Chapter 62: Sing along as they sing trail songs

Sirzechs entered the Phenix-Sitri-Phenix-Gremory engagement ceremony fashionably late, gave his hat to a bouncer by placing it on the bald devil's head, and used the resulting commotion, gossip and outrage from the crowd of observers to mask Odin and Rossweisse slipping into the party through a window nearby.

"Sirzechs. It's been a while." A familiar voice caused Sirzechs to pause.

"Father! Mother! How delightful to see you here." Sirzechs nodded at the handsome devil with long crimson-red hair and small stubble on his chin who was arm-in-arm with a slightly shorter, brown-haired busty woman with a homely look on her face.

Neither of the devils looked any older than Sirzechs yet looks, as all things, were deceiving.

"My, it's been a while indeed." Venelana Gremory held her cheek with one hand. "This horrid 'Supreme Being' business has made you so busy that you haven't been home for quite a while. I truly hope that the situation is under control."

"Later, dear. It's unsightly to talk of such dark subjects in a party that's supposed to celebrate a union between two devils… or is it four devils?" Zeoticus Gremory chuckled. "Indeed, because of the recent ruckus we haven't been able to hold a proper engagement ceremony for Rias, so while it irks me a bit that my sweet daughter doesn't have an engagement ceremony held solely between her and her fiance... I suppose that this is the best we can hope for, given circumstances. Moreover I'm quite looking forwards to finding out just what kind of devil 'Momon' is. What I saw in the Rating Game shows quite promising in terms of strength, but I'm somewhat worried about… well, everything else."

"Speaking of which, dear, we should see about moving ourselves towards the soon-to-be engaged lovebirds. I believe the gifting is about to happen soon." Venelana noted after glancing at a gold-decorated clock on the wall. "Oh, and how could I forget… It's always good to see you, Grayfia dear… I hope you're not too busy keeping my dear son out of trouble?"

The gray-haired woman who was now dressed in a more occasion-appropriate silver-coloured and covering velvet dress curtsied a bit towards the woman. "Not at all. Sirzechs-sama has been behaving himself."

"Haa… and now I feel as if I was a hundred years old all over again, introducing Grayfia to you for the first time." Sirzechs smiled at the two women's on-the-surface official, but inside deeply affectionate exchange. "Nevertheless we should heed dear mother's advice and move. I may be fashionably late to the party, but being fashionably late to the gifting doesn't quite give the same impression."

The ballroom and the 'celebratory event' area of Phenix mansion-castle was relatively small compared to the estate-sized one in Gremory's territory, but still it would take the devils some time to move from the entrance to the center of it where the main hall would be, and where the ceremonial moment would take place. At least if they decided to move at a dignified pace.

Grayfia sent Sirzechs a look from behind, and he turned to nod to the woman as she had received confirmation that Odin and Rosseweisse were making their way towards 'Momon' while Beelzebub was monitoring the situation from afar.

But, worryingly, there seemed to be some sort of commotion in the main hall where the gifting was supposed to take place...

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Momonga breathed out deeply with his physical body, feeling suddenly nervous.

Not about the whole engagement thing, that was something he had accepted a long time ago and just went with the flow. But rather about giving off the three rings in his pocket.

"You can do it. I believe in you." Ddraig cheered from the background, then cowered as 'Momonga' sent the lizard a glare that expressed its current opinion on the dragon.

Nonetheless Momonga took a few steps forward as he saw Rias, Ravel and Sona take their steps as well, their paths seemingly made so that the four would meet in the middle of an intricate circle.

He was a bit worried as he saw Ravel's expression, and Suzuki Satoru was a bit worried over her choice to wear black to such an event, but shrugged it off as 'devils having different culture'.

However the intricate circle had caused 'Momonga' to worry that there would be a trap, as he had first thought the circle to be magical, so he had instinctively cast [Appraisal Magic Item] on it. He found out that the circle was just decorative, but the spell did cause it to glow blue for a moment.

The crowd of high-ranking devils that served both as witnesses and as celebration guests seemed to take notice of it, however, and quiet murmurs spread throughout the crowd.

An old devil in a decorative crimson armor said some posh words that passed Momonga completely, but he got the cue to give the 'gifts' to the girls as the four met in the middle.

