AN: As a result of the votes, the story's title has been changed from A Prince Forgiven to His Infernal Majesty (High School DxD SI).
POV: Meruem
[February 1, 2006]
"Cats are obviously better than dogs," Kuroka said passionately. "And I honestly don't understand why humans keep pretending this is even a debate worth having anymore. Seriously, dogs are emotionally exhausting animals. They always have this desperate energy around them, this constant need for reassurance, like every ten minutes they need to renew the contract confirming that you still love them. Cats, meanwhile, understand boundaries.
"A cat can sit beside you for three straight hours without demanding validation every four seconds because they actually have dignity. Cats are also cleaner, quieter, and they don't make their bodily functions everybody else's problem. Every dog owner pretends they enjoy picking up steaming piles of shit in public like they are participating in some sacred ritual of companionship. Nobody actually enjoys that. They have simply become emotionally committed far too deeply to back out now."
The rest of the table listened to Kuroka's passionate tirade with varying levels of amusement.
Meruem personally found the entire thing deeply ironic considering Kuroka herself was by far the clingiest member of his peerage despite preaching about feline emotional independence. Naturally, he was intelligent enough not to mention that observation aloud because he valued the continued quality of his sex life.
He calmly shifted his attention toward the others seated around the luxurious table.
Following their rather dramatic introduction inside the abandoned mall, Meruem had eventually managed to convince Tobio and the others that he was not their enemy. In order to ease tensions while simultaneously enticing them with the promise of hidden knowledge regarding the Utsusemi Agency, he had brought the group to a surprisingly refined devil owned restaurant tucked away within the human world.
The establishment itself had an intimate atmosphere with dim golden lighting, polished wooden interiors, and the subtle scent of roasted meat and expensive wine lingering throughout the air.
Before Meruem rested a beautifully prepared dish of braised lamb ribs glazed in a dark pomegranate infused with spices originating from the Underworld. The meat had been slow cooked until it practically melted apart beneath the slightest pressure while crimson sauce gleamed richly beneath candlelight like liquid rubies. Meruem cut into the meat elegantly while listening to the increasingly absurd argument unfolding nearby.
"Cat owners have to be some of the most insufferable people on this planet," Lavinia replied immediately. "They all like to pretend that cats are these tiny philosophers and not little evil goblins that knock glasses off tables because they got bored at two in the morning. I had a cat when I was younger and that thing was straight up malicious. I walked into the kitchen once and it maintained eye contact while slowly pushing a cup off the counter slowly. Like it wanted me emotionally involved in the process. A dog at least contributes emotionally to a household. Dogs actually notice when someone feels sad and try to comfort them."
Unexpectedly, Kuroka and Lavinia had gotten along almost immediately after meeting one another. The two women had barely stopped talking since entering the restaurant, effortlessly bouncing from one argument to another with chaotic energy that somehow never became awkward.
Meruem calmly sipped his wine while observing Tobio and Natsume. Both still looked profoundly confused by their surroundings. Which was understandable. A few hours ago they had been fighting grotesque monsters inside an abandoned mall, and now they were sitting inside an expensive restaurant sharing dinner with literal devils while listening to an increasingly passionate debate about cats and dogs.
Samejima Kouki, who had been healed earlier by Valerie, remained noticeably quieter than the others. The delinquent observed everyone around him cautiously, clearly unable to decide whether he actually trusted them yet.
"You've fallen victim to dog propaganda," Kuroka declared dramatically while shaking her head in disappointment. "The reason dogs appear more affectionate is because dogs are emotionally simple creatures. Humans enjoy that simplicity because it feeds their egos. Dogs wag their tails for absolutely anyone. A serial killer could walk into a house holding half a sandwich and a Labrador would immediately swear eternal loyalty. If a cat genuinely likes you, however, then you have earned something meaningful because cats possess standards."
"No they don't," Natsume interrupted flatly. "I've seen cats sleep inside flowerpots and attack curtains for no reason. People act like cats are elegant masterminds because they walk slowly and narrow their eyes all the time. Half the time they're just confused."
Tobio quietly nodded in agreement beside her, and Meruem smiled with amusement. It seemed Tobio instinctively felt obligated to defend his Sacred Gear's honour.
"Dogs are also dumb as bricks," Samejima said with a grin. "Most of them act like bums desperately searching for purpose. You throw a stick and the thing reacts as though destiny itself has called upon it. There's something vaguely tragic about that level of devotion directed toward absolutely nothing."
"You're only insulting dogs because your Sacred Gear is a cat!" Lavinia replied irritably before turning toward the remaining two members of the table who had wisely avoided involving themselves in the discussion thus far. "What about you two? You have both been silent this entire time."
"Don't care," Leonardo answered immediately through a mouthful of lobster without even bothering to look up.
"I don't really have an opinion," Valerie admitted softly.
Lavinia blinked in confusion. "What do you mean you don't have an opinion? Everybody has an opinion about this. So which is it? Dogs or cats?"
Valerie paused briefly before answering in the same calm tone. "I never really had the opportunity to interact with either in the past. The only companions I had growing up were rats and insects, and I didn't particularly like either of them."
The atmosphere around the table shifted noticeably after those words. Tobio and the others looked visibly disturbed by the casualness with which Valerie had delivered such an unsettling statement. Natsume especially seemed unsure how to respond while Tobio quietly stared at Valerie with a complicated expression that mixed pity and disbelief.
Even Samejima's expression became awkwardly sympathetic. Only those already familiar with Valerie's past maintained their composure. Kuroka's ears drooped slightly while Lavinia looked deeply guilty for accidentally forcing the conversation in that direction.
Meruem calmly took another sip of wine while silently appreciating Valerie's remarkable ability to casually traumatize entire conversations without even intending to.
"What about you, Meruem?" Natsume asked eventually, clearly attempting to move the conversation away from the uncomfortable direction it had taken. "Are you a cat person or a dog person?"
"I prefer flying sharks," Meruem answered with absolute finality.
Natsume stared at him silently for several long seconds. Eventually, she made the wise decision that attempting to unpack whatever psychological disaster existed behind that statement was far beyond her current emotional capabilities. Without another word, she slowly redirected her attention back toward Kuroka and Lavinia, who had already resumed arguing about entirely different topics with the natural ease of people who had somehow become friends within the span of a single evening.
After some time, the main course disappeared from the table and dessert arrived shortly afterward alongside fresh drinks and quieter conversation. The intensity from earlier gradually faded into something softer and more comfortable. Kuroka and Lavinia no longer argued with the same competitive energy as before, and instead settled into the kind of easy silence that only formed between people who unexpectedly realized they genuinely enjoyed each other's company.
