Gremory SI - Chapter 4 : Child Labour Laws? Pffft.... & Rasengan! (Patreon)

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Gremory Territory, Underworld.

—Shin Gremory–

It was a week after he had finally decided to leave House Gremory, and the only reason he had stayed so far was because of the preparations he was going to undertake without telling anyone; i.e., he was stealing stuff and wanted to do so without getting caught. Also, there was a House wide meeting scheduled today, so he figured he would leave after attending the meeting, as he was done with gathering as much as he could without raising any alarms just yesterday.

People were giving him looks, with some of them looking as if they were just a moment away from marching up to him and asking him any number of troublesome questions about his whereabouts, which is why he just wanted this meeting to be over. If it wasn’t for the possibility that he would be declared a lost cause if he missed this meeting, he would have left already.

The rumour mill told him that Sirzechs was back inside the house as well, having come back from Lucifaad last night, which meant this was likely a serious issue, or not. Sirzechs was the master of his own will, and Zephyr loved to play power plays like this. It could be that this meeting was being held just so Zephyr could show off his power to Sirzechs, who probably couldn’t care less about any of this perceived power since he had real, tangible, fuck-you power at his fingertips.

Seriously, just being in the same area as him was as if he was wading through water, a subtle pressure acting on him. The others did not look like they noticed it, so maybe it was just him and his senses going haywire about Sirzechs because he knew of the monster underneath.

The thought of hitching a ride with Sirzechs did cross his mind, as it would all but guarantee a safe passage to Lucifaad, but then what? He couldn’t do so without any reason. He would have to tell the Big Guy that he wanted to join the choir and he was pretty sure it was not a wise move to do so right now, with tensions in the Underworld only increasing as the Satan descendants publicly proclaimed about their intentions to Claim their Glory and Show the world their strength.

Sure, they did not outright tell everyone that they were looking to somehow restart the Great War, but they didn’t need to. The forces they were amassing and the work that the Lucifer Six were doing was more than enough to act as a declaration of war.

He was sure that Heaven and the Fallen were mobilising as well, but were likely limited to internal training because of the lack of a formal declaration from the Devils. It was likely that the moment a formal declaration went out, and devils started marching en masse out of the Underworld, the rest of the world would instantly gang up and destroy the Devil race. No exceptions would be made in that case, as Devils were inherently dangerous, even to those stuck up Gods who saw everything as beneath them.

Shaking his head, he waited for the star of the show to arrive. He was constantly feeling that pressure even now, which meant that Sirzechs was around, but it remained to be seen if he actually came to the meeting or not.

He wondered if it was the whole [High Potential] thing forcing his senses into overdrive and allowing him to sense just what kind of utter monster Sirzechs was right now, and he was just in his 50s right now. Who knows what kind of monster he would become when he became centuries old, which he was when canon officially began.

It was obvious that Canon was shot out of the window the moment he came into the picture, and even more so now that he was going to finally move out of the house and start flipping his butterfly wings and raising storms somewhere else.

He looked up as the whispers in the room died down, as Zephyr entered the room, his head held high, in ceremonial garb, which was usually the case when it came to the pompous bastard. Zephyr took a moment to stand in place and make eye contact with everyone. Most, if not all, Gremory without the signature Red hair averted their gazes when Zephyr made eye contact with them. He did not do so, making Zephyr look at him for a few seconds more until he eventually moved on to the next person.

Zephyr might be the Head here, and strong enough to do so, but he was no pushover, especially with his regen. That particular trait allowed him to maybe not win instantly but turn it into a battle of attrition, and in that, he was always going to win with Zephyr. 

Still, the man was a war veteran, and it would be poor judgement on his part if he underestimated someone who alteast saw the most brutal time in Devil history, even if Zephyr himself likely did not participate in any fights with the Angels or fights involving the Big G.

Sirzechs was not here, which meant this was going to be yet another useless meeting. He would have left had it not served as a slap to Zephyr and just put more attention on him.

“Greetings! I am here with an important announcement. To foster growth and a sense of work in the next generation of Gremory, we have arranged a study camp in one of our outposts in the Pit.”

There were gasps, whispers, and worried glances around at the statement. His eyes narrowed as he tried to think of exactly what in the fuck Zephyr was thinking of here.

The Pit? Study camp?

Those two things did not mix well, not at all.

The Pits were dangerous things. Not just because of the high tier Demonic Beasts that still spawned there from time to time, but also because of the battlefields of the Great War. Places that were utterly wrecked because of the high energy battles that were fought there.

Some of the most dangerous battlefields still had traces of Holy Energy, Holy Light, Holy Water Fog, and even broken space that could lead anywhere, maybe even the Dimensional Gap.

No one could tell what might happen inside the Pit, even to seasoned Pit Hunters. There was a reason they always needed more Pit Hunters, despite the rather lucrative earnings from even a single hunt. 

The Satans paid handsomely to the Pit Hunters, as the Lucifer Six, more specifically, the Nebiros House, were practically the only buyers of everything that came out of the Pit. They were most interested in the Demonic Beasts that spawned inside, presumably for their research.

House Nebiros was not below experimenting on Devils, but he supposed that even the idiotic Satan descendants must realise that publicly experimenting on Devils would be bad for morale and that would jeopardize their plan of restarting the Great War to cement their place as the Satans. Because that’s what that was all about. 

To become Proper Satans of the Underworld.

Even now, so long after the Great War ended and the death of all the previous Satans, the people ruling over the Underworld were not really sitting on the Satan seats. Even now, they were called Satan Descendants, the rightful heirs to the Satan Seats, but still not Satans. It was a common consensus that they were still not Satans, despite fulfilling most of the conditions, of having the bloodline traits, being decently strong, and having the cruel streak downright necessary to become Satans.

