Chapter 127: The mannequin begins to twitch and creak

Momonga sneezed as he got a feeling that someone had misunderstood something he had said, which wasn't helped by the fact that he had asked for a brief situation report from the Overlord General and had gotten confirmation that it was amassing Scrolls for him while 'lying low'.

Momonga let the cloaking and anti-observation Scrolls collapse and moved to send Azazel a Message… Except that in front of him stood a woman that was roughly tall enough for the top of her head to reach up to his ribs.

Moreover, she was flickering from spot to spot as if she was a ghost in a cheap movie, and she was T-posing on Momonga in a way that caused a river of sweat to run down his face.

"E-erm, greetings, Se-tan?" Momonga sweated as he suddenly remembered what he had forgotten. "Is this about the potion-mmmghu?!"

Serafall had stuffed her entire fist into Momonga's mouth and he felt a surge of some liquid pour down his throat, only to be followed by him realizing that his mana, partially drained by obscuring spells that he had cast in addition to the scrolls of obscuration, popped up to full in an instant.

'Ah, so she managed to concentrate 'mana potions' into much more usable form.'Momonga nodded happily inside his head while Serafall pulled her fingers from his throat, making him a bit curious as to what the point of the invasive gesture was.

At least until his thoughts started to turn a bit sluggish and his head nodded a bit forward as he noticed that Serafall, despite being as short as her little sister, had quite nice curves. And that she was in front of him. And that she had a pleasant fragrance, like fresh ice and salty water-

Before Momonga realized that not only was the 'mana potion's magical energy restoring effects multiplied, so were it's 'side-effects'. 'Ah. So while I managed to hold back the 'urges' after a 'regular' mana potion due to their relatively weak contents that were mostly focused on giving on a boost in bed and the 'energy restoration' was a side effect, if the 'side effect' is increased by a high multiplier then it's possible that the 'main effect' was also boosted by a considerable amount. I should have figured I couldn't escape the grasp of Ero-World's curse, but I suppose retrospect makes fools out of all of us.'

Momonga had stuck a 'thinker' pose while sitting on top of a rock in his mind-scape while Ddraig was eyeing him warily.

"What?"

'That is a good question.' Momonga nodded resolutely. And then he returned to 'reality'.

Namely, he experienced 'post-nut clarity' (or at least it was called that according to Peroroncino anyway), and looked down to see that Serafall was currently bent on her back over a balcony's railing like a pillow, and her legs were twitching feebly while a river of white stuff flowed from between them.

Momonga looked a bit up and noted that Serafall's belly looked a bit swollen, and put his hand on it before his rational thoughts caught up.

The motion caused the belly to compress and a 'splosh' of white stuff came out of the woman who was clearly barely conscious.

However, that changed in a moment as Serafall bounced back upright before Momonga's eyes registered it, and he realized that the woman had teleported to sit piggy-back on his shoulders. '...I see, so she was acting.'

"Again! And again! That was a good rompin' but I need more!" Serafall beamed as she looked upside-down at Momonga and played the top of his head like a bongo while stark naked and clearly unbothered by it.

'Wait, what time is it?' Momonga glanced at the horizon and paused a bit as he noticed that the sun was already starting to reach the end of the horizon and night had started to fall. 'Oh. I thought it was morning, er… wait… I actually had stuff I needed to get done today?!'

He sent a quick message to the crow he had made with [Lead of Yatagarasu]. "Did you find Beelzebub yet?"

"Caww."

'...Right.' Momonga covered his face with his hand after he let the message wane. '...Well, it would have returned to me if it had. At least it's not captured, I guess…'

"Beelzebub-kun?" Serafall paused the head-patting. "What about Beelzebub-kun? Don't tell me you're already going to go all 'kill all men' mode on him… Don't be like that, Sup-kun! I promise I won't be netorared! Besides, think of all the widows- Wait no, bad example. Erm…"

"He has declared himself our enemy, you know. As much as he was your friend and comrade- He has chosen his side. And that is one against me and Sona, I might add, just in case you get any ideas about switching sides." Momonga turned up the heat while Serafall seemed to try to find something to say. 'Sup-kun… Haa…' "Also, I'd like you to keep that tidbit about 'sup-kun' under a tighter lid."

"Sorry…" Serafall looked a bit conflicted, making Momonga a bit afraid as well- So he decided to dismiss whatever conflicting thoughts Serafall might have had with ero-world methods by the way of kissing her gently.

The kiss continued for a while before Serafall broke off of it. "I… I get what's happening, I really do, but… Could you… You know, not destroy everyone and everything we built in the process?"

"That was never my intention. After all…" Momonga made a handwave towards the church in the distance, barely visible from the corner of the balcony. "I would not need to make an organization dedicated to rebuilding, healing and renewing if my sole goal was to destroy, nor would I need to make schools that Sona desired." '...Granted, making that 'faith' was more of a result of an accident, but there's no need to get back down if you stumble upwards…'

Serafall seemed to be a bit reassured and at the same time a bit disappointed, making Momonga sigh. '...At least Lady Phenix was straightforward in her insanity and Yasaka clear in her shrewdness, Serafall is seriously switching mindsets faster than I swap my masks… Haa…'

"...Well, talk about two peas in a pod." Ddraig sounded quite amused inside Momonga's head, and thus earned a glare from Momonga.

