This chapter was edited.
Gremory Manor
Outside the Gremory mansion was Sirzechs Lucifer, who was currently playing with his young son Millicas.
"Hahaha… you can't catch me daddy!" Millicas said laughing.
"Oh, we'll see that," said Sirzechs. He was currently chasing Millicas in a game of tag. Sirzechs moves faster than Millicas and catches him in no time. Both father and son were laughing playfully.
"Can we play again daddy?" Millicas asked excitedly.
"Of course… just so long as Grayfia doesn't find out," said Sirzechs.
"Lord Lucifer," Sirzechs shouts both in surprise and fear as he turns around quickly to see his Queen and wife, Grayfia dressed in her maid uniform.
"Hi mommy," said Millicas. He runs over to her and hugs her waist. She smiles as she rubs his head lovingly.
"Lord Millicas, would you please go to Lady Gremory? There's something I need to discuss with Lord Lucifer," said Grayfia.
"Okay, I love you!" Millicas said before running off. Grayfia looks up at Sirzechs, who's sweating in fear.
"G-Grayfia, is there something y-you need from me?" Sirzechs asked, quaking in fear.
"I just received word from Okita, he just captured Emil Tepes twenty minutes ago," said Grayfia. Sirzechs' eyes widened. He then looks more serious as he looks at Grayfia.
"I see. Where is he?" Sirzechs asked.
"Emil Tepes is currently in the dungeon of the castle Milord. Okita is also there, standing guard," Grayfia explained. Sirzechs sighs.
"In the dungeon, is that really necessary? Emil isn't a criminal," said Sirzechs.
"No he's not, but he runs like one. It's a precaution so he doesn't escape. We should go meet with him before he's broken out," said Grayfia.
"I suppose you're right Grayfia. Hopefully Emil will comply with us, I hate having a member of our household to be locked up like this," said Sirzechs, reluctantly agreeing with his Queen. She nods.
Grayfia walks up to Sirzechs and uses a magic circle to teleport.
Lucifer Castle
They arrive inside the castle as both walk through with servants bowing to them as they walk by as Grayfia explains to Sirzechs the details of Emil's capture. Sirzechs and Grayfia walk downstairs to the dungeon to meet with Souji, who has wrapped his gash as he lazily leans against a wall.
"Greetings Souji, good work on catching Emil," said Sirzechs.
"Thanks Sirzechs. But man… he certainly didn't go down so easily," Souji said as he examined his wound.
"You okay?" Sirzechs asked.
"Ahh, I'll be fine. I got to admit through, if it weren't for Sairaorg and his peerage, there was a small chance of him being able to escape," said Souji.
"You should be proud Souji, knowing that you helped train him," said Sirzechs.
"Yeah, just a shame that he's still a little punk. Here, take this," Souji stands up straight and walks up to Sirzechs a key. "That's the key for his cell. I'm gonna go home and get this wound looked at before hitting the hay, see ya," said Souji, waving goodbye.
"Thank you. Take care," said Sirzechs.
Both Sirzechs and Grayfia walk down the hall of the dungeon. They found Emil inside a cell, still wounded. He was laying on the ground with his back against a wall. He was chained to the wall by his wrists and ankles.
"Emil, it's good to see you again," Sirzechs greeted.
"Yeah… wish I could say the same, King Crimson," said Emil.
"Tepes, you shouldn't address Lord Lucifer in such a way," Grayfia scolded. Sirzechs waves her off.
"Emil, how do you feel?" Sirzechs asked.
"Been better. I get why I'm stuck inside a cage, but are the chains really necessary?" Emil asked, holding up his hands.
"I'm sorry. I hate to treat you like a prisoner when you aren't one," said Sirzechs. Emil grunts as he stands up.
"Let me go then. I'm not a criminal, so I shouldn't be here," said Emil.
"True, however you did cause a number of disturbances in Lord Sallos' territory, which gives me no choice but to have you kept here under lock and key for the time being," said Sirzechs.
"You won't hear me apologizing to that old fart, not after he tried to force Rosa to marry that dumbass son of his," Emil pointed out. Sirzechs was smiling.
