Heaven, the Seventh Heaven.
Although this place appeared to contain nothing, it could also contain anything.
According to the knowledge inherited from the God of the Bible, although the Seventh Heaven was nominally the Lord's dwelling place, its environment could actually be adjusted at will.
Glaciers, magma, storms, and earthquakes could all manifest within this layer of Heaven.
At this moment, Elise was floating on her back in the middle of an ocean. She had also used her ability to create a small screen before her, allowing her to observe the movements of the devils in the Underworld and the condition of the angels.
Should any problem arise, she could stop it immediately.
Fortunately, thus far, only a small portion of Heaven's angels had suffered casualties.
"As long as that thing exists, even death won't be able to take them away, right?"
"Once this war ends, I'll go take a look over there!"
The image of a certain Sacred Gear she had created some time ago surfaced in Elise's mind. Although it could not be moved from its location, its ability was genuinely powerful! It perfectly embodied the resurrection authority of the God of the Bible!
"Hm?"
However, Elise soon noticed something was wrong. Metatron on the screen seemed to be planning to use that.
"The Underworld is enormous. It shouldn't matter if it gets flooded, right?"
With that thought in mind, Elise directly opened a passage between her current location and the Underworld.
"With the great flood summoned by the Sword of the End, plus the water from here, it'll be more than enough to give the devils of the Underworld a miserable time!"
The Sword of the End Elise had created could only summon an ordinary great flood. To the entire Underworld, it would amount to little more than a natural disaster and would not be enough to threaten the lives of powerful devils.
But...
If the water surrounding Elise was added to it, the situation would become completely different.
Elise possessed the power of purification!
As long as she immersed part of her body in water, she could transform the entire body of water into holy water!
And what Elise had simulated in the Seventh Heaven was an entire ocean!
With a little help from Ophis, it had directly become an endless sea! Even transforming the entire Underworld into a vast body of water would be possible!
"Who told me to be a saintess? Now I've even become the God of the Bible."
"I'll kindly spare you devils this once!"
"But as the price, some devils will have to disappear!"
Elise was referring to the devil nobles. Not only were they incompetent, but they also caused trouble everywhere. This time, they had even enraged Metatron. Who knew what other kinds of idiots existed among the devils...
Surely there could not be someone as remarkably foolish as Philip from the world of Overlord, right?
"But for now, I should recall the angels first. The devils can deal with the aftermath themselves. After this attack, Sirzechs should understand the difference in combat power between Heaven and the Underworld, shouldn't he?"
The scene returned to the battlefield in the Underworld.
After Metatron summoned the great flood capable of destroying the world...
"Impossible! Why can't this water be frozen?"
"No, that's not all. This water is completely different from ordinary water. It seems to suppress us devils..."
The expressions of all Four Great Satans changed at once.
"Could this be holy water?"
That was impossible, wasn't it?
"This quantity, this quality... Where did Heaven get so much holy water?"
Even if the God of the Bible had resurrected, she could not possibly possess this much holy water! Even all the water in Heaven combined with God's bathwater could not amount to so much!
Of course, holy water unquestionably had a suppressive effect on devils, but against powerful Satans, that effect was not particularly significant. The Satans were not worried about themselves.
They were worried about the other devils in the Underworld!
Low-class devils could not withstand holy water of this magnitude!
Once they came into contact with it, the consequences would be unimaginable!
"Although we're worried about the other devils, we can't leave this place at all..."
Only by exerting all their strength could the Four Great Satans hold back the world-ending flood near Satan Castle.
Even so, a considerable amount of water continued spilling outward.
Should even one Satan leave now, the defensive line they had constructed would collapse immediately. When that happened, the entire Underworld would be overrun by holy water!
High-class devils might survive, but countless low-class devils would undoubtedly perish!
The power of holy water could not be avoided merely by flying, and it would unquestionably have an enormous impact on the Underworld's ecosystem.
