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The Deal: Chapter 24: Road to Hell
🕑 Added 2024-04-26 22:38:46 +0000 UTCDeal With The Devil
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 24: Road to Hell
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- Damien -
I looked at the bar that was getting its final touches and laughed as I thought about my next joke.
"You know the Church is going to make noise because of this, right?" Merlin said as he sipped tea. “Opening a bar up the path from the church.”
"Oh! True but… I don't see how any of that is my problem?”
“Hahahaha yes, how is that our problem?” He laughed. “So what are you going to name the bar?”
“773H.”
It took him a moment to realise the meaning of the name and then he laughed even more. “So apt.”
As we were talking, someone entered the room. Gretel bowed before reporting.
"Master, we’ve received news from our spies. Fallen Angel Sataneel has rebelled. He is working with the Wizards of Oz and the Utsusemi Organisation and has been targeting the Four Fiends Sacred Gears."
Got it.
"Any news on Augusta?" I asked.
"She was seen in Japan. Our spies have been able to locate her current location and plans."
The spies were a great idea from Suzaku of all people. The Utsusemi Agency is made up of the exiles of the Five Principal Clans. Like how many do they even exile for them to make an entire organisation out of it?
Suzaku's idea was to send a few of her more troublesome members bound by a contract as spies to infiltrate the Utsusemi Agency. She exiled them and a few of them were indeed picked up by the Utsusemi Agency soon.
This way, some problematic individuals were removed from the Himejima Clan and we got some insiders in the Utsusemi Agency.
“What plans?”
“They are…” She paused for a bit and I looked at her. She took a light breath and continued. “They are being supported by the Shinto Pantheon.”
….
I looked a bit thoughtful.
“Well, it was not a matter of if but rather of when and how. We had already predicted this was going to happen. They will probably stay behind and watch them tear each other apart. So, who are they attacking, the other Five Principal Clans or the Youkai?” Merlin asked, unbothered.
“Both. They have also pushed for the Gokadoin house to attack the Five Principal Clans while the Utsusemi Agency will poke the Youkai. Both their relations to the other side will be used to instigate a war between both sides.”
“That’s quite good if I say so myself. Especially considering Yasaka’s current attitude, she wouldn’t back down either. But still, they will need to do something major to cause a war between the two sides.”
Gretel paused at this sentence.
I narrowed my eyes at her reaction. “Who are they targeting?”
“Yasaka’s daughter Kunou, Nurarihyon’s Grandson and… Shirone-chan.”
….
“I see.”
“That’s… going after the leader’s families and the younger sister of a sage who happens to be a young sage herself. The Youkai are not going to stop until there is nothing left. At that point maybe, the Shinto will come down acting like the high and mighty keepers of peace when both sides are battered up badly.” Merlin assessed. “So what will you do?”
I kept quiet.
“Master?” Gretel said, breaking me out of my thoughts.
“How are the students of Hagoromo doing?” I asked.
“They are progressing quite well in the Jujutsu Techniques. Ayakashi and Youkai are innately good at using Jujutsu due to being born from Negative feelings of humans. In fact, most of them can manifest their Fear techniques as their Innate Curse Technique. Currently, five of her top subordinates have achieved the creation of a Domain. This includes Rikuo Nura and Tsurara Oikawa. Half a dozen others are progressing well. Among her subordinates, over eight hundred have grasped basic Jujutsu techniques.”
Yes. Nurarihyon actually sent his own grandson to Hagoromo Gitsune of all people to learn as a show of trust for the Kyubi. I got to respect the balls on that old man. Doing all this to end the enmity of centuries just for the progress of his kind. He was a good leader. True leader.
Hagoromo Gitsune was able to reverse engineer Jujutsu Techniques from my words. She even went ahead and devised her own Domain Expansion. It did take a considerable amount of knowledge about barriers however she had the knowledge of the barrier from Nue. This made her work considerably easier. A nerfed Archmage did the rest.
Then she went on to teach these techniques to all her subordinates loyal to her. Everyone was progressing differently but they did get stronger.
As for Hagoromo Gitsune herself, the woman has a Domain without barriers where she can shower her enemies with any of the techniques from her nine tails.
“First inform Yasaka and Nurarihyon. As our allies, this is our duty towards them. Second, place guards with Shirone. If they do attack her…” I took a deep breath. “Kill their entire organisation. Tell Hagoromo Gitsune to do so. Get evidence about the involvement of the Shinto and publicise it.”
We have been gritting our teeth and bearing things for over a decade now and finally we have enough strength. I won't allow my people to be walked over anymore.
….
“Yes Master. What about the Wizards of Oz and Fallen Angel Sataneel?”
“Was he declared rogue officially?"
"Yes."
"In that case, inform Azazel. I will go there myself with Celine.” I turned towards Merlin. “Will you be joining us?”
“Hmm why not? I want to see what that organisation has amounted to in the last few centuries.” Merlin agreed.
"Anything else?" I asked her.
"You were planning to take Miss Vienna for a spar against Rias Gremory."
