章 83: Plans of the Angels

A/N: Sorry about saying I was going to write but then not writing this last week guys, but this has legitimately been hell with yesterday being perhaps one of the worst days of my life.

I'm essentially forced to go to DC again next week as I'm the 'DC Guy' now, which sucks for a number of personal reasons but the biggest issue with this week was what happened yesterday (Friday, 10 March 2023, for those wondering in the future). With the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which my company used, a lot of stuff is going on with our finance department.

I have to pay for the entire DC trip myself, despite going there for work, which is thousands of dollars, including the flight, hotel, baggage fees, food, and other expenses. The company said they'd pay me back, but I honestly don't know when that is going to be, if ever. The job I just attempted to get in Texas probably just lost the ability to hire me and our department is still shutting down by the end of the year.

In the worst-case scenario, my company could go bankrupt if they can't move their money out of the bank and lose it, which is a challenge with all the stuff going on. I've already vested thousands of dollars in this company and if it goes bankrupt I will lose that investment too, plus, to top it all off, it will probably be months until they pay me back, so most of my savings have been wiped out.

What's worse is that I had a compensation adjustment meeting and bonus from last year that I was waiting on and had scheduled first thing on Monday which is probably never going to happen either. Perfect.

It's not like I'll be homeless or anything, even if I lose my job since I still live with my grandma, but still.

Gotta love capitalism. Another company goes bankrupt and I, who works for a different company, might lose my job through no fault of my own.

*Smashes Desk in frustration*

Anyways. I'm going to try to finish this fic this weekend or next weekend so I don't have the stress of having this story looming over my head anymore. Sorry if it's a bit rushed or sloppy, but I'm not in the perfect mindset to write right now.

I want to have my weekends back and be able to binge video games and anime and stuff.

Sorry for ranting about why life is unfair, and thanks for all the support recently.

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

.~.~.~.

(3rd POV)

(The Heavenly Star Palace)

"Damn him! That asshole (Alaster) is always getting in the way!" Feldway yelled as he stomped his foot into the floor as hard as he could.

The ground beneath his feet cracked and splintered as he did so before instantly being restored to its proper form not even a second later. This was the unique property of the Heavenly Star Palace. As the seat from which the god of the Multiverse resided, it would obviously have various magical effects, such as automatic, cleaning, repairs, and defensive abilities. As a matter of fact, if not for Feldway's status as leader of the Angels, then the Palace's defense systems would have activated and attempted to eliminate him then and there.

"Calm yourself, Feldway. We shall deal with him soon enough. That was one of the things I promised you when we first allied ourselves, wasn't it?" Michael commented.

Feldway took a deep breath and relaxed. "Yes... yes, you're right. We still have much work to do." He commented.

Michael nodded before looking over his shoulder at his gathered forces. Himself. The Seven Luminaries. Six of the Seven Angels of Origin. Mariabell Rosso, holder of the Unique Skill [Greed]. Against any other person, the force of these people alone would be more than enough to crush any enemy, no matter how powerful, but against Alaster, it wouldn't be nearly enough.

Michael needed more firepower, and he needed it fast. Alaster could show up inside their base at any time, so he needed to gather some more powerful allies to finally defeat the First Hero. Having Velzard join them was already a part of the plan, so he could count on being able to dominate her due to her possessing [Gabriel], however, attacking Alaster's wife first was risky. If they didn't succeed in capturing her immediately, Alaster would find out what their plan was and eradicate them. They were only safe right now because of how generally passive Alaster is to people who do not directly target innocent civilians or his family, though he wasn't neglectful, so at best they only had a few days before he showed up and it would all be over.

The other target who needed to be considered was Velgaia, one of Alaster's 'daughters'. It is likely attacking her would result in the same response. Worse still, it was unlikely she'd have an Ultimate Skill of the Angelic Series herself, so capturing her quickly and quietly wasn't even an option like it was for Velzard.

