Chapter 82: Gremory Mansion

"... I kind of feel sorry for you, Sirzechs"

Lucias said with a light smile on his face while observing the ruined territory in front of him, filled with corpse from both their enemies and their allies.

"... We might need to move the venue of the conference to another place, Lucias-sama"

Sirzechs said with a wry smile on his face, causing Lucias to cross his arms as he contemplated on what to do.

"... I'll give you two choices"

Lucias said as both Zeus and Odin arrived at their location together with Azazel and Michael.

"I'm quite honored to finally meet you, Lucias-sama"

Odin greeted with a large grin on his face causing Lucias to show a polite smile before stretching out his right arm to the old geezer in front of him.

"I'm quite honored to meet you as well, Odin"

Lucias greeted causing Odin to smile in amusement from the polite yet not too respectful greeting that he recieved from Lucias, indicating his level of power and authority compared to the two supreme gods of both Norse and Greek Mythology.

"Please don't mind us, Lucias-sama. We also would like to start the conference between the representatives of all beings in this world... Especially for what happened a while ago"

Zeus said as he glanced at the piles of body being carried by the members of the Forsaken Faction inside a dimensional space to prevent their bodies getting devoured by Demons.

"... I'm sorry for your lose, but you don't need to worry... As long as their soul is strong enough, I can revive some of your soldiers"

Lucias said as he ignored the shocked reaction of the two supreme gods behind him while he walked towards the middle of the battlefield.

"Now then, Sirzechs back to what we were discussing a while ago. Choose, either I hold the venue at the headquarters of my own faction, or I'll just restore this place back to its peak with my magic"

Lucias said as he created a large magic circle across the entire territory causing Sirzechs to sigh from the capabilities of the young man in front of them.

"... If it's doesn't bother you then... would you please just restore this territory? It would be extremely difficult to shelter the devils who lost their homes in this battle"

Sirzechs answered causing Lucias to grin before activating [Reality Manipulation] to reverse back the time a few hours ago before the invasion even started, shocking all of the beings in the territory as the debris and dust all floated back to their original places.

"It's still amazing no matter how many times I see it"

Sirzechs said as he watched the process in awe together with the rest of the faction leader and supreme gods.

"You probably shouldn't move the time of the conference tomorrow, the situation is much grave than I though it was so, we might need to rush the conference or else... We might get interrupted again"

Lucias advised as the magic circle slowly died down, causing Sirzechs to nod his head in response.

"Lucias-sama, what should we deal with him?"

One of his subordinates asked while glancing at the unconscious body of Diodora Astaroth causing Lucias to unconsciously sigh before opening a portal back to the Forsaken Faction.

"I'll be going back first since... I'm extremely busy right now. I'll you all tomorrow in the conference... and also tell Sona to take care of Kate for the time being"

Lucias said as he signalled for his subordinates to go back to the faction, causing all of them to respectfully bow their heads before opening their own respective portals back to the headquarters.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Lucias-san. It is quite late so we'll head out shortly after this"

Sirzechs said causing Lucias to grin before he entered the portal together with his subordinates.

"See you all tomorrow"

Timeskip

"Yo, mind if I stay here for a while?"

Lucias said with a casual smile on his face while standing in front Sirzechs, Zeoticus, and a beautiful woman with short brown flaxen hair and violet eyes who was looking at him in astonishment.

"You must be Lucias-kun, if I'm not mistaken. Thank you for taking care of my daughter in the past, and... thank you for lending us your aid last night. If it weren't for you, we could've suffered more lost than before"

The woman said in gratitude as she bowed her head in front of Lucias with a gentle smile on her face.

"Don't mention it, it's my job to make sure that my cannon- I mean my allies are safe before the start of the war... If it's alright with you, may I ask for your name, Milady?"

Lucias said with a gentle smile on his face as he pressed his lips against the back of her hand causing the two men behind her to wryly smile.

"Venelana Gremory, you can just call me mother, Lucias-kun"

"... I'll just call you Venelana"

"No need to be shy"

Venelana said before glancing at Grayfia who was respectfully waiting at the corner of the room.

