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Dryadic Dragon Chapter 13: The Central Tower
🕑 Added 2025-06-08 03:45:22 +0000 UTCChapter 13: The Central Tower
The bleak blanket of nightfall had descended over the Underworld’s eminent capital—Lilith.
Most of the shops spanning across the city’s streets had closed a few hours ago, their once bustling interiors now quiet as mice save for a few that preferred to keep their doors open longer than usual.
The expenses of the big city weren’t cheap after all.
In the center of all of Lilith’s radiant glamor, stood a dark colored fortress that looked as if it reached all the way up to the very heavens themselves—or in the Underworld’s case, to Earth.
Four different sigils representing Lucifer, Leviathan, Beelzebub, and Asmodeus were encrusted into the central spire of the acropolis. All four of which were curated from a bright blue crystalline material that shimmered under the sky, known as Agares Crystals.
A resource found only on a floating island known as Agreas, currently being under the management of none other than the Satan Beelzebub himself, which he had used in order to create the renowned Evil Piece System.
The castle was none other than Lilith’s Central Tower, the base of operations for the Four Great Satans.
Granted, the Satan Beelzebub and Satan Asmodeus rarely ever made use of the facilities within the structure.
One had taken a page out of the World Serpent’s book, and would rather not exit the confines of his laboratory unless the world itself were at stake.
And the other much preferred the comfort of a soft mattress over the responsibilities handed to him as the head of the Underworld’s Military Affairs Department.
At the moment, only two of the Central Tower’s residents were in office.
“Sirzechs-chan! ☆ Come take a look at this! ☆”
A girl who looked to be in her late teens, appearance-wise, performed a theatrical twirl, her twintails swaying as she skipped over to the main desk within the office, clutching a file in her hands with someone’s name labeled on it.
“Have you found a suitable candidate?” The older-looking, crimson-haired man sat at the desk inquired, seemingly used to the girl’s showy behaviour.
He had known her for more than five centuries after all.
“Mhm! ☆ I found the perfect candidate to act as a guardian for my wittle So-tan! ☆” She nodded fervently, planting the dossier firmly on the mahogany-laden desk.
“You mean a guardian for Sona and Rias, right?” He raised an eyebrow, opening the document’s cover.
“That’s what I said! ☆” She proclaimed shamelessly, her demeanor proceeding to shift from one of flamboyance to sincerity. “Besides, you want someone who can help Rias deal with Riser, don’t you? Unless you want to change our approach and bring in a Ranker instead, I can’t think of a better option.”
“No, bringing in a Ranker would be a colossal abuse of authority even for us. It has to be someone from her generation, there’s no getting around that.” He shook his head in firm rejection. “Originally, I was thinking of conscripting Sairaorg Bael for this, but—”
“—you don’t want to rope the Bael Clan into this, and frankly, neither do I.” She nodded, their thoughts aligning on the same wavelength. “That said, this one’s family isn’t that much easier to deal with. Most of the other nobles save for those in the Phenex Clan aren’t sure he even exists because of how rarely his parents let him leave their territory. It’s almost like they’re raising a—”
“—a weapon rather than an Heir.” This time he was the one to finish her sentence. “Do you think that’ll make it harder to convince him?”
“Sigh, that depends.” She propped herself up on the desk. “If they’ve already indoctrinated him to be content with things as they are, then it’ll be virtually impossible to get him to come on board.”
He drummed his fingers across the surface of the wooden structure, contemplating as he flipped through each page one by one.
“I hear that he’s got the reputation for being quite combative, shall we say?”
“That’s precisely what I’m counting on,” she continued. “If he’s even a little bit displeased with his family’s treatment, convincing him will only be a matter of time. Moreover, his combative nature is directed solely to Riser Phenex.” She glanced at him knowingly.
He chuckled lightly, aware that his thoughts had been read like an open book.
“Yes, I’d be lying if I said that didn’t raise my approval of him.” He closed the document, confident that he had read everything he wanted to know on paper. “However, I think it’d be best if I’m the one who approaches him.”
“Oh?” She lowered her eyelids, a cold, threatening atmosphere building up around her. “Are you suggesting that I’m too weak to handle his family? How mean! ☆”
“Serafall.” Sirzechs lowered his voice, emphasizing his severity. “You know just as well as I do that Sebastian Buné’s rank doesn’t match his strength, and he’s not the same person from before—” He hesitated, ultimately deciding not to finish his sentence. “Well, you know what I’m referring to.”
“Yeah, I know.” She said with a deep exhale. “I also know that dealing with him would be as easy as a flick of the wrist for you, but I’m no weakling either, Sirzechs. Trust me, I can handle Seb.”
Sirzechs appeared reluctant to agree, but deep down—he knew there was no dissuading Serafall when she had that look on her face.
“And Martha?” He pressed further.
“Ah, the vindictive bitch.” She quickly covered her mouth. “Whoops! ☆ Slip of the tongue! ☆”
“Serafall, please take this seriously.” Sirzechs breathed a groan. “Granted, I am aware of her reputation as the Underworld’s Black Widow.”
Before marrying Sebastian Buné, Martha Sallos wed herself to three previous suitors—all of whom were fairly notable noble families, though none of them exceeded the rank of Viscount.
