Chapter 20
P.S this story starts a few years before the start of our favorite DXD verse!
AND I DON'T OWN ANY DXD MATERIAL, ALL CREDIT TO THE ORIGINAL WRITERS!
"Talking out aloud"
'Thinking with ones mind'
"Spirits inside the sacred gears talking"
Review time:-
Review: Yo, when you make a Sacred Gear (mainly Longinus), could you get the spirit of the Sacred Gear (or whatever it's based on) to be based on Mythology. The Ignis Imperium could have a Phoenix, or Prometheus, or another fire being. Unless the True Identity of the spirit is yet to be revealed and it is something Mythology based. If it doesn't have a spirit, it's best for it to be related to a either a Mythology, History, or a better / unique version of a basic power. Like Yumi's could be an Armour from a famous warrior, enchanted to be powerful or something based on the person it's based on. By the way, I would like it if there were only the 13 5 Longinus, but I don't really mind if there are more, since it is shown that powerful regular Sacred Gears can become Longinus under the right conditions. But yeah, real Mythological based Longinus, or a really powerful basic ability (like Dimension Lost, Annihilation Maker or Zenith Tempest, though they could just be seen as versions of God's Power, maybe other God's, like Zeus' weather manipulation for ZT and Yahweh's (or Lillith's) creation for AM)
Reply: Let's talk about Ignis imperium (Kenta's sacred gear), which is a fire-based sacred gear based on the Adara (spirit) that resides in it. Also, Ignis Imperium is actually a spell from Harry Potter that grants you extreme and unnatural control over fire. Since Adara's ability gives her users control over fire, it kind of makes sense.
Secondly, Adara (whose spirit lives inside Ignis Imperium) is actually based on a mythology I have plans to introduce real soon. I can't say other than the fact that I had planned to follow my plan regarding the longinus similar to what you have written above.
Finally, thanks for giving me an idea about Yumi's sacred gear! I will definitely look into specially since the plans i had for Yumi and her sacred gear mash up well with what you have suggested.
Review: Just saying this here, but while having OC characters is cool, having too many just makes it hard yo remember them all, especially since you can't look up OC characters to get a picture, like I have no clue what Kento looks like, especially in semi Beast Form, does he have a Lion's mane, that's hasn't been said. There's also a few errors, like what the Black Tigers get in their hair when they kill someone. Perhaps keep a list on those kind of things, the small things that are hard to recall.
Reply: Fair point! I will work to get another chapter up soon that will talk about the looks and appearance of all the newly introduced characters in the story and a little bit about their backgrounds!!
Review: I'm honestly kinda pissed that Raynere didn't die, like, wtf. I honestly wanted Marid to just obliterate them in front of the leader Fallen (From chapter 17)
Reply: You can't just kill the daughter of a leader of the rival faction when your own goal is to establish peace. Killing Raynare, no matter how deserving, would have started the war on the spot. There is nothing to say of the fact that Raynare was also Baraqiel's daughter. You know the saying, 'If you want to think about revenge, then you should dig up two graves!'
Review: I think you should've told us the species of the familiars
Reply: I am pretty sure I indicated that the familiars that were kidnapped were Undines. Actually most of them were Undines there were other species of familiars were kidnapped too but the majority of them were Undines!
Without further delay, lets start the chapter!
Kuoh
It had been a few days since the Gremory group had returned from their trip to the familiar forest. During this time, both Kenta and Asia, who were still relatively new to the Devil world, utilized their familiars to the fullest. Having them perform whatever task they could. This was not only to ensure that they formed closer bonds with their familiars but also get to know the limits of their familiars.
As it turned out, both Kassie and Keno were incredible at delivering summons on behalf of the Gremory clan. Due to his appearance, the little sprite dragon obviously had to be illusioned before sending out to deliver fliers. On the other hand, Keno, who could usually be passed through for a big domestic cat, always caught herself doing something mischievous. Despite Kenta's best efforts to discipline his familiar, Keno would always cause a hassle in the public that would result in one of the Devils using memory alteration magic on humans.
Marid, who was thoroughly amused by Keno's behavior, advised Kenta to accept her mischievousness as part of her charms.
While Kenta and Asia were doing their best to form a deeper bond with their familiars, Issie on the other hand was going through a doghouse with Rias. After their return, Rias quickly showed her disappointment in Issie as he wasn't able to form a contract with any of the familiars and disrespected Undines.
