Omniscient POV
Hmmn~ Hmmn~
A soft humming noise filled the room as a twintailed girl dressed in a nun's outfit applied heavy layers of makeup, her pale face already ghostly white. She hummed to herself, seemingly in a cheerful mood, as she carefully tried different lipsticks.
Suddenly, the door creaked open behind her, and a girl holding a tray of food stepped in. "M-Master! What are you doing?" she asked, horrified.
The twintailed girl froze, then blinked at the lipstick in her hand, then back at the girl. "Are you still not feeling well? Is something still messing with your head, Diodora-sama?!" the girl asked, visibly concerned.
Because the twintailed girl was, in fact, Diodora Astaroth—a man.
"W-What? What happened? What was I doing?!" Diodora yelled, staring at the lipstick in his hand and the makeup and cute dresses all around him.
His head throbbed with a sharp headache. Since returning to the Underworld, his memory had started failing him—he'd often forget what he'd been doing moments ago, leading to frequent scoldings from his father.
He made repeated mistakes, and his behavior had started becoming oddly feminine. Even his appearance was slowly changing, and he couldn't bring himself to take off the nun outfit. Something in the back of his mind was stopping him.
And whenever he tried remembering anything, the grotesque face of a giant monkey with dangling balls would appear in his mind—blacking him out from sheer terror.
Now, his face twisted with fear again, his mind clouded. He didn't know what to believe anymore. The servants of the Astaroth clan were helpless. No one could find anything wrong with him physically or mentally. Most believed Diodora was acting this way of his own will.
Lord Astaroth, too, hesitated to ask Maou Beelzebub for help. Even he was starting to believe his son had gone off the rails, and bringing Diodora before the Maous would only invite more shame if the matter got out.
"AAAAHHH!" Diodora screamed like a bitch as he caught his reflection in the mirror, lashing out and smashing the makeup and dresses around him.
He couldn't understand what was happening—why it was happening. He was a noble devil, damn it! Who did this to him?! He was sure someone was behind this.
Someone close. Someone jealous, maybe? Latia Astaroth? Maybe she wanted his position. Or perhaps someone in his peerage? He had never treated them well, after all.
"You... you—you're involved too, aren't you?! How dare you betray me, you wench! I'll kill you all!" he yelled, lunging at the girl and choking her as she screamed and begged for mercy.
Suddenly, a magic circle lit up behind him. A figure stepped out, but Diodora didn't notice—he was too busy strangling the girl.
No one unauthorised was supposed to enter his room. He had been placed under house arrest by Lord Astaroth, with barriers around his room. But the one who arrived now wasn't someone such spells could ever hope to stop.
"How far are you going to disgrace your clan?" came a cold, solemn voice.
The girl vanished—teleported away in an instant.
Diodora spun around in alarm. "Who the fu—"
He stopped mid-sentence, eyes wide.
Ajuka Beelzebub stood before him, cold and expressionless.
"B-Beelzebub-sama! Why are you here… so suddenly?" Diodora stammered, suddenly far more lucid.
His mind cleared as though doused in icy water. He remembered everything—every humiliating thing he had been doing.
"What's with your look? And that girl you were attacking—she was from the Church. How did you get her?" Ajuka asked, holding out a paper with her photo and church records.
Diodora hesitated, unsure why Ajuka was so interested in this. Still, he quickly spun a story—claiming she had been excommunicated and that he had merely stumbled upon her by chance and decided to recruit her into his peerage.
Ajuka listened, silently.
"And what about the other eleven girls in your peerage?" Ajuka continued, showing similar records for each of them.
Diodora's face paled. "Umm, Beelzebub-sama, if you have concerns about my peerage, perhaps you should speak to my father—"
"Just answer my questions," Ajuka interrupted, his tone flat.
Left with no choice, Diodora spouted the same excuse—he had just happened to find them. It was all just a coincidence.
"Once or twice might be a coincidence," Ajuka said. "But twelve times? And all from church territories? What were you even doing in those regions?"
Cornered, Diodora tried other excuses, but Ajuka didn't let up.
Frustrated, Diodora snapped. "So what if I forcefully recruited Church members? I paid those damn bastards! It's not a crime to tempt them to become devils! If anything, all devils should be praising me for it!"
"Not if it provokes a war with Heaven," Ajuka replied.
"Huh?! Who cares?! We'd crush those pigeons any time!" Diodora scoffed.
Ajuka sighed. He had heard enough.
"You're under arrest for provoking a potential war. You're coming with me."
"What?! You can't arrest me! I'm the heir of House Astaroth! Even Maous can't touch noble heirs like that! The other noble families won't stay quiet—!"
"I already spoke to your father. You've been stripped of your heir status," Ajuka said plainly.
Diodora froze. "W-What…?! That's not true! Let me talk to him!"
He tried to run—but a flicker of Ajuka's power sent him crashing to the floor.