"Ah… it's beautiful…" Rias seemed to appreciate the [Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown] as Momonga slid it into her finger, if barely as his instincts fought him with all they had but his rational mind managed to keep himself from grabbing the offending appendage, severing it and putting the ring back to his inventory. The fact Rias seemed to appreciate the gift, even if she likely didn't know the full significance of it, made departing from it easier.

"Ahi… This is more than a mere ring, is it not? A key to a dark lair, perhaps? A sign of one's loyalty, a mark of belonging? I accept this gift graciously, and devote myself to you, my dark lord..." Ravel's words caused Momonga quite a bit of worry and he mentally notched Ravel's intelligence and level of danger quite a few ladder-steps higher in his mental ranking, then remembered she was a chunibyo and lowered the ranking just a bit.

'Does she know? How could she know? Is she just guessing?' Momonga moved on with not-quite-visible effort, but it was a close call. 'I'll have to keep an eye out for Ravel…'

He moved onto Sona, who raised her hand mechanically and her eyes were dull and defeated, causing Momonga to hesitate entrusting the priced ring to her…

"HALT! I OBJECT!" ...And a voice gave Momonga some time to fight his hesitation in the form of interference.

A chorus of scandalized murmurs spread throughout the crowd as the four devils turned to look at the one who had stopped the procession.

"SAJI! NOOOOOOOO!" Sona's scream was full of desperation as she lurchedherself between Momonga and Saji, facing towards Momonga. "PLEASE! PLEASE TAKE ME, AND LEAVE HIM BE! Don't kill Saji! I'll behave, I'll be good… just… please… please… SAJI! RUN! Leave this place and never return!"

More scandalized murmurs spread throughout the crowd as a one-armed man clad in Kuoh academy's uniform stood in front of the ball-room's door, taking the traditional place of a challenger.

"Who dares! Who dares interrupt such a sacred ceremony! Who dares defile the honor of Pillar families? Who dares to stand against an honorable contract, and an honorable wager won honestly?" 'Lord Phenix's voice was like thunder, and Momonga recognized that the Overlord Wiseman had likely used [Intimidate], a minor spell of fourth-tier to give him a low-level targeted fear-aura.

The fact the summon had gone against Momonga's order to refrain from using its abilities spoke volumes on how angry it must have been over the interruption, which in turn made Momonga both a bit worried as it told him that his summons could go against his direct orders, but also a bit taken as it was clear the summon had done so because of it perceived a slight against its master.

The fact Saji managed to stand still even after being exposed to the fear-aura also spoke volumes about his determination, which took Momonga by surprise.

'Lord Phenix' calmed down almost instantly after leveling its heavy accusations towards the intruder, however, in a similar manner to how Momonga would calm down when [Emotion Suppression] activated. "Who are you, what family do you represent, and why do you interrupt a sacred union, cur?"

"I am Genshirou Saji, and I represent no house! I am here because this is not right! There is no justice in this! Momon Phenix is a fraud, a predator, and a rapist!" Saji pointed his finger on his remaining hand towards Momonga. "He does not deserve Sona's hand!"

"Oho?" Momonga felt a bit offended by the baseless accusations. Or more specifically, the last two accusations as he couldn't quite deny the first one. The offense made him a bit angry, so he twisted the knife he knew was in the accuser's stomach. "Sona Sitri's hand is mine by contract, despite your baseless accusations."

"Indeed." A woman from the crowd stepped forwards, who Momonga recognized from the brief description he had to be Sona's mother, and the Lady of Sitri family. "And this foolish Pawn of Sona's Peerage does not represent the Sitri family with his actions."

"I demand the marriage contract to be voided!" Saiji declared, and then re-pointed his hand at Momonga. "I challenge you to a duel! Within my [Sacred Gear] lies Vitra, the Prison Dragon! I challenge you as Dragon against the Phoenix over Sona Sitri's hand!"

Momonga guessed that the boy was invoking something as quite few of the faces in the crowd showed displeasure over his words.

'Lord Phenix' glanced at Momonga just minutely, likely seeking his counsel on the matter.

