Overlord of biblical proportions: The new Three-Sided War (8) (Patreon)

Every creature in the service of the Forty-One Supreme Being, especially with the first among them, Lord Momonga, considered service a duty and work a blessing. Something that allowed them to express their endless love for their creators.

No matter which servant of the Forty-One it was, from the first-level Nazarick's Homunculus maid or a hundredth-level Floor Guardian, duty was a boon, and rest was nothing more than perhaps the worst of punishments.

How could those, who were unable to express their love for their creators through their faithful service, live? The mere thought of it was frightening in its repugnance, unnatural to the whole nature of Nazarick's loyal subjects.

And so, the understanding of the creatures of Nazarick concerning other, inferior beings not blessed by being able to give service to the Forty-One varied from creature to creature.

Some, like Lord Sebas, believed that such an unnatural existence was in itself a cause for sorrow, especially when they were deprived of even the possibility of knowing how sad their lives were. Some, like Lord Demiurge, believed that the lives of the inferior beings outside Nazarick, deprived of blessed service, were inherently meaningless and did not fit the very label of life as such. Therefore, no act done to them could be evil.

Just as one could not weep at the death of a stone, the very word ‘death’ was inapplicable to them.

After all, could their previous wretched existence even be called ‘life’?

The Hanzo, currently positioned in the shadow of a weak Deviless, whose name he had found out a little earlier Ruruka Nimura, was, as could be understood according to his neutral karma, is in the middle between these two schools of thoughts.

Yes, the lives of those deprived of the Forty-One's mercy were meaningless, and the Hanzo wouldn't even bat an eye if they were killed to fulfill a purpose, or for no reason at all. But at the same time, there was a peculiar charm to watching such simple creatures in their natural habitat. It’s like going to a zoo, or watching an ant farm.

The petty intrigues, the relationships, the social games and interactions, as if those meant anything in the great picture of the world beyond their petty and meaningless collective. It was like watching ants in their colony, with their complicated system of orders and assignment of duties that fit within the confines of a single sheet of paper, that could so easily be upturned by a flip of the hand, or a careless bump.

"Rias…" Sona, the so-called King of Nimura’s, tried to speak words of support, as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. A hand that she instantly pulled away as if she had just touched acid, as her friend, full of pain and anger, glared at her.

Take, for example, Rias Gremory, a Devil Hanzo was observing right now, as he was being hidden inside a shadow of her friend's [Peerage].

Receiving the news that her father had died a little earlier had caused her to display a flurry of emotions. Pain, sadness, confusion, and anger that she couldn't let go of, now deprived of the opportunity to avenge her dead family with the death of the perpetrator and, in time, their entire race.

Wasn't there something wonderfully enchanting about the emotions she was feeling and displaying? Deprived of the possibility of solace in the arms of the Forty-One's service, she was a step away from becoming raving mad. And the Hanzo expected that she would further descend into madness, perhaps even burning bridges by careless words, and even self-destructive actions…

The Hanzo was not a sadist in the truest sense of the word, the mere infliction of pain did not bring him pleasure, and even watching the reaction to that pain did not particularly resonate with him. But the display of emotionality, their actions… Those caught his attention, but not just because they are reacting to pain.

With no less interest, the Hanzo would have watched interest if they had won the lottery, lost an arm, or confessed their love. Just watching the reactions to such events, events that were generally petty from the great Nazarick's point of view, brought Hanzo pleasure.

Or, rather, it piqued his interest.

The Hanzo was a level eighty creature specialized in information gathering. He might be inferior to creatures even more specialized in his field, but he was still a highly skilled information-gatherer, that was why he was assigned his mission to collect that information in the first place.

And that was why the Hanzo loved gathering information.

‘Hmph, perhaps this is how Lord Pandora's Actor feels when he’s collecting?’ The Hanzo allowed himself the idle thought without allowing it to distract himself from his original mission.