And then he sighed mentally as he knew what he needed to do next- Proc [Ancient Evil] to call his Chuuni side. Even though it caused quite bit of damage to his psyche. '...And I still need to train a bit with the [Destroyer], [Outer Being] and [Umu] classes to get a grip on their function, the flavor texts were anything but clear on their functions… Not to mention the fact all of them were 'five level max' skill paths, which means they were 'rare' skills that would likely confer some sort of spells or whatnot… Haa…'

"Now then… I believe I need to convince Lady Gremory to support me still. You'll help me… My dark lady." Momonga took Serafall's hand and kissed it, and then trailed up to kiss the side of Serafall's neck and finally put a light kiss on her forehead while she let a cute 'eep' and swooned a bit. "Expect more where that came from if you succeed in this task… Dear."

"Ooooaah! Sneaky! No options! But with a promise of good time- Fine! I'll help… As long as Sona gets to join in as well! Last night was a huge case of blue balls, and I swear I'll get my hands on 'girl to futa' spells for our next night-dive if you leave me hanging again!" Serafall sounded quite cheerful despite the shadow that fell over her face for a moment in the middle of her speech.

Momonga shook in fear as he looked at Serafall's eyes which were glazed over and lifeless while the shadow seemed to extend over the upper part of her face, and she seemed to extrude a foul, dark aura that tickled the part of him that was 'necromancer roleplayer'... Before Serafall stuck a cutesy pose with one leg up and with magical girl wand held horizontally in front of her.

She then made a heart-symbol with her fingers over her eye and bounced a bit on the spot, the earlier darkness now completely hidden from view and her face lively and bright. "Magical Girl Sera-tan, or rather, Dark Lady Sera-Tan disguised as Magical Girl Sera-tan has received her mission to deliver peace and ahegao to the world! Rest assured, definitely-not-the-bad-guy-of-the-story, I'll get it done! Love! Magic! Mind-break! A-goooo!"

Serafall disappeared in a puff of glitter, leaving Momonga to fall to his knees and cradle his head in a severe Chuuni flashback, as he realized he had struck an appropriate pose in the middle of Serafall's speech.

'...Haa… I survived somehow… Now… I need to… Haa…' Momonga sighed a bit before he heard an explosion from somewhere, and looked over the balcony to investigate. 'Eh, is that Bael-kun?'

.

.

A hour earlier.

Michael of Heavens, or rather, Michael of Gray Angels narrowed his eyes a bit at a Viewing Mirror that had been fixed with liberal application of duct-tape created with Underworld materials, which had been enough to hold Gabriel's broken mirror together… As long as one didn't move it around too much..

'...Hm. I believe that gold-armored devil was part of one of the great houses of devils… Ah. Young Sairaorg Bael.' Gabriel had told the Arch-Gray-Angel about a group of devils that were detected approaching Phenix Territory in a decidedly 'angry' manner. However, Michael remembered that his Father had made a deal with the Bael family of Devils, so he put the 'intrusion' aside for now and sent an order to not move out against the devils.

Gabriel sighed in relief, and Michael sighed in self-reflection. '...It is quite difficult to determine friend from foe anymore… Father knows best so it would be possible to just have all intruders killed and then Father would revive those who are His, but that wouldn't endear us to the rest of the devils… And since Father seeks to unify all of us, I can't go for such draconic measures… Not that I'd want to do that in any case…'

"Um… Brother…" Gabriel pulled Michael's sleeve a bit. "...Do you think we should contact Father about Lord Bael returning?"

"I'm sure Father knows already. Let us not bother him with such small things." Michael felt a bit conflicted considering that he had heard Father's Omniscience was being jammed or disrupted by Beelzebub and the other Maous, somehow, but figured that he shouldn't interrupt Father's work with such trifling matters.

"I… suppose…" Gabriel looked a bit down and Michael realized what was going on.

"You wish to go see Father."

"This is true." Gabriel blushed a bit. "It's been so long since he left us… Or rather, since the devils knocked him out… It feels so lonely that he's here, with us, yet… not here. He was so… Omnipresent before. It feels odd. I am lonely…"

"Patience, sister. We have managed a thousand years without His guidance. Do not disappoint Him when He looks at us to see how we have fared, how independent we have become." Michael scolded Gabriel gently. "I wish to go see Him as well. But we must tamper our eagerness and greed with patience and reflection. After all, isn't the sin most alluring when it is within sight?"

"You speak truly, brother, but… Father's doctrines have… changed since." Gabriel blushed a bit and looked away while fiddling her fingers awkwardly, making Michael realize what she was implying.

"...That being said, I.. don't think Father would approve of us falling to sin. Er… well… Actually… With the 'True God's Church' and… um…" Michael materialized his gray wings and paused his speech to collect his thoughts. "...Forgive me, sister. It seems that in my adherence to the old ways and old code I forgot the present. Indeed, Father as He is now is not the Father that was back then- The doctrine has changed, and with that, all of us as well. Every Angel has tasted Sin, and every Fallen has tasted Absolution. I should not cling to the old ways, and the old hatreds. Thank you for reminding me, before I could return to grinding old tracks."

"You're welcome, dear brother. So…" Gabriel had a small blush on her cheeks still. "...I'd really like to go and, forgive me for using a mortal term, 'hang out' with Him."

"...Yes, I believe that would do us good. However… There is yet a task ahead before we can allow ourselves to indulge in such things." Michael turned to look at something and Gabriel gulped audibly while her face seemed to lose a bit of color.