"...Very well." Momonga sighed. '...Honestly, I'm just procrastinating at this point… Giving the rings to Rias and Ravel was easier, since I know them a bit by now… but Sona looks like she doesn't appreciate the gift one bit…'

"No- No! Please! Please! Saji! Don't do this! Don't do this to me!" Sona tore at her hair in front of Momonga, then threw herself to Momonga's chest. "Please, take me instead! I understand, I understand the lesson you're teaching me! I'll behave! Just… please…"

She slid down on her knees, her tears causing her mascara to flow down her cheeks.

"Ahii… I knew you'd like that look, it's perfect for her…" Ravel's voice came from behind Momonga as Rias knelt down to hug Sona.

Momonga glanced to the side to gauge Lady Sitri's reaction to Sona's actions, fearing for the worst as he figured that seeing her beloved daughter in such distress would poison his relationship with the woman before it had a chance to start… but instead found a look of approval?

'Wait, does she want me to make Sona despair and cry? Don't tell me Sona and Lady Sitri are not getting along… Speaking of getting along, I'm glad Serafall is not here… I think she's still sleeping off the poison- Hm?' Momonga blinked as he could have sworn he saw something flash him, and then there was another body on the circle.

"Uwaahh… there, there, So-tan…"

'Speak of the devil, and they'll appear.' Momonga sighed as he looked at the clearly weakened, wobbly and more than little ill-looking Serafall who was clad in hospital clothes.

It looked as if she had used [High-Speed Movement] in conjunction with teleportation to get into the mansion in a flash, and then appear in the center of the ring. But it seemed that it had come at a cost as the poison Momonga had used on her would likely still affect her, even though the multiple blood changes had reduced its potency quite a bit.

Serafall's face and skin looked pallid and yellowish and she had black veins criss-crossing in her skin, but she nonetheless pat Sona on the back while hugging her. "Ish going to be alright, So-taan…"

Sona, in turn, gripped her sister tightly as if she saw a lifeline.

"I heard… my dear little sister's despair and crying… all the way in here… as I woke up." Serafall placed her hand on her chest as she broke off from the hug for a while. "Everything's going to be… cough… alright… ngh... "

"NO! Sera-tan! Please… don't…" Sona broke into sobs again as Serafall coughed blood. "Momon… I understand, I'll be a good girl…"

"Ehehe, So-tan called me Sera-tan... I'm so happy... Ooah, moving too quickly isn't good… Mo-kun's spell got me good…" Serafall pat Sona's head while wiping the blood on her sleeve. "Whas this aboot… whoa, the room's spinnih… Oh hiii, Mo-taaan..."

The magical-girl-Maou, clad in hospital robes, flopped on her back while out cold and caused Sona to let out an agonized wail.

"Hm, Rias? Can you get someone to help Serafall-chan?" Momonga glanced at the crowd of observers who looked positively scandalized, and he felt more than a little intimidated by the look Sona gave him. 'Well then.'

"So, umu, our duel?" Momonga figured he should focus on one thing at a time, and squashing 'Saji' shouldn't take long if the previous 'battle' between the two were any indication.

"No… Please…" Sona clung to Momonga's leg.

"A duel has been issued, and accepted! Saji of Sona Sitri's Peerage versus Momon Phenix, the new son of the Phenix family!" 'Lord Phenix' announced, ignoring Sona's wail. "If the combatants would follow me, and if the honorable guests were to take seats by the arena, we are about to have an unexpected item in today's list of events!"

Saji nodded severely to Momonga and then gave Sona a warm look before nodding once. "Goodbye, Sona-sama. I love you."

"Saji…" Sona reached towards the man while kneeling on the floor even though there was no way she could actually reach him. The motion however made her look every bit a broken young girl.

"Momon…" Rias gave Momonga a warning look and he nodded to her reassuringly.

"Don't worry. I got this." He told the girl just in case while waving his hand vaguely and Rias sighed.

"Well, I suppose it just wouldn't be an event involving you if at least one thing didn't go tits-up." Rias's description, while quite inappropriate considering the event itself, was very much on point with the situation.

"Ahii… indeed, everything was by chance, and nothing was masterminded by a certain figure, right, Sona-chan…" Ravel's sing-song voice taunted the girl on the floor who could only shake.

