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9. Finally using the Essence of the Binder.

│1st Person POV of Meliodas│

[Underworld Realm, Valefor Territory, Valerfor Lord's Mansion…]

It's been six weeks since my 7th birthday party and it was only yesterday that I met Iwaki for the first time.

In all this time, I have long since finished reading the entire content of our Library.

There were only slightly more than five hundred thousand books in the Library after all.

And this was the accumulation of two Pillar Clans from the time of Solomon.

There were so few books because all of the books in the Library were written by those who are properly related to Supernatural.

And there are very few people who bother to write shit down. Apparently, the main method of passing down information about anything of importance is through word of mouth.

It is also extremely hard to secure copies of Supernatural text because almost nobody wants to sell them outside of their circle of friends.

Father says that in the entire Underworld, only the Bael Clan, Ajuka's Technological Department, and maybe Azazel have more books than our Library, with a quality comparable to or better than ours.

However, there is that disappointment named Euclid from the Old Satan Faction who is an Inventor and the leader of the Magician Faction, Nilrem, from the Khaos Brigade.

He may also have more Supernatural text in his possession than us. Who knows.

Anyway, I digress.

I have decided that it was finally time to start making use of my Binder.

I have avoided doing so till now because of a very important reason.

I want everyone I mark to be able to access most of the benefits provided by the Essence.

There was a small problem with this wish of mine, however. Before today, I didn't have an explanation of how I came to be in possession of such an ability.

Now, I was looking at the solution on the table in front of me.

On a giant paper, a sigil was drawn that was made up of a circle of leaf, representing the Zagan Clan Symbol, with an horizontal eye in the centre of the circle, representing the Valefor Clan Symbol. It also had eight chains in the poistion of eight basic direction.

This was the sigil I decided would appear as Binder's mark.

However, different from Binder's sigil which is just a simple tattoo to distinguish the marked ones, this sigil drawn on the very large paper in front of me is special.

This sigil was made by me using a large number of extremely small magic circles, Elder Futhark Runes, Hieroglyphics, Logographs, etc.

The sigil I made has several functions that emulate the benefits of those marked by Binder Essence.

Firstly, those with the sigil can communicate with each other telepathically across great distances, even across different realms such as the Underworld and the Human World.

Secondly, the sigil absorbs the ambient energy in the air and uses the absorbed energy to increase the marked person's reserves, their reserves recovery rate, physical strength, growth rate, talent, etc.

Though the process is very, very slow.

For instance, if the marked individual has a High-Class level physique, which can be quantified as 100 points, the sigil's passive increase would add 1 point per month.

Thirdly, using the connection between sigils, marked beings can teleport to each other's location. Though to teleport by crossing dimensions would require one to spend energy close to Low-Ultimate Class.

And lastly, marked beings can mark others and give them weaker versions of their mark.

With this, I have a somewhat proper explanation for the majority of the benefits one gains after being marked by the Binder Essence.

The chains at the back are security measures to stop anyone from decoding the makeup of the sigil or looking too deeply into the actual capabilities of the sigil which I will have to over-exaggerate.

I nodded in satisfaction at the result of my efforts.

Folding up the paper, I stepped out of the library and made my way towards the living room downstairs.

A few minutes later, I entered the living room and saw that only Mother and Father were present, sitting on a sofa side by side.

They were softly chatting when they sensed my approach and looked up.

I smiled and increased my pace.

Once I reached in front of them, I slammed the paper on the table in front of them and exclaimed, "Mother, Father, look what I made."

They shared an amused look with each other before Mother said, "Well, let's see what it is."

Nodding my head, I unfurled the paper, "Tada!" and backed away slightly.

They leaned forward slightly and looked at the sigil for a few moments before Father commented, "Well, I can see that this is a symbol made by incorporating the symbols of our Houses.

"But, what does the chains represent?"

Just like the Gremory Clan symbol is a Rose and the Phenex Clan symbol is a Phoenix, our Valefor Clan symbol is an Eye, representing the mind, and the Zagan Clan symbol is a circle of Leaf.

Leaving that aside, I responded to Father's question, "Look closer, Father."

