Gremory Territory, Underworld.
When the word *Underworld* was mentioned, many would instantly think of a dark, frightening, and vile place where fire and molten lava burned at every turn, and the air was filled with toxic compounds and other embellishments. In fact, it was an apt description for a place known as purgatory.
However, this was not true, for the Underworld was vastly different from what many believed it to be.
Thus, those who had never been to the Underworld would be incredibly surprised, perhaps even shocked, to discover that the place mentioned was nothing like what they thought. Instead, it was very similar to Earth, the human world, with the exception of the sky, which was purple (in the Underworld).
The Underworld was vast, easily the size of Earth (without seas), with only large lakes to compensate for the lack of oceans. Contrary to popular belief, it was situated in a different dimension, not underground, as its name suggests.
Its lands varied from cities to grasslands, fields to farms, forests, and so on.
Though one thing many were correct in thinking was that the Underworld was home to Demons, the dark race of beings that had been greatly misunderstood by many as nothing more than evil creatures.
Demons, however, were like normal humans, but with the addition of bat-like wings on their backs and a variety of different abilities that could be used for good or evil purposes. They also had enhanced physical abilities, such as strength, endurance, speed, and senses. They could even live for thousands of years while maintaining a youthful appearance. This made demons an almost perfect species.
Demons had many enemies, but their greatest adversaries were the Angels of Heaven and the so-called Fallen Angels (Angels who succumbed to their sinful nature and fell from Heaven, creating a new species of supernatural beings).
The Three Factions of Angels, Demons, and Fallen Angels waged war against each other under the leadership of the Biblical God, the Four Great Satans, and the Fallen Angels' organization, Grigori, led by the Fallen Angel Azazel, in a conflict that became known as *The Great War*.
When the war finally ended, each side suffered heavy losses, leaving the Three Factions in a state of conflict. However, due to the extreme exhaustion following the Great War and with the three factions losing their main forces, none of the three sides wished to continue fighting.
Thus, while there was no peace between the factions, direct battles also ceased.
Many years later, after the death of the original Four Satans, the Underworld entered a civil war. On one side were the Satan families who wanted to continue their fight against the Angels and Fallen Angels, while on the other side were the remaining prominent devil houses known as the 72 Pillars (now reduced to 34) who sought peace and a new order.
The conflict lasted a few years until, finally, four demons from four different houses united, pushed back the Old Government Faction, and secured victory for the New Government Faction. This government hoped that the new generation could live in peace and harmony, free from the horrors of war. These four demons were...
Sirzechs Gremory
Ajuka Astaroth
Serafall Sitri
Falbium Glasya-Labolas
Though young, each of them possessed incredible strength that left many trembling in their presence and could decimate entire countries if they so desired.
Each had their own set of skills and power. While individually they were powerful, together they were nearly invincible and quickly became the spearhead in the battle against the Old Government / Descendants of the Old Satans Faction.
The Civil War took its toll on all living demons, but eventually, the New Government Faction prevailed.
With that, the Old Government Faction retreated and went into hiding. And the Underworld quickly began to change under its new administration.
With the departure of the Underworld's leaders, the four most powerful individuals took on the responsibility of the Underworld, that is, to protect every citizen living and breathing in their homeland.
The four heroes of the Devil's Civil War took up the mantle of the former Satans and became the new Four Great Satans, with Sirzechs being the leader of the four and taking the mantle of Lucifer, while Ajuka took Beelzebub, Serafall took Leviathan, and Falbium took Asmodeus.
Some time later, Ajuka created the [Evil Pieces].
With so few pure-blooded demons remaining and half of the 72 Pillars now extinct, they needed to repopulate the Underworld somehow, which led to the creation of the [Evil Piece] system, a system that allowed humans and other creatures/beings to reincarnate and transform into demons, with the exception of extremely powerful beings like a Buddha or a Dragon God.
And in this very place, more specifically in the Gremory Territory, a grand celebration was taking place in one of the halls.
It was the joyous wedding, at least on the groom's part, between Rias Gremory, the heiress of the Gremory Clan, and Riser Phenex, a member of the Phenex Clan.
Everyone was gathered in a beautiful, grand hall where various pure-blooded demons were present to witness the event.
Rias's nobility was also there, but everyone wore somber expressions.
Then a magical circle drew everyone's attention toward the stage, and in a pillar of flames, Riser Phenex appeared, wearing a white suit.
"Esteemed nobles of the Underworld, please give me a minute of your attention. I would like to make an announcement on behalf of my family, the Phenex Clan. I have invited you here today because I, Riser Phenex, am to marry the heiress of the Gremory House, Rias Gremory, and I would like you to share this historic moment with me. Now, I will present my bride, Rias Gremory," said Riser with a wide smile as he pointed to the stage.
With a large crimson magical circle, Rias appeared, wearing a luxurious wedding dress.
But before anyone could do anything, the hall's doors were blown open.
One of the giant doors was ripped from its hinges, flying forward and nearly crushing some high-class demons before finally skidding to a stop a few meters from the door. The other door slammed violently against the wall, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
"Well, well, it seems I wasn't invited to my friend Rias's wedding," said a voice from within the dust.
Stepping through the dust, a group of people appeared, and everyone's eyes widened as they felt their power.
The first was a tall man with beautiful golden hair in a golden hue and a perfect body, along with two stunning crimson eyes like rubies. He wore a black suit with a blue shirt and a golden tie, black gloves, and a brown overcoat.
The moment he was seen, all eyes turned to him, as his body exuded a majesty that made everyone look at him but no one dared to approach.
All the women, including the married ones, blushed when they saw him, and waves of lust were sent his way, amplified by the power emanating from his body.
After all, power was attraction for supernatural beings.
Following behind him came more beings, with two men stepping forward first.
