19 Chapter 19: Escalating War

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Chapter 19: Escalating War.

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- Damien -

"I have heard that Tsuchigumo is called the 'youkai one must not encounter' due to how violent and strong he is." I asked my subordinate sitting beside me.

"Originally he had six arms. The one those kids are fighting now is a weakened version. I know of some stories that speak of him as a complete battle maniac that would pick a fight even at the cost of his own life." Akira replied.

"Six arms? He has only four right now and is still quite strong."

"I think I remember the stories about him fighting Nue. Although he lost, he survived. He always survives."

Akira and I were watching the fight between Rikuo and his followers against Tsuchigumo, the Spider Youkai who was a beast of Youkai at Ultimate Class in physique. The guy's resilience was something worth watching.

"He's weak nyaa~" Kuroka yawned at my side.

"For us maybe. But for normal Youkai, he might as well be invincible. At his full strength though, it will be strong enough to fight Ultimate Class beings equally. He can also regrow his arms after resting if I remember correctly, so you might be able to see his full strength someday." Akira commented very casually, making her pout.

Regrow?

"Regrow, not heal?"

"Yes nyaa~ Magari-sensei told me about it. He can regrow his arms after regaining enough fear. He does so by burying himself in the earth. There is also the fact that his regeneration and vitality are insane. He can even survive being almost chopped into pieces."

Hmm, that's interesting. Healing is something. Phenex Regeneration is something I have been observing in the Rating Game videos but need to observe in real time to get a real idea about what it's like. But even that is just healing with Demonic Power, not true regrowth. I wonder if I can make use of this?

The fight picked up and Rikuo who seemed to have learned to merge his fear with others was first able to freeze one arm of Tuchigumo while another one of his tries was unsuccessful due to the interference of other youkai. Although the second attack of his if successful would have reached the Ultimate Class level. That's quite a lot of progress.

"Oops, the kids are in trouble. Kuroka, open an exit route for them. Akira, would you like to play? Just try not to kill him. I would like to observe the regeneration of this guy."

"I'll pass." The Kitsune answered.

"Sure." Kuroka on the other hand was excited at the prospect of showing me her progress.

The Nekoshou went ahead. Kuroka created a poisonous mist, melting the Youkai blocking her way as she casually walked to the middle of the shrine while Akira just waited in the shadows until Kuroka was done finishing the backup mission.

Tsuchigumo however didn't want his prey to run away and chased, directly in the direction of Kuroka who was covering for the Youkai.

She faced the Spider Giant in a martial arts form which I hadn't seen before.

It looked every bit as comical as it sounded. A small girl in her teens standing up against the likes of a giant like Tsuchigumo but the result was even more surprising or rather unsurprising for me. Tsuchigumo punched and Kuroka received it with a simple palm and twisted the attack and threw it to the side. I could feel the Nature Energy spin on the palm of her hand. In a flash, she was near the Youkai's chest, she let out a palm thrust and a shockwave passed through its body as the huge Giant Spider flew through the shrine and into the opposite direction.

She looked back at the now gaping bunch of Youkai. "What the hell are you all waiting for? Get out and regroup. I will hold it here." she shouted, getting their attention back.

The Giant Spider soon got up with a loud laugh and raced towards Kuroka once more, ignoring Rikuo and the others completely, his arms completely twisted and bent in other directions. He was using his strings to make his body act like a puppet just to fight.

It was of no use however as Kuroka just countered and threw him aside. After that it became a one sided thrashing.

"Hahahahaha more. I haven't had this much fun since Nue. More." The giant shouted as another Youkai from the side managed to slip him a vial.

Hmm, Phenex Tears?

"Boss." Akira asked me, getting to his feet.

"It's fine. Let me see how strong he is. Moreover Kuroka wants to have some fun." I stopped him and just as I had predicted, Kuroka didn't stop him from taking the vial either.

His wounds healed but I didn't see any regeneration.

Does it only happen when he is buried in the earth?

"Akira, catch the one who passed the Phenex Tear to Tsuchigumo. Find out who they are working with and if there are other devils who arrived after we captured the last ones."

The Kitsune vanished from my side and after the target.

The fight resumed on the other hand and Kuroka was still fighting at close quarters, literally throwing the giant around the place. The giant however started using spider threads to attack and bind her. Kuroka dodged them all and burned the ones she couldn't dodge with Yojutsu flames.

It seems as if Sun Wukong has taught her more than just Senjutsu. Her martial arts have improved. She must have abused the Shadow Clones to reach this level so fast.

The fight lasted a while but the giant Spider Demon was beaten to a pulp by Kuroka using just close quarter combat skills.

