"I suppose it counts as a success? Who knows how long I'll have to wait before I can meet the God of the Bible!"
Azazel sat with one leg crossed over the other, lying alone in the very center of the barrier.
At this moment, he possessed no other identity. He was merely a prisoner of war, so there was naturally no need for dignity or decorum. He only had to be himself.
After his brief exchange with Metatron earlier, he had been locked inside the barrier again. As for escaping...
Escape was absolutely impossible. Metatron possessed strength comparable to a Super Devil. What was Azazel supposed to use to run from her, his head?
As a fallen angel, the fact that he had not been killed outright was already something he should thank the Lord profusely for!
He had originally assumed he would have no chance to meet the God of the Bible anytime soon, but then the unexpected happened!
As space rippled around him, Azazel also noticed the changes in his surroundings... This was precisely the sign that the barrier was about to open!
"So you're finally going to show yourself, God of the Bible?"
With a kip-up, Azazel sprang directly to his feet. It was difficult to imagine that a middle-aged man like him could perform such an agile movement.
As the barrier opened completely, Azazel's mental state gradually sharpened.
Although he had been confined inside the barrier all this time, Azazel had not truly been sitting idle. Instead, he had repeatedly simulated the conversation he might have with the God of the Bible.
As the saying went, know yourself and know your enemy, and you would never be defeated. The more possibilities Azazel considered now, the smaller his losses would be when he encountered difficulties.
"Then let me take a good look. Just what has the current God of the Bible become?"
Although Azazel had possessed some understanding of the God of the Bible many years ago, all of that belonged to the past.
Now that the God of the Bible had returned, the birth of Metatron, a new-generation angel, already demonstrated the difference between the present Him and the one from before...
God had become even more powerful!
And had also become more... that...
Azazel had considered two possibilities. One was reincarnation, where the personality of the reincarnated vessel had influenced God and caused Him to change.
The other was inheritance, meaning He had been replaced by an entirely different person.
Judging from the current situation, the second possibility seemed somewhat more likely.
Azazel shook his head and threw all those thoughts out of his mind. It was still too early to dwell on them.
If he wanted to make an accurate judgment, he would have to meet Him first.
And so, amid the changes in the surrounding space, Azazel transformed into a streak of pitch-black light and left the spherical prison of light.
...
Heaven, the Seventh Heaven.
After Metatron opened the white sphere of light, Elise focused her attention on it...
Or more precisely, on Azazel, who had just appeared.
"Where am I..."
Before Azazel could finish speaking, his eyes suddenly widened as he stared in Elise's direction.
Then he turned toward Metatron at the side.
With his discerning eye, he could naturally recognize the angel who had captured him. The strange part was that there was another Metatron here!
Good grief, even thirty-six-winged angels can be mass-produced? Then what are we fallen angels and devils even supposed to do? We might as well surrender immediately!
While Azazel was still stunned, Elise suddenly spoke.
"Welcome to Heaven, Governor-General of the fallen angels, Azazel."
"This is Heaven's Seventh Heaven. I'm sure you've heard of it before."
The Seventh Heaven?
The instant he received that information, Azazel nearly stopped breathing. He immediately looked around...
This is the legendary Seventh Heaven?
The dwelling place of God, somewhere even the Four Great Seraphs rarely had the chance to visit, yet now...
He, a mere prisoner, had actually been brought straight here?
After his brief shock passed, Azazel shifted his gaze back to the two women before him, whose appearances were completely identical.
Although their faces were identical, certain parts of them...
Metatron still had the edge!
Azazel could not help stroking his chin as the way he looked at the two women became increasingly strange.
The God of the Bible really knows how to enjoy Himself!
As though all those female angels were not enough, He had even created two new angels. And beautiful twins at that...
Personal attendants on either side?
As expected, nothing beats a sister sandwich!
Upon seeing this, the smile on Metatron's face gradually collapsed...
A mere fallen angel dares reveal such a lecherous expression toward my Lord in the presence of us angels!
I'll carve that face right off you!
Just as Metatron was about to put her thoughts into action, Elise reached out and stopped her.
"You seem to have misunderstood something, Azazel."
