Chapter 76: Disaster
Welcome to 2023!
Descending from another hyperspace gate in the skies, many more monsters, this time violent, chaotic, Chimeric beasts fell like rain across every territory in the Underworld, sowing terror and mayhem as the beasts fell and preyed on the unsuspecting residents of the Underworld.
The monsters grotesque rampaged, driven by maddening hunger and droning words commanding it to kill scattered across the streets, mass crashing into concrete, cracking it, looking for prey once they picked themselves up.
However, there was something different about these monsters compared to the creatures of Khaos Brigade months ago.
One of the guards rammed their spears into a creature.
The military of the Underworld had undergone strict training regimens ever since the Demon God's advent. They do not wish to see their world ravaged by forces beyond their ability to defeat.
However, the soldier noticed something different about this monster.
It was more malformed.
There was no better word to describe this creature, a hulking troll-like monstrosity with one arm ridiculously larger than the other, and it had no eyes and ears. It wheezes through its mouth, fangs rotten yellow. It sounded like it was suffering not from the spear lodged into its throat, but by just existing as the creature roared and retaliated, raising its malformed arm… slowly.
It was struggling to even move.
The warriors of the Underworld could feel the suffering from these creatures as some of them couldn't move correctly compared to the other Chimeras they fought.
"Another Hyperspace Gate has breached the Underworld's security. I can detect many more spatial anomalies happening across Lilith Underworld, but I sense something different from these creatures." Genos gave his report as he analyzed the creatures of the Underworld from the skies.
Devils and Angels were outside, Satans and Archangels included, in the skies above the Parliament Building, watching the chaos around them, members of the Satans' respective Peerages already spread out and doing battle.
"Unstable genetic structures detected." Genos continued as his eyes continued to scan the creatures.
"Their energy signatures are chaotic. Abnormally high brain waves detected in each creature. Analyzing cause-"
"...They are in pain."
Rising towards the conglomerate, Philomath joined Genos as the other Demons and their Lords followed the Agiel.
Philomath spoke in many tones and voices of high and low as always, his three eyes were closed as Genos detected psionic waves emanating from the creature, something so similar to the psychic powers of the Esper Sisters yet… somewhat different.
"Their bodies are falling apart. They do not have hours to live."
Everyone turned to the eldritch lord.
"...Excuse me?" Azazel asked.
"The pawns of the Great Adversary sent… children they carelessly molded with unforgivable impudence."
Everyone could hear the emotion of wrath from his many voices. His Aura did flare, but it felt as if their thoughts were near a growing fire that threatened to burn their focus away, the psychic pain in their minds growing.
"They will die knowing that life has no meaning, that life is to suffer needlessly as they are thrown away. The Agiel is responsible for guiding life, healing it from all woes. I will not stand for this… Heresy."
Philomath looked up at the Hyperspace Gate.
"...For once… I shall help you, only to save these poor souls." Philomath answered.
"Even if it is to aid the Bastard Race?" Valqar snorted fire.
"...I am not aiding them. I am aiding those suffering at this moment. The Devils do not matter."
"Heh. You can't actually be honest for once?" Azazel smiled at Philomath's semi-dishonesty.
"Silence. Tell the Awakened One this burden is mine. Witness my power, spawns of the Great Betrayer and know what you will face in battle."
Philomath raised his hands at the sky, two hands looking as if each gripped the edge of the Hyperspace Gate.
Each hand thrummed with eldritch power, foreign magic that none tasted before.
When he clapped his hands…
The portal in the skies closed, a mouth shutting, sealed away.
Confusion and surprise, everyone staring at the clear open skies, the Hyperspace Gate shut as if sliding two doors shut.
"...What did you do, and how did you do that?" Azazel asked.
He was sure that Philomath wasn't capable of this the last time they met.
"In my progress of delving into the secrets of life, I have unlocked the hidden powers of the mind." Philomath boasted as the three eyes of his two-half melded tentacle face glowed with power.
"I am The Lord of Life, Master of the Psionic, The Mind that Bends The World!"
Then Philomath spread his arms apart as small worms flew from his body, a swarm, a locust of his creations, of his flesh spreading throughout the cities.
Sirzechs, Ajuka, Falbium, and Serafall watched as each individual worm flew towards each of the creatures.
Within the streets, a three-legged, malformed monstrosity shambling towards a group of lingering reporters roared before a flying demonic worm pierced through its ear canal to its shock.
The reporters, one still holding a camera and aiming it at the creature as the creature roared, ran to a wall and banged his head against the vine-covered stone repeatedly.
Then the creature dropped to his knees as his screaming roars calmed down in his rampage.
The reporters then watched the creature… calcify.
There were no other words than to describe its entire skin turning white, hardening into a bone-like shell for some reason.
Every creature that invaded Lilith suffered the same fate, all of them calcifying, the rampage of the city stopped, leaving only confusion.
"...So you have unlocked the secret of Psychic power?" Genos asked with a hint of nostalgia when he recalled the two female Espers in his world.
"My mind is so powerful I can explode the heads of every single Devil around me with a thought and bend the matter, the energy, the laws of this world."
"...Are you bluffing or boasting? Both?" Azazel asked the demon lord.
"I do not 'bluff' or 'boast' out of misplaced pride." Philomath warned.
"What did you do to the invaders?" Genos asked as he detected the energy signature of the invaders… stabilizing.
Brain waves were calming into a hibernation-like state, Philomath's psionic frequency detected inside each creature.
"Regarding my abilities, my power over life does not require consent, but consent makes the process… so much easier. Watch closely. This is a true maker's work."
The eldritch demon clapped his hands once more.
"Awaken, my children. Be reborn and breathe renewed."
The calcium shell cracked.
The citizens watching it jumped when the shell broke.
Each of the Trihexa-made abominations escaped the shell. What came out was not the same monster.
They looked like they were fixed, cleaned, reborn into something else.
One creature, a dragon that suffered cancer, two heads, one head looking more like a tumor growing from one side and the other twisted upside down, five eyes mismatched, two of them leaking puss and gangrene.
When it emerged from the shell, it stood on two feet.
The creature had symmetry, two arms, two digitigrade legs, a healthy supple tail swishing with two long serpentine heads, each dragon head having three eyes, all healthy.
Each head inhaled as instructed, breathing in… feeling invigorated for the first time in its life before it roared to the skies with a tone screaming jubilation, celebration.
Then it stopped when it heard the siren call of its savior. The two-headed dragon chimera walked away from reporters, towards somewhere.
The Satans watched as the creatures that were once invading the Underworld stopped their rampage and congregated around them.
No, around Philomath as he landed in front of the building.
The vampire guards, Dracula's allies from Malebolge, the Satans, the Clan Heads of the 72 Pillars, all watched as the monsters slowly congregated around the Eldritch Lord of the Agiel.
They looked enthralled, peaceful.
The monsters… growled softly when Philomath approached them. The two headed dragon craned its two heads down as Philomath approached it as he caressed its head.
The children were speechless, unable to process that the Demon Lord… tamed all of the invading creatures. It was one thing to destroy the enemy but to tame all of them so swiftly, it was another feat of its own, and none of them had the skills to perform the alien technique Philomath pulled.
Saitama walked past Philomath and towards one of the creatures.
He looked at a hound-like creature. It looked menacing, covered in thick bone-like exoskeleton, having two keratin horns sticking out. He slowly raised his hand towards the creature… the creature nuzzled against its hand.
It was one of the rare moments that a monstrous creature he met for the first time did not attack him.
"...I gotta say, that's a neat trick." Saitama was pleasantly surprised as the creature panted like Rover.
"I have liberated them from their prison of flesh. They will listen to me out of their free will." Philomath explained as everyone landed and approached them.
