5 Chapter 5 : First Blood.

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Chapter 5 : First Blood.

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- Damien –

A year has passed. I celebrated my eleventh birthday a week ago and a lot has happened in this year.

I only have one Binder slot open right now and even that was only acquired a day ago.

The last year has been extremely eventful considering how much progress I have made in my goals, both in personal development as well as making a network.

Ophelia won me the lottery with the five girls in the party.

Each of the girls are a gem in their own right, whether it is with their connections or their own personal talents.

Helena Dantalion.

Dantalion was known as The Keeper of the Forbidden Library of Bibliotheca. A devil related to knowledge and that was for a certain reason.

The Dantalions held almost all the knowledge of hell except the most private secrets of a House. No one could claim to hand over that knowledge either.

It was bound by blood. The Head of the House can remove anyone of the blood from the list of the people allowed into their Library with a mere thought. They also removed any daughter or son married off to another family from this list so that others don't get access to their knowledge.

Now most would wonder why they don't just destroy the castle Dantalion and siege the library.

Well, it turns out that The Forbidden Library of Bibliotheca was an entirely separate dimension. The Dantalion House's Trait was an affinity for spatial magic. Their children could get into the dimension only when the path is shown by someone in their house and this secret is guarded with zeal.

To keep the knowledge close to their hearts is a saying that they have taken up to the T and this was proven to be a wise decision.

The Dantalions were one of the least affected Houses in both of the wars. In the Great War, they were kept back to provide help in logistics while in the Civil War, none of the sides dared to lay a finger on them fearing that they would side with the other side. This helped them remain neutral for a long time.

They did side with the current government but that was because the Civil War was leading the Devil Population to their end. Ultimately the Dantalions were a House that wanted the development of the Devil Race as a whole. A rarity that I have come to respect.

Helena Dantalion was a beautiful lady who looks to be in her early twenties with deep navy blue hair and similar coloured eyes and had the look of a refined lady of the nobility. She had a very calm and composed demeanor and high intellect which along with her access to the Forbidden Library made her one of the top most scholars in the world.

This has helped me immensely in my research with my Illusion Technique. I can now put Katerea under an Illusion within 12 seconds and that is when she has regularly been used as a practice dummy for me and has developed some semblance of resistance to normal illusions.

My masterpiece is different though. The longer someone is under its effect, the easier they will fall under it the next time because their energy gets used to the new pattern of flow and changing it becomes very difficult. A conditioned reflex of the body. So even if I remove someone from under the effect of the Illusion, the next time I can catch them much easier and faster too.

Helena's teachings on even normal elemental magic and their effects on the world as a whole was fascinating and although some of her theories are still ….well theories as they need enormous levels of powers and extreme Mastery to achieve, my powers and Essence of the Blank makes it easier for me.

She has made it a point to teach me about spatial magic even the special cases from the Dantalion House considering they have an affinity for space magic. This in turn enabled me to help teach Gretel the same and she could use it too considering that her father was a branch house member of the Dantalions. She had inherited her father's Trait instead of her mother's which was the reason why she had lesser Affinity in Ice Magic compared to a normal Lucifuge. That said there was a reason why Dantalion was called the Duke of the Devils.

Spatial Magic is pretty fucking insane if used properly.

I am actually stunned to see that it is a pretty underused class of magic except for out of battle teleportation and making pocket dimensions.

I estimate that if Gretel can reach her full potential with this type of magic then by her twenties, she will become a pseudo-Super Devil, something beyond a normal Satan Class but not yet a Super Devil Class. Although, I have prepared a last push for this as well."

- Flashback (Ten Months Ago) –

It happened two months after the party Ophelia had organized.

I was informed by Katerea that the meeting she had been trying to set had finally been decided. One of my targets was ready to meet me. The meeting was scheduled like the previous one but this one instead at a different site.

We had to improvise because ever since the last meeting, I sensed that I was being followed. I informed Katerea about it and it took me a few minutes to realize who they were when I described their appearances to her.

They were the lackeys of Euclid or rather the lackeys of Rizevim who controlled them through Euclid. Rizevim would never let any of these incompetent idiots anywhere near him.

Euclid was turning into a bigger pain in the neck with each passing day. He was going to die, that was for sure. I just won't be able to live with myself if I left him alive after all the suffering he had caused Gretel. I was even planning to bind him if possible to make any use of him till it was convenient for me. That bastard Euclid had continuously kept a constant distance from me. The previous measurements of my power reserves were now done by random people that were sent to check up on my health regularly and monitor my progress.

