Chapter 117: Chapter 117: Get sentenced to 10000 years
A hand reached out… And grabbed a rocky outcrop.
The hand strained for a moment before the single hand pulled a man up to a stone ledge.
"Haa… Climbing… with one arm… is hard…" Saji rolled to his back while breathing heavily. "Argh… That damn… figures that… that monster would… come after me…"
The Pawn of Sitri Peerage had felt the Pieces fall from his chest, which clued him that Sona had effectively kicked him off the Peerage.
The Pieces had then vanished, as they would have returned to Sona.
Saji knew that Sona would never do that to one of her Peerage members out of her own free will, which meant that Momon was likely strong-arming her or potentially threatening her other Peerage members with violence in order to get Sona to comply with his orders.
Saji's theory had been proven true as he had reached for the vanishing Pieces… And upon reaching down, he had been struck with massive back pain to the point he had to flop down on the ground and roll around in abject torment.
The torture had ceased after a moment… Before it had been followed by cramps, stomach-ache, the feeling of someone poking his genitals out with a red-hot iron, and finally the feeling of getting his eyes gouged out with a rusty spoon.
When the torment had ended Saji had lost consciousness… But his love for Sona had woken him up in the middle of the night.
Luckily he had one hand to take care of the issue, so he took care of that and then continued his trek towards what he hoped was the Maou's stronghold in the Underworld.
In other words, the massive 'King' Piece that formed the central lynchpin of the entire 'Peerage' system.
Saji had guessed that the remaining Maous would have formed up around the Piece, since the Peerage system had been ingrained so deeply into Devil society that losing it could very well break the entire devil populace's unity- Or what little of it remained anyway. At best the breaking of the system would result in just the 'pure-blooded' devils and 'human-born' devils becoming somewhat equal in terms of being 'peers', but at worst, it could lead to a massive revolution and civil war between human-born devils and true-blooded devils.
Yet, with the whole 'True God' situation going off, such civil war was likely nonetheless.
'...Although, knowing that monster, he'd likely want a second simultaneous civil war… One out of religious reasons, and one from class reasons… Civil war civil war? Civil civil war? Civil war war? Doesn't matter. I have to stop it before it can happen…' Saji thought as he sat on the stone ledge, having managed to trek through the contested territories under the cover of night and finally reach an overlook that showed the massive garden far in the distance.
Granted, it would take him a long time to reach it on foot, and he didn't have stamina to fly with his devil-wings for a long time, but Saji was nothing if not determined. 'Just hold on, Sona… I'll save you…'
After all, Saji had discovered a weakness in 'Momon', and knew that the Maous could ensure that Saji had a way to deliver his poison.
'...It was a small, almost minute glimpse into his weakness, but I know… I only need one chance, one blow… He'd never let me get close enough to strike, I know that much… His swordsmanship is nearly unbreakable, and even being close to him invites disaster…' Saji bit his lip until he tasted blood. 'Sona… Thank you for everything. I will not let you down…'
Saji dusted himself off, hobbled around a bit to dispel the phantom pain of yesterdays's torture, and then took to the air with his devil-wings.
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Kuisha Abaddon breathed out.
She breathed in, and breathed out, exhaling her stress, fear, and mounting nervousness. 'I can't screw this up… Sairaorg-sama's mother's life hangs in the balance…'
"It's alright. We're all with you. If something happens, then…" Coriana, Sairaorg's Bishop and a devil of one of the extinct Pillar families, sighed while combing Kuisha's hair.
"Coriana-chan… It's alright." Kuisha reached to squeeze the woman's hand. "I'll be alright. I won't fall into despair, and you won't either. If I die, I'll die knowing I was of use to Sairaorg-sama… Even if I couldn't be what he loved."
"He loves you, you know. Not like how you want, but as a family. As we all do."
"Well maybe I wanted him to love me as something more than as a family!" Kuisha grew agitated and tossed the comb Coriana was using on her hair to a nearby wall.
The fragile item shattered into pieces, and Kuisha let her face fall on her arms. "...I… I even thought that maybe, if I went along with the whole trading thing, Sairaorg-sama might become jealous, that he'd see me differently, perhaps realize his feelings if he had any towards me… It was a fool's hope…"
"Would you have refused to be traded if you knew he wouldn't look at you differently?" Coriana asked while moving from combing Kuisha's hair to rubbing Kuisha's shoulders.