The atmosphere around the table became warmer, and strangely normal despite the absurdity of the group itself. Plates of layered chocolate cake, fruit tarts, and cream filled pastries rested between half empty glasses while soft music drifted quietly through the restaurant.
"What happened to Doumon and the Heaven-Reavers?" Tobio finally asked.
"They are currently resting peacefully in the attic," Meruem answered with a mysterious smile. "They proved surprisingly cooperative when questioned regarding the Utsusemi Agency. After contributing so helpfully, they deserved an opportunity to rest."
"Is that why you arrived later to this little gathering?" Lavinia asked curiously. "Because you were interrogating them?"
"Something along those lines," Meruem answered calmly.
Meruem had been keeping a close eye on Tobio for the past several months, patiently waiting for the events surrounding Slash Dog to finally begin unfolding. The possibility of recruiting Tobio, the wielder of a Longinus-tier Sacred Gear, was already valuable enough on its own considering how useful such an asset would eventually become against the Bael clan, but Tobio himself was far from the only thing Meruem sought to gain from this entire affair.
There were other pieces moving beneath the surface, pieces far more important to his long-term ambitions, and among them existed something absolutely indispensable for the plans he intended to set into motion in the near future.
The reason Meruem was not worried about the upcoming Rating Game tournament against the Bael was because of the ritual he intended to conduct on the sixth of June, 2006, a ritual which, if executed successfully, would grant him a tremendous leap in power within a single night. His current method of converting the Seven Deadly Sins into demonic energy before gathering that energy within the [Furnace of Desire] and slowly absorbing the accumulated essence afterward was ultimately far too inefficient for the scale of power he desired.
He understood perfectly well that directly absorbing sin energy was ill-advised as the gods can attest, and he had never been arrogant enough to assume otherwise, which was precisely why the [Furnace of Desire] had become necessary in the first place. It functioned as both a filtering and conversion mechanism, refining the chaotic emotional energy into something stable enough for safe consumption.
It was without a doubt his greatest creation so far, a masterpiece crafted through principles similar to those used in the forging of the Rings of Power, but even masterpieces had limitations. The Furnace could only process and refine a finite amount of energy at any given time, and that bottleneck severely restricted the speed of his evolution.
At its current pace, even if his cults expanded into the millions, reaching Satan-class through that method alone would still require years, perhaps even two full decades. The gap between High-class and Ultimate-class already bordered on absurd, and the difference between Ultimate-class and Satan-class became exponentially greater still. Even the weakest Satan-class beings possessed demonic reserves at least fourteen times greater than those of an Ultimate-class devil.
Meruem had no intention of wasting decades slowly climbing toward that realm. That was where the grand ritual came into play. The ritual itself would be extraordinarily dangerous, but risk had never once discouraged him from pursuing something worthwhile. For the ritual to succeed, however, he needed the [Four Fiends] currently tied to the Utsusemi Agency, and beyond that, he also required the agency's accumulated research regarding Sacred Gears and Independent Avatars. There were alternative methods to acquire such knowledge, of course.
He could attempt to negotiate directly with Azazel himself, but Meruem had absolutely no interest in placing himself in the Fallen Governor's debt (and he doubted Azazel would agree anyway) when obtaining the same information through the Utsusemi Agency would ultimately be far simpler and far more convenient.
"Do you have any information about the Utsusemi Agency?" Natsume, one of the wielders of the Four Fiends, asked quickly.
"I have been investigating the Utsusemi Agency for quite some time," Meruem lied smoothly. "So yes, I would say I have more than adequate knowledge regarding their methods and objectives."
"Really?!" Tobio, Kouki, and Natsume exclaimed at once.
"Can you tell us anything?" Natsume asked immediately afterward, unable to hide her urgency.
"Why do you want to know?" Meruem asked curiously.
"Because the Utsusemi Agency kidnapped our friends," Tobio answered quietly. "Two months ago, two hundred and thirty three of our classmates disappeared, and I thought they were dead this whole time. Only recently did I learn they were taken to be used as experimental subjects by those bastards. I can't accept that. I will do anything to save them, so if you can provide us with any information or leads regarding their whereabouts, I would be truly grateful."
"And why exactly should I do that?" Meruem asked casually while resting his chin against his folded hands.
"…Pardon?" Tobio replied, visibly caught off guard.
"I said," Meruem continued, his voice becoming slightly more serious as his crimson eyes settled directly onto Tobio, "why should I freely hand over hard won information regarding the Utsusemi Agency? What exactly do I gain from helping you?"
The atmosphere stiffened at once. All three of them stared at him with obvious shock, as though they were only now truly processing what he actually was. The realization that the being seated before them was a devil, a creature with no innate obligation toward kindness or charity, finally seemed to settle properly into their minds.
Then Meruem suddenly burst into laughter. "Seriously, you should've seen your expressions," he said between amused laughter. "I'm only joking with you. Of course I'm going to help."
Tobio let out a long sigh of relief. "Very funny," he replied dryly while remaining completely expressionless.
"You're not exactly helping dispel negative stereotypes regarding devils," Rossweisse commented with a tired sigh.
"It's obvious they are still suspicious of us," Meruem replied with visible amusement. "So I thought a harmless prank would help lighten the mood somewhat, and personally I found it hilarious."
Meruem understood very well that if one intended to convince people to willingly devote themselves to him eternally, appearing genuinely helpful and approachable was significantly more effective in the long term. Only amateurs obsessed over immediate gratification while sabotaging future loyalty in the process.
"You're the only one here who thinks that was amusing," Rossweisse retorted immediately.
"Not true," Leonardo stated calmly while continuing to eat. "I also thought it was funny."
"You know," Kuroka said lazily, "if you actually wanted complete strangers to trust you after knocking people unconscious in front of them, then quoting one of the most infamous portrayals of the devil in literature probably was not the best strategy."
Meruem rested his elbow against the table with perfect calm. "I felt honesty was preferable to deception."
Kuroka stared at him with a look that made it abundantly clear she was not convinced.
"Seriously, imagine being traumatized teenagers surrounded by giant bugs and shadow monsters, then some red eyed devil appears outta nowhere saying 'I am the spirit that denies and yet makes all things possible.'" She lifted a hand dramatically. "'Behold my symbolism.'"
"You have to admit it was very memorable," Meruem said.
"It was pretentious!"
"Personally, I thought it sounded refined." Rossweisse said with visible approval, clearly pleased he had quoted a fellow German.
Sometimes he wondered how close Rossweisse still feels to the German people now that they have long since become Christianized and no longer speak the names of the old gods with reverence. What it must mean for one who had stood beneath the shadow of Valhalla itself to walk now among a people who regarded Odin, or Wotan as he was once known in the old Germanic lands, and the Valkyries as the fever dreams of savage forefathers painted blue with frost and blood and superstition. Their ancient rites swallowed beneath cathedral bells and processions of saints and the long dominion of the cross that had rolled over Europe like winter surf consuming every shrine and sacred grove from the Rhine to the northern seas.
