Third Person PoV
Cain was currently taking the latest member of his peerage to his mother, he had informed through Grayfia, the other members of his peerage and household about Ingvild.
He was sure that she would take time to become settled with the other members but devils had plenty of time.
Hence he was sure that in a few years or at max a decade, Ingvild would get along with the others just like a family.
Cain knocked on the door of the room in which his mother resided.
The succubus was half lying on her bed, in her devil form. Seeing her child come inside with a new girl, she sat upright and looked at the girl with intrigue.
"Mom, this is Ingvild Leviathan, my second bishop."
"Oho! A Leviathan? Is she the last?" The devil mother asked
"In Hell yes, but overall no, Katrea is still alive somewhere out there."
"Well she is dead anyways if she comes across any of the new satans. Now what is her story? I can already feel her turbulent emotions, and your nervousness."
Hearing that Cain sighed, even after being a part incubus and learning empathy he was still unable to hide his emotions from his mother.
"Well…."
Cain explained in detail about Ingvild's past to Lilith, and to her credit she listened attentively.
"So she is basically like me?"
"Yes."
'Ah such a missed opportunity, to say she is like me fr fr.' Cain thought mentally, a bit disappointed that no one would know this joke until very late.
"And what do you want me to do? Give her therapy like Echidna?"
The mother of Cain said in an exasperated tone. It seems that Echidna was really troubled, such that even Lilith was troubled.
"No, I want you to act like her mother."
Silence, that was all in the room. Even Ingvild's breathing was not heard.
"She is the closest devil to you after me. Your situations are the same, not to mention she doesn't know anything about a family, her memory of her parents is all but gone."
"You did this because I asked?"
Lilith said with tears filling her eyes. Nobody had done anything for her, Lucifer only asked her to do things for him, never did he do anything for.
"Yes. I thought you had forgotten, you were quite drunk when you mentioned it, but it seems you remember the conversation we had."
Cain was once again, engulfed within the modest blossom of his mother. As she was in her devil form, it wasn't as good as her succubus form, but to Cain the warmth was all the same.
"Thank You!"
"We are family, no need for thanking me."
Ingvild was watching them with envious eyes, but Lilith knew this and then left her son. She walked the young devil and hugged her.
Only to receive an awkward response.
"Aren't you just as small as me? How can you act like my mother? Sera told me that appearance is important. Even she has a bigger chest than yours!"
The last part was a whisper but the beings in the room were sensitive enough to hear it.
"Hahaha!" Cain couldn't control his laughter.
Lilith was embarrassed, even in her long life no one dared to make fun of her like this.
'I must remedy this.'
With a thought the white haired succubus queen was once again walking in Hell. And again hugged the Leviathan, who was now buried in her chest.
"I am more than qualified to be your mother! Little girl."
She also brought Cain into her blossom to stifle his laugh.
"And stop laughing, you brat!"
And thus Ingvild gained a mother figure, Lilith gained a daughter in whose life she could be present for her, and Cain got an honorary sister.
…
Cain was standing in front of one of the volcanoes in Soulscape. As he was informed by Ereshkigal that a soul had finally been put inside the most dangerous punishment.
Cain was thinking about the conversation he had with Ereshkigal.
…
"So why did you call me?" Cain asked the former Mesopotamian goddess.
"Finally after all this time, someone was deemed sinful enough to warrant a stay in the highest level of punishment."
Ereshkigal said
"Oh? But what did you say, 'deemed'? Who decides that a soul is sinful enough?"
At that Ereshkigal went silent, and Cain was also mentally rebuking himself.
'Such an important thing and I forgot to ask about this! I must be slipping due to the things I had to do in the past few years. Let's take a well deserved break after this, and then go to deal with the Shinto.'
"Umm, I am not sure but it is most definitely the heavens system."
Now Cain was already having a headache, as if the system of heaven decided the level of severity of sins, then it would not be fair at all.
Even if he was the king of Hell, he believed that the punishment should be equal to the sin.
"Elaborate."
"Well as the spirit of the world tree is not mature, when souls go to heaven after the body dies,they are accepted if the heavens system deems them pure, or else it puts a mark on them, representing the level of sin and then reroutes them, to us. Then they come here, our current system just studies the marks and sends them according to it."
Cain was facepalming. If anything he should be grateful that only one person was sent to the volcano, not many.