She left the Youkai alone and I observed it to see how it regenerates. The guy buried himself under the soil and I used my Observation Haki to see how he was regenerating. He was absorbing energy from the earth and changing it into vitality. Very slow but still a completely new technique which required my keen attention.

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"So how was I?" The not so little Nekoshou jumped at me, tails swinging from side to side to get my praise.

"It was like looking at the fight between David and Goliath, only in this case David was a cute girl who mopped the floor with Goliath. You have grown a lot, Kuroka. I am proud of you." I scratched her ears and she purred as she clung to my side.

"Did you find anything, Akira?"

"Hmm. They sent the peerage members of the two Lords and several of the household members too. Surprisingly there were also some members of the Nebiros House. I had heard that they had some sort of cooperation with the Naberius House. They haven't taken any permission from any of the leaders and it is a violation of the contract. Should I hunt them down Boss? The Naberius ones are some of those who were involved in the experimentations." He asked with a cold glint in his eyes.

"Do you know the details of the cooperation?"

"No Boss." He shook his head.

"Then I will call for some backup. When they arrive, make sure none of them escape. Capture them, especially the Nebiros and the top members who might know of some useful information. If you can't capture anyone though, kill. Just make sure that no one leaves here alive. I will do something that will keep the Great King Faction busy for a while."

"Yes Boss." He nodded his head and I got to my plans.

It was time to unearth some buried skeletons to spook the old coots.

I spoke through my Binder's Link.

"Ophelia, I will be sending some new guests today. They will all be reasonably strong. Make sure they sign the Loyalty Contracts and the Suicide Contracts."

"My Lord, there has been news of Serafall Leviathan visiting the Youkai Factions to offer assistance. She might be visiting there soon to make some deals probably."

"Oh. Do you know when this will be done?" It was obvious on the other hand because they would definitely use the opportunity to soothe the ruffled feathers and amend relations with the Youkai.

"Tomorrow. I was about to inform you of this but I just got this news myself. They are worried because due to the absence of Devils, The Fallen Angels and the Church are expanding in Japan. They might lose the area and it might also become a hub of those two factions at this rate."

Yes. That's something that's going on. I will have to think about what to do about it too.

Maybe have a talk with Azazel?

"I will look into it. Although I don't think any of the Youkai would say yes to it. Still, just in case, make them sign the loyalty and suicide contracts and send them back. A few spies in the Great King faction will be of great help. It would be better if Serafall takes them away. In that way, they will have to pay some political capital and those old coots will definitely cause some scenes to free their lackeys. When the conflict between the two sides is over, we will commence Operation Regicide."

"Cleria. Tell Diehauser that we have some important evidence for Operation Regicide. We have one more King Piece user who has disclosed some vital information."

"Yes My Lord."

Operation Regicide or Killing the King was a name suggested by Merlin. The mission was basically to reveal the existence of the King Pieces with all the proof and their connection to the Great King faction and Zekram Bael and kill their influence from the Rating Games as well as the influence of Zekram himself.

It will no doubt cause immense drama when it is revealed that Cleria Belial was 'killed' to hide this news and not because of the alleged crimes(which to be honest were not crimes at all). This will be enough to keep them out of anyone's hair for a while.

This new information will just add a cherry on the top.

Once they lose their important lackeys, they will make noise and blame the Satans for allowing such a thing to happen(as ridiculous as it sounds). The Satans will have to either take a stand or give way and in either case, they will have their relations soured in this fiasco and lose some political capital.

Doing the Operation when the chaos calms down a bit will be making them lock horns again.

There are chances that they might know someone is causing this… but so what?

Even if they do find out, the best part about this is that they cannot do anything to stop this because the Rating Games are the basis of the current Devil Society. Once such a scam is revealed, there will be chaos among the general public who have been fighting the Rating Games to get a higher position in society. Once it is revealed that all of it was a scam to begin with, the results will be worth watching. All those Reincarnated Devils who have worked for centuries to somehow get a position as a High Class Devil and couldn't go further in the Rating Games, all the suppressed Low and Mid Class Devils will all lash out. Maybe throw in some insiders and let them increase the damage.

They will obviously make a temporary truce to stop the chaos but… that's when the idiots from the Old Satan faction come into play. Moreover, I will be leaving some traces of the Old Satan faction behind this just like I did in the Youkai incident.

In fact I even had Katerea send an invitation for the Youkai to join the people of the Old Satan faction and in return they will send support, which they rejected because of me. The plan has to be carefully executed so that it's convincing.

