Chương 74: Chapter 74: But the campers turn out to be a cult
Momonga gathered the two Peerages together as the joint-training between Sona's and Momonga's Peerages came to an end.
Momonga had wondered if he should arrange a new 'pseudo-Rating Game' to test the results of the training, but decided to ultimately postpone it for later date as Sona looked like she couldn't take it anymore. Momonga couldn't blame her as in retrospect the initial mock battle was somewhat cruel, albeit necessary for him to check the respective strengths of the two Peerages and experiment with the 'normal' battlescape of the Ero-world.
'Hm… Then again, Sona's Peerage was so weak that I can't really draw many conclusions… It seems that instead of focusing on strong teams, the battle-scape seems to form around single powerful entities, like Serafall, while raid parties or Peerages are relegated to support roles…' Momonga thought about the lessons he had learned from the joint training exercise and reflected it against his prior combat 'experience' from YGGDRASIL. 'It makes sense in a way, I suppose, that the strong entities form the backbone of any engagements in the Ero-World, and the battle unfolds more like two raid bosses engaging each other than as two player parties engaging each other in PVP… I should keep this in mind when I formulate strategies.'
Sona was pale as she walked slightly behind Momonga while Ravel walked beside her, and Rias walked beside Momonga while Rossweisse trailed behind the group and was sending the three girls odd, almost evaluating and analyzing looks. The rest of the two Peerages followed their lead in a somewhat disorganized mish-mash of humans-turned-devils.
The group walked through the forest in the Phenix territory to their 'staging area', and gathered up their belongings and baggage that they had brought with them for the training. Afterwards Momonga asked Rias to form a teleporting circle back to Phenix castle-mansion so the two groups could get some rest.
"You're too exhausted to teleport us?" Momonga asked as Rias groaned.
"I trained with Akeno for too long…" Rias explained.
'Ah. I understand.' Momonga tilted his head at Rias as the reason for her exhaustion came to light. Rias seemed to read Momonga's face and blushed to her eyebrows.
"No, I wasn't doing that with Akeno! We're not dating! And I don't do that as a form of training!" Rias waved her hands in front of her face to dissuade the idea. "Akeno! Back me up!"
"Ufufu… Rias-chan was so rough… I can't feel my boobs… My butt hurts… It's a good pain…" Akeno chuckled while Rias blushed to her hairline. "Ahaha… Ara, Rias-chan has such a cute blush. But no, Momon-sama, we weren't doing that. I thought I already told you that?"
"I… see." Momonga felt that Akeno's words were a bit dishonest considering the cases where he had caught the two girls mid-deed, but decided that he didn't want to prod further for the sake of his sanity. It didn't really worry him if Rias and Akeno had an affair or not, after all, since that had been one of the main reasons why Akeno was technically in his 'harem'. "Hm, Sona? Can you create a teleporter for us?"
"Yes, master…" Sona breathed out faintly, causing Momonga to pause from the flatness of the girl's voice. And the way she referred to him.
'...Hm, I may have to have a talk with Sona soon…' Momonga sighed as Sona created a huge teleportation circle that enveloped the two Peerages and deposited them in a huge courtyard in the Phenix castle-mansion that had been decorated with gold and red cloth… Or rather, had been decorated with gold and red cloth, but the red cloth had been replaced with deep bluish-violet cloth akin to that of the character 'Momonga's emblem background.
'...Hm.' Momonga paused as he noticed Dominion Authority in the distance from the elevated view of the mountainside-courtyard that had been built to accommodate Devils, who'd arrive either through flight or teleportation and thus the space resembled a landing pad more than a traditional courtyard. He then noticed that the eight-winged Angel was directing a group of devils in what looked like a construction effort, albeit the construction in this case seemed to be mostly completed and the construction workers were filing in for a communion.
"Is that… A church?" Rias asked a bit warily as she spotted the building in the distance.
"Ah, yes. The Church of the True God." Xenovia seemed to perk up. "Dominion Authority-sama has voiced its desire to have a place that would be proper for preaching the teachings of the True God, and from what I understand, it received permission to build one by the lakeside…"
"Haa… This True God-business again..." Rias sent a look at Momonga. "...Are you sure that's alright? I mean, that angel is resurrecting the dead, so it's not a big stretch that they'd think of you as a god-ow… But are you happy that the ideology is spreading? Whatever the Great Red did to you didn't make you a full-blown god-ow, right?"