"See?" Kuroka said, immediately pointing at her. "That's exactly the problem. Only people like you think that sentence helps."
"What exactly does 'people like you' mean?" Rossweisse replied with a slight frown.
"You know," Kuroka replied. "People who alphabetize bookshelves for emotional satisfaction."
"I don't alphabetize for emotional satisfaction," Rossweisse said, looking genuinely offended. "I alphabetize because disorder creates unnecessary inefficiency."
They all burst out laughing at that, and the tension that Meruem's earlier joke had created quickly dissolved as Tobio and the others visibly relaxed again. Meruem noticed straight away that both Kuroka and Rossweisse had done it intentionally to ease the atmosphere and prevent the conversation from becoming too heated. Honestly, those two worried far too much about keeping everyone comfortable sometimes.
"How much do you know about the Utsusemi Agency anyway?" Meruem asked casually.
"Unfortunately, not much," Natsume admitted with embarrassment. "We know they're trying to recreate the Independent Avatar Sacred Gears, and that they need the Four Fiends for it. Beyond that, we know almost nothing."
"That's... surprisingly little," Meruem remarked, though he did not sound particularly surprised.
He studied them carefully while quietly wondering why Azazel was allowing them to operate with so few leads and so little protection. Tobio had only learned of the supernatural world a few days ago, while Kouki Samejima and Natsume were scarcely any better due to their complete lack of real experience.
Meruem could not understand what exactly Azazel hoped to accomplish by allowing them to stumble blindly through the dark while remaining so vulnerable. His gaze eventually shifted toward Lavinia Reni, the Ice Princess herself, who had remained perfectly calm during the entirety of their conversation. Could it be that Azazel was relying on her alone to keep the others safe? If so, why? From what Meruem remembered, Lavinia belonged to the Grauzauberer under Mephistopheles. It was obvious that both Azazel and Mephistopheles had their own agendas regarding this matter, but what?
"Then I guess I should start from the beginning," Meruem said calmly. "Since ancient times, there have been certain individuals blessed by the Shinto gods for the purpose of battling evil spirits and other malicious entities. The most prominent among them are known as the Five Principal Clans."
"The Five Principal Clans?" Kouki repeated thoughtfully.
"Himejima, Doumon, Shinra, Kushihashi, and finally Nakiri," Meruem listed evenly, noticing Tobio twitch ever so slightly at the mention of the Himejima name. "To the Shinto gods, they are what the Church is to the Christian God. Because of their intense devotion and strict worship, they were rewarded with unique elemental powers directly by the gods themselves."
"So they're basically a secret organization that protects Japan from the shadows?" Tobio murmured.
"Yes," Meruem confirmed calmly. "As you might expect, the clans are extremely fanatical and obsessed with blood purity. If a child is born without inheriting the clan's divine elemental power, they are viewed as someone abandoned by the gods themselves. To the clans, such people are considered spiritually tainted and fundamentally unworthy of respect."
"That's horrible," Natsume said, shocked by that. "Why would that be the sole judge of worth? And why would the gods bless some and exclude others?"
"who can know the fickle mind of the gods," Meruem said casually. "Divine beings have never been particularly concerned with mortal ideas of fairness. Those deemed rejected are eventually cast out from their clans, severed from their families, stripped of their names, and abandoned entirely. Over time, many of those exiles gathered together and formed communities of outcasts united by bitterness and resentment toward the clan heads who discarded them so mercilessly.
"Their hatred has only deepened over the years, eventually transforming into a singular obsession with revenge. And revenge, naturally, requires power. Power great enough to overcome the Five Principal Clans themselves. That's why they began seeking the strength of the Four Fiends."
"…So the attack on the luxury liner," Kouki said slowly, "was all because they were trying to capture the Four Fiends?"
"The attack during the school trip was carried out for the sole purpose of retrieving every student aboard that vessel," Meruem explained calmly. "The fact that half the ship sank into the depths merely benefited them immensely. It eliminated the need to account for a large number of missing bodies and allowed the incident to be disguised as a tragic maritime disaster rather than an organized supernatural operation. Once the ship disappeared beneath the water, all that remained was managing the surviving relatives and ensuring that no inconvenient questions continued to be asked."
Tobio's face paled visibly. "Wait… are you saying they kidnapped the families too?!"
"Did any of you have close friends among the victims?" Meruem asked another question instead of giving them a direct answer..
"My best friend was on that ship," Kouki answered through clenched fists.
"Mine too," Natsume added quietly, her voice tinged with melancholy.
"Yeah," Tobio said softly. "My childhood friend was also one of the passengers."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Meruem replied, feigning sympathy with unsettling smoothness. "And were any of you personally acquainted with their parents?"
"Well... I wouldn't say we were especially close," Kouki admitted after some hesitation. "But I spent a lot of time at my friend's house growing up, so obviously I interacted with them pretty often."
"I was very close with Sae's parents," Tobio said, his voice becoming quieter. "Sae was her name. Since we'd known each other since childhood... I was practically part of their family."
"Then let me ask you this. If Sae's family suddenly decided to move away or leave the country for an extended period of time, would they really do so without saying a single word to you beforehand?"
"No..." Tobio answered after a moment. "They wouldn't. Whenever they traveled overseas before, they always told me ahead of time. Sometimes they even brought me along with them."
"And did they do that this time?" Meruem asked calmly. "Did they inform you of any sudden plans to relocate? Did they say goodbye?"
"No," Tobio answered quietly. "They didn't."
"And don't you find it strange that the families of every victim supposedly decided to disappear around the exact same time?" Meruem asked. "One grieving family abandoning their home because the memories became unbearable would be understandable. Maybe even a few. But over two hundred families simultaneously relocating without informing close friends, relatives, neighbors, or anyone else? It's clear that a supernatural hand is at play here."
"But… how could they even accomplish something like that?" Kouki asked uneasily.
"Hypnosis, mind manipulation, memory alteration, magical coercion, or any number of similar methods," Meruem answered with a shrug. "There are countless ways to ensure obedience in this world. Free will becomes a very fragile thing once magic enters the equation."
"Did Doumon reveal all of this after you interrogated him?" Lavinia asked, appearing the least disturbed by the revelation.
"He merely confirmed suspicions I had already formed beforehand," Meruem replied.
Doumon had proven surprisingly difficult to break. The man had been layered with multiple magical seals designed to detonate the moment he attempted to reveal information deemed forbidden by his masters. Unfortunately for him, Meruem's eyes were capable of perceiving every single one of those protections before they activated, allowing him to dismantle them selectively and with precise care. Even so, Meruem had to admit the craftsmanship involved had been remarkably sophisticated.
