Chapter 12 - Calm After the Storm

"How are you feeling?"

It was the next morning after the battle against Reiz. Mori was currently sitting cross-legged on a soft bed located at the gigantic hospital created by Serafall Leviathan, and it was also currently the best medical facility that the Underworld could offer. The boy had bandages wrapped around his forehead, right arm, ribcage, and left leg; there were also small medical plasters on several scratches across his cheeks. His current attire of a light-blue medical gown covered most of the bandages.

Mori's injuries had healed at a significantly fast rate, surprising all of the doctors and nurses there. The night before he had a large gash across his left flank but now it had shrunk to the size of a simple scrape. The boy was also now back to his normal energetic self after sleeping for twelve straight hours and after hearing that his team had claimed victory over the Phoenix Team he grew even more ecstatic. The only thing he was down about was that his wooden staff that he had grown rather attached to, had shattered into several hundred pieces that had most likely disintegrated when the arena exploded.

As the azure-haired boy was eating the hospital's provided breakfast, he overheard the nurses talking and the name Reiz had been mentioned several times. His former opponent who had yet to wake up was also experiencing the same kind of rapid healing rate that Mori himself was going through.

Then an hour after his meal, Sirzechs had arrived to pay him a visit.

"I'm feeling fine," Mori chirped out an answer and then looked down at his right elbow, "My funny bone still feels kinda fuzzy though,"

"I would imagine so," Sirzechs chuckled.

"So what are you doing here Maou-sama?" asked Mori with his signature bright smile.

"Well first, to congratulate you on your victory," said the Devil Leader, "Annnd, also because my cute little sister ordered me to regularly update her on your progress,"

"And if you don't she'll yell at you and give you really long lectures right?" Mori shivered as he remembered the excruciatingly lengthy speech on "Impulsivity" he once received from the Gremory Heiress.

Sirzechs nodded as he shuddered as well.

"Either that or she'll become sad, and I don't like to see my little Ria sad… or angry, and angry Rias is a scary Rias. Did you know one time when she was eight she chased me down through the entire castle for apparently eating the last pink marshmallow? I don't even eat marshmallows but she was like this raging land shark with no sense of mercy. I don't know where she gets it from, is it Mom? Or did she observe and learn from Grayfia when she's mad? Or-" the Crimson Maou then remembered he was in the middle of a hospital room and stopped his rambling with a clear of his throat, "Ahem...Yes, don't mind me,"

"Anyway, I had a talk with the doctors a few minutes ago," said Sirzechs, "and they told me that at your current recovery rate, you'll be able to go home by later tonight at the earliest,"

"Really? That's great! I was already starting to miss my little apartment," Mori cheered but then remembered the hospitality that the Maou had shown him for the past few days, "I mean, not that it's bad here but…,"

Sirzechs chuckled, "Don't worry about it. I get it, home is home, naturally, it's the most comfortable place for anyone,"

"Yeah, home is home," Mori agreed with a nod.

There was a brief moment of silence before the Crimson Maou spoke again.

"Hey, do you remember what happened after the arena was destroyed?" Sirzechs asked, as he still wanted to figure out how the two fighters were transported back to the Underworld last night, "All the Recorder Orbs were destroyed around ten minutes before the both of you returned, so you and Reiz are the only ones who can clarify what was happening during that time,"

The boy sincerely thought for a while before he shook his head, "No sorry, well not much anyway. All I remember after that explosion was that the entire place was shattered and looked like an asteroid belt...and also that I can fly. Then Reiz transformed again, and then I suddenly felt my body heating up until it felt like I was bathing in the middle of the sun. Then the next thing I know is that I woke up in this bed,"

"Interesting," Sirzechs murmured as he rubbed his chin.

"I assume that we fought until we were both too tired to continue," said Mori as gently rubbed his bare feet, "Then somehow we ended up back here,"

"It is known that fatigue can cause a degree of memory loss so I can't blame you for not remembering," The Crimson Maou lightly sighed, "Perhaps you'll remember after a certain amount of time passes,"

Mori hummed in agreement and then once again, silence filled the room, but only for a minute before the azure-haired boy suddenly had a thought.

"Hey, Maou-sama?"

"Yes, Mori?"

"I'm just wondering," said Mori as he stared at the bed covers he sat on, "Now that Issei and I have won… What's going to happen to Reiz's mom?"

"Oh, that? I've kept my end of the deal and released her from the Belial house," the Lucifer informed but added in mentally, 'Well I still need to make it official later'

"Ah, then that's-wait what?" Mori raised his brow and looked up at the crimson-haired devil, "You let her go?"

Sirzechs nodded and began to explain, "It's true that there was a promise for freeing my sister from the marriage contract, but that was given more specifically for Issei. Although you fought for the same thing, your match against Reiz was always meant to hold a different award. The day you came into my study you never asked for one, and there was never a right time to bring it up either. Then your match resulted in a draw, so after watching your performance that I decided to keep both ends of the bargain,"

The Crimson-haired Maou left out the part where he theorized that both of them were members of the 'Mythical Nine Demon Kings' who fought against the Gods of every Pantheon. Along with the hidden creeping sense of fear that ran through his spine every time they were mentioned. Although Sirzechs was one of, if not the fairest devil leader in history, and would've held up the deal anyway, he couldn't help but feel like it was that sense of fear being the final push for him to do so. The unease that haunted his subconscious was like a strange nightmare during the day. If Mori and Reiz are truly the beings he thinks they are, then it's best not to enrage them and push them past the breaking point, otherwise, he might witness the myth becoming reality the hard way.

"So you're saying…,"

"Remember that a family member of the bride preparing an event is a Devil tradition, I had to make those fights look as such, with the goal of saving my sister hidden beneath all that. I also needed a couple of combatants to make the plan work, and I already had two, Issei and Riser, but I feared that perhaps Issei wouldn't be able to pull it off so I had to get someone else to back him up just in case. And that led me to you, Mori. I was wary at first but since Rias always held you in a good light, I figured that you might be the one," Sirzechs told him, "However, I also needed to find an opponent that would agree to fight but also has or had some connections to the Phenex Household to stifle suspicion. That ultimately brought me to Reiz and then we made that deal of freeing his mother,"

Mori thought for a bit before narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the older male, "Doesn't that mean you manipulated us?"