Feldway's friend, the True Giant Fenn, one of Michael's trump cards, could probably be trusted to either convert or eliminate Dagruel, which would eliminate another powerful player from the board. It would be good if he could convert him, but eliminating one of the strongest of the Demon Lords would also be preferable to leaving it alone.

Then there was Zelanus. The bug had hated Alaster for a long time, as his presence on the Magic Continent and his crusades to protect the southern coasts from Insectar incursions is what kept the bugs from expanding their nests. Zelanus was strong. Strong enough to be considered a threat to Feldway and him if not kept in check, but ironically, Alaster's own actions have made the insectar king into their ally.

Michael hoped he'd be able to play Zelanus against someone who he would otherwise prove too difficult to handle otherwise. Veldanava's Daughter Milim would be a good choice. It would give the bug a shot at 'revenge' for stalling the insectar plans for so long by killing another one of Alaster's daughters. Plus, if Milim, Veldanava's beloved daughter was on the brink of death, perhaps the Creator would show up to protect her. Then the whole farse would be put to an immediate close. If not, it's not like God couldn't create another child if he wanted to.

Then there was Alaster's little second lover, Evelyn. If Michael was being honest she was only barely passable in terms of strength, though his domination over her due to her possession of [Sariel] had made her into an incredibly useful tool. Surely her betrayal will give Alaster pause long enough to deliver a fatal blow. Especially since he wouldn't know about the domination circuit. Her desires boiling over and causing the betrayal would be a much more likely excuse and leave Alaster disheartened, though for it to be believable, Michael would need to pull some strings.

Feldway watched as Michael pondered the exact details of the plan he was formulating. The plan they currently had for Alaster was already solid, but considering Alaster's strength was now such that he could withstand Feldway's {Chrono Saltation}, then he has grown far too powerful for their original scheme to work. They'd need to revise it, and Michael was the perfect person for that. The coming fight would be far from easy, but if nothing else, it would make Feldway's eventual victory over Alaster even sweeter.

For now, though, Feldway knew it was not the time to move. All of their plans had failed, and this was mostly due to the weakness of their pawns. Feldway needed to strengthen the pieces he already had before returning them to the gameboard. Thankfully, such a thing would be easy. Rudra had saved up plenty of energy already. [Armageddon] could be used without any point.

While 2 Million Angels would be a daunting force, even for Alaster to face, in this world, Quality far outstrips Quantity and no number of low-ranking angels would be able to harm Alaster. At best they'd be a time sync as he could only slaughter so many at once and would have to waste his time on that. However, if the commanders of those units, the Seraphim, were able to be incarnated into powerful bodies, then the playing field would not be as uneven as it currently was.

"We should incarnate some Seraphim into our 'friends' here," Feldway suggested to Michael, motioning towards the gathered troops.

Michael smiled. "Yes. This will work. This will work perfectly." He said with an evil grin on his face.

Michael took a step forward and raised his arms to the heavens, calling out the name of his ability with seeming reverence. "[Armageddon]!" He sang.

The world vibrated and shook. The light from the stars in the sky bent and twisted as the peaceful clouds in the air began to swirl in a violent torrent before suddenly having their momentum arrested. The sky split and a golden, holy light shone down upon the Heavenly Star Palace.

Torrents of hundreds, then thousands, then Millions of Angels spewed forth from the crack in reality and descended upon the Palace grounds. The once squabbing Angels and Luminaries all quieted as they looked upon the heavenly procession descend. They watched in awe as they all landed and knelt before the seemingly omnipotent Micahel and bowed deeply in submission to him.

"Nothing in this world or any other will stop us now... not even him," Feldway muttered with a mad smile on his face.

...

(Mariabell POV)

'Where am I?' I thought.

I couldn't 'see' anything, but I felt a warm light enveloping my body and soul. I felt a torrent of power circling inside me, spurring me forward. The power seemed infinite in its quantity and pristine in its quality.