Unless every devil abandoned the Underworld, they would inevitably be affected by the holy water and driven toward death.
Compared with the devils, the angels were in a far better situation.
Although holy water absolutely suppressed devils, it had no such effect on angels. On the contrary, it could even heal them.
Some angels who had been injured while fighting the devils quickly recovered as the holy water washed over them.
Even wounds deep enough to expose bone healed within minutes.
But now...
The "God of the Bible" was here, so they naturally obeyed God's command.
"You should leave first."
Apart from the Four Great Seraphs who knew Metatron's true identity, all the other angels returned to Heaven through the halo.
"What should we do next?"
Michael flapped his wings and arrived beside Metatron, joining her in observing the Four Great Satans below.
Even he had never imagined that Metatron could unleash such a powerful attack. Unless the devils dealt with it quickly, they might soon lose their homeland entirely.
"According to my Lord's wishes, it would be best not to do anything unnecessary for now. The holy water will take care of everything for us."
"You should return first. Once I convey the Lord's will to the devils, I will return as well."
"Then be careful."
At last, all Four Great Seraphs left the Underworld through the halo. The only angel remaining was the thirty-six-winged Metatron.
She glanced at the Satans' location, then at the devils fleeing in the distance, before gently flapping her wings and descending.
"Be careful! She's coming!"
When they saw Metatron approaching, the Four Great Satans immediately grew tense. They were already occupied with holding back the flood and had no strength to spare against her.
"Rest assured. Our mission is already complete. All that remains is the final negotiation."
Metatron paid no attention to the Satans' vigilance and soon arrived before them.
"I, Metatron, Scribe of Heaven, hereby deliver this notice to you."
"If you submit to Heaven at once, you will not suffer divine punishment afterward."
"Otherwise, we angels shall purify every last devil!"
Sirzechs froze. Serafall stared in disbelief.
They were not the only ones. The other two Satans wore much the same expressions.
None of the four had expected that the being before them, who appeared to possess thirty-six wings, was not the God of the Bible after all.
The Scribe of Heaven?
Did Heaven even have such a position?
Sirzechs had never heard of such an office in Heaven. Of course, it might have been newly established.
But...
She was not the God of the Bible, yet she was still this powerful?
An enormous shadow abruptly fell across the hearts of the Four Great Satans. They had already fought Michael and the others earlier.
With the strength of Sirzechs and Ajuka, two devil Super Devils, they should have been entirely capable of defeating Michael and the others.
Unexpectedly, however, Michael and the others now possessed enough strength to contend with Sirzechs, perhaps even surpass him.
"So it really is because of the God of the Bible?"
Despair began spreading through the surroundings, and the Satans could no longer maintain their composure.
"Wait!"
Seeing that Metatron was about to leave, the impatient Serafall immediately called out to her.
"What exactly does Heaven want? Do you truly intend to make us submit?"
Although Serafall's question was crucial to the entire devil race, Metatron had no intention of making the decision herself.
"Who knows?"
"I came here only to complete my Lord's mission. I have no intention of doing anything unnecessary."
"If you truly wish to know, you can ask my Lord directly during the Three Factions' negotiations in a few days."
Initially, Metatron had only come to hunt down Rizevim. Logically speaking, she should have returned to Heaven after completing that mission.
However, because Elise saw that Michael and the others had still failed to resolve matters, she sent Metatron over to assist them. Who could have expected her to throw a Sword of the End directly into the Underworld...
The aftermath would surely be extremely troublesome to handle, wouldn't it?
The devils could deal with that themselves.
In the devils' eyes, Metatron clearly had no intention of revealing any information.
There was nothing they could do about that. Heaven and the Underworld had been enemies since ancient times. It was perfectly normal for Heaven to release misleading information and confuse their intelligence network.
Realizing she would obtain no answers, Serafall gritted her teeth and fell silent, pouring even more demonic power into resisting the holy water that had appeared throughout the Underworld.
"Since you have no more questions, we'll see each other then!"
