Lost had called Marios and told him to show up at a certain location. That's where Marios was currently going.
He would arrive at the exact time Lost had told him to be there, but it's not that Marios was an incredibly punctual person. Marios had arrived long ago, and had simply been observing the abandoned building Lost said would be their meeting spot.
Part of the reason was to make sure there weren't any traps, but there was another, bigger reason.
Ever since Lost and Rinne invaded Marios' tower, Marios had kept an eye on their movements. It seems Lost wasn't lying when he said he wanted to make an alliance. And Marios had even seen some people Lost tried to recruit showing up to this place, so Marios wasn't the only person called here.
"Did the bastard actually do it?"
Marios had agreed to be part of the alliance, but he didn't really put much faith in it. It was simply something that would be convenient if it happened.
But he had wasted enough time. Marios stepped inside the abandoned building. As soon as he did, he felt a barrier. The kind that keeps people away. Something would definitely take place here, and hopefully it wouldn't be a fight, as Marios wasn't prepared for it.
He climbed up the stairs until the second last floor. Marios had no idea why Lost picked this floor. Then Marios found the room Lost had told him to enter.
Marios put his hand on the doorknob and opened it. As soon as he did, he heard a voice. It was a girl's voice, but it didn't seem to be Rinne's.
"Jeez, this place stinks, and there's bugs everywhere! Couldn't you have found a better place?"
"If it bothers you so much, then next time you can choose the location."
"Hey, watch how you're talking with my girl."
"It's fine, Luna. Just leave it."
The first male voice came from Lost, but Marios didn't know to whom the second one belonged. But it didn't remain a mystery for long.
Once the door opened and Marios entered the room, he saw all the people inside.
First, the girl who complained to Lost. She was none other than Sun's Candidate, Summers Sansa. Despite being indoors, she still wore a beach hat, though her blond hair was still let free. Or maybe she had been at the beach not long ago, since she wore a beach sarong on the bottom and a bikini on the top. One can even make out her tanlines.
Then was the guy who talked back to Lost. He was Moon's Candidate, Lunatic Kitakami. He still wore a lot of makeup that would make him look at place in a rock band. Unlike the Unveiling, even his silver hair and clothes were now styled to make him look like part of a rock band.
Not long after Marios entered the room, Lost noticed and called out to him.
"Oh, look who showed up. Now we're finally all here. Come on in. There's not much, but make yourself at home."
Needless to say, Lost was also inside the room. His usual hoodie still covering the top of his head. It seemed like he was trying to be friendly.
Near Lost stood Rinne with her usual fake smile. Her pink hair seemed like it had been brushed recently. Though it seems like the clothes she picked to wear were her school uniform, which ended up making her stand out.
Trying to hide behind Rinne was Hisoka Kozukate. Marios hadn't been able to locate her since the Unveiling, so she was one of the few unknowns left to him in this Devil King War, but it was hard to feel intimidated by her. To think such a weak-looking girl is the Candidate for Hermit.
Hisoka was only 14 years old, so she was understandably a small girl. But even so, maybe it was her pale skin that made her look weak. If not for the pink highlights on her hair, white would be the only color on her. Regardless, despite Marios knowing not much more than her family background, he could never make himself feel intimidated by such a weak-looking girl.
"A-another bad-looking guy showed up…"
"It's fine. There won't be any fighting here today."
Rinne seemed to be trying to comfort Hisoka. If Marios' research is correct, then Rinne and Hisoka should have known each other for a long time, that's probably why she was hiding behind her. Once again, Marios cannot imagine any way this girl survives if not for mercy, if she's scared simply of his face.
Marios took an empty seat, though he almost thought the chair would break under him for a second. He had to agree with Summer's earlier complaint about the place. Everything inside was as rotten as the building itself.
Marios finished observing the other people present.
There was a man in a butler's clothes. He seemed strangely used to it as he served a drink and handed it to the woman beside him. That was the Candidate of Temperance, Balance Mizusawa. His brown hair was perfectly brushed and his clothes didn't look to be the least bit dirty, despite the place he was currently at.
