Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
"What?" I asked while looking over my shoulder. Rias had a conflicted look on her face.
"Well, I... erm ..." Rias squirmed in her seat as she blushed slightly. I sighed and turned around, crossing my arms, raising an eyebrow, and impatiently tapping my foot on the floor.
"I don't have all day, Gremory." I said simply.
"Um, yeah, well, I... uh-" Rias tried to say awkwardly, closing my eyes in frustration.
"Just say it already." I said impatiently. Rias blushed.
"Phenex!" Rias squealed suddenly. My foot stopped, and I looked at her in confusion.
"Phenex?" I asked simply. Rias blushed a little more. Rias cleared her throat as if trying to gather her courage.
"I... wanted to know if... if everything is okay with the Phenex after the Rating Game." Rias said timidly. My eyes widened slightly.
"Well, I wasn't expecting that question," I blurted out. Rias looked embarrassed. I sighed and ruffled my hair lightly. "And you want to know, why?" I asked simply. Rias squirmed slightly more but didn't seem to shy away.
"It's just... Riser seemed angry... angrier than I've ever seen him, I- I didn't think my actions would affect him so much. I didn't mean for any of that to happen." Rias said remorsefully as she bit her lip. I snorted amusedly.
"What did you think would happen? He'd send you flowers as a gift? " I asked sarcastically. Rias flushed slightly. I rolled my eyes before smiling at her mockingly. "Are you feeling guilty?" I asked playfully. Rias gave me a defeated look.
"Y-yes, Riser… Riser was right, in everything he said. I took it out on him, even though he didn't deserve it." Rias said tiredly.
"I'm sure Riser's attitude wasn't helping matters," I said, amused. Rias sighed.
"Riser… it wasn't like this. Not always," Rias confessed. " I have to admit it took me a while to remember, but… we went on a date, you know? When we were informed of the engagement, we met at a restaurant. I- he tried, he behaved excellently, but I didn't listen, I didn't want to listen. I was angry and upset. So I took it out on him."
"I... I grabbed the wine and dinner he made and threw it in his face and left the restaurant." Rias said blushing. I burst out laughing.
"Thanks for that. I'll be sure to tease Riser about it later." I said playfully. Though I could hear a growl coming from Ravel in the back of my head, it seemed she was, and still is, upset about that incident. Riser apparently reported it.
"Don't do it, please." Rias almost begged. I snorted.
"I'm not promising anything," I said simply. "But if you must know how it all turned out afterward, well, Riser screamed, hated me, and hit me a couple of times." I said blandly. Rias's eyes widened.
"Oh Satan, I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean for any of that to happen." Rias said quickly as she apologized, almost stammering. I dismissed her apologies with a wave of my hand.
"No need, after that I hit him, insulted him, he insulted me, we fought a little more, and now we're okay. Well, as okay as normal, I would say." I said playfully. Rias looked at me cautiously.
"Are you sure? And the rest of the Phenex? " Rias asked carefully.
"Everything's fine with them. Ravel helped smooth everything over. We talked about it a lot," I said vaguely. Rias stared at me as if she was trying to find some deception, apparently deciding she couldn't find anything in my expression and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Satan." Rias murmured in relief. "I'm really glad to hear that." Rias smiled slightly. I looked at her amusedly.
"I really didn't think you cared about Riser or the Phenex, my opinion of you grew a bit, congratulations, you're in neutral territory." I said playfully. Rias raised an eyebrow.
"Neutral territory? Please, at least it should be-wait, neutral, now?! Does that mean I was in negative territory!? " Rias asked incredulously, almost offended. I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at her.
"We've met three times, and none of them were positive. The first time was during my engagement to Ravel, you treated me like I had the plague and kept running away from me." Rias blushed slightly. "The second time, you brought a Satan to force me to offer you help against my brother-in-law." Rias shuddered. "And the third time was the Rating Game, and you know how that turned out." Rias grimaced before finally pouting.
"Even so, just neutral?" Rias complained, grumbling and looking away in embarrassment. I could hear Akeno laughing at her king from the side. I rolled my eyes.
"If that was all, I'll leave," I said finally.
"Wait!" Rias said again, and I groaned in frustration.
"Now what, woman?" I growled annoyedly. Rias snorted.