Katerea has been severely monitored before but it was reduced when I died. She has been working to establish a place for herself once more.

There were many people who had been disappointed by my death in the Old Satan faction because they thought that I would kill the false Satans and bring them to glory or some similar shit. Katerea had collected many of the people under her and was working out several plans to increase her influence in the Old Satan faction by using them.

And now it was time to use all of the resources.

Moreover, the last move of the Operation Regicide will shake the entire foundation of the current government.

- Serafall Leviathan -

"What's this meeting about, Sirzechs? I was about to go to Kyoto to meet with Yasaka and offer them assistance. You know how important this matter is. The things over there are getting worse day by day. Maybe this will help us solve some problems with the Youkai and the smaller factions." She complained as she entered the office.

She had been sleeping in her office for months now, running to every small faction to soothe the problems those idiots had caused. Forcing someone into a peerage is one thing. It has been done before and was ignored as well due to their influence and power. Sirzechs had Surtr, the second and Enku in Sirzechs' peerage and although they willingly joined the peerage, their factions were quite displeased with it and yet it passed on. This time however it was completely different. They had made the first move and were even kidnapping and experimenting on Youkai. And even after being brought out to the open, they went ahead and taunted the other faction rather than lay low for a while.

Several smaller factions around the world who had previously kept their heads down suddenly huddled together to protect themselves because they were afraid that if a mid-sized faction like the Youkai were treated like this, they might as well be swallowed whole. And even if she was on the wrong side of the sword, she had to agree that this was a valid point.

The other factions had started to pick up their resistance since that scandal with the Church and the Norse faction. No one expected Odin to take a stance and such a solid one, making the Church and Heaven take a step back from their aggressive expansion of their forces to keep up with the reincarnated devils.

In the office Sirzechs was sitting with Ajuka, Falbium while Grayfia was standing behind him.

Surprisingly Okita Souji and Mathews were also present.

"Are you going to Kyoto today?" He asked and she had the urge to freeze his head to wake him up. No one could blame her for being grouchy due to her current workload but, apart from her, Sirzechs was probably the one with the most amount of workload so she lit out a sigh and sat down and nodded back.

"Yes. The condition in Kyoto is getting worse. I asked Azazel for a meeting and called in a favour to let him arrange a meeting for me. I don't think they would appreciate me going there directly." She replied, stretching a bit. She hadn't had a proper sleep for days now.

Sirzechs looked tense and then nodded. "If Azazel is going, then it might be a problem."

She raised an eyebrow. What did he mean by that?

"We have news that the Old Satan faction, specifically Katerea Leviathan, tried to make contact with Yasaka and the Youkai factions."

She paused and sat up straight in her seat. "Explain."

"Katerea tried to offer them help against us if they needed it. They rejected it, however the Old Satan faction appearing there in itself is a big problem."

"When did this happen?" She asked.

"Two days ago. The news was received through one of our oldest spies."

"So, she was rejected. They know just as well as anyone that the Old Satan faction cannot be trusted. Even more of a reason that I go there as fast as I can."

"That was not the only news he revealed. This was the last piece of information he could send us before he was taken down. We haven't received any information from that end yet. They have tightened the security even more and only select people are allowed anywhere near Yasaka's place."

"Sirzechs, I am extremely tired and irritated. The only reason I am listening to you is because you are in the same condition so let's make this easier for the two of us. Speak everything at once." She asked straightforwardly.

"The Youkai, more specifically, the Eastern Youkai Faction are currently allied to a certain Devil. I have tried to investigate him to find proof of his identity for the last six months, since Rias accidentally encountered him and his Half Devil Sister to verify the information I received about him. I was… afraid of making any overt moves because if the news about this person was made public, there could be a Civil War depending on this guy's mood." He massaged his head and a face came to Serafall's mind as her spine chilled.

"Is HE making a move? But why? What would attract his attention in the Youkai faction? Rizevim doesn't move for things like this." She looked at Falbium who looked at Sirzechs with a glare and even Ajuka threw a slightly disappointed glare at his friend. So they also found out about it now.

"It was not Rizevim…" He raised a hand to stop Falbium. "But it was a Lucifer." And that sent everyone to silence again. He made a hologram of a child around fourteen years of age." This is the person."

Falbium was wide awake and sitting on his chair all of a sudden and Ajuka's face became solemn while she felt a massive headache building.

"Is this your idea of a prank or are you seriously thinking that this is true." She deadpanned.

"He had twelve wings." Grayfia intervened and any words she was going to say, struck in her mouth.

"And why are we only hearing about this now." Falbium asked in a pointed tone, being the first one to question.

