A certain man was visiting the Hiraizumi mansion. This man had some pretty characteristic pink hair, similar to Rinne's, which is no wonder when you consider who this man is.

Despite being in a place many would even hesitate to take a step in, he didn't seem perturbed in the slightest. Rather, if anything, he walked with confident steps.

This man had just come from a meeting with many other noble family heads. They all had an interest in common to discuss. Or rather, a common enemy they wanted to get rid of.

A few days had passed since Yuuto's Party. From there, the nobles divided themselves into 2 groups: those who were trying to approach Yuuto, and those who were trying to get rid of him.

Well, the second group was clearly bigger than the first.

But, interestingly enough, a fact they all had to agree on is that they couldn't simply do nothing. Despite Yuuto being human, a race perceived to be less than devils, and Lovers' Candidate, considered the weakest Arcana, he was able to force them to such a position.

Only those considered truly foolish believed they could just do nothing, that Yuuto was all bark and no bite. Anyone who was considered even remotely competent knew that Yuuto had very real chances of becoming Devil King.

That is why those who wanted to get rid of him got together in an emergency meeting to decide what to do and get started on it.

For all intents and purposes, the most surefire way to get rid of Yuuto would be to have one of the Candidates from the previous Devil King War fight him. However, Emperor's Candidate, Marchosias, only had interest in fighting Barbatos, the Devil King, and Priestess' Candidate, Fleminar, seemed to be on good terms with Yuuto.

Not just that. World Aspite, Magician Noda, Fool Amon, Empress Hime and Judgement Ruki also seemed to have no interest in fighting Yuuto. And rumor has it that Yuuto is even trying to charm the remaining female Candidates into joining his team. Meaning that every day they wasted in getting rid of Yuuto is a day he possibly got even stronger.

That left Hierophant as the last viable option. It also didn't seem like there were any plans for these 2 to fight, but unlike the others, Hierophant, or rather the Hiraizumis, were assassins for hire. Meaning the nobles could literally pay to have them kill Yuuto.

That is what the head of the Shimokadzuma came to do. He and the other nobles reached an agreement and even drafted a contract. All that was left now was to hire the hitmen.

"Welcome. How may I help you today?"

"You already know."

"I do. But it's only polite to ask."

The head of the Shimokadzumas had come to this place to meet with another man, the head of the Hiraizumi family, Yuji Hiraizumi.

He was the man whose hairs were starting to go white that Yuuto met in his Party.

After a brief discussion to explain why he came there, the head of the Shimokadzumas gave Yuji the draft contract he and the other nobles had prepared.

Yuji read it carefully, but quickly. It was as if he was reading an interesting book, rather than a contract negotiating the assassination of someone.

"Hoh, this is quite interesting. There's some families here that have been rivals for many centuries, some have never even looked each other in the eye. Yet, you all got together to kill a single human. Quite a funny story."

"Save the jokes. I want to know if this contract is fine."

"No, I will have to make some changes to it. For one, we are currently in a Devil King War. I will not mobilize the entire Hiraizumi family."

In the draft contract, it was said that the entire Hiraizumi family would go against Yuuto to kill him. But, it was tradition in their family that matters related to the Devil King War be settled only by the Hierophant Candidate and his Cards.

There were many other points Yuji changed in the contract. For example, they were being asked to kill Yuuto as quickly as possible, but Yuji explained how that's not a good idea, that it's better to take their time studying their target to ensure a kill rather than risking doing a poor job.

After a few minutes of listening to Yuji pointing out the flaws, the head of the Shimokadzuma family ran out of patience.

"Don't tell me you're in favor of that human."

"Personally, I rather like him. I would rather not be doing this, but I am doing my job properly."

Yuji doesn't have a lot of combat ability, but he made it to the head of the Hiraizumi family thanks to his discerning eye and serious personality, at least while doing his job.

"Then, why are you doing all this? Just get to the job already!"

