Chapter 251

"All members of the Naberius household, are to appear in front of me."

Now there was truly no one who could leave. Such a massive magic circle was ever used for one reason.

"?!"

Taito now truly knew what Sirzechs's order was for.

"My lord!"

Asking for his whole house to appear here only meant one thing. Sirzechs would choose a male and female to continue the bloodline…for the rest would not see tomorrow's sunrise.

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|DxD|

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Clan extermination, a taboo of the highest order. To be accurate, it was taboo in this era. In a world where their numbers were low, exterminating an entire clan was not conducive to the survival of their species. The losses from eradicating a clan would far outweigh the benefits, especially in times of war.

Yet here was Sirzechs, fully and utterly willing to eradicate the Naberius. Taito was familiar with this procedure. Gathering all who bear the clan surname in one place---he knew this procedure all too well.

"Lord Lucifer!"

In the olden days, the previous satans were known to exterminate lower-level clans. He once also exterminated branches of his clan…with the very same tactic Sirzechs was using.

"Lord Lucifer please! PLEASE!"

Gone was his composure. The reality of the situation made him forgo all the dignity a clan head should bear.

Dakaang~ …ta…ta…ta…ta…

Sirzechs's words were like a command. Taito could only watch with a harrowed gaze as his wife, his concubines, and his children walked out with a mix of somber and curious gazes.

Vwong! Vwong! Vwong!

Multiple magic circles formed as everyone else teleported here. Servants, elders, overseers, scientists…everyone came once they heard Sirzechs's decree. There was no escaping it. There was no fighting it.

Everyone bore grim expressions on their faces. It seemed the older generation was aware of what was happening.

[This fool...]

[So…it has come to this.]

[Tch! I told him not to follow through with the massacre.]

Some glared at Taito with expressions of hatred. If their foolish clan head didn't trust in those flimsy spears, there'd still be a chance to talk.

Now, it was gone. Sirzechs was resolute in killing them. As devils, the least the Naberius could do was face their impending end with dignity rather than pathetically beg like Taito.

Teleport from a satan? What a joke. They'd be tortured before being destroyed on the spot. And so all who bore the name Naberius assembled in front of Sirzechs. The courtyard filled with barely over a two-hundred people.

The clan had lost a considerable number of soldiers in the Nekomata Massacre. But no matter what, Sirzechs was aware that this was not all of them. Through his perception, he could sense around sixty more devils far underground.

Fortunately, his 'backup' was able to knock them all out. He waited for a while until some time later, a yellow flash appeared next to him.

Shuu!

Her sudden appearance aroused the surprise of many. It was Aurelia. The silverette carried several documents along with a flash drive on her. Her gaze was extremely cold, especially when she locked eyes with Taito.

"They are guilty, Sirzechs."

"Thank you, Aurelia-san."

The evidence in these files and drive alone would be enough to justify his next actions.

"Naberius. This is what happens when you fail to heed my words."

He turned around and pointed two of his fingers right where the underground lab was.

"[Pillar of Destruction]"

His fingers swiftly curled up, and an explosion strong enough to shake the Underworld occurred.

BOOOOOOM!

A massive crimson pillar surged out of the ground like a humongous snake. It pierced the clouds and dyed the skies red. A giant storm, a power of such immense magnitude that the skies thundered.

From a distance, all anyone could see was a massive pillar that buried itself into the skies, a tornado that brought destruction upon the Naberius.

Taito could do nothing as their clan's lab was destroyed. Any words he had in his mouth died the moment Sirzechs released such a massive discharge of power.

It was over. Everything was over…everything.

"..."

Here they were, his entire family present in front of Sirzechs. There was no trial, there was no dignity. He was older than Sirzechs by hundreds of years, yet this body did not show him respect.

*Clenches Fists!*

Since Sirzechs was truly set on killing him, then he would make sure…to take out that…

"DAMNED ARYAN SCU- KRGH!"

*Throat Grabbed!*

Aurelia's hands were small, but they grabbed tightly around Taito's neck. His eyes widened in shock yet any resistance froze when a numb feeling spread all over his body.

"Father!"

One of Taito's sons tried to help his father, but a clone of Aurelia formed and grabbed him by the throat.

Immediately…

Shuu! Shuu! Shuu! Shuu! Shuu! Shuu! Shuu! Shuu!

…over two hundred more of her clones appeared and restrained every member of the Naberius. There was no chance to resist. Their movements were so fast that not to mention the adults, even the children couldn't utter a cry before they were restrained.

Aurelia herself had strength at the peak of God Class and her clones inherited that power. The only Ultimate Class the Naberius had were killed by the Nekomata and Sirzechs just prior.

Since this was a clan marked for extermination, there was no need for her to be merciful.

"I will transfer the results to you, Sirzechs."

Her tone was cold and similarly, so was her mana.

Hiss!

The Naberius members froze up when she prowled their mind with her mana poured into their bodies. Each clone was swift and the procedure took no less than ten seconds.

Very quickly, roughly twenty people were suddenly frozen into giant blocks of ice. This shocked the others, but they could not move nor protest due to Aurelia's mana paralysing them.