"It's relieving to know that you show such loyalty to Rosa. You care about her a great deal," said Sirzechs. Emil looks away blushing, feeling embarrassed.
"Lord Lucifer, I believe we have more important things to discuss right now," said Grayfia.
"Yes, we do. Emil Tepes…" Emil looks up at Sirzechs. "...tell me where Rosa is right now," Sirzechs orders.
"I can't tell you," said Emil.
"Can't or won't?" Sirzechs asked.
"Can't… because I don't know where Rosa is right now," Emil explained.
"So you're saying that Rosa is moving constantly?" Sirzechs said.
"Maybe…" Emil sits down, grunting in pain.
"You don't sound sure of that," Sirzechs stated.
"I don't know, I don't remember," said Emil.
"How do you not remember? What happened?" Sirzechs asked.
"It's all that damn brat's doing, he's made sure that we couldn't reveal Rosa's location to anyone if we got caught," Emil stated.
"'Damn brat', are you referring to young Peter?" Sirzechs asked.
"Yep… that little bastard used his magic to make us forget where she is. Now only he knows where Rosa is," Emil said, sounding pissed off.
"I see… it appears that I have to bring MacGregor to examine you," said Sirzechs. Emil tenses up and immediately walks up to the dungeon door, only to be stopped by the chains.
"No! Please no, don't bring that freak down here, he's gonna be the death of me!" Emil pleaded.
"Well… if you can't tell me where Rosa, then you're going to tell me anything that can help me find her. Is that clear?" Sirzechs suggested.
"Ugh… fine, I'll talk. What do you want to know?" Emil asked.
"Firstly… do you know if Rosa is safe?" Sirzechs asked.
"She's still in hiding to prevent anymore attempts on her life. And she has Friedrich with her so you don't need to worry about her safety," said Emil.
"That's a relief to hear. Now tell me, is she still hunting down the perpetrators responsible for the attack?" Sirzechs asked.
"Rosa ordered us to track down any leads, whether they be rumors or not. Obviously, many of them went nowhere," said Emil.
"But you manage to find some reliable leads, yes?" Sirzechs asked.
"I've found out the name of the person who planned the attack on Rosa six months ago," said Emil. Both Sirzechs and Grayfia's eyes widened in surprise.
"Tell me who it is," Sirzechs ordered. Emil was silent. "Emil!"
"Fine I'll tell you, but first, I want something from you first Sirzechs," said Emil.
"And what is that?" Sirzechs asked.
"I want your blood," Emil stated.
"My blood?" Sirzechs questioned. Both he and Grayfia were surprised by the request.
"Yeah. I'll tell you who's responsible for the attack, but in exchange, I want a pint of your blood. That's a fair deal if I say so," said Emil.
"Why do you want my blood Emil? You can't possibly be thirsty for blood after drinking from Sairaorg's Knight," Sirzechs stated.
"You're right, I'm not. But his blood left a bad aftertaste in my mouth. And…" Emil trailed off.
"And?" Sirzechs raised an eyebrow.
"Since the attack six months ago and with Rosa in hiding, I haven't gotten so much as a taste of her blood. So I had to settle for the other's disgusting blood. I would give anything to taste her blood again, but since you're here, I'll settle for yours. Do we have a deal?" Emil asked. Sirzechs stares at Emil, who remains still.
"Very well. Grayfia, keep watch over Emil while I go to Ajuka," said Sirzechs.
"Yes Lord Lucifer," Grayfia bows. Sirzechs teleports aways. Grayfia and Emil stare at each other in silence.
"So… how's life, Grayfia?" Emil asked awkwardly. Grayfia stares at him, as if she's judging him, causing him to look away. "Great talk. Can't wait to do it again."
"Tell me something Mr. Tepes," Emil looks at her. "What went through Lady Rosa's head when she decided to go into hiding?" Grayfia asked.
"My honest opinion?" Grayfia nods. "I think she made a dumb decision when she decided to leave the hospital," said Emil.
"And yet you and the others didn't do anything to stop her," Grayfia stated.