"Rias…" Sona sounded a little more insistent this time, as she sat down next to Rias. Rias, who was trying to keep an angry, furious cry of pain and despair from escaping her mouth as Sona placed a hand on her wrist and squeezed it in an effort to display her support. "I’m here for you, Rias…"

Rias tried to jerk his hand away, but Sona's hand on her wrist prevented her from doing so, forcing her to turn to Sona instead. Sona's gaze met Rias', and she tried to jerk her hand away from Sona’s again, who didn't let go of her hand. A moment later, Sona hugged the now shaking girl, letting the grieving girl squeeze Sona’s shoulder with all her might, resting her head on her petite friend's shoulder.

Before long, Rias started crying as the pain at the realization that her father’s death and the destruction of her home overwhelmed her.

Technically speaking, the Hanzo, being in the shadow of a Peerage member that doesn’t have the standing to witness an Heiress’ emotional breakdown, meant that he wasn't in the same room with the two girls. But, being level eighty, he hadn't been needing to pay attention to such trivialities for a long time.

For instance, watching yet another two Devils in yet another room, was trivial to him.

"Right now, the Gremory estate is under heavy guard. All entrances and exits from Underworld have been sealed off. So unfortunately, you'll have to stay in the Human world for at least a few more days until the authorities have finished investigating the attack and are satisfied that the danger is over. After that, you'll probably be called back to the Underworld."

Under other circumstances, the meeting between Kiba and his old teacher, Okita Souji, a [Knight] of Sirzechs, would have been a joyous occasion, but the occasion was anything but joyful. The expression on Okita's face was somber, as was Kiba's, an emotion shared by all the other Devils in the retinue of the Satans.

"And how long will we be leaving the Human World?" Ruruka asked, her emotions a mixture of joy and nervousness at the impending departure to the Devil world, sadness, and confusion at the tragedy in the Devil world, and worry about the safety of her own parents. Of course, Ruruka was well aware that she was not supposed to share with her parents her new nature as a Devil, nor was she supposed to tell anyone else, but at this point, it was something more than just having a secret or two from her parents!

"Officially, you will all be going on an educational trip to Europe thanks to a grant from the government after your school was destroyed. It will most likely last two or three weeks," Okita answered Ruruka confidently enough, but the reason she revealed Sona's nature as a Devil was her ‘perceptiveness’, and so 'confidence' alone was clearly not enough to fool her clear gaze for innuendos and secrets.

"What if it wouldn't?" Ruruka squinted her eyes at Okita. "Can you promise that we'll be back home after three weeks?"

Okita didn't answer in the affirmative, only looking away from Ruruka's face. "We can't risk two heiresses of noble families at this time, and it is the duty of the [Peerage] to follow their king at all times."

Hearing these words, Ruruka, who was about to ask further questions, froze before looking at Okita with eyes that instantly widened at these words. She cast her gaze at her surroundings, looking for support from those around her. "But… my parents…"

The other members of Sona’s [Peerages] cast a sympathetic glance at her, and a good portion of them even expressed some support for her, but Rias’ own [Peerage] remained rather indifferent to her plight. It was true that Ruruka had not been in the Devil business for very long, but she had already learned that virtually all of Rias' [Peerage] were orphans. It wasn’t exactly a secret, and with her King closeness with the other Heiress, it was practically guaranteed that Ruruka would learn that fact.

So, for them, learning that they’re going to leave the Human World for an unknown period of time was probably not a big deal. However, most of Sona's [Peerage] were regular, normal people, reborn into a Devil like Ruruka herself, they still had family in the Human World that they clearly didn't want to leave behind.

Perhaps a couple of weeks sounded like a good plan for a vacation, what high school student didn't want to go on a surprise vacation in the middle of the school year? But what if such a thing dragged on for a month? Or two? Or even more?!

Will they ever meet their family again?

Up until this point, it seemed to Ruruka that her rebirth into a Devil were all positives. Practical immortality, the ability to use magic, and patronage to a powerful Devil family, plus an exciting life interacting with the secret paranormal side of the world. In general, everything a schoolgirl in the prime of her life could dream of. All that's left to add is a harem of the school's most handsome boys, and that's the recipe for the average high school girl's fantasy!

