Chapter 35: The Amala Temple

In the terminal room by Mifunashiro, Naoki glanced over at Michael. "Which of these commands will send us to the Amala Temple?"

He didn't hesitate to point out a set of characters similar to the ones that led to the labyrinth. "Here. The only terminal there is in the entrance hall."

"That works," he said, then ordered the terminal to send them there. The transport went without incident despite Isamu being there.

Although once they exited the terminal room, the door locked loudly behind them. They were left within an unreal building, with glowing red walls, black pillars, and glossy floors that gave off faint reflections. Then again, whatever power created the labyrinth probably created this place as well. Someone else was here with them, but it wasn't Isamu.

"Naoki, good timing," Hijiri said, coming towards them from the center of the four halls. "I was just brought here..." and red chains of magatsuhi quickly bound him, covering his mouth and preventing him from speaking.

"Hijiri?" Naoki ran over; he could probably break those chains.

He didn't make it before Hijiri got dragged back down another hall. "Stop, he's mine now," Isamu said without appearing there.

Not in a mood to deal with this, Naoki called back, "Isamu, let him go!"

"Don't worry, I'll make good use of him." Isamu wrapped up Hijiri entirely and made him vanish from the entrance hall. "And yes, good timing on your part. I'm about to call on my god and you're going to help me."

"No, I am going to tear you into pieces," Naoki warned. "Drop the pretense, I know what you're doing. You have my magatama. You may not realize it yet, but that is a mistake. Everyone who has tried to keep them from me is dead, as you will soon be."

Despite him not being physically there, his fear came through in a satisfying way. "I-I don't have them! Really, I don't. There's these three demons here who have them..."

He nodded, having seen this with Majesty. "Because you gave them to those demons. That is not going to save you. Unless you change your tune and help me, I am in no mood to be listening to you come up with excuses for your selfish actions. You really are a child who's not yet grown up."

"You're not even human anymore," Isamu retorted weakly. "Fine, I'll unlock the other pyramids and, and I'll shut off all the traps they set up. I can't do any more than that."

At this point, Naoki didn't care what he said. But the magatama were with those three demons. They had to be defeated first. He led the way out into the temple itself, considering how to handle this. They emerged in a courtyard of stone paths over still silent waters. There were four pyramids here, all made of smooth marble in humanly impossible perfection. Even from here, Naoki could tell three of the pyramids were vast stores of magatsuhi. In the center was an inverted pyramid that somehow stood upon a single point. It spun slowly to its own meaning.

Do we really have to play these games? They're a waste of time.

Naoki snapped his fingers, calling on the four Riders to join them. "You Riders, go take on the pyramid to the left there. Seraphs, take the pyramid on the right. The rest of you can come with me to the far one. Defeat the demon that's holding my magatama and bring them back to me. Don't mess with the magamata, just bring it back."

"Yes, my Lord," Michael said quickly with the other three nodding. The last bit of his orders were mostly for them, although the rebinding should keep them from doing anything against him. But with the last of his magatama all here in one place, he did not want anything to go wrong.

"It shall be no challenge," Pale Rider said for his group.

"You got it, boss," Wu Kong said. Amaterasu nodded, although something seemed to be bothering her despite being restored from a fly.

Trumpeter shrugged. "Sure enough, since I'm already here." They all split up to accomplish their tasks. Isamu was not going to be given much time to do anything.

The interior of the far pyramid was full of white light and many small rooms. Inactive magic pointed to the traps that had been mentioned. For here, nearly every door and many tiles on the floor had been enchanted to teleport the unwary that crossed them. With them inactivate, they could go straight to the most powerful demon in residence here, the one that was holding onto Adama.

"Naoki, are you…?" Amaterasu started to say, but stopped as she glanced at Trumpeter.

He could guess what she meant to say. "Don't worry. My friends are important to me and I care about them a lot. But it seems they may as well have died at Conception along with everyone else. Then they wouldn't have been turned insane by Kagutsuchi's games."

"Oh," she said, uncomfortable with that.

"Chiaki and Isamu..." there was something in him that wanted to cry, but he couldn't. He couldn't even if he wanted to. "They would not have done these things. But Kagutsuchi allowed one man to destroy everything of my world, right or wrong. It cannot be allowed to escape blame for that, nor for twisting them into these monsters."

"While it does make for good training, this whole thing is insane," Wu Kong agreed. He nudged Amaterasu. "No one can deny that."

"That is true," she said, disheartened.

