53 Sneaked out of the Underworld

"We have arrived, sir," the conductor announced.

"Hmmm, adieu, my friend. Thank you for the ride. Now, excusez-moi," Otto said, waving at the conductor as he stepped off the train and arrived in Lucifaad.

"You're probably the most human-looking individual here," Brynhildr remarked, noting the stark contrast between Otto's appearance and that of the devils in the underworld.

"If they can't even tell that I'm human, then that's their problem," Otto scoffed, unperturbed by the lack of scrutiny from the devils regarding his true nature.

"And honestly, I don't care for the horns and tails that devils have. I prefer the more human-like appearances of Rias and Serafall."

"You know, some devils actually find those features attractive," Brynhildr reminded him.

"Do I look like I care about their preferences?" Otto retorted, clearly indifferent to the devils' tastes.

"Nevermind..."

"Eh bien, let's go find the public train to the human world," Otto suggested, noticing an increased number of guards patrolling the area.

'Are those guards here for me?' he wondered, observing the badges on some of the guards, which identified them as members of Satan Lucifer's personal guard.

"It seems they're looking for the masked man," Brynhildr sighed, noting the irony that the person they sought was walking in plain sight.

Slipping a rune to an unsuspecting bystander, Otto continued on his way.

"Indeed," he murmured, scanning the surroundings until he came across a wanted poster bearing his current appearance rather than his Obito disguise.

"..." He stared at the poster, realizing the extent of the hunt for him.

"They sure do work fast," Otto mused, considering that Serafall could teleport almost anywhere within the cities of the Underworld.

As he examined the wanted poster, he sensed a familiar energy behind him.

"Bonjour, Mesdame Leviathan," he greeted, bowing courteously.

"Are you Vincent Fabron?" Serafall asked, suspicion evident in her tone.

"It is I indeed," he replied.

Upon hearing his response, she immediately grabbed his shoulder to prevent him from escaping.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked, startled by her sudden action. He briefly wondered if Ingvild had betrayed him.

"You're not a devil, are you?" Serafall questioned. Most devils would kneel to her upon her secret approach, given the vast difference in their social standings.

"..." Realizing he couldn't hide the truth, he decided to come clean.

"Yes, but how did you figure it out, Lady Leviathan?" he inquired.

"You don't act like a devil at all; you behave more like a normal person," she explained. As someone who entertains the masses, Serafall could discern people's behaviors easily, which was also why she handled foreign affairs and negotiations so effectively.

"I thought I was doing a perfect job of hiding it," he admitted, trying to unhand Serafall's grip as it tightened.

"Are you detaining me?" he asked, realizing this might be the case.

"No, but I just wanted to ask you a question," she said, grabbing both his shoulders in a threatening manner.

"As long as it's not too personal," he replied cautiously.

"Alright, I'll get to the point. Are you the one who woke up the girl?" Serafall asked, looking him dead in the eye.

"Yes, I am," Otto answered casually.

"How did you cure the Devil Sleep Disease?" she pressed, knowing that a solution to this affliction would greatly benefit the Underworld.

"Non, Lady Leviathan. That information is my trade secret," he replied, wiggling his finger to emphasize his refusal.

"Then how much would you charge for that information?"

"I don't have anything that I need, so there isn't anything you can offer me," Otto said. He briefly considered making a deal with a Satan to gain their favor, but quickly dismissed the idea.

'She is still suspicious of me. I can't let my secrets be found out,' he thought, determined to keep his true identity hidden.

"Then, one last question. Are you connected with the Old Satan Faction?"

"Oh, yes—" Just before he could finish his sentence, Serafall immediately immobilized him.

"Do you perhaps have a grudge against them?" he asked calmly, knowing that his teleportation rune, which he had slipped out earlier, was ready.

"No, but they are a threat to the peace of the Underworld," she said righteously.

"What will happen to me?" he asked curiously.

