Ch.145

In a Bamboo Forest, behind the Kiyomizu-dera Temple, exactly the place where Alexander had been transported, all was peaceful.

Or, it was until footsteps were heard from deeper into the forest, and a figure, not exactly visible because of the darkness of the night, stood where Alexander was previously unconscious, right next to the rock there.

The figure stood silently as it seemed to sense, whatever it had sensed before, or whatever drew it to this place.

"..."

She waved her hand, and after a bit of wave-like magical power passed all over the place, she lowered her arm again.

"Definitely..."

Her voice seemed a bit young, and feminine, but almost emotionless altogether.

"Here..."

The figure then finished speaking half-heartedly, and then, as if with a single snap, disappeared from where it was.

.....

In a place where the sky was a bit purple, and where there was a very clear show of density in the air, due to the demonic energy present, there was a semi-western Mansion with very fine details to appreciate.

Yes.

This was the Underworld.

And the Mansion was where the current Maou Lucifer, a King of the Underworld and the demons inhabiting it, lived.

"Sirzechs-sama."

A woman's voice was heard knocking behind the door of the current Lucifer's main office, and knowing it was his Wife and servant, Grayfia Lucifuge, the individual seated at the desk seat, Sirzechs Lucifer, replied, "Come in."

The Maid-clad white-haired beauty entered through the door with a slight bow, then spoke, "Sirzechs-sama, just as I thought, the Fallen Angels also seemed to notice the energy burst in the Youkai Faction area, and currently..."

Sirzechs sighed at what his Wife said, but was left wondering about the last, "Currently...?"

"..."

Grayfia then, with a grimace, pulled out a very old phone behind her, and then passed it to Sirzechs, setting it on the table.

"... He's currently calling."

"..."

'Haaa.'

A long mental sigh came from Sirzechs as he held the bridge of his nose.

"To so casually call out to the Underworld while being of an opposing Faction, even the Leader at that... only Azazel could be so carefree to do something like that."

In fact, at the moment, the Three main Factions, the Demons, the Angels, and the Fallen Angels were in a period of cold war, which was getting quieter and quieter, and one of the main reasons why that was happening, was due to Azazel, Leader of the Fallen Angels Faction and one of the major forerunners of Peace in the current World.

Although well, the guy was a bit of a pain in the ass.

"Yeah?" Sirzechs answered the phone.

"Hey, buddy, it's been a while since we've talked."

Azazel's distinguishable voice didn't take long to come out of the phone.

"Indeed, it's been a while." Sirzechs said with a helpless smile.

"At this point I would have wanted to talk for longer with you, Sirzechs, but I guess you know why I'm calling, don't you?"

Sirzechs nodded, "What happened in Kyoto was rather striking, though fortunately, it didn't seem to spread much beyond Japan."

"I must say, that's a good thing, but still, it's quite worrisome all the same, especially, at this time, where it almost accomplished what we want so badly."

Exactly, as Azazel was saying, Sirzechs was a person who aside from being the current Maou, was also one of the factions' greatest Peace seekers, next to Azazel, so he could understand Azazel's concern.

In a period as sensitive as this one, and not to say with more than he had on his hands at the moment, a new variable that was capable of provoking such a striking reaction, that it was felt even in the Underworld, was something to be feared.

Very few things could make both Azazel and Sirzechs worry, and this new variable was definitely one of them.

Sirzechs explained, "The Youkai Faction hasn't had any change by far that would be noticeable, or so much as stand out in all these years, so for something like this to happen.... Do you think it's due to...?"

"The Khaos Brigade? To be honest, I highly doubt it, we both know very well that this is not their style of play, as if they had been up to something, it would be straight up like the last disaster where they were involved... or any before that, but equally it's not worth eliminating suspicions without knowledge."

"You're right, we should still be cautious, who knows what this anomaly was, or whatever caused it, the energy burst was too big. Much more than a normal Longinus awakening. At the very least, it's somewhat worrisome."

"So what shall we do?" Azazel asked.

"Investigate, just that, we need to investigate clearly what happened, and try not to appear too invasive to the Youkais."

"Sounds good to me, do you have time, how does a vacation around Kyoto sound?" Azazel sounded like a demon from hell whispering to Sirzechs... note the irony, because he knew all too well how valuable a vacation was to beings like them. And how much they needed them at that, for after all, working continuously for centuries could be... um, very bad for mental health.

"Hmm, as much as I would like to vacation in Kyoto with the Leader of the Fallen to waste time... I still don't want to be killed by my Wife especially when I'm so young..." Sirzechs spoke sarcastically and sweating as behind him he felt the familiar black and evil aura spreading from his Wife.

"Hahahaha! I see your Wife is still the one calling the shots in the relationship, I see. Perfect, then I'll leave it in your hands, and with Father's luck, I'll see you later. See you later!"

Azazel finished with a laugh and hung up.

"Haaa..."

The Maou leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh.

"Grayfia."

"Yes, Sirzechs-sama?"

"Let Serafall, Falbium and Ajuka know that we need to have a meeting."

"Hai."

Grayfia replied flatly, showing no show of emotion as usual, and withdrew from the room.

Sirzechs stayed where he was, and after shaking his head, decided to continue working, as his curiosity and possible fear of what had happened in Kyoto filled his head.

....