Still this was the limit. Sending people to spy on me.

I think that the last meeting might have been tracked somehow. It is not that we had lied and disappeared somewhere though.

It was a minor inconvenience though. I left a clone with Katerea while she invoked a barrier in the place. The aim of this action was to simply cover my demonic power which I used to put an illusion around myself and then jump behind them with a short range teleportation. The Illusion was to make me look like ….Rizevim and the barrier covered my clone and Katerea temporarily during the invocation for me to slip.

I slowly put the two of them in an illusion. The same one that I use on Katerea however this one will simply make them fail to notice me. I then scanned their bodies to check for any surveillance devices or spells. Finding nothing, I heaved a sigh of relief. If I had found something, I would have had to bind both of them till they could be disposed of without any suspicions towards me.

With a second illusion prepared to subdue them if necessary, I took a deep breath and prepared for the next part.

Time to play this out.

"How is the work progressing?" I tried to imitate Rizevim's look to the best of my ability. The 'Bewitching Voice' making it impossible for them to ignore me or notice anything awry.

The two for their part jumped back to a defensive position as quickly as possible, each ready to attack at the moment's notice.

"Keep your Demonic Powers under control. If they notice your presence, no matter the Demonic power you use will change your fates." I spoke casually all the while my eyes remained on my clone and Katerea.

"L-lord Rizevim." Stuttered the shorter one.

"How long have they been here?" I asked, remaining unphased.

The stooges collected themselves quite fast however. Perhaps they were not that incompetent after all. "About ten minutes ago My Lord."

"Have they met anyone in this time?"

"No My Lord."

I stayed silent for a few moments while looking at my clone and then turned towards the stooges, eyes bringing about all the seriousness I could, "I take it that you both are aware of the seriousness of the mission."

"Y-yes my Lord. We are to assess the motives of Lady Leviathan regarding the young Lord and find out what they are doing."

I nodded. "I hope you understand what would happen if you were to be discovered?" I however gave them no chance to reply and sighed. "To think that Katerea wouldn't even realize that she was being followed in all this time, just what have the descendants of the proud Leviathan come to?" I then looked at the two of them. My Observation Haki sensed their overflowing fear which had fluctuated with a tinge of disdain when I bad mouthed Katerea and went back to fear when I again looked back at them. "Or perhaps the two of you are much more competent than your age seems." Their emotions jumped to one of pride for an instant.

I then pretended to ponder for a moment and then looked at the two of them again, "Say…would the two of you like to work for me directly?" I found that the shorter one was happy while the taller one didn't show it directly. He was a little suspicious at the sudden offer. Nope that wouldn't do. I expanded my demonic power slowly to just expand the two of them. The Illusion helping me to disguise my presence and making it seem to them as if it was Rizevim's power instead of my own. "Or is that a No!?." I glared at the taller one who went completely white in the face. His suspicion completely drowned under the overwhelming fear.

"N-no my Lord. I-I accept." He stuttered while the other one nodded frantically.

"Then pledge your loyalty to me and in return I will let you live for this slight." I smiled just slightly, "Is that a Deal?"

"Y-yes My Lord, I Sectus Amon, swear my eternal and undying loyalty to you in body, mind, heart and soul." The taller one breathed heavily as the pressure kept increasing on them.

The other one, Aractus Shax soon followed and my smile widened.

Deal complete.

I looked at my two new thugs with a smile on my face. The idiots had sworn off their minds, hearts and souls as well. That made any conscious betrayals impossible.

The illusion dispersed and I again returned back to my true form. The two in front of me however didn't have any reaction to it. They were already completely loyal to me.

The Essence of the Broker is….broken as fuck.

"Who sent you and why?"

"Euclid Lucifuge to monitor you and find out if Katerea Leviathan was influencing you in any way."

"What would you do then?"

"We were to be called in front of Rizevim Livan Lucifer by Euclid and report that Katerea Leviathan was meeting with the members of the new Satans and bringing you to them to plan a coup in return for the Leviathan title."

….that….what the fuck?

"Who else is in on his plan?" I asked as hundreds of thoughts raced through my mind.

"When we were ordered, only he was present, my Lord."

"What do you mean 'when you were ordered'? Give me all the information you have." I asked impatiently.

"I have heard that Creuserey Asmodeus was also in on this plan. They were a bit wary of how close you were with Katerea Leviathan and wanted to spread suspicions about you."

"That does sound like something that Creuserey would do, Young Lord. As for Euclid, I can hazard a guess as well," Katerea's voice brought my attention to her, "but I assume that you already know the reason."

