Chapter 10 - Times of Peace and Blood War (Patreon)

Devil Government of Ars Goetia

After the events known as the Dusk of the Gods and 1st Blood War, the Devil Species created a new form of Government called Ars Goetia. Mostly consisting of the surviving 72 Pillar Clans created by Lucifer and Lilith, but not limited to them.

Other Devil Aristocratic Clans were included in the Government, such as the Extra Devil Clans, Independent Devil Clans, and also unaffiliated Ultimate-Class Devils who were given Observatory Seats. High Ultimate-Class Devils were given Seats with Voting Rights in the Ars Goetia.

Over time, many of the previously Extinct Aristocratic Devil Clans, especially the ones among the 72 Pillars Clans, were slowly reinstated and revived by the surviving descendants when special laws were passed. In the end, the need to preserve the Clan Traits as their highest combat prowess and potential was deemed to be more important than the matters of Blood Purity for the most traditional devils.

The most notable examples of this were the revival of the Clan Andrealphus, Clan Buné, Clan Furcas, Clan Crocell, Clan Vepar, Clan Valefor or even Clan Lucifer, Clan Beelzebub, Clan Leviathana and Clan Asmodeus. Many of the new Clan Heads were either Mixed-Blood Devils or Devils who underwent Bloodline Transplantation Procedure to keep the Clans alive so their Clan Traits won't be lost in time.

It was noted that a lot of these efforts were spearheaded and supported by the future Stygian Nether Emperor, Gremory Clan, Bael Clan, Sitri Clan, and Lucifuge Clan with an enormous amount of resources and money.

Ars Goetia existed from the end of the 1st Blood War to its dissolution in the aftermath of the 3rd Blood War, when the Devil Domain merged with the local Dungeon City-States in Avernus and created the Stygian Council.

When the Ars Goetia was created, Great King Zekram Bael took the position of the High Chancellor of the Ars Goetia, as the sole highest-ranking devil and one of the few Overlord-Class devils who survived the Dusk of the Gods and the 1st Blood War.

For several centuries, Ars Goetia oversaw the development of the Devil Domain and managed to keep pushing deeper into the Wastelands and Abyssal Territories, with their most notable achievement being the Reconquista of the former capital of the Devil Domain, Lucifaad.

The rule of the Ars Goetia shaped the entire Devil Species in how it functioned and operated, creating a highly militaristic and warrior society, where everyone focused on getting stronger or contributing to their development.

The Ars Goetia pushed the concept of the strength-based social hierarchy and meritocracy to the extreme, and after the establishment of the Stygian Council, these approaches were taken over and extended even more.

In the Netherworld, fighting for survival and the right to exist was a daily matter that was drilled into every single devil since their birth. It was expected that the future generations of the devils were getting stronger and more powerful. The number of the Ultimate-Class Devils was testament to that, because over the course of centuries, more and more descendants of the Aristocratic Clans managed to reach the Ultimate-Class with proper training and guidance.

Ars Goetia was run on a daily basis by the strongest and most powerful of the Devilkind, mostly the devils who were at the Overlord-Class or the peak High Ultimate-Class Devils who handled the daily matters of the government.

At the same time, the Ars Goetia had its own Assembly or Senate, where all Clan Heads of the Devil Clans gathered together with the High Ultimate-Class Devils to vote on the laws, decide on the Domestic and Foreign Affairs, or even execute judicial powers.

The Ars Goetia enjoyed a good relationship with several factions across the Draconic Deus, mostly with the Demon Race. Though their closest relationship was with the Forzelotte Faction led by the Supreme Overlord Forzelotte and the Voldigoad Faction led by the Supreme Overlord Anos Voldigoad. Due to proximity and being neighbors, the Ars Goetia also maintained a strong relationship with Chromatic Dragons and their Ruler, Tiamat.

Despite increased trends in the centralization of power, the Ars Goetia was more or less a compromise that was proposed by Zekram Bael and Mephisto Pheles after the end of the 1st Blood Wars.

One of the most notable differences compared to the current Stygian Council was that the Ars Goetia didn't possess its own military force. All Devil Legions were still under the command of their respective Clans or High Ultimate-Class devils and only nominally served the Ars Goetia.

Due to this setup, the leadership of the Ars Goetia couldn't mobilize all Legions as they wished, aside from a few special circumstances that were clearly defined in the founding documents of the Ars Goetia. 

Simultaneously, members of the Ars Goetia enjoyed rather huge privileges and powers in the government, especially when it came to the Clan Heads of the Aristocratic Clans, such as Pillars Clans or Extra Devils Clans.

This compromise resulted from not wanting to create further internal strife among the devils, especially given the lack of overwhelming power to force the Aristocratic Clans to comply with the orders. At that time, many politically astute devils noticed that if they started pressing Clans into giving up their Legions in favor of the Ars Goetia, it would create even more conflict among them.

Which was why...

This was the first change when the Stygian Council was created.

Many scholars agree that when the Stygian Council was being drafted and created in the initial discussions, the goal was to remedy all weaknesses and inefficiencies of the old Ars Goetia.

It also rested on the fact that the founders of the Stygian Council were the most powerful Devils and Demons that decided to merge together and form a singular government to better combat the threat of the Abyssal Daemons invading the Netherworld in the aftermath of the 3rd Blood War.

- Excerpts from the Book: Rulers, Warlords and Government of the Netherworld by Mephisto Pheles

***

2nd Layer of the Netherworld, Pandemonium, Devil Domain, Gremory Territory, Castle Gremory, 3 Years Later

The Gremory Territory was peaceful and prosperous as before, as everything was being developed as it should... the sole change in the entire thing was that there were far more soldiers and troops stationed in the big cities of the Gremory Territory.

At the same time, far more Hextech devices and armaments could be seen acorss the entire Gremory Territory... though it wasn't limited just to them, but to the entire Devil Domain as the Devils started massively implementing the Hextech across the entire Devil Domain.

This was especially true for the Hextech weapons that the Ars Goetia sanctioned the wide usage of, as Ajuka Astaroth deemed them to be ready to be used as much as possible.

Previously, they were still being a bit cautious when it came to the usage of the Hextech weapons, but now all such limitations were being removed.