The woman Balance gave the drink to was none other than Yotaka Hayachine, Hanged Man's Candidate. Her long purple hair was gracefully flowing down her body, which would steal anyone's attention if they weren't careful. What she wore could only be called a bondage-wear. It showed no skin, but it also hid absolutely nothing.
"Oh? To what do I owe this?"
"You have been providing a service to my eyes ever since I arrived. To keep the balance, I must also provide you some service."
"I see. Better let your eyes get their fill, because that's all you're getting."
Yotaka drank the drink she had been served by Balance. Marios didn't know what that drink was, but he thought she was pretty courageous to have drunk something that could very well have been poisoned.
There were only 2 more people here. At the same time they looked similar, they couldn't look more different.
One wore something that looked like a knight's armor, safe for the skirt part. The armor had a black and gold coloring. The other wore something that had maybe started as a similar armor, but was modified to look more like women's sportswear. If not for the coloring and seeing both side by side, Marios wouldn't have thought of them as the same.
These girls were, respectively, Seigi Sannou and Rikimaru Sannou, the Candidates for Justice and Strength. This was probably the first time in history a single family managed to get 2 Arcanas in a single Devil King War.
"*snore* hmm? Oh, we're starting now? Rikimaru-chan was almost falling asleep from waiting."
"Nee-sama, you were sleeping."
"No way!"
Rikimaru was either stupid or Seigi didn't get her joke. Or maybe it was both, as far as Marios was concerned.
Death, Wheel of Fortune, Hermit, Sun, Moon, Hanged Man, Temperance, Strength, Justice, and now Tower. There were a total of 10 Devil King Candidates in this room alone.
"Now that Marios' here, we should get to the point. First of all, our alliance needs a name. Since I gave the idea and convinced everyone to come, let's call this Death's Group."
A name with 0 creativity, Marios thought, but it's not as if it matters. All that matters is figuring out if this group can work out. Does Lost have what it takes to get all these devils to work together, or is he just another fool?
"Well, as I already told everyone while I was calling them over, the objective of this alliance is to take down the Triumph Candidates. So our targets would be Fool, Magician, Priestess, Hierophant, Emperor and Empress. But of course, I'm not your boss. If you talk amongst yourselves, maybe you'll find a common hated enemy, and it's fine if you want to take them down together."
Defeating the Triumph was a goal any Candidate not part of that group could get behind. Just the 6 Arcanas of Triumph held over half of the Devil King Wars' victory rates, meaning the other 16 Arcanas had to share the remaining. Or rather, the other 15, since Lovers never won.
If those 6 were to be defeated, everyone else's chances would rise dramatically. That is especially true considering the current Priestess and Emperor were survivors of the previous war, meaning they were likely far ahead of everyone else.
And like Lost said, they could also defeat any other opponents they might have trouble with together. This was not a bad deal by any stretch of the imagination.
It's not like alliances and team-ups never happened before in the Devil King War, but everyone knew they'd have to fight it out amongst themselves if they happened to survive, making those alliances have unstable bases. But Barbatos showed that was not true in the previous Devil King War.
This is the first time a group can form and work together from start to finish without fear of betrayal. At least, in theory. What actually happens is another matter.
Marios was already hoping a few people here would die fighting the Triumph, and he was already making plans in case they didn't. But on the outside, everyone would be very trusting of each other.
"I have a question. Do you plan to add more Candidates to this alliance?"
Hanged Man, Yotaka asked.
It was a simple question, but a very important one. This alliance would only work so long as their trust in each other lasted, and even now at the start it was shaky at best. But still, their opponents were the Triumph, every reinforcement would be welcomed. Adding more people may or may not be a good idea.
"Not really sure. I mean, ideally, it would be the 16 non-Triumph Arcanas vs the 6 Triumph Arcanas, but Devil was killed, so that's no longer possible. But if anyone has someone they don't want in, I'm willing to listen."
