Yes, the chapter is 20k long. I'm sorry. I didn't know where to end it. Keep in mind next chapter will big as well.
Just for this occasion, I won't be replaying guests because of reasons. Nonetheless, thank you all for your reviews.
Yes, I changed the title cuz, it was so chuuni asf that reached Fanfiction's word limit. Feelsbadman.
Enjoy.
Slash 27. Dog of the Blade/Chaos-Edge Sieg
"No, you won't go Balance Break, Tobio." Danhauser Belial firmly declined, shifting his hardened gaze over his other knight. "And no, you're not going to Kuoh to talk with Freed and this David. I don't want you near them, at all."
It hadn't taken too long for the two of them to snap out of it, mostly through the actions Danhauser had made in the past. Even if Danhauser and his Peerage were once again assisting any case that involved Satanael and his crew, he thought it'd be a great idea to carefully, once again, approach Kuoh Town to deliver flyers to any human in need of a selfish wish. Siegfried thought it'd be a good opportunity to catch up with his former teacher and partner in crime.
Like the evil leader he was, Danhauser immediately turned down the knight's requests.
It was either ironic or hypocritical from Danhauser's part. After all, he was having now and then a meeting with Jeanne to keep a keen eye over the streets of Kuoh Town around afternoon and nighttime. His servants already knew about this professional relationship with the saint, something that made Danhauser confused about why Siegfried wouldn't bring that up as a counter to his king's neglection.
Maybe Siegfried understood what he's going through.
Tobio also took a long ride on Siegfried's restless train. Thanks to his childhood friend, Sae Toujou, who'd begged Cleria Belial to make sure a black recorder reached Danhauser's hand and ended up in Slash Dog's grasp. After knowing who the sender was, that alone had made the latter hurriedly listen to everything in private. It carried the voice of his grandmother, Ageha Ikuse. The message was as clear as crystal. It was the chant to trigger Canis Lykaon's Balance Breaker.
Even if the Light Novel of Slash/Dog contained only a single volume, it was decent enough to be well-informed of the main cast and the antagonists. Unfortunately, Tobio, by any means, couldn't handle his Balance Breaker, while it gave him a boost in terms of strength and better control over darkness, the Sacred Gear's balance breaker was, in truth, a double-edged sword. It made the user go into a frenzied state, indiscriminately attacking allies and foes alike.
Heck, in the Light Novel, almost near the epilogue, he dismembered Himejima Hanezu's arms before decapitating him. Azazel needed to use a talisman to keep him at bay, Lavinia Reni had to use her Longinus to freeze the darkness that was forged as sharp blades and Vali Lucifer had to divide his powers to stop Tobio from doing something that he would regret in the future.
Of course, Azazel was more than enough to drop Tobio unconscious, but they were seeking for a non-lethal route.
"Come on, boss!" Tobio tried to persuade him, sunlight dappling his brunet hair. "We can't waste this chance now! Who knows? Maybe the Balance Breaker was the key we needed to defeat Satanael!"
Jin barked in agreement!
Danhauser inwardly sighed. "Maybe it would be enough to catch him off-guard, but defeat him? Unlikely." He retorted, arms folded. "He's a cadre and participated in a war, he has far more experience than all of us together. What we're going to do is visit Azazel and wait for a solution."
He already knew about the Sacred Gear, but Danhauser preferred if Azazel was the one doing the explanation, they'd get suspicious if they find out that their King knew every tiny aspect of the Longinus when it's not even his forte. He wasn't the brain when it involved Sacred Gears.
"Can you at least tell me at least why you're against it? This is something we can't just push aside… especially me."
"This is not just a mere Sacred Gear, Tobio," Danhauser answered strictly. "This is a Longinus, and since we're referring to Canis Lykaon, it's capable of tinting the world in darkness in the wrong hands. We don't know if you're capable of holding your sanity while in balance breaker."
Even if they were training to become stronger and showed good progress, Tobio has mostly been honing his skills in the way of the sword, thanks to Siegfried, rather than his Sacred Gear. Again, the most suitable for this job is the Governor-General Azazel.
Tobio's mouth pursed but relented.
"I should tell Valerie to summon Gasper too, that way I would kill two birds with one stone." The gray devil mused and noticed how Siegfried was looking at him intently and pleadingly. He furrowed his brow and made contact. "Drop this already. Remember that everyone thinks that you're sleeping with the fishes right now. If they find out you're still alive and kicking, we would get in trouble with the church."
"Master, but they already know that I'm still alive," Siegfried shot back. "I can bet that most of the exorcists believe that I'm still breathing."
Slash Dog blinked. "Wait…"
"…What?" Danhauser murmured."How's that even possible? Back when we'd rescued you from that tribe filled with werewolves, my brother and Gilles had made sure that the coast was as clear as the sea. There's no way they missed out survivors."
"Whoa hold on!" Tobio said aloud, eyes wide. "You were in the middle of a werewolf pack?! Damn, that's some bad luck you got there, Sieg."
Jin barked!
The Japanese boy brought a hand to his neck. "Well, yeah, I suppose you're right. He was lucky that the Belial family came to the rescue," he muttered. "… Or else he'd be a werewolf chew toy."
"… Vatican Headquarters Directive Six-Eight-Four," Siegfried recalled with eyes closed. "When the Vatican went public with the exorcist program, it was theorized that the reports of professional exorcists' losses could cause a crippling loss of morale, mostly to the recruits. Consequently, expert and veteran exorcist casualties are reported as either MIA or WIA, in order to maintain the illusion that the strongest exorcists do not die."
"Exorcists never die?" He whispered. Danhauser swiveled out of his spot and leaned back on the trunk of a nearby tree. "… If only that were true."
Losing notable figures such as Dulio Gesualdo, Vasco Strada, and even Jeanne could also provoke this.
"But if the higher-ups listed you as MIA or WIA then that means that they presume that you're technically dead," Tobio realized. "… Since, you know, they have to hide any indication of your apparent 'death' from the newbies."
"While the rest believes that you're still alive," Danhauser added, clicking his tongue. "But because that's what the church is telling them, not because they'd decided to search for any evidence of your status. All in all, you're unofficially alive."
Tobio groaned out to the skies. "Holy crap, this is getting so confusing…" He moaned out, rubbing his face. "I feel like my head is about to blow up…"
Jin whimpered in agreement.
"Stop whining, Tobio." Danhauser chided lightly. He focused on Siegfried once more. "This is a different case, you just became a devil. You never died doing your labor as an exorcist. If they find out that you're still alive, it could cause us much trouble, something that I'm trying to avoid for our sake."
What Danhauser has in mind is that the higher-ups either will immediately refuse any relationship they had with the silver-haired boy to the point of burning his papers to hide any proof or build a propaganda to convince the followers of God that Siegfried was 'seduced' by the devil and became a heretic.
Suddenly a burst of wind shook the nearby trees. Looking up at the sound of a powerful roar, they spotted a gargantuan figure slowly descending by flapping his mighty wings.
"Bova." Danhauser greeted as the dragon landed on the ground. He caught sight of someone smaller attached on his back. "Valerie."
"Heh! Bosshauser," Bova Tannin showed off his set of sharp teeth, waiting for the Dhampir to leave his back. Meanwhile, he inspected each one of them. "Huh, we're late it seems. Oh well." He noted, not sounding remorseful.
Valerie Tepes finally hopped out from the rook's back. She glared daggers at him while dusting her dress. "Maybe if someone wasn't trying to show off with his redundant acrobatics we would be just in time."
"We dragons love hovering above the clouds and the feel of air caressing our scales," Bova retorted. "I'm not expecting a Dhampir to understand my kin's enjoyments."
The light-blonde hybrid rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes. Your head is just another cloudless day."
"Come on, don't pick a fight now…" Danhauser pinched his nose. "… Seriously, I'd just stopped a second ago."
The dragon curiously tilted his head. "Huh? What did we miss now?"
Tobio took a step forward and answered. "Boss doesn't want Sieg to drop in for a talk with the people he grew up and worked with," he responded, shoulders slumping. "… He's also prohibiting me to use my balance breaker in the meantime."
"You make it sound like I'm the villain here," Danhauser mumbled.
Bova roamed his cold gaze over the quiet silver-haired boy. "You're seriously still holding feelings for them?" he said disapprovingly. "How can someone be so dense? They're not people you can trust anymore, exorcist. They're just there to put Bosshauser's family in trouble."
"Stop calling me an exorcist, Bova!" snapped Siegfried with his fists balled. "And what's with you implying that? They wouldn't put anyone in danger!"
"Tell your bull not to shit on my lawn," Bova growled out. "I don't care what you see in them. Just drop it already, they're no longer your allies, friends or whatever you see in them. You better get ready when the time comes because I bet that they'll kill you right on the spot if they lock eyes with you."
Tobio stared with half-lidded eyes. "… Okay, I get it that dragons are all blunt and stuff, but holy crap, you take the whole cake." he wasn't done. "Not only do you take the cake, but you take the pieces that are stuck on the platter as well as the icing."
"But is he wrong?" Valerie shot back with a frown. "Bova made it sound harsh, but he's not inaccurate." Her eyes wandered over the quiet, former exorcist. "… You're not adapting, Siegfried. Adaptability is the key to survival. I'm impressed with how you made it this far… certainly, you'll have an interesting death one day… Ehehehe…"
After firing a disgusted glare at the only pawn, Tobio shook his head. "You guys do love pointing out the bad things rather than the good ones, eh?"
Danhauser's eyes narrowed. "I can't speak for everyone here, but I'm not here to blow smoke from anyone's ass." He stated dryly. "I'm doing anything that is possible in my grasp to keep us away from the politics. Besides, I have memories when we talked about this the moment you'd joined my Peerage, Siegfried."
At the end of the day, the final decision is his. He can collaborate and get multiple opinions but the ultimate decision falls on him. This is a lot of pressure for some. Because at the end of the day if he's right fifty percent of the time he's doing well. That's just one of the few flaws of being a leader.
He can't be scared to fail.
"… As vulgar as Danhauser made his quote sound from the beginning, he's quite right." Valerie agreed, toying with her pigtail. "Telling someone everything they want to hear and nothing they need to hear? As if that wouldn't inflate someone's ego."
Siegfried raised his hands in frustration and defeat. "Fine, I'll back away since this is a futile battle. I still don't agree with it, but whatever." The proud German, however, glared at the dragon. "Just to make things clear, I'm the descendant of a strong hero and in my veins, I hold the blood of the fatherland. I cannot be slain so easily as you'd implied."
Bova stared back. "Draw your swords."
Siegfried frowned. "What?"
"Your weapons. Draw them."
"Guys…" Slash Dog called out carefully, trying to intervene. "Come on, let's not get crazy over here…"
"Let them be," Danhauser ordered calmly. "There's no point in getting in the middle anymore. I'll stop them if they overdo it."
The former exorcist's frown deepened. "I can't grasp your way of thinking," Siegfried admitted. "Why do you want to fight me all of a sudden?"
"Aren't you a swordsman related to a famous dragon slayer?" The rook recalled, annoyed. "Your goal is to be the strongest swordsman, right? How are you going to be one if you can't face me?"
"I won't fight you unless you're holding a sword," Siegfried responded. "Besides, being the descendant of Siegfried has nothing to do with my ambitions."
"I'll use my horns then."
"I don't have anything to prove at you, Bova." Siegfried dismissed. "Put it at rest already."
"Huh, you do have a spine after all," the dragon grunted. "A shame you rarely use it."
Danhauser suddenly clapped, ensnaring everyone's attention. "I'd called everyone here for a meeting, so let's begin." Leaving no room for argument, he continued. "I know that the Utsusemi has appeared on the scene once again, but even so, I believe that we can deliver flyers around Kuoh Town without getting in trouble."
"As long as it isn't one of the exorcists patrolling Kuoh Town, then I don't see any issue whatsoever," Valerie hummed and eyed their surroundings warily. "This is out of context, but why organize a meeting in the middle of the forest…? Have you forgotten about the stray devil lurking around?"
"Don't worry about the stray devil. Unless they have a death wish, they'll stay away from us," the gray-haired king boasted. "We're strong enough to handle a single foe."
Bova cracked his knuckles, grinning goofily. "Heh! They better make a move on us!" He chuckled excitedly. "Heard that this is not your typical stray devil, they're ranked as an SS criminal. Those can pack quite the punch!"
"Let's not get off track." Danhauser cleared his throat. "You guys are going to make contracts while I pay Azazel a visit to Ryuukou Town to study Canis Lykaon." He spared a quick glance over his pawn. "You have a flyer for Gasper, right? Call him out. We'll also make sure he has a stable control over his Sacred Gear."
"As you wish, Danhauser. I'll get into it once this meeting is over."
"Thank you," he brought a hand to his hip, eyeing one after another. "Any questions?"
Tobio raised his hand. "I actually have one," he announced. "Don't you need me there to solve the issues with my Sacred Gear?"
