This whole thing was a giant shitstorm. One which grew to even bigger proportions once Sirzechs quietly told me that Ruval had not been seen for quite some time. Apparently, he just disappeared one day after winning a rating game that placed him and his peerage in the top ten.
And Raniel was not aware. Well, more likely, he was made not to be aware by someone. There were major gaps in what he told us, or so Sirzechs said, and since I didn't know squat about any of this, I just chose to believe him on that one.
Poor guy looked so out of it by the end of his explanation that all he could do was to quietly slump down on one of the chairs in the room, and stare at both Zekram and Zeoticus with such an intense gaze, I thought that lasers would shoot out of his eyes any second.
"You think Riser was in on this?" I asked Sirzechs.
"Him? I doubt it. A pawn of Zekram's, maybe, but that's about it." He hummed in thought and shook his head.
"Hmm… I'd say the odds are pretty high that Zekram was behind Ruval's disappearance."
"But to what end?"
"I can get the answers out of him, but you gotta get Raniel and Zeoticus out of the room. They can't see what I'm about to do."
"And you don't mind me seeing?" He asked curiously.
"Nah, it's not like I'm actually trying to keep it secret, but one is an enemy, and the other is already at wits' end, so I'd rather not add to that." I shrugged, and Sirzechs nodded in understanding.
He then led them both to one of the many side rooms his office had, and locked the door behind him once he left. Meanwhile, I dragged the unconscious body of Zekram away from the corner he was in and right to the middle.
"You might want to be as far away from me as possible. This won't be a pleasant feeling for you." I warned him, since I knew of the weakness devils possessed.
"Right… Well, don't be scared, okay?" I murmured once Sirzechs was as far away from me as the room allowed him to be.
—
Don't be scared… Don't be scared…
Those words were running through his head as he watched in terrified awe what was happening in his office.
This power was not what she showed him when they met for the first time, far from it, actually. At that time, the thing that he was shown was foul, corrupted, malevolent, and all the other adjectives one would use to describe that.
This however? Pure, utterly, and completely pure. In that moment, he understood the horror etched on Zekram's face, and he thanked whomever was listening that Takumi was, all things considered, a reasonable woman.
Golden runes flowed around her wildly, the damned Seal of Solomon appeared behind her, her eyes glowed with light he only ever saw angels use, and in her hands was an orb that radiated so much holy energy he understood why he was told to stay away. Just coming in contact with that thing would surely kill him.
"You brought this upon yourself, Zekram Bael." She spoke with eerie calmness that did not fit what Sirzechs came to expect from her.
She slammed the orb into his chest, and all the runes, the seal, and all the power swirling around her, followed suit, transferring themselves onto his skin. Then, with jerky, unnatural movements, the body slowly stood up and turned to face her.
"M–Mistress." The voice coming out of his mouth was but a faint echo of what he sounded like not even twenty minutes ago. It was hollow, dull, without inflections.
"Ew dude… First things first. What did you do to Ruval Phenex?" She made a face of disgust, and upon uttering the order, his whole body lit up with those golden runes.
"T–That boy was a fool… H–He refused the King Piece…" Zekram ground out, and hearing that, made Sirzechs immediately alert. Ajuka was still looking for those things. They were extremely dangerous and, in most instances, unstable. She asked one question, and it already sounded like terrible news.
"Dunno what that is, but okay. Is Ruval alive?"
"Y—Yes. Tried to escape with Cleria but failed."
"CLERIA IS ALIVE?!" Sirzechs whirled at him with fury in his eyes, but Zekram completely ignored him. Takumi shot him a questioning glance and asked him the same question.
"Yes." It filled Sirzechs with joy. Finally, Diehouser would be able to stop his to this point fruitless search.
"Where are they?"
"Astaroth estate. The one far away from the capital." After making a mental note to go to Ajuka as soon as this whole thing was over, he once again fully concentrated on the questioning.
"And the reason for the Marriage?"
"The eventual full control of Phenex Tears. Raniel was not… amenable to my suggestions."
"What did you do to that man, and is it reversible?"
"Careful memory removal and alteration. Not reversible. Those memories no longer exist."
"Jesus… Who else was in on this fucking plan, huh?!" She grabbed him by his shirt and shook him fiercely, and Sirzechs tried to ignore the painful sting he suddenly felt.
"Z–Zeoticus… it was only us." And didn't that fucking sting? His own father…
"Wait a fucking minute. You just mentioned Astaroth. What is their part in the plan?" Takumi immediately caught on to what he was thinking.
"Diodora simply provided the place in exchange for the whereabouts of some ex-nun."
"NUN?! NAME. TELL ME THE FUCKING NAME!" Oh fuck, of shit. The ground began to crack under the pressure Takumi started to release once she heard him.
"A–Asia… Argento." Even though her power was making him crumble where he stood, he still answered. And that was probably the last thing Zekram Bael would ever say, if her expression was anything to go by.
"Why?!"
"To add her to his peerage by any means necessary."
"You dare? You fucking dare?!" She shouted in what barely counted as a language and grabbed him by the sides of his head.
"I hereby sentence you to damnation eternal." A golden glow enveloped both of them as she began to squeeze his head, and when it dissipated a second later, Zekram was nowhere to be seen. The only thing that remained was a pile of smouldering ash on the floor, and the bit that covered her hands.
"I… I wanted to ask more questions…" Sirzechs muttered.
"No. We got more than enough answers. You coming with me?"
"To Astaroth Estate, I assume?"
"Of course. There is a death I need to deliver."
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I'm not going to be posting a chapter at least till Sunday ( Probably Monday though). Plans change, and I'm leaving for the weekend.
Still, I didn't want to leave you guys hanging on that cliff. So here is the little I have written so far.