"Diehauser…what is this?" Sirzechs asked after a long silence and Diehauser just stared at him before he let out a soft sigh.
"Do you expect me to stay with a government that killed my cousin because she found out something that you all have been hiding form the populace for centuries?" Diehauser asked with a frown, shocking not only Sirzechs but every high-ranking devil still present in the arena as the civilians were being led out by the different faction soldiers.
"Lucifer, what is he talking about?" Amaterasu asked as she turned to look at Sirzechs with a frown, the Satan himself still silent in shock as he stared at Diehauser.
"Hello to everyone present. For those that don't know me, my name is Diehauser Belial and as of now, I'm projecting my voice to everyone both here and in the Underworld to tell you all…you have been lied to for centuries."
"Wait, Diehauser! Don't do this!" Serafall exclaimed, but Diehauser didn't even spare her a glance as he continued talking to the devils that were listening.
"Every devil, young and old, have idolised, respected and revered the top players of the Rating Games & the Lords of the different Pillar Clans, but I am here to tell you…that it was all a lie."
"Diehauser Belial! I urge you to stop!" Theo blinked at the deep voice and turned to see a middle-aged man with black hair & violet eyes floating forward, a pair of large black bat-wings spread wide on his back that kept him afloat.
"Or what, Zekram? You're going to have me killed just like you had Cleria killed?"
"What does he mean, Bael?" Odin asked as he turned to Zekram, the devil not answering as he looked at Diehauser with a frown.
"What happened to Cleria was a tragedy, but the consequences of leaving her alive and having her spread classified secrets that would destabilize the peace of the Underworld was too great."
"Oh, are we talking about the secret that the Top 10 of the Rating Games are nothing more than a farce created by the elder devils to keep reincarnated devils from getting more power than the Pure Bloods? Or are we talking about the one that you & your associates have given the numbers 2, 3, 4, 5 & 8 on the Top 10 Rating Game Players a special Evil Piece that boosts their power?"
"You did what?" Zeoticus asked as he turned to stare at Zekram, who just had a stoic look on his face as he kept looking at Diehauser before he shook his head.
"Bael, the head of House Gremory has asked you a question. What does he mean by you giving those of the top 10 some kind of Evil Piece that boost their power?"
"Did no one find it weird that Bedeze, Rudiger and the other three went from barely keeping up with the top 50 in the Rating Game to becoming five of the strongest Rating Game players in such a short amount of time?" Diehauser asked and the other leaders frowned as they noticed how all the devils looked deep in thought.
"You said that Cleria Belial was killed by Zekram. I have to ask you one question. Was someone by the name of Masaomi Yaegaki also murdered by Zekram?" Michael asked as he looked at Diehauser, who turned to look at the angel before he shook his head.
"No, Masaomi was killed by the Church, but Zekram did have a hand in his death as he was the one who informed the Church that Masaomi & Cleria were together."
"I see." Michael muttered as he glanced at Zekram, who was looking back at him before the angel let out a disappointed sigh as he shook his head.
"Did you say that they were using Evil Pieces to boost their powers. You…you stole my King Pieces?" A handsome man with slicked-back green hair asked with a frown as he floated next to Sirzechs, a cold look in his eyes as he stared at Zekram who looked back.
"That power is something that helped our species and boosted the power of those in our employment."
"Did you tell these people that the King Piece is very unstable and that if they keep on growing stronger, the power will begin destroying their body from the inside out?" He asked, surprising Zekram a bit as the man's eyes widened and Ajuka sighed.
"I see you didn't."
"Forgive me for interrupting, but are you telling me that the devils had a secret weapon hidden away and didn't think to tell us leaders about it?" Zeus asked with a frown and Zekram rolled his eyes as Ajuka sighed.
"I would have if I had them in my care, but I only have two of the nine. I'm guessing Diehauser found one since he needed proof to back his claim or else, Zekram would just claim it to be false."
"I do." Diehauser nodded as he reached into his coat before pulling out a King chess piece, Zekram sighing in defeat as the other devils now turned to frown/ glare at him.
"That would mean that the other six are with Zekram, five of which Diehauser has claimed to be given to five of the top 10 in the Rating Games and the last which is probably hidden away in his personal office. Is that correct?"
"I only had the five." Zekram answered and Ajuka frowned before they turned as Rizevim's giggles echoed from Diehauser.