"Gretel." I whispered softly.

"To be honest Young Lord, you have been keeping her around yourself almost constantly," she said a little hesitatingly.

It is because Gretel has been forcing herself to overcome her fears. I don't want her to snap and break due to stress. She is making a lot of progress but the amount of stress that she is under is not something someone barely into their teenage years should have to bear though.

"And that has led to me being targeted by that piece of shit or rather you being targeted with me being discredited." I clenched my fists.

That said, what should I do now?

If they return, they will be expected to relay the false report which would get me restricted, if they don't, they will be marked as traitors and be killed. Not that I care about them but then why? Why do I have a bad feeling about all this? ….just what should I do?

"I can just kill them. I will say that I caught them following me and thought that they looked suspicious. Not that someone like Euclid can call me out or anything and Creuserey knows better than to say anything to me directly. He can only try to make moves in the background." Katerea offered.

I would consider it too but something….something didn't sit right here.

How could Euclid just make a plan like this? I know that the man is borderline crazy for Grayfia and now some of it is being transferred over to Gretel but….is it still crazy enough to actually come for me directly?

And not just me but even Katerea….no matter how I think, something is wrong here. After all….this plan didn't do anything but aggravate me and Katerea and at the very worst, it would make some people suspicious about Katerea. Not like anyone would dare to question the Leviathan about it.

Should I let this be as it is? Even if we get caught there is nothing that can be done to us and it would show that we were of no danger to Euclid if we could be targeted so easily.

But the actual question was….would it stop at that? Would Euclid try something else and if that could lead to more scrutiny on me. Even if we are not called out on it, they would still try to keep a closer eye on us.

I need more information.

"What would you have done if the two of you were caught spying on us?" I asked the two.

"We were told that we were to say that we came to keep guard on you two to keep you safe My Lord." answered Aractus. "And that we were told to stay hidden so as to not hinder your training." completed the second one.

"Do you know for sure that it was Creuserey Asmodeus who was with Euclid in this plan?"

The two looked at each other for a while and then answered, "We have heard this through rumors."

So not sure shot information here.

One last doubt I needed to clear, "Are any of your Houses involved with this?"

Aractus nodded while the other denied. Sectus continued, "My House is close to the Astaroth House and supports Ajuka Beelzebub. I joined the Old Satan Faction because I am from a Branch House and was promised the Head of the House position when we take control over the underworld's devils.

So the Shax were sided with whoever was making this plan.

I closed my eyes and reviewed all the facts that I had on my mind and ran through every possible situation that I could and thought of a plan to utilize this situation in the best possible way.

I brought out two pieces of parchment and made two contracts and then passed it off to the two of them to sign. "Read this and if you agree, sign it."

The two read the contract and signed it without any hesitation. The Essence of the Broker for the win any day.

I looked at Katerea and then back to the meeting place, "Call Shalba and ask him to verify that these two were sent by Euclid. If asked why, say that Euclid himself wasn't reachable. If I remember correctly, his lab has measures against communications. Record the conversation and when it is done, return. We will continue with the meeting."

And so we did. We waited for the other party to arrive and he did twenty minutes later. A boy who was barely 10 years old arrived with another Human magician and another Devil who I didn't have any idea about.

I looked at the boy who had black hair and was wearing glasses but those eyes hid ambition in them. I could sense his trepidation but he still held up despite this. This is the person I was looking for.

Georg Faust. The descendant of Faust, the Magician who had made a contract with Mephisto Pheles but more importantly for me….the wielder of the Longinus Dimension Lost.

The other two left the boy with us as they left. They were both Alicia's people and she had already made them sign the required contracts that would wipe their memories about anything to do with this deal as soon as they returned back home and forbid them to ever talk about it before then.

I had taken precautions for every step that I could think of.

Katerea took the initiative to talk while I merely watched. She had to assert that she was the one teaching here. "So you are the child who wanted to make a contract with us?" she asked imperiously to the little boy who looked a little nervous but nodded quickly.

"Why do you want to make a contract with me? You could have chosen anyone else, even your ancestor's benefactor, Mephisto Pheles?" she continued.

"T-they are not as strong as you. The Old Satans made the Devils and many magics to increase powers much faster than what the new ones do. I want that power."

"Proposing a deal are we?" she smiled and then looked towards me, "In that case Damien, you will take care of this deal."

I nodded in return. "So you want the magic of the Old Satans to increase your magic powers quickly?" I asked slowly.