As a punishment, Rias had ordered Issie to take part in her stringent workout routine, which she was able to devise with Marid's help. Every morning, Issie was tasked with doing at least twenty laps of Kuoh's central park, which single lap was about a mile, before doing body weight exercises to increase his endurance. A full-blown training session that Rias herself oversaw.
After that, during the evenings, Koneko and Kiba would be responsible for training Issie in the arts of the close ranged combat, much to his chagrin. However, Issie could never dispute Rias's training plans for him due to the events he had recently gone through in the last few weeks.
"And twenty." Issie collapsed onto the floor as he completed the twentieth lap of Kuoh Central Park.
"One hour and forty minutes to complete twenty laps, Issie. It is very impressive my Ise" Rias complemented her pawn with a smile as she came to a stop on her bicycle.
"Easy for you to say" Issie retorted as he continued to gasp for air as he regarded his King who had indeed be following him on her bicycle throughout the morning.
However, before anyone could reply, the Devil duo heard the ground rumble a little. Their curiousness turned to shock when a chariot made out of modern steel construction raced past them with Marid sitting in the back of the chariot with an amused smirk. Looking closer, the group was further shocked when they saw it was Yumi and Kenta who were dragging the chariot, both of them sweaty and gasping for air.
"This is truly terrible if this is your physical limitation," Marid taunted aloud with a teasing smirk.
"Oye Issie hurry up back there!" Kenta looked over his shoulders to call out the Gremory pawn on his 'break' mid training.
As the scene raced ahead Rias blinked, not quite sure what she had just witnessed. Issie, who was suddenly eager to continue his training, jumped up to his feet only to run after the other training Devils. His exhaustion was forgotten for the time being.
Rias blinked in confusion and then, surprised at the sudden turn of events, eventually found herself smiling in pride at her pawn's resilience and eagerness to not be outdone by someone else. She eventually shook her head before racing her bicycle after her servant.
Scene break
Once the trio, Kenta, Yumi and Issie, had completed their rounds around the park, their respective masters had tasked them with completing new exercises. Unlike running laps around the park, these exercises were more focused around increasing strength and conditioning of their muscles.
Issei was once again panting heavily, this time in a single spot, as he was raising and lowering himself with great difficulty. He continued with his pushups, made harder by the fact that Rias was currently seated on his back putting all her weight on him as he continued his workout.
"Come on Issei just seven more" Rias encouraged from her seated position as Issei counted out his set.
"Ninety-four…" Issei struggled to get out as he pushed himself up again, "Isn't a hundred a bit on the heavy side?"
"No silly, you need to push your body so you can build up strength at the same time as your body builds up your tolerance to sunlight" Rias chided, "Now quit whining and pick it up already, this is nothing compared to what Kenta and Yumi are doing" she said gesturing over to where Marid had been training his own servants. Issei struggled to look, but when he did his jaw dropped.
Kenta was currently balancing himself on his right hand, with his left behind his back, as he held himself in a vertical upright stance. Above him, he was balancing Yumi who herself had summoned a device of Marid's creation that allowed her to practice her accuracy with a bow without firing a single shot. It didn't help Yumi one bit since the target Marid had selected for this drill was an apple which was moving around in the air courtesy of his magic. All the while Kenta continued with his single-handed vertical push-ups.
Issei was speechless until he felt Rias slap his ass making him immediately pay attention as she spoke, "Now pick it up Ise, one thing I will not tolerate is a weak servant"
Issei groaned as he went down again and started to push himself back up, "You can't compare me to them! They are absolute monsters"
Kenta smirked from his position as he went up and down with ease before calling out, "Four hundred ninety-eight, Focus on something else Issei. It might distract you from the workout pain. Four hundred and ninety-nine" he recommended.
Issei groaned as he reached the top of his next push up, "Oh yeah like what?" he called out in utter agony. His arms were being pushed beyond their limits at this point.
Kenta chuckled, "How about the fact that you have one of the two great ladies of Kuoh academy currently sitting on your back, you're bound to think of something from that simple fact" he chuckled.
Issei blinked at the sudden realization of what Kenta was getting at as he realized what he was actually feeling pressing against his back as a small trickle of blood came from his nose as his mind flooded with ecchi thoughts. But it was that fact that was his downfall when blood rushed away from his arms to another appendage that made him lose all strength in his arms and fell face and crotch first into the ground, as a silent crunch was heard followed by a loud cry of pain as birds took to the sky in fear of the noise, while every man and pervert in a two block radius winced in pity for their injured brother.
