39 Chapter 38: Relief for Hope (II)

"-but in my opinion, your father and probably as well as your mother, are also teaming up with the Gods like Satanael and the others."

Hearing Ruri said that made my mind in complete blank and darkness

What does she mean? Is she saying that my parents are traitors too? I don't get it, why would she even say that?

And at the same time, I'm both furious and confuse, for now, I'll have to talk some sense to her and prove her wrong.

"Shut up Ruri! There's no way that my parents are gonna do that!"

Everyone who was with me was shocked at my sudden anger.

"Hey! I just told you my opinion! But don't you think that my opinion is valid? Because there's absolutely no way that your father can get a sword like that!"

"Then-! He might've got it from somewhere!"

"Are you really that stupid!? You know that he can't get a sword like that without the help of the Gods!"

"Then, answer this! If he and my mother is helping the Gods, then why did Yahweh sent the angels to kill them!?"

"How am I suppose to know?! Maybe it's just like all of us?! The angels were like us! Maybe they're being deceived and played by the Gods and your parents! Because there's no way they can be defeated by the angels if your father has Soul Bound and has killed most of the Seraphim alone! So how can he be defeated by an Archangel whose position is lower than that of a Seraph!?"

"I don't know, maybe they trained harder and became more stronger!"

"Look at you, you're really that stupid, aren't you! Your father killed the Seraph Metatron himself, do you even know who Metatron is?! He's Enoch, the ancestor of Noah in the great flood!"

Enoch? The name seems familiar to me; like I heard of it before...

"If you don't know, Enoch is the one who created the Book of Enoch, and after he created that, Yahweh took him to Heaven and turned him to a Seraph, and gave him a new name: Metatron. And worst of all, he was given power and a seat right next to Yahweh, which is only available for the Gods, which is the reason his power is the same as a Demigod! Now, do you think your parents can be killed when they killed Metatron?! That's impossible, they're deaths have been set up long ago!"

I was in silence, I couldn't say a single thing to Ruri to protect the pride of both of my parents.

My weakness and ignorance of not knowing what happened in the past of both Hell and Heaven are what made me lose to Ruri.

If only I could've known more, I would've protected the names of my parents from Ruri's judgment.

Having nothing to say to fight against her made me give up.

So I couldn't do a thing but run.

"Wait Haruki!" That's the last thing I heard from Akemi before I ran away.

"Ruri you went too far!"

"What am I suppose to do Akemi? That guy is stupid and ignorant for the fact that my opinion is completely valid, don't you two agree?"

"It is indeed possible, but why would you say that in front of him!?"

"Look Akemi, Haruki is weak: both mentally and emotionally, so it's best that I said that in front of his own face."

"Okay, okay, can the both of you stop arguing now? You two are making the situation worse and also setting a bad example to Talya." Sora while patting the sleeping Talya, he said that to the two directly.

Noticing the moment that they came here, he knew that something big like this would've happened, so in the midst of Ruri starting to talk about the sword, Sora instantly used his skill to make Talya fall asleep.

Having been worried about Haruki, Sora stood up; stretched both of his arms upward. "I better go to Haruki, while you two need to have a talk."

***

It was cold and empty, I was back in my room, crying.

I don't know why I suddenly cried, I don't know why I need to cry.

Am I crying because I lost? Am I crying because Ruri might be telling the truth?

If it were true, then I want to ask them why did they betray Hell like Satanael? Could there be a good reason for it?

I'm confused about what's happening right now and what Ruri said, I want to give up on hope for the future of Hell.

Because if it's true, then how is Hell gonna face more betrayal of the Archdukes in the future? And one day, it might be corrupted by the influence of the Gods in the distant future.

Woof! Woof!

"Oh Flint, when did you get here?" I was surprised by the sudden appearance of Flint in front of me.

So, I grab him and hugged him. "I hope that you'll be forever with me!"

Woof! "Ah-! Thank you, Flint! You're so cute and fluffy!"

That's right, maybe if what Ruri is saying is true, I can still fix this.

With the help of them, the citizens and Hell wouldn't have to suffer anymore, even if my father did betray Hell a long time ago, I forgot that there are still people whom I can call allies and friends that won't betray Hell as Satanael did.

Even if it's depressing and stressful for me, I'll just force my safe to take it!

"*Laugh*" How laughable, I was crying a moment ago, and now I'm smiling? Why am I so wishy-washy in my current situation? "*Tsk*" Maybe Ruri is right, I really am stupid.

Knock! Knock! The door opened, and Sora came with Lucas with him. "Yo, I knew that you're gonna be here, so we came to cheer you up."

"*Sigh* Even if I want to leave you alone because you need to think alone without disturbance, but Sora forced me to come."

"Huh-? Come on, what do you mean that Haruki needs time to think alone? Didn't anyone say that the more the merrier?"

"Times like this, that phrase is not relevant anymore Sora."

"Hmm... Don't care."

"*Sigh* You need to get smarter and read the atmosphere..."

'Hey! I know that I'm dumb, but don't tell that straight to my own face!"