'If I have this power I could get back at them!' I thought as a wicked smile appeared on my lips. 'I could take everything from them! Everything! I wouldn't need to scheme in the shadows or fear the retribution of others. Even that 'hero' and that 'slime' wouldn't get in my way!' I thought as the power inside me circulated.

<<Do you want my power?>> I heard a voice ask, seemingly coming from all around me. Somehow, I knew this voice and the power surrounding me were from different sources.

My mood changed. 'What do you mean?' I asked.

I was no fool. There was nothing free in this world. If there was, I'd have already taken it. This voice which offered me power wouldn't be any different. I'd be giving something up by taking whatever additional power it offered to me.

<<I offer it to you, little one. Freely.>>

I was sure of it now. Whatever this entity was, it was trying to win me over with an offer I couldn't refuse. It was probably wishing to dominate me by threatening to take its power back if I refused or failed it. It wasn't a bad idea. I would often do the same, but that didn't mean I was so naive as to allow it.

'Very well. I will take your power.' I replied back to it.

<<I see. Then all you need do is->> It began.

'I don't think you understand. I said I will TAKE your power. I never said I'd allow you to give it to me!' I said as I forced my will upon the entity.

<<What are you-?>> It asked, confused.

'I take everything and give nothing back. For that is who I am! I am Mariabell! Mariabell the Greedy!' I shouted as I pulled the entity inside myself.

Then, the Voice of the World rang out.

<<Confirmed. Conditions satisfied. Unique Skill [Greed] has evolved into Ultimate Skill [Mammon: King of Greed]>>

I opened my eyes.

"It seems I was worried for nothing." The angel in front of me said before moving on.

Just then, the memories rushed back to me. I was brought, by my Grandfather Granbell, to a place known as the Heavenly Star Palace after leading the assault against the capital city of Rune. Supposedly it was the home of the creator dragon of the universe or something, but I wasn't listening. One look at it and I knew I had to have it. It was a place so beautiful that it could never be described in words. A painter would go blind just trying to put its eminence onto parchment. A musician would go mute trying to sing of its majesty.

It was a place worthy only of me. I would do anything to have it.

That was why, when I was told to be useful and to take a Seraphim into my being, I did so without hesitation. I didn't care that my childish body only had a 50% chance of surviving the process with my soul intact due to this forced awakening. I knew I'd survive and gain untold strength. Enough to crush my enemies and take this place for myself.

"Mariabell. Are you alright?" My Grandfather asked.

I looked up at him and smiled. "Yes, Grandfather! I feel so much more powerful!" I said as I flexed my power.

I was ten, no, at least twelve times stronger than I was before. I far surpassed the power of the Demon Lords now. /2\

Not only that. My Unique Skill had seemingly evolved into an Ultimate Skill. If the name was anything to go by, then my already overpowered ability has gained further powers and features. There was nothing stopping me from becoming the strongest in the future. Unfortunately, it seems I wasn't the only one who evolved like this. My Grandfather had also taken the power of a Seraphim into himself and from my estimates, still had twice my own energy values, but that was fine.

I felt it in my bones.

[Mammon] could be used to steal more power, and soon I'd be unstoppable. Not even that Angel who was our 'leader' would be able to stop me in the future. I'd be a Goddess. It was only suitable, after all, this place was built for a god, and it would soon be mine, but for now, I needed to bide my time. Even 'I' couldn't win against everyone here all coming at me at once. But that was fine. I was a patient woman.

In time, everything would fall into the hands of Mariabell the Greedy!

...

(Feldway POV)

I watched as the Luminaries and Angels of Origin entered the meeting room and took their seats. They had all grown stronger than even Awakened Demon Lords now that all of them had assimilated the Seraphim that were summoned.

I smiled. With this, we would not fail again. Even the Demon Lords, who were only minor threats to the plan, could now be ignored, as they would easily be crushed otherwise. Additionally...