"First, rude. Second, it's not my fault you're trying to escape. I'm trying to be a good hostess and have a good conversation." Rias complained arrogantly. I rolled my eyes, walked over to the sofa, and plopped down without a care. I took out a cigarette from my inventory, a snap later, and it was lit. "Do you have to do that here?" Rias asked while wrinkling her nose.
Akeno just started walking to the window and opened it without hesitation, and she was also giving me a dirty look.
"Don't get so flustered, Gremory. It's not some addictive drug or anything, in case you must know, it's just something I create in my spare time." I said as I took a drag. "And don't worry about the residual smoke, I'll make sure to get rid of it when I leave. You wanted to talk to me, don't complain." I grunted lightly. Rias grimaced before sighing.
"Fine, if the smell lingers on the walls of my precious club, I'll charge the cleaning bill and send it to Pentagram City." Rias snorted. "Now, I'd like to talk about the holy swords, the Excalibur," Rias said. I looked at her questioningly.
"What's wrong with them?" I asked.
"How can you replicate them?" She asked directly. I looked at her flatly.
"Like all my weapons. There's nothing special about them other than being sacred." I said with amusement. Rias wrinkled her nose.
"It should be impossible. A devil replicating holy power? " Rias asked while wrinkling her nose. I just hummed.
"I mean, not really? It's because of how my power works, it just... happens when replicating everything. I don't generate it directly." I said with a shrug.
"And... you don't have any problem? I mean, it's still holy power. Can you use it without being damaged? Besides, there's the problem of compatibility with the Excalibur. Not everyone can use them, How did you do it?" Rias asked incredulously, and I shrugged.
"They're my own creations, of course, I can use them." I said, amusedly as I watched Rias lose her mind. Yes, UBW broke all compatibility and ability rules. "Besides, my stamina is good, and my regeneration is even better. A holy sword would need to stab me before I'd even start to feel any discomfort. And I'm not stupid enough to stab myself with my own sword." I said dryly. Rias snorted.
"So… the reason for giving that Excalibur to Yuuto?" Rias asked cautiously. I raised an eyebrow.
"The amount of hatred I felt from your knight toward the Excaliburs, even the replicas I created, was truly palpable. I don't mind letting him take it out on something I'm capable of mass-producing. Perhaps that'll calm him down," I said dryly. Rias grimaced.
"Yes… Yuuto… he has a history with the Excaliburs." Rias said sadly.
"The Holy Swords project." I said simply. Rias narrowed her eyes dangerously. I snorted as I took a drag on my cigarette. "The entire Underworld knows about your servants, Gremory; it's not really difficult to get information on them." I said amusedly. Rias clicked her tongue.
"So, I still had another question." I sighed at Rias's words, wanting to go home. I sighed as I exhaled a plume of smoke at the ceiling.
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June 10, 2008 - Serena Pov.
I was in my lab playing with Twice Critical when I felt The Company's phone vibrate. It was good that even in the inventory, where time was slow, the phone was able to receive a signal. I took out my phone and dialed it without hesitation. There were only a few people who had my number.
"hello-"
"Lady Prince!! I need help!! " I stood up without hesitation when I heard the urgency in Maria's voice.
"Where are you?" I asked immediately.
"I -in the human world, in Wallachia!" Maria said quickly. While listening to the address Maria was reciting, I mentally located it. I didn't answer, I just created a portal and immediately went through it.
I looked around. I was in an alley, the first thing I saw was Maria on the ground with the phone in her hand, while she continued talking urgently, while her free hand tried to hold one of the multiple wounds of the person below her.
He was a devil, a low-class devil; he had cuts all over him, I could feel the holy power from every wound on his body, from the dozens of sword wounds that painted his entire body, especially his right arm, right where half of his arm was missing.
"Please, come here quickly - Lady Prince!" Maria squealed in surprise as she saw me standing in front of her before sighing in relief, then in urgency. "Hurry, he needs help!" Maria exclaimed as she threw her phone aside and looked down at the man below her.
Without hesitation, I crouched down and began casting healing spells. There wasn't much I could do to fully restore him, but I could stabilize him.
"Enid, I need you," I said without hesitation as I opened a portal behind me. Enid didn't need to answer; she stepped through the portal without hesitation.
"Oh my Gosh!" Enid squealed, paling considerably. However, she approached me and crouched down as her hands went to her hairpins. She quickly created the shield with her Sacred Gear and began to heal her wounds. I stood on end and looked at Maria.
