Chapter 243

I stared at the man infront of me, the room had gotten noticeably quiet. He quirked a cheerful smile, but you could feel a hint of annoyance emitting from him.

He had pushed my buttons, but I was sure I had just sledgehammered his. Or so I think, he's lived a long life, this could all be fake.

"Well, this didn't turn out as expected~" The Fallen Angel forced himself to laugh. "You sure I can't convince you to trade me those Sacred Gears?" He seemed to gloss over the fact that we had just traded barbs a moment prior.

Yasaka looked like she held back from sighing. "I have uses for them, Azazel. I will not be trading them." She said as bluntly as possible.

"Well….How about another offer then? I can help you….extract them, for a price." He grinned.

"Your services are not required." Yasaka said once more.

"Oh, don't be like that Yasaka!" Azazel started to saunter up to her. Meridia, who had her arms crossed, raised a single finger up, and Azazel paused in his steps, flashing a concerned look before he backpaddled in his tracks. "Maybe you don't know, but taking out a Sacred Gear is hard! If you don't do it right, the person dies and the soul drifts away with that little prize still attached, back into the cycle of reincarnation that dear ol' Dad set up."

Yasaka's expression didn't change, she made no response, but Azazel perked up. "Unless....you don't need my help as opposed to not wanting it." He slowly turned around the room until he eyes landed on me. "Oh…..now that makes a bit more sense." He rubbed his chin. "Mr. Takao, or should I call you Wilhelm, or even Red Dragon Emperor?"

He was trying to get a reaction out of me, this wasn't more foot in mouth nonsense. He was doing this completely on purpose. Azazel, the leader of the Grigori, one of the oldest Angels in the world, was far too old to act like a petulant child for no reason...probably.

I held my hands behind my back. I wasn't going to get physical just because he was annoying and had done nothing. I wasn't going to act like Susanoo did. Though, the moment he stepped over that line, all bets were off. However, I think he's too smart to step foot over it. Not to mention, Yasaka was acting calm, and I wasn't going to overstep in her own place just because I was annoyed.

Despite everything, this man was the head of another Faction, one with ties to others and it would look very bad on Yasaka if something unfortunate happened to him while under her roof. Which he's most likely using to his advantage.

"Hmm, should I call you Young Master Azazel?" I raised an eyebrow in response.

"Young master…?" He repeated in confusion.

"Wasn't the reason you fell; because you shouted out your father's name in order to get laid? 'God commands that you sleep with me'." The corners of my lips curled up as I waived my hand flippantly. "If that wasn't Young Master behavior, well, maybe I'm not that up to date on my terminology?"

I vaguely recalled the story of Azazel. There was more to it than that, but the 'event' that led to his fall was finding a woman bathing in a river and declaring that God commanded that they have sex or some other nonsense.

Basically, he used his father's name to get laid.

Young Master Azazel.

There was the smallest reaction, one that I would have missed had I not been paying attention for it. "What a sense of humor you have." He laughed again. "I'll have to tell your dad all about that one when I see him next."

Hmm, definitely not doing that by accident, and I don't think the purpose here was just to annoy me, nor the others for that matter. I came here late, and just by the few minutes I'd been with him, I could imagine how fed up Yasaka was.

"Speaking of, I heard you're swinging in his weight class now, huh? Picking a fight with ol' Susanoo. You sure know how to make everyone worried down there." He eyed me again. "By the way, I heard you also have Dad's spear. Never got the chance to look it over, care to let a neighbor borrow it for a few days?"

"Azazel." Yasaka spoke rather authoritatively. "My patience has reached its end. If the next words out of your mouth have nothing important within them…..I'm sure I can call up Lady Izanami for a repeat of her last performance."

"Oh, so you're still on good terms with her, huh?" Azazel smiled brightly. "Good to know, good to know." He hummed. "Alright, I know when I'm not wanted." He threw his hands up.

"Soma." Yasaka called out, the summoned Tengu immediately appearing, head bowed. "Please escort Azazel out." She said with a bit of bite to her tone.