Indeed, there was a pair of gray-winged Angels in the room, one of whom Michael remembered to having been 'Angel' before the 'sin-church incident' and 'Grayfication', and the other having been 'Fallen Angel' before 'Grayfication'

The pair had pushed a palette full of paperwork into the room, causing Michale's face to gain a stern expression while Gabriel paled.

"Let us not slink in the face of challenge, sister." Michael nodded to his sister and Gabriel nodded back, albeit a bit faintly.

Michael, however, used the paperwork to mask a small, happy smile on his face as he saw that the 'ex-Fallen' and 'ex-Angel' exited the room after delivering their cargo, now hand-in-hand and having a small blushes on their cheeks- A sight that would have been an impossibility mere months ago.

A reassurance that Father, as always, was correct in all things.

.

.

Seekvaira Agares was wandering idly.

She had managed to slip away from the pile of sweaty girls as the black-haired girl, Sona, had stuffed her fist up the motherly-looking woman's butt and caused her to moan quite hard, while the blonde girl, Ravel, was busy giving Sona a rimjob.

Thus with both girl's attentions briefly distracted, and the older lady's attention definitely somewhere else than in Seekvaira, she managed to slip off and crawl out of the door to safety.

…Or at least to somewhere that didn't include constant molestation. '...I think all three of us were engaged to Momon, so I guess some skinship should be okay, but… It feels really inappropriate somehow…'

She wasn't sure what she should do as she looked around the alien-feeling palace. '...It's pretty luxurious, but… doesn't feel like home…'

Seekvaira coughed a bit as she realized her throat was quite dry and she tasted her lips to realize that she had likely not drank for quite a while, and a growl from her stomach told her that she probably hadn't eaten for a while either. "I wonder… Hm… Is there food here somewhere?"

"If my lady wishes, I can retrieve snacks from the kitchen or have a full course meal prepared, if that is preferable." A neutral, emotionless voice came from somewhere behind Seekvaira, causing her to almost jump out of her skin.

She turned around and realized that there was a tall maid behind her, and she suddenly realized that the maid had likely followed her around since the start and had timed her footsteps perfectly with Seekvaira's in order to cloak her own movements.

'She's pretty…' Seekvaira stared at the maid for a while, as she was feeling somehow revulsed by the maid, specifically as she seemed to waft the odor of holy energy that caused her skin to crawl. '...I… I don't think I should hate her? What is happening?'

"In that case… I'd like something to drink, please and thank you. And something to eat- Mead and boar if that's alright?" Seekvaira remembered a feast she and her… a group of girls she vaguely remembered had attended in the past, around a round table loaded with meat and drink in celebration of… of… '...Why can't I remember what it was meant to celebrate? Something about… graduation from… something? I… think I got some ridicule about being a virgin, or something… Why can't I remember their faces or names?'

"Very well, my lady. This is within the scope of my master's orders to take care of you." The maid curtsied a bit to Seekvaira, making her a bit surprised.

"Your… master?"

"Master Momong- khah, my apologies, something caught in my throat- Master Momon requested that I see to your needs, my lady." The maid blushed up a storm and looked like she wanted to kick herself before she regained her emotionless posture. "Would you like it if I led you to a dining hall, or would my lady prefer to eat in a more secluded cabinet?"

"S-somewhere a bit… less fancy would be alright…" Seekvaira had a odd feeling that she remembered luxurious, grand halls and floating continents, aboard which were palaces made of white marble, but she shook the odd feeling off as it contradicted with the memories she had of eating alone whenever she managed to scrounge enough money or materials to make a meal for herself. 'I was never rich or anything… Right? T-that blonde girl talked something about 'head of house' or something, but there's no way that… I'm actually an inheritor to some rich old fart? I think I remember some old fart that overspent all the time and preyed on women… Did he kick the bucket and I inherited something?'

She followed the maid meekly as she led her to a comfy-feeling cabinet with a table. After that the maid bowed, and left to acquire dinner.

Seekvaira plopped down on a chair in front of the table, and fiddled with the hem of her gothic white dress that she didn't remember having before she woke up in the infirmary. Not that she remembered much of anything coherent before that either. 'I… need to ask Momon-kun what happened… I- I hope I am not an inconvenience to him… But… Um, if we are e-e-e-engaged… S-surely it would be alright?'

She remembered some vague memories of being extremely embarrassed on the floor beside her bed, and thinking about something unnecessary while rolled up in a mat… But the door of the cabinet opened before she could make heads or tails of the odd memory.

There was a scary-looking man in the doorframe, tall and armored and muscular enough to almost cover the entire door frame.

There was a golden axe in the man's grasp, and he had a murderous expression on his face.

The man took a step forward while Seekvaira's eyes widened with fear.

.

.

'Kuisha… Thank you.' Sairaorg Bael thanked his Queen in his thoughts as she had intercepted him just outside Phenix territory and whacked him in the head with a tree-trunk to get his attention. Or rather, to break him from his rage-fueled charge.

Kuisha had likely overheard the 'announcement' that had come from the Phenix territory regarding the 'loyalties' of certain Noble families- And Kuisha had correctly deduced that Sairaorg's rage would be overwhelming his senses to the point of utter rampage, and the Queen had prevented her foolish King from suiciding himself pointlessly against the monster that guarded the castle- Or rather, against the True God and it's sycophants that guarded the Phenix Territory.

