Chapter 138: Insurgents blow up a car while you sleep

Azazel sighed.

He was looking over the sight of a ruined castle that had once belonged to one of the now 'redacted' clans of Devils, who had decided to throw their lot with the new old Maous, and had been thus censured by the True God.

The castle had been razed to the ground, and all of its inhabitants slain en masse if they did not immediately bend the knee or turn against their masters.

The sight of corpse-pyres was giving Azazel major flashbacks to the past wars, even if the battles in the Underworld had not been near as brutal as those which had been fought back in the War, which had left the Three Factions in ruin for a long time.

'The lack of Maous in the opposing side really hampers their ability to meaningfully strike back… That being said… Serafall is strangely enthusiastic.'Azazel glanced over at one of the corpse pyres where Serafall was smiling at the burning mound of devil-corpses, mostly of nobles and their Peerages who chose to stick to their alignments, although it would be quite difficult to individually ascertain intentions in the chaos of battle.

Azazel gave Serafall a long look, evaluating her expression, and finally came to the conclusion that the Maou was not alright in the head. Not even the slightest. In fact, Azazel was fairly sure that the cutely-dressed and cute-acting short woman was utterly, irrevocably insane in a deranged way that still allowed her a degree of surface-level sanity which manifested in a desire to act cute. '...Or she's just trying to hide the blood on her hands under the layer of cutesy acting… Sheesh… Devils can be terrifying at times… I'm surprised if Daddy-o decides to 'keep' her after this is all over… Unless he plans on having her around as a puppet to keep the rest of the devils pacified. That Censure of that Seekvaira-girl also opens up a possibility that he might be planning on doing the same to other high-rankers of other factions… And us.'

Azazel, however, was somewhat certain that He wouldn't be trying to censure Azazel and the other Gray Angels, considering that the two angelic 'races' had been merged already, and as far as their collective beliefs went, it was close enough of a Censure without having their memories wiped as well. '...I should keep an eye out on that anyway.'

"Azazel-san?" A calm voice came from a glyph that appeared in front of Azazel's face. "How goes your end of the battlescape?"

"Dandy. Serafall, uh, cleaned the place up good. We only got minor casualties among the friendlies, with the majority of that being splash damage from Serafall. And the new-age Angels are resurrecting the dead as we speak. That being said… uh, I think it'd be a good idea to let Serafall steam down a bit before she goes to the next front." Azazel spoke to Michael's glyph. "I'll take over her job, alright? So can you, say, send Gabriel to talk to Serafall?"

"Certainly. Committing genocide against her fellow countrymen is damaging to one's mind." Michael spoke quite serenely, making Azazel sigh.

'...You're really channeling the Newer Testament, huh, Michael-san…' Azazel noted the change in Michael's worldview, which had likely been caused by the texts that 'True God' had spread among his followers. And Azazel was fairly sure that Michael, as usual for the daddy's golden boy, wanted to dive in right into the teachings even before He would instruct them of the new dogma.

"That being said… Dad is really taking the backstage, huh? I mean, this is more or less the end of our crusade against Devils, or at least renegade devils… Figured that Dad would want to be present for the clean-up." Azazel noted.

"Are you questioning Father's wisdom? Again?" Michael's voice was pleasant and calm, but had a definite threat under the words. "You have caused a schism among our ranks once before, and a civil war between us Angels at our Father's finest hour, back when he sealed Trihexa. I will not allow you to betray Him again."

"Sheesh! Relax! I wasn't planning on doing that! Besides, Dad gave me the reins of this clean-up so I'm like, in charge!" Azazel waved at the glyph to calm Michael down as it looked like the Gray Arch-Angel was really taking the situation seriously. Which didn't surprise Azazel, considering how hardline Michael was when it came to following His orders.

"...Very well. But do not relapse on this, Azazel-san. Our bright future awaits, if we only follow His lead." Michael's voice returned to the calm, serene and hopeful tone and Azazel practically saw the Arch-Angel hiding his hands into his sleeves while standing peacefully over a pile of mangled corpses.

"Yeah, sure. Anyway… Your end is done, right? We only have… Uhh… Couple of Houses to deal with? And the remnants of Beelzebub's army, after they rally themselves so it's easier to kill them all in one fell sweep." Azazel brought out a clipboard while in the distance Gabriel materialized next to Serafall and hugged her after making sure Serafall knew she was present. The fact the duo's dresses were stained red with blood made the heartwarming scene of support look a lot more distressing than it probably should.

"That is correct. House Glasya-Labolas is currently pressed by the scouts of the Faithful. Even though they have the benefit of extra guards left by Asmodeus, once we enter the battlefield, the battle will be a foregone conclusion." Michael noted from his end. "Father's decree to the Noble Houses before the assault, and whatever that happened that devastated Beelzebub's position, left the Houses scattered, low on manpower, and alone while we have a great contingent of Devils in addition to our Angels, and where one of us might fall, they will be resurrected... It won't be long until the Underworld rightfully bows to Him."

