Interlude I: On Thin Ice

(Serafall)

Everything is going to hell.

That fucking Rating Game ruined everything Sirzechs tried to work for... Or the aftermath did.

Sirzechs went absolutely berserk over that glorified fried-chicken, and for good reason as well. As she teleported back to the battlefield, er, what remained of it, she saw that Ajuka was already ahead of her, helping Grayfia trying to stop the enraged demon lord from erasing the rest of the Underworld.

The grief-filled Sirzechs ripped a hole in the pocket dimension and to the Underworld chasing Riser... and that caused a lot of collateral damage... and the erasure of some innocents as well.

It took them everything to stop him, every ounce of mana was used, all of their physical might was tested, and their already emotional states were wearing them down.

They did manage to stop him, finally knocking him out for the count after a fusing their powers in one attack as his own powers got exhausted.

The Phenex... didn't fare well... considering he was erased the moment Sirzechs followed him to the devil realm. The younger Phenex, Ravel, thankfully was spared from the onslaught of the Power of Destruction... even if she was scarred for life.

Serafall frowned sadly, rubbing her tired eyes as she left her desk, leaving the stack of paper and documents and out of her office. She walked slowly to her sister's bedroom, ignoring the looks of awe and admiration from the maids and guards of the mansion.

Once she arrived, she knocked on the door.

"Sona-tan?" She said, not expecting a response. "Are you awake?"

She sighed as her adorable sister didn't reply.

"Sis, please answer me." Silence. "I'm worried about you."

As she was about to open the door, a hand gripped her shoulder. She turned to find her mother smiling sadly at her.

Serafall opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it and nodded, getting back to her office. A glance to the back showed her her mother entering the room to comfort the girl.

Once Serafall entered the office, she spotted Ajuka looking grim.

"Any luck?" She asked, knowing the answer already.

"None." He responded. "He still refused to leave his room."

She already lost count for how many times she sighed. "It's already been a week, Ajuka."

"Don't expect a change for at least a month." He replied dryly.

"...And her parents? Peerage?" She asked, sitting on her chair.

"The only one who I managed to talk to was lord Zeoticus." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "The remaining Peerage locked themselves in their rooms. They're blaming themselves for what happened."

As she was about to ask why she remembered their heritages and groaned. "You've got to be kidding me..." She looked at her fellow Satan almost pleadingly. "And Gasper?"

Ajuka looked like he was chewing on a lemon. "Fell into depression."

"Oh for fuck's sake..." She leaned back, not bothering to stay in her usual cheerful character anymore.

"That's not the worst of it all though-"

"Of course it isn't"

"-Lord and lady Phenex disappeared shortly after hearing the fate of their son."

That made her almost fall from her chair. "What?!"

"Yup, completely and utterly gone. Best part? I don't know where they are. Something got rid of every trace they left behind."

She grimaced. "This can't get any worse..."

"Don't tempt fate, she has a terrible sense of humor."

"This isn't the time for jokes, Ajuka."

He was about to respond with his usual witty comebacks but refrained and sighed instead. "I know... I'm sorry."

What followed was a long moment of silence, one that Serafall finally broke.

"The populace?"

"Disarray, fear, anger, and all the good stuff." He answered, closing his eyes. "A lot of people were killed, and their families want retribution."

"They want Sirzechs to step down, don't they?"

"Some want him executed."

She turned her head at him in shock. "You can't be serious. A death sentence?"

"Do you know how many devils were killed?"

Serafall did not answer.

"134,512 Devils, Sera. 109,102 Low-class and 25,410 Mid-class."

Her heart dropped, dread filling her already grieving soul. Serafall took a deep breath, still not believing what she heard- not wanting to believe what came out of her friend's mouth.

"A huge loss like this..."

"...Might make the other two factions act." He finished for her.

Fear was slowly beginning to show on her face, "No, no no no no NONONO we can't. War must not happen while our strongest warrior is grieving and a huge amount of our already low population erased!" She shouted that last part. "Ajuka, we must not let any of this be heard, whether by a Biblical faction or otherwise!"

