235 The Day After

Underworld, Satan Territory, Capital City, Lilith.

The day after the award ceremony, the Four Great Satans met in their usual meeting room inside the Devil Council building.

"*Sigh* Sirzechs-Chan, you've created a really big mess." Serafall said while resting the back of her left hand on her forehead.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before his pride made him do something stupid." Falbium said with his eyes half closed.

Instead of responding, Sirzechs merely sat in his usual chair with his head hanging low and a lifeless look in his eyes.

"It seems something that we are not aware of has occurred." Ajuka said while observing Sirzechs' current state. "I wonder if Rias said anything to him about his behavior?"

Surprisingly, Sirzechs did not even flinch when Ajuka mentioned Rias. Instead, he kept that same lifeless expression on his face. Seeing that, Ajuka, Serafall, and Falbium exchanged glances.

"Things must be much worse than we expected." Ajuka said.

"Maybe we should ask Grayfia." Serafall said with a tilt of her head. "Now that I think of it, I wonder where she is."

Although Serafall and Falbium did not notice anything, Ajuka, who had been observing Sirzechs the whole time, saw that he flinched minutely when Serafall mentioned Grayfia.

'*Sigh* I guess even Grayfia has gotten fed up with the way you've been acting.' Ajuka thought to himself.

"Yes." Ajuka said in response to Serafall's suggestion. "I think we should call her in."

"No, please don't." Sirzechs said in a weak tone.

Serafall and Falbium opened their eyes wide hearing that Sirzechs wanted to refuse Grayfia's presence. At the same time, Ajuka sighed internally once again.

"Unfortunately, that's not an option, my old friend." We need her to take the notes for the next part of our meeting. "She needs to document the details of the duel that you'll be having with James."

At the mention of James' name, Sirzechs clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. However, a moment later, he relaxed and exhaled a sigh of his own.

"I really messed up, huh?" Sirzechs said. "Just what have I become? I can only imagine how angry James is with the stunt I pulled."

"I don't think you'll have to imagine for too long." Falbium said. "You'll find out whenever the duel takes place."

"*Sigh* I know." Sirzechs said. "I'll make sure not to hurt him during the duel."

"Sirzechs-Chan, what are you talking about?" Serafall asked him.

"Are you expecting me to let him win or something?" Sirzechs asked with confusion on his face.

"So, you really didn't think that his accomplishments were worthy of the reward, huh?" Falbium asked with his eyes narrowed. "I'm starting to wonder if you even really read the reports about him."

"What do you mean?" Sirzechs asked with his confusion growing.

"Sirzechs, it has been confirmed that Crom Cruach has reached Heavenly Dragon levels of power." Ajuka said bluntly. "Do you think you're strong enough to push that kind of power back single-handedly?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sirzechs asked.

"He really didn't read the reports." Falbium said, sounding even more tired than usual.

"That is exactly what James was doing before he captured Euclid." Ajuka said in the same blunt tone.

Just then, Sirzechs' mind recalled the entire report about Euclid's capture. Then, he began to pale.

'Damn it.' Sirzechs thought to himself frantically. 'There's a real chance that I might lose this fight.'

"But wait, if he's so strong, why did Scathach stop him from charging into the crack above the [Rating Game] School last week?"

"*Sigh* What have you been doing with your time recently?" Serafall asked, her usual cheerful tone long gone. "Scatti-Chan stopped him because, one, they did not know what to expect over there. Two, because they didn't know where they would end up. And, three, Because James is only at the minor god-rank without the [Boosted Gear]."

The light of clarity returned to Sirzechs' eyes when Serafall spelled it out for him.

'That's right, Rizevim has the special ability [Sacred Gear Canceller]" Sirzechs thought to himself. 'He would have been placing himself on the chopping board if he had charged into the enemy's base alone. Damn, my pride really did a number on my personality. I was even too wrapped up in myself to put something that simple together.'

"Enough about that." Ajuka said. "We need to call Grayfia so a draft of the terms of the duel can be made."

