"God of the Bible, why have you invaded the Underworld?"
When Sirzechs asked that question, everyone present turned their attention toward Metatron...
However, among them, the gazes of the Four Great Seraphs were clearly somewhat strange.
That was only natural. Very few people had ever met Elise, while Metatron looked exactly like her.
It was understandable that Sirzechs had mistaken her identity.
"Why have I invaded the Underworld?"
Metatron did not correct Sirzechs' mistake. She merely repeated his words softly as the corners of her lips curled upward.
"Isn't it only natural for angels to attack devils? Why would we need a reason?"
To an angel, those words could not have been more ordinary. No matter which angel had been asked that question, their answer would have been much the same as Metatron's.
After all, in this world, angels represented justice, while devils represented evil.
It was perfectly natural for justice to punish evil!
Humans, angels, and even the gods of certain pantheons in this world all believed this.
However, when those words fell upon the ears of the devils, they took on a completely different meaning.
The Three Factions of the Bible had originally been preparing for negotiations. One important reason Michael and the other angels had been willing to compromise and allow the devils to assume the dominant position among the factions was that the definition of devils had long since changed from the pure evil of the past.
As devils began producing descendants with humans, most members of the new generation, despite retaining some of their demonic nature, had actually grown increasingly similar to humans.
Although this method had allowed the devils to recover rapidly from the war, the price it brought was equally unimaginable.
These devils were no longer pure!
In other words...
Their purity was far too low!
To the angels, this was good news, because good devils like Sirzechs had also begun to emerge among their race.
As time passed, the devil race would ultimately develop in a more benevolent direction.
But now...
Metatron's words had overturned all of that once again!
Angels were justice, and devils were evil!
Had Metatron said those words merely from the perspective of an angel, Sirzechs might not have cared. But now...
In everyone else's eyes, Metatron was the God of the Bible!
Her words were absolute!
The devil race would once again be defined as evil!
Someone naturally wicked like Rizevim might not have cared, but to reformist devils such as Sirzechs and Serafall, it was nothing less than a bolt from the blue!
If this definition took hold, every effort the devils had made over the years would be wasted!
How could they possibly accept that?
The instant they received that answer, the expressions of the Four Great Satans changed dramatically. The way they looked at Metatron was no longer the same as before...
Even a mild-mannered devil like Sirzechs now gazed at Metatron with intense killing intent!
"Sirzechs!"
At that moment, Serafall's panicked voice came from beside him, finally bringing the Satan Lucifer slightly back to his senses.
"What should we do?"
Serafall's forehead was already covered in sweat. It was no longer only the Satans who would be affected. Every devil in the Underworld would suffer tremendous consequences because of the God of the Bible's words!
"..."
After remaining silent for a moment, Sirzechs slowly closed his eyes.
"We can only fight."
Sirzechs raised his head and looked at Metatron floating in the sky, determination shining in his eyes.
"We must find a way to kill God again... At the very least, we must defeat her!"
The Underworld was no longer what it had been hundreds or thousands of years ago. Many devils were now hybrids born between humans and devils, while a considerable number were reincarnated devils.
As a Satan, Sirzechs would never allow the devil race to be annihilated like this, nor could he permit devils to return to what they had once been.
Therefore, he had to act!
Even if his opponent was the God of the Bible who ruled Heaven, Sirzechs was unafraid.
For his family and his people, Sirzechs would fight with everything he had!
However, at that moment...
"Lord Satans, what are you waiting for?"
A man's voice rose from below, breaking the silence.
"The God of the Bible is already right before your eyes!"
"As long as you use your full strength, destroying God shouldn't be difficult, should it?"
Countless gazes were immediately drawn toward the voice. Whether it was Sirzechs' subordinates among the devils, the Seraphs on the angels' side, or even Elise watching the broadcast from Heaven, everyone was stunned by those words.
No...
There is actually a devil in the Underworld this daring?
He is inciting the Four Great Satans to kill the God of the Bible?
