Life.2: Maou Bloodline
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Everything backlashed.
The mainstream media had been boiling up to this point — Shalba figured. Aside from the exposure of Diodora and his allegiance with the Old Satan Faction, his crime behind the murder of the Glasya-Labolas Heir in the background also came to light, pushing Shalba against the ropes. It had been weeks and they just couldn't drop it already and move on.
He couldn't counteract this catastrophe, thus forcing him to scurry into the shadows like a mouse until the turbulence settled down. Obviously, such action came with a consequence. The Anti-Maou Faction would now take matters into their own hands — whether increasing their security system or going after them. It was only a matter of time before the Fake Satans were standing right at their doorstep, ready to eradicate them. A hard truth that Shalba had a hard time swallowing.
"I ordered that worm to silently execute his target and clean all the evidence and he still fails?!" Shalba's demonic energy spiked at the thought, glaring daggers at the television, "… Tch. To think I had to recruit someone like him. Had I really become that desperate?"
Speaking of which: on the screen, he saw the crazed green-haired Devil being led out of the building handcuffed and gagged, struggling against a pair of burly guards and crying out for his immediate release. He tried screaming bloody murder at the photographers, cursing their Houses, to no avail. The trial took weeks, but the court finally sentenced the traitor of the Remaining Pillars accordingly.
Good. That insect better be hanged — Shalba hoped.
"Creuserey," Shalba called out afterward, eyes not looking away from the big screen, "Any response from the Descendants of Heroes?"
Creuserey, who was leaning on a wall this whole time, smacked his lips. That was a bad sign, "I had a word with them. They have no interest in lending us the Dimension Lost possessor any longer."
"… You're kidding," and as expected, Shalba didn't take the news lightly, "We need that Sacred Gear to breach through Ars Goetia! What made them change their minds?!"
"Your minion's imprisonment — Diodora. The mainstream media made them have second thoughts," Creuserey left the wall to join him, nails digging deeply into his palms, "… Amateurs… a bunch of humans called us amateur leaders…!"
"That cocky brat. Just because he was gifted the Ultimate Longinus and is descendant of a warlord he deems himself untouchable," Shalba sneered, "Big man with a holy spear. Take that off, what's left? A dog that barks but doesn't bite!"
"You two should come to see this, Creuserey, Shalba," a woman's voice, refined and strict, "I believe I know who caught the Astaroth Heir red-handed."
He finally tore his sharp eyes from the television and settled over the voluptuous woman approaching, "Who?"
She picked up the remote sitting unattended, flicking the viewscreen nearby over to another channel.
The first thing the Maou descendants stumbled upon was the halfway finished Interview TV Show hosted by Naud Gamigin.
Shalba couldn't care less about the mediocre host, his attention fixated on the invited guest. The actual Head of the Clan Bael.
Lord Bael and Naud shared a laugh, twirling their liquor in sync, [Amazing! Truly amazing! As expected of the Great King himself to uncover the crime behind the murder of the Glasya-Labolas Heir. Tell us, what made you adamant to capture the guilty party behind this atrocity?]
[… Four years back, the figure's manifesto behind the Diehauser Belial Broadcast Intrusion had in mind to cultivate division and conflict within Ars Goetia and the Underworld itself. And from there, it would snowball as more and more people either got the erroneous information or straight up deceit to make the situation worse,] Lord Bael's expression sharpened, [He succeeded. Whatever the Heir of Astaroth had in mind could open old wounds and threaten the Devil race once again. As the Great King himself, it's my obligation to make sure history does not repeat itself!]
Naud laughed once more, facing the audience with arms wide open and a grin, [The Great King has spoken ladies and gentlemen!]
A round of applause erupted after his speech.
[As long as I am the Head of the Great King Bael, not a single terrorist will scratch the unbreakable walls of Ars Goetia!] Lord Bael glared at the cameras. Shalba felt his intense stare clashing with his, [This is your last warning, Old Satan Faction.]
A blast of demonic power impacted with the television, scattering shards and dust everywhere.
Creuserey and Katerea had to step back when a stray bolt of raw, demonic power left the Beelzebub's body.
"Those bastards…!" Shalba managed to snarl out, "Just spouting propaganda — what their people have been programmed to believe!"
Katerea adjusted her glasses, her blood boiling a bit too, "What's our next move, Shalba?"
Her question caused Shalba to grow silent for a while. A minute passed and he peeked over his shoulder, "Communicate with 'Mastema'."
"As you wish," Katerea in response put out her hand, flat with palm up and shaped a small magic circle above it. There was only silence in the room as the three Maou descendants waited for their agent to pick up the call.
A grey, holographic figure appeared above Katerea's magic circle. A young man wearing a suit. Danhauser Belial himself.
The gray-haired youth quickly took action and kneeled in respect, [How may I serve you, Lord Beelzebub?]
Shalba batted a hand to the air, signaling him to get up, "Are you aware of your partner getting apprehended after being caught by the Great King?"
He watched as the Heir of Belial straightened himself, patting down his clothes, [It's everywhere,] Danhauser replied casually, [Thousands of articles are being uploaded as we speak.]
"So I've noticed," Shalba said, vein in his head throbbing as he grounded his teeth, "Now, because of that worm it's impossible to take further actions."
Even so, regardless if Diodora's crime wasn't brought into the open, they couldn't attack Ars Goetia now that the Hero Faction wouldn't provide them the Longinus — Dimension Lost. A vital key to further Shalba's plans. The only way to guarantee safe teleportation into their enemy's main quarters and a clean retreat.
The more he thought about this, the more he wished to annihilate the Hero Faction and strangle Diodora with his own hands.
He urgently needed a drink. So badly.
[Why was he important?] Danhauser asked, arms folded, [Call me blind, but I have never seen any strong points coming out of him.]
Shalba glanced at his direction, annoyed, "Unlike you, he's a member of a high-ranking Clan within the Remaining Pillar, thus giving him more privileges, fame, and fortune that you'll never grasp."
The Heir tightened his jaw at that.
Danhauser had the skills to fight but lacked political authority. Diodora had high status but was horrible in close quarters combat. They were the perfect team. Patching each other's flaws wonderfully. A shame Diodora and his boner had to devastate everything the Old Satan Faction had schemed for years.
Not everything at least. Shalba still needed the girl that Creuserey spoke about.
"But that could change," Shalba continued, ignoring the pissed Belial, "The Clan Belial can reclaim what they had lost four years ago. However, for that to happen, the Old Satan Faction must overthrow the current Devil government first. You know what that means, right?"
[… Tell me what to do and I'll do it in your name.]
Now that was a good soldier. One who'd follow orders without showing hesitance, "Change of plans, Mastema. Forget killing the heiresses. I'll send someone to your town to hand over your new mission. Understood?"
[Understood, Lord Beelzebub.]
"And remember," Shalba rose a warning finger, "Your achievements are for the benefit of the Old Maou and your Housecarl. Failing is not an option!"
[I'll do my best to not disappoint you.]
"Good," He waved him away, "Dismissed."
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"Motherfucker," Danhauser huffed once he was done discussing with his superior. It was an exhausting weekend, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Shalba was still crawling on his back. Him finding out Diodora was arrested led him to stop Danhauser from assassinating the heiresses of Gremory and Sitri — most likely to make sure he didn't lose more troops when the big event comes.
After he'd teleported Diodora handcuffed back to Ars Goetia and making a copy of Shalba's document for Azazel, he tried to relax in his house with Cleria's and Roygun's company to forget anything that had transpired in the abandoned church and move on, but that was easier said than done. Mostly because he still had his mind run through his memories in search of this girl that Shalba was fascinated about. Any glimpse of her name or powers somewhere hidden in the Light Novels — but nothing.
A part of him was curious about meeting her in person, but at the same time, he wanted her distanced from him. She was a target. If Shalba somehow discovered Danhauser had any secret connection with the girl — all his hard work would crumble to ruins.
"Hellooo? Earth to Danny?" The gray-haired recoiled back to reality when something small impacted with his forehead and bounced off, "Do you copy?"
Danhauser was wholly unimpressed after seeing who did the crime. He dodged the second projectile with ease, "Are you done?"
Cleria pouted, "It depends. Are you going to space off while I'm talking to you?" She grumbled while biting the toast on her plate, "Cute girls don't like that, y'know?"
"Alright, alright, my bad," Danhauser apologized, because he'd lacked the energy to start an argument with his cousin in the table and middle of the night. Plus Roygun was already snoring in her room.
Cleria examined him up and down before tackling the subject once again, "I asked you when your peerage is coming back?"
"In a few days, actually," Danhauser responded, gulping his food, "But they won't show up in Kuoh. Tobio suggested meeting up in his bar which is in Ryuukou Town."
…
"Why are you still working for that terrorist?" she addressed the elephant in the room, "I thought once you received a pass on the Youth Devil Gathering you'd drop this espionage stuff."
The whole reason why Danhauser had accepted to become the mole for the higher-ups of Ars Goetia was to ensure his place in the impeding Youth Devil Gathering. He'd passed the mission with flying colors. Why was he still taking orders from them?
"You're wrong. The Youth Devil Gathering was just the stepping stone," Danhauser said, "Capturing Diodora was too."
Obtaining great achievement in the times of crisis or situations as well as including exceptional ability or skill in combat. Indeed, military accomplishments were the only way for the Clan Belial to gain power. Faster.
Rating Games wouldn't help his family to rise up from rank. If that was the case, then Diehauser's unstoppable streak of victories would be sufficient to pull the Belial Clan back to its pedestal. The Rating Games only helped to raise a person's rank in the Underworld. Such as Ruval who was a candidate to become an Ultimate-Class, but his Housecarl would stay in the same status.
The thought of Diehauser still being a High-Class Devil such as himself made his eye twitch. Despite his undefeated matches, the higher-ups didn't bat an eye at his direction. Mostly because his older brother was still treated as a "cheater" amongst the audience and mainstream media. If the Council offered him a place to become an Ultimate-Class alongside Ruval, society would see red.
Heck, just because they announced Ruval's promotion, a few were against it and made sure to show it on the streets of Lilith.
"Then why go to the Rating Games?"
"Two reasons," Danhauser raised two fingers for emphasis, "The money and to clean our name."
He knew he first needed to clear the name of his Household before they could get promoted or else his family would also get the same treatment that Ruval got. Unfortunately, no matter how many good deeds and accomplishments he would achieve for the sake of Ars Goetia, there were always a few groups who would oppose it. At must, he could lessen the animosity against his Clan.
"Clear our name?" Cleria repeated, then a furrowed frown, "You think everyone is gonna forgive us?"
"Let's be real, not all of them," he said immediately. A pause, "Maybe a few would have a change of heart and mind and support us once more."
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…
…
"Your mother is scared, you know," she saw Danhauser clicking his tongue. She continued regardless, "We are, too. The day you told us you were working as a spy almost made her faint. It also shocked Diehauser and me. Your mother was right. You should drop this before Shalba does something bad to you."
"What? Kill me?" Danhauser said with an offended scoff, only just managing to keep his tone on the right side of civil. "If those clowns can kill me, I must have seriously been slipping during my training."
"Don't get cocky, Danhauser!" Cleria warned him, expression hardened, "Fine. Maybe you can do a one-on-one fight, but what if you are taking the three of them at the same time?"
