Prologue 1

=Last Battlefield of The Great War=

If one were to gaze at both the sky and the earth in that moment they would notice a great discrepancy between the two views.

It was the middle of summer and the lack of clouds allowed a great view of the ebony colored background sprinkled with the sparkly white light emitted by the stars. If one were to peer closely he would notice that the constellations were unusually clear and yet one small detail would make the viewer look at this in image with questioning and not awe. The one star that should be shining brighter than the others, The Morningstar, was missing from the picture. That person's questioning would soon turn into discomfort if he were to also turn his gaze at the moon for its bizarrely large size and ominous silver glow could not be interpreted as anything other than a sign of disaster. Sadly that disaster was not a mere omen but the reality illuminated by the moon's brilliance.

There is no more fitting description for the current state of the land than "The Apocalypse". The earth was gouged, mountains were cleaved, forests either uprooted or aflame and tranquil lakes transformed into mashes of mud. If the destructions were to end here than one would assume that this was simply the result of nature's fury and yet the additional layer of color covering Gaia's wonders made that assumption impossible.

Blood, gore and corpses.

The incredible amount of red would make you think that it was deliberate attempt to create a work of art. Even if the idea that a mind demented enough to attempt such a project is not farfetched, one detail presented in all corpses make the culprit of this massacre evident. Swan-like white wing that gave the impression of untainted purity, black bat-like wings that emitted the sweet smell of decadence, as well as corvine-like black wings containing a perverted beauty. These three features that all corpses possessed, betrayed the inhuman nature of the once former living beings.

Looking at this, one particularly cynical individual would dismiss this landscape as just another fearsome battle fought between "The Three Warmongering Factions" and yet the three giant corpses that can be seen lounging atop of the ruined landscape would turn even the most fearless creature silent.

The first two bore resemblance to one another. Four powerful limbs ending in claws sharp enough to cut through steel, wide leathery wings that can no doubt lift their massive bodies, long tales that could uproot an entire forest with a single sweep, and hard scales that would remain undamaged from even the finest weapons. There is no one in the supernatural world who hadn't heard of them: The Two Heavenly Dragons Ddraig and Albion. The two beasts were considered untouchable existences that one should never consider approaching and yet these seemingly immortal creatures are laying in two lakes filled with their own blood. Said liquid, as if to show their owner's pride, seemed to refuse to even come in contact as if to show that the beasts' eternal rivalry extended even in death.

Not far away lays the third gargantuan mass of dead flesh. Its form revealed to be not too deferent to the former two except for its more serpentine form and lack of limbs. It's blueish scales held a certain resemblance to those of a fish betraying its aquatic nature.

In its gigantic shadow lay rest three other figures all of them demonic in nature and bearing six pairs of leathery wings. The first one reveals itself to be a scantly clad woman that seems to ooze seduction even in her current state with the goat-like horns and furless tail she adorns making her identity as a succubus obvious. The second figure, a seemingly old man with a well trimmed black beard and bald head had his surroundings filled with the small corpses of insects from every species possible, all facing him as if to give a final bow to their king. The last figure, a youth with long silver hair and piercing blue eyes had a face that displayed a beauty that surpassed even that of his former female companion. Despite his lack of breath his body seemed unchanged from that a living one, completely clean, not even death having enough power to rob him of his charisma and dignity.

"….Haah….."

This sigh was uttered by a figure currently gazing at the four bodies. He was sitting not too far away from the three with His back propped against a rock drawing shallow breaths like a man on his deathbed. He was dressed in a white baggy robe, currently stained with His blood. The main source of the blood was a fist size hole, right where His heart should have been, through which one could see the blood covered rock He rested on. He had long white hair that hid His face and was currently pooling in a puddle of blood.

"Lucifer…...…..Leviathan…...Beelzebub….Asmodeus….Haah"

His voice held the perplexing quality of being both melodious and raspy and yet this did not hide the fatigue in it.

With another sigh He lifted His hand and brushed away His dirty hair to reveal His face. His skin was smooth and held a healthy sheen despite the grime and blood that covered it. If one were to describe His face, they would say that it looks both feminine and masculine, both young and old, both beautiful and rugged, and betraying both old wisdom and childlike innocence. The most intriguing part of His face though were His eyes for they illustrated a perfect recreation of the current sky.