"So… Are you gonna take all of them into your tribe or something?" Saitama then asked.
"If they wish to." Philomath replied as he finished caressing the dragon's face and nodded.
Saitama glanced around, "...Yeah, I'm pretty sure they will now follow you anywhere, bud."
Philomath hummed. However, both Saitama and Philomath suddenly sensed another foreign arrival.
They turned towards two figures floating high in the air. One of them was a fine-looking gentleman with long silver hair tied in braids. He was also clad in a silver robe covered in accessories.
The other one - floating behind the gentleman, was… he was covered in a hooded robe, the design monster-themed. His hood was patterned with fangs, looking as if his clothes were swallowing him instead of him wearing them.
His hair was pitch black, he had three eyes. Two of them had sigma symbols tattooed imprinted on each pupil. The eye on his forehead had a six pointed star, all eyes glowing gold as he looked down on them.
The creatures remade by Philomath looked up at the man in silver robe.. All of them snarled, growled, some barking and roaring at him with palpable hate.
"The man playing God…." Philomath's voice was many tones deep and resonating with anger.
In return, the said man simply smiled and bowed with his hand placed on his chest. "Greetings, citizens of Lilith of the Underworld. I am Euclid Lucifuge."
Saitama blinked when he noticed that his voice sounded like echoing around - some kind of voice amplifier magic?
"I am here to represent my master, which I choose not to disclose… For some experimentation."
Everyone curled a brow at Euclid's declaration.
"As you have seen, the army I have brought here are nothing but prototypes. But… It appears I end up witnessing something even more fascinating." Euclid's eyes then trailed towards Philomath.
"Descendant of the sycophants." Philomath's eyes glowed as Euclid suddenly grabbed his head.
"...AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Issei and the others were surprised to see the Demon Lord already at the attack.
[You have perverted your creations and have trampled on everything my people stood for! I shall shatter your mind into atoms and grind your existence to powder!]
Everyone except Saitama reeled from the psychic backlash, feeling the wrath of the Demon Lord scorching their minds as Euclid eyes started to cry blood, ears leaking red fluids.
However, whatever Philomath was doing was interrupted when the other figure touched Euclid's head.
Euclid heaved as the Philomath tripled his effort, everyone slowly feeling the migraine in their heads increasing. Yet Euclid looked fine, despite his efforts. The devil exhaled one more time as he regained his bearings. He sent a nod to his aide before he returned to address the demon lord.
"Thank you, young master Djall. Hah… Very well, I have overstayed my welcome, I see. I understand why Lucifer and God fear your kind now."
Philomath stopped his assault as his attention turned to the figure.
[...What is that creature beside you?]
Philomath demanded as the figure looked at Philomath with a curious gaze.
"My master's son… I hope you don't mind him. He is here to sight see. I am surprised that your attack didn't affect him at all."
The robed figure tilted his head as his eyes looked at Philomath.
"...I see." Ersi muttered, staring at the unknown figure, whose eyes trailed to Kiyome; he could sense that she felt a spiritual resonance with the unknown figure.
"Djall...?" Kiyome whispered as she recalled that name spoken from Rizevim's lips. "No…"
"Well, in any case, since you're that inclined to end my life, I shall leave. And I hope you like the parting gift." Euclid smiled.
[...Then here is my 'gift.']
Philomath's aura flared when the moment Euclide disappeared.
Then another hyperspace opened. This time, a large creature descended from the sky. Everyone dropped their jaws at the size of that thing, all except for Genos and Saitama.
It was one of the most massive creatures anyone had seen since the Great Red.
For Saitama, he had honestly seen bigger. He stepped forward.
"Oh, no! If that thing lands in the city, then…!" Serafall shouted as the size was more than enough to cause devastation in Lilith, many lives lost.
However, Saitama jumped towards the massive flesh-creature-meteor like a missile… and punched through it.
Serafall's despair died just like the creature when it splattered in every direction, blood, guts… there was more fleshy bits they could not describe alongside the bones and viscera, sludge like matter raining all across Lilith as Saitama landed in the center of the city.
"...Huh. Well, guess Dad is taking the initiative for once." Issei snarked to Serafall's stupor as everyone just watched the flesh rain down across the buildings and streets of Lilith.
"...Well… while I appreciate two disasters being averted… I feel like my sense of urgency will be dull if this goes on." Serafall skewed her lips with a sigh.
One of the fleshy sludge things landed before her. She was disgusted by the puddle of unknown organic matter.
"...Ermias… can you clean the city with your Wish Magic?" Serafall asked.
"I refuse to. It is your city, your mess." Ermias stated.
"Come on~. It should be as simple as you giving Saitama-chan hair! And you said you're powerful!"
Ermias was about to retort, but paused when he saw the sludge behind Serafall shudder.
"I mean, I get that you hate us but can't you at least give a little charity for love and peace?"
Ermias was amused as he grinned, the children, the Devils, the angels, both Fallen and pure, watched the flesh puddle form into an amorphous creature trying to take shape, hair growing from the thing as it tried to turn into a… lion like creature. No, it also grew a snake head, only each face was half melted, showing the bones beneath their necrotic slime-flesh.
"...And most importantly, I saw your alien friend's compassion for the poor creatures! The capacity for love is still there, I know it's in you! Would you please look inside yourself and let… your old wounds go?" Serafall pleaded, changing the subject.
"...Serafall."
The satan-girl paused at Sirzechs' behest - she then saw everyone was looking at her.
She also saw several acolytes and those escorting the demons were now guarding their charges.
"What is it? Why are you guys looking at…" Serafall paused when she noticed everyone was slowly looking up.
She turned around and her gaze was met with a hulking deformed flesh.
It was a chimeric creature from the books… except that it was dripping skin and muscle as it breathed haggardly at her. The lion and snake head roared at her face, spittle, blood, slimes of unknown matter splattering against her face.
The creatures Philomath tamed hissed and roared as more of the sludge falling around them started to grow into deformed monsters.
Back to Serafall outside of the Parliament building, the newly born monster was suddenly frozen - encased in a thick ice, the outside air dropping in temperature.
Serafall was huffing towards the frozen creature that just roared at her face, "...Disgusting. Can someone grab me a fresh towel, please!?"
"...What did Euclid just drop on us?" Ajuka asked with incredulity as many more monsters started to rise, some titanic as the buildings of Lilith, some as tall as humans.
A string of consecutive explosive deaths of the creatures within Lilith marked the trail of Saitama's activities, the baldy destroying every creature he came across before he saw the civilians around him, looking at him and then at the other monsters still alive.
"...Uh, right." Saitama flicked his phone, deciding to call Genos.
He has absolutely no idea where to lead the people as he had no idea about Lilith's layout.
"I do not know and I do not care. We have a city to clean up." Serafall answered Ajuka with a huff.
"...Hah. Hey, kids, you want to help us adults clean up the city?" Azazel offered the children.
"Honestly? I don't see why not. Assuming that you'll leave some for us." Issei smirked as he readied Boosted Gear.
"What about you Demon Lords? You want to help?" Azazel asked.
Ermias and the others surrounded the imprisoned creature.
"We do not care. Philomath?" Ermias turned to the Agiel.
The Lord of the Agiel approached the imprisoned creatures and placed a finger at the ice.
Everyone saw a small tendril-like worm digging through the ice and entering the creature.
"...It is already dead." Philomath stated. "Its flesh is in a constant state of decay and regeneration, clinging to life so desperately… It is too unstable for me to save. It will deform again if I try. I suggest euthanasia regardless."
"Then you know our answer." Valqar nodded.
"The city is yours to defend, and the rulers' duty is to protect the people." Ukoku spoke once more.
