Chapter 30: Cursed Techniques

Deal with the Devil

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 30: Cursed Techniques

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

- Damien -

I watched Vienna and Shirone training against each other.

Shirone had consumed a Chakra fruit as well and was in the Ultimate Class level as well although she was among the lowest levels of the Ultimate Class, she was improving rapidly.

Really, Nekoshou are a cheat race with their insane affinity with Nature Energy and Yojutsu.

What I observed between the two sisters is that while both are exceptionally talented in Senjutsu and Yojutsu, Kuroka leaned more towards Magic while Shirone was more of a physical fighter.

This was not to say that they couldn't fight in the other way. Both were quite proficient in Haki and could easily handle themselves using their physique only.

The fight ended with Shirone's defeat as she huffed on the ground.

Vienna was relatively unhurt with just a few scratches here and there.

She had grown immensely since a few years ago.

When she gets into the Satan Class, I will teach her how to unlock the Juggernaut Drive and more of Albion's power.

Maybe a spar with her eternal rival would push her again.

It's almost time to organise the fight.

I looked as both Shirone and Vienna were healed by Asia and Valerie.

These two didn't like fighting too much but they were still doing their very best to help out in their own way.

I will have to arrange for a few things to make them stronger.

Just as I was thinking of these, I got a message.

"Master."

"Hmm."

"There has been an attack on the Nura Clan."

"….I see."

"It was the Gokadoin clan. They were targeting Nurarihyon's grandson, Rikuo Nura. They were repelled by Rikuo-kun and our people along with the Nura Clan have chased after them. We think it's a trap."

And you still chased after them?

Then again, with the strength of my people, it wouldn't matter if it's a trap or not.

"Send a few people as backup and increase the security around Shirone."

"Yes Master."

With Hagoromo Gitsune there, things were more or less fine as long as she is not ambushed by several Gods there.

It was time I started making moves for the Underworld as well.

The control of the current Satans was slowly loosening over the Underworld as most of the people wanted me to govern them. The only reason they didn't start a rebellion was because of my words of letting them keep their position. It still didn't stop people from trying to search for me.

They knew that I had a large group of Devils under me and they wanted to join that group.

I had expected this too, and planned for my next move.

And now it was time to take the next step.

I sent a message to Cleria.

"It's time. You can return."

There was a moment of silence on the other side and then a reply came.

"Thank you."

- Hagoromo Gitsune -

"Sensei, this looks like a trap." Rikuo said from her side as they chased after the enemies to see their location.

"Oh, you noticed that?" She answered, unconcerned.

He looked at her surprised.

"Are we still going to chase after them?" He asked, confused.

"Yes."

The boy was taken aback.

"If you have any doubts, you can ask me." She replied.

"I….don't understand." He said.

"Those people….they are my descendants." She revealed.

The boy shot a stunned look at her.

"You are not doubting me? I could be leading you into a trap." She raised an eyebrow.

The child….rolled his eyes.

"With your strength, do you even need to take such a roundabout way? Moreover, if you just wanted to kill or capture us, why even save us in the first place." He said, looking straight. "And…."

"And?"

"I trust you. I don't think you will betray us." He said, not faltering in the slightest.

"Ufufufufu you have become quite a charmer, Rikuo-kun." She laughed and looked forward. "These kids have been led astray by some people for their own gains. I cannot, in my right conscience, see them die because of this. They are, after all my descendants. So, we are going to knock some sense into their heads. The rest of the children don't have to fight. I have already contacted the Master and he is sending reinforcements. Take this as a test for a selected few. After all, they might be nothing for me but several of them are stronger than you. Let's see how much you all have learned under my guidance."

"So a test. I understand."

Just as their conversation finished, the enemies they had been chasing stopped and turned back to look at them.

Her group stopped as well.

A barrier formed around the place, locking them in.

She instantly noticed the barrier.

A Heptagram Barrier designed by Seimei.

Looking at the intricacies of the barrier, she noticed that it hadn't changed much from the one she remembered.

Seriously!

Did these kids not work to upgrade it in over a thousand years?

How disappointing.

She suddenly realised that her thought process had changed a lot in the past few years, since joining her new faction.

Surrounded by so many talented individuals, her sense of normality was a bit affected.

It's not that they didn't change the barrier much, they couldn't.

It wasn't that easy to improve Seimei's life's great work.

They were strong.

Four people among them were all at the Ultimate Class level which was quite good for any Youkai….or at least used to be before the rebirth of the Devil, her new Master.

It made her realise just how skewed the sense of power was among his faction.

These people standing in front of her were probably the previous leaders of the Gokadoin clan, and yet….they barely matched the kids from her new faction.

