Chapter 100: Get stabbed by the Praetorian Guard

Snow began to fall in Kuoh.

Yet, Earth was in its nearest position to the 'sun', so it should have been summer.

The atmosphere chilled as the black hole in the center of the solar system shone only faint, cold light by means of accelerating stellar dust in it's accretion disk to incredible speeds and setting them alight by friction, until finally speeding the matter to speed of light and thus turning the matter into pure energy… And finally, absorbing what failed to escape from the gravity well and fell to the center of the dark star.

Gods of various pantheons stood upright in their own realms on Earth, be them mountains or pocket dimensions, and looked up at the sight in the sky of their world.

Many of the most powerful beings on Earth had been forced to awaken and divert their attention upon their flocks to keep them from being wiped out by the shakes that sent the mystical and conventional worlds clashing and reeling from the impact.

Most of the pantheons were tied to the world integrally, and didn't have a separated dimension of their own to call a home and thus had been forced to endure the shakes that rocked the world to it's very core.

Zeus, the king of gods of Mount Olympus had ordered all gods of Greek pantheon to feed power to Poseidon in order to stabilize the seas of the world, but even the power of the pantheon had only been barely enough to keep the seas from evaporating in the wind of change that blew from somewhere in Japan, on the opposite side of the world from Greece.

The tremors had gone for what felt like a moment, but to the Gods was akin to a dark eternity during which all creation hung in a balance… Until a dark creature had been ejected from the world, and the pantheon had known peace for a minute.

And then Aphrodite had collapsed.

The beautiful goddess of love and fertility of Greek Pantheon had turned gray and her skin had cracked, and she had withered away in mere moments until only a shriveled, elderly-looking woman remained in Zeus's arms- Even though the Greek gods had tumultuous relationships at best of times, not one of them would take the true health of the other lightly.

And so, they did all they could to stabilize the goddess that had fallen ill suddenly and had begun to waste away as if time had sped up on her.

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The angels who were carrying bodies in Kuoh, after their Lord had ordered them to do so, looked up as the faint light of the dark star began to brighten.

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Indeed, when Shub-Niggurath had flown from Earth, it had collided with the planet Venus, and had pierced through it… causing the core of the planet to destabilize until the heart of the planet had spat out from the 'exit wound' upon its surface, and the massive change in both rotation and central mass had caused the broken and shattered planet to begin spinning in elliptical arc towards the dark star.

As the stellar matter closed the accretion disk the matter sped up, gaining friction… Until it burned bright and sped to the speed of light, becoming entirely energy that was partially devoured by the black hole, and partially spat out as a form of radiation known as 'light'.

Thus, the dying of one planet bought another a moment of respite.

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Aphrodite, syncretized with Venus, withered to dust, drawing a pained howl of mourning and loss from Zeus.

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Momonga put a scoop of pear ice-cream on top of the platter of ice-cream sandwiches, bowls of ice-cream, cherries, chocolate and waffles he had prepared, and set off to find Serafall Leviathan, feeling as if he had forgotten something.

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Serafall Leviathan stared at the television of the Underworld in abject horror.

The screen showed the death of the heads of the Pillar families at the hands of Lord Phenix, and then the death of Lord Phenix in the hands of Sirzechs who looked like he was utterly mad.

"Kukukuku…" A faint chuckling coming from Sona brought Serafall to reality.

"Sona! Please! T-that… Please, can't you see what is going to happen? Sirzechs-kun-!" Serafall tried to reason with Sona, but paused from the look of fond joy that Sona had on her face.

"Kukuku, can't you see, nee-san?" Sona calmed down a bit. "You remember my dream, no?"

"Your… dream? Building a school for Rating Games that anyone could enroll in, no matter if they were high-class, mid-class, or low-class devil or if they were of pure blood or human-born?" Serafall would never forget her cute Sona's dream, as childish as it was from the point of view of a Maou as the noble families would never allow 'low-born trash devils' to threaten their rule by allowing them a place to coordinate and learn, but Serafall would not let such sensibilities get in the way of Serafall's affection for her younger sister.

Then the thought and the view in front of her hit her. "S-So-tan… Surely you're not saying that…"

"Kukuku, He promised me to build the school I've dreamt of. And the first obstacle to it~ was~ those~ old~ geezers~..." Sona's voice turned into a sing-song at the end, and Serafall shook even harder. "Not to mention, this also allows him to display his power to the pure-blooded devils who follow power over all else, while the human-born devils tend to have a sense of justice and would feel kinship with someone who proposed a better society for them… And now… I have my reward, but your test is just beginning~"

"My… test?" Serafall felt her head starting to crack from the constant mental torment. "What do you mean?!"