"...No, I suppose not." Kuisha let out a shaky breath to hide a sob that was about to escape her throat. "I'm… sorry, I didn't mean to lash out…"
"It's alright. I know, I know…" Coriana hugged Kuisha from behind. "It'll be alright. It's just a temporary arrangement, before Sairaorg-sama can consolidate his influence in the Bael family and through that amass enough money and wealth to trade you back. And we'll take you back, no matter what happens. Think of it like us pawning you to Momon-sama until we can amass enough money to cover Misla-sama's resurrection…"
"And until then, I just have to survive…" Kuisha let out a small sob. "...I'm a warrior. I want an enemy I can fight. I never wanted to be a courtesan… No, a worthless whore… To let someone I don't like have their way with my body, to let them hit me and hurt me if they desire without me having the right to strike back…"
"You don't know for sure that Momon-sama is like that. The rumors are… ominous… but you can't lose hope. You don't know what has happened between Lady Phenix and Momon-sama, nor between Yuuto-san and Momon-sama…" Coriana kept the hug going while murmuring reassuring words to Kuisha's ear. "Come on. We still have time to have a good breakfast as a Peerage. Let's not waste it by brooding in a bathroom."
"Right…" Kuisha collected herself, checked that her make-up was immaculate and her usual combat-attire fit her curves snugly without any crumples or dirt. She refused to wear some frilly and useless outfit which's only purpose was to be removed, that was the only thing she would not compromise on.
Unless Sairaorg asked that of her.
'Let's get this over with… Sairaorg-sama, when all is said and done… Please don't forget about me…'
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Momonga woke up groggily, although feeling refreshed and for once, relaxed.. 'Hm… I wonder if Ophis has a calming effect, or if it's because of something else… I guess I got plenty of experience yesterday from using [Sacrifice] on that tentacle-thing… Or is it because I came clean to Ddraig, reducing my stress… Hm… I guess keeping secrets is somewhat stressful… Still, I'll need to be careful around the local angels…'
"Yay me, I guess…" Ddraig grumbled as Momonga mentioned it. "Just… guh… How arro- strong are you if keeping a secret like that is enough to cause you stress? Or is it because you felt that it'd cause me to despair and I'd become useless?"
'Well, sort of… I figured you'd turn hostile and then things would escalate.' Momonga sighed, thinking back on his confession about YGGDRASIL's true function to Ddraig.
"Yeah, not gonna happen. For at least ten thousand years." Ddraig answered in a peculiar manner that made Momonga a bit curious, but before he could question the dragon more, he became aware of his surroundings.
Or rather, his body woke up enough to start transmitting sensations properly, and he realized that there was a soft and wet sensation below his waist.
'Um…' Momonga glanced down, past sleeping Ophis, and noticed that the two of them had been tucked inside a thin blanket at some point during the night. Not that he was feeling cold, as the bed's underside where he had slept due to Ophis's… 'request'... had been quite warm due to the amount of bodies in there.
He lifted the blanket a bit, fearing for the worst… And saw that 'One', one of the Cherubim Gatekeepers he had created and who had taken the appearance of tall, lithe and aloof maids, was currently hard at work.
Her current work being 'deepthroating Momonga jr'.
'Um- um, um, um, I think, um… There's been a miscommunication hereeee-ngh?!' Momonga was feeling quite paralyzed as he didn't really understand what had happened for the summon to act that way. 'I didn't order it to do that?! Did I?! Did I talk in my sleep?! What else did I order her to do?! W-what kind of s-scuuuum am I to order my summon, er, subordinate to do thaaaa-t?'
His thoughts were somewhat patchy and drawn-out as the 'maid' had kissed the base of the shaft and was fondling the dual 'production facilities' below the shaft with delicate, almost reverent movements.
"Grlh… Grgl… phaa- phaa… suuuuck…" The maid was letting out all sorts of muted, yet incredibly obscene sounds while Momonga watched and tried to reboot his mind. The fact the maid was gargling on the meat that bulged her throat when she lowered her head, and left thick strings of saliva on the glistening meat when she pulled back, was making the rebooting a bit difficult. "Haa… Haa… Grlh… suuuck… smooch…'
'I… I asked to kiss her, right? Could it be because of that? No, wait, did I order her and she mistook my order as something more hardcore than that?' Momonga racked his brain trying to make sense of the maid's actions as she was kissing the base of his fleshy body's dong and sliding her head back so she kissed the tip, nibbled it with her lips, and then pushed her head back down so that her throat bulged and the lips touched the base once again. 'Uh… Wait, uh? H-hugh- uh?'
He realized that in his shock he had failed to notice that someone had been kissing his feet, and someone else had snuggled behind him and massaged him.
Momonga noticed that 'Two' was kissing and massaging his feet, and 'Three' was massaging his shoulders while pushing her body against his back.
