Disclaimer: All characters depicted in this story are eighteen years of age or older. Any sexual content involves only consenting adults. This is a work of fiction.
Author's note: Not much to say. University sucks ass and I hate it here.
A Marvelous Devil.
Chapter 75: A Master's Advice.
Rudiger Rosenkreutz.
Ashen Court, two days later.
When Lady Serafall approached me with a potential answer to my problem, I honestly hadn't believed her. Maybe it was traitorous to think like that, because she was very knowledgeable and a particularly kind devil, but I had looked everywhere for an answer.
Well, almost everywhere. The remaining options weren't ones we wanted to consider.
But we simply couldn't lose Konrad.
Maria had been distraught but also excited at the possibility of finally finding an answer that wouldn't require us to sell our souls to someone dangerous.
Which was something we would have done to save our son.
The only reason we hadn't was that arranging a meeting with beings capable of something like that was easier said than done.
Tightening my grip on my wife's hand, I looked up at the castle's imposing doors.
My wife and Queen smiled, trying to calm my nerves as she always did.
But she didn't understand what I had seen.
Hell, I didn't understand it myself.
She was a bright devil, a member of the house that had reincarnated me all those years ago, and quite good at magic to boot. But she wasn't as good as me.
And what Dante Andromalius had done was no mere magic. It couldn't be. No technique I knew could explain it, and I still struggled to accept that someone who was young even by human standards had accomplished what every devil worth their salt had attempted since the original Lucifer created our race.
He had made Konrad immune to the holy power of his Sacred Gear.
… Somehow.
I returned her smile with a fake one, hiding my troubled thoughts. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about it since the Satan had approached me alongside the young lord, promising that it wasn't some joke in poor taste.
The worst part was that the woman herself hadn't even known what the blond devil would do, having been just as bewildered as I was, if not more so.
Because, unlike most, she understood what would happen if that knowledge became public.
War. It could reignite the conflict between the Abrahamic factions in an instant.
At moments like this, I wondered if selling our souls to Hades or, hell, maybe even the original Lucifer's son would have been better.
Because despite asking for nothing more than my friendship in return, I felt the leash tightening even further whenever the young man looked at me with those knowing eyes.
It was like I had no secrets from him. Absurd, because I had barely met him twice.
But here I was, because I couldn't allow my family's savior to face someone as dangerous as Roygun for the sake of some political games. Obvious ones, at that.
"Lord Rosenkreutz, Lady Mammon." A pale, dark-haired woman smiled politely from the entrance. "Dante told us you were coming. Please, follow me."
"You must be Nyra." My wife smiled, shaking her hand. "My husband mentioned you would be waiting for us. I have to say, I didn't expect to meet the girl who sent Paimon and his cronies packing."
Nyra blushed before scowling.
"They had it coming," she said, turning around. "And it wasn't only me."
Maria giggled at the way the girl's ears turned red.
Looking around the castle, I couldn't hide my surprise at how… humble it was.
Oh, that didn't mean the place didn't scream wealth, but it wasn't achieved through absurd attempts at showing off, unlike many other noble houses. No, what told me this place was special was the sheer variety and potency of the wards.
I wasn't sure how long it would take me to crack some of them, and without tooting my own horn, I was one of the best magicians the Underworld had to offer.
I had heard rumors that Lord Beelzebub had been involved in the renewal of the territory, and at this moment, I couldn't find any reason to doubt them.
Because the alternative was even worse, it was easier to accept that Ajuka Beelzebub had a hand in this than to believe Dante Andromalius had done everything by himself.
"It's beautiful," Maria said sincerely, her eyes widening just a bit as she observed the place with the same mind that had made me fall in love with her all those decades ago.
I knew my wife well, and if she wasn't wondering how difficult it would be to besiege this place, I'd eat my own foot. She even winced before shaking her head in respect.
"I'm sure Celestine will love to hear your praise, Lady Mammon," Nyra chuckled. "They should still be in the great hall. Come on."
We spent the rest of the walk in silence, observing the admittedly small number of servants and guards inside the castle.
I could sense Maria's confusion, but she didn't say anything.
Not even when their already small numbers dwindled further the deeper we went.
Minutes later, the final pair of guards opened a door made of reinforced demonic wood.