"Do not send anyone inside the last level until I say so. Keep them in the second, I am going to see if the person inside is really that bad. Also how to find out their sin?"
"There should be a mark somewhere on the soul, just touch it and you will understand. I will till then barricade the system of our own."
"Please do so!"
Saying so, Cain moved towards the large volcanoes at the end of the horizon.
…
Now that he once again checked his memory, he found that he had not thought it through, as he did not know how to enter the volcano.
"To my surprise it seems the inherent devil urge to do things lazily over a long period of time is messing with my brain, as I am doing things too quickly."
"So how do I go inside? No, if I go inside, how will I watch? It is full of lava. Can't change the topography of Soulscape now can I?"
Cain called upon his authority as the king of this realm, he was like a god king in certain regards, hence he knew that he could do this.
And as he willed the volcano opened like a gate. The magma flowed and split in the middle.
This was like Moses split the sea, but instead f water here is magma and it's in Hell not on the red sea.
Cain walked inside thinking about this new ability of his.
'I am invincible now, inside Hell at the very least. Now once I gain my domain, I can connect it with Hell and gain even more power.'
Cain knew that Ereshkigal can do the same thing he did but only in Soulscape while Morgan could do this in her garden.
And quite possibly only he and Nyx can do this anywhere in Hell. Cain had given the control and management of the dimensional core to Nyx.
She was experienced in such regards and thus was quite strong inside of Hell, and she was working on regaining her prime powers outside of Hell too, the last time Cain had talked with her.
Finally the soul came into view along with the so-called mark on its front or was it back? Cain didn't know souls were just like balls, the same from every side.
He knew from the shivering of the soul that in the short period of time he came here, it had suffered a lot.
"Talking and gaining information will be quite impossible then!"
Remembering the words Ereshkigal had said, he touched the mark intending to know what souls' sins were.
Surely they would be multiple, or maybe a down right horrendous sin that was complicated?
But no Cain only felt three words. And he frowned
"Obstructing God's Will? What kind of sin is that? This doesn't tell me anything!"
Cain was now confused about something that hadn't happened for a few decades.
"My only hope now is that the soul is at least capable of basic communication, even a name or place will do, but I need something to work with!"
And the soul was not capable of handling the horrors.
"Kinda expected, if this is not a mentally screwed person then now they definitely are. Well let's see if Lilith can do something with her empathy."
Cain took the soul along with him and returned the volcano to its original state.
Finding Lilith, he asked her
"Does your empathy work on the brain or soul?"
"Never thought about it, so I do not know."
Lilith was used to Cain spawning out of nowhere and asking her weird stuff.
"We will know that in a few moments."
Saying he gave her the soul and urged her to feel the emotions.
"If possible, reassure her that nothing will happen now."
"Sure I will try. What happened though?"
Cain explained the reason to his mom, and she worked on the soul and within a few moments she had an answer.
"Well getting her to talk might take some time, but she did tell me her name. Also what in the seven hells did she go through? Her mind is more messed up than some of the devils who fought in the GHW!"
"I will tell that later, what is her name?"
"Jeanne D'Arc."
"What?"
…
Cain was in his room, pacing back and forth.
"How can a veritable saint be obstructing God's will?"
Cain only had a single thought to this.
"She fought the weirder of True Longinus, forced him to use the Truth Idea and lost? That would indeed make her against God's Will but if there was a strong enough wielder of True Longinus, I would know."
Cain was confused now, and he could only wait till Lilith managed to get some more information out of the soul.
'A place would be helpful' Cain mused
He was trying to think outside of the box,
'Let's see, famous heroes of the past have descendants, those who do not have a bloodline, a part of their soul, resides in an individual worthy of their title, the original Joan of Arc died back in 1431, so this one must be a descendant. What more can I know?'
'A soul? A soul can be reformed from its fragments if somehow they come together and find a body, and they attract each other. Wait, didn't heaven do a reshuffling of souls at my behest? Did something happen to the original soul of the Saint?'
Cain was gradually making a theory in his mind but it will all be for naught, as what he was proposing was almost impossible to happen.
But the situation was mostly right, Souls released from heavens system control, No BigG to properly control it. And if there was a descendant of the Saint alive at this moment, then it is wholly possible.