Kuisha had given Sairaorg a good tongue-lashing after Sairaorg had regained a degree of sanity through repeated blunt force trauma applied directly to the forehead, and told him that she had gotten a good grasp on Phenix's main castle-mansion's interior and layout, and could lead Sairaorg to his mother without being seen as long as the pair were sneaky about it.

Some of Sairaorg's other Peerage-mates had raised a point that Bael and Phenix were technically still allied so there was likely nothing preventing him from walking directly into the territory without hassle, but Kuisha had pointed out that True God was not to be trusted to not double-cross them if Sairaorg's 'failure' to capture Seekvaira was revealed.

Or rather, Sairaorg tried to think like Diodora in order to try to figure out what the True God might be after, and figured that was possible that Sairaorg's failure was a plan within a plan all along, to eradicate 'problematic' Bael family after Sairaorg's 'unjustified attack' against Agares family's head, which the True God could use as a casus belli to move against Sairaorg specifically in order to 'protect' the devils from 'insane' Sairaorg- It was clear that True God knew about Sairaorg's 'honorable' nature, likely from Diodora who had taken True God's colors like snake slithering under a piece of cloth, and thus both likely knew that the Bael family would become a hindrance to the cruel deity in the future if Sairaorg remained as the 'family head'.

After all, while Momon could explain the eradication of old Pillar family heads as a 'just by strength' response to being declared 'Stray' and being ordered to be killed, it would be hard for him to claim peace and justice if he went after the new Pillar family heads as well without a good reason- A reason that Sairaorg realized that he had given for Momon through 'attacking' Seekvaira under a witness's eyes, Azazel's eyes, like a obedient dog running on leash and thinking that he was in control of his own actions.

So, Sairaorg had agreed to Kuisha's plan- Sneak in, he'd grab Seekvaira while Kuisha grabbed Misla, and the rest of the Peerage made a grand show of indignance and nonviolent hindrance in the main entrance to Phenix territory to draw eyes. It was a risky plan for a multitude of reasons, but Sairaorg had faith in Kuisha and knew that his Queen wouldn't lead him astray.

And so, the pair put on dark cloaks and infiltrated into the territory by using all their available stealth and tactics.

Kuisha led Sairaorg to the mansion, the pair slipped in through a window, and the pair snuck through the winding hallways like secret agents on a mission, occasionally passing maids that looked around curiously before shrugging and continuing forwards, and almost stumbling across Rias Gremory and Venelana Gremory who were apparently engaged in a conversation, or rather a shouting match, while walking in the hallways.

Sairaorg had to bite his lip to not say anything as he had hid in an alcove with Kuisha, so close to one another as they pressed into the small space that Sairaorg could feel Kuisha's breathing on his neck and her body's shape even through his armor. However, the cause of his rage was not Kuisha's closeness but a tidbit he overheard from Rias's and Venelana's conversation-

Namely, Venelana's shaky warnings to her daughter that Rias's husband was a monster, and Rias's aggressive and a bit fearful reassurances that everything would be alright as long as House Gremory didn't resist Momon's reign.

'...It is a giant horror show…' Sairaorg growled inside his head as Kuisha nodded to him and the pair slid out of the alcove and moved forwards.

Eventually the pair reached a doorway and Kuisha looked in. "...Damit, Seekvaira has been moved… Hm…"

Sairaorg put his face against the floor and took a deep breath, drawing from the lion-like powers of Regulus to track a scent away from the room- Albeit the realization that he had subconsciously registered Seekvaira's scent caused Sairaorg to feel like some kind of weird stalker.

Thus Kuisha and Sairaorg nodded to one another, and the pair split- Sairaorg to seek Seekvaira and Kuisha looking for an opportunity to sneak in and grab Misla.

Sairaorg followed the scent to a secluded room and opened it… And saw Seekvaira.

She was wearing some sort of snow-white gothic dress that looked out of place on her, and the outfit made her look like a ghost when contrasted against her white hair, pale face and pink irises.

What hurt Sairaorg more than that was the expression on Seekvaira's face- Instead of relief for her rescue, rage or indignation due to Sairaorg's attack on her, or coldness to shun Sairaorg before he could explain his case, there was a expression of desolate confusion, uncertainty and fear on her face.

"Seekvaira-san… I am sorry. I… I screwed up. I screwed up everything. But I'll make it all up- I'll bring you back to your people. Don't worry. Momon's treachery shall be paid with blood and fire- I'll make sure of it." Sairaorg took a step towards Seekvaira who fumbled and almost fell from the chair in her attempt to get up and back away from Sairaorg.

"W-who are you?!" Seekvaira sounded afraid and desolate, making Sairaorg's flame of rage to stroke from embers to roaring inferno in an instant as he realized what had happened. "I don't know you- Momon-kun! Help!"

'...He's done something to her head. This isn't like Seekvaira I know…' Sairaorg realized that he might be too late already. "You've been mind-controlled somehow. Don't worry- I'll bring you to Beelzebub. He can fix your head, I'm sure of it. Even if it costs me my life. I'm sorry- In my foolishness and despair I betrayed my ideals for false hope, for false idol. I've learned my lesson- I won't be a puppet anymore. So… Please forgive me, Seekvaira-san."

"No!" Seekvaira crumbled into a ball on the floor from terror as Sairaorg closed on her and reached to grab her hand.