Before Father could do so, Mother spoke up, "Are these magic circles imbued with various spells I am seeing? And there are also Runes from different systems of magics."

"Hehehe~!" With a proud laugh, I started explaining the functions of the sigil.

Their expressions kept changing continuously as I explained one function after another.

From surprised to shocked to finally numb.

Silence enveloped the living room once I finished my explanation.

"This… This is huge." Father commented slowly, breaking the silence.

Mother nodded, expressing her agreement to Father's comment, before warning with a stern expression, "Meliodas, the implication of others knowing that something like this is in our possession is very severe.

"You must promise to never disclose any information about these unless you are absolutely confident in your capability to deal with the consequences, alright?"

"Do not worry, Mother. I am only going to mark you two and your Peerage members for now. And this is just a prototype as I think I can improve the sigil's power after I gather some data."

I said and watched as both of them once again wore expressions of shock on their faces.

"This can be further improved? And you didn't say anything about taking the mark yourself. Why so?" Father questioned.

I smiled and showed them the back of my right hand, a mark suddenly becoming visible on my previously unblemished skin, "They can be invisible "

The next moment, Mother suddenly appeared in front of me, checking over my hand and then my body while frantically asking, "Are you okay? What foolishness possessed you to use the sigil on yourself before testing if it works?"

I looked at Mother with an affronted look and said, "I did no such thing. I tested the mark first on my clones, which were created through my self created clone technique."

Mother stopped patting me over and looked me in the eye, asking, "You did what? And when?"

"Some weeks ago, I guess." I answered before backing away slightly, "Let me show it to you."

With a snap of fingers, a golden-yellow magic circle appeared in front of me. The magic circle spat out two blobs of dark, chaotic energy before it sank into my body.

The blobs expanded and slowly began to take a humanoid shape with the same look as me.

After they took shape, they each stood in front of Mother and Father with their hands spread apart.

That's right, I recreated the Shadow Clone Technique with Demonic Energy. It was a fun pastime.

There are some advantages of using the Shadow Clone Technique with Demonic Energy.

After coming into being, whatever the Shadow Clone experiences will constantly be transmitted to the magic circle used to summon them in the form of magical data.

The user can then process the data recorded in the magic circle at their leisure to avoid the information overload that the normal Shadow Clone Technique can cause.

This meant that the user didn't even have to dispel the Shadow Clone to get its experience.

Also, the Demonic Energy required to maintain the magic circle was so minuscule that anyone with High-Class reserves could keep it active indefinitely.

Anyway, Mother and Father understood what my clones wanted them to do.

They poked my clones here and there, using some scanning spells to scan them, and various other things.

While they checked my clones, I explained, "They are perfect physical copies of me, so their physical strength is also the same as mine.

"They also have all of my memories, so they react to situations similarly to how I would. They can also perform magic because they are constructs made up of Demonic Energy and they have their own Demonic Energy reserve.

"And their most important use…"

My parents already seemed pretty impressed by what I explained and when I stopped to build up the tension, both of them echoed, "There's more?"

I chuckled and explained the experience-sharing function and how it works, making their jaws drop.

A moment later, Father composed himself and said solemnly, "Son, please tell me that was the last surprise you have for us."

"Hahaha~!"

With a small laugh, I replied, 'Yes, Father. For now, that's all I wanted to say."

"'For now' he says." I heard Mother mutter in a low voice making me smile wider.

I then dispelled the clones and asked, "So, are you ready to receive the sigil?"

Both of them nodded, retaking their place on the sofa.

I first used a fire spell to completely destroy the paper containing the demo sigil. Not even ashes were left.

Then, I stepped right in front of them. As I prepared to mark them with the Binder Essence, I asked, "Where do you want the mark? They can be anywhere on your body."

Mother and Father looked at each other before the latter commented, "Somewhere private so that we won't accidentally reveal the sigil to outsiders."

"Chest area, over your heart would work then. Give me your hands." I stated.

They both extended their right hand, and then, I placed my hands on their palms before marking them with the Binder Essence with a simple command in my mind.