Serafall and falbium nodded in agreement while Sirzechs winced once again. However, he knew that there was nothing he could do about it, since it was necessary for Grayfia to show up. And with that, Serafall created a communication magic circle and contacted Grayfia. After explaining what they needed from her, she ended the communication.

"She should be here soon." Serafall said with a puzzled expression. "But instead of sounding like she usually does, she sounded a bit unwilling this time."

While Serafall and Falbium seemed to be confused by this information, Sirzechs lowered his head once again and clenched his fists. Meanwhile, Ajuka watched Sirzechs' actions the whole time.

'*Sigh* Things might be worse for Sirzechs than I expected.' Ajuka thought to himself. 'I'm sure this little stunt wasn't enough to put a strain like this on their relationship. I can only imagine what else he has done.'

Not much later, Grayfia arrived and the Satans began to discuss the duel that Sirzechs would be having with James. One thing they all took note of, however, was that Grayfia did not position herself behind Sirzechs like she usually did. On top of that, other than the polite and formal greeting she gave him when she first entered the room, she never spoke to him.

Human World, Japan, Kuoh.

While the Four Great Satans were discussing the duel that would be taking place soon, most of the members of the three peerages were attending classes at Kuoh Academy. Meanwhile, Leona, Cassiel, Irene, and the Shuzen family were sitting in the living room of the Alaverus Estate drinking wine or tea while discussing what happened yesterday.

"So, that Sirzechs Lucifer is Rias' older brother, right?" Irene asked as she took a sip of wine. "I heard about him years ago, but I didn't expect him to do something like this. All the stories about him make him out to be a very kind man."

"*Sigh* And usually he is." Cassiel said while rubbing his temples. "For centuries, he's been my best friend. Hell, I even offered to join his peerage in a bid to repay him for saving my life..."

Hearing that, the listeners, Irene, Evangeline, Issa, Akua, and Kokoa were surprised. Kahlua on the other hand was busy adding sugar to her tea with a smile on her face. So, no one was sure if she was listening or not. At the same time, Leona reached over and held Cassiel's hand.

"I've fought so hard for him and the Underworld over the years." Cassiel said through gritted teeth. "And this is how he treats my son?"

"*Sigh* It must be tough to be torn between your best friend and your family." Issa said.

"Yeah, just as tough as deciding to drive your own daughter away to protect her, huh?" Evangeline said with narrowed eyes.

"Look, I know I handled that wrong." Issa said in a tired tone. "And even if I didn't, Moka reminds me every chance she gets."

"Well, can you blame her?" Evangeline said with disdain in her tone. "You bastards from the Tepes Faction never thought highly of women. I bet you didn't think she'd be able to understand or handle the situation, right?"

Instead of answering, Issa lowered his head. He knew he was in the wrong and had no intention of trying to defend his actions.

"Calm down Eva." Kahlua said with a smile as she hugged the other blonde vampire. "This talk isn't about him or the Tepes, right?"

"So, she was paying attention." Akua and Kokoa muttered simultaneously.

"Kahlua is right." Irene said. "I do have a question about the upcoming duel, though."

"Sure... Go ahead." Cassiel said in a tired tone.

"If James wins..." Irene said before being interrupted.

"When!" Leona said, interrupting Irene.

"Huh?" Irene exclaimed in confusion.

"When James wins!" Leona said strongly. "There's no way my James will lose to that prideful asshole."

"Okay, okay, I get it." Irene said, deciding that she did not want to argue with the angry lioness of a mother. "When James wins the duel, does that mean he will replace the current Lucifer?"

Everyone's eyes opened widely when they heard that question.

"I mean, is that how things like this work?" Irene asked after not getting a response.

"I... Don't know." Cassiel said after he recovered from the thought that the previous question brought. "I wonder if James thought that far ahead when he asked for the duel."

"How can you, a five hundred plus year old devil not know the answer to that question?' Evangeline asked.