'Um, um? I-it's spreading? Ero-world? No! That can't be… Even my summons- The ero is spreading!' Momonga realized that the 'ero-virus' had likely infected his maids, and had driven them to do all sorts of things. 'Or was I infected already when I made them? I… I don't think so… Although I think… No, wait, I had a foursome with Rias, Xuelan and Yubelluna and technically Akeno, er, ish, a day before I made the Cherubims… The ero must have…'
"Have you perhaps considered the possibility that they might love you?" Ddraig interjected with a dry voice while the dragon had covered it's face with it's clawed hand, although the dragon was oddly shaky when addressing Momonga. "Or that they saw you lead by example, and figured that doing 'that' is part of their daily routine or something? Some of the mangas that you stuffed into your Inventory for me to read had those kinds of plotlines, at least as far as I remember… "
Momonga realized that the ero-dragon might be correct, at least in his second assessment.
"I resent the title of 'ero-dragon', thank you…"
'...In other words, I have to set them straight… Hm… Grayfia seemed to have calmed down a bit, so… Yeah! I can ask her to train the Cherubims to be proper maids… They said they had some teacher earlier… I'm guessing that it was some ero-trainer, and they got the wrong idea…' Momonga had an epiphany. 'Besides, Grayfia should be in my debt for saving her from Hastur, so… Yeah, that should work!'
Ophis seemed to stir from the commotion 'downstairs' and opened her eyes which were slightly less blood-shot. Although any further guesses on her mood were a bit difficult as her expression was stuck to her usual emotionless stare. "I… I can't sleep… It's noisy… At least there's no goats… gib tasty stuff…"
Momonga reached into his inventory and offered the girl-shaped dragon a treat, which she took and stuffed into her face without ado.
"Yummy…" Ophis noted emotionlessly and then looked around under the bed.
She spotted 'One' doing her thing.
Ophis tilted her head at the maid who looked like she was on top of her world while deep-throating the meat. "Is that yummy?"
"Ahn… Smooch… suck…" 'One' didn't answer as she was too busy trying to imitate a vacuum cleaner.
"O-Ophis-sama, that isn-ghuuuuh!" Momonga's explanation was interrupted by 'One' realizing that he was awake as she seemed to jump in surprise a bit and accidentally try to inhale the dong.
It was unfortunate for her that Momonga's fleshy body reached it's limit at the same time, as it sent a flood of white stuff into the maid-masquerading level ninety 'Angel'.
"G-ghurh! gulp… gulp… C-cough… gulp…!" 'One' was valiantly trying to gulp down the whole load, but the fact there was likely a good amount of the stuff in her lungs likely didn't make it easy, and in the end she coughed a good amount of it from her mouth and nose while trying to simultaneously suck the rest of the stuff from Momonga's host body's pipe.
It was a valiant effort, but in vain, and 'One' had to withdraw while 'Four' dove in to take her place like a soldier diving on top of a live grenade to save her comrade.
"Wait, you don't have tooooooh!" Momonga's attempt to stop the other maid came too late as she had started to suck as well, effectively both causing Momonga's fleshy body to spasm and his mind to lock a bit from the shame of having his subordinates do such a thing for him.
"I… I think that's tasty. It looks like it's tasty." Ophis noted emotionlessly and crawled to 'One' who was trying her hardest to chomp down the majority of the gel-like 'stuffings' which had started to goop down her chin and to her chest.
Although the fact 'One' had an expression of pure bliss and euphoria on her usually emotionless face was making Momonga quite worried. "I wash… gulp… usheful… for mashta… gulp…"
'One' realized too late that Ophis had stalked close to her and had started to lick the white stuff on the maid's chest and flowing down her chin.
"Ew. Salty. I… I don't like it." Ophis commented, causing 'One's expression to go from euphoria to anger in an instant, at least before Momonga finally managed to get his body under control and motioned for 'One' to calm down.
"It's alright. I have more treats." Momonga sweated hard while offering a large lollipop to Ophis, feeling quite fortunate that he had stuffed some non-YGGDRASIL treats into his inventory during the two's tour of Tokyo's candy-shops.
"What is it this time…" Rias's sleepy voice came from above and the cloth that seperated the underside of the bed from the rest of the world lifted, showing Rias looking upside-down into the underside with a sleepy look on her features.
She squinted her eyes sleepily at Momonga, and then at Ophis who was munching on a lollipop in a clear misunderstanding on how hard candy was supposed to be eaten, then squinted at Momonga's crotch.
Rias sighed. "Keep it down… It's only… eehh… nine in the morning, actually…"
She seemed to fall asleep again while upside-down over the edge of the bed, twitched a bit as she woke up again, and seemed to properly figure out what happened as her eyes gained a degree of awareness. "Uugh… You're at it already…"
She looked at the sight of 'Four' who had taken over 'One's job.
"I… um, I didn't order them to do that… Did I?" Momonga tried to explain himself while trying to not offend the maids.