Ten minutes later
Issei lay on his side beside on of the park benches in pain holding an ice pack to his manhood silently mourning the possible loss of his partner in crime. While Rias was sitting on the bench with her head in her hands, not sure what she was ever going to do with him.
Marid, who himself had been training his peerage for quite some time decided to take a short break to refuel before continuing their journey back to their base of operations. After all they had the school to get to.
"That was a good session!" Kenta spoke to no one in particular before taking a massive swig of his energy drink and taking a seat next to an exhausted Issie.
"That was indeed!" Yumi spoke with a smile as well as she too took a seat near the rest of the Devils while rubbing her stomach soothingly. That caught the attention of the others but no one commented on her weird actions.
Rias who was surprised by Marid's training method couldn't help but regard him with some curiosity, "Why were you training Yumi in such a physical way? She is a bishop so physical exertion doesn't do her any favors. I can see why the reasons behind you training her aim in such a manner but why the cardiovascular exercises?"
"Being a Bishop doesn't exclude her from physical training Rias. If anything, I should be training her more! A person's ability to wield magic is correlated to their physical attribution. The stronger their physical attributes, the easier they are able to wield magic" Marid answered back with a smile as he drank a cup of black coffee he had created earlier this morning.
"I am sure that is one of mothers crazy myths about training" Rias waved off dismissively. Like Marid, she was trained by her mother when she first started to develop her powers. One of the key points her mother engraved in her were the concept of training physical attributes which was something Marid had apparently taken to heart.
"I can assure you that is not just a mere myth" Marid replied with a smirk of his own to Rias dubious look she was sending his way. "Or perhaps you have forgotten how easily my Dad manhandled me and threw me into the roof when he caught me pulling off that prank on Sona on my first day back?" Rias eyes widened at that. She obviously remembered the incident at how easily her older brother, who was widely considered a wizard type fighter, had easily stopped Marids punch with absolutely no effort. A punch she knew she couldn't hope to stop in her wildest dreams on her own without magic no less.
Marid recognized Rias's shocked expression with a smirk before continuing, "If you still don't believe me then think what kind of magic Sairaorg would be able to wield if he had the same magical potential as us". After hearing that Rias couldn't help but stop a look of shock go over her face. She now understood what had compelled Marid to take such a belief regarding training your physicality. Afterall if her dear cousin had the same amount of magical talent as herself then he would have already been crowned as an Ultimate class Devil. That is saying something since he is already powerful enough to fight off most inexperienced Ultimate class Devils and is considered the strongest Youth Devil of the current generation.
'I wonder how Marid would fare against Sairaorg in a one-on-one match?' Rias wondered internally. Her inner musings were interrupted by Marid again as he continued on his speech.
"No matter the natural talent we have been given upon our birth, improving your physical attributes always helps us in our life. At the very least they will help in keeping our emotions in check in stressful situations"
At that point, her thoughts were again brought back to her potential gloomy future in the light of the letter she had received from her father late last night. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't stop a deep frown appearing on her face. Luckily for her, everyone's attention was directed away from her towards the two newest Devils of the Gremory family.
"Wait you fought Lord Lucifer?"
"Lord Lucifer was here in Kuoh?"
Both Kenta and Issie simultaneously exclaimed in shock.
"I did and he was in Kuoh not too long ago but that was before either one of you were converted into Devils" Marid waved them off as he turned his head towards someone who had just entered his peripheral view.
"Asia?!" Issie exclaimed aloud as he saw Asia running towards the group. Asia herself was wearing a modest blue dress while carrying a picnic basket in one of her hands.
"What are you doing here?" Kenta asked curiously, pleasantly surprised by the appearance of his first friend.
"Lord Marid recommended me to join you all early in the morning which is good. This way I can spend more time with you and Issie-san while also enjoying my favorite time of the day" Asia confessed with a bashed look.
"You like the mornings?" Issie asked in a horrified voice.
Asia, who didn't catch Issie's horrified look just continued, "I love the mornings. They are not only peaceful but symbolize something great" Asia responded with a smile on her face as she gazed upon the rising sun.
"Which would be?" Kenta asked curiously.
