章 72: 72. Conspiracy in Kuoh Town Part 2.
Kouske's POV
After I broke into the barrier I saw Greyrat holding Mark's neck tight trying to break it. I knew him through DeviNet because he was always seen alongside Lord Bael. Mark is actually a good friend. He has always been a nice and energetic guy in the group whenever I visited Cleria and her peerage. So I was a bit pissed off seeing him like that.
"Stop. I would worry more about my hand if I were in your place," I said before anyone could react, surprising them as the barrier broke.
"You?! What are you doing here?" Greyrat asked angrily, probably recognizing me.
"Akatsuki-san?!"
I heard Cleria whisper my name, but I didn't respond to Greyrat, seeing him still holding Mark.
So I created a knife through the absorption line coming from behind me. It snaked through the space ahead and cut off the hand holding Mark. Mark falls to the ground with a clear hand imprint on his neck.
"Aaarghhh! My hand!" screams Greyrat.
"I warned you," I said as I passed around D-rank healing potions to everyone so they could be completely healed, while Greyrat attempted to stop his bleeding by tightly wrapping his cut-off hand in a knot.
"Umm, Akatsuki-dono. How did you get here?" asks Hiroshi as he picks up his swords and aims at Greyrat.
"Well, it seems there's been a lot of unusual things going on in the city. None of the exorcists are here in town, and there's a suspicious communication-disrupting barrier around your house suddenly. So I came to check," I replied, knowing they were aware that I lived somewhere in the town.
"Thank you very much for your help," says Cleria as she bows slightly.
"No need for thanks. The guy is still kicking," I replied.
"Why are you intervening? This is the devil's internal conflict. This has nothing to do with you. Don't get ahead of yourself!" screams Greyrat with fake bravado, clearly scared. The poor guy might not have even been able to see how and when his hand was sliced.
"Oho? You think your trying to kill my friends has nothing to do with me?" I replied sarcastically, applying some force with my dragon aura that made him groan on the floor. The others were visibly pleased with my response.
"Akatsuki-san~..."
"Thank you very much for your help, Akatsuki-san. But I think I should handle the situation myself," mumbles Cleria in the last part, trying to act tough.
I really don't understand why all the devil heiresses are so stubborn and self-conscious, always trying to act tough and solve things even when they are out of their hands, while most of the devil heirs are a bunch of deluded, prideful douchebags.
Well, this DxD. It's normal here. I was honestly a little disappointed. So I did what any sensible person would do, and surprisingly, I was not the only one who felt that way.
"You would die now if he doesn't intervene, you idiot!" says Rangiku, after she and I bonked Cleria on the head with some force. She had tears at the corner of her eyelids.
"Sorry," Cleria whispered in shame.
"So why is Lord Bael's head butler trying to kill you guys? Did you do something to earn their ire or have some dirt on them?" I asked while still forcing Greyrat to the ground with my dragon aura.
All his efforts to get up were futile, and he was just yelling incessantly that the Baels wouldn't tolerate me much longer and kill me and whatever other nonsense he could think of.
So as I increased my pressure, he finally quieted down, eating dirt while more of my absorption lines turned into long needle-like spikes, entering through his bones. Then they burst into several other spikes inside the bones, destroying the bones almost completely.
The pain must have been incredible with the added poison, as he was trying to yell so hard but couldn't, his head buried in the dirt, so only his loud moans of pain could be heard. I mean, what did he expect after threatening me?
After that, Rangiku and Cleria told me a bit about Cleria's small adventure in the Bael territory and her findings about the illegal King pieces.
"Hmm. I think you should contact your brother. I don't believe the Great King Faction will leave you alone after discovering something so secretive of theirs," I advised Cleria.
But it appeared that Rangiku had already informed her family about this. Before Cleria could respond, a Belial clan magic circle illuminated, and Diehauser Belial appeared.
"Nii-san?!" Cleria exclaimed.
I half-expected a cliché scenario where he might try to attack me, assuming I was involved in all this. However, my perspective, likely shaped by anime, manga, and novels, proved to be off base.
Diehauser was aware of me and my previous assistance to Cleria and the others. He turned out to be very polite and appreciative.
After that, Cleria provided him with a quick explanation of what had happened and why. It was no surprise that he was furious about the Bael's attack and disillusioned with the entire rating game system, despite his love for it. The whole thing was just a hoax!
I also ceased my aggressive stance and stopped putting pressure on the poor Greyrat. His condition was not something pleasant to see. He was still groaning in pain.
It seemed like he wanted to scream at me but managed to hold back. His shock intensified when he saw Diehauser, his face turning extremely pale.
After that, what took place was a one-sided beatdown and interrogation. Surprisingly, the guy was very forthcoming with the details. He didn't even try to hide anything we already knew but revealed nothing new.
He was confident that the Baels would save him, repeatedly asserting that they wouldn't let Diehauser go so easily, even though he was the undefeated rating game champion.
He insisted that Diehauser couldn't do anything to the Great King Faction without concrete proof and that they would surely hunt Cleria and the others down, blah blah blah.
