Even if Tsuki couldn't have the White Dragon Emperor, under no circumstances would he allow anyone else to possess such a strong weapon; even he would be forced to fight using his trump cards if he were to encounter a fully grown Longinus Sacred Gear user, especially one of the Two Heavenly Dragons.
As such, he schemed and plotted, spending an entire hour in deducing a plausible method to disrupt the plans of the higher ups. Thanks to the increase in his Wisdom stat, he had formulated a single plot.
Invasion.
Naturally, Tsuki held desire in having two sacred gear users of such caliber under his command, they would prove far more than useful and would be helpful in achieving tasks that acquired strength near Tsuki's. He would've even personally trained them if he had the chance to.
Yet this was unfavorable to him in the long run.
Not only would the truth slowly be revealed to the two with a few words from the Devils or relatively any faction, he would also have to face intense investigations by the Underworld as a whole; even with his vast strength, he had no confidence in enduring such a thing for so long.
Even if they didn't know it was him, it was bound to happen, that he was sure of.
Taking the child carried too many risks, it would give him short term benefits but it would heavily disrupt his plans and his control over Elsha would even falter; as such, he went through another option.
By invading and placing his own agents into the Grand Lucifaad Manor, he would have complete control over Andreas indirectly as he monitored him, and even assured that the soul inside him placed by Tsuki wouldn't dissipate anytime soon
It was a grand agenda that would affect the entirety of the Underworld and would even cause unrest among the higher ups, it was a massive risk that could trace back to Tsuki, yet Tsuki was willing.
He wasted no time and energy as he created a single rune that contained immense profundity of Formations, in simple terms it was akin to a 'holder', in the terms that would leave many masters in shock; it used the essence of Runes and allowed it to perfectly mixed with Formations.
Yet this wasn't correct, Tsuki was only beginning to approach the fusion of two different Schools, yet it was simply unthinkable that the Satanachia heir could even comprehend such a method.
This was fully displayed as he sent his strongest private squad to complete the task, the Royal Sabers. With Tsuki's vigilant attitude, he would only be assured once he sent his three familiars to properly handle it.
Naturally, Tsuki wasn't a fool, how could he send his strongest asset to partake in a task that might take several years? It basically guaranteed that they would never be able to return to him, which was something he wouldn't accept.
As such, while he used their strength to break in and cause a distraction, a separate group that were proficiencient in concealing themselves was sent out; and amidst the chaos, they had broken through and succeeded.
Tsuki's plan was relatively simple but extremely difficult to pull off in practice.
As such, a small smile threatened to crawl its way towards his face as he listened to Beelzebub's words; three assailants had infiltrated through their defenses with unknown methods, some claiming they heard electricity crackling while others heard nothing but the silent blowing wind. Not only had they successfully broken through the formation with said methods, they were able to isolate their attack by using their own formation, which showed their deep foundation.
This formation displayed the abilities of space, sound, and light magic as all conflict inside the area of the manor was never displayed for the commoners to see; in their perspective, everything was peaceful but the truth was far sinister.
Fortunately, through the efforts of their trained and highly competent soldiers, they were able to push back the enemies and forced them to flee with reported wounds; only three out of the many of their guards had died.
Their losses were extremely meager.
That wasn't the main importance of the meeting, not only were they so easily invaded by the three mysterious figures, they were able to instantly set up a formation and target their greatest asset without the Satans and Six Houses of Lucifer knowing until they had left.
If they can do it once, who can say that they could not do it again?
If the efforts of countless Formation masters were nothing, then was any location protected by Formations safe? They didn't know and while the unknowing was humanity's greatest fear, it was also the fear of the Supernatural.
This fear would spread like a virus, affecting and accumulating from the deepest part of their bodies until it exploded like a show of black fireworks; first the fear was spread throughout the higher ups and if they didn't eliminate this fear, it would eventually reach the masses and cause social unrest.
With such internal strife, wouldn't they just strike again? And again?
They couldn't allow such a thing to happen, even if such a thing would take time to erupt, the situation in the Underworld was far from peaceful; a small spark was all it needed for full blown Civil War to appear.
As such, they demanded that one publized recognized as a Formation genius to appear. They had hoped that they would have a counter to the assailants' tactics and formations.
Who knows what expression they would have if they knew the sole reason for the attack and the mastermind was standing right in front of them? At Tsuki's thoughts, the System cackled inside his mind like the lunatic that she was.
Secretly snickering at the indignant "hey!" that he earned from the System, he spoke as all the information from the Satans had finally been said.
He mulled over their words for a brief second before replying.
"Creating a formation that could block such mystical techniques? There are relatively two ways to be able to block against these types of attacks, one, the Formation must specifically be able to block their methods. Two, create a formation far above their level, a level where it doesn't matter what techniques they use"
Tsuki's words caused deep looks of grimaces and dejection to appear in the hearts of the Devils. Who among them didn't possess such wealth? With their vaults, they would be able to cover the expenses but what if the Formation wasn't strong enough? What if it didn't halt their advances?
It would be pointless, it would be akin to tossing their wealth into the ocean.
As such, so long as they had to use their wealth, they would still gain something out of it even if it fails!
"The concerns regarding the expenses are nothing to be troubled about Young Tsuki, we can supply you with any materials; a list will be provided on what we have in our treasury, of course. We hope you can solve our problem, it would of great help to us"
Doku restrained the anger that blossomed in his heart, his hand clenching the leather fabric of the armrest with intensity, he seethed in increased fury as he watched the rest of the houses -Lord Lucifuge being an exceptions- and Satans agree at Beelzebub's proposition.
As an experienced politician, how could he not see what they were scheming?
The Six Houses of Lucifer might be his allies in suppressing the descendants from erupting another war, but that didn't necessarily mean they were his allies or friends; they would always look at the bigger picture and try to prioritize benefits, they would love nothing more to see the downfall of the Satanachia house.
