A DEVIL'S RETURN HOME
-: CHAPTER 6:-
WARNING:- I am unfamiliar with Christian mythology and history. Whatever I have written is based off on what I could understand on Google and Fandom websites for High School DxD if there are any inconsistencies, I apologize in advance.
With that out of the way, let's begin!
Previously, on A Devil's Return Home,
The transportation runes of Gremory and Sitri glowed in the clubroom and out came Serafall leviathan and Sirzechs Lucifer, both of their masks of cheeriness and goofiness all but gone.
"Who was it? Who dared to touch my little sister!" both of them asked in a low, completely serious voice.
Nothing could have prepared them for the answer Naruto gave them.
"Relax, Sirzechs, your sister is fine. I'll explain everything to you soon enough. But before we begin, why don't you tell me all you know about Rizevim Livan Lucifer."
Present Time.
Location: ORC Clubroom.
Time: Late Evening.
Both of the Great Maou's stifled a gasp when they heard the name of the son of the original Lucifer. If anywhere, anyhow, Rizevim Livan Lucifer was involved; it was not a good thing, for anyone. Sirzechs steeled himself, his goofy personality and Childish Humour all but gone. His face took a calm, stony expression. This was not the sis-con Sirzechs Gremory, who would shout out his sister's name whenever he saw her, but rather Sirzechs Lucifer, the Strongest of the four Maou, who led his faction through the civil war. Serafall as well, knew this was no time for childish games and turned extremely serious, resorting to her Leviathan persona.
"Very well Uzumaki-San, let's talk. But first, Rias and Sona, I need you and your peerages to leave this room before we begin."
"But Onii-Sama we-" Rias and Sona were both about to protest when Serafall interrupted them.
"Sona Sitri, I did not ask you. This is not a request. No questions. Leave. Now." Her voice had a bit of steel to it.
Sona was shocked. She knew her sister was powerful, being one of the four Maou and everything, but she had hardly ever called her by her full name. She had always been her little So-tan. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, she pulled Rias away and ordered her peerage to leave as well. Rias was about to protest once again, but one look from her brother silenced her. So she followed and asked her own peerage to come along as well.
Once the door was closed, Sirzechs entwined his fingers between his chin, his elbows propped up on the table and began.
"Very well Naruto, Tell me everything."
O-O-O
Outside the room, Rias, Akeno and Sona sat together, discussing between themselves. What could be so serious about this Rizevim Lucifer that could cause their elder siblings in such a way? And why was Naruto involved in all of this? And how did he know her brother so well?
Sona and Akeno too, were thinking along the same lines. Sona had seen the mysterious Uzumaki and his peerage at work, and it terrified her. Yet she knew, this had barely scrapped the true power of his group. She had seen his eyes change and his body covered by that powerful orange cloak as he protected them, and she couldn't help but still keep thinking of those golden mesmerizing eyes that held such a calm, yet powerful aura in them. Fighting down a blush that threatened to adorn her cheeks, she went back to discussing the events of the night with her two friends.
O-O-O
"And then I asked Rias and Sona to call both of you here." Naruto had just ended describing the events that had led up to this point to the leader of the devils. And the Lucifer was not pleased.
"This is bad Sirzechs. If Rizevim has taken an interest in Naruto, this could only mean one thing. And we are not prepared for something like that, not yet at-least."
"Honestly Serafall, I don't think we will ever be able to be prepared to face if I think I know what Rizevim plans to unleash."
"What does she mean by that?" Naruto asked.
"Uzumaki-san, I believe it's time we told you why exactly your clan was attacked during the civil war in the first place." Serafall answered.
"The devils belong to the three great factions who are a part of Christian Mythology. While the Angels, who live up in heaven are led by the Archangel Michael, the Fallen Angels now led by The Governor General Azazel and The Devils led by the four Maou have made the Underworld their home." Sirzechs continued.
"When Lucifer The Silver Morningstar first fell from Grace of our Father, he developed the Maou system along with his own followers here in the underworld, and the devil race came to be. Life was good for us devils. We lived here in the underworld, while the angels lived up in heaven."
"Soon the devils divided amongst themselves based on their specialities and formed clans, or the 72 pillars of devil society, as we call them."
