章節 397: Reunions Abound

DOGAAAAAAAAAN!!!

"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!"

Within a certain sealed space, located somewhere within the endless expanse that was the Dimensional Gap, a colossal beast was fighting with some of the most powerful beings that had once ruled the factions of the world.

At a glance it appeared to be the most demonic chimera to ever exist, with a gargantuan primate-like body covered in dark fur and red scales, four large limbs to make it quadrupedal, and seven long necks that ended with a variety of different types of heads, lion, dragon, Leopard, Bear, etc, matched by seven different tails extending from its rear.

Accompanying the beast's demonic visage was the most intense bloodthirsty aura that any of the millennia old beings had ever felt, which was enough to lay low even entire nations of warriors without the beast itself actually needing to do anything. It was an aura worthy of a beast destined to bring about the apocalypse.

"Try some of this!" A certain figure cried out, who looked pitifully small when compared to the great beast, as they summoned numerous gigantic pillars of light to rain down upon the monstrous being.

"My thanks Azazel!" Another figure cried out as the great beast turned towards the former Governor General of the Fallen Angels, their entire body covered in an eerie red as they called upon the power of Destruction. With the beast focusing on the black winged pest, it left its back open to receive an attack powerful enough that it erased roughly sixty percent of its body before it knew what was happening.

Despite the powerful attack though, within seconds the great beast had completely regenerated as it turned its attention towards Sirzechs this time, who was in his Super Devil form. As it did so though, several figures appeared behind it as the area around them filled with brief flashes of brilliant light.

"No matter how long it's been, I never thought I'd one day be working with the likes of you..." One of the figures, a middle aged looking man who was wearing a toga, said to the other man next to him, a gruff looking man with a long braided beard and a hammer in his grip. Smirking at his Greek counterpart, Thor thundered back at him,

"Work with me more often, and maybe you'll be able to join me in the ranks of the world's strongest! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Laughing heartily despite the glower on Zeus's face, the duo then unleashed a massive lightning attack that vaporized large sections of Trihexia's body, while arcs of electricity continued to crackle around them for a short while.

Despite the double dose of lightning from the two most powerful thunder gods that existed though, Trihexia quickly healed once again before trying to swat the annoying flies around it.

This was how the fight had been going ever since they had all been sealed together years ago, a constant game of 'cat and mouse' where if Trihexia managed to get a lucky hit on any of them, it could very well mean certain death. Regardless though, Azazel and several others had casual expressions as they watched the great beast recover from its wounds, having already witnessed this exact phenomenon thousands of times by now.

"I know we planned to be here for at least ten thousand years, but it still seems hopeless every time I watch that fucker regenerate..." Azazel muttered to himself, which, though he didn't expect a response, someone responded,

"While I understand exactly how you feel Azazel, please refrain from using such profanity." Azazel glowered as he turned to see none other than the former leader of Heaven after the death of God, Michael, fresh from taking his turn to rest.

Though Michael's return to the battle meant it was his own turn to rest, Azazel couldn't help but snarkily remark,

"I'll fucking say whatever I fucking please Michael, and if you have a fucking problem with that, then I'll fucking go whenever you fucking want!" Wincing at every one of Azazel's uses of profanity, Michael was about to say something else to him, when both men suddenly paused.

It wasn't just them, all across the battlefield the different fighters paused as they sensed the same disturbance, including Trihexia amazingly. Though they all felt it was familiar for some reason, Trihexia was the first to recall where it had felt the origin of the disturbance, as the most intense bloodthirst any of them had felt yet started radiating from it.

"What's going on?!" Micheal asked in alarm as the space around them began to shake violently, while Azazel was in deep thought as he tried to determine why the distortion felt so familiar, and why Trihexia was reacting the way it was. Though it took him a moment, Azazel suddenly looked up in realization to see Sirzechs looking the same way as they both reached the same conclusion at the same time.

