Riser Phenex isn't a villain

Watching five women who lay beside him, exhausted, without a single fabric on their bodies, Riser knew that someone must say that he had fallen. He had indulged himself in the pleasure and forgot what he needed to do, and he was like those emperors who spent all of their days on women and sex. 

Yet, they were wrong. 

If they thought he indulged himself, they would be under a great misunderstanding as he was trying to become stronger. 

Unlike others, sleeping with beautiful women gave him a great reward, so while others thought that he had fallen, the truth was that he was trying to become stronger. While he couldn't deny that he loved the process, everything was necessary for him to get stronger. He definitely didn't do it just because he was lustful toward the two reincarnated angels that had been following him and Gabriel. 

Yet, Marina aside, his indifference quickly took a sharp turn when he heard Griselda's identity from Xenovia. 

Yes, this girl was, without a doubt, idiotic, and he was afraid that in the future, the children that were born between them would create a musclehead who was thinking about sex and power all the time. 

"...." 

Somehow, Riser could imagine that their children might become like that. Still, even so, he didn't think that their children would be bad children. 

Or, probably, their children would?

However, Riser hoped that his children would be normal. 

Still, even if Xenovia was quite idiotic, she knew how to tickle his desire like Kuroka, especially when she told him that Griselda was her guardian or her mother. They might not be a parent and children biologically, but the two of them treated each other like a parent and children. 

Still, Riser wasn't sure whether Xenovia was a good daughter or not, as she could even send someone who she had always thought was her mother to his bed. 

Yet, he had to say, it was so damn exciting. 

The memory of their exchange still lingered in his mind, but at this moment, he decided to focus on getting stronger as the day was near. 

[Congratulations, you have received "Soru Soru no Mi (Complete Version)."]

As expected, like before, he got rewards and abilities from a certain work that he knew in his previous life. This wasn't his first time to obtain this type of reward, so he could accept it easily. Yet, he had to say this reward helped him greatly, and with this, he had become perfect. 

Soru Soru no Mi, or Soul Soul Fruit, was a Devil Fruit that gave him the ability to control the soul. 

Was it powerful?

Naturally. 

Yet, it wasn't that omnipotent either. Still, the reason why he liked this ability was because it made it truly impossible for him to die. 

What about Sephiroth Graal?

Riser took the Sephiroth Graal from Valerie Tepes, a Longinus that made him capable of coming into contact with the principles of life itself, so with such a Longinus in his possession, this Devil Fruit was as good as meaningless, right?

Yet, he didn't think so. 

While he might have said that Sacred Gear's existence was like an extra organ within one's body, as expected, it was something external given by the system created by God. 

Yes, he had controlled the system, and this Sephiroth Graal was as good as an extra organ within his body, yet he still felt uncomfortable when he thought that this wasn't something innate. 

He knew that he was being troublesome, but as long as he ate this Devil Fruit, his life-saving skill would increase even further. Even if his body was destroyed, as long as his soul existed, he would be okay. 

Or even if his soul was destroyed, there should be a way for him to be reborn from death. 

If he only relied on Sephiroth Graal, it would have been impossible for him to do so since this Longinus might escape his grasp the moment he died. 

After all, Longinus had their own conscience, and even if he had taken control over it, due to the protagonist's aura of Issei, he was afraid that during the critical moment, they would try to run amok, making him die. 

Even if Riser had defeated Issei so many times and he didn't think that Issei would be his opponent, he was still wary of the will of the world. This world wished for Issei to become everything and wanted him to go die, so he needed to do everything to erase the possibility of his losing. 

After all, he had many things that he wanted to protect, and he didn't want to lose everything. 

His present and future, he was going to protect them. 

So, he ate the Devil Fruit, which gave him the ability to manipulate his soul. 

As expected, it tasted as bad as ever. 

Nevertheless, as it wasn't his first time eating something bad, and it was also a price of gaining power, he endured it. 

As he swallowed this Devil Fruit, he gained the power to manipulate the soul, and he knew that with this, he should be ready to—

"Wait, there is another more." 

"Do you want to do more, Riser-sama?" Xenovia asked as she hugged him from behind lazily yet lustfully. 

That wasn't what he meant, but as expected, compared to being an exorcist, Xenovia was more suitable to become a devil. 

Yet, in this world, whether one was a devil, an angel, a fallen angel, or even an exorcist, it had no meaning. 

The only thing that was important was power. 

It was also why Meredith, who was sleeping naked, could become the queen of England. 

While Riser was in his own thoughts, Xenovia smiled as she thought that she was glad to meet him. If it wasn't because of him, then would she be able to achieve all of this?

She could have a happy life, do something that she couldn't do before, meet her parent-like figure without worry, and even know the feeling known as love. 

Yes, she had fallen for him. 

Sometimes, she wanted to steal him away from her master, Sona. 

Yet, she knew her status well, and she was okay as his lover. 

Yes, as expected, being his lover was great, and she also couldn't wait to see their future together. 

To those who wanted to destroy their future, Xenovia was going to fight them. 

"By the way, Riser-sama, do you want to visit the school? There are a lot of cute girls, you know?" 

"...." 

Riser looked at Xenovia, speechless, then took the pants that he had been pulled by everyone before. "I need to go somewhere first." 

"Huh? Where?" 

"Just a little job. You go back. Sona must be mad at you." 

"..." Xenovia. 

While Xenovia begged that she didn't want to go back, Riser ignored her since he had something more important to do. Saying goodbye to the angels, he returned to the Underworld, taking the body of Diehauser and devouring it, which gave him the ability of "Worthless," before he went to Ophis, who quickly jumped into him when she saw him. 

"You have become much, much stronger." Ophis looked at him with her usual blank expression. 

"Right?" 

"..." Ophis. 

Riser smiled as he patted Ophis's head. "By the way, Ophis, can you accompany me for a while?" 

"Hm?"