"...Are you already picking seaside properties?"

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Michael seemed genuinely confused.

"I'm just saying, don't let your guard down. Because Beelzebub and Asmodeus are missing doesn't mean they are dead. Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer." Azazel tried to calm Michael's zeal down. 'Not to mention… I'd prefer if the rest of the devils just surrendered… Peace that is built on a river of blood… erk… That won't last…'

"Ah. True, that is likely why Father has chosen to take a back seat- After all, resistance of this caliber won't be an issue for us, but if Beelzebub and Asmodeus appear then the situation would change radically… This way he can respond instantly to wherever they may strike." Michael noted and Azazel could practically see him nodding his head in deep thought. "Regardless, let us resume our duties to the Kingdom Come."

"We callin' it that, now? You know, with dad's new teachings that name is definitely taking another meaning." Azazel sighed at the name and smirked a bit as he could practically see Michael going 'Oh. Oooooh' in realization while starting to turn green. 'Yeah, more likely Dad is just slacking off… 'New' Dad is definitely taking a laid-back stance on life. Not that I disprove, considering what his line of thinking was back then and since He didn't often fight alongside us back then either, but it'd be nice if he fought alongside us for a change… Then again, considering that Beelzebub and Asmodeus might actually be around and waiting for an opportunity, perhaps there's truth to what Michael is saying…' "Fine, let's go."

.

.

.

"Hm…" Beelzebub rubbed his chin a bit as he stared at what looked like a closed stone door.

It bore a striking similarity to the door that had let them through to the ruins of R'lyeh, however unlike the maze of tunnels and hallways before the previous such door, the sunken city was surprisingly easy to navigate.

Too easy to navigate, as Asmodeus had pointed out.

Not to mention that the water was definitely eerie and practically oozed the feeling of something being unnatural, which didn't surprise Beelzebub, considering the circumstances. Nonetheless it had taken quite a bit of resolve to actually enter the water.

The devil-magic which allowed them to breathe underwater seemed almost muted by the water, making both of the Maous worried that their magic would fail them the deeper they went into the ruins… But surprisingly enough, the seeming 'exit' to the city had been found easily enough.

"There's no key, though." Asmodeus noted while pointing at a keyhole, which was similar to the one in the arena earlier.

"The last key appeared when we defeated that Angel-Vampire hybrid… In other words, Hastur has likely left something here that holds the key." Beelzebub eyed the door warily. "Moreover, we haven't been attacked yet, which definitely doesn't match with the tunnels earlier… Either Hastur hasn't had time to corrupt this city to his liking, or this is a trap, intended to draw us deeper into the city in search of a key that might not exist."

"Do we have a choice but to proceed?" Asmodeus asked while eyeing the door.

Beelzebub analyzed the lock and put his hand against it.

A spike of energy ran through the lock, but it wouldn't budge even if Beelzebub tried to mold a key to fit the lock, nor would it break as he tried to slice it. "It looks like it's… Hm, partially dimension-locked. I suspect someone like Ophis might be able to outright bypass this door, but we don't have the time that it would take me to try to decipher this."

"So, we search for the key? We could try blowing up this city. The enemy might come to us." Asmodeus waved his hand in the direction of the ruined, underwater city around them, causing a string of bubbles to follow his hand.

"Hm… I dread what might come if we ring the gong too hard…"

"Yet, we are here to draw Hastur to us, right?" Asmodeus pointed out. "Speaking of which, do you have an exit for us?"

"Yes… We leg it, try to make it to the hole we made, and escape to the Interdimensional Gap and I'll try to seal the realm off, much like how I made the Rating Game Arena into the Interdimensional Gap." Beelzebub spoke while he and Asmodeus went off towards a particularly dark path in the sunken city. "It won't last long, relatively speaking, but even a few years is hopefully enough to convince the other Pantheons to assist us in keeping Hastur sealed for all eternity by rotating whoever is energizing the seal. Speaking of which, I must trust you to once again reach out to the Pantheons, and perhaps try to get Serafall to our side… Assuming Hastur won't drag her here alongside the others as he confronts us here."

"Haa… I swear, dealing with Indian pantheons is such a pain… But I'll do it." Asmodeus let out a long-pained sigh… And the road shook a bit.

Both Asmodeus and Beelzebub looked down… And saw that they were standing on a single slab of rock that made a wide road.

There were large orb-like gems that suddenly began to shine red with baleful light, and then the road stood up.

"What- It-" Beelzebub paled as both of the Maous took flight underwater, only to be knocked out of the underwater city as it rose up alongside the streets that cracked as if something huge was emerging from it. "Fabium-kun!"

"I see it!" Asmodeus confirmed as the two broke the surface just in time to dodge a huge fist that tried to reach for them, only to cause a huge wave in the underground lake that settled into still water almost instantly.

"What… It can't be…" Beelzebub saw as a huge, golem-like stone titan rose up from the sunken city to stand tall in the cavern, submerged up to its knees which gave it quite an impressive height.

