Chapter 14: Youkai, Ayakashi and Devils, Oh My!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

- Damien –

I walked into the amusement park while the group followed me. Vienna, Gretel and I were under my illusion which would hide our true appearances from everyone.

Kuroka was latched onto my arm while trying to press her budding breasts into my side, despite the heated glare from Vienna who was latching onto my other arm.

Gretel had a stoic face while she carried the basket of food along with Lavinia, Musashi and Sean. Merlin was carrying the most though.

It might have something to do with the fact that he tried teasing Gretel before coming here.

Shirone on the other hand was walking beside Gretel with our newest addition to the group, who looked as if she thought we were fattening her up only to eat her after it.

Asia Argento was delivered to us by Azazel after Odin had the meeting with Michael.

Safe to say that the church was adamantly against any compromises but that was only until Odin lost his patience and let out his aura.

This reminded everyone that the one who was sitting in front of them was a King of Gods, a being who led a pantheon and showed Heaven how truly and utterly fucked they would be if Odin made any moves.

Odin however was already pissed and raised the stakes.

Immediate execution of those who were directly involved with the Siegfried Project and excommunication of the outer members. Moreover he asked for every child with even a hint of his blood to be returned to the Norse.

Michael took command for once and negotiated the execution of the Director and Vice Director of the Project and anyone who conducted the experiments being excommunicated but to let the others go.

Odin did claim two swords from Heaven's side which the church handed the now tainted Clarent which had lost most of its power and its demonic sister sword Florent.

Asia Argento was handed over with what Azazel called resistance that was mostly a formality.

Poor Girl didn't even know what she was being used as and I seriously doubt she does even now.

She had almost looked like she would have a panic attack when she was introduced to us after we brought her back from Azazel.

I couldn't blame her for it. She was only a ten year old and had been fed the stories of devils being the cause of all the misery in the world.

The Devil made me do it is surprisingly a very common excuse even in the world.

I just wished they removed 'The' when using that.

I don't have enough free time to worry about those idiots.

The poor girl had almost retreated into herself from all the stress and fear.

It was only due to the efforts of Lavinia, Vienna and Kuroka repeatedly barging into her room and bringing her out to play or have some fun since then. Gretel had in her own way taken care of her and so had Tsubaki.

While she might not show it, Gretel was probably the most careful when dealing with her, apparently because the girl reminded her of her own self a little. So scared and looking at everyone as someone just waiting to hurt her. During our private talks one night after Vienna had gone to sleep, she had told me about it and I encouraged her to do what she thought was right. Since then, she took some time off to teach Asia about the world outside the church, cooking and even studies.

My little maid was really a kind person.

"This place is very good nyaa~" Shirone purred slightly, her eyes locked at the cotton candy stall on the side of the path making a few of us chuckle.

Shirone's personality was completely different because of avoiding the harshness of the early world. She was like a child her age was supposed to be, cheerful and lively.

The park was in Kuroka's new territory in Japan.

She had decided on this place as it was relatively safer for us.

"This place was owned by the Youkai?" I asked, looking around the place.

There were some Youkai in disguise around the place serving as vendors and mascots.

"Yes nyaa. The Ayakashi use the fear and the negative feelings from the Haunted Houses in the place. It also has a shrine for a Land God of this area connected to it so that the new years are celebrated in the park and also increases the visits to both the Land God preventing her from being forgotten and the income of the park. It is a cooperative relationship between the two sides which Lord Hihi before me had established. I verified the relationship with the Land God once I became the ruler of this area. She is very kind, like a little fairy and likes Mochi."

"That is quite smart of them. But negative feelings? I thought Ayakashi only fed on fear?" Musashi asked.

"Fear is the main one. When Ayakashi attack people, most feel this emotion. Some might feel anger too. There are many who feel despair. The last one gives the most power and is extremely addictive to an Ayakashi which is the reason we were explicitly asked to avoid such things. I am a Youkai so it doesn't concern me but I was asked to kill any Ayakashi indulging in such practices in my territory."

"DUMMY, let's go to the Roller Coaster." Vienna dragged me by the hand.

I saw the sparkle in her eyes and didn't resist either.

"Wait for me too nyaa~" Kuroka followed.

They looked towards Gretel and beckoned her to come with us as well but she said that she will find a spot for the picnic first.

- Tsurara –

"Rikuo-sama, see see a haunted house. Can we go there and scare people? It will be lots of fun. I bet we can get a lot of fear there."

"This is Kuroka's territory, Tsurara. Did you forget it? Moreover this Haunted House was established by Lord Hihi. There are already a few Ayakashis residing in this place. They own the haunted house." Kurotabo held the super excited Yuki-onna back.

"Hmmp, I knew that but they could always share a little for a day. We just want to have some fun scaring the visitors, it's not like we are planning to take over this place."

"Oh, look. Isn't that Shirone?" Kejoro pointed towards the white haired nekoshou.

"Who are those people with her?" Tsurara asked spotting the other people with Shirone.

"Could those be the friends Kuroka was talking about?"

"Are one of those boys the Master, Kuroka was talking about?" asked Tsurara.

"Oh, that white haired one does look handsome."

"But isn't he a bit older?"

"Looks around sixteen years more or less so it's not that old."

"The other one walks like a warrior. His steps seem to be casual but are measured and alert. It's almost ingrained in his bones." Kurotabo measured the people in front of them.

"The one who is leading them is that girl. They seem to be deferring to her."

"Could she be the leader of these people?"

"Maybe?"

"She isn't a boy though so she isn't the Master." Tsurara instead, already playing a detective.

"We could always go and introduce ourselves and ask directly." Rikuo spoke.

"Yes yes. Let's go and show them that Rikuo-sama is the greatest." Tsurara cheered.

The Rikuo currently however was the Human part and he didn't like any kind of conflict.

"We are not going to fight anyone. Just introducing ourselves. Everyone behave."

"Yes Rikuo-sama."

So she followed Rikuo-sama to those people.

Shirone smelled them right away and turned towards them.

"Those people are Devils. At least two of them." Kuotabo spoke as he walked closer.

"That's fine. Magari-sama told us that Kuroka was taken to her territory by the Devils. Apparently they had saved their lives after Fujimai-sama passed away."

By that time they had gotten closer to the other group.

"Rikuo-samyaa~, Tsurara-chan, Kejoro-san, everyone, are you here to have a picnic too?'' The cute cat girl jumped in excitement.

"Are they your friends, Shirone?" the girl leading them asked.

"Yes yes. They are Rikuo-sama and everyone from the Nura Clan. We stayed at their place. Kejoro-sama makes very nice rice cakes and fish nyaa."

"Ufufufufu I would have brought some food if I knew you were coming here too, Shirone-chan. We just came here to have some fun on our vacation."

"I am Gretel. Nice to meet you all. I thank you all for taking care of Shirone."

"No no, it's a pleasure of ours. Shirone is always fun to have around."

"Where is Kuroka? Is she not with you?" Tsurara asked Shirone.

"Onyee-chan went with Damien-samyaa to the roller coaster. Gretel-san, can they join us please?"

The girl called Gretel looked at their group.

"No, please we wouldn't want to intrude." Ah, Rikuro-sama is always so considerate.

"It will not be an intrusion. Please don't worry about it. I apologize for our Master is not here but I am sure he wouldn't mind."

"Yes yes, he is a pretty chill dude. Feel free to join us. Fun times are always better with a beautiful company. By the way, are you single?" the white haired one came around and took Kejoro's hand, kissing it slightly.

"Ufufufufu oh my, what a flatterer but I am sorry, I am already taken." Kejoro replied with a giggle.

Huh?

Tsurara gaped as did all her other companions looking at the giggling Kejoro.

So Kubinashi finally got the guts to propose.

