Chapter 27: Chapter – 27 Meeting of the Monstrosities
Lilith, Underworld
In a secluded room, a group of individuals had gathered. If anyone from the underworld caught sight of them, they would be terrified, for these people comprised the highest military strength within the Underworld. At least six of them possessed unparalleled might, making them the pinnacle of the Underworld's military forces.
Seated in various chairs around the round table were eight individuals: Sirzechs Lucifer, Ajuka Beelzebub, Serafall Leviathan, Falbium Asmodeus, Diehauser Belial, Roygun Belphegor, Ruval Phenex, and the legendary figure among them all, Mephisto Pheles.
However, despite their presence, none of them, except Ajuka, knew the reason behind this gathering. Ajuka had summoned them urgently, but he had not provided any information regarding the purpose of their assembly.
This uncertainty led to confusion among everyone in the room, even Sirzechs, who looked at Ajuka and questioned, "Ajuka... What could be so urgent that you required us to abandon our previous engagements and come here immediately?"
Serafall nodded, displaying her dissatisfaction. "Yes! I finally had the opportunity to spend time with my dear Sona, but you... You beast! You fiend! Because of you, I had to come here and couldn't visit the Sitri domain... Do you realize it has been over a month since I last saw my Sona? A whole month! I haven't had the chance to hug her and recharge my Sona energy for an entire month! So, whatever reason you called us here for Ajuka, it had better be worth it. Otherwise, this magical girl is going to get angy!"
The others in the room chuckled at Serafall's words but shared her doubts, gazing at Ajuka with puzzled expressions.
While Sirzechs, Serafall, and Falbium, being Devil Kings, were more accustomed to such meetings with their fellow Devil Kings, the remaining four individuals present in the room—Diehauser Belial, Roygun Belphegor, Ruval Phenex, and Mephisto Pheles—were significantly more perplexed. They usually had no involvement with the four Devil Kings. In fact, three of them were not even members of the Devil King Faction; they belonged to the Great King Faction and rarely interacted with the Devil Kings in this manner. Consequently, their confusion was understandable.
As for Mephisto Pheles, one of the oldest living devils, surpassing even the initial heads of the Ars Goetia, he, too, was bewildered by Ajuka's summons to the Underworld. Though he shared a good rapport with Ajuka due to their common interest in researching unique phenomena and magic, Mephisto desired to swiftly address Ajuka's purpose. After all, he was currently dealing with issues even within Grauzauberer, where the "Wizards of Oz" were causing him a headache. Therefore, he wished to resolve Ajuka's matter promptly and return to his ongoing affairs.
As all eyes were fixed on him, Ajuka finally began to address their concerns. "I have gathered all of you here because a grave problem has arisen due to my negligence, and we need to assemble the strongest military force we can muster to resolve it."
"A problem caused by your neglect?" Everyone stared at Ajuka in disbelief. It was incredibly difficult to fathom such words coming from Ajuka. Known as one of the most intelligent devils in the Underworld, and perhaps one of the most intelligent being in the entire world all Mythologies combined, Ajuka was the epitome of brilliance. His House of Astaroth lineage, specifically its trait of [Wit], had elevated him to unprecedented heights. He pioneered groundbreaking inventions and made decisions that significantly impacted the entire devil society, such as establishing the Rating Games and the Noble Schools. So, when Ajuka admitted to a problem arising from his neglect, it was hard for them to believe their ears.
Sirzechs, who understood Ajuka better than anyone else as they had been best friends since childhood, asked with concern, "Ajuka, what has happened?"
Ajuka sighed and contemplated how to explain the situation in simpler terms. He recalled his conversation with Nova and then turned his gaze towards Diehauser Belial as he spoke, "This matter primarily concerns the 'House of Belial,' the Great King Faction, myself, some of the top-ranking Rating Game players, and potentially the entirety of devil society if not handled properly."
The room fell into stunned silence at his words. Each person repeated Ajuka's statement in disbelief, "The House of Belial, the Great King Faction, you, top-ranking Rating Game players, and the entire Devil Society? Isn't that practically the entire Devil Kind?"
Sirzechs furrowed his brow and questioned, "What do you mean, Ajuka?"
The others also looked at Ajuka with growing concern. If the issue at hand had the potential to impact the entire Devil race, it was no wonder Ajuka had called them urgently.
However, the one who felt the greatest sense of worry was Diehauser Belial. The problem primarily concerned the House of Belial, as Ajuka had stated. If even Ajuka Beelzebub was troubled by it, then it must be a significant issue. Regardless of the circumstances, Diehauser was determined to protect the House of Belial at all costs.