"What is it?" Asmodeus lifted his barrier as the monstrosity reached to punch him, and the hit caused the barrier to lit up in golden glow as it absorbed the hit, and then turned to return it to sender in the form of a laser-beam that caused a long scorch-mark on the golem's shoulder.

"No, I must be incorrect… Is Hastur trying to recreate his sibling into the abducted Sunken City? It's just a golem, for now, but… Fabium-kun! Be careful! This has to be a trap, an attempt to get us to return Cthulhu!"

Asmodeus looked resigned. "Are you sure it's not just a random golem? We killed a lot of small versions of this back in the tunnels-"

"We're talking about Hastur here! The monstrosity that lurked beneath our very eyes! Do not be so easily misled!" Beelzebub pulled Asmodeus's arm down, causing a beam of reflective energy to miss and cause a huge splash in the oddly still water. "Search for the key!"

Asmodeus blocked another wild, if quite slow blow from the huge golem that seemingly attacked as if doing so reluctantly, further causing Beelzebub's suspicion to rise, and peaking to paranoia as both of the Maous withdrew and the golem retreated under the surface. 'It's not trying to fight us… In other words, Hastur expects us to press the advantage and destroy this… thing… and in doing so complete some unknown goal… I won't fall for it!'

.

.

"...The remaining two intruders seemed to have stalled their advance to the Fourth Floor." A skeletal figure rubbed his chin with his forefinger while sitting on a throne. "Demiurge?"

"Unexpected, but not unprecedented- Gargantua was ordered to hide as best as he could, and if found out, try to buy time. Due to his large body he won't be able to fight effectively on other floors…" Demiurge was analyzing the combat-data shown by orange-coloured holograms floating around the Throne of Kings while the Guardians, sans Victim, were preparing themselves in the Throne Room. "It seems that the enemy is intelligent… But very suspicious. It is possible that they have caught onto the altered traps of the Second and Third Floors and thus have deduced that we have altered the layout of Nazarick in order to confuse the enemy who were aware of our previous paths and traps. I offer my deepest apologies for allowing the enemy to deduce our ploy so early, for-"

"No! I changed the arrangement of the traps, so the fault is mine!" A voice interrupted Demiurge's speech, and Lord Issei reached out from his throne… And head-pat Shalltear with his bony hand as she had spoken out.

"It's alright. You did your best. Now then… Cocytus? Are you feeling alright? Those healing potions work for you?" Lord Issei sounded quite concerned as he addressed Cocytus, who had regrown his lost arm with the help of a potion.

"I. am. in. full. health."

"Great. In that case…" Lord Issei reached to manipulate the holographic interface for a while. "Since the intruders are no longer on the Fifth Floor… Ahem. Yeah, this option isn't grayed out yet."

Lord Issei pressed a button in the holographic interface, causing the Throne of Kings to faintly glow with golden light… And a shadow coalesced in front of the throne, between the Floor Guardians, before finally gaining a shape and bursting out like a cocoon.

Nigredo looked around in confusion as she lay naked on the floor, at least before Albedo moved to cover her with a black cloth. "Eh… what…"

"Are you feeling alright, Nigredo-san?" Lord Issei asked, and Nigredo curtsied to him after hurriedly getting off the floor. "I'm sorry that we weren't there to help you when you needed it. The intruder we caged to the Frozen Prison broke out faster than we expected… There are no excuses. I'm sorry for forcing you to go through that."

Lord Issei rose up from the throne… and bowed towards Nigredo, causing her to panic while the Guardians froze on the spot in shock.

"It- It's nothing! It was my duty to be a warden to my prison! It is I who should apologize for allowing a prisoner to escape! P-please, my lord, lift your head!" Nigredo looked extremely concerned and panicked, and it looked like she even contemplated trying to reach for the Supreme Being's head to turn it upright.

"I see… Nonetheless, I will try to do better. It was my selfish desire to try to interrogate one of the, um, intruders that indirectly caused your death. I knew him from the past… It was my mistake that cost us precious time, and even if you apologize, I won't hold you accountable for my mistake." Lord Issei spoke to Nigredo, causing the Guardians to thaw from their surprise as they realized that their lord was apologizing not for his failure, but for his plan to include Nigredo's death. "The same applies to all of you. I realize my failure and I won't repeat it… And now as we are all gathered and ready, we sally out before Gargantua faces his death as well. Follow me."

"Yes!" A determined answer came from the Guardians. "For the Forty Supreme Beings!"

.

.

Hades climbed on top of a ruined citadel in Mount Olympus… Or what little was left of it.

If his intention was to rule the land, he'd be upset by how thorough the Titans had been in demolishing all that marked the Olympean God's reign, but as it was Hades was unconcerned with what happened to the mountain in the future. '...You get what you deserve, brother.'

