Four Keys

[𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐲, 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫]

The life of a Satan was a hectic one from day one. Or rather, it had been hectic even before Noel had been officially promoted. That and plenty of other factors made his quick exit from his own coronation all the quicker.

Unfortunately for him, he was far from free from his duties for the evening. He had quite the meeting to attend even if he wanted nothing more than to ignore it. Normally, he would've done just that but this time the bigwigs were all in attendance. Or rather, they soon would be. He was a little ahead of schedule.

Opening the letter from Rias Gremory herself with a bit of magic Noel didn't know whether he should laugh or not. Unlike one would expect of a woman on house arrest, Rias had plenty of stories to tell. Apparently, she was learning to better control her power of destruction under her grandfather and was now learning basic martial arts from one of his peerage members.

Noel had expected plenty of things ranging from a rant about boredom to endless complaints about her leisurely lifestyle but this was a surprise. Well, not completely. If she had enough leeway to write a long winded letter like this then she was fine. The most he was worried about was having to listen to her complaints when she returned.

"Guess she's having fun."

Scoffing lightly Noel moved on to the next letter he had received. It was much more formal than the last and though it was far from excessive it was filled with flattery and thanks. This time, it belonged to Galvus Oriax, the head of one of the territories surrounding the remains of Inferno.

Ultimately, it was only one of the many thank you letters that Noel had received but this one warranted special attention from him. Though weak and hardly usable, Noel had reason to believe that the clan trait of the Oriax clan would come in helpful soon enough. At the very least, it would clear up a few uncertain details.

"You're here early. Didn't enjoy the party?"

Taking a seat across from the youngest Satan with a familiar smile Sirzechs wasn't surprised by his arrival. Though he wouldn't tell Noel, Sirzechs had won it big and Ajuka had lost greatly because of Noel's free spirit. Then again, when he rubbed it in his rival's face it wouldn't stay secret for long.

"As if I could. Those guys were looking at me like I was a piece of meat."

Rolling his eyes, Noel didn't even want to think about how many times he'd have to face that same situation. Though it wasn't everyone most of the people in the hall looked at him like one would a powerful weapon. They didn't look at him like the annoying child who did whatever he wanted, they looked at him like somebody who would obediently protect them forever.

"Yes, well, unfortunately, that's what happens when you become a leader. You aren't yourself anymore but instead a living weapon. In their eyes, you are either being used by them or pointed at them."

Sighing in disappointment, Sirzechs truly wished it wasn't the case but there was no point denying it. Devils were selfish creatures to a fault and that meant they had certain common faults like this. They all believed that neutrality was made up, that you either allied with or against them. There was no peace with such people, unfortunately.

"I tried to nip it in the bud but it seems like most of them didn't get the hint."

Scoffing softly Noel found yet another reason to dislike the nobility. Some were sane but unfortunately, they were the minority and that would never change. Wealth and education didn't always equate to common sense after all.

"At times, I can empathize with the first Satans. Their ideals were flawed but I could certainly see why they would choose to be idolized so much. Blind faith seems better than blatant fear on paper."

Sirzechs did not care for the Satan clans or their heads but after falling in a similar position he couldn't blame them entirely. Lucifer made the devils in his warped version of kindness and they in turn only made the Devil King's worst traits stronger.

"What's up with the tense atmosphere?"

Cheerfully skipping into the room Serafall Leviathan took a seat on Noel's left leaning only one last seat open. Unlike the few times he had seen her, she wore formal attire and her million volt smile was dimmer than usual. He had heard that she had been trying to build a bond with the Norse pantheon so her exhaustion was warranted.

"It's nothing major. We were just complaining about this and that."

"Blegh. Keep that away from me or I'll have to join in."

"Trouble with the Norse?"

Half listening to the conversation happening next to him Noel recalled the girl he had met not long before. He had never met a descendant of a god before but he had originally assumed she would be in a somewhat similar boat to him.