I turned my head and saw my friend Fenn sitting beside me. A big, confident smile on his face as he watched our incoming subordinates. I could tell he was far stronger than any of them, but he still looked like he wanted to fight but was baring with it for now. To his left, just past Fenn, was the insectar king Zelanus, one of the Demon Lords and strongest beings in this world. He had agreed to join our cause if he was given the Magic Continent after our battle as a breeding ground for his children.

Michael had agreed, seeing this as a 'small thing' in exchange for his help. He had also told me privately that if Fenn was successful at gaining Dagruel's support, then the Giants would also rampage about in a bid to secure the continent as their territory and that the two would eventually clash, hopefully annihilating each other and causing the world to crumble. Zelanus would prove to be a good sparing partner for Fenn, as they were roughly equal. Fenn has the upper hand in terms of pure magical power while Zelanus is superior in terms of skill and technique.

I smiled lightly at this before turning to my other side and saw Michael sitting there. He was calm and collected, like he always was, but I could tell that he approved of our new forces.

By now, everyone had taken their seats and were now quietly listening. Waiting for our orders on where to go and who to kill.

"Good. Now, shall I inform each of you of our plans?" Michael asked.

Several people nodded their heads.

"Our one and only goal is the revival of our one true Master, Veldanava," Michael said, waiting for everyone to absorb the information.

The room was filled with small murmurs of disbelief and doubt, but I decided to ignore them. Their feelings on this didn't matter, so long as they helped us accomplish our goals.

"Shocking yes, however, now is not the time to be in a stupor," Michael said, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "Despite all of our power, the real threat lies with someone everyone in this room knows. Alaster."

There was silence. I clenched my fists. It was true that the human had far outgrown his station of being humanity's protector. He had become more powerful than even the lesser True Dragons. Even I, in my true body, would have difficulty dealing with him, so it wasn't surprising that no one objected to Michael's claim that he was the biggest obstacle, being that he was the strongest.

"Heh! Even if I'd lose, I'd still like to fight him myself." Fenn commented.

"Alaster is not an opponent that can be treated lightly. He can single-handedly defeat any of the active True Dragons in combat and is married to the strongest one who is currently in this world." Zelanus mentioned in a bitter tone.

"That is true. Even with my new power, I doubt I'd survive a minute in a fight with him, however, Rimuru is also just as dangerous." Granbell commented.

I frowned. Just because he is the head of the Luminaries doesn't mean he's earned the right to speak with us as equals. I was about to launch into a tirade at him when Michael raised his hand in front of me and stopped me.

"It's fine, Feldway." He commented to which I calmed down. He was right. It didn't matter at the end of the day.

"Back on topic. We already have a plan to deal with him, however, if it were to fail, then he would come for us here immediately. As a matter of fact, the only reason he hasn't stopped us yet is due to his passive nature." Michael explained.

Dino raised his hand and was acknowledged by Michael with a nod. "I don't know this plan or anything, but why can't we just make Alaster our ally? He was just as devastated about Veldanava's disappearance as we all were. Surely he'd only help us, no?" He asked.

Michael smiled slightly at Dino's words. "No. He must be eliminated." He responded without any room for argument in his words, to which Zelanus nodded his head in approval.

"May we at least know the reason?" Zalario asked.

Michael nodded. "The only way to revive our lord is to combine the Dragon Factors of all the True Dragons." He explained.

"I see..." Zalario responded.

"Why is that an issue?" Mariabell asked.

"The True Dragon Velzard is his wife and the process will greatly weaken her, if not kill her," I replied.

Mariabell looked taken aback before smiling somewhat evilly. I had a feeling that she had just thought something blasphemous and frowned, however, the girl was saved when my attention was drawn away from her by another comment from Michael. /3\

"Additionally, he is an entity that does not belong in Veldanava's creation," Michael said with disgust in his voice.

"""!?!?""" Everyone looked baffled and confused by what Michael had said, though I already knew.

"Regardless, he is a thorn in our side, and eliminating him was part of the terms of our alliance with Zelanus," Michae said, gesturing to the insectar.