The woman resisted and tried to pull herself away from Sairaorg's grasp, but the respective difference in strength between the two was so huge that Seekvaira could do nothing but flail feebly at Sairaorg's chest like a maiden that was being captured by bandits.

"Let go of me! Momon! Please! Help! Why are you doing this?! Who are you?! Why are you threatening Momon-kun?! I just want to live in peace… I… I haven't even gotten married to Momon yet… And I only had sex with him once… Momon-kun! Please!" Seekvaira was clearly in panic as she babbled on and screamed for help.

Sairaorg froze a bit as seeing the 'reality' of the 'proclamation' he had heard in the message from Phenix, Sitri and Agares to the Heads of Pillar Families threatened to drive his rage out of his control. "You are not going to be engaged to Momon. He is using you- That wretch is our enemy. He has done something to- oofh?"

A vase shattered against Sairaorg's face as Seekvaira struggled feebly against Sairaorg's grip and drag, and the devil woman managed to get her hand on a vase that she threw at his face.

"Don't you dare! Lord Momon is a thousand times nobler than you, you… Stalker! Rapist! Who are you? An invader? Thief! Bandit!" Seekvaira kicked Sairaorg's shin, albeit her words hurt him far more than the vase and kicks combined. "Heeelp!"

"You-" Sairaorg's mind swam wildly with rage at such mass that he could barely see forwards- At the moment the only thing he could see was tying his hands around Momon's throat and tearing it out in front of the false idol's eyes. 'You… Monster! What have you done to Seekvaira?!' "Seekvaira! Snap out of it- Can't you remember?! You are the Lady of House Agares! You used to be cold and efficient, ruthless but still prone to momentary flights of fancy! You… You loved mechs and robots? I overheard you looking at an anime from Human World and squealing about how 'cool' mechs were…"

"Wha- Are you a stalker?! Get away from me- I won't betray Momon!" Seekvaira ignored Sairaorg's plea and kicked his arm away while crawling on her butt to get distance between her and him as Sairaorg had let his grip on the woman's wrist slip. "You'll have to kill me! Momon saved me from… something! I can't remember what, but he definitely saved me! And then.. umm… Anyway! Get away! Momon-kun! Help! Please!"

Sairaorg moved forwards to grab Seekvaira again… Only for a golden halberd to swing down between him and the woman, almost cutting his arm from the wrist and it was only because of Sairaorg's intensive training that he managed to draw his arm out of the way in time.

"Master ordered me to look after Lady Seekvaira." An emotionless-looking maid had stood between Sairaorg and Seekvaira, a golden halberd in one hand and a tower-shield in the other. "Lady Seekvaira. Please seek cover."

"W-watch out! He's dangerous- I think he's some kind of stalker-rapist!" Seekvaira scrambled to get away while the maid's human features twisted to that of a lion, and she grew in size until she took most of the room with the holy weapons in hand and four pure white wings jutting from her back.

'Ah… I see. So… Absolution, then.' Sairaorg suddenly realized what the True God had done- He had gotten one of his pet angels to perform a rite of rebirth on Seekvaira, which would have scrambled her head and turned her from devil into a human as a sort of reverse devilfication- A show of 'forgiving one's sins', if one asked the self-righteous Angels, or a show of wretched mind-wiping one's very soul if one asked the devils. Or rather, re-making one's soul, as Devils were at their core creatures whose souls were exempt from the flow of souls that God's system governed- They were unshackled, and to undo that was tantamount to devils what Original Sin was to Angels.

The rite was taboo and had not been used since the War of Three Factions, and Sairaorg realized the severity of the True God using such methods- It was not an attack upon Sairaorg or Seekvaira, but rather a threat against all devilkind- That they would either serve the True God voluntarily or they would be made to serve voluntarily.

'A death would be better than that wretched state…' Sairaorg's teeth cracked from the force that his clenched jaw inflicted on the teeth, but he had to put the thought aside as the lion-like Angel charged and Sairaorg revealed Regulus Nemea from under his cloak to counter the charge.

Halberd met lance and the two weapons sparked, one emitting holy light that seared Sairaorg's skin while the other sparked fire that set some of the lion-like Angel's feathers on fire.

Sairaorg managed to push the halberd aside with his superior strength and reached to grasp the tower shield, intending on pulling it down and decapitating the Angel in a counter-attack… But the shield was lowered intentionally and the lion roared at Sairaorg's head from near point-blank range, causing his ears to start bleeding while the shockwave was enough to knock him back.

He managed to pull his ax in front of him before the Angel's counter-attack managed to reach him, and instead of piercing his chest, the halberd turned into a lance mid-strike and impacted against the axe and slammed the heft of the weapon against his chest, driving him through the wall.

…And then he fell down some five stories or so before landing on a pile of rocks, breaking a few, and rolling downhill until he reached the base of Phenix castle-mansion some few hundred feet below the room he had been ejected from.

"You- Khaaa… Khaaa…" Sairaorg rolled on his back and sprung up a few feet away after landing on his back, and dodged the spear of light that struck the ground where he had been mere seconds ago. He glanced at the weapon and furrowed his brow a bit as it was quite bit different from the 'Spears of Light' the Angels normally used- Instead of being made of pure light, the spear was a physical, carved gold-inlaid weapon that hummed holy energy.

The Angel followed soon after, and grabbed the spear from the ground before sliding it beside the creature's tower-shield that gained a notch for the spear to poke through, effectively protecting the Angel from Sairaorg's attacks while allowing it to strike past the shield.

