Giving the Report

Underworld, Satan Territory, Capital City, Lilith.

Half an hour later, Scathach re-entered the waiting room with Masaomi, who was still bound and had his magic power sealed. In Scathach's hand, there was a small device that resembled a USB thumb drive. According to Masaomi, that device is where the evidence of the [King Piece's] usage was held.

"So, where was it?" James asked as he accepted the device from Scathach.

"It was behind a loose brick on the lower level of the train station." Scathach replied in her usual tone.

"Not a bad place to hide it." James said while examining the device.

"There's a lower level to the train station?" Irene asked curiously.

"Oops..." James muttered as his attention turned to Irene. "I forgot about bringing you through the official channels. Oh well, we'll take care of that next time."

"This time it should be fine." Scathach said indifferently. "This is a bit of a rushed case. Not to mention, no one in the Underworld is strong enough to make a big deal out of it."

"I guess." James said with a wry smile. "But I'd rather not blatantly break the Underworld's laws if it's not necessary." James said.

"The only one who would probably make a big deal about it is Rias' older brother, right?" Irene asked.

"Probably." James said with a shrug. "We'll just have to wait and see."

"Anyway, we need something that can read this device." James said. "It wouldn't be very smart of us to go into this meeting without knowing what we're presenting, right?"

With that, James called for a staff member of the Council building and asked for a tablet or something that could read the storage device. After the staff member left, James, Scathach, and Irene continued to chat while Ayame stood behind James like a faithful attendant. Meanwhile, Masaomi could not wait for the information on that device to be disclosed. Then, any other devils involved in Cleria's' death would be incriminated.

About fifteen minutes later, the staff member James spoke with earlier returned with a tablet then went back to his duties. After having Scathach check it with magic, it was determined that there was nothing connected to the tablet. So, James inserted the storage device into the tablet and began scrolling through the information.

"Damn, for real?" James exclaimed after seeing the information. "Four of the top five rankers in the [Rating Game] are using one of these [King Pieces]?"

"Really?" Irene asked, squeezing closer to James so that she could read the tablet as well.

"Yeah, look at this guy from the Abaddon House." James said, pointing to a profile. "He's only at the high-rank. But somehow, he's been in the top five for centuries."

"Oh, and look at this Roygun Belphegor." Irene said. "She's actually only at the advanced-level of ultimate-rank. Yet they say she's on par with Grayfia Lucifuge or Serafall Leviathan."

Like that, the group continued to look through the information, until they finally got to the part that said who was involved in this fraud.

"Let's see, he's dead. So is he, him too." James said as he began looking through the nine devils who were supporting and gaining the most from the [Rating Game] participants using the [King Pieces]. "It looks like there is only one still left alive. A member of the Bael House."

"Is there a member of the Bael House other than Zekram Bael on the Devil Council?" Scathach asked.

"I don't think so." James replied. "Maybe he's a retired member? This information is over seven years old."

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see." Irene said. "I'm actually surprised that Zekram's name was not on here."

"From what I can see, Zekram does not do anything overly shady." James replied with a shrug. "But he does have the nasty habit of enabling those who do."

A few minutes later, James and his entourage were called into the meeting room. When the call came, James pulled the storage device out of the tablet, stood up, placed the tablet on the seat he was occupying, then led the rest of the group into the meeting room.

When James, Scathach, Irene, Ayame, and Masaomi entered the meeting room, they could see the Four Great Satans as well as all the members of the Devil Council seated on the second floor of the meeting room.

'It looks like the number of members on the Council is almost filled up again.' James thought to himself as he looked up at the balcony. 'Only three more to go. But I gotta admit, I don't like how they're looking down at us like that."

"What happened that you needed to call us all together like this so hastily?" Sirzechs asked as he made eye contact with James.

'Huh, his expression looks different from teh last time I saw him.' James thought to himself with a bit of confusion on his face. 'Whatever.'

"I've come to make a report." James said in a confident tone. "Rizevim Livan Lucifer made an appearance on the outskirts of Kuoh in the Human World."

That announcement was enough to cause everyone on the balcony's expressions to change. Then, many of the members of the Council began to whisper among themselves.

"Silence!" Zekram said sternly. "Let him continue."

With that, James reported on everything that happened after the devils split up after the Christmas Eve charity event. How Masaomi, who was kneeling next to James, attacked a priest, who happened to be the father of the angel representative in Kuoh, Shidou Irina, with Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi, that was thought long destroyed. Then, how Rias' [Pawns] Issei Hyoudou and Asia Argento intervened, saving the priest's life in the process. Then, how Rias and her peerage, minus Asia, fought Masaomi and had the upper hand.

When James made it to that point, Sirzechs' expression turned into one filled with pride for his younger sister. Seeing that, James could only continue while he thought to himself.

'At least we know he really loves her.' James thought to himself. 'Even though she doesn't see him in the best light right now, her achievements still bring him joy.'

James then went on to explain that Yamata no Orochi's soul, or at least part of it, was sealed in the repaired Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi and how it took Over Masaomi's body.

"At that point, the enemy's power rose to a point that Rias Gremory and her peerage could no longer contest with." James said in a professional tone. "So, my [Knight], Dante the Son of Spara, stepped in to assist. He then swiftly defeated the enemy."

"You said that Rizevim Livan Lucifer was involved." A member of the Council said impatiently.

"Let him finish." Serafall said with a smile. "I'm sure Jay-Kun would not cry wolf."