"What happened?" I asked loudly.
" And -I was looking for a couple of succubi, when I found him, I-I didn't know what to do and y-y-you said to call you in case of any emergency!" Maria said quickly, and I grimaced.
"Slow down, and from the beginning." I said firmly, Maria grimaced before taking a deep breath.
"I'm in charge of assigning succubi to the human world. With so many succubi in Pentagram City now, not all of them can come to Wallachia at the same time, so we have a daily rotation. I was put in charge, and I've been managing it for a few weeks now," Maria began. My eyebrows raised slightly.
I was really impressed by how neat the succubi seemed to be, but I guess this wasn't the time to marvel at that.
"Since most of the comings and goings to the human world have to be recorded, there are arrival and departure times that the succubi have to adhere to. When two of them didn't arrive at their assigned time, I came to investigate."
"That's when I found him, wounded in the alley," Maria said, pointing at the man, slightly trembling. She was somewhat pale, but still holding strong.
"Didn't you find anything about succubi?" I asked, frowning. Maria bit her lip hard, reached into her pockets, and carefully pulled something out. She carefully cupped what she had on her and showed it to me. My eyes widened.
Two fingers. A woman's fingers, each with a ring bearing my seal. Those... those were the portkeys I'd made for the succubi? I gritted my teeth. I didn't know who had done this, but I could feel my fury rising rapidly.
"Nothing about them, but... these were on the side," Maria said shakily. "These are the portkeys you gave us. We hand them out to anyone going to the human world for safety, and we rotate them around." Maria said, staring at the fingers, almost dissociated. I frowned.
Okay, I really had to catch up with the succubi. They were really organized. I made several hundred portkeys when they were living in Lucifaad, but I stopped creating them when they moved to Pentagram City since they didn't need them. I guess they saw it the same way, so they started using them as a backup system for when they went to the human world.
It was really well thought out.
The problem was that whoever attacked them knew about the portkeys. They knew they couldn't be removed normally, so they cut off the fingers directly.
I carefully took Maria's fingers and held them. I had a way of figuring out where the rest of her body was, I just needed to—
"That's it! It's over! " Enid said immediately. I turned to the side as Enid shakily stood up, a little blood on her hands. I waved my hand and all the blood on the scene was removed. Enid sighed with relief.
"Thanks, sweetheart. You can come back, but I'll need help with the succubi. Please be attentive." I said softly as I kissed Enid gently. Enid took a deep breath as she calmed down. She nodded and gave me a hard look.
"Make them suffer. No one touches our girls." Enid spat, my eyes widening slightly as I giggled softly. It wasn't the time, but seeing Enid so bloodthirsty was a rare occasion. I opened a portal behind her as I nodded.
"Don't worry, I won't go easy on whoever's responsible. I'll probably give him to Bella to play with." I said simply. Enid nodded firmly and entered the portal, returning from where she was. I crouched down and looked at the completely healed low-class devil. He was quite young, around his mid-twenties. " Renervate ." I murmured as I touched the man's temple.
"Ha!" the man gasped as he sat up abruptly, his eyes darting around. "Where are the succubi?!" the man asked, his gaze unfocused. He stood up awkwardly as he continued to look around.
"Calm down," I ordered forcefully. The man finally seemed to look at me for the first time. The man paled, a look of regret on his face. Without hesitation, he dropped to one knee and bowed deeply.
"Lady Prince!" said the kneeling devil. I frowned.
"You're one of the devils who follows my queen," I said without hesitation. I could feel Bella humming in the back of my mind.
"Y-yes, Lady Prince. But I don't deserve it! I have failed terribly in my duty!" said the stricken devil.
"Just tell me what happened?" I asked, ignoring everything else. Yeah, I wouldn't get into all that.
"Yes, my Lady! I was patrolling Wallachia, as expected. I felt a surge of holy power from the alley. It's not uncommon to see a fallen angel hire a succubus, but they never expel holy power like that, much less in an alley."
"When I went to investigate, I found an exorcist who was kidnapping two of your succubi, my Lady! Their fingers had already been cut off, I tried to save them, but the exorcist had holy swords and was stronger. I'm sorry, my Lady!" said the devil, almost on the verge of tears.
"An exorcist? In Wallachia? " Do we have guests from church often? " I asked, frowning at Maria. Maria immediately shook her head.