"Yes, of course, Ravel-sama…" Sona's voice was hollow as she hugged Serafall's unconscious body.

"I'll go get Asia to heal Serafall, just hold her still. I think my- er, Momon's Peerage is still mingling with the other Peerages in a seperate hall. Don't fight, you two." Rias told Sona after giving her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder and reprimanding Ravel. "Stay strong, Sona-chan. Momon will just slap Saji around a bit and then everything will be alright. Isn't that right, dear?"

"Quite so, dear." Momonga promised and Rias beamed at him while she left to get Asia, and Ravel left to observe the fight from the crowd, leaving Sona alone.

Momonga nodded to Sona a bit awkwardly and then left as well, not quite sure what was distressing Sona so heavily as he was fairly certain that the engagement itself wasn't the cause of her distress, but he figured that if he got things moving along then the sooner the whole ritual would be over, the sooner he could get Sona some mental help.

...Which would give Momonga a way to point Serafall's rage away from him when she would wake up, regained her powers and started finding out why Sona was so distressed.

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"I can't… I can't…" Sona felt her strength leave her while she cradled Serafall's unconscious body as the group of thoroughly scandalized high-class devils and their retainers filed out of the grand ball hall while sending Sona disapproving glances. 'Stop, please, Momon… I'll submit, I'll be a good girl, I'll behave, I'll sit when told to, I'll stand when told to, I'll bed whoever you tell me to bed, just… don't touch my Peerage, don't break Serafall…'

A hand fell on Sona's shoulder, and she half-expected to see Momon with Saji's severed head when she turned to look over… only to see Tsubaki, her Queen.

"Hi, Sona-chan." Tsubaki was unusually familiar, which told Sona that she was likely doing something extremely stupid. "Didn't expect to see me here, right?"

"Tsubaki-san…" Sona's breath stalled. "What are you…"

"Hehe, you were told that all but one of your Peerage were present, right?" Tsubaki told Sona. "Saji-kun woke up soon after you were rounded off by those serious-looking devils, and after Asia-chan was unable to regrow Saji-kun's arm but managed to wake him up. Momon's Peerage's healer is something else. Anyway, we were then asked if we wanted to be present in your engagement ceremony, and all but one of us accepted… we figured that we could excuse one of us being away because of Saji's injury, so we announced that all but one of us would be coming. But instead of Saji being away, Tsubasa was left behind instead."

"Why…" Sona started to ask, and then her eyes widened in realization. "You want me to use Castling to switch King with Rook, and help me escape by having Tsubasa switch places with me?"

"Well, the castle-mansion is covered in layers upon layers of wards, so anyone teleporting in or out would get tracked within seconds… except that the Piece system doesn't quite work by the same logic." Tsubaki smiled. "Your Queen put up a pretty clever plan, right? Afterwards we'll make a huge ruckus here and you can use that to slip into obscurity, getting away from the marriage contract for the time being."

"But you all will be sacrificed." Sona uttered.

"Well, in truth we figured out who Momon was from the description you gave. It's not like there are many things that make sense otherwise. He's a servant of the Supreme Being, right? Like the undead that attacked the Underworld." Tsubaki noted. "With that being the case, and seeing what happened to Riser's Peerage when they came to blows with him, and with the show he put up today, our lives are already forfeit. So we might as well go out while giving you a chance to escape, even if it is temporary."

"I… you guys…" Sona felt speechless over the lengths her Peerage went for her, even though she had always treated her Peerage more like her underlings, which had been Sitri's way, rather than family, that had been Gremory's way. "I'm… I can't…"

"Indeed, you can't." An icy voice came from somewhere nearby. "Did you think I'd leave you unsupervised after this stunt you pulled? Do you have any idea how much you shame your family?"

"...Mother." Sona's breath caught as she saw the female form which had melded into shadows after denouncing Saji's actions. She hugged Serafall's unconscious body instinctively close to her, like how Serafall had used to stand between her and mother when the latter had lectured her.

Yet, this time the Supreme Being had made sure to remove that shield from Sona, as well as disarming every tool at her disposal.

And now, he placed one last ultimatum in the shape of her mother, and by the look Sona noticed Lady Sitri giving to Momon, he had already sunk his claws into the woman as well.

