The Underworld.
- "So, he decided to let them out after all, huh?" I smiled and turned to Michael and Azazel, who were looking at the Pillars demons with expressions on their faces as if the end of the world had truly come.
Every sway of the Pillar Demons, every beam of destruction they released, made them open their eyes even wider, accompanied by a shudder throughout their bodies and an even greater degree of shock. They seemed to be in a trance, and...
However, this was quite expected.
Getting up from my seat, I stood in front of them and created a rubber bat, which I swung widely and hit them in the face with one blow. And it worked, sending them flying a couple of meters and instantly bringing them to their senses.
- "Hey!" Azazel exclaimed, rubbing his face.
- "...was that... really necessary?" added Michael, repeating his brother's actions.
- "Otherwise, you wouldn't have woken up," I shrugged and threw away the bat, which immediately dissolved into blue dust. "To answer your obvious question, yes, all seventy-two Pillars demons can do the same thing as these."
- "That's scary..." Michael muttered, which Azazel and I heard perfectly well.
- "And it's nice that they're on our side..." sighed Fallen, pulling a flask out of his jacket and emptying it in one gulp. "What now, Romani?"
- "Well..."
- "The Chaos Brigade no longer exists, and it has been replaced by Qlippoth, led by the blood of the First Fallen," interrupted Goetia, who had appeared next to me, shifting the focus of attention to himself. "Comb through your ranks for traitors. After the organization's collapse, they will quickly reveal themselves."
- "The Chaos Brigade has collapsed?" asked Sirzechs, who had teleported to us along with the other Lords and Grayfia, whose face was clouded with sadness. "Why?"
- "Rizevim stole half of the Ophis' power, so there is no longer any need for the Dragon of Infinity," I shrugged.
- "Half?" Falbius repeated in his usual tired tone. "That will be difficult."
- "Why didn't you catch Rizevim when you had the chance, Your Majesty?" Ajuka asked.
- "There are rules that even the Heavenly King cannot break. And..." But Goetia couldn't finish, as Serafall interrupted him, causing Beast I to twitch his eye in irritation.
- "But I think Rizevim-chan is cute!" she exclaimed, raising her hand like a schoolgirl. "Maybe Ro-tan will just ask her to surrender, and we'll all appear on my show together?!"
- "That would be... not bad," said Sirzechs.
- "Yes," nodded Falbium. "And, as a result, a lot less work."
- "I think that would be a good outcome," agreed Ajuka, supporting his colleagues.
- "I'm surrounded by idiots in this most illogical world in all the universes," Goetia said, not hiding his irritation.
- "Go to hell! A relationship with a yandere is the dream of a sick schoolboy who has no idea what really awaits him! Do I look like that kind of gifted individual, huh?!" I exclaimed.
- "Of course!" Serafall shouted instantly, followed by my golden chains binding her and turning her into a mummy writhing on the ground like a snake.
- "Anyone else want to voice their EXTREMELY important opinion, huh?" I asked the others with a sweet smile on my face.
The corner of Goetia's mouth rose, as if showing his amusement with a hint of mockery. Azazel shook his head, apparently remembering Nightingale. Michael smiled his usual polite smile, but behind his half-closed eyes, you could sense his malice. Ajuka showed his usual indifference, Falbius shrugged, Sirzechs tried his best to hold back his giggles, and Grayfia still didn't react to anything around her.
- "Excuse me for interfering, but why do I feel like this lady was Rizevim?" Azazel asked cautiously.
- "I felt that way too, although she didn't feel quite the same as him," Michael added.
- "In any case, if we don't take into account the Pillar demons finishing off the remaining Evil Dragons, even those who attacked the clan houses, we should check on the children. I feel that they are still fighting and seem to be making progress," I shrugged, ignoring both Michael and Azazel.
- "The children?" Serafall, whom I had just freed, asked, putting her finger to her lips and tilting her head to one side. After a couple of seconds of realization, her eyes instantly widened and filled with panic, as did the rest, except for Goetia and me. "So-tan is fighting?! Why?! I told her to stay home! Don't worry, little sister is on her way!"
- "You're not going anywhere," I said calmly, restraining her again, and several more chains twisted menacingly around the other Demon Lords and Grayfia. "And you too. There are three heirs with their retinues. And against them - only seven dragons. The odds are more than in favor of the brave but foolish children."
- "But..." Sirzechs was about to object when ten more of my chains appeared around him.
- "Enough wiping their noses, they've already been baptized in blood," I shrugged and created a teleportation circle leading straight to Rias and the others who were fighting quite far from here.
Well, let's see how they react when one big mama's boy arrives.
-0-
Once behind Rias, the first thing I saw was a spear of Power of Destruction flying towards me, which, of course, was blocked.
