Chapter 39

Lucifer`s Estate. Conference room.

The tension in the air was so thick that it could be almost cut by the blade. And there was a very good reason for it to be so high right now, as it wasn`t every day when you see leaders of all Three Great Factions in one room. It took little time for Sirzechs arrive and he immediately went towards asking about his little sister`s safety, proceeding to berate Alex about his carelessness and not caring for Rias. That attitude from Sirzechs was more than enough to agitate and anger Lucina, Vali, Baraqiel and Azazel, especially considering through what Alex has been through in the past 24 hours and even now he was pretty shaken up. Azazel knew his son well and he knew that Alex could hold inside of himself a lot of bad stuff, but now… It was clear to Governor General of Fallen Angels that his kid has done more than enough and has suffered badly. So, when Alex came right to them and asked for their assistance, all of them replied with agreement, with Lucina and Vali being most enthusiastic about it. As for Sirzechs and Gabriel, who have also arrived here, they were not yet informed about Alex`s plans to use any help he could get from his father and family, but they were about to. As for Gabriel, who has also arrived here, she was trying to remain the calmest and be prepared to calm down the sides here. Along with that, she was given by Michael a task of keeping Alex safe, not just because he was Lucia`s son, but there was also another reason. One reason that she would like to discuss with him personally after this meeting.

In conference room were sitting Alexander, Sirzechs, Azazel, Lucina, Gabriel and Rias, whose presence was demanded by Sirzechs, as he deeply believed that whatever were to be discussed here would affect Rias foremost. Lucina was seriously against it, but Alex actually allowed for Rias to be here as well, surprising her and his father in doing so, but they went along with him. And now, with everyone gathered here, they could proceed with this meeting. Sirzechs was the first one to speak up, looking with irritated eye at Azazel and Lucina.

"Well, I would like to address that I didn`t expect to see so many Fallen Angels around here." He pointed out. "And all with such great power… Makes you wonder if Kokabiel and your agents are all renegades, or this is just a cover up for the further attack on us."

That comment has made Lucina immediately mad, along with causing a frown upon Azazel`s face. Alex`s younger sister didn`t wait around and spoke up.

"If you are suggesting that we are planning on attacking you, then you better speak up about it directly." Lucina growled, glaring at Rias. "Kokabiel has long betrayed us and our trust and I personally was sent after his life after we learned about his affairs and how stole Excaliburs. And as for attacking you, Devils, then there is actually only one Devil whom I would like to kill." Rias looked with a shock at glaring Lucina. "And aside from that, don`t think that we`ve forgotten what you`ve done to my mother."

"This is past, and we are living in the present." Rias spoke in serious tone, looking at Alex, who had his hands at his chin in thinking manner. "Aside from that, aren`t Houses of Gremory and Lucifer are finally uniting, with me and Alex soon getting married?" She smirked.

"You call that enforcement a marriage?" Lucina was livid. "The single reason as to why Alex has agreed was because he had literally no alternative. You`ve imprisoned him, manipulated him, forcing him to become your fiancée, all because he was literally cornered and had no other choice."

"Well, he actually had a choice." Rias offhandedly reminded, with Lucina already emitting her white aura out. "And he has chosen to marry me. So, shut that yapping of yours, little sister."

"Why you cursed bitch…" Lucina was already rising from her seat and emitting her power at dangerous level. "I`ll blast you out of this world!" She was beginning to channel her power, as Sirzechs rose up and was about to go and kill Lucina.

However, at that moment, Alex finally spoke up.

"Enough." Out of all the people here, aside from Gabriel, he was actually keeping a cool head. "Lucina, discharge your power and seat down. She isn`t worth your effort and this meeting`s topic isn`t about me, yet." Lucina listened to her brother`s words and nodded, as she sat down in her chair, with Rias smirking. "As for you, Rias: any further aggravation of my family, and I`ll be sure to send you away from this room. And as for you, Sirzechs, if you don`t want to cause any trouble to Serafall Leviathan, stop provoking leaders of Angels. And do keep in mind, that Fallen Angels and Angels are in an alliance, so if you want to provoke the next Great War and let Kokabiel have an early Christmas, then be my guest. If not, then start acting like a proper leader and deal with the problem at hand. After all, it is on your territory." Alex looked at Sirzechs and Great Devil King decided to simply sit down.

As he sat down, Azazel decided to speak up, as he felt that it was time to really get to the business.