'...The Dominion Authority is preaching my teachings? What would those be?'Momonga started to sweat quite a bit as he realized that the Angel had probably taken creative liberties with his orders again while he was hand waving Rias's concerns. 'I did tell it to tone down its preaching a bit, and try to market my 'healing and resurrections' more as a ware than as a freely given thing… Well, it did ask for payment, and that payment was eternal loyalty to me, which I suppose is somewhat acceptable, but I should probably explain to it that I'd also like it if that payment was made in money as well… It's hard to eat loyalty after all. Although, I don't need to eat…'
He, however, was more concerned with the 'teachings' part, as that could lead to a whole oil-drum of worms as opposed to the can of worms the angel had already created. '...I'll have to confront it. This could devolve into something really bad...'
"Sorry, but it seems like I'll have to go and talk to the angel I summoned. Umu… Xenovia-san? Irina-san? Could I trouble you to accompany me?" Momonga decided to face the problem head-on. "Rias, could I trouble you to lead the rest of my Peerage to recuperate and relax from today's training? Sona-san, um, there are vacant rooms in the Peerage quarters if you wish for them to stay…"
"Sure" "Yes, master…" The two girls responded. Momonga ignored how Ravel was chuckling darkly at Sona's state.
Rossweisse seemed to take a step towards Momonga, but he put his hands on her shoulders. "Rossweisse-san, please accompany Rias and relax. Today's happenings must have tired you so please rest. We can't jeopardize the child's growth by overworking you."
"Y-yes, of course…" Rossweisse seemed guilty as she followed Rias, who sent the girl a flat look.
"Haa… Well, I suppose we should postpone our talk regarding Rossweisse and her position…" Rias sighed at Momonga before she and the rest of Momonga's Peerage, sans Xenovia and Irina, left the courtyard alongside Sona's Peerage.
Momonga felt a twinge of regret as Koneko sent him a flat, dirty and disgusted stare while she was holding to the top of her head in a protective manner as her cat-like features were now invisible and her mental state was back to normal.
'I'll make it up to her…' Momonga sighed. "Right, let's go."
He cast [Gate] in front of him, since Odin's spy had left the area, and walked into the swirling wormhole-like rift that opened, flanked by the two ex-Exorcists. Or rather, Xenovia dragged Irina in as the latter seemed more than a little wary of entering unknown portals.
Momonga had considered using the transportation spell to move his and Sona's Peerages back to the Phenix territory, but had decided against it due to Rossweisse's presence. While he knew Odin knew he was fairly high level due to the Rating Game, he was fairly sure that Odin didn't know what his specializations were nor what level those were- After all, a Warrior couldn't cast [Gate], and and a damage-dealer build pyromancer might not have [Hold Species] unless they did PVP and had spare spell slots. So while Momonga knew Odin knew that Momonga was high-level 'avatar' through the Rating Game, Momonga still had the option of trying to confuse Odin as to what exact 'build' he had.
'I should probably see about using fire and venom to make Odin think I'm some sort of hybrid pyromancer-venomancer build based on the Rating Game… It'd be hard to explain the [Great Malediction: Curse-Killing Poison] otherwise…' Momonga sighed at his carelessness as he walked in the [Gate]'s dimensional tunnel.
The trio was deposited in front of the church the Dominion Authority was building.
"My Lord! I am overjoyed that-"
"Yes, however, please explain what you're doing?" Momonga asked the Angel before it could start its litany of praise for Momonga for doing nothing but existing in its general vicinity. "Ahem, also, I have brought these two to you. I believe you have met?"
"The Mothers of the Coming Age… Paladins of Righteousness, who serve as your burning blades and crushing hammers…" The Dominion Authority spread its wings wide.
"Quite, quite. Please call them Xenovia Quarta and Irina Shidou." Momonga got into a habit of interrupting the angel before it could go into full-blown rant. "Anyway, Xenovia-san and Irina-san have experience about churches and whatnot, so I'd like you three to share your knowledge."
"Of course, my lord-" The Dominion Authority began once more.
" And I'd like to talk about these 'teaching's you're… hm, spreading." Momonga told the Angel. 'It sees me as a god, but as the Overlord Wiseman has proved during the engagement ceremony, my summons can act against my orders so I should be just a bit careful when breaking the news that I don't want to be seen as a god-ow to it… But those teachings are a bit concerning, as it's very easy to go from an idol to an outcast if I don't know the teachings and go against them. Hypocrisy is poison to leadership.'