Ah… yes. It was that time already. I need to prepare for it.
"Send a message to Sirzechs. Actually, send him a card for the opening of the bar." I smiled.
My otaku friend has been training real hard this last year since. Although not at Vienna's level, she has gotten quite strong.
"Who do you think will win? I haven't seen your little friend but there are rumours about the new Red Dragon Empress. You have been teaching her yourself. I wonder how strong she is." Merlin questioned.
"She is progressing well. There is great potential but she will likely lose this fight. Vi has had longer specified training than her. Although she is using Shadow Clones, it will still take her a year more before she can match Vi. But…"
"But?"
"There is still a minute chance that she could make it a tie."
"Hoh! That would be quite a sight."
"It would be, yeah. You’re going to meet your own student, I’m guessing?"
"Oh yes. He's one of the most interesting students I have had in a while. In your language, he would be a classic Shounen Protagonist if things had been a little different. He reminds me a lot of myself hahahaha." He laughed.
"Yes, he does give off that vibe. Any interference from his family?"
"I don't think those people deserve to call themselves his family." He replied, his tone a little angry.
Yes. I can see how Sairaorg Bael would remind him of his own past.
"Tell me something about him. How is he doing? I only met him once and that too for not long." I asked.
"Sai has a will and resolve I have rarely seen in people. You already know his condition."
"Hmm, I bound him so that my Archmage could solve that problem."
"Yeah, about that. He rejected using magic."
"Say what?" I asked, surprised. He was quite young, not the Sairaorg Bael of a few years later but a boy who was kicked out of his house, had his position taken away and even his mother fell into sickness. He was still able to reject magic?
"According to him, if he chose the easy way out, several others like him will never get hope that they can become something in life even without any magic. The boy wants to be a Satan, a King to change things, to make things better. It's… a beautiful dream. Much nobler than my petty revenge." He sighed.
I didn't interrupt his thoughts.
"Hmm. So, what are you teaching him?" I asked, shifting the heavy topic.
"Well, Haki would be obvious. I thought of teaching him about chakra but I remembered something better." He smirked. "I taught him Nen. The boy has insane potential for it. Especially with the oath he made."
"Nen Oath?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. His oath was to never use magic and with your gift, you can imagine the result he got. He is a pure Enhancer. Couple that with Haki, a rare Conqueror's Haki user, Regulus Nemea and we have a beast of Close Quarter Combat on our hands."
Is this guy turning him into a miniature Saitama?
"Did you tell him about the Sleeping Illness?" I asked, getting back to the topic at hand.
Merlin's face turned serious as he nodded. "He took it quite well and said that he will not raise a single finger to assist them if their crimes are proven and they were indeed responsible for his mother's condition. I accepted and offered protection and a cure for his mother when everything was over."
"I see. Then do it. If he wants to become a Satan, make him. The Underworld would do well with a few good people. Although it seems that things are turning for the better, there is bound to be chaos soon enough. Changes of this level are never peaceful. And the current leaders would actually welcome it if someone else took their seats after all this was done."
– Sirzechs –
He returned back home as soon as he heard about the message from the youngest Lucifer.
At home, the entire family had gathered.
His Grandmother was sitting in the lead facing a figure who appeared to be human. Mathers and Souji were behind them as if to protect all of them and finally, Rias sat beside their grandmother and her queen stood behind her.
The girl in front of them had pinkish hair and wore a kimono and carried two katanas on her side while she was sitting and having snacks.
“These cookies are very nice Maam.” She praised as she took another bite. “And this tea is great as well. As good as the tea made by Akeno-chan.”
“Thank you. I am glad you like it.” Grandmother replied.
“Umm umm.”
“Could you introduce yourself?” Grandmother asked. “We only know you as the messenger of Damien Lucifer Asmodeus.”
“Me? My formal name? Shinmen Musashi-no-Kami Fujiwara no Harunobu. Still, it’s easier if you just call me Musashi.”
Now this raised many eyebrows.
“Musashi… as in Musashi Miyamoto? The famed swordsman of Japan?” Souji asked.
“A reincarnation actually but yes. By the way, I have heard of you too. Okita Souji, the former captain of Shinsengumi. There are very few swordsmen who have left their name on our country’s history and everyone is worth their title. I would love to duel you someday.” She smiled.
Souji bowed in return. “I would be honoured.”
By then they had noticed his presence and turned towards him.
The girl stood up and bowed to him. “My name is Musashi Miyamoto, messenger of my Master, Damien Lucifer Asmodeus. I am here to deliver a letter of invitation from my Master.” She brought out a letter from his sleeve and passed it on to him.
He raised an eyebrow at the letter and opened it. His expressions became strange as he read the letter. Just to verify if he had read it correctly, he reread it again.
“This…”
“Ah, Master thought it was time for the spar between Miss Vienna and her rival and wanted to decide on a meeting place so he invited you over to the event to meet and talk the matter over. You can obviously bring anyone you want with you. It’s just a celebration.”
“But why would he do…” He asked, perplexed.
