Hell of a Show Ch. 45 (DxD AU/Multi) (Patreon)

(Every character depicted in the story below is a consenting legal adult over the age of 18)

A/N: When it rains it pours.

-x-X-x-

Grayfia seemed convinced that Lucrezah wanted to finish the job. That if she found out the two of them still lived, she would stop at nothing to kill them both. The way Serafall had reacted to their continued survival had honestly seemed to reinforce that point, with the Satan Leviathan generally giving off the vibe that Lucrezah thirsted for their blood.

… But standing here now face to face with the woman who had nearly killed him at long last, that’s not the impression Amadeus gets. He just doesn’t think she would so badly want him dead but be willing to apologize to who she perceived to be his son.

In general, Lucrezah Gremory, now Lucrezah Lucifer, came across as though she regretted what had happened…

That’s why, in the end, Amadeus didn’t bother trying to lie to her or let her continue to believe a falsehood. Instead, he’d told the truth.

Of course, the truth seemed to break her brain more than her misunderstanding had. The Satan Lucifer stands there in the middle of the room staring at Amadeus wide eyed and in disbelief. After a long moment, she looks down at his hands and then back up at him.

“But… that’s impossible. I… I killed you. How could you have survived my Power of Destruction?”

Of course, as much as Amadeus believed that Lucrezah wasn’t trying to kill him, that didn’t mean he was suddenly going to trust her with all his secrets. Especially not in front of a fucking Archangel. So instead he offers a crooked smile and shakes his head.

“Trade secret, I’m afraid.”

Lucrezah looks even more incredulous… right up until Grayfia cuts in with a snarl.

“Your foolishness cost my Master five hundred years of his life and you dare to question his word?!”

Amadeus doesn’t quite turn to give Grayfia a look at that outburst, but he does have to resist the urge to sigh. He appreciated Grayfia coming to his defense, really he did, but she didn’t necessarily need to reveal that he’d effectively been out of commission for five centuries.

Indeed, someone as smart as Lucrezah immediately picks up on it, her eyes widening all over again… this time in understanding. Amadeus tenses up, ready for her to launch into further questioning. Instead, she does something completely different… something he’s not expecting of her in a million years.

“PLEASE ACCEPT MY DEEPEST APOLOGIES!”

Amadeus’ eyes, along with the eyes of everyone else in the room, slowly descend down to the floor… where the most powerful woman in the Underworld, arguably the most powerful Devil alive, has dropped down into a picture perfect dogeza.

Prostrating herself before him in supplication, Lucrezah Lucifer is on her knees with her chest tucked in and her forehead pressed into the back of her hands, which are both palm down in front of her. Amadeus does his best to ignore how this reveals the Satan’s shapely profile… now is definitely not the time to be ogling one of the most powerful women in all of creation.

Still, he doesn’t know what to say… nor does anyone else for a good solid minute. The silence grows heavier as Lucrezah remains where she is, seemingly content to stay there for all eternity if that’s what he demands of her. Obviously that’s not what Amadeus is going to do… but before he can finally gather himself and get over his shock, Grayfia beats him to the punch.

“Do you really think someone like you is worthy of my Lord’s forgiveness? Do you really think you deserve to have your apology accepted after what you did to him, monster.”

Lucrezah does not lift her head from the floor… but she does answer all the same, her voice managing to come through loud and clear in spite of her current pose.

“No, of course not.”

Grayfia reels back as if struck, prompting Lucrezah continue on into the ensuing silence.

“I know I do not deserve forgiveness, Lady Lucifuge. Yet I must beg for it anyways, for my guilt has eaten me up these past five centuries, leaving me unable to think of anything else at times.”

That’s a little melodramatic, isn’t it? Surely she can’t be serious. Only, she sounds very certain… and Amadeus can’t really see a world in which the Satan Lucifer would humiliate herself like this unless she was completely and utterly serious.