"These 'summons' seem to have quite strong loyalty to you." Ddraig noted from inside Momonga's head. "Have you considered actually donning the mantle of a minor god? It is, after all, a name given to beings that cover a specific niche of things in pantheons. And moreover, it is more or less just a title given by humans to beings that seem omnipotent to them."
'I'd rather be seen as a…'
"A CEO of a successful company, right? But have you considered that you can become both?" Ddraig noted. The dragon seemed to have recovered from the trip to the lake of ink and was using its claws to scribble something into the dust-covered flat that was Momonga's mental-scape. "I mentioned this before, but I'll flip out if you become a nine-to-five salaryman or something as boring as that. You have the power, you have the equipment from what I know, and you have loyal underlings, so aim high!"
Momonga shook off the dragon's suggestions, but did note that if he became both a semi-religious figure and a business leader then he could both market his wares to an incredibly receptive crowd, and also possibly use the religion to prop up the business if it started to fail for some reason. However, he was still a bit wary about the possible fall- After all, religion was a fickle and easily appropriated affair. Neo-Japan of 2135 had been chock-full of preachers and so-called spiritual leaders to 'help' people cope with the harshness of life by deluding them in assured better future, but in reality majority of the drives had been just money-collecting affairs that aimed to funnel what little the poor had into the pockets of the preachers. And it wasn't unusual to hear a lynching or two if the preachers managed to turn their croweds against them, or the preaching turned anti-corporate and the corporate 'infiltrators' appropriated the message and turned the crowd against their preachers.
However, Momonga had always looked at the situation from being one of the 'preached', as his social situation hadn't been exactly stable, but now he was starting to consider the situation as him being a 'preacher'... And unlike the preachers of his past, he'd have the benefit of having the loyalty of his summons and considerable difference in power between the rank-and-file devil and himself.
"Uuuuhhhh…. You know, nevermind. I retract my previous statement. Dammit, you manage to corrupt everything you touch unless it's lewd somehow..." Ddraig seemed to follow Momonga's trail of thoughts and became frustrated. "2135? That's in the future… What kind of alternate reality hellhole did I drag you here from? Wait, is that our future hellhole? With you in the lead… Oh no."
'No, nothing like that.' Momonga handwaved Ddraig. 'You're overthinking this.'
Ddraig, however, was lost in his own despair. So Momonga focused his attention back on the Dominion Authority who seemed to be waiting patiently while Xenovia and Irina had started to poke Momonga's host body's nose in an attempt to get his attention. "I'm back."
"My apologies for interrupting your contemplations." Xenovia apologized as she pulled her hand back. "Please accept my body as a recompensation."
"Haa… Anyway, explain the teachings you're preaching to the devils." Momonga turned his attention back to his summoned angel.
"I was, at first, unsure of what direction thee wished thine flock to take." Dominion Authority explained. "However, I sought guidance from thee in my time of need."
'...Wait.'
"And after reflecting on the actions my Lord took, I found the teachings thee wished to impart to the flock following thine majesty." The Angel finished. "That of love, life, and fertility."
"...Oh." Momonga froze on the spot. '...Don't tell me…'
"So I preach to the devils to follow thine path into a bright future under thine rule!"The eight-winged angel seemed proud while Xenovia looked impressed and Irina looked awkward.
'...I have become the pretend-god of unprotected sex, haven't I?' Momonga felt defeated.
Then he looked past the angel as it opened the door of the 'church', and Momonga's fears were confirmed as he looked at the occupants.
'...This ero-world…' Momonga sighed while Xenovia nodded at the sight, and Irina blushed up to her eyebrows. '...Those nun outfits seem pretty inappropriate, and I'm fairly sure that the dress is not supposed to be barely long enough to cover their butt…'
"Would the Lord humor this humble servant and allow me to show thee around this humble church?" The Dominion Authority glided into the church that was large enough to even allow the massive angel to enter.
"...Sure, go ahead." Momonga sighed. '...After all, I could have stopped this if I acted earlier, faster, or was even more specific when ordering Dominion Authority the first time… I can't just keep running away and tossing the problems for other people to solve, I'll need to take responsibility for my actions.'
He followed the Angel in after pulling the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] out of his inventory to better reinforce his 'status', even if his Neo-Japan sensibilities begged him not to go in...
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"...And that's roughly the report I got from Vali, who I sent to spy on a group called 'Khaos Brigade' after a seperate mole, a maid, learned that a servant of the 'Supreme being' had joined them and brought that information to me. That mole is dead, by the way, and was reportedly eaten by that same servant, so you should at least appreciate this information." A disembodied voice explained through a dark green communication magic circle that was floating above Sirzechs's desk.