Only now, for the first time since her turning, did Ruruka realize that such fantastic and positive events probably had their own negative counterpart, perhaps even comparable in magnitude to the positive traits. Or perhaps even worse.

The Hanzo had little interest in Ruruka's inner turmoil at the moment. What interested him much more, however, was getting information from the Devil, and being in the Devil world would make the Hanzo's information gathering much easier and much more complete.

However, at the same time, the Devil world was also a much more dangerous place. Although the Hanzo was a comparatively high-level being, and an expert with a high degree of level of stealth, judging from the information he had received, some Devils were higher level than him, probably even comparable to the hundredth level.

If any of those Devils also specialized in gathering information and were capable of countering the Hanzo's stealth… It would mean the death of him.

The Hanzo thought about what he should do next for a moment. He had no fear of death, and the opportunity to sacrifice himself to fulfill Lord Momonga's sacred mission was one of the most blessed rights of the servants of the Forty-One Supreme Beings. But a death that led to nothing, a death that would not allow the Hanzo to fulfill his duty, a death that would deprive Nazarick of an important resource in the form of his body and mind? It was an unforgivable transgression.

Under the current circumstances, the Hanzo needed more information to determine what he should do next. And for that, he required guidance from either Lord Pandora's Actor, Lord Demiurge, or Lady Albedo.

Fortunately, the Hanzo himself didn't need too much time to ponder who he should ask for such advice before he felt a [Message], to connect with his mind.

‘Hanzo?’ As expected of the Supreme Being, as soon as the thought even entered his mind, Lord Momonga had already foreseen it.

"I hear and obey, Lord Momonga!" Hanzo replied instantly, in his mind of course, involuntarily stretching out to his full height despite the fact that he was currently in the shadow of the devil and unable to do so for very definite physical reasons.

‘Hanzo, I need you to find two girls currently somewhere in the city. Katase and Murayama, I believe Pandora's Actor already gave you some information about them?.’ Lord Momonga's words made the Hanzo instantly recall what information he had been given by Lord Pandora’s Actor.

‘Once you discover their whereabouts, report it immediately, and start tracking them. Do not interfere with their actions directly; however, closely observe exactly who they will be communicating with and what actions they will be taking,’ Lord Momonga's voice sounded calm but brokered no argument, causing the Hanzo to nod instantly.

"At once, Lord Momonga!"

After another moment, Hanzo cast one last glance at the Devils around him and their mixed emotions and reactions. Indeed, as always, Lord Momonga's inexorable and unknowable mind had seen through a thousand plans and a hundred thousand doubts, intervening in the Hanzo's moment of confusion and guiding him onto a new path just when it was needed.

It was that thought that made the Hanzo smile, as he looked at the poor Devils around him. Depressed, frustrated, and vengeful, they were all but a small part, a tiny grain of sand swirling in the whirlpool of Lord Momonga's plan, unaware that they were only a small part of the unknowable great all…

‘Hmm, see you later, Devils.’ The Hanzo slipped out of Ruruka's shadow without a sound or any evidence of his passing, moving through the shadows before emerging outside the room, and then at the far corner of the building.

Casting one last glance at the direction where the Devils were gathering, he allowed a small smile to spread across his face, even when it was supposed to be incapable of expressing such emotions.

‘I think we'll meet again… I wonder when our next encounter occurs, what emotions will you be feeling at that moment?’

***

Katase, who had come behind Murayama, her hand was still reaching out to the fallen nun, still in absolute shock, more in tune with the instincts in her head than with any rational thought. Asia, who had come up behind her, however, merely ran her hand over her body, her hands still glowing green with the magical light.

Then, as if nothing had happened, Asia turned back to them with a small apologetic smile, as if they were the ones she had caused trouble for. She then said something to them in a language that Katase herself recognized with some doubt as English.

Unfortunately, English was a language that Katase could not learn no matter how much she tried, not to mention the fact that in her current state of shock, she could hardly distinguish between Japanese and cuneiform. So, she could only ask dumbly in her mother language, even when she already knew that the girl couldn’t speak the language.

