Fate Worse Then Death.

Since he had arrived in this world, Romonus had made it his goal to become as strong as possible. Eventually, his goal evolved for him to ascend to become a Demon God. It just made sense to him to become something that had never happened in DxD to reach the peak of his world. 

He had wanted to achieve it even before he had the Sparda Bloodline, as he had wanted to become a Super Devil and then take the ascension into a Devil God. However, when he received the Sparda Bloodline, his goal changed. Sparda was worshiped as a god, but he was undoubtedly a Demon. It got into his mind what would happen if Sparda had taken the leap into Godhood. 

That is when Romonus made it his plan to take the power of God himself, especially after he acquired the True Longinus. Once he had that under his control, he realized that the Holy Relics of the Bible were the secret to his ascension. 

Valerie had already used one of them, the Grail, to make him nearly immortal, remove his weakness, and allow him to use Forbidden Magics without issue. The Incinerate Anthem and True Longinus, after eight years bound to his soul, had been corrupted with his mark making them blasphemous items representing corruption. 

The Will of God in the True Longinus still tried to fight back, but the battle was thoroughly lost. No matter how much effort it used to purify the spear, Romonus' intent entirely became one with it. 

The longer the Will remained inside the Divine Demon Spear, the more tainted it became. God's formerly divine essence was nearly gone. When that happened, and he fully gathered his allies, he would prepare for his ascension. 

Now he would get ready and call in all the favors he had because he damn well knew there would be many who would want his ascension to fail. He snapped out of his thoughts as the attacks would be coordinated to prevent team-ups by his targets.

"Remember, these attacks won't be happening now. They will happen in a while since we have to prepare thoroughly." 

Miria shook her head as she had been itching to get revenge for the death of her Father. 

"When do we move exactly?" 

Romonus thought about it as he ran a hand through his beard. One of his best choices had been to grow it out. 

"In 12 days, that will give me plenty of time to call in a few favors. While I am positive your teams will be able to succeed. However, I rather have a guarantee of success as that is my ascension at stake." 

Latia got up from the couch and walked toward Romonus, who still had projections of his targets. 

"Who else do you have in mind to go with us?" 

Romonus crossed his arms as if they were easy. 

"Serafall, Ajuka, Sirzechs, Grayfia, Falbium, Sairaorg, Souji, Surtr, MacGregor. I have plenty of friends and family willing to help me. The Four Satan descendants are terrible and should die so no one will miss them." 

Azi, still on Romonus' shoulder, brought up another point. 

"If you want more muscle, bring back my fellow Evil Dragons. Grendel, Ladon, Niðhöggr, Apophis, Yamata no Orochi. With us 6, you will have a force of Dragons itching for a war that will undoubtedly be helpful when your ritual is ready." 

Bikou turned to Romonus. 

"You think that is a good idea? Evil Dragons were killed for a reason, and to bring them all back would be dangerous." 

After all these years, Akeno almost found it funny that Bikou underestimated Romonus. 

"You need to have more faith in my love. Romonus is one of the strongest beings on this planet. Romonus, what do you think?" 

Romonus had already tracked them down as part of his backup plan. 

"I can do it since I already know where all their seals are Azi. Once they are all returned to life and under contract, I should be able to use their might against those who try to get in my way. 

Let's be honest; we will be making enemies. Even having the ingredients won't be enough because I would much rather take the time to prepare the ritual fully before pushing it. All of you should prepare for your raids. We will prepare them carefully to ensure no mistakes happen and no one dies." 

No one complained, so Romonus waved his hand and ended the meeting. Connla, Bikou, Arthur, Kouki, and even Tobio scattered as they often fought and trained together to ensure they were always at their strongest. 

From what he could tell, Le Fey was happy to kick back and watch TV. Mostly, Serafall's TV show where Romonus had made a few guest appearances as the Demon Lord. Serafall even sold figurines of him through the Underworld, and they got a big chunk of money through royalties. 

Romonus had plenty of free time, and he could go back into the Time Chamber for more training before he fully revealed his plans. For the time, he decided to do something he had been ignoring. 

"Vespera, Rias, Natsume, Silvana, Latia, mind coming with me? It is time for me to settle the score with Zekram." 

Vespera smiled in a way that showed her fangs. 

"I thought you would never ask. I have had an 8,000-year grudge to settle with that motherfucker." 

Rias had a question, though. 

"Won't killing him cause issues, though? He is still the leader of the Great King Faction, and they have been getting more troublesome since Serafall became another Super Devil." 

Latia shook her head slowly. 

