For a moment, the atmosphere in the room changed completely, and Sirzechs' expression became exceptionally grave.
The fallen angels had actually... surrendered?
This sudden news had completely disrupted all of Sirzechs' plans.
He had originally believed that no matter how unreliable Azazel might be, his stance on opposing the God of the Bible would never change, because God might not necessarily spare the fallen angels.
But what happened in the end?
Good grief, you bastard secretly surrendered behind our backs?
And now you were going to join the angels in attacking us?
Even though Sirzechs was usually an easygoing person, at this moment, he truly wanted to curse Azazel...
As expected, he never should have trusted that black crow!
"Do the other Satans know about this?"
After a brief pause, Sirzechs immediately questioned the devil.
"No... not yet."
"We only just received the news and have not had time to inform the other Lords Satan."
"Send someone to notify the other Satans and the Noble Council immediately. Heaven has declared war on us!"
"Yes!"
Just as when he had first arrived, the devil's emotions became unstable again, though no one could blame him for that.
He had unexpectedly learned that war had been declared, and their opponent was none other than the legendary God of the Bible. Who could possibly remain calm?
The fact that he had not been frightened out of his wits was already impressive.
"Sigh, things are only going to become even busier from now on..."
Sirzechs helplessly held his head in his hands. At this moment, the entire burden of the devil race in the Underworld rested upon his shoulders. Fortunately, he possessed extraordinary willpower, or he would have collapsed beneath the pressure as well.
"Those people in the council... Since they do not understand the God of the Bible, they probably will not agree to surrender either, will they?"
"The worst-case scenario would be..."
Sirzechs did not continue, but he understood perfectly well what the worst-case scenario was.
According to the ancient records, the God of the Bible had only been defeated after the original Four Great Satans joined forces and launched attacks that were practically suicidal, ultimately perishing together with Him.
If things truly reached that point, would he do the same?
Sirzechs could not predict what he would choose in the future, but if it were for the sake of his family... he would surely make that choice, wouldn't he?
It is still too early to think about that. I should speak with Serafall and the others first...
Perhaps we can obtain better intelligence?
Although Sirzechs said that aloud, he also understood very clearly that Heaven had already declared war. What useful intelligence could there possibly be?
The forces of the other mythologies were watching them greedily as well. The moment the devils exposed the slightest weakness, they might be devoured so thoroughly that not even scraps remained!
Those ancient monsters would never let such an excellent opportunity pass.
...
"So, why did things end up like this?"
The black-haired girl sat in one corner of the conference room, staring at the other three devils in disbelief.
This was the Satans' conference room, and every devil present was a Satan.
This girl, for example, was the legendary Satan Leviathan, the very Satan who was always dressed like a magical girl in the original story.
"Michael and the others should understand, shouldn't they? This is absolutely not a good time to begin a war..."
"But they did it anyway." Another voice came from the side. Although his tone was extremely calm, his expression was anything but pleasant.
"Within Heaven, the only being capable of ignoring every external factor and declaring war outright is probably that existence."
Aside from Michael, only the God of the Bible possessed absolute authority over Heaven.
But if Michael were compared with God... sorry, even Michael, the supreme ruler of Heaven, had no choice but to obey Him.
"In other words, this declaration of war was entirely the God of the Bible's unilateral decision?"
"Most likely. After all, during our previous communications with Heaven, Michael unintentionally revealed that he intended to form an alliance."
"Even if he changed his mind, it could not possibly have happened so quickly, right? Unless some unexpected event occurred, or he was pretending the entire time!"
The moment Serafall finished speaking, she froze. She had immediately realized the answer herself.
"That unexpected event was the God of the Bible, wasn't it?"
Had the God of the Bible not revived, Michael would undoubtedly have allied with the devils and fallen angels to ensure the survival of the angel race, joining forces with them against the other mythological factions.
But by sheer coincidence, God returned at precisely this time, reducing everything they had discussed before to nothing...
In God's presence, how could the angels possibly ally themselves with devils?
"So are we fighting or not? And what about that bastard Azazel? He said he wanted to cooperate before, but now he has immediately turned against us!"
"Not fighting is probably impossible. Even setting aside whether Heaven would agree to stop, those people in the Devil Council likely will not back down either."