Although I wasn't finished yet.

First, I gave them access to my other two Essences. Although they were extremely weaker versions at this time, I will increase their potency day by day.

Next, I discarded the loyalty and command functions. I don't need them and I won't be using them on anyone if I can help it.

I chose the Essence of the Binder in the first because it was the best Essence to empower others very easily and quickly.

The ability to resurrect anyone who I mark without any price was also another important factor in choosing this Essence.

"Done." I declared and withdrew my hands.

"Is it? I don't feel any different." Father mumbled in a low voice as he opened his shirt buttons to check if the sigil appeared there.

It did.

Father traced his hand over the mark, prompting me to comment, "You won't feel anything different right away. And you can make the sigil invisible just by imagining it."

I watched as the sigil disappeared the next second before a rustling sound of clothes reached my ear.

I looked at the source of the sound before immediately averting my gaze.

It seems even though Mother acknowledges my genius and mental maturity, she doesn't see me as a man enough to avoid becoming half-naked in front of me.

Or is it just the Devils having less sense of modesty? Rias in the Canon wasn't reluctant to reveal her breasts in front of an audience to give Issei an opportunity to power up.

Before I could ponder further on the topic, I felt Mother wrapping her hand around me and shoving my face in between her breasts. Thankfully she fixed her clothes before doing so.

"Ara ara~! Is my son getting embarrassed now?"

Her teasing voice reached my ears, making me whine softly, "Mother~!"

I attempted to get out of her embrace and fortunately, she allowed me to.

Looking at Mother's teasing smile and the expression in Father's eyes that promised pain, I immediately bolted out of the living room.

"I am going to mark your Peerage members now."

I heard Mother giving a 'Ufufufufu~!' laugh as I exited the living room.

Man, I didn't feel any embarrassment when Serafall was the one doing such a thing.

10. Time Skip and the Engagement.

│1st Person POV of Meliodas│

[Underworld Realm, Valefor Territory, Valerfor Lord's Mansion…]

[A Year Later…]

How swiftly time passes when you are enjoying yourself, doesn't it?

A year had passed since I marked my Parents and their Peerage members with the Binder Essence.

Every day since then, I have been increasing the strength of their Essences little by little. Now, they can use the Blank and Archmage Essence at five percent of their full capacity.

All of them have weaker versions of Binder Essence too, however, Mother and Father decided that only I should mark someone new if it came to it.

'Meliodas…"

Because of the Essences, Father, Mother, and their Peerage Members, everyone got stronger.

Father, his Queen, Maxwell Faulker, and his sole Bishop, Jacob Parker, have even advanced to the Mid-Ultimate Class while three of his other Peerage members broke into the Ultimate Class.

On the other hand, only Samara from Mother's Peerage became an Ultimate-Class Devil while the others are at the pinnacle of High-Class.

I estimate that within six months, all of them will become Ultimate-Class.

"Meliodas…"

A few days ago, Father asked me if I was alright with sharing the existence of the Sigil with Uncle Falbi.

According to him, The Satan of Military Affairs was happy when he sensed the increase in Father's strength.

However, when he found out that five of Father's Peerage members also grew stronger at almost the same time that Father did, he sensed that something was up.

Uncle Falbi had asked Father about the unusual matter and when Father responded that he wished to keep quiet for some time, the former easily accepted the answer.

As the head of the Military Department, Uncle Falbi could have pushed for an investigation if he so desired, however, he didn't. He trusted Father to disclose the secret on his own.

This happened a month ago.

"MelioDAS!"

So, when Father asked me the question, I reassured him that I would take care of the matter soon.

After all, tomorrow I will mark Serafall, and it is also the day of the Four Satans' Bi-Yearly Meeting.

Tomorrow will be interesting.

Now, I have to take care of a little gremlin.

"MELIODAS!"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you. What is it?"

"Grrr!" With an enraged growl, the red-headed girl beside me threw a punch at my face.

I didn't look away from the magic circle above my left hand as I easily blocked her punch with my right index finger.

It wasn't that her punch was weak, she could easily take out most beings under Peak-High Class level with a single punch after all, it was just that I am the one who is too strong.