Completely unlike before, Elise's tone now carried the majesty of a superior, while the pressure emanating from her body steadily increased.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Elise Holiness, the new God of the Bible!"
"You should have heard this name many times in the outside world, haven't you?"
She's Elise?
The shock this news brought Azazel was no less intense than when he first heard that the God of the Bible had resurrected!
Although word of it had already spread everywhere outside, Azazel had not taken it seriously. After all, it was perfectly reasonable for the steadily declining Heaven to release a smokescreen.
But now, Azazel changed his mind.
The power continuously surging from Elise was truly beyond anything he could imagine!
There was no doubt about it! It was an absolute difference in strength, as well as a difference in the very level of their existences!
It was like an antelope on the savanna seeing a lion. Fear arose instinctively!
Azazel was certain that even Super Devils like Sirzechs and Ajuka, or Shiva, who stood closest to that realm, were not as strong as Elise was at this moment!
This is nothing like what I imagined!
Although Azazel showed no reaction on the surface, in reality... he had already begun roaring inside his heart.
In the current world, aside from Great Red, the Infinite Dragon God, and the Beast Emperor, no existence was more powerful than the God of the Bible... At least, that was true according to his knowledge.
However, there was one thing Azazel found deeply puzzling...
If Elise truly was the God of the Bible, why had she made Metatron look like that?
Their appearances were clearly almost identical, yet a certain part of them was worlds apart!
Of course, that was not to say Elise was small. She was very well-endowed herself, easily on par with Gabriel, just not quite as exaggeratedly so as Metatron.
Could it be?!
Azazel froze completely. He seemed to have discovered the crucial point, and the teasing expression on his face instantly disappeared.
Could this Elise be a lesbian who especially likes certain parts to be enormous?
...
"Can we have a proper conversation now, Mr. Azazel?"
Elise sat upon a throne woven from pure light, one leg resting over the other as she regarded him with a gentle smile.
The luminous garment draped around her figure could scarcely be called a robe, its unusual cut leaving much of her form uncovered. From beneath her arms, its sides remained completely open all the way down, leaving the graceful line of her body bare from her waist to her feet.
Below her shapely hips, the remaining radiance narrowed into a slim fall between her crossed thighs, offering only the faintest semblance of coverage.
Nothing obscured the long contours of her legs. Fair skin shone beneath the throne's glow, untouched by blemish from thigh to ankle, while her bare feet rested within the surrounding radiance, each toe distinct beneath the soft halo.
She appeared utterly unconcerned by the revealing nature of her attire.
As far as Metatron was concerned, that was only natural.
In Metatron's eyes, her Lord was utterly perfect, every aspect of her displayed figure and every movement embodying the very meaning of beauty.
Such a generous unveiling of her beauty should have been met with nothing less than reverence and appreciation. Yet this fallen angel before her had dared show such an expression toward her Lord! It was simply... unforgivable!
The strength in her foot unconsciously increased. Metatron pinned Azazel's arms behind him and pressed him firmly against the floor.
"Ow, ow, ow! Of course we can, of course we can!"
"Whatever you say goes!"
With one side of his face forcibly pressed against the ground, Azazel had no choice but to speak properly now, even if he did not want to.
Azazel sighed. Since he had no way to resist, he could only accept it.
Since they had summoned him here, they presumably wanted something from him.
If they wanted to kill him, there would have been no need to go through so much trouble. Would it not have been better to eliminate him directly? There was absolutely no need for all this effort!
"If you'd done this from the beginning, you wouldn't have had to suffer so much. Metatron, that's enough."
"Yes, my Lord."
Only after Elise spoke did Metatron reluctantly release her hold on Azazel.
"Then may I ask why you summoned me, Your Holiness, God of the Bible?"
The current situation was clearly unfavorable to him, so Azazel wisely changed the way he addressed Elise.
Your Holiness, God of the Bible!
This was how the various factions had addressed Him in the past. However, after the God of the Bible fell during that great war many years ago, the title naturally vanished into the river of history.
But today, Azazel chose to use it once more. After all, now that He had returned, who in this world could possibly deal with Him?
"Your Holiness, God of the Bible... Never mind. That will do."
Elise murmured the title softly, then shook her head and moved on to the main subject.
"I do indeed have something very important to discuss with you, Azazel."