"Not really," the pure devil replied, gesturing at the small puppy. "Since your Sacred Gear is categorized as Avatar-type, Jin tagging along would be more than enough."
Jin quickly made its way to Danhauser, tail wagging happily as it looked up at him.
The heir softly patted Jin's head. "Just keep your guard up until then, Tobio," Danhauser advised. "Anything else?"
"I won't be participating in this," Bova declared, pausing. "Actually, I will, but in a few hours. You know why."
The gray-haired boy curved an eyebrow questioningly. His eyes suddenly widened in realization. "You're going to practice with your flames, aren't you?"
"Heh! You got that right!" The dragon fist-pumped the air. "I have to see it with my own eyes!"
"… It would be delightful if any of you two could share your conversation with us," Valerie said, mildly irked. "It's becoming irritating to be left off in the dark most of the time."
"Devils hold great pride over their demonic powers and clan traits. Angels and Fallen Angels because of their multiples wings and light-based powers." Bova looked at her from head to toe. "…I guess the Vampires because of their weird insectoid bodies and shadows." He suddenly smirked and pointed at himself with a sharp claw. "We, Dragons, are prideful of our breaths!"
Valerie stared flatly. "Danhauser, could you shed some light as to what he's talking about?"
"Thanks to his father's genes, Bova's fire breath is as powerful as a meteor strike," Danhauser explained. "However, since he's still a young dragon, his breath could evolve into something else and more threatening. The process depends on either the dragon reaching full adulthood, facing certain types of weather or even staying in a location for months, like a dessert."
The Prison Dragon Vritra was a perfect example of this. Because of his control over Black Magic, his Fire Breath fused with his Dark Arts, his infamous black flames came into the picture, capable of cursing the soul or spirit.
Or even Tannin, which has the intensity of a meteor's impact.
It was a process that dragons faced in their teenage days. It reminded Danhauser of one of the most famous Pokémon in the franchise: Eevee and its many evolutions.
"Ah, so adaptability?" Valerie smiled satisfactorily. "Of course, everything makes sense now. Dragons are infamously known because of their versatility in different situations. They are incarnations of power itself."
"Another reason why they're feared between the many pantheons," Siegfried muttered with arms folded. "You have to be mentally insane to clash with any of them."
"Your ancestor did." Tobio shot back.
Siegfried chuckled pridefully. "I never said he was sane, did I?"
"Fire attacks aren't the only thing we can manipulate," Bova smirked. "The youngest member of my old man's peerage loves flying in the middle of thunderstorms, one day he got struck by one." He tried to imitate the sound of lightning, failing miserably. "The bastard survived alright, but weeks later his scales changed color and he could spit lightning bolts faster than shit through a goose. He became a dragon of thunder."
Or like Apophis with his Primordial Water capable of hurting even the gods, even Albion with his venom suited to dividing the existence of living beings.
Plus, depending on the dragon's breath that's how they acquired their epithet, most of them either way, another point why Bova is excited.
"Issei is another great example… he'll eventually become a dragon of breasts," he cringed at the thought. "Damn… it must be embarrassing losing against one of his oppai beams. Not gonna happen to me, though." He finally met the dragon's impatient gaze. "Alright, you can go and tweak your breath, but only for a few hours! Later I want you to make contracts."
"Good thing I gave my old man a few flyers to summon me," he gave a thumbs up afterward. "Deal."
Releasing a sigh, Danhauser addressed everyone. "Now, if anyone doesn't have any more questions…" he drawled. Satisfied, he nodded. "Good. Let's get to work, then."
He trailed his focus at the black-framed wall clock for the ninth time this hour. He took his gaze off the clock, silently vowing to not look at it once more until necessary and just tapped his foot for the sake of distraction and kill boredom.
It was like sitting in a waiting room of an ambulance to wait for the results of someone's health condition. While Danhauser Belial was calmed, Valerie Tepes wasn't. Of course, she hid it very well with her blank mask, but her dark, red pupils were only locked on her childhood friend in worry.
He wondered what Valerie would do if Danhauser wasn't keeping her company.
Gasper Vladi, unfortunately, failed terribly on cooling down. He just looked at the fallen angel with wide, shaky eyes. His body trembling uncontrollably like a chihuahua on a snowy day. Danhauser made sure to use a limb of resin and wrap it with Worthlessness, just by grabbing the dhampir would be more than enough to keep his sacred gear from, momentarily, freezing time.
He could take a few notes from Jin's book, the dog was as bright as the sun.
"Alright, all checked," Azazel commented, waving Danhauser to move closer without looking at his direction. "Get moving brat, the faster we do this, the better."
"My turn, I guess." Danhauser sighed as he slowly stood up and sat beside Gasper. He rolled his sleeve and showed his wrist. "I'm ready."
"We have to disinfect the area before jumping to the fun part." Pulling some cotton mixed with alcohol from his briefcase, Azazel briefly passed it through the devil's wrist. Taking a firm hold, he pulled an empty syringe. "Get ready, this is going to sting a little." He warned and hastily pierced his skin.
Danhauser hissed slightly, but slowly relaxed whilst watching his blood being sucked in a thin stream.
"Feel anything?" Azazel asked, not looking away from his wrist.
"Step by step, really?" Danhauser grunted softly. "Sounds like I'm visiting a dentist rather than a doctor… they just love boring their patients to death."
"Hey, hey, watch it." Azazel playfully cautioned, pulling the filled syringe out of his skin. "Remember, I'm a walking fossil now, and these hands are meant for inventing sacred gears and jerking off. Could slip, you know?"
Danhauser stared flatly. "Please, tell me you washed your hands first before touching us."
"That would be enough brat." Azazel ignored the question, shaking the vial close to his face. "Go back with your girlfriend, she looks lonely."
Casting a brief glare at the fallen angel, Danhauser covered his injection point with cotton and joined Valerie in the background.
To his surprise and amusement, coming from his right, the sound of sniffing comforted his ears. He carefully peeked through the corner of his eyes and held back a chuckle.
A scene worthy of a thousand pictures. Sitting through the edge of her seat was Valerie with her eyes closed and a faint smile. Her nostrils constantly stretching and narrowing for each swift sniff she stole, letting her nose guide her to the scent.
"My blood smells that good?" The question stopped the girl from further actions.
Slowly popping a single eye open she met Danhauser's wiggling eyebrow. She folded her arms and looked away with a small scowl. "… I would lie to myself if I said that your blood didn't catch my attention." She retorted defensively. "… It has been so long since I caught a whiff of rich blood. Usually, I satisfy my hunger by drinking the blood of animals across the Belial Territory."
"I remember that." Danhauser nodded at the reminder. "I also remember that I told you to drink from my blood instead. Why haven't you asked me yet?"
Before the girl could respond, an object quickly flew in their direction, the pure devil grabbed it with ease. "That's the bracelet I'll use with the crossdresser." They heard the voice of Azazel as both simultaneously inspected each part of the bracelet. "It's a prototype, but it'll do the charm thanks to your blood."
"With this, he would get a better hold of his Sacred Gear…" Danhauser mused, finger flicking the small tubes carrying his blood.
He knew that this was the same item that Azazel lent to Issei Hyoudou to temporally achieve Balance Breaker for his upcoming fight against his rival, Vali Lucifer, and for Gasper.
Danhauser glanced over his shoulder, almost bumping heads with Valerie. "So? What do you think?" He shook the bracelet in his grasp. "Convincing enough for you?"
The girl's red eyes stayed on his. "What do you think." She whispered back. "Is this reliable enough?"
"This is Azazel, a professional in creating Sacred Gears," Danhauser replied, ignoring the cocky grin of the fallen angel. "Gasper is in safe hands."
She never hesitated. She right away nodded at his words. "Okay, I put my faith in you."
Giving a reassuring smile, Danhauser easily flung the bracelet back to its creator. Azazel got to work right away. "Thanks for lending a hand, Azazel."
"Yeah, no worries." the leader of Grigori waved off his gratitude. He looked at the cross-dressing dhampir dead in the eye. "Do not drink the blood in one single sip." He ordered. "I get it's difficult for your race to control their thirst when the dish is between your eyes. But the point is that the blood within the bracelet should last at most a week, savvy?"
"Y-Yes!" He stuttered, looking anywhere but him.
With a lazy gesture, he let Gasper rush back to Valerie. He sighed and leaned back on the table, patting Jin's head. "Now, let's talk about this little guy. Back then, I told you that Canis Lykaon was a rare case amongst the other Sacred Gears, this one is a combination of other mythologies, Japanese and Greek respectively."
The youngsters tied their mouths, eyes jumping from Jin to Azazel multiple times.
The Governor-General continued seriously. "Canis Lykaon is made up of three components." He lifted three fingers. "The extinct Youkai that controls shadows, the Inugami. The blade that can kill gods, Ame-no-Ohabari and…"
"And…?"
The fallen angel withdrew a sigh, massaging the bridge of his nose. "… and the lycanthropy and consciousness of Lycaon, the First Werewolf."
"… Oh fuck," Danhauser imitated Azazel's movements. "It was going fine until you mentioned that one."
Valerie tilted her head in thought. "I may have a slight distrust for werewolves in general but…" she admitted, fumbling with her light blonde hair in one finger. "Is that really a bad thing? Wouldn't that be beneficial for you and Tobio?"
"I don't mind Tobio turning into a furry," Danhauser commented idly. "… What's making me shit my pants is that Lycaon's consciousness is still active… Seriously, I don't know what came to His mind when He sealed Lycaon in a Sacred Gear."
"Who? God of the Bible?" Azazel ignored their groans of pain. He scratched his goatee, hesitating. "… Yeah, well, what happened was that He confused Inugami with Lycaon..."
Danhauser stared for a while. "Bullshit." he bluntly attacked. "They're from different mythologies, how can He confuse both? Plus wasn't He supposed to know it all?"
"Alright, first of all, that's something that humanity wrote in the bible to make Him look flawless." The fallen angel countered. "Second… Satanael shares the same thoughts as you. Satanael doesn't believe He confused both mythologies."
"… So, He grabbed Lycaon, the god-slaying blade and the Inugami purposely?" Danhauser voiced out his thoughts.
"Again that's what Satanael believes." Azazel repeated, shrugging. "… But the guy is well known for his immense hatred toward Him. He could just make that up to antagonize Him."
"… How He'd never got issues with other pantheons?"
The Governor folded his arms. "Dunno. He's someone who kept everything to Himself, heck, He even kept His most loyal Angel, Michael, in the dark," he responded iffy. "… So, it's impossible for me to understand how He dodged bullets so many times."
"Maybe He'd negotiated with them?" Valerie suggested, caressing Gasper's hair as a mother would. "From what I know is that the Nemean Lion was a dangerous creature back in his days… and from what I learned today, Lycaon is also a deadly figure, too."
"Why would other gods allow Him to create artifacts to kill the gods themselves?" Danhauser muttered to himself. "Doesn't make any sense."
The dhampir just shrugged.
"Lycaon wasn't someone troubling to a supernatural creature," Azazel replied. "He was the former first King of Arcadia notorious for his horrific deeds." He suddenly scowled. "… However, now that he has lycanthropy, power over shadows and is capable of slaying gods, he made himself a threatening character."
At last, Danhauser asked. "Anything we can do to counter this?"
Azazel looked up, pondering for a full minute. "… I do have an idea. Remember the school established by Grigori?"
"Nephilim?" The heir replied instantly. "The one that had Satanael as the headmaster?"
"The one and only." Azazel nodded. "It's getting a remodel after Satanael's sudden betrayal alongside his students. If you want, you can sign up Ikuse to partake and have a better grasp of his Sacred Gear." He paused. "It'll take some time to enroll him, though."
"Sign him in." Danhauser never thought twice. "It won't bring you trouble if a reincarnated devil is walking around Grigori's headquarters, right?"
"Yes and no, don't worry about that though." the fallen angel waved off his worries. "Vali's a half devil and descendant of Lucifer, having a pseudo-devil won't harm anyone…" He shifted his gaze over the quiets dhampirs. "It would be good if you two joined but having too many devils would make a hassle around Grigori."
"Nonetheless, we wouldn't accept." Valerie firmly responded. "We appreciate your gesture."
Azazel shrugged and pulled from his pocket a few letters. "Before you go, she told me to give your team this."
Danhauser raised an eyebrow and slowly grabbed the bent papers. "Who is she?" He asked after spotting his name alongside his Peerage's written in different letters.
The Governor-General flashed a wink, followed by a thumbs up. "The heiress of the Himejima Clan and Ikuse's second cousin, Suzaku Himejima."
"So that's what the letter says?" Valerie Tepes idly said, not taking her eyes off the road. "It took her months to finally show her gratitude for saving the Five Clans?"
Danhauser Belial shot her a deadpan stare. "Don't be so cold," he pocketed the letter and resumed their walking. "Azazel told us why it took her so long. She was learning English plus the members of the Himejima Clan doesn't want her to make a link with us."
