Welcome to the new Chapter 1 of The Deviled Knight 40Y2D (read and spoken as Forty Years over Two Days). Pretty much to explain the title, the main bulk of this story happens over the forty years Bruce spends in the past, while there will be snippets and plot developing over the two days he in the "Present" died and will return. I'll be introducing a lot of concepts during these moments as well as answering any quiet questions you all may have. I am really excited to answer any reviews you may have as questions.
Also as a question, would a Kofi and a Discord be something y'all be interested in? The former would help me spend a lot more time writing and not worrying about my health and eating while the latter would allow you all to question me directly. Please let me know
Chapter One
Bruce frowned as he looked over the documents Bered sent to him over the last few days. It was a simple request; minor report of the current climate. Both as Bruce and Myskia, he hated being under prepared under any circumstances. He was the heir, now Lord apparent of a new family and he wasn't one to do things by half measures.
First thing in his list was to familiarize himself with the factions within the Seventy-Two Pillars. Though a misnomer as many of the pure blood lines have been extinct since the great war, the nobility of the Underworld had the trappings of human politics.
There was the Traditionalist Faction led by Zekram Bael. From what Bruce understood of that faction is that they believed heavily in the power and traditions set in place by the former Satans. For a lack of a better description, they were zealots with the power to back up their claim. They appealed to the devil pride, something Bruce knew would be the downfall of devil kind of left unchecked.
Then there were the Progressives, led by Zeoticus Gremory. Bered was a part of this faction and their aim was to help ease Devil kind into the new Era while continuing the relatively stable piece the cold war had brought. That said, Bruce did not agree with the motions of blood purity in either faction's eyes. Both were the reason why the population was declining.
Finally there were the Moderates, led by Argentum Glasya-Labolas. They were true fence sitters, a group of nobles that took the "wait and see" approach to politics. Some people consider Argentum the laziest of them all but Bered spoke on great detail that Argentum was a sleeping dragon.
He also included a little information on the Old Satan Faction, a group of literal exiles that were descendants of the original Satans. They would definitely be a problem.
'So much to do with so little information. And it's not like the human realm, devils aren't superstitious especially when they're usually the ones causing the superstitions.' Bruce thought quietly. He would have to hash out some plans soon.
His thoughts were interrupted when a servant, one contracted to the House of Cimeris, knocked on his office door. "Lord Cimeris, Lord Sitri has arrived."
Bered? He didn't remember scheduling a meeting with him… still, Bered has been nothing but cordial to him and the Myskia part of his mind welcomed his old friend. "Send him in, and then bring us some refreshments." He ordered.
"Yes my Lord!" The Servant left quickly which allowed Bruce to sigh. His servants were afraid of him. His fragmented memories aside, he could see in their actions that Myskia was cruel to the help. He would have to do something about it before that becomes a problem…
Bered Sitri made his way into Bruce's office where they exchanged pleasantries before sitting across from one another on the plush loveseats Bruce had in said office. A servant brought them a fresh pot of tea, to which Myskia thanked the servant and told them to rest for awhile. He was amused by the shocked look on his servants face as they left.
"I'm surprised, I thought you would have scolded them for being slow." Bered said amused.
"Perhaps I would have in the past, however such actions breed betrayal." Myskia replied smoothly. "I would rather have a blade in my face than in my back."
"Wise words my friend. Most of our kind would not think like that."
"Pride can be a weapon and a weakness. It's a lesson that I needed to learn the hard way." Of course he spoke of his coma brought on by Kokabiel.
"Very true." Bered chuckled. "Amusement aside, I come to you bearing unexpected news."
"What news would that be?" Myskia questioned, slightly concerned.
"An emergency meeting has been called. From what I have heard from my daughter, a request has been made from an outside faction, and the Maou wants everyone on board." Bered explained. "You've barely gotten your memories in order, let alone remember the proper etiquette of-"
"I'll be there, Bered." Myskia replied. "I can't use my impairment as a crutch, that'll be a show of weakness I cannot afford."