I frowned slightly. They were strong for mere run-of-the-mill guards. High-class at the very least, with the obvious leader being a fair bit stronger than the other.
And yet, they had none of the arrogance that devils usually displayed upon reaching that level.
Their movements showed their training, but not in the refined way I usually encountered in the Rating Game circuit. There was an animalistic quality to them.
I wondered how Dante Andromalius trained his troops for them to turn out like this.
I had expected to spar with Lord Andromalius, maybe offer some pointers to his new peerage on how to fight in a Rating Game.
What I hadn't expected was to find Ajuka Beelzebub sitting at the table.
Much less being fussed over by none other than Celestine Andromalius.
And the Satan simply took it all with a neutral expression, thanking her as he accepted what could only be his third cup of the Andromalius family's famous tea.
I couldn't blame him for that, not with how much Maria loved it. A significant portion of our budget had been set aside to keep a well-stocked warehouse of the stuff.
The Satan looked up from his cup, sighed, then glared at Dante, who only beamed at us.
"Rudiger!" Dante grinned. "And you must be the brat's mom. How's the kid?"
"He's in fine health, thanks to you, Lord Andromalius." I dipped my head. "Lord Beelzebub, my apologies. I didn't know you had a meeting with our host."
"You weren't supposed to know," Ajuka said calmly.
Dante rolled his eyes at the man.
But still… "I can return another day."
"Nope." Dante waved his hand in my direction. "It's perfect timing, in fact. Ajuka was doing me a favor, and you're here for a similar reason. Everyone wins."
I wondered how many devils could claim to have seen the most intelligent devil in the Underworld twitch with irritation from head to toe.
Or how abruptly it ended when Celestine Andromalius refilled his cup to the brim, letting out a tired sigh and giving him a commiserating glance.
"What do you mean?" Ajuka asked, looking at the blond.
"Ah, I know you're getting bored with one of the two gifts from last time. Especially since you still haven't cracked the dark force," Dante said with a gloating smirk. "So, I just had the idea to give you even more interesting information while leaving you hanging, because it's hilarious to see you sulking. And Rudy over there wants to help me prepare for the Rating Game."
Maria gaped at him, her eyes wide with disbelief at the sheer disrespect the young lord showed toward one of our leaders.
But I knew it wasn't disrespect. He simply did not care.
Though having seen how he treated Lady Leviathan hadn't exactly prepared me to see Lord Beelzebub treated the same way. There was a distinct difference between their personalities.
"You're a lucky man, Dante," the Satan said with a faint groan as Dante grinned victoriously.
Then Dante's smile turned gentler. "But I believe it would be best if your lady wife stayed here. We'll be going somewhere particularly dangerous."
I narrowed my eyes. I didn't think he was the kind of man who would make light of Maria's abilities.
He met my gaze with a seriousness that seemed somewhat out of place before I nodded.
Maria looked at me questioningly before sighing.
"I'm sure Mother would love some company. Hell, I'd really appreciate it if you could give Sairaorg and Rias some pointers. They'll probably be back soon from their early morning training. I know someone with your experience would be invaluable to them."
And Maria did a complete one-eighty in an instant. Not that the curiosity disappeared from her eyes, but she nodded at Celestine just as Dante winked at me with a grin.
"Now come on, I'm sure my girls are already raring to go!" He laughed loudly as Celestine Andromalius sighed and pinched his cheek.
Rudiger Rosenkreutz.
Sealed zone.
This was another thing I hadn't expected when coming here.
I wasn't even sure where exactly we were as Lord Beelzebub and I glanced up at the darkest sky I had ever seen in my very long life.
Dante had called his peerage to the great hall and teleported us here with that strange magic of his, a spell that made Lord Beelzebub scowl in irritation when he saw it, much to Dante's amusement.
But as curious as I was about Dante's peerage, I couldn't help but focus more on the barrier separating us from the outside world.
I didn't have the slightest idea how he had made it, nor what system he had used. I couldn't even sense demonic power coming from it, though there were hints of something similar.
One layer of the barrier felt cold, a cold that reached all the way to my very soul.
A second one felt strange, almost… similar to life force? But it was an application I had never seen before, and much, much purer than usual.