With him housing Balor's soul he had become something akin to a god albeit in a tainted manner. Both his species and Balor's divinity were both born from sin so nothing much had changed but that was neither here nor there.

Uraume on the other hand was a bit different. While Noel could be considered a whole god she was something akin to an apostle. No, that wasn't quite right either. Perhaps apprentice would be a good way to put it.

It was far from the same but martial arts made for a good comparison. Both Uraume and her divine parent were inherently different beings but their divinity was from the same source much like passed down martial arts would be.

While Noel had taken over the position of Balor and didn't quite fit into the analogy Uraume could be considered as a second version of the god, or in this case an apprentice. She began weaker and less experienced but as she grew so would her divinity. In time, she could possibly surpass her 'teacher' but their divinity was going to remain the same.

A son of Poseidon would always have the divinity of the sea regardless of whether he surpassed his parents or not. Regardless, it didn't really matter. Noel was just curious about her existence as a demigod even if the term didn't seem very fitting. 

"It looks like I was the last to arrive."

Seamless manifesting in the room with not even a trace of magic, Ajuka's face immediately fell upon seeing the shit eating grin of Sirzechs. Groaning in irritation the Emerald Satan reached into space beside him and powerfully threw what he grabbed at his rival.

"Not bad at all."

Looking over the item in his hand—catching it was easier than breathing—Sirzechs' grin only grew. It was unassuming at first glance but Noel could tell the inner workings were a marvel of technology. He didn't understand every bit of it but he could at least tell it was a powerful defensive artifact.

"Let's move on. I trust you have the item?"

Turning to his student with the utmost haste, Ajuka wasted no time in changing the topic. Lazily nodding to his teacher's request Noel reached his hand deep into his chest, a ripple spreading from his body as his hand didn't reach into his body but the existence that made up his form.

Looking at Noel in unadulterated pride the gluttonous Beelzebub was beyond interested in the technique that was just shown to him. To contain the core it must be stored in the body—that was the biggest issue in Ajuka's most recent endeavor—however, to remove it afterward would irreversibly damage the soul.

To counteract that, Noel had stored the core not within his body but within the space and time that flowed through his body which tricked the core into believing it was within his body. Space and time was difficult to control even for Ajuka so naturally he was curious of how such a thing had been done.

Removing the core from the flow of space and time Noel placed it on the table to the applause of Serafall who very much was pleased with what she had seen. Giving him a thumbs up Serafall looked at him with stars in her eyes.

"Then I suppose it's my turn."

Practically glowing with pride and expectation, Ajuka placed a small glass box over the top of the core, magical formations covering the transparent surface in an instant. The formations were extremely detailed and Noel couldn't even begin to make sense of it all.

The core was a powerful item to have, too powerful one could say. With absolute authority in their hands, the Satans would be elevated to a new level of political power that they shouldn't approach. The people would likely be nervous, the nobility would be forced to walk on eggshells, and the council would quickly try to rebel.

That's why, none of them could own it but they couldn't ignore it either. If people knew about the core's existence and whereabouts there would be plenty of scheming to claim it. That's why they were here, in Sirzechs personal realm. He possessed the core of this world and could easily sense when somebody arrived—like he did with Noel—and protect the core if necessary.

"Place your hand on top of mine."

Following the Emerald Satan's instructions the other three Satans placed their hand atop his own, their demonic energy escaping through their hands into the case. Demonic energy was energy made by the soul and everybody was slightly different so it was the best way to restrict something like this.

As their demonic energy flowed through the case it pulsated in their respective colors for a brief instant, a blinding white for Noel, striking crimson for Sirzechs, and calming blue for Serafall. It was only for a moment but when it was done everything had come to an end.

"With that, as long as there are at least three of us willing to use it the core will be released. Any less and it won't open itself even to me."

Declaring such a fact so confidently Ajuka's words would have been absurd if it was anybody else saying them. The mere idea that the Four Great Satans, the strongest beings of the Underworld, could not break a seemingly simple glass case. Naturally, though, the three believed him effortlessly. They had all spent quite a while seeing his strange creations after all.

