Finally, after much discussion, the two decided to stay in Germany for a while first, since they didn't really have anything urgent to do right now, and there was no rush to go anywhere.
After breakfast, they tidied up the dining table together again. But the witch clearly wasn't interested in washing dishes.
She dumped the job of washing the plates onto Aiden and then ran off to the living room to watch TV. After Aiden quickly washed the dishes, he went over to join her in watching.
But they hadn't watched for long before Bayonetta's phone rang. She pulled it out, and her pretty brows furrowed at once.
"It's Enzo." Seeing Aiden's curious gaze, Bayonetta shook the phone at him, then picked up the call.
The moment she answered, Enzo's anxious shouting came through the receiver, so loud that even Aiden beside her could hear it.
"Bayonetta, when are you coming back? I've run into big trouble."
The voice was so loud that Bayonetta pulled the phone away from her ear. After a moment she spoke, "Lower your voice, Enzo… All right, what kind of trouble has you this worked up?"
"My kid's been kidnapped."
At those words, both Bayonetta and Aiden instantly straightened their backs. After exchanging a glance, Bayonetta asked, "Is it one of your enemies?"
"No, it's a woman. Blonde hair, great figure… tch, why am I describing that? Anyway, hurry back and save my kid." Enzo's voice was filled with desperation.
"But if it's kidnapping, you could go to the police, right? You live in a rich district. The cops wouldn't want to offend their moneyed patrons." Bayonetta asked doubtfully.
"Police are useless, because that woman has demonic power."
"Demon?"
At that word, Aiden and Bayonetta exchanged another look. This time, both their expressions turned serious.
Even so, Bayonetta said, "If it's demons, you could go to Rodin. He's very familiar with hell's demons. Maybe he could help you. Right, I remember you once said you knew a powerful demon hunter, too."
"I didn't go to that demon hunter, I only went to Rodin. But Rodin said he doesn't know that woman's origins either."
"I see… All right, Enzo, don't panic. We'll come back right away." Bayonetta comforted him.
At this point, Aiden asked from the side, "Cereza, ask him if the woman who kidnapped his child made any demands. Kidnapping usually isn't without reason."
So Bayonetta relayed Aiden's words.
"Demands… not yet. She only told me to meet her first, then we'll talk."
"If that's the case, Enzo, once Mr. Cat and I return, we'll go meet that woman with you."
"Then you'd better hurry!"
"Got it!"
After hanging up, Bayonetta looked at Aiden, only to find him frowning in thought.
"Got any clues?" After a while, Bayonetta asked.
"A bit."
Aiden nodded. A character from another game's storyline had come to mind.
A blonde woman, great figure, who even knew about someone like Enzo, and connected with demons.
He recalled the "Black Knight" mentioned by the demon knight he and Jeanne had encountered before, and muttered under his breath, "Could it really be this much of a coincidence?"
"What do you mean, coincidence?"
At such close distance, of course Bayonetta heard Aiden's mutter. She couldn't help but be curious.
"Nothing…" Aiden shook his head, then asked, "Cereza, could you ask your contract demon, Madama Butterfly, about a certain demon?"
"That's no trouble. Go ahead, what's the demon's name?" Bayonetta said, already reaching out to contact Madama Butterfly.
"Mundus!"
"Mundus? Sounds like such an ordinary name!" Bayonetta said, just as Madama Butterfly's voice rang in her ear.
"Mundus… ah, I remember him. A demon emperor of the underworld who was slain by a rebellious subordinate. But he's been dead for two thousand years."
Madama Butterfly's voice was very clear, and even Aiden could hear every word, because Bayonetta had directly summoned her into the human world.
Demons, even female demons, usually had enormous bodies. Back when Aiden saw Bayonetta summon Madama Butterfly in the battle against Balder, her height was easily seventy or eighty meters.
But this time, in the living room, Madama Butterfly appeared about the same height as Bayonetta. Her figure was actually a bit fuller, but the horns on her head and the decorative mask on her face made it hard to see her features clearly.
Catching Aiden staring, Madama Butterfly smiled and nodded at him, baring a mouthful of sharp fangs as she said, "Hello!"
"Ahem, hello to you too!" Aiden quickly shifted his gaze away. Her figure was indeed nice, but that mouthful of fangs was a bit too frightening.
Seeing this, Madama Butterfly reined in her smile, turned to Bayonetta, and asked, "Did I scare him?"
"Maybe." Bayonetta glanced at her fanged mouth and shrugged. "Anyway, let's keep talking about this Mundus."
"But I don't think I look ugly…" Madama Butterfly muttered as she touched her own face. Female demons also cared very much about their looks.
But Aiden and Bayonetta pretended not to hear and pressed on.
"Hell still has emperors? How come I've never heard you mention that before?" Bayonetta asked.
"The demon realm, that is, hell, is similar to the human world and heaven. Its power structure is complex. And strong demons each have their own territory, so it's no surprise an emperor could arise."