"Eh, worth a shot." Azazel shrugged as he stood up, "I'm going to lead my men outside. You guys mind keeping up?"
"We will not fall behind in this contest." Sirzechs grinned.
"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-BLURGH?!"
Within the Parliament Building, where the Devils of the Traditionalist Faction still resided in secret, saw Euclid vomiting blood on the floor, eyes crying more blood as he seethed.
"DAMN! That thing…! What is WRONG with that creature?! Why does something like him EXIST?!"
Mordax and others were taken back by the sight of their benefactor shrieking at a tone one would use to spit profanities of the human language.
"Is… is everything all right?" Mordax asked with a rare trepidation.
"AHHHHHHHHHHGHHHH! Everything is NOT alright; my head, I feel like my mind is FLAYED alive, my nerves peeled off and… and… I don't know! Struck by the worst lightning bolt or something! Young Master! I thought you were protecting me?!" Euclid shouted at his aide.
"...I was." Djall merely answered.
The Noble Devils turned to the said aide.
"Eck, yet he…. He! I… no, no. It's probably your first time… can you heal whatever that foul creature did to me?" Euclid asked.
"It will be my first time. I think your head would have… gone explode if we weren't here earlier." Djall walked up to Euclid and touched his head.
The Devils watched as tendrils grew from Djall's wrist, nerves digging into Euclid's ear. Euclid looked relieved as he sighed as if the pain was leaving him.
"Thank you, thank you…." Euclid sighed in utter relief, "You are a treasure, as your father boasted. Now then, where were we? Ah, yes. Mordax… where is the body?" Euclid rose to his feet, refreshed as he turned to Mordax and the others, the nerve tendrils retracting from Rizevim's ear canals.
"...It is still here… may I dare to ask… what this creature is?"
The three-eyed young man stared at Mordax with a tilt of his head. His nose sniffed the air, the scent of blood drawing him towards the body on the floor.
His legs carried him towards the body. The Devils in the way stepped aside and his shoes squished in the blood-stained carpet.
"I am glad you asked. I present to you, gentlemen and gentlemen, the Son of my master, Rizevim - Djall Von Lucifer." Euclid presented the child.
Everyone stared at the creature bearing human form. No matter how they look at him… he was clearly not a Devil.
They flinched when the creature stabbed his finger into Mordax's chest wound… and licked the blood.
"I… what is he… Is he… a cannibal or something?" Mordax asked as Djall took another sample.
"No, he is not a Devil in any sense of the word. He is born from the Blood of The Messiah, though." Euclid stated with pride.
The room then exploded in sneers and murmurs.
"Blood of the Messiah?!"
"What kind of joke is this?!"
"What are we even looking at now!?"
"He is still…"
Djall tore out a piece of rib bone and threw it into his mouth and started crunching it to everyone's disgust.
"A miracle of evolution in the making. Please, do not mind his eating habits… he is a special boy. Master Rizevim likes… to educate him on the matters of Devils with first hand experience. And also help censure his wide diet range," Euclid offered as Djall returned to Euclid with a gulp.
"He tastes a bit like alcohol… one brand I think," Djall informed. "Why are they standing around the corpse like that if they're not going to eat or inter it?"
"That's because they are accomplices to a murder." Euclid explained.
"Murder? What for?" Djall asked as he sniffed the air. His eyes turned to the one who ended Zekram's life, Bedeze flinching when their eyes met.
"That is a bit difficult to explain at the moment. Let's just say… it was in a heated moment… and logic was snuffed at the time," Euclid explained
Bedeze quirked a brow at the creature as it sniffed him like a dog.
"...Why did you kill him?" Djall asked the murderer.
Bedeze felt unnerved by Djall's gaze - his confusion and innocence were sincere, and it crept him out.
"Why should I explain myself to a cannibal? Get this filth away from me, you unclean filth," Bedeze demanded.
Djall narrowed his eyes at Bedeze.
"...Are you labeling me as an animal that has no capacity for thought?" Djall asked.
"What are you talking about? Isn't that what you are?" Bedeze shouted back.
"Actually…." Euclid pointed out. "Djall is… my superior, in a manner of speaking. Master Rizevim wanted him to come along for a walk. He is following me out of his will. So, whatever he does… has more authority than mine. I serve more as his…. Guide, if anything."
"...What?" Bedeze looked at Euclid as if he was speaking a horrid joke. "This… man-eating thing… is your superior?"
"In more ways than one. When he was born, he ate some of our staff trying to rein him in, and he likes the taste of Trihexa-infused human magicians… and Dragons."
"The corpse tasted clean, though. Has a special flavor." Djall added.
"Yes, and please refrain from eating anyone."
A small sense of fear grew within the nobles, even Bedeze when Djall sniffed him again. His nose continued sniffing as he leaned forward
His nose sniffed as his sigma eyes narrowed.
"Interesting… I smell something peculiar and taste worthy."
"Euclid, I do not like what he is saying, please tell this thing off at once." Bedeze demanded as he stepped back, but the creature grabbed his shoulder.
Bedeze instantly prepared his magic the moment he sensed hostile intent, but he was impaled.
Euclid was speechless as he wordlessly stammered at the sight of Djall ramming his fist into Bedeze.
"Y-Young Master?!" Euclid managed to run towards Djall as fleshy tendrils took root, spreading under Bedeze's skin as his choked screams resounded within the soundproof walls.
The agony.
It was less of a physical pain and more like the creature trying to… rip his soul out of him as banal as it sounded, mixed with the sensation of… his skin and muscle peeling off his bones, blood vessels torn out like the weeds his gardeners pull out of the dirt.
Djall looked perturbed for a second as Bedeze howled when something else was torn from him.
Bedeze felt something gripping something important inside him when Djall yanked back, holding something in his bloody hand as Bedeze wretched blood onto the floor as he fell to his knees.
"What are you doing, Euclid?! Reign that… thing in at once!" Mordax shouted as he ran towards Bedeze with a Phenex Tear.
Euclid approached Djall while he was licking the blood out of his hand.
"Young Master, I understand that Bedeze… that you might be hungry, but you can't just… just…"
Euclid stopped when he saw a chess piece between Djall's fingers.
Bedeze looked up, seething with rage, yet his rage ceased when he saw his greatest secret gleaming from between the thing's bloody fingers.
"...Found it." Djall smiled as he looked at Bedeze.
"You… give that back!" Bedeze shouted as he staggered back to his feet, trying to shoot his hand forward towards the King chess piece in Djall's grasp.
However, Djall simply caught Bedeze's offending wrist, stopping the devil from advancing even one step further.
"Calm down, please!" Euclid began to think that he was assigned something above his pay-grade. "Lord Abaddon, stand down. Young master, what is it you are holding?"
Djall stared at the blood-caked chess piece and licked it to everyone's mild disgust.
"...I don't know. But it is tasty." Djall stared at the piece while Bedeze struggled to free his wrist, but the creature was… too strong.
He showed it to Euclid as he stared at it closely.
"...Oh. That is a King Piece. I… am surprised. It should be illegal for a King to have one."
"Why is it illegal?" Djall asked.
"Well, he is a King of a Peerage, Young Master. Do you understand what they are?"
"A leader and a bunch of… servants? Fifteen or less under the leader?"
"Close. Kings are designated as Kings through a special ritual in a game of tradition to determine… social hierarchy amongst each other. To have this is basically… well… cheating." Euclid explained informally as possible.
"Oh. So this tasty sack of meat is a cheater?" Djall looked at Bedeze as Bedeze flinched when he saw the creature licking his lips.
"Erm, yes, he is a cheater." Euclid affirmed.
"...Then that means he is a loser as well."
