Chapter 4:

"Talking."

Locations

Noises

Underworld- Lucifaad

Part 1

Within the mighty Castle of Lucifer, the young devil Ravien was sitting in front of his grandfather, with Euclid tending to his own affairs Rizevim chose to tutor his grandson in the ways of a devil.

"Listen up, boy. Devils are beings that have to be evil, wicked, brutal, bad, scum, wrong, brute, and vicious. As a Lucifer you must uphold these ideals, it is what we were created to do. Devils, demons and spirits all tend to lean towards evil among the many religions in the world. We chose to follow these in order to keep that mindset. The Four Satan's followed this until they had died in the Great War against God and the Fallen Angels." Spoke Grandfather as he held one of the many books I was taught about.

On the desk in front of me laid the Ars Geotia that I was given after I was able to live in my own room without Uncle Euclid's help. Grandfather knows more than anyone about devils, he wants me to know about each of the 72 pillars in order to familiarize myself for the future.

He told me about the Satan-Clans and their abilities, Lucifer descendants possess more demonic power than any other clan in the Underworld. Beelzebub possessed Lord of Flies, that allows them to use flies and insects. Leviathan possessed Sea Serpent of the End, that allows them to transform into a large water serpent. Asmodeus possessed high demonic power, but not as much as a Lucifer would have.

In cases where Belphegor, Mammon and Satan are brought up he informed me of them as well. They are thought to be demons instead of devils, but they have power that rivals the Four Satans. Belphegor possessed Crack, that allowed them to make a tear through anything but is limited to the power of the Belphegor. Mammon possessed an ability to tame wolves, something to do with the Middle Ages. Satan however was the odd one out of the Seven Princes of Hell.

Grandfather told me that Satan is not a being but rather a concept. Through history Satan is believed to be the serpent in the Garden of Eden, that isn't true as it was Samael. In the Book of Revelation, Satan is the red dragon that is defeated by Michael. That is false as well due to the dragon being Great Red, the Dragon God of the Apocalypse. Some say that my Great Grandfather is Satan and contributes both names towards him.

We've adopted Satan as a title for the rulers of the Underworld, the Great Satan Lucifer is what we devils have intermingled. I thought it was something different, but humans have ruined everything from trying to write without the knowledge of events.

"In the Ars Geotia there are 72 devils that are ranked, these are the names of the devil nobles that the Underworld adopted after Lucifer created them. During the Great War billions of devils were killed and this resulted in more than half of all devils dying. Out of the 72 clans only 32 remain active. The other 40 are extinct, even with some still having members." Grandfather then wrote out the names of some clans onto the large board behind him.

These clans are ranked King, they are only below the Satans in terms of social rank. Bael, Purson, Paimon, Beleth, Asmoday, Balam and Belial. Two clans possess the rank king along with another lower rank, those being Zagan and Viné. Among these only Zagan and Viné are extinct, the others remain active with Bael being the most prominent due to Zekram Bael taking control of the Underworld after the deaths of the Four Great Satans. Now Bael truly rules devil society with the Satans being figure heads."

I wrote down the important things into a journal, taking notes about this would be beneficial in the long run. I still did have some questions about Bael.

"Why did Zekram Bael take control instead of you?" Grandfather should have been the next in line to lead the Underworld. He turned around and looked at me with bored eyes.

"I'll answer your question if you can answer mine first." Grandfather walked over toward me and placed a hand on my desk. I looked into his eyes that felt more as if they were bottomless pits that would go on forever rather than the eyes of a devil.

"What do you think your existence means?" He walked back over toward the board, I remained silent as his question continued to linger.

My existence, I am the Great Grandson of Lucifer. I am a True Devil, that's what Uncle Euclid said. Did that not mean anything?

"The Bottomless Glory of the Morningstar, a True Devil meant to be the pride of Lucifer. My existence is to be… his successor," I softly whispered the end in a sad voice. Grandfather is also one who was supposed to be his successor, then my father would be next, and it would have finished with my older brother.