"Attending to the master's needs, wants and desires is part of a maid's duty! Teacher said so, so it must be true!" 'Three' told him with a matter-of-fact voice, although she was blushing to her eyebrows while massaging Momonga's shoulders.
'Umu… Right… well, that's one mystery solved…' Momonga sighed and realized that he was stroking 'Four's head, which in retrospect would make it look like he was pushing the maid's head down the shaft.
Momonga let go of her immediately. "Ahem, I think we all should go and take a shower… Umu, could one of you help 'One' before she chokes? E-erm, not like that…"
Momonga felt a bit resigned as 'Five' had nodded seriously and had climbed over 'One' to lick and chew down the 'stuff' that 'One' had failed to gulp down. "No, I didn't mean to order you to… Haa… 'Five', could you heimlich 'One' before she chokes?"
'Five' seemed to realize that Momonga had intended for her to help 'One' with the fact that she seemed to be choking on the stuff, and went to hug her from behind until 'One' managed to exhale a dangerous amount of Momonga's white stuff from her lungs.
"Right, um, right…" Momonga made an effort to crawl out from under the bed… And saw that Rias's upside-down head looking over the bed's edge and under the bed had been joined by another head.
"Haguuuuuuuuuu!" Serafall pouted while she was utterly red and she was literally steaming. "Super unfaaaaairr! Why do they get to go first?! Have you actually been doing that all night along and didn't invite meeee?! I drank six palettes of that booster liquid! That's like, quarter of a ton of tantric energy boosters! Do you have any idea how horny I am right now?! I'm hornier than an entire forest full of bunnies in spring! I could probably suck a wrecking ball through the entire water pipeline of Japan! HUGUAAAA!"
Momonga teleported to the dining room of his quarters just as Serafall lunged at him while she had an utterly maniacal look on her face, and luckily enough, the Maou missed him.
'Oh boy…'
.
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The breakfast was somewhat… awkward affair.
Momonga was eating his eggs, bacon, bread and myriad of side-dishes allowing his 'Suzuki Satoru' side to marvel at the taste of well-made breakfast. Meanwhile his 'Overlord' self was trying to figure out what to do for the day, assuming he managed to get out of his quarters.
The reason that such a thing was in question in the first place was because Serafall was… Restless.
"Sister, that's not how you eat a sausage…" Sona sighed as Serafall failed to eat the sausage in a traditional way.
The Maou stared at the sausage in her hand with maniacal eyes for a moment, before trying again.
"Ish tashty thouuughh…" Serafall got through her throat as she seemed to deep-throat the sausage a couple of times before seemingly realizing that she needed to bite it as well, and chewed through the meat stick in a few bites while grumbling.
"Ah…" Lady Phenix seemed quite unsure as she drank tea to calm her nerves, and Ravel was happily resting her body against her mother's side while cradling a cup of coffee.
Rossweisse was still sleeping off her drunken state, although Momonga had ordered one of the maids to see to her needs and bring her breakfast to bed once she woke up.
Ophis was staring at a whipped cream-topped cake with a puzzled expression. "Is that tasty?"
"Yes, I believe…" Rias sighed and cut a slice of the cake… And the slice disappeared. "Eh?"
"I… I think it is tasty." Ophis agreed while licking the whipped cream from the sides of her mouth as Rias stared at the now-empty cake platter and equally empty cake cutter.
Momonga wasn't sure how comfortable he felt as Serafall was occasionally sending him seriously meaningful glances, and at the same time…
"Ah, duck on rice… How delightful…" Yasaka was waving her nine fox-tails from side to side while helping herself to the breakfast, fox-ears standing upright, and she was sitting quite close to Momonga.
Momonga wasn't sure what he should feel by the fact that Yasaka's breasts occasionally pushed against his arm as she turned to take something from the table to her cup with a pair of chopsticks, or that her tails occasionally brushed against his side, or that her thigh was constantly against his. '...Don't tell me she fell for me as well… I should have rummaged deeper in her memories, I stopped reading her mind to the point where Lady Phenix entered, and I erased Lady Phenix's presence during her ambush on Yasaka…'
Momonga was feeling a bit miffed with Lady Phenix, specifically if her interference had caused such an effect on the fox-woman, but it wasn't as if Momonga was clueless to his earlier actions with the woman. Or more specifically, with the woman in her bathroom, so it wasn't as if he was sinless to the whole ordeal. 'I guess I'll just have to take responsibility… I suppose it isn't too bad… Not to mention that having Shinto by my side would help my odds in a fight, as well as reinforce my position politically…'
The memory of the kitsune child calling him 'daddy' with such a bright and happy expression caused Momonga to feel a bit happy, or at least the part of him that was 'Suzuki Satoru' to feel a bit happy… Until the memory was joined by the memory of him splattering her with his white stuff by accident.