As such, Doku knew why they tossed the task to Tsuki; if he did indeed fail in constructing the formation, then all blame could be pushed towards their household and they would suffer a massive hit and even suppress Doku's influence.
This was not something he wanted to see.
Similarly, Tsuki felt disdain as he heard Beelzebub's words, at this moment he couldn't retreat or deny his request; while the damage would be lower if he did so, their reputation would fall and Tsuki's loyalty would be questioned which held its own set of problems.
Even if he used brute force, he wouldn't be able to escape his situation. The methods and skills they have atop of their impressive stats, and experience would surely be able to match up Tsuki's own.
To assure himself of this, he used Observe.
Bidleid BashalunBeelzebub
Level - 152
Class - Greater Mage (Entomologist)
Race - Devil
Alignment - Self, Three Satan Descendants
HP - 400,000 (10)
MP - 800,000 (10)
STR - 1,000 (4x) = 4,000
END - 1,000 (4x) = 4,000
DEX - 1,000 (4x) = 4,000
INT - 1,000 (4x) = 4,000
WIS - 1,000 (4x) = 4,000
CHA- 400 (4x) = 1,600
LCK - 500 (4x) = 2,000
Thoughts/Emotions about you: Fear, wants to suppress you as soon as possible and halt your growth, anger, feels inferior to your bursts of growth.
Goal: Rule the World
Affection: -10/100
Secret: Desires to have full control over the Underworld and reign supreme above even God (Before his death)
Even though you're able to see these stats, you still can't see Doku's? Just how terrifying is he?
The tension in the room grew tense as Tsuki remained silent for several seconds, a faint hint of smile began to form on the Satan's mouth; he had won, in whichever path Tsuki chose, it would end up in Beelzebub's victory.
'Constructing this formation while asking for materials is beneficial to me, I can use this, but it'll interfere with my future actions. I could merely order the Royal Sabers to halt in their invasions that I had planned but my goal wouldn't be achieved, social unrest wouldn't erupt.'
Tsuki felt troubled, a distinct idea had long since formed in his head when he saw the massively high benefits that the new race had given him; it was a scheme that would span across the entirety of the Underworld to which he needed disruption of the masses and suppression of the government.
He wanted the Royal Sabers not only to replenish the soul indefinitely with a secured rune method, but to use his agents to gather information inside the manor to spread information about the Government's failure to cause worry. For one of the few times in his life, Tsuki was cornered with no path to take.
He either rejected it, which would be met with questions and investigations that would no doubt halt his growth and plans, and even prevent him from going to Heaven.
Or he accepted it, and forced the Royal Sabers to stop their infiltration to successfully cause even more rumors and panic that would spread throughout the three factions.
Either way, he would lose.
'I'll accept this loss, but don't think you'll be getting off lightly, Beelzebub.'
Cold light flashed through his eyes as he spoke with a smile.
"Of course, I have no reason to reject contributing a Formation to my own kind. As for the materials needed… I hope my lords know that the construction of the Formation won't be without a hefty cost."
Tsuki stated with a crafty glint in his eyes, if he was going to set up a formation then he might as well use the opportunity to extort them for everything they were worth, until of course he breached their bottom line.
Beelzebub inwardly sneered but nodded with a smile outwardly, who cared about the cost? Who cared if Tsuki would be profoting? Such meager things couldn't compare to suppressing Doku, it would be a step towards their goal.
The other two Satans agreed, they rarely talked because that was due to them naturally letting Beelzebub be the leader of the three, as long as he had a grasp of the situation, they wouldn't bother speaking unless they needed to.
Seeing a mutual agreement with the Satans, the other Six Houses of Lucifer also bitterly contributed their vaults that would be open for Tsuki to use for the formation; they could only accept this.
Unlike the Descendants, the six other households held no aspirations on becoming the dominator of the plan, this was because they were aware of their strength, too aware. It wasn't that they looked down on the goal, many wanted to accomplish it in their youth, but it was because it was too impossible!
Take control over the world? How many Satan Class beings did they have?
Forget the factions, the other supernatural forces would squash them under their gaze and fingers, be they gods or mythical beings that concealed themselves; each of them possessed the power to suppress the Three Factions, forget just the Devil Faction
Initially, it took the death of the four original and strongest Satans to be able to kill God, it took all of their grand leaders to kill a single being and they even sacrificed themselves for it. What if they went against every other divine being?
They may not match God, but their combined strength was enough to decimate hundreds of versions of the Underworld.
They didn't even need to mention the presence of the The Infinite Dragon God and The True Red Dragon God Emperor; they were dreaming if they ever wanted to match their power, even God himself needed to lower his head in front of them.
Yet although they possessed more than enough power to rule the world, they didn't. To the Devils and even more so to the Descendants, it was baffling, so much power yet none of it was used? They didn't even attempt to possibly decipher their train of thoughts.
Because nobody could possibly understand what they were thinking.
000
Ophis
She could remember the memory as if it had occurred the day before, vividly etched into her mind, and as she closed her eyes she once again dwelled into the past, of what had occurred long before.
In the vast sea of worlds, how many of them were truly desolate and silent? Remaining untouched and still since the birth of the River of Time, a river that corroded and or helped everything it touched?
No place truly held silence, be it the ruffling of the thin blades of grass, the rippling textures of water from the slightest collision, the roaring wind that traversed freely without care, or the the chirps and growls of wild creatures that inhabited a planet; all of these made it impossible for an area to contain true and utter quietness.
And this sole fact annoyed The Infinite Dragon God to no end, it searched, and searched, and searched without rhyme or reason, without a care as it wandered through the universe; all up until it found the Dimension Gap.
When it had found this place, this mystical location, a faint sensation of home and warmth appeared in her indifferent heart.
