Chapter 9: Wolf and Shark, Night and Death

Bleach Trivia:

"Ever since he started working as a Substitute Shinigami, Ichigo was actually getting paid and have his salary deposited to his Soul Society account. Unfortunately, since no one informed him of this, he remained unaware of it."

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Starrk felt his surroundings twist as Serafall used teleportation magic to bring him back to her manor.

"And we're back!" Serafall declared cheerfully.

Starrk, however, froze. His pesquisa picking up a familiar Spiritual Energy.

His brows furrowed, immediately thinking of why and how did "she" even arrive in this place. After all, this is another dimension.

He and Lilynette ending up here is just pure and utter luck.

Was she the same as them? Or did she somehow ended up here in another way than he and Lilynette did.

He sighed, deciding not to think about that anymore.

"Come on! I have a surprise. You wouldn't guess who's here to meet you." Serafall giggled.

"Harribel right?" Starrk suggested, "I can feel her spiritual energy all the way here. She wasn't really trying to hide."

"What!?" Serafall looked angered while pouting, "I told her to hide so I can surprise you!"

"You really can't surprise me." Starrk let out a tired yawn, "My pesquisa can detect her even if you sealed her power."

"That's just so unfair! I want an ability like that one too!" Serafall pouted.

Starrk raised an eyebrow in surprise. Honestly, he was not expecting that devils doesn't have similar abilities to Pesquisa.

"Let's go." Serafall grabbed his hand and dragged him inside.

...

...

...

"Greetings, Primera." Harribel offered a polite nod.

If there is someone she respects amongst the Espadas, then it's this man standing in front of her, giving off a carefree and lazy look.

There's no other reason for it. His powers simply commands respect. Despite having split his soul into two, he was still far too strong even Barragan can only lower his head in defeat.

Also, the fact that he gets along with children is also a plus in her book. This is one of the reason why Harribel always finds Starrk to be quite pleasing than others.

She has always have a soft spot for children, and those who treat children well.

"Trecera," Starrk returned the greetings. "What a surprise, really. Serafall already told me how you ended up here, but can you tell me about it?"

"Understood."

With that, Harribel narrated her experiences, from her fight to that Captain and the Vizard, to her 'defeat', to Aizen's 'betrayal', and her falling down the void while trying to escape through the Garganta.

Starrk listened quietly, letting her do the talking. His expression remained the same, lazy and uninterested, however if you look closely, you can see that he is indeed paying attention.

"...that's it."

"I see." Honestly, Starrk wasn't surprised by what Aizen did.

Perhaps, after Starrk's 'defeat', Aizen thought that he has no more use of the Espadas and decided to take action personally.

Maybe, in Aizen's mind, only Starrk due to his power, has a relevant role in the war, and when he lost, the rest became disposable.

After all, according to Harribel, Aizen only decided to actively participate in the war after Starrk himself was defeated.

"Well, enough about that." Starrk observed Harribel from head to toe, "So you got reincarnated as a devil?"

Harribel grimaced, but nodded reluctantly. "Serafall was...very persuasive."

"I am!" Serafall puffed out her chest proudly.

Starrk ignored her, "What piece?"

"A knight." Harribel actually felt a subtle increase in her Sonido skills, along with added speed and agility after getting reincarnated as a knight.

Starrk himself never felt an increase. Maybe because he was too strong? Although he did felt something deep within his soul.

He doesn't know what it is. But he feels like if he can tap into whatever is within his soul, he'd be able to achieve power beyond his imagination.

Unfortunately, he has no interest in that. He was having a hard time interacting with others as is, if his powers increased more, then he'd surely return to being isolated.

"Anyway," Starrk's pesquisa picked up the presence of Harribel's aides currently unconscious in the mansion's clinic, "How's your Fracciones doing?"

"Still unconscious," Harribel answered with a sigh, "Fortunately, they are not in any danger and will recover soon."

"Hmm," Starrk nodded, before looking around. Feeling confused, he turned towards Serafall, "Where's Lilynette?"