"Rise of the sun indicates a new chance at life, new opportunities and the hope that today would be better than yesterday" Asia spoke calmly but with surprising determination. Others who had been listening in were suitably caught off guard and couldn't help but raise their opinion of Asia. However, that surprise soon turned to sadness once they all realized the reason behind her thinking, after all she had suffered one of the worst fall from grace in the entire supernatural world for doing something she was instructed to do in the first place.
Kenta- who found himself losing in the memories of the struggles he had in his previous life- shook himself from his ominous thoughts before embracing Asia in a soft yet comforting embrace. Much to the shock of the former nun. "In the mosaic of life, your challenges are threads that weave strength and wisdom into your unique story. One should embrace their journey since all of the difficulties they overcome are something to be proud off."
Others were left awed at the comforting yet inspiring words from Kenta. Asia, who herself was deeply moved by her first friends words sniffled a little while burrowing her face in his muscular chest.
"Who knew my Rook was such a philosopher" Marid teased Kenta for which he earned a rather small blush. Despite his teasing words, Kenta could see a healthy amount of pride that Marid had for him.
"My… my gramps used to sometimes read me stories from one of those books after 'inspiration stories for growing teenagers'. That was before you know…" Kenta replied sadly. Marid couldn't help but nod solemnly at his rook's words. After all he was more than aware of the life his Rook had gone through. Sometimes, Marid found himself stunned whenever he thought about his Rooks past. From watching your mother getting murdered in front of you to being kidnapped and then being forced to fight in an underground fighting rings for the sake of survival. Anyone who had gone through that life would find themselves either surrendering themselves to the dark side or just becoming an emotional mess, too traumatized to do anything. Honestly, Marid was hugely impressed by Kenta's mental toughness. Or maybe it was because of his sacred gear. But regardless he was in no mood of figuring that thing out (even though he was a scientist in his heart and always was attracted to the 'how; rather than 'why') since he didn't want anyone to go through what his rook had gone through. Which was rather Ironic since he was Devil and Devil on the sheer principle are supposed to be evil for evil's sake.
'NO! I will never be like him' Marid thought resolutely before turning his attention back to the scene in front of him.
"Your Gramps must have been a great guy" Issie spoke with a small smile, his jealousy for Asia hugging Kenta instead of him forgotten for the time being.
"He was" Kenta responded with a smile as he relived a fond memory of his original family. Family he had before everything had went to shit for him.
"I think I will be heading back to our house to prepare for the school day" Yumi spoke nauseously as she rubbed her stomach again.
"You do know you can use magic to change your clothes right?" Kenta replied teasingly as she finally separated from Asia's comforting hug.
"I know that" Yumi couldn't help but snap towards the youngest member of her group.
"Wait so why are you going all the way back to your house when the school is only a few blocks away from here?" Issie asked in a confused expression imprinted on his face. Expression that soon turned into shock as his eyes widened in understanding. "Wait are you pregnant?" Issie exclaimed aloud much to the shock of others.
"What?!?" Yumi snapped her head towards Issie. Marid who was actually drinking his hot coffee actually spat it out when he heard Issie's words. Others were on the same boat.
"So whose the father of your child? Don't tell me its actually Lord Marid!" Issie exclaimed aloud.
"Wait what who?!?" Marid couldn't help but let out unintelligible words much to Rias and Kenta's amusement.
"I am not pregnant!" Yumi snapped at Issie in annoyance.
"I mean you do look a little pale and nauseous" Rias replied with a teasing smirk of her own. Her comment got herself a stern glare from Yumi which was unsuccessful in hiding her growing blush. Rias obviously knew that Yumi wasn't pregnant with anyone's child. Call it a woman's intuition. However, there was nothing that said about not going along a small prank.
"That's not because of me carrying someone else's child" Yumi huffed in annoyance before turned towards Marid with an angry glare on her face. "You want to say something?"
Marid, who himself recovered from his own coughing fit over Issie's sudden proclamation sighed before continuing, "Her paleness and nauseous look isn't because of her being pregnant Issie but rather the side effect of the vertigo spell I had placed on her during the training session"
"Vertigo… spell?" Issie tilted his head in confusion, clearly not familiar with the term.
"A vertigo spell is a spell designed to induce feelings of dizziness or disorientation in the target. The effects could simulate the sensation of vertigo, making the affected person feel unsteady, off-balance, and potentially causing nausea" Kenta helpfully explained to his junior.