Bedeze snarled like a feral animal as he decided enough as he used his Hole ability to send him away.
However, the space around him was unwarped.
The said devil looked between his hands and Djall in confusion. He attempted to use his Hole power again, but to no avail.
Bedeze continued throwing his hands at Djall but his power just would not come out.
"What… what did you do to me?!"
Djall pushed him back stumbling several steps.
Then he threw the King Piece into his mouth.
Everyone watched as Djall chewed the King Piece, the forbidden piece being crunched as if he was eating a hard piece of candy before he swallowed.
Then Djall raised his hand and… summoned several black orbs…
The Devils recognize that as the Hole power.
"...Fun." Djall swallowed Bedeze with the Hole power and launched him into the wall, Bedeze bouncing into another Hole, smashing into the floor.
The consecutive rate of the hole power appearing accelerated, the hole power blinking in and out of existence faster and faster until it flickered so fast around the room that it looked like the many portals briefly appeared at once.
When Djall was done, he dropped Bedeze to the table as he rolled to the floor, nauseous from the power as Djall looked at his hand, clenching and unclenching his fingers.
Everyone could not believe it.
"...Did you just…" Euclid could not believe it.
"This is fun. I like this. What's this power thing called?" Djall interrupted.
"That- that is my birthright, you cur!" Bedeze roared as he picked himself up.
"Sorry. Meant to take your tasty chess piece. Took that one by mistake… didn't think I could do that at first," Djall apologized.
"Give it back!" Bedeze demanded.
"Don't want to… thinking about it… what kind of fun things do you people have?" Djall turned to the other nobles.
They flinched when he licked his lips, a Primal hunger growling from his aura.
In that moment, they felt like lambs before the wolf God Fenrir.
"Young master Djall…" Euclid carefully stepped towards him.
"I'm hungry. I haven't eaten anything since I got here, and that guy tasted like premium-raised… livestock."
"...I understand that, but…"
The Devils felt their blood running cold as their color fled from their skin in fright upon hearing Djall confirming his desire to eat them.
"Young Master, I understand that they… wouldn't you like some tastier meats instead?" Euclid felt a spark of inspiration as a devious idea ran through his mind.
"...Tasty how?" Djall asked as he turned to Euclid.
"The current Satans are far more tasty than these old fossils."
The Nobles felt offended but they could see what Euclid was doing.
"Think about it. The four strongest Devils, rich with power… and flavor. Imagine what you can gain from taking their powers instead. I do not know about… eating them like you did with some of our staff but please reconsider your choice of diet. Or I will tell Master Rizevim and Psykos on you."
Djall stared at Euclid with an unreadable gaze.
"...Can I eat Grendel and Nidhogg?"
Euclid sighed - he knew the origin of Djall's desire to eat their dragon servants but… He wondered what would happen if he did eat them.
"Please do not eat more of our comrades. Would you settle on clones instead?"
"They do not taste as good. And they're a bit stale." Djall's face contorted.
Euclid sighed again, "...Would you return Bedeze's power? Please?"
"No. It's mine now."
Djall was starting to sound childish.
"That won't do, young master. We might still require Lord Abaddon's cooperation. I strongly advise you to return it… Now." Euclid returned.
"...Can't I just give him someone else's instead?" Djall suggested.
Euclid was about to open his mouth. But stopped as another idea popped.
"...Maybe you can… Djall. How many abilities can you intake?"
"I… do not know yet, I just learned that I can take things. Why?"
"Mordax. I have a fun idea." Euclid smiled as he turned to his cohorts. "How would you… like a taste of real power as compensation? Imagine. Mordax Bael… Master of the 72 Pillars. The combined might of all the Devil Bloodlines."
It only took a good few seconds for the others to see where this offer was going.
Mordax stared at Euclid before he turned to Djall, seeing the potential…
"...Would you really do that?" Mordax asked.
"With the miracle child, my Young Master, we can. This is what my Master strives for! The next level of Evolution beyond Devil kind! And it can be yours!"
The nobles were starting to grin as the prospect appealed to their desires, confidence growing within them.
"...If I may."
Everyone turned towards the sole lady in the room, "How would you plan on gathering the… Devil Bloodline powers? Without drawing attention?" She asked.
"That… is a reasonable question I do not know how to answer. Hm..." Euclid pondered. "It is more fun to kidnap the children of your rivals and steal their powers, but that would ruin the surprise…"
"Roygun Belphegor." Mordax called out to the beautiful pink-haired woman sitting behind the nobles.
She had one leg over the other and two horns sprouting from her head. Her slim, yet well-endowed body was clad in a high-cut formal dress with high slits.
"I understand the logistical problems behind this endeavor but think about it… having all of the clan powers. No, a total monopoly on bloodline abilities! This could change everything!"
"You're talking as if I don't have ears or feelings," Djall pointed out as he raised his hand.
The Noble Devils flinched when his fingers elongated into sharp, metallic-like claws.
"Young master Djall, please, they do not mean any insult," Euclid placed a calming hand on Djall's shoulder, prompting the latter to put his claws down. Euclid then turned to Roygun again, "...Lady Belphegor, if you would?"
Roygun gave a small nod before speaking again, "I thought all of us here were discussing how to maintain things as they were. Now? There is this idea of consolidating all power into one individual. We are jumping to conclusions too fast, don't you think?"
"If we are to maintain how things were, we need ALL of the power we can harvest now! Here, we have the potential to become… something more!" Mordax sounded… rabid, possessed by the excitement of unexplored reaches of power at his fingertips.
Roygun could see it in his eyes.
"All the power? Since when do we need all of it? We only need enough!"
"'Enough' isn't enough! We need more! So much more! This is Sirzechs and the Archangels we are dealing with here!"
"And then after that? What will we become? Our society is meant to preserve and honor our clan history, we will devolve… we will become nothing more than thieves killing each other for our powers! Is this what you all want? To turn against each other for just our bloodline abilities?" Roygun attempted to sow reason into everyone.
Mordax bristled, not liking being addressed by a woman in such a way, "Now listen here-"
Knock, knock, knock.
However, the tension was abruptly cut down by the sound of someone knocking at the door, followed by a familiar voice.
"Pardon my intrusion, Lord Bael? Are you here?"
Everyone could recognize the voice belonging to one Zeoticus Gremory. They exchanged glances, before they glanced at Zekram's body lying in the pool of his own blood. That moment, an accord was reached.
Mordax nodded at Euclid, who returned the gesture as he and Djall quickly came over Zekram's body and activated their teleportation spell.
The body was gone, but the pool of blood remained. The other nobles quickly shuffled to block the large blood stain from view as Mordax approached the door and opened it slightly.
"Yes, Lord Gremory? Is something the matter?" Mordax returned his question.
"Lord Mordax. The chaos outside has calmed enough for the Satans and the other leaders to return to their negotiations. They are currently reaching a consensus. I am here to relay the upcoming conclusion with Lord Bael and discuss how to interact with our… ancestor race." Zeoticus then blinked, "...Oh, and do you know where Lord Zekram is, by any chance? I was actually looking for him before one of the maids notified me that you are in this room."
"Ah, yes. The Great King is currently taking a breath of fresh air outside. I can relay the news to him when he returns." Mordax answered with years of political experience quelling the panic in his heart.
Roygun felt that she had to do something, but Bedeze hushed her with a glare. Unfortunately, Zeoticus' ears caught Bedeze's hushed tone.
"...Is there someone else inside?" Zeoticus tried to peer inside the room, only to be blocked by Mordax.
"No, no one else is here. Please, the news?" Mordax asked, trying to suppress the sweat leaking his pores.
"Hm…." Zeoticus quirked a brow.
