Chapter 24

Seeing Michael's reaction, Razjeel snorted in amusement. The closer he walked towards Michael, the more blonde haired man paled and trembled. Michael took a few steps back, bumping into the fallen chair. The others were silent, observing whole situations, completely clueless about what was going on. 'Why is Michael like that? He seems... Scared of him?' They thought.

"What is this, Azazel?! It's one of your jokes, right?? Quit it, this is not funny!!" Said loudly Michael, without taking his eyes from Razjeel. 'Shape-shifting magic?!'

"L-lord Michael, what-" Surprised Irina tried to talk to him, but was interrupted by her friend.

"It's you!" Shouted Xenovia looking at Razjeel, she also took out her sword. But she was ignored by others, only Irina grabbed her and told her to calm down

"*Sigh* I didn't do anything." Responded Azazel before he sat in his chair, giving a leisure wave of his hand towards Four Satans.

Seeing that Razjeel was getting closer and closer, Michael almost summoned Light Sword, but instead he took a deep breath. Razjeel took out his hand out of his pocket, making Michael even more nervous. The sweat started dripping down his forehead, Micheal couldn't help but summon his weapon. Seeing Michael preparing to attack, the Devil's side get tense, fearing that the fight would break out.

"I-It's really you? But how?! Father personally locked you down! I saw it with my own eyes! You were half dead back then, so how?!" His hands started to shake.

Sirzechs stood up and was going to calm the situation down before it escalated too much, but as he was about to speak, someone spoke first.

"Why are you so scared, younger brother? Another one of you, brats, hoped that I'm dead? You're breaking my heart." Said mockingly Razjeel, then, he pulled the chair enough for him to sit, what he did right after. "Sit down and don't make a scene. Get yourself together, you are embarrassing yourself. " He glanced at him for a second and then looked in front of him.

"It's really you... You're back...." When he understood that Razjeel really returned, he didn't know what to think. A sudden thought passed through his mind. "You know about Father, right? He's not here anymore, so please, spare Heaven! Kill me if you have to, but they didn't do anything, they don't even know about your-" Irina, Xenovia and Asia flinched and looked at Michael with wide eyes.

"I said, sit down." A single glare from Razjeel was enough for Michael to shut up. His words carried strange pressure that made him do whatever Razjeel said. "We will talk later."

Irina puts the chair back to its original position, allowing Michael to sit on it again, but he didn't thank her because he was still warily looking at Razjeel, who in contrast didn't pay much attention to him. Everyone in the room was bewildered at what they just saw. The leader of Heaven obediently following orders from the fallen angel? That's impossible! But sure life likes to surprise people.

"I'm sorry for being late, it seems like our Magic Circle started malfunctioning. Let me introduce myself to you, my name is Razjeel, General Governor of Grigori." Stated calmly Razjeel, looking everyone in the eyes. When his eyes met with Serafall he cracked a small smile and nodded slightly. In response she smiled cheerfully and nodded her head.

Raynare frowned slightly seeing that, but she didn't understand why. She just found that annoying. And speaking of her:

"W-w-what are you doing here?! You shouldn't be here!!!" Yelled Issei with a trembling hand, pointing straight on Raynare.

Raynare raised an eyebrow seeing a familiar teenager yelling at her. Realization struck her, making her smile. "Oh my. Long time no see, darling~." She waved her hand to him, trying to mess with him a little.

Seeing that smile, the same smile she was making during their fake dates, his face paled and he started breathing quickly and shallow, as if he couldn't breathe.

"How dare you come here, filthy crow? After what you have done to my servants..." Said Rias with anger rising in her voice. She looked at Issei and Asia, the memories of what happened to them because of Raynare flowed through her head. "I won't let you escape this time!" A red like aura started embracing her body. Issei summoned his Sacred Gear ignoring shouts from Ddraig. Confused at first, present members of Rias's peerage also prepared to attack.

"Hey, stop!" Shouted Serafall towards Rias.

Raynare unconsciously took a half step back, ready to defend herself if necessary. Just as Issei was about to rush at her, Razjeel spoke once again. "Lay your disgusting hands on her and heads will roll. Including yours, redhead." He said without particular expression, looking at them indifferently. No one dared to move after he said those words.

"W-what?" Rias asked, taken aback. "How dare you talk to me like that, this is not your territory!" She looked towards her brother hoping for help. She still remembered how he easily subdued Kokabiel, but she was sure her brother was still stronger than him.

"If we were in my territory, you would already be dead." Responded casually Razjeel.

Suddenly the room started to shake under the power of Devil Energy, everyone turned to look towards the source of it. Sirzechs stood up, his expression filled with anger. "You dare to threaten my younger sister? First one of your men attacked her, almost killing her and others, and now you threaten her with death?" He looked at Razjeel as if he was ready to rip him apart. Sirzechs thought that Razjeel would be frightened or perplexed at least, and would apologize for his words.