"Oh, what a pity. Your partner must be a very lucky man."

"Wait wait, hold on. Kubinashi proposed? When? That sneaky bastard. He didn't even tell any of us."

The group congratulated Kejoro while following Shirone's group to search for a place for the picnic.

- Damien –

I returned with Kuroka and Vienna hanging onto my sides like two koalas.

These two are really competitive.

Then again they are closer in age and still childish.

Musashi and Tsubaki are far more of the quieter type.

The scene I saw in front of me was surprising to say the least.

"They are from the Nura-clan nyaa. What are they doing here?" Kuroka revealed their identity as she asked.

"Your friends?" Vienna asked.

"The brown haired one is the third Supreme Commander of the Nura Clan, the grandson of Nurarihyon, Rikuo-sama. Magari-sensei introduced us to them."

I had some thoughts in my mind.

Were they here to spy?

Let's find out directly from the group.

"Rikuo-sama, Tsurara, everyone, did you come here to play too?" Kuroka asked the group cheerfully.

"Kuroka! Yes we came here to celebrate our victory over the Shikoku Youkai. It took three weeks to take care of the aftermath. We even tried to invite you but Magari-sama said that you were unavailable." He looked at me and asked, "Is he?"

"This is my Master, Damien-sama nyaa. Damien-sama, this is Rikuo Nura, the third commander of the Nura Clan."

I put my hand forward towards the guy who shook it quite nervously but with no hidden intentions.

"Nice to meet you."

"Same here." I agreed.

"Master, would you like to have something to eat?" Gretel asked me from the side.

She had made everything herself.

"Yes please." I asked as she passed a plate to me while Lavinia distributed food to the rest as well.

We talked about various topics and I noticed that they tried to poke to find my identity but were unsuccessful.

I also got looks of suspicion from the blue-haired Yuki-Onna a few times but each time I looked at her questioningly, she turned and huffed cutely.

It was more cute than annoying so I left it as it is.

The good thing was that Vienna got to make some new friends.

When it was time to leave the group got up, I said a few words to Kurotabo who seemed to be the most mature one among the group.

I saw his eyes widen and muscles tense before he turned to me.

I didn't say anything but left with my group.

Kuroka has called us to her new place while I still had to watch over Cleria's experiment with the Ten Tails.

- Scene Change –

I looked at the massive tree in front of me.

This was an abandoned dimension created by some God and forgotten with many animals and plants. Such dimensions are generally connected to a main dimension like the Human world or the Underworld and are used for wars or experiments and such.

"I am sorry it took so long, Master." Cleria came up to my side.

"No no, this is wonderful." The tree was siphoning the energy from the place at a massive rate unlike what the Ten Tails had done in the Shinobi World under the direct orders of Annihilation Maker.

We had arrived at this place just a while ago and the God Tree was felt even from the corners of the dimension. I had to find a way to seal its presence from being felt by others if I wanted to use it in any way.

This dimension was as large as a small country.

I stood in front of the giant tree which was as if a borderline Satan Class beast was releasing its powers without restraint.

I was accompanied by Gretel, Merlin and Kuroka.

Everyone else was staying with Shirone at Kuroka's place and enjoying a holiday.

"How long do you think it will take?" I asked as we neared the place. I had to shield Kuroka so that she could bear the pressure from the God Tree's aura.

"Around an hour more, Master. I have been making it work for almost a day now."

I looked around the area, with my Observation Haki I watched as the ground seemed to be losing its vitality somehow. It was like a bright coloured picture losing its colours.

"How does that feel to you Kuroka?" I asked the girl who had been staring at the tree with horror since we arrived at this place.

"It's a monster nyaa. I feel like it will take away all the life. All of nature's energy was taken away by it. Everything is devoured by it and when I try to use Senjutsu, all of that is being concentrated on whatever is on that tree, a small fruit of some kind. I cannot even look at the fruit but it's as if it's calling out to me. The tree is taking all the negativity inside it while using all the pure nature's energy to create the fruit."

"That's about right." Well except the calling part? I had asked Cleria to separate the negativity from the Nature's energy and she chose this way."What do you mean by calling out to you?"

"I don't know but that much Nature's energy is….intoxicating to feel."

"Oh, is the energy irresistible?" I asked, looking at her slightly drooling on the corner of her mouth.

"Yes nyaa."

We waited around the tree observing the changes for a whole hour until the surroundings were all drained of vitality and energy.

"So that's the chakra fruit." I looked at the small peach on one of the lower branches of the tree.

By this point Kuroka was visibly drooling. I'll have to work on her mental defences more.

"The essence of a dimension collected into one small fruit yet I can sense no malice from it, maybe because all of that went to the beast itself." Merlin inspected the fruit, casting a few spells around it and recording everything.

Helena hadn't been able to arrive at the experiment because it was her Nephew's birthday.

Now, she was totally the type of person that would forget herself in work but she never missed her family time when she did remember it.

The Dantalion House is really blessed like this.

She had asked Merlin to take over the research and collect all the data from the Ten Tails, God Tree Mode and the Chakra Fruit.

"So, is it all as we had predicted?" I asked watching Merlin step away from the fruit.

"Yes, I couldn't find any fault from it. Can you?"

I touched the Chakra Fruit and my Essence of the Mad Doctor verified that it was extremely close to the real chakra fruit.

In fact it was much better than the original chakra fruit in terms of quality at least.

The Otsutsuki didn't eat the Chakra Fruit directly but rather made pills out of it before consumption. Honestly this reminded me of those cultivation novels.

The Chakra Fruit did contain the vitality of the beings it devoured but also their last bits of emotions which more often than not was malice.

I mean it would take a special grade of masochist to feel pleasure and gratefulness from having their life sucked out.

This malice would cause a massive change in the personality of the user if the chakra fruit is eaten directly.

I kinda know why Kaguya went all emo all of a sudden now.

That's what Merlin and I predicted before this project and Cleria made changes in her design of the Ten Tails to have it suck out the Malice and negative feelings to the Ten Tails itself.

Later it will condense another fruit containing all the negative emotions.

I will check if it works on the Ayakashi because they are literal creatures made up of negative emotions.

"Go on, eat it, Kuroka. I know you can't wait anymore. Consider this a gift for your next tail in advance. Go."

I looked over to Cleria who controlled the Ten Tails so that it didn't react violently if the Fruit was taken.

Kuroka went ahead with dazed eyes and touched the fruit. The behemoth shook for a moment before Cleria used her Annihilation Maker to control it once more.

She plucked the fruit and took a bite from it and I erected a barrier in between us.

A massive wave of chakra or natural energy to be precise erupted from her.

She shouted, not in pain but in pleasure as it revolved around her in a whirlwind, increasing in speed with time.

Then it happened. She arched slightly as she was lifted from the ground, three tails popped out from her back right beside the previous two, making for a total of five tails.

Her energy rose sharply and stopped when she was stably in the mid Ultimate Class. That said, the qualitative change in her power was massive.

Her power was far, far denser than before and natural energy almost danced around her, shaking at her every move.

Did the Chakra Fruit increase her affinity with Natural Energy?

The energy around her calmed down slightly and her body was lowered slowly to the ground. I caught her.

Looks like she fainted.

I also sensed a faint smell. I looked at her glazed look and then the source of the smell.

She had an orgasm.

….

A snap of my finger cleaned the girl before she could be embarrassed in front of others.

She was completely out of it to notice though so I brought her out to let her sleep for a while and rest.