"But soon, the sin that defines the most basic of all of us devils took place in the Lucifer's heart. The sin of greed. He had managed to give rise to a complete society different and without the influence of his father. So why shouldn't he be allowed to make changes to others as well? He decided to conquer all the other three factions by waging war against them, to become their one true king, where he would rule over with an iron fist."
"A foolish devil with dreams of power and grandeur. A devil who decided to wage war simply because he couldn't be the one true king of all." Naruto stated in a cold voice. This story was becoming too much like his story in the elemental nations for his liking.
"Yes, exactly Uzumaki-San." Serafall said, quite surprised by the young devil's take on the whole situation.
"And so began the Great War amongst the three factions. Countless lives were loss on each side. The bloodiest exchange to ever take place amongst the supernatural took place."
"Believe it or not, Father loved all of us equally, no matter the choices we made in our lives. To him, we were all his children, seeing his own children, who had been siblings once and their descendants fight and spill each other's blood, pained him to no end."
"So when the great beast of apocalypse, the Trihexa suddenly appeared on the battlefield where the three factions fought, he took it upon himself to seal him away, and end this fighting for once and for all."
"Nobody knew how exactly the Trihexa appeared on the battlefield that day, all we know that it is a sentient being that knows only one thing, to kill. Kill and destroy everything in its path. It doesn't care who or what it kills or destroys. All it cares about is carnage and causing death."
"Can you imagine it Uzumaki-san? A beast so powerful that even with the power of all the three factions combined, we were barely able to put a scratch on it."
"You could say that I have I vague idea, yeah." Naruto said as the image of large beast with ten tails and a lone red sharingan eye invaded his mind, causing incomprehensible destruction with a simple whip of his tail. The other members of his peerage winced and shuddered.
"The only beings who can probably match it in its power are the great red and Ophis the Ouruboros white dragon."
"Anyway, after the beast of cataclysm was defeated, the three factions called for a truce, but it was more like a ceasefire/cold war if anything else. Since then, we've had a few skirmishes here and there in between, but nothing major." Sirzechs said.
"But apparently, this was not enough for Rizevim Livan Lucifer. This Delicate and Shaky peace we had obtained wasn't enough to him. He thought that we Devils had gone too soft over the years and sought to take control over the Devil Faction, hoping to bring back things the way they were. So a Civil War erupted between The Old Faction, led by him and his fellow Maou's and The New Faction, led by me and the Current Maou."
"This is where you come in Uzumaki-San, not a lot of people know this, but during the Great war, our Father, had a little help."
"A little help known as the Uzumaki Clan. When God sealed the Trihexa away, he had a help from the members of the Uzumaki clan, who held the demon in place using a multitude of seals. They designed its prison and helped god seal him away in his cage."
"This piece of information was kept secret and was closely guarded, but somehow got leaked. The Uzumaki were a battle hardened warriors and a clan filled with hyperactive little devils, yet they were unlike most of the devils, a little peaceful. They liked being left to themselves, never going looking for attention."
"So you can imagine how much chaos this one piece of information must have caused in all the three factions. Devils and rogue fallen angels all hunted any and every Uzumaki they could find. In their opinion, such a great power was unfit to be present in the hands of a single clan. We believed that they had been eliminated down to the last one, but apparently, I was wrong." Serafall ended
"So you see now Naruto-San, why Rizevim requires you. He needs your blood under his power to release the great beast of apocalypse." Sirzechs finally said, coming to the end of his story.
"And Sirzechs knows how things went on from there, Serafall-San. I will get to Rizevim in a bit, but first me and my peerages have some questions for you."
"You told us pretty much everything about this Lucifer guy and this war, but there is one person who you did not mention. And that is exactly who I am curious about." Shikamaru asked.
"And who might you be talking about?" Serafall asked.
"The Biblical God, of course." Kakashi said.
"What of him?" Sirzechs asked, not liking where this conversation was headed.
"He is dead, isn't he?" Naruto asked.
"Preposterous! Why would you think something like that Uzumaki-San? To think that the all-powerful Biblical God would die?" Serafall bluffed.
