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The Redhead: Chapter 10: Having Fun
🕑 Added 2024-12-18 05:53:22 +0000 UTCStory 8: The Redhead System
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 10: Having Fun
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- Flinn -
“And turn left… now swing.”
A sharp sound of sword swinging rang through the surroundings.
“Wonderful, you are doing really great. At this rate, in just a year or so, you can master the entire style.”
“Thank you, Nii-sama. Souji-sama has been teaching me as well.” the adorable nephew of mine said with a smile.
I had returned back to the Underworld after the meeting between the Three Factions. They were currently preparing for an official Peace Treaty between the Three Factions and will thus be busy for a few days.
This left me with no work.
I had to stay home because the whole thing with the Naberius was still fresh in everyone’s minds… what with the second moon always staying there, reminding them of it.
“Okay, that’s enough for today. Let’s go. It’s time for breakfast already.” I ruffled his hair but he just smiled and smoothed his hair out.
Seriously, this guy was too cute.
These past days he has stuck to me whenever I was free. Both Grayfia and Sirzechs had left all his training to me. I think it was Onee-chan who told them to do so.
She had been very heartbroken in her past life at his death and she didn’t want to see such a thing happen again so she asked me to make him as strong as I could.
I did agree on the condition that no one would interfere with my training methods. To be honest, I was kinda hesitant about training a kid. I was never good with kids… not even when I was one myself so I didn’t know how I would do but contrary to my expectation, not only did Grayfia and Sirzechs agree, they even supported me.
And it was Onee-chan’s request so…
I didn’t hold back either and put him through the grinder from the very first day. Milicas was the son of a Satan Class Devil and the strongest Devil in the underworld. His lineage alone would make it so that he can reach the Satan Class if he trained just the bare basics, a feat which not even Satan Clans can achieve with certainty.
I was however not going to let it end just there. I was determined to harness every bit of his potential and make him a Super Devil surpassing even his father. And to my surprise, he didn’t back down one bit either.
I won’t lie. These days, I was kinda getting attached to him too. In my previous world, Milicas was very young and I hadn’t interacted with him at all. I kinda understand what Onee-sama meant by having a little sibling. Although he was my nephew, our ages weren’t that far apart so he was more like a little brother to me.
We took a bath and went for breakfast together.
Everyone had gathered together at the dinner table. Everyone was undergoing their own special training.
Rias’ training was overseen by Onee-chan herself. Koneko was being taught by Kuroka. Akeno was being taught Purification Magic by her mother.
She was originally supposed to learn about Holy Lightning she had inherited from her father but we didn’t have a formal alliance with the Fallen Angels yet and she didn’t look like she had any intention of doing that either. If her previous hate was bad then learning about Shuri’s condition in my world didn’t do it any favours either.
Onee-chan said that she would talk to her as despite her reluctance, Holy Lightning would allow her to truly attain her potential.
The combination of Holy and Demonic attributes would be far greater than the sum of the parts. The Akeno in Onee-chan’s last life had become someone beyond Satan Class with that and we needed every bit of power we could get so there was no way she was going to let her waste this power.
I was the last person to give anyone advice regarding these kinds of things so I never spoke on this matter.
To be honest, it didn’t matter to me if she wanted to learn Holy Lightning or not. There were many other ways to make her stronger. I just thought it was stupid to waste a gift you had.
I still remember the hours I had scoured through the Gremory Library to find about the Gremory Clan Trait and till now my only answers are Camel Taming, Bad Naming Sense and Exhibitionism…
And then there was her, rejecting that kind of gift for her personal grudge…
Onee-chan said she would get better so I didn’t bother.
“How was your training, Milicas?” Venelana asked with a smile.
Milicas nodded happily. “Nii-sama was very great. He is teaching me swordsmanship like Souji-sama.”
“Flinn’s swordsmanship is among the best in the world. You should pay attention to him. Even Souji takes advice from Flinn.” Zeoti… Father said.
“Yes.”
It wasn’t an empty claim or boast either. I have been studying the abilities I could get from the weapon’s in Archer’s Unlimited Blade Works. I didn’t know about all Gods in this world but I was positive that I was the best in swordsmanship among the rest.
During this time, I had been training not only Milicas but also Yuuto.
Onee-chan had a talk with him and he had behaved far better than before, especially after knowing that one other person from the Holy Sword Project had survived and he could meet her again.
There was some talk going on with Michael and the Church people but I didn’t know the details.
I was helping him develop his Sacred Gear in a better way and teaching him swordsmanship.
Then there was Gasper. He was improving, especially after meeting with Valerie. That girl… she could make him dance around her with words alone.
She was quite a prankster.
“You all should take a rest in between too. Training all the time is not good either. Take some time to go around the Underworld and have some fun.” Grandma said, wiping her mouth.
“Ughh… but the people…”
“People will always say what is profitable for them.” She interjected. “That doesn’t mean you should hole up in the house all your life. The longer you hide, the more rumours will spread about you… and not good ones either. You should show your face in the Underworld once in a while to assuage people of their worries.”