"Can you guide our esteemed guest to one of our spare rooms, Grayfia?"

"Understood"

Grayfia answered without hesitation before walking in front of Lucias with a stoic expression on her face.

"Please follow me"

She said before walking towards one of the hallways in the mansion causing Lucias to grin before following her from behind.

"What are you planning?"

Grayfia immediately asked in a quite voice while both of them walked towards the guest room of the Gremory Mansion.

"Planning? I'm just here for a friendly visit, Lucifuge-san"

Lucias said with an innocent smile on his face causing Grayfia to narrow her eyes, clearly indicating that she didn't trust him.

"You underestimate me too much, Grayfia-san. What benefit will I get for infiltrating this mansion anyway? Even if I had an ulterior motive... It would only be when I decided to wipe out this entire clan by myself"

Lucias said causing Grayfia to release her killing intent before facing Lucias with a large frown on her face.

"No need to he so stiff, Grayfia. I told you didn't I, I'm just here for a friendly visit, nothing more"

Lucias said as he leaned closer to Grayfia who suddenly froze from her spot as a terrifying killing intent suddenly devoured her body.

"If I wanted to kill you, you would've died from the very spot you are standing on, Grayfia Lucifuge. None of the servants or devils in this mansion will even know how they die"

He whispered as he placed his hand on top of her shoulders, staring at her with his cold golden eyes that brought fear down her body.

"No one can stop me if I wanted to kill all of you in this very mansion since even the higher ups of your faction is afraid of me"

"..."

"So think twice before you place your suspicions on me, Grayfia Lucifuge"

Lucias said before switching back to his gentle smile as he opened the door of the guest room causing Grayfia to sigh in relief as the pressure on her body suddenly disappeared.

"A friendly advice, Lucifuge-san... You better keep a leash on your husband, or else... He might just wag his tail to another woman"

Lucias warned causing Grayfia to narrow her eyes as she watched him close the door of his room.

"Remember my advice, Lucifuge... You'll need it"

Lucias said with a casual smile on his face before completely closing the door on her without hesitation.

"Come out"

Lucias suddenly whispered as soon as he closed the door causing a single figure wearing a black robe that covered her entire body, appear inside the room hiding her facial features behind a mask with the insignia of his faction imbedded on its surface.

"What are you doing here, Iris?"

Lucias asked with a slight frown on his face causing the masked figure to sigh in response.

"Lucias... It's no good for you to just run away from your responsibilities"

Iris said as she took off the hood that was covering her head causing his long silky black hair to fall on her back.

"... I'm not running away..."

Lucias said while averting his eyes to the side, causing Iris to frown while looking at her mischievous adopted son.

"Lucias"

"... You can't blame me, I didn't expect for Rimuru to get THAT angry with me... My fiancées are also supporting him so... I had no choice but to leave for the time being until he cools down"

Lucias said with a guilty smile on his face, remembering the "smiling" face of Rimuru when he found out how he made Kate pretend to be child of another woman.

"What did he request to make you run away from the headquarters?"

Iris asked with a confused expression on her face, knowing Lucias' personality.

"... He wanted more strands of my hair"

"Huh?"

Iris asked out in confusion, not expecting for Rimuru's request to be as trival as this, but she couldn't understand why Lucias had to run away for such a trival request.

"You could've just given him what he wanted, Lucias. A just piece of hair wouldn't kill you"

"... You wouldn't understand, Iris"

Lucias said as he shook his head to the side with a wry smile on his face, causing Iris to stare at him with a confused expression on her face.

"So tell me... Why did you come here alone? Where's the rest of the girls?"

Lucias asked causing Iris to jolt in surprise before averting her eyes from Lucias.

"... Nothing much..."

"..."

"... I-I just wanted to... see Milicas... that's all..."

Iris confessed with a guilty expression on her face.

"... Is that it? You could've just told me"

"But... I thought you would find it... Uncomfortable for me to visit Milicas since..."

"You... Why did you assume that I'll feel uncomfortable about that?"

Lucias asked as he stared at her with a complicated gaze on his face.