While it was true that all the Satans worked independently and no one interfered in anyone's work. Hell, if they knew what was going on in Ajuka's lab, she was pretty sure she would need heart medication for months and Sirzechs could technically keep all this to himself but still… This was something they all needed to know.

"I was trying to solve the misunderstanding that might have been caused in the first meeting. Heinrich did something that caused a massive misunderstanding and I had to clean up the situation. I don't even have a solid link to that person or know his name to know if he is the real deal but I still couldn't act just in case he was. The one person who could connect to him is another Youkai who is his subordinate and has confirmed as such to Souji but the identity of this Youkai also made it nigh impossible for me to force anything. We tried to contact her several times but she left her territory soon after and I was waiting for an opportunity to meet the Lucifer personally before deciding anything."

"What did Heinrich do? Also, who is this Youkai?"

"I had sent Henreich to bring Rias to save Barakiel's daughter. She is a Half Fallen Angel and her mother was from the Himejima Clan, one of the Five Principal Clans. They had killed the mother and had placed information about her in the Devil's black market. I called Azazel and he asked me to take her in if I could because the Grigori would be dangerous for the girl. The Himejima Clan members however hadn't captured the girl but instead chased her around until they got a Fallen Angel to intervene."

"So push the hot potato on us." She asked.

"The girl was the most probable candidate for inheriting the Vermillion Bird. The problem however happened when Heinrich found her, she was being protected by the White Dragon Empress, a Half Devil White Dragon Empress and her two friends who were supposedly as strong as a High Class Devil in their teenage years."

"The White Dragon is a Half Devil?" She felt the headache growing.

"So Heinrich offered them all protection under the Gremory House. They denied and he made a mistake… he used my Lucifer Title to offer them protection and that's when that person came out. The boy is exactly as I showed you according to Heinrich and Rias both and the White Dragon Empress… is his younger half sister."

"Fuck!"

"So they misunderstood it as Heinrich coming for the Lucifer girl instead of the Fallen Angel." Falbium guessed.

"It could be some kind of an illusion?" Ajuka said.

"He stood in a place and asked the Himejima Clan members to attack him. He would give them the girl if they made him move from the place. Those crazy bastards even used the Vermillion Bird's full power attack and he dispersed it just by blowing on it." He drank some water and continued. "I… won't lie, I tried to contain the information for some personal reasons too. The boy said that he knew that it was an unintentional mistake and even if he didn't get along with the warmongers, if anyone tried to come for his sister again, he could remedy the situation of the Lucifers not participating in the last war. The identity of the subordinate is also complicated. She is a sage and an apprentice of Sun Wukong. A thirteen year old Ultimate Class Youkai who was a student of Magari, the Vice Commander of Nurarihyon. They are allies because on investigating, they didn't say a single word about him. The girl however said that he wants to be left alone. I did just that by not informing anyone about him. The old guys will never leave him alone and I have no idea what kind of a person he is."

"You should have still told us faster. This… is quite big." Falbium shook his head.

"So the Half Devil girl, the White Dragon Empress, is a Lucifer too?" Ajuka asked.

"A year or two younger than Rias, six winged and with a Balance Breaker." Sirzechs replied.

"This is so troublesome." Falbium banged his head on the table.

"Why does that clan produce such monsters only? Twelve wings and fourteen. Even the two of you needed eighteen or so years before you were at such a level. So this means that the Lucifers might have two Satan Class Devils at minimum and hopefully that's where it ends… Moreover, why would a sage become his subordinate? Also why would the Youkai even allow such a thing." She groaned. She could understand why Sirzechs would hide such a thing. Annoying it may be but she understood it. The Gremory Clan was involved and that face… Looks that can cause a war had never been so literal before. If things got out, some might even throw the blame or raise some rumors about the Gremory trying to usurp or erase the Lucifer House. The fact that it was Sirzechs' Clan would complicate matters beyond repair. Ah, that mess.

"The girl was his subordinate even before she became a Sage."

"Is that why you were so nervous when dealing with the Youkai? The incident with Rias' queen and even this one. If this guy were to reveal himself… It would be much more troublesome than what we had to agree to. I had doubts why you were giving up so easily because we could have gotten some more concessions. The Youkai did kill our people too."

"I was and am still trying to be careful, Serafall. If the news gets to other people, especially Zekram, I can't even begin to guess what would happen. Heinrich is a High Class Devil. He can be tricked. The Youkai are skilled with Illusion Techniques. Also in all of the meetings, Souji and Mathers didn't meet the real guy. It can be him… It can be someone else. I just did what I thought was best. I am not even sure how this kind of rumor will be received in the Underworld. And then there was always the danger of Rizevim interfering if he really is a Lucifer." He defended and despite her anger, she had to agree that the situation itself was delicate. Him crying wolf over every guy who puts on a Lucifer mask wouldn't do well with the title of Lucifer. And he dealt with the situation as safely as he could.

