In my hand lies a single ring.
A ring secretly passed down through the true Asmodeus bloodline from the original Asmodeus. The Ring of Solomon, supposedly returned to Heaven. The original Asmodeus once stole it from Solomon. It was believed to have been reclaimed, but the ring returned to Solomon was a fake. Thus, one of the ten rings presumed to be stored in Heaven is a counterfeit.
Why didn't Solomon, God, or Michael notice? Simple: the swap was a conspiracy between the original Asmodeus and Solomon, the mastermind. Solomon's illusion magecraft, his acting, and their trust in him ensured neither God nor Michael suspected the fake. Even if they did, they wouldn't admit a mere human deceived them.
Solomon needed the ring to remain in the world for posterity but knew God would reclaim it if left alone. So, he allied with Asmodeus. The Asmodeus bloodline guarded the ring until the promised day, concealing its truth even from other Satans—not to outwit them, but because another conspirator, the original Beelzebub, likely had that intent.
"Are we clear you're ready, Asmodeus descendant?"
The voice was displeased, irritable.
"Yes, that's fine."
To an onlooker, I'd seem to be talking to myself. This voice speaks only to me—the will of Solomon.
King Solomon's revival is impossible. His soul, mind, and body were consumed by the System by God's hand. Angels and Fallen Angels confirmed it. Thus, the Three Factions believed Solomon wasn't behind the Demon God Pillars. They wanted to believe that. A being without soul, mind, or body cannot return.
Before the swap, Solomon sealed a fragment of his soul into the ring, allowing it to possess its wearer. The original Asmodeus knew this and passed it down in secrecy. No successor dared use it or speak of it, terrified not just of the King's revival but of their own will being erased. Even unparalleled power meant nothing without a self.
During the civil war when Sirzechs seized power, using the ring never crossed our minds. To use it would mean the extinction of Devils as a race—or worse. An honorable death in battle, fulfilling our purpose of destruction and domination, would be the best end. But Solomon offers no such mercy.
I'm different now. I no longer need my will. I have no attachment to a world without her. Her presence was why I refused to use the ring.
"I surrender my body, ancient King of Israel. Here, I fulfill the contract you made with the original Asmodeus."
"Very well. But my contract with him included granting the wish of whoever offers their body, within reason. Cruzelei Asmodeus, state your wish."
There was no need to think. It was decided from the start.
"Death to the false and hypocritical Satans and the Fallen Angels' Governor-General."
"That… isn't a price. Based on current events, I was already planning that. Well, I won't be the one killing them."
"That won't do. You must do it."
Ophis is gone, whereabouts unknown. Her snakes are no more. I can't defeat Azazel, who killed Katerea, or Sirzechs, a Transcendent Being, or even Falbium. I'm weak. I can't avenge the woman I loved or restore her name's dignity.
I wasn't just stripped of my Satan status. Katerea Leviathan's name was defiled by a false Satan. Unable to erase that shame, she's gone. I'll never see her again.
"She was like that too, just like the original Asmodeus. Ironic that he bore Lust. You are undeniably Asmodeus."
"I should be honored, but those words mean nothing."
Katerea, you were enough. I wanted to show you a world where you could smile from your heart.
"Blood doesn't lie. Your passion for one woman outweighs your loyalty to your race."
"My father mentioned the truth of the Book of Tobit, didn't he? Doesn't matter. Hurry up. I might change my mind."
Solomon said no more. Immense magical energy surged from the ring. Amid the exhilaration, I felt loss. I understood I was fading, my essence overwritten by something else. My memories felt alien, devoid of reality. I thought of another true Satan's bloodline—not her, waiting ahead, but him, still believing he can change things.
Sorry, Shalba. Our history, the Devils' history, ends here. I'll go first. At least, let's take those fakes and everything else with us.
"So, what did Solomon actually do?"
After Hades' revelation, most gods and demons stood and left. Some teleported silently, others hurled curses at the Three Factions before fleeing, some paled and leaned on subordinates, others pressed Hades for details. Reactions varied, but the notion of cooperating with the Three Factions against terrorists vanished. There was no room for such thoughts.
Those who stayed doubted Hades' information—or refused to believe it.
Sirzechs and Azazel couldn't accept it outright and tried to stop the departing leaders. But one question silenced them:
"If it's true, can you take responsibility?"
They couldn't. There was no concrete solution, and the Biblical factions lacked the credibility. The Satans, Archangel, and Fallen Angel Governor-General were speechless.