Neither got the chance to voice their conclusion though, as suddenly a weathered and ancient looking doorway appeared out of nowhere before slowly opening with a very audible creak, to reveal two very familiar faces on the other side.

"Azazel, Sirzechs, it's good to see you two." Alex said with a smile, as if he was completely ignorant of the gigantic beast currently showering him with bloodlust. Meanwhile every one of the beings that had been sealed with Trihexia could only stare at Alex in awe, and even a little bit of fear.

Though it was undoubtedly him, Alex's physical appearance was drastically different from when they last saw him, as his hair was darker and wilder, while his body was covered in a layer of bright red fur. What really caught everyone's attention though was the massive aura coming off of Alex's body, which dwarfed even Trihexia's.

Before anyone could wrap their head around Alex's return, the second figure poked her her head out from behind him and said in a sing-song voice,

"Hey hey hey everyone~Nya!" Naturally Kuroka's playfulness stunned them even further, as who would even be able to remain playful when faced with the living embodiment of destruction and chaos?

Being the first to recover from the shock of the duo's sudden appearance, Azazel then asked almost frantically,

"Alex?! What are you guys doing here?!" Even if it was assumed that Alex would eventually join them in the battle against Trihexia, Azazel and the others hadn't expected to see him again in person for centuries, if not millennia from now. Seeing him again so soon, especially after he and the others had been missing for the last couple years, they couldn't help but to worry.

Alex however didn't seem the least bit concerned as he replied,

"We'll talk later, but first I have to deal with something." He then turned his attention to the titanic beast that was still eyeing him angrily, as it still remembered the results of the last time it fought him, which the only reason Alex 'lost' was because of its regenerative abilities.

Now however it could also sense the changes in Alex as the two eyed each other, with every single one of Trihexia's heads facing him to prepare for their clash. It knew that out of everyone present, Alex was the only real threat towards it.

With his smirk widening, Alex suddenly vanished from his place before reappearing on the other side of Trihexia, after which a massive concussion of sound buffeted everyone present as powerful shockwaves swept through the sealed space. Despite bracing themselves, many of the fighters found themselves being sent flying by the shockwaves while noise roared in their ears, deafening them for several seconds before they could recover.

When they did, everyone saw a gaping hole through Trihexia's gigantic body, while the giant beast itself seemed to be struggling for a moment before the large hole began to close.

"What the hell...?" One of the spectating gods uttered in disbelief at the scene, while Alex turned back to look at Trihexia tauntingly.

"Is this all you're capable of now Trihexia? Azazel and the others must have weakened you more than I thought if that is the case." He said to enrage the creature further, the taunt working as the great beast then lunged at Alex in an attempt to devour him, while several of its heads began preparing massive amounts of energy to blast at him.

"We have to help him!" Micheal declared while the members of his Brave Saints also began to rally to his side, only for Kuroka to taunt as she finished constructing a series of spells,

"You'll only end getting in his way~Nya. It'd be best if we all simply made our exit~Nyan." Then, before any of them could argue, Kuroka waved her hand and all of them suddenly vanished from within the sealed space, leaving Alex alone with Trihexia as the doorway he had created also closed.

Without feeling any concern though, Alex quietly muttered,

"Alone at last. Finally, I can try out some moves I've been itching to use." As he spoke Alex held out his hand, where he summoned as much fire and Gravity magic as possible until he was holding a miniature ball of fire, which he then 'tossed' at Trihexia while muttering,

"Let's see how you do when trapped in the center of an actual sun."

***

While Alex was dealing with Trihexia, Kuroka and the others suddenly appeared back within the great conference hall, stunning them for several seconds as they tried to register everything that was happening.

"Welcome back sir." A voice suddenly said, drawing Azazel's attention as he turned and saw the face of a subordinate that he hadn't seen for several years.

"Barakiel? What the hell is going on?" He demanded while also growing slightly angry and impatient, to which Barakiel only smiled wryly before saying,

"It's a very long story, but I promise we'll explain it all in due time. For now, but be assured that you're all free from the sealed space where Trihexia is, and Alex is taking care of him as we speak." Though the continued lack of any kind of explanation was annoying him, the sounds of numerous and unexpected reunions around them drowned out anything Azazel might have said.

