A/N - MUST READ!

For those who AREN'T a fan of politics (it's okay. I'm not either), class structures, and discriminating against certain groups (AKA - Demon vs Human) heads up! This story will be chop full of them! It's in the name, "The Crowning... Overlord... E-L-E-C-T-I-O-N-S"! You can't have an election without politics and underhanded tactics. It's just not possible! So if you're not into any of that, then this ain't the story for you.

And when I mean 'class structures' I mean people acting all snobby and high class. And other groups working under them, and all that.


Main Characters:

Rin, Astaroth, Amaimon, Le (OC), Mephisto


2010, April 22

(7:46 am)

~x~X~x

Page 4: Gehenna, My Home (part 1)

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Rin sat on her bed typing away on her phone as Izumo sat quietly on an armchair on the other side of the room. Her body had fewer bandages on it than when it did at the beginning of the month, so she could see through both of her eyes now. "O... kay~~!" Rin looked up, "So, am I missing anything, Kamiki?"

"No, you got everything," Izumo answered, getting up, "Hey, I been wondering but why aren't you in the cram schools?"

"'Why'?" Rin pressed send on her phone and sat up.

"I mean, if it's your job to keep an eye on me, then wouldn't it be easier to do it in the cram school and as my roommate? Not that I'm complaining or anything," Izumo then lowered her eyes, "So why...?"

Rin shrugged, "Who knows~. I'm just not interested in becoming an Exorcist. And don't worry, I totally understand the need for personal space," Rin held up her hands in defense, "You're not the only one with helicopter parents so I know what it's like to want to be alone sometimes," she then smiled, "Just trust me. If you don't want me butting in, then just say so. I totally understand."

Izumo kept her eyes lowered and crossed her arms, "You understand nothing." After that, Izumo walked over to the door and showed herself out.

Once she was got, Rin sighed with a half smile, "... You're right, she is cold. Haha..." Rin got up and swing her bookbag over her should, "Well, I guess I better head to school."

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GEHENNA...


(7:46 pm)

On a barren wasteland, one the outskirt of a nation, two armies of Demons stretched across the land, marching towards one another. When they were close enough to see the other side, the two commanders unsheathed their weapons. "AAATTTAAAAAAACCCCKKK...!" the commander from the Rot Demons side screamed.

"CHARGE...!" the leader of the Water Demons yelled.

Demons slaughter one another, in a fit of rage and madness, not bothering to care about anything else. "THIS LAND BELONGS TO ASTAROTH...!" the commander screamed as he cut off the legs of a bicorn, before getting cut down himself.

"HOW DARE YOU CUT OUR COMMANDER!?" one of the commander's men screamed. The attacker looked over at the Rot Demon and grin, signaling him to come at him. The Demon took him on his ofter and begun to attack.

"YOU, FILTHY HOLY WATER LOVER! I'LL TEACH YOU!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"DIE! DIE! WHY DON'T YOU ALL JUST DIE!"

"ONLY AFTER I TAKE YOU ALL WITH ME...!" The leader of the Water Demons raised his sword, signaling his men to let the wagon filled with crates of holy water rolled into the battlefield. When the wagon reached the center, it exploded, unleashing all the water it had. The Rot Demons that were the closest to the wagon at the time suffer the worst damages. The Water Demons there were also affected but their wounds were minor because of their race.

"Y- You bastard!"

"All's fair in love and war...!"

"Yeah! You filttthy, disssgusssting low-livesssss would do the ssssame if you could!"

"IF you could!"

"Who are you calling low-lives!?"

"You Water kins always use the same old tactics...!"

The fight continued on, until the ground beneath them begun to shook. And before long, the ground cracked, creating an enormous trench in its place. Herds of thorns and vines sprout up from it, making a huge plant wall between the armies. The vines and thorns continued to grow, spreading throughout the wasteland before moving up to create a dome shape.

"Huh?" one of the Rot Demons asked.

The Water and Rot Demons tramped inside the dome turned around, finding themselves cornered by a small group of Earth Demons. One of the Demons, a teen with dark green hair, who was seated on top of a bush, snapped his fingers; signaling his kins to attack.

"Y- Your majesty...!"

"Wait, Amaimon! NOOOO...!"

The solid beneath the Water and Rot Demons swallow some of them whole, while the rest were either eaten alive by a carnivorous plant or Demon. "... Don't trespass on my domain again, low-lives," Amaimon warned. But by then, it was too late. All of the Demons that wasn't his kin were gone.

.


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At The Same Time...