"And how exactly did they manage to organize something on that scale?" Lavinia asked thoughtfully. "Most supernatural patrols tend to ignore smaller incidents because the world is full of isolated disappearances and mysterious deaths, but there are still rules governing this place. One or even twenty people vanishing because of supernatural involvement might quietly disappear beneath the cracks, especially if the victims are ordinary humans. But over two hundred students vanishing alongside countless family members afterward is the sort of thing that draws attention whether people want it to or not. At that point the Shinto pantheon itself might decide to intervene personally."
"Unless, of course," Meruem said smoothly while taking another graceful sip of wine, "the Utsusemi Agency has the support of someone powerful enough that they do not fear divine wrath in the slightest."
"But who would possibly be arrogant enough to oppose the gods themselves?" Lavinia asked, meeting his gaze with obvious expectation, as though she hoped he possessed answers to every mystery surrounding this affair.
"Perhaps an evil god," he offered lightly. "The Heaven Reavers belong to a clandestine doomsday cult devoted to the worship of an ancient Japanese god of calamity whom they believe will one day return during the promised hour. The Cult of Mikaboshi, the August Star of Heaven. Someone like that would possess both the power and the motivation necessary to openly oppose Amaterasu and the heavenly order she represents."
"Isn't Mikaboshi one of the Kunitsukami who resisted the authority of the Amatsukami over the earth?" Natsume asked aloud.
"According to conventional mythology, yes," Meruem answered with mild amusement. "However, the cult's interpretation differs greatly from the accepted stories. They believe Mikaboshi's importance within the myths was deliberately diminished by those who defeated him. According to their version, Mikaboshi was once the rightful sovereign of the stars long before the current gods rose to power, and that only through betrayal and the combined efforts of the heavenly deities was he ultimately sealed away. Naturally, they are now devoting themselves wholeheartedly to freeing their god, as all fanatical cults inevitably do.
"Unfortunately, the Heaven-Reavers we captured occupied relatively low positions within the organization and possessed only fragmentary knowledge regarding the full extent of the cult's involvement with the Utsusemi Agency. Doumon, however, confirmed that the Cults of Mikaboshi played a major role in orchestrating the disappearance of your classmates."
The mere existence and involvement of the Cults of Mikaboshi confirmed to Meruem that this world would not follow the exact sequence of events from canon. Not that he had ever intended to rely blindly upon foreknowledge in the first place.
Nevertheless, the revelation served as a valuable reminder that caution would be necessary moving forward, especially while individuals such as Mephistopheles and Azazel continued maneuvering through the shadows pursuing schemes and ambitions that almost certainly extended far beyond anything they had yet revealed. Meruem had no intention of underestimating either of them.
"But I still don't understand how they figured out our school in the first place," Kouki asked with visible frustration. "How did they know there were Sacred Gear wielders there, much less wielders of the Four Fiends? None of us had even awakened our Sacred Gears yet. So how?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" Meruem said nonchalantly
Truthfully, he himself was uncertain regarding the exact details. He knew for a fact that at least one Fallen Angel had been involved with the Utsusemi Agency, because there was simply no plausible way that the organization could have progressed so far in the creation of artificial Sacred Gears without access to the centuries of accumulated research conducted by the Fallen Angels regarding the mechanisms and structure of Sacred Gears themselves.
"So much tragedy… and for what?" Tobio asked quietly, sorrow evident in his voice. "Just so a group of broken people can lash out against a world they think abandoned them. But why drag innocent people into all of this? Why involve our classmates at all? Was everything that happened really because of us?"
"Partially," Meruem answered calmly.
"Didn't you say the attack happened because of the Four Fiends?" Natsume asked curiously. "Is there another reason beyond that?"
"It was indeed because of the Four Fiends," Meruem replied evenly. "I was merely correcting Tobio regarding one detail. He himself was never actually part of that particular reason."
"Wait," Lavinia said immediately, catching onto his meaning far faster than the others, "are you saying Tobio's Sacred Gear is not one of the Four Fiends?"
"No," Meruem answered with a faint smile. "I don't believe it is. My eyes allow me to see the true nature of things, and what I observed earlier from the creature within Tobio's shadow leads me to suspect that his Sacred Gear belongs to an entirely different category altogether. Though, in a sense, you could still say Tobio was the reason so many Sacred Gear wielders ended up gathered within the same school. His Sacred Gear possesses the ability to attract other Sacred Gears that resonate upon similar wavelengths."
"And which Sacred Gear is it?" Lavinia asked, genuine excitement entering her voice. "What exactly does he possess?"
"Canis Lycaon," Meruem answered calmly. "That's right. Tobio is the wielder of one of the thirteen Longinus."
"What's a Longinus?" Natsume asked immediately.
"They are Sacred Gears that possess the power to kill gods," Rossweisse explained patiently.
The room fell silent in stunned disbelief at the revelation, which was expected. Learning that someone standing beside you possessed a power capable of slaying divine beings was not the sort of truth most people could process calmly. From Tobio's shadow, the black hound formed entirely from darkness slowly emerged once more, its glowing eyes quietly observing the room before it affectionately curled itself around its master.
"This little guy has the power to kill a god?" Tobio asked in astonishment while absentmindedly scratching behind the dog's ears. "Earlier, the Heaven Reavers implied my Sacred Gear was something special. Is this what they meant?"
"Yep," Meruem affirmed calmly. "They believe that Canis Lycaon's ability to sever absolutely anything may potentially be capable of cutting through the seals imprisoning their god."
"So the cult is going to start hunting Tobio now?" Natsume asked worriedly.
"Not as of yet," Meruem replied. "For now, the only individuals who appear to suspect the true nature of Tobio's Sacred Gear are the two Heaven Reavers currently in our custody, and since I have no intention whatsoever of allowing either of them to ever again see the light of day, your secret should remain secure for the time being. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the Utsusemi Agency itself eventually deduced that there was a Longinus wielder hidden within your school. Surely not all of them are incompetent enough to overlook the absurd improbability of so many Sacred Gear wielders gathering in a single location."
Humanity's population was rapidly approaching seven billion, and even if one generously exaggerated the number of Sacred Gear wielders to nearly one percent of humanity, that would still amount to only seventy million Sacred Gears scattered across the entire planet.
The probability of at least five Sacred Gear wielders naturally gathering within the same ordinary school was so astronomically small that any individual possessing even the slightest modicom of intelligence would inevitably begin connecting the dots, especially when one considered the well-known phenomenon that Longinus-class Sacred Gears possessed a tendency to attract other Sacred Gears aligned to similar wavelengths.
After all, Issei Hyoudou and Saji Genshirou, both wielders of dragon-oriented Sacred Gears, had similarly ended up attending the exact same school despite the sheer impossibility of such a coincidence occurring naturally.