"Without him, my conquest of the Magic Continent will succeed without fail," Zelanus said.

I shook my head. "Now is not the time for the 'why' of it. It is the time for the 'how'" I commented. "What is the plan?"

Michael took a moment to calm down before pulling up a map of the entire Central World. There were several dots of various colors, located all over the place, each representing a different target.

First of all, we are on a time crunch, so everyone will move simultaneously to accomplish our objectives. We will be moving in two stages. The first will be our initial assault to corner and kill Alaster, and the second will be to keep his allies from sending reinforcements to help him," Michael explained.

"First of all, Kornu. You're going to go to the territory of Alaster's eldest daughter, the Demon Lord Lilith. Take an army of 100,000 Angels with you to keep her locked in place. It is likely she would go to her father in his time of need and I need to reduce the number of variables on the battlefield."

"Alright. I'll kill her while I'm at it!" Kornu said with a smile.

"If you do, at least do it slowly. Your assault is largely to keep his mind distracted while he is fighting us and will happen simultaneously with Fenn's assault on Dagruel." Michael ordered.

"Don't worry! I'll knock some sense into that big brother of mine and he'll come to our aide." Fenn said, punching his open palm.

"How will that help us?" Asked Dino

"Dagruel's forces will then march on Luminous' forces and force her into conflict. This will keep her away from Alaster. We can't risk her power of revival being used on Alaster once he's been killed." Michael said.

"That's true. I'm not sure how she did it, but Luminous, in combination with Demon Lord Rimuru, was able to somehow revive Hinata even after her soul had disappeared. I doubt we'll get out of this with no casualties, so if they revive Alaster anyway, we'll be back to square one, but even weaker than before and our hope for survival will be zero." Granbell commented. /4\

Everyone looked slightly shocked at this but said nothing. It should be impossible to revive someone if their soul isn't available, but everyone here had learned that nothing was impossible in this world Veldanava had built.

"It would have been easier if you had killed her the first time and dealt with Rimuru too, or at the very least, escaped with Chronoa." I hissed at him.

Granbell narrowed his eyes and glared at me but said nothing to retort.

"Anyway, Fenn. Take the Luminaries with you. Ensure Luminous does not escape." Michael ordered.

"Right away boss!" Fenn nodded.

"Next, Dino, Pico, Gracia. You three shall accompany Feldway and me as we attack Amrita. We will be bringing 900,000 angels." Michael stated.

"That's a lot of firepower your bringing isn't it?" Dino asked.

"Of course it is. This is the battlefield Alaster will most likely run to, especially if it seems to be our 'main assault', right?" Michael said with a smirk. "His house is there and so is his little elvish lover. It is likely Velzard would come to his aide, so this much is needed."

"I see, so we need the big hitters to capture Velzard," Dino said understandingly.

"That too, but I will also lay the trap that will kill Alaster there," Micahel stated.

Everyone was a bit surprised by this, as surely the forces he brought wouldn't be enough to do that, especially if Velzard and Evelyn were there. Seeing their faces and wanting to boast a bit about how Michael planned to kill the world's strongest man, Michael gave them a cryptic hint. "I truly can't wait to see his face when the ones he trusts most turn on him."

A shiver ran down everyone's backs as they heard the evil dripping out of Michael's voice at that moment. /5\

"What about me? Should I also go with you to face them?" Zalario asked.

"No. I am sending you, along with a Million angels to Sarion. True Hero Leon is there, along with the True Dragon Velgaia. You are to capture her after she expends most of her magic power killing the angel hordes." Michael commanded.

"I can do that, though I could use a hand with it. Comanding a Million Angels while fighting a True Hero and True Dragon will be tough even for me." Zalario commented.

"I can go, then." Granbell offered. "It will take time for the Giants to organize an assault on Ruberios and actually travel there, right? I can defeat that upstart Leon and still have the time to make it to fight Luminous." He said, seemingly boasting about his prowess.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Are you looking for some kind of achievement to make up for your blunder with Chronoa? Even if we are successful, it is likely Veldanava will punish us all anyway when he returns." I replied.