"You'll pay for your actions, but in due time. It seems that your new fiance has a good grasp on how to control you. Maou knows he needs it when it comes to you." The lithe Sitri woman scoffed at Sona. "Oh, and don't entertain the thought of escaping. Your little ploy might have worked, if your pieces hadn't made the mistake of not considering that I'd have a constant watch over you and your little birds ever since Momon won the duel against Serafall, considering the amount of clever tricks you have pulled to get yourself out of the marriage contracts I've arranged previously. Your Rook is already under observation, and if you pull Castling to get to her, I'll have you spanked and brought back here to receive your ring in chains. Am I clear?"

"Ah…" Sona shook to her core, ignoring her mother's 'explanation' as she knew very well the truth why she was here: That Asia had told her master about Saji's condition, which in turn meant that Tsubaki's plan had been entirely within Momon's palm all along, and he had likely alerted her mother about Tsubaki's plan. The fact also meant Momon would have sunk his claws deep in her mother and father already, which in retrospect was already the case, considering Sona's arranged engagement to him in the first place.

In other words, Sona had no choice but to go along with lady Sitri. "...Yes, mother."

"Good, it seems being in Momon-san's presence is helping you behave yourself." The woman seemed to approve, causing cold shivers to run down Sona's back as she knew the woman would normally never use something as high as 'neutral' honorific with a 'lowly' 'human-born' devil.

Which meant… 'She knows about Him. About His true nature. And like Rias and Ravel… accepted it. Just what did Momon offer to her? To make her turn her back to devils?' Sona felt resigned. 'Saji's challenge might have garnered the sympathy of the devil families if he had been endorsed by mother or father, or Serafall, but he came seemingly alone and his actions were condemned by mother… This will be, in other words, seen as me attempting to sacrifice my Pawn to get me out of the marriage in the most dishonorable way possible… And so destroy my reputation in the Underworld, removing any chances of me trying to gather a powerbase under Momon's nose and turn on him…'

"Now come. I believe Rias-san went to get a medic for Serafall, so you can come and see the consequences of your actions."

"Ah…" Sona's eyes widened.

"Your Pawn decided to sacrifice his life for your sake. You might as well see him while he falls, and see the look in his eyes when he realizes that the mutt's love for you was forever destined to fail, and his sacrifice was for naught." Lady Sitri told Sona as she walked past her, scoffing at how Tsubaki had drawn her katana-bladed spear, but the Queen was ignored because her hands shook and her posture was more than a little frightened. "Oh, and tell your attack-dog to cover its fangs, or I'll have them ripped out."

"Tsubaki… stop." Sona's words were shaky and Tsubaki hid her spear-blade. It seemed that while Tsubaki's determination to sacrifice herself was there… she was also only fifty years old or so, in other words a recently-made Devil, and as afraid as Sona was

"Come." The word from Lady Sitri's lips was like a whip-strike, forcing emotionally tired and mentally exhausted Sona on her feet, and the presence of the Lady of Sitri family dragged Sona behind her towards the arena.

Tsubaki crept behind Sona, a bit cowed but clearly ready to sacrifice herself if Sona told her to.

But Sona knew she didn't have the strength to give the order anymore. 'I submit, I concede… Please… No more…'

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Saji felt confident.

Not in his chances of victory. He knew full well the difference in power between himself and the monster in front of him.

He also had a good hunch on just who the monster in front of him was, based on Sona's words and the distress she had been in.

'Be safe, Sona-sama…' Saji lifted his remaining fist, bringing [Absorption Line] visible around it. His final, defiant charge.

"A second wager-duel for Sona's hand… begins." Lord Sitri announced after Lord Phenix nodded to the man, and the two devils turned to mingle at the guests beside them, giving Saji not even a half a thought beside the announcement.

Saji saw by glance the illustrious Sirzechs Gremory and the head of Gremory Family, Zeoticus Gremory, but shook himself off before his determination could be affected by the feeling of being outclassed.

Love conquered all, after all.

Maybe it didn't guarantee victory, but sometimes to win, one needed only delay the inevitable.

