"Hyahahaha! To think we'd actually find it, 666! The Beast of the Apocalypse!"
At the edge of the world, a silver-haired Devil cackled with grating glee.
His name was Rizevim Livan Lucifer, the son of the true Lucifer, known in scripture as "Lilin." Born to inherit the Morning Star, he possessed the unique ability Sacred Gear Canceller, which nullified all Sacred Gear effects, marking him as a Transcendent Being.
Once a listless Devil, Rizevim lost his father in the Great War and his place in the civil war that followed. He was never deemed worthy of the name "Lucifer." He was merely "Lucifer's son." That realization drove him to a singular ambition.
To become the one and only Satan.
When he heard of the Demon God Pillars usurping the names of the Seventy-Two Pillars, the idea took root. The world branded them fakes, but if they prevailed, they would become the true Pillars. Justice didn't crown the righteous—victory crowned the just. The victor earned the right to etch their name into the history of now and tomorrow.
"Yes, Lord Rizevim. This brings us one step closer to our goal."
Euclid Lucifuge, a survivor of the Lucifuge family that served Lucifer across generations. He was the younger brother of Grayfia, wife of the current Lucifer, Sirzechs. The irony was palpable: the son of the original Lucifer allied with the brother-in-law of the current one.
Both were presumed dead or missing. Their survival alone would throw the Underworld into chaos, their positions that extraordinary.
Before them stood a colossal "Beast," bound by a taboo-level seal.
Its name was Trihexa, the Imperial Beast of the Apocalypse. Chronicled in the Book of Revelation alongside locust swarms and the Four Horsemen, it existed solely to destroy the world—a cataclysm incarnate. Some texts equated it to Satan or True Dragons. Its existence was deemed uncertain, an exception among exceptions, dwelling in the same dimension as Infinity or Dreams.
Yet here it was, real, sealed in secrecy by the God of the Bible, hidden even from other deities at the world's edge.
The Great War of the Three Factions—ended forcibly by the intrusion of the Two Heavenly Dragons and the decline of each faction—was partly concluded by the deaths of the God of the Bible and the Satan. But the God of the Bible was not at full strength during the war, having exhausted himself sealing this Beast. Even the most worshipped One God found sealing a creature of Trihexa's caliber, akin to Infinity or Dreams, a life-or-death endeavor.
Naturally, such a seal should have been impenetrable without a holy relic.
"So… what's going on here, Euclid-kun?"
For Rizevim, who hadn't secured a holy relic, this was convenient but troubling. The near-unraveled state of Trihexa's seal was a critical unknown, a dangerous anomaly.
"Why is 666's seal almost broken?"
Can you hear me, Hyoudou Issei?
Good. By absorbing the Demon God Pillar into your Sacred Gear, you've connected to Goetia and the others. Through you, my words will reach them.
You're done as a human. You're no longer just a Devil or a dragon—you've reached the edge of human potential. Even if your Evil Piece were removed, you'd remain a Devil.
To be blunt, you're being used in his plan. You—or rather, one of this era's Longinus wielders—was meant to be part of it.
It all began when he from this side discovered our world. He shared that knowledge only with him. And he decided to use us for his own ends.
I was summoned with knowledge of the plan, just as Servants summoned by the Holy Grail know of modern society or the Grail War. My ego, thought erased, was reconstructed here, body and all, with my trait of "becoming stronger than my opponent" intact.
The calamitous Beast Caspar League, the successor to the Heavenly Chain, Kingu, and the executor of Human Order Incineration, Goetia.
We are Beasts, born of love for humanity yet destined to be defeated as Evils of Humanity. Kingu is technically its child, but he was more convenient for him. We were summoned to defeat the Beast of the Apocalypse and to ensure his revival.
But the mastermind who called us is cruel. We're all "erased existences." My body persists, but my ego was gone. He learned of us from him, who observed other worlds, and chose to reuse us.
Do you know the "System"? If so, you know it's been malfunctioning since his death. But that's not the only cause. Our summoning was timed—set to activate once energy accumulated after his death. Creating a ritual to summon beings like us from another world strained the System, dulling its other functions. That was the malfunction's true purpose: conservation for this moment.
The summoning ritual was linked to Trihexa's seal. As we were summoned, the seal began to unravel. I had no choice but to prepare to face 666.
Goetia was embedded with intentional flaws in every Pillar, programmed subconsciously to aid his plan. They seem to be nurturing heroes, but that's part of it too—though not entirely without their own will.
For me, Goetia's use cut off my escape. I visited many, but resentment surrounded them all. Asia's fine herself, but her patients weren't. Dulio's pure nature was tainted by external manipulation, stirring dark emotions.
Kingu's case is simpler. When Trihexa's seal breaks, he's set to be teleported nearby, his precious things destined to be crushed first. It's disgustingly cruel.
From the moment we were summoned here, Kingu, Goetia, and I were doomed.
Yet three things deviated from his plan.