Indeed, Zeus's wracked, shredded body lay all over the palace he once called his home, a building which was in no better shape than its owner. The handiwork of Gaia, the World Titan, was unmistakable… Although Hades had been quite worried when he had seen Gaia's colors change from rocky grays and ever-blossoming greens to infernal red and white, before turning to oddly vibrant violets and yellows in concert with the black-hole sun turning into a regular-ish sun.

Hades looked up at the sky, wondering just what had happened to the celestial object. '...A powerful pulse of energy came from… Hm, that direction. The same as with those Outer Beings some time ago… Either there are predators hunting in our little playground and they are changing the rules as they see fit, or some other power is in play… If I asked my little helper, wherever he is currently, then he'd likely say that it was the Supreme Being's will that the sun was what it was…'

The solar flare-like tentacles stretching out from the sun were somewhat concerning, however. '...The world is showered with magic… With concentration such as this, and with a weave of reality already compromised by whatever happened in Japan when the Outer Beings manifested there, it's likely that the whole makeup of the world's sphere of creation is altered…'

'...A new age of gods, perhaps? Hoo… That might be interesting, after this millenia of withering…' Hades would have smirked malefically if he had lips with which to do so.

But, he recognized that he was wounded, hurt, and while the Titans had been Hades's unwitting allies in destroying Olympus, he was part of the Pantheon so if the Titans found Hades, then he'd likely meet the same fate as his brother- Which had been why he had faked his death in battle against Zeus by pretending to die in a landslide.

A portal opened behind Hades and he turned before walking into it, striding back to the River Styx.

For a moment, at least, before he got a message in the form of a devil-glyph appearing near his head. "Ah… If it isn't Rizevim Lucifer. What do you require?"

"'Ello, how do you do, Hades-kun? Listen, I might have flown off a rocker a bit, and we have to hasten our plan a tiny teeny bit." The ever childish in content yet mature in tone voice of the son of the Original Lucifer came from the glyph.

"The plan of that 'Khaos Brigade', or whatever it's name was?"

"Come on, man, you're part of Khaos Brigade too. Even if you act tsundere about it and try to deny it at every turn. We had that deal, you know? You won't be able to skimp on your end of the deal."

"Haa… Indeed. Regardless… Before we go on with your request, I have a question. What is our stance towards… ahem… the Supreme Being?" Hades sighed at the glyph due to Rivezim's tone. 'With that 'Overlord General' around, things might become quite ugly if Khaos Brigade decides to throw their lot against the Supreme Being… I might have to reconsider my allegiances…'

"Dunno, one of my guys wants to kill 'im, I'm pretty sure Ophis is in cahoots with him, and after the shitstorm that was Kuoh's negotiation between the Three Factions, I'm pretty sure the Sup-kun is maneuvering himself to our opposition." Rizevim was pretty nonchalant with his words.

"So you know who this 'Supreme Being' is, I take it? I have heard rumors, but…"

"The True God of Underworld is the Supreme Being, and vice versa. Or at least my associate thinks so, he's drawn some wild conclusions and they do seem to have decent enough grounding. That being said, I dunno myself."

"...I see." Hades tucked the piece of information to the back of his mind. '...I've heard some rumors that the Underworld is experiencing a new civil war… I wonder if that's somehow tied to the Supreme Being… However, the Overlord General's picture of the Supreme Beings does not fit someone who would try to lead the Three Factions… Something doesn't add up.'

"Regardless, I need your legions. We're going to be stirring up stuff and I need a bunch of undead."

"For what purpose?"

"'For what purpose'- For my purpose, naturally." Rizevim's voice turned mocking. "I need a bunch of undead, and that's all you need to know. Now get. I expect at least ten thousand by the end of the week, or I'll come looking."

"Fine." Hades sighed into the glyph while hiding his internal fuming- He hadentered a Contract with the devil, and while something had happened to the whole system that governed Contracts, Hades knew that Rivezim would come knocking at his door if he skimped on his end of the contract for power.

The communication glyph faded, and Hades allowed himself to growl in anger while stomping a nearby lost soul into shreds as he stood in the river of the dead.

"Fine… If you are so hell-bent on humiliating me, Rivezim… Then perhaps…" Hades's undead face would have stretched into a cruel smile if his skinless face could have done so. "I wonder how much would this 'True God' value the information about his 'real self'... And information of those who know his true nature… Kukuku…"

.

.

Griselda Quarta creeped out of the basement of her church and into the now-lightless main ceremony hall.

She knew she did not stand a chance against the three 'Fallen' Angels in direct combat, but she had received a lot of useful information from them through conversation- Namely, that death would be a preferable alternative to capture when it came to the 'Angels' or rather, Angel-looking creatures of the self-titled True God.

A tale of the trio's 'purgatory' had clued Griselda to what they had gone through, and had let her know that it was to be her fate as well, except in the hands of some devilish missionary

And thus, it was clear to Griselda that there was some sort of new devilry at play, perhaps the Devils had somehow had their claws in the cataclysms that wracked the world, and Griselda reacted accordingly- Namely, that she had slipped knockout drops into the tea she served to the trio of self-titled 'Angels' who had come to visit her church.