Momonga covered his face with his hands and dragged them down to quell the wave of self-loathing. 'I'm scum…'
"Master? Is the meat not to your taste…?" Momonga glanced to the side to see a nervous-looking 'Six' who was gripping the front of her maid-apron with both hands.
"The breakfast is exquisite. Please don't worry." Momonga dismissed her worries, and the maid sighed in relief. 'I see they're starting to relax a bit and show more emotions… That's good…' "Did you cook this?"
"No, master… We tried, but, umu…" 'Four' glanced nervously towards the kitchen. "We had to put down the result… Literally… We captured a woman who supposedly knew how to make food, so…"
"Ufufufu… Don't worry, I'm not offended that you grabbed me from my bed and stuffed me into this kitchen." Akeno poked her head out of the kitchen, causing 'Four' to jump a bit and sweat. "Hi, Rias, Momon-san, others… Do you want anything else with your breakfast? The kitchen here is quite well stocked!"
Momonga couldn't think of anything while Rias made some requests, and Akeno disappeared back into the kitchen to reappear after a moment with a plate full of brownies… Which mysteriously disappeared after Ophis asked if they tasted good. But this time after Rias had managed to snatch a couple of the chocolate treats.
'Rias talked with Akeno… I'm glad that Rias managed to calm her down a bit.' Momonga noted Akeno's good mood. 'I'll need to resurrect her mother at some point, when Baraqiel brings me her ashes…'
Momonga sighed and scooped some pickles and rice to his cup before resuming his eating, 'It's going to be another busy day…'
"Ah, sorry." Yasaka had been taking from the cup of pickles at the same time, causing the two's hands to meet.
"It's alright- um?" Momonga paused a bit as Yasaka took one of the pickles she had been putting on her plate and offered it to Momonga. Or rather, lifted it with her chopsticks so it lined with Momonga's mouth and offered it towards him with her hand under it.
"They are quite tasty…" Yasaka purred… And Momonga took the pickle from her chopsticks with his own and put it into his mouth.
"Indeed. Thank you." Momonga nodded while Yasaka's eyebrow twitched for some reason. 'Ah… This is peaceful… I wouldn't mind if this became a normal occurrence…'
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The swarm of Dark Young flailed at everything they saw.
The kaleidoscopic void of Interdimensional Gap was eroding the strength of the spawns of an Outer Being, weakened by a furious battle against the dragonic guardian that had resided in the Gap, and lacking the borrowed power of their mother who was no longer truly being nor a non-being, neither dead or alive.
And thus, the living goat-trees withered, and their attacks doubled in ferocity like that of a dying predator trashing out to slay whatever came near it.
A single intact 'island' of mass within the dancing colorful void was starting to show cracks and break…
And the Seal the Great Red had placed on an evil which threatened the worlds from the void outside, broke.
The Dark Young flooded in as a black void opened, allowing them entry.
The massive goat-trees charged around, trashing, flailing, devastating whatever mass they got their hands on, smashing all things in their rampage… Until the avalanche of withered black bark, goat-like teeth and maw finally reached a dark mausoleum.
The mausoleum had a single coffin at the center of it.
The lid of the coffin popped, letting out a scent of dust, death and perfume… And a petite yet well endowed, almost porcelain doll-like girl in gothic lolita dress rose up to her feet from the coffin without bending neither her legs or back, almost as if she was carried on her feet by an ethereal wind.
The porcelain doll-like girl turned her silk-pale face and bright crimson eyes towards the charging mass of Dark Young…
…And a female form clad in blood-red armor and carrying a long, syringe-like lance stood forward to face the beasts.
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"It can feel the tremors… I'm sorry. It won't be long now."
"..."
"...I had no choice, you know."
"...Lame. Egg-for-face. Uwah."
"No! My only weakness! Verzeih mir, fraeulein Shizuuuu!"
"...no."
"...That is unfortunate."
There was a long-pained sigh alongside the sound of adjusting an officer's cap on a bald head.
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Momonga sat down behind his desk after convincing Michael somehow that the 'arch-angel had done such a good job at the paperwork that Momonga wanted him to continue doing it', which wasn't actually that hard of an argument as Momonga had merely glanced at the pile of papers that had appeared on his desk in Phenix territory, gulped, had a small PTSD-episoder of his days as a businessman in Neo-Japan, and effectively shelved the entire stack to the Arch-Angel's hands.
Michael didn't seem to mind. And in fact, it looked like he was quite happy that Momonga ordered him around.