It was born here.
This was its home.
This was where it was meant to be since the beginning.
It was a sensation that it couldn't comprehend, but after thousands of years of searching, of slaughtering everything that glanced in its way, it had finally found the perfect home devoid of all life and most importantly- sound.
It had laid and lived in its new -old- home for countless years, its gaze on occasion being attracted to worldly affairs as it changed its form from time to time; sometimes it was a hunchbacked old man, or other times it was a small little girl. Eventually she decided to stick with the small form, she felt comfortable in it.
Time flowed like a river as an abrupt change happened, a new dragon had invaded the new dimension and made itself at home in the area; this immediately drew in the rage from the Infinite Dragon God.
Yet despite all its attempts to throw out the Red Dragon, despite all the tactics it used, unleashing her power like never before; it was all for naught as the big red lizard laughed at her attempts, it was humiliating.
Even if she was indifferent to most affairs; she was still a dragon, she still held her pride.
She could do little to nothing to the strongest being in the universe, she might as well have used squeaky toys to attack him. As such, she was forced to endure for many more years, waiting for the moment to attack.
But suddenly, on a simple and ordinary day, everything changed.
On that day, a large beam of silver spanned across the Dimension gap, its power and destruction unrivaled as it tore through time and dimensions with ease; even the small little girl didn't feel confident in being able to handle it.
But what she noticed was the same distinct sensation appeared in her heart, the feeling of home, of tranquility; it was something that was beginning to vanish while she laid in the Dimensional Gap.
So without hesitation, she followed.
Yet due to the power it carried, she could only watch with curiosity and desire from a distance, the low threatening serpent hiss still ringing in her mind. Not only that, the golden power that blocked this also remained in her thoughts.
What were they? What did they represent? Why were they so interested in the silver beam? Why were they fighting? In her perspective, it was as if one had the goal of corroding and destroying the beam while the other protected it.
She had too many questions.
Thankfully, as it tore through the Dimension Gap and into a different realm, she once again followed as her small delicate frame crossed through; this time a shocking sight appeared before her, for the first time, beads of cold sweat rolled down her neck.
She could only blame herself, she trailed them without a care about which realm they traversed through; she deeply regretted it. As far as the eye could see, thousands of miles of pure ice could be seen with the naked eye, icicles and the like being seen in the cavern, the Dragon instantly knew where they were.
Cocytus, the ice prison cavern of all criminals. The Dragon God recognized the place but that wasn't the source of the confusion and fear; the two bright lights that resembled human-like figures were the origin of her herror.
On the left side of Cocytus, was a glowing vibrant golden figure that stood like a pillar of the Heavens, their regal and bright aura inspiring virtue and kindness, it was as if the sun had been brought onto the world; yet deep within this aura was unparalleled strength, a strength that concealed deep history, a bloody and brutal history that would be told till the death of the universe.
On the right side was the direct opposite to the golden human physique figure; shrouded in unfathomable darkness and silver, he stood tall with leaking killing intent that penetrated through the hearts of others and instilled fear into them. Differently from the opposing figure, bloodlust and death rolled off of him in waves, it was as deep as an ocean and just as immeasurable.
Ruthlessness and arrogance flashed through the dark figure's eyes, it was incomparaily cold like the icy oceans of the world, his body spoke of unparalleled strength and might; unhinged by the world and laws that restricted him.
Smugness and craftiness was evident in the golden man's gaze, it resembled that of a king, an emperor, a conqueror; similarly to the other male, he also contained vast strength beyond anyone's comprehension.
The viewing Dragon God paled in horror, the aura that flooded through the air was like a heavy pressure that forced her to stay, her body trembled as it denied her orders to move; to do something!
Yet it refused to follow her orders, so she was forced to stay and watch.
Seeing the power of the two, Ophis little doubt that they didn't notice her presence, they were simply ignoring her, almost as if she was a fly not worthy of their recognition and gaze; even if she had her pride, she felt grateful that they didn't place focus on her as she gazed at the two with intensity.
As she briefly saw the golden male's mouth open, excitement grew before it quickly died down, that of a fire that had a bucket of water dumped on it.
Even as their mouths moved, even as soft verbations could be felt as they spoke, it was as if Ophis was watching a television show without audio; she could only use their body language to try and understand.
That, of course, also bore no fruits.
She was annoyed, she knew they did it on purpose, they knew she followed them yet didn't care and even allowed her to be in the presence of them; although that's all she could do, she wouldn't be allowed to listen in on them.
Fortunately this didn't last long, for in a single flash, the two figures disappeared; apparently reaching a consensus between the two of them, the Dragon God could only sigh, she hasn't been curious and interested in so long and yet she couldn't hear anything, it was disappointing.
Her eyes widened as a monocle with transparent golden aura appeared before her vision and shot off into the monocle, another similar vision appeared in her eyes, in the ruined battlefield that was riddled with corpses was a singular black dot.
Scattered around the field were broken weapons, dead bodies, and thick Holy and Demonic magic that still remained in the air suddenly began to tremble; in fact, the sky itself showed signs of being affected by a mysterious force.
All of a sudden, without warning or sound, the black dot expanded as a mighty force of air sucked in and dragged all remains of the Great War, absorbing them with much greed as it expanded.
Soon enough, this black dot began to take shape, it began to grow wider, taller, and possess a more frightening aura as time slowly passed.
Eventually, none of the evidence of the Great War remained, not a single speck of Demonic and or Holy Magic was left; even the special clouds that covered the sky were disturbed and mostly taken in by the dot.
With all of these objects and energy that was taken in, the singular point began to expand and widen to a large degree; it eventually resembled a pure black gate that laid on the ground, it was extremely odd as it faced the ground.
In a flash, these two visions vanished from her view, she remained expressionless as she reviewed these memories but inwardly deep shock and fear shook her soul.
