C32:-HSDxD_FanFic_Meliodas (Patreon)

32. The Hair Clip.

│1st Person POV of Meliodas│

[Underworld Realm, New Lilith, Lucifer’s Castle, Devil Courtroom…]

Two Devils bearing the insignia of the Naberius Clan strode inside with measured steps, flanking a small figure between them.

She was a child, barely ten years old, with white hair and golden eyes. Her gaze was hollow and unfocused, and she moved mechanically, guided forward by the firm grip of her escorts rather than her own volition.

A quiet murmur rippled through the assembled nobles, their whispers barely restrained.

Lord Naberius cleared his throat, his voice thick with feigned decorum. “Great Satans, the Nekoshou known as Shirone has been brought before you.”

Sirzechs briefly glanced at the girl before shifting his gaze toward me—a subtle cue that it was time.

“According to you, Lord Naberius, it would be acceptable to execute you if your son were to commit a crime worthy of death, correct?”

A ripple of tension spread through the courtroom. Lord Naberius flinched at my words, his composure wavering. Murmurs broke out among the others, their whispers laced with curiosity and unease.

“That is—” Naberius started, but I cut him off before he could weave one of his slippery justifications.

“No need to answer. Your logic is clear,” I continued. “By your own reasoning, the sins of the older sister are the sins of the little sister as well. And if that is the case, then surely the sins of the father must be the sins of the son.”

A hush fell over the courtroom, the weight of my words sinking in. Some stiffened, realizing the dangerous precedent this incident would have set if the Naberius had succeeded in executing the Nekoshou girl. Others shifted uncomfortably, glancing at one another as if gauging the room’s mood.

The next moment, I turned toward the Satans. “Great Satans, allow me to present the true ‘criminal’ in this case.”

The sharp edge of sarcasm in my voice made it unmistakably clear—I wasn’t referring to the child standing before them.

Lord Naberius tensed. “What are you trying to say?”

Ignoring him, I continued, “The true criminal is the previous Lord Naberius; the man who performed unsectioned and inhumane experiments on his own Peerage member in a twisted attempt to create an artificial Super Devil.”

Gasps rippled through the gathered nobility.

“Nonsense!” Lord Naberius snapped, his voice rising in protest. “The previous Lord Naberius committed no such atrocities! You are just slandering his name without a shred of evidence, ‘Lord’ Valefor-Zagan!”

“Oh, but I do have proof,” I replied smoothly, a knowing smirk tugging at my lips.

Lord Naberius visibly stiffened, his bravado faltering. The murmurs in the courtroom grew louder, curiosity and tension thick in the air.

Turning my attention to the Great Satans, I dipped my head slightly in respect before making my request. “Great Satans, with your permission, I would like to present a key witness—Kuroka, the very Nekoshou who killed the previous Lord Naberius.”

A palpable shift rippled through the chamber at the mention of her name.

Sirzechs, who had been silently observing, exchanged a glance with Serafall before speaking. “Very well. Bring her in.”

I smiled.

At Sirzechs’ command, the herald at the courtroom doors signaled the guards.

The heavy doors groaned open once more. This time, the figure stepping through wasn't a child being led by her escorts but a teenager who moved off her own will.

Kuroka strode inside with an air of quiet confidence. Her golden, slit-pupil eyes swept across the room, gauging the gathered nobles with open disdain. Though she was shackled in enchanted restraints, it did little to diminish the air of defiance that clung to her.

However, I could see the nervousness she was hiding beneath the confident facade, especially as she neared her sister’s position.

For the first time, I saw emotion flicker in Shirone’s previously vacant gaze. The little Nekoshou's golden eyes widened, recognition, fear, concern, longing, and confusion warring within them as she took in the sight of her older sister.

A new wave of murmurs spread through the chamber. Some of the more conservative nobles scowled at her presence while others watched with keen interest.

Lord Naberius’ face twisted into a mask of barely concealed fury. “This is absurd! The word of a murderer cannot be considered credible evidence!”

I chuckled, the sound echoing lightly in the quiet hall. “A murderer, is she? According to you, Lord Naberius, she killed your predecessor after losing control and going crazy due to Senjutsu, right?” I gestured lazily in Kuroka’s direction. “Well, look at her. Does she seem crazy in any way?”

Kuroka smirked at my words, looking at Lord Naberius with a mocking gaze.

Sirzechs leaned forward slightly and ordered, “Kuroka, tell us, why did you kill the previous Lord Naberius?”

The courtroom fell silent.

Kuroka closed her eyes briefly, inhaling deeply before letting out a slow exhale. When she opened them again, there was no hesitation.

“The previous Lord Naberius used to perform numerous experiments on me daily to research how to artificially create Super Devils. To survive his experiments, I was forced to rapidly improve my skills in the art of Senjutsu and Youjutsu. This resulted in my magical power as a bishop growing quickly.

“Yesterday, I learned that he intended to start experimenting on my sister as well, to see if he could strengthen her in the same way he did to me.”

Kuroka’s voice remained steady as she spoke, but the tension in her body was unmistakable to those with discernable eyes. Her golden eyes gleamed with barely contained fury as she continued.

“That’s when I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. If he laid a hand on Shirone, she wouldn’t survive. She was too young to withstand it, too inexperienced to control the malice of the world that comes with Senjutsu. He would have destroyed her.”

Silence hung thick in the chamber.

“...So I killed him.”

The finality in her words sent a ripple through the courtroom. Nobles exchanged uneasy glances, some whispering furiously among themselves. Others simply stared at Kuroka, processing the weight of her confession.