"I'm not an idiot, Sera." He calmly said. "I already took care of it."

She slumped back, breathing a sigh of relief. "Then why didn't you start with that you jerk!"

He smiled mirthfully. "You didn't let me finish."

She giggled, then frowned. "Guess we have a lot of work to do, huh?"

His hand landed on her shoulder. "It'll be fine, Sera. We'll push through it like we always did. Sirzechs will be back, even if he changes a bit, and it'll be like how it always been."

After a moment, she nodded slowly, muttering under her breath. "I hope so."

(Azazel)

Looking over the reports, he raised a brow... Hmm... Interesting.

Very interesting. What about this one? I see I see.

And this? Hoho! Very Interesante!

These... will prove valuable for his current research. To think that something like that is doable... He chuckled. These humans are really wild.

They're truly his favorite race.

Suddenly, a fist struck the back of his head at Mach speed, causing him to hit his forehead on the desk while dropping his report.

"Owie!"

"What the FUCK! ARE YOU DOING!" His advisor yelled.

"I'm- I- Uh- I'm reading the recent report by-"

"THAT'S PORN YOU DAMN PERVERT!"

Another hit.

"Ow! Stop!"

"You dumbass! Can't you take your job seriously for one?! Stop thinking with your dick and start using that empty head of yours!"

"S-Shemhazai, I'm- OW! I'm just taking a break! I'll get back to work soon, I promise!"

"You were taking a break since last week you piece of shit!"

"Ow ow ow ow! Stop pulling my ear- you'll rip it off!"

"Oh, I hope I fucking do you sack of horseshit!"

"Sowwy! I'm sowwy!"

"Don't you dare-"

The door burst open, revealing a silver-haired teen dragging a fallen angel behind him. Vali froze, seeing his surrogate father being punished like a toddler, then quickly wore his usual cocky smirk.

Azazel felt a tear of shame leave his eye at the look of horror Vali had for a split-second.

His eyes then scanned at the dragged fallen, which made him immediately sharpen his feature as he saw Kokabiel... What's worrying, however, was how he grinned even after being dragged around.

"Here," Vali said, throwing Kokbiel at his feet. "Job's done. Wished he'd put up more of a fight though. Was laughing like mad the entire time."

"Thank you Vali," Azazel said, adopting a serious look as he glared down at the warmonger.

Vali then leaned on the wall near the door, his smirk never leaving his face.

"Well... You seem too happy for someone who's about to be interrogated." Azazel remarked.

Kokabiel chuckled, slowly standing on his feet as he nursed the gash on his shoulder. "You won't believe what happened in the underworld, Azazel."

Azazel raised a brow. "Oh? Enlighten us."

Kokabiel grinned, a manic glint in his eyes. "The Gremory heiress was killed."

The Governor almost choked on his spit when he heard that, his eyes widening considerably. Azazel suddenly vanished from his chair and appeared in front of Kokabiel, grabbing his collar tightly.

"Explain."

He chuckled again. "The Rating Game between Phenex and Gremory. Accidental murder on Phenex's part." The Warhawk's grin widened. "You know what happened next? Sirzechs went mad, completely annihilating the battlefield. In his enraged state, he followed Phenex to the Underworld... You should know the rest."

Azazel let go of him, horror showing in his face.

"You know what that means? It means that it's our chance to strike!" The ten-winged fallen shouted. "While their leader is out of commission and their numbers weakened, we can show them the true power of the fallen!"

Before he said anymore, Azazel delivered a punch to his stomach, instantly knocking the weaker fallen out.

"Vali." Azazel turned to his surrogate son. "Take him to Baraqiel and tell the news. Make sure no one hears of this."

Vali shrugged and complied, taking the unconscious form of Kokabiel out of the office.

Azazel ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes in thought.

This is bad. Very bad.