"Well... You're my adoptive son..."

Iris nervously answered as she took off the mask that was covering her soft facial features that didn't aged in the last 7 years that they were together.

"Iris... Nevermind. Just know that I don't feel uncomfortable with you seeing your own son... Meet him if you like, I will support you no matter what happens"

Lucias said as he crouched down to match her line of sight before gently smiling at her direction.

"It's been years since the last time you told me that you wanted to reveal yourself to them..."

Lucias quitely whispered under his breath until he completely stopped his words, gazing at Iris with friendly smile on his face.

"What?"

Iris asked while staring at him in a daze as she couldn't catch his last words causing Lucias to chuckle before pulling her hood back at her head.

"Nothing"

-with ???-

"Strike quickly or else we might get caught again"

A handsome young man with short black hair and blue eyes wearing a combination of a Japanese school uniform and an ancient chinese attire ordered while holding a large spear on his hand as all of them made their way towards Youkai Faction.

"Keep your presence hidden, Lucias Frey surely has hidden some of his subordinates to protect her so continue with caution"

"Hai!"

All of them shouted in unison as they jumped from tree to tree at fast speed, all without making any movement on the leaves and branches around them.

"We're almost there so just-"

He said but was cut off when several blood red swords rained down on their location, piercing the backs of several humans around him, killing in them in an instant as a lethal poison suddenly invaded their bodies causing him to click his tongue.

"Shit!"

He cursed before blocking all of the swords aimed at his direction with his spear.

"Everyone take cover!!"

He shouted at his subordinates but recieved no reply as bright blue flames engulfed the entire vicinity, burning all of the bodies into ashes as their heads were decapitated before they were even engulfed in the flames.

"W-What"

He stuttered as a large blade engulfed in blue flames suddenly appeared close to his neck, prepared to decapitate him without hesitation but stopped a thousands of holy swords suddenly came out of the ground.

"Cao Cao, now is not the time to admire the view!! We're being surrounded!"

A beautiful woman with long blond hair and sky-blue eyes shouted at Cao Cao who was staring at the burning forest in a daze.

"We finally found you"

A young and beautiful woman wearing a military outfit stated with a frown on her face, holding an unconscious short boy with tanned skin in her arm like she was carrying a sack.

"So we are only keeping this 4 alive, huh?"

A young woman wearing an extremely revealing outfit said as she threw the unconscious body of a young and cute woman wearing a witch outfit on the ground.

"Indeed"

A deep voice muttered in the dark as a large figure wearing a skull mask on his head appeared from the blue flames that was burning the forest into cinders.

"Let's restrain them and return back to the faction, Miyaoi, Hassan. Clean up the rest of this filth"

"Hmm"

"Why should I listen to you?"

Miyaoi said in irritation while looking at the stoic expression that Nightingale had.

"I was assigned by the commander to lead this expedition. So I must take responsibility of the role that the commander has given me"

She said as the three of the stared at the two figures who was cautiously looking at them with their weapons raised in front of them.

"Let's just get this over with"

-with Lucias-

"Lucias-san? What's brings you in my office?"

Sirzechs asked as he watched Lucias enter inside his office together with Iris who was concealing her appearance beneath a black robe that reached down her feet and a mask with the insignia of the faction imbedded on it.

"I was strolling around like your mother advised me to... but I have to say, your office is really depressing, Sirzechs"

Lucias said with a disinterested expression on his face while looking around the room. It had little decorations and was barely lit, creating a very gloomy atmosphere while only a single window brought light into the room. Giving Lucias a suffocating feeling from just being inside this kind of office.

Even though he himself is a workaholic, he always payed attention to the design of his room. Adding several flower and plants as decoration and adding a large glass window that basks him with the warm sunlight that he needed while working.

He made his office comfortable to ease his mind and not place more stress into his body while working, and also because some of his fiancées hated the previous designs that were proposed by Riku since they were plain and suffocating to be at.

"... I know... but it wasn't used to be like this in the past..."