Mordax could tell he was getting suspicious. His timing could not be more terrible.
"I am here to relay that there have been… groundbreaking exchanges. Sirzechs is negotiating with the demons not to take away all of our Agreas Crystals."
Mordax's eyes widened with genuine concern, "...Are you implying these invaders demand for our Agreas Crystals?"
"Yes, Sirzechs is trying to repeal their demands and negotiate further."
Everyone, Bedeze and even Roygun, gave the conversation their undivided attention.
"...What is the current status?" Mordax asked.
"One half of the Demon Lords are vying on our behalf. The other half are being… stentorian, very vocal of their demands."
Mordax grimaced.
"Is it possible for us to meet the friendly half of the Demon Lords? Can we parlay with them?" Mordax saw an opening at play with the Demons.
"I do not know. I want to discuss this with Zekram. I wish to have a meeting with him on how to handle the matter. Please inform him of my message when he returns."
Mordax nodded as he closed the door. He stared at the door, slowly inhaling.
"...Indra knew this would happen." Mordax clicked his tongue, "Damn him…." Now they might not have any Agreas Crystals left by the time everything blew over.
They might have to resort to more drastic measures.
"Now, where were… Where is Roygun Belphegor?"
Mordax was about to address the previous matter, but he could not find the lady in question anywhere.
XoX
When everyone's attention was on Zeoticus, Roygun managed to slip away with her own teleportation magic.
She could not reach inside the mansion as she was under a lot of pressure. She did manage to teleport far away from the Parliament building as she panted.
"This is too much... I need to warn the others."
First, she must gather and protect her Peerage and servants, in case the others decide to use them as leverage. Then she must warn her family, and finally unveil Mordax's insane plan.
She needed to get away as she ran towards the alleys. However, within the shadows between the two walls, something stepped out of it.
It was a horrendous thing born from the nightmares of man. Silence gripped her tongue as it revealed itself.
Two heads melded together, the back of their heads stuck together, each face facing left and right. On the side, where the backs of their heads fused, a vertical eye opened as it stared at her.
It had no clothes, the rest of its body from the neck down glistening tentacles. It was hovering above the ground a few inches.
"...Why… Why is a demon here? Are you here to help me?"
Roygun could not help but hope. She could sense the hostility radiating from it.
[My Lord demands that the Devils bring themselves to ruin. I am not your friend, Daughter of the Bastard Race.]
Before Roygun could have even moved a muscle, the demon's multiple tentacles lashed out at her before she could have used her Bloodline power. Once they contacted her skin, one tentacle touching her forehead, she felt an alien sensation worming into her mind and a strange power obstruction suppressing her power.
She tried to get away, but the fleshy tendrils had already wrapped around her torso, arms and legs - keeping her in place. She wanted to shout for help, but one tentacle shot into her open mouth, preventing her voice from coming out.
Soon, she gagged as the tendril in her mouth went even deeper - she then felt like her head was about to explode. Her body began spasming in the demon's hold.
[You are afraid… you believe that I am here to violate you.]
The creature sounded insulted.
[You people riddled with hormone-corrupted imaginations… You will leave without knowledge of The Enemy's madness.]
Roygun struggled, yet the creature was deceptively strong.
[You want to know my - nay, our purpose here? Our greatest wish is to take back the justice denied to us. We did not joke when we stated our desire to eradicate your existence.]
Roygun's eyes began to roll back as her seizure intensified.
[I am surprised that you indulged in the madness of your peers for this long… ahhh, so that is the source. Endearing yet so… hypocritical. You deceive yourself as much as you deceive your people. You should've forsaken them when it still mattered. But my cruelty does not extend that far. You are free to save your friends and family. But you will not stop your race from this suicidal path.]
The creature released Roygun, the woman spasming on the floor for a few seconds before finally passing out.
[This is my mercy. The chance to prove me wrong. Show us that your race is worthy of redemption, Roygun Belphegor.]
The creature was then gone.
Within the Parliament Building, Philomath watched Sirzechs and the other leaders of Triumvirate coordinating post-war treatment to the city.
[Their path to destruction is secured.]
Philomath spoke telepathically to the other demon lords.
[Interesting creature. His Aura is too similar to that of the girl's.]
Valqar spoke back.
[The Spawn of the Trihexa or so I've read from her mind. It is a tragedy that such a harsh life greeted his birth.]
Philomath said with genuine sadness.
[We should inform Jesus of this. I want to see his reaction to the first child being born from one of the creatures that brought his father's downfall.]
Ukoku sounded entertained.
[Hahaha. Yes, we should. And we have done more than enough. We have enough surveillance on them to make our next move.]
On cue, Ermias then saw Serafall making her way towards him.
"Our deepest apologies for the unforeseen complications, Lord Ermias, Count Dracula. We will need to postpone our talk for another time." Serafall spoke with a rare tone of professionalism.
Dracula grunted softly, "For all it is worth, we do not fully blame you, Serafall Sitri. Yes, perhaps another time."
"We do not need any quarters. We can create our own abode on the outskirts." Ermias stated.
"...Great! Let me know if you need anything. Count Dracula." Serafall beamed before she gave one last nod to the vampire and ran off to address the other duties.
Considering how antagonistic the demons had been, Serafall was relieved she did not have to be hospitable all the time. She flew over to her Peerage as she joined them in eradicating the rest of the disgusting necro-flesh monsters.
The creatures had a disgustingly strong affinity with regeneration, albeit limited; the chunks of the monsters either became even smaller creatures or reformed into a different more grotesque abomination with different animalistic and skeletal features or remained as wriggling, struggling organs.
However - despite their grotesque appearance, these creatures were not coordinated and they were quite easy to deal with. Serafall looked around and other troops just took down another one and there had been no casualties so far.
"Sister!"
Serafall blinked and saw Sona approaching her, "Good work, Sona-chan! How are things on your end?" she beamed.
"My peerage and I are helping with the remaining stragglers on our side…" Sona then paused when she and Serafall heard an explosion and one particularly large abomination flew to the air in gores of blood.
"...And I think Ise and the others are doing fine too."
"Mhm. Too bad they can't clean up after themselves." Serafall pointed out as the gore and guts rained down around them.
One of the organs, a half-deformed heart landed in front of them.
The Sitri sisters stared at the piece of flesh, how it was still beating… more flesh growing with palpable struggle, the way the organ quivered to retain life before it finally collapsed, the beating mutilated heart slowed to silence.
The sisters shared a glance with the older one shrugged; they both agreed to leave it to the clean-up crew as they flew away from the awful stench.
However, when they were flying away, Sona blinked when the organ suddenly inflated - only to literally pop off in a gaseous explosion a few seconds later.
XoX
"Greetings, it has been a while since we saw each other!"
Meanwhile - In the distance where the red-armored Red Dragon Emperor fought, a golden-armored warrior flew towards the Son of the Strongest Man.
Issei just splattered another deformed abomination that words could not describe other than a miscarried chimera born with all of its parts in the wrong places.
"Hm? Wait… Yo, big guy!" Issei waved at Sairaorg Bael as he joined him with his Queen following him.
In the skies, the angel trio and Kiyome fought off the airborne creatures, Kiyome tearing one apart limb by limb with her claws with ease before she pounced at a smaller creature, tearing it in half.
"I didn't expect to see you here. My Peerage and I recently finished our section of Lilith. They are currently securing a perimeter in the outskirts to make sure the monsters will not wander out of the city."
"Didn't expect to see you this soon. Almost done from my side… Though…" Issei raised his knuckle, blood covering his gauntlet, and sniffed the gore.
"...Something about this thing smells familiar…" Issei said with worry.
It was a peculiar scent that reminded Issei of something yet he could not place a finger on it due to how necrotizing the scent was.