"Sirzechs, calm down!" Said Serafall.

" Damn it." Sighed Azazel helplessly.

Suddenly the overwhelming power descended on the room, completely overpowering Sirzechs' Devil Energy. "Ugh!" He grunted, feeling like an entire mountain was falling at him. His muscles stiffened and eyes opened in shock. With each second passed the pressure increased, giving him more and more pain. Just as he was about to use all his Devil Energy along with Destruction, the pressure vanished.

"Look at this. We were invited here for a Peace-treaty meeting by Devils, but the same Devils first want to attack the General Governor's Secretary, and then they attack the Governor himself. Hah! Peace-treaty? More like a declaration of war." Razjeel looked with contempt at Sirzechs. "Lucifer must be rolling inside his grave knowing someone like you call yourself with the same name".

The read-head (Refers to Rias) frowned. "Your 'secretary' provoked us first." The more he looked at her, the more disappointed he was.

Razjeel raised an eyebrow. "So? Are you obligated to respond to this? Are you five? If you will respond to such a thing every time then a poor future awaits you."

"Okay, okay! Calm down everyone!" Said Azazel loudly. "We are here to sign a peace-treaty between our Factions. I bet no one want another war." Hearing that Michael glanced at Razjeel and nodded.

"Yes, that's right." Spoke Serafall. "I apologize for what happened. It was inappropriate and disrespectful. Please, forgive us. I hope we can still come to an agreement."

"We will see." Razjeel responded indifferently. "But I won't tolerate it next time. So either they'll be quiet or leave the room now."

Issei was still staring at Raynare with fear and Rias greeted her teeth glancing at her brother. Seeing that he wasn't going to object, she nodded reluctantly.

'He is strong, very strong. More than I imagined. If Rias offended him...' Thought Sirzechs. He maybe was a siscon, but he wasn't stupid. After their small 'clash', if you can even call it like that, he realized that Razjeel was stronger than him. He didn't know if he would beat him or not, but he wasn't going to test it.

"I want to apologize for my sister's behavior and especially for mine. I'm ashamed and I ask you for understanding, she is my one and only sister, I won't let anything happen to her." Sirzechs stood up and bowed slightly.

Razjeel observed him for a moment, with thoughts known only to him. "I kinda understand your feelings, but that works in two ways. Like you care for your sister, I also care for those close to me. This is my warning to all of you. Touch my people and I will kill you." He looked at everyone in the eyes, dead serious. As if they were sure he could do it, all of them nodded to show they understood.

"Then we shall begin." Spoke Ajuka Beelzebub for the first time. "First I would like to speak about the most recent event. I'm talking about the attack on Gremory heiress and her peerage. The Devil Council demands to hand over Kokabiel to us, as we shall punish him for what he has done according to our standards."

"Well, you are a little too late. I can't give him to you." Responded Razjeel with a shrug. Ajuka was about to ask why, but Razjeel stopped him with his hand. "I'm not finished. I can't give him to you because he's not among the living anymore. He died after some punishment some time ago. May his soul fade in the abyss."

"...amen..." Said Raynare quietly, but she whined when the sudden headache attacked.

"I see... So there is nothing we can do." Responded Beelzebub. "So, without wasting our time, we all know why we are here. Currently we are amongst the weaker if not the weakest faction around the world, all because of the previous war." He spoke in a calm and serious tone, looking around the room.

"That's true." Continued Sirzechs. "Continuing our fights will lead us toward the only one available destination, our destruction. During the Three-way War our three factions lost their powerhouses, leaving us weak and completely vulnerable to external forces."

'Maybe you lost, we basically just gained one.' Thought Azazel glancing at Razjeel.

"I will be frank. We are in a very bad situation. Although for the public eye we put a tough front, things aren't as good as it seems. If the World gets to know that God is dead it will be over for us. That's why-"

"What?! What do you mean by that?! How dare you to say such a blasphemy! Lord Michael is the highest executive in Heaven, he is the one who takes orders directly from God! Right, Lord Michael?" Shouted Irina with an upset expression. Saying that her God was dead in front of her, that sure hurt her. Though, someone else in the room reacted differently hearing that.

But seeing that Michael was silent, anxiety crawled inside her heart. She, along with Asia and Xenovia, was looking at Michael with expectant looks, hoping that he would deny it. But reality was harsh.

"*Sigh* What Lucifer said is true. During the last war not only Four Original Satans died, but our Lord also died... Because of our- mine incompetence..." He clenched his fists tightly, biting his lips as well in frustration. "After he returned to the Highest Sanctuary, where White Throne is, he... he was too weak to resist 'That'. " He said looking briefly at Razjeel. But despite Michael, Azazel and of course Razjeel, no one knew what "That" was.

Razjeel frowned, hearing and seeing all of that.

