26. Courtroom Drama. Dealing with Augusta.

│1st Person POV of Meliodas│

[Underworld Realm, New Lilith, Lucifer's Castle, Devil Courtroom…]

Cleria spoke up, "Great Satans, the reason I was attacked was because my assailants wished to silence me after I discovered the existence of the King Piece."

The sound of low chatter filled the courtroom as numerous participants started conversing among themselves.

"King Piece?!"

"Those things really exist?!"

"I thought those were just some baseless rumors spread in the last decade by those who had too much time in their hands…"

"If they are real, why does the Great King Faction want to keep their existence secret? What do they do?"

…

Sirzechs flexed his aura at low power for a split second to silence the conversations. He then ordered Cleria to continue.

Following that, Cleria explained how she heard the rumors of the existence of King Piece, how she had been investigating the rumors for a long time, and presented the evidence she had gathered during the said investigation.

It turns out, the source of the rumor was none other than Bedeze Abaddon.

That idiot had let his loose tongue get the better of him while being drunk in a bar after losing to Diehauser for the nth in the last Rating Games Tournament.

He was bitter that even with a King Piece, he had been unable to defeat Diehauser even once and had gone to the bar to vent his anger and frustration.

After he accidentally spilled that information in the bar, his Queen did his best to cover it up, even going so far as to get help from the Great King Faction to alter the memories of everyone present in the bar at that time.

However, one Devil had slipped through the net, and knowing that he didn't have any power to act upon that information, they had spread the rumors of King Piece.

After Cleria heard the rumor, she spent years trying to find the source of the rumor and finally came across the one who spread the rumor.

In the form of evidence, Cleria presented a memory she had extracted from that Devil.

The memory started with Bedeze entering the bar, his drunken rant, and his Queen enacting a lockdown on the bar, preventing anyone unauthorized by her from entering and exiting.

The members of the Great King Faction arrived, Lord Bael's Queen among them, erasing everyone's memories of Bedeze's outburst, and then lifting the lockdown.

Interestingly, the memory wasn't from the Devil's point of view; instead, it was presented from a third-person perspective.

Even more interestingly, I wonder how this Devil remained unaffected by the memory wiping as the memory showed that he was indeed hit by the spell.

I was about to task Aurora to investigate it, however, I discarded the thought a moment later. I am sure the Satans would like to find out about this as well. So, I would know the answers to my question soon enough.

"Aurora is already on the task, Boss."

…

Well, I put the thought at the back of my mind and focused on the drama in front of me.

As I looked at the faces of the Lords from the Great King Faction, I saw that all of them appeared to be somewhat unaffected by what was happening in front of them.

Hmm…

It seems that they already have some plans on how to deal with this.

These fools aren't capable of coming up with a half-decent plan and this could only mean that Zekram Bael is actively leading the Great King Faction now.

Poor Zekram. It hadn't even been a decade since he took a break from politics.

"That's all I had to say, Great Satans."

Ah, it seems Cleria is done.

Looking over, I saw that Sirzechs nodded before looking at Lord Bael and asked, "Do you have anything to say, Lord Bael?"

In response, Lord Bael stood up and inclined his head slightly in greeting before saying, "Regarding the attack on Cleria Belial, I can only apologize for not being able to better control the actions of my subordinates, Lord Lucifer."

Ah, they are looking to mitigate the damage it seems.

"Are you implying that you had nothing to do with the assassination attempt, Lord Bael?" Sirzechs asked with narrowed eyes.

Lord Bael nodded calmly and answered, "Yes, Lord Lucifer. The attackers actions were entirely their own. I didn't even know that Cleria Belial was attacked until just a few minutes ago."

"So you didn't know or care to find out where a number of your subordinates were from yesterday until now?"

Lord Bael gave a slow nod in response. It must have hurt him quite a bit to accept that he was an incompetent King and leader in front of so many people.

Fortunately for him, Sirzechs didn't push the matter anymore. For now at least.

The Satans made a show of discussing with each other for a few moments before Sirzechs addressed Cleria first, "Regarding the attack, we will do an investigation of our own before coming to a decision, Miss Belial.

"I will have my subordinates collect the prisoners from you. I hope you don't have a problem with this, Miss Belial."

"I don't, Lord Lucifer."

Sirzechs nodded and continued, "As for the matter of King Piece, it will be investigated separately. In fact, I have already sent my Queen to take Bedeze Abaddon into custody.

"The results of the investigation and the subsequent actions taken by us will be revealed in the next scheduled meeting. That's all for today."

As the Satans stood up to leave, one of the Lords interrupted them, "If I may ask a question, Great Satans."

…

"You may." Sirzechs replied after staring at the Lord for a few moments.

Heh, it seems Sirzechs silent stare intimidated the Lord as he hesitated to ask his question for a moment "What exactly is the function of King Piece?"

Ajuka answered the question, "The King Piece can enhance the power of the user in several ways. The enhancement can range from anywhere between 10 to 100 times.