"Now then, if we are all done with provocations, why don't we just get to the real business and the purpose of this meeting? We have gathered here with a clear purpose and that is to deal with Kokabiel." Azazel pointed out, looking at his son. "Alex, knowing you, you most certainly have a plan or at least a concept of it in your mind, am I right?"

Alex nodded to his father and leaned down on the chair. He inhaled air in his lungs and exhaled, looking at the entire audience in the room and speaking up.

"Last night, me and my team, along with Church`s Exorcists, have went into the woods near Kuoh, suspecting that Kokabiel`s base of operations was there." Alex began to talk. "Our primary goal at the time was simply to locate said base and estimate how much power has Kokabiel amassed and if he really did use help from Spec Ops. Unfortunately, my plan failed right in the moment when we all teleported in the forest, as Kokabiel has learned of my strategies and used them to his own advantage, sending our entire group in different parts of forest, forcing them to fight for their lives with my former subordinates from Special Operations Division. I personally ended up with Cu Chulainn, Xenovia and Irina, forced to fight against Seryu Ubiquitous, a deserter and a traitor of Special Operations Division, Siegfried, Jeanne D`Arc, Diarmuid O`Dyna, Freed Sellzen and later my former XO from Special Operations Division, Esdeath."

Lucina and Azazel looked at each other and then Lucina spoke up.

"That explains her sudden disappearance." Lucina was now calm. "Her teammates returned to us a week ago and reported to us that Esdeath was still pursuing Seryu with a clear intent of killing her. However, we`ve tried to contact her and failed to do so, but we didn`t want to assume that she was among all those MIA agents that we were trying to find."

"Hm… And you call yourself professionals?" Rias arrogantly asked Lucina, who glared at her. "From where I see it, you are nothing short of a complete failure of secret operations` squad."

"Lady Rias, would you kindly try not to incite any more animosity between all of us here?" Gabriel politely spoke up, getting a collected attention. "As Alexander stated earlier, we have a common threat that we must take care of. Provocations and aggravations will only serve to Kokabiel`s benefit and further distance us from a long needed peace." Gabriel turned to Alexander. "My apologies for speaking out of place, Alex. If it isn`t too much to ask, could you continue your report?"

Alex nodded to Seraph and continued.

"After all of my teammates found themselves separated, we had to fight for our lives." Alex continued. "During that fight, we ended up suffered some injuries, but they`ve managed to pull through. Along with that, Cu Chulainn managed to release Kokabiel`s control over Diarmuid and I`ve freed Esdeath from Kokabiel`s hold on her, but as we were about to regroup with the others, Kokabiel showed up and Esdeath and I were forced to fight. By that point, I`ve suffered serious injuries and was drained of magical reserves completely, so I knew that my chances were low. By the time Kokabiel knocked Esdeath out of the fight, I was contacted mentally by Le Fey Pendragon and I ordered her to take all those that she could and teleport to my house, leaving myself alone to fight Kokabiel and stall him, winning her as much time as I could." Alex took a moment and inhaled fresh air. "In the end, Kokabiel and I clashed for the final time and I`ve managed to inflict him serious injuries, life-threatening even, but beyond that, I wasn`t able to do anything else and in the end... Kokabiel killed me."

That news caused Sirzechs to look with shock at Alexander, while Gabriel`s look spoke of sorrow and pity to him. Unlike Great Devil King, she looked past the toughness and external strength that Alex displayed and clearly saw the inner tiredness and exhaustion inside of him and how his soul was longing for even a small measure of peace. She found that feeling of Alex`s familiar to that of the Lucifer`s, back when he still served to their father and spread his word through the world, slaying all those that dared to oppose his word and might. And now, it was his grandson who was serving to the goal of peace, but his new masters were too arrogant and wished not to see Alex`s own desires and ideals. Gabriel sighed, as she heard Sirzechs speaking up out loud, voicing his opinion on the matter at hand and on what he just heard.

"You know, Alex, when you were appointed as a governor of Kuoh, I expected you to act as a proper one." Sirzechs began. "Considering the fact that you are also to be my brother-in-law, I had particularly high hopes that you would succeed as a Devil, but after hearing that you have failed to put a stop to Kokabiel when you had a clear chance… Well, it simply proves that House of Lucifer`s power is dwindling away and maybe a better suited governor is needed, one that will be able to get results."

Azazel was getting aggravated and decided to speak up. He was a patient person and knew when to allow his son to defend himself, but now… His son, his pride and joy has literally given his own life protecting this bloody town and all of its inhabitants, including that red-haired witch known as Rias Gremory. The fact that his son is forced to marry her, a direct relative of the man that is responsible for all of his late wife`s sufferings in the past… It drew Azazel and most of the Cadre to the point of nearly declaring war and only Alex`s word was the stopping factor, but now that he was leaving Devils for good and forever, Azazel could demand quite a few reparations for such an insult. Azazel looked at Sirzechs and spoke in serious voice.