That was all Saji could hope for, and all Saji aimed for. 'Tsubaki, it's your turn… I've done my part.'

"Saji…" A soft voice from the crowd caused Saji's blood to run cold, and he looked to the side to see… Sona looking at Saji with desperate, resigned and defeated eyes while Lady Sitri was standing behind her, and defeated-looking Tsubaki was beside her. "Please…"

'No- NO! Tsubaki, why didn't… No. He planned this, didn't he? To break Sona?' Saji came to a conclusion at the same time as he felt something sharp against his neck.

"A duel is not a place nor a time for sightseeing, Genshirou Saji." A damnably calm voice reprimanded him, almost as if the monster behind Saji was lecturing a well-meaning but foolish disciple. "Take up your weapon and fight. Oh, and rest assured, I'll have you resurrected afterwards. For a fair price."

Saji felt his soul shudder from the mild words that contained a threat upon threat, and layered within them was another threat. One to slay him, one to bring him back to torment once more, and one to take something he loved for in exchange for such 'kindness'.

"...ENOUGH! Stop! This stops here!" Saji saw red and whipped [Absorption Line] into a long cord that he attempted to wrap around the blade against his neck, but the creature behind him dodged with almost unnatural agility and speed.

Momon returned to a combat-stance, holding to two greatswords that were as long as Saji was tall, and had cruel hooks at the end, clearly designed to gut someone as painfully as possible. The man wore a black armor lined with gold, and on his shoulder was a deep crimson cape.

Saji heard approving murmurs from Gremory part of the audience for the choice of cape, and approving murmurs from the rest of the devils due to the prestigious black colour of his armor that suited his power, while some agreed that the gold inlays matched his 'Phenix' status well.

Saji screamed in rage as he charged again, swinging [Absorption Line] like a whip and trying to leech onto the man. He knew that any power he drained from Momon would destroy him, but… there were scant few things he could do otherwise. At least he hoped he could inflict the smallest, tiniest, most insignificant mosquito-bite on the man who seemed indomitable and undefeatable in his terrifying armor…

Something flashed faster than his eyes could track it, and Saji grunted in pain.

A single scream came from the audience, and a cheer came from the rest.

Saji fell on his knees, looking at his severed arm that lay discarded on the now-red marble of the 'arena'.

"You lost yourself to rage. It blinds your vision, and drives you to make mistakes. Work on that, and we can duel again… Saji." He looked up to see Momon offering his hand to him, a cruel jest as Saji had no hands to take the offered one. "I see a great potential in you."

He knew that the futile gesture was intentional- the monster in front of Saji had no intention of dueling him again, nor to grant forgiveness for Saji. The encouraging, almost mentor-like words were made as a cruel jest, to appear as an honorable duelist against Saji's arrogant challenge.

It had all been within Momon's calculations.

"You're a monster, Momon." Saji coughed out, the shock of losing his last remaining arm starting to settle in. "Burn in hell."

Momon withdrew his hand as Saji spat on it.

"I see. If that is your resolve, then I'll grant you the death you seek." The words were that of a tyrant, and were followed by a quick and medically-accurate stab to Saji's chest. "But know that death is not the end, when you face me."

Saji could no longer feel his heartbeat and the world turned pale.

He didn't even feel anymore when his back hit the ground, but his ears still rang with his one-sided beloved's scream, tormenting his soul forevermore…

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'Well, that was a thing.' Momonga dispelled his armor he had made with [Create Greater Item] and let [Perfect Warrior] expire. 'I don't have enough mana for a proper duel anymore, at least today, and I don't think topping it off with mana potions would fly in the current environment, so I'm glad [Perfect Warrior] was enough to defeat Saji… I didn't think he would be strong, but the only difference between confidence and arrogance is how much you know about your enemy's true strengths and weaknesses compared to yours…'

"Well, all's well that ends well." Ddraig seemed a bit angry with Saji as well, as he had likely taken Saji's spitting quite personally.

"[Message]... Dominion Authority? Come here and resurrect this one." Momonga gave the order and got a reply.

About five seconds afterwards the sky above exploded with feathers and golden radiance as [Dominion Authority] teleported to the open sky above the 'arena' that was more like a extended balcony overlooking a breathtaking view of Phenix territory, and on the 'wall' side of the balcony was another balcony that looked over the arena from where the spectators watched the fight.