“Hmm. We are the Gremory, one of the Pillar Houses, the nobility of the Devils. Our position will always make sure that we have to communicate with others. Forming connections and building relations is the most important trait for any noble. In our position, we can never be alone.” Father said. “I am not saying to force yourself to do things you don’t like but give it a try. Right now, the common people only know that you created the new moon and saved the Underworld but they don’t know anything else about you. It's a common tendency of people to fear the unknown. The more you show yourself outside, the more they get used to your presence and the more they will accept you.”
I nodded.
Onee-chan had talked about this too.
“It doesn’t need to be big things either. Even going around with Rias or going to shop around in New Lilith once in a while also suffices. Just show your face around. You can also take Milicas or even your peerage members around. Go for a date. There are plenty of good places in the Underworld.”
This underworld was quite different due to the policies of the new Satans. It even had places like amusement parks and movie theaters everywhere.
I looked at Shuri, Sakuya and Teressa and nodded. I hadn’t taken them out anywhere after getting together. Even my date with Teressa was interrupted by the muscle headed exorcist girl, Xenovia.
“Okay. We will.”
“You know what, you can visit Sona. Flinn gets along very well with Sona.” Onee-chan giggled.
I threw my best deadpanned look at her.
The people who knew the real situation all laughed while Grandma and Father looked confused.
“Sona? The Sitri girl. Does Flinn like her?” Grandma asked, interested.
“No!” I stopped him before he could let her mind go anywhere with that line of thought. That was a scary thought.
That just made the ones giggling laugh harder.
At the end of the day, it was decided that Rias will take us around for shopping. Milicas, Sakuya and Shuri will follow us.
Onee-chan and Teressa had to attend some kind of meeting so she couldn’t come with us.
- Ria (Future Rias) -
She stared down the window in front of her.
Under the street lights stood her previous bishop, Asia Argento.
It pained her heart to look at the girl’s depressed face. Every part of her wanted to go ahead and hug the poor girl in her arms and take her away… but they had to wait.
It turns out that despite the hurry, she had still missed the incident of Asia’s excommunication from the Church.
Going by her knowledge, Asia wasn’t going to be excommunicated for at least three more months. She had the chance to take care of Diodora and prevent him from causing any trouble but things changed… were these the so-called butterflies flapping their wings?
Diodora Astaroth was the heir of the Astaroth Clan. Even with her future knowledge, they couldn’t just lay a hand on him as long as they didn’t have any definitive proof. Even his peerage members couldn’t be brought in for excessive questioning or they would tip him off and he might run away.
The underworld was still shaken with the Naberius incident and there was work going on to establish a Peace Treaty between the Three Factions, something which had a lot of opposition among all three factions. Any small issue could be blown above and beyond harming the efforts of the leaders and their future plans.
They had no room for error.
That’s why she was waiting here, along with the members of Church, Heaven and the Serafall Leviathan to catch him in the act.
Her original plan was to capture him when he came to get healed by Asia and get her excommunicated and make him confess to everything but too bad she had missed the time and now they were faced with all this.
It was the first mission carried out together by every part of the Three Factions.
Azazel had made sure that no Fallen Angels would contact her this time and the members of Church and Heaven were here to investigate the traitors among the church so that these things were not repeated again.
From the church and heaven’s side were Griselda and Vasco Strada and from the Devil’s side were Teressa and her.
She had brought Teressa with her to let her communicate with Griselda of this world, maybe get along.
This meant she couldn’t directly go ahead and strangle the bastard’s neck as much as she wanted to.
“Ria-chan, are you sure he will come?” Serafall asked from the magic circle, having kept a communication with them.
“Yes. What is the news from that side?” She asked.
“He left Underworld a few days ago and hasn’t returned yet so he is still outside. We don’t know how long this will take. We can’t all stay here all day, you know.” Serafall said and she agreed.
At that very moment, they saw a figure appear in the street in front of them.
“It’s him. He really came.”
She looked at Teressa. “Get ready.”
Teressa nodded and activated her Sacred Gear.
Small insects flew out the window.
These insects could be controlled by her and contained a specifically designed poison to incapacitate a devil.
On the other side, other people began preparing too. Barriers to prevent escape and prevent reinforcement were being deployed.
He walked towards Asia and they could see a smile on his face.
That bastard.
He was being so casual, even in a Church protected area, as if he had done it several times before… which he did or his other peerage members wouldn’t be there in the first place.
She watched as he approached Asia and began talking to her.
There was a look of recognition in her eyes.
“That’s it. Let’s go.” She directly left her stop and appeared between them, facing him with a glare. “Diodora Astaroth, you are suspected of inciting chaos between Heaven and the Underworld. Please come in for questioning.”
As expected, the boy was taken aback, taking steps back at her sudden appearance. He seemed to have recognised her and his eyes widened.
Behind her, Asia looked confused too.
“You are… Ria Gremory. What are you doing here?”