"Sirzechs, aren`t you forgetting something?" Azazel drew Crimson Satan`s attention to him. "My son here has given his life to protect this very town and had it not been for him, I would bet that Kokabiel wouldn`t hesitate a second and wipe out all of people that live here, regardless of race, position or riches. I know that bastard and that`s exactly how he would do his business, and my kid here, weakened and exhausted, has managed to nearly mortally wound the bastard, so unless you want to completely discredit yourself as a Great Devil King and a Ruler of Devils, then you better shut that yapping of yours and sit down. By the way, you were aware that Kokabiel is in the town, yet you weren`t even going to send help to them. If you ask me, that`s a shitty way of ruling one`s country."

Sirzechs glared at Azazel and spoke up to him, as he sat back in his chair.

"I was confident that your son was capable of handling someone like Kokabiel." Sirzechs defended himself from these accusations. "Besides that, he had my dear Rias and her Peerage to rely on, yet he completely ignored her, which is unbefitting of a future husband."

"So, following your logic, your sister and her Servants, who had not even a day of solid trainings or battle experience in their life, could fend off against one of the oldest Fallen Angels, a rouge Cadre, who has hundreds of years of experience and powers rivaling that of Satan-class?" Lucina pointed out. "If you ask me, this is nothing short of a bullshit excuse, which is especially pathetic; to hear come from the man considered to be The Strongest Devil in Existence. You could just spare an hour of your time and come here, destroying that bastard in a nick of time without too much of a bother. Yet, you leave it all to them." Lucina pointed at Alex and Rias. "I know what my big brother is capable of and that he has always been a force to be reckoned with even before he got his powers, but I also know what Kokabiel is, and I assume that you know too, seeing how you`ve fought during the Great War. If anything, I would venture as far as to say that you`ve basically just abandoned them all."

Sirzechs glared at Azazel`s younger child, meeting his glare with hers and finding it hard not to look at Lucina as a completely separate person and not as her mother, Lucia. Sirzechs still remembered how she nearly defeated him in a duel and only the arrival of Ajuka, Grayfia and others have finally put that blasted women down. She didn`t even inherit her father`s powers, yet he own abilities were second only to Lucifer`s, and Sirzechs knew better than to attack Lucifer when he is at his fullest power, as Lucifer at his complete and full power was an equal to God of the Bible, 4th Strongest Creature in the World, and Lucifer has defeated him single-handedly, though sustaining extreme amount of damage and badly exhausting himself, to the point of Lucifer becoming vulnerable to someone of Sirzechs` power level. And even when he had the chance, he had to square off against youngest child of Lucifer and she was too much for him. And now, in this very room were sitting two children of the said woman, her son and daughter, both of whom have a great potential to completely surpass him and anyone, especially Alexander. In fact, Sirzechs has already realized that Heir of Lucifer was completely uncontrollable and there was no way for him to leash him, even though marriage with Rias was supposed to be an ultimate tie in, but with this Rating Game upcoming… Sirzechs has already agreed with Ajuka to 'correct it', to allow Rias to fight Alex and have the best chance of winning against him, but even so, they were already thinking of postponing that game completely and drag it to the point when Alex would have no other choice but to marry Rias. That was his main plan, as he still had hope to get Lucifer`s blood in his family, along with getting back his son and wife.

Alex coughed and after getting everyone`s attention, he continued to speak up.

"Fortunately, I still have good friends and one of them has freed me of clutches of death." Alex spoke mystically. "My soul has ended up first in realm of Hades, with whom we have a serious case of bad blood between us."

"You mean that time when you`ve ripped off Persephone`s soul, putting a final stop to her madness?" Lucina asked seemingly offhandedly, utterly shocking Devils, with Alex simply nodding to that one. "So, it`s Hel`s work that you`ve returned. I have to say thanks to her next time I see her."

"Hel? As in Norse Goddess of Death and Dead, Ruler of Helheim?" Alex nodded to that to Sirzechs. "How did you come to know her of all people?"

"I lived in Helheim a couple of years when I became an apprentice of Hel in ways of Necromancy to use to finally stop Persephone and her rampages." Alex simply stated. "In the end, Hel pulled me out of the dead and granted me life through the expense of Persephone's soul. And after that, I headed right here."

