Alright, let's respond to the comments.
First, for Elkenn, it's not that they mistreat Naruto, it's just... well, it's complicated. Zeoticus loves him, yes, but he's so busy being Lord Gremory that he forgot how to be a father. Venelana is a special case, she has her own values and I don't count her as a "servant." Poor Rias, she was raised by Sirzechs to believe that the world owes her something, and Naruto is proof that it doesn't. He's stronger, smarter, and other clans adore him, while she's stuck being "Lucifer's pet." And Sirzechs... well, he's an idiot with a crown. He wanted to punish Naruto like a child, taking away his privileges, but he said the wrong words and exiled him for three years. What an idiot! And he can't take it back, because his word as King Lucifer is law. That's why no one defended Naruto, they can't go against Lucifer.
KingRocma160: No way! I'd rather admit Sirzechs is a good Demon King, that Gruvia is a good ship, or that I like Naruhina! Use that... well, you know, in my stories, never! That's one of the reasons why NNT went from decent to... you know.
Yurt: That's a good suggestion, I'll take it into account.
.O: I think I forgot to explain something important: Naruto's armors are like Saint Seiya's. They're not power-ups, they're catalysts and stabilizers. Cosmos is the most powerful, infinite energy, but Naruto's demonic body has limits. If he burns it too much, boom! It explodes (like Kanon in the Hades saga). Higher-rank armors allow the cosmos to burn more. The golden ones are at the same level because they can all burn the same. Some having more broken techniques is another thing. Besides, the armors are more resistant the more the cosmos burns.
The point is that the armors don't protect or enhance Naruto and his nobility (not entirely), but they allow them to better channel their energy and use 100% of their power without exploding. They're stabilizers and channels, as I said at the beginning.
And about your suggestions, I like the first one. Natsumi masters ice and fire, she's a kitsune, a fire spirit. But since I like the idea, I can make her like Hagen of Asgard, who masters both. Naruto trains her in cold because fire comes naturally to her, but she needs help with the opposite.
Reyrey5210: More or less. Naruto, without Underworld chains, causes holy chaos in all factions. Some find it funny, like Odin. Others have been very bothered, like the Greeks, who don't want him anywhere near. They have orders to kill him if he steps on their domains.
Chapter 7: Consequences
N/A: Okay, first things first, this is the only one —or at least the only one so far that will have a title— since well, it's quite evident everything that will be seen in this chapter: the immediate consequences of Sirzechs's foolishness, both for his family, for Raizer, and above all, obviously, for Naruto. Since well, believe it or not, it hurt him a lot, but he's proud and didn't want to let Sirzechs see the magnitude of the wound his act inflicted. Now, let's get to the chapter.
The echo of Sirzechs's words still resonated with a cutting coldness in Naruto's soul, an echo that mixed with the constant hum of the energy now flowing through him. The sentence, pronounced with an authority that felt as distant as it was irrevocable, had acted as an unexpected slash, opening a crack in the facade of indifference that Naruto had cultivated so carefully.
However, like a warrior wounded in battle, but who refuses to yield to weakness, Naruto and his two companions soon arrived in the frigid lands of Siberia, which stood as their second base of operations. A place where the white immensity welcomed him with a silence that now burned his insides, a contrast to the noise and bustle of the underworld. These lands, marked by the wild breath of Boreas, were not territory strictly controlled by the Gremory clan, allowing Naruto to step on them without fearing the repercussions of having defied his older brother's decree.
"Naruto-sama, are you okay?" Natsumi asked, with a concern that filtered through her voice as soft as fresh snow. Her hazel eyes, usually sparkling with curiosity, reflected the confusion and fear that had settled in her chest since that moment, a dim glow that saddened the kitsune's youthful face. She had noticed how Naruto had sunk into a dense and ominous silence, like an ice storm building inside him.
Naruto, in a monotonous and distant tone that chilled to the bone —a voice that had lost its nuance of sarcasm and curiosity, as if his soul itself had frozen— replied: "I'll be back in a while, don't go out."
The two girls, without questioning, nodded and went to their respective rooms in the Siberian base, immersed in a worried silence. Naruto, for his part, was driven by an internal force that dragged him into the thick of the Siberian forest. He desperately needed the solitude and cutting silence of the place to assimilate and process the storm of emotions that were tearing him apart. Now that the initial shock and adrenaline had dissipated, moving his legs felt like dragging invisible chains. However, driven by a mixture of rage and sadness, he soon regained his ability to walk and even began to run, moving between the bare trees with barely perceptible speed.