The Arch-angel had stashed the papers to a side-desk Momonga made for him with a wave of his hand, and Gabriel moved to help her brother while having a faint blush, although nothing as extreme as she had previously.
'It's likely because he thinks I'm his father… Haa… One more lie I have to ensure never gets out.' Momonga was feeling a bit paranoid, but could limit the paranoia due to the fact he had quite a few strong 'big hitters' on his side in case the truth came out and the 'gray angels' went on a warpath. 'Serafall could likely slow down one of them, and the Cherubims could probably buy a moment with Gabriel or Azazel… Come to think of it, where's Azazel?'
Momonga considered asking for a moment, thought about it, and figured that he should probably send one of his summons to search for the man as he didn't want to risk his cover image more than strictly necessary by interacting with the 'gray angels'. 'That being said, I can't be too distant and ignore them constantly… They'd get suspicious if I avoided them all the time, after 'my' supposed 'return'... So I have to just bullshit my way through when I'm near Michael and co. Ravel and the others who know about my true nature seem to blurt it out with alarming high regularity, but it seems like those blurtings aren't as random as they seemed… I underestimated Sona, she practically convinced Serafall to join my side by herself, while Ravel and Lady Phenix are trying but at least seem to know when to talk and when to stay quiet…'
'Not to mention Rossweisse.. At least she seems to be in a good mood and keeps her mouth shut.' He felt paranoid nonetheless, yet the constant stress and devastating blows on his psyche over the past few weeks had more or less hammered his paranoia meter to the ground to the point he had grown so used to the paranoia that it didn't cause him to panic and do anything hasty because of it. 'Kurona learned of my true nature as well, but I erased it from her mind before she could spread the information… I think that was for the best, since I have no real attachment to that woman and so she might blabber about it.'
Momonga thought about the nekoshou for a moment. 'I grabbed her so she could teach Koneko senjutsu… Hm… I still have some Pieces left… I might have to consider taking her into my Peerage if she proves useful, it looked like the Overlord General got a good amount of use from her… My Peerage still needs more power before it is useful to me, with the exception of Gasper… Not to mention that I should find time to bond with them… I trained them for a week but I don't think me slave-driving them and having them fight and kill Sona's Peerage multiple times in order to see if they can gain experience counts as a team bonding exercise…'
He wasn't sure why Grayfia was standing beside the door of his office, nor why she was so nervous, but he chalked it up to her feeling fear in his presence- After all, Momonga was well aware that the woman had tried to strike at him during the 'Peace conference', and despite Momonga rescuing her son, Grayfia could very well still try to grab her son and make a run for it.
'...I put [Remote Mine] on her son when I accompanied Grayfia to rescue him, or rather, to let her lead me to Peroroncino and accidentally rescued both Grayfia's son and Rias's mother…' Momonga checked the status of the remotely-triggered spell. '...I haven't told Grayfia that I had that on her son, nor will I… She already knows what would happen if she tried to make a run for it, and blowing up her son would likely drive her to despair and in doing so make her reckless, or in other words, an easier target…'
"Grayfia. I have a task for you." Momonga addressed the woman who stood straighter and her features were stuck to an emotionless stare at a wall behind Momonga.
"Yes, master?" The woman spoke, causing Momonga to become quite confused.
'Master? What? Wasn't Sirzechs-san- Ah. I see.' Momonga nodded internally as he drew a conclusion from the woman's sudden submissiveness. 'I'm guessing that she's trying to suck up to me and attempt to either lower my guard, or try to fish for goodwill in order to get Sirzechs resurrected… Hm.'
Momonga considered resurrecting the Maou for a moment, before realizing a few hurdles- One, the biggest problem- He had no guarantees that Sirzechs wouldn't turn hostile to him the moment he resurrected him, and the fact the Maou had ten times the 'health' of Serafall during his charge made Momonga incredibly paranoid over the consequences of that possibility. And two, he wasn't sure if even [True Resurrection] was enough to revive someone as strong as Sirzechs.
'I could try [Boost]ing the resurrection and that might help it somewhat… But… I'd rather have Rias cry and be sad over the death of her brother, than revive such a strong foe for myself… Even more so when Serafall might turn her coat if I get pushed back, effectively leaving me to fend for myself against four Maous if Sirzechs rallies the others around him, and possibly even more if Sirzechs manages to convince the gray angels that I am not their God…' Momonga sighed while looking at Grayfia who began to sweat under his stare. 'I'm more or less winning this… whatever this conflict is. No need to be courteous and even the odds for sportsmanship- This isn't a game.'
"I need you to train my maids. Consider it your penance for attacking me and mistaking me for Hastur." Momonga waved his hand idly while contemplating plans internally. "Train them to be proper maids, instead of… erm, whatever that their previous teacher trained them to do. I seriously doubt morning fellatio is a part of a personal maid's job."