Danhauser drummed his fingers on his desk, staring absentmindedly into the begging and worried eyes of his cousin. He finally responded, "I'll use True Form."
Cleria laughed half-heartedly, "… You can't use it, remember? The council of Ars Goetia hasn't permitted you to trigger it! Neither the Extra Demons or City of Dis would allow you to do it in their territories."
Since Grigori and the Realm of Hades were other sections of the Underworld, Danhauser also had to ask for their authorization. Azazel would be easy. The Governor-General may at first be hesitant, but he would grant his approvance once he understood the big picture.
The Greek God of the Dead was a different and complicated one. He, after all, despised other mythologies — his hatred mostly fixated on the Biblical Faction — that weren't associated with Greek or Roman pantheons. All in all, Danhauser could start discarding the Realm of the Dead from his 'places where I'll spam True Form' list.
Besides, it's not like Danhauser would somehow end up in the territory of a God that belonged on the chart of the Top Ten Strongest Beings in the World and had a legion of Grim Reapers at his disposal.
Cleria could scarcely fathom the idea of Danhauser descending upon the Realm of the Dead with no logical explanation behind it whatsoever.
"I can use it as self-defense," Danhauser retorted, "If my life is at risk and I already used my whole arsenal, then the government won't raise any objections."
"But still…" Cleria trailed off, her throat tight and dry, "T-there has to be another way…"
"We can't refuse the orders of the Great King," Danhauser said with the gentle voice he could manage, "Belial is no longer ranked as King — but a Lesser King. We're one of the many lesser houses belonging on the poor aristocracy. Thus, our role involves either physical activities on the farm, military service, or a staggering amount of stress and hard work. Are you catching on now?"
Their house wasn't the only one ranked as a Lesser King, there were a few more Housecarls considered as such. Belial Clan, however, were more infamously known than the other bunch. All thanks to their overall strength, Diehauser's title as 'The Emperor' and the false accusations of the King Piece circling them.
"I will make this house great once more," the oath Danhauser had taken fresh in his mind — the oath of all true heirs. He'd repeated it now without effort or remorse. "… To this house, I will be true and faithful. To this, I will commit mind, body, and heart. I got this."
"We know. We just wish you didn't have to risk your life," she said underneath her breath, as she looked away from his eyes to her food.
A chill entered in his spine as they continued eating in tense silence.
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The airport resembled more of a shopping mall than anything Valerie had expected. The tiles under foot gleamed white and everywhere were people milling around — a sea of unfamiliar faces. There were two glass elevators leading to an upper floor which had the appearance of a food mall. And in the middle of several large open areas were red fabric covered seats.
The air was cool and only the faint aroma coming from the food area gave any scent. There was a sculpture of the Youkai Kappa with water cascading from the bowl atop its head and flowing all the way down.
The Dhampir just sat there with a bored expression, distracting herself by watching the noisy children throwing yen inside the fountain for a wish or humming in sync to the soft, classical music being played in the background. Whenever the doors of the airport opened, her eyes rapidly would shift over to the entrance — expecting a certain grey-haired Devil and a cross-dressing Dhampir to walk inside the building — only to be left disappointed by the results.
Her shoulders slumped, glaring at the clean floor reflecting her, "Where are they…?"
"Excuse me, pardonne-moi!" A familiar accent, French, "Best girl passing through~!"
Valerie's head snapped upwards. It came from behind, and it slowly approached in her direction.
The Dhampir left her seat to obtain a better view. From a short distance, she spotted a short girl carrying two suitcases full of nostalgia. She had the same dye of hair — only a little darker than hers.
Of course, she hadn't noticed Valerie yet.
"Jean—" Valerie quickly brought a hand into her mouth, noticing what's inside the former Saint.
Back then, she'd lacked control of her Longinus for various reasons, from her cowardice to ghosts and Marius who'd always occupied them for his mysterious research.
Thanks to the four-year training and the mass of tentacles and eyes that resided within the Holy Grail, she had a better understanding of her Sacred Gear and its abilities.
In the body of Jeanne, two souls resided. One was holier than the other and was locked — asleep.
"Valerie? Is that you…?"
That was a warning for her to run.
Valerie's red orbs darted everywhere in search of a clear escape, "W-Wait a minute!" She stammered, instinctively attempting to move out of the way, "T-There's no necessity to resorting—!"
The damage was already done. In the blink of an eye, Jeanne teleported and wrapped her arms around the taller, shrieking Dhampir, "It's good to see a familiar face….!" She started shaking about, bringing Valerie with her as she tried to hug her with all the cuddliness of a grizzly.
"S-stop it…!" Valerie wheezed out, flailing helplessly, "I-I can't breathe y-you imbecile...!"
A final squeeze and Jeanne put her down, ignoring the odd glances by the people who passed by.
"These four years treated you well, Valerie!" Jeanne praised the breathless Pawn, "You've changed in a good way!"
"H-have you lost your mind…?" Valerie's breath stuttered as she let it go, "You better have a good excuse for almost breaking my spine!"
"Tee-hee~!" Jeanne shaped a heart with her hands, "I. Missed. Ya'll~!"
Valerie huffed lightly, dusting off her dress, "We barely had the chance to know each other in the past and yet, you're acting as if we were childhood friends."
Jeanne's smile fell slightly, "Indeed. It saddened me that I didn't have the freedom to know each one of you properly, but after what happened four years back… I believe it's justified."
To Valerie's surprise, Jeanne's expression became brighter once more, "But unfortunately — I'm optimistic in life. These four years absent of all of you was spent wisely. I'd love to know each one of you and future teammates too. Let's become friends, okay?"
Valerie averted her gaze, "W-well… if that stops you from making embarrassing acts in public, I suppose…"
"Yes!" Jeanne fist-pumped the air, too loud for Valerie's dismay, "We will enjoy our time together and exchange stories of romance, paint our nails, and try on clothes and even get into gang fights!"
"Huh, you two are already here. I hope you two weren't waiting too long for us."
Their heads twisted after the familiar voice, catching insight a silver-haired young man whose clothing resembled a butler.
He was followed by a short young man with bartender clothes and a shorter brown-haired girl with emerald eyes.
The bartender — Tobio — smirked and shot them a two-finger salute, "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Valerie failed to contain her sardonic smile, "Yes. It's impressive everyone made it out. I expected one or two of us to die."
"… I see your mind is still fucked up as ever. Not much has changed it seems."
"Ehehehe…" As Jeanne pulled Tobio and Sae into one of her back-breaking hugs, Valerie spoke, "Where's Danhauser and Bova?"
"B-Bova's at my bar getting cuddled by Lavinia…!" Tobio grunted as Jeanne almost split his ribs. "Jin too in case you wanted to know."
Sae smacked her lips, "As for boss… let's talk about that later."
Valerie scowled at the deficient answer but brought no arguments. As long as nothing happened to him, then everything was fine.
She turned to Siegfried — eyeing him, "Should I question the butler clothes?"
"What's wrong with it?" Siegfried asked whilst ruffling the former saint's head, "Does it look big on me?"
"I never expected you to wear those clothes."
"Gilles not only honed my swordsmanship," Siegfried stated, adjusting his white gloves, "But also guided me to my duty as a knight for master."
"Yeah," Jeanne's usually warm and welcoming smile now cold and forced, "I bet he did."
"Is something wrong?"
"Oh! Nothing~!"
"A bird told me you were pupil of Eminence Strada, Jeanne," Siegfried said after a pregnant silence, "the Violence of Heaven himself."
"Wait," Valerie's eyes went wide, "Your teacher was Vasco Strada? The human who uses buildings as punching bags to train himself?"
She'd heard tales of that man from the corners of the Tepes Faction and prisoners of the Carmilla Faction. Most of the times, the parents always resorted to evoking that name whenever their children misbehaved to scare them off and fool them to go to bed once for all.
She refused to see him as a human, more of a monster. Or at least a descendant of a God. Even her father and Queen Carmilla feared the being who'd bear the title of Apex of Humanity proudly on his chest — like a medal.
"Yes!" Jeanne nodded enthusiastically, watching the fleeing planes with a nostalgic smile, "Ah… one day we ended up changing the landscape a bit because we went hard in our training. Sick times."
Sae stared, "… Okay."
"H-heard of him," Tobio was the first to pop from his shock, "Son of a bitch forced Kokabiel to hop to the top of a tree like a scared cat back in World War ll."
"A human defeated a Cadre with five pairs of wings who survived the Great War?" It was one thing to punch a hole in a building and maybe reshape the landscape through an intense fight, but defeat one of the leaders of Grigori with ease? That was absurd.
Tobio just laughed at Sae's perplexity, "Pretty much. What makes that man scarier is that he wasn't born with a Sacred Gear."
Sae's mouth was hanging open at this point.
Siegfried nodded at Jeanne, "That aside, I bet you learned quite a few things from Eminence Strada. After all, he's rumored to have surpassed the first user of Durandal."
Jeanne grinned, invaded Siegfried's personal space and began flexing those non-biceps, "Duh! His secret techniques have been passed down to me for four years! Would you doubt a woman with these sick lookin' muscles? FEEL!"
"Okay, okay, I get it!" Siegfried snapped, "No need to wiggle them in my face!"
"Oh, sorry, Sieg. I sorta lost my cool and kinda went with it. Sorry, tee hee~!" Jeanne took a step back, laughing awkwardly, "Where's Danhauser and Bova, by the way?"
"Bova is at the bar waiting for us," Tobio rubbed his neck, looking away from their curious stares, "Boss is… He's occupied."
"Really occupied," Sae remarked.
The two blondes shared looks and quickly turned back to them. Valerie voiced their thoughts, "What do you mean?"
"Not here," Siegfried told her as they neared the exit, "Way too many people. Let's get into the car for more privacy."
Valerie narrowed her eyes, "What happened?"
"N-nothing serious happened to him, right?" Jeanne asked, worried.
"He's still breathing," The brunet pocketed a hand as they stood outside the airport, eyes locked on the moon, "… Let's just say he's swimming in red waters."
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"Bad news coming from the Underworld," Danhauser was startled when a newspaper from Ars Goetia fell onto his desk. He looked up to see the President of the Student Council and Occult Club towering over him.
"Hello to you too," Danhauser's gestured over to his seats and watched how both heiresses carefully took their seats and next thing—.
Whomp! — Rias' face planted right into Danhauser's desk with a quiet whine.
Danhauser stared for a long second and faced Sona, "What happened?"
The bespectacled woman, in return, sighed at her best friend's behavior, "The Strongest Heir showed up at her club."
Danhauser did a double take, "The Strongest Heir? Ruval Phenex showed up in the ORC?"
"Yeah…" Rias said quietly, face flat on the table, "… Raiser, thankfully, didn't come."
"Why is that?" He felt their sudden stares as if they were expecting to know the reason behind Raiser's absence. He slowly raised his eyebrow, "… Really, what happened?"
"… Ruval told me Raiser fell into a slump," Rias' explanation made his eyes broaden in surprise, "It began when you defeated him four years ago. Now, he rarely leaves his house after that loss."
"Ruval and her sister tried to help him move on and even searched for professional help," Sona sighed, "… While their efforts showed minor improvements… it wasn't enough."