"Rias, you don't have to worry about that. Romonus, over the past three years, has been expanding his influence through the Underworld. His potions have many Lords in his pocket. Azazel is one of his supporters, and so are the Four Satans. 

Grigori backs him, and after the peace treaty and alliance, they have been expanding their influence into Devil society. Seekvaira's dad also supports him, and he is the lord of the Agares, the second-ranked clan. Don't forget Silvana's Father and Mother received Valerie's modifications. 

Even the Cethin Dullahan Clan and Arawan are in his corner. Zekram is long cooked."

Silvana smiled as her Father and Mother recovered from birthing her. Enough that they considered doing it again and were more powerful than ever. 

"Out of the 32 pillars, more than half are on his side, though he does have opposition. A few of the more dogmatic clans see him as an abomination." 

Natsume scowled at hearing that. 

"An abomination?" 

Romonus nodded. 

"They consider me an anomaly worse than my brother and Ajuka. They are not wrong, but let's not just keep talking about it. We will be back soon." 

Most of his lovers wished him off, so he teleported along with Vespera, Rias, Silvana, Natsume, and Latia to the Bael Castle. Specifically, he purposely did so at the castle entrance, where the guards were constantly patrolling. 

When they saw him, they all formed into formation and froze at the sight of him. To them, the last time they saw him was four years ago when he was 12, but he did not look 16 as he should be. 

They had no idea of the existence of the Time Chamber, so four years became eight years. Regardless, they didn't stay frozen much longer before they greeted him. 

"WELCOME HOME YOUNG MASTER!"

Romonus raised a hand and restrained his aura. 

"At ease. Stertinia, it has been four years since I left on my travels. How have things been?"

Stertinia, the head guard, walked forward with her spear on her shoulder. 

"Things have been hectic. Since you left, the peace treaties and alliances you have created have changed the Underworld for the better. You have already done more for Devils than the previous Lord Bael did in his entire reign. 

Your grandfather has kept things stable, and I am sure he would like to see you." 

Romonus knew that and wanted to speak to his grandfather, but that could wait. 

"I will see him soon. For now, I have another meeting. Please, take me to see Zekram." 

When he said that, his eyes began to glow with purple flames as his animosity for Zekram was nearly uncontrollable. She closed her eyes before breaking her oaths and former promises. 

"Zekram is, as usual, in his office." 

She bowed and closed her remaining eye. Seeing that she chose to back him made him smile. As he walked past her, he placed his hand on her shoulder before surging power into her body. 

"Consider this a reward." 

As he and his lovers walked past her, Stertinia began to feel something weird happening to her right eye. She had lost it in battle during the Devil Civil War, and since it had been lost due to magic, the residual magic had made the injury nearly impossible to heal. 

Even then, Romonus, with a surge of power, wiped out the residual magic and used his control over Demonic Mana to cause her body to regenerate her eye. She didn't even have a chance to thank him as Romonus teleported down to the depths of the Bael Castle. 

When they teleported down, the two Satan Class guards were surprised, as no one came down here unless called by Zekram. While Romonus may have changed after aging for eight years, he still looked similar. 

Rias, Silvana, and Latia were also quite famous and easily recognized even after the years they had grown. Natsume and Vespera, though, were new and unrecognized. 

"State your business, Young Master. You have not returned to the Castle in years, and the Ancestor did not call you." 

Romonus shook his head as he used his bloodline suppression on both of them. With his power, no amount of artifacts would stop him from showing his dominion over Devils. The two guards froze in place, so Romonus and his girl walked past them. 

He waved his hand and tore the doors off before tossing them away. Zekram looked up, shocked at the brazen act, but when he saw Romonus, he froze. 

"Romonus. What are you doing here?"

Romonus squinted his eyes before he stepped out of the way. 

"While I have a bone to pick with you, you should talk to her first." 

When Romonus stepped to the side, Vespera came into clear view from behind him. Zekram became pale when he saw her; she looked the same as she did 8,000 years ago. She had nearly killed him in their battle, and that was one reason he chose to seal her away. 

Because of how much stronger she would have become if she had become free or resurrected. 

"Vespera, I made sure your soul was sealed." 

As Vespera walked forward, she tensed her hands, causing her claws to grow. 

"Do you know the kind of hell I went through for eight millennia? No, you don't. You made a mistake in not destroying my soul because here I am great grandfather."

Zekram grits his teeth as he grabbed his desk and launched it at her. Vespera squinted her eyes as she surged Power of Destruction and Blood Magic into her claws. She slashed down and cleaved the desk into five equal sections. 