That tone nearly broke Naoki out of his thoughts. Was he doing the right thing anymore? But then, it was like his other selves had demonstrated. This was a maze of bad choices. When the one good choice that might have made a better world was crushed mercilessly, he could see only one appropriate response: crush the one responsible for this whole insanity equally without mercy.

And once he had all of his magatama, he would be capable of doing just that.

This book is frustrating, but if I get too lost into it, I'll keep missing out on Naoki's deeds. I barely got the viewing screen up in time to see him confront the other seraphs and Baal Avatar. Thankfully, Harlot and even Pale Rider were able to distract him long enough for Jiyuu to fall. His anger and hatred at his former friends is a raging wildfire, much like the one he confronted in Yoyogi Park. This is excellent; nothing should keep him from coming to me now.

Now he's seen fit to pursue his other friend to the Amala Temple. That half-wit thought he had a brilliant scheme, but it fell right apart when Naoki actually confronted him about the blackmail. There are some things you simply don't tempt with because they're far more likely to backfire. Then again, the bearer of Musubi is fittingly self-absorbed and doesn't have the social experience to know that's a terrible idea. As a result, Naoki's claiming a rout with little effort.

It's almost a pity because his scheming has become quite an art. With that, he's even got the troublesome seraphs firmly under his thumb. Some might call him a master at it; I think he could be a worthy student to me now in even that. That could backfire on me, of course. He's meant to be my weapon, so it would not do to have him scheming against me. While it could be amusing to see if I could hone his scheming, it would be best to leave that to himself so he can't surpass me.

The pyramids of this temple aren't a challenge with the traps disabled. The Riders are already bored with it. Still, they're fighting Skadi as instructed to regain the magatama she was given. It won't be much to watch. Naoki could be interesting to see how he deals with the demons waiting on him at the end of the White Temple. But what of the seraphs in the Black Temple? It should be cursed with darkness.

Even if the traps had been active, darkness is nothing to angels like them. They're singing as they make their way to where Alciel awaits them. Such pitiful fools. If I'd realized that the rebinding would make even them see their contract partner as God, I would have taken advantage of that sooner. They were already deluded by isolation and have done ridiculous things out of lonely wishes. It should have been obvious that some kind deception would get them to pull the wool over their eyes eagerly. While I know what I would do with them, Naoki doesn't seem sure of that himself. He's keeping them out of pity.

But he does have a great capacity for love and empathy, enough that he wanted to see those manikins succeed. The seraphs' tearful apologies and childish eagerness for a guiding light were more than enough for Naoki to look past their past deeds. He would forgive them. As a result, they're in complete euphoria right now, not caring one whit about what they're actually doing. It's… I'm actually a bit jealous of them right now. Just a bit. They're idiots, thinking they've been welcomed home warmly by family they'd been distant to for eons.

That happiness going to cost them severely. I just hope that Naoki can get away from them when that punishment comes for them.

Djed… Gundari… Adama… those were the last.

Adama Anathema Ankh Djed Gaea Gehenna Geis Gundari Hifumi Iyomante Kailash Kamudo Kamurogi Marogareh Miasma Murakumo Muspell Narukami Nirvana Satan Shiranui Sophia Vimana Wadatsumi

And Naoki.

Half human half demon with the magatama acting as a bridge between both sides. It is not a simple divide to unite; often one side ends up dominating the other. This had to be a true union of both sides, merging into one. Each magatama is a resource of strength and knowledge; each has a relationship to all the others. Opposed powers, same powers, similar knowledge, connected knowledge, cover for a weakness, support for a strength. All the connections tie into each other, closing the gaps. Demon senses interpreted through a human mind, human emotions parsed into something demon instinct could understand.

We were made to be one with you.

We were made… to be one.

I see.

Everything here has simply been training. My first true enemy is Kagutsuchi. Although, Isamu and Chiaki… I still believe they wouldn't have done these crazy things if not put in this crazy situation. It's like this light has pulled out the worst side of them. And Kagutsuchi believes this is the best way to handle things. It's all because of… hmm…

The magatama were created to draw me to Lucifer's side. I knew that already, but they found it difficult to admit Lucifer was flawed and narrow-minded as well. Well, he's not as narrow-minded as the majority of demons, otherwise he wouldn't be as capable as their leader. Only I can see the problems, and now… it's very clear, Lucifer is still bound to his role and depends on human belief to continue existing. But so do all the rest, angels, demons, even the mad creator god that neglects his most loyal followers, and humanity suffers under the wars they wage for dominance…

This whole existence is messed up; the Vortex worlds are a stark setting to witness that. I barely know a portion of it and yet it is still clear that something must be done. But is this the right way to go about doing something about that, or is it yet another bad choice? Futomimi said that he felt unnerved about love being absent from something central to everything. That could be.

