Maou

"Are we seriously about to meet the Lucifer...?" asked Issei, his voice a little shaky as he stood next to Kiba in a row behind the sofa Vahn and Rias were seated on. Akeno and Koneko flanked them in the same row while Asia, wearing a short-skirted Maid outfit that always made his heart flutter, served Vahn and Rias tea.

"Get used to it," said Rias, calmly taking a sip from her tea with closed eyes before adding, "As a member of my Peerage, you won't be able to avoid meeting with all manner of high-ranking Devils. Just remember to be on your best behavior and try not to say or do anything too perverse. My brother is above caring about such things, but it would embarrass me quite a bit..."

"Right...I'll do my best, Buchou..." responded Issei, sporting a cramped smile.

As if waiting for the exchange to finish, a crimson Magic Circle appeared a short distance away, followed by the appearance of Grayfia and a tall and remarkably handsome man with shoulder-length crimson hair with a slight ahoge and luminous blue-green eyes who appeared to be in his early to mid-twenties. His similarities to Rias were jarring, and his attire, consisting of a white tailcoat with royal blue and gold trim, golden epaulets, and a double-breasted flared collar over a white vest, white pants, and peculiar, black, gold-trimmed riding boots, made it clear at a glance that he was no ordinary person.

Zeroing in on Rias with his gaze, the man, Sirzechs Lucifer, adopted a faint but notably affectionate smile as he said, "Rias, it's been far too long. And you've become even more beautiful since I last saw you..."

Shifting his gaze to Vahn, Sirzechs maintained his smile but with markedly less affection behind his eyes as he remarked, "You're a very lucky young man, Vahn Mason..."

"The luckiest," responded Vahn, his expression firm as he held Sirzechs's gaze without fear.

"Indeed~" hummed Sirzechs, exhaling a faint chuckle before turning his gaze to Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, and Issei, each bowing respectfully as they had been instructed.

"Raise your heads," said Sirzechs, extending his left hand and forcing the group to stand upright as he added, "You are my precious younger sister's family. As far as I'm concerned, that makes you mine as well. When we're in private like this, please feel free to address me as Onii-chan, Onii-sama, or Aniue."

"Onii-sama, please do not make things more difficult than they need to be..." expressed Rias, sporting a smile and exhaling faintly from her nose as she gestured to the sofa across from her and Vahn.

"Actually, I was hoping we could convene in this Corridor I've heard so much about," said Sirzechs, staring with his gaze focused on Rias before shifting it to Vahn.

"That's fine with me," responded Vahn, leaving the decision to Rias by turning to face her. She had no reason not to permit it, so after a brief discussion and having everyone hold hands in a circle, Vahn teleported them to the Starting Zone of the Frozen Abyss...

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Staring at the crimson dome of destruction expanding from the horizon like a rising sun, threatening to swallow the entirety of the Frozen Abyss's First Floor, Vahn, holding hands next to Rias within the barrier erected by Grayfia and Akeno, sported a calm, calculating expression as he thought to himself, 'So this is the power of a Satan-Class Devil...' as seemingly all the ice in their surroundings was melted or stripped away by the colossal explosion's shockwave.

Reappearing in the barrier, now modeling oversized, obsidian-black, gold-trimmed, four-tiered shoulder pauldrons, a breastplate, and a dark purple cape that was covered in frost, Sirzechs casually remarked, "This place is incredible. The integrity of the space is far greater than the outside world, and the density of the island's foundation increases exponentially as you go deeper, eventually becoming impervious even to the erasive properties of the Power of Destruction..."

Half-turned to meet Vahn's and Rias's gazes, Sirzechs smiled at the latter and appended, "The power needed to create such a space...you've found yourself quite the exceptional partner, Rias..."

"Tell me something I don't know..." retorted Rias, smiling as she squeezed Vahn's hand and met his gaze from the corner of her eye.

"That was my intention..." affirmed Sirzechs, a playful smile adorning his face as everyone but Grayfia stared back at him with varying degrees of confusion.

"Before that," said Sirzechs, raising his left hand and snapping his fingers to create a nearly kilometer-wide crimson Magic Circle on the ground. As it ascended toward the sky, a literal castle appeared, placing everyone in an extravagant banquet hall with black and gold marble flooring, red and gold carpeting, a gigantic table, and twenty stone pillars dividing the room into thirds.

"Assuming Michael and Azazel are just as curious about the Corridor as I am, I intend to use this as the venue for the summit," revealed Sirzechs, taking the initiative to sit at one of the four throne-like chairs heading and flanking the end of the table.

"What did you mean before...?" asked Rias, occupying the seat closest to the head of the table, positioned to her brother's left. Vahn naturally sat beside her, prompting Koneko, Kiba, and Issei to sit while Akeno and Asia helped Grayfia serve tea.

Waiting until everyone had a chance to be served, Sirzechs's smile faded but didn't disappear completely as he revealed, "This is a forbidden-class secret, but since you are tentatively engaged to God's Proxy and have the Red Dragon Emperor in your Peerage, you have a need to hear it..."

"God's Proxy...?" repeated Rias, making no effort to disguise her confusion as she tightened her hold on Vahn's hand.

Nodding, Sirzechs met Vahn's gaze as he explained, "That is how Heaven views our enigmatic friend here. More pressingly, as it will come up during the summit, everyone here needs to be made aware of the reality that the Biblical God perished at the end of the Great War."

crash

"That's a bit much for a joke, isn't it...?" asked Rias, turning her head in the direction of Asia, who had dropped the kettle she was carrying with a look of unfocused confusion.