"You'll be imprisoned for associating with the Old Satan Faction."

"I guess that's an alternative word for death for me, non?" Otto said, knowing that devils might be imprisoned for hundreds of years, which was essentially a death sentence for a human.

"Wait, no. That's not what I meant," Serafall said, realizing that a human could die of old age.

"Even if you threaten me to give you that information, just so you know, I am as tight-lipped as ever."

"..." Serafall fell silent, recognizing that she had not accounted for his human lifespan.

"And the least you could do is let me finish my words," Otto reminded her. He had no real connections to the Old Satan Faction; he had simply killed Rizevim Livan Lucifer, who was one of its members.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.

"What I'm trying to say is that I have killed someone from the Old Satan Faction," he clarified, withholding the detail that it was a descendant of the original Lucifer.

"Who?"

"Not telling you, but it's certainly someone important."

"Tell me—actually... Never mind," Serafall sighed, releasing him while remaining cautious. She realized there were still many unanswered questions surrounding him.

"Tell me, how did you even get into the Underworld?" Serafall asked, her curiosity piqued. It was highly unusual for a human to wander freely in this realm unless someone had granted them access.

"That is for you to guess, Mesdame Leviathan," Otto replied evasively.

Otto skillfully danced around her questions, careful not to reveal any information that might connect him to the masked man Lucifer was searching for.

Seeing his reluctance to provide a straight answer, Serafall studied him with suspicion before deciding to drop the subject for now. She realized she wouldn't get any useful information from him at this moment.

"Well, since you are human, why don't I send you back to the human world? Humans aren't allowed in the Underworld unless they have special circumstances," she suggested, suspecting that Otto had used his teleportation capabilities to sneak in.

"So am I cleared now?" Otto asked as he straightened his clothes.

Serafall led him into a dark alley, keeping a close eye on him. "You are, but not quite yet... I'll still be watching you."

"That sounds really inappropriate, Lady Leviathan. Please respect my privacy," Otto said softly as Serafall began creating a magic circle for teleportation to the human world.

"Hmph, so where in the human world would you like to go?" Serafall asked, thinking of France, as his identification indicated he was French.

"Rome, Italy, if you please," he answered politely.

"Alright," she replied, casting the teleportation spell without further questions. As the magic circle glowed brighter, she added, "Remember, I'll be keeping an eye on you."

Otto nodded and stepped into the circle, feeling the familiar pull of teleportation magic. Moments later, he found himself in the bustling streets of Rome.

He took a moment to gather his thoughts, contemplating his next move. While he had successfully evaded capture for now, he knew that Serafall's vigilance was quite rare, which meant he had to be even more cautious around her later on.

As he walked through the city, blending in with the crowd, Otto couldn't help but reflect on the encounter.

'Serafall Leviathan is not to be underestimated, she's as strong as Grayfia...' He thought.

The ancient streets of Rome, with their timeless beauty and chaotic energy, provided the perfect cover for Otto as he planned his next steps. The game of cat and mouse with the Underworld's powerful characters had only just begun...

...

"So, have any of you found the mysterious individual?" Sirzechs Lucifer asked his men, his voice calm yet commanding.

"No, Satan Lucifer," they replied in unison. They had scoured every city in the Underworld except Serafall Memorial Hospital, assuming the masked man had no reason to go there.

The men stood in tense silence, expecting Sirzechs to be angry.

"Don't worry and continue the search." Sirzechs said, dismissing them. He thought about how the masked man had tormented his sister, Rias, and his wife, Grayfia.

"I heard that Serafall has been searching for someone." remarked Ajuka Beelzebub, a fellow Satan, glancing at the empty seat where Serafall was supposed to be.

"Is that so?" Sirzechs replied, his interest piqued.

"Don't you think it's oddly coincidental that someone mysterious appeared at her hospital around the same time the person you're looking for did?" Ajuka suggested. His analytical mind had deduced that the person Sirzechs was seeking might have gone to Serafall Memorial Hospital, which they hadn't thoroughly checked.