Another magical circle, this time pure white and rimmed by yellow light, pulsated. "...Yet, the words of the betrayers are always suspect. Perhaps you seek to disrupt this peace deal before it can be made, Azazel?"
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. However, Azazel-san came forth willingly with this information that Vali procured." Sirzechs interrupted before the representative and current ruler of the Heavens, Michael, and the representative and current ruler of the Fallen, Azazel, could start bickering through the communication-circles. "While I understand that none of us trusts this information enough that we'd postpone or rearrange the peace talks, we should keep this information in mind and make preparations in case it holds true. After all, a peace conference is a prime target for ambush, and it'd be bad if all three of us assumed the other two parties were responsible and we devolved into open war because of it."
"...Quite true." The white circle pulsated, while the green one conveyed a sigh.
"Bah, no-one trusts the Fallen… Oh, the humanity…" Azazel's melodrama was clear in his voice. "But if we are serious for a moment, I doubt anyone here wants war, least of all me, so we should at least keep this ambush possibility in our minds and not start attacking each other the moment something odd happens, alright?"
"I'm fine with it." Sirzechs acted as the mediator, even though he had some pointedwords to say to Azazel for the attack on the Underworld. The reason he managed to hold them back, however, was because Momon's Angel had apparently managed to resurrect the devils that had been killed during the fight, and had not resurrected the Fallen, meaning that the attack had been a crushing defeat for the Fallen Angels.
"...In addition, we have learned that there are new angels in the Human World. Specifically in Kuoh, which is territory that is governed by Devils." A voice came from the Heaven's circle. "We have not approached them out of respect for our treaty, not to mention how delicate the situation is currently and us treading in your territory might be seen as… provocative, but I'd like to ask you, Sirzechs, why are the angels there, are why they in your race's territory? I won't believe for a moment that you aren't aware of them nor that you wouldn't have expelled them from your territory the moment you learned of their presence so close to where your sister goes to 'school'. Or rather, to prey on Humans, like the rest of your wicked race."
"It's a… long story." Sirzechs dodged the question as the situation was a bit unknown for him as well. He also ignored the frustration in Michael's voice, as the fact Devils had the 'Peerage system' meant that they were the only one of the Three Factions who had a decent 'replenishment' rate for population.
"I would like to hear it."
"At the peace conference, then." Sirzechs postponed the inevitable, causing Michael's voice to sigh in exasperation while Azazel's sigil was silent, which meant that the Fallen Angel was listening carefully.
Moreover, Sirzechs knew about the angels in Kuoh, or rather in Momon's estate, which in turn revealed to him why the angels were present… but he wasn't sure if he wanted to explain the whole Momon situation to the Heavens just yet. Not to mention that Odin had 'recognized' Momon to be Hastur in disguise which, if true, would likely spell the end for all of them if the knowledge got out and the Outer Being shed its disguise in response.
Sirzechs knew his strength well, and knew that if he was forced to fight Hastur, or almost any of the Outer Beings, he'd be flattened in an instant even if he had powered himself up with the Underworld's energies. Thus, he was more or less forced to play along with Hastur's act… All the while looking for signs that Odin was wrong and Momon was something else.
After all, the possibility of having an Outer Being in their midst, and specifically so close to his dear little sister, was causing Sirzechs to feel as if he had a burning-hot stone in his breast pocket that he wasn't allowed to touch.
'Could it be that 'Momon' summoned those Angels to directly spite the Heavens, or to provoke them? He must have known that the Heavens would take interest… Is he planning on putting himself center-stage in the conflict between the Three Factions, and level all three of us if we question his disguise and he reveals himself to be not the God they expected, but something far worse?' Sirzechs was starting to see a picture. 'It would be quite a fitting end for an act… Center-stage with all actors present, all eyes focused on him and with hopes and dreams high… Only for it to reveal that it had been their worst nightmare all along.'
He wished with all his might that it wasn't the case.
Sirzechs remembered the mission he had sent Grayfia to see to, and wished for once in his life that he could pray to a deity or some such that they'd survive the coming storm.
But he knew that the reality was more cruel than that, so instead he made sure that his people would be ready for the worst… as much as they could be, anyway.
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Tannin read a letter that had been delivered to him mere moments ago.
The devilfied dragon huffed smoke out of its massive snout. "And now Sirzechs and Beelzebub want me to go and interrogate the Great Red? Has he gone insane?"