Her frustration grew as she saw her attack being so weak and she let out an even louder shout before hurling a barrage of punches at me.

Still, I only used one finger to stop all of her attacks.

If I wanted, I could have restrained her easily. However, she had been grumpy since arriving and she needed to vent, so I intentionally goaded her into attacking me.

When she finally started to slow after releasing all her pent-up stress, I dispersed the magic circle above my left hand and stood up.

Seeing this, she stopped her attacks.

Without any words, I pulled her into a hug, threading my fingers through her long red hair while saying, "You once again took the words of some extras to heart, didn't you?"

"Devils from the Pillar Clans aren't extras." She mumbled into my chest.

I immediately retorted, "Pathetic waste of spaces that couldn't muster enough brain power to think about the consequences of antagonizing the strongest Devil in existence are extras.

"Without their identity of being members of Pillar Clans, they won't amount to anything. You, on the other hand, are already stronger than them at the age of 8, nearing 9, years old."

I could feel her pout at my words before she commented, "You are younger than me and you still effortlessly stopped all of my attacks."

"Morgiana, you shouldn't compare yourself to me. After all, I am just built different."

The redheaded girl laughed upon hearing my declaration and I smiled too.

Morgiana's situation is not quite good right now.

She finally awakened the Bael Clan Trait, Power of Destruction, a few weeks ago. This should have been an event worthy of being celebrated.

However, the potency of her Power of Destruction is so strong that moments after awakening it, she lost any control over it and it raged out of her, dealing massive damage to her surroundings.

She was being trained by Macgregor Mathers, Sirzechs' Bishop, at that moment and even a legendary Magician like him was unable to fully protect himself from Morgiana's outburst.

He had lost a big chunk of his flesh from his upper right arm.

His right arm would probably have been severed if Sirzechs hadn't arrived just in time after sensing the commotion moments earlier and sealed Morgiana's Demonic Power, cutting off the source of the energy of the rampant Power of Destruction.

Even after the wound was healed, a scar remained, a constant reminder of the unfortunate accident.

This incident left Morgiana scared of her own power and she chose to have her mutated Power of Destruction sealed instead of training to tame it.

However, things deteriorated further when it was discovered that if her Demonic Power wasn't sealed below a certain level, it would automatically convert into the Power of Destruction, breaking through the seals and going on a rampage.

Because of this, she couldn't even use her other Clan Trait, Ice Manipulation inherited from Grayfia, effectively.

This resulted in her being scorned by Devils from the Pillar Clans that supported the Old Satan Faction in the Civil War.

They think that just because they were spared by the New Satans to avoid the eradication of more Noble bloodlines, they were somehow important enough to not face any retaliation after blatantly insulting the current Lucifer's daughter.

They don't even have full information. They just know that Morgiana is unable to use any of her Clan Traits.

Sirzechs was only restraining himself because the Great King Faction might take advantage of the situation and further undermine the Satans' influence on the Devil Council.

However, there's a limit to everything.

Once Sirzechs snaps, he may even unleash his True Form on the Devil Council.

This series of events has increased the respect I have for Sirzechs.

He has incredible self-control, managing to refrain from any actions that could lead to political ruin despite him doting massively on Morgiana.

Now, with her Demonic Power being greatly limited, Morgiana had to focus on only relying on her body to become stronger.

Her family also supported her decision as they knew that pushing her to overcome her fear could lead to disastrous results.

In one of her previous visits to my home, before the disastrous awakening of her Clan Traits, she found out that I was training my physical parameters too.

So, after the incident, she started coming over more frequently to train along with me when I didn't show any scorn towards her.

Today, however, is different.

Today, her parents accompanied her as well. Normally, she visits with only Okita Souji or, on rare occasions, Grayfia.

An interesting fact I have noticed is that during her visits here, Grayfia doesn't wear her usual maid outfit. She is either in a dress or in a business suit.

And she spends most of the time with Mother during the visits.

I can sense that something fishy is going on here.

Right now, Sirzechs and Grayfia are having a meeting with Mother and Father. It's been half an hour since their meeting started.