Cain's mind connected the few dots he had and called my Grayfia, his ever faithful maid came immediately.
"Fia, go to France now and find out what is happening there, any news related to Saint, Joan of Arc, heresy or church find it out and return quickly."
"It will be done My Lord."
Now all that remains is whether Lilith can do something. And whether Grayfia can find something.
'If there is another stake burning planned then my hypothesis will be correct, a pity I can't tell this to any angel and I don't have a good impression with a fallen angel, or I could get more info.'
Cain waited for a few hours and then again went to meet Lilith.
"Anything?"
Lilith shook her head negatively.
"She doesn't know anything herself, Only her name, she was a holy Saint, and suddenly she was in Hell. Nothing more. Her mind is already too broken for me to enter and read her memories."
"Sorry for the trouble then. I have sent Grayfia to France, let's hope she had found something worth the trouble." Cain said, taking the soul back.
He sent the soul back to Soulscape, but didn't put her into any punishment. He simply kept her in a cage, he will let her reincarnate if Grayfia doesn't find anything significant.
…
Three hours later Grayfia came back from France, what would have taken any other person days to do she did in a few hours.
It was an urgent request from her Lord, she did as fast she could. Teleporting across France continuously for hours she gathered all the information she could about all the topics Cain had asked.
Cain had considered sending Vanessa, due to her Valefor powers. Even if she didn't have the clan trait she was still quite able to work without alerting anyone, but her strength was only high class.
If a fight occurred there may be chances she can die, hence Grayfia was sent. She still was very competent and didn't get caught.
"My Lord, the task you have asked is done."
"So, what did you hear?"
"There is a stake burning scheduled two days from now, for the witch who dares to call herself the Joan of Arc."
Grayfia had decided to only tell the most important thing, as she had mentally asked her Lord as to what she was to focus on during her work.
"Shit! Well on the bright side, I have a day to make a plan and execute it."
"For what my lord?"
Grayfia asked even though she knew what was going on Cain's mind. His voice was really calming for her.
"Of course, on how to get the Saint of Orleans to join my peerage and become a devil!"
The Lucifer said cheerfully.
"Only you say such a thing casually, Cain."
Cain just smirked at his loyal maid, he took her by the waist and threw her at the bed.
"Well you have been a good Maid, Fia, want a reward?"
Hearing the husky tone, Grayfia replied
"Yes, master!"
And the rest is history.
Third Person PoV
Next morning, the first thing after breakfast, Cain went to find Ajuka. Finding him in his lab he reached up to him and tapped him on his left shoulder.
But before his fingers could touch the Beezelbub, the man asked
"Do not try it anymore, I have learnt from the past, and say whatever you want to fast!"
"Chill man! Also give me a box capable of holding a soul."
Ajuka looked at Cain with a deadpan face.
"Cain, do you understand that the thing you asked is rarer than some god's divine weapon? And you just ask me to give it to you?"
"Do you have it or not?"
Cain added ignoring the question, he knew Ajuka had the thing he required, after all evil pieces can act as an anchor for the souls.
It would be idiotic of Ajuka to not have something to store a soul.
"Fine!"
Saying so he waved his hand and a purple box appeared in his hands.
"Use it carefully, it is fully made of the materials that the evil pieces use, the special crystals of Agares! Do not break it, or i will not lend another to you."
"Sure, sure!" Cain said, his interest now fully on the box.
He had no plans of returning it though, he might need something like this in the future, who knows.
And it will be troublesome to come to Ajuka to get it every time he needs it. Surely the mad scientist devil can afford to make another one.
Cain then went back to his castle, fetched the soul of the now deceased descendant of the Joan of Arc, tucked it safely inside the box and went off to France.
He planned to look at the situation till night and then go to meet the now resurrected saint.
More information will only make it easier for him to corrupt the saint into becoming his personal devil.
…
After roaming a bit for the entire day, Cain was finally satisfied by the church.
'They have made my job so much easier! They killed the original body's parents, points for me, they razed the village to the ground, points to me.
Now for the heavens system, it branded a saint descendant a heretic basically, also the original Jeanne was also burned on a stake, so yay this is going to be so easy!'
And the Catholics wonder why they are hated by both the supernatural world and their own believers.