Sirzechs said with a nostalgic smile on his face while gazing at the empty chair by his side, remembering his deceased wife who always accompanied him in his office. Giving a comfort like any other so he wasn't bothered by the designs of the room.

After he lose her, his once bright and comfortable office turned gloomy and suffocating since it contained the memories that he had with his deceased wife. Memories that he can't just let go, that's why he never allowed anyone to touch the decorations of the room.

"I'll ask the maid to serve you tea if you're planning on staying here"

He said causing Lucias to shake his head to the side, rejecting his offer.

"Thanks for the offer but... I'm alright. You don't need to bother yourself"

Lucias said before sitting down on one of the sofas inside the room with a casual expression on his face. Taking out a bottle of high quality wine that shuten douji helped him brew a few days ago.

"Want some?"

He said while taking out two wineglass from his inventory and placing it on the small table in front of him.

"... I'll take you on with that offer, Lucias-san"

He said with a wry smile on his face as Lucias poured the blood red wine in the two wineglass in front of him halfway before placing the bottle back into his inventory.

"Do you drink all the time, Lucias-san?"

He asked causing Lucias to smile as he grabbed on of the wineglass on the table with his right hand.

"I don't usually drink, but sometimes I do when none of the girls are here"

Lucias answered causing Sirzechs to raise his eyebrows before walking towards him with a grateful smile on his face.

"By girls, you mean the girls that you mentioned in the past?"

He said causing Lucias to nod his head in response as he watched Sirzechs moved towards the single window of the room. Staring outside with the wineglass in his hand.

"Yeah, they'll join me if I do and get themselves drunk"

"So you're worried for your fiancées?"

"No... they usually rape me when that happens. Most of the time, I just let them do it but... girls like Kuroka become... aggresive when they're drunk"

He said causing Sirzechs to look at him with a wry smile on his face as he didn't expect that one of the women that he was engaged with is the ex-SS criminal of the devil faction.

"Is that why-"

"No, I was serious about my reason of eradicating the Naberius Clan in the past. Even if I didn't, Kuroka could've done it herself. Not in a peaceful way of negotiating with you to not create conflicts between our faction, but she'll just kill anyone in her way"

"... You can't stop her if that happens?"

"I can, but I'll just allow her to go on a rampage, and even if you Maous try to pressure my faction to hand her over... I'll just plummet everything to the ground starting with you"

Lucias said with a confident smile on his face, causing Sirzechs to sigh due to his unreasonable nature when it comes to the people that he cares for.

"So be grateful that I only specifically hunted them in the past, or else only a selected few devils would've been alived now"

Lucias said in a calm tone causing Sirzechs to sigh before looking down at his Son, Milicas, and Grayfia who were with the entire peerage of Rias in the empty land behind their mansion.

"... That child... I kind of pity him since he didn't even know the identity of his own real mother"

Lucias said causing Sirzechs widen his eyes in surprise before turning his head to look at Lucias who was casually sitting on his sofa.

"How did you..."

"Did you forget? I hold the best information network among the factions. There is nothing you can hide from me, Sirzechs Lucifer"

Lucias immediately said before he could continue his sentence causing Sirzechs to lower his eyes with a guilty expression on his face.

"So you knew everything..."

"More or less"

"... Then... what did you think of my decision, Lucias-san?"

Sirzechs suddenly asked with a serious expression on his face causing Lucias to glance at him with extremely sharp eyes.

"... I want to know if my decision was right... I just wanted Milicas to experience having a complete family but- "

"You're decision was stupid, Sirzechs Lucifer"

Lucias answered with a sharp glint in his eyes, causing Sirzechs' guilt to increase as he sat down on the sofa opposite him.

"I am a father of 6 children, Sirzechs... and I know how painful it is if my own children don't even remember who I am... I can tell that Iris treasured Milicas while he was still in her womb"

Lucias bluntly added as he watched Sirzechs clench his fist in guilt.

"... I know my decision is stupid, Lucias-san... but I was not thinking straight at that time from losing Iris all of a sudden... I wanted to give everything I have to Milicas... but my actions only brought a bomb that can severely harm his emotion state in the future... once he finds out about the truth"

He said causing Iris who was listening at the back to tighten her grip on her robe as she waited for him to continue.

