With Theo:
Castle Hades, Grim City, Netherworld:
"What do you mean you have Super Devils? Since when do you have Super Devils?" Theo asked Zeno as they walked through the hallways of Castle Hades, Issei looking confused as he trailed behind them.
"A year ago, Lord Hades found the revered Book of Lucifer as well as the weakened form of his wife Lilith." Theo stopped in his tracks as he stared at Zeno, who just looked amused at his look before the god sighed and continued walking while Issei blinked in confusion
"…Oh Fates, I can just feel the devils raging at us for this. Fine, and how did you get Super Devils from that?"
"Using the Book of Lucifer as well as Lord Hades' Fleshcrafting magic, Lord Hades was able to peel off bits of her flesh and transform those flesh into artificial devils. After he had created a hundred thousands of these devils, he decided to take off her four limbs, infusing these limbs with his essence while using the Soul Magic found in the Book of Lucifer. We all expected the devils from this procedure to be very powerful, but our calculations did not expect two of them to be born as Super Devils and for the other two to have the potential to reach the same level."
"So, let me get this right. Currently, in this castle, there are two beings on the same level as the only three Transcendental Devils and another two who would reach the same level one day…and they are also technically Uncle Hades' children?" Theo asked, sighing as Zeno nodded before Issei spoke up.
"Hey, sensei. What are Super Devils? I though the highest rank was Satan-Class?"
"Well, my dear student, you know how Rias' brother is known to be the strongest devil in history?" Theo asked, smiling as Issei nodded before he continued.
"Well, we have four of him with us right now."
"Two." Zeno cut in, drawing Theo's attention while Issei was currently trying to pick up the shattered remains of his mind being blown.
"What do you mean two? I thought you said four?" Theo asked with a frown and Zeno sighed before he answered.
"Balberith and Verrine, the two Super Devils, are in the castle and awaiting the opportunity to see you. Gressil and Sonneilon, the other two, as well as the hundred thousand devils had left and joined Thanatos' army just minutes before you arrived."
"…You know, Zeno, sometimes, you lead with that." Theo groaned with a sigh and Zeno gave a sheepish chuckle before the two men looked to the front at the sound of heels clacking on the tiled floors, Theo freezing at the sight of his aunt Persephone walking towards them.
Instead of her usual soft smile, a stoic look adorned her face, her amber eyes cold. The black dress she wore accentuated her curvaceous figure and was a contrast to her dark silver hair as Theo knocked himself out of his shock and turned the other two with him.
"Zeno, take Issei to go meet the two Super Devils. Issei, try to explain what's currently happening right now as best as you can."
"You got it, sensei!/ As you wish, Lord Theseus. Young Issei, follow me." Issei and Zeno said respectively with a salute, Zeno gesturing for Issei to follow him as Theo sighed before taking a deep breath and turning back just as his aunt stopped in front of him.
"Hello, Theseus." Persephone greeted politely, Theo hiding his wince at her cold tone as he nodded back with a smile.
"Hello, aunt Persephone. Before you start shouting at me for killing Uncle and you're than welcome to do so, I tried to give him an out. I tried so many times to get him to just leave and return to the Netherworld, but every time I did, his answer was always no. Hell, I even tried to beat him to the point that I could drag him back here, but he fought so hard that I couldn't see any way to get him to stop other than killing him. I even tri-!"
"Theseus, I'm not mad." Persephone cut him off, the god freezing in his tracks as he turned and blinked.
"Y-You're…you're not?" He asked and she smiled as she nodded walking forward before pulling his head into her bountiful cleavage as his arms instinctively wrapped around her waist.
"Foolish little child. Am I disappointed in you and that idiot uncle of yours? A bit, yes, but I'm not mad. I understand that he joined an organization hell-bent on world domination and I understand that you were simply just protecting your city, something I'm sure he was proud of."
"With the insults and the taunting, you would think he meant something different. Also, not a child anymore, auntie. I'm a god now." Theo said with a grumble and Persephone giggled as she nodded, pulling back as she smiled at him.
"To me, you'll always be little Theo that ran around the castle with my dark purple bras on your head."
"Oi! That's confidential information no one needs to know and I was three! Also, you were the one who told me that Uncle Hades put it on when he fought wars against you." Theo grumbled and she giggled before Theo sighed.
"So…do you know about the whole Book of Lucifer and Lilith thing?"
"Of course. The woman is quite the conversationalist when she isn't delirious from the blood loss."
"Wait, she's here? In the Castle?" He asked in shock and Persephone smiled as she nodded, gesturing for Theo to follow her and the god in question smiled softly before walking after his aunt.