"That was easy wasn't it?"

Shooting his rival an obnoxious grin Sirzechs conveniently ignored the effort Ajuka would have expended just to make such a normal looking glass box. Sirzechs did understand the effort required and material costs and such but that wasn't nearly as fun, was it? 

"Easy? I'd like to see you do a fraction of what I just did."

Scoffing in badly concealed indignation Ajuka was far from amused as he narrowed his eyes at his rival. Sighing Serafall stood up and walked over to Noel, a mix of an amused grin and frown of resignation on her face.

"I bet I could do it. It doesn't seem too hard, right? Just a bit of magic engraving here and there and it's done."

Clearly taunting his rival, Sirzechs didn't even pay attention to Serafall and Noel leaving the room, dense magical energy clashing through the hall as soon as the two left. It was much, much more powerful than all the times Noel had witnessed it previously, and even now he felt like it would be difficult to stand straight in that maelstrom for long.

"And here I thought I caught up a bit."

Chuckling at his own weakness, Noel followed Serafall through the halls. If he entered his balance breaker he could endure that level of energy but that was just the bare minimum if he wanted to claim that he stood shoulder to shoulder with them. 

"Don't worry, you're plenty strong. At least, you're probably stronger than me."

Though Noel controlled his energy well Serafall could tell—half instinctively and with some guesswork—that Noel was stronger than her. Between her and Falbium it was difficult to say who was stronger since they had vastly different fighting styles but they were close enough to compare. But when Falbium returned missing an arm and Noel a victor it was safe to assume.

"That's high praise coming from the Underworld's strongest woman." 

Smirking his so called stupid sexy smirk as he always did the newest Asmodeus was plenty amused. Compared to the boring party he was supposed to attend even now, this was much more enjoyable.

"Yup so take pride in it!"

Cheerfully pointing her finger at Noel the current Leviathan's eyes were bright as her clothing was instantly switched into that of a magical girl costume Noel had yet to see. He had seen her a few times—he hadn't spoken to her most of them unfortunately—and each time his thought that her wardrobe could never end seemed closer to the truth.

Noel could see why she would be so popular, she just had a sort of childish charm that when combined with maturity made her quite the pep talker. She had the ability to raise anybody's spirits and the experience needed to find the heart of the issue so quickly. It was no wonder Morgan respected her so much. 

Finally finding the door she was looking for Serafall swung the door open and pushed Noel inside, an amused splitting the latter's face all the while. Pushing him up against the wall and slamming her hand on the wall to keep him in place made for quite a funny sight with the height difference. Noel was still growing but he was about 5'8 while she was 5'3 on a good day.

"When is it?"

There was an almost crazed look in Serafall's eye as she demanded such an abstract thing. It was lucky that Noel knew what she was asking from him. The situation was incredibly amusing so he was tempted to stay as he was but he put that aside for now.

"We've got about seven months before my kid starts making a mess of this world."

Jokingly yet completely seriously speaking about his unborn child Noel had no doubts that the kid would be every bit as troublesome as he and Morgan were. Hell, he wasn't even sure if the brat would have a nice bone in him at this rate. He was practically destined to be a little shit.

"Seven months! Is that enough time? No, I'll make it enough!"

Hurriedly speaking under her breath for a moment Serafall quickly darted out of the room, or at least she tried to. Unfortunately for her, Noel's grasp on her shoulder kept her locked in place no matter how hard she tried to run.

"What are you planning?"

Interrogating her with narrowed eyes Noel couldn't shake the bad feeling he was getting. Even if Satans had plenty of restrictions they were still the four greatest powers of their society, for one of them to need seven months to do something was absurd.

"Huh? Obviously, I'm going to make it a national event."

Looking at him as though it was obvious Serafall said something so very absurd that even Noel had to put his foot down. As amusing as that would be, that was not how he wanted to celebrate the birth of his first child.