“Conducting a joint investigation about a complaint which threatens the peace between Devils, the Church and Heaven. We have received news about a devil suspected of colluding with people within the church to abduct and brainwash nuns and holy maidens.”
A look of annoyance came over his face while Asia looked confused beside her. “I am sure this is some sort of misunderstanding. I was merely conversing with Miss Asia. She had saved my life before and I wanted to thank her.” He controlled his expressions and tried to make excuses but she stopped him.
“You have full rights to appeal yourself in front of the investigation team in the underworld. If you are innocent, you will be free to go but for now you need to cooperate with us.” She asked in a professional tone.
His expressions became severe. “Do you know who you are talking to? I am the Heir of the Astaroth House, the cousin of Satan Beelzebub. What authority do you have to question and arrest me?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I am incharge of this mission and this is all within my capacity to do.”
His expression morphed into an ugly mop. “Why you lowly bitch… You are just an experimental subjec…”
His words paused in between as she released her aura, pressing down on him.
“It seems you are forgetting who you are talking to, boy. I am not the usual underworld security that you can wave your status in front of and remove. As long as you are a threat to the peace of the Underworld, I don’t care if you are the heir of a pillar house or the head, the relative of Satan of Ajuka Beelzebub himself, you will be dealt with. That’s non-negotiable.”
Just then, Teressa’s insects did their job. Taking the cover of her aura, they bit him, quickly injecting their tranquilising poison inside his body.
His eyes widened as he understood what was going on and tried to quickly summon his magic circle and teleport out of there but it was too late.
She crushed his magic directly.
Then she saw him looking at Asia and a glint appeared in his eyes.
Ria knew what he was thinking and sure enough he attacked Asia, probably to cover up the evidence.
She, already having anticipated such a thing, effortlessly dismantled his attack but couldn’t help being angered at the audacity of this guy. Did he really think he could pull such a stupid move in front of her?
Seeing his last move failing, he started cursing her.
She was right to not bring Flinn for this operation despite him being the most suitable person for this task. She knew Diodora would use such words and knowing Flinn… he would have done something serious then.
The boy lost consciousness and she threw in some seals for extra measures and then turned towards Asia, who was confused and afraid at the sudden turn of events.
She caressed her hair slightly. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. I won’t let anything happen to you again.”
- Shuri -
She looked at both Flinn and Milicas playing in the distance. Flinn was carrying Milicas on his shoulder through the amusement park and little Milicas seemed to enjoy it too.
“They are getting along well together, aren’t they?” She asked, Sakuya standing beside her.
“Hmm.” Sakuya nodded.
The woman looked at the scene with complicated thoughts. There was sadness and longing in her eyes as well as hope…
To be honest, Shuri understood what she was thinking.
How couldn’t she?
After all, she had experienced the same feelings several times before.
“They look so happy together. Despite Flinn-kun’s words towards the so-called ‘troublesome children’, he is very great when dealing with them. He would make for a great father someday.”
Her words shook Sakuya from her thoughts and she looked at Shuri with a slightly opened mouth.
Shuri smiled at her expression.
Flinn-kun was right.
Her eyes did speak a lot.
“What? He might be a bit young now but he has never shirked away from any responsibilities. In fact, I have never seen anyone go so far to keep their family happy. Don’t you think he would be a wonderful father with an attitude like that?”
Sakuya looked at her for a few moments and then turned away to look at Flinn-kun.
Shuri couldn’t help but giggle at this.
She and Sakuya had gotten very close in the time they had known each other. Perhaps due to the similar pasts they shared or perhaps they just had compatible personalities but she could say without a doubt that Sakuya was a good friend of hers. And that’s why she knew what went on in her mind too.
They didn’t say anything else and just looked at Flinn and Milicas playing when Akeno, Rias and the rest came back with snacks.
Today everyone had taken a break from training as suggested by Lady Chysis.
The constant training had been taking a toll on everyone and so they decided to visit an amusement park.
And she had to agree. It was a great idea.
Everyone had a chance to unwind.
The revelations of what was going to come in a few decades was weighing heavily on everyone’s mind. It was good to have moments like these mixed in to know what exactly we were working to protect.
Lord Gremory hadn’t been wrong either.
The people in the amusement park were looking at them from a distance.
Many were secretly pointing towards Flinn and Sakuya but they didn’t approach them. Shuri had observed that at first they had a hesitant attitude towards Flinn’s presence but over time they looked more at ease.
“Did something happen?” She heard Akeno’s voice and broke out of her thoughts.
“No. No, it’s nothing. Let’s go. We still have many rides to test.” Shuri smiled and looked at the shine in her eyes as she nodded.
- Teressa -
The entire room was real tense as the investigators of the three factions looked at the unconscious body of Diodora Astaroth.
On another side of the room was Asia Argento, the girl she had heard so much about from Ria.
She was exactly as Ria had told her… kind to a fault.
In fact, such simple minded devotion and kindness could make even the purest of angels shy. Teressa certainly acknowledged that she didn’t possess such a heart.