Even Grayfia’s face softens ever so slightly. Not so much that she looks ready to gaze upon Lucrezah favorably, but also… it’s not like she has anything to really say in response to Lucrezah’s heartfelt confession. In the end, she has to settle for responding to the only part of Lucrezah’s words that she doesn’t agree with.

“… I am no Lady. I have given up such things in order to serve my Lord…”

The words are muttered and Lucrezah seems to rightly deduce that she’s not meant to respond to them. Instead, the Great Satan remains in her dogeza, face down and prostrating herself even now.

With a sigh, Amadeus steps forward and reaches down.

“Get up. I forgive you.”

““What?!””

Both Lucrezah and Grayfia exclaim in shock at the same time, even as Amadeus takes Lucrezah by the arm and drags her to her feet. Truthfully, it’s incredibly uncomfortable to have such a powerful woman, the leader of the Underworld, prostrating herself before him. He’d rather Lucrezah stand tall with her head high… out of pride for their shared species if nothing else.

As she regains her feet, Lucrezah gives him a completely incredulous look, one that is mirrored on Grayfia’s face. Ironic that they both are in complete agreement in this situation. Amadeus considers pointing it out for a moment before deeming it a bit too soon.

Instead, he just shrugs.

“We were in a war. Grayfia and I were on the other side and I was an enemy combatant. Sure, you almost killed me, but I’ve never taken it personally.”

In a rare display of defiance, Grayfia squawks in disagreement.

“You weren’t even supposed to be on that battlefield, Amadeus! You can’t call yourself a combatant when you snuck into the ranks of my father’s soldiers all so you could put yourself in the middle of a battle between two Ultimate Class Beings!”

The moment she’s done with her outburst, Grayfia flushes in embarrassment, clearly feeling like she’s stepped over a line. Lucrezah misses this though, otherwise she might not have said what she says next. Crossing her arms over her chest and nodding, the Satan Lucifer frowns.

“If that all is true, Grayfia is right. You were never meant to be there.”

“Don’t question my lord’s decisions you harpy!”

Lucrezah looks taken aback by Grayfia’s sudden heel turn, prompting Amadeus to chuckle. Fortunately the sound is enough to stop any further conflict, drawing the attention of both women back to him.

“I decided I was meant to be there. And because I was there, I managed to save the life of the woman I loved. I can’t complain or feel bad about how things turned out.”

Grayfia goes bright red… but strangely enough, so does Lucrezah. Her eyes dart between Amadeus and Grayfia for a moment, even as Amadeus shakes his head.

“Honestly, even though I know it’s a little hypocritical of me… while I find it quite easy to forgive you for nearly killing me, I find it much harder to forgive you for trying to kill Grayfia like you did. If you want to apologize to anyone, apologize to her.”

“Master…”

Grayfia looks torn while Lucrezah looks a little incredulous. Still, after a moment the Satan Lucifer turns to his head maid and bows deep at the waist.

“… My sincerest apologies for trying to kill you, Grayfia.”

“… You sounded more sincere when you were apologizing to my Master.”

Lucrezah comes up out of her bow with a growl.

“You-!”

Amadeus can’t help himself… he laughs again. The two women were always fighting back in the war, like cats and dogs. It would seem five hundred years wasn’t enough time to truly mellow either of them out even with Lucrezah’s guilt weighing her down and diluting any lingering animosity.

His laughter prompts them both to back off though and once again look at him, albeit with strange expressions on their faces. Before he can ask what’s up with their looks however, someone else cuts in, reminding Amadeus that it really isn’t just the three of them right now.

“So… um… does this mean I don’t have to go with the angel?”

All eyes turn towards Kai’Sa and then to Gabriel, the Archangel still standing in their midst. Gabriel, however, simply looks at Lucrezah.

“You and I both know that none of them are safe if they stay together.”

Lucrezah grimaces as she sweeps her gaze over K/DA again. But then her expression hardens into resolve, her jaw clenching as she steps forward and puts herself between them and Gabriel.