"I see... Then if I meet Azazel on the battlefield, I will definitely turn him into a frozen crow!"
The Underworld was not particularly worried about being attacked by Heaven and the fallen angels simultaneously. After all, aside from Rizevim, there were still two Super Devils here.
Although the power of angels countered devils, they still could not win against an overwhelming absolute difference in strength.
But what about God?
Who was going to face the God of the Bible?
The four of them looked at one another before finally turning toward the same person at once...
Sirzechs helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead. As expected, it was him!
As the foremost of the Four Great Satans and a Super Devil among devils, he was probably the only one capable of doing it.
"If the other battlefronts conclude quickly, I will come assist you as well, Sirzechs," Ajuka, the other Super Devil among the Underworld's devils, said.
"Then it is settled. What about the time and location?"
Since they were going to fight, they should at least determine when and where the battle would begin...
"We do not know." Serafall shook her head. "Nearly five hours have already passed since Heaven declared war, but we still do not know the exact time or location..."
The Underworld possessed special protective mechanisms, making it extremely difficult to invade!
Even Heaven could not possibly accomplish it in such a short period of time...
Boom!
Before Serafall could finish speaking, a deafening crash erupted outside the building and burst into the room. All four Satans entered a state of alert almost simultaneously.
"What happened? What is going on?"
Before the others could react, a second thunderous explosion followed, even louder than the first!
Serafall rushed to the window at astonishing speed and looked outside, only to witness something she had believed impossible...
A gigantic ring of light had appeared in the sky of the Underworld!
Had it merely been an ordinary ring of light, that would have been one thing. More importantly, however, the aura emanating from it was one she knew all too well!
There was no mistake. It was the aura of angels!
"No way... They arrived this quickly?"
They had only just declared war, and now they were already attacking directly?
...
The Underworld was clearly not a pleasant place, as its very name suggested, because it was the main stronghold of the devils.
Although other factions also existed here, the devils remained the most prominent and famous inhabitants.
Unlike the clearly divided days and nights of the human world, the Underworld's sky was perpetually dim. Ordinary humans might have found it unbearable, but to devils, it was perfectly normal.
At this moment, however, the Underworld's sky was completely different from usual. A gigantic ring of light had appeared overhead, as though it intended to purify everything in this realm!
Waves of sacred power spilled from the ring of light. In an instant, they illuminated the area around the Satan Castle, and the aftershocks of that immense power even destroyed several buildings. Many weaker devils lost consciousness immediately beneath its pressure.
There was not a single devil who failed to recognize this power. It was the power of light they despised most, sacred power!
In other words... the power of angels!
The answer was now obvious. The faction currently attacking the Underworld was undoubtedly Heaven!
"Isn't this far too fast? They only just issued the declaration. Even if they intended to begin a war, how could they locate us so accurately this quickly?"
Confusion covered Serafall's face. Although the Satans' movements were not secret, this meeting had been arranged on short notice. They had only decided to hold it here a little over an hour ago. Why did the angels seem to have known in advance?
"Have you forgotten Azazel?"
Sirzechs sighed helplessly and continued, "There are fallen angel forces within the Underworld as well. Since they have already submitted to Heaven, learning our movements would not be difficult."
"However, there is one thing I did not anticipate. Their speed is far too great. The fallen angels alone could never have accomplished this unless..."
"Unless a traitor has appeared among us devils, correct?"
"Yes. Other than that, I cannot think of any explanation. A traitor is the only possible answer, and it is highly likely to be one of the members of the Noble Council..."
The moment Sirzechs finished speaking, the expressions of the other three Satans changed.
"What are they trying to do? Betraying the Underworld at such a critical moment... Do they truly believe the God of the Bible will spare them?"
Serafall found it difficult to believe. Although the Satans did not get along with the nobles, they were still all devils. Surely they would not betray their own race at a moment like this?
Serafall stomped her foot through gritted teeth, while Ajuka, standing nearby, fell into thought.
"Sirzechs, do you think it is possible that this is precisely the situation those nobles have been waiting for?"
Under ordinary circumstances, the devils among the nobility were ancient monsters who had lived far longer than the newer generation of devils like them.
