chapter 290
<b>Chapter 290:</b>
<b>–La–</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">I stepped through a pair of wooden doors that led to one of the Vatican’s secret inner chambers. I admired the ancient architecture and the beautiful stained ss windows as I continued inside, my heels echoing across the floor. I spotted a familiar blond figure standing near an altar.
<span style="font-weight:400">“La!” Michael’s voice was warm and filled with relief. His bright, golden wings were tucked behind him as he stood underneath a window with sunlight shining down on him. I wondered if he had any idea just how much he resembled Father right now. The second he saw me, he crossed the room and pulled me into a tight hug. “Thank God,” he whispered, his chin resting on my head. “I was so worried when you disappeared for so long. Gabriel told me you were all right, but I had to see for myself.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I was caught off guard by his sudden hug before wrapping my arms around him. He was warm—hugging him felt reassuring. It reminded me of a time before everything had gotten soplicated. I hoped we could go back to those times someday soon. “I’m happy to see you too,” I mumbled against his chest.
<span style="font-weight:400">He pulled back a bit, still holding onto my shoulders, his eyes searching my face. “What happened to you? Where did you go? Why didn’t you—”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m fine, Michael. Really,” I cut him off, giving him a small smile. “I handled it…” I didn''t want to spend any more of my life talking about the things I had missed out on. I got my revenge already. It might not have been as bloody as H would have liked, but that''s not who I was at my core.
<b>[I thought it was a fine punishment. There''s nothing worse for someone with amazing superpowers than turning back into a regr person…]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">Michael didn’t say anything and just patted me on the back.
<span style="font-weight:400">A smooth, cocky voice came from behind us. “Well, well, if it isn’t our prodigal sister. You didn''te to visit me after returning either. I would be offended if I didn''t know you were spending so much time <i><span style="font-weight:400">catching up</i><span style="font-weight:400"> with your harem.” Azazel stood there, leaning against a pir with his arms crossed. “I wasn’t worried at all, just so you know. I knew you woulde back to us just fine. Better than fine, apparently! I can''t even begin to sense the depths of your power.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I stepped away from Michael and nodded. “Yeah, it''s taken some getting used to.” Eight sets of ck wings spread out behind me. Michael gasped, and Azazel let out a startled whistle.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You really went and did it, huh? You surpassed our old man. Good for you, little sis. Have you thought about how you want to decorate your throne yet? Wait, let me guess—any color is fine as long as it’s ck?” he asked jokingly.
<b>[He’s got you there, host.]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">I raised an eyebrow, trying not tough myself. “I can''t help it if ck is my best color,” I said while tossing my hair behind my shoulder. I allowed my wings to recede back inside me. The power they emitted could get a bit overwhelming for anyone not used to it. “Thanks for believing I’d return, big brother.” I stepped forward and hugged him next. “Although I’m a bit upset that you weren''t worried about me at all,” I pouted yfully.
<span style="font-weight:400">Azazel’s smirk faltered for a second, then he shrugged. “Okay, maybe I was a little worried. But you’re the toughest woman I know. I knew you’d make it back.” It wasn’t much, buting from Azazel, it meant a lot.
<span style="font-weight:400">“We''re just d you’re safe, La. That’s all that matters,” Michael said. “Although I wish this reunion came under better circumstances.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I reluctantly nodded in agreement. These shitty devils really had the worst timing!
<span style="font-weight:400">There was a table in the center of the room with arge map of the world spread on top of it. Michael had marked out locations where the devils attacked and the positions where the forces of Heaven were strongest. Unsurprisingly, Europe and the majority of the Middle East were where most of the angels were stationed. I could see on the map that we did have small contingents of my other brothers and sisters scattered throughout the world, though.
<span style="font-weight:400">“The devils have thrown the world into chaos,” Michael said grimly. “But we’ve been pushing them back, step by step.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Azazel nodded with a serious expression on his face. “Indeed, we’ve given them a few hard smacks. They definitely weren’t expecting us to hit back this hard and fast.” He nced at me. “And speaking of hard smacks—nice job with Riser Phenex and his brothers, by the way.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I raised an eyebrow at him. “You already heard about that?” It had only been an hour since I’d gotten rid of them.