"Ah- ahem, no, of course it isn't… technically speaking… unless the master is- A-ahem, I mean, yes, of course, I'll see to their training, master." Grayfia coughed at the end of her sentence as she seemed to realize what she was blurting out.
Momonga gave her an inquisitive stare.
Grayfia blushed a bit and looked away in a somewhat guilty manner, making Momonga confused for a moment before he connected the dots. 'Right… Sirzechs-san, I think my respect for you has dropped a bit… Then again, he was her husband, so I shouldn't be so judgemental that they engaged in some kinks… Besides, I have no ground to stand on in that argument…'
Momonga sighed as he waved his hand at Grayfia, effectively dismissing the woman.
She seemed to hesitate, but nonetheless clicked her boots together and exited the room.
Momonga turned to give Michael a questioning look as the Arch-angel had paused his scribbling to look at Momonga during his talk with Grayfia.
Momonga looked at the man, and the man looked away and blushed a bit. "Father, were you perhaps joking when you said your maids… ahem…"
"I was as surprised as you are." Momonga sighed. "For the record, no, I did not ask them to do that…"
"I… see. Of course. It makes sense. I understand." Michael nodded, while Momonga could tell from his expression that it did not make sense to the arch-angel. Gabriel, meanwhile, was quietly stemming a small nosebleed. "Ahem, there were visitors who sought an audience with you yesterday. It seems that the young lord of Bael house has come seeking your aid, and to pledge his house to your cause."
"Oh?" Momonga spotted a way to excuse himself from the two arch-angel's presence and latched onto it. "What did he ask for?"
"His mother has fallen ill with devil's disease, the sleeping sickness." Michael explained while pulling a notepad. "It seems that Misla Bael fell ill some time ago, and her son, Sairaorg Bael has been searching for a cure. The strike one of your devil followers delivered on the Pillars must have slain the standing lord of Bael household, which means that the lordship would have fallen to Sairaorg Bael…"
"You sound uncertain?" Momonga asked a bit warily as Michael didn't seem all to certain of his words.
"In truth I don't know all too much about the exact details of devil politics. I never sought to learn about their backstabbing ways." Michael sighed while putting the notebook down. "However, it seems that young lord Bael has come bearing his heart on his sleeve, and seems both honest and desperate. It seems that the devil's fascination with strength has betrayed them, as the Maous they so adored have fallen before your might, driving the common devil to pledge their loyalty to the strongest entity that would accept them. I believe that they hope you take that mantle, although I'd personally caution against trusting a devil to any extent. Of course, I'll defer to your ultimate judgment in all things."
"I see… So Sairaorg would pledge his house to me in exchange for healing his mother?" Momonga scratched his chin. "Hm…"
"Not quite. I believe that Sairaorg-san was pledging his house nonetheless, and sought to trade in exchange for the healing of her mother." Michael looked a bit unsure, and explained the various details including the fact that the said mother was in Momonga's lakeside 'church' already. "After all, I doubt the house of Bael has much choice- They must either choose the Maous who'd drive them against the meat grinder that is our combined forces, or pledge to you. Making demands in exchange for the latter seems quite reckless because of the consequences if you refuse, and young Sairaorg didn't seem like a reckless person…"
'Hm… So in other words, Sairaorg would be willing to trade something for the resurrection…' Momonga felt his businessman-instincts flare up. 'Not bad… I'd get a pledge of loyalty from Bael house for free, which probably isn't worth much as I doubt devils are big on honoring pledges when they are not contracts… But I could probably use the chance to divide and conquer while putting house of Bael to such debt with the trade that- hm, no, that would effectively drive them against me. Perhaps… Hm… Ah, I should probably use that favor to establish favorable and profitable trade relations, with the majority of profits going to me, and that way tie house Bael's prosperity to me… In other words, if they betray me they're financially dependent on me and would cripple their economy…'
"Father, you have… A scary expression…" Gabriel whimpered quietly and it looked like the arch-angel was quite scared for some reason.
"It is quite alright. Father is contemplating the fate of devils- Such strictness is only to be expected when disciplining them." Michael reached to hold Gabriel's hand.
"Ah, I was just- ahem, yes, that was precisely what I was thinking about. Umu. Yes, you've seen right through me, Michael-san." Momonga remembered almost too late that he was not supposed to act too carelessly in front of the two arch-angels. "That being said, I have plans for the devils and house of Bael, and I need to, how should I say, handle some matters personally. Michael-san. Gabriel-san. Can I trust you two to work together and see to the paperwork? Please contact me if it gets too hard and I'll take over. Don't overexert yourself." 'Naturally, if they do contact me then I'll just pretend I didn't hear it… I've had enough paperwork for one life, thank you very much…'
"You're welcome…" Ddraig snarked but shut up as Momonga paid more attention to the dragon, specifically it's fatalistic and a bit self-flagellating tone.
