ALL NOVEL Chapter 39: Chapter: 39
Chapter 39:
"So we've been sitting in this waiting room for 30 minutes already," I pointed out. It was the next day after we had landed in New York. AIM, Aldrich Killian's think tank, was set up here. Pepper had called ahead and set up a meeting between Tony and Aldrich Killian. Tony didn't yet know much about Extremis, but AIM had been scientifically paving the way with some breakthrough gene treatments apparently. I think Extremis could be a great solution to our problem if the formula was just toned down a bit. There was no reason to give everyone in the world fire superpowers after all. All we wanted was some enhanced durability and strength that would allow people to manage the increase in gravity. We weren't exactly sure what we were going to do about all the animals yet though…
"This is a power play," Tony pointed out. "He's intentionally making the great 'Tony Stark' wait to meet him." He said with a laugh. He didn't seem to be particularly bothered. According to him, this happened all the time whenever he went to meet 'important people.'
"Ugh… human politics." I said with a groan. It was just so…petty.
"Do the supernatural not do the same thing?" Tony asked.
"They're surprisingly punctual, actually." I explained. "If a powerful entity claims they will be somewhere at a certain time, then they will be there. If they don't show on time, they end up looking incompetent and weak. They don't really do fake power plays since they have actual power."
Tony nodded. "I suppose that makes sense. So I heard from Fury that angels get stronger with more wings. How strong would you say you are now?"
I grimaced a bit as I started explaining. "As loath as I am to use their power system as a basis, the devil's actually did create easy-to-understand rankings. With 6 wings, my power is essentially at what would be considered lower to middle-High Class." Angels and Fallen Angels didn't play rankings by nepotism. If you wanted to be considered High Class, you had to have 6 wings minimum. We didn't just grant the status to children at birth like noble Devils did. Tony then asked me what that meant, and I continued explaining. I told him how in the supernatural world, you weren't respected if you weren't at least High Class in power. Before that, you were seen as a subordinate or servant. High Class was where you could stand on your own.
"So it's kind of like cultivation levels in a Chinese novel?" Tony asked jokingly.
"Yep. In fact, it's almost exactly like that. The stronger you are, the less people will try and mess with you."
"So what's after High Class then?" Tony asked.
"Ultimate Class. And keep in mind there is a massive difference in power scaling between someone who just entered that rank versus someone at its peak."
"Give me an example," Tony said.
I broke it down for him. "Ok, this isn't exactly correct every time, but it's a benchmark. A good estimate of a low Ultimate Class's power though would be that they can destroy a city on their own. That doesn't necessarily mean they can one shot the whole place, but it means that, in about the span of an hour, they could level the area."
Tony's eyes widened at that. Yeah, just the lower end of Ultimates were basically walking nukes. "And at the peak?" He asked with some trepidation. He was starting to find out his invincible Iron Man wasn't as OP as he thought it was. He really needed to step up his designs.
"They can destroy entire countries in about the same time frame." I stated plainly.
"How the hell has the other Earth not been destroyed yet!?" Tony exclaimed. That was something I wondered as well.
"I honestly have no idea… frankly it's a miracle." The only thing saving the DxD world from Armageddon was the 'plot.' Honestly, if Kokabiel or Loki wanted to start a real war, all they would have had to do was attack a human city and expose the supernatural world. The nuclear bombs would have started flying everywhere and BAM—the Great War would be back on. What did they do instead? They kept attacking Rias Gremory and her peerage for no reason other than 'just because.'
Tony let out a whistle at that level of power. "Would all Gods be considered that strong?"
I laughed. The arrogant bastards wished they were. "Not a chance. Sure, some gods would be, but the majority are actually far weaker than they would like to let on. In fact, the vast majority of gods don't even qualify for Ultimate Class. Most of them are stuck in High Class. That's why the three factions are able to basically bully all the other factions. Each of the three all have over a dozen beings in Ultimate Class along with hundreds if not thousands of High Class beings as well."
"And yet the space gods out there are even stronger?" Tony asked again. He seemed nervous at that revelation. I nodded but told him that I didn't exactly know how much stronger. I just knew that every celestial was basically a planet killer in some way. And there were quite a few beings that were far more dangerous than the celestials as well.
"For fucks sake…" Tony muttered. I patted him on the shoulder and told him everything would be alright. After all, the world now had a Gamer protecting it. I would surpass them all someday!
…
"Mr. Killian will see you both now," the man's secretary entered the waiting room and informed us.
"Well, here we go, I guess," I said with a sigh as I stood up to follow. From the movies, I remembered this guy was a hardcore narcissist. This was not going to be a fun meeting.
"It won't be that bad," Tony stated, with a grin. "Yeah, he made us wait for over 30 minutes for no reason, but I think he was just getting back at me for ditching him at a party a few years back. I remember this guy was a big fan of mine," Tony said with some assurance. He was about to be proven very wrong.
The secretary led us to a nearby room. Inside was a very lavish office. The man we had come to meet was waiting for us behind a large ornate wooden desk. He wasn't alone, however. He had four obvious bodyguards flanking his sides equally. Did he think we were coming to attack him or something?
Aldrich Killian himself looked perfectly healthy. That should not have been the case. I could tell he was not suffering from any health problems like he should have been at this time. When he first met Tony in the past, he couldn't even walk without a cane. Extremis had been completed much earlier than I anticipated. I could also sense some form of power coming from him and the four bodyguards. I wouldn't call them dangerous to myself, but they were well into the brackets of Low Class.
His arms opened wide in greeting as we entered. "Tony! I never thought the day would come… The day that YOU would go out of your way to request a meeting with me." He had a large smile on his face, but his eyes told a different story. I could tell that this man absolutely loathed Tony. He then turned to me. "And who's this exquisite lady you've brought with you? …Wait? Don't I recognize you from somewhere?"
"You might have seen my friend Layla here on the news recently," Tony answered for me.
One of his bodyguards leaned down and whispered something to him. His eyes went wide. Aldrich spoke again. "Of course, you're the mysterious savior Angel that's been all over the news! You stopped the 'evil mages' from burning down Monaco! That was… Marvelous. And I thank you for the display you put on!" He gave me a wide smile. I felt like it was a bit off putting.
"You're welcome I guess." I replied to him. Tony and I sat down in the seats opposite of Aldrich that had been set out for us.
Once we were seated, the pleasant atmosphere vanished. Aldrich's smile dropped as he took on a serious look. "Now then, what exactly can I do for the two of you…"
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