The Hextech weapons were previously used only by some elite branches of the military forces under various Aristocratic Houses of the Ars Goetia, and that was it. Now, though, even city guards in the smaller cities were using the Hex Rifles and Hex Weapons because they were able to tremendously increase their combat prowess.

Sirzechs strolled through the capital city of the Gremory Territory, called Runea... named after the Primogenitor of the Gremory Clan, Runeas Gremory. She was one of the few remaining 1st-Generational Pure-Blooded Devils who were Primogenitors of their Houses.

He wasn't alone, though, but he was being accompanied by Grayfia and Roygun, who had spent most of their free time in the Gremory Castle during the past three years. 

"Zechs, I want to go there and check out new clothes."

Roygun pointed at another shop that was in the street, as this was already probably the tenth or eleventh shop that they visited, and it was becoming pretty annoying to him. Even Grayfia, who was with them, was annoyed, because she wasn't this kind of shopping maniac...

What was even worse, in most of the shops, Roygun wasn't even purchasing anything, but she just went there, observed what they had in stock, tried some things, and then gave some critique before leaving the place.

And this was repeating over and over to no end.

"But this is the last one... we went over more than ten boutiques, and this was everything for you. We still didn't get something for Grayfia, and we are also becoming pretty hungry."

It was the only saving grace that they didn't have Serafall with them, because Sera was far worse in this regard than Roygun. She would visit every single shop in the entire city if she could, and would have bought half of the things that they were selling.

"Ts... like going through the blacksmith shops and searching through pieces of metal is a nice date for a lady."

Roygun immediately started whining like a little kid, but Sirzechs paid her no heed, because this was her usual approach when things were not going according to her wishes.

She would start whining and playing pitiful... and if that wasn't working, then she would try to seduce him to get what she wanted. Contrary to Roygun, who wanted to shop for new shoes and a dress, Grayfia wanted new daggers and combat gear.

Not many people knew it, but aside from being a master when it came to fighting with daggers, she was also a collector of rare pieces. Till today, she has an extensive collection of combat daggers across the entirety of Draconic Deus.

Many were from various Pantheons, some were of divine origin, some were of the master craftsmen with powerful Enchantments, and there were also pieces made by the dwarves from the Yggdrassil Plane.

When they made their relationship official and Sirzechs officially started courting her, as was required among the devil high society, he gifted her a dagger made in the pits of Abyss by the Daemon Smiths.

It was an extremely rare piece that was normally impossible to obtain, because Abyssal-originated weapons were extremely rare and they were usually banished back to the Abyss once their bearer were killed.

Sirzechs managed to obtain one only by sheer accident from the Clan Head of the Agares Clan when he killed a very troublesome High Ultimate-Class Greater Daemon in his territory shortly after the Reconquista of Lucifaad.

"At least I am not bringing our fianceé on our date through countless shops, wasting time and wasting everyone's time."

Grayfia's answer didn't wait for itself for long as she returned the jab with full force, as Roygun visibly frowned, hearing that. Even though Grayfia was usually silent and didn't speak that much, she could actually hit pretty strongly when needed.

Sirzechs liked to say that her tongue was as sharp as her dagger, which was certainly the truth.

"Well, let's keep it that way ladies, alright?"

He intervened right now, because it could quickly escalate into something that wasn't staying with just words. Having romantic relationships with three immensely powerful Pure-Blooded Artistocratic Devils also meant that they would fight a lot.

Sometimes, really a lot.

And they were competing against each other even more than they were arguing.

Everything could be and would be, sooner or later, turned into some form of competition.

He usually intervened before they could start throwing spells at each other... which was unfortunately happening more often than it should have been in the first place. Serafall, despite her bubbly and cheerful personality, was highly vengeful and jealous, Grayfia was extremely prideful, and Roygun was the most competitive out of the three.

So yeah...

It was a good recipe for disaster.

"This hasn't ended."

Roygun said as she looked at Grayfia, who looked promising vengeance, which wasn't anything new because Grayfia was a really petty person. Nobody would tell that about her, because she always acted so cold and detached, yet when someone crossed her...

She would remember it for a very long time, and she was also equally very creative when it came to the ideas for revenge. In the end, they went through the last boutique, where Sirzechs literally forced Roygun to choose something already, and after several theatrics, she chose several pairs of boots made from dragon hide that would bankrupt a smaller country.

Though money was just a mere concept most of the time for the high-ranking devils like them, their Houses were obscenely rich, and they by themselves were making far more money than they could spend.

Mainly through killing Daemons and harvesting the Hex Crystals that were theirs by the right of conquest.

For example, the Hex Crystals that were created after Sirzechs slew Overlord-Class Greater Daemon at the Lucifaad were more than enough to power up the entire Gremory Territory for a good number of years.

"Finally, we are done... I thought that pink one would remain there forever."

Grayfia muttered as the three of them headed toward the other areas of the commercial area of the Runea, where tons of blacksmith shops were located. And not only the ones that were of the Devil origin, but there were also dwarves and onis that opened their shops in this place.

Gremory Territory was one of the Devil Domain's Territories that had the most diverse population, primarily because of the strong attraction of the other species. Mainly the Oni Tribes and some Yōkai species that preferred to live in the Netherworld compared to Terra.

"So where do you want to start?"

Sirzechs asked as he looked around the busy streets, which were selling weapons and armor or providing repairs. He noted that additions were already popping here and there, which were the Hextech products, which were being sold here as well.

"The dwarves... they should have some interesting pieces from the Nidavellir."

Grayfia said as she then dragged them to the store where one of the dwarven master smiths from Nidavellir had set his workshop. Hearing that brought certain uncanny memories of the progress with his own weapon that was in the process of being created.

*

Flashback

Bael Territory, Undisclosed Location, Two Years Earlier

Sirzechs stood in front of the statues that contained the Melabrahche.

Alichino. Arbariccia. Cagnazzo. Calcabrina. Ciriatto. Draghgnazzo. Farfarello. Grafficacane. Libicocco. Rubicante. Scarmiglione. Malacoda.

Twelve of them... it has been one year since they obtained the Melabranche from the ruins of the Lucifaad, but there was still no direction on how to handle it.

