AN Update: I cant lie I have no idea what i was cooking with this chapter, I let it out of the oven way too soon, this shit is raw. I am absolutely gonna rewrite it.
A month. 31 days, give or take. That's how long it's been since I reincarnated. And already I've come face to face with, without question, the one fucking man I'd rather not be in a 50 mile radius of.
He doesn't seem to recognise me. There's no hatred, no venom in his gaze. Maybe I just can't see it, I'm not exactly known for reading people very well.
"Sirzechs?! What the hell are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the North, near Castle Caliban?"
"I was, but things changed quite quickly. There have been... strange reports coming from Anurvondo, so I've decided to investigate. Enough about me, though. You seem to be in high spirits."
He glances around at the destruction and the drastic shift in the weather towards the end of his speech, a small smile on his face.
"Ehehe... well, you know how it is... I guess I went a little bit too hard training today!"
She's being blatantly evasive, as if she's ashamed to say that all this destruction came about because of her overreacting.
Sirzechs merely looks at the shattered marble pillar coated in my blood and small pieces of my flesh, a single raised eyebrow being his only response.
Sera can do nothing but cough a few times, the conversation quickly coming to an awkward silence shortly after. Distantly, I remember her words about how she feels when it comes to Sirzechs. The guilt, the way she can't bear to look at him.
Out of nowhere, Serafall shifts into my line of sight, her finger pushing into my chest as she stares up at me, no doubt realising our argument has come to an abrupt end now and wanting to avoid looking at her fellow General for any longer than she has to.
"You and I aren't finished. We'll continue this discussion another day."
My eyes roll instantly. "How joyous. I simply can't wait for you to bend my spine in two again when that day comes."
Her finger pushes even deeper, the frown on her face deepening as she stands on her tiptoes to try and glare into my eyes, failing miserably.
"Is that sarcasm, Alistair?"
Despite how strange it feels to hear her say my full name, I smirk and cross my arms, batting away her hand as I do.
"Why, of course not my Lady. I'd never disgrace you with such petty behaviour as to make snide comments in your presence."
"Ohoho, clearly you haven't learned your lesson about disobedience! I'd be more than happy to give you some extra tutoring." She spits out, pounding a fist into an open palm.
Things seem like they're inches away from escalating. I'd be worried about Serafall making good on her words, if I wasn't more worried about our audience.
When I glanced over at him, our eyes met, and it felt as if the world itself slowed down. I watch, paralysed, as the cogs turn in his head, his hand twitching slightly.
Then, it all clicks into place for him.
"...Alistair?"
Sirzechs speaks the name slowly. As if he's tasting the words on his lips, my name spoken with so many emotions I'm left terrified on sheer principle because I have no fucking idea what he's thinking right now.
"As in... Alistair Mammon?"
They say when you face down death, there's this feeling you get. This otherworldly sensation that you, and everything you are or could be, will die. That you can feel the Grim Reaper looming over your shoulder.
They were wrong. There's no aura of death, no killing intent, no sweat inducing surge of Mana. No warning signs on my HUD. Right now, all I can see is the plastic smile of a man who utterly despises me.
He's like clay, like a molded figurine as he holds a hand out for me to shake. Everything about this goodwill is sickeningly fake.
"I've heard a lot about you, Alistair. It's a pleasure to finally meet face to face."
I take his hand, mustering all the false confidence I can at this moment, the handshake so brief I almost think I missed it. Serafall quickly scurries away to the side, giving us a moment to ourselves.
"I could say the same for you, General Gremory. You're quite the popular man, especially among the women of the Underworld."
"Ah, well I'm afraid that's not something I have time to concern myself with." He says, almost aloof as he scratches the back of his head.
His eyes then crinkle slightly as he looks to the side, embarrassed. "Besides, my heart already belongs to another."
Bidleid was expressive. He wouldn't hesitate to say he wanted to fucking murder me. Sirzechs is ten times worse, because behind that cheery voice, behind that embarrassed side eye, is a man who hates me more than he ever thought possible.
It only makes him despise me more. My very existence makes him a worse person, almost like a never ending cycle.
And yet, in spite of that fact, I can't resist the urge to poke the bear.
"Oh? Well, I suppose I could say the same thing about myself, come to think of it. My own heart was stolen away quite recently."
Distantly, I see Serafall look away in embarrassment, utterly oblivious to the barbs being shot between Sirzechs and I as we talk about Grayfia, clearly thinking the comment was pointed at her.
But when I look back at Sirzechs, I see finally the gaping maw in his eyes, the wound in his heart that I've caused. A black mark on his soul, withering him away from within. There's a twitching in his hand that I'm becoming all too familiar with, an overwhelming urge to end my life.
But then he blinks, and that same warm smile finds its way back on his face, like the last few half-seconds were nothing more than a hallucination on my part.
"Oh really? Well, if that's the case then my advice is to keep an eye on her. I don't mean to be drab, but with this war going on, you never know when things can be taken from you just like that."
To go along with his point, he snaps his finger, a small flicker of raw Destruction spilling out from the action.
"I'll keep it in mind, General Gremory. Though you should know, I have no intention of losing her. No matter who may try to take her from me."
"So you say, Alistair. Unfortunately, we don't always have a choice in the matter, do we?" He says as he smiles ruefully.