Jin barked in agreement!
"It's just common courtesy."
"You may see it as common courtesy, Valerie." Danhauser drawled. "But it is not so common anymore."
"It's a nice gesture." The second blonde clasped her hands. "Something impressive you had done in the past peeked her interest!"
When they had left Ryuukou Town, Danhauser had made sure to take off Gasper Vladi's bracelet and sent him back to the Gremory Territory, the dhampir couldn't go around with an object made by Grigori's highest technology around his wrist, they would get suspicious. Thankfully, Valerie had convinced her childhood friend to keep this meeting a secret.
After that, Danhauser with Valerie and Jin went on the lookout to Kuoh Town while his other servants, except for Bova Tannin who was summoned by his father, were making contracts across the town. At this hour of the day, he would always reunite with Jeanne and start watching any suspicious corner of the town.
Danhauser didn't mind if Valerie and Jeanne met one another since the dhampir isn't the type to go around and build friendships. Her Sacred Gear, however, must still be kept under the wraps, especially to the people involved with the church.
"Saint Jeanne," Valerie called out. "May I have a word?"
"Call me Jeanne!" The human girl exclaimed gleefully, hastily shifting to her side while hugging Jin close to her chest. "And yes, don't be shy!"
The pawn frowned at the closeness but continued regardless. "… Right, forgive the impertinence, but you are not like the exorcists I heard of back in my place."
Jeanne tilted her head to the side. "… Um, what did they tell you about us?"
"They discriminate anything that stands against the teachings of Him or those that are Devils, Fallen Angels, and Vampires," Valerie responded. "... Either you're wearing a mask and scheming something on our backs or..."
Jeanne shook her head. "None of that," she swore and quoted. "Love your neighbor as yourself... I would lie if I'd say that back in my younger days, I'd never hated a single Devil or Fallen Angel, I really despised them… but someone changed my mind long ago. Sure, there are stern believers in Christianity and the old teachings of the Church that they regard Devils as evil existences which must be eradicated at all cost. Just as there's your typical devil who's wicked and brutal."
"Are you implying that there are nice devils out there?"
"Oui, oui. Of course!" Jeanne nodded eagerly before smiling at the Devil with glee. "You're a good example."
Danhauser flushed. "Again, with this?"
"I know you're not so kind," the saint retorted, nuzzling Jin with her cheek. "You're just watching this town because of your cousin… not because of the citizens... I can understand your viewpoint, who wouldn't do the same thing for their family?"
"Me." came the bland response of Valerie as they rounded the next corner.
Jeanne wore a troubled expression. "… I'm sorry for intruding but are you perhaps a half human half something?"
Surprise flashed in Valerie's red eyes as she turned and regarded the human walking next to her. "Hm. You're more perceptive than I gave you credit for," Valerie said, a hand to her cheek. "… Interesting, but indeed. I am a hybrid."
"Then I guess you ran from your Clan or you were exiled." Jeanne theorized to herself before meeting her eyes. "I trust that you're in safe hands now."
Valerie's lips twitched, whether it was going to curl up into a smile or curve downward into a frown, no one other than she knew, as she aimed her gaze at the pure devil. "… Yes, I agree."
Danhauser couldn't contain the pleasure splitting on his face, unfortunately, it fell instantly after glancing up at the sound of genuine laughter.
The sight made him stop. His actions had affected the two beauties at his side. "Danhauser?" Valerie shook his shoulder in concern and followed his fixated stare. "What made you stop…"
…
…
…
"Cleria?"
"Masaomi?"
Danhauser and Jeanne called out their names in unison.
The two adults paused and turn their heads around, their eyes widening afterward.
"Danny…?" She properly faced her cousin. Her gray eyes constantly jumping from him to the saint. "What's happening?"
"…" He never replied. His eyes settled on Cleria Belial's date. His mouth pursed but slightly open and loose.
"Saint Jeanne…" Masaomi Yaegaki whispered in surprise.
Cleria's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Wait. You know her?"
The black-haired man paled.
"What are you doing with her?" Jeanne took a step forward. "I told your superior to stay away from her!"
"I... I wasn't informed. I..."
"What...?" Jeanne gasped, eyes wide. "I-I ordered him not to..."
"A deal." A pulse of demonic power left from his body, enough to alarm any supernatural creature."... We had a deal, Jeanne." Danhauser gritted his teeth, white knuckles from clenching his fist too hard. "... We had a deal. What's the meaning of this?"
The blonde missed a heartbeat. "I-it's not what it seems, Dan!" she stuttered desperately, accidentally freeing Jin from her hug. "I'd spoken personally with Touji to order his colleagues to stay away from your cousin! P-please you have to trust me!"
"They're going to kill Cleria."
"…" Valerie quietly stayed behind with Jin, watching the back of her King intently with mixed emotions. Sometimes glaring daggers at the saint.
"They're going to kill Cleria."
"A deal?" Masaomi repeated, sweating a little. "What is he talking about, Saint Jeanne? Touji hasn't told me anything yet. He just told me to keep spying on Claire!" Realizing what he just said, the exorcist brought a hand to his mouth. Cursing, he turned bit by bit at the headmistress of Kuoh Academy. He winced at the sight. "... Shit, Claire, I'm—!
"She's going to die."
"So, that's it?" Cleria interrupted, chuckling bitterly. "...You-you were just spying me this whole time? Our relationship was just a... disguise?"
"Murdered."
He reached out for her, but Cleria quickly slapped his hand away. He hissed in pain. "T-That's not true! Claire, it's too much stuff to explain, let's go somewhere and I'll explain everything you need to know, I swear on my life!"
"…"
"I—!" Her mouth froze when she felt a dense flow of demonic energy intensify around them. Gulping, she shakily turned at the well of power. "D-Danny...?"
"You… You worthless trash!" Ruled by wrath, Danhauser's anger-filled shout made everyone flinch. "You dare to touch Cleria with your disgusting hands?!"
"D-Danny! Calm—!"
"The woman that I—! That my family and I together—! The woman that we love dearly!" Demonic circles arose behind him. "Everything we've done, everything we'll do today, everything we'll ever do to protect her ruined by the likes of you! You try and date my cousin will only get her sentenced to death! You piece of shit!"
"Saint Jeanne!" No one knew from where they came, but an old figure wielding a western, crimson sword and a silver-haired brat carrying dual pistols quickly joined the picture. They took threatening stances and focused on Danhauser. "Freed, take aim! Yaegaki, get behind me!"
Masaomi tried to speak but was quickly silenced by Freed Sellzen's maniac laugh. "Finally!" He squirmed, fingers caressing the triggers. "Hip hip hooray! 'bout time we blow up some shitty devil ass!"
"… You don't want to do this," Danhauser warned, Jin quickly invoking a blade from its temple, resembling a horn. "Lower your weapons."
He made sure to stand in front of Cleria, shielding her.
For an odd reason, half of his consciousness begged him to punch the living shit of Masaomi.
But he held back.
"David? Freed?" Jeanne shook her head and stood between them, arms outstretched. "Stop! Listen to him! Put Galatine down, David!"
David Serro ignored her orders. "Saint Jeanne stay away, he's dangerous!"
"No!"
Before Valerie could call upon her shadows, the sounds of footsteps made her look behind. Her discovery made her sigh with relief. "Reinforcements are here. Good."
Thanks to the knight piece, Ikuse Tobio, and Siegfried promptly joined Valerie, the former exorcist with his Twice Critical and three light swords in each hand.
"We felt the demonic power!" Slash Dog shouted and caught Jin, who molded into a sword, in midair. "What happened?!"
"She did not fulfill her part of the bargain," she coldly stated, nodding at the saint. "That's what happened."
"…Freed," Siegfried gasped, his grip over his swords weakening. "David…"
David's eyes widened slightly. "… Impossible."
"Huh?!" Freed lowered his gun in surprise. "The hell?! You were in Japan this whole time?!" He quickly brought up his pistol, aiming at him. "And you became a shitty devil, too! You fucking traitor!"
Siegfried took a step forward. "Freed, let me—!" His mouth froze as a bullet fired into the sky. He stared, dumbfounded. "W-what?"
"Save that shit for someone who gives a damn." Freed blew the smoke out of his weapon. "Sieg died long ago."
…
…
…
"Freed!" Jeanne snapped. "What the hell is wrong with—!"
"… That dragon and master were right in the end." A distant look ruined his expression. His grip over his weapons tightened. "Fine then. You asked for it."
Jeanne's knees weakened. "… This-this shouldn't be happening…!" She croaked out weakly. "Everyone… please, I beg you…lower your weapons."
No one listened to her plea.
Tobio's light gray eyes continued hopping from figure to figure, resting over his King. "… What now?" He timidly inquired, even if he knew the answer.
"We wait for them to make the first move," Valerie crankily replied, shadows dancing around her. "Then strike back."
Tobio gritted his teeth, stomping the floor angrily. "Don't fu—!" He couldn't contain his words. "Don't fuck with me! I wanted to avoid this, I really did!"
"Not only you, Tobio," Siegfried said, eyes locked with Freed. "Everyone did."
"Speak for yourself, traitor!" Freed barked out. "I was getting fucking bored already!"
"…" Danhauser was in his own world, summoning his Senjutsu in his hand. His eyes flashed in horror as his ki constantly blinked from the peaceful bluish-white color to a dark crimson one. Catching on, he immediately closed his eyes and took quiet breaths.
"I almost got corrupted by Senjutsu. Dodged a bullet there." Once his ki was back to its base color, he vanished it and faced the group of exorcists, concentrating on the main issue. He anxiously clicked his tongue. "… What should I do now?"
As Cleria Belial watched with fear and worry at the scene unfolding before her, from the corner of her eyes, she spotted two distant figures observing atop the roof.
Time seemed to slow down from Cleria's perspective. A girl with a gothic lolita outfit and many ribbons adorning her hair, and a masked man with legs bent and a phone in his grasp, watching them intently.
He was filming them.
They'd noticed her if the playful wave coming from the male was any indication. The girl brought an arm up, summoning weird, purple fire molded like crosses and took aim. A look of hatred ruining her beautiful face.
She forcibly extinguished her flames when the man tossed the phone to her. She glared at her partner, growled and teleported away through magic.
Meanwhile, the well-built man, without looking away from Cleria, slowly stood up and snapped his fingers.
Cleria, in return, blinked many times. She was casting her eyes worriedly about as painless chaos reached her head, she suddenly doesn't know why she was looking at him. She only remembered Masaomi Yaegaki's identity.
As if someone cut her memories.
Unfortunately, her train of thoughts cut short when the figure landed roughly in the middle, ceasing abruptly the argument.
"Mah, mah. What do we have here…?" the man slowly stirred up. "Is this a party? Because it's looking sick so far! Hope this old man made it right on time!"
The man instantly unsheathed his weapon from his back and easily intercepted the projectiles. He looked over his shoulder, annoyed. "Hey now, attacking from the back? Don't be a coward."
The mysterious villain suddenly locked blades with David Serro, demonic and holy energy twirling around. "Hoh? A holy sword user, eh?" He grinned and jumped out of the way just in time to dodge limbs of resin and strings of shadows. "I knew it was worth to keep this beauty in my armory!"
"That's a demonic sword." David eyed the weapon cautiously, keeping Galatine close to his chest. "… By its appearance, that's the weapon of Lancelot du Lac. Arondight."
"…Arondight?" Danhauser Belial inwardly parroted, observing absentmindedly, Siegfried attempting to wound the new foe while Freed Sellzen offered support from a safe distance. His body paled in realization. "Fuck me… then that means that's—!"
"Satanael!" Ikuse Tobio literally teleported in front of the fallen angel, he angrily swung Canis Lykaon and watched the man nonchalantly dodge aside. "Ryuukou students!" He lunged once again, only to get parried by the demonic weapon. "Give them back!"
The Fallen Angel bellowed a laugh and grabbed Slash Dog's wrist. He threw him at Siegfried's direction, chuckling as they fall like dominoes' pieces. "What are you saying, you brat?! I'm not Satanael!" He playfully denied and quickly invoked a barrier to block David and Jeanne's simultaneous attacks and then swing his sword in an arc, barely missing both of them.
Danhauser shook Cleria's shoulder, startling her. "Go somewhere safe." He ordered desperately. "And call someone from the Belial Territory to lend us a hand, we'll do our best to hold Satanael for so long!"
This was a Satan-Class. Not even Gilles de Rais could defeat him. Diehauser Belial or Calcabrina Belial were the ones that could beat him to a pulp.
Cleria was ready to argue, but a harsh glare made her mouth pursed. She quickly hugged him. "Don't you dare to die!" She warned and ran away, a magic circle close to her ear.
"Report back to Touji, Yaegaki." Danhauser heard this David guy shout. "You're weaponless."
The footsteps were obviously of Masaomi Yaegaki retreating.
With a shaky sigh, Danhauser clashed stares with Valerie Tepes. They nodded mutually and fired their spells at the Fallen Angel.