The world that unfolded before his eyes —those extraordinary eyes that the entire Underworld coveted, seeking their power to reinforce their own lineages— soon blurred and distorted by the weight of the tears that flowed incessantly. The vision faded and the shapes of the Siberian forest became mere diffuse spots as Naruto's race became a desperate flight. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he stumbled and stopped next to the rough trunk of an imposing tree, where he collapsed with a broken sigh. There, against the rough and cold bark, he did something he hadn't done in many, really many years: break down completely, bursting into convulsive sobs as he let his muffled blows release the prison of conflicting emotions that tormented him.
"You know... hitting the rock won't make you feel better, you know? Believe me, if anyone knows, it's me," said an unexpected voice from behind him, laden with a strange mix of understanding and melancholy. The phrase, though spoken with a surprisingly gentle softness, shook Naruto with the force of lightning, making him suddenly spin on his heels, ready to unleash a blast of icy air against whoever had dared to interrupt his duel with the solitude of the forest.
However, as quickly as the magic gathered in his palms, his eyes, still glassy and blurred by tears, widened slightly upon recognizing the unmistakable dark tails and sharp black ears crowning the female figure's head, and the revealing attire that barely covered her slender body. Not that Naruto had anything against it, I mean, he was only thirteen.
"Kuroka, Hellcat. What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice, though trying to sound calm, still betrayed by broken sobs.
Kuroka simply let out a tired sigh that was lost in the blizzard. "I was looking after my little Shirone... then I saw everything that happened, and I guess I just couldn't let someone else end up becoming like me, nya," she said in a subdued tone, settling with feline grace on a sturdy branch of the tree.
"You know... the truth is, I'd normally fight you and all that crap, but I'm tired, and I'm not sure I want to fight, so if you're going to kill me, at least do it without fanfare," Naruto's voice sounded strangely calm, almost resigned as he fixed his pained eyes on the woman in front of him, fully aware that at this moment, he was strong, but not strong enough to face an SS-class criminal, and Kuroka was the worst of all SS-class criminals.
"You could kill me easily, you know," Kuroka replied, as if the mere idea that she had a real chance to eliminate him was ridiculous. Even if he didn't master a technique as devastating as absolute zero, his speed far exceeded hers, and his unmatched eyes were the single most powerful weapon in the Underworld... or well, they were and would be again in three years. "I've seen you master absolute zero, that alone makes you a being with much greater power than mine... but that's not why I came, if I wanted to kill a redhead, it would be your sister... she's not helping Shirone... she's letting her be consumed by self-loathing."
This time, Kuroka's voice resonated with an unusual fury, making Naruto instinctively step back to make sure he was out of her reach.
"Then... what do you want?" Naruto asked, with a defensive inflection that tinged the attempt at composure in his voice. The pain and confusion had left him more vulnerable than he could have ever imagined, and the idea of facing Kuroka filled him with justified caution. After all, her legend resonated in demonic circles: the story of an SS-class criminal capable of massacring an entire nobility with her bare hands was enough to instill fear even in the most experienced demons.
"Just... I know what it feels like when your world completely collapses on you, crushed by the thoughtless actions of someone who doesn't stop to measure the consequences of their actions," Kuroka replied, her voice muffled by sadness, her golden pupils lost in the immensity of the forest, trapped in an abyss of personal memories that tinged her words with a palpable melancholy.
"I must be going completely crazy," Naruto murmured in disbelief, looking at Kuroka as if trying to decipher an incomprehensible riddle. The idea of seeking emotional comfort in the arms of a ruthless criminal like her seemed like madness that his analytical mind refused to process.
"We're all crazy, little one. The difference lies in the freedom we grant ourselves to exhibit that madness to the world," Kuroka replied with an enigmatic tranquility. Not even she fully understood the impulse that led her to provide support to this young man. Perhaps it was the reflection of her own suffering that she saw in his emerald eyes, or perhaps the closeness she shared with her little sister, Shirone, and the possibility of protecting her indirectly through Naruto. Or perhaps, she was simply tired of the relentless loneliness that had accompanied her for so long and longed for the ephemeral warmth of company.