"We should think of some methods of how to properly reforge them into the Ultra Divine Tool. The first thing that we need to do would be to wipe out the consciousness of the Melabranche or else it would kill me, and then we need a good method to reforge all twelve of them into one singular piece of equipment..."

To reforge the Melabranche into one weapon, they would need to wipe out their consciousness, even at the price of diminished results, because this would basically take much longer for the geniue Ultra Divine Tool to be born.

Ajuka and Mephisto Pheles carried out rather extensive research on the Melabranche, of course, without awakening most of these dammed things. They awoke only some weak ones and even that under the supervision of Zekram and Sirzechs when they were presenta nd under heavy usage of Wards and Bounded Fields.

Nobody was sure if there wasn't some kind of mechanism installed in them, when one member of the Melabranche could awaken the rest of them. If there was and all of them would start waking up, then they would be there to destroy them.

Fortunately, Ajuka was a High Ultimate-Class Devil not far from reaching the Overlord-Class, and Mephisto Pheles was Overlord-Class himself of unknown power. The most ancient devil today was rather secretive when it came to showing his might, and nobody actually knew how powerful he was.

Sans Zekram and some 1st-Generational relics of history.

Sirzechs knew that the Ultra Divine Tool that would be forged from the Melabranche would not be powerful right from the start, as they would do some really severe tampering with the Melabranche and wipe out their consciousness.

"We should prepare for this properly. This cannot be rushed because if we want to create another Ultra Divine Tool, especially the one that would be growing together with you in time, then we need to ensure that everything is perfect."

Unfortunately, the Pantheon was without a Smith who could achieve that as they would first need to find someone who could handle the smithing process. Unfortunately, even though it seemed like a good idea, one couldn't just use the Divine Authority of the Creation onto it.

"Well... that would be certainly problematic. What about the Dwarf King Eitri?"

The Dwarves were an ancient race of skilled forgers and blacksmiths who hailed from the realm of Nidavellir, ruled by King Eitri. They were close allies of the Asgardians, and after being asked by Odin to create the mighty weapon Mjølnir, they forged it for him.

They also forged Gungnir, the Ultra Divine Tool that Odin was using personally. They lived in the Nidavellir, one of the Nine Realms of the Yggdrasil, the Divine Realm of the Nordic Pantheon. 

The Nidavelir had the appearance of a neutron star located within the Yggdrasil itself and housed numerous caverns and forges. Even though the dwarves were in a good relationship with the Nordic Pantheon, or rather more precisely in a good relationship with Odin, the God-King of the Aesir and Vanir, they were not technically their vassals.

Just a close ally or something like that.

And the Asgardians were taking care of the protection of the dwarves and helped them in their endeavors like procuring metals and ores for them, while the dwarves were using their forges and skills to supply weapons, gears, and artifacts to the Aesir and Vanir.

"That's a good choice... but it would be pricey. The dwarves are not cheap on this kind of task."

Zekram considered getting into touch with the dwarves of Nidavellir, though there was also the fact that it would be a very expensive endeavor. The dwarves would want a lot for the work, as forging an Ultra Divine Tool was a very challenging task.

At the same time, there was also the risk that it would reach Odin's ear, but that was something that they could live with. Especially now, when the three Pantheons have achieved some sort of equilibrium and alliance with each other.

"We could pay them with the research data on the Melabranche. The dwarves have been trying to master the art of crafting the Soul Equipment for ages, but they have always failed. I doubt that they would pass on the opportunity to obtain the prime research data on both, Melabranche and Sacred Gears from me. The rest of the payment could be negotiated to the raw materials and protection to their faction, like the Nordics are doing."

Sirzechs knew that even though the dwarves were going to ask for a lot, it wouldn't be much of a problem, as he was already prepared for it. He knew that due to a lack of Divine-Level Smith in the Ars Goetia, on the necessary level among their ranks, was their weakness.

So they needed to outsource this task.

Flashback End

***

"Do you like it? It's a really good piece."

They were standing in one of the blacksmith shops, where Grayfia finally found something that she liked as she chose one of the daggers in the selection. She was pretty selective when it came to her collection of daggers, but they finally found some nice pieces of runic daggers that were made by dwarven craftsmen.

"They are good."

Grayfia stated as Sirzechs nodded and paid an outrageous sum of Soul Coins to the dwarven smith, as she stored the daggers away.

"Now that we are finished with this, there are some things that I want to check up on in the section selling Magic Tomes."

Sirzechs stated that as he wanted to start studying some more branches of Magic. He had rather a strong aptitude for the Runic Magic already, but he wanted to achieve even greater mastery over the Runic Magic, as Runes were the language of reality.

"Don't tell me that you want to start learning Human Calculation Magic..."

Roygun said with mild disbelief because she guessed what he wanted to study. Sirzechs began investing much more time in learning Runic Magic and mastering the Runes, starting with various variations of the Runes to expand his repertoire.

Initially, he dismissed the Human Calculation Magic altogether.

Modern Runes, Modern Human Magic, or Calculation Magic was the branch of Magic that was created by several mostly human Magicians over time. In the Draconic Deus, humans had rather a poor aptitude for Magic and couldn't wield it properly.

So...

Many hybrids, Blessed Ones, or people with an extremely high aptitude for Magic turned their attention to the Runes. Obviously, the ordinary human Magicians could study the Runes all day long and wouldn't learn anything about them, much less what is said about the Elder Runes.

"Despite its obvious weaknesses, the Human Calculation Magic has something that the other types of Magic are lacking in many cases, or they have it, but it's extremely arduous to develop... Its Runic aspect allows you to use it in the Rituals, and if you handle the Calculations very fast, you can use it as a supportive means in correlation with other types of Magic."

In the end, Merlin Ambrosius or Myrdin Emrys combined the Runes together with the Devil Magic as he himself was half-devil and half-human. At the same time, the Devil Magic was the most versatile Magic in the Draconic Deus, which allowed the Devil Magic to be used as part of the Runic Calculation Magic rather easily.

He also added there some things from the different types of Magic and created the first prototype of Runic Calculation Magic, which used simplified Runes to carry out the complex calculations in coordination with Imagination to create the Spell Matrix and cast spells.

