Koneko tried to resist, but her elder sister simply overpowered her. Even with the blessings of the Rook piece, the smaller catgirl was rendered helpless against her more mature sister.
Diodora gave them privacy and moved on, leaving a part of Stain behind so he would know when the older catgirl was done being moved by their unexpected reunion. He wouldn't want to get Kuroka's bad side by interrupting, so he was willing to delay his plans for a few hours if he had to.
There were other things to do at the hideout of the Khaos Brigade, after all.
"Stain, make sure this gets to Katerea." Diodora procured a scroll in which he burned the information he needed delivered, using demonic power for both the inscriptions and sealing it off.
Using his powers became easier and easier as he flexed them. He might even grow fond of practicing and twisting spells into useful and powerful versions of themselves. If time allowed, he might even choose to follow his cousin's steps and start research on his own.
Alas, a thought for later. For now, Diodora nodded as his Oblex separated once more and assumed a different shape while taking the scroll in its hands.
Good.
Diodora advanced, the rest of Stain falling in line behind him. It separated into different versions of his previous servants, and he pointedly ignored that action. He understood the logic, and his Autosuggestion allowed him to see it that way with little trouble. Though it still irked him in the back of the mind.
Not quite anger, but not quite nervousness either. This spell didn't seem to completely nullify emotions, but even under its effects Diodora decided that this wasn't such a bad thing.
The devils around the corridors he chose clued Diodora into knowing he'd find the person he wanted to find.
"Lord Shalba." Diodora got to one knee and Stain bowed and lifted its skirts with its many shapes "I…"
"What have you come here for?" The heir of Beelzebub snapped, clearly disgusted.
The mental spell held against the blow of anger that flared from deep within Diodora.
"To deliver most frightening news." He continued. He had enough control to notice that the devil lord basically interrupted him for nothing. As Diodora's interrupted words answered the question exactly as it was asked "And perhaps, if done right, to speak of a chance."
The devil heir frowned even more.
"Is this about the little sister of Lucifer?"
"That is so."
The devil heir motioned with his hands, and the many devils that surrounded him quickly left the room. Some gave glares to Diodora, some looked spooked or worried. After quick glances, Diodora chose to take note of those that looked impassive. They would be better Stain candidates for later.
"Speak." Shalba stated as they were left alone.
"A Miracle Child has taken interest in Rias' town." Diodora wanted to smirk, but the disconnect with the feeling prevented him from doing so. He didn't even need to actively stop himself.
He took note of the fact that he might grow addicted to this spell.
"...What?"
"As you hear." Diodora raised his head "A Miracle Child. Her particular heritage is unknown, but she's smart and strong. I have no doubt that this will cause problems, but in these troubles lie the opportunity to cause tension between the factions."
"Where did they get a Miracle Child from?" Shalba looked very concerned, almost spooked.
So these creatures were that big of a deal…
"My thoughts exactly."
"I see. Those are indeed concerning news." The lord crossed his arms, deep in thought.
Diodora noted this man didn't merely brush off the news like he expected.
"Very well. I reckon you didn't merely come here to tell me this. Speak, what is in your mind?" That sounded like this man was willing to give Diodora things.
…Just how strong were Miracle Children actually?
"I'd like to ask for a way to defend myself, of course." Diodora had stolen tools and artifacts to grow stronger. But they proved to be too slow, and the devil heir didn't need to know this "Besides that, extra backup might be counterintuitive. At least for now. I believe mediating this matter is possible, for now. The Miracle Child is of course outside Rias' realm of dealing with, but this girl seems willing to play the long game."
Shalba glared at Diodora.
"I see… And you're certain this is a Miracle Child?"
"I don't know who'd call themselves Star Seeker other than a Miracle Child." Diodora had no other proof, but the name itself spooked Yuuto and Miyuzuin enough for Diodora to think it meant something.
And indeed, Shalba seemed willing to trust Diodora's word after saying her name.
"Not many know of the existence of Miracle Children." Shalba sighed "Seems like the rumors are right, you're very unlucky Diodora. Cursed, almost."
Diodora blinked. Shalba was obviously making fun of him, but the way he said it made Diodora think this had come from somewhere, perhaps from rumors from the Underworld itself.
Diodora smirked.
"No situation is bad enough that it can't be spun around, my lord." Diodora spoke confidently.
"Is that so?" Shalba smiled mockingly, giving Diodora his back "Well, this indeed looks like an opportunity. A Miracle Child is indeed a threat but…"
"Threat… How?" A small voice echoed in the empty chamber, making Shalba stop in his tracks and snapping his head so suddenly Diodora almost worried he'd die from breaking his neck.
Shalba fell to his knee.
"Infinite Dragon God." He bit his lip, clearly not used to being the one on the receiving end of a humble bow.
Diodora saw another Stain-body craw in the form of a small monster on top of Ophis' head. He didn't smirk because of his self-imposed spell.
"Ophis. It is an honor to be in your presence." Diodora kept his greeting short. The little girl had little to no interest in politics, so he didn't bother speaking more.