Looking away from the bodies of His rebellious son and his companions He turned His gaze to the soulless bodies of Two Heavenly Dragons.

"Ddraig…..and even Albion…"

Taking it for one last moment the sight of the two beasts He twisted His neck to the right and took in the last sleeping figure presented in this landscape.

She stood in the same position as her watcher, barely a meter away from Him. She didn't look older than 13 yet held an aura that could only belong to someone with decades of experience. She had long purplish grey hair that was held by a black headdress made of lace and her petite slim body was dressed in a knee-length Victorian purple dress, decorated with a big crimson rose in the middle of her chest. Her legs would have been covered in black and purple striped stockings, if not for her current injuries. Her entire left leg was cut cleanly off, the same as with her right arm and her whole body was covered in deep cuts that created red vertical stripes of dried blood on her dress. With her remaining hand she loosely hugged a brown tome in her lap letting it rest against her abdomen.

Taking in her sleeping visage for a whole minute, He let out as small chuckle filled with disbelief and resignation.

"Huh…haha…The Four Great Maou dead, The Heavenly Dragons sealed and even I about to fade away….All of this orcherstrated by a little girl that barely lived for a couple decades….ha….hahahahahah-Huk!"

His laughter stopped suddenly as he clutched his hand over the gaping hole where his heart should have been and started coughing blood.

"*cough*…*cough*…*cough*…*wheeze*…*cough*"

Wiping the blood off his lips he took a good look at it.

"So My time is almost up…haah"

"That's right. You're about to kick the bucket, so how about you do it in silence? Others are trying to die here in peace and your ramblings are grating on the ears, old man."

Suddenly, in response to His musings, He heard a quiet youthful voice coming from beside him that held a tone to denoted the owners irritation despite it's weakness.

Showing surprise for the first time, He turned His gaze over his right shoulder and gazed at the young girl he previously thought dead.

There he saw that the previously closed maroon eyes, were weakly glaring at him with contempt. Despite the fatal injuries that she possessed and the lack of control she had towards her body she intended to show her hatred towards her enemy to her final breath.

Seeing her futile efforts, He could do nothing but chuckle quietly.

"….What's so funny?", she asked.

"Nothing. I was just reminded of how prideful you devils are. We both are about to die and there is nothing either of us can do to change that. And yet you bear your fangs at me, despite knowing how futile it is."

"…Hmph! You have a lot of balls saying that word here and now. I distinctly remember you calling the efforts to defeat you futile as well. And yet here you are. Aren't you the prideful one here?"

In response to her venomous words, He could do nothing but think. All of this started with His and His son's disagreement over the importance of humans. He found them fascinating. For a being like Him who is eternal and doesn't possess any means to change, the fluidity of humans and their potential for growth greatly interested Him. The one who can change will inevitably surpass the one who can't.

With that belief as a linchpin He considered humans as the most important creatures in the world and He expected that his immortal sons and daughters would agree. He never would have expected that that decision would lead to a war that spanned centuries and took the life of hundreds of millions.

"You're right, maybe I was the arrogant one in all of this."

"Even if you realize it now, it's not going to change anything. You are a thousand years too late."

"Your words cut deep."

At the young girls words He could do nothing but smile wryly.

"Though…while I do comprehend what brought me and my son into this state, I must confess that there is something I do not understand."

"Oh…. Now isn't this a novelty. The self-proclaimed omniscient being has things he doesn't know. If I could, I would burst out laughing but I fear that would cause me to breathe my last mid laugh. I'd be too embarrassed if I died like that so I will refrain."

A mocking smile appeared on the dying devil's face.

"So? What is it that your oh so great mind is troubled by?"

"I fought to protect humanity and let it grow unimpeded, Lucifer fought to usurp me and enslave humanity, Azazel fought to earn his and his fallen's freedom and gain control of humanity from the shadows. What is it that you fought for? What was it that made you face me while at the same time made you go so far as to betray your own race and assassinate your leaders?"

That's right. The one thing He couldn't understand is this. It wasn't unthinkable for the devils to betray each other, on the contrary it was commonplace. Devils despise weakness, and so anyone who is considered weak is promptly disposed of. As the leader of an entire faction, Lucifer had hordes of devils aiming for his head, but the way she went about doing it doesn't add up.