 "Are you hurt?"

The girl, clearly not understanding the meaning of the words but just reading through the tone of her voice, grasped her hand in thanks before standing up and shaking herself off a little. Then, casting a saddened look at the broken mug and turning her gaze to the two still looking worried, for whom the mug was of the least interest.

More important to them was the fact that magic did seem to exist in reality, and not just in the form of televised ‘miracle healers’ or dubious ‘gurus’. Performing their healing on the TV as they accepted donations from a ‘pure soul’ with a clearly laid out system of how much the soul had to be ‘purified’ for the sake of an appointment with that guru.

Or, alternatively, the two girls had just observed the most technologically advanced and high-level prank in the world, and that in turn wasn't that bad either, given that someone deemed them important enough for such tricks. It would be entertaining if nothing else.

The nun, however, took one last look at the two girls, who were in a total blackout of all their higher cognitive functions, and started talking to them again in English. After which, having gotten no response, she repeated her question in another language to no avail again. Seeing that the two girls were simply not responding to her, she grabbed hold of the girls' hands and led them inside the church, which the still shocked silly Katase and Murayama allowed to be done to them.

Luckily, Murayama came out of her stupor quickly enough that when the nun led them to a small bench, she was already looking around the church for anything unusual, her head swiveling. Katase, unlike her friend, was already trying to compare the new information about the laws of the world around her with what she knew. As if trying to find out whether this church was a special place, or whether she should have been less dismissive of the ‘backwoods guru’ and more thoughtful about how not to offend some spirit living in her shoes.

The nun, however, having examined the two girls and evidently concluded that they were physically fine, and that she would not be able to make verbal communication with them, performed a little pantomime. First, she put out one palm, then pointed downward with her outstretched index finger, clearly urging the two girls to sit still.

After getting two nods from the girls, Katase's was particularly unsure, the nun nodded to herself, turned around, and quickly walked away to god knows where.

"Murayama…" Katase's voice contained at least a hundred thousand different emotions, and Murayama couldn't even tell if she was screaming or whispering. "Magic exists!"

"I guess so," Murayama nodded much more placidly as she looked around the church. Indeed, when she had heard of an ‘abandoned church’ in town, she had pictured a building with mangled doors, broken windows, and detritus all around, but instead she had found the supposedly ‘abandoned’ church looked surprisingly tidy, inside and out.

This meant that the church had either never been abandoned in the first place, with the Kuoh rumor mill doing what it does best, or it had been renovated in a short time, apparently very recently.

Murayama's gaze was then turned to the center hall, trying to confirm her own words. Though she herself wasn't particularly versed in the shrines of Christianity, the large cross, clearly recently washed, and the icons painted in red and white looked quite impressive, as did the statues of sinners on the sides of the hall. Those were quite numerous, and looking at their realism, you could really feel the pain and horror expressed on the faces of those figures, as if the master sculptor had actually caught living people and captured their suffering in stone.

After a couple more moments of staring, and before Katase could say something that would repeat her previous words, both girls heard a new voice approaching them. "Asia, our church is currently not in contact with the outside world, so I would be very interested to see who would dare to appear here at this moment…"

Judging by the pressure and coldness of their voices, Murayama and Katase could not expect anything good from meeting them… They never expected to encounter magic? As it turned out, the world was full of surprises, so the girls should not be so close-minded in their judgments at the moment.

Who knows? Maybe the owner of this very cold voice could actually be a nice person?

A few seconds later, a figure appeared from the corner of the room, and Katase's gaze was instantly drawn first to the fact that the speaker was a girl. She was short, with black hair and violet-colored eyes, dressed in a kind of office suit…

And then to the fact that the girl had black wings attached behind her back, they were quite large and quite soft in appearance. And they were definitely real, and not the fake kind of wings she had seen on cosplayers and actors on the TV, they looked even more real than the best of CGIs!

They were screwed, weren’t they? Black wings are never the signs of a good guy in all the anime she watched!