Seeing that normal prayer-and-Light based weapons had been rendered nearly useless after the cataclysm in middle-east, she had used more… esoteric poisons that she had gotten from the Magician's Guild for considerable price- But anyone who trained Church Exorcists knew not to rely on one trick.

The trio had been knocked out with relative ease, telling Griselda that they almost wanted the oblivion of unconsciousness or death, but she only granted them a moment of rest instead of slitting their throats in their unconscious state. And after she got out of the basement, she crept towards the exit of her church …

"...My, you're not bad, Griselda-san." A voice came from behind a pillar and Griselda turned while resisting the urge to draw out her weapons.

A pleasant-, honest- and handsome-looking man was leaning against one of the pillars of the church so that when Griselda had passed it, he had been hidden behind it.

The man's eyes were seemingly naturally squinted and he was reading from a book that he had on one of his hands while he had crossed his legs while leaning on the pillar, in seeming ease and calm.

Griselda didn't buy it. Not that the man's act was an easy sell on her anyway, considering that Griselda had locked the church's doors before leading the trio of 'angels' down, and the man's acting was too relaxed. Or that the trio of 'angels' had revealed that they had been led to the 'Human World' by a missionary of some sort.

"Oh, don't be so alarmed. We're all friends in the True God's service, Griselda-san." The man closed the book, allowing Griselda to see that the front of the book had words written on gold that spelled 'The Newer Testament' in latin. Alongside an image of what looked like a skull with wings.

"...So, you're the 'Missionary', correct?"

"Oh my. Please accept my apologies. It seems that those three had quite loose lips." The man seemed to give Griselda a polite nod as if to apologize. "Regardless… It seems that it was naive to expect the trio to be anything but an appetizer. You've surpassed my expectations. There may indeed be a place for someone as capable as you among our ranks."

"Speak your words if you must, but they will not find a place in my heart." Griselda had listened to the 'angels', but she knew that anything that would come from the devil's mouth would be a lie, or a truth that was so deeply distorted that it might as well have been a lie.

"My, how rude. Is it not a sin to speak so ill of someone who has come to your church, seeking redemption?"

"Then accept the redemption I offer. Close your eyes, and accept this stake- A punishment of your sins, and absolution of your soul." Griselda knew that her words were useless, but each moment she spent talking would allow her to move closer, perhaps gleam some weakness from the devil- It was clear to her that the man in front of him was a noble, perhaps a high-ranking devil, and in direct combat she was quite outmatched.

She might have been able to knock out the trio of unwilling 'Angels' with guile and half-accepted surprise, but it looked like the devil in front of her had no such weaknesses that Griselda could exploit… And so she kept her hands in view while internally counting the number of tools and weapons in her possession, and reserving one of them for herself to ensure that she wouldn't go through what the trio of 'Angels' had.

"I can see now why Xenovia-san speaks so fondly of you, Griselda-sama." The devil tapped his arm with the book almost absentmindedly, as if reliving some pleasant memory. "Truly, you're fire, shadow and brimstone, even if you cover it with a white cloth and golden cross."

"You- hm." Griselda had to concede a tactical victory to the devil as she took in his words, and realized that she needed a moment to reorganize her thoughts- The fact Xenovia had been her ward had been a closely-kept secret inside the organization, and the fact the devil knew such a fact told two things- Either the devil in front of her had infiltrated the organization and had gained the information specifically to be used against her or worse… 'Xenovia… What has happened to you… Don't tell me, you were captured by that organization those 'Angels' spoke of…'

She realized that the devil had kept a keen eye on Griselda's reaction to the news even if he was acting nonchalant, and was likely gauging the exact effect the drop of information had on her.

…Which was something that Griselda knew she could exploit for an opportunity.

"Speak! Where is she!" Griselda broke her voice on purpose while making a small lunge at the devil. And as she expected the man disappeared in a flash of red light and a devil-circle.

"She is… well. Thanks for asking. I'm certain she'll be delighted to know that her mother-figure still cares for her." The devil spoke while walking from behind another pillar in the church, this time tapping the corner of the book he held against his lips as if he was in deep thought.

Griselda knew that if she acted irrationally, if she let her feelings and concern for Xenovia overtake her sense of caution then she'd be nothing more than a puppet that would dance on the devil's strings… But, by fooling the devil to think that her emotional state was compromised, that she was open for coup de grace, she hoped to be presented with an opportunity. One chance was all that she needed.

"What have you done with my Xenovia!" Griselda let a teardrop form in her eyes and flow down her cheek alongside her desperate hiss, even if allowing her concern to surface for a moment to reinforce the mask drove her dangerously close to losing control over her emotions for real. However, as it was not her first rodeo, she managed to reel them in before they'd affect her true state of mind.

"I have done nothing to her. After all, she and I are… you could say, she is my boss nowadays." The devil sat on the church's bench and crossed his legs into a calm, contemplative stance. And after a moment he reached to pat a seat next to him. "Let us talk about her. She is quite the overachiever, as always."