"Luna and mine's first target is Stella. She'll be dead soon, so you might as well not even consider her."
"Yeah, I'm gonna murder that bitch for all she made my girl suffer."
As far as Marios knew, Stella had never even met Lunatic, and she could barely pass as an acquaintance for Summers. But he wasn't interested in any form of reasoning. Stella was a particularly big stone on Marios' shoe, so maybe he'll invest in this little murder attempt. He didn't believe for a second that Summers and Lunatic would win, but that didn't matter. Regardless if Star was eliminated, or if Marios lost his investment, it's sure to be quite the pleasure to him.
No one else thought similarly to Marios though. If Summers and Lunatic wanted to die early by challenging Stella, they could go to their graves alone. That was the general thought in the room.
This is normally where the leader steps in. This was a clear crack in the group, likely to hurt their attempts at fighting the Triumph. But Lost didn't seem to care much.
"Alright, so Star is a no-go. Anyone else?"
"I don't have any particular problems with Lovers per se, but I will attack Lizel as soon as I get my hands on a little something, so it might be hard to get the human to accept this alliance after that. Or maybe it'll make it easier, since he won't have Lizel to protect him anymore."
Yotaka said. The Himakamis and the Hayachines were rivals for as long as history can tell, and Yotaka seemed intent on using the Devil King War as a chance to defeat Lizel.
However, Lost frowned after hearing her. It seems he didn't like what he heard.
"I'm not sure how to feel about this. Yuuto's my friend, you see, so I don't want you causing trouble for him."
"I'm not asking permission, I'm just informing you. It's fine if you want to die by your friend's side."
"Oh is that a threat?"
Yotaka was clearly giving off a murderous intent towards Lost, but he didn't seem phased by it, which irritated Yotaka a bit.
"Please wait a second. There's no reason to go at each other's throats just yet, and it would make achieving our objective much harder."
"… I suppose so."
"Alright, I'll let it pass for now."
Lost and Yotaka both quieted down their murderous intent. As Balance had said, there was no need for them to kill each other just yet.
This was clearly another problem in the group, yet the only reason Lost addressed it was because of Yuuto. Marios found it strange. Shouldn't he want this to work out?
"How about you, Balance, anyone you don't want in?"
"I'm perfectly fine. Rather, I agree we should try to recruit more members. It would make the fight against the Triumph more balanced."
"Alright. I'm pretty sure I know the answer already, but I'll ask anyway. Rinne, Hisoka, anyone you don't want in our alliance?"
"I don't have a problem with anyone."
"Uh-uh."
Hisoka only shook her head negatively and went back to trying to disappear behind Rinne. Rinne, however, didn't seem bothered by it.
"Seigi, Rikimaru. Anyone?"
"Nope. If there was someone we didn't like, Rikimaru-chan would just beat them up."
"Yes, we're only interested in defeating Triumph, so we probably won't be getting involved in whatever else happens. Also, stop calling yourself in the 3rd person, nee-sama."
"Eeh? But isn't it cute?"
Rikimaru flexed her muscles, as if to show off how strong she was. She was the Candidate of Strength, so it was only expected that she lives up to it.
As for Seigi, she seemed a lot more serious than her sister, despite being the youngest twin. But it seems neither had intentions to pick a fight with anyone.
"Well then, Marios, how about you?"
"I also don't mind more people joining."
"Then it seems Chariot and Judgement are still fair game, right? We should try recruiting them soon, but I have a few things to prepare and I don't really want to step into Ginsei Academy, so I'm not sure I can."
"I'll do it."
"Ooh, really? Thanks, Marios."
Marios had offered himself not because he wanted to help, but because he had bigger plans.
It wasn't hard to notice this group would hardly work out, just on this first meeting they had: Lost and Yotaka butting heads because of Lovers, and that was likely to happen again. It was also unlikely that both Lunatic and Summers would come out unscathed after fighting Stella. Hisoka and Rinne don't even look like they want to be here. Rikimaru and Seigi are only interested in fighting the Triumph.
