It was shortly after the decision had been made for Ophis to live with the Hyoudou family that Azazel-sensei entered the room.
"Yo, you're all here," he greeted casually.
"Sensei! Are you all set to head to the Underworld?" Issei asked eagerly.
Azazel nodded.
"Pretty much. The Underworld's in a crisis, so the Maou themselves are stepping in. Of course, it's not like Sirzechs can just pack up and go without a care. But it seems both Sirzechs and Joker of Heaven are ready to move. So, we're about to pay a surprise visit to that bastard Hades' temple."
But then, his expression darkened.
"Thing is... this whole Sacred Beast incident just got even messier."
"Messier? Come on, I'm already full up on chaos," Issei groaned.
"The military and teams of high- and ultimate-class devils are handling the beasts. That's when the remnants of the Old Satan Faction saw an opportunity. They've started uprisings across various regions—probably thinking they can seize control of weakened towns before reinforcements arrive."
"What the hell!? Are they stupid!? The Underworld's already in danger! If we split our forces any more, how many more lives do they think will be lost!?"
The room fell into a mix of stunned silence and heavy sighs. The more experienced members had probably suspected the Old Satan Faction might pull something like this.
"They don't care," Azazel said grimly. "For them, fewer devils under the current regime just makes things easier to take over later."
"They're way too selfish…" Issei muttered.
"And that's not all. The Hero Faction's been kidnapping Sacred Gear users all over the world, forcing them into Balance Breaker states through unethical experiments—and then spreading that information around. Mostly targeting those treated unfairly by their masters or forced into servitude."
"So some of those reincarnated devils with Sacred Gears have started rebelling," Rias said bitterly. "Not every devil acquires subordinates through trust, loyalty, or negotiation. The government tried to ban forced conversions, but… not everyone follows the rules."
"Even if all they did was kill their masters, that'd be one thing," said Ikki, stepping in. "But people who've been abused or had their families taken hostage—do you really think their revenge will stop there?"
As cruel as it may sound, the death of corrupt devils doesn't bother me too much... Though if I were a Maou, I wouldn't have the luxury of such detachment.
"Ikki's right," Azazel said. "If the masters alone were targeted, maybe it'd be their just deserts. But vengeance tends to break people. It can easily spiral into hatred of the entire devil race."
Just like my own [Unstoppable Avenger of Vengeance]. 'Revenge' never ends with an eye for an eye—it continues until the target's completely destroyed.
I honestly feel bad for Sirzechs and the other Maou. The angel faction is dwindling, the fallen angels barely have any top brass, but the devils—despite electing new Satan and boosting their forces with Evil Pieces—keep getting dragged down by the rot within. As a leader, Sirzechs is probably more stressed than even Michael or Azazel.
"…And this is exactly why Sirzechs and the others were trying to raise awareness," Grayfia added. "Now the world sees how many noble devils refused to listen."
She rubbed her temple, clearly bracing for a bureaucratic nightmare.
"Azazel-sensei, any sign of movement from the Hero Faction?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation.
"Not yet. But there's no way someone like Cao Cao would stay quiet during a perfect storm like this. That's why it's so hard for the Maou and the gods to get directly involved. If they're pierced from behind with a True Longinus while fighting beasts, it could escalate into a world war. Even with the peace treaties, there are still plenty of gods who hate other pantheons—look at Loki."
Yeah, Loki literally tried to start a war.
"Man… I didn't think peace was hanging by such a thread."
"That's how it is. But even if it's thin ice, we can't let it crack. Given time, that ice will thicken."
So it's all about patience and persistence.
"Oh, by the way—we finally settled on names for those giant beasts," Azazel said with a grin. "The smaller ones are called 'Beast Oni Bandersnatch,' and the biggest one is 'Super Beast Oni Jabberwocky.' And I swear, if I'd known those monsters would turn into a bunch of cute girls, I'd have sent Shemhazai or Baraqiel instead of going myself! Damn it! Why do I have to leave paradise to stare at some skeletal geezer's ugly mug!?"
Truly a fallen angel through and through—zero filter.
Azazel left, grumbling all the way, and the meeting broke up.
The Gremory team quickly switched gears. After eating and resting, they split into support roles: evacuating civilians, coordinating private troops, and managing noble alliances. Rias especially was multitasking at full throttle, covering everything her parents couldn't.
As for me, I was on standby. It felt weird not doing anything, but that couldn't be helped. I used some senjutsu to help Akeno heal people, though I felt a bit guilty—it was like I was working her like a draft horse. But it's a crisis, so I hope she understands. Akeno probably doesn't mind anyway.
Eventually, word came in: civilians within the projected blast radius—based on my [Self-Destruct]—had all been safely evacuated. It had taken nearly a day since the beast incident began, but better safe than sorry.
With that, our team—me, Kuroka, Grayfia, Baraqiel, and Enku—teleported to intercept the beasts. Ravel was assigned to evacuation and rear support this time, which made sense.