Shirone, who had remained frozen until now, trembled slightly. Her small fingers curled into fists, her eyes flickering with emotions she herself likely didn’t understand yet.

I let the silence stretch for a moment before leaning back in my chair.

“There you have it,” I said at last. “A peerage member, subjected to inhumane experimentation by her own King, forced to make a choice between her survival and her sister’s life. Tell me, Lords and Ladies of this court—” my gaze swept across the room, sharp and deliberate, “Why was the Civil War fought against the Satan Clans again?”

At my words, the atmosphere in the room grew tense, the weight of my question pressing down on the assembled nobles like a vice. Some stiffened in their seats, while others averted their eyes, unwilling to acknowledge the clear hypocrisy being laid bare before them.

I let the silence stretch, watching as realization dawned on some faces while indignation flickered on others.

Then, finally, I spoke again in a calm tone, “We rejected the Satan Clans because they saw the weak as nothing more than tools to be used and discarded at their convenience. But tell me, what exactly is different about this case?” I gestured toward Shirone, who stood small and silent between the Naberius guards. “A child sentenced to die for the actions of her sister. A sister who, by all rights, was acting in self-defense against an unhinged master who saw her and her sister as nothing more than test subjects.

My gaze swept across the gathered nobility as I continued, “How are the actions of the previous Lord Naberius any different from those of the Satan Clan descendants? They believed only themselves and the members of the Six Houses of Lucifer were true Devils—discarding all others as expendable.”

I leaned forward slightly, resting my forearms on the table before me.

“If this is what the current generation of Devils stands for, then perhaps the Civil War was fought in vain.”

A heavy silence descended upon the courtroom, the weight of my words settling over them like a suffocating shroud.

Finally, someone broke the stillness a few moments later.

“Where is the proof of her claims?” The voice was measured, yet it contained a trace of superiority within. I turned my gaze toward the speaker—just as I expected, it was Lord Bael.

“Why should we take her words as absolute truth and assume that the new Lord Naberius is the one lying?”

Smirking slightly, I rose from my seat and strode toward Kuroka and Shirone with slow steps.

“You ask for proof?” I said, my voice carrying easily through the silent courtroom. “Very well.”

I stepped toward Shirone, kneeling slightly to meet her golden, slit-pupil eyes. Her body tensed as I approached as if bracing for something to happen.

“Shirone-chan,” I said gently, “may I borrow your hair clip for a moment?”

Her eyes widened slightly—not in fear, but in confusion. Her fingers instinctively reached up, touching the small, cat-shaped clip nestled in her white hair.

Previously, when Aurora used tiny insect-shaped Utility Constructs to check on Shirone’s situation, she discovered that the cat-shaped clip in her hair seemed to be a USB device. As a magical A.I. of sorts, Aurora had no difficulty accessing its contents through her constructs as conduits, and after she relayed what information was recorded within the device to me, I knew that the content was enough to settle this matter, even if the research data wasn’t related to Kuroka or Shirone.

Later, I would like to learn from Shirone and Kuroka how the former came to be in possession of this clip, but for now, I focused on the moment at hand.

Shirone hesitated, her brows furrowing, uncertainty flickering in her gaze.

“It’s alright,” I reassured her in a soothing tone. “I promise I’ll return it soon.”

For a moment, she searched my face as if trying to discern something. Then, slowly—hesitantly—she reached up and removed the clip, holding it out with small, trembling fingers.

As I took it from her hands, I noticed how tightly she had been gripping it, as if afraid that letting go would mean losing something irreplaceable. It was clear that this clip was very important to her. I felt bad about taking it from her for even a moment. After this ordeal was over, I decided to take her on a food tour through New Lilith as an apology.

Clutching the delicate ornament between my fingers, I turned back toward the Satans and the assembled nobility.

Raising the clip for all to see, I declared, “The proof you seek has been here all along.” Then, shifting my gaze to Ajuka, I continued, “Lord Beelzebub, if you would, please take a look at the data stored within this device.”

Ajuka’s green eyes flickered with interest as he extended a hand, causing the hair clip to rise from my palm and float toward him. With a casual flick of his wrist, a complex magical array formed around the tiny device, his Kankara Formula already unraveling its secrets.

The nobles watched in silence, some with curiosity, others with barely hidden skepticism. Lord Naberius, however, stiffened, his expression shifting between confusion and barely restrained anxiety. As expected, he had no idea what I had just handed over, but the sudden change in the atmosphere was enough to make him uneasy.

Ajuka’s fingers twitched, and a translucent holographic screen projected itself above the courtroom for all to see. Lines of encrypted data scrolled rapidly before settling into comprehensible text.

Ajuka allowed everyone to read the first few lines of the text for a few moments, which clearly showed that the data contained detailed records on the experiments conducted to artificially create Super Devils.

Then, with another wave of his hand, Ajuka dismissed the holographic image before declaring, “The data in this device is authentic enough to prove Kuroka’s words to be the truth. Given the nature of its contents, I am officially confiscating it. No one will be granted access without my direct authorization, as the information within poses a significant risk to the stability and security of the entire Devil Race should it fall into the wrong hands.”

I turned to Lord Naberius, a smirk tugging at my lips. “Would you like to repeat your earlier claim that I was slandering your predecessor?”

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A/N: I'm back with another chapter of my DxD Fic. Enjoy!

I will be uploading one more chapter of this fic tomorrow before shifting to posting chapters of Douluo Dalu Fic. So, rejoice and wait for it.

Anyway, if you guys see any mistakes, please don't hesitate to point them out.

Well then, Good day. See ya guys later.