Seeing the two argue made me think to myself, maybe I can really do it? Because seeing the two doing their best to try and cheer me up, and I know also that Akemi, Ruri, Millie, Shota, and everyone else is doing their best for our and the future of Hell too.

Even if Ruri said all of those, I know that she didn't really want to know that her opinion was actually true, I know that she's afraid to know if her opinion is really true.

I couldn't handle thinking of me forgetting the feelings of my friends again, because of it, I let out a loud hysterical laugh.

The two stopped fighting when I let out a laugh, it made them surprised that I laughed.

"Why are you laughing Haruki? Sora asked

"Nothing really... It's just because of my stupidity that I laughed."

"Okay... But I'm glad that you're finally okay Haruki."

"Yeah, thank you Sora; Lucas, for giving me hope for the future of Hell."

Sora was dumbfounded from my sudden gratitude, while Lucas sighed and let out a smile; saying. "Then promise not only me Haruki, but also everyone else, that you won't ever forget that we're always with your side, not as your soldiers, but as friends."

"*Sigh* I don't know if you can read my mind or anything, but I promised."

The three of us smiled and let out a small laugh, and both of them were in relief that I'm now back to my old self again.

As I jumped back up, I stretched my arm and slap myself in the face to show a smile. "Then I better go back to your room to take a rest, so that my wounds would heal and apologize to Ruri for shouting at her."

***

[Chizuru Belial POV]

Back at the underground lab of Millie, were Faust, Chizuru, and Anya doing work at the lab.

"*Sigh* Okay, now that there's a camera at Millie's room to check the condition of the sword, we need to experiment on Anya's mind to try and contact Shota, so are you ready Chizuru?"

"Yes, Anya is now inside the machine, but Faust are you sure that this won't harm Anya right? Even I haven't met the General of Gluttony Shota Beelzebub yet, I'm worried about him getting angry or sad that we killed one of his pets."

"You don't need to worry about that Chizuru, I test this machine using Flint and it didn't kill him at all, and it is working."

"You test in on Flint?! Before using him, Did you ask Haruki about using Flint as your test subject?"

"Now that you know that I tested the machine on Flint, I hope that you won't tell him, Chizuru, because there will be trouble that'll come for you."

Chizuru was completely frightened by the sudden mood swing of Faust, he's like a mad scientist when he gave her a spine-chilling stare. "Okay..."

"Then let's start! Mission: Contact Shota and the others have now begun! Are you two ready?"

"Yes."

Buzz!

"It's starting in 5 seconds, 5..! 4..! 3..! 2... 1..."

The machine let out a loud beeping sound and Anya has now starting to send a message to Shota.

It beeped loudly and then stopped. "Did we successfully did it? Or no?" Chizuru asked

The machine turned off and the lights of it turned green, and Anya who was inside the machine stepped out of it, and let out a buzz to signal that she wasn't damaged or injured from the machine.

A smile filled with relief came from Chizuru when she saw that Anya was still alive and uninjured. "*Sigh* Good thing that you're ok-"

"Hahaha! We did it! We actually did it! We sent the message to them successfully! I know that my machine would work!"

Seeing the happy Faust made Chizuru cringe. "So, how long would it take for Shota to reach the message?"

"*Hmp!* We don't need to know how long it would take Chizuru, because this machine is making an opening for Thought Owl to be used, so that means, Anya instantly contacted Shota!"

"I see... I see..., I'm glad..."

"What are you doing Chizuru!? We need to tell this to the others now! Because this is definitely good news!"

"Okay!- Wait-! Don't pull me!"

"Haha! I can't wait to show the Prince and the others, the machine that I create, and what we did! I'm enthralled at what their reactions are gonna be!"

"Wait Faust--!"

***

[Shota Beelzebub POV]

A text came to his mind and Shota who read the text made him filled with both joy and relief that he almost cried from joy.

He stood up and jumped happily while shouting. "Yes! Yes! Anya!"

Seeing that the message came from Anya, and what happened back on the seventh floor made Shota jumped in complete joy.

"I need to tell the others about this!" And so Shota ran with a smile on his face to where Millie and the others were.

Bang! Came from the door that Shota pushed. "Everyone!"

Millie, Lilith, and Ifrit who were inside the room were shocked by the sudden shout of Shota, Millie asked him. "What happened Shota!? Are the ghouls here!?"

"No it's not the ghouls, it's Anya! She finally messaged me that she told Haruki and the others about our current situation!"

Everyone smiled when they heard what Shota said, except Millie who was perplexed by what Shota said.

She knew that even though there's a barrier that blocks any messaging skills, she knew that Shota can still contact his insects, but what's troubling her is how can Anya sent a full message.

Because Shota told them before that he can only message his insects ten words per day because there's a barrier that's stopping him from sending long messages.

"Shota to make this clear, how long is her message?"

"It's really long, that I can't keep count on the words, but if you're wondering how she sent a full message to me, she said that Faust created a machine that can message anyone who is connected somehow to the test subjects. And since Anya is my pet, she's connected to me and that's how she messaged me."

"*Sigh* Good, I was worried there for a sec, so what did she say?"