The third was the only demonic thing I could sense from it. A blue fire that… screamed in pain and torment. Quite literally, at that.
And the air around us felt like it weighed several times more than the air outside.
I couldn't blame Dante for keeping Maria out of this. My wife was strong, but I had a feeling I needed to remain cautious to stay safe.
Every hair on my body stood on end. And I trusted my instincts.
Something roared in the distance. Then another. Then hundreds of screams.
"What is this?" I asked cautiously as I watched the girls' shoulders tense, their eyes sharpening as they stared into the distance, bracing for something they knew was coming.
"Our training ground." Dante shrugged calmly.
I stared at him in disbelief as Lord Beelzebub's eyes focused on something in the distance.
"Dante, what the hell?" he asked.
"Nice, right?" He grinned proudly. "I knew you'd find it interesting."
"The demonic power inside this place is ten times denser than anywhere else in the Underworld," the Satan deadpanned. "Does it follow the same process as the crystal you paid me with?"
"Nope." Dante grinned but said nothing more as he stretched out his arm and caught a creature in a firm grip.
I hadn't even sensed it being there. It simply materialized the moment he caught it.
His hand glowed brightly as saliva dripped from the bizarre beast's maw, sizzling on the ground.
"They're even worse now," he muttered curiously. "I wonder what's going on."
"Is that poison?" I asked, looking at the two-foot-long creature dangling in the air.
"Something along those lines." Dante nodded, poking its teeth with his free hand before looking at me with a slight frown. "Wanna try? Tandy can heal you if something goes wrong, don't worry."
It was good that Maria wasn't here, because there was a very simple reason I was such a good magician even back when I was human.
I was way too curious for my own good.
Lord Beelzebub gave me a look I decided to ignore as I stretched a finger beneath the creature's maw.
After all, how bad could it be? The thing was barely above mid-class.
The viscous liquid fell onto my hand, and I wanted to widen my eyes in surprise, but my body suddenly felt lethargic. I blinked in confusion for a moment before snapping out of it with a flare of demonic power and taking a step back.
"What the hell?" I looked at the snarling thing in front of me.
"It does feel similar to what Sirzechs told me about Valak Beelzebub," Lord Beelzebub said flatly, examining the creature.
"Venom, poison, corrosive fluids. All kinds of effects, from paralysis to outright disintegration." Dante nodded. "Most of the monsters here developed something along those lines even before I did what I did."
"Interesting." Ajuka sent one final glance at the creature before Dante snapped its neck.
The Satan's tone made me glance at him, but he was no longer looking at the corpse.
He was looking deeper into the walls. Directly into the castle.
"Hell no." Dante snorted. "You lot lost the right to it as soon as you gave me the deed. It's not my fault you didn't care enough to investigate properly."
Ajuka blinked before focusing on Dante once more. "I didn't even say anything."
"Your face did." Dante rolled his eyes. "And I'm telling you, I'm using it even if I have no idea what's inside. I don't care enough at the moment to investigate when it gives me an uncountable number of reasonably strong disposable monsters to play with."
"Do you have any idea what it could be?" Ajuka asked.
Dante shook his head. "Not in the slightest. I haven't heard of anything that could explain these kinds of mutations. My best guess is that whatever Valak used to power himself up during the civil war is hidden down there. I might check it out when it stops being useful."
Ajuka grunted. "Did you start throwing the spies you mentioned in here? Could that be why the numbers I'm sensing are as absurd as they are?"
Tandy, the only member of the peerage I knew at this point, giggled. "Not at all. He hasn't even started figuring out who they are. I think he's waiting for his Rating Game to be over."
Dante nodded unashamedly. "I'm hoping to bet on myself, and I have a feeling the odds will go down if I start acting less idiotic."
I made a mental note to remain silent. It didn't have anything to do with me, and even if I didn't approve of slaughtering anyone, it wasn't my place to lecture him on why it was morally wrong.
Dante turned around and clapped loudly, his grin growing somewhat predatory.
"Girls, are you rested enough to start? Eh, it doesn't matter. You'll find your pace eventually."
The three girls I didn't know winced, while Tandy just giggled excitedly.
I had seen two of them during the Astaroth party, but they had been human back then. And now he had one more, probably a human too.