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A Demon, with two large ram horns coming from the side of his head, stood on the edge of a cliff, watching as a plant wall formed itself around a large piece of land. With a spyglass placed over his left eye, he was able to see some of his kins and his brother's kins be attacked by a bunch of plants before the wall could completely form. "Tsk, that bastard, Amaimon." He removed the spyglass from his eye and handed it to a well-dressed Demon behind him who had a long, thick, Fu Manchu mustache.

"Shall I get the coach ready, My Liege?" the secretary asked, closing the lid on the case with the spyglass in it.

Astaroth turned around, annoyed by the man before him, but decided to ignore it by walking past him.


Along a stone pathway; a black, royal coach, pulled by four bicorns made its way to a large mountain. Astaroth sat inside the carriage with his secretary, trying his best to ignore him. "My Liege, why are we heading to the capital? Shouldn't we be returning to your palace in the third circle?" the secretary asked, "My Liege, why aren't we-"

"Because, Baron, I can and I want to," Astaroth asked, with his elbow on the arm of the chair and his face in his palm.

He was looking out his window, thinking how great it would have been had the Baron been the one to be sealed away instead of the rest of his family. It wasn't that he wasn't doing his job right. If anything, Baron was one of his favorite servants. One of his four prize pets. There was a reason why he appointed that household as his favorite.

It was just that the Baron was the weakest one in the Impure Family and the only one that didn't know how to loosen up. Addressing him as 'My Liege' was proof enough. Had the Baron been any ordinary Demon, then it would have been appropriate, but he wasn't. The Baron was in the favor of The King of Rot—Astaroth likes to think of the Impure Family as friends, given their long history together. So friends shouldn't be so distanced from each other, even if he is technically their boss.

'If only the King or Princess were here instead... Then again, I guess I should be grateful that I still have at least one of my friends. Unlike my little brother,' Astaroth snorted.

"Did I made you laugh, My Liege?" the Baron asked.

Astaroth quickly dropped his smile, "Yes, yes you did." 'You're you and that's funny enough.'

When the carriage made it to the end of the road, it was met with a bottomless trench. The bicorns continued to run toward it, showing no signs of slowing down. And when it was there, the servant holding the rain whipped the bicorns; signaling them to spread their wings and fly. Because of the bicorns, the carriage flew to the top of the mountain.

From up above, the large mountain reviewed itself to be a large, deep crater with a shady-looking city in the center. The Coachman steered the carriage down and back on the road. Once down, Astaroth closed the curtain, not wishing to see any of the things that were going on in the capital. But that didn't stop his ears from hearing everything.

"King Lucifer should rule...! Not some infant, blue-flame bastard!"

"You dare mock the divine flames...!? And you call yourself a kinsman of the King of Fire!?"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Forget about the royal blood! What have they ever done!? All they care about is themselves!"

"MAMMON FOR OVERLORD! MAMMON FOR OVERLORD!"

"A- AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"It's all their fault Gehenna's like this!"

"GO DIE IN A DITCH! BETTER YET, GO GET YOURSELF SEAL AWAY LIKE THE GODS!"

"YEAH!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?"

"I SAID-"

"AHHHH!"

"Who said one of us can't become Overlord!? We're not marked anymore!"

"So much for the 'God' of all Demons!"

"DIE! DIE!"

"KILL HIM! KILL HIM! KILL HIM-"

When the carriage made it to the castle, the heavy fortress' gates opened themselves, allowing Astaroth and Baron to entered. Astaroth sighed, pressing the back of his head against the coach's wall. 'Father, if only you could see this... I wonder what you'll do?'

.

.


Assiah...


(11:18 am)

Rin sat in the back roll of the classroom, next to the window, staring off into space. She paid no attention to the people in the front of the room, talking behind her back. "... Hey, I been meaning to ask, but who is she?" a short girl with pink hair asked.

"I think her name was 'Okumura'-something," a guy standing next to the pink-headed girl answered, "Why 'ya asked?"

"Just wondering..."

"Why's she always by herself? Even during gym and lunch?" a girl with navy-black hair and glasses, seated at the desk, continued.

"I think it's because she hasn't made any friends yet."

"Should we go over to her?"

"It wouldn't hurt to try."

Before they could continue their conversation, the teacher walked into the room. "Okay, class. Boys, come with me. Ladies, hurry up and get change."

"Yes, Teacher," the class murmured.

The boys did what they were told and followed the teacher out the door. Once the door was closed, the girls started changing out of their school clothes and into their gym uniforms. The two girls that were talking behind Rin's back watched as she took off her dress-shirt, reviewing the bandages wrapped tightly around her chest and waste. There were less of them than before but still enough to make everyone uneasy.