Around them gods, Angels, and Devils all celebrated as they reunited with those they never thought they'd be able to see again. As the only Fallen Angel to enter Trihexia's seal Azazel was the only one of his kind to be welcomed back, but that didn't mean that his return was any less celebrated as Shemhazai stepped forward and said,

"Welcome back sir, I can not possibly express how happy I am to see you again." With his former subordinate expressing the rare emotion instead of his usual strict demeanor, Azazel smirked as he pulled him in for a sudden hug, and said,

"I'm happy to see you too..." Though he tensed slightly at the sudden embrace, Shemhazai relaxed as he awkwardly returned his former boss's affections, being equally happy to see him once again after several millennia of working together.

Meanwhile, off to the side, another reunion was taking place between some parents and their son, as Venelana and Zeoticus approached Sirzechs.

"Son, we're so happy to see you safe and sound." Zeoticus said as he too pulled his son into a manly hug, before quickly releasing him so that his wife could embrace their son as well. While normally such public displays would be considered 'overly affectionate' amongst the devil aristocracy, but with the same scene playing out everywhere around them with so many people essentially 'coming back from the dead', no one cared.

It was only after Sirzechs was released from Venelana's clutches that he noticed the other Crimson haired figure there, Rias.

"You look even more mature and beautiful than the last time I saw you Rias." The sister-con that was Sirzechs said shamelessly as soon as he saw her, making Rias's brow twitch subtly. Rather than retorting though, Rias just shook her head lightly before embracing her brother and saying,

"I missed you too." As the siblings embraced Sirzechs was about to insist that Rias tell him everything about what she had been doing ever since they had disappeared. Before he could though, he then caught sight of a certain silver haired figure that made his chest hurt, while longing filled him.

Despite similar sensations briefly filling Grayfia's heart, they quickly vanished as she turned away from her former husband before a scene was made right then and there. She knew they needed to talk, but, despite feeling as if she was just putting things off, she knew that in the middle of such a crowd of the most important and powerful beings in the world wasn't the place to do it.

Though Sirzechs still intended to call out to her, he was cut off as a shrill voice cried out over the din of the many discussions taking place around then,

"MOMMY!"

The hall quieted quickly in response to the childish voice, and everyone turned towards the source at the same double doors that Alex had destroyed upon his entrance, where they found an adorable blond haired girl standing there. Instead of appearing bothered by the hundreds of pairs of eyes turning towards her though, the little girl quickly made her way through the crowd as she beelined right to a certain woman who everyone automatically assumed was her mother, Gabriel.

Two things regarding the current situation brought everyone's mental facilities to screeching halt when they saw that. One was that Gabriel, unanimously considered the most beautiful woman in all of Heaven, was now a mother, something that the vast majority of men present seethed with jealousy from. And the second was that the little girl's monkey-like tail was a clear indicator for who the father was, and if she was anything like him, then their future just got a lot more complicated.

Any thoughts they were having though were interrupted as the little girl cried out,

"Mommy mommy! The sky is purple here!" In the face of her daughter's sudden appearance, Gabriel adopted a radiant smile that seemed to blind everyone present as she explained to her daughter,

"Yes it is Edith, that's because we're in the Underworld right now." The little girl tilted her head cutely at her mother's explanation, and asked,

"Underworld?" Gabriel nodded and added,

"Yes, it's where your big sisters like Rias and Grayfia came from. While mommy is from a place called Heaven, somewhere that I very much want to take you." Gabriel then started to patiently explain the differences between Heaven and the Underworld to Edith, who listened intently while also being unaware of everyone's eyes on her.