"Oh, she's with mother." she replied, slightly pouting in jealousy. After all, while she deals with Starrk's case, her mother went shopping with another child, "She's buying clothes for Lily."

Starrk simply nodded, thinking that Lilynette was finally having a life he always dreamt for her to have.

But enough about that, he was just glad that all the political fiasco has finally ended. So he can probably return to his peaceful life now, right?

....right?

****

Greece, Underworld.

"Hades, is it really okay to accept the demands of those devils?" asked Nyx, feeling irritated. "It makes you look weak. Did you know the whole world believes that the Neo Lucifer and Neo Beelzebub are stronger than you?"

Hades leaned back on his throne, looking all unbothered. "Nobody really took those Top 10 Rankings seriously. So it doesn't matter. As for their demands, well, I honestly couldn't care less about it. It's a simple thing I can easily give."

"Yeah, maybe it's because of that mentality that Adonis one upped you." Said Nyx, showing her distaste to Hades for allowing the devils to get what they want.

Hades sighed, "Please don't bring that up when Persephone is here. You know how she feels about that tale told by the mortals."

The myths described of Persephone's affair with Adonis, but in reality, nothing of the sort happened. She merely took care of him due to Aphrodite's request and returned him to her soon after.

So when she heard of the mortals stories about how she had fallen hopelessly in love with Adonis and had an affair with him, she got so furious that she refused to bring forth spring, causing the human world to suffer endless winter.

In the end, Hades had to come and personally tell her that he doesn't believe those tales and that he believes in her.

It took awhile, but Hades managed to console her.

The night after that is something Hades will never forget.

*Bonk!*

"Ow!" Hades held his head, staring at Nyx in confusion, "What was that for?!"

Nyx did not elaborate, merely shaking her head. "Hades, King of Underworld, reduced to a mere man under the temptation of lust."

Hades rolled his eyes. At least he's not as bad as his younger brothers.

"Anyway," Nyx's tone shifted sternly, "The rumors about Leviathan's Queen...was it true?"

Hades' expressioned changed to that of seriousness, "Yeah. He's up there with that vampire and the Hindu Trinity."

"...Are we going to change our stance regarding the devils?" Asked Nyx, feeling worried.

Before, for her, the devils were like pets that she keeps because Hades likes them. She doesn't take anyone on their side seriously, even their so-called strongest devil that is Sirzechs Lucifer and Ajuka Beelzebub.

Those two are as strong as Chief Gods such as Zeus and Odin at best, and as a Primordial Goddess, Nyx has power that completely eclipses any Chief Gods.

She can even fight all the main gods of Olympus on her own, with the exception of Hades.

But now, with that Reincarnated Devil on the devils side, the pet she was keeping has now become a chained dragon that can break out anytime.

"No need." Hades shook his head, "From what I can gather from our brief exchange, that man hates trouble. He will avoid any conflicts unless ordered by Leviathan. And Leviathan knew not to mess with us."

"But even so... It's dangerous." Nyx muttered under her breath, "It feels like I have a scythe around my neck."

Hades smirked, "Is my little primordial scared? Don't worry, your darling Hades here will protect you."

Nyx blushed, glaring at Hades. "Screw off! I'm being serious here!"

"So am I," Hades lost his smile, "...but there's really nothing to worry."

"....Very well, I'll trust you, Hades." Nyx sighed, before changing the topic, "On that note, my next concern is the Scared Gears. In recent centuries, they have become more and more dangerous, with more Gears capable of killing gods started appearing. Yahweh's system is really throwing the world off balance."

"...He has his reasons." said Hades.

"You keep telling me that, but that doesn't make me feel better."

Hades refused to answer or say anything. He knew why Yahweh allowed the existence of "Balance Breaker", for the Sacred Gears, in fact anyone whose power have surpassed Primordial Gods knew why.

So although the Sacred Gears have become so much of a threat to even the Divine Pantheons, the pantheons themselves allowed their existence.

"Can't you at least tell me why? Or give a hint or vague response." Pleaded Nyx.

Hades let out a sigh, leaning back on his throne.

"Let's just say...it's related to the protection of the world."