I frowned at that. Usually, recruiting pieces in such a short amount of time wasn't a good idea. Teamwork was essential in every peerage, and adding pieces that didn't mesh well rarely worked out, even if they were talented.
"That's Jean; she took all my pawn pieces," Dante explained as the redheaded woman floated several centimeters off the ground, then lowered herself with a sheepish smile. "And look, she can learn, even if it took almost losing her arm because she didn't pay attention."
The girl glared at him as the other three laughed. It wasn't mocking, at least. That was a good sign. A peerage where the pieces didn't like each other was a bomb waiting to go off.
But I was curious about what they were talking about.
"That's Wanda, my newest Bishop. She's been a devil for exactly two days." Dante snorted as the auburn-haired girl, dressed entirely in red, flipped him off with a scowl.
"This wasn't what I signed up for, bastard," she huffed.
"It's tough love." Dante winked. "You can't hide how happy you are to finally let go after barely using your power."
Wanda shivered for a moment as a smile appeared on her face before the scowl returned, much less pronounced.
Hm. A complicated past? Maybe that's why she joined him so quickly.
Did she have a troublesome Sacred Gear or innate magic?
Her hands glowed red as she nodded to herself.
"And that's Rogue, my precious goth and knight." He tilted his head as the girl blushed, then she scoffed.
Dante gestured toward the castle.
"You know the drill, girls. Go wild."
I waited for him to give more orders.
He didn't say anything, merely raising his hand as something descended slightly from the dark sky.
An orb that made me dizzy just by looking at it.
The creatures went wild. Roaring, screaming, panting, as the darkish tint of the orb washed over the girls.
The girls shuddered in discomfort before determined expressions appeared on their faces.
"Anything else, Dante?" Rogue asked tiredly.
"Erm…" Dante frowned. "Have fun?"
"Anything else?" Jean put a hand on her hip and looked at him crossly as Tandy giggled.
"Be safe?" He shrugged. "I mean, don't get eaten… or something."
Tandy snorted.
"You're lucky you're cute," Wanda chuckled in disbelief.
Were they all part of his harem? I mean, he was a young King, so I wasn't that surprised, but it made me wonder if he had picked them for their potential or just for their looks. It was a mistake I had seen often enough among devils his age.
I turned toward him. "What's your plan? Your strategy?"
"Yes." He grinned before laughing at my scowl. "Just watch, man, and chill a bit."
The dark sky turned white.
I flinched as Tandy raised both hands, light pouring from her body. It just looked so… similar to holy magic, but it wasn't. Thankfully.
Every devil with a brain knew that we needed to stay away from it as much as possible. Or at least the majority of us, because I didn't believe for even a second that Dante Andromalius hadn't done to his peerage whatever he had done to Konrad.
But Tandy's power was different. It didn't carry the immediate rejection holy power inspired in our bodies.
The first spear formed above her. Then ten. Then a hundred.
The only reason I managed to count all two thousand three hundred and sixty-six spears was because of my experience.
"What the…" I murmured in surprise, watching all those weapons spread across the sky like the end of times.
"Pure life force." Ajuka's eyes brightened as a curious smile grew on his face.
"You sure?" Dante grinned.
Then the previously dangerous but not particularly threatening spears filled me with a dread I knew came from my very essence.
Tandy brought her hands down. The first wave fell, and the forest vanished beneath the light, which turned dozens of creatures into shadows before those shadows, too, disappeared.
That was one Bishop.
Then Jean took flight.
A shadow, much faster than a normal high-class Knight, lunged toward her back with its claws extended.
But it stopped in place.
There was no sign of demonic power or even magic forming, nor was she using her wings to fly. She simply floated on her own.
Hundreds of surviving creatures, and even more that had taken the places of the fallen, stopped in their tracks just like the one behind her.
It wasn't time magic; I knew that much. But the entire battlefield froze mid-movement, including the gently swaying trees, the falling leaves, and several creatures that seemed to weigh more than mortal trains.
Then Jean flicked two fingers, and everything went in the opposite direction.
The sound reached us a moment later, and I couldn't help but stare at the bodies falling to the ground. Ajuka wasn't even blinking as he stared at the red-haired girl, who gently descended with a sheen of perspiration on her forehead.
