Divine Emperor of Death

Moving around the courtyard of the mansion was none other than a man who possessed sharp brows yet gentle eyes. He wore a common brown shirt and a pant, possessing a tight grip over a sword in his hand as he trained his Sword Arts. However, each of his slashes contained martial might that reached the Martial Sage Stage.

Hearing the sounds that tore apart the air, a white-robed woman came out holding a baby wrapped in a silky cloth in her arms. She appeared a bit exhausted, with her eyes slightly swollen, but everyone who saw her could tell that she was already recovering from the exhaustion of giving birth.

She watched the man's swords arts with a content smile on her face.

"Dear, have you thought of a name yet?"

The man stopped swinging his sword and straightened his body, turning to look at his homely woman with a bright smile on his face.

"How about Rias?"

"Rias…" The woman solemnly consecrated the name to her heart before she cast a glance at the baby, "Rias, my baby. I will love you with all my heart, so be sure to grow into a fine lady..."

She caressed the baby with a heartened expression on her face.

Looking at this, Davis and the others held complex expressions on their faces.

"Mival, what did you do when you encountered this kind of situation?"

"Well," Mival Silverwind answered Davis's question, "By the time I reach Alia's incarnation, she would've already become two or three years old. I would use the branch to make contact with her, and she will regain her memories. From there on, I would secretly protect her, hidden from the shadows before she is old enough to leave her household."

"But of course, there was also the second time where she was born in a slum town. Her father was unknown, while her mother invited men in the night. Without any hesitation, I kidnapped Alia's incarnation right on the spot and left."

A solemn tone echoed from Mival Silverwind. It didn't seem like he was joking at all, catching Ivy Aries off-guard.

*Tup!~* *Tup!~* *Tup!~*

At this moment, the footsteps of a soft running sound resounded before a three-year-old abruptly appeared and jumped from the veranda to the courtyard.

"Klessa!"

The man's expression changed. However, the three-year-old girl named Klessa somersaulted and neatly dropped onto the tiled surface, raising her head to look at the man as she raised a small sword.

"Father, today's the day you're going to admit defeat!"

"…!" The man possessed a difficult expression on his face before he turned to look at his woman, pleading for help, "Mulia, your first daughter is too feisty. Stop her now."

"Well, my hands are tied today, so I'm cheering for you, Hadian!"

Mulia deeply smiled as she gently rocked her baby, causing Hadian to display a wry smile.

"Hiya!~"

The three-year-old Klessa jumped and swung against Hadian, causing him to raise his hand and catch the small sword from her hand. It caused Klessa to become shocked, staring at her empty hand before tears started to accumulate in her eyes.

"Ahh! Look, your mother's big belly has disappeared!" Hadian hurriedly distracted Klessa, causing her to become astonished before she turned around and looked at her mother. Then, she noticed what she failed to notice before as she had just woken up from sleep.

Her small eyes shook as she held her hands, not knowing what to say as she saw her mother hold a baby in her arms. Feeling immensely curious, she slowly approached her mother and gently touched the baby, feeling her soft skin.

"She's your little sister, Klessa… Her name is Rias."

"Rias…"

Klessa worded out before she seemed elated, moving her hands with enthusiasm as she touched her little sister more as though she had found a new playmate.

Looking at this scene, Ivy Aries's expression was pale. How could she go about this situation?

It was pretty clear that Rias was ancestor Aries as the branch had been pointing towards Rias even before Klessa appeared. If she took her away, then it would end up separating this lovely family.

On the other hand, Davis was thoroughly floored that ancestor Aries was Hadian and Mulia's second child, making him think that this was karma because Old Man Garvin had once saved Mulia from being killed by the formations he set up. Back then, Old Man Garvin's interference also helped Hadian and Mulia survive a tragic fate from that hateful character called Elder Severin he almost forgot long ago.

However, he couldn't understand how ancestor Aries could be born so soon. She had only died recently, and not even half a year had passed.

'Life begins at conception, but the soul descends at birth…?' He suddenly couldn't help but think.

Davis had evidence that the little Davis was without a soul for three years, and he himself wandered off in a spatial void for three years. That was exactly three years until the time he possessed the little Davis, but if reversed, it meant that little Davis would have his soul upon birth as long as he was dead the moment he traveled through the spatial formation.

However, Davis also felt that his thoughts couldn't be taken literally. For example, the soul's destination could already be determined upon entering the reincarnation cycle but when it would manifest is when the baby is given birth to. If that's the case, it made some sense to him, but still, ancestor Aries's lifespan was a bit longer, but she died soon, so her next incarnation should also be away, but it was born now.

'In other words, Rias's intended incarnation must've been destroyed by me coincidentally when I made some people unable to reincarnate while ancestor Aries's soul used that opportunity to reincarnate into Rias…?'

Davis merely thought it was a possibility as the only woman who made an impression on him, and he remembered completing erasing out of existence was the Poison Mistress but didn't think too far into it as it was above his knowledge grade.

"Ivy, what do you think?"

Ivy had her head lowered for a while before she raised her head, possessing a determined glint.

"Can… Can I stay occasionally stay here, somewhere in these mansions? I want to protect ancestor Aries."

"Sure, I'll arrange a place for you to stay. It should be easy, but I hope you understand that you will not be allowed to use your power here as you please."

"I understand. I know space will collapse if I use my power, so don't worry. I won't do such a foolish thing that's enough to instantly send ancestor Aries back to the reincarnation cycle."

Davis couldn't help but chuckle at Ivy Aries's humor.

Nonetheless, he still possessed deep respect for his parents for allowing him to live and not forcing his hand to kill them using Fallen Heaven. That's why he wasn't also in the plan of separating the parents and children for some time, at the very least.

"Also, there's also another restriction to this reincarnation process that you should watch out for."

"What is it?"

"If Rias turns ten, then it is said that her ability to recall her previous life's memories will be completely lost."

"Then, all I have to do is to make Rias come into contact with the branch before she turns ten, right?"

Ivy Aries smirked, seemingly like she had expected such a restriction to already exist, causing Davis to nod satisfactorily. However, his face suddenly possessed a frown.

'Wait a minute… but it can't be... but if I'm right...'

Davis's eyes shook. However, he closed his eyes before opening them, his gaze falling on Ivy Aries.

"Don't worry. I'll promise that their lives will be safe."

"Mhm." Ivy Aries nodded as she watched him leave. The Silverwinds also left before her face turned into a frown, "Their?"

She looked towards the mansion and thought that he must have meant Rias's family. Still, she didn't plan to wait nine years. A year was all she could do. If push comes to shove, she was of the mind to take Hadian's family with her to the immortal world.

On the other hand, Davis arrived before a mansion, but its build was different, and it appeared more luxurious with a lot of space.

He saw many children playing around in the courtyard, some cultivating and some training their battle skills. However, one among them caught his gaze.

A five or six-year-old boy sat down cultivating while having his eyes closed but already seemed to have a knack for cultivation as he entered meditation, seemingly undisturbed by his noisy surroundings.

'You have to be kidding me, right…? Why didn't I notice the uncanny similarity between their names before…?'

Davis's brows twitched as he saw this undisturbed lad whose hair began to hover, already undergoing a breakthrough in his extremely young age. In his mind, this little boy was very likely the reincarnation of Old Man Garvin. However, what's more, crazy was that this little boy was his cousin Lucas and Nina's first child, whom he had refused to give a name to because the little boy already had a name when seen through the Death God Eyes: Rellow Alstreim.