It was a dangerous scent… yet so different that he could not put in the words as the scent was constantly changing with the constant smell of rotting flesh mixed into the odorous chaos.
"You speak as if you can actually smell them like a dog." Sairaorg commented.
"Something I picked up along the way. Hard to explain, but no time for that. I don't know the area enough to lead the civilians to safety." Issei explained.
"You can leave that to us. Just focus on stopping these things from doing any further damage." Sairaorg nodded to his Queen.
Issei nodded as he returned to his search for more monsters. However, he paused his action when he smelled something wrong.
The foul stench now had a lethal scent to it now… The scent of disease as his Stjarna-grafted skin shuddered.
"Get back!" Issei reacted on reflex when he dashed over to Kuisha Abbadon and Sairaorg with Thunderstep plus his flame jets, then launched into the air just when the gore, the meaty bits exploded into a strange red mist covering the streets.
Issei looked down, seeing a strange, crimson gas rising from the blood as it coagulated.
"What in the world…?" Sairaorg muttered as he looked around in confusion - the feeling shared with his Queen and Issei.
"...I think I may have a good idea of what that guy dropped on Lilith." Issei let them go as Kuisha spread her devil wings as they surveyed the streets of Lilith.
A scream, a shriek, more adding to the cacophony resounding the streets. They wasted no haste, skipping over skyscrapers with worry.
Below was horror, when they saw a man's skin melting into red slurry. The said man was standing nearby a now-decomposing corpse of one of the abominations, noxious gasses leaking from the corpse, bathing him in it.
Writhing and shrieking, he fell and rolled, tearing his skin off his muscle and bones as it regrew, deformed out of shape, a crab-like claw and an exoskeleton sprouting in place.
Eyes falling out, the sockets covered, the man now limbed forth, screaming and swinging his new appendage, carving against the stone and metal of the streets, rampaging towards a woman with a warped scream and snarl.
The mutant roared and lunged - only to receive a solid kick to his face that sent him hurling away until he crashed into a nearby wall.
Issei watched his handiwork before he turned to help the frightened woman back to her feet, "Are you alright? You need to get away from here."
The woman held onto him instead, "P-Please! Save him! He's my brother!" She pointed shakily at the hole where the mutant just crashed into.
Issei blinked, "...He's your what?" He turned to see the supposedly woman' brother, crawling out from the hole in the wall.
The creature stumbled and appeared to be in daze before it growled and roared at them again. At the same time, Issei received several calls from the others' telepathic links.
[Ise, where are you!? We got a new situation here!]
[We need back-up here! People suddenly turned into monsters!]
[Everyone, stay away from those red mists! Whatever they are, they turn whoever inhales them into monsters!]
"...Huh?!"
Issei was baffled as the red fog plumed from all of the blood and remains of the creatures, an infectious red flooding the streets in a deceptively gentle tide.
Issei quickly grabbed the woman and took to the skies, leaving her 'brother' down there as the streets were infected.
"W-wait! What about my brother?!" The civilian she-devil shouted in his arms.
"Sorry about this, lady! But we need to keep you safe first! We'll figure something out about your brother, okay?!" Issei quickly reassured the woman.
"This way, Issei!" Sairaorg shouted as he and his Queen led Issei to the nearest evacuation zone.
Once he dropped the woman in the nearest evacuation zone, he quickly returned to the city to check on others. On the way, he witnessed more mutants popping out - some of them were reaching 3 meters tall and climbed up the building.
"How's everyone doing!?" Issei shouted to his telepathic link.
[Not good! Every mutant we had to put down - they released the same red smoke upon dying! We cannot engage these creatures in melee without risking infection!]
It was Ravel who replied.
"Irina?! Sister Griselda!? Sona! How are things on your end?!" Issei then asked again.
[W-We're trying our best! I-I tried to heal them with Twilight Healing and Asclepius but… it only made it worse!]
Asia shouted from her side.
"Why?! How did using healing magic make this worse!?" Issei replied as he ran into a flying mutant intercepting him.
Its devil wings were growing feathers and a hyena head replaced its left arm, half of the creature's face was turned into a giraffe.
With swifter reflexes, Issei somersaulted forward and slammed it down to the mist-infected city with an ax-kick.
"...And watch out for fliers! The infected are Devils, not humans!" Issei shouted.
This was turning into a true Biohazard scenario, a sci-fi disaster plot coming to life. Issei made a few runs, checking on each group and peerage.
So far, Rias' peerage was faring well enough; Power of Destruction, Holy Lightning, Sword-Birth long-ranged variant techniques and Fire Magic did well enough to dispatch the mutants. Lint and Koneko had more limited options for long-ranged techniques, so they had to settle playing defensive and let the others deal the finishing blow.
Issei had faceplate on, so he should be safe to resort to close quarters combat. Even so, he might have to use long range attacks to save time.
[Hyoudou!]
Issei stopped when he heard Saji shouting at him through the telepathic link.
[Hyoudou! W-w-we got a situation here…. Fuck!]
Dread filled Issei as he heard Saji's panicked tone, "W-what? What happened, Saji?! Talk to me!"
[I-it's- It's President Sona and Tsubasa! They've been hit by the gas! Shit, shit! What do we do?!]
To be Continued…..
Omake One: Magical Girl Vs Hero, Round 1
It was a rare sight for Sona and her Peerage to see one of the Satans fight.
The Red Dragon Emperor - The Son of the Strongest Man, donned in heroic power-ranger-like dragon armor, danced with the magical girl of the Underworld in the skies.
Fire and ice clashed, champion of fire and lightning against Lord of the Ice and Seas.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
Trails of lightning and fire zigzagged through the skies, burning through the floating ocean of water Serafall covering the waterfall, the liquid mass covering the majority of the Underworld sky as far as the eye could see.
Bubbles clouded the sky ocean, birthed by heat, clouding sight, steam erupting downwards as the waters bubbled, vaporizing as Issei reached Serafall.
An explosion of steam that warmed the air to scalding levels nearly washed over Sona's peerage.
Sona managed to protect herself and her friends with her magic, the mist dispersing to reveal Issei nearly covered in ice from head to toe, his fist ensnared in a block of frost protecting Serfall.
Issei's body flared with heat, more than enough to vaporize the ice.
However, Issei noticed something as he sniffed.
"...This isn't ice." Issei noted as he looked at the crystal freezing his arm.
It did not melt off from the extreme heat.
It was conducting it for some reason with extreme efficiency, so much heat that it was affecting his arm.
"Did you know…" Serafall grinned at him, "That solid H2O can be achieved through extreme heat and compression instead of cold? Ever since Garou and Saitama nearly destroyed the Underworld, I knew that I cannot remain the same helpless magical girl. I needed an edge against someone that can vaporize oceans. So I've been experimenting with my water magic enough to unlock something Garou showed me once when we first met."
Issei stared at Serafall through the green visor baffled, a million questions fueling his confusion and choking his voice into silence.
"This version of 'hot ice' conducts energy extremely well… but is much harder to manipulate. Still, happy to see it holding you back for….. this!"
Her heart-tipped magical girl wand tapped his helmet.
In a flash of light - when Ise looked down, at first he did not notice anything different. He felt… thinner, no - slimmer was a better way to describe it. However, when he shifted his legs he noticed the lack of his member in the middle.
"...You warped, piece of magical girl garbage." Issei was so horrified and angry he could not bring himself to shout at the top of his lungs in a profanity of curses.
In return, Serafall merely grinned cheekily, "Why don't you see for yourself? My personal handiwork of Isami-chan, Magical Girl Levia-tan's greatest sidekick!"