Dante looked delighted.
"Hm. She's getting better. She didn't even bleed today."
"Bleed?" I asked seriously.
"Overwhelming multitasking," Ajuka replied as Jean floated just a bit higher. "Her control is immaculate, Dante. Where on earth are you finding these humans?"
"On Earth?" Dante replied, the quirk of his lips suggesting he found his own answer far funnier than I did. "But you haven't seen anything yet."
Jean took a deep breath as a hazy aura flared around her body. She brought a hand to her forehead and scrunched her nose.
Out of nowhere, the next wave of creatures stumbled, but they didn't stop this time.
No, that would have made more sense. This time, some attacked one another as if in a trance, uncaring of their injuries as they fought to their dying breath. Others ran directly toward Rogue.
She was waiting there, hitting the first monster hard enough to send its body across the clearing and into the moat.
That, at least, was the only thing I had seen today that made any sense.
Strength, speed, and physical reinforcement. A normal piece, finally.
Then poison erupted from her open mouth, the gaseous breath corroding the bodies of dozens of creatures in moments.
I stared in disbelief.
"Isn't that…?" I looked at Dante.
"Keep looking." He grinned and raised his chin proudly.
Rogue's body suddenly ignited with the very same light Tandy had used. It covered her entire body, though she wielded it in a completely different way.
"How?" I looked at Ajuka, who shrugged with a confused expression.
"By touch," Dante replied.
"She copies abilities? What's the limit?" I asked.
Dante shrugged. "We haven't found any, at least for now. It depends on how long she drains someone."
"Temporarily?" Ajuka asked.
"For now? Yeah. I'll give her some spies later so we can find out how much she can hold." Dante chuckled excitedly.
Wanda made her move for the first time. One of the larger beasts charged toward her. Her hands moved as a bolt of scarlet light struck its chest.
And it didn't harm the beast who roared in confusion before it sped up.
Then it stumbled as its leg landed awkwardly.
The next step made even less sense as the ground beneath it softened almost like quicksand. Its bone snapped somehow as its body twisted in the worst way imaginable before crashing into a second beast, whose horn pierced its throat.
A third creature, one that was trying to eat Rogue, stumbled, and the girl missed her haymaker because of it, plunging her fist into its maw instead of its chin.
Rogue screamed as the venom began eating away at her skin before a wave of light exploded from her body.
"Sorry!" Wanda squeaked nervously as Rogue glared at her.
Jean forced the remaining creatures into the air to give them some respite before Tandy reduced them to cinders, sending a rope made of pure light through them and cutting them to pieces.
Inefficient. Jean could have finished them by herself.
Tandy threw herself in front of Rogue and began healing her. Her skin began to reform almost instantly as the venom was cleansed before our very eyes.
"Careful next time, Wanda, dear." Dante rolled his eyes.
"I didn't mean to!" Wanda huffed, even as she looked worriedly at Rogue, who nodded a moment later.
Ajuka made an expression I didn't know someone like him could make. "What exactly did you mean to do?"
"Magic?" Wanda asked before throwing another bolt.
"Dante, what the fuck?" Ajuka uncharacteristically gaped. "All my readings keep going funky."
"Hehe." Dante giggled like a kid. "Oh, you're going to hate her so much."
Then he fell silent.
For the first time since I arrived, I found myself grateful that even Ajuka Beelzebub was just as baffled as I was. As absurd as that was.
The battle continued, if it could even be called that. It was more like an extermination.
Jean moved through the sky, carefully avoiding the creatures trying to bring her down from every direction. She was like an invisible hand that had seized control of the battlefield. Tandy erased entire hordes of monsters in a single attack, while Rogue bounced between stolen abilities with no concern for specialization.
Wanda was the greenest of them all, and perhaps the most chaotic, given that many of her actions triggered events that weren't particularly good for her teammates.
Other times, without even trying, she caused moments where everything went absurdly, unbelievably well.
And I still had no idea what she was doing.
Dante occasionally entered the battlefield, and those moments made things even worse.
If he wasn't attacking his own peerage to keep them alert, he was destroying things in ways that threw his own team into disarray. But I didn't mention it because it was clear he was doing it for a reason.