Griselda felt an instinctive urge of curiosity and promptly curb-stomped it, even if she pretended to let herself be consumed by her curiosity by glancing at the door a few times before slowly creeping towards the devil, all the while nudging her hidden blades lower in her sleeves so that they would come out in an instant when she desired so.

The devil seemed to make a bit of space so that the devil and the nun sat with a considerable distance between the two, as if to make her more comfortable by letting her dictate the distance.

'Oh, I have seen this game before…' Griselda was fairly sure that this was not yet the time to strike, as the devil would likely try to keep the conversation and slowly inch towards her to see if she'd lash out and attack, and was waiting for it. Yet at the same time she couldn't afford to make herself look too easy prey, since if the devil had interrogated Xenovia and on the off-chance that Xenovia had broken, the devil likely knew that Griselda was not such an easy target to seduce from her faith- And the fact he hadn't killed her already told her that the devil was playing with her.

"What do you know of Xenovia? Where is she? Is- ahem." Griselda made a show of catching herself mid-speech and reeling herself in as if her 'professional' side had taken over.

"Ah, you don't need to be so formal. But before that… While I do not particularly like the… activities… that my associates entertain themselves with, I'd prefer if they live." The devil made a grand motion towards the basement door. "Do they live?"

"They live. I just slipped something into their drinks."

"Ah. Classics. Maybe you are like us, after all." The devil seemed to approve, making Griselda revulsed for real for a change. However she didn't allow the emotion to go to waste and allowed it to show on her face. "Come now. The two of us serve the same god, you know? You don't have to be so reserved."

"What do you know of God?" Griselda used the word that she knew was taboo to devils just to confirm what the devil had displayed just now, that he could speak the word without repercussions- Or perhaps that he was so good at controlling himself that the instinctive flinch from the pain that hearing the name would bring wasn't strong enough to break his acting even in a slight way.

"I have spoken to Him. In person, and anointed to this holy task. So in a way, I guess you could call me a Herald as well as a Missionary. Do you have a mystic device that could tell if I spoke the truth or not?" The devil seemed quite genuine, and Griselda didn't buy it for a second. However, the latter part of the speech was quite tempting, as it could lead to her getting and opening and striking the devil down by pretending that one of her more obscure non-holy devices was a truth serum or something.

Yet, she knew that the devil would not drink anything she gave after she had revealed that she had knocked the trio out with a drink, and the question just now was likely an attempt to get Griselda to attempt to strike at him by creating a fake opening. However, Griselda knew that by saying she used knock-out drops instead of saying that she knocked them out with a weapon, the devil would likely be expecting her to use some sort of trick to take him out.

So, since falling to the devil's trap would in turn open the devil for her trap, she sprang the devil's trap by reaching for something in her waist. "I have truth serum… I'm not certain how effective it is for a devil, though."

"Not very, as I've tried some. Xenovia-san was dearie and procured some for me so that I could build resistance to it." The devil seemed to sigh in disappointment.

"You speak of Xenovia again. Yet you haven't told me where she is- And what she has to do with you? You say that she's your boss, but you'll forgive me if I find that hard to believe." Griselda pretended to let anger control her and spoke with gradually growing anger.

"Hm… Perhaps I should be more clear. She, and her comrade Irina, have devoted themselves to the True God. In quite literal sense, as they serve under Him. You could say that they didn't change their faith though, only the means of worship." The devil seemed thoughtful once again while looking at the icons at the end of the church. "You see, God almost died in a battle a long time ago, or so I have been taught, and he has re-emerged to set his flock straight after two thousand years of mistranslation and heresy. In fact, as far as I am aware, it was Xenovia who translated the True God's words to paper."

'...Rubbish.' Griselda nonetheless made a show of shock and took the book that the devil gave her with outwardly shaky hands. 'Newer testament… What a load of trash…'

However, true to her guess, the devil had come towards her on the bench and was now roughly a foot away from her. Too far away to strike effectively considering that the target was a devil and thus supernaturally fast, but he was close enough that an inexperienced Exorcist might consider it an opportunity.

However, Griselda knew that she couldn't afford to take the chance in order to fake an attack to spring the devil's trap, as if he actually had contact with Xenovia and had broken her will, then he likely knew that she wouldn't fall for such a easy bait unless she was baiting him in turn, which would alert the devil of Griselda's actual plan to take him out.

Under normal circumstances Griselda would have wanted to try to capture the devil for interrogation regarding what he knew of Xenovia's fate, but she could tell that the devil was too dangerous to let live- She would have one chance, and she knew well that if she screwed it up by trying to reach too high then her fate would not be a kind one.

And so, she waited, and acted the part of a wavering nun…

.

.