So many words left unspoken in such a short exchange. So many blatant threats. It seems his mercy has a limit, and that limit is me. How interesting, that he never once considered what choice Grayfia might make.
Suddenly, Sirzechs claps his hands and turns to the long silent General at his side, his smile plastered on once more, that deep sorrow vanishing like it was never even there.
"As entertaining as this conversation has been, I'm afraid we'll have to cut it short. I only came here to check out all the commotion, but you have somewhere to be, dont you Sera?"
Serafall blinks, suddenly uncomfortable now that they're talking directly to one another again, looking away and rubbing her arm. A moment later though, his words seemingly register in her head and she jumps up.
"Ah, right! I was supposed to bring you to Lilith! Come on, Ali, there's no time to waste. Goodbye Sirzechs!"
That sneaky fucker. He's ended the conversation on his own terms, given himself the last laugh. Why? What does he gain from cutting it off here? Surely he'd want to keep the pressure on me, intimidate me or something, fucking anything, right?
In less than a second, I find myself in yet another teleportation circle, and as the spell illuminates the ground around us, I decide to get one last look at General Gremory, to try and see through his motivations.
All I'm met with is that same sickeningly hollow smile as he waves goodbye. His eyes meet mine seconds before I disappear, and in that brief moment I can almost hear the words he leaves unspoken.
This isn't over, Alistair.
Teleportation is always an uncomfortable feeling, made only worse by the lingering thoughts of how I've seemingly entered a cold war with the strongest Devil to ever draw air.
Serafall seems to delight in it, jumping up and twirling about as we reach our destination, unintentionally giving me a peek at her underwear beneath her skirt. How silly of me. I'd almost forgotten this was an ecchi world.
With a gleaming smile, as if we hadn't just spent the last hour trying to kill each-other with both fists and words, she turns to me and lifts her arms.
"Welcome to Reticohl!"
...where in the actual fuck have you taken me woman.
"Am I supposed to be impressed by this place? It looks... depressing."
The town is utterly decimated. Every building is entirely unrecognisable, nothing more than shattered foundations and charred remains. Half clothed skeletons dot the streets trailing all the way to the lake that the village overlooks.
If I had to guess, this was a small town of Devils living on Buné Territory. I'm pretty sure it's close to Lilith, but then again I've only seen a map of the Underworld once and it wasn't very enlightening, so we could be just about fucking anywhere. Speaking of which...
"Is there a reason why we're here? I thought we were heading to Lilith. Come to think of it, why are we headed to Lilith?"
"In order: I like the view, we are going to Lilith, but like Lucifaad we have to travel on foot because of a teleportation scrambler, and we're headed to Lilith because you've been a very naughty boy."
Upon finishing, she takes a deep breath, having not paused for even a second as she spoke. Actual fucking child, I swear.
"You'll have to elaborate, I'm not exactly well versed on the parameters for being a 'very naughty boy' Serafall."
"The Clans want to know what went down in Lucifaad, so they've ordered you to stand before them in the High Court!"
"...and how do the clans know that I was sent to Lucifaad?"
"I told them!"
I can't help myself but drag a hand down my head and groan.
"Alright, Serafall there is an incredibly high chance that there's a traitor among the clans who alerted Bidleid about my arrival and that's why I got caught before I even reached the gates. Surely you see that, right?"
"Woah! Those are some big fingers to be pointing Ali, especially from a guy who didn't even make it to the front door!" She snickers to herself.
"Stop laughing you fucking muppet, this is serious!"
Her smile wipes away instantly.
"Fine. Explain your theory."
As I spin my words, I shift to the side and lean against the shattered foundations of what looks to be a butchers.
"You've sent quite a few people to Lucifaad. You've never heard from a single one of them. And whenever you send someone, you tell every fucking Clan you've brought to the rebellions side."
Contrary to what I'd expected her reaction to be, Serafall sighs, suddenly looking far too smug for my liking as she folds her arms.
"Oh Ali. Poor, naive Alistair. You think you've found something, but Ajuka already rooted out the mole in House Gamigin months ago. You're just incompetent at infiltration and desperate for an excuse."
"Oh, lovely-"
I dont even get to finish talking before Serafall bursts into childish giggles.
"Man, you actually thought you were so smart! You were so ready to call me an idiot again, weren't you! Ahahaha!"
"...aren't we supposed to be going somewhere?"
"No, no hold on, I- AHAHAHAHA!" Another fit of giggles, another nail in my ears. She hunches over and slaps her knee.
"Holy fuck, you were so confident too! 'You fucking muppet I'm Mr Mammon and I'm a very smart Devil'. That's you! That's what you sounded like!"
"...are you quite done yet?"
She wipes her eyes, despite there being no tears whatsoever, and finally seems to calm down.
"Yeah, yeah I think I'm done now." Finally, blessed silen- "You fucking muppet."
And just like that, something in me snaps.
"Alright, that's it, I am sick of your shit! Throw 'em up, Serafall! Circle of Life!"
"Ohoho, don't threaten me with a good time, Ali! I've been itching to beat your ass again!"
...
I lose. Quite handily, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, my ass being handed to me on a silver platter as I once again challenge someone over a hundred levels above me.
The hour long walk to Lilith after that is spent in utter agony as Serafall does nothing but gloat in my ear. I almost wish she still wanted to kill me. That was preferable.