Then, to punctuate everything she had explained to her so far, Gabriel started to lead Edith towards a certain trio as she said,

"Speaking of Heaven, there's some people I want you to meet Edith." She then gestured to the three other Great Seraphs, and continued, "This is Raphael, Uriel, and Michael, your uncles." When she heard that they were her uncles, Edith's eyes went wide as she looked the three men over curiously, before Michael kneeled down hesitantly, and said with a kindly smile,

"H-hello there Edith, I'm Michael. It's nice to meet you." Through Edith regarded Michael suspiciously for a minute, she apparently decided he could be trusted and said to him,

"Hello, I'm Edith! My daddy is the strongest person in whole wide world!" Adopting a cheeky smile as she immediately praised her father, Michael looked somewhat taken aback at her attitude, but soon smiled back at her.

Before Edith could get to know her uncle a little more, there was suddenly a lot more of a ruckus being made at the entrance to the hall. Looking over, everyone saw two of Rias's peerage members that hadn't shown up with everyone else, Akeno and Koneko, Grayfia and Sirzechs's son, Millicas, a beautiful dark skinned women that none of them had ever seen before, Anne, another petite woman no one knew, and a small horde of children who eagerly rushed towards their mothers.

Of course, the main thing everyone noticed was that they all had tails similar to Edith.

With a little boy that had the Phenex family's characteristic orange and golden hair running right up to Ravel, another little girl wearing a magical girl outfit with her black hair tied up in twin tails running up to Serafall, and a Crimson haired little boy excitedly waddling up to Rias, everyone thoughts were the same. 'Alex has been busy.'

Of course none of the girls seemed to mind those surrounding them as they eagerly scooped up their children, and presented them to the members of their family. Meanwhile Anne approached Gabriel while Akeno and Koneko approached Rias, and said to the Seraph,

"I'm so sorry! She just suddenly took off and my arms were full of the other children!" Gabriel however waved away Anne's apologies and said,

"It's fine, I'm not as worried anymore since we're back in our home world. Besides, if something did happen to Edith again, I'm sure that Alex wouldn't hesitate to destroy anyone and anything in his path to rescue her." Though she was smiling warmly, Gabriel's words hovered ominously over those around her as they imagined the fate of one stupid enough to lay hands on one of the Dragon Emperor's children.

They were soon distracted though as a certain silver haired young man approached the former Governor General of the Fallen Angels, the petite woman that had arrived with Akeno and the others before at his side.

"Azazel, there's someone I'd like you to meet." Vali said as he stood before the man who had raised him, the man he considered to be his father. Azazel however gave Aiko a once over before a playful smirk appeared on his lips, and he remarked,

"So this is your 'type' huh? No wonder all those busty onee-sans I tried to introduce you to never caught your attention!" Azazel then began to laugh boisterously at his joke, while Vali and Aiko both turned as red as Rias's hair from his teasing, the former in anger and the latter in embarrassment.

"Don't make me blast you full of holes old man..." Vali uttered angrily, to which Azazel put up his hands placatingly as he said,

"Ok ok. Really though, I am happy that the rambunctious little trouble maker I took in all those years ago finally went and found himself a girl." With a 'warm' expression forming on Azazel's face, Vali calmed down somewhat as Aiko awkwardly stepped forward and said,

"I've heard so much about you from Vali-kun, it's nice to finally meeth-" Biting her tongue from nervous she was, Aiko's hands immediately went to her mouth to try and cover it while her eyes watered, making Azazel struggle not to laugh while Vali tried to see if she was ok.

While all of that was going on, another figure approached them with a small bundle in her arms as she said,

"Mind if I interrupt?" Vali and Aiko looked up to see Lavinia Reni approaching them with a smile, a small bundle wrapped in her arms.

In an instant the duo completely forgot about Azazel teasing them and Aiko accidentally biting her tongue, while almost every single pair of eyes in the room focused on them as theories swarmed people's minds of what the bundle Lavinia was carrying contained. Their theories were quickly proven correct as Vali gently took the bundle, and turned towards Azazel to show him the infant girl with tufts of silver hair within.