Azazel didn't argue as the Youkai led him away. We all stayed silent until his presence disappeared.

"That is not how I expected one of these Fallen Angels to act." Scáthach spoke up, dismissing her spear. She hadn't said a word once in his presence.

Yasaka let out a very long sigh. "Fallen Angels are annoying." She rubbed her temples. "Azazel one of the worst. He propositioned me so many times over the years."

"It would have been easier if I just smote him." Meridia huffed.

"As gratifying as that would be, my Youkai Faction couldn't handle the fallout. Even if I had you all on my side, they would suffer in someway. My patrons might even come down against us if things escalated. Azazel is much older than me, I don't know the extent of his influence or connections in the event that he died or calls for help." The Fox Youkai grumbled. "I could use his little visit as an excuse to kick up a fuss, but that would require I contact the Grigori and speak with them…."

"Which is more trouble than it's worth." I added.

Wiping out the Grigori? Not that challenging if we pulled ourselves together. Dealing with the fallout? Well…..Yasaka would take the brunt of it, and that's in no way shape or form fair to her and her people.

"Especially when they don't' see us as worth anything." Yasaka nodded. "Besides the Sacred Gears we'd just acquired, there isn't anything of significant that they would desire."

"I believe he had other agendas." Scáthach interjected. "He seemed…..too sure of himself. I believe his antics had a secondary objective in mind."

"I thought so too. He acknowledged that I fought Susanoo, and didn't even seem phased when he knew he was poking at me and I was getting annoyed." I shook my head. "Who knows, those types of people are hard to predict."

Politics, so annoying. Even with Meridia by my side, by Yasaka's side, she couldn't be around forever. If Yasaka suddenly had a big stick to swing around at the other factions, and for a brief moment it goes away, she would get pounced on the moment she was seen as vulnerable.

It's best to just strengthen Yasaka and her faction silently for now.

However, if someone started shit...well, I doubt we'd care at that point. Azazel was annoying, but he wasn't – put children in cages – annoying like a certain other person we had mobilized against.

"Regardless, good riddance." Meridia spat out. "I did not enjoy the way he eyed me."

"Yeah, only I'm allowed to admire your legs so blatantly!"

"Of course –" She stopped mid-sentence, sending me a faux glare while her cheeks were filled with a light pink.

"Wilhelm, don't tease the poor woman." Yasaka stood up, walking over and hugged the Daedric Lord. Meridia stiffened slightly, but, she seemed receptive to the sudden affection. "And thank you, Meridia for the help."

"Hmph, atleast someone appreciates me." Meridia huffed, looking right at me. "All I receive from you are molestations and incessant teasing."

"That's not true." I laughed, joining in the hug. "I also give you lots of kisses~" I leaned forward, capturing her lips. She accepted, almost greedily if a bit brief.

"Mou~ This Fox is going to get jealous." Yasaka giggled. "I have to smell Wilhelm and Scáthach after they went several rounds, and now I get left out."

"Fufu, well, I wouldn't be against you joining next time. We may make some headway on his unyielding stamina if we worked together." Scáthach laughed as she joined in just for the fun.

Meridia looked….unsure of how to react, but I don't think she hated it.

"Hugs are nice."

"This is pleasant." Meridia acknowledged. "However, I wish to return if there are no pressing matters."

"There isn't anything I need, and thank you again for stopping by." Yasaka expressed her full gratitude. "I'm sure you stopped him from really going all out with his annoying attitude or the power plays."

"Hmm, I'll come visit soon, okay?" I stated.

Meridia pursed her lips. "You may come when you wish, I will entertain you." She replied. "That too does that apply to all of you. I would...enjoy it if I found anyone in my company."

"I might take a stroll over soon too." Scáthach looked thoughtful. "I have not had the chance to explore your world yet."

"My home is open to you." Meridia smiled lightly. "And lest I forget, Yasaka, I have the next batch of materials you requested. They should be suitable to be delivered in the next couple days."