"So you want me to meet him during my visit to Kyoto if I can?"

"If possible, yes. Do as you feel is necessary. The name of his subordinate is Kuroka."

"I will look into it."

Another headache for her to take care of.

"Do you have anything else you want to share? You do look slightly irritated when talking about him." Ajuka spoke.

And that's when Sirzechs burst. "Obviously I am irritated. This guy comes out of nowhere and acts a bit cool and now my little sister is smitten with him. She is even training like mad because she wants to get him. I have no idea what that means or what goes on in the heads of teenage girls but that's extremely irritating. My cute little Ria-tan trains until she's on the verge of fainting sometimes all because she met this casanova once. I am telling you Serafall, keep your sister away from him. I don't know if it was any kind of magic. We have tried and tried but didn't find any trace of it. Father is actually excited by Rias' progress but she is doing it all for him. Him, not her Onii-sama… him." He went on a rant until Grayfia took him by the cheek and stopped his rant midway.

So the boy might be a playboy of some kind. I must keep So-tan away from him!

- Yasaka -

She looked at the unconscious and tied up Devils in front of her. One of them was a person she identified. The Head of the Naberius House whose Clan had experimented on the Youkai… although he didn't look like he would live much longer. She looked at the young child whose expressions might as well have been frozen as he looked at the Devil without a single shred of emotion. She didn't blame him however. She in fact appreciated the amount of control the boy had at such an age for not killing the scum at the first sight.

"My Lord sends this as a gift. These are the things we could get from them. Some other people were unfortunate casualties in the capture." He spoke although she noted that not once did his eyes leave the Naberius Devil.

She looked at the file and her eyes grew colder with each bit of information. The experiments on Youkai to discover the secrets of Senjutsu. She gripped the pages, her claws retracting briefly as she saw the price that was decided for their assistance in the birth of Nue.

The boy beside her sensed her killing intent and spoke. "You know, I wanted to do it too. Shove a hand down his throat and rip his beating heart out and then feed it back to him, one piece at a time, but… My Lord told me something that made me reconsider. I wonder if you will think the same." She looked at her and he completed it. "The dead don't suffer."

Her claws retreated back at the words. Yes. The dead don't suffer. These people need to suffer. They need to suffer for putting Kunou in danger. They needed to suffer for even entertaining any thoughts on her daughter in their filthy degraded minds.

She took deep breaths to calm herself down. She was not at full strength yet. The weapon and poison used against her were both deadly for Youkai. She was lucky to survive as it is. She would need a considerable period of time to recover completely.

She looked at the boy beside her. Yes. Maybe this can work.

"Remind me to start your training in Youjutsu Illusion arts when we begin. Capturing enemies is much easier when using such a technique. I know that Senjutsu comes easily to you due to… Whatever Miracle your Lord has done for you and you can get trained by Kuroka in it but we Kitsune just like the Nekoshou's Kasha have our own Unique Skills. These skills will help you become all rounded in a battle and I will teach these to you. To be honest, controlling the Leylines would be even easier for you due to your affinity with Nature Energy." She pointed out to the boy as she read more of the file and even she was appalled at the sheer audacity of the fools.

The real goal of the Devils was to capture Nue for their research, the resurrection of Nue was due to a technique and it helped Nue to become stronger and break past his limits. They wanted to replicate it.

These fools thought that they could fool Hagoromo Gitsune and Nue, the entire Kyoto Youkai under them and capture Nue… and force him to give away his secrets.

She looked back at the fool and yes, indeed. It would be for the best to leave these fools alive just so they can suffer living in their own stupidity. She would just tear away all the appendages on their body first and burn them with Fox Fire until unrecognizable.

"I will be honoured to receive instructions from you." The boy bowed.

"I hear that you are learning some techniques from your Lord. Have you completed your training?" She asked, having received the information from Magari after the alliance was signed.

"My Lord… is somewhat of a genius when it comes to magic. I am sure you have heard how the entire Magic System of the Devils was ingrained in their very blood. Lucifer himself was a genius of magic who was matched by few even till today. My Lord, in the honest opinion of some people who have seen and experienced Lucifer themselves, makes him look like a child in comparison in terms of talent." The boy spoke and she halted her steps for a bit and looked at the boy. His eyes showed belief and that he believed every word he said.