"I'm a father as well, Sirzechs... I know how you felt when you wanted the best for your children... I also wanted to mold this world into a better place for my children to live in... that's why I continue to hunt down everything that might harm them... I don't want them to experience the same hardship and pain that I had to go through in the past"

Lucias said with a gentle smile on his face as the bright and joyful smiles of Kunou and Hanna suddenly came into his mind.

"But what you did was idiotic, Sirzechs. You deprived the right of your son to know his true mother... The mother that gave birth to him and took great care of him while still in her womb. As you said... this will permanently scar him in the future if ever he find out about the truth"

Lucias added causing Sirzechs to frown while his hand reddened from the sheer force that he placed while clenching his fist due to frustration and guilt.

"I know... I know but... it's all too late..."

"..."

Lucias looked at him without any emotion visible in his eyes, he wanted to pity him but his actions greatly affected Iris so he couldn't forgive him that easily.

"I even forced Grayfia to act as his mother... She didn't want to as a sign of respect for Iris who saved her in the past, I am just..."

He said causing Iris to widen her eyes in surprise as she stared at Sirzechs in bewilderment. Afterall, the only thought that was in her mind for all this years was how Sirzechs and Grayfia betrayed her after her death.

"Now... she hold no ounce of respect for me after what I've done... She's only respectful while in front of others because she is indebted to me for removing her charges in the past when Iris was still alive"

"..."

"That's why I've never touched her even if we were married as a sign of respect for her... She also didn't want this... but she still did it since Milicas means a lot to her as the only treasure that her saviour left behind in this world"

Sirzechs said, talking out all of the frustration that he held in the past years as the wineglass in his hand shattered into pieces, piercing his palm but due to the overwhelming emotions that he felt. His body felt numb as tears started to fall down on the carpet of the room.

"I regret everything that I did... I'm too ashamed to even visit her grave because of what I've done... After she died giving birth to our son... I did this... I messed up everything for our son... I-I-I-"

"Shut up"

Lucias said in an irritated voice causing Sirzechs to stop his tears as he looked up in bewilderment.

"Out of all the things I hate. What I hate the most are people who easily give up just because of their mistakes in the past"

Lucias said with an angry expression on his face as he smashed the table of the room with his barehands.

"I feel sick watching you cry over something as trival as this"

"..."

"Nothing is too late, Sirzechs... you can still mend everything back to the way it was but no, you just gave up and let everything go... You didn't do anything to fix this mistakes of yours and just cry in the corner when you could've just done something to fix everything"

Lucias said as he stood up from his seat while Sirzechs only stared at him in bewilderment.

"Mistakes and Failures are there to teach us how to grow, Sirzechs Lucifer. Not bring us down. We fail because there's still so much to learn about the world and the world is helping us know what it is. It is teaching us to overcome it and use that failure as a way to make yourself stronger"

"..."

"I commited a lot of mistakes in the past did you thought that I already had everything from the start? I started with nothing on me, and slowly built this faction from the buttom. Through that process, I made a lot of mistakes, I betrayed my fiancées once for bringing an pregnant Kitsune back home in the past... but I took responsibility of everything and endured the anger that they had towards me... I did my best to fix our relationship in the past because of that, but I never once did I give up"

"..."

"I've failed multiple times in controlling the conflict between the races in my faction but did I give up? No, I came up with ways to mend everything that will benefit everyone... I hold a lot of responsibility Sirzechs and extremely suffocating expectations are placed on my shoulders, but I have something to fight for so I continued to walk through the hardship. I can't afford to give up since I had so much to lose. You have something to fight for as well... Your son. So why did you give up so easily, Sirzechs Lucifer?"

Lucias said causing Sirzechs to lower his head causing Lucias to grit his teeth befote kicking him against the wall.

"Fix your mindset, Sirzechs Lucifer. It makes me sick seeing you like this"

Lucias said as he walked out of the room with Iris who was smiling brightly beneath her mask.

"Lucias... Thank you"

"... You owe me one, Iris"