That was one of the fundamental laws governing this world. Strength called unto greater strength just as stars gathered lesser bodies into their orbit. For unto those who already possessed power, still greater power would inevitably gather before them in abundance, while those born weak would watch even the little they possessed stripped away and devoured by stronger hands until nothing remained.
"So sooner or later, they'll come after me too," Tobio said quietly, his expression remaining strangely calm. "But that doesn't really matter right now. I'll deal with that problem after I've settled things with those Utsusemi bastards… You're planning to kill the Heaven Reavers we captured, aren't you?"
"They no longer possess any value," Meruem answered calmly. "Why do you ask? Does the thought of killing people like them trouble you?"
"No," Tobio replied coldly. "I honestly don't give a damn what happens to them. I have no desire to kill humans if it can be avoided, but the moment those bastards decided to use my friends as experimental subjects and disposable sacrifices, they forfeited any right to my sympathy or mercy."
Oh?
So there was steel hidden beneath that hesitation after all. Meruem had never expected Tobio to accept the killing of humans easily since that sort of moral reluctance was practically ingrained into shonen protagonists like him, but what truly caught his attention was Tobio's ability to compromise when cornered by circumstances.
The moment a man accepts that there are exceptions to his principles, regardless of whether he justifies it through necessity, justice, or the belief that certain people have forfeited their humanity through evil, he unconsciously weakens the absolute nature of his convictions.
It was like dancing with the devil beneath candlelight while convincing oneself that it was merely a single harmless step. Then another step followed after that, and another after that, until eventually the dance floor itself vanished and only darkness remained beneath one's feet. Every future compromise became easier than the last because the human mind was a creature desperate for consistency.
Once someone proved to themselves that their principles could bend beneath the correct circumstances, the soul would tirelessly search for new reasons to justify what it already desired, feared, or hated. Meruem understood that aspect of humanity perfectly, and all he needed to do was guide Tobio carefully along that path while allowing the boy to believe every step had been his own choice.
"But you won't be able to save your friends as you are now," Meruem said evenly while meeting Tobio's gaze without hostility. "You are weak. You can't use magic, you have no combat experience, and most importantly, you have absolutely no idea of how to properly utilize your Sacred Gear's abilities. Samejima can attest to the strength of the Utsusemi Agency, and that's without accounting for the manpower they can draw from the cults of Mikaboshi and whatever other allies may be lurking in the shadows."
Kouki Samejima looked visibly ashamed at that reminder, and the humiliation of having been utterly defeated by Doumon had clearly left cracks in his confidence. Meruem observed the boy calmly and found the insecurity rather useful. Broken people searching desperately for strength always fit neatly into a peerage.
"Which is why I wish to offer you a deal," Meruem continued with a faint smile.
"What kind of deal?" Tobio asked cautiously.
"I will train you," Meruem replied calmly. "I will teach you how to master your Sacred Gears, help you grow strong enough to oppose the Utsusemi Agency directly, and personally assist you in saving your friends from whatever fate awaits them."
"My father used to say that if a deal sounded too good to be true, then it probably was," Kouki said while narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "So stop dancing around it and say it directly. What exactly do you want in return for helping us?"
"I want you to join my peerage," Meruem answered simply.
"What is a peerage?" Tobio asked with confusion.
Rossweisse then patiently explained the history of the devils, their catastrophic demographic decline after the great war, and the creation of the Evil Pieces system as a method of reincarnating members of other races into devils in order to replenish their numbers and strengthen their factions.
She explained the ranking system, the function of the pieces, and the advantages that came with devil reincarnation in such a composed manner that Meruem almost found himself impressed. Rossweisse truly possessed a remarkable talent for presenting the Evil Pieces system in the most appealing and civilized light imaginable.
"So we would basically become knights sworn to you like in medieval times?" Natsume asked after processing the explanation for a while.
"That's certainly the romantic interpretation of it," Meruem replied with a soft chuckle. "However, I have no intention of manipulating you with comforting half truths. The Evil Pieces system has been abused by many devils throughout history, and there are peerages that function little differently from slavery. Legally speaking, you would become subordinate to me in most matters. However, I give you my word that I will never mistreat you, abuse you, or attempt to strip away your freedom."
"Why would you even tell us that?" Tobio asked curiously. "Wouldn't it make more sense for you to make it sound as attractive as possible so we would agree?"
"I already told you earlier, did I not?" Meruem said seriously. "I don't enjoy relying upon deception, nor do I wish to build my peerage upon false pretenses. I want my peerage to consist of comrades, advisors, and companions who possess the freedom to challenge my perspective whenever necessary. I want people capable of speaking honestly to me even when doing so is uncomfortable. In order for such a relationship to truly exist, then they must enter it fully understanding what they are agreeing to, rather than stumbling blindly into chains disguised as gifts."
That was only partially true. Meruem was by no means above manipulation when it suited his goals. He had already done that with both Leonardo and Kuroka, exploiting the precarious circumstances surrounding their lives in order to guide them naturally toward him. In Leonardo's case, Meruem had even arranged part of the precarious situation himself before extending salvation afterward like an outstretched hand from the heavens.
But despite all of that, he had never actually lied to either of them regarding the true nature of the Evil Pieces. He simply understood that honesty and manipulation were not mutually exclusive concepts. One could reveal the truth while still carefully shaping the path another person walked toward it.
There was also the rather practical issue that any lies he attempted to tell would likely be exposed immediately by Lavinia, who was more than knowledgeable enough about devil society given that the chairman of her own organization was himself a devil.
"There will be many people who attempt to hunt you because of your Sacred Gears," Meruem continued slowly. "The cults of Mikaboshi are merely the beginning. There are countless factions, organizations, and individuals within the supernatural world who would happily use people like you for their own ambitions. If you join me, then you will have the protection of House Beleth standing behind you. Anyone foolish enough to come after you will first have to answer to me."
The group exchanged hesitant looks and clearly considered his proposal seriously. Even Samejima, who seemed the most rebellious and suspicious among them, appeared genuinely tempted by the offer. Meruem briefly glanced toward Lavinia, who observed the entire conversation with visible amusement while making no effort whatsoever to interfere.
"And if you become devils, you will gain the strength necessary to fight the Utsusemi Agency far faster," Kuroka added proudly. "Teaching you human magic from scratch would take years before you became competent enough to actually use it in combat, and that's assuming you even have the affinity and talent required for its complicated calculation systems. Devil power works completely differently. It relies heavily upon imagination and raw will. A devil doesn't need pages of formulas and magical equations just to throw a fireball at somebody. Both in the short term and the long term, devil power has far greater potential for explosive growth that suits your fighting styles much better."