"You're crushing me…!" Ikuse Tobio felt how Siegfried pushed him aside.
Shakily standing up, Tobio took a deep breath and watched Satanael hiding behind one of his strong magical barriers. Impeding Danhauser Belial's Gate of Babylon and Valerie Tepes' shadows to pierce the tough shield.
Satanael cocked his head back and laughed. "Is that all you—shit!" He cursed as his defenses were breached by Worthlessness. That fatal mistake was enough for David Serro to appear and go for the kill.
But the Fallen Angel showed superiority. He caught the sword between his fingers. "That was a close one!" Satanael kicked the chest of the exorcist and pushed him away, quickly slashing his sword to meet Jeanne's holy one. Even with the mask, it was easy to picture his grin.
As the fallen angel went for the blow, a shadow sprouted under them and yanked down his wrist, ruining his stance. The cadre grunted as a fist of resin crashed into his stomach, but to their surprise, he let out soft, maniacal laughter afterward.
"Is that it?" He looked up to Jeanne's eye. "Then you're good as dead!"
Satanael pulled her closer and threw his knee over the saint's gut, watching her keeled over by his immense strength.
"Jeanne!"
He tossed the blonde away as a bullet almost took half his ear and Danhauser went for a thrust with his spear.
"A demonic sword won't do with you!" Satanael grabbed the holy katana from his back and swung it down at the pure devil.
Danhuaser's expression showed brief shock but quickly hardened as he fought back, surprisingly following the steps of the Utsusemi leader. Either he dodged or rolled away the attacks before exchanging blows. Whenever Freed fired his gun at Satanael it made him wince, obviously worried that Freed would 'accidentally' aim at Danhauser's back.
"Why didn't he finish her off?" Tobio asked to himself, eyes settled on the saint as she rolled across the grass, soon rescued by her bodyguard, David. "Neither he's using his light powers. I mean, he's a fallen angel, right?"
"He's toying with us," Siegfried coughed out, slowly standing up. "That's what I presume, either way."
Slash Dog pondered for a while. "… Or he's not here to kill us?"
The fellow knight frowned. "That doesn't make any sense."
"If you two are done talking about tomorrow's weather…!" Valerie Tepes said from afar, using her shadows to slow down the fallen angel. "Danhauser urgently needs the help of his peerage!"
"Right!" Siegfried was the first one to react, becoming a blur as he joined in the frail.
The one who hadn't moved yet was Tobio along with Jin, keeping an eye at the unfair duel with a distant look.
Even by getting surrounded by different parties. Satanael stood his ground and countered anyone's attack, showing his mastery as a swordsman. He just fooled death whenever anyone from the team launched a threatening strike.
…
…
…
Sometimes he wondered, why of all people he had to be involved in this?
"I just wanted a normal life." He dug his fingers on the dirt and closed his eyes. "An ordinary life… Just to keep living with Sae and everyone, the students of that high school…! Why would you assholes ruin that…? For what…myself, Sae, and even Jin here…!"
It's all gone. And he knew it.
"Tobio!" Valerie called out strongly. "Snap out of it already!"
He could no longer dream for an ordinary life.
Neither could he push the blame to Danhauser, since his birth he was cursed by carrying the blood of the Himejima Clan and housing a threatening Longinus. His king saved his ass and his childhood friend, Sae Toujou, too.
"Tobio!"
A part of him was curious about what would happen if Danhauser never appeared in the script. Would he be an Utsusemi? Azazel would take him under his wing? Or perhaps die on the battlefield?
His hair shadowed his eyes. There was a burning feeling there, the one that made his blood boil, to see that bastard still moving around so easily, not a single scream of pain. He wanted the Utsusemi leader to pay for his sins. The emotion drowned him with power.
He wouldn't know how he would react if Sae was brainwashed by the cadre. For him who had lost his entire family, she was the only person important to him. The one he most wished to protect.
It drowned him with anger and desire. It sure as hell lifted his fighting spirit up.
"This is a world that would kill an ordinary person," Tobio's eyes shot open, now a deep red. "I can't think like that! To face the supernatural, I have to stop myself from being ordinary!"
Jin barked encouragingly!
"I'm so sorry, boss." He dropped to his knees, steeling himself. "I know you told me not to use it, but I can't hold back against the bastard who kidnapped half of my classmates. Just kick my ass later on, okay?"
Obviously, he never expected an answer.
This one goes to Ryuukou High School.
At last, Tobio took a deep breath.
And sang—
[I sing for the slaying of a thousand humans!]
Danhauser Belial felt a chill down his spine. The atmosphere changed marginally as if time stopped briefly before resuming once again.
Ikuse Tobio's voice could be heard letting out such words.
[I celebrate the slaying of ten thousand goblins!]
"Tobio!" Danhauser shouted, glaring at his servant's direction. "I fucking told you not to—!"
"Focus on the fight, newbie!" Unfortunately, Satanael had approached Danhauser's mistake to land a side kick on his ribs, strong enough to send him flying.
"Master!" First, Danhauser had heard from his awkward flight Siegfried's scream, then the echo of sword clashing, and finally something shattering. "Shit!"
"What a shitty sword!" That was Satanael, taunting the silver-haired boy without remorse.
[The name submerged in total darkness, that of the imitation god that drifts through the polar night.]
"No!" After landing roughly, Danhauser quickly stood up and fired out multiple fists of resin at Tobio's way.
To Danhauser's chagrin and surprise, the fake limbs were immediately destroyed by the black haze surrounding the brunet's body, acting as his guardian angel.
[Thou will perish by mine own black blade.]
Tobio immediately rose from his kneeling position. Jin, who had been struggling to escape, was ensnared by black shadows spreading from its feet, slowly submerging it within the darkness.
The darkness clung and devoured Tobio's body. His form morphing step by step, no longer the shape of a human, he had become something bizarre that differed from a human.
The black haze was expelled outwards from the brunet in vast quantities, building his new appearance. Forelegs, hind legs, and six tails sprouted from his lower back, it opened its mouth that had become canine. Its fur colored in jet-black, a never-ending black.
[To be something absurd, the god, creator of the deformed.]
As Tobio finished his chant, the jet-black werewolf let lose a penetrating howl, shroud mists fleeing its mouth, spreading like a river across the ground.
Satanael just knew this would happen.
The devil saw Valerie Tepes walking just an inch backward away from the humanoid beast. Her eyes widened in fear as she noted the close gap between them.
"Get over here, Valerie!" Danhauser cried out.
The blonde broke from her trance and obeyed by flapping her wings.
Everyone halted the fight and looked around the scenery. That scenario had been repainted in black. It had become a world of trees and nearby buildings engulfed by blackness. Even the sky had been dyed black, wrapping the entire region in jet darkness. Thankfully, their night vision triggered instinctively.
The only sound in the entire battlefield is two creatures breathing, their flaring nostrils as they take in the scent of everyone.
Unfortunately, Tobio was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is he?!" Valerie looked around anxiously. "He was in front of us seconds ago!"
"I can still hear him!" Siegfried added after joining them. He fixated his eyes on Tobio's previous spot. "And he's close too! I can feel it!"
"Tobio and Jin are in front of us," Danhauser answered. "… They're staring upwards."
"How do you…?" Valerie trailed off after spotting the bluish-white aura encircling Danhauser's closed eyes. "…Senjutsu? But how can we not see them?"
Danhauser opened his eyes and scowled when he saw no signs of Tobio. "… I have no clue."
"Where's that fuckface?!" Freed Sellzen's voice came somewhere from the dark paradise. "I can't see shit! Did he puss out or something?"
"Language," David Serro scolded sharply. "… I can still sense his demonic sword and the holy one. Why isn't he attacking us?"
"Dan!" Jeanne called out from the darkness. "A-are you still there?!"
"Just keep running forward," Siegfried responded after locating them. "You're a few steps away from us."
The King snapped his fingers in realization. "… I think we can't see Tobio because of our night vision." He gestured at his eyes for emphasis. "… After all, Tobio is now made of darkness."
"That's a tremendous handicap," Valerie pointed out dryly as the exorcists joined them. "Then that means that Satanael also has a night vision of his own, correct?"
"Correct," Siegfried responded while glaring at the figure upwards. "… I found him. If I must guess, he's having a stare down with Tobio." He then frowned. "Interesting… why is he flying through magic and not his wings?"
"We can't see at all," Jeanne muttered. "We had to follow the sound of your voices to find each one of you. Luckily, David's Galatine offered enough light for us…"
"Wonderful…" They looked up as Satanael finally spoke with mirth. "The King of Wolves."
Hesitantly, Danhauser activated his Senjutsu vision in time to see the two beasts glaring up with their red eyes.
The werewolf growled offering a glimpse of its bared sharp fangs.
"Mah, mah. Such a threatening posture," Satanael chuckled fearlessly, floating in his surroundings were several magic circles which were facing at the two unfaced beasts. "… Wonder how strong you are in that form…"
"How can he seem them?"
These magic circles possessing supernatural power, they moved freely through the battlefield as they fired at the black beasts.
From the mouth of the mad werewolf, something akin to a curse was being spat out. The spells Satanael has fired, they all were utterly vaporized by unknown means and to everyone's shock, it struck Satanael hard enough to smash him back to the ground.
He was struck by darkness, Danhauser theorized. After all, they couldn't see it.
While the cloud of smoke concealed his condition, the weak coughing was a good sign of his health condition. He walked out of the hole he'd left, at this exchange the cadre was anything but astonished, he was in awe. "… Don't place yourself on a pedestal." he wiggled his finger playfully. "I was lazy on making those magic circles."
The devils and exorcists kept looking between the fallen angel and the two beasts constantly. They were in the middle.
"Those from my Peerage, deactivate your night vision," Danhauser ordered. "Quick, I have a something in mind."
"Alright, but how?" Valerie asked.
"Just imagine you're taking out your glasses."
Siegfried was in doubt. "But wouldn't it make it difficult to see Satanael?"
"Just do it."
While his two active servants obeyed their King's command. He turned to the saint. "Jeanne, your Sacred Gear, it allows you to create countless swords of different attributes, right?"
"Right!" She nodded eagerly. "What you need me to do?"
"Forge as many swords as you can around the zone," he commanded. "Make sure that each one of them acts as glowing sticks."
The blonde's eyes widened in realization before smirking. "Leave it to me!" She declared and clasped both hands.
Her Sacred Gear answered her prayers, spamming holy swords all over the place, each one of them has one thing in common: They were glowing good enough to let them survey their surroundings easily.
"Holy shit…" Siegfried gasped when he noticed the werewolf. "… I-is that…?"
"Tobio," Danhauser finished with a grim expression. "Yes."
"Everyone." Valerie quietly called out, sweating a little. "… Look around."
Gulping a chunk of saliva, Danhauser followed her instructions.
An inexhaustible supply of warped blades sprouted from all over. From the sky, the ground, the trees, the various nearby buildings.
It was an abnormal world of blades. From throughout the blackened streets, every object had countless blades blooming from it. The sizes diverged, there were some which were straight, some were curves, even some that were zigzagged in shape.
All of them targeted the group.
Their voices had caught Tobio's and Jin's attention moments ago, they let out a low rumbling growl.
The holy saint breathed in. "Fuck."
From upstairs and beneath the numerous blades extended at them.
"Move!" David screamed, and everyone quickly reacted, resulting in all the swords impaling themselves on their former position.
Danhauser took initiative and raced after the two beasts at high speed closing the distance with Tobio and Jin, but the former also vanished in an instant, and without a sound, the battle began.
The heir and the werewolf were moving at a speed beyond Valerie's perception as they battled. "I'll handle Tobio and Jin!" Danhauser announced while dodging more of the wicked blades. "Cleria had called for reinforcements, it shouldn't take long now, be careful!"
"Great," Freed grunted in disdain. "More shitty devils and I'm getting low on ammo…!"
"Danhauser, wait!" Valerie called out, watching them disappear with Jin giving chase. "You dolt!"
They spun around when someone landed on the grass. "What a jerk." it was Satanael, who was holding his demonic and holy sword. "I called dibs on the Dog of Black. Oh well! I'll have to tag with all of you."
Before the Fallen Angel could open his mouth, the hero descendant instantly stood in front of him and attacked with all three swords.
Satanael easily blocked each swing in rapid succession. "Not bad—!" He stopped after sensing someone from behind. He jumped aside just in time to dodge a scar from Galatine. "Hey, come on—!" He hoisted Arondight to redirect the holy bullets. "This is getting—!" He destroyed the countless holy swords flowering around him. "You guys are annoying."
He spotted Siegfried rushing at him with his immense speed. He brought a defensive stance which was ruined by a trail of Valerie's shadows yanking his feet, awkwardly dropping him on a knee.
Unfortunately, it was too late for him to intercept Siegfried's swords. He had to use his hand as a meat shield.