"They were created in the early days of Rating Games by me. However, due to the risk of the users overloading with power, endearing their lives in the process, their production was stopped."

Before anyone else could say anything more, Sirzechs announced, "Further details will be shared with you all after the investigation is completed. This meeting is adjourned."

After that declaration, no other conversation took place as everyone left the courtroom with the Satans being the first to leave.

=+=+=+=< Scene Break >=+=+=+=

│1st Person POV of Meliodas│

[Human World…]

I waved my right hand nonchalantly, dispersing the raging wave of purple holy flames advancing toward me.

It's been a few days since I made the deal with Mr. Iwaki and today, there was a chance to complete my end of the deal and I took it.

The Country of Oz, located in the Dimensional Gap, was already infiltrated by Aurora long ago and it wasn't hard for her to find out that Augusta was going to take a short trip to the Human World with her new disciple today.

It was a good opportunity to take care of the Witch of the East and retrieve the Incinerate Anthem for Iwaki's lover.

I know that by doing so, I was potentially derailing the canon of Slash Dog Events but I didn't care about that.

With how much things have been different in this universe, I don't think the events would have played out like they did in the Canon World.

Additionally, I was already going to meddle in those events when the time came, so this doesn't change anything.

Anyway, focusing on the now, I paid attention to the battle in front of me. Right now, Morgiana was facing the Flame Giant created by Augusta using the flames of the Incinerate Anthem.

Even while being in her base form, she was dealing with the Flame Giant just fine, even though its Holy Flames and Crucifix were a hard counter to Morgiana's Devil nature.

I glanced at Augusta, who had just 'subtly' attacked me with the purple holy flames of the Incinerate Anthem, believing I was the weakest link between Morgiana and myself.

"You'd better concentrate on facing Morgiana, Old Hag. I'm far beyond your level." I warned Augusta, letting a hint of Conqueror's Haki seep into my voice to emphasize my point.

Before the Old Hag could react to my warning, an explosion of Touki from Morgiana drew her attention.

Ah, it seems Mori is pissed that Augusta wasn't giving her all to face her. Well, well, well. The battle isn't going to last much longer.

Until a moment ago, Morgiana was facing the Flame Giant by just using her physical strength. Now, she has covered herself with a thick layer of Touki.

The Flame Giant slashed at Morgiana with his crucifix but she easily deflected with her left hand before she lashed out with a devastating punch.

Even before her fist made contact with the Flame Giant's chest, it was already getting pushed back, and once her punch connected, the upper half of the Flame Giant was blown away.

With another punch, the lower half was also taken care of.

Augusta couldn't even recycle the Holy Flames she used to make the Flame Giant as Morgiana completely snuffed them out with her incredibly potent Touki.

The Witch of the East could only look at the scene with a look of absolute disbelief.

Only when Morgiana started advancing toward the Witch with a menacing expression did she break out of her stupor.

"I-It's not over yet." She stuttered out.

In the next instant, she visibly aged before our eyes, transforming from a regal woman in her late fifties to a hunched old hag who looked as though she might collapse and die at any moment.

At the same time that this happens, another Flame Giant appears in front of Morgiana, this one is smaller than the previous one while being much stronger at the same time.

That was a rather crude way of using her life force through Senjutsu to enhance the strength of the Holy Flames of Incinerate Anthem. The temporary power-up was not worth the cost usually.

Although Augusta could bear the cost because she could just use her Possession Spell to discard her now useless and aged-up body to get herself a new body.

This way, at least Morgiana couldn't deal with this newly summoned Flame Giant with Touki alone.

"ROARRRR!!!!"

With an earth-shattering roar, the Flame Giant charges forward and strikes at Morgiana with its crucifix with an overhead swing. It was also much faster than the previous Flame Giant.

In response, Morgiana flares a greater amount of Touki around her and steps back, easily avoiding the blow.

Even so, she would have been severely injured by the aftershock of the Potent Holy Flames if she hadn't swiftly covered herself entirely with Armament Haki.

Though she didn't look happy that she had to use Haki to win this fight.

She looked pissed as a dark purple electric aura envelops her entire body, the aura dealing devastating damage to the surrounding.

Concentrating the power on her right hand, she moves, appearing in front of the Flame Giant once again.

The Flame Giant attempted to block her punch with its crucifix, which was covered in a layer of dense purple Holy Flames, however, it was a futile attempt as Morgiana's punch effortlessly shattered the crucifix before obliterating the Flame Giant completely.

Then, she looked at Augusta's now soulless body before facing me.

While she dealt with the Flame Giant, I had captured Augusta's spirit which had attempted to escape, knowing that she had no chance of defeating us.

Right now, I was extracting the Longinus Sacred Gear, Incinerate Anthem, from her soul.

As I completed my task, Morgiana approached me, holding a frightened ten-year-old girl by the scruff of her dress. She must be Walburga.