"Azazel, this is my daughter Lilith Lucifer." Unlike the mild surprise he felt when Vali introduced Aiko to him, Azazel's mental facilities slowed to a halt when he saw the infant in Vali's arms. Meanwhile a low buzz filled the hall as those around them began to furiously whisper amongst themselves, and word of the next Lucifer spread.

Slowly and carefully, Vali held the infant girl out to Azazel as the former Governor General accepted her with even more care than Vali showed, his body seemingly moving by itself while his mind tried to process what was happening.

At the same time, Millicas similarly approached his mother with another bundle in his arms, which she gently accepted when he got close enough. She then looked down at the bundle affectionately for a moment before an expression of uncertainty marred her face as she glanced at the Gremory family.

After a moments deliberation, Grayfia slowly approached Venelana and Zeoticus as the duo gushed over their second grandson, who had the same beautiful crimson hair that the Gremory family was know for. When Venelana noticed her approach though, she adopted an expression of interest when she saw the bundle in Grayfia's arms, which she presented to the duo while saying respectfully,

"I have someone else that I would like you to meet, if you are willing lord and lady Gremory." Instantly Venelana's eyes lit up as she said to Grayfia,

"Of course Grayfia! No matter what, you will always be our daughter!" Glancing pointedly at Sirzechs for the briefest of seconds as she said this, Venelana then approached Grayfia to examine the bundle in her arms.

Within was a infant baby girl with a tuft of short silvery hair, her bright red monkey-like tail clutched in her tiny hands as she slept soundly. Immediately Venelana gushed when she saw the baby as she asked,

"What's her name?" Though she hesitated for a moment, Grayfia then answered to her,

"Lana. I named her Lana Lucifuge." Venelana then paused before looking up at Grayfia questioningly, recalling what she said earlier about 'the woman she respected more than anybody'.

After the brief moment though, Venelana smiled warmly as she said,

That's a wonderful name." Venelana then carefully accepted the bundle from Grayfia as she looked over her new 'grandaughter', who she adored every bit as much as her two grandsons.

Meanwhile Sirzechs watched from the side, an uncomfortable bitter feeling surging up within him from having his own wife ignore him, and present another man's child to his mother. Of course Venelana made sure he knew about Grayfia joining Alex since shortly after they disappeared, but that hadn't made the current situation any easier to bear.

Though he could understand why Grayfia had done what she did, that didn't mean he had to approve of it.

***

And so, despite Alex saying that anyone who wanted was free to leave for the day, the next several hours went by with the hall being used for everyone to celebrate the return of not only Alex and those who left with him, but also those who had gone to fight Trihexia.

During this time not only did the families of the girls get to reunite and meet their new relatives, but the girls themselves also learned of the most recent going ons with their families as well. Among them was Sona and Serafall as they learned that their father had fallen victim to the sleeping disease that had preyed on many Devils, and as such their mother had accepted the role of the head of Sitri house until Sona or Serafall returned.

While their mother had assumed at first that one of them would assume the role of the clan head, she was surprised when both girls instantly turned her down. Serafall explained that she was too busy with her usual day to day duties, along with the fact that she had to take care of Lizzy on top of that. Sona meanwhile took the chance to bring up the Academy and her plans regarding it with the Underworld, how she was planning on accepting tons of new students along with numerous new teachers to go with them.

While many only listened half-heartedly as she gave the same speech regarding the equality of the social classes, their interest quickly increased though when Sona mentioned asking Alex to awaken their father when he returned. Though many found it hard to believe that Alex could also undo the sleeping disease that has claimed so many devil lives up until this point, the proof showed herself to them when Sairaorg's mother, Misla Bael, arrived to the party, looking healthier than she had in years. While those who had family that were still victims of the sleeping disease began to see hope at her sudden appearance, one particular person could only quietly sulk in the corner away from everyone.