Granbell shook his head. "That isn't it. It would be a shame to have betrayed my Mistress (as in female master, not a lover) and Wife only to fail in the end. I'll need to apologize in the afterlife to Maria already, I'd rather not have her laugh at me too." He replied with confidence.

I kept looking into his eyes for any signs of falsehood before giving up. His eyes were full of conviction. It truly was an amazing thing, the full extent of the domination which [Michael] can have over a person. At first, his motivation was just to help Rudra, which made his domination make some amount of sense, but we are clearly not Rudra and he still follows us so devoutly.

"That's fine. It seems Leon has an Ultimate Skill of the Angel Series anyway. If you engage him for some time, then I can just use the connection between us to dominate him and then the three of you can capture Velgaia's Dragon Factor." Michael said.

"Why not go there yourself with a [Parallel Body]?" Dino asked.

"I will need all the power I can get in dealing with Alaster," Michael said, shaking his head.

"And what is my goal?" Zelanus asked.

"You shall attack Demon Lord Milim with all of your forces," Michael said.

"And why would I do that?" Zelanus asked.

"She is Veldanava's biological child, so she is quite strong," Michael stated before his smile turned cruel again. "Besides, Alaster adopted her and raised her as his own."

"I see. Killing her would be suitable for both my growth and for revenge against Alaster." Zelanus replied.

'And in the absolutely best case scenario, seeing his daughter's peril, Veldanava may return to protect her.' I completed Michael's unspoken sentence in his mind, though I knew all Six of the Angels of Origin were also thinking the same thing.

"Hmm. The insectars have always been prepared for our Great Crusade, but it will still take us several hours to arrive in Milim's domain." Zelanus commented.

"I expected as much. As it happens, I think the timing will line up with when the Giants attack Ruberios." Michael concluded.

"What should I do then?" Mariabell asked.

"I know you've awakened [Greed] into [Mammon]," Michael replied immediately, putting the little girl off-guard as her deepest secret was laid bare so plainly as though to show it wasn't that big of a deal.

Michael smiled seeing her reaction. "Stick with Granbell. I believe the Hero Family of El Ru may be in Sarion, and while they are the weakest of the True Heroes, they may still have skills that will prove to be problematic. Plunder their skills and kill them if they get in the way." Michael ordered.

Mariabell grit her teeth for a moment before calming down. "Very well..." She said, obviously trying to force back her discontent with the order. It may not have been obvious to her, but she was the weakest one here. The only useful thing about her was her Skill. Michael even debated whether or not to kill her and take it, as it could be used as another vector to absorb True Dragon Essence, but decided it was best to have her on our side for now. We can always take it later.

"Now then. Everyone has their assignments. We will begin immediately, as time isn't on our side." Michael said, ending the meeting.

Dino sighed. "This is going to be troublesome... Don't die, guys." He said to the room, though I got the impression it was only to Pico and Gracia.

I smirked. "We have justice on our side and fight for God himself. How could we fail?"

.~.~.~.

/1\:

In canon, everyone who died were revived by Kagali and became Mystic Angels with Deathman bodies. In my AU, since they were all still alive, they became Nephilim instead, as their bodies were all Enlightened Humans (or Saints in the case of Granbell).

/2\:

She is just high on her own power, she is still weaker than the top-tier demon Lords like Guy, Milim, Dagruel, and Rimuru.

/3\:

Mariabell's plan is to steal the Dragon Factors for herself so as to gain the power of 'the creator' and become a Goddess.

/4\:

Granbell doesn't know HOW Hinata came back to life and doesn't know about the time-travel loop. To him, he killed Hinata, her soul disappeared and then, somehow Luminous and Rimuru brought her back after Rimuru calmed down the rampaging Chronoa.

/5\:

The animosity the World System had for Alaster was inherited, in some small part, by Michael.