"You fuck!" He roared and retaliate with a headbutt, the former exorcist was sent tumbling backward. He growled and pulled the weapon out of his palm. "… Should have aimed for the head!"
An army of magic circles molded on the ground and from them, countless Avatar Sacred Gears sprouted in combat mode.
"Utsusemi…" Valerie hissed out, eyeing the Sacred Gear prototypes.
Curiously enough, their owners, the students of Ryuukou Highschool, weren't present.
Jeanne's face darkened. "So, this is the man who kidnapped all these innocent people, this Satanael guy?" As she said that, numerous holy swords were born around them. "Guess you leave me no option, in the name of the Lord and Archangel Michael, I will kick your ass!"
"Language," David chided her, dual wielding with Galatine and one of Jeanne's forged blades.
"What's the point of hiding?" He tossed aside his mask, revealing his silver eyes. "Let's see how you handle the Utsusemi now." This time he took initiative and was followed by his machines.
Danhauser Belial racked his brain as he persistently evaded Ikuse Tobio's brutal attacks and Jin jumping out of nearby shadows like a shark.
Unlike Vali Lucifer, a fight against Slash Dog was from time to time struggling than the descendant of Lucifer. Not only was he fighting two beasts, but Tobio's Longinus allowed him to control the shadows and fight from far away. Vali's Sacred Gear focused only on dividing someone, it worked wonderfully for one on one brawls. Or rather, that's how Vali used Divine Dividing.
Plus, Tobio was still in there, somewhere. He was looking for the fastest way to defeat him without dealing so much damage.
Lucky him, his training with Diehauser Belial and Calcabrina Belial bored fruits. Confirmed by the fact that he could keep up against Tobio and Jin in their balance break state.
"Because of his evil piece, he has greater speed," Danhauser noted as he fired his demonic power just to see it getting mauled over by warped blades coming from literally anywhere. "… Does it work on Jin, too? Just how the pawns within Issei affected Boosted Gear to make Illegal Move Triania?"
His doubts were answered when the large dog slashed his cheek with a sword between its jaws. It went for another strike, but Danhauser forced it to back away with Gate of Babylon.
"I'll take that as a yes." He winced in pain. "Then that means I have a normal knight, a mutated knight, and a pseudo-knight. Neat."
Summoning multiple demonic circles, he took aim at the approaching beasts and fired multiple fists of resin, followed by demonic spheres. To his surprise, the limbs passed through them and left no wound. It apparently just made the creatures angrier.
Curiously enough, they did dodge the barrage of projectiles thrown by his Gate of Babylon.
"While in Balance Breaker, his body becomes intangible, allowing physical attacks pass right through him. Fair enough." He clicked his tongue as he just built distance between them, annoying them further and further. "Energy attacks apparently can deal some damage on them. After all, they did avoid all my demonic bullets. Worthlessness is out of the picture, I can't render worthless Balance Breaker's yet... I need to spot anything useful. Come on, Danhauser! Fucking think of something!"
As he kept producing a plan, he continued firing back his demonic powers while completely remaining on the defensive. While he'd found out that using raw demonic energy was enough. The fact that the speed of both monsters was enhanced because of the mutated knight piece made it challenging to land a single hit.
The thought of engulfing his arms with demonic energy or even Senjutsu pestered his mind constantly, but it was a dangerous move. Those claws are nothing to scoff at.
That's when an idea popped into his head.
"… I can't render balance breakers worthless because I'm not strong enough." He mentally patted himself on the back as he landed a few spells at Jin, but it wasn't enough. "… What about my True Form?"
Long ago, before he'd succeeded in developing a healthy relationship with Valerie Tepes, he'd tried to trigger his True Form, while he could only turn his hand into Worthlessness, the release was powerful enough to temporally nullify gravity at the cost of his whole arm.
Apart from dealing significant damage to himself, there was a huge drawback.
"It would affect everyone." Danhauser spared a quick glance behind his shoulder, resuming his fight against Tobio and Jin. "Even Satanael, but the bastard has proven enough strength to handle himself without his light powers and while Arondight and his holy sword would be nullified, their sharpness won't. I'll just make it difficult for them, mostly Valerie."
Not only that but freeing his True Form took a lot of time. Enough time for Tobio or Jin to move extremely fast without him even noticing and land a killing blow.
He briefly stopped when he felt in this immense darkness the warmness of a bright light, but it quickly disappeared, replaced with the sensation of demonic power.
Danhauser blinked and chuckled knowingly. He smirked and minded his own business. "Calvary is here."
Time to build a plan.
Satanael looked down at David Serro, who slowly was pulling himself up, and smashed his feet on his back. He aimed his fixated silver eyes to the side, noticing his hand planted on Siegfried's face, as the latter clenched his arm back. "Good job for wounding me," he complimented, creating a barrier to block the blessed bullets and shadows.
"We have to do something!" Jeanne, who was fending off a horde of Utsusemi on her own, shouted. "… If I get closer, he may kill both of them!"
"He could've killed us long ago." Valerie Tepes retorted, coiling her shadows around Utsumemi's that tried to go for a sneak attack on the saint. They were crushed to the point of zero recognition. "… And he still can, with or without hostages… the question is what's stopping him?"
Clasping both hands, Jeanne muttered under her breath a prayer. Instantly, within the place, endless huge blades sprung from the ground. Some of the blades had pierced the approaching Utsusemi, the Utsusemi had been skewered by her Sacred Gear.
Jeanne's knitted her eyebrows and answered whilst inspecting her work. "Good question."
The young group gasped when a blue blur ran past them, landing a perfect punch over the Satanael's cheek that sent him hurling away.
Impaling both swords on the ground, Satanael stabilized his posture in mid-flight and caught the upcoming uppercut of the new adversary. He perked up and his eyes widened when a double-edged sword almost cut him in half.
Almost.
Landing far away, Satanael massaged his aching cheek, wincing. "Damn, that's gonna leave a long..." He glared at the figure, noticing the resemblance of a dark knight with a huge blue ponytail sticking on the helmet. "That armor and creepy aura… are you the Emperor's Queen?"
There was no response. The knight summoned multiple magic circles behind him and energy spheres burst, racing toward the cadre.
"Alright then." the fallen angel clicked his tongue and grasped tightly his swords before charging. He either ducked or destroyed the spell with one of his own as he reached the knight. His smirk had been replaced by a hardened expression.
When the Utsusemi leader stood right in front of him, he swung Arondight and the knight rose his blade to parry the strike before kicking Satanael's chest. The cadre recovered quickly and went for another shot.
The armored knight had stalled the cadre's strike but watched a wretched, stained grin split the Fallen Angel's face as their blades trembled under the brutality of their compelling strength. "Fancy sword, Bluebeard," Satanael throatily crooned, pressing closer to his helmet. "But can it do this?!"
Arondight, from a demonic sword, became a holy sword.
The blade flashed as he brought it over his head and hummed a low, swift tune when he brought it down on the stunned Queen.
"Merde!" Gilles de Rais cursed and jumped out of Satanael's reach, just to tilt his head aside to dodge Arondight in the shape of a holy spear. He enveloped his hand with demonic energy and fired, creating an explosion.
A curtain of smoke swaddled the area as the two monsters continued seeking for the finishing blow. Red and yellow bursts of energy expanded and distorted the smoke cloud. Their powerful cries resounded across the dome of darkness as they teleported from place to place with their swords interlocked.
Everyone watching stared in awe at the fight before them. The sounds of swords clashing, slashing the wind and spells exploding made their spines tremble in fear. It was a fight that they'd never saw nor experienced before. Not even David Serro had witnessed.
"Who's that?" Freed Sellzen warily asked form the sidelines, shooting an approaching Utsusemi without looking away. "Is that the reinforcements that the shitty devil told us about?"
Valerie's eyes squinted dangerously, her shadows acting as a shield to block the fire of an Utsusemi, Jeanne quickly ending its life. "Don't call Danhauser 'shitty devil', scumbag."
"Huh?! What was that?!"
"Are you deaf? I called you scumbag." She sneered, pausing. "Scumbag."
The cloud settled when the figures jumped out of it, Gilles being the first one to appear. He quickly sent a wave of destructive power from Gram, the beam eating anything stood in the middle, even a few Utsusemi.
He grinned behind his helmet as the attack nailed on Satanael's chest. His scream music to his ears.
Once the Fallen Angel hit the surface, the very earth shook, and the ground shattered like glass.
Valerie quickly rushed toward Siegfried, treating his wounds. "Don't make any harsh moves, I'll make this quick."
David glared at his former student. "Why is that man wielding Gram, Siegfried?"
"…" Siegfried, who was breathing heavily with small cuts and bruises all over his body, looked away in shame. "I…I lost it in a bet with him."
"You what?!" David exploded. "How could you?! Gram is the property of the Church!"
"…"
"… Gilles, you're alive." A voice that wasn't Jeanne's left her lips. Surprising everyone, even herself. "W-what was…" she trailed off with her normal voice, massaging her throat.
The message, however, was effective enough to impact the blue-haired man.
"J-Joan?" He turned around to look at her, his grip over Gram weakening. Even with his helmet obscuring his face, everyone could sense the craggy features suspended between grief and joy.
He slowly walked at her longingly, hand outstretched. "All these years of regrets and loneliness… and you are back to me like an angel."
"Wait, I'm—!" Her mouth froze in horror when she noticed the person behind him. "Behind you!"
Her cry wasn't fast enough to alarm the Queen. A blade pierced his stomach from his back and he roared in pain as the holy energy burned him from the inside.
"You fought in a war, didn't you? Then you must know the rule number one!" Satanael bleated victoriously. "Never let your guard down!"
"F-Fuck off…!" Gilles coughed blood inside his helmet. He elbowed Satanael's nose whilst pulling the holy sword out of his stomach.
Invoking his wings, the Frenchman finally joined them. He breathed heavily. "W-where is young master?" He asked weakly, eyes locked with their enemy and its army.
He was struggling to not glance at Jeanne and stay conscious.
"He's fighting against Tobio in his balance breaker state." the dhampir urgently answered after she'd finished patching Siegfried. "So, I propose we go first assist Danhauser and then—!"
"No." Gilles interrupted. "Young master has it under control."
"What?" She spluttered in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind? He's going to get killed!"
"No, he will not."
"What makes you believe that?" Valerie glared daggers at his back. "What's your argument, Gilles?"
He spared her a momentary look. "He is a Belial." he kept it short and lifted his hand, summoning a four-layered barrier to block the rain of spells. After a minute, the first sheet shattered. "Listen, everyone! At the count of three, all of you will move out of the way and stay out of this. I will handle this."
"No!" A now healed Siegfried joined his side. "I'll fight with you."
"… Mind your business." Gilles coldly stated. "You are already a nuisance to me, do not make it worse."
Jeanne never said a word, her eyes locked on the older Frenchman, mostly his wound.
The third barrier shattered the second layer cracking slightly.
"I don't care," Siegfried growled back. "I'm doing this as an apology for my master!"
Gilles reared back and laughed darkly. "Now what have you done…?"
The second barrier broke.
"We have to move!" Valerie snapped.
"…" Jeanne just stared at Gilles.
"I…I mistrusted him," Siegfried confessed quietly. "The way that he kept antagonizing my former allies made my blood boil, and no matter what he'd said, I would go and visit them regardless of the circumstances..." He clenched his fists. "It was a moronic and a childish thought on my part. He was just trying to do anything to protect us from the politics…Not sure why, but that hit me hard."
The barrier cracked.
"I want to repent for my mistakes." He met his gaze. "To see if I'm still worthy of calling myself knight of the second Champion of the Rating Game." He paused. "Given your background, you of all people must understand that everyone deserves a second chance, Gilles."
Gilles stared for a full minute before addressing everyone. "Move!"
While they were caught off guard, they narrowly evaded the explosions, watching as the elemental spells keep falling from the dark sky.
The hero descendant landed safely beside Gilles. He dusted his attire and looked at him intently.
"… You will not get involved." The older male finally said.
The silver-haired looked ready to argue but jumped back when the Queen stabbed Gram.
"Not with those pathetic swords," Bluebeard nodded and invoked two demonic swords. He charged, and a gust of wind followed him.
Siegfried was completely confused, and his mouth hung wide-open. His heart thrummed inside his ribcage. He felt like a child getting a gift from their favorite hockey player.
Stabbed on the ground was Gram, waiting for someone to wield it.
That, someone, was Siegfried.
Before laying a hand on the handle, he double checked to make sure that his Twice Critical was gone. "I can't wield Gram while my Sacred Gear is active…" He reminded himself. "… After all, my Sacred Gear is a Dragon-type."
Tossing aside his light swords, he finally pulled out Gram from the dirt with ease. "At long last, old friend." He laughed fondly. " Even if it's only for today… This brings pleasant memories."
"I don't wish to sour the mood," the voice of Valerie reached his ears. He looked at her. "But you can make out with your weapon later. Focus on the matter at hand, Siegfried."