"Hmph! Continue." The Councilman said in an irritated tone.

'Dude, get over yourself.' James thought to himself. 'If I were like one of those Xianxia protagonists, I would have made you slap youself a hundred tiems for your disrespect.'

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted." James said before continuing from where he left off. Seeing the Councilman gritting his teeth made him smile slightly as he continued to speak. "After the enemy was defeated, Rizevim Livan Lucifer appeared and attempted to kill him."

"Why would he do that?" One member of the Council asked.

"It's obviously to sever any loose ends." Another Councilman said. "Yamata no Orochi died long ago by the hands of Susanoo. So, he was obviously resurrected at the same time as the other Evil Dragons."

"Silence!" Zekram ordered once again. "Please continue."

"Yes." James said with a nod. "Before he could kill him, though, I arrived on the scene and stopped him. Unfortunately, after a short engagement, he was able to escape."

"I see." Ajuka said. "Then, am I correct in assuming that, that man is the assailant from tonight's incident?"

"That is correct." James replied.

"Raise his head, so we can see him." Zekram ordered.

Instead of James raising his head, however, Masaomi took it upon himself to raise his own head. Then, he glared at the members of the Devil Council with venom in his gaze.

"It's you." Zekram said in an even tone. "So, Rizevim even resurrected you, huh?"

"And I'm glad he did, now I have the chance to get revenge on those who killed Cleria." Masaomi said in a murderous tone.

"Well then, you are destined to be disappointed." Zekram said without changing his tone. "They are all dead. Even the fool from my House who used to serve on this council. I killed him myself."

That surprised everyone present in the meeting room. No one expected that Zekram would do such a thing.

"Why do you all seem so surprised?" Zekram asked. "His name was mentioned quite heavily in that report of the Council's wrong doings, after all."

Just like Zekram thought, Masaomi was quite disappointed. He knew that he would never have the opportunity to kill Touji, the only exorcist left on his hit list. On top of that, all his targets among the devils were already dead. At the moment, he felt he had nothing left to live for.

"Although they are all dead." James said calmly. "We found evidence of another crime that did not show up in those reports."

"Oh, and what would that be?" Serafall asked, leaning forward in her chair.

"This." James said, holding up the storage device. "This is the real reason those old members of the Council wanted Cleria dead. Basically, she found out something she shouldn't have."

"Something she shouldn't have?" A member of the council asked. "And what would that be?"

"She found out about the [King Pieces] and their usage in the [Rating Games]." James said.

The most shocked by this news was naturally Ajuka. He was the creator of the [Evil Pieces] and the [King Pieces]. He was also the one who stopped their production due to the danger they could put the users in. Although he knew that nine of the twelve recalled [Pieces] went missing. However, he did not know that they were being used by current participants in the [Rating Game].

"Would you mind letting us see the data?" Ajuka asked impatiently.

"I don't mind making a copy." James said. "But I'd rather the information did not just go missing while it was in your possession."

As James spoke, he glanced at Sirzechs in a not so secretative way. This naturally caused Sirzechs to clench his fists and grit his teeth.

'Damn it...' Sirzechs thought to himself. 'I already feel guilty about what I did to Grayfia. You don't have to rub it in. Besides, I already have a public apology scheduled for how I treated you, too. Can't you give me a break?"

Unfortunately, Sirzechs forgot that he chose to keep his apology a secret, so it wouldn't look like he was trying to create hype. So, there was no way that James would know that he had a public apology scheduled.

"Ayame." James said in a calm tone.

"Yes, James-Sama." Ayame replied with a slight bow.

"That tablet I was using earlier." James said while holding the storage device in his hand. "Go see if it's still in the waiting room. If it is, please bring it in here. I will copy the data onto it."

"Yes, James-Sama." Ayame said before turning around and making her way out of the meeting room.

Not even a minute later, Ayame returned with a tablet in her hands. Just like last time, James had Scathach check it with her runes before inserting the storage device in it once she gave the all clear.

"he's really cautious." Serafall said. "Sirzechs-Chan must have really left a bad impression."

"Ugh." Sirzechs groaned quietly.

"You brought this on yourself, my friend." Ajuka said.

A few moments later, the copying of files was done. Then, James handed the tablet to an attendant, who quickly left the meeting room. It was assumed that he was going to print out the contents of the new files.

While they were waiting for the files about the [King Pieces] and their usage, James decided to speak once again.

"Also, I want to hand this guy, Yaegaki Masaomi, over for interrogation." James said while pointing at Masaomi. "I don't think you'll get much out of him, but it's better than nothing."

"What makes you think that?" Falbium asked in a sleepy tone.

"Because he was resurrected in the Tepes Castle, then set free to get his revenge." James replied. So, I doubt he knows where Rizevim's hideout is."

"Understood." Falbium said with a nod. "Men, take him into custody."

"Oh yeah, you can have this, too." James said as he opened his personal storage and dropped the remains of Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi on the meeting room's floor.

"Bring something that can suppress a holy sword, too." Falbium ordered.

With Falbium's order, several guards came and apprehended Masaomi. Then, after also securing the pieces of Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi, they escorted them both out of the meeting room.

"Well, that's all for my report." James said. "*Yawn* I've had a long day today. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to go home and get some sleep."

"I know the feeling." Falbium said.

Ignoring Falbium, who always wanted to get some sleep, the rest of the Satans and the Council gave James and his entourage permission to leave. Then, after leaving the Devil Council building, the quartet teleported back to the Alaverus Estate in the Human World.