"Oh" Yasaka perked up. "Wonderful! I really can't thank you enough. If I had to buy this stuff here, we would be going heavily in debt."

"Think nothing of it. These things are worthless to me and I can easily send as much as you require." Meridia looked a bit happy to be of assistance. I think this is her way of trying to bond with her. "Wilhelm…." She said quietly, escaping the various arms as she turned towards me one last time.

Oh, did my Meridia want a goodbye kiss? It's not normal for her to speak up about it, even if it's what she wanted. "As I said, I'll be over to play soon?" I reached out, grabbing her hands. Leaning up, I placed one last kiss on her lips, earning a content look from her.

She nodded one last time before quite literally disappearing from the area, returning back to her world extremely quickly.

"My Student, you truly lucked out on that one." Scáthach looked on with an amused look. "Never have I seen such a powerful entity allow themselves to act like such to their 'inferiors'."

"Yeah, she's really something special." I couldn't help but smile before returning my focus. "So...out of curiosity, what exactly are you going to do with those Sacred Gears?"

Yasaka furrowed her brow. "I was going to give them to some loyal subordinates of mine….but I have run into difficulties."

"Need help removing them?"

"I would appreciate the assistance. As annoying as Azazel is, he was right about the difficulty in removing them without them being spirited away in the process." Yasaka sighed. "Then there's the matter of who I'm going to give them to. They are not an insignificant power boost to most people. Enough to propel someone a full rank if utilized correctly. I'm hesitant to trust after being betrayed so blatantly."

"I'm surprised any of the Hero Faction is still alive, to be honest." I mused.

"Alive is….stretching it. While I would take no pleasure in torturing children, there are methods to reduce them to inactiveness that are not inherently painful."

Hmm, that's smart I suppose. She did originally keep them alive for information, and their Sacred Gears. They'd pretty much served their purpose.

"I can devise a Geass for you to distribute with the Sacred Gears." Scáthach spoke up. "Supported by my Runes, I find it unlikely that anyone you wish to bestow those objects upon will be able to break it."

"A Geass?" Yasaka tilt her head. "Ah, one of those magical contracts from the west?"

"Hmm, that isn't an incorrect summarization." Scáthach nodded. "Or, if you wish an opinion on who to hand these objects to, I have trained with your troops enough to have a rough estimate of their strengths and potential as well as their personality."

"What would I have done without you all?" Yasaka let out a sigh, a little smile growing on her face. "I have a list I've been working on, while we go over it, tell me about your time on Remnant!"

"Oh, it was fun." Scáthach laughed.

"Hmm, I have a bottle of wine I've been meaning to open, I believe this a perfect occasion to break it out and relax~" Yasaka grinned.

"Why don't I go pick up Kunou?" I offered. "Let you both enjoy yourselves?" It was almost that time, maybe a few minutes early.

"So thoughtful" Yasaka cooed.

"My student does have his moments." Scáthach agreed with her.

Not that I ever would mind picking up Kunou from school, or otherwise spending time with her, but I figured Yasaka needed to unwind a bit. She's no doubt stressed about Amaterasu coming down in a couple days, add Azazel's little appearance…..

Yeah, let her have some fun with Scáthach.

***

Azazel POV

"Azazel, why are you calling me so suddenly?" I looked at the green-haired man across the magical communication spell.

"Ajuka! It's been too long."

"Azazel." He sighed. "I'm not in the mood for your games, nor do I have the time for them."

"Aww, don't be like that. I just wanted to tell you of my little trip – "

"I don't care about what you get up to."

" –To Kyoto" I finished.

That caught his attention. "Please don't tell me you caused more problems." He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Me? No, never." I denied. "But I did meet your little run away."

Ajuka let out a long sigh. "This better be good, we're busy trying to find out what's been going on in England that had Michael come down from Heaven."

"Oh?" I rubbed my beard. "I did hear something about that, but I've been busy with other things. Anything interesting happen?"

"All involved parties aren't speaking and it's too…..noisy to try and figure anything out through alternative methods." Ajuka replied. "I don't have much time, get on with it."