Not only had none of those suitors managed to procure an Heir or Heiress from her, they had all been left in financial ruin once she decided to divorce them, no longer holding the wealth to qualify even for the rank of Baron.
Effectively crippling three of the already dwindling 72 Pillars, and doing so without getting prosecuted herself.
After that, none dared to wield enough arrogance to believe that they could successfully pursue a marriage with her. The greed that surrounded the acquisition of her Clan Trait into their bloodline completely faded from existence.
Of course, until Sebastian decided to take her hand. His peers believed him to be borderline suicidal at the time.
Why would anyone willingly throw themselves into a spiderweb? Especially when countless warning signs had already been put up beforehand?
Yet, for better or for worse, the fourth time ended up being the charm. Sebastian, much to everyone’s shock, managed to espouse her successfully—and keep his head attached after they had done the deed.
But those who knew him personally understood that he had changed at that moment, after all, the Sebastian they knew would never pursue someone like Martha.
“Martha won’t be an issue, she has a vital agreement with my family she has to maintain,” Serafall said with unwavering confidence.
Although, if she hadn’t forfeited her Sitri name upon ascending to the position of Satan. She’d have refused Martha’s proposal from the get-go.
“And if she chooses to take issue anyway? What then? Unlike Sebastian, Martha has no other offspring. You can’t say for certain you know what her reaction will be, especially when it’s someone as unpredictable as she.”
Martha was no weakling either, but Sirzechs wasn’t convinced she could pose a physical threat to Serafall like Sebastian could.
“Mou! ☆ You’re such a worrywart Sirzechs-chan! ☆” She ruffled his hair vigorously. “I assure you, Martha won’t be an issue.” She narrowed her eyes. “I just hope the little one hasn’t inherited too much of her venom, preferably none of it at all.”
“One can never be too careful,” he admitted reluctantly. “If he does end up adopting his mother’s likeness to a certain degree, then by no means can we allow such a person to remain by Sona and Rias’ side, much less protect them. You understand that don’t you?”
“I’ve had the displeasure of conversing with her multiple times, trust me, I know how problematic she is better than you do.” Just thinking about her proved sufficient to put the Satan Leviathan in a foul mood.
Her eyes drifted over to the holographic map in front of Sirzechs, inwardly determined to change the topic.
“Have you found a suitable residence for our babies yet?” Serafall inquired.
“I have.” He nodded, zooming in on a specific area near the Pacific region. “I’m thinking of giving them Cleria’s old territory.”
Both their moods grew mournful upon hearing that name.
“It really is a shame,” Sirzechs began. “Sebastian knew her as well didn’t he? I imagine they met when he trained Diehauser all those years ago.”
“Yes,” Serfall confirmed solemnly. “Seb was both like an uncle and a mentor to her. Heh, it’s a good thing she didn’t replicate his spending habits though.”
They managed to share a light, yet brief chuckle—reminiscing over memories that had long since passed.
“Do you think there’s any chance he’ll—”
“Sirzechs.” She cut him off. “This Seb is not our Seb anymore, you know that. You also know exactly why he’s the way he is now.”
He paused, reclining into his chair with a sense of exasperation.
“Yeah, I suppose that was wishful thinking on my behalf.” He closed his eyes momentarily. “It’s ironic isn’t it? In a lamentable way. The little one and Sairaorg Bael, the strongest of their generation—both had to come from families chalk full of venom.”
They’re like two sides of the same coin.
“Struggle breeds greatness.” Serfall nodded her agreement. “It was the same for us wasn’t it? The only difference was that our struggle came from the outside, theirs comes from within.”
Struggle, huh? Do we really have the right to say that? We who were born at the apex? As unfair as it is, it doesn’t make it any less accurate.
“Sebastian’s firstborn is a part of Sairaorg’s peerage isn’t he?” Sirzechs steered the topic.
“Ladora, yes.” She confirmed.
“Have they ever let the two of them meet?”
“I highly, highly doubt that.” She almost found the question laughable. “Why the interest?”
“No reason in particular.” He insisted. “How do you plan on bringing him into the fold?”
“I already made sure he was invited to So-tan’s birthday so I’d be able to talk with him privately first.” She beamed with conviction. “I’ll offer him a position in my department of Foreign Affairs as an envoy, so he’ll have a reasonable cover to work with if we choose to send him to the human world.”
“Sounds reasonable.” He folded his hands under his chin. “And if he doesn’t prove suitable?”
“If the Dragon Prince doesn’t fit, then I’ll approach the Lion King.” She shrugged. “We know Sairaorg’s character checks out for a fact, but we don’t want Zekram’s presence to be even remotely attached to their territory now do we?”
Sirzechs flicked his eyebrows, finding the question rhetorical.
“If all goes accordingly, we’ll need to come up with a reward for his service.”
“Of course! ☆ Levi-tan treats all her employees properly! ☆” She puffed her chest. “How about a free trip to the familiar forest as a down payment? No need to partake in the traditional rotation.”
“I’ll speak with the Familiar Master.” Sirzechs started to dial something into a holographic keypad.
Comments
Accel14
What way?
krn
nooooooooo pls don't let this turn out the way i suspect