'...I'm not surprised that the three cumrags were taken out, considering that I'm pretty sure they'd break into quivering piles of tears and snot if someone so much as asked if they were doing okay… Heh, I'm starting to like Master's methods more and more…' Diodora thought as he gave the nun beside him the 'guidebook' to the Underworld's current number one religion. 'That being said, it looks like her focus is on using psychology. The fact the trio told her that I was a 'missionary' and not a 'perverted devil' or something like that clues that they might have actually stuck to the script… I should be able to use this…'

Griselda seemed quite shaky and she looked like she'd start hyperventilating as she paged through the book. '...I overheard a bunch of things about Xenovia's 'mother-figure', but it looks like she was overhyped somewhat… I suppose it was expected. After all, one's parents are rarely judged through an objective lense by their children.'

Diodora resisted the urge to sigh in disappointment. 'Well then... I suppose I have to look forward to seeing Xenovia's face when she realizes that her mother-figure is my toy...'

The nun paged through the guidebook and finally closed it while closing her eyes as well, seemingly in a desperate attempt to calm herself.

'However... I might have to take her in by force, depending on how much those three idiots babbled. A shame... I would have liked to see Griselda's face when she realizes she has been misled.' Diodora used the opportunity to slide slightly closer to her. "I admire your faith. And I know that sentiment is shared by our lord."

"Our- My lord is just, ever-present and mighty." Griselda seemed to catch her tongue mid-sentence. "Your falsehoods will find no place in my heart."

"I am saddened to hear that you reject the message. After all, He has accepted devils back to his flock, as has He accepted both the Fallen and the Angels, uniting the two to one race of Gray Angels." Diodora spoke, feeling gleeful malice from the fact that he was speaking truth instead of usual lies he fed to the unwitting nuns that made his usual playmates. "I sent the three Gray Angels entrusted to me as my vanguard, to show you that my words are truthful- The world has changed, as He has willed it to do so. You've already felt the Light-based weapons fade and change- A result of Him rejecting His old dogma to embrace the new. But it seems that the trio's past as Fallen is still affecting their way of thinking… I should have asked Xenovia-sama to send me a former Angel to accompany me."

"I…" The woman paled and the book fell from her limp hands. "This… It can't be…"

"Will you let me show you His kingdom? Will you let me lead you to Xenovia?" Diodora slid slightly closer to Griselda and offered her his arm.

The nun seemed incredibly conflicted and crossed her arms before looking at the icons in the distance, covered in shadows due to the darkening sky.

Diodora smirked as he leaned closer, practically feeling the nun's resolve wavering…

"Let me help you, and help Xenovia. Let me guide you, and reunite you two. Please." Diodora's words were quiet, almost stoic whisper, delivered directly to Griselda's ear.

"...Lead me to her, please. To my Xenovia." The motherly nun whispered while she closed her eyes, desperately gripping a cross that she had in her shaking hands. "God… Please forgive me…"

"In that case, let me show you how His servants worship him, opening the gate to His Kingdom Come…" Diodora reached to put his finger below Griselda's chin, and turned her head towards him while reaching to kiss her on the lips.

Griselda responded to the kiss by letting out a surprised squeak and she tried to withdraw, but Diodora slid his arm around her waist to draw her in…

.

.

There was a slicing sound in the old church in Italy.

.

.

Raynare woke up with a jolt.

"W-what happened?" She looked around in bewilderment as she realized that she had been tucked into a comfortable- looking couch with a blanket over her. A moment of panicked tangling later she managed to fall off the couch and land on the floor.

She realized that she was alone and felt instinctive panic grip her heart over the fate of her comrades. "Kalawarna! Mittelt! Are you alright?! Where are you?!"

"Mnuuu… comfy…" Mittelt's voice came from somewhere nearby and Raynare lunged up to the couch to look over it, and let a sigh of relief seeing that Mittelt and Kalawarna had been tucked to a blanket on a mattress that looked as if it had been quickly dragged into the basement-room from a nearby closet.

Raynare shook her head to get herself back on track. "Get up, you two! We're in a church, and the nun escaped!"

"Mnuuu… snort… mnuuu…" Mittelt snuggled her head between Kalawarna's breasts while sleeping peacefully, prompting Raynare to poke the smaller girl on the cheek a few times. Raynare couldn't fault Mittelt for wanting to sleep, as she too wanted nothing more than to snuggle back to sleep in the comfy couch, but she knew that she was in 'enemy territory', so to speak, so there was a chance that either they'd get stabbed in their sleep or they'd have to face Diodora after letting their quarry escape.

"Wake up, sleepyheads. The enemy is getting away- What happened just now?" Raynare asked Kalawarna, seeing that the tall and big-breasted Gray Angel blinked a few times as Mittelt's clinginess combined with Raynare poking her in the left boob had caused the woman to wake up.

"I… don't know… Wait, this is that church… hoaaah… Did… I remember drinking tea, but…" Kalawarna blinked while yawning, and she sat up instantly as things clarified somewhat. "...I can't believe it. That nun must have slipped something in the tea- But I kept an eye on her, she drank the same tea as us!"