"That is the same reason I chose to not get involved with the Old Satan Faction. They wanted to restart the war against the angels and fallen angels, in trying to do so they forced a rebellion. Eventually they were all killed, my childhood friend Bidleid Bashalun Beelzebub was one of those who were killed." Grandfather leaned against the bored and put a hand upon his chin.

"He asked me to aid them, knowing that I could defeat the deities of other mythologies. I chose not to, he said that I would fall victim to the sacred gears or the devils that surpass Satan-Class being Sirzechs and Ajuka. I left my home and the last battle happened in the streets." Grandfather began erasing the names off the board.

"After learning of his death and the succession of Lucifer by Sirzechs I chose to contact him. I spoke of the Title Lucifer and super devils with him, I warned him that the Bael Clan would grow arrogant, and much to my warning they have. Prideful and dependent of Zekram to make decisions, that will be their downfall. After my talk with Sirzechs he mentioned Bidleid had told him 'The Blood and Wrath of the Satans will always be against you' I thought it was fitting for him." Grandfather began to write more names on the board.

Grandfather yawned, I remember overhearing him and Uncle Euclid talking and how he thought of his life as boring after I was born. He had nothing to look forward to in the long run and hoped that I would be something more than my father or brother.

I don't want to rule the Underworld, nor fight Michael and Azazel. I only wanted to grow up and see what choices I would make, maybe he thinks the same?

"Back to the lesson Ravien, Devil Clans are diverse and possess many different abilities. Bael for example possesses the Power of Destruction, this ability gives them control of pure destruction capable of annihilating almost anything depending on the user. This ability is no longer exclusive to the Bael Clan as the Gremory Clan spawned with the mother being a Bael descendant three devils possessing Destruction. Sirzechs Lucifer, Rias Gremory and the son of Sirzechs." Grandfather then pointed towards another spot on the board.

"Belial Posses the ability Worthless, this allows him to make things have no worth or make them nonexistent. For example, of a beam of power was launched towards him then he could use the ability to nullify the beam completely. Diehauser Belial has used this power to become the First Place Ranker in the Rating Games they play."

"What's a Rating Game?"

"A Rating Game is a contest between two groups animals over dominance." I could hear him laugh slightly at his own joke; sad it was but that is not important. I still have much to learn about the other side.

Part 2

I sat at the desk in my room, casually going over the notes I had taken from my tutoring session with Grandfather. The 72 pillars were something not hard to remember but it was annoying having to constantly read on them to learn more.

The death of Great Grandfather forced the devils to rely on natural births, rare they are as Great Grandmother was cursed with infertility. Devil Clans would either go extinct or dissolve into our history. Grandfather said that the Satan Ajuka Beelzebub created a device called 'Evil Pieces' using the crystals in Agares. They could transform anyone aside from God-Class beings into devils depending on the strength of the user.

The human population in the Underworld skyrocketed after this. The same humans we used for profit and possessed became the majority of our population. Many were angered by this as it was a sign that devils were impure.

All this information was cluttering my thoughts, I should focus on something else. I looked over toward my bookshelf in hope of something inspiring.

My collection of books was more then I needed regarding that I still have one hidden away from Uncle Euclid and Grandfather, that book on those Malebranche. I haven't taken it out since then due to me being busier than I hoped for.

I put my journal away and reached into the false bottom of my drawer, if I recall it only gave out small information and details as if it were unfinished by the time they were moved. That war was over seven hundred years ago, and they haven't been recovered since.

To think that such interesting things once laid underneath the city, if I can guess it was enough power to turn the tide of war tenfold. The warnings along the pages made it seem as if no one could stop them if all were to be released, could a super devil, do it?

If they surpassed the previous Satan's power, would I stand a chance against all of them? Uncle Euclid said that my power alone would be enough to force the current 'peace' to be broken, if Grandfather and he were to join it would take an alliance of the Three Great Powers to stop us as it did when the Heavenly Dragons rampaged through the dimensions.

