After the Battle

Human World, Japan, Kuoh.

"So, if I may ask, why did you want me to let Vali go?" James asked curiously.

After the battles ended, the young devils finished repairing the school, and Gabriel was satisfied with James' display of [Senbonzakura], everyone who was there before the attack returned to the board meeting room. After everyone was seated, James could not help but ask the question that had bothered him since Azazel made the request. Hearing James' question, all the others in the room also turned their attention to Azazel.

"To be honest, I kinda see that kid as a son." Azazel said while scratching his head. "If you want a reason, I wanted to extend one final act of kindness."

Understanding Azazel's sentiment, most people in the room nodded their heads. James and Cu Chulainn, however, were frowning in disagreement.

"Sorry, Azazel." James said with a frown. "That's not kindness. That's indulgence."

"Exactly." Cu Chulainn nodded in agreement. "If either of us ever did something like that to our master, she would kill us on the spot. Betrayal is a crime worthy of the death penalty."

As all the devils present knew who James and Cu Chulainn's master is, they were not surprised by their viewpoint. Michael, Gabriel, Azazel, and Irina, on the other hand, were curious to know who the boys' master was.

"On top of that, allowing that kind of behavior to go unpunished will only solidify that betrayal is an acceptable path." James added on.

Having not thought about it like that, Azazel stopped to think for a moment. Then he grinned like always.

"Your master sounds like someone interesting to have taught the two of you so well." Azazel said, maintaining his shit eating grin. "I'm really curious to know, who is this master you speak of?"

After hearing Azazel's' question, Michael, Gabriel, and Irina also looked at James and Cu Chulainn curiously. Instead of answering immediately, they both looked at Sirzechs and Serafall. Even though the boys were not against telling anyone who their master was, they knew that this was a pretty big deal for the Underworld as a whole. Especially since Scathach has been training promising young devils for the past six or so years.

"It's your call, James." Sirzechs said with a smile after seeing the questions in James and Cu Chulainn's eyes. "She's your master, after all."

'She?' Michael and Irina thought simultaneously.

'I wonder who this woman could be?' Gabriel thought innocently. 'Maybe I could have another new friend.'

'If I had to guess, this woman they are speaking of probably isn't a devil.' Azazel thought as he waited for the boys' decision.

"You should tell them." Serafall said in a cheerful tone. "If we are going to be allies in the future, this is a secret we can afford to divulge."

After hearing Serafall, James and Cu Chulainn briefly made eye contact. Then, they nodded simultaneously. After that, they looked back at the Leaders of the other two factions and James spoke.

"Our master is the Immortal Witch and Queen of Dun Scaith, Scathach." James said calmly with a smile.

The curious expressions on Michael, Gabriel, and Azazel's faces froze. They had many guesses as to who could have trained the boys in front of them. However, they were not expecting that god-killing crazy woman to be the one.

"How... How long have the two of you been training with... um... her?" Azazel asked, his grin twitching every so often.

"Almost seven years." James said while stroking his chin in thought.

"Nine years." Cu Chulainn said nonchalantly.

"How are the two of you still alive?" Michael asked, looking at the boys in front of him as if they were monsters.

"No clue." James and Cu Chulainn answered simultaneously.

"I'm not sure how many times I thought I was going to die." James said while shuddering.

"I think I have actually died several times." Cu Chulainn said while sweating profusely.

"Michael-Sama, I thought the Queen of Dun Scaith was only a myth." Irina said, confused to see the baffled and scared expressions on Michael, Gabriel, and Azazel's faces.

"I assure you Irina, Scathach is as real as real can be." Azazel said, slowly regaining his composure. "Now I understand why James could so easily defeat Vali."

Michael and Gabriel nodded in agreement to Azazel's statement.

"Although seeing your shock and awe is amusing." Sirzechs said with a smile while observing the changes in the other leaders' facial expressions. "I think it's time for us to begin discussing the terms of our possible alliance."

And with that, the alliance talks began. Although all the details were not ironed out during their first discussion, the outlook was positive.

After that night, time flowed quickly. A few weeks later, the final exams for the first term have come and gone. Everyone was also looking forward to the summer break that would begin in a few days.

"Exam scores will be posted tomorrow." Mizore said with a pout. "It's been over a year, why can't I beat Moka?"

"Because I'm smarter." Moka said with a smug smile.

As Mizore and Moka bickered like they usually do at this time, James, Leona, Cu Chulainn, Shuna, and Shion were watching like they always do. Ayame was also nearby, though she was hidden somewhere. The only one who was aware of her location was James, thanks to his high perception and soul sight.

"So, James, what are your plans for summer break?" Leona asked.

"Well, we'll have to go to the Underworld for the Meeting of Young Devils, or something I'm not all that interested in." James said before taking a sip of the drink he was holding. "Before that, though, I'll be taking the whole peerage to the Land of Shadows."

Hearing that, Mizore and Moka stopped their argument and looked at James with a bit of fear. Cu Chulainn looked as if he expected it, and Shuna, Shion, and Ayame looked at James curiously.

"You're gonna make us go through that torture again?" Moka asked with slight fear in her eyes.

"I don't wanna go!" Mizore said while hiding behind Moka.

Seeing the strong willed Mizore and Moka acting like that, Shuna, Shion, and Ayame were surprised.

"Is the Land of Shadows such a scary place?" Shuna asked unsurely.

"Well, it can be if you're unprepared." Cu Chulainn said casually while shrugging his shoulders. "But they're more afraid of the person we're going to meet there."

"Who is that?" Shion asked curiously.

"Lancer and I's master, Scathach." James replied with a smile. "She'll be training all of us for about twenty-five days, or so. Then, we'll go to the Underworld to attend the Meeting of Young Devils."