"Of course you can look at it that way, but if you take a step back and look at it from afar, everything was for a good cause. Rias has returned to the Human World with the largest smile I've seen in years because she's finally free from the arranged marriage that was forced onto her simply because of her name and status. And at the same time, after twelve years, Reiz can finally reunite with his mother. Both of them were unfairly ripped away from each other's lives, at a time when they needed each other the most. I know manipulation is often seen in a negative light, but if it is done by the right people, then good results are far more likely than bad. It's almost like a snake; viewed by the majority as cold-blooded killers who deceive and excrete venom into their victim's souls, but most of the time, they're just harmless creatures who just want to live their lives in peace and quiet,"

"...I guess that's true," Mori's gaze softened and he sighed as he shifted his sight back to his feet.

…

…

…

"Well then, Mori, what would you like?" Sirzechs questioned with a small smile.

"Huh?"

"Now with Rias safe, you still have an unclaimed reward for tying with Reiz last night,"

"Well I don't think that necessary, freeing my friends was enough," Mori replied honestly.

"Really? Nothing at all?" Sirzechs raised an eyebrow, "I can give you anything you want as long as it is within my power. Ten million in human currency? A personal set of maids? Ten years' worth of delicious food of the highest quality? A private island? Maybe invest in a couple of buildings in the richest countries in the Human Realm under your name? Just anything you want, no need to be humble or courteous, you deserve it,"

"Well if you say so," said Mori somewhat sheepishly, "Anything I want right?"

The crimson-haired leader gave a nod in response.

Mori then sat there and pondered for an answer for a whole fifteen minutes.

'Money will be great, and I do need it right now but wouldn't the bank get all suspicious if my account suddenly shot up into the millions? Hah~ So I guess that's a no. A private island doesn't sound too bad, but how will I get to school? I mean I can fly now but I'm afraid that it might attract too much attention if I fly to school. I don't have a mind for business so I can't do anything about the buildings. My place is too small for maids and butlers so that's a no too. Also, I don't think ten years' worth of any kind of food can fit in my apartment either. Especially now since my fridge is now leaking, and I can't keep them outside either cause my air conditioning is also faulty… wait… THAT'S IT!'

"I got it!" he suddenly yelled with a snap of his fingers, before he whipped his body around to face Sirzechs.

"Did you decide?"

"Uh-huh, Uh-huh," Mori vigorously nodded.

"Well, what is it?"

"Better accommodations!" he declared with a gleam in his eyes.

"...That's it?"

"Yeah, my fridge and air conditioning are broken right now you see," Mori explained with energetic hand gestures, "and I also noticed that the toilet's flush is dying, and the hot water isn't working as well as it used to, so I've kinda been saving up to get them fixed or replaced. But, since you said anything I figured that this is the perfect opportunity,"

"Very well then," Sirzechs nodded with a light, amused, chuckle and agreed to his request, "We'll get all that done by the time you get back to the Human World,"

"Really? That fast? That's great, thank you so much!" Mori laughed, "Now all I need to worry about is paying my rent on time,"

"Well then, I had better go and make the arrangements now," Sirzechs said before heading towards the door.

When he slid it open, he abruptly stopped to spin around, and his fingers danced as he conjured a red magic circle.

"I almost forgot, Rias and the others asked me to give this to you," The Crimson Maou told him as he summoned a basket full of fuzzy, pink peaches on the bed next to Mori, "I'll be taking my leave now,"

Mori gasped with delight, and his dark eyes and golden pupils sparkled while he drooled the moment he caught a glimpse of the peach basket.

"Thank you very much!" he yelled towards the closing door, waving his goodbye with a half-eaten peach already in hand.

Darkness. A void.

That was all Reiz could see when he regained consciousness. But for some reason, there was a strange type of glass-like flooring holding him up. In the distance, he could see a faint blue glowing orb. A wisp of some kind.

With no other visible way out, the platinum-haired half-blood decided to walk towards it But with each step, the glow flew further away and soon Reiz broke out into a sprint, dashing after it for what felt like nearly an hour. As he chased the wisp, the soft light being emitted from it allowed him to make out the path he was on. Ahead of him, he saw what looked to be a hunched-over, seated silhouette hovering above the glassy ground.

At last, the little wisp began to slow as it hovered over to the mysterious figure, and Reiz began to steady his pace as well.

He could see the unknown being more clearly now.

There was a large, seed-shaped boulder with slightly round edges. Looking as if it were placed there after being torn out from an East Asian painting, Reiz couldn't help but feel that it looked somewhat spiritual.

But perched on the boulder's summit was the...unique-looking man.

He had a half-humanoid body. His front torso, arms, and the lower half of his face were that of a human, a lean human with very clearly defined muscles. However, aside from those features, everywhere else was bird-like. He had short, very dark-purple feathers growing from his waist down to his feet, and the skeletal structure of his legs also aligned closely to that of a bird-of-prey. They were in the shape of a stretched-out, classic lightning-bolt, with the knee joint pointing forward and the ankle pointing back, this meant that anatomically his feet were rather long, just unnoticeable thanks to the coat of feathers around it. Where the feathers ended, and where the "traditional" foot began, he had dark-orange, scale-looking skin and a long, black, sickle-like talon on each of his four toes, three forward and one back.

Stemming from its tailbone, were lavender and royal-blue tail feathers, with the tip of the longest one able to reach his feet. The lavender and blue feathers were also prominent on both of his triceps and stemmed down the outside of the forearms to just below his wrists.

The upper half of the man's face, from the nose up, was half the head of an eagle. Its curved golden beak covered the man's eyes and forehead, while in place of hair there were slightly spiky, royal-blue feathers growing, and flowing down to the middle of his back. The eagle head also had two hollow-white eyes that were located just behind the beak. Finally, on top of the eagle head was a crest of two, flat, orange spikes.

The avian-humanoid outstretched its hand and the small glowing wisp floated over his palm.

"I've been waiting for you, Reiz," he said while looking down at the wisp.

The young half-devil stiffened when he heard the feathered being's voice. From the tone down to the accent, it was the same as his own.

"You! You're...!" Reiz exclaimed as he recognized him as the same humanoid whose eyes he had been looking through during the memory dreams he had in the past.

"It's about time we talked, come sit," the unknown being told him, and with a flick of his hand, he summoned another boulder with a built-in seat, opposite to him.

But Reiz was hesitant and shifted his glare from the newly generated boulder, back to the mysterious figure.

"Do not try to delay this, even if I had to wait another hundred or thousand years, our meeting has always been inevitable," the feathered-humanoid informed, who was still playing with the glowing orb, letting it dance between his fingers, "Now come and sit, you won't be able to wake up if you don't,"

Although reluctant, the half-breed Phenex complied, jumping onto the boulder and sitting down.

"What do you mean I won't wake up?" he questioned once he got settled.

"Because all of this," the feathered-human drew a circle with his finger, "All of this is in your head right now,"

"...What are you talking about?"