"I'm doing this for your own good, as well as the rest of the nobles who are signing this contract. For example, you all made this plan considering the entire Hiraizumi family would be at your disposal, but I denied that, so the plan needs to be reworked. Or do you still intend to go through with this with no protection?"

Another point established in the contract was that there was no backing out of it. Everyone who signed it would be held equally accountable, and there was no way to cancel it.

It's not uncommon for someone who is being targeted by the Hiraizumi to look into who wanted them dead, assuming they live long enough for that. That's because most people would rather try and find a way to get the person to cancel the contract than to fight off the Hiraizumis.

Excluding any way to cancel the contract is a good way to make sure the job gets done, but it often has the effect that the target will decide to take down whoever they can along with them.

"I can pass your request onto my son, and maybe he'll dedicate some of his Cards to protect you and the others. But if he decides that, I'll be very disappointed in my son's judgment ability."

Hirono had lost a number of his Cards to Lost, so he was currently working with very limited numbers. And Hirono knew that he would have no chance against Yuuto if he lowered his team's power any further, he recognized Yuuto's power.

A Card of Hierophant isn't so easily replaced. Family traditions dictate that they must be a Hiraizumi, and that they must achieve a certain level of ability in their field to be eligible to become a Card. Hirono had opted to not get any more Cards as a way to homage his fallen family, and also to not risk bleeding dry the family's future talents.

That meant that this contract to kill Yuuto could also be the death sentence to all those who signed it, depending on how Yuuto reacted to it. After all, even the Hiraizumis won't follow a contract after the people that asked for it are all dead.

"Well, I understand why it's important. People will get cold feet and just leave. How about putting a specific condition on canceling? Like, everyone who signed this contract must gather in my presence, and at least half must agree to cancel it."

"... Fine. Anything else?"

"Hmm, no, everything else seems fine. Hinata, please get this properly formatted and preserved. Ken, please escort our guest out."

"Yes, father."

"Understood, uncle."

Out of nowhere, a girl and a boy showed up next to the head of the Shimokadzumas. He hadn't noticed them at all.

This was a bit of a service provided by the Hiraizumi family. The person making the contract would get a feel for who they had contracted.

After the initial surprise, the man began to smirk. He imagined that Yuuto's last hours will be filled with despair, paranoia and regret for the time when he challenged the noble devils.

Ken, Hierophant's Knight Card, guided the man out of the mansion. Hinata, the Queen Card, took the contract to where it would be properly handled.

Although she seemed normal, Yuji noticed how his daughter wasn't exactly happy. She was never happy when something like this, a contract to kill someone, happened, but this time felt a little different. Maybe because Yuuto had saved her once, she was now having second thoughts about killing him?

"So, Hirono, what do you calculate are your chances of winning?"

"Going by the information we collected for Hanged Man's Candidate and what he displayed at the Labyrinth Battle Royale, I'd say 50/50. But, considering he and his team have probably gotten stronger, it's most likely lower."

Hirono, who had also been hiding in the shadows, came out in response to his father. Once the head of the Shimokadzumas revealed the contract he wanted made, Hirono began to think about his chances.

After all, they were assassins. After a certain difference in strength, they would be only a little more annoying than a mosquito.

"Yes, I believe you're right. But don't sell yourself short as well. Barbara also awoke her power in the Labyrinth Battle Royale, did she not? If you play your cards right, it might be more balanced than you think."

"Maybe. That's what our initial investigation will tell."

Whenever the Hiraizumis took on an assassination mission, they often investigated their targets beforehand. That would ensure that they had the right people for the job, and also knew when and how to do it.

"Well, also depending on how you play your cards, something interesting might happen on Yuuto's side as well."

"Huh? What do you mean, father?"

"Nothing, just an interesting thought I had."

Yuji was known for his ability to read the situation, he had probably already foreseen how this battle would go. Hirono was a bit worried about what his father might have read, but since he hadn't already said it, Yuji probably wouldn't tell his son.