*Clap!*

"Oh, that's right!" Leona shouted excitedly. "We'll need to get all of you some formal attire for the meeting. That means you all have to be here after school tomorrow. Dante and Lady, too."

'Mom's taking the trick I took from Auntie Venelana.' James thought with some discontent.

After Leona's declaration, James, Cu Chulainn, and Dante who was relaxing at Devil May Cry, shuddered, feeling that something they were not looking forward to was coming. At the same time, the girls' eyes lit up. Even if they were not going out, they knew there would be an opportunity to shop.

"I'll call Lady and let her know to bring Dante tomorrow afternoon." Mizore said excitedly.

"Good." Leona nodded in satisfaction. "I'll make sure you are the most outstanding young devils at the meeting."

"Oh, joy..." James and Cu Chulainn said dryly.

"Yay!" The girls cheered in excitement.

After that, the group continued to talk for a while. Then after discussing the plans for the next few days before summer break officially began, they all headed up to their rooms to get some sleep.

The next day, James, Mizore, Moka, Flora, and Shuna were walking toward the school early in the morning. As they walked, they chatted about the upcoming summer break.

"Flora, you need to come to our house after school today." Mizore said while bouncing around excitedly. "Auntie Leona is going to help us pick out evening wear for the Meeting of Young Devils."

In response, Flora smiled happily. Then, however, she sighed with visible melancholy. Seeing that, James grasped her hand.

"What's wrong, Flora?" James asked with concern in his tone.

"*Sigh* I really don't like it when I have to use hypnosis on my parents." Flora said. "They weren't happy about me not going to visit family with them."

"I see." James said as he gently patted Flora's head. "I'm sorry that you have to go through this."

"No, you don't have to apologize, I knew things like this would happen when I accepted your offer to become a devil." Flora said with a forced smile. "It still never gets easier, though."

After that, the group of five walked the rest of the way in silence. As they reached the school gates, they saw Mio and Maria just arriving.

"Good morning, Mio, Maria!" Mizore shouted excitedly.

Hearing the shout from behind, Mio and Maria looked behind them and saw James and his girls. Then, Mio looked away with a slight blush while Maria ran back toward Mizore happily.

"Hey, good morning, Mizore." Maria said happily. "Are you looking forward to seeing your scores for the finals?"

Hearing that, Mizore began to pout.

"Not really." Moka answered instead of Mizore. "We already know how things will turn out."

"What do you mean?" Mio asked curiously after joining the rest of the group.

"I'll get first place, like I have since the entrance test." Moka said confidently. "And Mizore will get second, like she has since the finals from last year's first term."

"You don't know that!" Mizore shouted angrily. "You could have made a stupid mistake, like you do when you're cooking."

Immediately, Moka's face turned red. Then, she looked at Mizore angrily.

"That was only one time!" Moka shouted back, just as angrily.

"One time is all it takes." Mizore said smugly.

"I've never seen them like this before." Mio said with confusion in her tone.

"They only get like this when it comes to exams." James said with a smile. "This is one of the few things they aren't evenly matched in, and Mizore hates it."

"It doesn't help that Moka rubs it in whenever she can, either." Shuna said while looking at the bickering duo.

"Anyway, has Ri Ri told you two what you all will be doing before the Meeting of Young Devils?" James asked curiously.

"She did." Maria replied with a nod. "We're supposed to be going to the Underworld." Maria said while tapping her index finger on her chin.

"*Sigh* She said we would be going to the Underworld to train before the Meeting of Young Devils." Mio said with a sigh.

"Yeah, that's it!" maria said as if she had just remembered.

Chatting as they walked the rest of the way to school, they eventually reached the school gates. Then, they all made their way to the MMA Club. After a bit of morning training, they all went to their classes and the school day passed peacefully. Then, after school, Sona approached James before he could leave the classroom.

"Hey, Sona, what's up?" James said as he packed up his school supplies.

"What are your plans for the time leading up to the Meeting of Young Devils?" Sona asked calmly.

"We'll be going to train with Master Scathach." James replied with a smile. "What about you?"

"I actually wanted to ask you about that." Sona said while adjusting her glasses. "Would it be alright if we came with you to the Land of Shadows?"

"Oh, I wasn't expecting that." James said with shock in his expression. "But I can ask Master if you really want."

"I'd appreciate it." Sona said with a small smile.

"Sure." James replied with a smile.

Then, everyone went off to participate in their own club activities. After an afternoon of club activities, James, Mizore, Moka, Flora, and Shuna made their way to James' house. When they arrived, however, they saw something that none of them were ready for.

Standing in the middle of the living room, Cu Chulainn and Dante were surrounded by piles of formal wear while Leona, Lady, Ayame, and Shion were picking through the piles and placing them against the two young men standing between them with lifeless gazes. When they saw this situation, the girls walking with James' eyes lit up. And before James could run, his arms were grabbed by Mizore and Moka.

"Hey, Mizore, Moka, what are you doing?" James said with panic in his tone.

"We're just excited to help you pick out your outfit for the Meeting of Young Devils." Mizore said with an excited smile.

"That won't be necessary." James said while beginning to sweat. "I already got confirmation from Mom last night."

Hearing that, everyone stopped. Then, all the girls looked at Leona for confirmation.

"As unfortunate as it may be, James is telling the truth." Leona said with frustration in her tone.

"Well, I'll take my leave then." James said, calmly slipping his arms out of Mizore and Moka's grasp. Then, before anyone could react, he ran up to the second floor so he could hide in his bedroom.

'Lancer, Dante, your sacrifices will be remembered.' James thought as he ran away.