"I see..."
Finn nodded slowly, swirling the tea in his cup as he leveled a piercing gaze at Azazel. "So, let me get this straight. You want me to completely forgive a group of humans who placed an active bounty on my head and tried to have me assassinated?"
"Er... Yes." Azazel swallowed hard, a cold sweat breaking out on his neck as he awkwardly nodded.
"Hmm..." Finn didn't yell. He didn't flare his demonic aura in anger. He simply tapped his finger against the table, calculating the political angles. Then, he asked, "Who is it?"
"...What do you mean?" Azazel blinked, genuinely confused.
"I mean, who exactly among the Himejima Clan has enough leverage with you to warrant this visit?" Finn shifted his gaze toward Baraqiel, his eyes entirely devoid of respect. "It is impossible for it to be him. His beloved wife was brutally murdered by that clan. Unless he is an absolute masochist and a complete cuck, there is zero chance he came here voluntarily to beg for their survival."
"....." Baraqiel's fists clenched under the table, his face tightening in silent agony, but he couldn't refute a single word.
"Let's break this down logically," Finn continued, completely ignoring the heavy, suffocating tension he had just created. "It can't be a personal favor from either of you. One is too tragically weak to avenge his own family, and the other is a notorious womanizer who is famous for dropping his pants and leaving his mortal lovers to fend for themselves."
"..." Baraqiel and Azazel both winced, entirely unable to defend their shredded pride.
"Furthermore, the older generation of Fallen Angels wouldn't care. They've lived for millennia; they are entirely numb to human extinction. Therefore, it must be the younger generation begging you to intervene."
Finn locked his golden eyes directly onto Azazel's. "But it can't just be any young member. Even Akeno—the literal daughter of your Vice Governor—was tossed into the streets to fend for herself against assassins. Grigori didn't lift a finger to save her. So, this specific person begging you must possess a staggering amount of political or combative value to make you personally act as their errand boy. Who is it?"
Azazel let out a long, defeated sigh. There was absolutely no hiding anything from this terrifyingly pragmatic Devil.
"Tobio Ikuse. He is the wielder of the Canis Lykaon, one of the Longinus," Azazel admitted truthfully. "Suzaku Himejima, the current head of the clan, is his lover. Tobio is the captain of my elite vanguard, the Slash Dog team..."
"I don't buy it," Finn interrupted smoothly.
Even if Tobio was an incredibly valuable asset, he was fundamentally just a human. Unlike Devils, who possessed the Evil Pieces system to grant humans immortality, Fallen Angels had no such technology. Tobio was bound by a mortal lifespan. In a few short decades, he would die. Worse, because he wielded a high-tier Longinus, his lifeforce was actively being drained; he would likely die young, exactly like the majority of human heroes in history.
It was a cruel, objective fact. Humans were fragile. If they wanted to wield power that challenged the supernatural, they had to burn their own lives as fuel.
Would Azazel truly compromise his political standing with a High-Class Devil Pillar just to appease a mortal employee with a short shelf-life? Absolutely not. If anything, Tobio owed Azazel for granting him a place in Grigori.
"Who is the one behind this request, Azazel?" Finn demanded, his tone dropping to a freezing octave. "I suggest you stop lying. Because if you disappoint me, and I find out someone is secretly plotting to cross me, I will show them a reality infinitely worse than Hell."
Under the crushing weight of Finn's threat, Azazel took a sharp breath and finally cracked.
"Vali."
"Vali?" Finn raised an eyebrow.
"Vali Lucifer. He is the grandson of the original Satan Lucifer... technically the great-grandson," Azazel explained, a highly awkward, nervous smile forming on his face. "I essentially raised him as my own adopted son. So..."
If Vali hadn't personally pressured him on Tobio's behalf, Azazel would never have dreamed of stepping into Finn's territory to negotiate for the Himejima.
"The great-grandson of Lucifer, huh?" Finn rubbed his chin, thoroughly amused. "How strong is he? How high is his potential?"