"We all agreed trying to talk her out of it was pointless. If we didn't leave the hospital back then, she would've left on her own. We followed her lead so we could protect her as best we can," Emil explained.
"So you believe that you are better suited to protect her then one of the four Satans," said Grayfia, hinting at something else.
"Heh… sounds ironic coming from you. And no, I don't. We want to protect Rosa just as much as you all do, but Rosa doesn't want to risk her family getting hurt," said Emil.
"And yet she sends her peerage to find any information while she stays in hiding, that doesn't sound like something Lady Rosa would do. Can you explain that?" Grayfia questioned. Emil looks away.
"Yeah, she wasn't very pleased by that. But me and others made a very compelling argument, telling her that if she investigated this personally, it'll only make it easier for the perpetrators to try and kill her again," said Emil.
Grayfia's eyes narrow in suspension at Emil's words. However, their conversation was cut short by three guards running towards Grayfia.
"Lady Lucifuge! We have an intruder!" One guard yelled.
"What happened?" Grayfia asked calmly.
"The guards at the front gate were knocked unconscious! An intruder could already be inside the castle!" The guard replied. Grayfia looks back at Emil suspiciously, who just shrugs his shoulders.
"Stay here and keep a close eye on the prisoner. I'll go and investigate this," said Grayfia. The guards bow in acknowledgement.
Grayfia leaves the dungeon and walks towards the front gate. On her way there, she spotted other guards on the ground. She knees down and examines them, who were unconscious. Grayfia feels a faint presence from behind her. She quickly stands up and covers the whole room in a sheet of ice. Grayfia hears someone jump in the air and fires ice shards at them. The shards missed, and Grayfia glances around the room again. She sees nobody around, but she knows someone is there.
"I know you're here Mr. Griffin. I have no wish to fight you, but if you refuse to answer me, I'll be left with no choice but to restrain you by force," said Grayfia aloud. She got no response. "So be it then."
Grayfia stomps the ground, causing all of the ice to crack. She hears cracking noises from her right and immediately fires more ice shards at that location. Somebody was moving quickly to avoid the attack, judging by the way the ice on the ground was cracking, as if someone was running. Grayfia aims her attack to where the ice cracks, one of them bedded into a wall with some blood on it.
"Ghg!" A pain filled grunt came from someone. Then, the sound of someone falling to the floor was heard. After that, a smoke bomb was thrown at the floor and filled the room with smoke. Grayfia quickly uses wind magic to blow away the smoke and looks around the room. She spots a blood trail leading out the main hall.
Grayfia follows the blood while she summons ice on the ground. She enters an empty room filled with weapons and freezes the room over. Grayfia hears a faint dripping sound and goes to investigate. She sees blood dripping from the ceiling and fires ice shards at it. Afterwards, something dropped from the ceiling. A boy with short snow white hair fell to the ground, motionless. Grayfia walks towards the boy.
"I apologize for this Mr. Griffin, but you gave me no choice in the matter," said Grayfia. She kneels down and turns the boy over on his back. Her eyes widened when she saw nothing but a life-size doll covered in blood. The doll then explodes, filling the room in smoke, which Grayfia couldn't avoid this time. The door to the weapons room suddenly opens and closes soon, as Grayfia coughs violently. Grayfia makes her way to the doors but is locked.
In the dungeon, the three guards stand in front of Emil's cell.
"Who in their right mind would infiltrate Lucifer's castle?" One guard asked.
"Someone with a deathwish. With Lady Grayfia going to face them, they already lost," said another guard.
"Agree. Nobody can stand against the Strongest Queen in a fair fight," said the third guard.
"Good thing the intruder doesn't know how to fight fair," someone said.
"Who said that?!" The guards looked around for the intruder, but no one was there. Emil turns his head towards the door. "Come out, show yourself- Ack!"
The first guard fell to the floor unconscious.
"What the- Argh!"
The second fell shortly after.
"What happening- Oof!"
All three guards were on the floor. The door to Emil's cell was unlocked.
"About time you showed up, runt," said Emil.
A five foot tall young man with snow white hair and blue eyes reveals himself. He wears a tight black leather zipper suit and black shoes. His shoulder was covered in blood.