"That was quite amazing. I'll be honest, I knew that this could work theoretically but I had no high hopes for it. Good Job on that." Merlin said as he cast a few spells on Kuroka. "Hmm, increased energy levels, energy density, physical strengthening, higher cellular vitality, increased regeneration, high sensory reception, I'll have to check the extent of the increases along with the mental aspect later. There is also the increased control over Natural energy. The side effects of eating might be….pleasure filled euphoria. I'd take it any day. Congratulations, King. You just made something that would drive any and all Youkai to be your slaves for a bite. As for Kuroka, there are no other side effects from what I could say, not physically at least. We will have to check the mental part when she wakes up."

I nodded at the report.

It was basically what we had calculated.

- Scene Change –

Kuroka was mentally fit too.

There were no changes in personality either.

The overconfidence that she might have gotten due to becoming an Ultimate Class was very soon beaten out of her when she fought against Gretel as a test of her new powers.

The sheer ease with which Gretel handled her would probably keep her reminded why Gretel Lucifuge is the second strongest person in our entire group.

That said, Kuroka has gotten stronger. She had a slight bit of control issue after getting so much power in one go but she will get used to it soon.

Her reflexes had increased drastically and so did her Observation Haki.

Further checks showed that her body was changing and becoming stronger as the natural energy purified her body. Her regeneration was becoming stronger.

Sages were so strong because they were completely one with Nature.

The Natural Energy purified their bodies over and over till it was at its peak level and in case of Youkai, the level where another tail can grow again.

After all the tests, Kuroka was asked to sleep and rest again.

It was then that I got a message from Shirone.

"Dummy-samyaa Dummy-samyaa there is trouble. There is trouble here. Vi-samyaa is fighting with someone nyaa. Hurry up and help."

I stood up instantly on hearing her voice.

"Where are you?"

"I am at our place nyaa. Sean-samyaa sent me back with Mu-chan. He is with Vi-samyaa."

"I am coming there in a moment." I directly teleported to Kuroka's territory from our laboratory.

Shirone was standing outside the house and the gathering Youkai there.

They all turned towards me and took battle positions until Shirone rushed towards me and hugged me.

"Where are they?"

"That way nyaa. Mu-chan went there after sending me here nyaa." She pointed towards the general direction and I pushed my Observation Haki in the direction sensing the people.

There were around half a dozen high class people in the place apart from Vi, Musashi and Sean. Two devils with one at the Peak of High Class while the other at Mid Class and the others were all humans. The rest of the Humans were all weaker but still stronger than Mid Class.

"Stay here. I will take a look myself" I left a clone with her to protect her and rushed towards the place quickly.

It was a few kilometers away from where we were staying, towards forest covered areas around the edges of the town.

- Vienna Lucifer –

What the hell was up with these old coots?

Dummy was right. Old coots with mile long sticks up their asses were annoying to deal with.

She didn't understand what that meant. She did understand why Gretel had glared at him for whispering those words though.

There was a no cussing rule at home and no one defied the Maid of the House on this one.

She erected another ice wall to stop the fire attack on herself while the other girl hid behind her.

She thought of how this started in the first place.

She and Shirone had been out for inspection of the area because Kuroka wasn't here and she was very excited to be finally out in the open by herself.

It was during the walks that she found that there was an exorcist going around exorcising haunted houses. It was something about her being new to this area.

Shirone had wanted to impress her Onee-sama by investigating the exorcist and Vienna had taken it up just to kick some ass.

They had quickly started investigating like those awesome ninja manga that dummy had Alicia make. Being all super secretive and silent, she and Shirone found the location that the exorcist was hiding. Inside a shrine on the border of the forest, her observation haki had easily found the exorcist whose energy was a bit weird and both she and Shirone had decided to surround the exorcist from two ends so they separated and struck from the two ends of the shrine.

She drop kicked the door, sending it flying through the shrine while Shirone jumped through the window like an awesome ninja.

"Aha….your attacks end here, evil exorcist. No cutting down little Youkai and Ayakashi. We are here to stop you from hurting anyone else."

"Yes nyaa….we are….ah….umm….whatever Vi-samnyaa said nyaa."

It was after she had made her kickass entry that she noticed the exorcist. It was….a little girl with a patched up Shrine Maiden costume with her back against the wall. She had a paper talisman in her hand pointing at them although her hands were shivering with fear.

"Eh? Are you the exorcist nyaa? Onyee-sama told me that exorcists are scary looking people but you don't look scary nyaa."

While Shirone was speaking, Vienna looked over the room and saw the other parts of the room more clearly now that she had time.

The room was mostly empty and even broke but had recently been cleaned.

She saw the door crashed in the corner right over what looked like food on a piece of newspaper. Rice cakes. Only rice cakes and nothing else.

She looked around the room once more but couldn't find anything else there. It was the only room in the shrine so she was pretty sure that the exorcist couldn't hide the food anywhere else.

Suddenly she saw Shirone sniffing the air and then towards the exorcist.

"She smells like a Fallen Angel nyaa. Magari-sensei showed me how they smell." She pointed towards the girl.

It was then that Vienna realised what was wrong with her energy.

This girl was a Fallen Angel but not a full one. She was a half-human, probably just like her.

"I AM NOT A FALLEN ANGEL. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM."

Shirone stepped down a bit in shock at the frightened girl's sudden outburst and Vienna quickly stepped between them, hiding Shirone behind her.

It took Shirone a few moments to collect herself but she did and then pointed back to the girl shouting, "I AM NOT LYING NYAA. YOU TOTALLY SMELL LIKE A FALLEN ANGEL. DON'T TRY TO TRICK US NYAA. I AM VERY SMART."

Vienna saw the look in the girl's eyes and something pricked her heart. She knew that look. She couldn't remember from where but looking at the tears collect at the corner of her eyes, she put a hand on Shirone's shoulder. "Wait, Shirone. Let me ask her something first."

Shirone stopped and looked at her but then stepped back.

"You….I don't care if you are a fallen angel or an angel. Are you the one who has been exorcising and driving the Youkai and Ayakashi in this area from their homes?"

"Y-yes."

"See, she is a bad person. She was chasing the ayakashi out of their homes."

"Shh Shirone. Why?"

"I….I needed money. People hired me for exorcising their house of evil spirits. I did that and they paid me for the work."

"Why are you here? Where are your parents? Family?"

She saw the girl shrink on the mention of her Parents and then hate at the mention of her family.

The feeling in her heart got worse.

"I have no family." She said, her voice cold.

"I see. The Youkai and Ayakashi in this area are under the control of the Eastern Youkai faction of the Nura Clan. These Youkai and Ayakashi don't hurt people, just sometimes pull some pranks on them and scare them to gain energy sometimes. The overseer of this place takes care of any rogues themselves."

She saw the girl relaxing slightly and continued.

"I know your intentions were good so we will not do anything but you might actually seriously harm some innocent ayakashi this way. Please don't do this. If you need to work for food, I will ask the overseer of this place to give you something. Your race will not matter. She does not discriminate against any races." She saw the girl's eyes widening a little so she continued, "I am a half devil myself. I understand how people can treat half -blooded supernatural beings like us but the Overseer of this place is a bit annoying but kind person. She will not hurt you."

"Yes yes, my Onee-samya is very kind nyaa." Shirone chimed in from the side listening to the mention of Kuroka in the speech.

She saw the girl putting her hands down and heaved a breath.

It was at this moment that the girl in question lit the talisman and a bright light flashed in the whole room.

It blinded both her and Shirone.

She quickly spread her Observation Haki and covered Shirone in reflex.

By the time she was able to open her eyes, the girl was gone from the shrine. She was already outside and running into the forest.

Shirone rubbed her eyes and regained her vision quickly too.

"T-that exorcist was bad nyaa. Onee-samya was right. Exorcists are bad people nyaa. Let's go catch her Vi-samya." Shirone said, flailing her hands.

Vienna had thoughts of her own and chased behind the girl as well.

It was then that she heard a blast in the girl's direction.