"Ahh, I see I should've been more specific, in our head right now...well actually if I were to more specific, our soul,"

Reiz narrowed his golden eyes, "You're not making any sense,"

The mysterious figure sighed through his nostrils, "For someone who has supreme talent over the power of controlling the psyche, your's isn't that bright either, especially if you haven't caught on yet,"

"Just skip the riddles!" Reiz hissed and groaned, leaning back against the boulder, "I've just been through one of the most intense fights I've ever had in my life and I don't want a headache while recovering!"

"Fine," then the feathered being flicked his wrist again, this time summoning a giant mirror with a fancily-detailed jade frame between them, "Look into it,"

The platinum-haired young devil strangely found himself unable to decline the humanoid's orders and peered deeply into the mirror.

"What do you see?" the feathered being asked.

"Nothing,"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive, this is nothing but a big piece of glass, I see nothing except for you," admitted Reiz, then he muttered under his breath, "...This is just a waste of time, just let me go already,"

The humanoid's lips stretched out into a toothy smirk, "But, is that not what a mirror does? Show one's reflection?"

"...What are you implying?"

"Don't you see? I am you. You are me," the feathered humanoid revealed with his smirk growing wider and wider, "We are I, and our is my! We are the same being!"

"How's that possible!? I don't even know who you are!" Reiz yelled, springing up from his seat.

"The Mirror of Revelation does not lie," The feathered humanoid snatched and tossed the wisp into the space between them, shattering the generated mirror on impact.

"Have you never wondered where your abnormal power comes from?"

"Ten years' worth of constant body-breaking training, why?"

"Heheheheheh," the feathered being chuckled, "But with instincts and abilities honed in another age,"

The half-blood devil was about to retort when the being stopped him by holding up a palm.

"If you seek the truth then I will show you, the past that is. Our memories… My memories… Who you are… Who I am," he said and without wasting another second, snapped his fingers.

Suddenly the floor beneath them shattered like thin glass and they both plummeted into the dark abyss.

"WAIT! WAIT! WAII-AAAAAAAHHH!" Reiz screamed as he realized he wasn't able to fly here, and he fell like a ragdoll, feeling as if he was being vacuumed into a giant black hole.

The feathered humanoid calmly and gracefully dove after him. He reached out with his hand and simultaneously, Reiz found himself stretching his arm towards him too. The tip of their index fingers touched during their descent, and Reiz felt a sudden surge of energy course through him. The energy was enough for him to unknowingly transform into his blue-hair and silver-eyed form. Before both of their bodies then began glowing a bright light that engulfed them along with their vision.

2000 Years Prior To The Birth Of The Monkey King

The thunder roared as strands of lightning cracked through the darkened sky. Violent winds had been whipped up and whirling all over the land.

An entire mountain range, with the gigantic natural monuments extending their reach high enough to pierce through the blanket of thick, swirly clouds. Almost every mountain was capped with lush vegetation and had eastern-styled houses built into them, like towering natural apartment buildings accessible only through flight, or an extremely long, excruciating climb.

This was the ancestral home of the Avians, The Grand Cloud Mountain-City.

The City was currently ruled under the authority of The Golden-Winged Roc, Prince Jin, and to an extent, his older twin sister, The Peacock Princess, Que. Both being the direct son and daughter of the first leader and great queen of all winged creatures, the original Phoenix, The Primordial Goddess Fenghuang.

And it was on this storming day when the hurricanes were at their wildest, and the lightning at their deadliest. That their youngest sibling, who had been incubating for five hundred years, was to be hatching out of his or her shell.

On top of the second largest mountain of the city, there was an elegant-looking gazebo, bigger than the average classroom, made of red peachwood with a jade-tiled roof. There was an elevated platform inside, with marble slabs around it acting as stairs to get up, and in the middle, there was a shining quartz pedestal holding up a large bowl with its bird-talon details. Inside the bowl was an egg around half a meter in length, with a smooth, reflective shell. This hatching pavilion was specifically created to hold and incubate the egg of the third sibling.

However the egg was currently acting as a lightning rod, every bolt of electricity in a thousand-mile radius raced towards the pavilion and eventually absorbed into the egg. With each absorption, the shell would gleam sky blue as small sparks crackled around it.

Closeby, perched on a low hanging branch of an oak tree, a golden pheasant was watching the natural light show and observing the egg, remembering every detail. When a small cracking sound was heard and a miniature zig-zag line ran across the top of the egg, the pheasant became alarmed. It thought about flying in for a closer look and to gain a proper confirmation, but the threat of the hundreds of bolts of lightning that struck every few seconds deterred it from doing so. Instead, it took off, flapping its wings vigorously towards the tallest mountain in the range.

The tallest mountain had easily punctured through the cloud blanket and still made a mile of length until reaching the summit. Resting on the tip of the mountain, was an ancient Chinese palace, built out of jade and dark wood, with dragon and phoenix carvings running down the pillars.

The pheasant broke through the clouds and flapped with all its energy until it reached the palace stairs. Upon its arrival, the pheasant transformed into its demon form with a swirl of blue, fiery light. It had a male human's body with feathers growing everywhere but its torso, and it still had its talons attached to its larger than average hands and feet. It still had a pheasant head with a relatively shorter beak, and its avian mohawk slightly straighter. Aside from baggy brown pants tied in place by a black sash, it had no other clothing.

The pheasant demon gasped from exhaustion as it paced up the stairs towards the main door to the palace. As he got close to it, two much taller, and intimidating vulture demons, wearing shining metal and topaz armor, stood in his way. With their lances, they created an 'X' that blocked the door.

"State your business," they ordered at the same time.

"I am the assigned watcher of the third sibling's egg," the pheasant greeted with a bow, "I have news for the Prince and Princess,"

"Proceed," the vultures un-crossed their weapons, and the gate automatically opened.

After the main gate opened, the pheasant rushed through the palace, weaving through the corridors, past patrolling guards, and toward the throne room. With the help of some of the stationary guards, he burst through the tall golden doors of the throne room and made his way into the spacious, luxurious, but empty, main hall. The heavy rumbling of the violent thunderstorm outside was nothing but a barely audible echo within the building.

He looked around huffing until he spotted the Prince at the very end of the hall. The Prince was seated upon his large, wide, throne that was elevated by a set of stairs. There was a small table placed in the middle with the ancient board game known as 'Go' splayed out across it, the board game is an abstract, militaristic-styled, strategy game, designed for two players in which the aim is to surround more territory to defeat and capture the opponent. On each end of the table were two expensive teacups with the pot placed beside the small table on the throne. The one seated opposite of the Prince was his sister.

