15 A Storm is Coming

On the train to the Underworld, Rias Gremory and her peerage were discussing the information obtained from the Fallen Angel Governor, Azazel, in Kyoto.

"Azazel, so should we consider this person you encountered in Kyoto, Kingu, as a sub-species of Golem?" Rias Gremory, the mistress of her peerage, the next head of the Gremory family, the sister of Satan Sirzechs, and a rising star among the younger generation, asked.

Azazel nodded in response to her question. "Yeah, if you believe his words. But I don't think he's trying to deceive us. He was a lifeless guy, as if he had already finished living his life. He probably won't leave Kyoto. He probably didn't reveal all the information either. I still don't quite understand the identity of the 'mother' he occasionally mentioned. He's good at evading and quite skilled. Dealing with someone who is not just strong is troublesome."

In response to Azazel's analysis, Himejima Akeno, also known as the "Queen" and the "Shrine Maiden of Thunder," furrowed her brow uncomfortably. It was an unusual attitude for her, who was usually gentle. Due to her background and history, Akeno had a dislike for Fallen Angels.

"Is that all you found out? Even though you went all the way to Kyoto?" Akeno asked with disappointment.

"Well, it was quite informative. Besides, it seems we managed to avoid stepping on a landmine," Azazel replied.

"A landmine?" Akeno asked.

"I'll tell you beforehand. The second-year students will go on a school trip to Kyoto. Hey, all of you, don't ever fight Kingu if you meet him in Kyoto. He provokes people as if it's his nature, but don't engage in a fight with him. He's a genuine monster."

Everyone present swallowed hard at the serious warning. Kiba Yuuto, the "Knight," spoke on behalf of the group.

"So, it's not because he has a special position in Kyoto, right? Is he really that strong? In that case, shouldn't we reveal his true identity?"

"We're still investigating where he came from. But it's better to avoid unnecessary contact. If things escalate, it could reach the level of Satan Peerage member or even the Dragon Kings. It's clear that the youkai are treating him with great respect. If it turns into a conflict, the damages would be considerable. And since we don't know how he fights, even I wouldn't be able to defeat him on a first encounter."

"What?!" Rias exclaimed in an unpleasant tone upon hearing this.

"Are you saying that my peerage would lose to such an insignificant Golem?!"

"The first generation Devil, Zekram Bael, was defeated by an insignificant, incomprehensible flesh pillar. We still couldn't gather information about Kingu and his companions. But what we do know is that they have a relationship where they promise non-interference. Although it wasn't friendly, it doesn't seem like they are comrades."

As Rias struggled to come up with a rebuttal, the "Tank" Toujou Koneko spoke up.

"...But you have some speculations, don't you?"

"Well, yeah. I am the Fallen Angel Governor after all, and I'm also a researcher. Based on the name and their connection to ancient myths, it's highly likely that Kingu and the Demon God Pillar are weapons created by the Catastrophe organization or a similar group."

At this point, Azazel noticed that the "Priest" Gasper Vladi seemed absent-minded. It seemed that his attention was not fully focused on their conversation.

"Hey, Gasper."

"Yes, uh, sorry! I wasn't listening! I'm sorry!"

"No, it's fine. Is it about the incident in Romania?"

"Yes, uh, yes."　

Vampires have a closed society compared to other races. There are the patriarchal Tepes faction and the matriarchal Carmilla faction, and their country is located in Romania.

Recently, there was an attack on the vampire country by the Demon God Pillar. The timing of the attack coincided with the signing of the King Agreement, but the details only became clear recently. Due to the closed nature of vampires, the discovery and communication of the incident were delayed. The Tepes faction seems to have suffered particularly heavy losses, but the details are still unclear.

Gasper, a half-vampire and a member of the Tepes noble family, couldn't remain indifferent. He had been persecuted by his family and ultimately expelled. He especially worried about Valerie Tepes, his benefactor.

"For now, let's wait. The investigation results should come out soon," Azazel sighed as he looked at Gasper, who had no choice but to respond with those words.

However, there was nothing they could do at the moment. In the global or biblical context, vampires had a low priority. Azazel himself was still unaware of the Holy Grail, so his understanding was limited to "Demon God Pillar also targets vampires."

"Now, Issei, let's talk about the Demon God Pillar Zepar that appeared in your dream," Azazel brought up the topic, causing everyone's faces to tense up.

It was said that the monster calling itself the Demon God Pillar Zepar proposed revival to Issei, or rather, Ddraig, through dreams. Naturally, Ddraig declined. The words of being able to revive the physical body and the credibility of the Demon God Pillar itself were low.

"Keep this matter to yourselves. Everyone present here must not speak a word about it to anyone else. I have already informed Sirzechs about it. This information will only be conveyed to the Four Great Satan and their peerage, excluding the members present here," Azazel said.

