Chapter 113

"This picture is very cute, Cleria. I never imagined that you got along so well with Shuri Himejima."

"..."

Serafall placed the picture of Cleria and Shuri on the table before leaning forward.

"Overseer Belial. I suggest you tell me everything from the beginning, and this time…"

A very heavy pressure covered the room, a pressure that made Cleria widen her eyes in fear.

"...do not hide anything."

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|DxD|

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Cleria was exhausted of all options. In front of Serafall's imposing presence, the silverette truly did not know how to circumvent this situation. Lying to a Satan was already a crime punishable by death to the extent that even her clan wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"I...I…"

She hesitated. She was worried for Shuri's life and if should anything happen to her, Igor's response. With a case example from the Himejima, she knew exactly what would happen if the devils touched Shuri, Akeno, or god forbid, Asia.

"M-Maou-sama. I…"

Her composure had left the room. The frightening yet calm glare that Serafall was giving her genuinely frightened her. The satan only sat quietly with her arms crossed, her mouth neither scowling nor smiling. She was like a queen that overlooked her subjects. And right now, Cleria was indeed one of her subjects.

And her subject was disobeying her order.

"Cleria Belial. Under my authority as a Maou, I order you to reveal all the information you know. Know that withholding or falsifying any information grants me the authority to execute you."

"..."

Cleria didn't know how to say this. If she revealed everything, then it was almost guaranteed that Igor and by association, Aurelia would be hunted down because…Serafall harboured a deep hatred for Aryans. This stems back to decades in the past to the period of World War II.

Caught in the cross-fire in the fight between the Aryans and the Alliance, Aryan assassins targeted her father and when they failed to kill him, they cursed him with the Sleep Disease. The true reason was not known, but it was likely due to the Sitri being one of the key individuals that supplied the alliance army with medicines.

This was a story that was never publicised, leaving only a few people that knew besides Serafall and her family. For the last sixty years, her mother had to hold the reigns during the times when her father would enter his periods of deep sleep.

Cleria feared that if she leaked Igor's existence, the world would be thrown into turmoil. Serafall would no doubt seek to eliminate Igor and Aurelia out of vengeance and in doing so, she would pull the entire devil race into a war where their chances of winning would not come without detrimental costs.

Desperately wanting to avoid such a scenario, Cleria came to a choice that may possibly…be her last.

[Father, nii-sama, uncle, aunty, grandpa…]

It was a foolish decision on her part. But as much as her mind whizzed around in a bid to come up with solutions, she turned up empty.

[...Shuri-chan.]

She didn't want her race being plunged into a possible war. The only way she could see this happening if she revealed everything she knew is that Serafall would end up holding Asia hostage due to not being able to find Igor. If the blonde exits the time chamber and hears of this, any chance of peace talks would forfeited due to his anger.

The blonde was far too powerful and with his teleportation capabilities, far too elusive.

[Azazel-kun…]

As such, she decided on her choice right then and there.

[I am sorry, everyone.]

Standing up, her fearful expression straightened into one of bravery. She locked eyes with Serafall, red meeting blue.

"I apologise, Maou-sama. But I cannot reveal the information you desire. If I must die…then so be it!"

Her hands trembled, but she forcibly stilled them. She loved her people and she did not want them needlessly dying. Her leaders were strong, but Igor's potential was stronger. That fact solidified when she felt him reach the realm of supreme class. If he constantly trained in that time chamber of his for the next ten years, she was sure he would reach a point where he would either be on par, or surpass all four satans.

It was with this knowledge that she stood strong.

"..."

Serafall could see the resolution on Cleria. She was confident she could torture the information out of the silverette, but she hadn't fallen so low that she would subject an innocent to that kind of pain.

"I see."

Crossing her legs, she leaned on the chair's armrest.

"Then what about your peerage?"

"They were in the Underworld and only recently came back. They don't know any more than you do, Maou-sama."

[Lies. They definitely know more.]

Serafall had half-a-mind to interrogate her peerage members. But before she did that, she first wanted to understand something.

"Why would you go so far as to withhold vital information from me? This concerns the safety of the Underworld and you hiding it can be considered treason."

Feeling a bit of relief that she wouldn't die…yet, Cleria relaxed her shoulders a bit. Taking a deep breath, she looked into Serafall's eyes with sincerity.

"Please believe me that I am acting in the best interest of our race, Maou-sama."

Serafall frowned at the information.

"Is the secret you're keeping so dangerous that informing me would endanger our race?"

"As absurd as it sounds, Maou-sama, it is true. The less people that know this information, the better it is for everyone."

A small smile formed on Serafall's face.

"I see."

She then stood up, her gaze darkening. With a single movement of her hand, the desk separating the two of them turned into ice before it suddenly shattered into numerous little pieces.

"Then I assume if one less person knows, it would be better, right?"

"..."

Cleria couldn't answer. The pressure that had vanished suddenly returned in full force. The fear that she tried to restrain threatened to make itself known in the face of such overwhelming power. Her body trembled in fright, her eyes growing watery at the fear that death was creeping closer and closer to her.

She couldn't help but close her eyes in fear.

[I-I'm scared. I don't want to die. I don't want to die-]

"That's enough, Serafall!"

And just like that, the heavy pressure vanished like it never existed. The killing intent that felt like invisible hands strangling her vanished like smoke in the wind. But Cleria wasn't focused on that. Rather, it was the voice that caught her attention. She knew that voice and would recognise it anywhere.

Opening her eyes, she was revealed to the sight of the naked torso she had often dreamt about many times before. The muscles on the back were bulging and the sight of that dependable back made her cry tears of joy.

"A-Azazel…"

The man stood tall in all his glory. His hair had grown longer to the point that some of it hung on his sides. He was barefoot with a black tracksuit being the only clothing he had on him. His muscular torso was laced with traces of sweat, possibly indicating that he was physically exerting himself prior to arriving. Yet although he seemingly appeared tired, he still stood tall.

"..."

Azazel didn't turn to face Cleria. Rather, he locked eyes with Serafall, his gaze neutral yet hard. He never expected that in the midst of his research and training, he would feel the small magic circle he placed on Cleria flare up. It was a 'just-in-case' sort of thing he secretly placed on her for moments like this, moments he wished would've never happened where there was a threat to her life.

He was glad he was able to make it in time and prevent his lover from dying, but that brief sense of relief gave way to a gradually sprouting bud of killing intent.

"Sera-"

"Azazel-kun!"

Cleria couldn't restrain herself anymore. She rushed towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She clung tightly to his side with tears of joy and relief leaking through her closed eyelids. Her arms were still trembling from fright, but she didn't dare let go.

Azazel wordlessly replied by reaching out with his arm and brought her closer to his side. He placed his arm on her back and held her close. All this time, his eyes never left Serafall's.

His gaze was not jovial nor carefree like it always generally was. There was a fierceness in them that was backed by the power he was releasing, the power of a peak-god class.

"Serafall Leviathan. Make one move…and I will kill you."

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AN

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And Azazel himself comes to the rescue and with this, a controversy has erupted. Protecting his lover is admirable and all, but would Serafall truly have killed Cleria? Well that question doesn't matter anymore.