She merely shrugged. “Master said it’s something every Lucifer worth their name should do. I have no idea what it means.”
He just looked oddly at the reply.
"Can anyone join?" His Grandmother asked.
"Oh yes. Everyone is welcome. Well it's good for the business anyway." She smiled.
He shook off his thoughts and spoke. "In that case, I will be honoured to join the celebration. May I ask if there will be other people there?"
"Mostly us and our allies."
Hmm. It would actually give him a chance to scout their faction a little. He knew that Nurarihyon and Yasaka were definitely invited. But do they have any other allies?
Azazel had been poking his nose there recently. He had found out about Rias gaining the Booster Gear and that he was visiting Romania during the 'Great Collapse' as they are calling it in hushed voices now and proceeded to ask questions. That man's curiosity was dangerous.
He had somehow managed to keep him away but he was sure that even he, like several others, had connected the dots and thus was visiting Japan often.
As he was thinking of this, Rias excitedly asked the girl. "Do you know Damien's sister? How strong is she? Last time I had seen her, she had already unlocked her Balance Breaker. Is she stronger now?"
"Hmm, are you talking about your chances in the spar?
Rias nodded.
“Are you sure you want to know?” She asked, quite seriously.
“Yes.” Rias replied resolutely.
"You have gotten quite strong from what I can sense. At least since the last time I saw you. But, she has been getting stronger too. If you don't have any Trump cards, I would say that you have around 2% chances of winning."
"T-t-two percent?"
Everyone in the room was stunned.
They had seen the growth of Rias in the last few years. Especially since she got her Longinus. She has dedicated most of her time to training. Currently, if she were to use her Longinus, she would be able to put up a fight against even their parents.
So to say that she only had a two percent chance of winning.
"Eh, it's not that surprising, you know. Vi has been training under Gre-chan and Master since she was seven. Her normal sparring partners are all extremely talented Ultimate Class beings. And even if we put aside these for a moment, Vi, like Master, can use the 'Denial of the Divine'. Although she will not use it in your spar, it being a spar between your Sacred Gears, she could negate all your advantage in a moment. It's a conservative estimate. To be honest, only Master himself thinks you have a slight chance of winning this year. But that's mostly due to the lack of time. Aside from that you are doing pretty good, ya know. You are among the top ten people of your age. At this rate, next year, you could put up a good fight."
They can use what!
Lucifer Clan Trait?
Both of them?
“So… he said I have a chance of winning?” Rias asked.
“Master? Yes. He said that you do have a chance of winning because of the synergy between your ability and the Boosted Gear. Other than that I don’t know anything about the matter.”
“Okay.” Rias nodded. “Thank you for telling me about this. Please excuse me.I have something to do.” And then she left.
“Ah… I said too much didn’t I?” The girl spoke, a bit abashed.
“You didn’t, dear. As your Master said about his sister, I will say the same. Rias was progressing very fast. This can make people overconfident in their abilities which is not good. If anything then your words did her a favour instead. Thank you.” Grandmother said. “Please tell your Master that we are extremely thankful for his gift and look forward to meeting him.”
“I will.”
“By the way, you said that Rias was among the top ten of her age. I assume the first would be your Master and the younger Lucifuge child? Who are the others?”
“Asking me information about my group? I am sorry but I cannot say that, ya know. As for our Master and Gre-chan, they are not included in the list. That would be totally unfair. I was mostly talking about her and those younger than her.”
With each of her words, shock increased in his heart.
They had already guessed that their side would have extremely strong people seeing what his ‘Kiss’ had done to Rias but still, hearing that from someone was completely different. No wonder, he gave up the Longinus that easily.
They never needed it anyways.
“I see.” His grandmother said quite pensively.
“Alright, Goodbye then.”
He too nodded at them. “Escort her outside, Souji.”
As both of them left, he sat down.
“What was that letter about?” His father asked.
“An invitation.”
“Invitation?”
“An invitation to the opening of a bar.”
“A bar?”
Yeah, he was not the odd one to be surprised.
- Azazel -
“What’s the letter about, Azazel?” Shemhazai asked.
“It’s an invitation.” He smiled and passed on the letter to Shemhazai.
“A bar?”
“A bar opened by the Devil.”
“Huh?”
“Damien is opening a bar. That’s an invitation for its opening.”
“Opening a bar? Why would he open a bar?” Shemhazai said, opening the letter and reading it.
“Because that’s cool. When has he not done what he wanted to? Compared to what he did before, opening a bar on a whim may be the cutest thing he has ever done.”
“Okay, stop comparing them, Azazel. And I know he’s supposedly the reincarnation of our brother, that said, he is a reincarnation, not the man himself. He is trying to live a new life. Respect that already.”
“I respect the new him alot. In fact, he is currently my second favourite member of the three factions after Gabriel but she’s up there for completely different reasons.” He said as Shemhazai rolled his eyes.
“Who else will be coming?”
“Probably just his allies. He also sent an invitation to the old geezer Odin. So maybe the Youkai will be coming too.”
