Occult Research Club Room.
"Let me formally introduce myself. I'm Sirzechs Lucifer, one of the Four Satans that governs the Underworld. Thank you for taking care of my little sister," Sirzechs said with a smile. He carried himself with the dignity of a king. No one in the room dared to meet his eyes directly, he wasn't just any Devil, after all.
Except Kousuke that is.
"Is it hot in the Underworld?" he asked casually. There was no afterlife in the Other World, so he was curious whether the so-called Underworld resembled the Hell everyone imagined.
"No. In fact, it's currently summer over there," Sirzechs replied almost immediately, then paused to let everyone absorb the information before continuing, "If you're asking about the actual Hell—well, there are countless layers of realms within the Underworld. Purgatory, for example, is located on the third layer. The safest one is the first layer, where Devils and Fallen Angels live."
"Heeh, that sounds interesting. Are there any particularly good tourist spots in the Underworld that you'd recommend?" He asked with spark in his eyes.
"...Tourist spot?" Sirzechs said after a long pause, stunned at the unexpected question. Azazel couldn't help but burst into laughter. Had it been anyone else, that would've been an utterly nonsensical question.
"Yeah, something you wouldn't see in the mortal world. I bet there are plenty of unique places," Kousuke said, unfazed by the strange looks everyone was giving him. 'Yeah I got titanium balls, keep up with that glazing look.'
"No human has ever asked me that before. Most wouldn't even *dare* to set foot in the Underworld," Sirzechs replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "But there's always an exception. Well, since you asked me…"
"Lilith, the capital city where Devils reside. I can show you around if you ever decide to drop by, it's under my jurisdiction so you can rest easy," he added nonchalantly. A Satan offering to be a personal city guide to a human, now that was a ridiculous offer that no one would've ever imagined. No, it was unheard of.
"Brother! You don't need to do that! I can guide him myself!" Rias protested. Despite everything, she still respected her brother as a Satan and didn't want to see him lowering his head needlessly, even toward someone as insanely powerful as Kousuke. A Satan had to maintain their dignity in front of their people, at least that's what she thought. Rias had admired her brother since she was young after all.
"No, Rias. I can't leave such an important task to you," Sirzechs replied, shaking his head. His little sister couldn't see the bigger picture, if losing face can keep Lilith safe then he doesn't mind lowering himself. Who knows what happen if some foolish Devil managed to anger Kousuke, the aftermath would be far from pretty, that much is certain. But with Sirzechs by his side, no one would dare to even mutter a complaint.
He had witnessed Kousuke's strength firsthand after all. It would be foolish to take any chances in this time where peace and balance were on the verge of collapsing.
"Well, I'll keep that in mind. It's not every day Satan himself offers to be a tour guide," Kousuke said with a shrug. He wasn't particularly bothered by the suggestions, if the person himself wanted to do it, so be it.
"Then, is it finally my turn?" Azazel said, standing up. "As you can see, I'm a Fallen. You can call me Azazel."
The Grigori leader stretched his black wings wide, clearly proud of them.
"How do you sleep with those wings on your back?" Kousuke asked with a thoughtful expression. He hadn't asked Akeno that question out of respect, since it touched on her past and all. "No, do you even need to sleep in the first place?"
"You have a half-fallen as your girlfriend and you're asking me that?" Azazel appeared dumbfounded at his question.
"Well, I clearly care more about my girlfriend's feelings than yours," Kousuke replied bluntly. He felt a hand resting on his thigh. He didn't need to look to know it was Akeno. 'Hell yeah, I'm getting that sloppy toppy later!'
"Ouch, that hurt. Not," Azazel chuckled. "To answer your question, we can shrink our wings down to fist-sized appendages. They don't get in the way at all. Honestly, it's pretty comfortable, like having an extra pillow under your waist."
"How convenient. Then I probably don't have any more questions for angels, assuming you guys can do the same?" Kousuke said, turning toward Michael as the latter nodded with his perpetually sad face.
They'd met once before, albeit a little forcefully, inside a dreamscape.
"Don't you want to know about Heaven? That's usually the most asked quest—"
"Nah. If Heaven was that great, I don't think there would be any Fallen," Kousuke said while eyeing Azazel, cutting the Archangel off. The latter laughed with a hand on his stomach, he was starting to like this human.
"So, Michael, what are you doing here with these two? You don't seem like the type who'd hang out with bad people."
"...It's Archangel Michael," Xenovia whispered behind the Archangel, her wings fluttering from slight agitation.
"Hmm? What did you say? I can't hear you," Kousuke said with a hand cupped to his ear, turning to his classmate who was standing rigidly behind Michael.
"I—"
"Anyway, you three owe me compensation."
He coldly cut her off before she could muster a word, this time turning his eyes to the three powerful individuals before him, each one a leader of their respective factions.
"Compensation?" Sirzechs asked.
"Yeah. Sending Vali was part of your plan to test me, wasn't it? Even a donkey can connect the dot with such blatant acts," Kousuke said, briefly eyeing the scowling man behind Azazel.
It was the White Dragon Emperor, now fully conscious—having been rudely slapped awake for this meeting by Azazel himself. Although he wanted nothing to do with it, Vali was forced to attend as the loser no matter how much he despite it.
"...I played no part in that. It was Azazel's idea," Michael said, immediately throwing his fallen brother under the bus without hesitation. 'Wow, so much kindness from this Archangel huh?' Kousuke thought amusedly.
"Et tu, Brother?" Azazel turned toward Michael, but the latter pretended he didn't hear anything—suddenly finding the ceiling to be exceptionally well designed.
"Haven't I already offered to be your guide?" Sirzechs added.
"Yeah, you offered that. So it doesn't count," Kousuke said shamelessly. "Don't worry. I'm not asking for much."
"For you, Satan, I just want a piece of an Evil Piece. Doesn't matter which. I just want one for my collection," he declared. In truth, he wanted to research it, maybe even find a way to strengthen his girlfriend without the demerits of a Master-Servant contract.
"That… isn't anything difficult. But I doubt it'll be useful to you even as a collector's item." Crimson Satan replied with a perplexed expression on his face.
"Well, if you're unwilling to give me that, how about offering Rias to me?" Kousuke said with a straight face. He immediately felt Akeno's fingers pinch harder on his thigh. He obviously feels the pain, but choose to wisely ignores it. Tsubaki on the other hand, remained silent as the corner of her lips curled up, likely knew he was joking.
"HUH?!" Rias and Issei shouted in unison. Rias's face turned red for some reason, while Issei looked like he'd been struck by an arrow to the heart.
"One Evil Piece it is," said Sirzechs immediately, without missing a beat. The definitely-not-siscon Satan didn't even hesitate. Issei breath out a sigh of relief, though Rias on the other hand, she appeared strangely disappointed for a moment before shaking her head to remove useless thoughts.