In short, this group is being held together by chewing gum. But that's not a problem as far as Marios is concerned. He can let things take their course and form his own group with the remains of this one.
And if it didn't work or if Lost found out about Marios' plan and wasn't too happy. Well, that would also bring great pleasure to Marios.
"Then I think this is good enough for now. About a month should be enough for everyone to prepare to fight 1 of the Triumph, right? Let's use each other for our own benefits, shall we?"
Lost said out loud what everyone was thinking. It was a bit of a shock at first, but eventually everyone just smirked, after all, saying it didn't change a thing.
Each of them would use the other and try to come out on top, that was the base in which Death's Group was formed.
/
"E-excuse me."
There was a girl knocking on the door to Ginsei Academy's headmaster's room. That girl's name was Hinata Hiraizumi. It was quite late, so obviously it wasn't a time Hinata was used to visiting the school, which made her feel a little nervous.
Since she was visiting Ginsei Academy, Hinata thought it was only right that she wore her school uniform rather than her work clothes. She also let her silky black hair flow down her back.
In short, if not for this being the dead of night, she would have looked like just another student in Ginsei Academy. But of course, Hinata didn't just happen to come here at night.
There was a rumor that, if a cute enough girl knew how to ask, the Devil King would use his influence to give her better grades, or even just exempt her from tests entirely.
This rumor existed since as far as history knows, and while there is truth to it, depending on the Devil King, it was not the reason why Hinata was there.
No, her grades were fine. She was there to do a job. Or rather, she was here because she had finished her job. Normally, this last part of reporting to the Devil King was left for her brother, but tonight it had fallen on her, which is why she was so nervous.
Hinata entered the room. She was carrying a bunch of papers, thick enough to even call a book. She put the "book" on the Devil King's desk.
"O-oh Great Devil King, here are the results of the investigation you ordered."
"Ooh, thanks. Let me look through it real quick. Also, I don't mind if you're more casual, you know."
Hinata was not just a normal girl. She was Hierophant's Queen, and younger sister to Hirono Hiraizumi, Hierophant's Candidate. Not just that, she was currently the information specialist in Hierophant's team.
The Hiraizumi family were known as the Devil World's hitmen. They did all sorts of jobs that couldn't meet the public eye, be it intelligence gathering or even assassinations. And the Hierophant Arcana had never chosen a Candidate from outside that family.
So naturally, Hierophant's Cards and Candidate were all from the Hiraizumi family. And when the Devil King War isn't happening, they are often loyal to the Devil King, serving as their eyes and ears all over. Being the information specialist of the current team, Hinata was also in charge of giving Barbatos her reports.
Barbatos finished skimming through the document Hinata handed him. He would read it carefully later, or not. Amon should arrive back in the Human World soon, so Barbatos would give that to him as a welcome home gift.
"An alliance, huh. That's interesting."
"My brother asked if you want him to deal with it."
It was customary that, for incidents involving the Devil King War, only the Candidate for Hierophant and their Cards would get involved. After all, it would be too unfair if the entire Hiraizumi family simply assassinated all other Candidates.
Hierophant's Candidate would only attack when attacked first, or when ordered to kill. That's also the reason why they're the member of Triumph with the lowest win ratio.
"Nah, leave them be for now. I want to see how this develops. It's the first time an alliance this big forms, you know?"
"Understood. Then, I'll take my leave now."
Hinata bowed down to the Devil King and exited his room. Barbatos started thinking about what he had been informed. Can an alliance like this take down Triumph? Barbatos couldn't see Fleminar or Marchosias losing, but the others might be in trouble.
"Well, that's only if these 10 work together well, which doesn't seem like it'll be the case."
That little fact is what made Barbatos think there was something hidden deeper in this. Another interesting point was that Yuuto, who Lost regarded as a friend, wasn't even informed of this alliance. Wouldn't you normally call your friends first for something like this?
But what other purpose could Lost have for putting so many powerful people together? At the time, the only one who really knew the answer was Lost himself.