“What are you going to do about Satanael, Azazel?” Penemue asked, causing a frown to appear on his face at the reminder. “I told you that he was acting suspiciously and now he has gone rogue. Let me go after him.”
He let out a sigh. To be honest, he did try to stop him but their differences were too much. Satanael’s experiments were dangerous and he wasn't willing to take any middle road. And now that he had gone rogue, Penemue was not going to stop at anything to go after him.
“You… can go but take Baraqiel with you and investigate. Bring him in.”
“Alright.”
He let out a sigh.
Now, he really needed those drinks to forget this nonsense.
Maybe opening a bar wasn’t a bad idea after all. At least he wouldn’t have to deal with all this work.
- Yasaka -
She looked at the two letters and gripped one in her hand as she felt disgusted with what was written.
The Shinto were supporting terrorists to cull the strength of the Youkai. She didn’t even doubt it because they had done such things before. This wouldn’t be the first time.
“Okaa-sama? Are you okay? You look angry.” She was broken out of her thoughts by the words of her daughter.
She hugged Kunou close to her chest. They were going to use her as a trigger for the war. She couldn’t help but feel rage at this. What was her fault?
Wasn’t she doing the work assigned by Amaterasu? Then why? And if they had problems, why couldn’t they just come out and say it. Was their pride so much that they’d rather have the Youkai die than support any of them?
At this point it was clear that the Youkai had only two options. Either they bow their heads and accept whatever was happening or they stand their ground and increase their strength to a level where the Shinto would hesitate to plot against them. Achieving the latter was hard. Extremely so.
Even with the two new sages, they were nowhere near the level of the Shinto. Kuroka could fight well. In a few years maybe, she would be able to deter the Shinto but as a pantheon which has stood for thousands of years, they had some of their own cards.
Shirone, while having immense potential, was still young. She would still take a few years to grow into her potential.
But the most important thing was that both Kuroka and Shirone were a part of his group. At this point, she could only think of one other way to survive this predicament. And that was to rely on their new allies. Will that make them reliant or even subordinates to him? Maybe. But they were currently subordinates to the Shinto and look where it got them.
He on the other hand didn’t fear the strength of his subordinates. Each one of them, at least the ones she had met were stronger than her, stronger than a majority of the Shinto Gods. And yet, most of the world didn’t even know they existed.
And now, she had to make a decision. As a leader and as a mother. What she planned to do going forward because if she didn’t do anything, her people would suffer.
- Satanael -
“Are you sure this will be fine?” Augusta asked him for the umpteenth time. It was getting annoying but it was understandable too.
After all, they were dealing with something which might erase them with the blink of an eye. The being sitting in front of them in the form of a prepubescent girl might look like a harmless and innocent child but was someone even his father feared for a reason.
“This is a necessity.”
“And, what of the earlier objective?”
“To invoke disturbing elements, power is necessary. If it’s a human, it’s fine so long as they’ve been bestowed with a sacred gear, but where fantastical beings are concerned it’s a different story. When it comes to drawing out fantastical beings, ‘power’ as an explicit offering is necessary.”
“Then, would that be your aim?”
In regards to the witch’s question, Satanael directed his gaze towards the figure in front of him.
“The longest living creatures in this world, dragons. Among them, said to be a Dragon God, is one endowed with the power of infinity…”
The witches understood.
“Ouroboros huh. The power of the ‘Snake’ of Ouroboros…”
“Yes.”
“Imagine the power of a normal Supernatural Being drawn out and enhanced by the infinity. A simple Twice Critical enhanced by the infinity could form a Longinus theoretically. So why can’t we use this power? After all, power is what we are lacking right now.”
“Are you worried about the power behind the Youkai? They aren’t much, you know. Even their bosses, the Shinto have given up on them.” The Witch’s apprentice spoke.
“That’s exactly why we should be wary of them. Normally the Shinto wouldn’t have relied on others to do their dirty job. But they did this time. This shows us that even they do not know who is behind the Youkai and are wary of them. They are merely using us to test the waters. If the waters are too deep, we will be by ourselves, to swim or die. If we succeed, they win. If we lose, they can just claim they had no hand in it. They are not our backup. Merely a side which is doing business with us. What we need is a backup for ourselves in case things go wrong and what better backup than the Ouroboros Dragon?” he smiled before turning towards Augusta. “Have the experiments been readied?”
“Yes.”
“Then we start as soon as we can.”
- Hagoromo Gitsune -
The Shinto was acting against the growing power of the Youkai… as if that was surprising. Didn’t she tell everyone the same back then and they thought she was going insane? Which got her killed and drove her son insane and pushed him to become what he had become.
She looked at the children in front of her. Learning, playing and growing together. The smile on their faces as they got along with each other.
To ruin all this because of their insecurities…
“What is his order?” She asked.
“Master has ordered security to be placed on all the major targets, especially Shirone-chan. We are to only save the lives of Rikuo-kun and Kunou-chan but if any of them go after Shirone-chan, we are ordered to erase their organisation. You can take anyone from our side to help you out with this. The other side has a possible Longinus user, the wielder of the Incinerate Anthem and Master wants to take care of her himself so please relay the message if you encounter them. Other than that, you can act as you want.” The maid spoke evenly.