"Because no one has ever challenged the Satans for their titles. At least not to my knowledge."

"That makes sense actually." Issa said. "There are probably only a handful of devils who can deal with Leviathan and Asmodeus, who are both at the minor god-rank. But Lucifer and Beelzebub are both at the major god-rank, and from what I know only the original Lucifer had reached that rank."

"That's right, and the ones that can are already in positions of power." Cassiel said with a nod. "And becoming a Satan would probably be detrimental to them instead."

"What do you mean?" Akua asked curiously.

"Because the Satans have to renounce their Houses." Cassiel replied. "And in their own territories, I'm sure they have much more freedom and ruling authority than they would as one of the Satans."

"I see." Akua said while nodding in understanding.

"Then, if James would have to take over the seat of Lucifer after winning, do you think he would throw the fight?" Leona asked. "I mean did you see how flustered he was when you all joked that he would be the head of the Alaverus House."

Hearing that, Cassiel smiled mischievously while the rest of the group looked at Leona with interest.

"Now, this sounds like a story I'd like to hear." Evangeline asked while licking her lips.

"You always seem to be so interested in things that have to do with James." Kahlua said while poking Evangeline on the cheek. "And when you've had a lot to drink, you cling to him a lot, too."

Blushing slightly, Evangeline swatted Kahlua's hand away. However, before she could retort...

"What kinda of interesting story do you all have to tell?" Genkai asked as she entered the living room with her hands behind her back.

"Oh, Master Genkai." Leona said with a smile. "I didn't think that you'd be done training Yusuke so soon."

"I kinda hit him too hard during sparring." Genkai said without changing her expression. "So, he'll be unconscious for a while."

Everyone prayed a moment for Yusuke's well-being. They all knew that regardless of if he had regained consciousness naturally or not by the time Scathach's training started, he would still be joining that training.

"And since I had some free time on my hands, I came up here to play some games." Genkai said. "But this sounds just as, if not more, interesting."

With that, Cassiel and Leona glanced at each other for a moment. Then, they both nodded.

"Honey, you tell the story." Leona said with a smile. "If I tell it, I'll start laughing and mess up the story."

Cassiel only nodded in response. Then, he began to tell the story of how they tricked James last night after the award ceremony.

Like that, with several bottles of wine being emptied, several hours passed. Eventually, Kahlua changed the topic to something she was interested in.

"So, what do we have to do to join James' second peerage?" Kahlua asked with a smile.

With that, the conversation came to a brief pause.

"That's actually up to James." Leona said with a smile of her own. "It will take some time for him to decide if you fit with his family. Because that's how he sees all the members of his peerage. Even the Tsundere Son of Sparda."

"You mean the white-haired kid with the big sword and the prickly personality?" Genkai asked.

"That's right." Leona replied.

"Yeah, now that I think about it, Dante only joined as part of a deal at first, right?" Cassiel asked aloud, to no one in particular.

"That's right." Leona replied. "But now, he even calls me Auntie like the rest of the kids. Anyway, on top of compatibility with the rest of the group, you'll have to have some kind of compatibility with the [Evil Pieces] themselves. As they'll determine your position in the peerage."

And for the next while, the group discussed the advantages and disadvantages of joining a peerage. Eventually, the students made their way home in their usual groups. When everyone was back and dinner had ended, Grayfia appeared in the living room via teleportation circle.

"Hey Grayfia, what's up?" James greeted, the first to noticed Grayfia's arrival.

"Good evening, Young Master Alaverus." Grayfia said professionally with a polite bow.

Hearing Grayfia's professional tone, the rest of the conversations in the living room died immediately.

"I've come on behalf of the Four Great Satans to deliver a message." Grayfia said once she straightened up from her bow.

"Please do." James said, adopting proper etiquette for an official message.

"The date, time, and place of your duel with Lord Lucifer has been decided." Grayfia said. "In five days, When the clock strikes midnight, on Saturday morning, a temporary arena will be created in the Dimensional Gap for your duel."