"Kukuku, Sirzechs-sama would no doubt realize that Momon was behind all of this, so he's going to come for Mo-mon-kun." Sona's smirk widened. "And you saw how… enraged… he was. Do you think Sirzechs-sama would stop after killing Momon-kun? After you captured Grayfia-san?"

"I-I know he won't do anything bad to you, or others!" Serafall was resolute, but in her heart she felt a bit of wavering as she looked at the emergency broadcast which looped the sight of Lord Phenix slaying the noble heads of Pillar families after he had been ordered to have the heavens-fallen-devils delegation killed in the Underworld. And while Sirzechs had been justified to kill Lord Phenix… Serafall also saw him kill a librarian who was just present, guilty by association.

It was completely unlike the Sirzechs Serafall knew. It was almost as if Sirzechs had stopped thinking, and was acting like a wild animal.

The grip she had on Sona's hand tightened.

"And… You know what sort of fate His 'wives' and 'concubines' would suffer, if He was defeated and Sirzechs's strength became justice." Sona continued nonchalantly. "You know how little value is given to one who loses, and that devils will follow strength, and will instantly discard anything that doesn't have value to them… Kukuku, in other words, Sirzechs-sama will come for Momon next, and the winner will have the Underworld."

"S-So-tan!"

"Meanwhile the human-born devils would have been infected with His 'religion', of a chance at freedom from the pure-blooded devil rule, and they would revolt if Momon is slain, for he has given them hope and then a martyr to rally around- No, it should be rather said, that he had ordered Lord Phenix to become that martyr already…" Sona continued despite Serafall's sudden exclamation. "In other words, there would be another civil war in the Underworld, except that Heavens and Fallen would join the ranks of the human-born devils, as they see Momon as their God-ow, in the end eradicating the pure-blooded devils entirely."

"No…" Serafall tried to argue against Sona's words, but she knew how the noble devils would think, and recognized the truth in Sona's words- That devils followed strength above all, and the fact Momon had displayed his strength through his followers, and through his own actions in a Rating Game, had resulted in the 'cult' getting widespread approval and devotion even though it had been mere weeks since Momon's 'awakening'.

And while Serafall didn't really understand how humans thought about things, she knew Sona would, as she had spent a long time in the Human World and had a Peerage who had mostly been just normal humans before being 'recruited'. "If that happens… If Sirzechs-kun wins…"

"Kukuku… So you know what you must do…" Sona's smirk widened, while Serafall's insanity deepened, fueled by her increasing paranoia and concern for Sona's continued living…

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"Sirzechs-kun! Stop! This is exactly wha- urgh!" Beelzebub was flung to the side and the Maou created a large splash as he landed on one of the Underworld's lakes, after he had attempted to stop Sirzechs's mindless charge.

Sirzechs had emerged from the blasted, burning House of Pillars and had put his head to the ground like a dog sniffing for a trail, and then had snapped to a direction, muttering something about 'He is here'- And that was about all Beelzebub heard as he caught up to Sirzechs and the leading Maou of the Underworld bolted off again.

This time at speed that was like a blur in the eyes of even a fellow Maou like Beelzebub, and the speed and power of the charge turned ground into a miles-wide wedge on Sirzech's passing, as if a massive plow had run through the ground.

Beelzebub had managed to catch up to Sirzechs, and stood before him, trying his best to get his message across-

The enraged Maou plowed right through Beelzebub, however, making the scientific head of the Underworld utterly shaken as he rose up from the lake where he had been tossed into.

'Sirzechs… He's… Stopped thinking, like he said... ' Beelzebub felt as if his syringe injector would burn a hole in his pocket as he weighed the pros and cons of using [Kankara Formula] to synthesize something to neutralize Sirzechs's power, to make him stop and think about their next move instead of flinging themselves at Momon in a reckless charge.

The pacification from the formula would likely last for a moment for Sirzechs instead of ten minutes or so, like it had for Serafall, as Sirzechs's power was in constant flux and as time passed he drew more and more power from Underworld itself, and thus the accuracy of Beelzebub's calculation of the red-haired Maou's power would be wildly off no matter how much he tried to be accurate with it.

Beelzebub had already gained reports that there were earthquakes in certain areas of the Underworld and the floating continents of Agares territory were starting to fall from the sky, causing wide-spread destruction and death upon the residents of that territory, as it was most reliant on Underworld's energies.

While Beelzebub didn't think Sirzechs would or could draw so much that it'd destroy Underworld entirely, the fluctuation in power could severely disrupt the Underworld for months or years to come- And more importantly, since the power draw had been so sudden and unexpected, many devils were still going about their day-to-day tasks and had been caught in the middle of the nature going haywire from the power draw.