Why did they share this with her?
What are they planning?
Are they really enemies or allies? No, that isn't possible…
Who are they? Why were they so powerful?
Questions unceasingly appeared in his mind in rapid succession, she simply had too many now, yet she knew the answers she seeked were in these two visions; whether it was the golden hued monocle or the dark ruin gate, both were extremely important it seems.
With a determined expression, she vanished as she spent the rest of months exploring as she concealed her presence, it eventually led up to where she was right now.
Standing unhindered and unbothered in front of the gate, she tried her best to open it, using her full power that shook the Underworld or pure physical strength; none of her methods worked on it, landing on it and dissipating at a fast rate, she was disheartened.
As such, she now remained still and unmoving, concealed from all others as she waited for the door to open; she long since lost track of the golden monocle and could do nothing about it, as such, to reclaim her silence she placed her hopes on the second choice, the Black Gate.
Anything to regain her silence.
000
Tsuki
Slipping through alleyways and vanishing with the use of the Magic Circle, Tsuki took precaution in case he was followed; he would rather not have Ajax's location exposed to the Descendants or the rest of the lords of each household.
Indeed, his goal now was to not only obtain his part of wealth from Ajax, but he also desired to lose track of the single figure that followed him; Tsuki found it rather annoying before the System came up with an interesting proposition.
Hmm, we could always just extract the information from his mind, using Soul Devourer. The most likely culprit is one of the Descendants, by using this little stalker you could send a 'kind' message to them.
'Wow, look at you, your intelligence is actually rising'
Tsuki sarcastically praised in his mind as the System proceeded to vent at him, whining and crying, it was an amusing sight for Tsuk.
Why do you say that as if you thought I was stupid?! I'm the personal creation of The Creator, of course I'm smart!
'Right'
Sensing Tsuki's nonchalant and insincere comment, the System would've pouted if she had a physical body and then proceeded to slap the male multiple times before of course doing unnamed acts to his body.
'If you're going to have perverted thoughts about my body and how you're going to pleasure me, can you at least not do it in my mind?'
Tsuki shook his head, all of the System's thoughts and emotions were easily seen through by him, it of course helped that with every image she conjured up, a little text box with said image would appear before him.
At his words, the System went silent in embarrassment before disappearing.
Tsuki's eyes glimmered, the System was able to separate herself from Tsuki due to the connection he had with the familiars, as such one could say she was merely running away from her host; he found it quite hilarious.
But naturally, he was highly interested in the fact the System could switch hosts, even if it was at an extremely superficial level; Tsuki could even recall her whenever he so desired with a command of his voice. He knew that while finding the answer to his curiosity would bear no fruits, nor would it give him any benefits, it was something he was a bit interested in.
Of course, while he would love to ponder more about this phenomenon, he had another matter to attend to.
With a single step, he jumped from building to building, a shadowy figure trailing behind him; and with another step, he vanished entirely, almost as if he was never there.
Immediately, the sense of danger overwhelmed the agent that was following the Satanachia heir, just as Tsuki disappeared he also formed right behind the fully black clothed pursuer. With a mocking tone, the feminine male spoke.
"Looking for someone?"
[1,234,291 DMG Dealt!]
[4,000 DMG Dealt!]
Before the Devil could respond, blood already spewed from his chest, his legs twisted at an odd angle, several saber wounds appeared all over his body before he could even utter a single syllable.
As said stalker collapsed, Tsuki loomed over him with a look of callousness. It was better if he dealt with the threat with a sneak attack, while nobody else was following him -his map made him aware of that- he couldn't and wasn't absolute sure that the enemy wouldn't send more
Quickly taking action, Tsuki used Observe.
Yet, just as he attempted to do so, the body before him started to crumble. Breaking apart faster than Tsuki could react, the corpse that dyed the floor red vanished into crumbs of dust that was carried by the wind.
Tsuki's expression darkened.
They sent a suicidal probe, they most likely knew the stalker would be found and then killed by him so they implanted a method that would completely destroy all traces of the pursuer; even its soul was annihilated.
It was ruthless and cold, this only made Tsuki more assured that it was the three descendants; with a curl of his lips, Tsuki grabbed the remains of the corpse, and threw the dust into his inventory to investigate later.
Such a profound method obviously interested Tsuki.
'The Three Children of the Original Satans.'
Tsuki's evaluation of them was raised by another level, only now did he recognize that he shouldn't underestimate them, or more precisely, he shouldn't underestimate the techniques and methods left behind by the Four Original Satans.
'Interesting.'
Tsuki had this thought as he vanished in a blur of speed, his previous act of going from building to building was merely to lure the pursuer into a desolate area; now that he was gone, Tsuki could finally head to the old man.
It only took him a dozen minutes.
Due to the fact he couldn't brazenly use his speed due to the destruction he would cause, and because using a Magic Circle would leave traces of Demonic Energy that could be traced, Tsuki's speed was greatly affected and only barely reached the alley he had met Ajax long ago.
A faint smile hung on his lips, after having meetings and negotiating along with training with Ajax, he felt a sense of comfort in the little broken down store; it was a sensation only this place gave him.
After opening the door, he wasn't surprised to see the crippled old man sitting down as he drank tea, turning his gaze, he snorted as he spoke.
"What are you waiting for you little brat? Come in, don't want the royal snobs to come" Ajax snorted as Tsuki complied with a rueful chuckle, opening the door behind him, he sat in an opposing seat from Ajax, who used his sole hand to drink the green tea.
Watching him, Tsuki reciprocated the actions as he used Observe.