Moreover, quite a few of those nobles had personally witnessed the God of the Bible and understood His power all too well!
Previously, both Sirzechs and Ajuka had believed the nobles would surrender. They had even considered the possibility of the nobles collectively forcing the Satans from power, so they had prepared countermeasures long ago.
Unexpectedly, the nobles had done no such thing. Instead, they had insisted that they would rather die than surrender...
That was strange!
Since when had those nobles possessed such courage?
Ajuka was not simply looking down on them. Everyone belonging to the Satan faction, meaning the subordinates of the current Four Great Satans, despised the former nobles because they truly were nothing more than a pack of bullies who feared the strong and preyed upon the weak.
For them to suddenly show such courage at a time like this meant they were definitely hiding something!
"This is what I think, Sirzechs." Ajuka looked over with a grave expression. "Could those nobles be planning to make us perish together with the God of the Bible?"
The moment he said this, the surrounding atmosphere changed completely.
Serafall and Sirzechs both fell silent. Even Ajuka, who had voiced the possibility, became quiet.
Serafall instinctively wanted to refute Ajuka, but although the words had already reached her lips, she could not force out even a single syllable.
Because those nobles truly were capable of doing something like this!
First, they would use the illusion that they refused to surrender to deceive the Satans, then secretly leak intelligence about the devils behind their backs...
In that case, a war between Heaven and the devils would become unavoidable, allowing the nobles to profit from the conflict.
However, there remained one insurmountable mountain that could not be avoided no matter what—the ruler of Heaven, the God of the Bible!
Any devil who had witnessed the God of the Bible's power would be incapable of even conceiving resistance, but...
Every devil knew how the God of the Bible had died!
The original Four Great Satans of the devils had perished together with Him.
If the Satans of the past had accomplished it, there was no reason the current Satans could not do the same. Moreover, among the current Satans were two powerful Super Devils! That only gave the nobles even greater confidence!
As long as Sirzechs and Ajuka, the two Super Devils, fought to the death while the other two Satans supported them, they would surely inflict catastrophic losses upon Heaven, wouldn't they?
The best possible outcome would be for the God of the Bible and the Four Great Satans to perish together once again. In that case, Heaven's dominance would disappear a second time, and the positions of Satan would become vacant.
With the Satan faction deprived of its leaders, the nobles would have plenty of room to maneuver!
Suppression, annexation—they would not overlook a single opportunity!
Would the positions of Satan not eventually fall into their hands?
"What an excellent way to kill two birds with one stone!"
After hearing Ajuka's analysis, Sirzechs sighed as well. Even he had never imagined that the nobles would devise such a plan.
Although it contained many flaws...
Risk and reward were proportional!
As long as the plan succeeded, the positions of Satan, the entire Underworld, the fallen angels, and even Heaven itself might ultimately fall into their hands.
"Then what should we do? Are we simply going to watch them make their little moves in the shadows?"
While the Satans remained where they were, the ring of light in the Underworld's sky gradually expanded, soon enveloping the entire Satan Castle.
At the same time, a blonde figure gradually emerged from within the ring of light...
That figure possessed twelve pure white wings!
Her golden hair and incomparable beauty clearly revealed the identity of the person before them...
The Archangel Michael!
"The one who came to the Underworld is actually Michael? Does the God of the Bible not intend to negotiate?"
As long-standing opponents, their understanding of Michael was roughly equal to Michael's understanding of them.
He was one of the Four Great Seraphs, a being who hated evil with every fiber of his being and could continue fighting without sleep or rest, even at the cost of his own life!
The reason Heaven had endured for so long without the God of the Bible was largely because of Michael's reputation. No one dared to provoke this madman lightly.
Fighting him was genuinely lethal!
"No matter what, Heaven has sent someone here. We cannot simply do nothing..."
Sirzechs truly did not want this war, because it offered him no benefit whatsoever.
Therefore, he wanted to speak with Michael. Perhaps he could persuade him. If so, both the internal problems among the devils and the conflicts with outside factions could be resolved with ease.
That made the angels' attitude extremely important!
Sirzechs swept his gaze around the room before speaking solemnly.
"Let us all go outside together!"