After eight years of feeding on Romonus' pure Demon blood, she was no longer a regular Vampire or Devil. She was a new breed of Demon Vampire, and she didn't just run at Zekram. It was more like she teleported directly toward him. 

When she reached it, she stabbed her clawed hands into his shoulders before lifting him off the ground. 

"ARRAGH! YOU FUCKING WHORE!"

He lunged out and wrapped his hands around her neck before crushing down. Vespera though just grinned as she couldn't even feel it. 

"Romonus chokes me harder than that." 

Zekram groaned in pain as she slammed his back into the back of his office. She leaned in close and made him look into her eyes. 

"I should thank you for one thing, Zekram. You gave Romonus my prison. Because of that, I met him, I am thankful for that." 

Zekram grit his teeth before he forced his arm down and covered it in the Power of Destruction before he tried to pierce her stomach. He failed because Vespera was one of the most durable people Romonus knew. She frowned before he decided to stop playing around. 

"Goodbye, Zekram. Hope your reign was worth it." 

She tore her hands out of his shoulders before she stabbed them through his chest. She grabbed onto his heart before she tore it out. Once she had the still-beating organ, she saw how Zekram grabbed onto the cavity where his heart had been. 

Blood was spilling from it and his mouth as he fell to the ground. He squinted his purple eyes as he looked up at Vespera and Romonus. 

"You two will suffer, for this." 

Romonus walked forward until he stood over Zekram's dying body. He bent down until he was at eye level with the dying Devil. He was alive only because of Devil resilience, but even that had limits. 

"You are in luck, Zekram. Because while it may seem we are killing you, we are not. Enjoy the momentary mercy that is death. You will wish it was the end." 

Zekram's hands fell slack onto his lap as he bled to death. Romonus smiled as he used his favorite ability. 

"Rise." 

He took control of Zekram's soul and resurrected it into a Shadow. From the corpse of the Ancestor of the Bael, his soul emerged as one of Romonus' Shadow slaves. However, unlike the rest, Romonus left his sense of self intact. 

Before Zekram had a chance to realize what had happened to him, Romonus waved his hand forward and forced the Shadow back into Zekram's corpse. Death magic and Demonic Mana surged through the corpse, with its veins turning purple. 

Zekram's head rose with dark purple eyes. He looked down at his chest and saw that a glowing purple orb had formed where his heart had been. His heart was still in Vespera's hand, which caused him to come to a dark realization. 

"What have you done to me?"

Romonus smiled as he aimed his hand down and drew all of the blood from Zekram into his hand. He didn't need it to live anymore, though he did now look like a vampire. 

"Simply put, I killed you and turned your soul into one of my Shadow Soldiers before binding you to your corpse. You are now between Life and Death as my loyal servant. Consider your debt paid."

Romonus looked at the orb of blood in his hands before he absorbed it into his body through his palm. When he did so, he felt his Sparda Bloodline absorb it to purify his Bael genes further. Once he finished that, Vespera handed him Zekram's heart. 

"Here." 

Romonus smiled as he placed it into his Spatial Ring, which the ring spirit stored safely for later. 

"I have what I need. Let us see my grandfather, shall we?" 

He held his hand out as he and the girls walked out of Zekram's office. 

"ROMONUS! DON'T DO THIS TO ME!" 

Romonus turned around to gaze at Zekram. He had placed a hand over where his heart had been as the orb of Demonic Mana and Death Magic was acting as his new heart. No blood remained in his body, and only energy kept him animated. 

"You should have thought about that before torturing Vespera for eight millennia or trying to break my engagement to Silvana. This is me repaying you for giving me Blood Drinker and making me the heir of House Bael. 

She got her revenge, and I kept you alive. All are happy, no?" 

Zekram closed his eyes as the pain of what he had become haunted him. He tried to shove his hand into his chest to end his life, but he could not. He aimed his hand at Romonus before trying to blast him with the Power of Destruction, but he couldn't even move his energy to attack. 

Romonus shook his head as he walked away. 

"Your orders are to stay alive forever. You will act as my backer until I decide to release you. Maybe in another eight millennia." 

When Romonus teleported away with his lovers, Zekram reached up and grabbed his face in horror at what he had become. He was no longer a Devil, not alive, not dead, not an undead. He was an abomination. Even now, he didn't think he deserved this.

This was too far even for him, but Vespera would say otherwise. Karma had come to collect her due. 

(P-treon.com/A_Real_Werewolf234) 

(I think I caught Covid again. I feel like absolute shit.)