I was told by Grandfather that they possessed enough power to make the gods envious, he had witnessed the aftermath of the destruction in his younger years. The landscapes riddled with flames that never stopped burning, giant foot marks that seemed like craters. The feeling of domination and supremacy in the air long after the battle was over. He was there to see it all.

Whilst he was not as old as the progenitors of the 72 pillars, he was the child of Lucifer and Lilith. The only devil that was naturally conceived, therefore his power was so much stronger than his fathers. He never told me how old he was, he only said that he was born during the Great War.

He used to go by the name Lilin in order to keep his identity a secret from the other factions. I found that humorous as it sounded silly in my mind.

I was getting sidetracked, after the time spent with Uncle Euclid, I managed to improve my teleportation magic to intermediary. Whilst I was no master of demonic power, I could manage to teleport to places I knew from distance.

Uncle Euclid told me that I needed to get to the point that any placed I could imagine close enough to its actual counterpart I would be able to teleport to. Teleporting into a barrier was different as the magic circle had to also act as a decryption device in order to bypass the defense. We've trained the idea numerous times, but each time it didn't work as I lacked enough experience to acquire such ability.

I could use my demonic power for attacks and defense, this was crucial as my strength relied on my demonic power. If I only used my hand-to-hand skills, it would make me vulnerable to anyone with experience that surpassed mine.

I don't like that; any weakness is a bad thing when it comes to devils. Grandfather said it was weakness that killed my father and mother, whether it was true was debatable. I don't care however as I have no memory of either or anything besides myself left from them.

The only family I've come to respect is Uncle Euclid and Grandfather, my brother whilst I have not met, I do not wish to have a familial bond with. His existence is a stain amongst our Clan, a half breed that possesses a Longinus.

Pitiful it was, but that would be addressed another day. For now, I will continue to strengthen my myself and begin a new path. Which reminds me of the city I had teleported to two years ago, I managed to set up base there. The other strays in the area didn't seem to like it, but they're no longer residing there.

I used some reconstruction magic to repair the damage I caused during these skirmishes against the many strays. The only problem with the buildings were the many rotten and decayed corpses that had been gathered inside many buildings.

Men, women and children all scattered around in pieces. The smell was horrendous, but I dealt with it and continued whilst clearing them of remains. It took time as I was still being watched by Uncle Euclid, luckily for me he has been gone for months now caring to some private business of his.

As for the city, I had to make sure that it was protected. I managed to put up numerous seals around it to prevent anyone from entering unless allowed. Their strength should withstand something above Ultimate-Class, but I'm sure it wouldn't take long to decrypt them.

I have a few plans for the city, each in tandem with creating a new home for me when I leave Lucifaad. I reached into my other drawer and pulled out three sheets of paper, each having writing on them.

I placed them out on the desk side by side.

The first one was the plan to construct a large castle in the center of the city where I would call my home. I could use this place as a base of operations where I would plan my infiltration into devil society. Grandfather does not care if I decide to enter devil society, the only warning he gave me was to not make mistakes.

I would use the city as a way to introduce myself in order to deceive the Underworld by making it a place where I could not only do business but lure in those who are unaware of who I am. I still have much to do before that, I cannot make any steps forward without having servants. Uncle Euclid is my right-hand man, but he still wouldn't be enough in case of emergency where the armies would be surrounding us.

Perhaps finding someone with enough power to pose a threat would have been suitable, that is difficult due to the isolation we live in. I do want to change that, but I have no way of doing so without some knowledge of the outside world.

Leaving Lucifaad is dangerous, the only two times I have nearly ended in tragedy. Of all places I could have gone, I teleported into the gardens of the Gremory Estate. Considering that I had ran into the next Head of the House of Gremory.

She could have been a candidate if not for her brother being the false Lucifer and the biggest threat against my existence.

"Camel loving bastards."

The second plan would involve me and the Old Satan Faction. Knowing they are in a state of decline and weakness they would need someone with power to bring them together. Grandfather told me they attempted to contact him some time ago, he declined as it didn't seem interesting.

