Chapter 32: Pull out a uno card

"..." Momonga sighed as he looked at the now-healed unconscious body of Vali Lucifer.

A body that rested in the guest room of his manor.

He sighed, and then turned towards the group of six angels that had followed him to the room, making it feel incredibly cramped due to their size despite being quite roomy. The angels had even shrunk in size from before, as they couldn't even fit into the building in the first place if they were in their original size, but even when shrunk their nine foot tall frames seemed to utterly dwarf everything within the room.

Rias, Akeno, Asia and Xuelan had carried the unconscious Executors, or as Momonga had learned, Exorcists back to their room, albeit it looked as if Rias wanted to brutalize Momonga on the spot so he had to stall time by saying he'd explain everything later but he'd have to look after the 'very important agent and diplomat of Fallen Angels, with whom he had engaged in battle due to very unfortunate miscommunication'.

This time his explanation hadn't even been a lie.

Asia had healed Vali before the group had departed, restoring his body to a near pristine condition, and even regrowing his arm. The large wings on the man's back had withdrawn to small stumps after the armor he had worn had disappeared, making the task of carrying him quite easy for one of the Angels who lugged the man on its shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

After healing the now-white-haired boy, the ex-nun had almost toppled over in exhaustion, forcing Momonga to haul her home in a princess carry- much to the nun's embarrassment, if the blush on her face had been any indication. He had offloaded the nun to Akeno after the raven-haired girl had asked if he wanted to 'tuck Asia into her bed' upon reaching the manor.

"Right, what am I going to do with you six… hm…" Momonga scratched his chin as he wondered about the fate of the Angels, since the situation seemed to quiet down.

'Would they just expire after a time, or are they as permanent as the Elder Lich seem to be?'' He finally shook his head, causing the Angels's posture to freeze from the gesture. "Hm? Are you sentient?"

One of the lion-headed angels nodded, almost hesitantly, and Momonga sighed mentally. 'Are all of my summons sentient now? I'm starting to feel a bit bad for creating a group of Death Knights to be killed instantly back at the Underworld now…'

"Hm, right. In that case, you can be the wardens of my estate. Also, can you turn yourself into an even smaller or more compact shape somehow? Having you stomp around my mansion as you are is likely going to cause damage to it." Momonga finally told the group of six.

The lion-headed angels nodded in unison, and their golden-trimmed white armors and weapons melted to light, followed by the creatures themselves as well.

'Hm? Oh, they could transform their weapons to different configurations for attack and defense, can they do it to their bodies as well?' Momonga noted the discovery into his 'new world information' folder as the group took new shapes.

Yet, somewhere inside his mind Suzuki Satorou felt apprehensive, 'Momonga' noted that the new forms were quite effective for their tasks, Touch Me-plushie felt resigned while he prepared a baseball bat, and Peroroncino-plushie…

...Went back to the horny jail. With steel chains instead of duct tape, since the humanoid bird-plushie's eyes were glowing ominously red, and its arms were twitching in a concerning way.

The group of six slender women, each approximately six feet tall with shoulder-length paper-white hair and fair skin, and each clad in long, frilly maid outfits reminiscent of the ones in the maids of Nazarick, curtsey in front of Momonga. The appearances of each one of the women were identical, and they shared an emotionless expression on their porcelain-beautiful faces. The nearly colourless features combined with the emotionless expression to make the group feel otherworldly which, in a way, fit their true form..

'Right… what was I thinking? This is an ero world…' Momonga groaned, causing the maids to look a bit worried. "Right, nevermind. Your new form suits your task. You two, you'll guard our guest. If he wants to leave, you are to direct him out. If he wants to talk, you are to contact me through [Message]... can you actually use [Message]?"

The maids nodded, and Momonga continued after casting [Deafen] on the unconscious man lying on the bed, just in case. The spell caused the target's audio-sensory abilities to become dulled to the point they had to rely entirely on their other senses. "Right, and if our guest tries to attack you or snoop around the building uninvited, you are to stall for time and contact me. In addition, you are not allowed to attack any of my Peerage members, or anyone on a list of people I'll send you soon. Moreover…"

Momonga went over the rules of the house, making sure to not leave any room for miscommunication or creative interpretation, as the experience with Elder Lich had taught him that he needed to be incredibly specific with his summons, lest they take the orders and run with them. 'Who knows, if I just tell them 'be the wardens of my house' and nothing more, they'll interpret that as the 'heavens being my house' since I summoned them and they are angels, and try to conquer it because they thought I was the god-hm. I may have to do something about that 'taboo word' thing at some point…'

With the list finally completed, Momonga allowed himself to breathe, even if he strictly speaking didn't need to. "Right, you four, you can see to the duties I just listed. If you are unsure of any action you're about to take, please contact me first. In addition, please refer to me as 'Momon' at all times. You are not allowed to speak of me or address me with any other names or titles, with exception of those that I specifically allow you to use, and you are to ask me about using them beforehand, in private."