"Oh, and you believe that?"

"At first I didn't. I thought it was just empty talk to sell their Master and deify him but… I saw it with my own eyes. This man, no he's barely a teenager, has created two separate systems of magic entirely just for his subordinates and is working on a new system of magic that would be revolutionary for the Ayakashi. I am talking about Systems of Magic. Not spells but entire systems from the scratch. Techniques that even Sun Wukong couldn't copy from Kuroka. I am being trained in two of these systems currently. It is a must for anyone joining our team to master the basics of these two systems regardless of their races. We have had members of different races learn this from him successfully. By the time I was done witnessing all this, I didn't have any choice but to believe in the assessment."

She didn't feel a single lie in the statement. Was that young man really that talented?

She had heard from Nurarihyon that he had manhandled Hagoromo Gitsune so he had to be strong. Stronger than a normal Satan… maybe like those two anomalies but being strong and this… were two completely different things. Could her people learn it too? This whole incident had made the entire faction extremely weak. Could this really save her faction by giving it the much needed boost in strength?

"Then, when we begin our training, I would like to see these systems of magic you praise so much in action. I might make some deals with him to teach it to some of our members if they are practical." She asked. She doubted that anyone who would make it to the teams of such a person would be anything less than a genius but still, she will have to see the situation for herself.

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She was sitting in the centre of the room with Kuroka, Nurarihyon and Magari beside her. She could feel Akira was present behind the sliding doors under several layers of seals to hide his presence from the guests sitting in front of her. As for Akira's Lord, he was not in the area or at least she couldn't sense him near the entire place even when she spread her senses the furthest.

"What do you want, Serafall? It was only due to some favours from Azazel that I or rather we even allowed this meeting." She spoke and no one blamed her for her tone.

"I know you are angry. I know you deserve to be angry. I know things have not been good between us and we are trying to make things right Yasaka. If nothing, at least give us the credit where it is due." Serafall replied calmly and she observed that the Satan was nervous. Her gaze at Kuroka was not as subtle when in a room with the masters of Senjutsu. She continued. "We found out about the current situation of the Youkai. I am here to offer assistance to the Youkai Faction if it is needed."

"If you want to offer assistance, then stop sending people to assist Hagoromo Gitsune. It was more annoying to capture the devils than taking down the Ayakashi led by Hagoromo Gitsune." Kuroka mocked and she looked at Serafall's reaction, her Senjutsu perceiving every bit of emotion she could to judge if Serafall knew anything about it.

The Devil in question was completely taken aback and then collected herself. "Who might you be talking about? I assure you that we haven't sent anyone."

She brought out the list of names and passed it on to Serafall who quickly perused the list and she noticed the corners of the paper freezing slightly before going back to normal. "Do you have anything I can take as proof?" She spoke in a formal tone.

"I have them in my dungeons but you will not be taking anyone. They wanted my daughter. Their deal for assisting was a nine tailed fox for the one they lost. They belong to me now." She took a deep breath and reigned her killing intent. Her weakened state was affecting her temper more than she realised before.

Serafall sighed. "Could we negotiate something? I will need them for interrogation to get proof and take any action. Without it, I don't think I can even take any action against them."

She was going to deny the request but someone was faster than her.

Kuroka spoke again. "Tell me something, Miss Serafall. What would you do if you were on our side and the one who had been the target of this had been your sister instead. Go on."

She watched Serafall's expression freeze at the mention of her sister.

"Exactly. I know your answer even without you saying anything. I have a little sister of my own and if any of those cretin had targeted her, I would have killed them all even if I had to burn down the entire world to do so. As for the proof, you don't need to worry about it. We will send you all the results of the interrogation. As for the prisoners, they will be dealt with after we are done with this fiasco."

"If we could offer anything that would make you reconsider. Getting the prisoners would really help us dig out the people behind it. We will be able to help you all out with it. I assure you that they will get punished. We will even offer free assistance to clear this problem with the Kyoto Youkai's rebellion." Serafall asked again.

"Hehehehe do you really think this problem of ours is as bad as it looks? Did you know that none of the older ones have yet to step on the battlefield? It is only the younger ones who are tearing through the ranks of Hagoromo Gitsune. While the start was indeed a bit surprising to us due to the interference of the Devils, the situation is under control. This is a Youkai matter. We are not so weak that we cannot take care of our own problems. Moreover, do tell me what punishment will they get for bringing such a disaster to us, the kidnapping of Yasaka-sama's daughter, the assassination attempt on Yasaka-sama, causing a Civil War among our kind, attacking, kidnapping and killing members of our faction to experiment on. What according to you is a reasonable punishment for it?"

