Chapter 19: Diadora's Mental Breakdown

Closing the system interface, Lucien proceeded with the process of recruiting a new subordinate.

However, just as he took out the Evil Piece, a violent knocking came from the door.

"Bang, bang, bang!!!~"

"Open up!"

"Lucien! I know you're inside! Open the door!"

"Boom!!~"

Before Lucien could respond, the door was forcefully blasted open!

A young devil with a twisted expression stormed in, looking utterly furious.

Lucien narrowed his eyes, glancing at the intruder.

"Diadora, didn't the Astaroth family ever teach you the etiquette of a high-ranking devil?"

The young devil was none other than Diadora Astaroth.

In the original timeline, he became the next head of the Astaroth family.

As things stood now, though he had already joined the "Khaos Brigade" and gained the "Serpent" power to strengthen himself, he had yet to officially attain the position of the next head.

The current Underworld had a few families with particularly special statuses beyond the traditional noble houses—namely, the families from which the Four Great Satans originated.

Gremory House was the original family of Satan Sirzechs Lucifer.

Sitri House was the original family of Satan Serafall Leviathan.

Astaroth House was the original family of Satan Ajuka Beelzebub.

Thus, Diadora, being a blood relative of the Astaroth House, held a special position in the Underworld.

Usually, he was a polite and scheming snake, always maintaining a refined and smiling facade—even when harboring the darkest intentions.

But today?

Today, he could not hold it in any longer!

"Screw your etiquette! Get lost!"

"Lucien! Must you interfere with everything I do?!"

"I've done my investigation! The Holy Maiden I painstakingly got out of the church—was stolen by you!"

Lucien, infamous as the "King of Interception."

He may not have been able to change the past, but anything within his reach, he altered as much as possible.

Whether it was intelligence, artifacts, or beautiful women—he intercepted them all.

Diadora, in particular, was his biggest victim in this regard.

Because in the original timeline, this twisted devil had preyed upon at least sixteen Holy Maidens.

Now? Every single one of those women had become Lucien's personal property.

No wonder Diadora was going insane!

Honestly, it was his own fault for being so slow—Lucien had already been with Asia for over an hour before Diadora even showed up!

Diadora was a depraved devil.

His greatest pleasure lay in hunting Holy Maidens from the church.

His favorite pastime was corrupting them into despair.

His typical method was as follows:

First, he would orchestrate a "chance" encounter with a Holy Maiden.

Then, he would arrange for news of their interaction to leak to the Church.

The Church, upon learning that a Maiden had contact with a devil, would swiftly excommunicate her.

Once she was abandoned, Diadora would swoop in, pretending to be kind-hearted while revealing the "truth" behind her expulsion.

Then, while the Maiden was crying in devastation, he would make his move and claim her.

To him, there was no greater pleasure than watching a Holy Maiden fall from grace, her faith shattered, as she succumbed to his corruption.

But, as always, reality was cruel.

Every time Diadora painstakingly lured a Maiden out of the Church, someone got there before him.

At first, he dismissed it as a coincidence.

Then, he started piecing together a pattern.

By the third Maiden lost, he was sure that the culprit was in the human world.

By the seventh Maiden lost, he realized the person had connections with the Fallen Angels and Heaven.

By the thirteenth Maiden lost, he pinpointed the location: Kuoh Town.

And now, Asia was the sixteenth!

Once he finally confirmed it was Lucien who had been stealing his prizes, his fury boiled over completely.

In truth, had Lucien not unlocked his system and stopped hiding, Diadora would never have found him.

After all, Lucien had been using numerous reconnaissance artifacts obtained through his dealings with the Fallen Angels, along with their lower-ranked operatives.

Even though they were lower-tier, it was more than enough to keep Diadora Astaroth in the dark.

Thirty minutes ago, Diadora finally received confirmation that Lucien and Asia had met.

Upon checking the reports, he learned that Lucien had obtained Evil Pieces two days ago.

Yesterday, he had acquired even more pieces.

And today? He immediately sought out Asia.

His intentions could not have been clearer.

So, Diadora abandoned everything and rushed to the human world immediately.

"Diadora-san…"

Asia recognized the sinister young devil.

"Yes! It's me! Asia! I'm so glad you still remember me!"

Seeing Asia acknowledge him, Diadora immediately switched to his fake, gentle persona.

"Diadora-san, Lucien told me the truth. He said that it was you who deliberately leaked the information that got me excommunicated. Is that true?"

Asia's eyes filled with tears as she gazed at Diadora, her once-gentle expression now hardened with sadness.

"No, no! Asia, it was just a misunderstanding—an accident!"

"Lies! It wasn't an accident! Lucien let me meet other excommunicated Holy Maidens!"

"They all said they met you before being cast out! Are you seriously expecting me to believe that was just a coincidence?!"

Asia was innocent, but she wasn't stupid.

She knew the truth now.

"Lucien Leviathan!!!"

Diadora no longer looked at Asia—instead, he turned his hateful gaze toward Lucien.

It was because of him!

All because of him!

Without him, Diadora would have already indulged himself countless times!

To have sixteen of his "prizes" stolen—

His hatred had long since reached its breaking point!

"It was you! It was you! It was always you!"

"If not for you—"

"Die!!~"

A massive surge of demonic energy erupted from Diadora as he fired a barrage of dark magic blasts toward Lucien.

"Agumon, go!"

"Understood, Lucien!"

Agumon roared, stepping forward as golden-red flames surged in its mouth.

Diadora's power was on par with Sona's—a B-rank high-class devil.

Even without evolving into WarGreymon, Agumon had this fight locked down.

"Small Fireball!"

A burst of fire erupted—

And Diadora's fate was sealed.

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