It was not the matter of them being disappointing but rather the people around her were just that outrageous.

"Rikuo, how many of them can you handle?" She pointed at the leaders of the other side.

The boy looked forward, drawing out his sword. "One should be easy. Two would be pushing it."

"Hmm….you get three."

"Wha…."

"Don't kill them."

"....yes, sensei."

"Hagoromo Gitsune….I had heard that you were resurrected. To think you would fall so low as to join the side of these monsters."

She narrowed her eyes and then she shrugged. "I am a youkai after all. It would be odd if I was siding with others. The real surprise is you, the ones who carry my blood and yet go against the Youkai. Just what exactly is your goal in attacking these children?"

"We are the descendants of Abe no Seimei, the greatest Onmyoji of all time. It is our life's goal to purify the Youkai and walk in the footsteps of our ancestor."

….

"Huh?" She snorted and then looked towards the corner of the field in an empty space. "Just what language are these foolish children speaking?"

The space trembled and soon an illusion dispersed, and there stood that annoying fool, Nurarihyon.

Beside him stood a young girl who had a Shikigami summoned, someone whom she identified in one glance.

Hidemoto Keikain.

It was the famous Shikigami Technique of the Keikain….the Hagun. A technique to summon their ancestors.

The annoying onmyoji had used it against her when she had fought him and Nurarihyon.

The fool shrugged. "They think that Seimei wished to purify all youkai and my words were considered lies."

She turned towards them with an incredulous look. "Seimei wished to create a world where humans and youkai lived together in peace due to his father who was an onmyoji and me who was a youkai, raising him. He only changed that view when I was killed by humans who wished to consume my heart in hopes of gaining immortality. Since then, he had changed his view to the youkai ruling this country. I can understand if you had any of these two goals to respect Seimei….but where does this nonsensical third thought come from?"

"Do not try to shake us with your lies. Our ancestor overcame his blood and became revered as the strongest Onmyoji. We, just like him, will not fall to your words. It was a shame that we didn't know about his exact reincarnation plans or we might have assisted him and then he might not have fallen to whatever tricks you people used." One of the people, a black haired boy, said aggressively. "We are not as weak as Abe no Yasuna."

….

- Nurarihyon -

"That boy is going to die." He whispered to the spirit of Hidemoto as he sensed the surge in Hagoromo Gitsune's power..

"Seriously, just what kind of weed do these people smoke nowadays. There are easier ways to die than that."

They heard her speak.

"Rikuo, leave that one to me. You children can play with others." As she spoke, her aura hadn't stopped increasing for even a moment.

"Oi oi, is she for real? How did she get that strong?" Hidemoto pointed towards her, looking at the still rising power in disbelief.

He himself was no better. She was dozens of times stronger than before. If she had been even half of this when they had fought against each other all those years ago, he would have been chopped off into pieces before he could even unsheathe his blade.

"She got a master."

Hidemoto's head snapped as he looked at her in surprise.

"A master?" He pointed a finger at Hagoromo Gitsune. "Her? Is she the same youkai we know? Hagoromo Gitsune? Just who could tame that mad fox?" he asked, curiously.

"The Devil."

"Devils? I don't know much about them apart from the fact that they were having their grand threeway battle royale all over the world. How did she join the Devils?"

"She didn't join the Devils. She was subdued by the creator of the Devils. Things happened. It's a long story. Long story short, that guy is currently allied with us and has given us two sages. He….convinced her to work for him."

Hidemoto looked stunned at the words.

He didn't blame the man.

The whole situation sounded so strange when listening to it.

One needed to live through it to understand what was going on.

"Anyways, I will explain everything to you later." he said as he continued to look towards the children who were facing their opponents from the other side.

Rikko took the lead, his fear wrapping around his sword as he used Tsurara's fear to wrap around him, using the Matoi technique.

He clashed evenly with one of the leaders of the Gokadoin house, Abe no Ariyuki.

"How interesting. This is the first time I have seen someone use their fear in such a way."

"It is a technique created by my son, Rihan called the Matoi technique. A technique which only those with part human and part youkai heritage can use. In a way, by allowing another youkai to possess their human side, he can gain their power and increase his own powers exponentially."

The two sides clashed against each other.

Abe no Ariyuki was a master of onmyojutsu and could use the Heptagram technique to both attack and defend himself, easily keeping up with Rikuo's boosted attacks.

Still, it showed the growth of his grandson under the tutelage of Hagoromo Gitsune that he was keeping up with such a master.

Just at that moment, Ariyuki used one of his signature techniques.

"Careful." Hidemoto was about to intervene but he stopped him.