Her Haki sensed around six people surrounding the girl. One of them was as strong as a High Class Devil, still a bit weaker than her.

She stopped for a moment and looked at Shirone as the girl stopped from the sound as well. "Shirone, go back to the main base and call Sean and Mu-chan. I will take a look and see what's going on. That girl….she was scared. There are other people surrounding her. I will go first and help the girl."

"B-but Vi-samya you can get hurt nyaa."

"We don't have time, Shirone. Hurry and bring me help. I am very strong. Quick."

The little Nekoshou looked a little hesitant but ran after giving her a nod.

"Are you sure about this Vienna?" Albion's voice came from her back.

"That girl looked very scared, Albion. It….it reminded me…." She stopped her words as she flew towards the area where the blast just came from.

"In that case, go. I will help you."

Albion didn't show himself anymore.

She flew over the area and stopped on the top of a tree looking at the area below.

A bald old man was standing in front of the girl who looked injured. One of the men was injured and being treated. "You should have died the same day your whore of a mother died by our hands."

Vienna froze for a moment.

Flashes of barely forgotten memories came back to the forefront of her mind. Her fists clenched tightly as she tried to work her Occlumency to keep her calm but it was like stopping a raging ocean with a thin plastic sheet.

The old man held the girl by her hair and lifted her up. She cried. He sneered and brought his face close to her and spoke, "No. Something like you should never have been born. Your filthy existence is a sin against nature itself."

The plastic sheet ripped and the raging torrent burst out like a tsunami.

"YOU GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF HER!"

She felt a wave of energy burst out of her while the old man was stunned enough to let go of the girl and snapped his neck in her direction.

The men except the old one all fell down one by one but Vienna wasn't paying attention to those as she dived towards the old man, her hands coated with Armament Haki.

The old man, while shocked, quickly regained his bearing and threw a talisman which was able to cover his escape.

The talisman burst out but this time Vienna had already shut her eyes and used her Observation to head forwards.

She sent a volley of ice spears towards the old man's retreat path while covering the girl behind her back.

The man blocked the spears with another one of those talismans but one of them grazed his knee and he stumbled and fell behind.

Vienna took this moment to send another barrage of ice needles towards all the attackers.

Gretel had said to concentrate on the fight till the enemies were dead or incapable of doing anything. Merlin had taught her the same.

Vienna had learned to know that if those two agree on something, it's probably true.

"Hurry, go towards the town. I will block them for now."

Vienna said as she erected an ice wall around the people. She didn't know who these people were but they seemed to be from this country. It could be troublesome for Kuroka if she killed them after attacking first.

The girl however was stunned and frozen in place.

Vienna couldn't help but get a bit irritated, "Hurry up and run. What are you waiting for?"

The girl shook awake from the voice and looked at her. "Why?"

….

Vienna's hands clenched as she recalled the moment when she had asked Dummy this same thing.

Did someone like her even deserve to live?

Was she a mistake that shouldn't have been born?

Would her mama be alive if she wasn't born?

Did they hate her for being born?

Dummy's face and words that day would forever remain engraved in her heart.

"Because being born is not a sin."

'If your birth was a mistake, then mine would have been the sign of the apocalypse itself. Does that mean I shouldn't have been born? Do you hate me for it Vi?'

The girl's eyes widened as she registered the words and then her eyes were filled with tears.

She remembered that she had hugged Dummy and cried till she had fallen asleep.

She then looked in front of her as the people had regained consciousness and thrown several talismans around the area blocking the escape routes.

She raised several ice walls to surround the two of them and that's why they were stuck in this situation.

She just hoped that Shirone would get back with help sooner.

"Colluding with the devils now? Just when I thought you couldn't fall any lower." The old man stood up, his shoulder and the side of his face injured from the needles.

Things got worse when two more people came in with strength equal to High Class Levels.

"Very well then, first I will burn this insolent cur in front of you….just like your mother and then drag you to face justice."

The men attacked the ice wall as the old man started chanting a high level spell and sent a huge fireball towards the ice wall.

That would be dangerous. She couldn't hold back anymore.

"Do it, Albion. I need your help now."

'DIVIDE'

The enormous fireball was reduced to half the size while Vienna felt herself fill up with energy. She pushed more demonic power into the ice wall and faced the blast head on.

"Those accursed wings. Such a horrible existence. She should be wiped out in the bud. All of you, attack with me."

The old men got together to chant another spell while one of them rushed with his katana to strike the ice wall only to be stopped by a spear running through his head and right through the ground in front.

The atmosphere went still at the sudden death.

"There once was an old fool."

"Doing things totally uncool."

"He barked like a cur, with a matching temper."

"I for once…. wanted to let loose."

She saw the owner of the spear walk in and pull out the spear from the dead guy's head.

The old man broke out of his shock and looked at Sean.

"Who are you? Name yourself before you die." He growled.

Vienna chuckled in her mind.

Killing Sean?

Yeah….she couldn't beat this beast of a guy even with Albion and he was just using a normal spear.

His skill at using the weapon and runes along with it were legendary.

He was also among those who had picked up the Haki teachings, the fastest only rivaled by Mu-chan.

"Me? First name Mario, last name Mario." He spun his spear and shook off the blood on the blade of the spear. "Mario Mario."[AN: Wink Wink]

He turned towards her and looked at the girl behind her.

"What kind of mess did you jump into this time Shorty? The Boss or even worse the Boss Lady would flay me alive if you got hurt. So, get out. I will cover you."

Vienna stood up in front of the girl and stared back at Sean, "I will not leave her."

He quietly looked at her and then the girl behind her and went silent for a few moments before sighing lightly. "I don't get paid enough for this. Next time I will put the babysitting duty on Mu-chan."

"Hah….who needs your help? I could beat them up all by myself."

"Why are you even doing that? Who is this girl?"

"She's….she's…." suddenly Vienna turned back and remembered that she hadn't asked for the girl's name. "What was your name again?"

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HER NAME!" Sean shouted.

"Why would you need to know someone's name to help them?" Vienna replied.

….

"Point."

The girl slowly whispered, "Akeno. My name is Akeno Himejima."

"Oh, nice name."

They couldn't talk for much longer as the men who had fainted had regained consciousness by now and raced towards them.

Sean flashed in between two of them and with a single strike, pierced the throat of one of the men and the heart of another. He then dodged the katana of a third and kicked him in the knees to make him lose his balance before striking his forehead with the butt of the spear, knocking him completely out cold.

Vienna shot a massive barrage of icicles towards the group who protected themselves again with those damn talismans.

One of them started chanting while another one held the barrier. The third started setting up more talismans to trap them all only for there to be a flash and the talismans surrounding the areas were sliced clean off.

Two more men fell to the ground, their throats slit as Mu-chan stood in between them, her hands holding two katanas.

"Are you hurt, Vi-chan?"

"Umm, I am fine Mu-chan. Let's kick their asses. These bullies were attacking her."

The old men also got more backup.

Two more people of High Class came and joined the group with several more mid class ones.

"This is getting more annoying. Did you call for backup?" Sean asked Mu-chan who nodded.

"Shirone is collecting a bunch of Youkai and Ayakashi and will be arriving here soon. I had no idea how many enemies or how strong the enemies would be before I arrived. At best we need to hold them back for a while."

"Hmm, sounds good."

"Well, cover the base. I'll thin their numbers. I don't know any defensive spells."

"Sure, got ya."

Mu-chan vanished in a burst of speed while Sean started writing runes in the air around the area they stood, making a protective shield.

"Shorty, hold them off for an attack."

"Sure."

The man who was chanting completed the spell while the one preparing the talisman attacked with it.

Mu-chan cut the talismans before they could do anything before flashing behind one of the stronger ones who had his throat cut open too.

"Haruma!" the old coot who was casting the spell shouted and released the spell towards them.