Ajax Ontario
Level - 130
Class - Runes Great Grandmaster
Race - Devil
Alignment - Self, Satanachia Clan
HP - 150,000 (5)
MP - 288,000 (4)
STR - 800 (4x) = 3,200 [Suppressed]
END - 700 (4x) = 2,800 [Suppressed]
DEX - 750 (4x) = 3,000 [Suppressed]
INT - 900 (4x) = 3,600 [Suppressed]
WIS - 900 (4x) = 3,600 [Suppressed]
CHA- 1,000 (4x) = 4,000 [Suppressed]
LCK - 400 (4x) = 1,600 [Suppressed]
Thoughts/Emotions about you: Hope, wants you to become the first Runes Superior Master Master in history.
Goal: Have Tsuki become his inheritor before he dies.
Reputation: 91/100
Secret: Has made a formation comprised out of runes, it's his greatest creation
When Tsuki was finally able to see Ajax's stats and private information, it was safe to say that the Satanachia heir was deeply shocked, never would've he expected that Ajax was such a formidable person!
Not only did he possess stats that were in every way similar to Beelzebub, they were suppressed; what did this entail? That he was far stronger than what he was currently showing and even with Tsuki's Observe he couldn't see past the suppression.
Furthermore, he was actually a Runes Great Grandmaster, what did this specifically mean in the supernatural world? It was a person who not only had heaven rivaling talent but deep attainment and determination for Runes; it was what they lived for.
If Ajax's secret were to be exposed to the world, the other two factions wouldn't hesitate to obtain him despite the immense consequences; wars would be waged to gain the favor of Ajax, to be his ally.
Even more so due to the fact he actually made a formation out of runes, imitating Formation Masters to an absurd degree. It showed that while he may not possess talent and skill in Formations, his overwhelming aptitude was enough to even on par with Tsuki in formations.
Tsuki himself was able to do this, but it expended far too many resources and energy, it wasn't worth it.
But as a true Runes Great Grandmaster, there must be a reason why Ajax held the Formation of runes in such high regard; Tsuki was very interested in this. Sighing to himself, he also took light sips of the refreshing tea.
Giving a breath of relief, Tsuki opened his eyes as he looked at Ajax.
With just this simple look, the Runes Great Grandmaster understood what Tsuki wanted, digging into his own pockets with his sole arm he brought out an onyx spacial ring and tossed it to the feminine male who caught it easily.
"I'm sure you didn't visit this old man just to drink tea, you have two important tasks to do after all"
The old man said casually as he continued to drink his tea in peace with his eyes closed. At the male's words, Tsuki nodded as he explained the situation.
Ajax gave a hearty laugh.
"To think, you would actually be cornered, this is indeed an extremely rare sight"
He humored as Tsuki sighed, he could only make so many preparations, and he wasn't some omniscient being who could grasp the emotions and thoughts of others; there was simply no way he could've been prepared for every situation.
While he didn't handle it with his usual perfection, he did his best to minimize the damage and even counter Beelzebub down the line; that of course was something that couldn't be used at the moment, it required specific timing.
"It's nothing of importance, I can handle him. And while I do enjoy your company, I'm here for a matter that regards a specific place. I'm sure you've heard of Cocytus?"
Ajax's expression immediately changed, he held back his comment as he continued to look at Tsuki, said male continued to speak.
"I was personally tasked this assignment by the daughter of Lord Lucifuge, naturally I'm not going alone to Cocytus, but the task is to quel and dispel all hell fire that appeared around this place before any prisoners escaped or even worse, Cocytus as a whole collapses"
Tsuki said with seriousness as Ajax grimaced, this was indeed a troubling matter, one that affected the whole Underworld. There would be repercussions if Tsuki casually rejected this, it wouldn't be as severe though.
He was already constructing a formation to protect the White Dragon Emperor, he would be extremely busy, asking him to take up the mission in Cocytus would instead incite anger from his fanclubs and fangirls.
Of course, if he didn't go, panic and fear would bubble up inside the masses, the eruption would be sure to be glorious and destructive. Considering his words carefully, Ajax opened his mouth.
"There would be no point for you to ask me this if you didn't already plan to go" Seeing Tsuki's slightly bashful expression, he sighed as he continued to speak "Cocytus is a dangerous place, under absolutely no circumstances must you enter… under normal situations"
"As you may know, Cocytus is like a frozen cavern that holds an equally cold and still lake. The first thing you must know are Zero Spots, they're areas in Cocytus which are fragile and will break under the slightest use of magic, this is why it's so dangerous, using magic on large scales will cause you to fall into Cocytus"
"When that happens, your imprisonment is all but assured, unless of course a special method to retrieve your body is used along with hellfire"
"Furthermore, the icy terrain will freeze your wings so it's best not to use them unless necessary."
Tsuki sat there for less than an hour as the old man continued to explain Cocytus in further detail to him, his eyes glimmered as he continued to listen; his interest in this location continued to increase and he even felt anticipation.
Not too long after, Tsuki left the store with Spacial Ring in hand as he headed towards the guild at shocking speed; he obtained all the secrets to Cocytus along with plausible rumors, all he needed to do now was accept the task.
Whether it was an instinct or feeling, Tsuki knew this mission would bring a calamity or a fortuitous encounter.
000
Azazel
Ever since the Battle of England, Azazel had faced constant trouble and criticism, matters weren't easy for the fallen angel; warmongering Fallen Angels had long since tried to erupt and wage another war, they couldn't let chance go and as such chose to strike.
Sitting in his throne, Azazel held a dark expression as he read through the reports.
It was a single report that he had constantly read, from day to day.
'In the Battle of England, the heir to the Satanachia household could be said to have been the catalyst- the spark that triggered the incident.
We sustained heavy losses in our attempt to repel his group's attack. A group that now includes the heirs of the Devil houses Sitri, Astaroth, Gremory. Total casualties for this single battle amounted to over seven hundred of our Fallen brothers. More than half of these were our elite warriors.