…
In the lonely cell a man, on a closer look it was women dressed as a man. The woman had a look of disappointment and anguish, rather than of hatred which was to be expected from someone about to be burned alive.
Even when in such a dilemma she didn't lose her faith and her beliefs were unshaken.
The Lord had tested her once like this, time he surely will help her. The last time was a test of her resolve. Surely this time she would not have to go through the agony she went through last time.
She folded her arms and did another prayer, but unfortunately for her the prayers didn't reach the one intended.
…
Jeanne's last memory was getting burnt at the stake, after she was wrongly accused of heresy. The pain she felt at her skin burning, the smoke filling her lungs and the contempt of the people, were the last thing she remembered before everything went blank.
She didn't know what happens after that, she was in a deep sleep, she had woken only two times, both when she felt pain.
The pain was like someone was ripping apart her very existence. But that had happened only twice and that too at very long intervals of time.
And then suddenly she finds herself inside a body with a fleeting resemblance to her own, with different parents and more than a century after her birth.
She instantly knew that she was reincarnated, she was joyful that she got a second chance to fulfil her duties to the Lord.
She also knew that she was now said to be a martyr, some good lad had cleared her name and figured out the foul intentions of the original heretic.
And thus with renewed vigour she began to march towards the nearest church and asked the father there to help her contact the pope.
Bur everything from then went like her previous life, she was again accused of heresy and was condemned to a similar fate like her last life.
As she was reminiscing about her current and past lives, suddenly someone tapped at the iron bars on the sole window of her small prison.
She raised her head and looked at her sneaky visitor, silver hair, blood red eyes and a smirk on his face.
"What do you want?"
Her hoarse voice came out of her parched throat.
And magically the man crossed the wall as if it didn't exist, and came in front of her.
The dress of the man along with his unmistakable aura gave his race away.
The saint jumped back, her moves precise, still the grace that she had in her past were present in her movement.
"Devil!" The scorn in her voice was palpable.
Cain only smirked and sat down at the cold floor, and motioned her too.
"Calm down, 'saint' I am only here to talk. My name is Cain Livan Lucifer. It's basic courtesy to introduce yourself isn't it?"
Hearing the name, the saint was even more perturbed, she wasted no time in using an ability this body possessed.
Purple flames rose and moved towards Cain, to burn him to cinders. But just as the flames touched his white suit they vanished.
"Now before I force you to sit down, will you do it yourself?"
Although Cain was looking unfazed, internally he was jumping in joy.
'That was the Incinerate Anthem. Jackpot!!'
Seeing that she is powerless, the saint begrudgingly sat down as far away as possible in the cramped space, and then tried to kill him with her glare.
"Heh! Look at you hating me, but where is that god of yours? He isn't here to help you, I am!"
"I would never accept help from a devil, and moreover from the Lucifer!"
"Oh really? Then why are you here, in this cold, cramped space waiting for your execution. Why didn't an angel come to save you?"
At that the saint was silent, but the cold and sharp words of the devil continued to reach her soul.
"Do you want to know why I am here?"
"Why?" She asked with a tremor in her voice.
Cain took out a box and kept it infront of her.
"Well have you wondered what happened to the original soul of your current body?"
Jeanne's face scrunched up in distaste, showing her guilt.
"Well the soul came to Hell, now I was very surprised at that, you know, so I just checked the sin of this soul. And I was blown away when it was 'Obstructing God's Will. Isn't it ironic that a poor, innocent soul was thrown into Hell just because a saint inhabited her body?"
"That-that is not possible, you are lying, trying to deceive me!"
"Oh, then look at the soul yourself."
The box opened and the soul inside it tried to rush back inside its body but was unable to.
But just as the saint touched the soul, she touched the mark, and thus she knew that the devil was right, she had doomed a perfectly innocent soul to eternal damnation.
But before she could say anything, Cain took back the soul and kept it inside the box and made it disappear.
"So, dear saint. Wanna hear more"
The sinful words of the devil rang in her ears, the saint wanted to ignore it and believe in her lord, but her faith was shaken, and thus she allowed the words of the devil to sink into her heart.
"Yes." A whisper came out of her mouth but Cain was already grinning like a Cheshire cat.
That whisper was the opening he needed and now, his new knight was as good as in his hands by now.
…
"Let's start with your previous life, you did well fighting on God's command, had his vision, made Charles win multiple battles.