"Vienna be careful, those flames are of purifying nature. They will hurt you even if they cannot kill you." Albion warned quickly.

He fired a massive fireball in her direction.

Vienna put her full strength behind her Ice Wall.

The fireball took the shape of a bird and crashed into the wall.

'Divide.'

It hurt.

The magic power flowed into her and she pushed it all into the ice wall.

The temperature of the place rose and she felt herself slowly losing her grip. Sean was busy setting the runes up and couldn't be disturbed at all.

"DIE YOU FILTHY ABOMINATION. YOUR KIND SHOULD JUST DIE."

She was pushed back slightly.

Suddenly she felt a talisman knock on the fireball before being quickly burned.

The girl behind her was throwing talismans too.

She had her eyes red with tears but she kept using whatever she could to hold off the attack.

Vienna felt her anger erupt once more.

"SHUT YOUR TRAP, YOU OLD COOT."

The fire pushed back once more as the other old man joined in. Mu-chan was cutting people on their side up one after other while trying to block any going towards Sean.

Sean looked like he was going to drop the runes and come to her rescue but she signaled him not to.

And then….it went completely white. She heard Albion's voice in her ears and a smile rose on her face.

"BALANCE BREAKER."

A pillar of light erupted from her body.

'Divide' 'Divide' 'Divide' 'Divide' 'Divide'

The fireball shrunk to almost nothing.

The crowd gasped as Vienna rose from the wreckage, blue wings shining behind her white armoured body. Divine Dividing Scale Mail.

She felt herself fill up with magic instantly and waved her hands, completely freezing the feet of the attackers. Only the stronger ones had somehow dodged but even they were not unscathed as Mu-chan took the opportunity to cleave off the hand of one and slice the eye of another before retreating back.

Sean completed his barrier too.

The old coots seemed to have realised that they were at a disadvantage and backed away into a defensive position while glaring at her group.

"Well colour me impressed, Shorty. You really pulled through. I was prepared to dive in at any moment but you surprised me. Congratulations on getting Balance Breaker."

"Congratulations Vi-chan."

"Congratulations Vienna. I believe you have taken another step to mastering my power." Albion's voice sounded too.

"Now how about we clean up some trash?" Sean said looking at the people who looked at us alertly.

They were about to start the fight when they felt two presences coming towards the area.

A strong one, almost as strong as Sean, while the other was much weaker, around the same level as Akeno.

Both the groups stood aside to see if they were a friend or a foe.

The wait ended when two figures arrived from between the trees. An old gentleman and a young girl with crimson hair and turquoise eyes.

The old man's eyes widened when he looked at her, or more precisely, her armour and wings.

The girl on the other hand was looking at her with starry eyes.

"And who might you be? A friend of theirs?" Sean asked.

"Ah, where are my manners? My name is Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, a peerage member of Lord Zeoticus Gremory and this is our young Lady, Miss Rias Gremory, heiress to the House of Gremory. We heard some explosions in the area and came to see what was happening. Could any of you fill us in?"

"Those old bastards were attacking Akeno over here so I beat them. They wanted to kill me so we fought. They were just too weak."

"Vi-chan, language."

"Ah….sorry."

"So this fight is over, that young miss over there. Say, if you don't mind, could I suggest a solution?" he looked at the old coots and said.

"Hngh what solution?"

"It seems that you do not want that girl? How about we offer to take her under the protection of Lord Gremory. She will never appear in front of you again."

The old coots looked at each other and then back and nodded.

"As long as she doesn't appear in front of us, we don't care if she lives or dies. You can take her."

And that's when Vienna snapped, "Oye old fart. And please don't remind me of language for now Mu-chan. This stupid prick thinks he can just walk in and sell Akeno over to whoever he likes, like her life was ever in his control. Well get a reality check dumbass, it's not. Akeno here is with us now.

She is under our protection and we ain't need nobody to protect her."

"So you people are friends. In that case, I can offer the same offer to you all. I assure you that you will be taken care of well. The Gremorys are very kind to their servants."

Vienna looked at the dumbass blankly. "Not interested."

"I'll pass." Sean answered.

"I have a master." Mu-chan answered as well.

The little girl looked a little disappointed but didn't say anything.

"What do you say Akeno? Do you want to join us?" she looked at the now confused girl.

"Please reconsider this Miss. I know you people are strong but someone of your strength and talent and being the host of the White Dragon Emperor on top of that will have many people coming after you. The House of Gremory can protect you from it. Miss Rias is the younger sister of Satan Lucifer. We can help you."

….

Vienna looked at Sean who smirked and Mu-chan who shook her head with a wry smile on her face.

This idiot.

He was baiting her with the Lucifer name of all things.

"Hoh….that's an interesting offer, I hear. However I'll deny it in her place. My Vi is too cute to be anyone's servant." She heard a very familiar voice and turned back.

A smile lit her face as she saw the man approaching her.

- Damien –

To think it would be this scene. How did this happen in this place all of a sudden?

It wasn't hard to guess the identities of the people even without the names just mentioned now.

And to think this guy would have the audacity to invite my Vi to be a servant….servant…. and that too with the Lucifer name.

For a moment, I wanted to rip his neck off but then I ignored it.

It was like watching a monkey dance around without realising its position.

The two girls were looking at me with dazed eyes and light blushes on their faces.

I was not under an illusion. My passive charm was working unfiltered. Vienna and others might have gotten used to it but these girls hadn't.

Vienna had fought and shown her Sacred Gear. Her appearance was already recognized by everyone. If those bastards tried, it wouldn't be hard to guess her identity and thus the fact that we were also somehow alive.

The only way to avoid that would be to kill every one of the outsiders here and silence them. That however would cause a massive shitstorm that was not worth the effort.

I let out a sigh mentally at the mess this situation was.

"DUMMY!" Vienna shouted and shot towards me.

She attained her Balance Breaker.

That's something good that came out of this farce at least.

"Bossman." Sean nodded towards me.

"Master." Musashi bowed to me.

"So….what's going on here? I was informed that Vienna was fighting with someone and that she was in danger? Would you care to elaborate?"

"DUMMY, LISTEN TO ME FIRST. Those old ba….I mean old guys were attacking Akeno-chan here. They even killed her mother because she was a half-fallen angel and said that she didn't deserve to live, that she was a mistake, a sin. So I went ahead and beat them up but then they said the same thing about me and attacked. We fought and we were about to beat them up once more when these two came and were asking me to be a servant to listen to this….a servant to the little sister of Lucifer. Hahahaha that guy is so dumb." She looked at me as if wanting praise.

I breathed in deeply before I flicked her forehead sharply. Her armour cracked before dispersing.

"I heard that you went to investigate the exorcist in the town alone."

"I didn't go alone. I had…." She became quiet when she remembered her doings.

"Yes yes. My apologies, you were not alone. You had a ten year old with you. Really Vienna. That was extremely reckless. You could have gotten hurt if they weren't keeping an eye on you….or worse….killed. Do you realise what that would have meant? What if you had encountered someone dangerous and way above your level? You were the elder one. You had to take care of her too. Do you understand what I am saying?"

She calmed down instantly and looked down, completely downcast. It hurt to just see her eyes like that.

"Then do you have anything to say?" I repeated.

"I'm sorry." She whispered softly.

And that's when someone interrupted me.

"Hey don't be mean to her. She was trying to help the other girl. She's a hero. She is awesome." The crimson haired girl looked at me with a pout and her hands on her waist.

….

The scene was so out of place that everyone was stunned into silence once more.

"HEY DON'T INSULT DUMMY…." Vi almost burst out, furious.

I put a finger on her lips, shutting her up and looked at the surprised girl.

"I know." I replied calmly.

"Huh?" The girl was taken aback.