"That... Can't be true... No... I-I can't believe it... Why y-you hide it from us...?" Irina said in a shaky, breaking voice. Her eyes started to moisten up. Xenovia was simply staring at Michael with empty eyes and open mouth. That was too unbelievable for her. But Asia had it the worst, she simply broke into tears, sobbing loudly and shivering. She embraced Issei, hiding her face. Even Raynare was looking at Michael like he was talking nonsense.

"That's why we didn't announce it to the public. People my react like you, they can become completely broken and many of Angels may fall, we can't predict what exactly would happen." Said Michael sadly.

"Exactly. Heaven and Devils were one of the top forces in this universe, simple existence of Four Originals and God kept everyone away from us, but when they get to know that five of them are gone..." Said current Beelzebub.

"The others will rip us apart." Continued Azazel.

"What do you mean? Why would they do that?" Asked Rias, still quite shocked what she heard.

"Haaah. Think of it, girl. Now we are basically free pieces of land and resources, as well as manpower. None of Pantheons would miss such a chance, especially when there are no consequences with 'Him' and Satan's gone. Without much thinking I can tell that Hades for certain wouldn't miss this opportunity, he always wanted Underworld for himself. But the bigger problem would be Heaven." Said seriously Azazel.

"They are the biggest religion in the human world, if this information leaks out...that would be utter chaos. The other Factions would take advantage of the situation, recruiting as many people as possible, the balance would be broken which would probably lead to Supernatural War." Finished Azazel.

"I see." Realizing the importance of the situation, Rias understood how important it was to sign a peace treatment.

"Yes." Nodded Sirzechs. "We can't let that happen. That's why we want to make peace. Of course we don't expect to be treated like friends, although it would be more than welcome, but to stop fighting among ourselves..." He continued talking.

As everyone was listening and speaking, Razjeel was lost in his thoughts. He placed his elbows on the table and rested his head on his hands. 'So old man really died... No, something is off... He wouldn't just die because of such a thing, it's too pathetic. But what they said is true. Although many can't see it, the world isn't as peaceful as they think it is. There are constant wars behind the scenes among most, if not all factions. Even after seven thousand years this part of the world remained unchanged...after all the greed of the Gods have no boundaries...' Expression filled with disgust appeared on his face.

'But what concerns me even more is The Library of the Beginning... If one of those motherfuckers lay hands on the Scrolls or the Artifacts... I can't even imagine what will happen if they found the Trumpets...' The more he was thinking about this the more worried he was.

"...that's why we should start living in peace." Hearing that Sirzechs finished his speech, Razjeel snapped back to reality. "No one have any objections right?"

Feeling like everyone was looking at him, Razjeel waved his hand casually. "I'm fine with this. We are just after Civil War so I don't feel like having another one right now." He signed a document containing standard conditions of peace treatment and signed in a designated place where five signatures were already. Though that piece of paper was only a formality.

"That's a relief..." Sighed relieved Michael with a small smile.

"What are you smiling for, brat? We still have to talk." Said Razjeel with raised eyebrow.

"Y-yes..." Poor Archangel lowered his head as his face paled in the same time. Everyone was once again bewildered at the way the two of them treat themselves.

"Well, that would be it. Once again I-" Sirzechs was about to finish, but stopped suddenly. Everyone felt a strange feeling, like something was wrong, the space around them seemed to be enveloped in a strange sensation.

"Hey, what's going on?! Why have they stopped moving??" Issei asked in panic, seeing that some of his friends were frozen in places.

"Irina? Oy, Irina!" Xenovia had the same problem with her friend.

"What's going on?" Falbium stood up, looking around.

Razjeel tilted his head slightly. "Hmm?" He stood up and took a closer look at the frozen Raynare. 'Her eyes don't react, she's not breathing nor her heart beat, but she's not dead either... Ah, this is it.'

He placed his hand on her back where heart should be and infused some of his Energy inside her. Soon after she was back to normal, a little surprised, though.

"It's time. Someone either used powerful Artifact to stop time or, judging by the scale, Agares family performed a Ritual Magic." Said Razjeel aloud. "Apparently, we are also surrounded."

"It's Gasper! His Sacred Gear!" Shouted Rias with a worried expression. She exchanged a few words with her friends and disappeared along with Issei.

*Booom!*

Suddenly a large portion of the chamber was destroyed by the Magic missile, creating a cloud of dust and throwing debris around. When the dust settled, there was a wall of green flame surrounding everyone participating in the meeting. Whenever a debris touched the flames, it instantly burned to nothingness. Startled by the appearance of the flames, everyone stepped back, excluding Azazel and Raynare. Seeing the unique flames, distant memories reappeared in Michael's mind, sending shivers down his spine.

Looking through the destroyed part of the building, they noticed many people dressed in long, dark robes, floating in the air with hoods over their heads. A teleportation Magic Circle appeared in front of the crowd of hooded people.

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!" Suddenly a woman emerged from within, laughing maniacally.