At the same time:
Meeting Hall, Vatican Underground:
3rd Person POV:
"Announcing his Holyness, Pope Benedict XVI." Georgios smiled at the sight of an elderly man walking into the meeting room, standing up along with Jeanne, Siegfried and the rest of those in the meeting hall.
The Pope looked to be a frail old man, dressed in pure white priest garbs with golden crosses, the Pope's signature hat on his head and a gold & diamond staff grasped in his right hand.
"You may be seated." The pope said with a smile as he eased himself into the golden throne standing at the head of the table, everyone else sitting down before Georgios spoke.
"Your Holyness, it is an honour and a pleasure for you to meet us on such short notice."
"It is of no worries and the same to you, Saint Georgios. One of your former lives was once our organization's greatest warrior, so I don't suppose you'd be willing to take up your old title of Saint once more?" The Pope asked with a smile and Georgios chuckled as he shook his head.
"Unfortunately not, your Holyness. The Organization is my new home and I'm certain young Jeanne here will be quite sad at my departure."
"Yep!" Jeanne said with a nod and the Pope chuckled as he nodded.
"Well, you can't blame this old man for trying. Jeanne? …Ah, you must be a descendant or spirit inheritor of the great Jeanne d'Arc?" The Pope asked with a smile and Jeanne gave a shaky one back as she nodded.
"A spirit inheritor…your Holyness." She quickly added and the Pope chuckled as he nodded.
"Ah, that makes sense as she never had any children. You look just like the photos of her. Quite a tragedy what our great Church did to her in payment for her efforts."
"She was practising witchcraft, your Holyness. Not to mention, she was a woman fighting in a war when she should have stayed at home." Georgios frowned as one of the younger priests stood up and before he could speak on behalf of Jeanne, he blinked as the young man stiffened in his seat.
Looking back at the Pope, he was surprised to see a pure white aura radiating off of the old man as he stared at the younger priest who had spoken out of turn.
"Young Nathaniel, we are living in times where young Griselda there can rip you in half before I can even blink and where the young Jeanne have fought countless battles against a few of the pagan gods of this world while you and your fellow exorcists struggled against the common High-Class Devil. Remember that you are only being allowed to sit at this table because you are the only of Ewald's students that didn't rebel with him. Do not make me regret my choice."
"O-Of course, your Holyness. My apologies for my disrespect."
"It is not me you should be apologizing to." The pope said while nodding his head at Jeanne.
"Understood. My apologies, Jeanne d'Arc for my words against you. They were crass and completely uncalled for."
"Um, your apology is accepted." Jeanne said with an unsure smile, a look of panic appearing in her eyes as she stared at Georgios and the Pope caught her look as he chuckled before smiling at Siegfried.
"And of course, how could I forget young 'Chaos Edge' Sieg? One of our greatest prodigies turned against us because of the lunacy of a madman. Oh, how disappointed and angry I was at myself for not seeing sooner what Valper Galilei was up to and how I could have stopped him before everything went out of hand."
"That's quite all right, your Holyness. If you saw it, then I would not have made the comrades that I have today."
"Ah, you were always follower of our church's teachings and tried to be the best guardian you could be for the common folk. I suppose I am happy to see that you are finally living your true dream." The Pope said with a smile and Sieg gave a small smile back as he nodded before Georgios spoke up.
"While I hate having to disrupt the cheery atmosphere, unfortunately I have to ask. Did Ewald Cristaldi and Vasco Strada truly rebel against the Church?" Georgios asked and the Pope sighed before he nodded as Nathan frowned slightly.
"Ah, while I want to lie and say that it is not true, unfortunately it is. Yes, Vasco Strada and Ewald Cristaldi along with the help of Teodoro Legrenzi rebelled against the Church and declared war upon the Kuoh Treaty."
"I suppose this has to do with them not being allowed to hunt the 'evil beings' that are devils, fallen angels and the mythical beasts from the Norse, Greek and Shinto pantheons, correct?" Georgios asked sighing as the Pope gave a wry smile and nodded.
"Indeed. While I did try and placate them, unfortunately, most of their lives were ravaged and destroyed by members of the very factions we are now allied with and so, Ewald, Vasco and Teodoro used that hatred to rally the dissatisfied exorcists to their side and started their rebellion."
"Um, your Holyness. You keep mentioning this 'Teodoro'. Who exactly are they?" Jeanne asked, Georgios silently thanking her curious nature for prying as the Pope chuckled.
"Ah yes. Most of the supernatural world do not know him. Teodoro is the first successful Miracle Child that was born from the union of an Angel and a human."
"The angels managed to figure out a way to procreate without falling?" Georgios asked, he along with his two escorts stunned silent as the Pope smiled and shook his head.
"Not exactly. We didn't even expect Teodoro's mother to get pregnant as the room they used was still in the experimenting phase, but his father volunteered to take on the burden and truthfully, I along with the rest of the Church were ecstatic when his father didn't fall and his mother became pregnant with him."