Sairaorg lifted his ax above his head, intending on cleaving through both the shield and the creature behind it… Except a shadow formed between the two parties.

Sairaorg saw red as he saw Momon, who had appeared between him and the Angel.

.

.

"Hm- What is going on here?" Momonga asked as he teleported between 'Four' and Sairaorg Bael who were engaged in a battle. 'Mock battle perhaps? Sairaorg and I had a alliance going, and I have his mother as hostage so it doesn't make sense to- Unless… Hm. That would explain things.'

"Four. Please go and see that Misla Bael is safe in our infirmary." Momonga ordered the Angel who nodded and flew off instantly. "Lord Bael. This behavior is unbecoming of our alliance. Cease your aggression."

"GRRAAAAHHH!" Sairaorg charged Momonga, and he teleported a bit back so that the wild swing missed and the axe hit the ground where Momonga had stood.

"[Hold Species]- Calm down, Sairaorg-kun." Momonga waved his hand at the man as he lifted the weapon again for a follow-up strike, but the momentum and paralyzation caused him to flop over to his back.

The man broke the paralyzation after a brief moment and lunged at Momonga again, except this time Momonga had teleported high in the air and had used [Fly] to stay there. "I would be forced to reconsider House Bael's allegiances if this battle continues. Please don't force me to do anything hasty at this point."

"GIVE HER BACK! GIVE THEM BACK!" Sairaorg launched himself into the air with a massive leap that fractured and broke the ground where he had stood.

Unfortunately for him, the devil's speed was next to nothing compared to the likes of Serafall, and he didn't seem to have ranged options.

And thus, the battle that resulted was extremely brief.

Sairaorg slammed back down against the ground, his armor melted to golden slag and the man's body withered, broken and battered after a salvo of spells from [Grand Fireball] to [Dehydrate] and [Weaken] all the way to [Dragon Lightning] and [Great Magic Arrow], tripled, maximized, and launched in a flurry.

Moreover, Sairaorg had a huge chunk of meat and organs missing from his midsection after Momonga had gotten an idea after the salvo of spells had hit, and had pulled [Spear of Yggdrasil] from his inventory and used it to strike Sairaorg by leveraging his [Destroyer] class to use weapons outside his normal repertoire.

The strike had been quite light and had been more like a poke, but the result had been… Gorey.

"Hgaaaah!" Sairaorg looked to be at death's door as Momonga landed next to him. "You… Monster… I'll… Even if I die… You…"

Something exploded above Momonga and he looked up to see that Sairaorg's Queen had been tossed out of a window and 'Four' was fast in pursuit.

Kuisha's free-fall turned to a downwards-directioned launch as 'Four' threw her halberd like a javelin, speared right through Kuisha's midsection mid-fall and pinned her to the ground near Sairaorg.

"Rrrr-gh! S-Sairaorg- cough- I…" Kuisha's eyes widened as she saw Sairaorg's condition while her back arched in a useless attempt to pull the holy-damage coated weapon from her stomach. "I- I didn't-"

"Haa… It's alright… It was a foolish plan… I take responsibility, so… flee…" Sairaorg slumped down against the ground in despair after trying to struggle to get up and failing.

However, before he could go motionless a ray of golden energy enveloped him, and the golden armor that had been stained by soot and melted to slag reconstructed itself- It was not quite the armor that it had been before, but rather more like a loose collection of golden-coloured plates.

But Sairaorg knew that it would be enough- It had to be enough. It was his final stand.

The man's axe had broken, but he lifted the broken shaft… And pulled the halberd that was pinning Kuisha to the ground, freeing the woman to roll to her side and curl to a ball in her agony.

He then lifted the halberd against Momonga with one hand, ignoring the fact that his arm burned and cracked from holding a holy weapon, and put the broken shaft of the axe to a 'guard' pose between Momonga and Kuisha.

"Flee… I'll… Hold them back… As long as I can… Send the word, so no-one else… makes the same mistake as I…" Sairaorg's blood flowed down his chin with each word, and Kuisha let out a pained and despaired wail as she looked at the man's back.

Sairaorg took a shaky step towards Momonga who had walked forward so he was ten feet or so from the man.

…And then Kuisha lurched up and slammed herself onto Sairaorg's back, causing him to stumble and fall to his face on the ground while his helmet flew off from the impact.

"My lords! My King! Please- Please stop this! Lord Momon! If there is anything I can do, anything I can sacrifice, please forgive my honorable King's mistake- He does not yet know of thine ways! I have learned much of my lord's methods since my arrival to this place, so please grant my King forgiveness so I can teach thine ways to him!" Kuisha had to pause her scream mid-way through to cough blood that splattered on the back of Sairaorg's head.

It looked like Sairaorg had passed out from his injuries during the impact, and was breathing irregularly. Kuisha paled even further as she saw how close to death Sairaorg was.

Momonga narrowed his eyes as he had seen that Kuisha had deliberately pushed up with her head during the collision to knock Sairaorg's helmet off, and his observation was further cemented as Kuisha pulled her arms up and reached to grasp Sairaorg's throat from behind as if she was intending on strangling him.

