I vividly remember the day I first saw it, the thing they created.
The Evil Pieces permitted to high-class devils. High-class devils use them to create their peerages. They can be used on devils, but also to reincarnate other species into devils. The subject need not be alive; a corpse will do, and in some cases, even non-living entities. However, not just anyone can become a peerage member—it depends on the King's ability.
Modeled after the human game of chess, there are Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight, and Pawn, with piece values of nine, five, three, three, and one, respectively. Stronger peerage members may require multiple pieces of the same type. Mutation Pieces, which ignore piece value, are held by roughly one in ten devils.
In truth, there's also the King piece, but its nature is kept secret and monopolized by a select few.
I felt it deeply.
These guys are truly idiots.
Thanks to this, my plans accelerated.
The biblical pantheon, representing the world: God, devils, and fallen angels.
They once waged a great war that shook the world, involving all manner of aberrations and humans. The war's greatest irregularity was the Two Heavenly Dragons.
The war ended forcibly due to a disaster. The Three Factions had touched the dragons' reverse scales, unaware that God's malice was the root cause.
"DAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"UOOOOOOOOOH!"
This was its reenactment.
Issei Hyoudou, the weakest Red Dragon Emperor in history, born and raised by ordinary human parents. Vali Lucifer, the strongest White Dragon Emperor.
As red flames erupted, white pressure extinguished them. The moment vile poison spread, a dense aura blew everything away. Each roar from the two dragons seemed to warp space itself. It was as if the Tyrant Dragon clashed with another Tyrant Dragon—no.
This was the true disaster of a fight between Heavenly Dragons, a nuisance repeated countless times.
"Dragon Shot!"
"Half Dimension!"
A Japanese mythology god present wailed, "Argh! This is our venue!" but they'd have to swallow their tears.
The venue was built in a place isolated from human cities, so the damage would likely be written off as a "sudden earthquake." If it stayed contained, that is.
Even Sirzechs and Azazel had to keep their distance.
"Then we'll take our leave. This is our last meeting. We'll use your noble sacrifices as a reference to ensure the Demon Gods face proper judgment. Rest assured—your sacrifices won't be in vain."
With that, Shiva teleports away. Raum and Tosca are already gone.
"Issei—damn it, even Vali!"
Azazel, teacher to Issei Hyoudou and surrogate parent to Vali Lucifer, can only curse his students' recklessness.
"Wait, Vali! Issei's body is possessed by Solomon right now!"
"No. That's not true."
Denying Azazel's words is the reaper-like warrior, Hassan-i-Sabbah, the First Hassan.
"What do you want, old skeleton? If you're here to interfere, I won't hold back."
"The Red Dragon Emperor turned his fangs on you by his own will."
"No way!"
Surprisingly, it's Gasper who objects to the First Hassan.
"I don't know who you are, but Issei-senpai—"
"Vampire."
The First Hassan cuts off Gasper's rare show of resolve, despite his timid nature.
"What did you see with those time-stopping eyes? The corpses piled by another you?"
Gasper, unaware of the First Hassan's intent, flinches under his gaze.
Indeed, Gasper doesn't know. Not the true nature of his Sacred Gear, nor its real threat. He's not some half-baked wielder of a powerful Sacred Gear but a monster born of the era's and species' corruption, unaware that his Balor killed his mother.
Turning from the trembling Gasper, the First Hassan glances at the red and white dragons, then at Astolfo, addressing his temporary comrade summoned by the King of Magecraft.
"Warrior, my role ends here."
"But, Assassin—"
"Fate did not choose them, yet the evening bell does not toll. We, from beyond this universe's frame, should not interfere further."
"That's complicated! You might not, but I will! That's fine, right?"
"So be it. Do as you wish. I will no longer wield my blade in this world—unless a fool threatens my contractor."
With that, the First Hassan turns on his heel.
"Let's stop Issei-kun."
At this point, no means are off-limits. A pained resolve is made.
"No, leave Issei to me."
Sirzechs, turning toward the voice, widens his eyes at the sight of two figures who should be under treatment for severe injuries: Rias and Serafall.