If had been done for power, then there would be no reason to go after all four Satans, one would have been enough. If it wasn't for power but for a personal vendetta, then there would be no reason to also target Him at the same time and make her assassination a thousand times harder. And on top of that:

"What was it that drove you so far as to invite The Two Heavenly Dragons on the battlefield so that they could slaughter not only angels and fallen but countless devils as well?"

It is impossible that the two fearsome beasts would abruptly appear in the exact same place where a decisive battle between the three faction was taking place. Everyone knew about the endless brawl that the two dragons have been engaged in for the past couple of years. All three factions kept a constant close eye on the position of the two, and always took care to keep a suitable distance between their forces and the now dead reptiles.

This battle was no different. The location it took place in was more than 2000 kilometers away from the site where the two were last sighted that day. And yet not one hour later they barged in on the battlefield and in moments decimated more than half of each army.

Such an event could not have happened naturally. Who was it that had orchestrated this had been a mystery to him until, not two minutes after the arrival of the beasts, his son, who was engaged with battle with him at the time, found himself with a sword though his chest curtesy to the devil sitting right beside him.

At the deity's question, the smile dropped from the young girl's face and her gaze turned wistfully to the mountain of corpses scattered around her.

He didn't expect an answer from her, yet when his eyes left her form, he heard her voice.

"The devils lost their leader and are scrambling to fill the power vacuum to gain as much from this event as they can, the angels will probably fall in hordes due to your death and the heavenly system will collapse and the fallen will have their ranks flooded with former enemies that have no intention of cooperating. What do you think will happen then?"

To the sudden answer He could do nothing but think. As much as He doesn't want to admit it, she is probably right. The angels will mourn Him and Michael will have his hand full trying to fill in his shoes and calming the heavenly flock. The fallen will be joined by thousands broken angels and Azazel's kindness will forbid him from tuning them away, grinding the well-oiled machine that is Grigori to a halt. The 72 houses of the underworld were only kept together as allies by Lucifer. With him gone the devils will be going through a warring states period not dissimilar to the one Amaterasu's country is in now.

"….either way, this war will not continue."

"That's right."

In response to His small mutter she declared with a hint of pride in her voice.

"No matter what happens now, it is impossible for this war to continue. All three factions will be too busy dealing with their internal problems to cast their gaze anywhere outside of their borders. And so this war will be locked into a perpetual check, an eternal stalemate."

Baffled by her word He couldn't help but turn to her and was surprised again by what He saw. Her previously wistful gaze changed. Now she was gazing at the mountain of corpses with the same pride a farmer would gaze at his crops during harvest.

"Why though? If your desire was to stop this war why not aid your race in winning it? With your strength that feat would have been possible for you."

Hearing His increasing confusion the cat-like girl turned her gaze to Him in exasperation as to say: "How do you still not get it?".

"Why would I help the race I hate the most win this war?"

"…"

At her response He was rendered speechless. Regardless of His state she continued.

"A world under their rule would be the worst outcome possible. The devils are rotten to the core. The current devil society is the most deprived, indolent, bigoted, arrogant, greedy community in the entire world. No, calling them a society is a compliment. The devils now are even worse then even before Lucifer "cultured" them, when they were living in primitive tribes and knew only how to kill and fornicate. They have to be purged and razed to the ground then start anew. I took the first step. I will leave it to Sirzechs and the others to finish it."

After her rant, the young devil was left breathing heavily, no doubt due to her heavy injuries. During her whole speech the one sitting near her was silent. Glancing in His direction, she saw the deity looking at her with a complex mix of emotion she could only identify as intrigue.

"I see. There was much hatred in your speech, though I couldn't help but notice the passion with which you spoke. You claim that the devil society is irredeemable yet I can't help but think that's not all you feel towards the members of your race."

At His words a hint of surprise flashed on her face that was quickly replaced by a scoff.

"Spare me the lecture. You're not going to tell me that I can make it into Heaven if I repent now, right? If that's it then I'd have to refuse. Heaven sounds like a boring of a place to spend an eternity in."

Hearing no response, the devil quietly sighed and turned her gaze forward again.

"Don't misunderstand. I hate a vast majority of the devil population of the Underworld, but there are some whose way of like fascinates me to this very day."