This only made Diehauser even angrier, and he kept punching Greyrat even harder, blood splatting everywhere. It was a gruesome scene.
This fool seriously believed that Diehauser wouldn't kill him for political reasons, even after trying to kill his sister. What a lack of brain cells! These foolish, prideful devils are seriously deluded and unable to see the bigger picture. They only think about politics and not about someone's emotional response.
Diehauser could actually cause significant damage to the Great King Faction if he wanted, especially if he joined the New Satan Faction. I'm sure Zekram would have killed this brain-dead idiot if he knew what he was saying and doing right now.
"Wait. To be honest, if they found out what happened here today, they would likely target Cleria and the others even more aggressively. They will also come after you if they know you found out about this. Plus, killing Greyrat might raise more suspicion and prompt them to investigate. I think you should focus more on gathering concrete proof against them first," I suggested to Diehauser, causing him to momentarily pause his brutal actions.
"So you're suggesting I just let him go, as he wants? He would undoubtedly report back to them if I released him," replied Diehauser, prompting Greyrat to smirk with what was left of his smashed, disfigured face, making him look hideous.
At this point, I didn't know whether to feel pity or disgust towards the guy. He certainly had resilience, that's for sure. Perhaps you have to endure and go through a lot to finally become the head butler of the number one devil clan in the entire Underworld.
"No, I can actually ensure that he'll never be able to say anything about you, and you can take your time collecting proof against the Great King Faction. Attacking them head-on would only lead to a large-scale war, and frankly, I'm not fond of wars. Meanwhile, you'll need to hide Cleria and her peerage. Create a scene here suggesting they died in the attack," I suggested.
Diehauser seemed angry and initially looked reluctant, but after hearing Cleria and the others' input, he relented. He realized that if right now he were to fight the Great King Faction alone, his clan would suffer greatly and could even face extinction. Understanding this, Diehauser relented and delivered a final angry punch to Greyrat's face.
"I suppose you're right. I'll choose to trust you, as Cleria said. I'll prepare the dummy bodies," said Diehauser.
Afterward, I attempted for the first time to establish a taming contract with Greyrat using a 100-0 percent contract, where he had 0 resistance against my will.
I stripped him of his previous free will and thinking, essentially making him act like his former self with the same memories but completely loyal to me like a puppet.
It was my first time using this technique on someone like this, and honestly, the ease with which I deprived someone of their will and turned them into a puppet was unsettling.
I didn't disclose the details to the others, only explaining that it was a type of long-lasting brainwashing facilitated by the beating he endured, which made it easier to accomplish.
After ensuring Greyrat was completely healed with a potion, I sent him back to the Underworld to deliver the news of their plan's success. Now I have a spy in the Bael clan.
"Normally I would have suggested a spar, but it seems I will be busy for a while. Thanks for all your help. Contact me if you ever need anything," he said, offering a handshake and a way to contact him.
"Sure, let's spar sometime. Bye then," I replied, shaking his hand and bidding farewell to everyone.
Following this, I departed, leaving Diehauser to handle the remaining tasks. He would be responsible for hiding Cleria and her peerage temporarily. I might suggest relocating them to the Demiplane eventually, as it's the safest place for them at the moment.
After a while, news of a pure-blood devil's death shook the Underworld. Many were surprised to hear that Cleria and her entire peerage had perished due to a strong Cluster consisting of three high-class devils and nine mid-class devils.
The threat and fear of Clusters were growing among the populace. Some felt sympathy for the unfortunate girl who encountered two powerful Clusters back to back, while others harbored suspicions about the circumstances.
Sera appeared more depressed upon learning of Cleria's death, often seeking solace in Sona. Unfortunately, I still couldn't tell her about Cleria.
She was more clingy and handsy as she frequented more often. She even placed some individuals for surveillance in the town, I believe.
However, people's attention soon shifted with the news of the birth of Satan Lucifer's firstborn child, Milicas, which brought widespread celebration throughout the Underworld.
Subsequently, the announcement of Diehauser joining the New Satan Faction caused a significant reaction, as he had previously focused solely on rating games and avoided political involvement. Someone like Zekram will surely suspect that Diehauser is at least suspicious of them.
Furthermore, I learned about the fight among the exorcists in Kuoh, resulting in many mutual casualties. The surviving exorcists from the opposite side fled and were subsequently declared as stray exorcists.
Uncle Touji informed the Church about the betrayal of the previous exorcist team recently stationed in Kuoh, who attempted to eliminate Uncle Touji and his comrades to silence their knowledge about this.
The Church, unable to identify the bribed higher-ups responsible for this, seemed eager to label the surviving exorcists as strays to avoid exposure. Even if they are aware of this corruption, other higher-ups may be unwilling or unable to act without concrete evidence, indicating widespread corruption within the Church.
Uncle Touji and the other exorcists found themselves under investigation and suspended, likely due to fears of repercussions from the rating game champion.
They are now removing all exorcists from Kuoh town to prevent any connection between Cleria's death and themselves. But thankfully due to Vasco Strada's intervention, they were not dubbed as strays.
It appears that the time has unexpectedly come to bid farewell to Irina. I never imagined I would miss her so much.
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