The man looked at him in shock but he shook his head.

Ariyuki's signature technique involved him dragging his opponent into a mirrored world

It was a high level barrier type technique.

A barrier type technique.

That's why Nurarihyon didn't intervene.

They watched as both of them were covered into a barrier, trapping the two in a mirrored world.

Yura, the girl who was summoning Hidemoto, looked worried. She was Rikuo's classmate and friend.

"Don't worry. Rikuo will be alright." he reassured.

"How would he be alright? That kind of technique, even I would be having trouble against it." Hidemoto complained loudly.

"Keep looking. Rikuo hadn't been learning just Fear under Hagoromo Gitsune."

He was quite surprised when he heard that they were teaching him a completely new branch of magic and not even Haki which Akira had told them about.

Jujutsu Techniques as they called them.

It was a variation of the fear techniques. While normally, they were not that different from each other, even having a lot of similarities, the differences appeared when they were used at higher levels.

The barrier techniques, especially the Domain techniques.

Sure enough, a flash of white appeared from inside the barrier and the area around it was completely frozen.

Abe no Ariyuki was shot out from the barrier with a slash on his chest and crashed on the wall of the barrier.

The mist cleared and Rikuo was seen in a sword draw stance.

"One down. Two more to go." He stood back up slowly.

The blast had attracted the eyes of every person in the place as they looked at the now unconscious Ariyuki and a victorious looking Rikuo standing there.

"But how?" Even Hidemoto looked confused.

He knew the feeling.

After all, he had been on the other side of such an attack too. Although, back then Rikuo was not using the Matoi, he had still been able to catch him off guard.

In the several rematches later on, Nurarihyon had not once been able to break through that technique of his directly. But the greatest boon of the technique was that all of Rikuo's attacks became undodgeable.

A barrier infused with the fear technique of the Youkai.

It was unbelievable.

It was frightening.

Although, it was not even near when used in conjugation with the Matoi technique.

The Matoi technique as explained by Rihan, was in essence, letting a Youkai possess the human side of them. It meant that there were two different youkai in one body. The user thus possessed two completely different Fear techniques.

This technique covered for and even removed the several drawbacks of the Domain Expansion techniques as the cost of using the technique could easily be shouldered by the possessing Youkai and Rikuo can easily use another expansion after letting another youkai possess him….without using even an ounce of his own fear.

It also removed the effect of him not being able to use his fear technique right after the expansion ended.

It was as if someone had handmade this technique for a youkai hybrid.

This, according to Hagoromo Gitsune, was proof that humans and Youkai could not only peacefully exist together, they can also grow stronger than their current self.

And to be honest, Nurarihyon found this explanation of hers quite interesting himself.

Just as they were about to continue, he heard a voice from behind him.

"Greetings, Nurarihyon-sama."

He turned back to see a boy with nine fox tails standing behind him.

Akira.

A smile formed at the corner of his lips.

He hadn't sensed him at all, not until he had spoken. The ability to hide his presence….the cheeky kid was actually using his own Shin Meikyō Shisui as well as Fox Illusions to hide his presence.

Hidemoto looked surprised at the new arrival but relaxed seeing him not take any action.

"Akira. Are you the backup? Although, it doesn't seem that they need any." he looked ahead to see the children fight. Hagoromo Gitsune on the other hand, was immobilising her opponent with just her aura, making the kid realise how badly they had messed up.

It was a very less known fact but Hagoromo Gitsune was extremely loyal to her husband and these fools….they insulted him in front of her.

"There are others but they are keeping watch. They will arrive if we need support."

"I see. Hiding to not scare away the big fish. Good choice."

He nodded but didn't elaborate.

"This is?" Hidemoto asked.

"The apprentice of Princess Yasaka of Kyoto and their newest Sage."

"A sage? Aren't sages usually the oldest youkai like Sun Wukong? In fact I can hardly remember the name of three Youkai sages. How did that fox get one so young?" Hidemoto asked.

"I have heard of you. A youkai who had been experimented on by the Devils and had escaped their territory after killing his master. There was a huge mess between the devils and the youkai after that." Yura said. "But from our information, you were just a five tailed fox at the time of escape barely a year or two ago. How did you become a Nine Tailed fox so fast? Doesn't it take a hundred years to grow a tail for the kitsune youkai?"

"That's just one way of growing. If someone gains an extraordinary control over Nature energy or becomes stronger than their current limit of tails, they can also grow tails to accommodate their rising strength; however such cases are extremely rare." Hidemoto explained. "Still, rising to a Nine Tailed fox and a sage at that in two years. Those experiments certainly gave you something good. You must be the youngest sage in all of the world."