Souji, Sirzechs Lucifer's Knight, merely shrugged as he had delivered the letter. "Dunno. Something like that. In honesty the whole situation still creeps me out, and Sirzechs-kun is walking on glass when it comes to Momon-kun so I think something's up."
Macgregor Mathers, Sirzechs's Bishop, nodded from beside Tannin as the red-robed not-quite-priest creep had been in Tannin's dragon-fruit farm for the past days in order to keep an eye on Phenix family's two remaining sons, as per Sirzechs's orders. "If Sirzechs-sama is worried then this is something we need to take seriously. I will stay here when you depart to the Interdimensional Rift, and keep the Phenix sons safe-"
"No." Tannin answered simply. "I won't be leaving the creep-priest in charge of those two lads."
"Uwa, Tannin-sama doesn't like Mat-kun…" Souji made a dramatic flourish with his second, short harakiri-katana while keeping the blade in its sheath. "What a disgrace to the honor of Sirzechs! What a disgrace to the honor of Dragons, for Tannin-sama declaring opposition to the ruling Maou by insubordinating him, despite being a sworn vassal…"
"I didn't say that." Tannin sweat-dropped as Souji's implication hit the dragon. "However, I won't be leaving as long as…"
"Don't worry. I can stay here as well and guard the kids." Souji told the dragon and picked a strand of grass from the ground, and the cloth-clad samurai placed it between his teeth like a cheap sigarette. "I love the countryside, so I feel right at home here. Besides, you've wanted a chance to go and challenge the Great Red again? This is your chance, because if you start shouting about Momon and Beelzebub's theories to the Great Red he can't just ignore you this time."
Tannin paused.
"It's a win-win-win for all of us, no?" Souji pushed further. "Besides, I can keep Mathers-kun in line. Right, Mat-mat?"
"Ghuh… Very well, yes-yes…" Mathers seemed more than a little bothered by Souji's overly care-free attitude, but nonetheless went along with his act.
"...Very well. But I'll be gone only for a moment!" Tannin paced back and forth, causing the ground to shake under the fifteen-feet tall hybrid-dragons feet. "Yes, just an afternoon… I'll make preparations. You! Pretend-priest! Make yourself useful and gather me a basket of dragonfruit!"
"..." Mathers sent Souji a flat stare, who sent an equally flat stare back. "...Very well, Tannin-san."
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Rias sighed. "Well, I suppose the training went, eh, about as well as I expected."
Akeno chuckled and Gasper blushed while Koneko was cowering in the corner of the Peerage's quarters communal room, and the cat-girl had re-materialized her cat-ears and was stroking them in a protective manner.
"Hss." Koneko hissed at Yuuto when the boy went to ask what was wrong.
"Right, anyway, I figured we should play board-games or something… I don't think we have the energy to go out or do something else today." Rias told the rest of the Peerage who looked a bit directionless. "I for one don't have energy to, I don't know, embark on a rescue mission or go to open war against heavens, or whatever Momon decides to bring upon us next…"
It seemed that, while the Peerage was now Momon's on paper and in practise, the fact Rias had been in charge of her Peerage for so long meant that they instinctively looked at her for leadership.
Rias herself felt more than a little exhausted, but nonetheless soldiered on. "Rossweisse-san is with Ravel and Sona, so… Wanna do something together, Yubelluna? Xuelan? I know we haven't had a chance to spend some casual time with the two of you… So I figured…"
"Ah, don't worry about me." Yubelluna handwaved. "I think I'll go and read this book… To be honest, I'm a bit tired as well, and I'd like to just relax."
"Faaattty…"
Yubelluna whacked Xuelan with the book.
"Kama Sutra… Of course." Rias sighed as she read the book's cover.
The door to the communal quarters opened and Rias's expression brightened as she saw the person who entered.
"Excuse me for the interruption, but is Momon-sama here?" Grayfia asked Rias with neutral tone, albeit Rias could tell from the woman's body language that the woman was glad to see Rias, and she was glad to see her as well.
Rias tossed formality out of the window and ran to the maid-clothed gray-haired woman who she considered her big sister, even though the two were not related by blood, and then hugged her tightly. "Ha… haha! Grayfia-nee! It's so good to see you!"
"A-ahem, The feeling is mutual." Grayfia seemed utterly shocked by Rias's fond action, to the point that she even stuttered her words a bit. "An-anyway, is Momon-sama…"
"No, he went to check up on the church that Angel was building. Or rather, the church it had built since I'm pretty sure it's mostly completed…" Rias broke off from the hug and took Grayfia's hands. "What's going on?"