"The power of the Runic Calculation Magic was shit, and casting of the more advanced Spells.... the ones that would be reaching the power of even Ultimate-Class, meaning the destructiveness of the Spell needed to be at least around the small city, was tremendous."

Grayfia commented as they walked side by side to the Magic Shop, because she, like many Pure-Blooded Devils, considered the Runic Calculation Magic as obsolete and useless... or rather, it was a type of Magic which was far more problematic than it was worth.

The higher the one went, the more challenging the calculations became. Among the Pure-Blooded Devils in Sirzechs's group of known people, only Ajuka and Mephisto mastered the Runic Calculation Magic and could use it.

Both of them proved that the Runic Calculation Magic could be used to achieve astounding feats of Magic when one was skilled enough. When using the Runic Calculation Magic, there was one constant rule... the more powerful Spell one was attempting to cast, the more Calculations one needed to handle when they were casting.

This resulted in a state where almost no powerful Magicians used the Calculation Magic exclusively, or they created various Foci to put out the heat of the calculations on some kind of Artifact or Mystic Code.

Sirzechs didn't really like this method because depending on something other than himself didn't really sit well with him, not to mention he could easily comprehend and use the Runes as much as he wished.

"You are right in that one... unless you master Runic Mathematics and then this branch of Magic gets entirely different meaning."

Runic Mathematics was a rather particular discipline or skill because it combined two approaches to the understanding of the Universe.

Mathematics was believed to be the language of the Universe by the No-Majs, who thought that through mathematics, they could understand the Universe, how it functioned, and practically everything around it.

At the same time, Magicians believed that this could be achieved through their understanding of Runes. The more powerful and profound Runes one managed to comprehend, the more of the Universe the Magician could understand.

Which was certainly true, as the Runes were essentially the most Magical language out there while also being the Power Language. 

"In the entire Draconic Deus, there are fewer than ten people who mastered Runic Mathematics, so good luck with that one."

Roygun commented because Runic Mathematics was an extremely powerful and rare skill... Ajuka mastered the Runic Mathematics and managed to create the Kankara Formula. One could say that Runic Mathematics could also be used when one was using the Lore of Winds of Magic.

The Runic Mathematics was the most versatile Magic Casting Method that one could ever imagine.

"I already know the basics... at least on theory and wth the Six Eyes, I should be able to handle the calculations rather easily. Though learning the entirety of the Runic Mathematics for it to be useful on the battlefield would be no easy task either way."

Sirzechs said as he planned to use the Six Eyes to master at least the basics of the Runic Mathematics and see where it would take him from there. With the Runic Mathematics in his arsenal, he would be capable of using Magic on a far greater scale.

Mephisto Pheles was capable of using such powerful Magic, primarily because of his mastery over the Runic Mathematics and the capability of conducting very advanced Magic Calculations.

Searching through the Magic Tomes certainly wasn't for Grayfia and Roygun, as both of them went to take a stroll through the busy streets of the Runea. As part of their date, they would then go to some fancy lunch and in the afternoon, Sirzechs would take them to the Camel Farms.

The House Gremory was mostly affiliated with the Camels... mostly because the 1st Gremory, Runeas Gremory, had some sort of obsession with Camels and thought that they were the best animals in the entire world.

That was the reason why their House was using the camel symbolism a lot across the entire Gremory Territory, and the Gremory Clan was the biggest breeder of camels in the entire Draconic Deus.

They were breeding countless camels, either the mundane ones or the magical ones... 

Sirzechs didn't know what his ancestors saw on camels, but it wasn't really his place to comment on that. In the end, after he had finished going through the shop on the Magic Tomes, three of them went to the fancy restaurant for dinner.

He chose a nice place which would give them privacy and where there were not many people. It was rather a small place, compared to the other types of fancy restaurants that were seeding the capital of the Gremory Territory.

"The past year has been suspiciously quiet."

Roygun said amid the eating, as they were seated in the VIP booth in the restaurant and ate their lunch, which was mostly meat from the Two-Headed Demon Bulls... a delicacy only for the more wealthy customers at the restaurants.

"Don't speak about it like that or something bad will happen... hopefully not."

Even though Sirzechs didn't really like hearing something like that, he admitted that it was indeed suspicious. Since the Reconquista of the Lucifaad, the entire three years that passed since then were unusually peaceful.

One needed to say that peace is within the standards of the Netherworld.

"Don't be superstitious..."

When one said that the last three years were peaceful, it literally meant that there were not huge incursions from the Abyss or attacks by the Daemon Hordes that were roaming the Wastelands of Avernus or Pandemonium.

Even the Fallen Angels of the Grigori were somehow silent, which was both relieving and suspicious at the same time. Usually, the crows were bitching a lot and testing their borders, but during the past three years, they spent them by doing mostly nothing.

Aside from some attempts to steal the Hextech devices and blueprints, there wasn't much movement from the side of Fallen Angels.

"I am saying to you that this accursed peace is nothing more than just a prelude to a huge war... Also, didn't you hear about the internal strife within the Grigori lately?"

Sirzechs asked as two women stopped eating and looked at him in surprise. It was true, that neither Roygun nor Grayfia paid any special attention to politics... compared to Sirzechs, who knew every single rumor in the high circles and could recite it backward even when waking amid the night.

Side effects of being personally mentored by Zekram Bael.

And on top of that, his mother was living on rumors and was a huge player in the rumor mill.

"Apparently, there is an impending civil war in the Grigori. It seems that since the introduction of the Hextech, Azazel has been obsessed with outperforming Ajuka and Mephisto in this regard and basically left the command of the Grigori to Benemue, Baraqiel, and Shemhazai. And this decision isn't sitting well with the Kokabiel and Satanael at all..."

Azazel was certainly one of the most powerful Archangels and his might was greater than, for example, Zeus... at the same time, the man was a genius, and his mind was making him even more terrifying.

Unfortunately for his faction, he wasn't that interested in ruling and being the leader of the Grigori as he was in his research on Soul Gears or technology in general. Sirzechs knew that sometimes, they even must force him to attend his duties as Governor-General of the Grigori.

"That actually isn't that much surprising."

Grayfia commented as she then returned to her food, because everyone who had at least heard rumors about Azazel and his style of rulership wouldn't be surprised by this fact.