Unlike everyone else around him, Lord Bael was borderline frantic as he tried to figure out how to avoid his connection to Katerea and her followers being found out. He had been the one to push for Venelana and Zeoticus to be arrested to begin with, before convincing Katerea to sentence Venelana to being a worthless sex toy for the the rest of her life. Of course, he hadn't had to push too hard since it was just the kind of thing Katerea wanted to do anyways in order to punish Sirzechs.

He had hated his older half-sister ever since he was a child since she was famous for being the most powerful female member of their house of all time, as well as being extremely intelligent in matters of business and politics, which ended up casting an incredibly long shadow for him to grow up in. Thankfully she was only the daughter of a second mistress, and as such had no right to inherit the clan unlike him.

However Venelana's constant humiliations of him didn't end with her leaving the house of Bael to marry Zeoticus, instead she then went on to give birth to one of the only Super Devils in the Underworld, before giving birth to a daughter that went on to inherit her moniker of the 'Brunette Ruin Princess'. As for himself, Lord Bael's first son was a worthless defect, while his second son was a spineless weakling who was interested in nothing but plants.

But now any chance he had of ruining his sister's life like she had his evaporated the second Alex broke down the double doors and took complete control of the situation, with his own traitorous son and wife in tow. Now he was trying not to draw any attention to himself, while secretly communicating with his men to destroy any and all evidence of his cooperation with Katerea and her people.

He, and everyone else within the hall, suddenly looked up as spatial vibrations started to fill the hall that were similar to the ones Alex created when he escaped from the sealing array Katerea and the others used on him, several hours ago. Everyone fell silent and held their breaths as they waited for what they assumed was Alex's reappearance, before a series of fractures also began to form in the empty space before them.

Many of the more powerful beings present however stood ready in the event that what was appearing wasn't Alex, but a resurgence of Trihexia itself.

Their worries were for naut though as space itself continued to distort and fracture until a hole big enough for a person formed, through which Alex appeared looking exhausted and tattered, but no worse for the wear. Of course the thing that stood out the most was the beginnings of a full red beard coming from his chin, indicating that somehow more time had passed than they thought possible.

For a moment nothing happened as everyone took in Alex's appearance, as he was still in his SSJ4 form, before a shout rang out,

"IT'S DADDY! GET HIM!!" Like a swarm Edith, Mai, Lizzy, and Regal all surged towards their father with happy expressions on their faces, while Ryuto and Shuri slowly waddled after them as quickly as they could, despite having just learned to walk only recently.

His own face breaking out into a wide smile, Alex disregarded everyone else present as he dropped to one knee and held his arms wide open to receive his children. Instead of going in to hug their father though, the children readily tackled him before trying to pin him to the ground, their laughter ringing through the halls.

Everyone then watched in amazement as Alex proceeded to ignore everything and everyone around him as he happily played with his children, despite the fact that he had just fought one of the most powerful beings in the world.

For several minutes everyone watched as Alex played with his children without minding them, their focus being on the children themselves the entire time. Though children rough-housing with their fathers was nothing new, what was was that when Edith's fist accidentally missed Alex and impacted the floor, a spiderweb of cracks spread out around it.

"Nooooooo! I'm being attacked by a pack of vicious, bloodthirsty, and extremely silly monkeys!" Alex cried out in mock despair, making his children howl with laughter as they tried to pin him down. Even Ryuto and Shuri tried to help as they both clung to Alex's legs, and proceeded to plop right down onto his feet.

Eventually Alex slowly and carefully toppled over with his children still on him, as he 'collapsed' under the intensity of their assault.

"Oh no! These silly monkeys are too much for me! I....am.....defeated!" Alex cried out dramatically as his shoulders hit the ground, before closing his eyes and playing dead. With Edith acting as the ringleader, she then proceeded to stand up on her father's body, one foot on his stomach while her other was on his chest, and threw up a peace sign while posing as she shouted,

"VICTORY!!!"