"Yes. Any ritual or similar magic." He clarified.

There are several such magical rituals that I have read upon. It was also when I discovered there was a reason the Old Satans were hated so much. Sacrificial Rituals containing simple sacrifices from an animal to the blood of a virgin to even a newborn child. The horrors and sheer extent of human depravity that was written in those books almost made me puke if not for my Occlumency.

Those rituals were strictly banned right now and any devils found teaching them to humans are penalized heavily, although it is mostly reincarnated devils but this is a law that is followed quite strictly even for the pure blood devils. After all, the world already had more than enough with the Evil Piece System. If they added the rituals and soul based contracts again, it would surely lead to the other factions to target them aggressively.

Thus, the only place to acquire such rituals was….from the creators of the said rituals directly.

"I assume that you will arrange for the materials for the rituals on your own?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Very well. I can provide such rituals."

I felt his emotions bubble up in excitement when it suddenly calmed down a little and he reigned his expressions in quickly, although his true feelings were easy for me to see. "W-what do you want in return?" he asked slightly hesitantly.

"I want….ehh an artifact or item of my choice. Your ancestor is said to have many trinkets. I want an artifact of my choice from you." He raised an eyebrow but I changed the subject and directed him towards his desired rituals. Katerea had brought out the piece of paper and I brought out the contract. "But before that you should check the contract and see if it is acceptable." And pushed the books about rituals towards the other end of the table.

He quickly looked through the book and then back at me. After a few looks, he nodded and I passed the contract and he raised an eyebrow. "What is this?"

"A contract. It states that you will offer me an item or artifact of my choosing from you and that you cannot tell anyone about what happened in this deal. We don't want anyone to just search your mind and find out about it so after the deal is complete, you will forget everything about this meeting. If you don't remember, no one can find the information out of you so this is to protect both of us," he seemed a little reluctant at the memories part but I pushed on slightly. "After all, we wouldn't want any of the new Satan's people to find out about this deal, now do we?" I used my trump card. Fear.

And the result was expected. Trepidation flooded his emotions and he looked pale at the thought and then I took the opportunity to pull in a little. "If you don't have the memories, you can pretend that you were kidnapped and experimented on or even that someone is trying to frame you….however if you are caught with the memories….well I…." I let my words drift and watched the pale face of the boy all the while enjoying myself.

As expected this was too much for the inexperienced little kid and he folded in quite fast.

"I-I agree." He took the pen that I offered to him and signed the contract and I smiled inwardly. I had sensed the presence of his Sacred Gear already.

The deal was completed.

I got up from my seat and shook hands with the boy. "It was nice doing business with you. I hope that we can make more deals in the future. I will await it."

"Y-yes. Thank you very much." He hugged the book close to his chest and turned around walking out of the house.

Sensing that he was out of the range, I scanned the area for any spells, and upon finding nothing, I looked at Katerea and ordered, "Ask the person who will deliver him back to take away the book from him when he falls asleep. His memories of anything even remotely related to the deal will be removed in an hour."

She nodded and walked out. What? I had promised to offer the Ritual Books but nothing about not stealing them back.

With all this taken care of, I waited for Katerea to complete her work. She returned very soon.

Now onto the harder part.

I looked towards Sectus Amon and said, "I am sorry but for this plan to work, you will have to perish."

The power of the Essences showed when the man simply bowed and accepted it without a work.

I continued, "To make it seem real, attack me, but first attack Aractus. Just injure his arm with your House Trait."

He looked conflicted for a moment after which he steeled himself and brought out his demonic energy to attack me. The Poisonous Flames, a special trait of the House of Amon, flared and first burned Aractus' hand but before any flames could come out towards me, he was frozen into an icicle.

Well….what can I say? I have mastered the elemental magic to borderline Satan Class already.

"Young Lord?" Katerea was about to ask but hesitated. This was actually the first time I have killed something and despite being a devil, the remaining human parts of me from my previous life still wanted to vomit seeing the frozen countenance of the Amon Devil.

I pushed the memories out with my Occlumency. I still have work to do now. Time cannot be wasted as every instant counts.

"Katerea, put a barrier around us. Make it a strong one." I instructed.

She complied with it as soon as she regained her bearing and made a strong water based Barrier, a specialty of the Leviathan House.

I brought out a hand from inside the Barrier and used something that I hadn't had a chance to use at all. Something that I didn't even dare to train inside the Old Satan Factions hideout either.

The Reactor inside me worked full time as a ball of energy manifested in the space in front of us just outside the barrier.

