Chapter 247

Give anyone a keyboard and they would instantly grow ten guts. Give them a VPN and their livers would bloat under the ingestion of confidence. Give them a proxy server and they would hop on a clan's official page and curse their ancestors right down to their progenitor.

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|DxD|

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"Hmmmm. Well played, Sirzechs. Well played."

Zekram watched Sirzechs's speech from a small laptop on his table. He held a glass of wine in his hand while reclining on his chair. He did not feel angry at Sirzech's words of insinuation. Just surprised and impressed.

"You are no longer the boy you once were. Perhaps those Aryans gave you the wings you needed to fly?"

Ever since he met the Aryans, Sirzechs's actions had been getting harder and harder to predict. The words Sirzechs spoke in this interview did not follow the rhythm Zekram predicted.

"But, you are still too young."

Zekram was an old schemer who lived for tens of thousands of years. It would be demeaning if he didn't have a contingency plan in place.

"Number Thirty-Four."

Su!

A muscular man in a grey suit appeared like the wind. He was tall and imposing. His hair was neatly combed and his violet eyes glowed in the darkened room.

"Progenitor."

He was taller than Zekram, but he humbly got on his knees.

"I am listening."

"Hmmm."

Zekram didn't reply immediately. He took his time to savour the wine before he gently placed the empty cup on the table.

"Thirty-Four. Report on the progress of the hunt."

"Reporting, Progenitor. We have received word that Falbium of the Glaysa-Labolas has left with a few operatives on the hunt for the Nekushou. Number Fifty-One is part of the group and will relay his movements to us. On our side are hunters from Vapula, Naberius, Zepar, and Asmoday. Number Thirty-Six is leading the hunt."

His words were concise and straight to the point, a detail Zekram appreciated in his subordinates.

"Hmm. Very well. Here are your new orders. Enlist the help of Number Thirty-One for this endeavour. Inform Number Thirty-Six that he is to relinquish leadership of the hunt to one of the Vapula. He is to depart with the Naberius for the Nekomata Village. You and Thirty-One shall convene there."

Zekram closed his eyes, almost as if he was in thought for a brief moment before he continued once more.

"Once you arrive, you are to eliminate them all without failure."

"Yes, Progenitor."

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|DxD|

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Zekram Bael was alone once more. His office was large and had a large desk to boot, much larger than a meeting table. In such a large office, the light could barely penetrate all the way to the back where he sat. The only visible aspect of him was a rough silhouette.

The old progenitor loved the darkness for that is where he thrived the most. Remaining behind the scenes and manipulating the world from this very office was something he'd done for so long it was now ingrained in his blood.

Directly fighting against Sirzechs was not something he would do. That method would require revealing himself for it to be effective. That, and victory was not guaranteed. No matter what, his reputation and prestige as a progenitor could not contend with the satans's fame and the credibility of the Aryans.

[Hmmm. Delaying the establishment of this policy seems like something I may not be able to easily stop.]

Statistics showed that more and more devils were gradually believing Sirzechs's words and directed their suspicions towards the pillar clans, particularly the Naberius. His side was putting up a decent fight, but the end result would only be the delay of the policy's deployment, not its cancellation.

[Preventing it will result in higher costs than its worth. There will eventually be calls for it to be reenacted and if it were to be shut down…public rebellion must not occur.]

No matter what methods he could use, the damage had been done. He could work to get the policy scrapped, but the younger generation, especially the heirs would see it enacted through any means necessary.

Be it ten years or a hundred years, Zekram could see this policy being proposed again. And once that happens, methods of suppressing it would be scarce.

[Perhaps I can manipulate it to my advantage?]

It was already a given that even if the policy would not come into action, reincarnated devils would seek out the Aryans to have their peerage piece modified. Sooner or later, evidence would force this Overhaul Policy into law.

[Yes. Since it has become an inevitability, I may as well leverage it to suit our needs.]

And coincidentally, Zekram had the perfect leveraging tool that could see him manipulate the whole narrative of this law.

[This Aryan killed two of the elders and crippled one of them. Regardless of reason, such an offence cannot be buried nor forgiven.]

If Sirzechs thought he could drown the death of two elders under the wave of this peerage policy, then they would be in for a surprise.

"The Phenex will be of help. If I can foster their rage, it would be a stepping stone to ensuring that Sirzechs's idealistic dreams end at their conceptual stage."

It was already a given that until the policy is passed, the Devilnet would be monitored by Ajuka and Serafall. This left Zekram around three days to slow down the establishment of this law.

"It is safe to assume that Aryan will be there, so let me plan around that."

Framing the overhaul as unsafe was no longer an option. The existence of Aurelia directly shattered such a notion. Rather than frame it as unsafe, he could work on "who" is eligible enough to perform the procedure.