"Let me tell you this Serafall-Sama, I and my peerage might seem young, but we've seen enough to know that even gods, heck…. Even Primordials can die. Where we come from, religion wasn't much of a thing, except a bit of an inclination towards Shintoism. But everyone still believed in a golden rule back in the Elemental Nations, which Mother Nature has given us. 'If it breathes, it's gotta die at some point.'" Naruto stated.
"And the signs are all there." Kakashi said.
"It first caught my attention when you specifically asked for both of your sisters to leave, which might not have been that big a deal, we could just have brushed it off as clan business and left it at that."
"But then you told us about this Trihexa, how powerful it is."
"Even if we consider the biblical god as an all-powerful entity Sirzechs-san, when you told us that the three factions couldn't defeat this beast together, it got my gears whirring." Shikamaru added.
"The leaders of all the three factions might be powerful in their own right, but according to you, were nothing compared to The Biblical God, who they each have descended from. This can only mean one thing, that when their might is combined together; it should at least come quite close to matching His own power at least." Tsunade said.
"Then there is the fact that there always only was a cease fire, never true peace, which would have ideally happened if there was a higher power than the three factions watching over."
"And there is the final piece, the man himself, Rizevim Lucifer. Considering that he is the direct descendant of the one guy who kick-started the great war and is the cause of civil war amongst devils himself, you'd think god would want to end his existence as soon as he can." Naruto ended with a little chuckle.
"We also have quite the history with Uzumaki sealing methods regarding demons." Sakura said. "And they always cost a life." She said, with a glance towards Naruto.
"This leads us to a very simple conclusion." Shikamaru said with a tired sigh. "The all-powerful Biblical God is dead, or seriously crippled maybe, unable to perform his duties." He added with an afterthought.
"Really, it's a surprise people haven't figured it out already." Ino said. "You'd think there was something in the water-" her comment was shut down as Serafall Sitri had formed an ice spear in her hand. This bunch of kids had uncovered one of the greatest guarded secrets of the underworld like a little school's puzzle. What if they went out and told this to everybody? It would lead to utter chaos! Last living Uzumaki or not, she had to deal with them, now.
In a flash, Naruto's entire peerage was around her, the sound of a thousand birds chirping filled the air as Kakashi had a hand encased in purple lightning near her neck, while Sai' s ink lions surrounded her from all sides, led by Akamaru and Kiba. Shino had his hands out of his pockets, and there was a faint buzzing sound, as if something was about to come out of his sleeves. Hinata had two flaming purple lions formed in her hands, as she took her clans gentle fist stance. Lee was poised on the ceiling directly above, a green aura covering him, as he opened the gates. Shikamaru had stopped the spear in her hands with his shadow while the rest of his peerage had various sharp Kunai pointed at her vital spots.
"Give me one good reason Sirzechs." Serafall said through gritted teeth. The shadow's grip was surprisingly tight.
'So fast!' Serafall thought. She could have got out of this easily, she was the second strongest Maou after all, but she would suffer serious injuries. Then there was the king himself, who had not made a move yet. He still sat on his end of the table, his facial features replicating Sirzechs in every way possible.
Naruto and Sirzechs looked at each other, with a smirk on their faces, mirroring each other perfectly. Both of them knew they would be able to control their sides if things went south. So they just sat there, watching each other.
'Such intellect and power combined! And they said mine was a peerage of monsters.' Sirzechs thought, with a small internal chuckle.
"Stand back Serafall, we didn't come here to spill blood." Sirzechs commanded.
Naruto too clicked his fingers, and everyone was back at his side. Though now everyone had adopted a rather stiff position. They were now ready to attack at a moment's notice.
"I believe with the recent revelations that have come to light, we can come to an agreeable decision Naruto-san. And no- one needs to get hurt here. All I ask of you is to keep whatever that is said here a secret. "
"You have my word, Lucifer-Sama. I wasn't planning on telling about it to anyone even before."
Serafall sighed in relief. It wouldn't do well if someone took to the skies to shout about the death of the biblical god.
"I also have a favour to ask of you Naruto-San." Sirzechs said.
"And what would that might be?"
"Train both Rias and Sona's peerages."
"Wait what?!" Serafall shouted.
Naruto merely raised an eyebrow in amusement. Tsunade too, looked interested in this conversation now.