"… Holy shit," Danhauser wouldn't be surprised if his jaw was scratching the floor at this point, "It happened because of me…?"
There had been numerous cases where Sairaorg's opponents had completely lost their will to fight ever again. Finding their overpraised demonic powers useless against him — these proud Devils had taken a huge hit to their self-esteem when they were defeated by a bare physical body.
Upper-class Devils had a lot of arrogance — but find it difficult to recover when they're overwhelmed with defeat.
Danhauser and his peerage slaughtered Raiser's Peerage during their battle. In front of the Top Ten and the Underworld.
Though, calling it a battle would be a stretch.
"Great. I feel like an asshole now," Danhauser massaged the bridge of his nose, "Not only have I ruined, Roygun, Bedeze, the Top Ten and my Clan — but Raiser as well. Good job me."
"Despite Raiser losing his will, our parents are persisting on continuing the wedding!" Rias venting off snapped him back to reality, "How many times do I have to say it for them to understand…? It will be someone I choose!"
So, it had begun — he thought. The fight between Rias and Raiser was slowly drawing near. Cleria had told him about this. She had to reluctantly follow Grayfia after Rias tried to bed her cute pawn to escape from her engagement.
Cleria was, after all, the governor of Kuoh and as such, Lord Gremory and Phenex had to ask her permission for Ruval and Grayfia to make his debut in the Human World.
Time surely flies.
With a strained chuckle, Danhauser held the forgotten newspaper that Sona gave to him. Just by reading the luring title he knew where this was heading. He rubbed his eyes, "Another Clan has been downgraded. Yikes."
"I'm so sorry, Ajuka."
"From Duke, they fell into a Lesser Duke," Sona narrowed her eyes eloquently, "Lord Bael must be the one who downgraded the Astaroth Household. As expected from the Clan who has power over Ars Goetia."
Rias pushed her face off the table, frowning, "I thought my big brother was in charge of Ars Goetia?"
"Satan Lucifer is just the head of the state," Danhauser pointed out, "He's the very first citizen — a chief public representative."
Sona pushed her glasses up, "Then that proves my statement."
"Not really," Danhauser remarked, suddenly earning Sona's attention, "… The Great King isn't allowed to demote a Duke in the hierarchy — not anymore. His title says it all — he's the King of Kings."
Sona wore a perplexed look, "But my sister told me years ago that the Great King…"
"Times change," Danhauser dismissed, "When the King piece came to light the Bael Household was also accused of corrupting the system. The citizens opened their eyes and wanted the House of Bael out of leadership and Elders to lose their high-rank. Some even opted to make the Four Great Satans as their leaders."
"What happened?"
"In a nutshell, there's a new council," It was in the same cabinet where his brother had worked as Head Senator before getting fired by Lord Bael. He wouldn't be surprised if they were Diehauser's replacement, "Led by new houses who're renowned as the Great Pillars, who are the Head Government of Ars Goetia itself."
Danhauser knew better. He could smell the sinister overtones coming within the Remaining Pillars. While the Six Great Pillars were exercising full authority and were referred to as powerful leaders in the judgmental stares of society, they were actually being controlled by a more powerful figure behind the throne — Zekram Bael.
The old fossil adored being in charge.
"Then who demoted the House of Astaroth?"
"The one who stripped the Astaroth Clan was the house who has power over Dukes — Archduke of Agares."
Because Diodora was the former heir of Astaroth, his fate could only be weighted by the hands of Lord Agares. Not by Lord Bael. In fact, the latter had to ask permission to arrest Diodora once and for all. The Archduke allowed it. If he were to refuse, then Danhauser couldn't lay a single finger on him — unless he wished to put himself in more political trouble.
"Seekvaira's father," Sona brought a hand to her chin, "Makes me wonder who captured Diodora for his crimes?"
"Perhaps Seekvaira?" Rias added her two cents, "Or my cousin."
Sona then looked at him with a sharp gaze, "… Or maybe it was you, Vice-Principal?"
"You're pointing at the wrong man," Danhauser shrugged his shoulders, "I was helping the Principal with her paperwork."
He couldn't share anything with anyone about this aside from his family and peerage members. The fewer, the better.
"Now, I don't think you two are here to play detective and keep me updated with the daily life of the Underworld. What's wrong?"
He had an idea what's coming next, but he'd preferred to keep a facade.
Sona nudged the redhead, "Go on. Tell him."
Rias closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again, "Yes. I… I wish to ask for a few days of vacations to train my peerage for our… first Rating Game."
It took a great deal of effort on her part to finish her sentence. It came so cold. Obviously, she despised the idea of playing her first Rating Game like this. Her anger increased tenfold when her brother was behind this and the lack of servants on her side — making her match one-sided.
"… I see," Danhauser leaned on his seat, "How much are we talking about?"
"Ten days."
He hummed in return, drumming his fingers on the table, "Alright, I'll drop the message to the Principal. Meanwhile, start packing anything you need for your training."
Rias felt her body release half her tension as she smiled at him. No doubt, a man would kill to see that smile aimed at them, "Thank you so much, Danhauser."
"It's Vice-Principal," Danhauser wagged his finger playfully, "Best wishes."
"Once your Rating Game is done, you better not stay behind with homework and school," Sona adjusted her glasses, "Until then, concentrate on escaping from the arranged betrothal."
"What a cute way of saying 'good luck' and 'I'll miss you'."
The raven-haired devil shot a piercing gazeat him which he responded with a wink.
"O-one last thing …" Rias couldn't bring herself to look Danhauser in the eyes, "I… since you had a Rating Game against Raiser and won… can you perhaps...!"
Danhauser brought a hand up, "Stop right there. I know where you're heading," He said, "The answer is no."
Sticking his nose in affairs of households who weren't even a branch of the Great King Faction would be a tactless ploy — especially considering the constant errors he'd committed in the past.
A long second of silence and Rias sighed shakily, "Yes. Sairaorg told me you would likely refuse."
"Then why ask him in the first place?" Sona asked.
"I-it was worth a shot," Rias' hands almost reached out to yank her beautiful hair but held back, body shivering, "T-that's it then…? There's no way I could beat him the way I am… I-I don't even have a complete peerage! And I only got a new member! What were they thinking of catapulting someone inexperienced into a Rating Game against Raiser!"
It was silence afterward, they waited as Rias' chest heaved heavily.
…
"And… and…" Rias' gaze fell, shoulders slumped, "… Ise, who'd consumed eight pawn pieces, only has a Twice Critical…"
"Or so she thinks." Danhauser inwardly sighed, "You have Gasper. A shota trap capable of freezing the time of anything within his line of sight."
Bonus points if Rias had never shown Gasper to Ruval. The element of surprise sometimes could change the tides of war.
"… But would that be enough?"
"In my opinion yes," If Gasper took Asia's shoes in the Rating Game, the Dhampir could freeze Raiser's regeneration and game over. Heck, he'd even donated Gasper his blood from time to time so he could have a better control of his Pseudo-Longinus! Mostly because he'd promised it to his pawn rather than Rias' arranged marriage, "But if you're still insecure, you should give your best throughout your training."
"… I'll need someone with good combat skills to watch over my cute servants… and since the Vice-Principal refused… " Sona and Danhauser could only wait for the Gremory heiress to stop talking off top her head, "… Perhaps Sairaorg would help?"
Danhauser snorted lightly, "You want the heir of the Great King to train your servants?" He repeated, slowly, "… Maybe Sairaorg would accept. But you think his father will?"
The Bael Clan and Gremory Clan had a strained relationship. The Bael household was hostile towards the Gremory as their current generation had strongly inherited the Power of Destruction. Lord Bael wasn't an exception.
Of course, there were people such as Sairaorg, his mother, half-brother and even Zekram himself who didn't show a hint of any grudge.
"It doesn't hurt to try…"
"Do what you gotta do," Danhauser stood up, dusting his suit, "Let me ask you a final question. Was Ruval's younger sister in there?"
Rias frowned and dived into her memories, "… No, she wasn't present," she said, "The Strongest Heir was only with one of his servants — the Mad Dictator. Grayfia was there too. Why?"
"Nothing, nothing. Just curious," He waved them off, "Let's end this talk here, I have a school to watch and you girls have important matters to attend to. You may go."
[Thank you, Vice-Principal.]
.
.
Kuisha watched as his King knocked on the door and took a step back, waiting.
…
…
…
"Are you sure he lives here, master?" The Queen questioned, eyes wandering all over the entrance, "Perhaps you went in the wrong direction?"
Sairaorg shook his head, arms folded, "This is the route that Rias gave me. She's been in this town for years already. I trust her good sense of direction."
"How are you so sure?"
"Call it a gut instinct, Kuisha."
The blonde sighed, muttering, "Such a stubborn King I have…"
The Lion King chuckled before knocking once more.
Rias had to sacrifice a day of her training to wait for her older cousin to visit Kuoh Town, but it was all worthy for her. Kuisha wasn't certain nine days were enough to get them ready for their first Rating Game. Not even ten days. The Phenex Clan was widely known because of their powers resembling the Phoenix. The only unofficial Rating Game Raiser had lost so far was against the man his master spoke about — Danhauser Belial.
Since then, she'd never heard about Raiser.
Then again, power wasn't the secret ingredient to win a Rating Game. Some battles were won with magic and fists, others with experience and brain. The 7th ranked — Rudiger Rosenkreutz — was a nod to her statement. Always defeating the Dragon Meteor Tannin and his peerage full of dragons despite the great difference in power. Word on the street was that he almost defeated the Champion of the Rating Games.
"Coming!" A male voice said, familiar enough to brighten Sairaorg's mood, "Who is it?"
Shooting a thumbs-up at his Queen, the Strongest Youth quickly turned back to the door, "Seriously? Am I nothing but a blurry memory to you? I'm hurt."
It was silence afterward, but Kuisha swore to hear an 'oh shit' behind the locked door, "It's really you…?"
"Ah, so you do remember," Sairaorg flashed a genuine smile, "Are you going to greet me properly or will I speak with a door the whole day?"
Immediately, the door swung open, revealing a tall young man.
"So this is the younger brother of the Emperor?" Kuisha thought. Like every other pillar heir — he was handsome. If it wasn't by his hair slicked back, she would have thought this was Diehauser who'd drunk from the fountain of youth. Like her master, he exuded a strong, prideful aura befitting of a king.
The gray-haired man eyed them both from head to toes before saying, "So beautiful. What's your name?"
"Kuisha," Sairaorg replied for his dazzled Queen.
"Not her," Danhauser winked at him, "You, handsome."
Sairaorg stared, unimpressed, "I'm regretting coming here."
"Sorry, sorry. I wasn't expecting the next Great King to pay me a visit — I had to improvise," Danhauser extended a hand to the still befuddled Queen, "Danhauser, by the way."
Shaking her confusion away, she awkwardly returned the gesture, "A-a pleasure, Prince Danhauser."
"The pleasure is mine," stealing his hand back, Danhauser stepped to the side to let them in, "I can't believe your father permitted you to stay in the Human World to help Rias out. You know he hates the Gremory Clan's guts, right?"