Even now, after knowing that the devil was responsible for her suffering, even after knowing what he intended to do to her… there was still a hint of pity in her eyes.
She didn’t know anyone else capable of such forgiveness. Maybe only true Saints she had read about in the Bible or He himself would be able to do something like that. Everyone else would have taken the first chance to lop off that bastard’s head.
Such kindness was both heartening and sorry to see at the same time. Heartening because it gave one hope in humanity and sorry because she knew how such a person would suffer in this world.
Soon the door of the room was opened and several people entered.
Ajuka Beelzebub, Falbium Asmodeus and Serafall Leviathan.
The first since the one involved was a member of his family. Falbium Asmodeus, probably because of the association with the Khaos Brigade and Serafall Leviathan due to this being a matter between the Three Factions.
Lord Michael and Lady Gabriel were already present and a few minutes later even the Governor General of the Grigori, Azazel arrived there.
“Well, I’ll be… so the trap worked.” Azazel started as he sat down on his seat. “Who captured him? The Moon Kid?”
“Flinn is currently in the Underworld. This operation was led by Ria.” Serafall Leviathan replied.
“Ah, is that so?… I wanted to meet him again. He promised me the swords but I haven’t received any yet. I have even prepared the lesson plans for the Sacred Gear training… By the way, how is the Durandal 2.0 working?” He asked Michael.
Lord Michael nodded. “Yes. It is a remarkable sword.”
She didn’t know why but she sensed something odd in his tone… or maybe it was just her imagination.
None of the other leaders said anything so maybe that was it.
“Anyways, we have gathered here for something else. Let’s focus on that first.” Ajuka stopped the chatter and looked at Asia. “Are you Asia Argento?” He asked.
The poor girl looked taken aback suddenly being called like that but Ria put a hand on her back and assured her.
“Don’t worry. No one is going to hurt you. Just answer truthfully.”
Reassured by Ria, she nodded.
“Do you recognise the devil laying on the couch there?” He asked.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“How?”
“He… I saw him near the Church’s door one day, injured… and healed him.”
“Healed him, using your Twilight Healing?” Azazel asked.
Asia nodded.
“Hmm, interesting.”
“Did you know he was a devil?”
“I… no.” She shook her head.
Sensing different races was a skill that was not so easy to learn for everyone. Only mid level exorcists and above could do so. Still, the fact that she, a Holy Maiden, hadn't been taught such a thing, at least how to sense a Devil… that was suspicious.
Then again, this whole thing reeked of conspiracy. How in the world did a Devil get to the doorsteps of the Church undetected? Actually, why in the world would a devil even go to the doorsteps of a Church, especially when injured?
And then he meets a Holy Maiden, someone who is always protected by exorcists and guards?
Even a fool could say something was wrong… and yet, they had just blamed the poor girl and left her outside… without even investigating.
Somehow, she had a very bad feeling. If the church in the last world was too extreme… then this one seemed too incompetent… or corrupt… and for the life of her, she couldn’t tell which one they were…
“And that’s when the priest saw you and blamed you for healing a devil.”
The poor girl looked down, looking both sad and afraid as she nodded.
Ria gently rubbed her back, trying to comfort her.
“What happened then? How did he escape? Did the priest not try to stop him? Did no reinforcements come?”
“The Priest… he came forward but he… disappeared till then.”
Teleporting away so easily from the steps of a church…
“Was that the last time you saw him before today? Have you met any other devil in that time? Did he try to contact you before that? Was there anyone else with him?” He asked.
The girl shook her head.
“I see.” He nodded and looked at Lord Michael who continued.
“Thank you for your help, Miss Argento. I am sorry for what happened to you. We will do our best to compensate you for that.”
“N-no… it’s fine.”
“Come, Asia. Come with me.” Ria brought the girl to her. “Please take her with you. She is confused and scared so don’t leave her alone.”
She nodded and took the girl with her to another room.
The entire time, the poor girl didn’t say a word.
“Are you angry?” She asked.
“Huh?”
“Are you angry at the whole thing? Being excommunicated for something that was not your fault, treated so badly despite the effort you have exhausted for the Church all these years? Are you not disappointed with them?”
“I…” She hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. “No.”
“And what about the Devil? You realise he did all this to have you kicked from the Church, don’t you? If given a chance, would you still heal him?” She asked.
“I… yes.”
“Why?” Teressa asked. She had heard a lot about this girl from Ria’s stories and couldn’t help but want to meet her… well, her and Xenovia but the first meeting with the latter didn’t go well.
“B-because he was hurt.” She replied hesitantly. “He looked like he was in pain.” She continued and the sincerity in her voice was unmistakable.
To have such sincerity towards even someone who had almost ruined her life… Asia Argento was truly a pure soul. It was almost painful to watch.
Now she could understand why Ria had been so agitated about saving her all this time. Someone like her always needed protection.
She caressed the girl’s head.
It was even more painful to know that despite all this, she was still going to be excommunicated from the church.
