Thoughts of the Leaders

Heaven, 6th Heaven.

While James and the others were having fun at the Kuoh Academy pool, the Four Great Seraphs, who were in command of the forces of Heaven, were discussing the incident with Kokabiel.

"Is this report verified?" Raphael asked while reading over the incident report.

"According to our agents living in Japan, everything here is true." Michael replied with a kind smile.

Michael, the acting leader of Heaven after God's death, is a tall man with long blond hair and green eyes. He is often seen wearing a red robe with a white sash, a golden cross, and golden shoulder pauldrons. Like the other Great Seraphs, he has twelve wings growing from his back. Unlike the others, however, his are gold instead of white.

"Will this not be a problem?" Uriel asked while looking over the same incident report. "This generations Red Dragon Emperor is a devil... How is that even possible?"

"He's actually a half-devil." Gabriel, the only woman among the Four Great Seraphs, replied with an innocent smile. "It was quite a shame that she passed away in childbirth."

Gabriel, also recognized as the most beautiful woman in Heaven, is an extremely beautiful woman with curly blond hair, green eyes, and six pairs of white-feathered wings growing from her back.

"It almost seems as though you know her personally." Raphael said with an eyebrow raised.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Gabriel replied with a smile. "I met her once when I was on patrol in the Human World. She was quite the kind-hearted woman."

"If she was so kind, then how could she give birth to a devil's child?" Uriel asked with a bit of discomfort.

"Although devils are creatures of sin, that doesn't make them inherently evil." Michael said in a kind tone. "And the young man who defeated Kokabiel's father is not like the other devils."

"Now that you mention it, he seems to be the son of a survivor of Hades' experiments." Uriel said while still looking over the report. "It always amazed me how beautiful such a dangerous bloodline ability could be."

"Oh, you mean the cherry blossom one, right?" Gabriel said excitedly. "I have always wanted to see it up close. Cherry blossoms are really pretty."

Hearing that, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel could only look at the innocent Gabriel with fond smiles. Even though they knew it would be unsafe, they were all thinking of ways to make their sister's wish to see [Senbonzakura] into a reality.

"Ahem." Michael coughed lightly in an attempt to steer the conversation back on topic. "So, what do you think of Kokabiel's attack?"

"If I had to guess, that war monger was looking to start the Great War all over again." Raphael said exasperatedly. "He clearly doesn't care if the fallen angels go extinct because of it."

"I think there's more to it than that." Uriel said, finally putting down the incident report.

"I agree." Michael said with a nod. "The fact that he summoned three Cerberus to buy time for Valper Galilei, who was delivered to the Church by the devils, was definitely a sign of things to come."

"You think he was allied with Hades?" Raphael asked. "Does that mean the Greek pantheon is instigating the Biblical factions into another war?"

"I cannot be sure." Michael said while shaking his head. "What I am sure about, though, is that there is more to this than we can see from the surface."

"So, what do you think we should do, Michael?" Gabriel asked with the same innocent smile adorning her face.

"I think we should give more consideration to the terms of this peace treaty both the fallen angels and devils have been pushing for." Michael said. "And now that we know that each of them has one of the Celestial Dragons in their ranks, it's even more imperative for us to put an end to these hostilities and pointless casualties."

Hearing that, the other three Seraphs took a few moments to consider. Then, one by one they nodded their heads in agreement. Smiling as he saw his siblings nod, Michael smiled and spoke once more.

"Then, if we are all in agreement, we have to consider the terms that would result in the best outcome for Heaven, without pushing away the interests of the other factions."

Nodding in agreement once again, the Four Great Seraphs spent another while deciding on what they wanted from and what they could bring to the peace negotiations.

Underworld, Grigori Territory, Grigori HQ.

"So, what are you going to do with Kokabiel?" Shemhazai, the Vice-Govenor-General of the Grigori, asked.

He will be imprisoned in Cocytus." Azazel, the Governor-General of the Grigori, replied while keeping his focus on his [Sacred Gear] research.

Like the Four Great Seraphs of Heaven, the two highest ranking leaders of the Grigori were also discussing the incident Kokabiel caused in the Human World. Although, Azazel, a tall, handsome man of average build with black hair, golden bangs, a black goatee, and violet eyes, seemed much less interested than Shemhazai, a handsome man with silver-white hair and purple eyes. Instead of investing fully in the conversation, Azazel was much more interested in the research he was conducting.

"*Sigh* You know, if you paid more attention to Grigori affairs, things like this would never happen." Shemhazai said with a tired sigh. "It wouldn't kill you to at least act like the leader of the Grigori."

"It just might." Azazel said with a cheeky grin. "I was never cut out to be the leader of an organization. You should just take over."

Ignoring Azazel's proposition, Shemhazai asked the next question on his mind.

"So what information were you able to get out of Kokabiel before locking him up?" Shemhazai asked, not expecting much.

"He said that he wasn't the only one who was growing tired of the peaceful state of the world." Azazel said as he finally looked away from his research. "If I had to guess, there's probably a group, whose name I couldn't pry from Kokabiel's lips, that wants to change the current world order."

Shemhazai was surprised by Azazel's speculation. In his mind, Kokabiel was just an extremist who looked forward to waging war and he was acting on his own.

"But Kokabiel hates everyone too much for something like that, right?" Shemhazai asked in a confused tone. "I mean, could you even imagine him working with someone else? Especially if that person is not a fallen angel?"