"I've been asked to retrieve Momon-sama and ask if he could help Serafall recover from her illness." Grayfia told Rias, and then paused as Rias's face lost all its colour. "Rias?! What happened? You look pale…"
"No, not at all… Ugh, just… Grayfia-neechan. I'll be straight with you. Don't." Rias told the woman. "Just… Let me go out there and ask him?"
"I… I'm not sure I understand what's wrong, but-"
"Grayfia-nee. Do you love Sirzechs-niisan?" Rias deployed the verbal sledgehammer.
"Of course. That question, however, is inappropriate considering the cir-"
"Then for the sake of that, please let me go see Momon in your stead. This afternoon is going too well. Nothing has exploded, Sona's entire Peerage only died once, and Gasper-kun was impregnated only a few times." Rias explained to Grayfia. "If you go to see Momon, I can assure you that this peaceful afternoon isn't going to last. He's going to do something Momon-like and seduce you, or an alien invader comes from beyond the stars and shoots a seduction-ray at you and you fall in love with Momon, or something equally outrageous happens. Just… don't tempt fate. Don't do it."
"Rias-san, are you feeling quite alright?" Grayfia looked more worried than ever.
"I'm just perfect." Rias told her. "But I know that it's going to change if you go to poke Momon… Ugh, just, let me come with you?"
"Very well." Grayfia conceded. "Ahem, now then… You told me that Momon-sama was in a... church?"
"Didn't you notice the huge building by the lake shore when you teleported in? You came through the front entrance, right?" Rias seemed puzzled.
"I was delayed by Lord Phenix who was quite insistent on knowing why I was visiting, and didn't have time to sightsee." Grayfia noted. "It seems that Lord Phenix has become quite… protective of Momon-sama."
"I guess…" Rias had noticed how familiar and even protective the lord acted with Momon, but chalked it off to Momon having saved his life and the lord feeling indebted… Albeit the whole 'Lady Phenix being traded to Momon as mistress'-situation was making Rias feel as if the Lord was acting somewhat odd. '...Or maybe Momon and Lord Phenix have a gentlemen's agreement that Momon wouldn't touch Lady Phenix, despite having the legal right to take her to his bed? That'd explain why Lord Phenix seems so familiar and even warm towards Momon… And that actually explains why Lord Phenix gave his quarters to Momon, er, us, since by doing that Lord Phenix actually gave the quarters indirectly to Lady Phenix while he moved out himself... After all, Lord Phenix's and Lady Phenix's reputation would be marred if they shared quarters even after the temporary divorce and mistress-contract…'
Rias felt as if puzzle-pieces were slotting into place and felt more proud of Issei's, no, Momon's growth as a person- After all, she knew the 'old Issei' wouldn't have hesitated to at least fondle Lady Phenix's breasts if given the chance and permission.
"Hehe… Well, let's go." Rias chuckled a bit while Grayfia looked to be wary of Rias's sudden change of mood. "Aha, don't worry… I just realized something. Hehe… Issei-kun…"
Grayfia's movements were janky after hearing Rias's words and she noticed that the woman had her hairs standing in the back of her neck almost as if she had waves of dread running down her spine for some reason.
Rias shook it off and locked arms with Grayfia. "Alright. Let's go see Momon-kun?"
Grayfia composed herself and the two of them walked out of the communal quarters, and to the courtyard after a brief wander through the winding hallways of Phenix castle-palace. Rias used the walk to talk to Grayfia about the recent happenings and the stresses of the last few days, and listened to the few concerns Grayfia decided to share with Rias.
"...Ah. I see. That must be quite embarrassing." Rias nodded to Grayfia as the woman had told her about how worried Sirzechs had become of Grayfia's health of late. "But I think it's adorable too… And it's kind of Sirzechs-nii to worry about your health. After all, you were wounded during the first clash against the Supreme Being's servants."
"...Haa. These years of peace must have made me lazy and lax for me to lower my guard during combat like that." Grayfia groaned, breaking out of her maid persona for a brief moment. "Ahem. Please ignore that, Rias-sama."
"Heh, don't worry about it, Grayfia-neechan…" Rias handwaved while Grayfia created a teleporting circle to the ground of the courtyard, and the two of them were deposited in front of the 'church' by the lakeside. "Ahem, I'm not exactly sure what's the official way of entering this place… I guess we should go in through the front door?"