If I can believe in my own power, then I could force them to bow to me and reconstruct their forces within the city. No doubt if this were discovered it would cause conflict or lead to a war, but I know that I would be able to prevent war.

They still have a sizeable force behind them, enough to keep them going. Ultimate-Class devils still remain in their faction. My blood would easily convince them to follow me, if not then I could try and deceive them into aiding me by telling them I wish to take control of the Underworld.

That plan is still in development, it may be one of the most reasonable and probable plans I have.

The third plan is one of desperation, I would use the city as a bomb. Forcing all my demonic power into a chamber beneath the city it would hold it until I chose to detonate it. If things had gotten bad and I was forced into running I would lead them into the city before detonating the demonic power, in turn I would be killed but it would leave unrecoverable damage.

Enough power to shake the Underworld, maybe even destroy an entire country. I've never seen what my power is truly capable of, Uncle Euclid said that I can't tap into all of it on my own yet.

That plan is only as a last resort, my life is more valuable than glory or my beliefs.

I got up from my desk and headed over toward the balcony doors. It was still daytime out; lessons were in the morning so that I could discover on my own in the afternoon. Usually, I would continue my training with Uncle Euclid but since he is not here, I've been doing something different each day.

I opened the door to the balcony and walked out.

I looked out into the many rows of buildings and broken landscape of the city. Every day I had come out here, and nothing has changed since. It's the same view that is always there, never changing.

I walked out a little further and released my wings, all ten of them spread out. It felt good to stretch them every now and then, even if I didn't use them much.

From what Grandfather said I was the only devil from the fourth generation to possess ten wings, my brother only has eight due to his human blood.

I wonder how he would react knowing that he still had family left, our father is dead and his mother's whereabouts are unknown. I wonder if he even knows that our father is dead, I don't mind it as he was said to be a coward who feared a child.

A stain on the name Lucifer.

Part 3

Underworld- Unnamed City

I looked down at the city from the air, it needed to be remodeled before any actions were to take place. The only problems were the manpower and resources needed to do such a large task. Hiring a company would be enough, but that would put my plans in jeopardy as my enemies would discover me.

"What should the name be?" The city needed a name, that would be a good first step in rebuilding it. Names with Lucifer and Satan have already been overused, Lilith is used as well.

"I've got it, Bashalun." In honor of the late Beelzebub, I will call this city Bashalun, it might draw the wrong attention as he was the leader for the Old Satan Faction, but it will stand as long as I live. I would need to implement some sort of sign or marker to identify the city, interesting as I never found out what it was originally called.

I descended to the ground near one of the main entrances of the city, a gate which led directly to the center of it all. It definitely needed to be reinforced as any single devil could walk through it, perhaps a mighty fortress instead of a castle that gave off the impression of power.

That idea could be more efficient than a castle, a fortress city that could withstand the force of an entire army. I would need an army to garrison it though, the Old Satan Faction might prove aid.

Just thinking about it gets me anxious for what the future holds, Lucifers are unpredictable from Uncle Euclid said.

I pointed a finger over toward the side of the gate, by focusing my demonic power into creation a large stone sign began to form. I focused part of my power into carving letters in the stone, slowly it spelled out a clear name.

'Bashalun.'

I looked at the sign, it looked rather nice. That seemed ironic due to the true nature that name meant, a devil who fought against the odds. Even in the face of certain death he chose to keep his ideals, a true devil.

I tucked my wings away and looked around, leading out of the city was nothing but an empty wasteland devoid of structure. That would need to be changed, one could not have a diamond ring with copper. I made my way through the gate, I wanted to see exactly what this city had to offer for it to be abandoned.

From what I've seen from the ariel view it was alone, nothing connecting it or heading towards it for endless miles. That makes this place seem pointless in its construction, perhaps something laid within the city that gave it value.

As I walked along the broken stone-paved roads I looked at the houses that lined the streets, rotting wood and shattered glass was the most distinctive feature of them. It seemed easier to just destroy the city and rebuild it completely, but that would require some power that I wish not to spare. I possess enough to destroy this city over and over again, but I have no idea who could be watching.