"Huh? W-Why?!" Issei asked, surprised.

"It's simple. There's no guarantee that there isn't someone else in the Underworld receiving a similar approach."

Upon hearing that, some understood its true meaning.

"...Are there traitors among the devils?" someone asked.

"There's a possibility. However, at this stage, where it's only a possibility, neither Sirzechs nor I want to stir up trouble. It's strange that only Issei, or rather, Ddraig, was interfered with in dreams. It's safe to assume that Albion and Vali have also received this information. Well, for me, it's good that I obtained this information quickly... Also, if it's true that they can resurrect Ddraig's physical body, they might have obtained one of the Holy Grails, one of the God-killing tools. And there's no guarantee that there won't be idiots who fall for it," Azazel explained.

"I see... It's possible for high-ranking devils to side with fake members of the Seventy-Two Pillars. It's quite sad," Rias said, feeling down.

Issei encouraged Rias with comforting words. "I would never betray you, President! I'll be with you for the rest of my life! If someone decides to side with a monstrous being like that with giant tentacles, it's their fault, right? Right, Ddraig?"

"Yeah, that's right. There's no way I would side with a Demon God Pillar. I didn't like that Zepar guy's arrogant attitude either. If I were to tolerate such behavior, it would only be towards myself," Ddraig replied with a sneer.

***

"Tsk."

Kingu clicked his tongue with genuine displeasure. It was truly unpleasant.

Currently, he was soaring over Kyoto with a leap. Kingu was scheduled to receive a tour of Kyoto from Kunou today, but he sensed a strange presence intruding in Kyoto. However, he was the only one who noticed the presence. Paradoxically, since he wasn't an official entrant in Kyoto, he proved that the owner of the presence was an intruder. As Kingu had already become deeply indebted to Kyoto and was far from being a mere passerby, he had no choice but to swiftly eliminate the intruder.

Eventually, he discovered the owner of the targeted presence and landed in a secluded corner of the mountains.

At the landing point were two men. One had distinctive silver hair, while the other wore Chinese-style armor. Both of them were surprised by Kingu's appearance, but it wasn't because of the sudden fall. They were surprised that the fallen object was Kingu himself. In other words, these two knew about Kingu.

"Hey, hey, isn't it normal to notice from this distance? I was masking my presence with Senjutsu, you know. It's shocking, man."

"Yet, you seem happy about it, Bikou."

"Well, yeah. It'd be a lie if we didn't get excited about this!"

Kingu felt slightly puzzled by the unusual presence of the two men. The silver-haired one had a mixture of human, dragon, and devil. From the one in Chinese-style armor, he sensed an oddly distinctive aura of a youkai, but it wasn't of Kyoto origin. They were likely from the continent. However, Kingu didn't feel any curiosity towards them. Instead, he grew increasingly annoyed by the fact that these strangers he had just met were getting excited at his expense.

"So, who are you guys?"

Kingu showed his irritation openly, and the two responded with calm or seemingly joyful expressions.

"I am Vali. Vali Lucifer."

"I'm Bikou! Nice to meet ya!"

Upon hearing their introductions, Kingu twitched in response. Both names were ones he had heard recently. Azazel, the Governor-General of Fallen Angels. He had thought that he had conveyed the information while keeping it well-hidden, but that was probably why they had come again. It would cause trouble for Yasaka and Kunou, so he wanted to avoid any further visits from them.

"Descendants of Venus and monkeys, huh?"

Both of them seemed to belong to an organization called "Hero Faction," a terrorist group. Vali was the current White Dragon Emperor and the great-grandson of the true Satan, Lucifer. Bikou was Sun Wukong's descendant, known as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Both of them possessed qualities befitting legends and could be considered the prominent figures of this era.

"I suppose I can say that it saved me some trouble, Kingu. I came here to fight you. Can I assume you have the intention to fight since you came to meet me?"

"No, not at all. I have only one thing to say to you. If you don't want to die, disappear quickly."

"...I can't lure you, huh? Just like the Demon God Pillar from last time, why does it end up like this?"

Since the opponent was a descendant of Satan and essentially the adopted child of the Governor-General of Fallen Angels, Kingu had no intention of causing a scene. Moreover, if he were to involve the relatives of the one who had defeated the Buddha in battle, things would undoubtedly become complicated. While hesitating about whether to intimidate and drive them away, Vali wore a meaningful smile and made this proclamation:

"To make you fight seriously, it seems I have no choice but to kill the fox princess."

From Vali's perspective, it was meant as a light provocation. It was also greatly influenced by the fact that he had angered and ignited the fighting spirit of his archenemy, Hyoudou Issei, the current Red Dragon Emperor, when he said the same thing to him not long ago. He was aiming for the second kill. Even though it might not be a kill, it could be a big snake instead.