It was something that even their supporters would agree to. Even they knew it, which is why this whole push for a war that might just make their race extinct, an outcome the rest of the supernatural world was eagerly looking forward to.

All because they wanted their rule over the Underworld legitimised in a way that the entire Underworld kissed the ground they walked on, they were going to push their race back into the meat grinder that was the Great War. The War was not good for anyone. No side came out better from it, and everyone suffered great losses that more or less forced everyone to stop fighting.

Of course, the deaths of Big G and the Four Satans made sure that the two strongest factions took a step back, and since the Fallen had already backed out of the war under the leadership of Azazel, the Great War kinda ended right then and there. It was not a proper conclusion to the war by any means, but it was what it was.

The problem with that was that the Satan Descendants could not just declare victory in the war and raise their prestige. No, the war was just paused, and they were going to hit the Play button to somehow win the War and cement their positions. It was a matter of ambition, and he did not think that they had a viable plan to do so, even with the Lucifer Six likely working around the clock to figure out a way to win the whole thing.

Loyal to a fault as they were, the Lucifer Six were probably following the orders dutifully, but reality itself was in their way, with no viable way of actually winning the War without lighting the entire race to fire.

“Now, don’t worry!” He was snapped out of his thoughts about the idiotic Satan descendants by Zephyr Gremory, another idiot speaking to reassure the gathered members. “We will be taking all the necessary steps to make sure everyone returns safe and sound. We have hired many top rated Pit Hunters for your safety, not to mention our guards will follow you to ensure your safety.”

The whispers died down, as everyone here realised that there was no way to get out of this, as Zephyr continued, “Also, you will not be required to actually participate in Pit Hunting. It will be recommended, though, as it will give you guys valuable real world experience.”

Which was code for everyone will be forced to participate, at least the Impure Gremorys anyway. He was sure that some of the Red Haired Gremory were going to either back out at the last moment or conveniently get to opt out of the Pit Hunting.

He looked as Zephyr maintained that smiling look on his face, even after standing between people who all sported worried expressions, until the man clapped, “Alright! Now, we will be setting off in a week. Supplies will be taken care of by the House, so please, just rest and be ready for the day.”

Saying so, the fucker fucked right off, without explaining the specifics at all.

The moment Zephyr exited the meeting room, it exploded into sobs, cries, and whispered conversations that reeked of desolation. It was all around just sad, which is why he left at the first opportunity he got and went to his usual standing to get noticed so they don’t think he deserted the house spot.

His thoughts went to the announcement from Zephyr, and it just didn't feel right to him. Why would Zephyr do this? Why even risk so much just for people to learn, as he called it? They were in short supply as is, and so far, Zephyr had done a good job in protecting the next generation of Gremory, Pure or otherwise, by minimising the number going to Lucifaad, and making sure that the troops stationed in the Pits were rotated monthly. 

It was a sound tactic, and an expensive one, but one that helped them immensely. He had noticed it himself firsthand, and Zephyr was kind of admired for that, as he was a pretty good House Head.

This abrupt move reeked of outside involvement.

Zekram? No, Zekram right now needed all the help he could get to fulfill his plan of overthrowing the Satan Descendants and ending their plan of starting the Great War. Throwing a couple of younger Gremory into the relatively smaller Meat Grinder that were the Pits was totally counterproductive to his plan of making the 72 houses conserve their strength, all to depose the Satan Houses as well as the Lucifer Six. They were the real threats to Zekram.

Eliminating the competition inside House Gremory or the other 72 Pillars would come later on, once he had the upper hand. Right now, he was just another Original Pillar running around at the mercy of the Satan Descendants, trying to form a coalition that would help him achieve his goals.

He heard everyone inside the meeting room shuffle towards their quarters, some of them still silently sobbing as the mood there was sombre. It was as if they were serving a death sentence and with the public stats around the Pits, it was likely that atleast some of them would die, and that was with the assumption that all of them would not be forced to participate in the hunt.

He couldn't understand how they would both be getting valuable experience and not participate in the hunt at all. Those statements were contradictory.

He sighed, realising that all his efforts of secretly gathering supplies were in vain, or maybe not, depending on what happened in the Pits. 

Now, with this meeting, he couldn't even leave the House, as he would definitely be targeted if he left right after the Pit experience event was announced. Welp, he could definitely leave later on. Plus, he was going to leave to gain more experience anyway. 

He could say with certainty that he was going to gain enough experience in the Pits, as he could practically smell something shady with the whole thing.

He was not really worried about his safety. No, he was more worried about the others and what he might have to showcase if he had to step in to save someone. 

Rumor was that Lucifer Six were always on the lookout, and it would be really bad if he had to showcase his strength in the Pits. He was not ready to be abducted by the Mad Scientists of the Underworld and be experimented on.

Plus, according to the reports anyway, the Pits were pretty much capped at Ultimate Class Demonic Beasts, and those beasts always hunted alone anyway, so no fear of being overwhelmed by droves of Demonic Beasts of that high level. Any beast below that level, he could handle with ease. 

He knew many others who could do so as long as they were all working collectively and thinking properly.

He groaned out loud, leaning back, as he realised that he was going to have to be the responsible one there.

He was only 11 years old, for crying out loud!

If only ythe Underworld had some rules against Child Labour.

Snorting at the morbid joke, he bent his legs before jumping into the forest, wondering if he could master that spell before they had to leave for the Pits.

He had always wanted his own Rasengan. The Elemental versions of Rasengan were only going to be more potent.