17 Ch. 17 New Era

The creation of the Evil Pieces was, in my opinion, one of the most important events in Devil history.

It is right behind the creation of our race and the fall of the original Satans and God.

The Great War was important, but honestly stupid. It was slightly inevitable however when two spiteful beings got cast down to the Underworld and managed to create an innately powerful race filled with unique abilities, a lack of proper moral compass and little to no life experience to understand the consequences of their actions.

The Evil Pieces on the other hand were bringing a sort of cultural revolution as a new social class would develop which brought in new ideals and ideas at the same time. It also allowed to fix some of the mistakes the old generations had made.

Of course the creation of the rating games will have to wait quite a while. We need people to have peerages to pit them against one another, but that will be for later.

Right now the announcement of the evil pieces has been met with cheers and jeers like always, with the former being nobles who wish to move forward, recover and hopefully be able to bring strong allies into the fold while the latter said it was an insult to devils to make humans their 'equals' and were being pains in the ass for the new Satans like always.

A lot of the opposition died down however when Sirzechs and Ajuka added conditions to even obtaining Evil Pieces.

The major points were that only devils with sufficient social status and High-Class demonic power can even receive them. The crystals needed to make the pieces are limited after all and they need the owner or King of the peerage to have sufficient demonic power to actually reincarnate others into devils.

The information released to the public stated there are a total of 15 pieces one can handle with various effects and abilities depending on the pieces used on a reincarnated individual. The pieces are based on chess, with 1 Queen ♛, 2 Rooks ♜, 2 Bishops ♝, 2 Knights ♞, 8 Pawns ♟, and the King being the peerage ruler.

Each piece basically functioned as a minor sacred gear or malebranche. They allowed for the transformation of a willing or recently dead into a devil, while giving specific boosts to the recipient depending on the piece.

The simplest pieces were those of the Knight, Rook and Bishop. The Knight boosts the recipients speed and agility, the Rook augmented strength and durability, and the Bishop gifts greater demonic power and the ability to assist in casting magic.

The most balanced and powerful piece was the Queen, which gave the advantages of the Knight, Rook and Bishop.

And while the pawn gives the fewest Benefits, it allows the king to permit a promotion so that they may use the abilities of the other pieces. It is the most adaptive piece if one knows how to train and use it.

They were also told about the restrictions when it came to reincarnating someone since the pieces calculate current strength, talents and skills, as well as the reincarnator's potential and compares it to the King in order to dictate if reincarnation is possible and how many pieces it will cost.

The nobles were reassured that the pieces had a built in measure to keep peerage members in line, which was that the King was necessary to keep the demonic power in them stable and leaving a peerage would essentially corrupt the reincarnated devil.

That last part was unfortunately necessary for them to work, which annoyed me since it basically made peerage members akin to slaves in the minds of the less compassionate nobility. The fact that they were based off the malebranche and their near miraculous ability to resurrect came at a cost after all.

Ajuka and myself decided to not mention the existence of the King piece already existing and that the ritual to bind the King of the peerage was a substitute. We both knew how devils were by nature and simply giving out a power boost such as this would only lead to chaos, death and war.

But as a show of support for the evil pieces, our four Satans each received their own set, revealing the possibility of Mutation pieces which allow devils to reincarnate much stronger beings that normal pieces. But they were informed about it technically being an error they had decided to keep due to it bringing a bit more excitement. It was also revealed that the strength of the King affected the chances of mutation pieces appearing. The proof was that while Falbium only had five mutation pieces,Serafall had six, Ajuka had eight and Sirzechs had ten which included his Queen piece.

I had the same as Ajuka, but I was already working on cheating the system to convert them all into mutation pieces. I had seen the process enough times and already had ideas on how to do so.

There was also a public demonstration with Grayfia becoming the first peerage member and Queen of the Underworld. She had refused to receive the pieces in favor of helping her husband and saying that 'as a maid of the Gremory, she did not have the social standing to receive them.'

I think she might get off on her technically being 'a lowly maid', but overall I would call the release of the Evil Pieces a success.

Zekram kept the reigns tight on this one since even if he personally didn't agree with other races becoming devils, the situation regarding our population has become too dire to do nothing and needed a solution. He just made sure no one would stop others from accepting and supported those who refused to get any.

But the recent events of the Underworld had caught the attention of others, especially after this last move which could be a major game changer within the three factions of the Biblical Pantheon.

-Underworld, Grigori Headquarters

Grigori, as the organization of Fallen angels, had made its place in the Underworld by settling previously uninhabited region for their uses after the Orgy of the Fifth Heaven which caused most of them to fall. Organized by the current Governor-General no less.

