The atmosphere in the grand chamber of the Satans was unusually tense.
Meetings between the four rulers of the Underworld weren't rare, but they weren't frequent either. Typically, Sirzechs preferred to handle affairs with a level of subtlety that kept unnecessary meetings to a minimum. Serafall only got serious when forced to, Ajuka came when intrigued - so rarely - and Falbium… Well, he usually slept through most of them anyway.
But today?
Today, there was an anomaly. They were all here, and all attentive, due to recent events.
Sirzechs sat at the head of the table, his usual calm demeanor in place, though there was a distinct heaviness to his expression. His hands were folded before him, tapping idly against the table, betraying his ambivalent mood.
Serafall Leviathan was pacing.
Unlike the composed Lucifer, the Satan of Foreign Affairs was anything but. Dressed in her frilly magical girl outfit, having just come off set, she was practically vibrating with irritation, her arms crossed as she muttered under her breath. Every few seconds, she would pause, spin on her heel, throw her hands up dramatically, and then resume pacing.
Ajuka sat opposite Sirzechs, calm and composed as always. The Beelzebub barely acknowledged the tension, fingers steepled as he observed the happenings with muted interest. His analytical mind was clearly already at work, dissecting the situation piece by piece.
And Falbium?
The fourth Satan lay sprawled on a couch off to the side, eyes half-lidded, looking as though he had just been rudely awakened from a particularly good nap. Which, to be fair, he probably had been.
Grafiya stood near the entrance, the strongest Queen, composed, with the air of someone expecting to be questioned at length on recent events.
Sirzechs sighed eventually, breaking the silence that had fallen after Serafall and Falbium had been caught up on the particulars.
"Well," He said, glancing at the notebook on the table before him. "I can't say I'm surprised something like this happened, even if the speed of it caught me off guard."
Serafall stopped mid-pace, spinning toward him with wide, irritated eyes. "You can't say you're surprised? Sirzechs, he just vanished! A newly promoted High-Class devil just slipped past Ajuka's security and left a snarky little note on the bed! You're not surprised!?"
Sirzechs gave her a small, almost chagrined smile. "I was hoping things would turn out differently, that he was exaggerating his circumstances a bit. But I had the feeling this was inevitable in some ways when he revealed his willingness to die."
Between having the man kill himself or let him go, Sirzechs might have even let him go - if he accepted a geass to not spread information to others. His duty took precedence to compassion.
Serafall groaned, running a hand through her black twin tails before throwing herself into a chair, legs crossed aggressively. "Tch. And here I thought we might get an easy resolution on something for once. But nooo, now we've got a wildcard running around with Ultimate-Class energy and a serious vendetta."
Sirzechs tapped the notebook on the table. "At least he left the information as promised."
Sirzechs wasn't overly surprised about that. Despite the vitriol thrown their way, he hadn't felt that Levi was a bad person at all.
He was surprised, and impressed, he'd actually managed to get away. Slightly saddened too, because the end result now could only go one way.
He sighed, looking up at the ceiling. One of the most famous musicians in human history. What could we have talked about if he didn't hate us?
Serafall threw her hands up again. "Oh, great! Wonderful! That totally makes up for the fact that he's gone! Wow, good for us!" She leaned forward, elbows on the table, resting her chin in her hands. "Anyone else at least a little worried that some rando reincarnated devil managed to play you three from the beginning?" She glared at Sirzechs, Ajuka and Grafiya.
"He did not play us, my Lord simply did not have all the information on his capabilities." Grafiya retorted coldly.
Serafall snorted loudly, "He got everything he wanted, and escaped from the literally inescapable wards of Ajuka! You got played." She waved towards the notebook, "Was the information worth letting loose this guy with a King piece? That information alone would fuck us!"
Sirzechs, ignoring her rant, flipped open the notebook. His lips twitched in dry amusement. "The Boosted Gear wielder was under our nose the entire time." Well played, Levi.
Ajuka let out a quiet hum at that, "The wards around Kuoh never marked his signature - so he either was telling the truth about meeting an oracle, or he was able to pass through my wards there too without notice…"
Serafall groaned dramatically, flopping back in her seat. "That's just embarrassing."
Falbium let out a dry chuckle. "That's… Honestly, that's hilarious. Your sister would have probably picked the wielder up on her own in time."
Serafall shot him a look. "It's not hilarious. Do you have any idea how much this complicates things? Having that kind of guy running free?" She grumbled, before crossing her arms, her nose wrinkled in disgust, "I'm going to spank Sona-tan for missing the Boosted Gear right under her nose!"
Falbium yawned. "I mean, I probably have a good idea? But I was mostly asleep when you talked about it."
Serafall's eye twitched.
Sirzechs ignored them both, shifting his focus to Ajuka. "More importantly, what do we know about how he escaped?"
That alone was the most impressive thing. When Ajuka was asked to contain something, or someone, that thing was contained. Escape wasn't even considered a possibility.
They had surveillance on the room, even!
Ajuka, who had been silent during Serafalls ranting, leaned forward slightly, his eyes gleaming with interest now that they were discussing something interesting. "That's what intrigues me the most." He gestured with a hand, a projection appearing above the table, swirling with magical formulas and data. "I have analyzed the remnants of his departure, and what I have concluded is… fascinating."
Sirzechs and Serafall both focused immediately, while Falbium merely raised an eyebrow lazily, before demonstratively rolling back over on the couch.
Ajuka continued. "I can confirm that an immense amount of demonic power was used, easily Ultimate level. For this, the subject must have used almost his full capability just to achieve some sort of teleportation beyond regular means - which brings the question on how he knew he could do so? Getting the King piece was obviously only one step in a plan to get away from his own King, and us." He tapped a sigil, shifting the projection. "However, that's where things become strange."
Serafall frowned. "Strange how?" She let her head fall into her arms, puffing her cheeks out, whining, "Strange is never good!"
Ajuka met her gaze. "There should be something left behind. A signature, an echo of the spellwork, a trace of where he went. But I am getting nothing." His eyes gleamed as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "The surveillance spells also have nothing after he uses his demonic energy. Whatever he did, it was a total blank to my magic."
Sirzechs' expression shifted slightly. "Nothing?"
That was more surprising than the escape itself.
Ajuka nodded. "Not a single trace. It's as if he simply ceased to exist. Its fascinating."
From the look in his eyes, it was clear that whereas before, Ajuka had held little interest in the reincarnated devil, now he had his full attention.
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