"Unfortunately, it is the undeniable truth," responded Sirzechs, following Vahn with his eyes as the latter as he got up from the table to give Asia a supportive, reassuring hug.

Returning his gaze to Rias and gauging the reactions of everyone else at the table, Sirzechs calmly explained, "No one is certain how the deed was accomplished, as everyone present on the battlefield was swallowed and reduced to nothing, including the Four Great Satans, but God's death was confirmed by the surviving leadership, who unanimously agreed to keep it a secret."

"But that's just not possible..." muttered Asia, her eyes moist but her tears held back as she asked, "If God perished in the Great War, then who has been answering our prayers? Where does the love that fills every believer come from...?"

Shaking his head, Sirzechs responded, "Those are questions you would need to ask the Archangel. What I know is that God created a System to help oversee Earth and humanity while he focused much of his effort and attention on the war. I'm unsure how they fuel and maintain it, but Michael and the other Seraph have kept things running in his absence."

Recalling Throne mentioning the nearly emptied Vault of Heaven, Vahn's brows furrowed slightly, his expression hardening contemplatively. Even The Path, at least through the Shop, required Origin Points to give form to the items he purchased, so it stood to reason that God's System required fuel to keep it functioning...

"But I digress," said Sirzechs, his cape and ornate pauldrons disappearing into motes of crimson light, allowing him to rest his cheek on the knuckles of his right hand as he revealed, "Before his death, either because he truly saw something or because he simply wished to leave his followers with a thread of hope to cling to, God foretold that, when the world was nearing its end, someone or something would appear and ascend to the throne of Heaven in his wake, guiding all toward eternal salvation or absolution. For reasons I believe I can gloss over, Heaven believes that prophesied being to be Vahn."

"Is that where God's Proxy comes from?" asked Rias, crossing her arms and frowning disapprovingly as she added, "I understand we're not really in a position to judge others, but I won't allow Heaven to force Vahn into a position he doesn't desire himself..."

"Vahn-sama as God..." muttered Asia, her voice faint but audible enough to be picked up by virtually everyone but Issei as she tightened her hold on Vahn's body and buried her face into his chest.

Staring in Vahn's and Asia's direction, which happened to be where Grayfia and Akeno were also located, Sirzechs briefly met the gaze of his wife and Queen before returning his attention to Rias and reassuring, "I believe they are of a similar mindset. Vahn-kun might well be the person prophesied to ascend to God's throne, but since the world is relatively at peace and he refused to remain in the Seventh Heaven, it's apparent that fated day has yet to arrive. Thus, the consensus of the Three Factions will most probably be to watch and observe his maturation as an independent power..."

Frowning deeper at Sirzechs's emphasis on the word independent, Rias asked, "Does that mean Sona and I won't be permitted to marry him? We won't accept that..."

Shaking his head and exhaling faintly from his nose, Sirzechs's expression softened as he clarified, "If that is what the three of you have decided, no one will attempt to overrule it. But since you're all relatively young and still learning about yourselves and one another, we will be requesting that you postpone your nuptials until you've cemented your respective positions in society and the supernatural world as a whole..."

"I suppose that isn't asking too much..." conceded Rias, closing her eyes in deep thought. She would have turned to meet Vahn's gaze to see what he had to say, but since he was behind her, she opted for silence, creating a convenient break in the discussion for him to enter.

"I do want to help Heaven..." affirmed Vahn, his expression and tone firm, exuding finality as he stated, "But I don't want to become something like a God. All I've ever wanted is to be free and happy, and if I can guarantee good people freedom and happiness, I don't care if they're human, Devils, Angels, Youkai, or anything else. I will assist anyone who shares that view and condemn anyone who seeks to deny those rights to others..."

"Excellent," said Sirzechs, nodding approvingly and adopting a broader smile as he lightheartedly supposed, "Then I anticipate the summit will end with an accord between the Three Factions. Some among our ranks will inevitably oppose the idea and seek to stir up trouble, but Kuoh Town should become one of the most secure locales in the human world under our combined stewardship."

"I'm not sure I like the idea of Heaven and Grigori stationing their forces in the city..." remarked Rias, staring at her brother as she contended, "As it stands, anyone who attacks us will be at a significant disadvantage due to the world's restrictions and the local gods' influence. If we begin erecting barriers all over the town, we'll effectively be creating a battlefield for our would-be enemies to fight on..."

"You make an excellent point. As expected of my beautiful and intelligent younger sister," hummed Sirzechs, narrowing his eyes and causing Rias to flush in embarrassment. Then, cupping his chin and raising his gaze to the ceiling, he appeared to deliberate, muttering, "The other factions will want at least some influence in the city. But since we've been so cooperative, it shouldn't be too difficult to keep the situation similar to what it is..."

Realizing she had walked directly into her brother's trap, Rias's slight pout made her annoyance clear. After all, keeping the situation 'similar to what it was' implied a certain silver-haired Maid would be sticking around much longer. Rias had anticipated this, as Millicas had already been enrolled in Kuoh Academy's Primary School Division and had made many friends, but she was beginning to believe her brother was determined to get Vahn and Grayfia to sleep together...

'Well, as long as he doesn't use it as an excuse to try and sleep with me...' thought Rias. She loved and respected her brother dearly, but ever since she learned he took photos of her sleeping and kept a detailed record of her growth, she had gradually been distancing herself from him...

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