Akira sent an unfriendly glare towards the man. "That experiment did nothing but injure my body and soul. All of my current progress and powers are a blessing from my Master and due to the teachings of Yasaka-sama. As for being the youngest sage, that title is already taken. Shirone-chan is twelve years old this year and is the youngest sage alive."

"Twelve years…."

He cut the two off.

"Looks like the fish has taken the bait."

- Akira -

He was already looking in the direction of the enemies when they were teleporting.

One, two, three….all seven remaining heads had arrived headed by their second head, Abe no Yoshihira. Each of them was an Ultimate Class being.

From their research, the man was a quarter Youkai and the son of Abe no Seimei. He was by far the strongest of their fighters, a prodigy in Onmyojutsu just like his father and also possessing the power to turn into a Nine tailed fox during the night.

They moved in to surround Hagoromo Gitsune and he too stepped forward to lend a hand but the woman raised a hand to stop him.

"Stay back and see that none of them run away. It seems that being in Yomi for a few centuries made the world forget about who and what I am and I need to remind them of this."

He looked at the other group and stayed back.

As for the barriers, that was already being done by the rest.

Both sides looked at each other.

She in particular stared at her grandson who looked back at her with an emotionless gaze. Just as she was about to speak, he interrupted her.

"There is no need for words. You are a Youkai and I have sworn to purify the world of such beings."

"Oh and why exactly? After all, you yourself have my blood running in your veins."

"And I suffer due to this cursed blood. I do not wish this curse on anyone else. The Youkai have been getting too strong recently. If left like this, they would soon start encroaching on human territories. This needs to stop….now. And we, as the protectors of this country, will gladly take this responsibility."

These people were fools.

They just looked at the quarter youkai with no expression on their faces until Hagoromo Gitsune broke the silence herself.

"Are those your own words?" She asked, looking directly at him.

"....yes."

"You paused. I see. Very well. First let me teach you all some manners and then I will make the ones behind this pay."

"Akira, you should go and assist her." Nurarihyon drew his blade as he spoke but he stopped them.

"It's fine. We just need to protect the kids. She can take care of herself."

"But….so many of them would be too much for her."

"Nurarihyon-sama….she is holding back." he said, making both him and the onmyoji girl stop in their place and look at the scene in front of them in shock.

The seven heads of the Gokadoin House surrounded the one who had been suppressed on the ground, albeit with difficulty under the suppression of Hagoromo Gitsune's aura and made hand signs to conjure a heptagram barrier to protect themselves as well as prepare for an attack while Yoshihira himself charged forward to attack.

Meanwhile Rikuo had combined with another one of his subordinates and inflicted severe injuries on another one of their heads.

Yoshihira summoned his Heptagram and Akira sensed the change in the weather as dark clouds surrounded the place.

"He is manipulating rain and lightning to prepare for a spell." The onmyoji said.

Meanwhile, Abe no Orochi from their side had summoned her shikigami.

Eight gigantic serpent heads peaked from the clouds and raced to attack the older Kitsune in the middle of the circle as each of the heads raced in with their own attacks.

Hagoromo Gitsune stood in the middle of all their attacks and joined her hands in the position of prayer as all her tails gathered, cupping her hands and her voice was heard throughout the field.

"Domain Expansion."

A dilapidated cottage appeared behind her riddled with arrows. There were several weapons piercing the walls of the cottage and it looked as if it would fall at any moment.

This cottage held the memories of Hagoromo Gitsune. It was the hut where she had lived with her husband, away from the eyes of the general masses. It was the place where she had raised her child, Abe no Seimei and promised to give birth to him as many times as he wanted….and it was also the house where she was killed by the foolish court noble, the act which made Abe no Seimei go berserk and kill everyone in the court.

In a word, this cottage had seen all phases of Hagoromo Gitsune's life. It had seen her becoming what she was today.

It was the place where she was the most comfortable.

The snake heads and the attacks approached her but in the very next moment, all those attacks, all those enormous snake heads as tall as giant buildings, everything….was made into a pin cushion by all kinds of weapons.

In all her life, she had reincarnated in various forms and had almost always had a prominent place in the history of the world.

Be it as a royal concubine of a shogun or the famous general Tomoe Gozen.

Each of these weapons represented one of her incarnations, each carrying a different power, empowered by her legend. Not only those, there were also weapons by which she had died….including the fabled Nenekirimaru, the Youkai Slaying Sword.

Hagoromo Gitsune's original fear is a Presence Type, just like his.