"Fine, fine. In a gesture of good will, I wanted to share with you some things I discovered." We really need this peace talk to happen sooner rather than later. Hopefully, this'll help allow me to mediate a bit more between them and Heaven. "As I said, met the brat. And Yasaka for that matter, her boobs are still amazing by the way."

"Noted." He said dryly. "Do you actually have anything important to add or did you just waltz in and make a fool of yourself?"

"Yes." I nodded with a grin.

"Dammit, you're as bad as Serafall. What happened?"

"Well, managed to find a few things out." I laughed in response. "Those rumors about Scáthach walking around in Kyoto? Might not be just rumors."

"That's…..interesting. Do you have any evidence?"

"There was a women there when I met Yasaka. 10/10 beauty, amazing chest and ass" I shot him a thumbs up, but he only groaned in response. "Anyways. She also had a spear that absolutely reeked of bloodlust, so….yeah. Two and Two, isn't hard to add. Could be a coincidence, but it was worth noting" I shrugged.

I purposely didn't talk to her. It felt like she was ready to run me through at any moment.

"That could be valuable to know in the future." Ajuka mumbled to himself. "Anything else to note?"

"Hmm, there was another women there, definitely a Goddess, no idea who though." I scratched my head. "I honestly didn't recognize her, which is strange."

"How is that strange? Can you say you recognize every Goddess on the planet?"

"Well…..when just a single finger of hers moved, it felt like the world was crashing down on me, yeah, it's weird. I'm pretty damn sure I should have recognized a Goddess that would take that Fire Crotch of yours to have a chance of winning against." I snorted, shuddering as I recalled the feeling. Thankfully, she seemed more tempered than the spear-woman. Or, at least she seemed less bloodthirsty. Gave me a bit of confidence to do my whole song and dance. "Got a good look at her, tried to see if there was any features that made her identifiable, but I'm coming up completely blank. I'll send you a picture later."

"Alright, I'll look into it." Ajuka nodded. "Anything else?"

"Hmm, yeah. Whatever is happening there, it's bigger than we thought." I tapped my finger against my chin. "They're apparently recovering much quicker from their attack than expected. I can't say I paid them much attention before, having nothing to catch my interest. But the Shinto God's certainly aren't lending any hands. The 'Goddess' made a comment about helping out, so I have no idea what's happening behind the curtain."

"So, we're still in the dark about that whole mess, only adding more strangeness to it." Ajuka sighed. "This is helpful information though; I appreciate the update."

"Yeah, well, I'm not done." Should probably talk about the brat. "Wilhelm, Sirzech's bastard. I wasn't lying, I did meet with him for a few minutes. Came right in when I was trying to get those Sacred Gears from Yasaka." Admittedly, I had thought I would be able to nab them for a price, even if that wasn't the entire reason I went over. "Kid wasn't intimidated by me at all."

"How….surprising." He added that dry tone of his again.

Yeah, whatever. I've had to work hard to cultivate this 'persona' of mine. Not that it's fake in the slightest, but it's easy to move around when I'm just the innocent idiot. Still, I'm not some mook to ignore. He was very confidant when staring me down, and it didn't feel like over confidence. I may not have the raw power of Susanoo, but that doesn't mean I would be helpless in a fight against him. I always did prefer brain of brawn.

"Kid his age, his background, suddenly coming into a significant amount of power." I pointed out. "Do you think you'd be calm if I started throwing your dad in your face after everything he's gone through?" I questioned. "He didn't overly react, just threw a few barbs right back at me. And there's one thing for sure, kid's got a sharp tongue on him."

Really sharp tongue, made me even stutter a couple times. Goes right for the verbal jugular.

Yeah, he should be lashing out, arrogant as all hell, throwing fists at the first insult. Instead, he just took it, returned in kind and didn't overly react. It felt more like I was dealing with a peer than a brat that hadn't lived for two decades. On top of which, he threw down with a God and still wasn't parading himself around like it wasn't some noticeable feat.