Ever since he had helped Kuroka reunite with her younger sister, the relationship between them had improved considerably, though the reunion itself had been an extraordinarily emotional spectacle filled with crying, accusations, apologies, and dramatic embraces that seemed as though they belonged within a soap opera rather than reality.
During the entire ordeal, Meruem had amused himself immensely by remaining as a guest within Sona Sitri and Rias Gremory's territory while both heiresses struggled awkwardly to determine how they were supposed to interact with someone possessing his increasingly infamous reputation. The expressions on their faces whenever they entered a room and found him calmly drinking tea as though he belonged there had been particularly entertaining.
"Guys, let's think about this carefully," Natsume said nervously. "Maybe we should consult the Governor General before making any rushed decisions."
"Why exactly should I need his permission to make choices about my own life?" Kouki retorted disdainfully. "We have never even met or spoken directly to the man personally, and that bastard Doumon heavily implied there was some sort of connection between the Governor General and the Utsusemi Agency."
"I should probably clarify a few things before misunderstandings begin festering," Lavinia said softly. "First of all, I should introduce myself properly. My name is Lavinia Reni, and I am a witch of Grauzauberer who was sent here personally by Chairman Pheles."
"Grauzauberer?" Tobio repeated curiously. "What exactly is that?"
"It's a magician organization," Lavinia explained calmly. "One originally founded by the legendary Johann Georg Faust himself."
"Wait, that guy was actually real?!" Tobio exclaimed in shock. "I thought he was just a fictional character invented by Goethe."
"Goethe merely wrote one of the many dramatized interpretations inspired by the life of the real Faust," Lavinia explained nonchalantly. "His version was far from historically accurate regarding the events that truly occurred."
Tobio still looked visibly shaken by the revelation, as though discovering that a supposedly fictional figure had truly existed disturbed him on a fundamental level.
"I guess… I just assumed only myths themselves were real," Tobio admitted slowly. "I never really considered that ordinary stories or literature might also be based on actual events."
"The boundary separating myth from fiction is far thinner than most people realize, Tobio," Lavinia replied with a mysterious smile. "Many legends, folktales, and stories humanity dismisses as fantasy are in fact distorted recollections of genuine historical events whose truths became obscured over time. If the gods of mythology truly exist, then why should Faust's existence seem so impossible? Though returning to the matter at hand, I was sent by the chairman of my organization to help deal with the Utsusemi Agency because several rogue magicians have allied themselves with it, and cleaning up dangerous rogue magicians is partially our responsibility."
"Then by Chairman Pheles you mean…" Tobio asked disturbed.
"Mephistopheles," Lavinia replied. "He took over when Faust died."
"What does any of that have to do with the Governor General?" Natsume asked warily. "Is he your boss or something?"
"No, not at all," Lavinia answered. "However, since the Governor General's organization also appears to contain a few bad eggs connected to the agency, we decided it would be more efficient to cooperate in resolving the matter together."
Kouki immediately looked irritated by that revelation. "What do you mean his people were involved?" he demanded while narrowing his eyes sharply. "Involved in what way exactly?"
"The techniques being used to develop the artificial Sacred Gears originated from within the Governor General's organization," Lavinia revealed seriously. "Someone managed to leak highly classified research regarding artificial Sacred Gears to the agency. Information concerning all of you, along with details surrounding the Four Fiends themselves, was also passed to the Utsusemi Agency by an informant operating from within the organization."
Meruem smiled faintly at that revelation because it provided him with useful leverage without requiring him to expose how much he already knew. He could not have revealed such information himself without immediately raising questions regarding the source of his knowledge. But since Lavinia had voluntarily exposed the truth, he could now simply build upon it naturally.
Lavinia had always been the greatest wildcard in his recruitment plans because she possessed enough knowledge of the supernatural world to disrupt his narrative if she chose to interfere. That was why he had approached her privately beforehand and offered a deal of his own. If she refrained from obstructing his efforts, then he would provide her with information regarding the person most important to her. She did not need to actively support him, merely remain neutral. But judging by her silence and the occasional amused glances she cast in his direction, it seemed she had chosen to cooperate far more willingly than he initially expected.
How wonderfully convenient!
"There is only one faction with enough knowledge of Sacred Gears to replicate them," Meruem said with a knowing grin as he leaned back slightly. "Let me take a wild guess. This Governor General is Azazel, isn't he? The leader of the Fallen Angels. Am I correct?"
Lavinia nodded without the slightest hesitation or surprise.
"You are correct," she answered calmly. "You could say this entire crisis is ultimately the fault of the Fallen Angels in the first place, which is precisely why Azazel is trying to resolve the matter discreetly. Unfortunately, due to certain complications which I am sure you can already guess, the Fallen can't involve themselves openly or act too directly."
"Wait, wait!" Kouki interrupted angrily as he stared between them in frustration. "Who the hell is Azazel, and what the fuck is a Fallen Angel?"
"If I am not mistaken," Tobio spoke up in his usual studious manner, "they are christian angels who fell from Heaven after becoming evil, like Lucifer."
Meruem was not surprised by their ignorance since Christianity was never the dominant religion in Japan, leaving most people with only the vaguest understanding of Abrahamic mythology beyond popular fiction and scattered folklore.
"Close, though not entirely accurate," Meruem explained. "The Fallen Angels were originally a group of angels sent by God to watch over humanity in ancient times. They were known as the Watchers, and their duty was to guide mankind from afar without interfering too deeply in human affairs. However, over time many of them grew prideful and dissatisfied with merely observing humanity. Some desired worship for themselves instead of for God, while others became fascinated by human ambition, conflict, and desire.
"They began teaching humanity things they were never meant to know, including methods of warfare, weapon forging, manipulation, and forbidden knowledge that accelerated conflict and bloodshed throughout the world. In the end they abandoned their purpose as guardians and became intent on domination of God's children instead. That is why they are called the Fallen angels. They are one of the reasons why the Great Flood happend. However, Lucifer's rebellion predates the fall of the Watchers by a considerable margin. He was never considered one of the Fallen Angels. Lucifer rebelled directly against God long before that and created his own faction afterward, which eventually became known as the Devils."
"Some witches from my own organization are cooperating with the agency as well," Lavinia admitted with an apologetic smile. "So it's not solely the fault of the Fallen Angels. I'm sorry for not revealing everything immediately, but I did not want to overwhelm you all with too much information at once. I wanted to explain things gradually."
"So in the end we're just pawns being used by Azazel to clean up a disaster his own faction created in the first place?" Kouki said coldly.
Meruem internally laughed at the reaction because it was exactly the direction he had hoped the conversation would take. Azazel may have managed to present himself in a considerably better light during the original course of events, but the man was not physically present now to defend himself, which gave Meruem plenty of opportunity to ensure Tobio and the others developed a healthy distrust toward the Governor General.