Suddenly, I felt multiple gazes on me.

Looking towards the source of the gazes, I noticed my parents and Morgiana's parents observing us from the window of Father's study room.

They were smiling too.

I raised an eyebrow at the spectacle.

The next moment, they moved away from the window.

What's just happened?

Before I could ponder on it more, Morgiana forcefully turned my face in her direction. "What are you looking at?" She asked.

I shook my head and answered, "Nothing important. Let's go get some food."

She nodded and we both made our way into the mansion.

A few minutes later, as Morgiana and I were enjoying some snacks, Fleur approached us and said, "Little Master, Miss Gremory, Lord Valefor has summoned you both to the study room."

Morgiana and I shared a look before I answered Fleur, "I understand."

Then, I started my trek toward the study room with Morgiana beside me.

When we entered the study room a few minutes later, I witnessed the scene of my parents and Morgiana's parents sitting with a solemn expression.

Fleur didn't enter with us as she closed the door and stood guard outside.

As we reached in front of our parents, Father looked at me with a grave expression and began, "Son, I have some news for you."

The tension in the air was making me feel nervous, so I just nodded without a word.

"Son, you Mother and I along with Sirzechs and Grayfia have come to a decision."

Father, please don't build up the tension anymore.

Wait! What did he say?

'Sirzechs' and 'Grayfia'?! Not Satan Lucifer and Queen Lucifuge?!

Since when was he so familiar with these two to call them by name?

Wait a damn second!

This setting… Is this what I think it is?

My face became blank and then, I watched as a smirk grew on my Father's face like he knew exactly what I was thinking.

"It seems you have an inkling as to what I am talking about. Very well, I may as well rip the band-aid off then." He said, an infuriating smirk on his face.

"Son, congratulations on your engagement with Morgiana Gremory."

Yup, called it.

From the corner of my eye, I watched as a red blush exploded on Morgiana's face.

This girl even started wringing her fingers together in a typical Hinata fashion.

Anyway, I looked at Father and asked, "When did you all decide this?"

"The subject of this engagement was first discussed during the meeting between Grayfia and I. It was on the day you were visiting Miracle Studio for the first time." Mother was the one who answered my question.

Father continued after her, "For the next year, we all watched the interaction between the two of you and determined if you would be happy to be engaged to each other."

"It was also decided that none of you will know anything about the engagement talks. This subject would only be disclosed to you if we decided to go through with it." Grayfia spoke up next.

Why are they taking turns explaining this? Who's next? Sirzechs?

"Finally, when you didn't change your behavior toward Mori-chan after the incident, the engagement was a go from our side. Your parents were also in agreement and today, we finalized the contract.

"Now, if both of you don't have a problem with this, you two can sign the contract and make it official."

Sirzechs really did take up the explanation work after Grayfia.

Focusing on the subject of engagement now.

I took the contract from Sirzechs hands and gave it a read.

Although one thing I am glad about this situation is that as the Heads of the Valefor and Zagan Clans, my parents could have signed the contract on my behalf, but they didn't do so.

As I read through the contract, I noticed that even from Morgiana's side, no one has signed the contract yet.

That is good, that is good.

Once I finished reading, I gave the contract to Morgiana and gestured to her to read it too while I thought this through.

…

…

…

Honestly, I didn't have any problem with this engagement.

Although I haven't once looked at Morgiana as a romantic interest, I see her as a good friend.

And this is just an engagement contract.

According to it, if any one of us wished to void the contract before our marriage, we could do so easily. No need for both of us to agree to break the contract.

I can agree to this engagement now and see if my feelings for her will grow in the future. If not, I can always cancel it.

With this thought in mind, I declared, "I am not against this engagement."

Then, I took the contract that Morgiana had just finished reading, picked up a pen from Father's study table, and signed it with a flourish.

"I- I am also okay with this en- engagement." Morgiana muttered in a low voice, her face scarlet. And then, she also signed the contract.

11. Misunderstanding. Haki training.

│3rd Person POV│

[Underworld Realm, Gremory Territory, Gremory Mansion, Lord's Study…]

"So, how long have you been thinking about this?"