"T-that…." Katerea stuttered. I however paid her no mind as I concentrated on the ball of energy. I had only seen this in videos and this was the first time I was even attempting to use it. Not that I didn't know the theory behind it.

It expanded quickly in size and soon there was a twenty meters big ball of….light in front of us. "Hold the barriers tight." I commanded and this time Aractus joined in on it too and slowly I exerted my control over the light. The ball was shaped into numerous spears of light and then with a simple wave of my hand, it rained.

Any Fallen or Angel would have laughed at the inefficient use of the light energy. This took a lot out of me but still….when considered that this was done by a Devil, the situation became just that much more incredulous.

The entire area was riddled with holes and explosions and while the other two were looking at the carnage, I kicked Aractus out.

Before he could even say anything, his body was pierced with several spears and was riddled with wounds all over.

Aractus Shax died.

Did I feel bad about killing them?

Yes….the human part of me was disgusted.

Did I feel regretful?

No….if things had been different, these idiots would have accused Katerea and me of being traitors and while that wouldn't have been completely incorrect….it was still them who made the first move.

"Young Lord!"

I dragged the pin-cushioned body of Aractus inside and ordered, "Blast the area with a high powered Demonic Powered attack to mix with the light magic. You discovered the two and they informed you that they were sent by Euclid. You verified this information. Sectus Amon however was plotting with the new Satans and had leaked the information about our meeting point to stray Fallen. We were ambushed and Sectus attacked Aractus and burned his arm but was killed before he could do anything to me. You then killed the rest of the Fallen with a high powered attack. You are to make sure that everyone! hears this as you then put the entire blame of this whole incident on Euclid for his incompetence that had caused the two of us and especially me to die. Then call out that he might be following Grayfia's footsteps and take this opportunity to bring Gretel under our supervision." My eyes grew colder with each world I spoke…. "If they are playing the blame game, then they should be prepared for it to. Make sure that you are as angry as you can be and create a scene that the entire faction watches."

I was barely holding back with Gretel suffering due to her request to not interfere and let her handle it and because I was going to bring us out of that hellhole sooner or later….but if he is targeting me directly….well all bets are off.

I looked towards the three pieces of parchments from the contracts made today.

The contracts had taken hold.

Georg Faust already had his sacred gear removed on my command and memories about it forgotten.

As for the contracts signed by the other two….they were made so that anyone who signs the contract apart from them, will gain all of their powers, even the clan traits in their entirety after their deaths. If they die before anyone could sign the contract, their powers will be stored in the contract itself.

The Broker Essence's powers depended on the words used to make the contract. The two were High Class Devils and while their powers were not much of a deal to me….it can still make someone like say….Vienna, more than double in power.

The Clan Traits were always a benefit too.

I wanted to add memories to this list too but Devils had hundreds of years of memories and people would die if bombarded with that much memory in an instant.

A two edged sword which can harm both sides. The worst part about the Broker Essence was that even I had to follow the conditions and I cannot put a mind control on someone or lie to someone about the conditions when I make them sign it. This also prevents me from making those I bind using The Binder's Essence to sign the contracts because they are in essence, being mind controlled. The Broker Essence however was different. Those two had literally sworn off their entire beings to me.

That was their reality.

There was no 'active' mind control involved.

Yes….the word active is the key here.

I could easily condition someone to make the deals without conditions.

I could even beat someone to submission and make them sign the deal. Blackmail was a fair deal too. The Essence was pretty fine with that because in all those cases….in a twisted kind of a way, the decision was still theirs. It was not like people didn't break down under torture. If they did, then it is their fault though.

We returned back to the Old Satan Faction's Headquarters and Katerea showed me that despite her imperious ways, she was still very similar to a normal woman.

And boy did she throw a tantrum to cause a scene.

Euclid never knew what hit him until it was too late.

- Scene Change -

Katerea walked into the base with her Demonic power flaring all over the place in an unrestrained fury.

Any no named mook who even sensed her approaching in the direction hurried away.

I merely followed her at a slight distance making sure I am not too far behind her.

Upon reaching the door to the place where Euclid normally sat, there was no waiting l, knocking or anything, a jet of highly compressed water cut through the door as she stepped into the place.

"What is the meaning of this Lady Leviathan!?" The pond scum shouted but Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned….(I did scorn her quite a bit in my free time) and now poor little Euclid was going to face all that wrath.

"No, you will tell me what you meant by sending spies after me!?" Katerea didn't back down either.