He wasn't sure how it would be for the rest—at the very least he'd have one more since Rias wanted and needed one—but at least this time he wanted it to be a private affair. This was the first time in both lives that he was having a child that he knew of and he wanted to enjoy it.

"Fine but you better invite me to the baby shower!"

Luckily, Serafall was oddly encouraging of the idea. Even if she loved children and adored Morgan enough to want to make the child born from her womb the devil equivalent of Jesus she wouldn't push such plans on them if they didn't want it.

"Of course. Morgan would kill me if I didn't."

Giggling at his claim, Serafall didn't seem to understand. As Morgan was now, she would actually try to kill him. Noel had thought that he could endure anything for her and their child but Morgan's mood swings were putting that to the test. Thrice he had been kicked out of his own home and it was sure to happen more.

Luckily for both of them, Noel loved her enough to endure her relentless assault. 

[𝐁𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐒𝐢𝐱 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫]

"I missed you."

Laying in her fiance's arms Rias had no shame in nuzzling against his cheek. It had been months since they last met and she missed him dearly. Her schedule had been quite full so she didn't miss him quite as much as she thought but she still wished to see him each day.

She missed just about everything she used to take for granted really. She missed Morgan's cheerful attitude, the strange plans she concocted in that cute head of hers, and everything else about the girl. Rias even missed Amaris and her frequent scoldings!

"So you've said."

Chuckling at the girl in his arms Noel held the girl close to his chest, a familiar smirk splitting his face. At first, he didn't want to take up the position of Asmodeus because he thought that it would make moments like these scarce but that wasn't the case, not for him at least.

While other Satans were perpetually busy, Noel was lucky to have inherited his position from a lazy man. As some famous man once said, lazy people will always find the most efficient solution and Falbium had certainly done it.

The former Asmodeus had spent five hundred years perfecting a workspace that does everything before it even reaches him. At this point, all Noel had to do was show his face at the occasional meeting—a rare thing since he was now quite important—and sign a form or two.

"Where's Akeno?"

Even with the range that Noel could see he couldn't find her so he was quite curious. He had been here for quite a while and he had arrogantly thought that she would come running as soon as she heard he was here. 

"With her parents. She wanted to learn how to empower her holy lightning from Mister Baraqiel."

Almost slovenly in tone Rias answered his inquiry, her hands freely roaming his body. It had been a very long time since she had felt his body and it might be a while longer so she wanted to have her fill now while she still could.

"It looks like you've awakened your Balance Breaker. Congratulations."

It wasn't obvious at a glance even to him but the soul of Ddraig and Rias' own had grown closer, a clear sign of something being achieved. Rias already had a good understanding of her Longinus and her skill was nothing to scoff at so her progression was easy enough to guess.

"Thank you. Ddraig was oddly helpful though. Did you bribe him or something?"

Laughing at her own words Rias couldn't believe them despite being the one to say them. A dragon wasn't easily bribed, much less a Heavenly Dragon like Ddraig. Their pride didn't allow it, their strength made it difficult, and their desires were hard to fulfill regardless.

"I did."

Reveling in the look of shock she sent his way Noel was glad Rias was such an expressive woman. It made for many amusing situations that lit up his day and he would have it no other way. Still, it wasn't as amazing as she made it sound.

Forcefully stealing a Longinus was difficult even with his Evil Eyes of Absorption as they each had a consciousness. Even if their power was weakened they had enough to ensure they wouldn't be stolen from their host. Even Balor only worked because he doesn't have any sentience whether it be now or back then.

To Noel, finding Issei Hyoudou was simple, and convincing Ddraig was shockingly easy. All it took was playing to the dragon's desires. It would work for no other Longinus but for Ddraig it was beyond easy. All he had to do was elevate the stakes a little.

