"Please, take a seat."
After Adrien sat down at Sirzechs's urging, Grayfia calmly guided each Familia to the chairs lined up along the wall. Sona and Tsubaki were already seated, waiting in silence. Rias sat beside Sona, followed by Issei, Akeno, Asia, Koneko, and Kiba. Adrien's Familia took their seats soon after.
As Xenovia and Mary moved to sit down, they noticed Irina glaring at them. Both of them ignored her and sat without a word.
Once everyone was settled, Sirzechs spoke again. "Now that everyone is here, let us begin by laying out the groundwork for the summit." His tone was calm, but the weight behind his words was obvious. "I assume everyone present is already aware of the forbidden subject we must address—the matter of greatest concern to all of us. The fact that God no longer exists."
Silence filled the room.
Seeing that no one objected, Sirzechs continued. "Then let us move on. First, we will discuss the incident that took place over the past few days. To summarize, after the series of human murders that happened one of our devils, operating under the name Matsuda, was killed by a Shinigami." His expression turned more serious. "The Shinigami were believed to have been wiped out entirely, but it seems one survived Hades's attack nine hundred years ago."
"Their ability is extremely dangerous," Azazel said. "All they need to do is write your name in that notebook, and you die."
"Yes," Sirzechs said, "but once we found it, defeating it was easy. Three of my devils, all only Middle-Class, were enough to deal with it. Detective L was the one who led Matsuda to the Shinigami's eyes, but we still don't know why. We also have no idea where he is now." His expression darkened slightly. "My soldiers said they saw him trembling at the table. That means he must have witnessed something supernatural, so his memories need to be erased. Unfortunately, we still don't know where he is. We are searching for him as we speak."
Azazel and Michael both nodded.
"Before we move on to Kokabiel's attack, there is something I would like to ask," Michael said.
"Of course," Sirzechs replied. "What is it?"
Michael's eyes shifted toward Adrien. "Were the Demon Kings hiding the fact that Adrien Agares's body is similar to the Lord's?"
At once, everyone's attention turned to Adrien. By now, almost everyone in the room already knew about it. Almost everyone, Irina's eyes were wide in shock.
"Yes," Sirzechs answered without trying to avoid the question. "Adrien was born that way. At first, we believed he simply had no demonic energy at all. Later, we realized the truth—his body does not leak energy whatsoever. Together with the Agares family, we decided to keep it secret."
"If news of his existence had spread, he would have almost certainly become a target for assassination." Leviathan answered with her usual upbeat tone.
"That's not really the answer you wanted, is it, Michael?" Azazel said with a smirk. "Let me put your question another way: what does it mean if Adrien has a body like God's? Is it just a coincidence... or is there something else behind his birth?"
The entire room fell silent.
Adrien was the one who broke it. "I have no intention of becoming God. Hell, I don't even want to become the heir of my clan," he said lazily. Then a faint grin crossed his face. "I'll keep living the way I want—surrounded by snow bunnies and enjoying all the beautiful pleasures life has to offer."
Azazel chuckled, "I like the kid. He totally gets it."
Michael just narrowed his eyes while Issei's were shining as if he had just found his idol standing right in front of him.
"But as angels, we cannot simply ignore it," Michael said calmly. "Still, I believe this is something we can leave to the future. For now, peace should be our priority."
After Michael finished speaking, Sirzechs turned toward his sister.
"Well then, Rias. I believe it is time for you to tell us about the incident the other day."
"As you wish, Lord Lucifer."
At Sirzechs's prompting, Rias and Akeno rose from their seats and began recounting their battle against Kokabiel. They explained everything up to the moment Adrien arrived. As Rias spoke, her hands trembled ever so slightly, betraying the calm facade she was trying to maintain.
No matter how fearless Rias tried to appear, this situation had to be weighing heavily on her. After all, she was still just a teenage girl.
When her report ended, the leaders of the three factions each reacted in their own way. Some let out tired sighs, others frowned deeply, and a few even laughed out loud.
"That is everything that I, Rias Gremory, and my Familia are aware of," Rias concluded.
"Good work. Please, take your seat," Sirzechs said. Then his gaze shifted to Adrien. "Adrien, tell us what you know."
Adrien leaned back. "Rias already said everything. I just beat his ass."
Azazel and Serafall chuckled, while Sirzechs could only sigh. "He didn't tell you anything else?"
"Nothing we didn't already know," Adrien replied with a shrug.