While Yuji and Hirono talked, Yuji grabbed his phone and called someone, the Devil King, Barbatos.

While anyone could hire the Hiraizumi family, they were, above all, faithful to the reigning Devil King. Regardless of anything else, if the Devil King told them to not fight Yuuto, they would have to forget all this.

{Don't tell me. Please don't. I bet a lot of money on this.}

"Unfortunately, you lost your bet."

{Damn!}

Incidentally, Barbatos had bet on when Hierophant would be hired to kill Yuuto.

{Oh well. So you want to know if I'll allow it? What's your read on it?}

"I think it'll be a good learning opportunity for the children. I don't think it should get in the way of your plans. And, if things go as I predict, something interesting may happen."

Although Yuji didn't know exactly what Barbatos was planning, he had enough of a read on it to affirm that this little thing wouldn't be detrimental to him.

{Then, I'll allow it. Just remember to try and not get any uninvolved people into this mess.}

With that, Barbatos ended the call. It didn't seem like he intended to stop this or get in their way in any form.

So Yuji gave Hirono the go ahead. They would begin to work on killing Yuuto.

"Are you sure this is fine? We'll probably never get someone like Yuuto again."

"You wanna bet? My money's on Yuuto winning."

Barbatos was with his adopted son, Amon. But they weren't the only people in the room. Angie, the fake angel created by Tower's Candidate, was also there, and there was also Michael, a real angel.

"Yes, considering how I trained them, unless Yuuto and his girls have been slacking off, I don't expect them to lose."

"... Fine then. I guess I'll also put my trust in Yuuto's power."

"Eh? No, you're supposed to keep doubting and bet against him. I want to make my money back!"

While Barbatos was shocked that his money was forever gone, Amon and Michael continued discussing what had brought them together.

"So, as I was saying, those were the effects of making Angie my Card. I believe this may be very useful in the coming fights."

They were discussing a way to permanently deal with the Disasters, random and seemingly unexplainable disastrous events that took place both in the Human and Devil Worlds, as well as a way to deal with the enemy Barbatos faced at the end of the Labyrinth Battle Royale.

Once Marios, Tower's Candidate, died, the models he created, like Angie, should have stopped functioning. But Barbatos also had Tower's power as Devil King, so he was able to reactivate Angie.

As a test to see if she could be useful in combat, Amon made Angie into his Card. He noticed a few things different with her power. After looking into it, Amon believed this power would be useful in fighting that enemy.

So now he wanted a real angel, Michael, as his Card.

"I understand your plan, and I can see its merits. … Very well, I shall become your Card."

"Then, I'll be glad to have you."

Actually, their discussion had already ended. All that was left was for Michael to give his reply.

With a handshake, Michael became Amon's Queen Card. If nothing else, the plan Amon proposed already had merit simply for the power he'd gain.

That said, there were a few parts of the plan that Michael didn't like. He hoped that, by being close to Amon, he would get to direct him down the proper path. Otherwise, it would be like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Proof of that were the two Arcanas Amon was holding in his hands. Those were Justice and Strength, the Arcanas the Sannou twins lost.

Thinking they were done for, Amon visited them while they were unconscious and used his power to take their Arcanas from them. Time and power are much too precious to be wasted in their current situation. Since the twins couldn't make use of their powers anymore, Amon decided to find better use for them.

Of course, had Amon known they would have recovered with Yuuto's help, he would have given them a chance. If he hadn't taken their Arcanas, maybe Yuuto would have even made them into Cards, increasing their future battle potential.

But there's no use crying over spilled milk. Amon was hasty and made a mistake, one he'll make sure to not repeat.

"If you don't mind me asking, who else are you planning to recruit?"

"I have some people in mind. But I guess I'll wait for Yuuto's fight to end. Depending on the results, I might change my plans."

Although few people would be privy to that information, the result of the fight between Lovers and Hierophant would have more impact than many people expected.