Vali Lucifer, a man with both talent and determination. He would be a formidable foe for any Red Dragon Emperor let alone a seemingly talentless pervert like Issei. But that alone wasn't enough to convince the old lizard.

Rias Gremory was the key. With their shared last name and immense talent the stakes would no longer just be between Heavenly Dragons but also between the current and previous Lucifers. It was more than enough to make the battle hungry Ddraig excited.

"Seriously? What did you give him?"

Curiously asking for more details Rias' blue eyes were filled with curiosity, all traces of doubt removed from her gaze. Though she was unaware of the details, it was clear to anybody even remotely close to Noel that he didn't lie. He may withhold the truth, click his tongue or roll his eyes, or rudely retort but he rarely lied.

"Nothing major."

Smirking playfully at her the famous Ashen Wolf ignored her pout with a brief laugh. Rias was the second of his fiancées which meant that in the eyes of the world she was nothing more than a concubine. That didn't affect her or the Gremory clan much but it was still annoying.

Noel didn't want those he loved to have anything tying them down and that definitely included unsavory rumors. In that regard, maybe the six escaping prison was a good thing since it elevated their statuses to the point where such a detail was hardly important. He didn't regret giving Rias the Boosted Gear but in hindsight, it felt somewhat like an unnecessary hassle.

"Fine then, keep your secrets."

Sticking her tongue out in annoyance Rias nevertheless accepted his words. Truthfully, it wasn't that big of a deal. Ddraig was an interesting figure and she was curious what it would take to bribe him but it didn't hold much weight anymore. As his host, he was more than willing to assist her so there was no point worrying over bribes.

"Of course. You all wouldn't like me nearly as much if I wasn't at least this mysterious."

Laughing once more Noel was truly happy to have been reborn here. His previous life was one of boredom, a never ending blur of boredom filled only with paltry entertainment and bland company. Compared to that, this life was incomparably vibrant.

Part of that was the abundance of magic which was plenty interesting but most of it came from his company. His quiet yet supportive father, his overly caring mother, and all the women he had slowly surrounded himself with.

"Anyway, I'm kidnapping you and Akeno in a month."

It was such a normal statement coming from his lips but Rias still doubted her ears for a moment until realization dawned on her, her eyes practically stars. Rias and the other girls remained in close contact so she was well aware of what was coming.

"It's here?!"

Bringing her face only inches away from his Rias' eager eyes met Noel's amused ones, the excitement bubbling from the girl making his smirk grow. Nodding his head Rias immediately shot up, a magic circle manifesting into her hand as she hurriedly scribbled away.

Running off without another word Rias was practically floating from joy, the paper in her hand filled to the brim with baby presents of all kinds. Rolling his eyes Noel stood up and wagged his finger to the side.

"I thought the elderly were supposed to be role models?"

Smirking cockily at nothing, space itself rippled revealing the man that stood across from Noel, a disapproving frown on the man's wrinkled face. Zekram Bael, the Great King himself glared at Noel hatefully.

"And I thought the Satans were supposed to be mature but we were both proven wrong weren't we?"

Scathingly replying to Noel's insult Zekram took a seat across from the new Satan without any respect. Zekram was in many ways the ideal politician, a man who could pretend to get along with even his worst enemy and squeeze benefits from the most hopeless situations.

"Good to see that the Great King hasn't lost his fangs after being shown up by his granddaughter."

Playfully taunting the Great King Noel reclined into his chair. Ignoring the scoff of his current company Noel created a large illusion around the table. The tool that Zekram used to hide wasn't bad but a little bit of precaution.

"I've compiled all the information I know. Take it and leave."

Slamming a large book into the table Noel could practically see the annoyance waiting for him in the near future. The cover was empty and the pages were numerous—at least a thousand if Noel were to guess—so it was far from attractive but he had to read it.

The book compiled Zekram's thousands of years of knowledge from the days of the first Satans to today. Specifically, it focused on one group Noel could foresee becoming troublesome. It wasn't what he wanted to do but work was important.