"Since there are no guards or such that we could use to introduce ourselves, we should at least knock…" Grayfia looked a bit worried as she looked at the pair of golden statues by the gate-like doors of the church. The gold statues depicted a human-shaped figure wreathed in a simple cloak and with its chest and stomach visible to view, while it had a pair of feathered wings in its back. However, it's face was that of a bare skull. "Hm… Are those statues of… skeletons?"
"They appear somewhat creepy, yes…" Rias seemed to pause as well. "But, um, only the head is skeletal? The rest of the body seems to be quite normal... Well, wings notwithstanding."
"Welcome to the Church of the True God, Mother of the Coming Age and a new convert!" A booming voice came from within the church and the gates opened to show the massive form of the angel who Momon had apparently summoned somehow after the battle against the Supreme Being's servants in the swamp. "The True God of life, fertility and love welcomes thee to his halls!"
Rias merely nodded at the words, as she had become used to Momon-isms by now. However, Grayfia wasn't hardened yet so she merely stared at the 'congregation' inside the church… who seemed to be honoring the 'True God' in their own way, which matched the massive angel's words.
"Right, let's go… Um, is Momon-kun here?" Rias tugged Grayfia along, as the gray-haired woman's movements had become janky, and directed her words to the angel.
"Lord resides within these halls, yes. Dost thou wish to see him?" The Angel turned around. "Followeth me, o Mother of the Coming Age. Thee companion, new convert or thine retainer, can follow thee and come witness the glory of his majesty!"
Rias merely nodded and walked, ignoring the moans and motions that came from the devils in the 'church'. 'Heh, it could be worse… But as long as I stand between Momon and Grayfia-neechan, she will not fall to Momon's wicked ways! Sirzechs-nii, don't worry- I'll defend your bond with Grayfia-nee to hell and beyond! Although… Well, I don't think I should worry… After all, Momon-kun hasn't touched Lady Phenix because of the gentlemen's agreement with Lord Phenix, so it's not like Iss- er, Momon would try to seduce Grayfia-neechan anyway because he'd honor her bond with Sirzechs-nii...'
Grayfia, meanwhile, walked as if she was in a trance while her eyes darted from one golden statue to another, each of which displayed the 'winged meaty skeleton' in different poses and states of clothing.
Rias tilted her head at one of the statues which showed the muscular body posing in a a wide-legged stance that displayed a... thing of considerable size through the sculpted toga's thin 'cloth'. '...Come to think of it, Momon said that he turned undead when he died, instead of dying like the rest of us would, so is that the reason why the statues have a skull instead of a face? Seems kind of odd… but I suppose not the weirdest thing that's happened around him… Or is it to convey some sort of clash between life and death, or something? Bah… and he said he's not a god or anything… That big, fat, liar...'
Rias sighed at another statue which seemed to practically burst with excessive amounts of sculpted muscle, which was contrasted by the statue's skeletal head. '...At least they're kind of handsome, unlike the gross, withered rotten knight-things and zombies that the Supreme Being controls… '
"Knock-knock…" Rias vocalized her knocks as the angel led the trio through a huge hallway and into a gate-like door at the end which seemed to lead into some sort of room. And then she opened the door as the angel seemed to glide away, quote 'to lead the lost sheep back to the flock'.
Rias could tell that Grayfia had almost jumped out of her skin after hearing the phrase, but the woman had managed to keep herself at least mostly calm externally.
Nonetheless Rias opened the door to show an excessively decorated catedral-like room with a round table at the center, like the one of fabled knights of Britain, and with Momon sitting on the spot at the opposite end to the room's entrance, sampling tea alongside Xenovia and Irina by the looks of it.
Moreover Xenovia seemed to be sitting on Momon's lap, while Irina was blushing up to her eyebrows, and the trio had a hefty stack of papers spread all over the table, almost as if they had been conferencing about something.
"Ah! Rias-san! Welcome, welcome… This is a bit of an inopportune moment, but… Ahem." Momon welcomed Rias and Grayfia in, albeit he seemed quite surprised by their sudden intrusion. "And, um… Grayfia-sama! Well met… what's the occasion?"
"Ahem… Sirzechs-sama wishes you to visit Serafall-sama and heal her." Grayfia seemed to regain her focus, even though Rias could tell from her body language that the woman was stiff and perhaps even a bit scared for some reason. "He'd prefer if you did so today, as her situation is somewhat dire."