"No, it isn't... but you know what it is? Apparently, both Satanael and Kokabiel are experimenting with the Abyssal Artifacts or something along those lines. Right now, we don't really know if it's something related to the Gods of Ruin or just Abyss in general, but either way, it isn't good news."

Both women turned grave when they heard that the presence of Satanael and Kokabiel wasn't good because both of them were a bit insane. And when they heard that the two Fallen Angels were experimenting with the Abyssal Artifacts, then it made the entire situation even worse.

"Well, it seems rather serious because grandpa told me that the situation is brewing there and it could erupt at any time."

Sirzechs was aware that the Fallen Angel Domain could become a time bomb... when the Grigori erupted in the civil war... especially if the Satanael and Kokabiel lured the Abyssal Daemons.

Because well...

Why the fuck not.

"So we are having trouble with our neighbors... nothing new to be told."

Grayfia said as both of them agreed with her, because Fallen Angels were constantly stirring up problems. The relationship between the Ars Goetia and Grigori was never a good one, and they were constantly pushing the boundaries of their peace.

It is widely known that Fallen Angels affiliated with Kokabiel and Satanael were constantly attempting to initiate the next war between the Ars Goetia and Grigori. On average, there were more than fifteen such attempts every century; sometimes these efforts were led personally by Kokabiel.

The Angel of Stars was the biggest warmonger in the entire Grigori, and his army of 365,000 Fallen Angel Soldiers was the most elite legion in Fallen Angel history. His Fallen Star Legion was considered the most troublesome for Azazel and his own followers, because they were the foundation of Kokabiel's power.

He commanded more troops than several Devil Aristocratic Houses at the same time, and all of the soldiers were minimally of the Mid-Class. Meaning that the Fallen Star Legion was one of the most elite and powerful military units in the entire Draconic Deus.

"Well, this time we also have the possibility of Abyssal Corruption on a large part of the Grigori, which is... far worse than anything that they could come up with."

Sirzechs saw the situation far more grave than it was.

"Are we already going?"

After they finished eating, Roygun was growing rather impatient because she wanted to go and see the camel farms that were near the Runea City. Meanwhile, Grayfia just shrugged and went along, though not particularly enthusiastic about seeing camels.

"Yes, yes..."

Going to the camel farm was the weirder part of their date, but whatever... neither of them needed something spectacular as they just enjoyed their time together.

***

4th Layer of the Netherworld, Pandesmos, Divine Kingdom of Hades - Realm of the Dead, Palace of Hades

The enormous palace was modeled after Olympus, as Hades isn't welcomed there except on the Winter Solstice. It was made of glittering black obsidian, with a black marble portico, and the entry hall has a polished bronze floor.

The palace is run by skeleton servants and guarded by the skeletons of dead soldiers from different wars that have been around the world, either from the mortal wars or even the Great Wars of the Supernatural that happened in the past.

In front of the palace is Persephone's Garden, which is said to be one of the most beautiful gardens in Draconic Deus. A dark veranda overlooked the garden with a silver throne, a table, and a shadow fountain in the corner.

A pair of thrones, one bone and one silver, sat on the balcony with a view of the Fields of Asphodel. A breakfast table with flower arrangements also sat on the balcony. 

"My Lord, the Abyssal Daemons are becoming more and more restless, and the attacks are increasing in their ratio and numbers."

Behind the table, a very tall, imposing, and muscular man was sitting, who was observing the Fields of Ashodel. He had albino white skin and intense black eyes that glittered like frozen tar.

"Ts... annoying bastards... we need to increase the troops on the borders of the Divine Kingdom."

Hades, the God of the Dead and Lord of the Underworld, muttered as he was rather disturbed by the developments of the events. If it wasn't enough that the bats were constantly stirring up problems for him and stealing his souls, now that Abyssal Daemons were stirring up trouble once again.

And some of them were even attempting to steal one of his Symbols of Power.

Helm of Darkness.

Fortunately, the Bident of Underworld remained safe with him, or else he would be much more engaged, and that wouldn't be nice. If the Helm was stolen, it wasn't that much of a problem for Hades, because it wasn't his primary means of combat and power.

In this regard, the Bident was a much more important and powerful weapon that was at his side for all the time. Yet it was also very troubling that someone managed to steal the Helm of Darkness, and he noticed it only after it was gone.

Which was...

Unprecedented.

Hades wasn't just any God.

He was even more powerful than most God-Kings, and his Divine Kingdom was one of the strongest out of all because he used the other Divine Kingdoms on the Pandesmos as the fuel for his growth.

One could say that he was one of the biggest profiteers of the Dusk of the Gods.

"So, what are my idiotic brothers doing?"

The God of the Dead asked his loyal Grim Reaper, Executive Orcus, who was tasked with the command over his Grim Reapers. Orcus was one of the most prominent Grim Reapers, an Executive-Class Grim Reaper, which means that he was one of the higher-ups.

The real benefit was that his very own soul was tied to Hades's Kingdom of the Dead and he couldn't be really killed unless his very own soul was extinguished, but such a feat would be...

Nearly impossible for almost anyone.

The Grim Reapers were very powerful and were the most loyal servants of Hades among the others. One needed to know that the Grim Reapers were something akin to a personal army of the God of the Dead and Underworld, and partially because of the Grim Reapers, Hades was so politically powerful.

Death Scythes, also known as Grim Reaper Scythes, are the primary weapons of Grim Reapers. Each of the Grim Reapers used a Death Scythe as their primary weapon, and they had great skill and proficiency in wielding it.

The God of the Dead and Underworld was very smart.

He knew that only his power alone wasn't enough, he also needed the numbers, thus he cultivated the Grim Reapers.

"As usual, My Lord. Zeus is throwing a temper tantrum, and Poseidon has secluded himself within the Altantis. Both of them have already mobilized their armies, and Atlantis has declared Martial Law; meanwhile, Olympus is gathering the troops in the Divine Realm."

Orcus reported the situation because lately, there have been some incursions into the Divine Realm of their Pantheon by the Mind Flayers, which somehow ended up in this part of the Astral Sea.

This was a highly problematic situation because it seemed that the Mind Flayers somehow ended up in their part of the Astral Sea, and they were even attempting to breach the Draconic Deus's Crystal Sphere.