"Lord Momon! Please! Allow me a chance to teach my King about the error of his ways, but if my Lord wished, please allow me to take my King's life with my own hands!" The woman looked up and her eyes were gleaming like madwoman's, making Momonga a bit wary. "I submit to my lord in all things, so please grant me and my foolish, naive King this boon! He will be of great use to my lord, as House of Bael is one of the strongest among noble families!"

'Hm…' Momonga considered Kuisha's words. '...I'm guessing that she's doing that choking thing to convince me that her loyalties are to me and not to Sairaorg-kun… I'm not going to fall for that. But she seems honest in her desire to 're-educate' Sairaorg-kun, and she's correct in that House Bael would be quite a valuable ally in terms of reducing the willingness of other noble houses to fight my rule. With Agares, Bael and Gremory I'd control the 'largest' houses of the Pillars, and if the maps I looked at were correct it'd also give me quite few chokepoints and routes of attack that I could use to flank and destroy the 'lesser noble families' that stood to oppose me, thus making them more hesitant to commit to that route.'

He then considered what Kuisha had offered. '...I have no guarantee that Kuisha is loyal to my ideals. It seems that she's intensely loyal to Sairaorg, so there's a chance she'll betray me the moment I let them out of my sight, and they escape… In other words, it's time for [Control Amnesia] again. It'll change his personality somewhat, but it should be alright as long as I don't go as overboard as I went with Seekvaira-chan.'

"Very well. But before I allow you to do that… Stand aside." Momonga gave Kuisha an order while he reached into his inventory, and pulled a vial of [Black Tears] from it. '...Sairaorg-kun looks like he's in death's door…'

"Yes my lord- I- A-ah, my lord, I- !" Kuisha looked quite alarmed as she saw the vial, and her attempt to get up from Sairaorg's back faltered to a stumble.

'...Right. Stomach-wound.' Momonga reached to grab Kuisha while preparing [Negative Energy Touch] just in case the woman's acting was feigned.

The woman fell to her back as Momonga pulled her hand and he reached to open the bottle of healing tears.

"My lord! There is no need-!" Kuisha panicked but was clearly hesitant to throw hands over the matter- Which would have led to Momonga executing her with [Negative Energy Touch].

"Nonsense. Now, stay still." Momonga figured that he could gleam goodwill if he pretended to be a good samaritan, not that it mattered much as he intended on getting to the bottom of the sudden bout of violence that Sairaorg had unleashed.

He put a few drops of the liquid over Kuisha's stomach-wound, causing the woman's eyes to widen in fear and terror… Until she blinked in confusion and reached to pat her now-healed stomach.

"Eh? I-it wasn't… Ah. Of course, only some of the drops are… hnng, that makes sense, no-one would be able to tell the difference…" Kuisha mumbled to herself, and Momonga guessed that the subject matter was the 'odd' Phoenix Tears.

'...The normal devils would be quite used to [Phoenix Tears] that heal wounds, but that's clear liquid whereas my body's tears are black… I suppose it'd appear eerie or worrisome for someone who hasn't become used to seeing the 'black tears'...'Momonga moved on to dropping a few droplets on Sairaorg, just enough for him to not die instantly but not enough for him to be brought back to consciousness- He had no illusions that Sairaorg wouldn't try to attack him again if he did that. And then he put his hand on the man's head while Kuisha looked from the side. 'It might be better if I make this seem 'natural'... [Silent Magic: Control Amnesia].'

Momonga looked into the man's memories, and found out, among other things, that Sairaorg had been sending glances at Seekvaira for a long time, but had not quite gathered the will to face his own feelings much less approach Seekvaira about them. And then became aware of the rage Sairaorg had experienced when Seekvaira was seemingly 'defiled' by Momonga. Or rather, that had been the line of thinking Sairaorg had been operating on before and during the incident. '...I haven't touched Seekvaira though? She said we had sex or something? What? Oh- Rossweisse's memories… Right. I need to snip that in the bunch… Apparently Sairaorg-kun's Peerage is in the front gates and is making a ruckus- That makes things easier… Hm- I suppose I can claim Sairaorg suffered mental damage from the aftermath of the misguided battle, and needs time to readjust… That should give me the benefit of doubt if someone asks why Sairaorg-kun is acting differently…'

'Right.' Momonga finished the mind-reading by wiping Sairaorg's memories of Seekvaira, as even he was quite unsure on how Seekvaira would act from now-on so he couldn't properly 'insert memories' of how Seekvaira was supposed to act. Afterwards he replaced the memory of fighting Momonga with a thought that it was a 'training fight that got out of hand'. 'This gives me an opportunity to check Kuisha's loyalties- If she holds the story that this was a training accident then I can probably assume that she intends to stay 'loyal' to me as long as I don't hurt Sairaorg further. There was a memory of Kuisha confessing to Sairaorg there somewhere, which means Kuisha's probably angling for Sairaorg-kun and doesn't want to see me butcher him… I should probably scramble his memories from today as well so that he thinks I knocked him so hard that he suffered short-term amnesia… '

He ended [Control Amnesia] and let Sairaorg's body flop to the ground. "It seems that we had an unfortunate training accident. I hope that you'll forgive me, Kuisha-chan, and ask Sairaorg-kun to forgive me once he recovers?"

"I- yes, my lord." Kuisha had fallen on her knees and prostrated instantly towards Momonga. "Your will be done. It was an unfortunate training accident. May I nurse my King to health?"