Without Naruto being able to resist, the barrier that contained his fragmented emotions cracked, yielding to Kuroka's unexpected understanding. A whirlwind of words, dragged by a torrent of feelings repressed for too long, began to flow from his lips.
"It's just that... it wasn't fair!" he exclaimed in a broken voice, each syllable laden with an injustice that burned like a fire inside him. "I always try to get him to leave me alone, to make him understand that there's no reason for us to fight, and he just responds with insults, belittling, and constant provocations. But when I finally defend myself, when I try to assert my position, I'm the one who ends up paying the consequences! I've been taught since birth that I should never let anyone trample me, but when I defend myself..." His voice gradually rose in tone, as energy began to emanate from his body in uncontrolled waves. Unlike the icy and controlled power he used to assert his supremacy over Raizer, this time it was released wildly and chaotically, a visceral manifestation of the chaos that imprisoned his tormented mind.
"We only meet at those damn society balls. I've tried by all means to get us to ignore each other, I've even begged my parents not to have to attend. But nooo! Since I'm the 'bright hope' of the Gremory family and the Lord's firstborn heir, I have to introduce myself to each and every damn event I'm invited to..."
The more the young demon spoke, releasing the poison accumulated inside him, the less he cared who was listening to his outburst. Kuroka, the feared SS-class criminal, the figure incarnate of danger and brutality, had become an unlikely confidante in the cold solitude of the Siberian forest.
"And in the end... we always end up the same way..." he continued, his voice breaking into a trembling thread, as tears flooded his eyes again, turning his words into broken sobs. "Ruval said he would support me, that he recognized the injustice of the situation. But even with his support... I ended up rejected by my own family, I was forbidden to enter my home for three damn years, I was stripped of all my privileges, and they left me... alone..."
The last sigh escaped his lips like a moan of pain, and Naruto succumbed to dejection, once again immersed in deep and heartbreaking sobs.
He continued to cry for a long time, oblivious to the passage of time and Kuroka's presence. Finally, when the flow of tears diminished and his body stopped shaking so intensely, he realized that the woman had moved from the tree where she was and was now close to him, with a hand extended over his head in an instinctive gesture of comfort.
However, the moment her palm caressed the young man's crimson hair, Kuroka's eyes widened, and every hair on her body stood on end at the frankly terrifying amount of cosmic energy stored inside that teenager. It was almost as if the palm of her hand rested on the surface of a small, unstable universe, full of unleashed potential.
Kuroka, with supreme effort, managed to push that thought out of her mind for the moment, suppressing her own surprise at the incredible discovery, and continued to provide comfort to the tormented young man.
For nearly a whole hour, Naruto continued to vent, taking an eternity to finally compose himself enough to articulate coherent words. For many, even for some of the most ruthless demons, this would have seemed like a simple adolescent tantrum. In fact, Naruto was absolutely sure that Rias would categorize it that way without the slightest doubt. However, the truth was that Naruto felt genuinely shattered at that moment, hurt and abandoned by his own blood, and given the circumstances, Kuroka couldn't find reasons to blame him for his emotional catharsis.
Although, of course, Naruto would never let anyone else know how vulnerable Kuroka had seen him. He wasn't the type of person who enjoyed being witnessed in that state of weakness, and to tell the truth, he still couldn't understand why he had allowed himself to lower his guard that way with Kuroka.
And to be completely frank, not even he expected that peculiar "improvised therapy" session between him and the black-haired, feline-featured criminal would turn out to be so... effective. During those intense and revealing forty minutes, they shared stories, complaints, frustrations, and even their seemingly countless failures. And to say that Naruto harbored fantasies about making Sirzechs know the devastating power of the Galaxy Explosion in its full magnitude, as payment for his absurd decision during the Nekoshou Massacre incident, fell dangerously short.
He would probably relish carrying out that revenge in three years, or maybe not. The future was an uncertain nebula, dependent on the fickle whim of his heart.
"Thank you... for listening," Naruto finally murmured softly, with a slight trembling smile on his lips. His emerald eyes were still slightly red and swollen after the torrent of tears, but now they had regained their usual tranquility, replacing the pain with stoic coldness.
"It was nothing, Nya... it's just that, in a way, almost the same thing happened to you as it did to me, only you, fortunately, didn't kill the idiot who hurt you, so I guess I didn't want you to feel as horribly alone as I have felt all these years."