"Don't remind me. He doesn't stop rambling about them on his throne," Sairaorg massaged his temple, "I'm afraid I'm not here to train them. As you said, he looks down on my red-haired relatives and I shouldn't meddle in affairs of other Housecarls that aren't under the Great King Faction. But since I'm here, I think it wouldn't hurt paying my cousin a visit. And who knows? Maybe drop one or two hints here and there."
"Damn, disobeying Papa Bael's orders?" Danhauser feigned shock, "That's evil coming from you."
It didn't surprise him that Lord Bael would prohibit his oldest son from assisting Rias. As Raiser had said in the Light Novels — Pure Devils were nearing extinction. Hence the arranged marriage between Gremory and Phenex.
Plus, he was the Great King. Politically speaking, he shouldn't stick his nose in business that revolved around houses whose rank were Duke and Marquis. Only the Archduke and Grand Marquis could intervene in the marriage.
Or like Sirzechs did in the Light Novels.
"It only shows how much jealousy he has in him," Danhauser inwardly grunted, "To see the Gremory Clan lose all the popularity and fame they'd garnered as they were widely known of their good mastery over the Bael's Clan trait."
After all, whenever he'd thought of Power of Destruction, the first picture coming to his mind was Sirzechs — not Sairaorg's father or anyone from the house of Bael.
"I'm a Devil, what else did you expect?" Sairaorg smiled, "Wouldn't you do the same thing if your cousin was following the same steps?"
"Only if her fiancé was a bastard," Danhauser stated, walking over the hallway, footsteps followed, "… You've changed a lot, you know? Back when we were brats, you disliked Rias because she'd inherited the Bael trademark ability — unlike you."
Kuisha frowned at his words but chose to stay in silence.
"I was immature back then. Rather than rambling as my father does, I listened to my mother and trained to my utmost limits to reach another form of strength — my fist," Sairaorg said with pride in his voice, "We are diverging from the crucial point — I came to this town for various reasons. Kuisha?"
In response, his Queen summoned out a folded piece of paper and lent it to his King — who'd taken it graciously, "Father told me to make sure this ends safely in your hands."
Danhauser halted and took the scrap of paper he'd been offered. The note was in a perfect state, no signs of ragging nor charring were seen on the card. He noticed the wax seal carried the Bael sigil.
"You should hurry and read it. Something tells me you'll love what's inside."
His curiosity grew as he unfolded the note. His eyes caressing the strokes of the pen made so professionally, seeing the personality behind the strong lines and heavy punctuation marks.
The more he read, the more his smile stretched out.
"I guess congratulations are in order," Sairaorg patted Danhauser's shoulder, "I knew you'd make it. How, though?"
"I-I don't know," he averted his gaze away from Sairaorg to the paper, "What matters is that I made it inside."
"Fair enough. Piece of advice — don't expect the Underworld to welcome you with arms wide open," Sairaorg folded his arms, "It's going to get tough from here on. Take a wild guess."
"They're still accusing me of using the King Piece, aren't they?"
Sairaorg nodded, "I'm also getting my share of hate, but from what I have seen — you're getting more rotten tomatoes than me. Remember when you challenged the Top Ten as well as the whole Underworld for the title as the next champion? Piece it together."
Sometimes, there were occasions where Danhauser wished he could travel back in time and punch his younger self in the face. Hard. Today wasn't an exception.
Danhauser stuck with a facepalm, "Better get used to my past being held against me by society then."
"You and me both."
"Hey, Danny, who are you speaking with…?"
The Kings and Queen quickly turned their gazes to the stairs just in time to see Cleria and Roygun freeze on a different step.
"Oh hey, Cleria, Roygun — come in," Danhauser gestured to join them, "This guy is called Sairaorg and is the heir of Bael and the Strongest Youth — don't know if you've heard of him."
"Was that sarcasm?" Sairaorg muttered.
"… And the young lady at his side is his Queen — Kuisha."
Sairaorg saw how they were about to kneel and quickly intervened, "We're not in the Underworld, don't sweat the formalities — it makes me uncomfortable. Thank you all," he said with a smile, "It's good to meet the cousin of Danhauser and you as well, Roygun Belphegor."
Kuisha glared daggers at the pink-haired woman, "… Indeed."
Roygun pursed her lips in return.
Thankfully, no one noticed their toxic interaction.
"No offense but…" Cleria drawled, "What are they doing here?"
Danhauser shook the folded paper, "To deliver an important letter. It's confirmed. I got invited to the Youth Gathering."
"Wait, for real?!" She queried and Danhauser nodded. Cleria started to clap excitedly with a squeal, "Yes! You did it! Now we need to get you some fancy clothes to woo all the girls at the party~!"
"Geez, Cleria. Keep it down, we got company."
"Oh, come oooon! How dare you to tell me to 'hurr durr keep it down' when something amazing happened!" she dramatically placed the back of her hand on her temple, "Ah… I missed the golden days when you used to run into my embrace just to get spoiled. What happened to my cute Danny…?"
"What? I never did that!"
"Hn. Lying won't help you in any way, Danny."
Roygun brought a hand to her chin, ignoring the Belial family, "Hah... A lot of Pure Devils are stopping in Kuoh now and then…"
Sairaorg blinked, "Who else came here?"
"The Strongest Heir and Strongest Queen — Ruval and Grayfia respectively," Danhauser replied after glaring at his pouty cousin, "They were here yesterday in the ORC. Rias never told you about them?"
"Maybe she had mentioned them, but I barely remember half of our conversation," Sairaorg shrugged. "I'll be straying from the subject from here. Since your brother is the president of the Rating Game Executive Committee — I'd love to have a word with him. For our future match, I'll have no special requests about the rules — except that all complicated restrictions be dismantled from the rules of combat. I want to take you head on in your full strength."
Danhauser regarded Kuisha — who'd stood loyally beside her King in silence — with a cocked eyebrow. As expected from a Queen, she brought no objections. In fact, her gaze cried out 'bring it on'.
"Even when you barely know my peerage members, you still want to go all out?"
"Of course. This body is something I trained in order to surpass common sense and obstacles. How can I call myself the next head of the Bael family if I were to cower out?"
"As expected of the Strongest Youth," Danhauser laughed briefly, "There's a slight chance that we may not fight, you know?"
"Let's get our fingers crossed, then!" Sairaorg rose a clenched fist, "Now, how about we celebrate your entry to the Youth Gathering? It's been a long time since we'd sparred."
…
"… That's why you're here," Danhauser realized, "Just to blow some steam."
Kuisha giggled, "He caught you red-handed, master."
The Lion King just chucked in agreement, "Father had in mind to send a vassal to deliver the message rather than myself. He didn't want the future head of Bael to step on the soil of 'peasant' humans, but after Elder Bael listened to my purpose — he laughed and accepted."
"… Didn't you want to meet up with Rias? You're going to be late, you know?"
"I came earlier for that reason," Sairaorg remarked, "To have enough time to stretch out a bit."
"Uh… and where are we going to fight?" Danhauser hurriedly added, "We need a big arena if we're going to trade blows. I'd rather not ruin the house in the aftermath."
"Your backyard is vast enough to hold the five of us with space to spare. If anything bad happens to your house then I'm willing to pay all the maintenance from the damage we may incur."
"How are we going to spar without someone healing us afterward?" Danhauser kept throwing excuses, anything to not have a taste of the Strongest Youth greatest weapon — his iron fist.
Yet — at the same time — he wanted to test how durable he was against someone who only relied on the prowess of his body.
Expecting that question to arise, Sairaorg fished out two Phoenix Tears out of his breast pocket and shook them, "I brought these two from the Underworld — that should patch us up nicely. You should stop stressing over trivial things, Danhauser. Your hair will turn grey because of it."
The grey-haired devil wore a flat look, "Ha-ha. Very funny."
"Do you accept my selfish challenge?" Sairaorg slowly grinned, "Or do you chicken out?"
"Chicken out?" Danhauser huffed indignantly, "Alright. I didn't want to humiliate you in front of the girls, but if you're so damn persistent then who am I to refuse?"
Sairaorg smacked his back with a booming laugh, "Oh ho… a cocky Danhauser is a good Danhauser! Lead the way!"
"I got a bad feeling about this," Cleria muttered, following her reluctant cousin.
Roygun smiled down at her, "Look on the bright side," she said, "if the house somehow gets demolished — we could renovate it with new stuff for free. We could install a jacuzzi."
"But I don't want the house to get destroyed!" Cleria whined, "Where am I going to sleep?"
Roygun locked her arm around Danhauser's arm, "Lucky us, we got our personal Dakimakura to keep us warm and cozy during the cold and saddening nights."
"Danimakura," Cleria quipped with a giggle, "Geddit?"
Sairaorg raised an amused eyebrow to Danhauser, "What did I miss?"
The gray-haired just released a faint groan, "Trust me — it's better if you don't know."
.
.
Right then — settled down in the backyard of the house — a duel was about to begin.
The three women sat in the sidelines and far away from the forthcoming brawl in case the bout slowly turned ugly. Lucky for them, Roygun covered the whole house in a dome of magic to make sure no human heard nor witnessed the chaos that was about to emerge.
Cleria hoped they didn't leap on that stage.
Danhauser and Sairaorg were in the middle of the backyard. It didn't take long for them to wear off their fancy noble attire to one befitting for combat. For Sairaorg it was a mere black shirt that failed to hide his perfect body and Danhauser a sleeveless vest that revealed his well-toned arms and shoulders.
She watched as Roygun put her fingers into her mouth and letting out few sharp whistles for emphasis, "Do your best boys! Don't forget to get sweaty and shirtless~!"
Cleria pulled a flat expression, "That's why Uncle Coda calls you Pedogun."
Roygun puffed her cheeks, "Hush you! They're no longer children but handsome young men in their twenties!"
"Don't lewd my cousin."
"Hypocrite," Roygun playfully stuck her tongue before nudging the silent blonde, "As a fellow Devil of the Extra Demon Faction, I bet you enjoy seeing two young men with their trained biceps pushed to their limits! Such a wonderful sight, don't you think?"
"…"
"Kuis—!"
"I'll be blunt to you — former 2nd ranker of the Top Ten. I don't like you," Kuisha said firmly, eyes locked on the two Kings, "Neither do I like my uncle — Bedeze. It's because of you cheaters that Sairaorg is shunned and scorned even more by the Remaining Pillars. Even the talented Top Ten are not spared by their harsh words."
Cleria was ready to snap at her, but a hand on her shoulder made her wheel around. "Roy?"
The pink-haired woman flashed her a smile, but Cleria was pretty sure it was forced.
"For someone like him who didn't inherit the power of destruction, he was a step away for the Pure Devils to applaud at his abnormal strength — but the King Piece happened and everything he'd built had crumbled to dust. You know where I'm heading, don't you?"
"I'm so sorry…"
"Save it — an apology won't cut it," Kuisha spat out, "I'm surprised Danhauser doesn't hold any grudge for what you've done."
Cleria bit her tongue, almost exploding into a fit of a tantrum, but held back.
Roygun — on the other hand — forced a half-hearted chuckle and turned over the gray-haired Devil, "You and me both… you and me both."
A heavy atmosphere fell upon them — so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Of course, it went unnoticed by the two kings in the middle of the backyard.
"Any rules, Sairaorg?" Danhauser asked, stretching up to a little.