Is Lucifer capable of love? He certainly knows enough about it to put me in this position. Some of it is the magatama's doctrine, but the way he's treated me… I know he was just saying whatever would get me to trust him back when he recovered me from Michael's first attempt to negate my existence. Even down to making me laugh with the break in his nose. That separation from my family was a nightmare. He was using the situation on the fly to use me, yet I still remember that fondly. While humans suffer in isolation, they need much more to feel free of that than demons. Demons like Lucifer only need belief to be fine. That imbalance puts him at an advantage, unless I can find some way to use his limitations against him.

To… what do I want out of this?

Isamu had thought that he'd had some bad run-ins with bullies before. They'd slashed the tires on his bike, embarrassed him in front of the whole school, and more. But all that seemed so small and insignificant. The bullies had nothing on Naoki now.

No, no, that wasn't Naoki. Naoki would never talk to him like that. That was the Demifiend, one who was a true demon. Maybe Naoki had died along with everyone else. Yeah, that would account for why he'd gone missing for so long, and all the things he'd said in Ikebukuro, and just now. Demifiend had stolen everything Naoki had known, even his identity, in order to harass Isamu.

He cursed while he tried to set up the area for the summoning of his god even faster than he had planned for. Hijiri was the last important bit he needed to get a hold of, now it was just tying things together. But just tying things together seemed like it would take forever. Even if it didn't, how could he be fast enough to finish? Naoki had delegated defeating the demons to his own instead of dealing with all them himself.

"He has good reasons for being in such a foul mood," Hijiri said.

"It doesn't matter," Isamu said, still working on it. He hated being pressured like this. Deadlines were bad enough, but this one could end in his death. "I don't care about him. I don't care about anybody. All that matters now is making sure Musubi wins."

Something shifted in the magatsuhi he was working into the right forms. "You will pay a steep price for taking your own path."

"Shut up, Aleph," he said, losing what patience he had. He yanked on the forms and forced them into place. "And stop struggling. Get back to your eternal damnation and let me do what I want."

"You might come to know the true weight of those words," he said. "If you're lucky, this will simply be the end of you."

With another yank, Hijiri was dropped into the magatsuhi rushing into this pyramid and consumed by it. Isamu didn't feel anything but more pressure to get his work done. All three of the demons had been defeated at roughly the same time. Demifiend only needed to consume those last three magatama and he would enter the height of his power. And if Isamu didn't get this done, he would be the first to face the brunt of that.

There was no time to check on how accurate this was. "Let the god of Musubi come forth!" he called. "From the depths of the Amala universe, one so isolated that he is the only one who can represent true solitude..." drat, there was one important thing missing: a name. This was a nameless god, as could be expected of one who had never contacted anyone before. "Let me name you Noah, as one who eternally drifts," Isamu said, trying to keep up his confidence. "No one else needs to know it. Let's build a world where each individual rules over everything they see."

A presence filled his mind. A vast emptiness, stars littering the distance of an inky void. Never before born, never before named. Drifting in complete isolation until one desired his presence enough to grant him a name. Too much here, too much going on. The emptiness of space, the aurora of echoes. Musubi… a Reason to become real.

Isamu knew then what true isolation was: utter emptiness.

That is what he became.

Wait… there's Creation. We're working towards the goal of Creation. We can do this. Just get out of here, now! We must remain safe until the road to Kagutsuchi appears and we can make Musubi a reality.

Noah cried out into this strange place of things, where space was not vast. It was the first sound he'd made. As something entered the place he was, he fled, uncertain of why. He had to brush against the mind of the one who called him to know that why. Fear, fear of losing existence.

Even a being of emptiness knew that losing existence was to be feared.

"What was that?" Naoki said as he went further into the inverted pyramid. Isamu had been here briefly, wrapped in a bloody bubble within… whatever had been here.

"That was an unborn god," Trumpeter explained. "Probably unnamed too, without purpose until that idiot brought it here. I can't believe he'd call on something like that for Creation. It won't be capable of understanding anything, much less guiding and protecting a fresh new world."

"It had a name, Noah," Naoki said. Despite a god being called here, there was still a dense amount of magatsuhi called here. It was focusing now on a pedestal in the center, one that looked like the Obelisk without the very top of it.

