94 Moving Again

- Death and Tsukuyomi -

Death had a long ride to Han'ei ahead of him. The silence of the long trip made him miss the others. For all the problems he had caused, he found the company of Lucifer's team comforting, even if he had potentially ruined his image with them.

'How long has it been since I've just sat down with friends?'

Death cycled through many different thoughts as he rode. Flashes of anger towards Satan, melancholy about his fights with Lucifer, and small flickers of joy from his brief time spent drinking with the group in Sol. There were large moments he tried to forget and small ones he tried to hold onto.

'Nothing I can do about it now.'

After weeks of travel, he was finally approaching Han'ei's border. As he got closer to the border he could see a familiar figure waiting for him.

Death slowed Hrom to a stop. "Who told you I was coming?" he glared at Tsukuyomi.

Tsukuyomi gave a deep bow. "I simply check the border every day for your arrival."

"Right..." Death jumped off of Hrom, "we'll pretend I believe that for now. Where's your sister?"

Tsukuyomi nearly flinched at the comment. He had prepared himself for this moment but actually seeing Death in person had caused his careful mental planning to stumble.

Tsukuyomi cleared his throat. "Allow me to explain."

Death kept his tone cold, "Please do. You have until we reach your father."

As Death and Tsukuyomi came into view of the main city of Han'ei, the sight of the large multi-colored trees and diverse yokai seemed to fill the area in an instant.

"Please, allow me to explain over there," Tsukuyomi said, pointing to a large, multi-leveled wooden temple in the distance.

Death knew the temple was in the same direction as Izanagi so he allowed the change in location. The two of them went inside and ascended the numerous stairs to the top.

"You have five minutes," Death warned Tsukuyomi.

"I appreciate the courtesy," Tsukuyomi replied.

The two were about halfway up the temple when Tsukuyomi led them outside to a balcony. The balcony gave the two of them a full view of most of the city below.

Death stared out over the sprawling landscape. "Speak."

Tsukuyomi walked up and pulled a wooden box out of his kimono. "Take this and look over there," He said, pointing to a large gathering of yokai.

Death could immediately see Amaterasu among the crowd. His hand gripped the wood box Tsukuyomi had given him, cracking it. He opened the box and was shocked by what was inside. He quickly looked back at Amaterasu to confirm what he was seeing.

"You think this is enough?" he asked, trying to hide his surprise.

Tsukuyomi walked up and stared at Amaterasu. "It is a start. What she is doing now is another part of our plea to you to...allow us the time it will take to redeem my sister's actions."

Death had lost a lot of his anger towards Amaterasu during his ride to Han'ei. It was a combination of Satan acting as a lightning rod for his frustrations, while also having the relief of finally killing Moloch and Baal.

He closed the box and kept his eyes on Amaterasu. "Go on."

Tsukuyomi made a sigh of relief. "Yes, well, I want to be completely honest with you first. Back in Sol, when I saw you fighting my sister, I was ready to fight you as well."

Death tilted his head towards Tsukuyomi. He would have interrupted but a recent experience with a certain someone told him he should wait to hear the full story.

Tsukuyomi continued, "That thought, then, now, and forever after, died. Seeing my noble sister, as foolish as she may be at times, crawl away from you in fear...I knew where we stood," he tightly gripped the railing. "As I told her, we will work together to keep more of our kind from causing you trouble."

"Why is that exactly?" Death asked, knowing the answer.

Tsukuyomi was quiet for a moment. He felt the full weight of the question pressing against him.

He did his best to look at Death as he spoke. "I have read about the World's Grave. I know documenting the event is forbidden but you know my father. What you did...I...I do not want it to happen to my family."

"Good," Death stopped leaning on the railing. "I have Grim that will be staying here. He'll confirm that you're sticking to your word. If anything happens to him it will be on you. Understood?"

Tsukuyomi bowed. "Of course."

Death looked at the cracked box. "I'll be staying here until that Grim arrives. I'll also be confirming everything you've told me."

Tsukuyomi raised his head. "Allow me to tell you the story I gave to my family members."

Death put the box away in his robe. "No need. Until I leave I'll be holding onto the truth as insurance."

Tsukuyomi wanted to argue but knew better. He simply agreed and the two left the temple.

'Can't wait to tell Lucifer about this...,' Death thought as he left the temple.

- Lucifer and team -

As Lucifer's team left Passage they ran into Xaviel's group.