Katase wanted to lose consciousness at this moment, to shut off her mind for a brief moment from the crazy sights that were breaking her worldview, if only for a dozen minutes. After all, if she did so, then her current problems would become the problem of future Katase!

But losing consciousness did not come to her, in spite of her desire. Instead, Murayama, adapting to the unbelievable facts that were breaking her perception of reality with surprising ease, immediately asked the girl. "Are you the Kami of this place?"

"No, I’m a Fallen Angel," The response came instantly, just like that, as if Murayama were talking about the weather… Although, maybe it was like talking about the weather? Perhaps Katase was actually still in her bed right now, dreaming of Fallen Angels, gods, and who knows what else that had become a normal part of her dream world?

Perhaps Katase just happened to turn away at the moment it was explained in class and missed such an important part of the world?

Katase's brain was melting and trying with all its might to leak out of her skull, and she wasn't even sure if it was worth forcibly keeping it inside her head anymore. Perhaps if she could stop thinking, at least Katase would stop having such a terrible headache.

"Hmph, two people inside the church… Another test from Him? Indeed, the one who possesses [Omniscience] couldn't allow such an oversight… Or is this a test?" The Fallen Angel, who could show the large raven-colored wings to prove her title, as many as four, as Katase saw, froze in front of the two girls, as she looked at them carefully. But there was nothing kind in her gaze, more like a detective examining a mutilated corpse for clues, with a slight disdain and interest, without any warmth in her gaze.

It meant nothing good for the two girls that had unknowingly dug too deep, mirroring the action of one of Sona’s Pawns. Not that the two girls knew that, of course.

Truthfully, Katase didn't really care about the whole situation around her at the moment, so much so that she didn't even pay attention to it. Her mind was simply too out of sorts to even comprehend it.

Maybe she would go out and see her grandmother riding a unicorn with a nonchalant look? And she wouldn’t even bat an eye at seeing such a thing. Right now, Katase was ready to believe in all religions at once, and, ironically, was farther away from any concept of faith than she had been before.

The nun said a few words, causing the Fallen Angel woman to shift her gaze to her, then nodded, smiling a slightly smug smile. "Indeed. The path of forgiveness is not forged by punishment alone, but by mercy."

After another moment, the Fallen Angel woman folded her wings behind her back, making them disappear somehow, before turning to the two girls. "Pardon me, I… Ahem, I'm not used to receiving visitors in this church. My name is Raynare, a Fallen Angel, four-winged, though I’m not sure if you understand the significance of that… The abbess of this church, I believe."

"Murayama Tanabe, class 2-A student of Kuoh Academy High School!" Murayama replied with unbridled enthusiasm, who had almost completely gotten over the fact that magic was real and Fallen Angels lived within walking distance of her own home. It’s like finding out that Santa lived in her attic.

"Katase Higa, Murayama's classmate," Katase replied lifelessly. What was the point of showing emotion at this moment? The whole world had turned into one continuous nonsense that she had no hope of understanding…

"Nice to meet you… Katase, Murayama," Raynare said before a thought seemed to have shocked her somewhat as she suddenly shifted her gaze to Katase. "Wait… Katase? You have already come to the church before, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Katase answered calmly. And really, it didn't matter how she answered; surely Raynare knew the truth, and if she didn't, she could find out with magic or something. "I kissed Satoru here…"

"Stop, what?!" Raynare suddenly took a step back from Katase, as if she was just struck with a heavy blow, causing Murayama to suddenly perk up, and Katase herself to strain her brain.

‘Was Satoru connected to this whole thing? How!?’

Thinking… Difficult… Thinking… Painful… Everything… Pointless….

"You…" Raynare suddenly opened her eyes and glanced at Katase, pointing at her as if Katase was the most unbelievable object next to the wound-healing nun and the real and talking Fallen Angel.

"You're the Virgin Mary?!"

After saying that, Katase suddenly exhaled sharply, smiled, and began to lurch to the side.

Of course, Katase had found herself in such a state many times before, when an errant swing of her opponent's shinai struck her somewhere vulnerable. But never before had Katase lost her consciousness with such joy.