"I see… I understand. We will not let you down, Father!" Michael and Gabriel gained determined expressions and fell upon the paperwork with frenzy, allowing Momonga to slip out in the commotion.
'Right, I'll just have to take care of these things… I told Serafall that I'd see to her needs when I'm done with my rounds… I think Serafall is going to take drastic action if I prolong it too much…' Momonga sighed and headed towards his Church. 'I need to assign my levels too, but…'
Momonga felt as if his desire to powergame had turned to resignation, and he actively refused to look into his character sheet unless he had somewhere to sit down. '...I'm pretty sure my [Actor] leveled up… In other words… My levels were likely auto-assigned, like last time…'
So, Momonga walked off towards his Church while sending Xenovia a message that he'd be checking up on Misla Bael. 'I should probably ensure I can actually heal her before I make grand declarations…'
.
.
Sairaorg looked at the imposing doors of the True God's Church.
He had decided to gather his Peerage and go down to the lakeside church in order to check up on his mother, as the devils loyal to him in Bael family had transferred her there to wait for her healing.
'...The iconography is somewhat concerning…' The Young Lord Bael wasn't sure what he felt as he looked at the sight of duo of statues that had a muscled body and a skull for a face, and the two of them made the 'gatekeepers' to the massive doors which were decorated with gold and painted violet, marking the main entrance to the Church of the True God.
Not to mention that it was a church, a place that was so anathemical to the very concept of devils that it sent a cold shiver down Sairaorg's spine against his better judgment. Even the fact the building existed was a physical sign of the change that was spreading across the Underworld.
"Um…" Kuisha looked as uncertain as Sairaorg felt. "My King…"
"I suppose we should head inside." Sairaorg sighed. "Stay on your guards, stick to me, if you get attacked stay defensive, and let me handle it. Alright- Let's go."
Sairaorg's Peerage nodded to Sairaorg, and he pushed the doors open.
"Welcome back, master-eh?" A chorus from three female voices greeted Sairaorg instantly as the doors opened.
He looked to see a trio of nun-clothed girls with haunted expressions and pale faces, and the trio were prostrating towards Sairaorg while shaking all over.
"I am not your master." Sairaorg instantly moved to damage control. "I am Sairaorg Bael. Lord of House Bael. Who are you?"
"I… am Raynare…" The middle-one looked up, and Sairaorg resisted the urge to take a step back from the haunted, tormented look in her blood-shot eyes. "You're… not… Momon-sama… Please, I don't care who you are, if you are a devil or angel… Please help us escape this horrid place… Please… I'll do anything…"
Kuisha squeezed Sairaorg's arm as she paled while looking at the condition of the three women. Specifically, the nun outfits were ridiculously skimpy and fetishistic, and it looked like the trio had balls-and-chain behind them.
'I won't rescue those three… I don't know what is going inside True God's cult, but if mother has been transported here… What have they done to her?!' Sairaorg put on a face of compassion while feeling like scum for forsaking the trio, and feeling incredible amounts of fear and concern for her mother.
"Tell me everything."
Sairaorg noticed that Kuisha paled further and further as the trio, or rather, two of the three nun-outfit wearing women cried their heart out while detailing all sorts of torments they had to endure in the 'Church'
The third one, a woman with large breasts and blue hair, meanwhile, looked like she had been entirely broken in and had actually enjoyed it.
'...I see the rumors were truthful. Kuisha…' Sairaorg sent a glance at his Queen who was pale and her eyes were glazed over, as if she was one revelation away from falling unconscious from fear and shock. "Kuisha. I need you, now more than ever. Yet, at the same time… What I have asked of you… I won't blame you if you refuse."
"I… I'm yours to command… I enter the den of the beasts out of my… free will…" Kuisha got out while shaking like a leaf.
"I'll try to haggle for you. And trade you back, as soon as I can. I will not let you down, my Queen." Sairaorg squeezed Kuisha's hand… And walked past Raynare and her two comrades, entering the church proper with his Peerage in tow.
Raynare turned around to look at Sairaorg in shock, revealing that she had a massive butt-plug ball-and-chain that anchored her on the spot and prevented her from fleeing. "Please! Please wait! Please take us with you! I beg of you! Don't… Don't leave us here… I'll do anything… please…"
Sairaorg's heart was, however, unmoved by the pitiful cries for help, as he had his own to take care of.
Yet, in his heart, Sairaorg knew dread.
Dread, and fear of what was to come.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone