After the short meeting with Kokabiel, and the arrival of Yuri and Yuto, we find the Gremory and Sitri Peerages in the house of the four brothers and Haou.
Xenovia and Kiba were still tied by Yuri's vines since he didn't trust them to try and run away. The blue-haired girl had a worried expression as she was informed of Irina's state but was slightly relieved to hear that her partner's life was not in danger.
Kiba had a troubled expression. He wanted to go after Valper before he gets a chance to run away. But, he didn't want to risk it since Yuri was VERY detailed on what he'll do should the Gremory Knight keep struggling.
Rias and Sona were standing at the side with their respective groups, looking a little confused. The reason for their confusion was the fearful look on Yuya and Yugo.
Speaking of Yuya and Yugo, they were both on their knees in front of the table and couch, both shaking with a look of pure fear on their faces. Yuri and Yuto were standing behind their brothers to make sure neither of them tries to make a run for it.
"S-So, uh," Yuya started speaking trying, and failing to calm himself a little. "H-How much t-trouble are we in?" he asked while looking at his brothers over his shoulder with Yugo doing the same, hoping that it's better than what it looks like.
Yuto crossed his arms. "Remember that incident with the harpies a few years ago?" he asked and his two frightened brothers nodded. "It's almost double that."
Both Yuya and Yugo looked like they can be passed off as ghosts from how pale they looked. That incident with the harpies where they tried to poison Yubel has made Haou pretty pissed off, and they saw what happened to them. Now, they were dealing with double that anger.
Yuri chuckled seeing their fear struck looks. Personally, he was having the time of his life. "How much are you willing to bet that Yugo is going to try and bail his way out?" the pink-haired teen asked his brother that was standing beside him.
"Hey!" Yugo cried out with a tick mark over his head, angry at how his brother practically called him a coward.
"Even Yugo isn't that cowardly," Yugo said which made his blue-haired brother cringe as if an arrow just struck his heart. "I bet you a cave full of gold," he added thinking that his brother, while currently scared, wasn't that much of a coward to try and bail.
The Devils and Church girl looked on surprised as Yuto made that bet. To them, except Sona and Rias, it might have seemed much, but to the Heavenly Dragons, a cave full of gold was practically pocket change.
"Wait, I don't understand," Rias finally voiced out her confusion, tired of being in the dark. "Why are you two so worried?" she asked.
Sona fixed up her glasses after nodding with her childhood friend. "I am also wondering. I hardly believe that Judai is frightening in any way," she asked. The rest of the Devils, especially Koneko, agreed fully with her. None of them can see Judai hurt a fly.
Xenovia, however, was skeptical. She was still a little shaken from the glare that the Supreme King has given her and didn't completely share the Devils' opinion.
"It's not Judai we're worried about," Yuya informed looking at the ground. He and Yugo knew that Judai would not punish them for helping the church girls, but Haou was an entirely different story.
The Devils and Xenovia looked at him confused. The two heiresses even started wondering if they secretly brought someone else with them without their knowledge.
Suddenly, the door to the living room was slammed open, surprising the Devils and Xenovia, while causing the two frightened brothers to almost jump out of their skin.
They all saw the Supreme King at the door. Koneko smiled seeing her friend, but that smile vanished in favor of a worried expression upon seeing his state.
Instead of Judai's usual fun-loving brown eyes, they were greeted with the harsh glare of Haou's golden, white pupiled eyes that were full of hatred.
The Devils and Xenovia looked absolutely surprised, especially Rias and Sona. The two heiresses found something familiar about those eyes. They can swear that they saw, or at least heard of them before.
Haou ignored the Devils and Church girl for now and walked towards the couch in the middle of the living room. He couldn't even bother noticing them, he was too mad for that.
After sitting on the couch, the only thing that separated the Supreme King from the two guilty brothers was the wooden table in front of them. "So," he started making them freeze. "Want to tell me why you did it?" he asked. However, it was obviously an order, rather than a question.
Both brothers just kept looking at the ground, shaking in fear. After a few seconds, Yuya swallowed the lump in his throat and mustered enough courage to speak. "W-Well, You s-see, after the school day, we joined Issei, Saji, and Koneko to-"
He was cut off by Haou, who slammed his fist on the table, shattering its wood and scaring the Devils in the process. "I didn't ask for WHAT you did, I asked for WHY you did it!" he growled knowing that the Yuya was stalling.
Both Yuya and Yugo started sweating bullets, while the Devils were completely taken back by Judai's large change of character. "W-We c-couldn't just leave them to fight Kokabiel on their own," Yuya muttered, barely above a whisper, as if it justifies his actions.
"That's the church's problem!" Haou growled. He thought that he made his opinion on the matter clear. "Whether they die or not is no business of mine."