Prince Jin was currently in his human form. A man standing at over six feet tall with a handsome face, and shoulder-length, ebony hair that was tied up in a loose bun. He wore a regal black robe with golden trims and a silver sash around his waist. His skin was pale and his eyes were glowing a pale yellow.

His twin sister Princess Que was also in her human form. A beautiful woman exuding grace and elegance, with a small face with delicate features. She had a slim body with curves that weren't big but still noticeable. She was dressed in a long, emerald robe, with sapphire trims and golden details. Her silky black hair was tied in a high ponytail and her gleaming bronze eyes were focused on the board game in front of her.

"There is no more room for you to move dear sister," said Jin, he was soft-spoken but there was still a clear, confident tone hidden underneath, "It looks like, I win again,"

Que sighed, "It looks like you're right,"

"Shall we play again?" Jin asked as he started to rearrange the board, and placed the black and white pieces back into their respective bowls.

"But of course, I'm not leaving this hall until I beat you," Que responded, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear and taking a quick sip of tea.

"Then best of luck to you sister," Jin chuckled as he rolled up his sleeves, "The score is still a hundred to zero,"

The pheasant demon took this opportunity and ran forward. He dropped to his knees as he ran, causing him to slide across the floor before coming to a stop.

"Your majesties!" he bowed until his forehead touched the cold quartz flooring. The two royal siblings turned to the pheasant.

"What is it?" Jin questioned.

"You can look up now," Que added.

Obeying his princess, the pheasant raised his head but was still unable to meet their eyes, nevertheless, he announced, "The third sibling! I suspect that he or she is about to hatch!"

This caused the siblings to shoot onto their feet as joyful and surprised expressions were present on their features. They quickly hopped off the throne and stepped down the stairs.

"That is wonderful news," Que grinned brightly.

"It is indeed," Jin then placed a hand on the pheasant's shoulder, "You have done well and will be rewarded accordingly. What would you like? Gold? A Bigger House? Weapons? Armor? A Mount?"

"I-I will go with your majesty's choice," the pheasant said with another bow.

"All of them it is, go home and get cleaned up, have the rest of the day off,"

"T-T-Thank you, your majesty," if the pheasant demon bowed repeatedly to the point where a smudge of red was present on his forehead.

"You may go," said Que and the pheasant turned to leave the building.

Jin smiled then faced his twin, "Come sister let us make haste and meet our third,"

"I agree," his sister replied as they exited the hall.

Simultaneously, they floated off the ground and flew in the direction of the Hatching Pavillion, simply ignoring the rapid booms of thunder and cracks of lightning.

"I do hope it's a sister," Que gushed, "Oh~ I already can't wait to show her the ropes, she'll look so cute in the clothes I'll make for her,"

"Really? I hope it's a brother," Jin chuckled as he smacked away a bolt of lightning, "Then I can teach him the militaristic ways of our kind, and the Avians will have another powerful warrior,"

'And another important defensive wall to protect this city from the Dragons,' Jin added mentally.

A few seconds later and the pavilion was in view and the two Avian Royals dropped down next to it. They walked up the stairs to get a better look at the now-shaking and cracking egg. Their faces lit up as soon as they saw it.

"At last," said Jin as a large smirk grew on his face, and he slowly stepped towards the pedestal with outstretched arms, "After five hundred years of incubation, it's finally time for you to hatch, our youngest kin,"

Another bolt of lightning struck the top of the egg, splintering a piece of shell off, and the hatchling within began to struggle its way out, producing more subtle cracks on the outside of the shell.

"Come to us, little chick," Que beckoned as she stood by her brother's side with her arms also stretched to the side.

As if on cue, a small pudgy hand burst out on the right side, and at the same time, a black-skinned bird foot shot out from the opposite end, followed by the second foot shortly after. The two taloned feet rotated around and began frantically scratching at the eggshell in an attempt to tear it away so the main body could escape. A muffled, high-pitched squeal could be heard as the egg starter to break apart even more. Another hand popped out of the side as wet, blue tufts of hair started to poke out of the cracks on top. The limbs desperately wriggled around as the child inside forced its way from within the shell, but after several minutes, the hatchling began to tire, and soon it stopped moving.

Suddenly, before any of the two royals could approach, a bolt of lightning shot down from the darkened sky and struck the egg directly in its center, shattering the eggshell into hundreds of small pieces. Thick, black, smoke rose from the pedestal, obscuring all view of what was inside.

"N-No...NO!" Que cried and she ran forward to check on their youngest sibling, hoping that the hatchling wasn't killed in the electrical strike.

But a raised hand from her brother stopped her from going any further, and Jin intently stared at the smoking pedestal.

"JIN! What are you doing!?" she screeched, "He or she is dying in there!"

"If the Phoenix Goddess's third child is killed by nothing but a mere lightning bolt! Then they are not our kin at all!" The Roc Prince retorted, snapping his head towards her with a stern expression.

"I did not wait five hundred years to meet a disappointment," he snarled, "We wait to see if it is still alive!"

"How can you be so cold?! Weren't you excited only moments ago!? Do you not care!?" Que snapped back, with a look of disbelief and anger on her face, "That's our youngest sibling in there,"

"You know full well that our ways prevent us from intervening anyway! Or has your caretaking instincts blinded you!?" Jin countered, "Any chick that dies, becomes handicapped, or is injured during the hatching is to be thrown out of Cloud Mountain! Only the strongest Avians survive! That is how we've lived over the millenniums, and how we will continue to do so!"

"And who set that law down?!"

"Mother did! After The Cataclysm or have you forgotten!?"

The princess glared at her brother for a few more moments before tearing her gaze away and focusing back onto the pedestal where the smoke was now beginning to clear. A piece of shell rolled off and shattered on the ground, catching the attention of both of the royals.

A squeal reached their ears as they watched a tiny silhouette becoming clearer and clearer as the smoke dispersed. A smirk grew on Jin's face while a bright, relieved grin appeared on Que's when they saw what was hiding within the smoke. It was a baby no older than half a year old. Its torso was of a human's, but its lower half consisted of two legs covered in fluffy, light-blue feathers with black, bird feet. The hatchling also had a head of blue hair the same shade as his feathers, and his wide, innocent, silver eyes stared up at nothing in particular.

"Good," Jin said in a barely audible voice.

His sister immediately went up to inspect the hatchling, cooing at it and letting him play with her finger.

"What shall we name him?" she asked as she started stroking the hatchling's hair while the child nibbled on her finger.