"Hey, Okumura, was it?" the girl with pink hair greeted.

"Huh?" Rin looked to her left at the two girls that were now next to her.

"I hear we're doing fitness testing today. You wanna run labs with us?"

Rin shrugged, "Sure," and smiled plainly.


After the girls were done getting changed, they ended up walking through the school hall in their gym clothes. As they walked, Rin decided to get to know the two girls more. "Hey, by the way, the name's Ichigo Amano," the girl with the pink hair introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you," Rin smiled, before looking at the taller girl with the glasses.

The girl took the hidden messaged and introduced herself, "Le," she answered with a half smile.

"Lee?" Rin repeated. 'Isn't that a guy's name?'

"Yes, and before you asked, there's only one 'E' in it," Le shot Rin a knowing look.

Rin laughed, even though she didn't understand the meaning of the joke. She was about to ask her what's her first name was when she heard a loud screamed from somewhere. "NOOOOOOOOOO...! DON'T!"

"..." Rin and everyone else stopped. They looked around before one of them pointed to the front gate. They looked down, watching through the window as some random guy was being pulled away from the school by two grown men in black suits. The kid looked like he didn't want to go but the men acted as though they couldn't care less. "... What's going on down there?" Rin asked out loud.

"... sigh... And it hasn't even been a month yet," a girl in the front of the group commented. Rin looked in that direction but couldn't tell who's voice was that.

"I know...! I feel really sorry for the guy, too," another girl said.

Rin raised an eyebrow, before looking at Le and Amano. "Do you guys know what's going on?"

"Nothing much. Just another student getting himself kicked out of school," Le answered bluntly, adjusting her glasses.

"Wait... WHAT!?" Rin looked alarmed, "B- But why? How?! You make it sounds like it's normal."

"It is, well, at least here."

Le chuckled, giving Rin a sideward glance, "I take it you already forgot what the Headmaster said during the opening ceremony?"

"..." Rin furrowed her brow, 'What's that gotta do with anything?'

"Don't forget, this is a boarding school for the privilege and talented. If you're not either, then you have no place here."

Rin tilted her head, "I don't get it." 'What's she getting at?'

Le chuckled, "I'll tell you what. If you can't figure it out before summer break, then I'll explain it to you, alright?" Afterward, she turned around, walking away with everyone else.

"..." When Rin was by herself in the hall, she looked back down at the poor boy who was being dragged away. She wondered why the kid was making such a big fuss and why no one was doing or saying anything. She was also thinking back on her new 'friend's' words. 'Yeah, getting kicked out's no fun but he doesn't have to make such a scene. And what Le means by 'I'll figure it out by summer break'? God, I'll never get this school.' Rin looked back in front of her at the others and sighed.

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Else Where, At The Same Time

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Mephisto sat behind his desk, facing one of his Exorcists. "... You're sure of this?" the Exorcist with the eyepatch asked.

"Umm. Yes, parently, it's no lie," Mephisto answered, intertwining his fingers and placing his elbow on the table, "The son of Satan is indeed here in True Cross Academy, Mr. Neuhaus. I hope you understand why is it that I'm telling you this."

"Yes, I understand completely," Neuhaus lowered his eye as he took the yellow envelope from the desk.

"When the time comes for me to... need of your expertise, I'll call for you and have you see if what I say is the truth or not, alright~?" Mephisto lowered his head, allowing his top hat to hide his eyes.

"Umm," Neuhaus nodded before turning around.

Once he was got, Mephisto took out his phone and started dialing a number. He placed it next to his ear and began to speak through it. "Come here as soon as possible. We have much to discuss."

.

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GEHENNA...


(11:59 pm)

Amaimon stood at the end of a long hallway, listening to the words of a woman made out of water. "... I see..." he went, "Tell my brother I got the message."

"Which brother?"

Amaimon froze, slightly, and turned to his right. He saw Astaroth walking up to him with Baron closely behind him. "Oh, hello, Brother. I see you found yourself a new host."

When Astaroth made it to the end of the hall, he looked at the water-woman and slightly lifted his chin. It was his way to signal the servant to speak.

The water-woman got down on one knee and started speaking. "I bring forth a message from my king, His Majesty, the King of Water. He would like me to pass along this scroll to you," the woman held out a scroll with a light blue, wax stamp stamped on it.

Astaroth took it and opened it up. He read it over thoughtfully, before widening his eyes. After a moment, he lowered his eyes and handed it over to the Baron to hold onto. "You're dismissed," Astaroth said plainly.