With her siblings also celebrating their victory over their father with her, everyone watched on with warm eyes and conflicted expressions since they still wanted to know about what happened with Trihexia. Again, before they could ask, Alex suddenly got up and grabbed Edith as the rest of his children quickly scattered, and she squealed in surprise.

"HAHA! Got you now you mischievous little monkey!" Alex cackled at Edith as he then began to tickle her, filling the halls once again with hysterical laughter.

Of course his other children didn't get too far while Alex was dealing with Edith, as he used his 'Telekinesis' to grab each of them to being them back. As a result, several children looked as if they were desperately swimming in midair as Alex slowly dragged them back, while the younger Ryuto and Shuri simply giggled as they enjoyed the ride.

He then pulled them all in close for a giant bear hug while saying,

"Ahhhhh, I needed this after so long away from my little monkeys!" While his children didn't register what he meant, the people around him didn't understand Alex's words as is sounded like he hadn't seen them for a long time. Not caring about the questions in the head of those around him though, Alex continued to squeeze his children affectionately until Mai wrinkled her nose, and said,

"You stink daddy...." Pausing at her criticism, Alex hesitantly loosened his hug before trying to sniff himself. What met his nose was an assault of pungent body odor that made himself, and even the children with noses less sensitive than Mai's, recoil slightly.

"Well....." Alex began awkwardly, "I had been battling Trihexia for a while, and it was so annoying I couldn't refresh myself all that much during that time..."

With the children once again bursting into laughter at how silly their daddy was, Azazel finally approached him and said,

"You were only gone for a few hours Alex. What do you mean by 'for a while'?" Instead of immediately answering though, Alex turned to look at Kuroka and said,

"You didn't tell them?" Kuroka however just shrugged lazily and replied,

"No one asked, so I didn't see any reason to say anything~Nya." Shaking his head at her, Alex turned his attention back to Azazel and explained,

"Before pulling you all out of the sealed space she modified it to withstand any attacks that Trihexia and I might use, while simultaneously altering the flow of time within. I don't know how long it's been out here, but I was fighting Trihexia for about a month." His words sent another wave of murmurs through the hall while Azazel adopted a thoughtful look, as he recalled the way in which they had to fight Trihexia in turns just to get some rest themselves. Alex meanwhile had been fighting against the great beast for a month by himself, a feat Azazel knew none of them could replicate.

As for why it took him that long to deal with Trihexia, Alex simply took his time in order to try out some new attacks and various other things he'd been considering, but wasn't able to test. At his current level Alex was easily able to destroy entire planets with nothing but his fists, something that made it hard for him to try new things even when he had an opponent strong enough to test them against.

Trihexia was like a golden opportunity that had been specially gift wrapped just for him, as he could beat up on the immortal creature all he wanted before finally killing it, and he wouldn't have to worry about their surroundings since they were in a sealed space. So of course Alex had milked this opportunity as much as possible, until he had started to get bored while also missing his wives and children. So he hurried up and killed it before heading back without bothering to freshen up or rest, as he had no idea what Kuroka had set the time flow difference to, and Alex wanted to get back without wasting any more time.

Seeing as only a few hours had passed outside though, Alex realized he should have taken the chance to at least rest and refresh himself before returning. Since there was nothing to be done about it now though, he just shrugged and went with the flow as Azazel then asked,

"So is it over then? Is Trihexia really and completely gone?" Every single being in the hall hanged into his every word as they anxiously awaited Alex's response, which ended up being a simple anticlimactic,

"Yep. Trihexia's gone."

(A.N. Like I've been doing so much recently, I apologize for the delay in chapters. Every time I think I've got one pile of shit done and over with, an even larger one seems to appear out of thin air. As such, any free time I've been getting I usually just crash physically and mentally until the morning.

Again however, hopefully things will slow down once the snow starts falling. It'll be hard to have projects to work on when it's only 10-20 degrees outside, and everything is covered in 4-6 feet of snow. Not to mention things will slow down at work for me as well this season due to stuff that is going on there.

Once again though, I make no promises, so thank you all for being so understanding.)