"Hm." The Dragon God stared at both devils without much interest "You talked… Threats…"
"Indeed." Diodora took the initiative, heedless of the glare Shalba sent him "A child of our mortal enemy has arrived at my doorstep. It's not a threat to the Brigade itself, but it might cripple my ability to forward our plans dramatically."
Ophis frowned.
"Cripple… You say?"
"It might sound like a simple matter to you, but I'm taking charge in rooting ourselves deeper." Diodora raised to his feet, projecting shapes with his demonic power so the little girl could understand his words better "Not everyone necessarily needs to know what we're doing. Not everyone has to agree. But we can get more people all the same. Powerful people both in power and influence, ultimately making the real plans easier."
Ophis nodded. This much, even Hyoudou Issei could understand. Especially with images to accompany the presentation.
Diodora tilted his head.
"I was telling Lord Shalba that, if I am able to protect myself, I should be able to deal with this matter. We might not even need to fight at all, and so we save another strong person for later use."
"I see." Ophis didn't look surprised or interested. Diodora had to hide a frown "Strong individuals are good. More are… Better."
Oh? Okay, maybe Diodora simply couldn't understand how Ophis saw the world. She was way too strong for that.
He noticed Stain's main bodies shook slightly. Was the slime scared?
"Please do your best." Ophis lifted her hand and Diodora lowered his head to let her touch him. He had an idea of what she wanted to do, but still felt nervous now that her overwhelming power made itself manifest.
He felt like choking. He hadn't noticed before, but Ophis' strength made it feel like gravity had been increased tenfold all of a sudden. He tasted it like one tastes the air when someone is baking something, and realized that the feeling this place gave was actually Ophis' presence bleeding everywhere unimpeded.
Even though Demon Lord-tier creatures dwelled here, even though heroes and mythical dragons roamed around. Ophis drowned it all with her mere presence.
Purple-pink light erupted from the petite Entity. Coiling and slithering from her arm and into Diodora's body.
A surge of power, a connection forming. In a moment, Diodora's mental spell broke and his body struggled to hold onto his own demonic power. He fell to his knees, struggling to breathe. He almost didn't feel the snake slither around his body and burying deep within. Not in the physical sense, but in a different and more ethereal one.
This all felt like it took hours to happen, but a mere few seconds had passed before Ophis broke contact.
Diodora panted, still struggling to put himself together.
"Do your best." Ophis repeated and turned around to leave.
Ophis snake… Acquired.
Shalba looked ready to yell at him. Diodora didn't give him time.
"I shall take my leave, then. Ophis herself ordered so."
Stain followed suit, not quite running but walking briskly enough that they left the chamber behind rather quickly. Some devils had gathered to see Ophis by themselves, so the corridors weren't as empty as they had been before. Most probably felt the power surge and wanted to see if they'd get lucky.
Fools. This had been way too easy. It almost felt like Diodora was falling for a trap himself.
No. He couldn't afford to think that way. He needed to keep going.
He waited for long enough. Allowed fear to keep him from acting for enough time. This exchange with Ophis proved how foolish he'd been for doing so, how much better things would've been if he simply went for it.
He didn't mean to be reckless. But he needed to be proactive.
Keep moving. Keep doing things. Take no chances thinking he could do stuff later.
He struggled to breath as he moved past devils and other creatures, his eyes darting back and forth as he scanned them without stopping.
"Lord, please calm down." Stain stated in that monotone tone it used "You are getting too anxious."
Diodora stopped in his tracks, shooting the slime with a dirty glare.
"We go at the rhythm I say."
"This one understands." The slime replied, still with the same tone "But please be mindful of your actions."
Diodora growled, but re-applied Autosuggestion.
His breathing, heart rate, and even balance were a mess. He was sweating, and his hands shook slightly. He wouldn't have noticed if he kept walking like he did.
The spell washed off, as he fed it just enough power to think clearly for a moment. Diodora took a lungful of air and released it slowly.
When he felt better, Diodora glared at the Khaos Brigade goons that stopped to look at him.
A gray haired girl resting her back on a pillar shook her head, but didn't make a move to approach Diodora nor leave.
Where had he seen her?
"The catgirl is trying to leave." Stain informed him.
Diodora sighed again, and moved on from this place back to where he had arrived. Less and less people were around, so Stain chose to duplicate itself into more individuals while they approached the scene.
Kuroka had reverted back to her human-like form, and cradled Koneko on the floor while rubbing her cheek on the little girl's head. The Stain-body that was left behind completely splattered on the ground not too far away from the two.
Diodora held no illusion that this much would convince Kuroka to do what he needed from her. She wouldn't trust a pure-blooded devil so easily after what happened to her.
No matter. Diodora had Stain for these cases, where a little… Incentive was required for people to understand that they should listen to Diodora if they wanted to stay alive.
Ophis' snake came to life. Not physically, not in his mind either. But in a place Diodora couldn't name. Answering his call.
He idly wondered if it'd work against the Abhor the Witch before clearing his throat, making Kuroka realize she had been surrounded. And couldn't help a sidewise smirk creep into his face.
Time for negotiations.