"That is not for us to decide," Jin reminded her, "Mother will send us a sign,"

At that moment, light began to pierce through the darkened clouds and the skies began to slowly clear. With his twin preoccupied with the hatchling, Jin walked out of the pavilion to investigate the sudden brightening of the skies around their mountain range. He could sense that many other curious Avians across the range had stepped out of their nests to see what was going on.

Looking up to the sky, Jin saw that it was now a pastel blue and cloudless, except for one patch. A small piece of dark-gray cloud, with lightning swirling inside it remained high in the sky for everything in the vicinity to see. A second later and it evaporated, merging with the air.

"So that's what it is," murmured Jin and he headed back inside, where his sister was still playing with their hatchling brother. The princess seemed to have not noticed the change in weather outside.

"The name has been chosen," informed Jin as he walked over to the two of them, "Mother just sent us the hint,"

"Really? What is it," Que asked, but not taking her golden eyes off of her youngest sibling.

"A cloud," the prince replied.

"A cloud?" the princess raised an eyebrow, "That's it,"

"Well it was a storm cloud but the gist is the same,"

Que picked up the hatchling from under his armpits and lifted him into the air, looking at him with tender eyes, "...A cloud, so that must mean your name, is...Yun*,"

Next to her Jin nodded and leaned against the pedestal with folded arms, "Yun, the Phoenix Goddess's third child. You will grow up with the strength to fight against the world, and the intelligence to question reality. But remember...you must never betray our race,"

Suddenly the scenery froze, the winds, the twitch of muscles, sound, and even the dust floating in the air. Outside the pavilion, from thin air, Reiz and Garuda appeared in a swirl of white light.

"W-W-W-What the heck!?" the devil-half-breed sputtered as he tripped onto the ground, and scrambled back onto his feet with haste, "What the fuck was that!? What did you do!?"

"Relax," Garuda replied, "We're in the same place, but at the same time, we are not,"

"I told you to stop with the riddles! Tell me where we are and what we're doing here before I kill you," Reiz threatened with a raised hand, ready to blast out a bolt of plasma.

Garuda simply chuckled, "Try all your power but your magic doesn't work here, none of your attacks will. But to answer your question, we are just...taking a trip down memory lane…quite literally in fact. All four thousand years of it"

"What?"

"I told you didn't I? I am going to show you everything, so you know who we are, who you are, and why we must fuse to become one being again,"

"I'm not doing shit!" Reiz snapped.

"You will change your mind," Garuda calmly stated.

The Avian then turned over to the pavilion and gestured to it with a wave of his hand, "This will be our first stop, the moment we were born into the universe, not much to see here as I, the original body, don't remember much of it anyway. So let us move on shall we?"

"Wait! Don't I get a say in th-?" Reiz began but was cut off as Garuda placed a hand on his shoulder, and the two of them disappeared in another swirl of bright light.

After leaving Mori's assigned room, Sirzechs decided to pay the other fighter a quick visit before returning to his normal Maou duties. He strolled down the halls of the hospital, waving at and greeting the staff that worked there as he made his way to Reiz's room. He opened the door and stepped inside.

Sirzechs immediately realized that he wasn't the only guest inside. Sitting beside the half-blood's bed was the slim frame of his mother.

From behind, the Maou could see that Roze Phenex was gazing down at her son with remorse, but there was a tinge of pride underneath. She flinched as the noise of the closing door along with Sirzechs's approaching steps startled her.

She turned around to see who was behind her and immediately stood up as soon as she saw the Crimson Maou, then bowed with respect.

"Greetings, Sirzechs-sama," Roze said with her head still dipped, "Apologies that I didn't see you there sooner,"

The Maou gave a smile with a raised palm and said, "It's quite alright Roze Phenex, no need to be so formal all the time. I've come to see how your son is doing and then I'll be on my way,"

Roze straightened herself and nodded before looking back at the unconscious Reiz.

"How is he?" Sirzechs asked as he moved to stand at the end of the hospital bed.

"The doctors said he's fine, he just needs to rest for a while," Roze replied, not taking her sapphire eyes off of her son.

"That's good," said the Crimson-haired leader, though he was wondering why the platinum-haired male hadn't awoken yet while his former opponent was munching down on fruit on the opposite end of the hospital.

Roze reached out slowly to touch her son's face, and her hand was half an inch away when she suddenly paused. The blonde woman pulled her hand back to her chest and dropped down onto her seat with tears emerging from the corner of her eyes.

Sirzechs had noticed and asked, "What's wrong?"

Roze didn't answer for a few minutes and simply stared at Reiz with the same dejected expression from before.

"...I-It's just," she began as she started to shiver, "...It's just...the last time I saw his face...it was thirteen years ago...I-I wasn't there for him during the most important points of his life… and I know he probably hates me now…"

Sirzechs remained silent as he patiently listened to the female Phenex.

"..The last time he looked me in the eyes, they weren't red with tears, or the cute, wide, and innocent eyes he always had," Roze shuddered, "They were vicious, cold, bloodthirsty, and...silver… It was almost as if it wasn't him. The hatred, guilt, and anger I saw in them, it was like something else took over his body, like he was someone else entirely… But ever since that night, during these thirteen years, I've always wondered, what if those were his true eyes all along? What if 'Reiz' was just a mask he was born wearing? I feel like...I feel like I don't know who and what my own son is anymore,"

"Roze," Sirzechs whispered sympathetically as he placed a hand on his wife's best friend, "Please calm down a bit, I fear you may be overreacting from seeing your son again after a long time,"

"Overreacting," Roze scoffed as her tears flowed down her cheeks, "Do you know how many times I've wished for our last moment together to be different? Even if I had to be inevitably taken back forcefully, I would've rather seen him cry, kick, and scream than what he did that night. Do you know what he did, Sirzechs? Do you know what I saw? Do you?"

"No,"

"He killed, no...he slaughtered someone," Roze replied, "He sunk his teeth into and ripped out a devil soldier's neck. He tore open the soldier's back as if it were nothing but loose bits of wet paper, and pulled apart his spine to drink the marrow inside and he feasted on his organs. All while that soldier was still screaming and writhing in indescribable pain. He devoured that soldier alive,"

Sirzechs's slightly horrified gaze briefly flickered over to the platinum-haired fighter lying asleep in bed.

"Back when we lived in that cottage, he hated the sight of blood, every time I had to bandage his cuts and scrapes, he would wince and look away. Every time I had to kill an animal for our meals he would run outside because he couldn't stand the thought and sounds and the smell… so I never thought I would see so much blood splattered across my child's face and body… And I never would have thought I would ever see him so gleeful while ending someone's life while bathing in their blood,"

"So you tell me, Sirzechs," Roze glared up at the Crimson Maou with watery eyes, "Am I overreacting?"