Eventually, Michael himself joined the fray and engaged our forces. Coincidentally, Tsuki explicitly aided Michael during this period of time. Doku Satanachia arrived as well to engage Michael and resolved the conflict with a draw between the Heaven and Devil factions while we suffered an immense loss.
We have unsubstantiated reports that the Boosted Gear use was killed off due to the lack of information from the Devil Faction. But what is confirmed is that they currently hold the White Dragon Emperor.'
Every time he had read the summarized report, he would always have the intense urge to vent himself with the women that occupied his bed, said women usually switching from time to time; at this point, the report was a great aphrodisiac for rough sex.
He sighed as he rubbed his temples, he regretted his past actions in only sending a few Fallen Angels to keep watch on Tsuki Satanachia; not only were said Fallen Angels gone -most likely captured or killed by Tsuki-, he could only watch as said male continued to grow.
It was... frustrating.
With the group of war-hungry Fallen angels breathing down his neck, the lack of manpower to complete even basic tasks, and Satanachia heir's growth which coincidentally only added fuel to the fire that was his faction's seething desire for all out war. Azazel was sure to experience a massive headache if he didn't act soon to suppress the young heir's growth.
He was evidently deeply troubled by this, most of his available forces were concerned over the Black Ruin Gate and were used to try and inspect it, and as such couldn't be used against Tsuki Satanachia.
Even if he could use them, what use did they truly have? Against Tsuki? It was laughable.
But fortunately for him, whether it was because God was dead, women screamed in bliss under his 'might', or because he was just that attractive, Lady Fortune smiled upon him as he received rather interesting news from a few agents placed inside the guild.
"Oh? He's going to Cocytus to settle the matter of the mysterious hellfire? Interesting… since I'm also a part of the Underworld, it's only right if I decide to help, right? Heh"
Azazel chuckingly said to himself as he leaned back in his chair.
Naturally, there was a reason why Azazel was targeting Tsuki, this was concerning reputation. With his prestige, he could suppress rumors and gossip, with his might he was able to forcefully make others back down and discard the thought of erupting a new Great War.
He was known as the Fallen Angels' greatest strategist for a reason.
If he could capture Tsuki and ransom him off, not only would his reputation rise, he would even be able to gain slight favor from the Devils. Kill him off you say? Azazel wasn't stupid, while it would raise his prestige to unknown levels, killing Tsuki would only bring down the whole might of the Devil Faction!
If Azazel knew that even Michael himself would take action, who knows what wonderful expression he would make.
Of course, merely kidnapping Tsuki was something that wouldn't benefit him at all, the cons heavily outweigh the pros if that was his sole focus. His true goal was to obtain the answer to Dream Magic! If he could grasp the Power of Dream, he wouldn't even fear another Great War, or at the very least, he desired to create artifacts that incorporated traces of Dream Magic.
As such, Azazel began to meticulously plan the up and coming mission Tsuki would partake in and used most of his resources -or at least the ones he could use- for the important task. One could say Azazel was using his fullest to try and regain grasp over Grigori.
It was only until he had triple checked everything, talked with the members that would be trying to capture Tsuki, placed traps and schemes for the warmongers to fret about, did he finally nod in satisfaction as he watched them leave.
He stood in his room as he pondered, a mischievous smirk taking place on his face. Even if the situation wasn't ideal, he felt a faint sensation of excitement and anticipation towards the outcome of this task.
He wondered, how truly strong was Tsuki?
'Even with your strength and might, would you be able to handle our trump card?'
000
Lord Gremory
Ever since the three children of the original Satans along with the Lucifer Six took action, the Rebels were slowly being suppressed, their resources were dwindling, their wealth was slowly being expended, even some of their soldiers defected.
It was a hefty blow to the Rebellion's morale.
Their only source of hope was that mysterious figure who still sold them potions despite the influence of the government; one could say it was one of the few reasons why they could still preserve their forces.
The main reason why they were slowly crumbling was due to a rumor. A single rumor that caused an outrage, a sole rumor that caused them to cry in rage.
The Rebels had attacked the Grand Lucifaad Manor!
This was something that was not denied by the government, as such, the masses came to the consensus that the rebels did indeed attack and try to infiltrate, only for them to meet their gracious lords who had intervened!
This news brought great horror to Zeoticus and the rest of the houses in the rebellion, the rebel forces completely denied it and rebuked; but their voices were simply too small and weak compared to the Descendants.
Fortunately, due to rising trouble they had already had their children be forced to stay in their manors, who knew what actions these riled up Devils would take if they found them?
Their only comfort when they went to tell Tsuki was the fact that Tsuki was neutral in the situation, this was something they have confirmed after many months, and it was something they sighed in relief about.
Having someone as influential and strong as Tsuki be your enemy wasn't wise.
As such, due to some ideologies of his aligning with the Rebels, they had a rather warm and kind impression of him. And from what Serafall -stutteringly and embarrassingly- reported, there was a chance that the Satanachia heir could be tied with them through marriage with Serafall.
The System would surely find it amusing if they knew that Tsuki was the sole reason why all blame was pushed to the Rebels.
Truthfully, through the use of schemes, Tsuki was able to instill and manipulate the thoughts of the Descendants to a certain degree. It wasn't something he would do often due to the fact it was extremely meager, but these thoughts concerned something of high importance so their impact rose a tiny bit.
At the time, Tsuki felt bitter, to use the move Instill Thought the way he desired, he would need to be at least a hundred or so times stronger than them; one could say that this skill was the first failure of many for Tsuki, it was barely usable with his current attainment for Dream Magic.
Yet, it displayed some worth as the Descendants decided to push the blame onto the rebels; this meant they couldn't use this against Tsuki if the formation failed, at the very least they wouldn't be able to do it so casually.
Zeoticis deeply sighed as he sank into his chair, at this point of time he resembled Azazel, they were even dealing with the same foe; of course one was aware of this while the other was still kept in the dark.