"I know that she is awesome. She has been awesome since the day she was born and I know it more than anyone else in this world. She doesn't need to prove it to anyone, let alone me. That's why when I see her being reckless sometimes I feel I need to show her the error of her ways. I don't want her to regret something later on. After all, she is my family. Thank you for standing up for Vi. You are a very kind girl, Princess." I smiled at the girl.

The girl became quiet and blushed the colour of her hair.

I gently patted Vienna's head.

It wouldn't do to praise her first or she would take this kind of thing for a game. She needs to understand the consequences of her actions.

Now for the next part.

"Vi, you are very brave for saving the girl. I heard how you actually stopped and talked to her instead of just starting to fight at the very start. I am proud of you for doing what you thought was right. You were awesome Vi." She lifted her head and hugged me.

She hugged me tightly for a moment before separating.

I turned towards the rest. "Now, would you tell me what you all are doing here?"

The Gremory servant spoke up. "We came here to investigate the fight." His voice was much more restrained now. Perhaps because of Sean and Musashi calling me Boss and Master respectively.

I raised an eyebrow.

"This territory is under the Gremory."

"Correction. This territory is under the Eastern Youkai Faction under Nurarihyon. The Gremory Territory ends 2 kilometres away from this place." I narrowed my eyes.

I saw the eyes of the people from the Himejima clan and they were looking at him in hope.

Oh….now that's interesting.

The girl on the other hand looked surprised by the reveal.

She genuinely didn't know that this wasn't Gremory territory.

"Ah, I must have missed that. We were on our way to meet the Youkai Chief of this area, Lord Hihi and introduce Miss Rias to him and show Miss Rias around the area. We were invited a week ago."

The surprise in Rias' eyes was enough to reveal the truth even if I didn't already know this.

"Oh….that's surprising." I narrowed my eyes. "After all, Lord Hihi passed away three weeks ago. This area now has a new leader and I am pretty sure that she hasn't invited anyone. How surprising?"

His eyes widened and he looked caught off guard but for a moment before he schooled his expressions quickly. "That's….we had no idea. How did this happen?"

"This was three weeks ago in the attack from the Shikoku Youkai. This town was given to its new owner after that as a reward to look over. Let's come to this discussion later. You seem to be quite….misinformed about the current events it seems."

I turned towards the Himejima clan members, an older one to be precise. "Now, please correct me if I am wrong but you people invaded this territory, unannounced, uninvited, correct?"

"And who are you to ask anything of us." One of the younger ones finally couldn't resist and snapped at me.

BOOOOOOOM!

A blast of Conqueror's Haki focused on him and he lost consciousness, foaming at the mouth.

Every one of them took a step back in surprise.

"Oh my, how uncouth. Do you not know that it is bad manners to interrupt people when they are talking? Be quiet." I turned towards the frozen members. "So, where was I? Ah, yes. You came to this place, uninvited and unannounced and caused a fight here, am I correct?" I continued in an even tone.

"W-we were here to take the girl away. She belongs to the Himejima Clan." He started blabbering, gaining confidence along the way.

"Oh is that so? And yet you attacked and tried to kill her."

"It is a matter of the Himejima Clan. You don't have a say in this outsider."

"I do believe I had a say in it the moment you attacked my sister."

"She attacked us first."

"As was her right as one of the people protecting this place. You did invade like little thieves after all. And as for being a family goes on, I believe her mother is dead. She has nothing to do with your family now." I turned towards Akeno. "Look at me Miss. Don't worry. I know this might be slightly painful for you but can you tell me your father's name?"

The Himejima idiots stiffened on that.

Akeno was both scared and angry when Vienna touched her shoulder and nodded to her.

She gritted her teeth and answered very softly, "Barakiel."

"Ah that bearded buffoon."

Jaws dropped on hearing my word but I continued.

"We if that's the case, then even if distant, you and I are also family ….technically. Don't worry Miss. Daddy issues are kinda my family theme. You'd be right at home." I turned towards the Himejima Clan members, "You see I do have the right to interfere in this."

"Y-you."

They knew that they were being pushed into a corner. Right now any fight would lead to their deaths. The Gremorys won't help. Too much is at stake already.

"But don't worry, I'll give you all a chance. My subordinates did kill a bunch of you. So let's make a deal, shall we?"

The crowd looked at me.

Akeno looked a little scared and I heard Vi whisper to her. "Don't worry. Dummy might be a dummy but my Dummy is the strongest Dummy there is. We'll win."

Controlling my lips from twitching, I looked towards the group and continued further, "I see that a dozen of your men died here, so I'll give you a dozen attacks. I will not move from this place, I will not retaliate against you and I will not receive help from them. If you can make me move even one step from this place or well kill me, you win. You get to decide what to do with the child. You fail to do so and you will turn back and leave, never interfering with her life ever again, directly or indirectly under the punishment of eternal servitude to her. Are we clear, if so do we have a Deal?"

I saw them looking at me in disbelief.

"Why should I trust you? You could always go back on your word and use this as an excuse to attack us." One of them called out to me.

"Oh, how suspicious. But don't worry. I do not lie….that's what humans do."

"Hey!" Sean cried out.

"What, you don't?" I raised an eyebrow.

"W-well we do but don't say it out loud."

"Whatever. Also, my word is my bond human. Or we can just leave our own merry ways? So what shall it be?"

"Deal." As soon as he said the words, talismans shot towards me.

It wasn't even able to get close to me before it was burned to ashes.

11 attacks left.

The three remaining ones took their stances and started chanting high level spells.

Vienna and Akeno stayed back and watched over me with worried eyes, one fearing for my health and the other probably her own.

Three gigantic fireballs with the power of High Class Devils shout out towards me but before they could even get close to me, they vanished.

8 attacks left.

I yawned.

- Rias Gremory –

Rias looked at the fireballs rushing towards the….cool and handsome looking boy and disappearing while he yawned.

She felt her blood rising to her cheeks as she saw him casually waving away attacks that could easily destroy her in a moment.

She was called here to see what was going on when Agrippa got the information about a fight going on here. She hadn't expected the scene to be what it was.

A girl in white armour and awesome blue wings stood in the sky and two others were against some old guys who were definitely the villains.

The White Dragon Empress.

She was right as the girl was trying to protect another girl who looked scared and injured sitting on the ground.

She would say that she was a bit disappointed when the girl had rejected an offer to join their family but didn't mind it. After all, they might have a family of their own.

She was a bit confused by the expressions on their faces when Agrippa talked about her brother though. Generally people were awed or even scared on hearing his name but they actually chuckled. It was mildly annoying but also intriguing.

People always flattered her for her family name and her brother's title. She hardly had any good friends which was why she wanted them to accept the offer so that she could at least have a few friends to play with. Sona was her only friend and she couldn't visit her often and Milicas was too young to even speak.

And that's when he arrived.

White hair and those blue eyes. She could feel herself blushing at the boy's face.

Her heartbeat rose and she almost missed the words of the girl.

That boy, Dummy? What kind of name was that? Was she mocking him? Ah, that was a nickname of sorts.

Then he scolded the girl and Rias felt anger. The girl was risking her life to save the other girl. She was so brave, a hero and he was scolding her so she couldn't control herself and shouted loudly at him.

Imagine her surprise when the girl herself retaliated.

But he then explained himself.

'She has been awesome since she was born, why does she need to prove that?'

'Thank you for standing up for her Princess.'

Rias has been called Princess and Heiress many times before this but this was probably the first time it felt so real and….cool.

And then he made that deal.

Attack after attack fell towards him but disappeared before they could even reach him.

The old guys were extremely angry and then the oldest one of them all brought out a scroll.

"You called for this Devil. This scroll contains the full powered attack of The Divine Beast, Suzaku which can burn all evil. Give up or I will be forced to use it."