"Unfortunately, the upper echelon of the Golden Dawn is mostly a mystery so there isn't much about them."

Skimming through the book Noel quickly found exactly what he meant. Four of the five leaders were listed, the names, aliases, and potential origins were all detailed but nothing else. Unlike the dozens of lines for even the least important branch head these people—the true leaders—had basically nothing in comparison. All but one.

With a legend dating back thousands of years, the pioneer of magic, the apostle of God, and the strongest human in history there was plenty of information about the head of the Golden Dawn, so much so that Noel wished the book wasn't so detailed. Over half of it was dedicated to this man after all.

"King Solomon huh? No wonder the Church is having trouble dealing with the Golden Dawn."

Even if strength was to be ignored, Solomon was a legendary figure among the clergy. He wasn't somebody that could easily be touched and many people would rather ignore the atrocities he commits than combat God's apostle.

"Indeed. Even if we were the ones being oppressed it's safe to assume many won't rally to our cause."

As Zekram said, the devils idolized Solomon nearly as much as the church did. Though the Four Great Satans of the time hardly appreciated him, Solomon was instrumental in stopping the development of an incurable 'disease' if it could even be considered such.

The devils weren't born in a normal manner, in fact, their creation was akin to cloning. As a result of this, not only was Lilith forced into what could only be considered a living mass of flesh but the devils once suffered from horrid mutations.

Tentacles would grow from their limbs, eyes would scar their flesh, and all manners of atrocities would form along their body as they aged. It was impossible to cure let alone revert and it was presumed to be the end of a civilized devil society. Devils prided themselves on their beauty and so to have it distorted in such a way was a fate worse than death to most.

Solomon was the one to cure this illness. He descended into the rapidly destabilizing Underworld, forced his way into the Lucifer Estate, and demanded he be allowed to cure the source of the devil's suffering. It was the first case of heroism that the Underworld experienced and many would say it set the bar far too high.

"Mhm. It'll be difficult to rouse the military then."

Tapping the table rhythmically Noel wore a deep frown. The ones that held the most respect for Solomon were the young and the elderly. The young were slowly turning to Noel and his peers but the elderly firmly believed in Solomon and unfortunately, the leaders of the military were almost all old farts.

"Why are you even worried about them? As long as they don't attack us directly we can ignore them and if they do we have justification."

Humming in response to Zekram's words Noel was somewhat disappointed. The tides were changing and Zekram, who he expected to be the first to realize it, didn't seem to find even the smallest clue.

The arrival of a single new Longinus marked an era of change and turbulence but what about the arrival of five? This world was changing even without the influence of outside forces like ExE, it was an out of control fall and Noel wasn't sure if they could stick the landing.

The six was only the beginning, a harbinger of what is coming. The times were changing at a rapid pace and they needed to keep up. He wasn't sure what her motives were but Ophis certainly had her fingers in every bit of it.

Everything was calm but things were reaching their boiling points under the surface. Sooner or later, things would explode and Noel wanted to be ready for when it did. The world was changing and the devils had to be ready.

As the current Asmodeus, Noel had access to all military intel and so on so preparing wasn't impossible but it likely wouldn't be enough if Ophis was at the forefront. Still, there was no point rushing things. Being hasty would only make things worse and that was far from desirable.

He had to take the time to enjoy his life, raise his child, and all manner of other things. This was a dangerous situation but they had plenty of time. The only thing that would leave quickly would be the childhood of his children. 

"Let's call it a hunch."

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Hey there, Express_007 here. Hope you liked the chapter.

A bit of a laidback chapter this time but hopefully you enjoyed it regardless. The next few chapters will probably be similar as well as we set up for the next arc which I think you'll enjoy. Also, I'm curious what you think about Ophis this far so if you have any theories I'd like to see them.

As always, if you're interested in supporting the creation of this novel I made a patre*on. Just look up Express_007 and you should find it easily enough. You don't have to support but it'd be much appreciated.