Lord Gremory narrowed his eyes as he entered deep thought, to raise morale and to get out of the situation, wouldn't it be best if they showed their kindness and sincerity? Pursuing and having the common masses on their side would be for the best, it would greatly raise the chances of their goal succeeding.
'But how do we do this?'
Zeoticus once again developed a headache, they weren't Satanachias, they didn't possess the power to go into the dream of others; if they could, then the Rebels would be on more than equal ground with the government.
As such, he could only use a tactic that suited him the most.
As such, in a few hours after Tsuki left, a message was spread throughout Lucifaad and the rest of the cities.
To show their sincerity and innocence, they -the rebels- proclaimed that they would open their treasury and allow the esteemed Tsuki Satanachia to also use their resources to construct a formation!
000
Tsuki
While Zeoticus and the rest of the houses gave resources to the Rebels and used said resources as a contribution for the Formation, Tsuki was unaware of none of it and was currently soaring through the air, undisturbed by the raging wind that dragged his hair.
If he did know, he would show a rare look of minor shock, even with his vast experience and wealth of knowledge, he wouldn't have expected his actions to actually cause such a thing to happen.
He was strong, but he wasn't omniscient.
Before, he wouldn't have paid much attention to the rebels even if they did such surprising things, but after hours of pondering, he formed a scheme. He not only needed the rebels, but he needed the entirety of the Supernatural World.
Yet, he still showed hesitation on whether or not he had the power to accomplish, this was the most detrimental factor that caused him to halt his plans and take no actions with the rest of the factions.
Tsuki frowned, his wandering mind did its best to deduce the probability of his plan succeeding with his current strength and connections. He used Thought Processing to the fullest to try and achieve an answer.
0.1%
This was the number that appeared in his mind, it was low, far too low. His frown darkened and deepened by another layer, this was the answer he had always gotten. This was because he knew it was right, the current him with such shallow aptitude could never achieve his goal, it was like touching up to the sky by taking a step forward.
It defied common sense.
Sighing in his mind, Tsuki's speed exploded as he traversed through the Underworld, his gaze reflecting the wildlife that was down below, his view began to change at a rapid pace, be it the emerald river of the underworld or the cavern of dragons; he passed through them all with little difficulty.
The reason for his pace was due to the consideration of the hell flames that had spawned near Cocytus, fortunately for him they weren't famous for their speed and relatively took a whole day to cover a mile of land.
But if he relaxed, who knew what sort of effects the hellfire could have on Cocytus, worst case scenario was that all prisoners would be released due to the destruction of Cocytus; best case was that he successfully finds the origin of the fire and dispel it completely, meaning he wouldn't have to come back ever again.
This was wishful thinking though.
Doku himself had long since taken action and spent an entire month in Cocytus to get rid of these flames -this was of course before Tsuki's birth- and yet after so long, he hadn't been able to obtain a single clue, he could only leave dejectedly.
Tsuki's current methods and strength couldn't be compared to his father, he had no confidence in doing the task he failed to do, even with his Gamer System. Either way, it wasn't even a concern of his to begin with, his greatest worry is that Samael would escape.
In his plans, this Dragon Slayer was a vital tool -it was the whole reason the male accepted the task- but if he were to escape, he feared that outside forces would get involved if it came to that point.
Stopping in the air, Tsuki sensed something wrong as he remained vigilant.
A chilly air soon encompassed the terrain as Tsuki's eyes brightened, he was given info by both the guild and Ajax, he was naturally aware of what was happening. Due to the mysterious Cocytus and its effects, at certain times, it would burst out with absolute coldness.
It would freeze the terrain and slaughter any creature non resistance to the freezing temperature, of course this had its own benefit; the area near Cocytus was perfectly suited to raise creatures with an affinity for ice along with certain plants, even Ice Magic users would fly here to hone their skills.
But it was due to this coldness that the Devil and Fallen Angel Faction paid a massive price to resist these effects, using artifacts to do so. Of course, once a Devil or any Supernatural being reached the Ultimate Class, their bodies were simply unaffected by the coldness of Cocytus; only the water of the icy cavern could affect them.
Tsuki marveled as visible frosty air swayed its way towards his body, he felt a deep sense of comfort as it softly passed through his body, he felt that as long as he stayed here his Ice Magic attunement would rise at a shocking rate; he sighed, it was unfortunate that he was only at a Novice in that aspect. He had familiars adept at Ice Magic, but now wasn't the time to use Soul Devourer on them.
This was of course due to the fact that he needed to run continuous tests on it, if there was a backlash then he could be fatally wounded and even die because of his carelessness; if that were to happen, the Descendants would laugh in their sleep.
If you died like that, I will personally hold you in imprisonment just so I can laugh at you.
Shaking his head in amusement, Tsuki resumed traveling, he often mumbled under his breath; reciting every piece of information regarding Cocytus, it would be great if there was a hint on where Samael was.
Soon enough, all bits of information was absorbed by Tsuki, it came at an impeccable timing as well; his gaze landed at a certain mountain, this mountain stood tall and proud as it pierced through the peak, one would feel awe when looking at it.
It seemed like an average mountain, but Tsuki knew the truth. It was a devil made construct to prevent anyone from ever finding the exact location of Cocytus, even if they found it, the arrangements of the Four Original Satans would activate; not only would the intruders be restrained, the Six Houses of Lucifer would be sent a signal.
It was basically certain death if one wanted to invade Cocytus.
"Oh? It seems like the rest of the group have arrived before me… they even met them."
Tsuki outwardly said to himself, his figure hovering near the altitude of the mountain as he watched the spectacle from below.
Standing tall, his brother glared fiercely at the male in front of him, or to be more precise, the Fallen Angel. There was clear friction between the two teams, one held Neru and his Adventurer group while the other held Fallen Angels selected by Azazel himself.
