In this chapter, Yuzuru will search for Ichiro and Tao.
Will he find them?
Surely there has to be a way.
The desert is kind of a wide expanse.
I'm sure Yuzuru won't call off the search easily, however.
I like to think of him as a loyal friend.
Chapter 3: A Demonic Friend
As Yuzuru went through Inaba, he made a surprising discovery.
It was a Jack Frost.
Though considering what the mascot of Atlus was, maybe it wasn't too surprising. He was in a Shin Megami Tensei fanfic, after all.
Still, according to the prime minister, demons should be in the Netherworld and not in Inaba.
"A demon? Bethel is going to want to know about this one." remarked the boy with glasses.
"What's Bethel-ho?" asked the Jack Frost.
He hadn't heard of it.
Of course, he had just got here, so he wasn't familiar with the term.
"They're in charge of making sure demons don't overrun Tokyo." explained Yuzuru. He was grateful that there was some people who were making Inaba peaceful.
Bethel wasn't limited to Tokyo, however. They were protecting a bunch of other places, really. Luckily, demons did not attack often. However, there had been an influx in demon activity around Tokyo lately.
Was there a cause? If so, he wanted to figure it out.
"I'm not hee-going to cause trouble-ho, I swear!" exclaimed Jack. He just wanted to look around. He didn't plan on hurting anybody.
"You're not? Well, I suppose I shouldn't judge people before getting to know them." answered the agent of Bethel.
People might be worried if they saw a living snowman, however.
Jack Frost smiled.
"But may I still ask you where I can find my friends?" asked Yuzuru.
He needed to find them for the sake of their friends and family.
"They might have ended up in the Netherworld-ho." explained Jack. That was his guess.
"The Netherworld? That's not good." remarked the guy with the glasses. According to the Bethel president, that was where the demons were coming from.
"They're hee-probably in danger, ho!" exclaimed the frosty demon.
"I know. That's why I need to rescue them." answered Yuzuru.
Jack Frost wondered how he was going to do that.
Fortunately, the Bethel agent remembered there was in a way into the Netherworld.
Perhaps he could use that to rescue his friends.
However, it would be best if he didn't go there unarmed.
After all, there were demons that feasted on humans.
If he didn't tread carefully, he would end up being dinner.
Luckily, he had access to the demon summoning program.
There was strength in numbers, after all.
Fortunately, there was an armory so that Bethel agents can choose their weapons.
The only question was which one he should choose.
There were a lot of possibilities.
"Hmm…" thought Yuzuru. Which would work best for him?
He eventually decided on a mace.
"There we go." said the student with the glasses.
Now that he had a mace, it was time to save his friends.
Hopefully they would stay out of trouble long enough.
As he prepared to enter the demon world, Koshimizu (his employer) approached him.
"Are you headed into Da'at? You should know it's dangerous in there." warned Hayao.
He was the prime minister of Japan, though people did not know much about him.
He was a mysterious individual.
But nevertheless, Yuzuru imagined he had good intentions. He was fighting against the demons that were causing trouble throughout the world, after all.
"I know. But I need to rescue my friends." explained the smart boy. He wouldn't be able to call himself a friend if he did nothing to try to save them.
"Your friends have ended up in the Netherworld, you say?" asked the man in the black suit. Perhaps the demons had found a way to take humans to their realm. That was not a happy thought.
Though perhaps the Jack Frost had sent someone to Da'at by accident. It seemed possible given his innocent nature.
The boy with glasses nodded.
"Well, I suppose I won't be able to stop you then. But shouldn't you tell your sister where you're going?" asked Koshimizu.
It would be best if he didn't make his sister worry herself sick. She already had a flawed immune system as it was.
"That's probably a good idea." nodded Yuzuru.
Miyaru would flip if anything happened to him.
So that was probably for the best.
So he decided to contact his sister.
"Hey Yuzuru, how are you doing?" asked Miyazu.
"I'm going to try to rescue Ichiro and Tao. They're all the way in another world. and it's decidedly more dangerous than our own." explained Yuzuru.
"Be careful out there." warned Yuzuru's sister.
"Trust me, I do not intend on leaving you without a brother." answered the boy with the glasses.
"You are so awesome!" exclaimed Miyazu. She was glad that she wasn't an only child, that was for sure.
She considered becoming a Bethel agent herself, but she had an underdeveloped immune system.