Presence-based fear users are able to overwhelm an opponent through the sheer immensity of their fear alone. It could be said that theirs is a fear which causes fear, and users often make use of a secondary fear to take advantage of an opponent's hesitation in the face of their "presence". Users are frequently either physically huge/grotesque or associated with much older folklore and the strength of their fear is in part due to their legends.

Normally a nine tailed fox would be similar to a natural calamity but Hagomo Gitsune went around this concept due to her multiple reincarnations with different identities, each having a legend of their own, thus making her what Merlin described as….utterly broken.

The hundreds of metres area around her had turned into a dense field of weapons.

All those Gokadoin House members, each one of them had been skewered by the weapons, pinning them down to the ground, completely unconscious.

Only Yoshihara was struggling a bit.

"Give up your resistance child." She spoke, still unphased.

The man growled. His shouts turned beastly and his body began transforming.

Red fur grew all over his body as his fingers turned into claws.

One after another tails appeared from behind him till there were nine and in a few moments, there was a gigantic red nine tailed fox standing in front of them.

The beast roared, shattering the land around it as it charged towards the woman ….however, it couldn't even take a couple of steps before countless weapons rained upon him from all angles. The rain continued as did the howls of the injured beast until there was no sound from the other side.

Even he looked at the woman in shock. He had heard of the stories about her but had never seen her fight and to see the fighting style which she had developed with the help of Master.

It was frightening.

As for Nurarihyon and the Onmyoji girl, they were quietly staring at the scene, completely dumbfounded.

He didn't blame them either.

"Akira."

His thoughts were broken by her voice.

"Yes?"

"Seal and heal them. We will take them all with us. Nurarihyon."

The old man stepped forward.

"From today onwards, the Gokadoin house is extinct. Spread the word. They have all returned back to their ancestor and will be under my protection, not intervening in the affairs of this country….ever."

"Very well. I will spread the word." the old commander answered.

"In that case, my work here is done. I will go and clean up the rest as well."

He quickly stepped forward, sealing the prisoners and using the healing potions on them.

This incident should keep the fools on the other side from making any stupid moves for a while.

- Sirzechs -

He entered the Belial territory with a hundred thoughts running in his mind.

Safe to say that he wasn't the only one there.

On the way, he had noticed several members of other houses walking in as well.

The news which had come out was just that stunning.

Cleria Belial had returned back.

The news was unbelievable because her execution was witnessed by many and her body was then carried away by her family.

Her being alive would mean she was resurrected.

A scene flashed back in his mind.

Was he involved?

But why?

During that event he did bring up Cleria Belial's incident so did he take action?

Would it mean that he would bring back all those who were killed?

While happy about the life of the innocent, a sudden wave of headaches also fell over him.

How would other factions react when their dead start coming back?

His mother's resurrection had been kept tightly under wraps by them to avoid such a situation. Only a few others who were at the scene knew of the situation.

Did someone from the Belial house seek his help after seeing his mother's situation?

They would need to do some damage control for this situation.

Just as he reached outside the Belial Manor, he saw Diehauser Belial outside, waiting to receive him.

"Diehauser." he greeted.

"Lord Lucifer. Please come in."

He followed the man inside the mansion.

"I assume you are here about Cleria?"

"Congratulations on having your sister back in your lives. I know how it feels to lose someone close and then have them returned back. I am sorry for failing you and your family in the past." he apologised.

The scandal of Cleria Belial's wrongful sentence had created tensions between the government and the Belial House as well as the Emperor of the Rating games, Diehauser, one of the strongest Devils alive, someone on par with the Satans in terms of strength.

"Let the matters of the past rest in the past. I have my sister back and those responsible for the sorrows of my family have already been punished. I have no one to seek justice from right now."

He hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and asking. "Did you meet….him?"

"Damien Lucifer? Yes, I did."

He didn't elaborate but it was enough.

Before he could think more, Diehauser added. "He did say that such a thing was hard to do and he couldn't do so at will and as such he won't be taking any more requests for resurrections."

He let out an internal sigh of relief. That did assuage a lot of their worries.

They reached the halls of the manor where a grey haired girl was sitting surrounded by the Lord and Lady of the Belial House.

All of them looked at him and stood up, bowing lightly.

"Lord Lucifer." Lord Belial greeted. He had calmed down a bit after the punishment of the ones involved in the whole scandal but there was still some tension between them.

"My apologies for intruding at such a time, Lord Belial but this…."

"I understand."

He gave the man a nod and turned to the girl and first bowed lightly.

"I apologise for not being able to grant you justice."

"It's fine. I had found things which they wanted to keep hidden. I was informed about everything after my….revival. I am just disappointed that I wasn't able to reveal everything before they got us."

Us?

Ah yes.

"I am sorry about your…." he left the words hanging, not knowing which word to use.