"I could." Azazel said with a nod. "As long as that person's goals lead to another big war, Kokabiel would be all for it. Even if it means being betrayed in the end. As long as he gets to command a legion of soldiers for long enough, he would be just peachy."

Stopping to think again about Kokabiel's personality, Shemhazai could not help but agree with Azazel's assessment. Shaking his head, Shemhazai put the thought of his former comrade out of his mind.

"So, what are we going to do about the chaos that Kokabiel alluded to?" Shemhazai asked.

"We'll petition for peace with Heaven and the devils." Azazel said with a grin. "Hopefully, they'll agree. If they do, I'll have more time to study [Sacred Gears]."

"*Sigh* You're as one track-minded as always." Shemhazai said exasperatedly. "We should start working on the proposal for peace, then. Even though I do not agree with your reason for it, I do agree that it is time for these pointless skirmishes to end."

"What's wrong with my reason?" Azazel asked as if he were offended. "Everyone has a passion. And mine just happens to be [Sacred Gear] research."

"And your reason for wanting peace wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that the Red Dragon Emperor is among the devils this time, right?"

"Of course, it would!" Azazel exclaimed in excitement. "It would be great to be able to test and observe the differences between the [Boosted Gear] and [Divine Dividing]!"

"No surprise there." Shemhazai said as he face palmed.

Underworld, Satan Territory, Capital City, Lilith.

"That James sure has grown quickly." Ajuka said while looking over the report of the Kokabiel incident again. "Just three years ago he had just become a High-Class devil, and now he's fighting Cadre of the Grigori."

"Yeah, he really has." Sirzechs replied with a smile. "Ria-Tan seems to be in good hands."

"You'd better be careful, Sirzechs." Ajuka responded with a smile. "It may not be long before he surpasses you."

Hearing that, Sirzechs maintained his smile. However, on the inside he scoffed.

'James may be good, but there's no way he'll be stronger than me.' Sirzechs thought to himself while inwardly sporting a smug smile.

Knowing exactly what his old friend was thinking, Ajuka could only shake his head while smiling wryly. He said it once before, pride comes before a fall.

"Even so, it looks like James could have won without using the [Boosted Gear] if he wasn't worried about protecting the town and everyone in it." Ajuka said, truly impressed by the young half-devil's strength.

"Yes, it's truly impressive for one so young." Sirzechs replied with a nod. "I would have liked to see who was stronger between James and the White Dragon Emperor, as well."

"It definitely would have been a fun fight to watch." Ajuka said as he nodded in agreement.

"More important than James' defeat of Kokabiel, what do you think of the fact that Kokabiel was able to summon those three headed puppies?" Sirzechs asked, narrowing his eyes.

"The skeleton is sticking his nose into things that don't' concern him." Ajuka replied while also narrowing his eyes. "But I think there's a lot more to it than that."

"So do I." Sirzechs said as he leaned back in his seat. "It seems as though we're missing something."

"Hopefully, the fallen angels will give us the results of the interrogation on Kokabiel." Ajuka said with a shrug.

"Hopefully." Sirzechs replied.

Then, the two fell into silence for a few moments. Eventually, Sirzechs was the one to break the silence.

"If the fallen angels agree to the peace treaty, they'll probably agree to share the information they received from Kokabiel with us." Sirzechs said as the smile reappeared on his face.

"That's a big if." Ajuka said solemnly. "We have been enemies for thousands of years. It will not be easy for everyone to put this long hatred down."

"I know, but all we can do is try."

Underworld, Great King Territory, Bael Estate.

Like the other leaders of the three factions, Zekram Bael was also mulling over the events of the Kokabiel Incident. However, instead of thinking about the incident as a whole, he was more focused on the young devil's involvement. James' involvement, in particular.

"To think that young man is already that strong." Zekram thought to himself aloud.

After that thought, Zekram picked up the incident report once again. He could probably recite the report backward from memory at this point. However, he still felt the need to read the parts that interested him again.

"Even if this report is exaggerated a bit, it would seem that Alaverus boy would have been able to defeat Kokabiel without using his [Sacred Gear]." Zekram said as he read the description of James' fight with Kokabiel again. "And to think that he was hiding the fact that he was the Red Dragon Emperor of this generation."

After reading what he wanted to, Zekram placed the document down on his desk again. Then he fell silent as he contemplated.

"*Sigh* Those fools on the Council have forgotten what it truly means to be a devil." Zekram said, standing from his seat. "Bloodline purity is only secondary. What a devil should truly desire, and respect is strength. And strength alone."

As he spoke, Zekram made his way out of his private chambers. Making his way toward the dining room, he gave an order to the first servant he came across.

"Inform the Council, I'm calling an emergency meeting." Zekram said, not even turning his head in the servant's direction."

"As you command, Lord Zekram." the servant said as he bowed in deference.

Continuing to walk toward the dining room, Zekram continued thinking to himself.

'Those short-sighted fools think I despise those of lesser birth because of some pure-blood supremacist doctrine.' Zekram thought to himself, disdaining the other members of the Great King Faction. 'They should know, it is exceedingly rare for those of inferior bloodlines to gain strength. But instead of rewarding those who are able, they do their best to snuff out their potential. If not kill them outright. And they have succeeded too many times for me to count. Maybe it is time I start thinning their numbers.'