The attention that the place was getting by now was considerable. I mean you didn't walk with Satan Class powers flaring in the place full of Ultimate Class and Satan Class Devils and not expect no one to check.

Euclid frowned but replied frostily, "It was to protect the Young Lord. I thought you had already confirmed it."

"That I did but none of the reports ever said that one of them was sent to assassinate Damien and me!. He was colluding with the Fallen to ambush us!." And she dropped the bomb stunning Euclid completely.

"What?" he whispered.

"Sectus Amon was a spy!. If you hire someone to a job as important as guarding Damien, at least make sure that you check their backgrounds!. The Amons have been the greatest allies of the Fake Beelzebub's family. He might have been colluding with them. We were trying to keep the Young Lord's existence a secret until he was strong enough but You!… You had to go and assign a traitor of all people to guard Damien!. Are you out of your damned mind!?"

The bastard still looked shocked, "What?"

I decided to intervene. A few words from the 'innocent' me would give weight to Katerea's statements.

"Sectus Amon attacked us at the same time the Fallen's ambush started. His Poisonous Flames burned Aractus' arm and was heading towards me before I had to kill him. Aractus however didn't survive as he was caught off guard and was struck with light spears all over his body." I brought out the bodies of the two from my pocket dimension.

The still frozen body of Sectus and the pin-cushioned body of Aractus with a burned and rotting arm.

"Nooo my son!." another voice joined.

It was Lord Shax I think. I could care less however. This bastard was in on it too.

I continued, "Lady Leviathan's barrier saved us but Aractus had been disoriented from being burned and had fallen into the shower of light spears." I pointed out the wounds. No one can claim anything otherwise because both the Poisonous Flames and the Light magic had a unique aura to it.

I turned towards the now grieving Lord Shax and apologized for not being able to save his son.

….appearances are always helpful.

Shalba and Creuserey had arrived at the place too.

I immediately used my Observation Haki on the two and saw that the two were also just that surprised at the scene. I decided to observe the scene from the side.

"Katerea, what is going on here?" Shalba tried to mediate.

"Why don't you ask that to the person who assigned a traitor to guard Damien and me. We barely survived death just now." She growled, making the man recoil in fear. She then turned towards Euclid and continued, "Tell me, has that been your plan from the beginning? Assassinate me? Betray us?...Just like your sister." Euclid's power flared and I could see him clenching his hands tight. "After that the bitch even had the gall to fight for the title of Leviathan against the Fake. Tell me something Euclid, are you colluding with the Fake's Whore, that sister of yours?"

"Katerea!." He barked as a silver magic circle started to light up….but it was instantly dispersed by the sound of a clap.

Enough power to suffocate everyone present was released and I found myself hard to stay on my feet.

"Now….we don't need another Civil War among ourselves do we? We have more than enough people for that already, so calm down." No one needed to turn back to know who was talking but they did still.

Rizevim Livian Lucifer walked down with his sarcastic self and that condescending gaze on everyone.

"Calm down Katerea. This incident, I am afraid, was my own doing." And even Katerea jerked at that. "You see, I was curious. Curious as to how Damien's studies were progressing." He put his hand on my head and caressed my hair while I pushed my Occlumency to my limits to not give away any expression that might suggest anything to bring his suspicion towards me. "Damien has been progressing very quickly in his magic studies but….a real life experience was necessary." He bowed towards me looking me directly in my eye and continued, "Devils are cruel beings, beings to evil. They do many unspeakable things Damien because….that is what they are. To survive and stand at the top of such beings, you have to become crueler than them all. An assassin to kill you was a test of your resolve. To see if you could handle yourself in a fight or would you stutter and hesitate. If you failed….very sad but hesitation is not worthy of the Lucifer name. Katerea was chosen because she is extremely experienced and would help you survive and also because you trust her as a teacher." and he then turned towards the frozen statue, "and I see that you have done a very fine job at it, killed in a single attack. No hesitation was shown…. extremely worthy of the Lucifer name."

Somehow every word he spoke made my skin crawl with disgust but the Occlumency was helping me keep my calm and maintain a neutral expression.

Unminding of my reaction, he turned towards Katerea, "Well, Katerea….how did you like my prank." He smiled jokingly but no one here wanted to refute. Survival instincts sharpened through centuries of experience wasn't needed to know what would happen if anyone dared to refute. "Ahh, I see that you are upset….so why don't you take some rest for now. Relax and chill out. See even little Damien here deserves some reward for such a spectacular performance. Euclid, send your little sister along with them. She is Damien's playmate right?. Uyahahahaha….has Damien decided to choose her as his aide?" He looked at me and laughed. "Oya Oya….has that really been the case, and here I was just joking. Sure sure. As a reward for the first blood, Damien Lucifer now has an aide of his own in Gretel Lucifuge. Clap everyone." He looked around to see the stunned faces of the people, "What's this….little Damien just got his aide and no one is happy. Ahh, don't worry Damien, I will clap for you even if they don't." and clap he did.