The difference between her and other holy maiden’s and nuns was her Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing. It was something which could heal even Devils and other races with a darker alignment.
This was now a known fact as were the details of her excommunication. Keeping her in the Church would have a negative effect on Heaven's system or at least that’s what Ria said had happened in her world. This was true for several other Sacred Gears like the ones with the Heavenly Dragons or Cannis Lykaon, ones known to be holding ‘heretic beings’ , a reason why they are never recruited into the church.
The leaders of Heaven would and could not allow that to happen. They would do absolutely anything to prevent their already weakened system from having any problems now. The system was the core foundation of Heaven… it cannot be compromised or the entire heaven and church would be in shambles as a result.
Unfortunately that meant exiling Asia Argento…
Sometimes she wondered if God knew all this and still made these Sacred Gears? If he did then why didn’t he make arrangements in the system? Unfortunately he was no longer among them and thus she had no way of asking anyone.
“Don’t worry. You won’t be alone anymore. Ria promised you, didn’t she?” She sat down and said with a smile.
“Umm… you are… Sister Griselda, aren’t you?” the girl asked, hesitantly.
“I… no. My name is Teressa. Griselda and I… look alike.”
“I see.”
- Ria -
She watched as Asia and Teressa left the room and then looked at the leaders of the Three faction.
“What does the information say, Michael?” Azazel asked.
“It matches. We have taken the priest in custody. In fact, we have taken each and every member of the jury involved in the excommunication of all holy maidens and nuns in Diodora Astaorth’s peerage in custody and questioned them. In more than one case, the description matches his own. As for other cases, we don’t know. Maybe he hired someone else. We will need to investigate further.” Michael explained as he passed a file to Ajuka who opened and took a quick look at the information inside.
“Where are the peerage members of the boy?” Azazel asked.
“In the Underworld. They are being taken into custody as we speak but they are not told about Diodora’s arrest. From what I remember, they had been completely brainwashed using torture and magic so much so that they believe him as their saviour and would do anything for him. They could go berserk if they find his condition and even harm themselves. We will need to slowly put them in therapy over time and break them out of the influence of brainwashing.” She reported watching a wince on Michael’s face.
Ajuka on the other hand looked cold.
“Wake him up.” Ajuka asked with a serious look on his face.
She nodded but remembered something and spoke. “I think you should check his body for Ophis’ snake. I don’t know if he had joined Khaos Brigade this early or not.”
He nodded and several magic circles lit around Diodora’s body and scanned every bit of him before being dispelled.
Ajuka shook his head. “No. It seems he hasn’t made any contacts yet… or at least he doesn’t have any of Ophis’ snakes yet.”
“I see. From what I know, Shalba Beelzebub was the one who made contact with him. I just don’t know when he did that.” She replied. “Anyways, we have inside information about them from Vali so it should be no problem.”
“Alright then. Awaken him now.”
She nodded and took out the antidote to the drug which had been injected in her by Teressa and injected it into Diodora’s unconscious form. She considered twisting the injection more to inflict more pain unfortunately for someone at his level, that would be nothing… not to mention he was unconscious. But she held herself back.
There would be a chance… later on.
She wasn’t going to let Ajuka take him away.
Diodora moved slightly and then opened his eyes, looking around the place in confusion before clarity struck him and he realised where he was.
“You!” He pointed his finger towards her. “What did you do to me? Where did you bring me?” He shouted.
She merely looked at him without answering.
“It was on orders.” The one who spoke was Ajuka.
The voice made him pause and look in the direction of the leaders. Several looks passed through his eyes at that moment. Surprise, anger and fear, but he pushed them back and asked hesitantly. “Why was I brought here?”
“You were brought here for questioning.” Ajuka replied. “Answer the questions you are asked. Do you know Asia Argento?”
He hesitated but nodded after a while.
“How?”
“I… was ambushed by some church people while making contracts and barely fled away from there with a serious injury. During that time, I encountered Asia Argento. I thought she was going to kill me but she healed me despite knowing I am a devil. At that time we were seen by a priest so I teleported away from there in a hurry. Later on I learned that she was excommunicated by Church and searched for her to repay her favour.”
“How exactly were you planning to do so?” Azazel asked.
Diodora threw an unserious look towards him. “Since she had nowhere to go, I was planning to invite her to my peerage. She saved my life and her Sacred Gear can be very useful for Rating Games.” He explained before turning towards her. “And while I was doing so I was captured by her…” He looked at her venomously and continued. “And dragged here.”
“Oh… if you were there to repay the favour, then why did you try to kill her when I was apprehending you?”
“I didn’t!” He tried to say but she interrupted him.
“I have everything on a video. The whole operation was being recorded.”
A slight look of panic crossed his face but he quickly changed his answer.
“I didn’t… intend to do that. I thought she was tricking me, to frame me and ruin my reputation somehow. That just happened in a moment of haste.”
…
“I see.” Ajuka replied as he stared at him blankly. “Why didn’t you tell your parents or someone in the Underworld about this incident?”