That presented a problem.
She was still able to go to school, however.
Using the special Bethel device, he was able to transport himself to the Netherworld.
"It looks like I'm here." noted Yuzuru.
Shortly afterwards, he noticed a demon being attacked by angels.
"I should probably leave those angels to do their job." remarked the boy.
After all, Abdiel had chosen to ally herself with Bethel.
She was the acting leader of the angels in YHVH's absence.
Though it was on the fence as to whether she would be able to take the throne back from Lucifer.
He was pretty dang strong now.
Although, he didn't seem interested in tampering with the barrier that was separating Tokyo from the Netherworld.
Was he planning to let the humans live in peace? It was a happy thought.
But even so, demons were leaking into Tokyo.
So he shouldn't take peace for granted.
He was just about to leave the angels to deal with the demon…
…when suddenly the demon asked for help.
"Can you help me?" asked the demon.
This one resembled a wolf.
"Help you? That's a new one." noted Yuzuru.
Usually he helped Bethel find the demons and stop them before they hurt anyone else. This was a very interesting demon.
"These angels won't leave me be...I was just looking for something to eat...' explained the wolf demon.
"Did it involve humans?" asked Yuzuru.
"No, it did not." answered the wolf. Humans were scarce in the Netherworld, anyway. It was mostly angels and demons.
"Are you sure you should be attacking him? He doesn't seem aggressive." pointed out the boy with the glasses.
"He is a demon! Demons are always evil!" exclaimed one of the angels.
"Are you sure you're not the evil ones?" asked Yuzuru. To his knowledge, the wolf demon didn't do anything to them.
"If you're not with us, then you're against us!" shouted another angel.
"I guess I'm going to have to fight you three then." noted the boy.
Fortunately, the wolf demon was willing to help.
Yuzuru whacked an angel with a mace.
In retaliation, he shot a beam of light at him.
But he avoided it.
"I didn't think I would be fighting angels." noted Yuzuru.
"Trust me, they are not as heroic as humans make them out to be." explained the wolf demon.
He sank his teeth into an angel, causing him to burst into magatsuhi.
Fortunately, this helped him with his hunger.
"I'm starting to think some of them might be oppressive." noted Yuzuru.
The wolf demon noted that he had met a variety of different demons, so perhaps the angel's personality depended on the individual.
He was pretty sure these angels were bad, however.
They had decided to attack him unprovoked.
Yuzuru whacked another one, which allowed the wolf demon to feed on his Magatsuhi as well. Consuming Magatsuhi made a demon stronger, though the wolf wasn't really interested in power. All he wanted was to survive out in the Netherworld, which was unfortunately made much more complicated by the demons.
"I appreciate your help, human." thanked the large demon.
"Do you have a name?" asked the boy.
"You can call me Hayatoro." explained the wolf.
"That works for me. You can call me Yuzuru." greeted Yuzuru.
The angel demon launched a beam of light at the boy, but the wolf tackled him out of the way.
"I appreciate your help as well." remarked the boy.
"Well, you are helping me." noted Hayatoro.
"Seems fair." nodded Yuzuru.
He whacked the last angel, and then they were done.
"Do you need a partner? It's risky for you to be alone." remarked the wolf demon.
He might get along with the demons that roamed the Netherworld, but chances are the angels roaming around would be a different story. Perhaps he would agree with him that they were tyrannical.
"I guess I can't go wrong with a big, large demon at my side. I personally find it pleasing that not all demons are a threat to humans." noted Yuzuru.
"Trust me, not all of us are monsters." explained Hayatoro.
"I'll take your word for it." nodded the boy with glasses.
His friend Ichiro would be pleased to hear the news.
He had been afraid of demons for some time.
It was best to approach a demon with caution, however.
They could indeed be dangerous.
Since Hayatoro was a wolf, perhaps he would be handy for tracking down his friends. Something told Yuzuru he had a good sense of smell.
However, they could be anywhere in the desert of Minato.
It looked like he had his work cut out looking for them.
But he wasn't going to give up on them.
That was not what he did, give up on people.
Meanwhile...
"So, you've made friends with an angel?" asked Tao.
"Yeah...she says she's felt slightly different since meeting me." noted Ichiro.
"It appears she's gained a sense of individuality." remarked Aogami.
"I really like it." nodded Holly.