Normally, Kuroka would have lightened the tension with some sarcastic joke or witty comment, but given the seriousness of the situation and the chilling closeness it held to her own personal experiences, she didn't find it appropriate to trivialize the moment with such unnecessary banality.
A weak smile trembled on Naruto's lips upon hearing those words. As much as he tried, the bitterness that still tore him apart was overshadowed by a fleeting glimpse of gratitude. His own pain couldn't compare to the immensity of the suffering that Kuroka had endured throughout her existence. She had lost much more than him, and now, in this moment of deep loneliness, she offered unexpected company. He, at least, would have Natsumi and Delta to guide him in the exile that lay before him. Kuroka, on the other hand, had been alone for years, her soul marked by invisible scars.
"I guess we probably won't see each other again, will we?" Naruto asked, with a mix of melancholy and resignation in his voice. His gaze, once again icy and analytical, ran over the woman's face as if trying to memorize every feature, every detail. "After all, I'm exiled and disgraced in the eyes of my family, but I'm still part of this damn Underworld, whether I like it or not."
The words resonated with deep contempt, a manifest aversion to the demonic society that had rejected him. The more he learned about the intricate power plays, the dark ambitions, and the corruption rooted in every corner of the Underworld, the less sure he was of wanting to remain tied to his destiny.
"You don't want to go back, do you?" Kuroka inquired with a surprisingly tender softness, dropping her head onto the boy's shoulder with a small smile that formed on her lips. It hadn't been her intention to increase the disenchantment that seemed to consume Naruto with the cruelty inherent in the Underworld, but it was a welcome consequence. After all, this way, perhaps she would have a little company to alleviate the loneliness that had accompanied her for so long. Besides, who better to teach this young man to survive without the support or protection of a clan, to forge his own path in adversity, than someone who had been doing it for years?
"Going back would have its advantages, I suppose," Naruto replied with a deep sigh, his gaze fixed on the distance as if he could glimpse an unattainable past. "All my research, my studies... they're there. I have no way to recover them now."
A dull pain throbbed in his chest as he thought about the amount of time and effort he had invested in his projects, years of dedication consumed by Rias's selfishness and shortsightedness. Her disregard for the consequences of her actions, her tendency to destroy everything in her path on a childish whim, had been the spark that ignited Naruto's fury against his family.
"Oh, yes, did you know you're the topic of conversation for many demons? The reason, by the way, is that you confused 'Gammanium' with 'Galium,'" Kuroka joked with a sly smile. It was incredibly amusing to her that Naruto, a demon obsessed with unraveling the secrets of the universe and the confines of magical power, was so stubbornly convinced that one of the most powerful and elusive metals in the supernatural and mythical world was called "Galium" simply because he had mistranslated it in an ancient inscription.
"Well... even so, I'm going to create my own metal," Naruto replied with unwavering stubbornness, crossing his arms with feigned indifference. Deep down, he had known for a long time that he was wrong, that the "Galium" he sought so eagerly didn't exist. However, his pride and tenacity wouldn't allow him to admit the truth.
That said, and without really having anything else to say or a real intention to leave Kuroka behind, Naruto turned and began to return with her to the base. His instincts told him not to separate this enigmatic woman from his side. Natsumi would probably scold him for bringing a dangerous criminal to their refuge, and Delta would surely insist on playing with Kuroka's soft tails. However, now they no longer belonged to the Underworld, at least for a while. They didn't have to follow its laws and conventions.
-Some time later, in the Gremory Mansion-
A little less than a couple of days had passed since that chaotic incident, and since then, an oppressive silence had settled in the opulent halls of the Gremory Mansion. Nobody seemed to dare utter a single word about the events that had shaken the party, albeit for different reasons.
Rias, normally energetic and defiant, remained lost in an abyss of confusion. For the first time in her life, she was genuinely shocked, reeling from the crack that had opened in the image she had of her older brother. Throughout her years, she had seen him as an infallible leader, a figure of authority who always made the right decisions. She had never witnessed him make a single mistake. But that brief outburst of anger and arrogance… That moment had shattered the illusions of her small, idyllic world, showing her that even the strongest pillars can crack.