Could any normal person possibly come up with something like that?
Oh, I almost forgot. They're devils!
Just as Star-Lord had once said, "I'm only half human, so I'm half stupid. You're all one hundred percent stupid."
Unsurprisingly, the devil shouting from below was a pure-blooded devil from the noble faction!
Perhaps he had accepted a mission from the noble faction, or perhaps he had decided to do this himself. Whatever the case, he had acted for the sake of the noble faction's interests!
If the Four Great Satans managed to perish alongside the God of the Bible, the entire Biblical faction might fall into their hands!
Of course, if they lacked the strength, they would undoubtedly be overthrown immediately.
But so what?
Their noble faction had Lord Rizevim's support!
As long as Sirzechs and the God of the Bible disappeared, Lord Rizevim would reclaim the position of Satan!
The noble faction would then obtain unimaginable benefits. Faced with such enticing prospects, there was nothing those devils would not do!
After hearing the devil below, everyone present frowned, because they all understood the meaning hidden within his words.
The expressions of the angels became especially grim.
These devils actually dare plot against our Lord even under these circumstances? If we don't slaughter them, how could we still call ourselves our Lord's angels?
In an instant, unimaginable killing intent filled the battlefield. Without exception, every trace of it was directed at a single, unmistakable target!
The noble devil who had spoken those words!
At this moment, he had already become a thorn in everyone's side!
However, there was one being even angrier than everyone else present, and that was Metatron!
He actually dared scheme against her Lord right in front of her?
Fortunately, Metatron had borrowed Elise's identity just now and made every devil present believe she was the God of the Bible. Otherwise, how could she have exposed someone like this among the devils?
"Purify! Purify!"
A golden sword abruptly appeared in Metatron's hand. She pointed its blade directly at the Satan Castle below...
At that moment, an indescribably powerful fluctuation erupted from her body. In the final instant, Metatron hurled the golden sword downward.
It was a special weapon her Lord had given her earlier... and it possessed extraordinarily powerful abilities!
Its name was...
"Let the fires of calamity fall from the heavens—"
"Let the raging waves of Napishteem descend!"
This was Gilgamesh's strongest Noble Phantasm from Fate/Prototype, known as...
The Sword of the End, Enki!
A sword that summoned a flood.
Once activated, the torrent would grow with each passing day. By the seventh day, it would become a great tsunami that raised the colossal waves of Napishteem.
Drawing upon the knowledge inherited from the God of the Bible and her many years of weapon-making experience in the world of DanMachi, Elise had successfully recreated this weapon.
However, the original sword ultimately still possessed flaws. Elise had spent some time improving its abilities even further.
When such a terrifying fluctuation appeared in the Underworld, there was no possibility that anyone would fail to sense it.
Almost the instant Metatron unleashed the attack, every living being in the Underworld felt their life threatened!
What in the world is that?
Even bodies tempered by countless battles now experienced the threat of death!
The stronger someone was, the more clearly they understood just how terrifying this attack truly was!
"An ordinary Satan could never possess such strength. Even a Super Devil couldn't accomplish this!"
"But she is..."
"God!"
That single word was more persuasive than any explanation.
If she was God, then she truly could accomplish anything!
"No, we have to..."
Crack, crack—
Just as Sirzechs prepared to act, the sound of something breaking came from all around them, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
In the eyes of every angel and devil present, as well as the fallen angels observing through special communications equipment, a golden magic circle appeared across the surrounding space.
Soon, the circle enveloped the entire Satan Castle...
No, saying that it enveloped the Satan Castle was far too modest. Beneath that colossal magic circle, the castle looked as tiny as an ant, let alone a human body.
Crack, crack!
The breaking sounds became more frequent and increasingly louder!
"Look! What's that up there?"
At that moment, a devil finally noticed that something was wrong. The cracks were not appearing elsewhere. They were spreading across the golden magic circle in the sky, leaving everyone confused.
Had she created a magic circle only to destroy it herself?
However, the answer soon appeared before their eyes.