"How would a vertigo spell help in training Yumi-san?" Rias couldn't help but ask.
"The vertigo spell is part of Yumi's strength and conditioning training Rias. Since Yumi is a Bishop who is predominately specialized in absolute marksmanship, she needs to be able to control her balance and focus in the roughest of conditions. It also helps that a vertigo spell is the only successful counter for a person like Yumi, who specializes in long range attack. Plus it also helps her in building a resistance to it" Marid explained with a sigh to the group. Rias who was suitably impressed by her nephews training methods vowed to start training her own peerage seriously in areas they lacked in. After all it wouldn't be a nice portrayal for her if her and her peerage are caught lacking again.
"That's incredible! No wonder Yumi was able to hand Zill his ass on a silver platter" Issie exclaimed aloud. In his surprise he wasn't able to register a low growl from Kenta, who himself got his ass handed to him on a silver platter by Zill himself.
Yumi, who had recomposed herself from her earlier outburst, was the one to respond to Issie's words. "While your comment is appreciated Issie-san, there was more to that fight that just being able to beat Zill. I fought him enough to gain his respect as a fighter which helped me to convince him to leave the area without pursuing the battle. Even though Zill is more of a berserker monster on the battlefield, he is very in tune with battle developments and subtle indications. He respected me enough to acquiesce to my unsaid ask of retreating" Yumi sighed deeply as she educated Issie on the subtle tells of a fighter.
Issie who was caught off guard by Yumi's sudden announcement regarding Zill, was now deeply fascinated and begin to drill Yumi about the subject. Yumi, who was more than happy to educate a fellow Devil, took on her teachers personae and began telling Issie about various subtle tells during the battle a fighter should be looking for. Unfortunately, much to both of their frustration, their session was interrupted by Marid. "As much as this is amusing to watch you teach Issie about fighting, might I remind you all have schools to attend to and me a meeting with the Satan's regarding the wine I am to brew for the Olympians" Marid comically indicated to his watch which indicated that the group only had about ten minutes before the school started.
Panicked at first, Issie and Asia both were grateful when Yumi volunteered to teleporting both of them to their home to get ready for school before teleporting both herself and Kenta to their home leaving only Marid and Rias behind.
"Everything all right there Rias?" Marid couldn't help but tentatively ask Rias whose face had tensed quite a bit and her eyebrows were furrowed, despite her best efforts to hide them. Indicating that there was something she was truly worried or tensed about.
Rias shook herself out of her stupor, before silently cursing herself for her momentary lapse of focus. "Everything is just fine. I was just thinking about… ramification of the Olympian meeting in the underworld that's all" Rias words even felt hollow to her own ears. Their effect of dismissing Marids concern was all but waste when he sent her a dubious expression.
"Are you sure… nothing is troubling you Rias. We are family after all" Marid spoke with such compassion that it genuinely threw Rias for a loop. However, after taking a few seconds to recompose herself, Rias gave Marid a reassuring smile. "I am fine Marid"
Marid couldn't help but give Rias an unreadable expression. Something about the expression Rias couldn't help but feel he wasn't at all fooled by her words or her charming, noble smile. The same smile both him and her were trained to learn when they were first getting groomed to take the charge of the Gremory family.
"On your head then" Marid sighed deeply before turning away from Rias. However, just before he activated his teleportation circle, he turned around to face Rias once again, "Rias they are people in this world who want the best for you and want you to succeed in whatever path you decide to follow. If you ever get caught on something… don't hesitate to call on those people for guidance" Marid spoke in a rare moment of sympathy before teleporting away, leaving the Gremory heiress with her own devices, drowned in her own thoughts, struggles and fears along with a small phoenix perched up on a nearby tree watching the whole event unfold with great interest.
Later
It had been a few hours since Marid had departed Kuoh for the underworld for his meeting with the current Satan's regarding the wine he had been brewing for the Greek Gods. He wouldn't admit it, but he couldn't help but get nervous jitters all over his body plainly due to the fact that brewing a successful brew would gain him a very lucrative deal and bring him closer to completion of his other plans he had in place. Plans he was very keen on completing as soon as possible.
"What do you think?" Marid couldn't stop his nervousness slipping through his tone.