“Does that child Kuroka know about this?”
“Yes. She will be working with you on this. Here’s all the information about their side. We could be collaborating with Yasaka and Nurarihyon-sama if they agree.”
She perused the information and then thought of a while. “I want Cleria Belial, Akira and… Meredith Ordinton.”
As she was going through the papers, she saw another name. The Gokadoin House. Her descendants…
“I want to request something.”
“Yes.”
“Leave the Gokadoin house to me. They will not be doing any damage. I will even bring them in.”
“... I see. I will relay the message to Master.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s fine. You are a part of our organisation now. This is the least we can do for you.”
She would need to teach some wayward children a lesson, it seems.
- Damien -
One week had passed since the day I sent invitations to everyone and it was finally the day of celebration.
Most of my group had gathered for today’s event.
I looked at the bar in front of me and couldn’t help but have a smile on my face. The piano at the centre of the room was especially the highlight of the place. Ingvild liked singing and offered to be the singer of the place. She was happy so we don’t mind either. She had worked hard and needed her break too.
As for the staff of the Restaurant, each and every person selected for the Staff was an Ultimate Class at the very least.
More than half of my main group was here while the other half stayed hidden to work from behind the scenes to take care of things.
We had to adjust the plans for Operation Regicide for a bit because it seems that Zekram is trying to contact the Old Satan faction idiots and use them against Sirzechs.
The guy really overestimates himself.
With the information I had found about him, I wanted to make his end more painful. That bastard had infected Lilith with the Sleeping sickness to remove her as an obstacle.
Lilith.
My Lilith.
Just thinking about it made me enraged. The memories of Lucifer did bring some attachments with itself.
While I didn’t obsess over them, they did stir up my emotions. Especially ones belonging to his Father, Mother, siblings and… Lilith.
Zekram will pay. I will watch as his fancy little world crumbles around him and then I will reveal everything to him before he dies.
As I was thinking about this, the first guest arrived.
“This is a fine place you have built for yourself.” Azazel said as he stepped in. Shemhazai was following him too.
“Did you have any trouble finding the place?”
“With the instructions you left outside and on the card, we would be idiots if we couldn’t find it. Naming a Bar Hell and the address as ‘Straight up from the Church’ couldn’t get anymore clear. By the way, you know that the Church people will be making a ruckus because of it.” Shemhazai laughed.
“You say that as if they wouldn’t make a ruckus as soon as my identity is revealed.” I smiled.
“Touché.”
“So who else is coming?” Azazel asked as I sensed the others coming in.
Odin was here with Thor and our longtime friend, Sigurd who was followed by his wife, Brynhildr.
“Hahahaha now this is a way to live life. To be honest, if this idiot son of mine would take the throne, I would retire and open a bar for myself too. Maybe an Oppai Club like Azazel here.” Odin laughed boisterously, making Sigurd look abashed while Thor merely smiled. The woman in the group was offended though.
“Allfather, please pay attention to your behaviour.” She chided the man who looked unrepentant and then turned towards me. “Congratulations Damien. It’s good to see you doing well.”
Sigurd came and we shook hands.
“Thank you. Please enjoy the party. We are still waiting for a few guests.”
And the rest of the guests came soon enough.
“Damien. I am looking forward to a good fight when all this is done.” Thor said as he patted my back, making me smile wryly.
In the last year, since our alliance with the Norse was confirmed, I had been challenged by Thor several times. He was a total battle maniac. Like, he’d rather fight than eat or sleep if given a choice.
But all of that didn’t matter. What mattered is that the guy was a genuine beast when it came to fighting.
Like, I can see why he was called one of the Top Ten Strongest beings although that list itself was a massive sham.
He was able to push me when I wasn’t using my Denial of the Divine, forced me to use several of my skills while taking hits from my Conqueror’s Infused attacks and shrug them off while laughing boisterously.
“When all of this is over. Sure.” I smiled.
“Now, where is that student of mine?”
“This event is not exactly for kids. They are in the restaurant at the end of the street.”
“Hmm seems fair. I will go and meet them after the party. You do have the booze for our party, right?”
“Obviously.”
When I was visiting the Norse, Vienna came with me and she was followed by Akeno.
Now, my little sister was becoming a bit of a battle enthusiast herself and for this very reason was liked by many of the Norse people. They sparred with many of the young and even older Norse people.
During this, Akeno’s talent was seen by Thor and he took a liking to her and took her as an apprentice.
I don’t think the girl had ever expected to be taught by Thor of all people. She agreed.
Since then both Vienna and Akeno have been visiting Valhalla and sometimes Thor comes to our base to teach them. He’s quite famous among the kids.
Our next group of guests arrived soon after.
Yasaka and Nurarihyon with several of their subordinates, especially from Nurarihyon’s side. They were a rowdy bunch who liked to party.