"Well then, Azazel. Now that we have heard the full story, I would like to hear the Governor of the Fallen Angels' opinion."
At Sirzechs's request, all eyes turned toward Azazel.
The fallen angel's lips curled into a fearless grin as he answered, "This incident was entirely the result of Kokabiel's actions. He is one of the executives of our central organization, Grigori, but he acted on his own, without the approval of the other leaders. Because of that, I sent the White Dragon Emperor here to deal with him. However, by the time he arrived, Kokabiel had already been defeated. Then Adrien killed him, even though Vali told him not to."
"If I had arrived even one second later, Yuuto Kiba would have died," Adrien said, completely unfazed. "He was already severely injured by then. The least I could do was kill him for attacking us devils and committing acts of terrorism."
Michael let out a quiet sigh. "Am I correct in understanding that you have no intention of causing any major conflict between our factions?"
"Yeah," Azazel replied casually. "I've got no interest in starting another war. That devil girl already told you what Kokabiel said about me."
Then it was Sirzechs's turn to question him.
"There is one thing I would like to ask," Sirzechs said. "Why have you been gathering Sacred Gear users over the past few decades? At first, I assumed you were collecting humans to strengthen your forces. I believed you were preparing them to serve as soldiers in a new war against Heaven and the Underworld."
"Indeed," Michael said with a nod. "No matter how much time passed, there was never any sign that you were preparing for open hostilities. To be frank, I was deeply concerned when I learned that even the Vanishing Dragon was under your command."
Azazel flashed them both a cheeky grin. "It's all for my Sacred Gear research. If you're that worried, how about I send you some of my materials? I promise you, my studies aren't meant for war. I'm not interested in fighting anymore. I'm satisfied with the world the way it is. I've even told my people to stay out of human politics. We have no plans to meddle in religious matters or devil affairs..." He gave a small shrug. "But I guess I'm still the least trustworthy one here, huh?"
"Indeed," Michael said at once.
"I'm afraid so," Sirzechs added with a helpless smile.
"Exactly!" Serafall said, winking as she joined in.
On that point, Sirzechs, Michael, and Serafall were all in complete agreement.
Azazel clicked his tongue and lazily scratched at his ear with a finger. "Tch. I thought you two would be easier to deal with than God and the old Lucifer, but you're just as bad. I don't wanna sneak around just to do a little research, got it? ...Fine then. How about we make peace? That's what you've always wanted, right? Angels and devils alike?"
Everyone except Adrien looked surprised by Azazel's proposal. After all, Adrien had already spoken with him about it around a week earlier.
Michael, though clearly taken aback, soon smiled. "Yes. In truth, I had intended to make the same proposal to our friends from the Underworld and Grigori. If relations between our three factions continue like this, the world itself will suffer." His expression softened slightly. "It may sound strange coming from me, the leader of Heaven, but the ones responsible for the Great War—God and the original Demon Kings—are already gone. It is time for us to move forward."
Azazel burst into laughter at the archangel's words. "Ha! Now that's a good one! And coming from stiff old Michael of all people?" He grinned teasingly. "I still remember when all you ever said was 'God this, God that!'"
"…That is true," Michael admitted calmly. "We have suffered a terrible loss. However, there is nothing to gain from clinging to what no longer exists." His voice grew firmer. "It is our duty to guide humanity. All of the Seraphim are in agreement on this: what matters most to us now is to watch over the children of God, to protect them, and to lead them."
"Hey, hey, keep talking like that and you'll end up becoming a fallen angel too," Azazel said with a grin. "Still, I guess you've basically taken over the whole system, huh? Sounds pretty lenient now—way better than what we got when we fell."
"The same is true for us," Sirzechs admitted calmly. "If devils are to survive without the original Demon Kings, then we must continue to adapt. We have no desire for war. If we were to become trapped in another large-scale conflict, it could very well mean the end of devilkind."
Azazel nodded. "Exactly. Another long war would finish all three factions. And that's not even counting what it would do to the human world. We might end up wiping it out completely. No, another war just isn't an option anymore."
A moment ago, Azazel had sounded as carefree and mocking as ever, but now his voice turned serious.
"Did you all think life would lose its meaning without God?" he asked. "Did you think the world would just rot away and collapse? Sorry to disappoint you, but that didn't happen. I'm still alive and doing fine, and so are all of you."
Then he spread his arms wide.
"The world keeps turning, even without God."