"...She must have smeared the teacups. Dammit, it was such an elementary trick…" Raynare groaned in annoyance.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. I didn't realize it either… Mittelt? Wakey wakey…" Kalawarna reached to shake Mittelt gently. "We have to move. Let's have a proper sleepover later."

Raynare felt an instinctive urge to groan in annoyance and resignation over such childish camaraderie, but her recent traumas from the Church of the True God and newfound bond with her companions curb-stomped such urges. Not to mention that her worn-out butt and nearly broken body and psyche was really looking forward to something as simple and childishly innocent as a sleep-over or a pajama party.

The urge to groan returned as she evaluated her thoughts, and the urge was promptly gut-punched by her traumatized mind.

"Let's go." Raynare moved towards the stairway leading out of the basement as Mittelt woke up and looked around in bewilderment.

The two other Gray Angels followed her while blinking sleep out of their eyes, and the trio emerged into the church proper… And stopped on their tracks as they saw the scene in front of them.

"Uh…" Raynare looked at the sight of Diodora who had been decapitated, his arms and legs cut off, and his guts ripped out.

Moreover there were no signs of obvious struggle, except for a puddle of blood under one of the benches in the church, and drag-marks made with blood as if someone's throat had been sliced open there and then dragged to where Diodora's dismembered body-parts now lay.

"...I think I'm willing to take a knockout-drop over… uh… that…" Mittelt piped up while she was quite pale. "...I don't think that nun was just a regular nun…"

"Right- Shit! What are we going to do?! Issei- erk, True God ordered us to accompany Diodora! What is going to happen to us now that Diodora's dead?!" Raynare panicked. "No, nononono, I'm not going back to that chamber, no way, this can't be happening, I- I'll rather-"

"Calm down- Hm… Do you think we'd get rewarded if we bring Diodora's body to be revived? After all, the True God's new angels can revive even devils." Kalawarna reminded her. "Death is not final in His service."

"Ugh- Don't tell me that you're starting to convert to His church?" Raynare stomped her leg against the floor while glaring at Kalawarna. "Remember what we went through?!"

"...I do. And after our crimes against Him, I believe that we deserved it." Kalawarna crossed her arms and squished her breasts together, as was appropriate for a prayer to the True God. "You should not be so hostile against our punishment, though- After all, didn't you commit the worst crime out of all of us towards Him by striking at Him while he was in hiding? Something like what we went through… I think we got off easy."

Raynare wanted to scream, but refrained from doing so as her camaraderie with her comrades made her want to value their opinions as well, and realized that Kalawarna might have a point. Mittelt however looked quite pale and green and was holding her stomach as if she was going to be sick, likely reliving the memories of their 'punishment'.

Raynare remembered what Mittelt's stomach had looked like when the 'horse' course had taken place and felt sympathy, so she reached to hug Mittelt to distract the smaller woman from her traumatic memories.

"Listen… Let's just take Diodora's corpse back, and then beg for forgiveness." Raynare realized that Kalawarna's plan was not all that bad. "It's not like we can just get away or disappear with the world being as it is… Xenovia might be a huge cunt for putting us through that course, as is Rias, but if we try to leg it then there's no way we can avoid going through the same course again. And my butt has not yet recovered from that first one."

"Right… are there plastic bags here somewhere? We should probably get as many pieces of him together as we can gather." Kalawarna looked around.

"We can probably just use a trash can to transport Diodora's remains… Mittelt, can you prepare a teleportation spell to take us to the Underworld?" Raynare instructed. "Right, let's get to it!"

"Yeah!"

"For the True God!"

"Shut up, Kals."

.

.

'...Hm…' Griselda leaned against the wall on the second floor of the church, near the organ player's seat so that she was out of sight of the trio on the first floor. '...Interesting. Xenovia put those three through that course they told me about? Either they are aware that I am here, and are misleading me, or they are speaking truthfully… Nonetheless, the fact they know her name and speak of her as if she's their superior somehow makes me suspicious… I wonder if there was any truth to what that devil spoke of…'

'However, 'new angels' resurrecting 'devils'? Something is going on… I don't have means of going to the devil Underworld, but with the world being as it is… Hm…' Griselda considered her options. On one hand, there was not much she could do in the Human World other than pray, seeing that majority of the human organizations aimed at fighting Devils were quite the disarray after the changes in the Faith and the world, and on the other hand Griselda was quite curious as to what was going on with Xenovia and the Three Factions. '...Those three are preparing a teleporter to the Underworld… I suppose I could use that to pay a visit.'

She knew that it was likely a one-way trip, but if she could save Xenovia, or put her out of her misery if what she suspected was right and Xenovia had been turned to devil, Griselda felt that she should at least try.

And so, Griselda waited for her opportunity as the trio scavenged the church for a bag to stuff the devil's body bags into, while one of them was making a teleporter in front of the altar.

And when the trio gathered to leave, Griselda jumped down, a smoke grenade in one hand and a magic-infused bayonet on the other, landing on the circle alongside the trio just as the teleporter activated.

And thus, the four left the now-silent and desolate church to wither in silence.