“Damien, congratulations on opening your dream place.” Yasaka smiled. I had once joked to her about having a dream of opening a bar.
“Thank you. Enjoy yourself. You look quite stressed out.”
“Yes. It’s been a tough few days.” She let out a sigh.
Things had been getting noisy with the attacks on the Youkai and the Five Principal Clans and they had been extremely busy recently. This was a good opportunity for them to let loose.
“Don’t worry, things will turn out well” I reassured her. At this point, it was the best I could do. I wasn’t going to tell her that I was planning to cull half the people who were a cause of her stress because they were my enemies too. At times like this, as a leader you must ensure maximum profit for your faction.
“We can only hope so.” She forced herself to smile and Nurarihyon greeted me.
“My boys have been looking forward to this party since we got the invitation. I hope you have prepared enough booze for everyone. We are going to drink this place dry hahahaha.”
“There’s more than enough for everyone and you will be having good competition from Thor. He’s already booked himself to drink everything here.”
“Hahahaha are we afraid of challenges, boys? No we are not. So what if the God of thunder is stronger than us? We are not losing in terms of holding our liquor!”
Nurarihyon led his group to Odin who was leering at Yasaka and the woman was ignoring him as if he was air while she talked to a now fuming Brynhildr.
“Are there more people, Damien?” Azazel came and asked.
“Yes. A few more.” I smiled at the remaining ones. “Trust me. You will like it.”
“I will?”
“Most definitely. And speak of pfft the Devil…” I looked towards the door, sensing the newest arrival.
– Serafall Leviathan –
A bar?
All of them had been just as confused as Sirzechs when he had told them about the invitation from the new Lucifer.
Why would he of all people open a bar of all things?
He hasn't shown head or tail for eight months and then he sends someone to Sirzechs' house and not just anyone but the reincarnation of Musashi Miyamoto.
Things had been changing for the better in the Underworld as more houses were included back into the council and the control of the Great King faction over the economy of the Underworld was relaxed a bit. They were still fighting off the returnees, especially those who hadn't accepted their invitation to join their faction.
But it was still better than before. Still, there were several things which could go wrong.
So, it was obviously a bit unnerving when someone who could overturn this entire situation just by taking a casual stroll through the streets of New Lilith, was inviting them to a party. This wasn't even a choice at this point for them. Not like they would reject the invitation anyway.
It was an opportunity to make better relationships with him and if that wasn't possible, then know more about their side.
Thus she decided to join the meeting. Grandmother Gremory and Lord Gremory were coming to talk about the yearly spar which was a whole other mess they didn't want to delve into at this point of time.
She looked at the name and address of the Bar and couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "At least he has a good sense of humour."
The scene in front of her was not something she was expecting from a bar opened by Lucifer.
There were obviously the Youkai but other people were completely unexpected.
"Is that Odin? Thor? Does the boy have a connection with the Norse?"
And not only the Norse. The one sitting beside Odin and leering at Yasaka who was promptly ignoring the duo made her lips twitch.
Obviously he would know. He had always been good at digging out information. And the guy had the audacity to disturb them about Rias' Boosted Gear. She would bet that he was laughing at them when he did so. It was just like that bastard.
"Welcome. I am glad you all could make it here." Her thoughts were broken by a voice sounding beside her. She turned around and was frozen at the sight of the person standing there.
Grandmother Gremory and Lord Gremory were the same.
Sirzechs was the one least affected because he had already encountered this situation before. "Good to see you too, Damien. Thank you for inviting us. By the way, these are Serafall, the incharge of Foreign Affairs and the one currently holding the position of the Leviathan. Beside her is my Grandmother, Chysis Gremory and my Father, Zeoticus Gremory."
"Welcome to my little piece of Hell hahaha. Also, no need to watch that Leviathan title around me. That would be for the Leviathan clan but then again it's not like you all took their permission when you started using the names. So why are you hesitating now?"
She winced internally at the comment. Grandmother Gremory and Lord Gremory did the same. Especially Chysis. As someone who had seen and fought under the Original Satan's, to hear this from someone who was basically a living image of the Devil… It must be hard on a whole other level.
They had taken those titles as means to reassure the common people that they still had Satans. To give them some measure of moral support. Was it a low blow to the losing side? Most likely. But it did help them calm the general people to some extent.
Devils were a long lived race and there were still too many older devils alive even among the low and middle class ones who would not accept any other leader than the Satans ruling over the Underworld.
Was it completely selfless? Not at all. There were several older pillar devils who relished in the power of having a say about these names. Everyone knew this. It was just not spoken.
So, when faced with such a statement, it was obvious to dig up some guilty conscience of a devil of the older generation like Chysis.
"Come, take a seat. I am still waiting for some guests but it seems they will be late." He said as he led them to the table which was occupied by the leaders.
They took their seats and she could see the surprised look on Azazel's face. So he didn't know that they were invited too. The look however turned into a smug one and now she wanted to bash his face again.
"Serafall, Sirzechs, what a surprise to see you both here." He greeted us.
"Azazel. You knew?" Sirzechs asked.