"As you wish," the woman said. Like that, she dissolved her body and slipped through the cracks of the castle's floors.

Once she was got, Astaroth looked back at his younger brother. "So, care to tell me what was that stunt you pull earlier was?" Astaroth titled his head.

"What stunt?" Amaimon asked, without emotion.

"Don't play stupid with me," Astaroth crossed his arms, "I'm talking about that plant-dome you put around, over, and under your EN-TI-RE realm."

"Just protecting my territory and people. Nothing much."

"Huh..." Astaroth wasn't entirely pleased with that response but chose to let it slide.

"By the way, Big Brother, what are you going to do now? Almost all of your realm had already fallen to Gehenna, Herself."

"Tsk. That's for me to know and for you to butt out," Astaroth walked passed Amaimon and over to the hallway to the left of him.

When Astaroth and the Baron were gone, Amaimon was planning to walk away when his phone began to ring. He took it out and checked the collar-ID. 'Samael'. Amaimon placed the phone next to his ear, "Hello-"

[ - "Come here as soon as possible. We have much to discuss." - ]

"... Yes, Brother," Amaimon answered, plainly.

[ - "..." - ] Samael hanged up.

Amaimon removed the phone from his ear and tightened his grip on it. "Japan, huh...?" Amaimon turned around and started walking away.

.

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ASSIAH


(5:47 pm)

All of the Exwire sat in their homeroom class, waiting for their teacher to come. Everyone was still in their same-old groups with the two girls seated in the front of the class, next to the door, and the three guys seated in the opposite end. The only difference was that a girl with shoulder-length, blonde hair sat in the middle-front of the room. Unlike the rest of the students, she was the only one in a yukata.

. . . The girl with the yukata stood in front of Mephisto's desk with Shiro and Yukio behind her. "... So you want to join the cram school, huh?" Mephisto asked, looking at the yellow envelope in front of his face. He removed it a little bit out of the way to stare at the nervous face of the girl.

"Y- Yes!" the girl nodded.

Mephisto chuckled, placing the girl's transcript on his desk, "You do know that if you were to join the cram school, you'll be introduced to harmful, possibly even life-threating, activities. And it'll only get worse once you are promoted to Exwire and then Exorcist. Are you sure you're up to that?"

"Yes! I'm sure!" the girl nodded.

Fujimoto and Yukio looked at each other, both sweating. "Very well... Then I approve~!" Mephisto made the papers disappear and clapped his hands.

The girl smiled, "Really!?"

"That was fast," both men stated.

"Sir Pheles, you're not even going to give it any thought?" Yukio asked, taking a step forward.

"I see no point in that. If Miss Moriyama wants to become an Exorcist, then who am I to stop her?" Mephisto shrugged, before pointing to the girl across from him, "It's decided then. Starting first thing tomorrow, you, Shiemi Moriyama, you will be attending the beginners' cram school~!" . . .

'It's been a few weeks now, yet I still haven't made any friends,' Shiemi thought to herself, sadly.

"Okay, everyone," Shiro opened the door and walked in, "I'm back with all of ya graded test," he looked down at the stack of paper in his hand, "First of, Shima!"

The guy with pink hair got up. He made his way to the front of the class where Fujimoto was.

"You missed a few, so look them over."

"Kay," Shima groaned, looking at his test, 'What's he talking about? An 81's great!'

"Kamiki!"

"Yes," Izumo did the same as the last guy. She saw that her grade was a 98. 'Damn it. I was off by one question.'

"Moriyama!"

"Yes!" Shiemi got up.

Fujimoto handed Shiemi back her paper. After seeing the shock looked on Shimei's face, Shiro smiled, "There's nothing wrong with wanting to give your own names. Just remember to use the actual ones on tests, okay?"

"Okay..." Shiemi lowered her head in shame.

"Suguro!" Fujimoto continued.

"Yes, Sir," Bon got up.

"Here."

Bon took the paper and grinned, '98. Sweet.'

When Izumo saw the grade, she growled, 'Damn it. I'm still in the same boat with that guy. How'd that happen!?'

"Miwa!"

"Y- Yes, Sir!" the short guy with glasses got up. He looked down at his paper, '92?'

"Takara!"

In silence, the boy with a hand-puppet made his way to the front of the class. Instead of looking at his paper like all the rest, he simply walked back to his table.

"Noriko!"

"R- Right!" Paku got up. After seeing her grade, she went back to her seat in shame, "A 71..."