Initially, the Mind Flayers were attacking the Emerald Plane, which was the home for the Wizards of Oz and it seemed that part of their fleets were attempting to breach the Crystal Sphere on the Prime Material Plane and enter the Terra.

"Tighten our borders more. And increase the security around the Tartarus. And..."

Just as he was about to issue another command, Hades stopped for a moment before he calmed himself down.

"Send a message to the Ars Goetia and Supreme Overlords of Demons about the situation in the Pandesmos. Even though the bats are annoying, those two could still have their uses. If the Titans are stirring up trouble, then their Domain would also be impacted by it."

As much as Hades hated Devils and their entire race, like most, if not all, Gods of Death and the Dead did, he wasn't arrogant to the point where he would disregard their power. And the same thing could be said about the Demons, which were doing basically the very same thing.

"You can already go Orcus."

Hades dismissed Orcus as the Executive-Class Grim Reaper vanished from the place, leaving Hades alone with his thoughts. 

"I know that you are watching me."

Some time after Orcus left, Hades said to practically nowhere.

As he said that, suddenly a crimson spectral serpent materialized in front of him; it was the size of an adult human male, and it wasn't too big, but Hades could feel something that he had never felt before.

Fear.

Restriction.

Chaos.

Death.

Even though this was most probably just an Avatar, he felt even greater danger from the red spectral serpent than when he met Yahweh or Great Red many, many years ago.

"I see a great Death in you..."

The red serpent hissed as it spoke to Hades with a powerful voice, as every single fiber in Hades's being shivered in absolute submission. The God of Death isn't stylized as being related to the concept of Death and the Dead.

And in terms of hierarchy was far, far above what Hades had achieved or most probably would ever achieve. It was something that Hades was feeling on the instinct level, like it was deeply ingrained into his very own being.

"What can I do for His Excellency?"

Hades asked carefully because he could feel the connection between Death and the Dead being usurped from him during the moment when the red spectact serpent hissed at him, which could mean only one thing.

Something that neither God of Death wanted to think of, because it would mean that they were not truly in control of their Divine Authority, yet it seemed that the specific theory was indeed right.

When he tried, he couldn't even acess a bit of his Divine Authority over Death. Nor could he acess the ones related ot the Dead and Souls. Which means that whatever the being in front of them was, it was unimaginably powerful and was connected to the aspects of Death, the Dead, and Souls.

The only Divine Authority that was left unchecked was the one related to the Underworld, but at the same time, he couldn't even acess it, due to the suppression he was feeling right now. 

Even though the Greek God of the Underworld didn't know the being and what it was, he knew it was something above their own Dimension. Because... not even the Great Red or Ophis were giving off a similar feeling.

This wasn't just suppression of the weaker being by the stronger one.

His entire being was being suppressed to the point where he felt like he was some small, insignificant mortal.

"We shall see... What an interesting new world... even though it's lacking in certain aspects, it shows some real potential."

The serpent entity that was radiating an aura of death said as it breathed the air of the new world. The spectral serpent suddenly looked at Hades and observed it very deeply, before a glint appeared in its eyes.

"But, you possess the fragment... that's more than enough for me..."

The serpent said suddenly, and a Magic Circle appeared in front of Hades, with a red serpent emblem in the middle, releasing a very evil aura. The last thing that Hades saw was a huge serpentine jaw that swallowed the Greek God of the Dead in one go.

Not long after the serpent devoured the God of the Dead and the Underworld of the Greek Pantheon, it started eating away at the entire Divine Kingdom of the Gods. When God was killed, their Divine Kingdom would suffer one of the two possible outcomes.

The first and most common outcome was the eventual collapse of the Divine Kingdom. This was pretty common if the Divine Kingdom wasn't extremely powerful, which in most cases wasn't because only Primordial Gods could strengthen their Divine Kingdoms to such a level where it wouldn't collapse upon their death.

The second outcome was when the Divine Kingdom was extremely powerful, and in such a case, it would be able to withstand even the death of its master. Then, depending on the special qualities of the Divine Kingdom in question, it may or may not be subjected to some kind of decay.

Nevertheless, the entire Divine Kingdom Realm of the Dead was being devoured in real time until nothing would remain from it. 

Soon, eventually, the entire Divine Kingdom would be devoured by the serpentine entity together with many fallen Divine Kingdoms and other pocket Dimensions that were remaining in the Pandesmos.

***

2nd Layer of the Netherworld Pandemonium, Devil Domain, Capital City of Lilith, Imperial Palace of Ars Goetia

Exactly three years have passed since the Reconquista of the Lucifaad, as it was now being called. The operation that was the Reconquista of the Lucifaad was a staggering success as the Devil Domain started expanding once more in many centuries.

Which wasn't entirely accurate, because the Ars Goetia often expanded into the Frontier Domains, but this was the first time in a few centuries that they had expanded into the Wastelands and once-abandoned Domains of the Devil Species.

The ones that were abandoned after the destruction of the Lucifaad during the 1st Blood War. Right now, the entire Lucifaad was being rebuilt, which was a rather arduous process in truth, but deeply needed.

The Ars Goetia has taken over the entire ruins of the once-glorious capital city and is turning it into one enormous military base from which they will conduct more military expeditions into the Wastelands.

Soon enough, old devil territories would be reconquered if everything went according to the plan.

"Lately, the activity of the Abyssal Daemons in the Avernus, Pandemonium and Gehena has been increasing exponentially."

Currently, in the highest room of the Imperial Palace of the Ars Goetia, a meeting was taking place between the Councilors of the Ars Goetia. Only a few devils got the Seat as the Councilors, which were the devils that had Executive Power within the Government and were actually doing the real ruling and governing.

Zekram Bael, Mephisto Pheles, Gehrman Lucifuge, Xymor Behemoth and Amaimon Agares.

They were the remaining Overlord-Class Devils, not including some of the 1st Generational Devils that were in a deep hibernation. Quite a few of them survived, but their condition was...

Bad.

And only someone who reached the same Class and achieved even higher mastery in the Healing Arts could heal them. It was pretty unfortunate that there was no one like that in the entire Devil Race right now.

"Do you think that it could result in a new Blood War?"