“Knew? About this meeting? Well obviously. I think you forgot a very common fact. Damien and I are family.”
A family who have fought a war spanning throughout the world. Then again, wasn’t the Great War, just a glorified family feud between the three factions?
“You seem to get along well with him.” Sirzechs spoke as a purple haired Fallen Angel served drinks to all of them. A Fallen Angel?
“Oh Celine. You are working here too?” Shemhazai asked the waitress, surprised.
“Yes. I liked the atmosphere here. I play the guitar for the show.”
“Hahahaha you were always good with the harp back in heaven. It’s good to see you taking back to playing instruments.”
“She is?” She couldn’t help but ask, seeing the Vice-Governor of the Fallen Angels being so familiar with her.
But the answer came from someone else entirely.
“Celine of the Holy Flames. It was thought that you had perished back in the Great War because you had disappeared. To think I would see you after so long.” Grandmother Gremory said.
“You are… the little girl from the Gremory who followed that bratty devil. Yes, this is indeed a surprise. How is your ancestor doing? Still playing around with those camels of hers?” The Fallen Angel replied.
….
….
Now, even she knew that there were very few people who would call the first Gremory by such a name so it was evident that this Fallen was someone pretty high up and seeing the unphased reaction meant that her words weren’t something new.
Sometimes even she, as a Satan, forgot how ancient most of these beings were.
“Yes. She’s just retired now.”
“Hmm. Tell her to drop by someday. It would be good to talk to her under different circumstances.” She replied. “If you will excuse me. I have a show to perform now.”
“Sure. It was… good to see you too, Celine.”
“Yes. It was not exactly bad.”
“Mother, she was?” Lord Gremory inquired, just as curious as them.
“Celine, the Daughter of Archangel Uriel. She was one of the most talented Angels back during the Great War, under only the Seraphs and rivalling even them in terms of power. Both of our Ancestors have fought her several times without any results during the Great War, especially yours Serafall whose powers were completely opposite to hers.” She looked at her before saying the last part. “And then after the Great War, news about her suddenly stopped as if she had disappeared suddenly. Not something uncommon during those times. “I didn’t know she had fallen. But why is she working for a Lucifer?”
Uriel had a daughter? She hadn’t heard about it.
Shemhazai sighed. “She was caught in an ambush and fell. Heaven rejected her. When she came down, she was captured by the Old Satan faction and had been imprisoned there for centuries. Damien found and freed her along with several hundred other Fallen Angel captives. She was barely a living corpse when he found her. He treated her, got her any kind of help she needed to properly heal her mind. By the end of it, she decided to live with him.”
“They had prisoners of war? I thought it was decided to free prisoners from all sides when we decided to stop the war.” She asked. They had actually freed a lot of them after coming into power. One of the reasons why none of the factions attacked them at their weakest.
“We didn’t have any ways to know who was dead and who was alive.” Shemhazai let out a sigh.
“I would have thought that she would have joined the Fallen Angels rather than devils especially after her time in captivity.” Grandmother Gremory said.
“The ambush which caused her to fall… It was done by one of the Fallen Angels. Penemue is already out for blood. The whole matter was such a mess.”
“Ah… that’s… yes. Those were not good times.”
“Still, I didn’t think you all would have such good relations with Damien, you know, what with him being a Lucifer and all that. It’s just surprising.” She said.
At this point, Shemhazai looked at her and then smiled. “Tell me Serafall, what do you all know about Lucifer? And I mean Lucifer before his rebellion? I will not lie, Lucifer as a devil was scary. He was insane. A twisted version of what we knew of him. But… do you know how or what Lucifer was like before his rebellion?
She shook her head.
“Helel was the brightest Angel of Heaven. Dad’s favourite. In fact, compared to him, Michael was basically a middle child. He was strong and charismatic. Someone at whom most of us looked up to. Hahahaha, not many know of this but He was the next in line for the position of the King of Heaven if Dad ever retired.”
He laughed, making her mouth open in shock.
“Yes, that brat was Yahweh’s loyal attack dog. Always ready to wipe out any heretic or pagan God as they say. Old times. I personally like the new one better.” Odin remarked.
“To be honest, if he had rebelled and stayed the way he was, then even as a Fallen Angel, at least a third of Heaven would have followed him but… he didn’t fall.”
“What?”
“Yes. It’s a very less known fact. He was the only one who didn’t fall. No. He left voluntarily. The rest of us were kicked out.” He laughed at their confused look.
“Do you know why despite being against Dad, we never banded together? Why are there three factions instead of just Heaven and the rebels? Well, a part of it was that whatever he had become, we were scared of him. The very presence of The Devil repulsed us. But a large part of it was also Jealousy. How can he throw a tantrum and still not fall while we were kicked out of heaven for a small mistake? How could he reject what we craved for but couldn’t get? We were jealous and angry and the new Lucifer didn’t make it easier. Seeing the bright and loving brother of ours turn into that… that abomination… we were just angry. So yes. We were just being kids. And you already know how kids sort things out between themselves?”
“And Damien?”