Divine fire?

That's very dangerous for Devils.

Mother had taught her that Divine attacks are the most dangerous for her kind, even surpassing holy attributes.

She looked at the boy worriedly but saw him smiling brightly at the comments.

"Hoh no, I'll be fine I mean really....You're kind of weak."

The old man's face turned ugly.

"YOUR FUNERAL THEN."

She heard Agrippa step in front of her asking her to leave quickly as he started to summon a barrier circle before the spearman came in front of them.

"Let me help here."

He laid out a barrier of runes in front of them. Agrippa didn't comment but continued summoning his own barrier.

She felt goosebumps on her body and a severe chill ran down her spine as a massive bird of fire emerged from the scroll held by the four old men.

It screeched loudly and a wave passed around the area, scaring off anything that even came around the place.

She looked at the boy but saw him standing there completely unfazed.

The bird raced towards the boy. The trees in the surroundings burned away as it raced forward.

The heat was incredible.

It came quite close to the boy and then an incredible thing happened.

Everyone froze completely at the result of the attack.

….

He blew some air from his mouth and the bird disappeared.

Rias felt her mouth open in abject shock.

- Damien Lucifer –

Using a divine attribute against me and that too of the fire element?

What an idiot.

I looked at the gaping faces of disbelief as the Himejima clan members looked at me in abject horror.

"That level of attack….doesn't work on me."

Ah, Itachi….now I know how you felt.

I walked towards the old men who had fallen to the ground.

"Y-y-you….you are the Devil."

My lips curled up into a smile as I brought my face close to theirs.

"Exactly."

The old man just fainted.

I looked towards Sean. "Throw them out of the territory."

"Yes Boss."

I returned my gaze back towards Heinrich Agrippa and walked towards them.

He looked defensive but Sean was already beside him and he didn't have any other option.

I ignored him and walked straight to Rias and took her hand, kissing her knuckles slightly. She blushed furiously but didn't pull her hand away.

I took this opportunity to place a Binder's Mark on her.

After today, the current Government will be aware of us. I need to place some security measures.

"You were very brave today Princess. Trying to stop the fight and giving me enough time to reach here. I thank you for that." I gave her a smile.

She nodded her head twice, "I-it's alright. I just wanted to help them."

"And that's why I said you are kind. It was nice meeting you Princess. I hope we can meet again under some better circumstances maybe?"

She nodded her head.

It was then that Vienna kicked me in the shin.

"You are incorrigible Dummy. Flirting with her as soon as you meet her." She shouted with a pout.

"Huh?"

"Is it because she has bigger boobs?"

"Eh?" The girl in question blushed even more and took a peek at my face.

"I know you always take peeks at Gretel. Don't try to hide it from me!"

"What are you even talking about?" I asked surprised, not knowing the reason for her outburst.

"Don't deny it. Last night when she was serving you food and the day before that when she was making my hair. I saw it."

….

"And you are even going on a date with that thieving cat as a reward, and now her too. You are even calling her Princess. Where is my reward? I can use my Balance Breaker now. I want a reward too."

Ah….so she was jealous of Kuroka.

"Oh….Yes. I do believe that you deserve a reward."

"I know."

"So let's decide when we return home."

"Really?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

She hugged me and I saw her giving a smug look at Rias who pouted only for her to mouth the words, "Dummy likes me the most."

I shook my head.

"I will take my leave, Princess. See you later again. Goodbye."

I turned and walked towards the town.

"Wait….what's your name?" Rias called from behind me.

I saw Agrippa paying attention too.

"I think those old men already introduced me."

"Them? They only said 'you are the Devil'. I am also a Devil? That doesn't tell me anything." She tilted her head.

"Ah, but that's where you misunderstood Princess." I gave a feral smile towards Agrippa as twelve wings opened behind my back. "You are a devil, while I am 'The Devil'."

Vienna also let out her six wings with a humph and we took to the air under the amazed eyes of Rias and the horrified eyes of Agrippa.

"Oh by the way, I only have one sister and this is her." I pointed towards Vienna. "Do remember that the Lucifers didn't fight in the civil war and while I might detest the old warmongers, if Sirzechs or anyone push towards my sister again, I can remedy the situation very easily."

"T-that was not our intention." He quickly stuttered understanding the implications of his earlier words.

"I know that and thus you are standing here. Do pass on the message."

Vienna went and picked Akeno up while I nodded towards Sean and Musashi to follow.

The two devils went back towards their territory as well, the older one running away as soon as possible.

This was a huge mess.

I just left Vienna alone for a few hours to play with her friends.

- Interlude –

- Sirzechs –

He waited for his sweet little sister Rias and his father's servant Agrippa to arrive.

Ria-tan was possibly about to get her first member for her peerage and maybe a good lifelong friend.

When he had found out that the Himejima were contacting the Devils to give them the whereabouts of a Half Fallen Angel child, Barakiel's daughter to boot, he was taken aback for sure.

They had apparently killed her mother, a member of her clan for having a relation with the Fallen Angel Cadre.

He knew the amount of shitstorm that would cause if a Devil did something to her so he contacted Azazel personally.

He was informed that there might be some traitors in the Grigori who would want to harm the child because of her being half-human and with Barakiel always being busy as a cadre, her safety was not assured at Grigori. He then suggested that he could take the girl and have her become a part of his sister's peerage and he would explain to Barakiel himself.

They had discussed the finer points and he had agreed to it.

It was advantageous for both sides after all.

Maybe one day this girl might act as a bridge between the two factions.

The thoughts were quickly interrupted when he sensed the arrival of his sister.

"Ria-tan!" He went ahead and hugged the adorable ball of joy.

"Onii-sama. You are home."

"Yes, I got some free time so I came to meet my adorable Ria-tan. Father told me that you had an adventure? Will you tell me about it?"

She blushed. "A-ah yes. It was an adventure. It was totally awesome."

"Heh! So what was it? Did you meet someone?"

Her blush deepened and Sirzechs felt a bit weird as he looked at Argippa who had a tense look on his face. Did something happen?

Where was the girl?

Agrippa looked at Rias and he nodded slightly.

"Let's talk about it at dinner, Ria-tan. First take a bath and get cleaned up."

"Umm." She nodded and ran away towards her room.

Sirzechs quickly put a barrier as his father and mother along with Grayfia looked at Agrippa.

"Where is the girl, Agrippa? Did you not find her? Did those people back out on the deal?" he asked softly.

Agrippa had served the Gremory House for over four hundred years and his loyalty was no doubt unquestionable.

"This….Sir, some things came up. Really unexpected things."

"Oh? Is the girl safe?"

"We couldn't get her."

"Was she?"

"NO….no the child was safe. It's just that when we arrived there, the Himejima people were already fighting with someone who was protecting the girl."

"Oh."

"I-it was the White Dragon Empress."

Sirzechs straightened in his seat while the other three gasped.

"Please tell us everything in detail."

He nodded and started recounting the events of the day, "The girl seemed to have met a half-devil girl who fought against the Himejima Clan members along with her friends to protect her. The White Dragon Empress seemed to be very protective of her."

"Interesting. A half-devil is the White Dragon Empress? That's good news for our faction. Was she from any house? I am pretty sure that someone would have bragged about it. Even if she was a half devil, the White Dragon Emperor is someone who can change the standing of any house."

"I….I didn't know about it. She was under her Balance Breaker and protested to the girl being traded off like common goods. The girl herself seemed to be close to her. Her friends were also strong and in the fight before we reached there, a dozen members of the Himejima clan were already killed by the two friends. I would say that they were all around as strong as me or maybe a bit stronger though they did seem very young." He took a break, letting everyone process the information.

"Go on."