"Well, congratulations on your success. If it's not too much to ask, may we please know who the parents are?"
"Oh, most certainly. His mother is a simple low-ranking exorcist who volunteered for the experiment and Teodoro's father is Lord Michael, the son of our Father and leader of Heaven." The Pope said with a smile, breaking out into chuckles and being amused by the look of shock that appeared on their faces.
'…Gilgamesh doesn't pay me enough for this shit.'
At the same time:
Mt. Kailash:
"So…what's the plan now?" Cao Cao asked Gilgamesh as the two of them along with the rest of the Division captains and lieutenants were left alone in the study room, Shiva having let them stay in his castle and eat while he prepares for battle.
"What do you mean what's the plan now? We came here thinking that it was just going to be another scuffle between the armies of two gods, but Indra has gone too far! A war between Shiva and Indra is going to be destructive no matter what plan we create!" Holmes exclaimed and Nikola frowned as he hummed.
"Indra is not one to just randomly anger the strongest being in existence with only the Dragon God Ophis and the True Dragon Great Red being above him. No, everyone knows that Indra does not go to battle without a plan and that means he has a plan, one that will allow him to defeat Shiva and his army."
"But what?! The only thing that would work against Shiva is the Vajra, but even Indra knows that it takes too long to prepare an attack and if it misses, he's dead." Jack said with an uncharacteristic frown on his face and the others just sighed as they nodded before Gilgamesh finally spoke up.
"Arjuna."
"Commander?" Holmes asked with a confused frown, which everyone mirrored as they saw the grave look in his eyes.
"Arjuna still has the Pashupatastra that Shiva gave him all those centuries ago during his exile. It is the only weapon that can actually kill a god for good and it makes sense that it is also how Ganesha was killed since the Pashupatastra doesn't kill a person, but instead, it destroys their very mind and soul, erasing everything that makes you who you are."
"So, you're saying that Indra will most likely just be there with the Vajra to draw Shiva's full attention and away from Arjuna while he readies the perfect shot to take him out?" Cao Cao asked Gilgamesh, frowning as the Commander sighed and nodded.
"Yes, but the problem is the more divinity a being has, the longer it takes for Arjuna to power up the weapon in order to take that being down. Ganesha did have a lot of divinity, but he was not strong enough to take on Arjuna, Indra and whatever gods he has helping him and that's what led to his demise. However, Shiva has the most divinity in the entire world bar none, so I suspect it would take at most…perhaps five minutes before Arjuna has enough power to kill him."
"Seven minutes." Kartikeya's voice came from the door and they turned to see the man walking in, smiling at them as he sat down in one of the chairs with a sigh.
"So, Lord Shiva had already figured it out."
"Mother and I did, actually, as Father was too consumed by rage and vengeance to think of anything but destroying Indra and everyone associated with him. That is also why we are gathering all of our allies as they would be busy distracting Indra's while Father fights him and I fight Arjuna, making sure that he won't have enough time to charge up an attack."
"…Then, as the Supreme Commander, I ask that you let us help you in this battle." Gilgamesh said as he stood up, the Division captains and lieutenants blinking in shock as Kartikeya rose an eyebrow.
"Ganesha was a close friend of mine, so his death affects me just as much as he does you all. I wish to help put his soul to rest and to avenge his death."
"…Are you sure? Once you take part, Indra won't let you all go out of here alive and he won't let any Organization member run around freely. If he wins, everyone and everything you know and love will be on his shit list."
"Then, let's make sure he can't walk away from this." Gilgamesh said with a grin and Kartikeya chuckled as he nodded, standing up and shaking Gilgamesh' hand as the others sighed.
"Then I suppose as your subordinates, it's only fair that we do the same. Leonardo my young protégé, let us start on creating Anti-Monsters for every god on Indra's side."
"Okay." Leo said with a nod as he followed Tesla out, a notepad in his hands as he speedily wrote down everything the mad scientist said to him.
"Jacky boy, let us go and tell the Division that we are going to need a lot of toxins and antidotes."
"Aye aye, captain!" Jack said with a salute, Holmes chuckling as the two followed Leo and Nikola out of the meeting room.
"And you?" Gilgamesh asked Cao Cao, who hummed before he shrugged.
"I don't have anything to do, so I guess I'll hang out in the castle until it's time."
"Then, let me see if you are a great spearman with that." Kartikeya said with a grin as a golden spear appeared in his hand, to which Cao Cao grinned excitedly and Gilgamesh rolled his eyes with a sigh.
'Always the battle maniac, this one.'
A/N: And there we are! Another chapter done!
Next chapter, the three way war begins!
As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…
Ba-Bye~!