“He is exactly what Lucifer would have been if he hadn’t become what he had.”
….
….
There was a reminiscing look in his eyes and no one among them disturbed his thoughts. But it did give them a whole new insight into the man who created their race.
All their thoughts were attracted by the shifting stage as three figures appeared on the stage. One of them was the one they had just met, Fallen Angel Celine. The other two were different. A man who looked to be in his twenties with long white hair sat on the piano. He seemed like a normal human but Lord Gremory and Grandmother Gremory seemed to have different opinions.
“Is that?”
“Yes.” Azazel smirked.
That man was probably here just to laugh at them.
“But how? As far as we knew he would never ally himself with Devils.”
“With normal devils, maybe not. But as Damien says, he is ‘The Devil’. Even we don’t know how he did it.”
“Who is he, father?” Sirzechs asked, taking another look at the man.
“Merlin.”
"Merlin… you mean that Merlin?" She asked, taking another look at the man.
“Then again, he’s half brothers with Damien. They get along pretty well. I thought you’d be more interested in the last one.” Azazel commented, as they looked at the last person. The girl who was the singer of the group. Light purple hair, golden eyes. She looked to be in her teens, maybe sixteen.
It was when she tried to feel her power that she got chills. Not just her. All three of them. But this girl was still heads and shoulders above them all.
“Who is she?” She asked, incredulously. Just how many of these monsters did this guy have? This would make seven or eight already. And each one of them was stronger than her.
This girl… she was almost approaching the levels of Ajuka and Sirzechs. Another one of those and one who was with the new Lucifer.
As if realising something, she looked around and checked everyone in the building and the observation sent chills down her spine. Not a single staff member was below Ultimate Class level in strength.
There were over a hundred staff in the entire building. The stronger ones were beyond Satan Class.
Azazel took this chance to throw another bomb as if all the existing ones were not enough already.
“Ingvild Leviathan.”
Fuck!
Suddenly something struck her. Is that why he laughed when Sirzechs introduced her?
He knew she would find out about her today.
She turned towards Sirzechs. “But didn’t you say…”
“Yes. I was also under the impression that she had fallen under the Sleeping sickness." He replied and looked at Azazel who raised his hands in surrender. "I don't know anything about that. It's totally on Damien."
Could it be? Did he find a cure for the Sleeping sickness?
If that was so then….
The performance started but it didn’t reach her as she was too busy trying to comprehend the situation.
While this was happening, a blue haired boy walked up to Azazel and spoke. “Normally we have a no pictures rule in this bar but Boss has decided to make an exception for you today for a million dollars. Will you take it?”
Shemhazai almost spit out his beer at the offer and even she looked incredulously at him. What kind of insane idiot would take that offer?
Although a million dollars is nothing for Supernaturals like them, it was still quite dumb.
The man boy added. “The Boss says you will not regret it.”
- Azazel -
He was having the time of his life, looking at the reactions of the two Satan brats and their companions.
In his opinion, this was more interesting than any other show which could be put in the bar. Their expressions were priceless.
And yet, now Damien says he would not regret using a million to buy picture rights for a night… He closed his eyes to think of what could be so amusing.
Suddenly it hit him. He couldn’t be that crazy, could he?
… obviously he was that crazy. It was The Devil. Was there even a doubt?
He brought out his mobile and transferred the amount without question. “I want to welcome them myself.”
Sean brought out a camera from his pocket and handed it to him. “Obviously, Boss knew you would say so already. Have fun.”
With his work done, the boy left.
“That was Lugh’s brat, wasn’t he? He looks much stronger than before.” Odin inquired. “He was training with Brynhildr I think.” He looked at the Valkyrie who nodded.
“Yes. He left a year ago but comes back once in a while.”
“Hmm. Still, to think he would get that of all things. It seems that Damien values him a lot. The Child of Light and the Lightbringer hahahaha. Even their names match.”
“What are you talking about, Old man?” Azazel asked.
“That Spear of your Father. The boy had it.”
*Crash*
The glass in Serafall’s hand fell down and crashed into the ground.
Even he was surprised at the reveal and took another look at the boy who was waiting at the tables.
Damien was hiding too many surprises it seems.
As he was thinking of this, he sensed something and a playful look came on his face as he got up and walked towards the gate of the bar.
“Where are you going, Azazel?” Behind him, Shemhazai asked.
“Just receiving someone.”
The door to the bar opened and a figure stood in front of him and Azazel allowed his grin to take over his face. “Hello Michael.”
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Author’s Note:
A lot of things happened in the chapter.
The Shinto are becoming wary of the Youkai and have decided to make some moves through others.
Satanael is out and so are Augusta and Walburga, Damien’s last targets.
Musashi gave the Gremorys a reality check. Rias got one as well.
Damien is finally ready to expose himself to the whole world.
And since he has to do so, why not do it in style.
Serafall and Sirzechs have already been dealing with the bombs and now it’s Michael’s turn, all the while Azazel is having the time of his life.
The real fun starts from the next chapter.
Enjoy the new chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.