Now that the gravity of the situation was understood, Ajuka began to explain everything from the beginning—the creation of evil pieces due to the necessity for them, the various types of evil pieces he had created, and their individual characteristics. Once he finished explaining those details, he moved on to discuss the [King] piece. While most people in the room were already aware of its existence, individuals like Diehauser Belial, Ruval Phenex, and Mephisto Pheles were not, and thus needed to be informed.
Diehauser Belial, Ruval Phenex, and Mephisto Pheles were left speechless as they learned about the existence of the [King] piece. Among them, Diehauser seemed to be the most taken aback, his expression betraying a mixture of surprise and disbelief. Before they could fully recover from the shock, Ajuka, the one who revealed this information, began explaining the characteristics and dangers associated with the [King] piece.
Ajuka went on to describe how the production of the [King] piece had been halted and revealed that only a limited number of them existed. Most of these pieces had been seized by the Great King Faction in the early days of the Rating Games. Furthermore, he disclosed that some of the top-ranking players in the Rating Games were using the power of the [King] piece to maintain their positions, acting under the orders of the Old Devils of the Great King Faction. Those old devils manipulated the Rating Games according to their desires, benefiting from it in various ways.
The revelations continued, leaving Diehauser, Ruval, and Mephisto even more shaken to their cores. Mephisto, however, managed to maintain his composure better than the others due to his vast experience in handling unpredictable situations and his lack of interest in the Rating Games. Diehauser and Ruval, on the other hand, were stunned into silence, momentarily questioning if Ajuka was playing a prank on them.
Interrupting the silence, Roygun, another member of their group, confirmed that Ajuka was not joking. She admitted to being one of the nine individuals who had utilized the power of the [King] piece to rise in the rankings and attain her second rank. Her words pierced the hearts of Diehauser and Ruval, who couldn't fathom that one of their close friends had been a user of the forbidden [King] piece all along.
Roygun sighed, her gaze shifting towards Ajuka. She couldn't comprehend why he was revealing such sensitive information, especially in her presence. Concern crept into her mind, but she realized there was little she could do at this point. She sat in silence, patiently waiting for Ajuka to conclude his revelations.
Ajuka continued, emphasizing that the Rating Game served as the primary means for Devils to settle their disputes, whether they involved wealth, conflicts over specific individuals like fiancées or peerage members, or simply matters of status and fame. It was a comprehensive system that resolved disagreements from minor clashes among young devils to major conflicts involving noble houses. Ajuka posed a question to his stunned audience, "What would happen if someone who shouldn't be aware of the [King] piece became knowledgeable about it?"
Falbium answered Ajuka's question, "Those Old ones will feel threatened… after all, their interests might be impacted, not to mention the corruption in Rating Games, something on which our current society is based upon might come to light… which will be too much to handle, in which case, it would be natural for them to silently eliminate the person who became aware of the existence of the [King] piece."
Ajuka nodded, "Exactly." And looked at Diehauser, as he continued, "Diehauser Belial… your cousin sister who is currently the manager of Kuoh Town has become aware of the existence of [King] piece, and those old devils know that Cleria Belial has learned about it, so they are taking countermeasures... as we speak."
"!!!", Diehauser immediately stood up, "I see… she did ask me something similar when she was returning to the Kuoh Town… it seems that… sigh…" he looked at the others, and spoke, "I am sorry… I must immediately go to Kuoh Town and ensure the safety of my sister… I cannot allow Cleria's life to be endangered…!"
Sirzechs spoke, "Calm down Diehauser."
Diehauser shouted, "How can I calm down!? The life of my little sister is in danger, and you are asking me to calm down?" then he took a deep breath, and spoke, "Forgive me for the way I am speaking Lord Lucifer, I mean no disrespect, but at this moment, I simply cannot calm down."
Sirzechs smiled, as he shook his head, and spoke, "Diehauser, I have a little sister of my own, therefore, I know what you are feeling right now. If my Rias's life was in danger, I couldn't sit still either…" then he paused, and added, "However, since Ajuka knows what's going on in Kuoh Town in advance… I believe he should have taken countermeasures… isn't that right?"
Ajuka nodded, "A few of my close associates are protecting your younger sister as we speak." And added after a pause, "If it makes you feel better, I can tell you that the Dragon King Tiamat is one of those people… so rest assured, your sister is completely safe, no harm will come to her, this I can promise you Diehauser."
Diehauser breathed a sigh of relief, "I see." Grateful to Ajuka, "Thank you." Although his worries were not eliminated, he felt at ease that someone as strong as the Dragon King Tiamat was among the people protecting his little sister.
