DXD SI : Chapter 52 : Zekram Mind Fuckery, Deputisation & TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? (Patreon)

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

Underworld

–Magdaran Bael–

“Nothing will make me prouder”

The words echoed in his mind as he sat under the Mother Tree, the familiar touch somewhat calming him down, as he thought of the entire conversation there. It was a mess, he realised. That was not something he would have done a scant few months ago. He would not have been so confrontational, would not have taken such risky moves, and more importantly, most certainly would not have let Zekram talk him into standing down.

Something was wrong with him, he realised. Far more than he had previously expected. He had suspected his problem to be because of his social inactivity, that some more interaction and a period of calm should help him a lot, but if his latest stunt with Zekram was anything to go by, then he needed something far stronger than just friendly conversations.

Satan, what was he thinking? He showed Zekram some of his powers freely, without even any combat application. He was so stupid, and fucked. Yes, he was also fucked.

No way that the New Satans did not feel that spike of energy as well, and he did not even know what their response might be. Previously, he had a semi neutral relationship with Serafall, and like the dumbass that he was, he blew her the last time they met.

Who knows what they might choose to do this time.

“Nothing will make me prouder”

Zekram’s words echoed in his mind once more. He tried to analyse them, but aside from feeling as if the man was suicidal, but only with a particular process in mind, he could not fathom why Zekram would say that. After all, it must be clear to even Zekram that he stood in front of a Devil capable of killing even him, and yet, he said that with confidence.

Also, what was with that rant? About the Four Satans and their ruling practices, about the race running headfirst into a wall? 

Sure, things were bad, but were they that bad? And did he really care too much about that? 

Sure, he could leave, but he struggled to think of a way that he would be totally free with the entire Devil race in freefall. Whatever Zekram’s motive might have been, he was true that he was soft, that he would not be able to just look away if genocide were to happen in front of him, especially because of him. 

Shaking his head, he banished those thoughts and focused on the here and now. And what was here, was him, in his current form, and his Mother Tree. He had to be honest with himself here. The Garden was probably a lost cause here. No matter how he thought about it, he would not be able to secure everything and move it safely. He could maybe guarantee the Mother Tree as is, which is why–

His thoughts were halted, his face halfway twisted into an angry snarl, only to freeze as he recognised one of the two Energy signatures just outside his Garden. Two very powerful Devils.

Readying himself for an altercation if the worst had truly come to pass, he came out of the Garden to see Serafall, but more importantly, one other Satan as well, the only one he hadn’t met yet.

Satan Falbium Asmoedes. The man tasked with manning the Underworld’s Military and responsible for its defenses. The one gifted with Absolute Defense, something that only a few individuals in the entire Underworld can break, requiring strong Satan Class Individuals at the very least.

The immovable shield of the Underworld.

And he was here to meet him.

He braced for…something, only for the man to stop Serafall from speaking and just walk up to him casually, “Magdaran Bael, heir to House Bael, I am invoking Senate Code § XII-47, Extraordinary Deputization for Matters of State Security. As of right now, you have been deputized as a Special Deputy Officer directly under my command. Do you accept the position?”

What?

He looked at the man as if he was mad. What was Falbium doing here? Was this their way of containing him? Making it look official to take him somewhere and then take care of him that way? Pinning the blame on some archaic law that allowed Satans to call upon the private forces of any Pillar House, for Security purposes?

If so, he was not going to go down that easily. If things had devolved to such a point, then might as well go out with a–

“Magdaran,” Serafall said, her voice serious and almost pleading, “Just listen to what he has to say. Please, it is important.”

He looked at her, and after a moment, replied, “Just know that if this is some ploy, I will not make it easy for any of you, Satan or otherwise.”

“We know.” Seafall nodded.

He looked at Falbium, who was looking at him with that same blank look as before. Actually, scratch that; he looked sleepy for some reason, proving to him that even some of the most outlandish sounding rumours about the people in power could prove to be true. Still, it must be important for them to do this and inside the Bael Compound as well.

Still, he was not going to be caught blindsided here, so he nodded, “I accept.”

“Very well. As your direct commanding officer, I have a few questions for you. Will you answer them truthfully?”

He looked at Falbium, then at Serafall, looking for some sign of whatever was going on, but both of them looked dead serious, so he played along for now.

“I suppose.”

Falbium nodded, “Very well.”

“Do you plan to conspire against the current Government or any of its initiatives in your official capacity as the Bael Heir or in any other unofficial capacity?”

“...No. Not unless you lot act against me.”

“Do you plan to act as the figurehead for the Great King Faction and rally more Pillar Houses to your House’s cause?”

“What? No. I am no one’s puppet. My priority is to me and only me.”

“Do you plan to take on the position of the Head of House Bael to further any agenda of Zekram Bael or the Great King Faction?”