"Lover." The girl stated without any hesitation.

Her family members looked at her with apprehensive expressions but she shook her head. "I didn't deny it when I died once and I won't deny it now. Masaomi Yaegaki….was my lover. Both of us loved each other but none of us wanted to betray our sides and thus stayed like that." She turned towards him. "You must know what such a situation is like after all…."

He winced slightly at the reminder.

They had used the reason that she was betraying the Devil race and that would break the balance….now looking at their situation from a different angle….it was eerily similar to his own situation.

"I apologise for your lover, Masaomi Yaeaki's death. A week later, we have a meeting of the leaders of the three factions and I will ask Lord Michael to see if his name can be cleared so that he finds justice in the afterlife." He promised.

Even the Belial couple looked slightly calmed at the words.

The girl shook her head. "I appreciate your words but there is no need for that."

He looked at her surprised. "Did he also?"

She shook her head. "No. he isn't resurrected. He….is in heaven."

"Huh!"

She smiled and their reaction. "Surprised? I was surprised too but it turns out that those who truly live a moral life get a place in heaven no matter what the people of the Church or even the Angels of Heaven name them. It is something controlled by the System of Heaven and was set up by the Father of the Angels. No one else can change it."

"That's….how did you know?"

"I was told by the person who was there when the entire System was being created and thus possessing the knowledge of the system second only to the creator."

They stared at the girl with open mouths.

"According to him, this was not true for only humans but any race under the Abrahamic factions."

"But that would mean…." Lord Belial exclaimed. Even he looked at the girl in shock.

"Yes. Even the Fallen Angels and….Devils. They do get a chance to choose but with eternal darkness of the void as the second alternative….those rare few who qualify, almost always choose this option."

The words were as if a bomb blasted inside his head.

Devils and Fallen Angels….can go to heaven?

"Did he….tell you this?" he asked, his voice shaking, still comprehending the situation.

"Yes. He even showed me the proof through the Sephiroth Graal."

He had the Graal too? Just how many longinuses did that make?

The girl laughed suddenly. "My apologies. It's just that I was a little amused at your shock at him possessing the Graal….after all, he took the current wielder of the Graal under his wing….in front of your very eyes."

That girl, the princess of the Tepes Clan, Valerie Tepes….was the wielder of the Sephiroth Graal!?

"My primary target was not Gasper. It was Valerie all along."

His mouth hung open as he recalled the scene and his reply to Rias' question.

He knew about Gasper Valdi's Sacred Gear. He even knew about the hidden potential of the gear and that it was about to evolve into a Longinus Class Sacred Gear soon and yet he was there for Valerie Tepes. Back then the shock of that incident had completely swept away this fact from their minds but now recalling that scene, he couldn't help but be shocked.

Suddenly, he recalled another thing she had said.

"Were you also….given an option to go to Heaven on your death?"

She nodded. "Yes, I was given the option too."

He kept his shock to himself as she explained things further.

"Funny this is that not even Archangel Michael knew of this. According to him, 'Michael was always the one with brawn and didn't understand the finer aspects of Magic.' You will have to ask him more about this matter in person at the meeting a week from now."

"How do you know about the meeting?" he asked, already having realised but still to confirm the situation.

"Oh, I pledged my loyalty and services to him. I find his goal of preventing another Great War from happening incredibly wonderful and wish to assist him in doing so. If in doing so, one day, all three factions can come together….and others in my own situation can have a different ending, then I would find my second life to be worth it."

"Cleria!" Lord Belial raised his voice because her words could have been considered borderline traitorous for normal devils but when considering whom these words were coming from….they held a completely different….a completely new meaning altogether.

Damien Lucifer….the Devil….wanted peace between the Three Factions.

The words sounded almost alien to him but from the things he knew about the reincarnated man….he couldn't deny that there was a slight possibility.

Could they really?

Was there really a chance?

In any case, he had gotten a lot more information than he had expected from this meeting. Now he needed to consult with his fellow Satans. It seems that the meeting in a week was going to be much more serious than any of them had ever expected.

- Venelana Gremory -

She explained the situation to the children as they mulled over the fact that Devils did have a chance of getting into the afterlife….and in heaven of all places.

Cleria Belial's return and the information she had revealed, had completely shaken all four of them.

Even Ajuka, the calmest one among them, was a little perturbed. She could tell after knowing him for several centuries.

It was understandable when knowing the source of the information.

She could see all kinds of thoughts going on in his mind as he calculated things to find a solution to this problem but to no avail.

"According to you, the afterlife was similar to falling down endlessly?" He asked as if to reconfirm.