"...I'm sorry," The Maou apologized, "I didn't mean to presume,"

…

…

…

"I must go," said Roze, wiping her tears as she stood from the seat, "Lord Belial is probably wondering where I went,"

The former Phenex princess paced towards the door, but just as she was about to open it.

"You don't need to go back there anymore," Sirzechs said suddenly, causing her to come to a sharp halt.

"What are you talking about?" questioned Roze as she slowly turned around.

Sirzechs placed a hand across his chest, "As the current Maou Lucifer, I, hereby declare that Roze Phenex is no longer sentenced to serve the House of Belial as a consort for their Head. From this day forward you are free from those restraints and can go wherever you wish,"

"W-W-Wha?" Roze could only sputter in astonishment, "W-What are you talking about? What's going on Sirzechs-sama?"

"I made a promise, that's all," the Crimson Leader simply replied as he walked to the exit, and put a hand on the handle. He smirked and chuckled when he saw the Phenex female's expression.

"You can ask your son about the details when he wakes up,"

With that, Sirzechs left the room, leaving the light-blonde devil standing there still processing the words he had said. Her blue eyes flicked over to her sleeping son, and it was then, the realization dawned on her. Roze covered her mouth as tears freely flowed from her eyes, she collapsed onto her knees as she cried out of joy and relief, her sobs were muffled by her two hands over her mouth. After thirteen, long, excruciating years of being forced into marriage and separated from her true family, it was finally over.

Unfortunately and unbeknownst to her, her son, the one who had fought so hard to save her from her previous fate...wasn't going to awaken anytime soon.

That night, just like Sirzechs said, Mori was deemed healthy enough to be discharged from the hospital. He was let off with the doctors telling him to go easy on the physical activities for the next week and to change bandages at least once a day. To return to the Human World, he was given a Teleportation Pamphlet that Sirzechs had left for him at the hospital's front desk.

"Activate," said Mori. To his disappointment, the pamphlets still hadn't been upgraded with a voice activation feature. A wry smile crossed his face as he pushed his index finger onto the magic circle in the middle of the paper. A bright light engulfed his frame and the next second, he was gone.

The azure-haired boy reappeared in the familiar location that was the Clubroom, which was surprisingly empty. Mori looked up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was currently eleven PM. He then noticed that there were a couple of ladders placed against the wall and several buckets of paint splayed around the room. The paint-stained newspaper covered the usual timber flooring, there were also sheets of plastic that were cloaked around the three couches, coffee table, and Rias's desk.

"What's happening here?" Mori wondered as he picked up a paintbrush off the floor and inspected it, "Are they going through refurbishing or something?"

He dropped the paintbrush back on the ground then headed over to a window. Mori unlocked the window and jumped out, landing on the ground silently. Instinctively, the boy jogged over to the school gates and easily leaped over the brick wall into the quiet street. From there Mori made his usual way home, only stopping at a convenience store to buy an ice cream before continuing on his way.

But when he arrived, something felt off, something looked off...very off.

"Did I take a wrong turn somewhere?" Mori murmured with confusion, he turned around to look down the path he took and scratched his head, "But that's not possible, I take this route every day,"

Mori looked back up at the tall, stunningly eye-catching, luxurious building rooted in front of him, where his old, slightly run-down apartment once stood. The new building was practically shining and oozed out an aura of modernity and style, one even had to climb a set of stairs just to reach the entrance. Mori strained his neck looking up and counted how many stories it was, his eyes widened when his gaze reached the summit, floor thirty.

'I DEFINITELY took an extra left or right turn, this place is like a million times higher than my usual pay-grade,'

Mori quickly spun on his heels and was just about to head off to retrace his steps when a familiar voice called out to him.

The azure-haired teen turned around and saw Sirzechs at the top of the stairs, wearing a business suit smiling at him.

"Maou-sama?"

"Come on up," the Crimson Leader gestured for him to follow with a wave of his hand.

"Okay," Mori complied and bounded up the stairs to Sirzechs's side, "So what are you doing here Maou-sama?"

"I'm here," Sirzechs reached into the inside pocket of his suit and pulled out a small envelope. He handed it to Mori who was still bemused but took it anyway, then the blood-haired devil gestured to the double-doored entrance of the giant apartment building, "To welcome and to introduce you to your new home,"

"I'm sorry what?"

Sirzechs chuckled at the boy's utterly bewildered expression, "Weren't you the one who wished for better accommodations? And no you didn't go the wrong way, we built this place on top of the old building,"

"I...um...Y-ye? Wait. hol..wha?...ah...I do...huh?" the dark-eyed teen was too shocked to muster up a proper response.

Sirzechs shrugged at his response and turned to push open the glass doors, and immediately the gust of air conditioning along with the scent of citrus vanilla came rushing out, hitting Mori directly in the face.

"You coming?" the Maou asked.

"Yes!" Mori instantly replied and dashed inside. The doors closed by themselves behind him.

Mori's eyes didn't stop moving for a second as his curious nature forced him to look at everything, to say that the interior was extravagant was an understatement. There was a sparkling waterfall fountain on both sides of the walls with lush ferns planted around them. Semi-circles, white leather couches were placed in the middle and even the floor seemed to emit sparkles.

When the duo reached one of the four elevators, Sirzechs pressed the up button then told Mori to open the envelope he gave him a few minutes earlier. So he did and inside he found three black cards with a white diamond in the middle, he took one out to inspect it.

As the two entered the elevator, Sirzechs took the card from Mori and explained its purpose.

"This card is your new key, if you lose it there are two replacements," he told him.

Mori nodded, "Right, so which floor do I live on?"

Sirzechs smirked, and replied "Twenty-six to thirty,"

Mori raised an eyebrow, "But there are only twenty-five buttons,"

"That's because the building's upper levels are under an invisibility spell so regular people can't see them and won't worry about the lack of five extra buttons," the Maou said, "So, this is how you get to your floor,"

Sirzechs touched the card against the sensor lock beneath the elevator buttons. Suddenly, above the twenty-five buttons, an extra one to the twenty-sixth floor seemingly grew out from the wall. He then handed the card back to Mori.

"And that's how it works," he said as he pressed it and the elevator began to ascend.

"Woah," said Mori in awe and stared down at the card in his hand when he suddenly thought of something, "You can do all this yet your Teleportation Pamphlets still don't have Voice Activation,"

Sirzechs winced, feeling the truth of Mori's words pierce him like a spear, he chuckled bashfully before clearing his throat, "Yeah, uh, we're...we're working on that,"

Another thought crossed Mori's mind, "Hey Maou-sama, what's going to happen to all the previous tenants? Are they going to be kicked out?"