Those Satans are sure to have security all over the Underworld looking for anything abnormal to appear, perhaps that's why Grandfather never leaves Lucifaad. If that is the case, then it could be possible that I have been found by someone or something.

In the event of that happening, I was told to take responsibility for it, meaning I would have to leave my home of Lucifaad. I am willing to follow through with such a task, but I will miss my home.

Bashalun will be the home I create in this path to finding what it means to be a Lucifer, devil life sure is difficult. Perhaps it is just me and my path to awakening myself from the metaphorical slumber that I remain in. I don't consider myself evil, I've only killed a handful of stray devils that lurked in this city.

Am I wrong for that? Do I have to kill off every single being I don't like similar to the way Grandfather does? Will I have to change the Underworld to my favor?

No, that would only follow the will of my grandfather and what he wants so to see happen. I am allowed to do what I desire.

Chaos, the pure image of Chaos. My fights with Uncle Euclid never go anywhere past city level of destruction, the barriers aren't made to withstand significant damage and power that a Satan-Class devil would have.

Grandfather could make one, but he doesn't want to as he sees our skirmishes as boring. He finds everything in life to be boring, for a devil as old as him it means nothing.

I haven't lived two decades. My opinion of life so far is that it could have fun times in the future, but as for now nothing is fun. Being someone who will bring chaos to the peace of the Underworld I have to be prepared for the aftermath of such event.

I don't want to lead the Underworld; I want to bring chaos for the sake of causing chaos. However, I don't find doing such a thing interesting right now.

Is that what Grandfather thinks as well? I would never know unless I was him, I'm not him.

"I am Ravien Lionize Lucifer, great grandson of the first Lucifer," I shouted toward the silence of the desolate city. No one was going to hear it anyway, everything in this city was dead or not alive in the first place.

Thud

I quickly looked over toward the building on my right, I could see the movement of something black in the frame of the window.

I lifted my palm and shot a blast of demonic power at the wall, the explosion being much more controlled due to the training that Uncle Euclid has given me.

As the dust cloud faded away from the now vaporized wall I began to walk over to the rubble. Most of the house was gone aside from the opposite side of the home.

As I stepped past the shattered frames and cracked floor I looked around for the source of movement, nothing moved at all. Judging from the impact and no trace of anything I must have killed it completely without realizing it. I tried to focus my senses around the area.

The sound of a rapid heartbeat nearby only made me realize that whatever it may be had managed to slip by my attack.

I looked over toward I believed the sound was coming from, around the corner of a broken piece of wall. I slowly walked my way over toward the wall and readied another blast of demonic power.

As I rounded the corner I could hear the voice of a small child whining, this surprised me, but I still readied myself as strays are known to mimic people and creatures.

I thought what I was dealing with was a scared stray devil, but when I came to face it, I was lost. It was a small girl with long black hair that was covering her face. From what I could tell she resembled a corpse, pale and skinny.

She was whining, she was scared of me.

I lowered my hand and walked in front of her only standing a few feet away, she looked pitiful in her current state.

"Raise your head." I watched as her head slowly rose. The first thing I could see from behind her hair was her violet eyes that looked back into mine with horror.

I was appalled by the way she looked at me. Why does she feel fear, I already stopped attacking her?

I walked over toward her and brushed the hair out of her face, I watched carefully as I glided my fingers across the scars that ran across her cheek. They seemed to heal improperly, must be from not having enough nutrients to properly work the devil body.

"Who are you?" I asked her whilst avoiding directly looking into her eyes, she was still shaking in the palm of my hand.

After a few moments she began to speak.

"L…Lillian." She stuttered. I took my hand away from her face and wiped it off, I then backed up a few feet and watched as she tried to hide away again.

"Lillian, why are you here?"

"I l-live here." She then pointed over toward the door nearby that wasn't broken.