"As much as it pains me, let's not make it an all-out brawl," the Strongest Youth replied, "If our spar were to get exciting — I would fight to the very last blow. I still need to forgather with Rias, after all."
"Just a few minutes then?" Danhauser shrugged, "Fine by me."
At cue, Sairaorg — who was standing tall with his threatening stature — just vanished! Cleria had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. At must, all she could see was a blurry figure trying to confuse his gray-haired opponent.
Cleria looked at the fellow spectators, Kuisha also had trouble to keep up with them — almost getting dizzy. Roygun — on the other hand — had no trouble.
Danhauser was... It looked like he was able to chase after Sairaorg with his eyes as he'd manage to dodge his attacks every time the Strongest Youth swung his ugly fists. To her surprise and confusion, Danhauser's clothes became tattered whenever he avoided or blocked Sairaorg's direct punches and kicks.
Sairaorg cocked his fist back and punched at his foe who'd blocked it, keeping his ground. Another kick and Danhauser had to quickly move out of the way, grass and dirt sprouted in the air by the weak shockwave.
Despite of dodging, Danhauser nearly tripped over and almost got kicked by Sairaorg-san's well-timed kick. Danhauser somehow blocked that attack but still stumbled backward from the impact.
He regained his composure again soon, but Sairaorg didn't let go of this chance. He sent a reverse knuckle punch towards Danhauser's face.
When Cleria saw that attack, she couldn't stop her gasp. Just like that, Danhauser was sent flying across the field. He tumbled along the ground several times and then...he just stopped moving. A silence fell across the backyard. Everyone watched silently. And then...
"Those were a bunch of dull attacks," the gray-haired taunted after pulling himself off the ground, "What happened, Sairaorg? I thought you train intensively."
"Those were just hello punches!" Sairaorg snickered and brought his hands upwards, revealing the magic seals glowing on his elbows, "Be prepared, Danhauser. Here I come!"
"Wait," Danhauser's mouth hung slightly open when the tattoos on his elbows vanished, releasing his power, "I thought you said not going all in!"
To his surprise, Sairaorg vanished before his eyes and —!
"Maybe just a little!"
"Shit!" Danhauser quickly turned around and rose his arms for protection. Though he'd successfully caught Sairaorg's attack, the heavy force of the punch was devastating that even the wind howled by the impact.
"So heavy…!" Danhauser neither stumbled nor backed off. Using his position to catch a shaky breath, he sent his body backward and quickly distanced himself. He tasted the small amount of crimson liquid falling on his lips.
Sairaorg watched Danhauser wiped off the blood next to his mouth, "I suppose I got the first blood, eh?"
Cleria gasped from her spot, "How can this be…? Danny blocked that blow right in time!"
"Master is no ordinary Devil," Kuisha said, "Dodge it, block it, or take the strike head-on. He would leave a critical wound on you no matter what."
"Using Rating Game archetypes, this is a power-type fighter," Roygun observed, "this is a power type who has kept increasing offensive power again and again by improving only his body. How interesting. A man who pursues pure destructive power."
Danhauser knew that very well. After training occasionally with Sairaorg he'd learned the immense power of his punches, the shockwaves left bruises over his opponent's bodies. Even if you weren't hit by the punch, the pressure waves from them alone would eat away your stamina and leave bruises and — depending on your condition — knock you out.
"Hence my nosebleed," Danhauser clicked his tongue and rose his guard, "But that won't knock me out. Diehauser is way worse. A shame I can't use my demonic powers..."
Sure, the shockwaves caused by his punches weren't comparable to a direct hit — it was softer. The damage was halved.
But still, it was preferable to avoid them at all cost — especially when he's wearing Touki and his lion armor.
Ending his train of thoughts, he shortened the distance in an instant and quickly sent several jabs towards Sairaorg. His barrage crashed straight into his crossed forearms, a moment later he aimed one on his shoulder, breaking Sairaorg's posture slightly for a clean attack.
Danhauser dropped his stance to punch Sairaorg's abdomen, his body hunched a little. Danhauser then followed by kneeing Sairaorg's face without any mercy.
Sairaorg, who got kicked on the chin, recoiled by the sheer force with fresh blood threatening to spill out.
Quickly regaining his balance, the Strongest Youth pointed at his injury with a fearless smile, "Not bad. It's been a long time since I've been punched to a nosebleed. Your attacks, defense, and speed are top-notch. As expected from a training maniac."
"Flattery won't get you anywhere, battle maniac," Danhauser still couldn't stop the joyful expression on his face, "Enough chatting — let's leave our fists to do the talking instead!"
"My fists do the talking, eh? I can get behind that!"
Cleria had a difficult time to follow the fight afterward, literally they were vanishing from her sight and quickly reappeared in a different place and in distinct combat positions — only to disappear once again. Danhauser would sometimes go on the offensive and aim at the tiniest flaw in his opponents' defense. Sairaorg also would retaliate with his own tremendous physical prowess. Danhauser would block it, but the shockwaves behind the attack painted a pained expression on him.
Cleria was amazed — most likely Roygun and Kuisha shared her sentiments too. They were extremely strong. Unimaginable. Off the charts! How could these Devils be from the same generation as Rias, Sona, and Diodora?! They were far stronger than them!
And this was just a spar — a warm up to promote blood flow in their muscles.
"The Great King of Bael vs the Lesser King of Belial," Kuisha laughed a little, "It's amazing how Prince Danhauser is one of the few who can fight against my master without losing his will to fight. Maybe my master was right — Prince Danhauser isn't an ordinary High-Class Devil either."
"… The Strongest Youth who lacked Bael's trademark Power of Destruction," Cleria watched as her cousin tanked a left hook of Sairaorg with his cheek, "That means... Worthlessness … could it be... that his greatest flaw became his greatest strength?"
Danhauser's feet skidded to the ground, provoking a cloud of dust to blend on the air. His clouded gaze went up when a silhouette appeared above him.
It was Sairaorg falling from the sky and blocking the sun, his body enveloped in a purple aura.
"Touki?! Holding back my ass!" snapping out of his shock, Danhauser elected the smart choice and moved out of the landing spot — barely dodging the impact.
Abusing the cloud of dust created from his fall, Sairaorg ran through the cloud, Touki still acting like his second skin.
In kind, Danhauser surrounded himself in grey aura and sped back toward him.
Each cocked their fists back, threw a Touki enhanced punch simultaneously and struck one another squarely on each other's fists.
The girls had to bring their arms up when a gust of wind flew past them — ruffling their hair and the grass at their feet.
It took several seconds for the dust of their quarrel to settle down, but when it did — it revealed the two fighters and the field in a bad condition.
"M-my backyard…" Cleria sniffed a little.
Danhauser's brow caught streams of sweat and blood while he panted harshly. Now that the adrenaline had worn off his system, his muscles felt as though they had been flash-burned with acid.
There was no change in Sairaorg's expression, but given how his body was covered in bruises and blood, he must also be in pain as well.
But the glint in his eyes screamed mirth.
"Master," thankfully, his Queen acted as the voice of reason, "Your appointment with your cousin, remember?"
Sairaorg felt his bruised muscles stiffening, "Oh, right. I almost forgot," he caught the two Phoenix Tears thrown by his Queen and tossed one to Danhauser, "It was a good duel, Danhauser. Let's continue at another time."
"Not like I have a choice…" Danhauser drank all the potion in one go.
Sairaorg slapped Danhauser's back with a laugh, "Admit it. You had a good time."
"I never insinuated otherwise," Danhauser winked after the Phoenix Tear began doing its duty, "Say, do you have any idea where Kuoh is? I could take you there if you want." Maybe this time he could finally meet up with Gasper.
"We wouldn't mind the extra company," Sairaorg nodded, "We accept. Be our guide, Danhauser."
"This is where we part ways then," Roygun suddenly said, thumbing at the house, "I'll go watch the TV or take a nap. Mostly the latter."
Danhauser frowned in concern, "… You shouldn't sleep excessively, you know?" he chided her gently, "Come with us. I'll take you somewhere else afterward."
Roygun fanned herself, smirking mischievously, "Oh my. Could it be that Danhauser wants to date me? Someone pinch me — this must be a dream come true ~!"
Danhauser couldn't decide whether or not she was forcing herself to be cheerful, "If I say yes would you join us?"
"Nope. I already made my mind," Roygun shrugged, "Besides… I don't want to become a burden."
"You won't and you never will."
Roygun smiled faintly, "See you later."
As the pink-haired woman retreated to the house, Danhauser quickly shot Cleria a look, "What happened?"
Cleria bit her lip, "… When you have time, we should talk. Privately."
"… Alright," Danhauser said, dissatisfied. He snapped his fingers as his combat clothes were swapped by a formal suit, "Then let's get rolling."
Sairaorg nodded at his Queen, "Kuisha, let's not lag behind."
The blonde-haired kept her sight locked over the house for a long second, "… As you command, my master."
The walk to the academy wasn't uncomfortable at all, confounding both Cleria and Danhauser. The latter believed so because Sairaorg was doing most of the kind-hearted conversation.
On weekends only a few students went to Kuoh Academy to seek regular classes on the weekend. The majority went to school to study and to participate in their sport or club activities — fewer distractions. This Saturday and Sunday studying was common for third-year students who were looking to go to college and pass their entry exams with flying colors.
So, it wasn't a surprise to see some students making their way to the gates of Kuoh Academy.
What surprised them was the nun that was outside the front entrance, trying to have a peek without getting inside.
The girl obviously failed to notice the four Devils distanced behind her.
"What do we got here?" Sairaorg broke the silence with his masculine voice.
"A spy of the Vatican?" Kuisha pressed with a scowl.
"Not at all," Danhauser felt a hand squishing his shoulder, looking behind he saw the bitter smile of his cousin, "Don't worry, Danhauser here will solve it. Right?"
He pursed his lips, but nodded, "I got it. You… you escort Sairaorg and his Queen to the old school building of Kuoh Academy. I'll handle it."
"You better," casting an unhappy look at him, she left with a puzzled Sairaorg and Kuisha, who'd bid Danhauser a farewell.
He stood alone and the footsteps became harder to hear. Meters away from the blonde girl — Asia Argento.
…
So, he used her – used her as bait. Even invading her private thoughts to erase any evidence by altering her memories.
Not because he liked it.
Not because he enjoyed it.
Not because he felt like it.
But because he had to.
It would haunt him — and he would remember it forever.
But because of him — because of his actions — he guaranteed a spot in the Youth Gathering and perhaps restored a tiny bit of his family honor. And that was all that mattered.
Danhauser cleared his throat, loud enough to startle the young girl.
It worked as she rapidly spun around to meet his intense gaze and quickly look past him with a blush — bashful after being caught in the crime.
…
…
…
"U-umm," the blonde toyed with her dress before waving at him shyly, "H-hello, do you… d-do you speak my language…?"
Balanced as he was, he towered over her. He knelt down, bringing his face to her level, and gently smiled, "Buongiorno. You must be the nun that I keep hearing about."
The look of joy in Asia's face was worthy of a thousand pictures, "I-I never expected to meet someone else who could speak my tongue in a town of Japan! This must be a miracle from the Lord himself!"
Danhauser ignored the brief headache, "You seem to be lost. Is there anything I could help you with?"