The swordsman scoffed at her remark, but smiled a little, enjoying the weight of his favorite sword. "I'm afraid you won't see too much. I was looking forward to showing off how I wield Gram, but now that Gilles is the proprietor." He gave her a wicked smirk. "Suffice to say, I have something that might blow off your shoes."
Grasping his huge weapon with both hands, he selected a stance and the space around him and Gram became stained with dark red blood, and the blade of the sword, enveloped by the radiance of destructive power and the blood of Fafnir, it gave off strange, sinister and furious sounds and flickered with red lightning.
Raising the strongest demonic sword up high, he immediately swung it down. It released a straight line of crimson lightning from the tip of his sword, disintegrating anything in its path and the Utsusemi that tried to stop it.
Gilles and Satanael stopped trading blows. Their eyes settling over the huge beam of red blood stalking after them. The Frenchman backed away while the Fallen Angel shape-shifted the holy Arondight into a shield bigger than his figure.
He slammed down his only defense and the shield expanded forward a wide protective barrier that resembled the wall of a fortress with rune symbols.
In just seconds, the shield and the red beam collided, creating an explosion and birthing a pillar of red billow and dust.
As the smoke cleared, the figure of a damaged Satanael left the cloud. "Mah, mah. That was a close one!" He laughed despite his wounds and tattered clothes.
Valerie stared in shock. "How did he…!"
"Arondight is known as the sister of the True Excalibur," Siegfried answered her confusion. "As such, Arondight has all of the abilities of the seven Excalibur fragments."
"And used Mimic to transform the sword into a shield and Blessing to augment the shield's defense." David eyed the cadre. "… Nonetheless, the attack left our foe damaged."
"But not enough," Valerie grunted, eyes narrowing worriedly. "… Is this the skill and intellect of a veteran that fought during the Great War and lived to tell the tale? Amazing."
Satanael just grinned, keeping his shield close and tapping his holy katana on his shoulder. "Someone did their homework, yeah?"
The silver-haired boy bent his legs and teleported right in front of the Fallen Angel. "This is far from over!" Siegfried declared with a wave of his weapon, blocked by the holy shield.
"Geez, what a pain in the ass." Satanael groaned as he returned the gesture. "Oh bother, but this old man… whatever. Come at me with everything you've got, brat. This old man will show all of you how experience trumps youth!"
Gilles never hesitated on joining the fight.
Valerie just watched Satanael hurling many spells and spamming Arondight's abilities. Casting illusions of himself, summoning barriers, boosting his speed and even the attribute blessing to weaken the two swordsmen and strengthen his power.
"Saint Jeanne, I'll go and handle these 'Utsusemi'." David prepared himself. His brow furrowed at the lack of an answer.
He glanced behind his shoulder, concerned. "Saint Jeanne?"
The blonde fled from her daze. "Ah, sorry, sorry." She grabbed the side of her head, wincing. "It's just… that man… Gilles was his name, wasn't it? It's making me feel weird."
"He was the former Marshal of France," David answered, hesitating. "… He was also an ally of Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years' War."
Jeanne smiled a weakly. David knew that she wasn't Joan of Arc. "I see… Just by hearing his name brought me a headache…" She massaged her temple. "Memories of the war you just said I presume... I hope he's alright."
The man pursed his lips and laid a hand on her shoulder. "… I think it's better if you stay away for now."
After minutes of dodging and thinking, Danhauser Belial had created by using his inner Keikaku. It annoyed him to be on the defensive most of the time, but because of that, he could already see anything useful and exploit.
And honestly, he was embarrassed for taking a lot of time to build his strategy. It made him feel like a complete idiot.
"Tobio's literally the definition of a glass cannon," Danhauser thought while trying to cool down his beating heart. His eyes locked with the two predators. "Immerse speed, strength, and long range, but little defense."
He had read it back when he went to school in the underworld, heck even in DxD's Wikipedia back in his previous life, that a Knight's fatal flaw is their durability, but it was compensated by their superhuman speed. Jin perhaps could be also affected by this.
As much as Danhauser wanted to deal little damage to Ikuse Tobio… it was impossible. He had to give the Japanese the beating of his life.
"And I know where I have to aim all my attacks." His eyes slowly drifted over Tobio's hind legs. "… If I break his legs, all his amazing speed would be worthless. Enough to activate my True Form."
Now that Gilles de Rais is here things were great, even if Danhauser succeeded on releasing True Form and rendered anything in his radius to worthless, they would have a great advantage with the Queen of Diehauser Belial fighting by their side.
Either Satanael dug his own grave or retreated.
"It won't be wise to use my Gate of Babylon, I would miss and waste demonic energy." Danhauser watched calmly as Tobio and Jin ran at him. "I have to fight with my own fists here. After all, Tobio in a frenzied state preferred to attack me with his claws…"
Rather than Lycaon'sconsciousness, it was his madness.
To his surprise, both Jin and Tobio ran to the sides, leaving in the middle a perplexed devil.
"What are they…" He trailed off aloud, watching them with a fixed distance. His eyes widened in horror as he saw Tobio shattering one of Jeanne's glowing swords. He looked behind to see Jin doing the same thing. "No!"
Before he could move forward and stop them, countless dark blades were also destroying Danhauser's only source of light, causing his night vision to act and make both beasts unseen in his sight.
The heir was slow to react when invisible sharp claws slashed at his chest. "Fuck!" He cried out and threw blind punches with his fist warped in ki.
The energy of life.
He was missing. There was no sound of a whimper of neither Jin nor Tobio. He was the one getting damaged by both beasts.
A set of canine teeth wrapped around his arm, harshly the creature shook its head. Holding a scream of pain, Danhauser trucked an uppercut, this time he felt an obstacle.
He hastily closed his eyes and switched on Senjutsu vision. He was face to face with a tall werewolf and a scythe ready to spread him apart.
Danhauser this time acted first. He thrust an engulfed fist of ki on his stomach with great force that the beast was hurled away.
With a bleeding chest and wounds, Danhauser squatted and placed a hand on the ground, keeping himself balanced. From his back, twelve arms of resin sprouted free.
All of them had one thing in common. The fists were surrounded by Senjutsu.
"Uncle said I can't use resin on my skin," he recalled, watching Tobio shakily getting on his feet. "He never said clothes."
He didn't even have to move from his spot. He swung his right arm and six of resin mirrored his movements, stretching at the distanced werewolf. The sheer force was enough to not only release a painful howl from the werewolf but leave him slightly dazzled as well.
Danhauser wasn't done. He cocked both fists back and the twelve arms of resin stretched further back before racing and throwing a devastating barrage of Senjutsu punches.
The heir augmented his speed. In a fit of fury, the werewolf swung his scythe and successfully sliced off the approaching resin arms, but they grew back immediately.
Danhauser grinned as the werewolf was forced on the defensive and walk backward. It crossed its arms above its chest in futile attempts to weaken the strikes. It quickly invoked a wall of dense darkness, resistant enough to repel Danhauser's attack.
The air distorting and whistling worked as a warning. The devil outran its blades, jumping from left to right and with a snap of his fingers, multiple limbs of resin appeared behind Tobio and crashed on its vulnerable back. He finally deactivated his Senjutsu vision, the hard blows illuminating the battle thanks to the fire of his Sage Arts.
In the end, the beast was pummeled to the dust and to make things painful to him, Danhauser went for his legs. The pure devil swore he heard the scream of the real Tobio and the beast controlling him.
Danhauser jumped away. "Does it hurt?!" He cried out, raising a hand up to eye level. "You just wait until I learn Touki!"
He began compressing all his demonic energy in his lifted hand, the tip of his digits slowly becoming Worthlessness.
Tobio struggled standing up, even using his scythe as a support, but his broken legs proved the task was difficult. Landing on the floor, he growled and tossed his scythe at Danhauser's direction.
In midair, the scythe morphed into the full-grown hound, Jin. After releasing a fearless howl, the black hound sank into the shadows that had extended beneath its feet. Once the dog was within its shadow, the shadow scattered and began shooting around the battlefield. As each of them glided along seemingly with an independent will.
Danhauser merely watched fearlessly, his hand releasing all his demonic energy reserves.
The effects were bearing fruits, Danhauser forcefully left the ground alongside an immobile Tobio and Jin. The latter was still giving its useless chase. Simultaneously with the cleansing of the dark regions, the countless blades crumbled and dissolved and the darkness outside was steadily clearing, revealing small rays of the sun.
Rather than running, Jin looked as if it was swimming in the air.
"Danhauser!" Valerie Tepes' shout could be heard from far away. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Winning this fight." His clenched fist shook from the pressure. He gritted his teeth. "… Here goes nothing."
At last, a pulse of Worthlessness exploded, expanding and devouring anything in its grasp.
After minutes of aimlessly floating around. Gravity returned home and yanked everyone to the ground with a horrible landing.
"Sunshine…" Valerie Tepes grunted and brought a hand up, doing her best to impede the rays of the sun caressing her pale skin.
"The hell just happened!?" Her eyebrow twitched after listening to the pleasing vocabulary of Freed Sellzen.
"Gravity was gone for a while," David Serro slowly left the grass, glancing at his crimson sword with a frown. "… Strange, Galatine isn't releasing any holy energy at all."
"I-I can't summon my swords!" Jeanne reported, worried. "My Sacred Gear isn't answering my prayers!"
"Gram is reacting the same way!" Siegfried anxiously shook his sword in a weak attempt to repair it. "Come on!"
Valerie frowned and tried to manipulate her own shadows. Nothing. This time she tried summoning her Longinus, suffering the same consequences. Finally, she dared to look at the aftermath of their fight, some of the Utsusemi destroyed beyond reparation, some of them were unscratched but stopped functioning. She caught sight of the Belial crest tattoed on some of them.
"Weird…" She sat on the ground with an iffy expression. "Is this your doing, Danhauser?"
"It has to be," Gilles de Rais spoke, capturing her attention. He lifted his hand, revealing the Belial symbol printed on his palm. "… Whenever you're rendered worthless by someone of the Belial Clan, their symbol will be printed where they had punched you, or in this case, any part of your body."
"But how?" She asked, checking herself to spot the sigil. "Pray tell… How come Danhauser cursed us all at the same time?"
"…" The Queen stayed silent, eyes locked in the sky. He watched the figure slowly turning into a dot as they distanced themselves. When gravity was gone, Satanael had changed plans and swam in the air far away from them, before landing on the ground like the rest. He quickly summoned his wings and parted ways.
Without taking his eyes from the retreating figure, he responded. "… Good question."
He had an idea.
"Guys!" Everyone twisted their necks enough to see Cleria Belial running at them, waving her arms wildly. "Is everyone alright? You guys were inside of a huge dome of darkness!" She noted all the broken machines. "Whoa! What are those?!"
"We're going to make it," Valerie replied briefly. "Those are Utsusemi."
"Ah, Lady Cleria!" Gilles washed with relief, covering his deep wound. "Do not worry about me, this is just a flesh wound!"
"… Are you sure?"
"Positive. I am glad that you are safe and sound! I deeply apologize for not keeping you safe while I was fending off the enemy."
"Don't apologize, Gilles, I'm good." she looked around in worry. "Where's Danny and that guy with a mask?"
"Satanael escaped." Siegfried joined the circle, constantly peeking at Gram in deep concern. "… I thought with Gilles' help, we'd have him cornered."
Bluebeard scoffed. "I am an Ultimate-Class Devil in terms of power." he wore off his helmet. "… He possessed Satan-class strength... plus he was carrying two Holy Swords. If my King or his mother were here, then there would be no doubt that this man would be eating the dirt."
"Then why neither Lord Belial or Lady Belial came?" The silver-haired asked.
Cleria answered stiffly. "I'm honestly shocked that I could make contact from here to the Underworld," she muttered. "I'm not a pro making distanced calls, they were out of my reach..."
"I, on the other hand, was available." The butler continued for her. "They were in a meeting that involved both Lord and Lady in Ars Goetia."
Cleria's eyes scanned the whole place. "Danny? W-where is he?"
"Here." The group of Devils followed the familiar voice. It was Danhauser Belial carrying underneath his armpit a knocked out Ikuse Tobio and above his shoulders a huge black dog. "Can someone lend me a hand? I'm fucking tired."
Valerie stood in place and studied his new appearance. Like everyone, he was worn and battered, a large wound across his chest that was still dripping blood with mixed sweat. What took the cake was his arm twisted, inflated and colored in black.
It reminded her of that moment.
"Young Master!" Gilles and Cleria immediately ran at his side, terrified looks splattered across their faces. "Your arm! What happened?!"
Letting the Frenchman to carefully pick up Tobio and Jin, Danhauser answered. "… I used my True Form."
"I knew it," Gilles muttered to himself. "… While I would disagree on using it. Just for this occasion, it was a wise decision."
Cleria bit her lip. "Feel anything?"
Danhauser strained a chuckle. "I can't feel my arm at all." He nodded at Gilles' wound. "You're also hurt."