“It… was shameful for the heir of a Pillar House like me to get caught in an ambush and then get healed by a Holy Maiden. My house would have been shamed if such a thing came out.” He lied through his teeth.
“I see… Your story does make sense. I can see that happening.”
“Ajuka.” Michael tried to speak but he raised his hand to stop Michael.
She noticed a small smirk on Diodora’s face.
Ajuka however continued, unbothered. “I am just confused about something else.”
“Yes?”
“How many times have you been in the same situation?”
“Excuse me?”
“I am asking, how many times have you been in the same situation, this.. Getting hunted by the church or some other people and saved by a holy maiden, only to be found out by someone else and then getting excommunicated and joining your peerage?” Ajuka asked as the boy’s face turned pale.
Ajuka however ignored this and lifted a file. “According to this, six of your peerage members were acquired in the same way. Five others were in similar situations although the description of the devil in question doesn’t match yours. The rest were found in some cases of theft or other scandals but on further investigation, it was found that they had involvement of devils too. So… how many times have you been in the same situation?”
“I… I… I don’t understand what you mean. That’s not true… that can’t be true.” He denied in panic.
“Oh… and yet all your peerage members have given this information in the interrogation while you were unconscious. In case you don’t realise, due to you resisting, you were injected with a higher dose of sedative. You have been asleep for a week now. All we did was just confirm their words… which wasn’t that hard.”
A shocked look passed by that of rage came over to his face.
“I tricked them… so what? There are no rules regarding no taking in any former church members in the peerage. The church and heaven abandoned them and only after that did I take them in my peerage. It’s not like others don’t do it, be it the Fallen or Devils. Even Heaven takes kids with Sacred Gears when they are barely able to walk and brainwashes and experiments on them, turning them into soldiers from a young age. What did I do wrong? You cannot do anything to me.” He replied fiercely with a scowl on his face, his facade finally coming off.
She noticed a look of guilt at the accusations on Michael’s face but it passed away and was replaced by a stern countenance.
“You are right. No one can do anything to you legally for this. We are just here to clear the investigations so answer what you are asked. Do you accept the charges of colluding with church officials to get excommunicated and then recruit them in your peerage?” He asked.
“Yes, I did.” he answered, confident this time, probably due to hearing that he was not being charged.
“For all your current peerage members?”
“Yes.” He replied unabashed, even throwing a slight smug look at her.
She had the urge to facepalm at his stupidity… seriously, how did this kind of idiot manage to pull something like this off… and not get caught already?
Were the church people really that incompetent?
Was everyone around him just blind?
No… she realised soon that the devils around him weren’t blind… they just didn’t care.
It was already known among the higher circles that his peerage members were all former nuns and holy maidens. It was looked at suspiciously by a few but they just didn’t care.
So what if he was indeed seducing nuns and holy maidens?
The church was their enemy after all. They had killed plenty of devils so anyone stealing or harming their members… was not something any devil would protest against. After all, it was only the natural course of things.
If the church could harm the devils by any schemes, they wouldn’t hesitate either. Same for the Fallen Angels. It is the way things have been since the beginning. Sure it has calmed down a lot nowadays, but it is nowhere near gone.
In her past life, things had gotten better.
There were several reasons for it.
Firstly, many Reincarnated Devils had risen up during the wars and were awarded with higher ranks and positions, making their standing a lot stronger in the Underworld, to an extent that the older… more conservative devils couldn’t ignore them anymore.
Secondly, with the Old Satan faction either completely gone or siding with them in the form of Vali and Ingvild, the conservatives had no fall back in case they wanted to rebel, something which is a major threat right now.
The Old Satan faction is currently not a terrorist organisation. It is still a group of devils who don’t associate with the current government. While this doesn’t give them the rights and privileges of those who do… it doesn’t make them criminals either.
If the current Satans directly started massacring them without any new provocation, a decent part of the Underworld would turn against them. After all, while many wanted the Old Satan Faction’s rule gone during the Civil War, it was only due to their insistence on continuing the war. There were still many people who held some measure of loyalty for them.
The foremost would be the Extra Demon Houses who directly served the Satan Clans back then.
They just couldn’t afford any split in the Underworld right now, especially with the threat of the Machine and Spirit Gods on the horizon.
Obviously, this also meant that should the members of the Old Satan faction in Khaos Brigade make any move… they will be dealt with extreme prejudice.
She was prepared to directly surround and butcher each and every one of them without any mercy. All they needed was for them to slip up at least once… to give them a reason.
Thirdly, the Peace Treaty and the coming alliance between the Three Factions meant a reduced load on the Satans, giving them more time and power to concentrate on the matters of the Underworld.
The alliance also brought several terms which helped reduce the power of the older devils.
There were also incidents like the King Piece incident and the riot in the Underworld which helped push forth the new legislature even against the wishes of the old Devils. These things could however only be done one step at a time.