"You did great, Paku. And don't worried, I'll tutor you if you want," Izumo tried to cheer up her friend.

After all the papers were passed back, the bell started to ring. "Now class, after dinner today, all of you won't be returning to your dorms. You'll all be starting your field training, so after dinner, get changed into some sweets," Fujimoto explained.

Some of the students nodded, while the rest looked nervous. After that, everyone left the room.


9:15 pm


Amaimon ran through the city, skipping from the roof of one building to the next. As he did so, he continued to look around until he spotted a little dog on top of an unfinished sky-strapper. Amaimon made his way to the top of it and found that the dog was now his older brother, Samael. Instead of saying something, he waited until he was spoken to.

Mephisto took a sip from his teacup before giving a light chuckle.

"... Sorry to keep you waiting," Amaimon greeted.

Mephisto looked that way and smiled, "Hello, Amaimon, King of Earth. Long time no sees."

"Yes, it has been a while, Big brother."

"Remind me again, but how many years has it been since we last spoke? Fifteen, maybe? Eighteen, perhaps~?"

"Not since the Ninth was born and father sudden disappearance."

"Yes, about that... How has thing been developing in Gehenna?" Mephisto looked back in front of him.

"The third circle has begun to crumble and it wouldn't be long before the same happens to the fourth and fifth. Because father's mark is no more, more and more low-life thinks they can do whatever they please."

"And what of the ninth circle and our other siblings?" Mephisto took a sip of his tea.

"It's more like a ghost town there than anything else. As for our siblings: You, Azazel, and Lucifer still refuse to return home." Mephisto chuckled at that. "Astaroth been in a worse mood than usual ever since he came back with a new body. Beelzebub is still doing his own things. And I haven't heard much from Egyn and Iblis in a while."

"They're probably off helping Lucifer with his work, as always," Mephisto rolled his eyes.

"Yes, about that, Egyn sent messengers home every once in a while and we found out from one of them that Big Bro is planning something big and was wondering if we would be interested in helping him."

Mephisto reopened his eyes and looked lazily at Amaimon, "And what news about the ninth?"

Amaimon took out a scroll, resembling the one Astaroth received, and toss it over to Mephisto. "All the families, noble and below, are off scouring Gehenna in hopes of finding him. Some, like Brother Astaroth, had gone as far as try searching in Assiah."

When the scroll was close enough to Mephisto, he made it float in the air, as he read through it. "Then please pass along the news to everyone that the search is over. And that I, King Samael, had found the location of the long-lost prince and has taken him under my wing."

Amaimon blinked, "... You have?" he asked casually, "Where is he?"

Mephisto lowered his eyes, unpleased with what he just read. "Here... when the time is right, I'll introduce you to our youngest sibling. I think you'll find him very... adorable."

...

Mephisto continued to look over the letter until he noticed that his little brother was still there. Mephisto made the letter disappeared with a puff of smoke and raised an eyebrow toward his brother's way. "Is there something else?... Or are you just waiting to be dismissed?"

"Yes, there is," Amaimon answered.

"Ohh~, and what might that be?"

"I just thought you'll like to know that Gehenna has already started selecting her candidates... It won't be long now before the Election begins."

After that, Amaimon disappeared, leaving Mephisto by himself. He stared off at the dark sky above him and the hill where his school was. Without knowing it, a smile made its way on his face. "... Gehenna has already started selecting Her candidates, huh?... How wonderful."

.

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To Be Continue...


NEXT TIME -

The entire school is off prepping for the upcoming exam, next week, as with them, the famous Okumura Twins. However, Rin has little time to worry about her latest enemy when she advances into the woods with her human-friend after dark. Little did she knows, they weren't alone.


ANYWAY, IF ANY OF YOU, THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE THE 'Garden of Amahara' CHAPTER THEN THINK AGAIN!... I REALLY WASN'T A FAN OF THAT EPISODE/CHAPTER SO I'M SKIPPING AHEAD.

AND SORRY IF THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS WAS CONFUSING BUT THE STORY WILL GET BETTER. ANYWAY, I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE WONDER WHY WAS RIN DREAMING ABOUT SATAN IF THIS IS AN AU AND WHAT EXACTLY HAPPEN AFTER RIN BLANK OUT THAT MADE HER WANT TO JOIN THE ILLUMINATI... SORRY~, YOU JUST GOTTA WAIT AND SEE!

OH, AND I MAY GO BACK TO PREVIOUS CHAPTERS AND EDIT IT... YOU KNOW, FOR REASONS.

REVIEW! Review!