"Normally, no one affiliated with the church comes to Wallachia. In fact, they reject us almost like the plague rejects succubi, so they don't come near us at all. Fallen angels, yes, and the other pantheons and supernatural beings also come to Wallachia to hire succubi, but not the church." Maria said immediately.
That… was another pretty useful piece of information. I didn't know Wallachia was becoming a rallying point for the races. Sex sells, sex is universal, and succubi are the best at it. I guess that was true for everyone.
"What was the exorcist like?" I asked in the direction of the devil.
"I didn't recognize him, but I got a good look at him. He was a Caucasian man, he had white hair and red eyes. He had a holy sword, he-" the devil trailed off uncertainly "-I can't say for sure, but I'm sure he had an Excalibur in his possession." The devil said uncertainly. Maria gasped.
"Sellzen?" I exclaimed incredulously, the devil finally looked up and stared at me with wide eyes.
"Does my Lady know him?" the devil asked, surprised. I wrinkled my nose. I took out my phone and immediately searched for a picture of Sellzen in The Company.
"Was this the exorcist?" I asked directly.
"Yes! It was him! " the devil said quickly. I wrinkled my nose.
" Freed Sellzen, he's a wandering exorcist. The last time I saw him, he was allied with the fallen angels, but I wouldn't put it past him to operate solo. He hates devils; he's known to indiscriminately attack and kill all devils." I said solemnly. I could hear Maria gasp once more, the kneeling devil bit his lip.
"So... the succubi..." the devil tried to ask as he looked down once more.
"Don't worry, they must be alive." I said simply.
" Are you sure ?" Maria asked quickly, really worried. I nodded, wrinkling my nose.
"Yeah, Sellzen has no qualms about killing his victims on the spot. Kidnapping her means he's planning something, and whatever Sellzen is planning, he needs them alive—for now." He said with a frown. I could hear both of them breathe a sigh of relief, though they still wore worried expressions.
"You also mentioned he had an Excalibur, didn't you? " I asked distractedly.
"Yes, my Lady, but I can't assure you it's her. I recognized her from images, but I've never seen the real one. Maybe I've got it wrong, I'm sorry," the devil said simply.
"Don't worry, that helps a lot. There are some rumors that Excaliburs were stolen from churches, three of them. So it wouldn't be strange for Sellzen to have one." I said simply. I knew Sellzen had three Excaliburs, but what I couldn't understand was why he would take the succubi. Why now. He should be in Japan with Kokabiel.
"Maria, find all the succubi and have them return to Pentagram City until further notice. Call me immediately if anything else comes up," I ordered Maria.
"Yes, My Lady!" Maria said firmly, and I nodded, looking at the devil.
"And you, well done, thanks for the information, it was invaluable. Escort Maria until she fulfills her duty, then return to the underworld." I said, the devil stood up and thumped his chest with his fist.
"It will be done, my Lady!" the devil said firmly, before blinking and looking at his arm. "Oh… I have my hand back," the devil muttered as if just realizing. I snorted in amusement.
"Thank Enid, she healed you. Now, go, I'll take care of finding the succubi." I said simply.
"Of course, I'll thank our Angel for her blessings," the devil said without hesitation. My eyes widened slightly. Angel? That was curious.
"Angel of Crimea, they know she's Nightingale's heiress, they call her Angel of Pentagram City, or just 'our angel'." Ravel provided the information, and I laughed lightly as I felt Enid's embarrassment through the bond.
"An angel in the underworld? That even devils call you that? " I asked amusedly. Ravel laughed lightly.
"I'm sure it started as a joke and a mockery of the church, with the whole Holy Priestess Asia thing, and it just stuck," Ravel said with amusement.
"It's not funny! They call me an angel while I'm walking around town! It's embarrassing!" Enid moaned in embarrassment.
"I mean, you spend half your time in the hospital healing all sorts of wounds and illnesses, plus, you wanted to be an Angel, you got the title, cheer up." I said playfully. Enid just grunted.
I looked at the devils to see them both nodding once more as wings grew from their backs, and without hesitation, they flew off with Maria leading the way. Well, I had an exorcist to torture and a couple of succubi to recover.
"Guys… I think I've been kidnapped." Everyone in the bond froze as Narcissa's almost nonchalant voice echoed in our heads.
"""""What!?!?!?""""" we all shouted in the link at the same time.