"Do not worry." Gilles waved off his concern. "I will live."
"I would love to heal both of you." Valerie heaved a sigh. "But because of your True Form. I cannot."
"Shit!" Siegfried jolted when Gram's destructive aura once again warped around the blade. He boasted a laugh. "Gram's powers, they're back!"
"Huh, that was convenient." Valerie placed her hand on his chest, initiating her healing techniques. "I hope you don't mind if I start first with my master, Gilles."
"As you should." The French butler congratulated her. "You are protecting young master. I am thankful for that."
"Galatine is back too, that's good to hear." David Serro said gracefully as Galatine hummed its holy aura once again. He sheathed his sword and cast a glare at his former pupil. "I don't care from whose side you are fighting for, Siegfried. But Gram is the property of the Church Headquarters."
"Wait, you're mistaken..." Siegfried trailed off sadly. "This is Gilles'…"
"Are you not going to defend what belongs to you, you waste of breath?" Gilles interrupted him with a scoff, making the silver-haired looked at him wide-eyed. "… It makes someone wonder why Gram has chosen someone like you as its wielder."
Siegfried ignored his smarminess, his mind began to shut down, unwilling to think anymore.
Just a question kept his brain functioning properly.
Why?
Why?
Why?
"One last time, Siegfried," David's strict voice yanked him back to the real world. "I need you to give me back the—!"
"No."
David's eyes narrowed perilously. "Excuse me?"
Siegfried met his glare with one of his own. "I said no, David. I refuse to give you this sword."
A sudden cold atmosphere bloomed around them, enough to make the two parties select a stance.
Jeanne and Cleria just looked between them with troubled expressions.
"… We had finished a dangerous fight," David reminded him bitterly. "Do not start another one."
"Gram doesn't belong to the Church, it's ownership is to the Original Siegfried." The silver-haired pointed himself with a thumb. "I, as his descendant, makes me now the owner of Gram."
"Give. The. Sword. Back." David spat behind clenched teeth. "I don't want to hurt you."
"I'm not afraid of you, David," Siegfried fearlessly said, grabbing tightly his demonic sword. "If you want Gram, you'll have to take it over my dead body. In fact, I would be thankful if we fought."
His former teacher's anger became confusion. "What?"
The silver-haired pointed Gram at him. "Listen carefully because I'm not going to repeat myself." He paused. "… To become the strongest swordsman… is my ultimate goal as a swordsman."
Everyone stayed silent.
"Yourself, Gilles, your Eminence Cristaldi, and Strada," he continued. "Anyone who is a master at the sword is a target of my skills. I will fight each one of you and I will leave as the victor."
Bluebeard curved an eyebrow but remained silent.
The tense silence was cut by the hysterical laughter of Freed who was hugging his stomach. "Fat chance!"
"…" Siegfried just watched him roll on the floor.
"You serious?!" He soaked his teary eyes and picked himself up. "You think you can defeat them?! You're just a tiny little fish swimming inside a hugeee fucking pond, Shitfried! You'll get your ass kicked before you can even take a shit!"
"Trust me. I don't pick fights I can't win, Freed." Siegfried boasted, breaking into a smirk. "… I'll also defeat a dragon by myself."
"… You can't be fucking serious right now."
"As the descendant of the Dragon Slayer himself, it's my obligation to keep up with the tradition." Siegfried ignored him. "… It's an insult to my ancestor to not make the dragons fear my bloodline."
His former teacher was stunned. He tried to say a word, but they soon melted inside his throat. Finally, the all serious David broke into a fit of laughter. "…You have really changed. I remember when you were a toddler, you had this very serious, no-nonsense demeanor whose purpose was swinging that damned sword and that's it…"
Siegfried said nothing.
"Your Eminence Cristaldi was wrong it seems." David was grinning now. "… It's irrelevant how you were born, Siegfried. You're still like us, you have an ambition. That's good to hear."
"Keep it." Jeanne finally said with a sweet smile. "Gram chose you for a reason. Now, after hearing you vent off, I'm pretty sure Gram doesn't want anyone else to wield it."
David sunk his eyebrows. "What? No! The sword is still coming back to us!"
"Now that we know about Siegfried's status it's very unlikely they want a sword that is grasped by a Devil." Jeanne countered.
"That doesn't make fucking sense," Freed muttered.
"… I won't be taking responsibility." David spared Siegfried one last look. "What should I say to Lint now that we found you?"
"Tell her to forget about me. Siegfried is gone. Forever."
"… I see."
Danhauser took a step forward and harrumphed. His body fully healed thanks to the Sephiroth Graal. "Thank you for what you did for my knight." He nodded at Jeanne, lips pursed. "… However, the alliance we had is over."
Her eyes widened, her irises shrunken. "W-what?" she shook her head with a fragile laugh. "T-this is just a joke, right? Please?"
"No, it isn't." He saw her freezing. "I'm breaking our truce because we're both horrible leaders."
"W-what do you mean?"
Danhauser pocketed his hands. "… You just proved to me that you don't have control over your followers. You told Touji to stay away from my cousin, but he ignored your order." He looked behind his shoulder, at his unconscious mutated knight. "… Meanwhile, I'd prohibited Tobio to use his Balance Breaker… yet he disobeyed, and we were almost killed because of it… Maybe I'm not king material after all."
"D-Dan, please…"
"What's the point of forming an alliance if we can't control our subordinates?" He met her gaze once again. "When there's still mistrust between us? When our own people don't take us seriously?"
"J-just a second chance… I-I beg you…"
"From now on, I wish you good luck on building that bridge between the three factions. Goodbye." Danhauser spun around and took his leave. "Gilles take us to Cleria's house."
"…" Bluebeard watched with a broken heart the saint dropping silently on her knees. Tears threatening to fall from her lifeless eyes. "Joan…"
He felt someone tugging his arm softly. "Gilles come on." It was Cleria. "It's time to go."
"B-but Joan!" He tried to take a step forward. "Joan! She needs my—!"
"Gilles, please. It's all over now."
Glancing between the woman he swore to protect and the saint he'd failed to protect, his heartbeat echoed in his ears as the stares of everyone almost put him on the edge.
He reluctantly closed his eyes and invoked a teleportation circle beneath them.
David Serro and Freed Sellzen awkwardly remained still, their eyes set on the beautiful maiden on her knees, hiding her face with her hands as she wept and hiccupped, blonde hair splayed around her.
No matter what they both did, she would refuse to move.
"Geez…" Freed rolled his eyes. "Can we move already? Fucking sun is getting annoying."
"Saint Jeanne!" A voice cried out, the sound of multiple footsteps mixed with pants nearing. "Everyone!"
David and Freed looked to the side as characters with white cloaks approached, one of them being Masaomi Yaegaki.
They finally stopped meters away from them, the one in the middle, Touji Shidou took a step forward. "Masaomi told me what'd happened. I apologize for not joining the fight… but we didn't want to be a dead weight."
Jeanne dangerously stood up and strolled to Touji, hair shadowing her eyes.
"Everything is fine, Touji…" David drawled his sight following Jeanne who had walked past them. "Saint Jeanne?"
Touji laid his worried gaze over Jeanne, sighing in relief after seeing her unbruised condition. "Thank God you're alright, Jeanne. After hearing about that mysterious figure with a mask, I thought that... why are you crying?"
Touji was silenced by Jeanne's right hook.
Everyone gasped in shock.
"Pffff!" Freed blew air from his nose and snorted a laugh. "Hooooly shiiiiit!" He pointed at Touji while giggling like a hyena. "That looked like it fuckin' hurt! Now I dig why everyone calls her the Fist of God!"
The rest were nailed on their spot. Eyes wide and jaws stretched out at the scene before them.
Meanwhile, through his blurry vision, Touji saw the saint approaching like an enraged panther.
"Masaomi trusted you. I thought I could too!" She knelt and gripped his collar. Her fist cocked back and ready to strike. "So why in the hell did you doom us all?!"
"…"
She roughly yanked his face closer. "Answer me!"
"… They're devils." Touji answered, blood dripping from his lips. "They're evil."
A pair of veins popped from her temple. "Not all of them follow that criterion!" She snapped. "There are exceptions!"
"And how do you know that?!" Touji fired back. "Just because you'd talked with them?! Just because they smiled at you now and then?! You're so damn naïve!"
Her cocked fist trembled in anger.
"If you were a parent you would understand!" Touji coughed out. "My daughter and her friend live in this damned town too! I couldn't just let my greatest joy and pride walk on the streets that have devils lurking the corners, I couldn't just sit and cross my arms, I had to do something!"
She felt drops of crimson splatter across her face. But she didn't care. "… They wouldn't go after Irina."
"How do you know that? Do you have any proves?"
"... Because they're not like that."
"… Why are you constantly drawing them as if they're angels?" He finally pushed her and left the grass, dusting his priest uniform. "Which side are you on?"
Her brows furrowed. "… What are you implying?"
"… You've been spending a lot of time with that devil." Touji pointed out. "Remember what's transpiring outside of Japan, famous nuns and maidens were cast out by their churches because they believed they were seduced by an unrecognized devil..."
"What?! I am not being seduced by no one, Touji!" Jeanne lashed out. "Neither is Dan the one behind the conspiracy of the exiled nuns and maidens!"
"If it's true that you're not getting manipulated, then stay away from them." Touji wiped his bloody lips with a finger. "Remember what faction you're fighting for."
"Only the Lord may forbid me anything. I will seek peace whether you like it or not."
Touji's fists clenched and left without a word, followed by his nervous subordinates and Masaomi.
…
…
…
"For the time being, I think it's better if we give them some space," David proposed, pinching his nose. "Hopefully we can find a hotel for a night or two."
Jeanne's glare was tight on Touji's back. "Yes. I think that would be a wise decision, David."
Nothing else to add, she sharply stormed in a different direction. Freed and David chasing from behind.
Satanael finally landed with a grunt. "Fucking hell…" He groaned out, dropping on the floor. "If it wasn't for Euclid's orders I would…"
"Huh, you're still alive," a feminine voice observed. It was Walburga. "Welcome back, I guess."
He rolled his silver eyes, passing a finger under his nose. "They can pack quite the punch."
"Why'd you wear that damn mask in the first place?" She deadpanned. "You thought that it would somehow conceal your presence?"
"Dunno." He laughed at her remark. "If you don't know what the fuck you are doing, how are your enemies supposed to know what the fuck you are doing?"
She stared flatly.
"Whatever. Did you show it to him?" He demanded, eliciting a curved eyebrow from the witch. "The video, did you showed it to that Lucifuge brat?"
"Yeah, I did." She lent him his phone, it was vibrating. "… He wants to speak with you."
With a sigh, he answered the call. "That's the target Danny-boy was hiding."
[It would appear so.] Euclid Lucifuge hummed. [What's the story behind this video? Danhauser Belial seemed to be agitated.]
"There are exorcists in that town," Satanael replied, scratching his head. "His cousin, the one in the video, was dating one of them."
There was silence for two minutes. [… I'm impressed you found something valuable as this.] Euclid genuinely praised the cadre. [Is Danhauser Belial staying in Kuoh Town just as you planned it?]
"He will." the fallen angel waved off his worries. "That's for sure."
[… Your assistant told me everything about your plan. As reckless as it was, it somehow worked in your favor. You have proven yourself to be an excellent member of Lord Lucifer. Congratulations.]
"What's next?" He asked. He honestly didn't care what Euclid or anyone of Qlippoth thought about him neither could he care about their goals, he was working on something else.
[Pay a visit to the Seventy-Two Pillars, you won't be traveling alone this time.] The silver-haired chuckled mischievously. [You're going to receive company from your assistant, stray magicians of Nilrem and Níðhöggr. You'll be in charge of this mission.]
"Get straight to the point, man."
[You're going to infiltrate the Phenex State.] He responded and Satanael pictured the devil smiling faintly. [Meanwhile, Lord Nebiros and I will secretly contact an elder of Ars Goetia.]
"You want me to attack Lord and Lady Phenex and someone from the Top Ten?" Satanael said incredulously, shaking his head. "You're fucking crazy."
[Relax.] Euclid said with amusement. [You're not going to lead an attack to the Phenex Castle. There's a settlement located within the Phenex Territory that is going to be favorable for us. I'll send you the coordinates. Anything else?]
"Yeah." He lifted Arondight to eye level, swapping its element between demonic and holy energy constantly. "Make sure to tell that Nebuchad that he outdid himself with the sword! It's sick!"
[Besides Rudiger Rosenkreutz, Lord Nebiros is a master when it involves alchemy across the Underworld, a perfect member for Qlippoth. Keep in mind he's not done with Arondight, he's going to upgrade it into a Holy Demonic Sword.] Euclid explained. [I'm ending the call. Good luck.]
The pure devil finally hung up. Satanael looked at his phone oddly, reading the message that included coordinates of his destination.