"Change me back this instant before I go all Demon God on your ass!" Isami shouted at Serafall in his… her new female voice, his armor still on, yet everyone watching knew what happened to Issei.
Serafall hummed while tapping her finger on her chin, "Hm… Fine, but I want to see how my own handiwork does on you! Get rid of that armor!"
"You siscon bitch..." Isami managed to utter a curse as she undid her armor, banishing it to reveal the content underneath.
Saji felt disturbingly aroused when he saw the genderbent Issei.
Sona felt horrified that this version of Isami was extremely similar to her in appearance. And that Isami's breasts were smaller now. She found herself patting her own breasts while everyone else was engrossed at Issei's new appearance.
Serafall was star-struck, "Kyaah~! I love it! You're just as cute as my So-tan~!" she squealed while flying around in excitement.
Issei looked down at 'his' body now - it certainly looked different than the last time.
"...Change me back. Now. Before I decide to do something I regret." Isami demanded with barely contained fury.
Omake Two: Behind Closed Doors
"...Is there someone else inside?" Zeoticus tried to peer inside the room, only to be blocked by Mordax.
"No, no one else is here. Please, the news?" Mordax asked, trying to suppress the sweat leaking his pores.
"Hm…." Zeoticus quirked a brow, "Mordax, may I ask what you were doing before I came?" He asked further with suspicion in his tone.
Mordax glanced behind him briefly, "Um, I, err…. Nothing, nothing of your concerns."
"Then is it alright if I step inside?" Zeoticus asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"N-no, no! My apologies, but the truth is… I, um… accidentally made a mess in this room."
Zeoticus then blinked, "That's unfortunate. I shall notify the servants to clean this room immediately."
However, before the Gremory patriarch could have taken a step, Mordax's hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait, you don't have to! I mean, you can leave that for later. Now, the news about the conference?" Mordax gave a tight smile.
However, Mordax's sudden deflection only served to increase Zeoticus' suspicion. "...Is everything truly alright, Mordax?"
"Yes! Yes, just some mess, but otherwise everything is fine!" Mordax began to lose his own patience.
"Then why are you so averse of me having a look inside?" Zeoticus stood his ground.
What Mordax would not give to simply blast this bloodline thief with his Power of Destruction. However, the circumstances were too delicate for him to do anything reckless. Glancing behind him - at his peers who were still standing, blocking Zekram's bloodstain on the floor, Mordax knew he had to come up with something - anything that would drive Zeoticus away.
"I, um, am conducting a private research, a study, if you may call it." Mordax began.
Zeoticus raised his eyebrows, "Oh? What kind of subject?"
"It's regarding… How to increase our fertility rate." Mordax trailed off.
Zeoticus blinked, "That's… Actually not what I originally thought. Can you share some of it with me?"
His patience running out, Mordax closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I'm studying if pornography from the human world can be used in our society."
Zeoticus blinked again, "...I beg your pardon?"
Mordax pressed on, "I'm looking at everything on this platform called 'internet' - everything the human can offer. It's… It's quite endearing material, I'm… I was in the middle of doing some of them with one of my mistresses. The mess I mentioned earlier is… The result of our studies so far."
His words left the old Gremory stunned… something so out of character came out of Mordax's mouth that it made him stare at him as if making sure the man before him wasn't a doppelganger taking his place.
"I… alright."
Mordax could feel the damage on his reputation from his expression. He wondered if the others behind him were trying not to laugh.
"...Just remember to notify Zekram that the negotiation with the demons are still ongoing."
Mordax then watched Zeoticus leaving with quick steps while muttering something about, 'no wonder the demons want all of us miserable.' He then closed the door and turned to his peers, who were looking at him.
With his dignity in pieces, Mordax pointed his finger at everyone in the room, "...Whatever you people heard…"
Bedeze immediately followed suit, "Our lips are sealed, sir."
"Good."
Christmas Special
It was a snowy day in Hyoudou Residence. To be precise it was Christmas Eve in Hyoudou Residence.
[Felice Navida~ Felice Navida…~ We wanna wish you a Merry Christmas~!]
"...Didn't know that you people can celebrate Christmas. Won't celebrating it burn you or something like that?" Saitama asked as he watched Rias standing on the stepladder in the main living room, setting another ornament on the wall.
"If what you are referring to is the celebration of the Birth of Christ - then no, that one is for Asia, Xenovia, Irina, and others from the church. What we, the devils, celebrate is more the Yuletide festival." Rias replied while appraising her handiwork.
"...Yuletide?" Saitama asked.
"Didn't my brother message you on that holiday?" She asked.
"Uhhhhhhhh…" Saitama quickly took out his phone and checked. "Oh, so it's kind of a Norse version of Christmas? Whatever. Wait, does this mean Odin and Rossweisse are coming over?"
Rias blinked when she was putting on the star on top of the christmas tree, "I… don't know. Did you or Azazel invite them?"
Saitama's expression went thoughtful for a second, "...I'll check in with Genos a bit." He then made his way towards the kitchen, where Genos was helping Haruka make some Christmas treats.
"Yo, Genos. Are we expecting the guys from the Norse?" Saitama asked as he stepped inside the kitchen.
Genos was in the middle of wrapping up several goody-bags, while Haruka was working on another bowl of dough.
"I don't recall about inviting them over, although I saw Odin with Azazel earlier today, so I won't be surprised if Azazel and Odin come over." the cyborg replied.
Haruka then piped up when the oven made a long 'beep' sound, "Dear, can you take the cookies out of the oven?"
"'Kay."
Saitama walked over to the oven - Black who was hanging around to find a chance to steal - no taste, some of the treats watched Saitama putting on thick gloves on his hand.
"...Why do you bother wearing mitts?" Black asked.
"What are you talking about? The tray is blistering hot. Of course I need my gloves on." Saitama replied as if it was only natural.
"...You can withstand the force of a Black Hole yet you're scared of some lukewarm burns?" Black remarked.
"What's the difference?"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to the Baldy, who was also confused at the sudden attention.
"...What?"
XoX
"That should be all, I think….. Anything else we need to buy, Iri?" Issei asked as he carried a few large shopping bags without difficulty.
"Yep! That should be everything!" Irina beamed, "Ready to go home?"
"Lead the way." Issei returned the gesture and the couple began their trek back home, "Did you talk to your parents?"
"I did, they said 'hi' to you and the rest. They will catch up to us by Christmas day tomorrow." Irina replied, "What about the Vali team? Did you find out what they're up to?"
"Bikou wants to drop by his hometown in China. Arthur and Le Fay want to spend Christmas Eve with some folks from their home. Kuroka's gonna drop by later, after she dropped Vali… By big-sis Lavinia's house." Issei gave Irina a knowing grin, which Irina replied with a giggle.
"By the way, what are you and the girls up to? We split up quick earlier, but I never knew where you went… Rather, what did you have there?" Issei glanced at the bag in Irina's hand.
"It's a secret. Just wait until we get home, okay?" Irina winked, prompting Issei to sigh in acceptance.
They reached home soon enough, but as soon as they stepped past the front door, Irina quickly gave Issei a quick kiss before she stormed off to her room, leaving a confused Issei behind. The boy placed his shopping bags on the table in the living room when Saitama walked in.
"'Sup, Ise."
"Hey, dad. Where's everyone?" Issei returned.
Saitama shrugged, "Not sure. Genos said he was invited by this girl to the Underworld…. I forgot her name; your mom went to her room after kicking Black and Rover out."
Issei blinked, "Okay…? And the girls?"
Saitama tilted his head, "Yeah, I was about to ask you, actually. Are they up to something?"