And we still have no damn idea how he suddenly got so strong. He somehow got the Boosted Gear, because I damn well know he wasn't born with it. Adding on to the fact that I was able to eek out that bit of information about not needing me to extract the others. It's clear as day to know that he took it from someone.

"Michael wasn't misleading us either; kid has the True Longinus." I made sure to add that tidbit in. Michael did say that it was in the hands of Sirzech's Bastard but...it's hard to take that at face value. He couldn't physically lie, but that doesn't mean he has to tell the truth.

Should smooth relations between them a little bit knowing that. That damn spear was probably the greatest weapon on the planet when it comes to kill Devils. It being in the hands of a Half-Devil should really ease a lot of tension there.

"You were able to confirm it?"

"Eh, I gauged his reaction when I talked about it." I waived him off. "He didn't act surprised in the least when I spoke about him having it. So, call it an 80% chance." I shrugged.

"I'll take your words under advisement." Ajuka said evenly. "Were you able to gauge any of his….motivations?"

"You mean is he actively plotting against the Devils?" I snorted, but the Satan didn't deny it. "Dropped Daddy's name a few times, he showed annoyance, but not outright hostility. Take from that what you will."

Again, he was way too even tempered.

"And what if he did take exception, Azazel?" Ajuka asked. "It sounds like you walked a fine line."

"I wouldn't have lived this long If I didn't have a few methods to run away, even from a God." I smirked. However….that Goddess did give me a very bad feeling. I couldn't gauge her strength, but she was way above me. "Besides, Yasaka was there, any move against me would make Heaven and Hell stand together against her."

"Please don't use our tentative agreement as an opportunity to go cause trouble." Ajuka sighed again.

While we're 'warring' on the surface so to speak, we're united against other Pantheons. We have to be, now that dad bit it all those centuries ago. And it wasn't a secret, if something happened to me, the Shinto Gods would have been pulled into it by Sirzech's and Michael coming down like Dad's own fury. Despite everything, I'm still the leader of the Grigori, so any move on me is by default a move on the Grigori and by extension all of us.

"And for what it's worth, I did confirm that the kid did fight Susanoo. Figured it was worth double checking from the source."

"There was very little doubt, but a confirmation is always appreciated." Ajuka nodded in approval.

"Oh, and Izanami is still in the picture. Got Yasaka to make an offhand comment about me getting the same treatment from her." I let out a laugh, remembering what happened to Okita. "So…..careful of her I guess."

Japan's Death Goddess wasn't someone to take lightly.

"What about Wilhelm himself?"

"Well…..kid definitely got strong. If you're asking me for details, I don't really have much to give. You saw him fight a God, so more or less about there." I shrugged. "Though I did notice him invoke Dad's name and didn't even flinch."

"Oh?" Ajuka perked up. "Interesting."

Sirzechs and co could do that easily enough, and someone like Grayfia could as well if she were prepared. But to casually call out father's 'name' and not even flinch, well, it was worth noting.

"It seems like you had a productive meeting." Ajuka commented.

"I didn't get any Sacred Gears." I sighed. "My whole trip, wasted!"

Well, now I could tell Vali that we're not allowed over in Kyoto! What a shame. It seemed like those two dragons couldn't be allowed to fight so soon, truly, what a shame. Brat will at least believe I got us banned without questioning it. I can probably add that Wilhelm's stronger, so he needed to train for a few more years.

Should keep him from causing trouble until the peace treaty was settled. I can only threaten him with the 'big sis' routine so much before he eventually runs off. Better to get him focused on training for a while to distract him.

"Yes, I'm sure that's the only reason you went there." He drawled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about~"

"Are you not worried that you could have caused any issues by acting like you did?"

"I get the boot? They kick up a fuss, and my people just say the same thing they always say – 'Oh, it's just Azazel being Azazel, we're sorry, blah blah." I shrugged. "Hell, get the Shinto involved, that means they'd be forced to actually talk with us. I'd call that a win as well."

Kill a dozen or so birds with one stone.

***

No Chapter this monday, going to be working very late.

If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pat.reon.com/astoryforone