"First: She said that Haruki has finally finished his speech successfully, and made everyone on the 8th floor in awe, even the citizens who were against us were also in awe from Haruki and decided to finally give up. Second: Is what shocked me, Mammon."

"Mammon? What about him?"

"Apparently, Mammon wasn't an ally of Satanael and was just pretending, but he isn't our ally too, Mammon said that his only goal is Camael and his secrets, so he's now helping Haruki and the others temporary to stop Camael."

"I see... So he wants to get what he wants first, that's just like him..."

"Third is what shocked me the most, apparently, Lucifer himself visited Haruki in his dream and gave Haruki the sword of King Jarren that he used in the past to kill the Archangels and Seraphim."

Lilith was puzzled by what Shota said, and kept on wondering why would Lucifer give Haruki, Jarren's sword. "But in the last war, Jarren sword was destroyed, so how did Lucifer give it to Haruki?"

"Well... Lucifer said that he fixed it while he's dead, to be honest hearing that feels like a joke."

Lilith let out a happy sigh and Ifrit laughed hardly and saying. "He never changes, even if he's dead."

"Also, Haruki and Lucifer dueled, but what's different is that they both used Soul Bound on their duel, and Lucifer's Soul Bound has a different design than that of Haruki's, and also Lucifer said that King Jarren also has Soul Bound."

"That's impossible! because when I checked my father's skill list, it has no Soul Bound In it!" Millie said in surprise.

"I agree with Millie; Shota, even myself, Lilith, and the other Archdukes who were still alive never even heard of Soul Bound, and even this is the first time that the Archangels has seen Soul Bound, so how did Lucifer use it?" Hans declared.

The door creaked and Zadkiel appeared. "Sorry for hearing your conversation, but I want to join in too because I might have an answer to some of your questions."

The other Archdukes were hesitant to let Zadkiel join in, but Millie and Lilith both decided to let Zadkiel join. "Sure Zadkiel, you can join in."

"Thanks, Millie. *Cough* Actually Ifrit, Michael knew about Soul Bound before us, he said to us last night that King Jarren used Soul Bound to kill every Seraphim he battled."

"Then why is my father's Soul Bound unlisted?"

"To be honest I don't know, actually even Michael was shocked that King Jarren didn't use Soul Bound last month."

Everyone was silenced from Zadkiel's answer, and Millie was already starting to process what Zadkiel has said.

She was thinking to herself something that she can't accept, so she decided that she needs more evidence before saying that it's legitimate.

"Also when Haruki woke up, Mammon instantly knew about the dream and after that, the sword exploded on Haruki but good thing he's okay and your room has been destroyed because that's where they were when the sword exploded, and also the message said that the sword was untouchable even to the other Generals including Chizuru and Ruri who tried to touch it but fail. So apparently the three Generals were now free and are helping them, also Haruki can't even touch the sword. too." Shota said

"For now we don't need that information, because after we reunite later we'll deal with the swor-"

"Apparently they have to do something about the sword now, because every minute, the sword is burning the castle bit by bit, and so that's why they're afraid that it'll come to the city." With disappointment Shota declared. "And they said that they're now gonna experiment on it."

"Just how can luck be cruel to us..."

Millie snickered.

"Don't worry Millie, I know they can solve the problem of the sword quickly; because the Prince has potential and I know that."

"Thanks, Zadkiel. I shouldn't give up easily so thank you for reminding me. *Cough* Is there more Shota?"

"Yes... This is the last one, so Millie; Zadkiel be ready from what you're gonna hear, because both of you won't accept this. Apparently, the sword was made from a santelmo and a feather of a phoenix, which is why Ruri and all of the Generals suspected both of your parents to be traitors like Satanael and the others since only the Gods have one phoenix captive who was no sealed."

Millie was in complete silence, and Zadkiel was surprised.

"Everyone, I want to make this clear, but based on what I heard from Shota, is my Lord along with Satanael and possibly King Jarren, the people who planned this?"

Lilith patted Zadkiel in the back. "Yes, we don't want this to tell you, but Yahweh and Satanael planned the war both in the past and present before, so that means Satanael and the other were working together with Yahweh to destroy Hell."

"I knew it... I have my suspicion at first but I guess I was right, my Lord is definitely trying to destroy Hell."

"Zadkiel, I want to ask this, are you still gonna do what you wish for? The wish of peace between us devils and angels?"

"Yes! I want it because for now, I won't show loyalty to my Lord, but loyalty to what our Mother wishes, Lilith."

"So Mother visited you in your dreams too... I'm glad Zadkiel."

Both of them smiled in joy and decided to stop this dramatic nonsense first and go back to the topic.

All of them noticed that Millie was in complete silence after she heard what Shota said.

In Millie's mind was the evidence she needed, because it's finally complete.

The sword, Soul Bound, their deaths, skill list, war, and Yahweh having the knowledge to Soul Bound, were the evidence that was in Millie's mind.

As of right now she finally painfully accepted it, even if it hurts her very much.

The mystery that she solved was: Jarren Hotaru and Xuntea Hotaru betraying Hell and everyone: TRUE.