The Devils were absolutely surprised by who they think is Judai's cold and careless attitude towards the church girls dying, Koneko more than most, while Xenovia looked a little offended that her life was just passed off without a care.
Haou glared at the two frightened brothers. "I'll give you one last chance to explain your actions, right now," despite how mad he was, the Supreme King wasn't heartless, so he was going to give them one last chance to clear their name. However, both of them stayed quiet this time, so he adjusted his position on the couch while looking over it. "You know, this couch is rather uncomfortable. I wonder, what would a couch made from Dragonskin feels like?" he asked which made the Devils and Xenovia confused but the two brothers looked downright horrified.
"It was Yuya's idea!" Yugo yelled causing his mentioned brother to jump in shock and look at him with betrayal. The blue-haired teen suddenly got to Haou's feet with faux tears streaming through his eyes. "I told him that we shouldn't do it! I even tried to stop him, but he forced me into doing it! I swear I had no choice!" he cried out.
Yuya kept looking at Yugo with a betrayed and disbelieving look, stunned that his brother just sold him out. Yuri looked at Yuto with a rather smug grin and said, "Send me the location later," making his brother growl in annoyance.
Meanwhile, the Devils and Xenovia were giving Yugo deadpan and disappointed looks, not expecting him to use such a pitiful and cowardly tactic.
Meanwhile, Haou didn't look amused in the least. "Whatever chance you had of forgiveness just flew through the window," he said making the blue-haired teen look nothing short of terrified.
"Judai, we have bigger problems now," Rias said stepping forward remembering their current situation. "Kokabiel plans to restart the Great War and-"
"Why is that my concern?" Haou asked harshly causing Rias to look at him in both shock and disbelief at how he dismissed what she said.
Not only her, but everyone except the four brothers seemed absolutely shocked that he dismissed the attempt to restart the Great War. Sona stepped forward and said, "If a new Great War begins, millions could-"
"Millions of the Biblical Pantheon could die, but they are not my business," the Supreme King cut her off again not really bothered in the slightest. Truthfully, as long as the world of Duel Monsters is safe, he didn't really care what happened in this world, with the exception of a few individuals from the Devil Faction, that is.
The disbelief and shock kept coming to the Devils and Xenovia, Koneko more than most. This was definitely not the same person she ate lunch with or watched as he followed a cat around.
Yuri's eyes went towards Akeno's worried expression for a moment before he stepped forward. "I believe we should help them," he said much to the shock of his brothers.
Haou himself was rather surprised. It was really rare for Yuri to show that he cared about the wellbeing of anyone, or anything for that matter. "I told you, that is not our business," the Supreme King repeated before narrowing his eyes. "Why should we help?"
Yuri remained calm and collective as he replied. "Because if we don't, and a new Great War begins, Serafall is going to have a lot more to worry about than paperwork," his three brothers gasped in horror and looked at their pinked haired brother as if he committed suicide in front of them.
The Devils, especially Sona, were confused as to why their current Satan of Leviathan was mentioned. The Sitri heiress started wondering if there is a connection between her sister and Judai.
Meanwhile, Haou directed a glare that would scare even Gods into submission towards Yuri. The pink-haired teen might have looked calm, but in truth, he was nearly having a heart attack on the inside. He knew that using Haou's feelings towards Serafall was like going to the Grimm Reaper and spitting in his face.
However, much to his relief, the Supreme King ended up taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "Fine," he sighed knowing that Yuri was right. He then looked at Yuya and Yugo and said, "Your punishment is going to have to be postponed until we settle this for now," which made the two brothers notably relax but were still worried about what will happen to them. "And now you," he turned towards Xenovia who froze under his golden eyes. "I believe we should deal with you," he added which made her confused.
The church member swallowed the lump in her throat. "W-What are you planning to do?" she asked suspiciously.
"I'll call your parent," Haou replied making Xenovia and everyone else look at him in confusion as he described a punishment that is usually given to a child.
However, the Supreme King then waved his hand and a small, golden magical circle appeared in front of him. After a few seconds, a small holographic figure appeared from the circle.
What appeared was the form of a rather curvy woman wearing the clothes of a church's sister with a few strands of her hair apparent from her hood. For some reason, Xenovia froze and started sweating at the sight of the woman.
The holographic woman looked around before her eyes landed on Haou. "Well, this is a surprise," she said raising an eyebrow. "Out of everyone I expected to call me, I can safely say you were not on the top of the list," she said.
"Good to see you again, Griselda," Haou greeted while introducing the woman while Xenovia looked even more nervous.
"You as well," Griselda nodded returning the greeting before gaining a curious look. "Now, is there a reason you called me?"
The Supreme King nodded, confirming her question. "I have something, or better yet, someone who belongs to you," he then motioned towards Xenovia and the hologram turned its head to look at her.