In her past life, they had achieved it and they could do so again… even faster this time with the current Satans not being sealed with Trihexa and them being serious about facing the future threats, not to mention the extra help in the form of her team.
Both Sirzechs and Ajuka chose peaceful ways to prevent another Civil War from happening and if things had remained the same, they probably would have kept doing that… but things changed.
With the danger of the Machine and Spirit Gods on the horizon… they will not hold back anymore.
Everyone watched as Ajuka kept on asking questions about details and he answered them more or less.
“I see. Very well, the investigation is complete.”
“Then can I leave now?” He asked.
“Yes, you may.”
He got up and turned around, even throwing her a smirk… when Ajuka continued.
“Ria, he is all yours. Do whatever you want.”
The boy froze and she smiled. She knew it.
Among all the Satans, Ajuka Beelzebub was the most serious one when it came to the matters of the Underworld.
He could pick a fight with anyone as long as it promoted the growth of the Underworld… including his own family.
Poor Diodora was overestimating his importance all this time.
She stepped forward and the boy panicked again.
“What! No. I haven’t done anything illegal. You can’t do this to me.”
Ajuka looked at him with a bored look. “You seem to forget who makes the laws in the Underworld. Then let me remind you.”
Magic circles lit up all around Diodora, sealing his movements completely, making him fall on the ground as Ajuka’s demonic power rose, pressing down on the boy.
“I am Satan Beelzebub. I make the laws in the Underworld. If I say you are guilty… then you are guilty. End of the investigation. Take him away.”
“Yes Lord Beelzebub.” She dragged the boy away.
“No, no nooooo!”
_________________________________x_________________________________
“You should have killed him and gotten it done with. He got off too easily with that.” Teressa said to her as she stepped out of the prison cell where Diodora was imprisoned.
She looked at the woman in surprise for her words. Teressa was the kind and forgiving type normally. Then again, Diodora wasn’t exactly the type of guy to fall under her mercy list.
“Destroying all five of his limbs… was just the first step. I didn’t take his life because there are fifteen others who deserve that satisfaction more than me.”
“His peerage members?” Teressa paused and asked and Ria nodded in reply.
“Yes.”
“But they are…”
“Totally brainwashed and consider him their God, I know. And that’s something we need to break. I will get them out of their brainwashing and throw him to them to do whatever they want to. That… will be the best retribution for that kind of scum.” She narrowed her eyes.
Both Teressa and she had come to drop Diodora off at the private cell of one of Azazel’s labs, a place not even the members of Grigori knew about. It was one of his secret hideouts where he did some of his private experiments.
They obviously couldn’t bring him out as… legally he really hadn’t done anything wrong. But then again, neither had Cleria Belial done anything wrong… and yet she was sentenced to death. This time however, it would be done for a good reason.
“Will it be that easy? Who knows what kind of torture those girls have gone through?”
“Hmm, we did manage to help them last time. That’s why I know exactly the person for this job. It’s just that… recruiting her could go either way. I would need Flinn to help me with it.”
“Oh… who are you talking about?”
“The wielder of the Alphecca Tyrant… Meredith Ordinton.”
- Flinn -
“What?” I asked as I was pulled into a corner of the Haunted House by Shuri.
Haunted House for Devils… yeah, there was such a thing.
Even I was surprised at first but it turns out that unlike the strict and stubborn heaven and church, Devils were very business minded.
The Haunted House contained parody versions of angels and holy symbols to scare little devil children… and it worked too.
I guess that’s what they call scaring the bejesus out of someone. I laughed so hard when I saw that.
Seriously, now I want to bring Teressa here just to see her reaction to this place.
“Nothing. I just wanted to try something.” Shuri smiled and replied.
“Try? What?”
She leaned in and fiercely started to kiss me. Although taken aback by her actions, I didn’t disappoint and replied in kind, pushing her against the wall and taking her lips by force. It’s not like she would bruise anyway and even if she did, knowing her she would only find it hot.
The Phenex Household Vessel gave her faster healing so slightly bruised lips would not be a problem anyways.
Her kiss was different today.
Shuri has always been aggressive but today… it felt as if she wanted more.
I realised that I hadn’t been with her since we returned back to the Underworld. She was spending time with Akeno and I didn’t want to disturb her.
After all, meeting this Akeno was the main reason she had joined my peerage back in the last world so I wanted to let her have her fun.
But it seems that things were not as I was thinking.
We separated after a few minutes, a strand of saliva connecting our tongues.
There was a heavy blush on her face, her breathing was laboured as she looked at me with almost hungry eyes.
“Okay, what’s up with you? I mean, not that I dislike it or anything. I am very happy if anything… it’s just…”
She didn’t let me complete and pulled me back into another kiss.
Oh boy… well, since that’s the case.
My hands slipped down to her bottom, grabbing and massaging her large soft bottom as I lifted her up. Her legs snaked around my waist, her crotch directly on top of my already hard length, and her arms around my back, grabbing my hair as she pulled me more into the kiss.
It was as if her tongue was trying to explore every bit of my mouth.