The others regained their bearings soon enough and started clapping together.

Even the Shax had joined in though one only needed to see their faces to know their true feelings.

It was at that instant that I realized just what kind of a being Rizevim Livian Lucifer was – He was a cruel and remorseless bastard with not a shred of positive feeling who relishes in the pain of others.

This man was a master of psychological torture and manipulation, knowing just what string to pull and what button to press to get a certain reaction from anyone.

Devils bear dissension.

Rizevim Livian Lucifer was a living, breathing example of this.

I could feel the palpable rage of Euclid as he looked at me maintaining a neutral face.

The anger and the utter humiliation that Lord Shax hid inside himself as he clapped along. This plan was supposed to change their stance from Rizevim's side to mine after losing their child. Now I doubt that it will ever happen.

The moment that I had thought to turn the suspicions of Euclid and his side to get some scrutiny from me was completely overturned with a few words. A certain win to my side was changed to a begrudging draw which has gained me enemies instead.

Shalba and Creuserey looked almost lost solidifying my previous feeling that the Asmodeus was not involved in this.

I stood there among the claps of the devils in presence of two dead bodies and a family of grieving relatives thinking about the repercussions of this incident.

- End of the Flashback –

That was the first true encounter between me and Rizevim Livan Lucifer ever.

That was over ten months ago and while I did get Gretel out and officially as my aide, things had somehow become even more tense as if it was even possible.

I had gained a top tier Longinus, one of the four World Ending ones, The Fog of Extinction, the Dimension Lost as a result of all that.

Dimension Lost was so important because it solved so many of my problems after we left. Making an isolated dimension to stay, run away from any battle and hide, a threat to keep dangerous people away….but the most important one is that it will be the last push to help Gretel enter the levels of a Super Devil.

The strongest space type sacred gear with a pseudo-Super Devil specializing in space magic and add on to that the Dantalion's space affinity.

Being a one trick pony can be dangerous but Gretel was bordering on Ultimate Class in other magic as well. That said, if one skill is practiced beyond the limits that were initially perceived by people, one can become something beyond the comprehension of people and enter the realm of monsters….become a Super Devil.

Sirzechs Lucifer is one such monster too.

The fact that despite the existence of Ajuka and Rizevim, he is still called the Strongest Devil in existence alone is a proof of this fact.

I want my Gretel to be someone of that level.

That said not everything was sunshine and butterflies since the incident.

Ophelia was ordered to keep me away from Katerea more often now to increase the brainwashing. Fortunately Gretel accompanied me for this as well.

I was now being slowly distanced from Katerea and while we still met quite often, it was significantly lesser than previously.

During my visits to Ophelia, I even got a chance to meet the two Nekoshou sisters.

Kuroka and Shirone had been saved by Ophelia. The scumbag of a scientist who was their father had an unfortunate accident. I found out that their mother had passed away while she worked in the branch house of Naberius. The two were barely scraping by each day and so when Ophelia had offered them a job, the elder of the two had jumped at the chance to take it.

Kuroka was much different from what I had read in the light novels or seen in the anime. She was still just as loving towards her little sister but much more cheerful.

She reminded me of Vi with how cheeky she was at times. Although there was a hint of maturity in her eyes due to her taking care of herself and her little sister. The weight of responsibility made her mature quicker. Ophelia was personally teaching them both with assistance from Victoria. I had specially asked her to not recruit any of them into peerages. While becoming a devil would no doubt boost their powers, it will also bind them to the current government.

As long as they are not devils, they are outside the jurisdiction of the current government and can be free whenever they want.

As for powering them up….I was looking into something of my own for that.

Shirone….is a bundle of joy. She is exactly like Vi. The trauma must have hit her really hard if she had been reduced to….to that thing, a puppet with muted emotions. Looking at the current Shirone who was as bright as the morning sun, it was hard to imagine.

Kuroka was of Vi's age while Shirone was five years old right now.

I had taken the opportunity to Bind both of them.

Kuroka had been over the moon when she had heard the powers that she would get from the bindings.

Apparently she was developing an inferiority complex because Ophelia hadn't taken her into her peerage and was keeping them away from her normal acquaintances. She thought that Ophelia might have been ashamed to have someone like her with her.