"I-"
"Ise~"
Before Issei could have replied, Rias' voice echoed and both males turned to see Rias, Asia, Akeno, Koneko, Kuroka, Xenovia, Irina, and Ravel appearing in personalized Santa costumes, which suffice to say, look like something purchased from lingerie shop.
However, all of the girls' confident and excited smiles were quickly wiped off when they noticed that Saitama was standing next to Issei.
"M-Mr. Saitama?! I-I thought you're with mother?!" Rias squeaked while the other girls were either hiding behind Rias or hiding their modesty in embarrassment.
Saitama was looking away awkwardly, "Err… I was waiting for Haruka, actually. Um…. Do you want me to leave?"
"Yes, you are leaving."
On cue, Saitama felt a pair of slender arms wrapping around him, followed by a familiar sensation of a pair of fleshy mounds pressing against his back.
Issei on the other hand, had his eyes bulging out at the sight of his mother wearing a similar, scandalous Santa outfit while hugging her husband from behind, "Mom, what the fuck?!"
"Oh, hush, Ise. The girls and I are simply upholding the Yuletide tradition." Haruka replied before she turned to the redhead in the room, "...Rias dear? If you would?"
Gaining her clarity - Rias decided to push through, "R-right!" She then conjured a magic circle on the ceiling.
In a flash of light, a dozen mistletoe in varying sizes were summoned on the ceiling.
"Remember the rules, girls?" Haruka asked while still hugging the shell-shocked Saitama.
"K-Kissing only!" Irina quipped.
"No sex." Rias nodded.
"Keep it sacred until Christmas ends." Xenovia nodded, before she blinked in thought, "Wait a sec, now I have a question - I found on the internet this foreplay maneuver called '69'. Can we do something along that line as long as there's no sex involved?"
Issei, Saitama and some of the girls found themselves blushing at Xenovia's blunt question. Things became slightly more awkward when Asia held her hand up.
"Um… What does Xenovia mean by 69?"
"...Asia-chin."
Kuroka beckoned Asia to lend her ears to her with a cheshire grin. Whatever answer the black cat whispered to the holy maiden, it caused the latter to blush a storm before she pumped herself.
"I-I-I'll do my best to satisfy you, Ise!"
The boy could not believe how far the holiday has fallen into lewd town.
However, Haruka had already come forth with an answer, "Good question, Xenovia. I think that's a good loophole. You kids have fun!" She winked before she dragged her husband away.
"Eeeeeeehhh…"
Saitama's whine echoed for a second when he and his wife disappeared by the hallway, leaving Issei alone with a bunch of scantily clad, attractive young women who were hungry to devour his lips… And possibly more.
XoX
Haruka found herself standing still when she stepped inside her room with her husband in tow.
It should have not been possible, but her eyes were not deceiving her. This was her reality now.
Standing between her and her bed, was Yasaka - clad in her own erotic Santa outfit, with that damnable smirk on her face.
"You…! Why are you here, you vixen!? You're supposed to be stranded in the middle of Himalayan Range!" Haruka pointed her finger at the fox lady.
Yasaka merely whipped her golden blonde hair away with a smug huff, "Hmph, so that was indeed your handiwork. I should've noticed from how sloppily it was executed. But in any case… I am here to send my Christmas wish in person. Any problem with that?" She crossed her arms, emphasizing her bountiful busts.
Haruka simply hissed with a narrowed look, "...Where's Kunou? You leave her back in Kyoto?"
Yasaka replied with a shrug, "My daughter originally wanted to meet your son, but considering this…. Yuletide tradition you want to conduct, I decide it will be for the best to send Kunou for a sleep-over party with young Millicas in the Underworld, don't you agree?"
"...Fair enough." Haruka relented that point, "Then, what's that bundle on my and my husband's bed?" She pointed at the blanketed bulge on the said bed.
Both Haruka and Saitama widened their eyes when a familiar silver lock with a reindeer horn headband peeked out from the bed-cover, revealing Rossweisse and all of her embarrassment.
"C-C-Can I at least change my clothes?! I-I can't possibly be seen wearing this!" Rossweisse tearfully begged while insinuating her current outfit, which left little to no imagination to Haruka and Saitama for what they were.
"I found her loitering around in that outfit outside. Her indecisiveness kind of irked me, so I dragged her in." Yasaka shrugged.
Saitama and Haruka did not think the young woman had it in her. The women then turned to Saitama… seeing that he had a very hard bulge under his pants.
"Well, at the very least, he doesn't seem to mind about this situation." Yasaka gave a knowing smile while began sauntering towards Saitama.
"Um, don't I get any say in -ugh!?" Saitama was about to retort when his wife's hand shot out and grabbed his erection with a vice grip.
"Back off, you bitch! This guy here is off limits!" Haruka dragged Saitama literally by his penis behind her protectively.
Meanwhile, Saitama could only resign himself to his fate and Rossweisse could only whimper as she could not bring herself out of the bed.
XoX
Garou slowly opened his eyes, noticing the sun had risen up high, signifying the arrival of Christmas day.
He yawned and stretched as he woke up from his bed - popping out some kinks on his body, before his nose caught an appetizing smell.
Shit, did I actually forget to lock up last night? Who's cooking?
There were two presences, none hostile - that at least was some relief for him in the Christmas morning.
Making his way to the dining room, Garou blinked at two familiar faces working around the kitchen and the dining table.
"Well, well, well, look who's finally getting off his ass." Serafall smirked as she just finished setting up the table.
For once, she was clad in a modest long-sleeved sweater, a knee-length skirt and black stockings.
"Good morning, Mr. Garou!" Gabriel beamed as she came with a jar of freshly brewed coffee and tea in each hand.
Gabriel was in her usual garments as a Seraph, plus an apron with a label 'Kiss The Cook' printed on.
"Please take a seat, breakfast will be served soon enough." The angel said before she returned to the kitchen.
"...What are you two doing here?" Garou asked with a somewhat dumbfounded look - he made a mental note to figure something out to prevent intruders from barging in like this.
"To be honest, I was here last night, and you were not around." Serafall replied as she took her own seat, pouring herself some coffee. "...Then next morning I heard some rumors about Santa Claus giving children and low-class citizens gifts and presents… In the Underworld. I ran into this woman when I decided to investigate this matter."
The Satan Girl jabbed her thumb at the archangel who just returned with a tray of toasts, eggs, bacon, sausages etc.
"As for me, I am here because the children were praying to thank Santa who came to their homes and left them presents last night." Gabriel beamed.
Garou stared at the angel woman as her wings fluttered with joy, with a smile of hopeful joy while the other was… less innocent, more teasing and cute. His eyes took a quick glance at the chest where a red fabric could be seen sticking out.
"...Wrong person." Garou said to them after closing his eyes briefly.
Serafall and Gabriel shared a glance before they two giggled in amusement, much to Garou's small chagrin.
They were onto him. He quieted the twelve voices in his head not to speak further.
"Oh dear, that's unfortunate." Gabriel replied, albeit her smile remained as she placed her hand on her cheek, "Perhaps I should search Saint Nicholas elsewhere. However… I've already cooked so much, it'd be a waste not to enjoy this, don't you think?"
Garou glanced between the feast on the table, Serafall, and Gabriel.
"...Suit yourselves." Garou sighed - decided not to look at the gift horse in the mouth.
The two women smiled as he seated himself before the meal.
Garou stared at Serafall for a few seconds before he turned to Gabriel, who offered him a mug.
"Would you like something to drink, Mr. Garou? Coffee or tea?"
Her wings were still fluttering very adorably. She looked more childish than her appearance stated.
"...Coffee. Hot, and lots of sugar"
Garou would never admit it, but Christmas was not bad that morning.
To be fair, this chapter was officially posted last December, so... There you go regarding the Omakes.