DXD SI : Chapter 42 : Oh, SNAP! & Unexpected Surprises (Patreon)

Disclaimer - I don't own any of the characters appearing in High School DXD or the Anime or the manga whatsoever.

Bael Territory, Underworld

–Zekram Bael–

He sipped on his favourite alcohol, watching the place in anticipation. As expected, Zephyr had made the expected requests, created the expected excuses, and asked for the expected allies. He had supplied the man with the place, a mechanism to subdue any Devil below Ultimate Class with ease. 

The formation holding the Holy Light had mechanisms in place that made sure that it stopped the moment a single person within the Hall died. Be it Zephyr, the Paimon, the Agares, or the Heir, it mattered not. If Zephyr died, then he would have a strong new Head of the House who was young enough to be partially molded and also have room to grow into becoming a very strong Head.

If Magdaran died, then, well, the Bael House had no need for weak heirs. Personal power meant nothing if one didn’t know how to use it properly. Demonic Energy being thrown around without the brain to direct it was exactly the recipe for disaster. That was how uncontrollable rabid monsters like Rizevim were born. 

It would be better if you had a little bit less power but had a better mind for it. It would be far more helpful for them in the current climate in the Underworld. They had enough power to project outwards.

The Bael needed someone who could do the same internally, to bring his will to fruition. Magdaran, with his potential for strength, was the perfect candidate, but before he could ask something as important from the boy, he had to test him. He had many ways in mind to test the boy, but Zephyr came to him of his own volition, becoming the first test inadvertently.

He watched as the boy walked into the Ancestral Hall, throwing his power around, clearly not there for a cordial conversation, which meant the boy had an idea what his father was up to. A point in his favour, one that was diminished slightly when the boy had no allies of his own, no visible mechanism to extract him from a sticky situation.

Was it confidence? Arrogance?

That’s what he was here to ascertain. The video feed changed, now showing the interior of the hall. The Paimon and the Balam hid behind the wards of the palace, which was why Magdaran did not sense them so nearby.

He watched in anticipation as Zephyr finally made his move, and by that, he meant letting others do his work. He had no idea what Zephyr had promised these devils in exchange for this, but it was almost certainly out of his authority to do so, something that these Pillar Devils should have been aware of.

He felt a slight disappointment when he saw the boy freeze, staying in the same spot without even a hint of movement on his part, magical or physical, but was pleasantly surprised when the boy effortlessly dismantled all three Pillar Devils at the same time. Sure, if the boy was as strong as he expected him to be, then the combination would not have worked, but it should have atleast occupied the boy for a few moments.

Enough time for Zephyr to activate the so-called trump card, but the boy had surpassed his expectations. Could it be that the boy was further into Ultimate Class than he had expected him to be?

He nodded in approval when he didn’t kill any of the Pillar Devils. They were in short supply as it is. While he would not have faulted the boy for killing anyone who came at him with lethal intent, the fact that he could afford to just keep them imprisoned meant he had the strength to back it up. After all, mercy was the luxury afforded only to the strong. It also told him that the boy had some sense of restraint, an admirable quality that most powerful devils of the old did not have. They were far more interested in brute force than thinking things through, save for a few odd ones like the Dantalions, which is why there were so few Original Pillars these days.

He smirked as he leaned back in his chair, watching as the boy destroyed his father without hesitation. It was as if he did not care about their blood relation a bit. It was expected, but not to this extent.

It would seem that Furcas’ theory that the boy knew more about his mother than they had expected was true, because this level of animosity could not come from nowhere. Or he was reading too much into it, and Magdaran was just the kind of devil who recognised the ring leader when he saw one and made sure they alone bore the majority of the punishment the boy intended to dish out.

Which worked fine for him, as well. He liked Devils with flawed principles. After all, it just made them easier to control later on.

Unfortunately for Magdaran, the Formation underneath the Hall was something that could be activated with a thought, and that’s what happened. That’s when the Holy Light from the containment overwhelmed the surveillance formations in the place, making him blind for a moment.