Isamu had gotten away, but Naoki was no longer angry about that. His mind was buzzing about other things, like why he hadn't gone back to Asakusa immediately after checking out Yoyogi Park. Maybe he could have saved them… it had been horrifying, seeing their remains which hardly looked human anymore. They hadn't done anything to deserve that.

But I can't let myself get wrapped up in that tragedy. I will avenge them. I will bring down Kagutsuchi for them. Don't worry, I am completely capable of doing so. And this place, this is where one would call the road to Kagutsuchi. It needs… the Yahirono Himorogi. I really shouldn't have left that with Yuko, now I have to track her down again.

Calming down, Naoki touched the pedestal. "Not much we can do here right now. It seems like Isamu sacrificed Hijiri to summon..."

Wait, Hijiri. If he just died here, his soul might be close by. Michael told me about his punishment, to know the entirety of the conflict between Law and Chaos. The Amala networks contains all the information about every world it's connected to. If anything…

He turned back to Michael. He'd let the Riders get back to whatever they wanted after they delivered Djed, but he'd kept the seraphs with him after they'd gotten him Gundari. They were desperate for the company and approval, after all. "Say, can you tell where the soul of Aleph is in all this?"

After a moment, Michael nodded. "Yes, he's unmistakable. He'll be drifting in the flow of magatsuhi until the time of Creation for this Vortex World."

Hijiri did help me. He helped me understand the kind of world I ended up in and enough about what I had become that I could start to adapt. But more than that, if I want to declare my intentions, what better way then this?

"Go fetch his soul for me and bring it here," Naoki ordered.

"Yes, my Lord," Michael said, then vanished into the red tides of magatsuhi. It didn't take him long to return with a soul that was tightly chained with a curse of hate. In spite of that, a long flickering tail trailed after it.

This soul is very different from the ghosts that are everywhere in the world now, and even from Chiaki not that long ago. It's… he's been acknowledged by the Great Will as a true Messiah, one who can change the fate of a world. That's an even better reason to do this; he doesn't deserve this suffering.

"Amaterasu, Wu Kong, Trumpeter," Naoki said, looking to them each in turn. "Would you please leave us for a few minutes? I don't know what exactly will occur of this, but it's safer if you're out of it."

"Are you sure of that?" Amaterasu asked.

"It's fine, we'll protect His manifestation," Raphael said.

"Yes, there's no way they'll let him come to harm if they can help it," Trumpeter said, drifting over and nudging her. "Sure, we'll see what happens."

"All right, but be careful, whatever it is you mean to accomplish," Amaterasu asked before heading out with the others.

Good. "You four," Naoki said seriously, looking Michael straight in the eyes. "Make him the avatar of the Amala Network."

"M-my Lord?" Michael asked, taken aback by the orders. He pulled Aleph's soul closer to his chest.

"But that would undo the curse You placed upon him," Gabriel said, thankfully confirming that. "He's ruined us before. If he gets access to all the knowledge within..."

"Can he really handle that as one who was once human?" Naoki asked, although he hoped the answer was yes. "Besides, no one will know of this but those of us who are here. I've made my decision. Carry it out."

"Yes, if that's what You wish, it will be done," Michael said. He turned to the other four; they seemed to be conversing with each other through telepathy since Naoki didn't hear anything of it. But he was sure they'd carry out his word.

The flow of magatushi changed, spiraling around the four seraphs as they started chanting. Michael held out the bright soul so that he floated in the center of them and became the point that the magatsuhi focused on. With that, the Network focused on the soul. The chains frayed, then broke. For a moment, Hijiri's ghostly form hovered there. It distorted, getting restored to how Aleph must have seen himself. While his outfit seemed odd to Naoki, he seemed like just another ordinary guy, no longer showing why he might be anything special.

Aleph grimaced and seemed to be in great pain. Just as Naoki was starting to feel bad about it, he calmed down. "I accept this role as the avatar of the Amala Network," Aleph said mechanically. His form relaxed now that it was relieved of its burden.

"It is done," Michael said, confirming it.

"Good," Naoki said, coming over to them.

"No," Aleph said in horror, then snapped his attention right on him. Naoki froze. Before he noticed him moving, Aleph had gotten behind him and was pulling him away from the seraphs. "Silence."

He barely had time to nod before an immense voice bore down on them with the crushing weight of eternity. Naoki couldn't make any sense of it other than it was painful despite a shield of magatsuhi suddenly around him and Aleph. In front of them, the seraphs screamed in terror as they took the full brunt of it. The contracts Naoki had with them were violently torn asunder.