"Do you think... I can unify this world?"
Elise's tone contained no hint of a joke. When she spoke those words, she appeared completely serious.
Why had Elise disguised herself as the God of the Bible?
Naturally, it was for the God of the Bible's faith!
Gods and demons truly existed in this world, so ordinary people possessed more faith than those in other worlds.
The crucial problem, however, was that their object of faith was the God of the Bible, not Elise...
There was only one solution!
She simply had to become the God of the Bible!
As long as she became the target of that faith, the quality of the power of faith would increase at a tremendous rate. It was far stronger than the low-grade power of faith Elise had absorbed before!
Now, Elise had already achieved that goal and experienced the enhancement brought by the power of faith. She was even fusing with the crystallized faith to strengthen herself further!
But it still was not enough!
Relying solely on the faith of the angels and the Church could not satisfy Elise's needs, so...
Elise needed to expand the Church's sphere of influence. Its current scale was nowhere near enough!
I have a dream. One day, the Church's banners will fly across the entire world!
Just like the first world Elise had experienced, she would completely transform it into her own backyard!
The world of DanMachi had real gods, so Elise did not dare do that there. The story of the Elementalist world had already reached its conclusion, and she had even faked her death, so how could she possibly return?
The Asterisk War world was a possibility. She could do the same there if she ever had the chance. But the most important issue right now was still the High School DxD world...
Once she made her decision, she absolutely could not go back on it!
After Elise finished asking her question, beads of sweat the size of soybeans had already appeared on Azazel's face.
He had imagined that the God of the Bible might say something outrageous, but he had never expected anything this outrageous!
Unifying the world... How was that any different from ruling the world?
It was merely phrased differently. The essence remained unchanged. After his brief shock, Azazel immediately recovered and understood what Elise meant.
"We fallen angels are willing to submit to you, Your Holiness!"
The God of the Bible's strength was undoubtedly among the very highest in this world!
The number of people capable of contending with Him could be counted on one hand!
But...
Great Red wandered through the Dimensional Gap. It was impossible for him to involve himself in this matter.
The Infinite Dragon God was uninterested in everything, so she probably would not interfere either.
Trihexa had been sealed by the God of the Bible for so long. Could he even defeat Him now?
As for Shiva, who stood closest to their level...
Forget it... He was not worth mentioning.
Azazel truly could not imagine who could stop the God of the Bible if He intended to rule the world...
He might as well join Him!
Was there not an old saying that went, if you cannot beat them, join them?
Although fallen angels were what angels became after falling from grace, they had still once been angels.
The fact that Elise had asked this question clearly meant she intended to subjugate the entire fallen angel faction. As long as he surrendered immediately, she probably would not exterminate them all... right?
If God truly intended to do that, the fallen angel race would inevitably become extinct!
No one could save them. Those were the words of Azazel himself!
Whether this succeeded or failed would depend entirely on how He responded...
Under Azazel's somewhat anxious gaze, Elise slowly rose from the throne, descended the steps one at a time, and came to his side.
Under Metatron's sharp gaze, Elise reached out and placed her hand on Azazel's head.
"I accept your loyalty, Azazel."
"From this moment onward, the fallen angels will once again fall under Heaven's jurisdiction. You have no objections, do you?"
"Naturally, I have no objection to anything Your Holiness says."
As though sensing Elise's gaze, Azazel completely lost the ability to move and could only allow Elise to do as she pleased.
"Good. Since you've already agreed, then..."
"You may leave."
As soon as she finished speaking, Elise waved her hand lightly, and Azazel vanished directly from the Seventh Heaven.
By the time he regained his senses, Azazel realized he had appeared in a human town.
"How terrifying..."
The moment Azazel declared his submission, She had accepted it immediately... without even considering the possibility that he might betray Her.
Just as Elise had said before, the fallen angels truly had terrible credibility. Whether it was Michael or Sirzechs, neither of them believed Azazel's words could be trusted.
Yet even while knowing that, Elise had still chosen to do this...
"She simply doesn't care about an ant like me, does She?" Azazel laughed self-deprecatingly.
If I dare betray Her, not only I, but the entire fallen angel race will suffer annihilation!
"Ah! Looks like there's no escaping this!"