Beelzebub saw a comparison to Sirzechs's charge to that of what had happened in the Human World a mere hour ago, and did not like the implication.

Not only was Sirzechs not as mighty as an Outer Being, the fact Hastur had devoured Cthulhu's power meant that the red-headed Maou was at a massive, unreachable disadvantage- Something Sirzechs had ignored utterly in his despair and desire to get Grayfia and Rias back, but something Beelzebub knew both of them knew in their hearts to be the case.

Beelzebub knew that the creature known to most as 'Momon' could easily flick his wrist and turn entire Underworld into a place of rot and decay, like he had done for the Rating Game dimension but at exponentially larger scale, or alternatively snuff out the Underworld's sun as if it was a candle.

After all, Cthulhu had done so once already, and Beelzebub had no reason to doubt that Hastur wouldn't have inherited that ridiculous power.

Moreover, Beelzebub wasn't blind to how devil politics operated, nor to the fact Hastur had gained the support of Heavens and Fallen- Perhaps temporarily, but right now all the 'Maous' could say in their defence or in accusation of 'Momon' would fall to deaf ears thanks to the master-crafted ploy Hastur had unleashed upon them in the 'peace council' just two or three hours or so ago.

In other words, Beelzebub realized that Sirzechs's mounting insanity was pre-calculated move by Hastur's part, as well as the reaction Sirzechs would have to the destruction of Pillars, the Maou's every action after that, including turning Lord Phenix into a martyr for 'Momon's cause, and now even Sirzechs going after Momon in a bloodthirsty rage.

'Just how far does His plans reach?' Beelzebub felt despair as he realized that the Maus had danced to Momon's tune from the very beginning like obedient little rats in a circus theater-play shown to children.

Not to mention that Momon's plan had enveloped the entire Underworld, Heavens, Fallen, and whoever else Hastur had decided to bring to his web of ploys, all at the same time and with none of them realizing that they were being led to slaughter like obedient cattle.

Beelzebub felt his mind crack a bit from realizing just how deeply Hastur had sunk his claws into the reality, all the while the Maous had been led astray by their own arrogance, their own theories and their self-assurance that they could make sense of what made no sense.

Beelzebub fell to his knees in the wedge that Sirzechs's passing had left on the soil of the Underworld, which had turned to mud after the skies had started to turn dark and roiling, like on the onset of a monsoon.

'There is no hope left for us, anymore… No, there was never hope for anyone. We were just puppets in his play.' Beelzebub felt a tiny twinge of admiration towards 'Momon' for the complex, multi-faceted, and master-crafted ploy he had woven like a monstrous master of spiders, but at the same time he felt dread like he had never felt before in his life. 'But where does that leave us? Sirzechs's rage is directed at Momon, he has stopped thinking, and is just a puppet with a singular goal… '

A large drop of water landed on Beelzebub's face as he had turned his head upwards while he had collapsed to his knees, like a defeated warrior that was waiting for an opponent to run them through and end their suffering.

'Ha… Or does he intend to claim the Underworld?' Beelzebub realized yet another hidden strand of the grand master-plan that was starting to resemble a thick web, something that only Outer Beings- no Supreme Beings could craft, unlike something composed of simple 'plots', like mere mortals would have. 'For what purpose? We sought so hard to understand 'how' and 'why' 'Momon' was, we never gave thought as to 'what' he seeks… Would that have made a difference? If we threw ourselves at His feet, groveled for His forgiveness and mercy, would He be content to just take what He desired and then leave? What would a Supreme Being desire for?'

Beelzebub recalled a hint the Supreme Being known as 'Momon' had given the Maous at the very start of his ascension, when he had taken the empty shell Beelzebub vaguely recalled to be 'Issei Hyoudou', and began the grand act upon the stage that was all creation.

'Ah… We were such fools. He gave us a hint and then another a hint, he placed a dagger in our hand and placed the tip against his own chest… And like fools we were, we became fascinated by the glitter of gems upon the dagger's grip, and instead of striking when we had the chance, we took the dagger to our hands and analyzed it like goblins would gawk at a treasure beyond their understanding…' Beelzebub recalled the two hints the Supreme Being had given the Maous- One in the form of an undead servant, and one in the form of a holy servant. 'Ha… Hahaha… '

Beelzebub recalled the words Sirzechs had told them, that had come from the undead servant: 'And so said the undead one: "He simply is. He was the last of the Beings who created and destroyed worlds and civilizations like sculptors of clay, standing as the Last Being at the end of the final era when all other Supreme Beings had long ceased to be. Within his treasury lie all creations of forty-one and all the treasures of the past worlds and world's past. When he walks the very reality corrects itself to what he wants it to be. When he stood from the Throne of Kings the End of the Final Era began, and all you worms gnawing at the skin of the world shall burn before his grand design.'"