The Bindings helped remove those doubts and we explained the situation to her.

She was hidden under my orders because the Naberius connected with the Old Satan Faction might demand or try to plot to use Kuroka and Shirone for their results.

I know for a fact that the Naberius were working under the orders of Shalba to study Senjutsu in an attempt to create Super Devils.

I wonder what will happen now that I have taken Kuroka and Shirone with me.

There are no villages of Nekoshou as I had previously read in the fanfictions in my previous life and finding any Nekoshou was extremely hard. I haven't found any in all this time either.

Like seriously a massacre like that would have started a war that the Devils wouldn't dare even think about. Hunting an entire race because a reincarnated devil who was 'previously' of that race decided to rebel\went mad, would have brought out the wrath of the already oppressed Reincarnated Devils on their masters not to mention the wrath of the other races whose members were being poached by the devils. The current Satans themselves would have killed the ones involved if only to satiate the anger of the other factions.

However, without the said experiments, Kuroka was not as strong as she was supposed to be. This will hopefully be compensated by the Binder's and all the mini essences it grants those tagged with it help.

The commonly known Youkai are spirits which are either born from nature or born from Human feelings, both positive or negative. The former ones are generally known as Land Gods or Spirits and they sustain themselves with nature's energy….Senjustu. They are generally animals who live for a long time and have gained the ability to use senjutsu to extend their lives. They slowly change their forms and become Youkai. These Youkai can then reproduce normally and each of their children will be a Youkai.

The others born from Human emotions can be anything depending on the type of emotion they were born from and were called Ayakashi or Yoko, demonic spirits. At least that is the general view of the people. They used the fear of people as means of gaining power and fighting too.

Ayakashi are mostly evil in nature although they also have a sense of self and can change. These Ayakashi can also reproduce normally to give birth to Youkai children.

The difference however is that when a Spirit type of Youkai gives birth, the child carries the progress of their parents as well. For example a Nine Tailed Fox will give birth to another Nine Tailed Fox and there are no half breeds even with humans. All are full blooded Youkai. An example of such would be Kunou, the daughter of the Head of the Kyoto Youkai, Yasaka.

Ayakashi however do inherit the bloodlines of their parents but not their progress. A Nine Tailed Fox Ayakashi would give birth to a single tailed fox although it will be stronger than a normal single tailed fox. They can also be half-blooded and such even when mating with humans. An example of such would be, Rihan Nura, the son of Nurarihyon, the Supreme Leader of the Western Youkai.

That said, both types of Youkai can become stronger by two different methods. One, by simply living long. For example a simple Fox Youkai would gain a single tail every one hundred years. In nine hundred years, even if a Kitsune sleeps in a cave or eats potato chips while watching anime, it will become a Nine Tailed Fox. A being at High Ultimate Class to borderline Satan Class power.

Such a fucking cheat.

There are obviously more ways to increase their powers faster through training, fighting and other means.

Kuroka was a spirit type Youkai but her mother was a single tailed Nekoshou and thus she and Shirone were both the same.

That said, just like the Kitsune, they can also train to increase the number of tails that they possess.

There might be some doubts that Kuroka despite being a SS Class Stray devil with Ultimate Class strength still had only two tails? Then surely the method to measure the strength of the Youkai was wrong?

Not really. The Kuroka who was a SS Class stray devil was just that….a devil.

The devil heritage added to her powers but at the same time also suppressed her Youkai heritage which would have flourished much easier without any Demonic Powers present inside her. This time I intend to develop their powers to the best of their abilities.

A Nine tailed Nekoshou….I laughed maniacally at the mere thought and maybe just maybe….a ten tailed Youkai Goddess!.

These two are too precious to let anyone else get a hold of them.

According to my estimate, I want them to become at the very least as strong as an Ultimate Class Youkai by the time shit gets real.

A pure Ultimate Class Youkai would have a much better control over Senjutsu compared to the Half-Youkai, Half-Devil Hybrid.

The chaotic demonic powers not being there to deviate their minds are also a major reason.

Senjutsu is an art based on control and peace. A calm mind is a basic requirement for Senjutsu. The demonic power of devils is based on emotions and is violent and chaotic by nature. These two powers are completely different.

Trying to master the two at the same time would be extremely hard….and slow.

Thus no matter how I see it, despite the temporary boost from the Evil Pieces(if I manage to recreate them for myself), the change into devil is not a good thing for Kuroka and has to be put off.

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