But only two losses and you fell out of favour, your name dragged through the mud by various people, who in reality were heretics, he tricked you and killed you brutally.
Finally after some years a good guy removed the dark mark on your name and you again became the martyr you were supposed to but wait a minute, where was your Lord when you were suffering?"
"That was a test of my resolve,and I passed. Hence why I am here alive once again!"
Although she tried to refute the growing sensation of betrayal in her heart, the cracks were forming.
Cain said calmly, not affected by her little outburst.
"Alright, let's just accept that as the truth for now, even though we both know you are simply denying the truth. But the real stuff starts now, what do you think happened to your soul after your death? Why didn't you go to heaven, let me guess you were in a void?"
"It was because I was to be reincarnated, if I went to reveal I might not want to come back."
"Wrong! Your soul was used as a catalyst to make your descendants, just like the one that you are using the body for, there was one before this too, and she died a horrible death at the hands of a crazy noble. But let me tell you more
Your soul was ripped apart as the BigG pleased and used you, like a tool. He didn't even acknowledge your efforts, he kept you like a pet! Using you whenever he liked and then leaving you alone!"
The words continued to hammer the wall of belief inside the saint's heart, but the wall was now full of cracks.
"No-no the Lord wouldn't!"
"Oh, then let me tell you this. The body which you are using now, do you know what happened to its parents? The village she was born in. Let me tell you, the parents were killed for birthing a heretic, the village was razed to the ground and the women and girls were raped.
Why because the crusaders which went there were the retainers and sons of the greedy nobels. Where was your god then? Where is he now, his precious saint sitting with the devil, and soon to be burned at a stake, again! Where is he?"
Cain said and his laugh was increasing in volume, as the biggest bomb was yet to be dropped.
"He will come, he will-"
"He won't, want me to tell you why? Because God is dead!"
The last three words were whispers, but to Jeanne's ears were the horn which blew at armageddon.
"No-no, lies, lies all of these. Yes lies that must be it. This is also a test, I must resist!"
"Haha! And I am the kindest guy, see we both can lie. You know deep inside too, you were betrayed by your lord, or should I say, the Archangel Michael?"
The hands which were at the head, now fell to her sides, her eyes were now lifeless.
And the wall of belief was now crashed, she was completely defenceless, she knew that the devil wouldn't be any better than her so called Lord, but still his words seeped into her heart, she allowed them to.
"Now, Jeanne, don't you want salvation? To be free from the paltry chain of belief? Don't you want to take your vengeance? They tricked you, killed you, betrayed you, yet you remained steadfast.
Even my father, the lightbringer fell due to his unjust treatment, you are only human. Why must you go through such pain?
Your soul was ripped, your descendant's murdered, their soul sent to Hell, that too forcing that sin on you! They killed innocent's just because they supported you! Now leave the title of a saint and embrace the darkness,
Come to me my witch, become Vengeance."
Cain's grand speech completely changed the atmosphere.
Jeanne's eyes which were till now filled with kindness and despair, burned with rage. In this moment she didn't focus on the father part.
And seeing that Cain embraced the witch, his witch. The witch also allowed her to sink deeper into his chest, as if letting him shoulder all her pains and sin.
"Don't worry, I am the punisher of all sinners, your sins won't go unpunished as they are yours, and your punishment is to stay with me and as my loyal Knight forever. I will bear all your pain. "
"Yes, My Lord."
The saint whose mouth only sang the praises of God, was now calling the devil her lord.
'All according to the plan, now to cement her place as my knight.'
"Lay down my witch, I shall fulfil our contract."
The former saint did as she was asked of and Cain brought out his knight piece.
Putting it on her clothed chest, he again began the chant
"I, Cain Livan Lucifer, hereby order you,
Heed me Jeanne's d'Arc, bound your soul back to me and become my witch.
You shall become my knight and rejoice in your newfound life."
The piece sank into her body and her ripped soul was mended and the transformation began, with purple flames surrounding her.
The flames died to reveal the new Jeanne d'Arc. With a smile on her face that promised nothing but pain and misery she said in a silky voice.
"I have been reborn, master!"
"Indeed, my witch!"
AN:- New chapter, now gimme those stones. Do point out the typos if you guys see them, help a poor guy out!
Creation is hard, cheer me up! VOTE for me!Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
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