***

Johan received the information about the death of his employer and the other party to the contract between the mage and the Devil instantly, sensing the termination of the contract itself. Considering that the contract itself could only be terminated for two reasons besides mutual consent, a breach of the terms of the contract or the death of one of the parties, Johan couldn't imagine how Zeoticus could have broken the contract. The conclusion of what had happened was very clear.

The ensuing outburst of [Power of Destruction] towards Kuoh Academy put any remaining questions to rest. The negotiations between Satoru and the Devils had completely failed.

The information he received later told Johan himself that the talks had not actually failed, which Johan was already aware of, given that Kuoh would likely have been completely destroyed if they had failed. But rather that it had broken down, but Johan didn't need more information.

Satoru had already made an offer before, reaching out to Johan with an invisible hand through his computer science teacher, providing him with a mock-up of the most advanced information technology, as if transported back in time from a hundred-year future. It was an offer, trying to figure out whether or not Johan would bite.

Now Johan's past employer, Zeoticus Gremory himself, one of the most powerful Devil in the entire Faction, father of the Scarlet Satan himself, had died like a fly. So stupidly and unexpectedly that his death should not have fit into any theory of probability.

Zeoticus Gremory, Johan's past employer, was dead. Just like that, a Devil that had survived the Great War was dead. The how of how it had happened mattered very little to Johan.

And, as if those factors weren't enough, the Kuoh Academy High School building had been destroyed, as if by the accidental rampage of Scarlet Satan himself. Johan's past place of employment, now in ruins.

Of course, that wasn't much of a problem, Kuoh Academy would be rebuilt soon with the help of the Devils, but in order not to attract too much attention, it might take a couple of weeks. Maybe even a month. And after the Underworld had stopped buzzing like a hornet's nest, Johan might even get his job back.

But at that time, Johan himself was out of a job. After a couple of days of worry on Johan's part, by Monday the academy students would be assigned to other schools, except for those who would be sent back to the Devil world for protection. This time, it was decided to spend it as ‘a trip to Europe to relax’. After which, for the next two weeks or maybe even a month, Johan would be left completely free, not to mention what would follow thereafter.

Johan found himself as the principal of Kuoh Academy solely because he was Zeoticus Gremory's contract mage. Zeoticus needed someone trustworthy to look after his daughter in the human world and, at the same time, someone to deal with the school's problems. A school which Zeoticus had acquired for his daughter's sake, and to deal with the unimportant workings of the human side of it.

Johan just happened to be the right candidate as a contract mage, someone close enough to be entrusted with this important function and not important enough that sending him to the human world would affect Zeoticus himself. More importantly, he was someone who was perfectly capable of working with the human side of things, being human himself.

However, now, after Zeoticus' death, when the dust of the fallen angels' attack had settled completely and the Devils had moved on to dealing with their immediate problems, Johan was the first candidate for elimination.

He was no longer Zeoticus Gremory's contracted mage, which meant that he could no longer be trusted to keep Rias Gremory safe, not to mention the very question of whether Rias Gremory would ever return to the human world ever. With the loss of Zeoticus, Johan was a nobody.

In the next few weeks, he would likely be left on the streets, with the loss of his previous contractor, not with the best of severance package or the best recommendation.

The Devils had more to worry about than the well-being of a mage whose contracted Devil was already dead.

In that case, Satoru's offer, dangling before his eyes, was his last, best, chance. If he waited for when the dust settled, with Johan losing his place, he would lose all value to Satoru, becoming just another mage.

Johan didn't have time to think, the sword of Damocles was already lowering, taking away a little more value from Johan's self with each passing second.

And so, Johan made up his mind, picking up his cell phone to contact his, hopefully, future employer.

Fortunately, Johan did possess a few important acquaintances in the human world, and so when, after a couple of beeps, someone picked up on the other side of the connection, Johan was the first to speak, "Mrs. Kalawarner? I would like to discuss the terms of possible cooperation with you and your… employer."

After all, it wasn't betrayal to reveal what he knows if he had remained loyal to his past employer until his death, was it?