"Why did the Old Maou faction suddenly start moving again?"
"After hiding for centuries, they probably couldn't hold back anymore. They want to take back political control of the Underworld."
"We need to reestablish contact with them and confirm their intentions."
The red, green, and orange silhouettes began discussing the Old Maou faction's actions. The atmosphere turned heavy—clearly, to all three of them, this was no trivial matter.
"I've always regretted it," the red silhouette admitted quietly. "We should have found a better way to resolve our ideological conflict. Instead, it turned into devils slaughtering devils. Even after centuries, thinking about it still leaves me unsettled."
The other two responded with reassurance.
"You already did everything you could. So did we. There weren't many choices back then."
"I don't think we were wrong. If we hadn't stopped them, devils might have fought until total extinction. That's something we absolutely couldn't allow, right?"
Their words didn't lighten the red silhouette's mood.
"Even so… we should have tried to explore coexistence first, instead of going straight to war." His voice lowered. "Too many devils died in that battle."
Silence fell.
"Now the Old Maou faction is moving again. But is this the intention of a few… or a consensus among all of them?"
The red silhouette steadied himself and continued.
"We must send someone to reestablish contact and at least determine their movements. And we need to investigate whether they've allied with another power."
The green and orange silhouettes nodded.
This incident had revealed several abnormalities.
For example—
Where did all those magical creatures and renegade magicians in the labyrinth come from?
Magical creatures could be captured. But not magicians. And that many of them? There was no way they were all unaligned wanderers.
And what did Lafei Trix consume during the battle with the Eligos kid that caused his power to skyrocket?
Where did it come from? Did the Old Maou faction develop it? Or did someone else provide it?
The report suggested the latter was more likely.
But who?
And who even had that kind of capability?
The three exchanged troubled looks.
"Assign it," the green silhouette said decisively. "People need to investigate the Old Maou faction's movements, trace their whereabouts, and dig out whatever secret lies behind this. One issue at a time."
"I'll take it." The orange silhouette lifted a hand lazily. "I'll arrange the personnel."
"I want to visit the human world," the red silhouette said. "That separate space still seems to exist. I want to investigate it—and check on those three."
The words had barely left his mouth when the blue silhouette shot up from where she had been crying on the table.
"Me me me! Let me go!" she shouted with startling force. "I need to check on So-tan! I have to warn her about suspicious, untrustworthy men!"
"...Shouldn't you talk to your father first?" the green silhouette said flatly. "The two actual involved parties might still be clueless. What exactly do you plan to achieve by going there?"
"Well—" The blue silhouette faltered. "B-But So-tan's chastity is important too! As her big sister I need to check—no, supervise! Supervise!"
Was she about to say something extremely inappropriate just now?
"Aren't you currently on a diplomatic mission?" the orange silhouette reminded her. "Did your negotiations with the outlying non-devil races finish already?"
Silence. Very awkward silence.
The four handled different branches of administration within the Underworld.
The green silhouette was the chief advisor for technological development, responsible for new-generation innovations—like the creation and advancement of the Evil Pieces.
The orange silhouette oversaw military affairs—army management, defense, surveillance of other factions, and maintaining combat readiness.
The red silhouette handled overall governance—coordinating sectors, guiding development across Underworld cities, from entertainment industries to territorial expansion.
And the blue silhouette was responsible for diplomacy—managing all foreign relations.
Right now, she was stationed in the territory of an outlying non-devil race negotiating an exchange that would secure resources vital for future devil development.
If she bailed out midway and ran to the human world, chaos would follow.
"Mmngh… mmnngh…!"
She squirmed with visible frustration.
"I'll go instead," the red silhouette said gently, speaking like a patient older brother consoling a tantruming little sister. "I'll check on Sona for you and confirm she's doing fine."
The blue silhouette reluctantly nodded.
"Fine… but once I'm back, I'm going to the human world too. If I don't replenish my Sona energy soon, I'll wither."
The other three: "…"
The last time they felt this level of speechless exhaustion… was the last time she acted like this.
If she really charged into the human world in her current state, who knew what kind of disaster she might cause.
Especially for the Eligos boy.
Facing the strongest devil woman at this timing… anyone's sanity would collapse.
If she acted impulsively, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"I'll never understand people who spoil their younger sisters like this," the orange silhouette muttered, implicitly dragging someone else into the complaint.
"I'm not like her," the red silhouette laughed. "I wouldn't oppose my sister falling in love. Honestly, I want her to find someone she truly cares about. Not stay miserable because of an arranged engagement."
"If my little Rias's fiancé were the Eligos boy, I'd probably wake up laughing from my dreams."
At the very least, compared to Rias's current fiancé, he far preferred Leo.
"Half-blood or not, he's still an Eligos. Plus that unique trait of his… and a Longinus on top of it."
The red silhouette looked at the report, unsure whether to be impressed or amazed.
"Zenith Tempest, huh? He sure hid that well."
The others shared a look and found the same emotion reflected on each face.
"Never thought the Longinus second only to the legendary True Longinus would appear on our side." The orange silhouette sighed. "And on top of that, his servants hold Incinerate Anthem and Absolute Demise—two more Longinus. The other Sacred Gears are also rare and strong. Unbelievable."
"Compared to that, the fact that he suddenly displayed Ultimate-Class Devil power and grew eight wings seems almost trivial."
"If the Eligos servants continue to grow, they might replace us one day—becoming the pillars of the Underworld."
The evaluation was shockingly high.
Yet none of them argued. In fact, their eyes shone with hope.
They were not obsessed with power.
In truth, the four of them were "false Maou." They never cared about the Maou title.
If not for necessity—and the need for someone to lead the devils through crisis—they would have preferred ordinary, peaceful devil lives.
"This trip to the human world—talk to him properly."
The green silhouette turned to the red one.
"Tell him what he needs to know. Make sure he understands the dangers. Someone like him… can easily attract unwanted attention."
"Especially from that fallen angel."
"If he learns about this, he might come personally."
The red silhouette nodded seriously.
At the same time, somewhere else in the world, others were discussing the same event.
"So the Trix brat failed."
"We expected the possibility. But to think he failed this easily…"
"Useless. The Trix family really has fallen."
"This sets back the foundation of the True Maou faction."
"At least we gained something."
"Indeed. Those fake Maou are still incompetent—letting such a crucial asset slip away."
"Eligos, huh?"
"Three Longinus. That alone is worth moving for."
"It's almost time. With this test, we now understand the state of the Underworld well enough."
"Next time… our True Maou faction will announce ourselves to the world."
Dark silhouettes conversed, then dispersed with cold laughter.
Elsewhere, another group spoke.
"Our new recruit returned."
"Judging by her condition, she definitely failed. Looks like she barely escaped with her life."
"Pretty much. She's half-dead."
"Let's check on her then."
"Wait. We discovered something important. Here's the report—look."
"…Zenith Tempest has surfaced?"
"What's this? Getting interested?"
"Yeah. I want to fight him."
"The clash of two top-tier Longinus… now that is something to look forward to."
===
Sorry, I forgot to schedule yesterday—my bad.