The one on the left had the appearance of an elderly butler, elegantly dressed in his traditional black uniform. His hair was entirely white, as was his immaculate beard. He had visible wrinkles on his gaunt face, which made him seem kind, but his eyes were sharp like an eagle's.
He exuded an aura of power, wisdom, and experience.
The one on the right was a man with green hair and golden eyes that gleamed with interest, dressed in an entirely white suit.
Everyone turned their attention to him as well due to his appearance, which was hard to define in terms of gender.
Next to the green-haired man was a giant wolf the same size as the man, with gray-blue fur and a divine aura.
Following them came five women who made all the men stare at them with lust.
The first was a blonde girl with red eyes and a seductive body, exuding a vampiric aura, wearing a blood-red dress that gave her a regal appearance.
Next to her was another blonde girl with green eyes, emanating innocence and beauty, wearing a light blue dress.
Beside them were two similar-looking women wearing blue and white dresses. While the first exuded nobility and loyalty, the second radiated a beastly ferocity.
The last woman had the appearance of a beautiful woman with long, smooth light blue hair, dark blue eyes, and a cold atmosphere radiating from her beauty. She possessed an extremely powerful dragon aura within her body. She also wore a navy blue skirt, and her entire body was drenched in a deep blue hue.
They were, respectively, Gilgamesh, Sebas, Enkidu, Fenrir, Valerie, Asia, Arturia, Mordred, and Tiamat in her human form.
The entire hall was silent as Gilgamesh wore a smile on his face.
"YOU!" Riser roared in anger at Gilgamesh.
"Hey, Riser-kun, how are you?" Gilgamesh asked in a sarcastic tone.
"How dare you interrupt my wedding? Guards, seize him!" Riser shouted.
All the guards quickly advanced toward Gilgamesh, but before they could get too close, a wave of energy emanated from Gilgamesh's body, causing all of them to collapse, to the astonishment of those watching.
The demon guards were of High and Ultimate Class, yet they were defeated with a wave of strange energy completely different from magic.
But even with this power, the demons couldn't resist the will of the King.
"Hey, Rias, you didn't invite me to your wedding," Gilgamesh said, smiling.
Riser made a grimace that couldn't be explained in words.
"What is the meaning of this, Riser?"
"Hey, Lady Rias, what does this mean?"
Relatives and authorized people were making uneasy faces and were in a panic.
"It was an event I organized," said a voice, drawing everyone's attention.
When everyone looked in that direction, they couldn't help but widen their eyes.
There stood Sirzechs Lucifer, one of the Four Great Demon Kings, alongside his wife, Grayfia Lucifuge.
"Oni-sama," Rias cried out, worried.
"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce Gilgamesh, descendant of the King of Heroes and the current Sekiryuutei, wielder of the Longinus [Boosted Gear]," Sirzechs explained.
Everyone widened their eyes and turned to Gilgamesh with a completely new feeling.
Greed.
Everyone wanted him in their peerages due to his power.
"I wanted to see the power of the Dragon, so I asked Grayfia."
"S-Sirzechs-sama!? You can't do something so irresponsible!" shouted a middle-aged man in panic.
"It should be fine. The last [Rating Game] was quite fun. But it was a disadvantage for my little sister, who had no game experience, to face Riser-kun, a prodigy of the Phenex House," Sirzechs said.
"…So, Sirzechs-sama, are you saying the last game wasn't fair?"
"No, no, absolutely not. If a Maou like me said such a thing, I'd make the old nobles look bad. The connection between high-class demons is important, after all," Sirzechs said with a smile.
"So, Sirzechs, what do you want to do about this?" asked a handsome middle-aged man with long red hair tied in a loose ponytail with a black ribbon. He had bright blue eyes and a short red beard.
This was Zeoticus Gremory, the father of Sirzechs and Rias.
The Maou of the Underworld was displaying a full smile at this moment, as if he was thoroughly enjoying it: "Father, Riser. I believe my lovely sister's engagement party should be flashy. If there's no fight, wouldn't it be too boring?"
"A fight…" Riser echoed.
"Riser," Sirzechs said sharply, "if you can't defeat this human, you're not worthy of my sister. Defeat him, and you'll have my full blessing. After all, isn't this an excellent way to show us all how strong the third son of the Phenex House is?"
Sirzechs's words struck a chord in Riser's heart.
"If it's a fight you want," he glared at Gilgamesh, "it's a fight you'll get, you little shit."
Then all the demons began shouting indignantly, saying a human could never defeat a pure-blooded demon.
"People," Sirzechs interrupted, "you should have a bit more faith in this boy. Humans… are interesting creatures. They're full of infinite possibilities. None of you must have noticed, but he's very talented at masking his aura. Riser, if you underestimate him, this fight might end sooner than you think."
"Nonsense. What are we waiting for? If you want to see my power, I'll show you my power."
A smile slowly spread across Gilgamesh's face.
While Riser's smile was driven by lust or dominance, Gilgamesh's smile was pure bloodlust.
"So, are you going to fight alone or with your little friends?" Riser asked in a smug tone.
Gilgamesh laughed.
"I'll fight alone; it's more than enough. As for you, you should bring your peerage to make things more interesting," Gilgamesh said, to Riser's fury.
"I'll take them, and we'll slaughter you," Riser shouted as his group approached him.
"Sirzechs," Gilgamesh called calmly, "once I defeat this idiot, I'd like this marriage to be annulled, and for Rias Gremory to be granted the freedom to choose whom she wishes to marry."
The smile on Lucifer's face couldn't have been wider at that moment. "Very well. If you are victorious, I'll allow you to take Rias back to the surface. May the strongest win!"
At that moment, a large magical circle engulfed Gilgamesh, Riser, and his peerage.
On the Battlefield.
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