"Oh don't worry about that, they all live here too," revealed the Crimson Maou, "We just had to alter their thoughts a tiny bit to avoid the suspicion,"

"And what about the people living around this place, won't they get suspicious too?"

"We altered theirs as well,"

"You talk of altering thoughts like it's a normal thing," Mori deadpanned.

"Well I am a devil after all," Sirzechs replied, "Besides it doesn't do them any physical or mental harm so it's fine, and a bunch of people now live in much better conditions than before so it's a win for them,"

"Right...you haven't done that to me, have you? Y'know during your whole friendly manipulation thing?" Mori asked.

"Of course not, there was never a need to,"

"...I don't know if I should be happy or offended," Mori murmured as they arrived on the twenty-sixth floor.

Another door, this time wooden, stood in their way after taking a step out of the elevator. Mori waved the card in front of it and with a click it opened. The duo entered the new apartment, and the teen instinctively took off his shoes, leaving them by the entrance as Sirzechs flicked on the light.

Surprisingly, the interior wasn't furnished at all. But it did give Mori a good view of the flooring and walls. Expensive-looking white marble tiles covered nearly every inch except for coffee-colored ones outlining the walls. The walls also looked to be made of some kind of high-end material that Mori couldn't tell what it was.

"We left most of the place unfurnished so you can decorate it to your own liking," Sirzechs explained, "But we did move all of your belongings here which can be found in your room. It's on the thirtieth floor,"

"T-Thirtieth floor? W-Wait..."

"Didn't I say it before, you own every floor from twenty-six to thirty," Sirzechs said nonchalantly.

"I DO!?" Mori yelled in shock.

Sirzehcs nodded and patted his shoulder in an attempt to calm the boy down.

"Before I forget you don't need to worry about rent or bills either. This building is technically under the Gremory name so everything will be paid by us,"

"REALLY?!"

"Yeah. Well, I'll leave you to explore the place on your own," said Sirzechs with a smile, slipping his hand off of Mori's shoulder and started to form a teleportation circle under his feet, "Don't get too excited to the point you can't sleep, you still have school tomorrow,"

Mori gazed over the empty apartment for a few more seconds when his face loosened from an excited expression into an earnest one.

"But Maou-sama, I think this is too much. I seriously just wanted a replacement for my fridge and to repair some of my taps. I don't think I deserve this kind of...treatment," Mori said honestly, turning his head to look at the Crimson-haired leader.

"Don't fret over it too much Mori, you deserve it," said Sirzechs as he teleported away in a flash of red.

Now left by himself in the gigantic residential space, Mori sighed and took a step forward out of the small entrance hallway, into what he presumed was meant to be the living room. The cold touch of the marble beneath his feet seeped through his socks and sent a shiver up his spine.

"...So this is my new home," he said to himself, before promptly allowing his curiosity to take over while exploring the place.

Like Sirzechs had said, there was barely any furnishing done, so Mori was finished checking out the apartment after an hour. There was a large kitchen on the 'first' floor, and two bathrooms on the 'second' and 'fourth' floors that were more of some sort of miniature bathhouse than anything. Numerous empty rooms were also on every floor from the 'second' floor up.

Currently, Mori was lying on his small mattress in the middle of his spacious bedroom after taking a quick shower. He wondered how they were able to have so many large rooms in such a limited area but then deduced that it was most likely built with magic so he left that thought there. Mori lifted his phone above his face and saw that it was already past midnight. There was no way to get in ten hours of sleep without missing school so the azure-haired boy turned to his side while cocooning himself in his quilt. He had to salvage as many hours as he could get.

The next day Mori walked through the halls of Kuoh Academy towards his classroom, he yawned as he passed by his fellow students and some of his fans to who he returned their good morning waves. Even though he and the rest of the Occult Research Club were gone for a week, it felt more like they had taken a whole month off instead.

He slid open the classroom door and made his way over to his desk. A grin grew on his face when he saw his friend's familiar fish-shaped brown hair with his back towards him. Issei was too busy talking to the other two members of the Perverted Trio to notice and in the corner of Mori's eyes, he could see Asia on the other side of the room chatting with some of the girls from the Kendo Club. Mori's lips stretched into a playful smirk and he tip-toed towards Issei. It looked like Matsuda and Motohama had noticed his silent approach as they were just about to say something, but Mori pounced before they had the chance.

"GAH!" Issei yelled and flinched as if being shocked as Mori greeted him by jabbing into his side with two fingers.

"Who the he-?" Issei began, whipping around annoyedly, but his face brightened when he saw who it was, "Mori! You're back!"

"Did you expect someone else?" Mori replied happily as he made his way over to his desk and plopped his backpack down under it.

"I won't lie, I thought it would at least take you a week before you were fully healed," Issei admitted as he turned around on his chair to face his friend, who was seated behind him. At the same time, the other two members of the Perverted Trio returned to their seats to share an adult magazine before class.

"What can I say, I heal fast," Mori shrugged while leaning on his desk.

As they waited for the teacher to arrive, the two friends started to chat about their usual topics such as video games and movies. As much as Issei wanted to ask Mori some things about the match two days ago, they both knew they weren't allowed to talk about the supernatural world in public.

Soon after Asia walked over to them and joined them in their conversation, the blonde girl was also ecstatic to see Mori's condition. When the majority of the club returned and told her what had happened that night, she was genuinely worried about the azure-haired boy because from what her friends told her, Mori was the one who had suffered the most damage.

The Bishop didn't know what the two boys were talking about, but she was perfectly content with sitting next to them and listening in. However, she was also picking up on the conversation of Aika and a group of girls close by.

"Hey did you hear? The CEO of Azure Scales has arrived in Kuoh," said Aika.

"Seriously?"

"No way,"

"I know right,"

"Do you think he's scouting for talents personally?"

"That's our chance to see him,"

The group of girls started to squeal excitedly as they continued to talk. Asia cocked her head in confusion and turned to ask her two friends about it.

"Issei-san, Mori-san?" the blonde began, causing the two boys to pause their heating debate on Infernape vs Charizard and looked towards Asia.

"What's up, Asia?" asked Issei.

"She must've been listening," Mori thrust a finger at Issei, "Quick tell him Asia, Infernape is better!"

His words triggered a reaction from the Pawn, and he snapped back, "Wait no! Asia don't listen to him, Charizard is clearly superior!"

"Infernape!"

"Charizard!"

"Infernape!"

"Charizard!"

"Infernape!/Charizard!" The duo slammed their foreheads together, growling, with fire in their eyes and gritted teeth.