"Well, Azazel is known throughout many circles as the Black Winged Tempter, the most cunning and sinister among the Fallen Angels," Meruem remarked lightly with amusement dancing in his voice. "So manipulating others into cleaning up inconvenient problems on his behalf would hardly be considered out of character for him. Though I suppose there is at least one thing you can be grateful for. He didn't simply decide it would be more convenient to have all of you quietly eliminated."
Tobio narrowed his eyes immediately. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?" he asked carefully.
"The Fallen Angels possess a rather infamous policy regarding certain Sacred Gear wielders," Meruem explained, visibly pleased by the direction the discussion had taken. "Historically speaking, there have been many Sacred Gear wielders powerful enough to reshape entire eras through their abilities. Some became tyrants, others became monsters, and some plunged nations into war purely through the influence of their power. Because of that history, certain organizations, including the Fallen Angels, eventually adopted policies centered around eliminating individuals they deemed potentially dangerous before they could fully mature into threats."
"That's horrible!" Natsume cried out immediately.
Both Tobio and Kouki looked furious at the revelation as well. The beautiful part was that Meruem did not even need to lie.
It was technically true that the Fallen Angels occasionally assassinated Sacred Gear wielders who represented exceptional threats, though such measures were reserved only for extremely rare and dangerous cases rather than ordinary wielders as Meruem was intentionally implying. Lavinia could very easily correct the misunderstanding if she wished, yet from what Meruem had observed thus far, she did not appear especially attached to the Fallen Angels herself.
Kouki then met Meruem's gaze directly. "If I accept your proposal," he asked seriously, "will you genuinely help us save our friends? No devil tricks, hidden loopholes, or bullshit technicalities involved?"
"Are you seriously making a decision this massive that quickly?" Natsume asked in disbelief.
"What exactly is there left to hesitate about?" Kouki shot back immediately. "For the past few weeks we have been stumbling around blindly with almost no information about where our classmates are, no leads regarding the people responsible, and no understanding of what we are even dealing with. Meanwhile the guy supposedly helping us conveniently forgot to mention that this entire nightmare began because of his own faction's leaked research. I refuse to keep acting like some disposable pawn for people like that."
His eyes then shifted toward Meruem. "At least this guy is offering us an actual plan, actual answers, and an actual path forward regarding how to save our classmates. I don't give a fuck if he also intends to use us for his own goals in the process because at the very least he has been honest and direct about it from the beginning. In a single hour he has given us more information than we managed to uncover ourselves over the course of several weeks. As far as I am concerned, if making a deal with a Devil is what it takes to save my best friend, then I will gladly make that deal myself."
The others fell silent at that declaration, and Meruem was genuinely impressed by the boy's loyalty and willingness to sacrifice his own future for the sake of another person. He had initially dismissed Kouki as little more than a loud side character, yet once again he was reminded that these were real people possessing their own histories, loyalties, and convictions.
"I give you my word," Meruem said seriously.
"Then there is no point delaying this any further," Kouki declared proudly. "I accept your offer."
"Then I will accept it as well," Tobio said firmly. "I'm not letting you walk into this mess alone. If you are making a deal with a devil, then we will make it together. However, I have one condition."
Meruem stared at him with visible interest. "And what would that condition be?" he asked.
"Once we save our classmates," Tobio said quietly, "I want them to be given the chance to live normal lives away from all of this insanity. I want your word that you won't try to force them into becoming devils."
"I promise that I will not attempt to recruit the students we rescue from the Utsusemi Agency," Meruem replied while appearing somewhat reluctant.
Internally, however, he found the request almost amusing. He was almost sure that the remaining wielders of the Four Fiends were not ordinary captives within the agency anyway, and he had no interest in wasting Evil Pieces on cheap artificial imitations. Tobio and the others remained blissfully unaware that his true objective involved gathering all four Fiends for himself.
Natsume sighed heavily afterward. "Then I suppose I will follow you idiots too," she muttered reluctantly.
All of them then turned toward Lavinia simultaneously, and Meruem observed her with interest while waiting to hear her response.
"Hmmm, I think I'll remain human for the time being," Lavinia answered with a mischievous smile. "Unlike you three, I'm not catastrophically weak enough to require devil reincarnation just to fight the Utsusemi Agency."
"We're not weak!" Natsume protested with a pout. "But I kind of expected you'd refuse. You have been mysterious ever since we met."
"I am a witch by profession," Lavinia replied casually. "Being mysterious and cryptic is part of the job description."
The group laughed at that, and the atmosphere softened considerably despite the weight of the decisions just made. The three who had agreed to become devils then turned toward him expectantly.
"So how exactly does this work?" Natsume asked while eyeing him nervously. "Do we need to drink your blood or something to activate these Evil Pieces? Please don't tell me it involves sacrificing virgins to you."
"Nothing so dramatic," he replied, chuckling softly at her theatrics.. "The process itself is relatively simple. However, there is something I wish to do beforehand."
As he spoke, he snapped his fingers lightly. A vast magical circle bearing the seven pointed star of House Beleth appeared across the center of the restaurant floor, radiating golden light and immense demonic energy. From within that light emerged his glorious younger brother, who calmly surveyed the surroundings with composed curiosity.
Belathriel glanced first toward Meruem and then toward the others gathered at the table before walking forward with smooth elegance.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," Belathriel said warmly while offering a flawless nobleman's bow. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am prince Belathriel of House Beleth, younger brother to the esteemed Meruem Beleth. I apologize sincerely if my arrival has disrupted the atmosphere of your evening gathering."
He then raised himself elegantly before directing his attention respectfully toward Meruem. "Is there something you need from me brother?" he asked with polished courtesy.
Both Kuroka and Rossweisse immediately began clapping loudly as though they had just witnessed the performance of a lifetime.
"Magnificent!" Kuroka shouted while somehow producing a large sign displaying a perfect score of ten.
"Utterly flawless in every conceivable respect!" Rossweisse declared with complete seriousness while holding her own ten out of ten rating board.
Meruem stared at them flatly. They genuinely looked like one of those absurd television judging panels that scored contestants from one to ten, and he suddenly had the unpleasant suspicion that the two of them were indirectly criticizing his own social skills through Belathriel's introduction. Where exactly had they even acquired the cardboard signs from?
"Now that," Kuroka announced proudly while pointing dramatically toward Belathriel, "is how you introduce yourself without making people think you are about to steal their souls."
Tobio and the others looked visibly amused by the antics while comparing Belathriel and Meruem carefully in an attempt to identify any familial resemblance.