In the conference room sat all Four Satan's: Sirzech Lucifer, Ajuka Beelzebub, Falbium Asmodeus and Serafall Leviathan. All of them exhibiting serious expressions. Even the ever-joyous Serafall Leviathan looked very serious, to the point it actually unnerved Marid as he hadn't never seen his Godmother like this.
Each of them took a small swig of the wine before carefully analyzing the drink in question. From the smell to the tiniest bit of taste were examined to the smallest details. After all, if approved, the drink would not only potentially hold the key to establishing peace with the Olympians but also could potentially help in establishing first bit of outside affiliation for the Devils with another faction of the supernatural since the creation of Devils themselves. Unfortunately, due to the extreme ideology of the original Satan's, many factions were disinterested and to some extent even fearful with the idea of having any form of transactional relationship with the Devils. Even after the end of the Devil Civil War; when the current Satan's took charge of the, at the time what looked like a collapsing underworld, even they couldn't dislodge the infamous reputation Devils had in the supernatural world. Hopefully, a successful deal with the Olympians and the good work of the current Satan's in the underworld will earn them more good will with the other factions of the supernatural world. Or at the very least exhibit reasoning that would suggest that the Devils indeed had changed from their wicked ways.
"It is indeed an… impressive drink Marid" Falbium spoke first out of the current Satan's. Complementing Marid's creation after being pleasantly surprised by its taste. Falbium obviously had heard the potential of the drink Marid had been brewing from the other Satan's and whispers that emerged from the Great Satan factions.
"I have to agree with Falby! This drink is indeed very tasty" Serafall replied with her usual over joyous tone. Both Ajuka and Sirzech gave Marid their approving smiles, indicating to him the drink had indeed passed the test.
"I appreciate all your compliments my Lords" Marid gave the Satan's a formal bow.
"It should be us who should be thanking you Marid. Despite your youth, you have not only suggested a more respectful solution to our problems with the Olympians but also created a drink that might result in establishing of actual peace for the Devils for the first time since our very creation" Ajuka spoke with a smile.
Sirzech who was on the same track as his friend continued while regarding his son with a proud smile, "When we took part in the Devil Civil war all those centuries ago… It was our greatest desire that the next generation of Devils would not only grow in the world without war and bloodshed but also flourish in all aspects of life. Seeing what you have done today truly has given us the confirmation that all that struggle during the war was indeed worth the effort. I couldn't be more proud to be called a leader of Devils like yourself" Sirzech proudly complimented Marid's drink. Marid couldn't help but blush at his father's compliment, an act Serafall found extremely cute to the point she actually took a small smart phone out of thin air to take a picture of Marid's reaction, much to his own horror. Thankfully, Falbium who was more than aware of his Satan counterparts character, was on the case to dispel her magic circle to which he earned a cute yet firm glare from the Satan of foreign affairs.
"So what now?" Marid quickly recomposed himself before coming back to the matter at hand.
"Now Serafall will be corresponding with the Olympians; Lord Hermes and Lady Hera to be exact and see if a peace meeting could be organized with them as soon as possible. It is my understanding that both Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo had been quite restless due to the faith some of their followers had received. It doesn't help that Lord Hades- who is the Greek God of the underworld- isn't a fan of us Devils due to conduct of our ancestors during the Great War in his domain" Sirzech spoke with a sigh before his eyes gained a serious glint as they regarded Marid. "Since it would be you and Lady Leviathan representing us in the peace submit, it is my hope that you would represent us well"
Marid who straightened in his seat while regarding his father with just as serious expression, "I heard about that happening… While I am confident in my ability to represent our faction without disrespecting our name. Are you sure you want me to be the one to sit alongside Lady Leviathan on the meeting table. As much as I would enjoy the opportunity to dip my fingers in the political world, I don't want it on the expense of risking the lives of the entire Devil nation"
Sirzech, who had been expecting such a refute from his son sighed heavily. "You right in having reservation regarding this arrangement son but it is this arrangement is for the best since it aligns with our desired outcome of this meeting"
"Which would be?" Marid questioned curiously.
"Peace" Falbium Asmodeus spoke with conviction. Despite the man's infamous desire to sleep all the time, the man was attentive throughout the meeting.
"Peace?" Marid spoke aloud as he regarded the answer for a moment. "Then it shall be done as you have said my Lords"
"Good now before we end this meeting. These are the set of rules and regulations that have been put in place for all the locations the Devils are in charge of outside the underworld. Since me and the rest of the Satans will have our hands full with the Greek Gods and the Great Satan faction, could you do us the favor and give this to Rias and Sona" with that Sirzech handed Marid a thick file containing all the updates meant for Kuoh. Marid accepted the files with a nod before storing them in his dimensional storage.