The green-haired Maou contrasted the words to what had happened in the Human World, what had happened when He walked the Earth, when He had arrived upon the world like plague.

And then he recalled the second hint He had given to the Maous- In the form of an angel: "Rise, and praise His name, the name of Momon, who shall one day claim what he has Lost, take His Palace once again from those who have abandoned him, and reign eternal upon the Throne of Kings, upon the Throne of All Ten Worlds, and cast down those who have risen against Him! Heed His words, and rejoice, for He offers you His Mercy, a place in His Kingdom Come!"

Beelzebub felt bile in his throat as he fell on all fours like an animal, and emptied his stomach.

It was clear as day to the Maou.

There were never two 'Supreme Beings', no 'Rivals', Cthulhu had been a tool for Hastur, and not his 'enemy'.

Rather, Hastur had deceived everything, leading everyone to believe that He was but a minor player among the Outer Beings, instead of being something truly horrifying pretending to be weak. Just like how Momon had appeared to the Maous, until the horrifying truth was revealed to them at the climax of the play.

Beelzebub realized that eventually, in age after all ended, eons and eons from now, only Hastur would stand as the victor among the Outer Beings, each unaware of their deaths until Hastur's grasp reached them.

Thusly, 'Momon', or King in Yellow would stand as the Last Being at the end of the Final Era, when all came to a close and the reality came to an end.

Beelzebub now saw it: 'Momon' was not only a Stranger who visited the homes of those with recently-departed in the guise of the dead beloved one, or a plague-ridden intruder in a joyous party, nor only a carrion-feeder of the fools who spoke of things they knew nothing of. But rather, Hastur, or 'Momon', could only be described by those things, or rather, He could only be recorded as one of those, for anyone who knew more of Hastur's true nature would fall to his lure and become either His cultist, like the poor girls Beelzebub realized He had drawn near Him, or die and be drawn into His dimension so that not a single word of His 'True' nature was revealed and recorded.

All those who found out who Hastur truly was were drawn to the lost dimension of Carcossa, where He eternally tormented those who had slighted Him, or ruled over those who he gathered under His banner.

Indeed, Beelzebub realized what the mention of 'treasures' meant, for Hastur would gather all things that caught His eye, and would move them to Carcossa to be displayed as 'treasures' or 'tormented enemies' for all eternity. And after He had gotten His fill, he would return to His seat in Carcossa alongside his treasures and playthings, ready to hunt for another world to torment while He left the one he had passed over in ruins.

'...His plan is almost complete. We are at a deadlock. The low-ranked and human-born devils, Fallen and Angels already worship him, the pure-blooded devils have been gathered into an army by Asmodeus, and are ready to back Sirzechs up if he needs it, and if they do, all of them will be wiped out... Human World is already dead… ' Beelzebub forced feeling into his numb limbs, and rose up from the mud-strewn wedge on the ground while rain poured down from the dark sky.

Beelzebub realized that he had been lying on his back after realizing 'Momon's true nature and after His goals had become clear to him. 'If Sirzechs is allowed to fight with Momon, it will mark the End of this world- No, of all worlds. This all has lead to this one conclusion- All that remains is for Hastur to shed His mask, and show those who remain the true meaning of terror.'

'...But ...If…' Beelzebub felt his hypodermic needle-like injector burn in his pocket like an ultimatum- Or worse, like the worst kind of indecision. '...If Sirzechs never gets to fight Momon, if the host of the party never confronts the uninvited guest, if the father of the family never questions the molding flesh of his departed but returned son, if the fools were silenced before they could speak the Name… If the sheep never left the pasture and never followed the shepherd to the slaughterhouse...'

'He is preparing for the climax of the play, one final battle… But if it was ruined, if the play was interrupted…' Something was starting to make sounds like cracking glass, and Beelzebub looked at the injector in his hands, and saw that his hand was starting to shake. '...Could it all be averted? Could we buy ourselves a moment longer, a brief moment of respite to formulate a counterattack- No, rather than trying to struggle against our fate, we need to pretend that there was no leper among the party, that the son was not spreading rot around the house, that no such being existed among our rank…'

A teardrop fell down Beelzebub's cheek. 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry it has come to this, Sirzechs-kun… I'm sorry, I couldn't predict His actions, I'm a fool…'

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Momonga paused as he walked towards the balcony, and sneezed to his sleeve. "...I really need to find a way to mass-produce [Scroll of Cure Disease] at this rate… I think this body has an allergy to pollen or something."