Everyone reeled back when this question was put on the table, because the continuation of the Blood Wars was the last thing that they needed right now. Right now, the entire Devil Domain was in the high-intensity recovery period.

With the explosion of the Hextech Development, they were recovering their old powers, and in some regards, the Ars Goetia was even stronger than the devils before the Dusk of the Gods and 1st Blood War.

Yet they were still lacking the powerhouses that they had during those times.

"It's highly possible... all signs are pointing toward the restart of the Blood Wars."

Zekram said as he didn't really like it that much, the reality was undeniable, and everything was pointing toward another Blood War. Fortunately, right now, their cities and Territories were much better prepared for another massive Abyssal Incursions and Blood War.

With the Hextech, their offensive and defensive capabilities have reached an entirely new level... especially when the Hextech was being used in all major cities to supplement the Wards and Shielding Methods for the entire city.

Now they could create barriers that would cover up entire cities like Lilith and withstand even continuous attacks from the Supreme Overlord-Class beings for a prolonged amount of time.

This was the achievement of the Hextech Generators that were able to generate an enormous amount of Magic that could be used to supplement the Wards and Bounded Fields that were protecting their cities and fortresses.

"Well, aside from the lack of high-end powerhouses... especially the fact that we are lacking anyone on the Supreme Overlord-Class, we are better prepared for it than our species was before the Dusk of the Gods and 1st Blood War."

Amaimon Agares was a middle-aged man with short blonde hair with brown tips and piercing purple eyes. He was one of the few who lived through both events and remembered the terrible wars that were destroying their species.

As they were talking about the situation on hand and how they would need to address the situation with the increasing rate of Abyssal Incursion, suddenly a Mephisto Pheles froze in place as he received a Magical Message.

"It seems that we have a problem... a serious one."

The oldest devil in the room said as everyone narrowed their eyes at their fellow Councilman.

"Something has attacked the Realm of the Dead... and it's gone. Not only that, but actually even entire Daemonlands that were formed in the Pandesmos are gone together with a whole bunch of crumbling Divine Kingdoms... everything has been devoured."

When Mephisto stated that, everyone was in a deep shock because it seemed almost surreal to hear. All people present here knew that Hades was an extremely powerful God, one who was closest to ascending to the Primordial God Rank in the new age.

At the same time, the Greek God of the Dead was so powerful when he was in his Divine Kingdom that even some of the Primordials and Supreme Overlords were deeply wary of him and wouldn't dare to fight him in his home base.

"What could ha..."

Zekram wanted to say something before he remembered a rather terrible legend that he heard when he was still very young, from Lucifer himself. It was something that he would have forgotten already, because it was so long and nobody was able to verify it.

"World Enemy... For sure it's one of them..."

Among the people present, only Mephisto himself showed some reaction to the term because it was something that he had read in a book. Among the devils present, he was the most educated and well-read person, so he knew what the World Enemies were.

"For us who are not that old or have access to information, what the hell are World Enemies?"

Xymor Behemoth asked because not everyone knew what the World Enemies were, but Mephisto proceeded to explain.

"World Enemies are extremely powerful entities that are roaming the Realms... they are only a few of them, but according to the legends, even the weakest of them could tear beings like Opihs or Great Red for breakfast... They are named 'World Enemies' because they grew more powerful by destroying or devouring entire worlds. According to some records, the World Enemies are on the same footing as the Gods of Ruination, but nobody can be sure of that."

Everyone held their breath when they heard that because it was really bad news. Zekram was also thinking a lot as the appearance of the World Enemy was something that nobody could have predicted.

Though the only saving grace was that the Word Enemy that devoured Hades and parts of the areas of Pandemos had left after he obtained what he wanted.

"What shall we do?"

Gehrman Lucifuge asked because this was a very grave situation. The Greek Pantheon would go absolutely mad, especially with all the things that were happening regarding the Mind Flayers attack on the Olympus Divine Realm in the Astral Sea for some reason.

And now with Hades dying off and his Divine Kingdom being done, it would create an enormous mess in the entire Draconic Deus. Initially, many enemies of the Greek Pantheon, which was actually a very long list...

Like really long list...

Were very eager about the attack of the Illithids on the Greek Gods. Even though Mind Flayers had technologies that were specifically developed to counter the Gods and anything of the Divine Origin, and they were very good at using them.

Nevertheless, this would complicate matters once more.

"What can we do about it?"

Everyone understood that they were not really powerful enough to do something about the appearance of the World Enemy. Zekram and Mephisto were also pondering what the hell did something as powerful as the World Enemy want with Hades?

The power disparity between them was so enormous, like between an ant and a Heavenly Dragon.

"Well... at least the good thing is that, with this attack on the Pandesmos, most of the Daemon population on the Pandesmos also became food for the World Enemy, so this is certainly considerable help."

Amaimon Agares commented, because in that attack, several hundred million Daemons were killed. And everyone who knew about the World Enemies knew that this was the true death for the Daemons, meaning that they were truly dead and would not be resurrected.

A good number of the Greater Daemons have died, and even some Abyssal Lords and Exalted Daemons also perished at the hands of the World Enemy that took incursion into the Netherworld for whatever reason.

"I wouldn't be sure of it... Overall, the whole Abyss would notice the loss of the Exalted Daemons, and some of the Abyssal Daemons were killed, but it wouldn't change a thing. In the end, there are still an im calculable number of Daemons in there. But we lost the bastion of defense against the Abyssal Incursions."

Zekram Bael voiced his thoughts as he saw more negatives than positives.

Despite Hades holding a great animosity toward both Devils and Demons, it was also an undeniable fact that Hades was holding the line against the Abyssal Incursion on the Pandesmos.

"They would have free brige, right?"

Hearing the question of First Agares, made both Zekram and Xymor Behemoth nod in agreement. Right now, there was practically no one who would be fighting against Daemos on the Pandesmos.

Which in practice meant that Daemons would be able to freely launch enormous invasions into Gehenna without fear of being attacked or interrupted. They would be able to attack Gehena without restraint, which was highly problematic for the Devils.

Due to the very special nature of the Gehena and the political situation on the 3rd Layer, there existed a few ways through the entire Layer that one could use to reach the 2nd Layer while avoiding territories and domains of the Supreme Overlords.