Griselda's eyes landed on her adopted daughter, who didn't look her in the eye and smiled warmly. However, it was obvious to everyone that there was no kindness in that smile, in fact, Xenovia looked even more worried now.
"Ah, Xenovia," Griselda greeted in a rather cold and emotionless voice, hiding her current anger. "Out of every being in the world… you had to get into trouble with HIM of all people?" she questioned making her daughter flinch and start sweating bullets. The Devils, however, noticed how Griselda referred to Haou and started wondering if he was important, still believing it was Judai. The best swordswoman in the church turned back to the Supreme King. "What did she do?" she asked as if knowing that her daughter caused trouble.
"Well, there is a list, actually," Haou replied as he started counting down Xenovia's faults using his fingers. "For starters, she had a duel and was completely using the power of her sword instead of her own," he started, recalling the Duel Irina and Xenovia had against Kiba and Issei.
Griselda frowned and glared at Xenovia. "How many times have I told you, a sword is JUST a TOOL!?" the older Quarta asked rather irritated as if she had repeated this a hundred times.
Xenovia kept looking down, like a little child being scolded for something they thought was right. "B-But, Excalibur is-"
"STILL a sword," Griselda cut her off as if already had this argument before, which she did. "Be it Holy or not, if the warrior falls, the sword is useless," she clarified making her daughter look even more depressed. Griselda then turned back to Haou and asked, "What else did she do?"
Haou continued counting, this time recalling the way Xenovia acted while meeting the Devils. "She also started giving orders to the Devils in charge of this territory, as if she was their superior."
Griselda then directed a disappointed glare at Xenovia this time, her daughter still didn't look her in the eye. "I knew it was early to allow you to be an Excalibur wielder," the older Quarta sighed. She knew that Xenovia was talented, but she also knew that giving her such a position at such a young age might end up giving her arrogance at well.
"That's not the worst of it," Haou continued making Griselda look at him with confusion, asking him to explain. "You see, apparently, she and her partner found out that Kokabiel was the one behind the Excalibur theft, but decided to take him on instead of informing the church."
The room suddenly got a lot colder as Griselda slowly, very slowly, turned her head towards her daughter, and everyone can swear they heard an old door creaking as she did that. "What?" she asked almost not believing what she heard.
"That's right," Haou nodded, confirming what he already said. "Her partner, Irina, is already wounded and is currently being taken care of, but Kokabiel already confirmed that he is trying to restart the Great War."
Griselda took a deep breath, trying VERY hard to not let her anger explode at her currently frightened daughter. "We will have a talk when you return," the best swordswoman in the church said making Xenovia turn as pale as Yugo and Yuya were a few moments ago. She knew that there will be far more than just 'talking'. The older Quarta then looked towards the Supreme King. "What are you planning to do?"
Haou crossed his arms. "Originally, I had no intention of getting involved at all," he said which didn't really surprise Griselda as she was expecting that from him. "But, now I suppose that I should get involved," that caught the older Quarta by surprise. She knew Haou wouldn't really care about a new Great War beginning unless Serafall was involved. "Besides, I have my own idiots to watch out for," he added while glaring at Yuya and Yugo, who immediately tensed.
Griselda followed his gaze and gained a deadpan look. "I see you have your own problems," she stated, rather than asked.
"Tell me about it," Haou sighed with a hand massaging the bridge of his nose. "Is this what being a parent to a rebellious child is like?" he asked looking at Griselda.
The older Quarta shook her head. "I'm not sure, but if it is, then I'm not getting rewarded enough to deal with it," she complained.
The Devils were surprised at those two talking so casually while they were on the brink of war, while Xenovia was surprised that her adoptive mother was talking to the Supreme King as if they were old friends.
"Anyway, I shall inform Lord Michael to make sure that a misunderstanding does not happen," Griselda said before looking at Haou. "Should I inform him that you were involved?" she asked knowing that Haou's relationship with Heaven was not exactly well in any way.
"I'd rather that you don't mention me as a whole," the Supreme King replied. The last thing he wanted right now was for the Angels to know of his location.
Griselda nodded. "Very well, I'll contact you when this is over," with that, Griselda's hologram vanished as she ended the call.
Now with the call over, Haou turned towards the two heiresses, ignoring the questioning look Xenovia was giving him. "And now you two, have you contacted your siblings?" he asked. Much to his disappointment, both of them shook their heads. "Why?" he demanded rather than asked.
Rias was the first to speak. "My brother is the current Lucifer, I cannot simply call him for every-"
"I already contacted Lord Sirzechs," Akeno cut off the Gremory heiress.
"Akeno!" Rias looked at her Queen in shock and somewhat betrayal.
However, Akeno wasn't intimidated. "Rias, we are dealing with a Cadre Fallen Angel from the Great War, I know that you don't want to bother your brother, but this is far too dangerous."
Rias sighed and nodded knowing that her Queen was right. She didn't want to bother her brother, but she supposed that she couldn't help it.