"What now?" Walburga asked, looking at the screen from his shoulder. "What are those for?"
"Our next mission," Satanael replied tediously, pocketing his phone. "Let's get moving."
"And that's all." Danhauser Belial walked restlessly in circles around the guest room. He stopped to spare a glance at his brother's hologram. "That's my report."
The grayish hologram of Diehauser Belial nodded. [Alright, good to know.] He said, breaking stares with a scowl. [Now, the problem here is getting the attention of the government. I'll do what I can until then.]
[This is troublesome. From what Gilles and you told me is that Satanael never used his wings nor his light attacks...] Danhauser looked up at his brother's hologram. The Emperor sighed. [… You know that he could kill all of you, right?]
"Without a doubt, but he didn't." Danhauser folded his arms and concentrated. "I believe he was scouting the area to trace the people that have ruined his progress with the Utsusemi Project."
Diehauser wore a cold expression. [Meaning that he's going to eventually come back for round two.] His eye hardened when a memory reached his mind. [… We now have issues with the Exorcists, don't we?]
The face that Diehauser displayed made Danhauser sweat a little. Rarely did the Rating Game Champion pulled a negative facial appearance like that one.
It was as rare as fishing a blue lobster.
Danhauser quietly nodded.
[For so long they were under our noses. That's it. Because of this, chances of expelling out the exorcists from Kuoh Town have increased marginally.] Diehauser announced. [This could peek the interest of the government since Kuoh Town is where contracts are made the most.]
Danhauser slowly glued his gray orbs over the entrance of the room. Those were actually amazing news. What made him somewhat sad was the case of Jeanne.
"It was for the better." Danhauser jolted from his daze. "How long would it take?"
[… A lot of time I'm afraid.] Diehauser sighed, almost facepalming. [Who knows how much it would take for Heaven to accept a meeting and solve the problems between us. If they take a lot of time, then we have the right to kick them out without their permission since we have all the evidence at our disposal.]
Danhauser buried his face in his palms, a part of him wishing that his brain would suddenly shut down and fall asleep. Unfortunately, his pleas were ignored. "What if they're still allowed to stay here?"
His voice was muffled, but Lord Belial heard him fine. [Easy. You and Cleria are coming back to the Underworld.] Diehauser responded firmly. [I will not risk the life of my family for a mere town.]
The Emperor left no room for arguments. Not like Danhauser was against his brother's ideas, on the contrary. He just hoped that Cleria would understand the situation they are facing.
[… I heard from Gilles' report that you tried triggering True Form.] Danhauser winced at the accusation. [Is that true?]
The heir looked anywhere but his brother. "… Yeah, I did." He admitted with a sigh.
A sigh that Diehauser slowly used. [Dan…]
"I had to use it!"
[I know, I know.] Diehauser rose a hand to calm him down. [Cleria may do an exception here but remember you can't use True Form unless you have the governor's permission of that territory. It's illegal.]
Danhauser pursed his lips. "Yeah, sure."
The Emperor looked behind his brother. [It's already late, you should take a rest.] Diehauser smiled faintly. [Are you sure you don't want Gilles to stay there for the time being?]
"And risking Gilles dropping a Diodora on Jeanne? No thanks." He took a deep breath and replied. "I'll keep an eye with my Peerage. If things get out of control, I'll make sure to call anyone from the Belial Clan."
[You better.] the older brother sternly said. [Sleep tight.]
"Make sure to thank Gilles from my part from cleaning the place from the Utsusemi." Danhauser waited for the hologram to vanish before his shoulders slumped. "… This is getting worse and worse... I don't even know what the fuck to do right now." he sat, tired-eyed, flipped the lights off and slumped over his bed.
For sure tomorrow in the morning he was going to check the health condition of Ikuse Tobio and Jin. They're asleep on the next room and under the watch of Toujou Sae, his childhood friend.
Which Danhauser found it unnecessary, Siegfried and Bova Tannin are in the main room guarding the place. He alongside his cousin, Cleria Belial, planted as many magic circles as they could.
Just as he was ready to slip beneath the sheets, Danhauser heard a knock on the door of his bedroom.
With a drained groan, he stood up and answered the door, to his surprise, it was his Pawn. She's dressed in a casual nightgown and her light blonde hair hang loose. She has her arms folded behind the back.
"Um, hi," she said sheepishly, rocking on her toes. "Are you occupied?"
He finally broke from his daze. "Valerie?" He dumbly asked, rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong?"
She looked down, toying with the loose fabric between her fingers. "I know it's too soon, but I was wondering if we could initiate with our date?"
"… Right now?"
"Right now."
After looking at her in wonder, he released a tired chuckle. "It's late already." he gestured at the window lazily. "… Plus, I'm not in the mood of going outside."
"I don't want to go out either," the dhampir stated. "You told me a date is about spending time with friends no matter the place." She paused, hesitating. "… You also appear to be agitated from the previous events. I want to help you out."
Not in the mood for arguing, he released a long sigh and walked to the bed, followed quietly by Valerie Tepes.
As they took a seat, silenced did so too. Neither of them opened their mouths to subdue the awkward silence.
Valerie Tepes finally spoke. "You were really angry," she murmured. "You looked ready to tear him apart."
His mouth remained an uncharacteristic grim line, but he answered. "I was pissed off."
"I see."
…
…
…
"... Hey, do you trust me?"
Danhauser scoffed indignantly. "Of course, I do! Otherwise, I wouldn't let you inside the room."
"Lay down on your bed," she said simply.
The pure devil quickly caught up and he was about to offer his bed for herself, but it was obvious that she would get offended. So, he played her game.
The heir carefully positioned on the other side of the bed, letting his head hit the pillow.
"Don't move," she said, her dark red eyes on him as she joined him, mimicking his action almost to the letter.
Finally, she laid her head on his chest. "Your heart. It's thrumming fast. You're nervous." She noted softly, meeting his gaze. "… Is this because of what we're facing?"
They were almost face-to-face, torso-to-torso, personal space was practically gone at this point.
"Why are you doing this…?" Danhauser couldn't help but ask, breaking stares.
"Back in the cells of the Tepes Castle, Gasper would constantly get nervous," she explained, placing her ear on his chest once more. "To calm him down, I'd let him sleep atop of me… it was effective, but since you're taller than him, this position is for the better. Are you uncomfortable?" Her lips curled into an 'innocent' smile. "Or would you rather be on top while I stay on bottom?"
"Stop."
"Ehehehe... I'm serious, are you uncomfortable?"
Danhauser paused to weigh his options. "… Do you trust me?"
"You trusted me, I trust you too."
He lifted an arm up and locked it around her waist gently, holding her close. "Better."
If you can't beat them, join them.
She never wore signs of hostility by his actions, she just hummed and said. "I'll be honest with you. I'm unable to relate on your loyalty and love for your family." she admitted. "… But I know what you're thinking, your cousin won't be executed."
Danhauser laughed wryly. "How do you know that?"
"Because there is no evidence to prove otherwise." Valerie's cheek nuzzled against his chest. "On the contrary... I know you'll figure something out. You always do."
"Most likely there will be consequences."
"There are always consequences from our actions. It's bound to be there," she affirmed adamantly. "However, the magnitude of the ripples these actions generate varies as per the nature of the action being actualized on your behalf."
"Such as when I'd recruited Tobio on the Peerage." He rubbed his face with his free hand. "I had made us targets of Satanael and his crew."
"The point being is adapting, both mentally and physically, for whatever storm comes at you."
Danhauser stayed quiet for a whole minute, digesting everything she'd said. Sometimes, he would notice the girl glancing at his neck or wrist constantly. He understood. "Hey, are you still hungry?"
The question hit her a little harder than he expected, and she allowed her eyes to wander around, lips pursed. "I try not to think about it," she whispered.
"Go for it." He simply said. "Drink my blood."
"… Are you sure?"
"Yeah." He nodded strongly and tilted his head, leaving his neck exposed. "I know you're worried, but you shouldn't, just take your—!"
Valerie dug her sharp teeth into his neck.
Danhauser gasped by the sudden assault. His toes curling, and his hands clenched the sheets as the dhampir kept sucking the blood out of his veins. However, as a minute passed, his body heated a little, enjoying the warmth of the room together for a moment.
"V-Valerie…!" He stopped a moan by biting his fist, patting her back desperately. "I… I think that's enough for today...!"
Reluctantly, she pulled away from his neck and sat on the bed. He saw her sucking lips were still moist with a little blood, but she slowly washed it with her tongue. She met his gaze and grinned. "Sweet, mellow, and rich. Delicious, as expected from a pure-blooded devil."
"… That was fucking awkward," He breathed heavily with a small blush, a hand where she sunk her fangs. "… And it felt… great. I need help."
"Hey," She whispered playfully, a teasing smile on her lips. "My name. You moaned it."
"Uh, no I didn't."
"Ehehehe…" She rested her chin on the crook of his neck and placed a hand on his chest. "Your heartbeat, it's steady as it should be. I'm glad."
"That's thanks to you." He mumbled. "Good night."
"Good night," Valerie said back and goes to sleep.
It's not long that Danhauser followed suit, not before fist pumping.
"What are we doing here, again?" Bedeze Abaddon whispered to the reincarnated devil. The double doors magically opened and were led by another endless corridor. "We're not in trouble… are we?"
Rudiger Rosenkreutz frowned, letting his legs do their work. "Unless we committed a crime we weren't aware of then no," he responded at ease, eyes still scanning the area. "This is entirely different…"
It has been weeks since they were messaged by the government to meet up with two important figures in Lucifaad. Rudiger doesn't know what made him accept the call and follow the instructions, curiosity would be the befitting word.
"I've got a bad feeling about this, Rudiger…" The blond drawled and gazed sharply behind his shoulder. "Hurry up, Roygun! You are lagging behind!"
"Hmm?" Roygun Belphegor calmly stretched a single eye open, trailing behind the two males. "You easily get frightened, Bedeze." She yawned behind her hand, unhurriedly joining the seventh and third rankers. "You should relax from time to time."
"How can you be so laid back in times like this?!" Bedeze snapped in a hushed tone. "Behave yourself!"
"Rudiger," the three Ultimate Devils glanced forward and flinched by the disapproving glare of Elder Naberius. "Your friends do enjoy speaking loudly, don't they?" He said coolly.
"…" They immediately shut up.
"Now, now. Elder Naberius." Zekram Bael chuckled at his low temper. "Don't be rude, the children are just nervous. We haven't explained to them what's happening right now nor their main objective."
"If I'm allowed to voice my thoughts, Great King." Bedeze waited for Zekram's blessing. He just received a 'go on' gesture. "… Should we expect something extremely important?"
The Great King just flashed a business smile. "All in due time, third-ranked. All you need to know is that, for this occasion, you three are acting as our vanguards. Yes, I did ask permission of your respective elders, Bedeze, Roygun."
"…" The three Rating Game competitors exchanged looks.
The trip to wherever they were being taken became tenser than before. It wasn't worthy of digging for more answers to locate the big picture, Zekram would either ignore them or chuckle by their meddlesome questions, avoiding them.
It was a few minutes before they reached their destination. Blocking their entrance was a pair of doors, compared to the others, these ones were far more elegant than the others, the seventh-ranked speculated it was a meeting room.
However, what was behind the twin doors made the three Ultimate Devils stay on guard.
"Holy energy…" Rudiger muttered dangerously.
Zekram spun to address them. "Lower your spells, we're not here to fight anybody." He ordered, and the vanguards hesitantly vanished their demonic powers. "This is an important negotiation, I need each one of you quiet during the event."
"Wouldn't it be a great moment to explain everything to us, Great King?" The Cherry-Blossom Devil said, mildly startled.
First Generation Bael never answered, just twisted the door and got inside, followed by elder Naberius.
They quickly hurried inside.
As they took their time to drink the beauty and length of the meeting room, their eyes settled over the rounded table, most specific, the figures sitting on the other end and the other two behind them, acting as guards.
Male and female. Matching blonde hair and green eyes shaped in a perpetually sad manner, dressed in white robes as their bodies exuded a sense of dignity, giving them strong stateliness.
The guards followed their uniform to the letter, but their hair and eyes were tinted differently.
Their strength was nothing to scoff at.
"No way…" Bedeze gaped. "Are they the Four…? W-what's happening…?"
Rudiger's green eyes roamed constantly from Zekram to the blond figure, building answers.
"…" Roygun's mouth became a thin line, unable to reply.
"Archangel." Zekram gave a polite nod at the twelve-winged Angel. "You haven't changed, all of you."
Michael stood up from his seat, followed by Gabriel. "Great King Bael." He and the Seraphs returned the gesture cordially. "It's been a long time."
"Indeed, it has." Elder Bael sat on a specific seat with elder Naberius at his side. "I bring information that involves your faction and mine."
As Michael returned to his chair with Gabriel. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes in anticipation.
With the last breath, he opened his eyes and whispered. "Let's hear it."
Next Chapter: Forgotten by God