"You may. Hm… I believe that there are rooms in the guest quarters that can be used for recovery and after-training relaxation. His life is no longer in danger." Momonga considered just using the tears, but discarded the idea as a waste. 'Devils heal quickly anyway… I could send him to recover in the 'church' but it's better to keep friends close, and potential enemies and real enemies even closer…'

"I believe that you and Sairaorg-kun were… Close?" Momonga decided to reveal a 'boon' that he had indirectly given Kuisha during the mind-wiping. 'Let's see if that convinces her about trusting me…'

Kuisha shook hard while prostrating, and she tried a few times to get a word out of her mouth before stammering. "Y-yes, my lord… I wished Sairaorg-sama to be mine, but his love was-"

"I have removed memories of Seekvaira Agares from his mind. Consider this your reward for taking down Sairaorg for me." Momonga used a dismissive tone as if such a thing was something barely above his notice. The information however seemed to affect Kuisha quite deeply as she began shaking and muttering in deeply unsettling way.

Momonga sighed as he had only barely averted another disaster of his own making. 'I should have been more careful manipulating Seekvaira… Ah well. What's done is done.'

'...Now then… I should probably go and talk to Yasaka about formulating some sort of joint task force for taking care of Beelzebub's forces, since I included a clause for military cooperation when making the cooperation deal between our factions… Restoring the Human World's sun can wait until Beelzebub and Asmodeus are taken care of. Using [Wish upon a Star] consumes a Super-Tier cast, or multiple if I have to use [Boost] and that would leave me open to attack. I should also check up on Rias and Serafall and ask if they have managed to convince Venelana to support me…'

'Anyway…' Momonga was a bit glad though, as he had gained important data about his new abilities's function during the 'fight' 'My [Destroyer] procced multiple times during that 'battle' against Sairaorg… I'm kinda glad that Sairaorg-kun seemed quite tough, the extra punch from getting in-built [Penetrate] to all attacks seriously screwed him and his armor over…'

He teleported off, leaving Kuisha to prostrate towards where he had been while Sairaorg twitched feebly while still face-down in the dirt.

.

.

Sairaorg woke up with a massive headache.

He realized that he was in a bed, and that his body was in poor condition- Drained of liquids, burnt, battered and he had multiple broken bones.

'What… happened… Momon-kun hit me in the head, and there was… what…'Sairaorg tried to get his thoughts together and his cracked, bleeding lips opened feebly while his body felt frail like that of an old man.

"...Finally… finally… hehehe… that bitch is- K-kham… Ah, you awake, my King?" Sairaorg looked to the side to see that Kuisha was chuckling to herself before she jumped a bit on the spot and reached to put a tray in front of Sairaorg. "Are you hungry?"

"I…" Sairaorg was feeling nauseous and feeble, and the bowl of porridge on the tray looked quite appetizing. He glanced around the room and saw that he was in some sort of comfortable, dimly lit bedroom with baroque furniture.

However, he discovered that his arms and legs couldn't move. And neither could he move his neck.

Kuisha was offering a spoonful of porridge to Sairaorg and she had a gentle if somehow a bit disturbing expression on her face, so Sairaorg put the issue of immobility aside for now.

The spoon entered Sairaorg's mouth, and deposited the porridge in there, before withdrawing back to the plate.

Kuisha smiled in a tender way while mixing the porridge in the bowl a bit, and she lifted the spoon again.

Sairaorg had an odd feeling that something was amiss, but he trusted his Queen- With his life, if need be, so he ignored the odd feeling.

Kuisha put another spoonful of porridge into Sairaorg's mouth, but Sairaorg realized that he couldn't swallow. A mounting horror rose in Sairaorg's head as he realized that something had broken in his spine- Or rather, in his neck.

The porridge flowed down from between his lips and Kuisha put her hand under his chin to prevent the food from falling to his lap.

"Ah… what a waste… You can't eat properly, right, my King?" Kuisha nodded gently at Sairaorg… before standing up and sitting on the bed.

Or rather, sitting bow-legged on Sairaorg's lap after moving the tray aside.

Sairaorg's mouth moved a slight bit in surprise, as he had wanted to ask what Kuisha was doing… But he failed as his mouth wouldn't move enough, and neither would his tongue cooperate with him.

But he trusted Kuisha, so it was not an issue.

Kuisha reached for the bowl of porridge and poured it into her mouth… And tilted Sairaorg's head back a bit before giving him a utterly immoral kiss, during which she deposited the porridge into Sairaorg's mouth and pushed the porridge down his throat with her tongue.

Sairaorg wouldn't have been able to move even if his body hadn't been paralyzed. 'Kuisha? What… ah?'

Kuisha's expression had become quite maniacal while a shadow seemed to fall over her face, making her eyes glint from the shadow with baleful reddish light. "Ahaha… My King… I finally have you, my king… Don't worry, Sairaorg-sama, I'll nurse you back to health… I'll always be with you… You'll always be with me… ahahaa…'

The woman's hands were on Sairaorg's throat and were making undulating motions to force the porridge to flow down his throat and into his stomach… Before she seemed to lose her self-control and reached down to give Sairaorg's barely-moving mouth a breathy, tongue-filled kiss. "My king… My brave king… Mwah… hahaha… Mwah... My doll… My brave doll…"

Sairaorg felt that something was amiss.

Kuisha reached down to open Sairaorg's shirt and pulled his pants down.

Sairaorg felt that something was wrong. Incredibly wrong.

But it would be alright.

After all:

He trusted his Queen.