They were actually the first ones to retreat from the great war after the death of God and the original Satans, now focusing their efforts on Sacred gears and their wielders.

This is mostly due to their leader, Azazel, being a researcher at heart and a sacred gear fanatic, when not being a pervert anyway. He decided that it was important to monitor sacred gear users and make sure they aren't being abused or abusing their powers to make an already tense situation worse. Thus Grigori began to recruit and train those they could, while also eliminating threats.

But today the Cadre were meeting for different reasons.

We had the Governor-General Azazel, a tall man appearing to be in his twenties with an average build, black hair, golden bangs and black goatee. He was a maroon scholar's robe for the meeting. And although perverted and way too much of a research nerd at times, his keen insight and intelligence has led Grigori through many difficult times.

Azazel's close aide and friend Shemhazai, a handsome man in his twenties, with silver-white hair and purple eyes. His outfit consists of a purple beret hat, purple trench coat over a black vest, white pants and black boots. He is usually the one keeping Azazel in line.

One of the military leaders of Grigori, Baraquiel. A middle-aged, gruff-looking man with black hair, matching beard and a muscular body. The Lightning of God himself before falling. Strict and tough, while undyingly loyal, a true man of action. (Not a masochist yet.)

Kokobiel, the most aggressive member and also a military leader. He had the appearance of a man with long black hair and red eyes, and unlike other Fallen Angels, Kokabiel has pointy ears. He has currently been on a century long house arrest to prevent him from igniting another war and for disobeying orders near the end of the last one.

And finally Satanael, one of the head researchers of Grigori. A tall man dressed in the usual fallen angel battlesuit, with brown hair, silver eyes, and masculine facial features. He is quite similar in his passion for research to Azazel, but focuses more on Longinus'.

"Welcome to all present Cadres. I know gathering like this doesn't happen often, but I am thankful we can still have these get togethers." Azazel casually greeted as he opened up the meeting.

"Spare us your theatrics and just get to the point Azazel. Tell me, are we going to finally do what we should have and eradicate those Devils? How about the Angels?" Kokobiel impatiently asked as even a hundred years later he still greatly desires war.

"Of course not Kokobiel. We will not commit to any more offensives." The stern Baraquiel responded as he crossed his muscles arms.

"Grr. Just you wait Baraquiel. We will have another war. Mark my words." The long haired fallen replied with a glare.

"Not any time soon if I can help it." Azazel shot back seriously before immediately reverting to his usual behavior, "I can't have a war distract me from all my lovely research. And it makes it impossible to meet all those rather liberal maidens appearing in Italia lately."

"*Sigh* We gathered today because one of the new Satans, Ajuka Astaroth or Ajuka Beelzebub now, developed what he called 'Evil pieces'." A deadpanning Shemhazai began as he just ignored Azazel's behavior. "According to our spies and informants, the Evil Pieces would allow high-class and above noble devils to reincarnate other races into devils, forming either a group of friends, comrades, subordinates, slaves or even harems depending on the devil who forms it."

"Ho oh? This Ajuka found a way to make a long lasting harem? I wonder if he's a comrade?" Azazel openly said as the men around him just sighed at their leader and friend.

It's not like they didn't know his personality after so long and he was the one who made the orgy in the fifth heaven happen, which made a lot of them fall.

"I doubt it. From what we've heard Ajuka is purely research focused. But this part is something which will concern you, the reincarnated devils have to follow their 'King' or they might lose control of the demonic power the pieces introduce into them. The mechanics weren't fully explained, but just this could lead to a lot of problems."

"Damn. No forever harem for me just yet then. But from what I see here… this means they could recruit sacred gear users too." Azazel said as he went over all the relevant information. "Thoughts Satanael?"

"Hmm… the evil pieces seem to be mildly related to sacred gears themselves with their effects on the body, soul and energy of the receiver. The reported benefits of each piece do further strengthen the link." The fellow Sacred gear fanatic replied.

"I'd love to get a few pieces at least to run some tests." The governor-general said as he nodded with his friend's assessment.

"Difficult for now, but we can keep an eye out for the expected increase in devil activity in the human world." Shemhazai responded as he too thought it was important to know more about these evil pieces.

"Bah! As long as the war restarts I don't care, but what about these new Satans of theirs?" Kokobiel said, "You wouldn't let us take advantage of that civil war they had, which was stupid, but what do we know about their new leaders?"

"It's rather complicated from what we've gathered." Shemhazai responded as he went through all the data they had, "Here we go:

Sirzechs Gremory, now Lucifer, is said to be the strongest member of the new Satans. He displayed an unknown form described as 'Destruction given form' and was capable of completely erasing a Satan-Class opponent in it. Sirzechs is in charge of domestic affairs, but hasn't gathered enough influence to go against Zekram Bael who formed his own political faction after the war. He is also newly married to Grayfia Lucifuge, another powerful Satan-Class in her own right and who has become his 'Queen'. She has been reported to be working as a maid in House Gremory for some reason.