"Speaking of Rias and Sona" Marid changed the topics as his eyes gained the same mischievous glint they were known to having, "Your baby sisters are not very happy at how the Fallen Angel incident played out and to be honest neither am I. I don't suppose there has been a development that you could inform us about?" Marid gave the rest of the Satans a very innocent look.
"I am sorry Marid but there is nothing at this point we can share with you" Sirzech replied with a deep sigh. He knew his son would never leak the information regarding the Fallen Angels even if he were to tell him about it but he was bounded by rules.
"It is quite alright" Marid waved off his fathers response with a casual shrug. "I would have done the same thing, after all we wouldn't want the word to get out that the Fallen Angel infiltrating party was actually sent out by a Cadre" Marid's smirk turned into a grin when he saw some of the Satan's stiffen in surprise. It was enough to let him know he was indeed right in his assumptions regarding the person who was indeed behind this attack.
"That is a rather bold statement Marid. What makes you even think the Fallen Angels would authorize such an attack against Devils who all are well connected to the Satans" Sirzech asked his son with a raised eyebrow.
"Raynare being part of the group" Marid simply replied. He continued once he saw the expecting looks, he was receiving from Maos. "Since Raynare was part of the group that infiltrated Kuoh, it would mean that Azazel himself didn't order the attack since having Raynare there would not only put his daughter at risk but his daughters presence would also imply that he had some form of hand behind the attack" Marids explanation raised a few eyebrows around the room but no one came forward to confirm or deny his assumption.
"There is also the fact that Raynare is actually the daughter of the Governor General which means she cant really be bossed around like a minion. The only person who would even have a remote authority to assign Raynare and a bunch of powerful two winged Fallen Angels to Kuoh would be a Cadre since all the other orders from anyone below that authority would just be ignored by Raynare" Marid ended his explanation with a smile. "So am I right or am I right?" His smile widened further when he saw the impressed look he got from the Satan's.
"No matter how right or wrong your deductions are Marid, me just like the rest of the Satan's can't confirm or deny your assumptions since this matter is now considered a confidential event which can never be disclosed to the public" Falbium this time replied to Marid. Doing the rest of the Satan's a favor for not lying to their son/godson.
"Come on now. There must be something you could tell us. Perhaps who was the main culprit behind the attack or how were they able to recruit so many exorcist for their cause?"
"We are soo sorry Mar-kun. But we can't tell you anything. But when we can you would be the first know about it! But for now, I am soooo soooorrryyy" Serafall cutely apologized to her godson.
"Don't apologize to me! Apologize to your sister. Do you have any IDEA how terrifying she is when she is angry. When me and Rias told her about what happened in that church she was beyond livid. It took me, Rias and Tsubaki to calm her down. Even now it Tsubaki is struggling to regulate Sona's anger"
"What do you mean?" Falbium asked the younger Devil curiously.
"Apparently Sona likes to do paperwork when she is angry or too worked up. Since the incident she has not only completed her paperwork till the next term she has also started to work on the paper work that was due to be done by the administrative department of the Kuoh academy. Rias and Akeno had to actually use mind altering spells to convince the staff- who suddenly were suspicious regarding the losing all the bit of paper work and were now convinced that their rival school had actually sent someone to their school to create some chaos so that they lose their credibility in the academic world- that they had completed the paperwork before term had started" Marid recounted the incident with an amused smirk.
His eyes soon regarded the two older siblings of the Governors of Kuoh, "Perhaps some people should start do good will work to make up for their recent actions. Considering how many toes they have stubbed on recently" Marid laughed aloud while regarding two Devil Kings. If someone saw Marid's eyes lingering on his father for a few more seconds, then they didn't comment on it.
"Would that include you in this list of people we need to make up to now?" Falbium asked with some gruffness however, his eyes held a glint that portrayed his true feelings of being thoroughly amused by Marids words.
"I will be quite a bit of stuff from you guys should this meeting go successful. If you guys could give me my deserved respect and accolades for my service, we will be even" Marid responded with a suggestive smirk as he stood to leave the conference room.
