Underworld — Maou Territory.
As the name implied, this was land directly governed by the Maou, the political center of the devil race within the Underworld.
The territory held multiple cities: the old Underworld capital Luciferde, where the former Maou Lucifer once resided; and Lilith, the current capital of the devil faction.
Lilith's size was comparable to Tokyo. Its culture and technology were also on a similar level—towering buildings, sprawling highways, even high-speed rail. It hardly resembled a city located in hell.
Today, inside the administrative center of Lilith, four figures appeared one after another inside an extravagant conference chamber.
Their bodies wavered and flickered. Clearly, they were projections—demonic power constructs.
Put simply, none of the four had come in person. They were projecting their presence here to hold a meeting.
"Thank you all for responding to my request."
The first to speak was the red silhouette.
He had short, bright crimson hair and the handsome face of a young man in his prime. His attire was luxurious, but his gentle voice made it difficult for anyone to feel hostility toward him.
"What's going on? You called us over in such a hurry—did Heaven invade or something?"
This came from the blue silhouette on his left.
She was the only woman among them, looking far too young for such a setting—almost younger than Rias and Sona. Her bright, energetic tone made her seem less like a high-ranking official and more like the neighbor's cheerful daughter who accidentally crashed a diplomatic summit.
"Just think for a second. Obviously not."
The green silhouette on the right spoke next.
He was a beautiful man with an air of intelligence, his eyes shimmering with sharp insight. Compared to the red figure's noble aura, he looked more like a researcher—elegant, analytical.
"If Heaven really assaulted us, I'd be the first one to know."
The final voice came from the orange silhouette.
Unlike the other two men, he looked almost unremarkable. His tone carried a persistent laziness, like he was speaking while half-asleep. Just hearing him made one feel drowsy.
Yet this laid-back person was the Underworld's greatest strategist—the one responsible for all devil military planning.
If Heaven truly attacked, he would absolutely be the first to receive that news.
"Sorry. I don't want to disturb anyone—everyone is busy. But this matter could be small… or extremely serious. I want us to discuss how to respond." The red silhouette bowed slightly, then continued, "Just moments ago, my younger sister… the next head of the Gremory House, Rias, contacted me with a report."
"She, along with Sona and Leo Eligos—and all their servants—were attacked by terrorists at Kuoh Academy in the human world."
"The attackers were descendants of the Trix family, part of the Old Maou faction. They collaborated with several other Old Maou devils, launched a coordinated assault, and forcibly transferred everyone into a separate space."
The moment he finished speaking, the remaining three projections flickered violently—as if a TV screen burst into static.
"An Old Maou faction attack?!"
Both the green and orange silhouettes hardened their expressions.
"How could this happen?!" The blue silhouette practically exploded, jumping up in panic. "What about my So-tan?! Is So-tan okay?!"
"She's fine." The red silhouette hurried to reassure her. "The mastermind has already been eliminated. Many involved aren't in good shape—and some were gravely injured—but once the mastermind was defeated, Rias and the others managed to find a way out of the separate space and rescued everyone in time."
"Here. This is the detailed report they just compiled."
He used a magic circle to transfer something. The other three received the report in their actual locations.
The report was written by Sona—calm, objective, detailing the entire incident: the attackers' dialogue, the structure of the forced-transfer space, and the trials their servants faced in the separate rooms.
In the final section, she explained that once the mastermind was killed, the central core controlling the labyrinth appeared in the main chamber—just like how clearing any other room's trial revealed the pathway forward. The new master of the core could manipulate the labyrinth freely, including opening exits back to the real world.
Sona also emphasized clearly that the greatest contributor this time was Leo Eligos. He defeated the mastermind alone—defeated the ruler of the labyrinth's core—and gained control of the system. Only after he opened the paths to the rooms were they able to regroup with their servants and wipe out the remaining enemies.
In total, about ninety percent of the Old Maou attackers—including the mastermind—were eliminated. The remaining few vanished; either they escaped or were lost somewhere within the labyrinth.
The magical creatures and renegade sorcerers in the labyrinth met nearly identical fates.
After regrouping, the three Kings and their servants left the separate space and returned to Kuoh Academy.
"Phew…"
The blue silhouette exhaled hard after finishing the report, patting her chest dramatically.
"Thank goodness! My So-tan's okay! If something happened to her, I swear I would've stormed the Old Maou exile zone myself and wiped out every devil who dared to lay a finger on her."
She sounded like she was joking. She wasn't.
"Well, as long as they're safe. Otherwise the Underworld's future would take a massive hit." The orange silhouette resumed his sleepy tone. "Those three really pulled it off. To think they actually killed the mastermind. According to the report, he was an Ultimate-Class Devil with some sort of mysterious enhancement, right?"
"Judging from the described power, he was basically at cadre-level." The green silhouette mused. "And that kid took him down alone? Impressive."
"Leo Eligos… I suppose we still underestimated his potential." The red silhouette also praised him. "He's far more capable than we thought. I owe him for this. Without him, Rias and Sona probably wouldn't have made it."
The blue silhouette immediately bristled.
"Hmph! Don't think you can steal away my So-tan just because you played hero! My So-tan wouldn't fall for that so easily!"
She ground her teeth loudly.
"Is that so?" The orange silhouette sounded doubtful. "Because I heard your father—the current head of the Sitri House—was considering arranging a marriage between Sona and the young Eligos heir."
The blue silhouette went quiet.
"I heard the same." The green silhouette added lightly. "Makes sense. The Sitri House's next heir annulled her previous engagement and regained her freedom, but the Sitri family wouldn't want her to stay single forever."
"Pureblood devils are decreasing in every major house," he continued. "The Sitri House has only two daughters this generation. One became a Maou—Leviathan—and can't inherit the family. That leaves Sona as the sole heir."
"If anything happens to her, the Sitri line ends. Unless they choose someone from a branch family, the house collapses."
"And now there's a talented young man with a good relationship with the future head… of course her father wants to encourage it."
Hearing this, the blue silhouette began trembling violently.
"It's the same for my family." The red silhouette sighed. "Because I inherited the name of Lucifer, the Gremory House has only Rias this generation. That's why my parents rushed to arrange her engagement."
"But your sister's engagement still hasn't been resolved, right?" the orange silhouette pointed out. "And even if she's single, you already have a child. Your son can inherit the Gremory House. You're not in the same situation as the Sitri family."
"The Eligos line once nearly died out. Now they have only one heir—and the Sitri House financially supports them. Both families know each other well. A marriage between the heirs would benefit both sides." The green silhouette nodded. "Honestly, I'm all for it. That kid's mutated trait interests me. If he and the Sitri princess had a child, I'd love to study whether the trait would pass on."
That was the final straw.
The trembling blue silhouette exploded.
"No! Absolutely not!!"
She threw both hands up, wailing in anguish.
"My precious So-tan! My adorable So-tan! When she was little, she used to follow me everywhere crying for hugs! How can she suddenly get married?!"
"She's still so young! She's still just a kid! And you want her to have someone else's baby?! How could you even suggest that?!"
"I won't allow it! Never! Never ever!!!"
She collapsed onto the table, sobbing miserably.
The other three went quiet.
Then—in perfect unspoken agreement—they collectively ignored her and continued the meeting.