"Um, I just wanted to ask a question?" upon hearing her soft voice, the two seemed to instantly calm down as they separated and focused their attention back onto her.

"What is it?" Mori inquired.

"What's Azure Scales?"

Both boy's jaws dropped at Asia's question. It took them a second to recollect themselves.

"Oh that's right, you grew up in a reclusive environment so it shouldn't be surprising that you didn't know," Mori murmured while scratching his temple.

"Damn, I totally forgot to introduce her to it," Issei muttered as he snapped his fingers.

The blonde bishop looked at them in mild confusion, "Is it...Is it something bad? Did I say something…?"

"No no," Issei said, shaking his head and answered her, "We were just a bit surprised that you didn't know who they were. Well, Azure Scales is the largest and most famous media company in the entire world,"

"And they have been since 1975," Mori added, "They started as a simple movie-making company that expanded into every branch of entertainment, and by every, I mean every. Music, TV, Idols, Theatre, Live Streams, Gaming, heck they even opened Casinos, and there was even a rumor that they even did Adult Videos for a decade before dropping it, Issei can probably confirm that last one,"

"It's true they did!" Issei blurted out with pride, "They're extremely rare nowadays ever since Azure Scales pulled them off the shelves, so they're like the whale vomit of porn!"

"Now that I think about it, I still need to renew my membership with them," Mori said to himself.

Asia's green eyes widened upon hearing her friends' explanation, "They're that big? Now I feel bad that I didn't know about them before,"

Issei patted her on the head to reassure her, "Don't worry Asia, I'll introduce you to it later when we get home okay?"

"Okay," the girl chirped with a bright smile.

Suddenly the door to the classroom opened and their teacher walked in, prompting Mori to slide off his desk into his seat as all the other students immediately settled down. After their morning greeting, the teacher leaned forward against his lectern and cleared his throat.

"Before we begin, I have an announcement to make," he said, catching the attention of his class, "Although we only have a few months until Summer Holidays. The Headmaster has entrusted us with a new transfer student. So today, let us give a warm welcome to the newest addition to Class 2-A,"

Almost instantly, a wave of murmurs rolled through the room as they applauded.

"Another transfer? Don't we have two already?" a girl in the back row asked her friend beside her.

"I guess the Headmaster trusts us since we already have experience," her friend replied.

A male student in the middle row whispered to the bespectacled boy in front of him, "You think it's a guy or girl?"

"I'm hoping for another girl like Asia, but it could be a guy,"

The class went silent when their teacher said with a loud, clear voice, "You can come in now,"

All heads turned towards the door in anticipation.

Then, she walked in with such grace, that the entire class felt their breath being taken away the moment she stepped through the door. Be it boy or girl, nearly every student in class blushed when their eyes landed on her and could only stare at her as she made her way to stand next to the lectern.

"Please, introduce yourself," the teacher told her while handing her a piece of chalk. She took it with a smile and began to write her name on the blackboard, with the tapping of the chalk on the board being the only audible sound in the classroom.

'Why does she look kinda familiar?' Mori wondered as he gazed at the new student.

After setting down the piece of chalk, she spun around and her long, silky, black hair flowed smoothly with her movement. She wore the signature female variation of the Kuoh Academy Uniform, minus the short shoulder cape. The girl had a slim but curvaceous body, along with a small delicate face, a combo that would make most men fight over her and make most women jealous of her.

Her gleaming golden eyes quickly swept across the room, and Mori swore he felt her gaze linger on him for half a second before she bowed.

"Good morning everybody," she greeted and straightened herself.

"My name is Cho Ahri, pleased to meet you all,"

Chapter 12 - Finish

Just like the name of the chapter, Calm After the Storm, this chapter served as a rather peaceful intermission between arcs and the Excalibur Arc will officially start in the next one. But 3 important things happened in this chapter, Reiz and Garuda finally meet, Mori gets a housing upgrade (might be an understatement), and Ahri has arrived in Kuoh.

So Garuda has basically trapped Reiz in "their" soul and refuses to let him go until they fuse back into one being. He attempts to convince him by basically giving him a fully guided tour of his memories…..which also allows me to write up a Roc Demon King backstory. Originally I wanted to stuff it all in this chapter but I've decided to do it in an episodic style for pacing and build-up, basically, Reiz will return and have a proper reunion with his mother, but just not now. Now regarding Roc's backstory, his family are pseudo-OCs since they exist in Journey to the West but they're not very expanded upon. (If you're wondering, in the book the Golden-Winged Roc is one of, if not, the strongest antagonist as Wukong lost to him consecutively and even had a couple of humiliating defeats, resulting in him calling on the Buddha for help. While, contrary to her brother, the Peacock Princess is an ally). Now, I'm sure nearly all of you are asking why is Garuda named 'Yun' and not Garuda? It's because during GOH Ragnarok Uma herself said that the Roc Demon King changed his name after joining the Gods. (For evidence, the dialogue is literally in his wiki picture). So yeah, more will be revealed during the backstory.

Second thing, yes, Mori gets a five-story penthouse as his victory reward…..If Issei can have a whole nine-floor mansion including rooftop and basements, then Mori can have a five-level penthouse...cuz come on he's the Monkey King.

The third and final thing, Ahri is now in Kuoh, and also an Academy student. More on her in the future, and why is her surname Cho? Because Cho Miyeon of (G)IDLE voices her for K/DA.

Review Segment:

Akira-of-Ashton: It was confirmed at the end of Chp6 by Gunseng that there were two legitimate Wukongs in the current universe.

Ricc850 / kat1017 / Fisher (Guest): I'll just say there's some complicated cross-universe stuff going on. That's the safest answer right now.

Dxhologram: DXD Wukong isn't aware of Mori as of yet. The Mori vs Reiz fight took place in a different dimension, the same used for Rating Game dimensions, so nothing outside could actually accurately sense the two's aura, but when watching pressure can be felt. There isn't a revelation of Mori being SWK since the transformations can be signed off as Touki manipulation, and it doesn't help that Mori looks nothing like a monkey in that form anyway. Yes, they did yell each other's true identity out loud at the end of the fight, but that portion of the fight was private since the initial explosion that destroyed most of the arena also took out the Recording Orbs that sent live footage and sound back to the engagement hall. Mori and Reiz's identities are safe for now.

Jonrocksthestar (Guest): I don't have plans for Ogre...yet. But as for the list of all the different sources where I'm getting all my information, ideas, and inspiration from. Chinese Mythology…...yeah that's it, that's all.

emath148: Yes

That's all for Chapter 12! Once again hope you enjoyed it, leave a review, and all that good stuff.

Thank You For Reading, and Goodbye!