He felt his mood drop a bit as he looked out of the window and saw that the sky was turning dark and rainy. 'Ah… I wanted to deliver this ice-cream to Serafall so she'd cheer up, and I think eating it when it's clear and warm outside would be good… Oh well. I suppose it'd do if I just gave it to her and she ate it while she was under blankets or something… That could be cozy, come to think of it… Or if she's not in the mood for it, I could just cast [Control Weather] and set it to something pleasant… And then see if that would help her get over the gloom...'

'Momonga' had officially turned the reins to Suzuki Satoru, as the undead representation of his psyche had absolutely no clue about 'comfy' things so instead it moved on to poking Ddraig as the dragon was on edge more than before.

"Hieeee! Please don't, Momonga-sama! No, Momonga-kakka! My mind can't take much more of this! I'll turn into a dumbo dragon! I'll break for real! Please… I need just a moment… I need to sleep, I want to sleeeeeep…." The dragon was letting girly shrieks completely ill-befitting of his appearance as 'Momonga', or the skeletal avatar-representative poked the dragon's tail inside Momonga's head and the touch seemed to cause the dragon to become incredibly paranoid, even though the mental representation of Momonga's calculating side didn't use any of his abilities in combination with the touch.

'...I think Ddraig is exhausted.' Momonga nodded to himself, and the dragon nodded rapidly in turn, clearly relieved. 'Ah well. In that case, feel free to sleep. I'll call you if I need you again.'

"Y-you'd let me sleep peacefully?"

'...Yes?'

"M-momonga sama, your tone just now… It was not reassuring at all?!"

'Just go to sleep, oversized red garden lizard.'

"UUUUUOOOAAA- ahm. sorry, I'll go to sleep… zzzz…' Ddraig's roar of fury was cut mid-way almost as if he realized what he was doing, and then he continued the speech meekly as if he was a little kitten, laid his head on top of the gold pile in Momonga's mental-scape, and finally started to snore like a log saw. 'Gnoooo… Gnoooooooh….'

Momonga felt that the change in mood was quite abrupt, but then again, it looked like Ddraig was starting to seriously lose it so he let the dragon do as he pleased in his head. '...Come to think of it, do [Sacred Gears] need psychiatrist help? I did give him a healing potion, but should I see if I can find some stress medicine and stuff it in my head somehow? Lady Phenix seemed to find them helpful, back when Ravel was captured by the Elder Lich...'

He walked towards the balcony where the leaders of the 'united three factions' had met just moments prior, hoping that Serafall and Sona hadn't taken his words of 'stay here' literally and gotten soaked.

It turned out that Momonga's fear was unfounded as he only found unconscious Baraqiel in the balcony, who had been left as-is after the man had passed out after Momonga had explained his circumstances with Akeno to the Fallen Angel Lieutenant.

'He's going to catch a fever if he stays like that in this rain…' Momonga sighed and moved to create a blanket on the man with basic [Create Item], glad that he had decided to put a cover on the tray of ice-cream treats he had made so that they wouldn't get soggy or melt in the rain.

He turned to face away from the balcony, and…

"MOOOOOMOOOOOOONNNNNN!" A dreadful howl that was like the supersonic crack of an aircraft surpassing the sound barrier, only turned to speech, echoed in the grounds around Phenix estate and blasted the windows of the estate into glass shards.

'...ow?' Momonga 'emoted' pain, even though the fact his eardrums were ringing a bit didn't really hurt. But he felt that it was appropriate, considering the annoyance the shout had been.

And then he paused as he saw a roiling mass of darkness approaching the Phenix estate at very high speed.

"Um…?" Momonga turned to look at the approaching darkness, pulling [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] from his inventory just in case.

He let the [Boosted Gear] lie for the moment, as he had told Ddraig that he'd let the dragon sleep for a bit. But he'd bring it out nonetheless if situation called for it- And the wave of darkness reached Phenix manor, crashing against a barrier that sprang up as Momonga's six Cherubim Gatekeepers sprang forth from the church beside the estate and once again erected their barrier.

The barrier cracked, and then shattered entirely as the dark knight-like form with knee-length red hair slammed it's fist into the golden dome.

Momonga cast [Fly] and hopped off the balcony, feeling a bit wary over the whole situation but figuring that he needed to live up to his hype and at least figure out what was going on. 'Red hair? Dark energy? Is that Sirzechs-san? What happened?'