First, Goetia killed this world's original Seventy-Two Pillars. That wasn't in his calculations—it was their choice, driven by an impulse to hide them from those two. Ironically, this eased the Devils' movements. Depending on their actions, there's a sliver of possibility. It also proved the Pillars can act on their own will.
Second, you, Hyoudou Issei. You weren't supposed to absorb the Pillar yet. Someone else—Azazel, another Fallen Angel, or some faction—would've tried it eventually. If successful, you'd have challenged that possibility and gained the Pillar's power. But for it to happen this way, and for you to connect with the Pillars, was beyond unexpected.
The third is the Lion King, Artoria. Her arrival was completely outside his plan—and mine. Why Goddess Rhongomyniad was summoned is unclear. Perhaps Bedivere's involvement? Our summoning as "erased existences" may have paved the way for similar beings. Even so, only a Grand Mage could… ah, I see.
That idiot Nightmare better not be causing more trouble… Meddling with Ophis would be disastrous.
Putting that scoundrel aside, his plan, roughly, is this: Kingu binds 666, Goetia uses their second and third Noble Phantasms to defeat the Beast without world-ending damage, and I assist. Then, you and other Longinus wielders defeat us, collecting our magical and fate energy through you. The SacredGearexistsforthis. That energy triggers the System's final ritual—his second coming.
But I want to defy it. You feel the same, right? Your current state already veers far from his plan. Ddraig's gone, and you hold Albion's power—how much has his scheme derailed? You've reached the truth, and the fire in your heart won't fade. It's undeniable.
I won't say congratulations. Instead, I'm sorry, Hyoudou Issei.
You've been chosen as the sacrificial hero to save the world.
Oh, and tell Goetia: Mash was revived by transferring my fate energy!
"Confirmation from Goetia. Are all emotions in our hearts mere misprints by a falsely defined god?"
"Answer from Baal. No—absolutely, unequivocally, resolutely no! I reject such elements! I refuse such a narrative! The hatred burning in my chest, the humiliation, the insult, the fury—all directed at Ritsuka Fujimaru—spring from within me! They do not stem from some unrelated god…!"
"Agreement from Crocell. This flame smoldering in my chest, my loathing for those Heroic Spirits, stems from that battle. My anger at their irrationality still burns. I care not for divine conspiracies. I discard divine schemes. No god's interference can change that now!"
"Endorsement from Haagenti. This fear is beyond a god's comprehension. What a god cannot grasp, it cannot fabricate."
"Suggestion from Andras. I don't want to die. Isn't that natural for any living, feeling being? The impulse to reject death proves we have our own hearts, doesn't it?"
"Support from Gremory. Our individuality sprouted in the Temple of Time, born from the final magecraft of that man who was King. Our anger toward this god is a continuation of that moment—not something implanted!"
"Assertion from Flauros. I've decided. I will return to that world. I'll overpower any divine scheme and return. There are words I must deliver."
"Opinion from Glasya-Labolas. I've long resolved to return. I have unfinished business. Would a falsely defined god permit such emotions?"
"From Zepar—"
"Silence, Zepar!"
"Who permitted you to speak!?"
"Even accounting for flaws, your failure is inexcusable!"
"A Demon God Pillar, yet—!"
"Focus solely on communicating with Hyoudou Issei!"
"You too, Phenex!"
"Why speak as if it's not your concern!?"
"Negotiating with a Valkyrie on your own!?"
"What if that one-eyed war god moves!?"
"What do you take our plan for!?"
"I merely prepared insurance for the Command Center's inevitable failure!"
"Even so, know your place!"
"Directive from Goetia to all Demon God Pillars. Postpone the confrontation with the Lion King and the incineration of Heaven and Hell. We omitted it, thinking him dead, but it was meant to be our first step. The timing merely shifted. Now, let us slay a god."
After that great war, my soul resided in the Lance.
From within the Lance, I saw everything—the entirety of the world, the entirety of humanity.
Those who killed their children. Those killed by their children. Those ignorant of love. Those who abandoned love. Those who mourned betrayal. Those who lived for betrayal. Those unaware of family. Those who discarded family. Those who lost wealth. Those killed by wealth. Those ignorant of love. Those who mocked love. Those who sought success. Those who hated success. Those who upheld faith. Those who despised faith.
They loved their kin, scorned outsiders, learned wisdom, spread ignorance, nurtured grudges, danced in misunderstandings, favored discrimination, reveled in persecution, and pitied pity itself.
Witnessing this beside humanity, the only emotion I could feel was rage. Rage and nothing else.
Why? Why why why why why why why why why why why why!
Why, living in my world, are they—
So utterly ugly!
Why do they harbor such vile emotions!? Why worship gods other than me? Why not revere me? Why not offer prayers to me? Why curse me? Why not die for me? Why not be born in the form I ordained?
Why, in the perfect world I created, does such depravity arise? Why, in the beautiful world I birthed, does such filth exist?
I allowed them to exist in my world. I created them. Yet they can't live in a way that repays me. They don't even try.
This life is unworthy of living in my world.
—I created the wrong life.
***
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