Bennia, daughter of the High-Class Grim Reaper Orcus, heard this from her father. Knowing the King of Magecraft only through myth, she found the world's reaction odd. What could inspire such terror, hatred, and awe? Wasn't he just a wise king, not even a demigod, gifted a ring by God? So, she asked Hades, trusting his clarity over her father's.
"Bennia, have you never felt something off about human-told myths?"
"Huh?"
The conversation turned complex.
"Take the Three Factions. They're divided into God, Devils, and Fallen Angels. But in scripture, Devils and Fallen Angels are nearly the same."
In myth, Tiamat became the world, yet she lives as a Dragon King. Vritra, meant to revive yearly and be slain by Indra, is sealed in Sacred Gears. Jörmungandr, supposedly cast into the sea by Odin, sleeps there by choice. Typhon, meant to be sealed under a volcano, isn't.
If myths were true, Indian mythology should dominate human faith. Yet, the Biblical factions spread their teachings widest.
"Sure, but isn't that just how it is?"
"Exactly. We can only think that way. Who defined it as such?"
The answer was clear.
"Did I just hear something insanely dangerous?"
"Yes. Questioning is good, but be cautious. Myths and reality diverge, and that gap widens over time. Someone made it so. No one can remake the world now—resources and time are lacking. This is Solomon's doing, his sin disguised as a feat for the God of the Bible, meant to bury all mythologies."
A grand endeavor ensnaring all myths and humanity. The world's altered laws still erode the gods, unstoppable until humanity forgets all myths. The gods, despite some lies, accepted his plan.
"Solomon's curse on humanity—'Truth.'"
That rage-filled King loved humanity enough to manipulate even God.
The Three Factions' leaders, forced to end the terrorist meeting by Hades' bombshell, received good and bad news.
Good news: Hyoudou Issei awoke. Sirzechs, Rias's brother, and Azazel, his mentor, were relieved. They wished he'd awakened before the game, but they couldn't complain. Greater battles loomed.
Bad news: Rizevim Livan Lucifer requested a meeting with Sirzechs Lucifer, accompanied by Euclid Lucifuge.
The original Lucifer's son, the only Transcendent Being under the old regime, long presumed dead or missing, appearing now likely tied to the ring. If the Old Satan Faction had it, Rizevim would hold it.
"Nah, I don't have that King's ring, If I did, I wouldn't bother with this hassle. I'd slip through magic barriers and zoom in."
Prepared for the worst, Sirzechs, Azazel, and Michael faced Rizevim, relieved that the worst didn't materialize.
"Then who has it, Lilin? A Beelzebub descendant? Asmodeus? Leviathan, besides Katerea? Or maybe Vali? If they have it, why hasn't the Old Satan Faction acted?"
"The Old Satan Faction is gone."
"What?"
"Wiped out. Completely."
His forced brightness betrayed a hint of bitterness.
"Seems Cruzelei-kun's ring had Solomon's will sealed in it, like the God of the Bible's in the Holy Lance. Cruzelei got taken over, and Solomon-in-Cruzelei wiped out the faction—Shalba and the key players. Except me and my grandson Vali-kun."
"All subordinates, except those we controlled, are confirmed dead or missing, from spies we planted to nameless grunts."
This was the worst possible outcome—not the faction's destruction, serious as that was, but the greater emergency it signaled.
"He sealed his will in the ring! That bastard! Couldn't he just stay dead!?"
The King of Magecraft's revival—the delusion the Biblical factions dismissed as impossible, the emergency they could never allow.
"This is catastrophic, the Old Satan Faction with the ring would've been manageable. His revival means the Biblical system's collapse. The Demon God Pillars are his pawns, then. Attacking the originals makes sense. Sealing them in a vessel won't suffice this time."
The Old Satan Faction aimed for world domination at best, the current Satans' deaths at least, or their own restoration in between. All failed, which benefited the current regime, but Solomon's return was the worst outcome.
"No, this is a chance, If he's back, other mythologies might cooperate. They could ignore the Old Satan Faction without harm, but not him. We could propose alliances to all mythologies."
"Knowing that King, he's probably negotiated with them already, like last time."
"Then we persuade him."
"No way."
"I'd be in trouble if that King runs wild. I'm probably his next target. So, I looked for a countermeasure. Found one, but I can't do it alone. That's why I'm here, asking for the current regime's protection and cooperation, Sirzechs-kun."
"…Understood. For the Underworld, let's join hands. What's the countermeasure, Lord Rizevim?"
Rizevim grinned, as if waiting for the question, a smile Azazel found familiar but was too stunned by the proposal to dwell on.
"We revive the God of the Bible. I found a way."
***
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