Everyone nodded to that one and allowed it all to sink in. Angels have all already know it all, so this entire debriefing was all for Devils and just to let them know what the hell really happened and with what they all were dealing with. Sirzechs was shocked to find out that Alex was in such good relations with one of the Strongest Deities in existence and she was the one to bring him back to life. Once again, he underestimated Lucifer`s Heir and just how much influence and power he possesses, if he was the one that has put a stop to Persephone and her rampages. To rip off Goddess` soul out of the body through Necromancy… If anything, then Alexander could be considered to be the strongest Necromancer in existence and in history. Azazel and Lucina glanced at each other and smiled, as now was the time to finally deal with the crow in the room, as it was overdue and now was time to finally decide on how to put the mad dog down. And it was already decided that it will be the Grigori to take care of them, namely Azazel. After his son has told him who was it that revealed the location of his dear wife and went as far as to… In other words, it was time that Azazel has showed that bastard Kokabiel, just why he was, is and will be, The Strongest Fallen Angel in existence. And aside from that, his son and daughter have been through hell because of Kokabiel and now Azazel has an opportunity to do so.

Gabriel sighed and spoke up in her calm and kind voice.

"Now then, with all this out of the way, what will our plan of action?" Gabriel asked them all. "I assume that we need to deal with Kokabiel as fast as we can and without any further sorrow and sadness. Alexander, since we all agreed to put you in charge of dealing with this threat, do you have a plan to deal with this horrible threat?"

"What plan are you talking about?" Rias scoffed at Seraph, looking at Alex. "Alex is responsible for this mess and it is his responsibility to deal with Kokabiel. So all this talk is pointless. Alex will go and fix the problem that he has created, until it began threatening to me."

"To you?" Lucina looked with a scoff at Rias. "This town is populated by others, rather than just yourself. And besides that, if we are talking about who to blame in this very crisis, then why don`t we ask your dear big brother why didn`t he and his friends through 2 millennias have been openly rejecting our peace proposals, along with Heaven`s proposals?" Sirzechs looked with a critical eye at Lucina, who simply smiled to her brother.

"I also would like to know why you were rejecting all our attempts to establish a dialog and finally conclude this pointless conflict." Gabriel asked Sirzechs with a concern. "Throughout all this time we were tirelessly trying to find a solution to all our disagreements and disputes, trying to reach the best conditions for all and we have sent you the terms, but all the times, you simply shut us down."

Sirzechs got the questioning looks from all the leaders and decided to finally answer this damned question.

"Our people have suffered terribly during the Great War and from reign of 4 Original Satans, especially from Lucifer`s reign." Sirzechs caught a glare from Alexander. "We had more pressing matters to attend to…"

Suddenly, Alex`s aura flared up and it was clear to everyone that Lucifer has decided to take his tern and speak up, as he was clearly annoyed and irritated beyond the point of simply staying silent. It was clear to them all that Alex`s soul was no longer in control because of sudden power increase and clear new energy signature coming from Alex. With a burning glare, he looked at Sirzechs and spoke in serious and undisputed voice.

"Be careful with what you are saying, punk." Lucifer wasn`t going to use any politeness with him "You think that just because of that cheesy smile and nice looking face these people will buy what you are saying to them? News flash: they won`t and no matter how hard you try, they`ll see right through all of your bullshit." Lucifer turned to Azazel, Lucina and Gabriel. "The reason as to why this bastard and his friends haven`t signed up any treaties you`ve sent to you is because those punks simply had absolutely no idea on how to lead the people after they`ve killed me and other Satans." Lucifer looked back at Sirzechs. "Could`ve at the very least wait for a couple more weeks, then you wouldn`t have to deal with all this shit, but instead you`ve decided that it was time for the youngsters to take over and lead people, all because you thought you had enough power. And instead of easy job, you found out that you were nothing short of a failure as rulers."

Sirzechs was completely livid at what Lucifer has just said to him and instead of simply letting it go, he simply went right to Alex and grabbed him by the collar. All Angles immediately got up from their seats and were ready to give Sirzechs hell of a beating, especially Lucina and Azazel, but Lucifer signaled them to back down. Instead of panicking, Lucifer simply looked in angered eyes of Sirzechs and spoke up.