"…"

"During my childhood I was not very welcome into my house so I had a habit of wondering the slums of my family's territory. I wanted to see how people lived there. I thought: "If those that have everything are such depraved being, then I wonder how much more depraved are those that have nothing."."

"…"

"Yet to my surprise what I found was not that. Where I expected to see people that degenerated into beasts I saw people that were living proudly with their heads held high. Whereas the high society face each other only with cloaks and daggers and flowery words while hiding their resentment and distain behind a pleasant smile, the people of the slums faced each other honestly. They said what they wanted to say, lived their lives how they wanted to and died with a smile on their face. The ones that lost were always the weak that never gave up on their desire to become the strong. The ones that won were always the strong that became the leaders to the weak. None were dissatisfied with this way of life."

Her gaze turned skyward and in His eyes the image of the fearsome enemy that drove Him to the point of death shattered. In it's place He saw a girl whose eyes sparkled with the innocence of a child and a pleasant smile dancing on her lips.

"Seeing them I couldn't help but be envious. How I wanted to be like them. How I desired to abandon everything and joined them in the freedom that they basked in. And so I did. I discarded everything I was before and joined that dog eat dog world. And so weak child that wasn't even recognized by her parents was changed bit by bit by that world and became the woman that you see today."

She turned her head towards Him and flashed Him a cheshire grin.

"So if it means that I have to give my life to see them sparkle like I know they can, so be it."

"...I see."

Looking at the starry sky He couldn't help but mull over what He's been told. To think that in His last moments He would meet someone with such a story.

"I can't help but wish I had met you sooner."

"…"

"By the way it is quite late but would you allow me the honor of having your name?"

"…"

Receiving no response He turned His gaze towards her only to find out that her previously vibrant eyes were now closed, the grip she held of her tome weakening, allowing it to slip from her lap and fall in the narrow space between them. Yet despite her departure her previous smile still sat on her lips.

"….I see. So you went ahead before me."

He lowered His eye in sadness only for His gaze to fall on the book.

"And this is?"

With what little strength He had left in His body, He stretched His right hand and grabbed the tome, putting it in His lap.

It was a big tome, barely fitting in His lap, the cover was made of high quality white leather decorated with red highlights. On it's front, burned into the leather, He could make out the shape of a hare standing on 2 legs, wearing a top hat and looking at a pocket watch.

Chuckling at the comical drawing he opened it and spotted the name and the author of the book.

"Nursery Rhyme."

Turning it's pages he saw various drawing all followed by complex magical equations.

A naked blade, resembling a kitchen knife, covered in complex runes.

A man wearing a top hat serving tea to an empty table.

Two indistinguishable obese boys standing straight near one another.

A caterpillar siting on a mushroom and smoking from a hookah.

A noblewoman clad entirely in white.

A glass bottle filled with a golden liquid surrounded by seemingly enlarged objects.

A slice of cake surrounded by seemingly shrunken objects.

A chimeric creature bearing vaguely draconic features.

And lastly a cat whose smile was grotesquely stretched in a too wide smile.

"I see. So this was the source of your power."

He read the book, easily understanding the complicated formulas presented inside it.

"It would be quite dangerous if this fell in the wrong hands."

It was indeed quite a dangerous book. If anyone related to the church found it, it would immediately be classified as being on the same level as the Necronomicon or The Clavicule of Solomon. Mulling over what He should do, He came up with an idea.

"This book would be quite useful to be around if THAT ever escapes it's cage."

Making up his mind, He gathers up the last silver of power present in His body and sends it to the book. After that He stretches His right hand towards the corpse of the young devil sitting next to Him and make a grabbing motion with His hand. Suddenly, from the chest of the girl, a maroon globe of energy emerges and rests on the palm of His hand. Giving it a good long look, He pushes it into the tome.

The book shakes on His lap for a couple of seconds, after which falling motionless.

"Success."

With a wave of His hand, the tome disappears and He sags tiredly onto the rock He's been resting on.

"I was in luck. It seems that I had just enough energy to do that before I perish."

Tiredly turning His gaze to His companion He finally spoke His last words:

"May you find fortune in this second life and may we meet again at the end of your journey."

"….Goodbye, Aramaya Beleth."

This moment marked the end of the bloodiest battle in known history and the beginning of a stalemate that would last half a millennia.