“Perhaps. But that should still be their choice. Safety should not come at the expense of free will.”

Gabriel narrows her eyes.

“And are you ready for the backlash coming your way? Even if it’s not fully the case, it’s going to look like the Underworld is taking all of them for themselves. It won’t just be my brother who is upset with your actions here.”

Lucrezah just shrugs.

“Let them whine and complain. But if they try anything… the Underworld will protect its own. You can tell Michael that as well.”

Gabriel looks like she’s going to continue to argue the point for a moment longer… before letting out a sigh.

“Very well. I can see when I’m beaten.”

She looks to Kai’Sa and bows her head.

“Ultimately, it was never my intention to try and force you against your will, Kai’Sa. I merely wished to guarantee your safety. I understand that we failed you, however… and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. Please be careful… and know that Heaven will always have a place for you.”

Kai’Sa looks incredulous at that but holds her tongue as Gabriel departs. There’s a pregnant pause with silence reigning, before Evelynn breaks it to ask what’s on all of their minds.

“What in the world is so special about Kai’Sa that Heaven would send an Archangel to search for her? And ‘always have a place for her’? Does that imply they’d take her in even if she reincarnated as a devil?”

Nobody in the room has answers… save for Lucrezah. The Great Satan hesitates for a moment, biting her lower lip as she considers whether or not to say anything… but finally speaks.

“It’s because she holds a dormant Sacred Gear within her. One of the Biblical Lord’s greatest achievements. If she were to activate it… well, it would be quite dangerous indeed, to say the least. So dangerous, in fact, that both Church and Heaven prefer this particular Sacred Gear to remain dormant as much as possible, even going so far as to assassinate those who activate it before they can fully unlock it’s power.”

Amadeus’ eyes widen and so do most of the others. Even Kai’Sa looks caught off guard by the reveal.

“Wha- a Sacred Gear? But my family never… is this why they treated me the way they did?! And then… that’s why I was left enslaved by Millennium and never rescued?!”

Lucrezah grimaces.

“I cannot speak with complete certainty to their thought processes… but more than likely, yes.”

She looks to the rest of K/DA then, her gaze lingering on Evelynn for a moment.

“You all have my sincere apologies for what you went through. If I had known, I would have done something sooner, I swear it.”

The funny thing is, Amadeus believes her. Which means…

“Serafall knew. And she deliberately didn’t tell you.”

Lucrezah jolts at his words, looking over at him with wide eyes… that then narrow in thought. Her hands curl into fists at her sides as she growls a bit.

“Tch… that makes an unfortunate amount of sense. I will not condone her actions, but Serafall does have to make hard calls as the Great Satan in charge of Foreign Affairs. Just as I’ve had to make some tough decisions as the Satan in charge of Domestic Affairs. That said…”

Now Lucrezah looks right at Evelynn.

“You should have fallen under my purview. That Serafall didn’t tell me about you… well, it’s obvious she was trying to keep me from making a mess of things. Even still, she was out of line. I’ll be sure to tell her as such when I confront her about all of this.”

Lucrezah sweeps her gaze back over to him and Grayfia.

“Especially since she clearly knew about you two as well and didn’t tell me…”

Oops, he had just implied that, hadn’t he? Amadeus would feel bad, but eh, he’d consider it the natural consequences of Serafall’s scheming.

Straightening up to her full height and squaring her shoulders, Lucrezah nods sharply.

“For now, we can-!”

KA-BOOOOOOOM!

Whatever she was going to say, however, she never gets to say it because in that moment the entire room explodes around them as the floor-to-ceiling windows shatter and they’re attacked from all sides.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Remember to Vote, leave a Like, and let me know what you think!

-x-X-x-

Google Doc Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E6i8kXPGB_K7Mr2o5nnL0U21xYIIWQH89V2V-Y2Hcts/edit?tab=t.0