He and Sirzechs worked so hard for peace in their respective factions, always trying to end the conflict between their races. To think that something like that almost ruined all the effort on Sirzechs' part...

And if the other fallen hear about this then...

"Fuck..." He cursed under his breath.

They'll demand war.

Not only that but if Sirzechs did go berserk in his realm, it could spell disaster for his own race. Killing the heir of the Phenex family will make an enemy out of said family, and depends on how many he killed, how much he destroyed, then his people will turn on him which would mean...

Azazel bit his lips.

Civil war.

"He could be lying," Shemhazai spoke.

"I doubt it." Azazel shook his head. "He looked too joyful to be lying. I don't know how he got the information, but it's most likely true."

"What should we do then?"

Azazel sighed as he went to sit on his chair again. "Not much. The most we could do is keeping said information under wrap. This is top secret info, only you, Baraqiel, Vali, and I should know about this."

Shemhazai nodded. "Understood." He paused then asked again. "What do you think heaven will do if they hear about this?"

"As long as we stay neutral and don't act, Michael will do the same and try to keep it a secret. He doesn't want a war either."

Azazel tiredly sighed again as he massaged his forehead.

His work can never be done.

(Gasper)

Worthless.

That's what he is. A worthless being with no purpose.

Hiding away as his king, his savior, spent almost all her life worried about her future, training to be better, and fighting for herself... and dying in the process.

Worthless.

He was supposed to serve, even if he didn't want to.

Worthl̶e̵s̸s̵.

He was supposed to better himself, even if he thinks it's useless.

W̵o̶r̶t̸h̷l̵e̵s̵s̶.

He was supposed to fight, even if he was scared.

Ẉ̷̆o̶͖̍̅r̴͕̈́̎ţ̷̿h̸̼̝̅̒l̴̠͗e̷̻͗͒ś̸͙̳s̸̼̈͗

And what did he do? Hid away while his friends suffered.

W̵̧̢͈̟̖̿̑̚͠ơ̴̧̟̰͉̟̯̮͆̀͒r̴̢̻͖̮̥̄̊͘t̸̡̡̲̪͎̳̗̀̽̊̇̍́̃̈́h̵̡̛̲̯͕̟̞̋͗͊l̷̛̯͙̍̓̈́̓̉e̵̺̎͌̈́͗̇̄̓s̶̖͈̙̻̳͉̹̩̊͝s̵̛̼̥̲̭̰̯̻̹̉̋̍̂̍

While his friends died.

W̴̡͕͚͇̬̪̗̬͕̣̜̖̰͛ǫ̵̢̰̘̻̪̜͇̺̺̬̲͔̠͛̓r̶̹̦̝̼͉͕̹̙̃̎̏̊̓̈́͌̈̐̾͝t̷̲̹̹͉̐̆͑̾h̸̢̖̘̞̗̲̼̞̖̥̼̑̎̀̾̆̉́̎̏̏́̈̚͘͝ļ̴̧̡̼̮̮̗̟͔͉̘͚̙̜̘͝e̴̫̥̥̝̪̱̩̙͍̫̩̦̬̾́̎͐̉̐͗̌̌̽̃̉̚̚͜͝s̸̹̮̯͋͛̈́̈́̎̓͐̽͒͗̋͐̓̀͋̂̇͘͠s̵̭͈̜̫̗̠͔͉͆̊͐̏͗̓̃͘͝

They were right...

Someone like him will never be worthy of his power. A coward like him doesn't deserve anything.