"Exactly as I said, the threat of Rizevim Lucifer is too great to ignore. It won't be every time Naruto-San will be around to protect them. And this won't be the last attack that might happen here in Kuoh town. I can feel it. Something has started to stir up and it will be big. A storm is coming Serafall. And I want to protect both of our sisters the best way I can."
"Even then, we both are well enough capable to train them Sirzechs. Why would you put your faith in one boy and his peerage?"
It was a valid question. Apart from the fact that Naruto was more than capable of training his sister, it also gave them a chance to bond together. But no one needed to know that part. Time was running out for the Lucifer and he had to act fast. So much to do, so little time.
"Show her." Naruto said.
"Everything?" Sirzechs asked with a bit of disbelief in his voice.
"Don't leave out one bit." It was Shikamaru this time who spoke.
One long ass jump through the memories and an explanation later again.
Serafall leviathan was a cheerful and bubbly person by nature. At a young age, she had decided that she would never let the small happy goofy child inside her die, no matter how old she got. She absolutely abhorred how crazy and struck up the older devils acted. To this resolution she had made herself, she decided to put a ryo in a jar every time she acted like her elders or went speechless. The jar had apparently filled itself during the course of war quite well, but hadn't been of much ever since. But this time…..
"This….. This…" it looked like she would need whole wad of notes and Sake this time. Lots of it.
"This is exactly why we fought the war Sirzechs, so that the next generation of children could grow up just like that, children! Do you think it's safe to do this?" Serafall asked, with a bit of desperation in her voice.
"It must have been a noble sentiment at that time, I agree. But it has led to these people being too lax in everything they do. I remember someone from the Phenex clan boasting about his experience in the Rating Games. How he had won thirty-five of them. It was a bit annoying in my opinion."
Kiba let out an unnatural cough that sounded like 'Bullshit.'
"As Kiba rightly said, Bullshit. These Rating Games will not give you experience. Experience gives you experience. Do you honestly think, right now if a war were to break out between the three factions, half of these stars of the rating games would survive the first fight?"
Serafall had no answer to that.
"You know this as well as I do, there are no do overs in war. You won't split up in a shower of golden light and get another chance like some video game character. How do you hope for the peace you have achieved to maintain, when the generation you have fought with your lives on the line to protect, doesn't know how to protect and defend the next generation as properly as you have?"
"He's right Serafall, we have been too lax in moulding the younger generation. It's time we stepped up. And that is exactly why I want him to train them."
"I'll do it of course, but I do want something in return as well." Naruto said.
"And what would that might be?" Serafall asked.
"A favour if you will, from each one of you. Consider it as my price for training them."
"I want a meeting with the creator of evil pieces, Ajuka Beelzebub from you Serafall-Sama. I have something on my possession that I might need looking at." Naruto said, as he fingered the three broken Pawn pieces in his pocket he had recovered in Uzushiogakure.
"I can do that." Serafall replied.
"From you Sirzechs-Sama, I need you to make the knowledge of The last Uzumaki and his peerage's existence public. And form a Hunter squad out of us."
"I'll see what I can do Uzumaki-san"
Serafall had a million thoughts running through her mind. Hunter squads were a thing of the past. Formed during the peak of Civil War amongst devils by the new faction, Hunter squads were covert operatives of capable devils that were dispatched by their leaders. Held in high regard, they were meant to do all the dirty work assigned to them by their leaders. They carried sabotage, assassination of rogue and enemy devils and took out exceptional threats include high-risk infiltration into enemy territory, dealing with extremely strong enemy devils, tracking, surveillance, interrogating the enemy to learn information and missions requiring specially trained devils. They basically acted like the secret service for the devils who they were command under. It was a dark job.
Age, background, gender, or clan bore no significance in selection within the Hunter squads; once joined, they underwent hard-core training, and begin wearing masks to conceal their identity, leading to them using code names to identify each other, given out on a need to know basis only. But everyone in the three factions knew them only if by their reputation. While the frontline fighters enjoyed the glory and adoration from their supporters by fighting on the battlefield with their enemies, Hunter squads worked in the shadows. There were even rumours of them being trained to kill themselves if ever captured. A fallen Hunter squad devil's body was to be destroyed on the spot by the rest of his/her members of the peerage. Only a white envelope with condolences and gratitude for their service was sent to his/her family members.