A bit after the Devil group waited for Neru's brother to arrive, a team of four Fallen Angels arrived at the scene; usually, the two groups would be hostile due to their difference in race. But after the Battle of England, it turned into something far more, pure and utter hatred.
Perhaps if Tsuki arrived earlier, they would've been either able to suppress the enemy or not even meet them in the first place.
When Tsuki accepted the task, he was informed that he was the last person to do so, the rest of the members who would be participating had already set out long ago; as such he was the last person to arrive.
He was naturally informed of who was in this group.
I still don't get it, why the hell did your brother take up this task?
The System in his mind couldn't help but question with suspicion.
It was indeed like this, nobody else wanted to accept such a dangerou mission and as such was left unattended before Neru's group took it upon themselves to complete it; leaving a message to Tsuki, they stated that they would meet him there
Of course, they only knew Tsuki would be grabbing the quest due to the rumors spread from the Descendants and Six Houses of Lucifer, they had hoped the male's reputation would cause Adventurers to accept the task.
But the others simply couldn't, to purchase the artifacts needed to resist the effects of Cocytus, large amounts of gold was needed; even if one had sufficient funds, they might not be able to buy the necessary equipment.
After all, how many people really wanted to explore Cocytus? Due to this, finding the artifacts for Cocytus was rather difficult and was treated as a collector's item, only those at the Ultimate Class held interest in this icy terrain.
'There is a possibility he merely wants to gain even more fame or wants to gain another shot at the heir position, both is plausible '
Tsuki held this thought as he pondered, with a light shine, his eyes flashed as he activated Observe.
Neru Satanachia
Level - 90
Class - Combat Mage
Race - Devil
Alignment - Self, Satanachia Clan
HP - 48,600 (3)
MP - 84,000 (3)
STR - 430 (4x) = 1,720
END - 405 (4x) = 1,620
DEX - 400 (4x) = 1,600
INT - 350 (4x) = 1,400
WIS - 350 (4x) = 1,400
CHA- 300 (4x) = 1,200
LCK - 100 (4x) = 400
Thoughts/Emotions about you: Jealousy, is envious of the fact you have Power of Dream, Hatred, hates the fact Doku gazes over him in favor of you
Goal: Become the lord of the Satanachia house
Reputation: -60/100
Secret: Wants to kill Tsuki Satanachia for the throne of their household
'It seems like nothing has changed about him, only some minor increase in his stats; but his stat sheet still doesn't tell me why there's Fallen Angels here'
Tsuki frowned as he went into deep thought, was it because they also wanted to help out? It wasn't entirely impossible in the past, but now it certainly was so Tsuki tossed this idea out. Was it merely because they wanted to investigate the problems near Cocytus?
The heir could only guess.
Never would he have expected that their intentions were to actually capture him, his prestige and fame nearly guaranteed that every Supernatural being in the Underworldfeared him. As such, he wasn't aware of this.
But he was cautious, even if the other side seemed to be weak, he was still vigilant; he used Observe on the man who seemed to be the leader of the Fallen Angels.
Armaros
Level - 135
Class - Anti-Knight
Race - Fallen Angel (10 Wing, Cadre)
Alignment - Grigori, Azazel
HP - 202,000 (5)
MP - 0 (5)
STR - 1,500 (4x) = 6,000
END - 1,400 (4x) = 5,600
DEX - 1,500 (4x) = 6,000
INT - 500 (4x) = 2,000
WIS - 400 (4x) = 1,600
CHA- 300 (4x) = 1,200
LCK - 500 (4x) = 2,000
Thoughts/Emotions about you: Curiosity, wonders how powerful you are, Expectance, wants to fight you
Goal: Research his anti-magic even further
Affection: 0 /100
Secret: Has been tasked to capture Tsuki Satanachia
Almost immediately, Tsuki's body shook as his thoughts were thrown to disarray. The Fallen Angel actually possessed a method to use Anti-Magic? Not only was this an extremely attractive prospect to Tsuki, he grew extremely curious about Armaros' stats.
Why didn't -despite his high Intelligence and Wisdom- he possess a drop of mana, or in this case Holy Energy? To say the least, the figure known as Armaros' gained Tsuki's attention with just these few things.
His little 'secret' also drew his consideration, why did they want to capture him? Did it regard the Battle of England? If so, why would kidnapping him have any use? He innately grew wary of this man.
But within this caution, an intense wave of desire overwhelmed Tsuki. Since the start of his new life, he's been searching for ways to use Anti-Magic, be it through artifacts -like the sword he obtained from defeating Sirzechs- or the Four Schools, he's tried it all.
Yet, despite his determination and will, no progress has been shown in his Anti-Magic Attainment, it was truly frustrating. He had little to no doubt that Heaven and the Descendants must possess a few methods regarding this, but Anti-Magic was one of his biggest secrets that he wouldn't reveal unless necessary.
So when Tsuki found another user of the same magic, a person who might know the secret to using one of Tsuki's strongest potential trump cards, it was suffice to say that the matter concerning Samael was thrown to the back of his mind.
Tsuki coldly smiled, if they wanted to capture him with such a small group then they could try, but as for what comes after? One way or another, Tsuki would be learning the secrets of Anti-Magic, even if he had to use himself as the bait.
"Wouldn't it be rude if I didn't show myself to pay my respects?"
000 000 000
AN
During this chapter, I mostly focused on the Faction Leaders, or more like the characters and sides that will get further and increasingly involved; like Grigori and the Rebels (Yes, I do have a plan for them)
So because of this, a lot of changes in perspectives were made for build up. If you didn't like it, then you would be happy to know that the next chapter won't contain as much. Or at least that's what I'm hoping, even though I didn't particularly like switching so much in a single chapter.
As for the sudden Ophis' perspective, heh, well you'll just have to continue on to see why it was added.