We arrived slightly above ground in a mostly barren stretch of land. Not quite a wasteland, but definitely sparsely populated—probably why no devils lived around here. Still, a major city lay in the direction the beast was heading. We had to stop it here.
"Ikki-san, evacuation of all civilians and troops in the designated area is confirmed," Grayfia reported.
"Roger. I've scanned the area with senjutsu and the radar—no signs of life. Let's begin."
After confirming our data matched, Baraqiel stepped forward, aura crackling.
"I'll go first. Lightning is perfect for area destruction."
After a round of nods, we took off toward the distant beasts. Well, distant for normal people—we'd be on them in moments.
As we neared, we saw them: a swarm of gorgeous women marching across the land, firing boob beams, heart-shaped winks, and mysterious pink energy waves—turning the already barren landscape into a crater-riddled wasteland.
We were nearly in range when Kuroka spoke.
"Hey, Ikki. Seeing that girl squad doesn't make you feel anything?"
"At that level of absurdity? I've gone beyond caring. It's so dumb it loops around three times and just… flatlines."
Sure, it was hard to know where to look, but not in a sexy way. More like a reflex. Moderation really is key.
Of course, there are probably people out there who love this kind of thing.
Like Issei—he's out there somewhere, crying tears of joy and nosebleeding as he channels that energy into boosting his team with his Boosted Gear. I heard the stronger his feelings, the more power he can transfer, and right now it's going wild.
Honestly, with that much blood loss, he'd normally collapse—but apparently they've rigged up a transfusion stand on the battlefield.
By now, there's probably a gross little puddle of blood and tears at his feet.
Still, when he's on the field, our entire team's power skyrockets. He's great for stalling enemies.
Anyway, we reached our target point and stopped.
"Baraqiel-san, if you would?"
"Of course—Thunderlight! Scorch our enemies below!"
The lightning Baraqiel had been charging exploded in a storm, wiping out a large chunk of the smaller beauties.
At the same time, Grayfia activated a teleportation circle to extract everyone but me. Kuroka cut her arm to summon her familiar, confirming readiness.
And me?
"[Ittou Shura!!]"
I activated my technique, drastically boosting my power.
Our team had stuck together this long to clear out the small fry and keep Thanatos from appearing. Now that they'd teleported, I rushed straight at the giant beauty—Bandersnatch.
Even if Thanatos did show up now, I'd finish before he could intervene.
This thing was ridiculously tough. Even with a counter spell, it might only rank average. Without one, it was definitely tougher than Fenrir.
I wasn't even sure my point-blank [Self-Destruct] would kill it. And if it didn't, it would just regenerate.
Even in this vast Underworld, my blast radius could easily reach nearby towns—and that's not even mentioning the Reaper issue.
That's when Ravel proposed her idea.
The beasts were humanoid. That meant… they had mouths.
At top speed with [Ittou Shura], I dove straight into its gaping maw!
The smell was awful, but I held my breath. Even if the mouth was closed, I could force it open now.
I cleared phase one—inside the mouth! I kicked into the throat, creating light with senjutsu to navigate toward the stomach.
Didn't think I'd ever do something this surreal.
I reached what must have been its stomach—full of what I assumed was ultra-strong acid. I wasn't going further, obviously.
Only about 10 seconds had passed in the real world.
With that, I uttered the words to say goodbye to this gross, fleshy place:
"[Self-Destruct]!!"
=======
A massive shock blasted through me—then a pulling sensation.
Kuroka summoned me using her familiar just outside the blast zone, where she'd been observing. Thanks to her time-acceleration technique, she retrieved me within a second of detonation.
She cast a recovery spell immediately, and Grayfia teleported us back to the Gremory estate.
"How'd it go?" I asked upon arrival.
Grayfia relayed a report from the military's observation unit.
"Bandersnatch has exploded from the inside. There are no signs of regeneration."
I let out a sigh of relief.
Ravel's strategy—"If it's humanoid, why not toss a living grenade (me) into its mouth and blow it up? The body will contain the blast!"—worked perfectly.
…Come to think of it, we never named the plan.
To be safe, we'd all carried Phoenix Tears in case Thanatos showed up—me, Grayfia, and Baraqiel. Kuroka and Enku couldn't be supplied in time due to distribution issues, but that's war for you.
Honestly, having three in a five-man squad is pretty generous—especially since Kuroka and I can heal with senjutsu.
"…Still, even setting aside the ethics of blowing up your fiancé inside a monster's stomach—watching a beautiful girl-shaped enemy explode from the inside was… intense," Baraqiel muttered. "It was fast and far away, so it wasn't too bad. But if anyone slow-mo's the footage for analysis, Azazel might actually cry."
=============
50+ Advance Chapters Available on Patreon.com/Veltoria
100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
Add to Library to support