C̶̝͂̇ō̷̬͠w̵̱͂͑a̵͙̯͂̀̈́̐r̶̨̫̪̃͆̆̽d̸̤̣̯͌͛͠.̷̱̭͍͖̜̆͋̈́

̶̡̟̰͋͊̉W̶̆͊̑̔ͅḙ̸̥͛͂́a̵̻̭͊͂k̶̖͔͔̭͈̋͆l̷̪̈́̀ḭ̸̋̊́̊͂ń̴̦͕͕̮̒̍̕g̵̥̳̟̞͕͆͝.̸͔͎͊͛́̕

̷̰̯̬̅͐̈́͘Ų̷̨̙̮̙̀̍̃͌n̷͖̈́̇̈́̂w̷̘̫̦̹̑́̕͘ơ̵̦̪͐̋͒̇r̴̥͙͍̝͈̓̆͑̋́t̶̨̫̱̝̱̐́͐͝h̷͚̰͗͋ŷ̷̡̦͐͆͘ͅͅ.̵̆̐

̵͇̼̿̿͝͝A̷̢̤̖̝̜̿̏̓ ̵͚̦̺̣̻̐̀͝g̴͎̤̞̈u̷̡̧͑͌̇̕t̷̝͉͗͂͐̌̕l̶̗̺̙̉̈͘͝ę̸̺̫̳̇̌͐s̸̡̛̙͓̝͜s̵̘̙͉̓ ̴̧̺̜̱̻͛̾̕ć̷̠̈́̕ṙ̸̼̍͆̀y̵͕͚̕b̶͈͙̞̥͚̊͂̾̓͝a̵̡̗̚b̷̡̰͖̀̊͒͝y̷̤̘̭̟̤͊͋̽̔.

He has always has been and will always be W̸̢̨̧̨̢̛͖͕͙̳̪̠̻̳̠̬̳̜̗̫̩̺̳̯̥͌̑͌̊̋̔́̏̄́͌̿̓͊͐͌͒̇͜͜͠͠ͅǒ̵̯̪̭̗̦̘̯̦̖̗̜̯͖̬̲͚͖͔̼̯̳̯̉̎͆̆̄͒̊̚͜͜͜͜͜͝͝͠ͅr̴̡͚̖͕̘̱͎̱̲̣̗͔̝̾̈̅͗̓̈́̌̀͠͝t̵̨̛̛̛̛̹̮̰̞̜̞̙̬̲̜͇̘͑͒̊̔̈́̿̄̔̊̀̓̈́͗̿͆̽̎̂̆̓͊̆̃͆̏͌̅̈̑̐̍͒̄̕͘͘̚͜͝͠ͅh̸̢̧̡͓͈͍͕͚͙͈̱̹̲̯͇̭̘̱͓̯͙̬͔̻̥̫̬͙̉̋͊̏̐̌́̿͒̇̾̈́̌͛̄̑͐̓̆̍̋̓̾́͂̍͆̎̋̽͌̕̕̚͝͝͝͠ͅļ̶̢̨̨̧̨̨̧̧̛̦͓̱̹̙̘̻̘̫̬̜͕̟̲̟̤̥͔̬̠̖̦̼̺̗̹͓̟͔̼͍̍͛̊̎̂̀͒̔̍͛̎́̀͑͒̇͆̾̐͑̈́̃̐͗̕͜͜͝͠͝͠ͅę̵̧̨̡̡̡̧̨̛̛̛͎͎̺͔̦̬̜̼̲̤̹͉͉͖̼̤͓̞̯̫͇̜̖͖͉̭̞̯̥̠͈̮̳̪̫̻̼̜͉̃̀̎̉͊̓̾̃̀̂́̃́͗̏̓̇̎̊̏͊͌̐̈́͋̀̕͠͝͠͝ṧ̴̡̢̨̫̞̟͕̗͔̺͖̼̺͙̣̌̈̈́̎͐̍̎͆̈́̉̏͒͗̇̈̋̅̽̊̓͋̿͗̃̀̉͛̿͌̚͘͠s̵̡̡̛͉̥̺̗̻͉̩̝̖̰̰̳̹̱̙̤͍̝̮̯͎̰̱͔͉̳͓̘̘͔̪̩͒̽͂͒̽͑͌̓̄́̈́͋͒̆̐̑̾̾̋̈́͑̋͋̈́͘͘͜͝͝͝ͅͅ

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