Serafall held her tongue a second too much for Kuroka's temper.

"That's right. You will at best ban them from the Rating Game, make them retire from your council, make them pay fines, or reprimand them to not be bad devils anymore?"

"There are very few Pure Blooded Devils left in this world. Please understand that each one of them is an asset."

"Says the one who killed Pure Blooded Devils wholesale a few hundred years ago. But we are not talking about that are we? Moreover if we are talking about the rarity of a species, the devils still have over a hundred of them while there are only three Nine Tailed Foxes in the world." Kuroka quipped.

Serafall's eyes sharpened a bit at the quip. "You seem to hold some opinions against the devil faction. Tell me, are your opinions your own or does it have anything to do with your Master? I am curious, I heard that your Master was allied with Nurarihyon. Why didn't he appear to lend a hand?"

It was as if the air in the whole room stilled. She sensed a light agitation in Akira's aura behind the sliding doors before it calmed down completely.

She had figured out one thing about the new Lucifer's subordinates, they were extremely loyal to him. Akira respected him as his saviour. Kuroka on the other hand was downright smitten with the boy. And now, Serafall was about to understand this fact too.

Kuroka's entire temperament shifted to a completely frozen one. Her eyes were as if losing all emotions completely so much so that even the feeling that she could get from her Senjutsu was erased. She could literally feel nothing from her.

"Do you truly wish to know my Master's thoughts?" She looked back into Serafall's eyes who was taken aback for a moment at the change, a very short moment, nodded.

"I had once asked my Master if he felt any kind of anger against the current government for the Civil War. He had simply smiled and answered that if the previous leaders of the three Satan Clans were anything like the three idiots, Creuserey, Katerea and Shalba, he could understand why there was a Civil War. The Lucifer House didn't participate in the Civil War and it is none of his concern. I had then proceeded to ask him if he wanted to be a Satan or take back that title and he outright broke out in laughter. His exact words were, 'Sit on the chair as a puppet head doing paperwork everyday and be a chew toy for those self-entitled old dogs. Please. It takes a special kind of masochist to take that. That's not something I can bear.' As impossible as it might be for you to believe, my Master doesn't care about the Civil War or the position of a Satan. You forget something very basic, something very elementary - Unlike the other three Satan Clans, the Lucifer House created the entire Devil Race. To explain it in more simpler terms, have you ever seen the owner of an ant farm being jealous of the Ant Queen?"

The room was in pin drop silence as the two black haired females stared into each other's eyes before the younger one continued.

"And yet, somehow my Master seems to have a certain appreciation and dare I say even a hint of respect for you four. It's because despite the rest of the race being borderline suicidal, you four seem to carry it on your own shoulders. Back in the times of the original Satans, the pillars, despite being rowdy, were firmly in their grasp, making things easier for them. You four don't have that privilege and yet are holding a major part of the entire race together somehow with intelligence, policies and sometimes brute power. That's something my Master appreciates. I have already relayed the message and intention of my Master to remain uninvolved in the matters of devils politics, and yet you come here, poking at his name, let's leave him aside. Tell me what exactly are your intentions towards my Master, Miss Serafall?"

"We don't have any intentions about him either. I was informed that my colleague had already relayed that if he needed something, we would be eager to help. It was just your aggressive attitude towards the devils made me wonder about your Master's own views, after all, we still haven't been able to meet him personally. It just makes one curious about him."

"My views are my own. I believe being aggressive towards someone who attacks one's home is a normal reaction for anyone. My Master doesn't force servitude or his views on anyone. That's a new trend from your side."

Neither of the two gave any leeway and finally Nurarihyon coughed to stop the stalemate.

"Okay, stop it you two. Serafall, stop fishing for information. If he wants to meet you, he will contact you. I have met the person a few times and he is not someone who wants a war. Despite his young age, he is very reasonable. And Kuroka, stop being a child every time someone says anything about him. She's baiting you and you are falling for it. Try acting more responsibly."

"I am a child." Kuroka, whose emotionless state went back to normal, pouted before realizing something. "Wait, she was baiting me!"

"And now you are one of the strongest of the Youkai faction too. Do act like one. Also, she's one of the leaders of her race. She faces such comments in every single meeting. Do you think she will lose her temper so easily? She must have gotten reports about your characters from the meetings you had with Okita Souji and Mathers and used them to set you up. And you fell for it." He then turned to Serafall. " You have already seen the reports briefly. Go and take a good look at it. Any talks about the prisoners come after that. We appreciate you trying to lend us a hand but this is something we must do by ourselves. We know that you are trying and working to soothe things over but please understand that Yasaka almost lost her child and life both. We all need some time to recover from this. We will contact you after the mess over here is cleared."