Aleph stayed at his side. "Humans cannot take the voice of God unprotected without being utterly destroyed. That is why His angels speak for Him. You still have a human heart that could be crushed. Don't speak, I'm doing all I can to obscure your location from Him."

Naoki nodded again. Then this was what Lucifer wanted him to fight. Even with the powers his magatama gave him, it was going to be a difficult task. He was pretty sure he could take on Kagutsuchi, but this? This was difficult to comprehend. The humanoid forms of the seraphs were torn apart by writhing vines, to be replaced with unmoving faces and forms that really shouldn't be alive. They were then pulled forcefully out of the Vortex World.

But something remained, searching. There was nothing that could be seen or heard, but it could be felt. And then his demon senses… there wasn't any way he could describe this other than 'eternity', looking into a sky and knowing its depths were infinite. The true souls of demons and angels were fragments of this kind of power. This was his true enemy. But, what did he do against it?

Don't worry. I am not yet ready for this, but don't worry. I will become one who can end this. Still, there is someone I need to worry about more in the near future, or else I will never be capable.

When the presence of God left, the silence was welcome. Aleph finally let him go and dismissed the shield. "We should be fine for now."

"Thanks," Naoki said, still shaken by it. He needed to hold onto his confidence, though. He should face those outside while acting like nothing worrisome had happened here.

"Thank you for freeing my soul at last," Aleph said, turning to him. He smiled although he seemed worried still. "YHVH has grown aloof and silent, which is why His angels got so far astray that you could sway them into doing this. It's a miracle to me, but unfortunate that undoing my curse was the only thing that would get Him to act directly with them."

"I couldn't hate them once I saw how ecstatic they were to think He was paying attention to them," Naoki said. Something felt odd to finally acknowledge God like that, but he couldn't deny it now. "But that doesn't seem right."

"Something is very wrong with reality and has been for a long time," he said.

"What's the problem?" Since Aleph was the Network now, he should know better than anyone.

He looked aside at this, silent for a moment. "Knowledge does not equal understanding," he explained. "That is something that has always been a flaw with me. Michael told you a little about me." He shook his head. "I know everything now, but I do not understand it all. And I know," he put a hand to his cheek, "what may come of acting without understanding. I have the means to understand. It will simply take time."

"As much as what your punishment would have been anyhow?" Naoki said, disappointed in that.

"I don't think so," Aleph said. "I can operate outside of time now. Plus, this is something I want to do. It's no longer a burden." He moved closer and offered a hand. "Could we make a deal, Naoki? You already have immense power as the Demifiend and that will only grow as you master it. But you will not have the means to understand your situation entirely. You have to work around Lucifer, a master of deception and manipulation since the fall of angel and man, not to mention a fickle perfectionist you still need to gain the respect of.

"On the other hand, I can gain the understanding you need. However, I am limited in my existence now. I can no longer manifest physically, only as a spirit like this. Thus there is very little I can act upon myself. I would like you to act for me while I uncover just what has gone wrong with everything. Between the two of us, we should be capable of finding the real means of addressing that."

That was an immense task that was as daunting as challenging God. Or, maybe even more than that. However, Naoki felt like he could trust Aleph completely. After all, he had brought about a miracle for him. He nodded and shook Aleph's hand. "Sure, I'll be glad to work with you."

"Good. First of all, we need to focus on getting Lucifer to accept you not as he wants, but as we all need you to be."

"Then this whole Demifiend plan is flawed." He'd suspected it strongly from what the one supposed success had been like.

Aleph nodded. "As he imagines it, the Demifiend should be entirely capable of what he wants you for, to break the stalemate between Law and Chaos on a grand scale. The way he has combined your human strengths with the strengths of a demon, and then the way he is training you here with the other fiends, that should create an entirely unique force that will be unbound by either side. But he means to imbue you with a demon's heart to entirely weed out what he sees as human frailty."

"Doesn't that mean I would get a demon's willpower as well?" he asked. "One that is bound by the frame of my existence."

"Yes, that's something he can't realize on his own until too late. It would be a fault you could not overcome with the heart of a demon. Yet, you need his full blessing or else he will take away what he has already given you."

As bad as he got about reclaiming his magatama now, it would only be worse if they were taken away. Not to mention that the idea of Lucifer abandoning him like the others was more painful than the idea of letting his family's souls go. "Right."