It was not that Metatron intended to destroy the magic circle she had created.
Rather, the magic circle had been completed!
Before everyone's widened eyes, the sky... split apart!
No, it was far more than that!
The instant the sky cracked open, every angel and devil present, along with the fallen angels watching from afar, witnessed a scene that left them utterly shaken!
It was water!
Countless streams of water descended from the sky. Drop by drop, they gathered together and formed a colossal wave!
There was simply too much water. No one, not even Metatron who had unleashed the attack, could determine exactly how much she had summoned.
But that no longer mattered. The attack was already complete.
Metatron hovered high in the sky, silently watching the devils below.
The devils who had originally been prepared to fight to the death completely lost their will to resist upon witnessing such a sight. They merely remained where they were, quietly awaiting the arrival of that terrifying attack.
"Don't give up!"
"All devils, evacuate at maximum speed!"
"We'll hold back the attack!"
At that moment, the importance of the Satans became clear. As the pillars supporting the entire Underworld, once the two Super Devils, Sirzechs and Ajuka, gave an order, nearly everyone except those from the noble faction would obey them.
"That's right! As long as we're alive, there's still hope!"
"Listen to the Satans! We need to get out of here!"
Sure enough, after the Satans spoke, the devils' morale visibly improved. Even so, they still felt powerless before such a terrifying technique.
"Serafall, the two of you should help evacuate the other devils. Leave this place to Ajuka and me."
Sirzechs wanted Serafall and the other Satan who had yet to reach the realm of a Super Devil to leave, but...
"Huh? What kind of joke is that, Sirzechs?" Serafall's face was filled with anger. "Are you looking down on me?"
"I may dress like this, but I'm still the Satan Leviathan, and I have my own pride!"
"Leaving at a time like this would feel worse than dying!"
At that point, Serafall suddenly blinked.
"Besides, what's coming next is a flood. That won't work at all against a Satan who uses ice!"
That failed...
It was clearly impossible to convince the other two Satans to leave. In that case...
"Then the four of us will stop Heaven's attack together!"
"Hah!"
The Four Great Satans stood side by side and simultaneously erupted with an extraordinarily immense amount of power.
However, at that very moment, the colossal wave Metatron had summoned surged directly toward them!
"It's nothing but water! I'm the Satan Leviathan!"
Serafall waved her staff with a smile on her face.
She had always believed herself to be rather useless, unable to gain any advantage whatsoever in battle.
Although she held the lofty position of Satan, she was quite possibly the weakest among the Four Great Satans.
She could ordinarily bully weaklings below Satan-class, but if she encountered someone stronger than herself, there was truly nothing she could do.
Yet as she watched the colossal wave approach, Serafall strode forward, waved her staff, and began muttering something under her breath.
Anyone who did not know better might have mistaken her for a genuine magical girl!
Demonic power surged from Serafall's body and formed a gigantic mass of ice in an instant.
"Go! Freeze all the water around us!"
At Serafall's command, countless pillars of ice formed from the air and rushed toward the surrounding waves.
Even a child in kindergarten knew that water could freeze into ice. How could Serafall possibly not understand that?
As long as she released roughly half her power, these insignificant droplets of water would not be worth mentioning!
However, the instant Serafall's ice touched the flood, her expression changed.
The flood Metatron had summoned did not undergo the slightest transformation after coming into contact with Serafall's ice. It remained entirely liquid!
Not only that, but Serafall could also feel the rate at which her demonic power was being consumed rising at astonishing speed!
Serafall was not the only one. The other Satans also sensed the extraordinary nature of the flood, and expressions of shock appeared on their faces.
"No way... How could something like this exist?"
"Is all of this really...?"
To the naked eye, the floodwaters were actually glowing with a faint white radiance. Merely looking at them filled one's heart with warmth.
However, upon sensing them more carefully, one would discover a certain power within the flood...
Holy power!
The water contained holy power!
Wouldn't that make it holy water?
This much holy water?