Sirzechs, for his part, struggled in the clutches of guilt. In his infinite wisdom —or rather, in his absurd lack thereof, many thought at that moment— he had exiled his younger brother, Naruto, a teenager of just thirteen years old. He had thrown him into the cruel outside world completely alone, stripping him of the support and protection of his clan, the same clan that had provided him with comforts and a decent lifestyle. That action resonated in his chest like a constant heartbeat of remorse, especially since nobody had been able to locate his brother since that fateful event. He had mobilized all his nobility to try to find him, even Okita, who, after Grayfia, had the closest and most understanding relationship with the young demon. But it was as if the earth had swallowed him. Nobody had the slightest idea how to find him… Which caused Milicas to stop talking to him, his young heart unable to comprehend his father's apparent coldness.
Grayfia, with the serenity and composure that characterized her, had managed to establish communication with her son and talk to him. All she could convey to Sirzechs, without betraying Milicas' trust, was that the boy was really angry. The news of Naruto's exile had devastated him, not only because he considered him his favorite uncle, but also because he longed for the moments shared with him. Naruto patiently helped him with his studies, introduced him to unknown universes through anime and manga, and taught him magic in a responsible and enjoyable way. Now, Milicas faced three long years without his uncle's company, without his teachings, his games, or his support. And that prospect, added to the possibility that Naruto harbored deep resentment towards his father and the entire Gremory clan, tormented him incessantly. Milicas knew his uncle very well, and he knew that this probability was not at all far-fetched.
"Did you manage to find him?" Sirzechs asked Serafall, who had just burst into his office. She had also been looking for Naruto with the same intensity as any other demon in the Underworld who wasn't determined to kill him.
Ajuka, upon learning of Sirzechs' impulsive decision to exile Naruto, had erupted in a fury so powerful that it was practically a miracle that the Underworld hadn't been split in two by his wrath.
Serafall simply snorted in frustration before collapsing onto the sofa in front of Sirzechs, accompanied by Zeoticus' attentive gaze and Venelana's worried look.
"He's in Siberia, but he basically slammed the door in my face, refusing to listen to anything I tried to offer him… I can't blame him. I'm your friend, Sirzechs, and I highly doubt he wants to see anyone related to you anytime soon… From what Natsumi-tan told me, he was crying uncontrollably in the tundra for quite a while," Serafall explained in a subdued tone, her vibrant purple eyes fixed on Sirzechs' with an intensity that seemed to pierce his soul, a look that conveyed a forceful message: "You really screwed up this time."
"Do you think he'll calm down anytime soon?" Zeoticus asked, looking away at his eldest son, wondering, not for the first time, where the hell he had failed as a father to raise a son so unaware of the weight of his actions and the damage they could cause to others.
"I highly doubt he'll still be in Siberia tomorrow… Naru-tan has always been a master at the art of ignoring what bothers him. And we've already seen that, if he sets his mind to it, he can disappear off everyone's radar without a trace," Serafall explained. She was very aware of the peculiar encounter she had had with Naruto: she had only managed to find him because he, deep down, had wanted Natsumi to send her to him. The young kitsune was too shy and polite to tell her she didn't want to see anyone, but Naruto didn't share those scruples or that shyness.
"The fact that he's upset only shows how deeply hurt he feels… But wounds can heal, can't they?" Zeoticus tried to comfort, clinging to hope. After all, it was an undeniable truth. The Phoenix were the clearest example of this. That clan had aligned with the old Satan during the civil war, staining their honor and shedding valuable blood. However, over time, they had managed to recover and rise to the top, becoming today one of the most powerful and influential clans in the Underworld.
Serafall simply let out an exasperated snort and let her chin rest on her clenched fist, without taking her eyes off her old friend's anguished eyes.
"To be frank, I highly doubt it, Sirzechs. And frankly, you just lost one of your most valuable assets in an epic display of foolishness," Serafall stated with an aridity that cut like the arctic wind, her voice laden with an icy tone. Honestly, she would never understand what demons went through the empty heads of the Gremory to so recklessly neglect and underestimate the immense potential that lay in Naruto.
"Oh, please, the Six Eyes aren't as valuable as you think," Venelana mocked, her tone laden with ill-disguised disdain. She would never understand the obsession of so many powerful clans with the kid, their fervent desire to tie him to their lineage and the incessant admiration for those damned eyes that, in her opinion, were just an aesthetic anomaly.