"Be careful. You're not dealing with the same unknown anymore," Lucifer warned.

Lucifer didn't speak with Xaviel for very long. He had already informed Michael of the situation. As frustrated as Michael was with Kahvis over the death of the angels, he couldn't pretend the angels involved were faultless. Any potential conflict between Heaven and the resistance had been defused, at least temporarily.

Other than the quick chat with Xaviel, Lucifer's team only stopped three times during their trip. First, in Heliopolis to inform Ra of what happened in Passage on behalf of Death. The second time was in Vázoluna to give Fensyr the full story of Amaterasu's defeat. Lastly, Sangmara, to participate in the extravagant party Lucius had prepared.

"I hate wearing these clothes," Lucifer said putting on the black suit that Lucius gave him.

"Why?" Elijah asked.

"They make me look evil," Lucifer responded.

Elijah chuckled at the comment, thinking Lucifer was being childish about it. That was until he saw Lucifer in the full outfit. He couldn't help staring at Lucifer.

"Wow, it really does."

Lucifer sighed as he adjusted the cuffs. "It's the eyes."

The team did their best to enjoy the party. Lucifer spent most of his time speaking with Lucius and Gwyn about Death.

"How do you work with that demon?" Gwyn asked scrunching her nose.

"Barely," Lucifer replied.

Lao and Yvere were having a conversation of their own in the corner of the ballroom.

"I'm sure he'll be overjoyed to hear that our team might not need to exist anymore," Lao said.

Yvere looked at Lao's eyes. "How do you feel about that?"

Lao started rubbing his wrist. "I'm not sure..."

Peter was talking to Heinrich, Sabu, and Elijah near the middle of the party, "First thing we're doin' is gettin' ya three into mana trainin' no objections."

The three agreed but for different reasons. Elijah was the only one who genuinely wanted to train his mana. Sabu and Heinrich felt like they needed to do it, Heinrich even moreso.

The party came and went and the team left Sangmara. As they rode, they couldn't help the lingering feeling of fear that Cytus had inflicted on them. Some of the team thought the conflict justified their group's future disbandment, while others felt the opposite.

- Overview -

(Passing years)

Word of the resistance's victory against the former demon lords Moloch and Baal would start to spread out across the world. Old and young gods alike were surprised by the information. Some thought it was a lie started by the new god, Kahvis, to bluff their strength. Some attributed the entire victory to Death and were now fearful that the Rider was returning to his old roots.

Kahvis renamed the former demon territories to "Solan" and "Maeve."

"They were former friends who deserve their place in this," Kahvis would say when asked about the names.

Kahvis put Asmodeus in charge of Solan, and Belphegor in charge of Maeve. The two of them would be considered new demon lords by the world.

"I always believed in them," Satan laughingly expressed before leaving back to Hell.

Some gods were concerned that Kahvis might have started an alliance with Satan and Death, while those that knew the two ancients were able to quickly understand the situation.

"I helped them remove two cancerous existences. It was a temporary alliance," Death had his Grim spread this message around so that no misunderstandings would grow out of control.

While there were groups of beings that didn't believe in Kahvis' strength, the undeniable fact was that they had claimed two territories, had an army, and were strong enough to hold their own against the demon army.

"They killed Jahkar and Molakar. One of their commanders killed Urdras," Lucifer told some of the Egyptian gods on his travels back through.

The anti-human gods that controlled most of the far north-west territories started to prepare themselves. Kahvis' war against Moloch and Baal was a clear sign to them that this former unknown was targeting enemies of humanity. While these new enemies would plan in the shadows, there would be those trying to seek out Kahvis for a potential alliance.

"Their strength is real, I've seen it. Can't talk about it though, duel's code," Anubis spreading the word of Kahvis' strength.

It wasn't just the notorious deities of the Otherworld that started to shift. There were older beings, long forgotten by the world due to their absence, that saw this as the sign to move again.

'I wonder if Salim feels the same way about this? Assuming he's not dead...' A figure walking around Olympus thought.

Lucifer and Death had assumed winning the demon war would send out waves. As jaded as they had become to the idea of the northern territories changing, they weren't foolish enough to ignore the obvious effects Kahvis' victory would have. The two would discuss what to do when Kahvis started their next war.

"The situation is precarious. If they have too much strength it could spark a cataclysm," Death would often repeat.

"If I wanted to fight a battle against every anti-human god I would have started my own resistance," Lucifer would often retort.