By the time we separated, her breathing was short but she didn’t look like she was done yet and would dive at me at any moment again…
I however wanted answers so I grabbed her hair and pulled it back slightly, hard enough to make her feel slightly painful but not enough to actually hurt her.
“Okay… what’s up with this?”
She smiled, the slight pain only turning her on even more.
“I just thought you looked incredibly hot taking care of Milicas today.
“…what?”
Her smiled widened. “I was just imagining how you would look with our own child someday… and it made me hot.”
…
I found my mouth open and unable to answer…
“Child?”
“What, could it be that you don’t want to have a child with me?” She asked, narrowing her eyes playfully… but knowing her as long as I have, I couldn’t help notice the signs of slight pain and apprehension hidden behind her eyes.
“Obviously I want to… but… all of a sudden… I am just a bit taken aback.” My words clarified the fear almost instantly.
“I am not saying I want a child now. I just said the thought made me hot…”
“…ah… is that one of your kinks?” I asked.
“Kinks and wishes… maybe, who knows? Why do you want to try? We could always practice?” She asked provocatively.
“Practice does make a man perfect… so, when do we start?”
“Tonight, Rias and Akeno will be having a sleepover at Sona’s place. I will be waiting in my room.”
“Okay. I will be there.” Onee-chan would be out with Teressa too so I was going to be alone either way without Rias.
“Great.” She pecked at my lips and got down from my lap.
Suddenly, I was looking forward to the night once more.
We enjoyed the rest of our time in the amusement park.
In the end, as Shuri had said, Rias and Akeno went to Sona’s place.
They invited me to tag along but the look on my face at the suggestion only made them laugh.
“So, did you have fun, Milicas?” I asked the boy who was currently on my shoulder as we walked back from the amusement park.
“Yes! The roller coaster was so cool. Can we come here again, Nii-san?”
“Obviously. If you can complete the leaf sticking exercise and three basic jutsu, we will come here again.”
“Awesome. I will complete it in two months… no, one month… yes. One month.
I laughed at his enthusiasm.
Today’s trip… was fun.
_________________________________x__________________________________________________________________x_________________________________
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Author’s Note:
I am back with another chapter of ‘The Redhead’.
Too many things were happening in the past few chapters so I thought of doing a cooldown chapter this time.
Flinn and Milicas are getting along well.
They got a well deserved rest.
Shuri always has crazy ideas and now she is pulling Sakuya into it too.
Poor Flinn has no idea about the craziness he is going to face.
On the other hand, Diodora got the well deserved punishment.
Asia was saved so that’s another plus.
I will do the world jump in a few more chapters. Before that, a team needs to be formed for the World Jump.
Enjoy the new chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.
Comments
Hiram
So I realized Thor is redheaded in myth and in Records of Ragnarok..wink wink
Ranma_Leopard
As always this is just really awesome and I can't wait for more
KingSpy25i .
Thank you for the chapter 🙏
Miguel Sevilla
Vaya había pasado tanto tiempo que tuve que leer de nuevo el capitulo 9 para recordar donde iba todo, fue interesante, también catártico ver a Diodora enjuiciado, jejeje, las cosas progresan un poco pero fuera de eso es entretenido. Hasta la próxima
Hiram
Have you considered having Issei sent to jail/juvie something fully mundane?
savitar
I hope we see more of Millicas, he's an adorable kid. Diodora got what he deserved and I say finally, I hope the church gets a good kick in the ass, how I hate corruption. One question, how happy would the Gremory be with a whole clan of redheads in the form of the Uzumaki? It's a shame they can't take the Uchiha and the remaining Senju, Konoha isn't supporting them properly.
[GLD]Guto
https://m.fanfiction.net/s/14087197/57/ here is the frist chapter to anyone how mitgh want
DJOK DJOK
Thanks for the update love this story
Austin
It’s not it’s just that it would be much easier if they were all grouped together to make reading it easier as it’s on the snippets but it’s hard to access them if you just wanted to read this story for ex you have to go to chapter 56-64 or 65 then come here
Osiris Sundavr
They are grouped together, sorta. It is in his snippets stories. It’s on fanfiction and should be on Questionable Questing too. I don’t know if it’s on his WebNovel though.
Osiris Sundavr
It is in his snippets thread/group. It’s on fanfiction and should be on Questionable Questing too.
Ofeq 2003
It's in FFN in Cross' snippets...
Austin
Thanks it’s not in order like I thought which is why I missed it I appreciate you letting me know
owlknight
look on fan fiction for Cross' Random Snippets story 8 chapter 1-9
owlknight
look on fan fiction for Cross' Random Snippets story 8 chapter 1-9
crashdash
This was a decent chapter.
Austin
For ex I can only find this and the previous chapter on Patreon
Sam Olsen
where is the beginning of this story? I scrolled for a while and couldn't find it
Austin
Any chance you can group all the stories you have together to make reading them easier? It’s a pain in the ass rn to atm. Love your stories though