“I will not be taking that position, no matter what.”

“Did you kill Zephyr Bael with the intention of taking his position?”

“....That is Pillar House Matter, but no. I had other issues with the man. I don’t want that position, whatsoever.”

He tried to sense for anything that could tell him why this was happening. Any magic, any artifact, any concept on himself that he could track down that might be compelling him to tell the truth or ascertaining whether he was telling the truth or not. Such artifacts might just exist; with Ajuka’s mad genius around, he certainly could not say if they had it or not. But, no matter what, he did not find any sign of anything magical happening during the conversation.

He even did that overtly, making sure both of the Satans in front of him knew what he was doing, but they showed no reaction, patiently waiting for him to be done with his scanning.

It was…disturbing.

“What are your future plans?”

“..I am unsure at the moment.”

“What obstacles might exist if you were told to take a long term stealth assignment outside the Underworld?”

“What?” His power flared subconsciously, as he finally felt like they were coming to the matter at hand. They wanted to send him away? Well, he wanted to go, but why would they want him to go away? Before he could ask any of those questions, Serafall sighed and stepped forward, pushing Falbium behind in one smooth motion, the Satan complying without any issue.

Serafall smiled at him, “I’m sorry. I told him that doing it straightforward would have been better, but he insisted on trying his method. Anyway, let me give it to you straight. Let me finish before you decide that basting us into oblivion is the right option.”

She took a deep breath before replying, “For starters, after deep analysis, I believe that you don’t have anything tying you down to the Underworld. That just like us, you somehow slipped under Zekram’s radar as well, that he had no idea how strong you really were until it was too late.

Am I right?”

“.....What if you are?”

She smiled at the confirmation, standing a bit straighter, her words gaining steam as she continued to talk, “Then, no matter what we tried to find, the only thing that seemed to matter to you was your Garden.”

“What of it?” He might have snapped at her, defensive about that topic, the earlier confrontation with Zekram still fresh in his mind. He really had to control these guard dog urges sooner rather than later. This way, any half decent Ancient Monster would be able to play with his mind.

“Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we believe that you should spend a little time away from the Underworld. Ofcourse, this is if you wish to do so and at a location of your choosing. We will not be coercing you to do anything.”

“Not even as my direct Commanding officer?”

“That was just a stupid way to get some answers out of you. You are really hard to talk to, Magdaran, if you didn't know that about yourself.”

He remained silent for a moment, thinking through things before replying, “What unforeseen circumstances? Is the underworld collapsing?”

“No!” Serafall exclaimed, “Why would you think that?”

“Well, you look like you saw the death of someone and had to be the one to deliver the news.”

“Just…Listen. We have some issues at hand, and we believe that it would be beneficial to both you and us that you not be in the Underworld. From what we can tell, you clashed with Zekram earlier, not once but twice. We figured that it would be a win-win deal for you.”

“I see. What if I want to stay?” he did not want to, but he just wanted to know more about this unforeseen circumstance. Just what in the hell could it be?

Serafall’s smile tightened a bit, “We can’t legally force you to do anything, Magdaran. Even if you were a Special Deputy under Falbium, as a Pillar Heir, you can challenge any order given to you and withdraw anytime you want, as long as you are not on the battlefield.” She rattled off, clearly well versed with the laws of the Underworld.

“But from what I can tell, you want to leave.”

He nodded slowly, “Yes, but I don’t like the idea that I am to be banished. That creates some problems for me.”

“You are not being banished. You are welcome to be abc anytime you want, but for the time being, we need you not to be here. We can help you with whatever you might need. We can arrange special transport for your Garden.”

“And how do you think you will do that? Transporting the Entire Garden with any spatial magic will result in some leakage, and that will lead to many of my plants dying. Unless you plan to have Ajuka himself here as a glorified taxi, I don’t–”

“Don’t worry about that. We are not without options here. You just have to tell us when and where, and I personally guarantee a lossless teleportation.”

He gave her a look, thinking through things before replying, “Give me a few days to think over this. Know this: Zekram will not take kindly to your actions here.”

Falbium interjected here. “That is fine. You leave him to us. We will make sure he does not meddle with your movements.”

He gave Falbium a look at that grand statement before taking a deep breath, feeling as if he was about to make the most significant decision of his life, he replied, “To recap, I will be on vacation. Will not be declared a traitor or banished, and will have the freedom to come back anytime I wish, without any restrictions? I will be going wherever I want and interact with whoever I want.”

Serafall quickly added, “As long as you don’t actively work against the Underworld or with our sworn enemies, I think we will be just fine. Even then, just give me a heads up, and we can overlook some minor dealings.”

Huh. They were giving him a lot here.

What the fuck was wrong here?