<span style="font-weight:400">Azazel gave a low whistle of appreciation. “Oh, trust me, everyone who matters has already heard about it. Taking down Riser and his brothers like that on camera— the devils took a massive loss on this one. Their supply of Phenex tears has now been cut in half. Maybe even less, since Ravel Phenex is reported to be pretty weak; she can’t produce even close to as many tears every day as her brothers could.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I expected Michael to chime in, maybe tell me I was too heavy-handed in how I dealt with the devils or that I should’ve held back more. He was always the voice of mercy. But to my surprise, he nodded in agreement. “Azazel’s right. You did what needed to be done.” His eyes met mine supportively. “I never wanted to be responsible for eliminating an entire race, but… the underworld has gone too far this time. They’re not giving us any choice.”
<span style="font-weight:400">A few years ago, Michael would’ve never said something like that. The idea of wiping out devils had always seemed unthinkable, but now, with the world in mes and innocent lives lost, the line between right and wrong felt blurred…
<span style="font-weight:400">“The world’s not going to forgive them after this war,” Azazel added. “This was thest straw.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I sighed and crossed my arms. “I guess this means my n to repopte the underworld with devils from Earth DxD-C is screwed. There’s no way they’ll wee them now, even if I vouch for them.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Michael shook his head, looking regretful. “No, devils will never be wee on Earth again… besides your two brides and children, of course. And even then, they’ll always be looked at with scrutiny.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“They’re not my brides… <i><span style="font-weight:400">yet.</i><span style="font-weight:400">” I blushed. “We’ve been so busy that I’ve never had any proper time for a real ceremony. As for my children, anyone who tries to bully them for being half-devil will learn that’s a very bad idea!” I dered.
<span style="font-weight:400">The ground underneath us started to tremble slightly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Easy there, sis!” Azazel called out. “Wepletely agree with you, but your aura is shaking the Vatican.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Oh, sorry…” I pulled back my angry aura and blushed slightly.
<span style="font-weight:400">Azazel tilted his head, a thoughtful look crossing his face. “I might have a better idea for you anyway. You told us that the dark elves will return during the convergence that’s going to ur soon. After we deal with them next, we’ll basically have an entire empty. Svartalheim could house all of those devils from Earth DxD-C just fine. It’s technically a wastnd, sure, but the conditions there aren’t all that different from the underworld when I think about it.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I paused to think about it. “Svartalheim? You know, that just might work, although it is aplete ruin.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah,” Azazel agreed with a grin, “but it’s a ruin with potential. The devils might prefer having their own instead of having to stay underground anyway. It’ll give them a chance to eventually expand into the stars and start fresh.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I told them both that I would go over the details with Serafall and her mother once this was all over. I’m sure neither of them would hate Azazel’s new idea.
<span style="font-weight:400">A sh of golden light erupted in the chamber, momentarily blinding us all. Someone was yfully making a very dramatic entrance. I shielded my eyes and squinted against the brightness. When the light faded, I saw Gabriel standing before us. She was wearing golden armor that was covered in bloodstains. None of the bloodstains were her own.
<span style="font-weight:400">She unceremoniously tossed a severed arm onto the marble floor. I could sense immediately that it belonged to a powerful devil…
<span style="font-weight:400">“Serafall managed to escape from me, unfortunately,” Gabriel announced, her voice tinged with annoyance.
<span style="font-weight:400">Michael frowned. “She got away from you? How?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“A water devil is nearly impossible to capture once she’s submerged in the ocean,” Gabriel sighed. “But it doesn’t matter. I clipped her wings and cost her an entire arm. It would take her months to heal from injuries like that. I doubt we''ll be seeing her again anytime soon.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Azazel nodded. “Good work there, my beautiful sister. That leaves us with Falbium and Sirzechs. As a general, Falbium is incredibly annoying to fight, especially when he’s on the defensive. He can boost the defenses of his devil troops dramatically. A low-ss devil can basically turn into a high-ss one when fighting under his powers.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“That won’t make a difference. I’ll just dispose of him first before the rest of our forces attack,” I said. I’d like to see his legendary defenses hold up to my power…
<span style="font-weight:400">Azazel smirked at me. “Well then, we’ll leave him to you.” He then started talking logistics. “I’ve been givenplete control of the armies of Asgard by H, along with a couple of legions of the Gregori. I have about 20,000 troops total, all middle to high ss in power. What else do we have?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“We can spare an additional 5,000 angels to add to that force,” Michael said. It wasn''t a lot, but the Angels had been doing the most in this war so far, defending territory all over the world.
<span style="font-weight:400">“We need to mount our final offensive quickly. Every moment we waste gives the devils a chance to try something else insane,” I said. No matter how high my Luck stat got, I noticed that it seemed to only work to my specific benefit. From an outsider''s perspective, my disappearing for two years wouldn''t even have been seen as bad luck because I came back and got an immediate massive power-up.