However, before Marid could leave the conference room, he turned around with a serious look in his eyes, something that conveyed the seriousness of the situation that he was about to present to the Satan's.
"Before I leave, there is something going on in the underworld that you all should be kept in the loop about" Marid's words got the attention of the Satan's immediately. He quickly recalled his trip to the familiar forest where he was asked for assistance regarding the kidnapping of the familiars.
"That is rather interesting Marid. I will have someone look into it" Ajuka nodded as he mentally just added one more task on his to-do list.
"If by someone you mean the Dragon Queen Tiamat then I would suggest not letting her know of Rias's pawn. If the word got out who he was then it would do more harm than good considering the situation we all are caught in" Marid gave his godfather a meaningful look.
"I will keep that in mind" Ajuka responded noncommittedly. Afterall it wouldn't be wise to show his uneasiness on Marids point of the Red Dragon Emperor being attached to the Devils. Knowing how much the situation was volatile, it would need be foolhardy to not keep the Red Dragon Emperors existence hidden for a little bit longer. Not to mention the report they had just received from the Fallen Angels regarding the church incident early this morning.
Marid formally bowed to the four Satans before taking his leave. Leaving the Maos on their own in the conference room.
"I will inform Tiamat and some of my peerage members to keep an eye on the familiar forest so that we can put an end to this madness" Ajuka Beelzebub broke the silence in the conference.
"Considering what is happening in the underworld at this moment. It would be for the best we keep our plates as clean as possible" Sirzech nodded in agreement as Ajuka took his leave from the conference room.
"Then perhaps I should summon the elders to give them the good news regarding Mar-kun's delicious wine" Serafall cutely. Still not believing how her own godson was able to brew such a delicacy. "Anyone else want to join?" She couldn't help but ask the remaining Satan's in the room.
"From the looks of it you should have everything under control" Falbium finally yawned, his infamous sleeping habits coming to the forefront. "I will go and take a well deserved nap. After all the work I did today I need some rest" Satan of the military Affairs spoke lamely.
"Why do you get to rest while we have to deal with the oldies" Serafall pouted as she crossed her hands underneath her impressive bust.
Falbium just shrugged before taking his own leave from the conference room leaving Satan's of Domestic and Foreign affairs alone.
"What about you?" Serafall eyed the only remaining Satan.
"I will meet you there. I have to make a quick stop somewhere" Sirzech spoke stoically as he got up from his own seat. Serafall, who was going to cutely retort before dragging her fellow Satan to the meeting with the Great Satan faction thought better of it once she saw the look of guilt and sadness through the ever stoic façade of the Crimson Satan. It was a look she understood since it wasn't long ago when she too had that look and now could sympathize with her childhood friend over it.
Serafall repressed a shudder of anger when she thought of the time when her own baby sister was engaged against her own will. She didn't want to imagine what she would have done if Sona hadn't been able to convince their father to stop the wedding. Serafall was sure she probably would have just killed the Zephyrdor-who was Sona originally engaged to- despite the political ramification of her actions.
So, with a solemn nod she too left the conference room, leaving the Crimson Satan to his own devices.
'Only if you would see past the greed father' Sirzech pinched his nose in an unsuccessful attempt at restraining his anger against his own father who had been using his entire family as means to satisfy his own greed. It was rather ironic that he was wishing his father wouldn't act on greed considering his own father was a pure blooded Devil and he himself was the Lucifer.
With one final sigh, Sirzech teleported himself out of the conference room to go get a file from the Imperial repository of the Underworld. A file he had kept his eye on for a while. Perhaps this file would not only serve as an apology to his sister, who he literally had stepped on when he had ordered not to kill the fallen Raynare despite what she had done, but also help her out in her little problem as well.
Chapter End
There you go! This chapter officially marks the beginning of the Riser Phoenix arc. Hopefully we will be able complete this arc soon enough. I am already ahead of schedule so how knows I might just double or perhaps triple upload some month. Who knows!!
Also, I know this chapter was a little smaller than my usual chapters but trust I ended it here for the best reasons. Adding more content to this chapter would have taken away the emotions I am planning to add in the next chapter.
Furthermore, I was wondering something… what kind of a character do you want to see Kenta as? Stoic and sarcastic or cheeky and loving?
ALSO, HAPPY NEWYEAR!!!!! I know its late but this is my first upload of the year! To having a successful next year!!!
Until then stay safe and have fun!
DGZalama out!
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