"Please ignore them," Meruem said calmly. "They are being unnecessarily dramatic as usual. More importantly, brother, I would like you to meet Tobio Ikuse, wielder of [Canis Lycaon], Natsume Minagawa, wielder of [Treacherous Gale], Kouki Samejima, [wielder of Ignorant Thunder], and finally the witch of Grauzauberer herself, Lavinia Reni. They are our new allies."
Belathriel's eyes widened very slightly upon hearing the identities of those gathered before him, though his composure returned almost instantly as he carefully assessed each of them with his brilliant and calculating gaze.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said warmly at last.
"Nice to meet you too!" they answered almost in unison, with Natsume hastily standing to perform an awkward courtesy bow in return.
"Why exactly did you summon your brother?" Lavinia asked with visible curiosity.
"I only have a limited number of Evil Pieces available for use," Meruem explained calmly. "My younger brother, however, has yet to utilize his own collection. I decided it was finally time he corrected that."
"Does our agreement with you remain the same regardless of whose peerage we actually join?" Tobio asked cautiously.
"Of course," Meruem replied proudly. "I am a man of my word." He then turned his attention toward Belathriel. "Brother, I would like you to reincarnate Kouki Samejima into your peerage. He has extremely high potential, which should prove useful toward your long term ambitions."
"As you wish, brother," Belathriel answered with a soft smile.
Belathriel then began calmly speaking with the new group, slipping into conversation so naturally that it almost felt as though he had always belonged within their dynamic from the beginning. Meruem watched with amusement as Belathriel repeatedly asked Kouki whether he genuinely understood what becoming a devil entailed and whether he was truly comfortable becoming part of another person's peerage.
It had honestly been rather surprising to discover that Belathriel possessed such progressive views regarding reincarnated Devils and the peerage system, especially considering that House Beleth itself was hardly known as a beacon of progressivism within Devil society. If anything, their house possessed a deeply conservative reputation among the nobility.
[A few days earlier]
"I noticed that you still haven't recruited anyone into your peerage," Meruem said as he carefully examined the beautiful magical artifact resting within his hands, his crimson eyes tracing the intricate runic engravings carved into its black metallic surface with quiet fascination.
"No one has managed to catch my attention so far," Belathriel answered with a small shrug, though the gesture lacked its usual ease.
"Is that so?" Meruem replied absentmindedly while continuing his inspection of the artifact. "I have been hearing certain rumors lately that suggest there may be a deeper reason behind your reluctance."
Belathriel sighed softly and, for the first time since entering the room, looked genuinely uneasy. "What exactly have you been hearing?" he asked carefully while keeping his expression carefully concealed.
Meruem finally lifted his gaze and met Belathriel's eyes directly. "Ah, you know how the underworld can be, they like to make a mountain out of a molehill, your friendship with Sairaorg Bael has raised a certain speculation. They're claiming that you are sympathetic to the reincarnated devil's cause. Is there truth in that?"
Belathriel visibly tensed at the question, and for the briefest moment a flicker of fear passed through his eyes, as though he already understood how dangerous this conversation could become depending on the wrong choice of words.
"It's true," Belathriel admitted at last, forcing himself to hold Meruem's gaze despite the pressure weighing on him. "I believe our current treatment of reincarnated devils is myopic. Many among the nobility continue to view them as lesser beings whose value exists only in service to the pure blood clans who recruited them, and that kind of thinking will inevitably create resentment over time. History has shown countless times that when people are denied dignity and treated as inferior regardless of their achievements or loyalty, bitterness begins to take root within society.
"I'm not saying that traditions should be discarded entirely," Belathriel continued in a measured tone. "The peerage system itself has strengthened the Underworld in many ways, and reincarnated devils owe much to the clans who grant them power and status. However, I believe stability cannot endure forever if talented individuals are constantly reminded that no matter what they accomplish, they will always stand beneath those fortunate enough to be born into the old bloodlines."
"And you protest this... by refusing to recruit a peerage of your own?" Meruem asked, a faint raise of his brow being the only sign of surprise in his otherwise composed expression.
Belathriel seemed genuinely caught off guard by the reaction. Judging from the tension in his posture, he had likely expected outrage, condemnation, or perhaps something far worse from Meruem.
"Up to a point," Belathriel admitted with visible embarrassment. "I know it accomplishes very little in the grand scheme of things, but part of me simply doesn't wish to participate in a system I fundamentally disagree with. Though to be fair, the lack of suitable candidates has also played a significant role."
"If you believe your actions change nothing, then why bother with the gesture at all?" Meruem asked calmly.
"I don't know," Belathriel confessed after a brief silence before lifting his eyes to meet Meruem's directly. "What about you, brother? Do you believe in the reincarnated devils' cause?"
Meruem leaned back slightly at the question, his expression remaining unreadable.
"Blood purity, noble supremacy, conservatism, reformism, factionalism, class resentment," Meruem said dismissively. "These are the kinds of causes lesser people cling to because they need something to justify their place in the world. In the end, all of it is irrelevant. The only thing that has ever truly mattered is power. Everything else is merely decoration placed around it.
"The noble houses may want to delude themselves that their blood was sacred because, for centuries, they possessed greater power than those beneath them. That strength created the illusion that their superiority was ordained by birth itself. But that is a lie. Power belongs to whoever possesses the will to seize it and the strength to keep it."
"Might makes right, then?" Belathriel said thoughtfully.
"Exactly," Meruem answered casually. "Every civilization in history has ultimately been built upon that principle regardless of how beautifully they attempt to disguise it beneath laws, religion, or morality. The strong shape the world according to their desires while the weak rationalize whatever order emerges from it afterward. So let me offer you a piece of advice as your older brother, If you truly dislike the current state of the Underworld, then force it to become what you wish it to be. There is nothing more disgusting than a man who surrenders before he has even made an attempt to fight for the future he claims to desire."
Belathriel looked genuinely stunned by the statement. "You believe I should gather a peerage of my own?" he asked slowly.
"It would significantly increase your chances of achieving your ambitions if you surrounded yourself with capable and loyal allies," Meruem answered with a careless shrug. "I might have a few suggestions regarding potential recruits."
AN: Azazel is actually a terrifying villain if you really look closely at his actions. I've seen a lot of fanon claiming that he didn't actually order Raynare to kill Issei, or that Kokabiel was the one behind it, but that's false. In Volume 4, Azazel directly admits to Issei that he gave orders to eliminate Sacred Gear users who might become threats in the future. And in general, he's an extremely manipulative person, even if he genuinely desires peace. Which honestly fits perfectly with his nature as a fallen angel.
The names for Kouki Samejima's and Natsume Minagawa's Sacred Gears are something I made up, since they were never officially named in canon.
Advanced chapters or votes on which story gets updated are available on my Patreon, so if you want to read ahead or support me so I can focus more on writing, check out my Patreon: /abeltargaryen?