"I have arrived, and I shall execute my Lord's will!" Dominion Authority's voice boomed, causing quite few murmurs in the devils present. "[Resurrection]!"

Saji gasped as the boy suddenly regained his animate state, and his severed arm restored itself… but the one cut by Momonga's [Reality Slash] didn't.

"Know thy place, devil, and bow before the majesty of the True God!" Dominion Authority's booming voice caused Momonga's host body's hair to billow and some of the dust on the ground to blow off.

Momonga sent the angel a wordless message thanking it and then dismissed it.

"I have played my part, and now I shall withdraw. My congregation awaits, and I shall lead them in prayer. Join me, those who choose to turn their backs on the Heresies of the Past and Embrace the New Truth!" The Dominion Authority brought its mace up like a flagpole, but thankfully didn't do anything else with it, instead just disappearing into motes of light and vortex of feathers.

'...Sometimes I wish that this one wasn't such a huge show-off…' Momonga sighed.

"...Uuuh, what?" Ddraig seemed more than a little confused over the Angel's words.

'Another of my servants. You've seen it before. Moreover, I have yet to give you permission to speak, so stay quiet.' 'Momonga' sent the dragon a sharp glance and the beast fell quiet again.

He then walked past Saji, not bothering to re-offer his hand to the man, and moved off.

A pair of serious-looking security devils who looked like they were armed to the teeth and more than a little wary moved to grab Saji by the armpits and tossed him off the balcony. 'Uh, is that a commonplace thing? Seems quite… harsh.'

"Devils can fly, remember?" Ddraig supplied helpfully, but knew better than to continue as Momonga was still quite angry at the dragon.

"Winner, Momon Phenix. As we all expected. Thank you for honoring Sitri Peerage's foolish Pawn's request, which was in no way endorsed by the Sitri family." Lord Sitri announced after 'Lord Phenix' nodded to the man.

"Now, let us proceed back to the ball hall… The final gifting will take place, and afterwards we have prepared a musical number in…" 'Lord Phenix' picked up as Lord Sitri ended his speech.

"Well then?" Momon offered his hand to Sona, who placed hers in his with mechanical, emotionless movements.

Roughly ten minutes later the girl's hand had a ring in it, and Momonga could start to properly feel regret over his actions. That is, giving up something so valuable and filled with memories… even if he could later reclaim it, if need be.

But, somewhere deep inside Momonga's mind, somewhere in 'Momonga's and Suzuki Satoru's barren-dry soul, a small seed started to sprout.

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Meanwhile Odin stroked his beard as he watched the 'duel' from a vantage point, which was a wide-windowed room that gave a glimpse at the double-balcony that worked as an arena. 'This is bad… I'll have to approach him and get more hands-on with him…'

The old Norse God could not feel anything from Omniscience when he focused the ability on Momon at such a short range, which told him too much already. It told him that whatever Momon was, was utterly, completely alien to the world.

After all, the ability's 'sight' grew longer the closer its target was to the realm where the god using it reigned, and it was already heavily reduced by the fact Underworld was not Asgard, and neither did its people have deep ties to Norse mythology.

But for Odin to learn nothing thought Omniscience… it had a few explanations. None of them good.

And the frightful aura that the 'boy' sometimes gave off, almost as if it seeped through the cracks of a carefully held-up facade, was enough to cause hairs to stand on ends in Odin's neck.

"Rossweisse, be ready to fall back and return to Asgard, and tell Thor what you've learned here if I don't come back." Odin's tone was serious, causing the white-haired girl behind him to stand up straight.

"Is it truly…" the girl seemed a bit frightened by Odin's sudden change from a senile old pervert to one more appropriate of his legacy.

"I truly hoped I could live my twilight years in peace and happiness, chasing girls, eating exotic foods and whatnot… Ah well." Odin rubbed his shoulder, then turned to give the white-haired girl behind him a sharp glare. "Do I have your word that you'll do as I commanded, Rossweisse?"

"Yes, lord Odin." The girl bowed a bit.

"Good. Wait for me. If I'm not back by dawn, leave me behind."

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