Sirzechs heard his father ask the question and he couldn't find the hint of dissatisfaction or disapproval in his voice that he expected.

Still, he answered without any delay, "I had sent Grayfia to propose the engagement over a year ago. I have also talked about this topic with Lord Valefor whenever we happen to meet."

Zeoticus looked to be thinking of something for a moment before he commented, "So, after Rias's engagement to Riser was finalized, huh?"

Sirzechs sat a little straighter, waiting for the ball to drop.

He knew this was coming when he thought of the idea of engaging his daughter to the Heir Valefor-Zagan.

He had wanted to stop Rias' engagement, as even at three years old, he could tell that his sister was going to grow up into a fiercely independent woman.

She wouldn't like it once she learns about the engagement at an appropriate age.

However, when he took the seat of Satan Lucifer, he had to break his relationship with the Gremory Clan, so that he wouldn't favor them over others, at least on the surface.

On paper, he was essentially a stranger to the Gremory Clan members.

This rendered him powerless to try to stop the engagement from going through.

In fact, with Morgiana bearing the surname Gremory, his father also has to sign the engagement contract to finalize it.

However, he was prepared in case Zeoticus refused to do so.

"Well, alright then. I agree to this engagement."

Then, Zeoticus signed the contract without any hesitation before handing it back to Sirzechs.

A look of relief appeared on Sirzechs' face for a split second which Zeoticus caught.

He looked at his son with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Did you think there was a possibility of me refusing to sign the contract?"

Sirzechs berated himself inwardly for slipping up. Still, he answered truthfully, "Yes."

Zeoticus sighed and stood up from his seat. He walked over to the cabinet on the side, bringing out an expensive-looking wine bottle and two exquisite glasses.

Taking his seat, he poured wine into both glasses before handing one to Sirzechs.

Sirzechs accepted the glass without a word.

Taking a sip of wine, Zeoticus let out another sigh before he started speaking, "It seems that you have misunderstood my actions, my son."

Sirzechs' hands lifting the glass to his mouth stopped briefly.

After he became one of the Satans, his father very rarely addressed him as 'son'. So, he paid full attention to Zeoticus' words.

"You seem to think that Rias' engagement is just a political move to strengthen the Gremory Clan with the bloodline of the Phenex Clan.

"While that isn't incorrect, the primary reason for this engagement is to bring our two families closer.

"When I had celebrated the news of Venelana being pregnant with a girl with Raymond, he jokingly proposed marrying his third son into our family.

"I thought about this for a long time before finally making the decision. Additionally, if I were really keen on forcing Rias to go through with the marriage even if she didn't want to, I wouldn't have made the Rating Game clause.

"If she doesn't want to go through with the marriage in the future, Rias will have to get out of it through her own effort. She will have plenty of time to do this.

"On the other hand, you are too soft to make it so easy for either Morgiana or Heir Valefor-Zagan to cancel the marriage. They should at least have to struggle to get what they want.

"After all, not everything in the world will happen according to their wishes. Facing some hardships in a somewhat controlled environment will be good for them."

Silence enveloped the Study once Zeoticus finished speaking.

Sirzechs contemplated his father's words for a few moments, before breaking the silence, "I am sorry for misunderstanding the situation, Father."

Zeoticus waved his hand, dismissing the apology, saying, "It's fine. At least you didn't take any impulsive action like having Morgiana drop the Gremory name and take the Lucifuge name."

Sirzechs twitched slightly and Zeoticus noticed it.

His face was expressionless as he asked, "You thought about doing such a thing, right? Was this your backup plan if I refused to sign the contract?"

Sirzechs twitched again as he averted his gaze.

The next moment, Zeoticus stood up abruptly and walked out of the Study. Just before he crossed the door, he said, "I am going to tell this to Venelana."

Sirzechs paled as dread filled his body. He swiftly chased after Zeoticus while calling out in a frantic voice, "Father, wait!"

=+=+=+= Scene Break =+=+=+=

│1st Person POV of Serafall Leviathan│

[Underworld Realm, Valefor Territory, Valerfor Lord's Mansion…]

I navigated through the Valefor Mansion alone, making my way toward the Training Grounds in the back.

