Fate Worse Than Death.

From the original 650 Devil attack squad, Luther now only had 430 and that was dropping by the second. To make matters worse the Mandators were now free to engage, they fired their own shoulder-mounted rocket launchers.

Each missile explosion took tens of Devils and there were 5 Mandators that had plenty to give. Each one fired missiles without end which caused terrible losses. Luther commanded his squad to move already.

"STOP STAYING IN ONE PLACE! MOVE! FIGHT BACK! DO SOMETHING!"

At his side, the 30 High-Class Devils together formed a massive barrier to protect themselves and their leader. One of them already felt that this whole thing was lost.

"SIR! let's escape and return with reinforcements?"

Luther Bael was not willing and aimed his hand at this devil and turned him into dust with a single attack.

"WE STAY UNTIL THE JOB IS DONE!"

The rest agreed and prepared to fight. They began to return fire, scatter and even teleport around trying to surround the 6 machines. For the moment they were focused on them instead of Alexander who merely watched on.

More magic spells landed on the Baneblade which raised its large arm to block. It squinted its purple eyes as its chest plate opened up. From it, a short cannon emerged which it aimed toward the Devils in the sky.

Seeing that made Luther curse as he felt a massive gathering of energy condense inside it.

"DO NOT GROUP UP!"

His frantic yell bought the survivors precious seconds as they all tried to teleport away, or fly away. However, the cannon fired releasing a giant reddish-purple beam of Dark Energon, Od, and Magic into the Devil ranks.

The Baneblade even moved from right to left using the most powerful weapon it had to bring death. The powerful attack blasted the barrier set by the Devils apart and hit the scattering Devils like a tidal wave. Luther short distance teleported which saved his life, but the same could not be said for his gathered force. Instantly over a hundred were vaporized and many more lost limbs or were disfigured.

As for the ones who were hurt by the attack, but survived they soon regretted not being vaporized. They had to watch as their veins and mana pathways begin to glow purplish red. That was just the start as the agony began to start as Od and Dark Energon did not mix well with living beings that were not Alexander or those related to him.

A cacophony of agonizing screams filled the air as their bodies were destroyed from within. Alexander looked at the force of Devils that now just numbered 200 which was dropping by the second.

'Not bad at all. Most of these Devils were in the Low to Mid class with a few in the High Class. The only Ultimate Class is the Bael, but Adamantium counters his fighting style as it is resistant to magic. Someone like Odin would make short work of my machines, but not bad for an army.'

Alexander had nothing, but good things to say about this field test. Just one Baneblade did well alone with Mandator support, how would his entire army of them do? He was knocked out of his daydreaming as Ingrid who was taking notes on her tablet spoke up.

"Sir, I think it is time for you to step in. If you would pay attention, the Baneblade's Dark Energon, Od, and Magic levels are quite low. He used up quite a lot in that last attack. Also, it is caused his internal systems to overheat which needs time to heal."

Each Baneblade and Mandator could be remotely monitored to check on their internal systems.

"I think you are right."

Alexander focused on his connection to the machine and saw that she was right. Now, it was only at 19% of its max capacity which would make its performance drop. It would recover over time, but it needed some time to do that.

As for the Mandators, they stopped attacking as they felt his intentions.

" Cease attack, step back and allow me to step in."

The 6 machines did just that and walked behind Alexander, Ingrid, and Ragnarok. Once they were out of the way, Alexander looked up at Luther Bael. The Devil had not expected to have his large force be defeated by machines.

How would he explain this situation to his father? He grit his teeth as he looked at Alexander directly in the eyes.

"I WILL KILL YOU!"

Alexander clenched the handle of his trusty blade.

"You have one chance, surrender. Those who surrender will be spared, that goes for you as well Bael. Swear on your souls to serve me for the rest of time, and live. Deny this chance and I swear on my name that you will wish that you took my deal."

Luther scoffed as he raised his hands to the sky. Massive amounts of Energy of Destruction began to gather in the sky causing a red glow to cover Cleria's mansion.

"No one will take your offer. Just let yourself be killed without resistance."

Alexander looked at the Devils and saw that none would take his offer. Seeing that made him happy.

"Good. I gave you one chance, now I can begin."

The wolf-like helmet of the Berserker Armor began to crawl up before it encased his face. Storm clouds began to gather in the sky which crackled with Dark Energon and Od-fueled lightning. The two energies were further amplified by Alexander's large mana pool making the storm in the sky even more violent.

Luther paused for a second as he looked to the sky at the storm gathering.

"So this is your plan, unleashing a few lightning bolts? I won't let you."

Luther raised both of his arms to the sky and used his Demonic Power to the maximum to blanket the sky in a massive tidal wave of Power of Destruction. The most powerful bloodline ability of all Devil clans. Nothing could survive once a Bael used their true power.

His Demonic Power dropped as he used it all to fuel his most powerful attack. It was so much that it caused a large chunk of Kuoh Town to glow in an eerie red. As for Alexander, his thunderstorm crackled more than ever as if the sky became enraged.