"Rias! Serafall! How…"
"When my precious peerage is in trouble, a King can't just sleep."
"I'm a Satan too, y'know☆"
"That's right, Sirzechs."
A beautiful young man with green hair stands beside them.
"Ajuka."
One of the four Satans, Ajuka Beelzebub, a transcendent devil like Sirzechs, deeply involved in developing the Evil Pieces and Rating Games.
Their recovery is likely his doing—perhaps Phenex Tears or his unique healing method, though it's unclear.
"It was fortunate I was in the human world for the Game. I thought you and Serafall with your full peerages would handle it, but… not like this."
Ajuka Beelzebub operates a Game in the human world—not a mere game, but one that tracked the Longinus Dimension Lost and Annihilation Maker. Their relevance to these events is minor, so it's omitted.
"I confirmed some details with Serafall. The dimensional gaps around the Underworld are sealed, likely by the Demon Gods, blocking communication and teleportation. Analysis is nearly done, but… assume our forces for a breakthrough are limited, right?"
"Yeah. Falbium's still in the Underworld. Unless something extreme happens, there shouldn't be major damage—or so I'd like to think."
With so many surprises, optimism is unwise. They underestimated the Demon Gods' abilities, and the enemy has Longinus and evil dragons. There's a high chance this Solomon differs from the one they know, and other extraterrestrial beings may be involved.
Still, they must act. They are Satans, after all.
"Brother, I'll stop Issei as his King. Please handle the Underworld."
"Rias… Heh, I'm always being saved by someone."
"Going solo was the last Lucifer's style. Be the Satan you envision."
"Right, Azazel."
Azazel's brief smile from his talk with Shiva flashes in Sirzechs's mind, but he shakes it off.
Reluctantly, Sirzechs resolves to head to the Underworld.
"There's a strange teleportation-blocking spell, but the analysis just finished. Let's go, Sirzechs."
"Magical Girl Leviathan will show she's invincible☆"
You shouldn't have become a king.
Raum's earlier words must be denied. Sirzechs has built something as a Satan. All his actions were for devilkind. To prove they weren't a mistake.
"Yes, let's go. As Satans, we'll protect devils. No more letting them do as they please."
However.
What awaited them in the Underworld was a sky covered in bands of light.
"Ah, ah…"
It was burning.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Everything was burning.
"Uwaaaaaaaaah!"
The entire world was being incinerated.
The sound of hellfire scorching the air drowned out Sirzechs's wails.
He recalls Glasya-Labolas's curse at the Kuoh Summit.
—A curse upon the Underworld! Calamity upon its future! When you burn in the flames of divine justice, remember Glasya-Labolas's wrath!
He remembers Solomon's words during the Kyoto negotiations with Yasaka.
—For you two alone, neither I nor they should be the ones to kill you. There's a more fitting opponent, a more fitting death.
He finally notices the unease from Raum's words.
—We pitied this world's humans. We resolved to save its humanity. That's why you were obstacles, harmful, and necessary.
He realizes Shiva's warning.
—You might end up burned like that world's human history.
"No way…"
"This can't be…"
Serafall and Ajuka are speechless. Naturally. Just hours ago, everything was fine. They swore to protect this peace.
Everything they protected, everything they were meant to protect, was utterly destroyed.
No contact with the Underworld? Of course—there's no one left to contact.
"Sirzechs, stay alert! Someone's teleporting in!"
As Ajuka warns, a magic circle appears before them, bearing the familiar Gremory crest.
The figure that emerges is a red-haired boy. Unmistakably Sirzechs's only son, Millicas Gremory. Covered in blood, his right leg and clothes gone, his red hair—the Gremory symbol—dirtied with dust. But he's alive and conscious.
Ajuka and Serafall, too, feel relief seeing a familiar face unharmed. Not everyone is dead, they rejoice.
"Millicas, you're safe—"
Though clearly not safe, Sirzechs blurts it out, only to fall silent.
His son wears an expression of utter disgust, one he's never seen.
"—Oh, right, right. I remember. Sirzechs Gremory, was it? That harlot's descendant."