With my frequent visits over the last year, I was very familiar with the layout of the mansion and I don't need a servant to escort me anymore.

Even the people of the mansion stopped freaking out when they saw me strolling around. They would just give me a respectful greeting before going their way.

Nearing the Training Grounds, the sounds of battle reached my ears.

A few seconds later, I came upon the scene of Melio-tan fighting against three young women with a blindfold covering his eyes.

On the side, I saw Mariana and Samara watching the battle. I joined them to spectate the battle too.

Melio-tan was fighting barehanded as were two of his opponents. Only one of his opponents was armed with a spear.

If I remember correctly, all three of his opponents are pawns of his mother.

The blonde-haired one, Sarah Foster, is a quiet woman who specializes in hand-to-hand combat.

The blue-haired one, Isabella Warner, enjoys fighting and is quite skilled with a spear.

And lastly, the tanuki yokai, Makoto. She is a glutton. This is the first time I have seen her without any food in her hands.

All three of them were reincarnated by Mariana using two Pawn Pieces each.

Even still, Melio-tan was easily keeping up with them while being blind.

Deflecting a spear strike from Isabella with a right punch to the shaft of the spear, he leaned back slightly to avoid Makoto's left swing by a hair's breadth.

He then caught Sarah's kick with his right hand, using her like a bat to send Makoto flying before slamming her into the ground.

The fight continued as Melio-tan easily handled three Peak-High Class pawns worth two Evil Pieces each. They were even using Queen Promotion to enhance themselves even further.

And to think he is just 8 years old.

Melio-tan is an anomaly just like Zechs-chan and Ajuka-chan, maybe even more than them.

If people like Zekram get wind of this, they will definitely resort to various nefarious schemes to either bring him under their control or eliminate them.

However, if they tried anything like that, they were going to face the wrath of the usually kind magical girl, Miracle Levia-tan. Hmph!

Apart from So-tan and Zechs-chan, only Melio-tan is the one who wholeheartedly accepts my love and passion for being a magical girl.

I won't let anything harmful happen to him.

Suddenly, I felt an invisible pressure emanating from Melio-tan.

Focusing on the battle, I observed that Melio-tan's opponents were kneeling on the ground, sweat pouring from their foreheads.

Whatever Melio-tan was doing was concentrated on the three of them, as the pressure I was feeling wasn't sufficient to leave Peak-High Class beings in that state.

"This is enough for today, I guess."

Melio-tan spoke, and in the next moment, the pressure vanished, prompting the three pawns to sigh in relief and relax. Their bodies glowed slightly as the strength brought by Queen Promotion faded away.

As Melio-tan removed the blindfold, Mariana and her Queen quickly stepped forward to check them.

Mariana checked over her son while Samara went ahead to help the pawns.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?" Mariana asked in a concerned voice.

Melio-tan chuckled lightly as he answered, "Do not worry, Mother. I am perfectly alright. I am not even winded.

"You should be more concerned about your Peerage members. I gave them quite a few bruises after all."

Mariana let out a reluctant reply, "Alright."

As she went towards her Peerage members, Melio-tan walked toward me.

At just 8 years old, he was quite tall. He is only shorter than me by just 2 inches and I am 5 foot 2 inches tall.

At the rate he is growing, he will surpass my height before he even reaches the age of 10.

Why is the world so unfair?!

"Why are you pouting, Sera-nee-chan?" I heard him ask.

"No, I am not pouting."

"You were though."

"No, I was not."

"Hmm… Alright."

Heh, I win.

"By the way, what was the mental pressure thing you did at the end there? And why were you fighting with a blindfold on?"

"I was practicing using a power called Haki. I will tell you the details later. Leaving that aside, did you come here to pick me up?" Melio-tan asked.

"Hmm, I did." A few days ago, Melio-tan suddenly asked to participate in the Four Satans' Bi-Annual Meeting.

When I asked why, he just stated that he had something important he wanted to share with the Four Satans.

The meanie won't even tell me ahead of others.