"I see. Very well. I'll go ahead and do so, then…" Momon seemed a bit wary but nonetheless agreed to Grayfia's 'request', which was actually an order from Sirzechs. "Ahem, Xenovia-san? Could I trouble you to, um, stand up?"
"As the Lord dictates." Xenovia noted and got up… and Rias noticed that the blue haired girl wasn't wearing pants. Or anything below the waist, really. And that, combined with her chosen seat…
Rias sighed while Grayfia looked more than a little outraged.
Rias knew that the gray-haired maid would have liked to use a few of her usual razor-sharp retorts to let Momon know how inappropriate his actions were considering the circumstances, but for some reason Grayfia was holding herself back.
Nonetheless Rias pressed on. "You know, I'd like to come with you to see Serafall-sama."
"I see, of course…" Momon seemed to be in a daze as Xenovia turned around so that her butt was directly facing him, while she leaned down and slid her pants back on. And the girl swayed her hips far too much than what was strictly speaking necessary for the act. "This ero-world… Ahem, anyway… Yes, of course, healing and whatnot… Ahem, of course."
Momon seemed to compose himself in a flash as if he had tripped some switch, and then turned his attention to Irina who blushed to her hairline and looked away. "Irina-san? Xenovia-san? Could I trouble you two to go over the suggestions I made for the direction of the church with the Dominion Authority? I'd like it if you talked about the pros and cons about the ideas, and made a report that included the conclusions you came into, and any suggestions you might have to improve the ideas. Your feedback is important to me."
"Sure…" Irina nodded a bit warily, while Xenovia nodded resolutely. "Of course."
"Excellent… Now then…" Momon stood up, giving Rias and Grayfia a good look of what had been inside Xenovia mere moments ago, and then pulled up his pants. "Ahem… Sorry. But in my defense we were having a private conference…"
"It's alright." Rias sighed. "I didn't expect anything less, if I'm honest… Anyway, I don't have the strength right now to make a teleportation circle to the central hospital, so…"
"Don't worry about it. [Gate]." Momon waved his hand and a wormhole of swirling dark and purple energy opened in the place of the room's exit.
Grayfia twitched violently as she noticed the wormhole-like portal that seemed to radiate some foul energy.
"I was brainstorming about our mobility, since you're the only one of our Peerage that can create those mass-teleportation circles, and remembered that spell. It's some kind of portal, I think, like the magical circle that leads between the human world and the Underworld." Momon explained as he walked around the table, the clarks of his golden staff occasionally striking the ground accompanying his steps. "I'm not sure how exactly it works, but it seems that the portal makes a wormhole that deposits us in the location of my choosing… Right?"
"Uh huh." Rias noted. Her crazy-meter wasn't even midway through, however, so if Momon wanted to shake her world then he needed to do better than that. "...Anyway, let's go. Grayfia-neechan?"
"I- I'll.. Ahem, I'll be fine just teleporting myself and Rias-sama, thank you." Grayfia seemed to be more than a little wary of entering the portal and cast a magical circle under herself and under Rias. "I'll see you at the hospital, Momon-sama."
"Ah… Umu, I understand. I'll see you there, then." Momon seemed a bit disappointed as Rias and Grayfia teleported away.
.
.
"Hmm…" Momonga was feeling a bit wary as Grayfia seemed to be in distress for some reason before the woman left with Rias. '...Could it be that she saw something wrong with the [Gate]? She's not affiliated with Odin so I figured I could be courteous and offer them a teleportation…'
He then noted the colour of the energy swirling in the portal. 'Hm. Come to think of it, Rias talked about my 'character portrait' when she had emerged from the lake of ink and was affected by [Insanity] a few days ago, and she more or less described my 'Avatar'... I figured that it'd be alright as long as I didn't use my regular equipment and thus draw in unnecessary questions, but could it be that the purple-violet colour is also affiliated with the 'Supreme Being' now?'
"You know that your lie isn't going to last forever, right?" Ddraig noted. "There will be a tipping point, so you might as well get over it…"
'...Yeah, and you want me to go to war against the Three Factions to get some payback for what they did to you… And telling them of my true nature would be a sure-fire way of doing so. However, it wouldn't be a fight that would be fought on my terms, but on theirs. I'm not suicidal, Ddraig.' Momonga shot the dragon's suggestion down as he walked into the portal. 'I'm fairly sure that the lie won't last for long anymore, but I should at least make sure I have solid ground to land on when it comes to light…'
He thought about the coming peace conference between the Three Factions, and hoped that his plan would work.
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