"Actually, you don't know this, but a friend of mine stole it from your lab and we've finally cracked most of the code behind this."
"…You can make Evil Pieces?" Theo muttered in shock and Rizevim snorted as he shook his head.
"Hmph! As if it would that easy. No, while we can't do that yet, we have found a way to give an overall boost to someone who is strong enough to resist being blown up by the power boost. That and as the young Theo here would confirm, we've also figured out how to use our new Booster Pieces in combination with the corpses of our allies to make clones."
"That wouldn't mean that they would have sentient life just because you made clones. No, you have something that gives them life, but what?" Ajuka muttered and Rizevim grinned as he watched the devil's mind race before snickering as the devil's eyes widened.
"Richards! Gilgamesh! When you rescued Valerie, did she seem a bit off?" He asked as he turned to the former and current commander, Gil looking towards Theo who frowned in thought before answering.
"I wasn't personally there as Siegfried was the one who saved her, but he did say that her mind looked to unfocused & disorganized, as if she didn't know who or what she was." He explained and Ajuka shook his head with a sigh as he looked at the snickering Rizevim.
"So, you stole a fragment of her soul and her Sacred Gear to create your own?"
"Yep! Say hi, Valerie II!" Rizevim cackled with a grin as he reached to the side before everyone froze at the sight of a dull-faced Valerie being pulled to stand next to him & Diehauser, although Theo & Siegfried were the first to notice how cold her eyes were compared to Valerie as well as the silver crest on the side of her neck.
"Could you show them your little move, Val dear?" Rizevim asked with a malicious smirk and gasps echoed throughout the arena as a flash of light appeared next to Valerie before the light condensed into a chalice that floated in front of her.
"You dared to sully Father's last gift to the world by creating this?" Michael growled uncharastirastically with a glare aimed at Rizevim, who just gave a mocking nod before he took a deep breath as Azazel placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him.
"So, what reason do you have to come here apart from showing off your latest toy and your new friend?" He asked Rizevim, who blinked at the question before he chuckled.
"Nothing much. Just to tell you all that with most of the Khaos Brigade's former leaders now gone, I've decided to take control of all the factions inside it and make it my own. We are now Qlippoth and our goal is not world domination or world unification."
"Let me guess, it's world destruction?" Azazel asked with a smirk and Rizevim snorted as he shook his head.
"Not just destruction. Complete and utter annihilation of all reality as we will find the End of the World and unleash 666 to unleash havoc & carnage onto existence itself."
"…You are a mad man. No, a mad man is tame compared to you. You want to unleash the monster that took Yahweh, Adam, Buddha and the Jade Emperor to give their lives in order to seal it away?" Zeus asked, shocked as the devil smirked & nodded.
"For what reason?! What reason would you have for such idiotic destruction?!" Theo exclaimed and Rizevim snickered as he shrugged.
"Because I can. Now, I have a very important meeting to get to, so we'll be leaving now. Unless you want to cause more dismay?" Rizevim asked Diehauser with an excited grin before pouting in disappointment as the man just turned & walked away.
"Fine, spoil my fun, why don't you? Well, toodleloo everyone, and stay awake at night! I might be hiding in the closet to kill you." Rizevim waved with a giggle before both he & Valerie II disappeared, everyone looking at the spot where he stood before the silence was broken by Theo's groan.
"Man, this is not how I expected my first day as commander to go."
"Hey, Sona!" Rias waved as she along with her peerage walked into the large hall that is the Richards Training Ground, Sona sighing while her peerage giggled before Rias blinked at the sight of Sairaorg, Seekvaira and their respective peerages standing in waiting next to the bespectacled heiress.
"Wait, what are you guys doing here?" She asked them and Sairaorg chuckled as Seekvaira rolled her eyes.
"Our fathers told us this morning that we needed to come to Kuoh for some important announcement." Seekvaira explained and Rias frowned in confusion before turning as foot steps grew closer, turning to see Theo and Issei walking towards them.
"Ah, I see that everyone is here. Sona and her peerage, you guys follow Issei to do your regular training."
"Wait, you've been training with him?" Rias asked with a cute glare as she looked towards Sona, who just smirked smugly as she & her peerage followed the snickering Issei before turning to Theo as he cleared his throat.