"The Daughter of Drachenburg is talented, but she is alone. It is unrealistic that she solely be responsible for modifying the pieces and entrusting others to do so would be a dangerous notion."

That could give enough reason to delay the passage of the law, but it was not enough. He could push back the law's vetting process for a few months or possibly years, but it was not realistic to only count on such a measure.

He needed more angles and narratives he could use to push back the establishment of the policy. That would give him enough time to plant more restrictions around the policy.

But his most concerning problem was Igor.

[The Son of Dimori has a volatile temper. Direct resistance might result in us losing people.]

It was a reality Zekram was quick to accept. The moment he heard Igor killed two elders, he knew he had to adjust his plans to match the blonde's temper.

[For now, it seems he will not kill the members of the New Satan Faction if the Phenex elder is anything to judge by. Zeoticus will almost always support his son, but I can draw a rift between them.]

He might not have had the material before, but he could now leverage the Phenex into cancelling their engagement with the Gremory. The Phenex were a very important family that had the potential to control the military and the economy through their Phenex tears.

The threat to their superiority were the Nekomata, but those animals would be annihilated soon enough. This would once more place the Phenex in a vital position of importance.

[The Phenex have slowly become a neutral family over the years and that won't do.]

The marriage between the Phenex and the Gremory would've pulled the former into the camp of the New Satan Faction. It was why Zeoticus wanted it so much and why Sirzechs could only grit his teeth and endure the arrangement. The military needed phoenix tears and the Phenex could provide them at discounted rates.

If they outright stopped providing them, it is not impossible that Falbium or one of the other satans would have to kneel in front of the patriarch and beg for them to provide them.

[Perhaps I should free my schedule and make an appearance at the Phenex Clan. It is only right that I offer my condolences.]

The Phenex would no doubt feel some amount of resentment for having their representative crippled so painfully at the meeting. And the fact that Igor killed elders from the Vapula and Bael clan could be used as powerful material.

[If only the elder from my house was killed, I would be limited in my approaches. But since lower clans like the Vapula are not safe, then I can rally their support. If I can change the narrative, I can frame Sirzechs's fight for the people as an affront to tradition.]

Doubt. That was Zekram's main plan. It would act as a foundation for further attacks. If he could garner enough voices that label Igor as a foreigner, he could oust the boy from their internal politics which would allow him free reign to manipulate matters once more.

"Mmmm. But let us not rush things. First, a visit to the Phenex is in order. Having them on our side would be a significant achievement."

Zekram couldn't help but smile. Sirzechs and his little circle of friends were still too young to play politics with him. He will show them that even if they wield a nuclear weapon, it means nothing if it can't be fired.

[The public whom you treasure so much- I'll show you how relying on them is akin to building on sand.]

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|DxD|

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1999/09/01- September 2nd (Thursday), 1999, Mount Kailasa, India

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Four days had passed since Parvati went to Igor. After letting him vent his anger, she brought him back to her home where she further took care of him. The blonde was despondent for the first few days and lost all signs of rebellion.

He didn't talk and most concerningly, he didn't eat for over two days. His metabolism had shrunk drastically to accommodate his self-imposed starvation until Wednesday when Parvati finally had enough.

She was prepared to seal his ki and force him to eat when out of nowhere, Igor picked up his bowl and downed the soup in one go. He muttered a thank you and left once more for his room. It was the only time he spoke and as they sat down to eat again, he didn't speak a word.

The silence wasn't uncomfortable. Only concerning. Igor wore a vest that Parvati made for him along with some simple pants. If her eyes weren't deceiving her, she could swear he had gotten skinnier.

She was unsure how to get close to him without stirring his hatred. He was extremely averse to getting close to her because of her divinity. Her title as a Mother Goddess made people feel as if she were their mother. Others might welcome it, but Igor showed he despised the feeling.

Unfortunately, turning it "off" was the same as asking her to hold her breath.

"Igor. Perhaps you would like to talk?"

He didn't even look at her.

"I'll be fine-"

He couldn't finish his sentence when behind him, Shiva appeared and struck him at the back of his neck.

Gu!

Igor fell unconscious instantly and banged his head on the table. Everything happened so quickly that Parvati was worried about how he would react once he woke up.

"Husband. Don't you think-"

"Parvati. Your methods have been too soft."

He grabbed Igor by the scruff of his neck.

"Since he refuses to cross this hurdle, I will force him to."

Su!

And just like that, Shiva vanished along with Igor. Less than ten seconds passed between his arrival and departure.

"..."

Parvati was concerned, but she would let her husband sort it out.

[Perhaps only another warrior can get through to him.]

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AN

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I was previously against Igor involving himself in devil politics, but now I want to see how he handles Zekram.

Those willing can read up to chapter 251 on my p.a.t.r.e.o.n. Same as always, the username is HolyGambler.

Once again, thank you for reading and until the next chapter.