Chapter 28 "Grief and Resolve"

…..to be destroyed, and his older sister Rias is to be made the Clan Heiress.

Any words to the contrary?"

There were none, as Zeoticus was magically silenced by a subtle spell from Erechus.

The guy REALLY needed to learn when to shut his mouth.

"Okay, it has been decided. " Zekram declared.

"That a) Kenji Gremory is to be presumed dead. b) Kenji Gremory's older sister, Rias Gremory, is to be made the Clan Heiress, and c) the marriage contract between Kenji Gremory and Ravel Phenex is to be annulled and destroyed."

Line Break

"Zest. " Zeoticus called Zest via magic-circle.

Zest was leaning against a tree, glaring at the other three guards, who were conversing amongst themselves.

"Yes?" she asked. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but Kenji has been declared by the Devil Council… to be presumed dead. "

Zest was silent for thirty full seconds. She felt like she'd been stabbed by a knife laced with holy water.

"You're- you're not serious, right?" she asked, her voice shaky.

"Yes. I'm serious.

" Zeoticus said. "I'm sorry.

" Though he didn't sound it at all. The connection was then cut.

"No…" Zest whispered to herself, slumping down against the tree, into a sitting position. "No… this can't be happening!" Tears began to leak out of her eyes, and pour down her face.

They were going so fast she didn't bother to try and wipe them away.

"Zest?" one of the guards said, looking at her. "You okay?"

"Oh yes, of COURSE I'M OKAY. " Zest hissed, standing up and looking at him through tear-stained eyes.

"KENJI'S BEEN PRESUMED DEAD!"

"Oh. " The guard said, not sounding surprised, or even bothered in the slightest.

"Oh well. Time to go back to the man- ooph!" he was then grabbed by the throat by Zest, and met with her golden eyes streaming with tears, and looking fucking furious.

"HOW CAN YOU JUST SAY 'OH'?!" she yelled into his face. "HOW CAN YOU BE SO HEARTLESS?"

"He was just our bratty master!" he said, looking slightly fearful, as he knew how powerful Zest was when she got angry.

"No-one will be bothered when-!" he looked down to see that he had five deep cuts in his chest, reaching all the way from his left shoulder down to his right hip.

"I FUCKING CARE!" she screamed, dropping-kicking him with all her strength, which was not a joke. "I CARE! I LOVED HIM! I WAS IN LOVE WITH KENJI, AND HE RAN AWAY FROM THE FAMILY THE VERY DAY I PLANNED TO TELL HIM! AND NOW HE'S… HE'S…" Zest broke down crying again.

The other two guards just stood there, torn between surprise that Zest had managed to keep her feelings for Kenji so locked away during the month she'd spent with them, and anger that she'd pretty much killed the other guard. They advanced towards her, but as fast as anything, Zest slashed them as well.

"I'm going to find him. " She said, more to herself than anyone else, while the guards bled out on the ground.

"If he's been presumed dead, it hasn't been confirmed. If it hasn't been confirmed, then… there's a chance.

" She then left through her magic-circle.

Line Break

Venelana and Grayfia were both sat in Venelana's room, crying heavily on each other's shoulders. They had both gotten the news from Sirzechs (who'd gotten it from Zeoticus) that Kenji had been presumed dead by the Devil Council.

They'd retreated to Venelana's room the first chance they got, and had been crying for two straight hours.

"I can't… believe it. " Grayfia sobbed.

"I. .

. can't believe.

that Kenji is dead!"

"Me neither, Grayfia. " Venelana stopped crying for a second.

"But he. .

. my baby boy.

has.

. " she then started crying again, harder than ever.

"I think… it's that I don't want to believe it. " Grayfia sniffed.

"Now I have to accept that I… I won't… be able to see him a-"

"Don't say that, Grayfia!" Venelana snapped. Grayfia stopped crying for a moment and looked at the fellow mother.

"I'm sorry. " The brunette whispered.

"It's just, despite what the Devil Council have said, I don't think Kenji's dead. Call it-"

"A mother's instinct?" Grayfia cut in. Being a mother herself, she knew what it was like to love a son, though she couldn't imagine the thought of losing Millicas, her and Sirzechs' son, and she therefore had no idea what Venelana was going through herself.

But she was still incredibly saddened, as Kenji was her younger brother-in-law, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't fond of him, to an extent.

"Yes. " Venelana hugged Grayfia tightly.

"But one thing I just can't believe either is just how HORRIBLE Zeoticus and Sirzechs are being about this! You heard how Sirzechs broke the news to us!"

"I know. " Grayfia muttered.

"He was positively skipping, and I can only presume that your husband was doing the same. "

"I wish he wasn't my husband now. " Venelana spat.

"I realise now that he's been such an asshole ever since Kenji left. "

"Now that I think about it, Sirzechs has been pretty much the same as Zeoticus. " Grayfia replied.

"He's been focusing less on his work as a Lucifer-"

"Less than usual, you mean. " Venelana smiled, though Grayfia could tell that the smile might've been one of Zeoticus', how fake it was.

"Yeah. " Grayfia said.

"But anyway, he's been focusing less than normal, and he's been focusing more and more on what he's going to do to Kenji when he gets a hold of him. "

"I won't let him!" Venelana hissed. "I don't care if he came out of the same vagina as him, no-one hurts Kenji and gets away with it!"

"You mean he's your favourite?" Grayfia asked, her eyes widening. "I thought that Rias was your favourite.

"

"She's not. " Venelana stated, after a second.

"Don't get me wrong, Grayfia. I love Rias just as much as I love Kenji, it's just…" She stopped talking and blushed, then Grayfia put two and two together.