“Thank you, my wife.”


    His turbulent emotions calmed down as he allowed himself to think things through. Grayfia was silent and gave him a minor massage on his shoulders. In such a stressful situation, it was important he relaxed his mind.


    Her husband was smart, smarter than he knew.  Without a shred of a doubt, she knew he would surprise everyone. He did it before and he would do it again. She just had to give him the support he needed, and…


    [...he will show miracles.]


    .


    |DxD|


    .


    “I greet you all, fellow brethren. My appearance today is to address the rumours circulating throughout all media channels.”


    Sirzechs stood on an elevated podium with over a dozen cameras pointed at him. None of his fellow satans were present. Each of them were busy with their own important tasks.


    His back was straight, his brows firm and his jaw stony. His commanding presence silenced the picketers who slowly gathered around the square to hear his next words.


    One of them wanted to speak but Sirzechs silenced them with a stony yet calm glare.


    “I would sincerely appreciate it if you wait until I finish before you ask any questions.”


    His words would be broadcast throughout the entire Underworld. This situation was a delicate matter that had to be handled carefully lest everything be ruined. The sun bore down on him, but it did not lighten the situation.


    “I am aware that many have come to believe my compatriot, Maou Beelzebub was responsible for freeing the Nekushou. I assure you he is not. Perhaps many may not believe in me, in us, but believe in our philosophy. Ask yourselves this. Why is it that when we finally promote a law that will benefit all of us devilkind, such an incident occurred?”


    Sirzechs thought long and hard about what to do. In the end, he decided to forgo conventional political manoeuvres and be direct. To be accurate, he decided to take a page from Igor’s book and not skirt around the issue.


    “It is no secret that if this law was passed, we would see sanctions removed  and trade agreements reopened within the next century. Contracts with humans would be easier to complete, allowing more of us the chance to grow.”


    Silence!


    For those who could not enter rating games, they completely relied on contracts with humans to advance, and Sirzechs’s words directly touched their souls.


    “I want you to think of this, my brethren. I want you to listen to my words and think this carefully.”


    His eyes pierced the camera. He was not releasing any pressure, but his authoritative gaze made viewers quiet.


    “Many shall frown upon me for declaring this publically, but our situation as devils is grim. Hundreds of pantheons and organisations do not want us. We have lost fifty-three alliances over the past century alone and many factions are working together to expel us from our territories in the human world. Pantheons would rather work with the Church that is notorious for their vile deeds over us…for only one reason. Our peerage system.”


    His grip on the podium tightened. This was an issue that touched his heartstrings and it showed with his next words.


    “Our peerage system, a proud symbol of our cultural heritage and ingenuity, a proud invention of Maou Beelzebub is viewed as a system of slavery in the wider supernatural world. A system that was designed to bring us from the brink of extinction has now become a symbol that makes others spit at the mention of our name.”


    Sirzechs’s voice grew more fervent.


    “Yes, there will be issues. It is not hidden that there are masters who mistreat their peerages. But ask yourselves this. Will we truly stop change on the accounts of a few?”


    *Pause*


    Those words echoed. ‘The accounts of a few’. They were simple words, but they were like a basin of cold water dumped upon them. Sirzechs was forcing them to open their eyes. His words were purposely vague, but everyone knew what their leader meant when he said ‘few’.


    “Will we prevent our society from evolving because of a little fear? Will you truly fear the turbulent river and ignore the greener pastures on the other side?”


    He let the silence spread before sealing it with one more statement.


    “In all of this, ask yourselves. Who benefits the least?”


    .


    |DxD|


    .


    *GASP!*


    The shock was palpable. What Sirzechs said-no, what Sirzechs did went beyond common sense. Any Devil with a few dozen points of IQ could deduce what Sirzechs was implying. The problem was, rarely, if no politician in history EVER did what he did.


    It was an unwritten rule between politicians that no matter what, they would never directly demean the other. That was because politicians were never clean to begin with. Each of them had done and were aware of each other’s dirty dealings.