"I couldn't sense anything so maybe my head created the illusion of falling. But that's the closest to how I can explain the situation. It was dark. I could not see but I could feel it. The whole experience is hard to describe in words. I don't know how long it had been but to me it felt endless. You lose the sense of time there so I am not sure if time even flowed there in the first place."

"And you didn't get a choice?"

She shook her head. "I was hardly a moral devil in my young days. Back then trading for human souls was not prohibited and as a member of the Bael House, it was something even I went through. I don't think that would ever grant me a pass according to the standards set by the Father of the Angels."

She replied and they pondered.

"So it's different from the third Heaven where souls go after their death. From what little I have heard about it from the rare few Fallen Angels….it's an endless place where the dead live the rest of their lives in wisp-like soul forms. They can change shape but rarely do so. But even Azazel didn't know the full details of the place. Apparently even Angels are not allowed inside the place except for extremely urgent matters. Could there really be….devil souls in there?"

"If so then we can count out the older generations." She threw in her own thoughts and they nodded. "Anyways, I think you should meet Lord Lucifer and seek his opinion on this matter rather than worrying here endlessly. After all, he knew about this even when he created our race and yet didn't do anything to stop it and assuming from his words, it had remained like this since and yet, we haven't encountered any problems because of this. So, why worry now?"

Sirzechs took a deep breath at her words and spoke up. "Mother is right. Things have been like this since the start and nothing bad happened even when we didn't know of this. Knowing this is not going to change anything in a week. It's better if we have a direct talk with Archangel Michael and him before deciding anything."

"That would be for the best." Falbium agreed.

"I have already told Cleria and the Belials to not disclose this information to anyone else to avoid chaos."

"May Lucifer grant you success?" She prayed.

It had been a habit of hers since Merlin's suggestions a week ago.

She never expected any answers. It's just that she found it….quite soothing.

But it was as if he wanted to laugh at her ignorance, she heard a word resound within her mind as her eyes grew wide in surprise.

'Amen.'

- Damien -

"So only the Gokadoin Clan had attacked and unlike what we were informed, they attacked the Nura Clan. I guess those fools at Takamagahara didn't consider how personal grudges would work when several groups of such people worked together. Thankfully we had kept guards with the prominent targets. What about Yasaka's daughter and Shirone?"

"There haven't been any attacks on them so far but we are on guard."

"Keep an eye out for traitors, especially for Yasaka's people. While she might have cleaned up any people from other factions among her people, many of them would still stab her in the back on the orders of the Shinto, especially if they were offered the throne of Kyoto as a reward for their actions. As the saying goes, it's easier to guard against an open sword than a hidden dagger."

"Very well, I will inform Lady Yasaka of your thoughts." Akira bowed.

"How is Hagoromo Gitsune?"

"She….is taking some time off alone. The people of the Gokadoin House have been imprisoned in a separate dimension made by Miss Gretel, and she will be addressing them soon."

"Okay, then let them take care of that side. Suzaku Himejima has sent some information. The people from the Utsusemi Organisation are working on something big. They haven't been able to get the exact information about what, but we will attack them as soon as the meeting of the Three Factions takes place. A declaration of peace by the leaders of the Three Factions should keep the people who have been shaken by my revelation at bay for some time. We will take advantage of this time to take out Satanael and his lackeys as well as get the last Holy Relic back."

"Yes Master."

As I finished my conversation, I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened to reveal my cute little Vienna, peeking inside.

I gave her a smile and called her in and made her sit on my lap, caressing her head..

Unlike her usual cheery self, she seemed a bit lost today.

"Why so glum, Vi?" I asked, seeing that she was not saying anything.

"I….I heard that you brought back someone from the dead in the Underworld."

….yes. I hadn't talked to her about it.

"Yes. I did."

She looked back at me. "Then can you…."

I shook her head. "I need more time. A few years more to get everything setup. It's something I have been planning to do for years and I am very close to it now. Just give me a bit more time." I replied before she could say anything.

In fact, I was planning to resurrect both Aria and Razevan at the same time along with two of his previous wives.

I was saving up for the Binder Marks for them.

But if that happened, I would have to bring back Masaomi and Shuri Himejima as well as a few other people. Those could be done with the Graal but even for that, I would need to wait for Valerie to grow up a bit or I risk harming her.

In any case, I would need some time.

She perked up at my reply and hugged me tightly.

"How is your training going about?"

"Umm, very well. Albion is teaching me how to use Divide." She replied. "I think I can understand bits of the magic."

"Great. Then how about this, if you learn Divide, I will give you a surprise gift."

"Really!"

"Promise."

Seeing her smile return, I greeted the last guy in the room.

"Albion."