The man in dark armor seemed to radiate power in vast excess, making Momonga quite nervous and he cast a wordless [Detect Life] on the man… And felt like his eyes would pop out of his head as he saw the 'health level' of the Maou. 'It's… It's nearly ten times that of what Serafall had... Don't tell me that Sirzechs-san leveled up? Was he always that strong? Or did he fudge up his health numbers?'

"IIII KNOOOWW WHOO YOU ARREEEE! MOOOMOOONN!" Sirzechs's howl of anger echoed in the air, causing Momonga to switch from 'gawking' to 'seriousness' in a split second. "YOUU WILL DIEEE BYY MYY HAAANDD! HAASTUUUURR!"

"Umu, I think there has been a miscommunication here somewhere…" Momonga tried to reason with Sirzechs, but it looked like the Maou had lost his mind entirely and just ignored the words in order to charge at Momonga like a thunderstorm of dark energy.

Momonga lifted the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] in his defence, and mentally prepared for the worst-case scenario even though Sirzechs had spouted something completely odd just now… Only for Sirzechs to come to a halt mere hundred feet or so away from him.

'This is bad. Really bad. It doesn't look like Sirzechs is willing to listen... I might have gained extra levels, but arrogance is a quick road to the grave.' Momonga paused as well, holding the staff in a wary grip while doing a quick mental calculus of his mana level, which was about halfway filled thanks to the amount of 'mana potions' he had consumed, and contrasted it to what he knew about Sirzechs's weaknesses and strengths- That was, not much. 'I'll need to approach this like Serafall, and poke at his weaknesses covertly… Sorry, Ddraig, it looks like I need to wake you up- oh?'

Indeed, Sirzechs was looking at something past Momonga, but Momonga wouldn't fall to Sirzechs's ploy of getting him to look behind himself and expose his back to the Maou.

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Sirzechs's rage was at the same time flamed to incredible heights, and also quelled to cold fear in a sensation that almost tore his psyche apart as he saw Serafall Leviathan walk to a balcony behind 'Momon', and the traitorous Maou had her hands on unconscious Grayfia's neck- In other words, Serafall could easily snap Grayfia's neck.

And the sight of blind desperation in Serafall's eyes told Sirzechs that she wasn't thinking straight, so she would do it.

The storm of [Power of Destruction] that was only barely held within check inside Sirzechs Lucifer waxed and waned, and the part of Sirzechs that clung to sanity knew that he couldn't win, no matter how hard he fought.

If he went all-out, Grayfia would be caught in the blast. Rias was likely somewhere near as well.

If he grabbed 'Momon' and teleported both of them to Human World so they could fight properly, Grayfia would die in Serafall's hands.

Yet, the rage inside Sirzechs yearned for Hastur's death, for he knew that if Hastur was killed, the nightmare would come to an end, and they would know peace.

It was a desperate play, one born out of loss and hatred, but… Sirzechs realized that he had no other options left but to fight.

And at the same time… The logical part of Sirzechs fought against the thought with all his might, for he knew his strength, and he knew that once Hastur chose to discard the mask he had put up, Sirzechs would be swept aside like so much trash.

He had hoped that he could strike at Momon, no, Hastur, before he could react to the sudden change in Sirzechs's approach… But it was useless.

The fact Grayfia had been brought out as a hostage meant that Hastur had seen through Sirzechs's plan to have no plan, around which Sirzechs had assumed that 'Momon' couldn't plan.

It turned out that 'Momon' could plan around even one with no plan.

Or perhaps it had all been within 'Momon's plan all along.

Sirzechs felt despair even as the [Power of Destruction] flared even harder, and he let out a howl of rage, of fear, or despair, and charged forward hell-bent on slaying Hastur in one blow, concentrating all his power, all his rage, and all his pain and loss to one, singular blow.

Either the attack would connect and eradicate Hastur in single hit, or Sirzechs would die trying-

And he felt something cold in his neck, alongside something hitting square in his back as a sudden feeling of cold coursed through his body and extinguish the dark flame of [Power of Destruction] for just the briefest moment.

Sirzechs felt as if the world had lost colour, and the dark scales of the armor he had made fell from his face like flakes of skin.

"Ah…" Sirzechs tasted blood on his lips and he looked at 'Momon' who stood hundred feet or so in front of him, floating mid-air and with a golden staff in his hand- A staff that gave the appearance of something noble and pure, but emitted energy of something truly foul now that Sirzechs had sharpened his senses through absorbing so much power from the Underworld.

A scepter truly befitting the King in Yellow, a Supreme Being, only Sirzechs had been blind to see it before.

His eyesight was starting to turn blurry, however, and he looked past Momon to Grayfia who had woken up, and saw that Serafall had put her hand on top of Grayfia's mouth while the gray-haired maid, Sirzechs's wife and Queen had an expression that was frozen in shock and her eyes were wide with fear and concern.