"What are we going to do with her?" She asked.

I replied without giving much thought to the matter, "I am going to modify her memories slightly before sending her to Mephisto's Magician Organization."

Morgiana nodded, showing that she had no problem with the arrangement.

I knocked Walburga unconscious before using Telepathy to enter the girl's mind and modify her memories.

I saw that although she was still scared out of her mind, she was also feeling relief knowing that she wasn't going to get killed.

A psychopath indeed. Not even feeling a hint of sorrow or anger after seeing her teacher get killed in front of her eyes. Only fear for her own life.

Anyway, I altered Walburga's memories, making it so that she remembers them encountering us by chance and her Mentor deciding that she wanted to kidnap us to perform some experiment on some Devils only to get killed by Morgiana in retaliation, even failing to escape by using her Possession Spell.

That's all she will remember as the next moment she regains consciousness, she will be in the Headquarters of the Grauzauberer Magician Organization.

With that done, we departed after taking down the barriers meant to hide the battle from mundane humans and repairing the damage done to the surrounding area.

=+=+=+=< Scene Break >=+=+=+=

│1st Person POV of Meliodas│

[Underworld Realm, Leviathan City, Iwaki's Japanese Food Corner…]

After dropping off Walburga, I arrived at Iwaki's store with Morgiana in tow.

Iwaki already knew that we were coming beforehand and also the reason behind our visit. That's why he had his restaurant closed for the day.

He led us to a sparsely decorated bedroom, the place where I was going to revive his lover. After giving me his lover's staff, he backed away.

Taking the staff, I didn't delay in using my Essence of the Binder to mark the owner of the staff, Natalia Woodman with my sigil.

The next moment, a beautiful red-haired young woman appeared on the bed. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, wearing a black dress that highlighted her curves quite beautifully.

She was unconscious at the moment, by my choice as I intend to give her Sacred Gear back before waking her up. And I did just that, it didn't even require more than a few seconds of my time.

Once that was done, I looked at Iwaki and said, "She will wake up in a few seconds. I will leave the explanation of the circumstances of her revival to you. We will be waiting downstairs."

Iwaki nodded without saying anything, taking a seat beside the bed and holding his lover's hand while impatiently waiting for her to wake up.

I walked out of the room along with Morgiana and headed downstairs.

While waiting for the couple, we made some small talk, with her asking me how exactly the revival worked and me answering her honestly.

I had already shared with Morgiana everything about my powers. What they were, how they worked, why don't I share their existence with others, etc.

The only thing about me that she didn't know was about my reincarnation and the source of my powers. I wasn't going to share those details with anyone else, no matter what.

Even Aurora was in the dark in regard to those tidbits about me.

About half an hour later, Iwaki arrived with his lover following behind him.

Coming in front of me, he bowed deeply and spoke, "I can't thank you enough for what you have done for me, My King. From now on, my life is yours to command as you please."

Natalia also bowed while expressing her thanks, "I am also extremely thankful to you, for providing me with a second chance to build a life with my love."

"Don't worry about it. I also did this for my own gains as well."

As they stopped bowing, I asked, "So, are you two ready to join my Peerage?"

An awkward look crossed their faces as they exchanged glances before Iwaki took a deep breath and said, "My King, can we get some time before we join?"

"What for?" I asked curiously. I didn't have any worry about Iwaki going back on his deal as he wasn't such a person.

Additionally, both of them are marked by my Essence of the Binder. So, there was no chance of them ever escaping from me.

"Well, you see, you know how low the fertility rate of the Devils are, right?" Iwaki asked in an embarrassed manner.

"Ah, I see. Alright, I give you guys two years. Within that time frame, you can get married, go on a nice honeymoon, and maybe even get your lover pregnant two times." I said the last part while focusing on Iwaki.

Natalia let out an amused giggle hearing that while Iwaki blushed and groaned in annoyance. Then, both of them again expressed their thanks while praising my generosity.

That's right. Praise me more. And keep them coming.

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A/N: Here's another Chapter of your favorite DxD Fic.

If you see any mistakes, please don't hesitate to point it out.

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As of now, this is how far along each story is.

First Tier:- Five Advanced Chapters for the following stories:

>>One Piece: As Portgas D. Ace.

>>One Piece: Copying The Phoenix Fruit At The Beginning.

>>DxD | A Devil with Three Essences.

>>Chaos' Chaotic Snippets.

Second Tier:- Seven Advanced Chapters for the following stories:

>>One Piece: As Portgas D. Ace.

>>DxD | A Devil with Three Essences.

>>Chaos' Chaotic Snippet.

So this is how it is. If you are joining my Patreon for my One Piece TL fic, don't purchase the Second Tier as I haven't yet posted any chapters for that fic in this Tier yet.

Also, while your support would be appreciated, don't feel pressured to join. I'll upload stuff outside it and not keeping it behind a paywall forever.

Anyway, Good day. See ya guys later.