Serafall, with a weariness etched into every line of her face, rolled her eyes impatiently. It was so obvious to her and to anyone with two eyes in their face that Venelana, like her beloved daughter Rias, was blinded by absurd resentment. Unlike her descendant, however, Venelana didn't envy her stepson's overflowing talent; what poisoned her heart was the twisted irony that her own daughter was despised by most influential demonic clans, while that half-breed was coveted and admired solely for possessing a pair of unusual eyes.
"You may see it that way, Venelana. But the overwhelming reality is that the rest of the Underworld doesn't share your opinion. And even if we strip away the undeniable value of the Six Eyes, Naruto is still an invaluable asset for his relentless intellect and his prodigious inventive capacity. At this point, I think you should have a vague idea of what Naru-tan is capable of creating. Some of the things he stores in his secret base in Siberia are… frankly astonishing, bordering on incomprehensible. I would dare say that his ingenuity is on par with Ajuka's intellect, but with even greater potential given his early age and the unsettling depth of his eyes," Serafall explained in a somber, almost solemn tone. Honestly, if Naruto were her younger brother, she would have spared no effort in caring for and protecting him with all the fervor and dedication of her being. In addition to showering him with a wardrobe that defied imagination with hundreds of adorable outfits that exuded tenderness, she would have openly defied the foolish order to exile him promulgated by Sirzechs himself. But not being a member of his family, not belonging to his clan, the power of her influence over the exiled one was limited. It was pathetic.
"Perhaps, if we sent him to a school in the human world…" Sirzechs began in a hopeful tone. He was convinced that if he could persuade his brother to enroll in the same school as Rias, the young demon's volcanic temperament could be tempered enough to allow a mature conversation, without shouting or uncontrolled energy explosions. Perhaps, after a peaceful dialogue, they could reach a small mutual agreement that would allow Naruto to recover at least part of his resources and his access to the family fortune.
"I wouldn't even dare to contemplate that possibility. To be completely honest, Sirzechs, have you ever deigned to see the contents of his warehouses in Siberia? It's like glimpsing Ajuka's lab in his adolescence, only with far fewer disassembled gadgets and far more machines whose functioning I can barely glimpse. For Naru-tan, human education would be cruel torture, an incarceration in an intellectual asylum," Serafall pointed out with a shiver in her voice. Even Venelana, Naruto's mother, had to accept, albeit grudgingly and with barely disguised contempt, that her stepson was a gifted genius. She could disdain the allure of his unusual eyes and the impurity of his lineage, but the truth was that the magnitude of his intellect was undeniable.
"I'm sure that if he and Rias-chan attended the same human school, they could smooth out the rough edges in their relationship. Rias could even calm him down a bit, and incidentally, learn more about human history and get new members for her peerage."
"Yes… For Naru-tan, that would be the equivalent of forcing him to return to kindergarten. With everything he has studied, with the vast amount of knowledge he possesses, the only thing the human world could offer him is a constant source of stress from having to maintain high grades… And that's only because he's intelligent enough to realize how inherently flawed their educational system is," Serafall stated with an acrimony that eclipsed her usual jovial tone.
Sirzechs tried to present some arguments in favor of his peculiar idea, but in the end he couldn't find any that held up firmly. The starkness of the truth was undeniable: Naruto had mastered five different branches of engineering with mastery and possessed a basic, albeit functional, knowledge of the other 35 disciplines. Venelana's observation, who used to describe her stepson as a version less prone to causing explosions than the eccentric Ajuka, was the most accurate and painfully true description that Sirzechs could admit.
"I… I mean, it wouldn't be so bad, would it?" Sirzechs asked in an insecure tone, looking around with a silent plea for a glimmer of support.
"To be honest, Sirzechs, all your decisions, at least since Rias was born, have been… truly stupid," Zeoticus pointed out with a deep sigh, his voice tired and disappointed. To be perfectly honest, he himself couldn't understand how it had happened. Before his daughter's birth, Sirzechs used to be a sensible and rational demon, capable of carefully weighing the consequences of his actions. Rias's arrival, on the other hand, seemed to cloud his judgment.
Serafall, recognizing the futility of her presence in that conversation, simply kept silent for a long time while the Gremory family debated in low voices, exchanging arguments and muttering recriminations. After all, she had more important matters to attend to at that moment. Preventing the House of Phoenix from dragging Raizer to the Cocytus Abyss was a titanic task, and required all her concentration. The magnitude of the punishment that was planned for the excessive idiot seemed like an exaggeration to her, but it was not in her power to change the decisions of those haughty demons.
End of chapter.