"That is true.." Bered muttered. "You've gone over the notes I sent you?"
"More or less. I was surprised how thorough you were, however, as vague of memory it was, I felt happiness at your meticulous notes." Bruce didn't lie. Both parts of his mind and soul appreciated the perfectionism that his friend displayed.
"I do what I can." Bered demurred before standing up. "Come, we mustn't be late, less the more ancient members of the Pillars croak and die."
Myskia snorted as he stood. One could hope.
The Present, Metropolis, Ten Hours since the death of Batman
Gerald Shugel, also known as the villain "Ultra-Humanite", frowned at what he was being asked to do. Across from him was another intellect worthy of admiration, a hero known as Mister Terrific. He could also see that the man had reservations.
"Let me get this straight." Terrific began, trying to comprehend what was being asked of some of the most brilliant minds on the planet. "You want us to design a prison specifically for The Joker with no possible way of escaping. Why?"
Luthor intertwined his fingers in front of him. "Because he represents a dangerous factor that many of us do not want to handle. At the moment, we have him in a stasis device under lock and key but it won't be enough."
"Even with some of the strongest people in the world watching him?" Humanite questioned. He didn't have much dealing with the clown but he couldn't be that dangerous.
"Lex, explain to them what you told me." Superman coaxed. As much as he'd want to believe his arch nemesis was lying, he could tell that he was not in more ways than one.
"Right.." Lex let out a sigh. "Several years ago, we all presumed the clown died during a major incident between myself, Superman, and Batman."
"Yes I remember hearing about that. The Joker hijacked The Wayne-Lex Corp. Wing and destroyed a good portion of Metropolis." The Humanite commented. "I'm a villain and even I was abhorred by the callous destruction and loss of life." Terrific nodded as well, also remembering that event as well.
"After that event, I was contacted by a group called "The Circle". It's an unofficial group of villains located in Gotham. They're composed of several street level criminals."
In Hero/Villain society, there existed an unofficial ranking system for each side that was simple for each side to understand.
Of course you had your petty criminals and thugs, people that often went toe-to-toe with the law enforcement. And then you had Street Level villains; individuals that were a threat that the cops could handle but heroes often did, individuals like The Penguin or the Trickster. Their gimmicks could be mundane or a threat enough that The Batman or The Flash needed to step in.
Then there were City Level threats, a lot more dangerous and could level a city or cause a city wide genocide if left unchecked. The Joker certainly fit that level, as did Captain Cold.
Regional Threats followed suit, pretty much needing a group of heroes to stop them, at least a big hitter. Lex was considered this on a minor scale, but others like Morgan le Fay were definitely a lot more dangerous.
Continental Threats were even more dangerous. Teth-Adam, also known as Black Adam, was one such threat that even Superman would have some issues to deal with.
And finally Planetary Threats, individuals that threatened the world by existing like Vandal Savage or Brainiac. The scale kept going higher even past the point where Darkseid was considered.
"So what did they want?" Terrific questioned Luthor.
"A bounty to be placed on the Joker if Batman died. A bounty of One Billion." Lex replied. "They were afraid that without Batman to be his focus, his fixation, that the Joker would get bored and find someone else who couldn't understand or handle his brand of chaos." Terrific and Humanite's eyes widen at the bounty amount. That much to kill the Joker? It was crazy! But it made sense. The Joker was chaos incarnate. Without the Batman to focus on, who knows what he'd do.
"I'm in." Humanite said finally. "I don't particularly fancy a world where the Joker has free reign."
"I'm in too." Terrific agreed as well. The Joker needed to be stopped at all cost.
"Then let's get to work Gentlemen." Luthor said standing up. "We can't afford to waste any time."