"Yes Sir. I offered them all asylum in the Gremory House, I apologise for speaking out of line on behalf of the Gremory House but they all seemed very talented and of good character because of how much they were doing for a Half Fallen Angel who could be their enemy."

His father waved it off, "Don't worry about it. You did the right thing. If they were unaffiliated, it would be a great boon for the Gremory House to have one of the Heavenly Dragons associated with us."

"Thank you Sir. She rejected however. I tried to explain to her that her life would be in danger if people found her and that we could help her. She could join Miss Rias' who is the younger sister of Lord Sirzechs Lucifer's peerage and will be protected and also provided with resources."

He started sweating.

Sirzechs waved it off. This much was nothing.

"And that's where I made a mistake, Sir."

"Oh?" Grayfia raised her eyebrows slightly at this bit of information.

"Another boy of around 14 years of age came at that time and rejected the offer. I felt my spine chill at the mere sight of the boy. He did nothing but all my experience begged me to be respectful towards him. I even checked if he was using any kind of magic but he wasn't. It was….it was like watching Lord Sirzechs when serious. The friends of the White Dragon Empress also addressed him as Master."

His eyes narrowed at the description but he didn't interrupt the story of Agrippa who seemed to be in a horrified daze as if remembering the situation.

"Did he do something towards…." His father asked.

"No Sir. He was quite polite but I think he figured out the situation instantly. The Himejima people couldn't guide the girl into the Gremory territory and were caught before that. We were in the Youkai territory so I had to make an excuse about visiting Lord Hihi, the overseer of the area."

"Lord Hihi is a kind man. He wouldn't mind such small things." His father reassured.

"Lord Hihi passed away Sir."

"What!"

"Lord Hihi passed away in the attack of the Shikoku Youkai, three weeks ago. There is a new overseer in the area who was rewarded this territory."

….

"I see."

"I am sorry Sir."

"Continue."

"The boy didn't call me out on my lie but dealt with the Himejima people. He managed to point out their fault of invading the area and thus justifying the attack of the White Dragon Empress whom he stated to be his younger sister. He also stated that the girl was 'distantly related to him, technically'."

An alarm bell rang in Sirzechs' mind at this.

"He then offered the Himejima clan members a chance to attack him once for each of their members killed without any kind of retaliation. If they could make him move from his place, he would offer the girl back, if not, they will all leave and forget about the girl and will not interfere in her life directly or indirectly from then on."

….

He took some water and drank while Sirzechs looked at the serious faces of all his family members.

"He….didn't move a single step from the place. Even when attacked by four high class Exorcists, even when they threatened to use a scroll with the Vermillion Bird's full powered attack, he merely smiled and said that he would be fine because….because they were weak."

"The Vermillion Bird's full powered attack is poisonous against Devils. It could vaporise even someone like me and grievously wound a Satan Class Devil. What happened?" His father asked urgently.

"He….he blew some air at it….and it dispersed."

….

"What?" Sirzechs got up and asked as if he had misheard something.

"He blew some air at it and it dispersed."

Sirzechs dropped all presences then and there.

"What was his name? How did he look? What did he say? Please don't miss a single thing Agrippa. This is very serious."

Agrippa seemed to understand it as well.

"He….he had silver white hair and blue eyes."

The worry and anxiousness appeared in his eyes as he looked at Grayfia who seemed to have caught it too.

"The White Dragon Empress called him….Dummy the entire time so I couldn't get his name. When Miss Rias…."

"What? What about Rias? Did he?"

"He didn't do anything unkind to Miss Rias, Sir. He first scolded his sister but Miss Rias had protested that she was only trying to help the girl and that she was brave. He had kindly explained that he already knew that his sister was brave but he didn't want her to regret any decision. He even thanked Miss Rias for standing up to him for his sister. When Miss Rias asked him name however and just because he was a devil didn't give her his identity, he replied, 'That's where you misunderstand me, Princess. You are a devil while I am 'The Devil' and that he had only one sister and that was the White Dragon Empress girl."

He heard the sharp breaths of his parents but continued to listen to Agrippa's story.

"He might have misunderstood that I was there for his sister too so he…."

A pit grew in Sirzechs' stomach. If the boy was who he said he was then a misunderstanding like that would be anything but simple. The Lucifer name still ran the underworld. Even in the Civil War, they had only won because the Lucifer House didn't participate at all. Now if…. "What did he say, please say every word clearly."

"Yes Sir. His exact words were, 'Do remember that the Lucifers didn't fight in the last war and while I might detest the old warmongers, if Sirzechs or anyone pushes towards my sister again, I can remedy the situation very easily.' That he knew this was a misunderstanding is the only reason he was letting this go."

"Sirzechs."

"I know, father." The Lucifer house had Rizevim.

Not much was known about Rizevim's son let alone this new devil.

"Anything to prove his claims of being who he said he was?" Grayfia asked and then Sirzechs remembered that there was not any complete evidence that he was who he said he was. It might be someone else disguised and pretending to be a Lucifer to push the other Devils away from the White Dragon Empress.

A hope rose in Sirzechs' heart but was crushed that quickly with Agrippa's next words.

"He had twelve wings, Ma'am."

He saw Grayfia's slightly open mouth. His parents had the same expression.

Multiple Wings on devils is a sign of the Satan Houses and the number of wings told the strength of the Devil. Twelve wings meant Satan Class at minimum.

While Satan Class was still not a very big worry for Sirzechs, the fact that it was a 14 year old who had these twelve wings and was a Lucifer on top of that was a serious matter.

"What about his sister?" His father asked and he too raised his head to listen to the answer.

"Six wings, Sir. She seemed to be around a year younger than Miss Rias."

A High Class Devil with a Longinus in a Balance Breaker. That would rival Ultimate Class Devils easily. This too at the age of eleven or twelve. Things just keep getting better.

"You said that he said something about detesting those warmongers?" His mother asked and he remembered this point too. "Elaborate on this."

"He seemed to be against the people of the Old Satan Faction if what I could gather from this. I do not know the reason but I can hazard a guess that it was because of his sister. The Old Satan Faction is a blood purist group."

"And to them a half devil would be considered a shame. There was already such drama with Merlin." His father sighed heavily, reminiscing.

"What did he look like?" His mother asked and Agrippa created a magic circle, making a three dimensional hologram of the boy.

Sirzechs felt a shiver run down his spine after looking at the face of the boy.

Grayfia stumbled slightly and his father dropped his drink. His mother was stunned into shock as well.

Poor Agrippa didn't even know what he was holding in his hands.

….

His father spoke after a minute of silence, catching his attention.

"Sirzechs, solve this misunderstanding as soon as possible. I don't know about Rizevim but if this person wants to cause trouble, it would be far more disastrous. His face alone would make more than half the Houses side with him without a moment of hesitation. He seemed reasonable enough from what Agrippa describes. Talk to him yourself. Also don't let anyone know of this. Especially not those old ones in the council. They would try to pull something and that would be…."

"I know, father. Agrippa, forget whatever happened today. Grayfia, contact Souji and ask him to assassinate the Himejima Clan members who were present there. Erase every possible evidence of this happening."

Satan Class Devils cannot be eliminated without anyone knowing and a child, a Lucifer at that. Even if it was not his style, Sirzechs would never bring the thought about eliminating the boy. The harm that would cause would be far beyond what the underworld could bear.

The tensions between the Reincarnated Devils and the pure blooded devils, the tensions caused by the Great King faction, had divided the Underworld in many parts. Such an action would be like throwing a lit match in oil.

"Send Mathers and Souji to find out about the location of this boy. If possible, contact him and be respectful."

"Yes my Lord." Grayfia teleported soon after.

Just when he thought he could spend some time with his adorable sister and his son, things went to hell.

Then again perhaps that was normal considering he lived in hell….and ruled it.

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