"You will all surely be very busy for the foreseeable future."
"Will you even be able to spare the time to attend the meeting convened by my Lord?"
Metatron looked at Serafall with a provocative gaze. This time, however, Serafall would not allow anger to cloud her judgment.
"Whether we can spare the time has nothing to do with you, does it? The one we're negotiating with is the God of the Bible, not you!"
Serafall naturally had no goodwill toward the culprit responsible for the Underworld's catastrophe. Her voice made no attempt to conceal her loathing for Metatron.
"I see."
Upon seeing Serafall's disgusted expression, Metatron suddenly became interested. She drew back the foot she had been about to move.
"However, as the Scribe of Heaven, I naturally possess a certain degree of authority over Heaven's records..."
"How troublesome."
Metatron raised her right hand to her forehead and assumed an extremely exaggerated expression.
"What if I become so overworked that I accidentally misread the records and cause my Lord to believe the devils would rather die than surrender?"
"How troublesome. When that happens, I'll have to personally cleanse the Underworld."
Metatron's words unquestionably strained the Satans' nerves. This was the first time they had ever heard an angel say something like that. Serafall's eyes widened in disbelief.
For a moment, they could no longer tell whether they were the devils or Metatron was.
Where had this sudden sense of defeat come from?
Why did the person before them seem more like a devil than they did?
"You... Are you really an angel?"
"Isn't that obvious? Both your eyes should be able to see the white wings behind me."
"Of course I'm an angel! Not only that, I'm a Super Devil among angels, the thirty-six-winged Metatron!"
"Even Gabriel has to address me as Lady Scribe!"
Seemingly noticing the halo in the sky beginning to flicker, Metatron no longer hesitated. She immediately rose and entered it.
Before she left the Underworld, however, her final words reached the ears of the Four Great Satans.
"Until the Final Judgment arrives, wait obediently for my Lord's verdict!"
The plan to launch a lightning strike on the Underworld had ended.
Overall, the war had been highly successful.
Rizevim, the Super Devil among the devils, was dead. Countless devils had been affected by the conflict, and both the noble faction and the Satan faction had been severely weakened.
Although the angels had also suffered casualties, their losses remained within a controllable range. More importantly, they still had that Sacred Gear...
Barring any accidents, the dead angels had all been recorded. That would make matters much easier when the time came!
After returning to Heaven, the angels quickly resumed their original duties and work. Only the Four Great Seraphs and Metatron, the Scribe of Heaven, remained at Heaven's entrance.
"By the way, Lord Seraphs..."
"Just now, my Lord sent me another message. She requires all of us to proceed to the Seventh Heaven."
"We need to discuss our stance toward the devils once again."
Upon receiving this sudden message, the Four Great Seraphs all found it somewhat strange.
After all, Elise had already become the God of the Bible. She could decide Heaven's attitude toward the devils with a single thought, and the angels certainly would not object.
The recent battle had already demonstrated the changes Elise had brought to Heaven. Heaven's current strength was no longer inferior to the Underworld's. Even if Elise ordered the devils' extermination, the Seraphs would carry out her will.
"But since this is the Lord's command, let us go together."
...
The scene returned to the Underworld.
The Four Great Satans were still struggling desperately to prevent the sea of holy water from sweeping across the entire Underworld.
"We can't continue like this. Our power will be exhausted first."
"Do you have any good ideas, Ajuka?"
The two Super Devils might not have felt much strain yet, but Serafall, who possessed only the strength of an ordinary Satan, could no longer hold out for much longer.
"With our current strength, completely stopping the flood is impossible. We can only settle for the next best option."
"If we can't stop it, then we'll change its course."
"Aren't there some uninhabited regions in the Underworld? We'll redirect this sea and channel all the water there!"
Rather than wait for time to pass and the situation to become even more unimaginable, they might as well divert the water elsewhere. That might at least reduce their losses.
It was the only thing the devils could do now.