"Are you… are you the headmaster of this school?"
"Nope," Danhauser shook his head, "I'm the right hand of the Principal. Are you looking for someone or interested in studying this school? I could give you a tour around the installations if you want."
"T-thank you, but I'm just looking for someone," Asia said, Danhauser did notice a glint of longing after offering her a place in the academy, "H-he told me he studies in this school. His name is Issei."
"Hyoudou Issei?"
"Yes, him!" she bobbed her head, "If it's not much trouble… could I speak with him, please?"
That's when he recalled the Rating Game between Raiser and Rias. He pushed those thoughts away and answered, "I'm sorry, but he's leaving today for a trip with his club. He won't return until nine days have passed."
Plus must likely Rias had warned him to stay away from the abandoned church like it was written in the Light Novels.
"… Oh," the girl's hopeful face wavered like the row of spark lights on an altar, "I-I see."
…
"Forgive me for sticking my nose in your personal concerns but… what's your business with him?"
"C-clean the church that I was left to take care of," Asia's gaze fell to the floor, "I-Issei offered to help me out, but if he can't it's okay… I can do it alone."
…
"… I could help."
She perked up at that, "E-excuse me?"
"I could help you," Danhauser repeated, confidently this time, "I may not look like it, but I know a thing or two about cleaning."
Asia wore a troubled look, "Y-you don't have to! You must have important things to do!"
"Don't worry about that, I got it handled."
"… a-are you sure you want to help me?"
"Are you sure you want to do it all by yourself?"
After a long second, Asia softly shook her head.
Danhauser stood up, gesturing at the road, "Then it's decided, let's make the abandoned church beautiful. Together."
"Y-yes! Thank you so much!" Asia beamed and quickly began her walk, "M-my name is Asia Argento, by the way!"
"Call me Vice-Principal."
A shame he couldn't visit Gasper — he thought. He'll make it up to him the next time they met.
.
.
"There?"
"Um… more to the right."
"Here?"
"A-a little to the left, please!"
"… Okay."
"There!" Asia exclaimed, freezing Danhauser, "It's perfect right there. You can stop now."
Carefully, Danhauser's hands left the framework and joined Asia to admire their teamwork.
It was the painting of his favorite historical figure clad in her armor, holding her famous flag and with a halo behind her head — Joan of Arc. The heroine of France. The scene was marked by ambient light, sumptuous objects, and rich colors.
The masterpiece served two purposes.
One was to make the church feel alive with beautiful drawings.
The other to cover the hole that the wall was scarred with. Funnily, it was the same spot where Danhauser smashed Diodora against.
It was a pain being here in the Church now that they were adding holy materials around the chapel. But a punch of his brother or Sairaorg was way worse than this.
"So beautiful," Danhauser heard Asia gush out, hands clasped, "She is easily and by far the most extraordinary person this world has ever produced."
He wondered where the nun got all this furniture to decorate the church. He theorized it was Raynare or Azazel.
There was a single problem, which, unfortunately, involved that painting, "Didn't the Vatican connect Joan of Arc with the Devil Belial?"
Those words alone were enough to make her heartbroken, "T-they did… but I still can't hate her. Kindness, humility, honesty, purity and faith — her heart carried only these things and nothing else!"
"You still admire her despite her losing her position?"
"I-I do," Asia admitted, "… Years ago, Saint Jeanne would always visit the orphan children in the churches and guide them to the good path. I always dreamed to meet her in person and drink some tea with her… but we both got banished from the Vatican."
Danhauser's mouth opened, but words failed to leave his mouth. He looked behind his shoulders — to the huge, closed doors. He closed his eyes and triggered his Sage Arts.
…
"Mr. Vice-Principal? I-is something wrong?" Asia asked worriedly, "You became quiet all of the sudden."
"Nothing… wrong," Danhauser said whilst canceling his Senjutsu, "Say, why don't you take care of the room where you sleep while I handle the cleaning from here?"
"O-okay! Please, don't hesitate to call for help!"
"I won't," Asia hopped from one foot to the other like a little girl, disappearing from the chapel. Danhauser shifted closer to the huge doors. When the opportunity presented itself, he fired a string of Pitch Resin into a high wooden cross brace above the corridor. He drew himself up into the darkness above and waited.
A moment later, the doors opened and a figure entered the Church. He let them walk a pace forward into his own trap. Once they were in position, Danhauser dropped in behind and summoned his spear, the tips of his weapon slipping neatly into the cobblestone gristle.
"Did you lose something?" Danhauser sneered.
Their fingers moved swiftly to conjure a spell — but halted midway. They were tempted, but good sense seemed to win out.
"I-It seems I've found you — Lord Mastema," a female voice, raised her open hands to her shoulders. "I bring a letter and something else."
Danhauser curved an eyebrow at the trespasser. No one knew of the pseudonym he used only when it was matters of Khaos Brigade — Old Satan Faction. Only the descendants of the Maou knew about it.
"From Lord Shalba Beelzebub, Lord Mastema," she said.
Ah, that summed it up.
Shalba's drama was going to be the death of someone if he didn't tread lightly. Not like Shalba cared, anyway.
"Where is it?"
The terrorist kept one hand up and used the other to pull a small note and a container from her tightly cuffed sleeve. The wax seal carried the Beelzebub sigil and Shalba's personal mark.
"Move more than an eyelash, and you'll be in trouble," Danhauser threatened.
He opened the note afterward. He could feel his frustration rising like a fever. It was the exact same mission that Diodora was obligated to complete — recover the Maou hybrid.
He kept reading until he reached the end, which contained another task — recruit Devils for the Old Maou's cause. Even a blind man could see that this assignment was aimed specifically to him who had powerful connections.
His housecarl, the Malebranche Clan and Roygun flashed before his mind.
"Fuck off, Shalba," he then glanced at the vial and spotted a black snake locked into it — trying to break free.
"… Ouroboros," Danhauser stored the letter and snake with a basic spell, " I should kill you for delivering the insult. Anything else?"
"N-no, milord," She kept her hands and voice even. She was young.
"You're dismissed, then," he turned his back to her and began walking away in search of Asia. Danhauser could hear her exhaled breath and a raspy jangle as she conjured the Old Satan magic circle under her feet. Her presence disappeared soon after.
Danhauser closed his eyes and activated his Sage Arts, waiting.
…
…
…
"Coast clear," satisfied, he left in search of Asia.
.
.
He stood and looked out over the opened window of his office in Kuoh Academy. A chilled breeze ruffled the pennants that hung from the eaves of the building. The entire campus expanded out before him.
Weeks passed like seconds. He'd spent his days walking around the academy to make sure everything was in order, train his body and help Asia on remodeling the Church. His daily routine.
While he was doing his duty in Kuoh Town, the Rating Game between Raiser and Rias had reached its climax. The fact he could see Rias with her Queen walking inside the school ground with a bright smile and an elegant wave directed at him answered most of his questions.
Was Rias now dating Issei? After all, the Sekiryuutei won her heart in his second round against Raiser and — to an extent — Ravel.
But this time — there wasn't a second round.
Even if Rias had won her first Rating Game and was discharged from getting wedded, Danhauser felt kind of bad for Raiser. Maybe when opportunity knocks on his door, he would pay Ravel's older brother a visit.
He returned the wave at the redhead. He pondered why Rias didn't hold any ill thoughts of him. Maybe she did and was hiding them very well. After all, in the Light Novels, she wanted to become the next Gremory head and win all of her Rating Games.
He expected for Rias to have any disdain at him if she was fed half-truths of the King Piece Scandal.
Putting trivial things aside, he focused on the document in his grasp.
…
…
… He failed to recognize her name, not even had he remembered any foreshadow of her identity or powers meshed somewhere in the Light Novels. Maybe because of her lineage, she was a member of the Old Satan Faction, but somehow got lost or captured by the Anti-Satan Faction? Perhaps Katerea and this girl had a family bond? Maybe she also wanted to dominate the world? He didn't know — this was all speculation! None of these things were real — or were confirmed to happen at any moment! It was just his daily dose of paranoia messing him up.
A sudden green light illuminated the dark room to signal the arrival of someone —Ajuka Beelzebub.
[Dan? You wanted to talk to me?]
Danhauser said nothing, unable to tear his eyes from the fragile view and his even more fragile thoughts of the forthcoming future. Instead, he rolled up the document in his hand.
[You did it,] Ajuka never ceased the conversation, [You've successfully captured Diodora and he was brought to justice, nice work. Do you have the files?]
Danhauser tossed the documents on the wooden desk where Ajuka's hologram stood, sheets of papers accidentally sliding free.
It was cold silence as Ajuka's eyes ended over the blurred picture of a young woman with purple hair.
The Satan heaved a knowing sigh, [I see.]
"Ingvild Leviathan," Danhauser said after taking a seat, "Descendant of the Original Leviathan. Older than she looks from what I've read."
[… I'm not impressed they knew of her whereabouts,] Ajuka rubbed his chin with a frown, [… But to think they knew she's secured in Ars Goetia? We had the enemy under our noses for so long?]
"I doubt it; Shalba is just desperate," Danhauser said, "He's looking everywhere for the girl and the only place he hasn't searched yet is Ars Goetia. What I want to know is what's Ingvild's role in Shalba's plot?"
As Ajuka opened his mouth to answer, another magic circle appeared beside him. The blue light died, revealing a beautiful woman dressed in clothes that only a biker would be proud of showing off. Danhauser noticed the woman was hiding one of her hands inside her jacket's pocket.
Was she hiding something?
[The girl has an ability that could make The Old Satan Faction score the upper hand if a war broke out against the Anti-Maou. Shalba would most likely extract her power and toss her body to a pack of Cerberuses.]
Danhauser rose an eyebrow at Ajuka — who shrugged. He focused back on the new, beautiful face, "Uh, hello?"
[Tiamat,] The Strongest Dragon King gave a brief introduction, and continued, [Ingvild Leviathan has a unique power that captivates dragons. Something that the descendant of Beelzebub wishes to exploit once it ends up in his hands.]
Danhauser was still somewhat baffled by her unexpected debut. It took a long second to snap back to reality, "Y-yeah, I read that in the files," He muttered, eyebrows furrowed, "Where was she?"
[She was somewhere on the coast of Europe — in a beach house,] Tiamat placed her free hand over her hip, [I was the one who brought her to Maou Beelzebub's laboratory to check on her.]
[She's in a comatose state,] Ajuka continued, [Unfortunately, this is a normal symptom between Pure Devils. Methods to cure this sickness were not found.]
"Just like Sairaorg's mother," Danhauser looked down briefly, before nodding at the Chaos Karma Dragon, "How did you even know of her existence and location? Spying on the Old Satan Faction?"
[Not at all. It was a fluke. I was just in the right place at the right time,] Tiamat recalled, staring into the past, [It all happened when I was flying above the clouds, casually rampaging around the world. When I felt… someone calling me out. A… song that charmed me and I had to locate it. I found her in a bed — in a deep slumber. Surrounded by corpses. You know what else I sensed, Danhauser Belial?]
"… What?"
Tiamat held his gray eyes for the longest time, [A Sacred Gear. The girl is the wielder of one of God's many artifacts.]