<span style="font-weight:400">Gabriel smiled vindictively. With her usual delicate features, it was hard to remember that she had more devil blood on her hands than any other angel in existence. “It''s time to finish the Great War once and for all. They won’t know what hit them.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I crossed my arms. “What about the civilians? Are we going to purge all of them after all?” I asked. I knew I always talked big about wiping them all out, but now that it was time to put my money where my mouth was, I found myself hesitating about causing an actual genocide. Even a genocide of cell-leading monsters…
<span style="font-weight:400">Azazel’s expression softened. “...That''s something I wanted to talk to you about, La. After you deal with Falbium and potentially Sirzechs, I''d like you to sit out the rest of this war,” he requested.
<span style="font-weight:400">My eyes widened. “What!?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Gabriel spoke up in agreement. “I think so too, La,” she added. “You never fought in the Great War. The truth is, a battle like that—violence for the sake of nothing but destruction—can change you. None of us want to see that happen to our littlest sister.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Michael ced a hand on my shoulder. “Even after your wings turned <i><span style="font-weight:400">ck</i><span style="font-weight:400">, you''ve always been the best of us, La. Never hesitating to put your life on the line to help strangers and save the innocent. But our siblings are correct, you shouldn’t be involved any further.”
<span style="font-weight:400">I bit my lip and felt a couple of tearse to my eyes. Here I was as the most powerful being on the, and yet I still needed to rely on my three older siblings to handle the dirty work for me.
<b>[Is that really so bad?]</b>
<i><span style="font-weight:400">‘I guess not…’</i><span style="font-weight:400"> I answered the System in my head.
<b>[In the end, the decision is up to you, Host.]</b>
<b>{Quest Initiated: Finish the Great War and eliminate 99% of Earth DxD’s Devil Poption!}</b>
<b>{Reward(s): +10 Levels if you handle it yourself. +5 Levels if you leave it to your siblings.}</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">At the end of the day, 5 levels wasn’t that much of a difference…
<span style="font-weight:400">“Everything is settled then,” Azazel said. “The only thing left to do is to gather all of our forces and decide on the hour of our attack.”
<span style="font-weight:400">As we continued to n and catch up, my mind started to drift and wonder how H was faring in Asgard?
<b>–H–</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">H stood tall and defiant with her arms crossed. Across from her were Sirzechs Lucifer and Rizevim Livan Lucifer, two of the <i><span style="font-weight:400">“Super” </i><span style="font-weight:400">Devils—beings that even the most powerful of gods were hesitant to fight one-on-one. And she was fighting two of them at once.
<span style="font-weight:400">H wasn''t worried, though.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Who are you?” Sirzechs asked tensely. “I’ve met H before, but you can’t be her! She wasn''t nearly as powerful as you are, imposter!”
<span style="font-weight:400">H sneered at Sirzechs mockingly. He actually thought she''d answer any of his questions after he tried to kill her? “You don’t get to know who I am. You’ll die knowing nothing.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Without waiting for a response, H attacked. ck energy surged around her as massive, jagged swords appeared from every direction, filling the air and the ground. In an instant, they allunched at the two devils as a deadly storm of death!
<span style="font-weight:400">Rizevim reacted first, summoning his <b>Darkness</b><span style="font-weight:400"> magic to form a shield in front of himself. Sirzechs followed right after, releasing his crimson <b>Power of Destruction</b><span style="font-weight:400"> to block even more swords. Both of their defenses held under her initial assault, but not without extreme strain.
<span style="font-weight:400">H could sense their weakness and didn’t bother letting up. More swords appeared around her. She willed the next volley to fly even faster. They came crashing down on her foes without pause. Eventually, their magical shields ran out of power and they had to start dodging.
<span style="font-weight:400">Both Super Devils gaped in disbelief at the number of des that were beingunched at them ceaselessly. Rizevim cursed as he dodged another sword that almost skewered him. “How are we losing!? What’s wrong with you, Sirzechs? You should be way stronger than this!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Sirzechs, panting and barely avoiding another attack, shot him a frustrated look. “I haven’t had time to recharge my demonic reserves after destroying India. I only came here to kill Odin! I thought he would be weak after battling Surtur second!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Rizevim stared at him in disbelief. “You''re not at your full power? You’ve got to be kidding me!” he yelled, dodging again. “What good are you, then?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Sirzechs scowled but didn’t answer, too focused on avoiding H’s relentless attack. He clenched his fists, trying to summon more power, but H’s ck swords kepting, cutting through any destructive attacks he tried to throw at her.