Whether she was aware of or disregarded their plight, the real Aurelia turned to face Sirzechs and stretched out her hand.

"Please verify the authenticity of this information. None of it has been modified."

"..."

Sirzechs took her hand, and his expression soured instantly.

'AAAAAAAH!'

'PLEASE! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!'

'I didn't sign up for-NO! Please don't take me! Please don't take me-AAAAAAAAAH!'

'D-d-d-d-d-don't do it! Please don't do it! Please don't-ARGH! MY EYE! MY EYEEEEEE!!!!!'

Images flashed in his mind. Experiments upon experiments, cruelty upon cruelty. This…this was horrible. Devils, yokai, humans, dragons…no race was spared. In that lab, they were all treated worse than slaves.

Their agony…it was enraging.

FUUUUUUUSH!

Murderous killing intent covered the vicinity once more. Every single one of these monsters was worthy of death by crucifixion. Of the entire people who bore the Naberius surname, only a young girl barely nine-years of age and her elder brother were innocent.

There were other children, yet they were also darkened. Sirzechs glared at a seven-year-old girl. At her age, she had already experimented on and killed twenty-four people from other races.

"Monsters…"

Of hundreds of people, only the twenty frozen by Aurelia were innocent. Of those twenty, only two truly bore the Naberius name.

"All of you are monsters."

It was a disgrace. It was disgraceful to see that in his rule, so many horrors happened under his nose.

"No more."

ZUUUUUU…

The massive magic circle in the sky hummed ominously. The pulsing glow lit up the night, igniting the memories of the devils who lived during the era of the satans. That dull glow and hum used to be accompanied by an arrogant self-righteous announcement.

Now, the populace was fearful, yet curious as to what justification their leader would have for…exterminating a pillar clan.

Sirzechs never thought he would have to, but what the Naberius did was something that could never be condoned.

"Citizens of the Underworld. I have been…incompetent."

So many souls have met their end at this clan that he couldn't bring himself to list their true crimes.

"The Naberius have violated the laws of the Underworld. They have grievously harmed our allies and brought untold damage towards our lives."

Them killing the Nekomata was a terrible enough crime. No matter how much Sirzechs wanted to do right, he could not expose the true extent of their crimes. So long was the list, so heavy were the names on it that he was sure every single pantheon and organisation would shun the devils completely.

"With the power invested in me as the Satan Lucifer, I announce the verdict for the Naberius. Lord Taito Naberius and his wife. All of the elders and their wives. All of their children, descendants and their wives…will be executed. The only members eligible for pardon, will be Ruzen-Riothama Naberius and Daikazren Naberius along with their servants."

As his words came to an end, the circle vanished from the sky.

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The silence was deafening. Working devils flying in the sky remained frozen like figures in a painting. Markets that would be lively with the shouts of merchants fell silent. Bars and taverns that held retired veterans and reincarnated devils were completely silent.

The Underworld grinded to a halt at the significance of Sirzechs's words. There was a large difference between hoping, and experiencing.

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Silence…

[Oh no…]

[Sigh…it's happening again.]

[Is Lord Lucifer really going to…]

Old figures from the times of the old satans couldn't help but gaze at the skies with a forlorn look. It has been centuries…CENTURIES since such a scene occurred. The voice responsible was different, but the older devils displayed a hint of fear on their faces.

Was this a new era? And…would it be good? Their greatest fear was living under a rule of cruelty once more.

It was only now that people understood one thing. Someone pushed Sirzechs. Someone pushed their kind-loving Satan so far, took advantage of his kindness to the extent that a clan was now in danger of ceasing to exist.

The question was, would the Naberius be the only clan?

Sigh…

Khalios looked at the skies with an unreadable expression. As a second-generation devil, he had seen that magic circle so many times he couldn't bleach it out of his eyes even if he tried.

So many clans were exterminated underneath that very magic circle. The previous satans alone were responsible for the extermination of seven pillar clans.

There was a time when devils lived in fear because as soon as that circle appeared, relatives would die…and they would follow.

[Zekram Bael. These children are the best leaders our people have had in all our history.]

A faint murderous intent exuded from him.

[If they mimic their predecessors, I will kill you.]

Khalios had detached himself from the world and was content to remain an observer. But he would readily intervene if necessary.

[I see hope in those children. For your sake, I hope you do not destroy it.]

He turned around and walked into the depths of the familiar forest. Zekram could play his games, but only the blade was true. Khalios would use that very blade to sever his head should the need arise.

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AN

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From this chapter, we can see that the Naberius have been engaged in nefarious experiments for hundreds and possibly thousands of years. I came to this thought because they also experimented on dragons. I don't think they'd have enough guts to kidnap the dragons under Tannin's care.

But yes, their crimes could literally see the devils become public enemy number one. Major pantheons would gang up on them like what happened with the Heavenly Dragons. The devils might not be wiped out, but they definitely would be ousted from Earth.

As always, you're welcome to read more on my p.a.t.r.e.o.n under the name HolyGambler.

Thanks for your constant support and until the next chapter.