The Supreme King then looked towards Sona, waiting for her to give her reason. The Sitri heiress looked rather troubled. "My sister is… I'd rather not call her."
To say Haou looked annoyed and disappointed would be an understatement. "So let me get this straight, you won't call your sister simply because you're embarrassed by how she acts?" he asked which shocked Sona since he was pretty accurate. The Supreme King is well aware of how Serafall acts nowadays, and he had one thing to say to Sona. "You're a disgrace."
Sona looked absolutely shocked. "Excuse me?!" she asked feeling insulted as the student council started glaring at Haou.
Saji was obviously more mad than most. "How dare you!?" he asked almost calling his Sacred Gear.
The Supreme King paid their looks no mind. "Your sister is the Satan of Leviathan, her job is to make sure that a new Great War does NOT begin, and in your current situation, you are insulting everything she ever worked for because you did not call her out of being embarrassed by how she acts."
The Student council kept glaring at Haou, some of them even looked like they would get physical. However, Sona looked shocked and even a little horrified.
The Sitri heiress completely understood what Haou was talking about. She immediately started scolding herself because she knew he was right. She had just endangered a new Great War beginning, just because she was embarrassed by her sister, whose job was to make sure that a new War doesn't begin.
"Tsubaki… call my sister," Sona told her Queen who nodded while still glaring at the Supreme King. The Sitri heiress then had a self-depressed look on her face, still scolding herself for the mistake she made.
The Supreme King then towards Issei, who froze under his stare. The Red Emperor still believed that it was Judai, and was immensely shocked by the change of character.
"And now, you, Ddraig's host," Haou usually wouldn't really care about what happened to the Red Emperor. However, seeing that Sirzechs' sister was relying on him, he had to give him advice. "You want a Harem, right?"
Issei blinked a few times before gaining a perverted expression. "Yes, I want to be the Harem king!" he exclaimed proudly.
That only gained him the glares of most females in the room. Rias sighed with a hand on her head while the four brothers kept snickering from just imagining Ddraig's embarrassment at his current host.
"Are you saying that you don't want to protect your friends?" Haou asked.
Issei blinked in surprise before nodding. "Of course I do."
Haou had one thing to say. "You're going to fail," his statement drew a surprised look from the Red Emperor. "Have you ever experienced the death of a friend?" Haou's question caused Issei's eyes to wander towards Asia for a second before he nodded. "You're going to have to experience it again if you don't get your priorities straight. You can either fight for a Harem or to protect your friends, but not both. And all your friends can die in an instant just because you took one second to choose between them."
Issei had a troubled expression as he let those words sink in. Normally, Rias would have said something to the Supreme King about scolding one of her servants. However, she knew that Haou was guiding her Pawn, which is why she remained quiet.
Haou then felt someone tugging his sleeve. He looked down and his glare softened at seeing a head of white hair and two golden eyes. "Are you okay, Judai?" Koneko asked in a mixture of concern and scared tone, which was more emotional than anyone around had heard her say.
The Supreme King took a few breaths to calm himself down before he closed his eyes and opened them again to reveal Judai's usual brown ones. "Yeah, sorry about that," he gave a smile of apology as he pats her head. "I have some problems controlling my anger sometimes. Sorry if I scared you," he apologized.
The White-haired girl nodded accepting the apology. She can tell that he was being genuine, and while she was surprised by what happened earlier, she decided to not ask about it for now.
"Now," Judai then turned to the four brothers. "You guys got about fifteen minutes to settle this before I get bored, okay?" he told them crossing his arms.
The four brothers nodded understanding the Supreme King's orders. He was telling them that after fifteen minutes, he would show up to settle things, and when that happens, the fight would be pretty much over.
Judai smiled seeing they understood before everyone heard his stomach growl. "While that happens, I'm going to grab myself a sandwich," he said gleefully making everyone deadpan at him as he completely destroyed the serious atmosphere of the room.
(A/N: Thank you for reading this.
First, about Rias and Sona not entirely recognizing Haou, that will be explained soon why they didn't.
Second, About Griselda scolding Xenovia, you have to admit, being the great swordswoman that she is, I don't think any of you can see Griselda actually approving of the way Xenovia acted.
Third, about Haou scolding Sona, I'm honestly surprised no one did this before. You have to agree that it's stupid how she didn't call her sister because she was embarrassed and didn't get scolded because of how she basically disgraced her sister's entire career.
Fourth, I know there isn't much action in this chapter, but it's pretty obvious it's build-up for the next one.
And lastly, about what Haou said to Issei. This is what I meant when I said guidance. Haou told Issei that there is a difference between what you wish for and what you fight for. I'm pretty sure that the fact Issei gets stronger by thinking of boobs ruined the entire anime/novel for you. Be honest.
Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.)