<span style="font-weight:400">H grinned, loving the fact that her enemies were already at each other’s throats. Her eyes locked onto Sirzechs. “This is legendary Sirzechs? The strongest devil in existence? Pathetic,” she hissed, while holding her right hand above her head. “I expected more,” she said, disappointed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That makes two of us,” Rizevim said begrudgingly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Maybe he just needs a little push to show us what he can really do?” H said with a menacingugh. She raised her right hand vertically above her head as her power surged. A massive ck de the size of a skyscraper manifested directly above her in an instant. She swung her arm down, and with it came the gigantic de, hurtling directly toward the two shocked devils. She wanted to crush them beneath her boots, but she was a bit disappointed they weren''t even putting up a fight.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What the fuck!?” Rizevim cursed. “Are all the gods and goddesses from beyond the dimensional gap this powerful?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I don’t even know what’s going on!” Sirzechsined. “But I’m not going to lose here! I am <i><span style="font-weight:400">Lucifer! </i><span style="font-weight:400">The strongest Devil!<i><span style="font-weight:400">”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">“The fuck you are!” Rizevim cursed at the redheaded Maou. Despite that, Rizevim and Sirzechs were forced tobine their demonic power to stop the gigantic de crashing down above them. Theyunched their retaliatory attacks at the same time, emitting a massive ck and red beam that collided with the falling sword.
<b>Boom!</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">A massive explosion ensued, ripping apart the already destroyed battlefield! H conjured arge t sword directly in front of herself to avoid getting pelted with flying debris. As the dust started to clear, H smirked when she saw the tattered states of her two opponents.
<span style="font-weight:400">H started to slowly p her hands sarcastically. It was a mocking gesture she had learned from some Midgardian movies. “That was better. Maybe you two will actually be able to give me a fight. You were both so arrogant earlier after all.” H said, shaking her head in disappointment.
<b>–Rizevim Lucifer–</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">This was not going how he <i><span style="font-weight:400">nned...</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">But then again, where would be the fun in that? Chaos was the most beautiful part of life! Of course, he would enjoy the chaos a lot more if he were alive to see it. And for that to happen, he and the false Lucifer were going to have to work together to bring down the monstrously powerful woman in front of them. Or, at the very least, bring her down to the point where Rizevim could escape himself.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Get your shit together, Sirzechs!” he shouted. “No more holding back! Go all out!” Without hesitation, Rizevim activated his bloodline’s most powerful ability—<b>Denial of the Divine</b><span style="font-weight:400">. A dark, oppressive energy pulsed from deep inside him, warping the rules of reality itself. <b>Divine Power</b><span style="font-weight:400"> was no longer allowed within his vicinity! This was his ultimate trump card, it was the reason he never feared any of the dead God’s <b>Sacred Gears</b><span style="font-weight:400">.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What is this ability?” H asked as she staggered momentarily.
<span style="font-weight:400">He grinned when he saw the shocked expression on H’s face. That’s right! She thought he would be defeated so easily, but she thought wrong. Rizevim could already feel H’s power drop by at least half. She might have even been weakened to the point that they were finally fighting on an even level. The only downside to using <b>Denial of the Divine </b><span style="font-weight:400">was that it rapidly drained his <b>Demonic Power</b><span style="font-weight:400"> reserves, which meant that they needed to settle this quickly.
<span style="font-weight:400">H waved her hand and tried to throw another volley of swords at them. Rizevim smirked when all of her swords broke apart and shattered before they made it halfway.
<span style="font-weight:400">H frowned. “Some kind of conceptual ability? My beloved, La, told me that she faced a simr attack over two years ago…” she muttered out loud. A small ck hole manifested to H’s left. She shoved her hand inside the hole and pulled out a silver sword. “It’s been a while since I’ve had to use an actual Uru sword,” H said, gripping the de with both hands. She then let out a war cry and charged at them!
<span style="font-weight:400">Rizevim was shocked by how much speed she had despite having her <b>Divine Power</b><span style="font-weight:400"> mostly sealed away. <i><span style="font-weight:400">‘Her physical strength must be enormous!’</i><span style="font-weight:400"> he thought to himself. That was unfortunately an area most Devils werecking in, himself included.