"Sorry 'bout that, Grayfia gave me a bit of trouble," said Ivor. Ivor touches the door, only to get shocked by electricity. "Ow, that's smarts! You wouldn't happen to know where the key is right?"
"Either Sirzechs or Grayfia have it with them, and I doubt you'll be able to break this cell even if you go berserk. Forget about me and listen, the one who led the attack six months ago was a Devil named Ivan Hin. He was in Glasya-Labolas territory when the attack was planned," explained Emil.
"Ivan Hin in Glasya-Labolas' territory, got it. What do you plan to do?" Ivor asked.
"I doubt that I'll be able to escape on my own. I'll stall for time so you guys can find Ivan, but I won't be able to last long when MacArthur gets his hands on me," said Emil.
"I think I can help with that. Come here for a second," said Ivor. Emil stands up and faces Ivor.
"What do you have in-" Emil was interrupted when he felt something pierce his neck. Ivor was holding a blowpipe in his hands and was aimed at Emil's neck. "Bastard," Emil said before falling to the floor.
"Whep, got what I needed. Time to go," Ivor's body disappeared.
After clearing the smoke and regaining her breath, Grayfia broke the locked door down and rushed towards the dungeon to find all of the guards knocked unconscious, and Emil, still in the cell, was on the ground also unconscious, with a dart in his neck.
"Grayfia, what happened here?!" The voice of Sirzechs rings out. Grayfia faces him.
"I apologize Milord, the Sin of Wrath Ivor broke into the castle and incapacitated the front gate guards. I tried to capture him, but I failed," said Grayfia, bowing her head. Sirzechs turns to look at the unconscious dhampir.
"What happened to Emil?" Sirzechs asked.
"He was knocked unconscious by a drugged dart. Ivor likely already escaped. I'm terribly sorry Lord Lucifer," said Grayfia, bowing her head.
"I blame myself for this," said Sirzechs.
"Lord Lucifer?" Grayfia questioned.
"Rosa was always efficient and ruthless, and she trained her Peerage to act the same. If I want to find Rosa, I need to be as ruthless as her. Summon MacGregor at once. I want him to sift through Emil's memories in case he was lying about not knowing her location. Also, prepare a more secure location for Emil," Sirzechs orders.
"Yes Milord," Grayfia bows and walks away.
"My little Rose, I wish that you would trust us more. I promised that I would always support you in whatever path you chose to pursue in life, but I can't do that when I'm so worried about you. I swear that I will find you and bring you home so we can find the ones responsible for that day," said Sirzechs to himself.
Safe house
Ivor walks inside the safehouse, grasping his injured shoulder. Inside was a table with Albert laying down on a table in the center of the room.
"Welcome back Ivor," said Albert lazily.
"Good to be back Al. Hey, since you're awake, can you heal my shoulder?" Ivor asked politely. Albert turns his head towards Ivor, looking at his injury.
"Nah… I don't feel like it. Come back to me with a more life threatening wound, and maybe I'll think about," said Albert. He turns his body on his side with his back to Ivor.
"Oh come on, I just got back from the castle after getting injured by Grayfia, help a brother out," pleaded Ivor. That was when another voice spoke up.
"What's going on here?"
Both boys turn towards the speaker. The voice came from Lance.
"Hey Lance, glad to have you back," acknowledged Ivor.
"You said you just came from the castle. I don't see Emil with you. What happened?" Lance asked.
"I'll be glad to tell you all about it, if Al here can just heal my shoulder real quick," said Ivor. Lance turns to Albert.
"Stop slacking off Albert and do something about that," ordered Lance.
Albert groans before sitting up and getting off the table. As Albert heals Ivor's shoulder, Ivor explains everything that happened to Lance.
"That's not good, we need to find him before it's too late. Ivor, how long until Emil regains consciousness?" Lance asked.
"I left Lucifer's castle 45 minutes ago, and the dart was strong enough to knock out a Cerberus so…" Ivor counted his fingers silently. "...I'd give it 8 to 9 hours top," said Ivor.
Albert finishes healing Ivor's shoulder and lays back down. Lance paces back and forth, thinking about a plan.