Considering Ajuka's conclusion, Sirzechs decided to question Serafall about the person later.

"Hello everyone!" Serafall burst into the conference room with her usual enthusiastic energy.

"Well, speaking of Serafall, here she is." Ajuka noted casually before teleporting away.

"Serafall, did you find any clues about the person you've been looking for?" Sirzechs asked as his wife, Grayfia, entered the room to serve tea.

"I did, but not exactly as I expected." Serafall responded, her tone thoughtful.

"Why so?" Sirzechs and Grayfia listened attentively.

"It's just that he possesses some kind of strange abilities. I've only seen his unusual teleportation skill, which leaves no traces of magic. The only way I figured out it was him was that he didn't even try to hide from anyone." she explained.

"Not only that, he was calm and friendly—a Frenchman," she emphasized, noting that Vincent Fabron had shown no animosity while detained.

"It sounds like you let him go." Grayfia observed, knowing Serafall's compassionate nature.

"Oh, and one last thing I forgot to mention: he was human," Serafall added, remembering a crucial detail.

"What?" Sirzechs and Grayfia exchanged surprised glances, realizing that Ajuka's suspicion might have been accurate.

"Yes, I deduced that from the way he acted. But I still haven't figured out how he managed to enter the Underworld unless someone helped him," Serafall admitted, unaware that every detail she shared matched the description of the masked man they were searching for.

"May I ask where he is now?" Sirzechs inquired.

"I've sent him to Italy," she replied.

Hearing this, Sirzechs and Grayfia realized they had missed their chance to catch him. Vincent Fabron was probably a false identity, a clever guise to evade capture. As they pondered their next move, the reality sank in: the mysterious man casually left the Underworld.

"Did you at least slip some sort of tracker on him?" Sirzechs asked, hoping they still had a chance to find the mysterious man.

"Yes, I did," Serafall replied.

"Because he was somewhat connected to the Old Satan Faction. Is something wrong?" She braced herself, expecting to be scolded by them, for letting an associate of the Old Satan Faction go free.

Their eyes lit up with renewed hope at her answer, believing they had a chance to catch him.

"It's just that the person you found was actually the human we're looking for," Grayfia explained. "It was actually us who accidentally sent him here."

"But to think he was with the Old Satan Faction..." Sirzechs and Grayfia were in disbelief, having thought the masked man's attack on Rias' bishop was a simple, coincidental act.

"No, no," Serafall corrected them. "He said he had killed someone important in their faction. Apart from that, he didn't say anything."

The room fell silent as they processed this new information. Vincent Fabron's involvement with the Old Satan Faction and his claim to have killed someone significant within it added layers of complexity to an already convoluted situation.

"Is he the enemy of the Old Satan Faction? And why was he even at your hospital?" Sirzechs pondered aloud, trying to piece together the puzzle.

"He woke someone up from the Sleep Disease," Serafall said, surprising everyone with this revelation.

"He did what?" Grayfia asked, astonished.

"The Devil Sleep Disease has been an unsolved mystery for ages." 

"Yes, He somehow cured it. That's why he was at my hospital. He woke up Ingvild Leviathan." Serafall confirmed.

"Ingvild Leviathan?" Sirzechs echoed, even more intrigued. "She's the last descendant of the original Leviathan. If he cured her, it means he possesses knowledge and abilities far beyond what we initially assumed."

"Indeed," Serafall said. "But he wouldn't divulge how he did it. He called it his 'trade secret.'"

"Then again... why her specifically?" Grayfia questioned, her suspicion growing.

"Issei, or Vincent Fabron as he calls himself now, isn't the type to do charity work. It seems more likely he has ulterior motives against her." Thinking back, he possessed several sacred gears, in his unusual book...

"My bad..." Serafall apologized seeing how deep their conversation became involving Vincent Fabron.

...

-Chapter End-