13 Khaos Brigade

Huang Luan follows Ophis and Team Vali down a hallway, entering into a large dimly lit room with a table in the centre. A large portion of the light seeps into the room from the windows with the rest coming from a single candle on the table. There are several groups of people, mostly divided by race.

"So this is the new member that Ophis personally brought on board? A little young isn't she?" asks a handsome young man with short black hair and blue eyes, he wears a combination of a Japanese school uniform and ancient Chinese attire.

"I assure you, I'm not as young as I appear. And you are?" Huang Luan asks.

"I am Cao Cao, the descendant of the famous Cao Cao, Cao Mengde, who was recorded in the Records of the Three Kingdoms. Leader of the Hero Faction. I'm curious, are you human? Or something else?"

Cao Cao's question piques the interest of most of the other Khaos Brigade members in the room. As they all turn an ear and an eye towards the two.

"Huang Luan. And as for my race…"

"She's a Baboon, a Curly Haired Baboon she said," Bikou says from behind her.

Huang Luan finds herself annoyed with Bikou again, having lost a good chance to mess with Cao Cao and the others that are eavesdropping. Huang Luan can't help but wonder if it's just in his blood that makes him so annoying.

"A Curly Haired Baboon? I haven't heard of a race like that before," Cao Cao says.

"It's no surprise you haven't heard of them before," says a Devil who just entered the room. "Curly Haired Baboons are an old race, that as far as I knew, was extinct."

Looking at the man who walked in, Vali had an angered look on his face before choosing to ignore him and focus on something else. Huang Luan naturally noticed the change in expression on Vali, but she didn't care much for it and engaged in conversation with the Devil.

"You look familiar… similar to someone I used to know. Who're you?" Huang Luan asks.

"Rizevim. Rizevim Livan Lucifer, son of the original Lucifer."

Before Rizevim could continue, Huang Luan says, "Oh. So that's why you look similar. You're Lucifer's brat. And for you're information, the Curly Haired Baboons are still living well in the Nation of Disorder."

"The Nation of Disorder? What's that? Why haven't I ever heard this name before?" Bikou asks the question 99% of the room was wondering.

However, no one answers. But as he moves to a free seat, Rizevim believes he's figured out the newcomer's identity, 'If my suspicion is true, then I believe that much of my future plans need to be reworked.'

Ignoring Bikou's question, she asks Cao Cao, "Like you, I'm curious. Tell me about the Hero Faction."

Cao Cao quickly obliges, having no reason not to explain, "The Hero Faction is a group that consists only of humans. Our purpose is to show the potential of humanity and test the absolute limits of humans. To defeat the beings that would bring harm to humanity, such as Devils, Fallen Angels, and Dragons."

Huang Luan nods in satisfaction, "Wonderful and worthy of praise. Should you be in need of assistance, I would not mind lending a hand. I won't fight your battles for you, but I do not mind lending material wealth or other resources, should your goals be for the sake of humanity."

"I didn't think a non-human would be so supportive of our goal," Cao Cao says, having not expected such a response.

"Nonsense. Since time immemorial I have been regarded as the absolute guardian of mankind," Huang Luan says, also reaffirming Rizevim's suspicions.

--

After several more minutes, the last few people set to attend the meeting arrive in the room as the Khaos Brigade's meeting finally begins.

The meeting itself honestly had no real relation to the Khaos Brigade's ultimate goal of defeating the Apocolypse Dragon and kicking it from the Dimensional Gap. It was clear to Huang Luan that beyond Vali's group, the others taking advantage of Ophis for their own purposes. For Huang Luan, the most interesting part of the meeting was when Sigfried, a member of the Hero Faction, taunted Arthur when a certain topic came up, the Fallen Angel Kokabiel orchestrating the theft of Excalibur Fragments from the Church.

Deciding to test the waters a bit, Rizevim says, "As the newest member of our little organisation, why don't you introduce yourself, your Majesty."

Rizevim's words cause the other devils of the Old Satan Faction to reel back in surprise as well as many others who know him. It wasn't the subject matter that caught these people off guard, but rather his way of addressing Huang Luan.

"I take it you figured out who I am?" Huang Luan asks.

"Of course, unlike all the youngsters in the room, I'm very familiar with the truly ancient history of our world. My father, the original Lucifer, had mentioned you before on a few occasions. He said if he had a choice of fighting you once or the Biblical God ten times over while crippled, he'd choose the latter because the fight would at least end instead of you leaving him half dead while waiting for him to heal only to repeat the process far more than ten times. It was your long absence from the world stage that sparked his ambition to start the Great War, thinking you were dead."

"Ah, that brings back memories. Whenever I get bored I'd go pick a fight with whoever was bothering humans at the time. Spoiler alert, it was usually Lucifer. But did he really think I was dead just because I took an extra-long nap? Haha, that old Devil must have been on some serious hopium if he really thought that," Huang Luan chuckles.

"I am Huang Luan. My participation in this organisation is mostly nominal, at most I will provide some money and items, but for the most part, I won't be participating in any battles. That was the agreement I made with Ophis. Do well to keep me entertained."

Since the meeting is mostly over, Huang Luan gets up from her seat, "My work here is done," she then takes a couple of steps before disappearing from view."

"Teleportation?" asks one of the members of the magician faction.

"No. She can not use magic," Ophis says, before leaving with Team Vali.

"You clearly know who she is. Care to share?" asks Katerea Leviathan, a representative of the Old Satan Faction.

Rizevim shrugs, "Perhaps," not elaborating further before he leaves with a grin on his face.

---

Not long after the Khaos Brigade meeting, Team Vali are gathered around a park deciding their next course of action.

"So what now?" Bikou asks.

"We could try picking a fight with one of the factions nearby," Vali says.

"Why don't we think about such things later, it's rather late and Le Fay is tired," Arthur says.

With slightly droopy eyes, Le fay says, "That's not true... I can... stay up with... the rest of you…"

"Just listen to yourself. Let's get you to bed," Arthur says.

"Siscon," Kuroka chuckles.

"Takes one to know one," Bikou retorts.

Ignoring the rest of his team, Vali turns his attention to Albion and Ophis.

"So who was that Huang Luan chick?"

As before Albion remains silent, but surprisingly Ophis answers, "The Black Emperor."