Aleph closed his eyes for a moment. "Naoki, I will help you overcome that misfortune, no matter what happens. It would repay what you've done for me. But I'm starting to see how… yes. Go ahead and complete the kalpas if you wish to work with me. Time does not pass while you are in them and you have what you need to force Lucifer to bargain with you. When you do that, I will be there with you. But to do this, you must be willing to let go of your world and accept your role as the Demifiend. You still have the choice to return to being fully human and letting go of Lucifer, going back to an ordinary life. All you need for that is to retrieve the Yahirono Himorgi to call the road to Kagutsuchi and confront the Star of Creation. If you do that, I will be with you as well to ensure that you are also free."

"Do I still have the time to consider that before someone else calls on the road?" Naoki asked. "There's still something I can accomplish in the Vortex World, something I need to speak to Mido about. I can consider my choices doing that."

"There should be time for that," he said. "Isamu and Noah won't be capable of calling the road unless Hikawa falls completely, and Hikawa has yet to call upon his god. When he heard that Jiyuu and Yosuga had fallen, he started working towards that. His injuries will keep him from being able to complete that before you have time to complete Mido's task. Even then, he'd have to track down Yuko and Aradia." Aleph frowned at that. "Those two are moving erratically. It will take them a lot of time to reach this place, even if they get themselves together enough to come straight here. You should have time."

"Good, then I'll get right to that," Naoki said. "I'll see you again sometime."

"Yes, keep yourself safe," he said, then faded away to work within the Network.

When he got outside, Amaterasu and Wu Kong came over immediately. "Demi, you're all right," she said in relief. "We could tell something had happened, but weren't sure if it was safe."

"Sorry for not busting straight in there, but it didn't seem like something to mess with," Wu Kong said.

"It's better that you stayed out here," Naoki said. "I'm fine; I'm glad it didn't affect you guys out here." He smiled to them to assure them that things were fine. "Come on, we need to go to the cathedral. I've got big plans for what we'll be doing next."

"So what happened to the angels?" Wu Kong asked as they headed back to the entrance hall. Trumpeter followed after quietly, curious to know as well.

Acting like it was no big deal, he said, "I asked them to do something that got their God supremely pissed off at them. All I could do was hide, since I'm not ready for that confrontation yet. They shouldn't be coming back to this world any time soon."

"Wait, you came close to confronting the God of Law?" Amaterasu asked, shocked at it.

He nodded. "Yes. Damn lucky that I didn't. But now that I know what exactly I'm up against, well, that's why I have big plans now. I just wish I hadn't given the Himorogi to Yuko; that's going to become a major problem very quickly. For now, we'll accomplish what we can before she or Hikawa can make a move for this place."

"Heh, well we're on your side, never forget that," Wu Kong said, grinning at this.

"I won't," Naoki said. But even so, he had to wonder just how much Amaterasu was. He didn't want to doubt her, not with how long he'd been with her and her predecessors. Still, she wasn't happy about something and would surely confront him about it if given the chance.

Things were changing rapidly in the Vortex World. In contrast to the chaos outside, Hikawa was quietly sitting in a meeting room of the Diet Building, a serene silence surrounding him. He drank some tea as he read over the events happening elsewhere. Two Reasons were already struck down. Good. The one left was the ridiculous Musubi; it should not be difficult to quash when the time was right. His body still ached, but it seemed like he should get back into action.

But what exactly had gone on in the Amala Temple just now? He touched commands that should have replayed pseudo-video footage of the interior. He could see that Demifiend had somehow gained the four classic seraphs as minions. But while he had ordered them to do something, Hikawa couldn't read what that was. The footage broke down after that point as well, freezing in action. When he tried to force it to play, it turned to pure static.

"This could be a problem," Hikawa said. "But he was involved in getting rid of the other Reasons. Perhaps simply avoiding him from now on is best."

But that was greatly displeasing. He wanted everyone to know their place. Raw power didn't mean a thing against a strategic mind. If he was going to prove that, he needed to move swiftly. Demifiend was certainly one of immense raw power to conquer the seraphs.

"I have almost everything I need here now that my opposition is weak," he said, shifting his focus. "All I need is the Yahirono Himorogi and victory is in my reach."

And that artifact… where was it… it was in the hands of Yuko and the mockery of a goddess that she had called.

"Well isn't this convenient," Hikawa said, smiling at his good luck. "Why don't you two come here? Let me extend an invitation, even."

He whistled for one of the lesser demons he contracted here and sent them off with the message.