He didn't want to vocalize 'Momonga' in case someone heard, but the order he stated would be close enough.

"May we use the titles 'lord' and 'master' with you, Momon?" One of the maids asked after asking Momonga to step to the side and the five other maids moved to form a barrier around the two.

"Good, you may." Momonga felt a bit happier now that he didn't have to stress after the maids, seeing they looked like they'd follow orders, so he felt he should at least give them that much if they wanted to address him with those titles. The group then dispersed back to their earlier positions, and it seemed that the disguised summons were happier, somehow.

"We shall see to our tasks with your blessing, lord Momon." The maids curtsey again, with four of them filing out of the room and two taking place next to the room's sole door.

Momonga sighed as he left as well, pausing to dispel the [Deafen] from the man in the bed and with one of the maids by the doorside opening the door for him. 'Just when I said I wanted no maids to Lady Phenix… she's going to laugh so much at me…'

"Wait."

Momonga thanked himself for foresight of casting the deafening spell on the man.

"Ah, you've woken up. Asia's healing is quite effective, no?" Momonga turned towards the man who was starting to rise up to a sitting position on the bed. "I hope we can return to an amicable relationship. I even had your arm restored. Moreover, if you feel that we should continue our duel, I'd rather not fight in my mansion, so I'd like to ask that we go out beforehand."

The man flexed his restored forearm. "I see. Thank you, I suppose. I won't be continuing our duel now... But we'll fight again in the future, you can count on it. If Albion hadn't stopped me..."

"Speaking of which, may I ask more about that white powered armor you were wearing? It was quite impressive." Momonga asked. 'Well, not exactly impressive. I'm more interested in his halving ability but I feel like front-loading the question might not end well…'

"You may." Vali growled out, seeming surprisingly calm when considering the man's previous state. What was left unsaid was if he'd answer the questions asked, but as much was clear from the tone.

"I see. Fair enough." Momonga conceded. 'Oh? He won't keel over to simple praise, and can control his emotions to this degree? I'll have to stay wary of this opponent… intellect, when paired with that ability of his, makes a scary combination.'

"In turn, I'd like to know what you of all beings are doing here." Vali shot back. "I was initially surprised by your… appearance, but if I think about it for a while, I never stood a chance in the first place. Not yet, anyway…"

'Hm? Did I go too far with my spells?'Momonga felt apprehensive as Vali's words caused him to doubt his cover. "Well, it seems that we both have something we want to know. In truth, I'm thankful that you ended the fight before either of us had to do anything too drastic- It would be a sad end for either of us if a simple misunderstanding caused death."

Momonga did feel a degree of hypocrisy from the statement, considering Elder Lich and its misinterpretation of Momonga's orders, but lies were rarely a game for honest and noble hearts.

"It was not me who ended the fight." Vali practically spat out, or came as close to it without actually spitting on the floor of the room. "Albion."

"...Indeed. For you to be humiliated so, to be forced into a subservient pose and to be pummeled like a weak child getting bullied, without so much as a chance for proper retaliation… I was truly disappointed in you, Vali. Yet… considering the opposition, I should have expected no less." A rumbly voice seemed to come from the man, detached and akin to Ddraig's voice, making Momonga suspect the boy had a dragon in his inventory much like Momonga had. "Indeed, we have not been formally introduced in this era. Greetings, I am Albion, the White Dragon Emperor. Which name have you chosen to adopt as your disguise, God?'

Momonga resisted the urge to ask what nonsense voice was walking about, not doing so mostly on the account that it seemed whatever 'truth' the odd man had realized about Momonga seemed to be the only thing keeping the fight from continuing, and thus keeping him from being forced to kill the Fallen Angels faction's agent.

Thus, Momonga just ground out his cover-name. 'God? What is he on about…'

"I see. In truth, while I initially felt only anger and humiliation from my Wielder's pitiful prowess against you... when I learned of your true nature, I'm quite surprised that Vali lasted as long as he did. Or rather, that you hadn't decided to kill him outright. Had he used my [Juggernaut Drive], I feel that you'd have to pull out some of your less… non-lethal abilities. Though, at the time I thought you were a mere 'nobody', someone who didn't even use a Sacred Gear, and even then someone else than Ddraig, and that Vali needed to resort to his trump card for such an opponent would shame me to no end. Indeed, at that point I'd rather have my Wielder lose for causing such embarrassment, than use his trump card." The odd voice kept rumbling from Vali whose face had turned red in anger. "So, in the end, I thank you for not killing my Wielder outright. He's the strongest Wielder I've had in a long while, and I feel I may be able to win against Ddrag with him."