As Diehauser calmed down and took his seat, Ruval questioned, "Lord Beelzebub… I still don't understand why we are here."
Ajuka nodded, and spoke, "That's what I am going to talk about next…" Then he looked at the seven individuals in the room and spoke, "This time, those old devils are doing something that has offended even me… and I have decided that the use of [King] piece must come to a stop."
Everyone looked at Ajuka, understanding where he is going with this.
Ajuka spoke, "Including Roygun, there are eight of us here… And there are eight [King] pieces in use out there… what I have in mind is that the eight of us will take our individual peerages and capture those eight Kings."
"!!!" once again, everyone was taken aback.
Before the others could speak anything, Ajuka continued, "This is perhaps the only chance and only way to resolve this problem of [King] pieces." And added after a pause, "I don't wish for something like this–the life of an innocent person to be endangered–to happen again in the future. Therefore, I am requesting this from all of you… Although this method is quite bold, I believe this is the perfect way to deal with this problem before it becomes too much to deal with."
Everyone had a thoughtful expression. After a while, Diehauser took the lead in speaking, "Since Lord Beelzebub has ensured the safety of my little sister, I will do whatever it takes to help you deal with this problem, moreover, I too do not wish for something like this to happen to anyone else."
Sirzechs also nodded, "Well, this will make a lot of things easier in the future, and the power and influence of the Great King faction will also be reduced which will allow us to better manage the Underworld. So, I will partake in this."
Serafall and Falbium also nodded, "Count on us." And added, "Those old men have been creating too many problems… this will be a good lesson for them."
Different from others, Ruval hesitated… he was worried that his actions might affect the position of the House of Phenex. Seeing Ruval's hesitation, Sirzechs spoke, "Do not worry… we will ensure that the position of the House of Phenex is not affected."
Ajuka added, "Your name will not come in this entire thing. And I am going to take full responsibility for everything, therefore, there is nothing for you to be worried about."
Seeing that Lucifer and Beelzebub themselves ensure the safety of the House of Phenex, Ruval nodded, "All right then, I will do what is required."
Mephisto Pheles thought for a while, then turned to Ajuka, and spoke, "I don't mind helping, however, I have a condition."
Ajuka asked, "What would that be Lord Mephisto?"
Mephisto spoke, "An organization of Wizards known as the 'Wizards of Oz' have caused me a lot of headache in the Human Realm… and I want your assistance in that… although it's not something I can't deal with personally… there are too many things happening at the same time, so a bit of assistance would be much preferred."
Ajuka nodded, "I will be sure to send someone who will be of assistance to you."
Mephisto smiled, "Very well then, I suppose we have a deal. I think Tannin would love this."
Six of the seven people had agreed to participate–not counting Ajuka since his participation is obvious–the only person left is Roygun. And as everyone agreed, they focused their gaze on Roygun.
Feeling so many people looking at her, Roygun felt a little troubled. She thought about what to do, and after pondering for a while, she asked Ajuka, "Lord Beelzebub… you do know that I am one of the users of [King] piece… and technically, you should have directly taken the [King] piece from me after you summoned me here, but you didn't… and rather than taking the [King] piece you made me sit with all of you, you informed me of your entire plan, and now you wish for me to participate in your plan as well… Aren't you worried that I might betray you?"
"I do plan on taking the [King] piece from you after this is all over." Answered Ajuka.
Roygun nodded, and spoke, "But I can still betray you before everything is over."
Ajuka chuckled, "There is indeed that possibility, and to be honest I am indeed a little worried," Then he paused and added, "However, someone convinced me that you won't betray the case and help me out in this…"
"Eh? Someone did that?" Roygun was taken aback, and asked curiously, "Who is it?"
Ajuka smiled and said, "How about I introduce you to that person after everything is dealt with?" then added after a pause, "Of course, if you do not wish to participate in this, then you can just be a witness. If you do not put up a fight, no harm will come to you or the members of your peerage."
"Well…" Roygun's voice trailed off as she thought about what she should do. The matter with the [King] piece is already coming to an end. It's obvious that she won't be able to use it anymore. So after thinking for a while, she nodded, "All right… I am interested to know who the person is who convinced you, so I will participate, and I will also hand over the [King] piece after this entire thing is over."
"Perfect!" nodded Ajuka happy to reach a consensus.
With that, everyone was ready to participate. And Ajuka began to lay out the detailed plan to subjugate the eight [King] piece users.
The leaders of the Great King Faction would have never imagined that while they are waiting to hear the report of the assassination of Cleria Belial, they would receive another piece of news, something so shocking that even their leader Zekram Bael wouldn't know what to do, and how to deal with these unforeseen changes and circumstances.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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