And then Sirzechs's eyes lost the sight of his wife, as his body lost strength.

Sirzechs fell forward, feeling the [Power of Destruction] evaporating as his body grew limp, cold and powerless, alongside his consciousness.

Before Sirzechs blacked out he saw Beelzebub who had appeared behind him and had an empty injector on one hand and a bloody dagger on the other.

"I'm sorry… It is the only way to stop this- To give us a chance, to go against fate…" Beelzebub's whisper echoed in Sirzechs's mind for a moment before everything went dark. "I'm… sorry…"

.

.

Momonga paused as Beelzebub appeared behind Sirzechs, injected something into his fellow Maou's neck, and then stabbed him in the back.

'Um…' Momonga wasn't sure what was happening anymore and returned the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] to his side. "Ahem. About that just now..."

But Beelzebub had teleported away instead of speaking or answering, taking Sirzechs's body with him.

Momonga blinked, and then returned the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] to his inventory.

'Hm… I suppose Sirzechs was acting oddly. Seems a bit harsh, but I suppose I shouldn't go between two Maous…' Momonga undid [Fly] and landed back on the balcony and spotted Serafall and Grayfia.

It looked like Serafall was supporting Grayfia as the latter looked like she had lost her mind and was crying miserably, and Serafall had an insane expression on her face.

"Kakaka…" A ominous sound escaped Serafall's lips, and another similar voice came from the doorway leading to the balcony. Momonga glanced at the direction to see Sona walk into the balcony as well, and it looked like she had been hiding in a room next to the one which led to the balcony.

'Right, this weather needs to change…' Momonga put a ring to his finger to allow himself to cast druid-related spells. "[Control Weather]... Ah, that's better."

The sky cleared, and a tranquil, warm summer breeze replaced the monsoon.

"Ice-cream, anyone?" Momonga lifted the cover from the tray he had brought to the table, and offered Serafall an ice-cream sandwich.

Serafall looked at the treat, her eyes widened in sudden realization as she looked like she shook awake from some sort of daze, which was followed by a look of abject horror, and she sent a glance at Sona.

"Kukukuku… good girls must be rewarded, no?" Sona chuckled to her hand, and Serafall took the treat with shaky hands.

Serafall looked at the ice-cream sandwich, and miserable tears began pouring down her face.

She bit into the treat while falling on her knees and crying, making a total of two crying women on the balcony as Grayfia was on her knees and was staring up at the spot in the sky where Sirzechs had been just a moment prior, with tears pouring down her face.

'Haa… women… Touch Me did say that women worked in mysterious ways, back when he had been forced to sleep on the couch because he said something...' Momonga sighed and turned to offer the tray to Sona as well. "Ice-cream, dear?"

"Thank you, dear…" Sona purred as she picked something from the tray as well, except that unlike Serafall she didn't burst into tears upon eating.

Momonga offered Grayfia some ice-cream as well, and paused as the gray-haired maid-clothed woman looked at Momonga with crazed, maddened eyes, then turned her eyes to the ice-cream sandwich on the tray, and finally to Serafall who was munching on a similar treat while crying her heart out… And then Grayfia stabbed herself in the throat with a dagger of ice she produced from somewhere.

"I'll never be yours, Momon…" A spiteful, blood-garbled sentence escaped Grayfia's mouth before she collapsed on the balcony. "Sirzechs… my heart… I'll… be with you… always…"

'...Alright, she doesn't like pear ice-cream. Noted.' Momonga sighed as he hadn't really understood what had come from the maid's mouth thanks to the blood that accompanied the words. 'Still, I didn't think she'd dislike it that much…'

So, he put another ring on his finger to cast [True Resurrection] as he guessed that the maid's strength, from what he had gathered, might make it a bit dangerous to use basic [Resurrection] on her.

The woman's corpse spasmed and she took a ragged breath.

"I have cherry ice-cream as well…" Momonga offered another ice-cream sandwich to Grayfia, who looked outright insane.

She opened her mouth, closed it, looked at the blood-covered ice-dagger on her hands…

"[Break item]" Momonga waved his hand at the dagger. "You know, it's pretty upsetting to perform a suicide in response to something as minor as that…"

Grayfia shook like a leaf in the wind as the dagger of ice broke and turned to water.

Momonga offered the ice-cream sandwich again, and Grayfia took it with shaky hands.

"I'll never be yours, never, never, never…" Grayfia growled and bit into the ice-cream.

'...Women…' Momonga sighed once again, feeling like an old man, before taking a waffle from the tray for himself.