Madama Butterfly sat beside Bayonetta and continued, "This Mundus was born at the very dawn of hell's existence."
"Very powerful, one of the strongest among the high-ranking demons. Of course, compared to the supreme demon-goddess of hell, Queen Sheba, he was still far inferior."
As the bearer of the Left Eye of Darkness and heir of the witches, Bayonetta naturally knew of Queen Sheba's existence.
She asked with interest, "Would Queen Sheba really allow him to call himself emperor of the demon realm?"
"Her Majesty doesn't concern herself with that. To Her, no matter what happens in hell, it doesn't affect Her, because She is hell itself." Madama Butterfly shook her head.
"So over two thousand years ago, Mundus launched wars across the demon realm, annexing many weaker demons' lands, and finally declared himself emperor of the demon realm…"
"In truth, he still feared Her Majesty, which is why he didn't dare call himself King of Hell, keeping that distinction clear."
"Later his hunger for territory grew even greater, and he began targeting us high-ranking demons. But there are many such demons in hell. When they united to resist, he suffered heavy losses… I even joined that battle myself…"
"After that war, Mundus couldn't expand in hell anymore. Though hell is vast, so vast that even many areas remain unexplored, and perhaps only Queen Sheba knows its full extent, he turned his ambitions toward the human world instead."
At this, Aiden asked, "If you high-ranking demons could unite to defeat him, why didn't you destroy him completely?"
The blending of two story-worlds was confusing him a bit, but the new tale still piqued his interest.
"Because we are demons. To protect our own interests, we can unite temporarily. But once the threat is gone, any agreements we made mean nothing."
"So when Mundus attacked the human world, the coalition of high demons dissolved. Many who had fought against him even joined his side…"
"The human world is tempting to demons, the fertile lands, the souls of mankind…"
"But most high demons like me weren't interested, or preferred to reap benefits without work."
"Later, when Mundus's demon army entered the human world, they fought against heaven and humanity's defenders, the sages and witches."
"In truth, hell's power far exceeded what anyone imagined. Heaven, after its chief god, the Creator Jubileus, fell into slumber, couldn't resist demons empowered by Queen Sheba. So at that time Mundus very nearly conquered the human world. Unfortunately…"
"Unfortunately, he still lost his life, right?" Bayonetta asked curiously.
Madama Butterfly nodded. "More or less. Because no one expected a demon to betray his own kind."
"Just as the demon army was about to win, one of his subordinates couldn't bear to see humanity enslaved. He defected to the humans' side, fought Mundus, and slew him."
"There are also rumors that this demon, named Sparda, defected because of a human woman. But that's just legend."
"Tch, I'd rather the legend were true. That would be so romantic!" Bayonetta's eyes lit up. Few women dislike such stories.
"Romantic? Maybe. But for demons, not so good. Because without Mundus's command, the demon army collapsed."
"The vast force splintered into factions led by different high demons, each eager to crown themselves emperor. They fought both the human alliance and each other, and were quickly driven back into hell."
"Afterwards, the demon empire Mundus had built was divided back up among the high demons of hell…"
At this point, Madama Butterfly smiled. "I claimed a very large territory. One rival who contested me for land was given a thorough beating."
Then she turned curiously to Aiden, "But only ancient demons like me know these things. And after the sages and witches were wiped out, hardly any humans know either. So, where did you learn of Mundus?"
Aiden shook his head, carefully avoiding the sight of the female demon's mouthful of fangs. "I have my own channels. But only enough to know Mundus's name, nothing beyond that."
He added, "I thought he was only a legend. Didn't expect him to really exist."
Now that it was confirmed Mundus truly existed as demon emperor, Aiden was one hundred percent sure who had kidnapped Enzo's child.
But what he couldn't figure out was, why? Why would that woman do this? Shouldn't she be targeting that demon hunter first?
Just as he was puzzling, Bayonetta also asked curiously, "But what does all this have to do with Enzo?"
She remembered Aiden had asked her to question Madama Butterfly because of Enzo.
Aiden shook his head again. "Nothing to do with him. I was just confirming something."
"What thing?" Bayonetta looked at him curiously.
But Aiden didn't answer, because at that moment the door opened, and Jeanne walked in.
Seeing Madama Butterfly sitting beside Bayonetta, Jeanne blinked rapidly a few times. Clearly, she was surprised.
"You bored of staying in hell, and came to play in the human world? Should I call Lady Styx to keep you company?"
"No need. I just came to help with something. I'll be leaving soon." Madama Butterfly shook her head.
"Is that so? Then fine." Jeanne only said it casually.
Demons lingering in the human world was never a good thing. It disrupted the environment, especially powerful high demons.
The demonic aura they released could unconsciously warp the personalities of people nearby, until they finally fell into corruption and became devils or little demons themselves.
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