Often they had to do things they wished they didn't have to. They didn't participate in the rating games either. Due to the actions of the group, one could appear changed and corrupted of kindness. Forming such a unit within their army was one of the toughest decision Sirzechs had to make when they fought the war.
Serafall wondered why Uzumaki would specifically want to form a hunter squad. Was it because of what he used to be before he came here? Or was it something else? So many questions, so little time.
O-O-O
Outside the room, Rias and Sona were getting impatient. They had heard muffled voices coming from the room and had closely tried to follow what was happening inside, but apparently the room had been sealed soundproof. All they could do now was wait. Rias was about to knock on the door when suddenly it opened once again and Sirzechs popped his head out.
"Ah, Ria-tan! Just the person I was looking for! Would you mind coming in, and bring everyone else with you as well."
After everyone had gathered together comfortably, Serafall began.
"Well, after the events that took place tonight, Sirzechs and I have decided on some changes which will be occurring around while both Sona and Rias remain here in the Human Realm."
"First of all, Naruto here had kindly agreed to train both of your peerages while he is here in exchange for a small favour. So both of you and your peerage will be meeting him at the Uzumaki clan compound at a time decided on your leisure."
"There will also be some changes that will occur around here while you are hunting strays or trespassing fallen angels."
"Two, any rogue exorcists, fallen angels or stray devils more than five or powerful as five will not be handled by you or your peerage. They are to be reported to Uzumaki-San, who will deal with them as he sees fit."
Before any of them could protest further, Sirzechs held up a hand and said, "you didn't let me finish. Considering the circumstances, I've decided to appoint Uzumaki-San and his peerage as the active Hunter Squad for Kuoh town. "
Sona and Rias both paled at this declaration. Even though they were young, they had heard about Hunter Squads. To have an opportunity to train under one would be amazing. But then, another thought entered their minds. Both of them had heard about the notorious reputation the Hunter Squads carried, there must be something in Naruto and his peerage for Sirzechs to give them the position. And they both intended to find out what it was.
"Third and lastly, if you ever find something fishy while performing a contract, you will immediately contact any member of the Hunter squad you can find. Everything else will stay the same."
And before anyone of them could say anything else, both of the Maou were gone.
Rias and Sona turned to Naruto, who up until now, just casually stood there. On seeing that both of the heiresses were looking at him, he just awkwardly put his right hand behind his head, much like how his father used to, and said.
"Well, Rias-Chan it's getting quite late and I should be going. So I'll see you tomorrow I guess."
Rias gave him a short hug, thanking him for saving them during the fight earlier, and nodded. Surprisingly, Sona too did the same. Once they were gone, Akeno turned to Rias and said.
"Ara-ara, Buchou, it seems like the competition for the young Uzumaki's attention keeps getting tougher and tougher."
Rias too, looked at Sona with a knowing smirk.
"Sh-Shut up! Both of you." Sona huffed and teleported away, not bothering to hide the shade of pink that covered her cheeks
O-O-O
Back at the Uzumaki mansion, everyone sat together in the living room, with Naruto's wives by his side. Shizuka took this time to ask him something which had been bugging her mind since the meeting had ended.
"Naruto-kun, I can understand why you would want to meet the creator of evil pieces, but why would you want to form a hunter squad?"
"Apart from the fact that it is extremely similar to what we did back home Shizuka-Chan, there are plenty of reasons for me to do so. The most important is that this will be our foray into mainstream of devil society. I could have waited and done what the other devils are doing, but I just seems to be a waste of our skills. Also, the Uzumaki don't have that much of a political clout here now, being regarded as the sole peerage acting as a hunter squad under the current Lucifer himself gives us what we lack. Then there is also the fact that we will get classified access to some of the information that other devils will not. It might help us find and bring to justice who exactly was responsible for our clan's demise here in the first place."
Saying his bit, Naruto decided to retire for the night. He had a lot of work to do. After all, the Uzumaki clan wouldn't build itself now would it?
The hunter squad concept is another parallel to ANBU in the Narutoverse. It is used only for plot advancement, nothing else.
All it takes is a few taps on the keyboard. Read and review people! Read and review!
Until next time! Ja ne!