The Devil Assembly in the Past
There were a great number of misconceptions about Serafall Leviathan that a lot of people, not just devils, made about the woman that she often used to her advantage. One such misconception was that she was an airhead. That came about mostly due to her love of cute things and her appearance as a "magical girl". But a great majority forgot that she was Bered Sitri's daughter. Underneath all of her outward mannerisms lied a brain as brilliant and devious as her father, even more so. She wanted people to underestimate her, she wanted people to forget that she was powerful, almost as much as her childhood friend, Sirzechs.
It was this brilliance that picked up what her father had mentioned to her in private. She knew of Lord Cimeris, a longtime ally of the Sitri Clan. Though the new Lord Cimeris had just awaken from his battle-inflicted coma, her father was wary of him. He spoke of an underlying change in his demeanor, his speech, his posture. He didn't speak too much less it would get back to the man somehow that his friend was wary of him. They both agreed to watch him closely to further understand what was happening.
Thus Serafall was surprised when Lord Cimeris came to the Devil Assembly to participate. Everyone in the Underworld knew that he was still recovering from his wounds inflicted upon him by Kokabiel, but nobody knew the extent of his recovery. It was with her pink eyes that she looked upon the man as Sirzechs explained the reason for the meeting. His eyes were sharp, deadly sharp, and his posture was wound tight as if he was ready to fight. He was observing each and every member of the Assembly to such a degree that it was kind of frightening to say the least.
'He looks as if he could pick apart each and every one of us with ease…' She thought quietly before focusing on the task at hand.
"-and so we agreed to allow The Youkai faction of Japan to have land for their people, especially the Nekoshou, here in the Underworld" Sirzechs finished. "It was an equal opportunity agreement as they'll allow us to operate in Japan within reason."
"The Nekoshou are known for their power over Senjutsu." Alaric Bael, the current lord of the House of Bael and son of Zekram Bael commented. "We should just add them to our peerages to increase our own power. It's not like they can stop us." There were several others who agreed with him, their eyes gleaming with greed.
Typical thought process of a devil, Serafall thought to herself and before she could comment on how dumb that would actually be, Lord Cimeris spoke up.
"All that power, and no amount of brain between those ears." Cimeris replied with a deadpan drawl. "It's that line of thinking that gets idiots killed and those around them killed as well."
Alaric Bael glared at Lord Cimeris, the power of Destruction flaring around him. "You dare speak to me in such a manner?!"
"I speak the truth. Your pride and greed is going to get us killed one way or another."
Before Alaric could retaliate, Sirzechs held his hand up to silence the man. "I want to hear Lord Cimeris's thoughts on this matter." Sirzechs said before turning directly to look at the recently awakened Lord. "Please, elaborate."
Lord Cimeris nodded. "From what I gathered, the Youkai Faction is led by Yasaka, a youkai said to be on par with Ultimate Class Devils, but the Faction itself works under the Shinto Pantheon. We're talking about heavy hitters like Amaterasu, Susano'o, and Tsukuyomi to name a few. We'd be angering an entire faction that far outstrips our own, the Angels, or the Fallen Angels." Cimeris looked at Alaric with a frown. "What you suggest would just make them ally with our enemies. You think you're powerful enough to handle those numbers or do you have some other plan you're not sharing."
Alaric gritted his teeth as he heard his supporters from earlier agreeing with Lord Cimeris. "You think our forces are that weak?!"
"Not at all. Our overall strength is the reason why other Factions are willing to make deals with us. But it doesn't take much for a bunch of weaker factions to realize that they'd make up for their lack of Quality with Quantity." Cimeris told the man, shaking his head. "After all, it's easier for a pack of lions to take down an elephant than just one."
Serafall had been watching them debate with interest. She now saw what her father was talking about and dare say…she was intrigued. Even though a lot of what he was saying was common sense, a lot of devils with a lot of power also lacked common sense. He analyzed the overall issue and delivered his analysis without flaring an ounce of power like Alaric did. In fact, Myskia CImeris looked unimpressed by the show of force.
As Sirzechs calmed things down, Serafall realized she needed to know more about this new Lord Cimeris and why his eyes looked like they'd stared into the abyss and made the abyss blink.
End of Chapter 1