Magari was just looking at her apprentice who was still realizing what had happened in her head.

Then again, Nurarihyon always kept the more rowdy type of Youkai under him, what with the Youkai Yakuza and all.

The girl was still young and even if she had gotten the strength, she needed to learn a lot more about politics and the world in general.

At least Akira had a much more controlled temper compared to Kuroka.

The rest of the meeting was taken over by Nurarihyon and Magari and Serafall finally left.

"You will be studying the basics of politics all over again. The training with that Old Monkey has made you more of a bull-headed brute than a proper Nekoshou. You are a sage. You can use Senjutsu. Use it to get a feel of her emotions, her feelings to avoid any traps." Magari got up and lectured the girl who was trying to burn the place Serafall was sitting on with a glare.

"I haven't learned emotion sensing properly. He was teaching me martial arts and the ways to manipulate Nature Energy all this time. I was spending the rest of my time reigning in my power. My training isn't complete yet."

"Then you will study while training." Magari cut off any retort before it came.

"Have you had any formal training in Politics, Akira?" She asked.

The door behind her slid aside and Akira entered the room. "I haven't had any such training yet. My wanted status made any such training a waste for now. So, we focused on increasing my strength alone."

"Yet you are a free man now. You will be attending lessons on politics too."

"As you say, Yasaka-sama."

"The war is reaching its final stage. I believe that the preparations for the resurrection of Nue are complete. I will rely on you two to watch over Rikuo and the rest of the children. They have grown a lot in the past week, more than I could have expected them to grow in times of peace and yet, Nue and Hagoromo Gitsune are not foes children can face." Nurarihyon spoke.

"Don't worry about it, Supreme Commander. The ones currently overlooking the kids could end the war by themselves if they wanted. Even that sly bi… Serafall would be helpless against them. Nue and Hagoromo Gitsune may be strong but they will not be able to harm Rikuo-sama and others."

"Is that so… that's reassuring to hear. I don't suppose you can tell us who they are."

"They are both the most trusted people under Master."

She looked at Akira for a reformation and he nodded. "Those two are reliable. If we talk about them in terms of a peerage, they are my Lord's Queen and Bishop pieces. I apologise for not being able to say more than that."

She nodded. She was just getting to know Damien Lucifer but she knew what a Queen Piece meant. The Vice Commander of the Peerage and the most trusted of the King.

"Where did your Master go though? I thought he would be here watching the result of his deal." Nurarihyon asked.

"The deal was decided in my Lord's favour the moment it was made. Hagoromo Gitsune will join us." Akira replied and the conviction in his voice was completely unshakable.

It made her wonder about Damien Lucifer a bit more.

Here she couldn't even trust her own husband whom she had been with for centuries and on the other hand, this boy was making people become so loyal to him in a matter of months.

- Damien -

I looked at the building in the distance as Sean beside me shifted nervously.

"Boss, are you sure about this? I thought you didn't want to do anything like this for a long while."

"I cannot think of anything else that would work. This plan has to work. Currently the ones who can detect or stop me are mostly busy with meetings. I don't know when I would find another such opportunity again. We have to take it or it will be a massive pain in the neck to create such an opportunity again." I replied as I scanned the area with my Observation Haki.

"If the shorty and Boss Lady find out about this, they will neuter me."

"Then you better make sure they don't find out. I sent Merlin with Gretel to keep her occupied and Vienna is currently training with Cleria and Lavinia. They will not be interfering in this."

"Still… to think getting spanked by your teacher was all it took to get you out of your stubbornness and get together with the Boss Lady."

"We are not together yet."

"Yea… I believe you… totally."

"Officially."

"Yes yes whatever. With the way you both are now, we don't need anything official. To be honest, there was a sort of betting pool going on about who would be the first girl. Boss Lady was in second position. Most of them thought it would be Kuroka who would get you drunk someday and take the lead."

"You people have too much free time. I think I should include some social etiquette lessons to help you calm down."

"Ughh… dancing and stuff. Please, I'd rather take the cleaning duty than that."

"Okay all done. We are all ready for the mission. Give me the spear."

"Well, be careful, Boss." Sean replied as he summoned the Spear again.

I took a deep breath in and took a hold of the spear.

"The Lord is my God."

Twelve silver wings burst out of my back, the holy aura radiating even more than the first time. I could feel the light getting stronger and my power roaring in this form.

I shook my head and quickly focused on my current task. It was time for the mission.

__________________________________________

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