<span style="font-weight:400">“RAAAAaaaaaaggghh!” Sirzechs let out a scream next to him. The false Lucifer’s skin, hair, and even organs started to disappear. Standing in the Maou’s ce was a being made entirely of pure destruction.
<span style="font-weight:400">Rizevim smirked. It wasn’t often the false Lucifer showed anyone his horrifying true form. Was Sirzechs even a devil anymore, or just a mass of sentient destruction masquerading as one? The very ground he stood on and the air around him started to break down.
<span style="font-weight:400">H reached Sirzechs right as he finished his transformation and swung her de at the Maou’s head, separating it cleanly from his shoulders!
<span style="font-weight:400">The smirk soon disappeared from her face, however, when Sirzechs’s body punched forward and nailed her in the stomach with a fist of destruction energy.
<span style="font-weight:400">Blood and spittle flew out of H’s mouth as she wasunched backward. She shoved her sword into the ground and used it to stop herself. While she was recovering, Rizevim held his hand up and unleashed a st of pure darkness at her.
<span style="font-weight:400">H’s deshed out and severed the beam in two. It continued past her and erupted into two identical explosions.
<span style="font-weight:400">Despite being pushed back and injured, Rizevim was surprised to see a genuine grin on H''s face. “Now this is more like it! Killing you both wouldn’t be any fun if you couldn’t even fight back!” H dered before immediately charging at them again.
<span style="font-weight:400">Sirzechs’s missing head fully regenerated. The living mass of sentient destruction held up both arms and began to unleash waves of crimson ruin at the charging goddess. Her momentum didn’t stop as she continued charging, all of Sirzechs’s attacks were either deflected by the goddess’s sword, or she simply tanked them with her body and armor.
<span style="font-weight:400">She once again reached the two of them, this time far more injured and bloody. That didn’t stop her, though, as she quickly lopped off Sirzechs’s head a second time. She didn’t stop there either, her deshed out with insane speed and precision, removing all four limbs from the mass of destruction. His limbless torso flopped onto the dissolving ground.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Die!” H mmed her sword directly through Sirzechs’s torso before it had the chance to regenerate. Her sword was shoved down all the way to the hilt.
<span style="font-weight:400">Rizevim couldn’t help but smirk at the sight in front of him. Watching this bloody goddess cut the false Lucifer to pieces was actually making him <i><span style="font-weight:400">hard. </i><span style="font-weight:400">Rizevim was a true Devil, and he would have loved nothing more than to pin down this haughty, powerful goddess and im her for himself then and there!
<span style="font-weight:400">But as much as he would have loved to do that, he was still intelligent enough to recognize a lost cause when he saw one. Sirzechs Lucifer—no, <i><span style="font-weight:400">Gremory</i><span style="font-weight:400">—died then and there. The mass of destruction began to break down, along with H’s weapon that she’d sacrificed to kill him.
<span style="font-weight:400">Instead of taking the opportunity to attack her when she was unarmed, Rizevim chose to use the moment to escape. It hadn’t just been himself, Loki, and Hades who came to Asgard. He had other hidden agents as well who were breaking the seal while the three of them caused a distraction. He was sure that they hadpleted their objective by now.
<span style="font-weight:400">“This has been fun, <i><span style="font-weight:400">Queen</i><span style="font-weight:400"> H! We will meet again. I hope we can have much more <i><span style="font-weight:400">fun</i><span style="font-weight:400"> together then,” Rizevim left those words behind as he departed from the battlefield.
<b>–H–</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">H was annoyed that the Uru weapon in her hand had been destroyed. It might have only been a ceremonial weapon she had forged for her inauguration ceremony, but she had expected better from a dwarven creation. Had they <i><span style="font-weight:400">scammed</i><span style="font-weight:400"> her…?
<span style="font-weight:400">She would be having <i><span style="font-weight:400">words</i><span style="font-weight:400"> with King Eitri once she returned to Asgard!
<span style="font-weight:400">With a sigh, she stood up and nced around. The silver-haired descendant of La’s evilest brother had fled while she was finishing off Sirzechs Lucifer. “What a disgusting coward,” she scoffed. She had also noticed the way Rizevim had looked at her before he fled. The desire in his eyes disgusted her even more. “The next time we meet, I’ll be sure to take his head personally.”
<span style="font-weight:400">With that said, she decided to see how Thor… and <i><span style="font-weight:400">Thor</i><span style="font-weight:400"> were faring against their skeletal opponent. Hopefully, they had finished him off already so she could finally meet up with La again.
<b>XXX</b>