…
Danhauser leaned further back on his seat, drumming his fingers while clicking his tongue, "… You sure about that?" He said slowly, skeptical of her assumption, "What if it's her Leviathan powers?"
Because the Light Novels didn't feel like explaining the Clan Traits of the Original Satans, Danhauser didn't have a single clue of their unique powers. Shalba had demonstrated power over bees during his second clash with Issei. Obviously a nod to the demon Beelzebub's epithet as "Lord of the Flies" and while it wasn't proven by the author of the Light Novels, it was obvious that was the Clan Trait of the Beelzebub lineage.
Granted, because of being a half-human, Ingvild had the opportunity of being born with a Sacred Gear of her own — similar to Vali. Thus proving Tiamat's supposition accurate.
But the chances of obtaining a common Sacred Gear was minuscule. A Longinus was a whole new level of impossibility. Plus, from what he'd remembered of the Light Novels, there wasn't a mention of a Sacred Gear that had authority over dragons — let alone a Longinus. He'd known of weapons that were powerful against them — such as Gram and Ascalon. Or even Samael who was the nightmare of all dragons.
Shalba was too cryptic in his note — only justifying that she has a unique power.
Aside from that, he was pretty much lost in the conversation.
"Fuck me," Danhauser kneaded his aching eyes, "Since when did this Ingvild appear in the Light Novels? What the hell is happening, seriously?"
[You're confusing the Leviathan Clan Trait with the Buné Clan Trait,] Ajuka observed, [While in a way they're somewhat similar the Clan Buné has power over dragons and capable of shapeshifting into one as well. The House of Leviathan is a mix of the Clan Buné and Sitri, they're able to summon floods and transform into a snake-like dragon.]
[Have faith in the Maou's explanation,] Tiamat chuckled after drinking Danhauser's bewildered expression, [He, after all, overwhelmed the daughter of the Original Leviathan during the Civil War in her full prime. Alone.]
Danhauser's mouth fell open. He knew him and Sirzechs were the aces when the civil war broke out between the Devils. But he never imagined he was the man behind the slaughter of the children of a Satan, "How was it?"
[It was meh,] Ajuka shrugged nonchalantly, [I just drew the shortest straw and got stuck with her in a fight. I got bored and decided to one-shot her. A waste of time that could've been invested wisely in my lab.]
Danhauser wouldn't be impressed if Ajuka's reasons for joining the Civil War — which concerned the future of the Underworld and its people — was because he had nothing else to do and was bored.
Or getting persuaded by his fellow Satans to leave his man cave.
Tiamat laughed lightly at his apathetic words, [She was powerful enough to shrug off attacks from an Ultimate-Class and capable of drowning armies and submerging cities with her Clan Trait alone. Yet, you're treating her like a mere mosquito buzzing around your ear. Are you truly a Devil?]
[Yes I am,] Ajuka replied dryly, [Let's end this conversation here. This isn't something I wish to discuss via magic circles. Once you come back to the Underworld, and when the Young Devil Gathering is done, let's meet up and continue where we left it.]
Danhauser gave him a two-finger salute, "Hey, no worries."
[Then my role here is done,] Tiamat nodded at Danhauser's direction, [Farewell, Danhauser Belial.]
The hologram disappeared in the snap of a finger.
[I'll take my leave too. Unless there's something else you wish to report…?] Ajuka trailed off with a hint of hope in his voice. Most likely to crawl back into his cave and entertain himself with his hobbies.
Danhauser twirled his pen in deep thought, eyes widening out in realization, "Actually, yes. One last thing."
[Damn it…] Ajuka quietly cursed, [Well? What is it?]
With a finger's snap, he invoked the container that held the animal, "Look what I found."
Ajuka blinked a few times before chuckling weakly, [I'm fond of snakes,] He admitted with a faint smile, [I really am. And while the Astaroth Clan treasures snakes, I'm not interested at the moment keeping one as a pet. Thank you for the gesture, though. Is that it?]
Danhauser fought the urge to roll his eyes, and shifted the small bottle closer to the hologram, "Take a better look and tell me what do you see?"
Grunting, Ajuka reluctantly did as he was told. He squinted his eyes and studied from head to its tail as the snake fought to break free. Scales black as the abyss and eyes casting a purple glow. Surprisingly, it was releasing a faint aura that Ajuka would've missed out if it wasn't from Danhauser's persistence.
This wasn't a common snake, not at all.
All those things aside, what had captured his attention was the mark that was very well hidden in its slithered body. It was a sideways eight tattoo.
[An infinite symbol?] Ajuka wore a quizzical look, but then it struck him, [Oh, wait… don't tell me…]
"Yes, it is," Danhauser interrupted him, shaking the vial where the black snake was locked into, "This confirms it. The Old Satan Faction has the Ouroboros Dragon on their side."
For what felt like an eternity, Ajuka's apathetic expression took a one hundred and eighty degree turn, shock and fear were all that Danhauser could see registered over the Satan's face for the first time in his life, [Oh, fuck!]
Danhauser would love to pull out a camera and take a picture of the Maou's face to hang it somewhere in his room, but it wasn't the time for silliness. He still couldn't contain the shaky smile tearing in his face, "My thoughts exactly."
Before replying to the gray-haired, Ajuka took a deep breath and exhaled, calming down slightly, [Alright. Yes. Sure. Yeah,] He finally met Danhauser's stare, [I'll need you to send me that snake. Right now.]
"I was planning on doing that," Danhauser carefully took the vial from the table, "What's on your mind?"
[Make sure this snake is connected in some way to the Ouroboros.]
Danhauser scowled, "I don't know. Are you sure?" He said, concerned, "Wouldn't your lab suddenly turn to a crisp by the immense energy?"
[Correct. If my laboratory explodes then we know this is the Ouroboros' ownership,] Danhauser liked how the Maou could talk about 'exploding' his laboratory with a straight face, [Once proven, I'll send it to Sirzechs so he can take the evidence. This should be enough to make a Peace Treaty with the Governor-General and the Archangel.]
"I mean, the Governor-General and the… Archangel wouldn't mind dropping the weapons if it stops the bloodshed. They'd love to build an alliance. Regardless if we had proof of a Dragon God or not."
[We all know that. It's the people of our respective factions that refuse to interact with other species due to past deeds,] The Super-Devil sighed faintly, [Hopefully, this should open their eyes and cast their grudge aside. Nice catch, by the way.]
"Thank you. I'll send it to you once our talk is done."
[… Be careful out there, Dan,] Ajuka said softly, [One by one, bigger players are stepping out of the shadows. The strongest one already showed up. In situations like these, it's understandable if you back off, you know?]
"No," Danhauser firmly refused, already foreseeing where this conversation was heading, "I already had this discussion with Cleria. The answer is still the same. I got this."
For family, will I give.
…
…
…
[… very well,] Ajuka said after a pregnant silence, [If by any chance the Ouroboros is in front of you — just flee and don't look back. Not even Sirzechs in True Form could leave a scratch on that thing.]
Danhauser gave a weak nod, his mind settled somewhere else, "… You think that's why they want this… Ingvild? To control the Dragon God?"
Ajuka wore a troubled look, [… That's what I had in mind,] He tapped his chin impatiently with his fingertips, [If that was the case, then was the Ouroboros truly affiliated with them?]
"Maybe she isn't being too cooperative fulfilling Shalba's futile vendetta," Danhauser pointed out, "Dragons rarely follow instructions from others unless they're proven to be stronger than them."
The purpose behind Khaos Brigade was to remove Great Red from the Dimensional Gap — Ophis' birthplace. Anyone who had talent was welcomed within the Ouroboros' ranks. Of course, many factions accepted to side with Ophis mostly to get protection from her whenever they'd plunged the world into chaos and to use her absurdly strong snakes. They didn't care about her goals in the slightest.
They wanted to put Ophis underneath them and use her power with the help of Ingvild's Sacred Gear.
Could this also affect the Dragons of Dragons — Great Red?
[And no one is stronger than infinity itself,] Ajuka added. Danhauser didn't know if the Maou was hiding the identity of Great Red and Trihexa from him or truly wasn't aware of those monsters, [Then again… is it possible to control a Dragon God with a simple Sacred Gear?]
"Maybe if it's a High-Tier Longinus," Danhauser dropped his two cents, "But I'd never heard of a Longinus capable of achieving such feats."
[Perhaps,] Ajuka gave him the point of doubt, [This is where I'm bowing out of here. We'll be in contact. Take care.]
"Hey… I'm sorry about your Housecarl."
[… Don't worry about it.]
Ajuka disappeared along with the green light.
Danhauser felt his tensed shoulders loosen up once he was left alone in his office, "… Ingvild is in a coma-state, maybe Valerie could fix that? Sairaorg's mother could benefit from it, too."
After all, if Sephiroth Graal could turn a Vampire into an Evil Dragon and lend Danhauser multiple wings — what's stopping it from cutting out restrictions?
"One less problem to worry about," Danhauser yawned softly, "I still need to schedule an appointment with Nurarihyon — even better if it's before or after the Peace Treaty has been signed. Hopefully, he can convince Yasaka to stop trying to melt me with her glares."
He couldn't deny it only made her look sexier.
That's when he felt one of his phone buzzing in his clothes. Grumbling, he pulled it out and noticed a message from a familiar number.
…
He dissolved into a puddle of laughter after reading the short message, "I know what to do," he said, grinning goofily as he stood up.
"It's time to meet up."
.
.
"Here we are," Roygun looked up when Danhauser had whistled, "So he did it. He built his own bar."
The building was identical to its neighbors right down to the shade of paint on the iron balconies — but Danhauser knew which one was the right one. Whereas every other dwelling was a riot of blooms in every shade, theirs was simply the towering black brick. Along the rail hung boxes and below were hanging baskets.
"Black Dog BAR," Roygun read the neon sign aloud, "So it's here, right?"
"If the neon signs weren't enough of a clue," he nodded at the poster girl hanging on the wall, "That beauty right there? It's Lavinia Reni — magician of Grauzauberer and the exclusive singer of the bar."
Roygun couldn't help but smirk slyly, "Why am I not surprised it's another blondie?"
"…"
The pink-haired snorted a laugh, "How do you feel?"
Her question got the reaction she'd expected. A smile grew of its own accord over Danhauser's face. She could feel every fiber of his being vibrating with anticipation. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins. His hands trembled and his eyes were wide.
"This is what a cat must feel like waiting to pounce on a mouse," Roygun inwardly chuckled.
"Honestly? Fucking excited," Danhauser laughed a little, "A little nervous too — I don't even know why!"
Roygun was glad occasions like this fell upon him. After everything Danhauser was passing through, she believed he needed room to breathe.
So — without thinking twice — he wrapped the brass dog knocker three times and waited. In a brief lull of birds chirping they heard the approaching of footsteps. The door opened a crack and a sapphire eye peeked out.
Not even a second and the curious eye widened in doubt and joy by the sight, "Da…?"
Lifting a hand, Danhauser gave the peeping eye a fond smile, "Hey, Lavinia — it's been a while."
The door slammed open and he was instantly pulled into a tight hug — one which he returned in kind, "You finally made it!"
He awkwardly rubbed her back, "Yeah… I was kind of occupied, Lavinia."
Without breaking the embrace, she cocked her head back to meet his eyes. She puffed her cheeks, "It's Lavi for you! And you could at least respond to Tobi's messages! We were worried, you know?"