"Okay, here's what we'll do. Ivor, you go back to the castle and find out where Emil's being transferred. Albert, you and Aaron are on standby. Meanwhile, I'll go search in Glasya-Labolas' territory on where to find this Ivan character," said Lance.
"You're sure about this? Without you, it's going to be more difficult trying to break Emil out of whatever place he's in," Ivor questioned.
"It's not ideal, but we don't have a choice. We can't afford for Ivan slipping through the cracks before we find him, and who knows how long it'll be before we do. And I think I speak for all of us when the quicker we find Ivan, the quicker Rosa can return home," stated Lance. Everyone silently agrees and nods their heads.
"Seriously though, why Emil had to go and get himself captured. What a pain," Albert complains.
"Okay then. Sounds like a plan," said Ivor.
"Where is Aaron, did he come back yet?" Lance asked.
"Yeah he did, but he didn't find any information relevant to us, so now he's sulking in his room. He's such a drama queen," said Albert. Lance shakes his head.
"Okay then, Ivor, get to the castle while they're still unorganized. Albert, get some sleep for tomorrow," ordered Lance.
"About time, I'm so tired," said Albert, sounding relieved.
Albert goes to sleep while Lance and Ivor leave the safehouse.
"Alright, I'm off," said Ivor.
"Be careful Ivor. We can't afford another Sin getting captured," warned Lance.
"So worry, I'll be back before you know it," Ivor said confidently. Ivor uses a magic circle to teleport and leaves.
Lance summons a magic circle in his hand and speaks into it. "Peter, get over here now."
A moment later, a magic circle appears on the ground behind Lance. Appearing inside the circle, a young boy dressed in a bright green shirt, brown shorts, and white sneakers. The boy was casually hovering in the air in a sitting position with a caramel apple in his hand.
"Is this important Lance? I was just about to relax right now," The boy asked, sounding annoyed.
"Yes Peter, I got bad news. Emil was captured," said Lance. The boy named Peter stood up straight while still hovering.
"Ooh… that's not good. How'd it happened?" Peter asked.
Lance explains everything that happened and what they planned to do. Peter just finished eating his apple.
"Is there any chance of someone able to regain their memories Peter?" Lance asked. Peter puts a finger on his chin and thinks for a second.
"It's not impossible, but it isn't easy either. I wiped away the memories of when we all hid Rosa in a secure hideout, and as a precaution I made a powerful barrier in the memories inside all of you over that moment to prevent anyone from trampling with it. From almost anyone, your memory is safe, but only someone with lots magical power can break through that barrier," stated Peter.
"MacGregor…" Lance said forebodingly.
"Yep, he definitely fits the bill. And man, Emil sure is unlucky. MacGregor hates him with a passion, there's no telling what he will do to Emil," said Peter.
"Which means we have to work fast. Peter once you pass along the message to Rosa, comeback here to assist the others tomorrow," ordered Lance.
"Got it, I'll be right back. See ya," Peter teleports through a magic circle, leaving only Lance to his thoughts.
"If MacGregor is going to interrogate Emil, he won't be in any shape to escape with the other. We're going to need blood from a powerful being to re-energized him quickly, but from who? And none of us here are that powerful, and Rosa isn't here to it. Ugh, this sucks!" Lance said, sounding frustrated.
Lance walks around thinking hard, coming up with one plan after another. He then stops and snaps his finger.
"Wait, there's that! Yeah, that could work. And it'll also kill two birds with one stone," said Lance.
He goes back into the safe house and walks down a hallway, passing multiple rooms with labels of the names of the Sins. Lance stops in front of a door with the name Aaron on it and knocks.
"Aaron, I'm coming in," said Lance before opening the door.
In the middle of the was someone laying on a futon underneath a blanket.
"Aaron, you awake?" Lance asked.
"Uhhhh…" a voice groans out.
"Aaron, I have a job for you," Lance gets no response, making him sigh. "Aaron, how do you feel about putting on a show in Kuoh Town."
Aaron moves his body to sit up and removes his blanket, revealing himself.
"Looks like I got your attention now," said Lance.