Words and tone utterly unlike Millicas, as black tentacles emerge from his shadow.
The moment they're recognized, the tentacles pierce the Satans' torsos and limbs.
"Huh?"
As if losing interest in the Satans after the attack, Millicas scratches his head and mutters.
"Ugh, what a hassle. As expected of Goetia. As expected of Trihexa. This trash body can't handle them properly. It's a miracle it even exists… It's about time, so what's taking Metatron and Sandalphon so long?"
His brazen attitude and crude tongue-clicking are impossible for Millicas Gremory.
"M-Millicas…!"
"Oh, this body had that name? I remembered it fine until half a day ago… but it'll be meaningless soon, so I forgot."
Let's talk about a parallel world. There, the Hero Faction used Samael to siphon Ophis's power.
The drained Ophis was secretly sheltered by Issei Hyoudou, and the stolen power became a separate dragon, Lilith, but that's not the point.
The key is that Samael's power, a dragon-slaying force, was used to absorb Ophis's power. That's absurd. It's like carrying ice cream in a hot frying pan.
Samael's true power isn't just killing dragons. It destroys all logic and rewrites all theories concerning dragons. The ultimate dragonslayer is merely one facet.
And that power, to a limited extent, applies to devils. In Western lore, devils and dragons are equated. A power that nearly guarantees a dragon's death cannot be harmless to devils. The Truth was tilted to ensure this.
"Who are you?! …What did you do to my son?!"
It's impossible someone's impersonating him. Sirzechs knows this is his beloved son, Millicas Gremory. But it's not him inside. It's natural to conclude something has possessed Millicas's body.
"My name is Samael. The true fallen angel, soon to become the absolute One God."
Hearing the name Samael, Sirzechs recalls Shiva's words.
—The root cause is this world's King of Magecraft Solomon. The trigger was the God of the Bible. And the mastermind is the Forbidden Serpent Samael.
To Sirzechs, Samael is the ultimate dragon slayer. A fallen angel and dragon who, in Eden, gave the fruit of knowledge to the first humans, bearing God's wrath alone.
If this entity controlling Millicas is truly Samael, does it possess abilities beyond dragon-slaying? He should've brought Azazel, a fellow fallen angel.
"I'd rather not use a devil's body."
Samael, through Millicas's mouth, spits in disdain.
"I hate incompetent angels. I hate the other fallen angels, degraded further. But above all, below all, I despise you devils. Born from trash like Lucifer and garbage like Lilith. Utterly revolting."
The refined features of a Satan's son, heir to a ducal house, are twisted by a malicious dragon's emotions.
"Maggots born from a cesspool like you have no place! You should've quietly perished in this dump, yet you dared meddle in my world, the human world!"
Arrogant words. An utterly haughty mindset. Naturally. What right does a former angel who merely gave the fruit of knowledge have to rule the world?
"But I'll give you four pseudo-Satans some thanks. Thank you for creating the Evil Pieces."
The meaning doesn't register immediately.
But the sinister tone and wicked grin reveal everything.
"What, you thought I had no hand in developing the Evil Pieces? The original idea was yours, sure. Even I couldn't dream up such a foolish toy. What? That look—wondering when I started scheming? From the start."
Not prosperity for survival, but for extinction.
"You thought the civil war's victory was your glory?"
The sin of usurping the throne, the merit of reform—none belong to you.
"You thought your skill preserved the false peace of the Cold War?"
You protected nothing. You saved no one.
"You believed the King piece or Mutation Pieces were miracles of your talent?"
You never wrought miracles. You were never permitted praise.
"You truly believed taming a divine beast like a Qilin was because you were special? That meeting Surt's clone, a Shinsengumi captain, or Bahamut was fate? Every time you gained a new peerage member, you reveled, ignored the issues, and worsened the situation. I couldn't stop laughing! It was solace in joyless Cocytus!"
The word farcical was made for you.
"Thank you. Truly, truly, truly thank you."
From the bottom of my heart, thank you, fools.
"Thanks to you all, I destroyed devilkind!"
In the blazing world, malicious laughter echoes hollowly.
***
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