"I found a Sandman in the desert. Why doesn't that surprise me?" questioned the girl.
"This is the perfect place to find sand, isn't it?" asked Ichiro.
"I'll say!" nodded the sandman.
"Are you sure you wish to hang out with demons?" questioned Holly.
"Well, I will admit that they are rather scary." noted the blonde boy.
"I on the other hand am afraid of angels because they are oppressive." explained the Sandman.
"My superiors told me that demons would make the world burn if we allowed them to." noted Holly.
"Why would I do that?" asked the demon.
The angel sighed in relief.
"I guess you're alright. I'm not going to fight you." answered the angel.
"I'm happy to hear that, actually." nodded the sandman.
"Knowing you, you're probably better off trying to recruit demons that match your moral alignment." noted Tao.
She imagined it would be easier to negotiate with them that way.
There was an Onomoraki nearby.
"Would you be interested in joining my cause? I figured it would be preferable to you breathing fire on me." questioned Ichiro.
"Considering you clearly respect the law, I'm not really interested in fighting you, anyway." explained Onomoraki.
Something told him that he was firmly on the side of law and not on chaos.
"I'd say this is a lawful demon, alright." nodded Holly.
These demons typically got along with the angels, despite not technically being angels themselves.
Ichiro handed the Onomoraki a small bag of macca.
The fire-breathing demon nodded and joined his cause.
"I guess it really is easier." nodded the boy.
"I think I have a natural talent for negotiation personally." remarked Tao.
"Well, you seem more open-minded than your partner. He's firmly on the law side, but you're willing to accept both lawful and chaotic viewpoints." noted Aogami.
She nodded.
Aogami wondered if she should consider taking the throne from Lucifer himself.
While the demons embraced having Lucifer sit on the throne, the angels were worried about him being in charge, though he had showed no intention of destroying angelkind.
There didn't seem to be any need to recreate the world at the moment though.
The world that YHVH had created was stable, for the moment.
However, it might not last now that Lucifer had slain him.
He had heard some angels talking about it. It seemed that killing YHVH had granted Lucifer immense power.
Aogami could only imagine what it was like to be at the top of the world.
Well, if Tao wished to take the throne for herself, he would help her.
Though for the time being, she seemed content to go back home to Tokyo where her friends were waiting for her safe return.
Her devotion to her friends was truly admirable.
Meanwhile...
"Wait, Yuzuru went to the Netherworld?" asked Chie.
"That's what he told me." explained Miyaru.
They had tried asking his sister where he is, but it seemed he had his hands full rescuing the two people that had ended up in Da'at.
"I hope he'll be alright." spoke Yuzuru's sister. She had been worried when he explained that he has joined Bethel, but he explained that it was for a good cause.
"I hope so too. Though I also hope that Tao and Ichiro will be alright." noted Sahori. One of them was their best friend.
"I heard there are angels in the netherworld and not just demons. Maybe they'll help your friends?" asked Miyazu.
"Maybe…but how much do you know about angels?" asked Kanji.
Yu wondered that himself.
Did they have humanity's best interest in heart?
He sure hoped that they did.
Elsewhere, Kouhei wondered why his friends kept disappearing.
He sure hoped that he wouldn't find himself all alone in the world.
He would feel pretty lonely if that happened.
Suddenly, the Jack Frost Yuzuru had encountered earlier approached him.
Kouhei was surprised. Was that some sort of living snowman?
"Hee-hello! Are you looking for a friend, ho?" asked the Jack Frost.
Then again, considering how friendly he was, maybe he wasn't so scary.
Was that jester hat magical by any chance?
Then again, it seemed that top hats were the ones that were magical, though they were not worn by top men.
They had possession of the lost ark, not a bunch of top hats.
Kouhei decided to accept the Jack Frost on his offer.
He gave the thumbs up.
The silent boy might as well since he wasn't sure what had befell his friends.
He wouldn't replace them, of course, but it was nice making a new friend.
"This makes me so happy, ho!" exclaimed Jack Frost. It would really help him get used to his surroundings.
Kouhei smiled.
Sahori would be happy if her friend Tao came back home, wouldn't you say? Even if they are kind of different people. I won't corrupt her like in canon, however.
It appears that if our heroes go to the Tokyo Diet Building, they can make their way back home.
That's a happy thought, isn't it?
It's going to take time to get there, though.