    What Sirzechs did was equivalent to stepping on this unwritten rule and directly demeaning the pillar clans, particularly the Great King Faction. This was an affront to their sovereignty and their reputation. But Sirzechs had nothing to fear- not anymore.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    “My fellow brethren.”


    He leaned closer to the microphones in front of him, yet his voice only got quieter. It seemed like he wasn’t announcing, but telling them a secret.


    “If all of you can take the time to carefully think this through, surely you can imagine who suffers if this policy comes in effect, correct?”


    “““...”””


    The reporters remained silent. The crowd went silent. The users at home went silent. What Sirzechs was doing was a direct declaration of war, a political war. He wasn’t even subtle about it.


    …


    Comments:


    LuluTheDestroyer: “OHHHHHHHH! I knew it! I KNEW IT! Lord Lucifer is NEVER WRONG!”


    SentientBot#2: “After further analysis, I have confirmed that our leaders are innocent and the pillars are playing games.”


    WeLoveLucifer: “Lord Lucifer! Say no more! We understand! DOWN WITH THE BAELS!!!”


    AgdanBael: “What?! Come here and say that to my face!!!”


    UnknownPhenexGremory: “Mister Agdan. We know your clan is engaged in suspicious stuff. It’s just that those old guys don’t wanna say anything. So I agree with @WeLoveLucifer when they say: DOWN WITH THE BALES!”


    MisterBale: “Hey @UnknownPhenexGremory! What did we do? Target the Baels!”


    UnknownPhenexGremory: “Shut up @MisterBale! I know your account was created recently! [Screenshot: account was created 33 seconds ago] Even the bots from the Baels know how to change their timestamps!”


    AgdanBael: “For the last time! We have NOTHING to do with this! (FlipsTable.jpg)”


    SentientBot#2: “I have corrected your statement as follows: ‘We have SOMETHING to do with this!’.”


    AgdanBael: “@SentientBot#2 fuck you!”


    …


    The Devilnet was rife with competing comments inspired by Sirzechs’s controversial statement. The younger generation of devils was very quick to list the Baels as the main culprits. Their fearless nature allowed them to hit the nail right on the head, much to the Bael’s misfortune.


    But where Sirzechs was, everyone was silent. None of them could speak or comment for fear of inviting trouble upon themselves.


    The only one who dared to show a smile was Sirzechs. He was happy to see the gears turn in their heads. It seemed everyone had some inkling as to who was to blame for everything.


    “To avoid any cases of defamation launched against us, I will not say any names. However, I come here with the promise that we will give you reason to believe in us. The attack on Professor Sullivar Naberius, as sad as it is, has no part with us. Our methods were created by Maou Beelzebub with the assistance of our Aryan allies.”


    And just like that, the narration immediately shifted. One of the reporters under Serafall’s employ quickly capitalised on the change in narrative and asked Sirzechs about their new allies. Other reporters quickly brought their microphones closer and asked further questions.


    Questions such as “Who are they”, “When did talks begin?”, “Are they dangerous?”, and more were all quickly launched.


    Sirzechs showed no annoyance in having so many mics shoved in front of him. He had his coined closed-eye smile and raised his hands to placate them.


    “Please calm down. I shall answer all of your questions in one statement to the best of my ability.”


    Everything was going well. He planted a seed of doubt in the hearts of everyone watching. He hoped the spreading confusion would slowly silence the calls for blood and gore to an extent.


    “To begin with, I officially announce that we have concluded an alliance with the last two Aryans in existence. The first one is Aurelia von Drachenburg, more popularly known as Kurohime of the Shinto Pantheon.”


    Establish doubt in enemy forces and reinforce belief in one’s own forces. A simple plan that would firmly direct most, if not everyone’s thinking.


    “““WHO?!”””


    There was a reason everyone was surprised. Being a Drachenburg was already enough to garner significant attention. But to also be known as ‘Kurohime’ was more than enough to firmly bolster the rumours as hogwash.


    Disregarding her fame in other areas, Kurohime was a person who was known for her immense talent in seals and inscriptions. Now that she was known to be an Aryan, belief spread that her capabilities far surpassed what she’s shown.