- "Hm? Your manners are getting worse and worse, Tomato-kun," I smirked.
- "Rias, don't get distracted!" Sona shouted without turning around and without stopping sending waves of water.
- "I have a lot to ask you, but now is not the time," she said firmly, sending another spear at the Evil Dragon.
- "Oh? Now I'm curious what questions you might have," I chuckled and turned my gaze to the battlefield.
As expected, all three heirs and their entourages acted as if they had been training for years.
Sairaorg acted as the vanguard, drawing all the enemies' attention to himself. Now he really looked like some kind of manga protagonist, radiating valor, purity, and heroism. I suppose this was influenced by both the situation and his mother's recovery.
Sona also shone on the battlefield, but in a slightly different way. Now there was a certain independence in her gaze as she devoted herself completely to the task at hand, regardless of something as trivial as how others saw her. It was Sona who coordinated the actions of the entire group, including Rias and Sairaorg, and her entourage, as if picking up on their King's new state of mind, also became much better.
Rias, on the other hand... was good. Her control over the Power of Destruction had increased significantly, and now she calmly adjusted each of the twelve. However, her attacks, which, mind you, were second in strength only to Sairaorg's, showed anxiety and a desire for something. The same was true of her retinue, and, of course, I understood perfectly well what question was troubling them.
In any case, they dealt with the dragons fairly quickly, after which they gathered around Rias, glancing briefly at me.
- "Romani-san! Good to see you!" "Since you're here, does that mean we're the last ones?"
- "Yep," I replied. "The rest have already been destroyed by Goetia and the Pillar Demons."
- "So my feelings weren't wrong. They were Pillar Demons," Sairaorg nodded. "Do you think they'll let me fight any of them in this form?"
- "My king," said Kuisha Abaddon, his queen with blonde hair and green eyes, cooling Sairaorg's enthusiasm with a professional tone. "I apologize for my king's behavior, Lord Romani. He sometimes gets carried away in the heat of battle. He has already tried to confront the Great Ancestor Bael in human form, where he lost rather quickly."
- "So, it wasn't meant to be," I smiled, while Sairaorg just laughed again, and Kuisha shook her head. "Well, since you're done here, then..."
- "Why are you here, Sensei?" Sona interrupted me, adjusting her glasses.
- "I..."
- "That can wait," I was interrupted again, but this time it was Rias. "Where is Issei? Kiba told me about your conversation, and I want answers. This time, without any vagueness or your stupid immaturity."
I looked at the group in front of me, where I was met with looks of hope, pleading, and expectation. Kiba, on top of that, smiled guiltily.
- "What a habit young people have of interrupting speakers," I rolled my eyes and pointed my finger at the sky, where their eyes immediately rushed.
- "And?" Rias asked impatiently. "What were we supposed to see there?"
I sighed wearily and snapped my fingers, after which a chain appeared under Rias, slapping her on the butt and causing her to fall.
- "How dare you..." Rias started to say and was about to throw a couple of spears at me when a powerful roar sounded in the sky. It caught the attention of the whole group, and Rias froze and immediately turned her gaze to the sky.
There, in the scarlet sky of the Underworld, a huge crack suddenly opened, from which the Great Red emerged majestically. Another roar sounded, raising the wind and releasing a wave of power, and then his huge and terrifying shadow covered us.
This presentation looked cool and all, but it made my eye twitch, because I didn't miss the look he gave me.
- "Showing off, huh? We'll talk later, don't worry. Later, in front of your mother, Great Red," I said vengefully.
- "The Great Red?!" Sona exclaimed with contorted fate. "What is he doing in the Underworld?!"
She never got an answer, because a red dot jumped off the dragon's back and approached us at tremendous speed. A couple of seconds later, it crashed into Rias, raising a cloud of dust. And when it cleared, we saw Issei, who was hugging Rias tightly, even with tears in his eyes.
- "President! I finally got to see you! I have so much to tell you!" he repeated, without letting go of Rias. The members of her entourage took a second to realize what was happening, then joined them, and it all turned into a logical emotional reunion with lots of tears, snot, and so on.
- "Vritra said that Issa now has the body of a dragon. The body of a dragon with the scent of the Great Red..." Sona muttered, standing next to me. "That's why you started your game, huh?"
- "Yeah. He'll need it, because it's not hard to predict future events, given the obvious factors," I shrugged.
- "You really do have a heart..." she said, almost in a whisper, to which I just shrugged again.
- "I'm leaving, since everything is over," I said, and my magic circle lit up beneath me. "The rest of you should also become stronger. You, in particular."
And when the teleportation had almost brought me home, I noticed Akeno's gaze and her lips, with which she silently said just one word.
- "Thank you..."
-0-
A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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