"DIE!"

Luther unleashed the massive wave and sent it against Alexander, Ingrid, and Ragnarok. The wolf in question was still sitting unbothered while Ingrid merely stepped back to let Alexander have his fun.

Luther hoped to kill Alexander, his machines, and everyone in the mansion in one go. No one had survived this attack of his before and he did not expect anyone to start now. He may have lost his troops, but he could always get more. They were replaceable anyway, but not him. He was special, he would take his father's place one day and be one of the leaders of the Bael clan.

But first, he had to kill this annoying upstart, whoever, he was. However, just as the attack was going to hit Alexander, he curled his left hand into a claw shape before slashing upward.

5 purplish red slashes cut right through the attack Luther was so proud of. They destroyed his attack and not just that, took his right arm. When his arm was taken by one of the slashes he was left in shock. He barely reacted to the pain as he looked at his now bleeding stump.

His eyes widened in horror as he felt the Dark Energon and Od seep through the wound. Those two energies began to flow through his body from his wound. He was snapped out of it by the pain they brought as he tried to use his Demonic Power to suppress it.

However, he had just used most of it meaning he could not hold it back. The corrupting energies spread to his entire body glow with reddish-purple lines.

But before he could scream, Alexander unleashed the true attack.

"Die."

That single word seemed to have brought down the wrath of dark gods as a giant reddish purple lightning bolt struck Luther straight away. He screamed in agony as his body rapidly turned to dust. However, he still felt pure pain and felt how every cell of his died. It was as if the energies made him experience the entirety of the pain instead of killing him right away.

'I can't die like this. I am special, I am chosen. I am-'

As if answering, Alexander spoke.

"No one."

From the giant lightning bolt, hundreds of snaking smaller ones hit each surviving Devil and in the same way as their master, killed them instantly, but made that moment seem endless. From the mansion, Azazel, Cleria, and Masaomi all looked at Alexander with different expressions.

Cleria was thankful, but at the same time shocked. She had fought Alexander when he only had two tails just 4 years ago. In that time he had grown so much stronger that it was shocking. Masaomi was terrified as a monster like Alexander might be a danger to the world.

Meanwhile, Azazel was just happy he was on Alexander's side. With how strong he was getting, it was only a matter of time before he caused big stirs in the world. Meanwhile, Ingrid who was standing at Alexander's side looked up at her boss with pure awe.

At one point she may have served Cleria, but her loyalty now belonged to just him. Power meant a lot of things to Devils and Alexander had that in spades.

"Amazing sir, you annihilated them all."

Alexander nodded as he raised his sword to the sky.

"Yes, thank you. Now, gather."

Ingrid did not know what to expect, but when she saw the souls of the Devils killed gather around Alexander she paused. Controlling souls was something only truly powerful people could do as souls were hard to see.

But here was her boss doing just that. The 650 Devils that were killed began to have their souls drawn toward the Dark Star Saber and the Berserker Armor. Both cursed artifacts began to absorb and devour them.

Of course, they would take their time as they could feed on the suffering of the souls. The longer they suffered, the more energy they could draw from them. Masaomi in the mansion covered his mouth in horror as he watched the souls of the Devils scream in terror.

However, the spectacle only lasted a minute before all of the souls were gone, except for one. In Alexander's open palm rested the soul of Luther Bael. The Devil looked up at Alexander with fear.

"RELEASE ME! DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?"

Alexander nodded.

"A Bael that can use Energy of Destruction. You see, I have wanted to experiment on souls for a while and yours will be useful for one of my future projects. I thank you for your future cooperation. Keep him safe and don't absorb any power from him."

He brought the soul close to the metallic teeth of the Berserker Armor which opened up. Instead of seeing Alexander's face, Luther saw only a blood-red miasma.

"NO! DON'T DO THIS! SAVE ME! FATHER!"

The teeth of the Berserker Armor snapped shut and drew him into the soul realm of the armor. Much like the Fallen that Alexander intended to keep trapped for the rest of the time within the Dark Star Saber, he planned something similar for Luther.

However, not indefinitely as he had planned to use Luther's soul as the core of an invention he had in mind. Once all the Devils were dealt with and their souls used up, Alexander allowed the Berserker Armor to retreat back to its medallion around his neck.

He dropped the Dark Star Saber which vanished into purple particles leaving him in his spotless black suit. He adjusted his cuffs as he looked at Ingrid and Ragnarok.

"I think that is enough for now as a field test wouldn't you say?"

Ingrid smiled and nodded.

"Yes. We tested how durable our alloy is which is quite a lot. The Baneblades when animated can clear out weaklings on mass. However, I feel they may struggle with more powerful foes so we might need stronger machines to animate.

As for the Mandators, they seem to work better when working under a Baneblade. And we also tested how strong you are."

Alexander laughed as he began to walk back to the mansion followed by his 6 machines. Seeing that made him look back at them as they looked back at him.

"You all did wonderfully. Now, return to vehicle mode and stay like that."

