added, "So you didn't mention it."
"Would you have done otherwise?"
Corvina stared at Kisuke's eyes for a moment before replying, "I guess not, with the stakes as high as this."
Kisuke smiled before turning away from her and raising his voice, "Alright, it's time for the real topic! Everyone, please have a seat."