He chuckled nervously, "My bad, Lavi."
A final squish and Lavinia pulled back with a beautiful smile, resting her hands on the sides of his arms, "… You changed a lot. You've gotten taller, Da."
"You too, Lavi."
"Not as much as you, though," Lavinia gasped softly when she squeezed his arms, "You've grown so much too…"
"That's not the only part where he grew a lot dear~!"
"W-what?"
Lavinia hadn't expected the comment, Danhauser could tell by the expression of mild shock on her face and by her cheeks that flushed pink.
Danhauser glared at the woman "… I seriously am regretting bringing you with me."
Roygun merely laughed into her hand, "Do what you must, darling — for I have already won."
Danhauser motioned her to come forward, "Can you at least introduce yourself before making everything uncomfortable?"
The pink-faired gave a smile and lifted a hand, "How do you do? I'm Roygun Belphegor."
"L-Lavinia Reni," the blonde tipped her witch hat down to obscure her face, "… n-nice to meet you."
…
"How have you been holding up, Lavi?" Danhauser quickly tackled a conversation, "Found anything about your legal guardian — Glinda?"
Thankful for the change of topic, Lavinia wore a weak smile, "I'm… afraid not. I'm still stuck on stage one. Not even have we discovered the World of Oz — where I believe she is."
Danhauser placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "What's with the sad face? That's rare coming from you. Cheer up, now that the team is back. We can work together to find any clues."
Her gaze fell for a long minute before settling back on his, and a small smile present on her face, "Thank you," she gasped in horror and realization, "What are we doing?! Everyone is waiting for you! Hurry!"
Roygun chuckled when the magician grabbed the gray-haired by the wrist and yanked him inside despite his protests.
Obviously, he could break free from her grasp but he didn't.
As they made their way inside — with Roygun shutting the door behind them — Lavinia took the lead while sharing her tales. She brought them down to the corridor from the bar toward the warm, cozy atmosphere of the tavern.
The place was small, but homely — with several tables sandwiched between a roaring hearth fire and a bar so polished that it shined like a clean spoon. Roygun spotted the staircase to reach the second floor. Behind the bar were racks and racks of ales, alcohol, and lagers — hearty drinks for a hearty clientele. Tobio — the brunet-haired bartender — stood behind the bar which seemed to be his area of most of his work, wiping off mugs or carting out drinks to his handful of patrons.
Those patrons were pleasant remembrances in Danhauser's eyes.
Huh. The bar wasn't as huge as what its exterior implied, but there was still something or the other about the place that was a little lacking. However, saying that to the owner's face seemed a bit impolite, especially considering how content Tobio — followed by his black dog — was as he bounded towards them. She moved slightly to the background with the magician to lend the peerage some time.
Unfortunately, Tobio and Jin were shoved by an enthusiastic dragon, "Danhauser!"
The gray-haired slowly rose a hand, "Hey there, big guy."
Bova grabbed his forearm and shook it with glee, laughing to his heart content, "Danhauser, friend!" He patted his shoulder before letting him go, "I knew you would make it. Not even the void could stop you."
"Bova, you haven't changed much," Danhauser smiled at his rook, "How's your old man doing?"
"He's fine," Bova grunted, "People are throwing him crap — but that's nothing to him. He's strong."
"As expected from a former Dragon King. I expect you also gotten stronger, Bova."
"Heh-heh-heh! I'm still not on par of Ddraig and Albion — but give me some time and I'll surpass their primes."
Tobio and Jin suddenly joined them, hand outstretched, "Boss, about time you made it — for a second I thought I was finally free from your servitude."
"You won't get away from me that easily," Danhauser shook his hand, "Found the location where you and your grandmother wanted to see?"
"Yeah I did actually, the Governor-General pretty much helped me on that," Slash Dog said, "Mount Huaguo is somewhere hidden in China — ruled and protected by the First Generation Sun Wukong."
"Let's hope the Monkey King bats an eye on us, then," In that precise moment, a pair of slender arms wrapped around his waist, almost making him lose his balance, "Whoa, there! Be careful, Jeanne!"
"This is wonderful — the gang is back~!" obviously his scolding flew over her head, "Now that my homies are back, we gonna spend tons of time together kicking some ass!"
"Language, Jeanne," Siegfried scolded her before bowing at his master, "Good to see you after four years, master."
"A German butler?" Danhauser cocked an eyebrow at his first servant whilst ruffling Jeanne's hair, "… I wasn't expecting the future Strongest Swordsman to dress like that. You look neat, though."
"Please, don't worry, master. My specialty of slicing off flesh and swordsmanship hasn't diminished — on the contrary," he adjusted his glove, "To prove this, I'll curb stomp each opponent who dares to point a sword at you."
"I'll hold you to that promise until then," Danhauser carefully pushed Jeanne off him, "I honestly had in mind a dragon maid…"
Bova stared, "What."
"… but a dragon slayer butler sounds great, too," at long last, he smiled at his only Pawn gawking from the bar, "Staring won't give you the power to see through my clothes, Valerie. Should I make my way to you or are you going to come here instead?"
At cue, Valerie stood up from her stool and her legs automatically saunter over to her master.
Danhauser felt a hand weight down his shoulder, "While you were away, she was quiet the whole time," it was Tobio, murmuring close his ear, "She was waiting for you."
It was too late to return a reply, the Dhampir was already there.
"You came," she said, a little out of breath, "I was getting worried."
Well, she was glad to see him, that was good. He softly placed his hands atop her shoulders, "What were you getting worried about?"
Valerie waved off his question a little too fast. "Oh, nothing. Forget it." Her gaze shuffled around left and right — as if she were searching for something. Eventually, though, the Dhampir's eyes landed back on his, and a timid smile played upon her lips. "You really came back."
"Why are you still in disbelief?" Danhauser inquired amusingly while pulling her into a hug, one which she returned with emotion she had no clue she was holding back, "How have you been holding up, Little Missus? Nothing bad happened while you were in Romania. Right?"
"… A few things," the arms squeezed a fraction tighter and Valerie sighed, her body melting into her King, "… but let's talk about it later."
"… This is my only chance!" Danhauser and Valerie stumbled a little when Jeanne wrecked their moment, "It's now or never — dammit!"
Valerie's eye twitched in annoyance, "What are you doing?"
"This is the closest thing to a group hug that I'll ever have with ya'll — I'm so sorry, Valerie!"
"Get. Off. Now."
"Just a little more!"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
Valerie was about to bare her fangs and hiss down to her but halted once she felt a pair of slender arms from behind — reaching out for Danhauser and herself. She glanced behind to see the intruder. "This… this must be an awful jest."
Lavinia giggled nervously and tightened her embrace, "You three were having fun — I didn't want to be left out!"
"Hah…? This troublesome boy — too much yellow in his life," guess who'd joined in the cuddles, "let's mix a bit of pink~!"
Valerie narrowed her eyes at Danhauser — who had a dumb expression, "You… You're enjoying this, are you not?"
"... I just really like girls."
She huffed but kept her arms locked on him.
Bova watched the scene with the two knights, "Shouldn't we help Bosshauser?"
Tobio snorted, "Why?"
"Because master could suffocate in those…" Siegfried drawled, awkwardly gesturing at those, "… flesh mounds."
Slash Dog laughed, "Chill out. Look at his face — he's enjoying every second of it."
"Man, Devils have crappy tastes. Who the hell wants to be drowned in tits?"
Tobio just shrugged, "I dunno, that's up to you to figure it out. I'll go back to my stall and make some drinks for all of you. It's gonna be a tiresome day."
But he couldn't deny, that today was a good day.
It's good to be back.
.
.
"Mah, mah. We're back to square one. That Shalba brat had to fuck it up."
"I don't need you to remind me for the hundredth time, Fallen Angel."
"Four years working together and you're still calling me like that? So harsh. Is your older sister the only one capable of warming up that cold heart of yours?"
"As if. That traitor went so low as to become a servant of the Gremory. She is lost — long ago. She is but a pale shadow now."
"… So what now? We, the roots of all evil, are lacking members of our own little group. Not even with my Utsusemi and Hexennacht would be enough to fill the empty spots."
"The plan was to steal Agreas which guards the technology of the Original Satans to nourish Lord Nebiros' research. Apparently, analyzing the 'exorcist' with the potty mouth won't bear any significant result."
"Darn it, then Walburga's capture wasn't worth a crap."
"… We were on verge of greatness, we were so close but because of Shalba's idiocy — Ars Goetia is going to implement strictness in their military system. It would be impossible to become victorious even if we have the Strongest Evil Dragon in our side."
"And without the Sephiroth Graal that the Vampire Marius and you so much adore placing in a pedestal — it's impossible to revive the Evil Dragons that died in ancient times. The odds are against us."
"…"
"I know that look. You have something in your mind, don't you?"
"… It cannot be helped — we'll have to reconsider my Lord's strategy."
"You must be joking."
"Do I look like a jester? Let's hurry — we're slacking behind and we need to make a lot of preparations. I'll speak with Shalba while you try to make contact with the Netherworld."
"Mah, mah. It appears Qlippoth will make a move sooner than I'd anticipated."
.
.
Guest - We will see :P
good chapter - your review made me laugh, yet sad at the same time. Because it's true.
F4 -Let's be real, if you're up to date with the Light Novels, anyone would've guessed it was Asia 2.0.
Guest - Ack! I didn't mean to address Danhauser as the Strongest Youth, it wouldn't be fair since he was away from the Underworld, unlike Sairaorg. What I meant to say on that part is that Dan visited Sairabro.
Kalmaegi - Asia is not the only one, Kuisha too. And trust me, what I had in mind between Dan and the Heaven Faction is gonna be a blast.
And we ended the Raiser Arc in one chapter! I know, I know, where's the character development for the Gremory Team. You'll see it eventually. Mostly because some of Danhauser's Peerage has a connection of sort with Rias' servants. I can't ignore those.
Nothing interesting happened in this chapter, expect future chapters for chaos to commence. Where canon diverges and where Danhauser will reap what he'd sow.
I won't lie, I stayed away from this fic quite a while. Mostly because of Ishibumi's plans of DxD. It left a sour taste in my mouth.
Spoiler alert if you're fan of DxD LN. There's an enemy that is more powerful than Ophis in her full prime and Great Red. Combined (not sure). They have a brother and sister who are said to not be inferior to their OP brother in terms of power. To be honest, I didn't dig that and left me a bit meh.
While I stayed away from this fic, I've been thinking of whether I'll end it where Ishibumi will end DxD or sooner. The fact that I revealed Ingvild early means that I'll continue until the Light Novels end. With my own touch.
On a bright side, my time away from this fic helped me quite a bit. You see, each fanfic of each fandom has an special touch that makes it different from others fics. I believe mine is the concept of "True Form" and perhaps the more focus in politics. Character development not because I suck at those.
What I'm trying to say is that, not only the Devil race have "True Forms".
Some will be shown in the fic, other
Back to the fic, we're now in the Kokabiel Arc... expect the arc to last half a chapter.
Congratulations for those who'd guessed Danhauser's spear! I hate you.
See you in 2020! Cheers!
Life.3: Fallen Angel of the Stars, Kokabiel