Hearing Finn frame the legendary bloodline purely in terms of corporate assets, Azazel sighed in relief. There was finally room for negotiation. "His innate Demonic Power easily reaches the Ultimate-Class threshold. Furthermore, because he is a half-human hybrid, he was able to awaken a Sacred Gear."
"Oh?" Finn feigned ignorance perfectly. "What kind of Sacred Gear?"
"A Longinus. The Divine Dividing."
"..."
While Sun Wukong and Akeno were visibly stunned by the revelation of the White Dragon Emperor's host, Finn merely nodded with boredom.
"It's a solid Longinus. A mid-tier artifact that halves an opponent's power and absorbs the difference. Combine that with Ultimate-Class Demonic Power, and yes, I admit, his potential looks promising."
"...Is that literally all you have to say?" Azazel asked, completely dumbfounded. "Aren't you even slightly intimidated by his identity?"
Finn waved his hand dismissively. "There are countless entities currently alive who are vastly stronger than our great founding father, Lucifer. Unless this kid has already reached the absolute, anomalous tier of Sirzechs Lucifer or Ajuka Beelzebub, he is still nothing to me."
"....."
Azazel desperately wanted to argue, to defend his adopted son's terrifying potential. But he couldn't. It was an objective fact. Sirzechs and Ajuka were currently ranked among the Top 10 strongest beings in the entire universe. Vali, despite his massive potential, couldn't even hold a candle to the current Satans yet.
Azazel realized Finn's arrogance wasn't born of ignorance. It was born of cold, hard data. Sirzechs and Ajuka hadn't reached the apex through mere 'hard work'—they were born as absolute, reality-breaking anomalies.
If Vali had inherited the true, unfathomable might of the original Lucifer, Finn might have considered forgiving the Himejima just to make Vali owe him a massive favor. But frankly, if Vali was actually that powerful, he wouldn't have needed Azazel to come beg for him in the first place.
"...You speak of his legacy incredibly lightly," Azazel muttered, slightly annoyed by Finn's blatant disregard for the Lucifer name.
"I was literally burned down to my skeleton by the absolute will of the Biblical God channeled through the True Longinus, and I regenerated from it completely fine," Finn stated, leaning forward, his golden eyes glowing with quiet menace. "Do you honestly think I should be afraid of a teenager just because his great-grandfather was famous?"
"..." Azazel remained dead silent.
Was Finn bluffing? Absolutely not. The terrifying residual traces of holy energy and demonic regeneration were still permanently etched into the alleyways of Hong Kong. Finn had stared down the ultimate, God-killing weapon and survived. He had every right to be arrogant.
Before Azazel could formulate a proper counter-offer, Finn held up a hand. His sleek, highly encrypted communication device was vibrating.
"Hmm? I see... Understood. I'll head back immediately," Finn murmured into the device before casually hanging up.
"What? What's wrong?" Azazel asked, startled as Finn suddenly stood up, stretching his arms above his head. "Are you just going to walk away right in the middle of our negotiation?"
"My boss just ordered me to return to the Underworld," Finn stated simply, referring to Zekram Bael. "However, regarding your request... I don't mind letting the Himejima Clan off the hook."
"Huh? Really?" Azazel blinked, a massive wave of relief washing over him.
"Yeah. I formally agree that I will not personally attack them."
"Okay, that's perfectly acceptable," Azazel nodded eagerly. As long as Finn himself didn't mobilize his terrifying new powers to wipe them out, that was good enough for Grigori. As for the thousands of bounty hunters and mercenaries currently swarming Japan? Azazel didn't care. Grigori could handle human mercenaries. Keeping an Ultimate-Class Devil out of the conflict was a massive political victory.
"But obviously, a favor like this comes with a steep price," Finn smiled, his corporate mask slipping back into place.
Azazel braced himself. Watching that predatory smile, he knew Grigori was about to be extorted for everything they were worth.
However, before Finn could list his demands, a soft, incredibly cold voice interrupted them.
"Um, Finn-sama?" Akeno stepped forward, her violet eyes locked squarely onto Azazel and Baraqiel. "Would it be alright if I added a personal request to their invoice?"