"Now, I'm certain you three want a reason for why you're here, correct?"
"Yes, considering my father doesn't usually bother to tell me anything." Sairaorg said with a chuckle and Theo smiled as he nodded before sighing as he scratched the back of his head.
"Well, to put it simple, you all are going to start training under me from today on to prepare you for your role in this war."
"Wait, what?" Seekvaira blinked in shock, everyone else looking just as shocked as Theo smirked.
"Yes, you heard me correct. Gilgamesh, Nikola & Isaac with the help of Valerie had managed to figure out a theory that Rizevim has been creating an average of 250 to 300 High-Class beings and an average of 50 to 75 Ultimate-Class & higher beings on a daily basis for the past two years, meaning that he now has an army of 274 000 at maximum."
"Wait, how is that even possible? Can Ms. Valerie even do something on the same level?" Seekvaira asked and Theo frowned as he shook his head.
"No, she cannot as her mind is not capable of doing so, but Rizevim's clone doesn't have a mind and he's probably having it working overtime, so it's entirely possible. Although, like I said, it's just a theory that they figured out as we have no concrete proof."
"I see. So, what kind of training is this?" Sairaorg asked and Theo smirked at the excited grin on the man's face as he raised a fist before their eyes widened at the sight of Nikola, Samson and Holmes appearing from a teleportation crest that appeared next to Theo.
"Rias, you're with Holmes. Seekvaira, you're with Nikola and Sairaorg, you're with Samson."
"Am I allowed to be a bit…heavy handed?" Holmes asked as he smirked at the nervous Rias and Theo rolled his eyes as the other two men just snorted.
"As long as they still have all of their limbs and they're not traumatized all that much, then it's fine." Theo answered and Holmes chuckled as he walked away, with Rias letting out a sigh as she heard a giggle escape Akeno's lips.
"Well then, I look forward to your training." Sairaorg bowed and Samson smirked as he bowed back before the two walked away, Sairaorg's peerage sighing in unison as they followed after the duo.
"So…what will you teach us?" Seekvaira asked Nikola, who looked at her before he chuckled as he turned to an amused Theo.
"She's curious. I like her. Come, young student. Let I, Nikola Tesla, show you the way of using scientific magic." The man said with a grin as he walked away, Theo snickering at the sight of Seekvaira pulling out a notebook & writing down what he said while her Queen & Rook followed after them.
"Are you sure about this?" Sirzechs asked as he appeared from thin air next to Theo, a look of concern on his face as Theo sighed.
"Yeah, it is. Despite what the other leaders say, these teenagers have the potential to become on the same level as us gods before hitting their 20th birthday. Also, thank you for asking their parents to let me train them." He said and Sirzechs smirked as he shrugged.
"It was of no concern since both father & Lord Agares were looking for someone to train Rias & Seekvaira and since Sairaorg's father just wanted a reason to get him away from the Bael territory, this was a nice opportunity."
"Yeah, that's going to bite him in the ass. The guy's strong." Theo said with a smirk as he stared at Sairaorg, admiring both the young man's muscle definition & the oppressive aura that was being pulled tightly to his skin.
"He is, but as you know, devils are arrogant & stubborn bastards that don't like changing their opinions." He said and Theo snorted at that as they watched everyone train before Sirzechs spoke up.
"Well, I'll be leaving you all to train." He said as the Gremory crest appeared below him and Theo nodded as the devil disappeared with a crimson light.
'Who would have thought that I would go from being the best hunter in the Organization to being a babysitter in the span of a year? Ah, sometimes I both love & hate my life.' The god thought with a smirk as he looked at the groups training before blinking & looking down at his hand as the golden crown appeared on it.
Activating the crest, he waited until it pulsed three times & glowed before speaking.
"This is the commander. What's the matter?" Theo asked whilst looking back up at the groups, suppressing his excitement at getting to say that as Isaac's voice came through.
"Commander, this is 3rd Division Captain Isaac. I'm afraid to disturb you, but we have a problem." That made him look back down onto the crest with a frown as he turned away from the groups.
"What problem?" He asked before groaning at Isaac's answer.
"...Qlippoth's Crom Cruach is currently standing outside of the HQ's barrier and is demanding to speak with the one in charge."
'...I knew Gil wasn't given me this job from the goodness of his heart.'