'Ddraig?' Momonga blinked. "I see. Well, in truth I never intended to kill you." 'Well, that's a lie…' "However, I'd like to congratulate you on your ability. In truth it took me quite by surprise."

"Thank you. I advised its use, on the account that I felt we'd have absolutely no chance against you without having the first strike. I hope you won't hold a grudge against us for using it against you?" Albion's rumbly voice was collected and calm, making Momonga feel a sinking weight in his host body's stomach.

'Yeah, I can't just flatter the information out of him either. He's going to be trading blows via speech… and I'm losing. Damn. I'll have to concede holding the first strike for nearly no information gained…' Momonga groaned inside his head. "Of course, of course. After all, the challenge was not meant for you in the first place. I truly apologize for the mistake. However, I feel that my confusion may have been somewhat justified, on the account that I found you in my forest, escaping from me when I attempted to confront you, so I hope you'll realize that some concessions may be in order?"

"Indeed, however we are executing a mission from the leader of the Fallen Angels… Or then again, that may not be quite enough reason to disturb Your grounds... " The voice of the dragon seemed to bite its tongue. "However, we did not know you of all beings had held these grounds. Nor that you were even alive."

"Ah, knowledge of the laws and rules… I wonder though, is ignorance an excuse for a sin, or an explanation?" Momonga wondered aloud. "Indeed, it would trouble me if an Emperor used such a reason for his actions."

"Indeed, for an Emperor would not need to explain his actions." The dragon's voice was unamused by Momonga's jab. "Let's not dance in these exasperating mental waltzes. I grow tired of them. Tell me what you want."

"Tell me about the ability you used on me."

"I'm surprised you don't know about it already."

"Indeed. Yet I ask you to tell me about it anyway."

"I… see." The voice was calculating, no doubt trying to find some hidden meaning in Momonga's truthful words.

In truth, Momonga was starting to get a feeling on how the creature within the white-haired man was thinking, and figured that truth would distract it more than lies, as it seemed to have almost uncanny ability to see through lies and misdirections that Momonga tried to feed it.

Therefore the best lie it couldn't see through was the truth.

"...[Divide] allows my Wielder to halve the strength of whoever the ability is used on on a conceptual level. It works only on touch, and can be cast every ten seconds, unless my Wielder unlocks more of the [Sacred Gear]'s power and uses its Balance Breaker, in which case [Divide] can be used without cooldown. The strength sapped by [Divide] is added to the user until the effect ends, which happens after a time or if the user dies."

"Interesting. Thank you. I assume that the 'Balance Breaker' was that white armor?" Momonga bit his tongue over his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth.

"You may assume so." The dragon sounded far too smug.

"Enough!" Vali grunt out, having reached the edge of his patience. "We have nothing to accomplish by being here. We're leaving, 'Momon'."

"Ah, true. You are two different people, after all." Momonga nodded his head at the young man, happy that yet another point of confusion was made clear.

"Vali, I'll not tolerate your foolishness for any longer." Albion seemed quite annoyed. "I…"

"Quiet!" Vali composed himself and the voice of the dragon seemed to disappear, as did the stumps of wings on the man's back.

Vali took a few breaths to stabilize himself before bowing his head slightly to Momonga. "...My apologies for that disgraceful display. It seems that Albion is feeling talkative for some reason. I believe that you offered for me to have a chance to leave?"

"Quite so, I offered that in the past." Momonga nodded jovially, and continued as Vali seemed to become wary. "You're free to leave still. I'll merely ask that you'll announce yourself the next time you come to visit. Otherwise we may have a problem. I wish you good luck on your hunt."

"...Thank you." Vali rose from the bed. Momonga nodded at the two maids beside the door, and they showed the man out.

'Well, that's one thing out of my hair for now…' Momonga checked his status and remembered that he was still lacking a chunk of his mana thanks to the combat and for use of tier nine and maximized spells, not to mention using a Super-tier spell. He reached to his Inventory for a mana potion…

And something scratched his hand.

'Hm?' Momonga reached for the potion again, and successfully withdrew a pack of them this time. 'Ddraig wants to talk?'

He opened his Inventory slightly wider, speaking to the dragon within. "Soon."

"...Very well."

Momonga closed the inventory. 'Well… I better go and talk to Serafall in case she knows where Ravel is.'

He chugged one of the mana potions. 'The physical side, er, main effect is unfortunate for this kind of scenario, but I'll have to keep my mana topped in case this 'Kokabiel' attacks as well… Sheesh, I can't afford to lower my guard if this kind of near-death scenario is part of daily life here.'

Momonga walked up to the second floor, seeking to talk to Rias and Akeno just in case they somehow knew where Ravel was, since he really didn't want to poke the sleeping magical girl more than he had to.

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