Meaning that there was a possibility that Daemons would get free access to the Pandemonium through Gehenna. This was giving headaches to all of them, because it was an extremely problematic and troublesome situation. 

"I think that we should start preparing for the next huge conflict... either with the Grigori or the possible Abyssal Incursions that could erupt anytime on the Avernus or now, even from the Pandemonium itself."

Gehrman Lucifuge said, and everyone agreed with the proposal, which wasn't that surprising. 

Now that the path to the Gehena was clear for the Daemons, the situation took a more interesting turn.

"The borders with the Fallen Angel Domain also need to be reinforced. We cannot be sure that if in times of war, Kokabiel, Satanael, or one of those warmongers wouldn't take advantage and attack us."

Zekram Bael's territory was closest to the Fallen Angel Domain, together with the Gremory Territory, so they would bear the bulk of their forces if the Fallen Angels indeed attacked them...

Not to mention, the newly expanded Frontier Domain that was the result of the Netherworld's expansion would also become the battlefield between the Ars Goetia and Grigori if it came to that.

"We can still be considered lucky that Azazel doesn't want war, and especially the fact that Azrael disappeared somewhere."

Azrael was one of the Kings of Angels... 

His scythe personally killed several Primordial God-Class beings from the Greek Pantheon, Hindu Pantheon, and Celestial Gods in ancient times. 

Yahweh created three Kings of Angels.

Ones that were not subjected to the racial limits of Angels and were all imbued with his power, for they were the strongest of Heaven.

Helel the Lightbringer.

Michael the Sword and Shield of Heavens.

Azrael the Angel of Death.

One rebelled, one remained in the 7th Heaven and one disappeared after Yahweh perished.

***

1st Layer of the Netherworld Avernus, At the Same Time - Bronze Citadel

Avernus was the largest known Layer of the Netherworld, and it was mostly the most traditionally infernal landscape.

A blasted hellscape in the most literal sense, filled with rivers of lava, barren hills, and low, rocky mountains as far as the eye could see. To scale the mountains or move too quickly was unwise at best, since obsidian, quartz, and other crystals jutted from the jagged land, cutting clothes and slicing flesh.

This landscape was the result of the eternal war between the Abyss and the Netherworlders... and the permanent whirlpools leading to the Elemental Chaos, which allowed the Winds of Magic to freely sweep into the Avernus, also helping its current state.

The ubiquitous presence of rocks and boulders, some of which seemed to resemble tormented faces and shapes of creatures, rendered the terrain extremely treacherous and difficult to cross at any pace quicker than a fast walk.

Rubble covered the vast, ashen plains of Avernus's charred wastes, dotted with bubbling tar pits, sucking quicksand, lakes of lava, and salt flats made from the tears of the damned. On the other hand, thanks to the permanent flow of Raw Magic from the Elemental Chaos and Winds of Magic that were flooding the entire 1st Layer, it was one of the richest layers in terms of natural resources and Magical density.

In the Bronze Citadel was a huge fortress-city dozens of square miles in extent and ringed by twelve heavily defended walls. It housed hundreds of thousands of Devil Legionaries and Battle Mages, aside from some civilians who also lived in the Bronze Citadel.

It was constantly being added to in the form of new fortifications against attacks that were becoming more and more common. The Bronze Citadel was under the command of Samigina Paimon, one of the strongest High Ultimate-Class Devils in the entire Devil Domain.

He was also one of the nearest ones to reach the Overlord-Class.

Samigina Paimon had the appearance of a tall, grey-haired, pale man clad in grey armor. If one didn't know beforehand, it would be pretty easy to assume that he was a Vampire, based on his deathly pale skin and appearance.

He was a man full of deathly stillness. His eyes were a shiny white, and his face looked quite handsome. A pair of immense grey wings extended from his back, reaching over twenty meters wide. Although it wasn't so eye-catching in the distance, with the addition of the deep grey radiance on his back, it let out a kind of irresistible oppressive feeling.

He looked at the distance from the Avernus to the territory controlled by the Daemons, where the Dimensional Pathways were located... the permanent kind which couldn't be destroyed by any means known to them.

Even then, if they were destroyed, it could create a really nasty reaction that could wipe out the entire 1st Layer of the Netheworld and destroy the Avernus.

"Something is not right..."

Samigina Paimon muttered as he felt that something was right in the air. It was a rather inexplicable feeling, but he could feel that something was odd. Suddenly, as he wanted to return to his study from the roof of the governing fort in the Bronze Citadel, he suddenly felt an enormous explosion of Pure Raw Magic.

Far in the distance, near the Dimensional Pathways to the Abyss.

Which could mean only one thing.

In a split second, the entire Bronze Citadel was engulfed in a massive wave of Magic that was seeped into the Netherworld directly from the Elemental Chaos. In a split of a second, the Wards and Hex Shields around the Bronze Citadel activated to block and assimilate the Pujre Raw Magic.

But the wave of the Pure Raw Magic didn't stop there, as it continued through the entirety of the whole Avernus. Soon enough, every single living being in the entire Layer of the Netherworld was aware of what was happening right now.

Start of the new Blood War.

The current Lord Paimon looked down from the peak of the Bronze Bastion to the courtyard where countless people were scrambling by as they for sure realized what was happening.

Without any waiting, he jumped down several hundred meters as he landed perfectly on his two legs.

Within the Devil Aristocratic Houses, the Paimons were most famous for their tremendous physical strength, and their Clan Trait allowed them to push their physical refinement and tempering even further.

For this reason, since the creation of the Devils, the Paimon Clan has always held very high military positions due to their warrior-like predispositions towards battle and war. As the Clan Head of the Paimon Clan that held the Rank of King in the Ars Goetia, he was one of the strongest, if not the strongest, High Ultimate-Class Devil in the Devil Domain.

He was also very close to reaching the Overlord-Class, and he would have completed one of the requirements, but for the devils to become Overlord, they also needed to evolve to the Archdevil.

And chances of that happening were...

Extremely low.

Unless one was born as a Super Devil.

Nevertheless, Samigina Paimon headed directly to the heart of the Bronze Bastion for his combat gear, because it was time for war.

And this one would be brutal.