    As a descendant of Aryans, it was completely illogical that she could fumble the process of manipulating the intricacies of a peerage piece. Being able to safely teleport millions of people away from a city, place them in suspended animation, AND implant new memories was much more difficult than manipulating a peerage piece.


    That conjecture alone was enough to make everyone cast doubt that Sullivar’s death was possibly staged or just happened to be coincidental. Regardless, the effectiveness of the rumour decreased drastically.


    “The looks of recognition you all have tell me I need not introduce her. Very well, I shall move on to the next person. His name is Igor von Dimori and…he’s responsible for the two power surges we all felt earlier.”


    “““...”””


    Sirzechs had a gentle smile on his face. He felt no shame in introducing Igor this way. There was no one in the Underworld who did not feel Igor’s power a few days ago. His power was controlled, but the immense pressure he exerted back then could not be hidden.


    Devils were drawn to power just as much as they respected it and Sirzechs himself was not excluded from this.


    “Lo-Lord Lucifer. Is this…is this really true?”


    It was one journalist who finally grew the liver to ask. He was nervous because…that surge of power truly frightened him to the core.


    “I kid you not. Igor von Dimori truly wields such immense power and I am proud to say that he has entered an alliance with us along with his sister, Aurelia von Drachenburg. We have to thank Lady Leviathan for that.”


    He could never forget to credit his friends.


    “As such, I respectfully ask that when you see them, do show them appropriate respect. Perhaps some of you will see them when Lady Aurelia performs the unlinking procedure on your peerage piece.”


    Gone was rage. Gone was anxiousness. Now, there was excitement. Sirzechs could see the budding excitement in the eyes of the citizens who came to personally see him speak.


    Not only did they manage to secure the fabled Kurohime, but they also snagged her brother, a behemoth who could freeze their hearts with a whiff of his power. Normal humans would never understand but to devils, such intoxicating power drew them like moths to a flame.


    Humans idolised beauty and money. Devils idolised power and authority. The name ‘Kurohime’ held authority and prestige. The mysterious Igor von Dimori held power and intrigue. Together, these two acted like catalysts that broke through the devil’s defences.


    Sullivar died because of a failed procedure on his bishop? Preposterous. Are you telling us that THEE Kurohime fumbled something as simple as that? Nonsense!


    Most devils were beginning to harbour such thoughts. Along with Serafall’s and Ajuka’s continuous work to steer public opinion, dissent was being extinguished in real-time. Anyone who tried to fan the flames was quickly placed under doubt.


    No matter how many devils each clan had under them, their numbers could not compare to the public. Any alternate accounts created were quickly removed by Ajuka while Serafall continued to bury dissenters under a dog pile of logic and suspicion.


    Sirzechs pulled out all the stops and public faith in the satans increased even further. The tables were turned and several clans were already being accused on public forums. The Bael surname was mentioned numerous times. Not only them, but several other suspicious pillar clans were, to put it crassly, ‘flamed’ on the Devilnet.


    Give anyone a keyboard and they would instantly grow ten guts. Give them a VPN and their livers would bloat under the ingestion of confidence. Give them a proxy server and they would hop on a clan’s official page and curse their ancestors right down to their progenitor.


    Comments:


    ConfidentArrogance: “The Baels are shit! Prove me wrong if you dare.”


    WhyDoWeLive?: “Prove what wrong @ConfidentArrogance ? There’s long since been rumours that the Baels have been engaged in several hidden schemes.”


    Don’tBotherI’veHidden: “That’s right! That’s right! I know a stray devil who escaped from the Baels. She said that their public appearance is all a farce. Ever since the Civil War, they’ve been involved in several questionable things.”


    F*ckTheBaels: “What I wanted to say is Fuck The Baels! Fuck their patriarch! Fuck their ancestors! Fuck their progenitor! Fuck everything about them! #FuckTheBaels”


    .


    AN


    .


    #FuckTheBales (I still want to live so…)


    Thank you for reading. Work was put in this chapter and previous so I hope you enjoyed them.