Ajuka Astaroth, now Beelzebub as mentioned earlier, is known as Sirzechs rival and long time friend. He is also said to be the smartest Devil in the underworld and I believe he has proven it with his latest reveal. He revealed a strange ability to manipulate the attacks of even someone of the late Tsufaame Leviathan's caliber with ease when she was using Serpent of the End. He now leads the research department.

Next is the only female member Serafall Sitri, now Leviathan. She is probably one of the most powerful ice magic users alive, shown to be able to take on Grayfia Lucifuge in a ten day battle and take care of the former Satan Asmodeus during the duel. She is now in charge of foreign affairs and might contact us at one point. She is said to be fairly childish but also incredibly capable. It was announced that she has been engaged to a new House founder known as Lith Azaroth.

We don't know much about him except that he's definitely Satan-class and is capable of using Space magic to an extreme degree, being capable of bringing armies through portals. He is also the one who defeated Bidleid Beelzebub. He seems to be solely focused on his own territory however.

And lastly we have Falbium Glasya-Labolas, now Asmodeus. He is hailed as a military genius and demonstrated an extremely durable defensive magic which can also generate massive blasts. He is also known for his great laziness and now being in charge of their military."

"*impressed Whistle* Six Satan-Class devils risen as the old falls. Now that is impressive." Azazel responded.

"Indeed. I am jealous of the devils for the new generation for being able to improve so much. Few of ours have shown any sort of promise." Baraquiel added as the main instructor for their armed forces.

"*Tch* Let me show those brats and knock them down a few pegs." Kokobiel said as he wanted to use any opportunity to fight again.

"No. We remain neutral. The evaluation of their characters says they are very unlikely to pursue war against others, especially when they are rebuilding. I agree with that. So for now we keep the course." Azazel sternly decreed to most Cadres' acceptance.

But they weren't the only ones thinking about devils.

-Heaven, Sixth Heaven

In the highest available level of Heaven, the four great Seraphs gathered to discuss the events happening in the Underworld.

The leader of the Seraphs was the only Archangel of Heaven, Michael. Michael has the appearance of a handsome-but-slightly- effeminate man with long blond hair and green eyes. He is usually seen wearing a red robe with a gold cross on the front of his white alb. He has golden shoulder plates with a white sash and a golden halo set above his head.

The second present was Uriel, known as the Flame of God. He is a dashing man with short red hair and a lean muscled body covered by a pure white toga. He serves as a military leader, but his pure heart makes him more competitive than aggressive.

Third was Raphael, known as one of the best healers in existence. He is one of the most open hearted angels behind his sister, welcoming all sick and injured at his door when possible. He is the smallest among the Seraphs, with tidy white hair, near white skin and reddish eyes.

And lastly was Gabriel, titled the most beautiful of Heaven and the strongest woman belonging to it. She is an extremely beautiful woman with curly blonde hair and a voluptuous figure, usually seen wearing a simple pure white dress. Due to her being sheltered by the other Seraphs and angels however, she is rather naive and clueless regarding certain matters, even though she is the kindest and most compassionate member of the Seraphs.

"Why have you called us today brother?" Questioned Uriel earnestly, "Has something gone wrong with Father's system?"

"No brother Uriel, beside a few small glitches a few years ago where Alphecca Tyrant seemed to disappear from the system for a bit, nothing has been wrong with the system thankfully." Michael gently replied to his younger brother, "I have called this meeting to discuss the possibility of some devils becoming more active in the human world."

"That isn't good, but why the sudden increase?" Uriel questioned as he knew what he would ask the church to do.

He hoped they wouldn't be as overzealous as they seemed to be at times. Their acts in Heavens and their Father's name sometimes brought Uriel to tears.

"It seems one of the new Satans discovered a method to help create more devils by reincarnating humans and possibly others using something called Evil Pieces." Michael explained.

"That sound ominous brother." Raphael commented a bit unsurely.

"But isn't it great that they can finally start recovering from the war! I hope we can find a way too." A happy Gabriel said as she truly believed that this was a good thing.

"It can be good or bad. Having the power to do something doesn't mean one will do it after all." Raphael responded carefully.

"Oh! Like when you told me I shouldn't always bath in the stream of the garden?" The innocent seraph followed up with.

"In a way." Was Raphael's best response.

He worried angels accidentally seeing her nude form might make a second Azazel.