"Truth hurts, doesn`t it?" Lucifer asked him mockingly. "Now think about what I felt when I found out that 3 millennias of my hard work, caring and nurturing our race, along with securing it`s place in this world, have been all for nothing. To see my people, who have struggled their hardest to gain their freedom, now enslaving others and using humanity as their slaves and puppets. The very same humanity for which Nephilims have given their lives and power to protect from God`s enslavement. And now, you and Ajuka have undone the very core of Devils: to live free and to let others be free. You and all the other Devils… It disgusts me to even look upon you."

"Disgusts you?!" Sirzechs tightened his grip and now placed his right arm at Alex`s throat. "You and your entire family have been doing nothing short of hoarding power to yourself and leaving to me and others nothing! You and your damned principals of freedom and independence for all have served only to weaken us all and look to what it led us to becoming weaklings! I and Ajuka had to do something and those weakling that you`ve tried so hard to protect were the only resource that saved our people! It`s thanks to them that we`ve rebuilt and reformed our society, not because of your damned idiocy! And your entire bloody family has done nothing to me, but stopped me on my path! Rizevim and Euclid… Even Grayfia, whom I`ve married just out of spite and hope of gaining a piece of your own power. And then, there is that bitch that gave me and others so much trouble, and now has birthed this bloody precedent. I should`ve just killed her when I had the chance…"

Lucifer simply glared at Sirzechs and, instead of answering to Sirzechs, he simply released his control from Alex and allowed his Heir to take over. And Alex`s glare was just as intense, if not more than his grandfather`s, on Sirzechs. He may`ve been held tightly, but Alex simply placed his arm and gripped Sirzechs` arm with his own hold on his. Crimson Satan felt extreme pain and released his hold on Alex. And Lucifer`s Heir simply looked at Sirzechs and spoke in cold, but furious at the same time voice.

"So, my family has been stopping you?" Alex simply said to him. "It never was about Devils, only about you and that bloody family getting power. And now I have to clean up your bloody mess?" Alex`s right arm clenched into a fist. "You know, I really wanted to become a Lucifer, but now, after finally understand just what son of bitch you are and just what have Devils became, I can safely say one thing to you and all Devils: I quit."

And with said, Alex`s face immediately morphed into one of utter and complete anger and rage. As his left arm pulled Sirzechs closer to him, his right fist went right at Sirzechs` jaw. Everyone were shocked to hear what Sirzechs has just told them, infuriating Azazel and Lucina to no end. But, whatever anger they felt right now, it completely paled to what Alex was feeling: rage, fury and absolute hatred. This son of bitch had the gal and nerve to insult the entire family of Alex, from his grandfather and right to his own mother. And he even went as far as to completely admit what he really felt about Grayfia. She was just a tool to him. Alexander Lucifer has had it and now, it was time to let it all out. In the next second, Alex`s right fist connected with Sirzechs` jaw. Rias` eyes were wide at what her supposed fiancée just did: he punched her big brother right in the jaw! And Sirzechs felt that punch, as it nearly fractured his jaw and caused him to spill blood, for the first time in hundreds of years. However, Alex wasn't done yet, as he hasn`t released his hold on Sirzechs.

"That was for my grandfather." And then came a knee in the gut, causing a gasp from Sirzechs. "That is for Grayfia." Then, another punch in the jaw. "That is for Millicas." And then, Alex grabbed Sirzechs by the collar by both of his hands and brought Sirzechs` dazed look upon himself. "And that one is for my mother!" The next moment, and Alexander`s forehead connecting with Sirzechs` nose, completely shattering and breaking it, as Alex applied even his Power of Annihilation into this one.

Sirzechs` frame fell right on the floor, as he clenched his bleeding nose and disfigured face. Alex stood right near him, burning him with his glare. Sirzechs` aura was beginning to leak and that was it. Nobody has the gall to insult him! And this bastard will learn it. As Great Devil Kings` power began to manifest itself and he was preparing to destroy him, he suddenly felt how Azazel`s, Gabriel`s and Lucina`s powers rose to their fullest levels, and then he saw the white aura of Lucifer also manifest. Sirzechs finally understood, that if he were to attack Alex here, he will have to fight off 3 strongest Angels and that would mean that he will die, no matter how powerful he is… So, he back down.

"Don`t worry, we`ll clean this mess for you." Alex`s voice was mirroring his ancestor`s. "However, I won`t do it on your terms and it won`t be Gremory who deal with Kokabiel. It will be my family: Lucina, my father and I. And after Kokabiel is dead and Excalibur is secured, I`ll deal with your bitch of a sister, not because I respect you or any of your Devils` laws, no. I`ll deal with her just because I want to tell the entire Devil`s race one thing: Heir of Lucifer quits. And the next time you have a crisis, deal with it yourself."