Without pause, each of the 6 machines transformed back into their vehicle modes. They stayed still as they had never been alive, to begin with. With that taken care of, Alexander entered the mansion to meet up with Cleria who he saved.

When he walked into the meeting room with Ingrid and Ragnarok at his side, Azazel jumped up.

"What do you want in exchange for that Baneblade and Dark Energon? Name the price?"

Alexander wanted to smile as Azazel bit the bait. Of course, he knew Azazel was not stupid and already knew that Azazel wanted access to Dark Energon. He had been asking for years, but now he wanted it more than ever. Now he had a reason to ask for his request. He knew of someone in Grigori, Azazel could do without.

"Kokabiel. Give him to me, and Dark Energon is yours. I will even give you a Baneblade as a gift, for him."

Azazel paused as he had thought that Alexander would ask for Fafnir. Not for Kokabiel which made him hesitate. Seeing that made Alexander push more.

"Come on, you know and I know it that he is trouble. One day he will try to start a war on the scale of the Great War. He is a schemer who undermines your authority. Baraqiel does not trust him with his daughter or wife. Why do you think he moved them to Tokyo, my home turf?

Just give him up and Dark Energon and a Baneblade to go with it are yours. You will curb a real headache and gain massive benefits."

Azazel sighed as he knew everything Alexander said was true.

"Let me think about it."

Alexander shrugged.

"Fine by me. Take all the time you want. Now Cleria, I believe that the Bael Clan will attack once more as you did kill Luther."

She and Masaomi were shocked. She pointed at herself.

"Me? But you killed him."

Alexander nodded.

"I did, but they do not know that. They sent him to kill you, and he and his group are dead. I could say it was me, but they might still pin the blame on you. Meaning you will be wanted by the Bael clan. What do you plan to do now?"

Cleria sat down and covered and held her head in her hands. If she had just listened to Alexander and not dug into those rumors this would not happen. However, as she was deep in thought her eyes perked up as she had an idea.

"I know what to do. Alexander, I need to talk to Sirzechs Lucifer. I will tell him all I know so he can both protect me and look into the existence of the King Piece. That way the corruption of the Great King Faction will be found out."

Alexander sat down in front of her and thought it was not a bad idea.

"That is a start. But what about me? What will Sirzechs think of you working with me? Or even Azazel for that matter. Not to mention you are dating that guy."

He pointed at Masaomi who frowned. However, Cleria held his wrist before he could say anything.

"I will come clean to Sirzechs about it all. With your permission of course? That also goes for Azazel. Sirzechs is not a warmonger and I do not think he would mind that I am working with you through Alexander. Right?"

Azazel nodded as he sat down next to Alexander.

"I have met him in the past on a few occasions for diplomacy's sake, and I say that is a good way of putting it. So, when are you talking to him? I think I will be there for that meeting. It might even be a good opportunity to come to a more solid peace agreement with the Satan faction. As for the Great King Faction, I will stay out of that can of worms."

Masaomi was finally allowed to speak.

"What about me though? Will Cleria be allowed to continue to be in a relationship with me? What about my higher ups that know?"

Alexander looked him in the eye.

"Look, do you love Cleria?"

Both of them paused before he nodded.

"Yes."

Alexander continued.

"Cleria is one of the few people I trust with my daughter, enough to call her family. If you love her, leave the church and become her Knight. Or don't and stay an Exorcist, but if you pick this option, I will kill you right now. Even if Cleria hates me, it will be worth it."

The Dark Star Saber appeared in Alexander's hand as he pointed it at Masaomi's face. Cleria stood up, but did not touch the sword.

"Alexander, stop this. If you call me your friend, don't do this."

Alexander did not move his blade though.

"As your friend, I am doing you a favor. Now pick Masaomi."

The Exorcist looked at the miasma that was released by the blade so close to his face. He closed his eyes and reached behind his neck and pulled off his cross. He set it on the table and took off his white exorcist robe.

He too set that down revealing his black leather battle gear underneath. Once that was done he looked Alexander straight in the eyes.

"I agree. From this day I am no longer an Exorcist. If that is what it takes to be with my beloved."

Alexander's face did not move before a toothy smile appeared on his face. He pulled back his sword and rested it on his shoulder.

"Took you long enough. Your welcome Cleria."

She frowned as she looked at Alexander.

"You are a dick."

"I know. I will take my leave. Call me when you meet with Sirzechs, oh and Azazel. Let me know when you decide."

Alexander first teleported outside with Ragnarok and Ingrid. He created an even larger teleport circle and took the Baneblade and 5 Mandators with them as he returned home. As for Ingrid she looked at Masaomi and hugged him.

"Do you belive me now?"

He held her tight and nodded.

"I deserve to die for questioning you in the first place."

Azazel looked away as they forgot he was there.

"Wait until I leave at least."

They both turned red as he opened his own teleport circle. He had a lot to think about as everything Alexander said was true. In exchange for one troublemaker, he would gain so much. He had a lot to think about over the next few days.