I didn't agree with his methods, but I couldn't say they weren't producing results.
Jean and Tandy both tried to take the lead, and I could see where the confusion began. Tandy was Dante's first peerage member, but it was clear that Jean had far more experience leading than she did, which caused some confusion within the team.
Tandy didn't look offended, but she was used to acting on her own. Rogue and Wanda seemed accustomed to following Jean's directions, which wasn't exactly a problem unless Tandy and Jean gave conflicting orders.
I sighed even as a small smile appeared on my face. It was endearing that despite being so absurd individually…
"They're terrible, Dante," I chuckled.
Dante turned toward me as Ajuka finally tore his disbelieving gaze from Wanda.
"Excuse me?" he asked curiously.
"Your peerage," I said, watching Rogue grab a monster and hold on until it stopped moving. "They're terrible at Rating Games."
Dante hummed curiously before nodding. He then laughed loudly, looking genuinely amused.
Smiling at his lack of offense, I pointed at Jean. "She's trying to do everything by herself."
"Because she can." He nodded.
"And that's irrelevant." I rolled my eyes. "Even if she can monitor the entire battlefield, attack half the enemy team, protect her teammates, and coordinate their movements simultaneously, it doesn't mean she should, Dante. It makes the others depend on her too much."
"That's a good point. Maybe she should teach the rest to lead. I fear they don't enjoy my methods very much."
Four attacks came our way as Dante blocked them with darkness, then sent them back where they came from with an amused cackle. The girls cursed at him as they barely managed to dodge.
"That would help, yes." My lips twitched. It was kind of healthy… in a way. "But for the moment, if someone takes her out, the rest could crumble. Roygun isn't an idiot. Even if your Pawn has some tricks up her sleeve, Roygun could sacrifice a few pieces to keep her busy."
Ajuka nodded at that.
I pointed toward Rogue next.
"Your Knight has no defined role, and you don't seem interested in deciding what she should be doing at any given moment."
"She can fill every role." Dante shrugged. "I like to give them the freedom to do what they want."
"Exactly!" I nodded, feeling excitement at the possibilities she presented. "But you aren't using her to her full potential. She could be doing so much more, but she'll be in a bad spot once people learn to read her tells. She's fine for now, considering no one knows her, but later? Roygun is smart enough to figure them out during the very same game."
"What about Tandy?" Dante asked curiously.
"She's the most noticeable of the four." I shook my head. "And that means she'll become everyone's first target. She's also the only known variable, even if the majority of the Underworld is still in the dark about her capabilities."
Then I looked at Wanda before raising my hands in defeat.
"I have no idea what that one is." I shook my head.
Dante chuckled at that.
"But it's clear that her power doesn't always do what she intends. She could improve, sure. You still have two weeks, but I don't know how much you'll be able to fix that problem in such a short time."
"With my methods?" He looked at the auburn-haired girl, who shivered for some reason. "I'll make it work."
"What about me?" he asked with amusement.
"You're the worst of your peerage," I snorted.
Lord Beelzebub actually laughed, making Dante glare at him in betrayal.
"You move wherever you want because you feel you're the strongest person in the room."
"Because I am," he said plainly.
Ignoring the fact that Ajuka wasn't even ten meters away from him.
I sighed. Kids these days.
"Your entire strategy is built around the assumption that if something goes wrong, you can personally erase the problem. That no one can do anything to you."
"What's the problem with that?" he asked in confusion.
The fact that I could tell he was being genuine made it even worse.
"That method works in real life, but Rating Games aren't like that," I explained patiently. "It will work until the game gives you an objective you cannot accomplish by killing whatever is in front of you."
His expression turned thoughtful at that.
"Protecting a piece, controlling terrain, preventing promotion. Tactics, Dante. They exist for a reason. And you're going against someone who has studied every rule until she knows them inside out."
He smiled a moment later.
"Rudy?"
My eye twitched at that. "What?"
"I think I'm going to enjoy having you around."
Ajuka sighed at that. "I suspect Roygun will not, but I can't say I don't want to see how it ends. Having seen this just now, I might as well bet more than I originally intended."
I looked at him in disbelief as a loud bang drew our attention away, and I saw the girls staring at Wanda in irritation.
The Bishop stared at the hole in the castle wall.