For Kingu, the well-being of Kunou was the most effective bomb. It was like saying to Steno and Euryale, the powerless sisters, in front of the snake-haired monster, Medusa. Even if it was just an assumption, he might indeed be her son.

Kingu sent a gaze towards Vali.

"…If they are terrorists, would there be no problem in dealing with them?"

"Hm? If you're willing to fight..."

Upon meeting Kingu's eyes, the emotion Vali felt was not excitement. It was fear. Perhaps Vali was trembling for the first time in his life in the face of the opponent's "strength."

Intense killing intent and wrath were too overwhelming. It gave the illusion that the color of his eyes had turned red. It was a face that Kingu probably didn't want to show to Kunou.

Even with Vali's fear, Kingu's emotions remained unchanged. This reaction was too natural. He had been restraining his power all along. There was no need to exert it. He didn't even think about going wild. The power he showed to the youkai in Kyoto was only a fraction. However, since coming to this world, Kingu had decided to go all out.

"You should be satisfied now that you've seen my true strength, right? Then as compensation, you will die here."

If Bikou had been more cautious in sensing Kingu's aura, if Kingu hadn't known Vali's current situation, if Vali hadn't known Kingu's position, if Kingu hadn't been alone and surrounded by the youkai of Kyoto, it would have been a tragedy that could have been easily prevented.

***

"Report from Zepar. Negotiations with the Red Dragon Emperor Ddraig have collapsed."

"Suggestion from Leraie. Then let's arrange a negotiation with the White Dragon as an alternative."

"Report from Amduscias. It's too late. The host of the White Dragon Emperor, and Kingu, has made contact. Due to the non-aggression pact, it is impossible to make contact with that dragon. I repeat, it's too late."

"Request from Ipos. We don't have time to wait for the next White Dragon. We should prepare alternative measures."

"Agreed by Malphas. There are multiple candidates. Let's consider the most suitable monster."

"Report from Gremory. Contact has been made with Bedivere. His summoning method has been confirmed. As expected, it was a summoning method different from ours. That guy. It's the work of the Flower Magician."

"Question from Crocell. Which one of them is it? Did they send him? Did we call him?"

"Answer from Gremory. It's unclear."

"Interrogation from Gusion. It doesn't matter which one of them it is. What we should focus on, what we should be wary of, is their objective. Is it to recover the Holy Sword? Is it for the revival of the King of Knights? Is it to recreate the Sixth Singularity? In any case, it will interfere with our plans."

"Correction from Buer. There is already a problem occurring. The appearance of the Spear of the Goddess has been confirmed."

"Speculation from Marbas. It is likely that Bedivere's existence has triggered a chain summoning. There was a foundation from the beginning, Our revival that was supposed to have disappeared, The broken Holy Sword, the Holy Sword that was supposed to have been returned, The remnants of Y Ddraig Goch, and Bedivere. It also suggests the influence of Enkidu's death and Kingu's presence."

"Warning from Forneus. At this rate, that Holy Sword will be restored. Intervention as a deterrent is no longer recognized."

"Request from Haagenti. We should deal with it before it causes problems for our plan."

"Rejection from Raum. We cannot come out into the public eye. If we act here, it may change the perception of various factions. If that happens, the plan will go awry. We don't have the luxury of facing all the gods at this point."

"Counterargument from Shax. But we cannot leave that goddess alone. No matter what situation it develops into, it will hinder our plan."

"Agreement from Gamigin. Kingu's intervention is beyond the scope. Ophis' rampage is not the problem here. That goddess, unintentionally, just by existing, disrupts our plan."

"Suggestion from Barbatos. If we cannot fight, we can use the Godslaying Tools to defeat that goddess."

"Denial from Flauros. They cannot defeat the Lion King."

"Affirmation from Glasya-Labolas. They are powerless. Human strength cannot defeat gods."

"Counterargument from Gaap. That's why we, the Human Order Correction Bureau, exist."

"Message from Goetia to all Demon Pillars. Support the Hero Faction with all your might and defeat the Goddess Rhongomyniad."

"It's a choice that you guys would never make. Even with your help, I can understand that they can't defeat her. Have you died once and lost sight of the numbers? (You've come to believe in humans more than probabilities.)"

***

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This week, we have an ambitious goal of aiming for 1000 power stones. Once we reach this total, there will be a delightful bonus of 5 extra chapters for this week. So, let's harness the immense power you all possess to determine the fate of this book. Together, we can make it an incredible journey! Your support and contribution will truly make a difference, and we're excited to embark on this adventure with you. Let's unleash our potential and take this story to new heights!