"I am simply worried about the Humans. Devils can go a bit too far when they desire something after all." Michael admitted, "But the new Satans who introduced the Evil Pieces seem better than their predecessors, even if the path they had to take to reach their positions was a difficult one."

"People appreciate power more if they struggled to achieve it." Uriel responded seriously.

"I hope I could met them one day. When this conflict between us is over. We all come from the same father after all." Gabriel said, much to the like mindedness of the Seraphs.

"I pray for that day as well Gabriel." Michael softly said as he looked up at the seventh Heaven their Father used to inhabit.

"But for now I will talk to the church so they can keep an eye out. We could also inform the other pantheons to avoid anyone getting mad." Uriel suggested since the three factions really couldn't handle war with another pantheon right now.

"I will do as you suggest brother." Michael said with a nod, "Meanwhile please make sure none of the angels go out to do something reckless. Perhaps organizing an outing to the garden would help."

"Yay! I love the garden!" An excited Gabriel said as she immediately flew away to gather her friends for the outing.

"I will make sure nothing untoward happens brother, worry not. Just take care of things here." Raphael said to his clearly worried big brother.

"Thank you Raphael. It would calm my heart." As the remaining seraphs each went to take care of things.

-Underworld, House Azaroth

"And there! Finally finished mutating all my pieces! Now with this and my demonic power concealer, I should be able to go and try to recruit my initial peerage members without any trouble from the church." I declared as I finished my two projects.

The 15th-16th century saw the church at pretty much its peak power, with Martin Luther's condemnation slowly creating cracks starting 1517. So Gonna have to be careful, but not being part of God's system anymore is great for possibly recruiting in Europe.

It will be guaranteed I will encounter church forces as I travel. Italy and Greece are some of the most catholic countries at the moment and even the lands under the Norse Pantheon have been taken by the cross wearers. So not hurting or flinching at anything holy will be nice.

I should have an easier time in Japan when I go visit. The Catholics won't even have first contact with Japan for another couple of decades and they won't even have any kind of solid foothold for over half a century. And that's only for the one city they were allowed to build which would later be the atomically destroyed.

"Darling! Your lovely bride-to-be is home!" The very recognizable excited voice of Serafall announced as she came through the door to our little cabin.

And yes I means that Cabin, in the H.A.H. And yes she has been getting much more used to our relationship.

After our engagement she, and I'm not saying I didn't, wanted to live together, and I honestly didn't feel like lying about where I really lived since I could now create more places like this, so I just showed her.

She found it actually better than a big mansion or castle since it felt closer and warmer to be together in the cabin.

Love this girl.

"And how is my beloved bride-to-be this fine day?" I asked as we greeted each other in the only she seemed to know: flying tackle hugs.

"Good! But I have a favor to ask." She said as she was still being hugged/held and looked into my eyes with some seriousness and hope.

"As long as I can do it I will." I replied lovingly.

"Well, tomorrow is my first time going out and I need to meet the Shinto Pantheon. And I was kinda hoping you could be there." She hesitatingly asked as she poked her own fingers.

"Of course I would be there for you love." I assured her as I give her a little kiss.

But it seems that just set her off.

"You're the best!" She declared as she began tongue wrestling with me as I backed up to the couch and started a heated make out session.

'I guess Japan will be first then. I wonder if i can really recruit him.' I thought before fully enjoying my perky and energetic little fiance.

_______________________________________

EXTRA AUTHOR NOTES:

So, I'm not sure why everyone is so hellbent on making Virgil's weapon Yamato from Devil May Cry a thing here when most of the time people complain about another user wielding a katana.

I was actually thinking and a hybrid Bisento/Glaive and magic staff to boost his combat and magical abilities all around.

Next chapter will have the Shinto Pantheon like I said and should have the first Peerage member.

And no it ain't Yasaka. I actually have a little plan for her. That plan may change if anyone can tell me if youkais can actually become familiars.

Anyway, I tried to make all the great Seraphs and important Cadres' personalities come across as they discussed the underworld.

The Seraphs were a bit easier but also harder since they are by definition pure hearted but there's like no info on two of the Great Seraphs.

As for the fallen, although Kokobiel wants war, he is still friends with everyone right now, and so is Satanael. They should be important at this point on time as well. Meanwhile I have to mix Azazel the damn Kisuke rip-off's psychotically fluctuating personality into dialogue is difficult to do.

And finally we had the intro to Evil Pieces and me trying to fill some of the cracks for why they work like they do. Cause it's kinda hard to imagine someone turning into a monster just because a type of energy, they could have been training with for decades or centuries for all we know, ran wild from ditching their King. Has to be something else and I'm blaming Malebranches.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy.

Kinda feel like I'm forgetting something else I wanted to mention, but whatever.