A pair of wings manifested on Vienna's back.

"What do you need, Damien?"

"I was thinking of freeing you from this cage of yours in a year when I am strong enough. What do you think?"

"....a year? You think you can undo this in a year?"

"Easily."

"Then I look forward to such a day."

"Just keep a watch on Vienna till then. Things are going to start to get heated up." I asked.

"She is my host. That much goes unsaid."

"Good. In that case, I willI will arrange the sparring match against your eternal rival in a week."

"I look forward to it."

"So do I." I replied.

Right at this moment, I heard a voice in my thoughts.

I identified it immediately as my latest mark.

Venelana Gremory.

I don't know what Merlin had told her but she had developed a habit of praying to me since then.

I never replied to any of those thinking that she would give up the foolishness but she didn't. In fact, her feelings were completely genuine everytime.

I wonder if that's how he felt when hearing the prayers of his devotees?

Shaking my head of the wild thoughts, I decided to humour the she-devil a bit at her latest prayer as I sent a reply through the mental link.

"Amen."

- Kokabiel -

"Is it confirmed?"

"Yes my lord. Cleria Belial has indeed come back from the dead."

"First he comes back from hell and now he starts to bring back other of his abominations. What's next? He brings back the other three as well? Azazel doesn't understand the urgency. If we give him time, he will get back all his armies and then we will be like a fish on a chopping board. This is no time to sit back and wish for peace. Something needs to be done and very soon at that. If Azazel doesn't do it, then I will. What do the other cadres have to say about this matter?"

"....the entire faction is divided on the matter. A major part of the people want nothing to do with another war but there are still a few who want to attack him before he can do anything….it's just that…."

"They are afraid?" he asked.

His subordinate nodded, not even daring to look at him.

He clenched his fist. It's not like he hadn't seen that for himself.

Those devils had made a show of his revival.

He and Michael had always been stronger than other angels. Father had always favoured him. Even when he had questioned his decisions, he had tolerated him.

It showed because Father didn't deem him unworthy of his light even when he had left Heaven of his own will.

On the other hand, the rest were treated with extreme strictness, losing their place in Heaven at the slightest of mistakes.

That man….how dare he….how dare he throw away everything they had desired and still be favoured.

But this reincarnated form of him was different.

That kind of power….none of the angels could possess that kind of power.

It was rumoured that the two abominations of the Devil Race, the fake ones who called themselves Lucifer and Beelzebub had similar powers, most probably propaganda to keep other races at bay.

And it worked too.

But while that may have been a propaganda….this was real.

Tens of thousands of Devils….all downed with just a glare. This power brought about memories of two other incidents.

One against the Youkai of Kyoto and the other with the other in Romania against the Vampires. Entire cities had been rendered unconscious….even their leaders.

He didn't know if those were done by him alone or if he had the help of others but if….if by any chance he could do it on his own….then there was no way he could fight him without the cooperation of several other cadres.

But that problem can be solved. After all, it's not like he had any shortage of enemies.

Many people want him to stay dead, both inside and outside of the three factions. He just needed to find ones with enough hatred and power to be of use.

But who?

The fools at the church were more than eager to take down the Devil but didn't have the guts after seeing his strength and then there was also Michael suddenly regaining his guts from somewhere, keeping a tight leash on them.

If not the normal members of the three factions then maybe someone who had been cast out….after all there was no shortage of those.

He will have to plan.

"Find the traces of our recently outcast brother. We will need his help. Also send a word to Valper, accelerate the research. I will provide him with anything he needs."

[Image: Gretel Lucifuge]

_________________________________x_____________________________________________________________________x____________________________________

Support Me on: https://www.patreon.com/crossedge

Join me on my Discord server https://discord.gg/RNNZyyert4

Beta Reader: LuluViBritania (FF.N, SB, WN and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord)

Author's Note:

I am back with another chapter of 'The Deal'.

In this chapter, we mainly saw the things which happened with others as a result of Damiens actions.

After all, the Devil coming back from the dead is not a small incident and it's bound to raise the blood pressure of several factions and rightly so.

We will see how the factions outside the Three Factions react to his reveal and the next meeting of the Three Factions.

Things have just started getting interesting as the villains have begun cooking up their plans. Till now, Damien was in the shadows and his enemies were in the light, completely unaware of him or his people so they had no idea what they were fighting against but now with the awareness that he is back, they will also proceed with some cautions.

And what Kokabiel said was true after all.

Lucifer did make a lot of enemies in his life. It wouldn't be surprising if some of them decide to make his resurrection a temporary event.

And there's still one Lilith.

Enjoy the new chapter.

Good Day, Peace Out.