Then he spotted a body that was covered with a blanket, and noted that Baraqiel was still lying unconscious on the balcony. 'Hm, come to think of it, Baraqiel-san is Akeno's father… I wonder if he'd be willing to help me understand how women think? He was married, right?'

A plan formulated in Momonga's head, and he nodded joyfully.

.

.

Serafall felt misery as she bit into the tasty ice-cream sandwich, a physical and sinfully delicious reminder of her betrayal of the entire Underworld.

She bit again, the sweet taste of the treat contrasting to the awful feeling she had in her gut.

She knew that the sight just now had been a test.

Sona had explained what Serafall needed to do, which was to bring Grayfia out and use her as a hostage to stop Sirzechs from killing Momon… Or rather, 'stop' Sirzechs, as Serafall knew Momon would have plans on top of plans for the off-chance that Serafall would choose the Underworld over Momon- Or rather over Sona, as her loyalty was more to Sona than to Momon.

Indeed, the fact Beelzebub had appeared and had betrayed Sirzechs in turn meant that even if Serafall hadn't betrayed the Underworld, Momon would have won regardless. In other words, bringing Grayfia out was just a test for Serafall's loyalties, and was useless in the end. As she had expected.

Indeed, Momon stood before her, like a tyrant, like a ruler of evil, a strategist beyond measure, a monster beyond monster, a spider with endless webs… Like a True Maou.

And Serafall realized that a part of her was starting to find that kind of hot, and unlike the 'fun hot' she had found 'Momon the dark phenix' before the revalation of his 'True' nature, this time He was starting to look 'hot' in a 'hot hot' kind of way.

And so she cried, knowing that there was no hope for the people she had sworn to protect, and feeling miserable that she was starting to seriously contemplate liking the one responsible for that.

.

.

Sona looked at the dark lord, her dark lord, who stood victoriously on the balcony, his mind no doubt formulating plans that were incomprehensibly deep and complex while reality itself bent to His will.

'Kukuku… It is all going as he has planned…'

.

.

'I wonder if Baraqiel would be interested in going bowling? I read about that when I looked through some of the locations in Kuoh City… Although, it's ruined now… ah! What about the Underworld's capital! There must be some places for two men to go out and have fun...'

.

.

A few miles away from Phenix manor, a pair of feather-winged creatures walked up to a church.

Gabriel had stuffed her nose with a tissue to stop it from bleeding, and Michael reached up to the church's doors with calm motions.

The rain that had fallen hadn't touched the two Arch-Angels, cluing them to the fact that it was likely devil-made in nature, and when the Arch-Traitor Sirzechs had chosen to charge the Phenix manor where Lord resided, the two Arch-Angels had stood in serenity, knowing that Father would take care of the issue.

Indeed, He had flown up to intercept the traitorous Maou… Only for the traitors to live up to their deeds, as the traitorous Maou had been betrayed in turn by another Maou.

Michael had nodded his head, seeing that evil was repaid by evil. Gabriel had looked sad but accepting, and the two Arch-Angels had moved on towards the Church of the True God.

"Hm… This sculpture…" Gabriel was blushing quite hard as she looked at a pair of sculptures that looked like muscular half-naked men with skeletal faces and feathered wings which flanked the entrance to the church. "Father is… changing his iconography?"

"If I were to guess, this is to signify his 'death' and 'rebirth'." Michael analyzed as he knocked on the church's doors. "It is quite fitting, after all His son died for the sake of mankind, and He himself chose to live among them to better guide them from the shadows…"

The doors opened, showing the sight of the now-familiar but oddly-shaped armored angel with eight wings.

'Hm, Dominion Authority… What an imposing name... ' Michael nodded to the fellow angel, who nodded it's 'helmet' in turn.

"Welcome to the Church of the True God! Enter, you who come seeking His way!" The massive angel glided to the side, allowing the two Arch-Angels to look into the congregation that looked to be in full swing.

Michael's eyes widened as he looked at the 'worshippers' and the way they were 'worshipping', seeing a myriad of devils and recently-healed Fallen Angels in various states of clothing and most of them were in the middle of act of copulation.

Some of them looked at the entrance and made inviting motions to the two Arch-Angels.

Michael felt his mouth open and close like a fish out of the sea.

Then there was a 'thunk' sound that came from next to Michael.

The Arch-Angel who had taken the mantle of responsibility for leading Heavens looked to the side, and saw Gabriel lying flat on the ground after she had fallen straight on her face.

And noticed that she had Fallen in a literal sense, as she had thick, black feathered wings coming from her back.

Michael shook like a leaf in the wind. 'Dad, your child is in need of guidance! I need an adult…!'