Maybe he made a spell that is even more impressive than Lightning Armor?

Anyway, he nodded in response to my confirmation before stating, "Let me freshen up, and then we can go. In the meantime, you can hang out with Mother."

Looking over, I noticed that Mariana was coming towards us after checking over her pawns. She had a serious expression on her face and it looked like she wanted to talk to me.

I wonder what this was about.

=+=+=+= Scene Change =+=+=+=

│1st Person POV of Meliodas│

[Underworld Realm, New Lilith, Lucifer's Castle…]

This is my first visit to the seat of power of Satan Lucifer.

To say that the place was grand was an underestimation.

I have not yet seen the exterior of the castle, but judging by the interior, it is far grander than Serafall's workplace.

Vast halls, high ceilings, grand staircases, etc. were the basics of every castle.

The true grandness was because of the luxurious decorations such as gold chandeliers adorned with various gems magical in nature, huge tapestries depicting grand battles, elaborate furniture made of high-quality wood, etc.

Additionally, the quality of workers here was really high. All the Devils I have seen taking care of various things were at least at the level of Mid-High Class.

With Serafall pulling me along, we navigated through the castle to reach the Conference Room the Satans used for their meetings.

Her Bishop, Masako Nana, was just behind us. We encountered her in the castle's Teleportation Room, where she had been waiting for Serafall after she ditched her to come pick me up.

Masako is a Seven-Tailed Kitsune Yokai. She usually keeps her tails and ears hidden behind an illusion, however, I have seen them once.

They looked so fluffy. I really wanted to pat them, however, I refrained from doing so as I didn't know if the rumor of Kitsune's ears and tails being intimate was true or not.

Anyway, we reached the Conference Room it seems.

Serafall turned to me and said, "Stay with Masako, alright? I'll return in about an hour to give you a tour of New Lilith."

I accepted her words with a bright smile, "Alright, Sera-nee-chan."

Then, as Masako and I started walking toward the waiting room adjacent to the Conference Room, I activated Thought Acceleration, increasing my thought processing speed by 1000 times.

The next second, I swapped places with my Demonic Shadow Clone who was right beside Serafall all this time with various concealment spells weaved around him.

Just before the swap, my Demonic Shadow Clone anchored all the concealment spells on him onto the stone tile beneath him.

This way, once we switch places, he will become visible at my former location, and I will be invisible at his previous spot.

After the swap, I transferred the anchor for the concealment spells from the stone tile to my clothing.

All of this was done without the use of a single magic circle so the cost of doing such a feat was enormous.

At times like this, I am glad that my Blank and Archmage Essence are so broken that I can afford to bear such energy costs easily.

Anyway, Serafall waved at my clone and started making her way into the Conference Room with me following behind her.

She slammed the door open with a bang and declared cheerfully, "Magical Girl Miracle Levia-tan is here!"

Serafall opening the door in such a way allowed me to easily step into the Conference Room before the doors automatically closed.

After the doors closed, I dropped the various concealment spells, becoming visible to the Four Satans. Although I am sure Ajuka and Sirzechs could still sense me before.

"There was no hiccup with the plan, right?" Sirzechs asked Serafall, his ever-present easy-going smile on display.

Serafall answered with a shake of her head, "Nope. Even I couldn't sense exactly when Melio-tan swapped with his clone."

"That's impressive." Sirzechs commented with a raised eyebrow and looked at me.

The reason why we had to go through such complicated procedures to have me join the meeting was to hide the fact that I was even having a meeting with the Four Satans.

An 8-year-old Devil participating in a meeting with the Four Satans?

The news of such an interesting event would reach all the parties keeping an eye on them within half an hour.

Even Serafall's Serafallnesss couldn't be used as an excuse to warrant such a thing.

A/N: It is truly vexing that FF.N doesn't support posting images.

Anyway, I will post three or four normal chapters together like this here twice a week. So expect the next chapter about four days later.

That's all for today.

If you like the story, feel free to add it to your favs and follow. It would be much appreciated.

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pat reon *.com* /ChaosWriter;

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Good day. See ya guys later.