"It's not my fault, damn it!"
Dante burst out laughing at the embarrassment practically radiating from the girl before an even louder roar came from within the walls.
I froze in place for a moment before Dante's eyes shone blue as a pillar of blue fire erupted from the barrier and the sky, sealing the hole in an instant.
That thing felt stronger than me…
"Whoops. Better not push them that far yet." He shook his head, then snapped his fingers as the orb of darkness from earlier enveloped the girls even more thoroughly than before, and the creatures went berserk.
"Stop dawdling, you brats," he snapped. "You're food right now. Act like it."
The girls' eyes widened as more monsters appeared out of nowhere, saliva practically frothing from their maws.
I suddenly felt I was here to help the four girls rather than their King. Power was not his problem, and I knew he wasn't as blind as he acted for amusement.
But damn if he wasn't kind of an asshole… Hell, I might as well earn some brownie points with Lord Lucifer by saving his sister from the real monster.
I had a feeling I'd spend a long time before the game trying to explain to the girls how to defeat Roygun. Because it was clear I wouldn't get through his thick head in time.
One Week Later.
Azazel, The Underworld.
"Oy, you brats, sit down." I scowled at the pacing idiots who didn't think it was important to watch our new friend's first appearance in live television.
"You're way too excited for a boy, Azazel." Penemue snorted. "Makes me wonder if he made you switch teams."
Shemhazai nearly snorted his drink through his nose, some of Dante's own product. It was hilarious how the bastard managed to get a completely different faction addicted to his shit so fast. I had even seen Kokabiel drinking the stuff with a scowl on his face.
"You're an idiot, and I'm banning you from his tea for two weeks," I grunted, glaring at her as she paled.
Little sister of mine. She should know by now that she shouldn't mock me when I was this invested in something.
"What is this about, Azazel?" Vali grunted from his seat, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else but here.
Baraqiel sat silently on the right as I turned the screen on.
"Why are you even that excited? It's just a bunch of devils playing around." Vali scowled.
"Not this time." I shook my head at the brat. "And I thought you would be interested in seeing someone your age who might be stronger than you."
That shut Vali up. I barely avoided rolling my eyes at the idiot. I shouldn't have sent him to the Nephilim Academy back when he was at an impressionable age.
The DevilNet broadcast had already started. Roygun Belphegor was seated beneath enough lights to make the whole thing feel more like a celebrity gathering than an interview in preparation for their match.
The viewer count in the corner kept climbing.
Two hundred thousand. Three. Four.
Shemhazai whistled in disbelief. "That's absurd, considering it's his first time."
"Roygun is ranked second. She must be pulling most of the numbers." Penemue rolled her eyes.
"I wouldn't bet on that," I muttered under my breath.
The presenter finished welcoming Roygun as the gorgeous devil crossed her legs and flashed a polite smile at the cameras.
Then the doors behind the stage opened.
And there he was. Walking into the room like he owned the building, wearing a cocky smirk.
"Oh my." Penemue sat straighter. "Can't say I blame you for the crush, Azazel."
Oh my indeed. That smile made me want to break a couple of his teeth even if he was doing me a solid. I knew that fucking smile. It was the same one he'd worn when he pulled that shit with me.
He stepped in front of Roygun, completely ignoring the two announcers, and smiled a bit more gently.
Roygun looked at him curiously as he extended his hand.
Then he lifted hers to his lips.
The announcers fell silent, and neither of the two players spoke as they stared into each other's eyes with growing smiles.
"I believe I have to say it's a pleasure, Lady Belphegor." His voice carried a tone that didn't match the one I knew as he observed the devil in front of him.
There was an intensity in his eyes that could be felt even through the camera.
"The pleasure is mine, Lord Andromalius," Roygun replied a moment later, looking almost… flustered.
I knew that fucking feeling, damn it! He was doing the same thing he'd done to me! I knew I wasn't crazy; there was something weird about the bastard!
Dante's lips quirked ever so slightly before he finally broke eye contact.
Roygun's eyes widened a moment later, then a peal of laughter escaped her lips. "A pleasure indeed."
I looked at the viewer count, which had already surpassed two million.
Serafall and the rest had to thank Father's grace that this bastard was on their side.
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