I searched this city numerous times when killing off all the stray devils that were resigning here, I thought that I had killed everything here already.

I walked over toward the door and broke it off its henges with the side of my fist. As I looked into the darkness that was behind it, I could smell the scent of death and rotting corpses.

Killing enough strays, I've managed to find numerous mass graves from strays I assume managed to slip away from the devil stray hunters. They were so weak however, not a single stray managed to make me enjoy the fight.

Fighting Uncle Euclid many times has left me craving for another strong enemy, Grandfather refuses to fight me, perhaps he sees me as too weak or boring to fight. Only a Satan-Class devil is a worthy opponent for me, the only dragons that are above Satan-Class or King-Class are dead or the Dragon Gods Ophis and Great Red.

If the strongest gods cannot match the power of those two, then what chances would I have? The Heavenly Dragons were both killed, only the possessors of the sacred gears can access their power for a short time.

The Evil Dragons that grandfather told me about were all killed off a long time ago, they were stronger than a Satan but weaker than a Heavenly Dragon. That range of power is what I see as prime for someone like me, Crom Cruach, Aži Dahāka, Apophis, Grendel, Ladon, Niðhöggr and Yamata no Orochi. If I was born in a different time then I would have been able to test my power against such foes, the thought of a vicious battle pumps my veins with adrenaline.

I'm getting off topic.

I looked back over towards Lillian; she was busy hiding away from me by placing her head in her lap.

"Who's down there?" I asked her, knowing who it probably was.

"My parent's."

I nodded before walking back over toward her, she was an orphan. I would have been as well if Grandfather didn't decide to keep me in Lucifaad. This was my decision to make then, I could either leave her here to die or I could take her back home with me before disposing of this place entirely.

"As a fellow devil, and one of his descendants, I've decided to not let you die here alone. Come with me and you can be safe from what you fear." I then extended my hand out towards her; she raised her head. I could see tears forming in her eyes.

She then reached her hand out and grabbed onto mine, I hand to be careful when pulling her up as she nearly fell over.

I placed her arm around my neck to keep her supported before summoning a teleportation circle beneath us.

Part 4

Lucifaad

"You mean to tell me that you found this girl and chose to bring her back here to our home that has remained isolated from a foreigner or outsider for hundreds of years?" I could hear a hint of anger coming from Grandfathers venomous words.

After teleporting back to Lucifaad Grandfather immediately detected the presence of Lillian, I knew of this as his power spiked considerably the moment my demonic power settled.

He barged into my room so quickly that I had little time to guard myself.

His aura was choking the air, even though he wasn't releasing his full power. I had to counter with my own in order to nullify the air so that Lillian wouldn't die from the pressure.

"By no offense Grandfather, my choice in the matter only involves me and what I wish to do. I found her near death and contemplated if I should have killed her or save her, as a Lucifer I chose to save her because I know she can be of use later on." I looked Grandfather in his eyes as he looked down upon me, the gap in power between us was evident as instead of looking in anger he was looking is pity.

That look is unsettling, it's the same look that I give to strays for being so weak and repulsive.

"Is that so Ravien? You have the choice to anger me as you please?" I could feel the hostility in Grandfathers person shift towards me. By no means am I scared of Grandfather, but I can acknowledge that his strength surpasses my own.

I clenched my jaw and focused more of my aura outward toward his, even if the action was futile, it was a display that I wasn't afraid.

We looked at each other for what seemed like hours before the silence was broken.

Grandfather raised his eyebrow in amusement.

"I see, perhaps I won't have to punish you the way I was going to. But let it be known Ravien, even the most meaningless decision could mean the matter of life and death in this world. Beware of the problem that will bring itself into your path due to that girl, control yourself properly otherwise your mind will be corrupted and shift you into something unimaginable," Grandfather walked out of the room with those last few words.

His words echoed through my mind as I turned to face the still sleeping Lillian that rested her frail body on the spare bed within one of the rooms closest to mine.

Whatever Grandfather meant sounded worrying, if that is the case then I will have to prevent anything bad from happening.