He looked down, palming the King Piece, contemplating the use of it, as he could definitely see Magdaran becoming quite the Devil with the boost from the piece. It would forever lock his potential away, but it would be far better than dying. After all, so far, he had liked the boy and his qualities. He just needed a little polishing to become a far more effective Head of the House than anyone in centuries.

A ten times boost would push his power to the point that he wouldn’t have to worry about anyone in the Underworld. It was a gamble, and while he would not have taken it before for anyone, let alone an unproven, untested heir, new information had come to light that made him give the boy far more interest than before.

Something about him had the New Satans up in a tizzy. The boy had met Ajuka, Serafall and even Sirzechs before this and that was something he hadn’t known of, an oddity when it came to his descendants.

Even Venelana, after marrying into the Gremory, knew that she was always under the watch of her Ancestor, for better or for worse.

Barring all else, Magdaran has proven himself an interesting heir, and even after all this, he managed to get away from it alive, he would consider personally training the boy. After all, while the Holy Light was extracted from just a Six Winged Angel, the quantity was something that would give even an Ultimate Class trouble.

Judging by the fact that Magdaran hadn’t escaped the Hall in any way, it meant that he was trying to power through it. It was possible and yet, stupid. Why would he do that when he could just leave any time he wanted? The restrictive protections would not hold against the boy’s power, no matter how much Zephyr wished for them to do so.

As the Holy Light continued to escape through the door of the hall, he sat upright a bit. He found no sign of Zephyr using the one time emergency escape, or the Holy Light dying down. It meant that all the parties were still inside the Hall and none of them had died yet.

It was…odd.

And that just made it all the more interesting. He found a smile growing on his face as he looked forward to the results.

After a few minutes of full output, the container of Holy Light emptied itself. Unfortunately, the surveillance wards were fried due to the sheer strain of the Holy Light attacking everything inside the hall.

He sent the King Piece away, as he knew that no one was dead there, which was an accomplishment on its own. Protecting himself was one thing, but making sure that the others were alive as well? Now that was something he would be curious about.

This just reinforced his decision to personally mentor the boy. Maybe in a few decades, he would finally have the same level of strength as him, and that would be the day, a new page in the history of House Bael will be opened.

Now, all he had to do was wait for the boy to—

He paused, his brows furrowing as he felt a bad feeling enter his heart. A bad premonition. Something that had not happened for centuries now, courtesy of the position of absolute protection he enjoyed courtesy of the Two Super Devils of their race. No one and absolutely no one wanted to suffer the aftermath of killing him, if they could do that in the first place. 

He made sure the ones who were crazy or brave enough to attempt so were killed off long ago.

So, why? Why was he feeling this—

He stood up, his power flexing unconsciously around him, as he erased the chair and the table all around him, his gaze locked onto the Hall in the distance. He saw nothing, and yet, it felt as if….

His question was answered as the boy’s power spiked before the Ancestral Hall, the Gardens around it, the lake next to it, the armoury, the treasury and even the walls of the Ancestral Hall, were all enveloped in a massive wave of Power of Destruction, leaving behind nothing but a gaping hole in the Earth.

He looked wide eyed at the destruction. This much power, it could not possibly come from a mere brat and yet, the signature was the same. He checked and checked and checked, and yet, it did not change. All thoughts went through his mind, trying to make sense of the impossibility in front of him.

Did Ajuka give him a King Piece? No. The spike was not consistent with the King Piece, and there was no reason for the Super Devil to do so in the first place.  

Did someone else arrive in his place? No. The energy signature was the same and there were only two other Devils who had this level of mastery of the Power of Destruction and none of them were in that Hall.

Did the brat consume something forbidden? But the energy signature was massive and yet stable. None of the fluctuations that were synonymous with external power ups.

He felt the reflexive urge to retreat and regroup when he felt a scream echo all around the Bael Main Compound. 

It was Magdaran’s.