"D-Don't come near me!" Diodora screamed. "You can't do this! You should be praising me! The Old Devil Faction and the King Faction—!"
"You're mistaken," Ajuka said, eyes glowing as he stepped forward. "Even without all that, I can do as I please. I'm a Maou, after all."
Diodora shrieked in terror as Ajuka reached him. Moments later, Diodora, his entire peerage, and Ajuka vanished from the Astaroth mansion.
*
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*
"Ha ha ha…" Such mad, self-deprecating laughter echoed from Satanael.
He couldn't believe what had just happened. Did he really get folded by a bat not even old enough to be weaned off his mama's milk?! How could this be real?
He was one of the oldest Fallen Angels, after all. Sure, raw power wasn't his strongest suit—he was more of a researcher, a scientist, than a brute.
But still, this kind of defeat was beyond humiliating. Kouske was slowly walking toward him, playfully swinging the sword—his sword—just to mock him.
Satanael gritted his teeth. He couldn't accept this. He still didn't fully understand the repercussions of using that, but he had prepared it for Akatsuki… not for some smug, half-grown up bat.
Yet now, with pride shattered and fury boiling, he had no choice. Even if it was humiliating—so be it.
Suddenly, Satanael contacted all his subordinates—the ones he had deliberately kept away when he came to privately speak with Baraqiel.
But now that the situation had shifted, he summoned them without hesitation.
Kouske saw it happening but didn't stop him. If this was going to be Satanael's final stand, then Kouske could at least give him the dignity of going all out.
Besides, it would be more convenient to deal with all of Satanael's forces gathered in one place.
Soon, the sky was filled with thousands of Fallen Angels and even devils—courtesy of Rizevim.
But something felt off about them. They weren't like ordinary Fallen or devils. Many radiated Ultimate-Class power, not from their own talent, but because they had used Ophis's snakes.
Kouske could tell instantly—he could feel the aura of a Dragon God lingering around them.
"You made them all take Ophis's snakes? Do you even understand what that'll do to them?" Kouske asked Satanael, curiosity in his voice.
"W-What? How do you know about that?!" Satanael stuttered, shocked that Kouske knew about the snakes.
He had only recently discovered them himself and had taken a huge risk reaching out to Ophis, attempting to scam the naive Dragon God—despite others calling him mad for it.
"Does that really matter right now?" Kouske replied frivolously, still as calm as ever.
His unbothered tone only made Satanael angrier. This should've been a dire situation, yet Kouske acted like it was a game—mocking him even now.
"Heh! Let's see how long you can keep that smug face!" Satanael growled as he pulled out several of Ophis's snakes.
The serpents coiled around him before piercing into his body, one after another. A massive surge of power erupted from him, shaking the very air.
Kouske watched as Satanael's strength skyrocketed—he had broken past his previous limits, now standing at the peak of Satan-class power.
"W-What's that?! How did his power increase so suddenly?! How is that posssible?!" Baraqiel shouted, clearly alarmed.
He had been staying back, observing the situation, but this shift took him by surprise.
"You don't need to worry about him. I'll take care of it," Kouske said calmly. "But how long do you plan to just stand there? Didn't Azazel give you an army?"
Baraqiel glanced at the surrounding horde of Fallen and devils, his eyes narrowing.
"Did he get help from the Old Devil Faction too?" he muttered, recognizing several devil signatures. He hadn't expected Satanael to align himself with them.
But there was no time to dwell on it. With a swift motion, Baraqiel summoned the thousands of Fallen he had brought, and with a flash of light, he launched himself into the chaos.
The sky exploded into a battlefield—blades of light and spells flying in every direction, the air charged with tension and raw magic.
Kouske couldn't help but scoff. All this power and the most creative thing they could do with it was just summon spears?
Light manipulation had so much potential, yet they wasted it on the basics. It was almost depressing.
Without delay, Kouske summoned his own familiars—Hawks, Noctis, and the rest of his tamed monsters.
He doubted Baraqiel's forces alone could handle this many Ophis-enhanced enemies. The reinforcement was necessary.
Meanwhile, Satanael was undergoing a grotesque transformation. His body grew larger, his skin darker, his eyes now glowing red with fury.
The influence of multiple snakes was evident—an eerie, monstrous aura clung to him like a curse. Words failed to form in his mouth now, only guttural growls and raw rage remained.
He and Kouske now stood as equals in power—both at the peak of Satan class.
Their eyes locked.
With a bestial roar, Satanael lunged at Kouske, wild and feral. Kouske calmly adjusted his grip on Arondight, raising the divine sword to meet him.
The clash began.
Elsewhere, in the Dimensional Gap, Mephistopheles and Akatsuki's forces under Sakuya's command, launched their assault on the Wizards of Oz. But what nobody expected was devils attacking the Sabnock territory too.
The war had just begun.
[A/N: How was the chapter? Don't forget to leave a comment!
My 2nd-year final exam routine was just published today. It's from October 22 to November 25. There will also be three practical exams after that.
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